The emergence of Sheji and Sheji rituals
The Sheji sacrificial ritual is an important etiquette system in the "Auspicious Rites", one of the "Five Rites" in ancient my country. The main content is the sacrificial ceremony for gods, earth, humans and ghosts. The auspicious training means blessing, which is the intention of God to seek blessing. "When it comes to governing people, don't be too hasty with etiquette. There are five classics about etiquette, so don't be too focused on sacrifice." [1] It can be seen that the ancients regarded sacrificial activities as the most important thing in national ceremonies. The main content of the auspicious ceremony is: "Use the firewood to worship the sun, the moon and the stars, use the firewood to sacrifice the Sizhong, Siming, Fengshi, and Yushi. Use the blood sacrifice to sacrifice the Sheji, the Five Sacrifice, and the Five Mountains. □Sacrifice to the mountains, forests, rivers and lakes, sacrifice all kinds of things in the four directions with barley sacrifices, sacrifice to the ancestors with naked bodies, enjoy the ancestors with food, enjoy the ancestors with ancestral halls in the spring, enjoy the ancestors with the summer, enjoy the ancestors with the taste of autumn, and enjoy the winter. "[2] Based on this criterion, ancient Chinese sacrificial rituals generally follow the Zhou rites and are generally divided into twelve categories, belonging to the three gates of gods, earth, and humans and ghosts. There are three types of sacrifices at Tianshenmen: the first is called Xisi, which is used to sacrifice to God Haotian; the second is called Shi Chai, which is used to sacrifice to the sun, moon and stars; the third is called Chaoliao, which is used to sacrifice to Sizhong, Siming, Fengshi, Yushi and other star gods. . There are also three types of sacrifices in Dijimen: the first is to use blood to sacrifice the land and the Five Mountains; the second is to sacrifice mountains, forests, rivers and swamps with blood; the third is to sacrifice everything in the four directions with human beings. The gates of human ghosts are divided into six categories. They are six types of ancestor-respecting and mourning ceremonies, including the robe, 禘, ancestral hall, □, taste, and 烝, which are used to worship the ancestors.
The sacrificial ritual of Sheji belongs to the earthly sect and can be regarded as one of the earthly sacrificial rituals. In ancient times, while worshiping heaven, there was also worship of land. The great landowner grows and nurtures all things, like a loving mother. Therefore, there has been a saying since ancient times that "the sky is the father and the earth is the mother." The respect for the earth is second only to heaven. According to traditional Chinese thinking, heaven and earth are one yang and one yin, one up and down, one overturn, one dry and one kun. The two intersect to form the entire world. They are the parents of human beings and the origin or creator of all things. . Therefore, it is not difficult to understand the special emphasis on gods and earth creatures in sacrificial activities. Sacrifice to the land mainly refers to the emperor's Fangqiu main sacrifice and Houtu Gao sacrifice. The god of the earth is called Dizhi, and the sacrifice to the earth in ancient times was called "Yi". The Fangqiu Sacrifice to the Earth is one of the large-scale sacrificial ceremonies in "The Rites of Zhou". While sacrificing to the earth is only performed, of course there are also many large and small earth gods related to the earth who also have to accompany the sacrifice, just like the Yuanqiu Sacrifice to the Heaven also has to accompany the sacrifice. Like many gods and star officials. Among them, Sheji was one of the earliest accompanying gods in the earth-sacrifice ceremony, and it occupied a particularly important position among the objects of sacrifice to the earth.
