|
apart from guilt, without being themselves conscious
of it.
It was on this account that the ancient kings
set so high a value upon them.
This sentiment is
found in the words of the Yi, ' The superior man
is
careful at the commencement ; a mistake, then,
of a hair's breadth, will
lead to an error of a thou-
sand liV
1 But these words, common
enough in later Chinese writings,
are not found in the Yi King. Khung
Ying-ta says they are from
the ' Great Appendix.' It is more likely that he
was in error, than
that they existed there in his time.
BOOK
XXIV. AI KUNG WAN
OR
QUESTIONS OF DUKE AI 1 .
I. Duke Ai 2
asked Confucius, saying, 'What do
you say about the great rites ? How is it
that
superior men, in speaking about them, ascribe so
much honour to
them?' Confucius said, ' I, K/nu,
am a small man, and unequal to a knowledge
of the
rites.' ' By no means,' said the ruler. ' Tell me
what you think,
my Master.' Then Confucius re-
plied, ' According to what I have heard, of
all things
by which the people live the rites are the greatest.
Without
them they would have no means of regulating
the services paid to the spirits
of heaven and earth ;
without them they would have no means of dis-
tinguishing the positions proper to father and son, to
high and low, to
old and young ; without them they
would have no means of maintaining the
separate
character of the intimate relations between male and
female,
father and son, elder brother and younger,
and conducting the intercourse
between the contract-
ing families in a marriage, and the frequency or
infre-
quency (of the reciprocities between friends). These
1 See
the introduction, vol. xxvii, pp. 39, 40.
2 Ai (' The Courteous,
Benevolent, and Short-lived ') was the
posthumous title of the marquis 3i an
g Ojvf) of Lu (b.c. 494-468),
in whose sixteenth year Confucius died. He
seems to have often
consulted the sage on important questions, but was too
weak to
follow his counsels.
^
262 THE ii kL
BK. XXIV.
are the grounds on which superior men
have honoured
and reverenced (the rites) as they did.
2. •
Thereafter, (having this view of the rites), they
taught them to the people,
on the ground of their
ability (to practise them), not disregarding their
general principles or the limitations (that circum-
stances impose in
particular cases).
3. ' When their object had been accomplished (so
far), they proceeded to give rules for the engraving
(of the ceremonial
vessels), and the embroider-
ing in various colours (of the robes), in order
to
secure the transmission (of the rites).
4. ' Having obtained the
concurrence (of the
people in these things), they proceeded to tell them
the different periods of mourning ; to provide the
full amount of
tripods and stands ; to lay down the
(offerings of) pork and dried meats ;
to maintain in
good order their ancestral temples ; and then at the
different seasons of the year reverently to present
their sacrifices ;
and to arrange thereat, in order, the
different branches and members of
their kindred.
Meanwhile (they themselves) were content to live
economically, to have nothing fine about their dress ;
to have their
houses low and poor ; to eschew much
carving about their carriages ; to use
their vessels
without carving or graving ; and to have the
plainest
diet, in order to share all their advantages
in common with the people. In
this manner did
the superior men of antiquity practise the rites/
5.
The duke said, ' How is it that the superior
men of the present day do not
practise them (in this
way).' Confucius said, ' The superior men of the
present day are never satisfied in their fondness for
wealth, and never
wearied in the extravagance of
BK. XXIV. ' AI RUNG WAN. 263
their conduct. They are wild, idle, arrogant, and
insolent. They
determinedly exhaust the (resources
of the) people, put themselves in
opposition to the
multitude, and seek to overthrow those who are
pursuing the right way. They seek to get whatever
they desire, without
reference to right or reason.
The former using of the people was according
to the
ancient rules; the using of them now-a-days is ac-
cording to
later rules. The superior men of the
present day do not practise the rites
(as they ought
to be practised).'
A
6. Confucius was sitting
beside duke Ai, when
the latter said, ' I venture to ask, according to the
nature of men, which is the greatest thing (to
be attended to in dealing
with them).' Confu-
cius looked startled, changed countenance, and re-
plied, ' That your lordship should put this question
is a good thing for
the people. How should your
servant dare but express his opinion on it ?'
