The Lî Kî, Books I–X — Sacred Books of China Part III, SBE Vol. 27 (trans. James Legge, 1885)

We find nevertheless in it some ideas of which the really authentic works of Confucius do not offer any trace.’

2 Be.

p. 53

Book XXXIX. TA Hsio.

Like the Kung Yung (XXVIII), the TA Hsio has long been published separately from the other Books of the Li Xi, and is now the first of the well-known ‘Four Books.’ As it appears in this translation, we follow the arrangement of the text given by the X4Aien-lung editors from that in the Thirteen King published by Khung Ying-t4, who himself simply followed Xang Hsiian. Early in the Sung dynasty the brothers King occupied themselves with the Treatise ; and thinking that errors had crept into the order of the paragraphs, and that portions were missing, made various alterations and additions. KQ Hs? entered into their labours, and, as he thought, improved on them. It is now current in the Four Books, as he published it in 1189, and the difference between his arrangement and the oldest one may be seen by comparing the translation in the first volume of my Chinese Classics and that in the present publication. Despite the difference of arrangement, the substance of the work is the same. ;

There can be no doubt that the TA Hsio is a genuine monument of the Confucian teaching, and gives us a sufficient idea of the methods and subjects in the great or higher schools of antiquity. The enthusiasm of M. Pauthier is not to be blamed when he says :—‘It is evident that the aim of the Chinese philosopher is to exhibit the duties of political government as the perfecting of self and the practice of virtue by all men.’

Pauthier adopts fully the view of AQ, that the first chapter is a genuine relic of Confucius himself, for which view there really is no evidence. And he thinks also that all that follows should be attributed to the disciple, 3ang-jze, which is contrary to the evidence which the Treatise itself supplies.

If it were necessary to assign an author for the work, I should adopt the opinion of Kia Kwei (A.D. 30-101), and assign it to Khung Xi, the grandson of Confucius, and author of the Kung Yung. ‘When Khung Ki,’ said Xia,

54 THE Lf xt. CH. III.

‘was still alive, and in straits, in Sung, being afraid that the lessons of the former sage (or sages) would become obscure, and the principles of the ancient Tis and Kings fall to the ground, he made the Ta Hsio as the warp. of them, and the Kung Yung as the woof.’ This would seem to have been the opinion of scholars in that early time, and the only difficulty in admitting it is that Kang Hsiian does not mention it. Notwithstanding his silence, the conviction that Khung Ai wrote both treatises has become very strong in my mind. There is that agreement in the matter, method, and style of the two, which almost demands for them a common authorship.

Book XL. Kwan tf.

Notwithstanding his silence, the conviction that Khung Ai wrote both treatises has become very strong in my mind. There is that agreement in the matter, method, and style of the two, which almost demands for them a common authorship.

Book XL. Kwan tf.

A fuller account of the ceremony of capping is obtained from portions of the ninth and other Books, where it comes in only incidentally, than from this Book in which we might expect from the title to find all the details of it brought together. But the object of the unknown writer was to glorify the rite as the great occasion when a youth stepped from his immaturity into all the privileges and responsibilities of a man, and to explain some of the usages by which it had been sought from the earliest times to mark its importance. This intention is indicated by the second character in the title called f, which we have met with only once before in the name of a Book,—in Ki f, ‘the Meaning of Sacrifices,’ the title of XXI. It is employed in the titles of this and the five Books that follow, and always with the same force of ‘meaning,’ ‘signification,’ ‘ideas underlying the ceremony.’ Callery renders correctly Kwan f by ‘Signification de la Prise du Chapeau Viril.

The Chinese cap of manhood always suggests the toga virilis of the Romans; but there was a difference between the institutions of the two peoples. The age for assuming the toga was fourteen; that for receiving the cap was twenty. The capped Chinese was still young, but he had grown to man’s estate; the gowned Roman might have reached puberty, but he was little more than a boy.

p. 55

Until the student fully understands the object of the Treatise, the paragraphs seem intricate and heavy, and the work of translation is difficult.

Book XLI. Hwan f.

After capping comes in natural order the ceremony of marriage ; and we are glad to have, in the first portion of this Book, so full an account of the objects contemplated in marriage, the way in which the ceremony was gone about, and the subsequent proceedings by which the union was declared to be established.

The writer made much use of the chapters on marriage in the f Li. Nothing is said of the age at which it was the rule for a young man to marry; and this, we have seen, is put down, in other parts of this collection, as thirty. The same age is mentioned in the K4u Li, XIII, 55, on the duties of the marriage-contractor. But marriage, we may assume from the case of Confucius himself, actually took place earlier in ancient times, as it does now. The 3ze!, or name of maturity, which was given at the capping, is commonly said to be the name taken at marriage, as in Morrison’s Dictionary, I, i, page 627.

But marriage, we may assume from the case of Confucius himself, actually took place earlier in ancient times, as it does now. The 3ze!, or name of maturity, which was given at the capping, is commonly said to be the name taken at marriage, as in Morrison’s Dictionary, I, i, page 627.

The duties set forth in the Book, however, are not those of the young husband, but those of the wife, all comprised in the general virtue of ‘obedience.’ After the tenth paragraph, the author leaves the subject of marriage, and speaks of the different establishments of the king and queen and of their functions. So far what is said on these topics bears on marriage as it sets forth, mystically, that union as analogous to the relations of heaven and earth, the sun and moon, and the masculine and feminine energies of nature; and the response made by these to the conduct of the human parties in their wedded union.

age

56 THE Lf xi. cH. mf.

Book XLII. Hst1anc Yin A106 f.

Hsiang was anciently the name for the largest territorial division of the state. Under the dominion of K4u, from the hamlet of five families, through the lii, the 30, the tang, and the £4u, we rise to the hsiang, nominally containing 12,500 families, and presided over by a ‘Great officer. The royal domain contained six hsiang, and a feudal state three.

In more than one of these territorial divisions, there were festive meetings at regular intervals, all said to be for the purpose of ‘drinking.’ There was feasting at them too, but the viands bore a small proportion to the liquor, called by the name of Kid, which has generally been translated wine, though the grape had nothing to do with it, and whether it was distilled or merely fermented is a disputed point.

