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{{Short description|Chinese festival honouring ancestors}}
{{Redirect|Qingming|the solar term|Qingming (solar term)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = Qingming
| type          = Cultural, Asian
| image         = Ching Ming comforts to heaven.png
| imagesize     = 200px
| caption       = Burning paper gifts for the departed.
| official_name = {{nowrap|'''Qingming Jie''' ({{lang|zh|清明节}})}}<br />
{{nowrap|'''Ching Ming Festival''' ({{lang|zh-tw|清明節}})}}<br />{{nowrap|'''Tomb Sweeping Day''' ({{lang|zh|掃墓節}})}}
| nickname      = 
| observedby    = [[Chinese people|Chinese]], [[Chitty]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/meet-chetti-melaka-peranakan-indians-striving-save-culture-hindu-10849258|title=Meet the Chetti Melaka, or Peranakan Indians, striving to save their vanishing culture|website=Channel News Asia|date=21 October 2018}}</ref> and [[Ryukyuans]]
| significance  = Commemoration of the remembering of ancestors
| date          = 15th day after [[March equinox]] (between April 4 and April 6)
| date2023      = 5 April<ref>{{cite news |title=Qingming Festival – April 5, 2023 |url=https://nationaltoday.com/qingming-festival/ |access-date=31 March 2023 |work=National Today |date=4 April 2020}}</ref>
| date2024      = 4 April<ref name="Qingming Festival">{{cite news |title=Qingming Festival |url=https://nationaltoday.com/qingming-festival/ |access-date=17 February 2024 |work=National Today }}</ref>
| date2025      = 4 April<ref name="Qingming Festival"/>
| celebrations  = 
| observances   = Cleaning and sweeping of graves, [[Ancestral veneration in China|ancestor worship]], offering food to deceased, burning [[joss paper]]
| relatedto     = 
| firsttime     = {{start date and age|df=yes|732}}
| module        = {{Infobox Chinese
| child = yes
| t = 清明節
| s = 清明节
| l = "Pure Brightness Festival"
| p = Qīngmíng jié
| w = Ch'ing<sup>1</sup>-ming<sup>2</sup> chieh<sup>2</sup>
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|q|ing|1|.|m|ing|2|-|j|ie|2}}
| suz = Tshin min tsih
| j = Cing<sup>1</sup>-ming<sup>4</sup> zit<sup>3</sup>
| y = Chīng-mìhng jit
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|c|ing|1|.|m|ing|4|-|z|it|3}}
| tl = Tshing-bîng tseh/Tshinn-miâ tsueh
| poj = Chheng-bêng-cheh/Chhiⁿ-miâ-cheh
| buc = Chĭng-mìng-cáik
| phfs = Chhîn-mìn-chiet
}}
}}
{{Chinese folk religion}}
The '''Qingming Festival<ref>{{Cite web |title=Qingming Festival |url=https://cnto.org.au/qingming-festival/ |access-date=2022-03-28 |language=en-AU}}</ref>''' or '''Ching Ming Festival''',<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.necoast-nsa.gov.tw/News-Content.aspx?a=6&nid=956&l=2&s_date=&e_date=&q=&p=12&listid=5&fromCnt=0 |title= 108 years of Ching Ming Festival continuous holiday traffic evacuation information |date= 2019-03-25 |publisher= Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area Administration }}</ref> also known as '''Tomb-Sweeping Day''' in English (sometimes also called '''Chinese Memorial Day''', '''Ancestors' Day''', the '''Clear Brightness       Festival''', or the '''Pure Brightness Festival'''),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/holiday/|title=General holidays for 2015|publisher=GovHK|access-date=2014-08-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macautourism.gov.mo/events/calendar.php|title=Macau Government Tourist Office|publisher=Macau