A Study On The Sacrifice Of MuYeShan And The Strengthening Of Imperial Power In The Early Liao Dynasty

In Liao Dynasty,MuYeShan was frequently sacrificed because it was regarded as the source of Khitan.Offering sacrifices to MuYeShan includes offering sacrifices to mountain gods,heaven and ancestors and so on.When A Baoji Khan suppressed the third rebellion of his brothers,he shot ghost arrows to pray for the blessing and weariness of MuYeShan and the protection of MuYeShan God.After Yelv A Baoji became emperor,the sacrifice of MuYeShan was gradually formalized and the sacrificial ceremony was further improved.During the war of A Baoji's expedition in BoHai,he used the sacrifice of MuYe Shan to inspire morale and rally peoples' hearts.By offering sacrifices to MuYeShan,A Baoji strengthened the imperial rule.During the period of Emperor Taizong of Liao Dynasty,due to the influence of Buddhism,the primitive worship culture of Khitan society also changed.Emperor Yelv De guang of Taizong changed the sacrificial rites,increased the sacrificial rites of godness Guanyin,held both the sacrificial rites of MuYeShan and the sacrificial rites of godness Guanyin,and the sacrificial rites of MuYeShan was endowed with more sacrificial contents.In the early days of Taizong,the MuYeShan sacrifice and the activities of ancestor worship took place happened one after another.After the eighth year of Tianxian reign(933),the route and frequency of the sacrifice activities in MuYeShan was obviously different from that in the early days of Taizong's accession.The function of strengthening the imperial power of MuYeShan sacrificial activities was weakened.The sacrificial activities of MuYeShan were closely related to the activities of Emperor Taizong's NaBo.From the Shizong Dynasty to the emperor Tianzuo period,the ritual activities of MuYeShan had formed a fixed form of etiquette.The frequency of sacrifice in MuYeShan is less than that of the previous emperors in Liao Dynasty,most of which are accompanied by the ritual rites such as Chai Ce ceremony,Regeneration ceremony and SeSe ceremony.The political function of sacrifice in MuYeShan was gradually weakened,and it was a kind of "courtesy" behavior in more cases.