The worship of the God of Sheji is the development of the nature worship of land and grains in primitive society. It is believed that the earth grows vegetation and everything and nourishes human beings. Therefore, the God of Sheji is regarded as a god with infinite vitality. In the pre-Qin period, the status of Sheji was very high. "Zhou Li·Chun Guan·Xiao Zongbo" said: "The god of founding the country is Sheji on the right and the ancestral temple on the left." In the founding of the country, the ancestral temple Sheji was the first, so the word "Sheji" also became the name of the country. pronoun. Many documents record that there were twenty-four kinds of sacrifices during the Shang Tang Dynasty, among which there was the sacrifice of "sacrifice abandoned for Ji". "Shang Shu·Tai Shi" records that King Wu of Zhou Dynasty "performed the etiquette suitable for the society" and wanted to offer sacrifices to the "tomb soil", that is, to worship the god of the land-the social god. The Duke of Zhou became king and served as regent for seven years. He built the altar of Sheji in Xinyi and worshiped Sheji and Ji together in one place. According to "Zhou Li·Di Guan·Da Situ": "The owner of the land who set up the community and cultivated it." For the first time, altars, walls and shrines were clearly established for the community. "The community sacrifices soil to establish the yin energy. The king faces south under the north mound, answering the meaning of yin. The armor is used every day, which is the beginning of the sun." The sacrifice of Sheji in the Zhou Dynasty had a relatively complete ceremony, including Specific regulations on venue, date, officiant, facilities, deity, etc. "She is the way of the gods and the earth. The earth carries all things, and the sky hangs down the images. Get wealth from the earth, and get the law from the sky. This is to respect the sky and be close to the earth, so you can educate the people and repay them well. Among the heads of the family, the country is the master of the society. , it shows the origin...so repaying the origin is the beginning." The respect and sacrifice to the gods express human beings' repayment of the land and grains, and reflect the pragmatic content of the sacrificial activities in the ancient era of relying on the sky for food.
As for the difference between She and Fangqiu, we believe that the Sheji Ceremony is actually a deformation of the Earth Sacrifice Ceremony, which is a complementary way and a visual expression of the abstract "land". The "earth" worshiped in Fangqiu is the abstract earth opposite to the "sky"; and "sheji" is the land in the earth that belongs to the hometown of Bangguo. The so-called "earth god of Bangguo's hometown." In addition, " The meaning of "she" is not the earth in a broad sense, but the agricultural land that can grow and plant all kinds of things, giving it a more special meaning of "the god of agriculture".
It is precisely because of this special meaning of She that it is combined with "Ji" (the name for grain) and is called "She Ji". Therefore, the essence of Sheji Rites lies in "teaching the people to repay them with kindness", that is, to educate the people to repay the kindness of the land and grains with gratitude.
Historical changes in the etiquette system of Sheji sacrifice
The etiquette system of Sheji sacrifice changed greatly before and after the Qin and Han Dynasties. Xia She offered sacrifices to Zijulong, the son of the Gong family in the Xia Dynasty, Yin and Zhou Yinzhi; Xia She offered sacrifices to Zhu, the son of the Lieshan family, and Yin Gai sacrificed Houji to the Zhou Yinzhi. Since the Han Dynasty, when the Dashe Daji was established and the official society Guanji was established, the system became more and more complex. I will make a statement here.
Before the founding of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang prayed for the Talyu tree in Feng County near his hometown, and used the tree as the god of the society, hence the name "Telyu Society". After the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty established the Han Sheji in the second year, excluding the Qin Sheji, "because the county was made into a commune". This kind of commune is in the nature of an official society. For this reason, an edict was issued: "I attach great importance to the temple and worship the sacrifices. Today, the sacrifices of God and the gods of mountains and rivers are in the temple, and each of them should follow the rituals of the time." [3] " In the next four years, the world was settled, and the imperial censor was ordered to sue Feng to govern the Tuyu Society. In the spring, a sheep pig shrine was built... Two years later, it may be said that Zhou Xing established the Houji shrine in the city, and it has been bloody to this day. Therefore, Emperor Gaozu issued an edict to the imperial censor: He ordered the people to build Lingxing Temple and worship cattle every year."
