To call the
attention
of the spirit of the deceased.
Confucius - Book of Rites
These four classes were taken off, and no defence listened to.
17. All who had charge of the prohibitions for the regulation of the multitudes[1] did not forgive transgressions of them. Those who had rank-tokens, the long or the round, and gilt libation-cups were not allowed to sell them in the market-places; nor were any allowed to sell robes or chariots, the gift of the king; or vessels of an ancestral temple; or victims for sacrifice; or instruments of war; or vessels which were not according to the prescribed measurements; or chariots of war which were not according to the same; or cloth or silk, fine or coarse, not according to the prescribed quality, or broader or narrower than the proper rule; or of the illegitimate colours, confusing those that were correct[2]; or cloth, embroidered or figured; or vessels made with pearls or jade; or clothes, or food, or drink, (in any way extravagant); or grain which was not in season, or fruit which was unripe; or wood which was not fit for the axe; or birds, beasts, fishes, or reptiles, which were not fit to be killed. At the frontier gates, those in charge of the prohibitions, examined travellers, forbidding such as wore strange clothes, and taking note of such as spoke a strange language.
18. The Grand recorder had the superintendence of
[1. These would be, especially, the superintendents of the markets.
2. The five correct colours were--black, carnation, azure, white. and yellow. ]
ceremonies. He was in charge of the tablets of record, and brought before the king what (names) were to be avoided', and what days were unfavourable (for the doing of particular affairs)'. The son of Heaven received his admonitions with reverence[2].
19. (The office of) the accountants[3] prepared the complete accounts of the year to be submitted to the son of Heaven which were reverently received by the chief minister. The Grand director of Music, the Grand minister of Crime, and the (chief) superintendent of the markets, these three officers, followed with the completed accounts of their departments to be submitted to the son of Heaven. The Grand minister of Instruction, the Grand minister of War, and the Grand minister of Works, reverently received the completed accounts of their several departments from their various subordinates, and examined them, then presenting them to the son of Heaven. Those subordinates then reverently received them after being so examined and adjudicated on. This being done, the aged were feasted and the royal sympathy shown to the husbandmen. The business of the year was concluded, and the expenditure of the states was determined.
[1. See pages 93, 180, et al.
2. Some of the functions here belonged to the assistant recorder, according to the Kâu Lî, but the two were of the same department.
3. This office was under the board of the chief minister, and consisted of sixty-two men of different grades under the Kâu dynasty (the Kâu Lî, I, 38; their duties are described in Book VI). It is not easy to understand all the text of the rest of the paragraph. about the final settlement of the accounts of the year. ]
SECTION V.
1. In nourishing the aged, (Shun), the lord of Yü, used the ceremonies of the drinking entertainment; the sovereigns of Hsiâ, those at entertainments (after) a reverent sacrifice or offering[1]; the men of Yin, those of a (substantial) feast; and the men of Kâu cultivated and used all the three.
2. Those of fifty years received their nourishment in the (schools of the) districts; those of sixty, theirs in the (smaller school of the) state; and those of seventy, theirs in the college. This rule extended to the feudal states. An old man of eighty made his acknowledgment for the ruler's message, by kneeling once and bringing his head twice to the ground. The blind did the same. An old man of ninety employed another to receive (the message and gift for him).
3. For those of fifty the grain was (fine and) different (from that used by younger men). For those of sixty, flesh was kept in store. For those of seventy, there was a second service of savoury meat. For those of eighty, there was a constant supply of delicacies. For those of ninety, food and drink were never out of their chambers. Wherever they wandered (to another place), it was required that savoury meat and drink should follow them.
[1. The commentators make this to have been a Barmecide feast, merely to show respect for the age; and Callery, after them, gives for the text: 'La dynastie des Hsiâ faisait servir un repas qu'on ne mangeait point. ' But Ying-tâ's authorities adduced to support this view do not appear to me to bear it out. See the commencing chapter of Book X, Section ii, where all this about nourishing the aged is repeated. ]
4. After sixty, (the coffin and other things for the mourning rites) were seen to be in readiness, (once) in the year; after seventy, once in the season; after eighty, once in the month; and after ninety; every day they were kept in good repair. But the bandages, sheet, and coverlets and cases (for the corpse) were prepared after death,
5. At fifty, one begins to decay; at sixty, he does not feel satisfied unless he eats flesh; at seventy, he does not feel warm unless he wears silk; at eighty, he does not feel warm unless there be some one (to sleep) with him; and at ninety, he does not feel warm even with that.
6. At fifty, one kept his staff always in his hand in his family; at sixty, in his district; at seventy, in the city; at eighty, (an officer) did so in the court. If the son of Heaven wished to put questions to (all officer) of ninety, he went to his house, and had rich food carried after him.
7. At seventy, (an officer) did not wait till the court was over (before he retired); at eighty, he reported every month (to the ruler's messenger) that he was still alive; at ninety; he (had delicate food sent) regularly to him every day.
8. At fifty, a (common) man was not employed in services requiring strength; at sixty, he was discharged from bearing arms along with others; at seventy, he was exempted from the business of receiving guests and visitors; and at eighty, he was free from the abstinences and other rites of mourning.
9. When one was fifty, he received the rank (of a Great officer)[1]; at sixty, he did not go in person to the college; at seventy, he retired from the service of the government; and in mourning, he used only the dress of sackcloth (without adopting the privations of the mourning rites).
10. (Shun), the lord of Yü, nourished the aged (who had retired from the service) of the state in (the school called) the higher hsiang, and the aged of the common people (and officers who had not obtained rank) in (the school called) the lower hsiang. The sovereigns of Hsiâ nourished the former in (the school called) the hsü on the east, and the latter in (that called) the hsü on the west. The men of Yin nourished the former in the school of the right, and the latter in that of the left. The men of Kâu entertained the former in (the school called) the eastern kiâo, and the latter in (what corresponded to) the hsiang of Yü. This was in the suburb of the capital on the west[2].
11. The lord of Yü wore the hwang cap in sacrificing
[1. See Book X, Section ii, i. This was, say the Khien-lung editors, a lesson against forwardness in seeking office and rank, as retirement at seventy was a lesson against cleaving to these too long.
2. It is wearisome to try and thread one's way through the discussions about the schools, called by all these different names. One thing is plain, that there were the lower schools which boys entered when they were eight, and the higher schools into which the passed from these. But in this paragraph these institutions are mentioned not in connexion with education,. but as they were made available for the assembling and cherishing of the aged. They served various purposes. A school-room with us may do the same, occasionally; it was the rule in ancient China that the young should be taught and the old ministered to in the same buildings. ]
(in the ancestral temple), and the white robes in nourishing the aged. The sovereigns of Hsiâ used the shâu cap in sacrificing, and the upper and lower dark garments of undress in nourishing the aged. During the Yin, they used the hsü cap in sacrificing, and the tipper and lower garments, both of white thin silk, in nourishing the aged. During the Kâu dynasty, they used the mien cap in sacrificing, and the dark-coloured upper and lower garments in nourishing the aged.
12. The kings of the three dynasties[1], in nourishing the old, always had the years of those connected with them brought to their notice. Where (an officer) was eighty, one of his sons was free from all duties of government service; where he was ninety, all the members of his family were set free from them. In cases of parties who were disabled or ill, and where the attendance of others was required to wait upon them, one man was discharged from those duties (for the purpose). Parties mourning for their parents had a discharge for three years. Those mourning for one year or nine months had a discharge for three months. Where an officer was about to move to another state, he was discharged from service for three months beforehand. When one came from another state, he was not required to take active service for around year.