Tourism|access-date=2014-08-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316110323/http://www.macautourism.gov.mo/events/calendar.php|archive-date=16 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival">{{cite book |last1=Wei |first1=Liming |title=Chinese Festivals: Traditions, Customs and Rituals |date=2010 |location=Beijing |isbn=9787508516936 |pages=31–35 |edition=Second}}</ref><ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/> is a [[List of observances set by the Chinese calendar|traditional Chinese festival]] observed by [[Chinese people|ethnic Chinese]] in mainland China, [[Hong Kong]], [[Macau]], [[Taiwan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[Cambodia]], [[Indonesia]], [[Philippines]], [[Myanmar]], [[Thailand]], and [[Vietnam]]. A celebration of spring,<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival">{{cite book |last1=Stepanchuk |first1=Carol |title=Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China |date=1991 |publisher=China Books & Periodicals |location=San Francisco |isbn=0-8351-2481-9 |pages=61–70}}</ref><ref name="Eberhard Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival">{{cite book |last1=Eberhard |first1=Wolfram |title=Chinese Festivals |date=1952 |publisher=H. Wolff |location=New York |pages=112–127 |chapter=Ch'ing-ming, the spring festival}}</ref> it falls on the first day of the fifth [[solar term]] (also called [[Qingming (solar term)|Qingming]]) of the [[Chinese calendar|traditional Chinese]] [[lunisolar calendar]]. This makes it the 15th day after the [[March equinox|Spring Equinox]], either 4, 5 or 6 April in a given year.<ref name=ChiComs>{{cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Festivals/78319.htm|title=Traditional Chinese Festivals|publisher=china.org.cn|date=2007-04-05|access-date=2014-08-25}}</ref><ref name=ROC>{{cite web|url=http://www.taiwan.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=44782&CtNode=2499&mp=1008|title=Tomb Sweeping Day|publisher=Taiwan.gov.tw|access-date=2014-08-25|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407065951/http://www.taiwan.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=44782&CtNode=2499&mp=1008|archive-date=7 April 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.discoverhongkong.com/uk/see-do/events-festivals/chinese-festivals/ching-ming-festival.jsp|title=Ching Ming Festival &#124; Hong Kong Tourism Board|access-date=26 November 2016|archive-date=27 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227010401/http://www.discoverhongkong.com/uk/see-do/events-festivals/chinese-festivals/ching-ming-festival.jsp|url-status=dead}}</ref> During Qingming, Chinese families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites and make ritual offerings to their ancestors.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/> Offerings would typically include traditional food dishes and the burning of [[Incense|joss sticks]] and [[joss paper]].<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/><ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Why Chinese Burn Paper on Tomb-Sweeping Day |url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2019/04/04/why-chinese-burn-paper-for-tomb-sweeping-day |website=[[The Beijinger]] |access-date=7 March 2023 |language=EN |date=2 April 2022}}</ref> The holiday recognizes the traditional [[Filial piety|reverence of one's ancestors]] in Chinese culture.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/>

