When did the Qingming Festival originate?

The Qingming Festival, also known as the Treading Green Festival, is celebrated at the intersection of mid-spring and late spring, on 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 . The traditional Qingming Festival of the Han Chinese 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, and trekking and picnicking are the basic themes.

Chingming was first just the name of a festival, and its transformation into a festival honoring ancestors was related to the Cold Food Festival. The day after the Cold Food Festival was designated as the Qingming Festival by the Duke of Jin. In most parts of Shanxi, the Cold Food Festival is celebrated one day before the Qingming Festival; in Yushe County and other places, the Cold Food Festival is celebrated two days before the Qingming Festival; and in Qiaqu County, the Cold Food Festival is celebrated one day before the Qingming Festival, and the Little Cold Food Festival is celebrated two days before that.

The Qingming Festival is one of China's important "eight festivals of the year", generally around April 5 in the Gregorian calendar, the festival is very long, there are 10 days before the 8 day and 10 days before the 10 day after the two said that this nearly 20 days are Qingming Festival. Qingming Festival originally refers to the fifteen days after the vernal equinox, in 1935 the Republic of China government explicitly set April 5 as a national holiday Qingming Festival, also called the National Tomb Sweeping Festival .

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

The origin of the Qingming Festival, according to legend, began in ancient times, the emperor and generals "tomb sacrifice" of the ceremony, and then the folk also follow suit, in this day to ancestral tomb, and has 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 to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. The Qingming Festival was approved by the State Council on May 20, 2006 to be included in the first national list of intangible cultural heritage.

The name of Qingming Festival is related to the characteristics of the weather at this time. In the Western Han Dynasty, "Huainanzi - Tianwenxun" said, "Fifteen days after the vernal equinox, when the bucket points to B, the wind of Qingming arrives." "Qingming wind" means fresh and clean wind. The "Hundred Questions on the Time of the Year" says, "Everything grows at this time, all clean and clear. Therefore, it is called Qingming." Although the festival of Qingming was only formed in the Tang Dynasty, the Qingming Festival as a sign of the time has long been recognized by the ancients, the Han Dynasty has been clearly recorded.

The twenty-four solar terms are the climatic patterns summarized by ancient Chinese astronomers and people in their lives and production practices, reflecting more appropriately the changes in temperature, physical conditions, rainfall and other aspects of the year, and providing indispensable guidance for people to arrange farming, sericulture, and other activities according to the time of the year. To the Qingming, warming temperatures, rainfall increased, is the spring plowing and planting of a good time. So Qingming is an important festival for ancient agricultural production. Farmers' proverbs said, "Before and after Qingming, planting melons and beans" and "Planting trees and forests is not more important than Qingming", which is exactly what they said. Cui Shi (崔寔) of the Eastern Han Dynasty recorded in "The Four People's Monthly Orders" that: "At the Qingming Festival, the silkworm concubines will be ordered to rule the silkworm rooms ------", which means that this is the time to start preparing for raising silkworms. The "Qingming Festival" is still a festival, not a holiday.

The Qingming Festival provides important conditions for the formation of the Qingming Festival customs in terms of time and weather characteristics, and the festival is regarded as one of the sources of the Qingming Festival.

Customs and Habits

Traditional Customs

In addition to forbidding fires and sweeping tombs, the Qingming Festival also includes a series of customary sports activities, such as trekking, swinging on swings, cuju, playing polo, and planting willows. Legend has it that this is because of the cold food festival to cold food ban fire, in order to prevent cold food cold food injury, so people come to participate in some sports activities to exercise. Qingming Festival, folk taboo make needle, taboo laundry, most areas of women avoid walking. Before evening, a gray line should be sprinkled in front of the gate, which is said to stop ghosts from entering the house. Therefore, this festival is characterized by both the sorrowful tears of parting with a new grave and the laughter of trekking and playing.

