Investigation on Customs, Methods and Requirements of Qingming Festival

Tomb-Sweeping Day introduces II- Qingming custom

Author: Mei Feng Release Date: April-May 2006 09: 03 Hits: 784.

pay tribute to a dead person at his tomb

Sweeping graves on Qingming Festival is called "respecting thinking about time" for ancestors. Its customs have a long history. In the Ming Dynasty's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital", it was written: "On the Qingming Festival in March, men and women visited graves and paid tribute to them, and gold ingots were hung behind sedan chairs, making noise all over the street. Worshipers, mourners, weeping, weeding, adding soil to graves, burning ingots several times, and buying graves with paper money. If you can't see the paper money, it will be a lonely grave. After crying, don't go back, go to the fragrant tree, choose the garden, and sit down and get drunk. " In fact, grave-sweeping existed before the Qin Dynasty, but not necessarily during the Qingming period, but after the Qin Dynasty. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that it became popular. Qing thomas lee said, "On New Year's Eve, the Cold Food Festival and the First Frost Festival, you should offer sacrifices to sweep the graves. During the period, I will serve my bed with vegetarian food, use wine and tools for cutting vegetation, seal trees in the middle of the week, and break Cao Jing, so it is called sweeping the grave. " And spread to this day.

According to time-honored customs and habits, in the old days, Beijingers mostly visited graves on Qingming Day, but the grave-sweeping ceremony was not held on Qingming Day, but on Singles Day near Qingming Day. It is said that only monks offer sacrifices to sweep graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Tomb-Sweeping Day's sweeping ceremony was supposed to be held in person, but because of the different economic conditions of each family, the way of sweeping was different.

"Burning a bundle" is the main form of paying homage to ancestors. The so-called "baggage", also known as "parcel", refers to the postal parcel that Xiao sent from Shi Yang to the underworld. In the past, Nanzhi store sold the so-called "wrapped skin", that is, a big bag was pasted with white paper. There are two forms: one is a woodcut version with Sanskrit transliteration of "Death Mantra" printed around it, and a lotus memorial tablet printed in the middle with the name of the deceased who received the money, such as "The late Zhang Fujun was afraid of the boss in Yunshan", which is both a package and a memorial tablet. The other is plain foreskin, which does not print any patterns. Just put a blue sign in the middle and write down the name of the deceased. Also used as a master card.

There are many kinds of money in the bag. First burn paper, nine k white paper, and smash four rows of round money, five for each row; Second, Mingbi, which is copied after foreign currency tickets are available in the world, is written with the words "Paradise Bank", "Ghost Bank" and "Hell Bank", with a pattern of □ capital, mostly with a huge face value, and a Buddhist "death curse" printed on the back; 3. Fake foreign currency, with cardboard as the core and wrapped in silver foil, suppressing the same pattern as the prevailing silver dollar at that time; Fourth, the "death curse" printed in red on yellow paper is round money, so it is also called "death money"; Five, with gold foil and silver foil stacked ingots, hammers, and some string into a string, with a colored paper ear at the bottom.

In the old society, no matter rich or poor, there was a burning burden. On that day, a confession case was set up in the ancestral hall or the main room of the family house, with the luggage in the middle. In front of it, there are offerings such as jiaozi, cakes and fruits, burning incense and holding candles. After the whole family salutes according to their generations, they can be incinerated outside the door. When incinerating, draw a big circle and leave a gap in the direction of the cemetery. Burning three or five pieces of paper outside the circle is called "special delivery."

Some rich people want to take their families and their families to the grave to pay homage. At this time, it is necessary to repair the grave, or symbolically add soil to the grave and put some paper money on it to let others see and know that there are descendants in this grave. After the sacrifice, some people sat around to eat and drink; Others fly kites and even compete with each other for entertainment. Women and children will also fold some Yang Liuzhi nearby and put on steamed food with wicker. Others weave wicker into reeds and wear them on their heads, saying, "If you don't wear willow in Qingming Festival, you will become a yellow dog in the afterlife." This is a grave-sweeping and an outing. You can't go home until you are happy.

