I. At the funeral of a ruler's eldest son by his acknowledged wife, who has died under age, there are three small carriages with the flesh of sacrifice to be put in the grave. At that of an eldest son by one of his concubines, dying under age, there is one such carriage; as at the funeral of the eldest rightful son of a Great officer in the same circumstances.

2. At the mourning rites for a feudal lord, his chief officers who had received their appointments directly from him, carried their staffs.

3. When a Great officer of a state was about to be buried, its ruler went to condole with his son in the hall where the coffin was. When it was being taken out, he ordered some one to draw the bier-carriage for him. This moved on for three paces and stopped; in all for three times; afterwhich the ruler retired. The same proceeding was gone through, when the bier entered the ancestral temple, and also at the place of special grief.

4. Men of fifty, who had no carriage, did not make visits of condolence beyond the boundaries of their states.

5. When Kî Wû-dze was lying ill in his chamber, Kiâo Kû entered and appeared before him without taking off the mourning with its even edges which he happened to wear. 'This practice,' said he, 'has nearly fallen into disuse. But it is only at the gate of the ruler that an officer should take off such mourning as I have on.' Wû-dze replied, 'Is it not good that you should act thus? A superior man illustrates the smallest points of propriety.'

At the mourning rites for Wû-dze, Zang Tien leant against his gate and sang.

6. If a Great officer pay a visit of condolence to an ordinary officer, and he arrive when the latter is occupied with the business of the occasion, an apology is made for not coming to the gate to receive him.

7. When one has paid a visit of condolence, he should not on the same day show manifestations of joy.

8. A wife should not go beyond the boundaries of the state on a visit of condolence.

9. On the day when he has made a visit of condolence, one should not drink spirits nor eat flesh.

10. When one pays a visit of condolence, and the arrangements for the funeral are going on, he should take hold of the ropes attached to the car. Those who follow to the grave should take hold of those attached to the coffin.

11. During the mourning rites, if the ruler send a message of condolence, there must be some one to acknowledge it, by bowing to the messenger. A friend, or neighbour, or even a temporary resident in the house, may perform the duty. The message is announced in the words:-- ‘Our unworthy ruler wishes to take part in your sad business.’ The chief mourner responds:-- ‘We acknowledge your presence with his message.’

12. When a ruler meets a bier on the way, he must send some one to present his condolences to the chief mourner.

13. At the mourning rites for a Great officer, a son by an inferior wife should not receive the condolences.

14. On the death of his wife's brother who was the successor of their father, the husband should wail for him in the court of the principal chamber. He should appoint his own son to preside on the occasion. With breast unbared and wearing the cincture instead of the cap, he wails and leaps. When he enters on the right side of the gate, he should make some one stand outside it, to inform comers of the occasion of the wailing; and those who were intimate with the deceased will enter and wail. If his own father be in the house, the wailing should take place before his wife's chamber. If the deceased were not the successor of his father, the wailing should take place before a different chamber.

15. If a man have the coffin of a parent in his hall, and hear of mourning going on for a cousin of the same surname at a distance, he wails for him in a side apartment. If there be no such apartment, he should wail in the court on the right of the gate. If the deceased's body be in the same state, he should go to the place, and wail for him there.

16. When Dze-kang died, Zang-dze was in mourning for his mother, and went in his mourning dress to wail for him. Some one said, 'That dress of sackcloth with its even edges is not proper. for a visit of condolence.' Zang-dze replied, 'Am I condoling with the living?'

17. At the mourning rites for Yû Zo, duke Tâo came to condole. Dze-yû received him, and introduced him by the steps on the left.

18. When the news was sent from Khî of the mourning for the king's daughter who had been married to the marquis, duke Kwang of Lû wore the nine months' mourning for her. Some have said, ‘She was married from Lû; therefore he wore the same mourning for her as for a sister of his own.’ Others have said, ‘She was his mother's mother, and therefore he wore it.’

19. At the mourning rites for duke Hsien of Kin, duke Mû of Khin sent a messenger to present his condolences to Hsien's son Khung-r who was then an exile, and to add this message:-- ‘I have heard that a time like this is specially adapted to the losing of a state, or the gaining of a state. Though you, my son, are quiet here, in sorrow and in mourning, your exile should not be allowed to continue long, and the opportunity should not be lost. Think of it and take your measures, my young son.’ Khung-r reported the words to his maternal uncle Fan, who said, ‘My son, decline the proffer. An exile as you are, nothing precious remains to you; but a loving regard for your father is to be considered precious. How shall the death of a father be told? And if you take advantage of it to seek your own profit, who under heaven will be able to give a good account of your conduct? Decline the proffer, my son.’

On this the prince replied to his visitor:-- ‘The ruler has kindly sent you to condole with his exiled servant. My person in banishment, and my father dead, so that I cannot take any share in the sad services of wailing and weeping for him;--this has awakened the sympathy of the ruler. But how shall the death of a father be described? Shall I presume on occasion of it to think of any other thing, and prove myself unworthy of your ruler's righteous regard?’ With this he laid his head to the ground, but did not bow to the visitor; wailed and then arose, and after he had risen did not enter into any private conversation with him.

Dze-hsien reported the execution of his commission to duke Mû, who said, ‘Truly virtuous is this prince Khung-r. In laying his forehead on the ground and not bowing to the messenger, he acknowledged that he was not his father's successor, and therefore he did not complete the giving of thanks. In wailing before he rose, he showed how he loved his father. In having no private conversation after he arose, he showed how he put from him the thought of gain.’

