Sacrifice to Heaven

Sacrifice to Heaven (Chinese: 祭天; pinyin: Jìtiān) is an Asian religious practice originating in the worship of Shangdi in China. In Ancient Chinese society, nobles of all levels constructed altars for Heaven. At first, only nobles could worship Shangdi[1][2] but later beliefs changed and everyone could worship Shangdi.

A festival performed at the Temple of Heaven
Sacrifice to Heaven
Chinese name
Chinese祭天
Traditional Chinese祭天
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetLễ tế giao
Lễ tế Nam Giao
Chữ Hán禮祭郊
禮南郊
Korean name
Hangul제천
Hanja祭天
Japanese name
Kanji祭天
Hiraganaさいてん

Modern Confucian churches make this practice available to all believers and it continues in China without a monarch.

It has been influential on areas outside of China including Japan, Vietnam, and Korea.

The Jì (祭) in the Chinese name is the same Je as in Jesa.

History

It first originated in the Shang dynasty.[3] During the Zhou dynasty, Sacrifice to Heaven and Fen Shan, were privileges enjoyed exclusively by the Son of Heaven due to Shendao teachings.[1][2]

The rites have been performed at the Temple of Heaven since the Ming dynasty and are still performed today[4]

Some scholars believe that Qing involvement with the ritual standardized Manchu rituals with the book of Manchu rites, but this is unsupported[5]

Since the early years of the Republic of China, Kang Youwei's Confucian movement advocated the separation of Religious Confucianism from the state bureaucracy, allowing everyone to Sacrifice to Heaven according to the Christian model.[6]

In the 21st century, it is done without a monarch.[7] It is sometimes done in other locations aside from the Temple of Heaven, such as in Fujian in 2015[8]

In Korea
"Jecheon (sacrifice)" redirects here. For the etymologically unrelated municipality, see Jecheon.

In Korea, Sacrifice to Heaven is read as Jecheon (Hanja: 祭天). It is also identified with the word yeonggo 영고 (迎鼓) and has a history linked to Korean shamanism, in addition to Chinese influence[9]

In Buyeo, during the yeonggo festival which was held in December,[10] prisoners would be released and judgments given. It was used as a political tool.[11] in a manner similar to a jubilee.

These ceremonies were typically characterized by communal and thanksgiving aspects[9][12] and in Buyeo, it was done after the harvest[12]

Dongye

Mucheon (舞天), a religious ritual and a comprehensive art form of the Dongye, was an event held during the first month of the lunar calendar (October) in which offerings were made to the heavens and people climbed high mountains to have fun. According to a commentary called the Touyuan Booklet (兎園策府), included in the Dunhuang manuscripts during the Tang Dynasty in China, Mucheon was a custom in Gojoseon that was held in October.[13]

Goryeo

During the Goryeo Dynasty, there was a Jecheon event called Eight Gwanhae. It was a successor to Silla's Eight Gwanhae, an event where sacrifices were made to the spirits of all things and the heavens.

There was also an event called Weonguje (圜丘祭), which came from China. According to the Goryeo History, it was practiced from the time of Goryeo Seongjong,[14] and it is said that the Weongudan (圜丘壇) was built to offer sacrifices to the sky. As a place to offer sacrifices to the heavens, Weongudan was repeatedly installed and abolished from the Goryeo Dynasty.[15]

Joseon

During the early Joseon Dynasty, Sejo (世祖), a temple was built and the Sacrifices to Heaven were held, but it was discontinued after seven years. The reasoning was that only the emperor could offer sacrifices to the heavens, and Joseon, as an imperial state, had no such authority as per little China ideology. Later, after the country was renamed the Korean Empire, the practice was restored and a Hwangudan was built for the purpose.[15]

Japan
Emperor Akihito performed the Daijosai when he ascended the throne in 1990. A variation of the Niiname-no-Matsuri.
See also: Niiname-no-Matsuri and Daijosai

The ritual of Sacrifice to Heaven (祭天, Saiten) was imported from China to Japan during the Tang Dynasty. The emperor would perform the sacrifice on the winter solstice. According to the book Shoku Nihongi (Japanese: 続日本紀), Emperor Shōmu performed a ritual sacrifice to the heavens during the summer court ceremony (the first day of the New Year, year 725).

