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明代国家祭祀体系研究

A Study of the State Sacrificial System in the Ming Dynasty

【作者】 李媛

【导师】 赵轶峰;

【作者基本信息】 东北师范大学 , 中国古代史, 2009, 博士

【摘要】 国家祭祀是以国家名义、由皇帝或政府官员主持的公共祭拜活动,这种祭拜活动既体现一定的宗教涵义,又昭示祭祀者政治、社会信念和价值的常经,同时又服务于国家共同体的现实目的。明代国家祭祀体系建立于洪武时期。该体系以儒家思想为主导,承袭唐、宋以来祭祀体系的基本传统,包含大、中、小数十种等级严格的仪式性祭祀活动。除日期固定的常规祭祀以外,朝廷遇有登极、册立、迎娶、之国、营造、出征、巡幸、视学以及天象异常和严重自然灾害等情况而举行的祭告天地、山川、宗庙、社稷、后土等仪式,也属国家祭祀范围。除皇帝亲自参加或派遣官员主祭的中央的祭祀活动之外,地方政府在中央授权下所举行的祭祀活动也属此范围。这一整套祭祀活动构成明朝国家政治生活的重要内容。洪武时期以后,祭祀制度不时发生一些变动。最初的变动集中于佛、道以及杂神信仰阑入祭祀体系造成的祭祀精神变异和对儒家思想主导地位的冲击,由此引发的士大夫的强烈抗争使得这种变异速度减缓。嘉靖时期,以“大礼议”为背景,世宗对祭祀制度进行了一番全面调整,主要涉及为使世宗生父兴献王进入太庙而实行的庙制更革、孔子祭祀及陪祀规制的减杀,以及天地祭祀仪式的变更。从祭祀活动体现的文化内涵上来看,这一时期的改制并未造成明朝国家祭祀的基本属性和主导文化内涵的转变。隆庆初年,君臣对嘉靖时期的祭祀体系更改又做了有限度的调整,使其中某些方面回复嘉靖以前的局面。其后直到明末,祭祀制度少有变动。本文从整体上展现明朝国家祭祀体系的制度规定、人员管理、仪式活动、组成要素、信仰的对象世界及其体现的现世功用,在此基础上,对其中包含的政治文化寓意进行分析。明朝的国家祭祀体系从制度角度说,是一个包含了礼部、太常寺、鸿胪寺、光禄寺、钦天监、内阁、翰林院等多个部门的管理体系。其中,礼部是祭祀制度的总理和决策建议机构,太常寺是祭祀活动的直接管理机构,工部、都察院、六科等则参加祭祀礼仪的协助、监督。祭祀作为一种重要的仪式活动,具有严格的程序规定,从正祭之前的准备活动:择日、斋戒、习仪、省牲器、告庙、有司陈设,到祭祀仪式当日举行的迎神、行礼、进俎、初献、亚献、终献等程序,都体现了祭祀仪式的象征意义。在精心安排的祭祀空间内,一系列陈设、器物被赋予神圣的象征意义,在祭祀仪式中充当重要角色。坛、庙的设置彰显祭祀活动的空间环境,形成了相对隔绝于外界的独立场域,烘托祭祀仪式的庄严肃穆。祭器与祭物作为对神的献礼构成人神沟通的媒介之一。祭祀仪式上所用的服装、乐舞从感官上营造祭祀仪式的神圣氛围,强化祭祀导向。