Volume 125 Treatises 78: Rites 28

禮二十八〈（凶禮四）〉 ○士庶人喪禮服紀

Rites 28 Mourning Rites IV) Funeral Rites and Mourning Garb for Gentry and Commoners

士庶人喪禮。開寶三年十月，詔開封府：禁喪葬之家不得用道、釋威儀及裝束異色人物前引。太平興國七年正月，命翰林學士李昉等重定士庶喪葬制度。昉等奏議曰：「唐大曆七年，詔喪葬之家送葬祭盤，隻得於喪家及塋所置祭，不得於街衢張設。又長慶三年，令百姓喪葬祭奠不得以金銀、錦繡為飾及陳設音樂，葬物稍涉僭越，並勒毀除。臣等參詳子孫之葬父祖，卑幼之葬尊親，全尚樸素即有傷孝道。其所用錦繡，伏請不加禁斷。其用音樂及欄街設祭，身無官而葬用方相者，望嚴禁之。其詔葬設祭者不在此限。又準後唐長興二年詔：五品、六品常參官，喪輿舁者二十人，輓歌八人，明器三十事，共置八床；七品常參官舁者十六人，輓歌六人，明器二十事，置六床；六品以下京官及檢校、試官等，舁者十二人，輓歌四人，明器十五事，置五床，並許設紗籠二。庶人，舁者八人，明器十二事，置兩床。悉用香輿、魂車。其品官葬祖父母、父母，品卑者聽以子品，葬妻子者遞降一等，其四品以上依令式施行。望令御史臺、街司頒行，限百日率從新製；限滿違者，以違禁之物給巡司為賞。喪家輒舉樂者，譴伶人。他不如製者，但罪下里工作。」從之。

Funeral rites for the gentry and commoners. In the tenth month of Kaibao 3 (970), the court ordered the Kaifeng prefecture to bar funeral households from using Daoist or Buddhist ritual pageantry or from having bizarrely costumed figures lead the cortege. In the first month of Taiping Xingguo 7 (982), Li Fang of the Hanlin Academy and his colleagues were commissioned to revise the funeral code for gentry and commoners. Fang and his colleagues proposed: "Under Tang Dali 7 (772), funeral households were told that burial offering trays could be set up only at the mourners' home and at the cemetery, not in the public streets. In Changqing 3 (823) as well, commoners were forbidden to adorn funeral rites with gold, silver, brocade, or musical performance; any burial goods that smacked of presumption were to be seized and destroyed. We find that when descendants bury parents and grandparents, or juniors bury their seniors, demanding utter austerity would itself wound filial piety. We therefore ask that brocade furnishings not be banned outright. Music, street-side sacrifice displays, and the use of the exorcist figure fangxiang by persons holding no office should, we urge, be strictly prohibited. Imperially mandated burials with public sacrifices are excepted. They also cited Later Tang Changxing 2 (931): fifth- and sixth-rank officials attending court daily were allotted twenty pallbearers, eight dirge singers, thirty grave figurines on eight display biers; seventh-rank officials sixteen bearers, six dirge singers, twenty figurines on six biers; capital officials of sixth rank and below, plus acting and probationary appointees, twelve bearers, four dirge singers, fifteen figurines on five biers, with two gauze pavilions allowed; commoners eight bearers, twelve figurines on two biers. All ranks were to use the incense carriage and soul carriage. When an official buried grandparents or parents, a lower-ranking mourner might adopt his son's rank; burials for wife or children dropped one grade each; fourth rank and above followed the codified forms. They asked the Censorate and street patrol offices to publish the rules and give everyone a hundred days to comply; after the deadline, confiscated contraband would reward the patrol squads. Households that played music anyway were to have their musicians punished. Other infractions would be charged only against the local artisans who supplied the funeral." The court approved the proposal.

九年，詔曰：「訪聞喪葬之家，有舉樂及令章者。蓋聞鄰裏之內，喪不相舂，苴麻之旁，食未嘗飽，此聖王教化之道，治世不刊之言。何乃匪人，親罹釁酷，或則舉奠之際歌吹為娛，靈柩之前令章為戲，甚傷風教，實紊人倫。今後有犯此者，並以不孝論，預坐人等第科斷。所在官吏，常加覺察，如不用心，並當連坐。」

In the ninth year (984) an edict declared: "We hear that some funeral households stage music and hire entertainers. Custom holds that neighbors cease pounding grain for the bereaved and that mourners in hemp do not eat their fill—teachings of the sage kings, maxims no well-ordered age should forget. Yet some wretches, even while mourning their own dead, turn the offering service into song and revelry or stage entertainments before the coffin—an outrage to public morals and a breach of human decency. Henceforth such offenders will be prosecuted as unfilial, with accomplices punished by degree. Local officials must watch constantly; negligence will bring collective punishment."

景德二年，開封府言：「文武官亡歿，諸寺擊鍾未有定制。欲望自今大卿監、大將軍、觀察使、命婦郡夫人已上，即據狀聞奏，許於天清、開寶二寺擊鍾，其聲數旋俟進止，自餘悉禁。」從之。

In Jingde 2 (1005) Kaifeng reported: "When officials die, temple bell-ringing lacks a fixed rule. Henceforth grand councilors, commissioners, grand generals, observation commissioners, and titled ladies of county mistress rank or higher should report deaths and be allowed bell-ringing at Tianqing and Kaibao temples, the number of strokes subject to imperial approval; all others are barred." Approved.

紹興二十七年，監登聞鼓院範同言：「今民俗有所謂火化者，生則奉養之具唯恐不至，死則燔爇而棄捐之，何獨厚於生而薄於死乎？甚者焚而置之水中，識者見之動心。國朝著令，貧無葬地者，許以係官之地安葬。河東地狹人眾，雖至親之喪，悉皆焚棄。韓琦鎮并州，以官錢市田數頃，給民安葬，至今為美談。然則承流宣化，使民不畔於禮法，正守臣之職也。方今火葬之慘，日益熾甚，事關風化，理宜禁止。仍飭守臣措置荒閑之地，使貧民得以收葬，少裨風化之美。」從之。二十八年，戶部侍郎榮薿言：「比因臣僚陳請禁火葬，令州郡置荒閑之地，使貧民得以收葬，誠為善政。臣聞吳越之俗，葬送費廣，必積累而後辦。至於貧下之家，送終之具，唯務從簡，是以從來率以火化為便，相習成風，勢難遽革。況州縣休息之久，生聚日繁，所用之地，必須寬廣。乃附郭近便處，官司以艱得之故，有未行摽撥者。既葬埋未有處所，而行火化之禁，恐非人情所安。欲乞除豪富士族申嚴禁止外，貧下之民並客旅遠方之人，若有死亡，姑從其便，候將來州縣摽撥到荒閑之地，別行取旨。」詔依，仍令諸州依已降指揮，措置摽撥。

