Confucius said, "Formerly, along with Lâo Tan[1],
I was assisting at a burial in the village of
Hsiang, and when we had got to the path, the sun
was eclipsed. Lâo Tan said to me, 'KhiÝ, let the
bier be stopped on the left of the road[2]; and then
let us wail and wait till the eclipse pass away. When
it is light again, we will proceed.' He said that this
was the rule. When we had returned and completed
the burial, I said to him, 'In the progress of a bier
there should be no returning. When there is an
eclipse of the sun, we do not know whether it will pass
away quickly or not, would it not have been better
to go on?' Lâo Tan said, 'When the prince of a
state is going to the court of the son of Heaven, he
travels while he can see the sun. At sun-down he
halts, and presents his offerings (to the spirit of the
way). When a Great officer is on a mission, he
travels while he can see the sun, and at sun-down
he halts. Now a bier does not set forth in the early
morning, nor does it rest anywhere at night; but
those who travel by star-light are only criminals
and those who are hastening to the funeral rites of
a parent. When there is an eclipse of the sun,
how do we know that we shall not see the stars?
And moreover, a superior man, in his performance
of rites, will not expose his relatives to the risk of
distress or evil.' This is what I heard from Lâo
Tan."
23. đ Çng-đze asked, "In the case of one dying where he is stopping, when discharging a mission for
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