See the
introductory
notice, p.
Confucius - Book of Rites
It is to the general effect that simple offerings and sincere worship are acceptable, more acceptable than rich offerings and a formal service.
But is he right in saying that in sacrificing we should not 'pray?
' So long as men feel their own weakness and needs, they will not fail to pray at their religious services.
So it has been in China in all the past as much as elsewhere.
3 Hsiâ Fû-khî was the keeper, or minister in charge, of the ancestral temple of Lû, and contemporary with Zang Wan-kung during the marquisates of Kwang, Wan, and Hsî. He introduced at least one great irregularity in the ancestral temple, placing the tablet of Hsî above that of wan; and Win-kung made no protest. Of the other irregularity mentioned in the text we have not much information; and I need not try to explain it. It seems to me that it must have been greater than the other. ]
prevent) his burning a pile of firewood in sacrificing to the spirit of the furnace. Now that sacrifice is paid to an old wife. The materials for it might be contained in a tub, and the vase is the (common) wine-jar. '
SECTION II.
I. The rules of propriety may be compared to the human body. When the parts of one's body are not complete, the beholder' will call him 'An imperfect man;' and so a rule which has been made unsuitably may be denominated 'incomplete. '
Some ceremonies are great, and some small; some are manifest, and some minute. The great should not be diminished, nor the small increased. The manifest should not be hidden, nor the minute made great. But while the important rules are 300, and the smaller rules 3000, the result to which they all lead is one and the same[2]. No one can enter an apartment but by the door.
2. A superior man in his observance of the rules, where he does his utmost and uses the greatest care, is extreme in his reverence and the manifestation of sincerity. Where they excite admiration and an
[1. The text has here 'the superior man,' for which Callery has 'au dire du sage. '
2 See Book XXVIII, ii, paragraph 38. What the 300 and 3000 rules are is very much disputed. The 'one and the same result' 'is, according to most, 'reverence and sincerity;' according to some, 'suitability. ']
elegant attractiveness, there is (still) that manifestation of sincerity.
3. A superior man, in his consideration of the rules, finds those which are carried directly into practice; those in which one has to bend and make some modification; those which are regular and the same for all classes; those which are diminished in a certain order; those in which (a kind of) transplantation takes place, and (the ceremony) is distributed; those in which individuals are pushed forward and take part in the rules of a higher grade; those in which there are ornamental imitations (of natural objects); those in which the ornamental imitations are not carried out so fully; and those where appropriation (of higher observances) is not deemed usurpation[1].
4. The usages of the three dynasties had one and the same object, and the people all observed them. In such matters as colour, whether it should be white or dark, Hsiâ instituted and Yin adopted (its choice, or did not do So)[2].
5. Under the Kâu dynasty the representatives of
[1. Nine peculiarities in ceremonial usages are here indicated. It would be possible to illustrate them fully after the most approved commentators; but there would be little advantage in thus recalling the past which has for the most part passed away,--even in China.
2 Callery takes a different view of the second sentence in this paragraph, and translates it:--'(Si quelque chose a subi des modifications, ce n'a été que) la couleur blanche ou la couleur verte (caractéristique de telle ou telle autre dynastie; en dehors de ces choses peu importantes, pour tout ce qui est essentiel) la dynastie des Yin s'est scrupuleusement conformée à ce qui a été établi par les Hsiâ. ' His view of the whole paragraph, however, comes to much the same as mine. ]
the dead sat. Their monitors and cup-suppliers observed no regular rules, The usages were the same (as those of Yin), and the underlying principle was one. Under the Hsiâ dynasty, the personators had stood till the sacrifice was ended, (whereas) under Yin they sat. Under Kâu, when the cup went round among all, there were six personators'. Zang-dze said, 'The usages of Kâu might be compared to those of a subscription club[2]. '
6. A superior man will say, 'The usages of ceremony that come closest to our human feelings are not those of the highest sacrifices; (as may be seen in) the blood of the border sacrifice; the raw flesh in the great offering (to all the royal ancestors) of the ancestral temple; the sodden flesh, where the spirits are presented thrice; and the roast meat, where they are presented once[3]. '
7. And so those usages were not devised by
[1. This would be on occasion of the united sacrifice to all the ancestors; the personator of Hâu Kî being left out of the enumeration, as more honourable than the others.
That is, all stand equally as if each had paid his contribution to the expenses.
3 The greatest of all sacrifices was that to Heaven in a suburb of the capital; the next was the great triennial or quinquennial sacrifice in the ancestral temple; the third was that at the altars of the land and grain, and of the hills and rivers, which is supposed to be described here as that at which ' the cup' was thrice presented; and the last in order and importance were small sacrifices to individual spirits. The four offerings in the text were presented at the first three; but not in the same order. That to Heaven began with blood; that in the ancestral temple with raw flesh. Those farthest from our human feelings had the place of honour in the greatest services. We must seek for a higher and deeper origin of them than our ordinary feelings. ]
superior men in order to give expression to their feelings. There was a beginning of them from (the oldest times); as when (two princes) have an interview, there are seven attendants to wait on them and direct them. Without these the interview would be too plain and dull. They reach (the ancestral temple) after the visitor has thrice declined the welcome of the host, and the host has thrice tried to give precedence to the other. Without these courtesies the interview would be too hurried and abrupt.
In the same way, when in Lû they were about to perform the service to God (in the suburb), they felt it necessary first to have a service in the college with its semicircular pool. When they were about in Zin to sacrifice to the Ho, they would first do so to the pool of Wû. When in Khî they were about to sacrifice to mount Thâi, they would do so first in the forest of Phei.
Moreover, the keeping the victims (for the altar of Heaven) for three months (in the stable); the abstinence (of the worshippers) for seven days; and the vigil of three days:-all showed the extreme degree of (preparatory) care (for the service).
The ritual arrangements, further, of the reception (of guests) and communication between them and the host, and for assisting and guiding the steps of the (blind) musicians, showed the extreme degree of kindly (provision)[1].
[1. It is not easy to construe this paragraph, nor to discover and indicate the connexion between its different parts. Generally we may say that it illustrates the previous statement about the rites as not simply the expression of natural feeling, but of that feeling wisely guided and embodied so as to be most beneficial to the individual and society, The auxiliary services in the first part of it were all preparatory to the great services that followed. That in the great college of Lû was concerned with Hâu Kî, the ancestor of the House of Kâu and all its branches, and preliminary to the place he was to occupy at the great sacrifice to Heaven.
The remaining two paragraphs show how the natural feeling was quietly nourished, guided, and modified. ]
8. In ceremonial usages we should go back to the root of them (in the mind), and maintain the old (arrangements of them), not forgetting what they were at first. Hence there is no (need to be) calling attention to the demonstrations expressive of grief[1]; and those which (more particularly) belong to the court are accompanied by music. There is the use of sweet spirits, and the value set on water; there is the use of the (ordinary) knife, and the honour expressed by that furnished with (small) bells; there is the comfort afforded by the rush and fine bamboo mats, and the (special) employment of those which are made of straw. Therefore the ancient kings in their institution of the rules of propriety had a ruling idea, and thus it is that they were capable of being transmitted, and might be learned, however many they were.
9. The superior man will say, 'If a man do not have in himself the distinctions (embodied in ceremonies), he will contemplate that embodiment without any intelligent discrimination; if he wish to exercise that discrimination, and not follow the guidance of the rules, he will not succeed in his object. Hence if his practice of ceremonies be not according to the rules, men will not respect them;
[1. Yet much is said in the Than Kung about those demonstrations of grief in the mourning rites. ]
and if his words be not according to those rules, men will not believe them. Accordingly it is said, "The rules of ceremony are the highest expression of (the truth of) things. "'
10. Hence it was that in old times, when the ancient kings instituted ceremonies, they conveyed their idea by means of the qualities of the articles and observances which they employed. In their great undertakings, they were sure to act in accordance with the seasons; in their doings morning and evening, they imitated the sun and moon; in what required a high situation, they took advantage of mounds and hillocks, and in what required a low situation, of the (banks of the) rivers and lakes. Hence each season has its rains and benefits, and those wise men sought to make use of them with intelligence with all the earnestness they could command[1].
