|
THE MEANING OF THE INTERCHANGE OF MIS-
SIONS BETWEEN
DIFFERENT COURTS 1 .
1. According to the ceremonies in missions, a
duke of the highest grade sent seven attendants
with (his
representative) ; a marquis or earl, five ;
and a count or baron, three. The
difference in
number served to show the difference in rank of
their
principals 2 .
2. The messages (between the visitor and the
host)
were passed through all the attendants, from
one to another. A superior man,
where he wishes
to do honour, will not venture to communicate
directly
and in person. This was a high tribute
of respect.
3. The message
was transmitted (only) after the
messenger had thrice declined to receive
(the cour-
tesies offered to him at the gate) ; he entered the gate
of
the ancestral temple after thrice in the same way
trying to avoid doing so ;
thrice he exchanged bows
with his conductor before they arrived at the steps
;
and thrice he yielded the precedence offered to him
before he ascended
the hall : — so did he carry to
1 See introductory notice, vol. xxvii,
pages 58, 59.
2 If the ruler went in person on the mission, he had in
every
case, according to his rank, two attendants more than the number
specified for his representative.
BK. XLV.
phing i. 459
the utmost his giving of honour and
yielding
courtesy.
4. The ruler sent an officer to meet (the messen-
ger) at the border (of the state), and a Great officer
to offer him the
customary presents and congratula-
tions (after the toils of the journey) in
the suburb
(near the capital) ; he himself met him and bowed
to him
inside the great gate, and then received him
in the ancestral temple ; with
his face to the north
he bowed to him when the presents (which he
brought) were presented, and bowed again (when
his message was
delivered), in acknowledgment of
its condescension : — in this way did he
(on his part)
testify his respect.
5. Respectfulness and yielding
courtesy mark the
intercourse of superior men with one another.
Hence,
when the feudal lords received one another
with such respectfulness and
yielding courtesy, they
would not attack or encroach on one another.
6. A high minister is employed as principal usher
(for the
messenger), a Great officer as the next, and
(ordinary) officers acted as
their attendants. (When
he had delivered his message), the ruler himself
showed him courtesy, (and presented to him the
cup of new liquor). He
had his private interviews
(with the dignitaries and Great officers of the
court), and also with the ruler l . (After this), sup-
plies of animals,
slaughtered arid living, were sent
(to his hotel). (When he was about to
take his
departure), the jade-symbols (by which he was
accredited) were
returned to him, and the return
1 At these interviews, after he had
discharged his mission and
presented the gifts from his ruler, he presented
other gifts on his
own account.
460 THE Li Kl.
BK. XLV.
gifts (of silk and other things)
presented at the
same time. He had been entertained and feasted.
All
these observances served to illustrate the idea
underlying the relations
between ruler and minister
in receiving visitors and guests \
7.
Therefore it was a statute made by the son of
Heaven for the feudal lords,
that every year they
should interchange a small mission, and every three
years a great one : — thus stimulating one another
to the exercise of
courtesy. If the messenger com-
mitted any error in the exchange of his
mission,
the ruler, his host, did not personally entertain
and feast him
: — thereby making him ashamed, and
stimulating him.
When the
princes thus stimulated one another to
the observance of the ceremonial
usages, they did
not make any attacks on one another, and in their
states there was no oppression or encroachment.
In this way the son of
Heaven cherished and
nourished them ; there was no occasion for any
appeal to arms, and they were furnished with an
instrument to maintain
themselves in rectitude.
8. (The commissioners) carried with them their
jade-symbols, the sceptre and half-sceptre : — show-
ing the importance
of the ceremony. On the
completion of their mission, these were returned
to them : — showing the small importance to be
attached to their value,
and the great importance
of the ceremony. When the princes thus stimulated
one another, to set light by the value of the articles,
and recognise
the importance of the ceremony, the
people learned to be yielding and
courteous.
1 The entertainment took place in the open court ; the
banquet
in the banqueting chamber.
BK. XLV. PHING 1. 46I
9. The prince of the state to which the mission
was sent treated his
guests in this way : — Till their
departure from their coming, they were
supplied
from the three stores (provided for such purposes).
