Liu Qi (六祈, Liù Qí, lit. "Six Prayers") is the Zhou dynasty system of six formalized prayer categories, each corresponding to a specific ritual context and purpose in the state sacrificial calendar. The six rites — lei (类), zao (造), hui (桧), jin (禁), gong (攻), and shuo (说) — together constitute a complete taxonomy of petitionary communication between the human and divine realms. Recorded in the Zhouli (周礼) with commentary by Zheng Xuan (郑玄), the Liu Qi provided the structural template for Taoist petitionary liturgy in the Zhengyi tradition.
六祈 Liu QiSix Prayer RitesZhouli 周礼Zhou Dynasty 周朝Petitionary Liturgy
Key Takeaways
• Liu Qi (六祈, Liù Qí) is the Zhou dynasty system of six formalized prayer categories, recorded in the Zhouli (周礼) with commentary by Zheng Xuan (郑玄).
• The six rites: 类 lei (sacrifice to Heaven), 造 zao (reporting to ancestors before expeditions), 桧 hui (gathering the community), 禁 jin (averting calamities), 攻 gong (expelling evil), 说 shuo (formal announcements to deities).
• Each prayer type had a specific ritual context and purpose — together they constitute a complete taxonomy of petitionary communication between the human and divine realms.
• In the Zhengyi tradition, the Liu Qi provided the structural template for Taoist petitionary liturgy, with each classical prayer category finding its counterpart in the Zhengyi ritual canon.
Definition
Liu Qi (六祈, Liù Qí, lit. "Six Prayers") is the ancient Chinese system of six formalized prayer categories in the Zhou dynasty state religion. The term is recorded in the Zhouli (周礼, "Rites of Zhou") with authoritative commentary by Zheng Xuan (郑玄). The six categories — lei (类), zao (造), hui (桧), jin (禁), gong (攻), and shuo (说) — together constitute a complete taxonomy of petitionary ritual communication, covering every major context in which the Zhou state addressed the divine realm through prayer.
Classical Sources
The Zhouli (周礼) records the six prayer categories:
"类、造、桧、禁、攻、说。"
"Lei, Zao, Hui, Jin, Gong, Shuo — the six prayer categories."
Zheng Xuan (郑玄) provides the authoritative interpretation of each category, explaining their specific ritual contexts and the occasions on which each was employed. The Liu Qi passage is part of the Zhouli's systematic account of the Da Zhu (大祝, "Grand Invoker") official's duties, who was responsible for overseeing all petitionary prayer in the Zhou state ritual system.
The Six Prayer Categories
类 Lei — Category Sacrifice: Prayer offered to Heaven in the same category as the regular suburban sacrifice (jiao, 郊), but performed on an irregular basis in response to specific circumstances. Used when the state needed to address Heaven outside the regular ritual calendar — for military campaigns, natural disasters, or urgent state matters.
造 Zao — Reporting Sacrifice: Prayer offered to report to the ancestral spirits before a major expedition or undertaking. The ruler formally announced the planned action to the ancestors, seeking their approval and protection. A ritual act of filial accountability to the divine lineage.
桧 Hui — Assembly Prayer: Prayer offered to gather and unite the community under divine sanction. Used for major communal assemblies, covenant ceremonies, and occasions requiring the collective participation of the state's constituent communities.
禁 Jin — Prohibition Prayer: Apotropaic prayer to avert calamities, prohibit evil influences, and establish ritual boundaries. Used during periods of epidemic, drought, flood, or other disasters threatening the community's wellbeing.
攻 Gong — Expulsion Prayer: Active prayer to expel evil spirits, malevolent influences, and ritual pollution. Where Jin (禁) establishes a defensive boundary, Gong (攻) takes the offensive — driving out what has already entered and purifying the affected space.
说 Shuo — Announcement Prayer: Formal prayer making an official announcement to the deities — reporting completed actions, explaining circumstances, or presenting the state's case before the divine tribunal. The most verbal and discursive of the six prayer forms.
Zhengyi Tradition Parallels
In the Zhengyi tradition, the Six Prayer Rites provided the structural template for Taoist petitionary liturgy. The Zhengyi liturgical canon classifies its own prayer forms according to a similar hexapartite logic, with each type of ritual communication — from grand offerings (大醮) to individual petitions — corresponding to one of the classical Liu Qi categories. The Zhengyi approach reinterpreted the classical framework: where the Zhou state addressed Heaven, ancestors, and territorial spirits through the six prayer forms, the Zhengyi school addresses the celestial bureaucracy through equivalent liturgical categories.
The history of Taoist fasting and offering rites traces how the Liu Qi's taxonomy of petitionary prayer was absorbed and transformed within the Taoist liturgical framework, with each of the six classical prayer forms finding its counterpart in the Zhengyi ritual canon that continues to govern practice at Longhu Mountain to this day.
Primary Sources: Anonymous, Zhouli (周礼), Warring States period. With Zheng Xuan (郑玄) commentary. — Chen Yaoting (陈耀庭), compiler, Encyclopedia of Taoism (道教大辞典), Shanghai: Shanghai Cishu Chubanshe, entry "Liu Qi" (六祈).
