The first four emperors of Qin (Bai Di, Di Qing, Huangdi and Yan Di) worshipped, plus Hei Di. According to Lv Buwei's Twelve Generations, the Five Emperors are the gods in charge of the four directions, four seasons and five elements. The yellow emperor is in the middle, with earth virtue; Taiyi lives in the east, has virtue, and is the main spring, also known as the Spring Emperor; Emperor Yan lives in the south, has fire virtue, and is in charge of the summer, also known as Emperor Yan; Juxi, and Jinde, the main autumn, also known as Bai Di; Zhuan Xu, also known as Hei Di, lives in the north and has a good reputation for water. -"Lu Chunqiu's Calling Class"
Because Qin Shihuang is the emperor of the world, ... he even ordered the river to say "De Shui", taking winter and October as the first year, with black color, six degrees of fame, loud voice and unity of everything. Only Yongsi God is revered, and only Chen Bao touches people's hearts. Therefore, the four temples blend together, and spring prays for the New Year. Due to freezing, autumn freezing, the temple is blocked in winter, the pony in May and the temple in April. Chen came to a temple. Plums are used in spring and summer, and in autumn and winter. There are four ponies, a wooden cart and a wooden cart and horse, all as beautiful as their emperor. There are four yellow calves and four lambs, each with its own number of coins. They are all risking their lives, and there are no wimps. A suburb for three years. October is the beginning of the year in Qin Dynasty, so October is common in the suburbs, worshipping beside Xianyang, dressed in white, like a cloud in the temple. West corner of the eye, corner of the eye, temple, that's it, I won't go. (Liu Bang) asked: "So what was the temple emperor in the Qin Dynasty?" He said, "The four emperors have shrines in white, blue, yellow and Chi Di." Gaozu said: "I heard that there are five emperors in the sky, but there are actually four. Why? " I don't know what it says. -"Historical Records Zen"
The five suburbs refer to the eastern suburbs, southern suburbs, western suburbs, northern suburbs and middle suburbs. In ancient etiquette, the emperor set up sacrifices in the five suburbs to welcome Qi. On the day of beginning of spring, the Spring Festival was held in the eastern suburbs to pay homage to Di Qing Ju Mang; On the day of long summer, the southern suburbs welcome summer and offer sacrifices to Zhu Rong and Chi Di; Eighteen days before beginning of autumn, he greeted Huangling in Zhao Zhong and offered sacrifices to the Yellow Emperor. On that day in beginning of autumn, we greeted autumn in the western suburbs and offered sacrifices to Bai Di Ru Shou. On the day of beginning of winter, the northern suburbs welcomed the winter and offered sacrifices to Hei Di Xuanming. "Records of Ming Di in the Later Han Dynasty": "The spirit began to meet in the five suburbs at the age of (the second year of Zhong Ping)."
Records of Rites and Music in the History of Han Dynasty recorded that Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty set the ceremony of rural worship and established Yuefu, with Li Yannian as the assistant method, and ordered Sima Xiangru and others to write nineteen chapters of rural worship songs, most of which were named after the first sentence of the song. Go to the suburbs to worship heaven and earth. Most of these songs in later generations followed the old songs of the Han Dynasty.
The son of heaven is the son of God and the carrier of heaven, that is, to rule the world by destiny. Emperors and dynasties on the earth are all induced by the five gods in turn, so they are also called "induction emperors". Such as Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang. The temple is built on Mount Tai to worship heaven, so it is called "sealing". Mount Tai goes down the mountain, which is called "Zen". "White Tiger Yi Tong" said: "When the monarch is ordered, the heaven is prosperous, and the four sides dare not violate it." Sima Guang said in "The Question of Jun": "Jun is destined for heaven, facing the four seas, bearing the orders of Heaven and Tao, and being unified by righteousness."
In China culture, the Five Emperors is a special vocabulary of the official sacrificial ceremony of the imperial court, and it is one of the highest sacrificial ceremonies, second only to "worshipping the five gods in the suburbs alone". The Five Emperors are big sacrifices, including the five gods as the main sacrifices, as well as their respective emperors, their respective officials, their respective stars, their respective three mornings and their respective seven nights in all directions.
The five gods are in the altar, the five emperors are above, and the five senses are below.
Emperor, sacrifice ten prison terms, that is, one cow and ten cows per emperor. After the water beans, the number is the same as that of the suburbs. Whether there is a juvenile prison (sheep) will generally vary from generation to generation, but it is the highest level of sacrifice, so the sacrifice has always been "cattle", and around the Tang Dynasty, in the sacrifice, the special cow was cancelled. Only the last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, was special.