The origins of the Qingming Festival go back more than 2500 years, although the observance has changed significantly. It became a [[Public holidays in China|public holiday]] in mainland China in 2008, where it is associated with the consumption of ''[[qingtuan]]'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Across China: Sticky rice balls make tradition "stickier" for young Chinese |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/03/c_136180461.htm |access-date=7 March 2023 |work=Xinhua}}</ref> green dumplings made of [[glutinous rice]] and [[Chinese mugwort]] or [[barley|barley grass]].

In [[Taiwan]], the [[Public holidays in Taiwan|public holiday]] was in the past observed on 5 April to honor the death of [[Chiang Kai-shek]] on that day in 1975, but with Chiang's popularity waning, this convention is not being observed. A confection called ''[[caozaiguo]]'' or ''shuchuguo'', made with [[Helichrysum luteoalbum|Jersey cudweed]], is consumed there.

A similar [[Okinawan festivals and observances#January - May observances|holiday is observed]] in the [[Ryukyu Islands]], called ''Siimii'' in the [[Ryukyuan languages|local language]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/022/en/022_e23.html |title=Festivals and Rituals of Okinawa – Seimei Ritual (Shiimii) – |website=www.wonder-okinawa.jp |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215010412/http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/022/en/022_e23.html |archive-date=15 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Origin==
{{See also|Cold Food Festival}}
The festival originated from the [[Cold Food Festival|Cold food or Hanshi Festival]] which is said to commemorate [[Jie Zitui]], a nobleman of the [[Jin (Chinese state)|state of Jin]] (modern [[Shanxi]]) during the [[Spring and Autumn period]].<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/> Amid the [[Li Ji Unrest]], he followed his master [[Prince Chong'er]] in 655{{nbsp}}BC to exile among the [[Beidi|Di tribes]] and around China. Supposedly, he once even cut flesh from his thigh to provide his lord with [[soup]].<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/><ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/> In 636{{nbsp}}BC, [[Duke Mu of Qin]] invaded Jin and enthroned Chong'er as its duke, where he was generous in rewarding those who had helped him in his time of need. Owing either to his high-mindedness or to the duke's neglect, however, Jie was long passed over.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/><ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/> He finally retired to the forest around [[Mount Mian]] with his elderly mother.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/> The duke went to the forest in {{nowrap|636 BC}} but could not find them. He then ordered his men to set fire to the forest in order to force Jie out.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/><ref name="Eberhard Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/> When Jie and his mother were killed instead, the duke ordered that thenceforth no one should light a fire on the date of Jie's death.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/><ref name="Eberhard Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/> The people of Shanxi subsequently revered Jie as an [[Taoist immortal|immortal]] and avoided lighting fires for as long as a month in the depths of winter, a practice so injurious to children and the elderly that the area's rulers unsuccessfully attempted to ban it for centuries. A compromise finally developed where it was restricted to 3 days around the [[Qingming (solar term)|Qingming]] [[solar term]] in mid-spring.

The present importance of the holiday is credited to [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]]. Wealthy citizens in China were reportedly holding too many extravagant and ostentatiously expensive ceremonies [[ancestral veneration in China|in honor of their ancestors]]. In {{nowrap|AD 732}}, Xuanzong sought to curb this practice by declaring that such respects could be formally paid only once a year, on Qingming.<ref name=cathay_ce>{{cite web |url=http://cathay.ce.cn/person/200712/21/t20071221_13994183.shtml |title=寒食清明节:纪念晋国大夫介之推 |publisher=Cathay.ce.cn |access-date=2014-08-25 |archive-date=23 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223152725/http://cathay.ce.cn/person/200712/21/t20071221_13994183.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Observance==
[[File:A Indonesian Chinese Family pray for their deceased members at Sanggar Agung Temple, Surabaya.jpg|200px|thumb|An [[Indonesian Chinese]] family pray for their deceased members at Qingming Festival of 2013 under the Heaven Gate of [[Sanggar Agung]]]]
[[File:Chonghe Dong Cemetery, Qingming Festival 1.jpg|thumb|200 px|Qingming at the cemetery by [[Kolkata]] Chinese]]
Qingming Festival is when Chinese people traditionally visit ancestral tombs to sweep them.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/> This tradition has been legislated by the Emperors who built majestic imperial tombstones for every dynasty. For thousands of years, the Chinese imperials, [[nobility]], [[peasantry]], and [[merchants]] alike have gathered together to remember the lives of the departed, to visit their [[tombstones]] to perform [[Confucian]] filial piety by tombsweeping, to visit burial grounds, graveyards or in modern urban cities, the city columbaria, to perform groundskeeping and maintenance and to commit to pray for their [[ancestors]] in the uniquely Chinese concept of the [[afterlife]] and to offer remembrances of their ancestors to living blood relatives, their kith and kin. In some places, people believe that sweeping the tomb is only allowed during this festival, as they believe the dead will get disturbed if the sweeping is done on other days.

