The Zhou rites stipulate that there are six contents in the wedding of scholars: accepting gifts, asking for names, accepting auspiciousness, accepting levies, asking for dates, and welcoming in person, which are called the six rites. The six rituals have been used for thousands of years, and weddings in the Qing Dynasty also implemented their ideas and were divided into three stages: negotiation, engagement, and marriage. Marriage negotiation is to choose a partner, which is equivalent to receiving a gift or asking for a name; engagement is to establish a marriage contract between a man and a woman, which is divided into small and large Ding. Welcome in person. First, let’s briefly introduce the process of folk weddings in the Qing Dynasty. Let’s focus on the customs of the banner people in the capital. 1. Proposal for marriage: In Zhou rites, the most important thing when discussing marriage is the woman's name. The woman's name is used to predict whether the marriage will be auspicious, so there is a ritual of asking for the woman's name. In the Qing Dynasty, the most important thing was the birth date. On the premise that the basic conditions such as family background and appearance were mutually recognized, the two parties passed the door post and Geng post. The door post recorded the place of birth, position, fame, etc. of the three generations of the ancestors, and the Geng post recorded the birth dates of their own children. If the eight characters do not conflict with each other after calculation, the marriage proposal will be successful. 2. Engagement: After the marriage negotiation is successful, the engagement stage begins. The first is the small engagement. A Quanfu wife from the husband's family, that is, a middle-aged and elderly woman with husband, children and parents-in-law, will send the small engagement gift to the bride's family. The Han people attach great importance to rings, while the Banner people attach great importance to Ruyi. On the wedding day, the girl sat cross-legged on the kang, and Mrs. Quanfu handed the ring or Ruyi's hand to the girl. The marriage was officially settled. Even in the Republic of China, the "Six Laws Complete Book" still stipulates that as long as a small agreement is made, the marriage contract will be established. After that comes the final decision, which is usually within a hundred days of the proposed wedding day. The main content is that the man will send the betrothal gift to the girl’s family, agree on the wedding date, inform relatives and friends, etc. Indispensable in the Dading ceremony is a goose, Dai Yan. 3. Marriage: One day before or on the day of marriage, the woman must send the girl’s dowry to the man’s family. In terms of dowry, wealthy people among the people will always give a "whole-household" dowry, which is sixty-four dowries; or at least a "half-tang" dowry, which is thirty-two dowries. The types of dowries range from acres of property to spittoons and chamber pots to tattered shoes and coats. As for welcoming the bride in person, the banner people attach great importance to the ancient etiquette and "take the wedding as the date". The bride must be married in the evening, and the bride must be welcomed into the home before midnight. If it's past the midnight hour, the bride and groom must withdraw from the ceremony and wait until the next night before they can have sex. Because the ancients believed that Yang Qi gradually grew after Zi Shi, which was not conducive to the balance of Yin and Yang. If so, the bride must stay on the kang for the whole day, because custom requires that the bride not go to the ground before intercourse. Therefore, before getting on the sedan chair, banner girls basically do not eat or drink water. They only eat a few eggs to satisfy their hunger, so that if they miss the auspicious date, they will not cause any personal embarrassment. The wedding ceremony takes place in a sedan chair. The flag bearer usually carries a large red cloth sedan chair to welcome the bride, while the groom and four or eight bride-grooming lords ride there on horseback. The sedan chair can be carried eight times, and is not subject to the restriction that officials can only carry four sedan chairs. Mrs. Quanfu of the husband's family must first go to the bride's house by car and do the wedding ceremony for the bride together with the bride's bride's wife. Before getting into the sedan chair, the bride must wear a shabby cotton-padded jacket sent by her husband's family. The more shabby the better. If her husband's family doesn't have one, she will ask her close relatives to borrow it. Of course, the cotton-padded jacket is worn inside, and the bright new coat is still covered outside. Wear blue cloth shoes on your feet, as the Qing people considered blue and black as their official colors. When getting married, an ox-horn lamp with the character "囍" is attached to the front of the wedding ceremony, and a band and ceremonial guard are not used, which is completely different from the country's wind, pipe and drum. After the bride enters the house, there is no custom of meeting the guests, let alone lighting cigarettes and toasting to socialize. The object of congratulations to the guests is the groom's father, not the groom himself. As for worshiping heaven and earth, sitting in the tent, drinking Henu wine, and eating children and grandchildren, etc., they are all handled in the wedding room by the bride-to-be wife and the bride-to-be wife. The bride meets her parents-in-law on the next day. More traditional families even insist on the ancient ritual of "marrying a wife in three days" , first met my uncle." Prince's wedding 1. Marriage by finger: There is no marriage negotiation process in the royal wedding, but the marriage by the emperor's finger instead. When a prince reaches the age