The
language
of the officers of Kû shows that they were embarrassed by his mission.
Confucius - Book of Rites
The people of Lû wished to bury the lad Wang not as one who had died prematurely, and asked Kung-ni about the point. He said, 'As he was able to bear his shield and spear in the defence of our altars, may you not do as you wish, and bury him as one who has not died prematurely? '
23. When Dze-lû was going away from Lû, he said to Yen Yüan, 'What have you to send me away with? ' 'I have heard,' was the reply, 'that, when one is leaving his state, he wails at the graves (of his fathers), and then takes his journey, while on his return to it, he does not wail, but goes to look at the graves, and (then) enters (the city). ' He then said to Dze-lû, 'And what have you to leave with me here? ' 'I have heard,' was the reply, 'that, when you pass by a grave, you should bow forward to the cross-bar, and, when you pass a place of sacrifice, you should dismount. '
24. Shang Yang, director of Works (in Khû), and
[1. The fight at Lang is mentioned in the Khun Khiû under B. C. 484. Zo's description of the battle gives the incident mentioned here, but somewhat differently. ]
Kan Khî-kî[1] were pursuing the army of Wu, and came up with it. The latter said to Shang Yang, 'It is the king's' business. It will be well for you to take your bow in hand. ' He did so, and Khî-kî told him to shoot, which he did, killing a man, and returning immediately the bow to its case. They came up with the enemy again, and being told as before to shoot, he killed other two men; whenever he killed a man, he covered his eyes. Then stopping the chariot, he said, 'I have no place at the audiences; nor do I take part in the feasts. The death of three men will be sufficient for me to report. ' Confucius said, 'Amidst his killing of men, he was still observant of the rules of propriety[3]. '
25. The princes were engaged in an invasion of Khin, when duke Hwan of Zhâo died at their meeting[4]. The others asked leave to (see) the plugging of his teeth with the jade, and they were made to enshroud (his corpse)[5].
Duke Hsiang being in attendance at the court of King, king Khang died[6] . The people of King said to him, 'We must beg you to cover (the corpse
[1. Khî-kî was a son of the king of Khû, and afterwards became king Phing. Khû, in B. C. 534, reduced Khan to be a dependency of itself, and put it under Khî-kî, who became known as Khî-kî of Khan.
2. The king's business;' that is, the business of the count of Khû, who had usurped the title of king.
3. It is not easy to discover the point of Confucius' reply. Even Dze-lû questioned him about it (as related in the Narratives of the School), and got an answer which does not make it any clearer.
4. In B. C. 578.
5. Probably by the marquis of Zin--duke Wan--as 'lord of Meetings and Covenants. '
6. In B. C. 545. ]
with your gift of a robe). ' The men of Lû (who were with him) said, 'The thing is contrary to propriety. ' They of Khû, however, obliged him to do what they asked; and he first employed a sorcerer with his reed-brush to brush (and purify) the bier. The people of King then regretted what they had done'.
26. At the mourning rites for duke Khang of Thang[2], Dze-shû King-shû was sent (from Lû) on a mission of condolence, and to present a letter (from duke Âi), Sze-fû Hui-po being assistant-commissioner. When they arrived at the suburbs (of the capital of Thang), because it was the anniversary of the death, of Î-po, (Hui-po's uncle), King-shû hesitated to enter the city. Hui-po, however, said, 'We are on government business, and should not for the private affair of my uncle's (death) neglect the duke's affairs. ' They forthwith entered.
PART III.
1. Duke Âi sent a message of condolence to Khwâi Shang, and the messenger met him (on the way to the grave). They withdrew to the way-side, where Khwâi drew the figure of his house, (with the coffin in it), and there received the condolences[3].
Zang-dze said, 'Khwâi Shang's knowledge of the
[1. King was another name for Khû. Duke Hsiang went from Lû in B. C. 545; and it was in the spring of the next year, probably, that the incident occurred. The sorcerer and his reed-brush were used when a ruler went to the mourning for a minister (see Part i. 42), so that Khû intending to humiliate Lû was itself humiliated.
