●The gift of virtue and righteousness: shooting salute

The gift of virtue and righteousness: shooting salute

The bow and arrow is a hunting tool invented by humans in the Mesolithic Age, and it is also a weapon that plays an important role in social life. China's bow and arrow history has a long history, according to legend, the Yellow Emperor invented the bow and arrow, and the Xia Dynasty has the legend of Yi shooting for ten days. The oracle bone inscription 'Hou' is written as '■', like an arrow shooting at an arrow target. In ancient times, bravery was admired, and the one who shot was the leader, which was the origin of the 'marquis' of the princes.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the princes were in dispute, and the bow and arrow became an indispensable role in warfare. Meaningfully, it was in this era of advocating force that Confucianism turned the bow and arrow into a tool for etiquette and education, leading society to peace, which is archery.

1. Synopsis of archery

Judging from the handed down documents, there may have been four kinds of archery salutes in the pre-Qin period: one is the Great Archery Ceremony, which is the Son of Heaven before the major sacrifice, in order to select the auxiliary sacrifices, and the ritual method of the Great Archery Ceremony is found in the "Great Archery Ceremony" of the "Rites"; The second is the township shooting ceremony, which is the shooting ceremony held by the states in the spring and autumn every year for the teaching of the people and the customs of Dunhua, and the etiquette of the township drinking ceremony, which can be found in the "Etiquette and Township Shooting Ceremony"; the third is the swallow shooting, which is the shooting salute held by the monarch and the minister after the swallow drink, aiming to clarify the righteousness of the monarch and the minister; The fourth is the guest shooting, which is only seen in the "Zhou Li", which is the shooting ceremony between the Son of Heaven and his old friends. "Etiquette" has an article "Shooting Righteousness", which summarizes the etiquette and righteousness of shooting etiquette. The level of the big archery salute is different from the township salute, and the participants are also different, but the ritual is basically the same.

The village shooting ceremony is held in the state school 'order'. Before going to the township to shoot the salute, the first to go to the township drinking ceremony. It should be noted that it is the guest who presides over the village shooting ceremony, not the local administrator, which is the same as the village drinking ceremony. Bin was a priest who had not yet attained the rank of official, but he was of outstanding virtue, and the guest was the protagonist of the salute, apparently to promote a culture of honor. Once the candidate is confirmed, the governor will personally come to the door to make an appointment. On the day of the salute, the governor is to welcome guests outside the prologue gate.

The specific commander of the shooting salute is the Si Shot, and the Si Shot is the same person as the Si in the Township Drinking Ceremony, and it is just a different title. The shooting position is on the hall of the order, and the hollow 'ten' character is used as a symbol. The arrow target is called 'Hou', located in the place where the south of the hall is 30 zhang away, there is a small round leather screen in front of the left side of Hou, it is the hiding place of the target reporter, the arrow has been weak here, so it is called 'lack'. After everything was ready, the priest went to the hall to report to the guest, and the bin announced the start of the shooting. The disciples of the state school moved the bows, arrows, baskets and other utensils to the west hall and set them up.

The core activity of the village archery is the triple shooting. 'Fan' is the meaning of the second round, and the third shot is the three rounds of shooting between the shooters. The first shot focuses on the coach who shoots. The division selects six disciples with both ability and political integrity, and cooperates those with similar archery skills into a group, a total of three groups, which are called upper coupling, secondary coupling, and lower coupling, which is the so-called 'three coupling', and each coupling has an upper shot and a lower shot. In each shot, the shooter fires four arrows.

At the beginning of the salute, the target announcer leans against the center of the target to indicate the position of the center of the target for the whole audience. The division shot the command three couples: 'Shoot in turn, no miscellaneous!' All three took off the sleeve of their left hand, put a wrench on the thumb of their right hand for hooking the bowstring, put a guard on their right arm, held a bow in their left hand, and put an arrow between the fingers of their right hand, and inserted the other three in their belts.

First shot

The three couples stand still under the hall, and the division shoots in the hall to demonstrate the archery: first step on the shooting position symbol, face west, then turn the head to the south, look at the middle of the target, indicating that the mind is committed to archery, then lean over to inspect the feet, adjust the footwork, and finally open the bow and shoot the arrow until all four arrows are shot.

So, the two shooters from the upper couple shot in the upper hall, stood at the shooting position according to the requirements of the division, stared at the bull's-eye, and waited for the orders of Sima and the division. Si Jie commanded in the hall: 'Don't shoot and injure the target!' Don't scare the target! 'Shoot upwards and shoot at the division, and after shooting an arrow, draw an arrow from your waist and put it on the string, and then shoot it from below. And so on until they have shot all four arrows. The target announcer raised his voice to report the results of the shot to the church. The first shot is a practice shot, so whether you hit it or not, it doesn't count as a result.

Then, the upper coupling went down to the hall, and the second coupling went up to the hall, and the two sides staggered in front of the west steps, and greeted each other. The ritual of the second-coupling practice is the same as that of the upper coupling. Finally, the secondary coupling is in the lower hall, and the lower coupling is in the upper hall. At this point, the priest went to the court and told the guests: 'The three couples have been shot. ‘

Second shot

The second round of archery is an official competition, and the winner is determined according to the results of archery. In addition to the three couples, the participants also include the host, the guest, the doctor and the guests. The host and the guest cooperate as a couple, and the host acts as a downward shot to show humility; The doctor's status is relatively high, but in order to show modesty, he cooperates with the doctor one by one. The guests in the hall also cooperated.

First by three coupling ratio shots. The three couples went to the arrow stand to get the arrows, and then the guests in the hall also went to get the arrows, and then stood in order on the south side of the three couples, respecting the position on the north side.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-11 20:09 Reply

59 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

The division shot ordered the upper coupling to start firing. The two shooters saluted each other and went to the court, and the target reporter quickly left the target position. The archery announced: 'Anyone who does not shoot through the target will not be counted!' The two archers took turns firing their bows and arrows as they had done in the first shot.

If you hit the target, the person in charge of calculating the score will draw a basket chip and throw it on the ground. The top shot is thrown to the right, and the bottom shot is left to the left. In this way, all three couples were shot.

Then the coupling formed by the guest and the host, the coupling formed by the doctor and the taxi, and the coupling of the guests went to the hall one after another. The procedure for specific shots, as well as the method of calculating the number of hits at the target, is the same as before. After shooting, Ariji picked up the remaining basket chips and reported to the guest: "The left and right shots have been shot." Sima ordered the arrows to be returned, and the target responder heard the promise and stood with his back to the target with his flag.

So, Yousi began to count the number of baskets fired left and right, first counting the pile of chips on the right, taking two baskets as one 'pure', and counting the right hand one pure and one pure to the left hand; Take the ten pure and make a pile, and place it longitudinally on the west side of the container; When the ten purities are filled, they will be placed in another pile. The rest of the chips, if they are even numbers, are placed horizontally on the west side of the pile of ten pure according to the unit of 'pure'; If it is an odd number, you should place the chip of the zero order vertically on the west side of the 'pure' so that the total number is clear at a glance. Then count the chips on the left. The player holds the winner's net win to report the result of the game. If the right side wins, say: 'The right side wins the left.' If the left wins, the left wins the right. If the win is even, it is reported in 'pure'; If there is an odd number, the singular number is reported after the pure number. If the left and right sides are equally numbered, take one of the two sides and say, 'The left and right sides are equal in number.' ‘

The shooter ordered the trio and the guests: 'The winning shooter takes off his left sleeve, puts on his wrench, puts on his arm guard, and holds a bow with a tight string (indicating that he can shoot.' The loser puts on his left sleeve, takes off his wrench and arm guard, and releases the bowstring. The shooters went up to the court one after the other, and the loser stood and drank the penalty before bowing to the winning shooter. However, if the loser is the guest, the host, and the doctor, then there is no need to hold the bow as a sign of respect. Sima drank wine and offered wine to the target reporter, and went to the left, center, and right places in front of the target to offer sacrifices. The priest drank wine and offered wine to the people who released the planner in the hall, and the second shot was completed.

Third shot

The process of the third shot is basically the same as the second shot, except that there is a musical accompaniment during the second shot. The musician played "Su Yu" in "The Book of Songs: Zhaonan", and the beat of the music was played evenly. At the bottom of the hall, he announced: 'Whoever does not shoot to the rhythm of the drum shall not be counted!' The procedure for the triple shot is the same as the second shot, which is first the triple shot, followed by the order of the guest, the host, the doctor, and the guests. Whoever hits the bull's-eye to the beat of the drum will draw a basket of chips and throw it to the ground, and finally tell the guests the result of the game: the winner wins a number of chips, or the two sides shoot. The three couples, the guests, the host, the doctor, and the guests go to the court in order, and the shooter of the losing side drinks the penalty wine. This is the end of the triple shot.

Travel

The remuneration is the after-entertainment program of the shooting ceremony, and the procedure is basically the same as that of the village drinking ceremony, starting from the person with high status, and then going down to the reward, first by the guest host, the doctor rewards the chief of the guests, until all the guests who will be seated in the hall have been rewarded. Finally, the two recipients stood on the west steps, and presented the wine to all the guests in the hall in the order of respect and humility, until all of them were turned. In the meantime, the music in and out of the hall is sometimes combined, and the singing is endless, and the joy stops.

Bin got up to say goodbye, and when he walked to the west steps, the musician played the music of "陔". When the guests went out of the door, all the guests went out with them, and the host sent them off with a goodbye gift outside the door. The next day, the guest went to the host's house to thank him, and then the host went to the guest's house to thank him.

Second, shoot to watch Shengde

What is the nature of archery? Some scholars believe that archery is 'in the nature of military training'; Some scholars also saw that there were subjects taught in ancient Chinese studies and township studies, and thought that it was military education. This is not the case.

The ancient society was simple and unpretentious, and shooting belonged to men. Therefore, at the beginning of the boy's birth, the first thing his parents should do is to shoot the heavens and the earth with arrows, hoping that he will become a man with ambitions in the future.

Superb archery was originally a combination of courage and skill. For example, when Yang Youji walked through Yang in a hundred steps, Mencius said, 'To the end, Erli also; Among them, Fei Erli Ye' ("Mencius Wan Zhangxia"), can shoot a hundred steps away, which is a manifestation of bravery; And being able to shoot through poplar leaves a hundred steps away is not only something that can be achieved by courage, but also requires skill.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, people paid attention to the strength and accuracy of the archer, and the "Zuo Chuan" recorded in the sixteenth year of Chenggong that Pan Dang and Yang Youji stacked seven pairs of armor together, and they could actually shoot through with one arrow. In ancient times, arrow targets were generally made of animal skins, so they were referred to as 'skin'. A contest in which the purpose of shooting and penetrating is called 'shooting at the main skin'. Confucius was very unimpressed with this kind of competition that directs people's attention to power, and considered it contrary to the 'ancient way', saying: 'If you can't shoot the main skin, you can't shoot the main skin, because the force is not the same science, and the ancient way is also.'" He believes that whether or not you can shoot the 'skin' depends on the physical fitness of the shooter, and it is not worth paying attention to; What should be paid attention to is the virtue and cultivation of the shooter, which is an activity of 'decorating it with etiquette and music' ("Shooting Righteousness") and teaching in archery, which is fundamentally different from military training.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-11 20:09 Reply

60 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

Confucianism believes that in order to shoot at the target, it is necessary to 'be upright in the inner part and straight in the outer body', and 'hold the bow and arrow to judge the solid'" ("Shooting Yi"). As we introduced earlier, the main purpose of the Confucian idea of etiquette and music is to emphasize the use of music to guide the righteousness of the mind and the use of etiquette to regulate the integrity of the body. Confucianism skillfully grasped the combination of archery and ritual music, and reshaped the soul of archery while retaining the form of archery. The shooter's step and style must reflect the way of etiquette and music, and 'advance and retreat must be in the middle of the ceremony' ("Shooting"). Those who have well-developed limbs and are brave enough to know the propriety and righteousness will be at a loss in the salute.

According to the records of "Zhou Li, Diguan, and Township Doctor", when performing a township archery, the township doctor had to ask the onlookers for an evaluation of the shooter's performance. There are five items to be evaluated: 'One is harmony, two is Rong, three is the main skin, four is harmony, and five is Xingwu. 'The first shot, regardless of the results, only requires the body to be polite, so it is said to be 'Rong'. The second shot belongs to the official competition shooting, and the score can only be calculated when the target is shot, so it is said to be the 'main skin'. In the third shot, the shooter must not only be in harmony with the body, but also fire according to the rhythm, so it is said to be 'harmonious'; Since the shooting posture is in harmony with the festival, it is also said to be a 'Xing Dance'. In the evaluation system of the township archery, the emphasis is on 'harmony' and 'tolerance'. Han Ru Ma Rong interprets 'harmony' as 'harmony of ambition and body', that is, the harmony of mind and body, which is quite successful. The highest level of 'harmony' archery is the appearance of the shooter's deep cultivation. The Confucian archery ritual is actually a process of education that gradually induces the shooter to learn etiquette and music, so that the mind and body are in line with the 'virtue'.

3. 'Sending but not hitting, but seeking for yourself'

Confucianism elevated the shooting of the field hunt in the past to a philosophical universal way, with a very rich connotation, and one of its themes is to use the shooting ceremony as a way of self-cultivation and self-reflection.

"Shooting Yi" says: "Shooting is the interpretation of the speaker, or the house." Those who interpret their own aspirations are also. Therefore, the heart is flat and the body is upright, and the bow and arrow are solid; If you hold the bow and arrow, you will be shot. It means that the so-called shooting means to deduce. The identity of the shooter is different, but they should all find their own ambition in the process of shooting. Only when the mind is calm, the posture is upright, the bow and arrow are clenched, and the aim is aimed at the target, it is possible to shoot. "Shooting" also proposes that whether you are a father, a son, a king, or a minister, you must take the target as your own moral standard to shoot. Although they share the same target, each person has different moral goals to hit. The process of shooting hooves is a process of repeated introspection, storage, and progress. Therefore, Confucius said: 'Those who do not lose their righteousness are the only ones who are virtuous!' (Shooting)

Confucianism advocates self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and leveling the world, and self-cultivation is the first. Life will not be smooth sailing, how to face failure, cultivate perseverance that never returns, from failure to success, you can get understanding from the salute. "Shooting Righteousness" says: "Shoot to seek righteousness for yourself, and then send it right, and if you don't hit it, you don't complain about those who win over yourself, but seek for yourself." The key to the success or failure of archery lies in whether you can adjust your posture and mind. Don't complain about others, especially don't complain about the person who was shot, but 'turn to yourself' and ask yourself.

When ancient Chinese archery was introduced to the Korean Peninsula, it had an important impact on the Confucianization of the region. This effect is still strongly felt today. Koreans call archery 'archery' because it contains a profound philosophy and can cultivate the mind and morality while exercising, rather than a simple sport. Currently, the Korean Kyudo Association has more than 200,000 members. A few years ago, I visited the Baeksan Archery Club in Seoul, South Korea, and saw an ancient horn bow, and the instructor gave me a demonstration of how to use it. Among the 'Eight Methods of Practicing Exercises' posted on the wall, there are sentences such as 'hair but not hit, but seek for oneself', which is a scene that can no longer be seen in China, which makes people feel both cordial and lost.

