Moderation in Funerals, Part Three節葬下
子墨子言曰：仁者之爲天下度也，辟之無以異乎孝子之爲親度也。今孝子之爲親度也，將柰何哉？曰：親貧則從事乎富之，人民寡則從事乎衆之，衆亂則從事乎治之。當其於此也，亦有力不足、財不贍、智不智然後已矣，無敢舍餘力，隱謀遺利，而不爲親爲之者矣。若三務者，孝子之爲親度也，既若此矣。雖仁者之爲天下度，亦猶此也。曰：天下貧則從事乎富之，人民寡則從事乎衆之，衆而亂則從事乎治之。當其於此，亦有力不足、財不贍、智不智然後已矣。無敢舍餘力，隱謀遺利，而不爲天下爲之者矣。若三務者，此仁者之爲天下度，既若此矣。
Mozi said, "The benevolent man's planning for all under heaven is no different, if we compare it, from a filial son's planning for his parents.
Now what is a filial son's planning for his parents like? It is said: if the parents are poor, he sets about making them rich; if the people of the house are few, he sets about making them many; if the household is in disorder, he sets about putting it in order. When he comes to this, he stops only when his strength is not enough, his goods are not enough, and his knowledge is not wise. He never dares to leave strength unused, to hide away a plan, or to keep back a benefit, and so not do it for his parents. In these three efforts, a filial son's planning for his parents is already like this.
The benevolent man's planning for all under heaven is like this too. It is said: if all under heaven is poor, he sets about making it rich; if the people are few, he sets about making them many; if the multitude are many but in disorder, he sets about putting them in order. When he comes to this, he stops only when his strength is not enough, his goods are not enough, and his knowledge is not wise. He never dares to leave strength unused, to hide away a plan, or to keep back a benefit, and so not do it for all under heaven. In these three efforts, the benevolent man's planning for all under heaven is already like this."
今逮至昔者三代聖王既沒，天下失義。後世之君子，或以厚葬久喪以爲仁也、義也、孝子之事也。或以厚葬久喪以爲非仁義、非孝子之事也。曰：二子者，言則相非，行即相反，皆曰：「吾上祖述堯舜禹湯文武之道者也。」而言即相非，行即相反，於此乎後世之君子皆疑惑乎二子者言也。若苟疑惑乎之二子者言，然則姑嘗傅而爲政乎國家萬民而觀之，計厚葬久喪，奚當此三利者哉？意若使法其言，用其謀，厚葬久喪實可以富貧、衆寡、定危、治亂乎？此仁也，義也，孝子之事也，爲人謀者不可不勸也。仁者將求興之，天下誰伯，而使民譽之，終勿廢也。意亦使法其言，用其謀，厚葬久喪實不可以富貧、衆寡、定危、治亂乎？此非仁非義，非孝子之事也，爲人謀者不可不沮也。仁者將求除之，天下誰賈，而使民非之，終身勿爲。是故興天下之利，除天下之害，令國家百姓之不治也，自古及今未嘗之有也。
Now when the sage kings of the three dynasties of old had died, all under heaven lost righteousness. Of the gentlemen of later ages, some hold that rich burial and long mourning are benevolent, are righteous, and are the work of a filial son; and some hold that rich burial and long mourning are not benevolent and righteous and are not the work of a filial son.
I say: these two deny each other in words and go against each other in deeds, yet both say, "I carry on above and set forth the way of Yao and Shun and Yu and Tang and Wen and Wu." Yet their words deny each other and their deeds go against each other, and here the gentlemen of later ages are all in doubt and confusion over the words of these two.
If we are in doubt and confusion over the words of these two, then let us for a while try spreading them over the state and the ten thousand people as government, and look at them, and reckon how rich burial and long mourning meet these three benefits.
Suppose we take their words as law and use their plans, and rich burial and long mourning can truly make the poor rich, the few many, the endangered settled, and the disordered ordered. Then this is benevolent, it is righteous, it is the work of a filial son, and one who plans for others cannot but urge it. The benevolent man will seek to raise it up; and in all under heaven, who would block it and make the people praise it and to the end not let it be abolished?
Suppose again we take their words as law and use their plans, and rich burial and long mourning truly cannot make the poor rich, the few many, the endangered settled, and the disordered ordered. Then it is not benevolent, it is not righteous, it is not the work of a filial son, and one who plans for others cannot but stop it. The benevolent man will seek to do away with it; and in all under heaven, who would sell it and make the people call it wrong and to the end of life not do it?