Swinging

This is an ancient Chinese Qingming Festival custom. Fifth Wang Renyu "Kaiyuan Tianbao remains" in the "Tianbao Palace to the Cold Food Festival even erected swing, so that the concubines play and laugh as a feast. The emperor called for the play of the half-century, the people in the city and thus called", the Song dynasty chancellor Wen Yanbo poem "cold food day through the Dragon Gate", the poem describes as "the bridge willow hanging green line, forest swing hanging colorful rope." Swing, meaning to migrate by holding the leather rope. Its history is very ancient, the earliest called Qianqiu, and then in order to avoid taboos, changed to swing. Ancient swing with branches for the frame, and then tied to the ribbon made. Later, it gradually developed into a swing with two ropes and a pedal. Swinging can not only improve health, but also cultivate the spirit of bravery, and is still loved by people, especially children.

Cuju

Cuju is a kind of leather ball, made of leather and stuffed with wool. Cuju is to kick the ball with the foot. It is a favorite game in ancient times during the Qingming Festival. It is said to have been invented by the Yellow Emperor, and its original purpose was to train warriors. Playing polo is also one of the plays of Dragon Boat Festival. Polo, is riding on a horse, holding a stick to play ball, the ancient name for bowing. Cao Zhi of the Three Kingdoms wrote in his "The Name of the City" the phrase "even playing with a bow". Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, there is a wide field, Emperor Xuanzong, Jingzong and other emperors like polo. Zhanghuai Prince's tomb in the "polo", painted the Tang Dynasty polo flourished: painting, more than 20 horses galloped, horse tail tied up, the ball player head 幞巾, foot foot boots, holding the ball staff by the ball hit each other. Analyzing the Jin Zhi records that Liao played polo as a traditional custom of the festival, in the Dragon Boat Festival and the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. Jin Shi - Rites of the record also recorded Jin people in the Dragon Boat Festival. Song dynasty "playing ball music" dance team. To the Ming Dynasty, polo is still popular. Continuing the literature general ko - music ko" recorded that Ming chengzu had several times to the east garden batting, shooting willow. Ming dynasty "xuanzong walking map" scroll painted in xuanzong appreciate the scene of polo. Wang Zhi, an official at that time, wrote a poem about watching polo on the Dragon Boat Festival: "Jade Le Thousand Gold Horses, Carved Seven Treasure Balls. The bridle flew in surprise at the lightning, and the ball felt the stars flowing. The Yan page has become three successes, and the first chip has been passed on with great joy. Celebration of clouds with the feet of escape, dazzled by the east end of the temple." Beijing Baiyunguan also has a mass of horseback riding in front of the batting ceremony. In the Qing Dynasty, there was also polo around the Temple of Heaven until the middle of the Qing Dynasty, when polo disappeared. 1965 saw the emergence of antique polo in the city of Xi'an, which made this ancient sport reappear on Chinese soil after many years of extinction.

Trekking

Also called spring tour. In ancient times, it was called exploring spring, searching for spring. Qingming in April, spring back to the earth, the natural world everywhere presents a vibrant scene, it is a great time for excursions. Chinese folk have long maintained the Qingming trekking habit.

Tree planting

Before and after the Qingming Festival, the spring sun shines and the spring rain falls, planting saplings with a high survival rate and fast growth. Therefore, since ancient times, China has had the custom of planting trees at Qingming. Some people also call the Qingming Festival "Tree Planting Day". The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day. The custom of planting trees on Qingming Day began with the custom of wearing and inserting willows on Qingming Day. There are three kinds of legends about the willow planting at Qingming. The oldest legend says that it was done in honor of Shennong, the ancestor who taught people how to gather crops and farm, and later developed the meaning of praying for longevity. A later legend is related to Jie Zi Tui. It is said that when Duke Wen of Jin led his ministers to climb the mountain to pay homage to Jie Zi Tui, he found that the old willow tree that Jie Zi Tui had leaned on before his death had risen from the dead, so he gave the old willow tree the name of "Qingming Willow". A later legend has it that Emperor Tang Taizong gave his minister a willow circle to show his blessing and drive away epidemics.