Insert willow

It is said that the custom of inserting willows is also to commemorate Shennong, the ancestor of farming, who taught the people to cultivate crops. In some places, people put willow branches under the eaves to forecast the weather. There is an old saying that "the willow branches are green and the rain is raining;" The saying that there is another village. During the period of Huang Chao, it was stipulated that "Qingming lasts for a period, and Liu Dai is the number". After the failure of the uprising, the custom of wearing willow was gradually eliminated, and only willow was popular. Willow has a strong vitality, as the saying goes: "If you plant flowers with your heart, you will plant willows without your heart. "Wicker lives when it is planted in the soil, and it lives where it is planted. When it is planted year after year, it becomes gloomy everywhere.

There is another saying in Tomb-Sweeping Day: It turns out that China people regard Tomb-Sweeping Day, July 30th and the first day of October as the three major ghost festivals, which are the time for ghosts to haunt and ask for help. In order to prevent the harassment and persecution of ghosts, people put willows and put them on. Willow has the function of ward off evil spirits in people's minds. Influenced by Buddhism, people think that willows can exorcise ghosts and call them "ghost trees". Guanyin dipped willow branches in water to help all beings. Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei Dynasty said in the Book of Qi Yao Min: "Take a willow branch and put it on the house, and a hundred ghosts will not enter the house." Tomb-Sweeping Day is a ghost festival. When wicker sprouted, people naturally inserted willows to ward off evil spirits.

The Han people have the custom of "folding willows to bid farewell": Baqiao is in Chang 'an East, crossing the water is the bridge, and the Han people send guests to this bridge and fold willows to bid farewell. Li Bai has a saying: "Willow falls every year, Lingling hurts." In ancient times, on both sides of Chang 'an Baqiao, the embankment was ten miles long, one step at a time. Many people who walk from Chang 'an East come here to bid farewell to their loved ones and fold willow branches to bid farewell to their loved ones, because "willow" is homophonic with "stay" to show the meaning of retaining. This custom originated from the Book of Songs. Xiaoya. "I have been there, Yangliuyiyi" in "Picking Wei". Send a willow tree as a parting gift to express feelings that are inseparable and reluctant to part. Willow is a symbol of spring. Willow swaying in spring always gives people a feeling of prosperity. "Farewell to the Willows" contains the wish that "spring is always there". The ancients sawed off the willows and sent them to each other, which also meant that their relatives, such as willow branches, left their hometown. I hope that when they arrive in a new place, they can take root and sprout quickly, as if willow branches can grow everywhere. It's a good wish for friends. There are also many references to folding willows to give people away in ancient poems. Quan Deyu's poem in Tang Dynasty: "Give me new knowledge", Song Dynasty's poem: "There are no green willows on the other side of the road, don't worry", and Ming Dynasty's poem: "Give someone away when you are old, and the willows on the edge of the city will be folded." Chen Weisong's Ci in Qing Dynasty: "How many border crossings are left? Want a discount. " People will not only feel sad when they see willow trees, but also touch their mood when they hear the song "Breaking Willow". Li Bai's "Smelling the flute in Los Angeles on a Spring Night": "Everyone can't stand the homesickness." In fact, Liu can have many symbolic meanings. The ancients endowed Liu with various feelings, so it is reasonable to borrow Liu to send feelings.

Liu Dai

In the Qingming Festival, some people wear willow branches around their heads, some people scrape tender willow branches into flowers and insert them in the bun, and some people directly insert willow branches in the bun. Notes on Tian Rucheng's West Lake Tour in Ming Dynasty: Qingming, "Every willow is green and lovely, and can be worn by men and women."

Modern Wuhu ancient and modern: Qingming, "In the morning, the market sells willows, and every family breaks a willow dipped in clear water and inserts it into the lintel, and women wear willow balls on their temples."

Yang Yuhua's best friend "Song of the Mountain Pond": "Now the sky is clear, and I can hear wicker peddling along the street. When I met my neighbor, one plant was obliquely inserted into Lv Yun. " There is a folk proverb that says: "Tomb-Sweeping Day doesn't wear willow, and her beauty turns bright." "Qingming does not wear willow, but turns yellow after death." "Qingming does not wear willows, and it will become a pig and dog in the afterlife." This shows that Liu Dai has the function of exorcism. The custom of wearing willow is everywhere in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

In the second year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty, the Annals of Huai 'an County, Qingming Festival, "put willow in the door, and men and women also wear it. As the saying goes,' Qingming does not wear a willow, and a beauty returns to a bald head'.