The festivity described in this Book was at the true H siang meeting, celebrated once in three years, under the superintendence of ‘the Great officer’ himself, when, in the principal school or college of the district, he assembled the gentlemen of accomplishments and virtue, and feasted them. His object was to select, especially from among the young men, those who were most likely to prove useful to the government in various departments of service. There was in the celebration the germ of the competitive examinations which have been for so long a characteristic feature of the Chinese nation.

The writer had before him the sixth and seventh Books of the f Lion the same subject, or their equivalents. He brings out five things accomplished by the ceremony, all of a moral and social nature; but in trying to explain the arrangements, he becomes allegorical or mystical, and sometimes absurd.

Book XLII. Sué f.

There were various games or competitions of archery; at the royal court, at the feudal courts, at the meetings in

p. 57

Book XLII. Sué f.

There were various games or competitions of archery; at the royal court, at the feudal courts, at the meetings inp. 57 the country districts which form the subject of the last Book, and probably other's of a less public and distinguished character. We have references in this Book to at least one of the archery trials at the royal court; to that at the feudal courts; and to one presided over by Confucius himself, of which it is difficult to assign the occasion. The object of the author is to show the attention paid to archery in ancient times, and how it was endeavoured to make it subservient to moral and educational purposes.

He had before him the accounts of the archery for officers in Books VIII, IX, and X of the f Li; but he allows himself more scope, in his observations on them, than the authors of the two preceding Books, and explains several practices in his own way,—unsatisfactorily, as I have pointed out in my notes.

“Book XLIV. Yen ft.

The Yen f, or ‘Meaning of the Banquet, is a fragment of only five paragraphs, which, moreover, are inartistically put together, the first having no connexion with the others. The Book should begin with paragraph 2, commencing :— ‘ The meaning of the Banquet at the feudal courts was this.’ It was of this banquet that the compiler intended to give his readers an idea.

The greatest of all the ancient banquets was that which immediately followed the sacrifices in the ancestral temple, given to all the kindred of the same surname as the ruler, and to which there are several references in the Shih King. Thang San-jhai (Ming dynasty) specifies four other occasions for the banquet besides this:— It might be given by a feudal prince, without any special occasion,—like that described in the second of the Praise Songs of LQ; or to a high dignitary or Great officer, who had been engaged in the royal service,—like that in the Minor Odes of the Kingdom, iii, 3; or when a high dignitary returned from a friendly mission,—like that also in the Minor Odes, i, 2; or when an officer came from one state to another on a friendly mission. Many other occasions,

58 THE Lf xf. CH. 111.

however, can be imagined on which public banquets were appropriate and might be given. The usages at them would, for the most part, be of the same nature.

The eleventh and twelfth chapters of the f Li are occupied with the ceremony of the banquet. The author of this Treatise quotes passages here and there from them, and appends his own explanation of their educational significance. Two lessons, he says, were especially illustrated in them:—the right relations to be maintained between superiors and inferiors, and the distinction between the noble and the mean.

Book XLV. Pune f.

Two lessons, he says, were especially illustrated in them:—the right relations to be maintained between superiors and inferiors, and the distinction between the noble and the mean.

Book XLV. Pune f.

The subject of the Phing f is the interchange of missions betWeen the ancient feudal states. It was a rule of the kingdom that those states should by such interchange maintain a good understanding with one another, as a means of preventing both internal disturbances and aggression from without. P. Callery gives for the title :—‘Signification (du Rite) des Visites. I have met with it rendered in English by ‘The Theory of Embassies ;’ but the Phing was not an embassy on any great state occasion, nor was it requisite that it should be sent at stated intervals. It could not be long neglected between two states without risk to the good fellowship between them, but events might at any time occur in any one state which would call forth such an expression of friendly sympathy from others.

A mission occasioned a very considerable expenditure to the receiving state,and the author, with amusing ingenuity, explains this as a device to teach the princes and their peoples to care little for such outlay in comparison with the maintenance of the custom and its ceremonies.

Those visits are treated with all the necessary details in the f Li, Books XV-XVIII ; and though the extracts from them are not many, we get from the author a sufficiently intelligible account of the nature of the missions and the way in which they were carried through.

p. 59

In paragraph 11, however, he turns to another subject, and writes at some length about archery, while the concluding paragraphs (12 and 13) give a conversation between Confucius and his disciple 3ze-kung on the reasons why jade is thought so much of. The three paragraphs have no connexion with those that precede on the subject of the missions ; and the question arises—Whence were they derived? The previous paragraphs, taken from or based on the f Li, are found in one of the surviving Treatises of the largercollection of the Greater T4i, the thirty-sixth Book, called Khaio-sze, in consequence of which the KAien-lung editors suggest that these concluding paragraphs were an addition made by his relative, Tai Shing. It may have been so, but we should not thereby be impressed with a high idea of the skill or judgment with which Shang executed his work.

Book XLVI. Sanc FO SZE AIH.

It may have been so, but we should not thereby be impressed with a high idea of the skill or judgment with which Shang executed his work.

Book XLVI. Sanc FO SZE AIH.

This Book, with which the collection of the Li AK? concludes, is an attempt to explain the usages of the mourning rites, and especially of the dress, wherein they agree, and wherein they differ, by referring them to the four constituents of man’s nature,—love, righteousness, the sentiment of propriety, and knowledge, in harmony with the operations of heaven and earthin the course of nature. We do not know who was the author of it, but the KAien-lung editors contend that it could not have been in the original compilation of the Smaller Tai, and owes its place in the collection to Kang Hsiian.

The greater part of it is found in the thirty-ninth, or last but one’, of the Books still current as the Li of the Greater Tai; and another part in the ‘ Narratives of the School,’ the third article in the sixth chapter of that collection’, the compilation of which in its present form is attributed to Wang So in the first half of our third century. But this second fragment must have existed previously, else Kang

‘AS siz. "As cin #-

60 THE Li xt. CH. m1.

himself could not have seen it. The argument of those editors, therefore, that some scholar, later than the Smaller Tai, must have incorporated it with what we find in the Greater T4i, adding a beginning and ending of his own, so as to form a Book like one of those of Tai Shang, and that Kang thought it worth his while to preserve it as the last portion of Shang’s collection,—this argument is inconclusive. The fragment may originally have formed part of Tai Teh’s thirty-ninth Book or of some other, and the whole of this Book have been arranged, as we now have it by Shang himself, working, as he is reported to have done, on the compilation or digest of his cousin. However this be, the views in the Book are certainly ingenious and deserve to be read with care.