13. One who, while quite young, lost his father was called an orphan; an old man who had lost his sons was called a solitary. An old man who had lost his wife was called a pitiable (widower); an old woman who had lost her husband was called a poor
[1. Hsiâ, Shang or Yin, and Kâu. ]
(widow). These four classes were the most forlorn of Heaven's people, and had none to whom to tell their wants; they all received regular allowances.
14. The dumb, the deaf, the lame, such as had lost a member, pigmies, and mechanics, were all fed according to what work they were able to do.
15. On the roads, men took the right side and women the left; carriages kept in the middle. A man kept behind another who had a father's years; he followed one who might be his elder brother more closely, but still keeping behind, as geese fly after one another in a row. Friends did not pass by one another, when going the same way. (In the case of an old and a young man, carrying burdens,) both were borne by the younger; and if the two were too heavy for one, he took the heavier. A man with grey hair was not allowed to carry anything, though he might do it with one hand.
16. An officer of superior rank, of the age of sixty or seventy, did not walk on foot. A common man, at that age, did not go without flesh to eat.
17. A Great officer, (having land of his own), was' not permitted to borrow the vessels for sacrifice; nor to make vessels for his own private use before he had made those for sacrifice.
I& A space of one lî square contained fields amounting to 900 mâu[1]. Ten lî square were equal to 100 spaces of one lî square, and contained 90,000 mâu. A hundred lî square were equal to 100 spaces of ten lî square, and contained 9,000,999 mâu. A
[1. See note as to the size of the mâu on page 218. ]
thousand lî square were equal to 100 spaces of 100 lî square, and contained 900,000,000 mâu.
19. From mount Hang[1] to the southernmost point of the Ho was hardly 1000 lî. From that point to the Kiang was hardly I000 lî. From the Kiang to mount Hang in the south was more than 1000 lî. From the Ho on the cast to the eastern sea was more than 1000 lî. From the Ho on the east to the same river on the west was hardly 1000 lî; and from that to the Moving Sands[2] was more than 1000 lî. (The kingdom) did not pass the Moving Sands on the west, nor mount Hang on the south. On the east it did not pass the eastern sea, nor on the north did it pass (the other) mount Hang. All within the four seas, taking the length with the breadth, made up a space Of 3000 lî square, and contained eighty trillions of mâu[3].
2o. A space of 100 lî square contained ground to the amount of 9,000,000 mâu. Hills and mounds, forests and thickets, rivers and marshes, ditches and canals, city walls and suburbs. , houses, roads, and
[1. See notes on pages 217, 218. I have said below '(the other) mount Hang;' but the names, or characters for the names, of the two mountains are different in Chinese.
2. What is now called the desert of Gobi.
3. As it is in the text =80 x 10000 x 10000 x 10000 x 10000 mâu. A translator, if I may speak of others from my own experience, is much perplexed in following and verifying the calculations, in this and the other paragraphs before and after it. The Khien-lung editors and Wang Thâo use many pages in pointing out the errors of earlier commentators, and establishing the correct results according to their own views, and 1 have thought it well to content myself with simply giving a translation of the text. ]
lanes took up one third of it, leaving 6,000,000 mâu.
21. Anciently, according to the cubit of Kâu, eight cubits formed a pace. Now, according to the same, six cubits and four inches make a pace. One hundred ancient mâu were equal to 146 of the present day and thirty paces. One hundred ancient lî were equal to 121 of the present day, sixty paces, four cubits, two inches and two-tenths.
22. A space of 1000 lî square contained 100 spaces of 100 lî square each. In this were constituted thirty states of 100 lî square, leaving what would have been enough for other seventy of the same size. There were also constituted sixty states Of 70 lî square, twenty-nine of 100 lî square, and forty spaces of 10 lî square; leaving enough for forty states of 100 lî square, and sixty spaces of 10 lî square. There were also constituted a hundred and twenty states of 50 lî square, and thirty of 100 lî square, leaving enough for ten of the same size, and sixty spaces of 10 lî square.
The famous hills and great meres were not included in the fiefs; and what remained was assigned for attached territories and unoccupied lands. Those unappropriated lands were taken to reward any of the princes of acknowledged merit, and what was cut off from some others (because of their demerit) became unappropriated land.
23. The territory of the son of Heaven, amounting to 1000 lî square, contained 100 spaces of 100 lî square each. There were constituted nine appanages of 100 lî square, leaving ninety-one spaces of the same size. There were also constituted twenty-one appanages of 70 lî square, ten of 100 lî, and twenty-nine spaces of 10 lî square; leaving enough for eighty of 100 lî square, and seventy-one of 10 lî There were further constituted sixty-three appanages of 50 lî square, fifteen of 100 1î, and seventy-five spaces of 10 lî, while there still remained enough for sixty-four appanages of 100 lî square, and ninety-six spaces of 10 lî each.
24. The officers of the lowest grade in the feudal states received salary sufficient to feed nine individuals; those of the second grade, enough to feed eighteen; and those of the highest, enough for thirty-six. A Great officer could feed 72 individuals; a minister, 288; and the ruler, 2880.
In a state of the second class, a minister could feed 216; and the ruler, 2160.
A minister ' of a small state could feed 144 individuals; and the ruler, 1440.
In a state of the second class, the minister who was appointed by its ruler received the same emolument as the minister of a small state.
2 5. The Great officers of the son of Heaven acted as 'the three inspectors. ' When they were inspecting a state, their salary was equal to one of its ministers, and their rank was that of a ruler of a: state of the second class. Their salaries were derived from the territories under the chiefs of regions[1].
26. The chiefs of regions, on occasion of their appearing at the court of the son of Heaven, had cities assigned them for purification[2] within his domain like those of his officers of the chief grade.
[1. See page 212, paragraph 2, and note 1, page 213.
2. The text says, 'Cities for bathing and washing the hair;' but preparing by mental exercises for appearing before the king is also intimated by the phrase. ]
27. The (appointed) heir-sons[1] of the feudal princes inherited their states. Great officers (in the royal domain) did not inherit their rank. They were employed as their ability and character were recognised, and received rank as their merit was proved. Till their rank was conferred (by the king), (the princes) were in the position of his officers of the chief grade, and so they ruled their states, The Great officers of the states did not inherit their rank and emoluments.
28. The six ceremonial observances were:--capping; marrying; mourning rites; sacrifices; feasts; and interviews. The seven lessons (of morality) were:--(the duties between) father and son; elder brother and younger; husband and wife; ruler and minister; old and young; friend and friend; host and guest. The eight objects of government were:-food and drink; clothes; business (or, the profession); maintenance of distinctions; measures of length; measures of capacity; and definitely assigned rules[2].
[1. A son, generally the eldest son by the wife proper, had to be recognised by the king before he could be sure of succeeding to his father.
2. See page 230, paragraph 1. ]
Sacred-Texts Sacred-Texts: Confucianism Li Ki Index Previous Next
BOOK V. THE QUESTIONS OF ZANG-DZE[1].
SECTION 1.
Zang-dze asked, 'If a ruler dies and a son and heir is born (immediately after), what course should be adopted? '
Confucius said, 'The high nobles[2], Great officers and (other) officers, following the chief (minister), who takes charge of the government for the time, (should collect) at the south of the western steps, with their faces towards the north[3]. (Then) the Grand officer of prayer, in his court robes and cap, bearing in his hands a bundle of rolls of silk, will go up to the topmost step, and (there), without ascending the hall, will order the wailing to cease. Mournfully clearing his voice three times[4], he will make announcement (to the spirit of the deceased ruler), saying, "The son of such and such a lady has been born. I venture to announce the fact. " He will then go up, and place the silks on a stool on the east of the body in the coffin[5], wail, and descend. All the relatives of the deceased who are there (at the mourning), the high nobles, the Great and other
[1. See the introduction, pp. 21, 22.
