The Origin, Poetry and Customs of Tomb-Sweeping Day (Why Tomb-Sweeping Day is on April 5th)

Tomb-Sweeping Day is an important traditional festival in China, and it is still one of the important festivals of the Chinese nation, including overseas Chinese. In traditional society, Tomb-Sweeping Day is a particularly grand festival. It is not only a festival to pay homage to the grave and remember the deceased relatives, but also a festival to walk and get close to nature. The folk activities around the two themes are rich and diverse, which is a grand view. It also has a long festival. Tomb-Sweeping Day (the15th day after the lunar vernal equinox, around April 5th of the Gregorian calendar) is only a symbolic time for festivals, and its customs and activities often last for five or six days to more than ten days (depending on the place). In modern society, the connotation, activities and scale of Tomb-Sweeping Day have changed greatly due to the changes in social life and cultural concepts and the restrictions of holiday system. However, it is still valued by Chinese people because of its unique function and status, which has produced a social impact that cannot be ignored. It is of great social and cultural significance to investigate the historical evolution of Tomb-Sweeping Day customs, combine its inheritance in modern society, and make its positioning and planning conform to history, people's feelings and national conditions.

Compared with other traditional festivals, Tomb-Sweeping Day has three characteristics: first, it has two "identities": solar terms and festivals; Second, mainly engaged in outdoor activities (sweeping graves, hiking, etc.). ); Thirdly, it has two kinds of emotional atmosphere: solemnity (or sadness) (in grave-sweeping activities) and joy (in recreational activities such as hiking). The formation of this feature is closely related to its origin. From the perspective of origin and formation, Tomb-Sweeping Day is a festival that combines Tomb-Sweeping Day Qi, Cold Food Festival and Shangsi Festival.

(A), Tomb-Sweeping Day and the "Qingming" solar terms

Among the 24 solar terms, Qingming is the only solar term that is both a solar term and a festival (the winter solstice is also a festival in history, but now it is no longer celebrated in most places). The name of Tomb-Sweeping Day is related to the weather and climate characteristics at this time. The Western Han Dynasty's "Huainanzi Astronomical Training" said: "On the fifteenth day after the vernal equinox, the bucket refers to B, and the Qingming wind is coming." "Qingming Wind" is a refreshing and clear wind. "When I was in 100 questions" said, "Everything grows at this time, clean and bright. So it is called Qingming. " Although Qingming, as a festival, was only formed in the Tang Dynasty, Tomb-Sweeping Day Qi, as a symbol of time sequence, has long been known by the ancients and clearly recorded in the Han Dynasty.

Twenty-four solar terms are the climatic laws summed up by astronomers and people in ancient China in their life and production practice, which appropriately reflect the changes of temperature, phenology and rainfall throughout the year, and have indispensable guiding significance for people to arrange farming and sericulture activities on time. By Qingming, the temperature is getting warmer and the rainfall is increasing, which is a good season for spring ploughing and spring planting. Therefore, Qingming is an important solar term in ancient agricultural production. The farmer's proverb says, "Before and after Qingming Festival, point melons to plant beans" and "Planting trees is nothing more than Qingming Festival", which is precisely the truth. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cui Ai's Moon Order for Four recorded that "Tomb-Sweeping Day ordered a silkworm concubine to stay in the silkworm room ..." It is said that it was at this time that he began to prepare for sericulture. "Tomb-Sweeping Day" is just a solar term, not a festival.

In addition, Qingming is in early spring and March, with beautiful spring, everything recovering, pleasant climate and full of vitality everywhere. This is a good time for spring outing and suburban entertainment, so before and after Qingming Festival, it naturally becomes a good time for people to enjoy playing outdoors and in the countryside.

Although the Tomb-Sweeping Day mentioned in this paper mainly refers to festivals rather than solar terms, the atmosphere of Tomb-Sweeping Day provides important conditions for the formation of Tomb-Sweeping Day customs in terms of time, weather and climate characteristics, and this solar term should be regarded as one of the origins of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

