<P> Classical Chinese has characters for different types of sacrifice, probably the oldest way to communicate with divine forces, today generally encompassed by the definition jìsì 祭祀 . However different in scale and quantity, all types of sacrifice would normally involve food, wine, meat and later incense . </P> <P> Sacrifices usually differ according to the kind of deity they are devoted to . Traditionally, cosmic and nature gods are offered uncooked (or whole) food, while ancestors are offered cooked food . Moreover, sacrifices for gods are made inside the temples that enshrine them, while sacrifices for ancestors are made outside temples . Yearly sacrifices (ji) are made to Confucius, the Red and Yellow Emperors, and other cultural heroes and ancestors . </P> <P> Both in past history and at the present, all sacrifices are assigned with both religious and political purposes . Some gods are considered carnivorous, for example the River God (河 神 Héshén) and Dragon Gods, and offering to them requires animal sacrifice . </P> <P> The aims of rituals and sacrifices may be of thanksgiving and redeeming, usually involving both . Various sacrifices are intended to express gratitude toward the gods in the hope that spiritual blessing and protection will continue . The jiào 醮, an elaborate Taoist sacrifice or "rite of universal salvation", is intended to be a cosmic community renewal, that is to say a reconciliation of a community around its spiritual centre . The jiao ritual usually starts with zhai, "fasting and purification", that is meant as an atonement for evil - doing, then followed by sacrificial offerings . </P>

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