11. The ancient kings valued (men's) possession of virtue, honoured those who pursued the right course, and employed those who displayed ability. They selected men of talents and virtue, and
[1. See Caller 's translation of this paragraph. He says on it:--'Cette période offre, par son incohérence, des difficultés sérieuses qui me font supposer une grave altération du texte primitif;' and justifies his own version by the remark, 'Je me suis dit qu'après tout il vaut mieux embellir que défigurer. ' He takes the whole, like Kang, as referring to the ceremonies of different sacrifices. Ying Yung (Sung dynasty; earlier than Kû Hsî) understood it more generally of other royal and imperial doings. The Khien-lung editors say that the two views must be united. They remark on the last sentence that, as I every season has its appropriate productions and every situation its own suitabilities, we must examine them in order to use things appropriately. ']
appointed them. They assembled the whole of them and solemnly addressed them[1].
12. Then in accordance with (the height of) heaven they did service to Heaven, in accordance with (the lower position of) earth they did service to Earth; taking advantage of the famous hills they ascended them, and announced to Heaven the good government (of the princes). When thus at the felicitous spot (chosen for their capitals) they presented their offerings to God in the suburb and announced to Heaven (the general good government from the famous hills), the phœnix descended, and tortoises and dragons made their appearance[2]. When they presented their offerings to God in the suburb the winds and rains were duly regulated, and the cold and heat came each in its proper time, so that the sage (king) had only to stand with his face to the south, and order prevailed all under the sky.
13. The courses of the heavenly (bodies) supply the most perfect lessons, and the sages possessed the highest degree of virtue. Above, in the hall of the ancestral temple, there was the jar, with clouds and hills represented on it on the east, and that with the victim represented on it on the west. Below the hall the larger drums were suspended on the west, and the smaller drums answering to them on the east. The ruler appeared at the (top of the) steps on the cast; his wife was in the apartment on the west. The great luminary makes his appearance in
[1. The 'selection' here, it is understood, was of the functionaries to take part in the sacrificial ceremonies, and the solemn address was on the duties they had to perform.
2. See pp. 392, 393, paragraph 16. ]
the east; the moon makes her appearance in the west. Such are the different ways in which the processes of darkness and light are distributed in nature, and such are the arrangements for the positions (corresponding thereto) of husband and wife. The ruler fills his cup from the jar with an elephant represented on it; his wife fills hers from that with clouds and hills. With such reciprocation do the ceremonies proceed above, while the music responds in the same way below;--there is the perfection of harmony.
14. It is the object of ceremonies to go back to the circumstances from which they sprang, and of music to express pleasure in the results which first gave occasion to it. Thus it was that the ancient kings, in their institution of ceremonies, sought to express their regulation of circumstances, and, in their cultivation of music, to express the aims they had in mind. Hence by an examination of their ceremonies and music, the conditions of order and disorder in which they originated can be known. Kü Po-yü[1] said, 'A wise man, by his intelligence, from the sight of any article, knows the skill of the artificer, and from the contemplation of an action knows the wisdom of its performer. ' Hence there is the saying, 'The superior man watches over the manner in which he maintains his intercourse with other men. '
15. Within the ancestral temple reverence prevailed. The ruler himself led the victim forward,
[1. A friend, and perhaps a disciple of Confucius, an officer of the state of Wei. He is mentioned in the Confucian Analects and in Mencius. ]
while the Great officers assisted and followed, bearing the offerings of silk. The ruler himself cut out (the liver) for (the preliminary) offering, while his wife bore the dish in which it should be presented. The ruler himself cut up the victim, while his wife presented the spirits.
The high ministers and Great officers followed the ruler; their wives followed his wife. How grave and still was their reverence! How were they absorbed in their sincerity! How earnest was their wish that their offerings should be accepted! The arrival of the victim was announced (to the spirits) in the courtyard; on the presentation of the blood and the flesh with the hair on it, announcement was made in the chamber; on the presentation of the soup and boiled meat, in the hall. The announcement was made thrice, each time in a different place; indicating how they were seeking for the spirits, and had not yet found them. When the sacrifice was set forth in the hall, it was repeated next day outside (the gate of the temple); and hence arose the saying, ' Are they there? Are they here? '
16. One offering of the cup showed the simplicity of the service; three offerings served to ornament it; five, to mark discriminating care; and seven, to show (the reverence for) the spirits[1].
17. Was not the great quinquennial sacrifice a service belonging to the king? The three animal victims, the fish, and flesh, were the richest tributes for the
[1. The sacrifices where only one cup was presented were, it is said, the smallest; three cups belonged to the altars of the land and grain; five, to those of the hills and rivers; and seven, to those in the ancestral temple. All this is quite uncertain. ]
palate from all within the four seas and the nine provinces. The fruits and grain presented in the high dishes of wood and bamboo were the product of the harmonious influences of the four seasons, The tribute of metal showed the harmonious submission (of the princes). The rolls of silk with the round pieces of jade placed on them showed the honour they rendered to virtue. The tortoise was placed in front of all the other offerings, because of its knowledge of the future; the tribute of metal succeeded to it, showing the (hold it has on) human feelings. The vermilion, the varnish, the silk, the floss, the large bamboos and the smaller for arrows-the articles which all the states contribute; with the other uncommon articles, which each state contributed according to its resources, even to those from the remote regions:-(these followed the former). When the Visitors left they were escorted with the music of the Sze Hsiâ[1]. All these things showed how important was the sacrifice.
18. In the sacrifice to God in the suburb, we have the utmost expression of reverence. In the sacrifices of the ancestral temple, we have the utmost expression of humanity. In the rites d mourning, we have the utmost expression of leal-heartedness. In the preparation of the robes and vessels for the dead, we have the utmost expression of affection. In
[1. We are told in the Kâu Lî, Book XXIII, art. 32, that the bell master, with bells and drums, performed the nine Hsiâ pieces, on the occasions appropriate to them. The second of them was 'the Sze Hsiâ,' as here, but the occasion for it in the text would be inappropriate. The eighth, or Kâi Hsiâ, would be appropriate here, and hence Mang said that sze was a mistake for kâu (###). ]
the use of gifts and offerings between host and guest, we have the utmost expression of what is right. Therefore when the superior man would see the ways of humanity and righteousness, he finds them rooted in these ceremonial usages.
19. A superior man has said, 'What is sweet may be tempered; what is white may be coloured. So the man who is right in heart and sincere can learn the (meaning of the) rites. ' The rites should not be perfunctorily performed by the man who is not right in heart and sincere. Hence it is all important (in the performance of them) to get the proper men.
20. Confucius said, 'One may repeat the three hundred odes, and not be fit to offer the sacrifice where there is (but) one offering of the cup. He may offer that sacrifice, and not be fit to join in a great sacrifice. He may join in such a sacrifice, and not be fit to offer a great sacrifice to the hills. He may perform that fully, and yet not be able to join in the sacrifice to God, Let no one lightly discuss the subject of rites[1]. '
[1. It is not easy to trace satisfactorily the progress of thought here from one sacrificial service to another. 'The great sacrifice' is understood to be the triennial or quinquennial sacrifice to all the ancestors of the ruling House. It is a great step to that from a small sacrifice where only one cup was presented, What 'the great sacrifice to the hills was' is uncertain. It is in the text Tâ Lü (###). The meaning of Lü as a sacrifice to the spirit of a hill is well established from the Analects III, 6. Once the phrase Tâ Lü appears as used in the Kâu Lî, Book V, 91, of the royal sacrifice to God (Lorsque 1'empereur offre un grand sacrifice au Seigneur Suprême,' Biot); but it cannot have that meaning here, because the text goes on to speak of that sacrifice as superior to this. Mang Hsüan made Tâ Lü to be the sacrifice to the 'five Tîs,' or the five Planetary Gods, which view, as the Khien-lung editors point out, cannot be adopted. And how any sacrifice to the hills, however great, could be represented as greater than the quinquennial sacrifice in the ancestral temple, I cannot understand. I must leave the paragraph in the obscurity that belongs to it. ]
21. When Dze-lû was steward to the House of Kî, its chief had been accustomed to commence his sacrifices before it was light, and when the day was insufficient for them, to continue them by torchlight. All engaged in them, however strong they might appear, and however reverent they might be, were worn out and tired. The officers limped and leaned, wherever they could, in performing their parts, and the want of reverence was great. Afterwards, when Dze-lû took the direction of them, the sacrifices proceeded differently. For the services in the chamber, he had parties communicating outside and inside the door; and for those in the hall, he had parties communicating at the steps. As soon as it was light, the services began, and by the time of the evening audience all were ready to retire. When Confucius heard of this management, he said, 'Who will say that this Yû does not understand ceremonies[1]? '
[1. The Khien-lung editors say:--'Dze-lû was a leal-hearted and sincere man, and the Book ends with this account of him. From the mention of the preparation of the rites on a great scale and of their high value at the beginning of the Book down to this tribute to Dze-lû as understanding ceremonies, its whole contents show that what is valuable in the rites is the combination of the idea of what is Tight with the elegant and outward form as sufficient to remove from a man all perversity and increase what is good in his nature, without a multiplicity of forms which would injure the natural goodness and sincerity, and lead their practiser to a crooked perversity. Deep and far-reaching is the idea of it! ']
Sacred-Texts Sacred-Texts: Confucianism Li Ki Index Previous Next
BOOK IX. THE KIÂO THEH SANG
OR
THE SINGLE VICTIM AT THE BORDER SACRIFICES.
