A Discussion in Outline of Sacrificing to the Forebears in the Four Seasons論四時饗先事略言
古者人子之饗先。以血祀爲貴者。是禮經之制也。禮者。聖人之所制。聖人之制禮。雖幽至於鬼神。無所不測其情而制之者也。豈可輕廢哉。雖血祀之在所可重如此。子孫絶則血祀絶矣。夫然故。古之人深忌血食之不續。乃至以無後爲不孝。蓋亦以此。而如不用血祀。則其與無後何異哉。噫。今世之風俗。酷尙佛法。其祭先多以蔬蔌。是何法耶。若欲營佛事薦冥福。而幷祭其先。則用蔬菜可也。所謂四時之饗者。吉祭也。大禮也。當以官品之高下。或以大牢。或以小牢。禮也。若貧不能辦之。則以魚物禽鳥之類代之。燔炙以薦。則猶愈於蔬菜矣。且人死曰鬼。鬼神必於燔燒之際。乃始降神而歆其祀矣。不然。與不祭同。孔子不曰乎。爾愛其羊。我愛其禮歟。況祖先於高卑。一也。國之大廟。亦用蔬菜耶。但有等衰耳。
That of old, when a son sacrificed to his forebears, the sacrifice of blood was held in honor is the institution of the Classic of Rites (禮經). The rites were made by the sages. When the sages made the rites, there was nothing they made, even in matters so hidden as to reach to the spirits, without having weighed the feeling of it. How can they be lightly done away with?
Such is the weight that belongs to the sacrifice of blood; and when sons and grandsons are cut off, the sacrifice of blood is cut off as well. It was for this reason that the men of old deeply dreaded that the food of blood should fail to be carried on, and came at last to call it unfilial to be without posterity; and this, in the main, is why. But if one does not use the sacrifice of blood, in what does it differ from being without posterity?
Alas, the manners of the present age honor the Buddha's law exceedingly, and in sacrificing to their forebears men commonly use herbs: what law is this? If one means to hold a Buddhist service and pray for blessing in the world beyond, and therewith also to sacrifice to one's forebears, then herbs may be used. But the seasonal offerings of the four seasons, as they are called, are the auspicious sacrifice (吉祭) and a great rite. It is the rite that, according to the height or the lowness of one's office and rank, one should use now the great victim (大牢), now the lesser victim (小牢). If one is poor and cannot make them ready, then to put fish and fowl and the like in their stead and offer them roasted is still better than herbs.
Again, when a man dies he is called a spirit. The spirit of necessity comes down only in the moment of the burning and the roasting, and so partakes of that sacrifice. Otherwise it is the same as not sacrificing at all. Did not Confucius say: 「You grudge the sheep; I grudge the rite.」 How much the more when forebears are one and the same in the high and in the low. Would herbs be used even in the great shrine of the state? There is only a difference of degree.