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元年春，王。不言正月，定無正也。定之無正何也？昭公之終非正終也，定之始非正始也。昭無正終，故定無正始。不言即位，喪在外也。 |
| | In the first year of [the reign period], spring, the king. The absence of mention of the first month indicates that there was no legitimate ruler at this time. Why is it determined that there was no legitimate ruler? The end of Duke Zhao's reign was not a proper ending, and the beginning of Ding's reign was not a legitimate beginning. Since Duke Zhao did not have a proper ending, Ding did not have a legitimate beginning. The absence of mention about assuming the throne indicates that mourning was taking place outside [the capital].
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| | 定公元年: |
三月，晉人執宋仲幾於京師。此其大夫，其曰人何也？微之也。何為微之？不正其執人於尊者之所也，不與大夫之伯討也。 |
| | In the third month, the Jin people arrested Song Zhongji in the capital. He was a high-ranking official; why is he referred to as "a person"? To show his insignificance. Why is he considered insignificant? 邏 It was not proper for him to arrest someone in the place of a superior, and thus it is not supported that a high-ranking official should lead a campaign against another.
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夏，六月癸亥，公之喪至自乾侯。戊辰，公即位。殯然後即位也。定無正，見無以正也。逾年不言即位，是有故公也；言即位，是無故公也。即位，授受之道也。先君無正終，則後君無正始也；先君有正終，則後君有正始也。戊辰，公即位，謹之也。定之即位，不可不察也。公即位，何以日也？戊辰之日，然後即位也。癸亥，公之喪至自乾侯，何為戊辰之日然後即位也？正君乎國，然後即位也。沈子曰：「正棺乎兩楹之間，然後即位也。」內之大事日，即位，君之大事也，其不日，何也？以年決者，不以日決也。此則其日何也？著之也。何著焉？逾年即位，厲也，於厲之中又有義焉。未殯，雖有天子之命猶不敢，況臨諸臣乎？周人有喪，魯人有喪，周人吊，魯人不吊。周人曰：「固吾臣也，使人可也。」魯人曰：「吾君也，親之者也，使大夫則不可也。」故周人吊，魯人不吊，以其下成、康為未久也。君至尊也，去父之殯而往吊猶不敢，況未殯而臨諸臣乎？ |
| | In summer, on the Guihai day of the sixth month, the Duke's funeral procession arrived from Qianhou. On the Wuchen day, the Duke assumed the throne. He assumed the throne only after the funeral rites were completed. Ding had no legitimacy, indicating that there was nothing to establish as legitimate. Not mentioning the assumption of the throne in the following year indicates that this Duke was an exception due to special circumstances; Mentioning the assumption of the throne implies that he was a regular, legitimate ruler. Assuming the throne is the way of transmitting and receiving authority. If a former ruler did not have a proper end, then the succeeding ruler cannot have a legitimate beginning; If a former ruler had a proper end, then the following ruler will have a legitimate beginning. On the Wuchen day, Duke assumed the throne; this was done with great care and caution. The assumption of the throne by Ding must be carefully examined. Why is a specific day mentioned for the Duke assuming the throne? It was on the Wuchen day that he finally assumed the throne. On the Guihai day, the Duke's funeral arrived from Qianhou; why was it not until the Wuchen day that the throne was assumed? Only after properly mourning for the former ruler and stabilizing the state can one assume the throne. Shen Zi said: "After placing the coffin of the deceased ruler between two pillars in accordance with ritual, then one may assume the throne." Important internal events are recorded by day; assuming the throne is a major event for a ruler. Why, then, was no specific day mentioned? When an event is determined to be significant enough to record in terms of years, it does not necessarily require recording by the day. Then why was a specific day recorded for this? To emphasize it. What is being emphasized? Delaying the assumption of the throne beyond a year indicates disgrace, yet within this disgrace there is also an element of righteousness. Before the funeral rites were completed, even with an order from the Son of Heaven one would still dare not act; how much less so when facing the court officials? When a Zhou person had a funeral, and a Lu person also had a funeral, the Zhou people paid respects, but the Lu people did not. The Zhou people said: "He was originally our subject; sending someone else is acceptable." The Lu people said: "He was our ruler, one we held dear; to send only a high-ranking official would not be acceptable." Therefore, the Zhou people paid their respects while the Lu people did not, because they considered the descendants of Cheng and Kang to be too recent. A ruler is the most exalted, yet one still dares not leave the mourning for one's father to pay respects; how much less so to appear before court officials before completing the funeral rites?
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秋，七月癸巳，葬我君昭公。 |
| | In autumn, on the Guisi day of the seventh month, our ruler Duke Zhao was buried.
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九月，大雩。雩月，雩之正也。秋大雩，非正也。冬大雩。非正也。秋大雩，雩之為非正何也？毛澤未盡，人力未竭，未可以雩也。雩月，雩之正也，月之為雩之正何也？其時窮人力盡然後雩，雩之正也。何謂其時窮人力盡？是月不雨，則無及矣；是年不艾，則無食矣，是謂其時窮人力盡也。雩之必待其時窮人力盡何也？雩者，為旱求者也。求者請也，古之人重請。何重乎請？人之所以為人者，讓也。請道去讓也，則是捨其所以為人也，是以重之。焉請哉？請乎應上公。古之神人有應上公者，通乎陰陽，君親帥諸大夫道之而以請焉。夫請者，非可詒托而往也，必親之者也，是以重之。立煬宮。立者，不宜立者也。 |
| | In the ninth month, a grand rain-summoning ceremony was held. The month of Yu is the proper time for holding the rain-summoning ritual. Holding a grand rain-summoning in autumn is not proper. A grand rain-summoning was held in winter. This, too, is improper. Why is holding a grand rain-summoning during autumn considered improper? Because the moisture in the soil had not yet dried up, and human efforts had not been exhausted; it was still too early to hold a rain-summoning. The month of Yu is considered the proper time for the rain-summoning, but why is this month regarded as appropriate? It is only when natural resources are exhausted and human efforts have been fully exerted that a rain-summoning should be held; this is the proper way. What does it mean for "natural resources to be exhausted and human efforts to be fully exerted"? If there is no rain in this month, then it will be too late; if the drought continues into the year and crops fail, there will be nothing to eat—this is what is meant by "natural resources exhausted and human efforts fully exerted." Why must a rain-summoning ceremony wait until natural resources are exhausted and all human efforts have been made? A rain-summoning is performed to pray for rain during drought. To request something is a form of pleading; the people of old placed great importance on making such requests. Why was making a request considered so important? What makes humans human is the practice of yielding and courtesy. To abandon yielding in a request would be to forsake what it means to be human, which is why such requests were held in high regard. How should one make a proper request? One must make the request through the highest-ranking officials. In ancient times, there were divine figures who served as high-ranking officials; they understood the principles of yin and yang. The ruler personally led all high-ranking officials to follow them in making such a request. Making a request is not something that can be delegated or entrusted to others; it must be done in person, which is why it was considered so important. The Yyang Palace was established. To "establish" refers to something that should not be established.
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冬，十月，隕霜殺菽。未可以殺而殺，舉重。可殺而不殺，舉輕。其曰菽，舉重也。 |
| | In winter, in the tenth month, frost fell and destroyed the beans. To destroy crops when it was not yet time for such destruction is considered a serious matter. To fail to destroy crops when the time was right would be treated lightly. The mention of "beans" indicates that this is a serious matter.
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