Ritual Offerings · FFET10500
Three-animal offering (sansheng)
The three-animal offering has different combinations in classical rites and folk practice.
The foods offered at ancestor rites, to deities and in temples.
Sansheng is an offering of three kinds of animals, referring to an ox, a sheep, and a pig in classical rites. In Taiwan, the folk offering for ancestors at the Ghost Festival includes pork belly, a whole chicken, and a whole fish or duck. At the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum in Huangling, Shaanxi, dough figures shaped as animals and flowers replace the three sacrificial animals.
What
Sansheng refers to an offering of three kinds of animals. The classical combination is an ox, a sheep, and a pig; the folk combination used for ancestors at the Ghost Festival in Taiwan is pork, chicken, and fish or duck.1,3
When
The phrase san sheng zhi zu, referring to a tray of the three animals, appears in an ancient text on sacrifice, but it does not establish an earliest year. Preparing sansheng for ancestors at the Ghost Festival in Taiwan is described in an article dated August 17, 2023; this is not the custom's starting date.2,3
Where
Sansheng appears in ancient Chinese sacrificial rites and in ancestor offerings at the Ghost Festival in Taiwan. Huangling, Shaanxi, also has a practice of replacing the animals with dough figures.1,3,4
How
Classical rites require the animals to be whole, each with a single coat color, and penned beforehand. The Ghost Festival offering for ancestors in Taiwan includes pork belly, a whole chicken, and a whole fish or duck.1,3
Why
Classical rites distinguish grades of sacrifice by their offerings; tailao, a whole ox accompanied by a sheep and a pig, is a high grade. At the Ghost Festival in Taiwan, sansheng is prepared as an offering to ancestors.1,3
Impact and influence
Huangling dough figures bring animal and flower shapes into rites at the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum, replacing the three sacrificial animals with offerings made from dough.4