But this honouring the (ancient)
worthies
did not extend beyond the two dynasties.
Confucius - Book of Rites
The ruler himself led the victim forward,
[1. A friend, and perhaps a disciple of Confucius, an officer of the state of Wei. He is mentioned in the Confucian Analects and in Mencius. ]
while the Great officers assisted and followed, bearing the offerings of silk. The ruler himself cut out (the liver) for (the preliminary) offering, while his wife bore the dish in which it should be presented. The ruler himself cut up the victim, while his wife presented the spirits.
The high ministers and Great officers followed the ruler; their wives followed his wife. How grave and still was their reverence! How were they absorbed in their sincerity! How earnest was their wish that their offerings should be accepted! The arrival of the victim was announced (to the spirits) in the courtyard; on the presentation of the blood and the flesh with the hair on it, announcement was made in the chamber; on the presentation of the soup and boiled meat, in the hall. The announcement was made thrice, each time in a different place; indicating how they were seeking for the spirits, and had not yet found them. When the sacrifice was set forth in the hall, it was repeated next day outside (the gate of the temple); and hence arose the saying, ' Are they there? Are they here? '
16. One offering of the cup showed the simplicity of the service; three offerings served to ornament it; five, to mark discriminating care; and seven, to show (the reverence for) the spirits[1].
17. Was not the great quinquennial sacrifice a service belonging to the king? The three animal victims, the fish, and flesh, were the richest tributes for the
[1. The sacrifices where only one cup was presented were, it is said, the smallest; three cups belonged to the altars of the land and grain; five, to those of the hills and rivers; and seven, to those in the ancestral temple. All this is quite uncertain. ]
palate from all within the four seas and the nine provinces. The fruits and grain presented in the high dishes of wood and bamboo were the product of the harmonious influences of the four seasons, The tribute of metal showed the harmonious submission (of the princes). The rolls of silk with the round pieces of jade placed on them showed the honour they rendered to virtue. The tortoise was placed in front of all the other offerings, because of its knowledge of the future; the tribute of metal succeeded to it, showing the (hold it has on) human feelings. The vermilion, the varnish, the silk, the floss, the large bamboos and the smaller for arrows-the articles which all the states contribute; with the other uncommon articles, which each state contributed according to its resources, even to those from the remote regions:-(these followed the former). When the Visitors left they were escorted with the music of the Sze Hsiâ[1]. All these things showed how important was the sacrifice.
18. In the sacrifice to God in the suburb, we have the utmost expression of reverence. In the sacrifices of the ancestral temple, we have the utmost expression of humanity. In the rites d mourning, we have the utmost expression of leal-heartedness. In the preparation of the robes and vessels for the dead, we have the utmost expression of affection. In
[1. We are told in the Kâu Lî, Book XXIII, art. 32, that the bell master, with bells and drums, performed the nine Hsiâ pieces, on the occasions appropriate to them. The second of them was 'the Sze Hsiâ,' as here, but the occasion for it in the text would be inappropriate. The eighth, or Kâi Hsiâ, would be appropriate here, and hence Mang said that sze was a mistake for kâu (###). ]
the use of gifts and offerings between host and guest, we have the utmost expression of what is right. Therefore when the superior man would see the ways of humanity and righteousness, he finds them rooted in these ceremonial usages.
19. A superior man has said, 'What is sweet may be tempered; what is white may be coloured. So the man who is right in heart and sincere can learn the (meaning of the) rites. ' The rites should not be perfunctorily performed by the man who is not right in heart and sincere. Hence it is all important (in the performance of them) to get the proper men.
20. Confucius said, 'One may repeat the three hundred odes, and not be fit to offer the sacrifice where there is (but) one offering of the cup. He may offer that sacrifice, and not be fit to join in a great sacrifice. He may join in such a sacrifice, and not be fit to offer a great sacrifice to the hills. He may perform that fully, and yet not be able to join in the sacrifice to God, Let no one lightly discuss the subject of rites[1]. '
[1. It is not easy to trace satisfactorily the progress of thought here from one sacrificial service to another. 'The great sacrifice' is understood to be the triennial or quinquennial sacrifice to all the ancestors of the ruling House. It is a great step to that from a small sacrifice where only one cup was presented, What 'the great sacrifice to the hills was' is uncertain. It is in the text Tâ Lü (###). The meaning of Lü as a sacrifice to the spirit of a hill is well established from the Analects III, 6. Once the phrase Tâ Lü appears as used in the Kâu Lî, Book V, 91, of the royal sacrifice to God (Lorsque 1'empereur offre un grand sacrifice au Seigneur Suprême,' Biot); but it cannot have that meaning here, because the text goes on to speak of that sacrifice as superior to this. Mang Hsüan made Tâ Lü to be the sacrifice to the 'five Tîs,' or the five Planetary Gods, which view, as the Khien-lung editors point out, cannot be adopted. And how any sacrifice to the hills, however great, could be represented as greater than the quinquennial sacrifice in the ancestral temple, I cannot understand. I must leave the paragraph in the obscurity that belongs to it. ]
21. When Dze-lû was steward to the House of Kî, its chief had been accustomed to commence his sacrifices before it was light, and when the day was insufficient for them, to continue them by torchlight. All engaged in them, however strong they might appear, and however reverent they might be, were worn out and tired. The officers limped and leaned, wherever they could, in performing their parts, and the want of reverence was great. Afterwards, when Dze-lû took the direction of them, the sacrifices proceeded differently. For the services in the chamber, he had parties communicating outside and inside the door; and for those in the hall, he had parties communicating at the steps. As soon as it was light, the services began, and by the time of the evening audience all were ready to retire. When Confucius heard of this management, he said, 'Who will say that this Yû does not understand ceremonies[1]? '
[1. The Khien-lung editors say:--'Dze-lû was a leal-hearted and sincere man, and the Book ends with this account of him. From the mention of the preparation of the rites on a great scale and of their high value at the beginning of the Book down to this tribute to Dze-lû as understanding ceremonies, its whole contents show that what is valuable in the rites is the combination of the idea of what is Tight with the elegant and outward form as sufficient to remove from a man all perversity and increase what is good in his nature, without a multiplicity of forms which would injure the natural goodness and sincerity, and lead their practiser to a crooked perversity. Deep and far-reaching is the idea of it! ']
Sacred-Texts Sacred-Texts: Confucianism Li Ki Index Previous Next
BOOK IX. THE KIÂO THEH SANG
OR
THE SINGLE VICTIM AT THE BORDER SACRIFICES.
SECTION I.
1. At the border sacrifices a single victim was used, and at the altars to (the spirits of) the land and grain there was (the full complement of) three Victims[2]. When the son of Heaven went on his
[1. See the introductory notice, p. 26.
2. The object of the statements here and some other paragraphs is to show that the degree of honour was expressed by the 'paucity' of the articles; compare last Book, Sect. i, paragraph 8. Perhaps the name Kiâo (###) in the title should be translated in the plural as the name for all the border sacrifices, or those offered in the suburbs of the capital. There were several of them, of which the greatest was that at the winter solstice, on the round hillock in the southern suburb. Besides this, there was in the first month the border sacrifice for 'grain,'--to pray for the blessing of Heaven on the agricultural labours of the year, in which Hâu Kî, the father of the line of Kâu, and its 'Father of Husbandry,' was associated by that dynasty. There were also the five seasonal border sacrifices, of which we have mention in the different parts of Book IV, though, so far as what is said in them goes, the idea of Heaven falls into the background, and the five deified ancient sovereigns come forward as so many Tîs. In the first month of summer there was, further, a great border sacrifice for rain, and in the last month of autumn a great border sacrifice of thanks giving. 'Of all these border sacrifices,' say the Khien-lung editors, there is clear evidence in classical texts. ' Into the discussions growing out of them about 'one Heaven,' or 'five Heavens,' and about their origin, it is not necessary that I should enter; it would be foreign, indeed, to my object in this translation to do so. The border sacrifices were the greatest religious or ceremonial services of the ancient Chinese; and the fact to which our attention is called in this Book, is that at them there was used only a single victim. ]
inspecting tours to the princes, the viands of the feast to him were composed of a (single) calf; and when they visited him, the rites with which he received them showed the three regular animals. (The feasting of him in such a manner) was to do honour to the idea of sincerity[1]. Therefore if the animal happened to be pregnant, the son of Heaven did not eat of it, nor did he use such a victim in sacrificing to God[2].
