春天到了,很多人都会想起唐朝诗人杜牧写的关于清明的那首诗,“清明时节雨纷纷,路上行人欲断魂”。
不过最早的清明并不是一个纪念节日,只是天气变化的一个名字。
这时候中国大部分地方天气变暖,花草树木开始生长,正是农民种地的好时候。
老话说:清明连着谷雨,播种插秧要抓紧。
后来清明怎么变成纪念祖先的节日呢?
这和一个叫寒食节的旧节日有关。
古代人为了纪念一位叫介子推的忠臣,规定春天三天不能生火做饭。
因为很久以前,人们用木头取火很不容易,春天正好要换新火种。
到了汉朝,寒食节这天白天不许点火,晚上皇宫才会把新火传给大臣们。
不能做饭的日子,人们要提前准备冷食。
北方人会做燕子形状的面饼,南方人做青色的糯米团子。
人们还习惯在这段时间打扫祖先的墓地。
古代人很重视纪念祖先,后来慢慢形成了扫墓的传统。
到了唐朝,大家常在清明前后扫墓,政府还专门放假让百姓做这件事。
后来清明变得越来越重要,连寒食节吃东西、踢球、荡秋千这些活动都变成了清明的习俗。
清明还吸收了另一个叫上巳节的节日内容。
上巳节在三月三日,人们会去河边洗澡、春游。
唐朝开始,扫墓的人会顺便在野外游玩,清明又有了“踏青节”的名字。
现在的清明节主要有三个内容:扫墓纪念祖先、野外春游、种树保护自然。
就像古代画家张择端画的《清明上河图》那样,这个节日既有对过去的怀念,也有春天的欢乐。
人们通过这个节日表达对家人的思念,也享受美好的春光。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
narration saved locally, offline — from https://download.mandarinbean.com/audio?source=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFmZmljLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vc2VjdXJlL2xlYXJuY2hpbmVzZS82MTM5Lm1wMw&filename=Qingming-Festival.mp3&signature=f34617adcc237be43eb5225d5e76f8cfd18271ddf5a8ee849b86880d30b9bc35
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 春天 | chūn tiān | spring (season) |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive / to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point) / (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point) |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 很多 | hěn duō | many; a lot of |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 都 | dōu | all; both; entirely |
| 会 | huì | to be likely to; to be sure to |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about) / to think of; to devise / to think (that); to believe (that) |
| 起 | qǐ | verb suffix, to start / starting from (a time, place, price etc) |
| 唐 | Táng | Tang dynasty (618–907) |
| 朝 | cháo | imperial or royal court / government / dynasty / reign of a sovereign or emperor / court or assembly held by a sovereign or emperor |
| 诗人 | shī rén | bard / poet |
| 杜牧 | Dù Mù | Du Mu (803-852) Tang dynasty poet |
| 写 | xiě | to write |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 关于 | guān yú | pertaining to / concerning / with regard to / about / a matter of |
| 清明 | Qīng míng | Qingming or Pure Brightness, 5th of the 24 solar terms / Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day (in early April) |
| 那 | nà | (specifier) that; the; those / (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or situations) |
| 首 | shǒu | classifier for poems, songs etc |
| 诗 | shī | poem / poetry / verse |
| 清明时节雨纷纷 | Qīng míng shí jié yǔ fēn fēn | A line from Du Mu’s poem about Qingming, describing drizzling rain during the Qingming festival. |
| 路上行人欲断魂 | lù shàng xíng rén yù duàn hún | The travelers on the road are so grief-stricken that they feel as if their souls are about to break; used in the line from Du Mu's "Qingming". |
| 不过 | bù guò | but / however |
| 最 | zuì | (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est |
| 早 | zǎo | early |
| 并 | bìng | (not) at all |
| 不是 | bù shì | is not |
| 一 | yī | one / single / a (article) |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 纪念 | jì niàn | to commemorate; to honor the memory of |
| 节日 | jié rì | holiday / festival |
| 只 | zhǐ | only; merely; just |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only) |
| 天气 | tiān qì | weather |
| 变化 | biàn huà | change; variation |
| 名字 | míng zi | name (of a person or thing) |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 时候 | shí hou | time / length of time / moment / period |
| 中国 | Zhōng guó | China |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great / older (than another person) / eldest |
| 部分 | bù fen | part; portion; piece |
| 地方 | dì fang | place; location; area; space; territory / aspect; part |
| 变 | biàn | to change / to become different / to transform / to vary |
| 暖 | nuǎn | warm |
| 花 | huā | flower / blossom / fancy pattern |
| 草 | cǎo | grass / straw / manuscript / draft (of a document) |
| 树 | shù | tree |
| 木 | mù | (bound form) tree / (bound form) wood |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin / to start |
| 生长 | shēng zhǎng | to grow / to grow up / to be brought up |
| 正 | zhèng | exactly / just (at that time) / right (in that place) |
| 农民 | nóng mín | peasant; farmer |
| 种 | zhòng | to plant / to grow / to cultivate |
| 地 | dì | earth / ground / field / place / land |
| 好 | hǎo | good / appropriate; proper |