20. The keeping the curtain up before the coffin with the corpse in it was not a custom of antiquity. It originated with the wailing of King Kiang for Mû-po.

21. The rites of mourning are the extreme expression of grief and sorrow. The graduated reduction of that expression in accordance with the natural changes of time and feeling was made by the superior men, mindful of those to whom we owe our being.

22. Calling the soul back is the way in which love receives its consummation, and has in it the mind which is expressed by prayer. The looking for it to return from the dark region is a way of seeking for it among the spiritual beings. The turning the face to the north springs from the idea of its being in the dark region.

23. Bowing to the condoling visitor, and laying the forehead on the ground are the most painful demonstrations of grief and sorrow. The laying the forehead in the ground is the greatest expression of the pain from the bereavement.

24. Filling the mouth with rice uncooked and fine shells arises from a feeling which cannot bear that it should be empty. The idea is not that of giving food; and therefore these fine things are used.

25. The inscription forms a banner to the eye of fancy. Because the person of the deceased, can no longer be distinguished, therefore the son by this flag maintains the remembrance of him. From his love for him he makes this record. His reverence for him finds in this its utmost expression.

26. The first tablet for the spirit with this inscription on it serves the same purpose as that subsequently placed in the temple, at the conclusion of the mourning rites. Under the Yin dynasty the former was still kept. Under the Kâu, it was removed.

27. The offerings to the unburied dead are placed in plain unornamented vessels, because the hearts of the living are full of unaffected sorrow. It is only in the sacrifices subsequent to the interment, that the principal mourner does his utmost in the way of ornament. Does he know that the spirit will enjoy his offerings? He is guided only by his pure and reverent heart.

28. Beating the breast by the women, and leaping by the men are extreme expressions of grief. But the number of such acts is limited. There are graduated rules for them.

29. Baring the shoulders and binding up the hair with the band of sackcloth are changes, showing the excited feeling which is a change in the grief. The removal of the usual ornaments and elegancies of dress has manifold expression, but this baring of the shoulders and the sackcloth band are the chief. But now the shoulders are quite bared, and anon they are covered with a thin garment;--marking gradations in the grief

30. At the interment they used the cap of plain white silk, and the headband of dolichos fibre; thinking these more suitable for their intercourse with the departed now in their spirit-state. The feeling of reverence had now arisen. The people of Kiu use the pien cap at interments; those of Yin used the hsü.

31. The gruel of the chief mourner the son, the presiding wife, and the steward of the family of a Great officer is taken by them at the order of the ruler lest they should get ill.

32. On returning from the grave to wail, the son should ascend the hall of the ancestral temple;--returning to the place where the deceased performed his rites. The presiding wife should enter the chamber;--returning to the place where he received his nourishment.

33. Condolences should be presented to the son when he returns from the grave and is wailing, at which time his grief is at its height. He has returned, and his father is not to be seen; he feels that he has lost him. His grief is then most intense. Under the Yin, they presented condolences immediately at the grave; under the Kâu, when the son had returned and was wailing. Confucius said, 'Yin was too blunt; I follow Kâu.'

34. To bury on the north of the city, and with the head of the dead turned to the north, was the common practice of the three dynasties:--because the dead go to the dark region.

35. When the coffin has been let down into the grave, the chief mourner presents the ruler's gifts to the dead in the grave and the officer of prayer returns beforehand to give notice of the sacrifice of repose to him who is to personate the departed.

36. When he has returned and wailed, the chief mourner with the proper officer inspects the victim. In the meantime other officers have set out a stool and mat with the necessary offerings on the left of the grave. They return, and at midday the sacrifice of repose is offered.

37. The sacrifice is offered on the day of interment; they cannot bear that the departed should be left a single day without a place to rest in.

38. On that day the offerings, previously set forth by the coffin, are exchanged for the sacrifice of repose. The continuous wailing is ended, and they say, 'The business is finished.'

39. On that day the sacrifices of mourning were exchanged for one of joy. The next day the service of placing the spirit-tablet of the departed next to that of his grandfather was performed.

40. The change to an auspicious sacrifice took place on that day, and the placing the tablet in its place on the day succeeding:--the son was unable to bear that the spirit of the departed should be a single day without a resting-place.

41. Under the Yin, the tablet was put in its place on the change of the mourning at the end of twelve months; under the Kâu, when the continuous wailing was over. Confucius approved the practice of Yin.

42. When a ruler went to the mourning rites for a minister, he took with him a sorcerer with a peach-wand, an officer of prayer with his reed-brush, and a lance-bearer,--disliking the presence of death, and to make his appearance different from what it was at any affair of life. In the mourning rites it is death that is dealt with, and the ancient kings felt it difficult to speak of this.

43. The ceremony in the mourning rites of the coffined corpse appearing in the court of the ancestral temple is in accordance with the filial heart of the deceased. He is supposed to be grieved at leaving his chamber, and therefore he is brought to the temple of his fathers, and then the coffin goes on its way.

Under the Yin, the body was thus presented and then coffined in the temple; under the Kâu the interment followed immediately after its presentation in the coffin.

44. Confucius said, ‘He who made the vessels which are so only in imagination, knew the principles underlying the mourning rites. They were complete to all appearance, and yet could not be used. Alas! if for the dead they had used the vessels of the living, would there not have been a danger of this leading to the interment of the living with the dead?’

