Qingming values remain the same

Since ancient times, Qingming, or Tomb Sweeping Festival, has been a time for honoring ancestors and mourning deceased relatives. Although it is still regarded as a serious and solemn family ceremony in modern China, its nature is changing due to the transformation of society.

In old days, the Qingming festival was a solemn occasion, a time for paying one's respects to the dead, and it was closely related to the land-oriented and kindred structure of society. Ancestral memorial temples and graves were major ritual spaces during Qingming, while large and stable clan family groups ensured continuity in the rituals.

However, these rituals were more than just ancestor worship, as they focused on enhancing the sense of kinship within the clan and remembering its history. Although the rituals were mainly private activities, the participants usually performed the ceremony on a clan basis and as such the ceremony served the function of strengthening authority within the clan discussions and decision-making. Meanwhile, the ancestor worship also reinforced one of the most important Chinese virtues - filial piety.