What is Qingming Festival and how is it observed?

Tomb-Sweeping China’sQingmingFestival,ExplainedAnneMeredithApril1,2022ChineseHolidaysQingmingFestival(清明节orQīngmíngjiéinpīnyīn),alsocalledTombSweepingDayorPureBrightnessFestival,isanimportanttraditionalChineseholiday.ThefestivaliscelebratedbothinChinaandamongmembersofChinesecommunitiesaroundtheworld.Themainactivitythatpeopleengageinonthisdayiscleaningthetombsoftheirancestors. Theholidayiscelebrated15daysaftertheSpringEquinox,usuallybetweenApril3rdandApril5th.LikemanyChineseholidays,itsdateiscalculatedusingtheChineselunarcalendar.Whilethedateoftheholidaychangesslightlyeveryyear,itgenerallyfallsinearlyApril.TombSweepingDayisanofficialpublicholidayinmainlandChina,andpeoplearenormallygivenonedayoffnotcountingweekends. TableofContentsHowdidtheQingmingFestivaloriginate?WhatdopeopledoduringQingmingFestival?Tomb-SweepingLeaveOfferingstoAncestorsSpringOutingsKiteFlyingWhatdopeopleeatduringQingmingFestival?KeepingtheTraditionGoingChineseVocabularyforQingmingFestival HowdidtheQingmingFestivaloriginate? TheQingmingFestivalgrewoutofanancientChinesefestivalcalled寒食节(Hánshíjié),generallyreferredtoinEnglishasHanshiFestivalortheColdFoodFestival.TheHanshiFestivalitselfwasoriginallycelebratedtocommemorateJieZitui,aChinesenoblemanoftheSpringandAutumnPeriod(around771BCto476BC).JieZituiwasaloyalfollowerofDukeWenofJin.Atonepointwhenthedukewasgoingthroughhardtimes,JieZituicutsomefleshfromhisownthighandcookeditfortheduketokeephimfromstarving. DukeWen WhenDukeWeneventuallycametopoweryearslater,hesentforJieZitui,whowaslivingalonelylifeasapoormaninthewoodsnearMt.MianinShanxiProvince.JieZituiwasuninterestedintakingupaplaceingovernment,whichhesawascorrupt,andsoheignoredthesummons. InordertoforceJieZituitorespond,DukeWendecidedtosetaforestfiretosmokehimout.Unfortunately,however,JieZituiandhismotherwerekilledinthefire.FeelingremorsefuloverJieZitui’suntimelydeath,DukeWendecreedthattheuseoffirewouldbebannedforseveraldaystocommemoratehissacrifice. JieZitui(Thefront) Overtheyears,thistraditionofgoingwithoutfire,andthuseatingcoldfood,spreadthroughsurroundingregionsandgrewinpopularity.Earlyon,HanshiFestivalwascelebratedinwinterandcouldlastuptoonemonthinsomeplaces. Whenitwasdiscoveredthateatingcoldfoodforanentiremonthinthedeadofwinterwascausingmultiplepeopletodieeachyear,however,authoritiestriedtobanthefestival,buttheywereoftenunsuccessfulandthetraditioncontinued.Eventually,theauthoritiesmovedthefestivalfromwintertospring. Overtime,itstraditionsweregraduallyconflatedwiththoseofQingmingFestival.TheHanshiFestivalisrarelycelebratedasaseparatefestivaltoday,butitlivesoninthetraditionofnoteatingcookedfoodduringQingmingFestival. WhatdopeopledoduringQingmingFestival? QingmingFestivalisoftenreferredtoasTombSweepingDayinEnglishandthisnamemakessenseconsideringthefactthattombsweepingisthemostimportantactivitythatpeopleengageinonthisholiday.Inadditiontocleaningtheirancestors’tombsandmakingofferingstothedead,peoplealsogoonoutingstoenjoynature,flykitesandeatspecialfoodsduringthistime. Tomb-Sweeping