2. (Detailed description)
The traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day in China began in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Because the days of Qingming and cold food are close, cold food is the day when people ban fire to sweep graves. Gradually, cold food and Qingming become one, and cold food has become another name of Qingming and a custom of Qingming period. Tomb-Sweeping Day doesn't move fireworks, but only eats cold food. Tomb-Sweeping Day, as the only solar term among the 24 solar terms, is related to the story of Mianshan meson push.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the sons of Jin Xiangong of the State of Jin waged a fierce war for the throne. Jin Xiangong's second son, Zhong Er, lived in exile for 19 years to avoid killing each other. The courtiers of the State of Jin admired Zhong Er's character and gave their lives for him. At the most critical moment in Zhong Er, he cut his shares to serve you. The monarch and ministers often discuss the strategy of saving the country and governing the country together, and the relationship is harmonious. Zhong Er once said that if he can become a monarch in the future, he must repay Gong Jie's kindness. Later, with the help of the State of Qin, Zhong Er finally returned to the State of Jin and became the monarch of the State of Jin for Jin Wengong. After Jin Wengong's return to the motherland, ministers lavished banquets and rewarded meritorious deeds, but did not give any official position or reward to mesons who often made suggestions. Jie Zitui disdains interacting with the villains who flatter Jin Wengong all day, and he is even more disappointed that Jin Wengong will not implement Qingming politics after the restoration of the country. So I took my mother to Mianshan to live in seclusion.
Some people began to talk about Jin Wengong's ingratitude. He didn't need a good minister. Jin Wengong slowly heard these comments. He seemed to feel that he had done something wrong, so he quickly sent someone to ask Jietui, only to know that Jietui had gone to Mianshan to live in seclusion. In order to let liegeman know that he is not an ungrateful bad king, and to calm people's discussion, Jin Wengong is eager to find meson push. He led the minister to Mianshan to look for mesons. Wan Ren in Mianshan gully, rugged cliff and rugged mountain road, meson push can't be avoided, but meson push can't be found. Jin Wengong was anxious, but there was nothing he could do.
Jin Wengong's men also have their own ideas. Some people hope that meson will come back to help Jin Wengong rule the world, while others are afraid that meson will come back and get their favor. One of his men told Jin Wengong that Jiexiu was a dutiful son. Your Majesty sent someone to set fire to Mianshan. Jie tui is afraid of hurting mom, and I will definitely come out to see you. Jin Wengong, who lost his mind, longed to see meson, but he accepted the idea in a muddle and ordered people to set Mianshan on fire. It was mid-spring, the wind was dry, and fireworks swallowed up the whole Mianshan Mountain. The fire burned for several days, but there was no sign of meson push. After the fire was put out, it was discovered that meson would rather die than go out of the mountain, and had been burned to death with his mother under a big willow tree at the top of the mountain. Jin Wengong remembered meson's loyalty to himself and heartfelt words, holding the big willow tree that was burned to death, and couldn't help crying. He had his mother and son buried in the mountains and renamed Mianshan Jieshan. "I want to live a good life and be a good person." At the same time, it was ordered that fireworks and firecrackers should be banned nationwide on the anniversary of the death of meson Tui, that is, from winter to the future 105, and only cold food is allowed. This is a cold food festival to commemorate meson Tui.
On the second day of the Cold Food Festival, Jin Wengong went to Mianshan Meson to push the martyred willow down to pay homage, and found that new willow branches had grown on the burned willow. He recalled that meson said that he hoped to implement Qingming politics after the restoration and was deeply moved. He ordered the willow to be named Qingming Willow, and this day was named Tomb-Sweeping Day. From then on, Jin Wengong purged government affairs and developed production, and the State of Jin finally became strong and became one of the "five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period". With the increasing influence of the country, the Cold Food Festival and the customs of Tomb-Sweeping Day have become popular all over the country. Lv Xiang, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem: "The four seas share the same cold food, and there will be one person through the ages."
In fact, the custom of cold food originated from the ancient system of drilling wood for fire. Qingming, as a solar term, was also determined as early as the Zhou Dynasty. The Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day were only strengthened and passed down by the rulers in the form of state orders. Since then, with the passage of time, the custom of Cold Food Festival has gradually merged into Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day has become the only festival with humanistic history among the 24 solar terms, and it has gradually become a custom for people to remember the dead and offer sacrifices to their ancestors in Tomb-Sweeping Day.
