A Study On Heaven Sacrifice Recorded In Rites Of Zhou

Based on in-depth research into the events of Heaven Sacrifice recorded in Rites of Zhou, the paper focuses on eight subjects related to Heaven Sacrifice—objects of sacrifice, times for sacrifice, places for sacrifice, jade for sacrifice, sacrifice offerings, costumes for sacrifice, methods of sacrificeping and music and dance for sacrifice(short for eight special subjects). In the pater, efforts are concentrated on three aspects:1) explaining in details what the eight special subjects were by verifying and analyzing them based on the documents in Rites of Zhou and other references and archaeological materials;2) explaining in turn why, with great emphasis on further investigation into times for sacrifice, the animal patterns of tiger, wei, and dragon on costume and music and dance for sacrifice;3) expounding the political significance embodied in Heaven Sacrifice. The paper is composed of the following five chapters.Chapter One is centered on the verifying of sacrificeed deities recorded in Rites of Zhou, such as, Haotianshangdi(昊天上帝), Five Emperors, the Sun, the Moon, Xingchen(星辰), Sizhong(司中), Siming(司命), Wind Master and Rain Master. Among them, Haotianshangdi is the combination of Haotian and the God. The former refers to Heaven of Nature, including celestial bodies, like the sun and the moon, while the latter means Ganshengdi(感生帝),originating from the sacrifice of the Sun. Five Emperors is a general term with no specification. In fact, Xingchen is divided into two parts, that is, Xing(星)—the five stars Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury and Saturn, and Chen(辰)—the twelve times when the Sun and the Moon meet. Sizhong and Siming represent the four stars close to Wenchang Palace or the fifth and fourth stars inside it. As for Wind Master and Rain Master, they were brought into being out of the ancients’ sacrifice of wind and rain.Chapter Two revolves around the research into times and places for Heaven Sacrifice. As for the former, Haotian Sacrifice took place on Winter Solstice, Sacrifice of the God on the Shangxinri(上辛日)in January of calendar of Xia Dynasty, Sacrifice of Five Emperors on Beginning of Spring, Beginning of Summer, Beginning of Autumn, Beginning of Winter and in June of late summer, Sacrifice of the Sun and Sacrifice of the Moon respectively on the Spring Equinox and the Autumnal Equinox, and Sacrifice of Xing, Chen, Sizhong, Siming, Wind Master and Rain Master on the Summer Solstice, just after Sacrifice of Diqi(地祇). When it comes to the latter, Haotian Sacrifice and Sacrifice of the God were conducted in southern suburbs, Sacrifice of Five Emperors in suburbs, Sacrifice of the Sun and Sacrifice of the Moon respectively in eastern and western suburbs, Sacrifice of Xing and Chen in suburbs, Sacrifice of Sizhong and Siming in southern suburbs, and Sacrifice of Wind Master and Sacrifice of Rain Master respectively in western and northern suburbs.Chapter Three is focused on the research into jade for sacrifice, sacrifice offerings, costumes for sacrifice. First, pale round jade was used for Haotian Sacrifice, Siguiyoudi(四圭有邸之玉)for Sacrifice of the God, Qinggui(�'圭),Chizhang(赤�'�),Baihu(白琥) and Xuanhuang(玄�'�)for Sacrifice of Five Emperors, Yiguizhibi(一圭之�'�)for Sacrifice of the Sun, the Moon, Xing, Chen, Sizhong, Siming, Wind Master and Rain Master. Second, intact-shaped and pure-colored cattle served as sacrifice offerings for Heaven Sacrifice:cattle with the same color as the chosen jade were required for Sacrifice of Haotian and Five Emperors, red cattle for Sacrifice of theGod. Besides, there were strict regulations on where the desired cattle came from and how they had been raised. Last but not least, special costumes were required for Heaven Sacrifice. During the sacrifice, the King was supposed to wear Dagui(大圭)and Zhengui(镇圭),with the jade contained in Saoji(缫藉).Also, the King would wear the crown while sacrificeing Haotian, the God, Five Emperors, Sizhong, Siming, Wind Master and Rain Master. In addition, during the sacrifice of Haotian, the God and Five Emperors, the King would be dressed in black Qiuyi(裘衣) and Gunyi(衮衣)patterned with the sun, the moon, starts, mountains, dragons, huachong(华虫), tigers, wei(蜼), algae, fire, fenmi(（粉米),fu((?)), fu((?)) and so on. As for the other sacrifices, the King would wear qingqu(�'裘) and xuanyixunshang(玄衣愿裳).What’s more, the costumes for Heaven Sacrifice have something to do with the numbers Five and Twelve.The focus of Chapter Four is on the research into the sacrificeping methods and the chosen music and dance. First, in Yinsi(裎祀),smoke was made rise into the sky to convey absolute sincerity, in Shichai(实柴),sacrifice offerings and bibo(币帛) were set in flames on burning wood, and in Youliao(槱燎),wood was piled up and set on fire. In fact, what specific methods were applied depended on the objects of sacrifice. During the sacrifice of Haotian and the God, burning wood, rising smoke and moving music were used to guide the God; sacrifice offerings were set in flames to xinshen(歆神);rare jade was offered to entertain the God. During the sacrifice of the Sun, the Moon, Xing, Chen, sacrifice offerings and bibo were set in flames on burning wood. Meanwhile the difference of sacrificeping methods existed in Heaven sacrifice. Between the sacrifice of Sizhong and Siming, mainly by setting sacrifice offerings and offering jade, the sacrifice of Wind Master, mainly by killing the cattle and spreading the blood, and the sacrifice of Rain Master, mainly by setting wood on fire. Second, the music and dance performed for the sacrifice of Haotian, pentatonic scales of gong(Do), shang(Re), jue(Mi), zhi(Sol), and yu(La) mix into four tones of gong(宫), jue(�'),zhi(徵), and yu(羽). The deity was guided down by jinzou(金奏)and shengge(升歌),and entertained by dance in the music, Yunmen (《云门》)in particular. Jinzou for the sacrifice of the God, Five Emperors, the Sun, the Moon, Xing and Chen was to start with and end with huangzhongzhigong(黄�'�之宫),while shengge with dalvzhigong(大吕之宫),accompanied by Dance of Yunmen. As for the sacrifice of Sizhong, Siming, Wind Master and Rain Master, jinzou would start with and end with guxizhigong(姑洗之宫),while shengge with nanlvzhigong(南吕之宫),accompanied by Dance of Dashao(《大韶》).Chapter Five is centered on the research into and analysis of the following four aspects:First, further research into shangxinri—the time for the sacrifice of the God, the character "xin(^)" carried two original meanings—one the misery of ripening, or ending and the other the happiness of rebirth, during the growth of plants. That was why the sacrifice of the God was conducted on xinri(辛日) to pray for a good harvest. Second, further research into creature patterns on the costumes, such as tigers, wei and dragons, which were said to help the wizards to communicate with the Heaven. That was why they appeared on the costumes for sacrifices—to bring a link between the King and the deities. Third, after consulting relevant references, it is believed that the playing of the music Yunmen was closely related to witchcraft, through which creatures could be driven at will. Besides, while performing the dance of Yunmen, the performers danced, drums and wind instruments in hand. Finally, the political significance embodied in Heaven Sacrifice is pointed out:by highlighting the sacred rules and regulations to follow in Heaven Sacrifice, the King intended to stress social ethics and family ethics and in turn strengthen his rule over his country.