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Religions in Song Dynasties: Syncretism and Evolution
1)Revising and perfecting the sacrificial codes applicable to the state religion

The sacrificial ceremonies applicable to the state religion in the Five Dynasties were too coarse to be worth codification. As soon as the founding Emperor of Song created his own Empire, he worked hard to restore the proprieties. In the Kaibao reign, the entire Empire was gradually stabilized. Therefore, the Emperor convened his scholar-ministers and asked them to compile the 200-volume Kaibao tongli开宝通礼 (The Kaibao encyclopedia of proprieties). The Kaibao Encyclopedia was based on Tang’s Kaiyuan Proprieties, to which the Song scholars made necessary adjustments. Additionally, Tongli yi zuan通礼义纂 (An interpretative companion to Kaibao Encyclopedia), which consisted of 100 chapters, was edited. In the tenth year of Xining (1077), the Imperial Academy of Proprieties stipulated Si yi祀仪 (The state-sanctioned sacrificial ceremonies). In the first year of Yuanfeng (1078), the Emperor ordered ministers to examine and debate the existing proprieties. Chen Xiang said, “By and large, the proprieties that we Great Song follow are based on those formulated in former Tang.” All Imperial proprieties were soon finished. Among them some were related to various sacrificial ceremonies. For example, in the 191 volumes of Sacrificial Ceremonies there were: “rituals of offering sacrifices”; “ceremonies at the altar of southern suburb”; “styles of grand ceremonies”; “elegiac addresses for sacrificial ceremonies at the Imperial ancestral temple”; “procedures of the grand combined sacrificial ceremony dedicated to the Emperor’s ancestors”; and so on. The “Praying Ceremonies” included 40 volumes such as: “styles of offering sacrifices”; “styles of building altar for prayer”; and “rituals of sealing golden tablet.” The Burial Ceremonies embraced: “styles of burial”; “Imperially-sanctioned styles applicable to the burial of senior ministers without royal blood”; and “ways of showing filial piety” in its 163-volume compilation. In the early Daguan reign, a special agency of proprieties was created within the “Shangshu sheng,” or the pivotal Department of State Affairs. In three years, the agency compiled 231 volumes of Ji li吉礼 (Sacrificial ceremonies dedicated to supernatural beings and ancestral spirits) and 16 volumes of Jifu zhidu祭服制度 (Stipulations applying to sacrificial apparel). The Imperial court promulgated these new proprieties. In the third year of Zhenghe (1113), the 220-volume Wuli xinyi五礼新仪 (New ceremonies of Five Proprieties) was successfully completed.

During the transition between reigns of Xi’ning and Yuanfeng, some very significant changes in the sacrificial ceremony of the state religion took place:

The combined ceremony dedicated to Heaven and Earth was abolished at the Round Altar; the late Emperor Ying was the only correlate of the gods in the Hall of Light and other correlative deities were all abolished; the grand combined ceremony dedicated to various gods at the end of the year was held at four suburban altars separately; Canopus rather than the god of longevity was offered sacrifices; one of ancestors—“xi” (auspicious)—was revered as the founding patriarch [of the royal family] because he had been enshrined in the ancestral temple; an Imperial pantheon was built next to the Jingling Palace and the deities were sacrificed to in the first month of spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively; and the grandest ceremony of sacrificing to ancestral spirits was simplified.14

After the humiliating “Jingkang Incident,” Emperors of Southern Song attempted to revise and perfect the existing proprieties. But none of them could put their plans into practice.

