These days, most people would think that Confucian rituals honoring Confucius are a thing of the distant past. However, even in this era of fleeting images and constant change, these rituals survive. Passed down over 2,500 years, they are worthy of our attention.
It is dawn, September 28th. Hundreds of visitors have already arrived in Taipei's banyan-lined Talungtung area, waiting respectfully for the ceremony to begin. At precisely 6:00 a.m., the master of ceremonies cries out as if to break the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Then, the great Jin Drum to the west of the Ceremonial Gate begins to sound. The rhythm slowly gathers speed, then fades out. Then there is the resonant sound of a gong, struck three times, and the atmosphere within the temple becomes even more solemn. Musicians wearing ruddy brown tunics and dancers in yellow silk file in, followed by the officiators of the ritual, who pause after every fifth step. They take their places and the ceremony begins.
The graceful pace of the ceremony, the refined language used, and the ancient styles of the clothing, implements, music, and movements take visitors back through the millennia to the era of Confucius--China's Spring and Autumn period.
Confucius was born into poverty during a chaotic period of China's history, but he became determined at a young age to live the life of a scholar. He spent the entirety of his life determining--and trying to live up to--the perfect model of human behavior, and founded his own philosophical school. He advocated "teaching without distinction" to anyone who had the desire to learn. Three thousand students studied under him, and 72 of those became his disciples. Confucius actively sought political influence, traveling with his disciples from state to state seeking a ruler who would listen to his advice. His determination to positively influence the world is impressive. After his death, his disciples built houses next to his grave and took up residence there, mourning for three years. This profound respect of students for their teacher led to the composition of The Analects--the collection of the sayings of Confucius which has been profoundly influential for millennia.
Ancient heritage
Though Confucius was not fully appreciated while he was alive, after his death he became revered by rulers of state as a great thinker. In the year after Confucius' death, Duke Ai of Lu ordered that Confucius' former residence in Qufu, Shandong Province be turned into a temple, and that his clothes, ceremonial cap, qin harp, books and other personal effects be preserved. He also mandated that ceremonies honoring Confucius be held periodically. The Han Emperor Gaozu visited the state of Lu during his twelfth year on the throne (195 BC) and personally paid homage to Confucius with an imperial "Great Sacrifice" ritual, in which an ox, a sheep, and a pig were slaughtered. He was the first of many emperors to personally participate in ritual homage to Confucius.
More than 250 years later, Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han ordered local governments around the nation to hold ceremonies in Confucius' honor at schools. He also made the Sage's 72 disciples the objects of veneration in the ceremony.
As the ceremonies honoring Confucius became more and more widespread due to the efforts of the central and local governments, and as official bodies for organizing these rituals came into being, the ceremonies became more set in form. He was also given posthumous names--in the Han, he became known as "the Lauded Duke Ni," and in the Tang, he rose to the title of "King of Renowned Letters."
The ceremony used to honor Confucius, the "Shidian Ritual," traces back to the Zhou Dynasty. "Shi" and "dian" both mean "to lay out" or "to present an offering," and refer to the music and dances performed and the libations of meat and alcohol presented out of respect for sages and teachers of old. According to the Book of Rites, in the Zhou Dynasty every school was to perform the Shidian Ritual twice a year--once in the spring and once in the autumn--in honor of those learned ones and teachers who had made contributions to education. After Confucius' death, the ceremony became more and more centered around him in particular.
The Shidian Ritual that is now practiced in Taiwan was put together in 1968 by scholars at the behest of the government, and is based around the ritual as performed in the Ming Dynasty. In the ceremony, objects of veneration include not only Confucius but also the "Four Companions"--Yan Hui, Zisi, Zengzi, and Mencius--and the "12 Wise Ones"--Zigong, Zilu, and other important disciples of Confucius. Their spirit tablets are placed to the east and west of that of Confucius. Also, to the east and west of the main hall of the temple where the ceremony is held, more than 70 other "Former Wise Men" of outstanding moral conduct and "Former Confucians" who transmitted the teachings are honored.
A new tradition
As there are so many objects of veneration in the proceedings, the Shidian Ritual is divided into the main offering and sub-offerings. The main offering is dedicated to Confucius and is performed by the "Main Offering Official," while the sub-offerings are for the other venerated ones and are performed by eight "Sub-offering Officials." As these officials conduct the ceremony, they pay respects three times to the different spirit tablets simultaneously.
