This maxim deserves to be
specially
noted.
Confucius - Book of Rites
I have followed in my version the view of Kang, Kû Hsi,.
and the Khien-lung editors.
Callery gives for'the whole sentence, ' Ne donnez pas comme certain ce qui est douteux, mais exposez-le clairement sans arrière-pensée.
' Zottoli's view of the meaning is probably the same as mine: 'Dubiu's rerurn noli praesumere, sed sincerus ne tibi arroges.
'
2 On the personator of the deceased, see vol. iii, pp. 300, 301, According to the ritual of Kau, the representatives of the dead always sat, and bore themselves with the utmost gravity. ]
(observing) the rules of propriety, what is right (for the time and in the circumstances) should be followed. In discharging a mission (to another state), its customs are to be observed.
5. 8. They are the rules of propriety, that furnish the means of determining (the observances towards) relatives, as near and remote; of settling points which may cause suspicion or doubt; of distinguishing where there should be agreement, and where difference; and of making clear what is right and what is wrong. 9. According to those rules, one should not (seek to) please others in an improper way, nor be lavish of his words, 10. According to them, one does not go beyond the definite measure, nor encroach on or despise others, nor is fond of (presuming) familiarities. 11. To cultivate one's person and fulfil one's words is called good conduct. When the conduct is (thus) ordered, and the words are accordant with the (right) course, we have the substance of the rules of propriety. 12. I have heard that it is in accordance with those rules that one should be chosen by others (as their model); I have not heard of his choosing them (to take him as such). I have heard in the same way of (scholars) coming to learn; I have not heard of (the master) going to teach. 13. The course (of duty), virtue, benevolence, and righteousness cannot be fully carried out without the rules of propriety; 14. nor are training and oral lessons for the rectification of manners complete; 15. nor can the clearing up of quarrels and discriminating in disputes be accomplished; 16. nor can (the duties between) ruler and minister, high and low, father and son, elder brother and younger, be determined; 17. nor can students for office and (other) learners, in serving their masters, have an attachment for them; 18. nor can majesty and dignity be shown in assigning the different places at court, in the government of the armies, and in discharging the duties of office so as to secure the operation of the laws; 19. nor can there be the (proper) sincerity and gravity in presenting the offerings to spiritual Beings on occasions of supplication, thanksgiving, and the various sacrifices[1]. 20. Therefore the superior man is respectful and reverent, assiduous in his duties and not going beyond them, retiring and yielding;-thus illustrating (the principle of) propriety. 21. The parrot can speak, and yet is nothing more than a bird; the ape can speak, and yet is nothing more than a beast 22. Here now is a man who observes no rules of propriety; is not his heart that of a beast? But if (men were as) beasts, and without (the principle of) propriety, father and son might have the same mate. 22. Therefore, when the sages arose, they framed the rules of propriety in order to teach men, and cause them, by
[1. Four religious acts are here mentioned, in connexion with which the offerings to spiritual Beings were presented. What I have called 'various sacrifices' is in Chinese Kî sze. Wû Khang says: 'Kî means sacrificial offerings to the spirit (or spirits) of Earth, and sze those to the spirits of Heaven. Offerings to the manes of men are also covered by them when they are used together. '
2 We know that the parrot and some other birds can be taught to speak; but I do not know that any animal has been taught to enunciate words even as these birds do. Williams (Dict. p. 8og) thinks that the shang shang mentioned here may be the rhinopithecus Roxellana of P. David, found in Sze-khüan; but we have no account of it in Chinese works, so far as I know, that is not evidently fabulous. ]
their possession of them, to make a distinction between themselves and brutes.
6. 23. In the highest antiquity they prized (simply conferring) good; in the time next to this, giving and repaying was the thing attended to[1]. And what the rules of propriety value is that reciprocity. If I give a gift and nothing comes in return, that is contrary to propriety; if the thing comes to me, and I give nothing in return, that also is contrary to propriety. 24. If a man observe the rules of propriety, he is in a condition of security; if he do not, he is in one of danger. Hence there is the saying, 'The rules of propriety should by no means be left unlearned. ' 25. Propriety is seen in humbling one's self and giving honour to others. Even porters and pedlers are sure to display this giving honour (in some cases); how much more should the rich and noble do so (in all)! 26. When the rich and noble know to love propriety, they do not become proud nor dissolute. When the poor and mean know to love propriety, their minds do not become cowardly.
7. 27. When one is ten years old, we call him a boy; he goes (out) to school. When he is twenty, we call him a youth; he is capped. When he is thirty, we say, 'He is at his maturity;' he has a wife[2]. When
[1. Compare with this paragraph the state of 'the highest antiquity' described in the Tâo Teh King, chapters 18, 19, et al.
