The Qingming Festival originated from the ancestor beliefs and spring festival rituals in the ancient times. According to the research results of modern anthropology and archaeology, the two most primitive beliefs of human beings are the belief in heaven and earth and the belief in ancestors. According to archaeological excavations, the Qingtang site in Yingde, Guangdong Province, has discovered a 10,000-year-old tomb, which is the earliest confirmed burial in China, indicating that the ancient ancestors already had a clear and conscious concept of burial behavior and rituals 10,000 years ago. The "Tomb Sacrifice" ritual has a long history of origin, Qingming "Tomb Sacrifice" is the synthesis and sublimation of the traditional spring festival customs.

The formulation of the ancient dry calendar provided the prerequisites for the formation of the festival, and the belief in ancestors and the culture of sacrifice are important factors in the formation of the Qingming rituals and customs of ancestor worship. The Qingming festival is rich in customs and traditions, which are summarized in two major festival traditions: the first is to pay respect to the ancestors and to be cautious of the end of the day; and the second is to go on excursions and get close to nature.

Expanded:

Story Legend

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Chong'er of Jin was in exile, and when he became faint with hunger on the way, his minister, Jie Zi Tui, cut off the flesh of his thigh for him to eat. Later, Duke Chong Er became Duke Wen of Jin, and rewarded his loyal ministers forgetting about Jie Zi Pui. When Chong Er remembered him, Jie Zi Tui did not want to be an official anymore, and hid in Mian Mountain behind his mother's back. Chong Er set fire to the mountain to force him to come out of the mountain, but the fire burned for three days and no one came out, so he went up the mountain to look for him and found that he and his mother had been burned to death. On the charred willow tree, Da Xian found a sash with a poem in blood: "I cut my flesh to serve the king with all my heart, but I wish my lord would always be clear".

So Chong Er designated the day he set fire to the mountain as the Cold Food Festival. On the next day of the next year, Chong Er climbed the mountain to pay homage to the old willow tree, and found that the old willow tree had come back to life, so he gave it the name of "Qingming Willow" and designated it as the Qingming Festival to pay homage to Jie Zi Tui and encourage himself to be diligent in his administration and to be clear and bright.