Fourth, 'If a gentleman has nothing to fight, he will also shoot!' ‘

If there is no healthy competitive mentality, it is easy to cause vicious fights and affect social stability. How to deal with such problems has a bearing on the long-term peace and stability of the country.

Confucius believed that as long as people pay attention to improving their spiritual realm, they will naturally be indifferent to fame and fortune and calmly deal with competition. He said, 'If a gentleman has nothing to fight, he will shoot!' Let it go up, go down and drink, and its contention is also a gentleman. It means that a gentleman is based on self-cultivation and morality, so he does not compete with others for his superiority. If there is a dispute, it is the competition. The competition is to win or lose, and if you lose, you have to drink in public, so the gentleman must strive to win in the game, but in the game, he is everywhere with the opponent and rises, and after coming down, drink together, this is the gentleman's dispute.

The so-called 'concession and promotion' includes two aspects, one refers to a series of etiquette when shooting with a coupled shooter. For example, at the beginning of the first shot, the two shooters on the upper couple give in and walk east side by side from the west of the court, shooting on the left side and down on the right; Walking to the place directly facing the west steps, the two men bowed their hands and bowed their hands, and then went north; At the foot of the western steps, they surrendered to each other again. So, the upper shot climbs the stairs first, and when he reaches the third step, the downward shot walks up the first step, and there is one step between the two. After the upper shot has reached the upper hall, stand slightly to the left in order to make way for the lower shot, and wait there; After the lower shot ascended the hall, the upper shot faced east and bowed to him, and then walked side by side to the east. When both of them walk to the place directly opposite the shooting symbol, they bow their hands facing north, and then go north; When you walk in front of the shooting symbol, face north again and bow your hand. When the division shoots in the coupling, fully take into account their level, each coupling of the upper and lower shots, the level is relatively close, the competition is bound to be fierce, there must be a victory or defeat between the two. However, the salute requires the shooters to bow to each other at every ceremony, and this is true for every shot. to cultivate the cultivation of competitors.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-11 20:09 Reply

63 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

● The righteousness of the Ming monarch and the ministers: Yan Li

Ancient Chinese Etiquette Civilization No. 14

The righteousness of the Ming monarch and the ministers: Yan Li

The 'Yan' of Yan Li's 'feast' is righteous for leisure and rest. Yan Rite is a ritual for ancient nobles to feast and drink in their spare time in order to contact their subordinates. The Yan ceremony can be held for a specific object, such as a minister returning from an envoy, a newly meritorious subordinate official, a hired dignitary, etc., or it can be a banquet for ministers without special reasons. The Son of Heaven, the princes, and the clansmen have their own Yan rites, but most of them have died, and this article is a gift for the princes to feast on their subordinates. The etiquette of Yanli is relatively simple, mainly drinking, there is a fold and no meal, only a gift is performed, which is intended to enjoy the pleasure of the guests and hosts. "Etiquette" has "Yan Li" and "Yan Li" has an article about the etiquette of Yan Li, and "Book of Rites" has "Yan Yi" and an article about Yan Li's etiquette.

First, the furnishings of Yanli

The Yan Ceremony was held on the road bed. In ancient times, the Son of Heaven had six bedrooms, one road bedroom, and five small bedrooms. The princes have three bedrooms: one road bedroom, one small bedroom, and one side room. The road bed is the main bed, where the Son of Heaven and the princes listen to the government and handle affairs; Koyomi is a place to rest.

Before the Yan ceremony begins, there are priests who have to set up all kinds of utensils. The food is set up on the east side of the road. Musical instruments such as chimes, chimes, bells, plutoniums, and drums are displayed between the east and west steps of the hall. In the place directly facing the dripping water on the eaves on the east side of the hall, there is a basin for washing hands and discarding water-washing; On the east side of the wash is the water container - 罍; On the west side of the washing is a bamboo basket called a 'grate', in which are placed the wine vessels for the princes, such as jue and zhen. The sake vessels used by the monarch were decorated with ivory and were called 'elephant goo'. The fence where the elephant goose is displayed is called 'food fence' and is located on the north side of the washing.

The wine honors of the monarch and the prince are also separated. Doctor Qing used two square pots, which were placed on the west side of the east pillar in the hall. The king's exclusive wine is called 'Shan Zun', which is displayed in the south of the wine statue of the Qing Doctor, and is covered with coarse kudzu cloth or fine linen cloth, and there is a bracket at the bottom of the honor. There were also many unobtained taxis, called 'Scholar Eaters', who used two round pots and were placed on the west side of the door.

By the way, Yan Li eats dog meat. Dog meat has a strong aroma and can nourish the body, and is a favorite food of the ancients. The ancients used cows, sheep, and pigs on very solemn occasions; In relatively casual situations, dogs are used. There are stoves on the east and west sides of the door of the ancient dormitory temple, the east stove is used for auspicious ceremonies, and the stove on the west side is used for fierce ceremonies. Yanli's dog meat is cooked on a stove on the east side.

2. Seat and dignity

There are many people who participate in the Yanli, and their identities and statuses are very different, so the arrangement of seats should reflect the dignity and inferiority.

"Yan Yi" says: 'Above the rank of the monarch, he is also in the main position; The king is on the throne, the west is special, and he does not dare to be righteous. 'The king's seat is on the upper echelons and is the chief of the whole ceremonies. At the beginning of the ceremony, only the king went up to the hall, standing alone facing west, while the rest of the people stood under the hall. "Suitable" and "enemy" are the same means, and "don't dare to fit" means that the monarch is the supreme of a country, and no one dares to salute him as a rival to the monarch.

After the monarch took the throne, the secretary, the doctor, the scholar, and the scholar entered the dormitory under the guidance of the ministers. The Doctor is on the right side of the door, facing north, side by side in the order of dignity and inferiority, and His Holiness is in the east. The priests stand side by side on the left side of the gate, facing east, and His Holiness is on the north. The Scholar Eater stands on the left side of the door, facing north, and His Holiness is on the east.

After the doctor and others stood still, 'the southeast of the Junli steps, Nanxiang, Erqing, and the doctors are all less entered, and the positioning is also' ("Yanyi"), which means that the monarch goes down to the hall and stands in the southeast of the steps, 'Nanxiang', 'township' leads to 'direction', and the south direction is facing south; 'Erqing', 'Er' Tong 'Er', means to be close, and Erqing means that the monarch salutes the secretaries and lets them come closer. Thus, the procession of the princes turned to face west, and the Venerable was in the north; The king saluted the doctor again, and asked them to come near, but the doctor only stepped forward slightly, and the direction of the procession remained unchanged; The queue of taxis remained in place. In this way, the monarch faces south, and the secretary, doctor, and scholar stand on the east, south, and west sides, surrounding the king. This position of the monarch and the minister is the position of the Yan Dynasty, so this procedure contains the meaning of determining the position of the monarch and the minister.

In the process of the Yan ceremony, Bin and Dr. Qing had to sit in the hall one after another, and their seats in the hall were also arranged in advance: Bin was seated between the households and the chambers in the hall; The seat of the secretary is on the east side of the guest seat, and the seat of the Venerable of the secretary is on the east head. The seat of the great and small ministers is on the west side of the guest seat, and the seat of his Holiness is at the west head, near the guest seat; The doctor's seat is then Xiaoqing's seat to the west, if the number of doctors is large, the west side can't be rowed, you can turn to the south before the west order. The principle of the seat arrangement is that the more honorable the status, the closer it is to the monarch. Scholars are not entitled to sit in the court, and their seats are arranged in the east of the court.

3. Guests and hosts

The ancient ritual banquet and drinking ceremony must be set up with the host and guests, otherwise it will not be a ceremony. The township drinking ceremony and the township shooting ceremony introduced earlier are all like this, and the Yan ceremony is naturally no exception.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:12 Reply to this statement

*Re: Peng Lin, professor of the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization" serialized

According to common sense, the host of the Yan ceremony should be the king, and the guest should be the Venerable of the Qingzhong. However, the host in the liturgy is on an equal footing with the guest and rivals each other. In this way, two problems will occur, one is that the Qing has the highest status among the courtiers, the status is second only to the monarch, and the dignity is the closest. If the monarch is the master and the secretary is the guest, the monarch is bound to fight against the secretary everywhere, and there is inevitably the suspicion of 'the state has two masters'; Second, if the monarch is the host and the secretary is the guest, the two will always be burdened by cumbersome etiquette and it will be difficult for them to drink to their heart's content. Therefore, Yan Li used a workaround: let the zayman in charge of the meal be the master, and the zaifu was a knight; Another doctor is chosen to be the guest. Let the butcher and the doctor go around and make concessions, not only will there be no other scruples between the monarch and the minister, but also the monarch and the secretary can be liberated, sit and watch the success, and gather together for swallow drinks. Therefore, "Yanyi" says: "Set up guests and hosts, and the ceremony of drinking is also; Make the butcher a dedication to the lord, and the minister will not dare to pay courtesy to the king; Not to the secretary of state, but to the doctor as a guest, for suspicion, and the righteousness of suspicion. ‘

The candidate for the guest is decided by the king, and the person named should step forward slightly and politely excuse himself, saying that he does not dare to be the one. After the king had reaffirmed his decision, Bin bowed his head again, accepted the appointment, and went outside the gate to await the official invitation of his master. Therefore, the monarch bowed to the doctor in the court, and then went to the court to sit down. Then, Arishi greeted the guests and came to the court. Although the guest in the Yan Rite is not a guest in the strict sense, he is still an important figure in the Yan Rite in terms of form, so after the guest enters the atrium, the monarch must walk down the steps from the hall to greet him as a sign of good courtesy.

Similarly, although Zaifu served as the master, he was only the master who offered wine on behalf of the king, and was not the real master of the Yan ceremony. Therefore, the Zaifu was not allowed to walk the steps when going up and down the hall, but could only walk the west steps like everyone else.

Fourth, the gift of the guest and the host

The Yan ceremony begins with the gift of the guest and the host. After the guests and hosts went to the hall, they saluted each other. Then, the host prepares to offer wine to the guests. For the sake of brevity, here is an introduction to the etiquette of offering wine, and then omitted and will not be repeated. According to the etiquette of feasting and drinking, before pouring wine, the host should wash his hands and wash the wine lord (or goblet) before going down to the court to 'wash', in order to show solemnity and purity. At this time, Bin could not sit alone in the hall, which was a sign of arrogance as a servant to the master, so he had to go down the hall with him. At this time, the master should thank the other party and go down to the court; The guest replied with courtesy. After washing hands and washing, the two sides went to the church together. Then, the host went down to the hall again to wash his hands, as a sign of solemnity in drinking wine for the other party. For the same reason, the guests were to go down again, and the ceremonies of resignation to each other were the same as before. So, the two sides went to the court again, and after the host drank wine, he offered wine to the guests. After bowing to him, he took the knight and sat down to make a pre-meal offering, that is, first with a preserved sacrifice and then with wine, in order to commemorate the people who created these foods in the past. After the sacrifice is over, praise the sweetness of the wine; The master bowed; The guest drank all the wine in the lord and thanked the master. The master replied. This is when the host offers wine to the guest, which is called 'offering'.

Then the guest drinks wine and pays tribute to the host, that is, the so-called 'reward', the ritual is basically the same as the 'offering', but the roles of the guest and the host have been reversed: the guest becomes the toaster, and the host becomes the recipient of the toast, so the etiquette of the two is exactly the opposite of the previous one. The only difference is that after the master has drunk the wine, he cannot praise the sweetness of the wine, because the wine is his own. After the reward was completed, the master took the empty goose and went down to the hall and put it into the fence in the court.

As usual, at this time, the host will reward the guests, and the gift of one offering, one sorrel, one reward, and one offering will be completed. However, the host in the Yan ceremony is not the main host, and the guest is not a guest in the strict sense, and the guest of honor must not cover up the monarch. Therefore, Yan Li had to be flexible in the ceremony, and while maintaining the guest and host ceremony, it was necessary to take into account the dignity of the monarch. For this reason, after the guest, the host, and the sorrel, the ritual of the host offering wine to the king is inserted, which is a phenomenon not found in other banquet and drinking rituals.

When the host offered wine to the king, the guests did not dare to settle down in the hall and took the initiative to go down to the hall to avoid it. The monarch invited the guests to the hall to show their courtesy, and the guests went to the hall to stand on the inner side of the western order. The master went down to the hall to wash his hands and wash the elephant goose (a wine vessel for the king); Then go to the court and drink wine and present it to the king. The monarch bowed and took the elephant. The master went down to the hall and faced north to bow to the monarch. So the king made a pre-meal sacrifice, and when the sacrifice was finished, he drank all the wine from the elephant's goose, and thanked his master. The master bowed at the bottom of the hall, then went up to the hall to take the elephant goose, and then went down to the hall to put it in the food basket.

It stands to reason that the king should then wash his hands and wash his lord, and after drinking wine, he will drink the master, but the master does not dare to make this great gift with the king, so he can only drink wine for himself. The master went down to the hall, took another one to wash, and then went to the hall to drink. Since this wine is sorrel on behalf of the king, it should be drunk from the deity. Then he went down to the hall and bowed to the king again at the foot of the steps. The king replied with a goodbye salute. Then, the master made a pre-meal offering, and after the sacrifice, he drank all the wine, and bowed to the king again. The king said goodbye, and the master put the empty goose into the basket.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:12 Reply to this statement

65 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

The ritual of the host's reward was only then continued. The master went down to the hall to wash his hands and goblets, and after drinking wine from the square pot in the upper hall, he bowed to the guests. The guest returned the salute. The master sacrifices wine in place of the king, and then drinks; Bin didn't dare to excuse himself in the face of this great gift. The host drank all the wine in the goblet and bowed to the guest; Bin Bye. After the host washes the goose, he drinks wine from the dining honor, and after the guest bows and thanks, he takes the goose, and the host sends it away. After the sacrifice is completed, the goblet is placed on the east side of the preserved and the mound.

Fifth, four travel pay

After the guest of honor is completed, it is the king who drinks and advises his subordinates from top to bottom, which is the so-called 'travel reward'. Yan Li's travel remuneration starts with 'raising the knight' as a signal every time. And the knight raised by the monarch must be prepared by a special person (called 'the lord of the princess' in the "Yan Li") and placed in front of the king's seat.

Due to the large number of people in the ceremony, the different status levels of each other, and the fact that everyone had to be taken a turn, the procedure of the Yan ceremony was quite long and complicated. "Yan Yi" summarizes this series of procedures into the following sentences: 'Offering the king, the king is rewarded for travel; and then offered the secretary, and the secretary raised the travel reward; Then the doctor is offered, and the doctor is paid for travel; Then the sacrifice of soldiers, the sacrifice of travel; Then offer a concubine. ‘

'Offering the king, the gentleman lifting the travel reward' is to pay the guests for the trip. 'And then offer the secretary, the secretary will pay for the trip', which is the travel reward for the secretary. 'Then offer the doctor, and the doctor will pay for the trip', which is to pay the doctor for travel. 'Then the sacrifice of the soldiers, the soldiers of the travel reward', is for the soldiers to raise the travel reward. The status of the concubine is low, and he no longer pays for it. Therefore, in the Yan ceremony, it is necessary to persuade the guests to drink for the guests, the secretary, the doctor, the scholar, etc., which is the so-called 'four travel rewards'.

