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Han jia Yao hou includes two concepts, shi xi (genealogy) and de-yun (Fortune of the Powers). Scholars have primarily focused on the political function of the Han jia Yao hou, and few have studied how people responded to it during the two Han Dynasties.
This paper analyzed the responses of the two Han Dynasties on the Han jia Yao hou from the perspectives of the de-yun system in the Chinese Wei-Shu and the sacrifice of Yao in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The three de-yun systems in vogue during the two Han Dynasties – the wu de xiang ke theory (“mutual overcoming of the Five Powers”), san tong theory (“three unities”), the wu de xiang sheng theory (“mutual generation of the Five Powers) – were analyzed in the beginning of the study. Then the variant traditions within each of the de-yun systems were deligneated, resulting in a finer distinction of two types of the wu de xiang ke theory, three types of the san tong theory, and two types of wu de xiang sheng theory. In the second part of the paper, each of the deligneated variants of de-yun were further examined, and it was determined that the Chen-weis concerning dynastic fortunes in the Wei-Shu do not exceed the three systems of de-yun. Though there are instances where some Chen-weis apply two systems of deyun indiscriminately, but the synthesis generally involve the combination of the san tong theory with either the wu de xiang ke or the wu de xiang sheng theories, with no instances from the Chen-weis that juxtapose the two wu de theories. This pattern reflects the sort of historical background that generated the texts of the Wei-Shu, and also indicates that the authors of the sWei-Shu were learned in each of the de-yun systems, juxtaposing the different traditions of Chen-wei consciously. Further, the Wei-Shu created with the wu de xiang sheng theory presents imperial genealogy as a unity, with only very few deviating examples. This indicates that there was at one time a collation movement based on Liu Xin’s Shi jing (“Canon of the Ages”). Lastly, this paper presented a reading on the Cheng Yang san bei (“three inscriptions from Cheng Yang”) set up during the reigns of the emperors Huan and Ling in the Eastern Han Dynasty to discuss on the one hand the mindset of the participants during Yao sacrifice, and the impact of the Han Jia Yao hou on the imperial officials and the general public on the other.
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