綜觀先秦時期典籍中所見的香事活動，香除了用於祭把活動以外，古人也往往用花木的香氣來薰香除穢、避邪、逐疫，更作為個人保健之用。先秦時期香木香草的使用方法已經非常豐富，已有豐富而多元化的香事活動。而香花香草亦是古代男女傳情定情的象徵物，在先秦的風俗中，男女往往藉由祭典中相會出遊，臨別互贈香花香草，香花香草於是成為傳遞愛情的媒介。除此之外，在周人強烈人文精神自覺的背景之下，認為祭祖者本身若是具備美好的德行，所奉獻的祭品才能把香氣充分達到上天，從而得到上天庇祐。祭祖者的美好品德與祭品的芳香之氣是相輔相成的，甚至可說是重視人的德行甚於祭品的芬芳。先秦時期的香文化，展現了人們對日常禮儀的重視、個人修身的追求、生命圓滿的渴望，更是國家部族之間最重要的氏族延續。而「香」的概念則開始從具體的嗅覺感受，擴大到抽象的道德層面，亦從物質層面提升到精神文化上頭來，成為周人對道德意識的要求與標準。

The worship ritual during the Pre-Qin days (Before the Qin Dynasty, BC 221) is the original pattern of burning joss stick nowadays. As people burned things whose scent and communication with the supernatural spmts was holding by this cult, it was similar with then later religious meaning about burning joss stick.Well known, the ancients often took the herbs to prevent themselves from the evil power, plague, and messing, except for worshiping,; moreover, the advantage of the herb's scent made the people healthy, according to the documentary evidences in the Pre-Qin days. That is why the Activities of Scents were many and various. One the other side, herb and flowers both symbolized of love between ancient lovers. In the Pre-Qin's culture, men and women used to take a visit at a ritual, and then exchanged herbs and flowers with each other to express their passionate affair as farewell presents. So those plants were often singificatory of love.Due to the fact that the Chou Dynasty People had prodigious humanism culture, the Chou People regarded that only the worshiper with good virtues could make a sacrifice full of scents to God. What the worshiper did would bring people God's bliss. The good virtues were as important as sacrifices' odor. In short, the Chou People valued good personality rather than worshipper's donations ( any offerings). Of ordinary manner, good virtues, tribal kinsship, the culture of scent during Pre-Qin days told. The concept of scent not only signified human sense of smell, but also expanded it to the level of virtues. What scent meant, in the Chou People's opinion, had transformed materialism into mentalism, and also had become their basic standard of morality.