Text/Lin Yao Please indicate the source when reprinting: Shangpin Shangsheng
Cold food, Qingming Festival, and Qingming Festival have always been an vague concept, and it is difficult to straighten the relationship between them; some people also have taboos and customs for worshiping ancestors who do not visit the grave the day before Qingming Festival. Why is this? After carefully reading the following content, you will understand.
1.
The Qingming solar term of the twenty-four solar terms
Twenty-four solar terms is formulated based on the position changes of the sun on the ecliptic (i.e. the orbit of the earth revolving around the sun). It can reflect the changes in the season and guide agricultural activities. affects the food, clothing, housing and transportation of thousands of households.
As early as 2644 years ago in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period , our working people had the concept of sunrise and sunrise and northward. Then, people divided the of a year into twenty-four equal parts based on the relationship between the sun and the moon and the natural phenomena such as the movement of the sun and moon at the beginning of the month and the weather and the growth of animals and plants. and gave each equal portion a proper name, which is the twenty-four solar terms.
In the "Deces of the Lüshi Chunqiu" written in the late Warring States period, there are eight solar terms including , the Beginning of Spring, , the Beginning of Spring, the Beginning of Summer, the Beginning of Summer, the Beginning of Autumn, the Beginning of Autumn, the Beginning of Autumn, the Beginning of Winter, and the Winter Solstice. These eight solar terms are the most important solar terms among the twenty-four solar terms. It marks the transition of seasons and clearly divides the four seasons of the year.
to during the Qin and Han dynasties, and 24 solar terms have been fully established . The book "Huainanzi" has the title of the twenty-four solar terms that are exactly the same as modern times.
"Almanac": " 15 days after the vernal equinox, , is Qingming , when everything is clean and clear, when the qi is clear and the scenery is bright, everything is obvious, hence the name."
As soon as the verge of Qingming arrives, the temperature rises, warms up, and rainfall increases. It is a great time for spring plowing and planting. Therefore, Qingming was an important solar term for ancient agricultural production. agricultural proverb says "Around Qingming Festival, I order melons and beans" and "planting trees and afforestation is nothing more than Qingming Festival". is exactly what I mean.
Eastern Han Cui Wei's "Four Minutes" records: "On Qingming Festival, I ordered my concubines to manage the silkworm room..." It means that I began to prepare for raising silkworms at this time.
At this time, the "Qingming Festival" is just a solar term, not a festival.
2,
Evolution of the Qingming solar term to the Qingming festival of the twenty-four solar terms
The origin of the Cold Food Festival and the Qingming Festival: The legend of Cold Food Festival and the Qingming Festival
Because this story took place in Jin State 2492 years ago, so, in which stage of history was Jin State?
About 2272 years ago, the Shang Dynasty arrived in the Zhou Dynasty. Later, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty moved from Haojing to Luoyi, now Luoyang City, Henan Province. Historically, the Zhou Dynasty after the migration east was called the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Before, the Zhou Dynasty was called the Western Zhou Dynasty when it was Haojing.
Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC to 256 BC) was divided into two periods: Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period. Everyone is familiar with this history, and the one you are used to is called "Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period".
During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC), the Zhou royal family declined, and their authority was no longer possible, and they could no longer effectively control the princes in the world. In order to occupy a dominant position in politics and military, some powerful vassal states launched fierce wars of hegemony, joining forces with each other and fighting in the east and west. A total of several vassals became hegemons in sequence, and the famous Five Hegemons in the Spring and Autumn Period appeared in history, including the Jin State's Jin Wengong Chong'er.
From the Warring States Period (475 BC to 221 BC), the seven strongest vassal states were Yan, Qi, Chu, Qin, Zhao, Wei and Han. These seven countries were called the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period" by historians. Among them, the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei divided the Jin State.
Duke Wen of Jin (697 BC-628 BC), Ji surnamed Chong'er, was born in. The 22nd monarch of Jin State, the son of Duke Xian of Jin, ascended the throne in 636 BC and was still dead.