2. The horses of the Grand carriage had one ornamental tassel at the breast; those of the carriages that preceded had three; and those of the carriages that followed had five[3]. There were the blood at the border sacrifice; the raw flesh in the great offering of the ancestral temple; the sodden flesh where spirits are presented thrice; and the roast meat where they are presented once[3]:--these were expressive of the greatest reverence, but the taste was not valued; what was held in honour was the scent of the air[4]. When the princes appeared as guests,
[1. Why 'a calf? Because of its guileless simplicity,' says Kâu Hsü of our eleventh century; earlier than Kû Hsî, who adopted his explanation. The calf, whether male or female, has not yet felt the appetency of sex, and is unconscious of any 'dissipation. ' This is a refinement on the Hebrew idea of the victim lamb, 'without blemish. '
2. This might be referred to his unwillingness, to take life unnecessarily, but for what has just been said about the calf.
3. See last Book, Sect. i, 8; and Sect. ii, 6.
4. Little is said on the meaning of this statement, which appears to say that the most subtle and ethereal thing in sacrifices, the 'sweet savour' of the offerings, was the most important, and should excite the worshippers to add to their sincerity and reverence all other graces of character. The same lesson was given to the feudal princes when they were entertained as visitors at the royal court. ]
they were presented with herb-flavoured spirits, because of their fragrance; at the great entertainment to them the value was given to (the preliminary) pieces of flesh prepared with cinnamon and nothing more.
3. At a great feast (to the ruler of another state), the ruler (who was the host) received the cup seated on his three mats. (On occasion of a visit through a minister or Great officer) when the cup was thrice presented, the ruler received it on a single mat:--so did he descend from the privilege of his more honourable rank, and assume the lower distinction (of his visitor).
4. In feasting (the orphaned young in spring) and at the vernal sacrifice in the ancestral temple they had music; but in feeding (the aged) and at the autumnal sacrifice they had no music:-these were based in the developing and receding influences (prevalent in nature). All drinking serves to nourish the developing influence; all eating to nourish the receding influence. Hence came the different character of the vernal and autumnal sacrifices; the feasting the orphaned young in spring, and the feeding the aged in autumn:-the idea was the same. But in the feeding and at the autumnal sacrifice there was no music. Drinking serves to nourish the developing influence and therefore is accompanied with music. Eating serves to nourish the receding influence, and therefore is not accompanied with music. All modulation of sound partakes of the character of development.
5. The number of tripods and meat-stands was odd, and that of the tall dishes of wood and bamboo was even[1]; this also was based in the numbers belonging to the developing and receding influences. The stands were filled with the products of the water and the land. They did not dare to use for them things of extraordinary flavours[2] or to attach a value to the multitude and variety of their contents, and it was thus that they maintained their intercourse with spiritual intelligences.
6. When the guests had entered the great door[3], the music struck up the Sze Hsiâ[4], showing the blended ease and respect (of the king). (While feasting), at the end of (every) cup the music stopped (for a moment), a practice of which Confucius often indicated his admiration. When the last cup had been put down, the performers ascended the hall, and sang;--exhibiting the virtues (of host and guests). The singers were (in the hall) above, and the organists were (in the court) below;--the honour being thus
[1. Every Chinese scholar knows that odd numbers all belong to the category of Yang (---------), and even numbers to that of Yin (---- ----).
2. The meaning of this clause is uncertain, and I have not found it anywhere sufficiently explained, considering what the characters are (###).
3. This paragraph and the next describe ceremonies on occasion of the king's reception of the great nobles, when they appeared in great force at court. With this the expurgated Lî Kî begins.
4 See note 1, page 413. ]
given to the human voice. Music comes from the expanding influence (that operates in nature); ceremonies from the contracting. When the two are in harmony, all things obtain (their full development).
7. There were no fixed rules for the various articles of tribute. They were the different products of the different territories according to their several suitabilities, and were regulated by their distances (from the royal domain). The tortoises were placed in front of all the other offerings;-because (the shell. ) gave the knowledge of the future. The bells succeeded to them;-because of their harmony, they were a symbol of the union of feeling that should prevail'. Then there were the skins of tigers and leopards;-emblems of the fierce energy with which insubordination would be repressed; and there were the bundles of silks with disks of jade on them, showing how (the princes) came to (admire and experience) the virtue (of the king).
8. (The use of) a hundred torches in his courtyard began with duke Hwan of Khî. The playing of the Sze Hsiâ (at receptions) of Great officers began with Kâo Wan-dze[2].
9. When appearing at another court, for a Great officer to have a private audience was contrary to propriety. If he were there as a commissioner, bearing
[1. As we have no account anywhere of bells, made, being sent as tribute, many understand the name as merely = 'metal. '
2 This and the five paragraphs that follow seem the work of another hand, and are not in the expurgated Kî. Duke Hwan was the first and greatest of 'the five presiding princes' of the Khun Khiû period. He died B. C. 643. Kâo Wan-dze was a Great officer and chief minister of Zin about a century after. The king alone might have a hundred torches in his courtyard. ]
his own prince's token of rank, this served as his credentials. That he did not dare to seek a private audience showed the reverence of his loyalty. What had he to do with the tribute-offerings in the court of the other prince that he should seek a private audience? The minister of a prince had no intercourse outside his own state, thereby showing how he did not dare to serve two rulers.
10. For a Great officer to receive his ruler to an entertainment was contrary to propriety. For a ruler to put to death a Great officer who had violently exercised his power was (held) an act of righteousness; and it was first seen in the case of the three Hwan[1].
The son of Heaven did not observe any of the rules for a visitor or guest;-no one could presume to be his host. When a ruler visited one of his ministers, he went up to the hall by the steps proper to the master;-the minister did not presume in such a case to consider the house to be his own. According to the rules for audiences, the son of Heaven did not go down from the hall and meet the princes. To descend from the hall and meet the princes, was an error on the part of the son of Heaven, which began with king Î [2], and was afterwards observed.
[1. The 'three Hwan' intended here were three sons of duke Hwan' of Lû, known as Khing-fû, Yâ, and Kî-yû; see the Zo Kwan, and Kung-yang, on the last year of duke Kwang. Instances of the execution of strong and insubordinate officers in different states, more to the point, bad occurred before; but the writer had in mind only the history of Lû.
2. I was the ninth of the sovereigns of Kâu (B. C. 894-879); with him appeared the first symptoms of decline in the dynasty. ]
11. For the princes to suspend (their drums and bells) in four rows like the walls of an apartment (after the fashion of the king), and to use a white bull in sacrificing[1]; to strike the sonorous jade; to use the red shields with their metal fronts and the cap with descending tassels in dancing the Tâ-wû; and to ride in the grand chariot:--these were usages which they usurped. The towered gateway with the screen across the path, and the stand to receive the emptied cups; the axes embroidered on the inner garment with its vermilion colour:--these were usurpations of the Great officers. Thus, when the son of Heaven was small and weak, the princes pushed their usurpations; and when the Great officers were strong, the princes were oppressed by them, In this state (those officers) gave honour to one another as if they had been of (high) degree; had interviews with one another and made offerings; and bribed one another for their individual benefit: and thus all usages of ceremony were thrown into disorder. It was not lawful for the princes to sacrifice to the king to whom they traced their ancestry, nor for the Great officers to do so to the rulers from whom they sprang. The practice of having a temple to such rulers in their private families, was contrary to propriety. It originated with the three Hwan[2].
