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Dragon Boat Festival when in various ways the dead helped to secure the successful transplantation of rice.28
In that essay on the cult of the ancestors in spring time I also addressed briefly the fact that in late Imperial days we find these grave visits dispersed in time, occurring on several dates in the progression of the spring, even if the day and the period of Qing Ming seem to have dominated. Taking account of the fact that Qing Ming and worship at the graves were phenomena not mentioned in our earliest source from the sixth century, I proposed that perhaps grave worship was introduced into this area as part of an ongoing sinicization process in the course of a somewhat later phase in history. If this was so, there may have been some local options as to when the graves should be visited.
The She Day was a day of agricultural renewal with offerings on the altar of the She. Like the dead, the She was a chthonic phenomenon. Both god and ancestors were active forces beneficial to the sowing of rice. How the dead actually related to the She—directly or indirectly—is not known for this area. The spread over time of vernal worship at the graves may best be seen as a set of local variations on a theme, the standard Qing Ming practice. These alternatives in terms of points in time do not seem to have posed a problem for the robust iconic architecture of the annual ritual cycle as a whole.
The She Day seems to have been one of merriment, parties al fresco, and social games and competitions. In Baling, the capital of Yuezhou Prefecture, there were competitions and people congregated to feast and drink.29 In Zhongxiang it was the custom to drink ‘earth god wine’ and eat ‘earth god meat.’30 This custom seems to indicate some commensality in which the sacrificial gifts—wine and meat—were shared between the donors and the divinity. No doubt such feasting was combined with the processions and the shamanistic performances mentioned earlier.
Reviewing our findings, we observe that the She Day was a day for celebrating the earth and praying for good results in agriculture. It
28 古今圖書集成. 1888.VI, 1223:風俗考2a.
29 古今圖書集成.1888.VI,1142:風俗考2a.
30 古今圖書集成.1888.VI,1120:風俗考6ab.
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Dragon Boat Festival when in various ways the dead helped to secure the successful transplantation of rice.28
In that essay on the cult of the ancestors in spring time I also addressed briefly the fact that in late Imperial days we find these grave visits dispersed in time, occurring on several dates in the progression of the spring, even if the day and the period of Qing Ming seem to have dominated. Taking account of the fact that Qing Ming and worship at the graves were phenomena not mentioned in our earliest source from the sixth century, I proposed that perhaps grave worship was introduced into this area as part of an ongoing sinicization process in the course of a somewhat later phase in history. If this was so, there may have been some local options as to when the graves should be visited.
The She Day was a day of agricultural renewal with offerings on the altar of the She. Like the dead, the She was a chthonic phenomenon. Both god and ancestors were active forces beneficial to the sowing of rice. How the dead actually related to the She-directly or indirectly-is not known for this area. The spread over time of vernal worship at the graves may best be seen as a set of local variations on a theme, the standard Qing Ming practice. These alternatives in terms of points in time do not seem to have posed a problem for the robust iconic architecture of the annual ritual cycle as a whole.
The She Day seems to have been one of merriment, parties al fresco, and social games and competitions. In Baling, the capital of Yuezhou Prefecture, there were competitions and people congregated to feast and drink.29 In Zhongxiang it was the custom to drink ‘earth god wine' and eat ‘earth god meat.' 30 This custom seems to indicate some commensality in which the sacrificial gifts-wine and meat-were shared between the donors and the divinity. No doubt such feasting was combined with the processions and the shamanistic performances mentioned earlier.
Reviewing our findings, we observe that the She Day was a day for celebrating the earth and praying for good results in agriculture. It
28 古今國書集成. 1888.VI, 1223:風俗考2a.
29 古今國書集成.1888.VI,1142:風俗考2a. 30 古今國書集成.1888.VI,1120:風俗考6ab.
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