Section 67.1
It is a righteous principle of the
Spring and Autumn that when the state conducts the Grand Mourning [of a deceased parent], [the ruler] suspends sacrifices at the ancestral temple but does not suspend the Suburban Sacrifice, for he does not dare, on account of the funeral of his father or mother, abandon a ritual meant to serve Heaven.
1 Mourning a father or mother is utterly sorrowful and painful. If the ruler dare not abandon the Suburban Sacrifice, who else would have sufficient cause to abandon it? Thus, with regard to the rites, there is also the saying: “In times of mourning, do not sacrifice; only in the sacrifice to Heaven is one able to violate this [general principle] of mourning and observe this service.”
The ancients feared and revered Heaven and therefore deeply emphasized the Suburban Sacrifice to Heaven. At present, however, numerous officials and learned scholars do not look deeply into this sacrifice. They say: “When the myriad commoners are so impoverished, suffering from starvation and cold, how can it suffice to perform the Suburban Sacrifice?” How mistaken are such claims!
The Son of Heaven, serves Heaven as his father and mother;
[he] tends to the myriad commoners as his sons and grandsons.
[To claim that when] the people have not yet eaten their full, it is useless to sacrifice to Heaven is like [claiming that when] sons and grandsons have not yet secured their own food, it is useless to feed their fathers and mothers. There are no claims more pernicious than this. They depart very far from [the standards of] propriety. If we place the honorable first and the base last, who is more honorable than the Son of Heaven? The Son of Heaven is designated as “Heaven’s son.” How can one who receives the designation of “Son of Heaven” fail to perform the rites appropriate to the Son of Heaven? The Son of Heaven must not fail to sacrifice to Heaven. This is no different from the son who must not fail to provide food for his father. [67/67/14–20]
2Section 69.1
To be someone’s son and not serve his father: no one in the world could approve of that. Now how does that differ from a Son of Heaven failing to serve Heaven? Thus
every time he arrives at the new year, he first must perform the Suburban Sacrifice to supplicate Heaven. Only then does he dare to [sacrifice to] Earth. This is to perform the rituals of a son.
Every time he raises troops, he must first perform the Suburban Sacrifice to inform Heaven. Only then does he dare to mount a punitive expedition. This is to enact the Way of the Son.
When King Wen received the Mandate of Heaven and became king over the world, he first performed the Suburban Sacrifice and only then carried out his [kingly] tasks and raised troops to attack Chong. An Ode declares:
“Luxuriant are the oak clumps.
We make firewood of them; we heap them up.
Stately is our ruler and king;
to the left and right, they hasten to him.
Stately is our ruler and king;
to the left and right [of him] they hold up [their] insignia.
They hold the insignia high
as befits the fine officers.”
3These words describe the Suburban Sacrifice. The next stanza declares:
“Floating along are those boats on the Jing [River],
many men are rowing them;
the king of Zhou marches,
and the six armies
4 go along with him.”
These words describe the attack. Farther on, it says:
“King Wen received the appointment,
he had these martial achievements;
when he had made the attack on Chong,
he built a city in Feng.”
5
From these words it is evident that after receiving the Mandate, King Wen performed the Suburban Sacrifice. He performed the Suburban Sacrifice and only then attacked Chong. When he attacked Chong, how could the people find calamity in this? [69/68/24–69/69/1]