Rituals And Cult On Mount Tai During The Sung Dynasty

Sung dynasty in Chinese history was a landmark historical period. Compared with previous generations, state rituals and cult on Mount Tai in Sung Dynasty emerged some new characteristics. In the state cult, Mount Tai and other Yue Du(岳渎)was adjusting the climate, the guarantee good crop weather function, simultaneously was also the political rule symbol. Emperor Zhen Zong(宋真宗)sealed Five Yu(e五岳)emperor, raising the status of the mountain gods, and in ritual offerings. As various types of natural disasters, the government compared to Yue Du(岳渎)ritual, built in the capital of Altar of Five Yue Du(五方岳镇海渎坛), this was not by the previous generation.The cult of Mount Tai in China originated long ago, before the Sung dynasty, temples of Mount Tai had occurred in some places, but not much volume. Emperor Zhen Zong(宋真宗)'s FengShan(封禅)enhanced the mystery of Mount Tai, expanded the cult of Mount Tai. At the same time, the government had to promote awareness of temples of Mount Tai built around the palace, causes temples of Mount Tai to distribute presents one nationwide tendency very quickly. Generally speaking, temples of Mount Tai distribution of the South, the North less. Temples of Mount Tai built (or rebuilt), covering the court, scholars and ordinary people various social strata, reflecting the cult of Mount Tai popularity of in-depth.Compared with the previous generation, temple fair of Mount Tai would have been relatively prosperous, the temple fair would be in addition to Mount Tai,to be held at other palace temples of Mount Tai also very popular. Incense Societies of Mount Tai had emerged, Compares with the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Incense Societies of Mount Tai in Sung dynasty was immature.Various sectors of the community had different interpretations of the cult of Mount Tai. The emperor according to rituals of state sacrificial offering Mount Tai, was to be regarded as symbol of political domination, the state to protect the god.Scholars's attitude was complicated on the cult of Mount Tai. They accepted the Confucian classics discourse, Mount Tai in the recognition of national awareness and opposed any form of cross-border gods. At the same time, the cult of Mount Tai had became a popular belief, there were many temples of Mount Tai in different places,scholars had to face up to this reality, efforts by God of Mount Tai to explain the effectiveness of the gods cross the border. As the government and the local people among the middle class, the scholars used the sense of national awareness to transform the faith of local people, attempting to establish a line with the national interests of the moral order.The cult of Mount Tai of ordinary people was different from national consciousness, also different from the classical scholar discourse, but a closer to the lives of their own native concepts. The cult of Mount Tai of the ordinary people established as a beautiful natural ability on the regulation of climate, while its rule of ghosts, Habitat-Brief introduction to reassure the public more fascinating. Southern Sung Dynasty, the war frequently, inability to protect the national security of the place, God of Mount Tai successed to transform as"the place protection god".Around the building (or rebuilding) temples of Mount Tai,to a large extent, stems from personal life and the protection of local interests.In the Sung dynasty, the God of Mount Tai as a bureaucrat (or king) image was generally accepted, People awareness, the God of Mount Tai was with a boundless Brief introduction, and his subordinates had a great many of God. The God of Mount Tai to seek an appeal, the simulation of the world was the approval of the judiciary. However, the God of Mount Tai and the exchanges did not need some kind of intermediary through the media. The pilgrimage, the offering, prayed personally was the most common way. Dongyue God in the administration of justice, the proceedings become more simplified, shorter length of proceedings, in line with the ideals of justice Song mode. In the Sung Dynasty, the God of Mount Tai and people the exchange pattern presented one kind of quite complex phenomenon, was also not pure"the bureaucrat model", was also not"individual model", but a mixture of both.