The so-called "rule of etiquette", simply put, is to follow the principles and norms of "etiquette" to govern the country and society.
Rites, which are not only the wisdom that conforms to nature, but also the bond that maintains social order, germinated in the "Shuntian punctuality" of the Xia Dynasty, and also played a vital role in the ritual of worshipping the heavens of Yin Shang.
Looking at the history of Xia Shang, we will find that the initial spark of civilization did not originate from the cold law, but from the interweaving of "Heavenly Dao" and "Human Ethics".
The etiquette that was born in this context is even closely related to the rise and fall of the dynasty.
"Those who are courteous are also reasonable." Kong Yingda Shu: "Reason, it is reasonable. He who speaks courtesy, so that all things are reasonable. "Li", that is, "reason", as the law and criterion that everything in the world follows, mainly includes two meanings: one is the law of the operation of the universe and the change of time sequence; The second is the law of harmonizing interpersonal relations and community order. We call the former "Heavenly Dao" and the latter "Human Ethics". "Fuli, the first king used the way of inheriting heaven to govern people's feelings." It can be said that "Heavenly Dao" and "Human Ethics" are the two basic principles that the previous kings followed when practicing etiquette.
Mr. Liang Qichao once said: "Confucianism believes in natural law the most, and etiquette is something that makes specific conditions according to natural laws as the standard of human behavior." As the highest value norm and behavioral norm that maintains the natural order and social order, "rites" are similar to the concept of "natural law" in the West.
The "natural law" of the West is a set of social norms that formed spontaneously before the advent of "written law". The French thinker Montesquieu said: "Before all these laws (i.e., man-made, religious, moral, political, and civil) existed natural law, and so called natural law because they are derived simply from the nature of our lives."
Natural laws exist a priori, and from them derive the laws of belief, ethics, and politics of human society. The same is true of the ancient Chinese "rites". Tracing the development of the three generations of etiquette, we can find that its focus has undergone a shift from "Heavenly Dao" to "Human Ethics".
"Shuntian punctual" Xia Dai Liji
Before the formation of a clear concept of etiquette, the phenomenon of etiquette had long objectively existed in the practice of ancient kings governing the country and society. Based on archaeological research, we can trace the origins of the ritual to prehistoric times. Mr. Yang Kuan pointed out that the origin of "li" is very early, far back in the primitive clan communes, people have been accustomed to adding important actions to special rituals. These rituals have not only long been traditional in social life, but are also often used as a means of maintaining social order, consolidating social organization and strengthening ties between tribes.
It can be said that the transformation of traditional customs into concrete rituals and the corresponding political functions are the initial forms of ritual governance. "Shangshu Shundian" contains: "On the first day of the first month, I received the last Wenzu. In Xuanji Yuheng, Qi Qizheng. It is like God, it is in the six sects, it looks at the mountains and rivers, and it is all over the gods. "Tongdian Rite I" Yiyun: "Therefore, since Fuxi, the five rites have been revealed; When Yao Shun was in the past, the five ceremonies were prepared. Although we can find accounts of the rule of the former kings according to the rites in many documents, most of them are the author's assumptions about the primitive rites, and their authenticity is questionable.
Therefore, we set the starting point of the study of etiquette as the Xia Dynasty, where documentary data and archaeological data can be mutually corroborated. "The Book of Rites and Rites" contains: Yan Yanfu asked: "The Master's extreme words and courtesies can be obtained and heard?" Confucius said: "I want to observe the summer road, it is the reason for it, and it is not enough to recruit it, so I have to "Summer Time". I want to look at Yin Dao, it is the Song Dynasty, and it is not enough to levy it, I have to "Kun Qian". The meaning of "Kun Qian", "Summer Time", etc., I think it is a view. ”
From the dialogue between Confucius and Ziyou, it can be seen that "Summer Time" is the main content of the Xia Dynasty. "Bamboo Book Chronicle" records that Yu "issued summer in the country". "Historical Records: Xia Benji" also contains: "When Confucius was in summer, scholars spread the cloud of "Xia Xiaozheng". It can be seen that "Summer Time" was formulated and promulgated by Yu, and its content is mainly recorded in "Xia Xiaozheng". Therefore, through the study of "Xia Xiaozheng", we can basically get a glimpse of the overall appearance of Xia Dynasty Lizhi.
"Xia Xiaozheng" can be seen in this "Da Dai Li Ji", but historians of the past dynasties have different opinions about the time when it was written. Ancient scholars generally believed that Xia Xiaozheng was an ancient book of the Xia Dynasty. Nowadays, most people believe that it was written in the Spring and Autumn Period, and before that, it mainly relied on oral transmission, and it was not officially formed until after the Spring and Autumn Period.
