place, and proceed to arrange for the interment It is the rule that the sacrifice of repose should first be offered to the more important (father), and afterwards to the less important (mother)."
7. Confucius said[1], "The eldest son, even though seventy, should never be without a wife to take her part in presiding at the funeral rites. If there be no such eldest son, the rites may be performed without a presiding wife."
8. 𝖅ǎng-𝖟ze asked, "It has been proposed to invest a son with the cap, and the investors have arrived, and after exchanging bows and courtesies (with the master of the house), have entered. If then news should come that the death of some relative has occurred, for whom a year s mourning or that of nine months must be worn, what should be done?"
Confucius said, "If the death has taken place within (the circle of the same surname), the ceremony should be given up[2]; but if without (that circle), it will go on, but the sweet wine will not be presented to the youth. The viands will be removed and the place swept, after which he will go to his proper position and wail. If the investors have not yet arrived, the capping will be given up (for the time)[3].
9. If the arrangements for the capping have been
- ↑ The words of Confucius are here, as in some other paragraphs, not preceded by the formula, "𝖅ǎng-𝖟ze asked." Some say this is an omission, intentional or unintentional, of the compiler. Some commentators deride the judgment (see especially Ho Kung-yü), holding it unworthy of Confucius.
- ↑ Because then a festal and a mourning service would come together in the ancestral temple.
- ↑ The investors may have previously heard of the death, and not kept their appointment.
