故燕禮者，所以明君臣之義也；鄉飲酒之禮者，所以明長幼之序也。
Anciently it was the rule for the feudal lords, when they would practise archery, first to celebrate the ceremony of the Banquet, and for the Great officers and ordinary officers, when they would shoot, first to celebrate the ceremony of the Drinking in the country districts.
The ceremony of the Banquet served to illustrate the relation between ruler and subject; that of the District-drinking, to illustrate the distinction between seniors and juniors.
創鉅者其日久，痛甚者其愈遲，三年者，稱情而立文，所以為至痛極也。
The greater a wound is, the longer it remains; and the more pain it gives, the more slowly is it healed.
The mourning of three years, being appointed with its various forms in harmony with the feelings (produced by the occasion of it), was intended to mark the greatest degree of grief.
The sackcloth with jagged edges, the dark colour of the sackcloth and the staff, the shed reared against the wall, the gruel, the sleeping on straw, and the clod of earth for a pillow - these all were intended to set forth the extremity of the grief.
The mourning of the three years came really to an end with (the close of) the twenty-fifth month.
The sorrow and pain were not yet ended, and the longing loving thoughts were not yet forgotten; but in the termination of the mourning dress in this way, was it not shown that there should be an end to the duties rendered to the dead, and that the time was come for the resumption of their duties to the living?
斬衰苴杖，居倚廬，食粥，寢苫枕塊，所以為至痛飾也。
The greater a wound is, the longer it remains; and the more pain it gives, the more slowly is it healed.
The mourning of three years, being appointed with its various forms in harmony with the feelings (produced by the occasion of it), was intended to mark the greatest degree of grief.
The sackcloth with jagged edges, the dark colour of the sackcloth and the staff, the shed reared against the wall, the gruel, the sleeping on straw, and the clod of earth for a pillow - these all were intended to set forth the extremity of the grief.
The mourning of the three years came really to an end with (the close of) the twenty-fifth month.
The sorrow and pain were not yet ended, and the longing loving thoughts were not yet forgotten; but in the termination of the mourning dress in this way, was it not shown that there should be an end to the duties rendered to the dead, and that the time was come for the resumption of their duties to the living?
三年之喪，二十五月而畢；哀痛未盡，思慕未忘，然而服以是斷之者，豈不送死者有已，復生有節哉？
The greater a wound is, the longer it remains; and the more pain it gives, the more slowly is it healed.
The mourning of three years, being appointed with its various forms in harmony with the feelings (produced by the occasion of it), was intended to mark the greatest degree of grief.
The sackcloth with jagged edges, the dark colour of the sackcloth and the staff, the shed reared against the wall, the gruel, the sleeping on straw, and the clod of earth for a pillow - these all were intended to set forth the extremity of the grief.
The mourning of the three years came really to an end with (the close of) the twenty-fifth month.
The sorrow and pain were not yet ended, and the longing loving thoughts were not yet forgotten; but in the termination of the mourning dress in this way, was it not shown that there should be an end to the duties rendered to the dead, and that the time was come for the resumption of their duties to the living?
子曰：「君子慎以辟禍，篤以不掩，恭以遠恥。」
The Master said, 'The superior man is careful (in small things), and thereby escapes calamity.
His generous largeness cannot be kept in obscurity.
His courtesy keeps shame at a distance.'
子云：「君子辭貴不辭賤，辭富不辭貧，則亂益亡。」故君子與其使食浮於人也，寧使人浮於食。
The Master said, 'The superior man will decline a position of high honour, but not one that is mean; and riches, but not poverty.
In this way confusion and disorder will more and more disappear. 'Hence the superior man, rather than have his emoluments superior to his worth, will have his worth superior to his emoluments.'
曾子問曰：「卿大夫將為尸於公，受宿矣，而有齊衰內喪，則如之何？」孔子曰：「出舍乎公宮以待事，禮也。」
Zeng-zi asked, 'When a high minister or Great officer is about to act the part of the personator of the dead at a sacrifice by his ruler, and has received instructions to pass the night previous in solemn vigil, if there occur in his own family occasion for him to wear the robe of hemmed sackcloth, what is he to do?' Confucius said, 'The rule is for him to leave his own house, and lodge in the ruler's palace till the service (for the ruler) is accomplished.
