That was at the beginning of the year, outside the northern suburbs of Luoyang City, places like Mingtang, Biyong, and Lingtai had not yet been used. Empress Dowager Lv (mother of Emperor Guangwu) was first buried in the imperial tomb. The emperor posthumously honored the Empress Dowager as Empress Gao, believing that she should share the ancestral temple with the god of the land, as recorded in the "Emperor Guangwu Chronicle."
Four miles north of Luoyang City is the northern suburb, where there is a square altar with four levels of steps. On the day of Xinyou in the second year of Yongping, the emperor held a sacrifice there. The god of the land was worshipped separately, with the god of the land positioned to the southwest and Empress Dowager Gao to the north of the west, both on the altar. Other gods of mountains, rivers, and geography shared offerings below the altar, following the same rules as the sacrifices during the Yuan Dynasty. Mount Song (Central Mountain) is in the south, while the other four mountains (Mount Tai in the east, Mount Hua in the west, Mount Heng in the south, and Mount Heng in the north) are in their respective positions of Mengchen (the center of the direction) in the inner camp. The sea god is in the east; the Yellow River is to the west, north of the Ji River, south of the Huai River, and in the Jiangnan region; other mountain and river gods are in their respective positions in the outer camp. The sacrifices on the four levels of steps of the altar and the gods on the inner and outer camp gates are the same as those of the southern suburb sacrifices. The god of the land and Empress Dowager Gao each used a calf; the five mountains shared a cow; the sea god and the four rivers shared one cow; the remaining gods shared two cows. The music played was identical to that of the southern suburb sacrifices. After the sacrifices were completed, the ritual offerings were buried north of the altar.
After Emperor Ming ascended the throne, on the day of Xinyou in the second year of Yongping, the Five Emperors were first sacrificed in Mingtang, with Emperor Guangwu serving as the accompanying deity. The seats of the Five Emperors were all in Mingtang, each in their respective positions. The Yellow Emperor was in the south, with the other positions the same as the southern suburb sacrifices. Emperor Guangwu's seat was slightly behind and to the south of the Green Emperor, facing west. Each deity was sacrificed with a calf, and the music played was the same as that of the southern suburb sacrifices. After the sacrifices, the emperor ascended Lingtai to gaze at the sky.
In order to welcome the seasonal changes and auspicious signs associated with suburban sacrifices, beginning in the Yongping era, based on the attire records for suburban sacrifices found in the "Li Chen" and "Yueling", the practices from the Yuanshi era were continued, and five suburban altars were set up around Luoyang City. The central altar was located to the south, each altar was three feet high, and the steps were uniform without any distinctions.
On the day of the Beginning of Spring, welcome spring in the east suburb and offer sacrifices to the Green Emperor Jumang. The chariots, flags, and attire were all in green. Sing the song "Qingyang," and dancers performing the Eight Yi dance performed the "Clouds High" dance. Afterwards, rewards were given to civil officials, starting from the Grand Tutor and Minister Over the Masses, all receiving different amounts of silk.
On the day of the Beginning of Summer, welcome summer in the south suburb and offer sacrifices to the Red Emperor Zhurong. The chariots, flags, and attire were all in red. Sing the song "Red Bright," and dancers performing the Eight Yi dance performed the "Clouds High" dance.
Eighteen days prior to the Beginning of Autumn, welcome the Yellow Emperor and the Earth God in the north. The chariots, flags, and attire were all in yellow. Sing the song "Red Bright," and dancers performing the Eight Yi dance performed the "Clouds High" and "Life Nurturing" dances.
On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, the emperor went to the west suburb to welcome autumn and offer sacrifices to the White Emperor Ruxiao. All chariots, flags, and attire were in white. During the sacrifice, they sang the song "West Bright," and the dancers performed the "Life Nurturing" dance. First, envoys were sent to sacrifice the special sacrificial animal on the altar, and after the sacrifice was completed, the emperor entered the royal hunting grounds to shoot the sacrificial animals, which were then used to sacrifice to the ancestral temple. This ceremony is referred to as "Chuoliu," and these records are found in the "Rituals and Rites" book.