The general process of Yanli travel reward is as follows: after the host offers wine to the guests, he offers wine to the monarch, and after the monarch drinks it all, he drinks full of wine in the jue, raises it high, and rewards the people present to drink; Then, the host offered wine to Qing, and after Qing drank it, he drank it and held it high, and rewarded everyone with wine and persuaded him to drink; The master offered wine to the doctor, and after the doctor had drunk it, he held it high and persuaded everyone to drink; The master also offered wine to the soldiers, and after the soldiers had drunk it, they drank it and held it high, and rewarded everyone with wine and persuaded them to drink; Finally, the host offered wine to the concubine. In this way, from top to bottom, everyone who is courteous will be rewarded. The whole process is like a relay race, one ring after another, compact and enthusiastic.

In the meantime, the musicians in the hall sang "Deer Song", "Four Peons", "Emperor Hua" and other pieces under the accompaniment of Se. After the singing, the host offered wine to the musicians. Then, the sheng player stands in the middle of the bell and chime and plays the music of "Nanyi", "Baihua", "Hua Huang" and so on. At the end of the performance, the host offers wine to the fluteer. After that, the upper and lower halls alternately sang and played music: the song of "Yuli" in the hall and the song of "You Geng" in the lower hall; The song of "South Jiayu" is played in the hall, and the song of "Chongqiu" is played in the hall; The song of "Nanshan Youtai" is played in the hall, and the song of "Youyi" is played in the hall. Then the local music is sung: "Guan Ju", "Ge Tan" and "Juan Er" in "Zhou Nan", "Magpie's Nest", "Cai Su" and "Cai" in "Zhao Nan". At this time, it is often necessary to use archery to Lebin, and the ritual is the same as the village archery.

This is the end of the formal etiquette, and then the stage of 'no reckoning' begins. Everyone has a meal to accompany the wine in front of the table, at this time drinking, persuade each other to drink, no longer count the number of trips, you can drink at will, persuade each other, until drunk and rest. It should be pointed out that even when there is no reckoning, it is absolutely forbidden to be drunk and rude, and for this reason, a supervisor is specially appointed to supervise the person who is involved in the ceremony.

At night, there are candles on the steps, the west steps, in the courtyard and outside the door. When Bin was slightly drunk, he took the pinch in front of his seat and went down to the court. The musician played the music of "陔", and the bin gave the preserved food to the musician who rang the bell, and then went out. The doctor then went out.

Sixth, the righteousness of the monarch and the minister that Yanli wants to express

The subtlety of ancient Chinese rituals lies in the fact that every seemingly ordinary ritual is endowed with a deep sense of etiquette, and when you perform the ceremony, you are unconsciously infiltrated by virtue, even in the ritual of leisure swallow drinking, such as Yan Li.

For example, if the king gives a gift of wine to a guest, or gives a knight to others, the recipient must go down to the court, face north, and bow to the head of the king, which is the courtesy that the courtiers should have to the king. This is so because the monarch is the representative of the state, otherwise it is not enough to express the high respect in the heart. Through such etiquette, the etiquette maker hopes to cultivate the consciousness of his subordinates to be diligent in state affairs.

Although the monarch is the supreme of a country, etiquette is the behavior of both parties, and one of the principles of ancient Chinese etiquette is to pay attention to courtesy and exchange. It is very rude for one party to bow reverently and the other to say nothing. This is true even if you are as humble as a king and a minister. Therefore, in order to show humility, the king asked the ministers to go down to the court to stop them, so the recipient went to the court to complete the prayer. Not only that, every time the subordinates bow to the monarch, the monarch must bow in return, which is what "Yanyi" says. Answering all the courtesies is a courtesy exchange, which is a unique way for Oriental people to respect each other when communicating and communicating. From the salute of reply, it can be extended to the way of the monarch and the minister, that is, "Yanyi" said that "the etiquette is all answered, and the words are not falsely taken from the bottom". "Yan Yi" explains: "The ministers do their best to make meritorious contributions to the country, and the king will repay them with knights, so the ministers do their best to make meritorious contributions, and they are peaceful with national security." The courtesy is a reminder to the monarch that he cannot just ask his subordinates to do their best without showing it accordingly. This is true on ceremonial occasions, and it is also true in the way of governing the country, and the monarch should repay the subordinates who have made contributions to the country with knighthood. In this way, all the subordinates will also work hard to make meritorious contributions, so that there will be harmony between the monarch and the ministers and the long-term peace and stability of the country. Therefore, "Yan Yi" also said: "Yan Li, so the righteousness of the Ming monarch and the minister." This is what Confucianism calls the righteousness of the ruler and the minister.

From the relationship between the monarch and the minister, it can be extended to the relationship between the monarch and the people. "Yan Yi" said: 'The upper part will know the right way to the people, and the people will have merit in the way, and then take their tithes, so the upper will use enough and the lower will not be scarce; It is to be close to each other and not resentful. This means that the king must guide the people in the right way, and if the people are guided correctly and strive to do their work, they will surely create sufficient material wealth. Even so, the monarch levied only one-tenth of it for government spending. The blind date between the monarch and the people without resentment is 'harmony', and the lack of wealth and use is 'Ning'; 'Hening' can go to the great rule of the world. Therefore, "Yanyi" also said: 'Harmony, the use of etiquette is also. It can be seen that Yanli is not a simple banquet, but has a deep meaning, but it is natural and reasonable everywhere, and there is no trace of preaching.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:12 Reply to this statement

67 Reply : Reply : Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

● Princes meet each other to give respect: dowry

Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization No. 15

Princes meet each other with respect: dowry

In ancient times, between the Son of Heaven and the princes, and between the princes and the princes, they generally had the opportunity to meet on occasions such as alliances. If there is no alliance for a long time, in order to contact the feelings, it is necessary to send the secretary and doctor to ask each other, which is the dowry. The dowry was a high-ranking meeting between nobles. The etiquette documents of the Son of Heaven and the princes are scarce, and they are no longer known. The dowry between the princes is divided into large and small appointments, and the etiquette of the two is basically the same, but the identity of the envoy and the number of gifts are different. "Etiquette and Dowry" records the etiquette of the great engagement, and "The Book of Etiquette and Dowry" expounds the etiquette of the dowry.

1. Summary of the dowry

Organize a group to go to the temple.

The country and the envoy shall be agreed upon by the monarch and the secretaries, and a secretary shall be selected to be the envoy, called the guest; A doctor serves as a deputy envoy, called a suke; The other official members of the entourage were appointed by the scholars, called the Zhongjie, and were appointed by Sima.

The day before the trip, the monarch was present, checked the gifts one by one, confirmed that they were all right, loaded the car, and handed the gift list to the messenger. On the day of the trip, the envoy should first perform the temple ceremony at your own temple and report the upcoming appointment to the temple owner. At the beginning of the journey, the envoy and his entourage were to sacrifice objects to the god of the road. He offered sacrifices with wine and dried meat by the mound of earth, and then drank wine to make a feast for the messenger.

Entry, suburban labor, and the establishment of a museum

Before arriving at the border of the country of inquiry, the mission will rehearse the ceremony of the interview. first pile up the soil for the altar, and then draw the steps to simulate the palace hall; A curtain is set up on the north side to symbolize the direction of the monarch; The exercise is a solemn expression. When entering the country, all personnel swear that they will not violate the etiquette laws of the country of employment. Then, he met with the Guan people and explained his intentions. With the consent of the monarch, the mission entered the country.

After the envoy arrived in the suburbs, the king sent the secretary with a bundle of silk to comfort and send a message of condolences on behalf of the king. The messenger rewarded Qing with a skin and a bundle of brocade. Then, the monarch's wife sent a doctor with dates and chestnuts to comfort him, and the messenger thanked the doctor with a skin and a bundle of brocade.

The envoy came to the foreign court where he was hired, and the doctor arranged a building for the mission, and the secretary hereby sent an order to the king, and asked the envoy to stay here, and the envoy bowed and bowed again to thank him. The zaifu furnished food for the envoys in the hall, and there were rice, grass and other things outside the door, and the deputy envoy and his entourage also gave food respectively. The formal food ritual should include three categories: fishy (uncooked animals after slaughter), cooked (cooked animals after slaughter), and glutinous (live animals that have not been slaughtered).

Hire.

It is the core part of the dowry ceremony, which is divided into four ceremonies: the appointment of the monarch, the enjoyment of the monarch, the appointment of the monarch's wife, and the enjoyment of the monarch's wife. On the day of the engagement, the king sent a doctor to the hotel to greet the envoy. The messenger displayed gifts such as coins and silks outside the temple gate. The monarch appointed the secretary as the secretary, the doctor as the bearer, and the scholar as the shao, and he himself greeted the messenger inside the gate. The king and the envoy went to the court. The envoy faced east to address his own monarch and presented Gui to the monarch. The monarch bowed goodbye to the envoy facing west, and took it with his own hands.

After the appointment, the messenger went out of the hall, and then entered the door again to enjoy the gift. The envoy was bound with silk and silk, and went to the hall facing east to deliver a speech on behalf of his monarch, and presented the monarch with coins and silks. The monarch bowed to the envoy with his face facing west, and took the coin with his own hands.

When giving a dowry to the monarch's wife, the jade is used Zhang; When performing the ceremony, the cong is used, and the ritual is the same as when the king is hired. But the lady did not accept it herself, but the king accepted it on her behalf.

Private

The ceremony of appointment is performed on behalf of one's own country, and after that, the envoys and others also pay homage to the king of the country in their own name, and this ceremony is called a private ceremony. Before the private courtesy, it must be courtesy of the monarch. The monarch went out of the temple gate to welcome the guests inside, and after the two sides went to the court, the monarch personally gave the lacquer to the messenger and entertained him with liquor. Four horses furnished as gifts in the court. Then, the king presented the messenger with a bundle, and the messenger bowed and accepted it.

The envoy saw the king in private, and entered with a bundle of brocade in one hand and the bridle of four horses in the other. The king and the envoy went to the court after giving in to each other. The messenger presented the coin to the king, and the king himself accepted it. The ceremony of the deputy envoy and his entourage to meet the monarch in private was similar.

Return

The monarch went out of the temple to send the messenger. When he was about to reach the gate, the king asked about the other king's daily life. When the messenger answered, the king bowed again and wished him peace and well. The monarch also inquired about the situation of the other party's doctor, and expressed his condolences to the envoy for his hard work, and also to the entourage.

The king gave the legation food for the duration of its stay, which was called a feast. The food given is one prison for cooking, two prisons for fishing, and two prisons for gluttony, a total of five prisons; 100 urns of liquor and meat sauce, 100 baskets of rice; In addition, there were 30 carts of rice, 30 carts of grass, and 60 carts of firewood and forage. The monarch's wife, the minister, etc., also gave gifts. The deputy envoy and his entourage were also given corresponding food.

During this period, the monarch invited the delegation to view the light of the country and visit the Jongmyo Temple and the palace. The monarch also entertained envoys and deputy envoys in the form of feasts, food ceremonies, and swallow ceremonies; Qing also entertained him with gifts and food gifts.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:15 Reply to this statement

68 Reply: Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

Ask Dr. Qing. The envoy greeted the ministers in the name of the king, and then visited them in his personal name. The deputy envoys and others only visited the secretaries in their private names.

Returning the jade bribe

Before the mission was about to return to China, the king sent the secretary to return to the envoy the envoy in the dowry gift to himself, and to the lady Zhang. After that, the king gave the bundle to the messenger and asked him to pass it on to his king, a ritual called 'bribe'; It also uses coins and silks and other things as a reward for enjoying gifts, and this ritual is called 'li'. The monarch's wife sent a doctor to give the envoy back with a basket, beans, and wine. The doctor presented gifts such as bundles and silks to the messengers. The deputy envoy and his entourage also had their own gifts.

Drop-off

The monarch personally went to the hotel to meet the envoy, expressed his gratitude to the envoy for his appointment to himself and his wife, and greeted the doctors, and expressed his farewell to the envoy's imminent return to China. The envoy went to the court and bowed three times to thank the king for his blessing. So the envoy and his party set out on their way home, and stayed in the suburbs that day. The monarch also sent the secretary to see off the envoy, sent the doctor to see off the deputy envoy, and sent the envoy to give gifts to the envoy's entourage. The priest shall always send the messenger and his party to the border.

Resurrection to the temple

When the envoy returned to the outskirts of his country, he asked the people in the suburbs to pay homage to the king, and then put on his court clothes, held a sacrifice, and entered the city. The envoy displayed the coins and silks presented by the other monarch and the secretary on the ruling court, the envoy stood facing north, and the deputy envoy stood on the side of the envoy. The envoy replied to the king and gave a detailed account of the envoy's journey. The king condoled with the envoys, deputy envoys and entourage, and gave them coins and silks one by one.

The envoy used a silk to inform the temple master of the temple ceremony by the gate of the house, and the envoy returned and paid the entourage. When the deputy envoy returns to his home, he will also perform the temple ceremony in this way.

2. The Holy King is brave and powerful

In Confucian etiquette, the length of time to perform the ritual varies greatly. The heavier the ceremony, the more complex the etiquette and the longer it takes to perform the ceremony. The dowry and archery are the most important rites, and the main etiquette begins at dawn and ends almost at noon. With such a lengthy etiquette, ordinary people can't imagine that if it weren't for the strong and virtuous people, without superior spiritual strength, it would be impossible to persevere to the end.

During the salute, they toast each other, and they only take a symbolic sip, even if they are thirsty, they will not take the drink; The meat on the table is almost dry, and even if you are hungry, you will not eat it; At dusk, when everyone else was slacking off with weariness, the one who bowed was still dignified and purified, and conscientiously fulfilled every ritual, because he knew that the righteousness of the king, the father and the son, and the elder and the young were hidden in it.

Only those who can complete the whole ritual from beginning to end are virtuous. "Employment" says: "This is difficult for many people, but the gentleman does it, so it is said to be done." Doing is righteousness, and righteousness is bravery. ‘

A gentleman is a virtuous person, and a virtuous man must act appropriately everywhere (the meaning of 'righteousness' here is 'appropriate'), can grasp the measure, and be decisive and brave in the face of things.

"Hire" says that there are two kinds of powerful brave people, one is the brave who uses their courage for personal fighting, but in fact they are chaotic people who endanger society and are not commendable; Another kind of brave man, 'If there is nothing in the world, use it for propriety and righteousness; If there is something in the world, it will be used to overcome'; According to the "Appointment of Righteousness", the latter is the brave man admired by the ancient holy kings. Such brave men were able to fight for justice during the war years, and they had the ability to win decisive battles; In times of peace, they can follow the important etiquette formulated by the Son of Heaven and achieve the great shun of the world; 'Invincible outside, Shunzhi inside, this is called Shengde. Therefore, the noble king is brave and powerful, and so is it. ‘

It can be seen that etiquette such as dowry and archery has the effect of sharpening people's will and inspiring people's spirit. Confucianism makes etiquette and requires people to practice it from time to time, precisely to make etiquette and righteousness subtle and create a gentleman.

3. Guizhang and Virtue

The most important gifts in the dowry are jade, such as the Gui of the Appointment of the Monarch and the Bi of the Xiang Monarch; Zhang, who hired the wife of the monarch, and Cong, who enjoyed the wife of the monarch, etc., among them, Gui was the most important.

