Sacrificial ceremony in the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Confucius

The ceremony of offering sacrifices to Confucius is a kind of temple music and dance, which mainly includes four forms: music, song, dance and ceremony. Music, singing and dancing are closely related to etiquette, and all etiquette requirements are "abundance, purity, sincerity and respect". There is a saying called "listening to songs to know morality, watching dances sincerely, knowing courtesy and benevolence, being happy and being gentle and nurturing", which has great cultural and artistic value since ancient times.

The most important agenda for offering sacrifices to Confucius is three rites. Priests must wear good clothes and wash their hands before they can bow before Confucius' incense table. When bowing, the man should put his left hand in front and his right hand behind, and the woman should put her right hand in front and her left hand behind. The so-called three supplies are divided into initial supply, sub-supply and final supply.

The original silk is yellow silk, and silk refers to antique wine glasses. After the official offering of silk to the incense table, the priest read and offered a eulogy, and then all participants bowed to the statue of Confucius five times and recited "Praise for Confucius" together. Whether it is a sacrificial ceremony or a final ceremony, it is to offer incense and wine. The ceremony is the same as the initial ceremony.

Today's ceremony of offering sacrifices to Confucius in Qufu is divided into four parts: the opening ceremony of the ancient city of Ming Dynasty, the opening ceremony of the Confucius Temple, modern public sacrifices and traditional sacrifices. There have been new developments in music, dance and clothing. First of all, music is new. On the basis of the original music score, the music of Kaicheng and Confucius Sacrifice has been re-produced, and the expression forms of symphony and chorus orchestra have been introduced in order to achieve magnificent and shocking artistic effects. Secondly, dance is new. With reference to the atlas of related documents such as Elegant Music of Confucius Temples in China, the ceremony rearranged the music and dance offering sacrifices to Confucius to make it more infectious. In addition, the costumes are new, and the costumes and props used in the performance have been redesigned and made, which accurately reflects the scale and grand occasion of the memorial service in the Ming Dynasty. It is even more simple, solemn and dignified, showing the grand occasion of the return of rites and music to the east foot and the worship of Su Wang throughout the ages.