Mr. Li Xueqin used archaeology and paleography to prove that the content of the scripture record of Xia Xiaozheng already existed in the archaeological discoveries of Xia Ruins and the divination of Yin Shang. According to astronomical calculations and the laws of astrological movements, some scholars have proved that Xia Xiaozheng is a calendar that can be used from the Xia Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty. These are enough to prove that "Xia Xiaozheng" does have its ancient origins.
"Xia Xiaozheng"
Judging from the content of the text, "Xia Xiaozheng" records the changes in celestial phenomena, climate, phenology, and personnel activities in the twelve months of the year, such as agricultural mulberry, sacrifices, rituals, etc. This shows that at this time, people have a simple understanding of the natural laws such as the change of celestial phenomena, the change of climate and the change of phenology, and begin to consciously record and summarize them, and have the concept of coordinating personnel activities according to the "way of heaven", that is, the laws of nature, which is manifested in the following three aspects.
First of all, people arrange their daily agricultural production and life in an orderly manner according to the changes in the sky and climate. In January and February, the weather warmed up, everything recovered, and people began to average the fields and sow seeds; In March and April, the grass grows and the warbler flies, the animals reproduce, people "raise silkworms" and "raise horses", and agriculture is mainly based on storage; August and September are the harvest season, and people begin to "peel melons", "peel dates" and "tree wheat" to harvest fruits; In November and December, during the slack season, the "king hunting" ceremony is held, and the leather and population are counted by the Si people to withstand the cold winter.
Secondly, in order to express their reverence and worship for the nature of heaven and earth, the Xia people created a set of primitive rituals to worship heaven and earth. In January, "otter sacrifice fish", in February, "tuna sacrifice", and in March, "praying for wheat fruit", in the season when all things grow, people sacrifice to heaven and earth, praying for good weather and good grain harvest. In October, when the harvest season comes, people sacrifice the heavens and the earth with large animals such as jackals and beasts to give back the protection of the heavens and the earth. In addition, some of the customs recorded in Xia Xiaozheng developed into later rituals.
For example, "Suido Lady" refers to the "Chengding Ceremony" of the clan society, which later developed into the "Crown Ceremony" and "Xuan Ceremony" performed by men and women. "Dinghai Universal Admission" is similar to the "Shecai Ceremony" in the Zhou Dynasty and is a kind of entrance etiquette. Through the analysis of "Xia Xiaozheng", we can deduce that the ancestors of the Xia Dynasty already had the concept of "heaven". In their eyes, "heaven" has a mysterious power that dominates all things in the world. This is also known as the "Heavenly Dao".
"Chinese" has a cloud: "The emperor of the Heavenly Dao, the sun and the moon are normal, the wise are the law, and the small is the line." Specifically, "Heavenly Dao" refers to the laws of the movement of celestial bodies and the change of time sequence. The Xia people already knew and grasped the "Heavenly Dao", and they formulated a set of social norms that clan members would abide by according to the laws and timing of natural operation. This is the basic form of the Xia Dynasty Rite Rule. "Shuntian punctuality" is the most significant feature of Xia Dynasty Lizhi. In essence, there is a simple concept of "the unity of heaven and man" in the Xia people's thinking of etiquette.
The worship of the gods and the religiosity of the Yin Shang rites
At the time of the Yin Shang Dynasty, people's understanding of heaven and the way of heaven went further than that of the Xia people, and people believed that there was a mysterious primordial power above the heavens that dominated the heavens and the way of heaven and gave order to everything. As a result, the Yin people created a concept of the gods with personality and will, ——— emperor (or god), and at the same time constructed a set of belief systems centered on the worship of the gods.
The Shang Dynasty's celestial god system centered on God and also included the sun, moon, stars, and meteorological gods such as wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. God was named Emperor in the time of Wuding. After the Dixin and Kangding, the king of man began to claim the title of emperor, but it was different from God. In the Yin people's concept, God is the most important god, and everything in the world is controlled by God. As Mr. Guo Moruo said:
Although there is some controversy in the academic community about whether God is the supreme god, the special position of God in the Yin people's belief system is generally recognized by scholars.
Although God has personality and will, he does not yet possess reason. There is no pattern to God's willful sending on the world, and people can only predict God's will and actions through divination. Taking the Yin people's divination of celestial phenomena as an example, in the Wuding period, there is "Wuzi Bu, Emperor Zhen ordered rain in April", that is, Zhen people divined whether God would order rain in April on Wuzi Day. Another example is "Xin Mao Bu, chastity is not good." March. Four", that is, the Zhenren divination on the day of Xinmao whether God will send a drought in March.
