What was the main sacrifice of ancient folk sacrifices? What is the ritual process like?

In ancient times, the gods were respected for various reasons such as the low level of science, so there were many folk sacrifices in ancient times, and there are many traditions of folk sacrifices that have been passed down to this day. Forming a rich sacrificial culture in our country, but many people don't know that there are so many sacrifices in ancient times, and what are they sacrificed separately? So let's go until we understand what the ancient folk sacrifices are mainly remembered and what the process is.

Sacrifice is part of the Chinese ceremony, and it is also Confucianism.

An important part of the liturgy. In ancient times, folk sacrifices were generally divided into group sacrifices and family sacrifices. The main object of group worship is the local gods. The object of family sacrifice. errands. First of all, the door god, the god of the stove.

The god of the mountain, the god of the land.

and other small gods related to food, clothing, housing and transportation. If it is a sacrifice to the gods, it will be sacrificed with livestock, money, money, incense, wax, wine, etc., all of which are indispensable. In the case of family sacrifices, there are eight traditional offerings: stalk rice, meat sauce, jerky, pasta, pickled fish, fried food, and sauerkraut.

And with the progress of society, people's living standards are getting better and better, food is becoming more and more abundant, and there are more and more patterns of offerings, and there are generally 4 categories, which are pastries.

Classes, fruits, dried fruits.

classes, sugars and much more. <>

The process of the sacrifice is also very complicated and solemn, first of all, before the temple is prepared for the sacrifice, all the people who participate in the sacrificial activities must be quietly bathed, so that the clothes are neat and solemn, and the food offerings such as the pig's head made by the chef will be offered on the table in the courtyard after the morning lay, and the chief manager will call the musician to the protocol to welcome the gods, and the filial son will bow three times to the protocol. After the commemoration begins, there will be two contents: praise and praise. Tongzan means that guests of different identities are ready to pay silent tribute in order.

Tongzan, on the other hand, is mainly silent mourning, and the musicians play mourning music.

Wait for the silence to end before stepping aside. <>

In short, there are many types of sacrifices in ancient times, and there are many objects of sacrifice, and the process is very complicated. Even in modern times, there are still quite a few families that place great emphasis on ritual activities.

Folk sacrifice refers to the folk through a certain ritual to dedicate meat and vegetarian food, grain fruits and other items to the worship objects such as seed spirits and ancestral spirits, in order to bless and bless.

The ceremony is either performed by a shaman, priest, family head, or by himself. The earliest record of the sacrifice is found in the oracle bone inscriptions of the stock merchant period. Yinxu divination records that at that time, "out of the day, three cows in the year", indicating that three cows were used as sacrifices on the day of the sacrifice, and it was recorded that the rain sacrifice had "pro, some people think that it is exposure to the sun or burning witches, etc."), "dance" (or 'playing dance', etc.).

In ancient times, the objects of Cai worship included all the gods: the ancestors of heaven and earth, the "gods of the mountains and rivers of the shrine", "the people of the former Zhe Lingde", "the three stars of the heavens", and "the five elements of the earth". Chinese In modern times, it is still retained to worship ancestral spirits, land gods, mountain gods, water gods, wealth gods, and joy gods.

Pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, vegetables, food, and fruits were mostly used for sacrifices. It is believed that gods and ghosts also have their own world and the same desires as humans, so they are sacrificed. But it is also believed that they only absorb the spirit part of the sacrifice, so that the sacrifice can be used as food for people after the sacrifice.

In addition to offerings, there are also rituals such as offering images, incense, and prayers.

For example, river gods, as well as ancestors, sorcerers, previous emperors, etc.; Generally, the cannon is fired first, and then the deacons will be marching, and then the attendants will be invited to sit, everyone will stand up, and then the bell will be ringed, the drums will be beaten to welcome the ancestors, everyone will bow down and offer incense, and the celebrant will kneel after the salute.

Before the Qin Dynasty, there was a custom of sacrificing living people, and later there were sacrifices of pigs, cattle and sheep and other foods, and the process was different in different dynasties, and most of them would have some more capable or high-status people who began to sacrifice.

There are roughly three forms of sacrifice for the ancients in China:

One is the more common way, that is, it is held in the ancestral burial place, commonly known as "going to the grave". The time is mainly death days and major traditional festivals, such as Chinese New Year's Eve, Qingming, Zhongyuan Festival, the first day of October, etc.

