Ritual Gradation in the Spring and Autumn Era?

Huang Kaiguo

Abstract:Li (ritual propriety) had two aspects,namely,yi (ideas) andshu (gradation).It is true thatlishu (ritual gradation) was related to numbers,but it could never be simplistically reduced to numbers.Instead,lishu was the external form of ritual propriety.It laid stress on quantitative gradation and was embodied in different rules of demeanor that were formulated in accordance with the hierarchy of social status.Generally,lishu was equivalent to the gradation of a person’s lowliness or nobility,both of which were established according to two principles,namely,zunzun (to honor the honorable) andqinqin (to show aff ection to kin).Zunzun referred to the diff erence of social rank determined by a person’s political status,andqinqin to the diff erence of closeness measured by degree of consanguinity.In the Han dynasty,some held thatqinqin and zunzun were predominant respectively in the Shang and Zhou dynasties;some attributed them to the Xia and Shang dynasties.But in fact,both zunzun andqinqin were stressed in the Zhou dynasty.

Keywords:li,ritual gradation,rules of demeanor,honor the honorable,show aff ection to kin

Li禮 (ritual propriety) was divided intoyi義 (ideas) andyi儀 (ceremonies).In regard to this,the “Jiao te sheng” [郊特牲]chapter of theBook of Ritesasserted:

That which is most important in ceremonies is to understand the idea intended in them.While the idea is missed,the number of things and observances in them may be correctly exhibited,as that is the business of supplicants and scribes.Hence that may all be exhibited,but it is diffi cult to know the idea.The knowledge of that idea,and the reverent maintenance of it was the way by which the sons of Heaven secured the good government of the kingdom.1The English translations of theBook of Rites are based on James Legge’s version.

One instance of a further interpretation of the above citation in theRectif ied Interpretations of the Book of Rites[禮記正義]read:

If people fail to grasp the grand principles contained inli,they will be at loss what the true idea/meaning ofliis.In practice,they merely know that displaying bamboo and wood dishes [for sacrif icial purposes]is a representation ofshu數(shù) (quantitative gradation in line with the ritual code).Moreover,they even regard this display as something insignif icant,viz.that it “is the business of supplicants and scribes.” ...[It may be said that]the quantitative gradation respecting the display of bamboo and wood dishes can be represented,because it is easily understandable.But in contrast,the grand principles established in this rite are almost unfathomable,because they are too profound and too broad....[Hence,it can be concluded that]only sages are intelligent enough to grasp these grand principles and deferentially obey them and only highest sovereigns are able to employ them to achieve good governance.2Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 and Kong Yingda 孔穎達(dá),eds.,Rectif ied Interpretations of the Book of Rites [禮記正義],vol.26,in Commentaries and Subcommentaries of the Thirteen Classics [十三經(jīng)注疏],ed.Ruan Yuan 阮元 (Beijing:Zhonghua Book Company,1980),1456.

For diff erent rituals,the sacrif icial vessels and their number diff ered from one another.Shuwas abstract and universal so that it could be used to describe a myriad of things.But on the other hand,shu,which was related to the grand principles founded inli,could by no means be simplistically reduced to pure numbers.Rather,shuwas the summation of the external forms ofli.In this sense,shuwas the same asyi儀.Bothshuandyidenoted the externalization of the principles ofli.Thus,shuinlishu禮數(shù) (ritual gradation) had the same meaning as that ofliyi禮儀 (etiquette) andyijie儀節(jié) (ceremony).

Lishu and Gradation[Refer to page 78 for Chinese.Similarly hereinaft er]

The term “l(fā)ishu” discussed in the Spring and Autumn era (770—476 BCE) referred mainly to the rules concerning external forms ofli.The most distinctive characteristic oflishulay in differences of quantity.Rules stipulated bylishucould be applied to great events such as enfeoffment of lords,offering sacrifices to Heaven,Earth,and ancestral spirits,and ceremonies respecting state-level invitations,visits,forming alliances,declaring war,and uniting by marriage,as well as to everyday activities such as dressing,eating,speaking,and acting.For example:

The princes met at Xingqiu for Jin to issue commands on theappropriate frequency(emphasis added by translator) for court visits and official visits,and for the senior officials of the princes to await commands.Jiwuzi,Gao Hou of Qi,Xiang Xu of Song,Ning Zhi of Wei,and the senior offi cials of Zhu attended the meeting.The Liege of Zheng presented the spoils of victory at the meeting;that was why he personally attended to the Jin ruler’s commands.That the names of the senior officials were not recorded was to show respect for the Prince of Jin.(Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,“Duke Xiang,Eighth Year” [襄公八年])3The English translations of theZuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals are based on Stephen Durrant,Wai-yee Li,and David Schaberg’s version.

