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吉禮一
Auspicious Rites, Part One
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太宗尚儒雅，勤於治政，修明典章，大抵曠廢舉矣。 真宗承重熙之後，契丹既通好，天下無事，於是封泰山，祀汾陰，天書、聖祖崇奉迭興，專置詳定所，命執政、翰林、禮官參領之。 尋改禮儀院，仍歲增修，纖微委曲，緣情稱宜，蓋一時彌文之制也。
Emperor Taizong prized scholarly refinement, applied himself diligently to government, and restored the ritual codes; on the whole, institutions that had long fallen into disuse were brought back into practice. After Emperor Zhenzong came to the throne in the Chongxi era, peace was made with the Khitan and the empire knew no major disturbances. He then carried out the feng rites on Mount Tai and sacrifices at Fenyin, while cults devoted to the Heavenly Writ and the Sage Ancestor rose one after another. A special office for detailed ritual determination was set up, and chief ministers, Hanlin scholars, and ritual officials were appointed to oversee it jointly. The office was soon renamed the Court of Ritual Protocol and revised year after year. Every minute detail was elaborated and fitted to circumstance—altogether the hyper-formal ritual style of that period.
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自《通禮》之後，其制度儀注傳於有司者，殆數百篇。 先是，天禧中，陳寬編次禮院所承新舊詔敕，不就。 天聖初，王皞始類成書，盡乾興，為《禮閣新編》，大率禮文，無著述體，而本末完具，有司便之。 景祐四年，賈昌朝撰《太常新禮》及《祀儀》，止于慶曆三年。 皇祐中，文彥博又撰《大享明堂記》二十卷。 至嘉祐中，歐陽修纂集散失，命官設局，主《通禮》而記其變，及《新禮》以類相從，為一百卷，賜名《太常因革禮》，異于舊者蓋十三四焉。
After the Comprehensive Rites, the ritual institutions and ceremonial regulations held by the responsible offices ran to nearly several hundred separate works. Earlier, during the Tianxi period, Chen Kuan undertook to compile the old and new edicts received by the Court of Rites, but never finished. At the start of the Tiansheng reign, Wang Hao first arranged the materials into a finished compilation covering the period through Qianxing, entitled New Compilation of the Ritual Archive. It consisted chiefly of ritual texts rather than a formal treatise, yet was complete from start to finish and proved convenient for the responsible offices. In Jingyou 4 (1037), Jia Changchao compiled the New Rites of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Sacrificial Protocols, bringing the record down to Qingli 3 (1043). During Huangyou, Wen Yanbo also compiled the Record of the Great Offering in the Bright Hall in twenty juan. By the Jiayou period, Ouyang Xiu collected and edited scattered ritual materials. An official bureau was established to take the Comprehensive Rites as the foundation, record subsequent changes, and arrange the New Rites by category. The resulting work of one hundred juan was granted the title Rites of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices on Continuity and Reform; roughly thirty to forty percent differed from earlier practice.
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未幾，又命龍圖直學士宋敏求同御史台、閣門、禮院詳定《朝會儀注》，總四十六卷：曰《閣門儀》，曰《朝會禮文》，曰《儀注》，曰《徽號寶冊儀》。 《祭祀》總百九十一卷：曰《祀儀》，曰《南郊式》，曰《大禮式》，曰《郊廟奉祀禮文》，曰《明堂袷享令式》，曰《天興殿儀》，曰《四孟朝獻儀》，曰《景靈宮供奉敕令格式》，曰《儀禮敕令格式》。 《祈禳》總四十卷：曰《祀賽式》，曰《齋醮式》，曰《金籙儀》。 《蕃國》總七十一卷：曰《大遼令式》，曰《高麗入貢儀》，曰《女真排辦儀》，曰《諸蕃進貢令式》。 《喪葬》總百六十三卷：曰《葬式》，曰《宗室外臣葬敕令格式》，曰《孝贈式》。 其損益之制，視前多矣。
Soon afterward Song Minqiu, academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall, was ordered together with the Censorate, the Gate Office, and the Ritual Court to compile the Court Assembly Ceremonial Protocols in forty-six juan: Gate Office Protocols, Court Assembly Ritual Texts, Ceremonial Protocols, and Protocols for Honorific Titles and Imperial Registers. The section on Sacrifices ran to 191 juan: Sacrificial Protocols, Southern Suburb Forms, Great Rite Forms, Ritual Texts for Suburban and Temple Offerings, Bright Hall Joint-Offering Regulations and Forms, Hall of Heavenly Prosperity Protocols, Four-Season First-Month Presentation Protocols, Jingling Palace Offering Edicts and Formats, and Ritual Edicts and Formats. Prayer and Expiation comprised forty juan: Forms for Sacrificial Thanksgiving, Forms for Fasting and Ritual Offerings, and Golden Register Protocols. Foreign States comprised seventy-one juan: Liao Regulations and Forms, Koryŏ Tribute-Entry Protocols, Jurchen Arrangement Protocols, and Regulations and Forms for Tribute from the Various Foreign States. Mourning and Burial comprised 163 juan: Burial Forms, Edicts and Formats for Burial of Imperial Clansmen and Outer Officials, and Forms for Filial Bestowals. The additions and revisions far exceeded those of earlier compilations.