2 Duke Khang of Thang died in B. C. 539.
3. This must have been a case for which the rule is given in Part i. 12. ]
rules of ceremony was not equal to that of the wife of Khî Liang. When duke Kwang fell on Kû by surprise at Thui, Khî Liang met his death. His wife met his bier on the way, and wailed for him bitterly. Duke Kwang sent a person to convey his condolences to her; but she said, 'If his lordship's officer had been guilty of any offence, then his body should have been exposed in the court or the market-place, and his wife and concubines apprehended. If he were not chargeable with any offence, there is the poor cottage of his father. This is not the place where the ruler should demean himself to send me a message[1]. '
2. At the mourning rites for his young son Tun, duke Âi wished to employ the (elm-juice) sprinklers, and asked Yû Zo about the matter, who said that it might be done, for his three ministers even used them. Yen Liû said, 'For the son of Heaven dragons are painted on (the shafts of) the funeral carriage, and the boards surrounding the coffin, like the shell, have a covering over them. For the feudal princes there is a similar carriage (without the painted dragons), and the covering above. (In both cases) they prepare the elm-juice, and therefore employ sprinklers. The three ministers, not employing (such a carriage), and yet employing the sprinklers, thus appropriate a ceremony which is not suitable for them; and why should your lordship imitate them[2]? '
[1. See the Zo Kwan, under B. C. 550, the twenty-third year of duke Hsiang. The name of the place in the text (To, read Thui by Kang Hsüan) seems to be a mistake. See the Khang-hsi dictionary on the character To (###).
2. There is a good deal of difficulty and difference of opinion in the interpretation of this paragraph. According to the common view, the funeral carriage used by the king and princes was very heavy, and difficult to drag along. To ease its transit, a juice was prepared from the elm bark, and sprinkled on the ground to make it slippery. But this practice was because of the heaviness of the carriage; and was not required in the case of lighter conveyances. ]
3. After the death of the mother of (his son, who became) duke Tâo, duke Âi wore for her the one year's mourning with its unfrayed edges. Yû Zo asked him, if it was in rule. for him to wear that mourning for a concubine. 'Can I help it? ' replied the duke. 'The people of Lû will have it that she, was my wife. '
4. When Kî Dze-kâo buried his wife, some injury was done to the standing corn, which Shan-hsiang told him of, begging him to make the damage good. Dze-kâo said, 'The Mang has not blamed me for this, and my friends have not cast me off. I am here the commandant of the city. To buy (in this manner a right of) way in order to bury (my dead) would be a precedent difficult to follow[1]. '
5. When one receives no salary for the official duties which he performs[2], and what the ruler sends to him is called 'an offering,' while the messenger charged with it uses the style of our unworthy ruler;' if such an one leave the state, and afterwards the ruler dies, he does not wear mourning for him.
6. At the sacrifice of Repose a personator of the
[1. This Kî Dze-kâo was Kâo Khâi, one of the disciples of Confucius. Shan-hsiang was the son of Dze-kang; see paragraph 3, page 132.
2. Such was Dze-sze in Lû, and Mencius in Khî. They were 'guests,' not ministers. Declining salary, they avoided the obligations incurred by receiving it. ]
dead is appointed, and a stool, with a mat and viands on it, is placed (for him). When the wailing is over, the name of the deceased is avoided. The service of him as living is over, and that for him in his ghostly state has begun. When the wailing is over, the cook, with a bell having a wooden clapper, issues an order throughout the palace, saying, 'Give up disusing the names of the former rulers, and henceforth disuse (only) the name of him who is newly deceased. ' This was done from the door leading to the chambers to the outer gate.
7. When a name was composed of two characters they were not avoided when used singly. The name of the Master's mother was Kang-Zâi. When he used Zâi, he did not at the same time use Kang; nor Zâi, when he used Kang.
