The development process of Tomb-Sweeping Day

Qingming was just the name of a solar term at first, and later became a festival to commemorate ancestors, which was related to the Cold Food Festival. Jin Wengong designated the second day of the Cold Food Festival as Tomb-Sweeping Day. In most parts of Shanxi, the day before Tomb-Sweeping Day was the Cold Food Festival. Tomb-Sweeping Day in Yushe County and other places celebrated the Cold Food Festival two days ago; Yuanqu County also pays attention to Tomb-Sweeping Day's Cold Food Festival the day before, and the light cold food the day before.

Incorporate into the custom of the Cold Food Festival

Qingming was just the name of a solar term at first, and later became a festival to commemorate ancestors, which was related to the Cold Food Festival. Cold Food Festival is an early festival in ancient China. Legend has it that it was set up in the Spring and Autumn Period to commemorate Jiexiu, a loyal minister of the State of Jin. In fact, from the historical reality, the prohibition of cold food mainly reflects the remains of the ancient custom of changing fire in China. In primitive society, the ancestors drilled wood for fire, and fire was very rare. Due to the seasonal changes, the tree species used for making fires are constantly changing. Therefore, changing fire into new fire is a major event in the lives of the ancients. Spring and March are the seasons for changing fires, so people should forbid making fires before new ones come. The Han Dynasty called the Cold Food Festival a no-smoking festival, because people were not allowed to light a fire on this day, and candles were lit in the palace at night, and the fire spread to the homes of dignitaries.

The customs during the Cold Food Festival mainly included forbidding fire and cold food and offering sacrifices to sweep graves, which later became the main content of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

The ancients in China attached great importance to offering sacrifices to their ancestors. In ancient times, when someone died in the family, they only dug graves for burial, not built graves. Sacrifices are mainly held in ancestral halls. Later, when digging a grave, a mound was built, and ancestor worship was arranged in the cemetery, so there was material support. During the Warring States period, the wind of tomb sacrifice gradually flourished.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, sweeping graves became more popular. According to Hanshu, Yan Yannian, the minister, regularly returned to his hometown to pay homage to the cemetery even though he was thousands of miles away from Beijing. In the Tang Dynasty, both literati and civilians regarded the grave sweeping of the Cold Food Festival as a ritual festival to return to their hometown and pursue religion. Because Tomb-Sweeping Day is close to the Cold Food Festival, people often extend the time for sweeping graves to Tomb-Sweeping Day. Poets' works are often cold food and Qingming. For example, Wei has a poem saying: "Qingming is good for cold food, and the spring garden is full of flowers." Bai Juyi also has a poem that says, "When crows make trouble, trees faint. Who cries when they eat cold food on Qingming Day?" In view of the fact that both folk cold food and Tomb-Sweeping Day have become a habit, the imperial court formally stipulated in the form of official documents that when Tomb-Sweeping Day came, he could have a holiday with the Cold Food Festival. This regulation has been around for more than 1200 years, which shows that Qingming began to have the color of a national statutory holiday.

During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Tomb-Sweeping Day gradually rose from being attached to the Cold Food Festival to replacing it. This is not just a grave-sweeping ceremony on the dining table, but the original customs and activities of the Cold Food Festival, such as cold food, cuju and swinging, have all been taken over by Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Incorporate the custom of Shangsi Festival.

Tomb-Sweeping Day later absorbed the contents of another earlier festival-Shangsi Festival. In ancient times, Shangsi Festival was held on the third day of the third lunar month. The main customs were jogging and bathing by the river, which reflected people's psychological needs for mental adjustment after a dull winter. There is a poem written by Lu Ji in the Jin Dynasty: "It's late spring and the weather is soft. Yuanji Longchu, swim the Yellow River. " It is a vivid portrayal of people's childhood travel in Shangsi Festival.

Since the Tang Dynasty, people have been sweeping graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day, accompanied by recreational activities. As Tomb-Sweeping Day is going to the suburbs, while paying homage to his ancestors, it is also a way to adjust his mood to visit gardening and metallurgy in the bright spring. Therefore, Tomb-Sweeping Day is also called Youth Day. Children who are playful by nature are often not satisfied with having an outing in Tomb-Sweeping Day only once, just like the poem "When a teenager goes on a trip, he doesn't have to be both Tomb-Sweeping Day and thinking" written by Wang Wei, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty.

Subsequent development

Tomb-Sweeping Day combined the essence of two ancient festivals, and finally formed a traditional festival in Song and Yuan Dynasties, which centered on worshipping ancestors and sweeping graves, and integrated cold food customs with activities such as thinking about going for an outing.

The Ming and Qing Dynasties generally inherited the old system of the previous generation, and Tomb-Sweeping Day still adhered to and developed its position as an indispensable festival in spring life.