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| Sacrifice to Heaven | |||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 祭天 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 祭天 | ||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | Tế Thiên Lễ tế Nam Giao | ||||||
| Chữ Hán | 祭天 禮祭南郊 | ||||||
| Korean name | |||||||
| Hangul | 제천 | ||||||
| Hanja | 祭天 | ||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||
| Kanji | 祭天 | ||||||
| Hiragana | さいてん | ||||||
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Sacrifice to Heaven (Chinese:祭天;pinyin:Jìtiān) is an Asian religious practice originating in the worship ofShangdi inChina. InAncient Chinese society, nobles of all levels constructed altars for Heaven. At first, only nobles could worshipShangdi[1][2] but later beliefs changed and everyone could worship Shangdi.
ModernConfucian 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.
TheJì (祭) in the Chinese name is the same Je as inJesa.
It first originated in theShang dynasty.[3] During theZhou dynasty, Sacrifice to Heaven andFen Shan, were privileges enjoyed exclusively by theSon of Heaven due toShendao teachings.[1][2]
The rites have been performed at theTemple of Heaven since theMing dynasty and are still performed today[4][unreliable source?]
Some scholars believe that Qing involvement with the ritual standardizedManchu rituals with the book of Manchu rites, but this is unsupported[5]
Since the early years of theRepublic of China,Kang Youwei'sConfucian movement advocated the separation ofReligious 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 theTemple of Heaven, such as inFujian in 2015[8]
In Korea, Sacrifice to Heaven is read as Jecheon (Hanja: 祭天). It is also identified with the word yeonggo영고 (迎鼓) and has a history linked toKorean shamanism, in addition to Chinese influence.[9]
InBuyeo, 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 ajubilee.
These ceremonies were typically characterized by communal and thanksgiving aspects[9] and in Buyeo, it was done after the harvest.[citation needed]
Mucheon (舞天), a religious ritual and a comprehensive art form of theDongye, 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 theDunhuang manuscripts during the Tang Dynasty in China, Mucheon was a custom inGojoseon that was held in October.[12]
During the Goryeo Dynasty, there was a Jecheon event called Eight Gwanhoe (팔관회/八關會). It was a successor to Silla's Eight Gwanhoe, 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 theGoryeo History, it was practiced from the time ofGoryeo Seongjong,[13] 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.[14]
During the earlyJoseon 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 perlittle China ideology. Later, after the country was renamed theKorean Empire, the practice was restored and aHwangudan was built for the purpose.[14]
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The ritual of Sacrifice to Heaven (祭天,Saiten) was imported from China to Japan during theTang Dynasty. The emperor would perform the sacrifice on the winter solstice. According to the bookShoku 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 asConfucianism andBuddhism, which were merged with the country's indigenous religion ofShinto. The Sun GoddessAmaterasu 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 theIse Shrine.[15]
During theHeian period, Buddhism became deeply ingrained in Japanese society, with the theory of "Honji suijaku" being propagated by the Japanese Royal Family. This theory posited thatBuddha 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 ofVairocana.[15]
TheShoku Nihongi records that in 698, Emperor Monmu ordered the construction of a temple in theWatarai 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.[15]
Emperor Kanmu played a pivotal role in centralizing power and establishing the supremacy of the emperor in Japan. In 784, he relocated the capital toNagaoka-kyō in order to counteract the growing influence of Buddhism in theNara region and to promote the study of Chinese Confucian texts, such as theSpring and Autumn Annals, among the population.[16][17] Therefore, he performed a sacrifice to heaven in 785 on the Winter Solstice to assert his authority[18]
The modern concept emerged in Japan in theMeiji period with the rise of western styleJapanese nationalism and its promotion by theImperial House of Japan. Sacrifice to Heaven is still performed but it is considered a form of Shinto. Every year, the festival ofNiiname-no-Matsuri (新嘗祭) is performed. Most Japanese citizens are unaware of the connection to China.[19] The first such festival of the reign of an Emperor is called theDaijosai.[20]
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In Vietnam, tế thiên or Sacrifice to Heaven was first established with theĐinh dynasty whenĐinh Bộ Lĩnh declared himself Emperor.[21] TheĐại Việt sử ký toàn thư records an early sacrifice byLý Anh Tông in 1154.[22]
It is better known in Vietnam by the nameNam Giao.[23][24]: 189 [25][26]
From theLý dynasty onwards, the ritual was seen as highly important.
Nam Giao is considered the most important sacrificial ritual of theNguyễn dynasty and is the only well-documented one[27]
In the Nguyễn dynasty, theEsplanade of Sacrifice to the Heaven and Earth was made to sacrifice to heaven[28] It was made in 1807 and continuous sacrifices were made at it until 1945[29] The Nam Giao sacrifice ceremony was gradually restored to be included inFestival Huế every two years from 2002[30] and continues to this day.