Ac-
cordingly he proceeded, and said, ' According to the
nature of men,
government is the greatest thing for
them.'
7. The duke said, ' I
venture to ask what is meant
by the practice of government.' Confucius
replied,
' Government is rectification. When the ruler is cor-
rect
himself, all the people will follow his government.
What the ruler does is
what the people follow. How
should they follow what he does not do ?'
8. The duke said, ' I venture to ask how this
practice of government
is to be effected?' Confu-
cius replied, ' Husband and wife have their
separate
functions ; between father and son there should be
affection ;
between ruler and minister there should
be a strict adherence to their
several parts. If
064 THE L * A ' L
BK. XXIV.
these three relations be correctly discharged, all
other
things will follow.'
9. The duke said, ' Although I cannot, in my un-
worthiness, count myself as having attained, I should
like to hear how
these three things which you have
mentioned can be rightly secured. May I
hear it
from you?' Confucius replied, 'With the ancients
in their
practice of government the love of men
was the great point; in their
regulation of this
love of men, the rules of ceremony was the great
point ; in their regulation of those rules, re-
verence was the great
point. For of the extreme
manifestation of reverence we find the greatest
illustration in the great (rite of) marriage. Yes, in
the great (rite
of) marriage there is the extreme
manifestation of respect ; and when one
took place,
the bridegroom in his square-topped cap went in
person to
meet the bride ; — thus showing his affec-
tion for her. It was his doing
this himself that
was the demonstration of his affection. Thus it is
that the superior man commences with respect as the
basis of love. To
neglect respect is to leave affec-
tion unprovided for. Without loving there
can be
no (real) union ; and without respect the love will
not be
correct. Yes, love and respect lie at the
foundation of government.'
10. The duke said, ' I wish that I could say I
agree with you, but
for the bridegroom in his square-
topped cap to go in person to meet the
bride, — is it
not making too much (of the ceremony) ?' Con-
fucius
looked startled, changed countenance, and
said, ' (Such a marriage) is the
union of (the repre-
sentatives of) two different surnames in friendship
and love, in order to continue the posterity of the
BK.
XXIV.
AI KUNG WAN. 265
former sages 1 , and to
furnish those who shall pre-
side at the sacrifices to heaven and earth, at
those in the ancestral temple, and at those at the
altars to the spirits
of the land and grain ; — how
can your lordship say that the ceremony is
made
too great ? '
11. The duke said, ' I am stupid. But if I were
not stupid, how should I have heard what you have
just said ? I wish to
question you, but cannot find
the proper words (to do so) ; I beg you to go
on a
little further.' Confucius said, ' If there were not
the united
action of heaven and earth, the world
of things would not grow. By means of
the grand
rite of marriage, the generations of men are con-
tinued
through myriads of ages. How can your
lordship say that the ceremony in
question is too
great?' He immediately added, 'In their own
peculiar
sphere, (this marriage) serves for the regula-
tion of the ceremonies of the
ancestral temple, and
is sufficient to supply the correlates to the
spiritual
Intelligences of heaven and earth ; in the (wider)
sphere
abroad, it serves for the regulation of the
ceremonies of the court 2 , and
is sufficient to establish
the respect of those below him to him who is
1 iTang takes this in the singular, 'the former sage,' meaning the
duke of Aau, so that Confucius should say that the ceremony in
question
was a continuation of that instituted by the duke of
J￡au. I cannot construe
or interpret the text so.
2 The text here seems to be corrupt.
Translating it as it stands —
yj=? lit tI* ^ Jflla - we snoul d have to say,
'the regulation
of straightforward speech.' K/ian Hao says that he does not
understand the jjl ~=f, and mentions the conjecture of ' some
one ' that
they should be |H] ^j￡ . I have followed this conjecture,
which also is
followed in Callery's expurgated edition.