Flying kites

Flying kites is also a favorite activity during the Qingming Festival. During the Qingming Festival, people not only fly kites during the day, but also at night. At night, a string of small colorful lanterns are hung under the kite or on the wind steady pulling line, like twinkling stars, which are called "divine lanterns". In the past, some people put the kite on the blue sky, then cut the line, let the wind send them to the end of the world, it is said that this can get rid of disease and bring good luck to themselves.

Tomb-sweeping

Tomb-sweeping at Ching Ming is said to be "thinking of the time of respect" for ancestors. The 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, which fill the roads with charm. 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. And it has been passed down to this day. Qingming sweeping ceremony 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 to sweeping also makes a difference. The main form of ancestor worship is the "burning of baggage". The so-called "package," also known as "parcel," refers to the parcel that a filial son sends to the "netherworld" from the earthly world. In the past, the so-called "baggage skin" was sold in the southern paper store, i.e. a big 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 the print a rosette tablet, used to write on the district number of the deceased's name, such as: "the late Zhang Fujun taboo Yunshan boss man" words, both the mailbag and tablet. Another is a plain wrapping skin, do not print any pattern, the center only stick a blue sticker, write the name of the deceased can be. Also do the main card. There are many kinds of medieval money in the baggage.

Plugging willow

Ching Ming Festival, Chinese folk custom of plugging willow. Experts said that the Qingming willow custom, its source of the prevalence of three sayings. Zhao Zhiheng, director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society, said that the custom of inserting willows is to

commemorate the agricultural ancestor Shen Nong's "teaching people to harvest". In some places, people put willow branches under the eaves of the house to forecast the weather, the old proverb "willow green, rainy; willow dry, sunny days". Willow has a strong vitality, as the saying goes, "You plant flowers do not grow, do not want to willow into a shade." Willow inserted into the soil on the living, inserted where, living where, year after year, willow, everywhere into the shade.

There is another way of saying that the Chinese people regard Ching Ming, July 30th and October 1st as the three major ghost festivals. Qingming Festival is the ghosts frequent, claiming much of the season. Influenced by Buddhism, Guan Shiyin holding a willow branch dipped in water, many people believe that willow has the role of repelling ghosts and evil spirits, the willow branch called "ghosts and horrors of wood". Northern Wei JiaSiFu "qimin yaojutsu" wrote: "take willow branches on the household, the ghosts do not enter the home." Since Qingming is a ghost festival, the willow sprouting season, people will have inserted willow wear willow to ward off evil spirits.

Another theory is that this custom is in honor of Jie Zi Tui. Jie Zi Tui burned himself under the willow tree in order to show his determination to keep his honor, which made the Duke of Jin and his ministers and the people of Jin feel very painful. The next year, when Duke Wen of Jin climbed up the mountain to pay homage to Jie Zi Tui, he found that the old willow tree, which had been burnt down that year, had actually come back from the dead. Duke Wen of Jin gave the old willow tree the name of "Qingming Willow", and broke off a few willow branches and put them on his head to show his nostalgia. From then on, the ministers and people followed suit, and it became a custom. Willow wearing willow at Qingming has become a symbol of commemorating Jie Zi Tui.

Shooting willow

Shooting willow is a game to practice archery skills. According to the Ming Dynasty, it is to put pigeons in a gourd, then hang the gourd high on a willow tree, bend the bow and shoot the gourd, the pigeons fly out, and the height of the pigeons fly to determine the winner.

Cockfighting

Cockfighting games were prevalent in the ancient Qingming, cockfighting started by the Qingming, fighting until the summer solstice. The earliest record of cockfighting in China can be found in Zuo Zhuan (左传). To the Tang Dynasty, cockfighting became a trend, not only is the civil cockfighting, even the emperor also participated in cockfighting. For example, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Xuanzong liked cockfighting the most.

