中西方祭祀仪式的差异.doc

On the Differences of Sacrificial Ceremony in China and the West中西方祭祀仪式的差异Abstract Since different countries have different histories and cultures, there are a lot of differences in the habit of conducts and the sacrifice ceremony, especially between China and the West, the jokes and the mistakes caused by misunderstanding is not unusual. This shows that the understanding of the different religious cultures between Chinese and the Westerners is absolutely necessary. Sacrificial ceremony is part of social etiquette, in the office or social communication occasions, to understand each others customs and etiquette will be conductive to the exchanges between the countries. A person who understands others rituals and folk customs can be seen as respecting for others and can be easier to make a good impression on the other side. Along with the constant development of Chinese culture and Western culture, the Westerners have accepted the reasonable factors of heavy affection from Chinese culture. Chinese people have gradually accepted the advanced civilization of the Western culture and etiquette style. However, in real life, different sacrificial ceremony and social etiquettes impact due to cultural differences between China and the West still exists. The paper explores the differences of sacrifice ceremony between China and the West to make Chinese communicate with the Westerners more easily, avoid and reduce the cultural conflict and misunderstanding as much as possible in cultural exchanges.Key words： Culture difference; Sacrifice ceremony; Religious belief摘要由于各国的历史和文化底蕴不同，各国人民在进行交往时的行为习惯、祭祀礼仪有不少差异。特别是中西方之间，礼仪上的差异很大。因为不了解这些差异而引起的误会和笑话也不少见。由此可见了解中西方交往的习惯差异是很有必要的。在办公室或社交场合，了解对方客户有利于各国之间的交往。一个了解对方的礼仪和民俗习惯的人，是对对方的尊重而且很容易给对方留下好印象。随着中西方文化的不断发展，中西方的礼仪正在相互融合，西方人逐渐接受了中国文化中重情感等合理因素，中国人也逐渐接受了西方文化中先进文明的礼仪和交往方式。在现实生活中，由于中西方文化的差异对礼仪产生的影响还很多，为此本文探讨并概述了中西方宗教祭祀礼仪的几点差异，使中西方人人们之间的交往更加容易,并在文化交流中尽量避免和减少文化冲突和文化误解。关键词：文化差异；祭祀仪式；宗教信仰Table of Contents1 Introduction12 The Important Embodiment of Sacrifice Ceremony Culture Between China and the West2 2.1 China-The devotion of deities3 2.2 The West-The equality between human and god63 The Origin of Sacrifice Culture Differences in China and the West93.1 Political origin93.1.1 China- Unified political system93.1.2 The West-Diversified political system103.2 Cultural origin103.2.1 China-The combination and absorption of foreign culture103.2.2 The West- Spread culture and cultural expansion123.3 Economic origin133.3.1 China-Traditional self-sufficient natural economy133.3.2 The West Industrial Revolution and “Industrial Economic Era”144 National Characteristics of Sacrifice Ceremony Cultural in China and the West154.1 Chinese-Advocate stabilization and harmonious socialism society154.2 Westerners-The development of individual will165 The Fusion and Conflict of Sacrifice Ceremony Culture Between China and the West175.1 The fusion175.2 The conflict and ways to avoid it186 Conclusion22References24Acknowledgement251 Introduction Sacrificial ceremonies are human cultural activities such as sacrifice, worship, pray, and chanting, etc. Religious ceremony has the function to celebrate festivals, it has entangled into peoples social life, and it became a part of the folk culture. From the construction of the harmonious societys point of view, positive role of religious sacrificial ceremony and concepts embodied in the excitation of human goodness, meanwhile it enlighten human wisdom, establish self-confidence, purified human mind, enhancing human spirit, adjusting interpersonal relations and resolving social contradictions.In modern society, it seems that the world is getting smaller and smaller, people are very active with frequent exchanges. Human decency plays the basic role of social ethics. The different sacrificial ceremonies combined with each other in various countries and people and it can be understand by people of different countries and nations. Sacrificial ceremony, as a part of social etiquette, can be shared by more and more people of different countries, because the social etiquette itself is a cultural phenomenon. Therefore, many countries are paying great attention to combining social etiquette with national sacrificial ceremony creatively. This means that the sacrificial ceremony and social etiquette in the Western and Chinese society are in a more appropriate location.2 The Important Embodiment of Sacrifice Ceremony Culture in China and the WestThe essence of sacrificial ceremony is the method of dealing with people and the belief in ghosts and spirits. People consider that all things are controlled by the ghosts which can not be seen. Therefore, sacrificial ceremony is originated from the belief in ghosts and spirits, as well as a special form of belief in ghosts and spirits. Back to five thousand years ago, sacrificial ceremonies used to be the core of traditional culture. Some examples such as people lighting incense in temples, praying for a wonderful beautiful life or for a more fantastic future; In some areas such as Sichuan and Chongqing, people burn paper houses and neither imitation paper money, hoping to improve their deceased familys living conditions; In tomb-sweeping day, people visit their ancestors graves and sweep away the dirt of the grave for remembering loved ones who have departed. These are examples in terms of sacrificial ceremonies.Generally, any worship towards god is called sacrificial ceremony; it refers worshiping towards God, and it was regarded as organized religious activities.Human beings are the most important part of religious beliefs and they are the supporter of religion activity. The most important condition is the relationship between human beings and god. This relationship is fulfilled with a few religious ceremonies, and they are the communicational channels between human and god. Therefore, there is a set of ceremony in worshiping God