After the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu built the Sheji in Luoyang the following year. "Taisheji" is on the right side of the ancestral temple. It has no house but only a wall and a door. The temple is held three times every year in February, August and the twelfth lunar month, and they are all offered as Tailao. After the Cao Wei Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, only Taisheji and Guanshe were regularly offered sacrifices every year, that is, "Two Sheji and One Ji". Taishe and Emperorshe (i.e. the Ancient King's Society) were also separated. "In the early Han Dynasty, official societies were set up but there was no official Ji. Wang Mang set up official Ji and later restored the province. Therefore, from the Han Dynasty to the Wei Dynasty, Taishe had Ji, but the official society had no Ji, so there were often two societies and one Ji. In the early days of Pu, there was still Wei, and there was no Ji. The congratulatory message of Taishe is usually: "The virtues of the land are boundless, and the blessings are boundless. The Taishe is built to protect all nations, and the world is prosperous." The congratulatory message of the Imperial Society is "Kunde is blessed. The imperial shrine was built in the imperial palace, and was worshiped by Weichen in the Ming Dynasty and built by Jing Fu. "The Cao Wei, Dongwu, Western Jin, Eastern Jin, Liu Song and other dynasties all followed this system without any modification. ""Li", Zuozong Temple, Right Sheji. It has been followed by all dynasties, so the Luojing Sheji is on the right of the temple, and the same is true on the left of the Yangtze River. In the Wu Dynasty, the east gate of the palace is the Yumen. It is suspected that the Wushe is also in the east of the palace, the same as its temple. That’s what it was like in the Song Dynasty, nothing has been changed.” [3]
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the emperors believed: "Mortals cannot live without soil, and cannot eat without grains. Earth and grains cannot be sacrificed everywhere, so they established Sheji as the main sacrifice." During this period, emperors generally offered sacrifices to Sheji. Three altars, Taishe, Dishe and Taiji, were set up in the west of the Ancestral Temple. The doors and walls around each altar were painted according to the colors of their directions (i.e. green in the east, red in the south, white in the west and black in the north). The color of the altar is yellow, which symbolizes soil and grain. All counties, kingdoms, and counties across the country must also build Sheji Temple and Xiannong Temple, and gods such as Lingxing, Feng Bo, and Rain Master must also be worshiped below the county level. There is one private society for every twenty-five households. The counties and counties where the Five Sacred Mountains are located must also worship the Five Sacred Mountains God. The sacrificial time is in mid-spring and mid-autumn every year, twice. Sacrifice at Taishe and Emperorshe must be sacrificed. At that time, it was stipulated that the "sacrifice" system was led by Taichang Cheng, Taichang saved the sacrifice, and Taizhu Ling praised the sacrifice. The food for sacrifice is "six rice": rice is packed with Dun, rice is packed with rice grain, yellow beam is packed with rice bran, white beam is packed with Gui, millet is packed with coral, and rice is packed with Lian. There is a larger festival on February 8th every year. There are also 46 stars such as Canopus, Emperor, Taiyi, Sun and Moon, Five Stars, Gouchen, North Pole, Beidou, Santai, Twenty-eight Constellations, Adult Star, Descendants Star, etc. God. All officials who participate in the ceremony must go to the imperial medical officer to get a medicinal powder to remove bad odors, and drink it before fasting in order to purify themselves. Later, two more altars, Guanshe and Guanji, were added, which combined with the first three altars became five altars. When the emperor personally offered sacrifices to Sheji, the standards were much higher. Sinongqing was responsible for saving the animals and cooking them, Sikong was responsible for the sub-offering, and Sinong was responsible for the final offering. In the Sui Dynasty, the Sheji Altar was placed on the left side of the Hanguang Gate. Every year in mid-spring and mid-autumn on the fifth day of the year, Tailao rituals were offered to it. On the Hai day of Mengdong, another wax offering will be held. All states, prefectures and counties hold sacrifices in mid-spring and mid-autumn with the Shaolao ceremony. People's social sacrifices were also held at the same time.
In the system of the early Tang Dynasty, at two o'clock in mid-spring and mid-autumn, sacrifices were held on the fifth day of the big shrine and the great Ji. The altars of She and Ji inherited the system of the Sui Dynasty and are still standing on the right side of Hanguang Gate. She and Ji each use one Tailao, the animal is black, two each are beans, Gui and Yan, and three are each 铏zu. Tomorrow on the day of the winter festival, we will also offer sacrifices to She Ji in the She Palace, just like the ceremony in the second month of Spring and Autumn.
In the first year of Shenlong of Zhongzong (705), "the Xiannong Altar was changed to the Imperial Altar, and the Imperial Altar was erected to the west of the Taitan Temple. The rituals were the same as those of Taishe and Taiji. The altar did not have a square color, which was different from Taishe." Later. According to the discussion between Uncle Wei Xia and Zhu Qinming, the Emperor Ji Altar was built to the west of the Emperor Society Altar. So in the Tang Dynasty, the four altars of Taishe, Taiji, Dishe and Diji were in place. According to the "Kaiyuan Rites" stipulated in the "Emperor's Mid-Spring and Mid-Autumn Festival, the Wu Sacrifice to the Taishe Taiji Ritual" includes fasting, furnishings, leaving the palace, laying jade and silk, offering food and music, giving blessings, drinking, burning, and driving. Etiquette procedures and norms such as returning to the palace. At this time, the sacrifice of Sheji had been reduced to the level of mid-level sacrifice, indicating that the status of the God of Sheji had begun to decline. The Sheji altar in the Tang Dynasty was five feet wide and made of five-color soil. The owner of the community used stones, five feet high and two feet square, "cutting them on top to symbolize animals; square them on the bottom to symbolize geography. Bury half of the body with roots in the soil, so that the root and bottom are even".
