From"Wishing Longevity"to"Wishing Virtue"—A Change in the Concept of Pre-Qin Blessing and Prayer
The congratulatory message reflects the value pursuit of the Zhou people,from the birth-day congratulations to both longevity and virtue,and the adding of virtue reflects the change of the concept of the congratulatory message.After the concept of"virtue"conveyed in the message,the blood based blessing with"filial piety"as the core contained in birthday celebration gradually changed to the blessing and longevity with virtue as the condition.Virtue is not only an important content in the congratulatory message,but also a condition for blessing and longevity,which promotes the enrich-ment of the expression form of the congratulatory speech,and hints at the change in the concept of pre-Qin blessing and prayer.This change in concept originated from the political construction of the early Western Zhou Dynasty,which was influenced by the change of belief and concept from the ances-tors to the Emperor of Heaven,and was consistent with the purpose of maintaining the social hierarchy and order.
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