Wikipedia

Sacrifice to Heaven

Korean worship

Sacrifice to Heaven (Jitian 祭天) is the worship of Shangdi originating in China. In Ancient Chinese society, nobles of all levels constructed altars for Heaven. At first only nobles could worship Shangdi but later beliefs changed and everyone could worship Shangdi.

A festival performed at the Temple of Heaven

Modern Confucian organizations offer this practice to all their followers, and it's still observed in China even though there is no monarch. This tradition has also had an impact on other countries such as Japan, Vietnam, and Korea. The Chinese word "Jì" (祭) in the name of this practice is the same word as "Jesa" in Korean.

Sacrifice to Heaven
Chinese name
Chinese祭天
Traditional Chinese祭天
Korean name
Hangul제천시
Japanese name
Hiraganaさいてん

History

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This practice has its roots in the Shang dynasty,[1] but during the Zhou dynasty, it was only allowed for the Son of Heaven due to the teachings of Shendao shejiao.[2][3] Two specific sacrifices, Sacrifice to Heaven and Feng Shan, were exclusive privileges during that time. The Temple of Heaven has been the location for this ritual since the Ming dynasty, and it still takes place there today.[4]

Some people think that Qing's involvement in the ritual resulted in the standardization of Manchu rituals through the book of Manchu rites, but this theory is not supported.[5] In the early years of the Republic of China, Kang Youwei's Confucian movement proposed separating Religious Confucianism from the state bureaucracy, so anyone could perform the Sacrifice to Heaven as per the Christian model.[6]

Nowadays, this ritual is performed without a monarch,[7] and it can take place at locations other than the Temple of Heaven. For example, it was performed in Fujian in 2015.[8]

Korea

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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]

Japan

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In Japan Sacrifice to Heaven is called Saiten (祭天) . [10] It is done for Amaterasu rather than Shangdi though.[10]

Every year, the festival of Niiname-no-Matsuri (新嘗祭) happens and most peopledo not know it has Chinese origins.[11] The first Niiname-no-Matsuri of the reign of an Emperor is called a Daijosai.[12]

Vietnam

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See the main article: Hue Festival

In Vietnam Sacrifice to Heaven is called Nam Giao.[13][14]: 189 [15][16]

It was first done by Emperor Đinh Bộ Lĩnh.[17]

Nam Giao was the most important ritual of the Nguyễn dynasty.[13]

In the Nguyen Dynasty, the Esplanade of Sacrifice to the Heaven and Earth was made to sacrifice to heaven[18] It was made in 1807 and sacrifices were done there until 1945[19] In 2002 people started doing it again. It is done in Festival Huế every two years.[20]

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Sources

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  1. ↑ "sacrifices to Heaven and earth". Oxford Reference.
  2. ↑ "千亩之战析疑" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-04-16. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  3. ↑ 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)
  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. ↑ "제천의식(祭天儀式)".
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "LỊCH SỬ HÌNH THÀNH VÀ PHÁT TRIỂN THẦN ĐẠO NHẬT BẢN (Phần 1) - Trung Tâm Nghiên Cứu Nhật Bản".
  11. ↑ Nakamura, Akemi (2008-04-08). "National holidays trace roots to China, ancients, harvests". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  12. ↑ "Daijō-sai". Daijisen (in Japanese). Shogakukan. 1998. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 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[dead link]
  14. ↑ Trần, Quang Đức (2013), Ngàn năm áo mũ, Nhà xuất bản Thế giới.
  15. ↑ Viện Khoa học Xã hội Việt Nam dịch (1993), "Bản kỷ thực lục, Thái Tông Văn Hoàng đế", Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, Hội Bảo Tồn Di Sản Chữ Nôm, p. 76 (38b), archived from the original on 2021-05-08, retrieved 2020-05-28. Nguyên văn: 如 郊 天 告 廟 聖 節 正 旦 則 行 大 朝 禮 皇 帝 服 衮 冕 升 寶 座 百 官 具 朝 服 朝 冠 (Như giao thiên, cáo miếu, thánh tiết, chính đán tắc hành đại triều lễ, hoàng đế phục cổn, miện, thăng bảo toà, bách quan cụ triều phục triều quan).
  16. ↑ Cadière, Léopold Michel; Orband, R.; Greene, Liliane (1915). "The sacrifice of the Nam-Giao". Amis du Vieux Hué, Bulletin. 2 (2).
  17. ↑ Lê Thị An Hòa (2018), Quá trình hình thành, phát triển và biến đổi lễ hội cung đình ở Huế từ năm 1802 đến năm 1945 (PDF), Đại học Huế: Trường Đại học Khoa học, p. 36, archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-05-16, retrieved 2020-05-29.
  18. ↑ Nguyễn Thị Việt (2019), Độc đáo Đàn và Lễ tế Nam Giao qua tài liệu lưu trữ, Cục Văn thư và Lưu trữ Nhà nước, retrieved 2020-04-26.
  19. ↑ nước, Cục Văn thư và Lưu trữ nhà (2019-01-28). "Độc đáo Đàn và Lễ tế Nam Giao qua tài liệu lưu trữ". VTLT. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  20. ↑ nước, Cục Văn thư và Lưu trữ nhà (2017-07-02). "Giới thiệu "Nam giao Đại giá đồ thức" năm Bảo Đại thứ 20 (1945)". VTLT. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
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