...Reading question: Tell me the ins and outs of Qingming Festival

The annual "Qingming Festival" has arrived as scheduled. At this juncture, the topic of "Qingming Festival" is indispensable. What's more, as early as 8 years ago, "Qingming Festival" was included in the first batch of "National Intangible Cultural Heritage" list; it is still a legal holiday today. Let’s talk about the origin of “Qingming Festival”.

The twenty-four solar terms include Qingming

Historical records show that the Qingming Festival began in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years. At first, "Qingming" was just one of the "twenty-four solar terms" of the lunar calendar. Later, based on the "solar terms", it gradually evolved into a folk festival.

The "Almanac" records that the 105th day after the "Winter Solstice" and the 15th day after the "Spring Equinox" are "Qingming". At this time, everything revives, the energy is clear, and the scenery is bright, so it is called "Qingming". "Qingming" belongs to the "three periods": in the first period, the tung trees begin to bloom; in the second period, the field mice turn into quails; in the third period, the rainbow begins to appear. That is to say, during the Qingming Festival, the white tung flowers bloom; all the field mice return to their burrows; and rainbows can be seen after the rain. Of course, these are all Jiangnan scenes. The "Qingming Festival" in Northeast China is far from Qingming Festival.

After the "Qingming Festival", the temperature begins to gradually rise. For the Central Plains area, it is a good time for spring plowing and spring planting. Therefore, there are "before and after the Qingming Festival, plant melons and beans" and "plant trees. There is no better time than Qingming" and other farmers' proverbs. However, during the "Qingming" season in the Liaoshen area, the land has just been civilized and can only be plowed in spring; sowing cannot be done until May of the Gregorian calendar.

The savior who cut off his flesh was not an official

The mention of "Qingming" also triggered a story of loyalty.

Historical records show that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Li Ji, the concubine of Duke Xian of Jin Dynasty, devised a poisonous plot to kill Prince Shen Sheng in order to allow her biological son "Xi Qi" to succeed to the throne. Shen Sheng's younger brother Chong'er fled. Seeing that Chong'er fled and was in a state of desolation, unable to make a comeback, and with no future, all the courtiers who had fled with him left him one after another, and in the end only a few loyal ministers remained. Jiezitui is one of them. Once, Chong'er fainted from hunger. Really unable to find anything to eat, Jie Zitui reluctantly cut off a piece of meat from his own leg, roasted it and gave it to Chong'er.

Nineteen years later, Chong'er returned to his country and became a monarch, becoming Duke Wen of Jin, one of the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period" in history. After Duke Wen of Jin came to power, he awarded rewards to the ministers who shared the hardships with him during his escape, but he only ignored Jie Zitui. After someone reminded him, Duke Wen of Jin suddenly remembered that Jie Zitui cut off his flesh to save his life, and he felt extremely regretful. He immediately sent someone to invite Jie Zitui to come and be rewarded. However, after sending people several times, Jie Zitui refused to come. Helpless, Duke Wen of Jin had no choice but to invite him in person. When Duke Wen of Jin came to Jie Zitui's residence, he saw that the door was closed and the house was already empty. At this time, the stubborn Jie Zitui had already hid in Mianshan (southeast of Jiexiu County, Shanxi) with his old mother on his back.

Buried in a sea of ??fire and left a poem of blood

After Jin Wen Gong learned of the whereabouts of Jie Zitui, he ordered the imperial guards to go to Mianshan to search for Jie Zitui. However, the imperial guards searched all over the mountains and fields for many days, but could not find Jie Zitui.

At this time, someone came up with a crooked idea: "Set fire to the mountain. Light fires on three sides, leaving one side of the mountain road. After the fire burns out, in order to survive, Jie Zitui will definitely push from the side without fire. Come out of the mountain road." Duke Wen of Jin accepted this bad idea. So, Duke Wen of Jin ordered the imperial guards to set fire to the mountain. What Jin Wengong did not expect was that after the fire burned for three days and three nights, Jie Zitui was still nowhere to be seen. After the fire was extinguished, when the guards went up the mountain to inspect, they unexpectedly found that Jie Zitui, mother and son, were holding a large burnt willow tree and had already died.

When Duke Wen of Jin saw this, he stamped his feet and cried bitterly, and ordered that Jie Zitui, mother and son be buried lavishly. When the guards buried the remains of Jie Zitui and his son, they found a tree hole in the big willow tree in Jie Zitui's arms, and something seemed to be stuffed inside. The guardsmen took it out and saw that it was a piece of clothing with a bloody poem written on it: "I will sacrifice my flesh to you by cutting my flesh. I hope that my lord will always be clear and clear. It is better to be a ghost under the willows than to accompany you as an admonition minister. If my lord has a heart, he will never be seen again." I always reflect on myself when I remember. I have a clear conscience in Jiuquan, and I work diligently to restore the Qingming Festival."

