he loved his father. In having no private conversation after he arose, he showed how he put from him the thought of gain[1]."
20. The keeping the curtain up before the coffin with the corpse in it was not a custom of antiquity. It originated with the wailing of King Kiang for Mû-po[2].
21. The rites of mourning are the extreme expression of grief and sorrow. The graduated reduction of that expression in accordance with the natural changes (of time and feeling) was made by the superior men, mindful of those to whom we owe our being[3].
22. Calling (the soul) back is the way in which love receives its consummation, and has in it the mind which is expressed by prayer. The looking for it to return from the dark region is a way of seeking for it among the spiritual beings. The turning the face to the north springs from the idea of its being in the dark region.
23. Bowing to the (condoling) visitor, and laying the forehead on the ground are the most painful demonstrations of grief and sorrow. The laying the forehead in the ground is the greatest
expression of the pain (from the bereavement).
- ↑ Fully to understand this paragraph, one must know more particulars of the history of Khung-r, and his relations with his father and the duke of Khin, than can be given here in a note. He became the ablest of the five chiefs of the Khun Khiû period.
- ↑ This was a prudish action of the young widow, but it changed an old custom and introduced a new one.
- ↑ This has respect to the modifications adopted in regulating the mourning rites for parents.
