Volume 47 Treatises 23: Rites 1

志第二十三禮一〈（吉禮一）〉

Treatise Twenty-three: Rites, Part One (Auspicious Rites, Part One)〉

《周官》、《儀禮》尚已，然書缺簡脫，因革莫詳。自漢史作《禮志》，後皆因之，一代之制，始的然可考。歐陽氏云：「三代以下，治出於二，而禮樂爲虛名。」要其用之郊廟朝廷，下至閭里州黨者，未嘗無可觀也。惟能修明講貫，以實意行乎其間，則格上下、感鬼神，教化之成即在是矣。安見後世之禮，必不可上追三代哉。

The 《Rites of Zhou》 and 《Etiquette and Ceremonial》 still exist, but the texts are fragmentary and incomplete, so their evolution cannot be fully traced. After the Han histories introduced the 《Treatise on Rites》, later dynasties all followed suit, and only then did the ritual institutions of each age become reliably documented. Ouyang Xiu remarked: "After the Three Dynasties, governance derived from two competing channels, and rites and music became little more than names. Yet from suburban sacrifices and ancestral temples through the court, and on down to villages and local communities, they still offer much that is worth studying." Only when they are studied, clarified, and practiced with genuine sincerity can they unite heaven and earth, move spirits, and accomplish moral transformation. Who is to say that the rites of later ages can never rise to match those of the Three Dynasties?

明太祖初定天下，他務未遑，首開禮、樂二局，廣徵耆儒，分曹究討。洪武元年，命中書省暨翰林院、太常司，定擬祀典。乃歷敘沿革之由，酌定郊社宗廟儀以進。禮官及諸儒臣又編集郊廟山川等儀，及古帝王祭祀感格可垂鑑戒者，名曰《存心錄》。二年，詔諸儒臣修禮書。明年告成，賜名《大明集禮》。其書準五禮而益以冠服、車輅、儀仗、鹵簿、字學、音樂，凡升降儀節，制度名數，纖悉畢具。又屢敕議禮臣李善長、傅瓛、宋濂、詹同、陶安、劉基、魏觀、崔亮、牛諒、陶凱、硃升、樂韶鳳、李原名等，編輯成集。且詔郡縣舉高潔博雅之士徐一夔、樑寅、周子諒、胡行簡、劉宗弼、董彝、蔡深、滕公琰至京，同修禮書。在位三十餘年，所著書可考見者，曰《孝慈錄》，曰《洪武禮制》，曰《禮儀定式》，曰《諸司職掌》，曰《稽古定制》，曰《國朝製作》，曰《大禮要議》，曰《皇朝禮制》，曰《大明禮制》，曰《洪武禮法》，曰《禮制集要》，曰《禮制節文》，曰《太常集禮》，曰《禮書》。若夫釐正祀典，凡天皇、太乙、六天、五帝之類，皆爲革除，而諸神封號，悉改從本稱，一洗矯誣陋習，其度越漢、唐遠矣。又詔定國恤，父母並斬衰，長子降爲期年，正服旁服以遞而殺，斟酌古今，蓋得其中。永樂中，頒《文公家禮》於天下，又定巡狩、監國及經筵日講之制。後宮罷殉，始於英宗。陵廟嫡庶之分，正於孝宗。暨乎世宗，以制禮作樂自任。其更定之大者，如分祀天地，復朝日夕月於東西郊，罷二祖並配，以及祈谷大雩，享先蠶，祭聖師，易至聖先師號，皆能折衷於古。獨其排衆議，祔睿宗太廟躋武宗上，徇本生而違大統，以明察始而以豐暱終矣。當時將順之臣，各爲之說。今其存者，若《明倫大典》，則御製序文以行之；《祀儀成典》，則李時等奉敕而修；《郊祀考議》，則張孚敬所進者也。至《大明會典》，自孝宗朝集纂，其於禮制尤詳。世宗、神宗時，數有增益，一代成憲，略具是焉。今以五禮之序，條爲品式，而隨時損益者，則依類編入，以識沿革云。

When the Hongwu Emperor first unified the realm, though pressed by other duties, he promptly established bureaus for rites and music, summoned eminent scholars from far and wide, and organized them into commissions for exhaustive study. In Hongwu 1, he charged the Secretariat, the Hanlin Academy, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices with drafting the state sacrificial code. They traced the historical evolution of these rites, settled the ceremonies for suburban sacrifices, the altars of soil and grain, and the ancestral temple, and submitted their recommendations. Ritual officials and scholar-ministers also compiled ceremonies for suburban altars, temples, mountains, and rivers, together with precedents of ancient rulers whose sacrifices had moved heaven—examples meant as lasting lessons—and titled the work the 《Record of Preserving the Heart》. In the second year, an imperial edict directed the scholar-officials to compile a comprehensive book of rites. The following year the work was completed and given the title 《Collected Rites of the Great Ming》. The work followed the five categories of rites and added sections on caps and robes, chariots, ceremonial regalia, imperial processions, philology, and music, setting forth every detail of ceremonial movement, institutional nomenclature, and numerical specification in exhaustive completeness. He also repeatedly directed the ritual deliberators Li Shanchang, Fu Yong, Song Lian, Zhan Tong, Tao An, Liu Ji, Wei Guan, Cui Liang, Niu Liang, Tao Kai, Zhu Sheng, Yue Shaofeng, Li Yuanming, and others to compile and complete these collections. He also ordered local governments to recommend scholars of integrity and erudition—Xu Yikui, Liang Yin, Zhou Ziliang, Hu Xingjian, Liu Zongbi, Dong Yi, Cai Shen, and Teng Gongyan—to the capital to join in compiling the ritual codes. Over more than thirty years on the throne, the ritual works attributable to his reign include the 《Record of Filial Piety and Compassion》, the 《Hongwu Ritual System》, the 《Fixed Forms of Ritual Etiquette》, the 《Duties of the Various Offices》, the 《Ancient Models for Reference》, the 《Institutions of the Dynasty》, the 《Essential Deliberations on Major Rites》, the 《Ritual System of the Imperial Court》, the 《Ritual System of the Great Ming》, the 《Hongwu Ritual Laws》, the 《Collected Essentials of the Ritual System》, the 《Abridged Texts of the Ritual System》, the 《Collected Rites of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices》, and the 《Book of Rites》. In rectifying the sacrificial canon, he abolished such cults as the Heavenly Emperor, the Great Unity, the Six Heavens, and the Five Emperors, restored the original names of the various deities, and swept away centuries of spurious and vulgar practice—an achievement that far surpassed the Han and Tang. He also standardized state mourning regulations: both parents received the highest grade of mourning dress, the eldest son's mourning was reduced to one year, and principal and collateral mourning garments were scaled down in succession—a balanced synthesis of ancient and modern practice. During the Yongle reign, the 《Family Rites of Master Zhu》 was promulgated empire-wide, and regulations were established for imperial tours, regency, and daily lectures at the Classics Colloquium. The abolition of consort burial sacrifice in the inner palace began under Emperor Yingzong. The proper distinction between legitimate and secondary heirs in imperial tombs and ancestral temples was established under Emperor Xiaozong. When Emperor Shizong came to the throne, he took personal charge of reforming rites and composing music. His major reforms—separating the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, restoring the worship of the sun and moon at the eastern and western suburbs, ending the joint enshrinement of the two founding ancestors, and revising the prayers for grain, the great rain sacrifice, offerings to the Sericulture Ancestress, sacrifices to Confucius, and the title Most Sage and First Teacher—generally struck a sound balance with ancient precedent. Yet in overruling court opinion to enshrine his father Ruizong in the Grand Ancestral Temple above Emperor Wuzong, he favored his biological parent at the expense of dynastic succession—beginning with keen judgment and ending in excessive partiality. The courtiers who accommodated his wishes each devised their own justifications. Among those that survive today, the 《Great Canon of Clarifying Human Relations》 was promulgated with an imperial preface; the 《Completed Canon of Sacrificial Rites》 was compiled on imperial order by Li Shi and others; and the 《Deliberations on Suburban Sacrifices》 was submitted by Zhang Fuqing. The 《Collected Statutes of the Great Ming》, compiled from the Xiaozong reign onward, is especially comprehensive on ritual institutions. Further additions were made under Emperors Shizong and Shenzong, so that the dynasty's established ritual code is largely preserved in these works. The present account follows the order of the five rites, arranging them by category and form, while changes made over time are entered under the appropriate headings to trace their evolution.

壇壝之制神位祭器玉帛牲牢祝冊之數籩豆之實

Regulations for altars and enclosures; spirit tablets, sacrificial vessels, jades and silks, sacrificial animals, and prayer documents; contents of the offering baskets and stands

祭祀雜議諸儀祭祀日期習儀齋戒遣官祭祀

Miscellaneous deliberations and ceremonial details of sacrifice; dates of sacrifice; rehearsal of rites; purification and fasting; dispatching officials to perform sacrifices

○分獻陪祀

○ Distributed offerings and accompanying sacrifice

五禮，一曰吉禮。凡祀事，皆領於太常寺而屬於禮部。明初以圜丘、方澤、宗廟、社稷、朝日、夕月、先農爲大祀，太歲、星辰、風雲雷雨、嶽鎮、海瀆、山川、歷代帝王、先師、旗纛、司中、司命、司民、司祿、壽星爲中祀，諸神爲小祀。後改先農、朝日、夕月爲中祀。凡天子所親祀者，天地、宗廟、社稷、山川。若國有大事，則命官祭告。其中祀小祀，皆遣官致祭，而帝王陵廟及孔子廟，則傳制特遣焉。每歲所常行者，大祀十有三：正月上辛祈谷、孟夏大雩、季秋大享、冬至圜丘皆祭昊天上帝，夏至方丘祭皇地祇，春分朝日於東郊，秋分夕月於西郊，四孟季冬享太廟，仲春仲秋上戊祭太社太稷。中祀二十有五：仲春仲秋上戊之明日，祭帝社帝稷，仲秋祭太歲、風雲雷雨、四季月將及嶽鎮、海瀆、山川、城隍，霜降日祭旗纛於教場，仲秋祭城南旗纛廟，仲春祭先農，仲秋祭天神地祗于山川壇，仲春仲秋祭歷代帝王廟，春秋仲月上丁祭先師孔子。小祀八：孟春祭司戶，孟夏祭司竈，季夏祭中霤，孟秋祭司門，孟冬祭司井，仲春祭司馬之神，清明、十月朔祭泰厲，又於每月朔望祭火雷之神。至京師十廟、南京十五廟，各以歲時遣官致祭。其非常祀而間行之者，若新天子耕耤而享先農，視學而行釋奠之類。嘉靖時，皇后享先蠶，祀高禖，皆因時特舉者也。

