作為中華帝國最重要的祭儀，郊祀禮儀充滿了爭議。魏晉南北朝以來鄭玄與王肅在郊丘是否合一問題上的分歧，至唐前期依然影響著朝廷的制度選擇，爭論直到《開元禮》頒布後才終結。需要指出的是，此間鄭玄學說對郊祀制度的影響大於研究者通常認為的程度。自武周時期始，歷史上曾有過的天地合祭再度出現，並成為中晚唐和五代皇帝親郊的常見形式，最後在北宋初年制度化。天地合祭在宋神宗朝受到了批判，實行分祭的呼聲漸起，兩種觀點的較量持續到了北宋末年，分祭的合法性最終確立。然而皇地祇親祭一直難行，舉行次數有限，天地合祭的親郊制度在南宋恢復。天地分祭與合祭之爭成為宋明郊祀爭議的焦點。從郊丘之爭到天地分合之爭，唐至北宋時期經歷了歷史上郊祀禮儀兩大論爭話題的轉移，在這一過程中，政治鬥爭、鹵簿儀衛、祭祀費用等外部的考慮壓倒了禮學內部不同觀點的競爭，成為影響郊祀制度的首要因素。

As the most important rituals in Imperial China, the suburban sacrifices
( jiaosi 郊祀) caused much controversy in traditional ritual studies. The debate that began in the Period of Disunion between Zheng Xuan’s鄭玄and Wang Su’s王肅theories on the issue of whether the southern and northern suburban sacrifices were the same as the ones conducted on the round and square altars still influenced the state ritual system until the promulgation of the Kai-yuan Ritual Code開元禮 in 732. From the Zhou周dynasty established by Wu Zetian武則天, because of political struggles and convenience brought to emperors, the suburban sacrifices were frequently offered to Heaven and Earth together when emperors were present. This practice was later institutionalized in the Northern Song dynasty. During the reign of Song Emperor Shenzong神宗 (r. 1067-1085), this form was criticized and the separated suburban sacrifices, offered to Heaven and Earth respectively on the occasions when emperors showed up, were expected to come back. The struggles between these two opinions lasted throughout late Northern Song, when a separation of the sacrifices was accepted as legitimate. However,on account of various causes, the emperors were still absent from the sacrifices offered to Earth on the square altar until the last years of the Northern Song dynasty. Therefore, when the emperors performed the ceremony, sacrifices were offered to both Heaven and Earth in Southern Song. During the Ming dynasty, whether Heaven and Earth should be worshipped together or separately was still under debate. From Tang to Northern Song, political struggles, consideration of the convenience for emperors and their entourages, and sacrificial expenses became the most important concerns in the formulation of the suburban sacrifices, rather than competition between varying viewpoints in traditional ritual studies.