CELEBRATING THE QINGMING FESTIVAL IN CANTON

Although the weather may still be a little chilly around this time of the year, “coldness” is not the impression that Chinese people hold for Qingming. They wish for a booming season and a fruitful year through the celebration of the festival.

Text by Yanlin Ma Translation by Leo Photos by Dongfang IC, Kyle Huang Illustration by Dana Lin

When pear trees are blossoming, it is time to celebrate the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, when people go out of the town for spring outings. Qingming, meaning clear and bright sky, and flourishing plants, is one of the 24 Solar Terms of China and has been an important traditional festival among Chinese folks for more than 2,500 years. During this period of time, in addition to the most popular customs like remembering and honouring their ancestors, Chinese people also celebrate it by participating in various fun activities, such as spring outings, playing on swings, Cuju (an ancient Chinese ball game), polo, and planting willow branches. In Guangdong province, the festival is celebrated in many different ways with practices varying from one village to another.

Since antiquity, Qingming has been a perfect time for making fleld trips and spring outings as the weather is getting warmer and everything is coming to life again. Girls and boys are dating and even business in the markets is booming. The painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival by the Song dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) captures the festive spirit and worldly commotion upon the festival among people along Bianhe River in Bianliang (today's Kaifeng City of Henan Province).

Though folk customs vary from place to place, people's expectations for joy and happiness, a reunion of family, a good start of the year and a beautiful spring season remain the same everywhere.

“清明”含天氣晴朗、草木繁茂之意；同時(shí)也是中國(guó)民間重要傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日，已有2500多年的歷史。

時(shí)值清明時(shí)節(jié)，民間除了緬懷先人的常見習(xí)俗之外，還有踏青、蕩秋千、蹴鞠、打馬球、插柳等一系列頗有趣味的活動(dòng)。全國(guó)風(fēng)俗各異，而廣東自然也有其獨(dú)有的清明風(fēng)俗。

清明時(shí)節(jié)自古便是 “賞春踏青”、春游賞花的大好時(shí)光。此時(shí)春暖花開，萬物復(fù)蘇，連男女鶯情、市集買賣也都活躍起來了，從北宋時(shí)期流傳下來的張澤端的《清明上河圖》描繪的就是汴梁(開封)汴河兩岸人民在清明時(shí)節(jié)活躍、豐富的社會(huì)活動(dòng)。

“馬穿楊柳嘶，人倚秋千笑，探鶯花總教春醉倒?！鼻迕鞑⒎侵挥?“冷清”，更多地是代表了人們對(duì)于萬物復(fù)蘇及未來一年的展望，無論是哪個(gè)地方的習(xí)俗，清明總有這樣的期望：春到人笑，也是家人團(tuán)聚之期；辭舊迎新，擁懷仲春美景。

清明探春

﹃梨花風(fēng)起正清明，游子尋春半出城。﹄ 清明并非只有﹃冷清﹄，而是一個(gè)寄托了萬物復(fù)蘇的展望的時(shí)節(jié)。

Foshan

Planting willow branches in memory of a loyal minister

佛山?插柳

People of Foshan have the tradition of planting willow branches on the day of Qingming in commemoration of a minister named Jie Zitui from the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), who was burnt to death under an old willow tree for his beliefs. The next year after his death, the tree came back to life again and was given the name of“Qingming Willow” by Duke Wen of Jin, the ruler of the state, upon a visit to Jie's tomb. The Duke took some twigs from the tree, weaved them into a wreath, and wore it on his head to cherish the memory of the minister. This practice then gained popularity among government offlcials and ordinary folks and gradually became a custom of the festival.

佛山有清明插柳的習(xí)俗，這個(gè)習(xí)俗是為紀(jì)念晉國(guó)大臣介子推：介子推為明志守節(jié)而焚身于大柳樹下。第二年，老柳樹死而復(fù)生。晉文公將老柳樹賜名為“清明柳”，并且當(dāng)場(chǎng)折下柳條戴在頭上，以示懷念之情。從此以后，群臣百姓紛紛效仿，遂相沿成風(fēng)。

Zhaoqing

Eating sugarcane

肇慶?吃甘蔗

Sugarcane implies joyful and sweet days. Young children are told by their parents to flnish the whole sugarcane from top to bottom without any waste. People believe that it can help shape children's characters to be more consistent and responsible.

甘蔗寓意歡歡喜喜、甜甜蜜蜜。 大人都會(huì)叮囑小孩子，吃甘蔗要從頭吃到尾，不能沒吃完就扔掉。據(jù)說這樣子以后做事情才會(huì)有頭有尾，善始善終。

Meizhou

Making rice cake with mugwort

梅州?采擷艾葉做粄

Mugwort rice cake, made with rice and glutinous rice flour mixed with mugwort juice, is a Hakka snack of medical value. Featuring a unique fragrance from the wild herb, this snack not only disperses excessive wind and dampness in the human body, but it is also quite effective in expelling internal parasites. These qualities make it perfect for the humid spring season. This tradition of having Qingming rice cake has been passed down from generation to generation in Hakka communities around the world.

艾粄，客家菜，用粘米粉、糯米粉、艾草等做成，有一定的藥用保健功能。這種小食擁有一股獨(dú)特的山野青草芳香，不僅可以祛風(fēng)祛濕，還有驅(qū)除體內(nèi)寄生蟲的奇效，最適合天氣潮濕的春天食用，因此這種習(xí)俗在客家地區(qū)代代相傳。

Guangzhou

Mustard leaves, a must-have Qingming food

廣州?清明蕎菜

Qingming has always been a signiflcant festival for traditional Cantonese folks. One of the practices is go for a Qingming outing. It differs from a regular spring outing in that the Qingming outing is when a clan of people pays a visit to their ancestors together on an appointed day.

What's special about this custom is that the dishes presented to the ancestors as offerings will later be sautéed with mustard leaves and shared among descendants. It is only after all the dishes are consumed that the purpose of the Qingming outing is considered to be achieved.

傳統(tǒng)的廣州人向來重視清明，在清明當(dāng)日有“行清”的習(xí)俗。“行清”與踏青不同，踏青是郊游，“行清”則是一族人一起約定那一天齊齊去“探望”祖先。

最特別的是，那些供奉過祖先的菜肴，要配上清明時(shí)節(jié)的菜蔬“清明蕎菜”去炒著吃，吃完了這些菜肉，這一年的“行清”任務(wù)才算完成。