Qingming Festival

                                            清明节

  Qingming, meaning clearness and brightness, 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.

The Chinese conception of ancestor worship is born of a belief that the spirit survives the body after death and remains in the tomb, keeping abreast of the conduct of those left behind. To the Chinese mind, the spirit’s power, for good or for ill, are superior to both man and nature. Perhaps in their anxiety to pacify these supernatural beings lies in the origin of the annual ceremonies based around the gravesite at the “rebirth” of nature.

    Immediately after breakfast on Qingming entire families, hoe and other tools in hand, would start arriving at the foothill outside their villages, where they would commence to diligently tidy up the area around their family’s tomb. Yellow ribbons were placed on the end of a bamboo stick or kept in place by a stone on top of the tomb so as stave off wandering ghosts. These malevolent spirits perhaps had been neglected by their descendants or, alternatively, may have died in such a fashion as to make the recovery of the body impossible, thus being doomed to eternal wandering. Innumerable Chinese tales revolve around these homeless ghosts’ capacity for mischief.

   Those things done in Qingming at the tomb is also called “grave-sweeping”. When the family arrives at the tomb, which is usually dominated by a semi-circular altar standing in the foreground; they would place offerings of food, tea, and wine together with candles on each side of the altar or before the gravestone, an incense burner claims pride of place at the altar.

   The burning of incense and candles signals the beginning of the ceremony. Each male member of the household performs in turn to kowtow--- the ritual of three prostrations and three bows, accompanied by the explosions of firecrackers. A libation of wine is sprinkled over burning paper money, and then the cup is refilled and put back in place. Next follows a repetition of kowtow. The offerings of food may either be consumed then and there or taken home. The ceremony comes to an end as more firecrackers are set off. Back at home they make offerings again before the family’s ancestral tablet of food, candles, incense and a few evergreen sprigs or head of wheat, all arranged neatly on a platter.

  It was generally believed that, by burning paper money, the living could assure the departed of an income in the next world. In the old China the children of a deceased man of wealth would even send him gold and silver ingots, servants, horses and sedan-chairs, all in paper imitation, to secure his welfare.

  Qingming has also been a favorite subject for painting. Zhang Ze-duan of the Song Dynasty produced China’s most famous work of art: “Qingming Shanghetu” or “Life Along the River at Qingming”. This silk scroll is now exhibited at the Forbidden City in Beijing. Almost five and a half meters long and a quarter of a meter wide, it is busting in life: riverside roads full of traffic, fairs in farmers’ fields, lively villages, noisy city streets crowed 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. One of the household poems about the Qingming Festival was written by Du Mu, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty:

The Day of Mourning for the Dead

                                                     By Du Mu

       The day of mourning for the dead it’s raining hard:

       My heart is broken on my way to the graveyard.

       Where can I find a wine shop to drown my sad hours?

        A herd boy points to a cot amid apricot flowers

清明节

“清明”是清爽明亮的意思，清明节是缅怀先人的节日，在阳历四月五日前后。清明正逢气温回升之时，是春耕之始，是踏青之季。

中国人生来就相信人死后灵魂还在，在墓里与尸首衣物呆在一起。人们认为死者的佑戒之力强于人和自然，或许人们心情焦虑，于万物复苏之际，在墓地举行他们的悼念仪式以慰犒先灵。

清明节那天，早饭后立马合家出动，手拿锄具向村边的山脚下出发，他们一到便忙着清理家族坟墓周边的杂物。黄色的缎带系在竹棍上，或者在边上压个石头，好避开那些孤魂野鬼。这些野鬼是厉鬼，也许是被子嗣所抛弃了，也许是凶死，不能反附到尸首上去，他们注定要一直游荡下去，在中国有无数关于野鬼害人的故事。

清明节期间在墓周围所做的事又叫“扫墓”。墓地前面围着一半圆形的祭坛，人们一到墓地，他们供奉各种食物酒茶，在祭坛边或墓碑前点亮蜡烛，香炉在祭坛上占据显要的位置。

仪式从烧香点烛开始，各家的男性成员依次磕头——鞠躬三次，叩首三次，同时鸣放鞭炮，然后饮一口酒喷洒在燃烧的纸钱上，过后另一人接着磕头。供奉的食物既可以原地食用，也可以带回家。再放些鞭炮后，仪式就结束了，回家后又在屋里的灵牌前供些吃的喝的，点烛烧香，摆放青枝麦穗，所供的东西都整整齐齐地放在一个大盘子里。

人们相信，烧了纸钱，在另一个世界生活的死者就能收到更多的钱。古时候，富家人的后代为了保全财产福祉，甚至会给先祖祭送金银元宝和纸做的仆人、马匹、轿子。

清明节也是（画家）作画的最爱。宋朝的张择端绘制了中国最著名的画作：“清明上河图”，这卷丝绸画现藏于北京故宫博物馆。该画卷长534.6厘米，高25.8厘米，这是一幅反映热闹生活场面的画卷，河边的公路上车水马龙，农田初绿，阡百纵横，赶集的人们和托运货物的骡马从条条道路向城里进发；屋宇错落，古柳参差。一座精致的拱桥，宛若飞虹，名虹桥，沟通两岸。行人众多，车水马龙，人声鼎沸，热闹非凡；酒楼茶肆、宅第店铺鳞次栉比，货物五光十色、种类繁多，市招高挂，买卖兴隆，街上人民摩肩接踵，熙熙攘攘。好一派清明时节繁荣昌盛的景象。

有一首家喻户晓的关于清明节的诗，该诗由唐代著名诗人杜牧所作。

    清 明

                 杜牧

清明时节雨纷纷，
路上行人欲断魂。
借问酒家何处有？
牧童遥指杏花村。