When sleeping, he did not lie stiffly like a corpse; when at home, he was relaxed and unpretentious. Yet whenever he saw someone in mourning dress – even if they were close friends – he would always change his expression to one of solemnity. When encountering someone wearing a ceremonial cap or a blind person – even if familiar – he would always treat them with visible respect. While riding in a carriage, he would bow forward, holding the crossbar, upon seeing someone in mourning garments, and likewise when seeing someone carrying official documents or state registers. At a banquet with especially sumptuous food, he would always change his countenance and rise slightly in acknowledgment. When hearing sudden thunder or witnessing a violent windstorm, he would invariably show a look of reverence.
Note
This passage from The Analects of Confucius vividly portrays his dynamic balance between inner ease and outward propriety – a hallmark of the Confucian junzi (noble person). In private, he is natural and unforced (“not lying like a corpse,” “not rigid at home”), rejecting artificiality. Yet in public or in morally significant encounters, he instantly adjusts his demeanor to reflect ritual propriety and benevolence (humaneness). His responses are context-sensitive: grief (mourning attire), social role (officials), vulnerability (the blind), civic duty (those bearing state documents), hospitality (lavish meals), and cosmic forces (thunder and wind) all elicit immediate, respectful reactions. This is not performative etiquette but ethical mindfulness – recognizing the moral weight of each situation. The act of “bowing over the crossbar” shows embodied reverence without disrupting function. Most profoundly, even natural phenomena like storms provoke awe, revealing Confucius’s belief that human conduct should harmonize with cosmic order. Thus, ritual is not static rule-following but a living responsiveness to the moral texture of the world.
Further Reading
If the mat was not straight, he would not sit. Analects 10.9 (Xiang Dang)
Both emphasize how the junzi maintains ritual awareness even in minor or transient situations – outer order reflects inner discipline.
“When sacrificing, it is as if the spirits were present.” Analects 3.12 (Ba Yi)
Like treating thunder with reverence, this shows Confucius’s attitude of “as if” – responding to invisible moral or cosmic presences with tangible respect.
寢不尸，居不容。見齊衰者，雖狎，必變。見冕者與瞽者，雖褻，必以貌。凶服者式之。式負版者。有盛饌，必變色而作。迅雷風烈，必變。
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