What is the ritual of drinking wine in the countryside in the Book of Songs? What is the Yan ceremony? What is the relationship between the two?

The ritual of drinking wine in the countryside was a popular custom in the Zhou Dynasty. The main purpose of the ceremony was to recommend a good person to the state. It was hosted by the chief of the township. Later on, the local officials hosted banquets for the candidates, and the banquets were called "hometown drinking".

The red tape of the countryside drinking ceremony is extremely complicated. In ancient times, there were township schools in the townships of the feudal lords, and the school system lasted three years. Those who have completed their studies are recommended to the lords as talents. For this reason, in the first month of every three years, the countryside doctor as the host to hold the countryside drinking ceremony, to entertain the township school in the wise and respected people.

The village doctor and the village gentleman chose one of the most virtuous from among the learned as the guest, the next one as the medium, and the next three as the guests, ****five, and ****drinking with them, and then recommended them for the use of the lords.

If there is a continuous enrollment in the township school, the township school will have someone who has completed three years of schooling every year, and then the township drinking and wine ceremony will be held every year. It can be simply interpreted as a rite of passage for the school to recommend five talents to the state through a graduation banquet. In addition, the archery event of Xiangshang is usually held immediately after the Xiangshang Drinking Ceremony.

Yan ceremony of Yan Tong Banquet, meaning leisure and rest. Yanli is an ancient Han aristocracy in the political leisure time, in order to contact with the subordinates and the feelings of the banquet ritual. Yan ceremony can be held for a specific object, such as the return of the ministers, new meritorious subordinates, hired guests, etc., can also be no special reason to feast on the group of ministers. From this, we can see that the Yan ceremony is to clarify the meaning of respect between the upper and lower levels of the ruler and the ministers. The son of heaven, the vassals, and the clansmen had their own Yan rituals, but most of them have been lost. The rituals of the Yan ceremony were relatively simple, mainly drinking wine, with a chopping board but no rice, and only performing the ritual of one offering, which was intended to fulfill the pleasure of the host and the guest.

Relationships: The ritual of drinking wine in the countryside and the Yan ceremony are both Zhou rituals, which are recorded in the Book of Rites.