Introduction
The Pure Brightness Festival falls between April 4th and 6th in the Gregorian calendar and it is one of the most important and traditional festival in China. The harsh, withering winter is gone, while spring returns and dominates the earth again. The warm air hints at the exuberance of fauna and flora, with sap growing in trees and buds bursting. The Pure Brightness Festival is closely related to farm work. As old proverbs go, “Sow beans and melons around the Pure Brightness Festival”, “Don’t stop plowing and sowing in the showers of rain around the Pure Brightness Festival.” After the festival, the temperature will rise and the rainfall will increase. It will be high time for spring plowing and sowing.
Du Mu (803-852), a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote:
It drizzles thick and fast on the Qingming Day,
I travel with my heart lost in dismay.
“Is there a public house somewhere, cowboy?”
He points as Apricot Village faraway.
This poem impressed people a lot.
The Pure Brightness has double implications. It is not only a solar term, but also a festival. Originating from the distant Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC), the Pure Brightness Festival has had considerable folk significance since ancient times. A great many customs and traditions regarding this festival have been passed down from the past.