Spring · No.5
Pure Brightness
Qing Ming
The air clears, plants thicken, and families sweep ancestral graves before heading out to walk in the new green.
Around Pure Brightness the air settles, temperatures rise steadily and rain becomes more frequent, the drizzle the old poems describe. Fields turn green, paulownia trees bloom, voles stay hidden and the first rainbows appear. The day's main work is grave sweeping: clearing weeds, adding soil, setting out wine and green rice balls, and telling the ancestors how the family is doing. It is also a day outdoors, with willow branches in the hair, swings and kites whose strings are cut and let go. The south eats qingtuan, mugwort dough filled with red bean paste; the north steams bird-shaped buns.
Three pentads
- 1
Paulownia trees flower, pale violet along the branches
- 2
Voles go to ground as quail appear in the fields
- 3
After rain the first rainbow hangs in the clearing sky
What people eat now
green rice ball
Mugwort is tenderest before Qingming; its juice colours rice dough around sweet bean paste, steamed into green balls that keep well.
river snails
As the saying goes, Qingming snails beat goose; the meat is fattest now, stir-fried with soy paste or steeped in rice wine.
fried dough coils
For the cold-food festival before Qingming, households fry dough coils in advance, thin strands ringed into shapes that stay crisp cold.
What people wear
Qingming is wet, so take an umbrella and a water-resistant jacket to the graves, and switch to shoes with grip on slippery paths. Mornings and evenings stay cool while noon is warm: a long-sleeve shirt under a light jacket, tied at the waist when it gets hot. When willow catkins drift, wear a mask and a hat, and brush your clothes down at home.