266 THE LI kL
BK. XXIV.
above them all. If there be ground for
shame on
account of (a deficiency of) resources, this is sufficient
to
stimulate and secure them ; if there be ground for
shame on account of the
condition of the states, this
is sufficient to revive and renew them.
Ceremonies
are the first thing to be attended to in the practice
of
government. Yes, (this) ceremony (of marriage)
lies at the foundation of
government !'
12. Confucius continued, 'Anciently, under the
government of the intelligent kings of the three
dynasties, it was
required of a man to show respect
to his wife and son. When the path (of
right govern-
ment) was pursued, the wife was the hostess of the
(deceased) parents ; — could any husband dare not to
show her respect ?
And the son was the descendant
of those parents ; — could any father dare
not to show
him respect ? The superior man's respect is
universal.
Wherein it appears the greatest is in his
respect for himself. He is in his
person a branch
from his parents; — can any son but have this self-
respect ? If he is not able to respect his own person,
he is wounding
his parents. If he wound his parents,
he is wounding his own root ; and when
the root
is wounded, the branches will follow it in its dying.
These
three things are an image of what is true
with the whole people (in the body
politic). One's
own person reaches to the persons of others ; one's
own
son to the sons of others ; one's own wife to
the wives of others. If a
ruler do these things, the
spirit of his conduct will reach to all under the
sky.
If the course of the great king be thus, all the states
and
families will be docilely obedient.'
13. The duke said, ' I venture to
ask what is
meant by "respecting one's self." Confucius replied,
BK. XXIV. AI KUNG WAN. 267
'When a man who is
over others 1 transgresses in
his words, the people will fashion their
speech
accordingly ; when he transgresses in his actions, the
people
will make him their model. If in his words
he do not go beyond what should
be said, nor in his
actions what should be a model, then the people,
without being commanded, will reverence and honour
him. When this
obtains, he can be said to have
respected his person. Having succeeded in
respect-
ing his person, he will (at the same time) be able to
do all
that can be done for his parents.'
14. The duke said, ' I venture to ask
what is
meant by doing all that can be done for one's
parents?'
Confucius replied, 'Aun-jze is the com-
pletest name for a man ; when the
people apply the
name to him, they say (in effect) that he is the
son of
a Mn-$ze ; and thus he makes his parents
(? father) to be a /§un-jze. This
is what I intend
by saying that he does all that can be done for
his
parents 2 .'
Confucius forthwith added, ' In the practice of
1 The phrase in the text for 'a man who is high in rank'
is
^Tun-jze (^ -^p, Keun-jze, in Southern mandarin, and as
it is transliterated
by Morrison and our older scholars), meaning
' ruler's son,' ' a princely
man,' ' a superior man,' ' a wise man,'
'a sage.' In all these ways it has
been translated by Chinese
scholars, and I have heard it proposed to render
it by ' a gentle-
man.' Here all the commentators say it is to be understood
of a
man of rank and position (^ -^ J^ ^ ^), which is a
not unfrequent
application of it.
2 What I translate by ' doing all that can be done
for his
parents ' is in the text ' completing his parents.' Callery renders
it : — ' Assurant (un nom honorable) a ses pere et mere.' Wylie : —
'
Completing his duty to his parents.' It certainly is not easy to
catch the
mind of Confucius here and in the context.
268 THE ii Kl. BK.
XXIV.
government in antiquity, the love of men was the
great point.
If (a ruler) be not able to love men
he cannot possess 1 his own person ;
unable to possess
his own person, he cannot enjoy in quiet his land ;
unable to enjoy in quiet his land, he cannot rejoice
in Heaven ; unable
to rejoice in Heaven, he cannot
do all that can be done for his person.'
15. The duke said, ' I venture to ask what is
meant by " doing all
that could be done for one's per-
son." Confucius replied, ' It is keeping
from all
transgression of what is due in all the sphere beyond
one's
self 2 .'
16. The duke said, ' I venture to ask what it is
that the
superior man values in the way of Heaven.'