In Shaoxing 27 (1157) Fan Tong of the Petition Drum Court wrote: "A custom called cremation has spread: families spare no expense while the living are cared for, yet on death they burn the body and discard the ashes—why honor life and slight the dead? Some even cast the ashes into rivers—a sight that stirs any thoughtful observer. The dynasty already allows the poor without burial plots to use state land. In Hedong, where land is scarce and population dense, even the closest kin are cremated. When Han Qi governed Bingzhou he bought fields with public funds for common burials—a deed still remembered. Guiding the people back to ritual and law is precisely a local official's duty. Cremation grows ever more common and touches public morals; it should be banned. Local officials should also set aside wasteland so the poor can bury their dead, modestly restoring proper custom." The court agreed. In the twenty-eighth year (1158) Vice Minister of Revenue Rong Wei noted: "The recent ban on cremation and order to set aside burial ground for the poor is admirable policy. In Wu and Yue, I hear, funerals are so costly that families must save for years. Poor families keep funerals minimal and have long favored cremation as convenient—a habit hard to uproot overnight. After long peace populations have swelled, so burial grounds must be ample. Near city walls, officials have not yet marked off plots because land is hard to obtain. To forbid cremation before burial ground exists may distress the people. Apart from strict enforcement among wealthy elites, let the poor and traveling strangers cremate for now until counties allocate wasteland, then seek further instructions." The court agreed but still ordered every prefecture to set aside burial ground as previously directed.

服紀。宋天子及諸臣服制，前史皆散記諸禮中，未嘗特錄之也，後史則表而出之。高宗於外廷以日易月，於內廷則行三年之禮，禦朝則淺素、淺黃。孝宗又力持三年之制。皇帝未成服，則素紗軟腳襆頭、白羅袍、黑銀帶、絲鞋。成服日，布梁冠〈（朱熹云：當用十二梁）〉、首絰、直領布大袖衫〈（朱熹云：不當用衤蘭，蓋下已有裙）〉、布裙、褲、腰絰、竹杖、白綾襯衫，或斜巾、帽子。視事日，去杖、首絰。小祥日，改服布襆頭、衤蘭衫、腰絰、布褲。大祥畢，服素紗軟腳襆頭、白羅袍、素履、黑銀帶。禫祭畢，素紗軟腳襆頭、淺色黃羅袍、黑銀帶。祔廟日，服履、黃袍、紅帶。禦正殿視事，則皂襆頭、淡黃袍、黑鞓犀帶、素絲鞋。此中興後製也。

Mourning dress regulations. Earlier histories scattered Song imperial and official mourning dress among general rite chapters; this history sets them out in a dedicated record. Gaozong shortened mourning to a month in public ceremony but observed three years within the palace, wearing pale white or pale yellow at court. Xiaozong in turn insisted on the full three-year mourning. Before assuming full mourning, the emperor wore a plain gauze soft-foot cap, white silk robe, black silver belt, and silk shoes. On the day of assuming mourning dress, a cloth beam crown Zhu Xi noted: it should have twelve beams) , head mourning band, straight-collared cloth large-sleeved shirt Zhu Xi said: the cross-collar over-garment should not be used, since a skirt is worn below) , cloth skirt, trousers, waist mourning band, bamboo staff, white damask undershirt, or alternatively a slanting kerchief and cap. When resuming governance he set aside staff and head band. At lesser felicitations he changed to a cloth wrap cap, cross-collar mourning shirt, waist band, and cloth trousers. After greater felicitations he wore plain gauze soft-foot cap, white silk robe, plain shoes, and black silver belt. After the chan sacrifice, plain gauze soft-foot cap, pale yellow silk robe, and black silver belt. On the day of enshrinement in the ancestral temple he wore shoes, a yellow robe, and a red belt. When holding court in the main hall he wore a black wrap cap, pale yellow robe, black rhinoceros-hide belt, and plain silk shoes. These were the regulations after the Southern restoration.

孝宗居憂，再定三年之制。其服：布冠、直領大袖衫、布裙、首絰、腰絰、竹杖。小祥不易服。大祥禮畢，始去杖、去絰。禫祭畢，始服素紗軟腳襆頭、白袍、黑銀帶。祔廟畢，服皂襆頭、黑鞓犀帶。每遇過宮廟謁，則衰絰行禮，二十五月而除。三年之內，禁中常服布巾、布衫、布背子。視事則禦內殿，服白布襆頭、白布袍、黑銀帶，殿設素幄。每五日一次過宮，則衰絰而杖。虞祭則布折上巾、黑帶、布袍。受金使吊則衰絰，禦德壽殿東廊之素幄。受賀節使，則禦垂拱殿東楹之素幄。是時，宰執、近臣皆不肯行，惟斷自上心，堅不可奪，大臣乃不敢言。讚其決者，惟敕局下僚沈清臣一人而已。

In mourning, Xiaozong reinstated the three-year rule. His mourning dress comprised a cloth crown, straight-collared large-sleeved shirt, cloth skirt, head and waist bands, and bamboo staff. At lesser felicitations he did not change garments. Only after greater felicitations did he lay aside staff and bands. After the chan sacrifice he first wore plain gauze soft-foot cap, white robe, and black silver belt. After enshrinement he wore a black wrap cap and black rhinoceros-hide belt. On visits to the ancestral shrines he wore the coarsest mourning bands until the twenty-fifth month. Throughout the three years within the palace he routinely wore cloth kerchief, shirt, and jacket. When governing he held court in the inner hall in white cloth cap and robe with black silver belt, the hall draped in plain curtains. Every five days on a palace visit he wore coarsest mourning bands and carried the staff. At the yu sacrifice he wore a cloth folded kerchief, black belt, and cloth robe. When receiving the Jin mourning envoy he wore coarsest mourning bands and held audience in plain curtains in the eastern corridor of Deshou Hall. When receiving congratulatory festival envoys he held audience in plain curtains at the eastern bay of Chui'gong Hall. Chief ministers and close attendants all refused to follow suit, but the emperor's resolve was unshakable and they dared not object. Only Shen Qingchen, a junior clerk of the Edict Bureau, praised his resolve.

