Chapter Eight: A Special Chapter on "The Three Ritual Offerings" — The Otter's Offering of Fish, the Hawk's Offering of Birds, the Jackal's Offering of Beasts

I. What Are the "Three Ritual Offerings"$45

In the phenological system of the twenty-four solar terms, three particularly striking and thought-provoking signs are collectively called the "Three Ritual Offerings" (san ji): at Yushui (Rain Water), "the otter offers ritual sacrifice of fish"; at Chushu (or the period from Liqiu through Chushu), "the hawk offers ritual sacrifice of birds"; and at Shuangjing (Frost's Descent), "the jackal offers ritual sacrifice of beasts."

These three share a remarkable peculiarity: they all employ the character ji (祭, "ritual sacrifice"). The otter catches fish, yet the text says it "offers sacrifice of fish"; the hawk catches birds, yet the text says it "offers sacrifice of birds"; the jackal catches beasts, yet the text says it "offers sacrifice of beasts." Why did the ancients use the solemn word for "sacrificial offering" to describe these predatory acts$1

This is a question of great depth, pointing directly at the distinctive Chinese cultural attitude toward the taking of life.

II. Where Is the "Sacrifice"$2 — Observations of Array Resembling Ritual

Why did the ancients describe these hunting behaviors as "sacrifice"$3 Fundamentally, it was based on meticulous phenological observation.

The ancients observed that when otters caught fish, they often arranged them neatly on the riverbank without immediately eating them — the scene resembled sacrificial offerings arrayed upon an altar. When hawks caught birds, they similarly displayed and piled their prey, again resembling arrayed offerings. Jackals did likewise with their prey.

The Liji, "Wang Zhi" (Royal Regulations), contains a revealing statement: "The otter offers sacrifice of fish, and then the game warden enters the marshes and weirs; the jackal offers sacrifice of beasts, and then the people may hunt." The ancients treated the animals' "sacrifice" as the signal and permission for humans to begin the corresponding hunting activities. Only when the otter has begun catching fish — indicating that fish are plump and the season is right — may humans cast their nets. Only when the jackal has begun catching beasts may humans organize hunts.

Here lies a profoundly significant ethic: humans do not rush ahead of the animals. Animals "sacrifice" first; humans take afterward. This represents an extreme respect for the natural order of time. Humans would not greedily drain the waters before fish had fattened, nor hunt beasts to exhaustion before they had grown strong. Instead, they waited patiently until even the otters and jackals had begun their harvest, confirming that the proper time had arrived, and only then did humans take their moderate share. This concept of "taking only in its proper season" is the core ethic of the "Three Ritual Offerings."

III. "Thus Begins the Execution of Punishments": Righteousness and Ritual Within the Taking of Life

The Liji Yueling, immediately after recording "the hawk offers ritual sacrifice of birds," adds: "thus begins the execution of punishments" (yong shi xing lu). This directly links the phenological sign of the hawk's offering with the "punitive severity" and "autumn executions" of early autumn.

But the critical point is this: even in killing, there must be "ritual" and "righteousness." The hawk's offering of birds is "killing," yet this killing is called a "sacrifice" — it is not disordered, greedy, or cruelly indiscriminate slaughter, but a measured, seasonally appropriate, nearly "ritual" taking. The hawk "sacrifices" before eating, symbolizing that even within the taking of life, a measure of solemnity and reverence is preserved.

The Master said: "He fished with a line but not with a net; he shot at birds in flight but not at roosting ones" (Lunyu, "Shu Er"). This is the exemplar of "taking with principle" — even when taking, one leaves room and holds compassion in the heart.

IV. The Unique Position of "The Hawk Offers Ritual Sacrifice of Birds"

Among the "Three Ritual Offerings," the hawk's offering occupies a singular position — falling precisely in early autumn, precisely around Chushu, precisely at the threshold of "heaven and earth begin their solemnity." The otter's offering at Yushui in early spring marks the beginning of fishing in a season of generation; the jackal's offering at Shuangjing in late autumn marks the height of hunting when severity has deepened. The hawk's offering stands between them, right at the turning point from "life" to "death" — it is the inception of solemn severity, the banner of "thus begins the execution," the avian proclamation that the Way of Heaven turns from benevolence to righteousness, from release to gathering.

V. Can Animals "Sacrifice"$4 — The Deeper Conviction of Heaven-Human Resonance

Ultimately, we must ask: did the ancients truly believe that animals performed "sacrifice"$5 From modern biology, animals' display of prey likely stems from instincts of food storage and territorial marking, with no sacrificial consciousness involved. But the ancients' insistence on using "sacrifice" reflects a profound conviction of "heaven-human resonance" and "the unity of all things." In their cosmology, the vital breath (qi) of heaven and earth pervades all beings. Autumn's spirit of solemn reverence and returning to the root acts upon humans (inspiring them to execute punishments, offer ancestral rites, and give thanks) and equally upon beasts and birds (inspiring the hawk to strike, the jackal to hunt). Master Zhuang said: "Heaven and earth were born together with me, and the ten thousand things are one with me" (Zhuangzi, "Qi Wu Lun"). In this realm of "the ten thousand things are one with me," the hawk's "offering of birds" and the human's "offering to ancestors" are ultimately the same thing — living beings between heaven and earth, in autumn's solemnity, expressing reverence and gratitude toward their shared source.