12. The son of Heaven[3] preserved the descendants
[1. That a white bull was used in Lû in sacrificing to the duke of Kâu, appears from the fourth of the Praise Odes of Lû. See vol. iii, p. 343.
2 These must be the three families of Lû, so powerful in the time of Confucius, all descended from duke Hwan. The expression in this (state) shows that the writer was a man of Lû.
3. We must think of this 'son of Heaven' as the founder of a new dynasty. Thus it was that king Wû of Kâu enfeoffed the duke of Sung as representing the kings of Shang, and the rulers of Kü as representing those of Hsiâ. ]
of (the sovereigns of) the two (previous) dynasties, still honouring the worth (of their founders).
But this honouring the (ancient) worthies did not extend beyond the two dynasties.
13. Princes did not employ as ministers refugee rulers[1]. Hence anciently refugee rulers left no son who continued their title.
14. A ruler stood with his face towards the south, to show that he would be (in his sphere) what the influence of light and heat was (in nature). His ministers stood with their faces to the north, in response to him. The minister of a Great officer did not bow his face to the ground before him, not from any honour paid to the minister, but that the officer might avoid receiving the homage which he had paid himself to the ruler.
15. When a Great officer was presenting (anything to his ruler), he did not do so in his own person; when the ruler was making him a gift, he did not go to bow in acknowledgment to him:-that the ruler might not (have the trouble of) responding to him.
16. When the villagers were driving away pestilential influences, Confucius would stand at the top of his eastern steps, in his court robes, to keep the spirits (of his departed) undisturbed in their shrines[2].
[1. Rulers expelled from their own state. But the princes might employ their sons as ministers, who ceased to be named from their former dignity.
2. See the Confucian Analects X, 10, 2, and note. Dr. Williams (on ###) says that the ceremony is now performed by the Board of Rites ten days before the new year. ]
17. Confucius said, 'The practice of archery to the notes of music (is difficult). How shall the archer listen, and how shall he shoot, (that the two things shall be in harmony)? '
Confucius said, 'When an officer is required to shoot, if he be not able, he declines on the ground of being ill, with reference to the bow suspended at the left of the door (at his birth)[1]. '
18. Confucius said, 'There are three days' fasting on hand. , If one fast for the first day, he should still be afraid of not being (sufficiently) reverent. What are we to think of it, if on the second day he beat his drums[2]? '
19. Confucius said, 'The repetition of the sacrifice next day inside the Khû gate; the searching for the spirits in the eastern quarter; and the holding the market in the morning in the western quarter:--these all are errors. '
20. At the Shû, they sacrificed to (the spirits of) the land, and on the tablet rested the power of the darker and retiring influence of nature. The ruler stands (in sacrificing) with his face to the south at the foot of the wall on the north, responding to the idea of that influence as coming from the north. A kiâ day is used (for the sacrifice),--to employ a commencing day (in the Cycle)[3].
[1. Every gentleman was supposed to learn archery as one of the six liberal arts;' and a bow was suspended near the door on the birth of a boy in recognition of this. The excuse in the paragraph is a lame one. See the 'Narratives of the School,' article 28; and Book XLIII, 19.
2. 'Narratives of the School,' XLIV, 9.
3. There are of course six decades of days in the Cycle, each beginning with a kiâ day. ]
The great Shê altar of the son of Heaven was open to receive the hoarfrost, dew, wind, and rain, and allow the influences of heaven and earth to have full development upon it. For this reason the Shê altar of a state that had perished was roofed in, so that it was not touched by the brightness and warmth of Heaven. The altar (of Yin) at Po[1] had an opening in the wall on the north, so that the dim and cold (moon) might shine into it.
21. In the sacrifice at the Shê altars they dealt with the earth as if it were a spirit. The earth supported all things, while heaven hung out its brilliant signs. They derived their material resources from the earth; they derived rules (for their courses of labour) from the heavens. Thus they were led to give honour to heaven and their affection to the earth, and therefore they taught the people to render a good return (to the earth). (The Heads of) families provided (for the sacrifice to it) at the altar in the open court (of their houses); in the kingdom and the states they did so at the Shê altars; showing how it was the source (of their prosperity).
When there was a sacrifice at the Shê altar of a village[2], some one went out to it from every house. When there was such a sacrifice in preparation for a hunt, the men of the state all engaged in it. When there was such a sacrifice, from the towns, small and large, they contributed their vessels of rice, thereby
[1. Po had been the capital of the Shang dynasty. The site was in the present Ho-nan; changed more than once, but always retaining the name. We have the Northern, the Southern, and the Western Po.
2. See page 259, Paragraph 7. ]
expressing their gratitude to the source (of their prosperity) and going back in their thoughts to the beginning (of all being).
22. In the last month of spring[1], 'the fire star having appeared, they set fire to (the grass and brushwood). When this was done, they reviewed the chariots and men, numbering the companies, of a hundred and of five. Then the ruler in person addressed them in front of the Shê altar, and proceeded to exercise their squadrons, now wheeling to the left, now wheeling to the right, now making them lie down, now making them rise up; and observing how they practised these evolutions. When the game came in sight and the desire of capturing it was exerted, (he watched) to see that (the hunters) did not break any of the rules (for their proceedings). It was thus sought to bring their wills into subjection, and make them not pursue the animals (in an irregular way). In this way such men conquered in fight, and such sacrificing obtained blessing.
SECTION II.
1. The son of Heaven, in his tours (of Inspection) to the four quarters (of the kingdom), as the first thing (on his arrival at each) reared the pile of wood (and set fire to it)[2].
[1. Perhaps 'the last month' should be 'the second month. ' There is much contention on the point.
2. This paragraph is not in the expurgated Lî. It does seem out of place, for the book goes on to speak of the border or suburban sacrifices presented in the vicinity of the capital, and having nothing to do with the tours of Inspection, of which we first read in the Canon of Shun, in the Shû. Those tours, however, were understood to be under the direction of Heaven, and the lighting of the pile of wood, on reaching the mountain of each quarter, is taken as having been an announcement to Heaven of the king's arrival. ]
2. At the (Great) border sacrifice, he welcomed the arrival of the longest day. It was a great act of thanksgiving to Heaven, and the sun was the chief object considered in it'. The space marked off for it was in the southern suburb;--the place most open to the brightness and warmth (of the heavenly
[1. P. Callery has here the following note:--'Il résulte de ce passage et de plusieurs autres des chapitres suivants, que dès les temps les plus anciens, les Chinois rendaient au soleil un véritable culte, sans même y supposer un esprit ou génie dont il fût la demeure, ainsi qu'ils le faisaient pour les montagnes, les rivières et tous les autres lieux auxquels ils offraient des sacrifices. De nos jours encore on sacrifie au soleil et h la lune; mais c'est plutôt un acte officiel de la part des autorités, qu'une pratique de conviction, car le peuple Chinois n'a pas, comme les Japonais, une grande dévotion pour l'astre du jour. Voyez la fin du chapitre XVIII. '
The text conveys no idea to me of such an ancient worship, but I call the attention of the reader to Callery's view. The other passages to which he refers will be noticed as they occur. For my, 'and the sun was the principal object regarded in it,' he says, 'C'est le soleil qui est le principal objet (des adorations). ' The original text is simply ###. I let my translation stand as I first made it; but on a prolonged consideration, I think, it would be more accurate to say, 'and the sun was considered (for the occasion) as the residence of (the spirit of) Heaven. ' Such an acceptation of ### is quite legitimate. The sun became for the time the 'spirit-tablet (###)' of Heaven. Fang Küeh says:--'(The Son of Heaven) was welcoming the arrival of the longest day, and therefore he regarded the sun as the residence (for the time) of the spirit of Heaven. That spirit could not be seen; what could be looked up to and beheld were only the sun, moon, and stars. ']
influence). The sacrifice was offered on the ground which had been swept for the purpose;--to mark the simplicity (of the ceremony). The vessels used were of earthenware and of gourds;--to emblem the natural (productive power of) heaven and earth. The place was the suburb, and therefore the sacrifice was called the suburban or border. The victim was red, that being the colour preferred by the (Kâu) dynasty; and it was a calf;--to show the estimation of simple sincerity.