SECTION I.
1. At the border sacrifices a single victim was used, and at the altars to (the spirits of) the land and grain there was (the full complement of) three Victims[2]. When the son of Heaven went on his
[1.
See the introductory notice, p. 26.
2. The object of the statements here and some other paragraphs is to show that the degree of honour was expressed by the 'paucity' of the articles; compare last Book, Sect. i, paragraph 8. Perhaps the name Kiâo (###) in the title should be translated in the plural as the name for all the border sacrifices, or those offered in the suburbs of the capital. There were several of them, of which the greatest was that at the winter solstice, on the round hillock in the southern suburb. Besides this, there was in the first month the border sacrifice for 'grain,'--to pray for the blessing of Heaven on the agricultural labours of the year, in which Hâu Kî, the father of the line of Kâu, and its 'Father of Husbandry,' was associated by that dynasty. There were also the five seasonal border sacrifices, of which we have mention in the different parts of Book IV, though, so far as what is said in them goes, the idea of Heaven falls into the background, and the five deified ancient sovereigns come forward as so many Tîs. In the first month of summer there was, further, a great border sacrifice for rain, and in the last month of autumn a great border sacrifice of thanks giving. 'Of all these border sacrifices,' say the Khien-lung editors, there is clear evidence in classical texts. ' Into the discussions growing out of them about 'one Heaven,' or 'five Heavens,' and about their origin, it is not necessary that I should enter; it would be foreign, indeed, to my object in this translation to do so. The border sacrifices were the greatest religious or ceremonial services of the ancient Chinese; and the fact to which our attention is called in this Book, is that at them there was used only a single victim. ]
inspecting tours to the princes, the viands of the feast to him were composed of a (single) calf; and when they visited him, the rites with which he received them showed the three regular animals. (The feasting of him in such a manner) was to do honour to the idea of sincerity[1]. Therefore if the animal happened to be pregnant, the son of Heaven did not eat of it, nor did he use such a victim in sacrificing to God[2].
2. The horses of the Grand carriage had one ornamental tassel at the breast; those of the carriages that preceded had three; and those of the carriages that followed had five[3]. There were the blood at the border sacrifice; the raw flesh in the great offering of the ancestral temple; the sodden flesh where spirits are presented thrice; and the roast meat where they are presented once[3]:--these were expressive of the greatest reverence, but the taste was not valued; what was held in honour was the scent of the air[4]. When the princes appeared as guests,
[1. Why 'a calf? Because of its guileless simplicity,' says Kâu Hsü of our eleventh century; earlier than Kû Hsî, who adopted his explanation. The calf, whether male or female, has not yet felt the appetency of sex, and is unconscious of any 'dissipation. ' This is a refinement on the Hebrew idea of the victim lamb, 'without blemish. '
2. This might be referred to his unwillingness, to take life unnecessarily, but for what has just been said about the calf.
3. See last Book, Sect. i, 8; and Sect. ii, 6.
4. Little is said on the meaning of this statement, which appears to say that the most subtle and ethereal thing in sacrifices, the 'sweet savour' of the offerings, was the most important, and should excite the worshippers to add to their sincerity and reverence all other graces of character. The same lesson was given to the feudal princes when they were entertained as visitors at the royal court. ]
they were presented with herb-flavoured spirits, because of their fragrance; at the great entertainment to them the value was given to (the preliminary) pieces of flesh prepared with cinnamon and nothing more.
3. At a great feast (to the ruler of another state), the ruler (who was the host) received the cup seated on his three mats. (On occasion of a visit through a minister or Great officer) when the cup was thrice presented, the ruler received it on a single mat:--so did he descend from the privilege of his more honourable rank, and assume the lower distinction (of his visitor).
4. In feasting (the orphaned young in spring) and at the vernal sacrifice in the ancestral temple they had music; but in feeding (the aged) and at the autumnal sacrifice they had no music:-these were based in the developing and receding influences (prevalent in nature). All drinking serves to nourish the developing influence; all eating to nourish the receding influence. Hence came the different character of the vernal and autumnal sacrifices; the feasting the orphaned young in spring, and the feeding the aged in autumn:-the idea was the same. But in the feeding and at the autumnal sacrifice there was no music. Drinking serves to nourish the developing influence and therefore is accompanied with music. Eating serves to nourish the receding influence, and therefore is not accompanied with music. All modulation of sound partakes of the character of development.
5. The number of tripods and meat-stands was odd, and that of the tall dishes of wood and bamboo was even[1]; this also was based in the numbers belonging to the developing and receding influences. The stands were filled with the products of the water and the land. They did not dare to use for them things of extraordinary flavours[2] or to attach a value to the multitude and variety of their contents, and it was thus that they maintained their intercourse with spiritual intelligences.
6. When the guests had entered the great door[3], the music struck up the Sze Hsiâ[4], showing the blended ease and respect (of the king). (While feasting), at the end of (every) cup the music stopped (for a moment), a practice of which Confucius often indicated his admiration. When the last cup had been put down, the performers ascended the hall, and sang;--exhibiting the virtues (of host and guests). The singers were (in the hall) above, and the organists were (in the court) below;--the honour being thus
[1. Every Chinese scholar knows that odd numbers all belong to the category of Yang (---------), and even numbers to that of Yin (---- ----).
2. The meaning of this clause is uncertain, and I have not found it anywhere sufficiently explained, considering what the characters are (###).
3. This paragraph and the next describe ceremonies on occasion of the king's reception of the great nobles, when they appeared in great force at court. With this the expurgated Lî Kî begins.
4 See note 1, page 413. ]
given to the human voice. Music comes from the expanding influence (that operates in nature); ceremonies from the contracting. When the two are in harmony, all things obtain (their full development).
7. There were no fixed rules for the various articles of tribute. They were the different products of the different territories according to their several suitabilities, and were regulated by their distances (from the royal domain). The tortoises were placed in front of all the other offerings;-because (the shell. ) gave the knowledge of the future. The bells succeeded to them;-because of their harmony, they were a symbol of the union of feeling that should prevail'. Then there were the skins of tigers and leopards;-emblems of the fierce energy with which insubordination would be repressed; and there were the bundles of silks with disks of jade on them, showing how (the princes) came to (admire and experience) the virtue (of the king).
8. (The use of) a hundred torches in his courtyard began with duke Hwan of Khî. The playing of the Sze Hsiâ (at receptions) of Great officers began with Kâo Wan-dze[2].
9. When appearing at another court, for a Great officer to have a private audience was contrary to propriety. If he were there as a commissioner, bearing
[1. As we have no account anywhere of bells, made, being sent as tribute, many understand the name as merely = 'metal. '
2 This and the five paragraphs that follow seem the work of another hand, and are not in the expurgated Kî. Duke Hwan was the first and greatest of 'the five presiding princes' of the Khun Khiû period. He died B. C. 643. Kâo Wan-dze was a Great officer and chief minister of Zin about a century after. The king alone might have a hundred torches in his courtyard. ]
his own prince's token of rank, this served as his credentials. That he did not dare to seek a private audience showed the reverence of his loyalty. What had he to do with the tribute-offerings in the court of the other prince that he should seek a private audience? The minister of a prince had no intercourse outside his own state, thereby showing how he did not dare to serve two rulers.
