Diagram of the Arrangement for the Sacrifice to the Former Teacher at the Imperial Academy

Position of the Former Teacher original: "先師位" (Xianshi wei). This refers to the central spirit tablet of Confucius.

Wine Goblet Wine Goblet Wine Goblet

Seasoned Broth Grand Broth Seasoned Broth original: "和羹" (He-geng) is a seasoned meat broth, while "大羹" (Da-geng) is a primordial, unseasoned broth used to represent ancient simplicity.

Millet Sorghum Ox Broomcorn Millet Rice

Twelve Savory Vessels (Right) original: "豆" (Dou), a stemmed vessel used for meat, pickles, and sauces.								Twelve Basket Vessels (Left) original: "邊" (Bian), a bamboo basket used for dry offerings like fruit, nuts, and cakes.
Dried fish	Pork	Rabbit paste	Vinegar paste	Celery pickles	Chive pickles		Hazelnuts	Gorgon fruit
Rice porridge	Spleen strips	Fish paste	Deer meat in vinegar	Bamboo pickles	Turnip pickles		Water caltrops	Dried deer meat

Pig Sorghum Ox Rice Sheep

Candle Candle Candle Candle

Table Ritual Silk Stand

Prayer Board original: "祝板" (Zhuban); the wooden board on which the invocation to the spirit of Confucius is written to be read aloud during the ceremony.

Candle Incense Candle

Imperial Academy (太學): The highest central institution of learning in imperial China, where the Emperor and officials performed major sacrifices to Confucius.
Former Teacher (先師): The honorary title for Confucius used in ritual contexts.
Sacrifice (祭祀): The formal act of offering food, wine, and prayers to ancestors or deities.
Arrangement (陳設): The specific, choreographed layout of ritual objects required by state sumptuary laws.
Savory and Basket Vessels (籩豆): A collective term for ritual food containers; "Bian" (bamboo) and "Dou" (wood/bronze) are fundamental to Confucian liturgy.
Seasoned and Grand Broths (和羹, 大羹): Two types of meat soup; the "Grand" broth is unseasoned to symbolize the purity of high antiquity.
Prayer Board (祝板): A wooden tablet used to display the written text of the prayer offered during the sacrifice.
Parched cakes (糗餅): Cakes made from roasted or parched grains.
Molded salt (形鹽): Salt carved or molded into symbolic shapes, often a tiger, representing the element of Earth or specific cosmological directions.
Sacrificial Animals (豕, 羊, 牛): The "Three Animals" (Pig, Sheep, Ox) which constitute the "Great Sacrifice" (Tai-lao), the highest level of offering.
Ritual Silk (帛): A roll of fine silk offered to the spirit, later burned as a messenger to the divine realm.