Living
animals were sent to them at their lodo-ine.
A provision of five sets of the
three animals for
slaughter was made inside. Thirty loads of rice,
the
same number of grain with the straw, and twice
as many of fodder and
firewood were provided
outside. There were five pairs of birds that went
in flocks every day. All the attendants had cattle
supplied to them for
their food. There was one
meal (a day in the court), and two (spare)
entertain-
ments (in the temple). The banquets and occasional
bounties
were without any definite number. With
such generosity was the importance of
the ceremony
indicated 1 .
10. They could not always be so profuse
as this
in antiquity in the use of their wealth ; but their
employment
of it thus liberally (in connexion with
these missions) showed how they were
prepared to
devote it to the maintenance of the ceremonies.
When they
expended it as they did on the cere-
monies, then in the states ruler and
minister did not
encroach on one another's rights and possessions,
and
different states did not attack one another. It
was on this account that the
kings made their
statute about these missions, and the feudal lords
did
their utmost to fulfil it 2 .
1 The particulars here briefly mentioned
and many others are to
be found in great detail in the 8th division of the I
Li, Books 15-
18, which are on the subject of these missions.
2
About twenty years ago, when I had occasion to accompany
a mandarin from
Canton to a disturbed district in the interior, he
462 THE LI
A'l. BK. XLV.
1 1. The archery in connexion with these missions
was
a very great institution. With the early dawn
they commenced it, and it was
nearly midday be-
fore the whole of the ceremonies were concluded : —
it
required men of great vigour and strength to go
through with it.
And
further, when such men were about to
engage in it, though the liquor might
be clear and
they were thirsty, they did not venture to drink of
it ;
though the stalks of flesh were dry (and ready
to their hand), and they were
hungry, they did not
venture to eat of them ; at the close of the day,
when they were tired, they continued to maintain
a grave and correct
deportment. So they carried
out all the details of the ceremonies ; so they
maintained correctly the relation between ruler
and subject, affection
between father and son,
and harmony between seniors and juniors. All
this it is difficult for the generality of men to do,
but it was done by
those superior men ; and on
this account they were called men possessed of
great ability in action. The ascribing to them such
ability in action
implied their possession of the sense
of righteousness ; and their
possession of that sense
implied that they were valiant and daring. The
introduced one day in conversation the subject of these missions,
saying that they must have been a great drain on the revenues of
the
ancient states, and that in the same way in the present day
the provincial
administrations were burdened with many outlays
which should be borne by the
imperial treasury. As resident
ambassadors from foreign nations had then
begun to be talked
about, he asked whether China would have to pay their
expenses,
or the countries which they represented would do so, and was
greatly
relieved when I told him that each nation would pay the expenses
of its embassy.
BK. XLV. PHING i. 46
^
most valuable quality in a man who is bold and
daring is
that he can thereby establish his sense of
righteousness ; the most valuable
quality in him
who establishes that sense is that he can thereby
show
his great ability in action ; the most valuable
quality in him who has that
ability is that he can
carry all ceremonies into practice. In this way, the
most valuable quality in valiant daring is that its
possessor dares to
carry into practice the rules of
ceremony and righteousness.
It
follows from this that such men, bold and
daring, full of vigour and
strength, when the king-
dom was at peace, employed their gifts in the
exercise of propriety and righteousness ; and, when
there was trouble in
the kingdom, employed them
in the battle-field and in gaining victory. When
they employed them to conquer in battle, no enemies
could resist them ;
when they employed them in the
exercise of propriety and righteousness, then
obe-
dience and good order prevailed. No enemies
abroad, and obedience
and good order at home : —
this was called the perfect condition for a
state.
But when men, so endowed, did not use their
valour and strength
in the service of propriety
and righteousness, and to secure victory, but in
strifes and contentions, then they were styled men
of turbulence or
disorder. Punishments were put
in requisition throughout the kingdom, and
the
(first) use of them was to deal with those same men,
and take them
off. In this way (again), the people
became obedient and there was good
order, and the
state was tranquil and happy.
