人神之际:古代中国五帝祭祀的变迁(上)

Between Human Beings and Gods:the Changes of Sacrifices to the Five Rulers in Ancient China( first half)

祭天、祭宗庙、祭先代帝王等是古代中国国家祭祀中最为重要的礼仪仪式。五帝祭祀与古代中国多神论相关,萌芽于春秋时期,大约到汉初才形成相对完备的祭祀体系。自战国五行学说流行,五帝祭祀又逐渐蒙上五行色彩,五帝转化为保佑一方的先代圣王。汉末,郑玄利用谶纬等资源,将五帝改造成五精帝,与至上神昊天上帝结合而成'六天说';王肃则强调五帝非天,持'一天说'。后世礼家分别依郑、王学说为据,展开了激烈的争论。魏晋南北朝至唐玄宗之前,五天帝说占上风,唐玄宗时始在郊祀、明堂中区分五天帝、五人帝配飨,将五帝一分为二:一为天帝;一为人帝。这一祭祀方式一直延续到元代。同时,从五德始终角度出发,北齐、北周开始祭祀感生帝。明初,否定五帝为天,恢复为人帝,在各种祭祀中将五帝排除在外,也不再祭祀感生帝,另立三皇祭祀和历代帝王祭祀,五帝则被纳入历代帝王祭祀中。这一规定在明清两代没有改变。这种由人而神,由神而人的衍化路径,无论在古代中国国家礼典中还是民间淫祀中,大多均经历过这样一条衍化路径。这一现象,值得深思。

Ceremonies such as offering sacrifices to heaven,ancestral temple,and ancient emperors are the most important rituals in ancient Chinese national sacrifices.The sacrifice to the Five Rulers,which is related to polytheism in ancient China,originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and formed a complete system in the early Han Dynasty.The sacrifice to the Five Rulers was gradually influenced by the Five Elements since the Five Elements became popular in the Warring States Period,and the Five Rulers transformed into five ancient emperors.In the late Eastern Han Dynasty,Zheng Xuan transformed by confucianist divination the Five Rulers into five spirits,and combined them with the God of Heaven to form a'six-heavens Theory'.While Wang Su,who hold'one-heaven Theory',emphasized that the Five Rulers were neither spirits nor heavens.The subsequent scholars began a heated debate on Zheng and Wang’s theories.From the Wei Dynasty to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty,Zheng Xuan’s theory had the upper hand.The ceremonies of sacrifice established by Emperor Xuanzong continued to the Yuan Dynasty,which began to distinguished the Five Rulers into five spirits and five ancient emperors.In the early Ming Dynasty,the five emperors were denounced as heavens,and they were restored to the emperors.In the Ming and Qing dynasties,the sacrifices to the Five Rulers were excluded from former official sacrificial system,and were included in the ancient emperors’sacrifices.Almost all ancient Chinese sacrifices have experienced the evolutionary path from human beings to gods and then from gods to human beings.