| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 中國文學系碩博士班 === 95 === This essay probes the problem of ancestral worship during the Wuding Period (武丁時期). I first discuss the issue of periodization in reference to the inscriptions on tortoise shell or ox shoulder bones (甲骨斷代) to identify the oracles that belong to the Wuding Period. In addition, the oracles are examined to differentiate the “Royal Oracles” (王卜辭) from the “Non-royal Oracles” (非王卜辭) in order to construct the hypothesis of an Elder Branch (大宗) and a Younger Branch (小宗) in a patriarchal clan.
The ceremonies recorded in the “Royal Oracles” and “Non-royal Oracles,” suggests that ancestral worship reflected the hierarchy of a patriarchal clan. This essay will include three sections:
First, as the object of worship is limited to “ancestral worship,” ancestors can be categorized into “ancestral fathers,” (先公), “ancestral emperors” (先王), “ancestral mothers” (先妣), and “ancestral elder brothers, and others” (兄輩與其他). With these categories, the recipients of worship recorded in the Royal Oracles and Non-royal Oracles are examined to identify the ancestral relationship. In addition, with reference to the frequency of worship, issues related to the rituals is further isolated. For example, during the Shang Dynasty people only worshipped their direct ancestors; Qiangjia did not belong to that direct line. Then, the recipients of worship recorded in the Royal Oracles and Non-royal Oracles are compared and contrasted to prove that the worship of ancestral emperors appeared earlier than the worship of ancestral fathers. In addition, the delineation of these two forms of worship appeared in the earliest time throughout the history of ancestral worship. Comparatively speaking, from the sequential periods of Huayuanzhuang (花園莊), Wuju (午組), and Zhiju (子組), the exact era, earlier or later, of the worship can be deduced. This indicates that during the Wuding Period, the ancestral clan system (宗法) had already existed.
Thus, concerning different recipients of ancestral worship, research on the verbs regarding ancestral worship are concluded not by using the “Worship Name” (祭名), or “Ritual Manners” (祭儀), etc to categorize the ceremony. Instead, the linguistic perspective of “verbs for worship” (祭祀動詞) is employed. In addition, the position of verbs for worship in the oracle’s grammar is studied closely for further categorization. The verbs employed for worship in the Royal Oracles and the Non-royal Oracles are compared and contrasted to discover which parts of the verbs are used in both the Royal and Non-royal Oracles. A small number of the verbs appear in the Non-royal Oracles only, and never in the Royal Oracles, manifesting the concept of hierarchy. Furthermore, both the Royal Oracles and Non-royal Oracles retain their own verbs for worship, differing from the verb usage in other clans.
After clarifying the problems of the recipients of worship and the verbs for worship, the issue of offerings, time, and place of worship are focused upon. The type of offering, number, and origin are the major foci. The type of offering generally falls into six issues. Quantity, which is mentioned more often in the Non-royal Oracles than Royal Oracles. Origin, whether the offerings are tribute paid or not, reflects the status of the ancestors. Time of worship, the worship date, oracle date, and time of day, whether it is performed one or two days prior to the 15th day of the lunar month (干日). If the date of worship date is mainly on the 15th day of the lunar month, it indicates that the custom was firmly established during the Shang Dynasty. Records are scarce regarding the time of day, however, most of them were carried out at “dusk” (夕). As to the place of worship, there was the “Ancestral Temple” (宗廟), Capital Suburb (王畿), and the Feudal Lands (氏族方國).
Discussions in these three parts will hope to verify some aspects of the customs in the Wuding Period of Shang Dynasty,with the customs used in later times. In addition, it is clear that customs in ancient history did not originate during the Zhou Dynasty. In fact, many customs in Zhou Dynasty were inherited from Shang Dynasty.
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