This explicitly demonstrated that there was a rule concerning the frequency of official visits involving all kinds of dukes and lords.One record revealing howlishuwas applied to military organizations read as follows:

Jiwenzi 季文子 (d.568 BCE) asked Zangwuzhong 臧武仲 about thesize of the troopsto be sent to assist Jin.He replied,“For the campaign to attack Zheng,it was Zhi Ying 智罃 who came,and he was the assistant commander of the lower army.Now Shi Fang 士魴 is also assistant commander of the lower army.We can send the same number of troops as in the attack against Zheng.In serving a great domain,we should not go against the rank and title of the envoy and,therefore,have to redouble our respect.This is in accordance with ritual propriety.” Jiwenzi followed his advice.(“Duke Cheng,Eighteenth Year” [成公十八年])

In addition,there were records mentioninglishuregulating sacrif icial ceremonies dedicated to the seasonal sacrificial ceremonies and diplomatic activities of senior officials.One of them read as follows:

There are specified rules concerning the sacrificial meat presented to the sovereign in thefour rounds of sacrif icial ceremonydedicated to autumn,summer,winter,and spring respectively.In the same vein,there are specified rules concerning diplomatic envoys,who bring gift s and pass on messages from sovereigns.(Discourses of the States[國(guó)語],“Discourse of Lu,Part II” [魯語下])

When it came to the stipulations concerningli,there were gradations,too.For example,the duration of the mourning period of the son of Heaven,dukes,senior offi cials,andshi士(noncommissioned or ordinary official) differed from one rank to another.One relevant record demonstrated this,saying:

The Son of Heaven is buried after seven months,leaders of the same axle standard attending;a prince after five months,those joined with him in covenants attending;a senior offi cial aft er three months,those of the same rank attending;and a regular offi cial aft er a full month,his relatives by marriage attending.(Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,“Duke Yin,First Year” [隱公元年])

Similarly,the objects of the sacrif icial ceremony presided over by the Son of Heaven,dukes,and senior offi cials were diff erent,as another record indicated:“The Son of Heaven off ers sacrif ices to the heavenly Lord;dukes,to [the spirit of]high princes;and senior ministers and lower offi cials,to [the spirit of]their own clan” (Discourses of the States,“Discourse of Jin,Part II” [晉語下]).In most cases,there were explicitly stipulated amounts respecting various rituals,which could be clearly quantif ied.

Rules stipulated bylishuwere all-pervading within the Spring and Autumn society.This particularly manifested itself in the entire spectrum of politics.Lishu-turned-rules were,so to speak,almost omnipresent and all-embracing.It must be noted that varying quantities did not constitute the only form oflishu,even thoughlishuwas indeed mainly embodied in numbers.Takelishurespecting the status of persons accompanying a bride for example.One relevant record read as follows:

In all cases when the daughter of a lord is married into a coequal domain and is a sister of the reigning lord,then a high minister escorts her to show ritual courtesy to the former ruler.If she is the child of the ruling lord,then a lower-ranking minister escorts her.But if the marriage is to a greater domain,it is still a high minister who escorts her even if she is a child of the lord.If the marriage is to the Son of Heaven,then the ministers all go,but the lord himself does not escort her.If she marries into a smaller domain,then the senior offi cials escort her.(Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,“Duke Huan,Third Year” [桓公三年])

With regard to the funeral of enfeoff ed lords,there were specif iedlishuindicated as follows:

In all cases concerning the funeral of a prince,if he was of a diff erent clan,the lord would lament his passing outside the city wall;if he was of the same clan,the lord would lament his passing at the Ancestral Temple (annotation made by Du Yu 杜預(yù) [222—284]:the temple dedicated to the earliest ancestor of the lord);if he was of the same line,the lord would lament his passing at the founding ruler’s temple (annotation made by Du Yu:the temple dedicated to the earliest enfeoff ed lord);if he was of the same house,the lord would lament his passing at his father’s temple (annotation made by Du Yu:the temple dedicated to the lord’s biological father and “the same house” should be no earlier than the paternal great-great-grandfather).That was why a Lu lord lamented the passing of lords of the same clan name Ji at the Zhou Temple and lamented the passing of lords with the clan names of Xing,Fan,Jiang,Mao,Zuo,and Zhai at the Duke of Zhou’s temple.4Du Yu 杜預(yù) and Kong Yingda,eds.,Rectif ied Annotations to Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals [春秋左傳正義],vol.31,inCommentaries and Subcommentaries of the Thirteen Classics,1951.

