China ancient etiquette was formed in the era of "Three Emperors and Five Emperors". By the time of Yao and Shun, there was already a written etiquette system, namely "Five Rites". This "five rites" refers to the auspicious ceremony, the fierce ceremony, the guest ceremony, the military ceremony and the gift. Tang Yao, Yu Shun and Xia Yu, the sages of human ancestors, are all examples of paying attention to etiquette. Legend has it that Yao respected the elderly very much when he was young, and among his peers, he was courteous and courteous. Divide the returned prey equally to all people at a time, and take the least one for yourself. Sometimes the least part of the prey is distributed to the elderly and infirm. His virtue was praised by everyone, so everyone elected him as the leader. Yu Shun's attention to etiquette is a model of past dynasties. The first article in China's "Twenty-four filial piety pictures", "Dashun plows the fields", is about his hard work and hard work; The story of supporting father, stepmother and half-brother.

the etiquette formulated in the Yao and Shun dynasties has been summarized and popularized in the three slave countries of Xia, Shang and Zhou for more than 1,111 years, and it has become much more perfect. In the early Zhou Dynasty, after three monarchs, namely King Wen, King Wu and King Cheng, they re-established the principle of "promoting propriety and music, ruling the country, and making people harmonious, praising the sound and prospering". Duke Zhou also set up a ceremony official in the imperial court to take charge of the etiquette in the world, which pushed the ancient etiquette system of China to a relatively complete stage.

Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Period (479 BC, 551 BC) pushed "ceremony" to a supreme position. He asked all people to "self-denial" and educate his disciples to be "see no evil", "Don't listen to evil" and "Don't eat evil". In short, you can give up everything for the sake of "courtesy". In order to promote the ancient etiquette system, he traveled thousands of miles from Lu to Xiqiao to learn from Lao Zi (Li Er).

in the period of emperor wudi of the Han dynasty, after the general plan of "deposing a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" was established, etiquette, as a social morality, behavior standard and spiritual support, increased its importance to an unprecedented height. Since then, all dynasties have set up bureaucracies in charge of the etiquette of the world in the imperial court, such as Dahonglu in the Han Dynasty, Li Cao in the Shang Dynasty, the ancestral department in the Wei and Jin Dynasties (also known as Yi Cao in the Northern Wei Dynasty), and the Li Shangshu after the Sui and Tang Dynasties (changed to the ceremony court in the late Qing Dynasty). At the same time, etiquette writings are becoming more and more important. In the Han Dynasty, Zhou Li and Yi Li were listed as one of the Five Classics, which was a compulsory course for scholars. Dai Sheng, a native of the Western Han Dynasty, compiled the Book of Rites on the basis of studying the works of previous rites, which was also listed as one of the thirteen classics. Later, on the basis of these ritual books, the researchers of the past dynasties further studied them, and successively appeared thousands of books on ritual, such as Zhou Li Zhu Shu, Yi Li Zhu Shu, Li Ji Zheng, Li Shuo, Li Ji Ji Jie, Li Ji Shuo, Li Shu Tong Gu and Li Shu Compendium, which became one of China's historical and cultural works.

etiquette is etiquette and ceremony. In ancient China, there was a saying of "Five Rites", in which the sacrificial ceremony was auspicious, the wedding ceremony was a gift, the guest ceremony was a guest ceremony, the military ceremony was a military ceremony, and the funeral ceremony was a fierce ceremony. Folklore believes that etiquette includes four kinds of life etiquette: birth, crown, marriage and funeral. In fact, etiquette can be divided into politics and life. Politics includes offering sacrifices to heaven, places and ancestral temples, offering sacrifices to teachers and sages, respecting teachers' hometown drinking ceremony, meeting ceremony, military ceremony and so on. According to Xunzi, the origin of life etiquette is "three books", that is, "the foundation of heaven and earth", "the foundation of ancestors" and "the foundation of governing by teachers". In etiquette, the funeral is the earliest. Funeral for the dead is to appease their ghosts, while for the living, it becomes a etiquette to respect the young and the old, and to do < P > filial piety and integrity. In the process of the establishment and implementation of etiquette, China's patriarchal clan system (see China's patriarchal clan system) was born. The essence of etiquette is the way of governing people and the derivative of the belief in ghosts and gods. People think that everything is manipulated by invisible ghosts and gods, and performing etiquette is to please ghosts and gods for happiness. Therefore, etiquette originated from the belief in ghosts and gods, and it is also a special embodiment of the belief in ghosts and gods. The appearance of "Three Rites" (Yili, Book of Rites and Zhouli) marks the mature stage of etiquette development. In the Song Dynasty, etiquette and feudal ethics and moral preaching were combined, that is, etiquette and ethics were mixed, which became one of the effective tools to implement ethics. Salute serves to persuade morality, and red tape does its best. It was not until modern times that the etiquette was truly reformed, and both the etiquette of national political life and the etiquette of people's life were changed into the new content of the theory of non-ghosts, thus becoming the etiquette of modern civilization.

