In addition to his many other roles, the emperor acted as the highest priest in the land who made sacrifices to Heaven, the main deities known as the Five Powers, and the spirits (shen 神) of mountains and rivers. It was believed that the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Mankind were linked by natural cycles of yin and yang and the five phases. If the emperor did not behave according to proper ritual, ethics, and morals, he could disrupt the fine balance of these cosmological cycles and cause calamities such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, epidemics, and swarms of locusts. COUNT 5
QSN1 Who made sacrifices to the main deities in this period? ANS1 the emperor QSN2 What type of geological event was feared could be caused by the morals of the emperor? ANS2 earthquakes QSN3 What is another term that could be used to label the main deities? ANS3 the Five Powers QSN4 How many realms were commonly thought of as being linked by a natural cycle? ANS4 three realms QSN5 What type of swarm was a concern because of the emperor's ethics? ANS5 locusts