A few lines in Callery’s work are sufficient to translate all of the Book which is admitted into the expurgated editions.

THE Li &i.

A COLLECTION OF TREATISES ON THE RULES
OF PROPRIETY OR CEREMONIAL USAGES.

BOOK I. KAU Lt.
SUMMARY OF THE RULES OF PROPRIETY.

Section I. Parr I.

Ch. 1.1. The Summary of the Rules of Propriety says:—Always and in everything let there be reverence ; with the deportment grave as when

On the names of the whole work and of this book, see the
Introduction, pp, 9-12 and 15-17.

Part I is occupied with general principles and statements about Propriety rather than with the detail of particular rules. It may be divided into seven chapters, containing in all thirty-one paragraphs.

Part I is occupied with general principles and statements about Propriety rather than with the detail of particular rules. It may be divided into seven chapters, containing in all thirty-one paragraphs.

Ch. 1. 1, tells how reverence and gravity, with careful speech, are essential in Propriety; and shows its importance to a community or nation. 2. 2, specifies habits or tendencies incompatible with Propriety. 3. 3-5, gives instances of Propriety in superior men, and directions for certain cases. 4. 6, 7, states the rules for sitting, standing, and a mission to another state. 5. 8-22, sets forth how indispensable Propriety is for the regulation of the individual and society, and that it marks in fact the distinction between men and brutes. 6, 23-26, indicates how the rules, unnecessary in the most ancient times, grew with the progress of society, and were its ornament and security. 7. 27-31, speaks of the different stages of life, as divided into decades from ten years to a hundred; and certain characteristics belonging to them.

62 THE Li xt. BK. I.

one is thinking (deeply), and with speech composed and definite. This will make the people tranquil.

2.2. Pride should not be allowed to grow; the desires should not be indulged ; the -will should not be gratified to the full; pleasure should not be carried to excess.

3. 3. Men of talents and virtue can be familiar with others and yet respect them ; can stand in awe of others and yet love them. They love others and yet acknowledge the evil that is in them. They accumulate (wealth) and yet are able to part with it (to help the needy) ; they rest in what gives them satisfaction and yet can seek satisfaction elsewhere (when it is desirable to do so). 4. When you find wealth within your reach, do not (try to) get it by improper means; when you mieet with calamity, do not (try to) escape from it by improper means. Do not seek for victory in small contentions; do not seek for more than your proper share. 5. Do not positively affirm what you have doubts about ; and (when you have no doubts), do not let what you say appear (simply) as your own view.

4.6. If a man be sitting, let him do so as a personator of the deceased’; if he be standing, let him do so (reverently), as in sacrificing. 7. In

1 The text in the second part of this sentence is not easily translated and interpreted. I have followed in my version the view of Xing, XQ Hsi, and the K/ien-lung editors. Callery gives for the whole sentence, ‘Ne donnez pas comme certain ce qui est douteux, mais exposez-le clairement sans arritre-pensée.’ Zottoli’s view of the meaning is probably the same as mine: ‘ Dubius rerum noli praesumere, sed sincerus ne tibi arroges.’

2 On the personator of the deceased, see vol. iii, pp. 300, 301.
According to the ritual of X4u, the representatives of the dead
always sat, and bore themselves with the utmost gravity.

SECT. I. PT. I. KHU Li. 63

iii, pp. 300, 301. According to the ritual of X4u, the representatives of the dead always sat, and bore themselves with the utmost gravity.

SECT. I. PT. I. KHU Li. 63

(observing) the rules of propriety, what is right (for the time and in the circumstances) should be followed. In discharging a mission (to another state), its customs are to be observed.

• 5. 8. They are the rules of propriety, that furnish the means of determining (the observances towards) relatives, as near and remote; of settling points which may cause suspicion or doubt; of distinguishing where there should be agreement, and where difference; and of making clear what is right and what is wrong. 9. According to those rules, one should not (seek to) please others in an improper way, nor be lavish of his words. 10. According to them, one does not go beyond the definite measure, nor encroach on or despise others, nor is fond of (presuming) familiarities. 11. To cultivate one’s person and fulfil one’s words is called good conduct. When the conduct is (thus) ordered, and the words are accordant with the (right) course, we have the substance of the rules of propriety. 12. I have heard that it is in accordance with those rules that one should be chosen by others (as their model); I have not heard of his choosing them (to take him as such). I have heard in the same way of (scholars) coming to learn; I have not heard of (the master) going to teach.
• 13. The course (of duty), virtue, benevolence, and righteousness cannot be fully carried out without the rules of propriety; 14. nor are training and oral lessons for the rectification of manners complete ;
• 15. nor can the clearing up of quarrels and discriminating in disputes be accomplished; 16. nor can (the duties between) ruler and minister, high and low, father and son, elder brother and younger, be determined; 17. nor can students for office and

64 THE Lf xf. BK. I.

(other) learners, in serving their masters, have an attachment for them; 18. nor can majesty and dignity be shown in assigning the different places at court, in the government of the armies, and in discharging the duties of office so as to secure the operation of the laws; 19. nor can there be the (proper) sincerity and gravity in presenting the offerings to spiritual Beings on occasions of supplication, thanksgiving, and the various sacrifices’. 20. Therefore the superior man is respectful and reverent, assiduous in his duties and not going beyond them, retiring and yielding ;—thus illustrating (the principle of) propriety. 21. The parrot can speak, and yet is nothing more than a bird; the ape can speak, and yet is nothing more than a beast?, Here now is a man who observes no rules of propriety; is not his heart that of a beast? But if (men were as) beasts, and without (the principle of) propriety, father and son might have the same mate. 22. Therefore, when the sages arose, they framed the rules of propriety in order to teach men, and cause them, by

But if (men were as) beasts, and without (the principle of) propriety, father and son might have the same mate. 22. Therefore, when the sages arose, they framed the rules of propriety in order to teach men, and cause them, by

1 Four religious acts are here mentioned, in connexion with which the offerings to spiritual Beings were presented. What I have called ‘various sacrifices’ is in Chinese Kf sze. WA Khang says: ‘Xi means sacrificial offerings to the spirit (or spirits) of Earth, and sze those to the spirits of Heaven. Offerings to the manes of men are also covered by them when they are used together.’

