Chapter 43 Lecture 57 Royal awe

The royal sacrifices of the Ming and Qing Dynasties formed a complete set of national altars and temples. The sacrifices are roughly divided into three categories: one is "Fengtian", such as offering sacrifices to heaven, earth, sun, moon, etc.; Xiandian, Confucian Temple, temple sacrifices of successive emperors, etc.; the third is "religion", such as offering sacrifices to Buddha and Taoism.Commonly known as "Nine Altars and Eight Temples". What does "nine altars and eight temples" refer to?There are different versions.One of them said that "Nine Altars" refers to the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of Earth, the Temple of the Sun, the Altar of the Moon, the Altar of Sheji, the Altar of Xiannong, the Altar of Xiancan, the Altar of Gods and the Altar of Taisui, and the "Eight Temples" refers to the Taimiao, the Temple of Confucianism, the Temple of Emperors of all dynasties. Temple, Tangzi, Lama Temple, Fengxian Hall, Chuanxin Hall and Shouhuang Hall.The sacrifices of these altars and temples were divided into three classes according to the etiquette system of the Qing Dynasty—thirteen major sacrifices, twelve middle sacrifices, and fifty-three group sacrifices, a total of seventy-eight sacrifices.The grand sacrifice is officiated by the emperor (or an official).The emperor personally offered sacrifices to heaven and earth, the ancestral temple, and the country (or sent officials to offer sacrifices), etc. Others either offered sacrifices in person or sent officials.For example, offering sacrifices to Xiannong was originally a middle sacrifice, but Emperor Yongzheng reigned for 13 years and personally sacrificed 12 times.

There are too many seventy-eight sacrifices in the "Nine Altars and Eight Temples", so I will focus on "Left Patriarch and Right Society" and "Left Heaven and Right Earth" on the central axis. "Zuozu" is the Taimiao (now Beijing Working People's Cultural Palace) where the emperor's ancestors were worshipped in front of the palace.The front hall and the back of the Taimiao sleep, with two verandahs on the wings and a yellow glazed tile roof.There are five sacrificial offerings in four seasons, Mengyue (the first month of each season) and the end of the year.An emperor's family temple, Fengxian Hall, was also built in the palace.In front of the Fengxian Hall is the main hall, with double eaves and yellow glazed tiles on the roof, and the back is the sleeping hall. The middle is connected by a corridor, which is in the shape of "工", and is located on the white marble Xumi seat.The emperor had to go to the Fengxian Hall to hold the sacrificial ceremonies for the first lunar month, longevity, New Year's Day, winter solstice, and national celebrations.

The items offered in the family temple are different from month to month and from day to day. The so-called "recommend new items every month, offer daily offerings", and they are all fresh and high-quality food.The family temples of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties recommend new items every month: The first month: leek, lettuce, shepherd's purse, chicken, duck (Ming Dynasty) Carp, green leeks, duck eggs (Qing Dynasty) February: celery, moss, Artemisia betel, and goose (Ming Dynasty) Lettuce, spinach, spring onion, celery flower, mandarin fish (Qing Dynasty) March: Carp (Ming Dynasty)

Cucumber, wormwood, Yuntai vegetable, chrysanthemum chrysanthemum, and water radish (Qing Dynasty) April: Cherry, apricot, green plum, king melon, pheasant (Ming Dynasty) Cherry, Eggplant, Chicken (Qing Dynasty) May: peaches, plums, eggplants, wheat, tender chicken (Ming Dynasty) Apricot, plum, bracken, fragrant melon seeds, goose peach, mulberry (Qing Dynasty) June: lotus pods, melons, watermelons, winter melons (Ming Dynasty) Du pear, watermelon, grape, apple (Qing Dynasty) July: Jujubes, grapes, pears, fresh water chestnuts, Gorgon fruit (Ming Dynasty) Pears, lotus seeds, hazelnuts, lotus root, pheasant (Qing Dynasty)

August: lotus root, wild rice stem, tender ginger, japonica rice, corn (Ming Dynasty) Yam, Chestnut, Wild Duck (Qing Dynasty) September: Oranges, chestnuts, red beans, sugar, fish (Ming Dynasty) Persimmon and wild goose (Qing Dynasty) October: Tangerine, Tangerine, Yam, Rabbit, Honey (Ming Dynasty) Pine nuts, soft dates, mushrooms, fungus (Qing Dynasty) Dongyue: deer, geese, buckwheat noodles, red beans, sugar (Ming Dynasty) Whitebait and Venison (Qing Dynasty) Twelfth lunar month spinach, mustard greens, crucian carp, white fish (Ming Dynasty) Polygonum sprouts, mung bean sprouts, rabbit, sturgeon fish (Qing Dynasty)

"Youshe" is the Sheji Altar (now Zhongshan Park) where the land and grains are sacrificed in front of Gongyou.The Sheji Altar worships the land and the five grains.The center of the Sheji Altar is five-color soil—yellow in the middle, green in the east, red in the south, white in the west, and black in the north.I don’t know why when I was young, but when I was older, I knew the theory of the five elements, and when I was older, I saw: the land in the Central Plains of the Yellow River is yellow, the land in the east is green, the land in Yunnan and Guizhou in the south is red, the land in Heilongjiang in the north is black, and what about the west?I went to the Yili River to investigate and saw that the land was white.Therefore, the five-color soil on the Sheji Altar is the epitome and symbol of the colors of the five directions of the land of China.

"Zuotian" is the Temple of Heaven on the left side of the southern end of the central axis.Ten miles around the Temple of Heaven, the main buildings include the Circular Mound, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Zhai Palace.I remember one time I had a conversation with several French professors, and I asked: What do you think is the best place in Beijing?Their common answer is: the Circular Mound of the Temple of Heaven and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.Later, I asked my Chinese and foreign friends for verification, and they got the same answer.The Temple of Heaven is the essence of Chinese traditional culture in terms of its architectural art and philosophy.

The "right place" is the Xiannongtan (now the Beijing Museum of Ancient Architecture) corresponding to the southern end of the central axis and the Temple of Heaven.Six miles around Xiannongtan, the main buildings include Taisui Hall, Xiannongtan, Guangengtai and so on.The one-acre and three-point land in Xiannongtan is the emperor's own farmland.The emperor borrowed gifts for farming, expressing his importance to agriculture. In ancient my country, "the country is based on the people, and the people depend on food."Under the sky and above the land, farmers work hard and grow five grains, so they need "five respects" - respect for the sky, respect for the land, respect for the five grains, respect for the ancestors, and respect for the ancestors.This is a concentrated expression of the awe of farming civilization.

Sacrifice must be respectful and sincere.Once, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was ill, and Emperor Kangxi went to Baita Temple to offer incense.Before leaving the palace, it was raining heavily, so please wait until the rain is light.Emperor Kangxi said, "Because the Holy Grandmother occasionally violated the peace, I am deeply worried." To show his sincerity and respect, he braved the rain. (Volume 122 of "Records of the Holy Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty") Emperor Qianlong blamed himself when he worshiped: "The crime does not lie with the officials or the people, and the sin of the real ministers is getting worse."Emperor Qianlong may have different words and deeds, but it is better than pretending to be wrong.

The royal family is in awe, and the etiquette system is complete.In terms of religious sacrifices, the main ones are Buddha and Taoism.