臣為君服，宋制有三等：中書門下、樞密使副、尚書、翰林學士、節度使、金吾上將軍、文武二品以上，布梁冠、直領大袖衫、布裙、褲、腰絰、竹杖，或布襆頭、襴衫、布斜巾、絹襯服。文武五品以上並職事官監察御史以上、內客省、宣政、昭宣、知閣門事、前殿都知、押班，布梁冠、直領大袖衫、裙、褲、腰絰，或襆頭、衤蘭衫。自餘文武百官，布襆頭、衤蘭衫、腰絰而已。入局治事，並不易服。宰執奏事去杖，小祥去冠，餘官奏事如之。大祥，素紗軟腳折上巾、黲公服、白鞓錫帶。禫除畢，去黲服，常服仍黑帶、皂鞍韉。祔廟畢，始純吉服。宗室出則常服，居則衰麻以終製。

Mourning dress for the emperor fell into three Song grades: Secretariat-Chancellery, Bureau of Military Affairs deputies, ministers, Hanlin academicians, commissioners, Golden Crow commanders, and officials of second rank and above wore cloth beam crown, straight-collared large-sleeved shirt, skirt, trousers, waist band, and staff—or alternatively cloth cap, brocade mourning shirt, slanting kerchief, and silk undershirt. Fifth rank and above, surveillance censors and above, Inner Service and palace gate officials wore cloth beam crown, straight-collared large-sleeved shirt, skirt, trousers, and waist band—or wrap cap and cross-collar mourning shirt. All other officials wore only cloth cap, cross-collar mourning shirt, and waist band. They did not change dress when entering office to conduct business. Chief ministers set aside the staff when reporting and the crown at lesser felicitations; other officials followed suit. At greater felicitations they wore plain gauze soft-foot folded kerchief, gray official robe, and white tin belt. After chan removal they shed the gray robe but still wore black belt and black saddle trappings in regular dress. Only after enshrinement did they wear fully auspicious dress. Imperial clansmen wore regular dress in public but coarse hemp at home until mourning ended.

光宗居孝宗之憂，趙汝愚當國，始令群臣服白涼衫、皂帶治事，逮終製乃止。寧宗居光宗之憂，復令百官以日易月，禫除畢，服紫衫、皂帶以治事，從禮部侍郎陳宗召請也。諸路監司、州軍縣鎮長吏以下，服布四腳、直領布衤蘭衫、麻腰絰，朝晡臨，三日除之。內外命婦當入臨者，布裙、衫、帔、首絰、絹襯衫帕首。士庶於本家素服，三日而除。婚嫁，服除外不禁。文武臣僚之家，至山陵祔畢，乃許嫁娶，仍不用花彩及樂。

When Guangzong mourned Xiaozong, Zhao Ruyu governing ordered officials to conduct business in white cool shirts and black belts until mourning ended. When Ningzong mourned Guangzong he again shortened mourning to a month; after chan removal officials governed in purple shirts and black belts at Vice Minister of Rites Chen Zongzhao's request. Circuit supervisors and local magistrates wore cloth four-corner kerchief, straight-collared cross-collar mourning shirt, and hemp waist band, attending morning and evening for three days only. Titled ladies attending condolence wore cloth skirt, shirt, stole, head band, silk undershirt, and kerchief headwrap. Gentry and commoners wore plain dress at home for three days. Marriage was permitted except during the mourning period itself. Official households might marry only after the imperial tomb enshrinement, and still without floral display or music.

淳熙十四年十月，以將作監韋璞充金國告哀使，閣門舍人薑特立副之。禮部、太堂寺言：「告哀使、副並三節人，從禮例，如在大祥內，合服布襆頭、礻闌衫、布褲、腰絰，布涼傘，鞍韉；在禫服內，合服素紗軟腳襆頭、黲色公服、黑鞓犀帶，青傘，皂鞍韉；俟禫除，即從吉服，仍係黑帶，去魚，涼傘、韉並從禫製，並去犭戎座。三節人衣紫衫、黑帶，並不聽樂，不射弓弩，候過界，聽使、副審度，隨宜改易服用。」從之。或遣留遺信物使，同上服。

In the tenth month of Chunxi 14 (1187) Wei Pu of the Palace Buildings Directorate was sent as mourning envoy to Jin, with Gate Attendant Jiang Teli as deputy. The Ministry of Rites and Directorate of Sacrifices reported that the mourning envoy, his deputy, and the three-rank escorts should follow precedent: during the da-xiang mourning period they were to wear cloth futou, cross-collar mourning shirt, cloth trousers, waist band, cloth parasol, and saddle trappings; During chan mourning they should wear plain gauze soft-foot futou, dun official dress, black rhinoceros-horn belt, green parasol, and black saddle trappings; After chan removal they reverted to regular dress but kept the black belt, removed the fish badge, retained chan-style parasol and saddle trappings, and gave up the leopard-skin saddle pad. The three-rank escorts wore purple shirts and black belts, abstained from music and archery, and after crossing the border the envoy and deputy might adjust dress as they saw fit. The court approved. Envoys sent to deliver testamentary tokens followed the same dress code.

喪服雜議。慶曆七年，侍御史吳鼎臣言：「武班及諸職司人吏，曾因親喪出入禁門，甚有裹素紗襆頭者，殊失肅下尊上之禮。欲乞武兩班，除以官品起復許裹素紗外，其餘臣僚並諸職司人吏，雖有親喪服未除，並須光紗加首，不得更裹素紗。」詔送太常禮院。禮官言：「準令文，凶服不入公門。其遭喪被起，在朝參處，常服各依品服，惟色以淺，無金玉飾；在家，依其服制。其被起者，及期喪以下居式假者，衣冠朝集，皆聽不預。今鼎臣所奏，有礙令文。」詔依所定，如遇筵宴，其服淺色素紗人，更不令祗應。

Miscellaneous Mourning-Dress Debates In Qingli 7 (1047) Attending Censor Wu Dingchen said that military officials and clerks entering the palace gates in mourning sometimes wore plain gauze futou, gravely violating court decorum. He asked that apart from military officers recalled by rank, all others in mourning wear glossy gauze headwraps rather than plain gauze, even before mourning ended. The emperor referred the matter to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Ritual. Ritual officials replied that statute forbade mourning dress in government halls. Officials recalled from mourning wore rank-appropriate regular dress at court, in lighter colors and without gold or jade ornaments; At home they observed full mourning dress. Recalled officials and those on ritual leave for lesser mourning were excused from formal court assemblies. Dingchen's proposal, they said, conflicted with existing law. The emperor accepted this ruling and barred officials in light plain gauze from serving at banquets.

丁父母憂。淳化五年八月，詔曰：「孝為百行之本，喪有三年之制，著於典禮，以厚人倫。中外文武官子弟，或父兄之淪亡，蒙朝廷之齒敘，未及卒哭，已聞蒞官，遽忘哀戚，頗玷風教。自今文武官子弟，有因父亡兄歿特被敘用，未經百日，不得趣赴公參。御史臺專加糾察；並有冒哀求仕、釋服從吉者，並以名聞。」

Parental Mourning In the eighth month of Chunhua 5 (994) an edict declared filial piety the foundation of virtue and the three-year mourning rule part of canonical ritual to strengthen human bonds. Younger relatives of officials appointed by the court often took office before mourning wailing ended, forgetting grief and disgracing public morals. Henceforth officials' sons appointed after a father's or brother's death might not attend court before a hundred days of mourning. The Censorate would enforce this; and anyone who feigned mourning for appointment or ended mourning prematurely was to be reported by name."

咸平元年，詔任三司、館閣職事者丁憂，並令持服。又詔：「川峽、廣南、福建路官，丁憂不得離任，既受代而喪製未畢者，許其終製。」尋令川峽官，除州軍長吏奏裁，餘並許解官。

In Xianping 1 (998) officials in Three Departments and Pavilion posts were required to observe full mourning. Another edict barred officials in remote circuits from leaving post during mourning, but allowed replaced officials to complete mourning at post. Officials in the gorges circuits were soon allowed to resign, except prefectural chiefs who needed imperial approval.

