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Mandarin Monday: The Origin & Tradition Behind Qingming Festival
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From Día de Muertos to All Saints’ Day celebrations are held to not only remember our ancestors but to also gather together and recognize the importance of family. China’s holiday to honor the dead and is called Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Festival. This is a traditional Chinese festival that falls on the first day of the fifth solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar and will be on April 4th this year. While anyone can celebrate it by respecting and remembering the dead, here is the specific history and traditions involved with the Qingming Festival.
The Origin:
The story of how Qingming Festival began traces all the way back to the Zhou Dynasty. Legend says that about 2,500 years ago, there was a Duke named Chong’er, also known as Duke Wen of Jin who was forced out into exile from the kingdom because he was the next in line for the throne of Emperor. During his exile, he was accompanied by his loyal servant Jie Zitui. While they were in exile, Chong’er was dying of starvation and as an act of loyal servitude, Jie Zitui cut off a piece of his thigh and cooked it into a soup to save the duke’s life.After nearly 20 years, Chong’er was restored to power and rewarded all of his followers who had helped him during his time in exile except Jie Zitui, whom he forgot about. This caused Jie Zitui to run away due to being heartbroken. Eventually, Chong’er remembered Jie’s Zitui’s sacrifice and sent people to find him. Jie Zitui ended up running away to the woods, and in order to find him, Chong’er ordered his men to set the woods on fire to force Jie Zitui to come out from hiding so he may talk to him.
The fire raged on the mountaintop for 3 days and once the fire cleared, they found the body of Jie Zitui’s carrying his elderly mother on his back, both burnt to death. Chong’er was so saddened by this that a temple be built for his loyal servant and decreed that no fires were to be lit during the anniversary of Jie Zitui’s death and people had to eat cold food on that day. People also began visiting Jie ZItui’s tomb to pay their respects and this day eventually became the “Cold Food Festival” also known as Hanshi Festival (寒食节) and later on the Qingming Festival.
Qingming Festival 清明节 qīngmíng jié
Hanshi Festival 寒食节hánshí jié
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What's the origin of Qingming Festival?
清明节怎么来的？Qīngmíngjié zěnme lái de?
Qingming Festival is also called Hanshi Festival.
清明节也叫寒食节。Qīngmíngjié yě jiào hánshí jié.
Qingming Festival will be on April 4th this year.
今年清明节在4月4日。Jīnniánqīngmíng jié zài sì yuè sì rì.
The Traditions:
Traditionally, it is the day in which Chinese families visit the tomb sites of their ancestors, to clean it, pray, and make ritual offerings. But there are more things to be excited about during Qingming Festival. Swings and flying kites are very popular amongst children and are usually found on playgrounds in the beginning of Spring. A day of celebration also means a day filled with food. 青团 qīngtuán, which are sweet green rice balls, are the traditional staple dish to eat during the festival, especially in southern China.
Make ritual offerings 祭祖/上供jìzǔ/shànggòng
Sweet green rice balls 青团 qīngtuán
Flying kites 放风筝fàng fēngzhēng
Swings 荡秋千 dàng qiūqiān
Hell note/joss paper 纸钱zhǐqián
Tomb-sweeping 扫墓sǎomù
Burn incense 焚香féngxiāng
Spring outing 踏青tàqīng
Filial piety 孝顺xiàoshùn
PhrasesHow do people celebrate Qingming Featival?
大家清明节怎么过？Dàjiāqīngmíng jié zěnme guò？
Qing Ming is a time to remember the dead and the dearly departed.
清明节是一个纪念祖先的节日。Qīngmíngjié shì yígè jìniàn zǔxiēn de jiérì.
People usually fly kites at the Qingming Festival.
大家通常在清明节放风筝。Dàjiātōngcháng zài qīngmíng jié fàng fēngzhēng.
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