Descent of the Heavenly Book

Timeline

1. 1008Chengtian Gate, Bianjing · Capital CircuitZhenzong first claimed a deity had told him a heavenly book would descend and ordered Daoist rites and fasting. On the third day of the first month a yellow silk book fell on the ridge of Chengtian Gate; Zhenzong led his ministers in worship at Zhaoyuan Hall, changed the era to Dazhong Xiangfu, and ordered the realm to perform the fengsi rites.
2. 1008Mount Tai · Jingdong CircuitIn the tenth month Zhenzong carried the heavenly book east, performing the feng-to-heaven shan-to-earth rites at Mount Tai, enfeoffing the Mount Tai deity as Tianqi Rensheng Di, renaming Qianfeng County to Fengfu County, and instituting the Tiankuang Festival. Wang Qinruo presented 38,000 stalks of lingzhi to display the auspicious omen.
3. 1008Houtu Temple, Fenyin · Hedong CircuitAfter the fengshan, Zhenzong traveled west to Fenyin to sacrifice to the Earth Deity and visited the Confucius temple at Qufu, broadly granting amnesties. The eastern fengshan and western sacrifices thus began; prefectures and armies vied to report auspicious omens, and temple construction grew ever more frequent.