Ancestors

Insider I TRADITION TALKS

REMEMBERING OUR ANCESTORS

CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT: The practice of burning paper money for ancestors; a woman tends to the grave of a family member; shop owner Zhang Zhonghua; tea picking time; a woman sweeps the tomb of a deceased family member

China’s 2,700 year-old Qingming Festival – which honours the dead and marks the coming of spring – has evolved over time to the important event it is today

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ith ancestor worship occupying a central role in Chinese religion and culture, the age-old Qingming (or Tomb Sweeping) Festival remains a hugely important annual event.

Literally translating as ‘Bright and Clear Festival’, Qingming is a national holiday for people to celebrate and pay respect to their ancestors by clearing their graves, making offerings and also celebrating the coming of spring.

Held on the 15th day after the spring equinox on the Chinese lunar calendar, Qingming falls on April 4 this year in the western calendar. Since 2008 the festival has been a national holiday

in mainland China, allowing families to visit the tombs of their ancestors. It is also celebrated by the Chinese diaspora in south east Asia, especially in Singapore and Malaysia where many traditions are still followed closely.

Traditionally, family members will sweep the graves or tombs and make offerings to their ancestors – usually in the form of fruit, wine or sweets placed on the grave. Often, they will also burn paper money, with the aim of enabling the deceased to use it in the afterlife.

It’s seen as very important to not only make these offerings to pay respect to deceased loved ones, but also to keep away evil or unwanted spirits who bring bad luck to the living. Although the festival

It's a chance for families to get together...” revolves around remembering the dead, it is also a chance for families to congregate, celebrate and feast together while they pay their respects to their revered ancestors.

The origins of Qingming The origins of the Qingming Festival date back to China’s Spring and Autumn Period (c.770BC – 476BC) – specifically, the 7th century BC. This was when the Hanshi (‘Cold Food’) Festival was established by a prince named

WORDS TOM PATTINSON PHOTOS GETTY, TOM PATTTINSON, SHUTTERSTOCK

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Chong’er, who eventually became Duke Wen of Jin. Amidst a time of civil war Chong’er was forced into exile for 19 years, during which time he had a servant named Jie Zitui who was very loyal to him.

In one particularly extreme (and gruesome) example of his loyalty, Jie is even said to have cut the flesh from his own thigh to keep Chong’er from starving.

However, when Chong’er was eventually made Duke Wen of Jin and decided to reward his loyal staff, he forgot Jie – who by that time had moved into the forest to look after his elderly mother.

Wracked with guilt, the Duke searched the forests for Jie and, failing to find him, ordered the burning of the forest to smoke out Jie so that he could at last be rewarded. However, his plan backfired: Jie was eventually found burned to death, with his mother on his back. As a sign of his remorse, the Duke banned fire for three days to commemorate Jie. As no fires could be used, only cold food was eaten and the Hanshi Festival was established. A year later, when the Duke returned to

Traditions in practice during Qingming 29

the place Jie died, he found a bright white willow growing, which he named ‘Pure Bright’ or qingming.

And so the Hanshi Festival was renamed as the Qingming Festival.

More than a thousand years later, Tang Dynasty emperor Tang Xuanzong was frustrated by the constant ceremonies held by wealthy families to honour their ancestors, so he declared respects could only formally be held once a year during Qingming Festival. A major point in the Chinese lunar calendar, Qingming also signifies a shift, when the weather gets warmer and more rain starts to fall; and it’s often marked as the start of planting season for farmers. It’s

also now an important date in the tea growing industry: tea leaves that are ready to be picked before Qingming are given the title “preQingming tea.”

Modern celebrations In a nod to past traditions, many people put willow branches above their doors or twigs on their heads to ward off evil spirits during Qingming; and sweep the tombs or graves of their ancestors, leaving offerings to use in the afterlife.

Today, however, many people find it harder to return to their ancestral home every year; and, as cremations have become more common (as opposed to burial),

Insider I TRADITION TALKS

Top to bottom: Vendors sell incense and Joss papers (paper money) during Qingming; incense burning.

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some have to find other ways to commemorate their ancestors.

Many homes have a family shrine, where extra incense sticks will be burned and offerings made, while others make offerings at public squares that are home to memorials to fallen martyrs. More recently, it’s become common to see people commemorating their families on city street corners.

“My family home is in Anhui [in China’s east] so I don’t have the time off work to return to my home province from Beijing,” says Zhang Zhonghua, a street-side shop owner. “Therefore I will burn

my offerings below the ring road beside the canal.”

Zhang says he usually burns paper money and some old clothes that he no longer needs, and mainly honours his late wife.

According to the laws of feng shui, a spot should, ideally, be found near water and where paths cross. Today in big cities, many families can be seen crouching on street corners, where they draw a chalk circle in which to then burn paper money. The special fivecolour, fake bank notes often have a ‘value’ of billions of dollars.

If vast sums of money aren’t deemed enough to entertain their ancestors in the afterlife, people are now burning DVD players, credit cards, iPhones and even fake Ferraris – all made from 3D models of cardboard and paper. According to the China Daily, it’s estimated that 10 billion RMB (S$2.1 billion) is spent on offerings, and that around 100 tonnes of paper is burned during the evenings of Qingming.

The main purpose of Qingming hasn’t changed...”

Ms Qiu sells objects for burning from her shop opposite the Lama Temple in Beijing. “Many peoples’ relatives never had the chance to enjoy the things we have today, so many people want to give them these things to experience in the afterlife,” she says. Ms Qiu says the top seller is the fake money.

While Chinese society has evolved since the advent of the festival, the main purpose of Qingming hasn’t changed: remembering, honouring and paying respect to one’s ancestors.

Whether that’s done by burning a fake iPhone or staying true to the most traditional practices of the festival, it’s a fascinating insight into China’s history that promises to live long into the future.