祭祀仪式中使用的祝文,则直接表达祭祀者奉天地、飨鬼神、安民众、治邦国的多重目的及其神圣性。明代国家祭祀的对象是一个以“天”为核心,包括其他神、鬼、祖先、圣人、功臣等等的完整体系。抽象的“天”具有最高绝对权威,象征从自然到人间的终极秩序和最高权力,也是一切人间伦理关系的逻辑原点。“天”之下的诸神,各具职司,各有象征意义,因而各有具体的政治导向功用。祖先、圣人、功臣、英雄等祭祀对象,凸显了明人观念中对人事的充分关照。部分民间低级神鬼也被纳入祭祀体系中,反映的主要是以人驭鬼的意念。明朝国家祭祀的基本态度是敬谨而有节制,不失神道设教、修人事而敬鬼神的传统,这与狭义宗教对于超自然对象权威的盲目崇拜以及民间迷信活动往往流于狂滥巫术化的情形有深刻的差异。祭祀对象的层级结构折映现实社会的等级差异秩序。明代国家祭祀体系的主导思想是儒家思想,儒家思想是一套关于国家治理的哲学和理念,因此,祭祀体系的设置从功用和目的的意义上来说,具有重人事的特点,反映在祭祀活动中,表现为鲜明的现世取向。天地、社稷、先农、先蚕祭祀直接体现对农业及民生的关注;宗庙祭祀体现了对孝悌观念的倡导和家国一体观念下对帝系传承的重视;岳镇海渎、山川河流之祀体现了四方之御的天下观;城隍、厉鬼祭祀体现现世权力对地方社会驾驭的权威;帝王、功臣之祭体现出对圣帝贤王统系的认同以及人臣功德楷模的树立;孔庙祭祀寓教于祀,以符号化的圣人道德教化士子、庶民;旗纛、马神祭祀则体现对军事活动的重视和捍卫邦国的意志。除了以上明显的制度化的祭祀寓意以外,每一种祭祀活动还被赋予不同的功用,展现出明人祭祀观念杂糅和包容的特点。明朝国家祭祀体系塑造了一个神圣的世界,并对其进行祈拜,故带有明显的宗教特征,但因祭祀体系的主导思想是儒家的,而儒家思想并非狭义的宗教,因此与纯粹的制度性宗教、原始宗教以及民间宗教的崇拜活动均有区别。因其具有宗教性而又与狭义宗教相区别,本文将明代国家祭祀界定为具有准宗教属性。具体要点在于:明朝国家祭祀活动以人事为中心,以民生为根本关注对象,体现一定的理性色彩;其礼仪色彩浓而巫术色彩淡;以国家共同体的福祉、秩序为中心,而非以个人、小群体利益为中心,具有高度的公共性;祭祀对象及其地位并非绝对不可更改,而由现实的人斟酌选择,故诉求的对象既是神,也是人本身;祭祀活动本身被当做合理治国意志的表达方式,指向仁政,而非简单地将人事交诸神意;祭祀的基本精神在于敬、节,而非单纯祈求,不用术数;祭祀之基本原则排斥佛、道之崇拜对象及不经杂神。明代的国家祭祀是在中国礼仪、祭祀传统基础上发展起来的,具有明显的继承性特征,这种继承性的核心是对于儒家国家政治理念和政治文化的温习和认同。国家祭祀体系与民间信仰和祭祀活动形成复杂关系,这是理解明代国家与社会关系的一个重要视角。明代国家祭祀既服务于现实皇权,也具有申明道统、限制皇权的作用。这些特性对理解明朝国家祭祀体系的政治文化寓意都是重要的。

