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oECreu DuuKS oi v^iuiia: lne texts 01
Confucianism,
THE
SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST
[28]
HENRY FROWDE
Oxford University Press Warehouse Amen Corner, E.C.
THE
SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST
TRANSLATED
BY VARIOUS ORIENTAL SCHOLARS
AND EDITED BY
^
F. MAX MULLER
VOL. XXVIII
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1885
[All rights reserved]
THE
SACRED BOOKS OF CHINA
THE TEXTS OF CONFUCIANISM.
TRANSLATED BY
JAMES LEGGE
PART IV THE LI ATf, XI— XLVI
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1885
[ All rights reserved ]
CONTENTS.
BOOK PAGE
XI. Yu 3Ao or the Jade-bead Pendants of the Royal Cap.
Section I i
„ » 9
„ HI 17
XII. Ming Thang Wei or the Places in the Hall of
Distinction 29
XIII. Sang Fu Hsiao Ki or Record of Smaller Matters
in the Dress of Mourning.
Section I 4°
» II 48
XIV. TA Kw an or the Great Treatise .... 60
XV. Shao t or Smaller Rules of Demeanour ... 68
XVI. Hsio Ki or Record on the Subject of Education . 82
XVII. Yo Ki or Record of Music.
Section I 92
„ " IQ5
„ "I "4
XVIII. 3A Ki or Miscellaneous Records.
Section I.
Parti 132
„ II i39
Section II.
Part I 150
„ II . . 161
XIX. Sang Ta Ki or the Greater Record of Mourning
Rites.
Section I 173
„ II l85
XX. A"! Fa or the Law of Sacrifices 261
XXI. Ki t or the Meaning of Sacrifices.
Section I 210
„ II 220
XXII. Ki Thung or a Summary Account of Sacrifices . 236
XXIII. iiflNG KiEH OR THE DIFFERENT TEACHING OF THE
Different /Tings 255
XXIV. Ai Rung Wan or Questions of Duke Ai . . . 261
XXV. ATung-n! Yen Kij or A'ung-ni at Home at Ease . 270
Vill CONTENTS.
BOOK PACE
XXVI. Khung-jze Hsien Kis or Confucius at Home at
Leisure 278
XXVII. Fang K\ or Record of the Dykes .... 284
XXVIII. £ung Yung or the State of Equilibrium and
Harmony.
Section I 300
„ H 312
XXIX. Piao Ki or the Record on Example . . . 330
XXX. 3ze t or the Black Robes 352
XXXI. Pan Sang or Rules on Hurrying to Mourning
Rites 365
XXXII. Wan Sang or Questions about Mourning Rites . 375
XXXIII. Fu Wan or Subjects for Questioning about
the Mourning Dress 380
XXXIV. ATien Kwan or Treatise on Subsidiary Points in
Mourning Usages 385
XXXV. San Nien Wan or Questions about the Mourning
for Three Years 391
XXXVI. Shan i or the Long Dress in One Piece . . 395
XXXVII. Thau Hu or the Game of Pitch-pot . . .397
XXXVIII. ZuHsing (Hang) or the Conduct of the Scholar 402
XXXIX. TA Hsio or the Great Learning . . .411 XL. Kwan t or the Meaning of the Ceremony of Capping 425
XLI. H\VAN t OR THE MEANING OF THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY 428
XLII. Hsiang Yin Kit 1 or the Meaning of the Drinking
Festivity in the Districts .... 435
XLIII. She 1 or the Meaning of the Ceremony of
Archery 446
XLIV. Yen t or the Meaning of the Banquet . . . 454
XLV. Phing 1 or the Meaning of the Interchange of
Missions between Different Courts . . 458
XLVI. Sang Fu Sze Kih or the Four Principles under- lying the Dress of Mourning . . . . 465
Index to Parts I, II, III, IV (Vols. Ill, XVI, XXVII, XXVIII).
Index of Subjects . . . . . . . . .471
Index of Proper Names . 485
Transliteration of Oriental Alphabets adopted for the Translations
of the Sacred Books of the East 493
THE LI K\.
A COLLECTION OF TREATISES ON THE RULES OF PROPRIETY OR CEREMONIAL USAGES.
BOOK XL YU 3AO
OR THE JADE-BEAD PENDANTS OF THE ROYAL CAP1.
Section I.
i. The son of Heaven, when sacrificing2, wore (the cap) with the twelve long pendants of beads of jade hanging down from its top before and behind, and the robe embroidered with dragons.
2. When saluting the appearance of the sun 3 outside the eastern gate4, he wore the dark-coloured square-cut robes ; and (also) when listening to the notification of the first day of the month 5 outside the southern gate.
1 See introductory notice, vol. xxvii, pp. 27, 28.
2 Probably, to Heaven ; A"ang thought it was to the former kings. Many try to unite both views.
3 At the vernal equinox. Callery has ' Quand de bon matin il sacrifie au soleil.' Probably there was a sacrifice on the occasion ; but the text does not say so. The character ^ (khi&o) means ' to appear at audience.'
4 Probably, of the city ; many say, of the Hall of Distinction.
5 This announcement was to the spirits of his royal ancestors in the first place. Compare Analects III, 16.
[28] B
THE LI £1. BK. xi.
3. If the month were intercalary, he caused the left leaf of the door to be shut, and stood in the middle of that (which remained open) 1.
4. He wore the skin cap at the daily audience in the court, after which he proceeded to take the morning meal in it. At midday he partook of what was left in the morning. He had music at his meals. Every day a sheep and a pig were killed and cooked ; and on the first day 'of the month an ox in addition. There were five bever- ages : — water, which was the principal ; rice-water, spirits, must, and millet-water.
5. When he had done eating, he remained at ease in the dark-coloured square-cut robes -. His actions were written down by the recorder of the Left, and his utterances by the recorder of the Right. The blind musician in attendance judged whether the music were too high or too low 3.
6. If the year were not good and fruitful, the son of Heaven wore white and plain robes, rode in the plain and unadorned carriage, and had no music at his meals.
1 This is not easy to understand, nor easy to make intelligible. An intercalary month was an irregular arrangement of the year. It and the previous month formed one double month. The shutting half the door showed that one half of the time was passed. There remained the other leaf to be given — in the temple or in the palace — to the king for all the ceremonies or acts of government ap- propriate in such a position for the whole intercalary month. Something like this is sketched out as the meaning by the A7/ien- lung editors.
2 These were so named from the form in which they were made, the cloth being cut straight and square.
3 And judged, it is said, of the character of the measures of govern- ment ; but this is being 'over-exquisite' to account for the custom.
SECT. I. YU 3A0. 3
7. The princes of states, in sacrificing, wore their dark-coloured square-cut robes. At court-audiences (of the king), they wore the cap of the next inferior degree of rank to their own \ They wore the skin- cap, when listening to the notification of the first day of the month in the Grand temples ; and their court robes when holding their daily audience in the inner court-yard.
8. (Their ministers and officers) entered (the palace) as soon as they could distinguish the dawn- ing light 2, and the ruler came out daily (to the first court, inside the Khu gate), and received them. (After this audience), he retired, and went to the great chamber, there to listen to their proposals about the measures of government. He employed men to see whether the Great officers (were all withdrawn) 3 ; and when they had left, he repaired to the smaller chamber, and put off his (court) robes.
9. He resumed his court robes, when he was about to eat. There was a single animal, with three (other) dishes of meat, the lungs forming the sacrificial offering. In the evening he wore the long robe in one piece, and offered some of the flesh of the animal. On the first day of the moon,
1 So it seems to be said ; but why it was done so, does not clearly appear.
2 Several pieces in the Shih allude to this early attendance at court. See Book II, ii, 8 ; iii, 8, et al.
3 They sat or waited, not inside the chamber, but outside. Some Great officer might wish to bring a matter before the ruler which he had not ventured to mention in public. The ruler, there- fore, would give him a private audience ; and did not feel himself free from business till all had withdrawn.
B 2
4 THE Ll K\. bk. XL
a sheep and a pig were killed, and there were five (other) dishes of meat, and four of grain. On 3ze and Mao days1 there were only the glutinous rice and vegetable soup. His wife used the same kitchen as the ruler 2.
10. Without some cause for it, a ruler did not kill an ox, nor a Great officer a sheep, nor a lower officer a pig or a dog. A superior man had his shambles and kitchen at a distance (from the) house ; he did not tread wherever there was such a thing as blood or (tainted) air 3.
ii. When the eighth month came without rain, the ruler did not have full meals nor music. If the year were not abundant, he wore linen, and stuck in his girdle the tablet of an officer 4. Duties were not levied at the barrier-gates and dams ; the prohibitions of the hills and meres were en- forced, but no contributions were required (from hunters and fishermen). No earthworks were undertaken, and Great officers did not make (any new) carriages for themselves.
12. The officer of divination by the tortoise-shell fixed the shell (to be used) ; the recorder applied the ink ; and the ruler determined the figures (produced by the fire)5.
1 See vol. xxvii, p. 180.
2 That is, the wife was supplied with what was left from the ruler's mea's.
3 Lu Tien says, ' He would not tread on ants.' The AV/ien-lung editors characterise this as ' a womanish remark.'
4 A ruler's tablet was of ivory ; an officer's only of bamboo, tipt with ivory.
5 See the Khi Li, Book XXII, 25. The .Oien-lung editors say that the methods of this divination are lost.
SECT. I. YU 3ao. 5
13. (The cross-board in front of) the ruler was covered with lambskin, edged with tiger's fur ; for his sacred carriage and court-carriage a Great officer had a covering of deer skin, edged with leopard's fur ; as also had an ordinary officer for his sacred carriage *.
14. The regular place for a gentleman was ex- actly opposite the door, (facing the light). He slept with his head to the east. When there came violent wind, or rapid thunder, or a great rain, he changed (countenance). It was the rule for him then, even in the night, to get up, dress himself, put on his cap, and take his seat.
15. He washed his hands five times a day. He used millet-water in washing his head, and maize- water in washing his face. For his hair (when wet) he used a comb of white-grained wood, and an ivory comb for it when dry. (After his toilet), there were brought to him the (usual) cup and some delicacy ; and the musicians came up 2 and sang.
In bathing he used two towels ; a fine one for the upper part (of his body), and a coarser for the lower part. When he got out of the tub, he stepped on a straw mat ; and having next washed his feet with hot water, he stepped on the rush one. Then in his (bathing) robe of cloth, he dried his body (again), and put on his shoes ; and a drink was then brought into him.
16. When he had arranged to go to the ruler's,
1 'The sacred carriage' was one used for going in to some temple service that required previous fasting. The paragraph is strangely constructed. It is supposed that the ruler's carriage at the beginning of it was also a sacred one.
2 Came up on the raised hall, that is.
6 THE Li kL bk. xi.
he passed the night in vigil and fasting, occupying an apartment outside his usual one. After he had washed his head and bathed, his secretary brought him the ivory tablet, on which were written his thoughts (which he should communicate to the ruler), and how he should respond to orders (that he might receive). When he was dressed he practised deportment and listened to the sounds of the gems (at his girdle pendant). When he went forth, he bowed to all in his own private court elegantly, and proceeded to mount his carriage (to go to the ruler's) in brilliant style.
17. The son of Heaven carried in his girdle the thing tablet, showing how exact and correct he should be in his relations with all under heaven. The feudal lords had the shu, rounded at the top and straight at the bottom, showing how they should give place to the son of Heaven. The tablet of the Great officers was rounded both at the top and the bottom ; showing how they should be prepared to give place in .all positions 1.
18. When (a minister) is sitting in attendance on his ruler, the rule was that he should occupy a mat somewhat behind him on one side. If he did not occupy such a mat, he had to draw the one assigned to him back and keep aloof from the ruler's kindred who were near him 2.
One did not take his place on his mat from the
1 It is not clear what the tablets of this paragraph were, and whether they were carried in the hand or inserted in the girdle. The character j^ (Bin) seems to imply the latter.
2 The .Oien-lung editors say that after these two sentences ; the subject of the rest of the paragraph is a student before his teacher.
SECT. I. yu 3ao. 7
front, to avoid seeming to step over it. When seated and unoccupied he did not take up the whole of the mat by at least a cubit. If he were to read any writings or to eat, he sat forward to the edge. The dishes were put down a cubit from the mat l.
19. If food were given (to a visitor), and the ruler proceeded to treat him as a guest, he would order him to present the offering, and the visitor would do so. If he took the precedence in eating, he would take a little of all the viands, drink a mouthful, and wait (for the ruler to eat) 2. If there were one in attendance to taste the viands, he would wait till the ruler ate, and then eat himself. After this eating, he would drink (a mouthful), and wait (again).
20. If the ruler ordered him to partake of the delicacies, he took of that which was nearest to him. If he were told to take of all, he took of whatever he liked. In all cases, in tasting of what was some way off, they began with what was near.
(The visitor) did not dare to add the liquid to his rice till the ruler ^had touched the corners of his mouth with his hands and put them down 3. When the ruler had done eating, he also took of the rice in this fashion, repeating the process three times. When the ruler had the things removed, he took his rice and sauces, and went out and gave them to his attendants.
21. Whenever pressed (by his host) to eat, one should not eat largely ; when eating at another's,
1 And also any tablets or other things to be referred to.
2 Tasting the things before the ruler to see that they were good and safe.
3 That is, touched those parts with his fingers to see that no grains were sticking to them.
8 the ii kL
BK. XI.
one should not eat to satiety. It was only of the water and sauces that some was not put down as an offering ; — they were accounted too trivial for such a purpose.
22. If the ruler gave a cup (of drink) to an officer, he crossed over from his mat, bowed twice, laid his head to the ground, and received it. Resuming his place, he poured a portion of it as an offering, drank it off, and waited. When the ruler had finished his cup, he then returned his empty.
The rule for a superior man in drinking (with the ruler) was this : — When he received the first cup, he wore a grave look ; when he received the second, he looked pleased and respectful. With this the cere- mony stopped. At the third cup, he looked self- possessed and prepared to withdraw. Having with- drawn, he knelt down and took his shoes, retired out of the ruler's (sight) and put them on. Kneeling on his left knee, he put on the right shoe ; kneeling on the right knee, he put on the left one 1.
23. (At festive entertainments), of all the vases that with the dark-coloured liquor (of water) was considered the most honourable2; and only the ruler sat with his face towards it. For the uncultivated people in the country districts, the vases all con-
1 The subject in the two parts of this paragraph does not appear to be the same. The officer in the former was merely an attendant we may suppose ; in the latter, one of a superior rank. The cup in the one case was of special favour ; in the second the cups were such as were drunk with the ruler at certain times, but were always confined to three.
2 ' Mindful,' says Kang, 'of the ways of antiquity.' See Book VII, i, 10, 11, et al. on the honour paid to water at sacrifices and feasts, and the reasons for it.
sect. ii. YU 3A0. 9
tained prepared liquors 1. Great officers had die vase on one side of diem upon a tray without feet ; other officers had it in a similar position on a tray with feet2.
Section II.
i. At the ceremony of capping, the first cap put on was one of black linen. The use of this extended from the feudal lords downwards. It might, after having been thus employed, be put away or disused 3.
2. The dark-coloured cap, with red strings and tassels descending to the breast, was used at the capping of the son of Heaven. The cap of black linen, with strings and tassels of various colours, was used at the capping of a feudal prince. A dark- coloured cap with scarlet strings and tassels was worn by a feudal lord, when fasting. A dark-coloured cap with gray strings and tassels was worn by officers when similarly engaged.
3. A cap of white silk with the border or roll of a dark colour was worn (? at his capping) by a son or grandson (when in a certain stage of mourning) 4. A similar cap with a plain white edging, was worn after the sacrifice at the end of the year's mourning. (The same cap) with strings hanging down five inches,
1 The gratification of their taste was the principal thing at festive entertainments of the common people.
2 On the two trays mentioned here,— the yii (composed of yj^, and ~)fi on the right of it) and the kin (^), — see Book VIII, i, 12.
3 Such a cap had been used anciently; and it was used in the ceremony, though subsequently disused, out of respect to the ancient custom.
4 When his grandfather was dead, and his father (still alive) was in deep mourning for him.
IO THE Li kI.
BK. XI.
served to mark the idle and listless officer1. A dark- coloured cap with the roll round it of white silk was worn by one excluded from the ranks of his com- peers 2.
4. The cap worn in private, with the roll or border attached to it, was used by all from the son of Heaven downwards. When business called them, the strings were tied and their ends allowed to hang down.
5. At fifty, one did not accompany a funeral with his sackcloth hanging loose. When his parents were dead, (a son) did not have his hair dressed in tufts (any more). With the large white (cap) they did not use strings hanging down. The purple strings with the dark-coloured cap began with duke Hwan of Lu3.
6. In the morning they wore the dark-coloured square-cut dress; in the evening, the long dress in one piece. That dress at the waist was thrice the width of the sleeve; and at the bottom twice as wide as at the waist. It was gathered in at each side (of the body). The sleeve could be turned back to the elbow.
7. The outer or under garment joined on to the sleeve and covered a cubit of it 4. The collar was 2 inches wide ; the cuff, a cubit and 2 inches long ; the border, 1^ inch broad. To wear silk under or inside linen was contrary to rule.
8. An (ordinary) officer did not wear anything woven of silk that had been first dyed 5. One who had left the service of his ruler wore no two articles of different colours.
1 By way of punishment or disgrace.
2 Also in punishment. See Book III, iv, 2-5. 3 b.c. 711-694.
4 If we could see one dressed as in those early days, we should understand this better than we do.
5 Because of its expensiveness.
SECT. II.
YU 3AO. II
If the upper garment were of one of the correct colours, the lower garment was of the (correspond- ing) intermediate one l.
9. One did not enter the ruler's gate without the proper colours in his dress ; nor in a single robe of grass-cloth, fine or coarse ; nor with his fur robe either displayed outside, or entirely covered.
10. A garment wadded with new floss was called /£ien; with old, phao. One unlined was called filing; one lined, but not wadded, tieh.
11. The use of thin white silk in court-robes began with K\ Khang-jze. Confucius said, ' For the audience they use the (regular) court-robes, which are put on after the announcement of the first day of the month (in the temple).' He (also) said, ' When good order does not prevail in the states and clans, (the officers) should not use the full dress (as prescribed) 2.'
12. Only a ruler wore the chequered fur robe3 in addressing (his troops or the multitudes), and at the autumnal hunts 4. (For him) to wear the Great fur robe was contrary to ancient practice.
1 3. When a ruler wore the robe of white fox-fur, he wore one of embroidered silk over it to display it5.
1 The five ' correct ' colours were azure ( p| ; of varying shade), scarlet (7J; ; carnation, the colour of the flesh), white, black, and yellow. The 'intermediate' were green ($jc), red (%£), jade- green (|IL), purple (^), and bay-yellow (jgj j|f).
2 See the concluding article in the ' Narratives of the School.' The words of Confucius are understood to intimate a condemna- tion of K\ Khang-jze.
3 Made of black lamb's fur and white fox-fur.
4 Or, according to many, in giving charges about agriculture.
5 Of one colour, worn by the king, at a border sacrifice.
12 THE LI Kl. BK. XI,
When (the guards on) the right of the ruler wore tigers' fur, those on the left wore wolves' fur. An (ordinary) officer did not wear the fur of the white fox.
14. (Great and other) officers wore the fur of the blue fox, with sleeves of leopard's fur, and over it a jacket of dark-coloured silk to display it ; with fawn's fur they used cuffs of the black wild dog1, with a jacket of bluish yellow silk, to display it ; with lamb's fur, ornaments of leopard's fur, and a jacket of black silk to display it ; with fox-fur, a jacket of yellow silk to display it. A jacket of embroidered silk with fox-fur was worn by the feudal lords.
