<Previous Section>	Translation of Chapters I-XLIII TOC Preface to Volume I Preface to Volume II Introduction Appendices Translation of Chapters I-XLIII Fragments of Po Hu T'ung Bibliography Index		<Next Section>

XLII. Mourning Garments

274---The Mourning of the Feudal Lords for the Son of Heaven (IV B. 4a).

a. Why is it that the Feudal Lords wear the three years' mourning in unhemmed sackcloth for the Son of Heaven? "Under the wide Heaven there is no land which is not the King's, of all the guests on the earth there is none who is not the King's subject" ¹. The subject is towards his Lord as the son is towards his father, that is: [there is between them] the relation of the most exalted and the subject and son. The Sang fu ching says: "The Feudal Lords wear the three years' mourning in unhemmed sackcloth for the Son of Heaven" ².

b. The Son of Heaven for the Feudal Lords ..... ³.

c. Why do the Son of Heaven and the Feudal Lords cut off the one year's mourning? ⁴ It means that they love the Hundred Clans equally, and that they do not limit themselves to loving their relatives. Therefore the Li chung yung says: "The one year's mourning extends up to the great officers, the three years' mourning extends to the Son of Heaven" ⁵. The Minister and the great officer [obtain the right of] reducing the mourning period [for some of their relatives] to three months in order to honour their public position ⁶.

275---The Mourning of the Common People for Their Lord (IV B. 4a-b).

a. Why is it that according to the rites the 'common man who is officially employed' ⁷ wears the three months' mourning in 'hemmed sackcloth' ⁸ for the Lord of the state, and at the death of the King the common people in the capital mourn for three months? The people are lowly, whereas the King is exalted; therefore the favours [he bestows on them] are small, so that they can suffice with no more than three months [of mourning].

b. Since the Son of Heaven is buried seven months, and a Feudal Lord five months [after their deaths], the people [after the news of death] begin to weep and wear plain clothes. Three months before the funeral they put on the hemmed sackcloth, and after the prescribed months [of mourning], following the funeral of the Lord, they have accomplished their ritual [duties].

c. Since the rites do not affect the common man, why are mourning clothes devised for the people? The [meaning of the] rites not affecting the common man ⁹ is that there are [different] standards and regulations for the high and the lowly. [But] mourning garments are the outward expressions of the inner feelings, therefore they are devised for them [also].

276---The Order of Putting on Mourning Garments T(IV B. 4b).

Why is it that at the death of the King the subjects put on their mourning garments according to [a prescribed] order? The favours [of the King] have been great or small, extensive or limited; therefore the regulation [varies] from days to months. The T'an kung chi says: "The third day after the death of the Son of Heaven the 'officers of prayer' ¹⁰ as the first put on their mourning garments, on the fifth day the heads of the departments follow, on the seventh day the men and women in the King's domain follow, and in the course of three months all under Heaven have assumed their mourning garments" ¹¹.

277---The Meaning of the Three Years' Mourning (IV B. 4b-5a).

a. Why does the three years' mourning last twenty-five months? Because the people of antiquity were primitive, and, fearing the dead, "did not raise mounds neither planted trees [on their graves]; they had no fixed period for mourning" ¹², and, when they forgot ¹³, they [simply] discarded [their mourning clothes]. The Sages of later ages, in conformity with [the fact that] the ten thousand things [created] by Heaven and Earth [in one year] have their beginning and end, established for them institutions according to which [the mourning] expired after a term of one round year ¹⁴. [But] the father is the most exalted while the mother is the most beloved, therefore an 'extension' ¹⁵ [of the mourning period] is made, so that the filial son may exhaust his feelings of affection. As his affection and love are most profound the extension amounts to a redoubling. Therefore [his mourning period] lasts two terms of one year, that is twenty-five months ¹⁶. The rites take [their norm] from [the number of] three. Therefore [this mourning is] called three years ['mourning] because [the period of twenty-five months] approaches the fluid of the third year ¹⁷. Therefore the Ch'un ch'iu chuan says: "The mourning term of three calendrical years is in reality twenty-five months" ¹⁸.

b. Why is it that in the three years' mourning period the intercalary month is not counted? Because of the use of the term chi 'round year'. Chi means covering the [full] time ¹⁹.

c. The mourning periods of nine months and less is counted by months, therefore the intercalary month is subtracted ²⁰. The Li shih yü ching says: "After one round year the Small Auspicious Sacrifice is performed, after two round years the Great Auspicious Sacrifice" ²¹.

