第468章

Zai Wo asked: "Three years of mourning for one's parents — surely one year is long enough! If a gentleman neglects ritual for three years, ritual will surely decay; if he neglects music for three years, music will surely collapse. The old grain is used up and the new grain has ripened; the fire-making wood has gone through its full cycle — one year is sufficient." The Master said: "Would you feel at ease eating fine rice and wearing brocade before the three years are up?" Zai Wo replied: "Quite at ease." The Master said: "If you feel at ease, then do so! When a gentleman is in mourning, fine food brings him no sweetness, music brings him no joy, and his home brings him no comfort — that is why he does not do these things. Since you feel at ease, go ahead and do them!" After Zai Wo left, the Master said: "How unfeeling Zai Wo is! A child is not free from its parents' arms until it is three years old. The three-year mourning is observed throughout the world. Did Zai Wo not receive three years of his parents' loving care?"