of 15, he usually gets married. Marriage is designated by the emperor among the selected beauties. The Imperial Palace Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs selects an auspicious date for the wedding and lists the officials and wives who will help organize the wedding. At that time, the minister of praise will accompany the father of the selected woman wearing a python robe and patchwork coat to the east steps of the Qianqing Gate. The woman's father will kneel facing the north. The minister of praise will stand facing the west and read out the imperial edict: "It is decreed that a daughter of a certain surname will be chosen as the wife of the prince so-and-so. For Fujin." Fujin's father accepted the order and bowed three times and bowed before exiting. On a certain day, the prince put on a python robe and went to Fujin's house to meet his parents. He was accompanied by ministers of the interior, ministers of Sanyi, bodyguards, and military guards. Arriving at the gate, Fujin's father greeted him outside in a python suit. The prince went up to the hall to pay homage, and Fujin's father paid three homages. Use the same etiquette to see Fujin's mother again. When bidding farewell, Fujin's father saw him out the door. 2. Initial setting: that is, the folk setting ceremony.
It was held on an auspicious day selected by the Qintian Supervisor. The content was that the emperor gave gifts to the Fujin family and held an engagement banquet at the Fujin family. There are two types of gifts, one is called ceremonial coins, which are given to Fujin himself, and will be carried back to the prince's mansion during the reception; the other is called gift coins, which are given to Fujin's parents and family, and are real betrothal gifts. The ceremonial coins include jewelry, clothing, daily silverware, etc., including a gold necklace inlaid with East beads and coral, three large and small gold hairpins holding pearls, three pairs of gold earrings with two East beads, two pairs of gold bracelets, gold One hundred silver buttons each, gold collars with Eastern pearls, dozens of mink, otter and fox skins for various types of coats, coats and bedding, one hundred pieces of silk and satin, three hundred catties of cotton, for use in the dining room, tea room and tea room Silver plates, silver bowls, silver pots, silver dishes, etc. Among the coins, Fujin's father was given twelve taels of gold, seven hundred taels of silver, a fox fur court dress, a mink hat, a gold belt ring, a handkerchief, a purse, an ear scoop and other accessories, and a saddled horse. Fujin's mother was given three pairs of gold earrings with pearls, a fox fur robe, six otter skins, and an exquisitely carved saddle horse. They were packed into colorful pavilions and the like, and the Minister of Internal Affairs led the deacons and others there. Fujin's father wore court clothes and greeted him outside the gate. The ceremonial coins were displayed in the main hall, the gift coins were displayed on the steps, and the gift horses were displayed in the middle path in front of the steps. After receiving the ceremony, Fujin's father led his children to kneel three times and kowtow three times and nine times to the east of the palace under the middle steps. Fujin's mother led her female family members to the west under the middle steps and knelt three times and kowtowed three times. As usual, the Ministry of Internal Affairs prepared fifty tables of banquets, thirty-six sheep, fifty tables of pastries, and fifty bottles of rice wine. They went to Fujin's house to hold a banquet to celebrate, and there was also a band. All the princes, princes, ministers, guards, officials of second rank and above, and wives who were not on duty gathered at the Fujin family to attend the banquet that day. Honglu Temple sent officials to lead the ceremony, and Qintian Supervisor sent officials to tell the time. Fujin's father led his crowned male relatives to a banquet in the outer hall. At ten o'clock at noon, they took their seats in the hall. Fujin's relatives compromised, and the official officials and officials of the banner sat east to west, while the other guests sat west to east. The banquet consists of serving tea, serving fruits, serving wine, serving food and drinking wine, etc., with a band playing in the middle to entertain. At the end of the banquet, all the officials knelt three times and kowtowed nine times at the palace gate. Fujin's mother and her concubine had a banquet in the inner hall, and the procedure was the same. This is the engagement banquet. 3. Get married. The day before the wedding, the Fujin family sent the dowry to the imperial palace, which of course included the ceremonial coins given by the emperor in advance. The Fujin clan members who sent the dowry were hosted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a banquet. On the day of the wedding, the prince, after mending his robes, kneels three times and kowtows nine times in front of the empress dowager, emperor and empress. If the biological mother is a concubine, he must kneel twice and kowtow six times in front of the biological mother. Luan Yiwei prepares an eight-carry colorful sedan chair surrounded by red satin. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose years and birthdays coincide with each other, leads 20 subordinate officers, and a military guard officer leads a 40-person guard. They are responsible for marrying the newlyweds. In advance, the wife of the minister in charge of the internal affairs, who was of the same age and birthday, was selected to lead the internal affairs officer, his wife and other eight maids, and went to Fujin's house and the royal palace to honor the marquis respectively. The infantry commander was responsible for cleaning up everything from the palace gate to Fujin's house. the way.
