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BOOK XII. MING THANG WEI
OR
THE PLACES IN THE HALL OF DISTINCTION'.
1. Formerly, when the duke of Kâu gave audience to the feudal princes in their several places in the Hall of Distinction, the son of Heaven stood with his back to the axe-embroidered screen, and his face towards the south.
2. The three dukes* were in front of the steps, in the middle, with their faces to the north, inclining to the east as the most honourable positions. The places of the marquises were at the east of the
See introductory notice, vol. xxvii, pp. 38-30. On the opposite page there is the plan of the Hall, as given in Morrison's Dictionary, vol. i, part i, page 512. Compare it with the less complicated figure in vol. xxvii, page 252.
* See vol. xxvii, page 111, paragraph 11.
• Many chronological and other perplexing questions arise in connexion with the great audience described in this and the paragraphs that immediately follow. The time should be referred, I think, to the inauguration of Lo as the eastern capital of Kâu, probably in B.C. 1109, at the close of the duke of Kâu's regency for the young king Khăng ; see the Shů, V, xiii. That 'the son of Heaven' must be understood of king Khăng himself, and not of the duke of Kåu, is a point, it seems to me, that no Chinese commentator should ever have called in question.
• The three Kung, I suppose, mentioned in vol. iii, page 227, paragraph 3. The duke of Kâu was himself one of them; but perhaps, during his regency, another had been appointed in his place.
• The text þere simply = 'the east the upper.' The nearer one was to the king, the more honourable was his position.
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| SR No. | 007675 |
| Book Title | Text of Confucianism Part 01 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | James Legge |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1879 |
| Total Pages | 2829 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 50 MB |