|
When the (silkworm) year was ended, the honour-
able ladies
had finished their work with the insects,
and carried the cocoons to show
them to the ruler.
They then presented them to his wife, who said,
'
Will not these supply the materials for the ruler's
robes?' She forthwith
received them, wearing her
head-dress and the robe with pheasants on it, and
afterwards caused a sheep and a pig to be killed and
1 The
queen had six palaces ; the wife of a prince, three. The
writer confines his
account here to the latter.
2 24
THE Li KI. BK.
XXI.
cooked to treat (the ladies). This probably was the
ancient custom at the presentation of the cocoons.
Afterwards, on a
good day, the wife rinsed some
of them thrice in a vessel, beginning to
unwind them,
and then distributed them to the auspicious and
honourable
ladies of her three palaces to (complete)
the unwinding. They then dyed the
thread red and
green, azure and yellow, to make the variously-
coloured
figures on robes. When the robes were
finished, the ruler wore them in
sacrificing to the
former kings and dukes ; — all displayed the greatest
reverence.
8. The superior man says, ' Ceremonies and music
should not for a moment be neglected by any one.
When one has mastered
(the principles of) music, and
regulates his heart and mind accordingly, the
natural,
correct, gentle, and honest heart is easily developed,
and with
this development of the heart comes joy.
This joy goes on to a feeling of
repose. This repose
is long continued. The man in this constant repose
becomes (a sort of) heaven. Heaven-like, his action
is spirit-like.
Heaven-like, he is believed, though he
do not speak. Spirit-like, he is
regarded with awe,
though he display no rage. So it is when one by his
mastering of music regulates his mind and heart.
' When one has
mastered (the principle of) cere-
monies, and regulates his person
accordingly, he be-
comes grave and reverential. Grave and reverential,
he is regarded with awe. If the heart be for a
moment without the
feeling of harmony and joy,
meanness and deceitfulness enter it. If the out-
ward demeanour be for a moment without gravity
and reverentialness,
indifference and rudeness show
themselves.
sect. ii. k! i.
225
' Therefore the sphere in which music acts is the
interior of
man, and that of ceremonies is his exterior.
The result of music is a
perfect harmony, and that
of ceremonies is a perfect observance (of
propriety).
When one's inner man is thus harmonious, and his
outer man
thus docile, the people behold his coun-
tenance and do not strive with him;
they look to his
demeanour, and no feeling of indifference or rudeness
arises in them. Thus it is that when virtue shines
and moves within (a
superior), the people are sure to
accept (his rule) and hearken to him; and
when the
principles (of propriety) are displayed in his conduct,
the
people are all sure to accept (his rule) and obey
him. Therefore it is said,
' Let ceremonies and
music have their course till all under heaven is
filled with them ; then give them their manifestation
and application,
and nothing difficult to manage will
appear.'
Music affects the
inward movements (of the soul) ;
ceremonies appear in the outward movements
(of
the body). Hence it is the rule to make cere-
monies as few and
brief as possible, and to give to
music its fullest development. This leads
to the
forward exhibition of ceremonies, and therein their
beauty
resides; and to the introspective consideration
of music, and therein its
beauty resides. If cere-
monies, demanding this condensation, did not
receive
this forward exhibition of them, they would almost
disappear
altogether; if music, demanding this full
development, were not accompanied
with the intro-
spection, it would produce a dissipation of the mind.
Thus it is that to every ceremony there is its proper
response, and for
music there is this introspection.
When ceremonies are responded to, there
arises
[28] Q
2 26 THE Li k\.
BK. XXI.
pleasure, and when music is accompanied with
the right
introspection, there arises repose. The
response of ceremony and the
introspection of music
spring from one and the same idea, and have one
and the same object.
9. 3ang-$ze said, ' There are three degrees of
filial
piety. The highest is the honouring of our parents;
the second is
the not disgracing them ; and the lowest
is the being able to support them.'
10. (His disciple), Kung-ming I, said, ' Can you,
master, be
considered (an example of a) filial son ? '
3ang-$ze replied, ' What words
are these ? What
words are these? What the superior man calls filial
piety requires the anticipation of our parents' wishes,
the carrying out
of their aims and their instruction
in the path (of duty). I am simply one
who supports
his parents ; — how can I be considered filial?'
1 1.