Moreover,rules stipulated bylishuwere widely applied to almost all external forms ofli,such as the size and decorations of residences,the shape and color of everyday objects,the seating arrangements in court visits or state meetings,orientation in interpersonal interaction,and people’s expressions,speaking speed,line of sight,and walking speed.Lishuwas the summation of all sensible external forms ofli.It existed in relation to all of everyone’s basic needs,various human relations,and all kinds of social activities,as the same time as it had many forms of embodiment.In the Spring and Autumn era,criticisms against something contradictingliwere often uttered by means of the perception of impropriety that was embodied in disagreement withlishu.

Lishu,as the external form ofli,was also known asweiyi威儀 (rules of demeanor).For example,the“Doctrine of the Mean” [中庸]in theBook of Ritessaid,“[The path proper to the Sage]embraces the three hundred rules of ceremony,and the three thousand rules of demeanor.” Kong Yingda 孔穎達(dá) (574—648) further explained:“The ‘three thousand rules of demeanor’ were precisely the conduct-rectifying instructions recorded in theEtiquettes and Ceremonies[儀禮].”5Zheng and Kong,Rectif ied Interpretations of the Book of Rites,vol.53,1637.In the Spring and Autumn era,all kinds of ceremony and etiquette concerningliwere known asweiyi.For example,Zangxibo 臧僖伯 (d.718 BCE)of Lu referred to “exercising the authority of ceremonial decorum.”6Du and Kong,Rectif ied Annotations to Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,vol.3,1726.In the same vein,Duke Kang of Liu (f l.612—578 BCE) said,“[T]here are models for action and movement,ritual propriety and duty,[and]majesty and bearing” (Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,“The Thirteenth Year of Duke Cheng” [成公十三年]).Shuxiang 叔向 (f l.552 BCE),a famous Jin minister,made a similar assertion that “[we should take]care over the majesty of our bearing [according to ritual propriety]” (“The Fift h Year of Duke Zhao” [昭公五年]).Separately,weiyicould be interpreted as a combination ofweiandyi.Weidenoted majesty and awesomeness,andyithe ceremonial form [representingwei].No matter whatliwas—the rites worshipping deities in exchange for blessings or the systematized ritual codes of the Zhou dynasty (1046—256 BCE)—its external ceremonial form must have had specif ic implications as well as showcasing a sense of power and solemnity.But the implications were invisible.For this reason,they had to be embodied in something concrete,such as advance and retreat,social interactions,appearance and manner,giving in charity,doing a deed,moral conduct,bearing,moving around,and talking,all of which were sensible.Due to diff erences existing in their social status,diff erent people,like a monarch and his subjects,would have very diff erentweiyi[and its external forms].

In the Spring and Autumn era,lishuandweiyiwere frequently equated withli.Therefore,the authors ofZuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn AnnalsandDiscourses of the Statestook conformity withlishuorweiyias the criterion determining whether a person truly grasped and complied with codes ofliin their account of meetings of sovereigns,court visits,state banquets,funerals,and marriages.Due to the fact that by then the established ritual codes were already broken,people from all walks of life disobeyedlishuand disdainedweiyi.Consequently,there were many records in which deeds contradictingliwere repeatedly rebuked.Despite this,there were still 178 records that praised deeds conforming toliinZuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals.This frequency was 3.5 times greater than the records of anti-lideeds.It indicates that the author(s) ofZuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals’s attitude and stand was to commend compliance withli.To put it another way,the author(s) stressed the praise of observing and conforming tolirather than the condemnation of disobeyingli.This was the value orientation thatZuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annalssought to establish.

Gradation in Relation to Nobility and Consanguinity[80]

The formulation oflishuandweiyiwas based on the gradation of social ranks.The social status of people was diff erent.So werelishuandweiyi.In the Spring and Autumn era,the discourse onlishuandweiyiwas frequently related to the gradation of people’s nobility and lowliness.Zangxibo,for instance,said,

That is why the springsouhunt,the summermiaohunt,the autumnxianhunt,and the wintershouhunt all involve military instruction undertaken during breaks in the agricultural seasons.Every three years,we drill the soldiers,enter the capital,and marshal the troops.When the troops return from an expedition,there is drinking to celebrate their arrival,and the spoils are numbered.We display the patterned insignia,clarify the noble and the base,distinguish the levels and ranks,and put in harmony the young and the old:this is for the sake of exercising the authority of ceremonial decorum.(Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,“Duke Yin,Fift h Year” [隱公五年])

Zhang Lao 張老,another senior offi cial from Jin,made a similar comment,that “having a sequence that complies with the established hierarchy is exactly whatlirequires” (“Discourse of Jin,Part II”).Both records mentioned the gradation of social ranks.This gradation showed the disparity of the social situation in which people lived,and which was equivalent to people’s social class and connections.As for this social situation,it referred to how much power a person had,how many economic and cultural resources a person owned,and whether a person had an inf luential power in the society and family.

