Meaning and origin of Qingming Festival

The customs of Qingming Festival are rich and interesting, in addition to the fire ban, sweeping the tomb, there are a series of customs and sports activities such as trekking, swinging, Cuju, playing polo, willow and so on. Do you know the meaning and origin of Qingming Festival? Take a look at the meaning and origin of the Qingming Festival, welcome to check!

Qingming Festival Meaning

Qingming Festival, also known as the Treading Green Festival, in the mid-spring and late spring at the intersection of the winter solstice, the 108th day after the winter solstice. It is a traditional Chinese festival and one of the most important festivals for ancestor worship and tomb-sweeping[1]. The traditional Qingming Festival of the Han Chinese people began around the Zhou Dynasty, more than 2,500 years ago. Influenced by Han culture, 24 ethnic minorities in China, including Manchu, Hezhen, Zhuang, Oroqen, Dong, Tujia, Miao, Yao, Li, Shui, Jing, and Qiang, also have the custom of celebrating Qingming Festival. Tomb-sweeping and ancestor worship, trekking and picnicking are the basic themes.

Qingming was first just the name of a festival, and its transformation into a festival honoring ancestors was related to the Cold Food Festival. The Duke of Jin designated the day after the Cold Food Festival as the Qingming Festival. In most areas of Shanxi is the day before the Qingming Festival Cold Food Festival; Yushe County and other places is in the Qingming Festival two days before the Cold Food Festival; Yuanqu County also pay attention to the day before the Qingming Festival for the Cold Food Festival, the first two days of the small cold food.

Qingming Festival is one of China's important "eight sections of the year", generally around April 5 in the Gregorian calendar, the festival is very long, there are 10 days before the 8th and 10 days before the 10th after two kinds of statements, which nearly 20 days are Qingming Festival. Qingming Festival originally refers to the fifteen days after the spring equinox, in 1935, the government of the Republic of China explicitly set April 5 as a national holiday Qingming Festival, also known as the National Tomb Sweeping Festival[2] .

The Almanac: "Fifteen days after the vernal equinox, the bucket refers to the Ding, for the Qingming, when everything is clean and clear, cover when the gas is clear and bright, everything is clear, so the name." Qingming, the temperature rises, it is a good time for spring plowing, so there is "Qingming before and after, planting melon point beans" said. [1]

The origin of the Qingming Festival, according to legend, began in ancient times, emperors and generals "tomb sacrifice" of the ritual, and then folk also follow suit, in this day to ancestral tomb, and successive generations and become a fixed custom of the Chinese nation. 2006 May 20, the Chinese Ministry of Culture declared the Qingming Festival approved by the State Council included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list (category). On May 20, 2006, the Qingming Festival was declared by the Ministry of Culture and approved by the State Council for inclusion in the first national list of intangible cultural heritage (Category: Folklore; No. X-2).

The Origin of Qingming

Qingming was first celebrated as a spring festival. The Qingming Festival has a long history, originating from the spring festival in the ancient times, and the two festivals in spring and autumn have existed in ancient times. According to the research results of modern anthropology and archaeology, the two most primitive beliefs of human beings are the belief in heaven and earth and the belief in ancestors. "Respect for heaven and earth and ancestors" beliefs continue since ancient times, ancestor worship customs have become a fixed custom of the Qingming Festival through the generations.

Qingming Festival, with both natural and humanistic connotations, is one of the "twenty-four solar terms", but also a traditional festival of ancestor worship. The "24 Solar Terms" is a product of the ancient farming civilization, which not only plays a guiding role in agricultural production, but also affects the ancient people's clothing, food, housing and transportation, and even cultural concepts. The "24 Solar Terms" were originally determined by the rotation of the handle of the seven stars of the Big Dipper, which rotate in a circle, and the rotation of the stars has a close relationship with the 24 Solar Terms. In different seasons and at different times, the seven stars of the Big Dipper will point to different directions, and thus became the basis for people to judge the change of seasons and festivals in the ancient times, that is, the so-called "the handle of the Big Dipper points to the east, the world is all in spring; the handle of the Big Dipper guides, the world is all in summer; the handle of the Big Dipper points to the west, the world is all in autumn; the handle of the Big Dipper points to the north, the world is all in winter" astrological law. The "24 Solar Terms" are the seasons, climatic conditions, climatic changes, and the establishment of the "twelve months of the year" in the Stem and Branch Calendar. The calendar divides a year into twelve eons (the twelfth month of the year), with "Jian" representing the pointing of the top of the handle of the Big Dipper, which rotates to point to the twelve eons in turn. In traditional culture, the dry time and orientation and gossip is linked together, Yin position is the eight gossip "Burgundy", is the end of the year the first year of the end of the orientation, on behalf of the end and the beginning, such as the "Yi - Gua Chuan": "Burgundy, the northeast of the trigrams are also, the end of all things into the end of the beginning of the beginning of the beginning of the beginning. " Therefore, the handle is due east by north (Yin position, the eight trigrams of the Burgundy position) from the beginning, around the east, south, west, north rotation of a circle, for a cycle, called one of the "years". When the handle points due south of the "B" position for the Qingming Festival. Qingming this festival, everything is clean and Qi, angry and vigorous, spit out the old and the new, the temperature rises, the earth presents the image of spring and Jingming, it is the countryside trekking (spring tour) and line Qing (tomb sacrifice) of the good season.