12. 3 ze_ kung asked
Confucius, saying, 'Allow
me to ask the reason why the superior man sets
4^4 THE LI A't. BK. XLV.
a high value on jade, and but
little on soapstone ?
Is it because jade is rare, and the soapstone
plentiful ?'
13. Confucius replied, 'It is not because the
soapstone is plentiful that he thinks but little of it,
and because jade
is rare that he sets a high value
on it. Anciently superior men found the
likeness of
all excellent qualities in jade. Soft, smooth, and
glossy,
it appeared to them like benevolence ; fine,
compact, and strong, — like
intelligence ; angular, but
not sharp and cutting, — like righteousness ;
hanging
down (in beads) as if it would fall to the ground, —
like (the
humility of) propriety ; when struck, yield-
ing a note, clear and
prolonged, yet terminating
abruptly, — like music ; its flaws not concealing
its
beauty, nor its beauty concealing its flaws, — like
loyalty ; with
an internal radiance issuing from it
on every side, — like good faith ;
bright as a brilliant
rainbow, — like heaven ; exquisite and mysterious,
appearing in the hills and streams, — like the earth ;
standing out
conspicuous in the symbols of rank, —
like virtue ; esteemed by all under
the sky, — like
the path of truth and duty. As is said in the ode
(I,
xi, ode 3, 1),
" Such my lord's car. He rises in my mind,
Lovely and
bland, like jade of richest kind."
This is why the superior man esteems
it so highly !.'
BOOK XLVI. SANG FO SZE ATH
OR
THE FOUR PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING THE DRESS
OF MOURNING 1 .
i. All ceremonial usages looked at in their
great characteristics
are the embodiment of (the
ideas suggested by) heaven and earth ; take their
laws from the (changes of the) four seasons ; imitate
the (operation of
the) contracting and developing
movements in nature ; and are conformed to
the
feelings of men. It is on this account that they are
called the
Rules of Propriety ; and when any one
finds fault with them, he only shows
his ignorance
of their origin.
2. Those usages are different in
their applications
to felicitous and unfortunate occurrences ; in which
they should not come into collision with one
another : — this is derived
from (their pattern as
given by) the contracting and developing move-
ments in nature.
3. The mourning dress has its four definite
fashions and styles, the changes in which are
always according to what
is right : — this is derived
from the (changes of the) four seasons.
Now, affection predominates ; now, nice distinc-
tions ; now,
defined regulations ; and now, the
consideration of circumstances : — all
these are
1 See the introductory notice, vol. xxvii, pp. 59, 60.
[28] H h
466 THE Li KI.
BK. XLVI,
derived from the human feelings. In affection we
have
benevolence ; in nice distinctions, righteous-
ness ; in defined
regulations, propriety ; and in the
consideration of circumstances,
knowledge. Benevo-
lence, righteousness, propriety, and knowledge; —
these make up the characteristic attributes of
humanity.
4.
Where the affection has been great, the
mourning worn is deep. On this
account the
sackcloth with jagged edges is worn for the father
for three
years : — the regulation is determined by
affection.
5. In the
regulation (of the mourning) within the
family circle, the affection throws
the (duty of public)
righteousness into the shade 1 . In the regulation
(of that which is) beyond that circle, the (duty of
public)
righteousness cuts the (mourning of) affec-
tion short 1 . The service due
to a father is employed
in serving a ruler, and the reverence is the same
for
both : — this is the greatest instance of (the convic-
tion of the
duty of) righteousness, in all the esteem
shown to nobility and the honour
done to the
honourable. Hence the sackcloth with jagged edges
is worn
(also) for the ruler for three years : —
the regulation is determined by
righteousness.
