Ancestor worship at Qingming Festival: How to worship ancestors at Qingming Festival? 清明节祭祖：清明节如何祭祖？

Ancestral worship at the Qingming Festival means "sweeping the tomb and adding to the earth, memorializing and giving thanks, offering to the ancestors and asking for blessings".

---- Zhuge Changqing

  The Qingming Festival is a very important festival in traditional Chinese culture.

  It is a Confucian and Taoist way of paying respects to the ancestors.

  Zhuge Changqing's research found that most of the folk people believe in Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist thought from the perspective of believing in ghosts and gods. In particular, Confucianism worshiped and promoted: heaven, earth, ruler, relatives and teachers, and promoted filial piety. Folk believe that by paying tribute to ancestors and burning paper money, they are doing their filial duty and will be able to benefit their ancestors. Therefore, the burning of paper money at Qingming tombs is a necessary item.

  According to Zhuge Changqing, no matter you study Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Jesus or Muhammadan Islam, as long as your ancestors have the habit of burning paper at their tombs, you should observe it. The best tributes are fruits and snacks, etc. It is best to end with offerings to bring back. Do not debate with the family, be normal and constant in your obedience to all beings.

  If you are a student of Buddhism or Taoism, you can add the words "to the ancestors of the past generations to be free from suffering and to be immediately reborn" to your prayers on the usual days, so that your ancestors can receive great merit.

  The Qingming Festival is as important as the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival among other traditional Chinese festivals.

  Our Chinese ancestor, Fuxi Nuwa, made sure long ago that future generations of descendants would worship their ancestors on days such as the Spring Festival and Qingming. Subsequently, ancestors have been worshipped throughout the dynasties and generations.

   The 2013 Qingming Festival is on April 4 (Thursday), and the 2013 Qingming Festival holiday arrangement is to have a holiday from April 4 to 6 and work on the 7th.

  As the 2013 Ching Ming Festival is fast approaching, many sentient beings have raised the question of how to pay tribute to their ancestors on Ching Ming Festival.

   The Qingming Festival is about ancestor worship.

  According to Zhuge Changqing, ancestral worship on Qingming Festival means "sweeping the tomb and adding to the earth, memorialising and giving thanks, making offerings to the ancestors and asking for blessings".

  So, how do you pay homage to your ancestors on the Qingming Festival?

  Zhuge Changqing shares some of the methods and precautions for ancestral worship on the Qingming Festival with those who are interested.

  As customs vary from one part of China to another, it is recommended to first conform to local folklore.

  If one has no customary restrictions or can do it in combination, one can refer to this method.

  I. Origin of Qingming Festival and Qingming Ancestor Worship

  1. The origin of the Qingming Festival.

  "Qingming Festival", originates from the Qingming Festival in the 24 solar terms of the Chinese lunar calendar. The Qingming Festival is one of the twenty-four solar terms in the lunar calendar. The Qingming Festival, as a festival, falls after the vernal equinox. When winter has gone, spring is in full bloom and the sky is clear, the temperature rises and it is the perfect time for spring planting. Nature is alive and well everywhere. The ancestors used the name "Qingming" to refer to this festival.

  According to Zhuge Changqing, the traditional Chinese Qingming Festival has a long history, originating from Fu Xi and Nu Wa, the ancestors of mankind, and was introduced by the five emperors, including Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang, and spread throughout the country. The festival can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty, more than 2,500 years ago.

  The Almanac: "Fifteen days after the spring equinox, when the bucket refers to the ding, is Qingming, when everything is clean and clear, when the air is clear and the landscape is bright, everything is obvious, hence the name.

  2. The origin of ancestor worship at Qingming Festival.

  When did the Qingming Festival originate? According to Zhuge Changqing's research, the ancestor worship at the Qingming Festival began with Fuxi and Nuwa, the first ancestors of mankind, who, after dividing the world, made a request for ancestor worship at the New Year and Qingming in order to remind their descendants of their ancestors.

  Later, the emperors, through the generations, began to pay homage to their ancestors. It is written that the ancestor worship at Qingming originated from the "tomb worship" of the ancient emperors and generals, which is what it means.

