禮記/礼器

The courses of the heavenly (bodies) supply the most perfect lessons, and the sages possessed the highest degree of virtue. Above, in the hall of the ancestral temple, there was the jar, with clouds and hills represented on it on the east, and that with the victim represented on it on the west. Below the hall the larger drums were suspended on the west, and the smaller drums answering to them on the east. The ruler appeared at the (top of the) steps on the east; his wife was in the apartment on the west. The great luminary makes his appearance in the east; the moon makes her appearance in the west. Such are the different ways in which the processes of darkness and light are distributed in nature, and such are the arrangements for the positions (corresponding thereto) of husband and wife. The ruler fills his cup from the jar with an elephant represented on it; his wife fills hers from that with clouds and hills. With such reciprocation do the ceremonies proceed above, while the music responds in the same way below - there is the perfection of harmony.

A superior man in his observance of the rules, where he does his utmost and uses the greatest care, is extreme in his reverence and the manifestation of sincerity. Where they excite admiration and an elegant attractiveness, there is (still) that manifestation of sincerity. A superior man, in his consideration of the rules, finds those which are carried directly into practice; those in which one has to bend and make some modification; those which are regular and the same for all classes; those which are diminished in a certain order; those in which (a kind of) transplantation takes place, and (the ceremony) is distributed; those in which individuals are pushed forward and take part in the rules of a higher grade; those in which there are ornamental imitations (of natural objects); those in which the ornamental imitations are not carried out so fully; and those where appropriation (of higher observances) is not deemed usurpation.

Was not the great quinquennial sacrifice a service belonging to the king? The three animal victims, the fish, and flesh, were the richest tributes for the palate from all within the four seas and the nine provinces. The fruits and grain presented in the high dishes of wood and bamboo were the product of the harmonious influences of the four seasons, The tribute of metal showed the harmonious submission (of the princes). The rolls of silk with the round pieces of jade placed on them showed the honour they rendered to virtue. The tortoise was placed in front of all the other offerings, because of its knowledge of the future; the tribute of metal succeeded to it, showing the (hold it has on) human feelings. The vermilion, the varnish, the silk, the floss, the large bamboos and the smaller for arrows - the articles which all the states contribute; with the other uncommon articles, which each state contributed according to its resources, even to those from the remote regions - (these followed the former). When the Visitors left they were escorted with the music of the Si Xia. All these things showed how important was the sacrifice.

Under the Zhou dynasty the representatives of the dead sat. Their monitors and cup-suppliers observed no regular rules, The usages were the same (as those of Yin), and the underlying principle was one. Under the Xia dynasty, the personators had stood till the sacrifice was ended, (whereas) under Yin they sat. Under Zhou, when the cup went round among all, there were six personators'. Zeng-zi said, 'The usages of Zhou might be compared to those of a subscription club.'

In others, greatness of size formed the mark. The dimensions of palaces and apartments; the measurements of dishes and (other) articles; the thickness of the inner and outer coffins; the greatness of eminences and mounds - these were cases in which the greatness of size was the mark.

In others, the lowness formed the mark. In sacrificing, the highest reverence was not shown on the raised altar, but on the ground beneath, which, had been swept. The vases of the son of Heaven and the princes were set on a tray without feet; those of Great and other officers on one with feet (3 inches high). In these cases the lowness was the mark of distinction.

The ancient sages (thus) gave honour to what was internal, and sought pleasure in what was external; found a mark of distinction in paucity, and one of what was admirable in multitude; and therefore in the ceremonial usages instituted by the ancient kings we should look neither for multitude nor for paucity, but for the due relative proportion. Therefore, when a man of rank uses a large victim in sacrifice, we say he acts according to propriety, but when an ordinary officer does so, we say be commits an act of usurpation. Guan Zhong had his sacrificial dishes of grain carved, and red bands to his cap; fashioned hills on the capitals of his pillars, and pondweed on the small pillars above the beams - the superior man considered it wild extravagance. Yan Ping-zhong, in sacrificing to his father, used a sucking-pig which did not fill the dish, and went to court in an (old) washed robe and cap - the superior man considered it was niggardliness. Therefore the superior man thinks it necessary to use the utmost care in his practice of ceremonies. They are the bond that holds the multitudes together; and if the bond be removed, those multitude's fall into confusion. Confucius said, 'If I fight, I overcome; when I sacrifice, I receive blessing.' He said so, because he had the right way (of doing everything).

