Your Guide To Taiwan's Tomb Sweeping Day 2020

Tomb Sweeping Day takes place 15 days after the spring equinox, which usually means April 4, 5, or 6 if you're not an astronomer. Though it's ... CorporateInfoABOUTUSWhatWeDoOurTeamBRANDSTheNewsLenseverylittled.INSIDESportsVisionCool3cAgentMovieBecomingAcesOHSOWOWBusinessYeeProgramSERVICEAd2TaketlaTNLResearchCr.EDSharePartyDaEXS.CIMCADVERTISEWITHUSContentMarketing&AdsPartnershipCooperatewithoriginalcontent＆contentmediaWORKWITHUSNEWS日本版New中文 2020/04/03,LifestylePhotoCredit:CNASebMorganSebMorganisawriterandeditorbasedinTaipei,hespecializesindrinking,dining,travel,andqueernews.Overthepastfewyears,he'scoveredthelatestgoingoninEastAsiaforthelikesofTimeOut,HotelsCombined,andTaiwanScene.Happinessforhimisabowlofcoldsesamenoodlesoradipinthehotsprings.Hehopestoonedayenjoybothatthesametime. MoreSubscribeAddtoFavoriteTombSweepingDay,orQingmingFestival,isoneoftheworld’soldestcontinuallycelebratedholidays.It’sanationalholidayinTaiwanandared-letterdaythroughoutEastAsia.Butunlike,say,LunarNewYear,itdoesn’toccupyacentralplaceinculturaloutsiders’understandingofHanculture.Changesinthetraditionalpracticesduetothecoronavirusepidemicprovideanoccasiontoask:What,infact,isobserved,andwhy?WhenisTombSweepingDay?TombSweepingDaytakesplace15daysafterthespringequinox,whichusuallymeansApril4,5,or6ifyou’renotanastronomer.Thoughit'soneofHanChineseculture’sfourmajorfestivals,TombSweepingDayisTaiwan’sonlytraditionalholidaythatdoesnotfollowtheLunarcalendar.ThisisbecauseitisbothaholidayandoneofthetraditionalChinesecalendar’s24Solarterms,ormini-seasons.Historically,itwasseenasthebeginningofspring,thebesttimetobreedlivestock.AccordingtoHan-dynastyscholars,thefestivalisalsoprimedatingseason—thoughthat’snothowyou’llseepeopleobservingittoday.  HowDidItAllBegin?TraditionholdsthatitstartedwithDukeWenofJin.DukeWen,anexiledrulerfromthe6th-centuryB.C.,wassavedfromstarvationbyaself-mutilatingnoblemanwhofedhimsoupmadeofmeatfromhisownleg.Afterthedukewasrestoredtohisthronemanyyearslater,hesoughtoutthedie-hardloyal,hopingtorepayhimforhissacrifice.Theonlyproblemwasthatthenoblemanhadsinceretiredtoaremotemountain.《晉文公復國圖》｜PhotoCredit:李唐@WikiPublicDomainDukeWenofJinRecoveringHisStatebyLiTang,1140TheDuke,amanofuncommonwillpower,decidedtosmokeoutthepoormanbyhavinghisguardssetthemountainablaze.Whenthisunrealisticplaninadvertentlyresultedinthedeathofboththenoblemanandhiselderlymother,DukeWendeclaredthatnooneshouldeathotfoodontheanniversaryofthetragedy.ThetraditionofeatingcoldfoodonTombSweepingDaycontinuestothisday.Tomb-sweepingdidn’tcometobeassociatedwiththefestivaluntilthousandsofyearslaterduringtheTangDynasty.EmperorXuanzong,miffedthathissubjectswerespendingmoretimeorchestratingelaboratememorialritualsthanengaginginmoreproductivelabor,consolidatedallofthememorialritualsintoasinglefestivalbydesignatingTombSweepingDayastheofficialcalendardatetovisitancestraltombs. HowisTombSweepingDayCelebratedToday?ThoughEmperorXuanzongwasmoreinterestedinincreasingproductivity,tomb-sweepingremainsthemostimportantritualactofthefestival.InTaiwan,familiesreturntotheirancestraltombstoclearawaydeadgrass,repackanyloosesoil,andmakeofferingstothedeceased.Fruit,rice,andflowersareallconsideredappropriate—someoftheritualofferingsareevenbaggedandtakenhomebythefamilyoncetheritualhasbeencompleted.PhotoCredit:CNA TombSweepingDaycrowdsinTaiwanhavedeclinednoticeablyduringtheCovid-19outbreak,April2,2020.Prayersarealsoanimportantpartoftheproceedings.Customcallsforasmallfiretobelitinfrontofthetomb,afterwhichfamilymemberseachsayafewwordsinmemoryofthedeceasedandgivethankstotheEarthGodfortakingcareofthegravesite.Mostfamiliesensuretheirforebearsarewellcaredforintheafterlifebyburningspecialsheetsofghostmoneyorzhizha—papermodelsofthepossessionstheywouldhavecherishedinlife.Zhizha-makingisacraftofitsown,andfortherightprice,familiescanorderreplicasofanythingtheirrelativesmightneedintheafterlife,fromping-pongtablestogeneration-specificiPhones.Do’sandDon’tsPartofthetraditionalbeliefsystemistheideathatTaiwanesegraveyardsarehauntedbyhungryspiritswhomightlatchontoanyonewhodoesn’tproperlyfollowtheritesofmemorialization.Theseincludehowthefoodshouldbepresented,whoshouldvisitthetomb,andwhatcolorsobservantsshouldwear—dressguidelinesadviseplainneutrals(wanderingspiritsarebigfansofblackandbrightcolors).Afterleavingthesite,manybelieveitbesttostepoverasmallfiretoensurethatnoneoftheghostshavefollowedobservantshome.Ifyoudon’thaveasmallfirehandy,soakinginabathinfusedwithflowerpetalsorpomeloleavesisjustaseffective—aswellasalovelywaytounwind. Covid-19InspiresVirtualTombSweeping Withthepandemicstillloominglarge,theTaiwanesegovernmentispromotingamoresubduedapproachtoTombSweepingDaythisyear.Familieswillstillbeallowedtovisitgravesitesbutshoulddososmallergroupsoroutsideoftheusualritualdates.PhotoCredit:CNAObservantsarrivingtoworshipinadvanceofTombSweepingDay,March28,2020. Toencouragepeopletostayhome,mostmajorcitieshavesetupdedicatedonlineportalsinwhichobserverscanviewimagesoftheirlovedonesandperformritualofferingsinfrontoftheircomputerscreens.WithTombSweepingDaycontinuingevenundertheseextraordinarycircumstances,it’seasytounderstandhowthissolemntraditionhassurvivedthroughtheages.READNEXT:HowDoTaiwan'sCoronavirusHotlineandQuarantineSystemWork? TNLEditor:NicholasHaggerty(@thenewslensintl)Ifyouenjoyedthisarticleandwanttoreceivemorestoryupdatesinyournewsfeed,pleasebesuretofollowourFacebook.TheNewsLensInternationalEdition TheNewsLensInternationalEditionTags：COVID-19TombSweepingDaytombsweepingfestival清明節