Of the five categories of rites, the first is auspicious rites. All sacrificial affairs were administered by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices under the Ministry of Rites. Early in the dynasty, the Circular Mound, the Square Pond, the ancestral temple, the altars of soil and grain, the morning sun, the evening moon, and the Agriculture Ancestor ranked as great sacrifices; the Grand Year Star, stars and constellations, wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, sacred peaks, seas and rivers, mountains and rivers, successive dynasties' emperors, Confucius, banners and pennants, and the spirits of the center, fate, people, emolument, and longevity ranked as middle sacrifices; and all other deities ranked as minor sacrifices. Later the Agriculture Ancestor and the sacrifices to the morning sun and evening moon were downgraded to middle sacrifices. The Son of Heaven personally performed sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, the ancestral temple, the altars of soil and grain, and mountains and rivers. When the state faced a major event, officials were dispatched to offer sacrificial announcements. Middle and minor sacrifices were performed by dispatched officials, while imperial tombs and temples and the Temple of Confucius received specially commissioned envoys by imperial decree. The thirteen great sacrifices performed annually were: on the first xin day of the first month, prayers for grain; in early summer, the great rain sacrifice; in late autumn, the great offering; and at the winter solstice, sacrifice at the Circular Mound to the Supreme Lord of Heaven; at the summer solstice, sacrifice at the Square Mound to the Sovereign Earth Spirit; at the spring equinox, the morning sun in the eastern suburb; at the autumn equinox, the evening moon in the western suburb; offerings at the Grand Ancestral Temple in all four first months and the last month of winter; and on the first wu days of the second and eighth months, sacrifice at the Great Altars of Soil and Grain. The twenty-five middle sacrifices included: the day after the first wu days of the second and eighth months, sacrifice at the Emperor's Altars of Soil and Grain; in mid-autumn, sacrifice to the Grand Year Star, wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, the seasonal generals, sacred peaks, seas, rivers, mountains, rivers, and the city god; on the frost-descent day, sacrifice to banners and pennants at the drill ground; in mid-autumn, sacrifice at the southern suburban Banner and Pennant Temple; in mid-spring, sacrifice to the Agriculture Ancestor; in mid-autumn, sacrifice to the spirits of Heaven and Earth at the Mountain and River Altar; in mid-spring and mid-autumn, sacrifice at the Temple of Successive Dynasties' Emperors; and on the first ding days of spring and autumn, sacrifice to Confucius. The eight minor sacrifices were: in early spring, the Household Spirit; in early summer, the Kitchen Spirit; in late summer, the Central Drain; in early autumn, the Gate Spirit; in early winter, the Well Spirit; in mid-spring, the Horse Spirit; on Qingming and the first day of the tenth month, the Great Specter; and at each new and full moon, the spirits of fire and thunder. At the ten temples in the capital and fifteen in Nanjing, officials were dispatched annually to perform the sacrifices. Irregular sacrifices performed on special occasions included the new emperor's plowing of the sacred field and offering to the Agriculture Ancestor, and the libation sacrifice upon inspecting the schools. During the Jiajing reign, the empress's offerings to the Sericulture Ancestress and sacrifices to the High Consort were likewise special observances instituted for particular occasions.

其王國所祀，則太廟、社稷、風雲雷雨、封內山川、城隍、旗纛、五祀、厲壇。府州縣所祀，則社稷、風雲雷雨、山川、厲壇、先師廟及所在帝王陵廟，各衛亦祭先師。至於庶人，亦得祭里社、穀神及祖父母、父母並祀竈，載在祀典。雖時稍有更易，其大要莫能逾也。

Princely domains sacrificed at the Grand Ancestral Temple, the altars of soil and grain, to wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, to mountains and rivers within their territories, to the city god, banners and pennants, the five household spirits, and the Specter Altar. Prefectures, departments, and counties sacrificed at the altars of soil and grain, to wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, mountains and rivers, the Specter Altar, the Temple of Confucius, and local imperial tombs and temples; military guards also maintained sacrifices to Confucius. Commoners were also permitted to sacrifice at the local altar of soil and grain, to the Grain Spirit, to their grandparents and parents, and at the Kitchen Spirit—all as recorded in the sacrificial canon. Although details shifted over time, the fundamental framework remained essentially unchanged.

至若壇壝之制，神位、祭器、玉帛、牲牢、祝冊之數，籩豆之實，酒齊之名，析其彼此之異同，訂其初終之損益，臚於首簡，略於本條，庶無缺遺，亦免繁復云爾。

Regulations for altars and enclosures, spirit tablets, sacrificial vessels, jades and silks, sacrificial animals, prayer documents, offering baskets and stands, and ritual wines are compared for their variations, and their successive changes are recorded at the outset while the main entries remain concise, so that nothing essential is omitted yet needless repetition is avoided.

○壇壝之制

○ Regulations for altars and enclosures

明初，建圜丘於正陽門外，鐘山之陽，方丘於太平門外，鐘山之陰。圜丘壇二成。上成廣七丈，高八尺一寸，四出陛，各九級，正南廣九尺五寸，東、西、北八尺一寸。下成周圍壇面，縱橫皆廣五丈，高視上成，陛皆九級，正南廣一丈二尺五寸，東、西、北殺五寸五分。甃證磚闌盾，皆以琉璃爲之。壝去壇十五丈，高八尺一寸，四面靈星門，南三門，東、西、北各一。外垣去壝十五丈，門制同。天下神祇壇東門外。神庫五楹，在外垣北，南向。廚房五楹祇，在外壇東北，西向。庫房五楹，南向。宰牲房三楹，天池一，又在外庫房之北。執事齋舍，在壇外垣之東南。坊二，在外門外橫甬道之東西，燎壇在內壝外東南丙地，高九尺，廣七尺，開上南出戶。方丘壇二成。上成廣六丈，高六尺，四出陛，南一丈，東、西、北八尺，皆八級。下成四面各廣二丈四尺，高六尺，四出陛，南丈二尺，東、西、北一丈，皆八級。壝去壇十五丈，高六尺，外垣四面各六十四丈，餘制同。南郊有浴室，瘞坎在內壝外壬地。

Early in the dynasty, the Circular Mound was built outside the Gate of Correct Yang on the southern slope of Bell Mountain, and the Square Mound outside the Gate of Great Peace on its northern slope. The Circular Mound altar had two tiers. The upper tier measured seven zhang across and eight chi one cun in height, with steps on all four sides of nine steps each; the southern stairway was nine chi five cun wide, and those on the east, west, and north were eight chi one cun. The lower tier's platform measured five zhang square, matching the upper tier in height, with nine-step stairways on each side; the southern stairway was one zhang two chi five cun wide, and those on the east, west, and north were five cun five fen narrower. The paving bricks, balustrades, and parapets were all made of glazed tile. The inner enclosure stood fifteen zhang from the altar, eight chi one cun high, with Spirit Star gates on all four sides—three on the south and one each on the east, west, and north. The outer wall stood fifteen zhang beyond the inner enclosure, with gates of the same design. It lay outside the eastern gate of the Altar of All Spirits Under Heaven. The spirit storehouse had five bays, north of the outer wall, facing south. The kitchen building had five bays, northeast of the outer altar, facing west. The supply storehouse had five bays, facing south. The slaughtering building had three bays and a celestial pool, situated north of the outer supply storehouse. The attendants' fasting quarters stood southeast of the altar's outer wall. Two memorial arches stood east and west of the transverse passage outside the outer gate; the fire altar stood in the southeast bing position outside the inner enclosure, nine chi high and seven chi wide, with an opening above and a door facing south. The Square Mound altar had two tiers. The upper tier measured six zhang across and six chi in height, with steps on all four sides; the southern stairway was one zhang wide, and those on the east, west, and north were eight chi, each with eight steps. The lower tier measured two zhang four chi on each side and six chi in height, with steps on all four sides; the southern stairway was one zhang two chi wide, and those on the east, west, and north were one zhang, each with eight steps. The inner enclosure stood fifteen zhang from the altar and six chi high; the outer wall measured sixty-four zhang on each side; the remaining specifications matched those of the Circular Mound. At the southern suburb there was a bathhouse, and the burial pit for sacrificial offerings stood in the ren position outside the inner enclosure.

洪武四年，改築圜丘。上成廣四丈五尺，高五尺二寸。下成每面廣一丈六尺五寸，高四尺九寸。二成通徑七丈八尺。壇至內壝牆，四面各九丈八尺五寸。內壝牆至外壝牆，南十三丈九尺四寸，北十一丈，東、西各十一丈七尺。方丘，上成廣三丈九尺四寸，高三尺九寸。下成每面廣丈五尺五寸，高三尺八寸，通徑七丈四寸。壇至內壝牆，四面皆八丈九尺五寸。內壝牆至外壝牆，四面各八丈二尺。

In Hongwu 4, the Circular Mound was rebuilt. The upper tier measured four zhang five chi across and five chi two cun in height. Each side of the lower tier measured one zhang six chi five cun across and four chi nine cun in height. The combined diameter of the two tiers was seven zhang eight chi. The distance from the altar to the inner enclosure wall was nine zhang eight chi five cun on each side. From the inner to the outer enclosure wall: thirteen zhang nine chi four cun on the south, eleven zhang on the north, and eleven zhang seven chi on the east and west. For the Square Mound, the upper tier measured three zhang nine chi four cun across and three chi nine cun in height. Each side of the lower tier measured one zhang five chi five cun across and three chi eight cun in height, with a combined diameter of seven zhang four cun. The distance from the altar to the inner enclosure wall was eight zhang nine chi five cun on all four sides. From the inner to the outer enclosure wall, the distance was eight zhang two chi on each side.

十年，改定合祀之典。即圜丘舊制，而以屋覆之，名曰大祀殿，凡十二楹。中石臺設上帝、皇地祇座。東、西廣三十二楹。正南大祀門六楹，接以步廊，與殿廡通。殿後天庫六楹。瓦皆黃琉璃。廚庫在殿東北，宰牲亭井在廚東北，皆以步廊通殿兩廡，後繚以圍牆。南爲石門三洞以達大祀門，謂之內壇。外周垣九里三十步，石門三洞南爲甬道三，中神道，左御道，右王道。道兩旁稍低，爲從官之地。齋宮在外垣內西南，東向。其後殿瓦易青琉璃。二十一年增修壇壝，壇後樹松柏，外壝東南鑿池二十區。冬月伐冰藏凌陰，以供夏秋祭祀之用。成祖遷都北京，如其制。

In the tenth year, the regulations for combined sacrifice were revised. The old Circular Mound design was roofed over to form the Hall of Great Sacrifice, comprising twelve bays. At the central stone platform were placed the seats for the Supreme Lord of Heaven and the Sovereign Earth Spirit. The eastern and western wings each extended thirty-two bays. To the south, the Great Sacrifice Gate of six bays was connected by a covered corridor to the hall wings. Behind the hall stood the Celestial Storehouse of six bays. All roof tiles were yellow glazed tile. The kitchen and storehouse stood northeast of the hall, with the slaughtering pavilion and well northeast of the kitchen; covered corridors connected them to both hall wings, and the complex was enclosed by a surrounding wall. To the south, three stone gate openings led to the Great Sacrifice Gate, forming the inner altar. The outer wall measured nine li thirty bu in circumference; south of the three stone gate openings ran three passages—the central spirit way, the imperial way on the left, and the kingly way on the right. Slightly lower ground on either side of the passages was reserved for attending officials. The fasting palace stood in the southwest within the outer wall, facing east. Later the hall's roof tiles were changed to blue glazed tile. In the twenty-first year the altar and enclosures were enlarged and repaired; pine and cypress were planted behind the altar, and twenty pools were excavated in the southeast of the outer enclosure. In winter ice was harvested and stored in the ice cellar for use in the spring, summer, and autumn sacrifices. When the Yongle Emperor transferred the capital to Beijing, he replicated the same design.

