"Doctorine of the Mean" - читать интересную книгу автора (Confucius)

Wan and Wu. He carried up the title of king to T'ai and Chi, and
sacrificed to all the former dukes above them with the royal
ceremonies. And this rule he extended to the princes of the kingdom,
the great officers, the scholars, and the common people. If the father
were a great officer and the son a scholar, then the burial was that
due to a great officer, and the sacrifice that due to a scholar. If
the father were a scholar and the son a great officer, then the burial
was that due to a scholar, and the sacrifice that due to a great
officer. The one year's mourning was made to extend only to the
great officers, but the three years' mourning extended to the Son of
Heaven. In the mourning for a father or mother, he allowed no
difference between the noble and the mean.
The Master said, "How far-extending was the filial piety of King
Wu and the duke of Chau!
"Now filial piety is seen in the skillful carrying out of the wishes
of our forefathers, and the skillful carrying forward of their
undertakings.
"In spring and autumn, they repaired and beautified the temple halls
of their fathers, set forth their ancestral vessels, displayed their
various robes, and presented the offerings of the several seasons.
"By means of the ceremonies of the ancestral temple, they
distinguished the royal kindred according to their order of descent.
By ordering the parties present according to their rank, they
distinguished the more noble and the less. By the arrangement of the
services, they made a distinction of talents and worth. In the
ceremony of general pledging, the inferiors presented the cup to their
superiors, and thus something was given the lowest to do. At the
concluding feast, places were given according to the hair, and thus
was made the distinction of years.
"They occupied the places of their forefathers, practiced their
ceremonies, and performed their music. They reverenced those whom they
honored, and loved those whom they regarded with affection. Thus
they served the dead as they would have served them alive; they served
the departed as they would have served them had they been continued
among them.
"By the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth they served
God, and by the ceremonies of the ancestral temple they sacrificed
to their ancestors. He who understands the ceremonies of the
sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and the meaning of the several
sacrifices to ancestors, would find the government of a kingdom as
easy as to look into his palm!"
The Duke Ai asked about government.
The Master said, "The government of Wan and Wu is displayed in the
records,-the tablets of wood and bamboo. Let there be the men and
the government will flourish; but without the men, their government
decays and ceases.
"With the right men the growth of government is rapid, just as
vegetation is rapid in the earth; and, moreover, their government
might be called an easily-growing rush.
"Therefore the administration of government lies in getting proper