Strengthening the State, Chapter Sixteen

曰：若是，則必不得所求焉。凡人之鬥也，必以其惡之為說，非以其辱之為故也。今俳優、侏儒、狎徒詈侮而不鬥者，是豈鉅知見侮之為不辱哉。然而不鬥者，不惡故也。今人或入其央瀆，竊其豬彘，則援劍戟而逐之，不避死傷。是豈以喪豬為辱也哉！然而不憚鬥者，惡之故也。雖以見侮為辱也，不惡則不鬥；雖知見侮為不辱，惡之則必鬥。然則鬥與不鬥邪，亡於辱之與不辱也，乃在於惡之與不惡也。夫今子宋子不能解人之惡侮，而務說人以勿辱也，豈不過甚矣哉！金舌弊口，猶將無益也。不知其無益，則不知；知其無益也，直以欺人，則不仁。不仁不知，辱莫大焉。將以為有益於人，則與無益於人也，則得大辱而退耳！說莫病是矣。

I say: in this case, you will certainly not obtain what you seek. When people fight, they must use dislike as their reason, and not disgrace as the cause. Now when jesters, dwarfs and familiar companions curse and insult one another and do not fight, how is it that they greatly know that being insulted is not disgrace? Yet they do not fight because they do not dislike it. Now if someone enters another's ditch and steals his pig, he will take a sword or halberd and chase him, not avoiding death or injury. Is it because he takes the loss of a pig as disgrace! But he does not fear fighting because he dislikes it. Even if one takes being insulted as disgrace, if he does not dislike it he will not fight; even if one knows that being insulted is not disgrace, if he dislikes it he will surely fight. So fighting or not fighting does not lie in disgrace or not disgrace, but in dislike or not dislike. Now Master Song cannot remove people's dislike of being insulted but strives to persuade them not to consider it a disgrace; is he not going too far! Even with a golden tongue and worn-out lips, it will still be of no benefit. Not to know it is of no benefit is unwise; to know it is of no benefit and use it only to deceive people is not humane. To be not humane and not wise is the greatest disgrace. Wishing to think he benefits people, when it is the same as not benefiting them, he gets great disgrace and retires, that is all! No theory is more flawed than this.

子宋子曰："見侮不辱。"

Master Song said: "Seeing being insulted but not taking it as disgrace."

應之曰：凡議必先立隆正，然後可也。無隆正則是非不分，而辨訟不決，故所聞曰："天下之大隆，是非之封界，分職名象之所起，王制是也。"故凡言議期命是非，以聖王為師。而聖王之分，榮辱是也。

Answer him: in all discussion one must first establish the supreme standard, and only then can it be done. Without a supreme standard, right and wrong are not distinguished and disputes are not decided. So what I have heard is: "The great supreme standard of the world, the boundary between right and wrong, from which the division of duties, names and signs arise, is the royal institution." So in all words and discussions that determine right and wrong, one takes the sage kings as teacher. And the sage kings' distinction is honor and disgrace.

是有兩端矣。有義榮者，有埶榮者；有義辱者，有埶辱者。志意修，德行厚，知慮明，是榮之由中出者也，夫是之謂義榮。爵列尊，貢祿厚，形埶勝，上為天子諸侯，下為卿相士大夫，是榮之從外至者也，夫是之謂埶榮。流淫汙僈，犯分亂理，驕暴貪利，是辱之由中出者也，夫是之謂義辱。詈侮捽搏，捶笞臏腳，斬斷枯磔，借靡後縛，是辱之由外至者也，夫是之謂埶辱。是榮辱之兩端也。

This has two aspects. There is honor of righteousness and honor of position; there is disgrace of righteousness and disgrace of position. To have a cultivated will, generous virtue, and clear wisdom and thought, is honor that comes from within, called honor of righteousness. To have exalted rank, generous salary, a position of strength, above being Son of Heaven or feudal lord and below being minister, scholar or senior officer, is honor that comes from outside, called honor of position. To be dissolute and defiled, to violate bounds and disorder principle, to be arrogant, violent and greedy for profit, is disgrace that comes from within, called disgrace of righteousness. To be cursed, insulted, seized, beaten, flogged, have the kneecaps cut off, be beheaded, dismembered, tied up with ropes, is disgrace that comes from outside, called disgrace of position. These are the two aspects of honor and disgrace.

故君子可以有埶辱，而不可以有義辱；小人可以有埶榮，而不可以有義榮。有埶辱無害為堯，有埶榮無害為桀。義榮埶榮，唯君子然後兼有之；義辱埶辱，唯小人然後兼有之。是榮辱之分也。聖王以為法，士大夫以為道，官人以為守，百姓以成俗，萬世不能易也。

So the gentleman may have disgrace of position but cannot have disgrace of righteousness; the petty man may have honor of position but cannot have honor of righteousness. Having disgrace of position does not prevent being a Yao, and having honor of position does not prevent being a Jie. Honor of righteousness and honor of position, only the gentleman can have both; disgrace of righteousness and disgrace of position, only the petty man has both. This is the distinction of honor and disgrace. The sage kings made it law, the scholars and senior officers made it their Way, officials made it their custodianship, and the common people made it into custom, and for ten thousand generations it cannot be changed.

今子宋子則不然，獨詘容為己，慮一朝而改之，說必不行矣。譬之，是猶以磚塗塞江海也，以焦僥而戴太山也，蹎跌碎折，不待頃矣。二三子之善於子宋子者，殆不若止之，將恐得傷其體也。

Now Master Song is not like this; he alone bends himself to accommodate, and having thought of it one morning changes it, so his theory will surely not work. It is like using bricks and mud to block the rivers and seas, or using a dwarf to support Mount Tai; falling and breaking, it will not last a moment. Those among you who like Master Song would do well to stop him, or I fear you may harm his person.

子宋子曰："人之情，欲寡，而皆以己之情，為欲多，是過也。"故率其群徒，辨其談說，明其譬稱，將使人知情之慾寡也。

Master Song said: "People's feelings have few desires, but they all take their own feelings as having many desires, and this is the mistake." So he leads his followers, argues his discourse, and makes clear his analogies, intending to make people know that feelings have few desires.

應之曰：然則亦以人之情為目不欲綦色，耳不欲綦聲，口不欲綦味，鼻不欲綦臭，形不欲綦佚－－此五綦者，亦以人之情為不欲乎？

Answer him: then do you also think that human nature is such that the eyes do not want the utmost color, the ears do not want the utmost sound, the mouth does not want the utmost taste, the nose does not want the utmost scent, and the body does not want the utmost comfort; do you also think that human nature does not want these five utmosts?

曰："人之情，欲是已。"

He says: "Human nature wants these."

曰：若是，則說必不行矣。以人之情為欲，此五綦者而不欲多，譬之，是猶以人之情為欲富貴而不欲貨也，好美而惡西施也。古之人為之不然。以人之情為欲多而不欲寡，故賞以富厚而罰以殺損也。是百王之所同也。故上賢祿天下，次賢祿一國，下賢祿田邑，願愨之民完衣食。今子宋子以是之情為欲寡而不欲多也，然則先王以人之所不欲者賞，而以人之慾者罰邪？亂莫大焉。今子宋子嚴然而好說，聚人徒，立師學，成文典，然而說不免於以至治為至亂也，豈不過甚矣哉！

I say: in this case, your theory will surely not work. To think that human nature wants these five utmosts but does not want many is like thinking that human nature wants wealth and rank but does not want goods, or loves beauty but dislikes Xi Shi. The ancients were not like this on that account. They thought human nature wants more and does not want less, so they used abundance for reward and reduction for punishment. This was the same for the hundred kings. So the highest worthy's salary reached the world, the next worthy's salary reached a state, the lowest worthy's salary reached fields and towns, and the careful, honest and upright people had food and clothing complete. Now Master Song takes such feelings as wanting few and not wanting many; then did the former kings reward with what is not wanted and punish with what is wanted? No disorder is greater than this. Now Master Song solemnly likes his theory, gathers followers, sets up a school, and completes written canons, yet his theory cannot avoid taking the utmost order as utmost disorder; is he not going too far!