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紹聖而後，累詔續編，起治平，訖政和，凡五十一年，為書三百卷，今皆不傳。 而大觀初，置議禮局於尚書省，命詳議、檢討官具禮制本末，議定請旨。 三年書成，為《吉禮》二百三十一卷、《祭服制度》十六卷，頒焉。 議禮局請分秩五禮，詔依《開寶通禮》之序。 政和元年，續修成四百七十七卷，且命仿是修定儀注。 三年，《五禮新儀》成，凡二百二十卷，增置禮直官，許士庶就問新儀，而詔開封尹王革編類通行者，刊本給天下，使悉知禮意，其不奉行者論罪。 宣和初，有言其煩擾者，遂罷之。
After Shaosheng, repeated edicts ordered further compilation from Zhiping through Zhenghe—fifty-one years in all—producing three hundred juan of text, none of which survives today. At the beginning of the Daguan era, a Ritual Deliberation Bureau was established in the Department of State Affairs. Deliberators and examining officers were ordered to trace the origins of ritual institutions, reach decisions, and submit them for imperial approval. In the third year the compilation was finished: Auspicious Rites in 231 juan and Regulations for Sacrificial Garments in 16 juan, which were then promulgated. The Ritual Deliberation Bureau requested that the Five Rites be arranged in separate ranks; an edict ordered that the sequence follow the Kaibao Comprehensive Rites. In Zhenghe 1, the continued revision reached 477 juan, and officials were also ordered to revise ceremonial protocols along the same lines. In the third year the New Protocols of the Five Rites was completed in 220 juan. Additional ritual liaison officers were appointed, and scholars and commoners were allowed to consult them. The Kaifeng intendant Wang Ge was ordered to compile generally applicable provisions, print them, and distribute copies throughout the empire so that everyone would understand ritual norms; failure to comply was made punishable by law. Early in the Xuanhe era, critics complained that the system was burdensome, and it was abolished.
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初，議禮局之置也，詔求天下古器，更制尊、爵、鼎、彝之屬。 其後，又置禮制局於編類御筆所。 於是郊廟禋祀之器，多更其舊。 既有詔討論冠服，遂廢靴用履，其他無所改議，而禮制局亦罷。
When the Ritual Deliberation Bureau was first established, an edict called for ancient vessels from throughout the empire and ordered new versions of goblets, libation cups, tripods, and similar ritual implements. Later a Ritual Regulations Bureau was also set up within the Imperial Brush Compilation Office. As a result, most of the vessels used in suburban and temple sacrifices were replaced. After an edict ordered discussion of caps and garments, boots were abolished in favor of shoes. No other changes were adopted, and the Ritual Regulations Bureau was dissolved.
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大抵累朝典禮，講議最詳。 祀禮修于元豐，而成於元祐，至崇寧復有所增損。 其存於有司者，惟《元豐郊廟禮文》及《政和五禮新儀》而已。 乃若圜丘之罷合祭天地； 明堂專以英宗配帝，悉罷從祀群神； 大蠟分四郊； 壽星改祀老人； 禧祖已祧而復，遂為始祖； 即景靈宮建諸神禦殿，以四孟薦享； 虛禘祭； 去牙盤食； 卻尊號； 罷入閣儀並常朝及正衙橫行。 此熙甯、元豐變禮之最大者也。
On the whole, the canonical rites of successive reigns were debated and refined with exceptional thoroughness. Sacrificial rites were revised under Yuanfeng, completed under Yuanyou, and further modified under Chongning. Of what survived in the hands of the responsible offices, only the Yuanfeng Suburban and Temple Ritual Texts and the Zhenghe New Protocols of the Five Rites remained. Such as abolishing the joint sacrifice to Heaven and Earth at the Circular Mound; at the Bright Hall pairing only Emperor Yingzong with the Thearch and abolishing all accompanying sacrifices to lesser spirits; dividing the great year-end la sacrifice among the four suburban altars; changing the Longevity Star sacrifice to worship of the Old Man of the South Pole; Ancestor Xi, though already removed to the distant shrine, was restored and made founding ancestor; building spirit halls at the Jingling Palace for seasonal offerings in the four first months; abolishing the di offering; eliminating tooth-tray offerings; refusing honorific titles; abolishing the entering-the-pavilion ceremony, regular court audiences, and transverse processions in the main hall. These were the greatest ritual reforms of the Xining and Yuanfeng periods.
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元祐冊後，政和冠皇子，元符創景靈西宮，崇甯親祀方澤、作明堂、立九廟、鑄九鼎、祀熒惑，大觀受八寶、大祀皆前期十日而戒。 凡此蓋治平以前所未嘗行者。
Under Yuanyou the empress was invested; under Zhenghe the crown prince received his capping; under Yuanfu the western Jingling Palace was founded; under Chongning the emperor personally sacrificed at the Square Pond, built the Bright Hall, established the nine temples, cast the nine tripods, and sacrificed to Mars; under Daguan the Eight Treasures were received, and for all great sacrifices a ten-day period of abstention was required in advance. All of these were practices never undertaken before the Zhiping period.
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欽宗即位，嘗詔春秋釋奠改從《元豐儀》，罷《新儀》不用而未暇也。 靖康之厄，蕩析無餘。
When Emperor Qinzong ascended the throne, he ordered that the spring and autumn libation offerings follow the Yuanfeng Protocols rather than the New Protocols, but there was no time to implement the change. The Jingkang catastrophe swept everything away without a trace.
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南渡中興，銳意修復，高宗嘗謂輔臣曰：「晉武平吳之後，上下不知有禮，旋致禍亂。 周禮不秉，其何能國？」 孝宗繼志，典章文物，有可稱述。 治平日久，經學大明，諸儒如王普、董{分廾}等多以禮名家。 當時嘗續編《太常因革禮》矣，淳熙復有編輯之旨。 其後朱熹講明詳備，嘗欲取《儀禮》、《周官》、《二戴記》為本，編次朝廷公卿大夫士民之禮，盡取漢、晉而下及唐諸儒之說，考訂辨正，以為當代之典，未及成書而沒。
After the southward relocation and dynastic restoration, vigorous efforts were made to rebuild institutions. Emperor Gaozong once told his chief ministers: 'After Emperor Wu of Jin conquered Wu, court and people alike forgot ritual, and calamity followed swiftly. Without upholding the Rites of Zhou, how can a state endure?' Emperor Xiaozong carried on this intent, and in statutes, regulations, and cultural institutions there was much worth recounting. As peace endured and classical learning flourished, scholars such as Wang Pu and Dong Bi became renowned authorities on ritual. At the time work was begun on a continuation of the Rites on Continuity and Reform, and under Chunxi there was again an order to compile. Later Zhu Xi expounded ritual with exhaustive thoroughness. He once planned to take the Ceremonial Rites, the Offices of Zhou, and the two Dai ritual records as his foundation, arrange the rites of court, nobles, officials, and commoners in order, and incorporate the commentaries of scholars from Han and Jin onward through the Tang, revising and correcting them to establish a canon for the age—but he died before the work was finished.
