Chapter 5 The third military salute

Military salute refers to ceremonies related to military activities. "Zhou Ri Chun Guan Da Zong Bo" summarizes the composition of military rites: "The rite of the master is to use the crowd; ; The ceremony of the big seal, the public also." According to the records of this passage, the military salute of the etiquette system is composed of five specific rituals.The ceremony of the great master refers to the ceremony of conquering with troops; the ceremony of the Great Jun refers to the ceremony of allocating land and collecting taxes; the ceremony of the Datian refers to the ceremony of field hunting; The gift of sealing the land.The four ceremonies of Dajun, Datian, Dayong, and Dafeng in military salutes seem to have nothing to do with military activities from the perspective of the scope of use.In fact, in ancient China, whenever there were major activities in the country, such as land distribution, tax collection and escort, and large-scale civil engineering construction, the army must be used to ensure the normal execution of laws and regulations. these manners.However, no matter how the military salute is divided, its basic content mainly includes the etiquette of military activities such as reviewing, using troops, and field hunting.

Since the beginning of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, no matter whether the emperor is going on an expedition, patrolling, hunting, or building a city, as long as he uses the army, he must first sacrifice to the gods. · Book of Rites").It is a kind of sacrificial etiquette for the ancient army to pray to the gods and bless the great victory before going out to the army.The sacrifice is mainly held in the place where the god of the earth is worshipped, because the ancients believed that the god "she" was in charge of killing and all things in the underworld.There are many things involved in the sacrifice, the most important of which is the sacrifice of teeth, that is, the flag sacrifice ceremony held before the dispatch of troops.Tooth, refers to the tooth flag.In ancient times, when the army was marching and fighting, the large banner leading in front of the team or in front of the battle was called the tooth flag, and the flag sacrifice ceremony was actually to use the tooth flag to worship the gods.If the army is ordered to conquer, Chiyou and Huangdi will be the gods to be sacrificed.Chi You is the legendary leader of the Jiuli tribe in the East in ancient times. He is good at making weapons with gold (referring to metals such as copper) and can call wind and rain. The Yellow Emperor is also the legendary leader of the tribe in the Central Plains. Yandi and Chiyou, the leaders of another powerful tribe, are regarded as the ancestors of all tribes in the Central Plains.When holding the tooth-throwing ceremony, the two gods Chi You and Huangdi should also be sacrificed to the place where the troops will be dispatched to conquer, but generally Chi You is the Lord.This ritual is also called recommending gods, that is, when offering sacrifices, sheep or pigs are also offered to Chi You, praying for his support and help.

On the way to the expedition, if you encounter famous mountains and rivers, you should pay homage to them.This is because the ancients believed that gods are everywhere, and there are mountain gods in every mountain, and the same is true for rivers.Therefore, when you travel to mountains and rivers, you perform sacrifices, the purpose is to please the gods and seek peace.When sacrificing to the God of Mountains and Rivers, the troops lined up, the band played military music, and the chief offered arrows and sacrifices to the mountains and rivers, while divination for the upcoming battle. If it is ordered to go out, the temple tablet (that is, the tablet placed in the Taimiao) of the first master (the deceased father of the reigning emperor) is often placed on a special car and travels with the army; or coins, silk, leather, Gui was carried on the car and regarded as the god who accompanied the army, and he had to pay homage every night.When returning from the expedition, the battle situation must be reported to the gods.It can be seen that in the ancient military rites, there is a strong superstitious element, and everything is connected with the gods. Therefore, in the ceremonies of military activities, ceremonies similar to sacrifices are often used.