10. For a Great officer to receive his ruler to an entertainment was contrary to propriety. For a ruler to put to death a Great officer who had violently exercised his power was (held) an act of righteousness; and it was first seen in the case of the three Hwan[1].
The son of Heaven did not observe any of the rules for a visitor or guest;-no one could presume to be his host. When a ruler visited one of his ministers, he went up to the hall by the steps proper to the master;-the minister did not presume in such a case to consider the house to be his own. According to the rules for audiences, the son of Heaven did not go down from the hall and meet the princes. To descend from the hall and meet the princes, was an error on the part of the son of Heaven, which began with king Î [2], and was afterwards observed.
[1. The 'three Hwan' intended here were three sons of duke Hwan' of Lû, known as Khing-fû, Yâ, and Kî-yû; see the Zo Kwan, and Kung-yang, on the last year of duke Kwang. Instances of the execution of strong and insubordinate officers in different states, more to the point, bad occurred before; but the writer had in mind only the history of Lû.
2. I was the ninth of the sovereigns of Kâu (B. C. 894-879); with him appeared the first symptoms of decline in the dynasty. ]
11. For the princes to suspend (their drums and bells) in four rows like the walls of an apartment (after the fashion of the king), and to use a white bull in sacrificing[1]; to strike the sonorous jade; to use the red shields with their metal fronts and the cap with descending tassels in dancing the Tâ-wû; and to ride in the grand chariot:--these were usages which they usurped. The towered gateway with the screen across the path, and the stand to receive the emptied cups; the axes embroidered on the inner garment with its vermilion colour:--these were usurpations of the Great officers. Thus, when the son of Heaven was small and weak, the princes pushed their usurpations; and when the Great officers were strong, the princes were oppressed by them, In this state (those officers) gave honour to one another as if they had been of (high) degree; had interviews with one another and made offerings; and bribed one another for their individual benefit: and thus all usages of ceremony were thrown into disorder. It was not lawful for the princes to sacrifice to the king to whom they traced their ancestry, nor for the Great officers to do so to the rulers from whom they sprang. The practice of having a temple to such rulers in their private families, was contrary to propriety. It originated with the three Hwan[2].
12. The son of Heaven[3] preserved the descendants
[1. That a white bull was used in Lû in sacrificing to the duke of Kâu, appears from the fourth of the Praise Odes of Lû. See vol. iii, p. 343.
2 These must be the three families of Lû, so powerful in the time of Confucius, all descended from duke Hwan. The expression in this (state) shows that the writer was a man of Lû.
3. We must think of this 'son of Heaven' as the founder of a new dynasty. Thus it was that king Wû of Kâu enfeoffed the duke of Sung as representing the kings of Shang, and the rulers of Kü as representing those of Hsiâ. ]
of (the sovereigns of) the two (previous) dynasties, still honouring the worth (of their founders). But this honouring the (ancient) worthies did not extend beyond the two dynasties.
13. Princes did not employ as ministers refugee rulers[1]. Hence anciently refugee rulers left no son who continued their title.
14. A ruler stood with his face towards the south, to show that he would be (in his sphere) what the influence of light and heat was (in nature). His ministers stood with their faces to the north, in response to him. The minister of a Great officer did not bow his face to the ground before him, not from any honour paid to the minister, but that the officer might avoid receiving the homage which he had paid himself to the ruler.
15. When a Great officer was presenting (anything to his ruler), he did not do so in his own person; when the ruler was making him a gift, he did not go to bow in acknowledgment to him:-that the ruler might not (have the trouble of) responding to him.
16. When the villagers were driving away pestilential influences, Confucius would stand at the top of his eastern steps, in his court robes, to keep the spirits (of his departed) undisturbed in their shrines[2].
[1. Rulers expelled from their own state. But the princes might employ their sons as ministers, who ceased to be named from their former dignity.
2. See the Confucian Analects X, 10, 2, and note. Dr. Williams (on ###) says that the ceremony is now performed by the Board of Rites ten days before the new year. ]
17. Confucius said, 'The practice of archery to the notes of music (is difficult). How shall the archer listen, and how shall he shoot, (that the two things shall be in harmony)? '
Confucius said, 'When an officer is required to shoot, if he be not able, he declines on the ground of being ill, with reference to the bow suspended at the left of the door (at his birth)[1]. '
18. Confucius said, 'There are three days' fasting on hand. , If one fast for the first day, he should still be afraid of not being (sufficiently) reverent. What are we to think of it, if on the second day he beat his drums[2]? '
19. Confucius said, 'The repetition of the sacrifice next day inside the Khû gate; the searching for the spirits in the eastern quarter; and the holding the market in the morning in the western quarter:--these all are errors. '
20. At the Shû, they sacrificed to (the spirits of) the land, and on the tablet rested the power of the darker and retiring influence of nature. The ruler stands (in sacrificing) with his face to the south at the foot of the wall on the north, responding to the idea of that influence as coming from the north. A kiâ day is used (for the sacrifice),--to employ a commencing day (in the Cycle)[3].
[1. Every gentleman was supposed to learn archery as one of the six liberal arts;' and a bow was suspended near the door on the birth of a boy in recognition of this. The excuse in the paragraph is a lame one. See the 'Narratives of the School,' article 28; and Book XLIII, 19.
2. 'Narratives of the School,' XLIV, 9.
3. There are of course six decades of days in the Cycle, each beginning with a kiâ day. ]
The great Shê altar of the son of Heaven was open to receive the hoarfrost, dew, wind, and rain, and allow the influences of heaven and earth to have full development upon it. For this reason the Shê altar of a state that had perished was roofed in, so that it was not touched by the brightness and warmth of Heaven. The altar (of Yin) at Po[1] had an opening in the wall on the north, so that the dim and cold (moon) might shine into it.
21. In the sacrifice at the Shê altars they dealt with the earth as if it were a spirit. The earth supported all things, while heaven hung out its brilliant signs. They derived their material resources from the earth; they derived rules (for their courses of labour) from the heavens. Thus they were led to give honour to heaven and their affection to the earth, and therefore they taught the people to render a good return (to the earth). (The Heads of) families provided (for the sacrifice to it) at the altar in the open court (of their houses); in the kingdom and the states they did so at the Shê altars; showing how it was the source (of their prosperity).
When there was a sacrifice at the Shê altar of a village[2], some one went out to it from every house. When there was such a sacrifice in preparation for a hunt, the men of the state all engaged in it. When there was such a sacrifice, from the towns, small and large, they contributed their vessels of rice, thereby
[1. Po had been the capital of the Shang dynasty. The site was in the present Ho-nan; changed more than once, but always retaining the name. We have the Northern, the Southern, and the Western Po.
2. See page 259, Paragraph 7. ]
expressing their gratitude to the source (of their prosperity) and going back in their thoughts to the beginning (of all being).
22. In the last month of spring[1], 'the fire star having appeared, they set fire to (the grass and brushwood). When this was done, they reviewed the chariots and men, numbering the companies, of a hundred and of five. Then the ruler in person addressed them in front of the Shê altar, and proceeded to exercise their squadrons, now wheeling to the left, now wheeling to the right, now making them lie down, now making them rise up; and observing how they practised these evolutions. When the game came in sight and the desire of capturing it was exerted, (he watched) to see that (the hunters) did not break any of the rules (for their proceedings). It was thus sought to bring their wills into subjection, and make them not pursue the animals (in an irregular way). In this way such men conquered in fight, and such sacrificing obtained blessing.
SECTION II.
1. The son of Heaven, in his tours (of Inspection) to the four quarters (of the kingdom), as the first thing (on his arrival at each) reared the pile of wood (and set fire to it)[2].
[1. Perhaps 'the last month' should be 'the second month. ' There is much contention on the point.
2. This paragraph is not in the expurgated Lî. It does seem out of place, for the book goes on to speak of the border or suburban sacrifices presented in the vicinity of the capital, and having nothing to do with the tours of Inspection, of which we first read in the Canon of Shun, in the Shû. Those tours, however, were understood to be under the direction of Heaven, and the lighting of the pile of wood, on reaching the mountain of each quarter, is taken as having been an announcement to Heaven of the king's arrival. ]
2. At the (Great) border sacrifice, he welcomed the arrival of the longest day. It was a great act of thanksgiving to Heaven, and the sun was the chief object considered in it'.
