Huánglǎn yìlǐ 皇覽逸禮一卷附中霤禮
Lost-Ritual Fragments from the Huánglǎn*, with Appended Hearth-Sacrifice Ritual*
by 繆襲 (撰)
About the work
A single-juàn reconstruction of Yìlǐ 逸禮 (lost-ritual) fragments preserved through the lost Huánglǎn 皇覽 — the great Cáo-Wèi-court compilation-encyclopedia ordered by Cáo Pī under the principal editorial direction of 繆襲 Miù Xí (186–245), Liú Shào 劉劭, and others. The Huánglǎn is one of the earliest lèishū (encyclopedic compilations) in Chinese tradition; its preservation of Yílǐ materials that did not survive into the standard canonical recension makes it a key fragment-source for early ritual reconstruction. The CHANT reconstruction (CH2e1112) is drawn from Táng-Sòng lèishū re-citations.
Abstract
The opening preserved fragment is the Tiānzǐ yíng sì-jié 天子迎四節 (Son-of-Heaven’s reception of the four seasons) protocol — a detailed quasi-cosmological ritual programme for the four seasonal-receptions:
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Spring reception (yíng chūn): 46 days before the winter solstice; reception in the dōng-táng (winter-hall), 8 lǐ from the capital, hall 8 chǐ high, 8 hall-steps, 8 blue-tax chariots, qī-máo (banner-tassels) preferring blue, field-chariot bearing the spear, named zhù tiān shēng (assisting heaven’s generation); chanted with jué (horn), danced with yǔ-dí (feather-shield). This is the yíng chūn (spring-reception) music.
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Summer reception (yíng xià): 46 days from the spring equinox; reception in the nán-táng (south-hall), 7 lǐ from the capital, hall 7 chǐ high, 7 hall-steps, 7 red-tax chariots […] — and so on through the autumn and winter receptions.
The pattern of declining numerical specifications (8, 7, 6, 5) across the four seasons, with cardinal-direction colour-coding (blue/spring/east, red/summer/south, white/autumn/west, black/winter/north), is one of the most-detailed surviving Cáo-Wèi-period court-cosmological ritual programmes.
The appended Zhōngliú lǐ 中霤禮 (Hearth-Sacrifice Ritual) covers the household-altar protocols for sacrifice to the zhōng-liú (central-roof / hearth) spirits.
The dating bracket (220–245) reflects the Huánglǎn compilation period under 繆襲 Miù Xí.
Translations and research
No substantial Western-language secondary literature located. The Huánglǎn is treated in surveys of Chinese encyclopedia history:
- 張滌華 Zhāng Díhuá, Lèishū liúbié 類書流別.
Other points of interest
The Huánglǎn is the earliest documented lèishū in the Chinese tradition; its Yìlǐ preservation function is significant for early ritual reconstruction because it captured pre-canonical Yílǐ materials that did not survive into the post-Zhèng-Xuán recensions. The detailed yíng sì-jié programme is one of the most elaborate Cáo-Wèi cosmological-ritual specifications to survive.
Links
- Chinese Text Project — Tōngdiǎn: https://ctext.org/tongdian