Tang And Song Dynasties December Day Festival

Lari Festival was a traditional festival in China,and it originated very early.Many scholars think that Lari Festival is Laba Festival,in fact they are different.It is necessary to discuss their differences and relations.This paper has mainly studied the custom of Lari Festival in Tang and Song Dynasties and the reasons for it declining gradually and withdrawing from the historical stage after this period.Chapter one has mainly elaborated the research status of our country's Lari Festival.It evaluated objectively on previous achievements,including their achievements and shortcomings. Previous studies have been focused on the origin of the Lari festival and the custom in Qin-Han Dynasties.They seldomly discussed the Lari Festival in Tang and Song Dynasties.So I hope to make thorough discussion on the basis of the previous research achievements.Chapter two has mainly traced to the source of the Lari Festival.It originated from "YiQiShi".The "Zha" and the "La" were different sacrificial offerings in Pre-Qin period,and they were still different in official after Qin-Han period.However they tended to be synthesized into one fete in fork.This chapter also emphatically elaborated the date of the Lari Festival on the basis of historical materials.Chapter three has mainly elaborated the Royal government's sacrificial activities.It included four sacrificial offerings:Firstly, the "Zha" offered a sacrifice to hundred gods.It discussed from the aspects of sacrificial gods,date,the system of sacrificial altar,sacrifices arid music.Secondly,the "La" sacrificed ancestral temple,which including the history of sacrificing ancestral temple and suspending sacrificing ancestral temple.Thirdly,it sacrificed the "QiSi".The kings in the Zhou Dynasty sacrificed "WuSi" in the Lari.They were the Door,the Hu,the ZhongLiu,the Stove and the Xing.The later dynasties also followed the Rites of Zhou and sacrificed the "WuSi".But the Emperor sacrificed the "QiSi" in the Lari in Tang-Song.Finally,it sacrificed the god of the land and the god of grain.It has had the seeds for sacrificing them in Pre-Qin period,but they were officially sacrificed untill Han Gao Zu period.The fork also sacrificed them in Han Danasty.However,the fork mainly sacrificed them in the Sheri other than in the Lari in Tang-Song Danasties.Chapter four mainly elaborated other activities in the Lari Festival.The Lari Festival in Tang and Song Danasties has inherited the custom in Qin and Han Dynasties,such as hunting and granting.In addition,it also has added some new content,for example rewarding medicine and the next year's calendar.It also had its own unique festival food.The folk also had the custom of making wine and husking rice.Chapter five mainly discussed the characteristics and reasons for it declining gradually in Tang-Song Danasties.It had its own characteristics:rich in content,strong etiquette,legalization, concurrence of the Lari Festival and the Laba Festival and sacrificing the"QiSi",etc.This chapter has analyzed the reasons for declining of the Lari Featival from four aspects:Firstly,it was its own reasons.Secondly,other festivals has scattered its functions,making it become no substance.Tirdly,it was used by Buddhism.Buddhism established the Laba Festival which crowded out the Lari Festival.Finally,the country became less and less concerned about it,which accelerated the process of its declining.In summary,the Lari Festival and the Laba Festival are different festivals.With the flourishing of the Laba Festival,the Lari Festival has withdrewed from the historical stage,which made us only know the Laba Festival or Jumble them together.It was due to the combined effect of internal and external for the withdrawal of the Lari Festival.Today,our traditional festival are facing dwindling situation and less taken seriously.In particular,South Korea succeed in applying for "Dragon Boat Festival",which made us ponder.I hope that it can inspire us by discussing the reasons for the Lari Festival's declining.So that our traditional festivals enable to be protected and expanded.