Pyrolysis of Cunninghamia lanceolate cedar wood was studied by thermogravimetric-Fourier transform infrared (TG-FTIR) analysis and a modified discrete distributed activation energy model (DAEM) kinetic method. The release of bio-oil occurred in the temperature range of 423-873 K. Conversion of derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) tailing was attributed to secondary cracking of biochar into CO and CO2. The biochar cracking led to a significant variation of activation energy in a single-step reaction which could not describe the pyrolytic kinetics. The modified discrete DAEM deduced by Vyazovkin and Kissinger methods could fit experiments perfectly. According to the results, the weight fraction of cellulose pyrolysis dominated the reaction profiles, and secondary cracking of biochar contributed similar to 12 wt % weight fraction. The discrete DAEM kinetic method is expected to be suitable for other kinds of biomass.