In ancient times, it was used to meet the Son of Heaven and was nine inches long, with a pallet of equal length underneath. Gui is half an inch thick, three inches wide, and the top is cut off by one and a half inches on the left and right, and it is acutely angled; There are six circles drawn horizontally on the pallet with three colors, and the order of the three colors is vermilion, white, pale, vermilion, white, and pale. The gui, which was used by the princes, was only colored vermilion and green, and the length of the board and the board was eight inches. Both of these pallets have a one-foot-long ribbon at the end, with a dark color on the top and a silk color on the bottom.

At the ceremony of suing the temple before departure, Ariji opened the coffin of the treasured jade, took out the gui, and handed it to Zai. Jaesho Kei handed over to the messenger. The envoy listened to the king's order and repeated it. Then take Bi, Zhang, and finally, carefully pack them into the box one by one, and then set off. Gifts are inspected upon entry, arrival in the suburbs, and hotel stays. The focus of the three inspections is on jade objects such as Gui and Zhang, not only to check whether they are in good condition, but also to take them out and wipe them. The degree of cherishing can be imagined.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:15 Reply to this statement

69 Reply : Reply : Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

According to the "Hiryi", Zigong was very puzzled by this phenomenon, so he asked Confucius, why is the gentleman 'precious jade and lowly' (the stone is very similar to jade)? Is it because there are many pieces of jade and there is little jade, and things are scarce and expensive? Confucius replied that it is not because there are many jade and it is cheap, and because jade is less and expensive, but because jade has unique advantages in feel, appearance, and texture; These characteristics are very similar to the qualities pursued by a gentleman: the jade color is warm and shiny, very much like benevolence; The texture is delicate and hard, like wisdom; Though it has edges and corners, it does not hurt anyone, as righteousness; The jade body hangs down and falls, like human humility and courtesy; The sound produced by striking it with something begins with a clear and distant sound, and ends abruptly at the end, such as the Confucian method of pleasure; Flaws do not hide Yu, Yu does not hide flaws, similar to the exposure of people's loyalty; Color is seen in appearance, like the credit of man is not hidden; The white gas of jade, like a rainbow through the sun, is like the sky; The jade is hidden in the mountains and rivers, and the essence is seen through the outside, just like the earth's qi; When using Guizhang as a dowry, there is no need to add other items, just like a virtuous person; People all over the world love jade, just like everything is inseparable from the Tao. Jade has eleven beautiful qualities such as benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, happiness, loyalty, faith, heaven, earth, virtue, and Tao, which are exactly the goals that a gentleman should pursue in self-cultivation, so Confucius said that 'a gentleman is more virtuous than jade', so he deeply loves it. Confucius quoted the words of "The Book of Songs, Qin Feng, Xiaorong" that "the gentleman who thinks of words is as warm as jade", which shows that the gentleman in the poet's mind is as gentle as beautiful jade.

China, along with Mexico and New Zealand, is known as the world's three largest sources of ancient jade. Jade is widely distributed in China, and jade production has a long history. As early as the Neolithic period, all parts of the north and south of China have been able to make exquisite jade, and the types of vessels are rich and colorful, and there is a tendency to serialize. By the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the process of making jade was quite mature. Unlike Mexico and New Zealand, because Confucianism endowed jade with rich humanistic connotations, Chinese jade is no longer just a handicraft for enjoyment, but has become a special item for literati to show their inner virtues or value tendencies, thus forming the style of gentlemen wearing jade. There are quite a lot of jade-related idioms in China, which are contrasted with the dazzling array of jade artifacts, forming a unique Chinese jade culture (see the fourth lecture of the humble book "Cultural Relics and Cultural China": "Liangzhu 'Cong Wang' and Jade Culture in China's Prehistoric Era"; Tsinghua University Press, 2002). At this point, it is not difficult to understand the important meaning of jade in the dowry.

Fourth, return jade and heavy gifts over wealth

As mentioned earlier, it was quite solemn for the envoy to be presented to the king by the king. This is especially true when performing the appointment gift: there is a secretary to take the gui and hand it over to the deputy envoy; The deputy envoy respectfully delegated to the envoy; It is making it necessary to 'attack' at this time. In ancient times, there was a '裼 (xi) raid ceremony', in which the ancients usually wore a kudzu cloth or fur coat, and a beautiful smock called '裼' was added to the outside, and the formal dress was worn outside the coat. In the general rite, the placket of the worshipper is unbuttoned, and the left sleeve is removed to expose the underneath. On particularly solemn occasions, it is necessary to button up the placket, put on the left sleeve, and cover the coat, which is the so-called 'attack'. At this time, the envoy was about to pay a gift to the king of the country of appointment, so he had to 'attack' and carry out the ceremony. Due to the solemnity of the etiquette, the party of the country should first 'resign the jade' to show his modesty and dare not be appropriate, and then agree to the envoy to go to the court to perform the appointment and enjoy the gift. When the monarch receives jade, he also has to 'attack' to show respect for Gui. It can be seen that the grandeur of the dowry is mainly reflected through the respect for Guizhang.

After the monarch received the jade, the main task of the envoy seemed to have been completed. However, when the envoy was about to return to the country, the king of the country sent the secretary to the envoy's residence to hold a ceremony of 'returning the jade', that is, to return the original Gui and Zhang that he had previously received to the envoy. The envoy 'attacked' and received the gui, which was extremely solemn. Then return Zhang, the ceremony is the same as returning Gui.

People can't help but ask, since the monarch has already received Gyujang, why should he return it? This seemingly strange phenomenon actually has a deep meaning. Imagine, if the jade brought by the envoy is very exquisite and the quantity is very large, and the party as the host accepts all the orders, then the excitement of both sides of the ceremony falls on the gift, which is not only suspected of greedy for money, but also violates the original meaning of the dowry. In order to be friendly to the princes, the Son of Heaven stipulated that one year should be hired and three years later, so that they could encourage each other with courtesy. If the princes can fellowship with courtesy, they will not invade each other on the outside and not on the inside. This is the subtlety of the Son of Heaven guiding the princes. Therefore, the purpose of the bride price is to connect the feelings, not the thickness of the gift. Using Guizhang to hire is to hope that each other will be strengthened by virtue. If too much jade is brought, the dowry will become mainly property, and the original intention of the ceremony will be submerged, which will inevitably hurt morality. "Dowry" says: 'Hire with Guizhang, and pay heavy gifts; has been hired and returned to Guizhang, this light wealth and heavy gift righteousness. The princes are strong with light money and heavy gifts, and **** is a concession. On the one hand, it is necessary to use the etiquette of reverberation, receiving jade, and assault to highlight the specifications and solemnity of the ceremony, and on the other hand, it is necessary to use the way of returning the jade to highlight the humanistic trend of the ceremony, so as to prevent the etiquette from deteriorating due to high specifications.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:15 Reply to this statement

70 Reply: Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization" serialized

If the princes ask each other to pay more attention to gifts than wealth, they will set an example for the world, and the people will advocate the style of courtesy. This is one of the original meanings of the dowry.

Fifth, the introduction and the transmission of life, respect also

The word 'introduction', which is widely used in modern Chinese, generally refers to the words or actions of a third party who communicates with each other, but few people know that 'introduction' originally referred to a way of communication in ancient rituals.

At the beginning of the meeting, there was a considerable distance between each other, and the host and guest could not talk directly, but through the people standing between each other, the guest was called 'Jie', and the speaker on the host's side was called 'Jie', and the messenger on the host's side was called 'Jie'. The length of the distance between the host and the guest depends on the status of both parties, the more respectful the status, the farther the distance, and the more intermediaries in between. "Recruitment" says: "Shanggong Qijie, Hou Bo Wujie, Zinan Sanjie. 'Several intermediaries have special names, and the first one is called 'Shangjie'; The person in the middle or one person, or three people, or five people, is called 'Cheng', which means to undertake; The one who is at the end is called 'Suesuke'. The same is true for the top, the bearer, and the end, but the number of people is smaller. Generally speaking, the upper is the secretary, the undertaker is the doctor, and the Shao is the scholar; The same is true for media.

At the beginning of the meeting, the two sides presented and introduced. What the guest wants to say to the host, first inform the upper introduction, the upper introduction will be passed on to the introduction, and the introduction will be passed on to the last introduction; The end is then passed on to the other party's upper fold, and the upper fold is passed on to the bearer, and the end is passed on to the master. The host's reply is conveyed to the guests in the reverse order. This is what "Hiryi" says "introduction and transmission", and "Shao" means to continue and undertake. In the "Dowry Ceremony", before the envoy performs the appointment ceremony, the two sides present their own presentations in the temple gate, but the text is quite brief, so we must make the above explanation so that the reader can understand.

Why do the two sides have to talk about it from the introduction? It was a way for the ancients to pay their respects. The ancients could not directly refer to each other's names, which was a sign of rudeness, but to call each other's words, so that they could show respect in humility; Calling the other party Your Excellency, calling the Son of Heaven Your Majesty, etc., all mean the same thing. "Employment" says: "Introduce and pass on orders, and the gentleman dares to question the Buddha he respects, and respects him to the fullest." This means that the gentleman did not dare to confront the Venerable One, so he expressed his great respect by passing on his life. The word 'introduction' in modern Chinese comes from this, and it has an ancient meaning.

6. The earliest procedures for diplomatic etiquette

The Dowry is the earliest surviving text of diplomatic etiquette norms in China, and it is also the earliest text of diplomatic etiquette norms in the world. It establishes a series of principles of diplomatic etiquette and shows one aspect of China's developed etiquette culture in ancient times.

mutual benefit

On the way to foreign countries, they often have to pass through other countries, and when they arrive at their borders, they should not enter their borders at will, but should apply to the border control officials to obtain the consent of the other party first, which is a respect for the territory and sovereignty of other countries. In general, the monarch of the passing country should grant passage and provide convenience to those who cross the border, and give food such as cattle, sheep, and pigs, as well as necessary items such as forage for livestock, and then send someone to lead the way until they have left the border. Before entering the country, transit passengers are required to take an oath to abide by the laws and regulations of the country of passage and not to disturb the people when they reach their borders. Similar provisions provide an operational paradigm for mutually respectful and mutually beneficial relations in diplomatic activities.

Diplomatic courtesy

Missions are representatives of States and deserve special attention from the host country when they visit. For example, after the embassy entered the country, the king would send someone to meet him at the border, and then he would send a doctor to the suburbs to pay tribute to the guests who had been in the dust. After staying, the host should provide the guests with the conditions to wash their hair once every three days and take a bath once every five days; Provide a variety of food for the duration of the stay; Invite them to visit the temple, palace and other places, the so-called 'light of the country'; Prepare all kinds of food for the trip before returning home. Similar regulations are everywhere in the "Dowry".

Etiquette norms

Diplomacy is a state-to-state exchange, and the image of a country is everywhere involved. The identity, manners, and language of the characters who have appeared in the complicated etiquette must be in line with the etiquette, and the norms are given in the "Dowry" so that the visitors can follow them.

For example, for the ceremony of hiring, the monarch should personally greet the envoy inside the temple gate, and the ceremony of accepting the gyuzhang should be held at the temple, and the north side should bow to the king's life, so pay tribute. In order to show self-humility, the candidate should not stay in the temple of a person of equal status, but should be demoted to the next level, and live in the temple of the doctor, the doctor in the temple of the scholar, and the scholar in the house of the businessman.

There are strict regulations on the number of fishy, cooked, gluttony, rice, and salaries given to members of the mission, as well as the position and orientation of Zhengding, Pingding, Doudou, and Dou when furnishing, and shall not be placed at will.

The king feasts the envoys, eats once, and feasts twice; If the deputy envoy is invited to a banquet, he will have a meal and a banquet; The envoy and the deputy envoy should go to the court the next day to thank the king. The doctor feasted the messenger, feasted once, and ate once. If the doctor invites the deputy envoy to a banquet, then you can choose one of the food ceremonies and the dining ceremony.

Due to space limitations, I will not list them, but interested readers can read the original article. The various norms recorded in the "Etiquette" have become the source of China's ancient diplomatic etiquette, which has been adopted by successive governments or transformed according to social changes.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:15 Reply to this statement

71 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

●Affectionate and Liwen: mourning clothes

Speech on Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization No. 16

Praise and Writing: Mourning Clothes (I)

Most culturally progressive peoples will use a specific form to express their inner grief when a loved one dies. In the ancient etiquette of our country, there is a saying that 'etiquette is more important than mourning'. Because the general etiquette ends in a day or a few hours, and the funeral is as long as three years before and after, and the ritual is extremely complex and the connotation is quite rich. The mourning dress system is an important part of the funeral ceremony, which is one of the most prominent cultural phenomena in ancient social life with the ancient patriarchal system. "Etiquette" has a "mourning dress", which is the original canonical document of the ancient mourning dress system, which is said to have been passed down by Zixia. "The Book of Rites" has "Miscellaneous Notes", "Mourning Clothes Notes", "Great Biography", "Funeral Records", "Funeral Questions", "Clothing Questions", "Three Years Questions", "Four Systems of Mourning Clothes" and other articles to discuss the etiquette and meaning of mourning clothes. Scholars of all ages have written a lot of work on mourning clothes, and the issues are extremely complex, so this article tries to introduce them superficially.

1. Take three for five, take five for nine: the establishment of kinship

The principle of the mourning dress system, "Xunzi Treatise on Etiquette", said that it is 'the text of the mourning dress is established according to the depth of the feelings between the living and the dead, and the depth of the feelings is determined by the intimacy of the relationship between each other.

Theoretically speaking, the reproduction of a family is never endless, so the kinship system of people is always expanding up and down, left and right. For the convenience of life and management, it is necessary to divide the family. Anyone has the closest blood relationship with their father and son, gets along the most closely, and has the deepest affection. Therefore, the ancients regarded the three generations of father, self and son as the core of the family. Based on this, the scope of the family is determined by expanding outward twice, which is what the "Book of Rites and Mourning Clothes" says: "Kissing, taking three as five, and five as nine". 'Three' refers to the three generations of the father, oneself, and the son. After such an expansion, the kinship extends from the original three generations to five generations of grandfathers, fathers, self, sons, and grandchildren, which is the meaning of 'three for five'. Then, by the grandfather, father, self, son, grandson five generations respectively upward, downward two generations, after this expansion, the kinship is extended to the high ancestor, great-grandfather, grandfather, father, self, son, grandson, great-grandson, great-grandson nine generations, this is the meaning of 'five for nine'.

Why extend kinship to nine generations? Because the immediate family members that can be seen in a person's life can not count up to the ancestors, and down to the great-great-grandsons, this is a limit. On this basis, the collateral relatives can start with brothers, and can have brothers from the father (brothers with the same grandfather), from the ancestors (brothers with the same great-grandfather), and as far as the clan brothers (brothers with the same ancestors). In this way, from the four generations of the ancestors, down to the four generations of great-great-grandchildren, plus their own generation, a total of nine generations, including fathers and brothers, grandfather brothers, clan brothers, etc., constitute the customary nine clans, including all members of the clan.

In ancient China, the method of dividing families by nine ethnic groups was transmitted to Korea in the Song Dynasty at the latest, and was generally accepted by the government and the public, and has been passed down from generation to generation. To be more concise, they use 'inch'

As a basic unit to represent the relationship within the family, it is helpful for us to understand the relationship between relatives and relatives, and the main points are as follows:

All the direct relationship between father and son is an inch. The great-grandfather and the great-grandfather, the great-grandfather and the grandfather, the grandfather and the father, the son and the grandson, the grandson and the great-grandson, are all father-son relationships, so they are all one-inch relationships. In patriarchal theory, husband and wife are one, so there is no 'inch' distance between husband and wife. Brothers and sisters born of one mother have no 'inch' distance from each other. Therefore, the relationship between the child and the mother is the same as that of the father.