Tombsweeping,or扫墓(sǎomù)inChinese,isseenasawaytoshowrespecttoone’sancestors.ThepracticeiscloselyconnectedwithChinesetraditionsrelatedtofilialpietyandancestorworship.Tendingtothetombsofone’sancestorsisaveryimportantpartoftheQingmingholidaybutsinceburialpracticesintheChinesecountrysideareverydifferentfromthoseinthecities,theprocessofcleaningtheancestors’tombsisdifferentdependingonwhereonelives. Inthecountryside,Chinesetombshavechangedverylittleovertheyears.Mostarenotlocatedinagraveyard.Instead,theyareoftenlocatedinanauspiciousplacewithgood风水fēngshui,usuallyonthesideofahilloramountain. Thebodiesofthedeadareburiedinthegroundinsteadofbeingcremated.Often,alltherelativesinonefamilygroupwillbeburiedneareachother.Ifafamilyisnotwell-off,thetombsmaysimplybelargeunmarkedmoundsofdirt.Inwealthierfamilies,therewilloftenbealargeearthburialmoundwithaflatsemi-circularareainfrontofitthathasbeencementedover. Inthebackportionofthesemi-circle,therewillusuallybearaisedwallofcementwitharectangularstoneinthecenteronwhichinformationaboutthedeceasediscarved.Usuallytherearenofree-standingtombstoneslikethoseseenintheWest. Becauseofthelocationoftheburialmounds,cleaningfamilytombsinthecountrysidecanbequiteanundertaking.Itisoftennecessarytoclimbupamountaintogettothegraves.Inaddition,thedirtgravemoundsonthemountainsidesoftenbecomenearlyovergrownwithunderbrush,whichneedstobecleared.Dependingonhowlongit’sbeensincethetombwaslastcleaned,thisisoftenabigjobthatinvolveshackingattheweedswithmachetes. Whenfamiliesarewealthierandhavebeenabletopayforcementcoveringsfortheirburialmounds,theprocessofcleaningthetombsisusuallymucheasier.Insteadofchoppingatstubbornunderbrush,relativesmaysimplyneedtosweepawayaccumulateddeadleavesanddirt. InmanypartsofChina,includingsomepartsofthecountryside,itisnowillegaltoburyrelativesinthetraditionalway.Inabidtoconservelandresources,thegovernmenthasevencarriedoutcoffin-smashingcampaignsinvariouspartsofChinainanattempttogetpeopletocrematetheirdeceasedrelativesinstead. Whilemanypeopleinisolatedpartsofthecountrysidestillfindwaystoavoidbansontraditionalburial,almosteveryoneinthecitiesnowoptsforcremation. Burialplotsinthecitiesareusuallyquitecompact.Therearenomoundsandoften,nograssatall.Instead,rowafterrowofstonetabletsareusuallyconstructedwithconcretepathsrunningbetweenthem.Aturbancemeterieslikethis,verylittlegravemaintenanceisrequired. LeaveOfferingstoAncestors Inthecountryside,oncethegravesarecleared,offeringsareusuallyplacedatthefootoftheburialmoundsoronthesemi-circleofcementinfrontofthosegravesthathavebeencementedover. Whatisleftasanofferingvariesbyfamilyandbyregion.AtypicalofferinginruralHunan,forexample,mightconsistofabowlofricewithchopsticks,aplasticcupofthestrongChineseliquorknownas白酒(báijiǔ),andachickenheadorotherpieceofmeat. Oncetheofferinghasbeenplacedinfrontofthetomb,familymemberssetofffirecrackers(鞭炮biānpào)andburnincense(香xiāng)andpaperhellmoney(冥钞míngchāo).Firecrackersarenowbannedinmostcities,soonoraroundtheQingmingFestival,relativesofthosewhoareburiedincitiesmaysimplyvisitthegraves,burnsomeincenseandleavesomeflowers. SpringOutings