April in China
A Time for Tomb Sweeping
When I heard about a holiday here in China, I got pretty excited. I thought it would be the usual holiday where all offices were closed and everyone would be outdoors having a lovely time. Imagine my surprise at the number of boxes being rolled on the street the night before this festival. It was as loud as a marching band parade.
I did some digging and discovered the story behind this particular holiday. Apparently, the Qing Ming Festival is one of the most sacred festivals of the Chinese people. When translated, Qing Ming means Pure Brightness and is a period devoted to remembering and honoring the deceased.
The Legend Behind the Qing Ming Festival
There is a legend about the Pure Brightness Festival.
During the Spring and Autumn Periods in China (720 BCE to 480 BCE), Prince Chong’er, the son of Duke Jin, fled into exile to escape persecution during a royal topple and nearly starved to death in a desolate place.
So how did he avoid starving to death?
It was all thanks to Jie Zitui.
Jie Zitui was one of the loyal court officials who had fled with him during the royal scuffle. When he saw his prince almost starving to death, he cut a piece of meat from his thigh and cooked a bowl of soup for Prince Chong’er to eat.
I- am short of words. Such a high sense of duty.
Nineteen years later, Chong Er left exile and became the Duke of the State.
Nowadays, he is remembered as Duke Wen of Jin, one of the famous five overlords in the Spring and Autumn Periods.
After he ascended the throne, he assumed the title of Duke of Jin, and rewarded other officials who had accompanied him into exile, but forgot about Jie Zitui.
You’re kidding. Is this the man you cut your thigh for, Jie Zitui?
Someone reminded the new Duke of Jin about Jie Zitui and feeling so much shame about forgetting him, he immediately sent for him.
However, Jie Zitui refused to meet the king or accept any reward from him.
So great was the Duke’s desire to reward him that, in order to avoid him, Jie Zitui then fled into the mountains with his mother.
Playing hard to get, are we?
When the Duke couldn’t find him, someone came up with the idea to set fire to the mountain in order to force Jie Zitui out.
????? That went from zero to 100 real fast. Did the special adviser not see the movie “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” starring Angelina Jolie?
They assumed that Jie Zitui would come out by himself when the fire started so the Duke gave an order to burn the mountain. He did not expect the fire to burn for three days and nights.
WELL, OK!
When the fire died out, Jie Zitui still did not turn up. They went up the mountain, only to find the mother and son dead holding a charred big willow tree. When the Duke saw this, he wept.
I am once again short of words.
To commemorate Jie Zitui, the Duke gave an order for them to be buried by the tree and to rename the mountain, Mount Mian into Mount Jie. He had a memorial temple built on the mountain, and named the day of setting the mountain on fire the Cold Food Festival. Under his explicit instruction, everybody was banned from lighting fire to cook food this day each year, so people ate cold food. Before he left, the Duke cut down a fraction of the burnt willow and made a pair of shoes with it in court. He looked at it every day, sighing, “How sad it is indeed.”
The following year, the Duke led his ministers to mount the mountain to hold a memorial ceremony, only to discover the old willow that was dead had resurrected. When he walked up to the tomb, he saw the willow tree revived, with thousands of green twigs whirling about in the wind. He looked at the resurgent willow tree as if seeing Jie Zitui and he walked up with confidence, cut off a branch as a treasure, wove it into a loop, and placed it on his head. As the sacrifice ended, the Duke named the thriving old willow tree “Pure Brightness Willow” and named the day the Pure Brightness Festival.
So this tradition passed down from ancient times to the present day, that no matter where you are—men and women, old and young—you must visit the graves of your ancestors on this day.
Even people who live far away have to carry their bags, cross the mountains, return to their hometown, and meet again with their dead relatives.
Why is this festival so important?
According to the Chinese, there are three deaths.
The first time is when the heart stops beating, which is the physical death of a person.
The second is holding a funeral, which is the social death of a person.
The third time is when the last person in the world forgets you, which is the real death of a person.
Death is not really leaving; being forgotten is.
I think the existence of the Pure Brightness Festival is not only to worship ancestors but also as a reminder to not forget them.
What do I think about the legend?
Usually, when I read about legends (history that has been a bit obscured), I can’t help but think that there are better ways to have handled a situation but I guess the circumstances surrounding me now and back then are completely different.
Nowadays, we’re so fixated on individualism, the last thing anyone would do would be to cut a chunk of flesh for another. Based on that, I guess its safe to say that history will not be repeating itself.
Also, I can’t help but wonder if Shakespeare got his inspiration for the court scene in The Merchant of Venice from this particular story?
What do you think about this story?
