| In general,the people of Yin Dynasty carried out the "Yu"(御)sacrifices in order to eliminate the diseases and disasters that had already occurred.Or eliminate diseases and disasters that may occur but have not yet occurred.The former belongs to "Yu sth.that has arrived" and the latter belongs to "Yu sth.that has not arrived".There are 17 kinds of diseases and disasters involved in the Oracle bone inscriptions of "Yu sth.that has arrived",which mainly include five categories: diseases,、 、plague and flood.The reason for the "Yu"(御)sacrifices reflected in the Oracle inscriptions is generally an event.Such as rich harvest,hunting,building,sacrifice,travel,dreams,childbirth and so on.In addition,the people of Yin dynasty will also perform the "Yu"(御)sacrifices because they are not sure whether they have diseases.There are natural gods and ancestral gods in the sacrifices of "Yu sth.that has not arrived".There are only ancestor gods in the sacrifices of "Yu sth.that has arrived",more than 19,and there are single sacrifices and combined sacrifices.Especially for the epidemic prevention in Appendix 3 of Tun,there are many combined sacrificial objects and high sacrifice specifications.Comparing the oracle bone inscriptions of the "Yu sth.that has not arrived" family with the oracle bone inscriptions of the "Yu sth.that has arrived" family,they share a common sacrifice named Chang(鬯).The common sacrifice is Lao().The common method of sacrifice is Mao(卯).However,the former sacrificed less kinds and quantities than the latter.There are three kinds of names of accompanying sacrifices,Ce(),You(又)and You((?)),and there are other names of sacrifices in the Oracle bone inscriptions of "Yu sth.that has not arrived",such as You()、Sui(岁)、You()、Guan().The objects of the "Yu"(御)sacrifices are natural gods such as river,Xi(兮),Yue(岳),Tu(土)and sun,and ancestor gods such as male ancestors,kings,female ancestors and mothers,and ghosts of their peers and younger generations such as women and Zi(子).Generally,the people of Yin dynasty will predict in advance whether or not to hold the "Yu"(御)sacrifices,and will consciously choose the object of sacrifice.Some Oracle inscriptions only ask about one god,while others choose two or more gods to divine.This kind of presupposition in advance shows that the scope of authority of the gods in the Yin Dynasties had certain norms,and the people of Yin dynasty made choices according to this norm.Among the Oracle bone inscriptions on the"Yu"(御)sacrifices,single sacrifice Oracle inscriptions are the most common,and there are many ancestor gods involved in a wide range,including the male ancestors,kings,female ancestors and ghosts of the fathers,the mothers and the Zi(子).Dading(大丁)does not appear in the Oracle inscriptions of single sacrifice,but only in the combined sacrifice,and other ancestor gods all appear in the Oracle inscriptions of single sacrifice.Combination sacrifice is generally a kind of sacrifice method chosen because of the great events or the high status of prayers.The sacrifices used are of high specifications,and there are 41 combinations of sacrificial objects.It can be divided into the following nine categories:association category,two-position juxtaposition category,three-position juxtaposition category,four-position juxtaposition category,eight-position juxtaposition category,Shi(示)category,range category,from-Shangjia category and other categories.The method of using sacrifices only refers to the tribute method used in Oracle inscriptions,in which only the name of the sacrifice is "Yu"(御)and the sacrifice is purely "Yu"(御).There are six kinds of human sacrifices: Fu()、Qiang,Minister,Concubine,Fa(伐),and Zhuo(叕).Among them,the human sacrifices Qiang is often used with Lao().The combined sacrificial method refers to the method of offering sacrifices after the names of sacrifices in Oracle inscriptions,thus forming a special combined form of tribute.There are more kinds of sacrifices in the method of combined sacrifices,and seven kinds of sacrifices are added,including,,Zhi(廌),fish,Nan(南),white cattle,and black stallion.Sacrifices made by the simple method of sacrifice are directly used for the "Yu"(御)sacrifices,while those made by the combined method of sacrifice are directly used for the names of accompanying sacrifices,which are subordinate to the "Yu"(御)sacrifices.The names of the accompanying sacrifices in the Oracle inscriptions on the "Yu"(御)sacrifices are eleven kinds.The "Yu"(御)sacrifices and single sacrifice names are the most common.Tuo()and You()have not been matched with Yu alone in the same Oracle,nor will they appear alone in related words in the same edition.It shows that in the "Yu"(御)sacrifices activities,there will be other sacrificial ceremonies when using the Tuo()sacrifices and the You()sacrifices.There is no sacrificial name alliance,telling,and Xue()in the related words in the same edition.It is more common for the "Yu"(御)sacrifices to be accompanied by two names of sacrifices.There are seven kinds of situations in which the "Yu"(御)sacrifices are accompanied by more than three kinds of names.The word "Going"(往)in the sacrificial Oracle has nothing to do with eliminating diseases and disasters.Whether "Lei"(頪)is related to eliminating diseases and disasters is still uncertain.Sacrifices similar to the "Yu"(御)sacrifices in Oracle Bone Inscriptions of Yin Dynasty include Wei(卫),Ning(宁)and so on. |