15. With dog's fur or sheep's fur2, they did not wear any jacket of silk over it. Where there was no ornamentation, they did not use the jacket. The wearing the jacket was to show its beauty.
When condoling, they kept the jacket covered, and did now show all its ornamental character ; in the presence of the ruler, they showed all this.
The covering of the dress was to hide its beauty. Hence, personators of the deceased covered their jackets of silk. Officers holding a piece of jade or a tortoise-shell (to present it) covered it; but if they had no (such official) business in hand, they displayed the silken garment, and did not presume to cover it.
16. For his memorandum-tablet, the son of Heaven used a piece of sonorous jade; the prince of a state, a piece of ivory; a Great officer, a piece of bamboo, ornamented with fishbone3; ordinary
1 Or foreign dog. An animal like the tapir or rhinoceros is called by the same name, but cannot be meant here.
2 ' The dress,' says iTang, ' worn by the common people.'
3 The bone seems to be specified; ^fp|, read pan. What bone and of what fish, I do not know.
SECT. II. YU 3A0. I
J
officers might use bamboo, adorned with ivory at the bottom.
17. When appearing before the son of Heaven, and at trials of archery, there was no such thing as being without this tablet. It was contrary to rule to enter the Grand temple without it. During the five months' mourning, it was not laid aside. When en- gaged in the performance of some business, and wear- ing the cincture, one laid it aside. When he had put it in his girdle, the bearer of it was required to wash his hands ; but afterwards, though he had something to do in the court, he did not wash them (again).
When one had occasion to point to or draw any- thing before the ruler, he used the tablet. When he went before him and received a charge, he wrote it down on it. For all these purposes the tablet was used, and therefore it was ornamental.
18. The tablet was 2 cubits and 6 inches long. Its width at the middle was 3 inches ; and it tapered away to 2\ inches (at the ends).
19. (A ruler) wore a plain white girdle of silk, with ornamented ends ; a Great officer, a similar girdle, with the ends hanging down ; an ordinary officer, one of dyed silk, with the edges tucked in, and the ends hanging down ; a scholar waiting to be employed, one of embroidered silk ; and young lads, one of white silk1.
1 From this paragraph to the end of the part, the text is in great confusion; with characters missing here and there, and sentences thrown together without natural connexion. Khaxv Hao has endeavoured to readjust them ; but I have preferred to follow the order of the imperial and other editions. The /i^ien-lung editors advise the reader to do so, and make the best he can of them by means of /tang Hsiian's notes. Kfnn Hao's order is — ■
A. A
14 THE LI KI. BK. xi.
20. For all these the buttons and loops were made of silk cords.
21. The knee-covers of a ruler were of vermilion colour ; those of a Great officer, white ; and of another officer, purple : — all of leather ; and might be rounded, slanting, and straight. Those of the son of Heaven were straight (and pointed at all the corners); of the prince of a state, square both at bottom and top ; of a Great officer, square at the bottom, with the corners at the top rounded off; and of another officer, straight both at bottom and top.
22. The width of these covers was 2 cubits at bottom, and 1 at top. Their length was 3 cubits. On each side of (what was called) the neck were 5 inches, reaching to the shoulders or corners. From the shoulders to the leathern band were 2 inches1.
23. The great girdle of a Great officer was 4
paragraphs — 25, 19, 20, 27, 23, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29. By this arrangement something like a train of thought can be made out. 1 The knee-covers of the prince of a state are represented thus —
; and of a Great officer,
The middle suspender joined on to the top strap at the neck ; the two others at the shoulders. On the central portions of the cover were represented certain of the emblems of distinction, according to the rank of the wearer : — dragons on the king's ; flames on a prince's ; and mountains on a Great officer's. But I do not think the makers of these figures had distinct ideas of the articles which they intended to represent. They certainly fail in giving the student such ideas. The colours, &c, moreover, appear to have varied with the occasions on which they were worn.
SECT. II. yu 3ao. i 5
inches (wide)1. In variegated girdles, the colours for a ruler were vermilion and green ; for a Great officer, cerulean and yellow; for an (ordinary) officer, a black border of 2 inches, and this, when carried round the body a second time, appeared to be 4 inches. On all girdles which were tucked in there was no needlework.
24. (An officer) who had received his first com- mission wore a cover of reddish-purple, with a black supporter for his girdle-pendant. One who had received the second commission wore a scarlet cover, (also) with a black supporter for the pendant ; and one who had received the third commission, a scarlet cover, with an onion-green supporter for the pendant2.
25. The son of Heaven wore a girdle of plain white silk, with vermilion lining, and ornamented ends.
26. The queen wore a robe with white pheasants embroidered on it ; (a prince's) wife, one with green pheasants3.
27. (The cords that formed the loops and buttons) were 3 inches long, equal to the breadth of the girdle. The rule for the length of the sash (descend- ing from the girdle) was, that, for an officer, it should
1 This, according to the -AT/zien-lung editors, was the girdle or sash of ' correct dress,' and white. The variegated girdles, they say, were worn in private and when at leisure.
2 The character for a knee-cover here ($^, f u) is different from that in paragraph 2 1 (gjj, pi) ; but the JSTAien-lung editors say their significance is exactly the same. How the knee-covers and the supporter or balance-yard (|l||, hang) of the girdle pendant are spoken of together, I do not know.
3 The pheasants here referred to are described as I have done in the i?-Ya. The ' wife ' is supposed also to include the ladies called the king's ' three helpmates '>in Book I, ii, Part ii, 1.
1 6 THE LI A'i.
BK. XI.
be 3 cubits; for one discharging a special service, 2\. 3ze-yu said, ' Divide all below the girdle into three parts, and the sash will be equal to two of them. The sash, the knee-covers, and the ties are all of equal length1.'
28. (The wife of a count or baron) who had re- ceived a degree of honour from the ruler2 wore a pheasant cut out in silk on her robe ; (the wife of the Great officer of a count or baron), who had received two degrees, wore a robe of fresh yellow ; (the wife of a Great officer), who had received one degree, a robe of white ; and the wife of an ordinary officer, a robe of black.
29. Only the ladies of honour3 received their de- gree of appointment, when they presented their cocoons. The others all wore the dresses proper to them as the wives of their husbands.
1 Khzrx Hao says, ' Man's length is 8 cubits ; below the waist 41 (:= 45 inches). A third of this is 15 inches. 2 x 15 = 30 or 3 cubits, the length of the sash, and of the covers in par. 22.' The cubit must have been shorter than the name now indicates. I do not know what the ' ties ' were.
2 .ffang Hsiian took the ruler here to be feminine, and to mean 'the queen;' and, notwithstanding the protest of the .Oien-lung editors, I think he was right. This paragraph and the next speak of the queen and ladies who were brought around her by their work in silk. Why may we not suppose that in her department she could confer distinction on the deserving as the king did in his ? This passage seems to show that she did so.
3 These ladies — 'hereditary wives' — occur also in Bk. I,ii, Partii, 1. It is commonly said that there were twenty-seven members of the royal harem, who had each that title ; but there is much vagueness and uncertainty about all such statements. ' The others ' must refer to the ladies, wives of the feudal lords and Great officers, whose rank gave them the privilege to co-operate with the queen in her direction of the nourishing of the silkworms and preparation of silk.
SECT. III. YU 3A0. 17
Section III.
1. All (officers) in attendance on the ruler let the sash hang down till their feet seemed to tread on the lower edge (of their skirt) \ Their chins pro- jected like the eaves of a house, and their hands were clasped before them low down. Their eyes were directed downwards, and their ears were higher than the eyes. They saw (the ruler) from his girdle up to his collar. They listened to him with their ears turned to the left 2.
2. When the ruler called (an officer) to his pre- sence, he might send three tokens. If two of them came to him, he ran (to answer the message) ; if (only) one, he yet walked quickly. If in his office, he did not wait for his shoes ; if he were outside elsewhere, he did not wait for his carriage.
3. When an officer received a visit from a Great officer, he did not venture to bow (when he went) to meet him 3 ; but he did so when escorting him on his departure. When he went to visit one of higher rank than himself, he first bowed (at the gate) and then went into his presence. If the other bowed to him in replying, he hurried on one side to avoid (the honour).
4. When an officer was speaking before the ruler, if he had occasion to speak of a Great officer who was dead, he called him by his posthumous epithet, or by the designation of his maturity ; if of an officer
1 See vol. xxvii, page 100, note 1.
2 They were on the right of the ruler, and turned their ears to the left to hear him.
3 That the more honourable visitor might not have the trouble of responding with a bow.
[28] C
1 8 THE LI kL
BK. XI.
(who was similarly dead), he called him by his name. When speaking with a Great officer, he mentioned officers by their name, and (other) Great officers by their designation.
5. In speaking at a Great officer's, he avoided using the name of the (former) ruler, but not that of any of his own dead. At all sacrifices and in the ancestral temple, there was no avoiding of
/ names. In school there was no avoiding of any character in the text.
6. Anciently, men of rank did not fail to wear their girdle-pendants with their precious stones, those on the right giving the notes -ATih and .ATio, and those on the left Kung and Yti1.
When (the king or ruler) was walking quickly (to the court of audience), he did so to the music of the 3ha-i Kh\ ; when walking more quickly (back to the reception-hall), they played the Sze hsia2. When turning round, he made a complete circle ; when turning in another direction, he did so at a right angle. When advancing, he inclined forward a little ; he held himself up straight ; and in all these movements, the pieces of jade emitted their tinklings. So also the man of rank, when in his carriage, heard the harmonious sounds of its bells ; and, when walking, those of his pendant jade-stones; and in this way evil and depraved thoughts found no entrance into his mind.
7. When the ruler was present, (his son and heir)
1 ^Tih and K'\o were the fourth and third notes of the musical scale, corresponding to our D and B; Kung and Yii, the first and fifth, corresponding to G and E. See the Chinese Classics, vol. hi, p. 84, note.
2 3hai Kh\ is taken as another name for the Khu 3hze, Chinese Classics, vol. iii, pp. 317-318.
SECT. III. yu 3Ao. 19
did not wear the pendant of jade-stones. He tied it up on the left of his girdle, and left free the pendant (of useful things) on the right. When seated at ease, he wore the (jade) pendant ; but in court, he tied it up 1.
In fasting and vigil they wore it, but the strings were turned round, and fastened at the girdle. They wore then the purple knee-covers 1.
8. All wore the jade-stone pendant at the girdle, excepting during the mourning rites. (At the end of the middle string) in it was the tooth-like piece, colliding with the others. A man of rank was never without this pendant, excepting for some sufficient reason ; he regarded the pieces of jade as emblematic of the virtues (which he should cultivate).
9. The son of Heaven had his pendant composed of beads of white jade, hung on dark-coloured strings; a duke or marquis, his of jade-beads of hill- azure, on vermilion strings ; a Great officer, his of beads of aqua-marine, on black strings ; an heir-son, his of beads of Yii jade, on variegated strings ; an ordinary officer, his of beads of jade-like quartz, on orange-coloured strings.
Confucius wore at his pendant balls of ivory2, five inches (round), on gray strings.
10. According to the regulations for (the dress of) a lad3, his upper garment was of black linen,
1 There were three pendants from the girdle : — the jade-stone in the middle, called the pendant of virtue;' and two others of useful things on the left and right, of which we shall read by and by. The subject of the first two sentences is said, correctly as I think, to be the heir-son of a ruler ; while the last two have a more general application.
2 Or ' an ivory ring.' 3 One who had not yet been capped.
C 2
20
THE Li A'l. bk. XI.
with an embroidered edging. His sash was embroi- dered, and (also) the strings for the button-loops (of his girdle). With such a string he bound up his hair. The embroidered border and strings were all red.
1 1 . When the ends of fastening strings reached to the girdle, if they had any toilsome business to do, they put them aside. If they were running, they thrust them in the breast1.
12. A lad did not wear furs, nor silk, nor the ornamental points on his shoes. He did not wear the three months' mourning. He did not wear the hempen band, when receiving any orders. When he had nothing to do (in mourning rites), he stood on the north of the principal mourner, with his face to the south. When going to see a teacher, he followed in the suite of others, and entered his apartment.
1 3. When one was sitting at a meal with another older than himself, or of a different (and higher) rank, he was the last to put down the offering2, but the first to taste the food. When the guest put down the offering, the host apologised, saying that the food was not worthy of such a tribute. When the guest was enjoying the viands, the host apologised for their being scanty and poor. When the host himself put down the pickle (for the guest), the guest himself re- moved it. When the members of a household ate together, not being host and guests, one of them re- moved the dishes ; and the same was done when a company had eaten together. At all festival meals, the women (of the house) did not remove the dishes.
1 This paragraph seems to be out of place. Aang thought should follow the first sentence of paragraph 2 7 in the last part,
2 By way of thanksgiving to the father of Cookery.
SECT. III. YU 3A0. 2T
14. When eating dates, peaches, or plums, they did not cast the stones away (on the ground)1. They put down the first slice of a melon as an offering, ate the other slices, and threw away the part by which they held it. When others were eating fruits with a man of rank, they ate them after him ; cooked viands they ate before him2. At meetings of re- joicing, if there were not some gift from the ruler, they did not congratulate one another ; at meetings of sorrow3, ....
15. If one had any toilsome business to do, he took them in his hand. If he were running, he thrust them in his breast4*
16. When Confucius was eating with (the head of) the K\ family, he made no attempt to decline any- thing, but finished his meal with the rice and liquid added to it, without eating any of the flesh 5.
1 7. When the ruler sent (to an officer) the gift of a carriage and horses, he used them in going to give thanks for them. When the gift was of clothes, he wore them on the same occasion. (In the case of similar gifts to a commissioner from the king), until his (own) ruler had given him orders to use them, he did not dare at once to do so6. When the rulers
1 Compare vol. xxvii, page 81, paragraph 62.
2 Fruits were the productions of nature, and there could be no poison in them. Cooked food might have been tampered with, and those in attendance on a superior man first tasted it as a pre- caution for his safety.
3 The conclusion is evidently lost.
4 A mistaken and meaningless repetition of part of paragraph 1 1.
5 To express, it is supposed, his dissatisfaction with some want of courtesy in his host.
6 This sentence is perplexing, and there are different views in interpreting it. I have followed .Afang Hsuan.
2 2 THE LI A'l. BK. XI.
gift reached him, he bowed his head to the ground with his two hands also, laying one of them over the other. A gift of liquor and flesh did not require the second expression of thanks (by the visit).
1 8. Whenever a gift was conferred on a man of rank, nothing was given to a small man on the same day.
19. In all cases of presenting offerings to a ruler, a Great officer sent his steward with them, and an ordinary officer went with them himself. In both cases they did obeisance twice, with their heads to the ground as they sent the things away ; and again the steward and the officer did the same at the ruler's1. If the offerings were of prepared food for the ruler, there were the accompaniments of ginger and other pungent vegetables, of a peach-wood and a sedge-broom 2. A Great officer dispensed with the broom, and the officer with the pungent vegetables. (The bearers) went in with all the articles to the cook. The Great officer did not go in person to make obeisance, lest the ruler should come to respond to him.
20. When a Great officer went (next day) to do obeisance for the ruler's gift, he retired after per- forming the ceremony. An officer, (doing the same), waited to receive the ruler's acknowledgment (of his visit), and then retired, bowing again as he did so ; but (the ruler) did not respond to his obeisance.
When a Great officer gave anything in person to an ordinary officer, the latter bowed on receiving
This translation seems to make too much out of the text ; but it is after Khung Ying-ta, KhZm Hao, and others.
2 Such presents might decompose or become offensive, and therefore these accompaniments were sent with them.
SECT. III. YU 3A0. 2 3
it ; and also went to his house to repeat the obei- sance. He did not, however, wear the clothes (which might have been the gift), in going to make that obeisance.
(In interchanges between) equals, if (the recipient) were in the house (when the gift arrived), he went and made his obeisance in the house (of the donor).
21. When any one presented an offering to his superior in rank, he did not dare to say directly that it was for him1.
An ordinary officer did not presume to receive the congratulations of a Great officer ; but a Great officer of the lowest grade did so from one of the highest.
When one was exchanging courtesies with another, if his father were alive, he would appeal to his authority ; if the other gave him a gift, he would say, in making obeisance for it, that he did so for his father.
22. If the ceremony were not very great, the (beauty of the) dress was not concealed. In accord- ance with this, when the great robe of fur was worn, it was without the appendage of one of thin silk to display it, and when (the king) rode in the grand carriage, he did not bend forward to the cross-bar (to show his reverence for any one beyond the ser- vice he was engaged on) 2.
1 He would say, for instance, that it was for some member of his household.
2 There are only fifteen characters in this paragraph, nor is there any intricacy in its structure, but few passages in the collection perplex a translator more. If we leave out the negatives in the former sentence, the meaning becomes clear. The grand carriage and grand fur-robe were used at the greatest of all ceremonies, the solstitial sacrifice to Heaven, which itself so occupied the mind
A A
24 THE LI A'l. BK. XI
23. When a father's summons came to him, a son reverently obeyed it without any delay. Whatever work he had in hand, he laid aside. He ejected the meat that was in his mouth, and ran, not con- tenting himself with a measured, though rapid pace. When his parents were old and he had gone away, he did not go to a second place, nor delay his return beyond the time agreed on ; when they were ailing, his looks and manner appeared troubled : — these were less-important observances of a filial son.
24. When his father died, he could not (bear to) read his books ; — the touch of his hand seemed still to be on them. When his mother died, he could not (bear to) drink from the cups and bowls that she had used ; — the breath of her mouth seemed still to be on them.
25. When a ruler, (visiting another ruler), was about to enter the gate, the attendant dusted the low post (at the middle of the threshold). The Great officers stood midway between the side-posts and this short post (behind their respective rulers). An officer, acting as an attendant, brushed the side-posts.
(A Great officer) on a mission from another court, did not enter at the middle of (either half of) the gate, nor tread on the threshold. If he were come on public business, he entered on the west of the short post ; if on his own business, on the east of it.
26. A ruler and a representative of the dead brought their feet together step by step when they walked ; a Great officer stepped along, one foot after the other ; an ordinary officer kept the length of his
of the sovereign that he was supposed to think of nothing else. The paragraph might have had a more appropriate place in the seventh Book or the ninth.
sect. in. yu Sao. 25
foot between his steps. In walking slowly, they all observed these rules. In walking rapidly, while they wished to push on (and did so), they were not allowed to alter the motion either of hands or feet. In turning their feet inwards or outwards, they did not lift them up, and the edge of the lower garment dragged along, like the water of a stream. In walk- ing on the mats it was the same.
When walking erect, (the body was yet bent, and) the chin projected like the eaves of a house, and their advance was straight as an arrow. When walking rapidly, the body had the appearance of rising constantly with an elevation of the feet. When carrying a tortoise-shell or (a symbol of) jade, they raised their toes and trailed their heels, present- ing an appearance of carefulness.
27. In walking (on the road), the carriage of the body was straight and smart ; in the ancestral temple, it was reverent and grave ; in the court, it was exact and easy.
28. The carriage of a man of rank was easy, but somewhat slow ; — grave and reserved, when he saw any one whom he wished to honour. He did not move his feet lightly, nor his hands irreverently. His eyes looked straightforward, and his mouth was kept quiet and composed. No sound from him broke the stillness, and his head was carried upright. His breath came without panting or stoppage, and his standing gave (the beholder) an impression of virtue. His looks were grave, and he sat like a per- sonator of the dead l. When at leisure and at ease, and in conversation, he looked mild and bland.
1 See vol. xxvii, page 62, paragraph 6, and note 2.
26 THE LI k\.
BK. XI.
29. At all sacrifices, the bearing and appearance (of the worshippers) made it appear as if they saw those to whom they were sacrificing.
30. When engaged with the mourning rites, they had a wearied look, and an aspect of sorrow and unrest. Their eyes looked startled and dim, and their speech was drawling and low.