大中祥符九年，殿中侍御史張廓言：「京朝官丁父母憂者，多因陳乞，與免持服。且忠教恩義，士所執守，一悖於禮，其何能立？今執事盈庭，各務簡易，況無金革之事，中外之官不闕，不可習以為例。望自後並依典禮，三年服滿，得赴朝請。」

In Dazhong Xiangfu 9 (1016) Palace Censor Zhang Kuo said capital officials mourning parents often petitioned to skip mourning altogether. Loyalty and righteousness define the scholar; violate ritual once and what moral standing remains? With a full court and no military emergency, he argued, easing mourning must not become custom. He asked that hereafter all observe canonical three-year mourning before returning to court."

天禧四年，御史臺言：「文武官並丁憂者，相承服五十四月，別無條例。」下太常，禮官議曰：「按《禮·喪服小記》云：『父母之喪偕，先葬者不虞、祔，待後事，其葬服斬衰。』《注》：『謂同月若同日死也。先葬者母也，其葬服斬衰者，喪之隆哀宜從重也。假令父死在前月而同月葬，猶服斬衰，不葬不變服也。言其葬服斬衰，則虞、祔各以其服矣。及練、祥皆然。卒事，反服重。』《雜記》云：『有父之喪，如未沒喪而母死，其除父之喪也，服其除服，卒事，反喪服。』《注》云：『沒，猶終也。除服謂祥祭之服，卒事既祭，反喪服，服後死者之服。』又杜預云：『若父母同日卒，其葬先母後父，皆服斬衰，其虞、祔先父後母，各服其服，卒事，反服父服。若父已葬而母卒，則服母之服，虞訖，反服父之服。既除練，則服母之服。喪可除，則服父之服以除之，訖則服母之服。』賀循云：『父之喪未終，又遭母喪，當父服應終之月，皆服祥祭之服，如除喪之禮。卒事，反母之服。』臣等參考典故，則是隨其先後而除之，無通服五十四月之文。請依舊禮改正。」

In Tianxi 4 (1020) the Censorate reported that officials in parental mourning customarily served fifty-four months without statutory basis. Referred to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, ritual officials cited the Records of Rites: when both parents die together, the first buried skips certain rites and wears the heaviest mourning at burial. The commentary explains this means death in the same month or day. When the mother is buried first, the heavier zhan-sui at burial reflects the principle of mourning at its fullest. Even if the father died the month before but both are buried the same month, the heavier mourning still applies until burial. Once burial dress is zhan-sui, the yu and fu rites each follow their proper mourning grades. The same principle applies through lian and xiang mourning stages. After each rite one reverts to the heavier mourning.' The Miscellaneous Records states that if the mother dies before the father's mourning ends, one wears the father's removal dress for that rite, then resumes mourning for the mother.' The commentary glosses mo as 'finished.' Removal dress is the xiang-sacrifice garb; after that rite one resumes mourning for the later deceased.' Du Yu held that when both parents die the same day, burial is mother first but yu and fu rites honor the father first, each in proper mourning, then one resumes the father's mourning. If the father is already buried when the mother dies, one wears mourning for the mother, then after the yu rite resumes the father's mourning. At the lian removal stage one wears mourning for the mother. When the father's mourning can be ended, one wears his mourning for that removal, then resumes the mother's.' He Xun held that if the mother dies before the father's mourning ends, at the month the father's mourning would end one performs xiang removal as for a completed mourning. After that rite one resumes mourning for the mother.' They concluded that mourning ends in sequence of deaths, with no authority for a flat fifty-four-month rule. They asked that practice be corrected to follow ancient ritual."

慶曆三年，太常禮院議：《禮記》：『父母之喪，無貴賤，一也。』又曰：『三年之喪，人道之至大也。』請不以文武品秩高下，並聽終喪。」時以武臣入流者雜，難盡解官。詔：「自今三司副使已上，非領邊寄，並聽終製，仍續月奉。武臣非在邊而願解官者聽。」

In Qingli 3 (1043) the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Ritual cited the Book of Rites: parental mourning makes no distinction of rank.' It also declares the three-year mourning the highest expression of human duty.' They asked that officials of every rank be allowed to complete full mourning. Because many military officers had entered the civil service, requiring all to resign was impractical. An edict granted Vice Commissioners and above not on frontier duty permission to complete mourning while retaining salary. Military officers not on frontier duty who wished to resign to mourn were also allowed."

凡奪情之制，文臣諫舍以上，牧伯刺史以上，皆卒哭後恩製起復；其在切要者，不候卒哭。內職遭喪，但給假而已，願終喪者亦聽。惟京朝、幕職、州縣官皆解官行服，亦有特追出者。

Under the rule of seized mourning, remonstrance officials and prefects were recalled after the wailing period; those in urgent posts could be recalled even before wailing ended. Inner-court officials received leave for mourning, though full mourning was permitted if desired. Capital, staff, and local officials had to resign to mourn, though some were specially recalled.

凡公除與祭。景祐二年，禮儀使言：天聖五年，太常禮院言：自來宗廟祠祭，皆宰臣、參知政事行事，每有服制，旋復改差，多致妨闕。檢會《唐會要》，貞元六年詔，百官有私喪公除者，聽赴宗廟之祭。監祭御史以《禮》有「緦麻已上喪不得饗廟」，移牒吏部詰之。吏部奏：準《禮》，「諸侯絕周、大夫絕緦」者，所以殺旁親，不敢廢大宗之祭事，則緦不祭者，謂同宮未葬，欲人吉凶不相黷也。魏、晉已降，變而從權，緦已上喪服，假滿即吉，謂之公除。凡既葬公除，則無事不可，故於祭無妨。乞今凡有慘服既葬公除，及聞哀假滿，許吉服赴祭。同宮未葬，雖公除依前禁之。詔從。又王涇《郊祀錄》：「緦麻已上喪，不行宗廟之祭者，以明吉凶不相干也。貞元，吏部奏請，得許權改吉服，以從宗廟之祭，此一時之事，非舊典也。」今本院看詳，律稱：「如有緦麻已上喪遣充掌事者，笞五十。」此唐初所定。吏部起請，皆援引典故。奉詔，百官有私喪公除者，聽赴宗廟之祭。後雖王涇著《郊祀錄》稱是一時之事，非舊典也。又別無詔敕改更，是以歷代止依貞元詔命施行。至大中祥符中，詳定官請依《郊祀錄》，緦麻以上喪，不預宗廟之祭。今詳貞元起請，證據分明，王涇所說，別無典故。望自今後有私喪公除者，聽赴宗廟之祭，免致廢闕。