I wear wooden clogs and think about my steps

Jin Wenggong hid the blood poem in his sleeve. Then the bodies of Jie Zitui and his mother were buried respectively around the burnt big willow tree. In order to commemorate Jie Zitui, Duke Wen of Jin ordered: Change Mianshan Mountain to "Jie Mountain"; build an ancestral hall on the mountain to commemorate Jie Zitui; and designate the day of Jie Zitui's death as the "Cold Food Festival". Duke Wen of Jin also told the people all over the country: On the "Cold Food Festival" every year, no fire is allowed to cook, and only cold food is eaten.

Duke Wen of Jin also cut off a large burnt willow branch and returned to the palace to make a pair of "clogs" to wear on his feet. After that, Duke Wen of Jin would look at the clogs every day and sigh: "How sad, one step!"

From then on, the word "one step" became a written honorific for friends. For example, "Historical Records: The Chronicles of Xiang Yu" "The general's feet", and another example is Chapter 13 of the first part of Yang Mo's "Song of Youth": "I and my feet are both classmates of Peking University" and so on.

In the second year after Jie Zitui's death, Duke Wen of Jin led his ministers, dressed in plain clothes, to hike up Mount Jie to pay homage to Jie Zitui. When Duke Wen of Jin came to the graves of Jie Zitui, his mother and son, he saw that the big willow tree had come back to life, with thousands of green branches swaying in the wind. Looking at the vibrant willow tree, Duke Wen of Jin seemed to see Jie Zitui. He walked respectfully to the big willow tree, carefully cut off a few willow branches, braided them into a circle and put them on his head. After the sacrifice, Duke Wen of Jin named the resurrected willow tree "Qingming Willow" and designated this day as "Qingming Festival".

The two sections are adjacent to one section

From then on, Duke Wen of Jin often carried Jie Zitui's bloody poem with him as a "motto" to spur him to work diligently and love the people. Sure enough, Duke Wen of Jin governed with a clear mind, worked hard to govern, and made the country prosperous and powerful, creating a century-long foundation for Jin. Duke Wen of Jin's literary and martial arts skills were revealed to later generations. Together with Duke Huan of Qi, they were called "Qi Huan and Jin Wen", and were praised by later generations of Confucianism, Legalism and other schools of thought.

After the people of the Jin Dynasty were able to live and work in peace and contentment, they missed Jie Zitui who did not take credit or seek official positions. People used flour and jujube paste to shape swallows, strung them with willow sticks, and inserted them on the door. They named it "Zhitui Yan" ("Jie Zitui" is also "Jie Zitui") to commemorate Jie Zitui. Since then, the "Cold Food Festival" and "Qingming Festival" have become grand festivals for the people. During the "Cold Food Festival", people spontaneously cook without making fire and only eat cold food. In the north, people prepare jujube cakes, wheat cakes and other cold foods in advance; in the south, they mostly prepare "green dumplings" and "glutinous rice with sugared lotus root". Every year on Qingming Festival, people follow the practice of Duke Wen of Jin, weave wicker sticks into circles and wear them on their heads; they insert wicker branches in front of and behind their houses to commemorate Jie Zitui.

Since the "Qingming Festival" and the "Cold Food Festival" are close in date, the "Cold Food Festival" is also a day when folk people prohibit fire and sweep graves. As a result, "Cold Food Festival" and "Qingming Festival" gradually merged into one.

Cuju and willow-inserting and outing

Historical records show that in the early years, people also called "Qingming Festival" the "Outing Festival". The "Qingming Festival" falls between April 4th and 6th in the Gregorian calendar every year. The spring is bright and the grass is growing and the orioles are flying. It is a good time for people to go out in the spring. During "outings", in addition to enjoying the beautiful spring scenery, people also engage in various sports activities and have fun.

The sports activities of "outing" include swinging, Cuju, willow planting, willow shooting, cockfighting, kite flying and so on. Swinging is a traditional custom during the Qingming Festival in ancient times. The "Ju" in Cuju is a ball made of leather, which is stuffed with hair. "Cuju" means playing football. It is said that the custom of "inserting willows" is to commemorate the founder of farming "Shennong" who "taught the people how to farm". In some places, people put willow branches under the eaves to predict the weather. There is an ancient proverb that "willow branches are green when it rains; when willow branches are dry, the sky is sunny." During the Huangchao Uprising, it was stipulated that "the period of Qingming Festival will be called Dailiu." The custom of "inserting willows" has continued to flourish.

