The noble person does not use dark blue-red or blackish-red fabrics for garment trimmings, nor wear red or purple as casual home attire. In summer heat, one may wear unlined clothes made of fine or coarse ramie, but must always add an outer robe when going out. A black outer robe is worn over a black lamb-fur coat; a white outer robe over a fawn-fur coat; and a yellow outer robe over a fox-fur coat. Home fur robes are made long, but the right sleeve is shortened for ease of movement. One must have a nightgown, one and a half body-lengths long. Thick fox or badger fur is used for sitting mats. After mourning ends, one may wear all kinds of ornaments. Unless it is formal ceremonial attire (such as court or sacrificial robes with wide, unsewn hems, the hem of everyday garments must be tapered. One does not wear a black lamb-fur coat or black ceremonial cap when paying condolence visits. On the first day of each month (“auspicious moon”), one must wear full court dress to attend morning audience.
Note
This passage from the Analects details Confucius’s meticulous attention to clothing norms – not as mere fashion, but as expressions of ritual propriety, social role, and moral sensitivity. Every rule reflects deeper ethical principles: avoiding red/purple at home upholds modesty and distinguishes private life from ostentation; matching outer robes with specific furs maintains visual harmony and symbolic order; shortening the right sleeve shows practical wisdom within ritual form; wearing proper attire for mourning, condolence, or court appearances demonstrates respect for others and for communal rites. The emphasis on “not going out without an outer robe” even in heat underscores that public conduct must reflect self-discipline and social responsibility. Crucially, these practices are not rigid legalism – they serve human relationships and inner virtue. For example, abstaining from luxurious black lamb-fur at funerals expresses empathy, not just protocol. Thus, clothing becomes a medium through which the junzi (noble person or Confucian gentleman) embodies reverence, appropriateness, and contextual awareness – proving that ritual propriety permeates even the most mundane aspects of life.
Further Reading
The Master said, “Hemp caps are prescribed by ritual; now people use silk, which is more frugal – I follow the majority. Bowing below the steps is ritual; now people bow above – this is arrogance. Though I differ from the crowd, I bow below.” Analects 9.3 (Zi Han)
Shows Confucius balancing tradition, practicality, and principle in ritual matters – similar to his nuanced approach to dress in chapter 10.6.
君子不以紺緅飾。紅紫不以為褻服。當暑，袗絺綌，必表而出之。緇衣羔裘，素衣麑裘，黃衣狐裘。褻裘長。短右袂。必有寢衣，長一身有半。狐貉之厚以居。去喪，無所不佩。非帷裳，必殺之。羔裘玄冠不以弔。吉月，必朝服而朝。
Leave a Reply