CHAPTER XI. - FILIAL PIETY IN RELATION TO THE FIVE PUNISHMENTS The Master said, "There are three thousand offenses against which the five punishments are directed, and there is not one of them greater than being unfilial. "When constraint is put upon a ruler, that is the disowning of his superiority; when the authority of the sages is disallowed, that is the disowning of all law; when filial piety is put aside, that is the disowning of the principle of affection. These three things pave the way to anarchy." RULE OF CONDUCT" IN CHAPTER I The Master said, "For teaching the people to be affectionate and loving there is nothing better than Filial Piety; for teaching them the observance of propriety and submissiveness there is nothing better than Fraternal Duty; for changing their manners and altering their customs there is nothing better than Music; for securing the repose of superiors and the good order of the people there is nothing better than the Rules of Propriety. "The Rules of Propriety are simply the development of the principle of Reverence. Therefore the reverence paid to a father makes all sons pleased; the reverence paid to an elder brother makes all younger brothers pleased; the reverence paid to a ruler makes all subjects pleased. 20 The reverence paid to One man makes thousands and myriads of men pleased. The reverence is paid to a few, and the pleasure extends to many; this is what is meant by an 'All-embracing Rule of Conduct. " 20 We must understand that the "reverence" here is to be understood as paid by the sovereign. In reverencing his father (or an uncle may also in Chinese usage be so styled), he reverences the idea of fatherhood, and being "in accord with the minds of all under heaven," his example is universally powerful. And we may reason similarly of the other two cases of reverence specified. CHAPTER XIII. - AMPLIFICATION OF 66 TUE" IN CHAPTER I THE PERFECT VIR The Master said, "The teaching of filial piety by the superior man 21 does not require that he should go to family after family, and daily see the members of each. His teaching of filial piety is a tribute of reverence to all the fathers under heaven; his teaching of fraternal submission is a tribute of reverence to all the elder brothers under heaven; his teaching of the duty of a subject is a tribute of reverence to all the rulers under heaven. "It is said in the Book of Poetry, ""The happy and courteous sovereign "If it were not a perfect virtue, how could it be recognized as in accordance with their nature by the people so extensively as this?" CHAPTER XIV. - AMPLIFICATION OF "MAKING OUR NAME FAMOUS," IN CHAPTER I The Master said, "The filial piety with which the superior man serves his parents may be transferred as loyalty to the ruler; the fraternal duty with which he serves his elder brother may be transferred as submissive deference to elders; his regulation of his family may be transferred as good government in an official position. Therefore, when his conduct is thus successful in his inner private circle, his name will be established and transmitted to future generations." CHAPTER XV. - FILIAL PIETY IN RELATION TO REPROOF AND REMONSTRANCE The disciple Tsang said, "I have heard your instructions on the affection of love, on respect and reverence, on giving repose to the minds of our parents, and on making our names famous; I would venture to ask if simple obedience to the orders of one's father can be pronounced filial piety." The Master replied, "What words are these! what words are these! Anciently, if the Son of Heaven had seven ministers who would remonstrate with him, although he had not right methods of government, he would not lose his possession of the kingdom; if the prince of a State had five such ministers, though his measures might be equally wrong, he would not lose his State; if a great officer had three, he would not, in a similar case, lose the headship of his clan; if an inferior officer had a friend who would remonstrate with him, a good name would not cease to be connected with his character; and the father who had a son that would remonstrate with him would not sink into the gulf of unrighteous deeds.22 Therefore when a case of unrighteous conduct is concerned, a son must by no means keep from remonstrating with his father, nor a minister from remonstrating with his ruler. Hence, since remonstrance is required in the case of unrighteous conduct, how can simple obedience to the orders of a father be accounted filial piety?" 