Chapter 21 Chapter 6: Car Wars

The halogen book refers to the guard of honor guarded by the emperor, royal nobles, and ministers when they go out.The guard of honor is the military guard of the guard of honor.The halogen book chariot battle is also an integral part of the ancient etiquette system, which includes chariots, flags, guards and so on.Like other systems of the ritual system, it also has different levels of regulation. Chariots were called Yu, Chariot, Ren, Cheng, Che, etc. in ancient times.Cars were widely used in ancient times. They could not only carry people, but also be used as a means of transportation; they were also weapons for conquest, such as chariots, etc.; Penalty, such as the punishment of 轘 [huanhuan or huanhuan], that is, the cracking of the car.In the etiquette system, chariots refer specifically to the emperor's ride.The chariot also specifically refers to the chariot of the emperor. The emperor's chariot is called the imperial chariot, and the queen's chariot is called the phoenix chariot.These two names are used exclusively by emperors, and they began in the Qin and Han Dynasties, "Qin used the chariot as the vehicle of the emperor" ("Tong Dian Ritual 26").Chariots are drawn by horses or drawn by people, and the emperor's ride needs to be pulled by four horses of the same coat color, which are called Junsi.In the Southern Dynasties, the chariot was further improved, and Xiao Qishi had a "lying chariot". When the emperor was on tour, he could lie down and sleep when he was tired from sitting.In the Xiaoliang Dynasty, "buyu" was made again, with a square of four feet, so that the emperor could sit on it when he went to the hall, and his attendants carried it to his majesty.In the Sui Dynasty, the walking chariot officially became one of the emperor's vehicles, also known as the sedan chair.In the Tang Dynasty, seven kinds of chariots were produced for the emperor: Dafeng chariot, Dafang chariot, Xianyou chariot, Xiaoqing chariot, Fangting chariot, Big jade chariot, and Small jade chariot;These chariots and yu are all very beautifully decorated. For example, the large chariots made in the early Song Dynasty inherited the Tang system.There are dragons, clouds and so on painted on all sides.There are four dragon heads embedded in the four corners, and the dragon mouth holds a sachet.In the center of the roof is an anemone sitting on a dragon, with red silk as the lining and green teeth pressing against it.In the daytime, there are yellow mattresses, upper covers on the throne, a few tables, incense burners and other things in the car. There are also round mirrors, silver silk sachets, and silver decorative hooks in the car.Because this kind of chariot is very heavy, there are as many as 64 people who pull the chariot. When Song Zhenzong arrived, the chariot had to be modified and simplified, and the weight was reduced by more than 700 catties.Even so, the chariot is still a gigantic object. The chariot built in the early Southern Song Dynasty was 15 feet 3 inches high and 11 feet 6 inches on each side.

In addition to these chariots, there are also "five ren", namely jade ren, gold ren, elephant ren, leather ren, and wooden ren.The styles of these five types of 辂 are roughly the same, but the colors and decorations are different. Each type of 辂 is driven by six horses and 40-60 drivers.In ancient times, emperors and nobles used compass carts to show directions when they went out, and drum carts were used to calculate mileage, and the wooden man on the cart beat the drum for each mile.In addition to being used by the emperor, the chariot is also used as a display during ceremonial activities. The Song Dynasty stipulated that all court meetings, appointed crown princes and ministers of all kings should be placed in the courtyard of the Daqing Palace.As for the crown prince, queen, concubine, and concubines, there are special cars for him (her). Of course, the size, color, decoration, and style of the cars vary according to their status, but there are also exquisite and luxurious cars. By.

The scale of the emperor's tour is extremely large, with crowds in front and rear, cars and passengers in the same position, and banners fluttering, which fully demonstrate the emperor's supreme status.According to the size of the scale, it is divided into three categories: Dajia, Fajia, and Xiaojia.The big driver, the ministers are cited, the servants and the generals participate in the ride (accompanied or accompanied by rides), 81 belonging to the chariot, in addition to a thousand chariots, and more than ten thousand cavalry.For Fajia, the attendant participates in the ride, and there are 36 rides in the car.Xiaojia's scale is even smaller, sometimes only served by Naoshi Shangshu.However, whether it is Dajia, Fajia, or Xiaojia, the number of ceremonial guards escorting them is still considerable.

According to the "Dajia Lubo" stipulated in the "Kaiyuan Ceremony" of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor's guard of honor when he went on tour was roughly arranged as follows: the leading guard of honor (called the guide), was the vanguard of the Dajia Lubo.At the front are Wannian County Magistrate, Jingzhao (Chang'an) Mu, Taichangqing, Situ, Yushi Doctor, and Minister of the Ministry of War.After that is the "clearing team", its role is to clear the road and provide security for the emperors behind.There are two Baize flags lined up in front of the Qingyou team, and each of the two flag bearers is followed by a Jinwu Zhechong (general), and each of the two generals leads 40 cavalry.After the two teams of cavalry, each followed a general Jinwu, Jinwu Guoyi (both generals), 40 cavalry, 24 outer armored cavalry, and six rows of infantry.Then there is a Suzaku flag, which is carried by a rider.Following the Suzaku Banner, he followed a member of the Jinwu Zhechong Captain and led 40 knights holding horizontal knives or crossbows.Then there are 12 dragon flags, marching in two rows.Followed by a series of special vehicles, there are guide cars, Ji Ligu cars, Bailu cars, Luan flag cars, Pi'e cars, and Pixuan cars. Each car is driven by four horses. 14 drivers.At this point in the march, the guard of honor for the pilot is over.Next, is to lead the guard of honor.

