Chapter 14: The Rites of Guyu — The Sacrifice to Cangjie and the Rite of the First Sericulturist

Section 1: The Original Meaning of Ritual — A Solemn Intercourse Between Heaven and Humanity

Before delving into the specific rites of Guyu, we must first clarify the original meaning of "ritual propriety" (li). Ritual is by no means mere elaborate formality, but rather a solemn and dignified "manner of intercourse" between the ancients and Heaven and Earth, the spirits, and the ancestors.

The "Ceremonial Usages" chapter of the Book of Rites says: "The beginning of ritual lay in food and drink offering food in sacrifice... ritual is performed in the outer suburbs, and thereby the hundred spirits each receive their offices." The origin of ritual began with food and drink (offering food in sacrifice)... ritual is performed in the outer suburbs, and thus the hundred spirits each receive their proper offices. And the "Meaning of Sacrifices" chapter of the Book of Rites speaks of the sincerity of sacrifice: "On the day of fasting, one thinks of the one sacrificed to—of their dwelling, their laughter and speech, their aims and intentions, what brought them joy, and what they relished." On the day of fasting, one must think of the dwelling place, the laughter and speech, the aims and intentions, the joys, and the tastes of the one being sacrificed to.

From this we see that the core of ritual lies in the single word "sincerity," the single word "reverence"—engaging in intercourse with Heaven, Earth, the spirits, and the ancestors with the most devout, most reverent heart.

The rites of Guyu are chiefly two: first, the sacrifice to Cangjie (commemorating the origin of writing); second, the sacrifice to the First Sericulturist and the performance of the rite of personal sericulture (praying for an abundant harvest of mulberry and silk). These two ritual systems, one bearing on "writing" (civilization), the other on "clothing" (sericulture), correspond precisely to Guyu's two great themes of "rained millet (writing)" and "the descent upon the mulberry (silkworm-rearing)," giving concrete realization, in the most solemn form, to Guyu's cultural meaning as an intercourse between Heaven and humanity.

Section 2: Sacrificing to Cangjie — Honoring the Origin of Writing

The sacrifice to Cangjie at Guyu is a ritual custom formed in later ages, laden with profound meaning. It solemnly situates the reverence for "the origin of writing" within this late-spring solar term of "rain giving birth to the hundred grains."

Why sacrifice to Cangjie$11 Because, in the hearts of the ancients, writing was a great creation capable of "startling Heaven and Earth and bringing spirits to tears" ("Heaven rained down millet, and ghosts wept in the night"). Cangjie, as the creator (or great consolidator) of writing, achieved merit comparable to that of Shennong, who taught the people to farm, or Suiren, who drilled wood to make fire—he gave humanity an entirely new instrument, sufficient to carry civilization forward through the ages. For such a founder of civilization, the ancients naturally offered solemn sacrificial rites in commemoration and gratitude.

And as to why the day of sacrifice to Cangjie was set at Guyu, we have already discussed at length above the profound meaning behind this—Guyu's "rain giving birth to the hundred grains" (the grain that nourishes the body) and Cangjie's "Heaven rained down millet" (the writing that nourishes the mind) resonate with one another as one and the same "Heaven descending to nourish humanity." Thus, sacrificing to Cangjie at Guyu is, at its essence, a way of celebrating, within a single season of "rained-down grain," the double nurturing that Heaven and Earth and the sage together bestow upon humanity: Heaven nourishing the human body through rain that brings forth the hundred grains, and Cangjie nourishing the human mind through writing that transmits civilization.

On this day, the farmer gives thanks for the grain sent down by Heaven, and the scholar gives thanks for the writing created by the sage, and the two merge together, thoroughly, within a single solar term, a single gratitude. One solar term belongs both to the farmer in the field and to the scholar at his desk—this is precisely the solemn unity of agrarian civilization and written civilization that the sacrifice to Cangjie at Guyu accomplishes.

Section 3: The Sacrifice to the First Sericulturist and the Rite of Personal Sericulture — Praying for an Abundance of Clothing

The other great pillar of Guyu's rites is the sacrifice to the First Sericulturist and the performance of the rite of personal sericulture. We have already touched on this in outline in our discussion of "the hoopoe descends upon the mulberry"; here let us examine more deeply its ritual structure and spirit.