According to different historical records, there are the following six statements:
(1) Huangdi, Zhuan Xu, Yao, Shun (Daidai, Historical Records);
(2) Dongxi, Shennong, Huangdi, Yaoshun (Warring States Policy);
(3) Tai Hao, Yan Di, Huangdi, Shao Hao and Zhuan Xu (Lv Chunqiu);
(4) Huangdi,, Zhuan Xu,, Yao ("Zijian Waiji");
(5) Shao Hao, Zhuan Xu, Di Ku, Yao and Shun (pseudo "Preface to Shangshu"); This theory will be adopted by history books in the future because of its respect for the status of Confucian classics. Therefore, this theory of five emperors is considered to be an ancient history of belief;
(6) Huangdi (Xuanyuan), Di Qing (Fuxi) and Chi Di are also called Yan Di (Shennong), Bai Di (Shao Hao) and Hei Di (Zhuan Xu) (Five Gods).
The contents of the Five Emperors' Sacrifice are as follows:
1. God: Di Qing in the Eastern Suburb and the Emperor: Fuxi from the official worship: Ju Mang from the star worship: Sui Xing from other worship: Chen San, Seven Nights in the East.
(Representative: Spring Beast: Qinglong Wuxing: Wood)
2. God: Chi Di in the southern suburbs is the emperor; Shennong is the official; Zhu Rong is the star; Huo Ying is another: Chen San, seven nights in the south.
(Representative: Summer Beast: Suzaku Five Elements: Fire)
3. God: Huangdi in the Middle Suburb with Emperor: Xuanyuan Baiguan: Hou Dubai Star: Revitalization.
(Five Elements: Earth)
4. God: Bai Di in the western suburbs with the emperor: Shao Hao worships officials: Ru Shou worships stars: Taibai worships another: Chen San, seven nights in the Western Heaven.
(Representative: Autumn Beast: White Tiger and Five Elements: Gold)
5. God: Hei Di in the northern suburb is the emperor; Zhuan Xu is the official; Xuan Ming is the star; Chen Xing is the other star; Chen San is the seven nights in the north (representative: Winter Beast: Xuanwu Five Elements: Water).
Since the Qin Dynasty, China has integrated and unified sacrificial rituals, and the traditions of "offering sacrifices to five gods" and "mountains and rivers" began with Qin Shihuang, ending the chaotic situation. The Qin dynasty was just a simple merger, because many magicians participated in the formulation of sacrificial ceremonies, and the gods were superstitious. When offering sacrifices, the level is still very chaotic, and Mount Tai is the most important. Cattle are used to worship mountains and rivers, and horses are used to worship gods. Like the "second generation of Zhou Jian", in the Qin Dynasty, horses were nobler than cattle and were "first class".
The five gods, namely, East, South, West, North and Middle, are also called Five Emperors, Five Emperors, Five Heavenly Emperors and Five Gods. As early as the Zhou dynasty, according to the etiquette of the Zhou dynasty, people would sacrifice to the gods and the five gods in the east, west, north and south. Six sacrifices: one for the sky, to worship the sky; Second, worship the eastern gods; Third, Zhu Bai is the south god and Asahi; Fourth, Huang pheasant is a sacrifice to the land and the central god; Fifth, say "white twips" to worship the Western Heaven and the late moon; Sixth, it is called the Xuanti, to offer sacrifices to the gods of the north, the emperor and China. Among them, the god of heaven is the god of nature, that is, heaven; These five gods, namely Tai Hao (Fuxi Shi) in Di Qing in the east, Yan Di (Shennong) in the south, Huangdi (Xuanyuan) in the middle, Bai Di (Shao Hao) in the west and Hei Di (Zhuan Xu) in the north, are five personified gods.
Five emperors can be divided into congenital five emperors and acquired five emperors. Innate Five Emperors are the gods and emperors who rule five directions, namely, Tai Hao in the East, Yan Di in Chi Di in the South, Shao Hao in the West, Zhuan Xu in the North and the Yellow Emperor in the Center. The five emperors the day after tomorrow are the emperors of the world and the five saints in ancient China, namely Fuxi, Yan Di, Huangdi, Shao Hao and Zhuan Xu. It is believed that he became a god after his death, assisting the God of Heaven and the Five Innate Emperors to rule the Five Kingdoms. The congenital five emperors have different names in Confucianism and Taoism.
