5,000 years on, the Yellow Emperor still a unifying force

By Huo Yan and Li Yang | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-04-03 08:28

A time to remember lost legends

Chinese culture attaches great significance to revering ancestors. Tomb Sweeping Day in early April is an important occasion in the Chinese lunar calendar for the living to cherish the memories of dead relatives.

Local authorities also organize ancestral worship ceremonies for legendary characters in history, such as the Yellow Emperor, Yan Emperor and Chi You, all tribal chiefs nearly 5,000 years ago who are regarded as the forefathers of Chinese civilization.

Such ceremonies are held at places where they were born or died, or at historically important locations, on Tomb Sweeping Day or on the anniversary of their birth or death.

Yellow Emperor Memorial Ceremony

Place: Huangling, Shaanxi province

Time: Tomb Sweeping Day

Yellow Emperor Hometown Ancestral Worship Ceremony

Place: Xinzheng, Henan province

Time: Third day of the third month on the lunar calendar

Global Confucius Ancestral Worship Ceremony

Place: Qufu, Shandong province

Time: 15th day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar

World Chinese and Overseas Chinese Yan Emperor Mausoleum Ancestral Worship Ceremony

Place: Yanling, Hunan province

Time: Ninth day of the ninth month on the lunar calendar