6. The eating after three days ; the washing the
head
after three months ; the sacrifice and change of
dress at the end of the
first year ; the not carrying the
emaciation to such an extent as to affect
life : — these
regulations were to avoid doing harm to the living
1
A son, on his father's death, is exempted from official duties
for a time ;
but this exemption is suspended on occasions of
pressing exigency.
bk. XLVt. SANG FU SZE KIH. 467
(by the mourning) for the
dead. Not protracting
the mourning rites beyond three years ; not mending
even the coarsest sackcloth ; making no addition to
the mound (raised at
first) over the grave ; fixing
the day for the sacrifice at the end of the
second
year ; playing (at first, on the conclusion of the
rites) on a
plain, unvarnished lute : — all these things
were to make the people aware
of the termination
(of the several rites), and constituted the defined
regulations.
The service due to a father is employed in serving
a mother, and the love is the same for both. (But)
in the sky there are
not two suns, nor in a land
two kings, nor in a state two rulers, nor in a
family
two equally honourable : — one (principle) regulates
(all) these
conditions. Hence, while the father is
alive, the sackcloth with even edges
is worn (for a
mother), (and only) for a year, — showing that there
are
not (in the family) two equally honourable.
7. What is meant by the use
of the staff? It is
(a symbol of) rank. On the third day it is given to
the son ; on the fifth day, to Great officers ; and on
the seventh day,
to ordinary officers ; — (at the
mourning rites for a ruler). Some say that
it is
given to them as the presiding mourners ; and
others, that it is
to support them in their distress.
A daughter (not yet fully grown) and
a son (while
but a lad), do not carry a staff; — (being supposed)
not to
be capable of (extreme) distress.
When all the array of officers is
complete, and all
things are provided, and (the mourner) cannot speak
(his directions), and things must (still) proceed, he is
assisted to
rise. If he be able to speak, and things
will proceed (as he directs), he
rises by the help of
h h 2
468 THE Li Kl. BK. XLVI.
the staff. Where (the mourner) has himself to take
part in what is
to be done, he will have his face
grimed (as if black with sorrow). Women
who are
bald do not use the coiffure ; hunchbacks do not
unbare their
arms ; the lame do not leap ; and the
old and ill do not give up the use of
liquor and
flesh. All these are cases regulated by the con-
sideration
of circumstances.
8. After the occurrence of the death, the (wailing
for) three days, which left no leisure for anything
else ; the not
taking off (the headband or girdle)
for three months ; the grief and
lamentation for a
whole year ; and the sorrow on to the three years : —
(in all these things) there was a gradual diminu-
tion of the
(manifestation of) affection. The sages,
in accordance with that diminution
of the natural
feeling, made their various definite regulations.
9.
It was on this account that the mourning rites
were limited to three years.
The worthiest were
not permitted to go beyond this period, nor those
who
were inferior to them to fall short of it. This
was the proper and
invariable time for those rites,
what the (sage) kings always carried into
practice.
When it is said in the Shu (Part IV, Book VIII,
i, 1),
that Kao Sung, while occupying the mourning
shed, for three years did not
speak, this expresses
approval of that sovereign. But the kings all
observed this rule ; — why is the approval only
expressed in connexion
with him ? It may be
replied, ' This Kao 3ung was Wu Ting.' Wii Ting
was
a worthy sovereign of Yin. He had come to
the throne in the due order of
succession, and was
thus loving and good in his observance of the
mourning rites. At this time Yin, which had been
bk. xlvi.
SANG FU SZE KIH. 469
decaying, revived again ; ceremonial usages., which
had been neglected, came again into use. On this
account the approval of
him was expressed, and
therefore it was recorded in the Shu, and he was
styled Kao (The Exalted), and designated Kao
3ung (The Exalted and
Honoured Sovereign).
(The rule was that), during the three years' mourn-
ing, a ruler should not speak ; and that the Shu
says, ' Kao 3 un g≫
while he occupied the mourning
shed, for the three years did not speak,' was
an
illustration of this. When it is said (in the Hsiao
King, chapter
18th), 'They speak, but without
elegance of phrase,' the reference is to
ministers and
inferior (officers).
10. According to the usages, when
wearing the
sackcloth with jagged edges (for a father), (a son)
indicated that he heard what was said to him, but
did not reply in words
; when wearing that with
even edges (for a mother), he replied, but did not
speak (of anything else) ; when wearing the mourn-
ing of nine months,
he might speak (of other things),
but did not enter into any discussion ;
when wearing
that of five months, or of three, he might discuss, but
did
not show pleasure in doing so.
