Sacrifice in the Forbidden City

There are two places where shaman sacrifices were held in the Qing court. One is the Kunning Palace, which is located in Sangong, Ottone, and the other is the Tangzi, which is located in the southeast corner of the imperial city. In addition, Ningshou Palace, located on the East Road outside the Imperial Palace, also has the setting of offering sacrifices to gods. However, since Emperor Qianlong did not move to the palace area of Emperor Tai Shang after his return to politics, Ningshou Palace did not offer sacrifices to the gods. Shaman worship, also known as shamanism, has been believed by many ethnic groups in the north, which is the traditional belief of the Jurchen nationality. The only priest in a region or tribe is a shaman. Shamans in society are mostly men who have been trained and tested by old shamans, while court shamans are female members of the Jueluo family who have been trained to some extent. There are two shaman leader girls and 10 shaman girls in the temple, which are held in different divisions. There are many names of sacrificial ceremonies, including the main activity of 19, each of which has many complicated and repetitive ceremonies. For example, there are pavilion temple fairs, Shangxi Shenting and vertical poles in the courtyard. There are big sacrifices, four seasons sacrifices to God, moon sacrifices and sun sacrifices in Kunning Palace. There are also early sacrifices and late sacrifices in Japanese sacrifices. Every day, two pigs are killed in Kunning Palace, dismembered and cooked in the palace. After the sacrifice, participants, ministers on duty and guards will eat meat on the spot, and the meat of the evening sacrifice will be handed over to the chef. When offering sacrifices in the evening, the shaman sang hymns, rang waist bells and danced with the accompaniment of pipa, sanxian and drums. The procedure of seeking blessings and offering sacrifices in Kunning Palace is complicated. According to the example of Qing dynasty, the gods worshipped in the palace include Sakyamuni Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva and Guan Jun; In the evening, there are the gods of Muli Khan, Portrait and Mongolia. In addition, there are 22 names of gods in various sacrificial prayers. Some of these appellations were "unclear" when they were in Qianlong. In order to preserve Manchu culture in the Qing Dynasty, shaman sacrifices were always held in the palace, and sometimes concubines also attended in person, but it is difficult to know whether these concubines believed in it or not.