Therefore, that the benefits of all under heaven be raised up and the harms of all under heaven done away with, and yet the state and the hundred families not be ordered — from ancient times to now this has never been.
何以知其然也？今天下之士君子，將猶多皆疑惑厚葬久喪之爲中是非利害也。故子墨子言曰：然則姑嘗稽之。今雖毋法執厚葬久喪者言，以爲事乎國家。此存乎王公大人有喪者，曰棺椁必重，葬埋必厚，衣衾必多，文繡必繁，丘隴必巨。存乎匹夫賤人死者，殆竭家室。存乎諸侯死者，虛庫府，然後金玉珠璣比乎身，綸組節約，車馬藏乎壙，又必多爲屋幕、鼎鼓、几挻、壺濫、戈劒、羽旄、齒革，寢而埋之。滿意若殉從，曰：天子殺殉，衆者數百，寡者數十。將軍大夫殺殉，衆者數十，寡者數人。處喪之法將柰何哉？曰：哭泣不秩聲，翁縗絰，垂涕，處倚廬，寢苫枕𠙽。又相率强不食而爲飢，薄衣而爲寒，使面目陷𨼥，顏色黧黑，耳目不聰明，手足不勁强，不可用也。又曰：上士之操喪也，必扶而能起，杖而能行，以此共三年。若法若言，行若道，使王公大人行此，則必不能蚤朝晏退，治五官六府，辟草木，實倉廪。使農夫行此，則必不能蚤出夜入，耕稼樹藝。使百工行此，則必不能修舟車，爲器皿矣。使婦人行此，則必不能夙興夜寐，紡績織絍。細計厚葬爲多埋賦之財者也，計久喪爲久禁從事者也。財以成者，扶而埋之。後得生者，而久禁之。以此求富，此譬猶禁耕而求獲也，富之說無可得焉。是故求以富國家，而既已不可矣。
How do we know it is so? Now the officers and gentlemen of all under heaven are still many who are in doubt and confusion over whether rich burial and long mourning meet right and wrong, benefit and harm.
Therefore Mozi said, "Then let us for a while try to examine it. Suppose now we take as law only the words of those who hold to rich burial and long mourning, and make them the business of the state.
For the kings and dukes and great men who have a death in the house, it is said that the inner and outer coffins must be doubled, the burying must be rich, the clothes and covers must be many, the patterns and embroidery must be abundant, and the mound must be huge. For a common man or a lowly man who dies, it all but exhausts the household. For a feudal lord who dies, the storehouses are emptied, and only then are gold and jade and pearls laid along the body and bound with cords and ties, and carriages and horses hidden in the pit; and there must be many hangings and cauldrons and drums, armrests and mats, jars and basins, halberds and swords, feathers and standards, teeth and hides made besides, to be laid down and buried with him.
When it comes to killing men to follow the dead until the wish is filled, it is said that when the Son of Heaven kills men to follow him, at the most they are some hundreds and at the least some tens; and when a general or a great officer kills men to follow him, at the most they are some tens and at the least a few men.
What is the rule for dwelling in mourning? It is said: one wails and weeps without ordering the voice, wears the mourning cloth and the hempen band, lets the tears hang down, dwells in a lean-to hut, sleeps on straw and pillows his head on a clod of earth. Further they lead one another on to force themselves not to eat and go hungry, and to wear thin clothes and be cold, so that the face is sunken, the color dark and sallow, the ears and eyes not sharp, the hands and feet not strong, and the man is of no use. It is said again that a scholar of the highest rank keeps mourning so that he must be helped before he can rise and must lean on a staff before he can walk, and he fills out three years in this way.
If these words are taken as law and this way is followed, and the kings and dukes and great men do this, then they cannot come early to court and withdraw late, order the five offices and the six bureaus, open up the grass and trees, and fill the granaries. If the farmers do this, then they cannot go out early and come in at night, plow and sow and plant. If the hundred craftsmen do this, then they cannot mend boats and carriages and make vessels. If the women do this, then they cannot rise at dawn and sleep at night, spin thread and weave cloth.
Reckoned closely, rich burial is burying much of the wealth that has been gathered in, and long mourning is long forbidding men to go about their work. What has been made into wealth is carried out and buried, and those who are to live after are long forbidden. To seek riches by this is like forbidding the plowing and seeking the harvest; nothing can come of the talk of making men rich.
