The Research On The Literature About Establishment Or Destruction Of Ancestral Temple In Han Dynasty

In ancient China,ancestral temple was not only a place for ancestral worship, but also the symbol of dynastic succession,which occupied an important position in the sacrificial rites of the state, and was an important foundation of the national etiquette system.In the period of two Han Dynasties,temple ritual of Zhou Dynasty recorded in the confucian classics was often regarded as gist for authority basis in formulating the state system of the establishment or destruction of ancestral temple.Due to the influence of times environment, such as politics, economy and reality, defendant’s identity,or different point of view of literature source, or understanding of reference about the same classic differences, the argumentation of the establishment and destruction of ancestral temple reached the peak.With the development of the trend of the times,the state system of the establishment and destruction of ancestral temple of two Han Dynasties constantly evolves in the process of confucian scholars researching the classic and clarifing the temple system.There were 37 references about the establishment and destruction of temple in the Western Han Dynasty by the research.In the early western Han Dynasty, the temple system was at random and chaotic. The literature was less, and only about the establishment of temple.The temple literature mainly reflected in the official documents of Jia Yi, Shen Tujia,Dong Zhongshu and others.While the literature was scattered, it began to sow the seeds for the discussion of temple in the period of Emperor Yuan. In the period of Emperor Yuan of Han,along with the establishment of Confucianism in the ideological and political dominance, Confucian scholars began to discuss and reform the system of ancestral temple in view of different positions and chaos of temple in the early Western Han Dynasty according to the Confucian classics.The discussion centered on two aspects:the destruction temples of prefecture and confirmation of the affinity-disaffinity relationship in the destruction of temple,while the latter was the core issue of discussion.The discunssion was started by Yi Feng,proposed formally by Gong Yu,guided by Wei Xuancheng、Kuang Heng、Kong Guang、Liu Xin 、Shi Dan and so on in the case of the Emperor Yuan to grasp the overall situation.It was finished after emperor “Yuan、Cheng 、Ai、Ping”for decades,which was in twists and turns、changed again and again,because it tried to obtain the balance between benevolenc and righteousness, emotions and reason,theory and reality.It was divided into three stages about the evolution of the temple in the Western Han Dynasty.In the period of Gao Emperor and Hui Emperor,the characteristics were about establishing temples by the successors for the late Emperor and in prefecture;Wen、Jing、Wu、Zhao、Xuan Emperor,the period characteristics were about establishing temples alive、beside the mausoleum and in refecture,while the temples in prefecture began to be questioned.After the period of Yuan and Cheng Emperor,it was mainly about “the destruction temples of prefecture” and “confirmation of the affinity-disaffinity relationship in the destruction of temple”.The temples in prefecture were abolished completely in the period of Yuan Emperor,while the system of destruction of temple was uncertainty and repeating.Eastern Han Dynasty which was although really created,naming midway was innovated while inheriting the ancestral temple system in late Western Han Dynasty.There were 11 references about the establishment and destruction of temple in the Eastern Han Dynasty,parts of which were recorded in different version.The references mainly concentrated in Jianwu nineteen and twenty-six years in the period of Guang Wu Emperor. It mainly discussed the establishment or destruction of temples of the emperors of Western Han Dynasty and progenitors of Eastern Han Dynasty under Zhang Chun’s and Dai She’s lead.The references were less from Ming Emperor to Ling Emperor period,which mainly embodied in posthumous edicts of Ming、Zhang、Shun Emperor and Zhou Ju’s annotation of the temple system based on confucian classics.It focued on “Discussion about destruction of temple of Cai Yong”,the seven temples problem which was different in the literature records.It was divided into three stages about the evolution of the temple in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the period of Guang Wu Emperor, it developed with the temples of the emperors of Western Han Dynasty and dominated by the relationship of Guang Wu Emperor;From Ming Emperor to Ling Emperor period,the Emperors didn’t establish temples alive for himself、Ming Emperor establish temple for Guang Wu Emperor、Ming Emperor and the successors didn’t establish temples for himself and carry out the law of “no temple”.Then,the “different rooms in one system of ancestral temple” was put into practice.In period of Xian Emperor,it began to reform the temple system since the Ming Emperor in Eastern Han Dynasty against the ancient ritual under the Cai Yong’s sponsorship.