  According to Zhuge Changqing's research, the ancient emperors, as leaders of the country, needed to make sure that their country was blessed with good weather and good harvests, so they went to the ancestral tombs on the day of the Qingming Festival (when the new year's crops were about to begin) to pay homage to their ancestors, to remember them, to give thanks to them, to offer sacrifices to them, and to ask for their blessing to bless their country with a year of good weather and good rains, peace and prosperity.

  In ancient times, folk rituals needed to be organised by leaders and patriarchs. Later this practice spread to the folk, who also began to worship their ancestors in tandem on this day, sweeping their tombs, memorialising their ancestors and asking them to bless their families.

  The Qingming Festival gradually became a regular custom of the Chinese people.

  Later on, people combined the "Cold Food Festival" and the "Qingming Festival" to pay respects to Jiezitui of the Jin Dynasty.

  Why is it necessary to worship the ancestors and sweep the tombs on the Qingming Festival?

  According to Zhuge Changqing, who has studied traditional culture, sweeping the tomb for ancestors on the Qingming Festival contains four meanings.

  They are: sweeping the tomb to add earth, memorializing and giving thanks, offering offerings to the ancestors, and asking for blessings.

  The first is to sweep the tomb and add earth to it. As the graves are in the mountains, if you do not visit them, weeds will grow and the mounds of earth will be reduced. This is a reflection of respect for our ancestors.

  The second is to memorialize gratitude. Zhuge Changqing believes that one must be grateful, no matter how rich and auspicious one is, one must never forget the grace of one's ancestors. You cannot have your present without the blessings of your ancestors, so you must give thanks. At the same time, you must make a wish to do good deeds and build a good fortune for the benefit of the people, to build a successful career and to glorify your ancestors, so that they can be happy and prosperous.

  Thirdly, we should make offerings to our ancestors. As a junior, you should send tributes, burn paper money and offer sacrifices to your ancestors, so that they can be supported by future generations, so that they can be happy and prosperous, and so that they can win the approval of heaven and earth, the praise of the gods and the blessing of their ancestors.

  Fourthly, we ask for blessings. While thanking our ancestors, we also ask them to bless us with good health, family happiness and prosperity in the underworld.

  Zhuge Changqing believes that it is very important to pay respects to the ancestors at Qingming, and that it is best to go home whenever there is time to do so, so that the ancestors can be happy and bless the family, reflecting the filial piety of the younger generation, the heritage of the family and the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation.

  Third, how many forms of ancestor worship are there for the Qingming Festival?

  According to Zhuge Changqing, it is important to pay respect to ancestors at Qingming Festival, and it is best to go home to pay respect. If you are too far away from home to go back, then you can do so remotely at home.

  Therefore, Zhuge Changqing believes that ancestor worship at Qingming Festival can be divided into three ways.

  One is to go to the graves if it is convenient to do so close to home.

  Secondly, for those who are too far from home to be there, they can offer sacrifices at home.

  Thirdly, civil servants, military personnel, armed police, duty officers and medical personnel who work overtime and dedicate themselves to the country can adopt the entrusted sacrifice and inner sacrifice methods. Firstly, you can call your family and ask them to buy some paper money and tributes to go and make offerings on your behalf. Secondly, if there is no one to do it on your behalf, you can make a remote inner sacrifice. It is understandable that people who have given so much to the country and the people are unable to go home. You can choose no one time, clean room or outdoor, kneel down with both knees, inwardly and sincerely recite: Today Qingming Festival, junior to be in *** post for the country, for the community, for the people dedication, can not go back to ancestral sacrifice, please ancestors forgive, junior can never forget your great kindness, please rest assured that I will work hard for the benefit of society, to add glory to you. When I have time in the future, I will definitely rush back to pay my respects to you.

  Zhuge Changqing advises: no matter how busy you are and cannot go home for Ching Ming, then it is best to go back once during the Spring Festival to pay respects to your ancestors, as it is very important for your ancestors to protect you. That is to say, you cannot always be away and not go back.

  4. How do I pay respects to my ancestors at their graves?

  Zhuge Changqing: The time and method of paying respects to ancestors at their graves should be done in conjunction with local customs. If there are few customs or if you have the right to decide, you can do so by referring to the following

  (a) Specific times for ancestor worship at Qingming Festival.

  Specific days according to local time.