When the auspicious time comes, the eunuch will place the colorful sedan in the middle hall. Fujin came out of the pavilion in formal attire, and accompanied his maids to wait on the sedan chair and under the curtain. Eight eunuchs lifted up, led by sixteen lanterns and twenty torches, followed by female officials, and rode out of the gate. In the front line of the honor guard, the General Manager of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Staff Officer of the Guards respectively led their subordinate officers and guards to guide and protect the people. Outside the palace, the ceremonial guards stopped and were removed, and everyone dismounted and walked in. The female officer followed the sedan to the prince's residence to wait for Fujin to get out of the sedan and lead him into the palace. Afterwards, a ceremony of union and marriage was held, which was conducted by the waiting wife.
On that day, a curtain was drawn up at the prince's residence, and a banquet of sixty banquets and forty-five sheep was held in honor of Fujin's parents and relatives. The attendance and etiquette procedures were the same as those at the engagement banquet held at Fujin's house.
On the morning of the second day of their wedding, the prince and his wife dressed in court clothes and went to the empress dowager, emperor and empress to salute in turn. To salute in front of the biological mother, the prince should kneel twice and kowtow six times, and the prince should kneel twice and kowtow twice.
On the ninth day after the wedding, the prince returned home with Fujin, and the Fujin family held a banquet in reception. We will not stay at Fujin's house for more than noon. I hope it will be helpful to you. 2009-09-04 14:57 Traditional Chinese Etiquette
Funeral Ceremony
There are rich records in the literature of the past dynasties regarding the funeral ceremonies of emperors. From the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the funerals of emperors and members of the royal family became more and more complicated and grand, with numerous ceremonies. Due to space limitations, only the imperial funeral rituals of the two dynasties in the late feudal society, the Ming and Qing Dynasties, were selected to illustrate and summarize as a typical example to represent the imperial funeral rituals of the entire feudal period.
The funeral of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was also called the great funeral. The entire funeral process can be divided into three parts: the edict, the ministry's meeting and the ritual notes.
The emperor's funeral ceremony in the Qing Dynasty basically followed the Ming system, but also combined some Manchu customs and ancient ritual systems.
On the day of the emperor's death, all the books and the royal palace were set up.
After the burial, the Daxing Emperor's Zi Palace was placed in Qianqingguan Wang, Beile, Beizi, Gong, Princess, Fujin and other senior nobles went home to fast. Ministers and officials from various government ministries were required to go home. We stay together in the yamen dormitory to fast and are not allowed to go home. As for the idle officials, they gathered at the Meridian Gate to fast and stay. After the fasting period, civil and military officials below the king are not allowed to have fun, and weddings and funerals in mourning are prohibited. The soldiers and civilians in Beijing must wear tassels and wear plain tassels for twenty-seven days. They are not allowed to marry within one month and are not allowed to have fun (that is, any form of cultural and entertainment activities; mainly literary and artistic performances) for one hundred days. Four Slaughtering is not allowed for nineteen days, and prayers and sacrifices are not allowed for twenty-seven days. Before the service is removed, document tickets will be printed with blue pen and all documents will be printed with blue ink. Since the day of the great mourning in the capital, the bells of various temples and temples have been rung 30,000 times. The next day, a posthumous edict ceremony will be held in front of Tiananmen Square.