to express the relationship between human beings and God, human attempt to please God through sacrificing, worshiping, praying and chanting. They hope they can communicate with God and praying that God would bless all of them with a good future. Hence, the religious ceremony has appeared.2.1 China-The devotion of deitiesIn China there is a set of religious sacrifice ceremony in worshiping god. Take Taoisms example, according to observing and visiting a few Taoist temple, many people believe that humans can pleasing God through sacrificing, worshiping, praying and chanting. In Taoism s major festivals, there are a few sacrificial ceremonies which are indispensable for the religious activities. Traditionally each of these ceremonies including these stages: purification, invocation for the deities, prayers, consecration and offerings, hymns, chanting and dances, and perambulations.The most important type of sacrificial ceremony stands for local communities. This kind of type includes ceremonies to install the religious space, ceremonies of fasting, of communion or offering, and to disperse the religious ceremonial space.Ceremonies stands for the community can be extraordinarily expensive, and household donations and community leaders paid for it. Apart from the ceremonies themselves, there will also be plays, processions, military parades, and communal meals.As for the performance of the sacrificial ceremonies themselves, no mistakes can be made; no step or recitation must falter. Apprenticed Taoist priest serve as musicians; more advanced trainees assist by lighting incense and reciting certain passages. The heart of the sacrificial ceremony is conducted by five Taoist priests: a Great Master and his four assistants. One of these assistants heads the intricate and complex processions and dances, and is responsible for knowing the entire sequence of ceremonies. Another prepares that is used during the course of the entire ceremony, and recites all of the invocations and consecrations, the texts of purification, elevation, and confession.The Great Master is preparing for his role during much of the activities, he quietly murmuring secret formulas with his hands inside his sleeves. At times he picks up the incense burner and holds it as he breathes in and out, facing different directions, or he burns talismanic symbols or initials documents. Primarily, he enacts internally the actions spoken by the texts that are being recited by his assistant.At a certain point, he rises and performs the dance of the stars, dance towards the deities. Then he falls prostrate, in a fetal position with arms and legs under his body, face in hands, as the internally journeys to the Heavenly Assembly, locus of the Heavenly Worthies, accompanied by divine escorts. In this case, the master is the mountain, just as the incense burner and the altar are also the mountain. In ancient times, the altar was built upon a series of graduated steps, so that the master actually ascended the steps at this point in the ceremony, but these days the ascent is entirely internal. There he presents the memorial that is the heart of the sacrifice ceremonial texts. The memorial is a petition to the gods, written in literary language, stating the name and purpose of the ceremony, its date and location, the names and addresses of the participants, and a vow that is a request and a pledge on behalf of all the participants.Standing again, the master burns the memorial and scatters the ashes, gathers his escorts, and returns. Afterward, there is more chanting and more music, but the main portion of the ritual has occurred. In breaking down the religious sacrificial space, all talismans, writs, and other markers of the ceremonial space are burned. Afterward there is a communal banquet, with plenty of food available for the orphan souls who cannot become ancestors.Taoist sacrificial ceremonies are colorful, filled with music, incense, and stylized movements. Much of Chinese drama is influenced by Taoist ceremony. Some forms of ceremonies involve trance, and the exorcism of demons. These usually occur during festivals, and are regarded as being of a lower order than the ceremonies of the Taoist priest. To communicate with the dead, a miniature sedan chair carried by two people may become the seat of a deity who will, through the movement of the chair, dictate a response to settle a conflict between dead and living family members.Here is an example, the barefoot masters, like the Taoist priest, have their ceremonial texts, long epics that describe voyages to spirit realms. They often paint their faces in elaborate masks, like those of Chinese opera characters. They might enact a battle against the demons, with swords and military music, and strike themselves with their weapons, drawing blood. The blood is regarded as protection against evil, and the act, a form of expiation for the sins of all. Tissues are applied to the wounds to soak up a bit of blood, and then taken home and stuck on doorframes to ward off evil.About ceremonial activity in Taoism today, only Taoist priests are understood to be Taoists. Daily involvement with Taoism on the part of the laity is not ritualized in any particular way. In immigrant communities, Taoism has been merged with other religions, and has integrated many popular practices. Small voluntary contributions are sometimes given for this and other services, such as the healing of childhood fears and individual purifications. When children are brought, the parent will first explain the problem; then the Taoist priest will prepare a talisman, curse the demons who have caused the fear, and spit a mouthful of talisman water into the childs face. Depletion of energy in adults, the cause of many illnesses, will sometimes be treated by burning lamps representing the stars of the Dipper. The Taoist priest will also sometimes prescribe herbal