太一 / Taiyi

Overview

太一 / Taiyi, written 太乙 in the Hanji 350-2 source summary, is a supreme celestial figure connected in the current sources to imperial ritual under both Qin and Western Han. Qinji 121 infers Taiyi as the likely target of the heaven-centered Ji Miao sacrifice; Hanji 350-2 more directly describes a Taiyi altar at Ganquan, subordinate Five Emperors altars, and Han Wudi’s winter-solstice worship.

Current Profile

The Qin and Han evidence differs in strength and function. Qinji 121 uses cosmology and spatial layout to infer that 极庙 centered Taiyi within 秦宇宙秩序式都城规划. Hanji 350-2 reports an explicit altar and rite: 汉武帝 worships Taiyi at winter solstice, greets sun and moon at different times and directions, and later approves triennial observance after ritual officials report luminous signs. Together they show a heaven-centered ritual vocabulary crossing dynasties, but they do not prove institutional continuity or identical theology.

Key Characteristics

• Supreme celestial figure used to connect imperial rule with a cosmic center rather than only an ancestral lineage.
• Inferred sacrificial target of Qin Ji Miao in Qinji 121 rather than an explicit claim of the base chronicle as presented by the source.
• Explicit altar recipient in Hanji 350-2’s account of Han Wudi’s Ganquan winter-solstice rite.
• Placed above Five Emperors altars in the Han ritual layout, expressing a hierarchy among celestial powers.

Evidence

• Qin cosmic center: Qinji 121 links Taiyi to Ji Miao, the heavenly center, Wei River/Milky Way analogy, and palace-road ordering around Xianyang.
• Han altar and hierarchy: Hanji 350-2 says Wudi establishes a Taiyi altar at Ganquan with Five Emperors altars arranged below it.
• Recurring imperial rite: Hanji 350-2 describes winter-solstice worship and Wudi’s acceptance of a proposal attributed to 司马谈 and Kuanshu for observance every three years.

Qualifications

Qinji 121’s Taiyi identification is explicitly inferential. Hanji 350-2 supports an altar, hierarchy, and reported rite, but the claims of light above the altar and yellow vapor come from ritual personnel and are evidence of court reporting and reception, not verified supernatural phenomena. The supplied notes do not establish whether 太一 and 太乙 reflect a simple orthographic variant in every context, nor whether the Qin and Han institutions had direct organizational continuity.

What Changed

• Added the Western Han Ganquan altar and winter-solstice branch to the earlier Qin cosmological inference.
• Distinguished explicit Han ritual reporting from the more speculative Qin Ji Miao identification.
• Qualified luminous-sign reports while retaining their role in the move toward triennial worship.

Relationships

• 极庙 - Qin ritual site for which Taiyi is the source’s likely sacrificial identification.
• 秦宇宙秩序式都城规划 - Qin spatial frame linking celestial centrality to capital design.
• 汉武帝 - Western Han ruler who performs and regularizes the Ganquan rite in Hanji 350-2.
• 司马谈 - taishi ling associated with the triennial-worship recommendation.
• 祥瑞政治 - political frame for understanding how reported light and vapor support continuing ritual action.
• 天命正统 - broader legitimacy field in which heaven-centered worship can authorize imperial rule.