September 9 of the lunar calendar is the traditional Chongyang Festival. As the Book of Changes specifies "six" as a number of yin and "nine" a number of yang, so September 9 has the yang number in both month and day, two "nines" meeting on this day, thus the name "Chongyang" (dual yang) or "Chongjiu" (dual nine). However, the title "Chongyang Festival" did not appear in records until the Three Kingdoms Period, when Cao Pi mentioned it in Writing to Zhong Yao on the Double Ninth Day.

The origin of the Chongyang Festival can be traced back to the Pre-Qin Dynasty. According to Master Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals, the activities of offering sacrifice to gods and ancestors in September when the crops were harvested to express the gratitude had been practiced at that time. It is said that from the Han Dynasty on, the custom of praying for longevity on the Chongyang Festival came into being. It was resulted from the influence of ancient wizard's (Taoist's) pursuit of eternal life and taking collected herbal medicine. In the mean time, the activity of large-scale banquet is evolved from the feast of celebrating a bumper harvest in the Pre-Qin Dynasty.