2 When it is said that at thirty a man has a wife, the meaning must be that he ought not to reach that age without being married. Early marriages were the rule in ancient China, as they are now. Confucius was married when barely twenty. In the same way we are to understand the being in office at forty. A man might take office at thirty; if he reached forty before he did so, there was something wrong in himself or others. ]
he is forty, we say, 'He is in his vigour;' he is employed in office. When he is fifty, we say, 'He is getting grey;' he can discharge all the duties of an officer. When he is sixty, we say, 'He is getting old;' he gives directions and instructions. When he is seventy, we say, 'He is old;' he delegates his duties to others. At eighty or ninety, we say of him, 'He is very old. ' When he is seven, we say that he is an object of pitying love. Such a child and one who is very old, though they may be chargeable with crime, are not subjected to punishment. At a hundred, he is called a centenarian, and has to be fed. 28. A great officer, when he is seventy, should resign (his charge of) affairs. 29. If he be not allowed to resign, there must be given him a stool and staff. When travelling on service, he must have the attendance of his wife[1]; and when going to any other state, he will ride in an easy carriage[2]. 30. (In another state) he will, style himself 'the old man;' in his own state, he will call himself by his name. 31. When from another they ask (about his state), he must tell them of its (old) institutions[3].
[1. Perhaps we should translate here in the plural--'his women,' which would include his wife.
2. An 'easy carriage' was small. Its occupant sat in it, and did not stand.
3. It is supposed here that the foreign envoys first question the ruler, who then calls in the help of the aged minister. ]
PART II
1. 1. In going to take counsel with an elder, one must carry a stool and a staff with him (for the elder's use). When the elder asks a question, to reply without acknowledging one's incompetency and (trying to) decline answering, is contrary to propriety[1].
2. 2. For all sons it is the rule :--In winter, to warm (the bed for their parents), and to cool it in summer; in the evening, to adjust everything (for their repose), and to inquire (about their health) in the morning; and, when with their companions, not to quarrel.
3. 3. Whenever a son, having received the three (first) gifts (of the ruler), declines (to use) the carriage and horses, the people of the hamlets and smaller districts, and of the larger districts and neighbourhoods, will proclaim him filial; his brothers and relatives, both by consanguinity and affinity, will proclaim him
[Part II enters more into detail about the rules of Propriety. It has been divided into seven chapters, containing in all thirty-two paragraphs.
Ch. 1. 1, speaks of a junior consulting an elder. 2. 2, describes services due from all sons to their parents. 3. 3, shows a filial son when raised to higher rank than his father. 4. 4-16, contains rules for a son in various circumstances, especially with reference to his father. 5. 17-26, gives the rules for younger men in their intercourse with their teachers and elders generally, and in various cases. 6. 27, is the rule for an officer in entering the gate of his ruler or coming out by it. 7. 28-32, deals with a host and visitor, and ceremonious visiting and intercourse generally.
3. The reply of Tsang Shan to Confucius, as related in vol. iii, pp. 465, 466, is commonly introduced in illustration of this second sentence. ]
loving; his friends who are fellow-officers will proclaim him virtuous; and his friends who are his associates will proclaim him true[1].
4. 4. When he sees an intimate friend of his father, not to presume to go forward to him without being told to do so; nor to retire without being told; nor to address him without being questioned:--this is the conduct of a filial son, 5. A son, when he is going abroad, must inform (his parents where he is going); when he returns, he must present himself before them. Where he travels must be in some fixed (region); what he engages in must be some (reputable) occupation. 6. In ordinary conversation (with his parents), he does not use the term 'old' (with reference to them)[2]. 7. He should serve one twice as old as himself as he serves his father, one ten years older than himself as an elder brother; with one five years older he should walk shoulder to shoulder, but (a little) behind him. 8. When five are sitting together, the eldest must have a different mat (by himself)[3]. 9. A son should not occupy the south-west corner of the apartment, nor sit in the
[1. The gifts of distinction, conferred by the sovereign on officers, ministers, and feudal princes, were nine in all; and the enumerations of them are not always the same. The three intended here are the appointment to office, or rank; the robes belonging to it; and the chariot and horses. We must suppose that the rank placed the son higher than the father in social position, and that he declines the third gift from humility,--not to parade himself as superior to his father and others in his circle.
2. Some understand the rule to be that the son is not to speak of himself as old; but the meaning in the translation is the more approved.
3. Four men were the proper complement for a mat; the eldest of the five therefore was honoured with another mat for himself. ]
middle of the mat (which he occupies alone), nor walk in the middle of the road, nor stand in the middle of the doorway[1]. 10. He should not take the part of regulating the (quantity of) rice and other viands at an entertainment. 11. He should not act as personator of the dead at sacrifice[2]. 12. He should be (as if he were) hearing (his parents) when there is no voice from them, and as seeing them when they are not actually there. 13. He should not ascend a height, nor approach the verge of a depth; he should not indulge in reckless reviling or derisive laughing. A filial son will not do things in the dark, nor attempt hazardous undertakings, fearing lest he disgrace his parents. 14. While his parents are alive, he will not promise a friend to die (with or for him)[3], nor will he have wealth that he calls his own. 15. A son, while his parents are alive, will not wear a cap or (other) article of dress, with a white border[4]. 16. An orphan son, taking his father's place, will not wear a cap or (other article of) dress with a variegated border[5].
5. 17. A boy should never be allowed to see an
[1. The father is supposed to be alive; the south-west part of an apartment was held to be the most honourable, and must be reserved for him. So of the other things.
2. This was in the ancestral worship. A son, acting such a part, would have to receive the homage of his father.
3. I have known instances of Chinese agreeing to die with or for a friend, who wished to avenge a great wrong. See the covenant of the three heroes of the 'romance of the Three Kingdoms,' near the beginning.
