清代乾隆初年先蚕礼的复兴及其原因探析

The Study on the Revival of the Silkworm Goddess Rite in the Qing Dynasty

先蚕礼是历史王朝宫廷内由皇后主持祭祀先蚕神的宫廷典仪,最早可追溯到商周时期,但历代都没有发展为定制,清代先蚕礼自清中期设立之后,便得以复兴并逐渐发展为定制。乾隆时期是清代先蚕礼恢复和发展的关键时期,并且清代先蚕礼经历了由被忽视到引起注意,再到被重视的变化过程。在乾隆即位前,先蚕礼一直被忽视而没有被举行,而乾隆帝即位之后就着手建造先蚕祠,乾隆三年至乾隆七年正式祭祀先蚕神,但是规模小,规格低;到了乾隆九年之后,先蚕礼的地位得到了极大的提升,先蚕礼主祀人员发生重大变化,皇后开始亲蚕,先蚕礼的仪制规格相应提升,祭祀场所也得到扩建,此后清廷先蚕礼便行而不辍。虽然这是国家礼制建设与完善的必然,但在“朕即国家”的中央专制王朝统治之下,其得以建立的主要契机极有可能在于乾隆帝对富察皇后的宠爱。因此,梳理清代先蚕礼的发展脉络,结合当时先蚕礼设立、发展时期的宫廷政治、帝后关系以及社会经济背景,可拓展制度史研究的多个路径。

The silkworm goddess rite was a ceremony presided by the empress to worship the silkworm goddess in the imperial court of the ancient China's dynasties.Its origin can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties,but it did not develop into a regular practice until the Qing Dynasty,specifically during the mid-Qing period.The reign of Emperor Qianlong was a critical period for the restoration and development of the ritual.It underwent a transformation from being disregarded to gaining attention and finally to being highly regarded in the Qing Dynasty.Before Qianlong ascended the throne,the rite was ignored and not held.However,after his accession,he initiated the construction of the Silkworm Goddess Temple.From the third to the seventh year of his reign,the rite was officially held,but on a small scale and with low standards.By the ninth year of Qianlong's reign,its status had been greatly elevated.Significant changes occurred in the personnel presiding over the ritual.The empress began to preside over the rite personally.Accordingly,the specifications of the rite were improved and the sacrificial places was expanded.Subsequently,the rite became regular in the imperial court of the Qing Dynasty.Although the establishment of its status was a natural progression in the construction and improvement of state rituals,the deeper reasons might lie in Emperor Qianlong's favoritism towards Empress Fucha.Therefore,the paths for the study on the institutional history can be expanded,by examining the development process of the silkworm ceremony in the Qing Dynasty,and by considering palace politics,the relationship between the emperor and the empress,and socio-economic context in the period when the rite was established and developed.