2. These were also ministers; see paragraph 4, page 213.
3. The usual place was at the eastern steps.
4.
To call the attention of the spirit of the deceased.
5. The rolls of silk were, I suppose, the introductory present proper on an interview with a superior. ]
officers, (with the women) in the apartments, all will wail, but without the leaping. When this burst of sorrow is over, they will return to their (proper) places, and proceed forthwith to set forth the mourning offerings to the dead. The minor minister will ascend, and take away the bundle of silks[1].
2. 'On the third day, all the relatives, high nobles, Great and other officers, should take their places as before, with their faces to the north. The Grand minister, the Grand master of the ancestral temple, and the Grand officer of prayer, should all be in their court-robes and caps. The master for the child[2] will carry the child in his arms on a mat of sackcloth. The officer of prayer will precede, followed by the child, and the minister and master of the temple will come after. Thus they will enter the door (of the apartment where the coffin is), when the wailers will cease. The child has been brought up by the western steps[3], and is held in front of the coffin with his face to the north, while the officer of prayer stands at the south-east corner of it. Mournfully clearing his voice three times, he will say, "So and So, the son of such and such a lady, and we, his servants, who follow him, presume to appear before you. " The boy is (then made) to do obeisance, with his forehead on the ground, and to wail. The officer of prayer, the minister, the officer of the temple, all the relatives, the high nobles, with the Great and other officers,
[1. And bury it in the court between the two flights of stairs.
2. Thus early is it made to appear that the child is put under a master; p. Zottoli translates the name by 'secundus magister. '
3. The child had been brought by the master from the women's apartments, and carried to the court, that he might thus go up again to the hall by these steps. ]
will wail and leap[1], leaping three times with each burst of grief. (Those who had gone up to the hall then) descend, and go back to their proper places on the east; where all bare the left arm and shoulder. The son (in the arms of his bearer is made) to leap, and (the women) in the apartments also leap. Thrice they will do so, leaping three times each time. (The bearer for the son) will cover up his sackcloth[2], walk with a staff, (ascend and) set forth the offerings by the dead, and then quit the scene. The Grand minister will charge the officer of prayer and the recorder to announce the name all round, at the five altars of the house, and at those (to the spirits) of the hills and streams[3]. '
3. Zang-dze asked, 'If the son and heir have been born after the burial (of the) ruler, what course should be followed? '
Confucius said, 'The Grand minister and the Grand master of the ancestral temple will follow the Grand officer of prayer, and announce the fact before the spirit tablet (of the deceased ruler)[4]. Three months after they will give the name in the same place, and announce it all round', and also at the altars to (the
[1. A most expressive indication of the sorrow proper to the occasion.
2. The breast and shoulder of the child had also been bared.
3. The 'five household altars' are those at which the sacrifices were offered in the palace or house, often mentioned in the last Book.
4 The characters of the text, 'in the shrine temple of the father,' denote the special shrine or smaller temple assigned to the father in the great ancestral temple; but that was not assigned till after all the rites of mourning were over. The characters here denote the spirit tablet which had been before the burial set up over the coffin, and which was now removed to a rear apartment. p. Zottoli simply has 'coram tabellâ. '
5 At the courts of the sovereign and of the other princes. ]
spirits of) the land and grain, in the ancestral temple, and (at the altars of) the hills and streams. '
4. Confucius said, 'When princes of states are about to go to the (court of the) son of Heaven, they must announce (their departure) before (the shrine of) their grandfather, and lay their offerings in that of their father[1]. They then put on the court cap, and go forth to hold their own court. (At this) they charge the officer of prayer and the recorder to announce (their departure) to the (spirits of the) land and grain, in the ancestral temple, and at the (altars of the) hills and rivers. They then give (the business of) the state in charge to the five (subordinate) officers[2], and take their journey, presenting the offerings to the spirits of the road[3] as they set forth. All the announcements should be completed in five days. To go beyond this in making them is contrary to rule. In every one of them they use a victim and silks. On the return (of the princes) there are the same observances. '
5. 'When princes of states are about to visit one another, they must announce (their departure) before
[1. The characters here are the same as in the preceding paragraph, but here they have their usual force. Announcement and offerings were made at both shrines.
2. The most likely opinion is that these five officers were-two belonging to the department of the minister of Instruction, two to that of the minister of Works, and one to that of the minister of War. On them, for reasons which we may not be able to give, devolved on such occasions the superintendence of the state.
3. There seems to be no doubt of the meaning here, but this significance of ### not given in the Khang-hsî dictionary. The more common term is ###. ]
the shrine of their father[1]. They will then put on their court robes, and go forth to hold their own court. (At this) they charge the officer of prayer and the recorder to announce (their departure) at the five shrines in the ancestral temple, and at the altars of the hills and rivers which they will pass. They then give (the business of) the state in charge to the five officers, and take their journey, presenting the offerings to the spirits of the road as they set forth. When they return, they will announce (the fact) in person to their grandfather and father[1], and will charge the officer of prayer and the recorder to make announcement of it at the altars where they announced (their departure). (When this has been done), they enter and give audience in the court. '
6. Zang-dze asked, 'If the funerals of both parents[2] take place together, what course is adopted? Which is first and which last? '
Confucius said, 'The rule is that the burying of the less important (mother) should have the precedence, and that of the more important (father) follow, while the offerings to them are set down in the opposite order. From the opening of the apartment and conveying out the coffin (of the mother) till its interment no offerings are put down; when the coffin is on the route to the grave, there is no wailing at the regular place for that ceremony. When they return from this interment, they set down the offerings (to the father), and afterwards announce (to his spirit) when the removal of his coffin will take
[1. There would seem. to be an omission in the former of these sentences of the announcement to the grandfathers.
2. Or grandparents. ]
place, and proceed to arrange for the interment. It is the rule that the sacrifice of repose should first be offered to the more important (father), and afterwards to the less important (mother).
7. Coufucius said[1], 'The eldest son, even though seventy, should never be without a wife to take her part in presiding at the funeral rites. If there be no such eldest son, the rites may be performed without a presiding wife. '
8. Zang-dze asked, 'It has been proposed to invest a son with the cap, and the investors have arrived, and after exchanging bows and courtesies (with the master of the house), have entered. If then news should come that the death of some relative has occurred, for whom a year's mourning or that of nine months must be worn, what should be done? '
Confucius said, 'If the death has taken place within (the circle of the same surname), the ceremony should be given up[2]; but if without (that circle), it will go on, but the sweet wine will not be presented to the youth. The viands will be removed and the place swept, after which he will go to his proper position and wail. If the investors have not yet arrived, the capping will be given up (for the time)[3].
9. 'If the arrangements for the capping have been
[1. The words of Confucius are here, as in some other paragraphs, not preceded by the formula, 'Zang-dze asked. ' Some say this is an omission, intentional or unintentional, of the compiler. Some commentators deride the judgment (see especially Ho Kung-yü), holding it unworthy of Confucius.
