When a ruler meets a bier on the way, he must send some one to present his
condolences
(to the chief mourner).
Confucius - Book of Rites
When Kang-dze Kâo was lying ill, Khang went in to see him, and asked his (parting) commands, saying, 'Your disease, Sir, is severe.
If it should go on to be the great illness, what are we to do?
' Dze-kâo said, 'I have heard that in life we should be of use to others, and in death should do them no harm.
Although I may have been of no use to others during my life, shall I do them any harm by my death?
When I am dead, choose a piece of barren ground, and bury me there.
'
23. Dze-hsiâ asked the Master (how one should deport himself) during the mourning for the ruler's mother or wife, (and the reply was), 'In sitting and stopping with others, in his conversation, and when eating and drinking, he should appear to be at ease[2].
24. When a stranger-visitor arrived, and had nowhere to lodge, the Master would say, 'While he is alive, let him lodge with me. Should he die, I will see to his coffining[3]. '
25. Kwo-dze kâo[4] said, 'Burying means hiding
[1. The contributions had been announced by the bier, as if to the departed, and a record of them made. To read the list, as is here supposed, as the procession was about to set forth, was a vain-glorious proceeding, which Zang-dze thus derided.
2. The supplements in this paragraph are from the 'Narratives of the School. ' Some contend that the whole should be read as what Dze-hsiâ said, and that the Master gave him no reply, disapproving of his sentiments.
3. This paragraph, like the preceding, appears in rather a different form in the 'Narratives of the School. '
4. Kwo-dze Kâo was the same as the Khang-dze Kâo of par. 22. Kwo was the surname, and Khang the posthumous title. It is difficult to decide between Kwo-dze Kâo and Kwo Dze-kâo. ]
away; and that hiding (of the body) is from a wish that men should not see it. Hence there are the clothes sufficient for an elegant covering; the coffin all round about the clothes; the shell all round about the coffin; and the earth all round about the shell. And shall we farther raise a mound over the grave and plant it with trees? '
26. At the mourning for Confucius, there came a man from Yen to see (what was done), and lodged at Dze-hsiâ's. Dze-hsiâ said to him, 'If it had been for the sage's conducting a burial, (there would have been something worthy to see); but what is there to see in our burying of the sage? Formerly the Master made some remarks to me, saying, "I have seen some mounds made like a raised hall; others like a dyke on a river's bank; others like the roof of a large house; and others in the shape of an axe-head. " We have followed the axe-shape, making what is called the horse-mane mound. In one day we thrice shifted the frame-boards, and completed the mound. I hope we have carried out the wish of the Master. '
27. Women (in mourning) do not (change) the girdle made of dolichos fibre.
28. When new offerings (of grain or fruits) are presented (beside the body in the coffin), they should be (abundant), like the offerings on the first day of the moon.
29. When the interment has taken place, everyone should make a change in his mourning dress.
30. The gutters of the tent-like frame over the coffin should be like the double gutters of a house.
31. When a ruler succeeds to his state, he makes his coffin, and thereafter varnishes it once a year, keeping it deposited away.
32. Calling the departed back; plugging the teeth open; keeping the feet straight; filling the mouth; dressing the corpse; and curtaining the hall: these things are set about together, The uncles and elder cousins give their charges to those who are to communicate the death (to friends).
33. The (soul of a deceased) ruler is called back in his smaller chambers, and the large chamber; in the smaller ancestral temples and in the great one: and at the gate leading to the court of the external audience, and in the suburbs all round.
34. Why do they leave the offerings of the mourning rites uncovered? May they do so with the flesh of sacrifice[1]?
35. When the coffining has taken place, in ten days after, provision should be made for the materials (for the shell), and for the vessels to the eye of fancy.
36. The morning offerings should be set forth (beside the body) at sunrise; the evening when the sun is about to set.
37. In mourning for a parent, there is no restriction to (set) times for wailing. If one be sent on a mission, he must announce his return (to the spirits of his departed).
38. After the twelfth month of mourning, the (inner) garment should be of white silk, with a yellow
[1. This short paragraph is difficult to construe. The Khien-lung editors seem to approve of another interpretation of it; but even that is not without its difficulties. The flesh of sacrifice, it is said, left uncovered, would become unfit for use or to be sold. ]
lining, and having the collar and the edges of the cuffs of a light purple. The waist-band should be of dolichos cloth; the shoes of hempen string, without the usual ornaments at the points; and the ear-plugs of horn. The lining of the deer's-fur (for winter) should be made broader and with longer cuffs, and a robe of thin silk may be worn over it[1].
39. When (a parent's) corpse has been coffined, if the son hear of mourning going on for a cousin at a distance, he must go (to condole), though the relationship would only require the three months' mourning. If the mourning be for a neighbour, who is not a relative, he does not go.
At (the mourning) for an acquaintance, he must pay visits of condolence to all his brethren, though they might not have lived with him.
40, The coffin of the son of Heaven is fourfold. The hides of a water-buffalo and a rhinoceros, overlapping each other, (form the first), three inches in thickness. Then there is a coffin of Î wood[2], and there are two of the Rottlera. The four are all complete enclosures. The bands for the (composite) coffin are (five); two straight, and three cross; with a double wedge under each band (where it is on the edge).
[1. The outer sackcloth remained unchanged; but inside it was now worn this robe of white silk, a good deal ornamented. Inside this and over the deer's-fur in winter might be worn another robe of thin silk, through which the fur was seen. Inside the fur was what we should call the shirt, always worn.
2 Tracing the Î tree, through the dictionaries from synonym to synonym, we come at last to identify it with the 'white aspen;' whether correctly or not I do not know. ]
The shell is of cypress wood, in pieces six cubits long, from the trunk near the root.
41. When the son of Heaven is wailing for a feudal prince, he wears the bird's-(head) cap[1], a headband of sackcloth, and black robes. Some one says, 'He employs an officer to wail for him. ' While so engaged, he has no music at his meals.
42. When the son of Heaven is put into his coffin it is surrounded with boards plastered over, and (rests on the hearse), on whose shafts are painted dragons, so as to form a (kind of) shell. Then over the coffin is placed a pall with the axe-heads figured on it. This being done, it forms a plastered house. Such is the rule for (the coffining of) the son of Heaven[2].
43. It is only at the mourning rites for the son of Heaven that the feudal princes are arranged for the wailing according to their different surnames.