31. The carriage of a martialist was bold and daring ; his speech had a tone of decision and com- mand ; his face was stern and determined ; and his eyes were clear and bright.
32. He stood with an appearance of lowliness, but with no indication of subserviency. His head rose straight up from the centre of the neck. He stood (firm) as a mountain, and his movements were well timed. His body was well filled with the volume of his breath, which came forth powerfully like that of nature. His complexion showed (the beauty and strength of) a piece of jade1.
33. When they spoke of themselves, the style of the son of Heaven was, T, the One man;' a chief of regions described himself as 'The strong minister
1 On the translation of this, and many of the paragraphs immediately preceding, Callery says: — 'The Chinese text contains dissyllabic expressions very difficult to translate, because they are a sort of onomatopoeias, which have nothing in common with the nature of the things to which they are applied. We could do nothing better with them than adopt the sense given by the commentators.' But these binomial combinations, which are often repetitions of the same character, are only onomatopoietic in the sense in which all words, sensuously descriptive at first, are applied by the mind to express its own concepts ; metaphorical rather than onomato- poietic. They are very common in the Shih, or Book of Poetry, and in all passionate, descriptive composition. So it is in other languages as well as Chinese.
SECT. III.
YU qAO. 27
of the son of Heaven;' the relation of a feudal lord expressed itself by 'So and So, the guardian of such and such a territory.' If the fief were on the borders, he used the style — ' So and So, the minister in such and such a screen.' Among his equals and those be- low him, he called himself 'The man of little virtue.' The ruler of a small state called himself 'The orphan.' The officer who answered for him (at a higher court) also styled him so1.
34. A Great officer of the highest grade (at his own court), called himself 'Your inferior minister;' (at another court), his attendant who answered for him, described him as 'The ancient of our poor ruler.' A Great officer of the lowest grade (at his own court), called himself by his name ; (at another court), his attendant described him as ' Our unworthy Great officer.' The son and heir of a feudal prince (at his own court), called himself by his name ; (at another court), his attendant described him as ' The rightful son of our unworthy ruler.'
35. A ruler's son (by an inferior lady) called him- self ' Your minister, the shoot from the stock.' An (ordinary) officer styled himself ' Your minister, the fleet courier;' to a Great officer, he described him- self as ' The outside commoner.' When a Great officer went on a mission about private affairs, a man of his private establishment went with him as his spokesman, and called him by his name.
36. When an officer belonging to the ruler's establishment acted (at another court for a Great officer), he spoke of him as ' Our unworthy Great officer,' or ' The ancient of our unworthy ruler.'
1 So, most commentators ; but this last sentence is not clear.
28
THE ii KI.
BK. XI.
When a Great officer went on any mission, it was the rule that he should have such an officer from the ruler's establishment with him, to answer for him.
PLAN OF THE HALL OF DISTINCTION.
BOOK XII. MING THANG WEI
OR THE PLACES IN THE HALL OF DISTINCTION1.
i. Formerly, when the duke of Aau gave audience to the feudal princes in their several places in the Hall of Distinction, the son of Heaven stood with his back to the axe-embroidered screen2, and his face towards the south3.
2. The three dukes4 were in front of the steps, in the middle, with their faces to the north, inclining to the east as the most honourable position5. The places of the marquises were at the east of the
1 See introductory notice, vol. xxvii, pp. 28-30. On the oppo- site page there is the plan of the Hall, as given in Morrison's Dictionary, vol. i, part i, page 512. Compare it with the less complicated figure in vol. xxvii, page 252.
2 See vol. xxvii, page 1 1 1 , paragraph 1 1 .
3 Many chronological and other perplexing questions arise in connexion with the great audience described in this and the para- graphs that immediately follow. The time should be referred, I think, to the inauguration of Lo as the eastern capital of A'au, probably in b. c. 1109, at the close of the duke of Aau's regency for the young king Kh&ng ; see the Shu, V, xiii. That ' the son of Heaven ' must be understood of king Khkng himself, and not of the duke of A"au, is a point, it seems to me, that no Chinese com- mentator should ever have called in question.
4 The three Kung, I suppose, mentioned in vol. hi, page 227, paragraph 3. The duke of Aau was himself one of them ; but per- haps, during his regency, another had been appointed in his place.
5 The text here simply = ' the east the upper.' The nearer one was to the king, the more honourable was his position.
30 THE LI id. BK. XII.
eastern steps, with their faces to the west, inclining to the north as the most honourable position. The lords of the earldoms were at the west of the west- ern steps, with their faces to the east, inclining also and for the same reason to the north. The counts were on the east of the gate, with their faces to the north, inclining to the east as the more honourable position. The barons were on the west of the gate, with their faces to the north, inclining also and for the same reason to the east.
3. The chiefs of the nine I1 were outside the eastern door, with their faces to the west, inclining to the north as the position of honour ; those of the eicrht Man were outside the door on the south, with their faces to the north, inclining for the same reason to the east; those of the six Zungwere outside the door on the west, with their faces to the east, inclining for the same reason to the south ; and those of the five Tl were outside the door on the north, with their faces to the south, inclining for the same reason to the east.
4. The chiefs of the nine 3hai were outside the Ying gate, with their faces to the north, inclining to the east as the position of honour for them ; those of the four Sai (also) came, who had only once in their time to announce their arrival (at the court). These were the places of the lords in the Hall of Distinction (when they appeared before) the duke of A'au 2.
1 1 was the general name for the wild tribes of the east; Man, for those of the south ; Zung, for those of the west; and Ti, for those of the north.
2 It is so difficult to explain what is meant by ' the nine 3hai,' and again by 'the four Sai,' that I am inclined to doubt, with Wang Yen (3l $0 ant^ otners> the genuineness of this paragraph.
BK. XII. MING THANG WEI. 3 1
5. The Hall of Distinction was so called, because in it the rank of the princes was clearly shown as high or low1.
6. Formerly, when A"au of Yin was throwing the whole kingdom into confusion, he made dried slices of (the flesh of) the marquis of Kwei 2, and used them in feasting the princes.' On this account the duke of Kau assisted king Wu in attacking AHii. When king Wu died, king K/ia.ng being young and weak, the duke took the seat of the son of Heaven3, and governed the kingdom. During six years he gave audience to all the princes in the Hall of Distinction ; instituted ceremonies, made his instru- ments of music, gave out his (standard) weights and measures4, and there was a grand submission throughout the kingdom.
7. In the seventh year, he resigned the govern- ment to king AV^ang; and he, in consideration of the duke's services to the kingdom, invested him with (the territory about) AV^u-fu5, seven hundred li square, and sending forth a thousand chariots of
1 See the introduction, vol. xxvii, page 28.
2 ' The marquis of Kwei ' appears in Sze-ma Alien's history of Yin (near the end), as the marquis of K/iiu (^L ^), and is made into pickle. The reference, no doubt, is to some act of atrocious and wanton cruelty on the part of Aau.
3 This can only mean that the duke, as regent, administered the government, though the compiler of the Book wanted to exalt his personality beyond the bounds of truth.
4 The text is — measures of length and of capacity.
B A7m-fu is still a district city in the department of Yen-/£au, Shan-tung. It was the capital of Lu ; and is called by foreigners ' the city of Confucius/ It contains the great temple of the sage, and is the residence of his representative-descendant, with thousands of other Khungs.
32
THE Li KL BK. XII.
war 1. He (also) gave charge that (the princes of) Lu, from generation to generation, should sacrifice to the duke of Kau with the ceremonies and music proper at a sacrifice by the son of Heaven.
8. Thus it was that the rulers of Lu, in the first month of spring, rode in a grand carriage, display- ing the banner, suspended from its bow-like arm, with the twelve streamers, and having the sun and moon emblazoned on it, to sacrifice to God in the suburb of their metropolis, associating Hau K\ as his assessor in the service ; — according to the cere- monies used by the son of Heaven2.
9. In the last month of summer, the sixth month, they used the ceremonies of the great sacrifice in sacrificing to the duke of K&u in the great ancestral temple, employing for the victim to him a white bull. The cups were those with the figure of a victim bull, of an elephant, and of hills and clouds ; that for the fragrant spirits was the one with gilt eyes on it. For libations they used the cup of jade with the handle made of a long rank-symbol. The dishes with the offerings were on stands of wood, adorned with jade and carved. The cups for the personator were of jade carved in the same way. There were also the plain cups and those of horn, adorned with round pieces of jade ; and for the meat-stands, they used those with four feet and the cross-binders.
10. (The singers) went up to the hall (or stage),
1 This is one of the gross exaggerations in the Book. The mar- quisate of Lu was only a hundred li square on its first constitution.
2 Of this and many of the statements in the paragraphs that follow, see the fourth of the ' Praise Odes of Lu,' in the Shih, Metrical version, pp. 379-383.
BK. XII. MING THANG WEI. 33
and sang the Khing Miao ; (in the court) below, (the pantomimes) performed the Hsiang dance1, to the accompaniment of the wind instruments. With their red shields and jade-adorned axes, and in their caps with pendants, they danced to the music of the Ta Wu2; in their skin caps, and large white skirts gathered at the waist, and jacket of silk, they danced the Ta Hsia3. There (were also) the Mei, or music of the wild tribes of the East; and the Zan, or music of those of the South. The introduction of these two in the grand temple was to signalise the distinction of Lii all over the kingdom.
ii. The ruler, in his dragon-figured robe and cap with pendants, stood at the eastern steps ; and his wife, in her head-dress and embroidered robe, stood in her room. The ruler, with shoulder bared, met the victim at the gate ; his wife brought in the stands for the dishes. The ministers and Great officers assisted the ruler ; their wives 4 assisted his wife. Each one discharged the duty proper to him or her. Any officer who neglected his duty was severely punished ; and throughout the kingdom there was a great acknowledgment of, and sub- mission to, (the worth of the duke of Aau).
12. (In Lit) they offered (also) the sacrifices of summer, autumn, and winter (in the ancestral temple) ; with those at the altars of the land and grain in spring, and that at the autumnal hunt, going on to the great sacrifice of thanksgiving at
1 See vol. xxvii, page 361, paragraph 21.
2 Attributed to king Wu. 3 Said to be of the Hsia dynasty. 4 'The commissioned wives;' including, according to A7;an
Hao, the ruler's ' ladies of honour,' as well as the wives of his ministers and Great officers.
[28] D
34 THE LI k1.
BK. XII.
the end of the year : — all (after the pattern of) the sacrifices of the son of Heaven.
13. The grand temple (of Lu) corresponded to the Hall of Distinction of the son of Heaven, the Khu gate of the (marquis's palace) to the Kao (or outer) gate of the king's, and the K'\\\ gate to the Ying \ They shook the bell with the wooden clapper in the court as was done in the royal court, in announcing governmental orders.
14. The capitals of the pillars with hills carved on them, and the pond-weed carving on the small pillars above the beams ; the second storey and the great beams projecting under the eaves ; the polished pillars and the windows opposite to one another ; the earthen stand on which the cups, after being used, were placed ; the high stand on which the jade tokens were displayed aloft; and the slightly carved screen: — all these were ornaments of the temple of the son of Heaven 2.
15. (The princes of Lu) had, as carriages, that of (Shun), the lord of Yii, furnished with bells ; that of the sovereign of Hsia, with its carved front ; the Great carriage (of wood), or that of Yin ; and the carriage (adorned with jade), or that of Aau.
16. They had, as flags or banners, that of (Shun), the lord of Yti ; the yak's tail of the sovereign of Hsia ; the great white flag of Yin ; and the cor- responding red one of Aau.
1 The five gates of the royal palace, beginning with the outer- most, were the K&o (Jj|), the Khu (J|[)r the A'ih (^|)> the Ying (jffl), and the Lu ($§) ; the palaces of the princes wanted the Kao and Ying gates. The grand temples appear to have been constructed on a similar plan, to the east of the palace.
2 And in the temple of Lu, also, it is implied.
BK. xil. MING THANG WEI. 35
1 7. They had the white horses of the sovereign of Hsia, with their black manes ; the white horses of Yin, with their black heads ; and the bay horses of A"au, with red manes. The sovereigns of Hsia preferred black victims ; those of Yin, white ; and those of Aau, victims which were red and strong.
1 8. Of jugs for liquor, they had the earthenware jug of the lord of Yti ; the jug of Hsia, with clouds and hills figured on it ; the ko of Yin, with no base, which rested directly on the ground ; and the jugs of A'au, with a victim-bull or an elephant on them.
19. For bowls or cups they had the Hn1 of Hsia; the k\& of Yin2 ; and the /£io of A'au3.
20. For libations they had the jug of Hsia, with a cock on it ; the /£ia of Yin; and that of Aau, with gilt eyes on it.
For ladles they had that of Hsia, with the handle ending in a dragon's head ; that of Yin, slightly carved all over ; and that of Aau, with the handle like plaited rushes.
21. They had the earthen drum, with clods for the drumstick and the reed pipe, — producing the music of l-/'/£i4; the pillow-like bundles of chaff,
1 Made of jade, or adorned with it.
2 With plants of grain figured on it.
3 Also made of, or adorned with, jade.
A
4 Y-kh\ is said by Aang to be ' the dynastic title of an ancient son of Heaven.' Many identify him with Shan Nang, who generally follows Fu-hsi in the chronology, and who cannot be placed later than the thirty-first century b. c, if we can speak at all of so distant dates. Evidently the compiler is putting down the names of the most ancient instruments which he had heard of. There is in the A7/ien-lung edition of our collection, chapter 81, page 5, a representation of the drum and its handle ; with a collection of the views about them, contradictory and fantastical,
• D 2
vV
THE LI K
I.
BK. XII.
which were struck1; the sounding stone of jade; the instruments rubbed or struck, (to regulate the com- mencement and close of the music)2; the great lute and great cithern ; the medium lute and little cithern3 : — the musical instruments of the four dynasties.
22. The temple of the duke of Lii was main- tained from generation to generation like that of (king) Wan (in the capital of A'au), and the temple of duke Wu in the same way like that of (king) Wu 4.
23. They had the hsiang (school) of the lord of Yti, in connexion with which were kept the stores of (sacrificial) rice5; the hsii school of the sovereign of Hsia. ; the school of Yin, in which the blind were
so that it is not worth while to reproduce them here. There is a figure also of the reed pipe, which can only have been something a little superior to the early ' oaten pipe ' of the west.
1 This also is represented in the Khien-Xung edition ; but how any- thing like music could be brought from the pillows I do not know. The two characters, supposed to give the name, are found, perhaps, in the Shu, II, iv, 9, used with verbal force of playing on the lute.
2 The Kvl and Yu; see vol. xxvii, pages 219 and 273.
3 The invention of the lute and cithern is ascribed to Fu-hsi. They are represented thus —
* The duke of Lu here is the first duke, Po-Min (b. c. TI15- 1063). Duke Wu was the ninth duke (b.c. 826-817). 6 As a lesson, it is said, of filial duty.
BK. XII.
MING THANG WEI.
37
honoured1; and the college of ATau, with its semi- circle of water.
24. They had the tripods of K/mng9- and Kwan2 ; the great jade hemisphere; and the tortoise-shell of Fang-fu3: — all articles (properly) belonging to the son of Heaven. They (also) had the lance of Ylieh3; and the great bow, — military weapons of the son of Heaven.
25. They had the drum of Hsia supported on four legs ; that of Yin supported on a single pillar ; the drums of A"au, pendent from a stand ; the peal of bells of Sui4; the differently toned khmg (sonorous stones) of Shu5; and the organ of Nii- kwa 6, with its tongues.
26. They had the music-stand of Hsia, with its face-board and posts, on which dragons were carved; that of Yin, with the high-toothed face-board ; and that of Aau, with its round ornaments of jade, and feathers (hung from the corners).
1 The father of Music, it is said, was here sacrificed to, or had offerings presented to him. All this is very uncertain. Blind men were used as musicians.
2 These are names of states mentioned in the Shu, with which we find king Wan at war.
3 Fang-fu must also be the name of an ancient state ; but where it was I do not know. Yiieh was a great state, south of Wu, on the seaboard.
4 See the Shu, II, i, 21, and note.
5 Shu was also called Wu-kau (M. ^pj).
6 Nu-kwa is placed between Fu-hsi and Shan Nang. Various fabulous marvels are related of him or her (for many hold the name to be that of a female) in the account of the five Tis, prefixed to Sze-ma A7/ien's histories. The organ is re- presented thus —
38 THE Li A'L bk. xii.
27. They had the two tui of the lord of Yii (for holding the grain at sacrifices) ; the four lien of Hsia; the six hu of Yin ; and the eight kwei of Aau1.
28. They had for stands (on which to set forth the flesh of the victims), the khwan of Shun; the iiieh of Hsia; the k\x of Yin; and the room-like stand of Aau. For the tall supports of the dishes, they used those of Hsia. of unadorned wood ; those of Yin, adorned with jade; and those of Kfm, with feathers carved on them.
29. They had the plain leather knee-covers of Shun; those of Hsia, with hills represented on them ; those of Yin, with flames ; and those of Aau, with dragons.
30. They used for their sacrificial offerings (to the father of Cookery), like the lord of Yti, (portions of) the head; like the sovereigns of Hsia, (portions of) the heart ; as they did under Yin, (portions of) the liver ; and as they did under Aau, (portions of) the lungs2.
3 1 . They used the bright water preferred by H sia ; the unfermented liquor preferred by Yin ; and the completed liquor preferred by Aau3.
1 Figures of all these are given. The number of the vessels in the different dynasties is thought to have oeen regulated by the number of the kinds of grain ; but most of this is conjecture.
2 Aang Hsiian, in explanation of these practices, has only three characters, which I confess I do not fully comprehend. Khung Ying-ta says nothing about them, nor the A7/ien-lung editors. Fang Alien writes, on the relation between the five elements and the five colours, and the symbolical colours adopted by the different dynasties, and of the different members of the victims; very mystically and darkly, and failing to elucidate the passage.
3 There have been various references to these points already, and there will be more hereafter.
bk. XII. MING THANG WEI. 3<
32. They used (the names) of the 50 officers of the lord of Yti ; of the 100 of the sovereigns of Hsia; of the 200 of Yin ; and of the 300 of Aau1.
33. (At their funerals) they used the feathery ornaments of the lord of Yti ; the wrappings of white silk (about the flag-staffs) of the sovereigns of Hsia ; (the flags) with their toothed edges of Yin ; and the round pieces of jade and plumes of Aau2.
34. Lu (thus) used the robes, vessels and officers of all the four dynasties, and so it observed the royal ceremonies. It long transmitted them everywhere. Its rulers and ministers never killed one another. Its rites, music, punishments, laws, governmental proceedings, manners and customs never changed. Throughout the kingdom it was considered the state which exhibited the right ways; and therefore dependence was placed on it in the matters of ceremonies and music3.
1 Compare the Shu, V, xx, 3. Various attempts are made to reconcile the statements there and those of this paragraph ; ' all,' says Khkn Hao, ' mere conjectures.'
2 Compare paragraph 22, page 139, vol. xxvii.
3 Much of what is said here is glaringly false ; and justifies what is said of the Book in the introduction, page 29.
BOOK XIII. SANG FO HSlAO Al
OR
RECORD OF SMALLER MATTERS IN THE DRESS OF MOURNING1.
Section I.
i. When wearing the unhemmed sackcloth (for a father), (the son) tied up his hair with a hempen (band), and also when wearing it for a mother. When he exchanged this band for the cincture (in the case of mourning for his mother) 2, this was made of linen cloth.
(A wife) 3, when wearing the (one year's mourn- ing) of sackcloth with the edges even, had the girdle (of the same), and the inferior hair-pin (of hazel-wood), and wore these to the end of the mourning.
2. (Ordinarily) men wore the cap, and women the hair-pin ; (in mourning) men wore the cincture, and women the same after the female fashion.