The gradation of social ranks complied with two basic principles,namely,zunzun尊尊 (to honor the honorable) andqinqin親親 (to show aff ection to kin).Furthermore,zunzunandqinqinconstituted the basis of the gradation oflishu.The“Doctrine of the Mean” asserted:“The decreasing measures of the love due to relatives,and the steps in the honor due to the worthy,are produced by the principle of ritual propriety.” “The decreasing measures of the love due to relatives” referred to the distinction of closeness in accordance with the degree of consanguinity,and “the steps in the honor due to worthy” the gradation of social rank in accordance with one’s political status.The interconnection of honoring the worthy and ranking social classes was a Confucian political idea.This idea was valuable on the grounds that it emphasized that people’s social position should be in line with their true level of morality and talent.Contrary to this idea,in real politics,there were many cases in which“those who stole a hook for personal use were put to death and those who usurped the state power were given high lordship” (Zhuangzi,chap.10).This indicated that the distinction between superiors and inferiors was made in accordance with the political hierarchy rather than with true morality and talent.In this way,zunzunwas no longer honoring the worthy but degenerated into honoring the superior only.The gulf between dream and reality made the idea of honoring the worthy hardly practicable.Rather,honoring the worthy was reduced to a pretense for honoring the superior.In reality,the phenomenon in which an official’s morality was not equal to his position was not unusual.This actually spelled catastrophe for the people.

Zunzunwas essentially a principle of political identity.Shenshu Shi 申叔時(shí) (fl.598 BCE),a senior official of Chu,noted:“[People should know accurately their position]in the social strata and be led by rules of ritual propriety” (Discourses of the States,“Discourse of Chu,Part I” [楚語上]).This record clearly showed that the roleliplayed was making a distinction between social classes,and the purpose of making this distinction was to draw a clear line between nobility and lowliness in light of the principle ofzunzun.Since the founding of the Zhou dynasty,a political system,centered on the supreme Son of Heaven,institutionally based on the enfeoffment system,and organizationally comprised of five ranks of nobility (namely,duke,marquis,count,viscount,and baron),was put into practice.In both the central court and the government of enfeoff ed dukes,there was the hierarchical bureaucracy comprised of ministers and other senior offi cials,followed by their vassals and ordinary offi cials.Commoners were at the bottom of political society.Society at that time was thus a well-interconnected and well-defined unity,in which the Son of Heaven was raised to the highest position and the commoners lowered to the bottom.The principle ofzunzunwas actually the theory approving such a societal reconstruction.As regardslishuandweiyi,the higher the social rank was,the more magnif icent and more dignif iedlishuandweiyiwere;or conversely,the lower the social rank,the simpler thelishu.When it came to commoners,there were almost no traces oflishu.

The practical significance ofzunzunis that,by differentiating ranks,it established a social order based on the distinction between the noble and the lowly and between the honorable and the humble.A grand historian of Zhou observed,

In ancient times,as soon as the king started to lead all-under-heaven (i.e.,the entire country),he paid reverence to the heavenly Lord and other deities and off ered sacrif ices to them.As a result,there were ritual ceremonies sacrificing to [the gods of]the Sun and Moon,by which people were taught to how to serve the sovereign.For enfeoffed lords,in spring and autumn every year,they received the king’s orders to govern their own land and people.As for senior and ordinary offi cials,they were properly positioned and required to act cautiously,so that their job could be well done.As for commoners,handicraft smen,and merchants,they should devote themselves to their own work and serve [the grand cause led by the sovereign].Even so,[the king]did worry that there would be omissions.Therefore,it was required that there be rules concerning chariots,clothes,gifts,auspicious tallies,titles of nobility,and social ranks,whereby the social order and hierarchy could be established and maintained.Furthermore,there were various honorary titles,which were used to commemorate the achievements of offi cials.(Discourses of the States,“Discourse of Zhou,Part I” [周語上])

Similarly,Zangxibo explicitly noted that the eff orts to “clarify the noble and the base” and“distinguish the levels and ranks” were equally important.The essential feature of social class lay in the distinction made between the noble and the lowly,namely,that a clear line must be drawn between superiors and inferiors.At this point,Suiwuzi 隨武子 (f l.614—597 BCE) said,

Noblemen and commoners have regalia with different patterns to distinguish them.The noble has consistent standards of dignity;the lowly has a sense of awe based on gradations.There is thus no violation of ritual propriety.(Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,“Duke Xuan,Twelft h Year” [宣公十二年])

That meant,only when the noble,the lowly,the superior,and the inferior were clearly diff erentiated from one another wouldlismoothly play its role in society.