44. Duke Âi of Lû eulogised Khung Khiû in the words, 'Heaven has not left the old man, and there is no one to assist me in my place. Oh! Alas! Nî-fû[3]! '
45- When a state had lost a large tract of territory
[1. This cap, it is said, was of leather, of the dark, colour of a male sparrow's head. Hence its name.
2 See Book XIX.
3. Confucius' death took place on the 18th of the fourth month of duke Âi's 16th year, B. C. 479. The eulogy is given somewhat differently in the Zo Kwan under that year: 'Compassionate Heaven vouchsafes me no comfort, and has not left me the aged man, to support me, the One man, on my seat. Dispirited I am, and full of distress. Woe is me! Alas! O Nî-fû. There is no one now to be a rule to me! ' Khiû was Confucius' name, and Kung-nî his designation. ' After this eulogy, Nî-fû was for a time his posthumous title. ]
with its cities, the highest and other ministers, and the Great and other officers, all wailed in the grand ancestral temple, in mourning caps, for three days; and the ruler (for the same time) had no full meal with music. Some one says, 'The ruler has his full meals and music, but wails at the altar to the spirit of the land. '
46. Confucius disliked those who wailed in the open fields[1].
47. (A son) who has not been in office should not presume to give away anything belonging to the family. If he should have to do so[2], he ought to have the order of his father or elder brother for the act.
48. When the (ordinary) officers[3] are all entered, then (the chief mourner and all the others) fall to their leaping, morning and evening.
49. After the service on the conclusion of the twenty-fourth month of mourning, the plain white cap is assumed. In that month the service on leaving off mourning is performed, and after another month (the mourners) may take to their music[4].
50. The ruler may confer on any officer the small curtain (as a pall for his father's coffin).
[1. It was the rule to mourn in the open country for an acquaintance. See p. 134. There must have been some irregularity in the practice adverted to.
2. That is, supposing him to have been in office; though some suppose that the necessity might arise, even in the case of a son who had not been in office.
3. Of course the higher officers must also be. there. This refers to the mourning rites for a ruler.
4. See the note on page 130. It is difficult, notwithstanding all the references to it, to say definitely in what month the than sacrifice was performed. ]
SECTION II. PART I.
I. (At the funeral of) a ruler's eldest son by his acknowledged wife, who has died under age, there are three (small) carriages (with the flesh of sacrifice to be put in the grave). At that of an eldest son by one of his concubines, dying under age, there is one such carriage; as at the funeral of the eldest rightful son of a Great officer in the same circumstances[1].
2. At the mourning rites for a feudal lord, his chief officers who had received their appointments. directly from him, carried their staffs.
3. When a Great officer of a state was about to be buried, its ruler (went to) condole with (his son) in the hall where the coffin was. When it was
[1. This refers to a strange custom which was practised at the burial of men of rank, or of others who were treated as such, as in the cases here. 'The carriages employed in it,' says Ying-tâ, 'were very small. When the funeral car was about to set off from the temple, and all to be done at the grave was arranged, they took portions of the bodies which had supplied the offerings put down by the coffin, broke them in small pieces, wrapped them up, and placed them in these carriages, to be conveyed after the car. At the grave the little bundles were placed one by one, inside the outer shell at its four corners. ' The number of these small carriages varied according to the rank of the deceased. We shall find the practice mentioned again and again. It is not easy for a foreigner fully to understand it, and I have found great haziness in the attempts of native scholars to explain it. 'The eldest sons' would have died between sixteen and nineteen. ]
being taken out, he ordered some one to draw the (bier-carriage) for him. This moved on for three paces and stopped; in all for three times; afterwhich the ruler retired. The same proceeding was gone through, when the bier entered the ancestral temple, and also at the place of (special) grief[1].
4. Men of fifty, who had no carriage, did not make visits of condolence beyond the boundaries (of their states).
5. When Kî Wû-dze was lying ill in his chamber, Kiâo Kû entered and appeared before him without taking off the mourning with its even edges (which he happened to wear). 'This practice,' said he, 'has nearly fallen into disuse. But it is only at the gate of the ruler that an officer should take off such mourning as I have on. ' Wû-dze replied, 'Is it not good that you should act thus[2]? A superior man illustrates the smallest points (of propriety). '
At the mourning rites for Wû-dze, Zang Tien leant against his gate and sang[3].
6. If a Great officer pay a visit of condolence
[1. Where visitors had been lodged during the mourning rites, outside the great gate.
2. Wû-dze was the posthumous title of Ki-sun Suh, the principal minister of Lû in the time of duke Hsiang (D. C. 572-543). He was arrogant, and made other officers pay to him the same observances as to the ruler; but he was constrained to express his approval of the bold rectitude of Kiâo.
3. This is added by the writer, and implies a condemnation of Zang Tien, who did not know how to temper his censure of the minister, as Kiâo Kû had done. But there must be an error in the passage. Tien (the father of Zang Shan) could have been but a boy when Wû-dze died. ]
(to an ordinary officer), and he arrive when (the latter) is occupied with the business of the occasion, an apology is made (for not coming to the gate to receive him).
7. When one has paid a visit of condolence, he should not on the same day show manifestations of joy[1].
8. A wife should not go beyond the boundaries of the state on a visit of condolence.
9. On the day when he has made a visit of condolence, one should not drink spirits nor eat flesh.
10. When one pays a visit of condolence, and the arrangements for the funeral are going on, he should take hold of the ropes (attached to the car). Those who follow to the grave should take hold of those attached to the coffin.
11. During the mourning rites, if the ruler send a message of condolence, there must be some one to acknowledge it, by bowing to the messenger. A friend, or neighbour, or even a temporary resident in the house, may perform the duty. The message is announced in the words:--'Our unworthy ruler wishes to take part in your (sad) business. ' The chief mourner responds:--'We acknowledge your presence with his message[2]. '
12.
When a ruler meets a bier on the way, he must send some one to present his condolences (to the chief mourner).
[1. Or it may be, 'should not have music;' toning one of the characters differently.