3. For (all) sacrifices in the border they used a hsin day[1]; because when Kâu first offered the border sacrifice, it was the longest day, and its name began with hsin.
4. When divining about the border sacrifice, (the king) received the reply in the fane of his (great) ancestor, and the tortoise-shell was operated on in that of his father;-honour being thus done to his ancestor, and affection shown to his father. On the day of divination, he stood by the lake[2], and listened himself to the declarations and orders which were
[1. The mention of the 'hsin day' requires that we should understand kiâo (###) here of other sacrifices so called, and not merely of the great one at the winter solstice. The Khien-lung editors say:--'The border sacrifices for which they used the hsin days were those at which they prayed for a good year. They used such a day, because when king Wû offered his great sacrifice after the battle of Mû-yêh, and announced the completion of his enterprise, the day was hsin-hâi, and from it dated Kâu's possession of the kingdom, and the hsin days became sacred days for the dynasty. ' There were of course three hsin days in every month.
2 The 'lake' here must be a name for the royal college with the water round it. So Lû Tien and others explain it (###) and Yüan Yüan's dictionary with reference to this paragraph, defines it as 'the place where they practised ceremonies. ']
delivered[1],--showing an example of receiving lessons and reproof. (The officers) having communicated to him the orders (to be issued), he gives warning notice of them to all the officers (of a different surname from himself), inside the Khû gate (of the palace), and to those of the same surname, in the Grand temple.
5. On the day of the sacrifice, the king in his skin cap waits for the news that all is ready,-showing the people how they ought to venerate their superiors. Those who were engaged in mourning rites did not wail nor venture to put on their mourning dress. (The people) watered and swept the road, and turned it up afresh with the spade; at (the top of) the fields in the neighbourhood they kept torches burning,--thus without special orders complying with (the wish of) the king[2].
6. On that day, the king assumed the robe with the ascending dragons on it as an emblem of the heavens[3]. He wore the cap with the pendants of jade-pearls, to the number of twelve[4], which is the
[1. By the officers as the result of the divination.
2. It was an established custom that they should do so.
3. The robe with the dragons on it,'--Kwan (###),--is thus described in the dictionary. But there must have been also some emblazonry of the heavenly figures on it also; otherwise it would not have emblemed the heavens. But I have not been able to find this in any dictionary.
4. Having now changed the skin cap mentioned in the preceding paragraph. ]
number of heaven[1]. He rode in the plain carriage, because of its simplicity. From the flag hung twelve pendants, and on it was the emblazonry of dragons, and the figures of the sun and moon, in imitation of the heavens. Heaven hangs out its brilliant figures, and the sages imitated them. This border sacrifice is the illustration of the way of Heaven.
7. If there appeared anything infelicitous about the victim intended for God, it was used for that intended for Kî[2]. That intended for God required to be kept in its clean stall for three months. That intended for Kî simply required to be perfect in its parts. This was the way in which they made a distinction between the spirits of Heaven and the manes of a man[3].
8. All things originate from Heaven; man originates from his (great) ancestor. This is the reason
[1. 'The heavenly number;'--with reference, I suppose, to the twelve months of the year.
2. Kî, better known as Hâu Kî, the prince, the minister of agriculture,' appears in the Shû as Shun's minister of agriculture (Khî ###, vol. iii, pp. 42), and one of the principal assistants of Yü, in his more than Herculean achievement (vol. iii, pp. 56-58); and in the Shih as the father of agriculture (vol. iii, pp. 396-399). To him the kings of Kâu traced their lineage, and they associated him with God at the Great border sacrifice. See the ode to him, so associated, vol. iii, p. 320. In that service there was thus the expression of reverence for God and of filial piety, the second virtue coming in as the complement of the other. It would seem to be implied that they used the ox for Kî for the blemished one.
3 By ' spirit' and 'manes' I have endeavoured to come as near as I could to the different significance of the characters shan (###) and kwei (###). ]
why Kî was associated with God (at this sacrifice). In the sacrifices at the border there was an expression of gratitude to the source (of their prosperity and a going back in their thoughts to the beginning of (all being).
9. The great kâ sacrifice of the son of Heaven consisted of eight (sacrifices). This sacrifice was first instituted by Yin Khî[1]. (The word) kâ expresses the idea of searching out. In the twelfth month of a year, they brought together (some of) all the productions (of the harvest), and sought out (the authors of them) to present them to them as offerings.
10. In the kâ sacrifice, the principal object contemplated was the Father of Husbandry. They also presented offerings to (ancient) superintendents of husbandry, and to the (discoverers of the) various grains, to express thanks for the crops which had been reaped.
They presented offerings (also) to the (representatives of the ancient inventors of the overseers of the) husbandmen, and of the buildings marking out the boundaries of the fields, and of the birds and beasts. The service showed the highest sentiments of benevolence and of righteousness.
The ancient wise men had appointed all these agencies, and it was felt necessary to make this
[1. Who this Yin Khî was is unknown. Mang thought he was an ancient sovereign. The Khien-lung editors seem to prove in opposition to him and others that he was the minister of some ancient sovereign. His descendants were subordinate ministers under Mu, having to do with sacrifice. They are mentioned at the end of the 37th Book of the Kâu Lî. ]
return to them. They met the (representatives of the) cats, because they devoured the rats and mice (which injured the fruits) of the fields, and (those of) the tigers, because they devoured the (wild) boars (which destroyed them). They met them and made offerings to them. They offered also to (the ancient Inventors of) the dykes and water-channels;--(all these were) provisions for the husbandry[1].
11. They said,--
'May the ground no sliding show,
Water in its channels flow,
Insects to keep quiet know;
Only in the fens weeds grow! '
They presented their offerings in skin caps and white robes;-in white robes to escort the closing year (to its grave). They wore sashes of dolychos cloth, and carried staffs of hazel,--as being reduced forms of mourning. In the kâ were expressed the highest sentiments of benevolence and righteousness.
[1. This and the other paragraphs down to 13 about the kâ sacrifice are not in the expurgated copies. It is difficult to understand what it really was. What is said of it leads us to think of it as a Chinese Saturnalia at the end of the year, when all the crops had been gathered in, and the people abandoned themselves to license and revel under the form of sacrificial services. 'The Father of Husbandry' was probably Shan Nang, the successor of Fû-hsî; see vol. iii, pp. 371, 372. 'The Superintendents of Husbandry' would be Hâu Kî and others, though Hâu Kî appears in the Shih as really the father of agriculture. 'The overseer' occurs in the Shih (vol. iii, p. 371 et al. ) as 'the surveyor of the fields. ' The commentators, so far as I have read, are very chary of giving us any information about the offerings to 'the cats and tigers. ' Kiang Kâo-hsî says, 'They met the cats and tigers, that is, their spirits (###). ']
(After this)[1] they proceeded to sacrifice in yellow robes and yellow caps,--releasing the field-labourers from the toils (of the year). Countrymen wore yellow hats, which were made of straw.
12. The Great Netter[2] was the officer who had the management for the son of Heaven of his birds and (captured) beasts, and to his department belonged (all such creatures) sent by the princes as tribute.