嘉靖九年，復改分祀。建圜丘壇於正陽門外五里許，大祀殿之南，方澤壇於安定門外之東。圜丘二成，壇面及欄俱青琉璃，邊角用白玉石，高廣尺寸皆遵祖制，而神路轉遠。內門四。南門外燎爐毛血池，西南望燎臺。外門亦四。南門外左具服臺，東門外神庫、神廚、祭器庫、宰牲亭，北門外正北泰神殿。正殿以藏上帝、太祖之主，配殿以藏從祀諸神之王。外建四天門：東曰泰元，南曰昭亭，西曰廣利。又西鑾駕庫，又西犧牲所，其北神樂觀。北曰成貞。北門外西北爲齋宮，迤西爲壇門，壇北，舊天地壇，即大祀殿也。十七年撤之，又改泰神殿曰皇穹宇。二十四年，又即故大祀殿之址建大享殿。方澤亦二成，壇面黃琉璃，陛增爲九級，用白石圍以方坎。內，北門外西瘞位，東燈臺，南門外皇祇室。外，西門外迤西神庫、神廚、宰牲亭、祭器庫，北門外西北齋宮。又外建四天門，西門外北爲鑾駕庫、遣官房、內陪祀官房。又外爲壇門，門外爲泰折街牌坊，護壇地千四百餘畝。

In Jiajing 9, the practice of separate sacrifices was restored. The Circular Mound altar was erected roughly five li outside the Gate of Correct Yang, south of the Hall of Great Sacrifice; the Square Mound altar was built to the east, outside the Gate of Stability. The Circular Mound comprised two tiers, with blue glazed tile on the altar surface and railings and white jade at the corners; its dimensions followed ancestral precedent, though the spirit way was lengthened. Inner gates: four. Outside the south gate stood the burning furnace and fur-and-blood pool; to the southwest was the Watch-Burning Platform. There were likewise four outer gates. To the left outside the south gate stood the Robing Platform; outside the east gate were the Spirit Storehouse, Spirit Kitchen, Ritual Vessel Storehouse, and Slaughtering Pavilion; directly north of the north gate stood the Hall of Supreme Deity. The main hall housed the spirit tablets of the Supreme Lord and Grand Progenitor Taizu; the side halls held those of the attendant deities offered in collateral sacrifice. Four Heavenly Gates were built on the outside: Taiyuan to the east, Zhaoting to the south, and Guangli to the west. Farther west stood the Imperial Carriage Storehouse, and beyond that the Sacrificial Livestock Office; to its north stood the Spirit Music Observatory. To the north was Chengzhen Gate. Northwest of the north gate stood the Fasting Palace; westward along the perimeter was the altar gate; north of the altar stood the old Altar of Heaven and Earth—that is, the Hall of Great Sacrifice. In the seventeenth year it was dismantled, and the Hall of Supreme Deity was renamed the Imperial Vault of Heaven. In the twenty-fourth year, the Hall of Great Offering was erected on the former site of the Hall of Great Sacrifice. The Square Mound also had two tiers, with a yellow glazed altar surface; the steps were raised to nine grades, and white stone enclosed a square sunken pool. Within the inner enclosure: west of the north gate was the burial place for sacrificial remains; to the east a lamp platform; outside the south gate stood the Chamber of the Sovereign Earth Spirit. Outside the inner enclosure: west of the west gate were, in succession, the Spirit Storehouse, Spirit Kitchen, Slaughtering Pavilion, and Ritual Vessel Storehouse; northwest of the north gate stood the Fasting Palace. Four more Heavenly Gates were built still farther out; north of the west gate were the Imperial Carriage Storehouse, quarters for dispatched officials, and rooms for inner collateral-sacrifice attendants. Beyond these stood the altar gates, and outside them the Taizhe Street memorial archway, with more than fourteen hundred mu of land set aside to protect the altar precinct.

太社稷壇，在宮城西南，東西峙，明初建。廣五丈，高五尺，四出陛，皆五級。壇土五色隨其方，黃土覆之。壇相去五丈，壇南皆樹鬆。二壇同一壝，方廣三十丈，高五尺，甃磚，四門飾色隨其方。周坦四門，南靈星門三，北戟門五，東西戟門三。戟門各列戟二十四。洪武十年，改壇午門右，社稷共一罈，爲二成。上成廣五丈，下成廣五丈三尺，崇五尺。外壝崇五尺，四面各十九丈有奇。外垣東西六十六丈有奇，南北八十六丈有奇。垣北三門，門外爲祭殿，其北爲拜殿。外復爲三門，垣東、西、南門各一。永樂中，建壇北京，如其制。帝社稷壇在西苑，壇址高六寸，方廣二丈五尺，甃細磚，實以淨土。壇北樹二坊，曰社街。王國社稷壇，高廣殺太社稷十之三。府、州、縣社稷壇，廣殺十之五，高殺十之四，陛三級。後皆定同壇合祭，如京師。

The Great Altars of Soil and Grain stood southwest of the palace city, facing each other east and west; they were built early in the dynasty. Each measured five zhang across and five chi high, with steps on all four sides rising in five grades. The altar soil was colored according to the five directions, with yellow earth spread on top. The two altars stood five zhang apart, and pines were planted south of each. Both altars shared a single enclosure thirty zhang square and five chi high, paved with brick; the four gates were painted in the colors of their respective directions. A level plaza was ringed by four gates: three Spirit Star gates on the south, five halberd gates on the north, and three halberd gates each on the east and west. Each halberd gate displayed twenty-four halberds in rank. In Hongwu 10 the altars were relocated to the right of the Meridian Gate, with the soil and grain altars combined on a single two-tiered mound. The upper tier measured five zhang across, the lower five zhang three chi, with a total elevation of five chi. The outer enclosure rose five chi, with each side measuring a little over nineteen zhang. The outer wall measured a little over sixty-six zhang east to west and eighty-six zhang north to south. Three gates opened on the north side of the wall; beyond them stood the offering hall, and north of that the bowing hall. Three more gates stood outside, one each on the east, west, and south sides of the wall. During the Yongle reign, altars were erected in Beijing to the same specifications. The imperial altars of soil and grain stood in the Western Park; the altar base was six cun high and two zhang five chi square, paved with fine brick and packed with pure earth. North of the altar stood two memorial arches marking She Street. In princely domains the altars of soil and grain were reduced in height and breadth by three-tenths from those of the capital. At prefecture, department, and county levels, the altars were five-tenths narrower and four-tenths lower, with steps of three grades. Later all jurisdictions were required to offer combined sacrifice at a single altar, as in the capital.

朝日、夕月壇，洪武三年建。朝日壇高八尺，夕月壇高六尺，俱方廣四丈。兩壝，壝各二十五步。二十一年罷。嘉靖九年復建，壇各一成。朝日壇紅琉璃，夕月壇用白。朝日壇陛九級，夕月壇六級，俱白石。各建天門二。

The Morning Sun and Evening Moon altars were built in Hongwu 3. The Morning Sun altar stood eight chi high and the Evening Moon altar six chi, each four zhang square. Each altar had two enclosures, each measuring twenty-five paces. They were abolished in the twenty-first year. They were rebuilt in Jiajing 9, each altar with a single tier. The Morning Sun altar used red glazed tile; the Evening Moon altar used white. The Morning Sun altar had nine steps and the Evening Moon six, all of white stone. Each altar was provided with two Heavenly Gates.

先農壇，高五尺，廣五丈，四出陛。御耕耤位，高三尺，廣二丈五尺，四出陛。

The Agriculture Ancestor Altar stood five chi high and five zhang across, with steps on all four sides. The emperor's plowing platform was three chi high and two zhang five chi across, with steps on all four sides.

山川壇，洪武九年建。正殿、拜殿各八楹，東西廡二十四楹。西南先農壇，東南具服殿，殿南耤田壇，東旗纛廟，後爲神倉。周垣七百餘丈，垣內地歲種穀蔬，供祀事。嘉靖十年，改名天神地祇壇，分列左右。

The Mountains and Rivers Altar was built in Hongwu 9. The main hall and bowing hall each had eight bays, with east and west corridors of twenty-four bays. Southwest stood the Agriculture Ancestor Altar; southeast, the Robing Hall; south of the hall, the plowing-field altar; to the east, the Banner and Pennant Shrine; and behind them, the Spirit Granary. The surrounding wall exceeded seven hundred zhang in circumference; crops and vegetables were planted within each year to supply the sacrifices. In Jiajing 10 it was renamed the Altar of Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Sovereigns and divided into separate sections on the left and right.

太歲壇與嶽瀆同。嶽鎮海瀆山川城隍壇，據高阜，南向，高二尺五寸，方廣十倍，四出陛，南向五級，東西北三級。王國山川壇，高四尺，四出陛，方三丈五尺。天下山川所在壇，高三尺，四出陛，三級，方二丈五尺。

The Grand Year Star altar followed the same design as those for sacred peaks and rivers. Altars for sacred peaks, garrisons, seas, rivers, mountains, and city gods were placed on high ground facing south; they measured two chi five cun high and ten times that in breadth, with steps on all four sides—five on the south and three on the east, north, and west. In princely domains the mountains-and-rivers altar stood four chi high and three zhang five chi square, with steps on all four sides. Altars erected wherever significant mountains and rivers existed under heaven stood three chi high and two zhang five chi square, with steps on all four sides in three grades.