3 Hsiâ Fû-khî was the keeper, or minister in charge, of the ancestral temple of Lû, and contemporary with Zang Wan-kung during the marquisates of Kwang, Wan, and Hsî. He introduced at least one great irregularity in the ancestral temple, placing the tablet of Hsî above that of wan; and Win-kung made no protest. Of the other irregularity mentioned in the text we have not much information; and I need not try to explain it. It seems to me that it must have been greater than the other. ]
prevent) his burning a pile of firewood in sacrificing to the spirit of the furnace. Now that sacrifice is paid to an old wife. The materials for it might be contained in a tub, and the vase is the (common) wine-jar. '
SECTION II.
I. The rules of propriety may be compared to the human body. When the parts of one's body are not complete, the beholder' will call him 'An imperfect man;' and so a rule which has been made unsuitably may be denominated 'incomplete. '
Some ceremonies are great, and some small; some are manifest, and some minute. The great should not be diminished, nor the small increased. The manifest should not be hidden, nor the minute made great. But while the important rules are 300, and the smaller rules 3000, the result to which they all lead is one and the same[2]. No one can enter an apartment but by the door.
2. A superior man in his observance of the rules, where he does his utmost and uses the greatest care, is extreme in his reverence and the manifestation of sincerity. Where they excite admiration and an
[1. The text has here 'the superior man,' for which Callery has 'au dire du sage. '
2 See Book XXVIII, ii, paragraph 38. What the 300 and 3000 rules are is very much disputed. The 'one and the same result' 'is, according to most, 'reverence and sincerity;' according to some, 'suitability. ']
elegant attractiveness, there is (still) that manifestation of sincerity.
3. A superior man, in his consideration of the rules, finds those which are carried directly into practice; those in which one has to bend and make some modification; those which are regular and the same for all classes; those which are diminished in a certain order; those in which (a kind of) transplantation takes place, and (the ceremony) is distributed; those in which individuals are pushed forward and take part in the rules of a higher grade; those in which there are ornamental imitations (of natural objects); those in which the ornamental imitations are not carried out so fully; and those where appropriation (of higher observances) is not deemed usurpation[1].
4. The usages of the three dynasties had one and the same object, and the people all observed them. In such matters as colour, whether it should be white or dark, Hsiâ instituted and Yin adopted (its choice, or did not do So)[2].
5. Under the Kâu dynasty the representatives of
[1. Nine peculiarities in ceremonial usages are here indicated. It would be possible to illustrate them fully after the most approved commentators; but there would be little advantage in thus recalling the past which has for the most part passed away,--even in China.
2 Callery takes a different view of the second sentence in this paragraph, and translates it:--'(Si quelque chose a subi des modifications, ce n'a été que) la couleur blanche ou la couleur verte (caractéristique de telle ou telle autre dynastie; en dehors de ces choses peu importantes, pour tout ce qui est essentiel) la dynastie des Yin s'est scrupuleusement conformée à ce qui a été établi par les Hsiâ. ' His view of the whole paragraph, however, comes to much the same as mine. ]
the dead sat. Their monitors and cup-suppliers observed no regular rules, The usages were the same (as those of Yin), and the underlying principle was one. Under the Hsiâ dynasty, the personators had stood till the sacrifice was ended, (whereas) under Yin they sat. Under Kâu, when the cup went round among all, there were six personators'. Zang-dze said, 'The usages of Kâu might be compared to those of a subscription club[2]. '
6. A superior man will say, 'The usages of ceremony that come closest to our human feelings are not those of the highest sacrifices; (as may be seen in) the blood of the border sacrifice; the raw flesh in the great offering (to all the royal ancestors) of the ancestral temple; the sodden flesh, where the spirits are presented thrice; and the roast meat, where they are presented once[3]. '
7. And so those usages were not devised by
[1. This would be on occasion of the united sacrifice to all the ancestors; the personator of Hâu Kî being left out of the enumeration, as more honourable than the others.
That is, all stand equally as if each had paid his contribution to the expenses.
3 The greatest of all sacrifices was that to Heaven in a suburb of the capital; the next was the great triennial or quinquennial sacrifice in the ancestral temple; the third was that at the altars of the land and grain, and of the hills and rivers, which is supposed to be described here as that at which ' the cup' was thrice presented; and the last in order and importance were small sacrifices to individual spirits. The four offerings in the text were presented at the first three; but not in the same order. That to Heaven began with blood; that in the ancestral temple with raw flesh. Those farthest from our human feelings had the place of honour in the greatest services. We must seek for a higher and deeper origin of them than our ordinary feelings. ]
superior men in order to give expression to their feelings. There was a beginning of them from (the oldest times); as when (two princes) have an interview, there are seven attendants to wait on them and direct them. Without these the interview would be too plain and dull. They reach (the ancestral temple) after the visitor has thrice declined the welcome of the host, and the host has thrice tried to give precedence to the other. Without these courtesies the interview would be too hurried and abrupt.
In the same way, when in Lû they were about to perform the service to God (in the suburb), they felt it necessary first to have a service in the college with its semicircular pool. When they were about in Zin to sacrifice to the Ho, they would first do so to the pool of Wû. When in Khî they were about to sacrifice to mount Thâi, they would do so first in the forest of Phei.
Moreover, the keeping the victims (for the altar of Heaven) for three months (in the stable); the abstinence (of the worshippers) for seven days; and the vigil of three days:-all showed the extreme degree of (preparatory) care (for the service).
The ritual arrangements, further, of the reception (of guests) and communication between them and the host, and for assisting and guiding the steps of the (blind) musicians, showed the extreme degree of kindly (provision)[1].
[1. It is not easy to construe this paragraph, nor to discover and indicate the connexion between its different parts. Generally we may say that it illustrates the previous statement about the rites as not simply the expression of natural feeling, but of that feeling wisely guided and embodied so as to be most beneficial to the individual and society, The auxiliary services in the first part of it were all preparatory to the great services that followed. That in the great college of Lû was concerned with Hâu Kî, the ancestor of the House of Kâu and all its branches, and preliminary to the place he was to occupy at the great sacrifice to Heaven.
The remaining two paragraphs show how the natural feeling was quietly nourished, guided, and modified. ]
8. In ceremonial usages we should go back to the root of them (in the mind), and maintain the old (arrangements of them), not forgetting what they were at first. Hence there is no (need to be) calling attention to the demonstrations expressive of grief[1]; and those which (more particularly) belong to the court are accompanied by music. There is the use of sweet spirits, and the value set on water; there is the use of the (ordinary) knife, and the honour expressed by that furnished with (small) bells; there is the comfort afforded by the rush and fine bamboo mats, and the (special) employment of those which are made of straw. Therefore the ancient kings in their institution of the rules of propriety had a ruling idea, and thus it is that they were capable of being transmitted, and might be learned, however many they were.
9. The superior man will say, 'If a man do not have in himself the distinctions (embodied in ceremonies), he will contemplate that embodiment without any intelligent discrimination; if he wish to exercise that discrimination, and not follow the guidance of the rules, he will not succeed in his object. Hence if his practice of ceremonies be not according to the rules, men will not respect them;
[1. Yet much is said in the Than Kung about those demonstrations of grief in the mourning rites. ]
and if his words be not according to those rules, men will not believe them. Accordingly it is said, "The rules of ceremony are the highest expression of (the truth of) things. "'
10. Hence it was that in old times, when the ancient kings instituted ceremonies, they conveyed their idea by means of the qualities of the articles and observances which they employed. In their great undertakings, they were sure to act in accordance with the seasons; in their doings morning and evening, they imitated the sun and moon; in what required a high situation, they took advantage of mounds and hillocks, and in what required a low situation, of the (banks of the) rivers and lakes. Hence each season has its rains and benefits, and those wise men sought to make use of them with intelligence with all the earnestness they could command[1].