8. When any sad disaster occurred to an army, (the ruler) in plain white robes wailed for it outside the Khû gate[1]. A carriage conveying the news of such disaster carried no cover for buff-coats nor case for bows.
9. When the (shrine-)apartment of his father was burned, (the ruler) wailed for it three days. Hence it is said, 'The new temple took fire;' and also, 'There was a wailing for three days[2]. '
10. In passing by the side of mount Thâi, Confucius came on a woman who was wailing bitterly by a grave. The Master bowed forward to the cross-bar, and hastened to her; and then sent
[1. The Khû (arsenal or treasury gate) was the second of the palace gates, and near the ancestral temple. Hence the position selected for the wailing.
2. See the Khun Khiû, under B. C. 588. ]
Dze-lû to question her. 'Your wailing,' said he, 'is altogether like that of one who has suffered sorrow upon sorrow. ' She replied, ' It is so. Formerly, my husband's father was killed here by a tiger. My husband was also killed (by another), and now my son has died in the same way. ' The Master said, 'Why do you not leave the place? ' The answer was, 'There is no oppressive government here. ' The Master then said (to the disciples), 'Remember this, my little children. Oppressive government is more terrible than tigers. '
11. In Lû there was one Kâu Fang[1], to whom duke Âi went, carrying an introductory present, and requesting an interview, which, however, the other refused. The duke said, 'I must give it up then. ' And he sent a messenger with the following questions:--'(Shun), the lord of Yü, had not shown his good faith, to the people, and yet they put confidence in him. The sovereign of Hsiâ had not shown his reverence for the people, and yet the people revered him:--what shall I exhibit that I may obtain such things from the people? ' The reply was:--'Ruins and graves express no mournfulness to the people, and yet the people mourn (amidst them). The altars of the spirits of the land and grain and the ancestral temples express no reverence to the people, and yet the people revere them. The kings of Yin made their solemn proclamations, and yet the people began to rebel; those of Kâu made their covenants, and the people began to distrust them. If there be not the heart
[1. This Kâu Fang must have been a worthy who had withdrawn from public life. ]
observant of righteousness, self-consecration, good faith, sincerity, and guilelessness, though a ruler may, try to knit. the people firmly to him, will not all bonds between them be dissolved? '
12. While mourning (for a father), one should not be concerned about (the discomfort of) his own resting-place[1], nor, in emaciating himself, should he do so to the endangering of his life. He should not be the former;--he has to be concerned that (his father's spirit-tablet) is not (yet) in the temple. He should not do the latter, lest (his father) should thereby have no posterity.
13. Kî-dze of Yen-ling[2] had gone to Khî; and his eldest son having died, on the way back (to Wû), he buried him between Ying and Po. Confucius (afterwards) said, 'Kî-dze was the one man in Wû most versed in the rules of propriety, so I went and saw his manner of interment. The grave was not so deep as to reach the water-springs. The grave-clothes were such as (the deceased) had ordinarily worn. After the interment, he raised a mound over the grave of dimensions sufficient to cover it, and high enough for the hand to be easily placed on it. When the mound was completed, he bared his left arm;
[1. Referring, I think, to the discomfort of the mourning shed. But other interpretations of the paragraph are to be found in Khan Hâo's work, and elsewhere.