Public Removal and Sacrificial Attendance In Jingyou 2 (1035) the Commissioner of Ritual noted that since Tiansheng 5 (1027) ancestral sacrifices led by chief ministers were repeatedly disrupted when replacements had to be found for officials in mourning. They cited the Tang Institutional Essentials: a Zhenyuan 6 (790) edict allowed officials in public mourning removal to attend ancestral temple sacrifices. The supervising sacrifice censor challenged this, citing the rule that officials in si-ma mourning or above may not attend temple feasts. Personnel replied that ritual limits mourning for collateral kin so as not to abandon major lineage sacrifices; the ban on si-mourning at temple applies only when a co-resident relative is unburied, to keep mourning and ritual apart. From Wei and Jin onward custom shifted: after leave for si-mourning or above one resumed regular dress, called public removal. Once burial and public removal were complete, no activity was barred—including sacrifice. They asked that officials who had completed burial and public removal, or finished mourning leave, be allowed to attend sacrifices in regular dress. Co-residents of an unburied relative remained barred even after public removal. The emperor approved. Wang Jing's Record of Suburban Sacrifice also held that si-ma mourning or above barred ancestral sacrifice to keep mourning and ritual separate. The Zhenyuan Personnel memorial allowing temporary regular dress for temple sacrifice was an expedient of its day, not ancient precedent." The court noted that Tang law punished assigning officials in si-ma mourning or above to preside at rites with fifty blows of the bamboo. That rule dated from early Tang. Personnel's petition had cited classical precedents throughout. An edict had permitted officials in public mourning removal to attend ancestral temple sacrifices. Later Wang Jing's Record of Suburban Sacrifice dismissed this as a temporary measure, not ancient canon. No later edict overturned it, so generations had followed the Zhenyuan order. In Dazhong Xiangfu examining officials had sought to follow Wang Jing and bar si-ma mourning or above from ancestral sacrifice. The Zhenyuan petition rested on clear evidence; Wang Jing's view lacked supporting precedent. They asked that officials in public mourning removal again be allowed at ancestral sacrifices to prevent ritual disruption.

慶曆七年，禮官邵必言：「古之臣子，未有居父母喪而輒與國家大祭者。今但不許入宗廟，至於南郊壇、景靈宮，皆許行事。按唐吏部所請慘服既葬公除者，謂周以下也，前後相承，誤以為三年之喪，得吉服從祭，失之甚也。又據律文：『諸廟享，有緦麻以上喪，不許執事，祭天地、社稷不禁。』此唐之定律者不詳經典意也。《王制》曰：『喪三年不祭，惟天地、社稷為越紼而行事。』《注》云：『不敢以卑廢尊」也。是指王者不敢以私親之喪，廢天地、社稷之祭，非謂臣下有父母喪，而得從天子祭天地、社稷也。兼律文所以不禁者，亦止謂緦麻以上、周以下故也。南郊、太廟，俱為吉祀，奉承之意，無容異禮。今居父母喪不得入太廟，至南郊則為愈重。朝廷每因大禮，侍祠之官普有沾賚，使居喪之人得預祠事，是不欲慶澤之行，有所不被，奈何以小惠而傷大禮？近歲兩製以上，並許終喪，惟於武臣尚仍舊制，是亦取古之墨縗從事，金革無避之義也。然於郊祀吉禮則為不可。」下禮院，議曰：「郊祀大禮，國之重事，百司聯職，僅取齊集。若居喪被起之官悉不與事，則或有妨闕。但不以慘粗之容接於祭次，則亦可行。請依《太常新禮》，宗室及文武官有遭喪被起及卒哭赴朝參者，遇大朝會，聽不入；若緣郊廟大禮，惟不入宗廟，其郊壇、景靈宮得權從吉服陪位，或差攝行事。」詔可。

In Qingli 7 (1047) ritual official Shao Bi said no ancient minister had ever joined state grand sacrifices while mourning parents. Today they are barred from the ancestral temple yet allowed to officiate at the Southern Suburban altar and Jingling Palace. The Tang Personnel rule on public removal after burial applied only to zhou mourning and below; later practice wrongly extended it to three-year parental mourning—a grave error. He cited law forbidding si-ma mourning or above from presiding at temple rites but not at Heaven, Earth, or soil-and-grain sacrifices. That Tang statute, he argued, misunderstood the classics. The Royal Regulations states that during three-year mourning only Heaven, Earth, and soil-and-grain rites may be performed by crossing the mourning cord. The commentary explains this means the ruler must not let private mourning cancel rites to Heaven and Earth. That passage concerns the ruler's duty not to cancel Heaven and Earth rites for private mourning—not permission for mourning subjects to join the emperor's sacrifices. The law's exception likewise applied only to si-ma through zhou mourning, not three-year parental mourning. Southern Suburban and Grand Temple rites are equally auspicious; reverence toward the state admits no double standard. Barring parental mourners from the Grand Temple while allowing the Southern Suburban rite—which is the greater sacrifice—is inconsistent. Court rewards at grand rites tempt mourning officials to participate so no one misses imperial grace—but trading small favor for great ritual propriety is wrong. Recently both civil and military senior officials may complete mourning; only military officers follow the old rule, invoking the ancient principle of mourning in battle dress when war forbids delay. Yet participation in auspicious suburban sacrifice remains improper." Referred to the Ritual Court, they replied that suburban sacrifice was a state priority requiring every office represented. Excluding all recalled mourners might leave critical posts unfilled. Provided they do not appear in coarse mourning at the rite itself, participation may be acceptable. Following the New Ritual of Imperial Sacrifices, recalled mourners and those attending court after wailing might skip great assemblies; but for suburban and temple grand rites they should enter the ancestral temple only in regular dress, while at the suburban altar and Jingling Palace they might attend in regular dress or serve as substitutes. The emperor approved.

天聖五年，侍講學士孫奭言：「伏見禮院及刑法司外州執守服制，詞旨俚淺，如外祖卑於舅姨，大功加於嫂叔，顛倒謬妄，難可遽言。臣於《開寶正禮》錄出五服年月，並見行喪服制度，編祔《假寧令》，請下兩製、禮院詳定。」翰林學士承旨劉筠等言：「奭所上五服制度，皆應禮經。然其義簡奧，世俗不能盡通，今解之以就平易。若『兩相為服，無所降殺』，舊皆言『服』者，具載所為服之人；其言『周』者，本避唐諱，合復為『期』。又節取《假寧令》附《五服敕》後，以便有司；仍板印頒行，而喪服親疏隆殺之紀，始有定制矣。」

In Tiansheng 5 (1027) Lecturing Academician Sun Shi said the Ritual and Penal offices' mourning regulations for outer prefectures were crude and erroneous—ranking maternal grandfathers below uncles and aunts and greater mourning above sisters-in-law—too confused to recount. I have extracted the five degrees of mourning and their durations from the Correct Ritual of Kaibao, together with the mourning dress now in effect, and appended them to the Leave and Rest Statute. I ask that civil and military officials and the Ritual Court review and fix the text. Hanlin Academician-in-Chief Liu Yun and others replied that Shi's proposed five-degrees mourning code accorded with the ritual classics. Its wording was too terse and obscure for ordinary readers, so they clarified it in plainer language. Where the rule read 'mutual mourning without reduction,' they spelled out exactly who wore mourning for whom whenever the old text had only said 'mourning'; They restored 'qi' wherever 'zhou' appeared, since the latter had been used only to avoid a Tang imperial name. They also excerpted relevant passages from the Leave and Rest Statute and appended them to the Five Degrees Edict for officials' use; and had the code printed and issued. Mourning dress by kinship rank and degree was at last given a fixed standard."

