These people are all people who have made contributions to people, so they are worshiped as gods. In addition, there are the gods of the sun, moon, stars, and stars, and the people rely on them to distinguish the four seasons and arrange agricultural affairs; There are also gods of mountains, forests, rivers and valleys, and hills, on which the people rely to obtain various means of production and living. If this is not the case, it will not be sacrificed as a god.

*********

(24) Sacrifice

The Sacrifice is an exposition of the meaning of sacrifice.

The number of sacrifices should not be too frequent, because too often will make people feel bored, and to be bored is to be disrespectful to God. The number of sacrifices should not be too scarce, too scarce will make people lazy, and laziness will lead to forgetting ancestors. Therefore, according to the laws of heaven, the gentleman holds a sacrifice in the spring and a tasting sacrifice in the autumn. Autumn is coming, the frost and dew cover the earth, and the gentleman will definitely feel desolate when he steps on the frost and dew; This is not due to the cold weather, but to the touching of the scene and the thought of the dead relatives; Spring is coming, the rain and dew moisten the earth, and the gentleman will step on the rain and dew, and he will suddenly be tempted, hoping to see his dead relatives again like spring returning to the earth. People greet the return of their relatives with a happy mood and bid farewell to their relatives with a sad mood, so they play music and taste no joy in the sacrifice.

The fasting ceremony must be performed for three days, which must be performed in the palace; Fasting for seven days can be done outside the palace. On the day of fasting, we should think of the place where the deceased lived, the laughter of the deceased, the aspirations of the deceased, and the things that the deceased liked to do and eat during his lifetime. If your loved one fasts for three days with such concentration, it will be as if you have actually seen your loved one. On the day of the sacrifice, when I entered the temple room, I vaguely seemed to see the faces of my relatives; When he turned around to go out after the sacrifice, he was solemn and moved, as if he heard the voice of his relatives; When I went out and listened carefully, I felt like I heard the sighs of my relatives.

Therefore, the filial piety of the ancestors of the ancestors, the faces of the fathers and ancestors always shook in front of their eyes, the voices of their fathers and ancestors always echoed in their ears, and the thoughts and hobbies of their fathers and ancestors were always remembered in their hearts. The love for his father and ancestors has reached this level, and his father and ancestor naturally always live in their hearts; With such an attitude of devotion to his father, the appearance and voice of his father and ancestor are naturally always vivid. Fathers and ancestors hold such a position in the hearts of their children, how can they not be respectful to them!

A gentleman should devote himself to his parents while they are alive, and after they die, he should devout and enjoy them, and remember not to do anything that dishonors his parents. A gentleman has a lifetime of mourning, and this sentence refers to the death day. Every time you don't do anything on the day of your death, it doesn't mean that it's unlucky to do things on that day, and the second is that you miss your parents all the time on this day, and you can't talk about doing anything else at all.

Worshipping the Emperor is a difficult thing to do, and only a saint can do it. Sacrificing one's parents is a difficult thing to do, and only filial sons can do it. The word 飨 in the sacrificial feast originally meant to Xiang. Only the filial son sincerely yearns for his parents, and then the parents will accept the sacrifice. Therefore, filial piety is always pleasant in front of the corpse. When the princes sacrificed, the monarch personally brought the sacrifice into the temple, and the lady offered the wine of Anqi; The monarch personally offered the corpse with blood hair, and the lady also offered ceremonial beans; The doctors assisted the king, and the wives of the ministers assisted the ladies. Solemn and respectful, pleasant and sincere, it is simply impatient for the sacrificed gods to come and enjoy the sacrifice.

When King Wen sacrificed to his parents, he honored the souls of the dead as if they were alive, and thinking about the dead was like not wanting to live anymore. Every time you die on the day of death, you will be sad. Mentioning the names of your parents is like seeing your dead parents. The devotion of the sacrifice is as if seeing the love of the parents before their death, as if seeing the satisfied looks of the parents. The only one who can do this is probably King Wen. The Book of Songs says, "I can't sleep until dawn because I miss my dead parents." "It's about King Wen. On the second day of the main festival, I could not sleep until dawn, and I prepared sacrifices for my parents, and on such a day, I was both happy and sad, and I missed them even more. When I think of my parents coming to receive the sacrifice, my heart is naturally happy; Thinking that his parents would have to leave after receiving the sacrifice, his heart was naturally sad.

Confucius held a tasting sacrifice and personally offered sacrifices, his demeanor was so loyal and sincere, and his pace was so rapid and fast. After the sacrifice, Zigong asked: The teacher once taught us that when we sacrifice, we should look neat and look respectful. Today, when I saw your sacrifice teacher, I didn't pay attention to my neat appearance and my demeanor was cautious, it was a self-reserved look. If you are estranged from the gods and are self-reserved, can you still talk about a handover with the gods? The answer, of course, is no. So why do you need to be neat and cautious? If we attend the king's sacrifice, the nine offerings have been completed, the music has been played, the cooked dishes have been served, everyone has acted according to the rules of the rites and music, and all the officials are in place, and then the gentlemen can make a neat appearance and a reserved demeanor, because as guests they will not communicate with the gods. What I say does not apply in every case, it depends on the circumstances.

The filial son is going to hold a sacrifice, and the relevant matters must be considered in advance; By then, all things must be in order; While doing these preparations, there should be no other distractions in mind. The palace rooms in the temple have been renovated, the walls have been painted, and all kinds of items have been prepared, at this time, the filial son and his wife can fast, bathe, put on ceremonial clothes, and hold sacrifices to the gods. The expression at the time of offering is so sincere, so focused, as if you can't hold the sacrifice in your hand, and as if you are afraid of taking it off, this is all the filial piety of the filial piety of the couple replied to the extreme.

All kinds of sacrifices were offered, music was played according to the ritual, and all the officials also assisted in boiling the heat and making offerings. At this moment, through the blessing of the celebrant to express the filial son's heart, in a trance, as if he is really talking to the gods, as if the gods are really enjoying the sacrifice. It is as if the gods really enjoy the sacrifices, which is the original intention of the filial son. The sacrifice of filial piety is actually an act of self-devotion, as much as one's own piety and as a pious action, as one's belief in the gods as one's belief in the existence of the gods, as one's own respect as an act of respecting the gods, and as one's own etiquette as not violating a single rule.