○神位祭器玉帛牲牢祝冊之數

○ Numbers of Spirit Seats, Ritual Vessels, Silks, Sacrificial Animals, and Prayer Scrolls

神位圜丘。洪武元年冬至，正壇第一成，昊天上帝南向。第二成，東大明，星辰次之，西夜明，太歲次之。二年，奉仁祖配，位第一成，西向。三年，壇下壝內，增祭風雲雷雨。七年更定，內壝之內，東西各三壇。星辰二壇，分設於東西。其次，東則太歲、五嶽，西則風雲雨、五鎮。內壝之外，東西各二壇。東四海，西四瀆。次天下神祇壇，東西分設。

Spirit Seats: The Circular Mound. At the winter solstice of Hongwu 1, on the first tier of the main altar, the Supreme Lord of Heaven faced south. On the second tier: to the east stood Great Brightness, with the stars and constellations beside it; to the west stood Night Brightness, with the Grand Year Star beside it. In the second year the Benevolent Ancestor was installed as collateral at the first tier, facing west. In the third year, within the enclosure below the altar, wind, clouds, thunder, and rain were added to the sacrifice. In the seventh year the arrangement was revised: within the inner enclosure were three altars each on the east and west. The stars and constellations occupied two altars, one on the east and one on the west. Beside them: on the east were the Grand Year Star and the Five Peaks; on the west, wind, clouds, and rain, and the Five Garrisons. Outside the inner enclosure were two altars each on the east and west. On the east were the Four Seas; on the west, the Four Rivers. Next came the altars for spirits and earthly powers throughout the realm, one on the east and one on the west.

方丘。洪武二年夏至，正壇第一成，皇地祇，南向。第二成，東五嶽，次四海，西五鎮，次四瀆。三年，奉仁祖配，位第一成，西向。壇下壝內，增祭天下山川。七年更定，內壝之內，東西各二壇。東四海，西四瀆。次二壇，天下山川。內壝之外，東西各設天下神祇壇一。

Square Mound. At the summer solstice of Hongwu 2, on the first tier of the main altar, the Sovereign Earth Spirit faced south. On the second tier: to the east were the Five Peaks, with the Four Seas beside them; to the west were the Five Garrisons, with the Four Rivers beside them. In the third year the Benevolent Ancestor was installed as collateral at the first tier, facing west. Within the enclosure below the altar, all mountains and rivers under heaven were added to the sacrifice. In the seventh year the arrangement was revised: within the inner enclosure were two altars each on the east and west. On the east were the Four Seas; on the west, the Four Rivers. Next came two altars for all mountains and rivers. Outside the inner enclosure, one altar for spirits and earthly powers throughout the realm was placed on each side, east and west.

十二年正月，合祀大祀殿。正殿三壇，上帝、皇地祇並南向。仁祖配位在東，西向。從祀十四壇。丹陛東一罈曰大明，西一罈曰夜明。兩廡壇各六：星辰二壇；次東，太歲、五嶽、四海，次西，風雲雷雨、五鎮、四瀆二壇；又次天下山川神祇二壇。俱東西向。二十一年，增修丹墀內石臺四，大明、夜明各一，星辰二。內壝外石臺二十：東十壇，北嶽、北鎮、東嶽、東鎮、東海、太歲、帝王、山川、神祇、四瀆；西十壇，北海、西嶽、西鎮、西海、中嶽、中鎮、風雲雷雨、南嶽、南鎮、南海。俱東西向。臺高三尺有奇，周以石欄，陟降爲磴道。臺上琢石鑿龕，以置神位。建文時，撤仁祖，改奉太祖配，位第一成。西向。洪熙元年，增文皇帝於太祖下。

In the first month of the twelfth year, combined sacrifice was performed at the Hall of Great Sacrifice. The main hall held three altars: the Supreme Lord and Sovereign Earth Spirit both faced south. The Benevolent Ancestor's collateral seat stood to the east, facing west. Fourteen altars served for collateral sacrifice. On the red steps, one mound to the east was named Great Brightness and one to the west Night Brightness. The two corridor wings held six altars each: two for the stars and constellations; Next on the east, the Grand Year Star, Five Peaks, and Four Seas; next on the west, wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, the Five Garrisons, and two altars for the Four Rivers; And beyond them, two altars for mountains, rivers, and spirits throughout the realm. All faced east or west. In the twenty-first year four stone platforms were added within the red courtyard: one each for Great Brightness and Night Brightness, and two for the stars and constellations. Outside the inner enclosure stood twenty stone platforms: ten on the east—for the Northern Peak, Northern Garrison, Eastern Peak, Eastern Garrison, Eastern Sea, Grand Year Star, successive emperors, mountains and rivers, spirits and earthly powers, and the Four Rivers; Ten on the west—for the Northern Sea, Western Peak, Western Garrison, Western Sea, Central Peak, Central Garrison, wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, Southern Peak, Southern Garrison, and Southern Sea. All faced east or west. Each platform stood a little over three chi high, ringed with stone balustrades, with stepped ramps for ascent and descent. Niches were carved into the stone platforms to hold the spirit seats. During the Jianwen reign the Benevolent Ancestor was removed, and Grand Progenitor Taizu was installed as collateral at the first tier. He faced west. In the first year of Hongxi, the Literary Emperor was added below Grand Progenitor Taizu.

嘉靖九年，復分祀之典。圜丘則東大明，西夜明。次東，二十八宿、五星、周天星辰。次西，風雲雷雨。共四壇。方丘則東五嶽，基運、翊聖、神烈三山，西五鎮，天壽、純德二山。次東四海，次西四瀆。南北郊皆獨奉太祖配。太社稷配位別見。先農正位南向，后稷配位西向。

In Jiajing 9 the regulations for separate sacrifice were restored. At the Circular Mound, Great Brightness stood to the east and Night Brightness to the west. Next on the east stood the Twenty-eight Lunar Mansions, the Five Planets, and all the stars of the heavens. Next on the west stood wind, clouds, thunder, and rain. There were four altars in all. At the Square Mound, to the east stood the Five Peaks and the three mountains of Ji-yun, Yi-sheng, and Shen-lie; to the west, the Five Garrisons and the two mountains of Tian-shou and Chun-de. Next on the east were the Four Seas; next on the west, the Four Rivers. At both the northern and southern suburban sacrifices, Grand Progenitor Taizu alone was offered as collateral. The collateral seats at the Great Altars of Soil and Grain are recorded separately. The Agriculture Ancestor's main seat faced south, and Hou Ji's collateral seat faced west.

凡神位，天地、祖宗曰：「神版」，餘曰：「神牌」。圜丘神版長二尺五寸，廣五寸，厚一寸，趺高五寸，以慄木爲之，正位題曰昊天上帝，配位題曰某祖某皇帝，並黃質金字。從祀風雲雷雨位版，赤質金字。神席，上帝用龍椅龍案，上施錦褥，配位同。從祀，位置於案，不設席。方丘正位曰皇地祇，配位及從祀，制並同圜丘。奉先殿帝后神主高尺二寸，廣四寸，趺高二寸，用木，飾以金，鏤以青字。龕高二尺，廣二尺，趺高四寸，硃漆鏤金龍鳳花版，開二窗，施紅紗，側用金銅環，內織金文綺爲藉。社稷，社玉用石，高五尺，廣五尺，上微銳。立於壇上，半在土中，近南北向；稷不用主。洪武十年，皆設木主，丹漆之。祭畢，貯於庫，仍用石主埋壇中，微露其末。後奉祖配，其位制塗金牌座，如先聖櫝用架罩。嘉靖中，藏於寢廟。帝社稷神位以木，高一尺八寸，廣三寸，硃漆質金書。壇南置石龕，以藏神位。王府州縣社主皆用石，長二尺五寸，廣尺五寸。日月壇神位，以松柏爲之。長二尺五寸，廣五寸，趺高五寸。硃漆金字。餘仿此。

For all spirit seats, Heaven, Earth, and the ancestors were termed "spirit boards," while all others were termed "spirit tablets." The Circular Mound spirit board measured two chi five cun long, five cun wide, and one cun thick, with a base five cun high, and was made of chestnut wood. The main seat was inscribed "Supreme Lord of Heaven," and the collateral seat "Such-and-such Ancestor, Such-and-such Emperor"; both were yellow with gold lettering. The seat boards for wind, clouds, thunder, and rain in collateral sacrifice were red with gold lettering. For spirit seats, the Supreme Lord used a dragon throne and dragon table topped with a brocade cushion; the collateral seat was furnished the same way. For collateral sacrifice, the seats were placed on tables and no cushions were provided. The Square Mound main seat was titled Sovereign Earth Spirit; the collateral seat and all collateral sacrifices followed the same specifications as at the Circular Mound. The emperor's and empress's spirit tablets in the Hall of Ancestors stood one chi two cun high and four cun wide, with a base two cun high. They were of wood, gilded, and engraved with blue characters. The shrine stood two chi high and two chi wide, with a base four cun high, finished in red lacquer with gold-engraved panels of dragons, phoenixes, and flowers. It had two windows fitted with red gauze, gold and bronze rings on the sides, and gold-patterned brocade woven inside as a lining. At the altars of soil and grain, the altar of soil used a stone spirit object five chi high and five chi wide, slightly pointed at the top. It stood on the altar, half buried in the earth, and nearly faced north and south; The altar of grain used no spirit object. In Hongwu 10 wooden spirit objects were set up for all and lacquered in cinnabar. When the sacrifice was finished they were stored in the treasury; stone spirit objects were still buried in the altar, with their tips slightly exposed. Later, when ancestors were offered as collateral, their seats were made as gilded gold tablet holders, like the case for the First Sage, which used a frame and cover. During the Jiajing reign they were stored in the sleeping temple. The spirit seats at the Emperor's Altars of Soil and Grain were of wood, one chi eight cun high and three cun wide, with cinnabar lacquer and gold lettering. Stone shrines were placed south of the altar to store the spirit seats. Princely estates, prefectures, and counties all used stone spirit objects for the altar of soil, two chi five cun long and one chi five cun wide. The spirit seats at the sun and moon altars were made of pine and cypress. They measured two chi five cun long and five cun wide, with a base five cun high. They bore cinnabar lacquer with gold lettering. All others followed this pattern.

二十一年更定，正殿上三壇，每壇登一，籩豆各十二，簠簋各二，共設酒尊六、爵九於殿東南，西向。丹墀內四壇，大明、夜明各登一，籩豆十，簠簋二，酒尊三，爵三。星辰二壇，各登一，鉶二，酒盞三十，餘與大明同。壝外二十壇，各登一，鉶二，籩豆各十，簠簋各二，酒盞十，酒尊三，爵三。神祇壇，鉶三，籩豆各八。帝王、山川、四瀆、中嶽、風雲雷雨神祇壇，酒盞各三十，餘並同嶽鎮。

In the twenty-first year the arrangement was revised: the main hall held three altars, each with one deng, twelve each of bian and dou, and two each of fu and gui; six wine vessels and nine jue were set together at the southeast of the hall, facing west. Within the red courtyard were four altars: Great Brightness and Night Brightness each had one deng, ten bian and dou, two fu and gui, three wine vessels, and three jue. The two altars for the stars and constellations each had one deng, two xing, and thirty wine cups; the rest matched Great Brightness. Outside the enclosure were twenty altars, each with one deng, two xing, ten each of bian and dou, two each of fu and gui, ten wine cups, three wine vessels, and three jue. At the altar for spirits and earthly powers there were three xing and eight each of bian and dou. At the altars for successive emperors, mountains and rivers, the Four Rivers, the Central Peak, and wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, there were thirty wine cups each; all other vessels matched those for the peaks and garrisons.

