The Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China

Previous studies on the Nanhaishen Temple 南海神廟 (Temple of the South Sea God) in Guangzhou in the Tang dynasty focus mainly on the South Sea God as the patron of the Maritime Silk Road, without thoroughly discussing the state ritual and the sacrificial right of the Tang government. This paper illumin...

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Autor principal:	Yuanlin Wang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	South Sea God state sacrificial ritual Zhang Jiuling Zhang Jiuzhang Zhang Jiugao Tang dynasty Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/40c2d20907c54f1e9834f86c139165ef
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:40c2d20907c54f1e9834f86c139165ef2021-11-25T18:52:55ZThe Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China10.3390/rel121109602077-1444https://doaj.org/article/40c2d20907c54f1e9834f86c139165ef2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/960https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1444Previous studies on the Nanhaishen Temple 南海神廟 (Temple of the South Sea God) in Guangzhou in the Tang dynasty focus mainly on the South Sea God as the patron of the Maritime Silk Road, without thoroughly discussing the state ritual and the sacrificial right of the Tang government. This paper illuminates five new points concerning the ritual. First, the sacrificial ritual to the South Sea God developed from the suburban rituals in previous dynasties into both forms of suburban and local rituals, which was also categorized as the medium sacrifice among the three major sacrifices in the state ritual system of the Tang dynasty. Second, the first commissioner who was sent by the central government to perform the sacrificial ritual to the South Sea God was Zhang Jiuling, and henceforth the temporary assignment of court officials to the ceremonies became institutionalized. In the tenth year of Tianbao (751), the South Sea God was entitled Guangliwang 廣利王 (King Guangli), and the commissioner sent on this mission was Zhang Jiuzhang, Zhang Jiuling’s third younger brother, rather than his second younger brother Zhang Jiugao as seen in some records. Third, most of the commissioners were dispatched by the central government in the early Tang, and therefore the sacrifice to the South Sea God was related to the state ritual system; but in the late Tang local officials became dominant in the ritual ceremonies, and thus good harvests and social stability in the Lingnan region became the major concern of the sacrifice. Fourth, the legend that the Buddhist Master Xiujiu 休咎禪師 took over the temple and accepted the South Sea God as his disciple reflected the reciprocity between Buddhism and the South Sea God belief. Last but not the least, the sacrificial ceremonies to the South Sea God established in the Tang dynasty and performed by the officials of both the central and local governments had a significant influence on the ritual in the following dynasties.Yuanlin WangMDPI AGarticleSouth Sea Godstate sacrificial ritualZhang JiulingZhang JiuzhangZhang JiugaoTang dynastyReligions. Mythology. RationalismBL1-2790ENReligions, Vol 12, Iss 960, p 960 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	South Sea God state sacrificial ritual Zhang Jiuling Zhang Jiuzhang Zhang Jiugao Tang dynasty Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
spellingShingle	South Sea God state sacrificial ritual Zhang Jiuling Zhang Jiuzhang Zhang Jiugao Tang dynasty Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 Yuanlin Wang The Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China
description	Previous studies on the Nanhaishen Temple 南海神廟 (Temple of the South Sea God) in Guangzhou in the Tang dynasty focus mainly on the South Sea God as the patron of the Maritime Silk Road, without thoroughly discussing the state ritual and the sacrificial right of the Tang government. This paper illuminates five new points concerning the ritual. First, the sacrificial ritual to the South Sea God developed from the suburban rituals in previous dynasties into both forms of suburban and local rituals, which was also categorized as the medium sacrifice among the three major sacrifices in the state ritual system of the Tang dynasty. Second, the first commissioner who was sent by the central government to perform the sacrificial ritual to the South Sea God was Zhang Jiuling, and henceforth the temporary assignment of court officials to the ceremonies became institutionalized. In the tenth year of Tianbao (751), the South Sea God was entitled Guangliwang 廣利王 (King Guangli), and the commissioner sent on this mission was Zhang Jiuzhang, Zhang Jiuling’s third younger brother, rather than his second younger brother Zhang Jiugao as seen in some records. Third, most of the commissioners were dispatched by the central government in the early Tang, and therefore the sacrifice to the South Sea God was related to the state ritual system; but in the late Tang local officials became dominant in the ritual ceremonies, and thus good harvests and social stability in the Lingnan region became the major concern of the sacrifice. Fourth, the legend that the Buddhist Master Xiujiu 休咎禪師 took over the temple and accepted the South Sea God as his disciple reflected the reciprocity between Buddhism and the South Sea God belief. Last but not the least, the sacrificial ceremonies to the South Sea God established in the Tang dynasty and performed by the officials of both the central and local governments had a significant influence on the ritual in the following dynasties.
format	article
author	Yuanlin Wang
author_facet	Yuanlin Wang
author_sort	Yuanlin Wang
title	The Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China
title_short	The Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China
title_full	The Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China
title_fullStr	The Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China
title_full_unstemmed	The Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China
title_sort	sacrificial ritual and commissioners to the south sea god in tang china
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/40c2d20907c54f1e9834f86c139165ef
work_keys_str_mv	AT yuanlinwang thesacrificialritualandcommissionerstothesouthseagodintangchina AT yuanlinwang sacrificialritualandcommissionerstothesouthseagodintangchina
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The Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China

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