Tomb-sweeping at Ching Ming Festival

The first tomb-sweeping at Ching Ming: Duke Wen of Jin

The first tomb-sweeping at Ching Ming: Jie Zi Tui

Tomb-sweeping at Ching Ming Festival is said to be "thinking of the honor of the time" of the ancestors. Its custom has a long history. In the Ming Dynasty, "The Scenery of the Imperial Capital", it is written: "On Qingming Day in March, men and women sweep the graves, carrying Pusaetha scandens and hanging kozo ingots on the backs of the palanquins and horses, and they fill the roads with a lot of water. Those who worship, pour libations, cry, and weed the graves, burn kozo and put paper money on the graves. If there is no paper money, the grave will be left alone. Weeping, do not return, tend to the fragrant trees, choose the garden, sit in the list of all drunk." In fact, tomb-sweeping before the Qin Dynasty, but not necessarily on the occasion of Qingming, Qingming tomb-sweeping is after the Qin Dynasty. Only in the Tang Dynasty did it begin to flourish. "Qing Tongli" cloud: "year, cold food and frost festival, worship sweeping Xieng Khouang tombs, the period plain clothes at the tomb, with wine and food and scythes cut grass and trees of the device, Zhou calloused sealed trees, cut off the thorns and grasses, it is known as sweeping the tomb." And passed on to this day.

Qingming Festival ceremonies should be held in person to the graveyard, but due to the economic conditions of each family and other conditions are not the same, so the way of cleaning is also different. "Burning baggage" is the main form of ancestor worship. The so-called "package", also known as "parcel", refers to the parcel that the filial family sends to the "netherworld" from the Yang Shi. In the past, the so-called "baggage skin" was sold in the southern paper store, i.e., a large pocket made of white paper. There are two forms: one is a woodcut version, printed around the Sanskrit translation of the "mantra", the center of a Lotus seat, used to write on the name of the deceased to receive money, such as: "the late Zhang Fu Jun, the boss of the mountain," the words, both the mailbag and the seat of the card. Another is a plain wrapping skin, do not print any pattern, the center of only a blue sticker, write the name of the deceased can be. Also do the main card. About the baggage of money, there are many kinds.

First, the big burnt paper, nine K white paper, smashed on four lines of round money, five per line;

Second, the medieval banknotes, this is the earth has a foreign money stamps copied after the book "Bank of Paradise", "Bank of the Underworld", "Bank of Heaven", "Bank of Hades", "Bank of the Underworld" and other words, and the pattern of Fengdu City, more than a huge amount of tickets, printed on the back of the Buddhist "mantra of the dead";

Third, the fake foreign money, with cardboard for the heart, wrapped in silver foil, pressed with the same pattern as the prevailing silver dollar;

Fourth, the "mantra of the dead" printed in red on a yellow sheet of paper, into a round money-like, so it is also known as a round money, so it is also known as the "mantra of the dead". Into a round money-like, so also called "past life money";

V, with gold and silver foil folded into the dollar, ingot, some also threaded into a string, the lower side of the decorated with a colorful paper spikes. In the old days, regardless of rich and poor people have burned the action of the package. On this day, in the ancestral hall or the main house of the family house set up offerings, will be placed in the middle of the package, before the dumplings, cakes, fruit and other offerings, burning incense and candles. After the whole family salutes in order of seniority, the package is incinerated outside the door. When incinerating, make a big circle and leave a gap according to the direction of the grave. Burning three or five sheets of paper outside the circle is called "sending out the evil spirits".

Some rich families to bring their families by car and sedan chair, in person to the graves to clean. Then to repair the grave, or symbolically add soil to the grave, but also in the upper side of the pressure of some paper money, so that others see, know that this grave still have descendants. After the festival, some people sit around and have a meal and drink wine; some people fly kites and even compete with each other in recreational activities. Women and children will also be close to the fold some willow branches, will be removed from the steamed food offerings with willow threaded up. Some of the willow woven into a wicker circle, wearing on the head, said "Qingming not wear willow, the next life into a yellow dog". This is a tomb and excursion, the party returned.