4. White was and is the colour worn in mourning.
5. The son here is the eldest son and heir; even after the regular period of mourning is over, he continues to wear it in so far. The other sons were not required to do so. ]
instance of deceit[1]. 18. A lad should not wear a jacket of fur nor the skirt[2] . He must stand straight and square, and not incline his head in hearing. 19. When an elder is holding him with the hand, he should hold the elder's hand with both his hands. When the elder has shifted his sword to his back and is speaking to him with the side of his face bent, down, he should cover his mouth with his hand in answering[3]. 20. When he is following his teacher 4, he should not quit the road to speak with another person. When he meets his teacher on the road, he should hasten forward to him, and stand with his hands joined across his breast. If the teacher speak to him, he will answer; if he do not, he will retire with hasty steps. 21. When, following an elder, they ascend a level height, he must keep his face towards the quarter to which the elder is looking. 22. When one has ascended the wall of a city, he should not point, nor callout[5]. 23. When he intends to go to a lodging-house, let it not be with the feeling that he must get whatever he asks for. 24. When about to go up to the hall (of a house), he must raise his voice. When outside the door there are two (pairs
[1.
This maxim deserves to be specially noted. It will remind the reader of Juvenal's lines:--
'Maxima debetur puero, reverentia. Si quid
Turpe paras, nec tu pueri contempseris annos. '
To make him handy, and leave him free to execute any service required of him.
2. The second sentence here is difficult to construe, and the critics differ much in dealing with it. Zottoli's version is--'Si e dorso vel latere transverso ore (superior) eloquatur ei, tunc obducto ore respondebit. '
3. 'Teacher' is here I the one born before him,' denoting I an old man who teaches youth. '
4. And thus make himself an object of general observation. ]
of) shoes[1], if voices be heard, he. enters; if voices be not heard, he will not enter. 25. When about to enter the door, he must keep his eyes cast down. As he enters, he should (keep his hands raised as high as if he were) bearing the bar of the door. In looking down or up, he should not turn (his head). If the door were open, he should leave it open; if it were shut, he should shut it again. If there be others (about) to enter after him, while he (turns to) shut the door, let him not do so hastily. 26. Let him not tread on the shoes (left outside the door), nor stride across the mat (in going to take his seat); but let him hold up his dress, and move hastily to his corner (of the mat). (When seated), he must be careful in answering or assenting.
6. 27. A great officer or (other) officer should go out or in at the ruler's doors[2], on the right of the middle post, without treading on the threshold.
7. 28. Whenever (a host has received and) is entering with a guest, at every door he should give place to him. When the guest arrives at the innermost door (or that leading to the feast-room),
[1. It was the custom in China, as it still is in Japan, to take off the shoes, and leave them outside the door on entering an apartment. This paragraph and the next tell us how a new-comer should not enter an apartment hastily, so as to take those already there by surprise.
2. It is necessary to translate here in the plural. Anciently, as now, the palace, mansion, or public office was an aggregate of courts, with buildings in them, so that the visitor passed from one to another through a gateway, till he reached the inner court which conducted to the hall, behind which again were the family apartments. The royal palace had five courts and gates; that of a feudal lord had three. Each gate had its proper name. The whole assemblage of buildings was much deeper than it was wide. ]
the host will ask to be allowed to enter first and arrange the mats. Having done this, he will come out to receive the guest, who will refuse firmly (to enter first). The host having made a low bow to him, they will enter (together). 29. When they have entered the door, the host moves to the right, and the guest to the left, the former going to the steps on the cast, and the latter to those on the west. If the guest be of the lower rank, he goes to the steps of the host (as if to follow him up them). The host firmly declines this, and he returns to the other steps on the west[1]. 30. They then offer to each other the precedence in going up, but the host commences first, followed (immediately) by the other. They bring their feet together on every step, thus ascending by successive paces. He who ascends by the steps on the cast should move his right foot first, and the other at the western steps his left foot. 31. Outside the curtain or screen[2] (a visitor) should not walk with the formal hasty steps, nor above in the hall, nor when carrying the symbol of jade. Above, in the raised hall, the foot-prints should be alongside each other, but below it free and separate. In the apartment the elbows should not be held out like wings in bowing. 32. When two (equals) are sitting side by side, they do not have their elbows extended crosswise. One should not kneel in handing anything to a (superior) standing, nor stand in handing it to him sitting.
[1. The host here is evidently of high dignity, living in a mansion.
2 The screen was in front of the raised hall, in the courtyard; until they passed it visitors might not be in view of their host, and could feel at ease in their carriage and movements. ]
PART III.
1. In all cases of (a lad's) carrying away the dirt that has been swept up from the presence of an elder, it is the rule that he (place) the brush on the basket, keeping his sleeve before it as he retires. The dust is not allowed to reach the elder, because he carries the basket with its mouth turned towards himself. 2. He carries the (elder's) mat in his arms like the cross-beam of a shadoof 3. If it be a mat
[Part III continues to lay down the rules for various duties and classes of duties. It extends to sixty-seven paragraphs, which may be comprised in twenty-one chapters.
