The origin of the story of the Qingming Festival

"When the swallows come to the new society, the pear blossoms fall behind the Qingming." We all know that Qingming Festival is a festival to honor our ancestors, and on this day, unless there is something very important, we have to go home to sweep the graves. However, do you know the origin story of Qingming Festival?

The origin of Qingming Festival

The traditional Qingming Festival in China began around the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years. At the beginning of the Qingming Festival, it was a very important festival. Once the Qingming Festival arrived, the temperature rose, and it was a good time for spring plowing and planting, so there were agricultural proverbs that said, "Before and after the Qingming Festival, you should plant melons and beans," and "Planting trees and forests, don't go past the Qingming Festival".

Later, due to the Qingming and cold food days close, and cold food is the folk ban on fire sweeping days, gradually, cold food and Qingming on the one, and cold food has become the alias of the Qingming, but also into the Qingming festival for a custom, Qingming day does not move the fireworks, only to eat cold food.

And, there is another legend about the origin of the Qingming Festival: the cutting of stocks to feed the hungry.

The origin story of Qingming Festival

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the consort of Duke Xian of Jin tried to murder the current crown prince Shen Sheng in order to make his son Xi Qi succeed the throne, and Shen Sheng was forced to commit suicide. His brother Chong Er escaped to avoid being killed. There were many people who followed him, but most of them left him in the end. There was one courtier named Jie Zi Tui who was very simple and honest. Once, when Chong Er was starving, Jie Zi Pui cut off the flesh from his own thigh and roasted it for Chong Er to eat.

After his reign, Duke Wen of Jin rewarded all his servants who had suffered with him, but he left Jie Zi Pui behind. Finally, one day, someone in the ear of the Duke of Jin Wen mentioned jie zi push, he thought, heart full of shame, they asked people to hurry to let him into the palace to be rewarded, but the messenger went a few times jie zi push still did not come. Later, Duke Wen of Jin went to the house of Jie Zi Tui in person, but Jie Zi Tui was not willing to see him. Some people gave an idea: set fire to the mountain, leaving only one escape route, so that he would definitely come out.

But the fire burned for three days and three nights, and no one saw Jie Zi push out, so they had to go up the mountain to see, but the scene in front of them stunned everyone, Jie Zi push and his mother were burned to death under a willow tree. So Duke Wen of Jin buried them under this willow tree.

From that day on, Duke Wen of Jin designated that day as the Cold Food Festival, which we now call "Qingming Festival". On that day, all the people in the country had to eat mainly cold food, such as "Qingming kuey teow, Qingming fruit, Qingming poo, green dumplings, Qingming cakes. And it is forbidden to burn fire and only eat pre-cooked food.

This is what I know about the origin story of Qingming Festival, nowadays, every Qingming Festival, the family has to insert willow, and adults will take us children to sweep the tomb.