Qingming Festival

Zhou Enlai, the Qingming Festival, and the spring demonstrations of 1976

Zhou Enlai, the Qingming Festival, and the spring demonstrations of 1976

Today is Qingming Jie, the annual grave sweeping day, and also the 35th anniversary of the April 5 Τiananmen Incident.  This post, originally published on the anniversary of Zhou Enlai’s death (January 8, 2007), looks at the legacy of Zhou Enlai and how the celebration of Qingming led to a major demonstration and crackdown in the spring of 1976.