Burning Talismans at the Shaman Shrine
Lu Yu raised his bone staff, the copper bell at its tip ringing softly in the night wind.
He looked up at the sky and chanted in an ancient and obscure tone:
"There are ten suns in the sky, and ten sacrifices for the shaman. The ritual of rain-making requires watering the earth with sacrificial blood, offering a human head to the mountain, and letting a child's eyes illuminate the spring. Now, Nanzhao from a severe drought, the rivers are dry and the rocks are crumbling. It is the perfect time to offer human sacrifices to the heavens, begging the Dragon King for mercy and to send down three feet of sweet rain."
Ziheng turned around, her snake tail slowly sweeping across the stage, its purple light like flames.
She glanced at the dumbfounded miners below the stage, a slight smile playing on her lips:
"The method of offering sacrifices to Heaven also has its rules. Although you are of lowly status, there is still a proper order. First, the old and weak should be thrown off the cliff, imitating the ceremony of 'River God's Wedding,' to remove the excess and clear the way for us; then, the strong and brave should be thrown into the pool, following the method of 'Locking the Dragon,' using human chains to suppress the water's eye and ensure that the world will not suffer from drought for ten thousand years; finally, nine boys and nine girls should be selected, imitating ' Jingwei Carrying Wood,' to fill the mountain crevices, offering their pure yang and pure yin blood to the mountain spirit. After these three levels of sacrifices are completed, Heaven will surely send down sweet rain, and the Witchcraft Dao Royal Court will never decline."
The miners below the stage gradually became restless.
Some people hugged their children tightly, some gripped the handles of their hoes tightly, and some muttered, "Isn't this treating us like livestock...?"
Lu Yu slammed his bone staff down, causing the copper bells at the top of the staff to ring.
He looked down at the crowd below, his tone carrying a hint of persuasion. "You need not panic. To become a sacrificial offering is your blessing. The gods have taken your souls, so you will be reborn into a better life, and you will no longer have to toil and starve in this mine. Besides!" He changed the subject, his bone staff pointing towards the Witch Department behind Ziheng, "The king has decreed that those who voluntarily offer themselves will have their families exempted from corvée labor for twenty years and will receive a hundred acres of land. If they do not wish to do so, then it will be decided by drawing lots. Whoever is drawn will be chosen. But if you cannot draw a lot, then there is only one way—five out of ten men will be chosen, or three out of five. Either way, someone has to go, so what difference does it make whether they go sooner or later?"
The miners looked at each other, some with a hint of hesitation in their eyes, but most with a mixture of fear and anger.
A woman holding a young child suddenly screamed, "I'm not going! I'm not going! If you want to die, go die yourselves, don't drag my man down with you!" Her voice was sharp and shrill.
The miners then seemed to wake up from their daze.
It is unclear who first raised a hoe, but soon more than 100,000 people shouted angrily at the stage.
The roar was so loud it almost overturned the entire platform.
Lu Yu took a step back, Ziheng's snake tail suddenly rose up, its purple light surging, drawing a dazzling arc in front of the stage.
The miners in the front row were forced to retreat by the purple light, trampling over those behind them, their screams and curses mingling together.
"Rebellion!" Lu Yu shouted sternly, pointing his bone staff at the crowd below. "Anyone who dares to take another step forward will not be a sacrifice for the heavens, but a sinner who has offended the shamanic shrine! According to the shamanic law, those who offend the priest will be skinned alive, stuffed with straw, and hung on the lintel of the shrine, their souls forever condemned to eternal damnation!"
The angry shouts from the miners below the stage momentarily stopped.
Some were trembling, some were gritting their teeth, but dared not take another step forward.
Just then, a clear and melodious flute sound suddenly came from the side of the stage.
The flute's note, though not loud, cut through the sound of the bronze bells on the shrine altar like a sharp blade.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Su Yao had put down his bamboo flute and slowly walked to the front of the stage.
He changed out of his crimson robe and held the Great Yang Mirror in his hand.
"Peel off the skin, stuff it with straw, and hang it above the door." Su Yao repeated Lu Yu's words, then suddenly laughed, "What a fine witchcraft law! I just wonder, which is more credible, this witchcraft law or the imperial edict?"
Lu Yu's expression changed slightly, but he remained silent.
Su Yao slowly raised the precious mirror, his voice suddenly rising. "Since the founding of the nation by Taizu Emperor Gao, a national policy has been established: abolishing the hereditary chieftain system and the practice of private punishment by witchcraft! All laws recorded in the Great Proclamation must not supersede the national law; all matters covered by the Great Proclamation must not be subject to arbitrary executions by the Witch Department! You are here intimidating the people with witchcraft laws—where do you place Taizu's Great Proclamation? Where do you place the laws of the court?!"