太廟時享。洪武元年定，每廟登一，鉶三，籩豆各十二，簠簋各二，共酒尊三、金爵八、瓷爵十六於殿東西向。二十一年更定，每廟登二，鉶二。弘治時，九廟通設酒尊九，祫祭加一，金爵十七，祫祭加二，瓷爵三十四，祫祭加四。親王配享，洪武三年定，登鉶各三，籩豆各十二，簠簋各二，酒尊三，酒注二。二十一年更定，登鉶各一，爵各三，籩豆各十，簠簋各二，共用酒尊三於殿東。功臣配享，洪武二年定，每位籩豆各二，簠簋各二。三年增定，共用酒尊二，酒注二。二十一年更定，十壇，每壇鉶一，籩豆各二，簠簋各一，爵三，共用酒尊於殿西。

Grand Ancestral Temple: Seasonal Offerings. In Hongwu 1 it was fixed that each shrine had one deng, three xing, twelve each of bian and dou, and two each of fu and gui; three wine vessels, eight gold jue, and sixteen porcelain jue were set together at the east and west of the hall. In the twenty-first year the arrangement was revised: each shrine had two deng and two xing. During the Hongzhi reign the nine shrines together had nine wine vessels, with one added for the joint seasonal offering; seventeen gold jue, with two added for the joint offering; and thirty-four porcelain jue, with four added for the joint offering. For imperial princes offered in collateral enjoyment, Hongwu 3 fixed three each of deng and xing, twelve each of bian and dou, two each of fu and gui, three wine vessels, and two wine ewers. In the twenty-first year the arrangement was revised: one each of deng and xing, three jue each, ten each of bian and dou, and two each of fu and gui; three wine vessels were set together at the east of the hall. For meritorious ministers offered in collateral enjoyment, Hongwu 2 fixed two each of bian and dou and two each of fu and gui for each seat. In the third year the arrangement was supplemented with two wine vessels and two wine ewers set in common. In the twenty-first year the arrangement was revised: there were ten altars, each with one xing, two each of bian and dou, one each of fu and gui, and three jue; wine vessels were set in common at the west of the hall.

太社稷。洪武元年定，鉶三，籩豆各十，簠簋各二，配位同。正配位皆設酒尊三於壇東。十一年更定，每位登一，鉶二，籩豆十二，正配位共設酒尊三，爵九。後太祖、成祖並配時，增酒尊一，爵三。府、州、縣社稷，鉶一，籩豆四，簠簋二。

Great Altars of Soil and Grain. In Hongwu 1 it was fixed that there were three xing, ten each of bian and dou, and two each of fu and gui; the collateral seat was the same. Three wine vessels were set at the east of the altar for both the main and collateral seats. In the eleventh year the arrangement was revised: each seat had one deng, two xing, and twelve bian and dou; the main and collateral seats together had three wine vessels and nine jue. Later, when Grand Progenitor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu were both offered as collateral, one wine vessel and three jue were added. At prefectural, departmental, and county altars of soil and grain there was one xing, four bian and dou, and two fu and gui.

朝日、夕月。洪武三年定，太尊、著尊、山罍各二，在壇上東南隅，北面。象尊、壺尊、山罍各二，在壇下，籩豆各十，簠簋各二，登鉶各三。

Morning Sun and Evening Moon. In Hongwu 3 it was fixed that two each of tai zun, zhuo zun, and shan lei were placed at the southeast corner on the altar, facing north. Below the altar were two each of xiang zun, hu zun, and shan lei; ten each of bian and dou, two each of fu and gui, and three each of deng and xing.

先農，與社稷同，加登一，籩豆減二。

For the Agriculture Ancestor, the vessels matched those at the altars of soil and grain, with one deng added and two bian and dou removed.

神祇。洪武二年定，每壇籩豆各四，簠簋登爵各一。九年更定，正殿共設酒尊三，爵七，兩廡各設酒尊三，爵三，餘如舊。二十一年更定，每壇登一，鉶二，籩豆各十，簠簋各二，酒盞三十。星辰，正殿中登一，鉶二。餘九壇，鉶二。每壇籩豆十，簠簋各一，酒盞三十，爵一，共設酒尊三。太歲諸神，籩豆各八，簠簋各二，酒尊三。嶽瀆山川同。

Spirits and Earthly Powers. In Hongwu 2 it was fixed that each altar had four each of bian and dou and one each of fu, gui, deng, and jue. In the ninth year the arrangement was revised: the main hall had three wine vessels and seven jue set in common; each wing had three wine vessels and three jue; the rest remained as before. In the twenty-first year the arrangement was revised: each altar had one deng, two xing, ten each of bian and dou, two each of fu and gui, and thirty wine cups. For the stars and constellations, the center of the main hall had one deng and two xing. The remaining nine altars each had two xing. Each altar had ten bian and dou, one each of fu and gui, thirty wine cups, and one jue; three wine vessels were set in common. For the Grand Year Star and the various spirits there were eight each of bian and dou, two each of fu and gui, and three wine vessels. The peaks, rivers, and mountains and rivers were the same.

歷代帝王。洪武四年定，登一，鉶二，籩豆各八，簠簋各一，俎一，爵三，尊三。七年更定，登、鉶、簠簋各一，籩豆各十，爵各三，共設酒尊五於殿西階，酒尊三於殿東階。二十一年增定，每位鉶二，簠簋各二，五室共設酒尊三，爵四十八。配位每壇籩豆各二，簠簋各一，饋盤一，每位鉶一，酒盞三。三皇，籩豆各八，簠簋各二，登、鉶各二，爵三，犧尊、象尊、山罍各一。配位，籩豆各四，簠簋各二，鉶一，爵三，犧尊、象尊各一。

Successive Dynasties' Emperors. In Hongwu 4 it was fixed that there was one deng, two xing, eight each of bian and dou, one each of fu and gui, one zu, three jue, and three zun. In the seventh year the arrangement was revised: one each of deng, xing, fu, and gui; ten each of bian and dou; three jue each; five wine vessels set together at the west steps of the hall, and three at the east steps. In the twenty-first year the arrangement was supplemented: each seat had two xing and two each of fu and gui; the five chambers together had three wine vessels and forty-eight jue. At each collateral altar there were two each of bian and dou, one each of fu and gui, one offering tray, one xing per seat, and three wine cups. For the Three Sovereigns there were eight each of bian and dou, two each of fu and gui, two each of deng and xing, three jue, and one each of xi zun, xiang zun, and shan lei. For the collateral seats there were four each of bian and dou, two each of fu and gui, one xing, three jue, and one each of xi zun and xiang zun.

至聖先師。洪武元年定，籩豆各六，簠簋各二，登一，鉶二，犧尊、象尊、山罍各一。四配位，籩豆各四，簠簋各一，登一。十哲，兩廡，籩豆二。四年更定，正位，籩豆各十，酒尊三，爵三，餘如舊。四配，每位酒尊一，餘同正位。十哲，東西各爵一，每位籩豆各四，簠簋各一，鉶一，酒盞一。兩廡，東西各十三壇，東西各爵一，每壇籩豆各四，簠簋各一，酒盞四。十五年更定，正位，酒尊一，爵三，登一，鉶二，籩豆各八，簠簋各二。四配位，共酒尊一，各爵三，登一，鉶二，籩豆各六，簠簋各一。十哲，共酒尊一，東西各爵五，鉶一，籩豆各四，簠簋各一。東西廡，每四位爵四，籩豆各二，簠簋各一。景泰六年增兩廡籩豆各二，簠簋各一。成化十二年，增正位籩豆爲十二。嘉靖九年，仍減爲十。

Most Sage and First Teacher. In Hongwu 1 it was fixed that there were six each of bian and dou, two each of fu and gui, one deng, two xing, and one each of xi zun, xiang zun, and shan lei. For the four collateral seats there were four each of bian and dou, one each of fu and gui, and one deng. For the Ten Wise Ones and the two wings there were two bian and dou. In the fourth year the arrangement was revised: for the main seat there were ten each of bian and dou, three wine vessels, and three jue; the rest remained as before. For the four collateral seats, each had one wine vessel; the rest matched the main seat. For the Ten Wise Ones there was one jue each on the east and west; each seat had four each of bian and dou, one each of fu and gui, one xing, and one wine cup. In the two wings there were thirteen altars each on the east and west, with one jue each on the east and west; each altar had four each of bian and dou, one each of fu and gui, and four wine cups. In the fifteenth year the arrangement was revised: for the main seat there was one wine vessel, three jue, one deng, two xing, eight each of bian and dou, and two each of fu and gui. For the four collateral seats there was one wine vessel set in common; each had three jue, one deng, two xing, six each of bian and dou, and one each of fu and gui. For the Ten Wise Ones there was one wine vessel set in common, five jue each on the east and west, one xing, four each of bian and dou, and one each of fu and gui. In the east and west wings, every four seats had four jue, two each of bian and dou, and one each of fu and gui. In Jingtai 6 two each of bian and dou and one each of fu and gui were added to both wings. In Chenghua 12 the bian and dou at the main seat were increased to twelve. In Jiajing 9 they were again reduced to ten.

旗纛，與先農同。馬神，籩豆各四，簠簋、登、象尊、壺尊各一。

For Banners and Pennants, the vessels matched those for the Agriculture Ancestor. For the Horse Spirit there were four each of bian and dou and one each of fu, gui, deng, xiang zun, and hu zun.