[1. A friend, and perhaps a disciple of Confucius, an officer of the state of Wei. He is mentioned in the Confucian Analects and in Mencius. ]
while the Great officers assisted and followed, bearing the offerings of silk. The ruler himself cut out (the liver) for (the preliminary) offering, while his wife bore the dish in which it should be presented. The ruler himself cut up the victim, while his wife presented the spirits.
The high ministers and Great officers followed the ruler; their wives followed his wife. How grave and still was their reverence! How were they absorbed in their sincerity! How earnest was their wish that their offerings should be accepted! The arrival of the victim was announced (to the spirits) in the courtyard; on the presentation of the blood and the flesh with the hair on it, announcement was made in the chamber; on the presentation of the soup and boiled meat, in the hall. The announcement was made thrice, each time in a different place; indicating how they were seeking for the spirits, and had not yet found them. When the sacrifice was set forth in the hall, it was repeated next day outside (the gate of the temple); and hence arose the saying, ' Are they there? Are they here? '
16. One offering of the cup showed the simplicity of the service; three offerings served to ornament it; five, to mark discriminating care; and seven, to show (the reverence for) the spirits[1].
17. Was not the great quinquennial sacrifice a service belonging to the king? The three animal victims, the fish, and flesh, were the richest tributes for the
[1. The sacrifices where only one cup was presented were, it is said, the smallest; three cups belonged to the altars of the land and grain; five, to those of the hills and rivers; and seven, to those in the ancestral temple. All this is quite uncertain. ]
palate from all within the four seas and the nine provinces. The fruits and grain presented in the high dishes of wood and bamboo were the product of the harmonious influences of the four seasons, The tribute of metal showed the harmonious submission (of the princes). The rolls of silk with the round pieces of jade placed on them showed the honour they rendered to virtue. The tortoise was placed in front of all the other offerings, because of its knowledge of the future; the tribute of metal succeeded to it, showing the (hold it has on) human feelings. The vermilion, the varnish, the silk, the floss, the large bamboos and the smaller for arrows-the articles which all the states contribute; with the other uncommon articles, which each state contributed according to its resources, even to those from the remote regions:-(these followed the former). When the Visitors left they were escorted with the music of the Sze Hsiâ[1]. All these things showed how important was the sacrifice.
18. In the sacrifice to God in the suburb, we have the utmost expression of reverence. In the sacrifices of the ancestral temple, we have the utmost expression of humanity. In the rites d mourning, we have the utmost expression of leal-heartedness. In the preparation of the robes and vessels for the dead, we have the utmost expression of affection. In
[1. We are told in the Kâu Lî, Book XXIII, art. 32, that the bell master, with bells and drums, performed the nine Hsiâ pieces, on the occasions appropriate to them. The second of them was 'the Sze Hsiâ,' as here, but the occasion for it in the text would be inappropriate. The eighth, or Kâi Hsiâ, would be appropriate here, and hence Mang said that sze was a mistake for kâu (###). ]
the use of gifts and offerings between host and guest, we have the utmost expression of what is right. Therefore when the superior man would see the ways of humanity and righteousness, he finds them rooted in these ceremonial usages.
19. A superior man has said, 'What is sweet may be tempered; what is white may be coloured. So the man who is right in heart and sincere can learn the (meaning of the) rites. ' The rites should not be perfunctorily performed by the man who is not right in heart and sincere. Hence it is all important (in the performance of them) to get the proper men.
20. Confucius said, 'One may repeat the three hundred odes, and not be fit to offer the sacrifice where there is (but) one offering of the cup. He may offer that sacrifice, and not be fit to join in a great sacrifice. He may join in such a sacrifice, and not be fit to offer a great sacrifice to the hills. He may perform that fully, and yet not be able to join in the sacrifice to God, Let no one lightly discuss the subject of rites[1]. '
[1. It is not easy to trace satisfactorily the progress of thought here from one sacrificial service to another. 'The great sacrifice' is understood to be the triennial or quinquennial sacrifice to all the ancestors of the ruling House. It is a great step to that from a small sacrifice where only one cup was presented, What 'the great sacrifice to the hills was' is uncertain. It is in the text Tâ Lü (###). The meaning of Lü as a sacrifice to the spirit of a hill is well established from the Analects III, 6. Once the phrase Tâ Lü appears as used in the Kâu Lî, Book V, 91, of the royal sacrifice to God (Lorsque 1'empereur offre un grand sacrifice au Seigneur Suprême,' Biot); but it cannot have that meaning here, because the text goes on to speak of that sacrifice as superior to this. Mang Hsüan made Tâ Lü to be the sacrifice to the 'five Tîs,' or the five Planetary Gods, which view, as the Khien-lung editors point out, cannot be adopted. And how any sacrifice to the hills, however great, could be represented as greater than the quinquennial sacrifice in the ancestral temple, I cannot understand. I must leave the paragraph in the obscurity that belongs to it. ]
21. When Dze-lû was steward to the House of Kî, its chief had been accustomed to commence his sacrifices before it was light, and when the day was insufficient for them, to continue them by torchlight. All engaged in them, however strong they might appear, and however reverent they might be, were worn out and tired. The officers limped and leaned, wherever they could, in performing their parts, and the want of reverence was great. Afterwards, when Dze-lû took the direction of them, the sacrifices proceeded differently. For the services in the chamber, he had parties communicating outside and inside the door; and for those in the hall, he had parties communicating at the steps. As soon as it was light, the services began, and by the time of the evening audience all were ready to retire. When Confucius heard of this management, he said, 'Who will say that this Yû does not understand ceremonies[1]? '
[1. The Khien-lung editors say:--'Dze-lû was a leal-hearted and sincere man, and the Book ends with this account of him. From the mention of the preparation of the rites on a great scale and of their high value at the beginning of the Book down to this tribute to Dze-lû as understanding ceremonies, its whole contents show that what is valuable in the rites is the combination of the idea of what is Tight with the elegant and outward form as sufficient to remove from a man all perversity and increase what is good in his nature, without a multiplicity of forms which would injure the natural goodness and sincerity, and lead their practiser to a crooked perversity. Deep and far-reaching is the idea of it! ']
Sacred-Texts Sacred-Texts: Confucianism Li Ki Index Previous Next
BOOK IX. THE KIÂO THEH SANG
OR
THE SINGLE VICTIM AT THE BORDER SACRIFICES.
SECTION I.
1. At the border sacrifices a single victim was used, and at the altars to (the spirits of) the land and grain there was (the full complement of) three Victims[2]. When the son of Heaven went on his
[1. See the introductory notice, p. 26.
2. The object of the statements here and some other paragraphs is to show that the degree of honour was expressed by the 'paucity' of the articles; compare last Book, Sect. i, paragraph 8. Perhaps the name Kiâo (###) in the title should be translated in the plural as the name for all the border sacrifices, or those offered in the suburbs of the capital. There were several of them, of which the greatest was that at the winter solstice, on the round hillock in the southern suburb. Besides this, there was in the first month the border sacrifice for 'grain,'--to pray for the blessing of Heaven on the agricultural labours of the year, in which Hâu Kî, the father of the line of Kâu, and its 'Father of Husbandry,' was associated by that dynasty. There were also the five seasonal border sacrifices, of which we have mention in the different parts of Book IV, though, so far as what is said in them goes, the idea of Heaven falls into the background, and the five deified ancient sovereigns come forward as so many Tîs. In the first month of summer there was, further, a great border sacrifice for rain, and in the last month of autumn a great border sacrifice of thanks giving. 'Of all these border sacrifices,' say the Khien-lung editors, there is clear evidence in classical texts. ' Into the discussions growing out of them about 'one Heaven,' or 'five Heavens,' and about their origin, it is not necessary that I should enter; it would be foreign, indeed, to my object in this translation to do so. The border sacrifices were the greatest religious or ceremonial services of the ancient Chinese; and the fact to which our attention is called in this Book, is that at them there was used only a single victim. ]
inspecting tours to the princes, the viands of the feast to him were composed of a (single) calf; and when they visited him, the rites with which he received them showed the three regular animals. (The feasting of him in such a manner) was to do honour to the idea of sincerity[1]. Therefore if the animal happened to be pregnant, the son of Heaven did not eat of it, nor did he use such a victim in sacrificing to God[2].