Qinqinwas the principle that demandedlishuandweiyibe created in line with the closeness defined by degree of consanguinity.The blood relationship was the most important interpersonal relationship since the emergence of humankind.In remote antiquity,an individual could survive only with difficulty.Therefore,individuals had to depend on the clan,bound together by ties of blood.Exactly due to the role played by blood ties in strengthening group cohesiveness,a clan could grow stronger in competition with other clans.For this reason,China paid great attention to the family bond based on blood relationships from time immemorial and created a society in which clan and familial rules played quite a signif icant role very early on.Clan and familial rules in the Chinese context denoted a social organization in which the blood relationship was the cohesive force and the minor clan (xiaozong小宗) revered the great clan (dazong大宗).Take the royal family of Zhou for example,whose surname was Ji.King Wen,King Wu,and their successors were the great clan.Heads of enfeoff ed states,who bore the same surname as that of the Son of Heaven,were the minor clan.This indicated that the clan and familial rules referred not only to a blood relationship but also to a political relationship.Such a dual relationship was historiographically known as the isostructuralism of family and state.The clan and familial rules always played a role in Chinese society,endowing the country with incomparable stability and national cohesion.Of course,the clan and familial rules did have some negative eff ects,such as the excessive reverence for superiors,arbitrary power of the household head,and human relationship taking precedence over law,all of which were directly related to the construction of society based on clan and familial rules.

The principle respecting the enfeoffment presided over by Zhou’s highest sovereign wasqinqin.In the early Zhou,enfeoffed Ji-surnamed dukes were almost all descendants of King Wen,King Wu,or the Duke of Zhou.This practice was found in enfeoffed states.For example,in Lu,there were three powerful clans descended from Duke Huan;in Jin,there were six clans of the same origin;in Qi,there were six noble families sharing the same ancestry;and in Zheng,seven hereditary houses traced their lineage back to Duke Mu.These families were nobility of the same surname in their own states.In the Spring and Autumn era,noble houses in states distributed throughout the Central Plains were all kin.Consequently,they formed the most inf luential group in society.Shuxiang,a noble of Jin,said,

The lateral branches of the Jin lord’s house are all gone now,and I have heard that when the lord’s house is going to fall,the branches and leaves of its ancestral house fall beforehand,and then the lord’s house follows them.In my ancestral line there were eleven houses,and only the Yangshe lineage now remains.Further,I have no sons,and since the lord’s house lacks all standards,I will consider myself fortunate if I die a natural death.How can I expect to receive ancestral sacrif ices? (“Duke Zhao,Third Year” [昭公三年])

Shuxiang’s words demonstrated that clan aristocrats were indeed the mainstay of the duke’s governance,though they did in practice reveal the collapse of the established system of ritual codes.The principle ofqinqinwas not only the magic weapon sustaining the governance of Zhou but also the most basic rule regulating the (Western) Zhou ritual system.

The reason why the principle ofqinqinwas widely recognized was that,in ancient times,there was universal approval of personal relationships within diff erent ethnic groups.Jiwenzi quoted theScribe Yi’s Records[史佚之志]:“[As for]those [who are]not of the same kith and kin,[t]heir hearts and minds must be diff erent” (“Duke Cheng,Fift h Year” [成公五年]).Shi Yi 史佚 was a historian-thinker in the early Zhou.It can be inferred that,early in the Shang dynasty (1600—1046 BCE),there had already been the idea that all kin groups had the same aspiration and all groups without kinship relations had diff erent aspirations.This idea might stem from intertribal struggles for survival.It thus could be regarded as a conclusion drawn from tribes undergoing bloody conflicts.In remote antiquity,when productivity was very low,an individual could hardly survive and grow without the support of an ethnic group.For this reason,people from the same group would always be united as one in the face of enemies,so that both individuals and their group could avert grave crises.Sikong Jizi 司空季子 (d.622 BCE),a politician of Jin,carried forward Shi Yi’s idea,asserting:“Those who are of the same origin share the common faculty.Those who share the common faculty are of one mind.And those who are of one mind have a common goal” (“Discourse of Jin,Part II”).Not only did Sikong’s assertion prepare a convincing ideological weapon advancing ethnic cohesion and the clan’s united mission of improving survival,but it also laid a realistic theoretical foundation for the principle ofqinqin.It is worth mentioning thattongzhi同志 (having a common goal) in the quotation was used to describe people of the same party,that is,comrades,in the following two millennia.This is an embodiment of the deep,far-reaching inf luence exerted by the Spring and Autumn culture.