Ch. 1. 1-4, describes a youth's ways in sweeping for an elder and in carrying and placing his mats. 2. 5-7, relates to host and guest. 3. 8-19, is about a youth, especially a pupil, in attendance on his elders. 4. 20-26, is about his ways in serving a superior. 5. 27-29, is about the shoes in visiting. 6. 30-39, gives rules about not interfering with people's private affairs, and avoiding, between male and female, what would cause suspicion. 7. 40, is a message of congratulation to a friend on his marriage. 8: 41, is about consideration for the poor and the old. 9. 42-46, gives rules for the naming of sons and daughters. 10. 47-51, describes the arrangement of the dishes, and the behaviour of the host and guests, at an entertainment. 11. 52, we have a youth and his host eating together. 12. 53, shows how people, eating together, ought to behave. 13. 54-58, is about things to be avoided in eating. 14. 59, shows us host and guest at the close of the entertainment. In 15. 6o, we have a youth and elder drinking together. 16. 6 1, is about a gift from an elder. 17. 62, shows how the kernel of a fruit given by an elder is to be dealt with in his presence. 18. 63, 64, relates to gifts at a feast from the ruler, and how they are to be used. 19. 65, is about a ruler asking an attendant to share in a feast. 20. 66, is about the use of chopsticks with soup. 21. 67, gives the rules for paring a melon for the ruler and others. ]
to sit on, he will ask in what direction (the elder) is going to turn his face; if it be to sleep on, in what direction he is going to turn his feet. 4. If a mat face the south or the north, the seat on the west is accounted that of honour; if it face the east or the west, the seat on the south.
2. 5. Except in the case of guests who are there (simply) to eat and drink, in spreading the mats a space of ten cubits should be left between them[1]. 6. When the host kneels to adjust the mats (of a visitor), the other should kneel and keep hold of them, declining (the honour)[2]. When the visitor (wishes to) remove one or more, the host should firmly decline to permit him to do so. When the visitor steps on his mats, (the host) takes his seat. 7. If the host have not put some question, the visitor should not begin the conversation.
3. 8. When (a pupil) is about to go to his mat, he should not look discomposed. With his two hands he should hold up his lower garment, so that the bottom of it may be a cubit from the ground. His clothes should not hang loosely about him, nor should there be any hurried movements of his feet. 9. If any writing or tablets of his master, or his lute or cithern be in the way, he should kneel down and remove them, taking care not to disarrange them. 10. When sitting and doing nothing, he should keep quite at the back (of his mat); when eating, quite at the front of it[3] . He should sit quietly and keep
[1. To allow space and freedom for gesticulation.
2. Two or more mats might be placed over each other in honour of the visitor.
3. The dishes were placed before the mats. ]
a watch on his countenance. If there be any subject on which the elder has not touched, let him not introduce it irregularly. 11. Let him keep his deportment correct[1], and listen respectfully. Let him not appropriate (to himself) the words (of others), nor (repeat them) as (the echo does the) thunder. If he must (adduce proofs), let them be from antiquity, with an appeal to the ancient kings. 12. When sitting by his side, and the teacher puts a question, (the learner) should not reply till (the other) has finished. 13. When requesting (instruction) on the subject of his studies, (the learner) should rise; when requesting further information, he should rise. 14. When his father calls, (a youth) should not (merely) answer 'yes,' nor when his teacher calls. He should, with (a respectful) 'yes,' immediately rise (and go to them). 15. When one is sitting in attendance on another whom he honours and reveres, he should not allow any part of his mat to keep them apart[2], nor will he rise when he sees others (come in) of the same rank as himself. 16. When the torches come, he should rise; and also when the viands come in, or a visitor of superior rank[3]. 17. The torches should not (be allowed to burn) till their ends can be seen. 18. Before an honoured visitor we should not shout (even) at
[1. Here, and in some other places, we find the second personal pronoun; as if the text were made up from different sources. I have translated, however, as if we had only the third person.
2. He should sit on the front of his mat, to be as near the other as possible.
3. The torches were borne by boys. They were often changed, that the visitors might not be aware how the time was passing. ]
a dog. 19. When declining any food, one should not spit.
4. 20. When one is sitting in attendance on another of superior character or rank, and that other yawns or stretches himself, or lays hold of his staff or shoes, or looks towards the sun to see if it be early or late, he should ask to be allowed to leave. 21. In the same position, if the superior man put a question on a new subject, he should rise up in giving his reply. 22. Similarly, if there come some one saying (to the superior man), 'I wish, when you have a little leisure, to report to you,' he should withdraw to the left or right and wait. 23. Do not listen with the head inclined on one side, nor answer with a loud sharp voice, nor look with a dissolute leer, nor keep the body in a slouching position[1]. 24. Do not saunter about with a haughty gait, nor stand with one foot raised. Do not sit with your knees wide apart, nor sleep on your face. 25. Have your hair gathered up, and do not use any false hair[2]. 26. Let not the cap be laid aside; nor the chest be bared, (even) when one is toiling hard; nor let the lower garment be held up (even) in hot weather.
5. 2 7. When (going to) sit in attendance on an elder, (a visitor) should not go up to the hall with his shoes on, nor should he presume to take them off in front of the Steps. 28. (When any single visitor is leaving), he will go to his shoes, kneel down and take them up, and then move to one side. 29. (When the visitors retire in a body) with their
[1. The style and form of 23-26 differ from the preceding. Perhaps they should form a paragraph by themselves.
2. Which women were accustomed to do. ]
faces towards the elder, (they stand) by the shoes, which they then, kneeling, remove (some distance), and, stooping down, put on[1].
