15. When the mother of 𝖅ze-sze died in Wei,
and news of the event was brought to him, he
wailed in the ancestral temple. His disciples came
to him and said, "Your mother is dead, after marrying
into another family[1]; why do you wail for her
in the temple of the Khung family?" He replied,
"I am wrong, I am wrong." And thereon he wailed
in one of the smaller apartments of his house.
16. When the son of Heaven died, three days afterwards, the officers of prayer[2] were the first to assume mourning. In five days the heads of official departments did so; in seven days both males and females throughout the royal domain; and in three months all in the kingdom.
The foresters examined the trees about the various altars, and cut down those which they thought suitable for the coffins and shell. If these did not come up to what was required, the sacrifices were abolished, and the men had their throats cut[3].
17. During a great dearth in Khî, Khien Âo had food prepared on the roads, to wait the approach of hungry people and give to them. (One day),
there came a famished man, looking as if he could
- ↑ Literally, "The mother of the Shû family is dead," but the interpretation of the text is disputed. The Khien-lung editors and many others question the genuineness of the whole paragraph.
- ↑ The officers of prayer were divided into five classes; the first and third of which are intended here. See the Official Book of Kâu, ch. 25.
- ↑ Great efforts are made to explain away this last sentence.