23 21 The Chun-tsze, or "superior man," here must be taken of the sovereign. CHAPTER XVI. - THE INFLUENCE OF FILIAL PIETY AND THE RESPONSE TO IT The Master said, "Anciently, the intelligent kings served their fathers with filial piety, and therefore they served Heaven with intelligence; they served their mothers with filial piety, and therefore they served Earth with discriminaiton.24 They pursued the right course with reference to their own seniors and juniors, and therefore they secured the regulation of the relations between superiors and inferiors throughout the kingdom. 22 The numbers 7, 5, 3, 1 can not be illustrated by examples, nor should they be insisted on. The higher the dignity, the greater would be the risk, and the stronger must be the support that was needed. 23 Compare the "Analects," IV, xviii. 24 This chapter is as difficult to grasp as the seventh, which treated of Filial Piety in Relation to "the Three Powers." It is indeed a sequel to that. Heaven and Earth appear as two Powers, or as a dual Power, taking the place of Heaven or God. We can in a degree follow the treatise in transferring the reverence paid by a son to his father to loyalty shown by him to his ruler; but it is more difficult to understand the development of filial piety into religion that is here assumed and described. Was it not the pressing of this virtue too far, "When Heaven and Earth were served with intelligence and discrimination, the spiritual intelligences displayed their retributive power. 25 "Therefore even the Son of Heaven must have some whom he honors; that is, he has his uncles of his surname. He must have some to whom he concedes precedence; that is, he has his cousins, who bear the same surname, and are older than himself. In the ancestral temple he manifests the utmost reverence, showing that he does not forget his parents; he cultivates his person and is careful of his conduct, fearing lest he should disgrace his predecessors. "When in the ancestral temple he exhibits the utmost reverence, the spirits of the departed manifest themselves. Perfect filial piety and fraternal duty reach to and move the spiritual intelligences, and diffuse their light on all within the four seas; they penetrate everywhere. "It is said in the Book of Poetry, ""From the west to the east, There was not a thought but did him homage.'" CHAPTER XVII. - THE SERVICE OF THE RULER The Master said, "The superior man serves his ruler in such a way that, when at court in his presence, his thought is how to discharge his loyal duty to the utmost; and when he retires from it, his thought is how to amend his errors. He carries out with deference the measures springing from his excellent qualities, and rectifies him only to save him from what are evil. Hence, as the superior and inferior, they are able to have an affection for each other. the making more of it than can be made, that tended to deprave religion during the Chau Dynasty, and to mingle with the earlier monotheism a form of nature-worship? 25 "The Spiritual Intelligences" here are Heaven and Earth conceived of as Spiritual Beings. They responded to the sincere service of the intelligent kings, as Hsing Ping says, with "the harmony of the active and passive principles of nature, seasonable winds and rain, the absence of epidemic sickness and plague, and the repose of all under heaven." "It is said in the Book of Poetry, ""In my heart I love him; And why should I not say so? CHAPTER XVIII. - FILIAL PIETY IN MOURNING FOR PARENTS The Master said, "When a filial son is mourning for a parent, he wails, but not with a prolonged sobbing; in the movements of ceremony he pays no attention to his appearance; his words are without elegance of phrase; he can not bear to wear fine clothes; when he hears music, he feels no delight; when he eats a delicacy, he is not conscious of its flavor: such is the nature of grief and sorrow. "After three days he may partake of food; for thus the people are taught that the living should not be injured on account of the dead, and that emaciation must not be carried to the extinction of life: such is the rule of the sages. The period of mourning does not go beyond three years, to show the people that it must have an end. "An inner and outer coffin are made; the grave-clothes also are put on, and the shroud; and the body is lifted into the coffin. The sacrificial vessels, round and square, are regularly set forth, and the sight of them fills the mourners with fresh distress.26 The women beat their breasts, and the men stamp with their feet, wailing and weeping, while they sorrowfully escort the coffin to the grave. They consult the tortoise-shell to determine the grave and the ground about it, and there they lay the body in peace. They prepare the ancestral temple to receive the tablet of the departed, and there present offerings to the disembodied spirit. In spring 26 These vessels were arranged every day by the coffin, while it continued in the house, after the corpse was put into it. The practise was a serving of the dead as the living had been served. |