禮起於何也？曰：人生而有欲，欲而不得，則不能無求。求而無度量分界，則不能不爭；爭則亂，亂則窮。先王惡其亂也，故制禮義以分之，以養人之慾，給人之求。使欲必不窮於物，物必不屈於欲。兩者相持而長，是禮之所起也。

Where does ritual arise from? I say: people are born with desires, and when desires are not satisfied, they cannot but seek. When seeking has no measure or boundary, they cannot but contend; contention leads to disorder, and disorder to exhaustion. The former kings hated that disorder, so they established ritual and righteousness to make distinctions, to nourish people's desires and supply their seeking. They made it so that desires are never exhausted by things and things are never depleted by desires. The two support each other and grow; this is where ritual arises.

故禮者養也。芻豢稻梁，五味調香，所以養口也；椒蘭芬苾，所以養鼻也；雕琢刻鏤，黼黻文章，所以養目也；鐘鼓管磬，琴瑟竽笙，所以養耳也；疏房檖貌，越席床笫几筵，所以養體也。故禮者養也。

So ritual is nourishment. Meat, rice and millet, the five flavors blended and fragrant, are for nourishing the mouth; pepper, orchid and sweet fragrance are for nourishing the nose; carving and engraving, embroidered patterns and designs are for nourishing the eyes; bells, drums, pipes, chimes, zithers, lutes, reed organs and sheng are for nourishing the ears; spacious rooms, deep and solemn temples, rush mats, beds, armrests and mats are for nourishing the body. So ritual is nourishment.

君子既得其養，又好其別。曷謂別？曰：貴賤有等，長幼有差，貧富輕重皆有稱者也。故天子大路越席，所以養體也；側載睪芷，所以養鼻也；前有錯衡，所以養目也；和鸞之聲，步中武象，趨中韶護，所以養耳也；龍旗九斿，所以養信也；寢兕持虎，蛟韅、絲末、彌龍，所以養威也；故大路之馬必信至，教順，然後乘之，所以養安也。孰知夫出死要節之所以養生也！孰知夫出費用之所以養財也！孰知夫恭敬辭讓之所以養安也！孰知夫禮義文理之所以養情也！故人苟生之為見，若者必死；苟利之為見，若者必害；苟怠惰偷懦之為安，若者必危；苟情說之為樂，若者必滅。故人一之於禮義，則兩得之矣；一之於情性，則兩喪之矣。故儒者將使人兩得之者也，墨者將使人兩喪之者也，是儒墨之分也。

The gentleman, having obtained nourishment, also likes distinctions. What are distinctions? I say: noble and lowly have ranks, old and young have differences, poor and rich, light and heavy all have what matches them. So the Son of Heaven's great carriage and rush mats are for nourishing the body; the fragrant herbs carried beside him are for nourishing the nose; the inlaid crossbar before him is for nourishing the eyes; the sound of harmony and bells, his slow steps matching the Wu and Xiang music and quick steps matching the Shao and Hu, are for nourishing the ears; the dragon banner with nine streamers is for nourishing trust; the rhinoceros-hide cover and tiger-hide seat, the dragon-skin traces, silk ends and covering dragons are for nourishing awe; so the horses of the great carriage must be trained to the utmost and taught to obey before they are ridden, for nourishing safety. Who knows that going out to die and keeping to restraint is how one nourishes life! Who knows that spending resources is how one nourishes wealth! Who knows that reverence and yielding is how one nourishes safety! Who knows that ritual, righteousness and pattern is how one nourishes feeling! So if a person sees only life, he will surely die; if he sees only profit, he will surely be harmed; if he takes laziness, sloth and cowardice for safety, he will surely be endangered; if he takes pleasure in emotion and desire as joy, he will surely perish. So if a person devotes himself to ritual and righteousness, he gets both; if he devotes himself to feeling and nature, he loses both. So the Confucian will make people get both, and the Mohist will make people lose both; this is the distinction between Confucians and Mohists.

禮有三本：天地者，生之本也；先祖者，類之本也；君師者，治之本也。無天地，惡生？無先祖，惡出？無君師，惡治？三者偏亡，焉無安人。故禮、上事天，下事地，尊先祖，而隆君師。是禮之三本也。

Ritual has three roots: Heaven and Earth are the root of life; ancestors are the root of kind; rulers and teachers are the root of order. Without Heaven and Earth, where would one be born? Without ancestors, where would one come from? Without rulers and teachers, where would order come from? If any one of the three is lost, there are no secure people. So ritual serves Heaven above, serves Earth below, honors ancestors, and exalts rulers and teachers. These are the three roots of ritual.

故王者天太祖，諸侯不敢壞，大夫士有常宗，所以別貴始；貴始得之本也。郊止乎天子，而社止於諸侯，道及士大夫，所以別尊者事尊，卑者事卑，宜大者巨，宜小者小也。故有天下者事七世，有一國者事五世，有五乘之地者事三世，有三乘之地者事二世，持手而食者不得立宗廟，所以別積厚，積厚者流澤廣，積薄者流澤狹也。

So a king pairs the Grand Ancestor with Heaven, feudal lords dare not destroy it, and senior officers and scholars have a constant clan ancestor, which distinguishes valuing the first ancestor; valuing the first ancestor is the root of gain. The suburban sacrifice stops at the Son of Heaven and the altar of the soil stops at the feudal lords, and the road sacrifice reaches senior officers and scholars, which distinguishes that the honored serve the honored and the lowly serve the lowly, the great being made great and the small being made small. So one who holds the world serves seven generations, one who holds a state serves five generations, one who has land of five chariots serves three generations, one who has land of three chariots serves two generations, and those who live by their hands may not set up ancestral temples, which distinguishes the thickness of what is accumulated; where much is accumulated its blessing flows widely, and where little is accumulated its blessing flows narrowly.

大饗，尚玄尊，俎生魚，先大羹，貴食飲之本也。饗，尚玄尊而用酒醴，先黍稷而飯稻粱。祭，齊大羹而飽庶羞，貴本而親用也。貴本之謂文，親用之謂理，兩者合而成文，以歸大一，夫是之謂大隆。故尊之尚玄酒也，俎之尚生魚也，豆之先大羹也，一也。利爵之不醮也，成事之俎不嘗也，三臭之不食也，一也。大昏之未發齊也，太廟之未入屍也，始卒之未小斂也，一也。大路之素未集也，郊之麻絻也，喪服之先散麻也，一也。三年之喪，哭之不反也，清廟之歌，一唱而三嘆也，縣一鍾，尚拊膈，朱弦而通越也，一也。

In the great feast, the dark wine vessel is honored, raw fish is placed on the stand, and the plain broth is served first, valuing the root of food and drink. In a banquet, the dark wine vessel is honored but sweet wine is used, and millet comes first and then rice and sorghum are eaten. In a sacrifice, plain broth is presented and the many delicacies are eaten in plenty, valuing the root and drawing near to use. Valuing the root is called pattern, and drawing near to use is called principle, and when the two combine to complete pattern and return to the Great Unity, this is called great exaltation. So the honoring of the dark wine vessel, raw fish on the stand, and plain broth first in the vessel are one matter. Not draining the cup of the liberation toast, not tasting the completed stand, and not eating the three offerings are one matter. The great marriage not yet fully displayed, the grand temple impersonator not yet admitted, and the beginning and end of mourning not yet dressed are one matter. The plain cloth of the great carriage not yet gathered, the hemp cap of the suburban sacrifice, and mourning clothes first scattering the hemp are one matter. In the mourning of three years the wailing is not modulated, in the song of the Pure Temple one sings and three sigh, one bell is hung, the clapping drum is honored, and the red-stringed zither with open holes is used, and these are one matter.

