his ruler, the rules say[1] that, (if he die) in a government hotel his spirit shall be recalled; but not, (if he die) in a private one[2]. But to whatever state a commissioner may be sent, the lodging which may be assigned to him by the proper officer becomes a public hotel;—what is the meaning of his spirit not being recalled, (if he die) in a private one?"
Confucius said, "You have asked well. The houses of a high minister, a Great officer, or an ordinary officer, may be called private hotels. The government hotel, and any other which the government may appoint, may be called a public hotel. In this you have the meaning of that saying that the spirit is recalled at a public hotel."
24. 𝖅ǎng-𝖟ze asked, "Children dying prematurely, between eight and eleven, should be buried in the garden in a brick grave, and carried thither on a contrivance serving the purpose of a carriage, the place being near; but now if the grave is chosen at a distance, what do you say about their being buried there?"
Confucius said, "I have heard this account from Lâo Tan:—'Formerly,' he said, 'the recorder Yî had a son who died thus prematurely, and the grave was distant. The duke of Shâo said to him, "Why not shroud and coffin him in your
palace?" The recorder said, "Dare I do so?" The
- ↑ Where these rules are to be found I do not know.
- ↑ I use "hotel" here in the French meaning of the term. We must suppose that "the private hotel" about which 𝖅ǎng-𝖟ze asked was one to which the commissioner had gone without the instructions of the state; and, as the Khien-lung editors say, "the rites were therefore so far diminished."