Although the sacrifice of Sheji was valued again in the Song Dynasty, it was still not as respected as before the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Although the Sheji rituals were included in the great sacrifice items, there were as many as thirty items in the Song Dynasty's great sacrifices. This shows that the emphasis on the etiquette of Sheji sacrifices was not much higher than that of the Tang Dynasty, and its ritual procedures were basically inherited from the Tang Dynasty. system.
The sacrifices of Taishe Taiji in the Yuan Dynasty generally followed those of the Tang and Song Dynasties. The altar is located in the south of Jingcheng and Yimen, covering an area of ??40 acres. It is surrounded by a wall and two altars are built slightly south of the garden. The Taishe Altar is in the east and the Taiji Altar is in the west. The two altars are 5 feet apart. Both altars are square mounds with a length, height and width of 17 meters. The soil of the social altar is also very particular: the east of the altar is green soil, the south of the altar is red soil, the west of the altar is white soil, and the north of the altar is black soil. The middle is filled with ordinary mixed soil, and then it is covered with loess on the left and right sides. Finally, smear it once with five-color mud, the color corresponding to the direction. There is a 1-foot-wide path in the middle of the four sides of the altar. The system of the Jitan is the same as that of the Shetan, except that the soil used to fill it is not of five colors but of a single color of yellow soil. The two altars face north. On the north side is the "Bei Yong" where the emperor saluted. It is a brick building with yellow mud on the surface. In the northwest there are two pits (pits where sacrifices are buried). There are also some ancillary buildings around the wall. To the north are the Sacrifice Hall, Qiban Hall, Xianguan Screen, Yuanguanzhao, Temple Inspection Bureau, Yiluan Storehouse, Fawu Storehouse, Dujian Storehouse, Yale Storehouse, Baiguan Kitchen and other institutions. To the south are Taile Department, Paradise Square, Food Screen Hall, Food Screen, Divine Kitchen, Wine Storehouse, and Sacrifice Room. There are also more than a dozen rooms for deacons and deacons. The head of the community is made of white stone, 1.6 meters long and 60 centimeters wide, and is half buried in the soil of the altar. The Ji altar has no owner. The tablet is made of chestnut wood, with the original color of the wood and black writing on it. A pine tree was planted in the south of the two altars as a "social tree". There are four blessing plates used, all 80 cm long, 40 cm wide and 3 cm thick. They are used for Taishe, Taiji and the coordinating Gods Houtu and Houji.
In the Ming Dynasty, the altars of Sheji and Ji were first divided into two altars. In the 10th year of Hongwu (1377), the Sheji altar was rebuilt on the right side of the Meridian Gate, and the Taishe and Taiji altars were designated as the combined sacrifice ceremony. The owner of the buried stone was placed in the middle of the Sheji altar, with its tip slightly exposed, and painted with wood god tablets. It was placed on the altar during the sacrifice, and the sacrifice was completed and stored in the warehouse. The altar is equipped with the Taishe God Tablet in the east and the Taiji God Tablet in the west. Both are facing north, and the Renzu God Tablets are shared with them. They are facing the west, and Goulong and Houji are paired with them. From the moment the silk was laid to the final presentation, they all saluted at the same time. The rites of Sheji were then promoted to the highest level of sacrifice (that is, the great sacrifice). Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to Beijing. In the 19th year of Yongle (1421), "the Beijing Sheji altar was completed, and its location and furnishings were exactly like the old system in Nanjing." [4] From the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the location of the Sheji Altar remained unchanged, to the right of the end gate of the Forbidden City (in today's Zhongshan Park in Beijing). The Sheji Altar that has been preserved to this day is a three-story square platform made of white marble. The platform is paved with soil of green, red, white, black and yellow in the five directions of southeast, northwest, and middle. A square stone pillar is erected in the center, which is the "main stone of the society". Also known as "Jiangshan Stone". Every year, sacrifices are held on the fifth day of the second lunar month of spring and autumn, with the emperor personally offering sacrifices to the God of Earth and the God of Grain. In case of rain, people will pray in the worship hall in the north. Local governments, prefectures and counties still retain Sheji, and local officials preside over the ceremonies in February and August. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the production and tribute areas of five-color soil were also stipulated: Zhili and Henan provinces brought loess, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces brought red soil, Jiangxi, Huguang, and Shaanxi provinces brought white soil, Shandong brought green soil, and Peiping Into the black soil. There are more than 300 prefectures and counties in the country, each of which is responsible for collecting 100 dendrobiums of soil in the color of the location. The soil must be collected from famous mountains.
