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Chinese Characters and Sacrificial Worship 祭(jì) 祝(zhù)

祭(jì) 祝(zhù)

For sacrificial activities, not only the jade articles should be prepared, but also the food, especially meat. For the ancient people, meat was the scarcest and most cherished food of all. Therefore, during the grand sacrificial worship activities, meat(肉ròu) was offered in sacrifice to demonstrate reverence to the gods. In the oracle bone script for the character “祭”, which means “pay sacrifice to”, is composed of two parts. The top-left is “肉”, and the right hand side is “又” (right hand). It resembles a person taking a piece of meat with his right hand and placing it in front of the gods.

The right-hand side of the character “祝” of the oracle bone script depicts a person kneeling down before a spirit tablet and muttering prayers. In other words, he is praying for heaven’s blessing. Today, the character “祝” still means blessing. For example, Chinese people say “祝你生日快乐zhù nǐ shēn? rì kuài lè”—wish you a happy birthday.

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