**Preface to "Traditional Chinese State Ritual System of Sacrifice to Mountain and Water Spirits"**

Sacrifice to spirits of mountains and waters was already an established state ritual in the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 BCE) and continued in the Zhou to Qin dynasties (ca. 1046–206 BCE). From the Western Han to the Northern Song eras (206 BCE–1126 CE), imperial courts gradually formed a ritual system of sacrifice to great mountain and water spirits, which mainly consisted of the five sacred peaks (*wuyue* 五岳, i.e., Mt. Tai 泰山, Mt. Hua 華山, Mt. Heng 衡山, Mt. Heng 恒山, and Mt. Song 嵩山), five strongholds (*wuzhen* 五鎮, i.e., Mt. Yi 沂山, Mt. Wu 吳山, Mt. Guiji 會稽山, Mt. Yiwulu¨ 醫巫閭山, and Mt. Huo 霍山), four seas (*sihai* 四海, i.e., the east, west, south, and north seas), and four waterways (*sidu* 四瀆, i.e., the Yangzi River 長江, Yellow River 黃河, Huai River 淮水, and Ji River 濟水). This system was maintained up to the end of the last imperial dynasty (the Qing) in 1911.

As state ritual, this sacrificial system was constructed by the Confucian ritual culture, which encompassed religious, ethical, and political domains. In practice, however, it gradually interacted and integrated with various religious traditions, such as Daoism, Buddhism, and folk belief, especially in its local manifestation and dissemination. Those eighteen great mountains and waters marked geographical and directional borders and territories modelled on the yin-yang and five-phase framework that helped shape Chinese people's cosmographical understanding of the world. Together, they also constituted a set of sacred, symbolic spaces, which symbolized the sanctioned political legitimacy of the imperium and functioned as the loca for communication with the divine and the supernatural, as well as the media between religion and its secular context, state ideology and local belief, or various ethnic groups. In those mountains and waters, grand temples were built and rebuilt, state rituals of sacrificial ceremonies were performed year after year, local people's routine religious worship and activities were conducted, and numerous essays and poems describing the landscapes and ritual ceremonies were written and inscribed on steles preserved inside the temples. Therefore, the theme of this volume involves a broad scope, including Confucian ritual culture, state sacrificial ceremonies, Daoism, Buddhism, local cults, cosmography, religious, political, and historical geography, and art and literature.

Starting with Edouard Chavannes (1865–1918), a considerable number of modern scholars have ´ studied the five sacred peaks from various perspectives and yielded fruitful results. Major issues, however, are still subject to debate or require broader and deeper examination. As for the five strongholds, four seas, and four waterways, as well as the whole state system of sacrifice to mountain and water spirits, a number of scattered studies published in the Chinese language have emerged thus far, while scholarship produced in other languages remains almost absent.

Reprinted from the Special Issue of *Religions* bearing the same title, which comprises ten articles published in 2021–2022, this volume represents the first comprehensive investigation of this important ritual system that lasted for two thousand years in imperial China and influenced the Chinese cultural tradition in various domains. By applying a combination of approaches from religious, political, historical-geographical, and cultural studies and discovering many new primary sources, especially stele inscriptions preserved in the sacrificial temples, this volume contributes to the study of traditional Chinese ritual institution and culture, the beliefs and practices of Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist, and folk religious traditions, as well as their interaction and integration, and the political, sacred, and cosmographic geography. We hope that this volume will provide novel and useful information not only to scholars of Chinese studies and religious studies but also to college students so as to expand their understanding of traditional Chinese religion and culture.

The volume begins with a comprehensive account on the formational process of the traditional state sacrificial system to mountain and water spirits. Written by Jinhua Jia, Professor of Yangzhou University and the University of Macau, chapter one describes how the major geographical landmarks were gradually integrated with religious beliefs and ritual-political institutions to become symbols of territorial, sacred, and political legitimacy, and how they helped maintain the unification and government of the traditional Chinese imperium for two thousand years. A historical map of the locations of the sacrificial temples dedicated to the eighteen mountain and water spirits is appended for the reader's visual reference, in order to aid in their understanding of this chapter and later chapters.

In chapter two, Zhu Yi, Professor of Fudan University, provides a general examination on the Tang rulers' bestowal of noble titles upon twenty-eight mountain and water spirits, including the five sacred peaks, four strongholds (in the Tang, only four strongholds were designated), four seas, and four waterways. Zhu effectively demonstrates that, when confronting violent political changes, the rulers yearned for blessings and protection from these natural deities, while in the context of the expansion of monarchical power in the secular world, they also sought to establish their authority in the realm of divinity.

The remaining eight chapters are arranged in the conventional order of sacred peaks, strongholds, seas, and waterways. Authored by Wen Lei, Professor of Beijing Normal University, and Luying Zhao, a PhD candidate of Arizona State University, chapter three presents an important study on Daoism's interaction with the state sacrificial ritual for the five sacred peaks in the Tang dynasty. The authors convincingly argue that the establishment of the shrines for the Perfected Lords on these sacred peaks, which was suggested by the Daoist master Sima Chengzhen, manifested Daoists' efforts to transform the state sacrificial system, while the imperial authority in turn permeated the Daoist sacred geographical framework.