| 老 | lǎo | old (of people) / venerable (person) / experienced / of long standing / of the past / outdated |
| 话 | huà | spoken words / speech / talk / words / conversation / what sb said |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 连 | lián | to link / to join / to connect |
| 着 | zhe | aspect particle indicating action in progress or ongoing state |
| 谷雨 | Gǔ yǔ | Guyu or Grain Rain, 6th of the 24 solar terms |
| 播种 | bō zhǒng | to sow seeds |
| 插秧 | chā yāng | to transplant rice seedlings |
| 要 | yào | will; shall; about to / need to; should / if |
| 抓紧 | zhuā jǐn | to keep a firm grip on / to pay close attention to / to lose no time in (doing sth) |
| 后来 | hòu lái | afterwards; later |
| 怎么 | zěn me | how? / what? / why? |
| 变成 | biàn chéng | to change into / to turn into / to become |
| 祖先 | zǔ xiān | ancestors; forebears / (biology) ancestral species; ancient species from which present-day species evolved |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?") |
| 和 | hé | and; together with |
| 叫 | jiào | to be called |
| 寒食节 | Hán shí jié | an old Chinese festival observed by eating cold food and avoiding fire, traditionally held before Qingming |
| 旧 | jiù | old / opposite: new 新 / former / worn (with age) |
| 有关 | yǒu guān | to have sth to do with / to relate to / to concern |
| 古代 | gǔ dài | ancient times |
| 为了 | wèi le | for; for the purpose of; in order to |
| 位 | wèi | classifier for people (honorific) |
| 介子推 | Jiè Zǐ tuī | Jie Zitui, a loyal retainer of Duke Wen of Jin in Chinese history and legend. |
| 忠 | zhōng | loyal; devoted; faithful |
| 臣 | chén | state official or subject in dynastic China / I, your servant (used in addressing the sovereign) |
| 规定 | guī dìng | to stipulate; to specify; to prescribe; to fix (a price); to set (a quota) |
| 三 | sān | three / 3 |
| 天 | tiān | day |
| 不能 | bù néng | cannot / must not / should not |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born / to arise; to occur / to light (a fire) |
| 火 | huǒ | fire / ammunition / internal heat (Chinese medicine) / Kangxi radical 86 |
| 做饭 | zuò fàn | to prepare a meal / to cook |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 久 | jiǔ | (of a period of time) long |
| 以前 | yǐ qián | before / formerly / previous / ago |
| 人们 | rén men | people |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ / (coverb) with; using |
| 木头 | mù tou | blockhead / log (of wood, timber etc) |
| 取 | qǔ | to take / to get / to fetch |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 容易 | róng yì | easy; straightforward |
| 正好 | zhèng hǎo | just (in time) |
| 换 | huàn | to exchange / to change / to substitute / to switch / to convert (currency) |
| 新 | xīn | new; newly |
| 汉 | Hàn | Han ethnic group / Chinese (language) / the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) |
| 白天 | bái tiān | during the day |
| 许 | xǔ | to allow / to permit / to promise / to praise |
| 点 | diǎn | to touch briefly; to tap / to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list) / to order (food etc); to select / to mention; to bring up (a topic or person) / to hint at; to imply / to administer (eye medicine etc) in drops / to light (a fire, a lamp etc); to ignite / to nod (one's head) in agreement; to beckon by moving (one's hand) up and down |
| 晚上 | wǎn shang | in the evening |
| 皇宫 | huáng gōng | imperial palace |
| 才 | cái | then and only then |
| 把 | bǎ | (used to put the object before the verb: 把[ba3] + {noun} + {verb}) |
| 传 | chuán | to pass on / to spread / to transmit / to infect / to transfer / to circulate / to conduct (electricity) |
| 给 | gěi | to / for / for the benefit of / to do sth (for sb) |
| 大臣 | dà chén | chancellor (of a monarchy) / cabinet minister |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 日子 | rì zi | day / a (calendar) date |
| 提前 | tí qián | in advance |
| 准备 | zhǔn bèi | to prepare / to intend / to be about to |
| 冷 | lěng | cold |
| 食 | shí | food / animal feed |
| 北方 | běi fāng | north / the northern part a country / China north of the Yellow River |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce |
| 燕子 | yàn zi | swallow |
| 形状 | xíng zhuàng | form; shape |
| 面饼 | miàn bǐng | flatbread |
| 南方 | nán fāng | south; southern direction / (in China) southern regions, often referring to areas south of the Yangtze River |
| 青色 | qīng sè | cyan / blue-green |
