The Division Of Sacrificial Rituals And The Evolution Of Tian-Di

This article explores the interaction between the rituals of heaven and earth and the changing conceptions of heaven and earth from the pre-Qin to the Western Jin dynasties,using the division of the rituals of heaven and earth as a clue.Chapter 1 deals with the emergence of the rituals of heaven and earth-the Xia,Shang and Zhou periods.The emergence and changes of the concept of heaven and earth as a cult of nature gods greatly contributed to the creation of the rituals of heaven and earth.As the concept of heaven and earth gradually philosophised,the rituals of heaven and earth were transformed from the primitive religious rituals of the Yin and Shang dynasties to the rituals and music of the Yin people during the Zhou dynasty.The concept of heaven and earth,which was still shaded by traditional religion during this period,dictated that the rituals of heaven and earth were divided into separate rituals.The second chapter covers the development of the rituals of heaven and earth-the period from the Spring and Autumn Period to the time of Emperor Wu.The development of the rites of heaven and earth during the Zhou dynasty lost its political dominance as the prestige of the Zhou emperor declined,giving rise to the unauthorised rites of the Spring and Autumn period,which laid the foundation for the recasting of state rites during the Qin dynasty.Under the influence of the five elements of yin and yang,which arose from the concept of heaven and earth,the Qin dynasty established a system of ritual sacrifice to heaven in the five domains of Yong,which was inherited by the early Western Han dynasty.By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty,the concept of the unification of heaven and earth established the rituals of heaven and earth and set up the Taiyi Houtu Shrine,which was the first time that the rituals of earth and heaven were offered in parallel.By this time,the rituals of heaven and earth were no longer as powerful as they had been during the Zhou dynasty,and had become a tool for the rulers to seek immortality as the concept of heaven and earth changed.The third chapter deals with the finalisation of the rituals of heaven and earth-the period from Wang Mang to the Western Jin.Influenced by the Confucian classics and prophetic theology,Wang Mang developed a new ritual for heaven and earth in accordance with the Rites of Zhou.He established a huge altar in the royal capital,fixed the rituals of heaven and earth in the northern and southern suburbs,and adopted a form of ritual that was both divided and combined.The Eastern Han dynasty inherited Wang Mang’s system of the northern and southern suburbs and adopted the attitude of "the king’s father serves the heavens",using the previous emperor’s empress as the ritual match for heaven and earth,basically setting the paradigm for the rituals of future dynasties.The Wei and Western Jin dynasties were influenced by the Zheng-Wang controversy,which centred on differences in the perception of heaven,i.e.whether the five emperors were to be worshipped as human emperors or as heavenly emperors,thus affecting the combined and separate rituals of heaven and earth.