2. It is supposed that the deceased had left no son to preside at the mourning rites. ]
13. At the mourning rites for a Great officer, a son by an inferior wife should not receive the condolences[1].
14. On the death of his wife's brother who was the successor of their father, (the husband) should wail for him in (the court of) the principal chamber[2]. He should appoint his (own) son to preside (on the occasion). With breast unbared and wearing the cincture instead of the cap, he wails and leaps. When he enters on the right side of the gate, he should make some one stand outside it, to inform comers of the occasion of the wailing; and those who were intimate (with the deceased) will enter and wail. If his own father be in the house, the wailing should take place (before) his wife's chamber. If (the deceased) were not the successor of his father, the wailing should take place before a different chamber.
15. If a man have the coffin of a parent in his hall, and hear of mourning going on for a cousin of the same surname at a distance, he wails for him in a side apartment. If there be no such apartment, he should wail in the court on the right of the gate. If the deceased's body be in the same state, he should go to the place, and wail for him there.
16. When Dze-kang died, Zang-dze was in mourning for his mother, and went in his mourning dress
[1. But if there be no son by the wife proper, the oldest son by an inferior wife may receive the condolences. See the Khien-lung editors, in loc.
2. For some reason or other he has not gone to the house of the deceased, to wail for him there. ]
to wail for him. Some one said, 'That dress of sackcloth with its even edges is not proper. for a visit of condolence. ' Zang-dze replied, 'Am I condoling (with the living)? '
17. At the mourning rites for Yû Zo, duke Tâo[1] came to condole. Dze-yû received him, and introduced him by (the steps on) the left[2].
18. When the news was sent from Khî of the mourning for the king's daughter who had been married to the marquis, duke Kwang of Lû wore the nine months' mourning for her. Some have said, 'She was married from Lû[3]; therefore he wore the same mourning for her as for a sister of his own. ' Others have said, 'She was his mother's mother, and therefore he wore it. '
19. At the mourning rites for duke Hsien of Zin, duke Mû of Khin sent a messenger to present his condolences to Hsien's son Khung-r (who was then an exile), and to add this message:--'I have heard that a time like this is specially adapted to the
[1. B. C. 467-431. Yû Zo had been a disciple of Confucius, and here we find the greater follower of the sage, Dze-yû, present and assisting at the mourning rites for him.
2. That is, the prince went up to the hall by the steps on the east, set apart for the use of the master and father of the house. But the ruler was master everywhere in his state, as the king was in his kingdom. An error prevailed on this matter, and Dze-yû took the opportunity to correct it.
3. That is, she had gone from the royal court to Lû, and been married thence under the superintendence of the marquis of that state, who also was of the royal surname. This was a usual practice in the marriage of kings' daughters; and it was on this account the lord of the officiating state wore mourning for them. The relationship assigned in the next clause is wrong; and so would have been the mourning mentioned, if it had been correct. ]
losing of a state, or the gaining of a state. Though you, my son, are quiet here, in sorrow and in mourning, your exile should not be allowed to continue long, and the opportunity should not be lost. Think of it and take your measures, my young son. ' Khung-r reported the words to his maternal uncle Fan, who said,' My son, decline the proffer. An exile as you are, nothing precious remains to you; but a loving regard for your father is to be considered precious. How shall the death of a father be told? And if you take advantage of it to seek your own profit, who under heaven will be able to give a good account of your conduct? Decline the proffer, my son.
On this the prince replied to his visitor:--'The ruler has kindly (sent you) to condole with his exiled servant. My person in banishment, and my father dead, so that I cannot take any share in the sad services of wailing and weeping for him;--this has awakened the sympathy of the ruler. But how shall the death of a father be described? Shall I presume (on occasion of it) to think of any other thing, and prove myself unworthy of your ruler's righteous regard? ' With this he laid his head to the ground, but did not bow (to the visitor); wailed and then arose, and after he had risen did not enter into any private conversation with him.
Dze-hsien reported the execution of his commission to duke Mû, who said, 'Truly virtuous is this prince Khung-r. In laying his forehead on the ground and not bowing (to the messenger), he acknowledged that he was not his father's successor, and therefore he did not complete the giving of thanks. In wailing before he rose, he showed how he loved his father. In having no private conversation after he arose, he showed how he put from him the thought of gain[1]. '
20. The keeping the curtain up before the coffin with the corpse in it was not a custom of antiquity. It originated with the wailing of King Kiang for Mû-po[2].
21. The rites of mourning are the extreme expression of grief and sorrow. The graduated reduction of that expression in accordance with the natural changes (of time and feeling) was made by the superior men, mindful of those to whom we owe our being[3].
22. Calling (the soul) back is the way in which love receives its consummation, and has in it the mind which is expressed by prayer. The looking for it to return from the dark region is a way of seeking for it among the spiritual beings. The turning the face to the north springs from the idea of its being in the dark region.
2S. Bowing to the (condoling) visitor, and laying the forehead on the ground are the most painful demonstrations of grief and sorrow. The laying the forehead in the ground is the greatest expression of the pain (from the bereavement).
[1. Fully to understand this paragraph, one must know more particulars of the history of Khung-r, and his relations with his father and the duke of Khin, than can be given here in a note. He became the ablest of the five chiefs of the Khun Khiû period.
2. This was a prudish action of the young widow, but it changed an old custom and introduced a new one.
3. This has respect to the modifications adopted in regulating the mourning rites for parents. ]
24. Filling the mouth with rice uncooked and fine shells arises from a feeling which cannot bear that it should be empty. The idea is not that of giving food; and therefore these fine things are used.
25. The inscription[1] forms a banner to the eye of fancy. Because (the person of) the deceased, can no longer be distinguished, therefore (the son) by this flag maintains the remembrance of him. From his love for him he makes this record. His reverence for him finds in this its utmost expression.
26. The first tablet for the spirit (with this inscription on it) serves the same purpose as that (subsequently) placed in the temple, at the conclusion of the mourning rites. Under the Yin dynasty the former was still kept. Under the Kâu, it was removed[1].
27. The offerings to the unburied dead are placed in plain unornamented vessels, because the hearts
[1. This inscription contained the surname, name, and rank of the deceased. It was at first written, I suppose, on a strip of silk, and fastened up under the eaves above the steps on the cast. In the meantime a tablet of wood called Khung, the first character in the next paragraph, and for which I have given 'The first tablet for the spirit,' was prepared. The inscription was transferred to it, and it was set up on or by the coffin, now having the body in it, and by and by it was removed to the east of the coffin pit, where it remained till after the interment.