3ang-jze said, ' The body is that which has been
transmitted to us by our
parents ; dare any one allow
himself to be irreverent in the employment of
their
legacy? If a man in his own house and privacy be
not grave, he is
not filial; if in serving his ruler, he
be not loyal, he is not filial ; if
in discharging the
duties of office, he be not reverent, he is not filial ;
if with friends he be not sincere, he is not filial; if on
the field of
battle he be not brave, he is not filial. If
he fail in these five things,
the evil (of the disgrace)
will reach his parents ; — dare he but reverently
attend to them?'
To prepare the fragrant flesh and grain which he
has cooked, tasting and then presenting them before
his parents, is not
filial piety; it is only nourishing
them. He whom the superior man
pronounces filial
is he whom (all) the people of (his) state praise,
SECT. II.
k1 f. 227
saying with
admiration, ' Happy are the parents who
have such a son as this!' — -that
indeed is what can
be called being filial. The fundamental lesson for
all is filial piety. The practice of it is seen in the
support (of
parents). One may be able to support
them ; the difficulty is in doing so
with the proper
reverence. One may attain to that reverence ; —
the
difficulty is to do so without self-constraint. That
freedom from constraint
may be realised ; — the diffi-
culty is to maintain it to the end. When his
parents
are dead, and the son carefully watches over his
actions, so
that a bad name, (involving) his parents,
shall not be handed down, he may
be said to be able
to maintain his piety to the end. True love is the
love of this ; true propriety is the doing of this; true
righteousness
is the Tightness of this ; true sincerity
is being sincere in this; true
strength is being strong
in this. Joy springs from conformity to this ;
punish-
ments spring from the violation of this.
12. 3^ng-jze said,
' Set up filial piety, and it will
fill the space from earth to heaven ;
spread it out, and
it will extend over all the ground to the four seas;
hand it down to future ages, and from morning to
evening it will be
observed; push it on to the eastern
sea, the western sea, the southern sea,
and the northern
sea, and it will be (everywhere) the law for men, and
their obedience to it will be uniform. There will be
a fulfilment of the
words of the ode (III, i, ode 10, 6),
" From west to east, from south to
north,
There was no unsubmissive thought."
13. 3^ n gi ze said,
'Trees are felled and animals
killed, (only) at the proper seasons. The
Master said 1 ,
1 The master here is Confucius. The record of his saying
is
found only here.
Q 2
2 28 THE Li KL
BK. XXI.
" To fell a single tree, or kill a
single animal, not at
the proper season, is contrary to filial piety."
There are three degrees of filial piety : — the least,
seen in the
employment of one's strength (in the
service of parents) ; the second, seen
in the en-
durance of toil (for them) ; and the greatest, seen in
its
never failing. Thinking of the gentleness and
love (of parents) and
forgetting our toils (for them)
may be called the employment of strength.
Honour-
ing benevolences and resting with the feeling of
repose in
righteousness may be called the endurance
of toil ; the wide dispensation of
benefits and the
providing of all things (necessary for the people)
may
be called the piety that does not fail.
When his parents love him, to
rejoice, and not
allow himself to forget them ; when they hate him, to
fear and yet feel no resentment ; when they have
faults, to remonstrate
with them, and yet not with-
stand them ; when they are dead, to ask (the
help
only of) the good to obtain the grain with which to
sacrifice to
them : — this is what is called the com-
pletion (by a son) of his proper
services.
14. The disciple Yo-^ang K/mn 1 injured his foot
in
descending from his hall, and for some months
was not able to go out. Even
after this he still wore
a look of sorrow, and (one of the) disciples of the
school said to him, ' Your foot, master, is better ;
and though for some
months you could not go out,
why should you still wear a look of sorrow ? '
Yo-
￡ang AVzun replied, ( It is a good question which
1 Yo-X'ang
jOun evidently was a disciple of 3ang-jze. Men-
cius had a disciple of the
same surname, Yo-^ang Kho (I, ii, 16).
Another is mentioned by him (V, ii,
3). Lieh-jze mentions a fourth.
The Yo-￡angs are said to have sprung from
the ducal stock of Sung.
SECT. II.
A'i i. 229
you ask ! It is a good question which you ask ! I
heard from
3ang-jze what he had heard the Master
say, that of all that Heaven produces
and Earth
nourishes, there is none so great as man. His parents
give
birth to his person all complete, and to return it
to them all complete may
be called filial duty. When
no member has been mutilated and no disgrace
done
to any part of the person, it may be called complete ;
and hence a
superior man does not dare to take the
slightest step in forgetfulness of
his filial duty. But
now I forgot the way of that, and therefore I wear
the look of sorrow. (A son) should not forget his
parents in a single
lifting up of his feet, nor in the
utterance of a single word. He should not
forget
his parents in a single lifting up of his feet, and
therefore he
will walk in the highway and not take
a by-path, he will use a boat and not
attempt to
wade through a stream ; — not daring, with the body-
left him
by his parents, to go in the way of peril
He should not forget his parents
in the utterance of
a single word, and therefore an evil word will not
issue from his mouth, and an angry word will not
come back to his
person. Not to disgrace his per-
son and not to cause shame to his parents
may be
called filial duty.'