凡禮，始乎梲，成乎文，終乎悅校。故至備，情文俱盡；其次，情文代勝；其下復情以歸大一也。天地以合，日月以明，四時以序，星辰以行，江河以流，萬物以昌，好惡以節，喜怒以當，以為下則順，以為上則明，萬變不亂，貳之則喪也。禮豈不至矣哉！立隆以為極，而天下莫之能損益也。本末相順，終始相應，至文以有別，至察以有說，天下從之者治，不從者亂，從之者安，不從者危，從之者存，不從者亡，小人不能測也。

All ritual begins in simplicity, is completed in pattern, and ends in delight. So at its most complete, feeling and pattern are both exhausted; next, feeling and pattern alternately prevail; lowest, it returns to feeling and goes back to the Great Unity. Heaven and Earth are united by it, the sun and moon are bright by it, the four seasons are ordered by it, the stars move by it, rivers flow by it, the myriad things flourish by it, likes and dislikes are regulated by it, joy and anger are fitting by it; used below it brings compliance, used above it brings clarity, and amid ten thousand changes there is no disorder, and the divided mind is lost. Is ritual not the utmost! Establishing exaltation as the utmost, nothing in the world can add to or subtract from it. Root and branch comply with each other, end and beginning respond to each other, utmost pattern thereby has distinctions, utmost inquiry thereby has explanation, and the world that follows it is ordered and that which does not is disordered, that which follows it is secure and that which does not is endangered, that which follows it survives and that which does not perishes, and petty men cannot fathom it.

禮之理誠深矣，"堅白""同異"之察入焉而溺；其理誠大矣，擅作典制闢陋之說入焉而喪；其理誠高矣，暴慢恣孳輕俗以為高之屬入焉而隊。故繩墨誠陳矣，則不可欺以曲直；衡誠縣矣，則不可欺以輕重；規矩誠設矣，則不可欺以方圓；君子審於禮，則不可欺以詐偽。故繩者，直之至；衡者，平之至；規矩者，方圓之至；禮者，人道之極也。然而不法禮，不足禮，謂之無方之民；法禮，足禮，謂之有方之士。禮之中焉能思索，謂之能慮；禮之中焉能勿易，謂之能固。能慮、能固，加好者焉，斯聖人矣。故天者，高之極也；地者，下之極也；無窮者，廣之極也；聖人者，人道之極也。故學者，固學為聖人也，非特學無方之民也。

The principle of ritual is truly deep, and the discernment of "hard and white" and "same and different" sinks when it enters; its principle is truly great, and those who arbitrarily make institutions and narrow theories lose when they enter; its principle is truly high, and those who are violent, arrogant and unrestrained and take despising custom as lofty fall when they enter. So when the plumb line and ink are truly set out, one cannot be deceived about crooked and straight; when the balance is truly hung, one cannot be deceived about light and heavy; when the compass and square are truly set, one cannot be deceived about square and round; when the gentleman examines ritual, he cannot be deceived by deceit and falsehood. So the line is the utmost of straightness; the balance is the utmost of evenness; the compass and square are the utmost of square and round; ritual is the utmost of the human way. Yet one who does not take ritual as a model and is not satisfied with ritual is called a people without direction; one who takes ritual as a model and is satisfied with ritual is called a scholar with direction. To be able to think within ritual is called able to ponder; to be able not to change within ritual is called able to be firm. Able to ponder, able to be firm, and adding love of it, this is the sage. So Heaven is the utmost of height; Earth is the utmost of lowness; the limitless is the utmost of breadth; the sage is the utmost of the human way. So learners originally study to become sages, and not merely to be a people without direction.

禮者，以財物為用，以貴賤為文，以多少為異，以隆殺為要。文理繁，情用省，是禮之隆也。文理省，情用繁，是禮之殺也。文理情用相為內外表墨，並行而雜，是禮之中流也。故君子上致其隆，下盡其殺，而中處其中。步驟馳騁厲鶩不外是矣。是君子之壇宇宮廷也。人有是，士君子也；外是，民也；於是其中焉，方皇周挾，曲得其次序，是聖人也。故厚者，禮之積也；大者，禮之廣也；高者，禮之隆也；明者，禮之盡也。詩曰："禮儀卒度，笑語卒獲。"此之謂也。

Ritual takes goods as its substance, noble and base as its ornament, more and less as its gradation, exaltation and abatement as its essential rein. When the ornament of form is lavish and the substance of feeling spare, that is ritual's exaltation. When the ornament of form is spare and the substance of feeling lavish, that is ritual's abatement. When form and feeling stand to each other as outer and inner, surface and lining, running side by side and interweaving, that is ritual's middle course. Therefore the noble man, toward what is above, carries out its exaltation; toward what is below, completes its abatement; and in the middle dwells in the middle. To pace, gallop, or race without ever leaving these bounds—this is the noble man's altar-ground and palace court. Whoever has this is a gentleman-officer; whoever is outside it is a common man; whoever moves within it broadly and thoroughly, winding through to its proper order, is a sage. Therefore richness is ritual's accumulation; greatness is ritual's breadth; loftiness is ritual's exaltation; brightness is ritual's consummation. The Xiaoya ode Chuci says: 'Their rites and ceremonies all accord with measure; their laughter and speech are perfectly apt.' This is what it means.

禮者，謹於治生死者也。生、人之始也，死、人之終也，終始俱善，人道畢矣。故君子敬始而慎終，終始如一，是君子之道，禮義之文也。夫厚其生而薄其死，是敬其有知，而慢其無知也，是奸人之道而倍叛之心也。君子以倍叛之心接臧谷，猶且羞之，而況以事其所隆親乎！故死之為道也，一而不可得再復也，臣之所以致重其君，子之所以致重其親，於是盡矣。故事生不忠厚，不敬文，謂之野；送死不忠厚，不敬文，謂之瘠。君子賤野而羞瘠，故天子棺槨七重，諸侯五重，大夫三重，士再重。然後皆有衣衾多少厚薄之數，皆有翣菨文章之等，以敬飾之，使生死終始若一；一足以為人願，是先王之道，忠臣孝子之極也。天子之喪動四海，屬諸侯；諸侯之喪動通國，屬大夫；大夫之喪動一國，屬修士；修士之喪動一鄉，屬朋友；庶人之喪合族黨，動州里；刑餘罪人之喪，不得合族黨，獨屬妻子，棺槨三寸，衣衾三領，不得飾棺，不得晝行，以昏殣，凡緣而往埋之，反無哭泣之節，無衰麻之服，無親疏月數之等，各反其平，各復其始，已葬埋，若無喪者而止，夫是之謂至辱。

Ritual is the careful ordering of life and death. Life is man's beginning; death is man's end. When end and beginning are both good, the way of man is complete. Therefore the noble man reveres the beginning and is careful of the end; end and beginning are as one—this is the noble man's way, the ornament of ritual and rightness. To honor life and slight death is to revere a man while he has awareness and slight him when he has none; it is the way of a treacherous man and a rebellious heart. The noble man is ashamed even to receive his servants and children with a rebellious heart—how much more to serve with it the parents he honors! Now death as a way happens once and cannot recur; the minister's ultimate regard for his lord and the son's ultimate regard for his parent find their full expression here. Therefore to serve the living without generous fidelity and reverent form is called wildness; to send off the dead without generous fidelity and reverent form is called meanness. The noble man scorns wildness and is ashamed of meanness. Therefore the Son of Heaven has seven layers of coffin, the feudal lords five, the great officers three, and officers two. Then there are fixed numbers for the grave-clothes and quilts, more or fewer, thicker or thinner, and graded ranks for the coffin-fans and their patterned ornament—used to adorn them with reverence, so that life and death, end and beginning, are treated as one; and being treated as one suffices to fulfill men's wishes—this is the way of the former kings, the summit of the loyal minister and filial son. The mourning of a Son of Heaven shakes the four seas and binds the feudal lords; the mourning of a feudal lord shakes the whole state and binds the great officers; the mourning of a great officer shakes one domain and binds the cultivated officers; the mourning of a cultivated officer shakes one district and binds his friends; the mourning of a commoner gathers his kin and neighbors and shakes the village; the mourning of a punished criminal may not gather kin and neighbors, but binds only wife and children—his coffin three inches, his grave-clothes three layers; he may not ornament the coffin, may not be borne by day but is buried at dusk, carried out in ordinary clothes; on return there is no measure of wailing, no hempen mourning garments, no gradations of months by closeness of kin; each returns to the ordinary, each goes back to the beginning; once buried, they are like people who had no mourning at all—this is called utter disgrace.