(2), Tomb-Sweeping Day and Cold Food Festival

The Cold Food Festival is in March of the lunar calendar, one or two days before Qingming Festival. Before the Han Dynasty, the Cold Food Festival was banned for a long time, only in January. The Han Dynasty designated the Cold Food Festival as the first three days of Tomb-Sweeping Day. The Chronicle of Jingchu's Age in the Southern Dynasties said: "On the 15th day of the Winter Festival, there was a strong wind and rain, which meant that there was no fire in the cold food for three days." The Tang and Song Dynasties were reduced to Tomb-Sweeping Day the day before. From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, cold food was regarded as a big festival. It was still a big festival in the Tang Dynasty, but it began to decline and was gradually annexed by Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Regarding the formation of the custom of forbidding fire in the Cold Food Festival, there is a popular saying that it originated from people's commemoration and memory of Jiexiu, a famous loyal minister and righteous man. Jie Zitui was a minister in exile with Zhong Er, the son of Jin Dynasty in the Spring and Autumn Period. He once cut off the meat on his leg to satisfy his hunger. The latter will be rewarded with mesons after becoming a monarch (that is, Jin Wengong). Jiezitui took his mother to Mianshan for seclusion, and got nothing in return. Jin Wengong released Yamakaji and drove meson out of the mountain, where meson was burned to death. Jin Wengong designated Mountain Burning Day as the anniversary of meson pushing, and banned fire on this day. "Chronicle of Jingchu" notes: "meson Tui was burned by fire on March 5th, and China people mourned it. At the end of spring every year, because there is no fire and it rains and hurts the fields, it is called' no smoking'. " In fact, the custom of forbidding fire existed as early as the Zhou Dynasty, and the statement that forbidding fire is to commemorate and sacrifice mesons is purely a postscript. After the Han dynasty, this kind of collateral meeting spread gradually, which had a greater and greater impact on the formation and inheritance of the Cold Food Festival.

Now people explain the reason why fire is forbidden in the Cold Food Festival. There are two main arguments. Attributable to specific folk beliefs in ancient times. The ancients divided the stars on Sunday into twenty-eight nights, and the horns and Kang Erxing of the Oriental Qinglong Palace were called "Long Xing", which occupied a wooden position in the five elements. In the pre-Qin period, the ancients thought that Long Xing appeared in the east in spring, which was easy to cause fire. So when Longxing first appeared in March, it should be forbidden to fire. The custom of forbidding fire existed in the Zhou Dynasty. You can't make a fire to cook during the fire ban, and you must prepare food in advance. This kind of cold food that can't be heated is called "cold food". Another view is explained by the habit of taking fire in ancient people's life, and it is believed that the prohibition of fire in cold food stems from the system of drilling wood to take fire for new fire. In ancient times, people drilled wood for fire, and the wood used in different seasons was different, so it was necessary to change the fire when the season changed. And every time you change the fire, you have to change it to a new one. Before a new fire comes, people should be forbidden to make a fire. "Zhou Li Autumn Lawsuit Xuanjiashi" said: "In mid-spring, it is forbidden to use Muduo to repair fires in junior high schools." It was mid-spring, and the official in charge of ignition shook Muduo in the street, warning people not to ignite. Later, at this time, banning fire became a custom and was handed down.

The Cold Food Festival has two main characteristics: one is to ban cold food by fire, and the other is to commemorate meson push. When the custom of sweeping graves and entertainment is added to this festival, it shows that the nature of this festival has changed substantially, that is, it has changed in Tomb-Sweeping Day. From the existing historical records, poems and other written materials, we can roughly see this transformation process.

At present, there is no clear record of the exact time for the Cold Food Festival to increase grave-sweeping entertainment activities. However, from the "Tang Yao Hui Ji" written by Wang Bi in the Northern Song Dynasty, it can be seen that the custom of sweeping graves and hiking in the cold food festival in the early Tang Dynasty has become a common practice and attracted the attention of the court. In the second year of Li Zhilong's reign in Tang Gaozong (622), the imperial court issued an imperial edict prohibiting people from "marrying at a funeral" and "drinking and having fun at a funeral". It also prohibited people from going to the grave on the Cold Food Festival, and even prohibited people from having a happy outing after visiting the grave sadly: "Or go to the grave with cold food and be happy again. I've never been embarrassed sitting in front of a pine tree. Since the wind is strong, it should be banned. " ("Don Yao Hui" Volume 23) Obviously, the court considered these folk practices to be contradictory and inconceivable, disrespectful to the dead and ghosts, and not serious and immoral. However, folk customs did not decline because of the imperial ban, but became more and more prosperous. So, after more than one hundred years, in 732, the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Li Longji, the imperial court issued another imperial edict, allowing cold food to go to the tomb to offer sacrifices to sweep, and making it a routine:

Cold food to the tomb, the ceremony is unwritten, handed down in modern times, immersion custom. How can a scholar show filial piety if he doesn't like the temple? It is appropriate to go to the grave and use the ceremony of worship. Drink a libation outside the south gate, withdraw it and cry. If you eat more than you want, you will not be happy. Still integrated into the ceremony, it is always a routine. (Don Yao Hui, Volume 23)