15. Anciently, the sovereigns of the
line of Yii
honoured virtue, and highly esteemed age ; the
sovereigns of
Hsia honoured rank, and highly
esteemed age ; under Yin they honoured
riches, and
highly esteemed age ; under A"au, they honoured
kinship, and
highly esteemed age. Yti, Hsia, Yin,
and A"au produced the greatest kings
that have ap-
peared under Heaven, and there was not one of them
who
neglected age. For long has honour been paid
230
THE LI Kl. BK. XXI.
to years under the sky; to
pay it is next to the
service of parents.
1 6. Therefore, at court
among parties of the same
rank, the highest place was given to the oldest.
Men of seventy years carried their staffs at the court.
When the ruler
questioned one of them, he made
him sit on a mat. One of eighty years did
not wait
out the audience, and when the ruler would question
him he went
to his house. Thus the submission of
a younger brother (and juniors
generally) was recog-
nised at the court.
1 7. A junior walking with
one older (than himself),
if they were walking shoulder to shoulder, yet it
was
not on the same line. If he did not keep trans-
versely (a little
behind), he followed the other 1 .
When they saw an old man, people in
carriages or
walking got out of his way. Men, where the white
were
mingling with their black hairs, did not carry
burdens on the roads. Thus
the submission of
juniors was recognised on the public ways.
Residents in the country took their places according
to their age,
and the old and poor were not neglected,
nor did the strong come into
collision with the weak,
or members of a numerous clan do violence to those
of a smaller. Thus the submission of juniors was
recognised in the
country districts and hamlets 2 .
18. According to the ancient rule, men
of fifty
years were not required to serve in hunting expedi-
tions 3 ;
and in the distribution of the game, a larger
1 If the elder were a
brother or cousin, the junior kept a little
behind, and apart. If he were an
uncle, the other followed in a line.
2 Five Kiu, translated 'districts,'
made a 'hsiang/ here translated
' the country districts.'
3
Literally, ' men of the tien ' (jy)). The tien was a tract of
SECT. II. k! f.
231
share was
given to the more aged. Thus the sub-
mission of juniors was recognised in
the arrange-
ments for the hunts. In the tens and fives of the
army and
its detachments, where the rank was the
same, places were given according to
age. Thus the
submission of juniors was recognised in the army.
19.
The display of filial and fraternal duty in the
court ; the practice of them
on the road ; their
reaching to the districts and hamlets ; their extension
to the huntings ; and the cultivation of them in the
army, (have thus
been described). All would have
died for them under the constraint of
righteousness,
and not dared to violate them.
20. The sacrifice in
the Hall of Distinction served
to inculcate filial duty on the feudal lords
; the feast-
ing of the three classes of the old and five classes
of the
experienced in the Great college served to
inculcate brotherly submission on
those princes ; the
sacrifices to the worthies of former times in the
western school served to inculcate virtue on them ;
the (king's)
ploughing in the field set apart for him,
served to teach them the duty of
nourishing (the
people) ; their appearances at court in spring and
autumn served to inculcate on them their duty as
subjects or ministers.
Those five institutions were
the great lessons for the kingdom.
21.
When feasting the three classes of the old and
five classes of the
experienced, the son of Heaven
bared his arm, cut up the bodies of the
victims, and
handed round the condiments ; he also presented
considerable size ; contributing to the army a chariot, three
mailed
men, and seventy-two foot-men. There was a levy on it also of
men
to serve in the hunting expeditions.
1/
232 THE
Li Kt. BK. XXI.
the cup with which they rinsed their mouths, wearing
the square-topped cap, and carrying a shield. It
was thus he inculcated
brotherly submission on the
princes. It was thus that in the country and
villages
regard was paid to age, that the old and poor were
not
neglected, and that the members of a numerous
clan did not oppress those of
a smaller ; — these
things came from the Great college.
The son of
Heaven appointed the four schools;
and when his eldest son entered one of
them, he
took his place according to his age.