Where the “ji” (auspicious) proprieties in Song dynasties were concerned, they consisted mainly in ceremonies of sacrificing to gods significant to the state. These sacrificial ceremonies were led by Taichang, or the Agency of Imperial Ceremonies. Every year, there would be 30 sessions of grand ceremonies, nine medium ones, and nine minor ones. The grand ones included praying for good harvest on the day of “xin” of the first ten-day session of the first month; praying for rain in the first month of summer; and giving a banquet in the Hall of Light in the last month of autumn. There also was a long list of sacrificial ceremonies, including sacrificing to: to the Above Lord of Vast Heaven at the Round Altar on the winter solstice; to “gansheng”15 Emperors on the day of “xin” of the first ten-day session of the first month; to gods of five directions on the beginning days of four seasons and the day of “Earth King;” to the sun on the spring equinox; to the moon on the autumnal equinox; to the gods in the East Palace of Grand Unity on the beginning day of spring; to the gods in the West Palace of Grand Unity on the beginning day of autumn; to a great variety of gods with abundant foods on the eighth day of last month; to the great earth god on the summer solstice; to the entire earth gods of China in the first month of winter; to the ancestral spirits in the Imperial temple and Empresses’ temple in the last month of winter; to the Grandest Gods of Earth and Grain in the second months of spring and autumn and on the eighth day of last month; and to the honorable deities in the Nine Palaces in the second months of spring and autumn. The medium ceremonies included sacrificial offerings to: the Five Dragons in the second month of spring; the Master of Wind on the day of “chou” immediately after the beginning day of spring; the Divine Farmer on the day of “hai” immediately after the beginning day of spring; the Goddess of Silk on the day of “si” in the last month of spring; the Master of Rain on the day of “shen” immediately after the beginning day of summer; Confucius, or the King of Brilliant Cultural Attainment, on the first day of “ding” of the second months of spring and autumn; and to King Wu [of the Western Zhou], or the God of Military Prowess, on the day of “wu” of the second months of spring and autumn. The minor ceremonies included sacrificing: to the Ancestral Spirit of Horse in the second month of spring; to the Divine Herd in the second month of summer; to the god of stable in the second month of autumn; to the Horse God in the second month of winter; to Zhongliu中霤, one of household gods, on the day of the Earth King in the last month of summer; to the Star of Dragon on the day of “chen” immediately after the beginning day of autumn; to the God of Longevity on the autumnal equinox; to deities in charge of the Central Direction, destiny, human beings and wealth on the day of “hai” immediately after the beginning day of winter; and to the deity in charge of cold weather in the first month of winter. In prefectures, following the style of Imperial medium ceremonies, the officials should sacrifice to the gods of mountains, hills, sea and river on the day of “Intake of Vital Breath” at the five suburban altars. The standard of Imperial minor ceremonies was applicable to prefecture- and county-level rituals of sacrificing to the gods of earth and grain, Confucius, and deities of wind and rain. What we describe here is merely a sketch of the range of sacrificial ceremonies that prevailed in the two Song dynasties. Usually, each Emperor would make necessary adjustments to the established ceremonies.

(A) Ceremonies of sacrificing to Heaven and Earth

The altar dedicated to Heaven and Earth was built in the south of Eastern Capital City. The proprieties applying to the altar was very similar to that of Tang. As for the ceremony of sacrificing to Heaven, there were three major debates in Song. In the Northern Song, the difference existing between the Lord Above of Vast Heaven and the Great Lord of Heavenly Emperor was intensively explored; in the two Song dynasties, the question regarding the correlate of god in sacrificing to Heaven was frequently discussed; whether there should be a combined ceremony of sacrificing to Heaven and Earth was also fiercely debated. Zhao Anren 赵安仁, an Agent of Imperial Proprieties, said,

Heaven is called the Vast on the grounds that the vital breath is immeasurably broad. When man tries to look beyond the sky, a boundless feeling will be aroused. Therefore, we call heaven the Vast. In the eyes of man, the most venerable existence is the Lord. We call the lord Above inasmuch as He is buttressed by the heaven.

Zhao referred explicitly to the supreme Heavenly Lord. By contrast, the “Great Lord of Heavenly Emperor is the shining gem of Polaris, or the star of stars.” This implies that the Lord Above, a celestial god, was entirely different from the Heavenly Emperor, a god of stars. “Neither are celestial bodies [the sun, moon and star and so on] the Heaven; nor are grasses and woods the Earth.” Thus, the Great Lord of Heavenly Emperor should be enshrined as the second-class god in the sacrificial altar. Wang Qinruo 王钦若, however, thought differently. He argued that the Great Lord of Heavenly Emperor should be placed above the Five Emperors. Convinced by Wang, the Emperor issued an edict, by which the Great Lord was elevated to the first shrine in the light of his status as the Heavenly Emperor of Polaris.

