三綱六紀

三綱者、何謂也?謂君臣、父子、夫婦也。六紀者，謂諸父、兄弟、族人、諸舅、 師長、朋友也。故 [《含文嘉》曰]: "君為臣綱，[父為子綱]，夫為妻綱。"又 曰:"敬諸父兄，六紀道行，諸舅有羲，族人有序，昆弟有親，師長有尊，朋友有 舊。" 何謂綱紀?綱者、張也，紀者、理也。大者為綱，小者為紀。所以(強)[張] 理上下、整齊人道也。人皆懷五常之性，有親愛之心，是以紀綱為化,若羅網之有 紀綱而萬目張也。《詩》云:"臺臺我王。綱紀四方。"

君臣、父子、夫婦，六人也。所以稱三綱何?一陰一陽謂之遣，陽得陰而成，陰得 陽而序，剛柔相配，故六人為三綱。

三綱法天、地、人，六紀法六合。君臣法天，取象日月屈信，歸功天也。父子法 地，取象五行轉相生也。夫婦法人，取象(六)[人]合障陽，有施化端也。六紀 [者]、為三綱之紀者也。師長、君臣之紀也，以其皆成己也。諸父、兄弟，父子之紀 也，以其有親恩連也。諸舅、朋友、夫婦之紀也，以其皆有同志為(紀) [己]助也。

君臣者、何謂也?君、群也，[群]下之所歸心[也]。臣者、繵堅也。屬志自 堅固[也]。《春秋傅》曰:" 君處此，臣請歸" 也。父子者、何謂也? 父者、矩也， 以法度教子[也]。子者、[孳也]，孳孳無已也。故《孝經》曰:"父有爭子，則身 不陷於不義。"夫婦者、何謂也?夫者、扶也，以道扶接也。婦者、服也，以禮屈服 [也]。《昏禮》曰:"夫親脫婦之纓。"《傳》曰:"夫婦判合也。"朋友者、何謂 也? 朋者、黨也，友者、有也。《禮記》曰:"同門日朋，同志曰友。"朋友之交，近 則謗其言，遠則不相訕。一人有善，其心好之:一人有惡，其心痛之; 貨則通而不計， 共憂患而相救，生不屬，死不託。故《論語》曰:"子路云:"願車馬、衣輕裘與朋友 共敝之。"又曰:"朋友無所歸，生於我乎[館]，死於我乎殯。"朋友之道，親存 不得行者二。不得許友以其身，不得專通財之恩。友飢，則白之於父兄，父兄許之，乃 稱父兄與之，不聽即止。故曰:友飢為之減餐。大寒為之不重裘。故《論語》曰: "有父兄在，如之何其聞斯行之"也。

男稱兄弟，女稱姊妹何?男女異姓，故別其稱也。何以言之?《禮親屬記》曰: "男子先生稱兄，後生稱弟。女子先生為姊，後生為妹。"父之昆弟，不俱謂之世、 叔，父之女昆弟，俱謂之姑，何也?以為諸父曰內親也，故別稱之也。姑當外適 人,踈,故揔言之也。至姊妹亦當外適人，所以別諸姊妹何?以為事諸姑禮等，可以外 出又同，故稱略也。至姊妹雖欲有略之，姊尊妹卑，其禮異也。《詩》云:"問我諸 姑，遂及伯姊。" 謂之舅姑[者]何?舅者、舊也，姑者、故也。舊故之者、老人之 稱也。謂之姊妹何? 姊者、恣也，妹者、末也。謂之兄弟何? 兄者、況也，況父法 也。弟者、悌也，心順行篤也。稱夫之父母謂之舅姑何? 尊如父而非父者，舅也。親如 母而非母者，姑也。故稱夫之父母為舅姑也。

XXIX. The Three Major and the Six Minor Relationships

189---General Remarks (III B. 6a-b).