The young and old alike kneel to offer prayers before tombstones of the ancestors, offer the burning of joss in both the forms of incense sticks ([[joss-sticks]]) and silver-leafed paper ([[joss paper]]), sweep the tombs and offer food in memory of the ancestors.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/><ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/> Depending on the religion of the observers, some pray to a higher [[deity]] to honor their ancestors, while others may pray directly to the ancestral spirits.

Honoring one’s ancestors is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, as the “idea of filial piety and paying your respects has been an important part of China’s Confucian society since ancient times.” This practice reflects the strong connection the Chinese people have with their ancestors because they believe that the ancestors “gave us a physical body, and more importantly, a soul.” The people of China also believe that “Such a tradition allows good values to be passed down to future generations.” [[China from Above]]

People who live far away and can't travel to their ancestors' tombs may make a sacrifice from a distance.<ref name="Eberhard Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival" />

These rites have a long tradition in Asia, especially among the imperial who legislated these rituals into a national religion. They have been preserved especially by the peasantry and are most popular with farmers today, who believe that continued observances will ensure fruitful harvests ahead by appeasing the spirits in the other world.

Religious symbols of ritual purity, such as [[pomegranate]] and [[willow]] branches, are popular at this time. Some people wear willow twigs on their heads on Qingming or stick willow branches on their homes.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/><ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/> There are similarities to [[Arecaceae|palm leaves]] used on [[Palm Sunday]]s in Christianity; both are religious rituals. Furthermore, the belief is that the willow branches will help ward off misfortune.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/><ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/>

After gathering on Qingming to perform Confucian clan and family duties at the tombstones, graveyards, or columbaria, participants spend the rest of the day in clan or family outings, before they start the spring plowing. Historically, people would often sing and dance, and Qingming was a time when young couples traditionally started courting.<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/> Another popular thing to do is to fly kites in the shapes of animals or characters from folk tales or [[Chinese opera]].<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/><ref name=gov>{{cite web|url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cese/eng/qzhhz/notice/t422776.htm|title=中华人民共和国外交部|access-date=8 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415062446/http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cese/eng/qzhhz/notice/t422776.htm|archive-date=15 April 2009}}</ref> Another common practice is to carry flowers instead of burning paper, incense, or firecrackers.<ref name=upi>{{cite web|url=http://www.upiasia.com/Politics/2009/04/08/chinas_restless_dead_on_tomb-sweeping_day/9394/|title=Asia News – South Asia News – Latest headlines – News, Photos, Videos|publisher=UPIAsia.com|date=2012-07-22|access-date=2014-08-25|archive-date=31 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331065553/http://www.upiasia.com/Politics/2009/04/08/chinas_restless_dead_on_tomb-sweeping_day/9394/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Traditionally, a family will burn [[Hell bank note|spirit money]] (joss paper) and paper replicas of material goods such as cars, homes, phones, and paper servants. This action usually happens during the Qingming festival.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chung |first1=Sheng Kuan |last2=Li |first2=Dan |date=2017-11-02 |title=An Artistic and Spiritual Exploration of Chinese Joss Paper |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00043125.2017.1361770 |journal=Art Education |language=en |volume=70 |issue=6 |pages=28–35 |doi=10.1080/00043125.2017.1361770 |s2cid=187756852 |issn=0004-3125|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In Chinese culture, it is believed that people still need all of those things in the afterlife. Then family members take turns to kowtow three to nine times (depending on the family's adherence to traditional values) before the tomb of the ancestors. The [[Kowtow]]ing ritual in front of the grave is performed in the order of patriarchal seniority within the family. After the ancestor worship at the grave site, the whole family or the whole clan feast on the food and drink they have brought for the worship.<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Qingming Festival"/> Another ritual related to the festival is the [[Cockfight (Sacred)|cockfight]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uiowa.edu/~c07p208h/qingming.html|title=Festival of Pure Brightness|publisher=Uiowa.edu|access-date=2014-08-25|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119191658/http://www.uiowa.edu/~c07p208h/qingming.html|archive-date=19 November 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> as well as being available within that historic and cultural context at [[Kaifeng]] Millennium City Park (Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/henan/kaifeng/millennium-city-park.htm|title=Millennium City Park, Kaifeng, Henan|publisher=Travelchinaguide.com|access-date=2014-08-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/Scenery88bye362.html|title=Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden|publisher=Cultural-china.com|access-date=2014-08-25|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150812045704/http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/Scenery88bye362.html|archive-date=12 August 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The holiday is often marked by people paying respects to those who are considered national or legendary heroes.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/qingming2013/2013-03/20/content_16324185.htm|title = Celebration|newspaper = [[China Daily]]|date = 3 March 2013|access-date = 18 March 2014}}</ref> The [[April Fifth Movement]] and the [[1976 Tiananmen Incident|Tiananmen Incident]] were major events in [[History of the People's Republic of China|Chinese history]] which occurred on Qingming. After Premier [[Zhou Enlai]] died in 1976, [[1976 Tiananmen Incident|thousands honored him during the festival to pay their respects]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=zh:1976年天安门"四五运动" |trans-title=en:1976 Tiananmen Square "April 5th Movement" |url=https://pekinger-fruehling.univie.ac.at/%E6%96%87%E9%9D%A9%E4%B9%8B%E5%90%8E%E7%9A%84%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/1976%E5%B9%B4%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%97%A8%E5%9B%9B%E4%BA%94%E8%BF%90%E5%8A%A8/ |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=beijing-spring.univie.ac.at |language=zh}}</ref>

