Rituals, sacrifices, flesh, and the darker side of Chinese history

This time we are traversing darker waters in Chinese history: that of the human body in institutionalized rituals, unorthodox sacrifices, celebrated virtues, and desperate acts of survival. Human sacrifices and different usage/perceptions about the human body have existed in China from the Shang all the way through the Qing; they have been closely related to early Chinese rulership in the Shang dynasty, and the imperial tradition and social order of later times, as well as how the Chinese saw themselves and outsiders.

I hope you enjoy.

Chapters:
00:00 - 00:46 Introduction
00:47 - 15:34 Rituals and Popular Religions
15:35 - 22:48 Rhetoric and Virtues
22:49 - 35:19 Famine and War
35:20 - 39:28 The Hua-Yi Distinction

Some references (completely in Chinese this time):
Qu Yuan 屈原. Chuci, "Zhaohun" 楚辭“招魂” (Verses of Chu, Summoning the Souls).
Mozi, "Lu wen" 墨子”魯問“ (Mozi, "Dialogue with Lu").
Zhuang Chuo 莊綽. Jile bian 雞肋編 (A collection of useless jottings).
Jishan xianzhi 光緒續修稷山縣志 (Newly compiled Jishan County gazetteer). 1885.
Weinan xianzhi 新續渭南縣志 (Newly compiled Weinan County gazetteer). 1892.
Shanxi tongzhi 光緒山西通志 (Provincial gazetteer of Shanxi). 1892.
Cheng Miao 程邈. Qing jin gegu shu 請禁割股疏 (Plea to prohibit cutting thigh).
Li Shuo 李碩. Jian Shang: Yin Zhou zhi bian yu Huaxia xinsheng (Revelation: The Shang-Zhou transition and the rebirth of China), Guangxi shifan daxue chubanshe 廣西師範大學出版社, 2022.