Confucius replied, ' He values
its unceasingness.
There is, for instance, the succession and sequence
of the sun and moon from the east and west : — that
is the way of
Heaven. There is the long continu-
ance of its progress without interruption
: — that is the
way of Heaven. There is its making (all) things
complete
without doing anything : — that is the way of
Heaven. There is their
brilliancy when they have
been completed : — that is the way of Heaven.'
1 7. The duke said, ' I am very stupid, unintelli-
gent also, and
occupied with many things ; do you,
Sir, help me that I may keep this lesson
in my mind.'
18. Confucius looked grave, moved a little from
his
mat, and replied, ' A man of all-comprehensive
1 Ka.ng says that ' to
possess ' is equivalent to ' to preserve '
(^El ^H / f5￡ -ffl), adding ' men
will injure him.' So all the other
commentators.
2 Callery gives for
this : — ' Ce n'est autre chose que de se
maintenir dans le devoir.' Wylie :
— ' It is not to transgress
the natural order of things.' The reply of
Confucius appears more
fully in the ' Narratives of the School.'
BK. XXIV. AI KUNG WAN. 269
virtue 1 does not transgress
what is due from him in
all the sphere beyond himself, and it is the same
with
a filial son. Therefore a son of all-comprehensive
virtue serves
his parents as he serves Heaven, and
serves Heaven as he serves his parents.
Hence a
filial son does all that can be done for his person 2 .'
19.
The duke said, ' I have heard your (excellent)
words ; — how is it that I
shall hereafter not be able
to keep from the guilt (of transgressing) ? '
Confucius
answered, ' That your lordship gives expression to
such words
is a happiness to me.'
1 ' A man of all-comprehensive virtue ' is in the
text simply ' the
benevolent man (^~~. ^K.)-' But that name must be to be
taken in
the sense of Mencius, who says that ' Benevolence is man (|~! -Jj^
3& A -ffl)' (vii, 11, 16); as Julien translates it, ' Humanitas
homo
est.' There <(~2, ' benevolence,' is a name denoting the
complex of human
virtues, with the implication that it is itself
man's distinguishing
characteristic. So ' humanity ' may be used
in English to denote ' the
peculiar nature of man as distinguished
from other beings.'
2
Callery has a note on this paragraph : — ' Ces axiomes de
Confucius ne sont
pas d'une grande clarte ; on y entrevoit, cepend-
ant, que le philosophe
veut &ablir l'identite' entre le devoir chez
l'homme et la veritd
e'ternelle, ou la vertu dans le sens abstrait.'
But perhaps the sayings of
the Master seem to be wanting in
' clearness ' because it is difficult to
catch his mind and spirit in
them. Nor do I think that the latter part of
what the French
sinologue says is abundantly clear or appropriate. I have
often
said that Confucius and his school try to make a religion out of
filial virtue. That appears here with a qualification ; for the text
makes out ' the service of Heaven/ which would be religion, to
be
identical with the full discharge of all filial duty, equivalent, in
the
Chinese system, to all morality.
BOOK XXV. ATJNG-Nf YEN K\j
OR
A-UNG-NI AT HOME AT EASE 1 .
1. A'ung-ni 'being at home
at ease 1 ,' with 3 ze *
￡ang, 3ze-kung, and Yen Yu by him, their conversa-
tion went on from general matters to the subject of
ceremonies.
2. The Master said, ' Sit down 2 , you three, and I
will discourse
to you about ceremonies, so. that you
may rightly employ them everywhere and
in all
circumstances.'
3. 3ze-kung crossed over (3ze->￡ang's) mat
3 , and
replied, ' Allow me to ask what you mean.' The
Master said, '
Respect shown without observing the
rules of propriety is called vulgarity ;
courtesy with-
out observing those rules is called forwardness ; and
boldness without observing them is called violence.'
The Master added, '
Forwardness takes away from
gentleness and benevolence.'