6 . 30. When two men are sitting or standing together, do not join them as a third. When two are standing together, another should not pass between them. 31. Male and female should not sit together (in the same apartment), nor have the same stand or rack for their clothes, nor use the same towel or comb, nor let their hands touch in giving and receiving. 32.
2 On the personator of the deceased, see vol. iii, pp. 300, 301, According to the ritual of Kau, the representatives of the dead always sat, and bore themselves with the utmost gravity. ]
(observing) the rules of propriety, what is right (for the time and in the circumstances) should be followed. In discharging a mission (to another state), its customs are to be observed.
5. 8. They are the rules of propriety, that furnish the means of determining (the observances towards) relatives, as near and remote; of settling points which may cause suspicion or doubt; of distinguishing where there should be agreement, and where difference; and of making clear what is right and what is wrong. 9. According to those rules, one should not (seek to) please others in an improper way, nor be lavish of his words, 10. According to them, one does not go beyond the definite measure, nor encroach on or despise others, nor is fond of (presuming) familiarities. 11. To cultivate one's person and fulfil one's words is called good conduct. When the conduct is (thus) ordered, and the words are accordant with the (right) course, we have the substance of the rules of propriety. 12. I have heard that it is in accordance with those rules that one should be chosen by others (as their model); I have not heard of his choosing them (to take him as such). I have heard in the same way of (scholars) coming to learn; I have not heard of (the master) going to teach. 13. The course (of duty), virtue, benevolence, and righteousness cannot be fully carried out without the rules of propriety; 14. nor are training and oral lessons for the rectification of manners complete; 15. nor can the clearing up of quarrels and discriminating in disputes be accomplished; 16. nor can (the duties between) ruler and minister, high and low, father and son, elder brother and younger, be determined; 17. nor can students for office and (other) learners, in serving their masters, have an attachment for them; 18. nor can majesty and dignity be shown in assigning the different places at court, in the government of the armies, and in discharging the duties of office so as to secure the operation of the laws; 19. nor can there be the (proper) sincerity and gravity in presenting the offerings to spiritual Beings on occasions of supplication, thanksgiving, and the various sacrifices[1]. 20. Therefore the superior man is respectful and reverent, assiduous in his duties and not going beyond them, retiring and yielding;-thus illustrating (the principle of) propriety. 21. The parrot can speak, and yet is nothing more than a bird; the ape can speak, and yet is nothing more than a beast 22. Here now is a man who observes no rules of propriety; is not his heart that of a beast? But if (men were as) beasts, and without (the principle of) propriety, father and son might have the same mate. 22. Therefore, when the sages arose, they framed the rules of propriety in order to teach men, and cause them, by
[1. Four religious acts are here mentioned, in connexion with which the offerings to spiritual Beings were presented. What I have called 'various sacrifices' is in Chinese Kî sze. Wû Khang says: 'Kî means sacrificial offerings to the spirit (or spirits) of Earth, and sze those to the spirits of Heaven. Offerings to the manes of men are also covered by them when they are used together. '
2 We know that the parrot and some other birds can be taught to speak; but I do not know that any animal has been taught to enunciate words even as these birds do. Williams (Dict. p. 8og) thinks that the shang shang mentioned here may be the rhinopithecus Roxellana of P. David, found in Sze-khüan; but we have no account of it in Chinese works, so far as I know, that is not evidently fabulous. ]
their possession of them, to make a distinction between themselves and brutes.
6. 23. In the highest antiquity they prized (simply conferring) good; in the time next to this, giving and repaying was the thing attended to[1]. And what the rules of propriety value is that reciprocity. If I give a gift and nothing comes in return, that is contrary to propriety; if the thing comes to me, and I give nothing in return, that also is contrary to propriety. 24. If a man observe the rules of propriety, he is in a condition of security; if he do not, he is in one of danger. Hence there is the saying, 'The rules of propriety should by no means be left unlearned. ' 25. Propriety is seen in humbling one's self and giving honour to others. Even porters and pedlers are sure to display this giving honour (in some cases); how much more should the rich and noble do so (in all)! 26. When the rich and noble know to love propriety, they do not become proud nor dissolute. When the poor and mean know to love propriety, their minds do not become cowardly.
7. 27. When one is ten years old, we call him a boy; he goes (out) to school. When he is twenty, we call him a youth; he is capped. When he is thirty, we say, 'He is at his maturity;' he has a wife[2]. When
[1. Compare with this paragraph the state of 'the highest antiquity' described in the Tâo Teh King, chapters 18, 19, et al.
2 When it is said that at thirty a man has a wife, the meaning must be that he ought not to reach that age without being married. Early marriages were the rule in ancient China, as they are now. Confucius was married when barely twenty. In the same way we are to understand the being in office at forty. A man might take office at thirty; if he reached forty before he did so, there was something wrong in himself or others. ]
he is forty, we say, 'He is in his vigour;' he is employed in office. When he is fifty, we say, 'He is getting grey;' he can discharge all the duties of an officer. When he is sixty, we say, 'He is getting old;' he gives directions and instructions. When he is seventy, we say, 'He is old;' he delegates his duties to others. At eighty or ninety, we say of him, 'He is very old. ' When he is seven, we say that he is an object of pitying love. Such a child and one who is very old, though they may be chargeable with crime, are not subjected to punishment. At a hundred, he is called a centenarian, and has to be fed. 28. A great officer, when he is seventy, should resign (his charge of) affairs. 29. If he be not allowed to resign, there must be given him a stool and staff. When travelling on service, he must have the attendance of his wife[1]; and when going to any other state, he will ride in an easy carriage[2]. 30. (In another state) he will, style himself 'the old man;' in his own state, he will call himself by his name. 31. When from another they ask (about his state), he must tell them of its (old) institutions[3].
