# 釋奠
## Chinese
### Etymology

Traditionally glossed (e.g. by Zheng Xuan) as 釋菜奠幣 (to make a ritually clean offering of vegetables and ceremoniously lay the treasures of silk), it was specified in the Book of Rites as part of a ritual honouring the 先師, ancient instructors (of war).
    反，釋奠于學，以訊馘告。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]反，释奠于学，以讯馘告。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: The Book of Rites, c. 4th – 2nd century BCEFǎn, shìdiàn yú xué, yǐ xùn guó gào. [Pinyin]When the forces return, (they make) the offerings of vegetables and silk at the school (to the ancient instructors of war), and announce (the news of victory) by presenting the captives and the severed ears of the slain.
The association of the school and education with war was once common in proto-feudal China (see Yang, 1965). The term was later used chiefly in the Confucian context as a ceremony honouring Confucius and other sages, without the warlike association.

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): shìdiàn
    (Zhuyin): ㄕˋ ㄉㄧㄢˋ
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: shìdiàn
*** Zhuyin: ㄕˋ ㄉㄧㄢˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: shìhdiàn
*** Wade–Giles: shih$^4$-tien$^4$
*** Yale: shr̀-dyàn
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyhdiann
*** Palladius: шидянь (šidjanʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ ti̯ɛn⁵¹/
* Middle Chinese: syek denH
Rime :
| Character | 釋 | 奠 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/2 |
| Initial (聲) | 書 (26) | 定 (7) |
| Final (韻) | 昔 (123) | 先 (85) |
| Tone (調) | Checked (Ø) | Departing (H) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | III | IV |
| Fanqie | 施隻切 | 堂練切 |
| Baxter | syek | denH |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /ɕiᴇk̚/ | /den$^H$/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ɕiɛk̚/ | /den$^H$/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /ɕiæk̚/ | /dɛn$^H$/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ɕiajk̚/ | /dɛn$^H$/ |
| Li Rong | /ɕiɛk̚/ | /den$^H$/ |
| Wang Li | /ɕĭɛk̚/ | /dien$^H$/ |
| Bernard Karlgren | /ɕi̯ɛk̚/ | /dʱien$^H$/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | shi | diàn |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | sik$^1$ | din$^6$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥Ak N-tˤe[n]-s|m-tˤe[n]-s/
    (Zhengzhang): /*hljaɡ diːŋs/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 釋 | 奠 | 奠 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | shì | diàn | diàn |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ syek › | ‹ den$^H$ › | ‹ den$^H$ › |
| Old Chinese | /*l̥Ak/ | /*N-tˁe[n]-s/ | /*m-tˁe[n]-s/ |
| English | release; dissolve | be fixed (v.i.) | set forth (v.t.) |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. ||||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 釋 | 奠 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| No. | 15134 | 2351 |
| Phonetic component | 睪 | 奠 |
| Rime group | 鐸 | 眞 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 | 2 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 釋 | 電 |
| Old Chinese | /*hljaɡ/ | /*diːŋs/ |

### Noun

釋奠
* (history) ritual offering honouring ancient instructors
* (Confucianism) ceremony honouring Confucius and Confucian sages in schools
    From: c. 13th century, various editors, A Collection of Conversations of Master Zhu (《朱子語類》)
    Jīn shìdiàn yǒu Bóyú ér wú Zǐsī. [Pinyin]
    These days in the rites of shidian offerings were made to Boyu but not to Zisi.