清明节
Synopsis
Overview
Qingming Festival, also known as the Spring Outing Festival, the Pure Brightness Festival, the March Festival, and the Ancestor Worship Festival, is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. It is also the only day among the 24 solar terms that serves as both a solar term and a festival. It usually falls between April 4th and 6th in the Gregorian calendar, a time when spring is in full bloom, and all things are "discarding the old and embracing the new"...
Overview
Qingming Festival, also known as the Spring Outing Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Festival, or Ancestor Worship Festival, is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. It is also the only occasion among the 24 solar terms that serves both as a solar term and a festival. It usually falls between April 4th and 6th on the Gregorian calendar, a time when spring is in full bloom, all things are "renewing themselves," and the earth presents a scene of gentle warmth and vibrant scenery. The core essence of Qingming Festival is "honoring the past and remembering ancestors." Its main customs include tomb sweeping and ancestor worship, as well as spring outings. These two seemingly contrasting activities harmoniously coexist during Qingming, reflecting the Chinese people's profound understanding of the cycle of life—both commemorating the deceased and celebrating new life.
History
The origin of Qingming Festival is a fusion of ancient solar terms and customs from festivals such as the Cold Food Festival and the Shangsi Festival. Its historical evolution can be summarized as follows:
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Origin as a Solar Term | "Qingming" as one of the 24 solar terms first appeared in Liu An's Huainanzi·Astronomical Training from the Western Han Dynasty: "Fifteen days after the Spring Equinox, when the Big Dipper points to Yi, the Qingming wind arrives." This period sees rising temperatures and is an excellent time for spring plowing and planting. |
| Custom Fusion | 1. Cold Food Festival: Legend says it was established to commemorate Jie Zitui, a loyal official of the Jin state during the Spring and Autumn period, featuring customs like extinguishing fires and eating cold food. After the Tang Dynasty, its tomb-sweeping elements gradually merged with Qingming. 2. Shangsi Festival: On the third day of the third lunar month, ancient people had customs like washing by water and spring outings. Its spring outing activities were later absorbed into Qingming Festival. |
| Formation and Development | During the Tang and Song dynasties, the court institutionalized holidays for Cold Food and Qingming (e.g., 4-7 day holidays in the Tang Dynasty). Tomb sweeping and spring outings became nationwide customs, and Qingming Festival finally took its definitive form, which has been passed down to this day. In 2006, Qingming Festival was included in the first batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage lists. |
Main Features
Qingming Festival activities are rich and varied, primarily revolving around two major themes:
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Tomb Sweeping and Ancestor Worship (Honoring Ancestors): This is the core ritual of Qingming Festival. People visit ancestral graves to clean them, remove weeds, add fresh soil (the origin of the term "sweeping the tomb"), and offer sacrifices, flowers, incense, and paper money, while bowing and paying respects to express remembrance and reverence for their ancestors. With societal progress, many places now advocate for more environmentally friendly and civilized methods such as offering flowers or online memorials.
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Spring Outings (Embracing Nature): During Qingming, vitality flourishes while Yin energy recedes, making it an excellent time to get close to nature. People go out in groups to enjoy the beauty of spring, engaging in activities like swinging, Cuju (ancient football), flying kites, and inserting willow branches. When flying kites, people often cut the string, symbolizing letting illnesses and bad luck drift away with the wind.
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Culinary Specialties: There is a custom of eating specific cold foods during Qingming. The most representative are Qingtuan (in the Jiangnan region) and Sanzi. Qingtuan is made from glutinous rice flour dyed with mugwort or barley grass juice, filled with sweet red bean paste or lotus seed paste. It has a vibrant green color and a fresh herbal aroma.
Cultural Significance
Qingming Festival carries profound Chinese cultural spirit:
* Inheriting Filial Piety Ethics: Through solemn ancestor worship rituals, it strengthens family bonds and embodies the traditional ethical concept that "filial piety is the foremost of all virtues." It is an important practice of the Chinese moral view of respecting ancestors and carrying on their aspirations.
* Reflecting Life Philosophy: The festival integrates the solemn mourning of tomb sweeping with the joyful vitality of spring outings, deeply reflecting the dialectical thinking of "the interdependence of life and death" in Chinese culture. It is both a consolation for the deceased and a celebration of the continuity of life and the vitality of spring.
* Promoting Harmony Between Humans and Nature: The custom of spring outings during Qingming encourages people to follow the rhythms of nature, step into the outdoors, and feel the cycle of the seasons, embodying the traditional philosophical idea of "the unity of heaven and humanity."
* Strengthening National Identity: As a festival commonly observed by Chinese people worldwide, Qingming Festival is an important spiritual bond that maintains the emotional and cultural identity of Chinese people both at home and abroad.
References
- Chinese Government Website - State Council Notice on Publishing the First Batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists:
http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2006-06/02/content_297946.htm - China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network · China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum - Qingming Festival:
https://www.ihchina.cn/project_details/14300/ - Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission Website - The Origin and Customs of Qingming Festival:
https://www.ccdi.gov.cn/yaowenn/202103/t20210331_239274.html
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