A Study On The Oracle Of Praying For Rain In Shang Dynasty

Rain-praying is an important sacrificial activity in ancient times and of great significance for discussing the power of sovereign,political system and social customs in ancient times.Therefore,the analysis on praying for rain is also an essential topic in the study of ancient history.The common rites and customs of praying for rain can be all originated from the oracle of praying for rain in Shang Dynasty.Therefore,it is of great significance to analyze the activities of praying for rain in Shang Dynasty for understanding the significance of praying for rain in ancient China.After the preliminary arrangements of the Oracle for praying for rain,there are 36 sacrificial verbs in the Oracle for praying for rain.According to the form of rituals,these verbs can divide into seven categories:praying,music and dance,Slaughtering,burning,sacrificial,Dionysus and other.Through the taxonomic analysis of praying for rain,we can find some interesting characteristics:first,the music and dance type of praying for rain gradually declined;secondly,the wine rit.ual gradually increased;thirdly,there is almost no praying for rain in the group and vellow class;fourthly,similar activities can be noted in the Zi Bu Ci as in Wang Bu CiLThe subject of rain-praying can be classified as ancestors,proximal ancestors,former kings,natural gods,ancestor ministers and others require further examinations.We notice that the subject of Shang people's sacrificesfor rain is various,which reflects the polytheism of the religion of Shang Dynasty.In addition,the ancestor gods in Shang religious system were closely related to nature and owned the power to dominate over nature.Some of them might even evolve from natural gods.Thus,"river"and"mouatin"may have a composite deity.The sacrifices in the oracle of praying for rain can be divided into two types:human beings and animals.Human sacrifice includes Xi,Qiang and the sacrifice of wizards.Animal sacrifice includes four major categories:sheep,cattle,pigs and dogs.The location for hosting the rain-praying can be divided into ritual architectures,hunting fields,feudal lands and tributaries.It shows that the activities of praying for rain involved all scopes of the dynasty.This can enhance our understanding of the operation of the early state from the perspective of religious sacrifice.The Oracle of praying for rain has a close connection with the society of Shang Dynasty,which is mainly reflected in its articulation with agriculture,politics and culture.The activities of praying for rain of were closely related to agricultural production.One is that people irrigated crops by praying for rain,the other is that merchants made fertilizers based on t.his.The political t.rait of rain-praying is embodied in how Shang dynasty controlled its dependent states in holding rain-praying ceremonies,which was essentially a declaration of the sanctity of Shang's authority.This shows that Shang's dominance to other states is not only manifested in politics,military,economy,but also,to some degree,in ideology—revealed by religious sacrifices.Moreover,In the rain-praying activities of the Shang Dynasty,"witchcraft"and sacrifice"are difficult to be clearly distinguished.The"preistation of wizards",the"witchcraft of rituals"and the close blood relations among the subjects altogether represent the primitive religious traits of Shang's rain-praying activities.