Chapter 29 Section 4 Cold Food and Tomb-sweeping Day

One or two days before Qingming is the Cold Food Festival.On this day, every family will ban fireworks, and people can only eat pre-made cold food, so it is called the "Cold Food" festival.As for the origin of the Cold Food Festival, it is said that it started in the Spring and Autumn Period.Before Jin Wengong came to the throne, he lived in exile for 19 years. At that time, there was a Jie Zitui who was not afraid of hardships and followed him. In the most difficult time, he even cut off the meat from his own thigh to feed Wengong's hunger.However, after Jin Wengong returned to his country and became the king, Jie Zitui lived in seclusion with his mother in Mianshan Mountain without asking for money.Duke Wen of Jin couldn't find him, so he set fire to the mountain to force him out, but he was determined to hug a tree and died.In order to commemorate Jie Zitui, Duke Wen ordered to prohibit burning fire and cooking on the day of his death, which became a custom in the future, called cold food ban fire.Others believe that the custom of cold food originated from the custom of changing fire in primitive clan society, and the fire ban system in the era of slavery developed from it.It is said that the ancients used the fire in winter until the cold food, and they thought they were old, so they had to change the fire, that is, stop and extinguish the old fire, and re-drill the wood to light a new fire, so there was a custom of cold food for one day.Entering the slave society, fire, like other wealth, is occupied by the slave-owner class.Inferior people can only wait for the gift of the slave-owner class to use fire, and abide by the fire ban system of the slave-owner class. "Zhou Li·Qiu Guan·Sixuan [Hui Huan] Shi" said, "In mid-spring, Muduo repaired fire and banned it in the middle of the country", which refers to this situation.In the poem "Cold Food" by Han Hong (hong Hong) of the Tang Dynasty, the line "passing candles in the Han Palace at dusk, and the light smoke scattered into the Wuhou's house" reflects the night of the Cold Food Festival in the Tang Dynasty. The home of noble relatives and ministers to show the historical fact of "the emperor's grace is mighty".From this point of view, the legacy of the fire ban system in the slave society still remained in the Tang Dynasty.

After the Cold Food Festival, there is the Ching Ming Festival.Qingming was originally one of the twenty-four solar terms.Wu Cheng of the Yuan Dynasty said in "The Collection of Seventy-two Marquises of the Moon Order": "March Festival... until now, everything is clean and clear." So the first day of this solar term is called Qingming Festival. Because cold food is close to Qingming, and the activities of the ancients during cold food often continued until Qingming, such as the custom of visiting ancestors' tombs during the cold food festival, has also become the main activity of Qingming.Over time, there is no strict distinction between Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival.After the Tang Dynasty, the two festivals gradually merged into one, and the Qing people believed that "Qingming is cold food" ("Yanjing Sui Shi Ji").Up to now, I am afraid that many people only know that there is the Ching Ming Festival but not the Cold Food Festival.

It is an important activity to worship the ancestors and respect the ancestors during the Ching Ming Festival, which is mainly manifested in the worship of the ancestors' tombs.The custom of sweeping tombs began in the Qin and Han Dynasties and prevailed in the Tang Dynasty. It was first started by scholars and common people, and gradually became a very important etiquette and custom at that time. "Old Tang Book" contains the imperial edict in the Kaiyuan period of Tang Dynasty: "Cold food goes to the tomb, and the ritual scriptures have no literature. It has been followed in modern times, and it has become a vulgar. The family of scholars and concubines should be allowed to go to the tomb. Incorporated into the five rituals, it will always be a routine . " In the Song Dynasty, during the Ching Ming Festival, there was no distinction between classes.In the poem "Qingming" by Gao Zhu (Zhu Zhu) of the Song Dynasty, he described the scene at that time like this: "There are many tomb fields on the north and south hills, and there are many Qingming sacrifices. Paper ashes fly to make white butterflies, and tears and blood are dyed into red azaleas." Because of Qingming Tomb-sweeping can express mourning for the deceased relatives, which has certain rationality, so this custom has been handed down to this day.

In addition, during the Qingming Festival during the cold food season in ancient times, there were customs such as planting willows in front of the door, wearing willows on the head, and giving painted eggs to each other.During the Qingming Festival, the ancients liked to put the willow branches that were folded down under the eaves or on the doors and windows, "even though the small square is quiet and beautiful, it is also green and lovely."Later, people directly put willow branches on their heads.He also believes that wearing willows during the Qingming Festival is a custom that everyone should abide by, otherwise he will be criticized, and there is even a saying "If you don't wear willows during the Qingming Festival, you will turn into a yellow dog in the next life".Regarding the origin of wearing willows, "Yanjing Years Records" said: "The person who wore willows in the Qingming Dynasty was Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty. On the third day of the third month of the Tang Dynasty, he gave a willow ring to each of the ministers. It is said that it can avoid the poison of 虿 (chai).” Willows have the magical effect of exorcising evil spirits in ancient folk beliefs, so planting willows and wearing willows reflect people’s desire to pray for exorcism, avoid evil spirits, and eliminate disasters.So far, some areas in northern my country still have the legacy of wearing willows during the Qingming Dynasty.As for the greeting ceremony when people met during the Cold Food Festival, the etiquette of sending painted eggs to each other was quite popular in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.According to the "Jade Candle Collection" by Du Taiqing of the Sui Dynasty, people in the Sui Dynasty were used to dyeing boiled eggs with "blue and variegated colors, and still adding carvings" as a "passion to each other (wei Wei)" when meeting each other during the Cold Food Festival. common gift.