Funeral
In ancient times, funerals were extremely simple and there were no tombs in the tombs. As time goes by, the burial places of some ancestors have been lost in people's minds. After entering feudal society, in order to commemorate the many heroes who made contributions to the development of Chinese civilization, people built many commemorative mausoleums and mausoleums based on legends, such as the Dawu (Fuxi) Mausoleum in Tuitian, Henan, and the Huang Tomb in Shaanxi. The Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor, the Mausoleum of Emperor Yan in Hunan Province, the Mausoleum of Shaohao in Qufu, Shandong, the Mausoleum of Zhuanxu in Gaoyang, Hebei, the Mausoleum of Yao in Linfen, Shanxi, the Tomb of Shun in Ningyuan, Hunan, the Mausoleum of Yu in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, etc. Appeared around the middle of the Warring States Period. However, due to the separation of feudal lords at that time and the scattered manpower and material resources, the tombs were relatively small and there were no mausoleum buildings. After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum was built in Lintong, Shaanxi today, formerly known as "Lishan" or "Lishan". It took 40 years to build a mausoleum for the emperor, which cost a lot of manpower and financial resources to reflect the feudal imperial power. The majestic approach was followed by successive feudal dynasties. Only the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty were buried deeply after death, and then even if thousands of horses galloped, all traces on the ground were wiped out, making the exact burial place a permanent secret. This was in compliance with Mongolian custom and was an exception. In addition, most emperors in the Tang Dynasty were buried in mountains as mausoleums, so no large tombs were built. The tall mounds of earth were originally symbols of mountains. In today's China, there are still many tombs of emperors and concubines that can be found or preserved. Famous ones include the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, the Changling Mausoleum of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, the Ba Mausoleum of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, the Maoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the original mausoleum of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, the Hui Mausoleum of Liu Bei, the First Lord of Shu, the Yonggu Mausoleum of the Empress Dowager Civilization of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Mausoleum of Emperor Wenjing and Emperor Wu of Liang. Mausoleum, Emperor Xianning Mausoleum of Chen Xuan, Mausoleum of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, Zhaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, Qianling Mausoleum of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian, Tailing Mausoleum of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, Tomb of Yang Guifei, Yongling Tomb of the Great Ancestor of Former Shu, Second Tomb of Southern Tang Dynasty, Eight Tombs of Northern Song Dynasty, Six Tombs of Southern Song Dynasty, The Ancestral Tomb of Taizu of the Liao Dynasty, the Tomb of the Western Xia Emperor, the Mausoleum of the Jin Taizu, the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan, the Imperial Tomb of Zhongdu in the Ming Dynasty, the Xiaoling Tomb of Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, the Changling Tomb of Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, the Dingling Tomb of Ming Shenzong, the Siling Tomb of Ming Sizong, the Three Tombs of the Early Qing Dynasty, and the Eastern Qing Dynasty Mausoleum, Western Qing Mausoleum, Tomb of Qianlong Concubine Rong, Tomb of Guangxu Concubine Zhen, etc.
Meeting Ceremony
1. The pilgrimage ceremony of princes. During the Han Dynasty, when princes and kings with the same surname came to court, the emperor often treated each other with the courtesy of family members, and even did not pay much attention to the etiquette of monarchs and ministers when banqueting and talking. Later, during the Taishi reign of Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, it was stipulated that every prince and king should hold a jade in court every three years.
2. The official meeting ceremony.
First, when the ministers see the emperor as a courtesy, they should bow their heads and bow five times. It means to bow your hands first, then bow four times and kowtow once to complete the ceremony. When all the officials see the prince or prince of the East Palace, they bow their heads four times and bow.
Secondly, all civil and military officials in Beijing must come to the palace to say goodbye if they are on leave or on a mission.
Thirdly, when important ministers of the country, especially those who come to Beijing to meet with the emperor, Honglu Temple should give priority to bringing them to see the emperor immediately.
Fourth, civil servants of fourth rank or above, bachelors of the Hanlin Academy, Shangbaosi, Sixth Section of the Ministry of Science and Technology, military attachés, Gonghou Bodudu, and Fuma, Yibin, Jinyiwei commanders and other officials are sick for more than 100 years. For three days, everyone must wear public clothes and go to the Meridian Gate to pay homage. If any of the ministers are treated by doctors and given gifts of condolences by the emperor, or if the ministers are successful in passing the examination, they must thank the emperor in person after saluting.
Fifth, when civil and military officials enter and exit the court, they should take pictures of their rank to show their respect.
Whenever an official of the first or lower rank meets a duke, marquis, prince-in-law, etc., he should salute him, stand beside him when he is standing, and follow behind when he goes. When an official of the third or fourth rank sees an official of the first rank, he should show disrespect when walking or standing. It must be behind an official of the first rank; officials of the fifth rank and below can be deduced in the same way. Unless there is an announcement, no arrogance or disrespect is allowed.