45. They were called ‘vessels in imagination,’ the dead being thus treated as spiritual intelligences. From of old there were the carriages of clay and the figures of straw,--in accordance with the idea in these vessels in imagination. Confucius said that the making of the straw figures was good, and that the making of the wooden automaton was not benevolent.--Was there not a danger of its leading to the use of living men?

46. Duke Mû asked Dze-sze whether it was the way of antiquity for a retired officer still to wear the mourning for his old ruler. ‘Princes of old,' was the reply, ‘advanced men and dismissed them equally according to the rules of propriety; and hence there was that rule about still wearing mourning for the old ruler. But nowadays princes advance men as if they were going to take them on their knees, and dismiss them as if they were going to push them into an abyss. Is it not good if men so treated do not head rebellion? How should there be the observance of that rule about still wearing mourning for old rulers?'

47. At the mourning rites for duke Tâo. Kî Kâo-dze asked Mang King-dze what they should eat to show their grief for the ruler. King-dze replied, ‘To eat gruel is the general rule for all the kingdom.’ The other said, ‘It is known throughout the four quarters that we three ministers have not been able to live in harmony with the ducal house. I could by an effort make myself emaciated; but would it not make men doubt whether I was doing so in sincerity? I will eat rice as usual.’

48. When Sze-thû King-dze of Wei died, Dze-hsiâ made a visit of condolence to his house; and, though the chief mourner had not completed the slight dressing of the corpse, he went in the headband and robe of mourning. Dze-yû paid a similar visit; and, when the chief mourner had completed the slight dressing, he went out, put on the bands, returned and wailed. Dze-hsiâ said to him, ‘Did you ever hear that that was the proper method to observe?’ ‘I heard the Master say,’ was the reply, ‘that until the chief mourner had changed his dress, one should not assume the mourning bands’.

49. Zang-dze said, ‘An-dze may be said to have known well the rules of propriety;--he was humble and reverent! Yû Zo said, ‘An-dze wore the same robe of fox-fur for thirty years. At the burial of his father, he had only one small carriage with the offerings to be put into the grave and he returned immediately from the grave without showing the usual attentions to his guests. The ruler of a state has seven bundles of the offerings, and seven such small carriages for them, and a Great officer five. How can it be said that An-dze knew propriety?’ Zang-dze replied, ‘When a state is not well governed, the superior man is ashamed to observe all ceremonies to the full. Where there is extravagance in the administration of the state, he shows an example of economy. If the administration be economical, he shows an example of the strict observance of all rules.’

50. On the death of the mother of Kwo Kâo-dze, he asked Dze-chang, saying, ‘At the interment, when all are at the grave, what should be the places of the men and of the women?’ Dze-chang said, ‘At the mourning rites for Sze-thû King-dze, when the Master directed the ceremonies, the men stood with their faces to the west and the women stood with theirs to the east.’ ‘Ah!’ said the other, ‘that will not do;’ adding, ‘All will be here to see these mourning rites of mine. Do you take the sole charge of them. Let the guests be the guests, while I alone act as the host. Let the women take their places behind the men, and all have their faces towards the west.’

51. At the mourning for Mû-po her husband, King Kiang wailed for him in the daytime, and at that for Wan-po her son, she wailed for him both in the daytime and the night. Confucius said, ‘She knows the rules of propriety.’

At the mourning for Wan-po, King Kiang once put her hand on the couch where his body lay, and without wailing said, ‘Formerly, when I had this son, I thought that he would be a man of worth. But I never went with him to the court to see his conduct there; and now that he is dead, of all his friends, the other ministers, there is no one that has shed tears for him, while the members of his harem all wail till they lose their voices. This son must have committed many lapses in his observance of the rules of propriety!’

52. When the mother of Kî Khang-dze died, her body was laid out with her private clothes displayed. King Kiang Khang-dze’s grand-uncle’s wife said, ‘A wife does not dare to see her husband’s parents without the ornament of her upper robes; and there will be the guests from all quarters coming;--why are her under-clothes displayed here?’ With this she ordered them to be removed.

53. Yû-dze and Dze-yû were standing together when they saw a mourner giving all a child’s demonstrations of affection. Yû-dze said, ‘I have never understood this leaping in mourning, and have long wished to do away with it. The sincere feeling of sorrow which appears here is right, and should be sufficient.’ Dze-yû. replied, ‘In the rules of propriety, there are some intended to lessen the display of feeling, and there are others which purposely introduce things to excite it. To give direct vent to the feeling and act it out as by a short cut is the way of the rude Zung and Tî. The method of the rules is not so. When a man rejoices, he looks pleased; when pleased, he thereon sings; when singing, he sways himself about; swaying himself about, he proceeds to dancing; from dancing, he gets into a state of wild excitement; that excitement goes on to distress; distress expresses itself in sighing; sighing is followed by beating the breast; and beating the breast by leaping. The observances to regulate all this are what are called the rules of propriety.

’When a man dies, there arises a feeling of disgust at the corpse. Its impotency goes on to make us revolt from it. On this account, there is the wrapping it in the shroud, and there are the curtains, plumes and other ornaments of the coffin, to preserve men from that feeling of disgust. Immediately after death, the dried flesh and pickled meats are set out by the side of the corpse, When the interment is about to take place, there are the things sent and offered at the grave; and after the interment, there is the food presented in the sacrifices of repose. The dead have never been seen to partake of these things. But from the highest ages to the present they have never been neglected;--all to cause men not to revolt from their dead. Thus it is that what you blame in the rules of propriety is really nothing that is wrong in them.’