a.What are the Three Major Relationships? ¹ They are [the relation between] Lord and subject, [the relation between] father and son, and [the relation between] husband and wife. The Six Minor Relationships ² are [the relation with] father's brothers, [with] elder and younger brothers, [with] one's kinsmen, [with] mother's brothers, [with] teachers and elders, and [with] friends. Therefore the Han wên chia says: "The [relation the] Lord has with the subject [belongs to] the Major Relationships, so do [the relation] the father has with his son, and [the relation] the husband has with his wife". It also says: "Pay reverence to thy father's elder brothers, and when the way of the Six Minor Relationships has been put into practise mother's brothers will observe [the rules attached to] their [different] status, kinsmen will observe [the rules of] precedence, elder and younger brothers will observe [the rules of] affection, teachers and elders will enjoy [their right to] rever- ence, and friends will enjoy [the benefit of] intimacy". b.What do kang 'Major Relationship' and chi 'Minor Relationship' mean? Kang means chang 'to spread out'; chi means li 'to regulate' ³. The greater [relationships] form the kang, the lesser the chi; thereby [the positions of] superior and inferior are spread out and regulated, and the way of man is adjusted and ordered. c.All men harbour the instinct for the Five Constant [Virtues], and possess the disposition to love; they are developed by [the rules for] the Major and the Minor Relationships, as a net which has small and large net-ropes ⁴ spreads out its ten thousand meshes. The Shih says: "Very zealous was King Wên, [he promulgated the rules for] the Major and the Minor Relationships to the four quarters" ⁵.

190---The Meaning of San-Kang (III B. 6b).

Why is it that, though Lord and subject, father and son, husband and wife, make six people, we speak of the Three Major Relationships? "The alternation of the yin and the yang is called the Way" ⁶; the yang completes itself by the yin, the yin adapts itself to the yang, the hard and the soft supplement each other. Therefore the six people make up the Three Major Relationships ⁷.

191---What the Relationships Model Themselves On (III B. 6b).

a.The Three Major Relationships model themselves on Heaven, Earth, and Man. The Six Minor Relationships model themselves on the Six Cardinal Points ⁸. b.[The relation between] Lord and subject models itself on Heaven, and represents the coming and going of the sun and the moon ⁹, due to the workings of Heaven. c.[The relation between] father and son models itself on Earth, and represents the Five Elements begetting one another. d.[The relation between] husband and wife models itself on Man, and represents the unison of the yin and the yang in man, by which he possesses the faculty of propagation.

192---The Meaning of Liu-Chi (III B. 6b).

a.The Six Minor Relationships represent the minor counterparts of the Three Major Relationships. b.[The relation with] the teacher and the elder is the minor counterpart of [the relation between] Lord and subject. They both serve to perfect one's own person. c.[The relation with] father's brothers and elder and younger brothers is the minor counterpart of [the relation between] father and son. They are connected with [bonds of] love and affection. d.[The relation with] mother's brothers and friends is the minor counterpart of [the relation between] husband and wife. They all have the same intentions as to the helping of one's [kindred].

193---The Meaning of the Different Names in the System of Relationships (III B. 7a-8b).

