清明，是二十四节气中的第五个节气，在太阳到达黄经15度时到来。西汉时《历书》记载：春分后十五日，斗指乙，为清明，时万物皆洁齐而清明，盖时当气清景明，万物皆显，因此得名。

(相关资料图)

Pure Brightness is the fifth of the 24 Solar Terms. It arrives as the sun reaches 15 degrees in theecliptic longitude. The Calendar of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-8 AD), “15 days after the Spring Equinox, the Big Dipper points to the B section, and Pure Brightness arrives. At the time, all things are pure and bright, hence the name.”

清明时节雨纷纷

Spring Drizzles aroundPure Brightness

清明，虽然是柳绿花红、春光明媚的时节，可也是气候容易发生变化的时期，常常赶上“疾风甚雨”，因此历代的文人骚客也创作了大量以清明时节雨水为主题的诗歌。

The period around Pure Brightness features beautiful spring scenery of green willows and red flowers. However, it also sees changeableweathers, with “strong winds and sudden rains”happening frequently. Therefore, men of letters over the dynasties created many poems depicting rainy days around Pure Brightness.

游客在雨中游玩图片来源：新华网

Tourists have fun in the rain.

Photo from Xinhuanet.com

杜牧在《清明》中写到：“清明时节雨纷纷，路上行人欲断魂。”将清明时节雨水“做冷欺花，将烟困柳”之意境和游人遇雨，行倦而兴败之情形表现得淋漓尽致。

“清明时候雨初足，白花满山明似玉。十里春风睡眼中，小桃飘尽馀新绿。”喻良能用“桃花”、“春风”等意象赞美清明时节的春雨，描绘出一幅清新淡然的水墨画，余韵邈然，耐人寻味。

In his poem “Pure Brightness Festival”, Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu wrote: “A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day; The mourner’s heart is going to break on his way.”The poem vividly portrays a scene of a traveler unfortunately encounteringan unexpected cold rain amid hazy willows and wetted flowers at the Pure Brightness Festival.

“Rainfalls becomes frequent around Pure Brightness Festival; Jade-white flowers bloom across the hill. As spring breeze sweeps through the land, peach blossoms fall while green leaves sprout.”In this poem, Yu Liang eulogized spring drizzles around Pure Brightness alongside peach blossoms and spring breeze, and depicted a refreshing, etherealink-and-wash painting with everlasting appeal.

清明前后，种瓜点豆

Planting Melons and Beans around Pure Brightness

“二十四节气”是上古农耕文明的产物，它是上古先民顺应农时，通过观察天体运行，认知一岁中时令、气候、物候等变化规律所形成的知识体系。从古至今，劳动人民都用二十四节气来指导农业生产。

清明时节，东亚大气环流已实现从冬到春的转变，气温升高，雨水增多，除东北与西北地区外，我国大部分地区的日平均气温已升到12℃以上，大江南北直至长城内外，到处是一片繁忙的春耕景象。

The 24 SolarTerms originated from ancient agriculturalcivilization as a set of knowledge on the law of seasonal, climatic and phonological changes formed by Chinese ancestors through observingthe operation of celestial bodies in the farming practice. Since ancient times, Chinese farmers have used the 24 Solar Terms to guide their farming activities.

Around the Pure Brightness Festival, the atmospheric circulationin East Asia has completed the transition from winter to spring, evidenced by rising temperature and increasing rainfalls. Except for northeastern and northwestern regions, most parts of China have seen an average daily temperature above 12℃. Spring plowing kicks off across the land in both north and south of the Yangtze River and the Great Wall.

各地农忙图片来源：新华网

Spring plowing. Photo from Xinhuanet.com

既是节气，又是节日

Botha Solar Term and a Festival

在我国的二十四个节气里，唯独清明兼有节日的功能，它不仅赋有大自然的气候性馈赠，更是体现了人世间情感的重要内涵，足见清明的重要性。

Of the 24 Solar Terms, Pure Brightness is the only that also marks a traditional festival. It not only reflects the climatic change in nature, but also bears emotional connotations of humans, testifying to its importance.

