Confucius said, "It is the rule, that when the time
of sacrifice has been allowed to pass by, it is not then
offered. Why in this case should they go back to
what must have taken place previously?"
20. Confucius said, "The family that has married a daughter away, does not extinguish its candles for three nights, thinking of the separation that has taken place. The family that has received the (new) wife for three days has no music; thinking her bridegroom is now in the place of his parents[1]. After three months she presents herself in the ancestral temple, and is styled 'The new wife that has come.' A day is chosen for her to sacrifice at the shrine of her father-in-law; expressing the idea of her being (now) the established wife."
21. 𝖅āng-𝖟ze asked, "If the lady die before she has presented herself in the ancestral temple, what course should be adopted?"
Confucius said, "(Her coffin) should not be removed to the ancestral temple, nor should (her tablet) be placed next to that of her mother-in-law. The husband should not carry the staff; nor wear the shoes of straw; nor have a (special) place (for wailing). She should be taken back, and buried among her kindred of her own family;—showing that she had not become the established wife."
22. 𝖅āng-𝖟ze asked, "The fortunate day has been fixed for taking the lady (to her new home), and she dies (in the meantime):—what should be done?"
Confucius said, "The son-in-law will come to condole, wearing the one year's mourning, which he will
- ↑ This and the statements that follow suppose that the bridegroom's parents are dead.
