Page 57 - 2022(1) International Confusion Studies

50 C. Li

How did “vast and mighty Heaven” come to mean both “father and mother”?If
seen in the context of Jiao and She rituals (郊社之礼) in the Western Zhou, “the vast
Heaven” likely omitted the meaning of “Empress of Earth.” The Western Zhou Jiao
and She rituals, as documented in The Book of History (《尚书》), covered the
following:

Between nine and eleven on the third day thereafter, he offered two bulls as sacrifices at Jiao
(outside the city); between eleven and thirteen on the morrow, at the She (altar to the spirit of
the Earth) in the new city, he sacrificed a bull, a ram, and a boar. (“Announcement of the Duke
,
of Shao” in The Book of History,《尚书·召诰》J. Legge, Trans.)
The reference to Jiao (郊) meant a ritual offering to the “Emperor of Heaven,”
and She (社), that to the “Empress of Earth.” A similar reference is found in the
chapter “The Building of Luo” of The Recollected Book of Zhou (《逸周书·作雒》):
“A temple was thus built in the suburbs in the south for rituals offered to the
Emperor of Heaven,” while she rituals were held for the “Empress of Earth.”
(Zhou, 1984, p. 200)
Whether “Jiao and She rituals” had existed in the earlier Shang Dynasty (ca.
1600 B.C.E.–1064 B.C.E.) may still be a matter of debate, although in “The Great
)
Declaration II” of The Book of History (《尚书· 泰誓下》there was a denunciation
made of King Zhou of Shang (商纣王 reigning 1075 B.C.E.–1046 B.C.E.),
for neglecting such rites and discontinuing “the offerings in the ancestral
temple” (郊社不修，宗庙不享). It is beyond any doubt however, that such rit-
uals had been practiced by the Western Zhou and continued in succeeding
dynasties. The Temple of Heaven (天坛)and theTempleof Earth (地坛)in
Beijing, served as imperial sites for ritual offerings to Heaven and Earth
respectively, throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Temple of Imperial
Ancestors (太庙) was located to the east of the Imperial Palace (故宫), known as
the Forbidden City (紫禁城). Heaven and Earth featured prominently among the
five objects of worship inscribed on traditional ceremonial tablets, with the rest
being “sovereign, ancestors and teachers.” This popular tradition in emulation of
the courtly rites became universally practiced after the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.E.–
206 B.C.E.). As Xunzi (荀子 ca. 340 B.C.E.–ca. 245 B.C.E.) confirmed, “There are three
foundations of cosmic law: Heaven and Earth as the source of life; ancestors, as the
source of kinship; sovereign and teacher, as the source of order” (“Discourse on
Natural Law” in Xunzi,《荀子 · 礼论》). By denoting Heaven and Earth as the “source
of life”, this means that they are the creators of humanity, all creatures and things.
The reference to the “vast and mighty Heaven” in The Book of Songs, intended to
mean both “father and mother” without mentioning “Empress of Earth,” is in my
view very likely a textual truncation. A precedent for such an omission can be found
in the Confucian text: “by Jiao and She rituals they served the Emperor/Ruler of