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The Country Girl Has Space

The Master said, “If there is a car, you must see its rails; if there is a garment, you must see its wear; if someone talks about it, you must hear its sound; if someone walks about it, you must see its completion. The Ge Tan says, ‘If you wear it, you must shoot it.’” The Master said, “If you follow what you say, then your words cannot be embellished; if you follow what you say, then your actions cannot be embellished. Therefore, a gentleman speaks little, but walks to establish his credibility, so that the people cannot exaggerate his virtues and minimize his faults. The Book of Songs says, ‘The stain on the jade tablet can still be polished; the stain on this speech cannot be made.’ The Xiaoya says, ‘The gentleman is sincere, and the development is great.’ The Jun Shi says, ‘In the past, when the God of Heaven was in power, Zhou Tian observed the virtue of King Wen, and he gathered the great destiny in his body.’” The Master said, “The southerners have a saying, ‘If a man is not constant, he cannot be used for divination.’ Is this the saying left by the ancients? Even the tortoise shells cannot tell, let alone people? The Book of Songs says: ‘My tortoise is tired, but I still don’t tell it.’ The Book of Changes says: ‘The title is not equal to the bad virtue. The people stand up and do the right things. They are pure and offer sacrifices. This is disrespectful; things are complicated and chaotic, and serving the gods is difficult.’ The Book of Changes says: ‘If you don’t keep your virtue, you may suffer shame. If you keep your virtue, it will be auspicious for women and bad for men.’”

No branches can be seen in the north

The lowly should not mourn the noble, the young should not mourn the old, this is the etiquette. Only the emperor should be mourned by calling the heaven. The princes mourning each other is not etiquette.

The best son-in-law

The great officials of various countries, when entering the emperor's country, call themselves the so-and-so scholar; they call themselves the accompanying minister so-and-so. They call themselves the son outside, and the old man of the widowed monarch in their own country. The envoy calls himself so-and-so. The emperor does not speak out, and the princes do not give names.

God-making Academy

Congratulations to Mr. Shen for his success

The king sets up a shrine for all the surnames, called the Great Shrine. The king sets up a shrine for himself, called the King Shrine. The princes set up shrines for the people, called the State Shrine. The princes set up their own shrines, called Houshe. The officials below the rank set up shrines in groups, called Zhishe.

Famous Flowers and Beauties

Ritual is to the right state: it is like a scale to weight, a ruler to straightness, and a compass to squareness. Therefore, if the scale is honestly hung, it cannot be deceived by the weight; if the ruler is honestly laid out, it cannot be deceived by the crookedness; if the rules are honestly set up, it cannot be deceived by the squareness and roundness; a gentleman examines the rites and cannot be accused of treachery. Therefore, those who respect the rites and follow the rites are called the gentlemen with the rules; those who do not respect the rites and do not follow the rites are called the people without the rules. It is the way of respect and yielding. Therefore, when serving the ancestral temple, one is respectful; when entering the court, the noble and the humble have their positions; when living at home, the father and son are close and the brothers are harmonious; when living in the village, the elders and the young are in order. Confucius said: "To settle the state and govern the people, nothing is better than rites." This is what he meant.