[1. Perhaps we should translate here in the plural--'his women,' which would include his wife.
2. An 'easy carriage' was small. Its occupant sat in it, and did not stand.
3. It is supposed here that the foreign envoys first question the ruler, who then calls in the help of the aged minister. ]
PART II
1. 1. In going to take counsel with an elder, one must carry a stool and a staff with him (for the elder's use). When the elder asks a question, to reply without acknowledging one's incompetency and (trying to) decline answering, is contrary to propriety[1].
2. 2. For all sons it is the rule :--In winter, to warm (the bed for their parents), and to cool it in summer; in the evening, to adjust everything (for their repose), and to inquire (about their health) in the morning; and, when with their companions, not to quarrel.
3. 3. Whenever a son, having received the three (first) gifts (of the ruler), declines (to use) the carriage and horses, the people of the hamlets and smaller districts, and of the larger districts and neighbourhoods, will proclaim him filial; his brothers and relatives, both by consanguinity and affinity, will proclaim him
[Part II enters more into detail about the rules of Propriety. It has been divided into seven chapters, containing in all thirty-two paragraphs.
Ch. 1. 1, speaks of a junior consulting an elder. 2. 2, describes services due from all sons to their parents. 3. 3, shows a filial son when raised to higher rank than his father. 4. 4-16, contains rules for a son in various circumstances, especially with reference to his father. 5. 17-26, gives the rules for younger men in their intercourse with their teachers and elders generally, and in various cases. 6. 27, is the rule for an officer in entering the gate of his ruler or coming out by it. 7. 28-32, deals with a host and visitor, and ceremonious visiting and intercourse generally.
3. The reply of Tsang Shan to Confucius, as related in vol. iii, pp. 465, 466, is commonly introduced in illustration of this second sentence. ]
loving; his friends who are fellow-officers will proclaim him virtuous; and his friends who are his associates will proclaim him true[1].
4. 4. When he sees an intimate friend of his father, not to presume to go forward to him without being told to do so; nor to retire without being told; nor to address him without being questioned:--this is the conduct of a filial son, 5. A son, when he is going abroad, must inform (his parents where he is going); when he returns, he must present himself before them. Where he travels must be in some fixed (region); what he engages in must be some (reputable) occupation. 6. In ordinary conversation (with his parents), he does not use the term 'old' (with reference to them)[2]. 7. He should serve one twice as old as himself as he serves his father, one ten years older than himself as an elder brother; with one five years older he should walk shoulder to shoulder, but (a little) behind him. 8. When five are sitting together, the eldest must have a different mat (by himself)[3]. 9. A son should not occupy the south-west corner of the apartment, nor sit in the
[1. The gifts of distinction, conferred by the sovereign on officers, ministers, and feudal princes, were nine in all; and the enumerations of them are not always the same. The three intended here are the appointment to office, or rank; the robes belonging to it; and the chariot and horses. We must suppose that the rank placed the son higher than the father in social position, and that he declines the third gift from humility,--not to parade himself as superior to his father and others in his circle.
2. Some understand the rule to be that the son is not to speak of himself as old; but the meaning in the translation is the more approved.
3. Four men were the proper complement for a mat; the eldest of the five therefore was honoured with another mat for himself. ]
middle of the mat (which he occupies alone), nor walk in the middle of the road, nor stand in the middle of the doorway[1]. 10. He should not take the part of regulating the (quantity of) rice and other viands at an entertainment. 11. He should not act as personator of the dead at sacrifice[2]. 12. He should be (as if he were) hearing (his parents) when there is no voice from them, and as seeing them when they are not actually there. 13. He should not ascend a height, nor approach the verge of a depth; he should not indulge in reckless reviling or derisive laughing. A filial son will not do things in the dark, nor attempt hazardous undertakings, fearing lest he disgrace his parents. 14. While his parents are alive, he will not promise a friend to die (with or for him)[3], nor will he have wealth that he calls his own. 15. A son, while his parents are alive, will not wear a cap or (other) article of dress, with a white border[4]. 16. An orphan son, taking his father's place, will not wear a cap or (other article of) dress with a variegated border[5].
5. 17. A boy should never be allowed to see an
[1. The father is supposed to be alive; the south-west part of an apartment was held to be the most honourable, and must be reserved for him. So of the other things.
2. This was in the ancestral worship. A son, acting such a part, would have to receive the homage of his father.
3. I have known instances of Chinese agreeing to die with or for a friend, who wished to avenge a great wrong. See the covenant of the three heroes of the 'romance of the Three Kingdoms,' near the beginning.
