朝觐礼考

Textual Research on the Ceremony of Having an Audience with the Emperor

朝觐是西周时期的重要邦交礼仪 ,它对于巩固周代初年的统治和维护周天子的权威地位起了很大的作用。进入春秋以后 ,虽然“礼崩乐坏” ,但朝觐礼仪却为春秋诸侯所继承 ,并成为霸主控制与盟诸侯的手段之一。它一方面提高了霸主的地位和权威 ;另一方面则将众多的诸侯控制在霸主之下 ,对邦交秩序的稳定和发展起到了一定的作用。关于朝觐的礼仪 ,历来争论不休。本文通过对文献的排比爬梳 ,钩沉发微 ,试图勾勒出西周及春秋时期的朝觐礼仪。

Having an audience with the emperor was an important etiquette of diplomatic relations in the period of the Western Zhou Dynasty. It had played a big role in solidifying the ruling of the Zhou Dynasty in its early years and defending the power of the emperor of Zhou. When the history stepped into the Spring and Autumn Period, once prevailing etiquettes were abolished but the etiquette of having an audience with the emperor was carried forward by the feudal lords of the Spring and Autumn Period, and it became a means for the powerful leader of feudal lords to control allied lords. It promoted the social position and authority of the leader and put the lords under the control of the powerful leader thus it played a certain role in stabilizing and developing the order of diplomatic relations. The history has witnessed an endless dispute over the etiquette of having an audience with the emperor. This paper attempts to outline the etiquette of having an audience with the emperor during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period by way of doing detailed research on historical documents.