Silkworms will

"Silkworms will be" is a unique folk culture of the Silkworm Township, in the past during the Ching Ming Festival, Wutong, Wuzhen, Chongfu, Chauquan and other places have this folk activity. Among them to Chauquan's Maming Temple and Qingshi's double temple of silkworms will be the most exciting and grand. Maming Temple is located in Chauquan town west, in the local "king of the temple" said, every year silkworms will be a sea of people, frequent activities, there are welcome silkworm god, shake the fast boat, haunted the pavilion, worship incense stool, boxing, dragon lanterns, warping Gorgon, singing opera and other more than a dozen activities. Some of these activities are carried out on the shore, and the vast majority of them are carried out on the boat, which is very characteristic of the water town.

Seasonal food due to the relationship between the Cold Food Festival and the Qingming Festival combined into one, some places still retain the custom of eating cold food on the Qingming Festival.

In Shandong, Jimo eat eggs and cold biscuits, Laiyang, Zhaoyuan, Changdao eat eggs and cold sorghum rice, it is said that if you do not, you will be hail. Tai'an eat cold pancakes rolled raw bitter vegetables, said to eat the eyes bright. The area around Jinzhong still retains the custom of banning fires the day before Qingming.

In many places, sacrificial food is divided and eaten after the completion of the ritual. Jinnan people over the Qingming, it is customary to steam a large steamed bun with white flour, sandwiched between walnuts, jujube, beans, the outside of the disk into the shape of a dragon, the dragon in the middle of the body of an egg, called "Zifu". To steam a very large total "Zifu", symbolizing family reunion and happiness. When visiting the graves, the total "Zifu" is offered to the ancestral spirits, and the whole family shares it after sweeping the graves.

Shanghai's old custom is to use willow sticks to run through the steamed cakes used in the festival, dry them out and store them, and then fry them on the day of the first day of summer and give them to the children to eat, which is said to be free from summer-resistance disease.

Shanghai Qingming Festival, there is a custom of eating green dumplings. The grass juice and glutinous rice will be pounded together, so that the green juice and rice flour are integrated with each other, and then wrapped with bean paste, jujube paste and other fillings, with a reed leaf bottom, and put into the steamer. Steamed out of the cage of green dumplings bright green color, aroma, is the local Qingming Festival is the most distinctive seasonal food. Some people in Shanghai also love to eat peach blossom congee on Qingming Festival, and they love to use swordfish in grave sweeping and family banquets.

In Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, the Qingming Festival, family wrapped zongzi, can be used for the grave offerings, but also can be done to bring dry food trekking. As the saying goes, "Qingming dumplings are stable and firm." Before and after the Qingming Festival, snail fat. As the saying goes: "Qingming snail, race only goose." Farmers have the habit of eating snails at Ching Ming, this day with a needle to pick out the snail meat cooking, called "picking green". After eating the snail shells thrown to the roof, it is said that the rolling sound on the roof tiles can scare away rats, conducive to sericulture after Qingming. On the day of Ching Ming Festival, there is also a social wine. People of the same ancestral temple get together for a meal. For those who do not have an ancestral shrine, the grandchildren of each house under the same ancestor usually gather together for a meal. Social wine dishes, meat to fish and meat-based, vegetarian tofu and vegetables-based, wine to home brew sweet white wine-based.

Tongxiang Heshan Town, Zhejiang Province, there is a "Ching Ming is like a year," said the Ching Ming night importance of the family reunion to eat dinner, the table is not without a few traditional dishes: fried snails, glutinous rice embedded in the lotus root, sprouting beans, Malan head, etc. These dishes are related to silkworms. These dishes are all related to sericulture. If you throw leftover snail shells into the house, the sound is said to scare away mice, and caterpillars will burrow into the shells to make nests and stop coming out to harass the silkworms.

Eating lotus root is to wish the silkworms to spit out silk often and well. Eating sprouted beans is a good way to get the word "Haijia". Eating seasonal vegetables such as marjoram, is to take its "green" character, in order to "Qingming" of the "green".

