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SECTION III.

(As to) the meaning of (the ceremony of) capping 1:--The cap used for the first act of the service was of black cloth,--the cap of the highest antiquity. It was originally of (white) cloth, but the colour when it was used in fasting was dyed black. As to its strings, Confucius said, 'I have not heard anything about them.' This cap, after it had been once put upon (the young man), might be disused.

The son by the wife proper was capped by the eastern stairs (appropriate to the use of the master), to show how he was in their line of succession to him. The father handed him a cup in the guests' place (without receiving one in return). The capping showed that he had reached maturity. The using of three caps was to give greater importance (to the ceremony), and show its object more clearly. The giving the name of maturity in connexion with the ceremony was to show the reverence due to that name.

The wei-mâo was the fashion of Kâu; the kang-fû, that of Yin; and the mâu-tui, that of the sovereigns of Hsiâ. Kâu used the pien; Yin, the hsü; and Hsiâ, the shâu. The three dynasties all used the skin cap, with the skirt-of-white gathered up at the waist.

There were no observances peculiar to the capping (in the families) of Great officers, though there were (peculiar) marriage ceremonies. Anciently a man was fifty when he took the rank of a Great officer; how should there have been peculiar ceremonies at his cappings? The peculiar ceremonies at the cappings as used by the princes arose in the end of the Hsiâ dynasty.

The eldest son of the son of Heaven by his proper queen (was capped only as) an ordinary officer. There was nowhere such a thing as being born noble. Princes received their appointments on the hereditary principle, (to teach them) to imitate the virtue of their predecessors. Men received office and rank according to the degree of their virtue. There was the conferring of an honourable designation after death; but that is a modern institution. Anciently, there was no rank on birth, and no honorary title after death.

That which is most important in ceremonies is to understand the idea intended in them. While the idea is missed, the number of things and observances in them may be correctly exhibited, as that is the business of the officers of prayer and the recorders. Hence that may all be exhibited, but it is difficult to know the idea. The knowledge of that idea, and the reverent maintenance of it was the way by which the sons of Heaven secured the good government of the kingdom.

By the united action of heaven and earth all things spring up. Thus the ceremony of marriage is the beginning of a (line that shall last for a) myriad ages. The parties are of different surnames; thus those who are distant are brought together, and the separation (to be maintained between those who are of the same surname) is emphasised 2. There must be sincerity in the marriage presents; and all communications (to the woman) must be good. She should be admonished to be upright and sincere. Faithfulness is requisite in all service of others, and faithfulness is (specially) the virtue of a wife. Once mated with her husband, all her life she will not change (her feeling of duty to him) and hence, when the husband dies she will not marry (again) 3.

The gentleman went in person to meet the bride, the man taking the initiative and not the woman, according to the idea that regulates the relation between the strong and the weak (in all nature). It is according to this same idea that heaven takes precedence of earth, and the ruler of the subject.

Presents are interchanged before (the parties) see each other 4;--this reverence serving to illustrate the distinction (that should be observed between man and woman). When this distinction (between husband and wife) is exhibited, affection comes to prevail between father and son. When there is this affection, the idea of righteousness arises in the mind, and to this idea of righteousness succeeds (the observance of) ceremonies. Through those ceremonies there ensues universal repose. The absence of such distinction and righteousness is characteristic of the way of beasts.

The bridegroom himself stands by (the carriage of the bride), and hands to her the strap (to assist her in mounting 5),--showing his affection. Having that affection, he seeks to bring her near to him. It was by such reverence and affection for their wives that the ancient kings obtained the kingdom. In passing out from the great gate (of her father's house), he precedes, and she follows, and with this the right relation between husband and wife commences. The woman follows (and obeys) the man:--in her youth, she follows her father and elder brother; when married, she follows her husband; when her husband is dead, she follows her son. 'Man' denotes supporter. A man by his wisdom should (be able to) lead others.

The dark-coloured cap, and the (preceding) fasting and vigil, (with which the bridegroom meets the bride, makes the ceremony like the service of) spiritual beings, and (the meeting of) the bright and developing and receding influences (in nature). The result of it will be to give the lord for the altars to the spirits of the land and grain, and the successors of the forefathers of the past;--is not the utmost reverence appropriate in it? Husband and wife ate together of the same victim,--thus declaring that they were of the same rank. Hence while the wife had (herself) no rank, she was held to be of the rank of her husband, and she took her seat according to the position belonging to him 6.

The old rule at sacrifices was to have the vessels (only) of earthenware and gourds; and when the kings of the three dynasties instituted the (partaking of the) victim, those were the vessels employed. On the day after the marriage, the wife, having washed her hands, prepared and presented (a sucking-pig) to her husband's parents; and when they had done eating, she ate what was left,--as a mark of their special regard. They descended from the hall by the steps on the west, while she did so by those on the east;--so was she established in the wife's (or mistress's) place.

