Because of this, the Son of Heaven personally cultivated the messy fields in the southern suburbs to provide sacrifices; The queen raised silkworms in the northern suburbs to provide sacrificial clothes; The princes personally cultivated the borrowed fields in the eastern suburbs, which were also used to provide sacrifices; The lady raised silkworms in the northern suburbs, which was also used to provide sacrificial clothes. The Son of Heaven and the princes were not so poor that they did not have sacrifices if they did not cultivate it themselves, and the queen and the women were not so poor that they did not have sacrificial clothes if they did not raise silkworms. Be pious, dedicated, and then you can serve the gods. This is the principle of sacrifice.

When the time comes for the sacrifice, the gentleman is to fast. Fasting can also be said to mean neatness, that is, to put in order the things that are not in order to be neat in the body and in the heart. Therefore, a gentleman is not engaged in sacrifice, and does not fast on occasions where there is no need for respect. There are no taboos for doing things without fasting, and there are no restrictions on excessive pursuit of enjoyment. But when it comes time to fast, you can't do things that are forbidden, you have to limit your pursuit of pleasure, and your ears can't listen to music. That's why it is written in ancient books, "He who fasts does not rejoice." That is, when fasting, you don't dare to distract yourself. The mind is free from distracting thoughts, and what you think will be in accordance with the right path; If the hands and feet do not move, it must be in accordance with the rules to lift the hands and feet.

Therefore, the purpose of a gentleman's fast is to achieve physical and mental purity. For this purpose, we dedicate seven days of fasting to restrain our minds, and then fast for three days to put them in order. Keeping one's mind in one place is called fasting. Fasting is a high degree of physical and mental purity before one can deal with the gods. So, eleven days before the sacrifice, the chief priest solemnly admonished his wife, and the woman began to fast, first for seven days, and then for three days. The monarch fasts in the monarch's bed, and the lady fasts in the lady's bedtime, and will not be in the temple until the day of the sacrifice.

The monarch stood on the east step in a ceremonial dress and a top hat, and the lady stood in the east room wearing jewelry and a gown. The monarch held Guizan in his hand and bowed naked in front of the corpse, and the great uncle held Zhangzhan in his hand and performed naked in front of the corpse. When it was time to welcome the sacrifice into the temple, the monarch personally held the ox nose rope, the doctor followed closely behind the sacrifice, and the priest held the straw. The lady of the sect followed behind her with white wine in her hand and offered the 涚 (shuì) water filtered with ash. The king himself took the sword and stole the sacrificial lungs and offered them to the corpse to taste, and the woman offered the beans. This is called a husband and wife presiding over the sacrifice themselves.

When the festival is carried out to the music and dance, the monarch stands on the dance seat with a dry qi in his hand, and the monarch stands on the upper seat near the east, wearing a top hat and holding a shield, and leads the ministers to dance to win the favor of the emperor's corpse. Therefore, the sacrifice of the Son of Heaven is to rejoice with the subjects of the world; The sacrifice of the princes is suitable for the subjects of the territory to enjoy together. The princes wore top hats and shields in their hands, and led their ministers to dance to win the favor of the emperor's corpse, which was a manifestation of joy with the subjects in the territory.

There are three most important programs in the sacrificial process: in the sacrificial activity, there is nothing more important than the naked sacrifice; In singing and performance activities, there is nothing more important than singing "Qing Temple" in the hall; In dance activities, there is nothing more important than the dance of "Takesu Night". This was the rule of the Zhou Dynasty. These three most important programs are all used to strengthen the pious heart of a gentleman with the help of external actions. Therefore, the relationship between the two is closely related, if the inner is light, the external action will not be energetic, the inner weight will be heavy externally, and the inner light will hope to achieve the weight of the external action, even a saint can't do it. Therefore, the sacrifice of a gentleman must be done with sincerity, so that the external action can also be dignified. Following the requirements of the ceremony, doing the three most important programs well and winning the favor of the emperor's corpse is the way of sacrifice of the saint.

There is such a thing as 馂 (jùn) in the ritual, which is to eat leftover food. Although the feast is the last thing, it is also necessary to understand the meaning. Therefore, the ancients said: A good end should be like a good beginning, and this incident is probably the best illustration of this point. Therefore, the ancient gentleman said: Although the corpse is noble, he also eats the leftovers of ghosts and gods. It is also a form of benevolence, from which political significance can be observed. Therefore, after the corpse was eaten, he got up and left the table, and the four of the monarch and the secretary ate the remaining sacrifices of the corpse; When the king gets up after eating, the doctor leaves people to eat the leftover sacrifices of the king, which is called the minister eating the king's leftovers; When the doctor gets up after eating, the eight people eat the leftovers, which is called the cheap eating the leftovers of the nobles; When the priest had finished eating, he got up, and each of them came out with the utensils with the remaining offerings, and displayed them under the hall, and the various errand men ate the leftovers, and when they had finished eating, they were removed, and this was called the surplus of those who were in the upper position eating at the bottom.

The whole process of managing the dumplings is to increase the number of people who make them every time they change, which is to distinguish people from the noble and the low, and the objects of favor are more and more. Therefore, the use of silk plate offerings can show favor throughout the temple. And the temple is a microcosm of the entire border. The feast in the ritual is a great blessing. Therefore, if there is a great favor above, it must benefit the below, but the upper ones get it first and the lower ones get it later, and it is not that the upper ones are supported to death and the lower ones are starved to death. Therefore, if there is a great favor above, the people will wait one by one below, believing that the favor will also fall on their heads. All of this is reflected in the matter of the feast, so the political significance can be observed from it.

The sacrifice as a thing can be said to be big enough, and the tribute recommended during the sacrifice is complete enough. The heart of filial piety coupled with the complete sacrifice is probably the foundation of education. Therefore, the practice of indoctrination of the gentleman educates people to respect the monarch in society and filial piety to their parents in the family. Therefore, the holy monarch is above, and the ministers and ministers obey; Respectfully worship the temple community, then the descendants are filial. Exhausting the ritual of sacrifice and correcting the meaning of sacrifice requires education.

Therefore, a gentleman who serves the king must practice it. If you feel that something is wrong with the above, don't let the lower part do it again; If you are disgusted with some of the practices below, you should stop dealing with them in this way. Not letting people do it, but knowingly committing it, this is not a method of education, so the gentleman's indoctrination must be grasped from the root, and the outline is followed, and such a method is probably the only sacrifice. It is no wonder that people say that sacrifice is the foundation of education.