Section 70.1
The father is the son’s Heaven;
Heaven is the father’s Heaven.
It has never been the case that something comes into existence without Heaven. Heaven is the ancestor of the myriad things. The myriad things cannot come into existence without Heaven.
With yin alone, they will not come into existence;
with yang alone, they will not come into existence.
Only after yin and yang combine with Heaven and Earth do the myriad things come into existence. Therefore it is said:
The father’s son can be honored;
the mother’s son can be humbled.
What is honored appropriates a lofty designation;
what is humbled appropriates a lowly designation.
Therefore those whose virtue accompanies Heaven and Earth [are those whom] August Heaven sets to the right and treats as sons by bestowing on them the title Son of Heaven. Those next in line obtain the five levels of rank (duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron) and thereby are honored. They all take their respective states and city [names] as their designations. Those who do not possess the virtue of Heaven and Earth [are designated with reference only to] a province,
1 a state, a man, or a family name.
2 In the most extreme cases, they are not associated with either their state or [their] city. They are cut off from any associations with those [of the same] bones and flesh [i.e., blood relatives]. Having departed from human norms, they are simply called gatekeepers and thieves. Those lacking a surname, personal name, style, or family name are lower than the most lowly.
Deeply
3 honor those who possess Utmost Virtue.
Promote them to a lofty position that cannot be made loftier.
Deeply
4 humble those who are utterly base.
Demote them to a lowly position that cannot be made lowlier.
The
Spring and Autumn sets the various ranks in order and arranges the lofty and the base.
5How intricate! Its details can be obtained and observed. Even if a person is unenlightened and a fool, no one will fail to be enlightened [by the
Spring and Autumn’s designations].
6 [70/69/19–25]
Section 70.3
The duke’s son Jingfu was guilty of a grave crime, and so it was not appropriate to associate him with his state.
7 Considering that he was closely related [to the ruler], [the
Spring and Autumn] concealed [his identity] and referred to him in terms of his mother’s state as Zhongsun of Qi in order to expunge his close relationship as the duke’s son. Therefore those who commit the grave crime of disregarding Heaven’s commands are always cut off from their Heaven-endowed relationships.
With respect to Heaven, humans receive their fate in accordance with the Way.
With respect to [other] humans, they receive their orders in the form of [the ruler’s] verbal instructions.
Those who do not follow the Way are cut off by Heaven.
Those who do not follow [the ruler’s] verbal instructions are rejected by others.
When the minister receives important commands from the ruler, he is given verbal instructions and then journeys abroad. Only when the altars of the grain and soil or the state are endangered is it permissible for him to abandon his instructions and act on his own discretion to restore [the ruler’s] security. When the duke’s son Jie, the marquis of Ji, and the duke of Song
8 made a covenant, it exemplified this principle.
9The Son of Heaven receives orders from Heaven;
the Lords of the Land receive orders from the Son of Heaven;
sons receive orders from fathers;
ministers receive orders from the ruler;
and wives receive orders from husbands.
What all those who receive orders show respect for, in every case, is Heaven. Although it also is permissible to say that they receive their orders from Heaven….
10When the Son of Heaven was incapable of carrying out Heaven’s orders, [the Spring and Autumn] discarded [his proper rank] and designated him with the lower rank of duke. The descendants of the kings exemplify this principle.
When a duke or marquis was incapable of carrying out an order from the Son of Heaven, [the
Spring and Autumn referred to him by] his personal name, disassociated him [from his rank], and did not allow him to return to his position. Shuo, marquis of Wey, exemplifies this principle.
11When a son did not carry out his father’s order, [the
Spring and Autumn records that] a punitive expedition was mounted to punish him. Peng Gui, the heir apparent of Wey, exemplifies this principle.
12When a minister did not carry out his ruler’s order, even if he achieved goodness, [the
Spring and Autumn used] the term “rebellion” to describe the affair. Zhao Ying of Jin entering Jin Yang and “rebelling” exemplifies this principle.
13When a concubine did not carry out her lord’s order, [the
Spring and Autumn records] that she was given as a dowry in marriage and was the first to be sent to her mistress’s future home.
14When the wife did not respectfully receive her husband’s orders, [the
Spring and Autumn] disassociates her from her husband. Avoiding the expression “and” [to describe a husband and wife together] exemplifies this principle.
15 [Thus] I say, those who do not respectfully follow Heaven are guilty of crimes like these. [70/69/27–70/70/8]
Section 70.4
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 a sage.”
16When sacrificing to the spirits of the grain and soil, the ancestors, the mountains and rivers, or the ghosts and spirits, if you do not do so in accordance with the Way, you [still] will avoid disaster and harm. But regarding [circumstances under which] sacrifices to Heaven are not presented, [it may be that] the divination was not auspicious, [or something] caused the bull’s mouth to suffer injury,
17 or ground squirrels gnawed at the bull’s horns.
18 Sometimes [the record] states that “[ground squirrels] gnawed at the bull”; sometimes “[ground squirrels] gnawed [at the bull], and it died”; sometimes “[ground squirrels] gnawed at [the bull], and it lived”; sometimes “[ground squirrels] did not gnaw at [the bull], and it died of its own accord”; sometimes “there was a second divination, and the bull died”; and sometimes “there was a divination, and [ground squirrels] gnawed at the bull’s horns.”
Transgressions may be deep or shallow, significant or trivial;
disasters may be insignificant or significant, severe or light.
You must examine this. With regard to [any particular] aberration [that occurs during] the Suburban Sacrifice, deduce the cause of the disaster from the aberration, and in response, do not act [in that manner again].
19 This is a “response,” not an overt action. We see that the alterations of the numerous affairs seem unknowable, and so we attribute them to natural causes. But cannot such things be thoroughly explained? Looking at what is awesome from this perspective, is it not Heaven, the one alone who possesses the power to execute and kill?
[The
Spring and Autumn records] more than thirty instances of ministers killing their lords and sons killing their fathers. [The
Spring and Autumn] denigrated those in lowly positions [by omitting their name and referring to them as “men.”]
20 Looking at what is awesome from this perspective, it is surely the Mandate of Heaven.
21[The Spring and Autumn] records more than fifty instances of states perishing. All of them failed to be in awe. How much more so is this true of being awestruck by the Great Man, who alone possesses the power to take life. When a lord is about to suffer extinction, what days are left to him?
Duke Xuan of Lu disobeyed the sage’s words, altering the ancient [practices] and changing the constant norms, so he was immediately visited by calamity.
22 How can one fail to heed the words of the sage! These three things that can be feared have different manifestations but identical ends. Thus the sage identified them and said that collectively they could be feared. [70/70/10–18]