禮者，謹于吉兇不相厭者也。紸纊聽息之時，則夫忠臣孝子亦知其閔矣，然而殯斂之具，未有求也；垂涕恐懼，然而幸生之心未已，持生之事未輟也。卒矣，然後作具之。故雖備家必踰日然後能殯，三日而成服。然後告遠者出矣，備物者作矣。故殯久不過七十日，速不損五十日。是何也？曰：遠者可以至矣，百求可以得矣，百事可以成矣；其忠至矣，其節大矣，其文備矣。然後月朝卜日，月夕卜宅，然後葬也。當是時也，其義止，誰得行之？其義行，誰得止之？故三月之葬，其貌以生設飾死者也，殆非直留死者以安生也，是致隆思慕之義也。

Ritual is careful that fortune and ill-fortune not trespass on each other. When silk floss is set at the nostrils to listen for breath, even the loyal minister and filial son know the peril is at hand; yet the implements for encoffining have not yet been sought; with tears hanging and fear upon them, still the heart hoping for life has not ceased, and the tasks of keeping him alive have not stopped. Only when he is dead do they make and prepare all. Therefore even a household with everything ready still lets a day pass before encoffining, and only after three days is mourning dress completed. Then word is sent to those afar to set out, and those who must supply things rise and come. Therefore the lying-in-state lasts at most seventy days, and at the quickest no fewer than fifty. Why? I say: so that those far away may arrive, all that is sought may be obtained, and all affairs may be accomplished; his loyalty reaches its utmost, the observance grows great, the ornament becomes complete. Then at the start of the month they divine the day, and at month's end divine the grave-site, and then they bury. At such a time, if rightness said to stop, who could proceed? If rightness said to proceed, who could stop? Therefore the burial after three months—its semblance uses the appointments of the living to adorn the dead; it is not merely to keep the dead so as to give rest to the living, but to give fullest expression to the rightness of exalting and cherishing.

喪禮之凡，變而飾，動而遠，久而平。故死之為道也，不飾則惡，惡則不哀；尒則翫，翫則厭，厭則忘，忘則不敬。一朝而喪其嚴親，而所以送葬之者，不哀不敬，則嫌於禽獸矣，君子恥之。故變而飾，所以滅惡也；動而遠，所以遂敬也；久而平，所以優生也。

The general pattern of funeral rites: transformation and adornment; movement and distancing; long duration and leveling. So death as a way: unadorned it is ugly, and being ugly it is not grieved; kept too near it becomes familiar, being familiar breeds contempt, contempt breeds forgetting, forgetting is disrespect. To lose in one morning the revered parent, yet in the conduct of the funeral to be without grief and respect—that approaches the beasts, and the noble man is ashamed of it. Therefore transformation and adornment serve to efface ugliness; movement and distancing serve to complete respect; long duration and leveling serve to treat the living with kindness.

禮者、斷長續短，損有餘，益不足，達愛敬之文，而滋成行義之美者也。故文飾、麤惡，聲樂、哭泣，恬愉、憂戚；是反也；然而禮兼而用之，時舉而代御。故文飾、聲樂、恬愉，所以持平奉吉也；麤惡、哭泣、憂戚，所以持險奉兇也。故其立文飾也，不至於窕冶；其立麤惡也，不至於瘠棄；其立聲樂、恬愉也，不至於流淫、惰慢；其立哭泣、哀慼也，不至於隘懾傷生，是禮之中流也。

Ritual cuts the long to patch the short, diminishes surplus to increase want, so as to attain the form of love and reverence and to nourish the beauty of conduct brought to completion. So adornment and roughness, music and weeping, tranquil joy and grieving sorrow are opposites; yet ritual uses them both, raising each in its season and driving them in alternation. Therefore adornment, music, and tranquil joy are used to keep the level and serve the fortunate; roughness, weeping, and grieving sorrow are used to keep the hazard and serve the ill-fortuned. So when it sets up adornment it does not reach bewitching glamour; when it sets up roughness it does not reach emaciated self-neglect; when it sets up music and tranquil joy it does not reach dissipation and lazy arrogance; when it sets up weeping and grieving sorrow it does not reach cramped fear that injures life—this is ritual's middle course.

故情貌之變，足以別吉凶，明貴賤親疏之節，期止矣。外是，奸也；雖難，君子賤之。故量食而食之，量要而帶之，相高以毀瘠，是奸人之道，非禮義之文也，非孝子之情也，將以有為者也。故說豫、娩澤，憂戚、萃惡，是吉凶憂愉之情發於顏色者也。歌謠、謷笑、哭泣、諦號，是吉凶憂愉之情發於聲音者也。芻豢、稻梁、酒醴，餰鬻、魚肉、菽藿、酒漿，是吉凶憂愉之情發於食飲者也。卑絻、黼黻、文織，資麤、衰絰、菲繐、菅屨，是吉凶憂愉之情發於衣服者也。疏房、檖貌、越席、床笫、几筵，屬茨、倚廬、席薪、枕塊，是吉凶憂愉之情發於居處者也。兩情者，人生固有端焉。若夫斷之繼之，博之淺之，益之損之，類之盡之，盛之美之，使本末終始，莫不順比，足以為萬世則，則是禮也。非順孰修為之君子，莫之能知也。

Therefore the changes of feeling and countenance suffice to distinguish fortune and ill-fortune and to make plain the measures of noble and base, near and far—what is looked for stops here. Beyond this is craftiness; even if difficult, the noble man scorns it. So to measure one's food before eating, to measure one's waist before tying the sash, and to vie in heights by self-starvation—this is the way of crafty men, not the ornament of ritual and rightness, not the feeling of a filial son; such men have something else in view. Therefore cheerful ease with a moist, lustrous countenance, versus grief and haggard ruin—these are the feelings of fortune and ill-fortune, sorrow and joy, issuing in the face. Songs and laughter and play, versus weeping and wailing—these are the feelings of fortune and ill-fortune, sorrow and joy, issuing in the voice. Meat, rice and millet, and sweet wine, versus thin gruel, coarse fish, bean-leaf stew and plain liquor—these are the feelings of fortune and ill-fortune, sorrow and joy, issuing in drink and food. The ceremonial cap, the embroidered axe and zigzag patterns, figured weaves, versus coarse sacking, mourning bands, crude cloth and rush sandals—these are the feelings of fortune and ill-fortune, sorrow and joy, issuing in clothing. Open airy rooms and deep temple-like halls, rush mats, bed mats and low tables, versus woven thatch, the leaning hut, sleeping on straw, a clod for a pillow—these are the feelings of fortune and ill-fortune, sorrow and joy, issuing in dwelling-place. The two kinds of feeling have their beginnings inborn in man's life. As for cutting them and joining them, widening and shallowing them, adding and subtracting them, extending them by analogy and exhausting them, exalting them and beautifying them, so that root and branch, end and beginning, all follow fittingly, sufficient to be a model for ten thousand generations—this is ritual. None but the compliant, practiced, cultivated noble man can know it.

