英文摘要 |
Since the ancient times, worship had been a major issue in China. Every dynasty not only instituted laws regarding rituals that were dedicated to sages and the virtuous and to the famous mountains and great rivers, but also strived to wipe out illegal worships. The Tang Dynasty was no exception. According to Tang liu dian, the government established an institute to manage religious rituals. The religious regulation in the Tang Dynasty mostly originated from The Book of Rites, yet, the government made a few alternations regarding ritual appliances. In addition, the government divided its religious rituals into three levels, and in accordance with the different levels stipulating in the law, there were also differences of the chief celebrants and ritual appliances. The rituals and worships which were specified in The Book of Rites were recognized as zhengsi (legal sacrifice or proper sacrifice, 正祀) by the government. Otherwise, it was categorized as yinsi (illegal sacrifice or improper sacrifice, 淫祀). The Tang dynasty also made legislation in accordance with The Book of Rites, as we can see in Tang lu (唐律) and Tang ling ( 唐令). In general, the Tang government would eliminate illegal sacrifices. The most famous campaigns of destroying illegal sacrifices were led by Di Renjie (狄仁傑) and Li Deyu (李德裕) in Jiangnan region. In launching the campaigns, these two eminent officials referred to the regulations in The Book of Rites, and considered local customs as well. Besides the rituals which were not stipulated in The Book of Rites, the religious worships that were regarded as threats to monarchs were forbidden by the government. For example, Tang Xuan Zong (唐玄宗) issued some edicts to regulate the relationship between clergy and the populace, to prohibit the use of witchcraft and illegal accumulation of wealth by clergy. |