In ancient times, children mourned for three years after their parents died. When did this custom rise?

Three years of mourning, the formation of this custom mainly comes from the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. This custom actually existed a long time ago, and it did not form a habit at that time.

1, Spring and Autumn Customs

Although there was no mourning in the early Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people did pay homage to the deceased through food, crying, language or clothes in order to express their condolences. So Ding You's habit appeared in the early Spring and Autumn Period. However, the appearance of the three-year mourning practice still stems from the rise of Confucianism.

Confucianism was not very famous in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. But by the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucianism has become increasingly mature, so many people will believe in Confucianism. Moreover, unlike later generations, Confucian scholars at that time only paid attention to fame and fortune, and what they really considered was people's livelihood. They saw people feel very sad after their relatives or wives and women died, so they came up with the idea of filial piety for them. Confucian scholars are generally pedantic, so in order to express their inner grief to the greatest extent, they decided to be filial for three years.

2. Advocacy of Confucianism

Filial piety is actually a way for Confucian scholars to spread Confucian culture. As we all know, Confucian culture has always been a sea of rivers, so when the concept of filial piety is added to Confucian culture, it will be closer to people's livelihood and more people will be willing to accept his statement.

To sum up, the theory of three-year filial piety originated in the late Spring and Autumn Period, which is a conceptual definition produced by Confucian scholars to promote Confucian culture.