Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 27.djvu/188

 31. The gruel of the chief mourner (the son), the presiding wife, and the steward of the family (of a Great officer) is taken by them at the order of the ruler lest they should get ill.

32. On returning (from the grave) to wail, (the son) should ascend the hall (of the ancestral temple);—returning to the place where (the deceased) performed his rites. The presiding wife should enter the chamber;—returning to the place where he received his nourishment.

33. Condolences should be presented (to the son) when he returns (from the grave) and is wailing, at which time his grief is at its height He has returned, and (his father) is not to be seen; he feels that he has lost him. (His grief is) then most intense. Under the Yin, they presented condolences immediately at the grave; under the Kâu, when the son had returned and was wailing. Confucius said, "Yin was too blunt; I follow Kâu."

34. To bury on the north (of the city), and with the head (of the dead) turned to the north, was the common practice of the three dynasties:—because (the dead) go to the dark region.

35. When the coffin has been let down into the grave, the chief mourner presents the (ruler's) gifts (to the dead in the grave ), and the officer of prayer (returns beforehand) to give notice of the sacrifice of