○玉帛牲牢

○ Jade, Silks, and Sacrificial Animals

玉三等：上帝，蒼璧；皇地祇，黃琮；太社、太稷，兩圭有邸；朝日、夕月，圭璧五寸。帛五等：曰郊祀制帛，郊祀正配位用之。上帝，蒼；地祇，黃；配位，白。曰禮神制帛，社稷以下用之。社稷，黑；大明，赤；夜明、星辰、太歲、風雲雷雨、天下神祇俱白；五星，五色；嶽鎮、四海、陵山隨方色；四瀆，黑；先農，正配皆青；羣神，白；帝王先師皆白；旗纛，洪武元年用黑，七年改赤，九年定黑二、白五。曰奉先制帛，太廟用之，每廟二。曰展親制帛，親王配享用之。曰報功制帛，功臣配享用之。皆白。每位各一。惟圜丘，嘉靖九年用十二，而周天星辰則共用十，孔廟十哲、兩廡東西各一云。又洪武十一年，上以小祀有用楮錢者爲不經。禮臣議定，在京，大祀、中祀用制帛，有篚。在外，王國府州縣亦如之。小祀惟用牲醴。

Jade came in three grades: for the Supreme Lord, an azure bi; for the Sovereign Earth Spirit, a yellow cong; for the Great Altar of Soil and Great Altar of Grain, paired gui with bases; for the Morning Sun and Evening Moon, gui and bi of five cun. Silks came in five grades. The first was called suburban-sacrifice prescribed silk, used at the main and collateral seats of suburban sacrifice. For the Supreme Lord, azure; for the Earth Spirit, yellow; for the collateral seat, white. The second was called spirit-worship prescribed silk, used at the altars of soil and grain and below. For the altars of soil and grain, black; for Great Brightness, red; for Night Brightness, the stars and constellations, the Grand Year Star, wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, and all spirits and earthly powers throughout the realm, all white; for the Five Stars, the five colors; for the sacred peaks, the Four Seas, and imperial tomb mountains, the color followed that of the corresponding direction; for the Four Waterways, black; for the First Farmer, both the main and collateral seats were green; for the various spirits, white; for the emperors and kings and the First Teacher, all white; For the banner and standard spirits, black was used in Hongwu 1; in the seventh year this was changed to red; in the ninth year the rule was fixed at two black and five white. The third was called ancestral-veneration prescribed silk, used at the Grand Ancestral Temple, two per shrine. The fourth was called extending-kinship prescribed silk, used at the collateral offerings for imperial princes. The fifth was called reporting-merit prescribed silk, used at the collateral offerings for meritorious ministers. All were white. Each seat received one. Only at the Circular Mound did Jiajing 9 prescribe twelve; the stars throughout the heavens shared ten in all; at the Confucius Temple the Ten Wise Ones and the eastern and western wings of the two corridors each had one, it is said. In Hongwu 11 the emperor also held that the use of paper spirit money at minor sacrifices was improper. After deliberation the ritual officials fixed the rule that in the capital major and medium sacrifices were to use prescribed silk, presented in baskets. In the provinces, princely domains, prefectures, and counties followed the same rule. Minor sacrifices used only sacrificial animals and fermented libations.

牲牢三等：曰犢，曰羊，曰豕。色尚騂，或黝。大祀，入滌九旬；中祀，三旬；小祀，一旬。大祀前一月之朔，躬詣犧牲所視牲，每日大臣一人往視。洪武二年，帝以祭祀省牲，去神壇甚邇，於人心未安，乃定省牲之儀，去神壇二百步。七年定制，大祀，皇帝躬省牲；中祀、小祀，遣官。嘉靖十一年更定，冬、夏至，祈谷，俱祭前五日親視，後俱遣大臣。圜丘，蒼犢；方丘，黃犢；配位，各純犢。洪武七年，增設圜丘配位。星辰，牛一，羊豕三。太歲，牛羊豕一。風雲雷雨、天下神祇，羊豕各五。方丘配位，天下山川，牛一，羊豕各三。太廟禘，正配皆太牢，祫皆太牢。時享每廟犢羊豕各一。親王配位，洪武三年定，共牛羊豕一。二十一年更定，每壇犢羊豕各一。功臣配位，洪武二年定，每位羊豕體各一。二十一年更定，每壇羊豕一。太社稷，犢羊豕各一，配位同。府州縣社稷，正配位，共羊一、豕一。洪武七年增設，各羊一、豕一。朝日、夕月，犢羊豕各一。先農與太社稷同。神祇，洪武二年定，羊六、豕六。二十一年更定，每壇犢羊豕各一。嘉靖十年，天神左，地祇右，各牲五。星辰，每壇羊一、豕一。帝王，每室犢羊豕各一。配位，每壇羊豕各一。先師如帝王，四配如配位，十哲東西各豕一分五，兩廡東西各豕一，後增爲三。府州縣學先師，羊一、豕一。四配。共羊一、豕一，解爲四體。十哲東西各豕一，解爲五體。兩廡豕一，解爲百八分。旗纛，洪武九年定犢羊豕，永樂後，去犢。王國及衛所同。五祀馬神俱用羊豕。

Sacrificial animals came in three grades: calf, sheep, and pig. Their color was preferably sorrel, or dusky. For major sacrifices, animals entered the cleansing pen ninety days before the rite; for medium sacrifices, thirty days; for minor sacrifices, ten days. For major sacrifices, on the new moon one month beforehand the emperor went in person to the sacrificial-animal pen to inspect the victims, and each day one grand minister was sent to inspect them. In Hongwu 2 the emperor found that the place for inspecting sacrificial animals lay too close to the spirit altar and troubled public sentiment, so he fixed the inspection rite at two hundred paces from the altar. In the seventh year the rule was fixed: for major sacrifices the emperor inspected the victims in person; for medium and minor sacrifices, officials were dispatched. In Jiajing 11 the rule was revised: for the winter and summer solstices and the prayer for grain, the emperor personally inspected the victims five days before the sacrifice; thereafter grand ministers were always dispatched. At the Circular Mound, an azure calf; at the Square Mound, a yellow calf; for the collateral seats, each a single calf. In Hongwu 7 collateral seats were added at the Circular Mound. For the stars and constellations, one ox and three sheep and pigs. For the Grand Year Star, one ox, one sheep, and one pig. For wind, clouds, thunder, and rain and for all spirits and earthly powers throughout the realm, five sheep and five pigs each. For the collateral seats at the Square Mound and for the mountains and rivers throughout the realm, one ox, three sheep, and three pigs each. At the Grand Ancestral Temple di rite, both main and collateral seats received the grand offering; at the xia rite all received the grand offering. At seasonal offerings each shrine received one calf, one sheep, and one pig. For princely collateral seats, fixed in Hongwu 3, there was together one ox, one sheep, and one pig. In the twenty-first year the rule was revised: each altar received one calf, one sheep, and one pig. For meritorious ministers' collateral seats, fixed in Hongwu 2, each seat received one portion of sheep and one portion of pig. In the twenty-first year the rule was revised: each altar received one sheep and one pig. At the Great Altars of Soil and Grain there was one calf, one sheep, and one pig each; the collateral seats were the same. At prefectural, departmental, and county altars of soil and grain, the main and collateral seats together received one sheep and one pig. When additional seats were added in Hongwu 7, each received one sheep and one pig. For the Morning Sun and Evening Moon, one calf, one sheep, and one pig each. The First Farmer followed the same rule as the Great Altars of Soil and Grain. For spirits and earthly powers, fixed in Hongwu 2, there were six sheep and six pigs. In the twenty-first year the rule was revised: each altar received one calf, one sheep, and one pig. In Jiajing 10 the heavenly spirits were placed on the left and the earthly powers on the right, with five victims for each. For the stars and constellations, each altar received one sheep and one pig. For the emperors and kings, each chamber received one calf, one sheep, and one pig. For the collateral seats, each altar received one sheep and one pig. The First Teacher followed the rule for emperors and kings; the four collateral seats followed that for collateral offerings; for the Ten Wise Ones, east and west each received one pig divided into five portions; for the two corridors, east and west each received one pig, later increased to three. At prefectural, departmental, and county schools the First Teacher received one sheep and one pig. For the four collateral seats, there was together one sheep and one pig, divided into four portions. For the Ten Wise Ones, east and west each received one pig, divided into five portions. For the two corridors one pig was divided into one hundred eight portions. For the banner and standard spirits, Hongwu 9 fixed a calf, sheep, and pig; after the Yongle reign the calf was removed. Princely domains and guard posts followed the same rule. The five household sacrifices and the Horse Spirit all used sheep and pig.

○祝冊

○ Prayer Placards

南北郊，祝板長一尺一分，廣八寸，厚二分，用楸梓木。宗廟，長一尺二寸，廣九寸，厚一，用梓木，以楮紙冒之。羣神帝王先師，俱有祝，文多不載。祝案設於西。

For the southern and northern suburbs, the prayer board was one chi one fen long, eight cun wide, and two fen thick, made of catalpa and zelkova wood. For the ancestral temple, the board was one chi two cun long, nine cun wide, and one fen thick, made of zelkova wood and covered with paper mulberry paper. Various spirits, emperors and kings, and the First Teacher all had prayer texts, though most of the texts are not recorded here. The prayer table was placed on the west.

○籩豆之實

○ Fillings of the Bian and Dou

凡籩豆之實，用十二者，籩實以形鹽、ＡＫ魚、棗、慄、榛、菱、芡、鹿脯、白餅、黑餅、糗餌、粉餈。豆實以韭菹、醯醢，菁菹、鹿醢、芹菹、兔醢、筍菹、魚醢、脾析、豚胉、赩食、糝食。用十者，籩則減糗餌、粉餈，豆則減赩食、糝食。用八者，籩又減白、黑餅，豆又減脾析、豚胉。用四者，籩則止實以形鹽、ＡＫ魚、棗、慄，豆則止實以芹菹、兔醢、菁菹、鹿醢。各二者，籩實慄、鹿脯，豆實菁菹、鹿醢。簠簋各二者，實以黍稷、稻粱。各一者，實以稷粱。登實以太羹，鉶實以和羹。

For all fillings of bian and dou, when twelve were used the bian held molded salt, dried fish, jujubes, chestnuts, hazelnuts, water caltrop, gorgon fruit, venison jerky, white cakes, black cakes, puffed grain cakes, and powdered rice cakes. The dou held leek pickles with vinegar sauce, duckweed pickles with venison paste, celery pickles with rabbit paste, bamboo-shoot pickles with fish paste, spleen meat, pork belly, xi food, and san food. When ten were used, the bian omitted puffed grain cakes and powdered rice cakes, and the dou omitted xi food and san food. When eight were used, the bian further omitted white and black cakes, and the dou further omitted spleen meat and pork belly. When four were used, the bian held only molded salt, dried fish, jujubes, and chestnuts, and the dou held only celery pickles with rabbit paste and duckweed pickles with venison paste. When two each were used, the bian held chestnuts and venison jerky, and the dou held duckweed pickles and venison paste. Two each of fu and gui were filled with proso millet and panicled millet, and with rice and fine millet. When one each was used, they were filled with panicled millet and fine millet. The deng held plain broth, and the xing held seasoned broth.

洪武三年，禮部言：「《禮記·郊特牲》曰，『郊之祭也』，『器用陶匏』，尚質也。《周禮·籩人》，『凡祭祀供簠簋之實』，《疏》曰，『外祀用瓦簠』。今祭祀用瓷，合古意。惟盤盂之屬，與古簠璺簋登鉶異制。今擬凡祭器皆用瓷，其式皆仿古簠簋登豆，惟籩以竹。」詔從之。

In Hongwu 3 the Ministry of Rites reported: "The 《Record of Rites · Suburban Sacrifice》 states, 'In the suburban sacrifice,' 'vessels are of pottery and gourd,' honoring simplicity. The 《Rites of Zhou · Master of Bian》 says, 'For all sacrifices supply the fillings of fu and gui'; the commentary states, 'Outer sacrifices use earthenware fu.' The present use of porcelain in sacrifice accords with ancient intent. Only plates, bowls, and the like differ in form from the ancient fu, gui, deng, and xing. It is now proposed that all sacrificial vessels be of porcelain, their forms modeled on the ancient fu, gui, deng, and dou, with bian alone made of bamboo." An edict approved the proposal.

