Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.2, 2014

 

Reform of the National Sacrifice in the Late Western Han Dynasty

(Abstract)

 

Tian Tian

 

The late Western Han saw a movement to "restore ancient ways" and reform institutions. Reform of the national sacrifice was an important component of this trend. During the Emperors Yuan and Cheng reign periods, Kuang Heng took the initiative in proposing to reform the sacrifice by instituting the jiao si (郊祀) system. In the first year of the Jianshi, the nan jiao (南郊) jiao si system was implemented. Advocates of this reform, represented by Kuang Heng, took "restoration of ancient ways" as their primary principle, but they were constrained by the content of the ritual texts and so did not touch the core rituals of the original national sacrifice. Over the next three decades, the fortunes of the nan jiao sacrifice ebbed and flowed. Amid frequent radical changes in the supreme sacrifice, the earlier ci zhi (祠畤) sacrificial framework gradually fell into desuetude. Finally, Wang Mang put forward the "Yuan Shi Ceremonies", taking the Rites of Zhou (周礼) as a guideline, and reshaped the nan jiao sacrifice system. This period saw the end of the ci zhi, operational since the Qin Dynasty, and the beginning of the nan jiao jiao si system, which was to last for 2000 years. This great change to the national sacrifice in the late Western Han transformed the character of the national sacrifice in traditional China.