Ma Qiumei column | Qingwei: It's another year of Qingming

Ma Qiumei's column | It's another year of Qingming

It's another year of Qingming.

Red flowers bloom all over the place, green willows contain smoke, and it is another year of Qingming.

The scene in front of you, the love of the past, are all densely woven into the mind.

Qingming always gives people the hope of a good harvest. "Before and after the Qingming Dynasty, plant melons and beans." April 5 is the 24th solar term, when the temperature warms, the grass and trees sprout, the weather is clear and clear, and everything is thriving. The people began to sow in the spring and also looked forward to the autumn fruit.

Qingming gives people the warmth of expectation. Qingming Festival, also known as the Cold Food Festival, "After ten days of cold food, I wore a cloth shirt in the early morning when I was dark", which was what I heard my mother tell me when I was a child. Whenever the cold food comes, I think of this sentence, and I will start looking for summer clothes before the cold food festival. Until the day of Qingming, the old people who were afraid of the cold survived a cold winter and a cold spring.

Qingming gives people poetry. The fifth generation of Feng Yanmi's "full of gossamer and falling silk, when the red apricot blossoms, a flash of Qingming rain" flutters is colorful and falling, and what remains in the heart is the eternal Zi Yan red; the Tang Dynasty Han Hong's "Spring City Is Everywhere Flying Flowers, Cold Food East Wind Royal Willow Tilt" is full of intoxication with the spring color of the imperial capital, along with the spring flowers flying there is also youth pride; Wu Weixin's "Pear Blossom Wind Rises and Rises, Wanderers Seek Spring and Half Out of the City" writes one of the hyacinth flowers - the purity and flawlessness of pear blossoms, and also tells the bustle of the Qingming tourists in Su Causeway.

Qingming gives people the courage and open-mindedness to overcome difficulties. Su Shi's "Cold Food Rain" has such a sentence in the second song: "Since I came to Huangzhou, I have passed three cold foods." Every year wants to cherish the spring, and the spring is not to be regretted. "The hut is like a fishing boat, in the clouds. Cook cold vegetables in the empty room, and burn wet reeds on a broken stove. During su shi's time in Huangzhou, he fell from the dazzling altar to the muddy world, experiencing the biggest disappointment in his life, and it was also the "cold food" moment in his life. But it is precisely this kind of tempering and setbacks that makes Su Shi truly become Su Dongpo, the one who knows how to coexist with frustration and live openly. "Bamboo sticks and shoes are lighter than horses, who is afraid?" A cloud of smoke and rain is a life of peace. "Even if he is a civilian, he is still so dashing and sophisticated.

Qingming gives joy to the children. The phrase "cold food does not plant willows, death becomes a puppy" is even more profound in my heart, because I grew up in such a custom. Spring and Jingming, willow trees green. Long and short willow branches, large and small willow balls are children's expectations for a better future. (Take a short willow branch and fold it up to form a snap horn.) Peel off the topmost skin of the long willow branch, snap it tightly with the corners, and pull it down, all the way to near the end. The whole skin of the willow branch and the willow spike are gathered into a clump, just like the rice ball sold on the street, so it is called the willow ball. Every house, left and right in front of the door, is full of green willows. The thick and thin willow branches swayed the children to show off their skills and add an auspicious pride to the family.

The willow whistle blew the annual Qingming, and the wicker hat decorated the spring of The Purple Yan Red. Twisting the willow whistle requires the choice of willow branches that are not old and tender, too tender and sticky, too old to break; too fine to blow out the sound, too thick to blow up tired people. We searched the ground for the right willow branches. Find a branch, choose a suitable section to fold it down, and peel off the outer skin, that is, to separate its skin from the wooden part. The white wood core is removed to form a green willow pipe. Use your fingers to pinch off the uppermost bit of the surface green skin, or use a knife to cut off a little of the smooth outer layer of the top end. Put the scraped end in your mouth and let it blow a little harder. The force of blowing is different, and the sound is also different. If it's too long to blow, then make it shorter. Thicker willow shoots have a thicker sound; slightly thinner willow shoots have a sharp and bright sound. The same thickness of the willow whistle, the length is different, the sound is also different. If you block one end of the willow whistle with your finger belly or palm, when it is blocked, the willow whistle will also make a whining sound, which is also interesting.

At that time, if the child had the problem of scabies, the adults would also blame the willow whistle, which would scare him: "See if you dare to blow the willow whistle!" ”

I don't know if the adults are right or wrong, they are used to scare children for various reasons. But blowing the willow whistle is really tiring, and the head is also covered, so we are obsessed with wearing a wicker hat. We ran to the rows of willow trees on the side of the road and dragged down a large section of willow branches. You scramble, break down three or two branches, skillfully circle two heads, and then wrap it with a willow branch, and the wicker hat that flickers and shakes is ready.

We put on this hat and knew that we would never become a puppy again after we died, so we were even happier. Chasing and fighting all over the village, playing the game of the police catching thieves, playing the game of the Eighth Route Army chasing the enemy...

At that time, my father and mother were both young and strong, and our family was happy together. Although life is a bit poor, but the Qingming Festival can always have fun on this day, always happy to eat eggs, drink brown sugar millet porridge. Now, I can't.

Twenty-six years after his father's death, Qingming became a day of mourning. "During the Qingming Festival, it rains a lot, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls." Sometimes, although there is no rain in the sky, the heart is wet, and the willow branches inserted in front of the grave are also soaked with thick thoughts.

The window is facing the begonia tree, and the flowers are blooming during the Qingming Festival. Presumably, the begonia flowers in the West Flower Hall have also bloomed? Premier Zhou is born Yada, among the fangs, he loves begonia flowers the most, and begonias must be prepared outside the library. Cautiously pursue the far away, remember the great man, and cherish the beautiful spring light even more.

The grass is green in the spring every year, and it is the time of the year when the grass is clear. May everyone be aware of the happiness of the present, may everyone be able to carry love forward, and may everyone deserve a better future!

About the Author:

Ma Qiumei is a Chinese teacher and head of the teaching and research team at Ranqu Town Middle School in Dingtao District, Heze City, Shandong Province. Part-time teacher and researcher of junior high school Chinese in Dingtao District, Heze City. Love to read, write diligently. Love life, like to record the small beauty of ordinary life. Founded the school magazine "Ran Xing" and served as the editor-in-chief. Articles have appeared in newspapers and periodicals such as Heze Daily and Shenzhou, and some works have been selected for "Shi Xing Kuangyuan".

Editor: Ma Xuemin

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