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 Qingming
(Part I)
(Qingming, meaning clear and bright, is the day for mourning
the dead. It falls in early April every year. It corresponds
with the onset of warmer weather, the start of spring plowing,
and of family outings.)
Qingming, meaning clear and bright, is the day for mourning
the dead. It falls in early April every year. It corresponds
with the onset of warmer weather, the start of spring plowing,
and of family outings.
Before we talk about Qingming, we must say something about
another ancient event, Hanshi, which always comes one day
before Qingming.
Hanshi literally means ˇ°cold foodˇ±. It is said that in the
seventh century BC during the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke
Xiao was the monarch of the state of Jin. His eldest son,
Shen Sheng should have inherited the throne on the death of
his father. But Duke Xiao had other plans. He wanted the son
of his favorite concubine, Li Ji, to succeed him as the ruler
of Jin. Not exactly a loving father, Duke Xiao had Shen Sheng
murdered and would have done the same to his second eldest
son, ChongˇŻer. But ChongˇŻer got wind of this and fled.
For 19 long years, ChongˇŻer and his entourage of loyal officials
and servants wandered homeless, no strangers to cold and hunger.
One day, ChongˇŻer was actually starving and close to death.
One of his most faithful followers, Jie Zitui, cut a slice
of muscle from his own leg and served it to his master, thereby
saving his life. Finally in 636 BC, ChongˇŻer managed to take
the throne that was rightfully his and took the official title
of Duke Wen of the state of Jin.
After becoming the ruler of the state, ChongˇŻer decided to
reward the officials who had stayed with him through his years
of wandering. But he forgot about Jie Zitui who had sacrificed
the flesh of his leg. Jie Zitui was heartbroken and went away.
Later ChongˇŻer remembered Jie Zitui's sacrifice and sent people
to look for him. Eventually they found him. ChongˇŻer went
in person to apologize and ask him to return to the royal
court. But Jie Zitui left them and went deep into the mountains,
so no one could find him again. Someone advised ChongˇŻer to
set fire to the area in order to force Jie Zitui into the
open, where he could be talked into returning to the comforts
of life in the royal house. ChongˇŻer took this advice and
set fire to the mountain where Jie Zitui was believed to be
hiding. The fires raged for three days and Jie Zitui was found
leaning against a large tree, carrying his old mother on his
back. Both Jie Zitui and his mother were dead.
ChongˇŻer was deeply saddened by this tragedy. He ordered
that a temple be built in memory of his most loyal follower.
He also ordered that no fires were allowed on the anniversary
of Jie Zitui's death. So people had to eat their cold food
on that day, or the day of Hanshi. In addition, people began
to visit Jie Zitui's tomb and pay their respects to his memory.
It was not until the Qing Dynasty about 300 years ago that
the practice of Hanshi or eating cold food was replaced by
that of Qingming, which had now become an important occasion
for people to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.
In ancient China, Qingming was by no means the only time
when sacrifices were made to ancestors. In fact such ceremonies
were held very frequently, about every two weeks, in addition
to other important holidays and festivals. The formalities
of these ceremonies were in general very elaborate and expensive
in terms of time and money.
In an effort to reduce this expense, Emperor Xuanzong of
the Tang Dynasty declared in 732 AD that respects would be
formally paid at the tombs of ancestors only on the day of
Qingming. This is the custom that continues to date. People
will visit their ancestors' graves. They will tidy up, remove
weeds and sweep away leaves. This is why Qingming is also
known as the Grave Sweeping Day. Beijing's subway is particularly
crowded around Qingming as people flock to Babaoshan, Beijing's
most famous cemetery and crematorium, to pay respects to their
departed loved ones.
 Qingming
(Part 2)
(Qingming is not just a day of remembrance, it is also a
day to celebrate the coming of spring, often by going out
for a picnic.)
Qingming is not just a day of remembrance, it is also a day
to celebrate the coming of spring, often by going out for
a picnic. With the coming of spring, nature wakes up, dressing
the world in green. All is new, clean and fresh.
The welcome transition from winter to spring represented
by Qingming was an inspiration for many Tang Dynasty poems.
The following one by Han Hong is an example.
Cold Food
All over the capital catkins flew wantonly,
A scene of the spring so significant,
On "Cold Food" the east wind willfully
Made the imperial willows slant;
Now as the dusk approached quietly,
Within the Han palace candles glowed,
Towards the five mansions of nobility
The silvery smoke of the tapers flowed.
Qingming has also been a favorite subject for painting. Zhang
Zeduan of the Song Dynasty produced one of China's most famous
works of art: Qingming Shanghetu or Life Along the River at
Qingming. This silk scroll is now exhibited at the Imperial
Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City, in Beijing. Almost five
and a half meters long and a quarter of a meter wide, it is
bursting with life: riverside roads full of traffic, fairs
in farmers' fields, lively village, noisy city streets crowded
with all kinds of people, officials, merchants, soldiers,
scholars, porters, men and women, young and old. There are
about 550 people in the painting, as well as scores of different
animals, carriages and sedans, bridges and boats. It is a
vivid record of the festivities and hustle and bustle of the
special time of Qingming.
Springtime, especially in North China, is the windy season,
just right for flying kites. It is not surprising that kite
flying is very popular during the Qingming season. The history
of the kite in China is very interesting. It is said that
the kite was invented by the famous legendary carpenter Lu
Ban over 2,000 years ago.
The earliest Chinese kites were made of wood and called Mu
Yuan. Mu means wood and Yuan means sparrow hawk, a type of
bird. So Mu Yuan means ˇ°wooden sparrow hawkˇ±. The invention
of paper did not escape the attention of kite makers and soon
the kite was called Zhi Yuan. Zhi means paper, so Zhi Yuan
means ˇ°paper sparrow hawkˇ±.
Kites were not just used for fun. They were also used for
military purposes. There are historical records describing
enormous kites, some large enough to lift a man high in the
air to observe enemy movements. About 1,500 years ago, Emperor
Wudi was surrounded in Nanjing by the rebel troops. He used
a kite to send out an SOS for outside help.
During the Tang Dynasty, people began to attach thin bamboo
strips to kites. When the kite was high in the air, the wind
would make these strips vibrate, producing a low-pitched twanging
noise, very like that of the Zheng, a Chinese stringed instrument.
Thereafter, another popular Chinese name for kite was Feng
Zheng, which means ˇ°wind Zhengˇ±.
In the Qing Dynasty, people would fly their kites as high
as possible, then let go of the string. Off went the kite,
taking with it bad luck and illness. Conversely, to pick up
a kite lost or released by someone else could bring bad luck.
Some enthusiasts enjoy flying kites at night. They hang small
colored lanterns on the string with candles burning inside.
With dozens of kites up together, arc lines of flickering
multicolored lights decorate the night sky.
Visitors should go to Tian'anmen Square to see kites of all
shapes and sizes. The biggest could be a hundred meters long,
made of a hundred sections to form a dragon or even a centipede.
The annual Weifang Kite Festival held every April in East
China's Shandong Province has become a major event, attracting
thousands of tourists and kite flying competitors all over
the world.
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