2 We know that the parrot and some other birds can be taught to speak; but Ido not know that any animal has been taught to enunciate words even as these birds do. Williams (Dict. p. 809) thinks that the shang shang mentioned here may be the rhinopithecus Roxellana of P. David, found in Sze-A/tian ; but we have no account of it in Chinese works, so far as I know, that is not evidently fabulous.

SECT. I, PT. I. KHU Li. 65 their possession of them, to make a distinction between themselves and brutes.

• 6. 23. In the highest antiquity they prized (simply conferring) good ; in the time next to this, giving and repaying was the thing attended to’. And what the rules of propriety value is that reciprocity. If I give a gift and nothing comes in return, that is contrary to propriety; if the thing comes to me, and I give nothing in return, that also is contrary to propriety.
• 24. If a man observe the rules of propriety, he is in a condition of security ; if he do not, he is in one of danger. Hence there is the saying, ‘The rules of propriety should by no means be left unlearned.’
• 25. Propriety is seen in humbling one’s self and giving honour to others. Even porters and pedlers are sure to display this giving honour (in some cases) ; how much more should the rich and noble do so (in all)! 26. When the rich and noble know to love propriety, they do not become proud nor dissolute. When the poor and mean know to love propriety, their minds do not become cowardly.

7, 27. When one is ten years old, we call hima boy ; he goes (out) to school. When he is twenty, we call hima youth; he is capped. When he is thirty, we say, ‘He is at his maturity;’ he has a wife, When

1 Compare with this paragraph the state of ‘the highest antiquity’ described in the T&4o Teh King, chapters 18, 19, et al.

2 When it is said that at thirty a man has a wife, the meaning must be that he ought not to reach that age without being married. Early marriages were the rule in ancient China, as they are now. Confucius was married when barely twenty. In the same way we are to understand the being in office at forty. A man might take office at thirty; if he reached forty before he did so, there was something wrong in himself or others.

(27) F

66 THE Lf xt. BK. I.

Confucius was married when barely twenty. In the same way we are to understand the being in office at forty. A man might take office at thirty; if he reached forty before he did so, there was something wrong in himself or others.

(27) F

66 THE Lf xt. BK. I.

he is forty, we say, ‘ He is in his vigour;’ he is employed in office. When he is fifty, we say, ‘He is getting grey;’ he can discharge all the duties of an officer. When he is sixty, we say, ‘ He is getting old;’ he gives directions and instructions. When he is seventy, we say, ‘He is old;’ he delegates his duties to others. At eighty or ninety, we say of him, ‘He is very old.’ When he is seven, we say that he is an object of pitying love. Such a child and one who is very old, though they may be chargeable with crime, are not subjected to punishment. Ata hundred, he is called a centenarian, and has to be fed. 28. A great officer, when he is seventy, should resign (his charge of) affairs. 29. If he be not allowed to resign, there must be given hima stool and staff. When travelling on service, he must have the attendance of his wife'; and when going to any other state, he will ride in an easy carriage*. 30. (In another state) he will style himself ‘the old man;’ in his own state, he will call himself by his name. 31. When from another they ask (about his state), he must tell them of its (old) institutions’.

1 Perhaps we should translate here in the plural—‘ his women,’ which would include his wife.

* An ‘easy carriage’ was small. Its occupant sat in it, and did not stand.

* It is supposed here that the foreign envoys first question the ruler, who then calls in the help of the aged minister.

SECT. I, PT. IL. RHU uf. 67

Part II.

1. 1. In going to take counsel with an elder, one must carry a stool and a staff with him (for the elder’s use). When the elder asks a question, to reply without acknowledging one’s incompetency and (trying to) decline answering, is contrary to propriety’.

2.2. For all sons it is the rule :—in winter, to warm (the bed for their parents), and to cool it in summer; in the evening, to adjust everything (for their repose), and to inquire (about their health) in the morning ; and, when with their companions, not to quarrel.

3. 3. Whenever a son, having received the three (first) gifts (of the ruler), declines (to use) the carriage and horses, the people of the hamlets and smaller districts, and of the larger districts and neighbourhoods, will proclaim him filial; his brothers and relatives, both by consanguinity and affinity, will proclaim him

Part II enters more into detail about the rules of Propriety.
It has been divided into seven chapters, containing in all thirty-two
paragraphs.

It has been divided into seven chapters, containing in all thirty-two paragraphs.

Ch. 1. 1, speaks of a junior consulting an elder. 2. 2, describes services due from all sons to their parents. 3. 3, shows a filial son when raised to higher rank than his father. 4. 4-16, contains rules for a son in various circumstances, especially with reference to his father. 5. 17-26, gives the rules for younger men in their intercourse with their teachers and elders generally, and in various cases. 6. 27, is the rule for an officer in entering the gate of his ruler or coming out by it. 7. 28-32, deals with a host and visitor, and ceremonious visiting and intercourse generally.

* The reply of Tsing Shan to Confucius, as related in vol. iii, Pp. 465, 466, is commonly introduced in illustration of this second sentence.

F 2

68 THE Li xt. BK. I.

loving ; his friends who are fellow-officers will proclaim him virtuous; and his friends who are his associates will proclaim him true’.

4. 4. When he sees an intimate friend of his father, not to presume to go forward to him without being told to do so; nor toretire without being told; nor to address him without being questioned :—this is the conduct of a filial son. 5. A son, when he is going abroad, must inform (his parents where he is going); when he returns, he must present himself before them. Where he travels must be in some fixed (region); what he engages in must be some (reputable) occupation. 6. In ordinary conversation (with his parents), he does not use the term ‘old’ (with reference to them). 7. He should serve one twice as old as himself as he serves his father, one ten years older than himself as an elder brother; with one five years older he should walk shoulder to shoulder, but (a little) behind him. 8. When five are sitting together, the eldest must have a different mat (by himself)*. 9. A son should not occupy the south-west corner of the apartment, nor sit in the

1 The gifts of distinction, conferred by the sovereign on officers, ministers, and feudal princes, were nine in all; and the enumerations of them are not always the same. The three intended here are the appointment to office, or rank; the robes belonging to it; and the chariot and horses. We must suppose that the rank placed the son higher than the father in social position, and that he declines the third gift from humility,—not to parade himself as superior to his father and others in his circle.

