| | 禮器: |
禮，時為大，順次之，體次之，宜次之，稱次之。堯授舜，舜授禹；湯放桀，武王伐紂，時也。《》云：「匪革其猶，聿追來孝。」天地之祭，宗廟之事，父子之道，君臣之義，倫也。社稷山川之事，鬼神之祭，體也。喪祭之用，賓客之交，義也。羔豚而祭，百官皆足；大牢而祭，不必有餘，此之謂稱也。諸侯以龜為寶，以圭為瑞。家不寶龜，不藏圭，不臺門，言有稱也。 |
| Li Qi: |
In (judging of) rites the time should be the great consideration. (Their relation to) natural duties, their material substance, their appropriateness to circumstances, and their proportioning are all secondary. Yao's resignation of the throne to Shun, and Shun's resignation of it to Yu; Tang's dethronement of Jie; and the overthrow of Zhou by Wen and Wu - all these are to be judged of by the time. As the Book of Poetry says, "It was not that he was in haste to gratify his wishes; It was to show the filial duty that had come down to him.'" The sacrifices to heaven and earth; the services of the ancestral temple; the courses for father and son; and the righteousness between ruler and minister - these are to be judged of as natural duties. The services at the altars of the land and grain and of the hills and streams; and the sacrifices to spirits - these are to be judged of by the material substance of the offerings. The use of the funeral rites and sacrifices; and the reciprocities of host and guest - these are to be judged of by their appropriateness to circumstances. Sacrificing with a lamb and a sucking pig, by the multitude of officers, when yet there was enough; and sacrificing with an ox, a ram, and a boar, when yet there was nothing to spare - in these we have an instance of the proportioning. The princes set great store by the tortoise, and consider their jade-tokens as the insignia of their rank, while the (chiefs of) clans have not the tortoises that are so precious, nor the jade-tokens to keep (by themselves), nor the towered gateways - these (also) are instances of the proportioning. |
| | 禮器: |
是故因天事天，因地事地，因名山升中于天，因吉土以饗帝于郊。升中于天，而鳳凰降、龜龍假；饗帝於郊，而風雨節、寒暑時。是故聖人南面而立，而天下大治。 |
| Li Qi: |
Then in accordance with (the height of) heaven they did service to Heaven, in accordance with (the lower position of) earth they did service to Earth; taking advantage of the famous hills they ascended them, and announced to Heaven the good government (of the princes). When thus at the felicitous spot (chosen for their capitals) they presented their offerings to God in the suburb and announced to Heaven (the general good government from the famous hills), the phoenix descended, and tortoises and dragons made their appearance. When they presented their offerings to God in the suburb the winds and rains were duly regulated, and the cold and heat came each in its proper time, so that the sage (king) had only to stand with his face to the south, and order prevailed all under the sky. |
| | 禮器: |
大饗其王事與！三牲魚臘，四海九州之美味也；籩豆之薦，四時之和氣也。內金，示和也。束帛加璧，尊德也。龜為前列，先知也。金次之，見情也。丹漆絲纊竹箭，與眾共財也。其餘無常貨，各以其國之所有，則致遠物也。其出也，肆夏而送之，蓋重禮也。 |
| Li Qi: |
Was not the great quinquennial sacrifice a service belonging to the king? The three animal victims, the fish, and flesh, were the richest tributes for the palate from all within the four seas and the nine provinces. The fruits and grain presented in the high dishes of wood and bamboo were the product of the harmonious influences of the four seasons, The tribute of metal showed the harmonious submission (of the princes). The rolls of silk with the round pieces of jade placed on them showed the honour they rendered to virtue. The tortoise was placed in front of all the other offerings, because of its knowledge of the future; the tribute of metal succeeded to it, showing the (hold it has on) human feelings. The vermilion, the varnish, the silk, the floss, the large bamboos and the smaller for arrows - the articles which all the states contribute; with the other uncommon articles, which each state contributed according to its resources, even to those from the remote regions - (these followed the former). When the Visitors left they were escorted with the music of the Si Xia. All these things showed how important was the sacrifice. |
| | 郊特牲: |
旅幣無方，所以別土地之宜而節遠邇之期也。龜為前列，先知也，以鐘次之，以和居參之也。虎豹之皮，示服猛也。束帛加璧，往德也。 |
| Jiao Te Sheng: |
There were no fixed rules for the various articles of tribute. They were the different products of the different territories according to their several suitabilities, and were regulated by their distances (from the royal domain). The tortoises were placed in front of all the other offerings - because (the shell) gave the knowledge of the future. The bells succeeded to them - because of their harmony, they were a symbol of the union of feeling that should prevail'. Then there were the skins of tigers and leopards - emblems of the fierce energy with which insubordination would be repressed; and there were the bundles of silks with disks of jade on them, showing how (the princes) came to (admire and experience) the virtue (of the king). |
| | 郊特牲: |
天子適四方，先柴。郊之祭也，迎長日之至也，大報天而主日也。兆於南郊，就陽位也。掃地而祭，於其質也。器用陶匏，以象天地之性也。於郊，故謂之郊。牲用騂，尚赤也；用犢，貴誠也。郊之用辛也，周之始郊日以至。卜郊，受命于祖廟，作龜于禰宮，尊祖親考之義也。卜之日，王立于澤，親聽誓命，受教諫之義也。獻命庫門之內，戒百官也。大廟之命，戒百姓也。 |
| Jiao Te Sheng: |