Chong'er had outstanding military achievements in civil governance and military affairs, ranked second in the Five Hegemons in the Spring and Autumn Period, and was known as "Qi Huan Jin Wen" together with Duke Huan of Qi, creating a century-long hegemony in Jin State.During the Li Ji Rebellion, Chong'er was forced to go into exile for 19 years. In the spring of 636 BC, with the support of Duke Mu of Qin, he returned to Jin and killed Duke Huai of Jin and established his throne. According to legend, during his exile, Chong'er accompanied Jie Zitui and other ministers to escape from the persecution of his stepmother Li Ji.
One day, when they fled to Wei State, they were so hungry that they could not eat without any reason. Chong'er fell seriously ill again and was about to die, so sad. In despair, Jie Zitui reluctantly cut off the meat from his legs, lied that it was hare meat, and cooked it for Chong'er to eat, and survived the difficulty. Only after Chong'er recovered from his condition, someone told him the truth.
19, Chong'er became the monarch of Jin State.
He rewarded meritorious officials and was awarded great honor, but he only forgot Jie Zitui, who was loyal to him.
Later, after someone reminded me, Chong'er remembered the old thing again and immediately sent someone to invite Jie Zitui, but he did not find it.
Chong'er came to the door to invite him in person, and heard from the neighbors that Jie Zitui had already hid in Mianshan with his old mother on his back.
So Chong'er sent someone up the mountain to search, but still couldn't find it.
Chong'er knew that Jie Zitui was very filial, so he decided to force Jie Zitui to appear by "fire the mountain".
Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and three nights, and Jie Zitui and his son did not come out either.
Later, I found that Jie Zitui and his son had been burned to death by a fire next to a dry willow.
At that time, Jie Zitui's backbone blocked the hole of the big willow tree, and a piece of clothing left behind was found in the hole.
A poem is written in blood on it:
Cut the flesh and serve you with all your loyalty,
I hope your lord will always be clear and clear.
I will never see you when I am a ghost under the willows.
is like a companion to the king and a counselor.
If the lord has me in his heart,
I remember that I am dead and I often reflect on myself.
has a clear conscience in Jiuquan,
diligently seeks Qingming Festival and Qingming Festival.
Chong'er was very moved after seeing it, and cried bitterly, buried his mother and son in Mianshan, changed Mianshan to Jieshan, and built a temple to commemorate it.
In order to remember Jie Zitui, Duke Wen of Jin ordered that the day when Jie Zitui was burned to death was designated as the "Cold Food Festival".
Fireworks are strictly prohibited this day of each year, and only cold food is eaten.
On the third year of the Cold Food Festival, Duke Wen of Jin led his ministers to Jieshan to worship Jie Zitui, and found that the withered willow was resurrected. At this time, it was Qingming of the twenty-four solar terms, so he gave the willow tree the name "Qingming Willow". He also told the world that the day after the Cold Food Festival was designated as the Qingming Festival. It is stipulated that from the Cold Food Festival to the Qingming Festival, people must pay tribute to Jie Zitui. At this time, there are also memorial activities on Qingming Festival, just like the Cold Food Festival, and the festival elements are included on Qingming Festival.
3,
The legend of Liu Bang's paper-pressing in front of the ancestor's tomb in Qingming Festival
About 1769 years ago, at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu of Han, and Xiang Yu, the King of Western Chu, won the world after several great wars.
Liu Bang's real name is Liu Ji. He was born in Zhongyangli, Fengyi, Pei County, and is now a farmer's home in Feng County, Jiangsu Province.
After Liu Bang, who was born in the bottom of society, became emperor, he wanted to worship on his parents' grave.
When I returned to my hometown, due to years of war, the tombs were covered with weeds, and the tombstones were crooked, some were broken, and some were broken, and the words on the monument could not be identified.
Liu Bang was very sad. His subordinates helped him search through all the tombstones, but he still couldn't find his parents' grave until dusk.
Finally, Liu Bang took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, tore it into many small pieces with his hands, held it tightly in his hands, and then prayed to God: My parents have spirits in the sky. Now the wind is blowing so big, I will throw these small pieces of paper into the air. If the pieces of paper fall into one place and the wind cannot blow, it will be my parents' grave.