Although the design of the Sheji ceremony is similar to that of praying for grains and offering sacrifices to heaven and Fangqiu offering sacrifices to the ground, the activities of Lishe are also similar to rural drinking ceremonies, which has caused a lot of controversy among etiquette officials and scholars in history.
After all, since the pre-Qin Dynasty, the concept that the country is the country and the country is the world has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, especially the king has the obligation and responsibility to die for the country, so the rulers of the past dynasties did not dare to slack off in this ceremony. According to the ancient motto "the sheji comes before the ancestral temple and the ancestral temple", when a country is founded, the sheji must be established first, and sacrifices should be performed on time. Indeed, the sheji is regarded as a symbol of the country, and must be treated with great respect and respect. It has become a system and custom with profound social influence in the history of Chinese etiquette and culture, and is worthy of our Go dig and explore further.
China is known as "an ancient civilization" and "a land of etiquette". During its five thousand years of historical evolution, etiquette has strongly influenced and restricted the thoughts, speeches and actions of the Chinese people. Paying attention to etiquette, observing etiquette and laws, practicing etiquette, respecting etiquette and trustworthiness, and observing etiquette and justice have been internalized into a kind of conscious consciousness of the people and penetrated into their psychological and behavioral activities, becoming the cultural characteristics and basic representation of the Chinese nation. Confucius's "Don't see, don't listen, don't speak or do anything that's not ritual", the famous thinker Yan Yuan's "If a country is polite, the country will prosper, if a family is polite, the family will be prosperous, if the body is polite, you will die", etc. Li etiquette is born and grows together with Chinese history and Chinese culture.
The emergence of rituals can be traced back to ancient times. First of all, it is the human need to coordinate the subjective and objective contradictions. The natural order of human relations is the most primitive driving force for the emergence of rituals. In order to survive and develop, people rely on each other and gradually accumulate and agree with nature on a series of "orders of human relations". This is the first ritual, and later there are "sages" such as Huangdi and others. Yao, Shun, Yu and others made rituals in order to "stop desires and control chaos" and set an example for the people, so that rituals played a role in "maintaining stability and controlling chaos". Because of this, people obeyed and respected rituals more. Secondly, rituals originated from primitive religious sacrificial activities. In ancient times, the level of social productivity was low, people's ability to understand nature was low, and they were unable to explain and conquer natural phenomena and natural forces. Therefore, people expanded their concepts about human souls to all things in nature that they came into contact with, thus giving rise to the concept of "animism" , began to use primitive religious rituals and other means to influence the gods, such as sacrifices, worship, prayers, etc., hoping to influence and influence the gods of nature with piety, so that they would bless more and reduce disasters, and primitive "rituals" came into being.
Combining the origins of culture and etiquette, etiquette can be summarized from the following aspects:
(1) The original meaning of etiquette is to worship gods, and later it was extended to the attitude that should be shown to show respect. That is, etiquette is first and foremost an attitude of respect and respect for others and oneself from the heart.
(2) Ceremony is a series of actions that externally express the inner attitude of respect. That is to express one's inner respect and respect for others and oneself through certain actions.
(3) Ritual is a procedure or ritual. Through a variety of rituals, it shows the respect, love and attention that the ceremony recipients have for others and themselves.
(4) Ritual is also an item used to express celebration or respect.
