In ancient China, people practiced the custom of making ablutions in the river to purify their bodies and expel the unclean on the day of Serpent that took place during the beginning of a month, and this was called Joshi no Harai (literally, purification performed on the earliest day of the Serpent in a month).
古来中国では、上巳の日に川で身を清め不浄を祓う習慣（上巳の祓）があった。