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XLI. Knee-Covers and Caps

268---The Knee-Cover (IV B. 1a-b).

a.What does fu 'knee-cover' mean? Fu means pi 'to cover' ¹; to cover the front [part of the legs] when walking. It is used on [special] occasions to distinguish between the high and the lowly, and to signal out those who have spiritual power. b.The Son of Heaven wears vermillion knee-covers, the Feudal Lords red ones. The Shih says: "His vermillion knee-covers [will be] brilliant, [he will be] the ruler of a Hereditary House" ². Further it says: "There are red knee-covers and gold-adorned slippers; the meeting [of the Lords] is grand" ³. Again: "There are red knee-covers over their upper-legs" ⁴. This was all said of the Feudal Lords. The Shu speaks of "Embroidered clothes and light vermillion knee-covers" ⁵, which was also said of the Feudal Lords. Altogether they made visible the design of their garments, so that they could be distinguished from a distance. What is called 'light vermillion' is the same as 'red' ⁶. c.Great officers wear green stone-pendants [with their knee-covers], so that they can be distinguished from the Lords. [Thus] a great officer of the Son of Heaven wears red knee-covers with green stone-pendants ⁷. Common officers wear leather knee-covers dyed [red] ⁸. d.Vermillion and red are the fullest colours. Therefore the Sages, patterning themselves on them, used them for the knee-covers in their dress, which was not to be changed in a hundred Dynasties ⁹. e.The knee-cover is made of hide because [the meaning is] to revert to antiquity, so as not to forget the origin. f.Above it has a width of one foot, below of two feet, modelling. itself on Heaven ['s number, which is] one, and on Earth ['s number, which is] two. Its length is three feet, modelling itself on Heaven, Earth, and Man ¹⁰.

269---General Remarks on the Capping Ceremony (IV B. 1b-2a).

a.Why [does a man] wear a 'cap' kuan? Kuan means chüan 'to gather' ¹¹. [With the cap] the hair is gathered and secured. b.Man harbours the Five Constant [Virtues], and there is none who does not esteem spiritual power. It means that for the perfection of his rites there should be ornaments and embellishments. Therefore the cap is instituted to adorn the head, so as to distinguish [the former youth] as an adult man. The Shih kuan ching says: "He receives his cap and style that his personal name [may from now on] be respected" ¹². The Lun yü says: "Five or six capped young men, and six or seven youths" ¹³. c.Why is it that according to the rites [a boy may be] capped when he is nineteen, and when there happens to be an 'auspicious moment' chien-cheng¹⁴? He is a man who is nearing his twentieth year ¹⁵. d.A male belongs to the yang [,but] completes [his manhood] in [the number of] the yin ¹⁶. Therefore he is capped at twenty. The ch'ü li says: "At twenty [a man is called] jo 'young'; he is then capped" ¹⁷. e.Since the expression chien-cheng is used, how do we know that cheng-yüeh 'the first month of the year' is not meant? Because the Li shih kuan ching says: "[When the capping ceremony takes place in summer] the boy wears hempen shoes, when in winter [he wears] shoes of leather" ¹⁸. It means [that the capping does] not always [take place] in the first month of the seasonal year.

270---The Cap of Deer-Skin (IV B. 2a).

a.What does p'i-pien¹⁹ 'cap of deer-skin' mean? It is the name of the plainest cap, by means of which one models oneself on antiquity. b.Pien means p'an²⁰ 'to secure'. With [the deer-skin cap] the hair is secured. The time of the highest antiquity was primitive, and the skin [of beasts] was at first used as clothes. [For the cap of skin] the deer-skin was used because of its ornamentation ²¹. The Li says: "All the Three Dynasties [Hsia, Yin, and Chou] used the cap of deer-skin and the 'white silk nether-garments gathered at the waist' su-chi" ²². Su-chi means that the silk is 'gathered' chi to serve as nether-garments, that is, it is gathered at the waist. [It represents] the plainest dress which should never be changed: a reverting to antiquity, so as not to forget the origin. It is worn both at war and during the hunt ²³.

271---The Designs of the Caps (IV B. 2b-3a).

