| Liao Sacrifice is a very important sacrifice in the Shang Dynasty,and it has certain connections with farming,military affairs,praying for blessings and avoiding disasters.This article takes the Liao Sacrifice of the Shang Dynasty as the research object,and deeply discusses the basic elements,purpose,connotation,archaeological remains,and historical evolution of the Liao Sacrifice in the Shang Dynasty.The first chapter discusses the basic elements of the Liao Sacrifice in the Shang Dynasty,including the basic issues such as the object of sacrifice,the chief priest,the location of the sacrifice,and the accompanying sacrifice.The objects of sacrifice for Liao Sacrifice are quite extensive,including ancestor gods,old courtier gods,nature gods and four-sided gods,but the main ones are ancestor gods and nature gods.The chief priests include the king of Shang,nobles with the same surname and female nobles.The king of Shang is the main priest of the sacrifice,and nobles with the same surname and female nobles generally hold the sacrifice under the appointment of the king of Shang.Depending on whether the Liao Sacrifice is held in the ancestral temple,the location of the sacrifice can be divided into internal sacrificial activities and external sacrificial activities.The internal sacrificial activities of the merchants include the ancestral temple,the gate of the ancestral temple,and the Yi,while the external sacrificial activities include specific mountains,rivers,places,Some dependent country and so on.The names of the accompanying sacrifices of the Liao Sacrifice include Jiu Sacrifice,You Sacrifice,etc.which are mainly to strengthen the worship of the gods by offering wine and persuading food during the ritual.The second chapter discusses the purpose,nature and connotation of Liao Sacrifice in Shang Dynasty.The purpose of Liao Sacrifice is mainly reflected in three aspects.The purpose of the agricultural aspect is to pray for rain and stop rain and receive grain.The purpose of the military aspect is to report the military situation and pray for the ancestors to bless the victory of the war.The nature of Liao Sacrifice is a kind of fire sacrifice held by merchants to place sacrifices on firewood as a sacrificial ceremony to pray to ancestor gods.Liao Sacrifice is not only a way for merchants to communicate with gods,but also a way for the gods to enjoy the sacrifices.The third chapter discusses the similarities and differences between Liao Sacrifice and other fire sacrifices in Shang Dynasty.This chapter compares the Liao Sacrifice in the Shang Dynasty with Jiao Sacrifice,Qu Sacrifice,and Ci Sacrifice from the perspectives of the objects of sacrifice,the purpose of the sacrifice,and the sacrifices,and explores the similarities and differences between the Liao Sacrifice and these fire sacrifices.Liao Sacrifice is similar to these fire sacrifices in that they are both fire sacrifices and both have the purpose of praying for rain.The biggest difference from Jiao Sacrificeis that they mainly use human animals as sacrifices,and the biggest difference from Qu Sacrifice is that they do not need sacrifices,the difference from Ci Sacrifice offering is small,and the status of these fire sacrifices cannot be compared with that of Liao Sacrifice.The fourth chapter discusses the representative relics of suspected Liao Sacrifice in the early,middle and late Shang Dynasty.These relics are the "buried stone" relics of Zhengzhou Shangcheng,the "burning earth pit" relics of Xiaoshuangqiao,and the relics of Group C of Xiaotunbeidi,through these relics,it can be reflected that merchants sometimes built walls as fixed places for Liao Sacrifice.The sacrifices for burning sacrifices are not only whole animals,but also Probably only part of an animal’s body.The fifth chapter discusses the similarities and differences between Liao Sacrifice in Shang Dynasty and Liao Sacrifice in Zhou Dynasty.The Liao Sacrifice was institutionalized and proceduralized in the Zhou Dynasty.Zhou people incorporated the Liao Sacrifice into the ritual of offering prisoners,and later added the meaning of respect and humility to the Liao Sacrifice,and incorporated it into the ritual of offering sacrifices to heaven in the suburbs.Compared with the Shang Dynasty,the scope of sacrificial offerings in the Zhou Dynasty was greatly narrowed.In the early Western Zhou Dynasty,the objects of Liao Sacrifice were mainly the ancestors and the heavens of the Zhou people.In the late Zhou Dynasty,the gods became the main objects of the Liao Sacrifice.It is no longer praying for rain,but asking for blessings from the ancestors.The status of the sacrifice has also changed from an independent and grand sacrificial ceremony to one of the rituals of offering prisoners and offering sacrifices to heaven.In comparison,the status of Liao Sacrifice in the Zhou Dynasty declined greatly. |