In the Qing Dynasty, willows were inserted in most parts of China to ward off evil spirits, but some places had the meaning of "Jinianhua", saying, "If you don't wear willows in Qingming Festival, a beautiful woman will become a head". This custom is the relic of the "cold food" crown ceremony in Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the time for male and female adults to perform the coronation ceremony was unified in the "Cold Food Festival", regardless of the date of birth. "All officials and people, regardless of family size and children, will be crowned on this day." (Meng Liang Lu) is a symbol of adulthood. Based on this, later generations have the legacy of "Ji Nianhua", which has evolved into the custom of women wearing willow balls in their temples to pray for the beauty to stay forever. Here, green willows symbolize youth. Women wear willows in spring, which is a treasure and nostalgia for youth.

Sports activities

Go for an outing:

Spring is clear in March, which is a good time for an outing. The folk in our country have long maintained the custom of Qingming outing. According to the "History of Song Dynasty", "Ten days before and after the Qingming Festival, women and men in the city decorated with colorful gold ornaments, side by side, singing and dancing, painting boats, playing flutes and drums all day long." People come to the countryside with food and throw themselves into nature. The wind of going for an outing in the Song Dynasty prevailed, and the famous painter Zhang Zeduan's genre painting "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" vividly described the lively scene of people going for an outing in Kyoto during the Qingming Festival in the Song Dynasty.

Swing:

In ancient times, Tomb-Sweeping Day had the custom of swinging. Swing, there is the word "skin" next to the ancient word, and the thousand-character script also takes the word away, which means pulling the leather rope to move. As early as ancient times, in order to get food from high places, people created the activity of swinging in climbing. It was originally called "Qian Qiu". Legend has it that it was created by Shanrong people in the north during the Spring and Autumn Period. At first, it was just a rope, swinging around with both hands grasping the rope. Later, Duke Heng of Qi levied Northern Mountain Rong and brought "Qian Qiu" to the Central Plains. In the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the word "Qian Qiu" was used in the palace as a birthday greeting, meaning "Qian Qiu will live forever". Later, in order to avoid taboos, the word "Qian Qiu" was reversed to "swing". Later it gradually evolved into a swing with two ropes and pedals. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, swinging became a light and agile game for women to practice. When playing on the swing, people swing around in the air and fly freely, which is very interesting. "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" records: "From the palace to the Cold Food Festival, a swing was set up, which made the ladies-in-waiting laugh and think it was a feast. The emperor called it a half-fairy play."

In the works of Tang and Song literati, there are many descriptions about swings. Wei Zhuang, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote the poem "Chang 'an Qingming Festival": "The purple flowers are red, and the green poplar is swaying. "When the spring breeze blows willow in Tomb-Sweeping Day, the girls are swinging in groups under the country trees, which is really poetic. Swing was a very common game at that time. Li Qingzhao, a poetess in the Song Dynasty, often described this in her poems: "Stop swinging, get up and straighten your hands. "The dew is thick and thin, the sweat is light and the clothes are thorough." (Diancrimson Lips) Many people like to use bamboo to form a temporary "bamboo shoot swing" and dance and play in the suburbs during Qingming Festival. Because Tomb-Sweeping Day swings everywhere, some people call it "Swing Festival". Flying kites is the most popular game in Tomb-Sweeping Day. The kite has been in my car for more than two thousand years. Legend has it that in the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a loser, the mythical "Luban", who could make a wooden kite, cut bamboo into magpies and flew away three days later. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Liang was besieged by Hou Jing rebels in Taicheng. Minister Yang Kan tied the imperial edict with a kite and invited reinforcements to come to the rescue. Kites were originally used as a tool to convey news in the military, and later gradually evolved into an entertainment toy.