2. This Ki-dze is better known as Kî Kâ (###), a brother of the ruler of Wû. Having declined the state of Wû, he lived in the principality of Yen-ling. He visited the northern states Lû, Khî, Zin, and the others, in B. C. 515; and his sayings and doings in them are very famous. He was a good man and able, whom Confucius could appreciate. Ying and Po were two places in Khî. ]
and, moving to the right, he went round it thrice, crying out, "That the bones and flesh should return again to the earth is what is appointed. But the soul in its energy can go everywhere; it can go everywhere. " And with this he went on his way. ' Confucius (also) said, 'Was not Kî-dze of Yen-ling's observance of the rules of ceremony in accordance with (the idea of them)? '
14. At the mourning rites for the duke Khâo of Kû-lü[1], the ruler of Hsü sent Yung Kü with a message of condolence, and with the articles to fill the mouth of the deceased. 'My unworthy ruler,' said he, 'hath sent me to kneel and put the jade for a marquis which he has presented into your (deceased) ruler's mouth. Please allow me to kneel and do so. ' The officers of Kü replied, 'When any of the princes has deigned to send or come to our poor city, the observances have been kept according to their nature, whether simple and easy, or troublesome and more difficult; but such a blending of the easy and troublesome as in your case, we have not known. ' Yung Kü replied, 'I have heard that in the service of his ruler one should not forget that ruler, nor be oblivious of his ancestral (rules). Formerly, our ruler, king Kü, in his warlike operations towards the west, in which he crossed the Ho, everywhere used this style of speech. I am a plain, blunt man, and do not presume to forget his example[2]. '
[1. Khâo should probably be Ting. Duke Khâo lived after the period of the Khun Khiû, during which the power of Hsü had been entirely broken.
2. Here was Yung Kü, merely a Great officer, wishing to do what only a prince could do, according to the rules of propriety. He defends himself on the ground that the lords of Hsü claimed the title of King.
The language of the officers of Kû shows that they were embarrassed by his mission. ]
15. When the mother of Dze-sze died in Wei, and news of the event was brought to him, he wailed in the ancestral temple. His disciples came to him. and said, 'Your mother is dead, after marrying into another family[1]; why do you wail for her in the temple of the Khung family? ' He replied, 'I am wrong, I am wrong. ' And thereon he wailed in one of the smaller apartments of his house.
16. When the son of Heaven died, three days afterwards, the officers of prayer[2] were the first to assume mourning. In five days the heads of official departments did so; in seven days both males and females throughout the royal domain; and in three months all in the kingdom.
The foresters examined the trees about the various altars, and cut down those which they thought suitable for the coffins and shell, If these did not come up to what was required, the sacrifices were abolished, and the men had their throats cut[3].
17. During a great dearth in Khî, Khien Âo had food prepared on the roads, to wait the approach of hungry people and give to them. (One day), there came a famished man, looking as if he could
[1. Literally, 'The mother of the Shû family is dead,' but the interpretation of the text is disputed. The Khien-lung editors and many others question the genuineness of the whole paragraph.
2. The officers of prayer were divided into five classes; the first and third of which are intended here. See the Official Book of Kâu, ch. 25.
3. Great efforts are made to explain away this last sentence. ]
hardly see, his face covered with his sleeve, and dragging his feet together. Khien Âo, carrying with his left hand some rice, and holding some drink with the other, said to him, 'Poor man! come and eat. ' The man, opening his eyes with a stare, and looking at him, said, 'It was because I would not eat "Poor man come here's" food, that I am come to this state. ' Khien Âo immediately apologised for his words, but the man after all would not take the food and died.
When Zang-dze heard the circumstances, he said, 'Was it not a small matter? When the other expressed his pity as he did, the man might have gone away. When he apologised, the man might have taken the food. '
18. In the time of duke Ting of Kû-lü[1], there occurred the case of a man killing his father. The officers reported it; when the duke, with an appearance of dismay, left his mat and said, 'This is the crime of unworthy me! ' He added, 'I have learned how to decide on such a charge. When a minister kills his ruler, all who are in office with him should kill him without mercy. When a son kills his father, all who are in the house with him should kill him without mercy. The man should be killed; his house should be destroyed; the whole place should be laid under water and reduced to a swamp. And his ruler should let a month elapse before he raises a cup to his lips. '
[1. This duke Ting became ruler of Kû in B. C. 613. Some interpret the paragraph as if it said that all the officers, as well as the whole family of a regicide or parricide, should be killed with him. But that cannot be, and need not be, the meaning. ]
19. (The ruler of) Zin having congratulated Wan-dze on the completion of his residence, the Great officers of the state went to the house-warming[1]. Kang Lâo said, 'How elegant it is, and lofty! How elegant and splendid! Here will you have your songs! Here will you have your wailings! Here will you assemble the representatives of the great families of the state! ' Wan-dze replied, 'If I can have my songs here, and my wailings, and assemble here the representatives of the great families of the state, (it will be enough). I will then (only) seek to preserve my waist and neck to follow the former Great officers of my family to the Nine Plains. ' He then bowed twice, laying his head also on the ground.