2. The horses of the Grand carriage had one ornamental tassel at the breast; those of the carriages that preceded had three; and those of the carriages that followed had five[3]. There were the blood at the border sacrifice; the raw flesh in the great offering of the ancestral temple; the sodden flesh where spirits are presented thrice; and the roast meat where they are presented once[3]:--these were expressive of the greatest reverence, but the taste was not valued; what was held in honour was the scent of the air[4]. When the princes appeared as guests,
[1. Why 'a calf? Because of its guileless simplicity,' says Kâu Hsü of our eleventh century; earlier than Kû Hsî, who adopted his explanation. The calf, whether male or female, has not yet felt the appetency of sex, and is unconscious of any 'dissipation. ' This is a refinement on the Hebrew idea of the victim lamb, 'without blemish. '
2. This might be referred to his unwillingness, to take life unnecessarily, but for what has just been said about the calf.
3. See last Book, Sect. i, 8; and Sect. ii, 6.
4. Little is said on the meaning of this statement, which appears to say that the most subtle and ethereal thing in sacrifices, the 'sweet savour' of the offerings, was the most important, and should excite the worshippers to add to their sincerity and reverence all other graces of character. The same lesson was given to the feudal princes when they were entertained as visitors at the royal court. ]
they were presented with herb-flavoured spirits, because of their fragrance; at the great entertainment to them the value was given to (the preliminary) pieces of flesh prepared with cinnamon and nothing more.
3. At a great feast (to the ruler of another state), the ruler (who was the host) received the cup seated on his three mats. (On occasion of a visit through a minister or Great officer) when the cup was thrice presented, the ruler received it on a single mat:--so did he descend from the privilege of his more honourable rank, and assume the lower distinction (of his visitor).
4. In feasting (the orphaned young in spring) and at the vernal sacrifice in the ancestral temple they had music; but in feeding (the aged) and at the autumnal sacrifice they had no music:-these were based in the developing and receding influences (prevalent in nature). All drinking serves to nourish the developing influence; all eating to nourish the receding influence. Hence came the different character of the vernal and autumnal sacrifices; the feasting the orphaned young in spring, and the feeding the aged in autumn:-the idea was the same. But in the feeding and at the autumnal sacrifice there was no music. Drinking serves to nourish the developing influence and therefore is accompanied with music. Eating serves to nourish the receding influence, and therefore is not accompanied with music. All modulation of sound partakes of the character of development.
5. The number of tripods and meat-stands was odd, and that of the tall dishes of wood and bamboo was even[1]; this also was based in the numbers belonging to the developing and receding influences. The stands were filled with the products of the water and the land. They did not dare to use for them things of extraordinary flavours[2] or to attach a value to the multitude and variety of their contents, and it was thus that they maintained their intercourse with spiritual intelligences.
6. When the guests had entered the great door[3], the music struck up the Sze Hsiâ[4], showing the blended ease and respect (of the king). (While feasting), at the end of (every) cup the music stopped (for a moment), a practice of which Confucius often indicated his admiration. When the last cup had been put down, the performers ascended the hall, and sang;--exhibiting the virtues (of host and guests). The singers were (in the hall) above, and the organists were (in the court) below;--the honour being thus
[1. Every Chinese scholar knows that odd numbers all belong to the category of Yang (---------), and even numbers to that of Yin (---- ----).
2. The meaning of this clause is uncertain, and I have not found it anywhere sufficiently explained, considering what the characters are (###).
3. This paragraph and the next describe ceremonies on occasion of the king's reception of the great nobles, when they appeared in great force at court. With this the expurgated Lî Kî begins.
4 See note 1, page 413. ]
given to the human voice. Music comes from the expanding influence (that operates in nature); ceremonies from the contracting. When the two are in harmony, all things obtain (their full development).
7. There were no fixed rules for the various articles of tribute. They were the different products of the different territories according to their several suitabilities, and were regulated by their distances (from the royal domain). The tortoises were placed in front of all the other offerings;-because (the shell. ) gave the knowledge of the future. The bells succeeded to them;-because of their harmony, they were a symbol of the union of feeling that should prevail'. Then there were the skins of tigers and leopards;-emblems of the fierce energy with which insubordination would be repressed; and there were the bundles of silks with disks of jade on them, showing how (the princes) came to (admire and experience) the virtue (of the king).
8. (The use of) a hundred torches in his courtyard began with duke Hwan of Khî. The playing of the Sze Hsiâ (at receptions) of Great officers began with Kâo Wan-dze[2].
9. When appearing at another court, for a Great officer to have a private audience was contrary to propriety. If he were there as a commissioner, bearing
[1. As we have no account anywhere of bells, made, being sent as tribute, many understand the name as merely = 'metal. '
2 This and the five paragraphs that follow seem the work of another hand, and are not in the expurgated Kî. Duke Hwan was the first and greatest of 'the five presiding princes' of the Khun Khiû period. He died B. C. 643. Kâo Wan-dze was a Great officer and chief minister of Zin about a century after. The king alone might have a hundred torches in his courtyard. ]
his own prince's token of rank, this served as his credentials. That he did not dare to seek a private audience showed the reverence of his loyalty. What had he to do with the tribute-offerings in the court of the other prince that he should seek a private audience? The minister of a prince had no intercourse outside his own state, thereby showing how he did not dare to serve two rulers.
10. For a Great officer to receive his ruler to an entertainment was contrary to propriety. For a ruler to put to death a Great officer who had violently exercised his power was (held) an act of righteousness; and it was first seen in the case of the three Hwan[1].
The son of Heaven did not observe any of the rules for a visitor or guest;-no one could presume to be his host. When a ruler visited one of his ministers, he went up to the hall by the steps proper to the master;-the minister did not presume in such a case to consider the house to be his own. According to the rules for audiences, the son of Heaven did not go down from the hall and meet the princes. To descend from the hall and meet the princes, was an error on the part of the son of Heaven, which began with king Î [2], and was afterwards observed.
[1. The 'three Hwan' intended here were three sons of duke Hwan' of Lû, known as Khing-fû, Yâ, and Kî-yû; see the Zo Kwan, and Kung-yang, on the last year of duke Kwang. Instances of the execution of strong and insubordinate officers in different states, more to the point, bad occurred before; but the writer had in mind only the history of Lû.
2. I was the ninth of the sovereigns of Kâu (B. C. 894-879); with him appeared the first symptoms of decline in the dynasty. ]
11. For the princes to suspend (their drums and bells) in four rows like the walls of an apartment (after the fashion of the king), and to use a white bull in sacrificing[1]; to strike the sonorous jade; to use the red shields with their metal fronts and the cap with descending tassels in dancing the Tâ-wû; and to ride in the grand chariot:--these were usages which they usurped. The towered gateway with the screen across the path, and the stand to receive the emptied cups; the axes embroidered on the inner garment with its vermilion colour:--these were usurpations of the Great officers. Thus, when the son of Heaven was small and weak, the princes pushed their usurpations; and when the Great officers were strong, the princes were oppressed by them, In this state (those officers) gave honour to one another as if they had been of (high) degree; had interviews with one another and made offerings; and bribed one another for their individual benefit: and thus all usages of ceremony were thrown into disorder. It was not lawful for the princes to sacrifice to the king to whom they traced their ancestry, nor for the Great officers to do so to the rulers from whom they sprang. The practice of having a temple to such rulers in their private families, was contrary to propriety. It originated with the three Hwan[2].
