Chapter 534: Sacrifice (II)

"Means? Is there anything more terrifying? Just listening to what you just said is scary enough. Sister Wang Na said.

"Since ancient times, there have been many ways to deal with sacrifices, and the types of sacrifices are so rich that the ancients would use different ways to deal with different sacrifices. For example, burnt burnt is used to worship the gods. Before the Western Zhou Dynasty, the concept of heaven was not clear, and among the various celestial gods, the sun god was the most important. The oracle bone inscription has a record of entering and leaving the day and three oxen at the age of the year, which shows that the ceremony of welcoming and sending off the god of the sun was held every day, and there were sacrifices of oxen and sheep in the ceremony. Since the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, the worship of the sky has been highlighted from the worship of nature, and the ceremony of sending the sun god to the sun is no longer held, and the ritual of sacrificing to the sky is combined with the three hopes, that is, the sun god is regarded as the god of the emperor of heaven, and it is also included when worshipping the sky. The method of sacrificing to the heavens, according to the "Book of Rites and Sacrifices", is to burn firewood in the altar. In fact, in addition to the Emperor of Heaven and the Sun God, other gods in the sky also use this method. Solid firewood refers to adding livestock jade and other products to firewood. In the view of the ancients, the gods were above, and the non-burnt wood was not enough to reach them, and the smoke rose during the burnt offering, reaching high into the sky, and was easily accepted by the gods. I said.

"There is also an infusion, which is used by the god of the earth. "Zhou Li: Uncle Dazong" said: Sacrifice the shrine with blood. The method of blood sacrifice, according to the Qing Jin Ju in the "Seeking Ancient Records, Burning Firewood and Burying Examination", explained: blood sacrifice, covered with a drop of blood on the ground, such as the irrigation of the depressed beard. It can be seen that the infusion sacrifice is to pour the blood and wine used to sacrifice to the gods of the earth into the earth, and the blood and wine quickly penetrate into the ground, and it is believed that this can reach the gods. "The Book of Rites: Suburban Special Sacrifice" contains: Zhou people are still stinky. Irrigation with stinky, depressed, stinky yin up to the deep spring. Poured with Guizhang, with jade gas also. It is poured and then greeted, and the yin qi is also. Stinky refers to the aroma, the Zhou people séance to the aroma of the main thing, so before the dedication of the gods, first pour the wine, with the aroma of the rich tulip grass to blend the wine, the aroma can be irrigated with the ground to reach the Yellow Spring. The spoon used for filling the mustache is handled by Guizhang in order to bring out the moisturizing and clean energy of jade. I continued.

"There is also burial, that is, digging a pit to bury the sacrifices, and using them to the gods of the mountains and the earth." Yun Ximing added, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas preserves a wealth of information on the worship of mountain gods, such as the first of the Second Classic of the South: its gods are all dragons and birds, and its shrine is full of hair, and it is used for 縫. The first of the "Beishan Sutra": its gods are all human-faced snake bodies, its shrine, hair with a rooster, bi, fistula, Jiyu with a gui, fistula but not scum. Among the various mountain gods listed in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", the vast majority of them are buried. In addition to pouring blood and wine into the ground when sacrificing to the god of the earth, other sacrifices are to be dug and buried. "The Book of Rites: Suburban Special Sacrifice" Kong Yingda Shu: The ground is shown below, and it is not enough to be buried without a stump. In other words, only by burying the sacrifice in the ground will the earth god know that people are sacrificing to him and accept the sacrifice. ”

"In addition, sinking is also a common method, which is used to sacrifice to the god of water. In books such as "The Bamboo Book Chronicle" and "The Imperial Century", there are records of Emperor Yao sinking in Luoshui to sacrifice to Luoshen, which may be from a legend. But the material provided by Oracle is conclusive and credible. There is such a record in the oracle bones: Seeking the year in the river, the three prisons, the three oxen, and the prisons. Studying its glyphs, the Shen character is the pictogram that sinks a cow or sheep into the river. Moreover, the record of using people to sacrifice to the river god is also found in the oracle bone inscriptions. For example, Ding has been divided, and he is in the river, prison, Shen Huan, Xin Choubu, and Yu River concubine. Concubines and concubines are women who are sacrificed and sink them into the river to worship the gods, which is actually what later generations called the wife of the river uncle. After the Zhou Dynasty, Shen sacrifice was still very popular. "Zhou Li, Da Zongbo" says: Sacrifice mountains, rivers and forests with raccoon dogs. Zheng Xuan commented: The sacrificial mountains and forests are buried, and the rivers are sunk. "Rites and Rituals" also says: Sacrifice to the river, Shen. The god of water resides underwater, sinks the sacrifice into the water, and is easily accepted by the god of water. Yun Ximing said.