The difference between the guide guard of honor and the guide guard of honor is that this part of the guard of honor is mainly based on music and battle, and the civil and military officials accompanying the emperor on tour are also included.The leader of the guide is composed of 12 rows of cavalry guards with two people in each row. The knights hold horizontal knives, bows and arrows and are arranged separately.Followed by a huge drumming band, the band is preceded by two drummers who are in charge of conducting.The musical instruments of the band are mainly various drums, mainly Tong (gang steel) drum, big drum, cymbal (nao Nao) drum, festival drum, snare drum, Yubao drum, etc., as well as wind instruments such as flute, Xiao, etc. [Zheng] and other percussion instruments.The whole band has more than 750 people.After the band, there is a flag array composed of various flags (a rectangular and drooping flag), buildings (a bed, a flag decorated with feathers), and flags, among which there are also civil and military officials, as well as the emperor's 24 royal horse.It was not until the green dragon flag and white tiger flag lined up on the left and right appeared that there was a team of court officials, and in the middle of this team were still interspersed with knights and infantry holding weapons.After this team, is the jade 辂 on which the emperor rides.Following Yu Ren are the senior generals and eunuchs of the Forbidden Army.The jade receptacle is blue in color and decorated with jade. It is driven by the imperial servant Qing for the emperor, and 41 other drivers are clustered around the jade receptacle.There are left and right generals (senior military generals) on both sides of Yuren as escorts.

The emperor's car is the core of the guard of honor, so the guards are extremely strict.Nine teams of forbidden soldiers are arranged around Yuren, each with 35 or 30 people. Each forbidden soldier is equipped with knives and arrows, ready to deal with emergencies at any time.After the guards composed of forbidden soldiers, there are various battles such as fans and rebels.Then there is the "rear advocacy" band, with similar instruments to the advocacy band in front of Yuren, but the scale of the band is smaller, with nearly 300 musicians.Behind the band are all kinds of vehicles specially used by the emperor, including square chariot, small chariot, small Yu, golden chariot, elephant chariot, leather chariot, five-column chariot, plowing root chariot, security chariot, Siwang chariot, sheep chariot, etc. Cars, genus cars, yellow Yue cars, leopard tail cars, etc.In the convoy composed of chariots, apart from the guards, important officials of the imperial court also rode in with the chariots.After the convoy, there are infantry squadrons, cavalry squadrons, and soldier squadrons led by military generals. Each team is led by a flag, and the total number can reach more than 2,000.If the total number of guards of honor is calculated, it can reach about 5,000 people.Therefore, in ancient China, whenever the emperor went on a tour, the chariot guards, the flags and flags were unfurled, mighty and mighty, facing each other from head to tail, stretching for several miles, with extraordinary momentum, which fully demonstrated the supremacy of the emperor.After the Song Dynasty, some revisions were made to the system of guard of honor in the halogen book.The emperors of the Song Dynasty generally had about 10,000 grand master books.Song Taizong's ceremonial guard during the Zhidao period (AD 995-997) included as many as 19,198 infantry and cavalry.

The size of the emperor's Fajialu book is smaller than that of the Dajia, and the officials, chajia, and guards in the entourage have been reduced to varying degrees.The ceremonial guards and bands of the small driver are only half of those of the big driver. Except for Yuren, almost all other cars and vehicles are omitted. In ancient China, not only emperors had halogen books, but also crown princes, princes, empress dowagers, empresses, concubines, etc., also had halogen books of different sizes when they went out.As for officials at all levels of the imperial court and local governors, they also had different numbers of ceremonial guards and guards according to their ranks, which also showed the majesty and power of the bureaucrats.The records of bureaucrats are far from the grand scale of emperors and princes, nor are they comparable to princes, queen mothers, and empresses, but their guards of honor are also those who have cleared the way before, that is, the so-called "singing gongs to clear the way".There are also armored knights, armed with knives, shields, bows, arrows and other weapons, guarding the front and back.There are also advocacy bands accompanying them, and officials and assistants accompanying them.Of course, these guards of honor are temporarily dispatched by the court before major court events, weddings, funerals and other ceremonial activities. After the event, the guards of honor must be returned to the palace.Moreover, not all officials can enjoy this honor. The Tang Dynasty once stipulated that only officials of the fourth rank or above (officials with actual duties) can have an accompanying guard of honor.However, the Song Dynasty stipulated that officials of the third rank or above were allocated honor guards only when needed.