In [[Taiwan]], the Qingming Festival was not a public holiday until 1972. Three years later, upon the death of Chiang Kai-shek on 5 April 1975, the [[Kuomintang]] government declared that the anniversary of Chiang's death be observed alongside the festival. The practice was abolished in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-05 |title=Taiwan in Time: The evolution of Tomb Sweeping Day – Taipei Times |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2020/04/05/2003734020 |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=www.taipeitimes.com}}</ref>

===Malaysia and Singapore===
[[File:Five coloured papers on a grave mound, Bukit Brown Cemetery, Singapore - 20110326-02.jpg|left|thumb|Colored papers placed on a grave during Qingming Festival, [[Bukit Brown Cemetery]], Singapore]]
Despite the festival having no official status, the [[overseas Chinese]] communities in Southeast Asian nations, such as those in [[Singapore]] and [[Malaysia]], take this festival seriously and observe its traditions faithfully. Some Qingming rituals and ancestral veneration decorum observed by the overseas Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore can be dated back to the Ming and Qing dynasties, as the overseas communities were not affected by the [[Cultural Revolution]] in mainland China. Qingming in Malaysia is an elaborate family function or a clan feast (usually organized by the respective clan association) to commemorate and honor recently deceased relatives at their grave sites and distant ancestors from China at home altars, clan temples, or makeshift altars in Buddhist or Taoist temples. For the overseas Chinese community, the Qingming festival is very much a solemn family event and, at the same time, a family obligation. They see this festival as a time of reflection for honoring and giving thanks to their forefathers. Overseas Chinese normally visit the graves of their recently deceased relatives on the weekend nearest to the actual date. According to the ancient custom, grave site veneration is only permissible ten days before and after the Qingming Festival. If the visit is not on the actual date, normally veneration before Qingming is encouraged. The Qingming Festival in Malaysia and Singapore normally starts early in the morning by paying respect to distant ancestors from China at home altars. This is followed by visiting the graves of close relatives in the country. Some follow the concept of [[filial piety]] to the extent of visiting the graves of their ancestors in [[mainland China]].

