2023年清明节的英语演讲稿（精选18篇）
"During the Qingming Festival, it rains in succession, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls. Excuse me, where is the restaurant? The shepherd boy points to Xinghua village in the distance." When I think of this poem by a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, I think that the Tomb Sweeping Day is coming, and there is only one step left.
On the day of Tomb Sweeping Day, my father said to me early in the morning, "its Tomb Sweeping Day. Its time to worship our ancestors. This is our Chinese traditional custom." I said proudly, "who doesnt know, if you know it alone, dont hurry to sacrifice Zoe." my mother also said: "if you dont say it, we also know that today is Tomb Sweeping Day." I sang with my mother so that my father didnt dare to say anything.
After a ten minute walk, we finally arrived at Grandpas grave. I took out the fruit and pastries, put them away, lit the incense, took them in my hand, bowed deeply to my grandfather and said goodbye. Then I took out paper money and lit them in front of my grandfathers tomb. After the father finished the Chinese etiquette to Grandpa, he took out firecrackers and lit them. After a while, there was a "crackling" sound in the sky, which was deafening, like thunder in the sky. Later, I silently made a wish in front of my grandfathers tomb: "I hope my grandfather will bless me to study to a higher level, my family will be happy, healthy and successful in school."
It is worthy of being a traditional festival of our Chinese nation. I think it is so meaningful.
Today is Tomb Sweeping Day. My mother and I went to grandmas house. Grandmas house lives in the suburbs. The air there is very fresh and the scenery is beautiful and pleasant, so I like to go to grandmas house very much.
After lunch in the afternoon, my sister and I went to grandmas old house, where there was a vegetable garden. We went to the vegetable garden first to collect vegetables. The varieties of vegetables in the garden are really rich, such as green vegetables, coriander, garlic, leek, spinach... It seems that collecting vegetables is not an easy job! You see, my mother, my aunt, my sister, my grandfather and my grandmother are constantly collecting vegetables: my grandmother is collecting vegetables, while I am the only one with a small pair of scissors pulling vegetables and cutting vegetables. I first pull up the vegetables, and then cut the roots and soil. Because I cut too much, I cut many vegetable leaves. My sister said I wasted, but I couldnt cut them any more, so I had to give up, I took my sister to fly a kite on the ridge. There were golden rape flowers on both sides of the ridge. My sister and I ran and chased happily on the ridge. The smell of rape flowers came to our nostrils. We had a good time.
Back to the old house, my sister and I fed the chickens under the chickens and brought vegetables and leaves to the chickens. Sure enough, many chickens gathered together to eat. Even the old hen squatting in the chicken nest came out to eat, "the old hen laid eggs!" Grandpa shouted at my sister and me and quickly took out two eggs from the chicken nest. You see, another one is double yellow! I didnt expect to learn some new knowledge when feeding chickens! splendid!
In the twinkling of an eye, it was evening. It was time for me to go home. While sitting on the bus, I thought, "its good to go outing during the Qingming Festival. I must go outing more in the future!"
Today, I got up early in the morning, because grandma said she would take us to the grave today. Im looking forward to it!
At 7 am, I set out with everyone. On the way, I saw many people. I asked my mother, "Why are there so many people today?" Mother said: "todays weather is very good. It happens to be Saturday, so many people come to the grave to express their respect and memory for their ancestors." I followed my mother for a long time and finally saw a hill in front of me. Grandma said, "its right up there. Be careful." I climbed up the mountain and saw the grave we were going to. There are many small bamboos next to the grave. Grandma, they are cleaning up the small bamboos. I also joined their team to clean up with them. For a while, I think my hand hurts a little. At first glance, my hand is broken and shed a little blood. My mother said, "its all right, man, big husband. This little injury is nothing, isnt it?" I said, "yes, this little injury is no problem." We continued to clean up the little bamboo. After a while, grandma asked us to kowtow. I kowtowed six times. Because my grandfather didnt come to the grave, they said they asked me to kowtow a few more heads as a token of respect. After burning the money and kowtowing, we went down the mountain. When I went down the mountain, I fell and broke my pants. Even so, I was still very happy!
