A Study On The Official Rain Praying Activities In The Northern Song Dynasty

Praying for rain is an important sacrificial and ceremonial activity in ancient China,and it played an important role in the ancient society,which was dominated by agriculture.Through a series of discussions and studies,I have a further understanding of the activities of praying for rain in the Song Dynasty.Praying for rain’s role in the political environment and the handling of drought issues and the exposed drawbacks have a certain enlightenment for today’s agricultural production,and can be used to have a deeper understanding of the political and cultural environment at that time.This article is divided into five chapters.The first chapter is an overview of the official activities of praying for rain in the Northern Song Dynasty and the reasons for the frequent rain praying.First,it gives a general overview of the official activities of praying for rain in the Northern Song Dynasty,and analyzes the reasons for the frequent rain praying in the Northern Song Dynasty from the aspects of environment,politics,and culture.The second chapter is a general overview of the official rain prayer system.The first is the regulations on the big,middle,and small sacrifices of praying for rain in the official ritual code system.Secondly,it introduces the various rain praying methods uniformly promulgated by the imperial court.Finally,it discusses the appointment and purpose of temples and gods in Song Dynasty.The third chapter discusses their rain-praying activities and the political connotation behind them starting from the actors praying for rain.The emperor presided over the content of praying for rain and wanted to show the sacred power of the monarchy,and to create an image of pro-government,loving and caring for the people.Officials praying for rain are divided into central and local officials.Most of the central officials appointed the court to pray for rain to solve the drought problem or engage in political games by praying for rain.Finally,it discusses the requirements of local officials praying for rain as a work content and dealing with the situation that praying for rain is not effective.The fourth chapter is the influence of Buddhism and Taoism on praying for rain.Discuss the spread of Buddhism and Taoism,their influence in Song Dynasty,and the influence of Buddhism and Taoism factors on praying for rain.The fifth chapter discusses the characteristics of the official rain prayer activities in the Northern Song Dynasty.