The horizontal relationship is two inches. The father's brother belongs to the collateral family, and they all have to set up a separate family, and the relationship between them is more distant from each other than the relationship between father and son, so it is stipulated as two inches, such as oneself and cousins, cousins and subordinate brothers, and then subordinate brothers and three subordinate brothers, all of which are two-inch relationships.

In this way, the intimacy and alienation of each other in the coordinates of the five-service relationship, as long as the number of inches is said, it is completely clear. For example, a cousin is two inches, a brother is four inches, and a brother is six inches, all of them are brothers; The relationship with the uncle is based on the number of inches of the direct line plus the number of inches of the collateral lineage, such as three inches for the uncle, five inches for the cousin, and seven inches for the uncle, all of which are singular. The more inches, the sparser the relationship. From Gaozu to great-great-grandson, the farthest relationship is Ba Cun, so Koreans often use 'Tong Gaozu Ba Cun' to indicate a family, the diagram is as follows:

Gaozu

1 inch|

Great-grandfather - great-grandfather

1 inch|

Zu - Grandbrother - Grandcousin

1 inch|

Father - Uncle - Cousin Uncle - From Uncle

1 inch|

Himself - cousins - from brothers - from brothers again

1 inch|

Son--nephew-cousin--nephew-from-nephew

1 inch|

Sun - brother grandson - cousin grandson

1 inch|

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:16 Reply to this statement

72 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

Great-grandson - brother great-grandson

1 inch|

Great-great-grandson

This method is still used in North and South Korea today, and when we interact with them, we often hear them directly use the number of inches to indicate kinship. A few years ago, a professor at Yeongnam University in South Korea found one of his long-lost relatives in Northeast China, and when he returned to Beijing, he excitedly told me: 'He is my five-inch uncle!' 'Uncle Wucun is a cousin and has a very close relationship, so he is very happy.

2. Upper killing, lower killing, and side killing: the establishment of the difference between mourning clothes

If all those who occupy a little relative have to mourn when they die, then they will spend most of their lives in mourning, which will make it difficult to have a normal life, and society will not be able to develop. Therefore, the ancients limited the scope of mourning to the nine tribes.

However, there is a big difference in the relationship between the nine clans. Father, son, three generations are the closest, and whether up, down or to the side, the family relationship is more and more estranged, and they are not only separated from their grandfather and grandson in blood, but also spend less time with each other than father and son, and each other's emotions will naturally decline. This is especially true with great-grandfathers and great-ancestors, and they may not even have met each other, but when they hear their fathers and ancestors talk about it, their emotions will naturally decline again. This phenomenon of decay is called 'reduction', and 'killing' (shai) means to reduce, to detract.

As mentioned earlier, the manifestation of rites is consistent with the inner emotions of the person. In such a family with different intimacy and different affections, it is naturally impossible to use the same kind of mourning clothes. According to the principle of 'reducing killing' within the family, the ancients formulated five corresponding levels of mourning clothes: beheading, Qi decay, great merit, small merit, and hemp.

Straight upward, family affection is reduced from generation to generation, and the level of mourning clothes also decreases from heavy to light, which is called 'upper killing', for example, for the father's service, for the grandparents to serve the cane period, for the great-grandparents, great-grandparents to serve the decline of the three months.

Straight downward, family affection is also reduced from generation to generation, and the level of mourning clothes is also reduced from heavy to light, called 'lower killing', for example, the father serves the eldest son of the eldest son, serves the grandson without a cane, and serves the great-grandson and great-great-grandson.

In the same way, the reduction of family affection to collateral relatives is called 'side killing', such as serving the period of decay and non-rod for the brothers, serving the great merit for the father and brother, serving the minor merit for the ancestor brother, and serving the clan brother.

Different kinship wears different mourning clothes, and the "Treatise on Etiquette" says that it is 'worthy of affection and writing', which is adapted to different emotions. The results of the upper killing, the lower killing, and the side killing cover all the relatives in a person's life, so the "Book of Rites, Mourning Clothes Notes" says, "Upper killing, lower killing, and side killing and kissing".

The scope of the fifth-class mourning dress includes all relatives within the four generations of Gao, great-great, grandfather, and father, and the lightest mourning dress is hemp, so the "Book of Rites and the Great Biography" says: "The fourth generation is restricted, and the service is poor." Therefore, the folk often use 'five suits' to refer to family relations, and use whether they have five suits to measure whether they belong to the same family. So, when a distant relative who has a funeral in Wufu, how should it be handled? The "Great Biography" says that there are two principles, one is 'the fifth generation', that is, the relatives of the fifth generation have a funeral, and they do not have to mourn for it, as long as they are left and exempt (wen, 'exempt' is to tie a one-inch-wide mourning belt on the head); The second is 'the sixth generation, the relatives are exhausted', and in the sixth generation, although each other's ancestors are related, the kinship relationship is severed, even if the other party has a funeral, they can not make any expression. It can be seen that the 'Fifth Generation' is a transitional funeral ornament.

Eleven sub-categories of third- and fifth-class mourning dresses

The fifth-class mourning clothes, from heavy to light, are chopping decay (cui), qi (zi) decay, great gong, small gong, and hemp (si), and there are subdivisions within the five clothes, and there are eleven kinds of mourning situations, and their names and mourning objects are roughly as follows.

Chopping is the heaviest of the fifth-class mourning garments.

1. Cut down for three years. The "Book of Rites: Four Systems of Mourning Clothes" says: "Those who are generous are heavy in their service, so they are the father who has been declining for three years, and those who are gracious are also." 'The object of obedience is the least, and it is limited to a few cases in this sect, such as the child being the father, the wife being the husband, and the father being the eldest son.

Qi decay is the second to the decay of mourning, according to the difference between relatives and relatives, with a staff (mourning staff) and without a staff, the mourning period is also long, there are four situations in total:

2. Qi decay for three years. The father is the mother, and the mother is the eldest son. "Four Systems of Mourning Clothes" says: 'Belong to the father and love the mother. There are no two days in the sky, no two kings in the earth, no two kings in the country, no two respects in the family, and one rule is also used. ‘

The children's affection for their fathers and mothers is the same, but they are different in mourning clothes, mainly out of the consideration of 'there is no two in the family', in fact, to highlight the subjectivity of the father's line.

3. Qi decay scepter period. The father is for the mother, and the husband is for the wife; The mourning clothes are the same as the three years of Qi decay, but the mourning period lasts for one year (one year).

4. Qi decay is not a cane period. Serve grandparents, grandparents, uncles, brothers, etc.; The main differences from the above two types of mourning clothes are:

No rods.

5. Qi decay in March. It is used for great-grandparents, and it is also used by the king.

Great work

6. Great achievements in September and July. For the sake of fathers, brothers, husbands, grandparents, etc.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:16 Reply to this statement

73 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, serialized "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

7. Great success in September and July. This service is mainly for the deceased. for the sons and daughters, for the long and middle deaths; The Elder Brother's Death,

Wait for the middle of the mourning.

(8) Decay is a special kind of mourning dress, and the ministers of the princes serve it for the Son of Heaven.

Small work

9. Small achievements in May. Serve the death of the uncle and the death of the brother.

10. Xiaogong May. For the service of grandparents, grandparents, maternal grandparents, etc.

Hemp

11. March. It is for great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, brothers, and parents, uncles, nephews, sons-in-law, and other relatives of the wife.

The relationship between the five costumes and the nine tribes, as well as the maternal relatives and wives (see section 6 for details of the outer relatives and wives), was very complicated, so the ancients often drew diagrams for easy reference and memorization. Changsha Mawang has appeared in the book of "mourning clothes". In the Dunhuang documents, it is also found that the 'mourning dress map' made according to the Tang Dynasty mourning dress system, but it is divided into three pictures, which is more complicated. Now we will briefly list the relationship between mourning clothes in the pre-Qin period as follows.

Great-grandparents

(Qi Decline March)

Clan great-grandparents

Great-grandparents

(Qi Decline March)

Clan grandparents

From the ancestors

grandparent

(Xiaogong) grandparents

(Non-cane period)

maternal grandparents,

From the mother (small work)

Clan parents

(缌麻) from grandparents

(Xiaogong) parents, uncles

(No rod period) Father

(3 years of decay) Mother:

the father is the mother (three years of Qi decline);

Father is in the mother (rod period) from the mother Kundi,

Uncle, uncle's son,

Nephew, (缌麻)

Clan Kundi

(缌麻) from Zukundi

(Xiaogong)

From the father Kundi

Kundi

(Non-cane period)

His wife

(Rod) Wife's parents, (Xiaogong)

The son of the Kundi of the clan

From the son of the father

The son of Kundi

(No rod period) sub:

the eldest son (three years of decay); Sons (no rod period) Concubines (great merit); Concubine (Xiaogong)

From the grandson of his father Kundi

The grandson of Kundi

(Xiaogong) Sun: grandson

(non-rod period); Grandson

(Great Achievement)

Great-grandson of Kundi

Great-grandson

(Hemp)

Great-great-grandson

(Hemp)

Sketch of mourning clothes

Fourth, there are six service techniques: determine the principle of mourning clothing

The principle of mourning is based on a single family, but it is not limited to that family. The family is nothing but a cell of society, and in order for a cell to survive, it must be connected to other cells, to the organism. To put it simply, people of different generations in a family have to establish a marriage relationship with a family with a different surname, both those with different surnames who marry into the door and those with the same surnames who marry out. In this way, a kinship relationship was established between families that were originally not related by blood, and some people who were originally from the sect became people from families with different surnames, and many people's identities changed and their roles changed. This kind of intricate social relationship must be reflected in the mourning dress system. In addition, each family lives in a certain administrative district, and the family is very closely related to society, so when the chief executive of a country dies, for example, how each family mourns also needs to be regulated.

The Book of Rites and the Great Biography summarizes all kinds of mourning dress regulations, believing that there are six principles running through them, which are called 'six techniques': 'There are six ways to serve: one is to kiss, two is respect, three is name, four is entry, five is elder and young, and six is obedience. ‘

'Kissing' is the most basic principle of the six arts, that is, the mourning is decided according to the distance and proximity of blood relations. The father is the first to kiss, followed by the wife, son, uncle, etc. The circumstances of kissing have been described above and will not be repeated here.

'Honor' refers to mourning for someone who is not related by blood, but has social status. Respect is headed by the monarch, followed by ministers, doctors, etc., and is intended to establish the relationship between monarchs and ministers. Why mourn for these people who are not related by blood? According to Confucian theory, a person's status should be commensurate with virtue, and the higher the status, the higher the virtue. The monarch is the organizer and leader of society, and he shoulders great responsibilities and should be respected by society. "Four Systems of Mourning Clothes" says that we should respect the monarch as we respect our father, and the monarch's funeral should be compared with the father's mourning clothes: 'The father is respected by the king, the noble and respectful, and the righteous are also greater. Therefore, the king also fell for three years, and the righteous system is also. According to the principle of respect, the king, doctors, scholars, and the people should mourn for the king, and the princes, ministers, and doctors should mourn for the Son of Heaven.

'Name' refers to the name relationship formed by a woman with a different surname after marrying into her own clan. For example, aunts and uncles are not related to themselves, but through marriage, they have become one with their uncles and uncles, and they are the same generation as their mothers, so they have the title of 'mother', so they have to mourn for them. The same is true for the son's wife, the brother's wife, etc.

'Access' mainly includes two situations, one is whether the girl is married or not, she belongs to her family before she gets married, and she should serve it properly; After getting married, he became a foreign family, and although he was still of his own family's blood, his status became lighter, so his mourning clothes had to be demoted. If the aunt, sister, or sister dies before they are married, they should serve her the age of decay; If you die after you get married, you can only serve it for nine months; The second is that the boy passed on to others and became the heir of his family, his identity has changed, and the people of this sect must be demoted to serve him in mourning.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:16 Reply to this statement

74 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

'Chang You', Chang Young means adult or minor. Adults are full members of the family, while minors are the objects of family support, so there is a difference in mourning clothes. According to the age of the deceased, there are three types of mourning: 19-16 years old for long mourning, 15-12 years old for middle mourning, and 11-8 years old for lower mourning. For example, for an uncle, one should serve the year of mourning, but if he is a long or medium mourner, he must be reduced to nine months of great merit; If it is a martyrdom, you can only take a small work for May.

Death before the age of 8 is called 'death without service'. Those who have no clothes do not wear mourning clothes, but only mourn. The time of mourning corresponds to the actual age, that is, the age of the deceased is converted into months, and then 'day by month', and weeping for one day in the first month of life. In ancient times, a child is named three months after birth, and if he dies before he has yet to choose a name, there is no need to mourn for it.

There are only two types of subordination here, one refers to the fact that they are not directly related to each other, but they are mourned by their relatives or Venerables, for example, a son mourns his maternal grandparents with his mother, and a wife mourns with her husband for her husband's relatives; The other is mourning clothes that do not have any kinship with each other, but are related to the relationship between the monarch and the minister or other indirect relationships, such as the subordinates who have to mourn for the monarch and some relatives of the monarch, and the wife who has to mourn for her husband's monarch because of her husband's relationship, etc., all belong to subordination.

Speech on Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization No. 16

Compliment: Mourning Clothes (II)

Fourth, the coarseness and weight of the mourning clothes

Judging from the literature, at the latest in the Spring and Autumn Period, mourning clothes have been popular in various countries, first look at the two records in the "Zuo Chuan".

In the summer of the sixth year of Duke Xu, the princes of the Central Plains attacked Zheng State. The state of Chu besieged the state of Xu in order to rescue the state of Zheng. In winter, the vassal states succumbed, and Cai Muhou took Xu Xigong to Wucheng to meet the king of Chu. Xu Xigong tied his hands behind his back, held a jade bi in his mouth, regarded himself as a mortal criminal, and the taxi carried the coffin, and the doctors were all 'decrepit'. According to legend, when King Wu conquered Shang, Weizi used this way to meet King Wu and was pardoned, so Xu Xigong imitated the story of Weizi.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Lu Xu, in the battle of Qin, Jin and Hanyuan, the Marquis of Jin's Rong horse fell into the quagmire, and Qin Mugong captured Jin Huigong and prepared to use him to sacrifice to God after returning to China. Qin Mugong's wife Mu Ji is the sister of Jin Huigong, and when she heard about this, she took the crown prince, his son Hong and his daughter Jian Bi, climbed the high platform that had been erected, stepped on the firewood on it, and sent a messenger to greet Qin Bo without a crown and tie his hair, threatening to say: If you want to execute Jin Huigong, you will die immediately! Qin Mugong had no choice but to give up.

The 'decay' in the above two accounts both refers to mourning clothes. Why do you call mourning clothes decay? This starts with the ancient dress system.

The ancients called the upper garment 'clothes' and the lower clothes 'clothes'. There is a strip of cloth sewn on the front of the top of the mourning dress called 'decay', so 'decay' is often used to refer to mourning clothes. 'Silk' is a belt made of hemp rope, and there is a difference between the first and waist silks. In ancient times, men wore crowns, and those who surrounded the mourning crown were called Shouqi. The ancients usually wore clothes, with large belts and leather belts around their waists. The large belt is used to corset the garment, and the leather belt is made of leather and is used to tie knives and other objects. When wearing mourning clothes, the large belt and leather belt are not used, but two other hemp ropes are used, one of which is made of hemp (or peony hemp), which is called a waist scarf; The other one is called a skein. The waist is like a large belt, and the twisted belt is like a leather belt. In ancient times, men valued their heads and women wore heavy waists, so they paid special attention to silk. Silk is one of the most important funeral ornaments, so it is not surprising that "Zuo Chuan" is often used to refer to mourning clothes.

