Chinese Literature | Page 8

of those
times! I follow Chow!"
On his first entry into the grand temple, he inquired about every matter
connected with its usages. Some one thereupon remarked, "Who says
that the son of the man of Tsou [8] understands about ceremonial? On
entering the grand temple he inquired about everything." This remark
coming to the Master's ears, he said, "What I did is part of the
ceremonial!"
"In archery," he said, "the great point to be observed is not simply the
perforation of the leather; for men have not all the same strength. That
was the fashion in the olden days."
Once, seeing that his disciple Tsz-kung was desirous that the
ceremonial observance of offering a sheep at the new moon might be
dispensed with, the Master said, "Ah! you grudge the loss of the sheep;
I grudge the loss of the ceremony."
"To serve one's ruler nowadays," he remarked, "fully complying with
the Rules of Propriety, is regarded by others as toadyism!"
When Duke Ting questioned him as to how a prince should deal with
his ministers, and how they in turn should serve their prince, Confucius
said in reply, "In dealing with his ministers a prince should observe the
proprieties; in serving his prince a minister should observe the duty of
loyalty."

Referring to the First of the Odes, he remarked that it was mirthful
without being lewd, and sad also without being painful.
Duke Ngai asked the disciple Tsai Wo respecting the places for
sacrificing to the Earth. The latter replied, "The Family of the Great Yu,
of the Hiá dynasty, chose a place of pine trees; the Yin founders chose
cypresses; and the Chow founders chestnut trees, solemn and majestic,
to inspire, 'tis said, the people with feelings of awe."
The Master on hearing of this exclaimed, "Never an allusion to things
that have been enacted in the past! Never a remonstrance against what
is now going on! He has gone away without a word of censure."
The Master once said of Kwan Chung, [9] "A small-minded man
indeed!"
"Was he miserly?" some one asked.
"Miserly, indeed!" said he; "not that: he married three rimes, and he
was not a man who restricted his official business to too few
hands--how could he be miserly?"
"He knew the Rules of Propriety, I suppose?"
"Judge:--Seeing that the feudal lords planted a screen at their gates, he
too would have one at his! Seeing that when any two of the feudal lords
met in friendly conclave they had an earthenware stand on which to
place their inverted cups after drinking, he must have the same! If he
knew the Rules of Propriety, who is there that does not know them?"
In a discourse to the Chief Preceptor of Music at the court of Lu, the
Master said, "Music is an intelligible thing. When you begin a
performance, let all the various instruments produce as it were one
sound (inharmonious); then, as you go on, bring out the harmony fully,
distinctly, and with uninterrupted flow, unto the end."
The warden of the border-town of I requested an interview with
Confucius, and said, "When great men have come here, I have never

yet failed to obtain a sight of them." The followers introduced him; and,
on leaving, he said to them, "Sirs, why grieve at his loss of office? The
empire has for long been without good government; and Heaven is
about to use your master as its edict-announcer."
Comparing the music of the emperor Shun with the music of King Wu,
the Master said, "That of Shun is beautiful throughout, and also good
throughout. That of Wu is all of it beautiful, but scarcely all of it good."
"High station," said the Master, "occupied by men who have no large
and generous heart; ceremonial performed with no reverence; duties of
mourning engaging the attention, where there is absence of
sorrow;--how should I look on, where this is the state of things?"
[Footnote 4: The Chief of the Ki clan was virtually the Duke of Lu,
under whom Confucius for a time held office.]
[Footnote 5: These posturers were mutes who took part in the ritual of
the ancestral temple, waving plumes, flags, etc. Each line or rank of
these contained eight men. Only in the sovereign's household should
there have been eight lines of them; a ducal family like the Ki should
have had but six lines; a great official had four, and one of lower grade
two. These were the gradations marking the status of families, and
Confucius's sense of propriety was offended at the Ki's usurping in this
way the appearance of royalty.]
[Footnote 6: Three great families related to each other, in whose hands
the government of the State of Lu then was, and of which the Ki was