The miners below the stage were stunned.
They had been oppressed by shamanic temples for generations and had never heard of such a thing as "Great Proclamation".
Someone asked in a low voice:
"What is the Great Proclamation? Can it really govern shamanistic shrines?"
Su Yao turned around, facing the more than 100,000 miners below the stage, and said, word by word:
"The Great Proclamation was personally promulgated by Taizu Emperor Gao. All citizens of our Qing Dynasty, whether officials, Witch Department, or powerful figures, are bound by the Great Proclamation. Shamans who privately worship Heaven and offer human sacrifices violate Article Twelve of the Great Proclamation: 'Shamans shall not offer human sacrifices to gods; those who violate this shall be punished for treason!' Tell me, which is greater, the shamanic law or the Great Proclamation?"
The miners looked at each other, seemingly understanding but not quite, yet they sensed the weight in Su Yao's tone.
Someone tentatively called out:
"Great Proclamation!" Then more people joined in the chant. "Great Proclamation! Great Proclamation!"
Lu Yu's face turned ashen. He slammed his bone staff down and said sternly:
"Nonsense! The rituals of worshipping Heaven in shrines have existed since ancient times, and even the Taizu did not prohibit them! What evidence do you have to pressure me with the Great Proclamation?"
He looked up at the sky, the bronze bells on his bone staff ringing low in the night wind. His tone deepened, carrying a hint of arrogant arrogance. "The ritual of human sacrifice Non-Self unique to our Witch Department; it was passed down by the High Antiquity sage kings! It has been recorded in the annals and inscribed on oracle bones since the Three Dynasties. How can you abolish it with just a single Great Proclamation?"
Then he lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over the miners below the stage. "The three chapters of the * Pan Geng * say: 'I have greatly shamed you, and thus cherish you, but I have failed in my governance, and here I present it. Empress Gao then bestowed upon you a great punishment, saying: Why have you so cruelly oppressed my people?' Do you know what the word 'shame' means? It means offering human sacrifices to the Heavenly Emperor! When Pan Geng moved the capital, he used shamanistic rituals to worship Heaven and inform the gods, using human sacrifices!"
Just then, Su Yao took out a yellowed book from his pocket and held it high.
The book cover prominently displayed the two characters "Great Proclamation" (大诰).
"The priest is very learned, quoting scriptures and even citing oracle bones, but I wonder if you turned a few more pages when you read the * Book of Shang *? The Shang used human sacrifices, but their reign was short-lived, ending with King Zhou! The Zhou overthrew the Shang, and the Duke of Duke of Zhou established rites to restore Human Order, abolishing human sacrifices entirely, replacing living people with terracotta figurines, and replacing blood sacrifices with human offerings. The human sacrifice rites you speak of as 'ancient' were abolished as early as the Zhou dynasty!"
He turned to the miners below the stage and said loudly, "The Book of Shang, in the chapter ' Weizi, ' says: 'Now the people of Yin steal the sacrificial animals of the gods to feed them, so that they will have no food to eat.' Even the Shang people know that human sacrifice is a sin! King Zhou was tyrannical, offering living people as sacrifices. King Wen developed the Zhou Changes of Changes to win over the hearts of the people. King Wu attacked King Zhou, and eight hundred King Wu lords gathered at Meng Ford. What was the purpose of all this? It was to act on behalf of Heaven and punish this sorcerer Shang!"
"This is Great Proclamation. Since the priest does not believe it, he may come and verify it himself and see what the twelfth article says!"
He threw the rubbing of the Great Proclamation at Lu Yu.
Lu Yu instinctively caught it, opened it, and his expression changed drastically.
On the yellowed pages, the vermilion ink writing was as glaring as blood:
"No human sacrifice may be offered in any shamanic shrine. Violation of this law will be considered licentious worship and punished as treason, though pardoned. All citizens of this Qing Dynasty who witness such licentious worship may present Great Proclamation edict to the relevant authorities. Local officials, chieftains, and inspectors who fail to comply with this edict will be punished the same as the offenders. All Witch Department, chieftains, and village leaders are hereby ordered to inscribe this edict on stone and erect it before their shrines as a warning for all ages. Anyone who dares to destroy the stone tablet or conceal its contents will be executed along with their entire clan, and their land and property will be confiscated. This edict shall take effect from the date of its issuance and shall be an ironclad rule for all future generations. No one may be pardoned, no one may be exempted from favors, no one may be spared. Take heed, take heed, for this law shall never be broken."