Page:Tseng Kuo Fan and the Taiping Rebellion.djvu/365

342 life. The first principle was early rising, the second sweeping everything clean, the third sincerity to offer the sacrifices, and the fourth treating relatives and neighbors well. Of all the relatives and neighbors who came to the home not one was received without great respect — those in distress he must help; with those who had a dispute the matter must be arranged; if there was an occasion of joy congratulations were to be offered, if there was sickness inquiries must be made, and if there was bereavement condolences must be offered. ... In the matter of sincerely carrying on the sacrifices it is necessary for your mother to give them her careful attention at the proper seasons. All the very best vessels must be set apart for the sacrifices, and the very best food and drink are also to be set aside for the selfsame requirement. Those families which do not properly perform the sacrifices, though they may chance to rise, cannot do so for very long. This is most important, most important."

If the sacrifices were of such great importance in Tsêng's eyes, the proper location of graves was scarcely less so. We have seen in the quotations from Sing-kong that he professed to have no faith in geomancy, a disbelief shared by Tsêng and commended to his brothers. Yet his letters show much concern about the proper burial of his own ancestors. Thus on the death and burial of his grandmother he wrote to his grandfather congratulating him on the good news of a burial well accomplished, but venturing to question whether the location had been properly chosen to allow for a memorial arch and religious inscription, also whether it were not too close to the river. He proposed that the grave should be moved, not to the end of securing riches, honor, and good fortune, but to avoid ants, dampness, and dangers and secure a