In the past, the emperor was most keen on making big scenes. Take the royal family as an example. Weddings, funerals, enthronement, and excursions all need to create big scenes to show off the emperor's power. In film and television dramas, we often see such scenes. In the resplendent Forbidden City, the soldiers with swords and halberds bowed down at the moment when the emperor boarded the dragon chair. That kind of scene not only makes the emperor's old son have unlimited scenery, but even the audience in front of the TV will inevitably breed a kind of bow-down psychology. At this moment, everyone will have a desire to make a scene, because the feeling of pride and satisfaction is indescribable and fascinating.
In all kinds of big scenes made by the emperor, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven is a typical one. According to historical records, it was one of the most important forms of worship to heaven in the winter solstice in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Etiquette is extremely grand and complicated, and the scene is extremely grand and spectacular. It is not difficult to imagine that the emperor is the legendary son of Zhongtian. He wants to worship heaven, that is, to worship his "holy father." What a spectacular sight it is.
Before offering sacrifices to heaven, we must first make full and large preparations. At this time, no matter how much manpower, material resources and financial resources are spent, it is at all costs. For example, all kinds of buildings and facilities in the Temple of Heaven (place of worship) have been restored. Renovate the streets from the Forbidden City to the Temple of Heaven where the emperor worships heaven to make it look brand-new. Five days before the sacrifice, the prince was sent to the sacrifice site to check the livestock to be slaughtered during the sacrifice. The emperor began to fast three days ago. Write the information two days ago on the greeting board. The day before, livestock were slaughtered, sacrifices were offered, and sacrificial vessels were arranged in the warehouse. After that, the emperor read the blessing page, checked the information, and then went to the Imperial Palace (also called Echo Wall, which contains the memorial tablets of the gods and the emperor's eight ancestors), went to Mouqiu altar (also called Temple of Heaven, south of the Temple of Heaven, where the emperor held the winter solstice ceremony) to see the shrine, and then went to the Shenku (the warehouse where sacrifices were stored) to see the beans (a kind of sacrifice). The night before the sacrifice, Taichang Siqing led his men to sort out the memorial tablets, offerings and sacrifices, the music department prepared the band furnishings, and finally the assistant minister of the ritual department conducted a comprehensive inspection. After the preparatory work is completed, it is necessary to carefully set the sacrificial position. The dome here is dedicated to heaven, and no houses are built on the stage, but sacrifices are made to the air, which is called "dew sacrifice". "Sacrifice to Heaven" has exquisite furnishings, rich sacrifices and very strict rules. There are seven groups of gods on the ball altar, and each group of gods is a temporary god made of sky-blue satin. On the north side of the pebble, there is a theme-the monument of the gods, whose gods are polygonal and conical. The east and west sides of the second altar are subordinate-the moon, the sun, the stars and the tablets of clouds, rain and wind, and the statues are rectangular; Jade, silk, whole cattle, whole sheep, whole tapir, wine, fruit, dishes and many other offerings were placed in front of the throne. There are more than 700 sacrificial vessels and various ritual vessels alone. There is a blessing case on the south side of the upper ring stone, and the emperor's sacrifice position is located on the south side of the upper platform. There are sixteen kinds of bells, bells, bells, etc. On the east and west sides of the south steps of the ball altar, there are more than 60 musical instruments composed of neutralization whistle music, which are neatly arranged and solemn. The time of offering sacrifices to heaven is also very important. At 7 o'clock before sunrise, when the Zhaigong rang Taihe Bell, the emperor drove to Waqiu altar. The bell stopped, the drums sounded and the ceremony officially began. At this time, the burnt calf in the southeast of Oahu altar, the sky lanterns hanging in the southwest, the misty clouds and the shadow of red candles give people a very mysterious feeling. It is this mysterious feeling that makes everyone, even the emperor, bow down to heaven and humbly pray for good weather, peace and prosperity. The ritual procedure is very strict. It is divided into nine items: welcoming the emperor, offering jade and silk, entering the tomb, offering gifts at the beginning of the trip, offering gifts at the end of the trip, withdrawing gifts, sending the emperor to the gods and watching meteors. Every item was completed by the emperor himself, and every step should be carefully executed, and there should be no omissions. In the meantime, incense was burned, singing and dancing rose, three knocks and nine worships were performed, and the momentum was magnificent. It seems that without such exercise, you can't move the sky. It was not until the emperor finally saw the burnt sacrifice with his own eyes that he could drive back to the palace and the ceremony was over.
