Definitions
imperial ancestral sacrifice
Etymology
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禘 (dì) is a phonosemantic compound: the radical 礻 (shì), meaning "altar, spirits, or religious ceremonies", supplies the semantic category, while 帝 (dì) provides the pronunciation and also visually links to emperors or supreme deities. In ancient practice, 禘 referred to a highly formal, imperial sacrifice honoring supreme ancestors and the founding figures of the ruling dynasty, a cornerstone of state legitimacy and ancestral veneration. The character thus figures prominently in classical texts on imperial ritual and political theology.
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