Sixth, when all officials enter the court, they must hold their hands in front of them and behave in a dignified manner. They are not allowed to greet others in private and salute, and they are not allowed to make noise, spitting, or any disrespectful behavior. After entering the court and after the emperor ascended the throne, no one was allowed to speak, talk, laugh, point, or look around.
Seventh, when all officials enter the court to pay homage and leave the court to get off work, they must follow the principle that civilian officials should be in the east and military attachés should be in the west. They are not allowed to walk directly across the imperial road from east to west. If you are performing homage at Fengtian Gate or Meridian Gate, and you have legitimate reasons to walk east-west, you must retreat to the south of Jinshui Bridge before you can pass.
Eighth, when ministers enter the court, they are not allowed to face the south, whether standing or sitting. Violators will be charged with treason.
Nineth, among all the officials, no one should walk on the middle road or the five roads of the palace.
Tenth, no one, except the emperor, may walk or trample on the three central steps at the main entrance of the main palace.
Eleventh, when hundreds of officials attend court, they must concentrate and listen clearly when encountering the emperor’s edicts and teachings.
The twelfth one met with the emperor and was sometimes given a seat.
Thirteenth, officials who have been given seats must stand up when another official is presenting something to the emperor, and can not sit down again until the performance is completed. They are not allowed to sit arrogantly and violate the etiquette.
There are also various types of meeting etiquette such as the prince meeting the emperor, the emperor meeting the emperor and the queen mother, the queen and concubines meeting the emperor, the palace attendants meeting the master, and so on.
Weddings
"Tongkao of Five Rites" once said that since the Later Qi Dynasty, regardless of the emperor or the people, weddings "are called Nacai, secondly, Xiangming, and thirdly, Naji. The fourth is the invitation, the fifth is the invitation, and the sixth is the personal welcome."
These are the six stages of ancient weddings, commonly known as the "six rites". The description is as follows:
1. Acceptance: This is the first stage of marriage negotiation. After the man asks a matchmaker to propose marriage, the woman agrees to the marriage proposal. The man prepares a gift and goes to the woman’s house to propose. The gift is a wild goose. Always live. Why use wild geese? Wild geese are migratory birds, and the symbol is in line with the meaning of yin and yang. Later, a new meaning was developed, saying that wild geese lose their mates and will never be paired again for life, so that their loyalty is chosen.
2. Name asking: After the marriage proposal, the matchmaker asks the woman for her date of birth and name to prepare for the marriage. ?
3. Najib: It is a ritual to inform the woman of the good news of marriage after asking her name. Also called "making an alliance". This is the main ritual during the engagement phase. According to ancient custom, geese are used as a token of confirmation that the marriage has been decided. Later, it developed to use rings, jewelry, colored silks, gift cakes, gift incense candles, and even sheep and pigs, etc., so it is also called a fixed appointment or a fixed appointment.
4. Betrothal gift: after the alliance is made, the groom’s family sends the betrothal gift to the bride’s family, which is a ceremony in the marriage stage. This wedding ceremony is also commonly known as the final betrothal or the big betrothal, the excessive gift, etc. Later, this ceremony also adopted the method of return gift, returning part or all of the food in the betrothal gift; or after being hired, the bride's family would give the man's clothes, hats, shoes and socks as a return gift. The amount of the betrothal gift and the name of the item usually have auspicious meanings, and the number should be double rather than single.
5. Application period: After sending the betrothal gift, choosing a wedding date, preparing the gift to the bride’s family, and obtaining consent. In ancient customs, geese are used as usual, and gifts are generally simple. The wedding gift is often combined with the betrothal gift, and the wedding date is determined at the same time as the wedding gift.
6. Welcome: This is the ceremony where the new son-in-law goes to the daughter’s home to welcome her. This ritual is often regarded as the main procedure of a wedding, while the first five items are regarded as transitional rituals such as marriage proposals and engagements. Some of these forms are due to the needs of social relationships, such as "adding makeup" at the girl's house, "opening the bow" and "making wedding arrangements" when arriving at the boy's house, etc., which are all rituals for establishing social relationships. It is purely a wedding part of the ceremony. Generally, a sedan chair is used, which can be divided into double or single roof. The "brother-in-law" who helps the bride to get on the sedan, and the "welcome guest" who accompanies the groom to the bride's house to pick up the bride, each have their own requirements. , returning the carriage and horse, welcoming the sedan, getting off the sedan, worshiping the heaven and earth, performing the wedding ceremony, entering the bridal chamber... Each process has several to more than a dozen forms, most of which express wishing good luck and exorcising evil spirits. The season for wedding is generally chosen in spring, when the state is based on agriculture, which coincides with the slack season and a good harvest, which is a good time for marriage.