酒齊仿周制，用新舊醅，以備齊三酒。其實於尊之名數，各不同。

Wine preparations followed the Zhou system, using new and old mash to supply the three grades of wine. The vessels in which they were placed and their numbers differed for each sacrifice.

○祭祀雜議諸儀

○ Miscellaneous Deliberated Rites of Sacrifice

其祭祀雜議諸儀，凡版位，皇帝位，方一尺二寸，厚三寸，紅質金字。皇太子位，方九寸，厚二寸，紅質青字。陪祀官位，並白質黑字。

Among the various deliberated rites of sacrifice, for all name placards the emperor's placard was a square one chi two cun across and three cun thick, with a red ground and gold characters. The crown prince's placard was a square nine cun across and two cun thick, with a red ground and green characters. The placards of officials attending the sacrifice were all white with black characters.

拜褥。初用緋。洪武三年定制，郊丘席爲表，蒲爲裏。宗廟、社稷、先農、山川，紅文綺爲表，紅木棉布爲裏。

Kneeling Mats. Crimson was used at first. In Hongwu 3 the rule was fixed: for suburban altars the outer cover was rush matting and the lining was cattail. For the ancestral temple, the altars of soil and grain, the First Farmer, and mountains and rivers, the outer cover was red patterned silk and the lining was red cotton cloth.

贊唱。凡皇帝躬祀，入就位時，太常寺奏中嚴，奏外辦。盥洗、升壇、飲福、受胙，各致讚辭。又凡祀，各設爵洗位，滌爵拭爵。初升壇，唱再拜，及祭酒，唱賜福胙。洪武七年，禮部奏其煩瀆，悉刪去。

Ritual Prompting. Whenever the emperor sacrificed in person, upon entering and taking his position the Court of Imperial Sacrifices announced the inner vigil and reported that outer preparations were complete. At hand-washing, ascending the altar, drinking the blessing, and receiving the sacrificial meat, eulogistic phrases were recited for each. Moreover, at every sacrifice jue-washing stations were set up, and the jue were rinsed and wiped. Upon first ascending the altar the prompt was for a double bow; at the wine offering the prompt was to bestow the blessing and sacrificial meat. In Hongwu 7 the Ministry of Rites reported that these practices were tedious and irreverent, and they were all abolished.

上香禮。明初祭祀皆行。洪武七年以翰林詹同言罷。嘉靖九年復行。

Incense-Offering Rite. In the early Ming all sacrifices included this rite. In Hongwu 7 it was abolished at the recommendation of Hanlin Academician Zhan Tong. It was restored in Jiajing 9.

拜禮。初，每節皆再拜。洪武九年，禮臣奏：「《禮記》一獻三獻五獻七獻之文，皆不載拜禮。唐、宋郊祀，每節行禮皆再拜。然亞獻終獻，天子不行禮，而使臣下行之。今議大祀中祀，自迎神至飲福送神，宜各行再拜禮。」帝命節爲十二拜，迎神、飲福受胙、送神各四拜云。

Bowing Rite. Initially, a double bow was performed at each stage of the ceremony. In Hongwu 9 ritual officials reported: "The 《Record of Rites》 passages on one, three, five, and seven presentations make no mention of bowing rites. In Tang and Song suburban sacrifices, officials performed double bows at each stage. Yet for the secondary and final presentations, the emperor did not perform the rite himself but had ministers carry it out on his behalf. For great and intermediate sacrifices, they proposed that from welcoming the spirit through receiving the blessing and sending the spirit off, double bows should be performed at each stage. The emperor ordered twelve bows in all: four each for welcoming the spirit, receiving the blessing and sacrificial meat, and sending off the spirit.

登壇脫舄。初未行。洪武八年詔翰林院臣考定大祀登壇脫舄之禮。學士樂韶鳳雜考漢、魏以來朝祭儀，議於郊祀廟享前期一日，有司以席藉地，設御幕於壇東南門外，設執事官脫履之次於壇門外西階側。祭日，大駕入幕次，脫舄升壇。其升壇執事、導駕、贊禮、讀祝並分獻陪祀官，皆脫舄於外，以次升壇供事。協律郎、樂舞生依前跣襪就位。祭畢，降壇納舄。從之。嘉靖十七年罷其禮。

Removing Shoes upon Ascending the Altar. This practice was not initially observed. In Hongwu 8 an edict directed Hanlin Academy officials to research and codify the rite of removing shoes when ascending the altar at great sacrifices. Academician Le Shaofeng surveyed Han, Wei, and later court sacrificial protocols and recommended that one day before a suburban sacrifice or temple offering, officials lay mats and erect the imperial pavilion southeast of the altar gate, with a designated area outside the west steps where attendants would remove their shoes. On the day of sacrifice the imperial procession entered the pavilion, removed their shoes, and ascended the altar. Attendants, guides, ritual prompters, petition readers, auxiliary-offering officials, and attendant-sacrifice officials all removed their shoes outside the altar and ascended in order to perform their duties. The pitch-director and music-and-dance performers, as before, took their places barefoot in stockings. When the sacrifice was finished, they descended the altar and put their shoes back on. The proposal was approved. This rite was abolished in Jiajing 17.

○祭祀日期

○ Sacrificial Dates.

欽天監選擇，太常寺預於十二月朔至奉天殿具奏。蓋古卜法不存，而擇干支之吉以代卜也。洪武七年，命太常卿議祭祀日期，書之於版，依時以祭，著爲式。其祭日，遣官監祭，不敬失儀者罪之。

The Directorate of Astronomy selects the dates, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices presents a full report at the Hall of Imperial Supremacy on the first day of the twelfth month. Since the ancient methods of divination were no longer practiced, auspicious days were chosen from the sexagenary cycle in place of oracle divination. In Hongwu 7 the Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was ordered to set sacrificial dates, record them on a schedule, conduct sacrifices on those fixed dates, and establish this as standard practice. On the day of sacrifice supervisors were appointed; anyone showing disrespect or breaching protocol was punished.

○習儀

○ Ritual Rehearsal.

凡祭祀，先期三日及二日，百官習儀於朝天宮。嘉靖九年更定，郊祀冬至，習儀於先期之七日及六日。

For all sacrifices, officials rehearsed the ceremony at the Chaotian Palace three and two days in advance. In Jiajing 9 the schedule was revised so that for the winter solstice suburban sacrifice, rehearsals were held seven and six days in advance.

○齋戒

○ Fasting and Purification.

洪武二年，學士硃升等奉敕撰齋戒文曰：「戒者，禁止其外；齋者，整齊其內。沐浴更衣，出宿外舍，不飲酒，不茹葷，不問疾，不弔喪，不聽樂，不理刑名，此則戒也；專一其心，嚴畏謹慎，苟有所思，即思所祭之神，如在其上，如在其左右，精白一誠，無須臾間，此則齋也。大祀七日，前四日戒，後三日齋。」太祖曰：「凡祭祀天地、社稷、宗廟、山川等神，爲天下祈福，宜下令百官齋戒。若自有所禱於天地百神，不關民事者，不下令。」又曰：「致齋以五日七日，爲期太久，人心易怠。止臨祭，齋戒三日，務致精專，庶可格神明。」遂著爲令。是年從禮部尚書崔亮奏，大祀前七日，部祀官詣中書省受誓戒。各揚其職，不共其事，國有常刑。宗廟社稷，致齋三日，不誓戒。三年，諭禮部尚書陶凱曰：「人心操舍無常，必有所警，而後無所放。」乃命禮部鑄銅人一，高尺有五寸，手執牙簡，大祀則書致齋三日，中祀則書致齋二日於簡上，太常司進置齋所。四年，定天子親祀齋五日，遣官代祀齋三日，降香齋一日。五年，命諸司各置木牌，以警褻慢，刻文其上曰：「國有常憲，神有鑑焉。」凡祭祀，則設之。又從陶凱奏，凡親祀，皇太子宮中居守，親王戎服侍從。皇太子親王雖不陪祀，一體齋戒。

In Hongwu 2, at imperial command, Academicians Zhu Sheng and others drafted a text on fasting and purification: "Purification (jie) means restraining one's outward conduct; Fasting (zhai) means ordering one's inward disposition. One bathes and changes clothes, lodges outside the palace, abstains from wine and meat, avoids inquiring after the sick, attending funerals, listening to music, and handling legal matters—this is purification (jie); One focuses the mind, maintains reverent caution, and whenever a thought arises, turns it to the deity being worshipped—as though the spirit were above and beside one—maintaining pure sincerity without interruption; this is fasting (zhai). For great sacrifices the period was seven days: four days of purification followed by three days of fasting. The Taizu said: "When sacrificing to Heaven and Earth, the altars of soil and grain, the ancestral temple, mountains, rivers, and other deities to seek blessings for the realm, all officials should be ordered to undertake fasting and purification. When the emperor prayed privately to the spirits for matters unrelated to public affairs, no such order was issued. He added: "A five- or seven-day period of fasting is too long; minds grow slack. Fasting and purification should be limited to three days just before the sacrifice, pursued with utmost concentration, so that the spirits may be duly moved. This was then enacted as law. That same year, at the recommendation of Minister of Rites Cui Liang, seven days before a great sacrifice ministry officials went to the Secretariat to receive sworn injunctions on fasting. Each must fulfill his own office and not usurp another's duties, on pain of statutory punishment. For the ancestral temple and altars of soil and grain, three days of fasting were required but no sworn injunction ceremony. In the third year he told Minister of Rites Tao Kai: "The human mind is inconstant; only when given a warning will it not grow careless. He then ordered the Ministry of Rites to cast a bronze figure one foot five inches tall holding an ivory tally inscribed with "fast three days" for great sacrifices or "fast two days" for intermediate sacrifices, which the Court of Imperial Sacrifices placed at the fasting lodge. In the fourth year it was fixed that the emperor fasted five days when sacrificing in person, three days when dispatching an official in his place, and one day when bestowing incense. In the fifth year each office was ordered to display wooden placards warning against irreverence, inscribed: "The state has fixed laws; the spirits are watching. These were displayed at every sacrifice. At Tao Kai's recommendation, whenever the emperor sacrificed in person, the crown prince remained in the palace while princes in military dress attended in escort. Though the crown prince and princes did not join the sacrifice itself, they observed the same fasting and purification.