After saying that, Liu Bang threw the paper into the air. Sure enough, a piece of paper fell on a tomb. No matter how the wind blows, Liu Bang ran over and took a closer look at the vague tombstone. Sure enough, he saw his parents' name on the tombstone.
Liu Bang was extremely happy and immediately asked someone to renovate his parents' tomb. From then on, he would definitely go to his parents' tomb to worship every year on Qingming Festival.
In ancient times, only the nobles had tombs, but the common people did not have tombs.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, the feudal hierarchy was no longer so strict. After the people were buried, there were cemeteries. At that time, the cemeteries of the nobles were called "tombs" and there were monuments. The cemetery of a civilian is called a "grave", it is just a land bunch. At the beginning, the tomb sacrifice was an activity of aristocratic people, and the people did not hold tomb sacrifices, but only held family sacrifices. Since Liu Bang, the customs of the Qingming Tomb Sacrifice have gradually formed.
According to the "Old Book of Tang Dynasty: Xuanzong Ji", "The scriptures for worshiping the tombs on the Cold Food Festival are not written, but they have been followed in modern times and have become customs for a long time. The families of scholars and common people will pay homage to the people every time during the Cold Food Festival." In view of this custom for a long time, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang issued an edict in the 20th year of Kaiyuan: "The families of scholars and common people should pay homage to the tombs, and incorporate the five rituals, which will always be the regular style." The tomb sacrifice of the Cold Food Festival was determined as a national custom. The tomb sacrifice is divided into spring and autumn, which means praying for the retribution of spring.
The Cold Food Festival mainly worships Jie Zitui and his mother. Liu Bang worships his parents, and the sacrifice story is widely circulated. Therefore, the people of the people, like Liu Bang, go to the graves of their ancestors every year on Qingming Festival, and use small pieces of soil to press a few pieces of paper on the grave to indicate that someone is paying homage to the grave.
gradually confused the Cold Food Festival tomb sweeping with the Qingming Festival, and mixed the Cold Food Festival tomb sweeping with the Qingming Festival. The Qingming Festival gradually replaced the Cold Food Festival. Nowadays, most people regard the Qingming Festival and the Cold Food Festival as the same day, and there is a custom of not visiting the grave the day before the Qingming Festival.
4.
Changes on holidays
During the Tang Dynasty, tomb sweeping activities were usually in the first 10 days or 10 days after the Qingming Festival. Some people in some places have a monthly grave sweeping activity. When officials returned to their hometowns to visit graves, they were often delayed their duties, so Emperor Xuanzong of Tang issued a decree, stating the issue of holidays.
began to stipulate that the Cold Food Festival would be on four days off, and then the holiday would be on five days. By the sixth year of Zhenyuan (790), the holiday would be added to seven days.
The Cold Food Festival in the Song Dynasty also took seven days off.
1935 The government of the Republic of China stated that April 5th was the national holiday Qingming Festival, also known as the National Tomb Sweeping Festival.
December 7, 2007, the state stipulates that "Qingming Festival is 1 day off (the day of the Qingming Festival in the lunar calendar). In 2008, Qingming Festival officially became a legal holiday, and one day off. In 2009, it was changed to three days.
As one of the traditional Chinese festivals, at this time, Qingming Festival is also called the outing festival. At the turn of mid-spring and late spring, that is, the 108th day of after the winter solstice, 15 days after the vernal equinox is one of the most important sacrificial festivals, and it is the day of worshiping ancestors and tomb sweeping.
It can be seen that Qingming Festival was originally just a solar term, and the festival that became a commemorative of ancestors was the Cold Food Festival Evolved.
5.
Qingming Festival customs
Qingming Festival customs are rich and interesting. In addition to paying attention to prohibiting fire and tomb sweeping, there are also outings, swings, Cuju, playing polo, and planting willows.