2. Because then a festal and a mourning service would come together in the ancestral temple.
3. The investors may have previously heard of the death, and not kept their appointment. ]
made, but before the day arrives, an occasion for the one year's mourning, or for that of nine months, or five months, have arrived, the youth shall be capped in his mourning dress. '
10. 'When all mourning is over, may a son continue to wear the cap which he has hitherto worn[1]? '
Confucius said, 'When the son of Heaven gives to the (young) prince of a state or a Great officer his robes and the cap proper to each in the grand ancestral temple, the youth on his return home- will set forth his offering (in his own ancestral temple), wearing the robes that have been given to him, and here he will drink the cup of capping (as if) offered by his father[2], without the cup of wine at the ceremony.
11. 'When a son is (thus) capped after his father's death, he is considered to be properly capped; he will sweep the ground, and sacrifice at his father's shrine. This being done, he will present himself before his uncles, and then offer the proper courtesies to the investors. '
12. Zang-dze asked, 'Under what circumstances is it that at sacrifice they do not carry out the practice of all drinking to one another? '
Confucius said, 'I have heard that at the close of the one year's mourning, the principal concerned in it
[1. Till he was capped, a youth wore nothing on his head. But in the case supposed the youth's time for capping had arrived; and he had assumed a cap without the ceremony.
2. When a father gave orders to his son about his capping or marriage, he gave him a cup of ordinary wine. The sweet wine was given to the youth by a friend or friends who had invested him with the cap. The real answer to Zang-dze's question is in paragraph 11. ]
sacrifices in his inner garment of soft silk, and there is not that drinking all round. The cup is set down beside the guests, but they do not take it up. This is the rule. Formerly duke Kâo of Lû[1], while in that silken garment, took the cup and sent it all round, but it was against the rule; and duke Hâo[2], at the end of the second year's mourning, put down the cup presented to him, and did not send it all round, but this also was against the rule. '
13. Zang-dze asked, 'In a case (of the) mourning for nine months, can (the principal) take part in contributing to the offerings (to the dead of others)? '
Confucius said, 'Why speak only of (the mourning for) nine months? In all cases from (the mourning for) three years downwards, it may be done. This is the rule. '
Zang-dze said, 'Would not this be making the mourning of little importance, and attaching (undue) importance to mutual helpfulness? '
Confucius said, 'This is not what I mean. When there is mourning for the son of Heaven or the prince of a state, (all) who wear the sackcloth with the jagged edges (will contribute to) the offerings. At the mourning of a Great officer, (all) who wear the sackcloth with the even edges will do so. At the mourner of an ordinary officer, his associates and friends will do so. If all these be not sufficient, they may receive contributions from all who should mourn for nine months downwards; and if these be still insufficient, they will repeat the process[3]. '
[1. B. C. 541-510.
2. B. C. 795-769. This is going a long way back.
3. On this paragraph p. Zottoli says:--'Zang-dze petit an aliquis in novem mensium luctu constitutus possit adjuvare alterius funestae familiae oblationem. Confucius intelligit de adjuvanda proprii funeris oblatione. ' There appears to be a similar misunderstanding between the two in the next paragraph. ]
14. Zang-dze asked, 'In a case of the mourning for five months, may (the principal) take part in the other sacrifices (of mourning)[1]? '
Confucius said, 'Why speak only of the mourning for five months? In all cases from the mourning for three years downwards, (the principals) take part in those sacrifices. '
Zang-dze said, 'Would not this be making the mourning of little importance, and giving (undue) importance to the sacrifices? '
Confucius said, 'In the mourning sacrifices for the son of Heaven and the prince of a state, none but those who wear the sackcloth with the jagged edges take part in them. In those for a Great officer, they who wear the sackcloth with the even edges do so. In those for another officer, if the participants be insufficient, they add to them from their brethren who should wear mourning for nine months downwards. '
15. Zang-dze asked, 'When acquaintances are in mourning, may they participate in one another's sacrifices? '
Confucius said, 'When wearing the three months' mourning, one has no occasion to sacrifice (in his own ancestral temple), and how should he assist another man (out of his own line)? '
[1. Khung Ying-tâ makes this out to be the sacrifices of repose, and at the end of the wailing. I think the reference is more general. ]
16. Zang-dze asked, 'When one has put off his mourning, may he take part in contributing to the offerings (for the dead of another)? '
Confucius said, 'To take part in the offerings (to another's dead), on putting off one's own sackcloth, is contrary to the rule. Possibly, he may perform the part of assisting him in receiving visitors. '
17. Zang-dze asked, 'According to the rules for marriages, the presents have been received and a fortunate day has been fixed;--if then the father or mother of the young lady die, what course should be adopted? '
Confucius said, 'The son-in-law will send some one to condole; and if it be his father or mother that has died, the family of the lady will in the same way send some to present their condolences. If the father have died, (the messenger) will name the (other) father (as having sent him); if the mother, he will name the (other) mother. If both parents be dead (on both sides), he will name the oldest uncle and his wife. When the son-in-law has buried (his dead), his oldest uncle will offer a release from the engagement to the lady, saying, "My son, being occupied with the mourning for his father or mother, and not having obtained the right to be reckoned among your brethren, has employed me to offer a release from the engagement. " (In this case) it is the rule for the lady to agree to the message and not presume to (insist on) the marriage (taking place immediately). When the son-in-law has concluded his mourning, the parents of the lady will send and request (the fulfilment of the engagement). The son-in-law will not (immediately come to) carry her (to his house), but afterwards she will be married to him; this is the rule. If it be the father or mother of the lady who died, the son-in-law will follow a similar course[1]. '
18. Zang-dze asked, 'The son-in-law has met the lady in person, and she is on the way with him:--if (then) his father or mother die, what course should be adopted? '
Confucius said, 'The lady will change her dress[2]; and in the long linen robe[3], with 'the cincture of white silk round her hair, will hasten to be present at the mourning rites. If, while she is on the way, it be her own father or mother who dies, she will return[4]. '
19. 'If the son-in-law have met the lady in person, and before she has arrived at his house, there occur a death requiring the year's or the nine months' mourning, what course should be adopted? '
Confucius said, 'Before the gentleman enters, be will change his dress in a place outside. The lady will enter and change her dress in a place inside. They will then go to the proper positions and wail. '
Zang-dze asked, 'When the mourning is ended, will they not resume the marriage ceremonies? '
[1. Is the final marriage of the lady to the original betrothed 'son-in-law,' or bridegroom as we should say; or to another, that she may not pass the proper time for her marrying? Khung Ying-tâ, and other old commentators, advocate the latter view. Others, and especially the Khien-lung editors, maintain the former; and I have indicated in the version my agreement with them. There are difficulties with the text; but Confucius would hardly have sanctioned the other course.
2. At the house of him who was now her husband.
3. This, called 'the deep garment,' had the body and skirt sown together. See Book XXXIV.
4 This would be done, it is said, by Hsü Sze-zhang (Ming dynasty), to allow play to her filial piety, but she would live at the house of 'the son-in-law. ']
Confucius said, 'It is the rule, that when the time of sacrifice has been allowed to pass by, it is not then offered. Why in this case should they go back to what must have taken place previously? '
20. Confucius said, 'The family that has married a daughter away, does not extinguish its candles for three nights, thinking of the separation that has taken place. The family that has received the (new) wife for three days has no music; thinking her bridegroom is now in the place of his parents[1]. After three months she presents herself in the ancestral temple, and is styled "The new wife that has come. " A day is chosen for her to sacrifice at the shrine of her father-in-law; expressing the idea of her being (now) the established wife. '
21. Zang-dze asked, 'If the lady die before she has presented herself in the ancestral temple, what course should be adopted?