The founding Emperor of Song had sacrificed to Heaven in person four times and chose his own father, or the Patriarch Xuan, as the correlate of the Supreme God. In the reign of Emperor Tai, the Patriarch Xuan was still the correlate of god when the ruler himself sacrificed to Heaven at the suburban altars. If the ceremony was held at the Round Altar, the correlate of god would be the founding Emperor instead. When Emperor Zhen inherited power, he selected his father, or the late Emperor Tai, as the correlate of god in the sacrificial ceremony at the suburban altars, and correlated the founding Emperor to god in the Hall of Light. After the demise of Emperor Zhen, in the ceremony of sacrificing to Heaven the founding Emperor was correlated to the entire Earth gods, Emperor Tai to the Lord Above of Vast Heaven and the Grandest Earth God, and the Patriarch Xuan to the “Gansheng” Emperors. In the reign of Jiangyou, Emperor Ren stipulated that the tablets of founding Emperor and Emperors Tai and Zhen would never be removed from the ancestral temple. He also ordered that the founding Emperor must be the fixed correlate of the Supreme God, and Emperors Tai and Zhen be the correlates of god in turn. In the second year of Jianyan (1128) of Emperor Gao, the founding Emperor was correlated to Heaven in the grand ceremony at the southern suburb. But in the second year of Chengchun (1266) of Emperor Du, Emperor Tai was allowed to play the same role as the founding Emperor did in the sacrificial ceremony for Heaven and Earth.

It was Zhao Kuangyin, or the founding Emperor, who created the Song Empire. Since the reign of Emperor Zhen, the rulers of Song were descendants of Emperor Tai, or the younger brother of Zhao Kuangyin. The founding Emperor and Emperor Tai were all sons of the Patriarch Xuan. Such a complicated lineage made the selection of correlates of god quite hard. Among the late Emperors and patriarchs, who would be the best candidate for the correlate was always open to discussion.

In the early Northern Song, a rectangular altar was built in the north of Imperial City. It was the place where sacrificial ceremonies were held to the Grandest Earth God on the summer solstice. In the northern suburb the regime specially built an altar, in which the entire Earth deities were offered sacrifices on the first month of winter. In the first year of Yuanfeng (1078) of Emperor Shen, ministers and scholars debated whether there should be a combined sacrificial ceremony dedicated to Heaven and Earth. The majority of participants held that the ceremony be performed separately at the southern and northern suburban altars. In doing so, they believed that the Yin and Yang forces would not act abnormally. Three years later, the Emperor issued an edict and stated that he would sacrifice to Heaven in person at the Northern Suburban Altar. The sacrificial ceremony held at the Northern Altar was performed in the same manner. If the Emperor could not personally perform, he would be replaced with the grandest duke. In the sixth year of Yuanfeng, the ceremony of sacrificing to the Lord Above of Vast Heaven was still performed, while the combined ceremony was abolished and the tablet of Grandest Earth God removed. When Emperor Zhe was enthroned, he asked the ministers to discuss the combined ceremony again. Some argued that there was not a ceremony of sacrificing to Earth at all at the Round Altar; and some held that there be a combined ceremony at the Southern Altar on the grounds that the grand ritual of sacrificing to Earth was missing in the Imperial sacrificial activities due to the Emperor’s failure to preside in person over the ceremony at the Northern Altar. The latter sounded more convincing, so that the combined ceremony was adopted by the Emperor. In the reign of Chunxi, Zhu Xi 朱熹, one of the most influential Confucian gurus in Song, objected strongly to the combined sacrificial practice. He said, “In ancient times there would not necessarily be the combined ceremony of sacrificing to Heaven and Earth; nor would the sun, moon, gods of mountains and rivers, and various deities be ritually put together when they were offered sacrifices.” But his words failed to impress the ruling hierarchy.