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理宗四十年間，屢有意乎禮文之事，雖曰崇尚理學，所謂「禮雲禮雲，玉帛雲乎哉」，蓋可三歎。 鹹淳以降，無足言者。
During Emperor Lizong's forty-year reign there were repeated gestures toward ritual reform; although Neo-Confucian learning was honored, as the saying has it, 'Ritual, ritual—is it only jade and silk?' One can only sigh at the gap between aspiration and practice. From the Xianchun period onward, there is little worth recording.
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今因前史之舊，芟其繁亂，匯為五禮，以備一代之制，使後之觀者有足征焉。
Following the precedent of earlier histories, we have pruned redundant and disorderly material and gathered it into the Five Rites to present the institutions of the dynasty complete, so that later readers may have adequate evidence.
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五禮之序，以吉禮為首，主邦國神祇祭祀之事。 凡祀典皆領于太常。 歲之大祀三十：正月上辛祈谷，孟夏雩祀，季秋大享明堂，冬至圜丘祭昊天上帝，正月上辛又祀感生帝，四立及土王日祀五方帝，春分朝日，秋分夕月，東西太一，臘日大蠟祭百神，夏至祭皇地祇，孟冬祭神州地祇，四孟、季冬薦享太廟、後廟，春秋二仲及臘日祭太社、太稷，二仲九宮貴神。 中祀九：仲春祭五龍，立春後醜日祀風師、亥日享先農，季春巳日享先蠶，立夏後申日祀雨師，春秋二仲上丁釋奠文宣王、上戊釋奠武成王。 小祀九：仲春祀馬祖，仲夏享先牧，仲秋祭馬社，仲冬祭馬步，季夏土王日祀中霤，立秋後辰日祀靈星，秋分享壽星，立冬後亥日祠司中、司命、司人、司祿，孟冬祭司寒。
Among the Five Rites, Auspicious Rites come first, governing sacrifices to the spirits and deities of the state. All sacrificial regulations are administered by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. There are thirty great annual sacrifices: on the first xin day of the first month, prayer for grain; in early summer, the rain prayer; in late autumn, the great offering in the Bright Hall; at the winter solstice, sacrifice at the Circular Mound to August Heaven; on the first xin day of the first month, sacrifice to the Life-Generating Thearch; at the four seasonal establishments and on earth-sovereign days, sacrifice to the Five Directional Thearchs; at the spring equinox, greeting the sun; at the autumn equinox, bidding farewell to the moon; eastern and western Grand Unity; on the la day, the great year-end sacrifice to the hundred spirits; at the summer solstice, sacrifice to August Earth; in early winter, sacrifice to the Earth of the Divine Land; in the four first months of the seasons and in late winter, offerings at the Grand Temple and Rear Temple; in the two mid-seasons of spring and autumn and on the la day, sacrifice at the Grand Altars of Soil and Grain; and in the two mid-seasons, the Nine Palaces Noble Spirit. There are nine medium sacrifices: in mid-spring, sacrifice to the Five Dragons; on the chou day after the start of spring, sacrifice to the Wind Master, and on the hai day, offering to the First Farmer; on the si day of late spring, offering to the First Silkworm; on the shen day after the start of summer, sacrifice to the Rain Master; and in the two mid-seasons of spring and autumn, on the upper ding day the libation offering to King Wenxuan and on the upper wu day the libation offering to King Wucheng. There are nine minor sacrifices: in mid-spring, the Horse Ancestor; in mid-summer, the First Herdsman; in mid-autumn, the Horse Earth Altar; in mid-winter, the Horse Step; in late summer on the earth-sovereign day, the Central Drain; on the chen day after the start of autumn, the Spirit Star; in autumn, the Longevity Star; on the hai day after the start of winter, the Directors of Center, Fate, Man, and Emolument; and in early winter, the Director of Cold.
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其諸州奉祀，則五郊迎氣日祭嶽、鎮、海、瀆，春秋二仲享先代帝王及週六廟，並如中祀。 州縣祭社稷，奠文宣王，祀風雨，並如小祀。 凡有大赦，則令諸州祭嶽、瀆、名山、大川在境內者，及歷代帝王、忠臣、烈士載祀典者，仍禁近祠廟鹹加祭。 有不克定時日者，太卜署預擇一季祠祭之日，謂之「畫日」。 凡壇壝、牲器、玉帛、饌具、齋戒之制，皆具《通禮》。 後復有高禖、大小酺神之屬，增大祀為四十二焉。
Prefectural sacrifices include, on the five suburban days of receiving the seasonal qi, sacrifices to mountains, prominences, seas, and rivers; in the two mid-seasons of spring and autumn, offerings to emperors of former dynasties and the six Zhou temples—all treated as medium sacrifices. At the prefectural and county level, sacrifices to the altars of soil and grain, offerings to King Wenxuan, and sacrifices to wind and rain are all treated as minor sacrifices. Whenever a great amnesty is proclaimed, prefectures are ordered to sacrifice at mountains, streams, famous mountains, and great rivers within their borders, and at emperors, loyal ministers, and martyrs listed in the sacrificial canon; nearby private temples are still forbidden to add unauthorized sacrifices. When a date could not be fixed in advance, the Grand Divination Office selected seasonal days for sacrifice in advance; these were called 'marked days.' Regulations for altars, enclosures, sacrificial victims, vessels, jade and silk, food offerings, and abstention are all set forth in the Comprehensive Rites. Later the High Mei and greater and lesser Community Spirits were added, increasing the great sacrifices to forty-two.