  1. Do it early in the morning at 7am - before 4pm.

  2. Do not be too late, otherwise it will be too yin.

  (ii) Time to add soil to graves

   Specific days according to local time.

  1、Finish before 7am - 4pm.

  2、Don't be too late, otherwise it will be too heavy with yin energy.

  (iii) Prepare paper money, tributes, etc.

  Zhuge Changqing recommends that you prepare in advance so that you are not in a panic when the time comes.

  1, paper money: generally is to buy sacrificial yellow paper, and then use 100 yuan RMB Chairman Mao's head side, placed on the paper, from top to bottom next to the print, then these yellow paper becomes the money can be used in the nether world. The paper is then beaten into a spiral shape (refer to local customs) to make it easier to burn. You can refer to local customs for details.

  2. Tributes: We recommend buying five types of tributes: apples, oranges, bananas, cakes, snacks and biscuits. When making offerings, it is recommended that each grave should have five portions (some apples and other tributes can be used). The total number of tributes should be determined by the number of graves.

  Zhuge Changqing advises not to use meat as it will kill. Of course, if your local custom and your family elders are adamant about placing meat, you cannot stop it, you can only conform to the local custom. After it is over, you can then do the food offering back to those living creatures.

  3、White wine and wine glasses: one bottle of white wine and two wine glasses

  4, lighter: the general grave wind is too big, you can choose a windproof lighter.

  5. Others: If there are other local folk customs, it is fine if they are in line with local folk customs.

  (d) Grave site tributes, burning paper, wine.

  Zhuge Changqing: Clean up the area around the grave and start the ritual.

  1. Lay out offerings while saying.

  While chanting *** (such as a deceased grandmother) Hello, today we have come to pay our respects to you, please

What are the acts of abstaining from killing and releasing

 戒杀与放生的行为包括哪些

 1. Do not kill a living being with your own hands.

　　2. Do not abet others to kill.

　　3. Do not help others to kill.

　　4. Abstain from eating meat.

　　5. Do not engage in trades related to killing.

　　6、Whenever there is worship, regardless of what is being worshipped, use vegetarian dishes, flowers and fruit, not animal gifts.

　　7. If you see someone killing a human being, you should discourage them or buy the animal to be slaughtered with money and release it. If this does not work, or if the person does not sell the animal, then you should have compassion for the slaughtered animal, and even better if you can recite the Buddha's name or mantra for it.

　　8. Do not abuse the animal.

　　9、Other actions that are contrary to killing.

　　10. Abstain from killing and releasing animals yourself, and advise others to do the same. 

   1、不亲手杀生。

　　2、不教唆别人杀生。

　　3、不帮助别人杀生。

　　4、戒除肉食。

　　5、不从事与杀生有关的行业。

　　6、凡有祭拜，不管拜的是什么，一律用素菜、鲜花、水果，不用牲礼。

　　7、见人杀生，应加劝阻，或用钱将临宰之动物买而放之。若劝阻无效，或他不卖，则应对被杀之动物起同情心，若能为它念佛号或往生咒更好。

　　8、不虐待动物。

　　9、其他与杀生行为相反之行为。

　　10、自己戒杀放生，也劝别人戒杀放生。 

(This article is an original article by Zhuge Changqing, and the pictures are selected from the Internet. Welcome to forward it, and please indicate the source for forwarding)

Introduction to Zhuge Changqing: Zhuge Changqing, the inheritor and promoter of traditional Chinese culture, is willing to "learn from sages, promote virtue, revitalize China and benefit the world" together with people with the same ideals in the world.

(Zhuge Changqing: zhuge8031@163.com ）

Zhuge Changqing mailbox：

zhuge8031@163.com

Zhuge Changqing's Chinese Dream

Learn from sages and carry forward virtue

Revitalizing China for the benefit of the world

 （本文是诸葛长青原创文章，图片选自网络。欢迎转发，转发引用请注明出处）

诸葛长青简介：诸葛长青，中国国学传统文化传承弘扬者，愿与天下志同道合者一起“学习圣贤、弘扬善德、振兴中华、造福世界”。

（诸葛长青：zhuge8031@163.com）

Zhuge Changqing mailbox：

zhuge8031@163.com

  诸葛长青中国梦  

学习圣贤 弘扬善德

振兴中华 造福世界

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