Nicolas Standaert

University of K. U. Leuven, Belgium
Professor and dean of the Department of Chinese Studies

Abstract

The painting of the Sacrifice to the First Farmer 《祭先農壇圖》dating from the Yongzheng (雍正) reign gives a rare glimpse into the state sacrifices 祭祀which were one of the main ritual activities of the Chinese court. The ceremonies paid to the First Farmer 先農 (=Shennong 神農) were associated with the emperor's agrarian rites, which included the annual plowing of the sacred field near the Altar to First Farmer, south of the walled city in Beijing南郊（正陽門外的西側）. Grain from this field was used in the great sacrifices. Central in the painting are the offerings that are prepared on an altar under a canopy on the platform. They are arranged in a way that is very close to the prescriptive text指定性文本 of these sacrifices, the (Yongzheng 雍正) DaQing huidian 大清會典.

The overall positioning of the participants and the ritual objects in the painting is also very similar to this prescriptive text. Because the latter indicates the participants or audience by a character (e.g. wu 舞 for the dancers) and not by their numbers on the chart, the plan does not fully reflect the important presence of officials and ritual specialists at these sacrifices. Closest to the altar, on the podium, are the ceremonial officers 祀官who were supposed to be 18 at the sacrifice to the First Farmer. On the ground, closest to the altar are the approximately 50 musicians (rendered by a single character yue 樂 in the DaQing huidian 大清會典). Behind them are 128 dancers (rendered by wu 舞). They are arranged in eight rows of eight dancers (bayi 八佾). The wu 武 dancers, with ax 干in the right hand and shield 戚in the left hand, stand in front since they dance during the first oblation初獻. The wen 文 dancers who have a pheasant feather翟in the right hand and a short flute 籥in the left are waiting to move to the front in order to dance during the second 亞獻and third 終獻oblation. Each dancer is dressed in a gown of red loosely woven silk (hongjuan 紅絹) and wears a specific cap, all according to the prescriptions for this sacrifice. Farthest from the platform stand the approximately 300 scholar-officials, in blue and black gowns, who were invited (or ordered) to witness the ritual.

The state sacrifices in Ming and Qing themselves have been the object of research in the last decade, especially in the studies by R. Taylor, E. Rawski and A. Zito. In addition, J. Lam has presented an in-depth study of the music at these sacrifices during the Ming. The dancers, however, have been a virtually neglected topic. Who were the dancers What type of dance did they perform How did scholars write about the dances What were the prescriptions with regard to dancing and how did they evolve in the course of Ming and Qing dynasties These questions will be the object of this exploratory study. The answers will be mostly based on the visual representations of dancers and dances in written records, which are one of the most important sources for our knowledge about the dances during Ming and Qing.