The flag in the ancient army is not only an important part of military salute, but also plays an extremely important role in combat.The commander-in-chief or general of the army often changes the flag to command and mobilize the army to deploy or advance and retreat, so as to adjust the deployment of the battle situation.Therefore, there are many types of military flags in ancient times, and their uses are also different.When the ancients went out to war, the tooth flag was the core of the army. At the same time, there was a big flag with animal patterns such as birds and beasts on the front, back, left, and right of the army: the red bird (also known as the red bird) flag in the front, and the Yuan Yuan flag in the back. Wu (also known as Xuanwu) Banner, Qinglong Banner on the left, and White Tiger Banner on the right.A swagger star is also painted on each flag.Zhu bird, Yuan Wu, Qinglong, and white tiger are the gods of the four directions in ancient myths and legends. Therefore, the ancients often used these four birds and beasts as symbols of the four directions of south, north, east, and west.Tang Taizong Li Shimin ascended to the throne through the "Xuanwumen Change" and became a generation of Mingjun.Xuanwu Gate is the north gate of the palace city of Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi).Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (now part of Henan), had Zhuque Gate and Zhuque Street, which were the gate to the south of the city and its main street.In addition, the colors of these four kinds of birds and beasts are often used to indicate directions, as is the case with the five-color soil in the Sheji Altar.As for the Zhaoyao star, it is actually a star in the Big Dipper, located at the end of the spoon, and the ancients believed that it had the power to control the direction.The four beast flags play a role in marking the position and lineup of the army in the army, and also show the military might.In addition, in the marching army, there are some flags painted with other birds and beasts, each with its own special purpose.If you encounter rivers and lakes in front of you during the march, you should raise the blue bird flag; if there is dust (referring to strong wind) in front of you, you should raise the kite (Yuan Yuan, eagle) flag; Wild goose) flag; if encountering the enemy, raise the tiger skin flag; if fighting the enemy ahead, raise the pixiu (pixiu skin Xiu, a legendary beast) flag.Raising different flags means that special situations are encountered in front of the march, as a warning to remind the troops behind to prepare for the situation as soon as possible, and actually play the role of transmitting messages and commanding actions.Therefore, the role of the military flag in ancient wars is very important, and the orders of the commander are mostly issued through it, so it often becomes the core of military activities and represents the army.Therefore, when the ancient armies acted and fought, they often waved their flags.

Whether the military flag is neat or not also reflects the style and appearance of the army and the status of the lineup.When the two armies are at war, they often decide their own actions by observing the opponent's flag.In 684 BC, Duke Huan of Qi State sent troops to crusade against Lu State, and the two sides broke out a famous battle in the history of Spring and Autumn—the Battle of Changshao (now northeast of Laiwu, Shandong).Before the war, Cao GUI [guigui], a doctor of the State of Lu, offered advice to Duke Zhuang of Lu and asked to join the war.Duke Zhuang of Lu agreed to his request and asked him to ride in the same car with him and go to the front line to command the battle.At the beginning of the battle, Duke Zhuang of Lu was about to beat the drums to order the soldiers to attack, but was discouraged by Cao GUI.It was not until the Qi army beat the drum three times, that is, launched three charges, that Cao GUI agreed with the Lu army to beat the drum and launch a counterattack against the Qi army.As a result, the Qi army was defeated and withdrew in a hurry.Duke Zhuang of Lu was about to order the pursuit again, but was dissuaded by Cao GUI again.Cao GUI got down from the chariot, carefully observed the wheel marks when the Qi army retreated, and boarded the chariot to look at the Qi army in the distance. Only then did Lu Zhuanggong order the pursuit, and the Qi army was completely defeated.After the war, when discussing the battle, Cao GUI pointed out that when chasing the enemy army, you must not act recklessly, and you must beware of the opponent's false appearance and set up an ambush.When Lu Zhuanggong ordered the Lu army to pursue, Cao GUI observed that the Qi army was retreating, the ruts were chaotic, and the military flag was tilted, so he concluded that the Qi army was defeated, so he agreed to the Lu army to pursue.Of course, in ancient battles, there have also been battles where military flags were used to create false appearances, confuse the opponent, and make the opponent fall into the trap.During the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin State and Chu State went to war to dominate the Central Plains, and the famous battle of Chengpu [pupu, now southwest of Juancheng, Shandong] broke out.The state of Chu relied on many soldiers and generals, and had Chen, Cai and other countries to help in the war.After the two sides fought, the Jin army first chose the weakest right wing of the Chu army to launch a fierce attack, and defeated the right army composed of the troops of Chen, Cai and other countries.However, the main combat effectiveness of the Chu army is extremely strong, and it is difficult for the Jin army to win.Therefore, Hu Mao, the commander-in-chief of the Jin army, pretended to be the vanguard of the Chinese army, erected two banners with streamers as a symbol of the vanguard of the Chinese army, and ordered the soldiers to pretend to retreat.At the same time, Luan Zhi, the commander-in-chief of the Jin army, also dragged firewood in a chariot and pretended to retreat.When the Chu army saw the banner, they mistakenly thought it was where the main force of the Jin army's central army was. Seeing the dust everywhere, they even thought that the Jin army was defeated, and immediately rushed to catch up.The two wings of the Jin army took the opportunity to attack from both sides, and beat the Chu army to pieces.In the battle of Chengpu, the Jin army cleverly used the military flag to create illusions and achieved tactical victory.