故曰：性者、本始材樸也；偽者、文理隆盛也。無性則偽之無所加，無偽則性不能自美。性偽合，然後成聖人之名，一天下之功於是就也。故曰：天地合而萬物生，陰陽接而變化起，性偽合而天下治。天能生物，不能辨物也，地能載人，不能治人也；宇中萬物生人之屬，待聖人然後分也。詩曰："懷柔百神，及河喬嶽。"此之謂也。

Therefore it is said: nature is the original raw material; conscious activity is the flourishing of form and pattern. Without nature there is no place for activity to be added; without activity, nature cannot beautify itself. Nature and activity join, and then the name of sage is completed and the work of uniting all under heaven is thereby accomplished. Therefore it is said: heaven and earth join and the ten thousand things are born; yin and yang meet and transformation arises; nature and conscious activity join and all under heaven is ordered. Heaven can produce things but cannot distinguish them; earth can bear men but cannot order them; the ten thousand things of the world and the race of men all await the sage and then are divided. The Zhousong ode Shi Mai says: 'He pacifies the hundred spirits, down to the rivers and the high mountains.' This is what it means.

喪禮者，以生者飾死者也，大象其生以送其死也。故事死如生，事亡如存，終始一也。始卒，沐浴、鬠體、飯唅，象生執也。不沐則濡櫛三律而止，不浴則濡巾三式而止。充耳而設瑱，飯以生稻，唅以槁骨，反生術矣。設褻衣，襲三稱，縉紳而無鉤帶矣。設掩面儇目，鬠而不冠笄矣。書其名，置於其重，則名不見而柩獨明矣。薦器：則冠有鍪而毋縰，甕廡虛而不實，有簟席而無床笫，木器不成斲，陶器不成物，薄器不成內，笙竽具而不和，琴瑟張而不均，輿藏而馬反，告不用也。具生器以適墓，象徙道也。略而不盡，貌而不功，趨輿而藏之，金革轡靷而不入，明不用也。象徙道，又明不用也，是皆所以重哀也。故生器文而不功，明器貌而不用。凡禮，事生，飾歡也；送死，飾哀也；祭祀，飾敬也；師旅，飾威也。是百王之所同，古今之所一也，未有知其所由來者也。故壙壟、其貌象室屋也；棺槨、其貌象版蓋斯象拂也；無帾絲歶縷翣，其貌以象菲帷幬尉也。抗折，其貌以象槾茨番閼也。故喪禮者，無他焉，明死生之義，送以哀敬，而終周藏也。故葬埋，敬藏其形也；祭祀，敬事其神也；其銘誄繫世，敬傳其名也。事生，飾始也；送死，飾終也；終始具，而孝子之事畢，聖人之道備矣。刻死而附生謂之墨，刻生而附死謂之惑，殺生而送死謂之賊。大象其生以送其死，使死生終始莫不稱宜而好善，是禮義之法式也，儒者是矣。

The funeral rites use the living to adorn the dead: broadly, as though he were alive, they send him to his death. Therefore serve the dead as the living, serve the gone as the present—end and beginning are as one. Just dead, they bathe him, bind his hair, and put food in his mouth—things done as in life. If he is not washed, they run a wet comb through his hair three times and stop; if he is not bathed, they wipe him with a wet cloth three times and stop. They fill his ears and set the earplugs, feed him with raw rice and place a shell in his mouth—these run contrary to the ways of the living. They set out undergarments, lay on three sets of robes, insert the tablet but leave no hook or belt. They set the face-cover and veil the eyes; they bind the hair but add no cap or pin. They write his name and set it on the funeral stand—then the name is unseen and the coffin alone is manifest. They offer up the spirit goods: the cap has a helmet but no hair-cloth; urns and jars are empty and not filled; there are bamboo mats but no bedding; wooden vessels are left uncarved, clay vessels unfinished, wicker vessels with nothing inside; pipes and mouth-organs are provided but not tuned; zithers are strung but not evened; the carriage is buried but the horses return—to declare that they will not be used. They prepare the goods of life and send them to the grave—as on the road of a removal. Sparse and not exhaustive, having the shape but not the function; they drive the carriage there and bury it, but the metal-and-leather bridles and traces do not go in—to make plain that they will not be used. Being like the road of a removal, and again making plain that they will not be used—all this serves to deepen the grief. Therefore the goods of life have ornament but no function; the spirit goods have shape but no use. In all ritual: serving the living ornaments joy; sending off the dead ornaments grief; sacrifice ornaments reverence; the ranks of war ornament dread. This is what the hundred kings shared and what past and present make one; no one has ever known whence it came. Therefore the grave mound—its semblance is like a house; the inner and outer coffins—their semblance is like the boards and screens of a roof; the coverings, silk threads, and coffin-fans—their semblance is like curtains and drapes; the anti-and-zhe frames—their semblance is like plastered thatch and fences. So the funeral rites are nothing else: they make plain the meaning of death and life, send him off with grief and reverence, and end in thorough burial. Therefore burial reverently hides the form; sacrifice reverently serves the spirit; the inscriptions, eulogies, and genealogy reverently transmit the name. Serving the living ornaments the beginning; sending off the dead ornaments the end; beginning and end complete, the filial son's task is done and the sage's way is complete. To skimp the dead and add to the living is called stinginess; to skimp the living and add to the dead is called delusion; to kill the living to send off the dead is called murder. Broadly, as though he were alive, to send him to his death, so that between death and life, end and beginning, nothing fails to fit and be good—this is the model of ritual and rightness; the Ru are exactly this.

三年之喪，何也？曰：稱情而立文，因以飾群，別親疏貴賤之節，而不可益損也。故曰：無適不易之術也。創鉅者其日久，痛甚者其愈遲，三年之喪，稱情而立文，所以為至痛極也。齊衰、苴杖、居廬、食粥、席薪、枕塊，所以為至痛飾也。三年之喪，二十五月而畢，哀痛未盡，思慕未忘，然而禮以是斷之者，豈不以送死有已，復生有節也哉！凡生天地之間者，有血氣之屬必有知，有知之屬莫不愛其類。今夫大鳥獸則失亡其群匹，越月踰時，則必反鉛；過故鄉，則必徘徊焉，鳴號焉，躑躅焉，踟躕焉，然後能去之也。小者是燕爵，猶有啁焦之頃焉，然後能去之。故有血氣之屬莫知於人，故人之於其親也，至死無窮。將由夫愚陋淫邪之人與，則彼朝死而夕忘之；然而縱之，則是曾鳥獸之不若也，彼安能相與群居而無亂乎！將由夫修飾之君子與，則三年之喪，二十五月而畢，若駟之過隙，然而遂之，則是無窮也。故先王聖人安為之立中制節，一使足以成文理，則舍之矣。

What is the three-year mourning? I say: it weighs the feeling and sets up form, and thereby ornaments the ranks of kin, distinguishing the measures of near and far, noble and base, which may not be added to or taken from. Therefore it is said: there is no method that goes everywhere unchanged. A great wound lasts long; a deep pain heals slowly; the three-year mourning, weighing feeling to set up form, serves to mark the utmost of deepest pain. The unhemmed sackcloth, the mourning staff, dwelling in the hut, eating gruel, sleeping on straw, a clod for a pillow—these serve as the ornament of deepest pain. The three-year mourning ends at twenty-five months: grief is not yet exhausted, longing not yet forgotten; yet ritual cuts it off here—is it not because sending off the dead must have an end, and returning to life must have its measure? All things born between heaven and earth that have blood and breath have awareness; all that have awareness love their kind. Now when a great bird or beast loses its group or mate, after months and seasons have passed it is certain to come circling back; passing its old home, it is sure to linger, cry out, hesitate, pace to and fro, and only then can it leave. Even the small—the swallow and the sparrow—chatter a brief while before they can go. So among creatures of blood and breath none is wiser than man; therefore man's love for his parents knows no end even unto death. Shall we follow the foolish, boorish, and depraved? Then a parent dies in the morning and is forgotten by evening; and if we let that run free, such people fall below even the birds and beasts—how could they dwell together without disorder? Shall we follow the cultivated noble man? Then the three-year mourning ends at twenty-five months, quick as a four-horse team glimpsed through a crack; and if we let that run on, it is endless. Therefore the former kings and sages set up for them a middle way, fixed its measure: once it suffices to complete form and pattern, it is let go.

