Qingming
/ˌtʃɪŋˈmɪŋ/noun
A traditional Chinese festival and solar term observed in spring, especially for honoring ancestors and tending their graves.
Did you know?Qingming’s grave-tending customs became intertwined with the older Cold Food Festival, creating a seasonal ritual centered on ancestors, offerings, and the renewal of the living world.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Chinese
清
“Clear, pure, or bright; the first element of the compound”
Classical Chinese
Chinese
明
“Bright, light, or lucid; the second element of the compound”
Pre-Qin period
Chinese
清明
“A compound meaning clear-bright, also used figuratively for clarity and lucid understanding”
Han dynasty
Chinese
清明
“Established in calendrical tradition as one of the twenty-four solar terms, marking a brightening phase of spring”
Tang dynasty
Chinese
清明
“Increasingly associated with seasonal outings, ancestor observance, and customs connected with the Cold Food Festival”
Modern Chinese
Mandarin
Qīngmíng
“The Qingming Festival and the solar term occurring around early April”
20th Century
English
Qingming
“An English loanword for the Chinese festival and its associated period of ancestral grave tending”