After the "six rites" of marriage, the transitional period begins, when the bride returns to her natal family's "Guining" until the bride enters the childbearing period, and the birth ceremony of the second generation is held again.
From then on, the wedding was only regarded as a family anniversary, celebrated on an anniversary basis (a grand celebration ceremony was held when a "60th birthday" was reached, called a bigamy ceremony), and was celebrated year after year until the end of the year. In foreign countries, a silver wedding is held after twenty-five years of marriage. Fifty years of marriage is a golden wedding. These are the memorial ceremonies of the wedding.
The edict-issuing ceremony and the imperial edict-issuing ceremony
1) The edict-issuing ceremony. The issuance of edicts, including the ceremony when the emperor or the queen mother issued decrees and Wen Hao. There are many types of imperial edicts, mainly including edicts of passing the throne, edicts of enthronement, edicts of changing the Yuan Dynasty, edicts of crowning, edicts of leaving the cabinet, edicts of granting confirmation, edicts of etiquette, edicts of inspection, edicts of southern suburbs, edicts of northern suburbs, edicts of sealing and sealing, and edicts of visiting temples. Attached temple edict, attached burial edict, gift edict, recovery edict, homestead edict, derogatory edict, deposed edict, demoted edict, legacy edict, superior title edict, li prince accepts concubine edict, orders the crown prince to supervise Guoyu, the eldest son of the emperor Birth edicts, summoning the crown prince to visit friends to listen to political affairs, edicts for leaving the palace, edicts for sinning, restoration edicts, abdication edicts, etc. Various edicts have their own specific content. For example, the edict of succession is an edict of the nature of the succession of the throne, which refers to the edict issued by the emperor when he passed the throne to the new king during his lifetime; the edict of enthronement is the edict that the emperor issued to his subjects when he ascended the throne. The promulgated document is also called the "Accession Document". The contents of the edicts are different, so I will not describe them one by one here. I will only briefly introduce some of the different rituals for issuing the edicts.
In the 26th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1393), the imperial edict was first formulated. A throne was set up in the Fengtian Hall, and a treasure case was set up in the east of the hall. There was a band in the hall, ready to play Zhonghe rhyme music, and the big music was outside the Meridian Gate and Chengtian Gate. There is a reading table on the Chengtian Gate, facing the southwest. In the early morning, the school captain held up the cloud cover and stood in front of the curtain in the palace. Hundreds of officials in court uniforms stood outside the Chengtian Gate, while the dukes and marquis stood outside the Meridian Gate, facing east and west. The emperor wore leather clothes and ascended to the palace. Its rituals are like court rituals. The official of the Ministry of Rites came to the case with the edict in hand, stamped it with a national seal, and placed the edict in the cloud cover. The captain held up the cloud cover and went out through the east gate of the palace. Music was playing in unison outside the gate, and the captain who issued the imperial edict went from Fengtian Gate to the Meridian Gate south of Jinshui Bridge. The Duke and the Marquis led the way to Chengtian Gate. The ceremonial officers sang praises, the singing group was arranged, the civil and military officers took their seats, the music started again, everyone bowed four times, and the music stopped. The announcement of the promotion of the reading officer and the exhibition reading officer were said to be "systematic", and all the officials knelt down when they heard this. The official of the Ministry of Rites handed the edict to the reading official. After the reading was completed, the official of the Ministry of Rites handed the edict to the official and placed it in the cloud cover. The master of ceremonies praised: "Prostrate yourself." All the officials prostrated themselves and saluted, saying "Pingshen!" He stood up and returned to his original position, bowed four times, and stopped happily. The civil and military officials danced again, shouted "Long Live Long Live" three times, and bowed four times. The Department of Ceremonies announced: "The ceremony is over! The emperor got up and left the palace. The officials of the Ministry of Rites held up the edict and handed it to the envoy. The officials resigned.
