The Origin and Significance of Tomb-Sweeping Day What did we do that day?

Tomb-Sweeping Day is an important traditional folk festival in China, and it is one of the eight important festivals: Shangyuan, Qingming, Long Summer, Dragon Boat Festival, Central Plains, Mid-Autumn Festival, Winter Solstice and New Year's Eve. Generally speaking, it is on April 5 in the solar calendar, but its festival is very long. There are two kinds of sayings: eight days before the tenth day and ten days after the tenth day, and these 20 days belong to Tomb-Sweeping Day.

It is said that the origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day began with the "grave-sweeping" ceremony of ancient emperors and generals. Later, people followed suit, and it became a fixed custom of the Chinese nation to worship ancestors and sweep graves on this day. Originally, the Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day were two different festivals. In the Tang Dynasty, the day of sweeping graves was designated as the Cold Food Festival.

The name "Tomb-Sweeping Day" also comes from the Tomb-Sweeping Day atmosphere in the twenty-four solar terms of the China lunar calendar. 105 The first day after winter is Qi Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day gas * * * has 15 days. As it is Tomb-Sweeping Day, the time is after the vernal equinox. At this time, winter has gone, spring is full, the weather is sunny, the fields are bright and clean, and the vitality of nature is everywhere. It is an appropriate word to call this period "Qingming".

One hundred and five days after beginning of winter, the solstice was called cold food. In the past, fire was forbidden and cold food was eaten, so it was also called "Cold Food Festival" and "No Smoking Festival". According to folklore, cold food is to commemorate the burning of mesons in Mianshan during the Spring and Autumn Period, and Jin Wengong ordered the fire to be banned. Jiezitui is from Shanxi, so the custom of cold food is first popular in Shanxi. In the old days, cold food cut off fire, and the next day there was a ceremony to drill wood for fire in the palace, and the people also begged each other for fire with wicker. Later, as the days of Qingming and cold food approached, cold food was the day when people banned fire to sweep graves. Gradually, cold food and Qingming became one, and cold food became another name of Qingming and became a custom of Qingming. On Qingming Day, there are no fireworks, only cold food.

There is a legend about cold food:

According to legend, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Jin Xiangong's concubine killed the prince in order to let her son inherit the throne, and Shen Sheng was forced to commit suicide. Shen Sheng's younger brother, Zhong Er, went into exile to escape the scourge. During his exile, Zhong Er suffered humiliation. Most of the courtiers who went out with him went out one after another. Only a few loyal people have been following him. One of them is called meson push. On one occasion, Zhong Er fainted from hunger. In order to save Zhong Er, Jiezitui cut a piece of meat from his leg, cooked it with fire and gave it to Zhong Er. Nineteen years later, Zhong Er returned to China and became the monarch, that is, Jin Wengong, one of the famous five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period.

After Jin Wengong came to power, in addition to meson push, he offered many rewards to courtiers who shared his joys and sorrows. Someone defended meson in front of Jin Wengong. Jin Wengong suddenly remembered the past and felt guilty. He immediately sent someone to ask meson to take the imperial court to be rewarded as an official. However, after several trips, the meson could not be pushed. Jin Wengong had to please. However, when Jin Wengong came to the meson pusher's house, he saw that the door was closed. Jiezitui didn't want to see him, and had already been hiding in Mianshan (now southeast of Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province) behind his mother's back. Jin Wengong asked his body guard to search Mianshan, but he couldn't find it. So, someone had an idea, saying, it is better to let Yamakaji go, set fire on three sides, leave one side, burn it and the meson will come out. Jin Wengong ordered the promotion of Yamakaji. Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and nights. After the fire was put out, the meson was not pushed out after all. Looking up the mountain, the mother and son were holding a charred willow tree and were dead. Jin Wengong looked at meson push's body and cried for a while. Then I buried the body and found that the back of meson push was blocked by a willow hole, as if there was something. Take out a look, turned out to be a skirt, with a blood poem:

I hope your master is always clear.

It is better to be a ghost than to accompany you as an exhorter.

If your master has me in his heart, remember that I often reflect.

I have a clear conscience in Jiuquan, diligent and honest.

Jin Wengong hid the bloody book in his sleeve. Then meson tui and his mother were buried under the charred willow tree. To commemorate Jiexiu, Jin Wengong ordered Mianshan to be changed to Jiexiu Mountain, and an ancestral temple was built on the mountain, and the day when Yamakaji was released was designated as the Cold Food Festival, telling the whole country that it is forbidden to set off fireworks and firecrackers on this day every year and only eat cold food.