22. When the son of
Heaven was on a tour of
inspection, the princes (of each quarter) met him on
their borders. The son of Heaven first visited those
who were a hundred
years old. If there were those
of eighty or ninety, on the way to the east,
he, though
going to the west, did not dare to pass by (with-
out seeing
them) ; and so, if their route was to the
west, and his to the west. If he
wished to speak of
matters of government, he, though ruler, might go
to
them.
23. Those who had received the first degree of
office took
places according to age (at meetings) in
the country and villages ; those
who had received
the second, took places in the same way (at meetings)
of all the members of their relatives. Those who
had received the third
degree did not pay the same
regard to age. But at meetings of all the
members
of a clan no one dared to take precedence of one
who was seventy
years old.
Those who were seventy, did not go to court un-
less for
some great cause. When they did so for such
a cause, the ruler would bow and
give place to them,
afterwards going on to the parties possessed of rank.
SECT. II.
k! t. 233
24. Whatever
good was possessed by the son of
Heaven, he humbly ascribed the merit of it
to
Heaven ; whatever good was possessed by a feudal
lord, he ascribed it
to the son of Heaven ; whatever
good was possessed by a minister or Great
officer,
he attributed it to the prince of his state ; whatever
good was
possessed by an officer or a common man,
he assigned the ground of it to his
parents, and the
preservation of it to his elders. Emolument, rank,
felicitations, and rewards were (all) transacted in the
ancestral temple
; and it was thus that they showed
(the spirit of) submissive deference.
25. Anciently, the sages, having determined the
phenomena of heaven
and earth in their states of
rest and activity, made them the basis of the
Yi (and
divining by it). The diviner held the tortoise-shell
in his
arms, with his face towards the south, while
the son of Heaven, in his
dragon-robe and square-
topped cap, stood with his face to the north. The
latter, however intelligent might be his mind, felt it
necessary to set
forth and obtain a decision on what
his object was ; — showing that he did
not dare to
take his own way, and giving honour to Heaven (as
the
supreme Decider) \ What was good in him (or
in his views) he ascribed to
others ; what was wrong,
to himself; thus teaching not to boast, and giving
honour to men of talents and virtue.
26. When a filial son was about
to sacrifice, the
1 Who does not see that, from the writer's point of
view, divina-
tion was originally had recourse to in the search for an '
infallible '
director in matters to be done ? The Decider was held to be
' Heaven ; ' the error was in thinking that the will of Heaven
could be
known through any manipulation of the tortoise-shell, or
the stalks.
234 THE L ^ K ^- ■ BK - XXI -
rule was that he should
have his mind well adjusted
and grave, to fit him for giving to all matters
their
full consideration, for providing the robes and other
things, for
repairing the temple and its fanes, and
for regulating everything. When the
day of sacri-
fice arrived, the rule was that his countenance should
be
mild, and his movements show an anxious dread,
as if he feared his love were
not sufficient. When
he put down his offerings, it was required that his
demeanour should be mild, and his body bent, as if
(his parents) would
speak (to him) and had not yet
done so ; when the officers assisting had all
gone
out 1 , he stood lowly and still, though correct and
straight, as
if he were about to lose the sight (of his
parents).
After the
sacrifice, he looked pleased and expect-
ant, as if they would again enter 2
.
In this way his ingenuousness and goodness were
never absent from
his person ; his ears and eyes
were never withdrawn from what was in his
heart ;
the exercises of his thoughts never left his parents.
What was
bound up in his heart was manifested in
his countenance ; and he was
continually examining
himself; — such was the mind of the filial son.
1 The text here is difficult. I have followed A'ang, as has
Zottoli ; — the interpretation of ￡p≪ 5J!|* as ' assisting officers,' can
otherwise be defended. Callery gives for the clause : — ' Toutes
les
pense*es e"trangeres (au sacrifice) il les chasse au dehors,'
which it would
be difficult to justify.
2 Here again translation is difficult. Zottoli
gives : — ' Cumque
sacrificium transiverit, intendet animo, prosequetur ore,
quasi mox
iterum ingressuri essent.' Callery: — 'Apres le sacrifice il s'en
va lentement, comrae (s'il suivait quelqu'un pas a pas, et avait
envie)
de rentrer (avec lui dans le temple).'
SECT. II.
k\ i. 235
27. The sites for the altars to the
spirits of the
land and grain were on the right ; that for the
ancestral
temple on the left 1 .
1 That is, with reference to the palace. As you
looked out from
it to the south, the altars were on the right hand and the
temple
on the left.