Lubo was not only used as a ceremonial guard for the emperor and senior bureaucrats when they went out, on this basis, starting from the Northern Han Dynasty of the Five Dynasties, it was also used as a guard of honor system for the emperor to walk in the palace city, which is called "the system of guides and followers in the palace".Because the activities are held in the palace, the scale of the guard of honor is very small, and there is no need for armored guards, banners, drums and music, and there are not so many accompanying officials. Generally, there are only attendants holding fans, red silk whisks, incense burners, and incense plates. Follow left and right.It is particularly worth mentioning that in the guard of honor of the "guide in the palace", there are two kinds of utensils, the golden pot and the spit pot.A jug is a toilet implement that is filled with water and used to rinse hands.The spit pot is a container specially used for spitting, which is called spittoon by later generations.The appearance of these two utensils in the guard of honor reflects the atmosphere of advocating hygiene in ancient Chinese courts, and also shows that paying attention to hygiene is an important part of civilized etiquette and a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation.In Chinese history, many dynasties have stipulated that spitting is not allowed in the palace, and those who violate it will be punished.The Liao Dynasty once stipulated that all officials who went to the court must follow an attendant, holding a spit pot in their hands for the officials to spit.

In ancient times, in addition to the guards of honor when going out, there were also guards of honor in ceremonies, such as sacrifices, weddings, and funerals.This kind of guard of honor at the court meeting, called "the palace stand", is also based on banners and armor.Whenever there are major court ceremonies, such as Zhengdan (that is, New Year's Day, the first day of the first month), the winter solstice court meeting, the crown prince's canon (referring to the official canon), and Canadian clothes (that is, the hat, referring to the crown prince's crowning ceremony), the canonical order Kings, ministers, banquets for foreign envoys, etc., from the gate of the palace to the main hall where the ceremony is held, soldiers are all over the place, and flags of various names stand in the courtyard in front of the main hall.Its role is not only to protect and set off the atmosphere of the ceremony, but also to show the majesty, prosperity and strength of a regime.

However, the system of halogen books and car battles is complicated and complicated, with strict hierarchy and extravagant luxury.From today's perspective, it is a concrete manifestation of the ostentation and extravagance of the ancient rulers, which has a negative effect. The etiquette system in ancient China has a history of more than 3,000 years since it was founded in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and tracing the source of ancient Chinese etiquette is far more than that.In Chinese history, etiquette was once regarded as the moral standards and codes of conduct that only emperors and dignitaries were qualified to follow. From this, a complete set of systematic and complex systems was formed to establish and maintain the relationship within the ruling group. negative side.However, the relevant provisions of etiquette, obedience, salute, courtesy, courteous reception, comity, etiquette and other etiquette also enable people to develop and have a moral trend of humility, hospitality, respect for the elderly, respect for the virtuous, and harmony and friendship. side.This is why we should make a concrete analysis of the etiquette system.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period, "Li Xian Corporal" has gradually expanded from the narrow scope of the ruling group to the whole society, and has become a norm and standard that everyone from the emperor to the common people abides by.Therefore, etiquette has gained new vitality and constantly injects new content.It is precisely because the etiquette system affects and restricts people's speech and behavior in social life that the ancient Chinese society has become a society of etiquette, and finally formed a state of etiquette, and the etiquette system has continued to develop and improve.On the one hand, in order to safeguard their own interests, the rulers of all dynasties actively advocated and vigorously supported the etiquette system; on the other hand, people constantly updated and created etiquette that better reflected their self-cultivation in their interactions with each other.In etiquette, many contents are inherited and evolved from folk customs.At the same time, many etiquette ceremonies have also spread from the emperor's palace to the people, and merged with folk customs to form etiquette and customs.This two-way transmission and evolution is one of the reasons why etiquette and its etiquette system can be passed down from generation to generation.It is in the process of development and evolution that some etiquettes and systems that are not compatible with the trend of historical development are gradually eliminated, some complicated etiquette procedures are simplified, and those etiquettes that best reflect people's noble moral sentiments and spiritual outlook, As a social fashion, it has always been widely valued, inherited and developed. Today, etiquette still has an inseparable relationship with people in modern life.Although today's etiquette is very different from ancient etiquette in form and content, those hierarchical concepts that show superiority and inferiority have long been abandoned and replaced by equal and harmonious interpersonal relationships, but the ancient etiquette advocated the observance of common Morality, which emphasizes civility and courtesy, is still reflected in modern etiquette.At the same time, the excellent etiquette traditions of loving the motherland, loving the Chinese nation, mutual respect, mutual assistance, mutual understanding and mutual accommodation should also be further carried forward.Etiquette is the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation. Every descendant of Yan and Huang has the responsibility and obligation to inherit and carry forward this virtue, carry forward and expand the splendid civilization of the Chinese nation, and make our "ancient civilization" and "state of etiquette" The reputation will be passed on forever.