In the sixth year of Mingliangjing (1527), several modifications were made to the edict issuance ceremony. Honglu official set up a treasure case, Jinyiwei set up a cloud cover plate on the east side of Fengtian hall, set up a cloud plate on the Chengtian gate, set up a colorful bridge outside the Meridian Gate, and set up the reading case on the Chengtian gate. The official Dan Tan stood up, the emperor ascended to the throne, and the Imperial Academy officials held the imperial edict in front of the throne. The official of the Ministry of Rites placed the edict on the cloud plate table, and the cloud cover was held by the school captain. A group of people went out from the east gate of the palace and went to the Meridian Gate to place the edict in the colored sedan chair. As a precursor, the ceremony of welcoming the imperial edict to Chengtian Gate and reciting the praises is the same as that of the Hongwu period. After the edict was read, the officials of the Ministry of Rites handed it over to the imperial guards and placed it in a cloud box, which was tied to the dragon pole with colorful ropes. , descended from Chengtian Gate. The officials of the Ministry of Rites under the gate took the edict and placed it in the Long Pavilion. They escorted it to the Ministry of Rites with the beating of gongs and drums and handed it over to the envoy for issuance.
The above is the issuance of the edict. What are the rituals for welcoming the edict? During the Hongwu period, there were also etiquette regulations for this link. Whenever an envoy was sent to read the edict, the department receiving the edict should prepare a dragon pavilion, ceremonial guards, and drums, and go out to receive the edict. The envoy dismounted, placed the edict in the Dragon Pavilion, and stood facing south. The officials in the department who received the edict put on their court clothes and bowed five times. Then, with the officials and the band leading the way, the envoy mounted his horse
following the Dragon Pavilion. , came to the Gongsi Yamen together. The officials entered first and lined up in the hall according to the principle of Wen Dong and Wu Xi. When the Dragon Pavilion arrived, they bowed four times and walked through the Dragon Pavilion. He handed the edict to Zhan Du Gong, who took it on his knees, walked to the reading table, and read the edict. After reading it, he returned the edict stick
to the officials in the Long Pavilion. After four bows, the head of the department walked to the Dragon Pavilion, knelt down and asked the emperor for blessings. The imperial envoy bowed and replied: "Blessings for the emperor." "The officials retreated, changed out of their court uniforms, put on their official uniforms, and went out to meet and entertain the envoys. When they met, both parties bowed twice.
Whenever an envoy from the imperial court is on his way to deliver an edict, whether he is an official, a soldier, or a common person, he should immediately prostrate himself by the roadside and wait until the edict-delivery team has passed before he can get up.
The above is the outline of the ceremony of issuing and receiving edicts. In addition to edicts, the emperor issued orders in other forms, such as salvation talismans, alchemy talismans, metaphors, hand edicts, etc. Most of the transmission of these documents was not done publicly, so there was no grand ceremony.
In the Qing Dynasty, imperial edicts were first written in Manchu, Mongolian and Chinese, and later changed to Manchu and Chinese. In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a yellow cover, a cloud plate, an edict case, and a yellow case were set up; outside the Meridian Gate, a dragon pavilion and an incense pavilion were prepared; a cloud and golden wind were prefabricated in the pheasant mouth on Tiananmen Gate, and a platform for announcing the edict was built in the east. The cabinet bachelor issued an imperial edict and printed the national seal, which was laid out on Huang's desk. When the emperor entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the princes, princes and ministers paid their respects, and the great scholar handed the edict to the Minister of Rites under the palace trough. The minister knelt down to receive it, and displayed it on the edict table of Lord Dan. After the ceremony, the edict was placed in the cloud disk and covered with a yellow cover. The Rites Palace held the cloud disk and walked out of the Gate of Supreme Harmony from the middle road. The officials walked to the Meridian Gate and placed the cloud disk in the Dragon Pavilion. Longting came to the south of the bridge outside Tiananmen Square, took out the cloud disk and placed it on the yellow table on the high platform. The civil and military officials lined up according to rank and stood to the north. The text was read in Chinese later. After reading, all the officials knelt three times and kowtowed nine times. The official who served the imperial edict loaded the imperial edict with a cloud, tied it with a colorful rope, and lowered it from the golden wind port on the Tiananmen Tower. The official of the Ministry of Rites took the imperial edict from the cloud and put it into the Long Pavilion. Gongwei Longting left the Qing Gate and went to the Ministry of Rites. The Minister of Rites led his subordinates to Wangque (palace) to worship the incense table and perform the ceremony of welcoming the edict. After receiving the edict, the Ministry of Rites copied it in yellow characters, printed it, and issued it to each province.