子為嫁母。景祐二年，禮官宋祁言：「前祠部員外郎、集賢校理郭稹幼孤，母邊更嫁，有子。稹無伯叔兄弟，獨承郭氏之祭。今邊不幸，而稹解宮行服。按《五服制度敕》齊衰杖期降服之條曰：『父卒母嫁及出妻之子為母。』其左方注：『謂不為父後者。若為父後者，則為嫁母無服。』詔議之。侍御史劉夔曰：

Mourning for a Remarried Mother In Jingyou 2 (1035), Ritual Official Song Qi reported that Guo Zhen, formerly of the Sacrifices Directorate and the Hanlin Academy, had lost his father young. His mother Lady Bian had remarried and borne other children. With no uncles or brothers, Zhen alone maintained the Guo ancestral rites. When Lady Bian died, Zhen resigned his post to observe mourning. Song Qi cited the Five Degrees Edict on reduced qi mourning with staff: 'When the father is dead and the mother remarries, or when the son of a divorced wife mourns his mother—' The marginal note read: 'This applies only to one who is not the heir.' An heir, by contrast, wore no mourning for a remarried mother.' The court ordered a formal review. Attendant Censor Liu Kui argued:

按天聖六年敕，《開元五服制度》、《開寶正禮》並載齊衰降服條例，雖與祁言不異，然《假寧令》：「諸喪，斬、齊三年，並解官；齊衰杖期及為人後者為其父母，若庶子為後為其母，亦解官，申心喪；母出及嫁，為父後者雖不服，亦申心喪。」《注》云：「皆為生己者。」《律疏》云：「心喪者，為妾子及出妻之子合降其服，二十五月內為心喪。」再詳格令：「子為嫁母，雖為父後者不服，亦當申心喪。」又稱：「居心喪者，釋服從吉及忘哀作樂、冒哀求仕者，並同父母正服。」今龍圖閣學士王博文、御史中丞杜衍嘗為出嫁母解官行喪。若使生為母子，沒為路人，則必虧損名教，上玷孝治。

The Tiansheng 6 edict, the Kaiyuan Five Degrees code, and the Correct Ritual of Kaibao all matched Qi's reading on reduced qi mourning. But the Leave and Rest Statute required resignation for all three-year zhan and qi mourning; it also required resignation and declaration of inner mourning for one-year qi mourning with staff, for an heir mourning parents, and for a common-born son who had become heir mourning his mother; and even when an heir wore no formal mourning for a divorced or remarried mother, he still had to declare inner mourning. The commentary explained that these rules concerned only the mother who had borne the mourner. The Penal Code Commentary defined inner mourning for concubines' sons and sons of divorced wives as reduced dress observed within twenty-five months. Further statutes held that a son mourning a remarried mother, even as heir without formal dress, must still declare inner mourning. Violations during inner mourning—prematurely resuming normal dress, making music, or seeking office—were punished as severely as breaches of full parental mourning. Wang Bowen of the Dragon Diagram Hall and Censor-in-Chief Du Yan had both resigned to mourn mothers who had remarried after their fathers' deaths. To treat them as strangers in death after a lifetime as mother and son would violate moral teaching and tarnish the dynasty's claim to rule by filial virtue.

且杖期降服之制，本出《開元禮》文，逮乎天寶降敕，俾終三年，然則當時已悟失禮。晉袁準謂：「為人後，猶服嫁母。據外祖異族，猶廢祭行服，知父後應服嫁母。」劉智釋云：「雖為父後，猶為嫁母齊衰。」譙周云：「非父所絕，為之服周可也。」昔孔鯉之妻為子思之母，鯉卒而嫁於衛，故《檀弓》曰：「子思之母死，柳若謂子思曰：『子聖人之後也，四方於子乎觀禮，子盍慎諸！』子思曰：『吾何慎哉！』」喪之禮，如子。雲「子聖人之後」，即父後也。石苞問淳於睿：「為父後者，不為出母服。嫁母猶出母也，或者以為嫁與出不異，不達禮意，雖執從重之義，而以廢祭見譏。君為詳正。」睿引子思之義為答，且言：「聖人之後服嫁母，明矣。」稹之行服，是不為過。

The staff-period reduced mourning rule came from the Kaiyuan Ritual, but a Tianbao edict had extended it to three years—showing that the Tang court itself had already recognized the error. Yuan Zhun of Jin held that even an heir should mourn a remarried mother. If mourning was worn and sacrifice suspended even for a maternal grandfather of another clan, an heir ought all the more to mourn a remarried mother. Liu Zhi's commentary likewise held that an heir still wore qi mourning for a remarried mother. Qiao Zhou argued that unless the father had formally disowned her, one-year mourning was proper. Kong Li's widow, Zisi's mother, had remarried in Wei after Li's death. In the Record of the Tan Gong, Liu Ruo warned Zisi: 'You are a sage's heir; the realm watches your conduct in ritual—take care! Zisi replied: 'Why should I hesitate?' He observed the full mourning rites due a son.' Calling him 'descendant of a sage' meant he was heir to Kong Li's line. Shi Bao asked Chunyu Rui whether an heir wore no mourning for a divorced mother, and whether a remarried mother should be treated like a divorced one. Those who equated the two missed the ritual point and were criticized for neglecting sacrifice even while invoking strictness. Please settle the question.' Rui answered with Zisi's example, declaring it clear that even a sage's heir should mourn a remarried mother. Guo Zhen's mourning, Liu Kui concluded, was no violation.

