It’s another year of Qingming, and the wind and the rain are contemplating the old man. In order to promote the change of customs, strengthen epidemic prevention and control, and vigorously advocate the new trend of civilized, green and safe sacrificial sweeping, various convenience measures have been introduced across the country: Beijing Babaoshan People’s Cemetery For family members who cannot come to the scene for sacrificial sweeping, appointments are made online and by telephone. The cemetery provides basic valet sweeping services such as free wiping of tombstones and offering flowers; the “Guangzhou Civil Affairs” WeChat public account has launched the “Guangzhou Qingming Sacrifice Sweeping Appointment Platform”, through which citizens can make an appointment for on-site sweeping; Restricted ritual sweeps are carried out by means of time-sharing, staggered peak hours, reservation and current restrictions, and strict control of the number of people entering the garden to reduce the risk of epidemic prevention and control… Qingming is a traditional Chinese festival, and ritual sweeping is also a prescribed action in remembrance and memory of ancestors. In today’s development of the times, we have a glimpse of a new way of embodying filial piety and propriety.
In the core of traditional Chinese culture, there is always the simple feeling of “harmony between man and nature”, which is rooted in the harmonious relationship between man and nature. The Qingming Festival, which originated in the agricultural era, has a vivid context of “the world is clear and the scenery is bright, and everything in the world is visible” since ancient times. Salvaged and precipitated from the long river of history, Qingming not only has a profound implication of respecting nature, but also has an important gene for inheriting culture, but later generations tend to abandon the basics: burning paper money, setting off firecrackers, burning incense and burning wax and other old customs were once the Qingming Festival. The classic scene of sweeping, the smoky fire makes “April in the World” somewhat eclipsed. Fortunately, “cleanness and cleanliness” has always been the expectation of the public. Under the collective advocacy of civilization, more people have taken up the nostalgia for their ancestors through methods such as smoke-free sacrifice and sweeping. “Mourning, rather than extravagance, Ningjian.” Under the guidance of the wisdom of our ancestors, modern people have finally found a way to return to the original.
If smoke-free sacrificial sweeping is inevitable, then the emergence of new methods such as online sacrificial sweeping shows the general trend of civilization. At present, the new round of local epidemic of new coronary pneumonia is characterized by multiple points, wide areas, and frequent occurrences. Doing a good job in prevention and control is still an unchanging measure. Epidemic prevention and control is no trivial matter, and civilization is seen everywhere. The Qingming Festival Sweeping will inevitably bring regarding a wave of population flow, and adopting the civilized sacrifice method of online sacrifice sweeping will preserve a safe distance for epidemic prevention and control for more people. The memory of the ancestors should be more important than the heart, and the safety and health of the living is the best consolation for the deceased. Although the online sacrificial sweep has the shortcomings of “although it cannot be reached”, it can also support people’s emotional attachment to their ancestors. In the dimension of normalization of epidemic prevention and control, in the initiatives of online sacrifice sweeping, there is the greatest common divisor for people’s life safety and physical health.
It is to sweep the tombs and add graves, a handful of loess, and it is also to be cautious and chasing the distance, and the people’s morality will return. The Qingming Festival Sweep is full of the full sense of ritual that is familiar to Chinese people. It also has an irreplaceable function in other traditional festivals in terms of awakening family memories and uniting family unity. It is precisely because of this premise that online sacrifice and sweeping is a civilized advocacy, not a one-size-fits-all measure. The key lies in the dynamic adjustment of local epidemic situation according to the development of local epidemic situation. From a dialectical point of view, behind the civilized advocacy of the Qingming Festival and sweeping is the scope of modern social management – whether it is changing customs, epidemic prevention and control, or data management, all kinds of settlements show the warmth and strength. The development of society is constantly changing, and traditional festivals are also the profound background of this. This continuous force of “Although the Zhou Dynasty is old, its life is renewed” also has a solid foothold in the Qingming Festival.
Sacrificial sweeping advocates new wind, Qingming is also civilized. There is a saying in “Zuo Zhuan”, “The major events of the country are in the sacrifice and the Rong”. On the chain of Chinese values, the sublimation of feelings from home to country can always be exported. Qingming is not only a traditional festival to pay homage to ancestors, but also an important node in memory of martyrs. In the days of solemn body and mind, we need to cherish and appreciate the hard-won peace today, and also polish the names of countless dead martyrs, including the heroes who fought once morest the “epidemic”. The practice of a civilized sacrificial sweep, a protection of life safety, is the best tribute to them. The majestic and righteousness between heaven and earth is always traced back to the bits and pieces of “words” and “actions”. In the civilized sacrificial sweep, we will express the feelings of you and me and his family and country together.
[Editor in charge: Lv Jiashan]
