Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese festival for family to pay respect (尊敬) to their ancestors (祖先). People visit their ancestors’ grave sites and offer food, drinks and flowers. There are some Chinese poems showing Chinese history and culture through ancient expressions. Here we look at one of the classic poems in the history of Chinese literature:

A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day;

The mourner’s heart is going to break on his way.

Where can a wineshop be found to drown his sad hours?

A cowherd points to a cot amid apricot flowers.

In China, around the time of Qingming Festival, there is more rain. The poet is traveling far away from home on these rainy days. The rain and lonely walks lead to the separation of the soul (灵魂) and body, which adds a sad feeling to this poem. The writer, Du Mu describes a rainy scene in a village in the first two lines. Then in the last two lines, the poet wants to find a place to take a rest, drink some wine (酒) and get away from the sad feeling. Where can I find a good tavern? In the last line, a cowherd points to a direction (方向), which describes two people looking far ahead on the rainy day.

In this poem, Du Mu presents a village with apricot flowers around as the direction of the tavern. He doesn’t describe its feature on a rainy day but leaves it to the readers’ imagination.

Qingming is not only a sad festival, but can also be a happy time for people to enjoy the spring and get closer to nature in an outing. Trees are green and flowers are blooming, so it’s a good time to be outside.

The Dragon Head-raising Festival

China is a country with a long and rich history.     31     The Double Second Festival（the Dragon Head-raising Festival or Longtaitou Festival）is one of them. This special day is on the second day of the second month in the Chinese lunar calendar. It stands for the start of spring and farming.

The dragon plays an important role in Chinese culture. Dragon culture is one of the most popular cultures in China.     32     People celebrated the Dragon Head-raising Festival with many customs（习俗）about the dragon in ancient times.

On this special day, people put ashes（灰）in the kitchen.     33     People believed that if the dragon went into their houses, they could have a good luck all year round. People also ate special food.     34     For example, people ate noodles called “dragon whiskers noodles” and dumplings called “dragon ears”. Besides, people sent gifts to each other, picked vegetables and went on a spring outing.

    35     Today people hurry to have their hair cut, especially have their children’s hair cut on the Dragon Head-raising Festival. They want to make themselves have new looks and have a good year.