11. The ancient kings valued (men's) possession of virtue, honoured those who pursued the right course, and employed those who displayed ability. They selected men of talents and virtue, and
[1. See Caller 's translation of this paragraph. He says on it:--'Cette période offre, par son incohérence, des difficultés sérieuses qui me font supposer une grave altération du texte primitif;' and justifies his own version by the remark, 'Je me suis dit qu'après tout il vaut mieux embellir que défigurer. ' He takes the whole, like Kang, as referring to the ceremonies of different sacrifices. Ying Yung (Sung dynasty; earlier than Kû Hsî) understood it more generally of other royal and imperial doings. The Khien-lung editors say that the two views must be united. They remark on the last sentence that, as I every season has its appropriate productions and every situation its own suitabilities, we must examine them in order to use things appropriately. ']
appointed them. They assembled the whole of them and solemnly addressed them[1].
12. Then in accordance with (the height of) heaven they did service to Heaven, in accordance with (the lower position of) earth they did service to Earth; taking advantage of the famous hills they ascended them, and announced to Heaven the good government (of the princes). When thus at the felicitous spot (chosen for their capitals) they presented their offerings to God in the suburb and announced to Heaven (the general good government from the famous hills), the phœnix descended, and tortoises and dragons made their appearance[2]. When they presented their offerings to God in the suburb the winds and rains were duly regulated, and the cold and heat came each in its proper time, so that the sage (king) had only to stand with his face to the south, and order prevailed all under the sky.
13. The courses of the heavenly (bodies) supply the most perfect lessons, and the sages possessed the highest degree of virtue. Above, in the hall of the ancestral temple, there was the jar, with clouds and hills represented on it on the east, and that with the victim represented on it on the west. Below the hall the larger drums were suspended on the west, and the smaller drums answering to them on the east. The ruler appeared at the (top of the) steps on the cast; his wife was in the apartment on the west. The great luminary makes his appearance in
[1. The 'selection' here, it is understood, was of the functionaries to take part in the sacrificial ceremonies, and the solemn address was on the duties they had to perform.
2. See pp. 392, 393, paragraph 16. ]
the east; the moon makes her appearance in the west. Such are the different ways in which the processes of darkness and light are distributed in nature, and such are the arrangements for the positions (corresponding thereto) of husband and wife. The ruler fills his cup from the jar with an elephant represented on it; his wife fills hers from that with clouds and hills. With such reciprocation do the ceremonies proceed above, while the music responds in the same way below;--there is the perfection of harmony.
14. It is the object of ceremonies to go back to the circumstances from which they sprang, and of music to express pleasure in the results which first gave occasion to it. Thus it was that the ancient kings, in their institution of ceremonies, sought to express their regulation of circumstances, and, in their cultivation of music, to express the aims they had in mind. Hence by an examination of their ceremonies and music, the conditions of order and disorder in which they originated can be known. Kü Po-yü[1] said, 'A wise man, by his intelligence, from the sight of any article, knows the skill of the artificer, and from the contemplation of an action knows the wisdom of its performer. ' Hence there is the saying, 'The superior man watches over the manner in which he maintains his intercourse with other men. '
15. Within the ancestral temple reverence prevailed. The ruler himself led the victim forward,
[1. A friend, and perhaps a disciple of Confucius, an officer of the state of Wei. He is mentioned in the Confucian Analects and in Mencius. ]
while the Great officers assisted and followed, bearing the offerings of silk. The ruler himself cut out (the liver) for (the preliminary) offering, while his wife bore the dish in which it should be presented. The ruler himself cut up the victim, while his wife presented the spirits.
The high ministers and Great officers followed the ruler; their wives followed his wife. How grave and still was their reverence! How were they absorbed in their sincerity! How earnest was their wish that their offerings should be accepted! The arrival of the victim was announced (to the spirits) in the courtyard; on the presentation of the blood and the flesh with the hair on it, announcement was made in the chamber; on the presentation of the soup and boiled meat, in the hall. The announcement was made thrice, each time in a different place; indicating how they were seeking for the spirits, and had not yet found them. When the sacrifice was set forth in the hall, it was repeated next day outside (the gate of the temple); and hence arose the saying, ' Are they there? Are they here? '
16. One offering of the cup showed the simplicity of the service; three offerings served to ornament it; five, to mark discriminating care; and seven, to show (the reverence for) the spirits[1].
17. Was not the great quinquennial sacrifice a service belonging to the king? The three animal victims, the fish, and flesh, were the richest tributes for the
[1. The sacrifices where only one cup was presented were, it is said, the smallest; three cups belonged to the altars of the land and grain; five, to those of the hills and rivers; and seven, to those in the ancestral temple. All this is quite uncertain. ]
palate from all within the four seas and the nine provinces. The fruits and grain presented in the high dishes of wood and bamboo were the product of the harmonious influences of the four seasons, The tribute of metal showed the harmonious submission (of the princes). The rolls of silk with the round pieces of jade placed on them showed the honour they rendered to virtue. The tortoise was placed in front of all the other offerings, because of its knowledge of the future; the tribute of metal succeeded to it, showing the (hold it has on) human feelings. The vermilion, the varnish, the silk, the floss, the large bamboos and the smaller for arrows-the articles which all the states contribute; with the other uncommon articles, which each state contributed according to its resources, even to those from the remote regions:-(these followed the former). When the Visitors left they were escorted with the music of the Sze Hsiâ[1]. All these things showed how important was the sacrifice.
18. In the sacrifice to God in the suburb, we have the utmost expression of reverence. In the sacrifices of the ancestral temple, we have the utmost expression of humanity. In the rites d mourning, we have the utmost expression of leal-heartedness. In the preparation of the robes and vessels for the dead, we have the utmost expression of affection. In
[1. We are told in the Kâu Lî, Book XXIII, art. 32, that the bell master, with bells and drums, performed the nine Hsiâ pieces, on the occasions appropriate to them. The second of them was 'the Sze Hsiâ,' as here, but the occasion for it in the text would be inappropriate. The eighth, or Kâi Hsiâ, would be appropriate here, and hence Mang said that sze was a mistake for kâu (###). ]
the use of gifts and offerings between host and guest, we have the utmost expression of what is right. Therefore when the superior man would see the ways of humanity and righteousness, he finds them rooted in these ceremonial usages.
19. A superior man has said, 'What is sweet may be tempered; what is white may be coloured. So the man who is right in heart and sincere can learn the (meaning of the) rites. ' The rites should not be perfunctorily performed by the man who is not right in heart and sincere. Hence it is all important (in the performance of them) to get the proper men.
20. Confucius said, 'One may repeat the three hundred odes, and not be fit to offer the sacrifice where there is (but) one offering of the cup. He may offer that sacrifice, and not be fit to join in a great sacrifice. He may join in such a sacrifice, and not be fit to offer a great sacrifice to the hills. He may perform that fully, and yet not be able to join in the sacrifice to God, Let no one lightly discuss the subject of rites[1]. '
[1. It is not easy to trace satisfactorily the progress of thought here from one sacrificial service to another. 'The great sacrifice' is understood to be the triennial or quinquennial sacrifice to all the ancestors of the ruling House. It is a great step to that from a small sacrifice where only one cup was presented, What 'the great sacrifice to the hills was' is uncertain. It is in the text Tâ Lü (###). The meaning of Lü as a sacrifice to the spirit of a hill is well established from the Analects III, 6. Once the phrase Tâ Lü appears as used in the Kâu Lî, Book V, 91, of the royal sacrifice to God (Lorsque 1'empereur offre un grand sacrifice au Seigneur Suprême,' Biot); but it cannot have that meaning here, because the text goes on to speak of that sacrifice as superior to this. Mang Hsüan made Tâ Lü to be the sacrifice to the 'five Tîs,' or the five Planetary Gods, which view, as the Khien-lung editors point out, cannot be adopted. And how any sacrifice to the hills, however great, could be represented as greater than the quinquennial sacrifice in the ancestral temple, I cannot understand. I must leave the paragraph in the obscurity that belongs to it. ]
21. When Dze-lû was steward to the House of Kî, its chief had been accustomed to commence his sacrifices before it was light, and when the day was insufficient for them, to continue them by torchlight. All engaged in them, however strong they might appear, and however reverent they might be, were worn out and tired. The officers limped and leaned, wherever they could, in performing their parts, and the want of reverence was great. Afterwards, when Dze-lû took the direction of them, the sacrifices proceeded differently. For the services in the chamber, he had parties communicating outside and inside the door; and for those in the hall, he had parties communicating at the steps. As soon as it was light, the services began, and by the time of the evening audience all were ready to retire. When Confucius heard of this management, he said, 'Who will say that this Yû does not understand ceremonies[1]? '
[1. The Khien-lung editors say:--'Dze-lû was a leal-hearted and sincere man, and the Book ends with this account of him. From the mention of the preparation of the rites on a great scale and of their high value at the beginning of the Book down to this tribute to Dze-lû as understanding ceremonies, its whole contents show that what is valuable in the rites is the combination of the idea of what is Tight with the elegant and outward form as sufficient to remove from a man all perversity and increase what is good in his nature, without a multiplicity of forms which would injure the natural goodness and sincerity, and lead their practiser to a crooked perversity. Deep and far-reaching is the idea of it! ']
Sacred-Texts Sacred-Texts: Confucianism Li Ki Index Previous Next
BOOK IX. THE KIÂO THEH SANG
OR
THE SINGLE VICTIM AT THE BORDER SACRIFICES.
