The Origin and Legend of Tomb-Sweeping Day

Tomb-Sweeping Day is the biggest ancestor worship festival of the Chinese nation, which belongs to a traditional cultural festival of remembering ancestors, pursuing the future cautiously, and promoting filial piety. Tomb-Sweeping Day has a long history, which originated from the ancient Spring Festival.

Qingming has two connotations: nature and humanity. It is both a natural solar term and a traditional festival. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional major Spring Festival. It is a fine tradition left by the Chinese nation for thousands of years to sweep graves and remember our ancestors. It is not only conducive to promoting filial piety, awakening family memories, but also conducive to promoting the cohesion and identity of family members and even the nation.

Legend:

According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhong Er, the son of the Jin Dynasty, went into exile to escape persecution. On the way to exile, he was tired and hungry in a deserted place and couldn't stand up anymore. I searched for it for a long time, but I couldn't find anything to eat. When everyone was in a hurry, I pushed the minister to a quiet place, cut a piece of meat from his thigh and cooked a bowl of broth for the son to drink. Zhong Er gradually recovered his spirit. Zhong Er shed tears when he found that the meat was cut off by mesons pushing his legs.

Nineteen years later, Zhong Er became the monarch, that is, the historical Jin Wengong. After he ascended the throne, Wen Gong rewarded the heroes who accompanied him in exile at first, but forgot to push the meson. Many people complained about meson push and advised him to admire it. However, mesons despise those who strive for merit the most. He packed his bags and quietly went to Mianshan with his mother.

Hearing this, Jin Wengong was ashamed and personally took someone to ask Jiexiu, but Jiexiu had left home for Mianshan. Mianshan Mountain is high and dangerous, with dense trees. It's hard to find two people. Someone offered a plan to burn Mianshan from three sides and force a meson to push out. The fire burned all over Mianshan, but there was no trace of meson push. After the fire was put out, it was found that Jiezitui had sat under an old willow tree with his old mother on his back and died.

Jin Wengong cried. When I was buried, I found a bloody book in a tree hole, which said, "May my master be clear forever." In order to commemorate meson push, Jin Wengong ordered that this day be designated as "Cold Food Festival". The following year, Jin Wengong led ministers to climb mountains to pay homage. He found that the old willow was dead and resurrected, so he gave it the title of "Qingming Willow" and told the world, so he named the day after the Cold Food Festival "Tomb-Sweeping Day".