| 糯米 | nuò mǐ | glutinous rice |
| 团子 | tuán zi | dango |
| 还 | hái | in addition, also, else, even |
| 习惯 | xí guàn | to be used to |
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 段 | duàn | classifier for stories, periods of time, lengths of thread etc |
| 时间 | shí jiān | time |
| 打扫 | dǎ sǎo | to clean / to sweep |
| 墓地 | mù dì | cemetery / graveyard |
| 重视 | zhòng shì | to attach importance to sth; to value |
| 慢慢 | màn màn | slowly; gradually |
| 形成 | xíng chéng | to form; to take shape |
| 扫墓 | sǎo mù | to sweep a grave (and pay one's respects to the dead person) |
| 传统 | chuán tǒng | tradition / convention |
| 大家 | dà jiā | everyone |
| 常 | cháng | always / ever / often / frequently |
| 前后 | qián hòu | around / all around |
| 政府 | zhèng fǔ | government |
| 专门 | zhuān mén | specially; specifically (for a particular purpose) |
| 放假 | fàng jià | to have a holiday or vacation |
| 让 | ràng | to permit / to let sb do sth / to have sb do sth / to make sb (feel sad etc) |
| 百姓 | bǎi xìng | common people |
| 件 | jiàn | classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 事 | shì | matter / thing / item / affair |
| 变得 | biàn de | to become |
| 越来越 | yuè lái yuè | more and more |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant; major |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume / to eat at |
| 东西 | dōng xi | thing / stuff / person |
| 踢 | tī | to kick / to play (e.g. soccer) |
| 球 | qiú | ball / sphere / globe / ball game / match |
| 荡秋千 | dàng qiū qiān | to swing (on a swing) |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 活动 | huó dòng | (volcanic, seismic, economic etc) activity / (outdoor etc) activity; event; (political) campaign; (military) maneuver |
| 习俗 | xí sú | custom / tradition / local tradition / convention |
| 吸收 | xī shōu | to absorb / to assimilate / to ingest / to recruit |
| 另 | lìng | other / another / separate |
| 上巳节 | Shàng sì jié | An ancient Chinese festival on the third day of the third lunar month, associated with purification rituals and spring outings. |
| 内容 | nèi róng | content; substance; details |
| 三月 | Sān yuè | March / third month (of the lunar year) |
| 日 | rì | sun / day / date, day of the month |
| 去 | qù | to go, to go to |
| 河 | hé | river / (bound form) the Yellow River / (bound form) the Milky Way |
| 边 | bian | suffix of a noun of locality |
| 洗澡 | xǐ zǎo | to bathe / to take a shower |
| 春游 | chūn yóu | spring outing / spring excursion |
| 顺便 | shùn biàn | conveniently / in passing / without much extra effort |
| 野外 | yě wài | countryside / areas outside the city |
| 游玩 | yóu wán | to amuse oneself / to have fun / to go sightseeing / to take a stroll |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 踏青节 | tà qīng jié | A traditional outing festival; another name for Qingming, when people go outdoors to enjoy spring after ancestor-sweeping. |
| 现在 | xiàn zài | now; at present; currently |
| 清明节 | Qīng míng jié | Qingming or Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day, celebration for the dead (in early April) |
| 主要 | zhǔ yào | main; principal; major; primary |
| 保护 | bǎo hù | to protect / to defend / to safeguard |
| 自然 | zì rán | nature |
| 就 | jiù | merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly |
| 像 | xiàng | such as |
| 画家 | huà jiā | painter |
| 张择端 | Zhāng Zé duān | Zhang Zeduan (1085-1145), Song dynasty painter |
| 画 | huà | to draw; to paint / to draw (a line) |
| 清明上河图 | Qīng míng Shàng hé Tú | Along the River During the Qingming Festival; a famous Chinese handscroll painting by Zhang Zeduan depicting city life and scenery. |
| 那样 | nà yàng | that kind / that sort |
| 既 | jì | both... (and...) |
| 对 | duì | towards; at; for / concerning; regarding |
| 过去 | guò qù | (in the) past; former; previous |
| 怀念 | huái niàn | to cherish the memory of / to think of / to reminisce |
| 也 | yě | also; too; as well; (not ...) either |
| 欢乐 | huān lè | gaiety / gladness / glee / merriment / pleasure |
| 通过 | tōng guò | by means of; through; via |
| 表达 | biǎo dá | to express; to convey |
| 家人 | jiā rén | family member |
| 思念 | sī niàn | to think of / to long for / to miss |
| 享受 | xiǎng shòu | to enjoy / to live it up |
| 美好 | měi hǎo | beautiful / fine |
| 春光 | chūn guāng | scenes of springtime / the radiance of spring / (fig.) a sight of sth sexy or erotic / an indication of a love affair |