A Research On North Song Southern-suburb Etiquette System Reformation In The Yuanfeng Period

The Yuanfeng Southern-suburb etiquette system reformation was processing under certain academicand political background. With emerging social questions, the traditional Confucian classics seem to beinadaptable to this situation, therefore, until middle of North Song dynasty, there tended to be a trend interms of the revival of Confucianism, which is to break the rigidity of traditional Confucianism, directlydiscuss philosophical connotations from Confucian classics, this movement leaded to surging of variousthoughts and genres in this period. However, the authority government needed to end this diverse orconfused situation in order to unify the academic thoughts. Meanwhile, North Song was co-existing withboth Liao and West Xia, this irritated Confucians in Song Dynasty to form a orthodox Yi Xia concept atthat time. Based on this surroundings, North Song seem it was an obligation that preserving its orthodoxposition in policy by leveraging its advantage in culture. It was an obligation for reforming southern-suburbetiquette for southern-suburb heaven worship was carrying the destiny return to the legal basis andstandardization. At the first year of Yuanfeng, the Song Shenzong set up institution which was namedSuburban veneration ceremony to implemented the detail reformation, and appointed officials such as,Xiang Chen, Dian Lu, to carry out this six-years reformation. This reformation was based on Confucianclassics to construct a rational, monarchic orientation hierarchical political system by usingsouthern-suburb etiquette and ‘Zhongjun’ as a main line. This etiquette system reflected in specific rituals.Ceremony officials mainly complied with ‘Zhou Yi’,‘Li Ji’,‘Yi Ji’, to established a hierarchical politicalsystem by refined part of southern-urban etiquette which were not obeying by the hierarchical system,eliminated Kanqi ceremony, alternated positioned system at the worship, claimed burning the wood before the séance, and burnt then bury the livestock and money after the worship, abolished the churchgoer duringthe forewarning the god, making the Nanbi before the dedicated Okimichi for the Emperor, changing waysof using Large Gui and Zhen Gui, abandoned sub-contribution, final contribution with drinking alcohol forlucky together with military commander’s dinging and dedicating flesh for lucky during services ofrelevant officials. The reformation of Yuanfeng etiquette system and its based ceremony had a profoundinfluence on the end of North Song Dynasty’s etiquette system, to some extent, the regent period of SongZhenzong and Song Huizong inherited Yuanfeng newly built ritual system.