But it also stipulates that you can't eat, drink and be merry on the spot after sweeping the grave. In the 29th year of Kaiyuan (74 1), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty issued an imperial edict: "Those who eat cold food and go to the grave are Yan musicians. When they see the official code, they will not be eligible to take the exam. After three years in the temple, white people will definitely have a meal to eat. " ("Don Yao Hui", Volume 23) It has been a folk custom since ancient times to enjoy sacrifices in front of graves. Although the court has strict orders, it is difficult to ban them.

Since then, the custom of cold food sweeping graves has become more popular. Later, because officials returned to their hometowns to visit graves, they sometimes delayed their official duties, and the court issued several decrees to solve the holiday problem. It began to stipulate that the Cold Food Festival should have a holiday of four days: "February 21st, the 24th year of Kaiyuan (736):' Cold Food Festival and Qingming four days are holidays. "("Tang Yao Hui "Volume 82) According to the imperial edict of the twelfth year of Dali (777), the Tang Dynasty yamen had a five-day holiday as usual:" From now on, the cold food will be clear, and five days will be off. "In the sixth year of Zhenyuan (790), the holiday was increased to seven days. [3] In this way, officials can pay homage to the grave calmly. It can be seen that the Cold Food Festival has become a very grand national festival in the Tang Dynasty. Wang Lengran's Cold Food in the Tang Dynasty said: "Autumn is as expensive as wax, so it is better to eat cold food before spring." That is, the importance of the Cold Food Festival exceeds that of the Double Ninth Festival and the twelfth lunar month at the end of the year. The Cold Food Festival in Song Dynasty also had seven days' holiday. Volume 1 of Pang Wenchang Magazine in the Northern Song Dynasty records: "Every 70-year-old ancestral temple has six days, and Yuan Day, cold food and winter are seven days each." In the Southern Song Dynasty, Chen Juan quoted Song Luyuan-ming's Miscellaneous Notes on the Age of the Year as saying, "The first two days in Tomb-Sweeping Day are Cold Food Festival, with three days before and after, and seven days off. Civil fire ban 104 days, called private cold food, also known as big cold food. Northerners use this day to offer sacrifices first. There is a saying that there is no way out for the moon. "

So, what does the Cold Food Festival have to do with Tomb-Sweeping Day? As mentioned above, there are three main customs in the Cold Food Festival at this time: no fire, grave sweeping and outing. The "Cold Food Festival" that people talked about in the Tang and Song Dynasties is actually a mixture of Tomb-Sweeping Day and the Cold Food Festival now. Cold food is only one day away from Qingming, and the fire ban is over on the third day. It is necessary to make a fire during Qingming Festival, and use wicker or elm to beg for a fire. In this way, Qingming and cold food are linked together, and Qingming's fire-changing activities become a part of cold food activities. In fact, a series of activities before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day in the Tang and Song Dynasties were related. At that time, people thought that Tomb-Sweeping Day was a part of the Cold Food Festival, and regarded it as an important day, as a day to get a new fire. Because Tomb-Sweeping Day banned fire a few days ago, so it should also be in Tomb-Sweeping Day to burn paper in the cemetery to confess. Some poems, actually in Tomb-Sweeping Day, record cold food, sweeping graves and burning paper. From the name, most people call it "cold food". For example, Mei's poem "Huzhou Cold Food with Taishou South Garden" describes the grand occasion of a spring outing in the suburbs; Some people call it "Qingming Festival", such as Du Fu's poem "Qingming Festival", which describes the lively scene of a spring outing in Changsha, Tomb-Sweeping Day in the fifth year of the Tang Dynasty: "It is a prosperous day, and thousands of people leave Changsha. The ferry is beautiful and arrogant. " Some people also call it "cold food is clear", such as Bai Juyi's "Cold Food Wild Forget Songs": "The five emperors are noisy and chaotic, and who cries when it is clear." Some poems confuse the two names, some poems are titled "Qingming", and the following poems are described as "cold food"; Or titled "Cold Food", the poem says "Qingming". According to the records of the Tang Dynasty, on February 15th of the 12th year of Dali, the imperial court issued a decree: "From now on, cold food will be the same as Qingming". After the late Tang and Song Dynasties, the custom of forbidding fire and cold food declined. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the name of "cold food" was naturally mentioned less and less, while Qingming, originally the name of solar terms, was highlighted, and more and more people summarized this period. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the name of "Qingming" was not only "cold food", but also tended to replace the latter. In modern times, people in most places only know "Tomb-Sweeping Day" and don't know the name "Cold Food Festival". But there are still a few places where fire or cold food is forbidden, such as some places in Shanxi and Shandong.