The next two chapters turn to the research on the strongholds. In chapter four, Zhaojie Bai, Associate Professor of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and Teng Yao, Associate Professor of Xinzhou Normal University, present a sound investigation of Daoism's influence on the operation of the Eastern Stronghold Temple in the late imperial period. Through the discovery and analysis of previously overlooked stele inscriptions preserved in the temple, they offer a meticulous account of how and why Daoist priests replaced the official personnel in the operation of the temple, with the result that it not only served as an official place of worship but also gained the function and identity of a Daoist abbey and folk temple.

Written by Chenxi Huang, Assistant Professor of Anhui University, and Siyu Chen, MA graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, chapter five also examines stele inscriptions preserved in the Northern Stronghold Temple in an original study of its relationship with the ethnic minority regimes in the late imperial period. As the authors insightfully argue, due to its geographical location, in the Yuan and Qing dynasties Mt. Yiwulu, the northern stronghold, achieved prominence among ¨ the five strongholds and became an instrument used by the Mongolians and Manchus for claiming the legitimacy of their political regimes, demonstrating how the ethnic minority rulers successfully utilized the old sacrificial ritual to serve their new political agenda.

As for the seas, we have chapters six and seven studying the south sea. These two chapters are sister articles, investigating the evolution of the sacrificial ritual to the south sea spirit. Authored by Yuanlin Wang, Professor of Guangzhou University, chapter six focuses on the Tang dynasty. Applying various kinds of historical sources, the chapter carefully describes how the suburban ritual evolved into both the suburban and local ritual forms, and how the role and identity of the ritual performer changed from the early to late Tang. The reciprocal relationship between Buddhism and the belief in the south sea spirit, in its local manifestation, is also discussed. Written by Yuanlin Wang and Aiyun Ye, Assistant Professor of Guangzhou University, chapter seven focuses on the Song dynasty. During the Northern Song, the south sea spirit and its temple were conferred with noble titles for several times, and its role in blessing and ensuring local stability was stressed. Because of its geographical location, the power of the south sea spirit was further enhanced during the Southern Song. The temple became the largest of its kind in the Lingnan region, local folk beliefs were incorporated into the canonized ritual, and many "detached palaces" of the spirit were built in other places for local people's worship.

The last three chapters concentrate on the waterways. In chapter eight, Hua Yang, Professor of Wuhan University, offers a sophisticated study on the practice of sacrifice to the water spirits of the Yangzi River and its many tributaries and lakes. As the author methodically demonstrates, the sacrifices offered to these spirits were gradually incorporated into the codes of state ritual and became symbols of the religious and political legitimacy of the imperial regimes. Since the majority of the dynasty capitals were located in the north, the act of worshipping the water spirits of the Yangzi River basin implied recognition by, and blessing from, the southern divinities, and symbolized the political and military administration over the south.

Chapter nine, authored by Teng Li, Assistant Professor of Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, provides a comprehensive study of the sacrifice to the Ji River spirit. Although it vanished long time ago, the Ji River had always been an indispensable part of the state ritual system and continuously received regular sacrifice, representing a symbol and mechanism of political legitimacy. Through the use of solid historical and local records, this chapter also successfully demonstrates that, after the Song dynasty, the Ji River spirit was gradually transformed into a regional protector of local society, and its cult interacted and integrated with other religious beliefs, such as Daoism, Buddhism, and folk religion.

Chapter ten, with its innovative topic and approach, draws a perfect conclusion for this volume. Authored by Nicholas Morrow Williams, Associate Professor of Arizona State University, the chapter conducts a fascinating study of ancient to medieval verses on the four waterways. The chapter first describes the transformation of the literary representation of China's great rivers from the *Book of Songs* and *Elegies of Chu* to the establishment of the divine status and political ramifications of the four waterways in the Western Han state ritual system. The author then expertly analyses several representative poetic works, revealing how their authors celebrated the numinous powers and divine inhabitants of the great rivers.

The completion of this Special Issue owes much to all the authors' support and dedicated work. I am grateful to editors and assistants of the Religions editorial office, especially Ms. Ester Dong for her initiation of the Special Issue and Ms. Gloria Qi for her guidance and help throughout the journey. My sincere gratitude also goes to the many anonymous reviewers who spent their precious time reading the draft versions of the articles/chapters and offering numerous insightful comments for their revision.

From 2017 to 2019, I led three teams of field trip to investigate the Temple of the Ji River Spirit (Jidu miao, inside which the Shrine of the North Sea Spirit is also attached), the Temple of the Eastern Stronghold Spirit (Dongzhen miao) and Mt. Yi, and the Temple of the Northern Stronghold Spirit (Beizhen miao) and Mt. Yiwulu. Several authors who contributed to this volume, ¨ including Chenxi Huang, Zhaojie Bai, Teng Li, and Siyu Chen, took part in one or more of the field trips. We investigated the history and present context of these temples and mountains, collected stele inscriptions and other local records, observed local religious activities, and even witnessed a fascinating temple fair. The experience of these field trips has no doubt greatly facilitated our research on these sacred spaces. I would like to acknowledge the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for sponsoring all the trips.

> **Jinhua Jia** *Editor*