BOOK XXII. K\ THUNG
OR
A
SUMMARY ACCOUNT OF SACRIFICES 1 .
i. Of all the methods for the good
ordering of
men, there is none more urgent than the use of cere-
monies.
Ceremonies are of five kinds 2 , and there is
none of them more important
than sacrifices.
Sacrifice is not a thing coming to a man from
without ; it issues from within him, and has its birth
in his heart.
When the heart is deeply moved,
expression is given to it by ceremonies ;
and hence,
only men of ability and virtue can give complete
exhibition
to the idea of sacrifice.
2. The sacrifices of such men have their own
blessing ; — not indeed what the world calls blessing 3 .
Blessing here
means perfection ; — it is the name
given to the complete and natural
discharge of all
duties. When nothing is left incomplete or im-
properly
discharged ; — this is what we call perfection,
implying the doing
everything that should be done
in one's internal self, and externally the
performance
of everything according to the proper method.
There is a
fundamental agreement between a loyal
subject in his service of his ruler
and a filial son in
1 See the introduction, vol. xxvii, pp. 37, 38.
2 The five kinds of ceremonies are the Auspicious (^ including
all
acts of religious worship) ; the Mourning (\X\) ', those of Hospi-
tality
(^||) ; the Military (j|t) ; and the Festive Q|Q.
3 Success, longevity,
the protection of spiritual Beings.
BK. XXII,
k!
thung. 237
his service of his parents. In the supernal sphere
there is a compliance with (what is due to) the repose
and expansion of
the energies of nature * ; in the
external sphere, a compliance with (what
is due) to
rulers and elders ; in the internal sphere, the filial
service of parents ; — all this constitutes what is called
perfection.
It is only the able and virtuous man who can
attain to this
perfection ; and can sacrifice when he
has attained to it. Hence in the
sacrifices of such a
man he brings into exercise all sincerity and good
faith, with all right-heartedness and reverence ; he
offers the (proper)
things ; accompanies them with
the (proper) rites ; employs the soothing of
music ;
does everything suitably to the season. Thus
intelligently does
he offer his sacrifices, without
seeking for anything to be gained by them :
— such
is the heart and mind of a filial son.
3. It is by sacrifice
that the nourishment of parents
is followed up and filial duty to them
perpetuated.
The filial heart is a storehouse (of all filial duties).
Compliance with everything that can mark his
course, and be no violation
of the relation (between
parent and child) : — the keeping of this is why we
call
it a storehouse. Therefore in three ways is a filial
son's service
of his parents shown : — while they are
alive, by nourishing them ; when
they are dead, by
1 Callery gives for these : — ' Conformity avec les
Esprits et
les Dieux.' Zottoli : — ' Ordo erga Genios Spiritusque.' Med-
hurst : — ' Being obedient to the Kwei Shins.' If they had
observed the
' three spheres ' of the writer, I think they would have
translated
differently. I believe the idea is — ' Compliance with
the will of Heaven or
God, as seen in the course of Nature and
Providence.'
238
THE L? Kt.
BK. XXII.
all the rites of mourning ;
and when the mourning is
over by sacrificing to them. In his nourishing them
we see his natural obedience ; in his funeral rites we
see his sorrow ;
in his sacrifices we see his reverence
and observance of the (proper)
seasons. In these
three ways we see the practice of a filial son.
4.
When a son had done everything (for his
sacrifices) that he could do
himself, he proceeded to
seek assistance from abroad ; and this came through
the rites of marriage. Hence the language of a ruler,
when about to
marry a wife, was : — ' I beg you, O
ruler, to give me your elegant
daughter, to share this
small state with my poor self, to do service in the
ancestral temple, and at the altars to (the spirits of)
the land and
grain.' This underlay his seeking for
that assistance (from abroad).
In sacrificing, husband and wife had their several
duties which they
personally attended to ; and on
this account there was the array of
officials belong-
ing to the exterior and interior departments (of the
palace). When these officers were complete, all
things necessary (for
the service) were made ready : —
small things, such as the sourcrout of
water plants
and pickles from the produce of dry grounds ; and
fine
things, such as the stands for the bodies of the
three victims, and the
supplies for the eight dishes.
Strange insects and the fruits of plants and
trees,
produced under the best influences of light and shade,
were all
made ready. Whatever heaven produces,
whatever earth developes in its growth
; — all were
then exhibited in the greatest abundance. Every-
thing was
there from without, and internally there
was the utmost effort of the will :
— such was the spirit
in sacrificing.