The similarities in customs and contents between Tomb-Sweeping Day and the original Cold Food Festival are not significant. There are two main links between them: one is the connection of time, and the other is the emotional appeal of remembering and sacrificing predecessors. These two links eventually made Tomb-Sweeping Day replace or annex the Cold Food Festival. The transition from the prohibition of fire in the Cold Food Festival to the memorial ceremony in Tomb-Sweeping Day is naturally completed by people in their lives when time is close.

(3), Tomb-Sweeping Day and Shangsi Festival

Shangsi Festival was formed at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, starting from the fourth day of the third month of the lunar calendar, and changed to the third day of March after Wei and Jin Dynasties. From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, there were three kinds of custom activities of Shangsi Festival: one was to hold a sacrificial ceremony at the water's edge and bathe in the water to get rid of the stains and fishy smell of the past year, which was called "making" or "making". The second is to summon souls to continue, to summon the souls of relatives in the wild or near the water, and to summon their own souls to awaken and return. Ancestors think that their souls, like all things, have experienced the process of germination, growth and withering with the changes of the four seasons, so they should summon their souls in early spring. The third is the Spring Opera, in which young men and women go for a walk in the wild and have sex freely.

The most important content of the early festival custom of Shangsi Festival is the baby. In ancient times, this activity was not only a witchcraft ceremony to exorcise evil spirits, but also a free and happy spring outing. The Book of Songs, Zheng Yan, describes the scene where people gather at the water's edge and young men and women make friends to show their love:

Qin and Yan, Fang and, Wen and female, Fang and. The woman said, "What do you think?" The scholar said, "I'm sorry." "Come to view again?

Besides, you can enjoy yourself. "Wechsler and female qi tease each other and feed them a spoonful of medicine.

"Notes on Chinese Poetry" explains: "Peach blossoms are underwater in March this year, in order to wake up and nourish the spirit and get rid of the filth of the old times." From the above description and explanation, we can know that Shangsi Festival is a happy spring outing and free exchange festival between men and women after a religious ceremony to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck in the suburbs. In this way, there are two kinds of atmosphere in Shangsi Festival: one is solemn exile and evocation, and the other is cheerful play and communication. Although babies and evocation ceremonies are very important, people spend more time and energy on happy spring outing and communication.

After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the custom of bathing in the water gradually disappeared, and the waterfront was changed to waterfront reception. The Chronicle of Jingchu in the Southern Dynasties records: "On March 3rd, four people left Zhujiangchi. Liu Linqing is a glass of water. " In this passage, the custom of Shangsi Festival is mainly the activities of making friends and feasting at the water's edge. In the Tang Dynasty, March 3rd was still an important national holiday. On this festival, the emperor will feast his ministers in Qujiang, and many scholars have written poems to describe this magnificent scene. Folk men and women also came to the water to have a drink and make friends. Liu Jia's "On the Day of Thinking" wrote: "On the banks of the Shangsiqu River, the city is noisy. If you can't find each other, meet here. " On this day, the game of Hundred Herbs Wars is also popular in Chang 'an.

Because the time is close to Tomb-Sweeping Day, and they are all in the suburbs, the outing banquet of Shangsi Festival and the spring outing entertainment after tomb sweeping in Qingming began to go their own way, and then gradually merged into one. The characteristics of making new friends on Shangsi Festival are integrated into the customs of Tomb-Sweeping Day. It can also be said that the popular custom of spring outing in Tomb-Sweeping Day is mainly to inherit the tradition of Shangsi Festival.

To sum up, according to the available data, Tomb-Sweeping Day had not become a festival before the Tang Dynasty. Since the Tang Dynasty, Tomb-Sweeping Day has gradually become an important folk festival, which combines the customs of Cold Food Festival and Shangsi Festival. Wang Wei said in the poem "Cold food is a thing in the east of the city": "Young people don't have to think about Qingming", which is a strong evidence that cold food, Qingming and Shangsi are integrated into one. In the early Tang Dynasty, although the custom of this period was often called "cold food", in essence, its main part was what is called Tomb-Sweeping Day today. From the Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Tomb-Sweeping Day reached its most popular period, and then it continued.