According to the institutionalized proprieties of Song, there were four grand ceremonies of sacrificing to Heaven. Every two years, a combined ceremony of sacrificing to Heaven and Earth would be held on the winter solstice at the Southern Suburban Altar. In addition, there were ceremonies of praying for a good harvest in the first month of spring, and praying for rain in the first month of summer; ceremonies that were held at the Round Altar or specially-built altars; and a great banquet in the Hall of Light in the last month of autumn. Following the sacrificial practices of former dynasties, the Song Emperors also chose deities inferior to the Emperors of Five Directions, the sun, moon, five stars as the sacrificial companions, when they were sacrificing to the Lord Above of Vast Heaven on the winter solstice. The Emperors of Five Directions would be specially offered sacrifices in the ceremonies of receiving Vital Breath and the ceremony on the Day of Earth King. The correlates of Emperors of Five Directions were the Five Human Emperors and the sacrificial companions included Five Ministers, Three Celestial Bodies (the sun, moon and stars) and Seven Constellations. On the first day of spring, the Emperor sacrificed to the Blue Emperor, whose correlates were Taihao and sacrificial companions were Goumang (God of Wood), Suixing (Jupiter), Three Celestial Bodies and Seven Constellations. On the first day of summer, the Emperor sacrificed to the Red Emperor, whose correlate was the Divine Farmer and companions were Zhurong (God of Fire), Yinghuo (Mars), Three Celestial Bodies and Seven Constellations. In the last month of summer, the Emperor sacrificed to the Yellow Emperor, whose correlate was Xuanyuan and companions were Earth God and Zhenxing (Saturn). On the first day of winter, the Emperor sacrificed to the Black Emperor, whose correlate was Gaoyang (a legendary Emperor) and companions were Xuanming God of Water or the North), Mercury, Three Celestial Bodies and Seven Constellations.

Since ancient times there had always been the ceremony of sacrificing to the Gansheng Emperor, who was actually one of the Five Emperors. Whenever a new dynasty rose, there needed to be a corresponding Gansheng Emperor. In Sui and Tang dynasties, the rulers sacrificed to Gansheng Emperor and chose one of the royal ancestors as his correlate. Song inherited such a sacrificial ceremony. In the first year of Qiande (963), the Emperor was convinced by Nie Chongyi, who suggested that Song revere the Red Emperor as the Gansheng sovereign on the grounds that the virtue of Song was related to Fire. Correspondingly, there should be a special altar dedicated to the new Gansheng emperor. In the Shaoxing reign, the minor sacrificial ceremony for Gasnsheng Emperor was upgraded to the major ceremony.

The sacrificial ceremony that was held at the Hall of Light was also significant to the dynasty. In the Northern Song, the Daqing (Great Celebration) Palace was chosen as the Hall of Light, in which there were five separate sacrificial chambers. In the second year of Huangyou, Emperor Ren established the rule regarding the ceremony at the Hall. According to the rules, there would be a united sacrificial ceremony dedicated to Heaven and the Grandest Earth God and the chosen correlates were the Founding Emperor, Emperor Tai and Emperor Zhen; apart from the united ceremony, there also was the ceremony for Five Emperors and God of Entire Chinese Land, who would be accompanied by various deities of Heaven and Earth. In fact, Emperor Ren’s reform was to change the grand ceremony of sacrificing exclusively to Heaven at the suburban altar, to a combined sacrificial ceremony dedicated to both Heaven and royal ancestors. During the Yuanfeng reign, due to the heated debates caused by Zheng Xuan’s theory of “Six Heavens” Emperor Shen sacrificed to the late Emperor Ying at the Hall of Light and revered him as the unique correlate of the Lord Above. The tablets dedicated to various deities were all abandoned, embodying the Emperor’s assertion that the Lord Above of Vast Heaven, the Lord Above and the Five Emperors were the same. In the sixth year of Chunxi, Emperor Xiao followed ministers’ suggestion in combining the ceremonies of sacrificing to Heaven and Earth at the Hall of Light and offering sacrifice to royal ancestors as the correlates and various deities, just as those done at the southern suburban altar.