六年，建陪祀官齋房於北郊齋宮之西南，後定齋戒禮儀。凡祭天地，正祭前五日午後，沐浴更衣，處外室，次早，百官於奉天門觀誓戒牌。次日，告仁祖廟，退處齋宮，致齋三日。享宗廟，正祭前四日午後，沐浴更衣，處外室。次日爲始，致齋三日。祭社稷、朝日、夕月、周天星辰、太歲、風雲雷雨、嶽鎮海瀆、山川等神，致齋二日，如前儀。凡傳制降香，遣官代祀，先一日沐浴更衣，處外室。次日遣官。七年定制，凡大禮前期四日，太常卿至天下神祇壇奠告，中書丞相詣京師城隍廟發諮。次日，皇帝詣仁祖廟請配享。二十一年定制，齋戒前二日，太常司官宿於本司。次日，奏請致齋。又次日，進銅人，傳制諭文武百官齋戒。是日，禮部太常司官檄城隍神，遍請天下當祀神祇，仍於各廟焚香三日。

In the sixth year fasting lodges for attendant-sacrifice officials were built southwest of the northern suburb fasting palace; the full protocols for fasting and purification were later codified. For sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, five days before the main rite officials bathed, changed clothes, and lodged in outer quarters; the next morning all officials viewed the sworn-fasting placard at the Fengtian Gate. The following day they notified the temple of Emperor Renzu, retired to the fasting palace, and fasted for three days. For ancestral temple offerings, four days before the main rite officials bathed, changed clothes, and lodged in outer quarters. Beginning the next day, they fasted for three days. For sacrifices to the altars of soil and grain, the sun, moon, stars, Grand Year, wind, clouds, thunder, rain, mountain and sea deities, and rivers and mountains, fasting lasted two days according to the same protocol. When an edict was promulgated and incense bestowed for a sacrifice performed by a dispatched official, the official bathed, changed clothes, and lodged in outer quarters one day in advance. The official was dispatched the following day. In the seventh year it was established that four days before a great ceremony the Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices reported at the Altar of All Spirits while the Secretariat Chancellor issued proclamations at the capital's City God Temple. The following day the emperor went to Emperor Renzu's temple to request his participation as associate spirit. In the twenty-first year it was established that two days before fasting and purification, officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices lodged in their own offices. The next day they memorialized requesting the commencement of fasting. The day after that the bronze figure was presented and an edict proclaimed ordering civil and military officials to fast and purify. That same day officials of the Ministry of Rites and Court of Imperial Sacrifices notified the City God and summoned all deities throughout the realm scheduled to receive sacrifice; incense was burned at each temple for three days.

二十六年，定傳制誓戒儀。凡大祀前三日，百官詣闕，如大朝儀，傳制官宣制云：「某年月日，祀於某所，爾文武百官，自某日爲始，致齋三日，當敬慎之。」傳制訖，四拜，奏禮畢。宣德七年，大祀南郊，帝御齋宮，命內官使飲酒食葷入壇唾地者，皆罪之，司禮監縱容者同罪。齋之日，御史檢視各官於齋次，仍行南京，一體齋戒。弘治五年，鴻臚少卿李燧言：「分獻陪祭等官，借居道士房榻，貴賤雜處，且宣召不便。乞於壇所隙地，仿天壽山朝房禮制，建齋房。」從之。嘉靖九年，定前期三日，帝御奉天殿，百官朝服聽誓戒。萬曆四年十一月，禮部以二十三日冬至祀天，十八日當奏祭，十九日百官受誓戒。是日，皇太后聖旦，百官宜吉服賀。一日兩遇禮文，服色不同，請更奏祭、誓戒皆先一日。帝命奏祭、誓戒如舊，而以十八日行慶賀禮。

In the twenty-sixth year the protocol for the proclamation of sworn fasting was established. Three days before every great sacrifice, officials assembled at court as for a grand audience, and the proclamation officer announced: "On [date], a sacrifice will be held at [place]. Civil and military officials shall begin a three-day fast on [date] and must conduct themselves with reverent care. When the proclamation was finished, all bowed four times and the ceremony was declared complete. During the Xuande 7 southern suburb sacrifice the emperor stayed at the fasting palace and ordered that any eunuch who drank wine, ate meat, entered the sacrificial enclosure, or spat on the ground be punished; officials of the Directorate of Ceremonial who overlooked such conduct were punished equally. On fasting days censors inspected officials at their fasting quarters, and the same fasting rules applied in Nanjing. In Hongzhi 5, Vice Commissioner of Ceremonies Li Sui reported: "Auxiliary-offering and attendant-sacrifice officials lodge in Daoist quarters, mingling ranks indiscriminately, and imperial summons are difficult to deliver. He requested that fasting lodges be built on vacant land at the altar site, following the reception-hall model of Mount Tianshou. The request was approved. In Jiajing 9 it was established that three days in advance the emperor presided at the Hall of Imperial Supremacy while officials in court dress received the sworn-fasting injunction. In the eleventh month of Wanli 4 the Ministry of Rites noted that the winter solstice heaven sacrifice fell on the twenty-third, the report on the sacrifice was due on the eighteenth, and officials were to receive sworn fasting on the nineteenth. But the nineteenth was also the empress dowager's birthday, when officials were required to wear festive dress and offer congratulations. Because two ceremonies on one day required different attire, they requested moving both the sacrificial report and sworn fasting one day earlier. The emperor ordered that the sacrificial report and sworn fasting remain on their original dates, with congratulatory rites held on the eighteenth instead.

○遣官祭祀

○ Dispatching Officials for Sacrifice.

洪武二十六年，定傳制特遣儀。是日，皇帝升座如常儀，百官一拜。禮畢，獻官詣拜位四拜，傳制官由御前出宣制。如祭孔子，則曰：「某年月日，祭先師孔子大成至聖文宣王，命卿行禮。」祭歷代帝王，則曰：「某年月日，祭先聖歷代帝王，命卿行禮。」俯伏，興，四拜，禮畢出。其降香遣官儀，前祀一日清晨，皇帝皮弁服，升奉天殿。捧香者以香授獻官。獻官捧由中陛降中道出，至午門外，置龍亭內。儀仗鼓吹，導引至祭所。後定祭之日，降香如常儀，中嚴以待。獻官祭畢後命，解嚴還宮。嘉靖九年大祀遣官，不行飲福禮。

In Hongwu 26 the protocol for specially dispatched sacrificial missions by imperial proclamation was established. On that day the emperor took the throne according to usual protocol and all officials performed one bow. When the preliminary rites were finished, the offering official approached the bowing position and bowed four times; the proclamation officer then stepped forward from the imperial presence to announce the edict. For a sacrifice to Confucius the edict ran: "On [date] a sacrifice to the Primordial Master Confucius, Great Completion and Utmost Sage, King of Cultural Propagation, is ordered; you are commanded to perform the rites. For a sacrifice to successive emperors the edict ran: "On [date] a sacrifice to the primordial sages, the successive emperors, is ordered; you are commanded to perform the rites. The official prostrated, rose, bowed four times, and departed when the ceremony was complete. For the protocol of bestowing incense and dispatching an official, on the morning of the day before the sacrifice the emperor in pi-bian dress ascended the Hall of Imperial Supremacy. The incense bearer handed the incense to the offering official. The offering official carried it down the central steps and out through the central gate to the Meridian Gate, where it was placed in the dragon pavilion. An honor guard with drums and pipes escorted the incense to the sacrificial site. Later it was established that on the day of sacrifice incense was bestowed according to usual protocol while mid-watch security was maintained in readiness. After the offering official completed the sacrifice and received dismissal, security was relaxed and the emperor returned to the palace. In Jiajing 9, when officials were dispatched for great sacrifices, the receiving-blessing rite was omitted.

○分獻陪祀

○ Auxiliary Offerings and Attendant Sacrifice.

凡分獻官，太常寺豫請旨。洪武七年，太祖謂學士詹同曰：「大祀，終獻方行分獻禮，未當。」同乃與學士宋濂議以上，初獻奠玉帛將畢，分獻官即行初獻禮。亞獻、終獻皆如之。嘉靖九年，四郊工成，帝諭太常寺曰：「大祀分獻官豫定，方可習儀。」乃用大學士張璁等於大明、夜明、星辰、風雲雷雨四壇。舊制，分獻用文武大臣及近侍官共二十四人，今定四人，法司官仍舊例不興。

Assignments for auxiliary-offering officials were submitted in advance to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices for imperial approval. In Hongwu 7 the Taizu told Academician Zhan Tong: "At great sacrifices, waiting until the final presentation to conduct auxiliary offerings is inappropriate. Zhan Tong and Academician Song Lian submitted a recommendation: auxiliary-offering officials should begin their initial presentations as soon as the main initial offering of jade and silk was nearly complete. The same applied to the secondary and final presentations. In Jiajing 9, when construction of the four suburban altars was completed, the emperor told the Court of Imperial Sacrifices: "Auxiliary-offering officials for great sacrifices must be designated in advance before rehearsals can begin. Grand Secretaries Zhang Cong and others were assigned to the altars of Great Brightness, Night Brightness, Stars, and Wind, Clouds, Thunder, and Rain. Under the old system twenty-four civil and military grandees and palace attendants served as auxiliary offerers; the new arrangement fixed the number at four, with judiciary officials still excluded as before.

凡陪祀，洪武四年，太常寺引《周禮》及唐制，擬用武官四品、文官五品以上，其老疾瘡疥刑餘喪過體氣者不與。從之。後定郊祀，六科都給事中皆與陪祀，餘祭不與。又定凡南北郊，先期賜陪祀執事官明衣布，樂舞生各給新衣。制陪祀官入壇牙牌，凡天子親祀，則佩以入。其制有二，圓者與祭官佩之，方者執事人佩之。俱藏內府，遇祭則給，無者不得入壇。洪武二十九年，初祀山川諸神，流官祭服，未入流官公服。洪武二十九年，從禮臣言，未入流官，凡祭皆用祭服，與九品同。

In Hongwu 4 the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, citing the 《Rites of Zhou》 and Tang precedents, proposed that attendant sacrifice be limited to military officials of fourth rank and civil officials of fifth rank and above, excluding the aged, the ill, those with skin ailments, those mutilated by punishment, those in mourning, and those with offensive bodily odor. The proposal was approved. It was later established that all supervising secretaries of the Six Sections attended suburban sacrifices, but not other sacrifices. It was further stipulated that before every southern and northern suburban sacrifice, attendant and executive officials received bright ritual robes of cloth, and each music-and-dance student was issued new garments. Ivory tallies were instituted for attendant-sacrifice officials entering the altar; whenever the emperor performed the sacrifice in person, they wore them upon entry. There were two types: round tallies were worn by sacrificing officials, and square ones by executive personnel. All were kept in the inner palace treasury and issued when a sacrifice was held; without a tally one could not enter the altar. In Hongwu 29, when sacrifice to mountains, rivers, and the various spirits was first instituted, ranked officials wore sacrificial robes and officials below formal rank wore court dress. In Hongwu 29, on the recommendation of the ritual officials, officials below formal rank were required to wear sacrificial robes for all sacrifices, the same as ninth-rank officials.

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