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其後，神宗詔改定大祀：太一，東以春，西以秋，中以夏冬； 增大蠟為四，東西蠟主日配月； 太廟月祭朔。 而中祀：四望，南北蠟。 小祀：以四立祭司命、戶、灶、中霤、門、厲、行，以藏冰、出冰祭司寒，及月薦新太廟。 歲通舊祀凡九十二，惟五享後廟焉。 政和中，定《五禮新儀》，以熒惑、陽德觀、帝鼐、坊州朝獻聖祖、應天府祀大火為大祀； 雷神、歷代帝王、寶鼎、牡鼎、蒼鼎、岡鼎、彤鼎、阜鼎、皛鼎、魁鼎、會應廟、慶厲軍祭後土為中祀； 山林川澤之屬，州縣祭社稷、祀風伯雨師雷神為小祀。 餘悉如故。
Later Emperor Shenzong ordered a revision of the great sacrifices: Grand Unity in the east in spring, in the west in autumn, and in the center in summer and winter; the great la sacrifice was divided into four, with the eastern and western la pairing the sun with the moon; the Grand Temple held monthly new-moon sacrifices. Among medium sacrifices: the Four Quarters and the northern and southern la. Minor sacrifices included, at the four seasonal establishments, the Directors of Fate, Door, Stove, Central Drain, Gate, Pestilence, and Road; at the storing and bringing out of ice, the Director of Cold; and monthly presentation of new offerings at the Grand Temple. Annual sacrifices under the old system totaled ninety-two, with only five offerings at the Rear Temple. Under Zhenghe, when the New Protocols of the Five Rites was established, Mars, the Hall of Yang Virtue, Emperor Nai, Fangzhou's presentation to the Sage Ancestor, and Yingtianfu's sacrifice to the Great Fire were classified as great sacrifices; the Thunder Spirit, emperors of successive dynasties, the nine tripods (Treasure, Ox, Azure, Hill, Red, Mound, White, and Chief), the Hall of Responsive Meeting, and Qingli Army's sacrifice to Queen Earth were classified as medium sacrifices; mountains, forests, rivers, and marshes, together with prefectural and county sacrifices to the altars of soil and grain and to the Lords of Wind, Rain, and Thunder, were classified as minor sacrifices. Everything else remained unchanged.
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建炎四年十一月，權工部尚書韓肖胄言：「祖宗以來，每歲大、中、小祀百有餘所，罔敢廢闕。 自車駕巡幸，惟存宗廟之祭，至天地諸神之祀，則廢而不舉。 今國步尚艱，天未悔禍，正宜齋明恭肅，通於神明，而忽大事、棄重禮，恐非所以消弭天災，導迎景貺。 雖小祀未可遍舉，如天地、五帝、日月星辰、社稷，欲詔有司以時舉行。 所有器服並牲牢禮料，恐國用未充，難如舊制，乞下太常寺相度裁定，省繁就簡，庶幾神不乏祀，仰副陛下昭事懷柔、為民求福之意。」 尋命禮部太常裁定：每歲以立春上辛祀谷，孟夏雩祀，季秋及冬至日四祀天，夏至日一祀地，立春上辛日祀感生帝，立冬後祀神州地祇，春秋二社及臘前一日祭太社、太稷。 免牲、玉，權用酒酺，仍依方色奠幣。 以輔臣為初獻，禮官為亞、終獻。
In the eleventh month of Jianyan 4 (1130), Acting Minister of Works Han Xiaozhou said: 'Since the founding of the dynasty, more than a hundred great, medium, and minor sacrifices have been held each year, and none was ever allowed to lapse. Since the imperial court went on the move, only ancestral temple sacrifices have been maintained, while sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, and the various spirits have been abandoned. The realm is still in distress and Heaven has not yet withdrawn its calamity. This is precisely the time for purity, reverence, and solemn communion with the spirits—yet to neglect great sacrifices and abandon weighty rites is surely not the way to dispel heavenly disasters and draw down blessings. Although minor sacrifices cannot all be restored at once, I ask that responsible offices be ordered to perform sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, the Five Thearchs, the sun, moon, stars, and constellations, and the altars of soil and grain on schedule. As for vessels, garments, sacrificial victims, and ritual materials, state revenue may be insufficient to match the old standards. I ask that the Court of Imperial Sacrifices assess what is needed, simplify where possible, and ensure that the spirits are not left without offerings—thereby fulfilling Your Majesty's intent to serve Heaven with clarity, cherish the people, and seek their welfare.' The Ministry of Rites and Court of Imperial Sacrifices were soon ordered to determine the schedule: each year on the first xin day of spring, sacrifice to the grain spirit; in early summer, the rain prayer; in late autumn and on the winter solstice, four sacrifices to Heaven; on the summer solstice, one sacrifice to Earth; on the first xin day of spring, sacrifice to the Life-Generating Thearch; after the start of winter, sacrifice to the Earth of the Divine Land; and in spring and autumn on the two she days and on the day before la, sacrifice at the Grand Altars of Soil and Grain. Sacrificial animals and jade were waived; wine and fermented grain were used instead, while silks were still offered according to directional color. Chief ministers served as first offerers and ritual officials as second and final offerers.
