Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival , meaning Clear and Bright Festival, is a on the 104th day after the , usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar . Every leap year, Qing Ming is on April 4. Astronomically, it is also a solar term . In solar terms, the Qingming festival is on the 1st day of the 5th solar term, which is also named Qingming. Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime , and also to tend to the graves of departed ones. It is an official public holiday in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Prior to 2008, the holiday was not official in the People's Republic of China since the Communist Party of China classified it as superstition. It was officially celebrated as a public holiday for the first time on April 4, 2008.

The transcription of the term Qingming may appear in a number of different forms, some of which are:
*''Qingming''
*''Qing Ming''
*''Qing Ming Jie''
*''Ching Ming''
*''Ching Ming Chieh''

Introduction

The holiday is also known by a number of other names in the English language:
* All Souls Day
* Clear Brightness Festival
* Festival for Tending Graves
* Grave Sweeping Day
* Chinese Memorial Day
* Tomb Sweeping Day
* Spring Remembrance

Tomb Sweeping Day and Clear Brightness Festival are the most common English translations of Qingming Festival. Tomb Sweeping Day is used in several English language newspapers published in the Republic of China.

For the Chinese, it is a day to remember and s at grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, paper accessories, and/or libation to the ancestors. The rites are very important to most Chinese and especially farmers. Some people carry willow branches with them on Qingming, or put willow branches on their gates and/or front doors. They think that willow branches help ward off the evil ghosts that wander on Qingming. Also on Qingming, people go on family outings, start the spring plowing, sing, dance, and Qingming is a time where young couples start courting. Another popular thing to do is fly kites .

The April Fifth Movement and the Tiananmen Incident were major events on Qingming that took place in the history of the People's Republic of China. When Premier Zhou Enlai died in 1976, thousands visited him during the festival to pay respect. In the Republic of China, April 4th coincides with the passing of Chiang Kai-shek and the date is designated as a .

On a note, the overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asian nations such as Singapore and Malaysia also practice this custom. However the practice is in decline in these regions.

, the day before Qingming, was created by of the during the Spring and Autumn Period when he accidentally killed his personal friend and servant Jie Zhitui and his mother in a fireblaze in the hope of making him return to him . On Hanshi, people were not allowed to use fires to heat up food, thus nicknaming it the Cold Food Festival. Eventually, 300 years ago, the Hanshi "celebration" was combined with the Qingming festival, but later abandoned by most people.

Qingming itself was created by the in 732. It is said that because the wealthy held too many expensive, elaborate ancestor-worshipping ceremonies, in a needed effort to lower this expense, Emperor Xuanzong declared that respects could be formally paid at ancestor's graves only on Qingming.

Qingming in Chinese Tea Culture

The Qingming festival holiday has a lot of significance in Chinese Tea culture since this specific day divides the fresh green teas by their picking dates. Green teas made from leaves picked before this date are given the prestigious 'pre-qingming' or 'mingqian' designation which commands a much higher price tag. These teas are prized for having much lighter and subtler aromas than those picked after the festival .

Qingming in painting

The famous ''Qingming scroll'' by Zhang Zeduan is an ancient Chinese painting which portrays the scene of Kaifeng city, the capital of Song Dynasty during Qingming period.

Qingming in literature

Qingming was frequently mentioned in Chinese literature. Among these, the most famous one is probably Du Mu's poem :



; English translation:

A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day;
The mourner's heart is breaking on his way.
Where can a winehouse be found to drown his sadness?
A cowherd points to Xing Hua village in the distance.

*Note:

In the epic poem ''The Tale of Kieu'', Qingming is also mentioned as the occasion where the protagonist Kieu meets a ghost of a dead old lady. The lines describing the sceneries during this festival remain some of the most well-known lines in Vietnamese literature:

Ngày xuân con én đưa thoi
Thiều quang chín chục đã ngoài sáu mươi
Cỏ non xanh tận chân trời
Cành lê trắng điểm một vài bông hoa
Thanh Minh trong tiết tháng ba
Lễ là Tảo mộ, hội là Đạp thanh
Gần xa nô nức yến oanh
Chị em sắm sửa bộ hành chơi xuân

English translation:

Swift swallows and spring days were shuttling by
of ninety radiant ones three score had fled.
Young grass spread all its green to heaven's rim;
some blossoms marked pear branches with white dots.
Now came the Feast of Light in the third month
with graveyard rites and junkets on the green.
As merry pilgrims flocked from near and far,
the sisters and their brother went for a stroll.