Since the guidelines for the Shidian Ritual were drawn up in 1968, they have been followed at local Confucian temples in all of Taiwan's cities and counties. The part of the Main Offering Official is performed by the local mayor or county commissioner. Taipei City is a special case, however, as it is the seat of the central government. After the "Three Offerings" part of the ritual is performed by the mayor, further offerings are made by a representative of the president (usually the minister of the interior) and a descendant of Confucius (currently Kung Te-cheng).
The Shidian Ritual consists of 33 stages. The first ten gradually build an atmosphere of reverence, and the ceremony reaches a climax with the stage called "Welcoming the Gods." At that point, harmonious music sounds, and two rows of "Ritual Students" file in behind a lantern and an incense burner, holding axes, halberds, fans, umbrellas, and other ritual implements representing literary and martial arts. (In ancient times, a king's attendants would carry such implements on royal tours--Confucius is given royal status.) The Ritual Students stream outside to welcome the spirit of Confucius in.
As the welcomers return to the Hall of Great Perfection, they are met by the Offering Officials. Once the spirit of Confucius has entered the Hall of Great Perfection, the officials bow three times to him. Then, food is brought in, incense is lit, and a set of three ritual offerings is performed. The ceremony comes to a close when the officials consume the offerings of meat and alcohol--a gesture symbolizing their receiving those spirits' blessings. Spectators might miss the part when the food offerings are brought in as it goes by quickly, but it requires elaborate preparation due to the number of items it entails, and much thought has been put into it.
Tung Chin-yu, a professor of Chinese Literature at National Chengchi University, is an expert on the ceremonial honoring of Confucius. He says that as Confucius was given the title of king in the Tang Dynasty, he is on the same level as an emperor and requires the same scale of ritual respect. There should be, for example, eight lines of eight dancers just as there are in rituals honoring emperors. (Unfortunately, due to the limited space at Taipei's Confucian temple, only six are used.) The sacrificial implements are also of the most ceremonious grade used in ancient rituals--there are the meats of the Great Sacrifice as well as coins, silk, and special sacrificial vessels filled with food.
The Great Sacrifice of an ox, a sheep, and a pig is an honor reserved for those of imperial status. The meat is laid out directly in front of the main altar to Confucius. The silk is of the kind most valued in ancient times, and the coins are also made of silk. The foods in the sacrificial vessels are all prepared according to ancient recipes, and the vessels are set in their particular places.
Food for the spirits
Every year, the ceremonial foods used at Taipei's Confucian Temple are prepared by Wei Mei-jung, who's earned the title "Confucius' Chef." Wei explains that there are 27 recipes and 179 items. They include grain, vegetable, and meat dishes, and each is to be presented in a particular type of vessel appropriate to its place in the ceremony. In order of importance, they are a beef soup served in a vessel called a deng, lamb and pork soups in xing vessels, and pork, rabbit, and deer pates in dou. They are placed in front of the spirit tablets, arranged in order of ornateness according to the importance of the person honored--it is all carefully planned out, and nothing like the haphazardly placed offerings of flowers, fruit, and canned meat usually seen in Taiwan's temples.
It's a complicated job, but Wei--who followed in her father's footsteps--has it all down pat. It takes her a couple days each year to buy all the ingredients and prepare the food. She's even put together a team of around a dozen volunteers who assist her the day before the September 28 ceremony, selecting the ingredients, cooking the food, and putting the vessels in place according to ancient ritual customs. Should one of the volunteers make a mistake and place the vessels in the wrong places or prepare the wrong quantity, the team has to rush through the night to make things right before the early-morning ceremony begins.
Return to the source
What do the sacrifices and offerings of the Shidian Ritual mean, and what is the significance of the different numbers of vessels in front of the different spirit tablets? Why is it that of all the spirit tablets, only that of Confucius receives a deng vessel--and why does that vessel contain only an unflavored soup? Why must there be three offerings?
Lin Su-ying, a professor in National Taiwan Normal University's Department of Chinese who has researched ancient rituals, says that inclusion of the three types of foods--sacrifices, grains, and meat-and-vegetable combinations--shows the care and consideration of the performers of the ritual.
Why is that?
In ancient times, when resources were scarce, animals were only slaughtered in rituals. Oxen were the most valuable and ceremonious. The meat is eaten raw as all meat was eaten in the distant past--symbolizing the spirit of "returning to the source and restoring ancient ways" mentioned in the Book of Rites.