17. All who had charge of the prohibitions for the regulation of the multitudes[1] did not forgive transgressions of them. Those who had rank-tokens, the long or the round, and gilt libation-cups were not allowed to sell them in the market-places; nor were any allowed to sell robes or chariots, the gift of the king; or vessels of an ancestral temple; or victims for sacrifice; or instruments of war; or vessels which were not according to the prescribed measurements; or chariots of war which were not according to the same; or cloth or silk, fine or coarse, not according to the prescribed quality, or broader or narrower than the proper rule; or of the illegitimate colours, confusing those that were correct[2]; or cloth, embroidered or figured; or vessels made with pearls or jade; or clothes, or food, or drink, (in any way extravagant); or grain which was not in season, or fruit which was unripe; or wood which was not fit for the axe; or birds, beasts, fishes, or reptiles, which were not fit to be killed. At the frontier gates, those in charge of the prohibitions, examined travellers, forbidding such as wore strange clothes, and taking note of such as spoke a strange language.
18. The Grand recorder had the superintendence of
[1. These would be, especially, the superintendents of the markets.
2. The five correct colours were--black, carnation, azure, white. and yellow. ]
ceremonies. He was in charge of the tablets of record, and brought before the king what (names) were to be avoided', and what days were unfavourable (for the doing of particular affairs)'. The son of Heaven received his admonitions with reverence[2].
19. (The office of) the accountants[3] prepared the complete accounts of the year to be submitted to the son of Heaven which were reverently received by the chief minister. The Grand director of Music, the Grand minister of Crime, and the (chief) superintendent of the markets, these three officers, followed with the completed accounts of their departments to be submitted to the son of Heaven. The Grand minister of Instruction, the Grand minister of War, and the Grand minister of Works, reverently received the completed accounts of their several departments from their various subordinates, and examined them, then presenting them to the son of Heaven. Those subordinates then reverently received them after being so examined and adjudicated on. This being done, the aged were feasted and the royal sympathy shown to the husbandmen. The business of the year was concluded, and the expenditure of the states was determined.
[1. See pages 93, 180, et al.
2. Some of the functions here belonged to the assistant recorder, according to the Kâu Lî, but the two were of the same department.
3. This office was under the board of the chief minister, and consisted of sixty-two men of different grades under the Kâu dynasty (the Kâu Lî, I, 38; their duties are described in Book VI). It is not easy to understand all the text of the rest of the paragraph. about the final settlement of the accounts of the year. ]
SECTION V.
1. In nourishing the aged, (Shun), the lord of Yü, used the ceremonies of the drinking entertainment; the sovereigns of Hsiâ, those at entertainments (after) a reverent sacrifice or offering[1]; the men of Yin, those of a (substantial) feast; and the men of Kâu cultivated and used all the three.
2. Those of fifty years received their nourishment in the (schools of the) districts; those of sixty, theirs in the (smaller school of the) state; and those of seventy, theirs in the college. This rule extended to the feudal states. An old man of eighty made his acknowledgment for the ruler's message, by kneeling once and bringing his head twice to the ground. The blind did the same. An old man of ninety employed another to receive (the message and gift for him).
3. For those of fifty the grain was (fine and) different (from that used by younger men). For those of sixty, flesh was kept in store. For those of seventy, there was a second service of savoury meat. For those of eighty, there was a constant supply of delicacies. For those of ninety, food and drink were never out of their chambers. Wherever they wandered (to another place), it was required that savoury meat and drink should follow them.
[1. The commentators make this to have been a Barmecide feast, merely to show respect for the age; and Callery, after them, gives for the text: 'La dynastie des Hsiâ faisait servir un repas qu'on ne mangeait point. ' But Ying-tâ's authorities adduced to support this view do not appear to me to bear it out. See the commencing chapter of Book X, Section ii, where all this about nourishing the aged is repeated. ]
4. After sixty, (the coffin and other things for the mourning rites) were seen to be in readiness, (once) in the year; after seventy, once in the season; after eighty, once in the month; and after ninety; every day they were kept in good repair. But the bandages, sheet, and coverlets and cases (for the corpse) were prepared after death,
5. At fifty, one begins to decay; at sixty, he does not feel satisfied unless he eats flesh; at seventy, he does not feel warm unless he wears silk; at eighty, he does not feel warm unless there be some one (to sleep) with him; and at ninety, he does not feel warm even with that.
6. At fifty, one kept his staff always in his hand in his family; at sixty, in his district; at seventy, in the city; at eighty, (an officer) did so in the court. If the son of Heaven wished to put questions to (all officer) of ninety, he went to his house, and had rich food carried after him.
7. At seventy, (an officer) did not wait till the court was over (before he retired); at eighty, he reported every month (to the ruler's messenger) that he was still alive; at ninety; he (had delicate food sent) regularly to him every day.
8. At fifty, a (common) man was not employed in services requiring strength; at sixty, he was discharged from bearing arms along with others; at seventy, he was exempted from the business of receiving guests and visitors; and at eighty, he was free from the abstinences and other rites of mourning.
9. When one was fifty, he received the rank (of a Great officer)[1]; at sixty, he did not go in person to the college; at seventy, he retired from the service of the government; and in mourning, he used only the dress of sackcloth (without adopting the privations of the mourning rites).
10. (Shun), the lord of Yü, nourished the aged (who had retired from the service) of the state in (the school called) the higher hsiang, and the aged of the common people (and officers who had not obtained rank) in (the school called) the lower hsiang. The sovereigns of Hsiâ nourished the former in (the school called) the hsü on the east, and the latter in (that called) the hsü on the west. The men of Yin nourished the former in the school of the right, and the latter in that of the left. The men of Kâu entertained the former in (the school called) the eastern kiâo, and the latter in (what corresponded to) the hsiang of Yü. This was in the suburb of the capital on the west[2].
11. The lord of Yü wore the hwang cap in sacrificing
[1. See Book X, Section ii, i. This was, say the Khien-lung editors, a lesson against forwardness in seeking office and rank, as retirement at seventy was a lesson against cleaving to these too long.
2. It is wearisome to try and thread one's way through the discussions about the schools, called by all these different names. One thing is plain, that there were the lower schools which boys entered when they were eight, and the higher schools into which the passed from these. But in this paragraph these institutions are mentioned not in connexion with education,. but as they were made available for the assembling and cherishing of the aged. They served various purposes. A school-room with us may do the same, occasionally; it was the rule in ancient China that the young should be taught and the old ministered to in the same buildings. ]
(in the ancestral temple), and the white robes in nourishing the aged. The sovereigns of Hsiâ used the shâu cap in sacrificing, and the upper and lower dark garments of undress in nourishing the aged. During the Yin, they used the hsü cap in sacrificing, and the tipper and lower garments, both of white thin silk, in nourishing the aged. During the Kâu dynasty, they used the mien cap in sacrificing, and the dark-coloured upper and lower garments in nourishing the aged.
12. The kings of the three dynasties[1], in nourishing the old, always had the years of those connected with them brought to their notice. Where (an officer) was eighty, one of his sons was free from all duties of government service; where he was ninety, all the members of his family were set free from them. In cases of parties who were disabled or ill, and where the attendance of others was required to wait upon them, one man was discharged from those duties (for the purpose). Parties mourning for their parents had a discharge for three years. Those mourning for one year or nine months had a discharge for three months. Where an officer was about to move to another state, he was discharged from service for three months beforehand. When one came from another state, he was not required to take active service for around year.
