《清明》英译 —— 杜牧

清明时节雨纷纷， 路上行人欲断魂。 借问酒家何处有？ 牧童遥指杏花村。 A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day; The mourner’s heart is breaking on his way. Where can a winehouse be found to drown his sadness? A cowherd points to Almond Flower Village in the distance.

Qingming Festival, also known as Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb-sweeping Day, is one of the 24 segments of the Chinese calendar. It normally falls on the 4th or 5th of April, between spring plowing ( 耕作） and summer weeding （播种）, and is a time to pay respects to one‘s ancestors and to tidy their gravesite. On this day, whole families, young and old, go to the gravesite of deceased （已 故的） family members to burn incense （焚香） and perform a ritual offering while clearing away plant overgrowth from the gravesite.

Customs Qingming Festival is a time of many different activities, among which the main ones are tomb sweeping, taking a spring outing, flying kites. Some other lost customs like wearing willow branches on the head and riding on swings have added infinite joy in past days. The festival is a combination of sadness and happiness, perhaps bittersweet.

Tomb Sweeping or Ancestor Worshipping 扫墓 The major custom in Qingming Festival is tomb sweeping. According to folk religion, the spirits of deceased ancestors still live underground and look after the family; the tombs are said to be their houses; thus it is very important to keep the tombs clean. The Qingming Festival is spent honoring the dead, which is one of many ways good （虔诚地） Confucians demonstrate filial piety （孝道）. On this day, people visit their family graves to remove any underbrush that has grown. They would uproot weeds near the gravesites, wipe the tombstones and decorate the tombstones with fresh flowers. And then they will set out offerings of food and paper money.