侍講學士馮元言：「《儀禮》、《禮記正義》，古之正禮；《開寶通禮五服年月敕》，國朝見行典制，為父後者，為出母無服。惟《通禮義纂》引唐天寶六年製：『出母、嫁母並終服三年。』又引劉智《釋議》：『雖為父後，猶為出母、嫁母齊衰，卒哭乃除。』蓋天寶之制，言諸子為出母，嫁母，故云『並終服三年』；劉智言為父後者為出母、嫁母，故云『猶為齊衰，卒哭乃除』，各有所謂，固無疑也。況《天聖五服年月敕》：『父卒母嫁及出妻之子為母降杖期。』則天寶之制已不可行。又但言母出及嫁，為父後者雖不服，亦申心喪，即不言解官。若專用禮經，則是全無服式；若俯同諸子杖期，又於條製相戾。請凡子為父後，無人可奉祭祀者，依《通禮義纂》、劉智《釋議》，服齊衰，卒哭乃除，逾月乃祭，仍申心喪，則與《儀禮》、《禮記正義》、《通典》、《通禮》、《五服年月敕》『為父後，為出母、嫁母無服。』之言不遠。如諸子非為父後者，為出母、嫁母，依《五服年月敕》，降服齊衰杖期，亦解官申心喪，則與《通禮五服制度》言『雖周除，仍心喪三年』，及《刑統》言『出妻之子合降其服，皆二十五月內為心喪』，其義一也。郭稹應得子為父後之條，緣其解官行服已過期年，難於追改，後當依此施行。」

Lecturing Academician Feng Yuan replied that the Ceremonies and the Correct Meaning of the Record of Rites represented the ancient canonical ritual; while the Kaibao Comprehensive Ritual Five Degrees Edict was the code now in force, under which an heir wore no mourning for a divorced or remarried mother. Only the Comprehensive Ritual Meaning Compendium cited a Tianbao 6 (747) Tang rule requiring three years' mourning for both divorced and remarried mothers. It also cited Liu Zhi's Explanatory Deliberations: even an heir wore qi mourning for divorced or remarried mothers until the end of wailing.' The Tianbao rule addressed all sons mourning divorced or remarried mothers, hence 'complete three years' mourning for both'; Liu Zhi addressed heirs specifically, hence 'still wear qi mourning until wailing ends'—each passage had its own subject, and the distinction was clear. Moreover the Tiansheng Five Degrees Edict already prescribed reduced qi mourning with staff for sons of remarried or divorced mothers— so the Tianbao three-year rule could no longer apply. The statute required inner mourning even when an heir wore no formal dress for a divorced or remarried mother, but said nothing about resigning office. Strict adherence to the classics would leave an heir with no mourning obligation at all; yet treating heirs like other sons under the staff-period rule would contradict the statutory code. He proposed that when an heir had no one else to maintain sacrifice, he follow the Comprehensive Ritual Meaning Compendium and Liu Zhi: wear qi mourning until wailing ended, delay sacrifice one month, and declare inner mourning—a compromise not far from the canonical rule that heirs wore no mourning for divorced or remarried mothers. That reading, he argued, did not stray far from established canon. Sons who were not heirs should follow the Five Degrees Edict: reduced qi mourning with staff, resignation, and inner mourning—consistent with the Comprehensive Ritual's rule on inner mourning after one-year dress and the Penal Code's twenty-five-month inner mourning for sons of divorced wives. Guo Zhen qualified as an heir, but because he had already resigned and mourned more than a year, his case could not be reversed. Future cases should follow this ruling."

詔自今並聽解官，以申心喪。

The emperor decreed that henceforth heirs might resign office to observe inner mourning for remarried mothers.

子為生母。大中祥符八年，樞密使王欽若言：「編修《冊府元龜》官太常博士、秘合校理聶震丁所生母憂，嫡母尚在，望特免持服。」禮官言：「按周制，庶子在父之室，則為其母不禫。晉解遂問蔡謨曰：『庶子喪所生，嫡母尚存，不知製服輕重。』答云：『士之妾子服其母，與凡人喪母同。』鍾陵胡澹所生母喪，自有嫡兄承統，而嫡母存，疑不得三年，問範宣，答曰：『為慈母且猶三年，況親所生乎？嫡母雖尊，然厭降之制，父所不及。婦人無專製之事，豈得引父為比而屈降支子也？』南齊褚淵遭庶母郭氏喪，葬畢，起為中軍將軍。後嫡母吳郡公主薨，葬畢，令攝職。則震當解官行服，心喪三年；若特有奪情之命，望不以追出為名。自今顯官有類此者，亦請不稱起復，第遣厘職。」

Mourning for a Birth Mother In Dazhong Xiangfu 8 (1015), Military Affairs Commissioner Wang Qinruo asked that Nie Zhen, a compiler of the Prime Mirror of the Imperial Archives, be exempted from mourning his birth mother while his principal mother still lived. Ritual officials replied that under Zhou practice a common-born son living in his father's house did not perform the final removal rite for his birth mother— In Jin, Xie Sui had asked Cai Mo how a common-born son should mourn his birth mother when his principal mother was still alive. Cai Mo answered that a gentryman's son by a concubine mourned his mother exactly as anyone else mourned a mother. When Hu Dan of Zhongling mourned his birth mother, an elder brother by the principal wife already held the line and the principal mother still lived. Doubting three years' mourning was permitted, he asked Fan Xuan, who replied: 'One mourns a nurturing mother three years—how much more one's own birth mother?' The principal mother ranked higher, but the rule of reduction by supersession applied only where the father could impose it. A wife had no independent authority to set mourning rules—she could not invoke the father's example to reduce a branch son's obligation.' In Southern Qi, Chu Yuan resumed office as General of the Central Army only after burying his common-born mother Lady Guo. When his principal mother, the Princess of Wu Commandery, died later, he was ordered to resume duties only after her burial. Nie Zhen should therefore resign and observe three years' mourning with inner observance; if the court granted a special recall, it should not be called a recall from mourning. Henceforth, they asked, similar cases involving senior officials should likewise avoid the term 'resumption from mourning' and simply assign temporary duty."

熙寧三年，詔御史臺審決秀州軍事判官李定追服所生母喪。御史臺言：「在法，庶子為父後，如嫡母存，為所生母服緦三月，仍解官申心喪；若不為父後，為所生母持齊衰三年，正服而禫。今定所生仇氏亡日，定未嘗請解官持心喪，止以父老乞還侍養。宜依禮制追服緦麻，而解官心喪三年。」時王安石芘定，擢為太子中允，而言者俱罷免。

In Xining 3 (1070) the emperor ordered the Censorate to rule on Li Ding's failure to mourn his birth mother, Xiuzhou military judge. The Censorate reported that by law a common-born heir whose principal mother still lived wore three months' si mourning for his birth mother, resigned office, and declared inner mourning; a common-born son who was not heir wore full three-year qi mourning with the final removal rite. When Lady Qiu died, Li Ding had never resigned or declared inner mourning, asking only to return home to care for his elderly father. He should retroactively wear si mourning, resign, and observe three years' inner mourning as the law required. Wang Anshi shielded Li Ding and secured his promotion to Palace Companion; critics of the appointment were dismissed.