A superior man will say (of the two), that the one was skilful in the expression of his praise and the other in his prayer.
20. The dog kept by Kung-nî having died, he employed Dze-kung to bury it, saying, 'I have heard that a worn-out curtain should not be thrown away, but may be used to bury a horse in; and that a worn-out umbrella should not be thrown away, but may be used to bury a dog in. I am poor and have no, umbrella. In putting the dog into the grave, you can use my mat; and do not
[1. It is doubtful how this first sentence should be translated. Most naturally we should render Hsien-wan-dze of Zin having completed his house, but binomial honorary titles were not yet known; and the view seems to be correct that this Wan-dze was Kâo Wû, a well-known minister of Zin. The 'Nine Plains' below must have been the name of a burying-place used by the officers of Zin. There seems to be an error in the name in the text, which is given correctly in paragraph 25. ]
let its head get buried in the earth. When one of the horses of the ruler's carriage dies, it is buried in a curtain (in good condition)[1]. '
21. When the mother of Kî-sun died, duke Âi paid a visit of condolence to him. (Soon after), Zang-dze and Dze-kung arrived for the same purpose; but the porter declined to admit them, because the ruler was present. On this they went into the stable, and adjusted their dress more fully. (Shortly) they entered the house, Dze-kung going first[2] . The porter said to him, 'I have already announced your arrival;' and when Zang-dze followed, he moved on one side for him. They passed on to the inner place for the droppings from the roof, the Great officers all moving out of their way, and the duke descending a step and bowing to them. A superior man has said about the case, 'So it is when the toilet is complete! Immediately its influence extends far[3]. '
22. A man-at-arms at the Yang gate (of the capital of Sung) having died, Dze-han, the superintendent of Works, went to (his house), and wailed for him bitterly. The men of Zin who were in Sung as spies returned, and reported the thing to
[1. The concluding sentence is found also in the 'Narratives of the School,' and may have been added to the rest by the compiler of this Than Kung. We are not prepared for the instance which Confucius gives of his poverty; but perhaps we like him better for keeping a dog, and seeing after its burial.
2. Because he was older than Zang-dze.
3. This concluding sentence is much objected to; seeming, as it does, to attribute to their toilet what was due to the respectful demeanour of the two worthies, and their established reputation. But the text must stand as it is. ]
the marquis of Zin, saying, 'A man-at-arms at the Yang gate having died, Dze-han wailed for him bitterly, and the people were pleased; (Sung), we apprehend, cannot be attacked (with success). '
When Confucius heard of the circumstances, he said, 'Skilfully did those men do their duty as spies in Sung. It is said in the Book of Poetry,--
"If there was any mourning among the people,
I did my utmost to help them. "
Though there had been other enemies besides Zin, what state under the sky could have withstood one (in the condition of Sung)[1]? '
23. At the mourning rites for duke Kwang of Lû, when the interment was over, (the new ruler) did not enter the outer gate with his girdle of dolichos cloth. The ordinary and Great officers, when they had finished their wailing, also did not enter in their sackcloth[2].
24. There was an old acquaintance of Confucius, called Yüan Zang. When his mother died, the Master assisted him in preparing the shell for the coffin. Yüan (then) got up on the wood, and said, 'It is long since I sang to anything;' and (with this he struck the wood), singing:--
It is marked like a wild cat's head;
It is(smooth) as a young lady's hand which you hold. '
The Master, however, made as if he did not hear, and passed by him.