At the marriage ceremony, they did not employ music,--having reference to the feeling of solitariness and darkness (natural to the separation from parents). Music expresses the energy of the bright and expanding influence. There was no congratulation on marriage;--it indicates how (one generation of) men succeeds to another 7.

At the sacrifices in the time of the lord of Yü the smell was thought most important. There were the offerings of blood, of raw flesh, and of sodden flesh;--all these were employed for the sake of the smell.

Under the Yin, sound was thought most important. Before there was any smell or flavour, the music was made to resound clearly. It was not till there had been three performances of it that they went out to meet (and bring in) the victim. The noise of the music was a summons addressed to all between heaven and earth.

Under the Kâu, a pungent odour was thought most important. In libations they employed the smell of millet-spirits in which fragrant herbs had been infused. The fragrance, partaking of the nature of the receding influence, penetrates to the deep springs below. The libations were poured from cups with long handles of jade, (as if) to employ (also) the smell of the mineral. After the liquor was poured, they met (and brought in) the victim, having first diffused the smell into the unseen realm. Artemisia along with millet and rice having then been burned (with the fat of the victim), the fragrance penetrates through all the building. It was for this reason that, after the cup had been put down, they burnt the fat with the southernwood and millet and rice.

So careful were they on all occasions of sacrifice. The intelligent spirit returns to heaven the body and the animal soul return to the earth; and hence arose the idea of seeking (for the deceased) in sacrifice in the unseen darkness and in the bright region above. Under the Yin, they first sought for them in the bright region; under Kâu, they first sought for them in the dark.

They informed the officer of prayer in the apartment; they seated the representative of the departed in the hall; they killed the victim in the courtyard. The head of the victim was taken up to the apartment. This was at the regular sacrifice, when the officer of prayer addressed himself to the spirit-tablet of the departed. If it were (merely) the offering of search, the minister of prayer takes his place at the inside of the gate of the temple. They knew not whether the spirit were here, or whether it were there, or far off, away from all men. Might not that offering inside the gate be said to be a searching for the spirit in its distant place?

That service at the gate was expressive of the energy of the search. The stand with the heart and tongue of the victim (set forth before the personator) was expressive of reverence. (The wish of the principal) for wealth (to those assisting him) included all happiness. The (presentation of the) head was (intended as) a direct (communication with the departed). The presence (of the representative) was that the spirit might enjoy (the offerings). The blessing (pronounced by him) was for long continuance, and comprehensive. The personator (seemed) to display (the departed).

The (examination of the) hair and the (taking of the) blood was an announcement that the victim was complete within and without. This announcement showed the value set on its being perfect 8. The offering of the blood was because of the breath which is contained in it. They offered (specially) the lungs, the liver, and the heart, doing honour to those parts as the home of the breath.

In offering the millet and the glutinous millet, they presented the lungs along with it. In offering the various prepared liquors, they presented the bright water;--in both cases acknowledging their obligations to the dark and receding influence (in nature). In taking the fat of the inwards and burning it, and in taking the head up (to the hall), they made their acknowledgments to the bright and active influence.

In the bright water and the clear liquor the thing valued was their newness. All clarifying is a sort of making new. The water was called 'bright' because the principal in the service had purified it.

When the ruler bowed twice with his head to the ground, and, with breast bared, himself applied the knife, this expressed his extreme reverence. Yes, his extreme reverence, for there was submission in it. The bowing showed his submission; the laying the head on the ground did that emphatically; and the baring his breast was the greatest (outward) exhibition of the feeling.

When the sacrificer styled himself 'the filial son,' or 'the filial grandson,' he did so (in all cases) according to the meaning of the name. When he styled himself 'So and So, the distant descendant,' that style was used of (the ruler of) a state or (the Head of) a clan. (Though) there were the assistants at the service, the principal himself gave every demonstration of reverence and performed all his admirable service without yielding anything to any one.

The flesh of the victim might be presented raw and as a whole, or cut up in pieces, or sodden, or thoroughly cooked; but how could they know whether the spirit enjoyed it? The sacrificer simply showed his reverence to the utmost of his power.

(When the representative of the departed) had made the libation with the kiâ cup, or the horn, (the sacrificer) was told (to bow to him) and put him at ease. Anciently, the representative stood when nothing was being done; when anything was being done, he sat. He personated the spirit; the officer of prayer was the medium of communication between him and the sacrificer.

In straining (the new liquor) for the cup, they used the white (mâo) grass and obtained a clear cup. The liquor beginning to clear itself was further clarified by means of pure liquor. The juice obtained by boiling aromatics (with the extract of millet) was clarified by mingling with it the liquor which had begun to clear itself:--in the same way as old and strong spirits are qualified by the brilliantly pure liquor or that which has begun to clear itself 9.

