Qingming background
Tomb-Sweeping Day originated from the ancient Cold Food Festival to commemorate the introduction of Dr. Jin. It is said that Jie Zhitui left Beijing to persuade Duke Jing of Jin and eventually died of illness. In order to commemorate his loyalty and sacrifice, people began to sacrifice on the day of his death, which is the origin of the Cold Food Festival. Later, this festival gradually evolved into Tomb-Sweeping Day, which became a festival to commemorate ancestors and sweep graves.
Du Mu's Tomb-Sweeping Day
Du Mu's Qingming is a poem with five rhymes and ten sentences. Through the description of Tomb-Sweeping Day, this poem expresses the thoughts of deceased relatives and profound reflection on social reality. The following is the full text of this poem:
A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day; The mourner's heart is going to break on his way.
Ask local people where to buy wine? The shepherd boy just laughed and didn't answer Xingshan Village.
The woman in the village supported the old man, and the child leaned against the door and looked back.
Looking at Chang 'an in the sun, you can't do much.
Poetry appreciation
The first sentence, "It rains in succession during the Qingming Festival", describes the rainy weather on the festival day, giving people a feeling of melancholy. Then "pedestrians on the road want to break their souls", which shows the grief when people sweep the grave. The third sentence "Excuse me, where is the restaurant?" It is the poet who is expressing his loneliness and looking for a place to drown his sorrows. The next sentence "the shepherd boy refers to Xinghua Village" is that the poet met a shepherd boy in the process of looking for a restaurant. He pointed to Xinghua Village and told the poet the location of the restaurant.
The next two sentences, "The village lady helps the elderly and the children look back by the door", are all depicting an ordinary family scene, showing people's cherish of life and feelings for the family. The last two sentences, "Looking at Chang 'an in the sun, nothing can be achieved", are the poet's profound reflection on social reality, expressing his dissatisfaction with the present situation and his worries about the future.
Grave sweeping operation steps
Tomb-Sweeping Day is a festival to commemorate ancestors and sweep graves. The following are the steps to sweep the grave:
1. Prepare sacrifices: including flowers, incense sticks, paper money, etc.
2. Go to the cemetery: choose the way to go to the cemetery according to your family situation and the location of your ancestral cemetery.
3. Light incense sticks: light incense sticks in front of the tomb to express the thoughts and memories of the deceased relatives.
4. ancestor worship: place sacrifices in front of the tomb, kowtow and worship, and express respect and gratitude to the ancestors.
5. Grave sweeping: Clean up weeds and rubbish around the cemetery to make the cemetery more tidy.
6. ancestor worship: burn paper money in front of the tomb to show respect and blessing to the ancestors.