11. At the mourning rites for a parent,
(the son)
wore the cap of sackcloth, with strings of cords, and
sandals
of straw ; after the third day, he (began to)
take gruel ; after the third
month, he washed his
head ; at the end of the year, in the thirteenth
month, he put on the mourning silk and cap proper
after the first year ;
and when the three years were
completed, he offered the auspicious
sacrifice.
12. When one has completed these three regu-
lated
periods, the most animated with the sentiment
A A
47O THE LI Kl. BK. XLVI.
of benevolence (or humanity)
can perceive the
affection (underlying the usages) ; he who has
(most)
knowledge can perceive the nice distinctions
pervading them ; and he who has
(most) strength
can perceive the (force of) will (required for their
discharge). The propriety that regulates them, and
the righteousness
that maintains their correctness,
may be examined by filial sons,
deferential younger
brothers, and pure-minded virgins.
INDEX
TO THE
TEXTS OF CONFUCIANISM,
PARTS I, II, III, IV,
VOLUMES III, XVI, XXVII,
XXVIII.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
The references refer
to the parts and the pages.
Ability and character necessary to
official employment, Part i,
pages 221-5; hM, 322-4.
Acts and
character, of Yao, i, 31-6 ;
of Shun, as Yao's vice-gerent, i,
38-41 ;
as sovereign, i, 42-5.
Administration of government, royal
regulations for, iii, 209-48 ; in
the twelve months of the year,
iii. 249-310; of justice, and how
tempered, i, 43, 48-9, 254-64;
iii, 235-8.
Admonitions, of Yii to Shun, i, 58-
61 ; of t Yin to
Thai ATia, 92-
103 ; to the prince of Khang,
170-1 ; to prince Shih,
205-10;
to king Khang, 200-5, 220-5,
404-7; to officers, 407-10; of
duke Wu to himself, 413-17.
Age and the aged, all dynasties
honoured in all conditions of
life, iv, 229-31; reverence and
care
of, i, 123, 185, 401 ; iii, 67-
8, 70, 73-4, 240-4, 287-8, 464-
70
(delicacies provided for) ;
how shown in walking with, iv,
230; three
classes of the aged,
see Three.
Agriculture, references to
and de-
scriptions of, i, 32-4, 42-3, 85,
258, 312, 316, 320-3, 331-3, 3
6 5,
369-70, 383, 389, 398-9; Hi, 227-
30, 239,255,260,264,270-1,274,
284, 289, 293, 304, 308-9, 43I- 2 -
Altars, i, 40, 153, 420 (and
note);
the Great, i, 384 (and note) ; to
the spirits of the land and
grain,
iv, 235; various, iv, 206-7.
Ancestral temples and worship,
i, 40-
1, 44, 51, 92, 95, 126, 130, 134,
304-13, 3I3-3 6 , 343, 348,
3 6 5-8,
37o,374-5, 387,402-3, 420,431-
2, 477-8, 485-6, 488; iii,
223-5,
369-71, 411-13; iv, 204-6, 309-
1 1.
Ancients, the,
emblematic figures of,
i, 58 ; lessons and examples of,
107, 166, 171.
204,229,249, 252,
301. Ancientsayings,i,27i,4o8.
Announcements, or
public procla-
mations, and speeches, at Kan, i,
76-7 ; of Thang, 84-6 ;
of Kung-
hui, 86-9; of king Wu, — the
Great Declaration, 124-32,
Speech at Mu, 131-2, and The
Completion of the War, 133-5 ;
472
THE TEXTS OF CONFUCIANISM.
of king AT/^ang, 1 56-6 1 (the Great
Announcement) ; to
prince of
Khang, 165-71; against drunken-
ness, 171-81; of the duke of
Shao, 181-8; of the duke of
ATau, 188-95 ; of king KMng, to
the
people of Shang, 196-200;
to his ministers, 226-31; of
king Khang, 243-8
; the speech
at Pi, 267-70; of the marquis
of Kh'm, 270-72.