BK. xxn. 2H THUNG. 239
5. For this reason, also, the son of Heaven him-
self guided the
plough in the southern suburb, to
provide the grain for the sacrificial
vessels ; and the
queen looked after her silkworms in the northern
suburb, to provide the cap and robes of silk. The
princes of the states
guided the plough in their east-
ern suburb, also to provide the grain for
the sacrificial
vessels, and their wives looked after their silkworms
in
the northern suburb, to provide the cap and robes
of silk. This was not
because the son of Heaven
and the princes had not men to plough for them, or
because the queen and the princes' wives had not
women to tend the
silkworms for them ; it was to
give the exhibition of their personal
sincerity. Such
sincerity was what is called doing their utmost ; and
such doing of their utmost was what is called reve-
rence. When they had
reverently done their ut-
most, they could serve the spiritual Intelligences
—
such was the way of sacrificing.
6. When the time came for
offering a sacrifice, the
man wisely gave himself to the work of
purification.
That purification meant the production of uniformity
(in
all the thoughts) ; — it was the giving uniformity to
all that was not
uniform, till a uniform direction of the
thoughts was realised. Hence a
superior man, un-
less for a great occasion, and unless he were animated
by a great reverence, did not attempt this purifica-
tion. While it was
not attained, he did not take
precautions against the influence of (outward)
things,
nor did he cease from all (internal) desires. But
when he was
about to attempt it, he guarded against
all things of an evil nature, and
suppressed all his
desires. His ears did not listen to music ; — as it is
said in the Record, ' People occupied with purification
24O
THE LI A't. BK. XXII.
have no music,' meaning that they did not venture
to
allow its dissipation of their minds. He allowed no
vain thoughts in
his heart, but kept them in a strict
adherence to what was right. He allowed
no reck-
less movement of his hands or feet, but kept them
firmly in the
way of propriety. Thus the superior
man, in his purification, devotes
himself to carrying
to its utmost extent his refined and intelligent
virtue.
Therefore there was the looser ordering of the
mind for
seven days, to bring it to a state of fixed
determination ; and the complete
ordering of it for
three days, to effect the uniformity of all the
thoughts. That determination is what is called
purification; the final
attainment is when the highest
degree of refined intelligence is reached.
After this
it was possible to enter into communion with the
spiritual
Intelligences.
7. Moreover, on the eleventh day, before that
appointed for the sacrifice, the governor of the palace
gave warning
notice to the wife of the ruler, and she
also conducted that looser ordering
of her thoughts
for seven days, and that more complete ordering of
them
for three. The ruler accomplished his puri-
fication in the outer apartment,
and the wife her
purification in the inner. After this they met in the
grand temple.
The ruler, in the dark-coloured square-topped cap,
stood at the top of the steps on the east ; his wife in
her head-dress
and pheasant-embroidered robe stood
in the eastern chamber. The ruler from
his mace-
handled libation-cup poured out the fragrant spirit
before the
personator of the dead ; and the great
minister in charge of the temple with
his halfmace-
BK. XXII. A'l THUNG. 241
handled cup
poured the second libation (for the wife).
When the victim was introduced,
the ruler held it by
the rope ; the ministers and Great officers followed ;
other officers carried the dried grass (to lay on the
ground when it
should be killed) ; the wives of the
ruler's surname followed the wife with
the basins ;
she presented the purified liquid ; the ruler held in
his
hand the knife with bells ; he prepared the lungs
(to be offered to the
personator) ; and his wife put
them on the dishes and presented them. All
this
shows what is meant in saying that husband
and wife had their parts
which they personally
performed.
8. When they went in for the dance,
the ruler,
holding his shield and axe, went to the place for the
performance. He took his station at the head of
those on the east, and
in his square-topped cap,
carrying his shield, he led on all his officers,
to give
pleasure to the august personator of the dead.
Hence the son of
Heaven in his sacrifices (gave
expression to) the joy of all in the kingdom.
(In the
same way) the feudal princes at their sacrifices (gave
expression to) the joy of all within their territories.
In their
square-topped caps, and carrying their
shields, they led on all their
officers, to give joy to
the august personators : — with the idea of showing
the joy of all within their territories.
9. At a sacrifice there
were three things specially
important. Of the offerings there was none more
important than the libation ; of the music there was
none more important
than the singing in the hall
above ; of the pantomimic evolutions there was
none
more important than that representing (king) Wu's
(army) on the
night (before his battle). Such was |
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