==Other customs==
===Games===

During the Tang dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang promoted large-scale [[tug of war]] games, using ropes of up to {{convert|167|m|ft}} with shorter ropes attached and more than 500 people on each end of the rope. Each side also had its own team of drummers to encourage the participants.<ref>Tang dynasty Feng Yan: Notes of Feng, volume 6</ref> In honor of these customs, families often go hiking or kiting, play Chinese soccer or tug-of-war and plant trees, including [[willow tree]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.china.com.cn/ch-jieri/qingming/3.htm|title=Chinese Traditional Holidays|website=Qingming Festival Customs|publisher=China Internet News Center}}</ref><ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/>

===Buddhism===
The Qingming festival is also a part of spiritual and religious practices in China, and is associated with Buddhism.<ref name="Eberhard Chinese Festivals Qingming Festival"/> For example, [[Chinese Buddhism]] teaches that those who die with guilt are unable to eat in the afterlife, except on the day of the Qingming festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xuefo.net/nr/article49/489323.html|title=Buddhism and Qingming Festival|website=Chinese Scholars|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref>

==Chinese tea culture==
{{See also|Chinese tea culture}}

The Qingming festival holiday has significance in the Chinese tea culture since this specific day divides the fresh [[green tea]]s by their picking dates. Green teas made from leaves picked before this date are given the prestigious 'pre-Qingming tea' ({{linktext|明|前|茶}}) designation which commands a much higher price tag. These teas are prized for their aroma, taste, and tenderness.<ref>{{cite book |title=茶道全書 |date=1 January 2020 |publisher=青島出版社 |isbn=978-7-5552-8502-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QdXEAAAQBAJ&dq=%E6%98%8E%E5%89%8D%E8%8C%B6&pg=PA17 |access-date=27 February 2023 |language=zh | page=17}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=中國茶文化常識問答 |date=2 August 2017 |publisher=水星文化 |isbn=978-986-390-092-4 |page=50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SIvDwAAQBAJ&dq=%E6%98%8E%E5%89%8D%E8%8C%B6&pg=PA50 |access-date=27 February 2023 |language=zh-TW}}</ref>

===Weather===
The Qingming festival was originally considered the day with the best spring weather when many people would go out and travel. The [[Old Book of Tang]] describes this custom and mentions of it may be found in ancient poetry.<ref>{{cite wikisource|author=劉昫|title=舊唐書|trans-title=Old Book of Tang|wslanguage=zh}}</ref>

==In painting==
{{Main|Along the River During the Qingming Festival}}

[[File:Along the River During the Qingming Festival (detail of original).jpg|thumb|A small section of ''[[Along the River During the Qingming Festival]]'']]
The famous [[Song dynasty]]  ''Qingming scroll'' attributed to [[Zhang Zeduan]] may portray [[Kaifeng]] city, the capital of the Song dynasty, but does not include any of the activities associated with the holiday, however, and the term "Qingming" may not refer to the holiday.

==In literature==
Qingming was frequently mentioned in [[Chinese literature]]. Among these, the most famous one is probably [[Du Mu]]'s poem (simply titled "Qingming"):

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! [[Traditional Chinese characters|Traditional Chinese]] || [[Simplified Chinese characters|Simplified Chinese]] || [[Pinyin]] || English translation
|-
| {{lang|zh|清明時節雨紛紛}} || {{lang|zh|清明时节雨纷纷}} || qīng míng shí jié yǔ fēn fēn || Drizzling during Qingming 
|-
| {{lang|zh|路上行人欲斷魂}} || {{lang|zh|路上行人欲断魂}} || lù shàng xíng rén yù duàn hún ||Travellers on the road seem lifeless
|-
| {{lang|zh|借問酒家何處有}} || {{lang|zh|借问酒家何处有}} || jiè wèn jiǔ jiā hé chù yǒu || Please sir, where can I find a bar
|-
| {{lang|zh|牧童遙指杏花村}} || {{lang|zh|牧童遥指杏花村}} || mù tóng yáo zhǐ xìng huā cūn || A herdsboy pointing to a village afar – the Apricot Flowers. 
|}