4. The
Master said, ' Sze, you err by excess, and
Shang by defect' 3ze-Z'/zan might
be regarded as a
1 See the introductory notice of this Book,
vol. xxvii, page 40.
The Yen (dffc) in Yen A'ii is said by A'ang to denote
that the
party had been to court, and was now at his ease in his own
residence.
2 The three disciples must have risen from their mats on
the
introduction of a new topic, according to vol. xxvii, page 76,
paragraph 21.
3 Substantially a violation of vol. xxvii, page 71,
paragraph 26.
BK. XXV. XUNG-Ni YEN K\j. 27I
mother of
the people. He could feed them, but he
could not teach them 1 .
5. 3
ze- k un g (again) crossed the mat, and replied,
' Allow me to ask by what
means it is possible to
secure this due mean.' The Master said, ' By means
\f
of the ceremonial rules ; by the rules. Yes, it is those
rules which
define and determine the due mean.'
6. 3 ze "kung having retired, Yen Yu
advanced, and
said, ' May I be allowed to ask whether the rules of
ceremony do not serve to control what is bad, and to
complete what is
good ? ' The Master said, ' They
do.' ' Very well, and how do they do it ? '
The
Master said, ' The idea in the border sacrifices to
Heaven and Earth
is that they should give expres-
sion to the loving feeling towards the
spirits ; the
ceremonies of the autumnal and summer services in
the
ancestral temple give expression to the loving
feeling towards all in the
circle of the kindred ;
the ceremony of putting down food (by the deceased)
serves to express the loving feeling towards those
who are dead and for
whom they are mourning ; the
ceremonies of the archery fetes and the
drinking at
them express the loving feeling towards all in the
district
and neighbourhood ; the ceremonies of festal
entertainments express the
loving feeling towards
visitors and guests.'
1 The A7/ien-lung
editors say that in this paragraph, the part
from ' 3ze--￡Mn ' has been
introduced by an error in mani-
pulating the tablets. It is found, and more
fully, also in the
Narratives of the School, article 4 1 ( j￡ |￡| TOp). The
previous
sentence of it also appears to me to be out of place. Why should
Confucius address himself to Sze ? — that was not the name of
3ze-kung.
What is said to him is found in the Analects, VI, 15,
and also more fully.
272
THE LI Kl. BK. XXV.
7. The
Master said, ' An intelligent understand-
ing of the idea in the border
sacrifices to Heaven and
Earth, and of the ceremonies of the autumnal and
summer services, would make the government of a
state as easy as to
point to one's palm. Therefore
let the ceremonial rules be observed : — in
the ordin-
ary life at home, and there will be the (right) distinc-
tion
between young and old ; inside the door of the
female apartments, and there
will be harmony among
the three branches of kin ; at court, and there will
be the right ordering of office and rank ; in the
different hunting
expeditions, and skill in war will be
acquired ; in the army and its
battalions, and military
operations will be successful.
1 In this
way, houses and their apartments will be
made of the proper dimensions;
measures and
tripods will have their proper figure ; food will have
the
flavour proper to its season ; music will be
according to the rules for it ;
carriages will have their
proper form; spirits will receive their proper
offer-
ings; the different periods of mourning will have
their proper
expression of sorrow ; discussions will
be conducted by those who from their
position should
take part in them ; officers will have their proper
business and functions ; the business of government
will be properly
distributed and applied. (The
duty) laid on (each) person being discharged
in the
matter before him (according to these rules), all his
movements,
and every movement will be what they
ought to be.'
8. The Master
said, ' What is (the object of) the
ceremonial rules ? It is just the
ordering of affairs.
The wise man who has affairs to attend to must
have
the right method of ordering them. (He who
bk. xxv. ^ung-nJ yen
ku. 273
should attempt) to regulate a state without those
rules
would be like a blind man with no one to lead
him ; — groping about, how
could he find his way ?
Or he would be like one searching all night in a
dark room without a light ; — how could he see any-
thing ?