13. One who, while quite young, lost his father was called an orphan; an old man who had lost his sons was called a solitary. An old man who had lost his wife was called a pitiable (widower); an old woman who had lost her husband was called a poor
[1. Hsiâ, Shang or Yin, and Kâu. ]
(widow). These four classes were the most forlorn of Heaven's people, and had none to whom to tell their wants; they all received regular allowances.
14. The dumb, the deaf, the lame, such as had lost a member, pigmies, and mechanics, were all fed according to what work they were able to do.
15. On the roads, men took the right side and women the left; carriages kept in the middle. A man kept behind another who had a father's years; he followed one who might be his elder brother more closely, but still keeping behind, as geese fly after one another in a row. Friends did not pass by one another, when going the same way. (In the case of an old and a young man, carrying burdens,) both were borne by the younger; and if the two were too heavy for one, he took the heavier. A man with grey hair was not allowed to carry anything, though he might do it with one hand.
16. An officer of superior rank, of the age of sixty or seventy, did not walk on foot. A common man, at that age, did not go without flesh to eat.
17. A Great officer, (having land of his own), was' not permitted to borrow the vessels for sacrifice; nor to make vessels for his own private use before he had made those for sacrifice.
I& A space of one lî square contained fields amounting to 900 mâu[1]. Ten lî square were equal to 100 spaces of one lî square, and contained 90,000 mâu. A hundred lî square were equal to 100 spaces of ten lî square, and contained 9,000,999 mâu. A
[1. See note as to the size of the mâu on page 218. ]
thousand lî square were equal to 100 spaces of 100 lî square, and contained 900,000,000 mâu.
19. From mount Hang[1] to the southernmost point of the Ho was hardly 1000 lî. From that point to the Kiang was hardly I000 lî. From the Kiang to mount Hang in the south was more than 1000 lî. From the Ho on the cast to the eastern sea was more than 1000 lî. From the Ho on the east to the same river on the west was hardly 1000 lî; and from that to the Moving Sands[2] was more than 1000 lî. (The kingdom) did not pass the Moving Sands on the west, nor mount Hang on the south. On the east it did not pass the eastern sea, nor on the north did it pass (the other) mount Hang. All within the four seas, taking the length with the breadth, made up a space Of 3000 lî square, and contained eighty trillions of mâu[3].
2o. A space of 100 lî square contained ground to the amount of 9,000,000 mâu. Hills and mounds, forests and thickets, rivers and marshes, ditches and canals, city walls and suburbs. , houses, roads, and
[1. See notes on pages 217, 218. I have said below '(the other) mount Hang;' but the names, or characters for the names, of the two mountains are different in Chinese.
2. What is now called the desert of Gobi.
3. As it is in the text =80 x 10000 x 10000 x 10000 x 10000 mâu. A translator, if I may speak of others from my own experience, is much perplexed in following and verifying the calculations, in this and the other paragraphs before and after it. The Khien-lung editors and Wang Thâo use many pages in pointing out the errors of earlier commentators, and establishing the correct results according to their own views, and 1 have thought it well to content myself with simply giving a translation of the text. ]
lanes took up one third of it, leaving 6,000,000 mâu.
21. Anciently, according to the cubit of Kâu, eight cubits formed a pace. Now, according to the same, six cubits and four inches make a pace. One hundred ancient mâu were equal to 146 of the present day and thirty paces. One hundred ancient lî were equal to 121 of the present day, sixty paces, four cubits, two inches and two-tenths.
22. A space of 1000 lî square contained 100 spaces of 100 lî square each. In this were constituted thirty states of 100 lî square, leaving what would have been enough for other seventy of the same size. There were also constituted sixty states Of 70 lî square, twenty-nine of 100 lî square, and forty spaces of 10 lî square; leaving enough for forty states of 100 lî square, and sixty spaces of 10 lî square. There were also constituted a hundred and twenty states of 50 lî square, and thirty of 100 lî square, leaving enough for ten of the same size, and sixty spaces of 10 lî square.
The famous hills and great meres were not included in the fiefs; and what remained was assigned for attached territories and unoccupied lands. Those unappropriated lands were taken to reward any of the princes of acknowledged merit, and what was cut off from some others (because of their demerit) became unappropriated land.
23. The territory of the son of Heaven, amounting to 1000 lî square, contained 100 spaces of 100 lî square each. There were constituted nine appanages of 100 lî square, leaving ninety-one spaces of the same size. There were also constituted twenty-one appanages of 70 lî square, ten of 100 lî, and twenty-nine spaces of 10 lî square; leaving enough for eighty of 100 lî square, and seventy-one of 10 lî There were further constituted sixty-three appanages of 50 lî square, fifteen of 100 1î, and seventy-five spaces of 10 lî, while there still remained enough for sixty-four appanages of 100 lî square, and ninety-six spaces of 10 lî each.
24. The officers of the lowest grade in the feudal states received salary sufficient to feed nine individuals; those of the second grade, enough to feed eighteen; and those of the highest, enough for thirty-six. A Great officer could feed 72 individuals; a minister, 288; and the ruler, 2880.
In a state of the second class, a minister could feed 216; and the ruler, 2160.
A minister ' of a small state could feed 144 individuals; and the ruler, 1440.
In a state of the second class, the minister who was appointed by its ruler received the same emolument as the minister of a small state.
2 5. The Great officers of the son of Heaven acted as 'the three inspectors. ' When they were inspecting a state, their salary was equal to one of its ministers, and their rank was that of a ruler of a: state of the second class. Their salaries were derived from the territories under the chiefs of regions[1].
26. The chiefs of regions, on occasion of their appearing at the court of the son of Heaven, had cities assigned them for purification[2] within his domain like those of his officers of the chief grade.
[1. See page 212, paragraph 2, and note 1, page 213.
2. The text says, 'Cities for bathing and washing the hair;' but preparing by mental exercises for appearing before the king is also intimated by the phrase. ]
27. The (appointed) heir-sons[1] of the feudal princes inherited their states. Great officers (in the royal domain) did not inherit their rank. They were employed as their ability and character were recognised, and received rank as their merit was proved. Till their rank was conferred (by the king), (the princes) were in the position of his officers of the chief grade, and so they ruled their states, The Great officers of the states did not inherit their rank and emoluments.
28. The six ceremonial observances were:--capping; marrying; mourning rites; sacrifices; feasts; and interviews. The seven lessons (of morality) were:--(the duties between) father and son; elder brother and younger; husband and wife; ruler and minister; old and young; friend and friend; host and guest. The eight objects of government were:-food and drink; clothes; business (or, the profession); maintenance of distinctions; measures of length; measures of capacity; and definitely assigned rules[2].
[1. A son, generally the eldest son by the wife proper, had to be recognised by the king before he could be sure of succeeding to his father.
2. See page 230, paragraph 1. ]
Sacred-Texts Sacred-Texts: Confucianism Li Ki Index Previous Next
BOOK V. THE QUESTIONS OF ZANG-DZE[1].
SECTION 1.
Zang-dze asked, 'If a ruler dies and a son and heir is born (immediately after), what course should be adopted? '
Confucius said, 'The high nobles[2], Great officers and (other) officers, following the chief (minister), who takes charge of the government for the time, (should collect) at the south of the western steps, with their faces towards the north[3]. (Then) the Grand officer of prayer, in his court robes and cap, bearing in his hands a bundle of rolls of silk, will go up to the topmost step, and (there), without ascending the hall, will order the wailing to cease. Mournfully clearing his voice three times[4], he will make announcement (to the spirit of the deceased ruler), saying, "The son of such and such a lady has been born. I venture to announce the fact. " He will then go up, and place the silks on a stool on the east of the body in the coffin[5], wail, and descend. All the relatives of the deceased who are there (at the mourning), the high nobles, the Great and other
[1. See the introduction, pp. 21, 22.