1 See the introductory notice, vol. xxvii, page 30.
This was done after the slighter dressing of the corpse. The cincture (wan, ^) is mentioned in the first paragraph of the Than Kung (vol. xxvii, page 120). The hempen band being re- moved, one of linen cloth, about the breadth of which there are different accounts, was put round the hair on the crown, taken forward to the forehead, there crossed, taken back again, and knotted at the back of the hair.
The text does not mention ' the wife ' here ; but a com- parison of different passages shows that this sentence is only applicable to her.
SECT. I. SANG FU" HSIaO kL 4 1
The idea was (simply) to maintain in this way a distinction between them *.
3. The dark-coloured staff was of bamboo ; that pared and fashioned (at the end) was of eleococca wood 2.
4. When the grandfather was dead, and after- wards (the grandson) had to go into mourning for his grandmother, he, being the representative of the family (through the death of his father), did so for three years.
5. The eldest son, (at the mourning rites) for his father or mother, (before bowing -to a visitor who had come to condole with him), first laid his fore- head to the ground (as an expression of his sorrow).
When a Great officer came to condole (with an ordinary officer), though it might be (only) in a case of the three months' mourning, (the latter first) laid his forehead to the ground 3.
A wife, at the rites for her husband or eldest son, bowed her head to the ground before she saluted
1 Anciently, it is said, there was no distinction between these two cinctures, but in the name. There probably came to be some difference between them ; but what it was I cannot discover.
2 This is found also in the 1 Li, XXXII, 5; but the inter- pretation there is as difficult as here. The translation of the first character ( J|\ ghu) by ' dark-coloured ' is from Khung Ying-ta. The paring away the end of the dryandria branch was to make it square. The round bamboo was carried in mourning for a father, and was supposed to symbolise heaven; the other was carried in mourning for a mother, and its square end symbolised earth. What heaven and earth were to nature that the father and mother were to a child. I can make nothing more or better of the passage.
3 We do not see how this instance coheres with the former one ; nor why the two are brought together.
42 THE LI A'l.
BK. XIII.
a visitor ; but in mourning for others, she did not do so l.
6. The man employed to preside (at the mourn- ing rites) was required to be of the same surname (as the deceased parent) ; the wife so employed, of a different surname 2.
7. The son who was his father's successor (as now head of the family) did not wear mourning for his mother who had been divorced.
8. In counting kindred (and the mourning to be worn of them), the three closest degrees become expanded into five, and those five again into nine. The mourning diminished as the degrees ascended or descended, and the collateral branches also were correspondingly less mourned for ; and the mourn- ing for kindred thus came to an end 3.
9. At the great royal sacrifice to all ancestors, the first place was given to him from whom the founder of the line sprang, and that founder had the place of assessor to him. There came thus to be established four ancestral shrines 4. In the
1 The ' others,' according to A"ang, must be understood of her own parents. She was now identified with a family of another sur- name ; and her husband's relatives were more to her than her own.
The son and his wife who should have presided are supposed to be dead. The wife elected for the office would be the wife of some other member of the family, herself therefore of a different surname.
The three closest degrees are ' father, son, and son's son.' Add the grandfather and grandson (counting from the son), and we have five ; great-grandfather and great-grandson (here omitted), and we have seven. Then great-great-grandfather and great-great- grandson, make nine ; and the circle of kindred, for whom mourn- ing should be worn, is complete. See Appendix, Book II, vol. xxvii.
4 This statement about the four shrines has given occasion to much writing.
SECT. I. SANG FU HSIAO k1. 43
case of a son by another than the queen coming to be king, the same course was observed
10. When a son other than (the eldest) became the ancestor (of a branch of the same line), his successor was its Honoured Head, and he who followed him (in the line) was its smaller Honoured Head. After five generations there was a change again of the Honoured Head ; but all in continu- ation of the High Ancestor.
ii. Hence the removal of the ancestor took place high up (in the line), and the change of the Honoured Head low down (in it). Because they honoured the ancestor, they reverenced the Hon- oured Head; their reverencing the Honoured Head was the way in which they expressed the honour which they paid to the ancestor and his immediate successor \
12. That any other son but the eldest did not sacrifice to his grandfather showed that (only he was in the direct line from) the Honoured Head (of their branch of the family). So, no son but he wore the (three years') unhemmed sackcloth for his eldest son, because the eldest son of no other continued (the direct line) of the grandfather and father 2.
13. None of the other sons sacrificed to a son
1 The subject imperfectly described in these two paragraphs, — the manner in which a family, ever lengthening its line and multiplying its numbers, was divided into collateral branches, will come before the reader again in the next Book.
2 It is difficult to catch exactly the thought in the writer of these, and several of the adjacent, sentences. .Even the native critics, down to the A7/ien-lung editors, seem to experience the difficulty.
44 the li k\.
BK. XIII.
(of his own) who had died prematurely, or one who had left no. posterity. (The tablet of) such an one was placed along with that of his grandfather, and shared in the offerings made to him.
14. Nor could any of them sacrifice to their father ; showing that (the eldest son was the repre- sentative of) the Honoured Head.
15. (In the distinctions of the mourning) for the kindred who are the nearest, the honoured ones to whom honour is paid, the elders who are venerated for their age, and as the different tributes to males and females ; there are seen the greatest manifest- ations of the course which is right for men.
16. Where mourning would be worn from one's relation with another for parties simply on the ground of that affinity, when that other was dead, the mourning ceased. Where it would have been worn for them on the ground of consanguinity, even though that other were dead, it was still worn 1.
When a concubine had followed a ruler's wife to the harem, and the wife came to be divorced, the concubine, (following her out of the harem), did not wear mourning" for her son.2.
1 7. According to the rules, no one but the king offered the united sacrifice to all ancestors 3.
1 Khung Ying-ta specifies six cases coming under the former of these cases, and four under the second. It is not necessary to set them forth. The .Oien-lung editors say that the para- graph has reference only to the practice of the officer; for a Great officer did not wear mourning either for his wife or mother's kin.
2 This concubine would be either of the near relatives of the wife, who had gone with her on her marriage.
This paragraph is out of place. It should have formed part, probably, of paragraph 9.
SECT. I. SANG FU HSIAO kL 45
1 8. The heir-son (of the king or a feudal lord) did not diminish the mourning for the parents of his wife. For his wife he wore the mourning which the eldest and rightful son of a Great officer did
for his 1.
19. When the father was an officer, and the son came to be king or a feudal prince, the father was sacrificed to with the rites of a king or a lord ; but the personator wore the dress of an officer. When the father had been the son of Heaven, or a feudal lord, -and the son was (only) an officer, the father was sacrificed to with the rites of an officer, but his personator wore only the dress of an officer 2.
20. If a wife were divorced while wearing the mourning (for her father or mother-in-law), she put it off. If the thing took place while she was wear- ing the mourning for her own parents, and before she had completed the first year's mourning, she continued to wear it for the three years ; but if that term had been completed, she did not resume the mourning.
If she were called back before the completion of the year, she wore it to the end of that term ; but if that term had been completed before she was called back, she went on wearing it to the regular term of mourning for parents.
21. The mourning which lasted for two complete years was (held to be) for three years ; and that
1 The sackcloth for one year, without carrying the staff.
2 Both the cases in this paragraph can hardly be taken as any- thing more than hypothetical. On the concluding statement, the .Oien-lung editors ask how the robes of a king could be exhibited in the ancestral temple of an officer.
46 THE LI Kl. BK. XIII.
which lasted for one complete year for two years l. The mourning for nine months and that for seven- months 2 was held to be for three seasons ; that for five months for two ; and that for three months for one. Hence the sacrifice at the end of the com- pleted year was according to the prescribed rule ; but the putting off the mourning (or a part of it) then was the course (prompted by natural feeling). The sacrifice was not on account of the putting off of the mourning 3.
22. When the interment (for some reason) did not take place till after the three years, it was the rule that the two sacrifices (proper at the end of the first and second years) should then be offered. Between them, but not all at the same time, the mourning was put off4.
23. If a relative who had himself to wear only the nine months' mourning for the deceased took the direction of the mourning rites in the case of any who must continue their mourning for three years, it was the rule that he should offer for them the two annual terminal sacrifices. If one who was merely a friend took that direction, he only offered
1 See the introduction on Book XXXV, vol. xxvii, page 49.
2 We have not met before with this mourning term of seven months. It occurs in the I Li, Book XXIV, 6, as to be worn for those who had died in the second degree of prematurity between the ac;e of twelve and fifteen inclusive.
3 ' This remark is made by the compiler,' say the .A^ien-lung editors, ' to guard against the sudden abandonment of their grief by the mourners, as if they had done with the deceased when the mourning was concluded.'
4 After the first, it is said, men put off the mourning headband, and women that of the girdle. After the second they both put off their sackcloth.
SECT. I. SANG FU HSIAO kL 47
the sacrifice of Repose, and that at the placing of the tablet in the shrine *.
24. When the concubine of an officer had a son, he wore the three months' mourning for her. If she had no son, he did not do so 2.
25. When one had been born (in another state), and had had no intercourse with his grand-uncles and aunts, uncles and cousins, and his father, on hearing of the death of any of them, proceeded to wear mourning, he did not do so.
26. If one did not (through being abroad) hear of the death of his ruler's father or mother, wife or eldest son, till the ruler had put off his mourning, he did not proceed to wear any.
27. If it were a case, however, where the mourning was reduced to that of three months, he wore it3.
28. (Small) servants in attendance on the ruler, (who had followed him abroad), when he assumed mourning (on his return, for relatives who had died when he was away), also put it on. Other and (higher officers in his train) also did so ; but if the proper term for the mourning in the case were past, they did not do so. (Those who had remained at home), though the ruler could not know of their doing so, had worn the (regular) mourning.
1 Because of the youth of the son, or of some other reason existing in the case. The director would himself be a cousin.
2 But Great officers wore the three months' mourning for the relatives who had accompanied their wives to the harem, though they might have had no son. No such relatives accompanied the wife of an officer.
3 This, it is supposed, should follow paragraph 25. There are doubts as to the interpretation of it.
48 THE lA kI. BK. XIII.
Section II.
1. (The presiding mourner), after the sacrifice of Repose, did not carry his staff in proceeding to his apartment ; after the placing of the tablet of the deceased (in the shrine of the grandfather), he did not carry it in going up to the hall *.
2. The (son of another lady of the harem), who had been adopted as the child of the (childless) wife of the ruler, when that wife died, did not go into mourning for her kindred 2.
3. The sash was shorter (than the headband), by one-fifth of the length (of the latter). The staff was of the same length as the sash 3.
4. For the ruler's eldest son .a concubine wore
1 See vol. xxvii, p. 170. I have met with ' the Pacifying sacrifice,' instead of ' the sacrifice of Repose,' which I prefer for Jp^ in this application. The character is explained by -&, the symbol of ' being at rest.' The mourners had done all they could for the body of the deceased. It had been laid in the grave ; and this sacrifice of Repose was equivalent to our wish for a departed friend, 'Requiescat in pace.' It was offered in the principal apart- ment of the house. It remained only to place with an appropriate service the tablet of the deceased in its proper shrine in the an- cestral temple next day. The staff was discarded by the mourner, it is said, to show that his grief was beginning to be assuaged. He and the others would pass from the principal apartment to others more private; and on leaving the temple, would have to mount the steps to the hall.
2 The A'^icn-lung editors argue, and, I think, correctly, that this paragraph should say the opposite of what it does. They think it has been mutilated.
3 The purely native staff in China is very long. At temples in the interior of the country I have often been asked to buy choice specimens as long as a shepherd's crook, or an alpenstock.
SECT. II. SANG FU HSIAO k\. 49
mourning for the same time as his wife, (the son's mother).
5. In putting off the mourning attire, they com- menced with what was considered most important. In changing it, they commenced with what was considered least important.
6. When there was not the (regular) occasion for it, they did not open the door of the temple 1. All wailed in the (mourning) shed (at other times).
7. In calling the dead back, and writing the in- scription (to be exhibited over the coffin), the language was the same for all, from the son of Heaven to the ordinary officer. A man was called by his name. For a wife they wrote her surname, and her place among her sisters. If they did not know her surname, they wrote the branch-name of her family.
8. The girdle of dolychos cloth assumed with the unhemmed sackcloth (at the end of the wailing), and the hempen girdle worn when one (first) put on the hemmed sackcloth (of one year's mourning), were of the same size. The girdle of dolychos cloth assumed (as a change) in the hemmed sack- cloth mourning, and that of hempen cloth at the (beginning of the) nine months' mourning, were of the same size. When the occasion for assuming the girdle of the lighter mourning occurred, a man wore both it and the other together 2.
1 This is not the ancestral temple ; but the apartment where the body was kept in the coffin, entered regularly for wailing in the morning and evening.
2 So far as I can understand this paragraph, it describes the practice of a man (not of a woman), when, while he was wearing
[28] E
;q THE LI kI. bk. XIII.
9. Aii early interment was followed by an early sacrifice of repose. But they did not end their wailing till the three months were completed.
10. When the mourning rites for both parents occurred at the same time, the sacrifices of repose and of the enshrining of the tablet, for the (mother) who was buried first, did not take place till after the burial of the father. The sackcloth worn at her interment was the unhemmed and jagged1.
n. A Great officer reduced the (period of) mourning for a son by a concubine 2 ; but his grand- son, (the son of that son), did not reduce his mourning for his father.
12. A Great officer did not preside at the mourn- ing rites for an (ordinary) officer.
13. For the parents of his nurse3 a man did not wear mourning.
14. When the husband had become the successor and representative of some other man (than his own father), his wife wore the nine months' mourn- ing for his parents-in-law 4.
15. When the tablet of an (ordinary) officer was placed in the shrine of (his grandfather who had been) a Great officer, the victim due to him (as an officer) was changed (for that due to a Great officer).
16. A son who had not lived with his step-father (did not wear mourning for him). (They) must
deep mourning, a fresh death in his circle required him to add to it something of a lighter mourning.
1 Compare vol. xxvii, page 315, paragraph 6.
2 To nine months.
* A concubine of his father's.
' Her husband's own parents. But the paragraph is a difficult one ; nor have the commentators elucidated it clearly.
SECT. II.
SANG Ft HSIAO k\. 5 I
have lived together and both be without sons to preside at their mourning rites ; and (the step- father moreover) must have shared his resources with the son, and enabled him to sacrifice to his grandfather and father, (in order to his wearing mourning for him) ; — under these conditions they were said to live together. If they had sons to preside at the mourning rites for them, they lived apart.
1 7. When people wailed for a friend, they did so outside the door (of the principal apartment), on the left of it, with their faces towards the south l.
18. When one was buried in a grave already occupied, there was no divination about the site (in the second case).
19. The tablet of an (ordinary) officer or of a Great officer could not be placed in the shrine of a grandfather who had been the lord of a state ; it was placed in that of a brother of the grandfather who had been an (ordinary) officer or a Great officer. The tablet of his wife was placed by the tablet of that brother's wife, and that of his concu- bine by the tablet of that brother's concubine.
If there had been no such concubine, it was placed by the tablet of that brother's grandfather ; for in all such places respect was had to the rules concerning the relative positions assigned to the tablets of father and son 2. The tablet of a feudal lord could not be placed in the shrine of the son of Heaven (from whom he was born or descended) ; but that of the son of Heaven, of a feudal lord, or
1 See vol. xxvii, page 134, paragraph 10.
'■3, V< E 2
2 See vol. xxvii, page 223, paragraph 4, and note.
52
THE Lf kI. BK. XIII.
of a Great officer, could be placed in the shrine of an (ordinary) officer (from whom he was descended)1.
20. For his mother's mother, who had been the wife proper of her father, if his mother were dead, a son did not wear mourning 2.
21. The son who was the lineal Head of his new branch of the surname, even though his mother were alive, (his father being dead), completed the full period of mourning for his wife 3.
22. A concubine's son who had been reared by another, might act as son to that other ; and she might be any concubine of his father or of his grandfather 4.
23. The mourning went on to the than ceremony for a parent, a wife, and the eldest son 5.
24. To a nursing mother, or any concubine who was a mother, sacrifice was not maintained for a second generation.
25. When a grown-up youth had been capped, (and died), though his death could not be considered premature ; and a (young) wife, after having worn
1 A descendant in a low position could not presume on the dignity of his ancestors ; but those who had become distinguished glorified their meaner ancestors.
2 It is difficult to say exactly what is the significance of the S* -^T in the text here.
3 Meaning, say some, performed the than sacrifice at the end of twenty-seven months for her. I cannot think this is the meaning. Even for such a wife there could not be the ' three years' mourning.' According to Wang Yuan (y^£ $$£)> the mourning for one year terminated with a than sacrifice in the fifteenth month. This must be what is here intended.
4 This is the best I can do for this paragraph, over which there is much conflict of opinion.
6 Here is the same difficulty as in paragraph 21.
SECT. II. SANG FU HSIAO kL 53
the hair-pin, (died), though neither could her death be said to be premature ; yet, (if they died child- less), those who would have presided at their rites, if they had died prematurely, wore the mourning for them which they would then have done \
26. If an interment were delayed (by circum- stances) for a long time, he who was presiding over the mourning rites was the only one who did not put off his mourning. The others having worn the hempen (band) for the number of months (proper in their relation to the deceased), put off their mourn- ing, and made an end of it 2.
27. The hair-pin of the arrow-bamboo was worn by (an unmarried daughter for her father) to the end of the three years' mourning 3.
28. That in which those who wore the sackcloth with even edges for three months, and those who wore (it) for all the nine months' mourning agreed, was the shoes made of strings (of hemp).
29. When the time was come for the sacrifice at the end of the first year's mourning, they consulted the divining stalks about the day for it, and the individual who was to act as personator of the deceased. They looked that everything was clean, and that all wore the proper girdle, carried their staffs, and had on the shoes of hempen-string. When the officers charged with this announced that all was ready, (the son) laid aside his staff, and assisted at the divinations for the day and for the
1 Another difficult paragraph, about the interpretation of which there seem to be as many minds as there are commentators.
2 Yet they would keep it by them till the interment took place, and then put it on again for the occasion.
3 Should form part of the first paragraph of Section i.
54 THE LI A'l.
BK. XIII.
personator. The officers having announced that these were over, he resumed his staff, bowed to the guests (who had arrived in the meantime), and escorted them away. At the sacrifice for the end of the second year, (the son) wore his auspicious (court) robes, and divined about the personator.
30. The son of a concubine, living in the same house with his father, did not observe the sacrifice at the end of the mourning for his mother.
Nor did such a son carry his staff in proceeding to his place for wailing.
As the father did not preside at the mourning rites for the son of a concubine, that son's son might carry his staff in going to his place for wail- ing. Even while the father was present, the son of a concubine, in mourning for his wife, might carry his staff in going to that place.
31. When a feudal prince went to condole on the death of a minister of another state \ (being himself there on a visit), the ruler of that state received him and acted as the presiding mourner. The rule was that he should wear the skin cap and the starched sackcloth. Though the deceased on account of whom he paid his condolences had been interred, the presiding mourner wore the mourning cincture. If he had not yet assumed the full mourning dress, the visitor also did not wear that starched sackcloth.
32. One who was ministering to another who was ill did not do so in the mourning clothes (which he might be wearing) ; and (if the patient died), he might go on to preside at the mourning rites for him. But if another relative, who had not ministered
That is, if the visit were made before the removal of the coffin.
SECT. II. SANG FU HSIAO Kl. 55
to the deceased in his illness, came in to preside at the rites for him, he did not change the mourning which he might be wearing. In ministering to one more honourable than himself, the rule required a person to change the mourning he might be wear- ing, but not if the other were of lower position \
33. If there had been no concubine of her hus- band's grandmother by whose tablet that of a deceased concubine might be placed, it might be placed by that of the grandmother, the victim offered on the occasion being changed.