In addition to using military flags to deploy, mobilize, and command actions, the ancient army also had gold (referring to percussion instruments made of metal, and later refers to gongs) and drums. Therefore, gold and drums are also important components of military salutes. Do not open gold and drums.When soldiers practice, they use gold, drums and other percussion instruments to unify everyone's movements and act as orders; during marching, they often use gold, drums and other instruments to play military music, so as to regulate the appearance of the army and make it majestic; , and use them to command soldiers, if you beat the drums, you will advance, if you beat the gold, you will retreat, or if you beat the drums to cheer, if you beat the gold, you will retreat and stop the war.In the battle between Qi and Lu Changshao, the attacks of both sides were ordered by beating drums.So people used to use "golden drums beating together" to describe the tense and intense atmosphere on the battlefield.However, the use of these two percussion instruments in military salute, especially on the battlefield, is related to the ancient Chinese theory of "Yin Yang and Five Elements".According to the theory of yin and yang and five elements, the ancients believed that gold and drum belong to gold and wood respectively, and they are one yin and one yang.If gold and drums sound together, it will rise for the balance of yin and yang, which can strengthen the army.If you click the drum, it is wood, which belongs to yang, and can invigorate masculinity. Therefore, when it is used for attack, the idiom allusion of "one drum makes energy" is like this.If you click on gold, it is gold, which belongs to yin, and can nourish yin and softness, and use softness to overcome rigidity, so it is used for retreat or retreat.It is precisely because Mingjin has the meaning of retreat and avoidance, and at the same time it has the function of warning and awakening people, so later when officials go out, they often sound gongs to signal pedestrians along the way to avoid, which is the so-called "singing gongs to clear the way".

"Four seasons [tiantian] hunting" is also an important part of military salute.Hunting, also known as field hunting, hunting, hunting, that is, hunting. "In the Zhou system, if the emperor and the princes have nothing to do, the rituals of searching, seedlings, xianxian, and hunting will be performed at the age of age." (Du You's "Tong Dian Military Rituals") That is to say, starting from the Zhou Dynasty, even if there is no domestic For major events such as wars, turmoil, succession to the throne, and severe natural disasters, the emperor conducts field hunting activities in spring, summer, autumn, and winter every year, and will also use the army to participate.Therefore, the real purpose of hunting is not simply for hunting, but also for training and reviewing the army, which is why hunting is included in the military ceremony.The so-called "hunting in four seasons" refers to spring hunting, summer seedling hunting, autumn hunting and winter hunting respectively. "Every teacher who goes out to rule the army, and enters the day to strengthen the brigade, all practice warfare. At four o'clock, each of the people teaches one of them." (Ibid.) This is a successful experience of the ancients in governing the army, that is, when there is no war When the time comes, you must not sit back and relax. You must still actively train and prepare for war to deal with sudden wars.The use of "hunting in four seasons" is one of the important methods of training the army in peacetime in ancient times.In order to enable soldiers to adapt to various situations that may be encountered in the war, the content of training in the four seasons is not exactly the same.The spring search is carried out in mid-spring (February of the lunar calendar) every year. The main content is to use drums and gold to command and train soldiers to master formations and tactics such as "sitting, advancing and retreating, slowing down, and counting"; In midsummer (the fifth month of the lunar calendar), the main content is to train the army to sleep in the grass, simulating night defense drills; in autumn, it is held in the middle of autumn (the eighth month of the lunar calendar), and the main content is to conduct training in formation and actual combat; winter hunting , held in midwinter (November of the lunar calendar), the main content is a large-scale review of the army, and it is actually a comprehensive review of the army.This kind of military training combined with hunting activities can make soldiers proficient in various basic tactics, improve their combat capabilities, and make the army always ready.Therefore, it has been followed by successive dynasties as an important content of military salute.