Qingming Festival is mixed with the Cold Food Festival, eating cold food and banning fire. In order to prevent cold food and cold food from harming the body, everyone comes to participate in some sports activities to exercise. Therefore, this festival has the birth of new graves. The sad tears of death, the laughter of outings, and a series of customs and sports activities, is a distinctive festival.
Rich and colorful activities include: swinging, Cuju, outing, and wearing willows (a folk proverb says: "If you don't wear willows on Qingming Festival, your beauty will become a white head." "If you don't wear willows on Qingming Festival, you will become a yellow dog after death." "If you don't wear willows on Qingming Festival, you will become a pig or a dog in the next life." Wearing willows has the function of warding off evil spirits.), shooting willows, fighting cocks, silkworm flower parties, planting trees, flying kites, etc.
6,
6,
l3 Qingming Festival is also a Cold Food Festival. It has a variety of cold food foods
primitive society. The ancestors drilled wood to make fire. The fire seeds were hard-won. The tree species that made fire often changed constantly due to seasonal changes. Therefore, changing fire and exchanging new fire was a major event in the lives of the ancients. In March of spring, people should prohibit the fire from making fire before the new fire came. The Han Dynasty called the Cold Food Festival the ban on smoking festival because people were not allowed to raise fires on this day. Only at night did the candles lit in the palace and passed the fire to the homes of noble and important officials. plus the story of Jie Zitui's mother and son feeling sad and beautiful in the sky, Therefore, eating cold food this day.
Nowadays, some places still retain the habit of eating cold food on the Qingming Festival. Eat eggs in Heze and Jimo, Shandong (remember, when I was a child, I dyed the eggs red and touched the eggs with my friends to see who is hard) and rice and cold cakes; eat eggs and cold sorghum rice in Laiyang, Zhaoyuan and Changdao. Tai'an ate cold pancake rolls raw bitter vegetable, and it is said that his eyes are bright after eating them. The Jinzhong area still retains the habit of banning fire the day before Qingming Festival.
Many places eat the sacrificial food after completing the sacrificial ritual.
When people from southern Jin Dynasty were spending Qingming Festival, they were used to steaming large buns with white flour, walnuts, dates, and beans in the middle, and the outside was plated into a dragon shape. An egg was stitched in the middle of the dragon's body, which was called "Zifu". You have to steam a large total "child blessing" to symbolize the reunion and happiness of the whole family. When visiting the grave, the general "Zi Fu" was presented to the ancestors, and the whole family shared the food after the tomb sweeping.
The old custom of Shanghai, using willow branches to pierce the steamed cakes used for sacrifice, dry it and store it. On the beginning of summer, fry it for children to eat it. It is said that after eating it, you will not suffer from summer diseases.
There is also the custom of eating green dumplings in Shanghai. Pound the croaker and glutinous rice together to make the green juice and rice flour blend together, then wrap it with bean paste, date paste and other fillings, use reed leaves to bottom, and put it in the steamer. The steamed green balls are bright green in color and fragrant. They are the most distinctive seasonal food on the local Qingming Festival, and some people also like to eat peach blossom porridge.
In Huzhou, Zhejiang, every family wraps rice dumplings on the Qingming Festival, which can be used as a sacrifice to visit the grave or as dry food for outings. As the saying goes, "Qingming Zongzi is firm."
7.
Taboos of Qingming tomb sweeping
Generally, Qingming tomb sweeping can be divided into two rituals:
(I) Hanging paper, also known as "paper pressing", generally use stones or bricks to press rectangular yellow and white paper, or five-color red, yellow, blue, white and black paper, to indicate that the descendants have worshipped the ancestral graves.
(II) Tomb cultivation is an activity of modifying the ancestral tomb and worshiping ancestors. The weeds on the ancestors' tombs are removed every year and trimmed, and then some animal gifts, wine, vegetables, fruits and rice cakes are prepared as offerings. Generally, sacrifices are placed in front of the grave and in front of the soil behind the grave, including leeks, eggs, squid, sweet rice, taro, bamboo shoots, etc.