2. These were also ministers; see paragraph 4, page 213.
3. The usual place was at the eastern steps.
4.
To call the attention of the spirit of the deceased.
5. The rolls of silk were, I suppose, the introductory present proper on an interview with a superior. ]
officers, (with the women) in the apartments, all will wail, but without the leaping. When this burst of sorrow is over, they will return to their (proper) places, and proceed forthwith to set forth the mourning offerings to the dead. The minor minister will ascend, and take away the bundle of silks[1].
2. 'On the third day, all the relatives, high nobles, Great and other officers, should take their places as before, with their faces to the north. The Grand minister, the Grand master of the ancestral temple, and the Grand officer of prayer, should all be in their court-robes and caps. The master for the child[2] will carry the child in his arms on a mat of sackcloth. The officer of prayer will precede, followed by the child, and the minister and master of the temple will come after. Thus they will enter the door (of the apartment where the coffin is), when the wailers will cease. The child has been brought up by the western steps[3], and is held in front of the coffin with his face to the north, while the officer of prayer stands at the south-east corner of it. Mournfully clearing his voice three times, he will say, "So and So, the son of such and such a lady, and we, his servants, who follow him, presume to appear before you. " The boy is (then made) to do obeisance, with his forehead on the ground, and to wail. The officer of prayer, the minister, the officer of the temple, all the relatives, the high nobles, with the Great and other officers,
[1. And bury it in the court between the two flights of stairs.
2. Thus early is it made to appear that the child is put under a master; p. Zottoli translates the name by 'secundus magister. '
3. The child had been brought by the master from the women's apartments, and carried to the court, that he might thus go up again to the hall by these steps. ]
will wail and leap[1], leaping three times with each burst of grief. (Those who had gone up to the hall then) descend, and go back to their proper places on the east; where all bare the left arm and shoulder. The son (in the arms of his bearer is made) to leap, and (the women) in the apartments also leap. Thrice they will do so, leaping three times each time. (The bearer for the son) will cover up his sackcloth[2], walk with a staff, (ascend and) set forth the offerings by the dead, and then quit the scene. The Grand minister will charge the officer of prayer and the recorder to announce the name all round, at the five altars of the house, and at those (to the spirits) of the hills and streams[3]. '
3. Zang-dze asked, 'If the son and heir have been born after the burial (of the) ruler, what course should be followed? '
Confucius said, 'The Grand minister and the Grand master of the ancestral temple will follow the Grand officer of prayer, and announce the fact before the spirit tablet (of the deceased ruler)[4]. Three months after they will give the name in the same place, and announce it all round', and also at the altars to (the
[1. A most expressive indication of the sorrow proper to the occasion.
2. The breast and shoulder of the child had also been bared.
3. The 'five household altars' are those at which the sacrifices were offered in the palace or house, often mentioned in the last Book.
4 The characters of the text, 'in the shrine temple of the father,' denote the special shrine or smaller temple assigned to the father in the great ancestral temple; but that was not assigned till after all the rites of mourning were over. The characters here denote the spirit tablet which had been before the burial set up over the coffin, and which was now removed to a rear apartment. p. Zottoli simply has 'coram tabellâ. '
5 At the courts of the sovereign and of the other princes. ]
spirits of) the land and grain, in the ancestral temple, and (at the altars of) the hills and streams. '
4. Confucius said, 'When princes of states are about to go to the (court of the) son of Heaven, they must announce (their departure) before (the shrine of) their grandfather, and lay their offerings in that of their father[1]. They then put on the court cap, and go forth to hold their own court. (At this) they charge the officer of prayer and the recorder to announce (their departure) to the (spirits of the) land and grain, in the ancestral temple, and at the (altars of the) hills and rivers. They then give (the business of) the state in charge to the five (subordinate) officers[2], and take their journey, presenting the offerings to the spirits of the road[3] as they set forth. All the announcements should be completed in five days. To go beyond this in making them is contrary to rule. In every one of them they use a victim and silks. On the return (of the princes) there are the same observances. '
5. 'When princes of states are about to visit one another, they must announce (their departure) before
[1. The characters here are the same as in the preceding paragraph, but here they have their usual force. Announcement and offerings were made at both shrines.
2. The most likely opinion is that these five officers were-two belonging to the department of the minister of Instruction, two to that of the minister of Works, and one to that of the minister of War. On them, for reasons which we may not be able to give, devolved on such occasions the superintendence of the state.
3. There seems to be no doubt of the meaning here, but this significance of ### not given in the Khang-hsî dictionary. The more common term is ###. ]
the shrine of their father[1]. They will then put on their court robes, and go forth to hold their own court. (At this) they charge the officer of prayer and the recorder to announce (their departure) at the five shrines in the ancestral temple, and at the altars of the hills and rivers which they will pass. They then give (the business of) the state in charge to the five officers, and take their journey, presenting the offerings to the spirits of the road as they set forth. When they return, they will announce (the fact) in person to their grandfather and father[1], and will charge the officer of prayer and the recorder to make announcement of it at the altars where they announced (their departure). (When this has been done), they enter and give audience in the court. '
6. Zang-dze asked, 'If the funerals of both parents[2] take place together, what course is adopted? Which is first and which last? '
Confucius said, 'The rule is that the burying of the less important (mother) should have the precedence, and that of the more important (father) follow, while the offerings to them are set down in the opposite order. From the opening of the apartment and conveying out the coffin (of the mother) till its interment no offerings are put down; when the coffin is on the route to the grave, there is no wailing at the regular place for that ceremony. When they return from this interment, they set down the offerings (to the father), and afterwards announce (to his spirit) when the removal of his coffin will take
[1. There would seem. to be an omission in the former of these sentences of the announcement to the grandfathers.
2. Or grandparents. ]
place, and proceed to arrange for the interment. It is the rule that the sacrifice of repose should first be offered to the more important (father), and afterwards to the less important (mother).
7. Coufucius said[1], 'The eldest son, even though seventy, should never be without a wife to take her part in presiding at the funeral rites. If there be no such eldest son, the rites may be performed without a presiding wife. '
8. Zang-dze asked, 'It has been proposed to invest a son with the cap, and the investors have arrived, and after exchanging bows and courtesies (with the master of the house), have entered. If then news should come that the death of some relative has occurred, for whom a year's mourning or that of nine months must be worn, what should be done? '
Confucius said, 'If the death has taken place within (the circle of the same surname), the ceremony should be given up[2]; but if without (that circle), it will go on, but the sweet wine will not be presented to the youth. The viands will be removed and the place swept, after which he will go to his proper position and wail. If the investors have not yet arrived, the capping will be given up (for the time)[3].
9. 'If the arrangements for the capping have been
[1. The words of Confucius are here, as in some other paragraphs, not preceded by the formula, 'Zang-dze asked. ' Some say this is an omission, intentional or unintentional, of the compiler. Some commentators deride the judgment (see especially Ho Kung-yü), holding it unworthy of Confucius.