The ancient army's usual training ceremony was called "March Field Service". Under the command of the rhythm of drums and gold, soldiers followed the rhythm and orders to perform some basic skills training, such as advancing, retreating, evacuating, and gathering.Usually the training is generally not in the countryside, but in a specially set up training ground - the school (calling) field.In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, in order to eradicate the local separatist forces and strengthen the centralized rule, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin ordered the states and counties all over the country to send strong, brave and good fighters into the army and organize them into the forbidden army.In order to improve the martial arts of soldiers and strengthen the combat effectiveness of the imperial army, Song Taizu often visited the school grounds to guide training. Those who were "unqualified and brave" were often eliminated and replaced with other military branches.The content of the school field training includes simulating the fierce confrontational competition in actual combat.If you conduct queue training, you generally use command flags to command. With the replacement of flags of different colors, soldiers need to constantly change their movements and formations.The soldiers of the Forbidden Army in the early Northern Song Dynasty were all highly skilled in martial arts and had extremely strong combat effectiveness.Compiled and trained such an elite army, Song Taizu only wanted to use it to defend himself, but was reluctant to let them go through life and death and participate in fierce battles.Once, he led troops to attack the Northern Han Dynasty and surrounded the city of Taiyuan (now Shanxi).Due to the strong defense of the city, the soldiers of the Northern Han Dynasty resisted desperately, and the Song army could not attack for a long time.Some soldiers of the imperial army who guarded him called for battle one after another, asking for permission to go to the city to kill the enemy.Unexpectedly, Zhao Kuangyin said: "All of you and Cao are trained by me, and all of them are worth a hundred, so prepare your elbows and armpits and share weal and woe. I would rather not be in Taiyuan, than drive you and Cao to take the edge and go to the place where you must die!" ("Continued Zizhi" "Tongjian Changbian" Volume 10) So he gave up the city he was about to win and ordered the troops to withdraw.

According to the provisions of military etiquette, there are two specific etiquettes when the army goes out and returns triumphantly: one is the swearing-in ceremony, and the other is the Wang Shida gift.The swearing-in ceremony is usually held after the sacrifice.The purpose of the oath is to make the soldiers understand the purpose of the expedition, expose the injustice and crimes of the enemy, and inspire the soldiers to fight the enemy bravely.So the swearing-in ceremony is also a mobilization and education before the war.In the "Book of History", there are several famous swearing-in speeches, such as "Gan Oath", "Tang Oath", "Mu Oath", etc., which reflect the main content of the oath at that time.If it is ordered to go out, the main generals of the army will accept the festival Yue (yueyue) bestowed by the emperor in the Taimiao, indicating that they have the power to command the army.

When the army returns triumphantly from battle, a celebration ceremony of "Wang Shi Da Xian" will be held.In this ceremony, "Kai Le" will be played and there will be singing.In order to let the subjects all over the world know the news of the victory of the army, the Northern Wei Dynasty added a new content to the military ceremony - "Xuanlubu".Lubu refers to the public announcements of victory, call-to-action, and other emergency documents, as well as government proclamations, without seal inspection, which existed as early as the Warring States Period. "Zhang Yi's call to Chu, the book is two feet, and the clear text, or Lubu, is broadcast to all audiovisuals." (Liu Xie's "Wen Xin Diao Long Xi Yi") Xuan Lu Bu is a ceremony held specially for the issuance of Lu Bu.In the Northern Wei Dynasty, whenever troops returned in triumph, they would write the news of victory on silk, and then set up a lacquer pole to tie the silk script to the pole.Since then, this etiquette has also been followed by future generations. The Sui Dynasty specially formulated the "Xuanlubu Ceremony" for this purpose, stipulating that the Ministry of War will preside over the Xuanlubu Ceremony. After saluting, the internal history order (that is, the Zhongshu order in the Tang Dynasty, which was the prime minister) announced the victory report to everyone.After the ceremony, tie the silk book on the pole and tell the world.

Among the many contents of ancient military rituals, there is another ritual associated with solar eclipses. "Zhou Zhi said: There is an eclipse in the sun, and the emperor does not play music. He wears plain clothes and puts five flags, Chen Wugu, five soldiers, and bows and arrows to save the sun. He also uses Zhusi to haunt the society, and beats drums to blame him." (Du You) "Tong Dian Military Ritual III") This so-called "saving the day" etiquette is a superstitious activity.However, soldiers, weapons and other objects are generally used, so they are usually included in military salutes.