"During the Qingming Festival, it rains in succession, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls. Ask where the restaurant is, and the shepherd boy points to Xinghua village in the distance." Mother said that this poem reflects the natural environment and desolate and sad atmosphere during the Qingming Festival.
Beloved teacher, dear students:
Im in class the first grade , the topic of my speech today is "martyrs accompanying my growth"
The classmates, bid farewell to the snow, the earth covered with green in the Qingming Festival, I have stared at the bright five-star red flag with a solemn mood, thoughts and fly to the hard eventful years: the old China suffered the trauma of war, the peoples suffering and humiliation. When the country was in adversity, countless patriots step forward bravely, to the independence of the motherland, Gan sprinkling a cavity blood. Buy a sword from at daughter, also can lead a licentious life proud woman Qiu Jin, the treasure Qin 1 cavity blood, sprinkling can still go pictorial of the Zou Rong; from Jiang to Liu Hulan; from Huang to Dong Cunrui...... Countless heroes with their lives, write one after another heroic patriotic movement. Martyrs who shed blood, the flames of war to go through fire and water, the prison be and unyielding. Their life for the new Chinese.
The martyrs ah, when you fight a bloody battle every inch of land, now have fresh flowers, green grass. When the smoke of the sky, is now a cloudless blue sky, red flag fluttering. War makes you brave and strong, peaceful and beautiful environment provides knowledge, long can the opportunity for us. Dear martyrs, in spring, you may have seen the first leaf branches for you hair; can you hear the birds sing for you the first piece of music; do you ever feel us to you as an example to serve the motherland confidence?
Students, our happy life be not easily won, we want to love yourself, more to love the motherland, we have to study hard, to her credit, she luster!
Thank you.
On the day of Tomb Sweeping Day, my father asked me to go to Longhua park to worship the dead martyrs. At first, I was a little reluctant. After I went, I felt very meaningful.
As soon as I entered the park, there were so many people in the park that I was almost out of breath. I strolled around the park. The whole park was full of people. After a few turns, I began to worship the martyrs. Walking to the half of the stairs, there is a Square Pavilion. There are two pots of chrysanthemums next to the two columns at the entrance of the pavilion. There is a huge stone tablet in the center of the pavilion, with several large characters "martyrs name" engraved on the top and dense names in the middle. There are almost 1000 people. I never thought that there would be 1000 martyrs buried here in Longhua park.
Bypass the Square Pavilion and walk up the stairs. On the top is a stone tablet as big as the monument to the revolutionary heroes in Beijing. The monument is surrounded by wreaths, almost all from primary and secondary schools in Longhua new area. It also includes every kind of wreath, wreath, and wreath of our Longhua Central Primary School. There are big and small wreaths, and some schools are very environmentally friendly. They only buy Foam brands, and then make chrysanthemums with yellow and white paper.
Beside the stone tablet are the graves of some martyrs. We made a deep bow in front of each martyrs grave. A tall tree grows on the top of the graves of some martyrs. Seeing these martyrs monuments, they have bought us a better life now. We should cherish our better life now, study hard, and be useful to society in the future.
On Tomb Sweeping Day, our family went to the mountain next to Yaoshang reservoir to visit Grandpas grave.
Walking on the mountain road, you can see the crops withered due to the drought. The land has a big mouth and is as hard as stone. Once verdant, full of all kinds of colorful wild flowers on the mountain, now only messy hay is left; In the past, the rippling reservoir is now like a shallow pond. The hot sun made us unable to open our eyes, while the Qingming Festival in previous years had a continuous drizzle and a trace of cold. When I got to the cemetery, I was very surprised. Why did the tall and strong fir trees around the tomb in previous years dry and listless this year? The deep weeds have lost their vitality. We cant burn incense and paper to pay tribute to grandpa as in previous years, because the trees have dried up due to the drought of the weather. If we ignite in this case, it will undoubtedly cause forest fire. We uprooted the weeds on the grave, cleaned the surroundings, and presented flowers and fruits to Grandpa.
This year, due to the worst drought in the southwest since the Ming Dynasty, we didnt see the green grass, the colorful wild flowers and the lush forest oxygen bar when we visited the tomb this time. Mom said that global warming is not a good thing. In fact, it is natures revenge on humans who do not care for the environment.
