Feng Shan
| Feng Shan sacrifice | |
|---|---|
 Jade Emperor Peak, the summit of Mt. Tai | |
| Organised by | Emperor of China |
Feng Shanorfeng-shan(Chinese:Phong thiền), also referred to as theFeng and Shan sacrifices,was an official rite offered by theSon of Heaven(kings of Zhouand lateremperors of China) to pay homage to heaven and earth. The sacrifices were usually offered atMount Tai,[1]the highest peak in the area, and nearbyMount Liangfu.The emperor would pay homage toheaven(on the summit) andearth(at the foot of the mountain) in the Feng (Chinese:Phong;pinyin:Fēng) and Shan (Chinese:Thiền;pinyin:Shàn) sacrifices respectively.[2]Completing Feng Shan allowed the emperor to receive themandate of heaven.[3]The term 'feng' can roughly be translated to mean "to seal", while the term 'shan' can roughly be translated to mean "to clear away".
It is considered among the most important rituals ofreligious Confucianism.[4]
According to theRecords of the Grand Historian,Feng involved building altars out of soil at the peak of Mt. Tai and proclaiming the merits and legitimacy of the emperor togod of heaven.Shan involved clearing land at the foot of the mountain to show respect for thegod of earth.[5][6]
It was seen as a point by which emperors could meditate on the relationship between heaven and earth.[7]
While historically considered limited to the Emperor, commoners have performed the ceremony at times without imperial permission.[8]The generalHuo Qubingdid it alone.[8]
It is considered a prerequisite that the empire is in a period of prosperity with a good emperor and auspicious signs to perform the ritual.[9]Many sovereigns refused to perform the ritual citing themselves as unworthy of it.[4]
They are considered parallel to theSecular Gamesof the Roman Empire in their political role with both being highly infrequent celebrations.[10]Both had high religious significance and were influential in changing narratives of power.[10]
History
[edit]Worship at Mount Tai began in prehistoric times.[11]
TheYellow Emperoris said to have performed the ceremony before ascending to heaven as an immortal.[10]
It continued through theZhou dynasty.[11]During theWarring States Period,Mount Tai was located on the border betweenQiandLu,and leaders from both nations would carry out sacrifices at the mountain. In 219 BC,Qin Shihuangcarried out what would come to be considered the first Feng and Shan sacrifices in celebration of uniting China.[11]The second emperor to carry out the sacrifices wasEmperor Wu of Han.Emperor Gaozong of Tangcarried out the Feng and Shan sacrifices more times than any other emperor in Chinese history.Japan,India, thePersian court in exile,Goguryeo,Baekje,Silla,theTurks,Khotan,theKhmer,and theUmayyad Caliphateall had representatives attending the Feng and Shan sacrifices held byEmperor Gaozong of Tangin 666 at Mount Tai.[12]Wu Zetiancarried out Feng and Shan sacrifices atMount Song.The last emperor to carry out Feng and Shan sacrifices wasEmperor Zhenzongof theSong dynasty.[13]Later, emperors in theQing dynastywould perform similar rites at Mount Tai. There are only six verifiable accounts of performances in all of Chinese history.[14]
The last recorded traditional Feng Shan was done in 1790 by theQianlong Emperor.[15]
In modern times a festival claiming continuity occurs every year.[7]It is done with a large modern light show which did not exist in the medieval implementation.[16][17][7]
In Japan
[edit]In Japan theFestival of the Deva and Naraka( lục đạo minh quan tế ) was performed based on the Feng Shan. It was performed from the time ofEmperor Go-Yōzei(1571–1617) until the reign ofEmperor Kōmei(1831–1867), the last Emperor of theEdo period,was not performed for Emperor Meiji (1852–1912). The Tokugawa shoguns, like the Emperors, have always performed the festival every time they weregiven the position of shogun by the Emperors.The Tsuchimikado family lost their official position in charge of onmyōdō, and also lost the exclusive right to issue the license, and although they had no choice but to further transform the Tensha Tsuchimikado Shinto into more shintoistically, they were deprived of their influence over private onmyōji in various regions.
The Festival of the Great Emperor of the Sacred Mountain of the East, which is held to honorDongyue Dadi,the ruler of human life, and the Festival of the Deva and Naraka, which was held every time an Emperor ascended to the throne.
TheDaijosairitual during the coronation of the Emperor is sometimes seen as parallel, but it does not have a ritual continuity or inspiration from the rite.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Guangwei, He; Hualing, Tong; Wenzhen, Yang; Zhenguo, Chang; Zeru, Li; Ruicheng, Dong; Weijan, Gong, eds. (1999).Spectacular China.Translated by Wusun, Lin; Zhongping, Wu. Cologne: Könemann. p. 42.ISBN9783829010771.
- ^Lewis, Mark Edward (18 March 1999).Writing and Authority in Early China.SUNY Press.ISBN9780791441145.Retrieved31 January2015.
- ^Jing, Wang (1992).The Story of Stone: Intertextuality, Ancient Chinese Stone Lore, and the Stone Symbolism in Dream of the Red Chamber, Water Margin, and The Journey to the West.Durham, North Carolina: Duke Press. pp. 66–69.ISBN082231195X.