[1. The whole narrative here is doubted. See the Shih, I. iii. Ode 10. 4. The reading of the poem, but not the meaning, is different from the text. The application is far-fetched.
2. The time was one of great disorder; there may have been reasons for the violations of propriety, which we do not know. ]
The disciples who were with him said, 'Can you not have done with him? ' 'I have heard,' was the reply, 'that relations should not forget their relationship, nor old acquaintances their friendship[1],'
25. Kâo Wan-dze and Shû-yü were looking about them at the Nine Plains[2], when Wan-dze said, 'If these dead could arise, with whom would I associate myself? ' Shû-yü asked, 'Would it be with Yang Khû-fû[3]? ' 'He managed by his course,' was the reply, 'to concentrate in himself all the power of Zin, and yet he did not die a natural death. His wisdom does not deserve to be commended. '
'Would it be with uncle Fan[4]? ' Wan-dze said, 'When he saw gain in prospect, he did not think of his ruler; his virtue does not deserve to be commended[4]. I think I would follow Wû-dze of Sui[5]. While seeking the advantage of his ruler, he did not forget himself; and while consulting for his own advantage, he was not forgetful of his friends. '
The people of Zin thought that Wan-dze knew men. He carried himself in a retiring way, as if he could not bear even his clothes. His speech
[1. We have another instance of Confucius's relations with Yüan Zang in the Analects, XIV, 46. He was evidently 'queer,' with a sort of craze. It gives one a new idea of Confucius to find his interest in, and kindly feeling for, such a man.
2. See paragraph 19 and note.
3. Master of duke Hsiang B. C. 627-621, and an important minister afterwards.
4. See in paragraph 19, Part i. But scant measure is dealt here to 'uncle Fan. '
5. Wû-dze of Sui had an eventful life, and played an important part in the affairs of Zin and Khin in his time. See a fine testimony to him in the Zo Kwan, under B. C. 546. ]
was low and stuttering, as if he could not get his words out. The officers whom he advanced to responsible charges in the depositories of Zin were more than seventy. During his life, he had no contentions with any of them about gain, and when dying he required nothing from them for his sons.
26. Shû-kung Phî instructed (his son) Dze-liû (in the rules of ceremony); and when he died, Dze-liû's wife, who was a plain, blunt woman, wore for him the one year's mourning and the headband with its two ends tied together. (Phî's brother), Shû-kung Khien spoke to Dze-liû about it, and requested that she should wear the three months' mourning and the simple headband; saying, 'Formerly, when I was mourning for my aunts and sisters, I wore this mourning, and no one forbade it. ' When he withdrew, however, (Dze-liû) made his wife wear the three months' mourning and the simple headband[1].
27. There was a man of Khang, who did not go into mourning on the death of his elder brother. Hearing, however, that Dze-kâo was about to become governor of the city, he forthwith did so. The people of Khang said, 'The silkworm spins
[1. Shû-kung Phî was the first of a branch of the Shû-sun clan, descended from the ruling house of Lû The object of the paragraph seems to be to show, that Dze-liû's wife, though a plain simple woman, was taught what to do, by her native feeling and sense, in a matter of ceremony, more correctly than the two gentlemen, mere men of the world, her husband and his uncle. The paragraph, however, is not skilfully constructed, nor quite clear. Kang Hsüan thought that Dze-liû was Phî's son, which, the Khien-lung editors say, some think a mistake, They do not give definitely their own opinion. ]
its cocoons, but the crab supplies the box for them; the bee has its cap, but the cicada supplies the strings for it. His elder brother died, but it was Dze-kâo who made the mourning for him[1]. '
28. When Yo Kang, Dze-khun's mother, died, he was five days without eating. He then said, 'I am sorry for it. Since in the case of my mother's death, I could not eat according to my feelings, on what occasion shall I be able to do so? '
29. In a year of drought duke Mû[2] called to him Hsien-dze, and asked him about it. 'Heaven,' said he, 'has not sent down rain for a long time. I wish to expose a deformed person in the sun (to move its pity), what do you say to my doing so? ' 'Heaven, indeed,' was the reply, 'does not send down rain; but would it not be an improper act of cruelty, on that account to expose the diseased son of some one in the sun? '
'Well then,' (said the duke), 'I wish to expose in the sun a witch; what do you say to that? ' Hsien-dze said, 'Heaven, indeed, does not send down rain; but would it not be wide of the mark to hope anything from (the suffering of) a foolish woman, and by means of that to seek for rain[3]? '
[1. The Dze-kâo here was the same as Kao Khâi; see the note on paragraph 4. The incident here shows the influence of his well-known character. He is the crab whose shell forms a box for the cocoons, and the cicada whose antennae form the strings for the cap.