1. The origin of etiquette and its humanistic significance
China is commonly known as the country of etiquette and has attached great importance to the construction of etiquette culture since ancient times. The earliest origin of "ritual" is related to worshiping gods. "Book of Rites? Titles" says: "The rituals originated from Emperor Sui, and the names of rituals originated from Huangdi." Xu Shen said in "Shuowen Jiezi": "Etiquette means walking, so serving gods brings blessings." Ritual was originally a sacrificial ceremony in primitive society for worshiping gods, praying for blessings, and worshiping ancestors. It has a strong sense of mystery and awe. The solemn sacrificial ceremony makes the members of the clan tribe deeply feel that the individual will must obey the will of the whole. The individual and the clan tribe are inseparable. The individual must be absolutely loyal and obedient to the clan tribe, so as to achieve the goal of all members with strong spiritual deterrence and sense of unity. universal compulsory. At the same time, sacrificial rituals were integrated into the original social moral values ??and ethical relationships such as right and wrong, good and evil, and respect for elders and younger ones. They were integrated with ethics and morals from the beginning and had the function of integrating and regulating social life itself. This was later used in the "Shinto teachings" "The ritual and music system can be continuously consolidated and strengthened.
According to the "Guan Guan" in "The Book of Changes": "Zhongzheng observes the world. It observes the toilet but does not recommend it. If there is a furuo, it changes when it is observed down. It observes the divine way of the sky, but the four seasons are not indifferent. The sage established his teachings with Shinto, and the world obeyed him. "The "wash" here refers to the ceremony of toasting and pouring wine into the ground to subjugate the gods, and the sacrifice is based on this. According to the author's understanding of the Guan Gua, the common people saw the grand ceremony of the king holding a bath in the ancestral temple, and thus developed respect for Shinto. The ancestral temple worship is in line with the divine way of heaven, just like the natural order such as the cycle of the four seasons. The sage established the etiquette of worshiping heaven and worshiping ancestors, and manifested the divine way of heaven. The significance was to realize the enlightenment of humanity, so that the people of the world would obey it and maintain orderly rule.
This is a sacrificial ceremony that connects etiquette norms with folk customs and individual beliefs. Xunzi believed that although "Shinto teachings" include sacrifices to ghosts and gods, it is not centered on the belief in ghosts and gods. Sacrifice is about expressing feelings of longing, loyalty, love and respect, so he understands sacrifice as "humanity", and humanity is the basis of the activities of sacrificing ghosts and gods. Where humanistic significance lies. Sima Qian said: "When I was a great ceremonial officer, I observed the profits and losses of the three generations. I understood the relationship between people and made rituals, and made rituals based on human nature. The origin of this is still there." "Etiquette is the ultimate form of humanity." Shinto has never been divorced from humanity. Instead, it takes the humanistic spirit as its essential connotation. Therefore, "Shinto teachings" not only have the foundation of the way of heaven, but also have practical concerns of humanity. It is the promotion and expression of the humanistic spirit, and it is the overall construction of the etiquette culture that integrates the way of heaven, Shinto and humanity. Ritual is a way to convert Taoism into custom. The so-called cultural achievement in Chinese history was achieved through the etiquette system, which mainly focused on sacrifices. This is the inherent vitality of "Shinto teachings" and the fundamental reason why spiritual beliefs and ritual culture have always had strong internalization and integration capabilities in Chinese history. Spiritual beliefs are carried by the ritual and music system that is completely integrated with the customs and sentiments of the people. After the "collapse of rituals and music", spiritual beliefs will also "sleep and wander away". This is the humanistic connotation behind the form. All kinds of religious beliefs in ancient China are actually based on the profound etiquette culture and are an organic part of the etiquette culture as a whole. Without the main body of etiquette culture, the essential meaning of religious beliefs will have nowhere to be found, and ethics will be empty. Superstitious ghosts and gods
2. The purpose of traditional Chinese etiquette culture
The spiritual core of etiquette is human relations and ethical values, and etiquette is the establishment of order between people. Ritual originates from life, first manifests itself as a life ritual, and finally rises to the level of ethics and morality. Ancient family rituals include many daily behaviors and habits of children such as clothing, food, shelter, walking, standing, and sitting. They all have a set of etiquette standards and cannot be done casually. It is recorded in "The Rites of Zhou" that the Chinese culture at that time taught Chinese scholars the "Three Virtues" and "Three Elements". The "three virtues" are supreme virtue, quick virtue and filial piety. "Three lines" means "the first is filial piety, to care for one's parents; the second is to be friends, to respect the virtuous; the third is to act obediently, to serve teachers." In rural studies, seven human ethics are taught, including father and son, brothers, husband and wife, monarch and minister, elder and young, friend and guest. Confucius said: "If you don't learn etiquette, you can't stand up." Keeping etiquette and observing etiquette is the foundation of personal integrity. "Li" is mainly about the morality of personal cultivation, emphasizing inner sanctity, introspection and self-discipline. Confucius said: The skill of self-restraint is not to look at what is not propriety, not to hear what is not propriety, not to speak anything that is not propriety, and not to do anything that is not propriety. Control it from the outside to stabilize it from the inside, restrain yourself and restore propriety, and be sincere for a long time. Sight, hearing, speech and movement are specific human behaviors, which are restricted by etiquette and education, gradually internalized, and become conditioned over time. Only by continuously strengthening moral cultivation and behaving in a manner that is polite, courteous, and gentle can we have the demeanor of a "gentleman." The essence of etiquette is to guide individuals to realize the moral ideal personality of inner saint and outer king through continuous self-cultivation, introspection and self-discipline.