Announcements of deaths, forms of,
iv, 133-4.
Antiquity, Yao
and Shun studied, i,
227 (and note) ; highest, the, ii,
385; middle,
the, ii, 397 ; ways
of, to be followed, iv, 324.
Aprons, or
knee-covers, i, 350; iv,
14, 15 ; size of parts of, iv, 172.
Archery, i, 375-400; iii, 202, 231,
375, 400 ; the ceremony of, iii,
56-7; iv, 446-53.
Arrows in the game of pitch-pot, iv,
397-400.
Armv, royal, i, 76-7, 81, 244; see
Six ; signals and movements of,
in an expedition, iii, 90-2. Army
of Lu, i, 344 (and note).
Ails
or special acquirements, iii,
235 ; iv, 116.
Association of husband
and wife in
sacrifices, iv, 238-41. See also
i, 431-2.
Astronomical references, i, 23-8,
32-4, 38-9, 82, 142, 296, 355,
363-4, 419; iii, 91-2, 249, 254,
257, 259, 262, 268, 272, 275,
276,
283, 286, 289, 291, 296,
301, 304, 306, 308, 426.
Audiences and
other great meetings,
i, 40, 229, 373-4, 427-8; iii,
111-2,218;
non-attendance at
was criminal, i, 426.
Avenging the death of
parents and
others, iii, 92, 140.
Banishment, rules for, i, 40-1, 43
;
iii, 232-4; cases of, i, 41, 75-6.
Banners, i, 326, 338, 342,
351,418;
iii, 91-2.
Banquet, ceremony of the, iii, 57-8 ;
iv, 454-57.
Barter, established by Yii, i, 58. See
Inventions.
Bathing and washing, iv, 5.
Bells, see Music. The
wooden-
tongued bell, i, 82; iii, 190,
260; iv, 34, 165.
Birth, usages in connexion with, of
a boy or girl, by the wife, iii,
471-4 ; by a concubine, 475 ; of
sons and daughters differently
regarded, i, 350-1 ; usages on y
special occasions of, iii, 311-
i3-
Blessing of sacrifice, the, iv, 236-7.
Blind,
musicians, i, 323 (and note).
Hall of the, a school of music,
iii, 346.
Bows, see Weapons of war. Bows
and arrows, conferred as re-
wards and at investitures, i,
267; use of, at the birth of an
heir-son, iii, 424 (and note), 472.
How a bow was presented and
received, iii, 84-5.
Branding, i, 256.
Bride and bridegroom,
observances
between, iii, 440-1 ; iv, 264-5 ;
see also Book XLI. Brides
of
kings K\, Wan, and Wu, 1,380-1.
Burial, earliest forms of gave
way
to use of coffins, ii, 385 ; differ-
ent materials of coffins, iii,
125;
coffins prepared beforehand
and kept in readiness, iii, 241 ;
taken with rulers leaving their
states, iii, 334. Reasons for
burial
and coffin, iii, 177, 185;
times of, iii, 222-3. Thickness of
coffins,
iii, 150 ; iv, 196. Coffins
of kings fourfold, iii, 158. Coffin
on bier
presented in temple,
and then drawn to grave, iii,
172; iv, 164-5;
catafalque of,
at great funerals, iv, 197-8 ; let-
ting down of, iv,
198-9; with
head to the north, and on the
north of city, iii, 170. Rain
did not interrupt an interment,
iii, 223; case of an eclipse oc-
curring, iii, 338-9; vessels to
the eye of fancy and other
things
for the grave or coffin,
iii, 148 (and note), 173 (wooden
automata
condemned), iv, 55-6,
144, 197-8. Procedure when
both parents were
buried at
same time, iii, 315; in case of
a lady dying before she had
become acknowledged wife, iii,
322. Origin of burying young
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
473
boys in coffins, iii, 341. A stone
coffin, iii, 149.
Burying living persons with the dead,
i, 443; iii, 182, 184.
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