Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 3.djvu/81

as follows: In his general conduct to them he manifests the utmost reverence; in his nourishing of them his endeavour is to give them the utmost pleasure; when they are ill he feels the greatest anxiety; in mourning for them (dead) he exhibits every demonstration of grief; in sacrificing to them he displays the utmost solemnity. When a son is complete in these five things, he may be pronounced able to serve his parents. He who thus serves his parents, in a high position will be free from pride; in a low situation will be free from insubordination; and among his equals will not be quarrelsome. In a high situation pride leads to ruin; in a low situation insubordination leads to punishment; among equals quarrelsomeness leads to the wielding of weapons. If these three things be not put away, though a son every day contributes beef, mutton, and pork to nourish his parents, he is not filial."

In the early times there were two great ceremonies of ancestral worship, one in spring and one in autumn. On these occasions "they repaired and beautified the temple of their ancestors, set forth the vessels that had belonged to them, displayed their various robes and presented the offerings of the various seasons." Further, in order to vividly recall the memory of the deceased, two days prior to the act of worship had to be devoted by the worshipper to fasting and thinking of the dead man; "how he had smiled and spoken; where he had stood and sat; what had