4. White was and is the colour worn in mourning.
5. The son here is the eldest son and heir; even after the regular period of mourning is over, he continues to wear it in so far. The other sons were not required to do so. ]
instance of deceit[1]. 18. A lad should not wear a jacket of fur nor the skirt[2] . He must stand straight and square, and not incline his head in hearing. 19. When an elder is holding him with the hand, he should hold the elder's hand with both his hands. When the elder has shifted his sword to his back and is speaking to him with the side of his face bent, down, he should cover his mouth with his hand in answering[3]. 20. When he is following his teacher 4, he should not quit the road to speak with another person. When he meets his teacher on the road, he should hasten forward to him, and stand with his hands joined across his breast. If the teacher speak to him, he will answer; if he do not, he will retire with hasty steps. 21. When, following an elder, they ascend a level height, he must keep his face towards the quarter to which the elder is looking. 22. When one has ascended the wall of a city, he should not point, nor callout[5]. 23. When he intends to go to a lodging-house, let it not be with the feeling that he must get whatever he asks for. 24. When about to go up to the hall (of a house), he must raise his voice. When outside the door there are two (pairs
[1.
This maxim deserves to be specially noted. It will remind the reader of Juvenal's lines:--
'Maxima debetur puero, reverentia. Si quid
Turpe paras, nec tu pueri contempseris annos. '
To make him handy, and leave him free to execute any service required of him.
2. The second sentence here is difficult to construe, and the critics differ much in dealing with it. Zottoli's version is--'Si e dorso vel latere transverso ore (superior) eloquatur ei, tunc obducto ore respondebit. '
3. 'Teacher' is here I the one born before him,' denoting I an old man who teaches youth. '
4. And thus make himself an object of general observation. ]
of) shoes[1], if voices be heard, he. enters; if voices be not heard, he will not enter. 25. When about to enter the door, he must keep his eyes cast down. As he enters, he should (keep his hands raised as high as if he were) bearing the bar of the door. In looking down or up, he should not turn (his head). If the door were open, he should leave it open; if it were shut, he should shut it again. If there be others (about) to enter after him, while he (turns to) shut the door, let him not do so hastily. 26. Let him not tread on the shoes (left outside the door), nor stride across the mat (in going to take his seat); but let him hold up his dress, and move hastily to his corner (of the mat). (When seated), he must be careful in answering or assenting.
6. 27. A great officer or (other) officer should go out or in at the ruler's doors[2], on the right of the middle post, without treading on the threshold.
7. 28. Whenever (a host has received and) is entering with a guest, at every door he should give place to him. When the guest arrives at the innermost door (or that leading to the feast-room),
[1. It was the custom in China, as it still is in Japan, to take off the shoes, and leave them outside the door on entering an apartment. This paragraph and the next tell us how a new-comer should not enter an apartment hastily, so as to take those already there by surprise.
2. It is necessary to translate here in the plural. Anciently, as now, the palace, mansion, or public office was an aggregate of courts, with buildings in them, so that the visitor passed from one to another through a gateway, till he reached the inner court which conducted to the hall, behind which again were the family apartments. The royal palace had five courts and gates; that of a feudal lord had three. Each gate had its proper name. The whole assemblage of buildings was much deeper than it was wide. ]
the host will ask to be allowed to enter first and arrange the mats. Having done this, he will come out to receive the guest, who will refuse firmly (to enter first). The host having made a low bow to him, they will enter (together). 29. When they have entered the door, the host moves to the right, and the guest to the left, the former going to the steps on the cast, and the latter to those on the west. If the guest be of the lower rank, he goes to the steps of the host (as if to follow him up them). The host firmly declines this, and he returns to the other steps on the west[1]. 30. They then offer to each other the precedence in going up, but the host commences first, followed (immediately) by the other. They bring their feet together on every step, thus ascending by successive paces. He who ascends by the steps on the cast should move his right foot first, and the other at the western steps his left foot. 31. Outside the curtain or screen[2] (a visitor) should not walk with the formal hasty steps, nor above in the hall, nor when carrying the symbol of jade. Above, in the raised hall, the foot-prints should be alongside each other, but below it free and separate. In the apartment the elbows should not be held out like wings in bowing. 32. When two (equals) are sitting side by side, they do not have their elbows extended crosswise. One should not kneel in handing anything to a (superior) standing, nor stand in handing it to him sitting.
[1. The host here is evidently of high dignity, living in a mansion.
2 The screen was in front of the raised hall, in the courtyard; until they passed it visitors might not be in view of their host, and could feel at ease in their carriage and movements. ]
PART III.
1. In all cases of (a lad's) carrying away the dirt that has been swept up from the presence of an elder, it is the rule that he (place) the brush on the basket, keeping his sleeve before it as he retires. The dust is not allowed to reach the elder, because he carries the basket with its mouth turned towards himself. 2. He carries the (elder's) mat in his arms like the cross-beam of a shadoof 3. If it be a mat
[Part III continues to lay down the rules for various duties and classes of duties. It extends to sixty-seven paragraphs, which may be comprised in twenty-one chapters.