The Yin people knew that the abundance of rain was closely related to the harvest of the year, and believed that the rain was commanded by God to not rain for a long time, and when there was a drought, God actually sent a disaster. After grasping God's will and actions to rain or reduce drought through divination, people pray for rain in the form of sacrifices. In the Shang Dynasty, there were two main rituals of "dance" and "yan" to pray for rain. Regarding "dance", there is a divination: "Dance, from the rain." (813) "Zhen, I dance, rain." ”
Dancing for rain is a way for people to vent their emotions. After a long drought without rain and the drying up of the crops, people felt anxious about it, and in order to move God, they prayed for rain from heaven in the form of a group dance. "Zhou Li, Chunguan, Si Wu" contains: "If the country is in a great drought, then the handsome witch will dance." This ritual of dancing for rain later developed into a ritual of the Pheasant Sacrifice. If dancing for rain is not possible, the ritual of people's sacrifice will be upgraded, that is, the "fire ceremony" will be held. There are divination words: "癸巳Bu, today's Xuan" and "Xuan, its Xuan is high, and it rains." Ten prisons, the king is again. ”
Mr. Chen Mengjia said: "'Shuowen' 'Xuan, Jiao Muran also.'" "Jade Edition" 'Xuan, hand over the wood to the chaitian. ’…… Since it is a man standing on a fire for rain, it is the same as the "violent witch" and "witch burning" recorded in the literature. The so-called "Xuan" is a rain ritual in which people are exposed to witchcraft under the scorching sun or burned for human and animal sacrifices. "The Book of Rites and Sacrifices" says: "Burnt wood in the altar of Tai, sacrifice to the sky." During the Yin Shang period, this tradition of "violent witches" and "burning witches" to worship the gods has been preserved by later generations. Mr. Shen Wenzhuo pointed out: "Burnt firewood is called 'burned', or burnt firewood for fireworks, or burned with animals on firewood. And because the word '烄' is like a person on the fire, it shows that this sacrifice also uses human animals. ”
This shows that the Yin Shang "Yan Sacrifice" for the purpose of praying for rain is actually the ancient origin of the ancient suburban rites. During the Yin Shang Dynasty, people created a set of divination techniques to predict God's will and actions out of worship of the gods, as well as sacrificial rituals based on "sacrifices" to pray for God's protection. A fixed set of rituals derived from these sacrificial ceremonies was the main way to realize the rule of Yin Shang rites. Compared with the etiquette of the Xia Dynasty, the etiquette of Yin Shang has strong religious and political overtones.
The British anthropologist Fraser defined religion as the pandering or appeasement of superhuman forces that are believed to be able to direct and control processes. He believed that religion consisted of two major parts, theory and practice, namely, belief in superhuman power and attempts to please and appease anger. Based on this, we can judge that the Yin people's belief in God-centered gods is completely consistent with religion in the modern sense.
The research of cultural anthropologists shows that religion has played an irreplaceable role in the origin of civilizations and nations. Therefore, the culture of the Yin Shang era was a religious culture dominated by the belief in the worship of the gods, and the ritual governance of the Yin Shang Dynasty realized through the ritual of sacrificing to the gods of heaven had obvious religious nature, and the ritual governance that originated from the religious sacrifice ceremony was an important way for the Shang kings to govern the country.
We know that divination and sacrifice were the main channels of communication between humans and the gods. The ritual of sacrifice is not only a symbol of religious belief, but also a symbol of power. Whether it is a "dance" or a "yan" sacrificial ritual, it is performed by a witch. It was through mastering the ritual of sacrifice that the Wu of the Shang Dynasty monopolized the power of communication between the human world and the gods.
"Lü's Spring and Autumn Shunmin" contains: "In the past, Tang Kexia was in the world, there was a great drought, and he did not harvest for five years, and Tang Nai prayed in the mulberry forest...... Sacrifice yourself and pray for God. The people said, "The rain is great." "Tang sacrificed himself, indicating that Tang is likely to be the second king and witch. In the divination of Yinxu, there are many words of divination of the king of Shang. Based on this, Mr. Chen Mengjia believed: "In the divination speeches, there are often words about Wang Bu and Wang Zhen, but the king himself asks questions...... The king is also a witch, and it is the king and the witch. ”
It can be seen that the king of Shang is the head of the group of witches, and the power of sacrifice is actually in the hands of the king of Shang. Generally speaking, the greater the power, the greater the scope of the sacrifice. The Shang kings enjoyed the highest sacrificial power, and could sacrifice heaven and earth, the four directions, mountains and rivers, etc. In this sense, rite is a symbol of royal power. Through the monopoly of religious beliefs, the Shang kings established their own political authority and established the hierarchical and political nature of the ritual system. The rule of etiquette has also risen from a means of social management that follows the "way of heaven" to a monopoly on the power of the state.