Clear and Bright (Qingming, 清明), usually 4 or 5 April, is both a solar term and a major festival for tomb sweeping, ancestor rites and spring outings.
Solar longitude
15°
Type
Sectional term (jie)
Season
Spring
Order
No. 5 of 24
Usual dates
Apr 4–5
Meaning and Astronomy
Qingming (清明) begins when the sun reaches ecliptic longitude 15°, usually on 4 or 5 April. It is the fifth solar term, a jie (節) or sectional term that opens the third lunar month. Warmer weather and fresh growth make the landscape look clean and bright, hence the name.
Qingming is the only solar term that is also a major festival. It began as an agricultural marker, then absorbed the Cold Food Festival held a day or two before it and the spring outings of the Shangsi festival on the third day of the third lunar month, becoming an occasion for both remembrance and enjoying spring.
The Three Pentads
First pentad: The paulownia begins to blossom (桐始華).
Second pentad: The field mouse turns into a quail (田鼠化為鴽) - as field mice retreated into burrows and quail-like birds appeared, ancient observers mistook one for the other.
Third pentad: Rainbows first appear (虹始見) - rainbows become visible after spring showers.
Climate and Farming
The lower Yangtze is often rainy, the scene evoked in the famous line 'the rain falls thick at Qingming'. Northern China warms quickly but is windy and dry, raising the risk of hill fires. Taiwan alternates sun and showers with occasional late cold, as the Taiwanese saying 'Qingming and Grain Rain can freeze a mother tiger' warns; Hong Kong is humid and showery. Spring sowing peaks - 'around Qingming, plant melons and sow beans' (清明前後，種瓜點豆) - and tea growers prize 'pre-Qingming' tea.
Customs: Cold Food, Tomb Sweeping and Outings
The Cold Food Festival (寒食) fell on the 105th day after the winter solstice, a day or two before Qingming, when fires were forbidden and only cold food eaten. Legend says Jie Zitui served the exiled Duke Wen of Jin loyally but later refused office and withdrew to Mount Mian; the duke set the mountain alight to force him out, and Jie died rather than leave, so the duke banned fire on that day. This is a legend, and the custom may also derive from an ancient practice of periodically renewing fire. Tang-dynasty holidays combined Cold Food and Qingming, and from the Song onward Cold Food gradually merged into Qingming.
Tomb sweeping is the heart of the festival: families clear weeds, add soil, tidy the headstone, set out offerings, burn incense and paper money, and bow to their ancestors. It is called 'tending the grave' or 'hanging paper' in Taiwan and 'visiting the hill' (拜山) in Hong Kong and Guangdong. At the same time people go on spring outings (踏青), fly kites, swing, and put willow sprigs over doors or in their hair, traditionally believed to ward off evil. Mourning and the pleasure of spring sit side by side.
Regional Customs and Festival Foods
Taiwan: Qingming is a national holiday, combined with Children's Day on 4 April into a long weekend. Timing depends on ancestry: many Hokkien families sweep on or near Qingming, some of Zhangzhou descent on the third day of the third lunar month, and Hakka families often start earlier, any time between the Lantern Festival and Qingming. Festival foods include runbing (spring roll wraps) and caozai kueh made with mugwort or cudweed.
Mainland China: Qingming has been a public holiday since 2008. Jiangnan eats green qingtuan dumplings, and some northern areas keep cold-food customs. Authorities promote flower offerings and online memorials and restrict burning in hill areas to prevent fires.
Hong Kong and Macau: Qingming is a public holiday; many families visit graves a few weeks early or late to avoid crowds, and the Chung Yeung Festival, also a holiday, forms the autumn half of 'spring and autumn rites'.
Overseas: In Singapore and Malaysia, Chinese families visit cemeteries or columbaria within roughly ten days either side of Qingming, though it is not a public holiday. Korea still visits graves at Hansik (Cold Food Day), and Vietnam observes Tet Thanh Minh.
Clear and Bright (Qingming): dates and times by year
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