Taimiao Sacrifice

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ancestor worship in the Imperial Ancestral Temple had strict regulations and rituals, with complex and detailed contents, including the system of ancestor worship and sharing, the system of sharing with meritorious officials, the system of conferring titles, the system of Zhaomu, the system of sacrificial offerings, the system of temples for empresses and concubines, etc. The system of ancestor worship and sharing mainly includes two forms: the sacrifice and the seasonal sacrifice. The sacrifice is a joint sacrifice of the spirit tablets of the emperor's ancestors, both near and far, in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was generally held at the end of each year, and there were also two sacrifices in spring and autumn. The seasonal sacrifice refers to the enjoyment of the four seasons, which are held in the Qingming Festival in spring, the Dragon Boat Festival in summer, the Zhongyuan Festival in autumn, and the Winter Solstice in winter. The rituals of sacrifice are complicated and grand. For example, the main sacrifice begins at noon. The tablets of the emperors and empresses of the ancestral temples will be welcomed into the Taizu Temple. The emperor enters the hall and takes his place. The offering officials and other officials take their places. The ritual and music officials command the ringing of bells and music. The dancers sing the sacrificial songs and dance with them. The ceremonial guards are solemn, the bells and drums ring, and the Shao music is melodious. The emperor leads all officials to perform the three kneeling and nine bowing ceremony, expressing respect for the ancestors and gods on behalf of the people of the world, and praying for the future of the country and the people of the world. The system of meritorious officials sharing the same sacrifice is a ritual system of ancestral temple sacrifice. In order to encourage his subjects to be loyal, the emperor sets up the tablets of the meritorious officials according to their positions and achievements during their lifetime. The sharing of the meritorious officials in the Taimiao is mainly in the east and west side halls of the Xian Hall. The east side hall enshrines the tablets of the meritorious princes of the Qing Dynasty, including Daishan, Dorgon, Yisu and other thirteen people; the west side hall enshrines the tablets of the meritorious officials of the Manchu, Mongolian, Han, and civil and military affairs, including Zhang Tingyu, Senggelinqin and other thirteen people. The system of conferring titles generally includes honorific titles, posthumous titles, temple names, etc.