278---Sackcloth and Hempen Fillets (IV B. 5a-b).

a. Why is it that for the mourning rites the wearing of sackcloth is prescribed? It is to bring it into accordance with one's feelings. Clothes are the adornments of one's emotions. Emotion and ap- pearance should match each other, the interior and the exterior should correspond with each other. Therefore the clothes are not alike for joy and for grief, the voice is not alike in singing and in wailing. [Each is] the expression of one's inner sincerity.

b. The coat and shirt of sackcloth, the hempen fillets, the bamboo hairpin, the hatstrings of cord, and the coarse staff are [all] indications of a reverting to the origin ²². The fillets indicate that there has been a disaster ²³, and used together [with the other things] they indicate that it is a case of death.

c. The waist-fillet replaces the large girdle with sashes. Why is it tied in a knot? [The son] thinks with reverential [affection of the deceased], and his feelings are such that they seem to be tied in a knot. Why must there be two knots? It means that the affection is never-ending.

279---The Staff (IV B. 5b).

a. Why must [the chief-mourner] carry a staff? The filial son, having lost his parent, was so afflicted with grief that during three days he could not eat but only weep; his body [consequently] became emaciated and ill. Therefore he carries a staff to support himself, meaning that he should not on behalf of the dead endanger his life.

b. According to the rites neither a young boy nor a wife are required to carry a staff because they cannot [bear the hardships of extreme] suffering ²⁴. The Li says: "He who wears the three years' mourning in unhemmed sackcloth does not take food for three days; he who wears the three years' mourning in hemmed sackcloth does not take food for two days; he who wears the nine month's mourning does not take food for one day; he who wears the five months' mourning or the three months' mourning does not take two meals in one day, such being a sufficient [abstinence]" ²⁵.

c. Why is the staff made of bamboo or of the [wood of the] t'ung [tree]? The names [of these plants] are taken [as symbols]. 'Bamboo' chu means ts'u 'to stamp the feet" ²⁶. T'ung means t'ung 'grieved' ²⁷.

d. Why is a staff of bamboo used for [the death of] the father, and a staff of the t'ung wood for [that of] the mother? Bamboo is yang, the t'ung [wood] is yin. Why is bamboo yang? A bamboo [-stem] is [simply] cut to be used [as a staff]; it is primitive and so represents the yang. [A branch of] the t'ung [tree] has its bark removed before it is used [as a staff]; it undergoes dressing by human skill, and so it is yin. Therefore the Li says: "The coarse staff is of bamboo, the staff without bark is of t'ung [wood]" ²⁸.

280---The Mourning Shed (IV B. 6a-b).

a. Why must [the mourner] occupy a mourning shed ²⁹? The filial son is so grieved that he does not wish to hear the voices of the people, neither does he wish to live in the dwelling where the disaster has taken place; [therefore] he takes up his abode outside the middle gate, building a hut by propping beams [against the wall. The structure should be] primitive, and [means] a reverting to antiquity. Why [is the hut] not placed outside the [outer] gate? To avoid unforeseen dangers. Therefore the Li chien chuan says: "During the mourning for his father or his mother [the son] dwells in the mourning shed" ³⁰. This shed is situated outside the middle gate, below the eastern wall, with an opening facing north ³¹. [After one year when he has adopted the cap of] bleached silk ³² he dwells in the unplastered chamber ³³, which is a room without any adornments.

b. It is further said: "The wife does not dwell in the mourning shed" ³⁴.

c. Again: "For the Son of Heaven the mourning garments are fully assumed seven days [after his death], for a Ducal Minister or a Feudal Lord five days, for a Minister or a great officer three days [after the death]" ³⁵.

d. [The mourner] dwells [in the mourning shed] inside the outer gate, having built the hut below the eastern wall. He sleeps on rough straw with a clod for his pillow, wailing unceasingly, and not taking off his head-fillet or girdle. After the yü [sacrifice] ³⁶ he sleeps on a mat, eats coarse food and drinks water, wailing only once in the morning and once in the evening. After he has assumed the cap of bleached silk he takes up his abode in the outer chamber, living in the unplastered room; he begins to enjoy [again] vegetables and fruit, and eats his ordinary dishes, while he wails unceasingly [whenever he thinks of the deceased] ³⁷. In the twenty-fifth month [after the death] the Great Auspicious Sacrifice is per- formed, he then drinks unfermented wine and eats dried meat ³⁸. In the twenty-seventh month the t'an [sacrifice] is performed, which may take place at the same time as the [seasonal] sacrifices in the ancestral temple; [then he] puts off the last vestiges of his mourning ³⁹.