54. Wû made an incursion into Khan, destroying the places of sacrifice, and putting to death those who were suffering from a pestilence which prevailed. When the army retired, and had left the territory, Phî, the Grand-administrator of Khan, was sent to the army of Wû. Fû Khâi king of Wû said to his internuncius Î, ‘This fellow has much to say. Let us ask him a question.’ Then, turning to the visitor, he said, ‘A campaign must have a name. What name do men give to this expedition?’ The Grand-administrator said, ‘Anciently, armies in their incursions and attacks did not hew down trees about the places of sacrifice; did not slay sufferers from pestilence; did not make captives of those whose hair was turning. But now, have not you in this campaign slain the sufferers from pestilence? Do they not call it the sick-killing expedition?’ The king rejoined, ‘ If we give back your territory, and return our captives, what will you call it?’ The reply was, ‘O ruler and king, you came and punished the offences of our poor state. If the result of the campaign be that you now compassionate and forgive it, will the campaign be without its proper name?’

55. Yen Ting deported himself skilfully during his mourning. Immediately after the death of his father, he looked grave and restless, as if he were seeking for something, and could not find it. When the coffining had taken place, he looked expectant, as if he were following some one and could not get up with him. After the interment he looked sad, and as if, not getting his father to return with him, he would wait for him.

56. Dze-chang asked, saying, ‘The Book of History says, that Kâo Tsung for three-years did not speak; and that when he did his words were received with joy. Was it so?’ Kung-ni replied, ‘Why should it not have been so? Anciently, on the demise of the son of Heaven, the king, his heir, left everything to the chief minister for three years.’

57. When Kih Tâo-dze died, before he was buried, duke Phing was one day drinking along with the music-master Kwang and Lî Thiâo. The bells struck up; and when Tû Khwâi, who was coming in from outside, heard them, he said, ‘Where is the music?’ Being told that it was in the principal apartment, he entered it; and having ascended the steps one by one, he poured out a cup of spirits, and said, ‘Kwang, drink this.’ He then poured out another, and said, Thiâo, drink this.’ He poured out a third cup; and kneeling in the hall, with his face to the north, he drank it himself, went down the steps, and hurried out.

Duke Phing called him in again, and said, ‘Khwâi, just now I thought you had something in mind to enlighten me about, and therefore I did not speak to you. Why did you give the cup to Kwang?’ ‘On the days Kiâ-dze and Kî-mâo,’ was the reply, ‘there should be no music; and now Kih Tâo-dze is in his coffin in his hall, and this should be a great dze or mâo day. Kwang is the grand music-master, and did not remind you of this. It was on this account that I made him drink.’

’And why did you give a cup to Thiâo?’ Tû Khwâi said, ‘Thiâo is your lordship's favourite officer; and for this drinking and eating he forgot the fault you were committing. It was on this account I made him drink.’

’And why did you drink a cup yourself?’ Khwâi replied, ‘I am only the cook; and neglecting my proper work of supplying you with knives and spoons, I also presumed to take my part in showing my knowledge of what should be prohibited. It was on this account that I drank a cup myself.’

Duke Phing said,’ I also have been in fault. Pour out a cup and give it to me.’ Tû Khwâi then rinsed the cup, and presented it. The duke said to the attendants, ‘When I die, you must take care that this cup is not lost.’ Down to the present day, at feasts in Kin, when the cups have been presented all round, they then raise up this cup, and say, ‘It is that which Tû presented.’

58. When Kung-shû Wan-dze died, his son Shû begged the ruler of the state to fix his honorary title, saying, ‘The sun and moon have brought the time;--we are about to bury him. I beg that you will fix the title, for which we shall change his name.’ The ruler said, ‘Formerly when our state of Wei was suffering from a severe famine, your father had gruel made, and gave it to the famishing;--was not this a proof of how kind he was? Moreover, in a time of trouble, he protected me at the risk of his own life;--was not this a proof of how faithful he was? And while he administered the government of Wei, he so maintained the regulations for the different classes, and conducted its intercourse with the neighbouring states all round, that its altars sustained no disgrace;--was not this a proof of how accomplished he was? Therefore let us call him "The Faithful, Kind, and Accomplished."’

59. Shih Tâi-kung died, leaving no son by his wife proper, and six sons by concubines. The tortoise-shell being consulted as to which of them should be the father’s successor, it was said that by their bathing and wearing of their girdle-pendants the indication would be given. Five of them accordingly bathed and put on the girdle-pendants with their gems. Shih Khî-dze, however, said, ‘Whoever, being engaged with the mourning rites for a parent, bathed his head or his body, and put on his girdle-pendants?’ and he declined to do either, and this was considered to be the indication. The people of Wei considered that the tortoise-shell had shown a true knowledge.

60. Khan Dze-kü having died in Wei, his wife and the principal officer of the family consulted together about burying some living persons to follow him. When they had decided to do so, his brother, Khan Dze-khang arrived, and they informed him about their plan, saying, ‘When the master was ill, he was far away and there was no provision for his nourishment in the lower world; let us bury some persons alive to supply it.’ Dze-khang said, ‘To bury living persons for the sake of the dead is contrary to what is proper. Nevertheless, in the event of his being ill, and requiring to be nourished, who are so fit for that purpose as his wife and steward? If the thing can be done without, I wish it to be so. If it cannot be done without, I wish you two to be the parties for it.’ On this the proposal was not carried into effect.

