Qingming Festival

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The origins of the Qingming Festival go back to ancient, possibly prehistoric times, although the observance has changed significantly. The festival was influenced by the Cold food or Hanshi Festival which is said to commemorate Jie Zitui, a nobleman of the state of Jin (modern Shanxi) during the Spring and Autumn period. Amid the Li Ji Unrest, he followed his master Prince Chong'er in 655 BC to exile among the Di tribes and around China. Supposedly, he once even cut flesh from his thigh to provide his lord with soup. In 636 BC, Duke Mu of Qin invaded Jin and enthroned Chong'er as its duke, where he was generous in rewarding those who had helped him in his time of need. Owing either to his high-mindedness or to the duke's neglect, however, Jie was long passed over. He retired to the forest around Mount Mian with his elderly mother. In 636 BC, the duke went to the forest but could not find them. He then ordered his men to set fire to the forest in order to force Jie out. When Jie and his mother were killed instead, the duke ordered that thenceforth no one should light a fire on the date of Jie's death. The people of Shanxi subsequently revered Jie as an immortal and avoided lighting fires for as long as a month in the depths of winter, a practice so injurious to children and the elderly that the area's rulers unsuccessfully attempted to ban it for centuries. A compromise developed where it was restricted to 3 days around the Qingming solar term in mid-spring. The present importance of the holiday is credited to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Wealthy citizens in China were reportedly holding too many extravagant and ostentatiously expensive ceremonies in honor of their ancestors. In AD 732, Xuanzong sought to curb this practice by declaring that such respects could be formally paid only once a year, on Qingming. It became a public holiday in mainland China in 2008, where it is associated with the consumption of qingtuan, green dumplings made of glutinous rice and Chinese mugwort or barley grass. In Taiwan, the public holiday was in the past observed on 5 April to honor the death of Chiang Kai-shek on that day in 1975, but with Chiang's popularity waning, this convention is not being observed. A confection called caozaiguo or shuchuguo, made with Jersey cudweed, is consumed there. A similar holiday is observed in the Ryukyu Islands, called Shīmī in the local language.

Reader's Guide

Qingming Festival is when Chinese people traditionally visit ancestral tombs to sweep them. This tradition has been legislated by the Emperors who built majestic imperial tombstones for every dynasty. For thousands of years, the Chinese imperials, nobility, peasantry, and merchants alike have gathered together to remember the lives of the departed, to visit their tombstones to perform Confucian filial piety by tombsweeping, to visit burial grounds, graveyards or in modern urban cities, the city columbaria, to perform groundskeeping and maintenance and to commit to pray for their ancestors in the uniquely Chinese concept of the afterlife and to offer remembrances of their ancestors to living blood relatives, their kith and kin. In some places, people believe that sweeping the tomb is only allowed during this festival, as they believe the dead will get disturbed if the sweeping is done on other days. The young and old alike kneel to offer prayers before tombstones of the ancestors, offer the burning of joss in both the forms of incense sticks (joss-sticks) and silver-leafed paper (joss paper), sweep the tombs and offer food in memory of the ancestors. Depending on the religion of the observers, some pray to a higher deity to honor their ancestors, while others may pray directly to the ancestral spirits. Honoring one's ancestors is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, as the 'idea of filial piety and paying your respects has been an important part of China's Confucian society since ancient times.' This practice reflects the strong connection the Chinese people have with their ancestors because they believe that the ancestors 'gave us a physical body, and more importantly, a soul.' The people of China also believe that 'Such a tradition allows good values to be passed down to future generations.' People who live far away and can't travel to their ancestors' tombs may make a sacrifice from a distance. These rites have a long tradition in Asia, especially among the imperial who legislated these rituals into a national religion. They have been preserved especially by the peasantry and are most popular with farmers today, who believe that continued observances will ensure fruitful harvests ahead by appeasing the spirits in the other world. Religious symbols of ritual purity, such as pomegranate and willow branches, are popular at this time. Some people wear willow twigs on their heads on Qingming or stick willow branches on their homes. There are similarities to palm leaves used on Palm Sundays in Christianity; both are religious rituals. The belief is that the willow branches will help ward off misfortune. After gathering on Qingming to perform Confucian clan and family duties at the tombstones, graveyards, or columbaria, participants spend the rest of the day in clan or family outings, before they start the spring plowing. Historically, people would often sing and dance, and Qingming was a time when young couples traditionally started courting. Another popular thing to do is to fly kites in the shapes of animals or characters from folk tales or Chinese opera. Another common practice is to carry flowers instead of burning paper, incense, or firecrackers. Traditionally, a family will burn spirit money (joss paper) and paper replicas of material goods such as cars, homes, phones, and paper servants. This action usually happens during the Qingming festival. In Chinese culture, it is believed that people still need all of those things in the afterlife. Then family members take turns to kowtow three to nine times, depending on the family's adherence to traditional values, before the tomb of the ancestors. The Kowtowing ritual in front of the grave is performed in the order of patriarchal seniority within the family. After the ancestor worship at the grave site, the whole family or the whole clan feast on the food and drink they have brought for the worship. Another ritual related to the festival is the cockfight, as well as being available within that historic and cultural context at Kaifeng Millennium City Park (Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden). The holiday is often marked by people paying respects to those who are considered national or legendary heroes. The April Fifth Movement and the Tiananmen Incident were major events in Chinese history which occurred on Qingming. After Premier Zhou Enlai died in 1976, thousands honored him during the festival to pay their respects. In Taiwan, the Qingming Festival was not a public holiday until 1972. Three years later, upon the death of Chiang Kai-shek on 5 April 1975, the Kuomintang government declared that the anniversary of Chiang's death be observed alongside the festival. The practice was abolished in 2007. Despite the festival having no official status, the overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asian nations, such as those in Singapore and Malaysia, take this festival seriously and observe its traditions faithfully. Some Qingming rituals and ancestral veneration decorum observed by the overseas Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore can be dated back to the Ming and Qing dynasties, as the overseas communities were not affected by the Cultural Revolution in mainland China. Qingming in Malaysia is an elaborate family function or a clan feast (usually organized by the respective clan association) to commemorate and honor recently deceased relatives at their grave sites and distant ancestors from China at home altars, clan temples, or makeshift altars in Buddhist or Taoist temples. For the overseas Chinese community, the Qingming festival is very much a solemn family event and, at the same time, a family obligation. They see this festival as a time of reflection for honoring and giving thanks to their forefathers. Overseas Chinese normally visit the graves of their recently deceased relatives on the weekend nearest to the actual date. According to the ancient custom, grave site veneration is only permissible ten days before and after the Qingming Festival. If the visit is not on the actual date, normally veneration before Qingming is encouraged. The Qingming Festival in Malaysia and Singapore normally starts early in the morning by paying respect to distant ancestors from China at home altars. This is followed by visiting the graves of close relatives in the country. Some follow the concept of filial piety to the extent of visiting the graves of their ancestors in mainland China.

Did You Know?

• The Qingming Festival became a public holiday in mainland China in 2008.
• In Taiwan, the public holiday was observed on 5 April to honor the death of Chiang Kai-shek on that day in 1975, but this convention is not being observed as his popularity wanes.
• A similar holiday called Shīmī is observed in the Ryukyu Islands.
• The present importance of the holiday is credited to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who in AD 732 declared that formal ancestral ceremonies could be held only once a year, on Qingming.
• The April Fifth Movement and the Tiananmen Incident were major events in Chinese history which occurred on Qingming.