必無易吾意。
You must be sure to make no alteration in this wish of mine.” When Qi Hou83 heard of this, he came and admonished the son as follows: “I heard from somewhere that Wangsun left orders that he be put into the ground naked.
」祁侯聞之，往諫曰：「竊聞王孫令葬必倮而入地，必若所聞，愚以為不可。
If this is indeed the case, my humble opinion is that this will not do.
令死人無知則己矣；若死有知也，是戮尸於地下也。
將何以見先人？
If the dead are devoid of consciousness, then it would be all right; but, if the dead are still aware of things, then the corpse would suffer shame beneath the ground.
愚以為不可。
What could he use to meet his forebears with?
」王孫曰：「吾將以驕世也。
In my ignorant opinion, it cannot be done.” The son said, “I am soon going to hold the customs of the world in disdain. Rich, luxurious trappings in funerals, let us note, are of no benefit to the deceased, but people in this era nevertheless strive to outdo each other in this regard and exhaust their fortunes so that the dead may rot beneath the earth.
夫厚葬誠無益於死者，而世競以相高，靡財殫幣，而腐之於地下。
或乃今日入而明日出，此真與暴骸於中野何異？
Sometimes they may be put into the earth one day and appear outside it the next—how is this different from leaving their bones exposed on some wild field?
且夫死者，終生之化而物之歸者。
Death, moreover, is life’s final transformation and the homecoming that awaits all things.
歸者得至，而化者得變。
When those who return can reach their destination and those who are changing can achieve their transformation, this is the same as things returning to their true state.
是物各反其真。
其真冥冥，視之無形，聽之無聲，乃合道之情。
The truth of this is enveloped in obscurity; when you look, it is without form; when you listen, it is without sound; but it all accords with the Way.