Willow It is said that the custom of willow, but also to commemorate the "teach people to harvest" of the agricultural ancestor Shen Nong's. In some places, people put the willow branches. In some places, people stick willow branches under the eaves to forecast the weather, the old proverb has "willow green, rainy; willow dry, sunny days" said. Huang Chao revolt stipulated that the "Qingming period, wearing a willow for the number". After the failure of the uprising, the custom of wearing willow was gradually eliminated, only the willows prevailed. Willow has a strong vitality, as the saying goes: "If you plant a flower, it will not grow; if you don't plant a flower, it will become a shade." Willow inserted into the soil on the living, inserted where, living where, year after year into the willow, everywhere into the shade.

Qingming Festival is a bright spring breeze, green trees. People in this day trekking, sweeping, graves. Everyone has to wear willow, and every family door inserted willow branches. Where did this custom come from? There's a legend about the Qingming Festival that it's related to Liu Yong, a great lyricist of the Song Dynasty. It is said that Liu Yong lived a debauched life, often traveling to the streets and alleys. The courtesans of the time loved his talent and were proud to be favored by him. However, because of his unruly life, Liu Yong was not allowed to pursue a career, and even though he won a bachelor's degree, he finally died in poverty in Xiangyang. His burial expenses were collected by the songstresses who admired him. Every year at the Qingming Festival, the singers went to his grave to insert willow branches in honor of him, and over time the custom of inserting willow at the Qingming Festival was established. In fact, this custom as early as in the Tang Dynasty. Tang people believe that March 3 in the riverside rituals, head wear willow branches can get rid of the harm of poisonous insects. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the custom of willow at Qingming Festival was very popular, and people came back from playing and traveling in front of their houses to avoid insects and epidemics. Whether it is folklore or historical records, the Qingming Festival willow is always associated with avoiding epidemics. Spring Festival The climate is warming up, all kinds of germs begin to reproduce, people in the case of poor medical conditions can only hope to shake the willow branches.

There is another way to say that the Qingming Festival willow willow: the original Chinese people to Qingming, July 30 and October Solstice for the three major ghosts, is the time of the ghosts out to discuss the claim. People in order to prevent the ghosts of the persecution of the infestation, and inserted willow wear willow. Willow in people's minds have the function of warding off evil spirits. Influenced by Buddhism, people believe that the willow can be but ghosts, and called "ghosts horror wood", Guan Shiyin to willow branches dipped in water to help all beings. Northern Wei JiaSiFu "qimin yaojutsu" said: "take the willow branch on the household, a hundred ghosts do not enter the house." Qingming is a ghost festival, at this time of year when the willow sprouting, people naturally have inserted willow wear willow to ward off evil spirits. The Han people had a custom of "folding the willow to give goodbye": Ba Bridge is located in the east of Chang'an, and it is used as a bridge across the water, so the Han people would fold the willow to give goodbye to their guests when they arrived at the bridge. Li Bai wrote, "The color of the willows makes Ba a sad place to say goodbye every year." On both sides of the Ba Bridge in Chang'an in ancient times, the embankment was ten miles long, with a willow at each step. People going east from Chang'an would often come here to say goodbye and break willow branches to bid farewell to their loved ones, as the word "willow" harmonizes with the word "stay" to express the meaning of staying. This custom first originated in the Book of Songs. Xiao Ya. Caiwei" in the "I used to go forward, the willows are still". With the parting gift of willow to express the hard to part, can not bear to part, the heart of love and reluctance to part. Willow is the symbol of spring, and the swaying willow in spring always gives people a sense of prosperity. The "parting of the willow" implies the wish that "spring will always be here". Ancient people sent off their loved ones by folding the willow, which is also a metaphor for their departure from the countryside, just like the willow that leaves its branches, hoping that it will quickly take root and sprout in a new place, just like the willow branches that can live anywhere. It is a kind of good wishes for friends. The poems of the ancients also mentioned a lot of willow bending to give goodbye. In the Tang Dynasty, Quan Deyi's poem reads, "The new acquaintance bends the willow to give it to him"; in the Song Dynasty, Jiang Baishi's poem reads, "I am afraid that there are no green willow branches on the road of farewell"; and in the Ming Dynasty, Guo Deng's poem reads, "Every year, I have been sending away people since long time ago, and I have broken all the willows by the roadside of the border city." In the Qing Dynasty, Chen Weisong wrote: "How many willow branches are left today? To be folded and gifted." People not only see the willow will cause parting sadness, even hear the "folding willow" song, will also touch the feelings of separation. Li Bai's "Hearing the flute in the city of Luo Cheng on a spring night": "When I hear the broken willow in the song on this night, I can't recall the feelings of the old garden." In fact, the willow tree can have a variety of symbolic meaning, the ancients gave the willow tree species. The first time I saw this, I was in the middle of the night.

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