34. In the mourning rites for a wife, at the sacrifices of repose and on the ending of the wailing, her husband or son presided ; when her tablet was put in its place, her father-in-law presided.
35. An (ordinary) officer did not take the place of presiding (at the mourning rites) for a Great officer. It was only when he was the direct de- scendant of the Honoured Head of their branch of the surname that he could do so.
36. If a cousin arrived from another state (to take part in the rites), before the presiding mourner had put off his mourning, the latter received him in the part of host, but without the mourning cincture2.
37. The course pursued in displaying the articles,- (vessels to the eye of fancy, to be put into the grave)3, was this : — If they were (too) many as dis-
1 If the other, it is said, in the former case were elder, an uncle or elder cousin ; in the latter, a younger cousin.
2 If the ruler came to condole after the interment, the presiding mourner would resume. his cincture to receive him, out of respect to his rank; but this was not required on the late arrival of a relative.
3 These articles were the contributions of friends and those
56 THE LI KI.
bk. xin.
played, a portion of them might be put into the grave ; if they were comparatively few as displayed, they might all be put into it.
38. Parties hurrying to the mourning rites for a brother or cousin (whose burial had taken place) first went to the grave and afterwards to the house, selecting places at which to perform their wailing". If the deceased had (only) been an acquaintance, they (first) wailed in the apartment (where the coffin had been), and afterwards went to the grave.
39. A father (at the mourning rites) for any of his other sons did not pass the night in the shed outside (the middle door, as for his eldest son by his wife).
40. The brothers and cousins of a feudal prince wore the unhemmed sackcloth (in mourning for him)1.
41. In the five months' mourning for one who had died in the lowest stage of immaturity, the sash was of bleached hemp from which the roots were not cut away. These were turned back and tucked in.
42. When the tablet of a wife was to be placed by that of her husband's grandmother, if there were three (who could be so denominated), it was placed by that of her who was the mother of her husband's father 2.
43. In the case of a wife dying while her husband
prepared by the family. They were displayed inside the gate of the temple on the east of it when the body was being moved, and in front of the grave, on the east of the path leading to it.
1 Even though they might not be in the same state with him.
2 We must suppose that the grandfather had had three wives ; not at the same time, but married one after another's death. Some suppose the three to be a mistake for two. ' The mother of her husband's father ' is simply ' the nearest ' in the text.
SECT. II. SANG FU HSIAO kI. 57
was a Great officer, and his ceasing, after her death, to be of that rank ; if his tablet were placed (on his death) by that of his wife, the victim on the occasion was not changed (from that due to an ordinary officer). But if her husband (who had been an officer) became a Great officer after her death, then the victim at the placing of his tablet by hers was that due to a Great officer l.
44. A son who was or would be his father's suc- cessor did not wear mourning for his divorced mother. He did not wear such mourning, because one engaged in mourning rites could not offer sacrifice2.
45. When a wife did not preside at the mourning rites and yet carried the staff, it was when her mother-in-law was alive, and she did so for her hus- band. A mother carried the eleococca staff with its end cut square for the oldest son. A daughter, who was still in her apartment unmarried, carried a staff for her father or mother. If the relative super- intending the rites did not carry the staff, then this one child did so3.
1 We must suppose that the appointment of the husband, whether as officer or Great officer, had been so recent that there had been no time for any tablets of an elder generation to get into his ancestral temple. His wife's had been the first to be placed in it.
2 That is, he might have to preside at the sacrifices in the ancestral temple of his own family, and would be incapacitated for doing so, if he were mourning for her. The reader should bear in mind that there were seven justifiable causes for the divorce of a wife, without her being guilty of infidelity, or any criminal act.
3 It is supposed there was no brother in the family to preside at the rites, and a relative of the same surname was called in to do so. But it was not in rule for him to carry the staff, and this daughter therefore did so, as if she had been a son.
58 THE Li kL
BK. XIII.
46. In the mourning for three months and five months, at the sacrifice of repose and the ending of the wailing, they wore the mourning cincture.
After the interment, if they did not immediately go to perform the sacrifice of repose, they all, even the presiding mourner, wore their caps ; but when they came to the sacrifice of repose, they all assumed the cincture.
When they had put off the mourning for a relative, on the arrival of his interment, they resumed it; and when they came to the sacrifice of repose and the ending of the wailing, they put on the cincture. If they did not immediately perform the sacrifice, they put it off.
When they had been burying at a distance, and were returning to wail, they put on their caps. On arriving at the suburbs, they put on the cincture, and came back to wail.
47. If the ruler came to condole with mourners, though it might not be the time for wearing the cincture, even the president of the rites assumed it, and did not allow the ends of his hempen girdle to hantr loose. Even in the case of a visit from the ruler of another state, they assumed the cincture. The relatives all did so.
48. When they put off the mourning for one who had died prematurely, the rule was that at the (accompanying) sacrifice, the dress should be dark- coloured. When they put off the mourning for one fully grown, they wore their court robes, with the cap of white, plain, silk.
49. A son, who had hurried to the mourning rites of his father (from a distance), bound up his hair in the raised hall, bared his chest, descended to
SECT. II. SANG FU HSIAO KI. 59
the court, and there performed his leaping. (The leaping over, he reascended), covered his chest, and put on his sash in an apartment on the east.
If the rites were for his mother, he did not bind up his hair. He bared his chest, however, in the hall, descended to the court, and went through his leaping. (Reascending then), he covered his chest, and put on the cincture in the apartment on the east.
In the girdle (or the cincture), he proceeded to the appointed place, and completed the leaping. He then went out from the door (of the coffin-room), and went to (the mourning shed). The wailing com- mencing at death had by this time ceased. In three days he wailed five times, and thrice bared his chest for the leaping.
50. When an eldest son and his wife could not take the place hereafter of his parents, then, (in the event of her death), her mother-in-law wore for her (only) the five months' mourning1.
1 The scope of this paragraph is plain enough ; but the con- struing of it is difficult. I have translated after .AVzan Hao's text, which contains a character more than that of the ^7nen-lung edition. The son and his wife could not become the repre- sentatives of the family. Various reasons are suggested by the commentators for the fact. The text supposes the death of the wife to take place before that of her mother-in-law.
BOOK XIV. TA AT WAN
OR
THE GREAT TREATISE1.
i. According to the rules, only the king offered the united sacrifice to all ancestors. The chief place was then given to him from whom the founder of the line sprang, and that founder had the place of assessor to him2.
The sacrifices of the princes of states reached to their highest ancestor. Great officers and other officers, who had performed great services, when these were examined (and approved) by the ruler, were able to carry their sacrifices up to their high ancestor.
2. The field of Mii-yeh was the great achieve- ment of king Wu. When he withdrew after the victory, he reared a burning pile to God ; prayed at the altar of the earth ; and set forth his offerings in the house of Mu3. He then led all the princes of the kingdom, bearing his offerings in their various stands, and hurrying about, and carried the title of king back to Thai who was Than-fu, Al-li, and king Wan who was A7zang ; — he would not approach his honourable ancestors with their former humbler titles.
1 See the introductory notice, vol. xxvii, pages 30, 31.
1 See the last Book, I, paragraphs 9, 17, et al. I suppose that all which is here described was done by king Wu after his victory at Mu, under the advice of his brother, known to us as the duke of /sTau; see the Ifung Yung, paragraphs 54, 55. ' The house of Mu' would be a building converted for the occasion into a temple.
BK. XIV. TA ^WAN. 6 1
3. Thus he regulated the services to be rendered to his father and grandfather before him ; — giving honour to the most honourable. He regulated the places to be given to his sons and grandsons below him; — showing his affection to his kindred. He regulated (also) the observances for the collateral branches of his cousins ; — associating all their mem- bers in the feasting. He defined their places according to their order of descent ; and his every distinction was in harmony with what was proper and right. In this way the procedure of human duty was made complete.
4. When a sage sovereign stood with his face to the south, and all the affairs of the kingdom came before him, there were five things which for the time claimed his first care, and the people were not reckoned among them. The first was the regulating what was due to his kindred (as above) ; the second, the reward of merit ; the third, the promotion of worth ; the fourth, the employment of ability; and the fifth, the maintenance of a loving vigilance. When these five things were all fully realised, the people had all their necessities satisfied, all that they wanted supplied. If one of them were defective, the people could not complete their lives in comfort.
It was necessary for a sage on the throne of government to begin with the (above) procedure of human duty.
5. The appointment of the measures of weight, length, and capacity ; the fixing the elegancies (of ceremony) ; the changing the commencement of the year and month ; alterations in the colour of dress ; differences of flags and their blazonry ; changes in vessels and weapons, and distinctions in dress :— -
62 THE LI Kl. BK. XIV.
these were things, changes in which could be en- joined on the people. But no changes could be enjoined upon them in what concerned affection for kin, the honour paid to the honourable, the respect due to the aged, and the different positions and functions of male and female.
6. Members of the same surname were united to- gether in the various ramifications of their kinship, under the Heads of their different branches1. Those of a different surname2 had their mutual relations regulated principally by the names assigned to them. Those names being clearly set forth, the different positions of males and females were de- termined.
When the husband belonged to the class of fathers [or uncles]3, the wife was placed in that of mothers [or aunts]; when he belonged to the class of sons [or cousins], the wife was placed in that of (junior) wives4. Since the wife of a younger brother was (thus) styled (junior) wife, could the wife of his elder brother be at the same time styled mother [or aunt] ? The name or appellation is of the greatest
1 That is, the males all called by the surname of the family.
2 That is, the females, married into the family from other families of different surnames, and receiving different names or appellations from the places of their husbands in the family roll.
3 ' Fathers ' and ' mothers ' here are really uncles and aunts, the ;A£ for the former being equivalent to ^ ^ ^C' an(* the -fij: for the latter to fg ^ -^T. The uncles were of the same category as the father in respect to age, and the aunts in the same category as the mother.
4 Fu, the character here for wife, does not in itself contain the idea of this inferiority in point of age. That idea was in the mind of the writer, arising from the subject of which he was treating.
BK. XIV. TA isTWAN. 6$
importance in the regulation of the family ; — was not anxious care required in the declaration of it ?
7. For parties four generations removed (from the same common ancestor) the mourning was reduced to that worn for three months, and this was the limit of wearing the hempen cloth. If the generations were five, the shoulders were bared and the cincture assumed ; and in this way the mourning within the circle of the same was gradually reduced. After the sixth generation the bond of kinship was held to be at an end.
8. As the branch-surnames which arose separated the members of them from their relatives of a former time, and the kinship disappeared as time went on, (so far as wearing mourning was concerned), could marriage be contracted between parties (so wide apart) ' ? But there was that original surname tying all the members together without distinction, and the maintenance of the connexion by means of the com- mon feast2; — while there were these conditions, there could be no intermarriage, even after a hundred generations. Such was the rule of A'au3.
9. The considerations which regulated the mourn- ing worn were six: — first, the nearness of the kinship4;
1 Khan Hao says that under the Yin dynasty intermarriages were allowed after the fifth generation in a family of the same surname. The same statement is referred to by Khung Ying-ta, from whom A7?an, probably, took it ; but the AV/ien-lung editors discard it, as being ' without proof.'
2 ' The feast ' given to all the kindred after the seasonal sacrifices in the ancestral temple.
3 A7/an Hao refers to this prohibition of intermarriages by A"au as the grand distinction of the dynasty, marking clearly ' for the first time the distinction between man and beast.'
4 As between parents and children.
64 THE LI Kl. BK. XIV.
second, the honour due to the honourable1 ; third, the names (as expressing the position in the relative circle)2; fourth, the cases of women still unmarried in the paternal home, and of those who had married and left it 3 ; fifth, age 4 ; and sixth, affinity, and ex- ternal relationship 6.
10. Of the considerations of affinity and external relationship there were six cases : — those arising from inter-relationship 6 ; those in which there was no inter-relationship7; those where mourning should be worn, and yet was not ; those where it should not be worn, and yet was ; those where it should be deep, and yet was light ; and those where it should be light, and yet was deep.
ii. Where the starting-point was affection, it began from the father. Going up from him by degrees it reached to the (high) ancestor, and was said to diminish. Where the starting-point was the consideration of what is right, it began with the ancestor. Coming down by natural degrees from him, it reached to the father, and was said to increase. In the diminution and the increase, the considerations of affection and right acted thus.
12. It was the way for the ruler to assemble and feast all the members of his kindred. None of
1 As to the ruler, Great officers, and ministers.
2 See paragraph 6.
3 Spinsters and married aunts, cousins, sisters, &c. * Relatives dying as minors, and after maturity.
5 See next paragraph.
6 Mother's kin ; husband's kin ; wife's kin.
7 As when a minister wore mourning for his ruler's kindred ; a concubine for the kindred of the wife, &c. The reader must task himself to imagine cases in which the other four conditions would apply.
BK. XIV. TA ZWAN. 65
them could, because of their mutual kinship, claim a nearer kinship with him than what was expressed by the places (assigned to them).
13. Any son but the eldest, (though all sons of the wife proper), did not sacrifice to his grandfather, — to show there was the Honoured Head (who should do so). Nor could he wear mourning for his eldest son for three years, because he was not the continuator of his grandfather \
14. When any other son but the eldest became an ancestor of a line, he who succeeded him became the Honoured Head (of the branch) ; and his suc- cessor again became the smaller Head 1.
15. There was the (great) Honoured Head whose tablet was not removed for a hundred generations. There were the (smaller) Honoured Heads whose tablets were removed after five generations. He whose tablet was not removed for a hundred gener- ations was the successor and representative of the other than the eldest son (who became an ancestor of a line) ; and he was so honoured (by the members of his line) because he continued the (High) ancestor from whom (both) he and they sprang ; this was why his tablet was not removed for a hundred generations. He who honoured the continuator of the High ancestor was he whose tablet was re- moved after five generations. They honoured the Ancestor, and therefore they reverenced the Head. The reverence showed the significance of that honour.
16. There might be cases in which there was a smaller Honoured Head, and no Greater Head (of
1 See the last Book, I, paragraphs 10-12. [28] F
66 THE LI A'f. BK. XIV.
a branch family) ; cases in which there was a Greater Honoured Head, and no smaller Head ; and cases in which there was an Honoured Head, with none to honour him. All these might exist in the instance of the son of the ruler of a state \
The course to be adopted for the headship of such a son was this ; that the ruler, himself the proper representative of former rulers, should for all his half-brothers who were officers and Great officers appoint a full brother, also an officer or a Great officer, to be the Honoured Head. Such was the regular course.
17. When the kinship was no longer counted, there was no further wearing of mourning. The kinship was the bond of connexion (expressed in the degree of mourning).
18. Where the starting-point was in affection, it began with the father, and ascended by steps to the ancestor. Where it was in a consideration of what was right, it began with the ancestor, and descended in natural order to the deceased father. Thus the course of humanity (in this matter of mourning) was all comprehended in the love for kindred.
19. From the affection for parents came the honouring of ancestors ; from the honouring of the
1 Suppose a ruler had no brother by his father's wife, and appointed one of his brothers by another lady of the harem, to take the headship of all the others, this would represent the first case. If he appointed a full brother to the position, but could not appoint a half-brother to the inferior position, this would represent the second ; and if the younger brothers of the ruling house were reduced to one man, he would represent the third case, having merely the name and nothing more. Such is the explanation of the text, so far as I can apprehend it.
BK. XIV.
TA A'WAN. 67
ancestor came the respect and attention shown to the Heads (of the family branches). By that respect and attention to those Heads all the members of the kindred were kept together. Through their being kept together came the dignity of the an- cestral temple. From that dignity arose the im- portance attached to the altars of the land and grain. From that importance there ensued the love of all the (people with their) hundred surnames. From that love came the right administration of punishments and penalties. Through that adminis- tration the people had the feeling of repose. Through that restfulness all resources for expenditure became sufficient. Through the sufficiency of these, what all desired was realised. The realisation led to all courteous usages and good customs ; and from these, in fine, came all happiness and enjoyment : — afford- ing an illustration of what is said in the ode : — ' Glory and honour follow Wan's great name, And ne'er will men be weary of his fame V
1 See vol. iii, page 314, the last two lines of ode 1 ; Metrical Version, page 351.
F 2
BOOK XV. SHAO t
OR
SMALLER RULES OF DEMEANOUR1.
i. I have heard (the following things): — When one wished to see for the first time another of character and position, his language was, ' I, so and so, earnestly wish my name to be reported to the officer of communication2.' He could not go up the steps directly to the host. If the visitor were of equal rank with the host, he said, 'I, so and so, earnestly wish to see him/ If he were an infrequent visitor, he asked his name to be reported. If he were a frequent visitor, he added, 'this morning or evening.' If he were blind3, he asked his name to be reported.
2. If it were on an occasion of mourning, the visitor said he had come as a servant and helper ; if he were a youth, that he had come to perform what- ever might be required of him. If the visit were at the mourning rites for a ruler or high minister, the language was, 'I am come to be employed by the chief minister of the household4.'
» — — ■
1 See the introductory notice, vol. xxvii, pages 31, 32.
2 The visitor did not dare to send even a message directly to the master of the establishment where he was calling.
3 That is, an officer of music, high or low.
4 The name of the minister here is generally translated by ' Minister of Instruction.' But that can hardly be its meaning here ; and there were officers so called also in the establishments of Great officers; see vol. xxvii, page 154, paragraph 20.
BK. XV.
SHAO f. 69
3. When a ruler was about to go out of his own state1, if a minister were presenting to him money or pieces of jade, or any other article, the language was, 'I present this to the officer for the expenses of his horses.' To an equal in a similar case it was said, 'This is presented for the use of your followers.'
4. When a minister contributed a shroud to his ruler, he said, ' I send this laid-aside garment to the valuers2.' An equal, sending such a gift to another equal, simply said, 'a shroud.' Relatives, such as brothers, did not go in with the shrouds which they presented.
5. When a minister was contributing articles or their value to his ruler who had mourning rites on hand for the previous ruler, he said, T present these products of my fields to the officers3.'
6. A carriage and horses presented for a funeral, entered the gate of the ancestral temple. Contri- butions of money and horses with the accompanying presents of silk, the white flag (of a mourning carriage) and war chariots, did not enter the gate of the temple4.
7. WThen the bearer of the contribution had
1 About to proceed to the royal court.
2 In the AHu Li, Book I, 35, we find that among the function- aries attached to the ' Treasury of Jade,' there were eight men thus denominated ' valuers.' There were officers, probably, per- forming a similar duty in the department to which the charge of the offering in this paragraph would be consigned.
3 The things presented here are called 'articles (coarse), shells' ( gg S), the meaning being, I think, what I have given. The
things were not the produce of the donor's land; but that land being held by him from the ruler, he so expressed himself.
4 It is difficult for us to appreciate the reasons given for the distinction made between these contributions.
y0 THE LI k\. bk. xv.
delivered his message, he knelt down and left the things on the ground. Jhe officer of communication took them up. The presiding mourner did not him- self receive them.
8. When the receiver stood, the giver stood ; neither knelt. Parties of a straightforward charac- ter might, perhaps, do so.
9. When (the guest was) first entering, and it was proper to give the precedence to him, the officer of communication said (to the host), 'Give precedence.' When they proceeded to their mats, he said to them, 'Yes ; be seated.'
When the leaves of the door were opened, only one man could take off his shoes inside the door. If there were already an honourable and elderly visitor, parties coming later could not do so.
10. When asking about the various dishes (of a feast), they said, ' Have you enjoyed such and such a dish?'
When asking one another about their (various) courses1 and accomplishments2, they said, 'Have you practised such and such a course ? Are you skilful at such and such an accomplishment ?'
1 1. (A man sought to) give no occasion for doubt about himself, nor to pass his judgment on the articles of others. He did not desire the (posses- sions of) great families, nor speak injuriously of the things which they valued.