According to the principle ofqinqinin the Spring and Autumn era,it was generally held that states bearing the same surname should always be united and of one mind.Whenever there was a case that concerned the vital interests of these states,those who shared the same surname should never side with those who bore different surnames but instead do their best to defend each other.Any state violating this rule would be severely criticized.The most obvious embodiment of the Spring and Autumn principle ofqinqinwas the brotherhood existing widely among enfeoff ed states sharing a common surname.For example,Sikong Jizi explicitly stated:“Those who have the same surnames are brothers”(ibid.).A similar statement founded inZuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annalsread:“Lu and Wei are the brothers of Jin” (“Duke Cheng,Second Year” [成公二年]).Even in theBook of Poetry,there were eighteen poems voicing brotherliness.When Confucius was editing theSpring and Autumn Annals,he resented very much the cannibalism of same-surname states and denounced them as barbaric.For example,he pitilessly wrote down “Jin attacked Xianyu” (“Duke Zhao,Twelft h Year” [昭公十二年]),on the grounds that Jin and Xianyu shared the same surname and their conf lict was a violation of the principle ofqinqin.Conversely,in recording Jin’s handling of Duke Xiang of Wei’s funeral,Confucius not only recognized Jin’s insistence on brotherliness but also praised it as something conforming toli.Confucius’s two contrasting comments on Jin shed light on the importance people attached to the principle ofqinqinin the Spring and Autumn era.

When it came toli,there were rules concerninglishuapplied to enfeoff ment,meetings,sacrif ices,and funerals,all of which were formulated in strict accordance with the degree of consanguinity and correlated with variousweiyi.According to relevantlishuin an offi cial meeting,there were distinctions between the primary and the secondary and a sequential order.Specifically,those who came first were superior and those who came later were inferior.The endless fights for sequence in state meetings in the Spring and Autumn era were actually battles for nobility.The most distinctive embodiments oflishuconcerningqinqinwere funeral and sacrif ice.The main goal oflishuconcerningqinqinwas to make a distinction between those who belonged to the same clan,line,and house,as was noted:

[I]f he was of the same clan,the lord would lament his passing at the Ancestral Temple;if he was of the same line,the lord would lament his passing at the founding ruler’s temple;if he was of the same house,the lord would lament his passing at his father’s temple.7According to Du Yu’s annotation,the Ancestral Temple was dedicated to the earliest ancestor of the lord,the founding ruler’s temple to the earliest enfeoff ed lord,“his father’s temple” to the lord’s biological father,and “the same house”should be no earlier than the paternal great-great-grandfather.See Du and Kong,Rectified Annotations to Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,vol.31,1951.

As regards the arrangement of spirit or ancestral tablets,it would be strictly done according to the order ofzhao-mu(zhaospirit tablets placed on the left andmutablets on the right).The order ofzhao-mu,which was formulated in accordance with the degree of consanguinity,was used to make and maintain the distinction between descendants of graded closeness and rank.Therefore,it was the strictest rule in funerals and sacrif ices.

Stress on bothQinqin andZunzun in the Zhou Ritual System[86]

In the Han dynasty (206 BCE—220 CE),some ascribedqinqinandzunzunto the Shang and Zhou respectively,and others chose the Xia (ca.2070—1600 BCE) and Shang.The former view could be traced back to Empress Dowager Dou (d.ca.135 BCE) and Yuan Ang 袁盎(d.148 BCE).Empress Dowager Dou favored Liu Wu 劉武 (d.144 BCE),one of the younger brothers of Emperor Jing of Han (r.157—141 BCE),in the hope that Liu Wu could succeed to the throne aft er Emperor Jing.She said,“I hear the Shang dynasty followed the principle ofqinqin,and Zhou the principle ofzunzun.But in practice,qinqinandzunzunwere of the same essence” (The Grand Scribe’s Records[史記],“The Hereditary House of King Xiao of Liang”[梁孝王世家]).Empress Dowager Dou’s saying might be from Yuan Ang,who had said:

Since Shang abode by the principle ofqinqin,it selected a younger brother of the deceased king as the heir.In Zhou,the principle ofzunzunprevailed,so that the son of a deceased king would succeed to the throne.Shang’s way of governance waszhi質(zhì) (simple/straight).Therefore,it emulated Heaven,showing aff ection to kin by choosing a younger brother of the deceased king to be the successor.Zhou’s way of governance waswen文(ref ined/sophisticated).Thus,it emulated Earth,honoring the honorable and respecting their origin by enthroning the eldest son [of the deceased king].(Ibid.)