The observances in this paragraph and the next remain substantially the same at the present day. 'The bier,' writes Wang Thâo, 'is placed in the apartment, and the tablet with the inscription, as a resting-place for the spirit, is set up, while the offerings are set forth near it morning and evening. After the interment this tablet is burned, and the permanent tablet (###) is made, before which the offerings are presented at the family sacrifices from generation to generation. Thus "the dead are served as the living have been. "']
of the living are full of unaffected sorrow. It is only in the sacrifices (subsequent to the interment), that the principal mourner does his utmost (in the way of ornament). Does he know that the spirit will enjoy (his offerings)? He is guided only by his pure and reverent heart.
28. Beating the breast (by the women), and leaping (by the men) are extreme expressions of grief. But the number of such acts is limited. There are graduated rules for them.
29. Baring the shoulders and binding up the hair (with the band of sackcloth) are changes, (showing) the excited feeling which is a change in the grief. The removal of the (usual) ornaments and elegancies (of dress) has manifold expression, but this baring of the shoulders and the sackcloth band are the chief. But now the shoulders are quite bared, and anon they are covered (with a thin garment);--marking gradations in the grief
30. At the interment they used the cap of plain white (silk), and the headband of dolichos fibre; thinking these more suitable for their intercourse with (the departed) now in their spirit-state. The feeling of reverence had now arisen. The people of Kiu use the pien cap at interments; those of Yin used the hsü[1].
[1. The 'Three Rituals Explained' ###), ch. 238, give the figures of these caps thus:--
The hsü {illustration}. The pien {illustration}. ]
31. The gruel of the chief mourner (the son), the presiding wife[1], and the steward of the family (of a Great officer) is taken by them at the order of the ruler lest they should get ill.
32. On returning (from the grave) to wail, (the son) should ascend the hall (of the ancestral temple);--returning to the place where (the deceased) performed his rites. The presiding wife should enter the chamber;--returning to the place where he received his nourishment.
33. Condolences should be presented (to the son) when he returns (from the grave) and is wailing, at which time his grief is at its height. He has returned, and (his father) is not to be seen; he feels that he has lost him. (His grief is) then most intense. Under the Yin, they presented condolences immediately at the grave; under the Kâu, when the son had returned and was wailing. Confucius said, 'Yin was too blunt; I follow Kâu. '
34. To bury on the north (of the city), and with the head (of the dead) turned to the north, was the common practice of the three dynasties:--because (the dead) go to the dark region.
35. When the coffin has been let down into the grave, the chief mourner presents the (ruler's) gifts (to the dead in the grave[2]), and the officer of prayer (returns beforehand) to give notice of the sacrifice of repose[3] to him who is to personate the departed.
[1. This would be the wife of the deceased, or the wife of his son.
2. These were some rolls of purplish silks, sent by the ruler as, his parting gifts, when the hearse-car reached the city gate on its way to the grave.
3. Where was the spirit of the departed now? The bones and flesh had returned to the dust, but the soul-spirit might be anywhere (###). To afford it a resting-place, the permanent tablet was now put in the shrine, and this sacrifice of repose (###) was offered, so that the son might be able to think that his father was never far from him. For a father of course the personator was a male; for a mother, a female; but there are doubts on this point. ]
36. When he has returned and wailed, the chief mourner with the (proper) officer inspects the victim. (In the meantime other) officers have set out a stool and mat with the necessary offerings on the left of the grave[1]. They return, and at midday the sacrifice of repose is offered[2].
37. The sacrifice is offered on the day of interment; they cannot bear that the departed should be left a single day (without a place to rest in).
38. On that day the offerings, (previously) set forth (by the coffin), are exchanged for the sacrifice of repose. The (continuous) wailing is ended, and they say, 'The business is finished. '
39. On that day the sacrifices of mourning were exchanged for one of joy. The next day the service of placing the spirit-tablet of the departed next to that of his grandfather was performed.
40. The change to an auspicious sacrifice took place on that day, and the placing the tablet in its place on the day succeeding:--(the son) was unable
[1. For the spirit of the ground.
2. If the grave were too far distant to allow all this to be transacted before midday, then the sacrifice was performed in the chamber where the coffin had rested. So says Wang Thâo on the authority of Zan Yî-shang ({###)). ]
to bear that (the spirit of the departed) should be a single day without a resting-place.
41. Under the Yin, the tablet was put in its place on the change of the mourning at the end of twelve months; under the Kâu, when the (continuous) wailing was over. Confucius approved the practice of Yin.
42. When a ruler went to the mourning rites for a minister, he took with him a sorcerer with a peach-wand, an officer of prayer with his reed-(brush), and a lance-bearer,--disliking (the presence of death), and to make his appearance different from (what it was at any affair of) life[1]. In the mourning rites it is death that is dealt with, and the ancient kings felt it difficult to speak of this[2].
43. The ceremony in the mourning rites of (the coffined corpse) appearing in the court (of the ancestral temple) is in accordance with the filial heart of the deceased. He is (supposed to be) grieved at leaving his chamber, and therefore he is brought to the temple of his fathers, and then (the coffin) goes on its way.
Under the Yin, the body was thus presented and then coffined in the temple; under the Kâu the interment followed immediately after its presentation (in the coffin).
44. Confucius said, 'He who made the vessels
[1. When visiting a minister when alive, the ruler was accompanied by the lance-bearer, but not by those other officers;-there was the difference between life and death.
2. I suspect that the sorcerer and exorcist were ancient superstitions, not established by the former kings, but with which they did not care to interfere by saying anything about them. ]
which are so (only) in imagination, knew the principles underlying the mourning rites. They were complete (to all appearance), and yet could not be used. Alas! if for the dead they had used the vessels of the living, would there not have been a danger of this leading to the interment of the living with the dead? '
45. They were called 'vessels in imagination,' (the dead) being thus treated as spiritual intelligences, From of old there were the carriages of clay and the figures of straw,--in accordance with the idea in these vessels in imagination. Confucius said that the making of the straw figures was good, and that the making of the (wooden) automaton was not benevolent. --Was there not a danger of its leading to the use of (living) men?
PART II.