medicines, perform acupuncture, or do an astrological reading, always in conjunction with a ceremonial cure.In addition the Taoist priest will perform several self-cultivating practices on a regular basis. Among these might be gymnastic or breath-control exercises, special diets, meditation, etc. Visualization practices are common, such as visualizing the gods within the body or visualizing journeys to the celestial palaces. These exercises are performed on certain days, and at certain times of the day, establishing harmony with the celestial realms. Sometimes the Taoist priest will engage in retreats, long vigils during which sleep is forbidden, or fasts, during which they abstain from sexual activity and avoid certain foods.The object of these sacrificial ceremonies is to Keep the One, that is, to gather ones energies lest they become scattered, to worship and give the devotion of the deities, to remain in harmony with the natural rhythms and cycles of the cosmos, and to experience the return to cosmic unity. 2.1 The West-The equality between human and god The western religious sacrifice ceremony has shows the equality between human and god. Sacrifices in western country were thus instructive as well as worshipful. They were accompanied by prayer, devotion, dedication and represented an acknowledgment on the part of the individual of his duty towards God, also a thankfulness to the Lord for his life and blessings upon the earth.According to informative resources, in the West, sacrifices were varied and more complex, and a multitude of rules were given to govern the procedure. Under the law offerings made to God must be the offerers own property, properly acquired. Altar sacrifices were of three kinds: sin offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings.In all the animal sacrifices there were six important acts: The presentation of the sacrifice at the sanctuary door by the sacrificer himself, as his personal act. The laying on of hands dedicated the animal to God and made it the sacrificers representative and substitute. They slaughter the animal, carried out actually the dedication to God that he had ceremonially expressed by the laying on of hands. A later custom was for the Levites or priests to slaughter the victims. The priest collected the blood of the animal in a vessel and applied it in various ways and places to make atonement, then burning the sacrifice on the altar. After the priest had properly prepared the sacrificial victim he offered it upon the altar of burnt offering. The fundamental idea of the sin and trespass offerings was atonement, expiation. Atonement could be made for unconscious, unintentional sins; noncapital crimes (such as theft), after punishment had been endured; crimes that a man voluntarily confessed, and for which he made compensation.Trespass or guilt offerings were a particular kind of sin offering. Certain sins might be regarded as robbery, or a violation of right, or an injury, whether in relation to God directly, by neglecting some ceremonies and services, payments, and offerings. In either case these sins requiring compensation. This compensation was made ethically, by the trespass offering; materially, by making restitution. The burnt offering got its name from the idea of the smoke of the sacrifice ascending to heaven. The characteristic ceremony was the burning of the whole animal on the altar. A burnt offering, called the continual burnt offering, was offered twice daily, morning and evening.Peace offerings, as the name indicates, presupposed that the sacrificer was at peace with God; they were offered for the further realization and enjoyment of that peace. The characteristic ceremony was the sacrificial meal. A feast symbolized fellowship and friendship among all its partakers and providers, and also a state of joy and gladness.The ceremony of the three different kinds of animal sacrifices was identical in regard to the presentation, the imposition of hands, and the slaughtering by the offerer himself. It was sprinkled against the veil seven times and put upon the horns of the altar of incense in the sin offerings of the high priest and the whole congregation. It was also sprinkled on the front of the mercy seat in the sin offering of the Day of Atonement. The remainder of the blood was poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. The blood of the trespass, burnt, and peace offering was sprinkled on the altar of burnt offering round about.In the ceremony of the peace offering, the ceremonies of waving (the breast) and heaving should be noticed. It is noteworthy that when the three offerings were offered together, the sin always preceded the burnt, and the burnt the peace offerings. Thus the order of the symbolizing sacrifices was the order of atonement, sanctification, and fellowship with God.Through the procedure of Western sacrificial ceremonies, it is not difficult to draw a conclusion that the relationship between human beings and God tend to be more equally. People have the right to choose weather or not they will offer sacrificial ceremonies to God and heaven.3 The Origin of Sacrifice Culture Differences in China and the West 3.1 Political origin3.1.1 China- Unified political systemIn ancient time, since China has been unified by Qin Shihuang, the formal establishment of a centralized system of Despotism has been officially set up: the supreme ruler is the emperor .The establishment of the system of feudal society lasting in the late spring and autumn period, but it went collapse in Qing Dynasty. There is no doubt to say, the system of feudal society has a great influence on Chinese culture. System of feudal society has been accompanied by the autocratic monarchy system, and it also has far-reaching influence on Chinese ceremonial culture.It has different effects in social and cultural aspects. The positive effects are to establish, multi-eth