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434
THE LÎ ki.
BK. XLI.
sphere throughout the kingdom; and on an eclipse of the moon, the queen dressed herself in plain white robes, and proceeded to repair what was wrong in the duties of the six palace-halls, purifying everything that belonged to the feminine sphere throughout the kingdom. The son of Heaven is to the queen what the sun is to the moon, or the masculine energy of nature to the feminine. They are necessary to each other, and by their interdependence they fulfil their functions.
13. The son of Heaven attends to the lessons for men ;--that is the function of the father. The queen attends to the obedience proper to women ;-that is the function of the mother. Therefore it is said, "The son of Heaven and the queen are (to the people) what father and mother are. Hence for him who is the Heaven(-appointed) king they wear the sackcloth with the jagged edges, -as for a father; and for the queen they wear the sackcloth with the even edges, -as for a mother.
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