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The lost tradition of tomb hanging
By Jiang Rufeng and Pan Zheng |
December 26, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ON Tomb-sweeping Day (Qingming Festival) in the past, Jiading families used to hang bunches of paper looking like coins in different colors - white, pink, light blue - on the tombs of their ancestors.
At that time it was called "tomb hanging," and the tradition lasted until private tombs gradually disappeared.
The tradition started in the age of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Zhu was born into a poor family and became a monk in his childhood. His parents were buried with his neighbor's help after they passed away. Therefore, when Zhu ascended the throne, he decided to build a magnificent tomb for his parents.
However, Zhu was stumped when he tried to find the original tomb of his parents - he could not remember the scene very clearly as it had been too long since their burial.
Finally Zhu got an idea: if all the other people recognized their own tombs, the last one left would be his parents'.
Then, he used his imperial power and ordered all the people to put some marks on their own family tombs before the Tomb-sweeping Day. Anyone who disobeyed the order would be punished with crime of being unfilial.
The imperial edict was issued and the common people hurried to hang bunches of paper coins on their tombs. Zhu eventually found his parents' tomb, but the common people didn't know his true motive and still hung those marks every year, which gradually became a Tomb-sweeping Day tradition.
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