"The First Sericulturist" (Xiancan) is the silkworm spirit who first taught the people to rear silkworms (according to legend, perhaps Leizu of the Xiling clan). Around the time of Guyu, the queen consort, leading the ranks of noble ladies both within and beyond the court, fasts and purifies herself, sacrifices to the First Sericulturist, and then personally performs the rite of gathering mulberry leaves (personal sericulture), so as to encourage the work of silkworms throughout the realm. The "Monthly Ordinances" of the Book of Rites, in its account of the third month of spring—"the queen consort fasts and purifies herself, and faces east to gather mulberry leaves with her own hands"—is precisely the pre-Qin record of this ritual system.

This ritual system of "the First Sericulturist—personal sericulture—gathering mulberry leaves in person" corresponds precisely, and complements exactly, in structure and spirit, the Son of Heaven's ritual of "the First Farmer—personal plowing—the sacred field":

The Son of Heaven sacrifices to the First Farmer and personally plows the sacred field, giving weight to "grain" (food); the queen consort sacrifices to the First Sericulturist and personally gathers mulberry leaves, giving weight to "mulberry" (clothing). One is male, the other female; one presides over food, the other over clothing; one is performed in the southern suburbs (the sacred field), the other in the inner gardens (the sericulture chambers)—together they constitute the sacred demonstration, at the very highest level of the state, of "men plow, women weave." Their spirit is to proclaim to the entire realm: plowing and mulberry-tending, food and clothing, are the two foundations upon which the state is established, matters in which even the sovereign and his consort must personally take part, not daring to treat them lightly.

Guyu happens to be precisely the solar term at which both "plowing" and "mulberry" begin together—"rain giving birth to the hundred grains" is the beginning of plowing, "the hoopoe descends upon the mulberry" is the beginning of mulberry-tending. And so, at the season of Guyu, the Son of Heaven may personally plow to give weight to grain, and the queen consort may personally gather mulberry to give weight to silkworms, the two rites proceeding side by side, presenting, in the most solemn ritual form, the complete dual foundation of Guyu's equal emphasis on "food and clothing." This is a perfect, fourfold convergence of solar term, phenology, farm work, and ritual system.

Section 4: The Rite of Welcoming the Qi — The Third Month of Spring as the Prelude to "Welcoming Summer"

The rites of Guyu must also be understood within the larger framework of "welcoming the qi of the four seasons."

The "Monthly Ordinances" of the Book of Rites records that, at the beginning of each of the four seasons, the Son of Heaven must lead his assembled ministers out to the suburbs to "welcome the qi": at Start of Spring, welcoming spring in the eastern suburbs (the east belonging to Wood); at Start of Summer, welcoming summer in the southern suburbs (the south belonging to Fire); at Start of Autumn, welcoming autumn in the western suburbs (the west belonging to Metal); at Start of Winter, welcoming winter in the northern suburbs (the north belonging to Water). This rite of "welcoming the qi in the four suburbs" strictly follows the directional positions of the Five Phases, and is a great state ceremony by which the Son of Heaven accords with Heaven's timing and communicates between Heaven and humanity.

Though Guyu is not among "the four beginnings" (it does not directly correspond to a great ceremony of welcoming the qi), it stands within late spring, at the transitional moment when the qi of "welcoming spring" (Wood's virtue in the eastern suburbs) is about to reach its fulfillment, and the rite of "welcoming summer" (Fire's virtue in the southern suburbs) is soon to arrive. One might say that Guyu is both the lingering echo and the closing note of "spring's welcoming of qi," and the gestation and prelude of "summer's welcoming of qi."

In this sense, the rites of Guyu (sacrificing to Cangjie, sacrificing to the First Sericulturist) constitute, within the closing notes of spring's welcoming of qi, a final act of reverence and gratitude toward spring; and once it has passed, Start of Summer follows immediately, and the Son of Heaven must lead his ministers to the southern suburbs to "welcome summer," inaugurating the great rites of high summer under Fire's presiding virtue. The rites of Guyu thus become the ritual pivot linking "the ritual of spring under Wood's virtue" to "the ritual of summer under Fire's virtue," carrying forward what came before while opening what follows—in the final hours of late spring, it calmly completes its farewell to spring, while quietly preparing to welcome summer.