Qing Ming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day)

Today, I am enjoying some not at all necessary yet much appreciated time off so that I can sweep my ancestor's tombs. Umm... I may have to take a raincheck, unless someone tells me something I didn't know about my family tree.

In lieu of my own experiences, I would like to share an essay one of my favorite students (oh, yes, I have favorites -- lots of them) wrote without anyone prompting her to do so. After you read this, you'll have an inkling as to why I am sure she is universally adored by her teachers. I repeat, she just wrote this of her own accord (and edited for me to share with all of you):

It is Qing Ming today, when people usually go tomb-sweeping. On this day, people go to the graveyard, clear away the grass and the dirt that has gathered about the graves of their ancestors, burn incense and spirit money, offer food and wine, and pay our sincere respects to our ancestors and deceased family members. It is a festival with long history.
I was told a version of the origin of Qing Ming two years ago. It was said that about 2000 years ago, in the Spring and Autumn period of China, Jin Wengong led a hard life before he came to power. After he gained the position as a lord, he wanted to reward his followers. He gave every follower wealth and fame but forgot the most loyal one, Jie Zitui, who once cut the flesh of his leg to feed his hungry master. After being reminded of Jie Zitui's devotion, Jin Wengong lamented ignoring Jie. He sincerely invited Jie to help him rule the country but was refused.
As Jie had determinedly renounced the world on Mian Hill with his mother, someone suggested that a fire could force him to descend the hill through the only safe route of escape. Jin Wengong enacted the plan and ordered that the hill be set on fire. However, to everyone’s great surprise, they never saw Jie descend the hill. After three days, the fire finally had satiated itself and smothered away, allowing the people to search the ruins of Jie's hilltop abode. They found his and his mother’s charred bodies under a burnt willow. In a cavity of the willow, Jin found the dying words of Jie, written in what Jin supposed could be nothing but his own blood:
I committed my obligation as a servant as to cut my flesh for my master. At that time I had hoped my master would always keep his mind clear and bright. I would prefer to go rather than just stand beside him if he is a good lord. My dear Lord, whenever you think of me, please examine yourself, making sure you are a clear and bright lord.
That is why the festival is called “Qing Ming”, which literally means “clear and bright”.
Jin was very moved and termed that day the “Feast of Cold Food”, and forbade the whole country from making any fire on that day, hence memorializing the loyal and wise Jie Zitui. As people would have to eat cold food all day, they needed to employ some outdoor activities to warm up, such as kite flying, swinging, planting, etc. As China was so large and diverse, even at that time, the activities varied from place to place.
The next year when Jin went to Mian Hill to pay honor to Jie, he found the burnt willow had grown new leaves again. He picked up a branch of the willow which he called “Qing Ming Liu” (clear and bright willow). From it, he made a wreath and set it on his head. He also called that day “Qing Ming”, now known as Tomb-Sweeping Day. Having learned the true form of loyalty and wisdom, Jin became a good lord and led one of the most powerful sagas in Chinese history.
With the passing of time, we have come to sweep the tombs of our ancestors and deceased family members instead of Jie Zitui's, and we pay them the respects they deserve. Besides tomb-sweeping, in some places of China, people will pick up some branches of Qing Ming Liu as Jin Wengong once picked, but with a different purpose. We put them on the gates of our homes and in incense burners as a way to keep away the evil spirits since some people think that all the ghosts, good or evil, are more active during Qing Ming. Historically, Chinese people believed the deceased only died in body but not in soul, and thus the deceased were thought to exist and be able to do something good or bad in the real world, but no living people could see them. In this way, the dead were more powerful than the living. Confucius said that we should respect but also keep away from the ghosts of deceased ones, for we could hardly know anything about them. Of course, not every Chinese person holds this belief today.
I went tomb-sweeping with my father, uncles and cousins when I was a little kid. It was really a bustle and hustle as all the families would let off firecrackers in a very limited and crowded place almost all at the same time. Sometimes the noxious smoke made it hard for us to even breathe.
Actually, I knew little about the annual ceremony at that early age and maybe there are still very few young people who know the origin of this festival today. Like many other students, I have not joined in tomb-sweeping for years as most of the time I have had to attend classes on that day. The government came to realize that the country's youth were increasingly less informed about national tradition and made Qing Ming a legal holiday last year, as well as Zhong Qiu (the Mid-autumn Festival) and Duan Wu (the Dragon Boat Festival), hoping citizens would pay more attention to their rich tradition and the country’s culture. And I think many of us will grow to love Qing Ming again because we can have a day off to rest and have a good time with our families, remembering where we and our families came from. Of course, we will go tomb-sweeping as we always did, but with many fewer firecrackers now that lighting firecrackers is an activity strictly limited by the government – but I won't even pretend to miss that part of the Tomb-Sweeping Festival!