12. Sweeping in general was called sao. Sweep-
1 There was the threefold course of aim, diligence, and filial duty, in filialness, friendship, and obedience.
2 The accomplishments were six : — ceremonies, music, archery, charioteering, writing, mathematics.
BK. XV. SHAO t 71
ing up in front of a mat was called phan. In sweeping a mat they did not use a common broom1. The sweeper held the dust-pan with its tongue towards himself.
13. There was no divining (twice about the same thing) with a double mind. In asking about what had been referred to the tortoise-shell or the stalks, two things were to be considered, whether the thing asked about were right, and what was the diviner's own mind. On the matter of right he might be questioned, but not on what was in his own mind.
14. When others more honourable and older than one's self took precedence of him, he did not pre- sume to ask their age. When they came to feast with him, he did not send to them any (formal) message. When he met them on the road, if they saw him, he wTent up to them, but did not ask to know where they were going. At funeral rites for them, he waited to observe the movements (of the presiding mourner), and did not offer his special con- dolences. When seated by them, he did not, unless ordered to do so, produce his lutes. He did not draw lines on the ground ; that would have been an improper use of his hand. He did not use a fan. If they were asleep, and he had any message to communicate to them, he knelt in doing so.
15. At the game of archery, the inferior carried his four arrows in his hand. At that of throwing darts, he carried the four together in his breast. If he conquered, he washed the cup and gave it to the other, asking him to drink. If he were defeated, the elder went through the same process with him. They
1 It might be dirty, having been used to sweep the ground.
72
THE LI Kl. BK. XV.
did not use the (large) horn ; they did not remove the (figure of a) horse (for marking the numbers) l.
1 6. When holding the reins of the ruler's horses, the driver knelt. He wore his sword on his right side with his back to the best strap (for the ruler). When handing this to him, he faced him and then drew the strap towards the cross-bar. He used the second or inferior strap to help himself in mounting-. He then took the reins in hand, and began to move on.
1 7. One asked permission to appear at court, but not to withdraw.
One was said to withdraw from court ; to return home from a feast or a ramble ; to close the toils of a campaign.
18. When sitting by a person of rank, if he began to yawn and stretch himself, to turn round his tablet, to play with the head of his sword, to move his shoes about, or to ask about the time of day, one might ask leave to retire.
19. For one who (wished to) serve his ruler, (the rule was) first to measure (his abilities and duties), and then enter (on the responsibilities) ; he did not enter on these, and then measure those. There was the same rule for all who begged or borrowed from others, or sought to engage in their service. In this way superiors had no ground for offence, and inferiors avoided all risk of guilt.
20. They did not spy into privacies nor form inti- macies on matters aside from their proper business. They did not speak of old affairs, nor wear an appearance of being in sport.
1 See in Book XXXVII.
BK. XV. SHAO f. 1%
/J
21. One in the position of a minister and inferior might remonstrate (with his ruler), but not speak ill of him ; might withdraw (from the state), but not (remain and) hate (its Head); might praise him, but not flatter ; might remonstrate, but not give himself haughty airs (when his advice was followed). (If the ruler were) idle and indifferent, he might arouse and assist him ; if (the government) were going to wreck, he might sweep it away, and institute a new one. Such a minister would be pronounced as doing service for the altars (of the state).
22. Do not commence or abandon anything hastily. Do not take liberties with or weary spiritual Beings. Do not try to defend or cover over what was wrong in the past, or to fathom what has not yet arrived. A scholar should constantly pursue what is virtuous, and amuse himself with the accomplishments.
A workman should follow the rules (of his art), and amuse himself with the discussion (of their application). One should not think about the clothes and elegant articles (of others), nor try to make good in himself what is doubtful in words (which he has heard) 1.
23. The style prized in conversation required that it should be grave and distinct. The demean- our prized in the court required that it should be
1 These cautions are expressed enigmatically in the text. The expurgated edition gives only the third and fourth, which P. Callery translates thus : — ' L'homme de lettres s'applique a la vertu par- dessus tout, et ne s'adonne que d'une facon secondaire a la culture des arts libe'raux, semblable en cela a. l'ouvrier qui suit d'abord les process fondamentaux de son art, et ne discute qu'apres les changements a. introduire dans leur application.'
74 the l! kL
BK. XV.
well regulated and urbane; that at sacrifices was to be grave, with an appearance of anxiety. The horses of the chariot were to be well-paced and matched. The beauty of their bells was that they intimated dignity and harmony K
24. To a question about the age of a ruler's son, if he were grown up, it was said, ' He is able to attend to the business of the altars.' If he were still young, it was said, ' He is able to drive,' or 'He is not yet able to drive.' To the same question about a Great officer's son, if he were grown up, it wras said, 'He is able to take his part in music;' if still young, it was said, ' He is able to take lessons from the music-master,' or 'He is not yet able to do so.' To the same question about the son of an ordinary officer, if he were grown up, it was said, ' He is able to guide the plough;' if he were still young, it was said, ' He is able to carry firewood,' or ' He is not yet able to do so V
25. When carrying a symbol of jade, a tortoise- shell, or the divining stalks, one did not walk hastily. Nor did he do so in the raised hall, or on a city wall. In a war chariot he did not bow forward to the cross-bar. A man in his mail did not try to bow 3.
26. A wife, on festive occasions, even though it were on receiving a gift from the ruler, (only) made
1 This paragraph is in the expurgated edition, in the com- mentary to which, however, the whole is understood with reference to the heir-son of the kingdom or a state ; and P. Callery translates accordingly : — ' (L'he'ritier pre"somptif du trone) doit avoir,' &c.
2 Compare vol. xxvii, page 115, paragraph 4.
5 Compare vol. xxvii, page 72, paragraph 30; page 96, para- graph 39 ; et al.
bk. xv. SHAO I. 75
a curtsy \ When seated as a personatrix (of the deceased grandmother of her husband), she did not bow with her head to her hands, but made the curtsy2. When presiding at the mourning rites, she did not bow with her head to her hands lowered to the ground.
27. (After the sacrifice of repose), her head-band was of dolychos cloth, and her girdle of hempen.
28. When taking meat from a stand or putting meat on it, they did not kneel.
29. An empty vessel was carried (with the same care) as a full one, and an empty apartment entered (with the same reverence) as if there were people in it.
30. At all sacrifices, whether in the apartment or in the hall, they did not have their feet bare. At a feast they might.
31. Till they had offered a portion in the temple, they did not eat of a new crop.
32. In the case of a charioteer and the gentleman whom he was driving, when the latter mounted or descended, the other handed him the strap. When the driver first mounted, he bowed towards the cross-bar. When the gentleman descended to walk, (he also descended), but (immediately) returned to the carriage and stood.
33. The riders in an attendant carriage (to court or temple), bowed forward to the bar, but not if it were to battle or hunt. Of such attendant carriages, the ruler of a state had seven ; a Great officer of
1 In Chinese fashion, an inclination of the head towards the hands.
2 Some interpret this as saying that she did not even make the curtsy.
76 THE LI A'l. BK. xv.
the highest grade, five ; and one of the lowest grade, three \
34. People did not speak of the age of the horses or of the carriages of those who pos sessed such attendant carriages ; nor did they put a value on the dress, or sword, or horses of a gentle- man whom they saw before them.
35. In giving (to an inferior) or offering to a superior, four pots of spirits, a bundle of dried meat, and a dog, (the messenger) put down the liquor, and carried (only) the dried meat in his hand, when discharging his commission, but he also said that he was the bearer of four pots of spirits, a bundle of dried meat, and a dog. In presenting a tripod of flesh, he carried (one piece) in his hand. In presenting birds, if there were more than a couple, he carried a couple in his hand, leaving the others outside.
36. The dog was held by a rope. A watch dog or a hunting dog was given to the officer who was the medium of communication ; and on receiving it, he asked its name. An ox was held by the tether, and a horse by the bridle. They were both kept on the right of him who led them ; but a prisoner or captive, who was being presented, was kept on the left.
37. In presenting a carriage, the strap was taken off and carried in the hand of the messenger. In presenting a coat of mail, if there were other things to be carried before it, the messenger bore them. If there were no such things, he took off its covering, and bore the helmet in his hands. In the case of a
1 Compare vol. xxvii, page 125, paragraph 4.
BK. XV.
SHAO t. J J
vessel, he carried its cover. In the case of a bow, with his left hand he stript off the case, and took hold of the middle of the back. In the case of a sword, he opened the cover of its case, and placed it underneath. Then he put into the case a silken cloth, on which he placed the sword.
38. Official tablets ; writings ; stalks of dried flesh ; parcels wrapped in reeds ; bows ; cushions ; mats ; pillows ; stools ; spikes ; staffs ; lutes, large and small ; sharp-edged lances in sheaths ; divining stalks ; and flutes : — these all were borne with the left hand upwards. Of sharp-pointed weapons, the point was kept behind, and the ring presented; of sharp-edged weapons, the handle was presented. In the caseof all sharp-pointed and sharp-edged weapons, the point was turned away in handing them to others.
39. When leaving the city, in mounting a war- chariot, the weapon was carried with the point in front ; when returning and entering it again, the end. The left was the place for the general and officers of an army ; the right, for the soldiers.
40. For visitors and guests the principal thing was a courteous humility ; at sacrifices, reverence ; at mourning rites, sorrow ; at meetings and re- unions, an active interest. In the operations of war, the dangers had to be thought of. One con- cealed his own feelings in order to judge the better of those of others.
41. When feasting with a man of superior rank and character, the guest first tasted the dishes and then stopt. He should not bolt the food, nor swill down the liquor. He should take small and frequent mouthfuls. While chewing quickly, he did not make faces with his mouth. When he
78 THE LI A'l. BK. XV.
proceeded to remove the dishes, and the host declined that service from him, he stopt 1.
42. The cup with which the guest was pledged was placed on the left; those which had been drunk (by the others) on the right. Those of the guest's attendant, of the host himself, and of the host's assistant; — these all were placed on the ricdit 2.
43. In putting down a boiled fish to be eaten, the tail was laid in front. In winter it was placed with the fat belly on the right ; in summer with the back. The slices offered in sacrifice (to the father of the fish-diet were thus more easily cut 3).
44. All condiments were taken up with the right (hand), and were therefore placed on the left.
45. He who received the presents offered (to the ruler) was on his left ; he who transmitted his words, on the right.
46. A cup was poured out for the driver of a personator of the dead as for the driver of the ruler. In the carriage, and holding the reins in his left hand, he received the cup with his right ; offered a little in sacrifice at the end of the axle and cross-
1 Compare vol. xxvii, pages 80, 81, paragraphs 54, 57, et al. The writer passes in this paragraph from the indicative to the imperative mood.
2 The guest sat facing the south, so that the east and west were on his left and right respectively. The cups were set where they could be taken up and put down most conveniently.
3 The fish, as a sacrificial offering and on great occasions, was placed lengthways on the stand. As placed in this paragraph, it was more convenient for the guest. It may be correct that the belly is the best part of a fish in winter, and the back in summer. Let gastronomers and those who are fond of pisciculture decide and explain the point.
BK. XV.
shao i. 79
bar on the right and left (to the father of charioteer- ing), and then drank off the cup.
47. Of all viands which were placed on the stands, the offering was put down inside the stand.
A gentleman did not eat the entrails of grain-fed
animals x.
A boy 2 ran, but did not walk quickly with measured steps. When he took up his cup, he knelt in offering (some of the contents) in sacrifice, and then stood up and drank (the rest). Before rinsing a cup, they washed their hands. In separating the lungs of oxen and sheep, they did not cut out the central portion of them 3 ; when viands were served up with sauce, they did not add condiments to it.
In selecting an onion or scallion for a gentle- man, they cut off both the root and top.
When the head was presented among the viands, the snout was put forward, to be used as the offering.
48. He who set forth the jugs considered the left of the cup-bearer to be the place for the topmost one. The jugs and jars were placed with their spouts towards the arranger.
The drinkers at the ceremonies of washing the head and cupping, in presence of the stand with the divided victims on it, did not kneel. Before the common cup had gone round, they did not taste the viands.
1 Dogs (bred to be eaten) and pigs. The reason for not eating their entrails can hardly be stated.
2 A waiting-boy.
3 That it might easily be taken in hand and put down as an offering of thanksgiving.
8o THE LI A'l. BK. XV.
49. The flesh of oxen, sheep, and fish was cut small, and made into mince. That of elks and deer was pickled ; that of the wild pig was hashed : — these were all sliced, but not cut small. The flesh of the muntjac was alone pickled, and that of fowls and hares, being sliced and cut small. Onions and shalots were sliced, and added to the brine to soften the meat.
50. When the pieces of the divided body were on the stand, in taking one of them to offer and in return- ing it1, they did not kneel. So it was when they made an offering of roast meat. If the offerer, however, were a personator of the dead, he knelt.
51. When a man had his robes on his person, and did not know their names (or the meaning of their names), he was ignorant indeed.
52. If one came late and yet arrived before the torches were lighted, it was announced to him that the guests were all there, and who they were. The same things were intimated to a blind musician by the one who bid him. At a drinking entertainment, when the host carried a light, or bore a torch before them, the guests rise and decline the honour done to them. On this he gave the torch to a torch- bearer, who did not move from his place, nor say a word, nor sing 2.
53. When one was carrying in water or liquor and food to a superior or elder, the rule was not to
1 The lungs.
2 In the 3o A'Wan we have many accounts of these entertain- ments. The singing was almost always of a few lines from one of the pieces of the Shih King, expressing a sentiment appropriate to the occasion. The custom was like our after-dinner speeches and toasts.
bk. xv. SHAO I. 8 1
breathe on it ; and if a question was asked, to turn the mouth on one side.
54. When one conducted sacrifice for another, (and was sending to others the flesh of the victim), the message was, ' Herewith (the flesh of) blessing.' When sending of the flesh of his own sacrifice to a superior man,' the party simply announced what it was.
If it were flesh of the sacrifice on placing the tablet of the deceased in the temple, or at the close of the first year's mourning, the fact was announced. The principal mourner spread out the portions, and gave them to his messenger on the south of the eastern steps, bowing twice, and laying his head to the ground as he sent him away; when he returned and reported the execution of his com- mission, the mourner again bowed twice and laid his head to the ground.
If the sacrifice were a great one, consisting of the three victims, then the portion sent was the left quarter of the ox, divided into nine pieces from the shoulder. If the sacrifice were the smaller, the portion sent was the left quarter, divided into seven pieces. If there were but a single pig, the portion was the left quarter, divided into five portions.
55. When the revenues of a state were at a low ebb, the carriages were not carved and painted ; the buff-coats were not adorned with ribbons and cords ; and the dishes were not carved ; the su- perior man did not wear shoes of silk ; and horses were not regularly supplied with grain.
[28]
BOOK XVI. HSIO K\
OR
RECORD ON THE SUBJECT OF EDUCATION1.
1. When a ruler is concerned that his measures should be in accordance with law, and seeks for the (assistance of the) good and upright, this is suf- ficient to secure him a considerable reputation, but not to move the multitudes.
When he cultivates the society of the worthy, and tries to embody the views of those who are remote (from the court), this is sufficient to move the multi- tudes, but not to transform the people.
Jf he wish to transform the people and to perfect their manners and customs, must he not start from the lessons of the school ?
2. The jade uncut will not form a vessel for use; and if men do not learn, they do not know the way (in which they should go). On this account the ancient kings, when establishing states and govern- ing the people, made instruction and schools a primary object; — as it is said in the Charge to Yiieh, ' The thoughts from first to last should be fixed on learning V
3. However fine the viands be, if one do not eat, he does not know their taste ; however perfect the course may be, if one do not learn it, he does not know its goodness. Therefore when he learns, one
1 See the introductory notice, vol. xxvii, page 32.
2 Vol. iii. page 117.
BK. XVI.
HSIO kL 83
knows his own deficiencies ; when he teaches, he knows the difficulties of learning. After he knows his deficiencies, one is able to turn round and examine himself; after he knows the difficulties, he is able to stimulate himself to effort. Hence it is said, 'Teaching and learning help each other;' as it is said in the Charge to Yiieh, 'Teaching is the half of learning V
4. According to the system of ancient teaching, for the families of (a hamlet) 2 there was the village school; for a neighbourhood2 there was the hsiang; for the larger districts there was the hsti; and in the capitals there was the college.
5. Every year some entered the college, and every second year there was a comparative examina- tion. In the first year it was seen whether they could read the texts intelligently, and what was the meaning of each ; in the third year, whether they were reverently attentive to their work, and what companionship was most pleasant to them ; in the fifth year, how they extended their studies and sought the company of their teachers ; in the seventh year, how they could discuss the subjects of their studies and select their friends. They were now said to have made some small attainments. In the ninth year, when they knew the different classes of subjects and had gained a general intelligence, were firmly established and would not fall back, they
1 Vol. iii, page 117.
2 The hamlet was supposed to contain twenty-five families ; the neighbourhood 500 ; and the district 2,500. For the four insti- tutions, P. Callery adopts the names of school, college, academy, and university. It would be tedious to give the various explanations of the names Hsiang and Hsu.
G 2
84 THE LI k1. bk. xvr.
were said to have made grand attainments. After this the training was sufficient to transform the people, and to change (anything bad in) manners and customs. Those who lived near at hand sub- mitted with delight, and those who were far off thought (of the teaching) with longing desire. Such was the method of the Great learning ; as is said in the Record, ' The little ant continually exercises the art (of amassing)1.'
6. At the commencement of the teaching in the Great college, (the masters) in their skin caps pre- sented the offerings of vegetables (to the ancient sages), to show their pupils the principle of rever- ence for them ; and made them sing (at the same time) the (first) three pieces of the Minor Odes of the Kingdom, as their first lesson in the duties of officers2. When they entered the college, the drum was beaten and the satchels were produced, that they might begin their work reverently. The cane and the thorns 3 were there to secure in them a proper awe. It was not till the time for the summer sacrifice 4 was divined for, that the testing examination was held ; — to give composure to their minds. They were continually under inspection, but not spoken to, — to keep their minds undisturbed. They listened, but they did not ask questions ; and
1 See the note of Callery in loc. The quotation is from some old Record ; it is not known what.
2 The three pieces were the Lii Ming, the 3ze Mau, and the Hwang-hwang A'e hwa, the first three pieces in the first decade of the Shih, Part II; showing the harmony and earnestness of officers.
3 Callery calls these ' la latte et la baguette.'
4 Khung Ying-ta thought this was the quinquennial sacrifice. See the K Men-lung editors on the point.
BK. XVI. HSIO Kl. 85
they could not transgress the order of study (im- posed on them). These seven things were the chief regulations in the teaching. As it is expressed in the Record, 'In all learning, for him who would be an officer the first thing is (the knowledge of) business ; for scholars the first thing is the directing of the mind.'
7. In the system of teaching at the Great college, every season had its appropriate subject; and when the pupils withdrew and gave up their lessons (for the day), they were required to continue their study at home.
8. If a student do not learn (at college) to play in tune, he cannot quietly enjoy his lutes ; if he do not learn extensively the figures of poetry, he cannot quietly enjoy the odes ; if he do not learn the varieties of dress, he cannot quietly take part in the different ceremonies; if he do not acquire the various accom- plishments, he cannot take delight in learning.
9. Therefore a student of talents and virtue pursues his studies, withdrawn in college from all besides, and devoted to their cultivation, or occu- pied with them when retired from it, and enjoying himself. Having attained to this, he rests quietly in his studies and seeks the company of his teachers; he finds pleasure in his friends, and has all con- fidence in their course. Although he should be separated from his teachers and helpers, he will not act contrary to the course ; — as it is said in the Charge to Yiieh, ' Maintain a reverent humility, and strive to be constantly earnest. In such a case the cultivation will surely come V
1 Vol. iii, p. 117. But the quotation is a little different from the text of the Shii.
86 the hi k\.