射之為言者繹也，或曰舍也。
To shoot means to draw out to the end, and some say to lodge in the exact point.
That drawing out to the end means every one unfolding his own idea; hence, with the mind even-balanced and the body correctly poised, (the archer) holds his bow and arrow skilfully and firmly.
When he so holds them, he will hit the mark.
Hence it is said, 'The father (shoots) at the father-mark; the son, at the son-mark; the ruler, at the ruler-mark; the subject, at the subject-mark.' Thus the archer shoots at the mark of his (ideal) self; and so the Great archery of the son of Heaven is called shooting at (the mark of) the feudal prince. 'Shooting at the mark of the feudal prince' was shooting to prove himself a prince.
He who hit the mark was permitted to be, that is, retain his rank as) a prince; he who did not hit the mark was not permitted to retain his rank as a prince.
繹者，各繹己之志也。
To shoot means to draw out to the end, and some say to lodge in the exact point.
That drawing out to the end means every one unfolding his own idea; hence, with the mind even-balanced and the body correctly poised, (the archer) holds his bow and arrow skilfully and firmly.
When he so holds them, he will hit the mark.
Hence it is said, 'The father (shoots) at the father-mark; the son, at the son-mark; the ruler, at the ruler-mark; the subject, at the subject-mark.' Thus the archer shoots at the mark of his (ideal) self; and so the Great archery of the son of Heaven is called shooting at (the mark of) the feudal prince. 'Shooting at the mark of the feudal prince' was shooting to prove himself a prince.
He who hit the mark was permitted to be, that is, retain his rank as) a prince; he who did not hit the mark was not permitted to retain his rank as a prince.
故心平體正，持弓矢審固；持弓矢審固，則射中矣。
To shoot means to draw out to the end, and some say to lodge in the exact point.
That drawing out to the end means every one unfolding his own idea; hence, with the mind even-balanced and the body correctly poised, (the archer) holds his bow and arrow skilfully and firmly.
When he so holds them, he will hit the mark.
Hence it is said, 'The father (shoots) at the father-mark; the son, at the son-mark; the ruler, at the ruler-mark; the subject, at the subject-mark.' Thus the archer shoots at the mark of his (ideal) self; and so the Great archery of the son of Heaven is called shooting at (the mark of) the feudal prince. 'Shooting at the mark of the feudal prince' was shooting to prove himself a prince.
He who hit the mark was permitted to be, that is, retain his rank as) a prince; he who did not hit the mark was not permitted to retain his rank as a prince.
故曰：為人父者，以為父鵠；為人子者，以為子鵠；為人君者，以為君鵠；為人臣者，以為臣鵠。
To shoot means to draw out to the end, and some say to lodge in the exact point.
That drawing out to the end means every one unfolding his own idea; hence, with the mind even-balanced and the body correctly poised, (the archer) holds his bow and arrow skilfully and firmly.
When he so holds them, he will hit the mark.
Hence it is said, 'The father (shoots) at the father-mark; the son, at the son-mark; the ruler, at the ruler-mark; the subject, at the subject-mark.' Thus the archer shoots at the mark of his (ideal) self; and so the Great archery of the son of Heaven is called shooting at (the mark of) the feudal prince. 'Shooting at the mark of the feudal prince' was shooting to prove himself a prince.
He who hit the mark was permitted to be, that is, retain his rank as) a prince; he who did not hit the mark was not permitted to retain his rank as a prince.
故射者各射己之鵠。
To shoot means to draw out to the end, and some say to lodge in the exact point.
That drawing out to the end means every one unfolding his own idea; hence, with the mind even-balanced and the body correctly poised, (the archer) holds his bow and arrow skilfully and firmly.
When he so holds them, he will hit the mark.