扫墓祭祀、缅怀祖先

SweepingTombs and Mourning for Ancestors

祭祖扫墓图片来源：江苏地方志

Sweeping tombs to worship ancestors. Photo from Jsdfz.com

清明节，是中华民族最隆重盛大的祭祖大节，在这天，人们礼敬祖先、慎终追远。扫墓祭祀、缅怀祖先，是中华民族自古以来的优良传统，不仅有利于弘扬孝道亲情、唤醒家族共同记忆，还可促进家族成员乃至民族的凝聚力和认同感。清明节凝聚着民族精神，传承了中华文明的祭祀文化，抒发人们尊祖敬宗、继志述事的道德情怀。

The Pure Brightness Festival, also known as the Tomb-sweeping Day, is the most important occasionto remember ancestors for Chinese people. That day, people offer sacrifices to their ancestors. It is a fine tradition of the Chinese nation to sweep tombs and mourn for the deceased on the day, which is conducive not only to promoting filial piety and awakening the shared memories of the family but also to consolidatingthe kinship and even nationalunity and identity. The Pure Brightness Festival bears the spirit of the nation, inherits the sacrificial culture of Chinese civilization, and carries forward the moral ideal of respecting ancestors and inheriting their ambitions.

踏青插柳、禁火冷食

SpringOuting, Willow Decoration and Cold Food Customs

众多游客踏青而来，感受春日气息

图片来源：新华网

Touristsenjoy spring outing. Photo from Xinhuanet.com

清明节在历史发展中融合了许多其他节日，故有出游踏青、放风筝、插柳、戴柳等各种习俗。宋元时期，清明节融汇了寒食与上巳两个节日习俗，形成了一个以祭祖扫墓为中心，将寒食的禁火、冷食风俗与上巳郊游等习俗活动相融合定型的特殊日子；此外，由于寒食节的禁火、冷食习俗移置到清明节，中国北方一些地方至今还保留着在清明节禁火与吃冷食的习惯。

Throughout history, the Pure Brightness Festival has been integrated with other festivals and developed such traditional customs as spring outing, flying kites, and decorating houses and hair with willow branches. During the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, the Pure Brightness Festival combined with folk customs of the Cold Food Festival and the Shangsi Festival, gradually forming an unique occasioncentered around the tomb-sweeping customs while incorporatingthe folk customs of banning fire and eating cold food during the Cold Food Festival and the tradition of spring outing at the Shangsi Festival. Today, some places in northern China still preserve the traditional customs of banning fire and eating cold food during the Pure Brightness Festival.

清明节时令点心青团 图片来源：新华网

Sweet green rice balls, a kind of seasonal food for the Pure Brightness Festival. Photo from Xinhuanet.com

节气提示

Tips for Pure Brightness

游客赏花踏青 图片来源：新华网

Tourists enjoy blooming flowers during spring outing. Photo from Xinhuanet.com

清明时节，随着天气转暖，细菌、病毒极易滋生，是呼吸道传染病和肠胃病多发季节，需要多加注意。此时，衣着也需注意，清明前后，气温波动大，早晚仍较凉。外出游玩时，要注意添衣保暖，劳逸结合，不要过于劳累。春暖花开之时，也要注意防花粉过敏，做好防护。

As the temperature rises aroundPure Brightness, it becomes easy for germs and viruses to propagate, resulting in a higher occurrenceof respiratory and gastrointestinaldiseases. Besides, people need to pay attention to clothing since the temperature fluctuates sharply and it remains cold in the early morning and at night. One should wear thick clothes to keep warm when being engaged in outdoor activities, and strike a proper balance between work and restto avoid fatigue. Moreover, people need to protect themselves from pollen allergies because many flowers bloom in spring.

【参考资料】

1. 人民网：《清明礼俗文化的传承与创新》

2. 中国气象网：《二十四节气》

3. 人民日报：《梨花风起正清明》

4. 新华网：《“清明”：春和景明，入眼皆春意》

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