Time to sweep those tombs! It's Qingming - Tomb Sweeping Day. I was going to blog about my apartment complex today, but then I realized that April 4th is a national holiday and surely you would want to know about it, right?
It's pretty easy to explain Qingming to Texans - it's like Mexico's Day of the Dead! In Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and countries with large Chinese populations, like Singapore and Malaysia, families will return to their ancestral homes to care for the tombs of the dead. Everyone will pray to the ancestors and then leave offerings of food, tea, chopsticks and everyday items made out of paper, including money. These paper offerings will be burned in hopes the ancestors can use them in the afterlife. The air will be filled with smoke from all the burning offerings. Some celebrate by visiting the local temple to burn incense and leave offerings there. Chinese love to eat, so celebrations will end with a big family feast.
In Mainland China, the celebrations are pretty low-key. When the communists took control in 1949, they abolished the holiday, calling it a superstitious remnant of the past. Last year, the government decided it was time to bring back some of these traditions and so they reinstated the holiday. I get a three day weekend, so I can't complain!
I obviously have no family tombs to sweep and there is only one tiny Buddhist temple in all of Linyi, so I decided to do some Spring cleaning here at home instead. I swept a lot of dust! I don't know if it is the pollution or dirt roads or both, but an awful lot of dust seems to accumulate here. More so than I remember back in Texas! Now that the sweeping is done, I will treat myself to some food. If only I could get my hands on some piles of real offering money!
All photos used under a Creative Commons license
Got a question about life in China? Please leave a comment!
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Just to clarify, I was talking strictly about Mainland China in that last comment. Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macau have always had strong traditions.
April 5, 2009 at 8:32 p.m.Thanks Roy & Pilot! Pilot, you touched on something that I think is very interesting, and that is the line, "materialistic ways seem to prevail." You could very well be talking about modern day China and the youngest generations of Chinese kids/teens & young adults, the ones who were fortunate enough not to experience the Cultural Revolution and the height of Communist rule. Not to get too political, but I think one of the reasons the government (communist government, remember) brought back the traditional holidays is an effort to restore traditional values. The social order is changing radically here. The "haves" are increasing and there is a huge gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots." There has also been a steep increase in consumerism and materialism. Years of harsh rule have left many people how can I say this, "unsympathetic and uncompassionate" towards their fellow man. Meanwhile the recent prosperous years have transformed many into money-hungry businessman (make money at any cost.) It's gonna take generations to change.
April 5, 2009 at 7:39 p.m.As usual loved your blog. I find China fascinating .And I like Chris would love to see the real China one day. Keep up the great work. You have a way with words that people can relate to.
April 5, 2009 at 10:50 a.m.Hi Chris and thanks! China is a great place to visit. (But don't tell them you're a journalist!) I have been to many of the tourist hotspots such as Bejing, Xian (Terracotta soldiers), Shanghai, Guilin (limestone hill formations), Lijiang (close to mountains & Yangtze River), Three Gorges & the giant dam, Hong Kong, Tibet, Chengdu, all over Shandong Province... There is still so much to see!
There are no restrictions on our movement except for to the "autonomous region" of Tibet. You need a special permit to travel there and the whole region is periodically closed to travelers and journalists. It has been closed recently but will open up again this week. Some areas of Sichuan Province were closed due to the earthquake last year, as well. Although we are free to travel nearly everywhere, we still must register with the local police (usually done through the hotel) wherever we go.
April 5, 2009 at 12:16 a.m.Your posts and images are incredible. Thank you again for sharing. I'm keen to visit China someday, although my wife not so much. I find it a fascinating country.
How freely are you able to travel around China? How much of the country have you seen?
April 4, 2009 at 11:57 a.m.