The second way is a family sacrifice. That is, there is no need to go to the grave, or at the same time as the tomb, the tablet or pedigree picture with the direct ancestor is written in the main hall or "family temple", the whole family or the whole clan is sacrificed together, and the family sacrifice is called "please family hall", and the ceremony is very solemn.

The third way is to sweep the tomb on the Qingming Festival, also known as the cold food exhibition tomb. The process is roughly the day of the Cold Food Festival, when a family or a clan comes to the ancestral cemetery together, and then makes sacrifices, adds soil, and hangs paper money. Because this activity is closely related to the birth, old age, death and burial of thousands of families, it is especially valued by the people and is regarded as a "wild festival".

In particular, when the ancient emperors organized the official compilation of the Five Rites, in order to justify the name of this wild sacrifice of the world, the special edict included the Cold Food Festival Exhibition Tomb into the first auspicious ceremony among the Five Rites, so that it would always be a constant style.

1. The sacrificial ceremony begins, the drum is first strict (one bell ends), the drum is again strict (the second bell ends), and the drum three strict (three bells end).

2. The deacons do their own thing (drum beat) (the deacon enters after the drum sounds).

3. The priest is in place, and the priest is asked to be in place (singing until it is in place).

4. The dedication officer is in place, please ask the initial dedication officer, the second dedication officer, and the final dedication officer to be in place.

5. The presiding priest is in place, and the presiding priest is asked to wash and put in the towel to be in place.

6. Incense (facing the god position, the right side of the incense case is lit with incense and handed to the chief priest, the chief priest raises the eyebrows and hands them to the left side, and the left side needs to be at the same level as the eyebrows, and the rest of the cover is inserted in the incense burner).

7. One bow, then bow, three bows (sub-dedication official accompanying priest) to ask the sub-dedication official to reset the position.

The sacrificial process of the ancients:

1. When the sacrificial ceremony begins, the deacons do their own thing

2. The accompanying priest is in place, the offering officer is in place, and the chief priest is in place;

3. Enlightenment, firing cannons, welcoming Min Tan teasing the ancestors of the town, and selling the food on the bridge

4. The first gift, the second gift, the end of the gift, drink the blessing and receive the girch;

5. Send your ancestors and bother you with a good wishes

6. Merge, withdraw from class, and complete the ceremony.

Sacrifice is a traditional ritual to seek blessings from the gods and ward off disasters, and is called auspicious ceremony. "Sacrifice" also means to worship the gods, pray to the gods, and worship ancestors.

The material enjoyment of the sacrifice is called "tooth sacrifice", the sacrificial utensils are the eating utensils, washed and preserved after the sacrifice and used again next time, the Chinese nation due to the history of no fault, the bones are all materialism, the ancestors of the sacrifice just let them smell the fragrance.

In primitive times, it was believed that the human soul could exist without the body. The sacrificial handle is a derivative of this idea of the soul. The first rituals were simpler and more barbaric.

People used bamboo, wood or clay to shape idols of gods, or painted images of gods such as the sun, moon, stars, and beasts on rocks as objects of worship. Food and other gifts offered to the gods are then displayed in front of the idols, and the presiding officer prays, while the worshippers sing and dance to the gods. After entering the civilized society, the abundance of materials made the sacrificial etiquette more and more complicated, and the sacrifices became more and more exquisite, and there were certain norms.

In China, there are three kinds of objects of worship: heavenly gods, earthly gods, and human ghosts. Among them, the gods and the earth can only be sacrificed by the Son of Heaven, the great princes and doctors can sacrifice to the mountains and rivers, and the ordinary non-commissioned officers and ordinary people can only worship their ancestors and the god of the stove.

Sacrificial culture has always been solemn and sacred in China, and when I was a child doing rituals or worship, adults would always tell children not to play indiscriminately in advance. This is also a devotion to the matter of sacrifice. Of course, each place has its own set of rules, and sometimes what can't be done or what must be done has been passed down from ancestors for thousands of years.

It is mainly divided into two kinds, sacrificing to the ancestors and Xie Zao, "Xie Zao" is also a traditional folk custom, but each place has a difference, and the purpose is the same.

And the sacrifice to the ancestors is to set the table at home, of course, it is indispensable to sweep the sacrifice to the cemetery during Qingming and the winter solstice. For people far away, many cemetery industries have now launched valet services, although they can't be there in person, but they can also offer their own love.

It is necessary to prepare dishes, sacrificial equipment, fruits, sacrificial things, paper money, and burn incense. Sacrifices are carried out according to local customs and customs, and there will be corresponding arrangements and corresponding exquisiteness.

