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The Qingming Festival matured in Zhou and has a history of more than 2,500 years.

According to ancient books, it is called "Qingming" because the solar term is clear and bright at this time.

What is special about Qingming Festival?

　　Compared with other festivals, Qingming Festival has two special features:

　　First, among the twenty-four solar terms in China, only Qingming is included in the traditional Chinese festival.

This is purely accidental, or there are other reasons, which deserve our careful study.

But in any case, its status is extraordinary.

　　The second is Chinese traditional festivals, which are usually relatively simple in content.

For example, the focus of the Dragon Boat Festival is to send the god of plague, the focus of the Qixi Festival is to worship the cow girl, and the focus of the Double Ninth Festival is to climb high to avoid epidemics.

But unlike these traditional festivals, the content of Qingming Festival is much more complex.

In detail, it mainly consists of the following three aspects:

　　One is the prohibition of fire: according to tradition, fire is prohibited before and after Qingming; the other is tomb sweeping: according to old customs, on Qingming day, people need to bring wine, food, fruit, paper money, incense candles and other items to the cemetery to sweep the tombs and pay homage to their ancestors; the third is outing: Qingming At the same time, it is also a traditional festival with strong entertainment. During the Qingming Festival, people will take their families to the outskirts of the countryside to play. Children play Cuju, cockfights, swings, blankets, tug-of-war, and kite-flying on the grass and in the woods. …Only from an entertainment perspective, Qingming Festival is indeed one of the few traditional Chinese festivals that focus on entertainment.

　　Why is the theme of Qingming so complicated?

The author believes that this is likely to be related to the experience of the three-in-one in history.

　　Different from other festivals, Qingming Festival is a traditional festival made up of three traditional festivals.

Historically, the three festivals, the Shangsi Festival, the Qingming Festival and the Cold Food Festival, are very close.

This is a big taboo.

In Chinese, the original meaning of "Jie" is "bamboo joint".

For bamboo to grow tall, it must have knots.

The development of a society also needs to be prudent and rhythmic.

And the "banyan" of this rhythm is "festival".

There are two reasons for the "festival": one is to let people consciously relax themselves after a period of tension, and to recharge their energy during the festival to meet the next challenge; Especially the rituals in festivals, to recharge oneself and recharge the whole society.

For example, through various New Year's greetings ceremonies from the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, to strengthen the interpersonal relationship between oneself and family members, relatives, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and the township party, and to re-format the interpersonal relationships that have been problematic change".

This annual ritual can also improve the relationship between man and nature.

For example, during the Spring Festival of the Hani people, the purpose of offering sacrifices to the mountain is to strengthen the relationship between man and nature. While protecting the local water source, it also protects the water used for terraced fields and ensures a bumper harvest of agriculture.

Logically, the interval between traditional festivals should be equidistant.

If you violate this rule and stack several festivals together, it will break the original rhythm of life and make life clueless.

To avoid similar problems, the easiest way is to merge them.

It is for this reason that the three traditional festivals of Shangsi, Qingming and Hanshi have been merged into one.

What does the "three-in-one" Qingming Festival bring?

　　First, the prohibition of fire was originally a custom of cold food, but with the integration of the cold food festival, the Qingming Festival has added a custom of not allowing fireworks and only eating cold food.

In addition, Zituiyan, who commemorates Jie Zitui, also appeared in Qingming customs.

　　Second, with the integration of the Shangsi Festival, there are more outing customs in the Qingming Festival.

The Shangsi Festival originated from the ancient Spring Society.

In ancient times, Chunshe was a day when men and women met.

"Zhou Guan·District Court Scholar" says: "The moon in the middle of spring will make men and women meet, so at the same time, people can't help it." In the Tang Dynasty, this custom degenerated into the custom of young men and women to go out in the suburbs and enjoy flowers by the water.

Du Fu's "Beauty Walk" described: "The weather is new on March 3, and there are many beautiful people by the water in Chang'an", which is exactly the scene depicted.

Bathing by the water is likely related to the story of Jian Ditun's oviparous business.

Today, the temple fair of the ancestors in Huaiyang, Henan, and the third day of the third month in the minority areas of the southwest are likely to be the relics of the ancient Shangsi Festival and the customs of the Spring Society.

　　Third, with the integration of the three festivals, the custom of sweeping tombs and offering sacrifices to ancestors during the Qingming Festival was well preserved.

During the Qingming Festival, the ancestors visited the graves and remembered the merits of their ancestors. While expressing gratitude to their ancestors, they also found the emotional connection and blood relationship between the tomb sweepers and their ancestors.

At the same time, the tomb-sweeping activities have further strengthened the emotional connection between the tomb-sweepers objectively, making the whole family and the whole society more united.

In fact, tomb-sweeping has appeared before Qin, but the time is not fixed.

In the end, the Qingming Festival was decided after Qin.

What's the point of protecting a festival that was created 2,500 years ago?

　　Qingming Festival has a history of 2,500 years. What is the significance of protecting such a traditional festival?

　　First, the annual grave-sweeping ceremony can enhance Chinese people's sense of gratitude.

Being cautious and chasing the distance and remembering our ancestors are the traditional virtues formed by the Chinese nation since ancient times.

This tradition is not only conducive to the promotion of filial piety and family affection, but also to awaken the common cultural memory of the entire family. Obviously, this is important for promoting the unity of the family and even the nation, enhancing the cohesion and centripetal force of the entire family and even the entire nation, and for building a harmonious socialist society. realistic meaning.

　　Secondly, Qingming Festival is also a festival for people to get close to nature.

There are many festivals in China, but Qingming is probably the only one dedicated to getting close to nature.

On spring days, people take their relatives and friends for outings, enjoying more family and happiness, and at the same time, they can also experience the beauty of nature.

These activities will undoubtedly inspire people's love for nature, and are also of great significance to building an environment-friendly society.

　　Thirdly, as one of the four traditional festivals in China, Qingming Festival is not only for Chinese people, but also a common festival for people from Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, South Korea, North Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

With the immigration of nearly a hundred years, Qingming has even become a common festival for Chinese in many countries and regions in the world.

Carrying forward this traditional festival also has important practical significance for promoting the spread of Chinese civilization and enhancing the friendship between people of all countries.

(Author: Yuan Li, researcher and doctoral supervisor of China National Academy of Arts)