61. Dze-lû said, ‘Alas for the poor! While their parents are alive, they have not the means to nourish them; and when they are dead, they have not the means to perform the mourning rites for them.’ Confucius said, ‘Bean soup, and water to drink, while the parents are made happy, may be pronounced filial piety. If a son can only wrap the body round from head to foot, and inter it immediately, without a shell, that being all which his means allow, he may be said to discharge all the rites of mourning.’

68. Duke Hsien of Wei having been obliged to flee from the state, when he returned, and had reached the suburbs of the capital, he was about to grant certain towns and lands to those who had attended him in his exile before entering. Liû Kwang said, ‘If all had remained at home to guard the altars for you, who would have been able to follow you with halter and bridle? And if all had followed you, who would have guarded the altars? Your Lordship has now returned to the state, and will it not be wrong for you to show a partial feeling?’ The intended allotment did not take place.

69. There was the grand historiographer of Wei, called Liû Kwang, lying ill. The duke said, ‘If the illness prove fatal, though I may be engaged at the time in sacrificing, you must let me know.’ It happened accordingly, and, on hearing the news, the duke bowed twice, laying his head to the ground, and begged permission from the personator of the dead, saying, ‘There was the minister Liû Kwang,--not a minister of mine merely, but a minister of the altars of the state. I have heard that he is dead, and beg leave to go to his house.’ On this, without putting off his robes, he went; and on the occasion presented them as his contribution to the mourning rites. He also gave the deceased the towns of Khiû-shih and Hsien-fan-shih by a writing of assignment which was put into the coffin, containing the words:-- ‘For the myriads of his descendants, to hold from generation to generation without change.’

70. When Khan Kan-hsî was lying ill, he assembled his brethren, and charged his son Zun-kî, saying,--When I am dead, you must make my coffin large, and make my two concubines lie in it with me, one on each side.’ When he died, his son said, ‘To bury the living with the dead is contrary to propriety; how much more must it be so to bury them in the same coffin!’ Accordingly he did not put the two ladies to death.

71. Kung Sui died in Khui; and on the next day, which was Zan-wû, the sacrifice of the previous day was notwithstanding repeated in the capital of Lû.. When the pantomimes entered, however, they put away their flutes. Kung-nî said, ‘It was contrary to rule. When a high minister dies, the sacrifice of the day before should not be repeated[1].’

72. When the mother of Kî Khang-dze died, Kung-shû Zo was still young. After the dressing, Pan asked leave to let the coffin down into the grave by a mechanical contrivance. They were about to accede, when Kung-kien Kiâ said, ‘No. According to the early practice in Lû, the ducal house used for this purpose the arrangement looking like large stone pillars, and the three families that like large wooden columns. Pan, you would, in the case of another man’s mother, make trial of your ingenuity;-could you not in the case of your own mother do so? Would that distress you? Bah!’ They did not allow him to carry out his plan.

73. During the fight at Lang, Kung-shu Zu-zan saw many of the men, carrying their clubs on their shoulders, entering behind the shelter of the small wall, and said, ‘Although the services required of them are distressing, and the burdens laid on them heavy, they ought to fight: but though our superiors do not form good plans, it is not right that soldiers should not be prepared to die. This is what I say.’ On this along with Wang Î, a youth, the son of a neighbour, he went forward, and both of them met their death.

The people of Lû wished to bury the lad Wang not as one who had died prematurely, and asked Kung-ni about the point. He said, ‘As he was able to bear his shield and spear in the defence of our altars, may you not do as you wish, and bury him as one who has not died prematurely?’

74. When Dze-lû was going away from Lû, he said to Yen Yüan, ‘What have you to send me away with?’ ‘I have heard,’ was the reply, ‘that, when one is leaving his state, he wails at the graves of his fathers, and then takes his journey, while on his return to it, he does not wail, but goes to look at the graves, and then enters the city.’ He then said to Dze-lû, ‘And what have you to leave with me here?’ ‘I have heard,’ was the reply, ‘that, when you pass by a grave, you should bow forward to the cross-bar, and, when you pass a place of sacrifice, you should dismount.’

75. Shang Yang, director of Works in Khû, and Ch’an Khî-kî were pursuing the army of Wu, and came up with it. The latter said to Shang Yang, ‘It is the king’s business. It will be well for you to take your bow in hand.’ He did so, and Khî-kî told him to shoot, which he did, killing a man, and returning immediately the bow to its case. They came up with the enemy again, and being told as before to shoot, he killed other two men; whenever he killed a man, he covered his eyes. Then stopping the chariot, he said, ‘I have no place at the audiences; nor do I take part in the feasts. The death of three men will be sufficient for me to report.’ Confucius said, ‘Amidst his killing of men, he was still observant of the rules of propriety.’

76. The princes were engaged in an invasion of Khin, when duke Hwan of Zhâo died at their meeting. The others asked leave to see the plugging of his teeth with the jade, and they were made to enshroud his corpse.