Sacrifices were for the purpose of prayer, or of thanksgiving, or of deprecation.

The dark-coloured robes worn during vigil and purification had reference to the occupation of the thoughts with the dark and unseen. Hence after the three days of purification, the superior man was sure (to seem) to see those to whom his sacrifice was to be offered 10.

Notes

1. These paragraphs about capping are not in the expurgated copy of the Lî, and many commentators, especially Wang of Shih-liang, would relegate them to Book XI. And they are not all easy to be understood. The capping was thrice repeated, and each time with a different cap. So much is clear. The names and forms of the caps in paragraph 3 have given rise to much speculation, from which I purposely abstain; nor do I clearly comprehend its relation to the threefold capping in the ceremony.

2. I do not see how Callery translates here:--'On rapproche ce qui était éloigné, et on unit ce qui était distinct.' He says, however, in a note:--'Ceci se rapporte à l'antique loi, encore en vigueur, qui interdit le mariage entre personnes d'un même nom, parce que lors même qu'il n'existe entre elles aucune trace de parenté, il est possible qu'elles proviennent de la même souche, et se trouvent ainsi sur la ligne directe, où les Chinois admettent une parenté sans fin.'

3. This brief sentence about a woman not marrying again is not in the expurgated copies. Callery, however, says upon it:--'Dans certains textes du Lî Kî, on trouve à la suite de ce passage une phrase qui restreint à la femme cette immutabilité perpétuelle dans le mariage. En effet, les lois Chinoises ont de tout temps permis à l'homme de se remarier après la mort de sa première femme, tandis que pour les veuves, les secondes noces ont toujours été plus ou moins flétries, ou par la loi, ou par l'usage.'

4. Callery has for this:--'Les présents que porte l'époux dans ses visites.' But the young people did not see each other till the day of the marriage.

5. On the 'strap' to help in mounting the carriage, see p. 45, et al. Callery has here 'les rênes.' The text would seem to say that the bridegroom was himself driving, and handed the strap to help the other up; but that would have been contrary to all etiquette; and they appear immediately, not sitting together, but following each other.

6. It is exceedingly difficult to construe this sentence, nor do the commentators give a translator much help. Rendering ad verbum, all that we have is this:--'The dark-coloured cap, self-purification (and) abstinence; spiritual beings, Yin (and) Yang.' Kang s explanation is very brief:--'The dark-coloured cap (was) the dress in sacrificing: Yin (and) Yang mean husband and wife.' I have tried to catch and indicate the ideas in the mind of the writer. Taken as I have done, the passage is a most emphatic declaration of the religious meaning which was attached to marriage. Dr. Medhurst (Theology of the Chinese, pp. 88, 89) has translated the greater part of the paragraph, but not very successfully, thus:--'A black crown, with fasting and watching, is the way to serve the Kwei Shins, as well as the male and female principle of nature. The same is the case also (with regard to marriages which are contracted) with the view of obtaining some one to perpetuate the lares domestici (社稷); and principally respect obtaining successors for our ancestors:--can they therefore be conducted without reverence?'

7. See p. 322, paragraph 20; where Confucius says that in a certain case the bridegroom's family has no music for three days, on the ground that the bridegroom had lost his parents, and sorrow was more suitable than mirth as he thought of their being gone. This statement was generalised by the writer; but in the Shih, as in ordinary life, music is an accompaniment of in marriage. See the paraphrase of the 'Amplification of the fourth of the Khang-hsî precepts.'

8. From the middle of paragraph 10 to 18 inclusive is not in the expurgated edition, which closes with the nineteenth paragraph and the half of the twenty-first. I need not quote Callery's translation of this portion, but he says on it:--'Ce passage est un de ceux qui se refusent le plus à la traduction, et qui renferment, au fond, le moins d'idées claires et raisonnables. L'auteur a voulu, ce me semble, dormer une explication mystique à des mots et à des coutumes, qui n'en étaient point susceptibles, et il lui est arrivé, comme à certains commentateurs bibliques du moyen age, de faire un galimatias, auquel lui même, sans doute, ne comprenait rien.'--On what the author says about the hair and blood, compare vol. iii, page 370.

9.

He would be a bold man who would say that he had given a translation of this paragraph, which he was sure represented exactly the mind of the author. The interpretation given of it even by Kang Hsüan is now called in question in a variety of points by most scholars; and the Khien-lung editors refrain from concluding the many pages of various commentators, which they adduce on it, with a summary and exposition of their own judgment. Until some sinologist has made himself acquainted with all the processes in the preparation of their drinks at the present day by the Chinese, and has thereby, and from his own knowledge of the general subject, attained to a knowledge of the similar preparations of antiquity, a translator can only do the best in his power with such a passage, without being sure that it is the best that might be done.