In the process of offering sacrifices to heaven, all personnel involved in related affairs must not make any mistakes, otherwise they will be severely punished. For example, there is a clear stipulation in the Law of the Qing Dynasty: "Every time a sacrifice is made, after Chen's ritual vessels, the officials of the Imperial History and Taichang Hall must be ordered to check it again. All those who accompany deacons in worship, such as crying, coughing, laughing and making trouble in the altar and temple, regardless of the imperial clan, Jue Luo, ministers and officials, will be named. " Therefore, all those who follow the sacrifice are afraid. A small mistake is a big mistake. It is not so much fear of offending theocracy as fear of offending imperial power. In fact, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven is just a trick played by feudal emperors to show the concept of "divine right of monarch" and the sacred authority of "son of heaven". In order to achieve the goal of promoting theocracy and safeguarding imperial power, the emperor openly made a scene and made a big show, that is, he declared the supremacy of imperial power to the world.
In feudal times, emperors mainly made big scenes. In modern society, the richest people will not miss this opportunity. They often show off by public demonstrations.
In June 2004, just two months after buying Kensington Palace Garden Building in London, Indian steel giant Mittal celebrated his daughter's wedding with the most gorgeous, luxurious and sensational ceremony in the world.
First, he rented 12 Boeing planes and sent 1500 distinguished guests to Paris for a grand celebration lasting five days and five nights. The location of the carnival changes every day, from the famous Dolores Garden, the Palace of Versailles to the castle of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Louis XIV. These are extremely famous and luxurious places.
He also specially booked all the rooms of the five-star hotel Intercontinental Hotel in Paris for guests to stay. Men in traditional Indian clothes are specially hired to play drums outside the hotel and throw petals at guests whenever they come in and out. There are several luxury carriages parked in front of the hotel to pick up and drop off guests. In order to make every detail perfect, every car has a mini-bar.
The wedding was kicked off by a family song and dance concert on the banks of the Seine. The opening drama is a 1 hour drama created by Aktar, the No.1 screenwriter in Bollywood, based on the love experience of the bride and groom. The bride and groom play their own roles. After the performance, the guests were immediately transported to Versailles, where they attended the engagement ceremony and luxury party. Kylie minogue, an Australian national treasure pop singer, as the musical protagonist of the wedding party, added a touch of rainbow to the wedding, which made people pleasantly surprised.
The formal wedding was held in the viscount in the eastern suburb of Paris. Because this17th century castle is extremely beautiful, it is said to be more beautiful than Versailles, which once caused Louis XIV's jealousy. The dinner at the wedding banquet is a traditional Indian food presented by Maharai, a famous Indian chef, with 38 assistants. At the banquet, the guests drank more than 5,000 bottles of famous French wine with a price of 450 euros.
In addition, Mittal also temporarily built a wooden castle in St. Claude Park in the western suburbs of Paris, and invited people to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks show. The dazzling brilliance lit up the Eiffel Tower.
Under the careful planning of Mittal, his daughter's wedding turned into a huge drama. The grandeur of the scene and the luxury of spending are beyond the reach of the royal wedding in Europe, and * * * spent 55 million euros. Mittal quickly made headlines in the entertainment media of various countries, and he was quickly recognized by the upper class in Europe.
Some critics believe that Mittal took the opportunity of marrying a woman and made an expensive and fruitful advertisement. The intangible assets thus formed will play an inestimable role in Mittal's future expansion in the world steel market.
This way of arranging grand ostentation and extravagance with extravagant expenses is naked in front of the world and everyone, especially the rich and noble in the upper class, showing its abundant financial resources, extensive contacts and excellent taste, which has been very popular in various cultures all over the world since ancient times. Its essence boils down to: an arrogant and sworn public demonstration.
Elaborate luxury scenes give people a strong sensory impact and shock people's hearts, making the audience unconsciously accept the information conveyed by the host. Just like Mittal's Marry a Woman Show, although arrogant Europeans have always been arrogant and narcissistic, especially those who don't take Asians seriously, the scene is so grand and rich that the momentum is overwhelming, which makes the traditional European giants and nobles have to pay attention to it and sit up and take notice.