西周金文中的祭祖礼

WESTERN ZHOU ANCESTOR WORSHIP RITES RECORDED IN BRONZE INSCRIPTIONS

我国古礼传统上分为吉、嘉、宾、军、凶五种,然而"礼月五经,莫重于祭",诸祭礼中又以祭祖礼更为重要。西周是古礼盛行的时代,因此对西周祭祖礼的研究,是认识古礼的关键。本文拟以西周全文为基本资料,兼及其他先秦铭刻资料和部份文献,试对这一问题作些初步探讨,并进而对西周王室祭祖礼仪和周人的祖神观念作些粗浅的分析。

Ⅰ. 20 Forms of Sacrificial Rites to Ancestors In Western Zhou bronze inscriptions are mentioned 20 forms of sacrificial rites of ancestor worship such as the di(禘), yi(衣), gao(告), yu(禦), bao(报), di(翟), liao(燎), lao(牢), chang(尝), zheng(烝), etc., the objects of worship in all these rites being ancestors of the last three generations. These rites had various aims and were practised in different ways. A comparison of these rites with those mentioned in oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions of the Yin Dynasty show that 17 of them are the same as those of the Yin Dynasty, but actually, most of these are identical only in name, and prevailed before the time of King Mu Wang of the Zhou Dynasty. This means that the Zhou people followed all the Yin sacrificial rites, but with modifications and changes, as Confucius said: 'the zhou Dynasty inherited the sacrificial rites of the Yin Dynasty, and so the modifications and innovations in this respect are understandable.' Ⅱ. The Ancestor worship Rites of the Western Zhou Royal Family When the king was going to an ancestor worship rite, it was necessarily done in advance to get sacrificial offerings and ritual vessels ready and fix the date of holding the rite by divination; and before arrival to the destination he had to stay in a certain place; in short, all things had to be prepared beforehand. One of the distinctive features of the Western Zhou ancestor worship rites was assigning a living person to represent the ancestor worshipped and another person to chant the worshipper and to pray for the offerer. The main ritual items were wine-offering, singing and dancing. After the rite some sacrifical meat was shared among and the same bestowal was made to the participants and ceremony was repeated on tht following day. Ⅲ. Notions of Ancestors-dieties among Zhou People The Zhou people worshipped their ancestors of the closest generations. In Western Zhou bronze inscriptions the term Shang Di(God) doesn't refer to the Supreme Being, but the diefied late father of the king. According to Zhou people, ancestors and Shang Di bestowed on them good fortune, wealth and auspiciousness, but Heaven sometimes let evils befall them and therefore was terrible'. In their opinion, Heaven was the Supreme Being, but he didn't bestow authority on anyone for ever, which belonged only to moralists. 'In order to get Heaven's forgiveness for our dullness and stupidity', it is necessary to pay great attention to morality. Zhou Wen Wang was considered the embodiment of all virtues and his descendents had to follow his example.