a.What do chün 'Lord' and ch'ên 'subject' mean? Chün means ch'ün 'to gather' ¹⁰; [the Lord] gathers the feelings of the subjects who turn towards him. Ch'ên means chien 'solid' ¹¹; [the subject] strengthens his will to make himself solid and firm. The Ch'un ch'iu chuan says: "If [you, my] Lord, wish to stay here, [I, your] subject, beg leave to return" ¹². b.What do fu 'father' and tzŭ 'son' mean? Fu means chü 'a square' ¹³; the father teaches his son the rules and measures. Tzŭ means tzŭ 'to engender'; to engender without end ¹⁴. Therefore the Hsiao ching says: "If a father has a son who dares to admonish him he will not be endangered into performing unprincipled deeds" ¹⁵. c.What do fu 'husband' and fu 'wife' mean? Fu 'husband' means fu 'support' ¹⁶; [the husband] provides the support by means of the Way. Fu 'wife' means fu 'to submit' ¹⁷. [the wife] humbly submits according to the rites. The Hun li says: "The [new] husband with his own hands removes his wife's tassel" ¹⁸. The Chuan says: "Husband and wife, [though] divided, form one [body]" ¹⁹. d.What does p'êng-yu 'friends' mean? P'êng means tang 'associate'; yu means yu 'to have' ²⁰. The Li chi says: "One of the same school is called a p'êng; one of the same intention is called a yu" ²¹. The association of friends [implies that] in each other's company they correct each other's words, and when they are separated they abstain from criticizing one another. When the one behaves well the other rejoices with him, when he behaves ill he grieves for him. Their property ²² they share without reckoning. They share each other's distress and sorrow, mutually giving assistance. In life they do not hang on one another, at their death they do not burden one another. Therefore the Lun yü says: "Tzŭ-lu said: I should like carriage and horses, and light fur dresses to wear them out with my friends" ²³. It also says: "If a friend has no [relations] to fall back on I shall provide for his home when he is alive, and for his burial when he dies" ²⁴. e.The way of friendship [is this]: When the parents are alive two things may not be done: one must not allow his friend to sacrifice his life [for one]; one must not accept the favour of sharing one's [friend's] riches without [his parents'] consent. f.If his friend suffers from hunger he must inform his father and elder brother; if the latter are willing [to listen] he must relate [the story]; if they are not he stops. Therefore there is the saying: "If thy friend hungers ration thy food for his sake; if he shivers do not wear double fur for his sake". And therefore the Lun yü says: "If there are still father and elder brother, why shouldst thou act [of thy own accord] after hearing [about thy friend's condition]?" ²⁵ g.Why is it that with respect to males we speak of hsiung-ti²⁶ 'brothers', and with respect to females of tzŭ-mei²⁷ 'sisters'? [These] males and females will have different surnames, therefore their denominations should be differentiated ²⁸. Why is it [thus] stated? The Li ch'in shu chi says: "The first-born male is called hsiung, the later-born is called ti; the first-born female is called tzŭ, the later-born is called mei" ²⁹. h.Why is it that the father's brothers are not all [generically] called shih-fu, whereas the father's sisters are all [generically] called ku³⁰? Because the father's brothers are said [to belong to] the inner affinal relatives, and therefore should have different de- nominations, whereas the sisters [belong to the category of those who] detach themselves by marrying out, so that there is one generic name for them. i.Why is it that sisters, though [belonging to those who] marry out, are distinguished by [the words] tzŭ and mei? The rites for serving the father's sisters are alike, while their marrying out ³¹ is the same, therefore their denomination is a generic one. As to sisters [,however], though it were desirable to denominate ³² them generically, [the position of] the elder sister is superior to [that of] the younger, and they observe different rites. The Shih says: "I will ask my father's sisters and also my elder sister" ³³. j.Why [are parents-in-law] called chiu-ku? Chiu 'husband's father' means chiu 'old' ³⁴; ku 'husband's mother' means ku 'aged' 姑, 故 ³⁵; chiu-ku is the term for elderly people. k.Why [are sisters] called tzŭ-mei. Tzŭ 'elder sister' means tzŭ³⁶ 'to consult'; mei 'younger sister' means mo³⁷ 'accessory'. l.Why [are brothers] called hsiung-ti? Hsiung 'elder brother' means huang³⁸ 'to increase'; to increase the father's laws. Ti 'younger brother' means t'i³⁹ 'fraternal love'; [the younger brother is] obedient in his heart and reverent in his conduct. m.Why are the husband's parents called chiu-ku? [A man is called] chiu who, though not being the father, is revered as a father. [A woman is called] ku who, though not being the mother, is loved as a mother. Therefore the husband's parents are called chiu-ku.