® Some understand the rule to be that the son is not to speak of himself as old; but the meaning in the translation is the more approved.

* Four men were the proper complement for a mat; the eldest of the five therefore was Lonoured with another mat for himself.

SECT. I. PT. II. xxv ui. 69

® Some understand the rule to be that the son is not to speak of himself as old; but the meaning in the translation is the more approved.

* Four men were the proper complement for a mat; the eldest of the five therefore was Lonoured with another mat for himself.

SECT. I. PT. II. xxv ui. 69 middle of the mat (which he occupies alone), nor walk in the middle of the road, nor stand in the middle of the doorway'. 10. He should not take the part of regulating the (quantity of) rice and other viands at an entertainment. 11. He should not act as personator of the dead at sacrifice*, 12. He should be (as if he were) hearing (his parents) when there is no voice from them, and as seeing them when they are not actually there. 13. Heshould not ascend a height, nor approach the verge of a depth; he should not indulge in reckless reviling or derisive laughing. A filial son will not do things in the dark, nor attempt hazardous undertakings, fearing lest he disgrace his parents. 14. While his parents are alive, he will not promise a friend to die (with or for him)’, nor will he have wealth that he calls his own. 15. A son, while his parents are alive, will not wear a cap or (other) article of dress, with a white border‘. 16. An orphan son, taking his father’s place, will not wear a cap or (other article of) dress with a variegated border’.

5.17. A boy should never he allowed to see an

1 The father is supposed to be alive; the south-west part of an apartment was held to be the most honourable, and must be reserved for him. So of the other things.

* This was in the ancestral worship. A son, acting such a part, would have to receive the homage of his father.

5 I have known instances of Chinese agreeing to die with or for a friend, who wished to avenge a great wrong. See the covenant of the three heroes of the ‘romance of the Three Kingdoms,’ near the beginning.

* White was and is the colour worn in mourning.

5 The son here is the eldest son and heir; even after the regular period of mourning is over, he continues to wear it in so far. The other sons were not required to do so.

70 THE Lf xt. BK. I.

* White was and is the colour worn in mourning.

5 The son here is the eldest son and heir; even after the regular period of mourning is over, he continues to wear it in so far. The other sons were not required to do so.

70 THE Lf xt. BK. I.

instance of deceit’. 18. A lad should not wear a jacket of fur nor the skirt?» He must stand straight and square, and not incline his head in hearing. 19. When an elder is holding him with the hand, he should hold the elder’s hand with both his hands. When the elder has shifted his sword to his back and is speaking to him with the side of his face bent down, he should cover his mouth with his hand in answering ®, 20. When he is following his teacher*, he should not quit the road to speak with another person. When he meets his teacher on the road, he should hasten forward to him, and stand with his hands joined across his breast. If the teacher speak to him, he will answer; if he do not, he will retire with hasty steps. 21. When, following an elder, they ascend a level height, he must keep his face towards the quarter to which the elder is looking. 22. When one has ascended the wall of a city, he should not point, nor call out®. 23. When he intends to go to a lodging-house, let it not be with the feeling that he must get whatever he asks for. 24. When about to go up to the hall (of a house), he must raise his voice. When outside the door there are two (pairs

* This maxim deserves to be specially noted. It will remind the reader of Juvenal’s lines :—

‘Maxima debetur puero reverentia. Si quid
Turpe paras, nec tu pueri contempseris annos.’

* To make him handy, and leave him free to execute any service required of him.

3 The second sentence here is difficult to construe, and the critics differ much in dealing with it. Zottoli’s version is—‘ Si e dorso vel latere transverso ore (superior) eloquatur ei, tunc obducto ore respondebit.’

“ *Teacher’ is here ‘the one born before him,’ denoting ‘an old man who teaches youth.’

* And thus make himself an object of general observation.

SECT. I. PT. I. KHU uf. 71 of) shoes’, if voices be heard, he enters; if voices be not heard, he will not enter. 25. When about to enter the door, he must keep his eyes cast down. As he enters, he should (keep his hands raised as high as if he were) bearing the bar of the door. In looking down or up, he should not turn (his head), If the door were open, he should leave it open ; if it were shut, he should shut it again. If there be others (about) to enter after him, while he (turns to) shut the door, let him not do so hastily. 26. Let him not tread on the shoes (left outside the door), nor stride across the mat (in going to take his seat) ; but let him hold up his dress, and move hastily to his corner (of the mat). (When seated), he must be careful in answering or assenting.

6. 27. A great officer or (other) officer should go out or in at the ruler’s doors’, on the right of the middle post, without treading on the threshold.

(When seated), he must be careful in answering or assenting.

6. 27. A great officer or (other) officer should go out or in at the ruler’s doors’, on the right of the middle post, without treading on the threshold.

7, 28. Whenever (a host has received and) is entering with a guest, at every door he should give place to him. When the guest arrives at the innermost door (or that leading to the feast-

1 It was the custom in China, as it still is in Japan, to take off the shoes, and leave them outside the door on entering an apartment. This paragraph and the next tell us how a new-comer should not enter an apartment hastily, so as to take those already there by surprise.

2 It is necessary to translate here in the plural. Anciently, as now, the palace, mansion, or public office was an aggregate of courts, with buildings in them, so that the visitor passed from one to another through a gateway, till he reached the inner court which conducted to the hall, behind which again were the family apartments. The royal palace had five courts and gates; that of a feudal lord had three. Each gate had its proper name. The whole assemblage of buildings was much deeper than it was wide.

72 THE Lf xt. BK. {.

room), the host will ask to be allowed to enter first and arrange the mats. Having done this, he will come out to receive the guest, who will refuse firmly (to enter first). The host having made a low bow to him, they will enter (together). 29. When they have entered the door, the host moves to the right, and the guest to the left, the former going to the steps on the east, and the latter to those on the west. If the guest be of the lower rank, he goes to the steps of the host (as if to follow him up them). The host firmly declines this, and he returns to the other steps on the west'. 30. They then offer to each other the precedence in going up, but the host commences first, followed (immediately) by the other. They bring their feet together on every step, thus ascending by successive paces. He who ascends by the steps on the east should move his right foot first, and the other at the western steps his left foot. 31. Outside the curtain or screen? (a visitor) should not walk with the formal hasty steps, nor above in the hall, nor when carrying the symbol of jade. Above, in the raised hall, the foot-prints should be alongside each other, but below it free and separate. In the apartment the elbows should not be held out like wings in bowing. 32. When two (equals) are sitting side by side, they do not have their elbows extended crosswise. One should not kneel in handing anything to a (superior) standing, nor stand in handing it to him sitting.

