英文摘要 |
As the most important rituals in Imperial China, the suburban sacrifices ( jiaosi 郊祀) caused much controversy in traditional ritual studies. The debate that began in the Period of Disunion between Zheng Xuan’s 鄭玄 and Wang Su’s 王肅 theories on the issue of whether the southern and northern suburban sacrifices were the same as the ones conducted on the round and square altars still influenced the state ritual system until the promulgation of the Kai-yuan Ritual Code 開元禮 in 732. From the Zhou 周 dynasty established by Wu Zetian 武則天, because of political struggles and convenience brought to emperors, the suburban sacrifices were frequently offered to Heaven and Earth together when emperors were present. This practice was later institutionalized in the Northern Song dynasty. During the reign of Song Emperor Shenzong 神宗 (r. 1067-1085), this form was criticized and the separated suburban sacrifices, offered to Heaven and Earth respectively on the occasions when emperors showed up, were expected to come back. The struggles between these two opinions lasted throughout late Northern Song, when a separation of the sacrifices was accepted as legitimate. However, on account of various causes, the emperors were still absent from the sacrifices offered to Earth on the square altar until the last years of the Northern Song dynasty. Therefore, when the emperors performed the ceremony, sacrifices were offered to both Heaven and Earth in Southern Song. During the Ming dynasty, whether Heaven and Earth should be worshipped together or separately was still under debate. From Tang to Northern Song, political struggles, consideration of the convenience for emperors and their entourages, and sacrificial expenses became the most important concerns in the formulation of the suburban sacrifices, rather than competition between varying viewpoints in traditional ritual studies. |