In the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1008), Emperor Zhen visited Mount Tai, where he performed the grandest Feng and Shan sacrificial ceremonies. He was the first Song emperor who held such a grand ceremony. But, the history of Feng-Shan ceremony ended in his reign. Before the grand ceremony, the Emperor sent ministers to hold preliminary ceremonies at altars for Heaven and Earth, Imperial Ancestral Temple, altar of Earth and Grain Gods, Palace of Grand Unity, altars for gods of mountains and rivers, and sacrificial halls in the Imperial city. The following appointments were made: Wang Qinruo and Zhao Anren as the superintendents of the Feng-Shan affairs: Wang Dan the chief officer of proprieties; Wang Qinruo as the special envoy of proprieties; Feng Zheng as the envoy in charge of guard of honor; Chen Yaosou as the officer supervising Imperial chariots and guards; and Zhao Anren as the leading official of regulating transportation. All the five special envoys were given an Imperial seal. Prefectures throughout the Emperor’s journey from the imperial city to Mount Tai must do the preparatory work very well. The Feng-Shan altars that were used in previous dynasties were renovated. On the day of the Feng-Shan ceremony, the Emperor reached the top of Mount Tai by an Imperial sedan chair. From the foot of the mountain to the Taipingding (Peak of Grand Peace), or the highest peak of Mount Tai, every two steps there was a standing man who held a long pole, on the top of which a lantern was suspending for illumination. The tablet of the Lord Above of Vast Heaven was placed on the Round Altar in the highest peak and the late Founding Emperor and Emperor Tai played the correlating role in the ceremony. Emperor Zhen himself offered sacrifices to gods at the Round Altar. After repeating the sacrificial act three times, the Emperor sealed the golden and jade boxes. Immediately after the sealing ceremony, the dukes, ministers and assistants would all kneel down and celebrate. The shouting of “Long Life” reverberated in the entire valley. On the ceremonial jade slip, it read:

So-and-so, the Humble Son of Heaven, presumes to tell the Lord Above of Vast Heaven, “I, your humble servant, inheriting the cause of predecessors and being given the Mandate of Heaven, do my utmost to serve the Vast Heaven. I reverently and devotedly sacrifice to you in the Feng-Shan ceremony, sincerely hoping that by doing so I could pray for your blessings for the people.

On the jade plate, it read,

So-and-so, a humble inherited Son of Heaven of Song, presumes to tell the Lord Above of Vast Heaven, “Since the Lord initiates the mandate of Heaven and predicates the grand unity, the Song is so lucky that it receives the mandate. The Founding Emperor laid the foundation and finished successfully creating the dynasty and stabilizing it. As being the same sagacious and enlightened as the Founding Emperor, Emperor Tai succeeded to the throne and continuously made the dynasty stable and prosperous. Now I, a young and ignorant person, inherited the cause of former sagacious emperors and ascended the throne. I reverently worship Heaven and diligently work on politics. I consolidate the throne by benevolence and treat the ancestors with filial piety. I pray for blessings for the people. I repay gods and make virtue more brilliant. I placate the entire people and try my utmost to establish the governing rules. Heaven’s blessings are boundless and gods’ protections are thoroughly done. Sincerely I hope the prosperity of the dynasty will last forever and the received mandate be preserved forever.

Slightly later, the Shan ceremony dedicated to the Grandest God of Earth was held in Mount Sheshou. In the ceremony, the Emperor ascended the altar with the Heavenly Book in hand. The royal ancestors were the correlates of the Earth God. The content of the jade slip in this ceremony was almost the same as that of ceremony of sacrificing to Heaven. As soon as the Feng-Shan ceremony was finished, the Emperor received all the ministers with their lavish congratulations and offered a general amnesty. In addition, the ranks of civil and military officials were upgraded and taxes and corvée were reduced or even exempted. In total, the grand Feng-Shan ceremony lasted for 47 days and consumed 100,000 min (one min equals one thousand pieces of copper money). Emperor Zhen also asked his ministers to compose Feng-Shan eulogies, all of which were inscribed on steles in the Mount. In the Zhenghe reign of Emperor Hui, some suggested that there be another Feng-Shan ceremony. The Imperial court prepared 4,000 boats and millions of raingears. Finally, the Emperor gave it up. According to these records, we know that the cost of Feng-Shan ceremony was so huge that it had already harassed the people and drained the treasury.16 Emperor Zhen, however, held a grand ceremony of sacrificing to the Earth God in Fenyin in the fourth year of Dazhong Xiangfu. Although this ceremony was less magnificent than the Feng-Shan ceremony, it mobilized a huge number of people and made both ministers and common people suffer unspeakably.