The legendary story about Tomb-Sweeping Day

According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Zhong Er fled his hometown to escape the scourge. The courtiers who went out with him mostly parted ways at first. Only a few loyal people have been following him. One of them is called meson push. On one occasion, Zhong Er fainted from hunger. In order to save Zhong Er, Jiezitui cut a piece of meat from his leg, cooked it with fire and gave it to Zhong Er.

Nineteen years later, Zhong Er returned to China and became the monarch, that is, Jin Wengong, one of the famous five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period. After Jin Wengong came to power, in addition to meson push, he offered many rewards to courtiers who shared his joys and sorrows. Someone defended meson in front of Jin Wengong. Jin Wengong suddenly remembered the past and felt guilty. He immediately sent someone to ask meson to take the imperial court to be rewarded as an official. However, after several trips, the meson could not be pushed. Jin Wengong had to please. However, when Jin Wengong came to the meson pusher's house, he saw that the door was closed. Jiezitui didn't want to see him, and had already been hiding in Mianshan behind his mother's back.

Jin Wengong asked his body guard to search Mianshan, but he couldn't find it. So, someone had an idea, saying, it is better to let Yamakaji go, set fire on three sides, leave one side, burn it and the meson will come out. Jin Wengong ordered the promotion of Yamakaji. Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and nights. After the fire was put out, the meson was not pushed out after all. Looking up the mountain, the mother and son were holding a charred willow tree and were dead. Jin Wengong looked at Jiexiu's body and cried, then buried Jiexiu and his mother under the charred willow tree.

To commemorate Jiexiu, Jin Wengong ordered Mianshan to be changed to Jiexiu Mountain, and an ancestral temple was built on the mountain, and the day when Yamakaji was released was designated as the Cold Food Festival, telling the whole country that it is forbidden to set off fireworks and firecrackers on this day every year and only eat cold food.

Extended data

1, willow:

There are several legends about the custom of inserting willows in Tomb-Sweeping Day. One saying is to commemorate Shennong, the ancestor of farming who taught the people. Wicker has the function of forecasting weather, so the old saying goes: "Wicker is green and rainy; The saying that there is another village. Agricultural activities are closely related to the weather. Shennong taught people to distinguish wicker, so as to observe the weather changes and arrange farming activities.

In some places, people still hang wicker under the eaves to forecast the weather and arrange agricultural activities, which is very old. Another saying is to ward off evil spirits. China people regard Tomb-Sweeping Day, July and October as the three major ghost festivals, which are the time when ghosts haunt. In order to prevent the harassment and persecution of ghosts, people put willows and put them on. This custom is deeply influenced by Buddhism. In Buddhism, avalokitesvara touches water to help others, so people think wicker can exorcise ghosts. In the Book of Qi Yaomin written by Jia Sixie in the Northern Wei Dynasty, it is recorded: "Take a willow branch and put it in the house, and a hundred ghosts will not enter the house". No matter from that legend, we can see that the custom of inserting willows in Qingming has a long history.

In the past, people not only inserted willow branches in Tomb-Sweeping Day, but also wore wicker on their heads. It is said that during the Huang Chao Uprising, it was stipulated that "Liu Dai is the number in the Qingming Festival". After the failure of the uprising, the custom of Liu Dai was gradually eliminated, and only in a few areas such as Yunnan, only the custom of inserting willows was retained.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of inserting willows spread all over the country. Yangzhou, which pays more attention to the Qingming custom, not only puts willow branches under the eaves, but also wears willow branches every year on Qingming. At that time, there was a folk song that said, "Qingming does not wear willow, and beauty becomes the head." The custom of inserting willows into willows in modern times is rare, and there are only a few remnants in Jiangnan area.

Step 2 swing

There are also different opinions about the origin of swinging. One said that it evolved from a martial arts activity of ancient northern minorities. According to the "Ancient and Modern Art Map", "Dang is a drama of Beishan Rong, which is easy to learn. Qi Huangong cut down the mountain and spread it like China. " When it comes to the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The first birthday speech was called "Qian Qiu", which was a play in the backyard of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and was later called "Swing". Although there are different opinions, it is beyond reproach that the swing is a long-term entertainment.

Swing was introduced to the south in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. According to "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao", during the Tianbao period, every cold food and Tomb-Sweeping Day came, a swing frame was erected in the palace for concubines and maids to enjoy themselves. Wei Zhuang, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, described the swing in Tomb-Sweeping Day at that time very well: "The streets are full of willow green smoke, drawing a clear March day. It's like a girl throwing a swing in the curtain of an affair. "

Tomb-Sweeping Day was the heaviest in Liao Dynasty. When Tomb-Sweeping Day arrived, people from the court to the common people liked to swing. The prosperity of swinging is evident. In the Ming dynasty, the south of swing declined gradually, and after the Qing dynasty, it rose in the north. "Every household swings for the play" is quite old-fashioned.

Step 3 fly a kite

During the Qingming Festival, the sun is shining and the spring breeze is slow, which is a good time to fly kites. Someone wrote a poem in the Tang Dynasty: "The grass grows in February, and the willows on the embankment are drunk with spring smoke. The children came back from school early and were busy flying kites in the east wind. " It can be seen that flying kites was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that kites were created by Han Xin, a general in the early Han Dynasty. There is a bamboo flute on it, which can make a sound when the wind blows, just like a guzheng, hence the name kite.

The custom of flying kites in Tomb-Sweeping Day originated very early and lasted for a long time. Flying kites is not only a kind of entertainment, but also a kind of sports activity. When flying a kite, deliberately breaking the string of the kite is called "putting bad luck". In A Dream of Red Mansions, the lady of Jia family flies a kite to ward off evil spirits, which is the expression of this custom.