2) On the table. The so-called above tables here include not only tables, but also writings such as notes, memorials, notes, seals, inscriptions, books, and ultimatums. Regarding the writing methods and styles of various literary styles, it belongs to the scope of discussion of literary studies or stylistics. Here we only describe some etiquette when princes, ministers, civil and military officials make speeches to the emperor or the queen mother. As for the different styles of memorials, The format is only incidental when it comes to liturgical content. In view of the fact that the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty has the characteristics of being inherited from the Tang and Song Dynasties and inspired by the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, and its rules and regulations are very typical of the Han nationality's feudal dynasty, we will still take the Ming Dynasty's ritual ceremony as an example to summarize.
When the ministers of the Song Dynasty presented themselves to the court, the general situation was as follows: the garrison was located second to the court, the civil servants were in the east, and the military officers were in the west, relatively leading; the Zhongshu Ling was located to the north of the ministers. The officials of the Ministry of Rites brought in the table and brought in the order, and then stood in the south. The doctor of the Ministry of Rites handed the watch to Zhongshu Ling, who presented the watch to the emperor. Whenever there is a major court ceremony, the prime minister will lead the civil and military ministers, military generals, tribal leaders of various countries, Taoist monks, and elders of the people to wait until the east gate of the pavilion to pay homage to the palace. The envoys and envoys of the pavilion were handed over to Tongjinsi, and the Tongjinsi was handed over to the emperor. When the officials of the Song Dynasty went to the table, there must be an important official as the "head of the table", that is, the leader of the table. Some believed that the Prince's Third Division should be the leader, while others believed that the chief minister should serve as a servant, and finally decided to use Pu She is the leader because he is the commander of hundreds of officers and the foundation of hundreds of officials.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were many forms of paying tribute, such as the writing ceremony, the jade certificate ceremony, the writing ceremony, the congratulating ceremony, the thanking ceremony, etc., which were very detailed and specific. First, let’s talk about the table entry ceremony.
Customized in the early Ming Dynasty, when the palace met the three major festivals such as Zhengdan, Winter Solstice, and Christmas, the furnishings were prepared in advance. When ready, the vassal king took his crown and bowed four times, knelt down in front of the incense table, and entered. After the table, reset, pray four times, dance three times, shout long live three times, and pray four times again. The subordinate officials also wore court uniforms and saluted with the class. If you are entering the queen's palace, the ceremony is the same except that there is no dancing and the mountain calls for divination; if you are entering the crown prince's palace, the king will wear leather clothes and passersby will pay homage.
In each yamen, hundreds of officials submit notes. There are only regulations and no rituals. It was decided during the Hongwu Period. The day before entering the yamen, the festivities were placed in the streets near the yamen and public houses, and the officials rested and rested in their own yamen. In the early morning of the morning of the entry day, a dragon pavilion is set up in the court, and a guard of ceremony and drum music are set up on the terrace. A table is placed in front of the dragon pavilion. At the beginning of the drum, all officials put on their court uniforms. For the second time, the leader went to the incense table, stamped the official seal on the table, placed the table on the table, and then retired to set up the ceremony. Drum three strict, each officer enters the class, bows four times, the chief comes to the incense table, the praise officer calls "kneeling", all the officials kneel, a deacon kneels and hands the note to the chief, the chief kneels and hands it to the officer who enters the table, and the officer who enters the table kneels He knelt down to take it and put it into the dragon pavilion. When the chief returns to his position, each official bows four times, dances three times, shouts three times, and bows four times. The gongs and drums lead in front, followed by the honor guard, followed by the drums, followed by hundreds of officials. After the hundreds of officials, they enter the Biaoguan and Longting.
When they arrived at the outskirts, they faced the dragon pavilion to the south. The ceremonial guards and drums were arranged as mentioned above. Civil and military officers stood in attendance. The chief took out the form of writing from the dragon pavilion and handed it to Officer Jin. Officer Jin took the form on his horse and rode on. He rushed to the capital palace and the officials returned.
The Ming Dynasty stipulated the quantity, procedures and dates for entering and uploading tables. For example, in the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu (1393), it was decided that on the emperor's birthday, only one inscription for the five-rank or above yamen outside the capital would be entered; there would be one inscription for Zhengdan, Winter Solstice, and one inscription for the emperor, one for the middle palace, and one for the east palace. The local provincial first-level yamen will send envoys
to the Ministry of Rites. The official documents from each state were first handed over to the government, and each government then handed them over to the Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary finally sent them to the Ministry of Gifts. The Ministry of Rites made a catalog of the official documents received from all over the country and reported them to the emperor, empress, and princes of the palace. on all forms.