The Sacred and the Secular: Research on Mingtang Ritual under the Northern Wei in Pingcheng

Mingtang was a significant symbol for manifesting the regime’s orthodoxy after Han and Wei Dynasties. Combined stories from Han-Wei period with the statement from Yueling (《月令》) that Mingtang should contain nine rooms, the Mingtang, built by the Emperor Xiaowen in Pingcheng, clearly differed from those built in the Southern Dynasties in terms of its shape and structure. Therefore, Emperor Xiaowen’s political attitude towards to construct the legitimacy of Huaxia was apparently demonstrated under the fiercely controversial discussion about legitimism. After 487, the emperor highlighted Northern Wei’s orthodoxy through the comprehensive performance of Huaxia ritual. And the completion of Mingtang in Pingcheng symbolized the formation of spatial pattern in ritual. Among all rituals implemented by Emperor Xiaowen, the Mingtang system was especially exceptional. In 493, he offered sacrifices to the heaven and performed the pension ceremony there, which greatly presented his images both as the sacred emperor obedient to the manmade of heaven and the secular emperor respecting the elder. As two remarkable features, hence, the sacredness and secularity of Mingtang were indicated in an obvious way. Furthermore, Emperor Xiaowen’s political idea, to govern the world through filial piety and moralize the people through etiquette, fully reflected Huaxia ritual’s political function to transform social traditions.