The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been using traditional festivals like Qingming to strengthen its authority in China’s cultural landscape. Originally a family-focused spring ritual involving tomb-sweeping and ancestor veneration, Qingming has now been transformed into a platform for the CCP to promote revolutionary sacrifice and regime legitimacy. This trend of politicizing traditional festivals extends to other celebrations like the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, where narratives of loyalty and patriotism are emphasized.
The report highlights that the CCP’s efforts to nationalize and politicize these festivals are part of a broader strategy. Festivals like the Dragon Boat Festival are now portrayed as commemorations of historical figures to promote virtues and patriotic commitment. Similarly, the Mid-Autumn Festival is reinterpreted as a celebration of family and national unity, linking emotional connections to the state and Chinese identity. Scholars and party school writers have emphasized the role of traditional festivals in promoting socialist values, especially among the youth, through patriotic and moral education initiatives.
Academic and policy literature increasingly views traditional festivals as tools for ideological and political education. The report mentions how these festivals serve as recurring touchpoints for the CCP to emotionally and symbolically reinforce its governance. While many families still observe Qingming as a personal day of remembrance, the Party’s narrative of revolutionary sacrifice and patriotism has intertwined with these private rituals. This blending of personal and political narratives underscores the CCP’s influence on even the most intimate acts of commemoration.