2 The host here is evidently of high dignity, living in a mansion.

* The screen was in front of the raised hall, in the courtyard ; until they passed it visitors might not be in view of their host, and could feel at ease in their carriage and movements.

SECT. L. PT. II, KxHU Li. 73

Part III.

2 The host here is evidently of high dignity, living in a mansion.

* The screen was in front of the raised hall, in the courtyard ; until they passed it visitors might not be in view of their host, and could feel at ease in their carriage and movements.

SECT. L. PT. II, KxHU Li. 73

Part III.

1.1. In all cases of (a lad’s) carrying away the dirt that has been swept up from the presence of an elder, it is the rule that he (place) the brush on the basket, keeping his sleeve before it as he retires. The dust is not allowed to reach the elder, because he carries the basket with its mouth turned towards himself. 2. He carries the (elder’s) mat in his arms like the cross-beam of a shadoof. 3. If it be a mat

Part III continues to lay down the rules for various duties and classes of duties. It extends to sixty-seven paragraphs, which may be comprised in twenty-one chapters.

Ch. 1. 1-4, describes a youth’s ways in sweeping for an elder and in carrying and placing his mats. 2. 5-7, relates to host and guest. 3. 8-19, is about a youth, especially a pupil, in attendance on his elders. 4. 20-26, is about his ways in serving a superior. 5. 27-29, is about the shoes in visiting. 6. 30-39, gives rules about not interfering with people’s private affairs, and avoiding, between male and female, what would cause suspicion. 7. 40, is a message of congratulation to a friend on his marriage. 8. 41, is about consideration for the poor and the old. 9. 42-46, gives rules for the naming of sons and daughters. 10. 47-51, describes the arrangement of the dishes, and the behaviour of the host and guests, at an entertainment. 11. 52, we have a youth and his host eating together. 12. 53, shows how people, eating together, ought to behave. 138. 54-58, is about things to be avoided in eating. 14. 59, shows us host and guest at the close of the entertainment. In 15. 60, we have a youth and elder drinking together. 16. 61, is about a gift from an elder. 17. 62, shows how the kernel of a fruit given by an elder is to be dealt with in his presence. 18. 63, 64, relates to gifts at a feast from the ruler, and how they are to be used. 19. 65, is about a ruler asking an attendant to share in a feast. 20. 66, is about the use of chopsticks with soup. 21. 67, gives the rules for paring a melon for the ruler and others.

74 THE Li xf. BK. I.

to sit on, he will ask in what direction (the elder) is going to turn his face; if it be to sleep on, in what direction he is going to turn his feet. 4. If a mat face the south or the north, the seat on the west is accounted that of honour; if it face the east or the west, the seat on the south.

to sit on, he will ask in what direction (the elder) is going to turn his face; if it be to sleep on, in what direction he is going to turn his feet. 4. If a mat face the south or the north, the seat on the west is accounted that of honour; if it face the east or the west, the seat on the south.

2.5. Except in the case of guests who are there (simply) to eat and drink, in spreading the mats a space of ten cubits should be left between them}. 6. When the host kneels to adjust the mats (of a visitor), the other should kneel and keep hold of them, declining (the honour)%, When the visitor (wishes to) remove one or more, the host should firmly decline to permit him to do so, When the visitor steps on his mats, (the host) takes his seat. 7. If the host have not put some question, the visitor should not begin the conversation.

3. 8. When (a pupil) is about to go to his mat, he should not look discomposed. With his two hands he should hold up his lower garment, so that the bottom of it may be a cubit from the ground. His clothes should not hang loosely about him, nor should there be any hurried movements of his feet. 9. If any writing or tablets of his master, or his lute or cithern be in the way, he should kneel down and remove them, taking care not to disarrange them. 10. When sitting and doing nothing, he should keep quite at the back (of his mat); when eating, quite at the front of it’ He should sit quietly and keep

1 To allow space and freedom for gesticulation.

® Two or more mats might be placed over each other in honour of the visitor.

5 The dishes were placed before the mats.

SECT. I. PT. IIL. KHU ti. 75 a watch on his countenance. If there be any subject on which the elder has not touched, let him not introduce it irregularly. 11. Let him keep his deportment correct}, and listen respectfully. Let him not appropriate (to himself) the words (of others), nor (repeat them) as (the echo does the) thunder. If he must (adduce proofs), let them be from antiquity, with an appeal to the ancient kings. 12. When sitting by his side, and the teacher puts a question, (the learner) should not reply till (the other) has finished. 13. When requesting (instruction) on the subject of his studies, (the learner) should rise; when requesting further information, he should rise. 14. When his father calls, (a youth) should not (merely) answer ‘ yes,’ nor when his teacher calls. He should, with (a respectful) ‘yes,’ immediately rise (and go to them). 15. When one is sitting in attendance on another whom he honours and reveres, he should not allow any part of his mat to keep them apart?, nor will he rise when he sees others (come in) of the same rank as himself. 16. When the torches come, he should rise; and also when the viands come in, or a visitor of superior rank’, 17. The torches should not (be allowed to burn) till their ends can be seen. 18. Before an honoured visitor we should not shout (even) at

16. When the torches come, he should rise; and also when the viands come in, or a visitor of superior rank’, 17. The torches should not (be allowed to burn) till their ends can be seen. 18. Before an honoured visitor we should not shout (even) at

1 Here, and in some other places, we find the second personal pronoun; as if the text were made up from different sources. I have translated, however, as if we had only the third person.

2 He should sit on the front of his mat, to be as near the other as possible.

* The torches were borne by boys. They were often changed, that the visitors might not be aware how the time was passing.

76 THE Li xt. BE. I.

a dog. 19. When declining any food, one should not spit.

