『禮記』 祭禮觀에 나타난 尊王思想적 禮制의 특성에 대한 연구

Abstract

Sacrificial rites have become the largest part of a theory of ritual (lixue 禮學) and have been regarded as a keyword to understand East Asian cultures. Moreover, Liji 禮記 is a significant text for studying Confucian rites in that it describes the procedures and meanings of the rites. Hundred Schools of Thought had developed in the various ways in order to formulate systems of thought for a united empire after the Warring States period and the Confucian school had also endeavored to establish governing system through the reinforcement and segmentation of ritual systems. One of the best characteristics of “Rule of Rituals” is king-oriented thought of the reverence for emperor. This was reflected in the rituals and caused objects and ranges of ancestor worship to be differentiated focusing on a king. This also rationalized discrimination and ended the conflict between classes by using courtesy. This idea aimed to maintain and stabilize governing systems through ritual systems. Descriptions regarding rituals shown in the Liji prove it. Namely, a number of differentiated regulations related to ritual each location and tools for rituals enforced differentiation of hierarchy. Therefore, sacrificial rites strengthened the power of the emperor who hosted the worship, solidified the class order, and mandated obedience of members who participated in the worship. The influences of thought for the reverence of emperor in sacrificial rites can be verified through the limits and reinforcement of the objects of worship. The objects of worship in the rites can be distinguished as gods of nature and ancestors. The authority to worship natural gods was limited to the emperor and violating authority was strictly prohibited toward classes under his command by establishing differentiated regulations. Furthermore, the dignity of son of heaven was increased by placing restrictions on the right to worship for the objects of reverence including a god of heaven and earth which were unconditionally worshiped in an agrarian society. As for gods of ancestors, they were strictly regulated the differences between dazong 大宗 and xiaozong 小宗 and a rite for the ancestral gods was limited for the privilege of the zongzi 宗子. Therefore, a number of clans belonging to blood relationship were bound by ties of blood serving equal ancestors. At the same time, they became to worship the zongzi as they worshiped their ancestors. The emperor had a fixed status as the dazong and succeeded to the status of the zongzi. Consequently, the more worship awareness was strengthened, the more the power of the emperor was increased and the obedience of members who participated in the ancestral rites was reinforced. The view of rituals which focuses the thought of the reverence for the emperor, shown in the Liji, is connected to the governing systems focusing on the emperor and played a role as an intuitional function to strengthen the divine right of kings.