Today is the traditional Chinese festival Qingming Festival. Tomb Sweeping Day has been a custom since ancient times. My father not only promised to take me on a field outing to pick strawberries, but also allowed me to go by bike. Dont mention how happy I am!
Its sunny and sunny outside. Its comfortable to ride my beloved bike and the warm spring breeze touches my cheek! There were so many cars along the way. I stepped on the pedal hard and followed my father closely. Today is my first time to go out by bike. I finally got to the Strawberry Garden.
Into the Strawberry Garden, bursts of sweet fragrance came to my face. There are few branches and leaves of strawberries. Under the emerald leaves, strawberries are scattered on the soil ridge like rubies. Strawberry has five petals, snow-white, only the middle stamen is light yellow. Carrying a plastic basket, I couldnt wait to start picking strawberries. There are light cyan seeds on the "body" of strawberries. Strawberries are red and large, glittering with attractive luster. At a glance, I cant wait to taste one. I eagerly put "rubies" into the basket. The fluff on the strawberry leaves tickled the back of my hand and I was fearless. Soon I picked a full frame, faster than my father.
I chose a big red strawberry and put it into my mouth. Its so sweet! Carrying a box full of red strawberries, with the joy of harvest, my father and I rode home.
Today is really a happy and meaningful day!
Qing Ming, which means clear and bright in Chinese, falls on April 5th this year. It is both the fifth term in the traditional lunar calendar and a festival to hold memorial ceremony for the dead. It is a time to express ones grief for his lost relatives. An ancient elegiac poem, which described a grievous woman, was read that vines tangled in vain and weeds crept in the graveyard, and her husband slept there lonely. It was so difficult to endure for her as if summer in the day and winter at night. And her only wish was to reunite with him after death.
People often go to sweep and weed graves with whole family and take a walk in the countryside as well. In Tang Dynasty, the habit of taking an excursion on this day was developed. At this time, spring returns and dominates the earth again. The feel of growing life is in the air, with sap ascending in trees and buds bursting. And the willow branches ed on each gate add vigor and vitality to the surroundings. But it actually means more than that. This custom can be traced back to over one thousand years ago.
During the Period of Spring and Autumn in the Jin Kingdom, one of the Kings sons was called Chong Er. Jealous of his talent, a concubine falsely accused him of rebellion to make her son the crown prince. He had no choice but to flee and with him were some officials. They hid themselves in a mountain and went hungry for quite some time. An official named Jie Zitui took great pain to cut some flesh from his thigh and cooked it for Chong Er. When the fact was known the young master was moved to tears and knelt down in gratitude. And Jie replied his best repayment should be a just king. They lived a life of hunger and cold for three years until the evil concubine died. Many soldiers were sent to look for him and to escort him back home. Going into the carriage, he saw an official packed an old mat onto a horse, he said laughingly, What on earth is the use of that? Throw it away! Jie Zitui heard it and sighed, It is hardship that can be shared with his majesty but not prosperity. So he went away quietly and lived in seclusion with his old mother.
As Chong Er became king, he rewarded many people but he forgot Jie Zitui. He did not realize it until was reminded. However his invitation was refused and he flared up. Soldiers were ordered to burn up the mountain to force Jie to come out. Finally they found Jie and his mother scorched under a willow. He would rather die than yield to the power. Chong Er was so overwhelmed with regret that he ordered people hold memorial ceremony for Jie. So every year on that day folks mourned for him and the day before ate cold meals, which avoided making fire. Later the custom of ing willow branches on gates was also added.