Fly a kite:

Gao Pian, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "Kite": "The static string rings blue at night, and the palace merchants are attracted by the wind; It's like a song, but it is blown by the wind. " The original name of kite, Inquiries and Notes, records: kite, that is, paper kite, also known as wind kite. In the Five Dynasties, Ye Li made a paper kite in the palace, with the wind as the correct direction. Later, bamboo was used as a flute on the head of a kite, and the wind entered the flute tube to make a pleasant sound, like a "kite", commonly known as a kite. At first, it was limited to the appreciation of childe and beauty among the nobles of the palace. After the Song Dynasty, it became a favorite activity of the folk people. Kite is not only an exquisite folk handicraft, but also a popular entertainment product, which has always been loved by writers. "Beijing Zhuzhi Ci" also vividly describes kites: "A thousand people fly kites, and thousands of feet hemp rope is a bamboo pole. The world is peaceful and new, and the party is learning Biyun. " As early as the Qing Dynasty, kites had developed to a very delicate level in the four major arts of tying, pasting, painting and flying. When Cao Xueqin was writing a book in a poor place in Xishan, Beijing, he studied the method of tying kites, and also wrote a book, The Kite of North and South. The book introduces in detail the techniques and skills of tying, pasting, drawing and flying forty or fifty kinds of kites, such as wing swallow, double carp, butterfly, crab, pet princess and twin. Besides, flying kites was associated with bad luck in ancient times. There is such a description in A Dream of Red Mansions: Lin Daiyu might as well put down her elaborate kite. Li Ren advised her: "This is the fun of flying kites, so it is called unlucky. You have to fly more and take the root of the disease with you. " When Zijuan wanted to pick up a kite without a main thread, Tan Chun dissuaded her: "Isn't it taboo to pick up people?" It can be seen that flying kites was a means for people to eliminate disasters and difficulties in ancient times. You can't pick up other people's kites, so as not to be unlucky with others. Some people write all their troubles on paper when flying a kite, and let it fly into the blue sky with the kite, thinking that all their troubles will go with the wind.

Cockfighting:

In ancient times, the game of cockfighting prevailed in Qingming, which started from Qingming and lasted until the summer solstice. The earliest record of cockfighting in China can be found in Zuo Zhuan. In the Tang dynasty, cockfighting became a common practice, not only among the people, but also the emperor. For example, Tang Xuanzong likes cockfighting best.

Cuju:

Bow is a rubber ball, the skin of which is made of leather, and the ball is stuffed with wool. Cuju is kicking the ball with your feet. This is a popular game in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day. According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor with the original purpose of training warriors.

Qingming diet custom

Qingming Black Rice of She Nationality in Fujian

"It rains in succession during the Qingming Festival". As soon as the rain stopped, there were more people carrying baskets to pay homage to their ancestors. The time limit for ancestor worship and grave sweeping in Fujian and Taiwan provinces ranges from Qingming to Grain Rain. In Ningde, Zhouning, Shouning and other places in eastern Fujian, most ancestral graves are for the whole family to worship their ancestors, and recently family dinners have been held in ancestral halls. At that time, men, women and children arrived, which was a unique happy reunion in eastern Fujian.

During the Qingming Festival, most places in eastern Fujian, both urban and rural, have the custom of eating pickled mustard tuber. It is said that eating mustard rice mixed with rice on February 2 every year can prevent scabies all year round. There is also the custom of cooking loach noodles for ancestors on March 3. Moreover, during this period, in many urban and rural areas in eastern Fujian, you can also eat a kind of food with the characteristics of eastern Fujian, that is, spring chrysanthemum and golden cherry blossoms are mixed into ground rice slurry and baked into seasonal snacks, which is quite rural.

In addition, regarding the Qingming diet custom, we can't help but mention the "black rice" of the She nationality, because eastern Fujian is the settlement of the She nationality. On the third day of March every year, every household of the She nationality cooks "black rice" and presents it to relatives and friends of the Han nationality. Over time, the local Han people also have the custom of eating "black rice" in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Especially in Kurong County, people sacrifice "black rice" every year, which shows that China has been a big family where all ethnic groups live in harmony since ancient times.