Hence it is said, 'The father (shoots) at the father-mark; the son, at the son-mark; the ruler, at the ruler-mark; the subject, at the subject-mark.' Thus the archer shoots at the mark of his (ideal) self; and so the Great archery of the son of Heaven is called shooting at (the mark of) the feudal prince. 'Shooting at the mark of the feudal prince' was shooting to prove himself a prince.
He who hit the mark was permitted to be, that is, retain his rank as) a prince; he who did not hit the mark was not permitted to retain his rank as a prince.
故天子之大射謂之射侯；射侯者，射為諸侯也。
To shoot means to draw out to the end, and some say to lodge in the exact point.
That drawing out to the end means every one unfolding his own idea; hence, with the mind even-balanced and the body correctly poised, (the archer) holds his bow and arrow skilfully and firmly.
When he so holds them, he will hit the mark.
Hence it is said, 'The father (shoots) at the father-mark; the son, at the son-mark; the ruler, at the ruler-mark; the subject, at the subject-mark.' Thus the archer shoots at the mark of his (ideal) self; and so the Great archery of the son of Heaven is called shooting at (the mark of) the feudal prince. 'Shooting at the mark of the feudal prince' was shooting to prove himself a prince.
He who hit the mark was permitted to be, that is, retain his rank as) a prince; he who did not hit the mark was not permitted to retain his rank as a prince.
射中則得為諸侯；射不中則不得為諸侯。
To shoot means to draw out to the end, and some say to lodge in the exact point.
That drawing out to the end means every one unfolding his own idea; hence, with the mind even-balanced and the body correctly poised, (the archer) holds his bow and arrow skilfully and firmly.
When he so holds them, he will hit the mark.
Hence it is said, 'The father (shoots) at the father-mark; the son, at the son-mark; the ruler, at the ruler-mark; the subject, at the subject-mark.' Thus the archer shoots at the mark of his (ideal) self; and so the Great archery of the son of Heaven is called shooting at (the mark of) the feudal prince. 'Shooting at the mark of the feudal prince' was shooting to prove himself a prince.
He who hit the mark was permitted to be, that is, retain his rank as) a prince; he who did not hit the mark was not permitted to retain his rank as a prince.
別子為祖，繼別為宗，繼禰者為小宗。
When a son other than (the eldest) became the ancestor (of a branch of the same line), his successor was its Honoured Head, and he who followed him (in the line) was its smaller Honoured Head.
After five generations there was a change again of the Honoured Head; but all in continuation of the High Ancestor.
Hence the removal of the ancestor took place high up (in the line), and the change of the Honoured Head low down (in it).
Because they honoured the ancestor, they reverenced the Honoured Head; their reverencing the Honoured Head was the way in which they expressed the honour which they paid to the ancestor and his immediate successor.
有五世而遷之宗，其繼高祖者也。
When a son other than (the eldest) became the ancestor (of a branch of the same line), his successor was its Honoured Head, and he who followed him (in the line) was its smaller Honoured Head.
After five generations there was a change again of the Honoured Head; but all in continuation of the High Ancestor.
Hence the removal of the ancestor took place high up (in the line), and the change of the Honoured Head low down (in it).
Because they honoured the ancestor, they reverenced the Honoured Head; their reverencing the Honoured Head was the way in which they expressed the honour which they paid to the ancestor and his immediate successor.
是故，祖遷於上，宗易於下。
When a son other than (the eldest) became the ancestor (of a branch of the same line), his successor was its Honoured Head, and he who followed him (in the line) was its smaller Honoured Head.
After five generations there was a change again of the Honoured Head; but all in continuation of the High Ancestor.
Hence the removal of the ancestor took place high up (in the line), and the change of the Honoured Head low down (in it).
Because they honoured the ancestor, they reverenced the Honoured Head; their reverencing the Honoured Head was the way in which they expressed the honour which they paid to the ancestor and his immediate successor.
尊祖故敬宗，敬宗所以尊祖禰也。
When a son other than (the eldest) became the ancestor (of a branch of the same line), his successor was its Honoured Head, and he who followed him (in the line) was its smaller Honoured Head.