One of the functions of mourning clothes is to reflect the severity of mourning. For the mourning of the deceased with different kinship, the quality of the mourning clothing materials and the production method are different, and the intimate relationship between the mourner and the deceased can be seen at a glance as long as you look at the mourning clothes.

There are many ways to express the equality of mourning clothes, one is the complexity and simplicity of the production method. For example, after the fabric of the decaying clothing is cut with a knife, it is no longer sewn, so it is called the decaying clothes. Because the filial son suddenly suffered a big funeral, he was grief-stricken and had no intention of grooming, and the production of mourning clothes was of course simple everywhere. Qi decay is a second-class mourning dress, and the grief is slightly reduced, so the edge of the decay is on the edge, which looks more neat, hence the name. The remainder can be analogized.

The second is the fineness and coarseness of the fabric. The ancients weaved cloth, and the standard width was two feet and two inches. The ancients used 'liter' to indicate the fineness and thickness of the cloth, and one liter is eighty strands, which is eighty warp threads. Within the same width, the smaller the number of threads, the more sparse the fabric will be; Otherwise, the finer it is. The daily clothing of the ancients was 16 liters, that is, 1,280 strands of warp threads arranged within a width of 2 feet and 2 inches. The number of liters varies greatly depending on the mourning cloth. The heavier the mourning, the coarser the fabric, which is also consistent with the degree of grief in the mourning mood. As far as the formal dress of the fifth class mourning dress is concerned, the decay is three liters, the Qi decay is four liters, the decay is four and a half liters, the great merit is seven liters, the great merit is eight liters, the small merit is eleven liters, and the hemp is fourteen and a half liters (one says seven and a half liters). The liters of hemp are very close to everyday fabric.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:16 Reply to this statement

75 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

The third is the depth of processing. The ancients processed hemp plants, first peeled off the epidermis, and then tore off the phloem to make it a strip-shaped spinning material; Then use soaking, hammering and other methods to remove the glue on the surface to make the fiber dispersed and soft; It is then bleached and spun into twine, which is used to weave cloth. The wisps of chopping and decaying clothes have only undergone simple processing, so the color is coarse and vicious. Dagong mourning clothes, "big" is roughly meaning, "gong" refers to artificial, after rough beating and washing, Dagong cloth after rough beating and washing, remove impurities and degum, the fiber is softer, but the color is not too white. The small gong cloth is further processed on the basis of the large gong cloth to make the hemp fiber appear whiter. The twine is processed as thin as silk thread called '缌', and the degumming of the cloth of the hemp is done more carefully than the cloth of great and small work.

Mourning sticks are also used in conjunction with mourning clothes. The rod of ancient times was originally used by knights. In the funeral, the rod becomes a special mourning tool, but not all mourners can use it, but it is mainly limited to the following two situations: one is the mourning owner, and the mourning rod has the function of indicating its identity in the mourning family; The second is that the elderly and frail or sick people are physically exhausted and need to be supported by a cane, which has the effect of 'helping the sick'. Minor children do not need a cane because they are young and do not understand the pain of losing a loved one, and they do not get sick from grief. There is a difference between a bamboo cane and a paulownia cane. bamboo cane for his father's funeral; The paulownia rod used for the mother's mourning is a rod made of paulownia wood. The height of the mourning rod is level with the heart, and the bamboo root is facing down at one end, and the height is level with the heart.

In addition, in different mourning classes, the style and texture of the hat, ribbon, shoes, etc. of the mourning dress are also different, because they are too trivial, so I will not repeat them.

5. Galleons and reductions in mourning

For the mourning of the loved ones, they were originally removed from the service with the period of the year as the cut-off, which is what the book of rites says 'the dearest relatives are cut off'. Because the cycles of nature are based on a one-year cycle. A year contains four seasons, which happens to be a reincarnation of the metabolism of all things in nature, and the principle of human life and death is connected with all things, so when determining the period of mourning clothes, this principle is compared. Why, then, is there another three years of mourning? "Xunzi Treatise on Etiquette" explains: "Jia Longyan, the case is doubled, so it is also renewed." This means that the father is the head of the family, and the mourning for the father should be heavier than that of the mother, and the time of mourning should also be 'gallons', so that the time of the mother's mourning should be 'doubled' into 're-period', that is, two 'period years', and then one month will be added to become twenty-five months, which spans three years. Therefore, what is commonly referred to as a three-year mourning is actually twenty-five months (one says twenty-seven months).

There is another Confucian explanation for the origin of the three-year mourning, that is, to repay the nurturing grace of the loved ones. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the discipline was lax and morality was degraded, which was manifested in the pursuit of short mourning and unwillingness to complete the three-year mourning service. According to the "Legend of the Ram", in the autumn and September of the fifth year of Lu Aigong, Qi Jinggong died, but in the autumn and July of the following year, before the mourning period was halfway, he 'except for the funeral of Jing Gong', and there was no grief and respect. This is also the case for ordinary people, and the Analects of Yang records such a story: Zai I said to Confucius: 'Three years of mourning is too long, one year is enough, because the old grain has been eaten, and the new grain has already risen; The wood used to drill wood for fire varies from season to season, and it is rotated throughout the year; So a year is fine. Confucius asked him, 'Only one year after your parents died, you are like ordinary people, wearing colorful clothes, and you can feel at ease?' And he said, 'Peace of mind.' Confucius said: "During the period of mourning, a gentleman is always unhappy, unhappy, and restless." Since you feel at ease, then you can do it! 'After you kill me and get out. Confucius angrily criticized Zai for being 'unkind', saying that after a child is born, he must be carefully raised for three years before he can leave the arms of his parents. Therefore, everyone in the world pursues a three-year mourning in order to repay the kindness of their parents. Slaughter people like me, 'three years of love for their parents'!

By the way, there is no high or low level of parental grace for children. "The Book of Rites: The Four Systems of Mourning Clothes" says that "the father is the same as the mother", which means that the love is the same when serving the mother in the way of serving the father. In this case, why do you serve three years for your father, and only one year for your mother? "The Four Systems of Mourning Clothes" explains: "There are no two days in the sky, there are no two kings in the earth, there are no two kings in the country, there are no two respects in the family, and one rule is also the same." Therefore, the father is in the declining period of the mother, and there are no two respects. It can be seen that as long as the father is still alive, he can only serve the mourning of the mother for the year of death, in order to highlight the father's parental status. However, in order to take care of the grief of the children, the heart can be 'mourned' after the period until the end of the three-year period. If the father dies first, then the mother can serve the 'three-year mourning of Qi decline', and the mourning period is the same as that of the father, but the mourning is 'Qi decay', which is still different from the decay. In the Tang Dynasty, when Wu Zetian arrived, it was stipulated that the funeral of parents was three years.

Why, then, are there mourning periods in September, June, and March? "Xunzi Treatise on Etiquette" explains that it is because the deceased is not as good as his parents. Initially, it was stipulated that the mourning and light service for half a year was called 'gong service'. In order to further distinguish between relatives and relatives, the gongfu is divided into major gongs and small gongs: if the equal and relatively heavy ones are equal, one season is added on the basis of the six months of mourning to become the ninth month of the great gong. Those who are relatively light in mourning clothes will be reduced by one season on the basis of six months of mourning, and become the March of Mourning. The middle of the funeral is called Xiaogong, six months. It can be seen that the length of the mourning period is based on the transformation of the years and seasons, and is formulated by taking the law from the way of heaven, so the "Xunzi Treatise on Etiquette" says: "The upper image is taken from the sky, the lower image is taken from the earth, and the middle is taken from the people, so people live in groups and the principle of oneness." Therefore, the three-year mourning is also humane, and the husband is called the longest. It is the same place of a hundred kings, and the same place of ancient and modern times. ‘

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:16 Reply to this statement

76 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

It should be noted that in the process of mourning, some mourners need to change to lighter mourning clothes after the funeral, and the ritual book is called 'acceptance'. Generally speaking, the phenomenon of subordination generally occurs in mourning for a longer period of time. Due to the heavier mourning and the long time of mourning, the mourning decreases over time, and gradually transitions to normal life. For example, after three years of mourning, the mourning clothes are three liters of cloth; When he was crying (see the next chapter, "Funeral"), he changed to a six-liter cloth mourning dress; Another example is the mourning of Qi decay, the mourning clothes are four-liter cloth, and the mourning clothes of seven-liter cloth are changed when being served; Another example is the mourning of the great merit in September, and after serving for three months, the service is changed to the small merit decline. The mourning clothes with a shorter time are generally worn until the mourning is taken off, and they are not dressed in the middle. For example, if it is a great-grandparent or a concubine, the mourning period is only three months, so the mourning clothes remain unchanged from beginning to end, but the steps of removing some kind of mourning ornament are often used in the middle to make the transition to the final funeral, so I will not talk about it in detail here.

6. Relatives, relatives and wives

In a large family, relatives of the clan who are directly related by blood are called 'clan relatives', and the clan relatives have the same surname. Some people with foreign surnames who are not directly related by blood become family members because of the marriage link, such as mothers and wives. The relatives of the mother and wife became relatives of the family. However, since they do not have the same surname, they are not allowed to enter the ranks of their own clans, but are called maternal relatives and wives respectively.

Maternal relatives include the mother's relatives, such as the mother's parents, brothers, sisters, etc. In addition, aunts and sisters are relatives of the clan, but their children take their father's surname and are therefore also maternal relatives.

All clan relatives are included in the scope of mourning, and normal mourning is usually used. However, only a small number of people can enter the scope of mourning, and the mourning level is also lowered.

For the funeral of the maternal relatives, there are only the following kinds of relatives in the mother's family: one is the mother's parents, that is, the maternal grandparents; second, the mother's brothers and sisters, namely uncles and aunts; The third is the son of an uncle and aunt. When a woman in this sect marries outside, only the aunt's son should be mourned. The funeral level of maternal relatives is relatively low, and they only serve big merit for maternal grandparents, small merit for uncle and aunt, and hemp service for the son of uncle, aunt, and aunt.

The object of mourning for the wife is even smaller, only the wife's parents, that is, the parents-in-law, and the mourning is only hemp. In turn, the parents-in-law only serve their son-in-law and grandson.

The reason for the emergence of the above-mentioned rules of mourning clothes, which are different from inside and outside, is mainly determined by the patriarchal system. The patriarchal system is dominated by the male lineage, and the maternal relatives and wives are dependent on the clan. If the three are mixed up and treated the same as the clan relatives, the object and time of mourning will be tripled, and not only will the patriarchal system cease to exist, but the number and duration of mourning will be greatly increased. Therefore, a strict distinction between master and slave is not only conducive to maintaining the patriarchal system, but also can reduce people's energy and time spent on mourning.

Earlier, when we talked about Koreans using 'cun' to indicate kinship, we were talking about the relatives of the main sect. Koreans also make strict distinctions between relatives and relatives in the wife-in-law system, by adding distinguishing words before the number of inches, such as 'outer three inches', 'outer five inches', etc. Similarly, the relatives of the wife clan add the word 'wife' in front of the number of inches, such as 'wife three inches', 'wife five inches', etc. It can be seen that although they become a family due to marriage, the distinction between the main and non-original religions still exists.

7. Grace and righteousness

There is a difference between 'grace' and 'righteousness'. Grace is a mourning garment for relatives who have the grace of blood relatives, as mentioned earlier; Righteous clothing is a mourning dress for certain people who are not related by blood, a typical example is mourning for the king. Why? Let's take a look at the Confucian interpretation.

"Xunzi Treatise on Etiquette" said that the monarch is the 'lord of governance', 'the origin of literature and science', governing the country, making the law coherent, and its origin lies in the monarch. Therefore, it is a matter of course that the ministers should be loyal and respectful, and that is, to mourn him with the most solemn funeral. The "Treatise on Etiquette" cites "Poetry, Daya, and Thought" to state it. "Poetry" is a poem that praises the king of Zhou or the princes for loving the people, and the poem says 'the gentleman of Kaiyi, the parents of the people', which means that the gentleman who is happy and easy is like the parents of the people! For a father can give birth to a child, but he may not be able to raise him; His mother could nurture him, but she might not be able to teach him. And the king of a country can not only give him money, but also teach him. It can be seen that the monarch has the kindness of his parents to his courtiers, and is it too much to repay him with three years of mourning?

"The Book of Rites: The Four Systems of Mourning Clothes" argues from the perspective of "righteousness": "The father is the king, and the respect, the noble, the noble, and the righteous are also great." Therefore, the king also fell for three years, and the righteous system is also. This means that serving the king in the same way as his father is the same as his respectful feelings. Honoring what you deserve and respecting what you deserve is the greatest righteousness. Therefore, the courtiers served the princes and the Son of Heaven for three years, which was formulated according to 'righteousness'.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:16 Reply to this statement

77 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

Judging from the literature, at first, it was only the courtiers who mourned for the monarch and the Son of Heaven, and later, with the improvement of the authority of the king, the monarch's funeral gradually became a national funeral and a great funeral for every ordinary person.

If there is a funeral, when you go to mourn, you don't wear mourning clothes, as long as you tie the head and waist of the linen clothes, and you can remove them after the condolences are over.

What if someone dies in a foreign country and there are no relatives around to mourn for their Lord? At this time, his friends should rise up and take charge of escorting his body back to his hometown. The friend was not his blood relative, but he could not wear ordinary clothes for the funeral, and the rite prescribed a contingency method: first to exempt (wen), that is, to expose the left arm, then use a one-inch wide hemp belt from the back of the neck to the forehead, and then back to the bun to tie the knot, and then tie the friend's mourning band and waist blister. Once the body is transported back to the hometown, the funeral is taken over by the relatives of the deceased, and the funeral ornaments can be removed by escort.

8. Principles that must be adhered to during the period of mourning

The ancients attached great importance to people's performance during mourning, so as to judge the truth of people's emotions and the level of virtue. The 31st year of Xianggong in the "Zuo Chuan" recorded such an event. Lu Xiang Gong, the son of Lu Xianggong's concubine Jing Gui's sister Qi Gui, was made the monarch, that is, Lu Zhaogong. Because he is a concubine, neither a son-in-law nor an eldest son, and his virtue is not good, Xianggong died, and he 'lived in mourning but did not mourn, and had Jiarong in Qi', which should have been mourning, but there was joy, so the minister Uncle Mu strongly opposed his succession. Zhao Gong was nineteen years old at the time, and his childlike innocence was not reduced, and on the day of the burial of Xianggong, he still frolicked as usual, so that the mourning clothes were dirty, 'three easy decay, decay as old as before', changed the mourning clothes three times in a row, and the placket was still as dirty as the old one, 'the gentleman knew that he could not end', thinking that from his performance during the mourning period, it could be concluded that he could not die well.