Tomb-Sweeping Day custom
Worship of tomb ancestors
In the history of China, it has long been a custom to eat cold food, forbid fire and pay homage to ancestors. After the Tang Dynasty, the Cold Food Festival gradually declined, and Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave-sweeping and ancestor worship became a continuous festival tradition. Bai Juyi, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Cold Food and Wild Hope": "Who cries when birds are singing? The wind blows the paper money in the wilderness, and the ancient tomb is full of spring grass. Li Tanghua reflects poplar trees, full of life and death parting places. " Mysterious desert and heavy spring are crying, but people who are raining at dusk and dusk go home. "Song Dynasty poet Koguryo once described in a poem:" There are many tombs in the north and south, and the Qingming is different. Paper ashes fly into white butterflies, and tears are dyed into red azaleas. "At sunset, not a drop reached Jiuquan on the fox's grave!" Even in today's society, before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, people still have the custom of going to graves to pay homage to their ancestors: uprooting weeds, placing offerings, burning incense and praying in front of graves, burning paper money and gold ingots, or simply offering a bunch of flowers to express their memory of their ancestors.
Go for an outing and insert willow
When I was in Tomb-Sweeping Day, it was the time for spring to return to the earth. People took advantage of this benefit. After sweeping the graves, the whole family, old and young, enjoyed themselves in the countryside of Shan Ye. When they got home, they broke some branches and put them on their heads. They were very happy. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, some people go hiking in the suburbs to express their stagnant mood since the severe winter, and go to nature to enjoy and appreciate the vibrant spring scenery. This kind of outing is also called spring outing, which was called spring exploration and spring hunting in ancient times. Tomb-Sweeping Day also has the habit of planting trees by inserting willows, which is said to commemorate Shennong who invented various agricultural production tools and tasted all kinds of herbs. On the other hand, it is said that the willow tree that meson held when he died came back to life. Jin Wengong named it Qingming Willow and folded it into a circle to wear on her head. This custom was later introduced to people. Although the sources of allusions are different, these customs are still inseparable from the joy of people returning to the earth in spring.
Qingming amusement
In addition to the above-mentioned custom of sweeping graves to worship ancestors and stepping on grass to insert willows, there are many purely recreational customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day that have been loved by people for thousands of years, such as hanging hooks, flying kites, swinging, shooting willows, cuju, etc., which were all the rage for a while, but now they are rare.
towing hook
"Hook" is an ancient name, but it is actually a modern tug of war. According to legend, in the Spring and Autumn Period, in order to attack the State of Wu, the State of Chu used the hook movement to enhance people's physique. It is mainly based on a hemp rope, and its two ends are divided into many small ropes. In the competition, a big flag is the boundary. At the command, the two sides pulled the rope hard, and the drums sounded with the music. The two sides cheered and shouted, which was very lively.
fly a kite
Flying kites is one of people's favorite activities in Tomb-Sweeping Day. The ancients believed that if someone was sick, they could write down or draw their illness on the kite, tie the kite in the air with a string, let it fly to the sky, cut the cable, and the disease disaster would fly away with the kite. Later, kites gradually developed into a popular outing entertainment.
play on the swing
Swing was originally called "Qian Qiu". According to legend, the swing was introduced by Qi Huangong, a native of Shanrong, a northern ethnic group in the Spring and Autumn Period, and became a folk game in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Cold Food Festival after the Han Dynasty. At first, the swing was made of rope and swung by hand. Later, it developed into a wooden frame with two ropes hanging on it and a cross board tied under it. Today's parks and playgrounds still have swings for children to play with.
Sheliu cuju
Shooting willow is a game to practice archery. According to the records of the Ming Dynasty, pigeons were placed in gourds, then the gourds were hung high on willow trees, and the gourds and pigeons flew out with bows, and the victory or defeat was judged by the height of the flying pigeons. As for Cuju, it is the predecessor of football now. The ball skin is made of leather, and the ball is stuffed with wool. According to legend, Cuju existed before the Shang Dynasty, and it flowed into the people during the Warring States Period. In the Han Dynasty, it was even used to practice martial arts in the military and was included in art books.