ancient political etiquette

① offering sacrifices to heaven. The worship of heaven, which began in the Zhou Dynasty, is also called suburban sacrifice. On the day of the winter solstice, it is held in the southern suburbs of the capital. The ancients first paid attention to the worship of the entity, and the worship of the sky was also reflected in the worship of the moon and the stars. All these specific worship, after reaching a certain number, are abstracted as worship of heaven. The worship of heaven in the Zhou Dynasty developed from the worship of "emperor" in the Yin Dynasty. The supreme ruler was the son of heaven, and the worship of heaven served the supreme ruler. Therefore, the prevalence of worship of heaven did not come to an end until the Qing Dynasty.

② offering sacrifices to the land. The summer solstice is the day of offering sacrifices to the earth, and the etiquette is roughly the same as that of offering sacrifices to heaven. The Han Dynasty called the Earth God Mother, saying that she was the goddess who blessed mankind, also called the social god. The earliest place of worship was blood sacrifice. After the Han Dynasty, the belief in geomantic omen was prevalent. The rituals of offering sacrifices to the land include offering sacrifices to mountains and rivers, offering sacrifices to the earth gods, the valley gods and the country.

③ the sacrifice of the ancestral temple. The ancestral temple system is the product of ancestor worship. The ancestral temple is a sojourning place that people set up for the dead in the dead. The imperial ancestral temple system is seven temples for emperors, five temples for princes, three temples for doctors and one temple for scholars. No temples are allowed in Shu Ren. The location of the ancestral temple, the son of heaven and the vassal are located on the left side of the door, while the doctor sleeps on the left and right side of the temple. The common people set up the ancestral shrine next to the kitchen hall in the dormitory. When offering sacrifices, it is necessary to choose the corpse. Corpses are generally served by grandchildren and children. The god in the temple is a wooden cuboid, which is placed only when offering sacrifices. Sacrifices cannot be called by their first names. When offering sacrifices, there are nine worships: kowtow, nod, empty bow, vibration, auspicious worship, fierce worship, strange worship, praise worship and su worship. Ancestral temples also offer sacrifices to the first generation of emperors. According to the Book of Rites Quli, all the first emperors who made meritorious service to the people, such as Di Ku, Yao, Shun, Yu, Huangdi, King Wen and King Wu, should offer sacrifices. Since the Han Dynasty, cemeteries and shrines have been built to worship the emperors of the previous generation. Ming Taizu, on the other hand, founded the Imperial Temple in Kyoto. During Jiajing period, emperors' temples were built in Fuchengmen, Beijing, to offer sacrifices to the first king, the 36th emperor.

(4) Sacrifice to the teachers and sages. After the Han and Wei Dynasties, Duke Zhou was the sage and Confucius was the teacher. In the Tang Dynasty, Confucius was regarded as the sage and Yan Hui as the teacher. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the ritual of "releasing the libation" has been used as a learning ceremony and also as a ceremony to worship Confucius. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the ritual of releasing the libation was held twice a year in the spring and autumn, and temples of Confucius and Yan were also set up in county schools around the country. In the Ming Dynasty, Confucius was called "the most holy teacher". In the Qing dynasty, Shengjing (Shenyang, Liaoning Province) set up a Confucius Temple. After making Beijing its capital, it took the Imperial Academy of Jingshiguo

as the imperial college and established a Confucian Temple. Confucius called it "the great master of holy propaganda". The temple system, sacrificial vessels, musical instruments and etiquette in Qufu are based on Beijing Imperial College. Rural drinking ceremony is the product of offering sacrifices to the sages.

⑤ meeting ceremony. When the subordinates visit their superiors, they should pay homage to each other, and the officials should pay homage to each other. When they meet, the public, the marquis and Xu Ma should pay tribute twice. The subordinates should pay homage in the west first, and the superiors should pay homage in the east. When civilians meet, they salute the young and the old, and the young salute. Say goodbye to the four worships outside, and pay homage near.

⑥ military salute. Including conquest, taxation, hunting, construction, etc.