【Abstract】 The state sacrifice is a public divine worship activity presided by the emperor or officials in the name of the country. This worship reflects both religious connotations and the core of the political and social beliefs and the values of the attenders. It also contains a realistic intention to serve the community of the whole country.The state sacrificial system of the Ming Dynasty was set up in the Hongwu’s reign and guided by the Confucian ideas. The content of this system follows the sacrificial tradition of the T’ang and Sung dynasty, and includes dozens of sacrificial activities in the different scales from the grand, the secondary to the lowest. Besides the routine sacrifices on the fixed dates, some provisional rituals offering sacrifice to the heaven and earth, the mountains, the ancestral temples, the god of the land and grain, and the god of the earth when the emperor was enthroned, the royal titles were conferred on the royal members, the royal marriages were held, the imperial pinces went to their own granted territories, the royal buildings were constructed, the army was going out to battle, the emperor looked around the country or the Confucian schools, and the abnormal astronomical phenomena or serious natural disasters happened also belonged to the state sacrificial system. Besides the central government’s sacrificial activities presided by the emperor himself or the dispatched officials in charge, the sacrificial activities held by the local government also belonged to the state sacrificial system. The entire set of sacrificial activities was the important content of the political activities of the Ming dynasty.After Hongwu period, the sacrificial system was transformed from time to time. The original changes were mainly the sacrifice’s spiritual deviation and the impact against the Confucianism’s leading status caused by the Buddhist, Taoist and the folk religions’ penetration into the state sacrificial system. The serious objections of the Confucian officials slowed this deviating process down. During Jiajing period, emperor Shizong changed the sacrificial system a lot during the Great Ritual Controversy. The changes included the reformation of the temple rites aiming to put Shizong’s father Xingxianwang into the temple, the standard’s reduction of the Confucian’s sacrifice and the side sacrifice of the Confucian, and the alteration to the rituals of the heaven and the earth. In terms of the cultural connotation reflected by the sacrificial activites, these changes did not alter the fundamental nature and the leading cultural connotation of the Ming government’s sacrifice. In the early years of Longqing period, emperor Muzong and his high officials limitedly readjusted the state sacrificial system formed in the Jiajing period and thus part of it was restored to the condition before Jiajing period. From that to the end the Ming dynasty, the state sacrificial system scarcely changed.This dissertation views the institution, the personnel administration, the ritual activities, the integral elements, the beliefs object world and the reflected realistic function of the Ming dynasty’s state sacrificial system as a whole. On this basis, this dissertation analyses its political cultural connotations.In the view of the system, the Ming dynasty’s state sacrificial system includes the Ministry of Rites (libu,礼部), the Court of Imperial Sacrifices (Taichangsi,太常寺), the Court of State Ceremonial (Honglusi,鸿胪寺), the Court of Imperial Entertainments (Guanglusi,光禄寺), the Directorate of Astronomy (Qintianjian,钦天监), the Grand Secretariat (neige,内阁), the Hanlin Academy (翰林院), and some other sections of the Ming government. Among them, the Ministry of Rites is the top administrative and policy-making body of the sacrificial system. The Court of Imperial Sacrifices is the direct administrative body of the sacrificial activities. The Ministry of Construction (gongbu,工部), the General Commission of Surveillance (duchayuan,都察院), and the Six Offices of Scrutiny (liuke,六科) were in charge of the assistance and supervision of the sacrificial ritual.As an important ritual activity, the sacrifice had some definite provisions of the procedure. From the preparing activities before the formal ritual, such as the choice of an auspicious day, fast, the practice of the ritual, preparation of the sacrificial utensil, informing the antecedents in the ancestral temple and the display of the sacrificial goods, to the procedures held on the formal sacrificial day, such as the welcome of the god, the offering of the food, the worship for three times and so on, they all reflected the symbolic significance of the sacrificial ritual. In the well-designed ritual space, a series of displays and utensils were endowed with the solemn significance and played an important role in the sacrificial ritual. The altars and the temples made the environment of the sacrificial activities more conspicuous, formed a comparatively isolated field and set off the sacred and solemn atmosphere of the ritual by contrast. The utensils and the foods of the sacrifice for the deities became one of the communicative mediums between the gods and the human beings. The dressing and the dance accompanied by music in the sacrificial rituals formed a solemn atmosphere to the human sensory organs and strengthened the sacrificial orientation. The sacrificial texts reflected the worshiper’s purposes to worship the god and earth, to respect the deities, to warn against the ghosts, to pacificate the common people, and to govern the country.The state sacrificial objects of the Ming dynasty is a whole system which with the "heaven" at the