2. 'Duke Mû and Hsien-dze;' see Section I. Part iii. 5.
3. In the Zo Kwan, under B. C. 639, duke Hsî of Lû makes a proposal about exposing a deformed person and a witch like that which is recorded here. Nothing is said, however, about changing the site of the market. Reference is made, however, to that practice in a work of Tung Kung-shu (second century, B. C. ), Of which Wang Thâo ventures to give a geomantic explanation. The narrative in the text is probably taken from the Zo Kwan, the compiler having forgotten the time and parties in the earlier account. ]
'What do you say then to my moving the marketplace elsewhere? ' The answer was, 'When the son of Heaven dies, the market is held in the lanes for seven days; and it is held in them for three days, when the ruler of a state dies. It will perhaps be a proper measure to move it there on account of the present distress. '
30. Confucius said, 'The people of Wei, in burying husband and wife together (in the same grave and shell), leave a space between the coffins. The people of Lû, in doing the same, place them together;--which is the better way.
APPENDIX TO BOOK II.
THE reader will have been struck by the many references in the Than Kung to the degrees and dress of mourning; and no other subject occupies so prominent a place in many of the books of the Lî Kî that follow. It is thought well, therefore, to introduce here, by way of appendix to it, the following passage from a very valuable paper on 'Marriage, Affinity, and Inheritance in China,' contributed, on February 8th, 1853, to the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, by Mr. W. H. Medhurst, jun. , now Sir Walter H. Medhurst. The information and subjoined illustrative tables were taken by him mainly from the Ritual and Penal Code of China, a preliminary chapter of which is devoted to the subject of 'The Dress of Mourning:'--
The ideas of the Chinese as to nearness of kin, whether by blood or marriage, differ widely from our own. They divide relationships into two classes, Nêi khin (###) and Wâi yin (###), terms analogous to our "consanguinity" and "affinity," but conveying, nevertheless, other associations than those which we attach to these words. The former (Nêi khin) comprehends all kindred derived from common stock with the individual, but only by descent through the male line; the latter (Wâi yin) includes what the Chinese designate mû tang (###) and nü tang (###) three terms best translated, perhaps, by "mother's kin," "wife's kin," and "daughter's kin," and understood by them to mean a mother's relatives, relatives of females received into one's kindred by marriage, and members of families into which one's kinswomen marry. Thus, for example, a first cousin twice removed, lineally descended from the same great-great-grandfather through the male line, is a nêi-khin relative; but a mother's parents, wife's sister, and a sister's husband or child, are all equally wâi-yin kindred. The principle on which the distinction is drawn appears to be, that a woman alienates herself from her own kin on marriage, and becomes a part of the stock on which she is grafted; and it will be necessary to keep this principle distinctly in mind in perusing any further remarks that may be made, as otherwise it will be found impossible to reconcile the many apparent contradictions in the theory and practice of the Chinese Code.
'The indication of the prohibited degrees (in marriage) depends then upon a peculiar genealogical disposition of the several members of a family with respect to the mourning worn for deceased relatives; and this I shall now proceed to explain. The Ritual prescribes five different kinds of mourning, called wû fû (###), to be worn for all relatives within a definite proximity of degree, graduating the character of the habit in proportion to the nearness of kin.