然則何以分之？曰：至親以期斷。是何也？曰：天地則已易矣，四時則已無矣，其在宇中者莫不更始矣，故先王案以此象之也。然則三年何也？曰：加隆焉，案使倍之，故再期也。由九月以下何也？曰：案使不及也。故三年以為隆，緦麻、小功以為殺，期、九月以為間。上取象於天，下取象於地，中取則於人，人所以群居和一之理盡矣。故三年之喪，人道之至文者也，夫是之謂至隆。是百王之所同也，古今之所一也。

Then by what are the grades distinguished? I say: for the nearest kin the year is the break. Why? I say: heaven and earth have already turned, the four seasons have run their course, and all within the world begins anew—so the former kings used this to mirror it. Then what is the three-year? I say: it adds to the exaltation, so another year is doubled on. What are those of nine months and less? I say: they are made to fall short. So the three-year stands as the exaltation; the three-month and five-month grades as the abatement; the year and the nine months as the middle. Above they take their image from heaven, below from earth, in the middle from man—the reason men can dwell together in unity is exhausted here. Therefore the three-year mourning is the supreme ornament of the human way; this is called the utmost exaltation. It is what the hundred kings shared and what past and present make one.

君之喪，所以取三年，何也？曰：君者、治辨之主也，文理之原也，情貌之盡也，相率而致隆之，不亦可乎？詩曰："愷悌君子，民之父母。"彼君子者，固有為民父母之說焉。父能生之，不能養之；母能食之，不能教誨之；君者，已能食之矣，又善教誨之者也。三年畢矣哉！乳母、飲食之者也，而三月；慈母、衣被之者也，而九月；君曲備之者也，三年畢乎哉！得之則治，失之則亂，文之至也。得之則安，失之則危，情之至也。兩至者俱積焉，以三年事之，猶未足也，直無由進之耳。故社，祭社也；稷、祭稷也；郊者，並百王於上天而祭祀之也。

The mourning for a lord is taken as three years—why? I say: the lord is the master of order and discernment, the source of form and pattern, the consummation of feeling and countenance; to lead one another in honoring him to the utmost—is that not fitting? The Daya ode Jiongzhuo says: 'The happy, gracious noble man is father and mother to the people.' The noble man has always had the name of father and mother to the people. A father can beget him but cannot nourish him; a mother can feed him but cannot teach him; the lord not only feeds him but also teaches him well. Is three years then too much! The wet-nurse, who gave him drink and food, has three months; the fostering mother, who gave him clothes and covers, has nine months; the lord is complete in all—is three years then too much! Win him and there is order; lose him and there is chaos—this is the summit of form. Win him and there is safety; lose him and there is peril—this is the summit of feeling. Two summits are both gathered here; to serve him three years is still not enough—there is simply nothing more to add. Therefore the she altar is sacrifice to the soil; the ji altar is sacrifice to grain; the jiao sacrifice gathers all the kings together with Heaven above in offering.

三月之殯，何也？曰：大之也，重之也。所致隆也，所致親也，將舉措之，遷徙之，離宮室而歸丘陵也，先王恐其不文也，是以繇其期，足之日也。故天子七月，諸侯五月，大夫三月，皆使其須足以容事，事足以容成，成足以容文，文足以容備，曲容備物之謂道矣。

What is the three months before burial? I say: it enlarges it; it dignifies it. For one most exalted, most beloved, when they are about to lift him, move him, leave the palace and halls and go to the hills and mounds, the former kings feared it would lack ornament; therefore they lengthened the term to make the days sufficient. So the Son of Heaven has seven months, the feudal lords five, the great officers three—all to make the waiting give room for the tasks, the tasks give room for accomplishment, accomplishment give room for ornament, ornament give room for completeness; when all-round room and complete provision are reached, it is called the Way.

祭者、志意思慕之情也。愅詭唈僾而不能無時至焉。故人之歡欣和合之時，則夫忠臣孝子亦愅詭而有所至矣。彼其所至者，甚大動也；案屈然已，則其於志意之情者惆然不嗛，其於禮節者闕然不具。故先王案為之立文，尊尊親親之義至矣。故曰：祭者、志意思慕之情也。忠信愛敬之至矣，禮節文貌之盛矣，苟非聖人，莫之能知也。聖人明知之，士君子安行之，官人以為守，百姓以成俗；其在君子以為人道也，其在百姓以為鬼事也。故鐘鼓管磬，琴瑟竽笙，韶夏護武，汋桓箾簡象，是君子之所以為愅詭其所喜樂之文也。齊衰、苴杖、居廬、食粥、席薪、枕塊，是君子之所以為愅詭其所哀痛之文也。師旅有制，刑法有等，莫不稱罪，是君子之所以為愅詭其所敦惡之文也。卜筮視日、齋戒、修塗、几筵、饋薦、告祝，如或饗之。物取而皆祭之，如或嘗之。毋利舉爵，主人有尊，如或觴之。賓出，主人拜送，反易服，即位而哭，如或去之。哀夫！敬夫！事死如事生，事亡如事存，狀乎無形，影然而成文。

Sacrifice is the expression of intent, thought, and longing. Moved feelings, pent up, cannot help but come at their season. So when men are in times of joy and concord, the loyal minister and filial son are also moved and something comes to them. What comes is a great stirring; were it to stop empty and bent, then in the feeling of his intent he would be disconsolate and unsatisfied, and in ritual observance deficient and incomplete. Therefore the former kings set up form for them—the meaning of honoring the honored and loving the kin reached its utmost. So I say: sacrifice is the expression of intent, thought, and longing—the utmost of loyalty, faith, love, and reverence, the flourishing of ritual measure and ornamented manner; none but the sage can know it. The sage knows it clearly; the officer and noble man practice it contentedly; the functionaries take it as their charge; the hundred surnames make it their custom. For the noble man it counts as the human way; for the common folk it counts as ghost business. Therefore bells and drums, pipes and chimes, zithers and mouth-organs, the dances Shao, Xia, Hu, and Wu, Zhuo, Huan, Shuo, and Xiang—these are the ornaments the noble man makes for what moves him to joy. The unhemmed sackcloth, the mourning staff, dwelling in the hut, eating gruel, sleeping on straw, a clod for a pillow—these are the ornaments the noble man makes for what moves him to grief. That armies have rules and punishments have grades, none failing to fit the crime—these are the ornaments the noble man makes for what moves him to honor or loathing. Divining by tortoise and milfoil, reading the days, fasting and vigil, clearing the way, tables and offerings, presentation and invocation—as though a spirit truly comes to partake. Every thing taken is offered, as though a spirit truly tastes it. The profiteer is not made to raise the cup; the host keeps the place of honor, as though a spirit truly drinks. The guest goes out and the host bows him off, returns, changes dress, takes his place and weeps—as though a spirit has truly departed. Grief! Reverence! Serving the dead as one serves the living, serving the gone as one serves the present—its semblance rests on the formless, a shadowy thing that completes a pattern.

