Ching Ming Festival清明節

Ching Ming Festival， also known as tomb-sweeping day， is celebrated 15 days after the spring equinox in the Chinese lunar calendar and this year falls on April 4. In China， the festival is a public holiday.

清明節是祭祖掃墓的日子，為中國農歷春分后的第15天，今年的清明節是在4月4日。在中國，清明節為法定節假日。

What is the festival’s origin？

清明節的起源

Its name originates from the saying “plants start to revive and prosper at Ching Ming in a clean and bright way”. Thus Ching Ming literally means “clean” and “bright” in Chinese， and marks both the beginning of spring and of farm work.

清明節的名稱源于古語“萬物生長此時，皆清凈明潔”。因此，“清明”在漢語中的字面意思是“清凈”與“明潔”，標志著春天和農活的開始。

The customs of the festival as we know it today， however， originate from hanshi jie， or the Cold Food Festival.

不過，我們今天所熟知的清明節習俗其實源自寒食節。

According to legend， in the 7th century BC in the Chinese state of Jin， an exiled duke called Wen was starving and had no food to eat， so one of his followers， named Jie Zitui， cut a piece of his flesh from his thigh to make soup for Wen. Wen was grateful for the meal and wanted to pay Jie back.

相傳，在公元前7世紀中國的晉國，公子重耳（后來的晉文公）在外流亡時，饑餓難耐而無食物充饑，于是一位名叫介子推的從者割下自己大腿的肉為他熬湯。晉文公十分感激，想要報答介子推。

However， the story does not end well： when Wen eventually became the ruler， he forgot about Jie， who had moved to a remote mountain with his mother. When he learned of his saviour’s whereabouts， he ordered his army to set the forest on fire， hoping to force Jie out of hiding. The fire raged for three days and eventually the emperor saw Jie and his mother clinging， dead， to a charred willow tree. He buried them under the tree.

然而，故事的結局并不美好：晉文公最終成為一國之君后，忘了介子推，而介子推早已帶著母親隱居到了一座偏遠的山中。晉文公在得知救命恩人的下落后，命令軍隊放火燒山，希望以此迫使介子推出山。大火燒了三天。最終，晉文公只看見介子推和他的母親緊緊抱著一棵燒焦的柳樹，二人都已亡故。晉文公將他們埋葬在了這棵柳樹之下。

Out of remorse， Wen decreed no fires were allowed on the anniversary of Jie’s death， forcing people to eat only cold food; this marked the beginning of the Cold Food Festival. The emperor went to Jie’s grave to pay his respects and express his condolences the following year. Upon the tomb the emperor saw the burned willow tree coming back to life. After sweeping the tomb， Wen named the tree “Ching Ming Willow” and the day “Ching Ming Day”.

出于悔恨，晉文公下令，在介子推忌日這天，人們不準生火，只能吃冷食。這便是寒食節的由來。次年，晉文公前往介子推的墓前祭拜，以表達敬意和哀思。他看到墓旁被燒焦的柳樹重新煥發出生機。掃完墓后，晉文公將這棵樹命名為“清明柳”，并將這一天定為“清明節”。

Since the Cold Food Festival usually fell one or two days before Ching Ming， the customs associated with it eventually became part of the Ching Ming Festival.

由于寒食節通常是在清明節前一兩天，因此寒食節的相關習俗最終變成了清明節的一部分。

How is the Ching Ming Festival observed？

清明節的習俗

When paying tribute to ancestors and visiting their graves， people may burn incense and paper goods—money and models of things their ancestors might need in the afterlife such as a stored-value card， a wok， a luxury handbag or car—to ensure they enjoy a good afterlife. Some will place flowers， fruit and other foods on the tomb to remember the dead.

祭祖掃墓時，人們會在墓前上香，并燒一些紙扎——包括紙錢和先人死后在陰間所需物品的模型，例如儲值卡、炒鍋、奢侈品包包或汽車等——以確保先人九泉之下過得幸福。還有些人會在墓前擺上鮮花、水果及其他食物來緬懷逝者。

In China， where most urban dwellers’ ancestors are buried in nearby rural areas， the Ching Ming Festival sees some of the heaviest traffic on the roads.

在中國，大部分城市居民的祖先都埋葬于附近的農村地區，因而清明節是道路交通最為擁堵的時段之一。

In recent years， virtual tomb-sweeping has also become popular， allowing people to pay their respects online by posting letters or messages to the deceased and offering virtual fruit， flowers， and incense as a tribute.

近些年，線上掃墓逐漸興起。人們可以在線給逝者寄信或留言，并獻上虛擬的水果、鮮花和香火作為供品，來表達悼念之情。

As Ching Ming Festival also marks the start of spring， many people will spend some time outdoors enjoying nature on what should be some of the first warm days of the year.

由于清明節也標志著春天的開始，許多人都會在這個一年中剛剛回暖的日子外出踏青，享受大自然的美好。

A popular activity during such spring outings is kite flying. In ancient times， people used to tie pieces of paper with lists of their ailments and problems to a kite. They would then cut the string once the kite was high in the air and let it soar away， believing this to fend off misfortune and evil spirits.

放風箏是一項十分流行的春游活動。在古代，人們常將寫上自己病痛和煩惱的紙條綁在風箏上。待風箏飛上高空，人們就會剪斷風箏線，讓風箏隨風飛走，人們相信這樣可以驅趕厄運和邪靈。

What is the difference between the Ching Ming and Chung Yeung festivals？

清明節與重陽節的區別

Unlike two other dates in the Chinese lunar calendar， the Mid-Autumn Festival， when mooncakes are eaten， and the Dragon Boat Festival， which are distinctive and easy to remember， the Ching Ming and Chung Yeung festivals—the latter falling in autumn—share similar customs and tend to confuse people.

相比中國農歷中另外兩個各具特色且容易記住的節日——有吃月餅習俗的中秋節和有賽龍舟風俗的端午節，清明節和重陽節（后者在秋季）有著相似的習俗，容易讓人混淆。

Both festivals are marked by tomb sweeping to honour ancestors and deceased loved ones. During Chung Yeung Festival it is also the custom to climb mountains to enjoy nature， and fly kites to fend off bad luck. Both are similar to the activities seen during spring outings for Ching Ming.

這兩個節日都有通過掃墓來緬懷先人和已逝親人的傳統。此外，重陽節也有登高望遠享受自然和放風箏驅除厄運的習俗。這兩種習俗與清明節踏青時的活動十分相似。

The difference between the two festivals is in when they fall and what they symbolise： Ching Ming Festival celebrates the start of spring， when plants grow new shoots， and warmer weather is in prospect， while Chung Yeung， observed on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese lunar calendar， is in autumn， a time when the weather becomes cooler and plants begins to wither.

二者的區別在于節日的時間和象征意義：清明節標志著春天的開始，此時草木萌動、天氣轉暖；重陽節則是在中國農歷九月初九，正值秋季，是天氣轉涼、草木開始凋零的時節。

The bigger picture

更廣闊的節日圖景

Look closer and paying respects to ancestors， praying for blessings and warding off evil spirits， serving traditional foods and taking part in celebratory activities are common to nearly every festival in the Chinese calendar.

仔細觀察會發現，追念祖先、祈福辟邪、端出傳統美食及參與慶祝活動，幾乎是所有中國農歷節日共有的習俗。

（譯者單位：上海海洋大學）