Afterpayingrespecttotheancestorsbycleaningtheirtombs,manypeoplewillthenspendsometimeoutdoorsenjoyingnaturewhileparticipatinginspringoutings,knownas踏青(tàqīng).SinceQingmingFestivalfallsinearlyspringeveryyear,itusuallycoincideswithsomeofthefirstwarmdaysoftheyear.Peoplewhoseancestorsareburiedinthecityorthosewholiveincitiesandhavenothadtimetotravelbacktothecountrysidetovisittheirancestors’graveswilloftenheadtoaparkorotherplacewheretheycanspendtimeinnature. KiteFlying AnotherpopularQingmingactivityiskite-flying.Whilethisisapopularactivityduring踏青(tàqīng)outings,peoplealsoflykitesintheeveningduringQingmingFestival.Coloredlanternsareoftenattachedtokitesintheeveningsothattheytwinkleastheytravelthroughthesky. Traditionally,peoplebelievethattheycanincreasetheirchancesofhavinggoodluckbycuttingthestringsoftheirkitesandlettingthemfloatawayinsteadofreelingthembackin.Kitesreleasedinthiswayarethoughttocarrypeople’smisfortunesawaywiththemintothesky. WhatdopeopleeatduringQingmingFestival? Asdiscussedearlier,becauseoftheholiday’searlyassociationswiththeColdFoodFestival,or寒食节(Hánshíjié),peopletraditionallyonlyeatcoldfoodduringQingmingFestival.WhilecelebratingtheholidayinsouthernChina,peopleusuallyeat青团(qīngtuán),whichareround,stickyandslightlysweetgreendumplingsmadewithglutinousriceandeitherbarleygrassorChinesemugwort.Thedumplingsareoftenstuffedwithsomesortoffillingsuchassweetredbeanpaste. Inboththenorthandthesouthofthecountry,itisalsopopulartoeat馓子(sǎnzi).Thesearedeepfriedsaltydoughtwistswhicharecookedinadvanceandallowedtocoolanddry.Becauseeachcrunchytwistismadeupofmultiplethinstrandsofdough,each馓子(sǎnzi)looksratherlikeabunchofspaghetti.Theyareeatencoldandareoftenseasonedwithsesameseeds. KeepingtheTraditionGoing QingmingFestivalremainsanimportantholidayinChina,providingmanypeoplewiththechancetopaytheirrespectstotheirancestorsandspendtimeenjoyingthegreatoutdoors. IfyouareinChinaduringthistime,keepinmindthatsinceQingmingFestivalisalsoatimetocelebratethearrivalofspring,it’spossibletocelebrateitevenifyoucan’tvisityourrelatives’tombs.Instead,considermarkingtheholidaybysamplingsometraditionalQingmingfoodslike青团(qīngtuán)ortakingadvantageofthewarmweathertoheadtothecountrysidetoenjoynature. InterestedinfindingoutmoreaboutancientChinesefestivalsthathavestoodthetestoftime?CheckoutourarticlesontheChineseSummerSolsticeortheDragonBoatFestivaltolearnmore. ChineseVocabularyforQingmingFestival CharacterPinyinDefinition 清明节QīngmíngjiéQingmingFestival;TombSweepingDay;PureBrightnessFestival 寒食节HánshíjiéHanshiFestival;ColdFoodFestival 扫墓sǎomùsweepagrave 风水fēngshuǐfengshui;geomancy 白酒báijiǔstrongChinesealcoholicdrinkdistilledfromsorghumormaize 鞭炮biānpàofirecrackers 香xiāngincense 冥钞míngchāohellmoney 踏青tàqīngspringouting 青团qīngtuánsweetgreenChinesedumplings 馓子sǎnzideep-frieddoughtwists 春天chūntiānspring 节日jiérìholiday;festival Free30-minuteTrialLessonFree30-minuteTrialLesson ContinueExploring ChineseHolidays WhatisChineseLaborDay(劳动节Láodòngjié)andhowisitcelebrated? ChineseHolidays WhatisInternationalWomen'sDayandhowisitcelebratedinChina? ChineseHolidays WhatistheChineseWinterSolsticeFestival(冬至)andhowisitcelebrated? ChineseHolidays WhatistheChinesesummersolstice(夏至)andhowisitcelebrated? 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