明代国家祭祀体系中的“天”

——一种政治文化视角的分析

李 媛

提要：祀天是明朝国家祭祀体系的核心，统治者通过祀天向全社会展示国家主导意识形态所认定的人间与自然世界的终极秩序，并由此演绎出现行政治权威的合法性和社会秩序规范。这种活动透射出，从根本的意义上说，明人眼中的“天”是独一无二的至上权威，这种抽象之天以具有象征意义的神圣符号的形式，凌驾于一切自然与人世存在之上，是一切人间制度、伦理、行为的终极尺度。与此同时，在明人祭祀活动中还可以看到“天”之意象的复杂性，有时会显露出自然的属性或者人格的属性。明朝皇帝、士大夫群体以及普通民众因身份和祭祀目的的不同而对祭天礼仪有各自的解读，这些解读构成明人宇宙、社会观念的重要内容。

关键词：明代 国家祭祀 “天” 政治文化

Title:The

Views

Author:Li Yuan, Lecturer, Faculty for the Study of

Asian Civilizations, Northeast Normal University, Changchun

Jilin, 130024, China

Abstract:Offering

sacrifices to the heaven is the core of the state worship

system of the Ming Dynasty. By offering sacrifices to the

heaven, the rulers demonstrate and influence people’s

interpretation of the ultimate order of the world and the

nature, which in turn lead and confirm the legitimacy and

rules of the existing political power. This ritual activity

reflects that fundamentally in the Ming political culture,

the heaven is the paramount and unique authority in abstract

terms. As a symbol of ultimate and holy existence, the

heaven is above all natural and social existences

representing the ultimate standard of justice. Meanwhile, in

the practices of the people lived in the Ming times, the

heaven sometimes appears with characteristics of nature or

human, which reveals the complicacy of the heaven in the

mind of the Ming people. The emperors, Confucians scholar

officials, and the commoners in society actually had varied

interpretations about the heaven, which should be taken as

an important aspect in our understanding of the Ming idea of

universe and society.

Key words:Ming dynasty state

worship the heavenpolitical culture