The son of Heaven, in his tours (of Inspection) to the four quarters (of the kingdom), as the first thing (on his arrival at each) reared the pile of wood (and set fire to it). At the (Great) border sacrifice, he welcomed the arrival of the longest day. It was a great act of thanksgiving to Heaven, and the sun was the chief object considered in it'. The space marked off for it was in the southern suburb - the place most open to the brightness and warmth (of the heavenly influence). The sacrifice was offered on the ground which had been swept for the purpose;--to mark the simplicity (of the ceremony). The vessels used were of earthenware and of gourds - to emblem the natural (productive power of) heaven and earth. The place was the suburb, and therefore the sacrifice was called the suburban or border. The victim was red, that being the colour preferred by the (Zhou) dynasty; and it was a calf - to show the estimation of simple sincerity. For (all) sacrifices in the border they used a xin day; because when Zhou first offered the border sacrifice, it was the longest day, and its name began with xin. When divining about the border sacrifice, (the king) received the reply in the fane of his (great) ancestor, and the tortoise-shell was operated on in that of his father; honour being thus done to his ancestor, and affection shown to his father. On the day of divination, he stood by the lake, and listened himself to the declarations and orders which were delivered, showing an example of receiving lessons and reproof. (The officers) having communicated to him the orders (to be issued), he gives warning notice of them to all the officers (of a different surname from himself), inside the Ku gate (of the palace), and to those of the same surname, in the Grand temple. |
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祭之日，王皮弁以聽祭報，示民嚴上也。喪者不哭，不敢凶服，汜掃反道，鄉為田燭。弗命而民聽上。祭之日，王被袞以象天，戴冕，璪十有二旒，則天數也。乘素車，貴其質也。旗十有二旒，龍章而設日月，以象天也。天垂象，聖人則之。郊所以明天道也。帝牛不吉，以為稷牛。帝牛必在滌三月，稷牛唯具。所以別事天神與人鬼也。萬物本乎天，人本乎祖，此所以配上帝也。郊之祭也，大報本反始也。 |
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On the day of the sacrifice, the king in his skin cap waits for the news that all is ready, showing the people how they ought to venerate their superiors. Those who were engaged in mourning rites did not wail nor venture to put on their mourning dress. (The people) watered and swept the road, and turned it up afresh with the spade; at (the top of) the fields in the neighbourhood they kept torches burning - thus without special orders complying with (the wish of) the king. On that day, the king assumed the robe with the ascending dragons on it as an emblem of the heavens. He wore the cap with the pendants of jade-pearls, to the number of twelve, which is the number of heaven. He rode in the plain carriage, because of its simplicity. From the flag hung twelve pendants, and on it was the emblazonry of dragons, and the figures of the sun and moon, in imitation of the heavens. Heaven hangs out its brilliant figures, and the sages imitated them. This border sacrifice is the illustration of the way of Heaven. If there appeared anything infelicitous about the victim intended for God, it was used for that intended for Ji. That intended for God required to be kept in its clean stall for three months. That intended for Ji simply required to be perfect in its parts. This was the way in which they made a distinction between the spirits of Heaven and the manes of a man. All things originate from Heaven; man originates from his (great) ancestor. This is the reason why Ji was associated with God (at this sacrifice). In the sacrifices at the border there was an expression of gratitude to the source (of their prosperity and a going back in their thoughts to the beginning of (all being). |
| | 玉藻: |
卜人定龜，史定墨，君定體。 |
| Yu Zao: |
The officer of divination by the tortoise-shell fixed the shell (to be used); the recorder applied the ink; and the ruler determined the figures (produced by the fire). |
| | 玉藻: |
犬羊之裘不裼，不文飾也不裼。裘之裼也，見美也。吊則襲，不盡飾也；君在則裼，盡飾也。服之襲也，充美也，是故尸襲，執玉龜襲，無事則裼，弗敢充也。 |
| Yu Zao: |
With dog's fur or sheep's fur, they did not wear any jacket of silk over it. Where there was no ornamentation, they did not use the jacket. The wearing the jacket was to show its beauty. When condoling, they kept the jacket covered, and did now show all its ornamental character; in the presence of the ruler, they showed all this. The covering of the dress was to hide its beauty. Hence, personators of the deceased covered their jackets of silk. Officers holding a piece of jade or a tortoise-shell (to present it) covered it; but if they had no (such official) business in hand, they displayed the silken garment, and did not presume to cover it. |
| | 玉藻: |
君與尸行接武，大夫繼武，士中武，徐趨皆用是。疾趨則欲發而手足毋移，圈豚行不舉足，齊如流，席上亦然。端行，頤溜如矢，弁行，剡剡起屨，執龜玉，舉前曳踵，蹜蹜如也。 |
| Yu Zao: |
A ruler and a representative of the dead brought their feet together step by step when they walked; a Great officer stepped along, one foot after the other; an ordinary officer kept the length of his foot between his steps. In walking slowly, they all observed these rules. In walking rapidly, while they wished to push on (and did so), they were not allowed to alter the motion either of hands or feet. In turning their feet inwards or outwards, they did not lift them up, and the edge of the lower garment dragged along, like the water of a stream. In walking on the mats it was the same. When walking erect, (the body was yet bent, and) the chin projected like the eaves of a house, and their advance was straight as an arrow. When walking rapidly, the body had the appearance of rising constantly with an elevation of the feet. When carrying a tortoise-shell or (a symbol of) jade, they raised their toes and trailed their heels, presenting an appearance of carefulness. |