Ch. 1. 1-4, describes a youth's ways in sweeping for an elder and in carrying and placing his mats. 2. 5-7, relates to host and guest. 3. 8-19, is about a youth, especially a pupil, in attendance on his elders. 4. 20-26, is about his ways in serving a superior. 5. 27-29, is about the shoes in visiting. 6. 30-39, gives rules about not interfering with people's private affairs, and avoiding, between male and female, what would cause suspicion. 7. 40, is a message of congratulation to a friend on his marriage. 8: 41, is about consideration for the poor and the old. 9. 42-46, gives rules for the naming of sons and daughters. 10. 47-51, describes the arrangement of the dishes, and the behaviour of the host and guests, at an entertainment. 11. 52, we have a youth and his host eating together. 12. 53, shows how people, eating together, ought to behave. 13. 54-58, is about things to be avoided in eating. 14. 59, shows us host and guest at the close of the entertainment. In 15. 6o, we have a youth and elder drinking together. 16. 6 1, is about a gift from an elder. 17. 62, shows how the kernel of a fruit given by an elder is to be dealt with in his presence. 18. 63, 64, relates to gifts at a feast from the ruler, and how they are to be used. 19. 65, is about a ruler asking an attendant to share in a feast. 20. 66, is about the use of chopsticks with soup. 21. 67, gives the rules for paring a melon for the ruler and others. ]
to sit on, he will ask in what direction (the elder) is going to turn his face; if it be to sleep on, in what direction he is going to turn his feet. 4. If a mat face the south or the north, the seat on the west is accounted that of honour; if it face the east or the west, the seat on the south.
2. 5. Except in the case of guests who are there (simply) to eat and drink, in spreading the mats a space of ten cubits should be left between them[1]. 6. When the host kneels to adjust the mats (of a visitor), the other should kneel and keep hold of them, declining (the honour)[2]. When the visitor (wishes to) remove one or more, the host should firmly decline to permit him to do so. When the visitor steps on his mats, (the host) takes his seat. 7. If the host have not put some question, the visitor should not begin the conversation.
3. 8. When (a pupil) is about to go to his mat, he should not look discomposed. With his two hands he should hold up his lower garment, so that the bottom of it may be a cubit from the ground. His clothes should not hang loosely about him, nor should there be any hurried movements of his feet. 9. If any writing or tablets of his master, or his lute or cithern be in the way, he should kneel down and remove them, taking care not to disarrange them. 10. When sitting and doing nothing, he should keep quite at the back (of his mat); when eating, quite at the front of it[3] . He should sit quietly and keep
[1. To allow space and freedom for gesticulation.
2. Two or more mats might be placed over each other in honour of the visitor.
3. The dishes were placed before the mats. ]
a watch on his countenance. If there be any subject on which the elder has not touched, let him not introduce it irregularly. 11. Let him keep his deportment correct[1], and listen respectfully. Let him not appropriate (to himself) the words (of others), nor (repeat them) as (the echo does the) thunder. If he must (adduce proofs), let them be from antiquity, with an appeal to the ancient kings. 12. When sitting by his side, and the teacher puts a question, (the learner) should not reply till (the other) has finished. 13. When requesting (instruction) on the subject of his studies, (the learner) should rise; when requesting further information, he should rise. 14. When his father calls, (a youth) should not (merely) answer 'yes,' nor when his teacher calls. He should, with (a respectful) 'yes,' immediately rise (and go to them). 15. When one is sitting in attendance on another whom he honours and reveres, he should not allow any part of his mat to keep them apart[2], nor will he rise when he sees others (come in) of the same rank as himself. 16. When the torches come, he should rise; and also when the viands come in, or a visitor of superior rank[3]. 17. The torches should not (be allowed to burn) till their ends can be seen. 18. Before an honoured visitor we should not shout (even) at
[1. Here, and in some other places, we find the second personal pronoun; as if the text were made up from different sources. I have translated, however, as if we had only the third person.
2. He should sit on the front of his mat, to be as near the other as possible.
3. The torches were borne by boys. They were often changed, that the visitors might not be aware how the time was passing. ]
a dog. 19. When declining any food, one should not spit.
4. 20. When one is sitting in attendance on another of superior character or rank, and that other yawns or stretches himself, or lays hold of his staff or shoes, or looks towards the sun to see if it be early or late, he should ask to be allowed to leave. 21. In the same position, if the superior man put a question on a new subject, he should rise up in giving his reply. 22. Similarly, if there come some one saying (to the superior man), 'I wish, when you have a little leisure, to report to you,' he should withdraw to the left or right and wait. 23. Do not listen with the head inclined on one side, nor answer with a loud sharp voice, nor look with a dissolute leer, nor keep the body in a slouching position[1]. 24. Do not saunter about with a haughty gait, nor stand with one foot raised. Do not sit with your knees wide apart, nor sleep on your face. 25. Have your hair gathered up, and do not use any false hair[2]. 26. Let not the cap be laid aside; nor the chest be bared, (even) when one is toiling hard; nor let the lower garment be held up (even) in hot weather.
5. 2 7. When (going to) sit in attendance on an elder, (a visitor) should not go up to the hall with his shoes on, nor should he presume to take them off in front of the Steps. 28. (When any single visitor is leaving), he will go to his shoes, kneel down and take them up, and then move to one side. 29. (When the visitors retire in a body) with their
[1. The style and form of 23-26 differ from the preceding. Perhaps they should form a paragraph by themselves.
2. Which women were accustomed to do. ]
faces towards the elder, (they stand) by the shoes, which they then, kneeling, remove (some distance), and, stooping down, put on[1].
6 . 30. When two men are sitting or standing together, do not join them as a third. When two are standing together, another should not pass between them. 31. Male and female should not sit together (in the same apartment), nor have the same stand or rack for their clothes, nor use the same towel or comb, nor let their hands touch in giving and receiving. 32.