清明节,这意味着清晰和明亮,落在今年4月5日。这是第五学期在传统的农历和节日为死者举行纪念仪式。这是一个时间来表达一个失去亲人的悲痛。一个古老的挽歌诗,描述了一个严重的女人,阅读,藤蔓缠绕徒然和杂草爬在墓地,和她的丈夫睡在那里孤独。好像是如此难以忍受她晚上当天夏季和冬季。和她唯一的愿望就是死后与他团聚。
人们经常和全家一起去扫描和杂草坟墓和散步在乡下。在唐代,采取一次短途旅行的习惯在这一天。在这个时候,春天的回报并再次主宰地球。成长的感觉生活是在空中,与sap提升在树木和味蕾破裂。和柳枝插在每个门增添生机与活力的环境。但它实际上意味着更多。这种风俗可以追溯到一千多年前。
春天和秋天期间金王国,国王的一个儿子名叫Chong Er。嫉妒他的才华,妾诬告他的反抗让她的儿子皇太子。他别无选择,只能逃跑,被一些官员。他们躲在一个山,走饿了很长一段时间。一位官员名叫介子推了巨大的痛苦减少一些从他的大腿肉和煮熟的Chong Er。当事实被年轻的主人,跪下来感激感动得落下了眼泪。和杰回答说他最好的回报应该是王。他们过着饥饿和寒冷的生活了三年,直到邪恶妾死了。许多士兵被派去寻找他,护送他回家。进入马车,他看见一位官员老席上一匹马,他笑着说,“那到底是使用什么?扔掉它!介子推听见了,叹了口气,“这是困难,可以与他的威严但不能共享繁荣。所以他平静地走了,住在和他的老母亲隐居。
作为Chong Er作王,他的回报很多人但他忘了介子推。他才意识到这是提醒。然而他的邀请被拒绝,他突然爆发。士兵被命令烧上山迫使揭出来。最后他们发现杰和他的母亲烧焦的柳树下。他宁死也不屈服于权力。重耳略遗憾所淹没,他命令人们为杰举行纪念仪式。所以每年在这一天人们为他哀哭和前一天吃寒冷的食物,避免使火。后插入柳枝的习俗在盖茨还补充说。
My hometown is a beautiful small country. It is surrounded by mountains, verdant trees. The annual Qingming Festival is a festival for people in their hometown to sacrifice their ancestors. Therefore, when I go to Qingming Festival, I will go to my hometown with my father and mother to sweep the grave.
Every time I come to my grandparents tombstone, I want to cry, because I always think of a story my father and I said: a little boy died when he was seven years old, and he was living with her old grandmother. He didnt wear a new dress and didnt have a full meal. He finished middle school by relatives and school funding, and went to normal school with excellent results. He became a glorious peoples teacher. This little boy is my father. Dad is a strong man. He didnt give up his studies because of the frustrations of life and the poverty of life. Dad told me this story when I was most unconfident, and I knew that dad was trying to make me understand that I could not give up my ideal because of a little difficulty.
On the day of Qingming Festival, I came to see my grandparents. I want to tell them, "Grandpa, grandma, rest in peace. Your son is very happy now. He used his strength to get a happy family. Your granddaughter will also be a strong man, fighting for her ideals.
qing ming, which means clear and bright in chinese, falls on april5th this year. it is both the fifth term in the traditional lunar calendar and a festival to hold memorial ceremony for the dead. it is a time to express one"s grief for his lost relatives. an ancient elegiac poem, which described a grievous woman, was read that vines tangled in vain and weeds crept in the graveyard, and her husband slept there lonely. it was so difficult to endure for her as if summer in the day and winter at night. and her only wish was to reunite with him after death.
people often go to sweep and weed graves with whole family and take a walk in the countryside as well. in tang dynasty, the habit of taking an excursion on this day was developed. at this time, spring returns and dominates the earth again. the feel of growing life is in the air, with sap ascending in trees and buds bursting. and the willow branches ed on each gate add vigor and vitality to the surroundings. but it actually means more than that. this custom can be traced back to over one thousand years ago.
during the period of spring and autumn in the jin kingdom, one of the king"s sons was called chong er. jealous of his talent, a concubine falsely accused him of rebellion to make her son the crown prince. he had no choice but to flee and with him were some officials. they hid themselves in a mountain and went hungry for quite some time. an official named jie zitui took great pain to cut some flesh from his thigh and cooked it for chong er. when the fact was known the young master was moved to tears and knelt down in gratitude. and jie replied his best repayment should be a just king. they lived a life of hunger and cold for three years until the evil concubine died. many soldiers were sent to look for him and to escort him back home. going into the carriage, he saw an official packed an old mat onto a horse, he said laughingly, "what on earth is the use of that? throw it away!" jie zitui heard it and sighed, "it is hardship that can be shared with his majesty but not prosperity." so he went away quietly and lived in seclusion with his old mother.