夫樂者、樂也，人情之所必不免也。故人不能無樂，樂則必發於聲音，形於動靜；而人之道，聲音動靜，性術之變盡是矣。故人不能不樂，樂則不能無形，形而不為道，則不能無亂。先王惡其亂也，故制雅頌之聲以道之，使其聲足以樂而不流，使其文足以辨而不諰，使其曲直繁省廉肉節奏，足以感動人之善心，使夫邪汙之氣無由得接焉。是先王立樂之方也，而墨子非之奈何！

Now music is joy—it is what human feeling cannot help but have. Therefore man cannot be without joy; having joy, it must issue in sound and take shape in movement and stillness; and the way of man—sound, movement and stillness, the changes of his nature's art—is exhausted in these. Therefore man cannot be without joy; having joy, it cannot be without form; having form without guidance, it cannot be without disorder. The former kings hated that disorder, so they made the sounds of the Ya and Song to guide it—so that the sound suffices for joy without license, so that the pattern suffices for discernment without timidity, so that its bends and straights, fullness and spareness, restraint and richness, its pace and rhythm, suffice to stir man's good heart, so that depraved and foul airs have no way to touch him. This is the former kings' manner of establishing music—yet Mozi condemns it. What is to be done with him!

故樂在宗廟之中，君臣上下同聽之，則莫不和敬；閨門之內，父子兄弟同聽之，則莫不和親；鄉里族長之中，長少同聽之，則莫不和順。故樂者審一以定和者也，比物以飾節者也，合奏以成文者也；足以率一道，足以治萬變。是先王立樂之術也，而墨子非之奈何！

Therefore when music is in the ancestral temple and ruler and ministers, high and low, hear it together, none fail to harmonize in reverence; within the private chambers, when father and sons and brothers hear it together, none fail to harmonize in affection; in village and clan, when elder and younger hear it together, none fail to harmonize in accord. So music discerns the One to fix harmony, lines up the instruments to ornament the measure, joins in concert to complete the pattern; it suffices to lead them in a single way and to order the ten thousand changes. This is the former kings' method of establishing music—yet Mozi condemns it. What is to be done with him!

故聽其雅頌之聲，而志意得廣焉；執其干鏚，習其俯仰屈伸，而容貌得莊焉；行其綴兆，要其節奏，而行列得正焉，進退得齊焉。故樂者、出所以徵誅也，入所以揖讓也；徵誅揖讓，其義一也。出所以徵誅，則莫不聽從；入所以揖讓，則莫不從服。故樂者、天下之大齊也，中和之紀也，人情之所必不免也。是先王立樂之術也，而墨子非之奈何！

So hearing the sounds of the Ya and Song, one's intent is broadened; holding shield and axe, practicing the dips and lifts, the bends and stretches, one's bearing is made grave; treading the dance positions, keeping to the rhythm, the ranks are made straight and advancing and retreating made even. Therefore music: abroad it serves punitive war; at home it serves courteous yielding—and the meaning of punitive war and courteous yielding is one and the same. Abroad serving punitive war, none fail to obey; at home serving courteous yielding, none fail to submit. So music is the great unification of all under heaven, the ordering chord of central harmony, what human feeling cannot help but have. This is the former kings' method of establishing music—yet Mozi condemns it. What is to be done with him!

且樂者、先王之所以飾喜也；軍旅鈇鉞者，先王之所以飾怒也。先王喜怒皆得其齊焉。是故喜而天下和之，怒而暴亂畏之。先王之道，禮樂正其盛者也。而墨子非之。故曰：墨子之於道也，猶瞽之於白黑也，猶聾之於清濁也，猶欲之楚而北求之也。

Moreover music is what the former kings used to ornament joy; the ranks of the army with its axes are what the former kings used to ornament wrath. The former kings' joy and wrath both found their due measure. Therefore when they rejoiced, all under heaven answered in harmony; when they were wroth, the violent and rebellious trembled. In the way of the former kings, ritual and music are precisely the flourishing—yet Mozi condemns them. So I say: Mozi, before the Way, is like a blind man before black and white, like a deaf man before clear and muddy tones, like a man who wants to go to Chu but seeks it by heading north.

夫聲樂之入人也深，其化人也速，故先王謹為之文。樂中平則民和而不流，樂肅莊則民齊而不亂。民和齊則兵勁城固，敵國不敢嬰也。如是，則百姓莫不安其處，樂其鄉，以至足其上矣。然後名聲於是白，光輝於是大，四海之民莫不願得以為師，是王者之始也。樂姚冶以險，則民流僈鄙賤矣；流僈則亂，鄙賤則爭；亂爭則兵弱城犯，敵國危之如是，則百姓不安其處，不樂其鄉，不足其上矣。故禮樂廢而邪音起者，危削侮辱之本也。故先王貴禮樂而賤邪音。其在序官也，曰："修憲命，審詩商，禁淫聲，以時順修，使夷俗邪音不敢亂雅，太師之事也。"

Music and harmonious sound enter deeply into a person and transform him quickly, so the former kings were careful to give it proper form. When music is centered, correct, and peaceful, the people are harmonious and compliant without being dissolute; when music is solemn, reverent, and grave, the people are unified and orderly without falling into chaos. When the people are harmonious, compliant, and unified, the armed forces are strong and the city walls secure, and enemy states dare not encroach. When it is so, none of the hundred surnames fails to rest content in his place, delight in his own village, and fully provide for his superiors. Then the ruler's name is made illustrious and his glory magnified, and none among the people within the four seas would be unwilling to have him as their teacher—this is the beginning of true kingship. But when music is seductive and depraved, the people become dissolute, indolent, mean, and low; dissolute indolence brings disorder, and mean lowness brings strife. Disorder and strife make the armed forces weak and the walls breached, and enemy states do it harm. When it is so, the people cannot rest content in their places or delight in their villages, and they cannot fully provide for their superiors. Thus the decay of ritual and music and the rise of perverse sounds are the root of peril, dispossession, and disgrace. For this reason the former kings honored ritual and music and despised perverse sounds. In the 'Ordering of Officials' it says: 'He revises the statutes and commands, examines the odes and songs, bans licentious sounds, and at the proper season follows through with their regulation, so that barbarian customs and perverse sounds dare not disturb the proper and elegant—this is the office of the Grand Music Master.'

墨子曰："樂者、聖王之所非也，而儒者為之過也。"君子以為不然。樂者，聖王之所樂也，而可以善民心，其感人深，其移風易俗。故先王導之以禮樂，而民和睦。夫民有好惡之情，而無喜怒之應則亂；先王惡其亂也，故修其行，正其樂，而天下順焉。故齊衰之服，哭泣之聲，使人之心悲。帶甲嬰胄，歌於行伍，使人之心傷；姚冶之容，鄭衛之音，使人之心淫；紳、端、章甫，舞韶歌武，使人之心莊。故君子耳不聽淫聲，目不視邪色，口不出惡言，此三者，君子慎之。

Mozi said: 'Music is what the sage kings condemned, and for the Ru to practice it is a fault.' The noble man holds that this is not so. Music is what the sage kings delighted in; it can turn the hearts of the people toward goodness, it moves men deeply, and it changes manners and transforms customs. Therefore the former kings used ritual and music to guide them, and the people lived in harmony. The people have feelings of liking and disliking, and without the answering measures of joy and anger there is disorder. The former kings hated that disorder, so they cultivated their virtue and made their music correct, and all under heaven submitted. Thus the mourning garb of hempen sackcloth and the sounds of weeping make the heart grieve; donning armor and helmet and singing amid the ranks make the heart moved and heroic; seductive looks and the airs of Zheng and Wei make the heart dissolute; the broad sash, the dark ceremonial robe, and the Zhangfu cap, dancing the Shao and singing the Wu, make the heart grave. Therefore the noble man's ear does not listen to licentious sounds, his eye does not look at deviant sights, and his mouth does not utter evil words—these three the noble man attends to with care.