281---Not to Speak During the Mourning Rites (IV B. 6b).

a. Why is it that according to the rites [the mourner does] not speak during his period of mourning? He thinks with reverential [affection of the deceased], and cherishes the deepest feelings of sorrow.

b. [This, however, means that during the time of mourning the mourner does] not use cultivated language in his speech, which applies to the common officers and the people. [He who can afford] not to speak [at all] while his affairs are completely attended to [by others] is the Lord of a state. The Ministers and great officers carrying their [mourning] staff [have to speak with and] see off their guests. Those whose possessions are few depend on their own strength: wearing a livid countenance they manage everything personally. For those who [can afford] not to speak [at all] their affairs are managed [by others]; so that they can wail and give the fullest expression to their feelings [of grief] ⁴⁰.

282---The Rites in Extraordinary Cases (IV B. 6b-7a).

a. Why is it that when the mourner is afflicted with sickness he is allowed to drink wine and eat meat? It is that he may support his life's strength, and so honour the body his ancestors have left to him. Therefore the ch'ü li says: "During the observance of the mourning rites, if [the mourner have] a scab on his head he should wash it; if he have a sore on his body he should bathe it; if he be ill he should drink wine and eat meat; if he be fifty he should not allow himself to be reduced [by his abstinence] very much; if he be sixty not at all. At seventy he will only wear the unhemmed dress of sackcloth, and will drink wine and eat meat" ⁴¹.

b. It further says: "When his father or mother is ill [a young man who has been capped] should not eat so much meat that his taste is changed, neither should he drink so much wine that his countenance is changed; he should not laugh so as to show his teeth nor be angry till he breaks forth in reviling; he should not touch his ch'in or sê [lutes]" ⁴².

c. The Tsêng tzŭ wên says: "When [a son is] wearing the three years' mourning, [even after one year when he has put on his cap of] bleached silk, he should not be standing in a company [of friends], neither should he go along in a crowd. The rites are the adornments of the sentiments; would it not be an empty form to condole and wail [with others] while wearing the three years' mourning?" ⁴³

d. The Li t'an kung says: "Tsêng-tzŭ, while wearing mourning for his mother, paid a visit of condolence at the death of Tzŭ-chang" ⁴⁴. Tzŭ-chang was his friend, and for a mourner, though wearing deep mourning, it is right to pay a visit of condolence [at the death of a friend].

e. The Tsêng tzŭ wên says: "[Tsêng-tzŭ asked:] If one wears the five months's mourning is he allowed to participate in sacrifices [for a deceased person]? Confucius said: It is according to the rites that those wearing mourning for three years in unhemmed sackcloth and less do so" ⁴⁵. This refers to the mourning sacrifices for the Lord.

f. Tzŭ-hsia asked: "Is it according to the rites if one does not seek to escape military service, after the wailing in the three years' mourning has come to an end? Confucius said: I heard Lao Tan say that Po-ch'in, the Duke of Lu, once engaged [in such a service] when there was occasion for it. [But] if now during a three years' mourning one follows one's advantage [by entering military service], I do not know [if I should allow it]" ⁴⁶.

283---The Wife does Not Cross the Boundaries For a Visit of Condolence (IV B. 7a).

The wife does not cross the boundaries [of the state of her husband] to pay a visit of condolence because she has no business outside [her home]. It is to avoid [the danger of] debauchery. The Li tsa chi says: "It is not according to the rites that the wife cross the boundaries [of the state of her husband] for a visit of condolence" ⁴⁷. If she has to wear the three years' mourning [for one of her parents] the Lord goes together with her ⁴⁸. According to the rites, if a wife wears mourning for her parents her husband also assumes mourning ⁴⁹.