Ancient life etiquette ① Birthday ceremony. From a woman's seeking for a child when she is not pregnant to a baby's first birthday, all etiquette revolves around the theme of long life. The sacrifice of Gao Shu is the begging etiquette. At this time, the altar was set up in the southern suburbs, and all the empresses and concubines participated. In the Han and Wei Dynasties, there was a sacrifice of Gao Qi. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the ritual of worshipping Gao Qi was formulated. In the Jin Dynasty, Gao Qi offered a sacrifice to Qing Di, and a wooden square platform was built in the north of Yong 'anmen in the east of the imperial city, under which Gao Qi was placed. In the Qing Dynasty, there was no sacrifice of Gao Qi, but there was a ceremony of "changing the rope" with the same meaning. Birthday ceremonies have a tendency to prefer sons to daughters since ancient times. Birthday ceremonies also include "Three Dynasties", "Full Moon", "Hundred Days" and "One Year". The "Three Dynasties" are the three days after the baby was born. The "full moon" shaves fetal hair when the baby is one month old. During the "Hundred Days" ceremony, the uncle was recognized and named. When you are "one-year-old", you should grasp the rites of the week to predict the fate and career of children. The rite of passage, also known as the coronation ceremony, is a ceremony for men to crown when they enter the ranks of adults. The crown ceremony evolved from the bar mitzvah ceremony attended by young men and women who were popular in clan society when they were mature. The Han dynasty followed the crown ceremony system of the Zhou dynasty. In Wei and Jin Dynasties, Jiaguan began to accompany with music. Crown ceremony was practiced in Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties and abolished in Qing Dynasty. Many ethnic minority areas in China still have ancient rite of passage, such as tooth extraction, tooth dyeing, wearing skirts, trousers and bun. (3) Yan's eating etiquette. Dining is held in the ancestral temple, cooking is too firm to drink guests, and the focus is on etiquette rather than diet. Yan is the banquet, and the ceremony is held in the bedroom, so the guests and guests can drink heartily. Yan Li has a far-reaching influence on the formation of food culture in China. Festive banquets have formed festive food etiquette in China's folk food customs. Eating Yuanxiao on the 15th day of the first month, eating cold rice and food in Tomb-Sweeping Day, zongzi and realgar wine in Duanyang in May, Mid-Autumn moon cakes, Laba porridge, and jiaozi's resignation are all festive rituals. Eating certain foods on certain festivals is also a kind of food etiquette. Seats at the banquet, the order of serving, the etiquette of persuading wine and toasting all have the requirements of men and women, the relationship between elders and children, and the taboo of praying for blessings in social communication customs. 4 guest gifts. Mainly for the reception of guests. There are different levels of gift etiquette with guests. When the scholars meet, the guests should take the pheasant as the guide when they see the master; When the doctor meets, take the geese as the basket; When you meet the doctor, you should take the lamb as the basket. ⑤ Five sacrifices. Refers to the door, door, well, stove and middle room. In the Zhou Dynasty, households were worshipped in spring, stoves in summer, wandering in June, doors in autumn and wells in winter. During the Han and Wei Dynasties, five sacrifices were made according to seasons, and in March of Meng Dong, there was a total sacrifice. In the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, the theory of "Seven Sacrifices to the Emperor of Heaven" was adopted, and Si Ming (a minor god in the palace), Zhong Guo, Guo Hang, Tai Li (a wild ghost), Hu and Zao were worshipped. In Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were still five sacrifices. After Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, the special sacrifices of doors, households, middle schools and wells were abandoned, and the stoves were sacrificed only on December 23rd, which was consistent with the folk story that the kitchen god told the sky on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. The national sacrifice ceremony adopted a folk form. 6 Nuo instrument. Originated in prehistoric times, it prevailed in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Nuo ceremony in Zhou Dynasty is to drive away evil spirits and epidemics in four seasons. Zhou people think that the operation of nature is closely related to the good or bad luck of personnel. With the change of seasons, the variation of cold and heat, the epidemic of plague and ghosts taking advantage of the situation, it is necessary to mourn at the right time to drive away evil. The main god in Nuo instrument is Fang Xiangshi. In the Han Dynasty, twelve beasts matched Fang Xiangshi appeared in Nuo ceremonies. The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties followed the Han system, and entertainment elements were added to Nuo ceremonies, in which Fang Xiangshi and the twelve beasts were played by musicians. Up to now, the Nuo ceremony of Tujia nationality in Guizhou is the most complete and typical.

Chinese etiquette plays a quasi-legal role in China culture.