The Cold Food Festival And The Qingming Festival

The Cold Food Festival and the Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival

April 4th this year marks another Qingming Festival. Similar to the Winter Solstice, Qingming is a day that serves as both a solar term and a traditional festival; they are explicitly recorded in Appendix B of the national standard "Compilation and Issuance of the Lunar Calendar" under Table B1 "Lunar Dates of Traditional Festivals and Important Solar Terms." Solar terms are determined by the movement of the sun, marking the order of seasons to roughly reflect seasonal changes, while festivals are traditional events formed in national history, containing certain customs and commemorative significance. Among the 13 festivals (or solar terms) listed in the table, Qingming and the Winter Solstice are somewhat "unique" because as solar terms, their specific dates depend on the position of the sun on the ecliptic, i.e., they depend on the Gregorian calendar; thus, their lunar dates cannot be determined every year and are respectively marked on the table as "lunar dates including Qingming" and "lunar dates including the Winter Solstice," instead of being specific "month and day" like other festivals. Moreover, unlike the Winter Solstice, Qingming is the only one of the two festivals that is a statutory holiday.

Looking back at China's cultural traditions, there used to be a Cold Food Festival. It was stipulated to be 105 days after the Winter Solstice, precisely 1 or 2 days before Qingming, starting from the early Qing Dynasty when it was determined to be the day before Qingming. Both days were considered festivals, perhaps comparable to the New Year's Eve and the Spring Festival; however, in the same year, the Spring Festival and New Year's Eve are actually the furthest apart. Thus, the Cold Food Festival alongside Qingming is another "unique" occurrence. Nowadays, the Cold Food Festival has faded from people's view, becoming another "unique" phenomenon, which is worth discussing.

The origin of the Cold Food Festival dates back over 2600 years to the Spring and Autumn period, more than 300 years earlier than the Dragon Boat Festival and even 500 years earlier than the twenty-four solar terms. Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn period, when Duke Wen of the Jin state, Prince Chong'er (later Duke Wen) fled the turmoil for 19 years, a man named Jie Zitui accompanied him through thick and thin, even "cutting off his thigh to feed the lord" when they faced starvation during food shortages. In 636 BC, when Prince Chong'er returned to the state of Qi and assumed his position, becoming Duke Wen, he rewarded others but forgot about Jie Zitui. Jie Zitui and his mother then retreated to Mianshan (located in present-day Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province), refusing worldly riches. Later, Duke Wen remembered him and sent people to summon him, but he refused to come down from the mountain. Duke Wen then ordered the mountain to be set on fire to force him out, but even after the fire burned out, Jie Zitui and his mother were found dead, embracing each other on a big tree. Duke Wen was deeply saddened and buried them on Mianshan, built a shrine and temple, and ordered that every year on the day of Jie Zitui's sacrifice, no fire should be lit throughout the country, and cold food should be eaten to express mourning. This day became known as the Cold Food Festival and became a traditional festival.

According to "Yiyuan," written by Liu Jingshu during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, to commemorate Jie Zitui, Duke Wen ordered the tree on which Jie Zitui and his mother were burned to death to be cut down, and their ashes were used to make a pair of wooden clogs, which were worn on the feet. Duke Wen would bow down daily, lamenting, "Alas, under your feet," expressing his sympathy and nostalgia for Jie Zitui. This led to the title of "under your feet," which used to be seen frequently when reading documents in elementary school, used as a respectful term for others, similar in meaning to "your excellency" but more common and ordinary. Later, with the popularization of "comrades," it was abandoned, and although the title of "your excellency" can still be seen, its usage is extremely limited. If you see the term "under your feet" now, do not misunderstand it as referring to the objects of class struggle; they should be "overthrown and trampled underfoot."

Regarding the Cold Food Festival, Han Hong, one of the "Ten Talents of the Dali Era" in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem titled "Cold Food":

In the spring city, flowers fly everywhere, The east wind gently sways the willows during the Cold Food. At sunset, candles are passed in the Han Palace, Light smoke disperses into the homes of nobles.