Those in favor of Xia and Shang might be traced back to Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒(179—104 BCE),a Han thinker,who said:

Those who rule as king take as their regulations [in sequence]:one Shang,one Xia,one simplicity,and one refinement.[Those who follow]Shang and simplicity take Heaven as their support;[those who follow]Xia and ref inement take Earth as their support....Those who take Heaven as their support emulate Shang and rule as kings.Their Way is that of recessiveyang.They show affection toward those who are close and possess an abundance of humaneness and simplicity (renpu仁樸).Therefore,the succession [to the throne]passes to the son,and [the heir’s]younger brothers from the same mother are treated generously.A concubine [who bears the king]a son gains an honorable position thereby....Those who take Earth as their support emulate Xia and rule as kings.Their Way is that of advancingyin.They honor those who are honorable and possess an abundance of righteousness and moderation (yijie義節(jié)).8Yijie 義節(jié) sometimes was written asjieyi 節(jié)義 (simplif ied ceremonials).Zhong Zhaopeng 鐘肇鵬 hold thatyijie was the correct form.See Zhong Zhaopeng,ed.,Annotated Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn Annals [春秋繁露校釋](Shijiazhuang:Hebei People’s Publishing House,2005),467.The present author contends that,according to Dong Zhongshu’s further discourses,which read “Those who take Earth as their support emulate ref inement and rule as kings.Their Way is that of advancingyin.They honor those who are honorable and possess an abundance of ritual propriety and ref inement (liwen 禮文),”yijie 儀節(jié) (rituals and moderation) echoesliwen and refers to the complexity of etiquette.In addition,the originalyijie 義節(jié) actually cannot reasonably correspond to the precedingrenpu 仁樸.If yijie 義節(jié) was replaced withyijie 儀節(jié),there would be a clear understanding of the meaning of the original text,which said those who emulated Earth had abundant rituals and those who emulated Heaven were much less ritually ref ined.The diff erence lay exactly in Shang’s oversimplicity and Zhou’s overref inement.Thus,the present author preferred yijie 儀節(jié).Yijie 義節(jié) might be a spelling error—that is,亻 (ren,human beings),the left radical of 儀,was omitted—in the circulation of the original text of theLuxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn Annals.Accordingly,the succession[to the throne]passes to the [king’s]grandson,and sons of [the earlier]generation are treated generously.A concubine [who bears the king]a son does not gain an honorable position thereby.(Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn Annals[春秋繁露],“TheThree Dynasties’ Alternating Regulations of Simplicity and Ref inement” [三代改制質(zhì)文])9The English translations of theLuxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn Annals are based on Sarah A.Queen and John S.Major’s version,with slight alterations.

Both Yuan and Dong’s sayings were based on the alternation ofwenandzhi,a Confucian idea pioneered by Confucius.The governance of Xia waswen,whereas the governance of Shang waszhi.Consequently,the governance of Zhou,which replaced Shang,must bewen.In view of this,Dong’s idea was in line with that of Yuan.In terms of time,Dong’s sayings were later than Yuan’s.But by then,when Dong’sLuxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn Annalswas f inished,the political atmosphere catering to Empress Dowager Dou had vanished.Moreover,Empress Dowager Dou disliked Confucianism.Therefore,Dong,who took the lead among Han Confucians,had to encode Shang’sqinqinand Zhou’szunzuninto the history of Xia and Shang rather than directly speak out.This meant the idea thatqinqinprevailed in Shang andzunzunwas predominant in Zhou could never be simplistically tailored for Empress Dowager Dou only.Nevertheless,this idea could not be found in extant literature of pre-imperial China and the early Han.It might be related to the GongyangSchool,a Confucian movement based on further interpretation of theGongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals[春秋公羊傳].Scholars of the Gongyang School highlighted Confucius’s endeavor to reform existing systems.They noted that,the reason why Confucius launched his reform was that the Zhou ritual system was excessively ornamental and did need to be simplif ied.

It must be noted that the idea developed by Dong and Yuan was absolutely not a true representation of Shang and Zhou Dynasty culture.Probing into the Zhou ritual system,observers might f ind that bothqinqinandzunzunplayed an important role in formulatinglishuandweiyi.The excessive emphasis on one of them never existed.For example,“The Great Treatise” [大傳]of theBook of Ritesjuxtaposedqinqinandzunzunthree times:

Thus he regulated the services to be rendered to his father and grandfather before him—giving honor to the most honorable.He regulated the places to be given to his sons and grandsons below him—showing his aff ection to his kin.

But no changes could be enjoined upon them in what concerned affection for kin,the honor paid to the honorable.

The considerations which regulated the mourning worn were six—f irst,the nearness of the kinship;second,the honor due to the honorable.

