Qingming Festival

Burning paper gifts for the departed.

This article is about the festival, for the solar term, see Qingming

The Qingming Festival (simplified Chinese: 清明节; traditional Chinese: 清明節; pinyin: qīng míng jié), or Ching Ming Festival used in Hong Kong, literally Clear and Bright Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice, usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar (see Chinese calendar). Astronomically, it is also a solar term (See Qingming). Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime (踏青 Tàqīng, "treading on the greenery"), and also to tend to the graves of departed ones. It is an official public holiday in the Republic of China, as well as in Hong Kong and Macau though not in mainland China.

The holiday is also known by a number of other names in the English language:

• All Souls Day (not to be confused with the Roman Catholic holiday, All Souls Day, of the same name)
• Clear Brightness Festival
• Festival for Tending Graves
• Grave Sweeping Day
• Memorial Day
• Tomb Sweeping Day

Tomb Sweeping Day is the most common English translation and is used in several English language newspapers published in the Republic of China.

For the Chinese, it is a day to remember and honour one's ancestors. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food and libation to the ancestors. The rites are very important to most Chinese and especially farmers.

The April Fifth Movement and the Tiananmen Incident were major events involving Qing Ming Jie 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 5th coincides with the passing of Chiang Kai-shek and the date is designated as a national holiday.

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.

Qingming Festival was created by Duke Wen of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period when he accidentally killed his personal friend and advisor Jie Zhitui (介之推) and his mother in a fireblaze in the hope of making him return to Duke Wen.

Qingming in literature

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

Traditional Chinese / Simplified Chinese / pinyin

清明時節雨紛紛 / 清明时节雨纷纷 / qīng míng shí jié yǔ fēn fēn

路上行人欲斷魂 / 路上行人欲断魂 / lù shàng xíng rén yù duàn hún

借問酒家何處有 / 借问酒家何处有 / jiè wèn jiǔ jiā hé chù yǒu

牧童遙指杏花村 / 牧童遥指杏花村 / mù tóng yáo zhǐ xìng huā cūn

English translation

A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day;

The mourner's heart is going to break on his way.

Where can a wineshop be found to drown his sad hours?

A cowherd points to a cot 'mid apricot flowers.

In the Vietnamese epic poem The Tale of Kieu, Qingming is also mentioned as the occasion where the protagonist Kieu meets a ghost. 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

See also

• Cold Food Festival, three consecutive days starting the day before the Qingming Festival
• Double Ninth Festival, the other day to visit and clean up the cemeteries in Hong Kong

External links

• A Traditional Chinese website describing the origin and creation of Qingming Festival

• 75 Photographs of Qingming celebrations in Singapore, April 2006