"Then there is the hanging cast, which is used to worship the mountain god. Hanging is also called lifting, that is, hanging items to worship God. "Rites and Rituals" says: Sacrifice to mountains and hills, ascend. "Erya Shitian" also said: Sacrifice to the mountain and say Yu County. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas, The Classic of Zhongshan" records that the sacrifice is from the mountain of sweet jujube to the mountain of drum stirrups. The ritual of the gods of the mountains is that the utensils of Mao Taigao, the county are auspicious jade, that is, the sacrifices are hung with jade. To cast is to throw an offering on the ground in the mountains. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Second Classic of the North" records the sacrifice, the mountain of self-management of the mountain as for the mountain of Dundi, the etiquette of the mountain gods is: Mao with a rooster, a rooster, a scab, a bi, a gui, cast but not a. The sacrificial bi and jade are thrown into the distance, and the sacrificial utensils are not displayed. In addition, there are a variety of ways to dispose of sacrifices, and the list goes on. Yun Ximing said.

"It's just appalling and creepy." Uncle Lu walked over and said with emotion.

"How's everyone doing?" I asked.

"Don't worry, it's all fine, it's all minor injuries, it's no big deal." Uncle Lu said.

"Yin Yin, aren't the sacrifices very formal, I look at this mural, why is it in the tomb?" Sister Wang Na asked.

"The places of sacrifice are also very particular, and not all of them are decent places." I said, "Sacrifices have to be held in certain places." In the early days, there was no fixed place for sacrifices, and they could be offered anytime and anywhere. With the standardization of sacrifices, fixed places gradually appeared. The original places of worship were relatively simple. For example, in the heavens, or on a high mountain, or under a great tree, or by the water, or under a pole. Later, in order to show devotion to the gods, temples or altars were built. There are mainly the following types of sacrificial places: the first flat land, which is the most primitive and simple sacrificial place. The ancients believed that the most important sacrifice, the sacrificial place is the most simple, often do not need to seal the soil as an altar, only a piece of flat land can be swept clean to sacrifice, the ancients called it a mound. "The Book of Rites and Rituals" says: The most respectful is not the altar, and the floor is swept and sacrificed. The Book of Rites and Rituals says: Except for the earth, it is a mound. The second altar, "Rites and Rituals" Note: seal the soil as an altar, that is, use soil and stones to build an altar high above the ground. Depending on the object of worship, the altar has different shapes. Sacrifice to the sky with a round altar, known as the round mound in ancient times; The sacrificial ground is used for the square altar, which was called the square mound in ancient times. The height and width of the altar vary depending on the time, place, and rank. Altars and mounds are usually located on the outskirts of the city, but occasionally on the hills. The Qin and Han dynasties sealed the Zen ceremony, which is to seal the soil as an altar on the top of Mount Tai to sacrifice to the sky, which is called sealing; and swept the ground in Liangfu Mountain to sacrifice the ground, called Zen; Collectively known as Feng Zen. The third is the flat pit, that is, digging a large flat pit on the ground as an altar, which the ancients called Kan. "The Book of Rites and Sacrifices" says: Digging the ground is a barrier. "The Book of Rites and Sacrifices" says: The sacrifice day is at the altar, and the moon is sacrificed at the camp. The altar and the kan are opposite, the altar is raised for yang, and the kan is sunken for yin. The fourth is the palace temple, on the basis of the altar or pier to build a wall and build a house, that is, to become a palace; After the objects of worship were displayed in the palace, it became a temple. The palace temple was originally built only for human gods, and later many gods and goddesses had temples, such as the Land Temple, the Dragon King Temple, the City God Temple, and so on. However, no house shall be built on the altar, otherwise it will be regarded as a mourning society. There is also the grave, which is a more primitive and simple method of worshipping the gods in the cemetery, and it is mostly used to worship the ancestral gods. The ancients believed that going to the grave to worship was closest to the ancestors, and the ancestral gods heard it most clearly. "The Book of Rites: Under the Tan Bow" records: When Confucius went out to lobby, he cried at the tomb when he went to the country, and when he returned to his country, he did not cry, and entered the tomb. I explained.

