Abstract:

During the early Eastern Han Dynasty the ritual system of emperors' ancestral temple (AT) mainly followed relevant systems of the Western Han. There occurred some changes after some discussions on the AT ritual system in the nineteenth year of the reign of Jian Wu, including substituting the system of "separate rooms in the same hall" for the separate hall system practiced before, and abolishing the AT disestablishment system. All emperors' temples of the Eastern Han were honored with the title of "Zu" or "Zong" except for those of emperors Shang, Chong, Zhi and Ling. The preceding AT ritual system was not resumed until Emperor Xian Di who adopted CAI Yong's suggestion.

Key words: the Eastern Han Dynasty, emperor' ancestral temple, ritual system