Duke Hsiang being in attendance at the court of King, king Khang died. The people of King said to him, ‘We must beg you to cover the corpse with your gift of a robe.’ The men of Lû who were with him said, ‘The thing is contrary to propriety.’ They of Khû, however, obliged him to do what they asked; and he first employed a sorcerer with his reed-brush to brush and purify the bier. The people of King then regretted what they had done’.

77. At the mourning rites for duke Khang of Thang, Dze-shû King-shû was sent from Lû on a mission of condolence, and to present a letter from duke Âi, Sze-fû Hui-po being assistant-commissioner. When they arrived at the suburbs of the capital of Thang, because it was the anniversary of the death, of Î-po, Hui-po’s uncle, King-shû hesitated to enter the city. Hui-po, however, said, ‘We are on government business, and should not for the private affair of my uncle’s death neglect the duke’s affairs.’ They forthwith entered.

78. Duke Âi sent a message of condolence to Khwâi Shang, and the messenger met him on the way to the grave. They withdrew to the way-side, where Khwâi drew the figure of his house, with the coffin in it, and there received the condolences[3].

Zang-dze said, ‘Khwâi Shang’s knowledge of the rules of ceremony was not equal to that of the wife of Khî Liang. When duke Kwang fell on Kû by surprise at Thui, Khî Liang met his death. His wife met his bier on the way, and wailed for him bitterly. Duke Kwang sent a person to convey his condolences to her; but she said, ‘If his lordship’s officer had been guilty of any offence, then his body should have been exposed in the court or the market-place, and his wife and concubines apprehended. If he were not chargeable with any offence, there is the poor cottage of his father. This is not the place where the ruler should demean himself to send me a message.’

79. At the mourning rites for his young son Tun, duke Âi wished to employ the elm-juice sprinklers, and asked Yû Zo about the matter, who said that it might be done, for his three ministers even used them. Yen Liû said, ‘For the son of Heaven dragons are painted on the shafts of the funeral carriage, and the boards surrounding the coffin, like the shell, have a covering over them. For the feudal princes there is a similar carriage without the painted dragons, and the covering above. In both cases they prepare the elm-juice, and therefore employ sprinklers. The three ministers, not employing such a carriage, and yet employing the sprinklers, thus appropriate a ceremony which is not suitable for them; and why should your Lordship imitate them?’

80. After the death of the mother of his son, who became duke Tâo, duke Âi wore for her the one year’s mourning with its unfrayed edges. Yû Zo asked him, if it was in rule for him to wear that mourning for a concubine. ‘Can I help it?’ replied the duke. ‘The people of Lû will have it that she was my wife.’

81. When Kî Dze-kâo buried his wife, some injury was done to the standing corn, which Shan-hsiang told him of, begging him to make the damage good. Dze-kâo said, ‘The Mang has not blamed me for this, and my friends have not cast me off. I am here the commandant of the city. To buy in this manner a right of way in order to bury my dead would be a precedent difficult to follow.’

82. When one receives no salary for the official duties which he performs, and what the ruler sends to him is called ‘an offering,’ while the messenger charged with it uses the style of our unworthy ruler;’ if such an one leave the state, and afterwards the ruler dies, he does not wear mourning for him.

83. At the sacrifice of Repose a personator of the dead is appointed, and a stool, with a mat and viands on it, is placed for him. When the wailing is over, the name of the deceased is avoided. The service of him as living is over, and that for him in his ghostly state has begun. When the wailing is over, the cook, with a bell having a wooden clapper, issues an order throughout the palace, saying, ‘Give up disusing the names of the former rulers, and henceforth disuse only the name of him who is newly deceased.’ This was done from the door leading to the chambers to the outer gate.

84. When a name was composed of two characters they were not avoided when used singly. The name of the Master’s mother was Kang-Zâi. When he used Zâi, he did not at the same time use Kang; nor Zâi, when he used Kang.

85. When any sad disaster occurred to an army, the ruler in plain white robes wailed for it outside the Khû gate. A carriage conveying the news of such disaster carried no cover for buff-coats nor case for bows.

86. When the shrine-apartment of his father was burned, the ruler wailed for it three days. Hence it is said, ‘The new temple took fire;’ and also, ‘There was a wailing for three days.’

87. In passing by the side of mount Thâi, Confucius came on a woman who was wailing bitterly by a grave. The Master bowed forward to the cross-bar, and hastened to her; and then sent Dze-lû to question her. ‘Your wailing,’ said he, ‘is altogether like that of one who has suffered sorrow upon sorrow.’ She replied, ‘ It is so. Formerly, my husband’s father was killed here by a tiger. My husband was also killed by another, and now my son has died in the same way.’ The Master said, ‘Why do you not leave the place?’ The answer was, ‘There is no oppressive government here.’ The Master then said to the disciples, ‘Remember this, my little children. Oppressive government is more terrible than tigers.’

88. In Lû there was one Kâu Fang, to whom duke Âi went, carrying an introductory present, and requesting an interview, which, however, the other refused. The duke said, ‘I must give it up then.’ And he sent a messenger with the following questions:--’Shun, the lord of Yü, had not shown his good faith, to the people, and yet they put confidence in him. The sovereign of Hsiâ had not shown his reverence for the people, and yet the people revered him:--what shall I exhibit that I may obtain such things from the people?’ The reply was:--’Ruins and graves express no mournfulness to the people, and yet the people mourn amidst them. The altars of the spirits of the land and grain and the ancestral temples express no reverence to the people, and yet the people revere them. The kings of Yin made their solemn proclamations, and yet the people began to rebel; those of Kâu made their covenants, and the people began to distrust them. If there be not the heart observant of righteousness, self-consecration, good faith, sincerity, and guilelessness, though a ruler may, try to knit the people firmly to him, will not all bonds between them be dissolved?’