1. Duke Mû[1] asked Dze-sze whether it was the way of antiquity for a retired officer still to wear the mourning for his old ruler. 'Princes of old,' was the reply, 'advanced men and dismissed them equally according to the rules of propriety; and hence there was that rule about still wearing mourning for the old ruler. But nowadays princes advance men as if they were going to take them on their knees, and dismiss them as if they were going to push them into an abyss. Is it not good if (men so treated) do not head rebellion? How should there be the observance of that rule about still wearing mourning (for old rulers)? '
[1.
23. Dze-hsiâ asked the Master (how one should deport himself) during the mourning for the ruler's mother or wife, (and the reply was), 'In sitting and stopping with others, in his conversation, and when eating and drinking, he should appear to be at ease[2].
24. When a stranger-visitor arrived, and had nowhere to lodge, the Master would say, 'While he is alive, let him lodge with me. Should he die, I will see to his coffining[3]. '
25. Kwo-dze kâo[4] said, 'Burying means hiding
[1. The contributions had been announced by the bier, as if to the departed, and a record of them made. To read the list, as is here supposed, as the procession was about to set forth, was a vain-glorious proceeding, which Zang-dze thus derided.
2. The supplements in this paragraph are from the 'Narratives of the School. ' Some contend that the whole should be read as what Dze-hsiâ said, and that the Master gave him no reply, disapproving of his sentiments.
3. This paragraph, like the preceding, appears in rather a different form in the 'Narratives of the School. '
4. Kwo-dze Kâo was the same as the Khang-dze Kâo of par. 22. Kwo was the surname, and Khang the posthumous title. It is difficult to decide between Kwo-dze Kâo and Kwo Dze-kâo. ]
away; and that hiding (of the body) is from a wish that men should not see it. Hence there are the clothes sufficient for an elegant covering; the coffin all round about the clothes; the shell all round about the coffin; and the earth all round about the shell. And shall we farther raise a mound over the grave and plant it with trees? '
26. At the mourning for Confucius, there came a man from Yen to see (what was done), and lodged at Dze-hsiâ's. Dze-hsiâ said to him, 'If it had been for the sage's conducting a burial, (there would have been something worthy to see); but what is there to see in our burying of the sage? Formerly the Master made some remarks to me, saying, "I have seen some mounds made like a raised hall; others like a dyke on a river's bank; others like the roof of a large house; and others in the shape of an axe-head. " We have followed the axe-shape, making what is called the horse-mane mound. In one day we thrice shifted the frame-boards, and completed the mound. I hope we have carried out the wish of the Master. '
27. Women (in mourning) do not (change) the girdle made of dolichos fibre.
28. When new offerings (of grain or fruits) are presented (beside the body in the coffin), they should be (abundant), like the offerings on the first day of the moon.
29. When the interment has taken place, everyone should make a change in his mourning dress.
30. The gutters of the tent-like frame over the coffin should be like the double gutters of a house.
31. When a ruler succeeds to his state, he makes his coffin, and thereafter varnishes it once a year, keeping it deposited away.
32. Calling the departed back; plugging the teeth open; keeping the feet straight; filling the mouth; dressing the corpse; and curtaining the hall: these things are set about together, The uncles and elder cousins give their charges to those who are to communicate the death (to friends).
33. The (soul of a deceased) ruler is called back in his smaller chambers, and the large chamber; in the smaller ancestral temples and in the great one: and at the gate leading to the court of the external audience, and in the suburbs all round.
34. Why do they leave the offerings of the mourning rites uncovered? May they do so with the flesh of sacrifice[1]?
35. When the coffining has taken place, in ten days after, provision should be made for the materials (for the shell), and for the vessels to the eye of fancy.
36. The morning offerings should be set forth (beside the body) at sunrise; the evening when the sun is about to set.
37. In mourning for a parent, there is no restriction to (set) times for wailing. If one be sent on a mission, he must announce his return (to the spirits of his departed).
38. After the twelfth month of mourning, the (inner) garment should be of white silk, with a yellow
[1. This short paragraph is difficult to construe. The Khien-lung editors seem to approve of another interpretation of it; but even that is not without its difficulties. The flesh of sacrifice, it is said, left uncovered, would become unfit for use or to be sold. ]
lining, and having the collar and the edges of the cuffs of a light purple. The waist-band should be of dolichos cloth; the shoes of hempen string, without the usual ornaments at the points; and the ear-plugs of horn. The lining of the deer's-fur (for winter) should be made broader and with longer cuffs, and a robe of thin silk may be worn over it[1].
39. When (a parent's) corpse has been coffined, if the son hear of mourning going on for a cousin at a distance, he must go (to condole), though the relationship would only require the three months' mourning. If the mourning be for a neighbour, who is not a relative, he does not go.
At (the mourning) for an acquaintance, he must pay visits of condolence to all his brethren, though they might not have lived with him.
40, The coffin of the son of Heaven is fourfold. The hides of a water-buffalo and a rhinoceros, overlapping each other, (form the first), three inches in thickness. Then there is a coffin of Î wood[2], and there are two of the Rottlera. The four are all complete enclosures. The bands for the (composite) coffin are (five); two straight, and three cross; with a double wedge under each band (where it is on the edge).
[1. The outer sackcloth remained unchanged; but inside it was now worn this robe of white silk, a good deal ornamented. Inside this and over the deer's-fur in winter might be worn another robe of thin silk, through which the fur was seen. Inside the fur was what we should call the shirt, always worn.
2 Tracing the Î tree, through the dictionaries from synonym to synonym, we come at last to identify it with the 'white aspen;' whether correctly or not I do not know. ]
The shell is of cypress wood, in pieces six cubits long, from the trunk near the root.
41. When the son of Heaven is wailing for a feudal prince, he wears the bird's-(head) cap[1], a headband of sackcloth, and black robes. Some one says, 'He employs an officer to wail for him. ' While so engaged, he has no music at his meals.
42. When the son of Heaven is put into his coffin it is surrounded with boards plastered over, and (rests on the hearse), on whose shafts are painted dragons, so as to form a (kind of) shell. Then over the coffin is placed a pall with the axe-heads figured on it. This being done, it forms a plastered house. Such is the rule for (the coffining of) the son of Heaven[2].
43. It is only at the mourning rites for the son of Heaven that the feudal princes are arranged for the wailing according to their different surnames.
44. Duke Âi of Lû eulogised Khung Khiû in the words, 'Heaven has not left the old man, and there is no one to assist me in my place. Oh! Alas! Nî-fû[3]! '
45- When a state had lost a large tract of territory
[1. This cap, it is said, was of leather, of the dark, colour of a male sparrow's head. Hence its name.