Therefore to seek by this to make the state rich is already impossible."
欲以衆人民，意者可邪？其說又不可矣。今惟無以厚葬久喪者爲政。君死喪之三年，父母死喪之三年，妻與後子死者，五皆喪之三年。然後伯父、叔父、兄弟、孽子其，族人五月，姑姊、甥舅皆有月數，則毀瘠必有制矣。使面目陷𨼥，顏色黧黑，耳目不聰明，手足不勁强，不可用也。又曰：上士操喪也，必扶而能起，杖而能行，以此共三年。若法若言，行若道，苟其飢約又若此矣。是故百姓冬不仞寒，夏不仞暑，作疾病死者不可勝計也。此其爲敗男女之交多矣，以此求衆，譬猶使人負劒而求其壽也，衆之說無可得焉。是故求以衆人民，而既以不可矣。
Is it possible, then, to make the people many by this? That talk too will not do.
Suppose now that government is carried on only by rich burial and long mourning. When the ruler dies, he is mourned three years; when father and mother die, they are mourned three years; when the wife and the eldest son die, all are mourned three years. After them come the uncles on the father's side and the brothers and the sons of concubines; for the clansmen it is five months; and for aunts and sisters, nephews and mothers' brothers there are all set numbers of months. So there are fixed rules for wasting and growing thin. The face is sunken, the color dark and sallow, the ears and eyes not sharp, the hands and feet not strong, and the man is of no use. It is said again that a scholar of the highest rank keeps mourning so that he must be helped before he can rise and must lean on a staff before he can walk, and he fills out three years in this way.
If these words are taken as law and this way is followed, and the hunger and the pinching are truly like this, then the people cannot bear the cold in winter and cannot bear the heat in summer, and those who fall sick and die cannot be counted. This ruins the meeting of man and woman greatly, and to seek to make the people many by it is like making a man fall upon his sword and seeking that his years be long; nothing can come of the talk of making them many.
Therefore to seek by this to make the people many is already impossible.
Interlinear notes 1
使人負劒而求其壽也
The source text has 負, taken here as an error for 伏 (to fall upon); the figure stands only if the man is made to fall on his sword. ― Translator
欲以治刑政，意者可乎？其說又不可矣。今惟無以厚葬久喪者爲政，國家必貧，人民必寡，刑政必亂。若法若言，行若道，使爲上者行此，則不能聽治；使爲下者行此，則不能從事。上不聽治，刑政必亂；下不從事，衣食之財必不足。若苟不足，爲人弟者求其兄而不得，不弟弟必將怨其兄矣；爲人子者求其親而不得，不孝子必是怨其親矣；爲人臣者求之君而不得，不忠臣必且亂其上矣。是以僻淫邪行之民，出則無衣也，入則無食也，內續奚吾，並爲淫暴，而不可勝禁也。是故盜賊衆而治者寡。夫衆盜賊而寡治者，以此求治，譬猶使人三睘而毋負己也，治之說無可得焉。是故求以治刑政，而既已不可矣。
Is it possible, then, to order punishment and government by this? That talk too will not do.
Suppose now that government is carried on only by rich burial and long mourning. Then the state must be poor, the people must be few, and punishment and government must be in disorder. If these words are taken as law and this way is followed, and those who are above do this, then they cannot hear and order affairs; and if those who are below do this, then they cannot go about their work. If those above do not hear and order affairs, punishment and government must be in disorder; and if those below do not go about their work, the goods for clothing and food must fall short.
If they fall short, then a man who is a younger brother seeks from his elder brother and does not get it, and the unbrotherly younger brother will surely resent his elder brother; a man who is a son seeks from his parents and does not get it, and the unfilial son will surely resent his parents; a man who is a subject seeks from his ruler and does not get it, and the disloyal subject will surely make disorder for the one above him.
So the people of crooked and wanton and wayward conduct, who have nothing to wear when they go out and nothing to eat when they come in, carry their shame within and do wanton and violent things together beyond all forbidding. Therefore robbers and thieves are many and the ordered are few. Now where robbers and thieves are many and the ordered are few, to seek order by this is like making a man turn about three times and telling him not to put his back to you; nothing can come of the talk of order.
Therefore to seek by this to order punishment and government is already impossible.
