Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms, Volume 8: Ceremonial Systems

Page 11

Commentary on the Ritual Standing Positions

According to the original protocols of the Comprehensive Ritesoriginal: "通禮" (Tongli). A reference to standardized ritual manuals used during the Ming dynasty to ensure Confucian propriety., the Master of the Household stands facing North at the foot of the Eastern Stepsoriginal: "阼階" (zuojie). Traditionally, the eastern staircase of a hall was reserved for the host or master of the house., and the Mistress of the Household stands facing North at the foot of the Western Steps.

If the Master has a living mother, she is given a special position in front of the Mistress of the Household. If the Master has paternal uncles or elder brothers, they are given special positions to the Master’s right, slightly forward, arranged in multiple rows with the westernmost position being the most senior. If there are paternal aunts, wives of paternal uncles, elder sisters-in-law, or elder sisters, they are given special positions to the left of the Mistress of the Household, slightly forward, arranged in multiple rows with the easternmost position being the most senior.

The younger brothers stand to the right of the Master, slightly recessed. Sons, grandsons, and external attendants stand behind the Master. The wives of younger brothers and the Master's younger sisters stand to the left of the Mistress, slightly recessed. The wives of sons and grandsons, the daughters, and the internal attendants stand behind the Mistress.

The older diagrams integrated these positions directly into the drawing of the Ancestral Halloriginal: "祠堂" (citang).. They are presented separately here because we wish for people to understand the layout more easily. The original ritual annotations mention a special position for the mother, yet the older diagrams omitted it. Furthermore, sons and grandsons ought to be arranged in rows according to their order of lineageoriginal: "世次" (shici). This refers to the strict hierarchy of generations within a clan., but the older diagrams confused them into a single group, thereby losing the proper generational sequence. These errors have now been corrected and supplemented. Although the older diagrams separated paternal uncles and elder brothers into first and second ranks—which differs from the literal text of the original annotations—that particular arrangement did capture the intended spirit of the ritual.