2. Because then a festal and a mourning service would come together in the ancestral temple.
3. The investors may have previously heard of the death, and not kept their appointment. ]
made, but before the day arrives, an occasion for the one year's mourning, or for that of nine months, or five months, have arrived, the youth shall be capped in his mourning dress. '
10. 'When all mourning is over, may a son continue to wear the cap which he has hitherto worn[1]? '
Confucius said, 'When the son of Heaven gives to the (young) prince of a state or a Great officer his robes and the cap proper to each in the grand ancestral temple, the youth on his return home- will set forth his offering (in his own ancestral temple), wearing the robes that have been given to him, and here he will drink the cup of capping (as if) offered by his father[2], without the cup of wine at the ceremony.
11. 'When a son is (thus) capped after his father's death, he is considered to be properly capped; he will sweep the ground, and sacrifice at his father's shrine. This being done, he will present himself before his uncles, and then offer the proper courtesies to the investors. '
12. Zang-dze asked, 'Under what circumstances is it that at sacrifice they do not carry out the practice of all drinking to one another? '
Confucius said, 'I have heard that at the close of the one year's mourning, the principal concerned in it
[1. Till he was capped, a youth wore nothing on his head. But in the case supposed the youth's time for capping had arrived; and he had assumed a cap without the ceremony.
2. When a father gave orders to his son about his capping or marriage, he gave him a cup of ordinary wine. The sweet wine was given to the youth by a friend or friends who had invested him with the cap. The real answer to Zang-dze's question is in paragraph 11. ]
sacrifices in his inner garment of soft silk, and there is not that drinking all round. The cup is set down beside the guests, but they do not take it up. This is the rule. Formerly duke Kâo of Lû[1], while in that silken garment, took the cup and sent it all round, but it was against the rule; and duke Hâo[2], at the end of the second year's mourning, put down the cup presented to him, and did not send it all round, but this also was against the rule. '
13. Zang-dze asked, 'In a case (of the) mourning for nine months, can (the principal) take part in contributing to the offerings (to the dead of others)? '
Confucius said, 'Why speak only of (the mourning for) nine months? In all cases from (the mourning for) three years downwards, it may be done. This is the rule. '
Zang-dze said, 'Would not this be making the mourning of little importance, and attaching (undue) importance to mutual helpfulness? '
Confucius said, 'This is not what I mean. When there is mourning for the son of Heaven or the prince of a state, (all) who wear the sackcloth with the jagged edges (will contribute to) the offerings. At the mourning of a Great officer, (all) who wear the sackcloth with the even edges will do so. At the mourner of an ordinary officer, his associates and friends will do so. If all these be not sufficient, they may receive contributions from all who should mourn for nine months downwards; and if these be still insufficient, they will repeat the process[3]. '
[1. B. C. 541-510.
2. B. C. 795-769. This is going a long way back.
3. On this paragraph p. Zottoli says:--'Zang-dze petit an aliquis in novem mensium luctu constitutus possit adjuvare alterius funestae familiae oblationem. Confucius intelligit de adjuvanda proprii funeris oblatione. ' There appears to be a similar misunderstanding between the two in the next paragraph. ]
14. Zang-dze asked, 'In a case of the mourning for five months, may (the principal) take part in the other sacrifices (of mourning)[1]? '
Confucius said, 'Why speak only of the mourning for five months? In all cases from the mourning for three years downwards, (the principals) take part in those sacrifices. '
Zang-dze said, 'Would not this be making the mourning of little importance, and giving (undue) importance to the sacrifices? '
Confucius said, 'In the mourning sacrifices for the son of Heaven and the prince of a state, none but those who wear the sackcloth with the jagged edges take part in them. In those for a Great officer, they who wear the sackcloth with the even edges do so. In those for another officer, if the participants be insufficient, they add to them from their brethren who should wear mourning for nine months downwards. '
15. Zang-dze asked, 'When acquaintances are in mourning, may they participate in one another's sacrifices? '
Confucius said, 'When wearing the three months' mourning, one has no occasion to sacrifice (in his own ancestral temple), and how should he assist another man (out of his own line)? '
[1. Khung Ying-tâ makes this out to be the sacrifices of repose, and at the end of the wailing. I think the reference is more general. ]
16. Zang-dze asked, 'When one has put off his mourning, may he take part in contributing to the offerings (for the dead of another)? '
Confucius said, 'To take part in the offerings (to another's dead), on putting off one's own sackcloth, is contrary to the rule. Possibly, he may perform the part of assisting him in receiving visitors. '
17. Zang-dze asked, 'According to the rules for marriages, the presents have been received and a fortunate day has been fixed;--if then the father or mother of the young lady die, what course should be adopted? '
Confucius said, 'The son-in-law will send some one to condole; and if it be his father or mother that has died, the family of the lady will in the same way send some to present their condolences. If the father have died, (the messenger) will name the (other) father (as having sent him); if the mother, he will name the (other) mother. If both parents be dead (on both sides), he will name the oldest uncle and his wife. When the son-in-law has buried (his dead), his oldest uncle will offer a release from the engagement to the lady, saying, "My son, being occupied with the mourning for his father or mother, and not having obtained the right to be reckoned among your brethren, has employed me to offer a release from the engagement. " (In this case) it is the rule for the lady to agree to the message and not presume to (insist on) the marriage (taking place immediately). When the son-in-law has concluded his mourning, the parents of the lady will send and request (the fulfilment of the engagement). The son-in-law will not (immediately come to) carry her (to his house), but afterwards she will be married to him; this is the rule. If it be the father or mother of the lady who died, the son-in-law will follow a similar course[1]. '
18. Zang-dze asked, 'The son-in-law has met the lady in person, and she is on the way with him:--if (then) his father or mother die, what course should be adopted? '
Confucius said, 'The lady will change her dress[2]; and in the long linen robe[3], with 'the cincture of white silk round her hair, will hasten to be present at the mourning rites. If, while she is on the way, it be her own father or mother who dies, she will return[4]. '
19. 'If the son-in-law have met the lady in person, and before she has arrived at his house, there occur a death requiring the year's or the nine months' mourning, what course should be adopted? '
Confucius said, 'Before the gentleman enters, be will change his dress in a place outside. The lady will enter and change her dress in a place inside. They will then go to the proper positions and wail. '
Zang-dze asked, 'When the mourning is ended, will they not resume the marriage ceremonies? '
[1. Is the final marriage of the lady to the original betrothed 'son-in-law,' or bridegroom as we should say; or to another, that she may not pass the proper time for her marrying? Khung Ying-tâ, and other old commentators, advocate the latter view. Others, and especially the Khien-lung editors, maintain the former; and I have indicated in the version my agreement with them. There are difficulties with the text; but Confucius would hardly have sanctioned the other course.
2. At the house of him who was now her husband.
3. This, called 'the deep garment,' had the body and skirt sown together. See Book XXXIV.
4 This would be done, it is said, by Hsü Sze-zhang (Ming dynasty), to allow play to her filial piety, but she would live at the house of 'the son-in-law. ']
Confucius said, 'It is the rule, that when the time of sacrifice has been allowed to pass by, it is not then offered. Why in this case should they go back to what must have taken place previously? '
20. Confucius said, 'The family that has married a daughter away, does not extinguish its candles for three nights, thinking of the separation that has taken place. The family that has received the (new) wife for three days has no music; thinking her bridegroom is now in the place of his parents[1]. After three months she presents herself in the ancestral temple, and is styled "The new wife that has come. " A day is chosen for her to sacrifice at the shrine of her father-in-law; expressing the idea of her being (now) the established wife. '
21. Zang-dze asked, 'If the lady die before she has presented herself in the ancestral temple, what course should be adopted?