"The Book of Rites: Under the Tan Bow" also records a story. The doctor of the Jin Kingdom, Zhi Mourning Zi (i.e., Xun Ying), died and was not buried, so Jin Pinggong drank wine, and let the musician Shi Kuang and the close minister Li Tune accompany him to drink, and the drum bell was used to cheer up. After Du Rong heard about it, he went directly into the dormitory, walked into the hall, scooped up a glass of wine and ordered Shi Kuang to drink, scooped up another glass of wine for Li to drink, and then drank a glass himself, and left the hall without saying anything. Jin Pinggong felt strange and called him back and asked him what he meant by his behavior just now? Du Rong said: King Su died on the day of Jiazi, Xia Wei was exiled on the day of Yimao, and later kings regarded Jiazi and Yimao as death days and did not dare to play music. Now, the coffin of your minister Zhi Mourning has not yet been buried, and this grief is much greater than the day of Jiazi and Yimao, but you drink and have fun. Shi Kuang, as a musician of the Jin Kingdom, didn't remind the monarch, so I let him drink the penalty wine. Li Tiao was a close minister of the king, and he forgot the king's mistakes for the sake of wine and food, so I also let him drink the punishment wine. Jin Pinggong asked Du Xuan: Why do you drink yourself? Du Zhen said: I am only a butcher in charge of meals, but I have exceeded my authority and inquired about the fault of the king, so I will also be punished. So, Du Liang washed the wine, scooped up the wine, and raised it high. Jin Pinggong was very ashamed, and said to the waiters on the left and right: In the future, when I die, I must not abolish this wine lord, and I must always remember Du Jie's admonition. This story is about the fact that if the relationship between the monarch and the minister cannot reflect the due affection during the mourning period, the relationship between the monarch and the minister will be abnormal. By the time of the Southern Song Dynasty, the monarch did not even attend the funerals of important ministers of the imperial court, which Zhu Xi believed was not only a manifestation of the indifference of the monarch and ministers, but also one of the important reasons for the decline and chaos of the country.

The pain of loss comes from the heart, and the mourning garment is formulated to reflect the grief of the heart, and the length of the mourning period is determined by the kindness of the living and the deceased. Therefore, during the mourning period, we should always remember the kindness of the deceased to us, and mourn the loss of our loved ones, where there will be a mood to enjoy wine, meat and food, music and dance, and there will be no joy between men and women. Therefore, in ancient society, all behaviors such as drinking and having fun during the mourning period and giving birth to sons would be regarded as the behavior of animals that lost their humanity and did not know their family affection, and were despised by the society, and even sanctioned by the government. The relevant records are endless, so I will not quote them here.

9. The legacy of the mourning dress system overseas

After the Chinese mourning dress system was introduced to the Korean Peninsula, it was widely followed there. Today, due to the strong entry of Western religion and culture, and the greatly accelerated pace of life in the industrial economy, it is rare to see people in mourning clothes in Korean cities. However, in rural Korea, where the traditional culture is relatively deep, especially among some families, the mourning dress system is still relatively intact. At the beginning of 1998, an elderly man over 90 years old in Cheongdo, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea, passed away, and his descendants and disciples decided to hold a 'Confucian funeral' for him, that is, an authentic Confucian funeral, which is actually the funeral rite in the "Zhuzi Family Rites". When the author went to investigate, I found that several of the sons of the deceased were dressed in decrepit mourning clothes, and the cloth was said to be made of hemp specially imported from China; The edges of the mourning clothes are not seamed, and traces of knife slashes can be seen; The lower garment of the mourning dress and the upper garment, the decay and negative version of the mourning ornament, as well as the style of the mourning crown, etc., are exactly the same as those recorded in the ancient Chinese books of rites; The scarf and waist scarf are made of very coarse-colored hemp rope. Since the deceased was 90 years old, there were five generations in the same family, and there were hundreds of mourners. The whole funeral was carried out in strict accordance with the etiquette of "Zhuzi's Family Rites". It is said that due to the rapid development of industrialization, there are fewer and fewer people in Korea who can hold funerals according to the ancient rites, so there are hundreds of experts, scholars, photographers, folklore researchers, and TV reporters. It is embarrassing to see the funeral rites that spread thousands of years ago like living fossils far away from China.

Times have changed, and the mourning dress system has long ceased to exist in the mainland of the motherland or even in the overseas Chinese world, but it seems not surprising that the title of mourning dress relationship is still used in the 'obituary' of Taiwanese newspapers. What is surprising is that the same 'obituary' can be seen in the Philippine Islands in the South Sea. In 2002, when I went to the Philippines to attend an academic conference, I flipped through the local Chinese newspapers and periodicals and found that there was a page full of obituaries, many of which were called by the relationship between ancient mourning clothes. One of the obituaries said that a couple unfortunately lost their son, and the bereaved family will hold a funeral in a church on a certain day in a certain month, and relatives and friends are invited to participate in Yunyun, and the signature of the bereaved couple has the word 'anti-submission'. The meaning is very clear, according to the general law, the son should be mourning for his parents, but now the white-haired person sends the black-haired person, and the parents in turn mourn for their son.

Another obituary said that a certain gentleman had unfortunately lost his 'virtuous partner' (spouse), and a farewell ceremony would be held at a certain time and place. At the end of the obituary, it is signed: 'The rod is so-and-so. The meaning of this title is now understood by very few people in the mainland. According to the provisions of the mourning dress system of the "Rites", when the wife dies, the husband serves the annual mourning, and there is a difference between 'using a rod' and 'not using a rod'. According to the explanation of Zheng Xuan, a scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty, if the parents of the mourner are still alive, then the mourning staff cannot be used when the mourner is mourning; Otherwise, you can use a rod. The bereaved owner, who called himself a 'cane husband', knew that his parents had passed away, and he was considered to be middle-aged or elderly widowed. These two examples alone show that although there is no longer the practice of holding a mourning rod and wearing the clothes of decay in the Philippine society, and even the funeral is held in a church, the cultural accumulation of more than 2,000 years of Chinese culture still exists deeply in the blood of overseas Chinese.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:16 Reply to this statement

78 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

●Serving the soul of the deceased: Funeral rites

Ancient Chinese Etiquette Civilization No. 17

Serving the Soul of the Dead: Funeral Rites

How to dispose of the remains of loved ones is one of the important cultural phenomena of human society, especially in religious groups. Whether it's Buddhism, ******, or Christianity, there are quite complex funeral rites, which show different cultural outlooks. Confucianism is not a religion, and the most distinctive feature of Confucian funerals is that they reflect the warmth of the living for the dead.

Due to the lack of literature, the whole picture of the pre-Qin funeral is no longer searchable. Fortunately, the book "Rites and Rituals" records the detailed process of the funerals performed by the princes for their parents, wives, and eldest sons. Due to the complexity of the funeral rites and the heavy volume, the compiler of the "Rites" is divided into two parts, the first part is "The Funeral Rites of the Scholars", and the second part is "The Evening Ceremony". "Shi Funeral" from the deceased's new death, to the end of the funeral day, are before the funeral, the main rituals are the soul summoning, funeral, laying, bathing, rice, corpse, small collection, big collection, day and night crying, the house, the funeral day, etc., the following is briefly introduced. For the sake of narrative convenience, some rituals have been combined.

First, the end of life

The first sentence of the "Funeral Rites" is 'Die in a suitable room'. A suitable room is a room that is suitable for sleeping, and it is often called a full bed. In ancient times, from the Son of Heaven to the scholars' rooms, there were main beds and swallow beds. Yan's bed is a place where people usually live, but it is not, "The Book of Rites and Tangong" says: "The gentleman is not fasting, not sick, and does not live in it day and night." The 'inner' here refers to the right bed; It can be seen that the main bed is only used when fasting and when you are sick. The ancients believed that the right place is the right place, and people must die in the right place, so since ancient times, there is a saying that "the end of life is the right death". The Son of Heaven and the princes are called Lu Xuan, "Spring and Autumn" Xuangong 18 years, "Gong Xue Yu Lu Bed", it is said that Lu Xuangong died in the main bed. The main bed is behind the church, facing south. On the left side of the south wall is the 'household' (the ancients called a single door a household), and on the right side is the 牖 (you, window).

2. Complex

The method of judging whether a patient is breathing is said in the "Book of Rites and Funerals" is 'to be out of breath'. '纩' (kuang) is an extremely light silk wool that is placed in front of the patient's nostrils and flutters as long as the breath remains. If the thread does not move, it means that it has been exhausted, and the most feared thing of the family has happened! However, fellow relatives cannot accept it and hope that a miracle will appear. Fu means to summon spirits. The ancients believed that human life is composed of soul and spirit, and the soul is the soul and a kind of essence; The soul is the body, the place where the soul dwells. When the soul is attached to the body, life exists; If the soul leaves the body, the person will fall into a coma or die. The ancients believed that when a person just died, the soul was not far from the body, and shouting loudly might allow it to return to the body and make life exist again. Therefore, in the funeral, the ritual of conjuring spirits is called 'Fu'.

The procedure of repetition is to order a person to act as a 'reincarnator' (meaning a spiritualist) and find a set of clothes that the deceased wore during his lifetime and can represent the identity of the deceased,-- for the priest, it is the knight's suit; Attach your garments to your garments. The Avenger slung it over his left shoulder, his collar inserted into his belt, and then climbed to the ridge of the roof and cried out in a long, north-facing voice: 'Oh--somebody's coming back!' If the deceased is a man, call his name; If it's a woman, call her word. After shouting three times in succession, he threw his clothes from the front of the house, and the people in the hall immediately took the clothes into the house and covered the body of the deceased, hoping that the soul would return to his body.

People cannot be resurrected after death, and it is almost impossible to bring miracles about the ritual of revention, but the ritual of resurrection reflects the love of the family at the beginning of death, when the family cannot accept the reality and is unwilling to treat their relatives as the deceased immediately. Therefore, "The Book of Rites: Tan Gong" says: "Fu, the way of love." ‘

3. Lay

At today's memorial services, the wreaths sent by relatives and friends have the word 'lay' written in the center, what does this mean? I'm afraid there are very few people who can say clearly.

Ancient funerals contain two major principles, one is the treatment of the body of the deceased (spirit), and the other is the treatment of the spirit (soul) of the deceased. From the bathing and grooming below, to the burial coffin, it is the disposal of the body; And the drink offering that begins at this time is the beginning of the spirit of serving the dead. What is a drink offering? In ancient times, people put utensils on the ground and called them 'lay'. During the funeral, the sacrifice that is placed on the ground as an offering such as food and wine is called a drink offering, or simply called a 'lay'. Why is this form of sacrifice used? There are three reasons: first, the ancients believed that although the soul of the deceased has left the body, the soul still has to enjoy food, as long as the relatives put wine and food, the soul will come to possess, so the offering is the place of refuge for the ghosts and gods; Second, the mourners are overwhelmed by grief, and everything is inevitably rushed, so the ritual of sacrifice is simplified because of ugliness; Third, the ancients regarded the dead as ghosts and gods, and the formal sacrifice to ghosts and gods required a 'corpse', and the corpse was served by a minor child, representing the sacrificed person during the sacrifice. However, the deceased is newly deceased, and the family members can't accept this cruel reality for a while, and can't bear to sacrifice with the ritual of ghosts and gods immediately, so they bring the wine and food that the deceased had eaten before his death and put it on the right side of the deceased, which means that he still serves him for dinner.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:19 Reply

79 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

The ancients collectively referred to the sacrifices from the beginning of death to the burial of the coffin as 'lay'. During the funeral period, whenever there is a new ritual festival, or there is a special day, a memorial sacrifice must be held, so there are the beginning of the death, the small funeral, the big funeral, the morning and evening crying, the new moon, the new funeral, the relocation of the temple to the temple, the ancestral funeral, the great dispatch and so on, the following is to be introduced.

The small burial is a drinking offering that is carried out indoors during the small harvest, and the sacrifices are liquor, preserved liquor, and livestock. The two ends of the animal are the left and right hips of the animal, the inner side is the left and right shoulders, and then the inward are the two flanks, and the lungs with the backbone are placed in the middle, and the meat is placed upside down, and the roots of the bones are facing forward.

The Great Gathering is a sacrifice that is performed during the Great Collection. The mat is located in the southwest corner of the room, facing east. The food on the fish, with the head of the fish facing to the left and the fins facing forward, is in three columns, each with three fish; The bones of the bacon are facing forward. In front of the feast, there are beans on the far right, beans with meat sauce on the left, chestnuts on the south side of the beans, and dried meat beans on the east side of the chestnut. The fish figurines are on the east side of the beans, and further east are the fish figurines. The bacon is placed separately on the north side of the two squares, and the liquor and wine are placed on the south side of the chestnut pipe.

Shuo Dian or Shuo Yue Dian is a sacrifice held if it coincides with the first day of the new year. The offerings were a piglet, a fish, and dried rabbit meat, all of which were placed on a table, as well as liquor, wine, sage, rice, millet, and millet. The location of the furnishings is: the beans containing the meat sauce are in the north, the beans are in the south, the pork figurines are in the east of the two beans, the fish figurines are in the east, and the bacon is placed separately in the north of the beans. The tun of the sheng millet is placed in the position of the big harvest. The position of liquor and liquor is the same as that of the great harvest. Cover the meat with a towel.

Cremation in modern society is equivalent to burial in ancient times, and memorial services are generally held before cremation. The living place a wreath around the body of the deceased, with the word 'lay' written on it, which is the remains of the ancient funeral.

Fourth, crying.

When a funeral occurs in the family, it is often chaotic, which not only makes the funeral unable to proceed smoothly, but also completely submerges the intimacy, upper and lower, internal and external relations between the clan and the deceased, and the principle of the funeral is difficult to reflect. Therefore, it is necessary to stipulate the position of weeping for mourners of different statuses.

The body was placed under a window on the south wall of the room, with its head facing south and feet facing north. The mourner's crying position is on the east side of the corpse bed, and the wife of the mourning lord is on the west side of the corpse bed, opposite to the mourner's bed; Both were sitting. The brothers of the bereaved were standing behind him, facing west; The concubine and her descendants stood on the west side of the bed of the corpse, facing east. They are all relatives who have made great achievements. There are two places for the crying of relatives below Xiaogong: the women stand in the hall outside the room, because the scope of the woman's activities is in the hall and the room, and she does not even send guests down to the hall; Men stand at the foot of the hall, because their range of activity is under the hall and at the door; But no matter whether they stood above or below the hall, they all faced north towards the corpse bed. Obviously, the arrangement of the crying position is arranged in accordance with the principle of internal and external, intimacy and distancing.

5. Funeral and condolences

In today's world, every time a national leader dies, he has to issue an 'obituary' at home and abroad. In Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the overseas Chinese world, the bereaved family generally has to publish an 'obituary' in the newspaper to report the funeral to relatives and friends, which are the legacy of ancient funerals.

On the first day of the funeral, the mourner must first report the funeral to the king. The deceased has the identity of a scholar, and is a subordinate of the monarch, just like the eyes and ears of the monarch, and they have kindness to each other. Therefore, when the king learned of the bad news, he immediately sent a priest to the bereaved family to mourn. As the representative appointed by the king, the priest should express his condolences to the bereaved family. In addition, the king also sent someone to send funeral items. The bereaved family should treat the funeral according to the requirements of the funeral, and there will inevitably be items that are not available at home or have no time to prepare for a while, so they especially need help from the surroundings. The higher the status, the more complex the bereavement required. In the pre-Qin period, a country had a monarch's funeral, and the Son of Heaven and the princes had to come to help the funeral. "The Biography of Gu Liang" explains: "Riding a horse is said to be a swagger, clothes are said to be a scarf, Bei Yu is said to be contained, and money is said to be a swagger." ‘

Condolences are a farewell to the deceased and the last opportunity to express one's inner feelings. "Yan's Family Motto: Wind Exercise" records that during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, good friends who lived in the same city did not mourn within three days when they heard the mourning, and the bereaved family would cut off friendship with them. Those who are unable to go to mourn because of other reasons or because of the distance can send a letter to mourn and explain the situation, 'the same is true if there is no book', and those who do not even have a letter will also break off their friendship with them.