4.20. When one is sitting in attendance on another of superior character or rank, and that other yawns or stretches himself, or lays hold of his staff or shoes, or looks towards the sun to see if it be early or late, he should ask to be allowed to leave. 21. In the same position, if the superior man put a question on a new Subject, he should rise up in giving his reply. 22. Similarly, if there come some one saying (to the superior man), ‘I wish, when you have a little leisure, to report to you, he should withdraw to the left or right and wait. 23. Do not listen with the head inclined on one side, nor answer with a loud sharp voice, nor look with a dissolute leer, nor keep the body in a slouching position’. 24. Do not saunter about with a haughty gait, nor stand with one foot raised. Do not sit with your knees wide apart, nor sleep on your face. 25. Have your hair gathered up, and do not use any false hair% 26. Let not the cap be laid aside; nor the chest be bared, (even) when one is toiling hard; nor let the lower garment be held up (even) in hot weather.

5.27. When (going to) sit in attendance on an elder, (a visitor) should not go up to the hall with his shoes on, nor should he presume to take them off in front of the steps. 28, (When any single visitor is leaving), he will go to his shoes, kneel down and take them up, and then move to one side. 29. (When the visitors retire in a body) with their

' The style and form of 23-26 differ from the preceding.
Perhaps they should form a paragraph by themselves,
* Which women were accustomed to do.

SECT. I. PT. 1. KHU uf. 77 faces towards the elder, (they stand) by the shoes, which they then, kneeling, remove (some distance), and, stooping down, put on!.

Perhaps they should form a paragraph by themselves, * Which women were accustomed to do.

SECT. I. PT. 1. KHU uf. 77 faces towards the elder, (they stand) by the shoes, which they then, kneeling, remove (some distance), and, stooping down, put on!.

• 6. 30. When two men are sitting or standing together, do not join them as a third. When two are standing together, another should not pass between them. 31. Male and female should not sit together (in the same apartment), nor have the same stand or rack for their clothes, nor use the same towel or comb, nor let their hands touch in giving and receiving. 32. A sister-in-law and brother-inlaw do not interchange inquiries (about each other). None of the concubines in a house should be employed to wash the lower garment (of a son)?.
• 33. Outside affairs should not be talked of inside the threshold (of the women’s apartments), nor inside (or women’s) affairs outside it. 34. When a young lady is promised in marriage, she wears the strings (hanging down to her neck)’; and unless there be some great occasion, no (male) enters the door of her apartment‘. 35. When a married aunt, or sister, or daughter returns home (on a visit), no brother (of the family) should sit with her on the same mat or eat with her from the same dish. (Even) the father and daughter should not occupy the same mat®. 36.

* The host would be seeing the visitors off, and therefore they would keep their faces towards him.

2 Concubines might be employed to wash clothes; delicacy forbade their washing the lower garments of the sons.

® Those strings were symbolic of the union with and subjection to her husband to which she was now pledged.

* Great sickness or death, or other great calamity, would be such an occasion.

® This is pushing the rule to an extreme. The sentence is also (but wrongly) understood of father and son.

78 THE Lf xf. BK. I.

Male and female, without the intervention of the matchmaker, do not know each other’s name. Unless the marriage presents have been received, there should be no communication nor affection between them. 37. Hence the day and month (of the marriage) should be announced to the ruler, and to the spirits (of ancestors) with purification and fasting ; and (the bridegroom) should make a feast, and invite (his friends) in the district and neighbourhood, and his fellow-officers :—thus giving its due importance to the separate position (of male and female). 38. One must not marry a wife of the same surname with himself. Hence, in buying a concubine, if he do not know her surname, he must consult the tortoise-shell about it’. 39. With the son of a widow, unless he be of acknowledged distinction, one should not associate himself as a friend.

7. 40. When one congratulates (a friend) on his marrying, his messenger says, ‘So and So has sent me. Having heard that you are having guests, he has sent me with this present.’

39. With the son of a widow, unless he be of acknowledged distinction, one should not associate himself as a friend.

7. 40. When one congratulates (a friend) on his marrying, his messenger says, ‘So and So has sent me. Having heard that you are having guests, he has sent me with this present.’

8. 41. Goods and wealth are not to be expected from the poor in their discharge of the rules of propriety; nor the display of sinews and strength from the old.

9. 42. In giving a name to a son, it should not be that of a state, nor of a day or a month, nor of any hidden ailment, nor of a hill or river*. 43.

1 Not to find out what her surname is, but to determine whether it be the same as that of the gentleman or not,

2 Such names were so common, thit if it became necessary to avoid them, as it might be, through the death of the party or on other grounds, it would be difficult and inconvenient to do so.

SECT. I, PT. III. KHU tf. 79

Sons and daughters should have their (relative) ages distinguished?. 44. A son at twenty is capped, and receives his appellation®. 45. Before his father a son should be called by his name, and before his ruler a minister’, 46. When a daughter is promised in marriage, she assumes the hair-pin, and receives her appellation.

• 10. 47. The rules for bringing in the dishes for an entertainment are the following :—The meat cooked on the bones is set on the left, and the sliced meat on the right; the rice is placed on the left of the parties on the mat, and the soup on their right; the minced and roasted meat are put outside (the chops and sliced meat), and the pickles and sauces inside; the onions and steamed onions succeed to these, and the drink and syrups are on the right. When slices of dried and spiced meat are put down, where they are folded is turned to the left, and the ends of them to the right. 48. If a guest be of lower rank (than his entertainer), he should take up the rice‘, rise and decline (the honour he is receiving). The host then rises and refuses to allow the guest (to retire). After this the guest will resume his seat.
• 49. When the host leads on the guests to present an offering (to the father of cookery), they will begin

1 As primus, prima; secundus, secunda, &c.

* The appellation was thus the name given (at a family meeting) to a youth who had reached man’s estate. Morrison (Dict. i. 627) calls it the name taken by men when they marry. Such a usage testifies to the early marriages in ancient China, as referred to in note 2, p. 65.

* There might be some meaning in the appellation which would seem to place its bearer on the level of his father or his ruler.

* The rice is called ‘the principal article in a feast.’ Hence the humbler guest takes it up, as symbolical of all the others.

80 THE Li xf. BK. I.

65.

* There might be some meaning in the appellation which would seem to place its bearer on the level of his father or his ruler.

* The rice is called ‘the principal article in a feast.’ Hence the humbler guest takes it up, as symbolical of all the others.