The religions of Japan have been heavily influenced by imported beliefs such as Confucianism and Buddhism, which were merged with the country's indigenous religion of Shinto. The Sun Goddess Amaterasu is considered the supreme deity in Japan and is considered the ancestor of both the Emperor and the country. The Emperors were known to build temples and perform sacrifices, leading to the localization of these rituals into the worship of the Sun Goddess at the Ise Shrine.[16]

During the Heian period, Buddhism became deeply ingrained in Japanese society, with the theory of "Honji suijaku" being propagated by the Japanese Royal Family. This theory posited that Buddha was the original deity and that the gods were simply temporary manifestations of the Buddha. According to this theory, the Sun Goddess was seen as an incarnation of Vairocana.[16]

The Shoku Nihongi records that in 698, Emperor Monmu ordered the construction of a temple in the Watarai district of Ise, to worship both gods and Buddha. Over time, the rituals of worshiping the gods took on the characteristics of worshiping the Buddha.[16]

Emperor Kanmu played a pivotal role in centralizing power and establishing the supremacy of the emperor in Japan. In 784, he relocated the capital to Nagaoka-kyō in order to counteract the growing influence of Buddhism in the Nara region and to promote the study of Chinese Confucian texts, such as the Spring and Autumn Annals, among the population.[17][18] Therefore, he performed a sacrifice to heaven in 785 on the Winter Solstice to assert his authority[19]

The modern concept emerged in Japan in the Meiji period with the rise of western style Japanese nationalism and its promotion by the Imperial House of Japan. Sacrifice to Heaven is still performed but it is considered a form of Shinto. Every year, the festival of Niiname-no-Matsuri (新嘗祭) is performed. Most Japanese citizens are unaware of the connection to China.[20] The first such festival of the reign of an Emperor is called the Daijosai.[21]

Vietnam
Emperor Bảo Đại's carriage and his envoy during the Lễ Tế Giao ceremony of 1942.
See also: Esplanade of Sacrifice to the Heaven and Earth

In Vietnam, tế thiên or Sacrifice to Heaven was first established with the Đinh dynasty when Đinh Bộ Lĩnh declared himself Emperor.[22] The Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư records an early sacrifice by Lý Anh Tông in 1154.[23]

It is better known in Vietnam by the name Nam Giao.[24][25]: 189 [26][27]

From the Lý dynasty onwards, the ritual was seen as highly important.

Nam Giao is considered the most important sacrificial ritual of the Nguyễn dynasty and is the only well-documented one[28]

In the Nguyễn dynasty, the Esplanade of Sacrifice to the Heaven and Earth was made to sacrifice to heaven[29] It was made in 1807 and continuous sacrifices were made at it until 1945[30] The Nam Giao sacrifice ceremony was gradually restored to be included in Festival Huế every two years from 2002[31] and continues to this day.

See also

References
  1. "千亩之战析疑" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-04-16. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  2. 雷晓鹏:从清华简《系年》看周宣王“不籍千亩”的真相，《农业考古》，2014,(4)
  3. "sacrifices to Heaven and earth". Oxford Reference.
  4. thebeijinger (2009-01-27). "Things to do over the Spring Festival: Sacrifice to Heaven Ceremony at Tiantan". www.thebeijinger.com. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  5. Jiang, Xiaoli (December 2018). "Did the Imperially Commissioned Manchu Rites for Sacrifices to the Spirits and to Heaven Standardize Manchu Shamanism?". Religions. 9 (12): 400. doi:10.3390/rel9120400. ISSN 2077-1444.
  6. 康有為，《中国学会报题词》，1913。載汤志钧编：《康有为政论集》（下），北京，中华书局1981年版，第797页
  7. "Sacrifice to Heaven Ceremony at Tiantan". www.foreignercn.com. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  8. "Sacrifice to heaven ceremony held in Fujian[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  9. http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0051497
  10. "세계한민족문화대전". www.okpedia.kr. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  11. "영고(迎鼓) - 한국민족문화대백과사전". encykorea.aks.ac.kr. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  12. "祭 天(제천)". 네이버 블로그 | 한문의 세계로 (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  13. 〈한겨레 문화생활〉에 실린 인천시립박물관 윤용구 박사 관련 기사 참조. http://www.hani.co.kr/section-009000000/2005/06/009000000200506102137910.html
  14. 재위 981년~997년
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  16. http://cjs.inas.gov.vn/index.php?newsid=1279
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  20. Nakamura, Akemi (2008-04-08). "National holidays trace roots to China, ancients, harvests". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
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  23. Viện Khoa học Xã hội Việt Nam dịch (1993), "Bản kỷ toàn thư, Anh Tông Hoàng đế", Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, Hội Bảo Tồn Di Sản Chữ Nôm, p. 20 (10b), retrieved 2020-05-28. Nguyên văn: 九 月 帝 御 大 羅 城 南 門 觀 築 園 丘 (Cửu nguyệt, đế ngự Đại La Thành nam môn quan trúc Viên Khâu).
  24. Ý Nhi (2014), Tế Nam Giao - một hoạt động văn hóa đặc sắc của Cung đình Nguyễn, Trung tâm bảo tồn di tích Cố đô Huế, retrieved 2020-05-28
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