After five generations there was a change again of the Honoured Head; but all in continuation of the High Ancestor.
Hence the removal of the ancestor took place high up (in the line), and the change of the Honoured Head low down (in it).
Because they honoured the ancestor, they reverenced the Honoured Head; their reverencing the Honoured Head was the way in which they expressed the honour which they paid to the ancestor and his immediate successor.
《詩》云：「發彼有的，以祈爾爵。」祈，求也；求中以辭爵也。
It is said in the Book of Poetry (II, viii, ode 6, 1), '"Now shoot," he says, "and show your skill." The other answers, "Shoot I will, And hit the mark;--and when you miss, Pray you the penal cup to kiss."' 'To pray' is to ask.
The archer seeks to hit that he may decline the cup.
The liquor in the cup is designed (properly) to nourish the aged, or the sick.
When the archer seeks to hit that he may decline the cup, that is declining what should serve to nourish (those that need it).
Source: Chinese Text Project http://ctext.org/liji.
English translation "Sacred Books of the East, volume 28, part 4: The Li Ki", James Legge, 1885
酒者，所以養老也，所以養病也；求中以辭爵者，辭養也。
It is said in the Book of Poetry (II, viii, ode 6, 1), '"Now shoot," he says, "and show your skill." The other answers, "Shoot I will, And hit the mark;--and when you miss, Pray you the penal cup to kiss."' 'To pray' is to ask.
The archer seeks to hit that he may decline the cup.
The liquor in the cup is designed (properly) to nourish the aged, or the sick.
When the archer seeks to hit that he may decline the cup, that is declining what should serve to nourish (those that need it).
Source: Chinese Text Project http://ctext.org/liji.
English translation "Sacred Books of the East, volume 28, part 4: The Li Ki", James Legge, 1885
孔子曰：「少連、大連善居喪，三日不怠，三月不解，期悲哀，三年憂。
Confucius said, 'Shao-lian and Da-lian demeaned themselves skilfully during their mourning (for their parents).
During the (first) three days they were alert; for the (first) three months they manifested no weariness; for the (first) year they were full of grief; for the (whole) three years they were sorrowful. (And yet) they belonged to one of the rude tribes on the East'.
東夷之子也。」
Confucius said, 'Shao-lian and Da-lian demeaned themselves skilfully during their mourning (for their parents).
During the (first) three days they were alert; for the (first) three months they manifested no weariness; for the (first) year they were full of grief; for the (whole) three years they were sorrowful. (And yet) they belonged to one of the rude tribes on the East'.
儒有澡身而浴德，陳言而伏，靜而正之，上弗知也；粗而翹之，又不急為也；不臨深而為高，不加少而為多；世治不輕，世亂不沮；同弗與，異弗非也。
'The scholar keeps his person free from stain, and continually bathes (and refreshes) his virtue; he sets forth what he has to say (to his superior by way of admonition), but remains himself in the back-ground, trying thus quietly to correct him; if his superior do not acknowledge (his advice), he more proudly and clearly makes his views known, but still does not press them urgently; he does not go among those who are low to make himself out to be high, nor place himself among those who have little (wisdom) to make himself out to have much; in a time of good government, he does not think little (of what he himself can do); in a time of disorder, he does not allow his course to be obstructed; he does not (hastily) agree with those who think like himself, nor condemn those who think differently - so does he stand out alone among others and take his own solitary course.
其特立獨行有如此者。
'The scholar keeps his person free from stain, and continually bathes (and refreshes) his virtue; he sets forth what he has to say (to his superior by way of admonition), but remains himself in the back-ground, trying thus quietly to correct him; if his superior do not acknowledge (his advice), he more proudly and clearly makes his views known, but still does not press them urgently; he does not go among those who are low to make himself out to be high, nor place himself among those who have little (wisdom) to make himself out to have much; in a time of good government, he does not think little (of what he himself can do); in a time of disorder, he does not allow his course to be obstructed; he does not (hastily) agree with those who think like himself, nor condemn those who think differently - so does he stand out alone among others and take his own solitary course.