2 See Book XIX.
3. Confucius' death took place on the 18th of the fourth month of duke Âi's 16th year, B. C. 479. The eulogy is given somewhat differently in the Zo Kwan under that year: 'Compassionate Heaven vouchsafes me no comfort, and has not left me the aged man, to support me, the One man, on my seat. Dispirited I am, and full of distress. Woe is me! Alas! O Nî-fû. There is no one now to be a rule to me! ' Khiû was Confucius' name, and Kung-nî his designation. ' After this eulogy, Nî-fû was for a time his posthumous title. ]
with its cities, the highest and other ministers, and the Great and other officers, all wailed in the grand ancestral temple, in mourning caps, for three days; and the ruler (for the same time) had no full meal with music. Some one says, 'The ruler has his full meals and music, but wails at the altar to the spirit of the land. '
46. Confucius disliked those who wailed in the open fields[1].
47. (A son) who has not been in office should not presume to give away anything belonging to the family. If he should have to do so[2], he ought to have the order of his father or elder brother for the act.
48. When the (ordinary) officers[3] are all entered, then (the chief mourner and all the others) fall to their leaping, morning and evening.
49. After the service on the conclusion of the twenty-fourth month of mourning, the plain white cap is assumed. In that month the service on leaving off mourning is performed, and after another month (the mourners) may take to their music[4].
50. The ruler may confer on any officer the small curtain (as a pall for his father's coffin).
[1. It was the rule to mourn in the open country for an acquaintance. See p. 134. There must have been some irregularity in the practice adverted to.
2. That is, supposing him to have been in office; though some suppose that the necessity might arise, even in the case of a son who had not been in office.
3. Of course the higher officers must also be. there. This refers to the mourning rites for a ruler.
4. See the note on page 130. It is difficult, notwithstanding all the references to it, to say definitely in what month the than sacrifice was performed. ]
SECTION II. PART I.
I. (At the funeral of) a ruler's eldest son by his acknowledged wife, who has died under age, there are three (small) carriages (with the flesh of sacrifice to be put in the grave). At that of an eldest son by one of his concubines, dying under age, there is one such carriage; as at the funeral of the eldest rightful son of a Great officer in the same circumstances[1].
2. At the mourning rites for a feudal lord, his chief officers who had received their appointments. directly from him, carried their staffs.
3. When a Great officer of a state was about to be buried, its ruler (went to) condole with (his son) in the hall where the coffin was. When it was
[1. This refers to a strange custom which was practised at the burial of men of rank, or of others who were treated as such, as in the cases here. 'The carriages employed in it,' says Ying-tâ, 'were very small. When the funeral car was about to set off from the temple, and all to be done at the grave was arranged, they took portions of the bodies which had supplied the offerings put down by the coffin, broke them in small pieces, wrapped them up, and placed them in these carriages, to be conveyed after the car. At the grave the little bundles were placed one by one, inside the outer shell at its four corners. ' The number of these small carriages varied according to the rank of the deceased. We shall find the practice mentioned again and again. It is not easy for a foreigner fully to understand it, and I have found great haziness in the attempts of native scholars to explain it. 'The eldest sons' would have died between sixteen and nineteen. ]
being taken out, he ordered some one to draw the (bier-carriage) for him. This moved on for three paces and stopped; in all for three times; afterwhich the ruler retired. The same proceeding was gone through, when the bier entered the ancestral temple, and also at the place of (special) grief[1].
4. Men of fifty, who had no carriage, did not make visits of condolence beyond the boundaries (of their states).
5. When Kî Wû-dze was lying ill in his chamber, Kiâo Kû entered and appeared before him without taking off the mourning with its even edges (which he happened to wear). 'This practice,' said he, 'has nearly fallen into disuse. But it is only at the gate of the ruler that an officer should take off such mourning as I have on. ' Wû-dze replied, 'Is it not good that you should act thus[2]? A superior man illustrates the smallest points (of propriety). '
At the mourning rites for Wû-dze, Zang Tien leant against his gate and sang[3].
6. If a Great officer pay a visit of condolence
[1. Where visitors had been lodged during the mourning rites, outside the great gate.
2. Wû-dze was the posthumous title of Ki-sun Suh, the principal minister of Lû in the time of duke Hsiang (D. C. 572-543). He was arrogant, and made other officers pay to him the same observances as to the ruler; but he was constrained to express his approval of the bold rectitude of Kiâo.
3. This is added by the writer, and implies a condemnation of Zang Tien, who did not know how to temper his censure of the minister, as Kiâo Kû had done. But there must be an error in the passage. Tien (the father of Zang Shan) could have been but a boy when Wû-dze died. ]
(to an ordinary officer), and he arrive when (the latter) is occupied with the business of the occasion, an apology is made (for not coming to the gate to receive him).
7. When one has paid a visit of condolence, he should not on the same day show manifestations of joy[1].
8. A wife should not go beyond the boundaries of the state on a visit of condolence.
9. On the day when he has made a visit of condolence, one should not drink spirits nor eat flesh.
10. When one pays a visit of condolence, and the arrangements for the funeral are going on, he should take hold of the ropes (attached to the car). Those who follow to the grave should take hold of those attached to the coffin.
11. During the mourning rites, if the ruler send a message of condolence, there must be some one to acknowledge it, by bowing to the messenger. A friend, or neighbour, or even a temporary resident in the house, may perform the duty. The message is announced in the words:--'Our unworthy ruler wishes to take part in your (sad) business. ' The chief mourner responds:--'We acknowledge your presence with his message[2]. '
12.
When a ruler meets a bier on the way, he must send some one to present his condolences (to the chief mourner).
[1. Or it may be, 'should not have music;' toning one of the characters differently.
2. It is supposed that the deceased had left no son to preside at the mourning rites. ]
13. At the mourning rites for a Great officer, a son by an inferior wife should not receive the condolences[1].
14. On the death of his wife's brother who was the successor of their father, (the husband) should wail for him in (the court of) the principal chamber[2]. He should appoint his (own) son to preside (on the occasion). With breast unbared and wearing the cincture instead of the cap, he wails and leaps. When he enters on the right side of the gate, he should make some one stand outside it, to inform comers of the occasion of the wailing; and those who were intimate (with the deceased) will enter and wail. If his own father be in the house, the wailing should take place (before) his wife's chamber. If (the deceased) were not the successor of his father, the wailing should take place before a different chamber.