According to the folklore of the She nationality, in the second year of the Tang Dynasty, Lei Wanxing, a hero of the She nationality, led her army to fight with officers and men, and was trapped in the deep mountains, which was in the severe winter. She army had to pick barnyard grass to feed their hunger, so Lei Wanxing led the people down the mountain on the third day of the third lunar month and rushed out of the tight encirclement. From then on, every "March 3", Lei Wanxing always called the soldiers to hold a banquet to celebrate the breakthrough victory. He also ordered the soldiers of the She army to pick up the leaves of the black barnyard grass, let the military chef cook "black barnyard grass rice" and let the whole army have a full meal as a souvenir. The method of making this "black rice" is not complicated. Wash the picked leaves of black rice, boil them in clear water, and take out the leaves. Then, soak the glutinous rice in black rice soup for 9 hours, take it out, put it in a cooking cage, and eat it when it is cooked. The "black glutinous rice" is not very beautiful in appearance, and the color is dark, but the smell of rice is different from ordinary glutinous rice. In order to commemorate this national hero, she people have steamed "black rice" every year since March 3, which has become the custom of she people. In eastern Fujian, she lives with the Han people. People get along well with each other from generation to generation and often get married. Therefore, eating "black rice" has become a Qingming food custom shared by all ethnic groups in eastern Fujian.

Qingming fruit

Every time I go to Tomb-Sweeping Day, every household has to make a kind of food called Qingming fruit, which is used to sweep graves and worship ancestors. However, in my memory, the arrival of Tomb-Sweeping Day means that I can repay the clear fruit with green fragrance.

The shape of Qingming fruit is a bit like jiaozi, but its taste is quite different. The epidermis of Qingming fruit is made of a plant called Artemisia argyi, a perennial herb with small yellow flowers and leaves as small as compositae, which are covered with awnings and clusters. Every year before Tomb-Sweeping Day, women come to the fields to pick mugwort leaves in groups of three or five, holding bamboo greens in their hands. Fresh mugwort leaves are piled up in baskets, which is really attractive. After Ai Yecai returned home, he began the complicated process of making Qing Guo. A woman is like a masseur. Green absinthe turns into delicious transparent fruit in the blink of an eye.

I was particularly curious when I was a child. It's obviously grass. How did it become a clear fruit later? Grandma, they are too lazy to talk to me, so let me see it. They mashed mugwort leaves and mixed them with rice flour. White rice noodles meet green mugwort juice and suddenly turn into turquoise powder balls, which are tender and slippery, or semi-finished products, making my mouth water. The skin of Qingming fruit is well made, and the stuffing is also very particular. People with good conditions are more diverse and refined. There are mustard powder smoked fat sausage, dried leeks and tofu, and other delicious combinations, but no matter what stuffing is indispensable, the fruit made in this way feels delicious and enjoyable. Noodles and stuffing are ready, and the last step is to wrap fruit. This kind of fruit wrapping is similar to jiaozi wrapping, but the clear fruit wrapping seems to be more delicate. It is folded like lace, green and transparent, so cute. It is also a pleasure to watch them wrap the clear fruit, just like a work of art flying out of their hands. Neatly packed transparent fruit made me swallow DC's saliva and wait patiently for the steaming moment.

Folium Artemisiae Argyi is green every year, and the fruit is fragrant every year. Villagers miss their relatives and friends in the city, and Tomb-Sweeping Day always sends us his own clear fruit. Family and food are still unforgettable. Time has passed, and Qingming fruit is no longer the simple meaning of Qingming ancestor worship. It contains deep affection and pure homesickness. Now, when I think of the green fruit, I will feel faint homesickness and sweet memories from the bottom of my heart.

Another Tomb-Sweeping Day. Because of work, I can't go back to my hometown to sweep my grandparents' graves, but my parents brought back Qingming fruit from my hometown. Seeing fruit is like seeing people, thinking of the scene of villagers clearing fruit together. That kind of harmony, that kind of nature, that kind of intimacy is so warm and beautiful, but these are hard to find in cities and today's materialistic society. Only this green and fragrant fruit is still full of temptation and intriguing.

During the Qingming Festival, it rained one after another, Ai Guo was soft and homesick, and the spring breeze accompanied her dreams to go home, and there was smoke at the head of the village.

