However, some scholars believe that the custom of eating cold food started long before the time of Jie, and can be traced to more than 2,000 or 3,000 years ago, when Chinese people followed a custom called "fire change". They believed that old firewood had to be put out with, and replaced, by new firewood to start a new year, or there would be bad luck. Hence, they prepared foods that did not need to be heated before eating, when the old fire was put out.

Li Yaozong, a professor of folklore from the Central University for Nationalities, is one of the scholars holding this view. "The custom of eating cold food has much to do with 'fire change', but the story of Jie personified the custom and endowed it with moral content. That's why it is accepted by more people," Li says.

The Cold Food Festival had been an important festival before the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907). Then it began to decline, until it virtually disappeared in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

Li contends that the Cold Food Festival did not vanish, but became assimilated into the Pure Brightness Festival. In some parts of China, the Pure Brightness Festival is also called the Cold Food Festival.

A Time to Taste Tea

Tea Picking

Qingming Festival is also a time to enjoy a cup of tea, because the tea produced around Qingming Festival is said to be with high-quality.

The plucking of tea usually takes place in spring, summer and autumn. Tealeaves from different seasons have different appearances and inner quality. Tealeaves plucked in spring, from early March to the Qingming Festival, are called “pre-ming tea” or “first tea.” Its color is of light jade green, and tastes pure with a touch of acerbity. Two weeks after Qingming, it is the Guyu solar term on the Chinese lunar calendar. During this time, the Jiangnan area will experience a round of fine precipitation for the moistening of crops. And this brings forth the second peak season of tea picking. Tealeaves collected after the Qingming but before Guyu are called “pre-rain tea,” and the spring tea picked after that are called “post-rain tea.” Spring tea’s prices usually vary according to the time the tealeaves were picked, with the prices being higher for earlier tea and lower for the later. In most cases, early-spring green tea is the best in quality among all available tea.

By Zhang Xiaoxiao

Editor: Liu Fang