When he left, he cut a charred willow and made a pair of clogs in the palace. He looked at it every day and sighed, "What a pity." The "first step" is the name of ancient people's subordinates respecting each other between superiors or peers, which is said to come from it.

The following year, Jin Wengong led his ministers to go hiking in plain clothes to show their respect and condolences. Walking to the grave, I saw the dead old willow tree resurrected, with thousands of green branches dancing in the wind. Jin Wengong looked at the resurrected old willow tree and seemed to see the meson push. He walked up to him respectfully, lovingly squeezed a branch, braided it into a circle and put it on his head. After the sacrifice, Jin Wengong named the revived old willow "Qingming Willow" and named it Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Later, Jin Wengong often took a bloody book with him as a souvenir, urging himself to take power. He is diligent and honest, and strives to govern the country well. Since then, the people of Jin have been able to live and work in peace and contentment, and they are very nostalgic for Jietui, who has made outstanding contributions and is not looking for wealth. On the day of his death, it is forbidden to set off fireworks in memory of him. It is also made of flour and jujube paste into the shape of a swallow, strung with willows and inserted in the door to summon his soul. This thing is called "pushing swallows" (also called intermediary pushing). Since then, cold food and Qingming have become grand festivals for the people of the whole country. Whenever there is cold food, people don't make a fire to cook, but only eat cold food. In the north, people only eat cold food prepared in advance, such as jujube cakes and wheat cakes. In the south, there are mostly green balls and glutinous rice and sugar lotus roots. Every time I go to Tomb-Sweeping Day, people put wicker in a circle and put wicker branches in front of the house to show their memory.

2. The significance of Tomb-Sweeping Day:

In fact, Tomb-Sweeping Day has several meanings. Of course, the most important one is about the meaning of life. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a festival to cherish the memory of the dead, inspire the existing life, cherish the memory of the deceased relatives around us, and thank our ancestors for giving us life. How to continue the past life through our existing life and inspire today's life with the past life? The significance of remembering is not only the yearning for relatives, but also a national custom and a race's reproductive ceremony. Our annual grave-sweeping for our loved ones is a ritual and a continuation of the concept of paying homage to our ancestors. Some experts suggested that this ceremony should be expanded, that is, Tomb-Sweeping Day pays homage to those who gave their lives for the country and the Chinese nation every year. In fact, such activities were held every year when we were young, but now such activities are much less among teenagers. Therefore, some experts suggested that China should have a "national code". Every year, Tomb-Sweeping Day holds a memorial ceremony in front of the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square. From martyrs to sages, sages are not only people who shed their blood, but also many outstanding figures in our history, which are worthy of our commemoration. Sages in hometown are the soul of hometown history and mountains and rivers. They left footprints in their hometown. You can go to their former residences, cemeteries and monuments to pay homage. This will be the most intimate ninth grade.

Secondly, Tomb-Sweeping Day is still a "festival of vitality", welcoming and expanding the vitality of nature. When nature came to Tomb-Sweeping Day, it was full of vitality. Planting trees means that the ancients expanded the vitality of nature. In ancient times, there was a custom of "inserting willows for spring". Walking is to cherish the vitality of nature, go to nature, embrace nature, get close to nature, play cuju, swing, tug of war and so on, to welcome the arrival of the vitality of nature.

In addition, most traditional festivals in China are transformed from natural festivals. From nature to humanity, it is "formed by feeling the rhythm of nature and full of humanistic spirit". Tomb-Sweeping Day was formed by combining the ancient Cold Food Festival. Cold food is a natural rhythm, which is integrated with humanistic spirit. The so-called humanistic spirit is countless legends and figures.

It can be seen that Tomb-Sweeping Day is not only covered by a "burn", but also expressed by a "burn". All along, we have been advocating a more civilized new way to pay homage to our ancestors, such as flower sweeping, such as online sweeping. Therefore, some experts say that traditional culture should not be abandoned at any time. It is important that we should not abandon the core of traditional culture. According to life science, "genes" cannot be changed. The way of paying homage should develop with the development of the times. This is just an external carrier that needs to be constantly updated and changed, but "genes" should be protected and preserved, and core values should be protected.