Qingming Festival customs have been passed down to some taboos tomb sweeping.
includes: pregnant women avoid tomb sweeping, do not take photos in the cemetery, avoid wearing big red and purple clothes, outsiders should not participate in other people's tomb sweeping, those with poor luck will avoid tomb sweeping, those with poor luck will avoid tomb sweeping, those with grass on the grave must be trimmed, their hair will not cover their foreheads, they should not buy shoes, they should not play or scold, and criticize their ancestors.
In addition, you must also grasp the time to visit the grave. It is best to choose when the yang energy is relatively strong, that is, after 9 am to before afternoon. The Qingming Festival worship activities are completed before 3 pm, because at this time the yang energy has gradually faded and the yin energy is gradually growing. If a person is in a low fortune or weak body, sacrifices may be affected in the evening with heavy yin energy. Five days before and after the Qingming Festival, and on the Qingming Festival, some people think that it is not advisable to visit the tomb on this day of the Cold Food Festival (the first day of the Qingming Festival). Perhaps it is because the sacrifices to Jie Zitui are all on this day.
8,
Appreciation of the poems of Qingming Festival:
"Qingming" (Tang Dynasty) Du Mu
During the Qingming Festival, the pedestrians on the road are about to break their souls.
I would like to ask where is the restaurant? The shepherd boy pointed to Xinghua Village in the distance.
"Cold Food on the Way" (Tang Dynasty) Song Zhiwen
Immediately encounter cold food, and it is late spring on the way.
Poor Jiangpu, no one can see Luoqiao people.
The North Pole is Huaming’s Lord, and the South Mile is the exiled minister.
The heartbroken place of the hometown, the willow branches are fresh day and night.
"Cold Food" (Tang Dynasty) Han Hong
Flowers are flying everywhere in the spring city, and the cold food is the east wind slanting the willows.
Candles were sent to the Han Palace at dusk at the end, and light smoke spread into the Wuhou's house.
"The Gate of the Gate" (Tang Dynasty) Zhang Ji
The farmer recruited a boat for love, the spring grass was green and the fields were green;
Try to visit Wumen to see the county town, and there were new smoke in several places on Qingming Festival.
"Qingming" (Song Dynasty) Wang Yuqiao
Ever through Qingming Festival without flowers and wine, and his interest is like a wild monk.
Yesterday, the neighbor's house begged for a new fire, and the morning window was divided into reading lamps.
"The Su Di Qingming Festival" (Song Dynasty) Wu Weixin
Pear blossoms are blowing and the wind is rising in the Qingming Festival, and the wanderer is looking for spring and leaving the city.
The evening songs are cleared away, and thousands of willows belong to the orioles.
"Cold Food Up to the Tomb" (Song Dynasty) Yang Wanli
How can you be straight for your husband? Can I avoid helping the bridge dangerously?
The distant mountain maple is light outside, and the broken house is lonely by the wheat.
The grass is in the spring breeze, and the new fields are gone last year.
Pear blossoms are cold food, and I only worry about the festival.
"Incoming the Suburbs" (Song Dynasty) Cheng Hao
The grass is green in the wilderness, and the mountains are green in spring;
The fun of red is chaotic and the willow alley is not only because of the flowing water, but also because of the flowing water, I am very persuasive, but I am afraid that the wind and flowers willow flowers will be red;
It is a good weather in Qingming Festival, so why not forget to return.
"Send Chen Xiucai to the tomb on the sand" (Ming Dynasty) Gao Qi
full of clothes, blood, tears and dust, and returning home after chaos can also be mournful.
Peach blossoms have been eaten coldly after the wind and rain, how many descendants come to the grave?
"Qingjiang River Induction, Qingming Sun Tour" (Ming Dynasty) Wang Pan
Ask where is the best place to ban smoking in the West Building?
green fields and sunny days.
Horses wear willows neighing,
people smile on the swing,
Exploring the oriole flowers in the spring is drunk.
Copyright Statement: This article is a work by Lin Yao, a writer under the WeChat public account Reading History. It must not be reproduced anonymously or hidden from sources, otherwise it will be considered as infringement of