15. If a man have the coffin of a parent in his hall, and hear of mourning going on for a cousin of the same surname at a distance, he wails for him in a side apartment. If there be no such apartment, he should wail in the court on the right of the gate. If the deceased's body be in the same state, he should go to the place, and wail for him there.
16. When Dze-kang died, Zang-dze was in mourning for his mother, and went in his mourning dress
[1. But if there be no son by the wife proper, the oldest son by an inferior wife may receive the condolences. See the Khien-lung editors, in loc.
2. For some reason or other he has not gone to the house of the deceased, to wail for him there. ]
to wail for him. Some one said, 'That dress of sackcloth with its even edges is not proper. for a visit of condolence. ' Zang-dze replied, 'Am I condoling (with the living)? '
17. At the mourning rites for Yû Zo, duke Tâo[1] came to condole. Dze-yû received him, and introduced him by (the steps on) the left[2].
18. When the news was sent from Khî of the mourning for the king's daughter who had been married to the marquis, duke Kwang of Lû wore the nine months' mourning for her. Some have said, 'She was married from Lû[3]; therefore he wore the same mourning for her as for a sister of his own. ' Others have said, 'She was his mother's mother, and therefore he wore it. '
19. At the mourning rites for duke Hsien of Zin, duke Mû of Khin sent a messenger to present his condolences to Hsien's son Khung-r (who was then an exile), and to add this message:--'I have heard that a time like this is specially adapted to the
[1. B. C. 467-431. Yû Zo had been a disciple of Confucius, and here we find the greater follower of the sage, Dze-yû, present and assisting at the mourning rites for him.
2. That is, the prince went up to the hall by the steps on the east, set apart for the use of the master and father of the house. But the ruler was master everywhere in his state, as the king was in his kingdom. An error prevailed on this matter, and Dze-yû took the opportunity to correct it.
3. That is, she had gone from the royal court to Lû, and been married thence under the superintendence of the marquis of that state, who also was of the royal surname. This was a usual practice in the marriage of kings' daughters; and it was on this account the lord of the officiating state wore mourning for them. The relationship assigned in the next clause is wrong; and so would have been the mourning mentioned, if it had been correct. ]
losing of a state, or the gaining of a state. Though you, my son, are quiet here, in sorrow and in mourning, your exile should not be allowed to continue long, and the opportunity should not be lost. Think of it and take your measures, my young son. ' Khung-r reported the words to his maternal uncle Fan, who said,' My son, decline the proffer. An exile as you are, nothing precious remains to you; but a loving regard for your father is to be considered precious. How shall the death of a father be told? And if you take advantage of it to seek your own profit, who under heaven will be able to give a good account of your conduct? Decline the proffer, my son.
On this the prince replied to his visitor:--'The ruler has kindly (sent you) to condole with his exiled servant. My person in banishment, and my father dead, so that I cannot take any share in the sad services of wailing and weeping for him;--this has awakened the sympathy of the ruler. But how shall the death of a father be described? Shall I presume (on occasion of it) to think of any other thing, and prove myself unworthy of your ruler's righteous regard? ' With this he laid his head to the ground, but did not bow (to the visitor); wailed and then arose, and after he had risen did not enter into any private conversation with him.
Dze-hsien reported the execution of his commission to duke Mû, who said, 'Truly virtuous is this prince Khung-r. In laying his forehead on the ground and not bowing (to the messenger), he acknowledged that he was not his father's successor, and therefore he did not complete the giving of thanks. In wailing before he rose, he showed how he loved his father. In having no private conversation after he arose, he showed how he put from him the thought of gain[1]. '
20. The keeping the curtain up before the coffin with the corpse in it was not a custom of antiquity. It originated with the wailing of King Kiang for Mû-po[2].
21. The rites of mourning are the extreme expression of grief and sorrow. The graduated reduction of that expression in accordance with the natural changes (of time and feeling) was made by the superior men, mindful of those to whom we owe our being[3].
22. Calling (the soul) back is the way in which love receives its consummation, and has in it the mind which is expressed by prayer. The looking for it to return from the dark region is a way of seeking for it among the spiritual beings. The turning the face to the north springs from the idea of its being in the dark region.
2S. Bowing to the (condoling) visitor, and laying the forehead on the ground are the most painful demonstrations of grief and sorrow. The laying the forehead in the ground is the greatest expression of the pain (from the bereavement).
[1. Fully to understand this paragraph, one must know more particulars of the history of Khung-r, and his relations with his father and the duke of Khin, than can be given here in a note. He became the ablest of the five chiefs of the Khun Khiû period.
2. This was a prudish action of the young widow, but it changed an old custom and introduced a new one.
3. This has respect to the modifications adopted in regulating the mourning rites for parents. ]
24. Filling the mouth with rice uncooked and fine shells arises from a feeling which cannot bear that it should be empty. The idea is not that of giving food; and therefore these fine things are used.
25. The inscription[1] forms a banner to the eye of fancy. Because (the person of) the deceased, can no longer be distinguished, therefore (the son) by this flag maintains the remembrance of him. From his love for him he makes this record. His reverence for him finds in this its utmost expression.
26. The first tablet for the spirit (with this inscription on it) serves the same purpose as that (subsequently) placed in the temple, at the conclusion of the mourning rites. Under the Yin dynasty the former was still kept. Under the Kâu, it was removed[1].
27. The offerings to the unburied dead are placed in plain unornamented vessels, because the hearts
[1. This inscription contained the surname, name, and rank of the deceased. It was at first written, I suppose, on a strip of silk, and fastened up under the eaves above the steps on the cast. In the meantime a tablet of wood called Khung, the first character in the next paragraph, and for which I have given 'The first tablet for the spirit,' was prepared. The inscription was transferred to it, and it was set up on or by the coffin, now having the body in it, and by and by it was removed to the east of the coffin pit, where it remained till after the interment.