Runbingcai

Every time in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Quanzhou people have the custom of eating "cake-moistening dishes". It is said that this is the legacy of the ancient Cold Food Festival.

The proper noun of "cake-moistening dish" should be spring cake. Tomb-Sweeping Day's eating moist cakes is not only unique to Quanzhou, but also popular among Xiamen people. According to legend, Cai, governor of Yunnan, Guizhou and Huguang in Ming Dynasty, was the pioneer of this way of eating. At that time, it was under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou government, so this way of eating spread and became a famous product in southern Fujian. However, the forms of spring cakes in different parts of southern Fujian are the same, but the contents are quite different.

Quanzhou's "cake-moistening dish" is baked with flour into thin skin, commonly known as "cake-moistening" or "cake-smearing". Spread out the skin when eating, and then roll in shredded carrots, shredded pork, fried clams, kohlrabi and other mixed dishes. It is simple to make and tastes sweet and delicious. Jinjiang's "cake-moistening dish" is much more complicated, and the main ingredients of that bag of "cake-moistening dish" must be varied and filled with a table. There are some main courses: peas, bean sprouts, dried beans, fish balls, shrimps, diced meat, fried oysters and radish dishes. There are also some ingredients: crispy seaweed, shredded fried eggs, peanut seasoning, radish and shredded garlic. When eating, you must have two "cake skins" to ensure that they are not broken by rich content. This kind of crisp, sweet, mellow and beautiful food is enough for ordinary people.

However, as far as I know, the "cake-moistening dish" in Jinjiang is not the most complicated; In terms of complexity, Xiamen should be the most important. The main ingredients used in Jinjiang are all from Xiamen. In addition, add bamboo shoots, fish, fried flat fish and fried leeks, and then dip in mustard, hot sauce and sweet sauce. This is the authentic "pancake" in Xiamen.

Now everyone's living standard has improved, but the custom of eating "moist cake dishes" still exists, which should be a kind of inheritance.

Why does Qingming eat youth league?

Shanghainese had the custom of eating Youth League before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, which can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. According to "Zhou Li", there is a law that "Muduo is forbidden to burn in the fire in mid-spring", so people put out cooking and "eat cold food for three days". The cold food period, that is, one or two days before the name is unknown, is also designated as the "Cold Day".

The traditional foods of the ancient Cold Food Festival include glutinous rice cheese, wheat cheese, almond cheese, etc. You can prepare for the Cold Food Festival in advance, and you don't need to make a fire to cook.

Nowadays, some dumplings are made of green wormwood, and some are made of Bromus inermis juice and glutinous rice flour, stuffed with bean paste. It has been circulated for more than a hundred years, and it is still an old face. People use it to pay homage to their ancestors, but it is more important to try new things, and the function of the Youth League as a sacrifice is weakening day by day.

Turtle and ring cake

"Chronicle of Jingchu's Age" records: "On the 150 th day of the winter festival last year, there was a strong wind and rain, which was called cold food. Three days without fire, make glutinous rice porridge. " Nakano Yoshi also said: "Cold food for three days is fermented cheese." Fermented cheese is a kind of almond porridge made of maltose. Until the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was still the main food of the Cold Food Festival. In addition, Qi Shu Yao Min also recorded another food of the Cold Food Festival-rice cakes. Ice surface, a cold vessel, is made of honey and flour. Deep-fried to golden brown, it can be eaten, and the taste is extremely crisp and beautiful, which is quite similar to the current dim sum.

Zaoziyan

In Tomb-Sweeping Day in the Song Dynasty, in addition to the ready-made foods such as thick paste, wheat cake, cheese and milk cake, people also made a swallow-shaped pasta called "jujube flying swallow", which is said to be used to worship mesons. In the Ming dynasty, people still left some dates to swallow, and in the long summer, they were fried for the children at home. It is said that eating them can avoid eating them in summer.

