A Study On The Ceremonial Language Of Oath In Pre-Qin

The trothing custom was a very important ritual in pre-Qin Dynasty which was mainly divided into trothing custom,the lawsuit,take a mass pledge and swearing of individual.In the process of trothing,the oath often was written down which is called the ceremonial language of oath.The trothing custom was based on religion and sincerity.With the ideology of " pay attention to the human rights and despise God power",the utilitarian heart of people expend gradually.Finally,this ritual gone downhill in the Warring States,and disappeared between Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty.At the same time,the ceremony of trothing custom was unknown in Han Dynasty.The ceremonial language of oath was due to being written on the bamboo,and then was spread through recording and polishing.Consequently,the ceremonial language of oath was regarded as literary works.But,awkwardly,the lack of literary aesthetic made it neglected in the field of literature,giving rise to a very embarrassing situation.This article intends to explore the ceremonial language of oath in the pre-Qin which consists of four chapters:The first chapter mainly discriminates the concept of ceremonial speech,alliance and vow.And the second,the third,and the fourth chapter are the focus of this article which discuss the trothing custom,swearing before going to war,and other forms of the vow such as lawsuit,private oath and so on.