3. Tomb-Sweeping Day, what shall we do?

Tomb-Sweeping Day's customs are rich and interesting. In addition to paying attention to the prohibition of fire to sweep graves, there are a series of customs and sports activities such as jogging, swinging, playing cuju, playing polo and inserting willows. According to legend, this is because it is forbidden to eat cold food during the Cold Food Festival. In order to prevent the harm of cold food and cold meal to people, everyone comes to participate in some sports activities to exercise. In Tomb-Sweeping Day, people avoid injections and washing clothes, and women in most areas avoid walking. Before evening, a gray line should be spread in front of the gate, which is said to prevent ghosts from entering the house. Therefore, this festival is a distinctive festival, with sad and sour tears to sweep the new grave and laughter for an outing.

① Swing.

This is the custom of ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day in China. Swing, that is, lift the rope, move. It has a very long history. It was originally called Qian Qiu, but later it was changed into a swing to avoid taboos. In ancient times, swings were made of branches and tied with ribbons. Later, it gradually developed into two ropes, a pedal swing. Swing can not only improve health, but also cultivate courage, which is deeply loved by people, especially children.

② 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. Playing polo is also one of the ways to play the Dragon Boat Festival. Polo is riding a horse and hitting with a stick. In ancient times, it was called bowing. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a saying in Cao Zhiming's name that "there is a sentence in a row". In Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty, there was a wide stadium, and emperors such as Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Jing Zong all liked polo. Ma Qiutu, in the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai, depicts the prosperity of polo in the Tang Dynasty: more than 20 horses galloped at high speed and their ponytails were tied up. Players are wearing shawls, boots and sticks, hitting each other one by one. Analysis of Golden Branches records the traditional custom of polo as a festival in Liao country, and polo is played on Dragon Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival. Li Shizhi also recorded that Jin people hit the ball during the Dragon Boat Festival. In the Song Dynasty, there was a "Ball Play Music" dance team. In the Ming Dynasty, polo was still popular. According to the general examination of continued literature, Ming Chengzu hit the ball and shot the willow many times in Dongyuan. In the Ming Dynasty's "Music Map of Xuanzong", there are scenes of Xuanzong enjoying polo. At that time, Wang Zhi, an official, wrote a poem about watching the game in the afternoon: "Jade is like a golden horse, carved with seven treasures." When you fly, you will be shocked and feel the stars. The incitement page has become three wins, and joy is the first. Qingyun follows the footsteps and winds in the eastern end of the temple. "In front of the Baiyun Temple in Beijing, there are also rules for the masses to ride horses and hit the ball. There were polo in the Temple of Heaven in Qing Dynasty, and polo didn't disappear until the middle of Qing Dynasty. In recent years, antique polo has appeared in Xi 'an, which makes this ancient sport reappear on the land of China after years of extinction.

③ Go for an outing.

Also called spring outing. It was called Tanchun and Xunchun in ancient times. Qingming in April, spring returns to the earth, and nature presents a vibrant scene everywhere, which is a good time to go for an outing. Our people have kept the habit of walking in Tomb-Sweeping Day for a long time.

④ Planting trees

Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, the spring was bright and the spring rain was falling, and the survival rate of planted seedlings was high and the growth was fast. Therefore, China has the habit of planting trees in Qingming since ancient times. Some people even call Tomb-Sweeping Day Arbor Day. The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day. 1979, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) stipulated March 12 every year as China's Arbor Day. This is of great significance to mobilize people of all ethnic groups in China to actively carry out activities to green the motherland.

⑤ Flying kites

Flying kites is also the most popular activity in Tomb-Sweeping Day. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, people not only wore it during the day, but also at night. At night, a string of colored lanterns is hung under the kite or on the wind-stabilizing stay, like twinkling stars, which is called "magic lamp". Someone used to put kites in the blue sky, then cut the strings and let the breeze send them to the ends of the earth. It is said that this can eliminate diseases and disasters and bring good luck to yourself.

⑥ sweeping graves

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 went to the grave to pay their respects, and the gold ingot was hung on the back of the sedan chair, and the road was full of embarrassment. 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.

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 tablet printed in the middle to write down the name of the deceased in the area code, such as "The late Zhang Fujun was afraid of the boss in Yunshan", which is both a package and a 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.

All landowners willow insertion

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 a saying that is good, "wicker green rain; 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: "intentional planting of flowers, unintentional planting of willows." Wicker lives when inserted in the soil, lives where it is inserted, and goes down year after year, and it becomes gloomy everywhere.

Tomb-Sweeping Day is a time for ghosts to haunt and explore. In order to prevent the harassment and persecution of ghosts, people put willows and put them on. In people's minds, willows have the power to ward off evil spirits. Influenced by Buddhism, people think that willow can exorcise ghosts, so it is called "fear of ghost wood". 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.

I hope it helps you.