Interlinear notes 1
內續奚吾
奚吾 is corrupt in the source text and has long been read in more than one way; one reading is followed here. ― Translator
欲以禁止大國之攻小國也，意者可邪？其說又不可矣。是故昔者聖王既沒，天下失義，諸侯力征，南有楚越之王，而北有齊晉之君，此皆砥礪其卒伍，以攻伐并兼爲政於天下。是故凡大國之所以不攻小國者，積委多，城郭修，上下調和，是故大國不耆攻者。無積委，城郭不修，上下不調和，是故大國耆攻之。今惟毋以厚葬久喪者爲政，國家必貧，人民必寡，刑政必亂。若苟貧，是無以爲積委也；若苟寡，是修城郭溝渠者寡也；若苟亂，是出戰不克，入守不固。此求禁止大國之攻小國也，而既已不可矣。
Is it possible, then, to forbid and stop the great states from attacking the small states by this? That talk too will not do.
Therefore, when the sage kings of old had died, all under heaven lost righteousness and the feudal lords attacked by force. In the south were the kings of Chu and Yue, and in the north the rulers of Qi and Jin, and all of them whetted and drilled their soldiers and their ranks, and carried on government over all under heaven by attacking and striking and swallowing up.
Therefore the reason any great state does not attack a small state is that its stores are many, its walls are in repair, and high and low are in accord; for this reason the great state does not care to attack it. Where the stores are lacking, the walls are not in repair, and high and low are not in accord, for this reason the great state cares to attack it.
Suppose now that government is carried on only by rich burial and long mourning. Then the state must be poor, the people must be few, and punishment and government must be in disorder. If it is poor, there is nothing to make stores with; if the people are few, those who repair the walls and the moats are few; if there is disorder, then going out to fight they do not win, and coming in to hold they are not firm.
So to seek by this to forbid and stop the great states from attacking the small states is already impossible.
欲以干上帝鬼神之福，意者可邪？其說又不可矣。今惟無以厚葬久喪者爲政，國家必貧，人民必寡，刑政必亂。若苟貧，是粢盛酒醴不淨潔也；若苟寡，是事上帝鬼神者寡也；若苟亂，是祭祀不時度也。今又禁止事上帝鬼神，爲政若此，上帝鬼神始得從上撫之曰：「我有是人也，與無是人也，孰愈？」曰：「我有是人也，與無是人也，無擇也。」則惟上帝鬼神降之罪厲之禍罰而棄之，則豈不亦乃其所哉！
Is it possible, then, to seek the blessing of the Lord on High and the ghosts and spirits by this? That talk too will not do.
Suppose now that government is carried on only by rich burial and long mourning. Then the state must be poor, the people must be few, and punishment and government must be in disorder. If it is poor, the millet in the vessels and the sweet wine are not clean; if the people are few, those who serve the Lord on High and the ghosts and spirits are few; if there is disorder, the sacrifices do not meet the season and the measure.
And now the serving of the Lord on High and the ghosts and spirits is forbidden and stopped as well. When government is carried on like this, the Lord on High and the ghosts and spirits will begin to weigh them from above and say, "Which is better, that I have these men, or that I do not have them?" and will say, "That I have these men and that I do not have them, there is nothing to choose between." Then the Lord on High and the ghosts and spirits will send down guilt upon them, and cruel calamity and punishment, and cast them away; and how would this not be just what they have earned?
故古聖王制爲葬埋之法曰：「棺三寸，足以朽體；衣衾三領，足以覆惡。以及其葬也，下毋及泉，上毋通臭，壟若參耕之畝，則止矣。」死者既以葬矣，生者必無久喪，而疾而從事，人爲其所能，以交相利也。此聖王之法也。
Therefore the sage kings of old made a rule for burying and said, "A coffin of three inches is enough to let the body rot, and clothes and covers in three sets are enough to cover what is foul. As for the burying, below it does not reach the springs and above the smell does not get through, and when the mound is like three furrows of plowing, that is enough."
When the dead have been buried, the living must not mourn long but go about their work quickly, each man doing what he is able to do, so that they benefit one another. This is the law of the sage kings.
