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In all ways of governing people, nothing is more urgent than ritual. There are five classics of ritual, and nothing is more important than sacrifice. Sacrifice is not something that comes from the outside, but something that comes from the heart; the heart is afraid and respects it with ritual. Therefore, only the wise can fully fulfill the meaning of sacrifice. When a wise man offers sacrifice, he will surely receive blessing. This is not what the world calls blessing. Blessing means preparation; preparation is the name of a hundred obediences. Those who are obedient in everything are called prepared. It means that one should be devoted to oneself internally and obedient to the Way externally. A loyal minister serves his lord, and a filial son serves his parents. The root of this is the same. Obedient to the gods above, obedient to the lord externally, and filial to the parents internally. This is called preparation. Only the wise man can be prepared, and only when he is prepared can he offer sacrifice. Therefore, the sacrifice of the wise man is to show his sincerity and loyalty, to offer him things, to guide him with etiquette, to comfort him with music, and to participate in the time. It is clear and that is all. Do not seek to do it. This is the heart of the filial son. Offering sacrifice is to commemorate and continue the filial piety. Filial piety means nurturing. Obeying the Way and not going against the ethics is called nurturing. Therefore, when a filial son serves his parents, there are three ways: nurturing when they are alive, mourning when they are dead, and offering sacrifice after the mourning. In raising a child, we observe his obedience; in mourning, we observe his sorrow; in offering sacrifices, we observe his respect and timing. Those who fulfill these three ways are filial sons. After doing their best internally, they also seek help from outside, which is the wedding ceremony. Therefore, the king of a country takes the wife's words: "Please share my humble city with your daughter and serve the ancestral temple and the altar of the country." This is the basis of seeking help. In sacrifices, the husband and wife must be close to each other, so as to prepare the external and internal officials; if the officials are prepared, everything is complete. The pickled water grass, the minced meat of land products, and the small things are ready; the three animals are prepared for the sacrificial table, the fruits of the eight dishes are prepared, and the different insects, the fruits of the plants and trees, and the things of yin and yang are prepared. All the things born by heaven and the long things of the earth, as long as they can be offered, are all present, showing that everything is done. To use everything externally and to do one's best internally is the heart of sacrifice. Therefore, the emperor personally ploughs in the southern suburbs to share the prosperity; the queen raises silkworms in the northern suburbs to share the pure clothes. The princes ploughed in the eastern suburbs to share the prosperity; the ladies raised silkworms in the northern suburbs to share the crown and clothing. The emperor and the princes did not plough without him, and the queen and her wives did not plough without him. They should be sincere and honest. Sincerity is called perfection, and perfection is called respect. Only when respect is reached can one serve the gods. This is the way of offering sacrifices. When offering sacrifices in time, the gentleman is in order. The word "Qi" means to be in order. The one who is not in order is in order. Therefore, the gentleman is not in order unless he has a major event or is respectful. If he is not in order, he will not be on guard against things, and his desires will not be stopped. When he is about to be in order, he will guard against evil things, stop his desires, and his ears will not listen to music. Therefore, it is recorded in the book: "The one who is in order is not happy", which means that he dare not be distracted. If the heart is not careless, it must follow the way; if the hands and feet are not careless, they must follow the etiquette. Therefore, the gentleman's order is to concentrate on his wisdom and wisdom. Therefore, it takes seven days to disperse the order and three days to make it. The order is called order. Qi means the utmost wisdom, and only then can one communicate with the gods. Therefore, one day before the date, the palace minister stays with the lady, and the lady also disperses Qi for seven days and gathers Qi for three days. The king gathers Qi outside, and the lady gathers Qi inside, and then they meet in the Great Temple. The king stands in the east with a pure crown, and the lady stands in the east room with a deputy crown. The king holds the jade tablet and the naked corpse, and the great clan holds the jade tablet and the second naked corpse. When welcoming the sacrifice, the king holds the silk, and the ministers and officials hold the grass. The clan women hold the jar and follow the lady to offer the water. The king holds the phoenix knife and the lady offers the beans. This is called the closeness between husband and wife.

Nocturnal animals await dawn

Tao Gong had great ambitions since he was young. His family was extremely poor, so he lived with his mother, Zhan. Fan Kui, a fellow countyman who was well-known, was selected as a filial and honest official and stayed at Kan's place. At that time, ice and snow accumulated day by day, and Kan's room was as dark as a hanging chime, while Kui had many horses and servants. Kan's mother, Mrs. Zhan, said to Kan, "You just go out and entertain the guests, and I will take care of the affairs myself." Zhan's hair fell to the ground, and the lower part was broken into two buns. She sold several bushels of rice, chopped down the pillars of the house, cut half of them into firewood, and ground the remaining hair into horse grass. Every day and evening, he provided fine food, so that his followers had nothing to lack. Kui was amazed at his eloquence and felt deeply ashamed of his kindness. The next morning he left, and Kan followed him closely, and they walked for about a hundred miles. Kui said, "The road is long, you should go back." Kan still did not return, so Kui said, "You can go now! We will talk about your good deeds in Luoyang." Kan then returned. Kui and Luo then praised them to Yang Zhi, Gu Rong and others, and they won great praise.

Rebirth of the Little Farmer

The Eye of Six Paths

When Taifu Xie was sailing eastward, a villain was guiding the boat, sometimes slowing down, sometimes speeding up, sometimes stopping, sometimes waiting, and also letting the boat go sideways, causing it to hit people and crash into the shore. The Duke did not reprimand him at first. People say that you are never angry or happy. I once accompanied my brother on his return from a funeral in the west. It was a rainy day and we were all drunk, so I couldn't do anything about it. The Duke then took the carriage pillar and hit the driver with a very loud and fierce sound. Water is calm and gentle in nature, but it rushes violently when it enters a narrow passage. The local people are well aware that in a remote and isolated place, it is impossible to preserve their purity.

Dadaofutu

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin, Xun Xu was the Director of the Secretariat and He Qiao was the Prime Minister. The story tells about the origin of the supervisor and the commander riding in the same car. Jiao was of a noble and upright character, and he always disdained flattery. Later, when the bus came, Qiao got on it and sat forward without waiting. Xu Fanggeng looked for a car and then he was able to leave. From then on, the supervisors and magistrates were each given a carriage.

Rebirth Seven Days

The most important thing is virtue, and the next best thing is to repay kindness. Reciprocity. It is not polite to go without coming back; it is also not polite to come without going back. When people are polite, they are safe; when they are impolite, they are in danger. Therefore it is said: Etiquette must be learned. The principle of etiquette is to humble oneself and respect others. Even a porter or peddler must be respected, let alone the rich and powerful? If a person is rich and noble but knows how to be polite, he will not be arrogant or licentious; if a person is poor and humble but knows how to be polite, he will not be deterred.