| The state sacrifices in Han Dynasty originate from the institution of Qin,are the foundation of the state sacrifices of future dynasty.During Han Dynasty,not only the system of state sacrifices has undergone significant changes,emperor’s status and officials’ duty in state sacrifices have been important adjustments.The local state sacrifices in Latter Han are sacrificed by local officials,rather than emperor’s messengers,who are the executor in Qin and western Han.This change leads to a new regulation of sacrificing local deities,which includes some new rules and some traditional influence from Qin.However,this new regulation has not been fully followed in practice.Generally,sacrificial affairs are engaged by local officials’subordinate,which should be engaged by local officials according to the regulation.The funds issued by emperor are always not enough,so the county where rituals are held is required to provide some supplies.In terms of the time of sacrifices,it is more inclined to Confucianism,rather than the institution of Qin.In addition,many local temple buildings for state sacrifices continued to be improved in Latter Han,gradually developing from only mandalas to the embryonic form of temples of later ages,which provided the possibility for the connection between local national sacrifices and folk prayers.There are limited number of geographic deities in the Yuanshi System.With the restore of national power and the development of ritual system,Zhang Emperor in Latter Han proposes to sacrifice more mountains and rivers.In the late decades of Han,in pursuit of self-benefit,wizards of Yuanshi County apply to the imperial court for sacrificing to mountains in Yuanshi County.Once the applications being approved,it means that these mountains become a part of state sacrifices.The magistrate of Changshan Kingdom should check the application,and submit to Taichang.If Taichang agrees,he will submit it to emperor.Originally,the sacrifice to Emperor Yao belong to the royal temple,but it become a public temple after Zhongding’s application.Zhongding’s clan actively participate in the construction of Emperor Yao temple,and undertake the construction of the temple of Yao’s mother.After that,the temple of Emperor Yao not only is the place for daily prayer of Zhong clan,but also a way for Zhong clan to contact the local governors.The administrative processes of the addition of state sacrifices look similar.Actually,every process has its own motivation.Overall,the development of the local state sacrifices in Latter Han is the result of interaction between state and local society. |