凡奸聲感人而逆氣應之，逆氣成象而亂生焉；正聲感人而順氣應之，順氣成象而治生焉。唱和有應，善惡相象，故君子慎其所去就也。君子以鐘鼓道志，以琴瑟樂心；動以干鏚，飾以羽旄，從以磬管。故其清明象天，其廣大象地，其俯仰周旋有似於四時。故樂行而志清，禮修而行成，耳目聰明，血氣和平，移風易俗，天下皆寧，美善相樂。故曰：樂者、樂也。君子樂得其道，小人樂得其欲；以道制欲，則樂而不亂；以欲忘道，則惑而不樂。故樂者，所以道樂也，金石絲竹，所以道德也；樂行而民鄉方矣。故樂也者，治人之盛者也，而墨子非之。

In general, when depraved sounds move a person, a contrary qi answers them; when contrary qi takes shape, disorder is born. When correct sounds move a person, a compliant qi answers them; when compliant qi takes shape, order is born. Call and response correspond, and good and evil take shape in turn, so the noble man is careful about what he departs from and what he draws near. The noble man uses bells and drums to guide the will, and the qin and se to gladden the heart; he acts with shield and battle-axe, adorns with feathers and yak tails, and follows with chime stones and pipes. Thus its clarity is like heaven, its breadth is like earth, and its lowering and rising, wheeling and turning resemble the four seasons. When music is practiced the will becomes clear; when ritual is cultivated virtue is completed. Ears and eyes are keen, the blood and qi are harmonious, manners are changed and customs transformed, all under heaven is at peace, and the beautiful and the good rejoice in each other. Thus it is said: music is joy. The noble man rejoices in attaining the Way; the petty man rejoices in attaining his desires. When the Way is used to restrain desire, there is joy without disorder; when desire makes one forget the Way, there is confusion without joy. Therefore music is the means by which joy is guided; metal, stone, silk, and bamboo are the means by which virtue is guided. When music is practiced the people turn toward the right way. Thus music is the grandest instrument for governing men—yet Mozi condemned it.

且樂也者，和之不可變者也；禮也者，理之不可易者也。樂合同，禮別異，禮樂之統，管乎人心矣。窮本極變，樂之情也；著誠去偽，禮之經也。墨子非之，幾遇刑也。明王已沒，莫之正也。愚者學之，危其身也。君子明樂，乃其德也。亂世惡善，不此聽也。於乎哀哉！不得成也。弟子勉學，無所營也。

Moreover, music is what cannot be altered in harmony; ritual is what cannot be changed in principle. Music joins together what is the same; ritual distinguishes what is different. The governance of ritual and music takes charge of the human heart. To plumb the root source and exhaust every transformation is the true nature of music; to make sincerity manifest and cast out the false is the constancy of ritual. That Mozi condemned them came near to incurring punishment. The enlightened kings have passed away, and there is no one to set these things right. If a fool studies them, he harms his own person. The noble man makes music illustrious—this is his virtue. A disordered age hates the good and will not listen to this. Alas, how sad! It cannot be brought to completion. Disciples, exert yourselves in study, and let there be nothing else you scheme to seek.

聲樂之象：鼓大麗，鍾統實，磬廉制，竽笙簫和，筦鑰發猛，壎篪翁博，瑟易良，琴婦好，歌清盡，舞意天道兼。鼓其樂之君邪。故鼓似天，鍾似地，磬似水，竽笙簫和筦鑰，似星辰日月，鼗柷、拊鞷、椌楬似萬物。曷以知舞之意？曰：目不自見，耳不自聞也，然而治俯仰、詘信、進退、遲速，莫不廉制，盡筋骨之力，以要鐘鼓俯會之節，而靡有悖逆者，眾積意謘謘乎！

The emblems of sound and music: the drum is great and splendid; the bell is encompassing and full; the chime stone is angular and measured; the yu, sheng, and xiao are smooth and flowing; the guan and yue are rousing and fierce; the xun and chi are capacious and broad; the se is level, gentle, and mild; the qin is supple, graceful, and lovely; song is limpid and reaches its utmost; and the meaning of dance comprehends the Way of Heaven. The drum is surely the lord of music. Thus the drum resembles heaven, the bell resembles earth, the chime stone resembles water, the yu, sheng, xiao, guan, and yue resemble the stars, the sun, and the moon, and the tao and zhu, the fu and ge, the qiang and qia resemble the myriad things. By what do we know the meaning of dance? I say: the eye cannot see itself and the ear cannot hear itself, yet in ordering the lowering and rising, bending and stretching, advancing and retreating, slowness and speed, there is none that is not angular and measured; the dancers exert all the strength of sinew and bone to keep in time with the bells and drums, bending low and joining in the rhythm without any defiance—how strict and ordered is the intent assembled in the multitude!

吾觀於鄉，而知王道之易易也。主人親速賓及介，而眾賓皆從之。至於門外，主人拜賓及介，而眾賓皆入；貴賤之義別矣。三揖至於階，三讓以賓升。拜至、獻、酬，辭讓之節繁，及介省矣。至於眾賓，升受、坐祭、立飲，不酢而降；隆殺之義辨矣。工入，升歌三終，主人獻之；笙入三終，主人獻之；間歌三終，合樂三終，工告樂備，遂出。二人揚觶，乃立司正，焉知其能和樂而不流也。賓酬主人，主人酬介，介酬眾賓，少長以齒，終於沃洗者，焉知其能弟長而無遺也。降，說屨升坐，修爵無數。飲酒之節，朝不廢朝，莫不廢夕。賓出，主人拜送，節文終遂，焉知其能安燕而不亂也。貴賤明，隆殺辨，和樂而不流，弟長而無遺，安燕而不亂，此五行者，足以正身安國矣。彼國安而天下安。故曰：吾觀於鄉，而知王道之易易也。

I observe the village wine-drinking ceremony and know that the Way of kingship is easy indeed. The host personally invites the guest of honor and the second guest, and all the other guests follow them. When they reach the gate, the host salutes the guest and the second guest, and the other guests all enter—the duty due to noble and base is thereby distinguished. After three deferential bows they come to the steps, and after three refusals the host lets the guest ascend the hall. The bowing on arrival, the offering, and the pledging are many in the forms of deference, but when it comes to the second guest they are curtailed. When it comes to the assembled guests, they ascend to receive the cup, sit to make the libation, stand to drink, and descend without pledging in return—the duty of exalting and curtailing is thereby discerned. The musicians enter, ascend the hall, and sing three pieces, and the host offers them wine; the sheng players enter and play three pieces, and the host offers them wine; then song and pipes alternate for three pieces each, and all join in three final pieces; the musicians report that the music is complete and withdraw. Two men raise their goblets, and a master of the ceremony is established—by this we know it can be harmonious and convivial without dissoluteness. The guest pledges the host, the host pledges the second guest, the second guest pledges the assembled guests, young and old in order of age, down to those who wash the cups—by this we know it can mark deference to elders and leave no one out. They descend the steps, remove their shoes, and sit again, and the cup circulates without fixed number. Yet the measure of the drinking is such that in the morning it does not interfere with morning duties, nor in the evening with evening duties. When the guest departs, the host bows him out, and the forms and rites are thus wholly completed—by this we know it can be at ease in feasting without falling into disorder. Noble and base made clear, exalting and curtailing discerned, harmonious joy without dissoluteness, deference to elders with none left out, ease in feasting without disorder—these five things are enough to rectify the person and settle the state. When that state is at peace, all under heaven is at peace. Thus it is said: I observe the village wine-drinking ceremony and know that the Way of kingship is easy indeed.

亂世之徵：其服組，其容婦。其俗淫，其志利，其行雜，其聲樂險，其文章匿而採，其養生無度，其送死瘠墨，賤禮義而貴勇力，貧則為盜，富則為賊；治世反是也。

The signs of a disordered age: its dress is gaudy and encrusted with ornament, and its demeanor is like that of women. Its customs are dissolute, its aims chase after profit, its conduct is motley, its music is depraved, its literary expression is obscure yet ornate, its care for the living knows no limit while its sending-off of the dead is as niggardly as the Mohists'; it despises ritual and rightness and prizes brute force; the poor become robbers and the rich become brigands. A well-ordered age is the opposite of this.