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紹興三年，復大火祀，配以閼伯，以辰、戌出納之月祀之。 二十七年，禮部太常寺言：「每歲大祀三十六，除天地、宗廟、社稷、感生帝、九宮貴神、高禖、文宣王等已行外，其餘並乞寓祠齋宮。」 自紹興以來，大祀所行二十有三而已，至是乃悉復之。
In Shaoxing 3 (1133), sacrifice to the Great Fire was restored, with Que Bo as correlate, performed in the chen and xu months when the star enters and exits its mansion. In the twenty-seventh year (1157), the Ministry of Rites and Court of Imperial Sacrifices reported: 'There are thirty-six great sacrifices each year. Apart from those already performed—Heaven and Earth, ancestral temples, altars of soil and grain, the Life-Generating Thearch, the Nine Palaces Noble Spirit, the High Mei, and King Wenxuan—we request that the remainder be performed by surrogate sacrifice at the Abstinence Palace.' Since the Shaoxing era only twenty-three great sacrifices had been performed; now all were fully restored.
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舊制，郊廟祝文稱嗣皇帝，諸祭稱皇帝。 著作局准《開元禮》全稱帝號。 真宗以兼秘書監李至請，改從舊制。 又諸祭祝辭皆臨事撰進，多違典禮，乃命至增撰舊辭八十四首，為《正辭錄》三卷。 既復命知制誥李宗諤、楊億、直史館陳彭年詳定之，以為永式。 祝版當進署者，並命秘閣吏書，上親署訖，禦寶封給之。 凡先代帝王，祝文止稱廟號。 凡親行大祀，則皇子弟為亞獻、終獻。
Under the old system, suburban and temple prayer texts addressed the 'Heir Emperor,' while other sacrifices used simply 'Emperor.' The Composition Office followed the Kaiyuan Rites in using the emperor's full title. At the request of Li Zhi, concurrent director of the Secretariat, Emperor Zhenzong restored the old usage. Moreover, prayer texts for sacrifices were often composed on the spot and violated canonical ritual. Li Zhi was ordered to compile eighty-four standard prayers into the Correct Prayer Record in three juan. Drafting edict officials Li Zong'e and Yang Yi and Hanlin compiler Chen Pengnian were then ordered to revise them in detail and establish them as the permanent standard. Prayer boards requiring the emperor's signature were written by Secretariat clerks; after the emperor signed them personally, the imperial seal was applied and they were issued. For emperors of former dynasties, prayer texts used only their temple names. When the emperor personally performed a great sacrifice, imperial princes served as second and final offerers.
19
五代以來，宰相為大禮使，太常卿為禮儀使，御史中丞為儀仗使，兵部尚書為鹵簿使，京府尹為橋道頓遞使。 至是，大禮使或用親王，禮儀使專命翰林學士，儀仗、鹵簿使亦或以他官。 太平興國九年，始鑄五使印。 太宗將封泰山，以儀仗使兼判橋道頓遞事。 大中祥符後，凡有大禮，以中書、樞密分為五使，仍特鑄印。
Since the Five Dynasties, the chief minister served as Grand Rite Commissioner, the director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices as Ritual Protocol Commissioner, the censor-in-chief as Ceremonial Arms Commissioner, the minister of war as Insignia Commissioner, and the capital prefect as Bridge-Road and Relay Commissioner. By this time the Grand Rite Commissioner might be an imperial prince, the Ritual Protocol Commissioner was always a Hanlin academician, and the Ceremonial Arms and Insignia commissioners might be other officials. In Taiping Xingguo 9 (984), the seals of the five commissioners were first cast. When Emperor Taizong prepared to perform the feng rites on Mount Tai, the Ceremonial Arms Commissioner was also assigned to oversee bridge, road, and relay affairs. After Dazhong Xiangfu (1008–1016), whenever a great rite was held, the Secretariat and Bureau of Military Affairs divided responsibility for the five commissions, and special seals were cast for the occasion.
20
景祐二年，詔有司：「皇地祇、神州，舊常參官攝事，非所以尊神，自今命兩省。 歲九大祠，宰臣攝事者，參知政事、尚書丞郎、學士奉祠。」 於是參知政事盛度，享太廟已受誓戒，除知樞密院，乃不奉祠。 又故事，三歲一親郊，不郊輒代以他禮，慶賞與郊同，而五使皆以輔臣，不以官之高下。 天聖中，乃以朝林學士領儀仗，御史中丞領鹵簿，始用官次。 又每歲大祀，皆遣台省近臣攝太尉，其後或委他官，太中祥符始復舊制。 又國朝沿唐制，以太尉掌誓戒。 今議太尉三公，非其所任，請以吏部尚書掌誓戒。 詔用左僕射，闕則用右僕射、刑部尚書一員蒞之。
In Jingyou 2 (1035), an edict ordered: 'Sacrifices to August Earth and the Earth of the Divine Land were formerly performed by regular court attendees as surrogates—this does not properly honor the spirits. Henceforth the Two Departments shall be responsible. For the nine annual great sacrifices at which chief ministers served as surrogates, vice grand councilors, ministry directors, and academicians performed the rites.' Vice Grand Councilor Sheng Du had already undertaken abstention for the Grand Temple offering when he was appointed to the Bureau of Military Affairs and therefore could not perform the sacrifice. By precedent, the emperor performed the suburban sacrifice personally every three years; when he did not, another rite was substituted with the same rewards as for the suburban sacrifice. All five commissioners were chief ministers, regardless of rank. During Tiansheng, a Hanlin academician was appointed to head ceremonial arms and the censor-in-chief to head insignia—official rank was used for the first time. Each year a nearby Censorate or Secretariat official served as surrogate Grand Commandant for great sacrifices; later other officials were sometimes appointed, and the old practice was restored only under Dazhong Xiangfu. The dynasty also followed Tang practice in entrusting abstention to the Grand Commandant. It was argued that the Grand Commandant among the Three Excellencies was not suited to this duty and that the minister of personnel should preside over abstention instead. An edict ordered that the left vice director preside; if he was unavailable, the right vice director or the minister of justice would attend.