Confucius is the founder of Chinese etiquette culture. He believes that the basis of "ritual" is "love between parents and children" and the core of "benevolence" is "loving others". It communicates the natural emotional basis of "ritual" with the spiritual core of "benevolence", connects the externality of social norms with the internality of moral subjects, and transforms the compulsory nature of ritual and the consciousness of morality. possible. "Li" is the externalization of "benevolence", that is, the concretization and politicization of "benevolence". Etiquette requires abstinence and rationality, and control of instinctive desires. Ritual is a specific code of conduct, expressed as a set of institutional rituals, and has its own unique cultural characteristics. The core that governs this cultural system is the spirit of "benevolence". "Zuo Zhuan? The Twelfth Year of Zhaogong" quoted Zhongni as saying: "In ancient times, there was ambition, self-denial and restoration of etiquette, which is benevolence." Both etiquette and benevolence are about interpersonal relationships, etiquette is used to establish the order of people, and benevolence seeks people. Harmony with the world. Only by starting from yourself, establishing yourself and being self-denial can you reach the level of benevolence.
Chinese etiquette culture also emphasizes the complementarity of ritual and music. The so-called ritual music does not only refer to specific etiquette regulations, but also refers to the performance of morality and the hobby and interest in this performance. Because without emotional involvement, the internalization of morality is difficult to complete. In the pre-Qin period, school education offered courses on the “six arts” (ritual, music, archery, imperialism, calligraphy, and mathematics), with etiquette and music as the first priority, and the so-called strategy of “music is for internal cultivation, and etiquette is for external cultivation.” Webster's Dictionary defines politeness as "morality expressed in behavior." As the "Book of Music" says: Rituals are the order of heaven and earth, and music is the harmony of heaven and earth. Ritual is the establishment of order among people, and music symbolizes the harmony between people and the world.
"Han Shu? Yi Wen Zhi" said: "Confucius said: To govern the people in peace, one must not be good at etiquette; to change customs and music, the two go hand in hand." Connect etiquette and music to govern society.
3. The spiritual core of ritual is social order
(1) Ritual is the operationalization of "ritual"
Sociologists believe that ritual behavior is a social The performance of order is a means for society to construct humanistic relationships through self-reflection, and it plays an indispensable role in the consolidation of social structure. Anthropologist Alfred Radcliff-Brown showed through his observations of primitive tribes that religious rituals have the function of maintaining social unity and passing it on from generation to generation. If religion is defined as a system of beliefs and practices, then ritual is the most important aspect of religious activities, and religion needs the help of ritual to generate supernatural control. Ritual expresses some kind of extra-human divine power on which people rely, which is usually a "spiritual or moral power." Since ancient times, China has focused on achieving good moral education through various ritual activities. Any ritual has the same social and psychological function, giving people a sense of detachment, tranquility, comfort, intimacy, etc. "It provides a way for people to transcend the difficult secular life and achieve (in just a moment) their spiritual self-realm." "[1] (At the same time, ritual activities are also an important means to strengthen the social relations of a group. "It consolidates the norms of the group, provides moral sanctions for individual behavior, and provides the foundation for the balance of the body to depend on. *The same purposes and values ??provide the basis. "[1] The function of rituals is to root cultural values ??into real life and accumulate them into customs by creating systems and stipulating rituals.
