The Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, is an important festival in China when people offer sacrifices to their ancestors. It falls on April 5 this year.
清明节在中国是一个重要的节日，每逢这日人们便要去祭祀祖先。今年的清明节落在了4月5号这一天。
In ancient times, the festival prompted poets to compose about their grief regarding the lingering cold in spring and emotional moments while mourning the deceased.
古时候，诗人们一边感春伤怀一边悼念亡人，从而衍生出很多诗句。
Here are some famous lines from poems in the Tang and Song Dynasties (618-1279) remembering the day. The English translations used in this article are from noted Chinese translator Xu Yuanchong.
以下是选自唐宋时期（618-1279）诗人纪念清明节的几首诗词。本文中的诗词翻译全部出自中国著名翻译家许渊冲老先生之手。
1.《清明》
1. The Mourning Day
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 going to break on his way.
Where can a wine shop be found to drown his sad hours?
A cowherd points to a cot ’mid apricot flowers.
The Mourning Day, written by famed Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu (803-852), is one of the most well-known poems relating to the Qingming Festival.
《清明》这首诗是由唐代著名诗人杜牧（803-852）所作，可谓是与清明节相关的经典名作之一。
2.《浣溪沙·淡荡春光寒食天》
2. Silk - Washing Stream
淡荡春光寒食天，玉炉沉水袅残烟。
梦回山枕隐花钿。海燕未来人斗草，
江梅已过柳生绵。黄昏疏雨湿秋千。
Spring sheds a mild and wild light on Cold Food Day;
Jade burner spreads the dying incense like a spray.
Walking, I find my hairpin under pillow stray.
The swallows not yet come, a game of grass we play;
Willow down wafts while mume blossoms fade away.
In drizzling rain at dusk the garden swing won’t sway.
Silk—Washing Stream is a poem by Song Dynasty poet Li Qingzhao (1084-1155), one of the leading female poets of the time.
《浣溪沙》这首词是由宋代著名女词人李清照（1084-1155）所作。
The Cold Food Festival or Hanshi Festival, as mentioned in the poem, is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated one day before the Qingming Festival. On that day, people only eat cold food. It was not until the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that the practice of Hanshi was replaced by Qingming.
词中提到的寒食节同样是中国的传统节日之一，通常在清明节前一天，人们通常会在这天食用冷食。该节日直到清朝（1644-1911）时期才逐渐被清明节取代。
3. 《风入松·听风听雨过清明》（节选）
3. Tune: Wind Through Pines
听风听雨过清明。愁草瘗花铭。
楼前绿暗分携路，一丝柳、一寸柔情。
料峭春寒中酒，交加晓梦啼莺。
Hearing the wind and rain while mourning for the dead,
Sadly I draft an elegy on flowers.
Over dark green lane hang willow twigs like thread,
We parted before the bowers.
Each twig revealing our tender feeling.
I drown my grief in wine in chilly spring;
Drowsy, I wake again when orioles sing.
Wind Through Pines is a masterpiece of Song Dynasty poet Wu Wenying (1200-1260). Between the lines lies the author’s grief over the rainy spring and parting with beloved ones.
《风入松》这首词是宋代诗人吴文英（1200-1260）的一首佳作。这首词字里行间都体现了作者伤春和伤别的交织情绪。
4. 《青门引·春思》
4. Song of Green Door – Spring Grief
乍暖还轻冷，
风雨晚来方定。
庭轩寂寞近清明，
残花中酒，
又是去年病。
Light cold is lingering;
Wind and rain abate in the evening.
The Mountain Day draws near,
In my lonely bower I’m drunk before the faded flowers Just as last year.
An excerpt of poem Song of Green Door – Spring Grief by Song Dynasty poet Zhang Xian (990-1078).
这首词节选自《青门引·春思》，作者为宋代词人张先。
