since the early 7th century, chinese and western scholars have argued for alternative origins for the festival. du gongzhan, the editor of the late-sui "record of the seasons of jingchu", connected it with a ritual avoidance of fire mentioned in the "rites of zhou": "in mid-spring, they announce the prohibition of fire in the capital using a bell with a wooden clapper". this prohibition was related to the ancient chinese use of different kinds of firewood according to the seasons, particularly after the development of chinese astrology that considered the heliacal rising of antares to be an occasion for great risk of conflagration and wildfire. du was followed in his conjecture by others, including li fu. the sinologist j.j.m. de groot argued for its origin as a celebration of the sun's "victory" at the vernal equinox, based on a comparative anthropological analysis drawing on ovid, macrobius, lucian, and epiphanius|stepiphanius. james frazer and his followers similarly considered it either a "sun-charm" or "purification" from its similarities to other "fire-festivals". lévi-strauss based his analysis of the festival as a kind of chinese lent upon a mistranslation of the relevant passage in the "rites of zhou" by frazer. eberhard connected it with his idea of a prehistoric spring-based calendar and made the cold food festival a remnant of its original new year.