core, concluded the other deities, ghosts, ancestors, sages, and the men making great achievements for the country. The abstract "heaven" had the highest and absolute authority, standing for the ultimate order of the nature and the human beings and working as the origin of all the ethic relations in the world. Under the heaven, various gods and deities had their individual duties and symbolic meanings and so had their own specific political functions. The worshipped objects, such as the ancestors, sages, the men making great achievements for the country, the heroes and so on, showed the full concern for the human affairs in the conception of Ming people. A part of the lower-leveled ghosts and deities in the folk society were also brought into the sacrificial system, which mainly reflected the idea of human being’s managing the ghost. The Ming government’s basic attitude to the state sacrificial system is to be respectful, cautious and moderate, while Shendao-Shejiao (神道设教) and the tradition of paying most attention to the human affairs and respecting the gods and ghosts at the same time were kept. This formed a profound difference with the institutionalized religion, which worshipped the supernaturalism blindly, and the folk superstious beliefs, which contained too much sorcery. The fact that the objects of the sacrifice were classified reflected the social stratum of the realistic world.The dominant ideology of the state sacrificial system of Ming dynasty was the Confucians ideas, which are a set of philosophies and ideologies about the county’s governing. Therefore, the functions and the intentions of the sacrificial system had the characteristics of paying close attention to human affairs. That is to say, the sacrificial activities had a clear secular orientation. The worships for the heaven and earth, the god of the land and grain, the god of the agriculture, and the god of the silkworm reflected the concern about the agriculture and the people’s livelihood. The sacrifice for the ancestral temple reflected the promotion of the filial piety and the stress on the emperor’s blood line according to the idea that the home and country were a whole body. The worships for the mountains, hills, rivers and seas reflected the domain ideas of Ming. The sacrifice for the city god and ghosts which had no places to go showed the realistic authority towards the local society. The worships for the emperors and the men making great achievements for the country reflected the identification for the succession of the sage and virtuous emperors, and set examples for the people to make great achievements for the country. The worship for the Confucius meant to educate the Confucian officials and the common people with this symbolized sage’s morality. The worships for the army’s flag and the god of horse expressed the stress on the military affairs and the will to defend the country. Besides the above-mentioned implied meaning of the institutional sacrificial system, each sacrificial affair was endowed with a respective function, which reflected the mingle and magnanimous characteristics in the Ming people’s sacrificial ideas.The state sacrificial system of the Ming dynasty created a divine world and prayed to it, which made this system bear obvious religious characteristic. However, the dominant ideology of this sacrificial system was the Confucian ideas, which were different from the pure religion, so it was different from the institutionalized religion, the primitive religion and the folk religions. Therefore, this dissertation defines the characteristic of the state sacrificial system as the quasi-religion. The key points of it were as follows: the state sacrificial affairs of the Ming dynasty focused on the human affairs, paid much more attention to the people’s livelihood and therefore reflected a certain rational color. The sacrificial activities focused on the rituals instead of the sorceries. The concerns of the state sacrificial system were the welfare and the order of the national community instead of the interests of the individuals and the small group, which made it highly public. The sacrificial objects and their status were not absolutely unchangeable and were selected deliberately by the humans in the real world. So, the appealing objects were the deities as well as the human beings themselves. The sacrificial activities pointed to the Ren (Kindness,仁) policy and were regarded as the expression of the will to govern the country rationally instead of the process of simply giving the realistic things to the gods to determine. The basic spirit of the sacrifice was to be respectful and moderate instead of praying purely or using the sorcery. The principle of the sacrifice made it exclude the Buddhist, Taoist and folk religious deities.The state sacrificial system of the Ming dynasty developed on the basis of the traditional Chinese ritual and sacrifice, which made it have the obvious characteristic of the succession. The core of this feature is to review and identify the Confucians state political ideas and political culture. There were complex relations between the state sacrificial system and the folk believes. This is an important point of view to comprehend the relationship between the state and the society of the Ming Dynasty. The state sacrificial system of Ming dynasty served for the imperial power, and also had the functions of interpreting the Confucian orthodoxy and limiting the emperor’s power. These characteristics are important to comprehend the connotation of the political culture in the state sacrificial system of the Ming dynasty.

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