BK. XVI.
10. According to the system of teaching now-a- days, (the masters) hum over the tablets which they see before them, multiplying their questions. They speak of the learners' making rapid advances, and pay no regard to their reposing (in what they have acquired). In what they lay on their learners they are not sincere, nor do they put forth all their ability in teaching them. What they inculcate is contrary to what is right, and the learners are dis- appointed in what they seek for. In such a case, the latter are distressed by their studies and hate their masters ; they are embittered by the diffi- culties, and do not find any advantage from their (labour). They may seem to finish their work, but they quickly give up its lessons. That no results are seen from their instructions : — is it not owing to these defects ?
ii. The rules aimed at in the Great college were the prevention of evil before it was manifested; the timeliness of instruction just when it was re- quired ; the suitability of the lessons in adaptation to circumstances ; and the good influence of example to parties observing one another. It was from these four things that the teaching was so effectual and flourishing.
12. Prohibition of evil after it has been mani- fested meets with opposition, and is not successful. Instruction given after the time for it is past is done with toil, and carried out with difficulty. The com- munication of lessons in an undiscriminating manner and without suitability produces injury and disorder, and fails in its object. Learning alone and without friends makes one feel solitary and uncultivated, with but little information. Friendships of festivity
bk. xvi. hsio ki. 8y
lead to opposition to one's master. Friendships with the dissolute lead to the neglect of one's learning. These six things all tend to make teaching vain.
13. When a superior man knows the causes which make instruction successful, and those which make it of no effect, he can become a teacher of others. Thus in his teaching, he leads and does not drag ; he strengthens and does not discourage ; he opens the way but does not conduct to the end (without the learner's own efforts). Leading and not dragging produces harmony. Strengthening and not discouraging makes attainment easy. Opening the way and not conducting to the end makes (the learner) thoughtful. He who produces such har- mony, easy attainment, and thoughtfulness may be pronounced a. skilful teacher.
14. Among learners there are four defects with which the teacher must make himself acquainted. Some err in the multitude of their studies ; some, in their fewness ; some, in the feeling of ease (with which they proceed) ; and some, in the readiness with which they stop. These four defects arise from the difference of their minds. When a teacher knows the character of his mind, he can save the learner from the defect to which he is liable. Teach- ing should be directed to develope that in which the pupil excels, and correct the defects to which he is prone.
15. The good singer makes men (able) to continue his notes, and (so) the good teacher makes them able to carry out his ideas. His words are brief, but far-reaching ; unpretentious, but deep ; with few illustrations, but instructive. In this way he may be said to perpetuate his ideas.
88 THE LI Kt
BK. XVI.
16. When a man of talents and virtue knows the difficulty (on the one hand) and the facility (on the other) in the attainment of learning, and knows (also) the good and the bad qualities (of his pupils), he can vary his methods of teaching. When he can vary his methods of teaching, he can be a master indeed. When he can be a teacher indeed, he can be the Head (of an official department). When he can be such a Head, he can be the Ruler (of a state). Hence it is from the teacher indeed that one learns to be a ruler, and the choice of a teacher demands the greatest care ; as it is said in the Record, ' The three kings and the four dynasties were what they were by their teachers V
17. In pursuing the course of learning, the diffi- culty is in securing the proper reverence for the master. When that is done, the course (which he inculcates) is regarded with honour. When that is done, the people know how to respect learning. Thus it is that there are two among his subjects whom the ruler does not treat as subjects. When one is personating (his ancestor), he does not treat him as such, nor does he treat his master as such. According to the rules of the Great college, the master, though communicating anything to the son of Heaven, did not stand with his face to the north. This was the way in which honour was done to him.
1 ' The three kings ' are of course the Great Yii, founder of the Hsia dynasty; Thang the Successful, founder of the Shang; and Wan and Wti, considered as one, founders of A'au. The four dynasties is an unusual expression, though we shall meet with it again, as we have met with it already. They are said to be those of Yii (the dynasty of Shun), Hsia, Shang, and Aau. But how then have we only ' the three kings?' I should rather take them to be Hsia\ Shang (considered as two, Shang and Yin), and A'au.
BK. XVI.
HSIO zt; 89
18. The skilful learner, while the master seems indifferent, yet makes double the attainments of another, and in the sequel ascribes the merit (to the master). The unskilful learner, while the master is diligent with him, yet makes (only) half the attain- ments (of the former), and in the sequel is dissatis- fied with the master. The skilful questioner is like a workman addressing himself to deal with a hard tree. First he attacks the easy parts, and then the knotty. After a long time, the pupil and master talk together, and the subject is explained. The unskilful questioner takes the opposite course. The master who skilfully waits to be questioned, may be compared to a bell when it is struck. Struck with a small hammer, it gives a small sound. Struck with a great one, it gives a great sound. But let it be struck leisurely and properly, and it gives out all the sound of which it is capable1. He who is not skilful in replying to questions is the opposite of this. This all describes the method of making progress in learning.
19. He who gives (only) the learning supplied by
1 P. Callery makes this sentence refer to the master, and not to the bell, and translates it : — ' (Mais quelle que soit la nature des questions qu'on lui adresse, le maitre) attend que l'eleve ait fait a loisir toutes ses demandes, pour y faire ensuite une rdponse complete.' He appends a note on the difficulty of the passage, saying in conclusion that the translation which he has adopted was suggested by a citation of the passage in the Pei-wan Yun-fu (ilfl "^t E4M Jfct)' wnere tnere is a different reading of (^), ' instruction,' for (f|P-)> 'sound.' I have not been able to find the citation in the great Thesaurus, to which he refers. Yen Yiian does not mention any different reading in his examination of the text ( j|L yjtf $|£ H|, chapter 917); and I do not see any reason for altering the translation which I first made.
90 THE Ll kL bk. xvi.
his memory in conversations is not fit to be a master. Is it not necessary that he should hear the questions (of his pupils) ? Yes, but if they are not able to put questions, he should put subjects before them. If he do so, and then they do not show any knowledge of the subjects, he may let them alone.
20. The son of a good founder is sure to learn how to make a fur-robe. The son of a good maker of bows is sure to learn how to make a sieve. Those who first yoke a (young) horse place it behind, with the carriage going on in front of it. The superior man who examines these cases can by them instruct himself in (the method of) learning \
21. The ancients in prosecuting their learning compared different things and traced the analogies between them. The drum has no special relation to any of the musical notes ; but without it they cannot be harmonised. Water has no particular relation to any of the five colours ; but without it they cannot be displayed2. Learning has no par- ticular relation to any of the five senses ; but without it they cannot be regulated. A teacher has no
V ' The AV/ien-lung editors say that this paragraph is intended to
show that the course of learning must proceed gradually. So far is clear; but the illustrations employed and their application to the subject in hand are not readily understood. In his fifth Book (towards the end), Lieh-jze gives the first two illustrations as from an old poem, but rather differently from the text : — ' The son of a good maker of bows must first learn to make a sieve ; and the son of a good potter must first learn to make a fur-robe.' In this form they would more suitably have their place in paragraph 18.
2 That is, in painting. The Chinese only paint in water colours. ' Water itself,' says Khung Ying-ta, ' has no colour, but the paint requires to be laid on with water, in order to its display.' I cannot follow the text so easily in what it says on the other illustrations.
EK. XVI. HSIO A'i.
9i
special relation to the five degrees of mourning ; but without his help they cannot be worn as they ought to be.
22. A wise man has said, 'The Great virtue need not be confined to one office ; Great power of method need not be restricted to the production of one article ; Great truth need not be limited to the confirmation of oaths ; Great seasonableness accomplishes all things, and each in its proper time.' By examining these four cases, we are taught to direct our aims to what is fundamental.
When the three sovereigns sacrificed to the waters, they did so first to the rivers and then to the seas ; first to the source and then to its result, This was what is called ' Paying attention to the root.'
BOOK XVII. YO Kl
OR RECORD OF MUSIC1.
Section- I.
i. All the modulations of the voice arise from the mind, and the various affections of the mind are pro- duced by things (external to it). The affections thus produced are manifested in the sounds that are uttered. Changes are produced by the way in which those sounds respond to one another ; and those changes constitute what we call the modulations of the voice. The combination of those modulated sounds, so as to give pleasure, and the (direction in harmony with them of the) shields and axes2, and of the plumes and ox-tails2, constitutes what we call music.
2. Music is (thus) the production of the modula- tions of the voice, and its source is in the affections of the mind as it is influenced by (external) things.
1 See the introductory notice, vol. xxvii, pages 32-34.
2 There was a pantomimic exhibition of scenes of war, in which the performers brandished shields and axes ; and another of scenes of peace, in which they waved plumes and ox-tails. What I have rendered by 'the modulations of the voice' is in the text the one Chinese character yin (^=f), for which Callery gives 'air musical,' and which A'ang Hsiian explains as meaning ' the five full notes of the scale.' See the long note of Callery prefixed to this record, concluding : — ' La musique Chinoise, telle que l'ont entendue les anciens, avait tous les caracteres d'une representation theatrale ayant pour but de parler tout a. la fois aux yeux, aux oreilles, a l'esprit, et au cceur.'
SECT. I.
yo A'i. 93
When the mind is moved to sorrow, the sound is sharp and fading away; when it is moved to pleasure, the sound is slow and gentle ; when it is moved to joy, the sound is exclamatory and soon disappears ; when it is moved to anger, the sound is coarse and fierce ; when it is moved to reverence, the sound is straightforward, with an indication of humility ; when it is moved to love, the sound is harmonious and soft. These six peculiarities of sound are not natural ] ; they indicate the impressions produced by (external) things. On this account the ancient kings were watchful in regard to the things by which the mind was affected.
3. And so (they instituted) ceremonies to direct men's aims aright ; music to give harmony to their voices ; laws to unify their conduct; and punishments to guard against their tendencies to evil. The end to which ceremonies, music, punishments, and laws conduct is one ; they are the instruments by which the minds of the people are assimilated, and good order in government is made to appear.
4. All modulations of the voice spring from the minds of men. When the feelings are moved within, they are manifested in the sounds of the voice ; and when those sounds are combined so as to form com- positions, we have what are called airs. Hence, the airs of an age of good order indicate composure and enjoyment. The airs of an age of disorder indicate dissatisfaction and anger, and its government is per-
1 Or, 'are not the nature;' that is, the voice does not naturally, when the mind is not moved, from without itself, give such peculiar expressions of feeling. What belongs to man by his nature is simply the faculty of articulate speech, slumbering until he is awakened by his sensations and perceptions.
94
THE Li kL BK. xvii.
versely bad. The airs of a state going to ruin are expressive of sorrow and (troubled) thought. There is an interaction between the words and airs (of the people) and the character of their government.
5. (The note) kung represents the ruler; shang, the ministers; £io, the people; ^ih, affairs; and yu, things. If there be no disorder or irregularity in these five notes, there will be no want of harmony in the state. If kung be irregular, (the air) is wild and broken ; the ruler of the state is haughty. If shang be irregular, (the air) is jerky; the offices of the state are decayed. If /^io be irregular, (the air) expresses anxiety ; the people are dissatisfied. If /£ih be irregular, (the air) expresses sorrow; affairs are strained. If yii be irregular, (the air) is ex- pressive of impending ruin ; the resources (of the state) are exhausted. If the five notes are all irre- gular, and injuriously interfere with one another, they indicate a state of insolent disorder ; and the state where this is the case will at no distant day meet with extinction and ruin1.
6. The airs of A'ang2 and Wei were those of an age of disorder, showing that those states were near such an abandoned condition. The airs near the river Pu, at the mulberry forest, were those of a state going to ruin3. The government (of Wei) was in a state of dissipation, and the people were unset- tled, calumniating their superiors, and pursuing their private aims beyond the possibility of restraint.
1 On those notes, see Chinese Classics, vol. hi, page 48.
2 See Confucian Analects, XV, 10, 6.
3 This place was in the state of Wei. See the ridiculous incident which gave rise to this account of the airs in Sze-ma AVnen's mono- graph on music, pages 13, 14.
SECT. I. YO kI.
95
7. All modulations of sound take their rise from the mind of man ; and music is the intercommunica- tion of them in their relations and differences. Hence, even beasts know sound, but not its modulations ; and the masses of the common people know the modulations, but they do not know music. It is only the superior man who can (really) know music.
8. On this account we must discriminate sounds in order to know the airs; the airs in order to know the music ; and the music in order to know (the character of) the government. Having attained to this, we are fully provided with the methods of good order. Hence with him who does not know the sounds we cannot speak about the airs, and with him who does not know the airs we cannot speak about the music. The knowledge of music leads to the subtle springs that underlie the rules of ceremony. He who has apprehended both ceremonies and music may be pronounced to be a possessor of virtue. Virtue means realisation (in one's self)1.
9. Hence the greatest achievements of music were not in the perfection of the airs ; the (efficacy) of the ceremonies in the sacrificial offerings was not in the exquisiteness of the flavours. In the lutes for the A7;ing Miao the strings were of red (boiled) silk, and the holes were wide apart ; one lute began, and
1 Virtue (f|a) and getting or realising (^=|) have the same name or pronunciation (teh) in Chinese. This concluding sentence, as Callery points out, is only a sort of pun on that common name. And yet ' virtue ' is the ' realisation ' in one's self ' of what is good.' The next paragraph expands the writer's thought. The greatest achievement of music in its ancient perfection was the softening and refining of the character, and that of the services of the temple was the making men reverent, filial, and brotherly.
g6 the Li kI.
BK. XVII.
(only) three others joined it ; there was much melody not brought out. In the ceremonies of the great sacrifices, the dark-coloured liquor took precedence, and on the stands were uncooked fish, while the grand soup had no condiments : there was much flavour left undeveloped.
10. Thus we see that the ancient kings, in their institution of ceremonies and music, did not seek how fully they could satisfy the desires of the appe- tite and of the ears and eyes ; but they intended to teach the people to regulate their likings and dislikings, and to bring them back to the normal course of humanity.
ii. It belongs to the nature of man, as from Heaven, to be still at his birth. His activity shows itself as he is acted on by external things, and developes the desires incident to his nature. Things come to him more and more, and his knowledge is increased. Then arise the manifestations of liking and disliking. When these are not regulated by anything within, and growing knowledge leads more astray without, he cannot come back to himself, and his Heavenly principle is extinguished.
12. Now there is no end of the things by which man is affected ; and when his likings and dislikings are not subject to regulation (from within), he is changed into the nature of things as they come before him ; that is, he stifles the voice of Heavenly prin- ciple within, and gives the utmost indulgence to the desires by which men may be possessed. On this we have the rebellious and deceitful heart, with licentious and violent disorder. The strong press upon the weak ; the many are cruel to the few ; the knowing impose upon the dull ; the bold make it bitter for
sect. i. yo k1. 97
the timid ; the diseased are not nursed ; the old and young, orphans and solitaries are neglected : — such is the great disorder that ensues.
13. Therefore the ancient kings, when they insti- tuted their ceremonies and music, regulated them by consideration of the requirements of humanity. By the sackcloth worn for parents, the wailings, and the weepings, they defined the terms of the mourning rites' By the bells, drums, shields, and axes, they introduced harmony into their seasons of rest and enjoyment. By marriage, capping, and the assump- tion of the hair-pin, they maintained the separation that should exist between male and female. By the archery gatherings in the districts, and the feastings at the meetings of princes, they provided for the correct maintenance of friendly intercourse.
14. Ceremonies afforded the defined expression for the (affections of the) people's minds ; music secured the harmonious utterance of their voices ; the laws of government were designed to promote the performance (of the ceremonies and music) ; and punishments, to guard against the violation of them. When ceremonies, music, laws, and punish- ments had everywhere full course, without irregu- larity or collision, the method of kingly rule was complete1.
1 With this paragraph ends the first portion of the treatise on music, called Yo Pan (iM 7b), or 'Fundamental Principles in Music/ The A7nen-lung editors divide it into four chapters : — the first setting forth that music takes its character as good or bad from the mind of man, as affected by what is external to it ; the second, that the character of the external things affecting the mind is determined by government as good or bad ; the third, that the ceremonies and music of the ancient kings were designed to
[23] H
98 THE LI Kl. BK. XVIT.
15. Similarity and union are the aim of music; difference and distinction, that of ceremony. From union comes mutual affection ; from difference, mutual respect. Where music prevails, we find a weak coalescence ; where ceremony prevails, a tendency to separation. It is the business of the two to blend people's feelings and give elegance to their outward manifestations.
16. Through the perception of right produced by ceremony, came the degrees of the noble and the mean ; through the union of culture arising from music, harmony between high and low. By the ex- hibition of what was to be liked and what was to be disliked, a distinction was made between the worthy and unworthy. When violence was prevented by punishments, and the worthy were raised to rank, the operation of government was made impartial. Then came benevolence in the love (of the people), and righteousness in the correction (of their errors) ; and in this way good government held its course.
1 7. Music comes from within, and ceremonies from without. Music, coming from within, produces the stillness (of the mind) ; ceremonies, coming from without, produce the elegancies (of manner). The highest style of music is sure to be distinguished by its ease ; the highest style of elegance, by its un- demonstrativeness.
18. Let music attain its full results, and there would be no dissatisfactions (in the mind) ; let cere- mony do so, and there would be no quarrels. When
regulate the minds of men in their likings and dislikings ; and the fourth, that that regulation was in harmony with the will of Heaven, as indicated in the nature of man.
SECT. I.
yo ki. 99
bowings and courtesies marked the government of the kingdom, there would be what might be described as music and ceremony indeed. Violent oppression of the people would not arise ; the princes would appear submissively at court as guests ; there would be no occasion for the weapons of war, and no em- ployment of the five punishments1 ; the common people would have no distresses, and the son of Heaven no need to be angry : — such a state of things would be an universal music. When the son of Heaven could secure affection between father and son, could illustrate the orderly relation between old and young, and make mutual respect prevail all within the four seas, then indeed would ceremony (be seen) as power.
19. In music of the grandest style there is the same harmony that prevails between heaven and earth ; in ceremonies of the grandest form there is the same graduation that exists between heaven and earth. Through the harmony, things do not fail (to fulfil their ends) ; through the graduation we have the sacrifices to heaven and those to earth. In the visible sphere there are ceremonies and music ; in the invisible, the spiritual agencies. These things being so, in all within the four seas, there must be mutual respect and love.
20. The occasions and forms of ceremonies are different, but it is the same feeling of respect (which they express). The styles of musical pieces are dif- ferent, but it is the same feeling of love (which they
1 The ' five punishments ' were branding on the forehead, cutting off the nose, other various dismemberments, castration, and death ; see Mayers' 'Chinese Readers' Manual,' page 313. But the one word ' punishment ' would sufficiently express the writer's meaning.
H 2
IOO THE LI ArI. BK. XVII.
promote). The essential nature of ceremonies and music being the same, the intelligent kings, one after another, continued them as they found them. The occasions and forms were according to the times when they were made ; the names agreed with the merit which they commemorated.
2i. Hence the bell, the drum, the flute, and the sounding-stone ; the plume, the fife, the shield, and the axe are the instruments of music ; the curvings and stretchings (of the body), the bending down and lifting up (of the head) ; and the evolutions and numbers (of the performers), with the slowness or rapidity (of their movements), are its elegant ac- companiments. The dishes, round and square, the stands, the standing dishes, the prescribed rules and their elegant variations, are the instruments of cere- monies ; the ascending and descending, the positions high and low, the wheelings about, and the changing of robes, are their elegant accompaniments.
22. Therefore they who knew the essential nature of ceremonies and music could frame them ; and they who had learned their elegant accompaniments could hand them down. The framers may be pro- nounced sage ; the transmitters, intelligent. Intelli- gence and sagehood are other names for transmitting and inventing.