In addition to the sacrifices of meat, there are offerings of sorghum, broomcorn millet, rice, barley, and beans. These represent the fact that grain is a staple in the diet of agricultural society, and are offered in thanks to nature for providing them. Millet and sorghum are grown in the north of China while rice is grown in the south, so harvest seasons and location determine what grains are available for use in a ritual. The grains are placed in ornate bronze containers, befitting their status as staple foods.
The meat and vegetable dishes are presented in a manner that is intended to remind the honored spirits of their everyday lives in this world, and though the occasion is a ceremony the dishes are set out as if they were a meal being served to a respected elder. This follows the Confucian ideal--expressed in the Doctrine of the Mean--of serving the dead as one would have served them in life.
The yayue or "elegant music" used in the ceremony was traditionally used in large-scale state ceremonies honoring Heaven, the god of soil and grain, and ancestors. It has a stately, peaceful sound.
Rank and ritual
As for the numbers of offerings and implements, the "Ritual Implements" chapter of the Book of Rites explains the principle clearly: In ritual, higher numbers signify respect. For example, when a marquis goes out, he is preceded by seven lieutenants who announce his coming. When a marquis has guests, he serves seven dishes. An officer of the state, on the other hand, only has five lieutenants and serves five dishes. However, there are occasions in ritual when "less is more," too. A marquis may have seven lieutenants, but an emperor does not require any at all when going out. Rituals honoring the god of soil and grains require three sacrifices, while the grandest ritual of all--the one held to honor Heaven--requires only one ox, and that ox must be a calf.
Higher-ranking people use more intricately patterned implements in ritual. The emperor, for example, wears a five-color sash of reds and greens, and 12 hanging pieces of fringe at the front of his hat. Marquises only have nine pieces and officials seven. Sometimes, however, it is simplicity that is the mark of rank and respect. When the emperor conducts his ritual honoring Heaven, he wears a plain robe. The largest ceremonial jewels are left uncut, and soups offered in rituals are unseasoned.
These principles may seem contradictory, but Confucius explained them thus in the Book of Rites: When in ritual larger numbers of things signify greater respect, it is external and for show. When outward display is the goal, it is only natural that more things would signify higher rank. When on the other hand having fewer things represents higher rank, it is because they are signs of internal feelings of respect. In these cases, emphasis is placed on organic wholeness and flawless purity. Since Heaven gave rise to all things and our ancestors gave rise to us, nothing we do can match their virtue. That is the reason why when Heaven and ancestors are honored, less is more. It's an expression of humility and the desire to return to the source.
As harmonious music plays, officiators holding implements representing literary and martial arts welcome the spirit of Confucius.
Feeling the presence
Looking at the Shidian Ritual with these principles in mind, we see that Confucius holds the most esteemed place as he receives the most items and the items of the highest quality. The Four Companions and the 12 Wise Ones receive fewer, less elaborate items, appropriate to their rank as called for by the laws of ritual. The unseasoned soup and single deng vessel offered to Confucius symbolizes the humility of the officiators in encountering the Great Sage. The three of the Three Offerings is an expression of remembrance of the wise teachers of old and the hope that they will partake in the libations.
Lin says that in old times officiators of the rituals would purify themselves beforehand so as to be able to feel the presence of the spirits. They would keep a vegetarian diet, refrain from all labor, and concentrate on recalling the memory of the ones honored. Thanks to the state of spiritual purity they achieved and their concentration on the ancestors, they were able to visualize the ancestors clearly during the ceremony.
This is why in the Analects it is said that Confucius sacrificed to the dead as if the dead were present and to the spirits as if they were present. That is to say, one who conducts a ritual with an attitude of reverence and complete dedication will feel the presence of the honored spirits all around, and will enter the realm of the divine.
The value of ritual is in the sincerity with which it is performed. If once a year at the time of the ceremony to honor Confucius people can take time out of their busy lives to reflect on his philosophies, study the ancient sage's values, and embody his vision of how humans should be, then perhaps that is the best gift he could receive.
Confucius was granted the title of "king" in the Tang Dynasty, and is accorded the appropriate level of ritual respect. According to tradition, only rituals for royalty were to feature eight rows of eight dancers.
The Great Sacrifice of the ritual calls for the slaughter of an ox, a sheep, and a pig. The horns of the ox and the sheep had to be at 45 degrees, and the animals had to be of perfect form and color. These days, however, vegetarian substitutes of molded glutinous rice are used.
Today, the ceremony honoring Confucius offers an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of his life and thought, and its place in the modern world. Pictured here is the "Confucius in Taipei" event, which takes place after the ceremony.
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