Why did Tomb-Sweeping Day sweep the grave? Why is it called Qingming?
The origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day
The legend of meson push
According to the legend of Tomb-Sweeping Day, in the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhong Er, the son of the Jin Dynasty, was exiled to escape persecution. On the way to exile, in a deserted place, I was tired and hungry, and I couldn't stand up anymore. I searched for it for a long time, but I couldn't find anything to eat. When everyone was in a hurry, I took meson to a quiet place, cut a piece of meat from my thigh and cooked a bowl of broth for my son to drink. Zhong Er gradually recovered his spirit. Zhong Er was moved to tears when he found that the meat was cut off from his leg by mesons.
Nineteen years later, Zhong Er became the monarch, that is, the historical Jin Wengong. After he ascended the throne, Wen Gong rewarded the heroes who accompanied him in exile at first, but forgot to push the meson. Many people complained about meson push and advised him to admire it. However, mesons despise those who strive for merit the most. He packed his bags and quietly went to Mianshan to live in seclusion with his old mother.
Hearing this, Jin Wengong was ashamed and personally took someone to ask Jiexiu, but Jiexiu had left home for Mianshan. Mianshan Mountain is high and dangerous, with dense trees. It's hard to find two people. Someone offered a plan to burn Mianshan from three sides and force a meson to push out. The fire burned all over Mianshan, but there was no trace of meson push. After the fire was put out, it was found that Jiezitui had sat under an old willow tree with his old mother on his back and died. Jin Wengong cried. When I was buried, I found a skirt in a tree hole, which said, "May my Lord be clear forever." To commemorate meson tui, Jin Wengong ordered that this day be designated as Cold Food Festival.
The following year, Jin Wengong led ministers to climb mountains to pay homage. When he discovered that the old willow tree had come back from the dead, he gave it the title of "Qingming Willow" and told the world that the day after the Cold Food Festival was designated as Tomb-Sweeping Day.
It combines the customs of the Cold Food Festival-forbidding fire, cold food and offering sacrifices to sweep graves.
Tomb-Sweeping Day, where fire and cold food are forbidden in Tomb-Sweeping Day, was originally just the name of a solar term and became a festival to commemorate ancestors, which was related to the Cold Food Festival. From the historical reality, the prohibition of cold food mainly reflects the remains of the custom of changing fire in ancient 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 include forbidding fire and cold food and offering sacrifices to sweep graves. 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, "The cock crows and the tree is faint, and the Qingming cold food cries." 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.