a.What is the ma-mien²⁴ 'hempen cap'? It is the cap [worn] in the ancestral temple under the Chou. The Li says: "The Chou used the mien [cap] at the sacrifice [in the ancestral temple]" ²⁵. It further says: "The Yin used the hsü [cap], the Hsia the shou [cap] at the sacrifice" ²⁶. These were the caps [worn] in the an- cestral temple during [each of] the Three Dynasties. b.In the eleventh month the yang-fluid inclines and tilts up its head, under the Yellow Sources the ten thousand things are being urged [to unfold, and they are tilted up] like a mien [cap], up in front and down at the back. Therefore [the cap is] called mien²⁷. c.The name hsü²⁸ means that in the twelfth month the yang-fluid ²⁹ takes its turn; it 'expands' hsü-chang³⁰ in order afterwards to attain [its strength to make the ten thousand things] sprout out. Therefore [the cap is] called hsü³¹. d.The name shou means that in the thirteenth month the yang-fluid 'gathers' shou³² its original [strength], and revivifies the ten thousand things, pushing them out. Therefore [the cap is] called shou³³. e.The inclining and the tilting-up [of the yang] are not the same; therefore the front and the back [of the mien cap] form an irregularity; in the period [of the eleventh month] the things also [show irregularities ³⁴; the yang] expands; therefore [the hsü cap] greatly 'sprouts out' mêng 萌 ³⁵; in the period [of the twelfth month] the things also obtain large 'sprouts' mêng-ya³⁶. [The yang] gathers and drives out; therefore [the shou cap] gathers together ³⁷ at the front and is large at the back; in the period [of the thirteenth month] the things also first gather together [in order to produce their later fruits] ³⁸. f.The mien [cap] is made of hemp because [hemp] represents the first of woman's handicrafts. It indicates that one should not forget the origin. If this be so, why is not skin used? Skin is the apparel used in the highest antiquity when rites and refinement were still lacking. Therefore the Lun yü says: "[The wearing of] the hempen cap is according to the rites" ³⁹. The Shang shu says: "The King put on his hempen cap" ⁴⁰. g.Why is it that with the mien [cap] from the front and from the back long pendants are suspended from the rectangular level on top ⁴¹? It indicates the promotion of the worthy and the rejection of the unable. The hanging beads mean that [the wearer] closes his eyes to perversities and shuts his ears [to calumnies]; it indicates that he does not listen to vilifications ⁴². Therefore: if water is [too] clear it will have no fish, if man is [too] critical, he will have no company ⁴³. It means that [the superior] should not value an over-exact knowledge of the inferior. Therefore the Li says: "The Son of Heaven wears twelve long pendants of beads of jade hanging down from the rectangular level on top before and behind" ⁴⁴. The Li ch'i says: "The Son of Heaven wears a hempen cap with twelve pendants of vermillion and green beads of jade, modelling himself on the four seasons and the twelve months; the Feudal Lords have nine, the great officers seven pendants; the common officers wear a chüeh-pien without pendants" ⁴⁵.

272---The Wei-Mao, The Mou-Tui, and the Chang-Fu (IV B. 3a-b).

a.What is the wei-mao? It is the name of the cap worn in the Chou court when regulating the affairs of state and putting in practise the spiritual power [which proceeds] from the Way. The Shih kuan ching says: "The wei-mao was in use with the Chou, the chang-fu with the Yin, the mou-tui with the Hsia" ⁴⁶. b.Why [is the cap of the Chou] called wei-mao? The Chou took for the regulation [of the year] the eleventh month as the beginning. The ten thousand things [then] begin to form small buds. Therefore for the cap-ornament the smallest [shape is taken], which is for that reason called wei-mao. Wei-mao means having the shape of something 'small and petty' wei-ch'ü⁴⁷. c.The Yin took for the regulation [of the year] the twelfth month as the beginning. The ornament [of the Yin cap] is a little larger; therefore it is called chang-fu. Chang-fu means not yet having fully reached the standard of the origin. d.The Hsia took for the regulation [of the year] the thirteenth month as the beginning. The ornament [of the Hsia cap] is the largest, therefore it is called mou-tui. Mou-tui means that its size is large ⁴⁸.

273---The Chuen-Pien (IV B. 3b).

a.What does chüeh-pien mean? [It means that] the colour [of the cap] is like that of the head of the [bird] chüeh⁴⁹. It is the cap worn in the Chou by the common officer [when he assisted] in the ancestral temple. The Li chiao t'ê shêng says: "Under the Chou [the cap was called] pien" ⁵⁰. The Shih kuan ching says: "Under the Chou [the cap was called] pien; under the Yin hsü; under the Hsia shou" ⁵¹. b.How do we know that chüeh denotes the colour? Because sometimes [the cap is] called chüeh-pien, sometimes only pien. Why is the colour of the cap under the Chou [the colour of the bird] chüeh? Because the Chou honoured [the colour] red. Why is it not plain red, but [the colour of] the head of the chüeh [bird]? Because originally the design of the caps modelled itself on Heaven, whose colour is black; [it was desirable that] its substantial nature should not be neglected. Therefore the Chou added red [to the black colour of Heaven], the Yin added white [to it], whereas the colour of the cap under the Hsia was plain black. How do we know that the Yin added white? As the Chou [,honouring the colour red,] had added red so we know that the Yin [,honouring the colour white,] added white ⁵². c.Why is it that before ⁵³ the Hsia and the Yin the [cotton] caps of the common officer were indifferently [used for all occasions]? It is because [the custom in the highest] antiquity was primitive. We know it from the Shih kuan li⁵⁴.

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