21
熙寧四年，參知政事王珪言：「南郊，乘輿所過，必勘箭然後出入，此師行之法，不可施於郊祀。」 禮院亦言。 於是，凡車駕出入門皆罷之。 六年，以詳定所請，又罷太廟及宣德、朱雀、南薰諸門勘契。 又皇帝自大次至版位，內臣二人執翟羽前導，號曰「拂翟」，失禮尤甚，請除之。
In Xining 4 (1071), Vice Grand Councilor Wang Gui said: 'At the southern suburb, wherever the imperial carriage passes, tally arrows must be checked before gates may open—this is a military procedure and should not be applied to suburban sacrifice.' The Ritual Court made the same recommendation. Thereupon the practice was abolished at all gates used by the imperial carriage. In the sixth year, at the request of the detailed determination office, tally inspection was also abolished at the Grand Temple and at the Xuande, Zhuque, and Nanxun gates. Moreover, when the emperor proceeded from the great tent to the spirit tablet, two inner attendants led the way holding pheasant feathers in a practice called 'brushing the pheasant'—a grave breach of ritual that was ordered abolished.
22
凡郊壇，值雨雪，即齋宮門望祭殿望拜，祭日不設登歌，祀官以公服行事，中祀以上皆給明衣。
When rain or snow fell at suburban altars, officials performed distant obeisance from the Abstinence Palace gate toward the sacrifice hall; on the sacrifice day elevated song was omitted; sacrifice officials wore court dress; and for medium sacrifices and above, bright garments were provided.
23
開寶元年十一月郊，以燎壇稍遠，不聞告燎之聲，始用爟火，令光明遠照，通於祀所。
At the suburban sacrifice of Kaibao 1 (968), because the pyre altar was distant and the pyre announcement could not be heard, torch fires were introduced so that their light would reach the sacrifice site.
24
又太廟初獻，依開寶例，以玉斝、玉瓚，亞獻以金斝，終獻以瓢斝。 外壇器亦如之。 慶曆中，太常請皇帝獻天地、配帝以匏爵，亞獻以木爵。 親祠太廟，酌以玉斝，亞獻以金斝。 郊廟飲福，皇帝皆以玉斝。 詔飲福，唯用金斝。 亞、終獻，酌以銀斝。 至飲福，尚食奉禦酌上尊酒，投溫器以進。
At the Grand Temple, the first offering followed Kaibao precedent with jade jia and jade guan vessels; the second offering used gold jia, and the final offering gourd jia. The outer altar used the same vessels. During Qingli, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices requested that the emperor use gourd goblets when offering to Heaven and Earth and the correlate thearch, and wooden goblets for the second offering. When the emperor personally sacrificed at the Grand Temple, he poured with jade jia and the second offering used gold jia. For the blessing drink at suburban altars and temples, the emperor always used jade jia. An edict ordered that only gold jia be used for the blessing drink. The second and final offerings used silver jia. For the blessing drink, the Imperial Kitchen served the emperor supreme wine, warming it before presentation.
25
凡常祀，天地宗廟，皆內降禦封香，仍制漆匱，付光祿、司農寺。 每祠祭，命判寺官緘署禮料送祀所。 凡祈告，亦內出香。 遂為定制。 嘉祐中，裴煜請：「大祠悉降禦封香，中、小祠供太府香。 中祠減大祠之半，小祠減中祠之半。 東、西太一宮系大祠，歲太府供香，非時祈請，降禦封香准大祠例。 及皇地祇、五方帝、百神、文宣、武成從配神位，牲牢寡薄。」 呂公著亦論廟牲未備，悉加其數。 元符元年，左司員外郎曾旼言：「周人以氣臭事神，近世易之以香。 按何佟之議，以為南郊、明堂用沉香，本天之質，陽所宜也； 北效用上和香，以地於人親，宜加雜馥。 今令文北極天皇而下皆用濕香，至於眾星之位，香不復設，恐於義未盡。」 於是每陛各設香。 又言：「先儒以為實柴所祀者無玉，郐鍮燎所祀者無幣。 今太常令式，眾星皆不用幣，蓋出於此。 然考《典瑞》、《玉人》之官，皆曰'圭璧以祀日月星辰'。 則實柴所祀非無玉矣。 郐鍮燎無幣，恐或未然。」 至是遂命眾星隨其方色用幣。
For all regular sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, and the ancestral temples, imperially sealed incense was issued from within the palace, placed in lacquer cases, and entrusted to the Courts of Imperial Entertainments and Agriculture. For each sacrifice, the acting director of the court was ordered to seal and sign the ritual materials and deliver them to the sacrifice site. Incense for prayer announcements was also issued from within the palace. This became established practice. In Jiayou, Pei Yu requested: 'Let all great sacrifices receive imperially sealed incense; let medium and minor sacrifices be supplied with incense from the Imperial Treasury. Medium sacrifices received half the incense of great sacrifices, and minor sacrifices half that of medium sacrifices. The eastern and western Grand Unity Palaces ranked as great sacrifices and received annual incense from the Imperial Treasury; for unscheduled prayers, imperially sealed incense was issued according to the great-sacrifice standard. Sacrificial victims were inadequate for August Earth, the Five Directional Thearchs, the hundred spirits, and the accompanying positions of Kings Wenxuan and Wucheng.' Lü Gongzhu also argued that temple victims were insufficient, and their numbers were all increased. In Yuanfu 1 (1098), Left Office outer courtier Zeng Min said: 'The Zhou served the spirits with the odors of burning offerings; recent times have replaced this with incense. Following He Tongzhi's argument, agarwood was used at the southern suburb and Bright Hall because it is the substance of Heaven and appropriate to yang; the northern suburb uses superior blended incense, since Earth is close to humanity and mixed fragrances are appropriate. Current regulations require moist incense from the Pole Star Thearch downward, yet no incense is set out for the host of stars—this may not fully accord with ritual principle.' Incense was then set out at each terrace level. He also said: 'Earlier scholars held that sacrifices offered on solid firewood altars required no jade, and those offered by Zheng and You burning required no silks. The current Court of Imperial Sacrifices regulations provide no silks for the host of stars—probably deriving from this view. Yet the offices of Regalia and Jade Workers both state that 'gui and bi are used to sacrifice to the sun, moon, stars, and constellations.' Sacrifices on solid firewood altars were not without jade after all. The claim that Zheng and You burning required no silks may also be incorrect.' The host of stars were then ordered to use silks according to their directional colors.