When Zi-lu was steward to the House of Ji, its chief had been accustomed to commence his sacrifices before it was light, and when the day was insufficient for them, to continue them by torchlight. All engaged in them, however strong they might appear, and however reverent they might be, were worn out and tired. The officers limped and leaned, wherever they could, in performing their parts, and the want of reverence was great. Afterwards, when Zi-lu took the direction of them, the sacrifices proceeded differently. For the services in the chamber, he had parties communicating outside and inside the door; and for those in the hall, he had parties communicating at the steps. As soon as it was light, the services began, and by the time of the evening audience all were ready to retire. When Confucius heard of this management, he said, 'Who will say that this You does not understand ceremonies?' 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

The usages of the three dynasties had one and the same object, and the people all observed them. In such matters as colour, whether it should be white or dark, Xia instituted and Yin adopted (its choice, or did not do so).

The rules of propriety may be compared to the human body. When the parts of one's body are not complete, the beholder' will call him 'An imperfect man;' and so a rule which has been made unsuitably may be denominated 'incomplete.' Some ceremonies are great, and some small; some are manifest, and some minute. The great should not be diminished, nor the small increased. The manifest should not be hidden, nor the minute made great. But while the important rules are 300, and the smaller rules 3000, the result to which they all lead is one and the same. No one can enter an apartment but by the door.

The superior man will say, 'If a man do not have in himself the distinctions (embodied in ceremonies), he will contemplate that embodiment without any intelligent discrimination; if he wish to exercise that discrimination, and not follow the guidance of the rules, he will not succeed in his object. Hence if his practice of ceremonies be not according to the rules, men will not respect them; and if his words be not according to those rules, men will not believe them. Accordingly it is said, "The rules of ceremony are the highest expression of (the truth of) things."'

It is the object of ceremonies to go back to the circumstances from which they sprang, and of music to express pleasure in the results which first gave occasion to it. Thus it was that the ancient kings, in their institution of ceremonies, sought to express their regulation of circumstances, and, in their cultivation of music, to express the aims they had in mind. Hence by an examination of their ceremonies and music, the conditions of order and disorder in which they originated can be known. Qu Bo-Yu said, 'A wise man, by his intelligence, from the sight of any article, knows the skill of the artificer, and from the contemplation of an action knows the wisdom of its performer.' Hence there is the saying, 'The superior man watches over the manner in which he maintains his intercourse with other men.'

A superior man will say, 'The usages of ceremony that come closest to our human feelings are not those of the highest sacrifices; (as may be seen in) the blood of the border sacrifice; the raw flesh in the great offering (to all the royal ancestors) of the ancestral temple; the sodden flesh, where the spirits are presented thrice; and the roast meat, where they are presented once.'

In others, plainness formed the mark. Acts of the greatest reverence admit of no ornament. The relatives of a father do not put themselves into postures (like other visitors). The Grand jade-token has no engraving on it. The Grand soup has no condiments. The Grand carriage is plain, and the mats in it are of rushes. The goblet with the victim-ox carved on it is covered with a plain white cloth. The ladle is made of white-veined wood. These are cases in which plainness is the mark.

But that in (the instituting of) rites the paucity of things was (also) considered a mark of distinction, arose from the minds (of the framers) being directed inwards. Extreme as is the energy (of nature) in production, it is exquisite and minute. When we look at all the things under the sky, they do not seem to be in proportion to that energy, In such a case, how could they keep from considering paucity a mark of distinction? Hence the superior men, (the framers), watched carefully over the solitude (of their own thoughts).

In ceremonial usages we should go back to the root of them (in the mind), and maintain the old (arrangements of them), not forgetting what they were at first. Hence there is no (need to be) calling attention to the demonstrations expressive of grief; and those which (more particularly) belong to the court are accompanied by music. There is the use of sweet spirits, and the value set on water; there is the use of the (ordinary) knife, and the honour expressed by that furnished with (small) bells; there is the comfort afforded by the rush and fine bamboo mats, and the (special) employment of those which are made of straw. Therefore the ancient kings in their institution of the rules of propriety had a ruling idea, and thus it is that they were capable of being transmitted, and might be learned, however many they were.