SECTION I.
1. At the border sacrifices a single victim was used, and at the altars to (the spirits of) the land and grain there was (the full complement of) three Victims[2]. When the son of Heaven went on his
[1.
See the introductory notice, p. 26.
2. The object of the statements here and some other paragraphs is to show that the degree of honour was expressed by the 'paucity' of the articles; compare last Book, Sect. i, paragraph 8. Perhaps the name Kiâo (###) in the title should be translated in the plural as the name for all the border sacrifices, or those offered in the suburbs of the capital. There were several of them, of which the greatest was that at the winter solstice, on the round hillock in the southern suburb. Besides this, there was in the first month the border sacrifice for 'grain,'--to pray for the blessing of Heaven on the agricultural labours of the year, in which Hâu Kî, the father of the line of Kâu, and its 'Father of Husbandry,' was associated by that dynasty. There were also the five seasonal border sacrifices, of which we have mention in the different parts of Book IV, though, so far as what is said in them goes, the idea of Heaven falls into the background, and the five deified ancient sovereigns come forward as so many Tîs. In the first month of summer there was, further, a great border sacrifice for rain, and in the last month of autumn a great border sacrifice of thanks giving. 'Of all these border sacrifices,' say the Khien-lung editors, there is clear evidence in classical texts. ' Into the discussions growing out of them about 'one Heaven,' or 'five Heavens,' and about their origin, it is not necessary that I should enter; it would be foreign, indeed, to my object in this translation to do so. The border sacrifices were the greatest religious or ceremonial services of the ancient Chinese; and the fact to which our attention is called in this Book, is that at them there was used only a single victim. ]
inspecting tours to the princes, the viands of the feast to him were composed of a (single) calf; and when they visited him, the rites with which he received them showed the three regular animals. (The feasting of him in such a manner) was to do honour to the idea of sincerity[1]. Therefore if the animal happened to be pregnant, the son of Heaven did not eat of it, nor did he use such a victim in sacrificing to God[2].
2. The horses of the Grand carriage had one ornamental tassel at the breast; those of the carriages that preceded had three; and those of the carriages that followed had five[3]. There were the blood at the border sacrifice; the raw flesh in the great offering of the ancestral temple; the sodden flesh where spirits are presented thrice; and the roast meat where they are presented once[3]:--these were expressive of the greatest reverence, but the taste was not valued; what was held in honour was the scent of the air[4]. When the princes appeared as guests,
[1. Why 'a calf? Because of its guileless simplicity,' says Kâu Hsü of our eleventh century; earlier than Kû Hsî, who adopted his explanation. The calf, whether male or female, has not yet felt the appetency of sex, and is unconscious of any 'dissipation. ' This is a refinement on the Hebrew idea of the victim lamb, 'without blemish. '
2. This might be referred to his unwillingness, to take life unnecessarily, but for what has just been said about the calf.
3. See last Book, Sect. i, 8; and Sect. ii, 6.
4. Little is said on the meaning of this statement, which appears to say that the most subtle and ethereal thing in sacrifices, the 'sweet savour' of the offerings, was the most important, and should excite the worshippers to add to their sincerity and reverence all other graces of character. The same lesson was given to the feudal princes when they were entertained as visitors at the royal court. ]
they were presented with herb-flavoured spirits, because of their fragrance; at the great entertainment to them the value was given to (the preliminary) pieces of flesh prepared with cinnamon and nothing more.
3. At a great feast (to the ruler of another state), the ruler (who was the host) received the cup seated on his three mats. (On occasion of a visit through a minister or Great officer) when the cup was thrice presented, the ruler received it on a single mat:--so did he descend from the privilege of his more honourable rank, and assume the lower distinction (of his visitor).
4. In feasting (the orphaned young in spring) and at the vernal sacrifice in the ancestral temple they had music; but in feeding (the aged) and at the autumnal sacrifice they had no music:-these were based in the developing and receding influences (prevalent in nature). All drinking serves to nourish the developing influence; all eating to nourish the receding influence. Hence came the different character of the vernal and autumnal sacrifices; the feasting the orphaned young in spring, and the feeding the aged in autumn:-the idea was the same. But in the feeding and at the autumnal sacrifice there was no music. Drinking serves to nourish the developing influence and therefore is accompanied with music. Eating serves to nourish the receding influence, and therefore is not accompanied with music. All modulation of sound partakes of the character of development.
5. The number of tripods and meat-stands was odd, and that of the tall dishes of wood and bamboo was even[1]; this also was based in the numbers belonging to the developing and receding influences. The stands were filled with the products of the water and the land. They did not dare to use for them things of extraordinary flavours[2] or to attach a value to the multitude and variety of their contents, and it was thus that they maintained their intercourse with spiritual intelligences.
6. When the guests had entered the great door[3], the music struck up the Sze Hsiâ[4], showing the blended ease and respect (of the king). (While feasting), at the end of (every) cup the music stopped (for a moment), a practice of which Confucius often indicated his admiration. When the last cup had been put down, the performers ascended the hall, and sang;--exhibiting the virtues (of host and guests). The singers were (in the hall) above, and the organists were (in the court) below;--the honour being thus
[1. Every Chinese scholar knows that odd numbers all belong to the category of Yang (---------), and even numbers to that of Yin (---- ----).
2. The meaning of this clause is uncertain, and I have not found it anywhere sufficiently explained, considering what the characters are (###).
3. This paragraph and the next describe ceremonies on occasion of the king's reception of the great nobles, when they appeared in great force at court. With this the expurgated Lî Kî begins.
4 See note 1, page 413. ]
given to the human voice. Music comes from the expanding influence (that operates in nature); ceremonies from the contracting. When the two are in harmony, all things obtain (their full development).
7. There were no fixed rules for the various articles of tribute. They were the different products of the different territories according to their several suitabilities, and were regulated by their distances (from the royal domain). The tortoises were placed in front of all the other offerings;-because (the shell. ) gave the knowledge of the future. The bells succeeded to them;-because of their harmony, they were a symbol of the union of feeling that should prevail'. Then there were the skins of tigers and leopards;-emblems of the fierce energy with which insubordination would be repressed; and there were the bundles of silks with disks of jade on them, showing how (the princes) came to (admire and experience) the virtue (of the king).
8. (The use of) a hundred torches in his courtyard began with duke Hwan of Khî. The playing of the Sze Hsiâ (at receptions) of Great officers began with Kâo Wan-dze[2].
9. When appearing at another court, for a Great officer to have a private audience was contrary to propriety. If he were there as a commissioner, bearing
[1. As we have no account anywhere of bells, made, being sent as tribute, many understand the name as merely = 'metal. '
2 This and the five paragraphs that follow seem the work of another hand, and are not in the expurgated Kî. Duke Hwan was the first and greatest of 'the five presiding princes' of the Khun Khiû period. He died B. C. 643. Kâo Wan-dze was a Great officer and chief minister of Zin about a century after. The king alone might have a hundred torches in his courtyard. ]
his own prince's token of rank, this served as his credentials. That he did not dare to seek a private audience showed the reverence of his loyalty. What had he to do with the tribute-offerings in the court of the other prince that he should seek a private audience? The minister of a prince had no intercourse outside his own state, thereby showing how he did not dare to serve two rulers.