Ching Ming poetry appreciation

Ching Ming Festival is a major traditional festival, Qingming Festival rain has been added to the strong poetry and distant colors. Even if the ancients were far away from the capital as an official, every Qingming Festival will be galloping to ancestral graves. Literati and writers also casually waved the tip of the brush, will Qingming a grass, a tree, a flower, a world, depicted to the fullest. There is no lack of strong feelings of nostalgia for loved ones, or the leisurely expression of Qingming trekking. What are the other poems of the Qingming Festival? The first thing you need to do is to get a good understanding of the meaning of the word "qingming" and the meaning of the word "qingming" in the Chinese language.

1, the Qingming Festival verses - "Qingming" Du Mu

The rain falls one after another at the time of the Qingming Festival, and the people on the road want to break their souls.

When I ask where the tavern is, the shepherd boy points to the village of apricot blossoms.

2. A poem of Qingming Festival - "Cold Eclipse" Han Jianzheng (Chinese Super League Championship (CSL))

There is no place where flowers don't fly in the spring city, and the east wind of the cold eclipse makes the willows slant.

The candles were passed to the Han Palace at sunset, and the smoke was scattered into the houses of the five feudal lords

3. The Qingming Festival--"Qingming" by Wang Yucheng

Without flowers and wine, the Qingming Festival is like a wild monk in a depressed mood.

Yesterday, the neighbors begged for a new fire, and the window was divided into reading lamps.

4, the Qingming Festival poem - "the sky has a neon" Liu Xiaofeng

peach blossom pink apricot blossom white, rain hit the flower branch tree tree open;

pedestrian face quietly down, a few graves cry mournful.

5, Ching Ming Festival poem - "Su Causeway Ching Ming that is the case" Wu Weixin

Pear blossom wind is Ching Ming, travelers looking for spring half out of the city.

The day after sunset, the song was packed away, and ten thousand willows belonged to the warblers.

6, Qingming Festival poem - "Qingming Day" Wen Tingyun

Qing'e painting fan, spring tree Yu Jin red. The first time I saw this, I was in the middle of a painting fan, and the spring trees were all red.

The horse is proud to avoid the curtains of the carriage, and the chicken is afraid to open the cage at first. The Cudgel is the most important of all, and the oriole is the only one that can be found in the old palace.

7, the Qingming Festival poem - "Qingming that is" Meng Haoran

Dili heavy Qingming, the hearts of people from the sadness.

The sound of the car on the road together, the color of the willow east of the city green.

Flowers and grasses grow together, and warblers and butterflies play together.

This is the first time I've ever been to a place where I've had to sit and remember, and I've had to drink tea to get drunk.

8, the Qingming Festival poem - "Qingming Day Qujiang Huaiyou" hidden

Jun and Tian Su that is the old tour, I in the intersection of points is also silk.

They have been separated from each other for two years, and they are all sad and lonely.

The gulls and birds seem to be able to be physically together, and the apricot blossoms are suspected of wanting to accompany people's sorrows.

Widowed wives and children should be cold food, looking at Jiangling a tear flow.

9, Qingming Festival poem - "Qingming Day memory of the brother" Wei Yingwu

Cold food party sick, open lapel a Xinran.

Finally, I think of the old county, the smoke and fire full of clear river.

The apricot gruel is still edible, and the elm soup has been slightly fried.

It's a pity that I'm not a good friend of mine, and I'm not going to spend my time here.

10, the Qingming Festival poem - "Lvmen that is the case" Zhang Ji

The plowman called for the love of the building boat, spring grass green ten thousand fields;

Try to go to the Wu Gate to spy on the county Guo, the Qingming a few places have a new smoke.

11, the Qingming Festival poem - "Qingjiang cited Qingming Day outing" Wang Pan

asked the west building of the smoke ban where good? The green field and clear sky road.

Horses through the willow hissing, people leaning on the swing laughing, explore the warbler flowers always teach spring drunkenness.

12, Qingming Festival poem - "Chang'an Qingming" Wei Zhuang

The flea is hurt spring dream rain day, can be more luxuriant grass.

The first time an official gives a fire to the Qingming Festival, the last phase of the leisure to share the money of the white hit.

They are the first to be able to do so, and they are the first to be able to do so, and they are the first to be able to do so.

The tourists remembered that the peace was made, and they were glad that the scenery was like the old days