Sacrificial Contents of Yandiling Festival

From ancient times to the present, the sacrificial ways of Yandiling can be roughly divided into official sacrifices (also known as imperial sacrifices, big sacrifices and public sacrifices). ), folk sacrifices and gods sacrifices.

Official sacrifice. The official sacrifices of past dynasties refer to the imperial sacrifices of the imperial court. In case of state affairs, a sacrificial ceremony was held, and the emperor sent officials to pay homage to the mausoleum. Up to now, there are two kinds of official sacrifices: public sacrifices and accusation sacrifices. Public sacrifices are generally sponsored by government organizations, with government administrative officials as chief priests, accompanied by major representatives from all relevant parties and public participation; Generally speaking, the leaders of sacrificial units and organizations will be the main sacrificial ceremony, and representatives of all relevant parties of sacrificial units and organizations will accompany and participate in the ceremony. The agendas of modern public sacrifices and memorial ceremonies are generally standardized and fixed, and usually consist of ceremonies such as offering high incense, offering flower baskets, offering offerings, reading sacrificial rites, and opening the noon gate.

Folk sacrifice. The time should be chosen on the first day (the first day) and half a day (the fifteenth day) of each month, as well as various traditional festivals. Generally speaking, groups, families or individuals join hands to meet major celebrations or special events and choose auspicious days to pay homage to Yiling. The agenda and contents of folk sacrifices are generally grave-sweeping, incense-burning, kneeling and praying, praying and answering questions, restoring rewards and so on.

Sacrificing and believing in gods is the inheritance and accumulation of thousands of years of traditional culture in China. Sacrificing to the gods is a psychological demand and pursuit for good men and women in the world to believe in the gods. Sacrificing Yandiling is also a manifestation of people worshiping and worshiping Yan Di Shennong as a god.

With the deepening of the cultural value of Yandiling and the continuous expansion of the sacrificial content, its form has evolved from the traditional procedure of paying tribute, burning incense and ghosts to the traditional and modern sacrificial forms such as literature sacrifice, material sacrifice, music sacrifice, dragon sacrifice, drum sacrifice, dance sacrifice, medicine sacrifice and god sacrifice. There are eulogy, eulogy, inscriptions, etc. And most of them are memorial, memorial, praise, prayer and repentance for ancestors. Traditional eulogy is usually written on yellow silk cloth, while modern eulogy is mostly written on exquisite folding rice paper, which is read by priests in front of the mausoleum and then incinerated in incense burners. The burning eulogy turned into plumes of smoke, comforting the ancestors of Emperor Yan. Help our country to become rich and strong. Oral sacrifice and psychological recitation are the most common among folk sacrifices. ...

As an ancient Han folk culture, in the long historical process, Yan Di Mausoleum Festival has become a comprehensive cultural carrier covering music, dance, literature and other fields. Among them, nine dragons are arranged radially around the sacred stone in the memorial site, and the Yan Di flame at the top of the sacred stone is ignited by the flames spouted from their mouths to commemorate the popularization of fire by Emperor Yan Shennong. The dragon without props at the scene embodies the idea that China people are not only descendants of dragons, but also descendants of dragons. In Longtang Square, five dragons with different colors, yellow, blue, black, white and red, perform according to the five elements, which contains rich traditional cultural connotations of the Han nationality.

The above content comes from Zhuzhou. Yan Di Mausoleum Festival, a national intangible cultural heritage of com.