12. The son of Heaven[3] preserved the descendants
[1. That a white bull was used in Lû in sacrificing to the duke of Kâu, appears from the fourth of the Praise Odes of Lû. See vol. iii, p. 343.
2 These must be the three families of Lû, so powerful in the time of Confucius, all descended from duke Hwan. The expression in this (state) shows that the writer was a man of Lû.
3. We must think of this 'son of Heaven' as the founder of a new dynasty. Thus it was that king Wû of Kâu enfeoffed the duke of Sung as representing the kings of Shang, and the rulers of Kü as representing those of Hsiâ. ]
of (the sovereigns of) the two (previous) dynasties, still honouring the worth (of their founders).
But this honouring the (ancient) worthies did not extend beyond the two dynasties.
13. Princes did not employ as ministers refugee rulers[1]. Hence anciently refugee rulers left no son who continued their title.
14. A ruler stood with his face towards the south, to show that he would be (in his sphere) what the influence of light and heat was (in nature). His ministers stood with their faces to the north, in response to him. The minister of a Great officer did not bow his face to the ground before him, not from any honour paid to the minister, but that the officer might avoid receiving the homage which he had paid himself to the ruler.
15. When a Great officer was presenting (anything to his ruler), he did not do so in his own person; when the ruler was making him a gift, he did not go to bow in acknowledgment to him:-that the ruler might not (have the trouble of) responding to him.
16. When the villagers were driving away pestilential influences, Confucius would stand at the top of his eastern steps, in his court robes, to keep the spirits (of his departed) undisturbed in their shrines[2].
[1. Rulers expelled from their own state. But the princes might employ their sons as ministers, who ceased to be named from their former dignity.
2. See the Confucian Analects X, 10, 2, and note. Dr. Williams (on ###) says that the ceremony is now performed by the Board of Rites ten days before the new year. ]
17. Confucius said, 'The practice of archery to the notes of music (is difficult). How shall the archer listen, and how shall he shoot, (that the two things shall be in harmony)? '
Confucius said, 'When an officer is required to shoot, if he be not able, he declines on the ground of being ill, with reference to the bow suspended at the left of the door (at his birth)[1]. '
18. Confucius said, 'There are three days' fasting on hand. , If one fast for the first day, he should still be afraid of not being (sufficiently) reverent. What are we to think of it, if on the second day he beat his drums[2]? '
19. Confucius said, 'The repetition of the sacrifice next day inside the Khû gate; the searching for the spirits in the eastern quarter; and the holding the market in the morning in the western quarter:--these all are errors. '
20. At the Shû, they sacrificed to (the spirits of) the land, and on the tablet rested the power of the darker and retiring influence of nature. The ruler stands (in sacrificing) with his face to the south at the foot of the wall on the north, responding to the idea of that influence as coming from the north. A kiâ day is used (for the sacrifice),--to employ a commencing day (in the Cycle)[3].
[1. Every gentleman was supposed to learn archery as one of the six liberal arts;' and a bow was suspended near the door on the birth of a boy in recognition of this. The excuse in the paragraph is a lame one. See the 'Narratives of the School,' article 28; and Book XLIII, 19.
2. 'Narratives of the School,' XLIV, 9.
3. There are of course six decades of days in the Cycle, each beginning with a kiâ day. ]
The great Shê altar of the son of Heaven was open to receive the hoarfrost, dew, wind, and rain, and allow the influences of heaven and earth to have full development upon it. For this reason the Shê altar of a state that had perished was roofed in, so that it was not touched by the brightness and warmth of Heaven. The altar (of Yin) at Po[1] had an opening in the wall on the north, so that the dim and cold (moon) might shine into it.
21. In the sacrifice at the Shê altars they dealt with the earth as if it were a spirit. The earth supported all things, while heaven hung out its brilliant signs. They derived their material resources from the earth; they derived rules (for their courses of labour) from the heavens. Thus they were led to give honour to heaven and their affection to the earth, and therefore they taught the people to render a good return (to the earth). (The Heads of) families provided (for the sacrifice to it) at the altar in the open court (of their houses); in the kingdom and the states they did so at the Shê altars; showing how it was the source (of their prosperity).
When there was a sacrifice at the Shê altar of a village[2], some one went out to it from every house. When there was such a sacrifice in preparation for a hunt, the men of the state all engaged in it. When there was such a sacrifice, from the towns, small and large, they contributed their vessels of rice, thereby
[1. Po had been the capital of the Shang dynasty. The site was in the present Ho-nan; changed more than once, but always retaining the name. We have the Northern, the Southern, and the Western Po.
2. See page 259, Paragraph 7. ]
expressing their gratitude to the source (of their prosperity) and going back in their thoughts to the beginning (of all being).
22. In the last month of spring[1], 'the fire star having appeared, they set fire to (the grass and brushwood). When this was done, they reviewed the chariots and men, numbering the companies, of a hundred and of five. Then the ruler in person addressed them in front of the Shê altar, and proceeded to exercise their squadrons, now wheeling to the left, now wheeling to the right, now making them lie down, now making them rise up; and observing how they practised these evolutions. When the game came in sight and the desire of capturing it was exerted, (he watched) to see that (the hunters) did not break any of the rules (for their proceedings). It was thus sought to bring their wills into subjection, and make them not pursue the animals (in an irregular way). In this way such men conquered in fight, and such sacrificing obtained blessing.
SECTION II.
1. The son of Heaven, in his tours (of Inspection) to the four quarters (of the kingdom), as the first thing (on his arrival at each) reared the pile of wood (and set fire to it)[2].
[1. Perhaps 'the last month' should be 'the second month. ' There is much contention on the point.
2. This paragraph is not in the expurgated Lî. It does seem out of place, for the book goes on to speak of the border or suburban sacrifices presented in the vicinity of the capital, and having nothing to do with the tours of Inspection, of which we first read in the Canon of Shun, in the Shû. Those tours, however, were understood to be under the direction of Heaven, and the lighting of the pile of wood, on reaching the mountain of each quarter, is taken as having been an announcement to Heaven of the king's arrival. ]
2. At the (Great) border sacrifice, he welcomed the arrival of the longest day. It was a great act of thanksgiving to Heaven, and the sun was the chief object considered in it'. The space marked off for it was in the southern suburb;--the place most open to the brightness and warmth (of the heavenly
[1. P. Callery has here the following note:--'Il résulte de ce passage et de plusieurs autres des chapitres suivants, que dès les temps les plus anciens, les Chinois rendaient au soleil un véritable culte, sans même y supposer un esprit ou génie dont il fût la demeure, ainsi qu'ils le faisaient pour les montagnes, les rivières et tous les autres lieux auxquels ils offraient des sacrifices. De nos jours encore on sacrifie au soleil et h la lune; mais c'est plutôt un acte officiel de la part des autorités, qu'une pratique de conviction, car le peuple Chinois n'a pas, comme les Japonais, une grande dévotion pour l'astre du jour. Voyez la fin du chapitre XVIII. '
The text conveys no idea to me of such an ancient worship, but I call the attention of the reader to Callery's view. The other passages to which he refers will be noticed as they occur. For my, 'and the sun was the principal object regarded in it,' he says, 'C'est le soleil qui est le principal objet (des adorations). ' The original text is simply ###. I let my translation stand as I first made it; but on a prolonged consideration, I think, it would be more accurate to say, 'and the sun was considered (for the occasion) as the residence of (the spirit of) Heaven. ' Such an acceptation of ### is quite legitimate. The sun became for the time the 'spirit-tablet (###)' of Heaven. Fang Küeh says:--'(The Son of Heaven) was welcoming the arrival of the longest day, and therefore he regarded the sun as the residence (for the time) of the spirit of Heaven. That spirit could not be seen; what could be looked up to and beheld were only the sun, moon, and stars. ']
influence). The sacrifice was offered on the ground which had been swept for the purpose;--to mark the simplicity (of the ceremony). The vessels used were of earthenware and of gourds;--to emblem the natural (productive power of) heaven and earth. The place was the suburb, and therefore the sacrifice was called the suburban or border. The victim was red, that being the colour preferred by the (Kâu) dynasty; and it was a calf;--to show the estimation of simple sincerity.
