THE practice of ancient customs during Qing Ming or Tomb Sweeping Day, which falls on April 4 this year, is often simplified or adapted to fit local beliefs.
The south-pointing chariot is a Chinese invention that functioned in a similar way to a compass. Instead of pointing north, however, this device could point south, or any other direction it was ‘programmed’ to point in the first place, for that matter. The compass, which is regarded as one of the Four Great Inventions of the Chinese civilisation, functions based on the Earth’s magnetic field.