89. While mourning for a father, one should not be concerned about the discomfort of his own resting-place, nor, in emaciating himself, should he do so to the endangering of his life. He should not be the former;--he has to be concerned that his father’s spirit-tablet is not yet in the temple. He should not do the latter, lest his father should thereby have no posterity.

90. Kî-dze of Yen-ling had gone to Khî; and his eldest son having died, on the way back to Wû, he buried him between Ying and Po. Confucius afterwards said, ‘Kî-dze was the one man in Wû most versed in the rules of propriety, so I went and saw his manner of interment. The grave was not so deep as to reach the water-springs. The grave-clothes were such as the deceased had ordinarily worn. After the interment, he raised a mound over the grave of dimensions sufficient to cover it, and high enough for the hand to be easily placed on it. When the mound was completed, he bared his left arm; and, moving to the right, he went round it thrice, crying out, “That the bones and flesh should return again to the earth is what is appointed. But the soul in its energy can go everywhere; it can go everywhere.” And with this he went on his way.’ Confucius also said, ‘Was not Kî-dze of Yen-ling’s observance of the rules of ceremony in accordance with the idea of them?’

91. At the mourning rites for the duke Khâo of Kû-lü, the ruler of Hsü sent Yung Kü with a message of condolence, and with the articles to fill the mouth of the deceased. ‘My unworthy ruler,’ said he, ‘hath sent me to kneel and put the jade for a marquis which he has presented into your deceased ruler’s mouth. Please allow me to kneel and do so.’ The officers of Kü replied, ‘When any of the princes has deigned to send or come to our poor city, the observances have been kept according to their nature, whether simple and easy, or troublesome and more difficult; but such a blending of the easy and troublesome as in your case, we have not known.’ Yung Kü replied, ‘I have heard that in the service of his ruler one should not forget that ruler, nor be oblivious of his ancestral rules. Formerly, our ruler, king Kü, in his warlike operations towards the west, in which he crossed the Ho, everywhere used this style of speech. I am a plain, blunt man, and do not presume to forget his example.’

92. When the mother of Dze-sze died in Wei, and news of the event was brought to him, he wailed in the ancestral temple. His disciples came to him, and said, ‘Your mother is dead, after marrying into another family; why do you wail for her in the temple of the Khung family?’ He replied, ‘I am wrong, I am wrong.’ And thereon he wailed in one of the smaller apartments of his house.

93. When the son of Heaven died, three days afterwards, the officers of prayer were the first to assume mourning. In five days the heads of official departments did so; in seven days both males and females throughout the royal domain; and in three months all in the kingdom.

The foresters examined the trees about the various altars, and cut down those which they thought suitable for the coffins and shell, If these did not come up to what was required, the sacrifices were abolished, and the men had their throats cut.

94. During a great dearth in Khî, Khien Âo had food prepared on the roads, to wait the approach of hungry people and give to them. One day, there came a famished man, looking as if he could hardly see, his face covered with his sleeve, and dragging his feet together. Khien Âo, carrying with his left hand some rice, and holding some drink with the other, said to him, ‘Poor man! come and eat.’ The man, opening his eyes with a stare, and looking at him, said, ‘It was because I would not eat "Poor man come here’s" food, that I am come to this state.’ Khien Âo immediately apologised for his words, but the man after all would not take the food and died.

When Zang-dze heard the circumstances, he said, ‘Was it not a small matter? When the other expressed his pity as he did, the man might have gone away. When he apologised, the man might have taken the food.’

95. In the time of duke Ting of Kû-lü, there occurred the case of a man killing his father. The officers reported it; when the duke, with an appearance of dismay, left his mat and said, ‘This is the crime of unworthy me!’ He added, ‘I have learned how to decide on such a charge. When a minister kills his ruler, all who are in office with him should kill him without mercy. When a son kills his father, all who are in the house with him should kill him without mercy. The man should be killed; his house should be destroyed; the whole place should be laid under water and reduced to a swamp. And his ruler should let a month elapse before he raises a cup to his lips.’

96. The ruler of Zin having congratulated Wan-dze on the completion of his residence, the Great officers of the state went to the house-warming. Kang Lâo said, ‘How elegant it is, and lofty! How elegant and splendid! Here will you have your songs! Here will you have your wailings! Here will you assemble the representatives of the great families of the state!’ Wan-dze replied, ‘If I can have my songs here, and my wailings, and assemble here the representatives of the great families of the state, it will be enough. I will then only seek to preserve my waist and neck to follow the former Great officers of my family to the Nine Plains.’ He then bowed twice, laying his head also on the ground.

A superior man will say of the two, that the one was skilful in the expression of his praise and the other in his prayer.

97. The dog kept by Kung-nî having died, he employed Dze-kung to bury it, saying, ‘I have heard that a worn-out curtain should not be thrown away, but may be used to bury a horse in; and that a worn-out umbrella should not be thrown away, but may be used to bury a dog in. I am poor and have no umbrella. In putting the dog into the grave, you can use my mat; and do not let its head get buried in the earth. When one of the horses of the ruler’s carriage dies, it is buried in a curtain in good condition.’

