46 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



They need the same things after death as before, such as food, 

 clothing, weapons, tools, ornaments, and later, money. These objects 

 were provided by the living descendants. Many of them were buried 

 with the dead in their tombs, but food and wine and later spirit 

 money were afterward provided through sacrifices and spiritual offer- 

 ings. While they were living and after death, the ancestors were 

 treated with honor, respect, and affection. Though the deceased an- 

 cestors were dependent on the living descendants, they in turn blessed 

 and helped their descendants, giving them success, prosperity, and 

 happiness. At the memorial feasts the deceased were believed to be 

 present and to partake of the food and wine. At these feasts there was 

 an impersonator of the dead ancestor, a male descendant of the 

 deceased. 



During the Shang dynasty the ofiferings to the dead included wine, 

 cattle, horses, dogs, pigs, and sheep, and sometimes wild boars and wild 

 birds, besides chariots, weapons, dishes, cooking utensils, tools, orna- 

 ments, bronzes, and pottery. No grains or vegetables were offered, 

 but in the Chou dynasty these were added (Creel, 1935b, pp. 199-200, 



334). 



During the Chou period the emperor and other rulers had ancestral 

 temples in which ancestral spirit tablets of both husbands and their 

 wives were kept, watched over by a caretaker. The sacrifices, which 

 were family affairs, were offered by the heads of families. Kings 

 and other high officials were often assisted by others of lesser rank. 

 The ceremonies of ancestral veneration were regularly performed at 

 certain periods and seasons, but on special occasions also there were 

 offerings and worship. Among these occasions were the birth of a 

 son, a marriage involving the coming of a new person into the family, 

 and the coming of a son to maturity. The ancestors were often asked 

 for advice. 



An important question is, what did the ancient Chinese seek in their 

 religious worship and ceremonies? From inscriptions on the oracle 

 bones and on ceremonial bronzes we learn that a primary desire was 

 for numerous descendants, so that the ancestral ceremonies and of- 

 ferings would never cease. Other desires were for long life, pros- 

 perity, happiness, old age with honor, protection from diseases and 

 enemies, victory in war, and social and official status (ibid., pp. 332- 



333)- 



Divination was very common. The guidance and the advice of the 

 ancestors and of the gods were sought to learn whether or not to go 

 to war, whether to make a journey and when to begin it, whether or 