284---Three Cases where No Condolence is Required (IV B. 7b).

a. Why are there three cases in which condolence is not required? As a subject and the son of a man one should constantly observe prudence, care, and forethought, and [always] attend to the preservation of one's life. If now a person should meet his death 'through being killed in a riot' wei, 'through being crushed' ya, or 'through being drowned' ni it is considered to be a neglect of his duty; therefore no condolence is required ⁵⁰.

b. Wei means meeting one's death from weapons ⁵¹.

c. The Li tsêng tzŭ chi says: "A man who has brought great shame upon himself and causes his body to be maimed [in a punishment] is not considered to be the servant [of his Lord] anymore, neither are the common officers willing to have intercourse with him. In the sacrifices to the ancestors he is no longer employable as an impersonator, he is not allowed to partake of the sacrificial victims in the ancestral temple, and when he dies he is not buried in the precincts of the ancestral temple" ⁵².

285---The Mourning of the Disciple for His Teacher (IV B. 7b-8a).

a. A disciple wears mourning for his teacher because his relation to him is that of Lord to subject, of father to son, of friend to friend. Therefore during [the teacher's] life he honours and reveres him with affection, when he is dead he grieves and sorrows for him. His affection is deep, his feeling of duty profound. Therefore he wears deep mourning for him. At home he wears the [head-and-waist] fillets, outside he leaves them off. ⁵³

b. The T'an kung says: "[Tzŭ-kung says:] Formerly, when our Master was mourning for Yen Hui he acted as if he was mourning for a son, [only] he did not wear mourning dress. He did the same in the case of Tzŭ-lu. Let us mourn for our Master as we should mourn for our fathers, but wear no mourning dress" ⁵⁴.

286---What is More Important, One's Own Mourning or One's Public Duties? (IV B. 8a-9a).

a. The Tsêng tzŭ wên says: "[Tsêng-tzŭ asked:] If, when the ruler has died and is lying in his coffin, an officer ⁵⁵ is informed of the death of his father or mother what should be done? Confucius said: He should go home and remain there; for the great services [to the deceased ruler] ⁵⁶ he should go to his Lord's place, but not for those of every morning and evening. [Tsêng-tzŭ] asked: If, when they have begun to move the ruler ['s coffin], an officer is informed of the death of his father or mother what should be done? Confucius said: He should go home and wail, and then return and accompany [the funeral of] his Lord. [Tsêng-tzŭ] asked: If, before the ruler has been encoffined, an officer is informed of the death of his father or mother what should be done? Confucius said: He should go home and have the deceased put into the coffin, and then return to the ruler's place; for the great services [to the deceased parent] he should go home, but not for those of every morning and evening. If [the officer] is a great officer the chief servant of his household will attend to [his private] affairs ⁵⁷; if he is a common officer his son or grandson. The wife of a great officer ⁵⁸, on the occasion of the great services [to the deceased ruler], will also go to the ruler's place, but not for those of every morning and evening" ⁵⁹.

b. Why is it that if a Feudal Lord who is wearing mourning for his parent is informed of the death of the Son of Heaven he hastens to take part in the funeral rites [for the latter]? It expresses the idea that he subordinates [his grief for the loss of] his own parents to his fidelity to the Exalted One ⁶⁰. The Ch'un ch'iu chuan says: "The reason that the death of the Son of Heaven is recorded, but not his funeral, is that the time for his burial is determined. The funeral of a Feudal Lord is recorded because the time for it is not necessarily determined" ⁶¹. As a Feudal Lord at the death of the Son of Heaven is in duty bound ⁶² to hasten [and take part in the funeral rites even if he is in mourning for his parent], the time of the burial [of his deceased parent] cannot always be determined.

c. When a great officer, charged with a mission [by his Lord], has started [his journey], and is informed of the death of his father or mother, he only returns upon the order of his Lord: that is his [expression of] esteem for his ruler. The Ch'un ch'iu chuan says: "When a great officer, having started his journey on a mis- sion from his Lord, is informed of the death [of his parent] he proceeds without haste and does not return" ⁶³.