On the day of the Beginning of Winter, the emperor went to the north suburb to welcome winter and offer sacrifices to the Black Emperor Xuanming. All chariots, flags, and attire were in black. During the sacrifice, they sang the song "Xuanming," and the dancers performed the "Life Nurturing" dance.
After Emperor Zhang ascended the throne in the second year of Yuanhe, he issued a decree saying, "Among the myriad spirits of mountains and rivers, there are still some deities that have not been fully honored. Let’s discuss which rituals should be added or restored, and which gods should be sacrificed."
In February, the emperor went on a hunting expedition to the east. When he was about to reach Mount Tai, he sent envoys with a large sacrificial animal to sacrifice to Emperor Yao at the Chengyang Lingtai in Jiyin. After arriving at Mount Tai, the emperor repaired the sacrificial site at the southern altar of Mount Guangwu. On the day of Xinwei, the customary wood sacrifice to Heaven, Earth, and the gods took place. On the day of Renshen, at the Wen Shang Ming Tang built by Emperor Xiaowu, sacrifices were made to the Five Emperors, with Emperor Guangwu participating in the sacrifices, following the same ritual as the Luoyang Ming Tang. On the day of Guiyou, separate sacrifices were made with a large sacrificial animal for the six emperors: Gaozu, Taizong, Shizong, Zhongzong, Shizu, and Xianzong. After the sacrifices, the emperor visited the Empress of the Eastern Palace and entertained and rewarded the princes and ministers. Later, the emperor toured various places, and when he arrived in the Lu Kingdom, he offered sacrifices to Duke Gong of the East Sea and the seventy-two disciples of Confucius. In April, the emperor returned to the capital city. On the day of Gengshen, after returning to the capital city, the emperor reported the outcomes of the sacrifices and made separate sacrifices with a special ox for the Gaomiao and Shizu. He also composed a poem for each of the twelve gates of the Lingtai, which would be performed during the monthly sacrifices each year. During the reign of Emperor He, there were no changes made to these sacrificial activities.
After Emperor An ascended the throne, in the sixth year of Yuanchu, based on the interpretation of the Ouyang family notes in the "Book of Documents," he believed that the Six Ancestors represented the central point of the heavens, earth, and the four directions, signifying the ancestors of the upper and lower realms. Emperor An believed that the interpretation of the Six Ancestors as the energies of the six sons as mentioned in the Book of Changes—the sun, moon, thunder, wind, mountain, and lake—during the Yuan Shi period was incorrect. On the day of Gengchen in the third month, Emperor An reestablished the Six Ancestors and performed sacrifices in the Northwestern Shu Hai region in Luoyang, with the rituals being the same as those of the Taishang.
In the third year of Yanguang, the emperor went on an eastern hunting expedition and arrived at Mount Tai, where he performed the wood sacrifice and made sacrifices at the Wen Shang Ming Tang, following the same rituals as in the second year of Yuanhe. After Emperor Shun ascended the throne, he restored and continued these customary sacrificial activities.
Emperor Huan of Han was emperor for eighteen years and was particularly superstitious regarding the divine. In the eighth year of Yanxi, he sent eunuchs to Kuxian in Chen Guo to make a sacrifice to Laozi for the first time.
When he was nine years old, Emperor Huan himself went to Zhaolong (place name) to pay homage to Laozi. The altar was adorned with exquisite silk fabrics, the sacrificial vessels were all made of pure gold, lavishly decorated, and a magnificent canopy throne was also set up, accompanied by grand music reserved for sacrificial ceremonies. "The altar, known as Wenji, was adorned with pure gold buttons, and the canopy seat was arranged with music typically reserved for outdoor ceremonies." What a spectacular sight this was! This display, wow, it's quite grand!
