Listen to Shirley Singing the Poem in English April 5, 2010Listen to Shirley Singing the Poem in Chinese April 5, 2010Listen to the Meaning of the Poem and Follow Shirley to Read It Read Shirley s Comments on the Poem April 5, 2010Look at Shirley Created Picture & Calligraphy for the Poem April 5, 2008
April 5, is an important Chinese traditional festival --
Qing Ming -- Tomb Sweeping Day. It has had a history for about 2500 years already.
Qing Ming is one of the 24 solar terms of China as well. After this day, there are raining more and more. That means everything will be re-fresh and re-growing up. So, there are many customs to celebrate Qing Ming.
First of all, the main activity of Qing Ming is to pay respect to the ancestors, great people, friends and family who have gone at their tombs...
Secondly, people like to have a walking, picnic, hike, to enjoy the great nature in the spring season.
Thirdly, in many places, people enjoy flying kites, and in the North places, people enjoy playing swing outdoor.
There are thousands and thousands poems to describe the spring views and people’s feelings on Qing Ming in China.
One of the most famous is the poem
Qing Ming -- Tomb Sweeping Day by Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu.
For helping you to understand it well, I created a piece of music to match it in 2007, created a painting to match it in 2008 and today, April 5, 2010, I have re-written the music, re-translated and re-recorded it and hope my effort will be helpful to you to learn Chinese culture and langauge.
Below are another two poems I had introduced by Du Mu in 2005 and hope you still remember it:
Classical Poem 0108 & Shirley Created Music-0081：Ji Yangzhou Hanchuo -- An Autumn SongClassical Poem 0017 & Shirley Created Music: Shan Xing- Travel In A MountainMAIN MEANING OF THE POEMTomb-Sweeping Day
By Du Mu ( Tang )
During the Tomb-Sweeping Day,
It rains often,
on the roads pedestrians'hearts would be broken.
May I ask where any pub is?
A herd boy points to a village in the apricot flowers.
CHINESE CHARACTERS AND PRONUNCIATION You are welcome to clink any Chinese Character to open the New Character Board and to see the new Characters and sentences' Chinese pinyin, meaning, pronunciation and follow me to read them in Chinese清明
杜牧 （ 唐 ）
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。
If you have any questions, comments and suggestions, please write to
shirley@ebridge.cn , or
shirleyz004@yahoo.com, I will be happy to read it and respond you as soon as possible
Shirley ZhangWritten, Edited and Recorded on April 5, 2010/ April 5, 2008 /April 8,2007