今執厚葬久喪者之言曰：厚葬久喪雖使不可以富貧、衆寡、定危、治亂，然此聖王之道也。子墨子曰：不然。昔者堯北教乎八狄，道死，葬蛩山之陰。衣衾三領，榖木之棺，葛以緘之，既𣳜而後哭，滿埳無封。已葬，而牛馬乘之。舜西教乎七戎，道死，葬南己之市。衣衾三領，榖木之棺，葛以緘之。已葬，而市人乘之。禹東教乎九夷，道死，葬會稽之山，衣衾三領，桐棺三寸，葛以緘之，絞之不合，通之不埳。土地之深，下毋及泉，上毋通臭。既葬，收餘壤其上，壟若參耕之畝，則止矣。若以此若三聖王者觀之，則厚葬久喪果非聖王之道。故三王者，皆貴爲天子，富有天下，豈憂財用之不足哉？以爲如此葬埋之法。
Now those who hold to rich burial and long mourning say, "Though rich burial and long mourning cannot make the poor rich, the few many, the endangered settled, and the disordered ordered, still this is the way of the sage kings."
Mozi said, "It is not so.
In old times Yao went north to teach the eight Di (狄), died on the road, and was buried on the north side of Mount Qiong (蛩山). His clothes and covers were three sets, his coffin was of mulberry wood, and it was bound with kudzu vine; they wailed only after the pit had been filled in, and the pit was filled level with no mound raised. When he had been buried, oxen and horses walked over it.
Shun went west to teach the seven Rong (戎), died on the road, and was buried in the marketplace of Nanji (南己). His clothes and covers were three sets, his coffin was of mulberry wood, and it was bound with kudzu vine. When he had been buried, the people of the marketplace walked over it.
Yu went east to teach the nine Yi (夷), died on the road, and was buried on Mount Kuaiji. His clothes and covers were three sets, his coffin was of paulownia wood three inches thick, and it was bound with kudzu vine; it was tied fast but not closed up, and it was opened but the pit was not made deep. The depth of the ground was such that below it did not reach the springs and above the smell did not get through. When he had been buried, the earth left over was gathered upon it, and the mound was like three furrows of plowing, and that was all.
Looking at it by these three sage kings, rich burial and long mourning are indeed not the way of the sage kings. These three kings were all honored as Sons of Heaven and rich in holding all under heaven; how could they have worried that goods and means were not enough? They made the rule for burying to be like this."
今王公大人之爲葬埋，則異於此。必大棺、中棺，革闠三操，璧玉即具，戈劒鼎鼓壺濫、文繡素練、大鞅萬領、輿馬女樂皆具，曰必捶𡌘差通，壟雖兄山陵。此爲輟民之事，靡民之財，不可勝計也。其爲毋用若此矣。是故子墨子曰：鄉者吾本言曰，意亦使法其言，用其謀，計厚葬久喪，請可以富貧、衆寡、定危、治亂乎？則仁也，義也，孝子之事也。爲人謀者，不可不勸也。意亦使法其言，用其謀，若人厚葬久喪，實不可以富貧、衆寡、定危、治亂乎？則非仁也，非義也，非孝子之事也。爲人謀者，不可不沮也。是故求以富國家，甚得貧焉；欲以衆人民，甚得寡焉；欲以治刑政，甚得亂焉。求以禁止大國之攻小國也，而既已不可矣；欲以干上帝鬼神之福，又得禍焉。上稽之堯舜禹湯文武之道，而政逆之；下稽之桀紂幽厲之事，猶合節也。若以此觀，則厚葬久喪，其非聖王之道也。
Now the burying done by the kings and dukes and great men is different from this. There must be a great coffin and a middle coffin, bound three times with leather, and jade disks provided; halberds and swords, cauldrons and drums, jars and basins, embroidered patterns and plain white silk, great saddles and ten thousand robes, carriages and horses and women musicians all provided; and they say the ground must be pounded down and made level and open, and the mound as big as a hill. This stops the people's work and wastes the people's goods beyond all counting. Its uselessness is like this.
Therefore Mozi said, "Earlier I said in the first place: suppose we take their words as law and use their plans, and reckon whether rich burial and long mourning can truly make the poor rich, the few many, the endangered settled, and the disordered ordered. If they can, then this is benevolent, it is righteous, it is the work of a filial son, and one who plans for others cannot but urge it. And suppose we take their words as law and use their plans, and such men's rich burial and long mourning truly cannot make the poor rich, the few many, the endangered settled, and the disordered ordered. Then it is not benevolent, it is not righteous, it is not the work of a filial son, and one who plans for others cannot but stop it.
Therefore to seek by this to make the state rich is to get deep poverty; to wish by it to make the people many is to get them very few; to wish by it to order punishment and government is to get deep disorder. To seek by it to forbid and stop the great states from attacking the small states is already impossible, and to wish by it to seek the blessing of the Lord on High and the ghosts and spirits is to get calamity instead.