He would be a bold man who would say that he had given a translation of this paragraph, which he was sure represented exactly the mind of the author. The interpretation given of it even by Kang Hsüan is now called in question in a variety of points by most scholars; and the Khien-lung editors refrain from concluding the many pages of various commentators, which they adduce on it, with a summary and exposition of their own judgment. Until some sinologist has made himself acquainted with all the processes in the preparation of their drinks at the present day by the Chinese, and has thereby, and from his own knowledge of the general subject, attained to a knowledge of the similar preparations of antiquity, a translator can only do the best in his power with such a passage, without being sure that it is the best that might be done.

In the Kâu Li, Book V, 23-36, we have an account of the duties of the Director of Wines (酒正; Biot, 'Intendant des Vins'). Mention is made of 'the three wines (三酒 ),' which were employed as common beverages, and called shih kiû (事酒), hsî kiû (昔酒), and khing kiû (清酒); in Biot, 'vin d'affaire, vin âgé, and vin clair.' Consul Gingell, in his useful translation of 'The Institutes of the Kau Dynasty Strung as Pearls' (London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 1852), calls them--'wine made specially for any particular occasion; wine which has become ripe; and old, clear, and fine wine.'

In the Kâu Li, Book V, 23-36, we have an account of the duties of the Director of Wines (酒正; Biot, 'Intendant des Vins'). Mention is made of 'the three wines (三酒 ),' which were employed as common beverages, and called shih kiû (事酒), hsî kiû (昔酒), and khing kiû (清酒); in Biot, 'vin d'affaire, vin âgé, and vin clair.' Consul Gingell, in his useful translation of 'The Institutes of the Kau Dynasty Strung as Pearls' (London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 1852), calls them--'wine made specially for any particular occasion; wine which has become ripe; and old, clear, and fine wine.'

In addition to these three kiû, the Director had to do with the five kî (五齊; Biot, 'les cinque sorts de vins sacrés'), and called fan kî (泛齊), li ki (醴齊), ang kî (盎齊), thî kî (緹齊), and khan kî(沈齊)in Biot, after Kang Hsüan, 'vin surnageant, vin doux, vin qui se clarifie, vin substantiel, vin reposé;' in Gingell, 'rice-water which has undergone fermentation, wine in which dregs have formed, wine in which the dregs have risen to the surface, wine in which the dregs have congealed, and of which the colour has become reddish, and pure clear wine in which the dregs are subsiding.' Whether Biot be correct or not in translating kî (perhaps should be read kâi, = 齋) 'vin sacré,' the five preparations so called were for use at sacrifices. 'They were' say the Khien-lung editors, 'for use at sacrifices, and not as ordinary drinks.' 'They were all thin, and unpalatable; for the cup, and not for the mouth.'

In addition to these three kiû, the Director had to do with the five kî (五齊; Biot, 'les cinque sorts de vins sacrés'), and called fan kî (泛齊), li ki (醴齊), ang kî (盎齊), thî kî (緹齊), and khan kî(沈齊)in Biot, after Kang Hsüan, 'vin surnageant, vin doux, vin qui se clarifie, vin substantiel, vin reposé;' in Gingell, 'rice-water which has undergone fermentation, wine in which dregs have formed, wine in which the dregs have risen to the surface, wine in which the dregs have congealed, and of which the colour has become reddish, and pure clear wine in which the dregs are subsiding.' Whether Biot be correct or not in translating kî (perhaps should be read kâi, = 齋) 'vin sacré,' the five preparations so called were for use at sacrifices. 'They were' say the Khien-lung editors, 'for use at sacrifices, and not as ordinary drinks.' 'They were all thin, and unpalatable; for the cup, and not for the mouth.'

10.

The Khien-lung editors say that from paragraph 14 to this, the compiler mentions promiscuously a great many particulars about the ancient sacrifices, the different places in which the services at them were performed, the things used in them, &c., showing how sincere and earnest those engaged in them must be to attain to the result mentioned in this last paragraph; and that this is the fundamental object of the whole treatise.

The Khien-lung editors say that from paragraph 14 to this, the compiler mentions promiscuously a great many particulars about the ancient sacrifices, the different places in which the services at them were performed, the things used in them, &c., showing how sincere and earnest those engaged in them must be to attain to the result mentioned in this last paragraph; and that this is the fundamental object of the whole treatise.

I have called attention to this promiscuous nature of the contents of many of the Books towards the end of them, in the introduction, page 34, as a characteristic of the collection.

I have called attention to this promiscuous nature of the contents of many of the Books towards the end of them, in the introduction, page 34, as a characteristic of the collection.

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