26
慶曆三年，禮官余靖言：「祈穀、祀感生帝同日，其禮當異，不可皆用四圭有邸，色尚赤。」 乃定祈穀、明堂蒼璧尺二寸，感生帝四圭有邸，朝日日圭、夕月月圭皆五寸，從祀神州無玉，報社稷兩圭有邸，祈不用玉。 明年，《祀儀》成，比《通禮》多所更定雲。 嘉祐中，集賢校理江休復言：「《六典》大祀養牲，在滌三月，袷享日近，已逾其期，而牲牢未供。 乞依漢、唐置廩犧局。」 下禮院議：歲大小祀幾百數，而牲盛之事，儲養無素，宜如休復言。 乃置廩犧局，設牢預養，籍田舊地，種植粢盛，納於神倉，以待祭祀之用。
In Qingli 3 (1043), ritual official Yu Jing said: 'Prayer for grain and sacrifice to the Life-Generating Thearch fall on the same day; their rites should differ and cannot all use four gui with base, with red as the favored color.' It was then determined: prayer for grain and the Bright Hall use an azure bi of one foot two inches; the Life-Generating Thearch four gui with base; morning sun and evening moon gui of five inches each; the accompanying sacrifice to the Divine Land has no jade; reporting to soil and grain uses two gui with base; and prayer offerings use no jade. The following year the Sacrificial Protocols was completed, with many revisions from the Comprehensive Rites. In Jiayou, Academician collator Jiang Xiufu said: 'The Six Institutions require that victims for great sacrifices be kept in the pen for three months; the joint offering is near and the period has passed, yet victims have not been supplied. He requested that a Victim Stables Bureau be established as in Han and Tang.' The Ritual Court deliberated: each year there are several hundred great and minor sacrifices, yet victims are not prepared in advance; Xiufu's proposal should be adopted. A Victim Stables Bureau was established with pens for advance rearing; grain was planted on the old ceremonial fields, stored in the spirit granary, and reserved for sacrifices.
27
元豐六年，詳定禮文所言：「本朝昊天上帝、皇地祇、太祖位各設三牲，非尚質貴誠之義。 請親祠圜丘、方澤正配位皆用犢，不設羊豕俎及鼎匕，有司攝事亦如之。 又簠、簋、尊、豆皆非陶器，及用龍杓。 請改用陶，以椫為杓。 又請南北郊先行升煙瘞血之禮，至薦奠畢，即如舊儀，於壇坎燔瘞牲幣。 又北郊皇地祇及神州地祇，當為坎瘞，今乃建壇燔燎，非是。 請今祭地祝版、牲幣並瘞於坎。 又《祀儀》：惟昊天上帝、皇地祇、高禖燔瘞犢首，自感生帝、神州地祇而下皆不燔瘞牲體，殊不應典禮。 請自今昊天上帝、感生帝皆燔牲首以報陽； 皇地祇、神州、太社、太稷，凡地之祭，皆瘞牲之左髀以報陰。 薦享太廟亦皆升首於室。」
In the sixth year of Yuanfeng (1083), the detailed ritual text stated: 'In our dynasty August Heaven, August Earth, and Taizu each receive three victims—not the principle of valuing simplicity and sincerity. It was requested that when the emperor personally sacrifices at the Circular Mound and Square Pond, principal correlate positions use only calves, without sheep and pig trays or tripod ladles; surrogates should follow the same rule. Moreover, fu, gui, zun, and dou vessels are not pottery, and a dragon ladle is used. It was requested to use pottery instead and birch for the ladles. It was also requested that at the northern and southern suburbs the rites of raising smoke and burying blood precede the offerings; when presentation is complete, victims and silks should be burned and buried in the altar pit as before. Moreover, at the northern suburb August Earth and the Earth of the Divine Land should be buried in pits; building altars and burning offerings there is incorrect. It was requested that for earth sacrifices prayer boards, victims, and silks all be buried in pits. Moreover, the Sacrificial Protocols provide that only August Heaven, August Earth, and the High Mei burn and bury calf heads; from the Life-Generating Thearch and Earth of the Divine Land downward no victim bodies are burned or buried—this greatly departs from canonical ritual. Henceforth August Heaven and the Life-Generating Thearch should burn victim heads to report to yang; August Earth, the Divine Land, and the Grand Altars of Soil and Grain—for all earth sacrifices the left thigh of the victim should be buried to report to yin. Offerings at the Grand Temple should also raise the head in the inner chamber.'