d. Why is it that a Feudal Lord who is on his way to a court-visit is allowed to return when he is informed of the death of his own [parent]? It expresses the idea that one is not to enter the palace- gates in mourning dress, neither should the Lord summon [his subject when he is in mourning]. Not to dare to enter the palace-gates in mourning dress indicates reverence for the court; luck and disaster do not go together. Therefore the Chou kuan says: "When one is in mourning dress one should not enter the palace-gates" ⁶⁴. The Ch'ŭ li says: "When one is in mourning one does not speak of music; when one is directing a sacrifice one does not speak of unlucky things; when one is at court one does not speak of wife or daughters" ⁶⁵. The Lun yü says: "The Master did not sing on the same day in which he had been weeping" ⁶⁶.

e. When a subject is wearing deep mourning [his Lord should] not knock at his door [to summon him] because he allows him to terminate his duties as a filial son and to consummate his great [mourning] rites. The Ch'un ch'iu chuan says: "Anciently, when a Minister was wearing deep mourning his ruler did not knock at his door for three years" ⁶⁷.

287---The Hastening Home to Observe the Mourning Rites (IV B. 9a).

a. Why is it that when [a Lord is] informed of the death [of his parent] he wails before beginning the journey [home]? It is to exhaust his grief; he only starts after his first sorrow has somewhat abated ⁶⁸. Seeing the boundaries of his state he weeps again, but passing the market and the palace he does not ⁶⁹: for the Noble Man restrains himself that the small man may [also] make an effort to come up to the [required] decorum ⁷⁰. [On his way] he stops when he sees the stars; each day he covers one hundred li⁷¹. His anguished heart only thinks of seeing the corpse in the coffin as soon as possible. Therefore the Li pên sang chi says: "With lamentations he responds to the notifier, thus giving full vent to his grief; he inquires of the cause [of the death], and then sets out on his way" ⁷². Tsêng-tzŭ says: "An army moves thirty li [a day, the bringer of] lucky news moves fifty li, [the son] hurrying home to attend the funeral [of his parent] moves one hundred li [a day]" ⁷³.

b. Why is it that when the mourning proves to have already ended [by the time the son] returns he goes to the grave to weep? It means that he feels the deepest sorrow because he cannot see the deceased again. As mourning cannot be assumed after [the period after it has expired] he only weeps and leaves it at that. Therefore the Li pên sang chi says: "He goes to the grave, faces west, and weeps, and [there the mourning] ends" ⁷⁴. This means that having returned from afar [he finds that] the burial has already taken place, and the wearing of mourning has been ended according to the rites.

288---The Place for the Wailing (IV B. 9a-b).

a. Tsêng-tzŭ was standing by the door [of his house] with a visitor when [one of the latter's] companions went out in a hurry. Tsêng-tzŭ asked: "Where art thou going?" [The disciple] replied: "My father has died, and I am going to wail for him in the lane". Tsêng-tzŭ said: "Return and wail in thy apartment [in my house]". Tsêng-tzŭ [them] paid him a visit of condolence, [standing with] his face to the north ⁷⁵.

b. The T'an kung chi says: "Confucius said: Where shall I wail for him? For brethren I wail outside the gate of the ancestral temple, for a teacher in my chamber, for a friend outside the door of the chamber, for an acquaintance in the open country" ⁷⁶.

289---The Duke of Chou was Buried with the Royal Rites IV B. 9b).

Since upbringing follows [the status in which] one was born, and burial follows [the status in which] one has died, why was the Duke of Chou buried with the royal rites? Because the Duke of Chou had [acted as the Son of Heaven, and had] ascended the eastern steps ⁷⁷. In his direction of the government [of the state] he was in accordance with the intentions of Heaven. He expanded and brought to prosperity the way of the Chou [Dynasty]. He made manifest the measures and numbers of Heaven, [as a consequence of which] the ten thousand things all obtained [their proper attendance], and the magnificent fluid penetrated [everything, all in accordance with] the intent of primordial Heaven. The [people's] filial love for the Duke of Chou was not different from that for [King] Wên and [King] Wu; therefore he was buried with the royal rites, and was accorded the sacrifice in the suburb. The Shang shu says: "Now Heaven has moved its terrors to display the spiritual power of the Duke of Chou" ⁷⁸. Hereafter [the Shang shu continues] saying: "The [royal] rites [with which he was treated] therefore befitted him" ⁷⁹.

<Previous Section>	Translation of Chapters I-XLIII TOC Preface to Volume I Preface to Volume II Introduction Appendices Translation of Chapters I-XLIII Fragments of Po Hu T'ung Bibliography Index		<Next Section>

Published by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003 by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia