In this presentation I will show the importance of hosting as a key framing device in Chinese ritual life. More specifically, I will present the ways in which the Chinese emperor, because of his status as Son of Heaven, assumed the position of the Absolute Host, commanding the chief host position in all situations of hosting in which he participated. I will present three "scenarios' from the Manchu Qing dynasty: 1) the Grand Sacrifice (大祀), in which the emperor was the chief officiant; 2) the alternating audience system (年班), with which the emperor hosted the lords and other dignitaries of the Qing Inner Asian domains in the first month of the lunar New Year; and 3) an imperially-sponsored commemoration ritual where the Kangxi Emperor bestowed favour upon his favourite minister Xiong Cilü (熊賜履). I will establish the key conceptual difference (and indeed radical contrast) between what I call 'hosting' and what is treated as 'hospitality' in the anthropological literature. It is hoped that this study will contribute to broader discussions in anthropology and Chinese Studies on key framed relationship and interactions between different categories of actors (human, spirits and things) as well as on expressions of power and sovereignty.
Speaker:
Prof. Adam Yuet CHAU
Professor of the Anthropology of China, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge