A Textual Research Of The Tangzi Sacrifice Ceremony In The Court Of The Qing Dynasty

Tangzi(堂子) is the place that the Manchu and their ancestor Jurchen put the memorial tablets and archives to sacrifice the sky, gods and ancestors. Tangzi Sacrifice is the important component of the Manchu Shamanic Sacrifice Ceremonies. Tangzi Sacrifice changed from a tribal sacrifice to a state sacrifice when the Jurchen changed from tribal to state, and it became the important court shamanic sacrifice ceremony of the Qing Dynasty. Some scholars have studied the issue from many relevant perspectives, such as religion, political culture, folklore, and have gotten fruitful achievements. This paper hold the opinion that the change of Tangzi Sacrifice is the epitome which from the custom to ceremony ,and the process is also the embodiment of the conflict and convergence between Manchu cultures and Confucian culture, Mongolian cultures. Once, the old customs of the Liao and Jin Dynasty became a bridge between custom and ceremony. Manchu hold a sense of belonging, taking the Jin Dynasty creators as their ancestors, at the same time, reduced the resistance when carried out the institutions.From the point of penetration of the relationship between the custom and the ceremony, synthesizes the religion, political culture and folklore, study the specific ritual ceremonies, the gods, the Shaman gods speeches and the change of Tangzi's functions, explain the change from custom to ceremony, explore the interrelations of the old customs and the state. The ceremony originates from the custom and summarizes and upgrades it, and then adapts the political and social life under the framework of the state with normative actions and systems.The change of rituals from simple and relax to complex and exquisite caused by the absorption of central plain's etiquette culture. The change of gods in the Tangzi by the state power led to the old custom's reformations, and remain of some old gods became the evidence that the state system was influenced by the old customs. Although the sacrifice only remains symbolic ritual in the framework of state, this symbolic ritual is the embodiment of the Manchu ethnic identity in shamanic sacrifice. Tangzi Sacrifice changed from a clan style to a state style in the process of the Jurchen changed from a tribal to a state.Aisin Giorro clan became the ruler, the Tangzi Sacrifice returned to the clan sacrifice, finally became the family sacrifice in the imperial family. The change of the Tangzi Sacrifice in the Qing Court Shamanic Sacrifice has reflected the process of the Manchu's formation, development, expansion and assimilation with other ethnic groups. The changes of Shamanism belief closely related with the political situation and the rise and fall of the national power. Emperors of the Qing Dynasty seek the blessing towards the ancestral spirits when they facing an uncertain future, they turned their attentions to the reality problems when they gradually ruled the whole state solidly. They reformed and standardized the Shamanism which has been the Manchu's culture foundation to adapt the new situation that Manchu has become the ruler of China.