98. When the mother of Kî-sun died, duke Âi paid a visit of condolence to him. Soon after, Zang-dze and Dze-kung arrived for the same purpose; but the porter declined to admit them, because the ruler was present. On this they went into the stable, and adjusted their dress more fully. Shortly they entered the house, Dze-kung going first. The porter said to him, ‘I have already announced your arrival;’ and when Zang-dze followed, he moved on one side for him. They passed on to the inner place for the droppings from the roof, the Great officers all moving out of their way, and the duke descending a step and bowing to them. A superior man has said about the case, ‘So it is when the toilet is complete! Immediately its influence extends far.’

99. A man-at-arms at the Yang gate of the capital of Sung having died, Dze-han, the superintendent of Works, went to his house, and wailed for him bitterly. The men of Zin who were in Sung as spies returned, and reported the thing to the marquis of Zin, saying, ‘A man-at-arms at the Yang gate having died, Dze-han wailed for him bitterly, and the people were pleased; Sung, we apprehend, cannot be attacked with success.’

When Confucius heard of the circumstances, he said, ‘Skilfully did those men do their duty as spies in Sung. It is said in the Book of Poetry,--

“If there was any mourning among the people,

I did my utmost to help them.”

Though there had been other enemies besides Zin, what state under the sky could have withstood one in the condition of Sung?’

100. At the mourning rites for duke Kwang of Lû, when the interment was over, the new ruler did not enter the outer gate with his girdle of dolichos cloth. The ordinary and Great officers, when they had finished their wailing, also did not enter in their sackcloth.

101. There was an old acquaintance of Confucius, called Yüan Zang. When his mother died, the Master assisted him in preparing the shell for the coffin. Yüan then got up on the wood, and said, ‘It is long since I sang to anything;’ and with this he struck the wood, singing:--

It is marked like a wild cat’s head;

It is smooth as a young lady’s hand which you hold.’

The Master, however, made as if he did not hear, and passed by him. The disciples who were with him said, ‘Can you not have done with him?’ ‘I have heard,’ was the reply, ‘that relations should not forget their relationship, nor old acquaintances their friendship,’

102. Kâo Wan-dze and Shû-yü were looking about them at the Nine Plains, when Wan-dze said, ‘If these dead could arise, with whom would I associate myself?’ Shû-yü asked, ‘Would it be with Yang Khû-fû?’ ‘He managed by his course,’ was the reply, ‘to concentrate in himself all the power of Zin, and yet he did not die a natural death. His wisdom does not deserve to be commended.’

’Would it be with uncle Fan?’ Wan-dze said, ‘When he saw gain in prospect, he did not think of his ruler; his virtue does not deserve to be commended. I think I would follow Wû-dze of Sui. While seeking the advantage of his ruler, he did not forget himself; and while consulting for his own advantage, he was not forgetful of his friends.’

The people of Zin thought that Wan-dze knew men. He carried himself in a retiring way, as if he could not bear even his clothes. His speech was low and stuttering, as if he could not get his words out. The officers whom he advanced to responsible charges in the depositories of Zin were more than seventy. During his life, he had no contentions with any of them about gain, and when dying he required nothing from them for his sons.

103. Shû-kung Phî instructed his son Dze-liû in the rules of ceremony; and when he died, Dze-liû’s wife, who was a plain, blunt woman, wore for him the one year’s mourning and the headband with its two ends tied together. Phî’s brother, Shû-kung Khien spoke to Dze-liû about it, and requested that she should wear the three months’ mourning and the simple headband; saying, ‘Formerly, when I was mourning for my aunts and sisters, I wore this mourning, and no one forbade it.’ When he withdrew, however, Dze-liû made his wife wear the three months’ mourning and the simple headband.

104. There was a man of Khang, who did not go into mourning on the death of his elder brother. Hearing, however, that Dze-kâo was about to become governor of the city, he forthwith did so. The people of Khang said, ‘The silkworm spins its cocoons, but the crab supplies the box for them; the bee has its cap, but the cicada supplies the strings for it. His elder brother died, but it was Dze-kâo who made the mourning for him.’

105. When Yo Kang, Dze-khun’s mother, died, he was five days without eating. He then said, ‘I am sorry for it. Since in the case of my mother’s death, I could not eat according to my feelings, on what occasion shall I be able to do so?’

106. In a year of drought duke Mû called to him Hsien-dze, and asked him about it. ‘Heaven,’ said he, ‘has not sent down rain for a long time. I wish to expose a deformed person in the sun to move its pity, what do you say to my doing so?’ ‘Heaven, indeed,’ was the reply, ‘does not send down rain; but would it not be an improper act of cruelty, on that account to expose the diseased son of some one in the sun?’

’Well then,’ said the duke, ‘I wish to expose in the sun a witch; what do you say to that?’ Hsien-dze said, ‘Heaven, indeed, does not send down rain; but would it not be wide of the mark to hope anything from the suffering of a foolish woman, and by means of that to seek for rain?’

’What do you say then to my moving the marketplace elsewhere?’ The answer was, ‘When the son of Heaven dies, the market is held in the lanes for seven days; and it is held in them for three days, when the ruler of a state dies. It will perhaps be a proper measure to move it there on account of the present distress.’

107. Confucius said, ‘The people of Wei, in burying husband and wife together in the same grave and shell, leave a space between the coffins. The people of Lû, in doing the same, place them together;--which is the better way.