China's vacation system has a long history, which has been recorded in the pre-Qin historical data, but the real formation of a system and its implementation in the country began in the Qin and Han Dynasties. In the Han Dynasty, "five days off" was implemented, that is, officials in the imperial court returned home to take a rest every five days. In the third year of Yonghui, Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty (652 AD), it was changed to "ten day rest", that is, officials had one day off every ten days, thirty-six days a year, a total of thirty-six days off. By the Song Dynasty, the system of public holidays had been improved to a certain extent. The relevant regulations were specifically in the charge of the ancestral temple department under the Ministry of rites. The daily rest of officials still followed the Tang system and implemented "ten day rest", but the festivals and holidays were various.

In the picture of Qingming River by Zhang Zeduan of Song Dynasty, we can see the grand occasion of people going out on that day. It is not only Qingming, but also a major festival, such as first day of first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ninth Festival, there will be a large group of tourists in the town. People are either in tea houses or wine shops, or in gardens, temples, or in the wild or by the lake. The tourists are not limited to the princes and nobles. People from all walks of life, men, women, old and young go in a group. Local governments sometimes actively organize. According to the records of Mengliang, in Lin'an City, officials often give money on winter festivals to "enjoy happy between the imperial court and the people"."Tokyo dreamland" also has a record that on the day of the Lantern Festival, the emperor came to Xuande tower to watch the lantern and enjoy himself with the people.

Tracing back to the ancient holidays, on the one hand, we lament the thousands of ancient life, on the other hand, we will secretly compare the changes of ancient and modern folk customs. And this contrast just shows that even though the world is changing with each passing day, there is always a spiritual belonging that can be inherited for thousands of years.

Time: May 1, 2020

Source: Abstract