10. For a Great officer to receive his ruler to an entertainment was contrary to propriety. For a ruler to put to death a Great officer who had violently exercised his power was (held) an act of righteousness; and it was first seen in the case of the three Hwan[1].
The son of Heaven did not observe any of the rules for a visitor or guest;-no one could presume to be his host. When a ruler visited one of his ministers, he went up to the hall by the steps proper to the master;-the minister did not presume in such a case to consider the house to be his own. According to the rules for audiences, the son of Heaven did not go down from the hall and meet the princes. To descend from the hall and meet the princes, was an error on the part of the son of Heaven, which began with king Î [2], and was afterwards observed.
[1. The 'three Hwan' intended here were three sons of duke Hwan' of Lû, known as Khing-fû, Yâ, and Kî-yû; see the Zo Kwan, and Kung-yang, on the last year of duke Kwang. Instances of the execution of strong and insubordinate officers in different states, more to the point, bad occurred before; but the writer had in mind only the history of Lû.
2. I was the ninth of the sovereigns of Kâu (B. C. 894-879); with him appeared the first symptoms of decline in the dynasty. ]
11. For the princes to suspend (their drums and bells) in four rows like the walls of an apartment (after the fashion of the king), and to use a white bull in sacrificing[1]; to strike the sonorous jade; to use the red shields with their metal fronts and the cap with descending tassels in dancing the Tâ-wû; and to ride in the grand chariot:--these were usages which they usurped. The towered gateway with the screen across the path, and the stand to receive the emptied cups; the axes embroidered on the inner garment with its vermilion colour:--these were usurpations of the Great officers. Thus, when the son of Heaven was small and weak, the princes pushed their usurpations; and when the Great officers were strong, the princes were oppressed by them, In this state (those officers) gave honour to one another as if they had been of (high) degree; had interviews with one another and made offerings; and bribed one another for their individual benefit: and thus all usages of ceremony were thrown into disorder. It was not lawful for the princes to sacrifice to the king to whom they traced their ancestry, nor for the Great officers to do so to the rulers from whom they sprang. The practice of having a temple to such rulers in their private families, was contrary to propriety. It originated with the three Hwan[2].
12. The son of Heaven[3] preserved the descendants
[1. That a white bull was used in Lû in sacrificing to the duke of Kâu, appears from the fourth of the Praise Odes of Lû. See vol. iii, p. 343.
2 These must be the three families of Lû, so powerful in the time of Confucius, all descended from duke Hwan. The expression in this (state) shows that the writer was a man of Lû.
3. We must think of this 'son of Heaven' as the founder of a new dynasty. Thus it was that king Wû of Kâu enfeoffed the duke of Sung as representing the kings of Shang, and the rulers of Kü as representing those of Hsiâ. ]
of (the sovereigns of) the two (previous) dynasties, still honouring the worth (of their founders). But this honouring the (ancient) worthies did not extend beyond the two dynasties.
13. Princes did not employ as ministers refugee rulers[1]. Hence anciently refugee rulers left no son who continued their title.
14. A ruler stood with his face towards the south, to show that he would be (in his sphere) what the influence of light and heat was (in nature). His ministers stood with their faces to the north, in response to him. The minister of a Great officer did not bow his face to the ground before him, not from any honour paid to the minister, but that the officer might avoid receiving the homage which he had paid himself to the ruler.
15. When a Great officer was presenting (anything to his ruler), he did not do so in his own person; when the ruler was making him a gift, he did not go to bow in acknowledgment to him:-that the ruler might not (have the trouble of) responding to him.
16. When the villagers were driving away pestilential influences, Confucius would stand at the top of his eastern steps, in his court robes, to keep the spirits (of his departed) undisturbed in their shrines[2].
[1. Rulers expelled from their own state. But the princes might employ their sons as ministers, who ceased to be named from their former dignity.
2. See the Confucian Analects X, 10, 2, and note. Dr. Williams (on ###) says that the ceremony is now performed by the Board of Rites ten days before the new year. ]
17. Confucius said, 'The practice of archery to the notes of music (is difficult). How shall the archer listen, and how shall he shoot, (that the two things shall be in harmony)? '
Confucius said, 'When an officer is required to shoot, if he be not able, he declines on the ground of being ill, with reference to the bow suspended at the left of the door (at his birth)[1]. '
18. Confucius said, 'There are three days' fasting on hand. , If one fast for the first day, he should still be afraid of not being (sufficiently) reverent. What are we to think of it, if on the second day he beat his drums[2]? '
19. Confucius said, 'The repetition of the sacrifice next day inside the Khû gate; the searching for the spirits in the eastern quarter; and the holding the market in the morning in the western quarter:--these all are errors. '
20. At the Shû, they sacrificed to (the spirits of) the land, and on the tablet rested the power of the darker and retiring influence of nature. The ruler stands (in sacrificing) with his face to the south at the foot of the wall on the north, responding to the idea of that influence as coming from the north. A kiâ day is used (for the sacrifice),--to employ a commencing day (in the Cycle)[3].
[1. Every gentleman was supposed to learn archery as one of the six liberal arts;' and a bow was suspended near the door on the birth of a boy in recognition of this. The excuse in the paragraph is a lame one. See the 'Narratives of the School,' article 28; and Book XLIII, 19.
2. 'Narratives of the School,' XLIV, 9.
3. There are of course six decades of days in the Cycle, each beginning with a kiâ day. ]
The great Shê altar of the son of Heaven was open to receive the hoarfrost, dew, wind, and rain, and allow the influences of heaven and earth to have full development upon it. For this reason the Shê altar of a state that had perished was roofed in, so that it was not touched by the brightness and warmth of Heaven. The altar (of Yin) at Po[1] had an opening in the wall on the north, so that the dim and cold (moon) might shine into it.
21. In the sacrifice at the Shê altars they dealt with the earth as if it were a spirit. The earth supported all things, while heaven hung out its brilliant signs. They derived their material resources from the earth; they derived rules (for their courses of labour) from the heavens. Thus they were led to give honour to heaven and their affection to the earth, and therefore they taught the people to render a good return (to the earth). (The Heads of) families provided (for the sacrifice to it) at the altar in the open court (of their houses); in the kingdom and the states they did so at the Shê altars; showing how it was the source (of their prosperity).
When there was a sacrifice at the Shê altar of a village[2], some one went out to it from every house. When there was such a sacrifice in preparation for a hunt, the men of the state all engaged in it. When there was such a sacrifice, from the towns, small and large, they contributed their vessels of rice, thereby
[1. Po had been the capital of the Shang dynasty. The site was in the present Ho-nan; changed more than once, but always retaining the name. We have the Northern, the Southern, and the Western Po.
2. See page 259, Paragraph 7. ]
expressing their gratitude to the source (of their prosperity) and going back in their thoughts to the beginning (of all being).
22. In the last month of spring[1], 'the fire star having appeared, they set fire to (the grass and brushwood). When this was done, they reviewed the chariots and men, numbering the companies, of a hundred and of five. Then the ruler in person addressed them in front of the Shê altar, and proceeded to exercise their squadrons, now wheeling to the left, now wheeling to the right, now making them lie down, now making them rise up; and observing how they practised these evolutions. When the game came in sight and the desire of capturing it was exerted, (he watched) to see that (the hunters) did not break any of the rules (for their proceedings). It was thus sought to bring their wills into subjection, and make them not pursue the animals (in an irregular way). In this way such men conquered in fight, and such sacrificing obtained blessing.
SECTION II.
1. The son of Heaven, in his tours (of Inspection) to the four quarters (of the kingdom), as the first thing (on his arrival at each) reared the pile of wood (and set fire to it)[2].
[1. Perhaps 'the last month' should be 'the second month. ' There is much contention on the point.
2. This paragraph is not in the expurgated Lî. It does seem out of place, for the book goes on to speak of the border or suburban sacrifices presented in the vicinity of the capital, and having nothing to do with the tours of Inspection, of which we first read in the Canon of Shun, in the Shû. Those tours, however, were understood to be under the direction of Heaven, and the lighting of the pile of wood, on reaching the mountain of each quarter, is taken as having been an announcement to Heaven of the king's arrival. ]
2. At the (Great) border sacrifice, he welcomed the arrival of the longest day. It was a great act of thanksgiving to Heaven, and the sun was the chief object considered in it'.