- ^abBokenkamp, Stephen (2002)."24. Record of the Feng and Shan Sacrifices".Religions of Asia in Practice.Princeton University Press. pp. 386–395.doi:10.1515/9780691188140-029.ISBN9780691188140.
- ^"'Fengshan Sacrifices' at Mount Tai[1]- Taian ".www.chinadaily.com.cn.Retrieved2019-02-25.
- ^Daji, Lü (2014).Marxism and Religion.Religious Studies in Contemporary China Collection. BRILL.ISBN978-9047428022.
- ^abc"'Fengshan Sacrifices' at Mount Tai[2]- Taian ".www.chinadaily.com.cn.Retrieved2023-02-12.
- ^abTheobald, Ulrich."fengshan phong thiền (http://www.chinaknowledge.de)".www.chinaknowledge.de.Retrieved2023-02-12.
- ^"Mount Tai - Holy Land of Politic and Worship | ChinaFetching".ChinaFetching.com.Retrieved2023-02-12.
- ^abcROBINSON, REBECCA (2018)."Spectacular Power in the Early Han and Roman Empires".Journal of World History.29(3): 343–368.ISSN1045-6007.JSTOR26607626.
- ^abc"Mount Taishan".UNESCO World Heritage Centre.Retrieved2019-02-25.
- ^Skaff 2012,pp. 146-7.
- ^Trung quốc văn hóa khoa mục nhận chứng chỉ nam.Hoa ngữ giáo học xuất bản xã.Sinolingua.2010. p. 63.ISBN978-7-80200-985-1.
- ^Record of the Feng and Shan Sacrifices,” in Donald Lopez, ed., Religions of China in Practice (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996), 251-60
- ^《Thái sơn văn hóa kỷ niênArchived2021-01-08 at theWayback Machine》: 1, càn long thập tam niên ( 1748 niên ) nhị nguyệt nhị thập bát nhật, thanh cao tông phụng hoàng thái hậu ( hiếu thánh hiến hoàng hậu nữu hỗ lộc thị, cao tông chi mẫu ) đông tuần, trú tất thái an phủ. Thứ nhật, tế đại nhạc miếu, thị thái hậu đăng đại đỉnh, tự bích hà nguyên quân. 2, càn long thập lục niên ( 1751 niên ) tứ nguyệt thập lục nhật, thanh cao tông dữ hoàng thái hậu nam tuần hồi loan, hạnh thái an, tự đại nhạc miếu. 3, càn long nhị thập nhị niên ( 1757 niên ) tứ nguyệt thập nhất nhật, thanh cao tông nam tuần hồi loan, để thái an, yết đại nhạc miếu, đăng đại đỉnh, lễ bích hà từ. 4, càn long nhị thập thất niên ( 1762 niên ) tứ nguyệt thập cửu nhật, thanh cao tông nam tuần hồi loan, đồ kinh thái an, yết đại nhạc miếu, thứ nhật đăng sơn tự bích hà từ. 5, càn long tam thập niên ( 1765 niên ) tứ nguyệt, thanh cao tông phụng hoàng thái hậu nam tuần, hồi loan yết đại nhạc miếu, trú tất linh nham tự. 6, càn long tam thập lục niên ( 1771 niên ) nhị nguyệt, thanh cao tông vi cung hạ hoàng thái hậu bát thập thọ thần, phụng thái hậu đông tuần, nhị thập tứ nhật chí thái an phủ, trú tất bạch hạc tuyền ( thử địa thị niên kiến thành hành cung ). Thứ nhật cao tông cung yết đại miếu. 7, càn long tứ thập nhất niên ( 1776 niên ) tam nguyệt, vi khánh chúc đại tiểu kim xuyên bạn loạn bình định, thanh cao tông “Cung phụng hoàng thái hậu tuần hạnh sơn tả, đăng đại diên hi”. Tam nguyệt thập tứ nhật chí thái an phủ, yết đại miếu, trú tất bạch hạc tuyền hành cung. Thập ngũ nhật đăng đại đỉnh, tự bích hà từ. 8, càn long tứ thập ngũ niên ( 1780 niên ) chính nguyệt, thanh cao tông nam tuần, quá thái an phủ. Nhị thập lục nhật, trú tất bạch hạc tuyền hành cung, thứ nhật yết dao tham đình, đại miếu. 9, càn long tứ thập cửu niên ( 1784 niên ) nhị nguyệt sơ lục, thanh cao tông dữ hoàng tử ngung diễm ( tức hậu chi thanh nhân tông gia khánh hoàng đế ) nam tuần giang hà chí thái an, cung yết dao tham đình, “Nghệ đại miếu hành lễ”. 10, càn long ngũ thập ngũ niên ( 1790 niên ) nhị nguyệt, thanh cao tông đông tuần. Tam nguyệt sơ tứ nhật chí thái an phủ, yết đại miếu, trú tất bạch hạc tuyền hành cung. Thứ nhật dĩ bát tuần chi linh dữ hoàng tử ngung diễm đăng đại đỉnh, tự bích hà từ. Sơ thất nhật cung nghệ đại miếu.
- ^"Fengshan Sacrifices Performance - Mt Tai - Review of Mount Tai, Tai'an, China".Tripadvisor.Retrieved2023-02-12.
- ^"Fengshan Ceremony - Best Show at the Foot of Mount Tai 2023".www.chinadiscovery.com.Retrieved2023-02-12.