'If
one have not the ceremonial rules, he would
not (know how to) dispose of his
hands and feet, or
how to apply his ears and eyes ; and his advancing
and retiring, his bowings and giving place would be
without any definite
rules. Hence, when the rules
are thus neglected : — in the ordinary life at
home,
then the right distinction between old and young
will be lost ; in
the female apartments, then the
harmony among the three branches of kin will
be
lost ; in the court, then the order of office and rank
will be lost ;
in the different hunting expeditions,
then the prescribed methods of
military tactics will be
lost ; in the army and its battalions, then the
arrange-
ments that secure success in war will be lost. (Also),
houses
and apartments will want their proper dimen-
sions ; measures and tripods
will want their proper
figure ; food will want its seasonal flavour ; music
will want its proper parts ; Spirits will want their
proper offerings ;
the different periods of mourning
will want their proper expression of
sorrow ; discus-
sions will not be conducted by the prober men for
them
; officers will not have their proper business ;
the affairs of government
will fail to be properly
distributed and applied ; and (in the duties) laid
on
(each) person to be discharged in the matters before
him, all his
movements, every movement, will fail
to be what they ought to be. In this
condition of
things it will be impossible to put one's self at t 1
[28] T
274 TIIE L ^ *&•
BK. XXV.
head of the multitudes, and secure harmony among
them.'
9. The Master said, ' Listen attentively, you three,
while I
discourse to you about the ceremonial rules.
There are still nine things (to
be described), and
four of them belong- to the Grand festive entertain-
ments. When you know these, though your lot may
lie among the channeled
fields, if you carry them
into practice, you will become wise as sages.
' When one ruler is visiting another, they bow to
each other, each
courteously declining to take the pre-
cedence, and then enter the gate. As
soon as they
have done so, the instruments of music, suspended
from
their frames, strike up. They then bow and
give place to each other again,
and ascend to the
hall ; and when they have gone up, the music stops.
In
the court below, the dances Hsiang and Wu are
performed to the music of the
flute, and that of Hsia
proceeds in due order with (the brandishing of
feathers and) fifes. (After this), the stands with
their offerings are
set out, the various ceremonies
and musical performances go on in regular
order,
and the array of officers provided discharge their
functions. In
this way the superior man perceives
the loving regard (which directs the
entertainment).
They move forward in perfect circles ; they return
and
form again the squares. The bells of the
equipages are tuned to the Kh￡\-kh\
; when the
guest goes out they sing the Yung; when the
things are being
taken away, they sing the A7zan-
yii ; and thus the superior man (sees that)
there is
not a single thing for which there is not its proper
ceremonial
usage. The striking up of the instru-
ments of metal, when they enter the
gate, serves to
BK. XXV. A'UNG-NI YEN KU. 275
indicate their good feeling ; the singing of the
AVzing
Miao, when they have gone up to the hall,
shows the virtue (they should
cultivate); the per-
formance of the Hsiang to the flute in the court
below, reminds them of the events (of history). Thus
the superior men of
antiquity did not need to set
forth their views to one another in words ; it
was
enough for them to show them in their music and
ceremonies.'
10. The Master said, ' Ceremonial usages are (the
prescriptions of)
reason; music is the definite limitation
(of harmony). The superior man
makes no move-
ment without (a ground of) reason, and does nothing
without its definite limitation. He who is not versed
in the odes will
err in his employment of the usages,
and he who is not versed in music will
be but an
indifferent employer of them. He whose virtue is
slender will
vainly perform the usages.'
11. The Master said, 'The determinate
measures
are according to the rules ; and the embellishments
of them are
also so ; but the carrying them into
practice depends on the men.'
12. 3ze-kung crossed over the mat and replied,
'Allow me to ask
whether even Khwei was ignorant
(of the ceremonial usages) 1 ?'
13.
The Master said, 'Was he not one of the
ancients ? Yes, he was one of them.
To be versed
in the ceremonial usages, and not versed in music,
we call
being poorly furnished. To be versed in the
usages and not versed in music,
we call being one-
sided. Now Khwei was noted for his acquaintance
with
music, and not for his acquaintance with cere-
1 Khwei was
Shun's Director of Music. See the Shu, II, i, 24.