"Shooting Willow" is a game for practicing archery skills. "History of the Ming Dynasty" records that pigeons were placed in a big gourd, and then the big gourd was hung high on a willow tree. After people shoot the big gourd with bows and arrows, the pigeons fly out, and then the victory or defeat is determined based on the flying height of the pigeons. This is called "shooting the willow". During the "outing" during the Qingming Festival, the game of "cockfighting" was still popular among the ancients. "Cockfighting" starts from the "Qingming Festival" and continues until the "Summer Solstice". The earliest record of "cockfighting" in my country can be found in "Zuo Zhuan". By the Tang Dynasty, "cockfighting" had become a common practice, not only among the common people, but also among the emperors. According to historical records, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty had a particularly serious case of "cockfighting".

Sweeping tombs and flying kites to worship ancestors

In ancient times, "sweeping tombs" was part of the "Cold Food Festival" the day before "Qingming Festival". In the 20th year of Kaiyuan of the Tang Dynasty (732), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty issued an order to the world: "Cold food should be served to the tomb". Since the "Cold Food Festival" is connected with the "Qingming Festival", over time, it has gradually become the "Qingming Festival" grave sweeping. In addition to sweeping the tomb, the children also fly kites. Some kites are equipped with bamboo flutes. When the spring breeze blows, they make a "clanging" sound, just like the sound made by a guzheng. Thus, the name "Kite" was born.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, "Qingming Festival" became a grand festival for people.

Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During Qingming Festival" depicts the bustling market scenes on both sides of the Bianhe River in Bianliang (Kaifeng), Tokyo during the Qingming Festival during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Manchus do not burn paper when offering sacrifices to their tombs

In the early years, the Manchus called "Tomb-Sweeping Day" "Tomb Sacrifice". "Tomb Sacrifice" is a traditional Manchu sacrificial festival. In the past, on the day of "Tomb Sacrifice", Manchu families would ride in carts to the cemetery, and the elders would insert "Buddha" on the new tomb; they would insert willow branches on the old tomb to inform their ancestors that the family was prosperous. There are successors. Then, the wine is sprinkled on the ground to offer sacrifices to the ancestors. The whole family kowtows in front of the grave to show that the descendants will not forget the kindness of their ancestors in raising and teaching them.

The "Buddha" placed by the Manchu people during the "Tomb Sacrifice" during the Qingming Festival is made of a wattle or wicker stick with a corn pod on it, with several layers of five-color tassels or money-shaped tassels cut on it. Paper. There are different opinions on the origin of the Manchu custom of inserting "Buddha". One theory is that it symbolizes the disheveled appearance of "Mother Buddha" when she was killed by Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, after rescuing "King Lao Han" Nurhaci. It means that when people worship their ancestors, they will never forget that "Mother Buddha" sacrificed her life to rescue "Old Khan". King's kindness. Another theory is that people pray to their ancestors and gods to bless them smoothly every year. The money-shaped five-colored paper hanging on the "Buddha" means a source of wealth, so the "Buddha" is commonly known as the "money tree."

The Manchu people’s custom of “tomb sacrifice” during the Qingming Festival has a history of hundreds of years. The graves of the Manchu people are all located at the roots of mountains or in the "Wola Dou" of mountains. On the Qingming day, one or several willow "Buddha" trees must be inserted in the middle of each grave. On the first two days of the Qingming Festival, the younger Manchus go to the willow tree, select straight willow branches as thick as their thumbs, peel off the outer skin, and tie long strips of colored paper on the top of the sticks. Son, from a distance, looks like a small flower tree. When the Manchu people worship their ancestors during the Tomb Festival during the Qingming Festival, they do not have the custom of burning paper.

Spring Pancakes with Eggs and Tofu

During the Qingming Festival, the Manchu people still have many "Old Order" rules. For example, "If you don't eat eggs during Qingming Festival, you will be trembling with poverty"; "If you don't eat beans during Qingming Festival, you will be trembling with poverty" and so on. On the "Qingming Festival", the Manchu people not only eat eggs and tofu, but also "spring cakes". Because the hand-rolled "spring cake" is as thin as a lotus leaf, it is also called "lotus leaf cake". "Spring pancake" is made by stacking two thin pieces of dough together and rolling them out with a rolling pin until they are almost transparent. Then stir-fried mung bean sprouts with shredded pork and shredded green onions are rolled into the pancake. It tastes soft and delicious. Manchu families in rural areas such as Xinbin, Qingyuan, Huanren, Xiuyan and other places also go to the mountains to dig up wild vegetables such as root vegetables, cat claws, bracken, etc., wash them, chop them into pieces, and mix them with shredded eggs, shredded pork, and vermicelli noodles. Son, bake a "pancake box" and eat it. The taste, not to mention how fragrant and delicious it is.