28
又言：「古者祭祀用牲，有豚解，有體解，薦腥則解為十一體。 今親祠南郊，正配位之俎，不殊左右胖，不分貴賤，無豚解、體解之別。 請郊廟薦腥，解其牲兩髀、兩肩、兩肋並脊為七體，左右胖俱用。 其載於俎，以兩髀在端，兩肩、兩肋次之，脊居中，皆進末。 至薦熟，沉肉于湯，止用右胖。 髀不升俎，前後肱骨離為三，曰肩、臂、臑。 後髀股骨去體離為二，曰肫、胳。 前脊謂之正脊，次直謂之脡脊，闊於脡脊謂之橫脊，皆二骨。 肋骨最後二為短肋，旁中二為正肋，最前二為代肋。 若升俎，則肩、臂臑在上端，膊、胳在下端，脊、肋在中央。 其俎之序，則肩、臂、臑、正脊、脡脊、橫脊、代肋、長肋、短肋、膊、胳凡十一體，而骨體升俎，進神坐前如少牢禮，皆進下。 其牲體各預以半為腥俎，半為熟俎，腸胃膚俎亦然。」
He also said: 'In antiquity sacrifices used victims with pig dismemberment or body dismemberment; raw offerings were divided into eleven parts. At the emperor's personal southern suburb sacrifice, the principal correlate trays do not distinguish left and right sides, noble and humble, or pig versus body dismemberment. It was requested that for suburban and temple raw offerings the victim be divided into two thighs, two shoulders, two ribs, and the spine—seven parts in all—with both left and right sides used. On the tray the two thighs go at the ends, shoulders and ribs next, the spine in the center—all presented end foremost. For cooked offerings the meat is steeped in broth and only the right side is used. The thighs do not go on the tray; the front and rear arm bones are separated into shoulder, arm, and shank. The rear thigh and femur are separated from the body into shank and rib-flap. The front spine is the main spine, the next section the thigh spine, and the wider section the cross spine—each of two bones. The last two ribs are short ribs, the middle two on the side are main ribs, and the foremost two are substitute ribs. On the tray, shoulder, arm, and shank go at the upper end, rib-flap and shank-flap at the lower end, spine and ribs in the center. The tray order is shoulder, arm, shank, main spine, thigh spine, cross spine, substitute rib, long rib, short rib, rib-flap, and shank-flap—eleven parts; bone parts are presented before the spirit seat as in the Lesser Penance rite, all lower end first. Each victim is divided in advance: half for the raw tray and half for the cooked tray; intestine, stomach, and skin trays follow the same rule.'
29
又請：「親祠飲福酒訖，仿《儀禮》'佐食摶黍'之說，命太官令取忝於簋，摶以授祝，祝受以豆，以嘏乎皇帝而無嘏辭。 又本朝親祠南郊，習儀於壇所，明堂習儀於大慶殿，皆近於瀆。 伏請南郊習儀於青城，明堂習儀於尚書省，以遠神為恭。 又賜胙：三師，三公，侍中，中書令，門下、中書侍郎，尚書左、右丞，知樞密、同知院事，禮儀、儀仗、鹵簿、頓遞使，牛羊豕肩、臂、臑各五； 太子三師、三少，特進，觀文大學士、學士，御史大夫，六尚書，金紫、銀青光祿大夫，節度使，資政殿大學士，觀文翰林資政端明龍圖天章寶文承旨、侍講、侍讀，學士，左右散騎常侍，尚書列曹侍郎，龍圖、天章、寶文直學士，光祿、正議、通議大夫，御史中丞，太子賓客、詹事，給事中，中書舍人，節度觀察留後，左右諫議，龍圖、天章、寶文待制，太中、中大夫，秘書、殿中丞，太常、宗正卿，牛豕肩、臂、臑各三； 入內內侍省押班、副都知，光祿卿，監禮官，博士，牛羊脊、肋各三； 太祝，奉禮，司奠彝，郊社、太廟、宮闈令，監牲牢、供應祠事內官，羊髀、膊、胳三； 應執事、職掌、樂工、門幹、宰手、馭馬、馭車人，並均給脾、肫、胳、觳及腸、胃、膚之類。」
It was also requested: 'After the blessing wine at personal sacrifice, following the Ceremonial Rites account of the assistant kneading millet, the chief cook should take millet from the grain vessel, knead it, and give it to the invoker; the invoker receives it in a dou and offers blessing to the emperor without a blessing formula. Moreover, personal southern suburb sacrifice rehearses at the altar site and the Bright Hall at the Great Celebration Hall—both too close to the spirits and irreverent. I request that southern suburb rehearsal be held at Qingcheng and Bright Hall rehearsal at the Department of State Affairs, keeping a respectful distance from the spirits. Sacrificial meat is granted as follows: to the Three Preceptors, Three Excellencies, palace attendants, secretaries of the Secretariat, vice directors of the Secretariat, left and right vice directors of the Ministries, Bureau of Military Affairs directors and vice directors, and the ritual protocol, ceremonial arms, insignia, and relay commissioners—ox, sheep, and pig shoulder, arm, and shank, five each; to the crown prince's three preceptors and three mentors, specially advanced officials, palace academician grandees and academicians, the censor-in-chief, the six ministers, grandees of splendid virtue, military commissioners, the grand academician of the Hall for Cherishing Governance, and the various palace and Hanlin academician titles, left and right regular palace attendants, ministry vice directors, dragon diagram and related academicians, grandees, the censor-in-chief, crown prince guests and mentors, drafting edict officials, military observation deputies, remonstrators, related academicians in attendance, grand and middle grandees, secretariat and palace directors, and directors of imperial sacrifices and imperial clansmanship—ox and pig shoulder, arm, and shank, three each; to inner-palace eunuch squad leaders and deputy directors, the director of imperial entertainments, supervising ritual officials, and doctors—ox and sheep spine and ribs, three each; to grand invokers, ritual attendants, directors of ritual vessels, directors of suburban altars, grand temple, and palace gates, and eunuchs supervising victims and sacrifices—sheep thigh, rib-flap, and shank-flap, three each; all attending officials, duty officers, musicians, gate stewards, butchers, and horse and carriage handlers receive equal shares of spleen, shank, rib-flap, shell, and intestine, stomach, and skin portions.'