A similar juxtaposition ofzunzunandqinqinis found in “Syncretizing Customs” [齊俗訓(xùn)]of theHuainanzi[淮南子]and the tenth volume ofMaster Han’s Additional Commentary on Book of Poetry[韓詩外傳].Overall,a large amount of literature demonstrates that the allegation that Zhou exclusively laid stress onqinqinis not well founded.The fact that Zhou paid attention to the gradation oflishumakes clear that the spirit of both ofqinqinandzunzunwidely existed,in the formulation ofweiyiconcerning offi cials at all levels,and in rules applied to sacrif ices,funerals,and wedding ceremonies attended by people from all walks of life.Varied types oflishudiscussed in the Spring and Autumn era all contained the principle ofqinqinandzunzunwithout exception.The most distinctive embodiment of this universality was the idea of revering the King [of Zhou]founded in theSpring and Autumn Annals.At that time,when hegemons of the powerful enfeoff ed states took the lead in the political world,the requirement that all enfeoff ed dukes and lords sincerely revere the King of Zhou as the paramount Son of Heaven was still predominant in the ritual world.In theGongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,all words and deeds off ending the King of Zhou were denounced as impropriety.For example,Duke Wen of Jin (r.636—628 BCE) had summoned the King of Zhou to a meeting convened at Heyang.Angered at this impropriety,Confucius remarked critically that “[t]o have the status of a subject and to summon the ruler is not an instructive example” and for this reason he wrote “[t]he Heaven-appointed king went on the winter hunt at Heyang” (Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals,“Duke Xi,Twenty-Eighth Year” [僖公二十八年]).The idea of revering the King [of Zhou]was actually the unity of the two principles:zunzunrecognizing a politics based on gradation of nobility,andqinqinaffirming the gradation of closeness based on the degree of consanguinity.

In the context oflishu,qinqinandzunzunthoroughly established the gradations concerning all aspects of people’s social life by means of political merit and blood kinship respectively.The starting points ofqinqinandzunzunwere certainly diff erent.But on the other hand,both were initially interconnected.At a time when society was principally bound together by blood ties,the honorable were those who were politically powerful,morally excellent,and related by blood to other members of the clan.As for the practice ofqinqin,the great clan of kin was the earliest ancestor of the clan.It had the most prestigious political status and the most brilliant merits.In contrast with the minor clan,the great clan was dynamic as the clan constantly changed and grew.A clan could be likened to a tall tree,which grew from a seed and became increasingly taller and stronger.Within this tall tree,the greater and lesser clans were not perpetual but relative.For example,the dukes of Lu were no more than a minor clan in comparison with the Son of Heaven.But within Lu,they were undoubtedly the great clan when compared with the three powerful clans descended from Duke Huan.Nevertheless,the three clans were great in their own clan system.On this analogy,there was a multilayered structure of great and minor clans.It was this isostructuralism interconnected by the multilayered complex of great and minor clans that constituted the social structure of the Spring and Autumn era and created the cultural,intellectual way of integrating politics and ethics.The result was the social basis from which the ancient idea of the sage king was deduced.Even the social foundation of the supreme monarch was a patriarchy founded on the principle ofqinqin.

The principles ofzunzunandqinqindemonstrate thatlishuitself did contain the criterion for judging what is right.Zunzunandqinqinmanaged people’s nobility and lowliness and degree of consanguinity,at the same time placing an emphasis on the gradation of social members.Although this practice was overtly unequal,it placed some restrictions on the inequality by linking people’s status to their rights and obligations.As the established system of ritual code had broken down in the Spring and Autumn era,those who were economic-politically powerful and privileged attempted to enjoy more pleasures by breaking the gradation oflishuand at the same time shielding themselves from being criticized by the widely-accepted rules,namely,the rites of Zhou.Principles founded inliwere thus completely discarded and “turned into vulgar,empty things such as gems and silk” (Analects17:11).Ifliwas devoid of principles concerningzunzunandqinqin,it would degenerate into “the business of supplicants and scribes” (“Jiao te sheng”),or an empty form having nominallishuandweiyi.This might shed light on the most noteworthy distinction between the rites of Zhou and the rites of supplicants and scribes.The rites of supplicants and scribes,in which they worshipped spirits in exchange for blessings,were merely ritualistic acts.By contrast,the rites of Zhou essentially had humanistic implications embodied inzunzunandqinqin.Li Zehou 李澤厚 (1930—2021) contended that the transition from shamanism toliwas the acquisition of a ritual system containing the principles ofzunzunandqinqin,and that this newly acquiredliwas entirely diff erent from the system of the Xia and Shang dynasties,which was a transaction for blessings from the spirits.

Bibliography of Cited Translations

Durrant,Stephen,Wai-yee Li,and David Schaberg,trans.Zuo Tradition:Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals.Seattle and London:University of Washington Press,2016.

Legge,James,trans.Book of Rites.https://ctext.org/liji/ens,accessed November 20,2021.

Queen,Sarah A.,and John S.Major,trans.Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn.New York:Columbia University Press,2016.