Section 65.1
Sayings of the common people:
Vinegar dissipates smoke,
and owl feathers dispel dust blindness.
A lodestone attracts iron,
and a concave metal [mirror] attracts fire.
1When silkworms secrete fragmented silk in the side room,
the [
shang] string snaps in the center hall.
2When grains mature in the fields,
millet grows scarce in the granaries.
When weeds spring up in Yan,
oranges die in Jing.
These ten things all are uncanny and can be marveled at. They are not something people understand. Since they are not something people understand, they are taken as given once they appear. Some are auspicious and some [are] inauspicious; some indicate bad fortune and some indicate good fortune. [Nonetheless,] there is nothing uncanny about the causes of benefit and harm. How is it that people do not understand them in this way? Such things are truly awesome.
Confucius said: “A noble man is awestruck by three things:
He is awestruck by the Mandate of Heaven;
he is awestruck by the Great Man;
and he is awestruck by the words of the sages.”
3Even though these things do not harm the people, someone like Confucius was awestruck by them! From this example it is evident that
Heaven cannot but be fearfully revered,
just as the ruler above cannot but be respectfully served.
If you do not respectfully serve the ruler,
the ruler’s misfortunes will rise and be utterly evident;
If you do not fearfully revere Heaven,
Heaven’s calamities will rise and be utterly baffling.
Baffling means that one cannot perceive their causes, as if they were spontaneous. Thus it is said: “Grave and severe as Heaven[’s calamities].”
4 This means that one cannot necessarily verify them:
They are silent and soundless;
they are hidden and formless.
Looking at things from this perspective, the difference between Heaven’s calamities and the ruler’s punishments is that one is abstruse while the other is obvious. Nonetheless, in arriving and affecting the people, they probably do not differ.
5 [Thus] Confucius [treated them] as identical and said that both are awesome.
The heart of the spirit illumination of Heaven and Earth
and the reality of successes and failures of human endeavors
certainly are things that no [ordinary] person can perceive. Only the sage can perceive them. The sage can see what others cannot see. Thus the words of the sage are awesome as well.
What, then, of those who abandon the rite of the Suburban Sacrifice? The rite of the Suburban Sacrifice was what the sages most deeply valued.
6 If you abandon what the sages deeply valued, the causes of good and bad fortune, and of benefit and harm, will remain shrouded in darkness, so that you are unable to perceive them when in its midst. Even though you have already suffered extreme harm from them, how will you understand them? Thus it is said: When questioning the sage, ask what he does, but do not ask why he does what he does. If you ask him why he does what he does, you will never understand it, so it is better not to ask at all. [But]
if you ask him what he does and you do it,
and if you ask him what he does not do and you refuse to do it,
this amounts to being substantially at one with the sage. What could be wrong with that?
An Ode says:
“Do not err, do not forget.
Follow the ancient statutes.”
7“The ancient statutes” are the ancient writings of the former sages. “To follow” means that in each case they are followed
8 and obeyed. This means that with regard to the ancient writings of the former sages, even if you are unable to investigate them deeply or know them minutely, you still have not lost sight of their good and glorious achievements. The Suburban [Sacrifice] exemplifying the righteous principle of serving Heaven [is what] the sages spoke about [again and again].
9 [65/66/16–65/67/1]
Section 67.2
Therefore, the sage-kings of antiquity
10 considered [the Suburban Sacrifice] the most important [topic in the received] writings. None among the kings of the former ages failed to follow [this practice of] attaching importance to it. With the most refined millet, they made their offerings to serve Heaven above. Coming to the time of the Qin, the Qin alone neglected and abandoned it. How could they fail to follow the ancient statutes that were of such great significance!
Heaven is the great lord of the spirits. [Thus] if service to Heaven is not provided, then even if [you sacrifice to] the numerous [lesser] spirits, it will be of no benefit to you. Why do I say that this is so? Those who did not sacrifice to the spirit of Heaven but sacrificed to the spirit of the land were criticized in the
Spring and Autumn.
11 Confucius said: “If you commit a crime against Heaven, you will have no one to whom you can pray.”
12 This was his standard. Thus we have not seen the state of Qin attract Heaven’s blessings as the state of Zhou did. An
Ode says:
“This King Wen, watchful and reverent,
brightly served the High God
and so secured many blessings.”
13“Many blessings” does not refer to his person but to his meritorious service [to Heaven]. It refers to what Heaven blesses. A tradition states: “Among the sons of the Zhou state, there were many worthies. They flourished all the way down to the time of Pin, who conceived four sons. These four in turn produced eight sons. They all were noble men, brave and eminent.”
14 This was how Heaven brought prosperity to the state of Zhou. This was not something the state of Zhou could accomplish on its own. Now Qin, like Zhou, also attained the [rank of] Son of Heaven, and yet the way in which Qin served Heaven differed from [that of] Zhou. Zhou considered the Suburban Sacrifice to come before [the services to] all the other spirits. When they first entered the new year, they performed the sacrifice on the first
xin day of the first month. They first made offerings to Heaven, and only after this was done did they dare sacrifice to Earth. This is the principle of placing the honorable first. Performing the Suburban Sacrifice annually before all other [sacrificial services] is a far cry from not performing it at all in the course of a year.
With regard to the blessings of the world, it is not as if there were anything [about them] that one might consider uncanny. Rather, during this long period when [the Suburban Sacrifice] was not observed, it is not that it was completely obvious that it ought to have been observed and was not, but that the officials in charge of ritual affairs were in doubt about the matter and none of them were able to make it clear that [the sacrifice] ought to have been observed. As for whether or not it should have been carried out, they could have turned inward to look into their hearts to make a decision. Yao said to Shun, “The succession ordained by Heaven has fallen on your person.” This means that if you look into your own person, you will know Heaven. Now among those who have sons, who does not desire that their sons practice the [appropriate] rites? The sage rectifies names. Names do not arise from nowhere. Those who become the Son of Heaven are Heaven’s sons and must rely on their person to investigate Heaven. How could Heaven alone not want his sons to carry out the rites proper to a son? Now, if you are the Son of Heaven and you do not sacrifice to Heaven, why should Heaven have to approve of that? [67/67/20–67/68/4]
I have heard it said that when the world has achieved harmony and tranquillity, then disasters and calamities will no longer arise. At present, disasters and calamities arise to indicate that the world has not yet achieved harmony and tranquillity. The reason that harmony and tranquillity have not yet been achieved is that the Son of Heaven’s education and transformation [of the people] have not been carried out. An Ode says:
“To [one who] displays upright and virtuous conduct,
all in the Four Quarters render obedient homage.”
16
Jue [覺] means “to display.” The king is one who displays his virtuous conduct to the world. Then no one in the Four Quarters will fail to respond [like an] echo to his transforming influence. This is superior to all else. Thus it is said,
“It is more pleasing than favors and rewards,
more awe inspiring than punishments and penalties,
and swifter than laws and commands.” [67/68/4–7]