During the sacrifice, a lot of candles, a lot of paper money, a lot of offerings, chickens, ducks, fish, and a lot of gifts will be prepared. At the time of the sacrifice, all the offerings are placed on the table and candles are lit so that the sacrifice can begin.

Offerings will be prepared, there will be a definite ceremony, there will be a person of high status to preside over such an event, and there will be worship. The process will be set up in advance, and then the process will be carried out on the same day, and the overall situation will be controlled by a respected person.

Usually some food is prepared, some fruit is prepared. Prepare big fish and big meat. Prepare some paper money. I will also prepare some things to worship my ancestors. Some incense burners will also be prepared. When it is carried out, it will be carried out according to the arrangement of professional personnel.

In the old days, the customs of Linze sacrifice mainly included sacrificing to gods, sacrificing ancestors, and sacrificing Confucius. Sacrifice to the gods. Every year in the third lunar month of the "Qingming Festival", the "City God" parade is held in Tatequan, Shahe, Banqiao and other places.

The meaning is that the city god goes out of the house to inspect the good and evil in the world, and the activity is hosted by the local head of the meeting every year, and the Taoist priest is invited to blow and chant the scriptures, and the wooden city god (idol) in the temple is carried out with eight sedan chairs, and the front guards and the back hug, and the gong is sounded to open the way. Tatequan sent the idol to the west palace of the city, and the sand river sent the temporary color shed outside the east gate of the city; Banqiao sent the puppet city god to the Sai Wan Temple and the Beiwan Temple for three days, and then carried it back to its original place. It is said that the wooden castle god in the Banqiao Fort also wore out his shoes and wore out his clothes.

In fact, it was all rats. The original county seat of Tatequan holds a "wind god" activity on the day before the "beginning of summer" every year. The ceremony is held at night.

The event was hosted by the county ** and the location was on the grass beach outside the West Gate. During the day, the Taoist priest is invited to recite the scriptures, and in the evening, the county magistrate personally appears to preside over the sacrifice, and the police also bring a prisoner in a prison. After setting up a hall to burn incense, bowing down, and reading the sacrificial texts, the prisoners are taken to the dug pit, and the "executioner" holds a knife and pretends to cut off the prisoner's head, but in fact replaces the human head with a pig's head or a sheep's head, throws it into the pit and buries it, and then takes the prisoner back to the prison.

Its intention is to sacrifice the god of wind with a "living person", pray that there will be no strong winds after the "beginning of summer", and wish for a good harvest that year. Sacrifice to ancestors. March "Qingming" and July 15 are days to commemorate ancestors (previously described).

Some famous families, on the day of commemorating their ancestors, want to continue the genealogy and genealogy in the tomb, and some want to re-establish the "family rules", if some descendants do things like stealing cattle and horses, they must be punished in the tomb, some are beaten with sticks, and some are punished for kneeling in the tomb for an hour, so as to play the role of warning future generations. Some people who have been away or away from home for a few years or decades, when they return to their hometowns, they have to go to the grave to burn paper and sacrifice at any time, which is called "talking about worshipping ancestors". Some wealthy families who make money outside the home, in order to glorify their ancestors and show their parents, do not hesitate to spend hundreds or thousands of taels of silver to rebuild ancestral tombs, rebury their ancestors, invite monks to surpass the dead, and feast guests.

Sacrifice to Confucius. On the 27th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, Confucius's birthday, schools (mainly middle schools or township center primary schools) and Confucian gentry gathered together to hold commemorative activities. Tatequan and Shahe are held in Wenchang Palace or Confucian Temple, some are held in "Kuixing Building", and most are held in schools.

Set up a sacrificial hall, enshrine the tablet of "Dacheng Holy Master Kong Xuan Wang", the Confucian gentry are arranged according to the order of the elders and juniors, and burn incense and bow in turn. The salute singer reads out the rituals, such as Qin music, firing cannons, offering offerings, reading sacrifices, burning incense, and turning tables. Those with higher social status are promoted as the chief priest and preside over the sacrificial activities, and the cost is generally shared by the people, and some participants bear the burden.

The ancients had a lot of sacrificial methods, and there were many different distinctions between the classes, the emperor sacrifice was the most solemn and then ranked down to the princes, and the main sacrifices were divided into: 1 ancestor sacrifice 2 mountain and river sacrifice 3 god sacrifice three kinds and different periods of dynasties due to different religious beliefs The sacrifice will also be different, and the sacrifice of ordinary people is mainly ancestor sacrifice and mountain and river sacrifice.