Clear&bright wind arrives, ancestors worship, outing popular

A ceremony paying tribute to Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, the legendary primogenitor of ancient China, was held on Mount Huangshan, China’s Anhui Province on Apr 2, to mark China’s Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, which falls on Apr 5.

Not only to worship the Yellow Emperor, but also to worship ancestors during the Qingming Festival is a traditional custom for Chinese people at home and abroad to remember their cultural origins and enhance national cohesion.

The famed Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Du Mu wrote that a “drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day, the mourner’s heart is going to break on his way”.

To most people these sentiments reflect what the Tomb Sweeping Festival, or Qingming, is all about; honoring ancestors and dealing with the emotional loss of loved ones.

It is the only Chinese public holiday that is also one of the 24 Chinese solar terms, which follow the cycles of nature. Qingming usually falls on the fourth or fifth day of April, when spring begins and the weather becomes warm.

Ancient texts have depicted the rebirth that arrives with spring. Philosophical writings from

Huainanzi (Master Huainan) during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCAD 24), state, “fifteen days after the Spring Equinox …the clear and bright wind arrives.”

Another line passed down from the lost book Suishi Baiwen says, “all growing things are clean and pure at this time, hence the name qingming”.

festivals

While the solar term Qingming was first recorded in the Western Han Dynasty, it was not until the Tang Dynasty, that it was decreed a national holiday to honor the dead, and combined with customs from other festivals which occur at the same time.

One of those festivals was Hanshi, meaning “cold meal”, which fell two days before Tomb

QINGMING is not only a period for commemorating the dead, it is also time for people to go out, enjoy nature and taste food.

Spring Outings

As trees turn green, flowers blossom, and the sun shines brightly, everything returns to life. It is a fine time to appreciate the beauty of nature. This custom can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770 – 476BC) and Warring States Period (475 – 221BC).

Strolling outside in spring adds joy to life and promotes a healthy body and mind.

Flying Kites

Flying kites is an activity favored by many Chinese during Tomb-Sweeping Day. Kites are not only flown during the day time but also in the evening. Little lanterns are tied to the kite or to the kitestring. And when the kites are flying in the sky, the lanterns look like twinkling stars at night.

What makes flying kites during this day special is that people cut the string while the kite is in the sky to let it fly free. It is said this brings good luck and that diseases can be chased away by doing this.

Sweeping Day. For three days, ancient people refrained from using fire and ate only cold meals.

Shangsi, another festival that influenced Qingming, falls on the third day of the third lunar month. The festival celebrates the revitalization of nature, washing away the bad aura from the previous year and praying for good health. Taking walks outdoors and holding banquets also became customs of the festival.

Xiao Fang, a professor at Beijing Normal University and an expert on folklore, writes in his book Records and Concepts of the Seasons that Qingming, being both a period focusing on nature and one of traditional rituals, reflects the ancient Chinese philosophy of heaven and humanity as a whole.

“The customs of Tomb Sweeping Day are varied, but they can be summarized into two traditions,” Xiao says. “First is to perform fu funeral rituals for the deceased and earnestly offer sacrifices to ancestors, and the second is to get close to nature and cherish life.”

▲ A form of Chinese football called cuju was once a popular activity on Tomb Sweeping Day. (China Daily)

Cuju

Cuju is an interesting game played during this period. Ju is a ball made of leather with hairs plugged in it. Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor first invented it for training warriors. Later, Cu Ju was used by people to build up their bodies when they were unable to eat hot food during the Cold Food Festival.

Eating Eggs

In many parts of China, eating eggs during Tomb-Sweeping Day is as important as eating moon cakes at Mid-Autumn Festival. The Chinese folk belief is that eating an egg on Tomb-Sweeping Day will bring good health all year.

The origin of eating eggs dates back to “Shangsi Jie” (a traditional Chinese festival). Today, people believe that eating eggs on Tomb-Sweeping Day will bring success.

MA Ying-jeou and his family paid a visit to his grandfather’s tomb in the mainland’s Hunan Province on Apr 1’s morning, honoring the family’s ancestors.

The tomb is located in the county of Xiangtan in Hunan.

Ma and his four sisters stood in front of the well-preserved tomb and carried out a solemn ceremony based on local tradition to pay respects to their ancestors. Ma presented flowers and fruits as sacrifices and used a local Hunan dialect when reading an article to honor his grandfather.

During an interview, Ma said that over the years he had always wished to visit the site and pay homage to his grandfather, and this wish had now finally been fulfilled.

He also noted that cherishing respect for ancestors is “a very important part of our Chinese peo- ple’s ethical education.”

On his visit, when local peo ple greeted him by saying “Wel come home,” Ma used the local dialect and answered, “the Xiang tan boy is back!” XINHUA peo-

In the lower reaches of the Yangtze River region, qingtuan or green cake is very popular snack on Tomb-Sweeping Day. Qingtuan is a kind of round green cake. In order to make the cakes, people mash barnyard grass to squeeze juice from it and mix the flour and juice to a paste. Then they inject black bean filling into the paste and steam them. Pretty and delicate, Qingtuan have a mellow taste and special flavor. Qingtuan are also sacrificed to ancestors on Tomb-Sweeping Day.