as chong er became king, he rewarded many people but he forgot jie zitui. he did not realize it until was reminded. however his invitation was refused and he flared up. soldiers were ordered to burn up the mountain to force jie to come out. finally they found jie and his mother scorched under a willow. he would rather die than yield to the power. chong er was so overwhelmed with regret that he ordered people hold memorial ceremony for jie. so every year on that day folks mourned for him and the day before ate cold meals, which avoided making fire. later the custom of ing willow branches on gates was also added.
qing ming, which means clear and bright in chinese, falls on april 5th this year. it is both the fifth term in the traditional lunar calendar and a festival to hold memorial ceremony for the dead. it is a time to express ones grief for his lost relatives. an
ancient elegiac poem, which described a grievous woman, was read that vines tangled in vain and weeds crept in the graveyard, and her
husband slept there lonely. it was so difficult to endure for her as if summer in the day and winter at night. and her only wish was to reunite with him after death. during the period of spring and autumn in the jin kingdom, one of the kings sons was called chong er. jealous of his talent, aconcubine falsely accused him of rebellion to make her son the crown prince. he had no choice but to flee and with him were some officials. they hid themselves in a mountain and went hungry for quite some time. an official named jie zitui took great pain to cut some flesh from his thigh and cooked it for chong er. when the fact was known the young master was moved to tears and knelt down in gratitude. and jie replied his best repayment should be a just king. they lived a life of hunger and cold for three years until the evil concubine died. many soldiers were sent to look for him and to escort him back home. going into the carriage, he saw an official packed an old mat onto a horse, he said laughingly, what on earth is the use of that? throw it away! jie zitui heard it and sighed, it is hardship that can be shared with his majesty but not prosperity. so he went away quietly and lived in seclusion with his old mother.
Qing ming, which means clear and bright in chinese, falls on april5th this year. it is both the fifth term in the traditional lunar calendar and a festival to hold memorial ceremony for the dead. it is a time to express one"s grief for his lost relatives. an ancient elegiac poem, which described a grievous woman, was read that vines tangled in vain and weeds crept in the graveyard, and her husband slept there lonely. it was so difficult to endure for her as if summer in the day and winter at night. and her only wish was to reunite with him after death.
People often go to sweep and weed graves with whole family and take a walk in the countryside as well. in tang dynasty, the habit of taking an excursion on this day was developed. at this time, spring returns and dominates the earth again. the feel of growing life is in the air, with sap ascending in trees and buds bursting. and the willow branches ed on each gate add vigor and vitality to the surroundings. but it actually means more than that. this custom can be traced back to over one thousand years ago.
During the period of spring and autumn in the jin kingdom, one of the king"s sons was called chong er. jealous of his talent, a concubine falsely accused him of rebellion to make her son the crown prince. he had no choice but to flee and with him were some officials. they hid themselves in a mountain and went hungry for quite some time. an official named jie zitui took great pain to cut some flesh from his thigh and cooked it for chong er. when the fact was known the young master was moved to tears and knelt down in gratitude. and jie replied his best repayment should be a just king. they lived a life of hunger and cold for three years until the evil concubine died. many soldiers were sent to look for him and to escort him back home. going into the carriage, he saw an official packed an old mat onto a horse, he said laughingly, "what on earth is the use of that? throw it away!" jie zitui heard it and sighed, "it is hardship that can be shared with his majesty but not prosperity." so he went away quietly and lived in seclusion with his old mother.
As chong er became king, he rewarded many people but he forgot jie zitui. he did not realize it until was reminded. however his invitation was refused and he flared up. soldiers were ordered to burn up the mountain to force jie to come out. finally they found jie and his mother scorched under a willow. he would rather die than yield to the power. chong er was so overwhelmed with regret that he ordered people hold memorial ceremony for jie. so every year on that day folks mourned for him and the day before ate cold meals, which avoided making fire. later the custom of ing willow branches on gates was also added.
The annual Qingming Festival is coming again. There are people at the crossroads. They begin to burn paper money for their dead relatives. However, I think we should pay tribute to our dead relatives in another way - replacing paper money with flowers; Burn incense instead of firecrackers. I say this because burning things produces carbon dioxide, which virtually causes another damage to the environment. My family has carried out a "reform" of sacrificial activities this year.