According to China tradition, offering sacrifices to the five gods is an extremely important religious sacrifice. For example, in the Sui Dynasty, there were three levels of sacrificial ceremonies. The Book of Rites of Sui Shu says: "Heaven God, Five Gods, Sun and Moon, Imperial Land, Shenzhou, Country and Ancestral Temple are big sacrifices, stars, five sacrifices and four tables are Chinese sacrifices, and division, commander, wind Lord, rain Lord, stars and mountains and rivers are small sacrifices. The theological system represented by Zheng Xuan thinks that God is another name of heaven, and there are six gods in six days. Six-day gods are gods and five-party gods. Haotian God (Emperor Huang) is the all-day emperor; Each of the Five Heavenly Emperors is a Heavenly Emperor, namely, the hub of Tude, Huangdi and Korea in the center, the tail sun of Mudeling in the east, the red crossbow of Huode in the south, the refusal of Jinde and Baizhao in the west, and the spotlight of Shuide in the north. The religious system represented by Wang Su holds that the five elements emperors can be called gods, but not heaven. God in the sky can be called heaven, and to sacrifice to God in the sky is to sacrifice to heaven. Among the six gods, the natural emperor Haotian God can be called heaven, while the human emperor, the five elements God, cannot be called heaven. Sui Shu? Etiquette ":"The spirit is greeted at five o'clock, which belongs to Taidi, offering sacrifices to the five elements, not to heaven. Heaven is called emperor, also known as God, and also called emperor. The emperor of the five elements can also be called God, not Heaven. " Historical records? The Book of Enchantment: "God is too expensive, and Taiyi assists the five emperors." "Five Classics Yi Tong": "Emperor is also called Taiyi." Zheng Yunxuan: "The God in the sky is the emperor". That is, the five gods are the gods of heaven and science.
Five gods with five elements and five colors are Jin Mu's fire, water, earth, Bai Qing and Xuan Chihuang, Bai Di's Shao Hao Jinde, Di Qing's Tai Hao Mude, Xuan Di's Zhuan Xu Shuide, Chidi's fire virtue and Huangdi Tude. The Five-Party Emperor is also called the Five-Element Emperor. They are all human emperors, so they are also called the Five-Element Emperor.
The sacrificial ceremony of the ancient suburban temples in China is the center of the national sacrificial system, which has experienced a long evolution from ancient times to Qing Dynasty. "Suburbs" in short means that the southern suburbs respect heaven, the northern suburbs respect the ground, and the "five suburbs" respect the five emperors. In addition, there are ceremonies of the sun, the moon, mountains, rivers, storms and lightning. "Temple" is the ancestral temple where ancient emperors offered sacrifices to their ancestors. "Emperor" refers to the Emperor of Heaven in the ceremony of worshipping in the suburbs and the tribal ancestors in the ceremony of ancestral temple. In Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the "Emperor" has more than 400 editions in the form of a bundle, which is a sacrifice of "burning wood to heaven"; Or flower-shaped, the ancient phonetic characters similar to the emperor often have the meanings of "foundation" and "primitive". Ancient emperors such as Huangdi, Yan Di, Di Ku, and Imperial System probably called "emperors" from the meaning of their ancestors. Of course, it is difficult to judge the divinity of God only from its appearance. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were many names of gods, such as the God of Elegance, the God of Moon Order, the Emperor Lu Xing and Shi Xungui, the God of Elegance, the God of Elegance, the God of Taihō, and the God of Elegance. Sacrificing to the gods and ancestors is called "sacrifice", and its content is complicated, but it can be divided into two categories: sacrificing to heaven and ancestor. The former is a "foreign sacrifice", which is actually a gift from the suburban community in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties. The latter is an "internal sacrifice" and a ceremony of the ancestral temple. Sacrifice in suburban communities is mainly "sacrifice", that is, smoke is raised to worship the sky, and corpses and jade are burned on firewood, which is sincere because of smoke. "Shangshu Yu Shu": "Four categories belong to gods, only six grids, mountains and rivers, all over the gods." Wei Qing, Zhou Song: Zhao Jian, Jian Zheng: Wang Wen was ordered to sacrifice to heaven to conquer Luo Kui: Ming Ghost, Uncle Zhou Li: Sacrifice to Heaven with ghosts. In the sacrificial ceremony, the ancient dances of the Zhou Dynasty, such as Cloud Gate, Dajuan, Daxian, Shaoshao, Daxia, Daxie and Dawu, were all used.
The sacrificial system in Yin and Zhou Dynasties had a great influence on the temple fair ceremony in the suburbs of Han and Tang Dynasties. Sacrificial ceremonies in the Han and Tang Dynasties were very conservative. Sacrificing to "God", "Earth" and "Ghosts" (Ancestors and Ancestors) was the main content of national sacrifices in Han and Tang Dynasties, and it gradually became a ritual activity to worship heaven in the southern suburbs, to worship the land in the northern suburbs and to enjoy ancestors in ancestral temples. In the ceremony of suburban sacrifice, the emperor claimed to be the "son of heaven" and offered sacrifices to the gods and ancestors through the "Jedi Heaven Pass" in order to gain the exclusive right and sacred authority to communicate with the sacred world, which served as the basis and ultimate source of the legitimacy of kingship.