green food rice

Chen (about 1225- 1264) recorded another cold food festival "green rice" in Volume 15 of Guang Ji, Records of Lingling Zongji: "Yang, fine holly, especially those who live near water. People live in cold food, their leaves are dyed with rice, blue and bright, and they eat Ziyang. It is called Torre sheep rice, and Taoism calls it green rice and stone hungry rice. The custom of eating cold food and dyeing green rice seems to be more popular in the south. Lang Ying (1487- 1566 from Hangzhou) mentioned the "green and white jiaozi" he ate at the Cold Food Festival in Volume 43 of Seven Manuscripts. This kind of green dumpling is made by adding Bromus inermis juice to glutinous rice, and the stuffing is mostly jujube paste or bean paste. Before steaming, put new reed leaves on it. After steaming, the color is green and lovely, with the fragrance of reed leaves. It is a very popular food in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Zituimo

Qingming is one of the 24 solar terms. The first day of this solar term is Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional festival that is popular in Han nationality areas and ethnic minority areas such as Zhuang, Korean, Miao, Dong, Gelao, Maonan, Jing and She. At this time, the climate in most parts of China is getting warmer and plants are sprouting, sweeping away the yellow scene in winter. There is an agricultural proverb in the south of the Yangtze River that says "Qingming is connected with Grain Rain, so don't delay soaking seeds and ploughing", and that "planting trees is not as good as Qingming". Qingming, for farmers in the south of the Yangtze River, is a busy season for spring ploughing and sowing. The drizzle described by Du Mu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, in the poem Qingming is the catalyst for this busy farming season. In fact, in the rain and fog, there should not only be pedestrians who want to break their souls and hotels swaying in the wind, but also farmers who are busy plowing fields and bending over to transplant rice seedlings.

In Tomb-Sweeping Day, people should sweep graves, weed, cultivate soil, worship ancestors and mourn the dead. Now is also the day to sweep the martyrs' cemetery, plant trees and carry out traditional education. The day before in Tomb-Sweeping Day was the Cold Food Festival. Fireworks are not allowed to be set off at the Cold Food Festival, and only cold food and cold dishes are allowed to be eaten to commemorate the aristocratic meson push of Jin State in the Spring and Autumn Period. Meson push, also known as meson push, meson push. He went into exile with his son Zhong Er (later Jin Wengong). After Wen Gong returned to China, he rewarded his followers. Jiexiu was not rewarded, but lived in seclusion with his mother in Mianshan (that is, Jieshan in the southeast of Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province). Later, Wen Gong wanted to give him an official title, but he refused. Wen Gong had no choice but to let Yamakaji go. He tried to force him out, but unexpectedly, he burned the mother and son to death in the mountains. Later, due to the connection between cold food and Qingming, it gradually merged into a festival, but the custom of steaming "pushing buns" before the festival has been spread in Yulin and Yan' an in northern Shaanxi.

"Zi Tuimo", also known as Lao Momo, is similar to the helmet of ancient military commanders and weighs about 250-500 grams. Eggs or red dates are wrapped inside and have a top on them. The top is covered with flowers. Hua Mian is a dough-shaped steamed stuffed bun with the shape of swallow, worm, snake, rabbit or Four Treasures of the Study. The round "push buns" are for men to enjoy. Married women eat long "shuttle buns" and unmarried girls eat "catch buns". Children have flowers such as swallows, snakes, rabbits and tigers. "Big Tiger" is specially for boys, and it is also their favorite. Parents string various small flowers with pear branches or fine twine and hang them on the ceiling of the cave or next to the window frame for children to enjoy slowly. Air-dried noodles can be stored in Tomb-Sweeping Day the following year.

Making flour flowers is a specialty of women in northern Shaanxi. With their dexterous hands, they can knead fermented white flour into flour flowers of various shapes. Tools are just daily necessities such as combs, scissors, awls and tweezers, and accessories are red beans, black beans, peppers and food pigments. Steamed noodles are lifelike, especially like art treasures, which makes people reluctant to eat them at once.

"Zituimo" and flour flowers are not only eaten by themselves, but also given as gifts to relatives and friends. When a mother wants to give it to her daughter who got married that year, it is called sending cold food. Children in rural areas give them to their teachers, so that gardeners who leave home to teach and educate people in remote mountain villages alone can share holiday food.

Tomb-Sweeping Day pinned our nostalgia for our ancestors and admiration for the martyrs; Zi Tuimo has deepened people's warm affection and sincere friendship.