3.10
The Master said, “At the Ancestral Sacrifice, as for all that comes after the libation, I had far rather not witness it!”
子曰：「禘自既灌而往者，吾不欲觀之矣。」
Notes
This statement from the Analects expresses Confucius’ profound disappointment with the Lu State’s Di Sacrifice (Ancestral Sacrifice) becoming an empty formality, stripped of solemnity. It embodies his anguish over the “collapse of rites” and his steadfast commitment to the spirit of ritual propriety.
By Zhou Dynasty rites, the Di Sacrifice (Ancestral Sacrifice) was exclusively an imperial ceremony forbidden to feudal lords. King Cheng of Zhou exceptionally permitted Lu (as descendants of the Duke of Zhou) to perform it as an honor, but under strict constraints.
By the late Spring and Autumn period, Lu’s rulers had weakened, and the Three Huan clans (Jisun, Mengsun, Shusun) monopolized power. The Ancestral Sacrifice was often led by ministers, becoming increasingly sacrilegious and perfunctory. Confucius saw it reduced to a political theater where the elite flaunted power through hollow performances, devoid of sacred reverence.
The Libation Ceremony — marking the ritual’s commencement to “welcome deities” and “connect with spirits” — should be its most solemn moment. Proper rites dictated that after the libation, the ceremony should intensify in gravity.
Confucius opposed not the Ancestral Sacrifice itself, but ritual devoid of reverence. To him, this rite symbolized political order, moral pedagogy, and cosmic righteousness beyond mere religion.
His stance reveals true ritual devotion lies not in blind participation, but in vigilant guardianship of ritual’s sacred spirit.
Leave a Reply