Research On Gao Mei In The Pre-Qin Period

Gao Mei is the oldest fertility god in the ancient China. People in the Chinese past dynasties inherited the tradition of attending Gao Mei Sacrificial Ceremony which formed in the pre-Qin period. The emperor, empresses and imperial concubines would go to worship the God Gao Mei to pray for having children in the early spring, and also they will go to appreciate the God if the princes were born. The royal Gao Mei sacrificial ceremony, widespread folk fertility god belief and all kinds of customs praying for having children can be traced back to Gao Mei in the pre-Qin period. The records of Gao Mei starts from ancient books Book of Rites · Yue Ling, and the later scholars have many different explanations to Gao Mei in the pre-Qin period. The recent scholars Guo Moruo, Wen Yiduo, Chen Mengjia and et al have made great breakthrough to the interpretations of Gao Mei. In recent years, the research on Gao Mei has become a hotspot, however, many problems are still not solved till now. Thus, it is a job of great significance to do researches on Gao Mei, especially the original Gao Mei in the pre-Qin period, and it will be of great advantage to understand the sacrificial culture in the ancient China and the traditional birth culture.This paper will explain Gao Mei as the "Mother Gao", which means the progenitress and the worship. The original Gao Mei was born from the worship of female ancestors status and the fertility ability in matriarchal clan society. Later the male Gao Mei has started to take central stage and gradually replace the leading role of female Gao Mei when the society entered into the patriarchal society. The development track of Gao Mei in the pre-Qin period can be divided into totemism period (pre-Gao Mei Form), Mother Gao worship period (Original Gao Mei Form), deceased mother and male Gao Mei worship period (Gao Mei Form). The form of original Gao Mei has the dissipated features, and its form and content are closely related to the She sacrificial ceremony. The evolutive Gao Mei sacrificial ceremony in the later dynasties has been inherited since entering the Jiao sacrificial system.