"In ancient times, most of the people who performed the sacrifice were royal families or famous families, so every part of the sacrifice had to be extremely careful, the sacrifices, the methods of the sacrifice, the participants, the etiquette to be observed, and the address selected. There are many other taboos. Yun Ximing added, "The ancients were superstitious and believed that some things, or some things were unlucky, should never appear during the sacrifice." For example, in the southeast of the courtyard, the solo pole shall not be filthy, and it is not allowed to tie horses and feed poultry under the sacred pole. Before the sacrifice, you must fast, including bathing and changing clothes, you must not get drunk, you must not eat meat and meat, you must not participate in mourning, you must not go to the home of a sick person to ask for a doctor's illness, you must not have sexual pleasures, and in short, you must not participate in all unlucky and dirty things. There are 12 taboos on the sacrificial day: one taboo is insincere, one taboo is disordered, one taboo is unclean, one taboo is angry quarrel, one taboo is not neatly dressed, one taboo is taboo to talk about foreign affairs, one taboo is to laugh excessively, one taboo is disorderly in the elderly, one taboo is to throw a dog and a weapon, one is to avoid the sound of knives and spoons, one is to avoid the inner sacrifice is not completed, unclean out of the house, one is taboo to go out of the house before the outside sacrifice is completed, and unclean into the house. The Manchus of Shenyang also sacrificed the sacred horse in the sacrifice, and the Manchu called him Hema. God's horse-drawn chariot does not allow women to sit. When the horse is dead, it is to be buried, and it is not allowed to eat meat. Shenma, also known as Zuma, enjoys high courtesy. In Shandong, sacrificial supplies such as burning paper, paper ingots and other sacrificial supplies should be kept away from neighbors' homes. Bereaved sons and daughters are not allowed to enter the homes of neighbors, relatives and friends. ”

"I didn't expect a sacrifice to be so troublesome, if a sacrifice is held, it won't have to be prepared for a year, and it will cost the people and money." Sister Wang Na said.

"It's true that people and money are lost, but sacrifice is not only once a year, in ancient times and even now, there are still many days that can be sacrificed." I said, "For example, the Qingming Festival: the fifth day of the fourth month is one of the 24 solar terms, but because it is adjacent to the Cold Food Festival, it has become a festival to sweep the tombs and worship the ancestors." There is also the Dragon Boat Festival: on the fifth day of the fifth month of May, sacrifices are required to repel insects. Then there is the Ghost Festival: July 15, it is called the Zhongyuan Festival in Chinese tradition, and it is called the Ghost Festival in folklore. Buddhism calls it the Bon Festival, but it was not designated as this day until after it came to China. There are also some that are no longer common, such as the first day of October: it is called the Winter Clothes Festival. It is said to start from the story of Meng Jiangnu who traveled thousands of miles to find her husband and send winter clothes, the so-called October 1 to send winter clothes, crying down the Great Wall for thousands of miles, and returning to her hometown with her bones. November 16: This day is dedicated to asking the Buddha to transcend the dead.

December 23: Commonly known as the small year, it is the day to send the god of the stove and sacrifice to welcome spring. At the same time, offerings are made on the 1st, 8th, 15th, 19th, 23rd, 29th and 30th of each month to eliminate sins and regenerate blessings. In addition, sacrifices can be performed according to the day of the death of the deceased. ”

"I have to do sacrifices for so many days, that Yin Yin, look at this mural, what kind of sacrifice is he doing? I can't figure out how much I look at it, who is this woman? Sister Wang Na asked. (To be continued.) )