The first two lines of this poem refer to Chang'an, the capital of the north, as the "spring city," depicting the scenery of the entire city during the Cold Food Festival, with falling petals and willow catkins drifting in the breeze, creating a charming scene. This reminds me of another capital city as the "spring city of flying flowers" more than 1200 years later.

In 1961, when I was still a university student, I remember the 26th World Table Tennis Championships held in Beijing in April that year. This was the first large-scale international competition held in New China, and the emblem of the competition was a plum blossom composed of five table tennis paddles. This emblem was painted on propaganda posters posted around Beijing and made into lapel pins. People wore it bustlingly, and indeed, "everywhere in Beijing, the spring is bright and beautiful," as the media described the scene. Our Chinese table tennis team won the Swaythling Cup for men's team for the first time in this competition. Zhuang Zedong and Qiu Zhonghui also won the men's and women's singles championships, greatly boosting the morale of the Chinese people. I still remember the most exciting moment in the championship match when our player, Zhang Xielin, defeated the Japanese player Hoshino with 12 big hits, securing a crucial point. I believe that friends over 70 years old still vividly remember these scenes. Furthermore, the Qingming Festival in 1961 fell on April 5th, and the opening day of the 26th World Championships on April 4th happened to be the day before Qingming, traditionally known as the Cold Food Festival, which coincided with Han Hong's poem "everywhere in the spring city, flowers fly." How coincidental!

Modern Spring City with Flying Flowers—the emblem of the 26th World Table Tennis Championships.

On the Cold Food Festival, people not only eat cold food but also engage in activities such as spring outings, offering sacrifices, playing on swings, cuju (an ancient Chinese football game), cockfighting, etc., all of which have been passed down. Due to the pleasant late spring weather, from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the Cold Food Festival became a good day for spring outings. Please enjoy a poem titled "Spring Outing" by Shao Yong in the Song Dynasty:

During this excellent festival, only the Cold Food remains, The famous gardens throughout the world are concentrated in Luoyang. The Golden Valley warms under the azure palace, The Bronze Camels blend with the bright silk and satin light. Beside the bridge, willows hang delicately to the ground, Outside the flowers, half of the swings emerge from the wall. The hooves of white horses lightly tread on the grass like scissors, Roaming here happily for ten strong years.

This poem vividly depicts the splendid scenery of the Cold Food Festival and the scenes of people riding horses for spring outings, swinging on swings "from the wall," and other joyful activities. Here, I would like to appreciate two ancient poems that depict such scenes. Please read the "Luoyang Road" by the Tang Dynasty poet Chu Guangxi:

The broad road stretches straight like hair, On a fine spring day, the air is filled with joy. The sons of noble families from the Five Ridges, Ride their magnificent horses in pairs.

The term "Five Ridges" refers to noble families. This poem vividly portrays the scene of noble sons riding magnificently adorned horses, one after another, leaving the city for spring outings. The sound of jade ornaments hitting each other while riding horses makes one think of the noble sons' proud and unapproachable demeanor while riding. Now, let's read the "Swing" by the Song Dynasty poet Peng Juefan (Buddhist name Huihong):

The swing's frame is delicately crafted, slightly askew, The beauty frolics before the small tower in spring. Her crimson skirt billows as she touches the ground, Her jade-like visage seems to ascend to the heavens.

The jade board is moistened by the rain of red apricots, The colored ropes hang askew in the smoke of green willows. After coming down, she stands leisurely in a quiet place, Seemingly like a fairy descending from the Moon Palace.

In this poem, the author vividly depicts a scene of a lady playing on a swing. As she swings high and low, her jade-like face seems to ascend to the heavens, complemented by the swirling apricot blossoms and the smoke of willows, making her appear even more lively and dynamic. The poem abruptly stops at the end, highlighting the lady's graceful descent, reminiscent of a fairy from the Moon Palace, making readers feel as if they were there, enjoying the moment with the ancient people. Rambling a bit off topic, that's all for now. We'll talk more about Qingming next time.