Ancient Rituals
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TOPPolitical Rituals
Worship of Heaven
The Worship of heaven, which can be dated back to the Zhou Dynasty, is also called the Suburban Worship. It was held in Huanqiu in the south suburbs of the national capital on the Winter Solstice Day. Ancient people attach great importance, first of all, to entity worship. Their worship of heaven is also embodied in the worship of moon and stars. A supreme ruler is the son of heaven. They believed in the divine rights of kings, namely, that a king rules with the authority of god. The worship of heaven serves for the supreme ruler. Therefore, the worship of heaven prevailed and came to an end till the Qing Dynasty.
Worship of Earth
The Summer Solstice is the day of worshipping earth. Its etiquette is approximately the same as the worship of heaven. During the Han Dynasty, the god of earth was called Mother Earth. She was said to be the goddess who conferred blessings on human beings and also Land God. The worship of earth at the earliest time is to offer a sacrifice with blood. After the Han Dynasty, the belief of geomantic omen that it was not suitable to break ground was running rife. The etiquette of earth worship also include worship of mountains and rivers, worship of soil god, worship of grain god, and worship of millet god, etc.
Worship of Ancestral Temple
The system of ancestral temple is the products of ancestor worship. The buildings people established for the deceased to sojourn in this world is just the ancestral temple. The ancestral temple system of emperors is the seven ancestral temples of emperors, the five ancestral temples of feudal kings, the three ancestral temples of Dafu (senior retainers) and one ancestral temple of Shi (academician). Since the Han Dynasty, cemeteries had been built and ancestral temples been established to worship the emperors of past dynasties. Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty initiated in establishing the ancestral temples of emperors of all dynasties in the capital city. During the Jiajing period, the ancestral temples were built inside the Fucheng Gate of Beijing to worship the deceased thirty six emperors.
Worship of Ancient Masters and Sages
After the Han Wei Dynasty, Zhou Gong was worshipped as ancient sage and Confucius as ancient master; in the Tang Dynasty, Confucius was greatly valued as ancient sage and Yanhui as ancient master. During the South and North Dynasties, the Confucius Ceremony was held twice respectively in spring and autumn every year. The temples of Confucius and Yanhui were also established in imperial colleges in all parts of the country. During the Ming Dynasty, Confucius was called "the sagest master". During the Qing Dynasty, there were also temples of Confucius established in Shengjing (present-day Shenyang City of Liaoning Province). After the capital was established in Beijing, the imperial college in the capital city was taken as the Tai university. Moreover, the temple of literature was established and Confucius was called "the great accomplished and sagest Master Wenxuan". The ancestral temple system, sacrificial vessels, musical instruments and etiquette of Qufu were subject to the standard of Beijing Tai University. The county drinking ceremony is the product of the worship of ancient masters and sages.
TOPMeeting Rituals
When a subordinate pays a formal visit to his superior, he should do obeisance. When two officers meet, they will bow with hands clasped. When Gongs (Duke), Hous (feudal king) and Fuma (the son-in-law of emperors) meet, they do obeisance twice. The subordinate should stand to the west of the superior and do obeisance first and then the superior will salute in reply. When the common people meet, they salute according to age. Hence, the younger one should do obeisance to the elder one. When someone is about to leave for a long time, he should do obeisance four times. In case of short parting, he should bow with hands clasped.
TOPMilitary Rituals
Military etiquette includes going on a punitive expedition, taxation, hunting and camp building, etc.
TOPBirth Ritual
All the rites from praying for a child when a woman is not pregnant to the baby being one full year old revolve around the theme of long life. The birth rite has the tendency of gender discrimination to females since antiquity since antiquity. It includes "Sanzhao (three days) rite", "Manyue (full month) rite", "Bairi (one hundred days)" and "Zhousui (a full year)", etc. Sanzhao rite refers to that when a baby has been born for three days, he will receive handsels in all aspects. Manyue rite refers to that when a baby is a full month old, his head will be shaved. Bairi rite refers to that when a baby is one hundred days old, the rite of identifying the uncle on his mother's side will be conduct and he will be given a name. When a baby is a full year old, the rite of Zhuazhou (grasping things, a custom of telling a child's fortune by placing various emblems before him and letting him choose one) is conducted to predict the baby’s destiny and good or ill duck in enterprise.
TOPGrown-up/Adult Ritual
Grown-up rite, also called the Capping Rite, is the rite of granting a hat to a man that falls in alongside adults. Capping Rite evolved from the puberty rite which male and female young people took part in when they grew mature and was prevalent in matriarchal society. The Han Dynasty followed the capping rite system of the Zhou Dynasty. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the granting of a hat to a grown-up began to be accompanied by music. The Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties also practiced the grown-up rite and the Qing Dynasty abolished it. In many national minority areas, the ancient grown-up rite has been retained up to the present, including ceremonies such as pulling out a tooth, dyeing teeth, wearing a skirt, wearing trousers, combining hair into a clublike mass.
TOPBanquet Ritual
The feast is held in the Tai Temple. Tailao (the three livestock of ox, sheep and pig) is cooked to entertain the guests. The emphasis is put on reciprocity of etiquette rather than dining. Yan is namely banquet. The rite of Yan is held in a bedroom palace. The guests of honor may drink to one's heart's content at the banquet. The rite of Yan has a profound influence on the development of Chinese dining culture. Giving a banquet on festivals develops festival dining etiquette in Chinese folk food customs. On the fifteenth day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, people eat Yuanxiao (sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour); on the Tomb- sweeping (Qingming) Festival, people have cold meal; on the Dragon Boat Festival, people take zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) and realgar wine. Moon cakes for Mid-autumn Day, Laba (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month) porridge and Jiaozi (dumplings) for celebrating the lunar New Year’s Eve are all food of festival etiquette. Eating specific food on a specific day is also a dining etiquette. The order of seats, the order of serving dishes and the etiquette of urging others to drink and drinking a toast at a banquet are all subject to the requirements of gender, seniority, age and praying for blessing and avoiding taboos in the social contact customs.
TOPFive Sacrifice Offerings
Five sacrifice offerings refer to offering a sacrifice to door, window, well, kitchen and zhongliu (middle room). The Ming and Qing Dynasties still practiced the Five Sacrifice Offerings. After the period of Emperor Kangxi’s reign in the Qing Dynasty, the special sacrifice offerings of door, window, zhongliu and well have been abolished. The kitchen memorial ceremony is held on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, which is in accordance with the story that the kitchen god in folklore reports to the Jade Emperor (king of gods). The national sacrificial ceremony adopts the form of folk
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