| Qu Li I: |
The ruler of a state should not ride in a one-wheeled carriage. In his carriage one should not cough loudly, nor point with his hand in an irregular way. Standing (in his carriage) one should look (forward only) to the distance of five revolutions of the wheels. Bending forward, he should (do so only till he) sees the tails of the horses. He should not turn his head round beyond the (line of the) naves. In the (streets of the) capital one should touch the horses gently with the brush-end of the switch. He should not urge them to their speed. The dust should not fly beyond the ruts. The ruler of a state should bend towards the cross-board when he meets a sacrificial victim, and dismount (in passing) the ancestral temple. A great officer or (other) officer should descend (when he comes to) the ruler's gate, and bend forward to the ruler's horses. (A minister) riding in one of the ruler's carriages must wear his court robes. He should have the whip in the carriage with him, (but not use it). He should not presume to have the strap handed to him. In his place on the left, he should bow forward to the cross-board. (An officer) walking the ruler's horses should do so in the middle of the road. It he trample on their forage, he should be punished, and also if he look at their teeth, (and go on to calculate their age). |
