1. When he entered the palace gate, he seemed to bend his body, as if it were not sufficient to admit him.

3. DEMEANOUR OF CONFUCIUS AT THE OFFICIAL RECEPTION OF A VISITOR. 1. The visitor is supposed to be the prince of another state. On the occasion of two princes meeting there was much ceremony. The visitor having arrived, remained outside the front gate, and the host inside his reception room, which was in the ancestral temple. Messages passed between them by means of a number of officers called 介, on the side of the visitor, and 摈, on the side of the host, who formed a zigzag line of communication from the one to the other, and passed their questions and answers along, till an understanding about the visit was thus officially effected. 足躩如 is explained by 盘辟貌, 'the appearance of turning round and inclination'. I suppose I have expressed the idea in the transl. 2. This shows Conf. manner when engaged in the transmission of the messages between the prince and his visitor. The prince's nuncio, in immediate commun. with himself, was the 上摈, the next was the 承摈, and below were one or more 绍摈. Conf. must have been the shing pin, bowing to the right as he transmitted a message to the shang pin, who was an officer of the higher grade, and to the left as he commun. one from him to the shaou pin. 3. The host having come out to receive his visitor, proceeded in with him, it is said, followed by all their internuncios in a line, and to his manner in this movement this par. is generally referred. But the duty of seeing the guest off, the subj. of next par., belonged to the shang pin, and could not be performed by Conf. as merely a shing pin. Hence arises a difficulty. Either it is true that Conf. was at one time raised to the rank of the highest dignitaries of the state, or he was temporarily employed, for his knowl. of cerem., after the first act in the reception of visitors, to discharge the duties of one. Assuming this, the 趋近 is to be explained of some of his movements in the reception room. How could he hurry forward when walking in file with the other internuncios? See 摭余说, II. 23. 4. 必复命, 'would return the commission', i.e., he had seen the guest off. according to his duty, and reported it. The ways of China. it appears, were much the same anciently as now. A guest turns round and bows repeatedly in leaving, and the host can't return to his place, till these salutations are ended.

4. DEMEANOUR OF CONFUCIUS IN THE COURT AT AN AUDIENCE. 1. The imperial court consisted of five divisions, each having its peculiar gate. That of a prince of a state consisted only of three, whose gates were named 库, 雉 and 路. The 公门 is the foo, or first of these. The bending his body when passing through, high as the gate was, is supposed to indicate the great reverence which Conf. felt. 2. 不中门=不中于门, 'He did not stand opposite the middle of the gate-way.' Each gate had a post in the centre, called 阒, by which it was divided into two halves, appropriated to ingress and egress. The prince only could stand in the centre of either of them, and he only could tread on the threshold or sill. 3. At the early formal audience at day-break, when the prince came out of the inner apartment, and received the homage of the officers, he occupied a particular spot called 宁. This is the 位, now empty, which Confucius passes in his way to the audience in the inner apartment. 4. 齐 see IX. 9. He is now ascending the steps to the 堂, 'the dais', or raised platform in the inner apartment, where the prince held his council, or gave entertainments, and from which the family rooms of the palace branched off. 5. The audience is now over, and Conf. is returning to his usual place at the formal audience. K'ung Gan-kwo? makes the 位 to be the 宁 in par. 3, but improperly. 进 after 趋 is an addition that has somehow crept into the ordinary text.

2. When he was standing, he did not occupy the middle of the gate-way; when he passed in or out, he did not tread upon the threshold.

3. When he was passing the vacant place of the prince, his countenance appeared to change, and his legs to bend under him, and his words came as if he hardly had breath to utter them.

4. He ascended the dais, holding up his robe with both his hands, and his body bent; holding in his breath also, as if he dared not breathe.

5. When he came out from the audience, as soon as he had descended one step, he began to relax his countenance, and had a satisfied look. When he had got the bottom of the steps, he advanced rapidly to his place, with his arms like wings, and on occupying it, his manner still showed respectful uneasiness.