My grandfather is going to pay tribute to my mother with flowers. Along the way, I saw many uncles and aunts working in a foreign land like my father, who would come to pay homage to their relatives. After a long journey, we finally came to Grandpas grave. Looking at Grandpas grave, I thought of the pictures of getting along with Grandpa. My eyes were slowly moist, tears swirled in my eyes, and I tried not to let it flow down. I think grandpa doesnt want me to cry, and everyone doesnt want me to cry. After lunch, we walked back from our hometown. Along the way, I saw many pedestrians with sad faces, like eggplant beaten by frost, mourning. I think this is the sentence of Du Mu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, "it rains one after another during the Qingming Festival, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls." What you want to express.
In this sad Festival, the whole city shows a sad situation
The tomb sweeping day is one of the traditional festivals in China. On April 5th, people start to visit their ancestors’ tombs. Generally speaking, people will bring the home-made food, some fake money and paper-made mansion to their ancestors. When they start to honour their ancestor, they will light up some candles and incense, put some flowers around the tombs. The most important thing is to put the home-made food in front of the tombs. The food, also known as sacrifices, is usually made up with a chicken, a fish and some pork. It’s a symbol of the offspring’s respect to the ancestors. People believe that the forbears will share the food with them. The children dedicate the food and money to their forbears in order to show their love and caring. The young offspring will go down on their knees and pray for their ancestors.
They can say their wishes in front of the tombs and the ancestors will make their dreams come true.
In some provinces of China, people use different activities to commemorate this day, for instance, spring-outing, swinging, tree planting and making special food. One special food is Ay Tsao rice balls. It looks like Tang-yuan, but its colour is green. Mix the ay tsao juice with the rice powder, then make it into small balls. The Ay Tsao rice ball is done. People believe that eating ay tsao rice balls can get rid of the bad luck and everything will go smoothly. Other activities such as spring outing, tree planting are the other ways to commemorate the forbears. For one thing, it is a sign that people should look into the future and embrace the hope; for another thing, we do hope our ancestor rest in peace.
The annual Tomb Sweeping Day is coming again. In order to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs who died bravely, all the students in grade 4 of our economic and trade primaryschool, under the leadership of our teachers, with their own small white flowers, came to the "Shuangfeng revolutionary martyrs cemetery" with heavy steps to sweep the tombs of the martyrs.
Walking into the cemetery, you can see a tall monument engraved with eight conspicuous characters "the revolutionary martyrs are immortal".
The tomb sweeping began. First, two teacher representatives presented wreaths to the martyrs. All the students observed a silence of three minutes and bowed three times to the revolutionary martyrs, expressing our young students deep memory and condolences for the revolutionary martyrs. At this time, I seem to see the revolutionary feat of the martyrs throwing their heads and sprinkling blood, and I seem to see the tall image of the martyrs who treat death as if they were at home and stand up to the sky.
Then, under the leadership of the counselor teacher of the brigade, we took an oath and put the little white flowers we made with our own hands respectfully on the martyrs tomb. I read silently in my heart: martyrs! Rest in peace! We must study hard and build a more prosperous and powerful motherland in the future.
Finally, we came to the "revolutionary martyrs memorial hall", where we saw some revolutionary martyrs backpacks, clothes, kettles, certificates and so on. I also saw photos of the martyrs fighting bravely. Seeing these photos, I feel no more excited than.
We walked out of the martyrs cemetery with a heavy heart. Our ancestors exchanged their blood and life for our happy life. We should cherish it more!
Qing Ming, which means clear and bright in Chinese, falls on April 5th this year. It is both the fifth term in the traditional lunar calendar and a festival to hold memorial ceremony for the dead. It is a time to express ones grief for his lost relatives. An ancient elegiac poem, which described a grievous woman, was read that vines tangled in vain and weeds crept in the graveyard, and her husband slept there lonely. It was so difficult to endure for her as if summer in the day and winter at night. And her only wish was to reunite with him after death.