The observances in this paragraph and the next remain substantially the same at the present day. 'The bier,' writes Wang Thâo, 'is placed in the apartment, and the tablet with the inscription, as a resting-place for the spirit, is set up, while the offerings are set forth near it morning and evening. After the interment this tablet is burned, and the permanent tablet (###) is made, before which the offerings are presented at the family sacrifices from generation to generation. Thus "the dead are served as the living have been. "']
of the living are full of unaffected sorrow. It is only in the sacrifices (subsequent to the interment), that the principal mourner does his utmost (in the way of ornament). Does he know that the spirit will enjoy (his offerings)? He is guided only by his pure and reverent heart.
28. Beating the breast (by the women), and leaping (by the men) are extreme expressions of grief. But the number of such acts is limited. There are graduated rules for them.
29. Baring the shoulders and binding up the hair (with the band of sackcloth) are changes, (showing) the excited feeling which is a change in the grief. The removal of the (usual) ornaments and elegancies (of dress) has manifold expression, but this baring of the shoulders and the sackcloth band are the chief. But now the shoulders are quite bared, and anon they are covered (with a thin garment);--marking gradations in the grief
30. At the interment they used the cap of plain white (silk), and the headband of dolichos fibre; thinking these more suitable for their intercourse with (the departed) now in their spirit-state. The feeling of reverence had now arisen. The people of Kiu use the pien cap at interments; those of Yin used the hsü[1].
[1. The 'Three Rituals Explained' ###), ch. 238, give the figures of these caps thus:--
The hsü {illustration}. The pien {illustration}. ]
31. The gruel of the chief mourner (the son), the presiding wife[1], and the steward of the family (of a Great officer) is taken by them at the order of the ruler lest they should get ill.
32. On returning (from the grave) to wail, (the son) should ascend the hall (of the ancestral temple);--returning to the place where (the deceased) performed his rites. The presiding wife should enter the chamber;--returning to the place where he received his nourishment.
33. Condolences should be presented (to the son) when he returns (from the grave) and is wailing, at which time his grief is at its height. He has returned, and (his father) is not to be seen; he feels that he has lost him. (His grief is) then most intense. Under the Yin, they presented condolences immediately at the grave; under the Kâu, when the son had returned and was wailing. Confucius said, 'Yin was too blunt; I follow Kâu. '
34. To bury on the north (of the city), and with the head (of the dead) turned to the north, was the common practice of the three dynasties:--because (the dead) go to the dark region.
35. When the coffin has been let down into the grave, the chief mourner presents the (ruler's) gifts (to the dead in the grave[2]), and the officer of prayer (returns beforehand) to give notice of the sacrifice of repose[3] to him who is to personate the departed.
[1. This would be the wife of the deceased, or the wife of his son.
2. These were some rolls of purplish silks, sent by the ruler as, his parting gifts, when the hearse-car reached the city gate on its way to the grave.
3. Where was the spirit of the departed now? The bones and flesh had returned to the dust, but the soul-spirit might be anywhere (###). To afford it a resting-place, the permanent tablet was now put in the shrine, and this sacrifice of repose (###) was offered, so that the son might be able to think that his father was never far from him. For a father of course the personator was a male; for a mother, a female; but there are doubts on this point. ]
36. When he has returned and wailed, the chief mourner with the (proper) officer inspects the victim. (In the meantime other) officers have set out a stool and mat with the necessary offerings on the left of the grave[1]. They return, and at midday the sacrifice of repose is offered[2].
37. The sacrifice is offered on the day of interment; they cannot bear that the departed should be left a single day (without a place to rest in).
38. On that day the offerings, (previously) set forth (by the coffin), are exchanged for the sacrifice of repose. The (continuous) wailing is ended, and they say, 'The business is finished. '
39. On that day the sacrifices of mourning were exchanged for one of joy. The next day the service of placing the spirit-tablet of the departed next to that of his grandfather was performed.
40. The change to an auspicious sacrifice took place on that day, and the placing the tablet in its place on the day succeeding:--(the son) was unable
[1. For the spirit of the ground.
2. If the grave were too far distant to allow all this to be transacted before midday, then the sacrifice was performed in the chamber where the coffin had rested. So says Wang Thâo on the authority of Zan Yî-shang ({###)). ]
to bear that (the spirit of the departed) should be a single day without a resting-place.
41. Under the Yin, the tablet was put in its place on the change of the mourning at the end of twelve months; under the Kâu, when the (continuous) wailing was over. Confucius approved the practice of Yin.
42. When a ruler went to the mourning rites for a minister, he took with him a sorcerer with a peach-wand, an officer of prayer with his reed-(brush), and a lance-bearer,--disliking (the presence of death), and to make his appearance different from (what it was at any affair of) life[1]. In the mourning rites it is death that is dealt with, and the ancient kings felt it difficult to speak of this[2].
43. The ceremony in the mourning rites of (the coffined corpse) appearing in the court (of the ancestral temple) is in accordance with the filial heart of the deceased. He is (supposed to be) grieved at leaving his chamber, and therefore he is brought to the temple of his fathers, and then (the coffin) goes on its way.
Under the Yin, the body was thus presented and then coffined in the temple; under the Kâu the interment followed immediately after its presentation (in the coffin).
44. Confucius said, 'He who made the vessels
[1. When visiting a minister when alive, the ruler was accompanied by the lance-bearer, but not by those other officers;-there was the difference between life and death.
2. I suspect that the sorcerer and exorcist were ancient superstitions, not established by the former kings, but with which they did not care to interfere by saying anything about them. ]
which are so (only) in imagination, knew the principles underlying the mourning rites. They were complete (to all appearance), and yet could not be used. Alas! if for the dead they had used the vessels of the living, would there not have been a danger of this leading to the interment of the living with the dead? '
45. They were called 'vessels in imagination,' (the dead) being thus treated as spiritual intelligences, From of old there were the carriages of clay and the figures of straw,--in accordance with the idea in these vessels in imagination. Confucius said that the making of the straw figures was good, and that the making of the (wooden) automaton was not benevolent. --Was there not a danger of its leading to the use of (living) men?
PART II.
1. Duke Mû[1] asked Dze-sze whether it was the way of antiquity for a retired officer still to wear the mourning for his old ruler. 'Princes of old,' was the reply, 'advanced men and dismissed them equally according to the rules of propriety; and hence there was that rule about still wearing mourning for the old ruler. But nowadays princes advance men as if they were going to take them on their knees, and dismiss them as if they were going to push them into an abyss. Is it not good if (men so treated) do not head rebellion? How should there be the observance of that rule about still wearing mourning (for old rulers)? '
[1.