3. For (all) sacrifices in the border they used a hsin day[1]; because when Kâu first offered the border sacrifice, it was the longest day, and its name began with hsin.
4. When divining about the border sacrifice, (the king) received the reply in the fane of his (great) ancestor, and the tortoise-shell was operated on in that of his father;-honour being thus done to his ancestor, and affection shown to his father. On the day of divination, he stood by the lake[2], and listened himself to the declarations and orders which were
[1. The mention of the 'hsin day' requires that we should understand kiâo (###) here of other sacrifices so called, and not merely of the great one at the winter solstice. The Khien-lung editors say:--'The border sacrifices for which they used the hsin days were those at which they prayed for a good year. They used such a day, because when king Wû offered his great sacrifice after the battle of Mû-yêh, and announced the completion of his enterprise, the day was hsin-hâi, and from it dated Kâu's possession of the kingdom, and the hsin days became sacred days for the dynasty. ' There were of course three hsin days in every month.
2 The 'lake' here must be a name for the royal college with the water round it. So Lû Tien and others explain it (###) and Yüan Yüan's dictionary with reference to this paragraph, defines it as 'the place where they practised ceremonies. ']
delivered[1],--showing an example of receiving lessons and reproof. (The officers) having communicated to him the orders (to be issued), he gives warning notice of them to all the officers (of a different surname from himself), inside the Khû gate (of the palace), and to those of the same surname, in the Grand temple.
5. On the day of the sacrifice, the king in his skin cap waits for the news that all is ready,-showing the people how they ought to venerate their superiors. Those who were engaged in mourning rites did not wail nor venture to put on their mourning dress. (The people) watered and swept the road, and turned it up afresh with the spade; at (the top of) the fields in the neighbourhood they kept torches burning,--thus without special orders complying with (the wish of) the king[2].
6. On that day, the king assumed the robe with the ascending dragons on it as an emblem of the heavens[3]. He wore the cap with the pendants of jade-pearls, to the number of twelve[4], which is the
[1. By the officers as the result of the divination.
2. It was an established custom that they should do so.
3. The robe with the dragons on it,'--Kwan (###),--is thus described in the dictionary. But there must have been also some emblazonry of the heavenly figures on it also; otherwise it would not have emblemed the heavens. But I have not been able to find this in any dictionary.
4. Having now changed the skin cap mentioned in the preceding paragraph. ]
number of heaven[1]. He rode in the plain carriage, because of its simplicity. From the flag hung twelve pendants, and on it was the emblazonry of dragons, and the figures of the sun and moon, in imitation of the heavens. Heaven hangs out its brilliant figures, and the sages imitated them. This border sacrifice is the illustration of the way of Heaven.
7. If there appeared anything infelicitous about the victim intended for God, it was used for that intended for Kî[2]. That intended for God required to be kept in its clean stall for three months. That intended for Kî simply required to be perfect in its parts. This was the way in which they made a distinction between the spirits of Heaven and the manes of a man[3].
8. All things originate from Heaven; man originates from his (great) ancestor. This is the reason
[1. 'The heavenly number;'--with reference, I suppose, to the twelve months of the year.
2. Kî, better known as Hâu Kî, the prince, the minister of agriculture,' appears in the Shû as Shun's minister of agriculture (Khî ###, vol. iii, pp. 42), and one of the principal assistants of Yü, in his more than Herculean achievement (vol. iii, pp. 56-58); and in the Shih as the father of agriculture (vol. iii, pp. 396-399). To him the kings of Kâu traced their lineage, and they associated him with God at the Great border sacrifice. See the ode to him, so associated, vol. iii, p. 320. In that service there was thus the expression of reverence for God and of filial piety, the second virtue coming in as the complement of the other. It would seem to be implied that they used the ox for Kî for the blemished one.
3 By ' spirit' and 'manes' I have endeavoured to come as near as I could to the different significance of the characters shan (###) and kwei (###). ]
why Kî was associated with God (at this sacrifice). In the sacrifices at the border there was an expression of gratitude to the source (of their prosperity and a going back in their thoughts to the beginning of (all being).
9. The great kâ sacrifice of the son of Heaven consisted of eight (sacrifices). This sacrifice was first instituted by Yin Khî[1]. (The word) kâ expresses the idea of searching out. In the twelfth month of a year, they brought together (some of) all the productions (of the harvest), and sought out (the authors of them) to present them to them as offerings.
10. In the kâ sacrifice, the principal object contemplated was the Father of Husbandry. They also presented offerings to (ancient) superintendents of husbandry, and to the (discoverers of the) various grains, to express thanks for the crops which had been reaped.
They presented offerings (also) to the (representatives of the ancient inventors of the overseers of the) husbandmen, and of the buildings marking out the boundaries of the fields, and of the birds and beasts. The service showed the highest sentiments of benevolence and of righteousness.
The ancient wise men had appointed all these agencies, and it was felt necessary to make this
[1. Who this Yin Khî was is unknown. Mang thought he was an ancient sovereign. The Khien-lung editors seem to prove in opposition to him and others that he was the minister of some ancient sovereign. His descendants were subordinate ministers under Mu, having to do with sacrifice. They are mentioned at the end of the 37th Book of the Kâu Lî. ]
return to them. They met the (representatives of the) cats, because they devoured the rats and mice (which injured the fruits) of the fields, and (those of) the tigers, because they devoured the (wild) boars (which destroyed them). They met them and made offerings to them. They offered also to (the ancient Inventors of) the dykes and water-channels;--(all these were) provisions for the husbandry[1].
11. They said,--
'May the ground no sliding show,
Water in its channels flow,
Insects to keep quiet know;
Only in the fens weeds grow! '
They presented their offerings in skin caps and white robes;-in white robes to escort the closing year (to its grave). They wore sashes of dolychos cloth, and carried staffs of hazel,--as being reduced forms of mourning. In the kâ were expressed the highest sentiments of benevolence and righteousness.
[1. This and the other paragraphs down to 13 about the kâ sacrifice are not in the expurgated copies. It is difficult to understand what it really was. What is said of it leads us to think of it as a Chinese Saturnalia at the end of the year, when all the crops had been gathered in, and the people abandoned themselves to license and revel under the form of sacrificial services. 'The Father of Husbandry' was probably Shan Nang, the successor of Fû-hsî; see vol. iii, pp. 371, 372. 'The Superintendents of Husbandry' would be Hâu Kî and others, though Hâu Kî appears in the Shih as really the father of agriculture. 'The overseer' occurs in the Shih (vol. iii, p. 371 et al. ) as 'the surveyor of the fields. ' The commentators, so far as I have read, are very chary of giving us any information about the offerings to 'the cats and tigers. ' Kiang Kâo-hsî says, 'They met the cats and tigers, that is, their spirits (###). ']
(After this)[1] they proceeded to sacrifice in yellow robes and yellow caps,--releasing the field-labourers from the toils (of the year). Countrymen wore yellow hats, which were made of straw.
12. The Great Netter[2] was the officer who had the management for the son of Heaven of his birds and (captured) beasts, and to his department belonged (all such creatures) sent by the princes as tribute.