23. Music is (an echo of) the harmony between heaven and earth ; ceremonies reflect the orderly distinctions (in the operations of) heaven and earth. From that harmony all things receive their being ; to those orderly distinctions they owe the differences between them. Music has its origin from heaven ; ceremonies take their form from the appearances of earth. If the imitation of those appearances were
SECT. I. YO A'i.
IOI
carried to excess, confusion (of ceremonies) would appear ; if the framing of music were carried to excess, it would be too vehement. Let there be an intelligent understanding of the nature and inter- action of (heaven and earth), and there will be the ability to practise well both ceremonies and music.
24. The blending together without any mutual injuriousness (of the sentiments and the airs on the different instruments) forms the essence of music ; and the exhilaration of joy and the glow of affection are its business. Exactitude and correctness, without any inflection or deviation, form the substance of ceremonies, while gravity, respectfulness, and a humble consideration are the rules for their dis- charge.
25. As to the employment of instruments of metal and stone in connexion with these ceremonies and this music, the manifestation of them by the voice and its modulations, the use of them in the ancestral temple, and at the altars to the spirits of the land and grain, and in sacrificing to (the spirits of) the hills and streams, and to the general spiritual agencies (in nature) ; — these are (external demonstrations), natural even to the people1.
26. When the (ancient) kings had accomplished their undertakings, they made their music (to com- memorate them) ; when they had established their
1 The eleven paragraphs ending with this form the second chapter of the Book, called by Liu Hsiang Yo Lun (^ |^g), while the third chapter, extending to the end of the section, is called Yo Li (#& J^), as if the two were an expansion of the statement in the seventh paragraph, that music is ' the intercommunication of the modulated sounds and the mind in their relations and dif- ferences.'
I02 THE LI Kl. BK. XVII.
o-overnment, they framed their ceremonies. The excellence of their music was according to the great- ness of their undertakings ; and the completeness of their ceremonies was according to the comprehen- siveness of their government. The dances with shields and axes did not belong to the most excellent music1, nor did the sacrifices with cooked flesh mark the highest ceremonies1.
27. The times of the five Tis were different, and therefore they did not each adopt the music of his predecessor. The three kings belonged to different ages, and so they did not each follow the ceremonies of his predecessor. Music carried to an extreme degree leads to sorrow, and coarseness in cere- monies indicates something one-sided. To make the grandest music, which should bring with it no element of sorrow, and frame the completest cere- monies which yet should show no one-sidedness, could be the work only of the great sage.
28. There are heaven above and earth below, and between them are distributed all the (various) beings with their different (natures and qualities) : — in ac- cordance with this proceeded the framing of cere- monies. (The influences of) heaven and earth flow forth and never cease ; and by their united action (the phenomena of) production and change ensue : — in accordance with this music arose. The processes of growth in spring, and of maturing in summer (suggest the idea of) benevolence ; those of in-gather- ing in autumn and of storing in winter, suggest
1 As being, I suppose, commemorative of the achievements of war, and not the victories of peace ; and as marking a progress of society, and a departure from the primitive era of innocent simpli- city and reverence.
SECT. I. VO A'L
103
righteousness. Benevolence is akin to music, and righteousness to ceremonies.
29. Harmony is the thing principally sought in music : — it therein follows heaven, and manifests the spirit-like expansive influence characteristic of it Normal distinction is the thing aimed at in cere- monies : — they therein follow earth, and exhibit the spirit-like retractive influence characteristic of it. Hence the sages made music in response to heaven, and framed ceremonies in correspondence with earth. In the wisdom and completeness of their ceremonies and music we see the directing power of heaven and earth1.
30. (The relation) between ruler and minister was determined from a consideration of heaven (conceived of as) honourable, and earth (conceived of as) mean. The positions of noble and mean were fixed with a reference to the heights and depths displayed by the surface (of the earth). The regularity with which movement and repose follow each other (in the course of nature) led to the consideration of affairs as small
1 On the first of these two paragraphs, P. Callery says : — 'The cele- brated Encyclopaedist, Ma Twan-lin (Book 181), says that this passage is one of the most marvellous that ever were written, and he draws from it the proof that the work could not have been written later than the Han, "because reckoning from that dynasty, there did not appear any author capable of conceiving ideas so profound, and expressing them in language so elevated." ' P. Callery adds, ' As regards the origin of the Li Ki, the reasoning of the Encyclo- paedist appears to me passably (passablement) false ; as to the intrinsic worth of the passage, I leave it to the reader to form his judgment from the translation, which I have endeavoured to render as faithful as possible/
In the passage of Ma Twan-lin, however, that author is simply quoting the words of K\x Hsi (Ta Arwan, Book 37), and expresses no opinion of his own.
104 THE L^ K^.
BK. XVII.
and great. The different quarters (of the heavens) are grouped together, and the things (of the earth) are distinguished by their separate characteristics; and this gave rise to (the conception of) natures and their attributes and functions. In heaven there are formed its visible signs, and earth produces its (end- less variety of) things ; and thus it was that cere- monies were framed after the distinctions between heaven and earth.
31. The breath (or influence) of earth ascends on hieh, and that of heaven descends below. These in their repressive and expansive powers come into mutual contact, and heaven and earth act on each other. (The susceptibilities of nature) are roused by the thunder, excited by the wind and rain, moved by the four seasons, and warmed by the sun and moon ; and all the processes of change and growth vigorously proceed. Thus it was that music was framed to indicate the harmonious action of heaven and earth.
32. If these processes took place out of season, there would be no (vigorous) life ; and if no dis- tinction were observed between males and females, disorder would arise and grow : — such is the nature of the (different qualities of) heaven and earth.
33. When we think of ceremonies and music, how they reach to the height of heaven and embrace the earth ; how there are in them the phenomena of retrogression and expansion, and a communication with the spirit-like (operations of nature), we must pronounce their height the highest, their reach the farthest, their depth the most profound, and their breadth the greatest.
34. Music appeared in the Grand Beginning (of all things), and ceremonies had their place on the com-
SECT. II. YO Kl. IO5
pletion of them. Their manifestation, being cease- less, gives (the idea of) heaven ; and again, being motionless, gives (the idea of) earth. Through the movement and repose (of their interaction) come all things between heaven and earth. Hence the sages simply spoke of ceremonies and music.
Section II.
1. Anciently, Shun made the lute with five strings, and used it in sinsfinQf the Nan Fangf. Khwei was the first who composed (the pieces of) music to be employed by the feudal lords as an expression of (the royal) approbation of them1.
2. Thus the employment of music by the son of Heaven was intended to reward the most virtuous among the feudal lords. When their virtue was very great, and their instructions were honoured, and all the cereals ripened in their season, then they were rewarded by (being permitted) the use of the music. Hence, those of them whose toils in the government of the people were conspicuous, had their rows of pantomimes extended far ; and those of them who had been indifferent to the government of the people
1 Nan Fang, ' the South wind,' was the name of a poetical piece made by Shun, and celebrating the beneficent influence of rulers and parents as being like that of the south wind. Four lines of it are found in the Narratives of the School (Article 35) : — ' The south wind's genial balm Gives to my people's sorrows ease; Its breath amidst the season's calm, Brings to their wealth a large increase.' The invention of the Mm or lute, here ascribed to Shun, is also attributed to the more ancient Tis, Shan Nang and Fu-hsi. Per- haps Shun was the first to make it with five strings. Khwei was his minister of music ; see vol. iii, pages 44, 45.
I06 THE Li A'l.
bk. xvir.
had those rows made short. On seeing their panto- mimes, one knew what was (the degree of) their virtue, (just as) on hearing their posthumous designa- tions, we know what had been (the character of) their conduct.
3. The Ta Kang expressed the brilliance (of its author's virtue); the Hsien A'ih, the completeness (of its author's) ; the Shao showed how (its author) continued (the virtue of his predecessor); the Hsia, the greatness (of its author's virtue) ; the music of Yin and Aau embraced every admirable quality1.
4. In the interaction of heaven and earth, if cold and heat do not come at the proper seasons, illnesses arise (among the people) ; if wind and rain do not come in their due proportions, famine ensues. The instructions (of their superiors) are the people's cold and heat ; if they are not what the time requires, an injury is done to society. The affairs (of their supe- riors) are the people's wind and rain ; if they are not properly regulated, they have no success. In accord- ance with this, the object of the ancient kings in their practice of music was to bring their government into harmony with those laws (of heaven and earth). If it was good, then the conduct (of the people) was like the virtue (of their superiors).
5. (The feast on) grain-fed animals, with the ad- junct of drinking, was not intended to produce evil, and yet cases of litigation are more numerous in consequence of it : — it is the excessive drinking which produces the evil. Therefore the former kings framed
1 Ta jfiTang was the name of Yao's music ; Hsien A'ih, that of Hwang Ti's; Shao, that of Shuns; and Hsia, that of Yii's. Pages would be required to condense what is said about the pieces and their names.
SECT. II. YO K\. IO7
the rules to regulate the drinking. Where there is (but) one presentation of the cup (at one time), guest and host may bow to each other a hundred times, and drink together all the day without getting drunk. This was the way in which those kings provided against evil consequences.
Such feasts served for the enjoyment of the parties at them. The music was intended to illustrate virtue ; the ceremonies to restrain excess.
6. Hence the former kings, on occasions of great sorrow, had their rules according to which they ex- pressed their grief; and on occasions of great happi- ness, they had their rules by which they expressed their pleasure. The manifestations, whether of grief or joy, were all bounded by the limits of these rules1.
7. In music the sages found pleasure, and (saw that) it could be used to make the hearts of the people good. Because of the deep influence which it exerts on a man, and the change which it produces in manners and customs, the ancient kings appointed it as one of the subjects of instruction.
8. Now, in the nature of men there are both the energy of their physical powers and the intelligence of the mind; but for their (affections of) grief, pleasure, joy, and anger there are no invariable rules. They are moved according to the external objects which excite them, and then there ensues the mani- festation of the various faculties of the mind.
9. Hence, when a (ruler's) aims are small, notes
1 With this paragraph ends the fourth division of the Book, called Yo Shih (ig| }}\\l), meaning ' The grant of Music,' or the principles on which the ancient kings permitted their music to be used by the feudal princes, to signify their approval of what was good, and stimulate all to virtue.
L^
108 THE LI Kl. BK. XVII.
that quickly die away characterise the music, and the people's thoughts are sad ; when he is generous, harmonious, and of a placid and easy temper, the notes are varied and elegant, with frequent changes, and the people are satisfied and pleased ; when he is coarse, violent, and excitable, the notes, vehement at first and distinct in the end, are full and bold throughout the piece, and the people are resolute and daring; when he is pure and straightforward, strong and correct, the notes are grave and expressive of sincerity, and the people are self-controlled and respectful ; when he is magnanimous, placid, and kind, the notes are natural, full, and harmonious, and the people are affectionate and loving; when he is careless, disorderly, perverse, and dissipated, the notes are tedious and ill-regulated, and the people proceed to excesses and disorder.
10. Therefore the ancient kings (in framing their music), laid its foundations in the feelings and nature of men ; they examined (the notes) by the measures (for the length and quality of each) ; and adapted it to express the meaning of the ceremonies (in which it was to be used). They (thus) brought it into harmony with the energy that produces life, and to give expression to the performance of the five regular constituents of moral worth. They made it indicate that energy in its Yang or phase of vigour, without any dissipation of its power, and also in its Yin or phase of remission, without the vanishing of its power. The strong phase showed no excess like that of anger, and the weak no shrinking like that of pusillanimity. These four characteristics blended harmoniously in the minds of men, and were similarly manifested in their conduct. Each occupied quietly
SECT. II. YO Kl. IO9
in its proper place, and one did not interfere in- juriously with another.
1 1. After this they established schools for (teach- ing their music), and different grades (for the learners). They marked most fully the divisions of the pieces, and condensed into small compass the parts and variations giving beauty and elegance, in order to regulate and increase the inward virtue (of the learners). They gave laws for the great and small notes according to their names, and harmonised the order of the beginning and the end, to represent the doing of things. Thus they made the underlying principles of the relations between the near and distant relatives, the noble and mean, the old and young, males and females, all to appear manifestly in the music. Hence it is said that ' in music we must endeavour to see its depths.'
12. When the soil is worn out, the grass and trees on it do not grow well. When water is often troubled, the fish and tortoises in it do not become large. When the energy (of nature) is decayed, its pro- duction of things does not proceed freely. In an age of disorder, ceremonies are forgotten and neglected, and music becomes licentious.
13. In such a case the notes are melancholy but without gravity, or joyous without repose. There is remissness (in ceremonies), and the violation of them is easy. One falls into such a state of dissoluteness that he forgets the virtue properly belonging to his nature. In great matters he is capable of treachery and villainy ; in small matters he becomes greedy and covetous. There is a diminution in him of the enduring, genial forces of nature, and an extinction of the virtue of satisfaction and harmony. On this
HO THE Ll Kl.
BK. XVII.
account the superior man despises such (a style of music and ceremonies)1.
14. Whenever notes that are evil and depraved affect men, a corresponding evil spirit responds to them (from within) ; and when this evil spirit accom- plishes its manifestations, licentious music is the result. Whenever notes that are correct affect men, a corresponding correct spirit responds to them (from within) ; and when this correct spirit accom- plishes its manifestations, harmonious music is the result. The initiating cause and the result correspond to each other. The round and the deflected, the crooked and the straight, have each its own category ; and such is the character of all things, that they affect one another severally according to their class.
15. Hence the superior man returns to the (good) affections (proper to his nature) in order to bring his will into harmony with them, and compares the dif- ferent qualities (of actions) in order to perfect his conduct. Notes that are evil and depraved, and sights leading to disorder, and licentiousness, are not allowed to affect his ears or eyes. Licentious music and cor- rupted ceremonies are not admitted into the mind to affect its powers. The spirit of idleness, indifference, depravity, and perversity finds no exhibition in his person. And thus he makes his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth, the apprehensions of his mind, and the move- ments of all the parts of his body, all follow the course that is correct, and do that which is right.
1 This and the six previous paragraphs form the fifth division of the Book, and are called Yo Yen (^ =|"), 'Words about Music.' The A^ien-lung editors, however, propose changing the Yen (=f) into Hsing (j&), so that the meaning would be 1 Manifestations of Music.'
SECT. II.
YO Kl.
I II
1 6. After this there ensues the manifestation (of the inward thoughts) by the modulations of note and tone, the elegant accompaniments of the lutes, small and large, the movements with the shield and battle- axe, the ornaments of the plumes and ox-tails, and the concluding with the pipes and flutes1. All this has the effect of exhibiting the brilliance of complete virtue, stirring up the harmonious action of the four (seasonal) energies ; and displaying the true natures and qualities of all things.
i 7. Hence in the fine and distinct notes we have an image of heaven ; in the ample and grand, an image of earth ; in their beginning and ending, an image of the four seasons ; in the wheelings and revolutions (of the pantomimes), an image of the wind and rain. (The five notes, like) the five colours, form a complete and elegant whole, without any con- fusion. (The eight instruments of different materials, like) the eight winds, follow the musical accords, without any irregular deviation. The lengths of all the different notes have their definite measurements, without any uncertainty. The small and the great complete one another. The end leads on to the be- ginning, and the beginning to the end. The key notes and those harmonising with them, the sharp and the bass, succeed one another in their regular order.
1 Thus:-- MSMSM
1
I I 2 THE LI Kl. BK. XVII.
1 8. Therefore, when the music has full course, the different relations are clearly denned by it ; the per- ceptions of the ears and eyes become sharp and distinct ; the action of the blood and physical energies is harmonious and calm; (bad) influences are removed, and manners changed ; and all under heaven there is entire repose.
19. Hence we have the saying, 'Where there is music there is joy.' Superior men rejoice in attaining to the course (which they wish to pursue) ; and smaller men in obtaining the things which they desire. When the objects of desire are regulated by a consider- ation of the course to be pursued, there is joy without any disorder. When those objects lead to the forget- f ulness of that course, there is delusion, and no joy.
20. It is for this purpose that the superior man returns to the (good) affections (proper to his nature), in order to bring his will into harmony with them, and makes extensive use of music in order to perfect his instructions. When the music has free course, the people direct themselves to the quarter (to which they should proceed), and we can see (the power of) his virtue.
21. Virtue is the strong stem of (man's) nature, and music is the blossoming of virtue. Metal, stone, silk, and bamboo are (the materials of which) the instru- ments of music (are made). Poetry gives expression to the thoughts ; singing prolongs the notes (of the voice) ; pantomimic movements put the body into action (in harmony with the sentiments). These three things originate in the mind, and the instru- ments of the music accompany them.
22. In this way the affections (from which comes the music) are deeply seated, and the elegant display
SECT. II. YO Kl. 113
of them is brilliant. All the energies (of the nature) are abundantly employed, and their transforming power is mysterious and spirit-like. A harmonious conformity (to virtue) is realised within, and the blossoming display of it is conspicuous without, for in music, more than other things, there should be nothing that is pretentious or hypocritical.
2 3. Music springs from the movement of the mind ; the notes are the manifestation of the music ; the elegant colours and various parts are the ornaments of the notes. The superior man puts its fundamental cause in movement, makes its manifesting notes into music, and regulates its ornaments.
24. Thus they first strike the drum to warn (the performers) to be in readiness, and (the pantomimes) take three steps to show the nature of the dance. This is done a second time and they begin to move forward ; and when they have completed their evolu- tions, they return and dress their ranks. However rapid their movements may be, there is nothing violent in them ; however mysterious they may be, they are not beyond the power of being understood. One, studying them alone, finds pleasure in the object of them, and does not tire in his endeavours to under- stand them. When he has fully understood them, he does not keep what he desires to himself. Thus the affections (of joy) are displayed; the (ideal) of righteousness is established; and when the music is ended, the (due) honour has been paid to virtue. Superior men by it nourish their love of what is good ; small men in it hear the (correction of) their errors. Hence it is said, that ' for the courses to be pursued by men the influence of music is great.'
25. In music we have the outcome and bestowal [28] 1
I 14 THE LI k\. bk. XVII.
(of what its framers felt) ; in ceremonies a return (for what their performers had received). Music expresses the delight in what produces it,' and ceremonies lead the mind back to (the favours) which originate them. Music displays the virtue (of the framer); ceremonies are a return of the feelings (which led to them), as carrying the mind back to what originated them.
26. What is called 'a Grand carriage' is one which is (the gift) of the son of Heaven ; the flag with dragons, and a nine-scolloped border, was the banner (conferred by) the son of Heaven; that with the azure and black edging exhibited the precious tor- toises, and was (also the gift of) the son of Heaven; and when these were followed by herds of oxen and sheep, they were the gifts bestowed on the feudal lords \
Section III.
1. In music we have the expression of feelings which do not admit of any change ; in ceremonies that of principles which do not admit of any altera- tion. Music embraces what all equally share ; cere- mony distinguishes the things in which men differ. Hence the theory of music and ceremonies embraces the whole nature of man.
2. To go to the very root (of our feelings) and know the changes (which they undergo) is the pro- vince of music ; to display sincerity and put away all that is hypocritical is the grand law of ceremonies. Ceremonies and music resemble the nature of Heaven and Earth, penetrate to the virtues of the spiritual Intelligences, bring down the spirits from above, and
1 With this ends the sixth chapter of the Book, called Yo Hsiang (^ |&), meaning the natural symbols of music.
SECT. III. YO kI. II5
raise up those whose seat is below. They give a sort of substantial embodiment of what is most subtle as well as material, and regulate the duties between father and son, ruler and subject.
3. Therefore, wrhen the Great man uses and ex- hibits his ceremonies and music, Heaven and Earth will in response to him display their brilliant influences. They will act in happy union, and the energies (of nature), now expand