80 THE Li xf. BK. I.

with the dishes which were first brought in. Going on from the meat cooked on the bones they will offer of all (the other dishes). 50. After they have eaten three times, the host will lead on the guests to take of the sliced meat, from which they will go on to all the other dishes. 51. A guest should not rinse his mouth with spirits till the host has gone over all the dishes.

11. 52, When (a youth) is in attendance on an elder at a meal, if the host give anything to him with his own hand, he should bow to him and eat it. If he do not so give him anything, he should eat without bowing.

12. 53. When eating with others from the same dishes, one should not try to eat (hastily) to satiety. When eating with them from the same dish of rice, one should not have to wash his hands ?.

13. 54. Do not roll the rice into a ball; do not bolt down the various dishes; do not swill down (the soup). 55. Do not make a noise in eating; do not crunch the bones with the teeth; do not put back fish you have been eating; do not throw the bones to the dogs; do not snatch (at what you want). 56. Do not spread out the rice (to cool); do not use chopsticks in eating millet’.

1 This paragraph refers to a practice something like our ‘ saying grace.’ According to Khung Ying-t4, a little was taken from all the dishes, and placed on the ground about them as an offering to ‘the father of cookery.’

2 As all ate from the same dish of rice without chopsticks or spoons, it was necessary they should try to keep their hands clean. Some say the ‘ washing’ was only a rubbing of the hands with sand.

* A spoon was the proper implement in eating millet..

SECT. I. PT. IIT. KxU Lf. 81

57- Do not (try to) gulp down soup with vegetables in it, nor add condiments to it; do not keep picking the teeth, nor swill down the sauces. If a guest add condiments, the host will apologise for not having had the soup prepared better. If he swill down the sauces, the host will apologise for his poverty’, 58. Meat that is wet (and soft) may be divided with the teeth, but dried flesh cannot be so dealt with. Do not bolt roast meat in large pieces.

14, 59. When they have done eating, the guests will kneel in front (of the mat), and (begin to) remove the (dishes) of rice and sauces to give them to the attendants. The host will then rise and decline this service from the guests, who will resume their seats.

14, 59. When they have done eating, the guests will kneel in front (of the mat), and (begin to) remove the (dishes) of rice and sauces to give them to the attendants. The host will then rise and decline this service from the guests, who will resume their seats.

15. 60. If a youth is in attendance on, and drinking with, an elder, when the (cup of) spirits is brought to him, he rises, bows, and (goes to) receive it at the place where the spirit-vase is kept. The elder refuses (to allow him to do so), when he returns to the mat, and (is prepared) to drink. The elder (meantime) lifts (his cup); but until he has emptied it, the other does not presume to drink his.

16. 61. When an elder offers a gift, neither a youth, nor one of mean condition, presumes to decline it.

17. 62, When a fruit is given by the ruler and in his presence, if there be a kernel in it, (the receiver) should place it in his bosom’.

1 The sauce should be too strong to be swallowed largely and hurriedly.

? Lest he should seem to throw away anything given by the ruler.

[27] G

82 THE Lf xt. BK. I.

18. 63. When one is attending the ruler ata meal, and the ruler gives him anything that is left, if it be in a vessel that can be easily scoured, he does not transfer it (to another of his own); but from any other vessel he should so transfer it}.

19. 64. Portions of (such) food should not be used as offerings (to the departed). A father should not use them in offering even to a (deceased) son, nor a husband in offering to a (deceased) wife?.

20. 65. When one is attending an elder and (called to) share with him (at a feast), though the viands may be double (what is necessary), he should not (seek) to decline them. If he take his seat (only) as the companion of another (for whom it has been prepared), he should not decline them.

21. 66. If the soup be made with vegetables, chopsticks should be used; but not if there be no vegetables.

22. 67. He who pares a melon for the son of Heaven should divide it into four parts and then into eight, and cover them with a napkin of fine linen. For the ruler of a state, he should divide it into four parts, and cover them with a coarse napkin. Toa great officer he should (present the four parts) uncovered. An inferior officer should receive it (simply) with the stalk cut away. A common man will deal with it with his teeth.

1 A vessel of potter’s ware or metal can be scoured, and the part which his mouth has touched be cleansed before the ruler uses it again.

* The meaning of this paragraph is not clear.

SECT. I. PT. IV, KHU ui. 8 oy)

Part IV.

A common man will deal with it with his teeth.

1 A vessel of potter’s ware or metal can be scoured, and the part which his mouth has touched be cleansed before the ruler uses it again.

* The meaning of this paragraph is not clear.

SECT. I. PT. IV, KHU ui. 8 oy)

Part IV.

1. 1. When his father or mother is ill, (a young man) who has been capped should not use his comb, nor walk with his elbows stuck out, nor speak on idle topics, nor take his lute or cithern in hand. He should not eat of (different) meats till his taste is changed, nor drink till his looks are changed’. He should not laugh so as to show his teeth, nor be angry till he breaks forth in reviling. When the illness is gone, he may resume his former habits. 2. He who is sad and anxious should sit with his mat

Part IV contains fifty-two paragraphs, which have been arranged in ten chapters, stating the rules to be observed in a variety of cases.

Ch. 1. 1, 2, treats of the ways of a young man who is sorrowful in consequence of the illness or death of a parent. 2. 3-26, treats of the rules in giving and receiving, and of messages connected therewith. The presentations mentioned are all from inferiors to superiors. 3. 27, 28, does not lay down rules, but gives characteristics of the superior man, and the methods by which he preserves his friendships unbroken. 4. 29, 30, refers to the arrangement of the tablets in the ancestral temple, and to the personators of the dead. 5. 31, tells how one fasting should keep himself from being excited. 6. 32-34, sets forth cautions against excess in the demonstrations of mourning. 7. 35, 36, speaks of sorrowing for the dead and condoling with the living. 8. 37, 38, gives counsels of prudence for one under the influence of sympathy and benevolent feeling. 9. 39-48, describes rules in connexion with mourning, burials, and some other occasions. 10. 49-52, describes gradations in ceremonies and in the penal statutes; and how a criminal who has been punished should never be permitted to be near the ruler.

1 Does the rule about eating mean that the anxious son should — restrict himself to a single dish of meat? G 2

84 THE Lf xf. BK, I.

spread apart from others ; he who is mourning (for a death) should sit on a single mat’.