People often go to sweep and weed graves with whole family and take a walk in the countryside as well. In Tang Dynasty, the habit of taking an excursion on this day was developed. At this time, spring returns and dominates the earth again. The feel of growing life is in the air, with sap ascending in trees and buds bursting. And the willow branches ed on each gate add vigor and vitality to the surroundings. But it actually means more than that. This custom can be traced back to over one thousand years ago.
During the Period of Spring and Autumn in the Jin Kingdom, one of the Kings sons was called Chong Er. Jealous of his talent, a concubine falsely accused him of rebellion to make her son the crown prince. He had no choice but to flee and with him were some officials. They hid themselves in a mountain and went hungry for quite some time. An official named Jie Zitui took great pain to cut some flesh from his thigh and cooked it for Chong Er. When the fact was known the young master was moved to tears and knelt down in gratitude. And Jie replied his best repayment should be a just king. They lived a life of hunger and cold for three years.
Qing Ming, which means clear and bright in Chinese, falls on April 5th this year. It is both the fifth term in the traditional lunar calendar and a festival to hold memorial ceremony for the dead. It is a time to express ones grief for his lost relatives. An ancient elegiac poem, which described a grievous woman, was read that vines tangled in vain and weeds crept in the graveyard, and her husband slept there lonely. It was so difficult to endure for her as if summer in the day and winter at night. And her only wish was to reunite with him after death.
People often go to sweep and weed graves with whole family and take a walk in the countryside as well. In Tang Dynasty, the habit of taking an excursion on this day was developed. At this time, spring returns and dominates the earth again. The feel of growing life is in the air, with sap ascending in trees and buds bursting. And the willow branches ed on each gate add vigor and vitality to the surroundings. But it actually means more than that. This custom can be traced back to over one thousand years ago.
During the Period of Spring and Autumn in the Jin Kingdom, one of the Kings sons was called Chong Er. Jealous of his talent, a concubine falsely accused him of rebellion to make her son the crown prince. He had no choice but to flee and with him were some officials. They hid themselves in a mountain and went hungry for quite some time. An official named Jie Zitui took great pain to cut some flesh from his thigh and cooked it for Chong Er. When the fact was known the young master was moved to tears and knelt down in gratitude. And Jie replied his best repayment should be a just king. They lived a life of hunger and cold for three years until the evil concubine died. Many soldiers were sent to look for him and to escort him back home. Going into the carriage, he saw an official packed an old mat onto a horse, he said laughingly, What on earth is the use of that? Throw it away! Jie Zitui heard it and sighed, It is hardship that can be shared with his majesty but not prosperity. So he went away quietly and lived in seclusion with his old mother.
As Chong Er became king, he rewarded many people but he forgot Jie Zitui. He did not realize it until was reminded. However his invitation was refused and he flared up. Soldiers were ordered to burn up the mountain to force Jie to come out. Finally they found Jie and his mother scorched under a willow. He would rather die than yield to the power. Chong Er was so overwhelmed with regret that he ordered people hold memorial ceremony for Jie. So every year on that day folks mourned for him and the day before ate cold meals, which avoided making fire. Later the custom of ing willow branches on gates was also added.
Qing Ming is popularly associated with Jie Zi Zhui, who lived in Shanxi province in 600 B.C. Legend has it that Jie saved his starving lords life by serving a piece of his own leg. When the lord succeeded in being the ruler of a small principality, he invited his faithful follower to join him. However, Jie declined his invitation, preferring to lead a hermits life with his mother in the mountains.
Believing that he could force Jie out by burning the mountain, the lord ordered his men to set the forest on fire. To his consternation, Jie chose to remain where he was and was burnt to death. To memorate Jie, the lord ordered all fires in every home to be put out on the anniversary of Jies death. Thus began the "cold food feast", a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could be lit.
The "cold food" festival occurs on the eve of Qing Ming and is often considered as part of the Qing Ming festival. As time passes, the Qing Ming festival replaced the "cold food" festival. Whatever practice is observed，the basic observation of Qing Ming is to remember ones elders by making a special effort to visit their graves, ashes or ancestral tablets. To make the visit even more meaningful, some time should be spent to remind the younger members of the family of the lives and contributions of their ancestors, and the story of Jie Zi Zhui who choose death over capitulation.