Let’s drink at the Qingming Festival

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Qingming, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is one of the 24 solar terms in China. Every Qingming, Chinese people pay respect to their ancestors, with drinking wine as one of the traditional customs.

The custom of mourning ancestors and sweeping their tombs originated as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty (1045-771 BC). Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) of the Tang Dynasty ordered tomb-sweeping as one of the "five rites," making it an annual custom.

In a poem by one of the Tang Dynasty's leading Chinese poets Du Mu, "offering wine to ancestors" was mentioned as a part of the day's rituals.

Apart from renovating tombs and removing weeds, the most important part of the ritual is toasting ancestors on that day. Different from other mourning rituals, ancestor worship is a family sacrificial ceremony held at home. After the ceremony, the whole family gets together to eat and drink.

VCG Photo

Why drink?

Qingming wine got its name from the fact that it was brewed during the Qingming Festival. According to historical records, the wine has a history of 3,000 years. During the Tang Dynasty's Zhenguan period (627-649), Li Shimin, Emperor of Taizong, made a southern tour to appreciate Qingming wine and identified it as a tribute wine.

In ancient times, before the Qingming Festival, there was another holiday called Hanshi Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday which evolved from the local commemoration of the death of the Jin nobleman Jie Zitui. Hanshi used to last for three days and involved eating cold food and drinking wine.

Today, Hanshi and the Qingming Festival have merged, though the tradition of eating and drinking together remains.

(Head image made by Jia Jieqiong)