Sixth, bathing and eating

Youji washed the deceased's hair with boiled rice water, combed his hair, and dried the water with a towel. Next, the deceased is bathed with a towel and the water is dried with a yukata. Then cut the nails of the deceased and straighten the beard, as is usually done for the master. Finally, the deceased's hair is tied with a ribbon, a hairpin is inserted, and close-fitting clothes are put on.

Then the deceased is to put rice and shellfish in his mouth, and this ritual is called 'rice and shellfish'. The mourner sat down on the edge of the bed, took rice from the tun with a spoon, put it on the right side of the mouth of the deceased, put three spoons, and added a shell. Then, use the same method to place rice and shellfish in the middle and left sides of the mouth. Then put rice into the mouth until it fills the mouth. The ritual of rice contains expresses the mood of children who can't bear to let their relatives leave the world empty-mouthed, so "The Book of Rites: Under the Tan Bow" says: "Rice is used for rice, and Fu is forbearing." "Fan Han is a manifestation of being supported after death, "Warring States Policy: Zhao Ce III" said that "Zou Lu's ministers can't be supported in life, and they can't be supported in death", which is exactly what it means.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:19 Reply

80 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

'Attack' is a general term for a series of rituals such as bathing, setting up cover and covering for the deceased after eating, wearing shoes and clothing, and even adding to the cold. For the convenience of burial, the deceased could not wear a hat before death, so a cloth called a 'cover' was used to cover the top of the deceased's head, and then the two ends of the cloth were torn apart and knotted to the front of the head and the back of the neck. The ears of the deceased were stuffed with silk cotton. The deceased's face is then covered with a cloth called a 'mesh' and the ribbon is tied to the back of the head. Finally, the deceased's shoes are put on, the laces are knotted on the top of the feet, and the remaining straps are used to tie the lace holes of the two shoes together so that the deceased's feet are not separated. Immediately after that, the deceased was dressed in three sets, not including the close-fitting clothes. Then, a large strap was tied over the three sets of clothes, and the hand plate was inserted into the belt, and a wrench was placed on the thumb of the deceased's right hand, and the strap was tied at the wrist and knotted at the base of the thumb; Then wrap a piece of cloth called a 'grip' around the left hand, and the ribbon of which is connected to the ribbon of the wrench; Then use 'Mao' (corpse cover) to load the corpse, and divide the body into two sections, first use the lower section from the foot to the top, and then use the upper section from the head to the bottom. Finally covered with a jacket.

Seventh, for the Ming and set weight

When there is a funeral in the family, the bereaved family needs to be known to the people who have passed by, so the flag used in front of the deceased is planted on the west step of the hall, which is 'Weiming'. If the deceased was an unworthy soldier who was not qualified to build a banner during his lifetime, a black cloth one foot long and a red cloth two feet long were decorated underneath, all three inches wide; Write on the red cloth at the bottom end: 'The coffin of a certain person.' 'The length of the flagpole is three feet. When I was visiting South Korea, I saw a piece of paper on the door of a certain shop with the words "mourning" written on it, and a Korean-style square lantern hanging under the eaves, and the upper and lower parts of the lantern were blue and white, which should be a variation of the "inscription" in ancient funerals.

After bathing and dressing, the deceased should be 'weighted'. According to the regulations of the funeral, it is not until the coffin is buried that he can be made a 'wooden master', which is usually called a tablet. As a transition, a wooden pillar called 'heavy' is erected in the middle of the court, which means that the soul of the deceased has a more fixed attachment. The heavy form is to cut the upper end and then gouge the hole, then insert a slightly thinner wooden stick, and then hang a mustache at each end, the mouth of the mustache is covered with a coarse cloth, and the middle of the mustache is a porridge made from rice with leftover rice. So they rolled up the heavy wood and mustache with reed mats, and then tied them with bamboo ropes.

Since the deceased had been put into a body bag and the face of the deceased could no longer be seen, in order to show the identity of the coffin that was about to appear, Ariji had to insert the inscription on the western steps on the heavy wood.

Eighth, small collection

It is the most important ritual on the second day after death, and the main content is to dress and dress the deceased, and the place is still in the appropriate room.

The number of sets of clothes that should be worn during the small period varies according to the status of the deceased, and the number of sets is nineteen. The clothes that the soldiers usually wear are only knight clothes, leather clothes, jackets, etc., and at this time they must make up nineteen sets. What does that mean? Zheng Xuan said that it was 'the end number of the law heaven and earth', and the ancients believed that the number of days was one and the number of the earth was two, and they counted down in turn, and finally it was the ninth day and the tenth of the earth; Man dies between heaven and earth, so the clothes of the small collector must take the final number of heaven and earth. As mentioned earlier, after the corpse has been 'attacked', it has been put into a body bag, and in fact it is no longer possible to dress the deceased. Therefore, the so-called dressing of Xiao Ji is actually wrapping clothes under the body bag. In order to maintain the neatness of the appearance, the empty space above the shoulders of the deceased is to be filled with rolled clothes. Finally, tie it with a cloth strap to make it firm. The bundled cloth belt is 'horizontal three shrinking one', that is, three horizontally and one longitudinally.

After the small collection was completed, the mourning lord and the bereaved woman's wife caressed the corpse on both sides of the corpse bed, and cried bitterly. Since the mourning had not yet been dressed at this time, and the funeral had already begun, some expedient measures had to be taken: the mourner used hemp to tie his hair, exposed his left arm, and the bereaved brother's brother tied his hair with cloth, removed the crown and wore it, and the women tied the hemp and hair together.

Then the priest lifted the corpse, and the men and women held the corpse on both sides, and then laid the corpse on the hall, covered the corpse with a skull, and waited for the great gathering. The men and women paused around the corpse and wept.

Nine, the burial

It is the most important ritual on the second day after death, and the main content is to put the body in the coffin. The location was shifted from the appropriate room to the hall, indicating that the deceased was leaving the place where he had lived step by step.

In order to make it easier to put the body into the coffin, a hole called 'si' was dug on the west steps of the hall, and the depth of the wooden tenon where the coffin and lid could be seen. Then the coffin is slowly placed into the cave with a car, and the coffin lid is placed on the ground.

Then a curtain was erected over the hall. The women stood on the west side of the body, facing east. The mourner and his relatives were on the east side of the body, facing west, with their left arm exposed. Ariji spread the mat on the east steps, and placed the skeins, single quilts, quilts, and clothes used to collect the corpses in turn, and the best sacrificial clothes were placed outside. The corpse is carried to the large mat and the deceased is clothed in a similar way to the small one. According to the regulations of the funeral, the clothes added to the funeral were thirty sets. After the addition, it is also tied with a skein, 'horizontal five shrinking three', that is, five horizontally and three longitudinally. When the mourner cried, he paused for an infinite number of times. Then, the mourner holds the corpse into the coffin, and the mourner inspects the coffin in the cave, and then places a basket on each side of the coffin to place the fried millet grass, which is to attract insects and ants that burrow into the coffin in the future, so as not to bite the corpse; Then the lid of the coffin is closed, and the clay is applied to it. The mourner cried, and he paused for many times. After the big gathering is over, the curtain is removed. The mourning lord and the bereaved woman's wife wept bitterly, and the priest planted the flag marking the identity of the deceased on the east side of the cave. After the end of the ceremony, the mourners and relatives began to formally mourn, and those who should have mourning rods should hold the mourning rods.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:19 Reply

81 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".

After the big gathering, the coffin was parked in the coffin, waiting to be buried. The ancients called the coffin 'funeral'. Today, people call the place where the body is parked as a funeral home, and its source is from this. The Book of Rites and the Imperial System says: 'The Son of Heaven will be buried on the seventh day and in the seventh month. The princes were buried on the fifth day and in May. Doctors, scholars, and people will be buried on three days, and they will be buried on three days. This means that from death to stoppage, it takes seven days for the Son of Heaven, five days for the princes, and three days for the doctors and below; The time of the suspension is July for the Son of Heaven, May for the princes, and only three days for the doctor. This is because the size of the funeral varies greatly from the number of people who need to come to the funeral, so the time required to prepare for the funeral will also be long.

10. The monarch came to the Great Gathering in person

The funeral process is very long, and it is impossible for the monarch to participate in all of them, and generally speaking, if the doctor dies, the monarch has to participate in the small and large gatherings; If the taxi dies, then it is okay to participate in the big gathering. When the king arrived, the mourners went to meet him outside the outer gate, and when they saw the head of the horse, they stopped crying, but returned to the door and stood facing north, and laid their left arms with all the masters. The monarch took off his auspicious clothes, entered the door, and went up the stairs to the hall, crying in front of the corpse. The mourning lord was ordered to carry out a large gathering, and the ministers and doctors who came with the monarch were ordered to go to the court in turn and stand to the west of the mourning lord.

After the big gathering, the minister and doctor went down to the hall and returned to the position of crying. The monarch has a ritual of 'sitting and caressing'. In the funeral, the deceased is said to say his final goodbye by touching the body of the deceased, which is called 'feng (ping) corpse', and the way and specific name of the corpse of people with different identities are different. For their parents, children hold the heart of the corpse, which is called 'Feng corpse'; For their sons, parents hold the clothes on their chests, which are called 'corpses'; For her husband, the wife is the garment of the corpse, which is called the 'corpse'; For his subordinates, the monarch caresses the corpse of his heart, which is called 'caressing the corpse'. Among the four, Feng's corpse was the heaviest, followed by the detained corpse, followed by the corpse, and the lightest corpse. The division of the four reflects the depth of respect and humility.

After the monarch finished touching the corpse, he successively ordered the corpse of the bereaved master and the bereaved man's wife. They can't touch the place where the king has touched it. When carrying the body into the coffin, the mourner holds the head of the deceased. After the lid of the coffin is closed, Ariji paints the coffin. After the sacrificial banquet was completed, the monarch went out of the temple gate, and the mourner cried and sent the monarch off.

The ritual of sitting and caressing the prince still existed until the Northern Song Dynasty, such as Sima Guang's death and Zhezong's mourning. But whoever has served as a consul, even if he dies, the emperor will come to the funeral and rejoice. If the minister died far away and the emperor could not be present in person, he would definitely send Lang officials to mourn. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the atmosphere changed, except for the death of Qin Hui and the personal funeral of Song Gaozong, the rest of the emperors did not come to the funeral of the ministers, and the indifference of the monarchs and ministers was not difficult to imagine. Zhu Xi criticized: 'Today's events, as for life and death, are irrelevant, just like passers-by! ("Zhu Zi's Language", Volume 85) Zhu Xi believes that the ancient courtesy of monarchs and ministers has its positive effect: "Look at the ancient rites, the king is in the doctor, the small is in the past, and the big is in the past; Yu Shi, both funeral and past, how sincere and loving! ''The ancient monarchs and ministers have done everything well, and the reason is that they are one with love. ("Zhu Zi's Language", Volume 89) It can be seen that the funeral of the king and the minister is an important ritual that reflects the relationship between the king and the minister.

11. Becoming a fan, crying on behalf of others, crying day and night

The pain of losing a loved one can be like a heartbreak, but transitional grief can take the life of the living, so that the former mourning is not over, and the latter bereavement is repeated, which is a situation that the deceased does not want to see. Moreover, it is not advisable for the mourner to die before the funeral of the loved one is completed, and in fact he has not fulfilled the responsibility of sending his parents to death. In order to prevent this kind of undesirable consequences of 'killing and injuring life', it is necessary to make various restrictions from the etiquette system, so that the bereaved family can face the reality and mourn smoothly, so there are regulations such as crying, crying on behalf of others, and crying day and night.

When people are extremely sad, they can't help but 'pi the drum', that is, beating their chests and jumping their feet, so "The Book of Rites: Under the Tan Bow" says: 'Di', the sorrow is also. In order to prevent the loss of control during the opening of the festival, the funeral has the provision of 'Cheng Dai', except for a few rituals that can be unrestricted, most of the rituals are 'three of three', that is, each ritual festival has three trips, and each festival has three jumps, a total of nine jumps. This kind of quantitative restriction in the ritual is called 'there is a basket', and the "Tan Bow Down" says: 'There is a basket, and the text is also for it.' ‘

Before the big gathering, there was a provision for 'crying'. Generation is the meaning of turning, crying is that relatives take turns to mourn in the funeral palace, the mourning family is not only crying, but also everyone's body and mind can be protected.

After the big gathering, the grief is slightly killed, and the men and women of the whole family only need to cry at the funeral palace at two times every day, and no longer cry on behalf of them, which is called crying day and night. Of course, when grief comes, you can also go to the funeral palace to cry, and it is not always forbidden.

12. Choosing a cemetery and a day of burial

The cemetery is to be determined by divination. After the burial place, the mound people measure the cemetery. When the cemetery is excavated, the loam mound at the four corners is outside the four corners, and the loam mound in the center of the cemetery is on the south side of the cemetery. After weeping, the mourners and all the masters went to the south of the pre-selected cemetery, and stood facing north, and lifted the belt. Jae stands to the right of his master. The bearer opens the straw tube and faces south to accept the order of the mourner. The master commanded: 'Whoever mourns his son, chooses a cemetery for his father.' This place was chosen as the Netherworld House, the cemetery was found, and there will be disasters in the future? When the priest heard this, he pointed to the loam in the center of the tomb. At the end of the urn, the divider will hand over the hexagram to the slaughter. After seeing it, the ruler returned it to the dividator, who faced east, and together with his subordinate subordinates, he shared the auspicious and evil fortune of this hexagram, and after the divination was completed, he told the slaughterer and the mourner: 'The result of dividing the divination is auspicious. 'The mourner cries. If the result of the divination is unlucky, then choose another cemetery to occupy the basket, and the ritual is the same as before.

There is a tic-tac-toe coffin outside the ancient coffin, after the coffin wood is finished, the mourner first bows to the craftsman, and then goes around the coffin to check whether the quality is qualified. The timber that was offered to make the vessel was placed outside the funeral door, and the mourner was to inspect it. The same is true for the unfinished vessels and the ritual vessels.

The date of the burial is determined by divination. The divination ceremony was carried out outside the funeral palace, and after the mourner and the master were in place, the patriarch took the throne in the east of the door. The clan handed the tortoise shell to the patriarch and indicated the part where it should be burned. The patriarch commanded the divination of the funeral day in the tone of the mourner. The sect conveyed the message to the turtle and handed over the tortoise shell to the diviner. The man sat down and burned the turtle with a thorn branch. The patriarch took the tortoise shell and observed. Therefore, the three diviners divined the obtained hexagram together, and after the divination, the clan reported the results of the divination to the patriarch and the mourning master. If the result of the divination is unlucky, the divination can be re-divined.

Author: Xishan Qin 2005-8-12 20:19 Reply

82 Reply: Peng Lin, a professor at the Department of History of Tsinghua University, wrote "Ancient Chinese Etiquette and Civilization".