Yin Ji — Square-Cut Dried Meat Offering in Zhou Temple Ritual 尹祭
Paul PengYin Ji (尹祭) is the ancient Chinese ritual offering of precisely square-cut dried meat in the ancestral temple. The character yin (尹) is glossed by Zheng Xuan as zheng (正, “correct” or “square”) — the dried meat must be cut into exact square shapes before presentation. In this small precision, the entire logic of Zhou ritual is expressed: every detail of the offering, including its geometry, carries cosmological significance.
Yin Ji (尹祭, Yǐn Jì, lit. “Square-Correct Offering”) is a specific type of food offering prescribed in ancient Chinese ancestral temple ritual, consisting of precisely square-cut pieces of dried meat (fǔ, 脯). The term yin (尹) in this ritual context is glossed as zheng (正, “correct” or “square”), indicating that the dried meat was to be cut into exact square shapes before being presented on the sacrificial altar. This precision reflected the broader principle of ritual correctness (lǐ, 礼) in which every detail — including the shape of food offerings — carried symbolic significance and contributed to the efficacy of the ceremony.
The primary source is the Liji (礼记, “Book of Rites”), compiled by Dai Sheng (戴聖, 1st century BCE) during the Western Han Dynasty. The “Quli Xia” (曲礼下) chapter specifies:
“Dried meat is called the Yin sacrifice.”
Zheng Xuan (郑玄, 127–200 CE) provides the definitive commentary:
“Yin means correct/square. It is cut into a correct square shape and then used.”
Kong Yingda (孔颖达, 574–648 CE) elaborates in the Liji Zhengyi (礼记正义): “脯曰尹祭者。尹，正也。裁截方正而用之。祭一通云正，谓自作之也。脯自作，则知肉之所用也。” (“Dried meat is called the Yin offering. Yin means correct. It is cut into a correct square and used. The term ‘correct’ in the context of sacrifice means one makes it oneself. By making the dried meat oneself, one knows the origin of the meat being used.”) The Yili (仪礼, “Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial”) provides additional context on the proper preparation and presentation of dried meat offerings within the broader framework of Zhou ceremonial protocol.
Yin Ji belongs to the category of ritual food offerings (祭品, jì pǐn) within the formal sacrificial nomenclature system (祭号, jì hào) of ancient China. The Liji “Quli Xia” chapter provides a systematic listing of proper ritual names for various offerings, distinguishing between different food types and prescribing specific names for each when used in a sacrificial context.
In the Zhengyi tradition, the Yin Ji offering’s emphasis on precise preparation and proper naming finds direct continuity in Daoist ritual practice. Zhengyi liturgical manuals prescribe exact specifications for the arrangement of offerings on the altar, including the shape and placement of food items. The principle that ritual objects must be “correct” (zhèng, 正) and properly prepared before they can serve as effective offerings is fundamental to Zhengyi ritual theory. In contemporary Longhu Mountain practice, the preparation of sacrificial items remains a guarded component of priestly training, reflecting the classical principle that ritual efficacy depends on both inner sincerity and outer correctness of form. For the broader Daoist offering ceremony tradition within which such food preparation protocols operate, see The History of Taoist Ritual of Fasting and Offering Sacrifices.
The Yin Ji’s insistence on self-made offerings also resonates with the Zhengyi emphasis on sincerity (誠, chéng) as the foundation of ritual efficacy. An offering prepared by the officiant’s own hands carries a different ritual weight than one purchased or delegated — a principle that continues to inform how Longhu Mountain priests prepare the altar for major ceremonies. For a practical overview of how such ritual protocols are structured and performed today, see What Is a Taoist Ritual and Their Process.
The Yin Ji offering encapsulates a foundational principle of classical Chinese ritual thought: that the sacred is not separate from the material but is constituted through the correct treatment of material things. By prescribing that dried meat be cut into precise squares, personally prepared, and presented under its proper ritual name, the Zhou ritual system transformed an ordinary food item into a cosmologically significant offering. The square shape aligned the offering with the earth; the personal preparation guaranteed its purity; the proper name established its ritual identity. In this convergence of geometry, personal labor, and correct nomenclature, the Yin Ji exemplifies the classical Chinese understanding that ritual correctness is not merely formal but cosmologically constitutive.