T 2
276 THE Li #?.
BK. XXV.
monies,
and therefore his name has been transmitted
with that account of him (which
your question
implies). But he was one of the men of antiquity.'
14.
$ze-&3.ng asked about government. The
Master said, ' Sze, did I not
instruct you on that
subject before ? The superior man who is well ac-
quainted with ceremonial usages and music has
only to take and apply
them (in order to practise
government).'
15. 3 z e--￡ang again put
the question, and the
Master said, ' Sze, do you think that the stools and
mats must be set forth, the hall ascended and de-
scended, the cups
filled and offered, the pledge-cup
presented and returned, before we can
speak of
ceremonial usages ? Do you think that there must
be the
movements of the performers in taking up
their positions, the brandishing of
the plumes and
fifes, the sounding of the bells and drums before we
can
speak of music ? To speak and to carry into
execution what you have spoken
is ceremony ;
to act and to give and receive pleasure from what
you do
is music. The ruler who vigorously pursues
these two things may well stand
with his face to the
south, for thus will great peace and order be secured
all under heaven ; the feudal lords will come to his
court ; all things
will obtain their proper develop-
ment and character ; and no single officer
will dare to
shrink from the discharge of his functions. Where such
ceremony prevails, all government is well ordered ;
where it is
neglected, all falls into disorder and con-
fusion. A house made by a good
(though unassisted)
eye will yet have the corner of honour, and the
steps on the east for the host to ascend by ; every
mat have its upper
and lower end ; every chariot have
BK. XXV. tfUNG-NI YEN KV. 2 J
J
its right side and left ; walkers follow one another,
and those
who stand observe a certain order: — such
were the right rules of antiquity.
If an apartment
were made without the corner of honour and the
steps on
the east, there would be confusion in the
hall and apartment. If mats had
not their upper
and lower ends, there would be confusion among the
occupants of them ; if carriages were made without
their left side and
right, there would be confusion in
their seats ; if people did not follow
one another in
walking, there would be confusion on the roads ; if
people observed no order in standing, there would
be disorder in the
places they occupy. Anciently the
sage Tis and intelligent kings and the
feudal lords,
in making a distinction between noble and mean, old
and
young, remote and near, male and female, out-
side and inside, did not
presume to allow any to
transgress the regular rule they had to observe,
but all proceeded in the path which has been indi-
cated. '
1 6.
When the three disciples had heard these
words from the Master, they saw
clearly as if a film
had been removed from their eyes.
BOOK
XXVI. KHUNG-3ZE HSIEN KV>
OR
CONFUCIUS AT HOME AT LEISURE 1 .
1. Confucius being at home at leisure, with 3 ze "
hsia by his side,
the latter said, 'With reference to
the lines in the Book of Poetry (III,
ii, ode 8, i),
" The happy and courteous sovereign
Is the father and
mother of the people ;"
I beg to ask what the sovereign must be, who can
be called " the parent of the people." Confucius
said, ' Ah ! the parent
of the people! He must have
penetrated to the fundamental principles of
cere-
monies and music, till he has reached the five
extreme points to
which they conduct, and the
three that have no positive existence, and be
able
to exhibit these all under heaven ; and when evil is
impending in
any part of the kingdom, he must
have a foreknowledge of it: — such an one
is he
whom we denominate ' the parent of the people.'
2. 3 ze ~ ns
ia- said, ' I have thus heard (your expla-
nation) of the name "parent of
the people;" allow
me to ask what " the five extreme points " (that you
mention) mean.' Confucius said, ' The furthest aim
of the mind has also
its furthest expression in the
Book of Poetry. The furthest expression of
the
Book of Poetry has also its furthest embodiment in
the ceremonial
usages. The furthest embodiment
1 See the introductory notice, vol.
xxvii, page 41.
BK. xxvi. KHUNG-3ZE HSIEN K\j. 279
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