Meaning of the Banquet

Among the offices of the ancient Son of Heaven of Zhou, there was the office of the shuzi. The shuzi official was responsible for overseeing the duties of the shuzi (younger sons) of the feudal lords, ministers, great officers, and officers; managing their prohibitions, commands, education, and governance; distinguishing their grades and determining their positions. When the state had major affairs, he would lead these scions of the nobility and hand them over to the heir apparent, to be used as the heir apparent saw fit. If there were military matters, he would issue them war chariots and armor, organize them into units, and appoint their officers; he governed them by military law, and the Minister of War did not conscript them. For all state affairs, the scions who had not yet taken office were to cultivate their virtue and study the arts and principles; in spring they were gathered in the school, in autumn they were gathered in the archery hall, to examine their skills and determine advancement or demotion.

The meaning of the feudal lords’ yan ritual: The ruler stood to the southeast of the eastern steps, facing south, and bowed to the ministers and great officers; the ministers and great officers all advanced slightly—this was to fix their respective positions. The ruler’s seat was placed above the eastern steps, this being the host’s position; the ruler alone ascended the steps and stood on the mat, facing west alone—this signified that no one dared to match the ruler.

Establishing a host and a guest is the ritual of drinking. The steward was made the host for offering the toast, because a subject dared not act as an equal to the ruler. The ducal ministers were not taken as guests; rather, a great officer was taken as the guest—this was to avoid suspicion and to clarify the meaning of avoiding impropriety. When the guest entered the courtyard, the ruler descended one step and bowed to the guest—this was treating him with ritual propriety.

When the ruler raised a goblet to toast the guest, and when the ruler bestowed a cup of wine, the guest had to descend the hall, bow twice, and touch his head to the ground, then ascend to complete the bowing ritual—this clarified the subject’s ritual conduct. The ruler returned the bow, and in ritual there is no case in which a bow is not returned—this clarified the ruler’s ritual conduct. The subject exhausts his strength and devotes his abilities to achieve merit for the state, and the ruler inevitably repays him with rank and emolument; thus all subjects strive to exhaust their strength and devote their abilities to achieve merit, and so the state is stable and the ruler is at peace. That in ritual there is no case in which a bow is not returned means that the ruler does not take from his subjects without recompense. The ruler must clarify the correct Way to guide the people; the people follow the correct Way and achieve results; then he collects one-tenth of their produce as tax. Thus the ruler’s expenditures are sufficient and the people are not impoverished; therefore superiors and inferiors are harmonious and affectionate, without mutual resentment. Harmony and peace are the function of ritual—this is the great principle of the relationship between ruler and subject, superior and inferior. Hence it is said: “The yan ritual is used to clarify the righteousness between ruler and subject.”

In the arrangement of the mats, the lesser ministers were placed after the high ministers, the great officers after the lesser ministers, and the officers and shuzi took their places in order below. When wine was presented to the ruler, after the ruler raised his cup and made a circuit of toasts, then wine was presented to the ministers; after the ministers raised their cups and made a circuit of toasts, then wine was presented to the great officers; after the great officers raised their cups and made a circuit of toasts, then wine was presented to the officers; after the officers raised their cups and made a circuit of toasts, then wine was presented to the shuzi. The stands, meat offerings, and dishes all had graded distinctions—this was used to clarify noble and base.