Although the Qingming Festival is not celebrated in [[Vietnam]], the Qingming Festival is mentioned (under the name ''Thanh Minh'') in the epic poem ''[[The Tale of Kieu]]'' (which takes place in Ming China during the reign of [[Jiajing Emperor|Jiajing]]), when the protagonist Thúy Kiều ({{lang|vi-Hani|翠翹}}) meets a ghost of a dead old lady. The description of the scenery during this festival is one of the best-known passages of [[Vietnamese literature]]:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! [[Chữ Nôm]] ||[[Vietnamese alphabet]] ||English translation
|-
|{{Vi-nom|𣈜春昆燕迻梭}}|| {{langr|vi|Ngày xuân con én đưa thoi}} || Swift swallows and spring days were shuttling by;
|-
|{{Vi-nom|韶光𠃩𨔿㐌外𦒹𨑮}}|| {{langr|vi|Thiều quang chín chục đã ngoài sáu mươi}} || Of ninety radiant ones three score had fled.
|-
|{{Vi-nom|𦹵𡽫撑羡蹎𡗶}}|| {{langr|vi| Cỏ non xanh tận chân trời}}|| Young grass spread all its green to heaven's rim;
|-
|{{Vi-nom|梗梨𤽸點𱥺𢽼𱽐花}}|| {{langr|vi|Cành lê trắng điểm một vài bông hoa}} || Some blossoms marked pear branches with white dots.
|-
|{{Vi-nom|清明𥪝節𣎃𠀧}}|| {{langr|vi|Thanh minh trong tiết tháng ba}} || Now came the Feast of Light in the third month
|-
|{{Vi-nom|禮羅掃墓會羅踏青}}|| {{langr|vi|Lễ là tảo mộ, hội là đạp thanh}} || With graveyard rites and junkets on the green.
|-
|{{Vi-nom|𧵆賒奴𱕔燕𲍣}}|| {{langr|vi|Gần xa nô nức yến anh}} || As merry pilgrims flocked from near and far,
|-
|{{Vi-nom|姉㛪懺所步行制春}}|| {{langr|vi|Chị em sắm sửa bộ hành chơi xuân}} || The sisters and their brother went for a stroll.
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|China|Holidays}}
* ''[[Along the River During Ching Ming Festival]]'' by [[Zhang Zeduan]]
* [[Cold Food Festival]], three consecutive days starting the day before the Qingming Festival
* [[All Saints' Day]] and [[All Souls' Day]], two Christian observances commemorating the dead
* [[Day of the Dead]], a Mexican celebration similar to the Qingming Festival 
* [[Double Ninth Festival]], the ''other'' or another  day to visit and clean up the [[cemetery|cemeteries]] for some Chinese
* [[Bon Festival]], the Japanese counterpart of the [[Ghost Festival]]
* [[Hansik]], a related Korean holiday on the same day
* [[Dust Clearing]], a similar ritual in the Middle-East
* [[Ghost Festival]] and [[Winter Clothes Day]], other Chinese holidays honoring the dead
* [[Radonitsa|Radonitsa / Pomynky]], a similar holiday of [[Eastern Slavs]]
* [[Traditional Chinese holidays]]
* [[Filial piety]] in [[Chinese culture]]
* The [[Parentalia]] in [[Culture of ancient Rome|Roman culture]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
* {{citation |last = Aijmer |first= Göran |title= Ancestors in the Spring the Qingming Festival in Central China |journal =  Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume= 18 |year= 1978 |pages= 59–82 |jstor= 23889632 }}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline}}

{{PRC Holidays}}
{{Hong Kong Holidays}}
{{Public holidays in Taiwan}}
{{Halloween|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Buddhist festivals in China]]
[[Category:Festivals in Chinese folk religion]]
[[Category:Festivals in China]]
[[Category:April observances]]
[[Category:Observances honoring the dead]]
[[Category:Observances set by the Chinese calendar]]
[[Category:Public holidays in China]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Taiwan]]
[[Category:Spring festivals]]
[[Category:Spring (season) in China]]