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Mohism -> Mozi -> Book 6 -> Simplicity in Funerals III -> 4

天下天下It has never happened, from ancient times to the present day, that benefits are procured, calamities averted for the world, and disorder among the people of the country is regulated by elaborate funerals and extended mourning.
How do we know?
天下君子For even at the present the gentlemen of the world are still doubtful whether elaborate funeral and extended mourning are right and beneficial.
墨子 Mozi said:
I have examined the sayings of those who uphold elaborate funeral and extended mourning.
If they should be taken seriously in the country,
王公大人it would mean: when a lord dies,
there would be several inner and outer coffins.
He would be buried deep.
There would be many shrouds.
Embroidery would be elaborate.
The grave mound would be massive.
So, then, the death of a common man
would exhaust the wealth of a family.
諸侯And the death of a feudal lord
would empty the state treasury
before his body would be surrounded with gold, jade, and pearls,
and the grave filled with carts and horses and bundles of silk.
Further, there should be plenty of canopies and hangings,
dings, drums, tables, pots, and ice receptacles,
spears, swords, feather banners, and hides
all to be carried along and buried.
滿 Not till then are the requirements considered fulfilled.
And, regarding those who were to die to accompany their lord,
天子 for the emperor or a feudal lord there should be from several hundred to several tens,
and for a minister or secretary there should be from several tens to several.
What are the rules to be observed by the mourner?
He must weep without restraint and sound as if he is choking.
Sackcloth is worn on the breast and hat of flax on the head. His tears and snivel are not to be wiped away.
The mourner is to live in a mourning hut,
sleep on a coarse mat of straw, and lay his head on a lump of earth.
Then, he would be obliged to abstain from food in order to look hungry,
and to wear little in order to look cold.
使 The face and eyes are to look sunken and as if in fear,
and the complexion is to appear dark. Ears and eyes are to become dull,
and hands and feet to become weak
and unusable.
And, also, if the mourner is a high official,
he has to be supported to rise,
and lean on a cane to walk.
And all this is to last three years.
Adopting such a doctrine
使王公大人and practising such a principle rulers
cannot come to court early (and retire late);
the officials cannot attend to the five offices and six posts
and encourage farming and forestry
and fill the granaries;
使the farmers
cannot start out early and come in late
to cultivate the land and plant trees;
使the artisans
cannot build boats and vehicles and make vessels and utensils;
使and the women
cannot rise early and retire late
to weave and spin.
So, then, in elaborate funerals
much wealth is buried,
and in extended mourning
abstention from work is prolonged.
Wealth already produced
is carried away into the grave.
Child-bearing is postponed.
To seek wealth in this way
is like seeking a harvest by prohibiting farming.
The way to wealth then is not here found.


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