In others, smallness of size formed the mark. At the sacrifices of the ancestral temple, the highest in rank presented a cup (of spirits to the representative of the dead), and the low, a san (containing five times as much): (at some other sacrifices), the honourable took a zhi (containing 3 cups), and the low a horn (containing 4). (At the feasts of viscounts and barons), when the vase went round 5 times, outside the door was the earthenware fou (of supply), and inside, the hu; while the ruler's vase was an earthenware wu - these were cases in which the smallness of size was the mark of distinction.

In the sacrifice to God in the suburb, we have the utmost expression of reverence. In the sacrifices of the ancestral temple, we have the utmost expression of humanity. In the rites of mourning, we have the utmost expression of leal-heartedness. In the preparation of the robes and vessels for the dead, we have the utmost expression of affection. In the use of gifts and offerings between host and guest, we have the utmost expression of what is right. Therefore when the superior man would see the ways of humanity and righteousness, he finds them rooted in these ceremonial usages.

A superior man will say, 'The object in sacrifices is not to pray; the time of them should not be hastened on; a great apparatus is not required at them; ornamental matters are not to be approved; the victims need not be fat and large; a profusion of the other offerings is not to be admired.' Confucius said, 'How can it be said that Zang Wen-zhong was acquainted with the rules of propriety? When Xia Fu-Qi went right in the teeth of sacrificial order, he did not stop him, (nor could he prevent) his burning a pile of firewood in sacrificing to the spirit of the furnace. Now that sacrifice is paid to an old wife. The materials for it might be contained in a tub, and the vase is the (common) wine-jar.'

The rules as instituted by the ancient kings had their radical element and their outward and elegant form. A true heart and good faith are their radical element. The characteristics of each according to the idea of what is right in it are its outward and elegant form: Without the radical element, they could not have been established; without the elegant form, they could not have been put in practice.

In some ceremonial usages the multitude of things formed the mark of distinction, The son of Heaven had 7 shrines in his ancestral temple; the prince of a state, 5; Great officers, 3; and other officers, 1. The dishes of the son of Heaven on stands were 26; of a duke, 16; of another prince, 12; of a Great officer of the upper class, 8; of one of the lower class, 6, To a prince there were given 7 attendants and 7 oxen; and to a Great officer, 5 of each, The son of Heaven sat on 5 mats placed over one another; a prince, on 3; and a Great officer, on 2. When the son of Heaven died, he was buried after 7 months, in a fivefold coffin, with 8 plumes; a prince was buried after 5 months, in a threefold coffin, with 6 plumes; a Great officer after 3 months, in a twofold coffin, with 4 Plumes. In these cases, the multitude of things was the mark of distinction.

In others, ornament formed the mark. The son of Heaven wore his upper robe with the dragons figured on it; princes, the lower robe with the axes' embroidered on it; Great officers, their lower robe with the symbol of distinction; and other officers, the dark-coloured upper robe, and the lower one red. The cap of the son of Heaven had 12 pendents of jade beads set on strings hanging-down of red and green silk; that of princes, 9; that of Great officers of the highest grade, 7; and if they were of the lowest grade, 5; and that of other officers, 3 - in these cases the ornament was the mark of distinction.

And so those usages were not devised by superior men in order to give expression to their feelings. There was a beginning of them from (the oldest times); as when (two princes) have an interview, there are seven attendants to wait on them and direct them. Without these the interview would be too plain and dull. They reach (the ancestral temple) after the visitor has thrice declined the welcome of the host, and the host has thrice tried to give precedence to the other. Without these courtesies the interview would be too hurried and abrupt. In the same way, when in Lu they were about to perform the service to God (in the suburb), they felt it necessary first to have a service in the college with its semicircular pool. When they were about in Jin to sacrifice to the He, they would first do so to the pool of Wu. When in Qi they were about to sacrifice to mount Tai, they would do so first in the forest of Pei. Moreover, the keeping the victims (for the altar of Heaven) for three months (in the stable); the abstinence (of the worshippers) for seven days; and the vigil of three days:-all showed the extreme degree of (preparatory) care (for the service). The ritual arrangements, further, of the reception (of guests) and communication between them and the host, and for assisting and guiding the steps of the (blind) musicians, showed the extreme degree of kindly (provision).

One offering of the cup showed the simplicity of the service; three offerings served to ornament it; five, to mark discriminating care; and seven, to show (the reverence for) the spirits.