描述
Although Zhouli describes the ritual system of the Zhou Dynasty in detail, including the standardized procedures for oaths, as an ancient book, it does not directly provide specific historical oath cases. However, the records in Zhouli can provide a theoretical framework for us to imagine the oath scenes at that time. According to the records in Zhouli, the oath process generally includes the following steps:
Selecting the date and place: According to the weather and location, choose an auspicious day and a suitable place to hold the oath.
Preparing the oath book: Writing the content of the oath on bamboo slips or jade, the so-called “writing”.
Holding the ceremony: Participants need to fast, bathe and other preparations, and then gather in the ancestral temple or a specific open-air place.
Reading the oath: The main oath or the oath officer reads the content of the oath book loudly, and all participants in the oath need to listen carefully.
Swallowing the blood oath: The most critical step, participants may need to cut their fingers, drip blood into the sacrifice (such as livestock) or the container of wine, and then drink together, to symbolize the blood oath and express the determination to share life and death.
Burying or offering the oath book: After the ceremony, the oath book may be buried in the ground or stored in the ancestral temple as a permanent witness.
Although the “Zhou Li” does not directly record a specific historical oath case, some archaeological discoveries and documentary records in later generations indirectly confirm the existence of such oath activities. For example, the “Houma Oath Book” mentioned above is a relatively close example. Although it is later than the Zhou Dynasty, it still follows a similar oath procedure and is preserved in physical form, allowing us to glimpse the appearance of ancient oaths.
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