Looking up and examining it against the way of Yao and Shun and Yu and Tang and Wen and Wu, it runs clean against them; looking down and examining it against the doings of Jie and Zhou and King You and King Li, it still fits them like the joints of a tally. Looking at it in this way, rich burial and long mourning are not the way of the sage kings."
今執厚葬久喪者言曰：厚葬久喪果非聖王之道，夫胡說中國之君子爲而不已、操而不擇哉？子墨子曰：此所謂便其習而義其俗者也。昔者越之東有𨌕沐之國者，其長子生，則解而食之，謂之宜弟。其大父死，負其大母而棄之，曰：「鬼妻不可與居處。」此上以爲政，下以爲俗，爲而不已，操而不擇。則此豈實仁義之道哉？此所謂便其習而義其俗者也。楚之南有炎人國者，其親戚死，朽其肉而棄之，然後埋其骨，乃成爲孝子。秦之西有儀渠之國者，其親戚死，聚柴薪而焚之，燻上，謂之登遐，然後成爲孝子。此上以爲政，下以爲俗，爲而不已，操而不擇。則此豈實仁義之道哉？此所謂便其習而義其俗者也。若以此若三國者觀之，則亦猶薄矣。若以中國之君子觀之，則亦猶厚矣。如彼則大厚，如此則大薄，然則葬埋之有節矣。故衣食者，人之生利也，然且猶尚有節；葬埋者，人之死利也，夫何獨無節於此乎。子墨子制爲葬埋之法曰：棺三寸，足以朽骨；衣三領，足以朽肉。掘地之深，下無菹漏，氣無發洩於上，壟足以期其所，則止矣。哭往哭來，反從事乎衣食之財，佴乎祭祀，以致孝於親。故曰：子墨子之法，不失死生之利者，此也。故子墨子言曰：今天下之士君子，中請將欲爲仁義，求爲上士，上欲中聖王之道，下欲中國家百姓之利，故當若節喪之爲政，而不可不察者此也。
Now those who hold to rich burial and long mourning say, "If rich burial and long mourning are indeed not the way of the sage kings, then for what reason do the gentlemen of the middle states do it without stopping and hold to it without choosing?"
Mozi said, "This is what is called finding ease in what one is used to and holding one's own custom to be righteous.
In old times, east of Yue there was a state called Kaimu (𨌕沐). When their eldest son was born, they cut him apart and ate him, and called this what was fitting for the younger brothers; and when their grandfather died, they carried the grandmother out and cast her away, saying, 'The wife of a ghost cannot be lived with.' Above, this became government, and below it became custom; they did it without stopping and held to it without choosing. Is this truly the way of benevolence and righteousness? This is what is called finding ease in what one is used to and holding one's own custom to be righteous.
South of Chu there was a state called Yanren (炎人). When a kinsman died, they let his flesh rot and cast it off, and only after that buried his bones, and so a man became a filial son. West of Qin there was a state called Yiqu (儀渠). When a kinsman died, they gathered brushwood and burned him, and when the smoke rose they called it rising to Heaven, and only after that did a man become a filial son. Above, this became government, and below it became custom; they did it without stopping and held to it without choosing. Is this truly the way of benevolence and righteousness? This is what is called finding ease in what one is used to and holding one's own custom to be righteous.
Looking at these three states, their burying is still too thin; looking at the gentlemen of the middle states, theirs is still too thick. Like the one it is far too thick, like the other it is far too thin; so in burying there must be a measure.
Therefore clothing and food are the benefit of men while they live, and even so there is a measure in them; burying is the benefit of men when they are dead, and how should this alone have no measure in it?"
Mozi made a rule for burying and said, "A coffin of three inches is enough to let the bones rot, and clothes in three sets are enough to let the flesh rot. The digging of the ground is deep enough that below no water seeps in and no vapor leaks out above, and the mound is enough to mark the place, and that is all."
One wails going out and wails coming back, and returns to the work of getting the goods for clothing and food, and carries it on into the sacrifices, so as to fulfill filial duty to the parents. Therefore it is said that Mozi's rule loses neither the benefit of the dead nor the benefit of the living, and this is what that means.
Therefore Mozi said, "If now the officers and gentlemen of all under heaven in their hearts wish to do benevolence and righteousness and seek to be scholars of the highest rank, and wish above to meet the way of the sage kings and below to meet the benefit of the state and the hundred families, then they cannot but examine this, that government should be carried on by measure in mourning."