Since Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty established the Taizhi sacrificial alter for worshipping Taiyi(the Supreme One)in Ganquan and personally performed the rites,Taiyi became the supreme deity in the state sacrificial system.After the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty,Shangdi was revered as the highest deity,and Taiyi was removed from the Mingtang Hall and excluded from state rituals.However,in popular belief,Taiyi continued to be regarded as the celestial emissary and an important deity in the worship of immortality.The evolution of Taiyi's images and spatial positioning in Han-Dynasty murals from Jingbian and Dingbian counties in Shaanxi Province reflects the gradual weakening of its status within the state sacrificial system.
万方数据