(2) Ritual is magical. The power of ritual
Ritual activities have a magical power. Some people have the ability to achieve their desired goals through specific rituals, expressions, and words. Ritual activities seem very special. It's simple. As long as everyone follows the established procedures religiously, there is no need to argue or work hard, and the whole process will be done effortlessly, but the effect will be astonishing. He once discussed the existence of magic power in this. He said: "Those who rule without doing anything are like Shun? Why? Gongji is just facing south." This means that those who can rule by doing nothing must be regarded as Shun? What kind of effort did he make? He just faced the south respectfully! It's so simple, but if this is not the magic power, where does the magic power come from? Everyone involved played their role. Confucius and Xunzi seemed to have already understood the relationship between etiquette and social order. In their view, the entire social life was a huge, sacred etiquette.
( 3) The gist of ritual activities
Rituals are well-designed humanistic activities. When performing ritual activities, everyone has a set of rules for what to do and what to say, and everyone must do certain things according to specific procedures. The actions of all participants are sometimes unfolded in a silent language, and sometimes silent and vocal are combined to convey a certain spirit or meaning. Value. The procedures, positions, movements, clothing, and selection of sacrifices for various sacrificial activities in ancient China all have strict regulations, otherwise they will be regarded as taboos. The humanistic significance of the ceremony is not in the results, but in the process.
There are two conditions for ritual activities to have a magical impact: (1) Participants must be proficient in the ritual procedures so as not to be rigid; (2) Participants must be sincere and respectful . If it is skillful without piety, the whole thing will become superficial, mechanical, and formal. Confucius said, "It is better to be easy than to be skillful." It is better to have true feelings than to have smooth communication) "Sacrifice as if it were there, sacrifice to the gods as if the gods were there. I won't sacrifice, it would be as if the gods were not there." This shows that on the one hand, the face does not believe in the existence of ghosts and gods, otherwise there is no need to say "as if there"; on the other hand, On the one hand, he also exhorted others to treat gods as if they existed when worshiping gods. This would generate respect and increase the authority of the ritual, so that everyone would abide by it as a matter of course. The purpose of the ceremony is to strengthen the "true temperament" of the person who performs the ceremony. Therefore, if there is no sincerity, it is better not to perform the ceremony. The so-called "true nature" refers to the four good principles mentioned by Mencius: compassion is benevolence, shame and evil are righteousness, right and wrong are wisdom, and respect is propriety. These four psychological instincts must rely on salutes and constant reflection and self-consciousness to "broaden" the four principles. "And fill it up", become proficient and comfortable, and achieve self-discipline.
"True love" means the natural nature of love. Ritual has the dual functions of stimulating and restricting emotions. Sacrifice rituals are used to express respect; funeral rituals are used to express mourning; military rituals are used to express anger; guest rituals are used to express happiness; and honorifics are used to express happiness. Confucian etiquette requires a harmonious adjustment of external integrity and internal temperament. Without true temperament, etiquette is certainly a set of false things; but with only temperament and no appropriate form to express it, true feelings will also be limited.
Ritual activities require the use of various artistic means to have an impact on people's emotional world. Art relies on form, color, rhythm and rhythm to directly appeal to unconscious perception, produce non-specific psychological reactions, and touch people's whole body through irrational perception. Art first affects intuition and emotion, and this path is much shorter and more direct than rational perception. Therefore, Lozanov said: "Art is the most powerful suggestion." ① (P.794) As Hegel said: "Religions often use art to make us feel the truth of religion better, or use images to illustrate religious truth to facilitate imagination." ② (P.84) Various religions Ritual, either with the help of music, architecture, or symbols, creates a solemn and solemn atmosphere and empathizes with people's emotions. Ritual activities also need to use music, language or artistic tone matched with music to mobilize people's unconscious system and stimulate people's acceptability. Lozanov said: "Unconscious psychological tendencies, from the perspective of suggestion, can be understood as the degree of expectation, the inner and unconscious psychological preparation state for a certain type of activity." ①P.796) The impact of ritual activities on the environment or scene layout It is very particular, just as Buddhist temple halls integrate architecture, sculpture, painting and calligraphy to create a specific psychological atmosphere and guide people to produce a specific unconscious psychological tendency. Moreover, all people in the ritual activities do the same thing, coordinate and cooperate closely. This high degree of unity constitutes a strong group pressure, which guides people's herd mentality and causes people to have irrational control of obedience or conformity. Behavior.