When did Tomb-Sweeping Day start?

Tomb-Sweeping Day originated from the Cold Food Festival in the Zhou Dynasty. The original Cold Food Festival was to commemorate the introduction of saints. Jie Zhitui was a doctor in the State of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period. After Jin Wengong's death, he insisted on not following Duke Zhuang of Jin and returned to his hometown. When Jin Zhuang decided the princes fairly, he wanted to recruit Jiezhitui as an official, but Jiezhitui had passed away. In order to commemorate him, people hold sacrificial activities every year on the anniversary of his death (that is, the Cold Food Festival). With the passage of time, the Cold Food Festival gradually evolved into Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day was formed in the Tang Dynasty, and Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty promulgated the Tomb-Sweeping Day system. Li Longji stipulates that on this day in Tomb-Sweeping Day, people can go to the suburbs to play, and carry out grave-sweeping, worship and other activities to show respect and memory for their ancestors. In addition, he also called for afforestation activities around Tomb-Sweeping Day every year to protect the environment and ecology.

The earliest record of Tomb-Sweeping Day's literature can be traced back to "The ancestral temple is a god who worships heaven and earth, Yin and Yang, mice, grains and silkworms" in History. Among them, the content of spring festival is mentioned. In addition, The Book of Changes also mentions the solar terms and festivals formulated by the Duke of Zhou in the Spring and Autumn Period, including Tomb-Sweeping Day.

There are also some historical documents about Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Zhou Li: The laws and regulations of the Zhou Dynasty included the contents of spring festivals and festivals.

Historical Records: A historical book written by Sima Qian in Han Dynasty, which records the origin and history of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

General Survey of Documents: Written by Tan Sitong in Qing Dynasty, it is a book that systematically collects and sorts out the documents of China in past dynasties, which contains many documents about Tomb-Sweeping Day.

The Book of the Tang Dynasty: the official history book of the Tang Dynasty, which records the history of the Tomb-Sweeping Day system promulgated by Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty.

Guangya: A dictionary of the Southern Liang Dynasty, which contains explanations and records about Tomb-Sweeping Day.

The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival: A picture painted by Zhang Zeduan in the Northern Song Dynasty, reflecting the celebrations and customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day at that time.