婦為舅姑。乾德三年，判大理寺尹拙言：「按律及《儀禮喪服傳》、《開元禮儀纂》、《五禮精義》、《三禮圖》等書，所載婦為舅姑服周；近代時俗多為重服，劉嶽《書儀》有奏請之文。《禮圖》、《刑統》乃邦家之典，豈可守《書儀》小說而為國章邪？」判少卿事薛允中等言：「《戶婚律》：『居父母及夫喪而嫁娶者，徒三年，各離之。若居周喪而嫁娶者，杖一百。』又《書儀》：『舅姑之服斬衰三年。』亦準敕行。用律敕有差，望加裁定。」

Mourning for Parents-in-Law In Qiande 3 (965), Chief Judge Yin Zhuo of the Court of Judicial Review noted that the code, the Ceremonies, the Kaiyuan Ritual Compendium, and related works all prescribed one-year mourning for a wife's parents-in-law— yet recent custom favored heavier dress, and Liu Yue's Book of Ritual Forms had petitioned for three-year mourning. The Ritual Diagrams and Penal Code were state canon—how could a household manual like Liu Yue's Book of Ritual Forms govern national law? Acting Vice Director Xue Yunchong and others countered that the Statute on Households and Marriage punished marriage during parental or spousal mourning with three years' penal servitude and mandatory separation— while marriage during one-year mourning drew one hundred blows with the staff.' The Book of Ritual Forms, however, prescribed three years' zhan mourning for parents-in-law— and that practice had imperial sanction. The conflict between code and edict, they said, required resolution."

右僕射魏仁浦等二十一人奏議曰：「謹按《禮·內則》云：『婦事舅姑，如事父母。』則舅姑與父母一也。而古禮有期年之說，至於後唐始定三年之喪，在理為當。況五服制度，前代增益甚多。按《唐會要》，嫂叔無服，太宗令服小功。曾祖父母舊服三月，增為五月。嫡子婦大功，增為期。眾子婦小功，增為大功。父在為母服期，高宗增為三年。婦為夫之姨舅無服，玄宗令從夫服，又增姨舅同服緦麻及堂姨舅袒免。至今遵行。況三年之內，几筵尚存，豈可夫處苫塊之中，婦被綺紈之飾？夫婦齊體，哀樂不同，求之人情，實傷理本。況婦為夫有三年之服，於舅姑止服期年，乃是尊夫而卑舅姑也。況孝明皇后為昭憲太后服喪三年，足以為萬世法。欲望自今婦為舅姑服，並如後唐之制，其三年齊、斬，一從其夫。」

Right Vice Director Wei Renpu and twenty colleagues submitted a memorial citing the Inner Regulations: 'A wife serves her husband's parents as she serves her own. Parents-in-law and one's own parents were therefore equivalent. Ancient ritual had prescribed one year, but Later Tang fixed three years—a change they found reasonable. Previous dynasties had repeatedly expanded the five degrees of mourning. The Tang Institutional Compendium recorded that Emperor Taizong had added lesser merit mourning between sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law where none had existed. Mourning for great-grandparents had been raised from three to five months. Mourning for a principal son's wife had been raised from greater merit to one year. Mourning for other sons' wives had been raised from lesser to greater merit. Mourning for a mother while the father lived had been extended from one year to three under Emperor Gaozong. Emperor Xuanzong had ordered wives to follow their husbands' mourning for maternal uncles and aunts, adding si hemp for close kin and bare-shoulder observance for more distant ones. All these remained in force. During three years of mourning the spirit tablet still stood—how could a husband sit on a mourning mat while his wife wore silk? Husband and wife were one body—shared grief was a matter of human feeling and fundamental propriety. If a wife mourned her husband three years but his parents only one, she would honor her husband while slighting his parents. Empress Xiaoming's three years' mourning for Empress Dowager Zhaoxian offered a model for all generations. They asked that henceforth wives mourn parents-in-law as under Later Tang—three-year qi and zhan mourning matching their husbands'."

嫡孫承重。天聖四年，大理評事杜杞言：「祖母潁川郡君鍾歿，並無服重子婦，餘孤孫七人，臣最居長，今己服斬衰，即未審解官以否？」禮院言：「按《禮·喪服小記》曰：『祖父卒，而後，為祖母後者三年。』《正義》曰：『此論適孫承重之服。祖父卒者，謂適孫無父而為祖後。祖父已卒，今遭祖母喪，故云為祖母後也。若父卒為母，故三年。若祖父卒時，父已先亡，亦為祖父三年。若祖卒時父在，己雖為祖期，今父歿，祖母亡時，己亦為祖母三年也。』又按令文：『為祖後者，祖卒為祖母，祖父歿，嫡孫為祖母承重者，齊衰三年，並解官。』合依《禮》、令。」

The Principal Grandson as Heir In Tiansheng 4 (1026), Du Qi, a reviewing policy advisor at the Court of Judicial Review, asked: "My grandmother Lady Zhong of Yingchuan has died. With no daughter-in-law to bear the principal mourning and seven orphaned grandsons left—of whom I am eldest—I am already in zhan mourning. Must I resign my post?" The Ritual Academy replied: "The Mourning Dress Small Record states: 'When the grandfather has died, whoever succeeds as heir for the grandmother observes three years' mourning. The Righteous Commentary explained that this concerned the rightful grandson's heir-mourning garb. Where the grandfather has died refers to a grandson with no living father who continues the line for his grandfather. When the grandfather is already dead and the grandmother dies, the text speaks of 'succeeding for the grandmother.' If the father has died, mourning for the mother is three years. If the father had already died when the grandfather died, mourning for the grandfather is likewise three years. Even if one had worn only one-year mourning while the grandfather lived, once the father dies and then the grandmother, one mourns the grandmother for three years.' The statutes add: an heir to the grandfather who mourns a grandmother wears three-year qi mourning and must leave office.' The Academy held that he should follow both the classics and the regulations."

寶元二年，度支判官、集賢校理薛紳言：「祖母萬壽縣太君王氏卒，是先臣所生母，服紀之制，罔知所適，乞降條製，庶知遵守。」詔送太常禮院詳定。禮官言：「《五服年月敕》：『齊衰三年，為祖後者，祖卒則為祖母。』又曰：『齊衰不杖期，為祖父母。』《注》云：『父之所生庶母亦同，惟為祖後者不服。』又按《通禮義纂》：『為祖後者，父所生庶母亡，合三年否？』《記》云：『為祖母也，為後三年。不言嫡庶。然奉宗廟，當以貴賤為差，庶祖母不祔於皇姑，已受重於祖，當為祭主，不得申於私恩；若受重於父代而養，為後可也。』又曰：『庶祖母合從何服？禮無服庶祖母之文，有為祖庶母後者之服。晉王暠議曰：受命為後，則服之無嫌。婦人無子，托後族人，猶為之服，況其子孫乎？人莫敢卑其祖也。且妾子，父歿為母得申三年。孫無由獨屈，當服之也。』看詳《五服年月敕》，不載持重之文，於《義纂》即有所據。今薛紳不為祖後，受重於父，合申三年之制。」

In Baoyuan 2 (1039), Xue Shen, revenue reviewer and Academician-compiler, wrote: "My grandmother Grand Lady Wang of Wanshou has died—she was my late father's birth mother. I cannot tell which mourning rule applies and ask the court to set a standard I may follow." The court referred the case to the Directorate of Ceremonies and Ritual Academy for review. The ritual officers cited the Five Mourning Grades Edict: "Three-year qi mourning—for an heir to the grandfather, when the grandfather dies, for the grandmother. It also lists one-year qi mourning without staff for grandparents.' The commentary adds that a father's concubine birth mother is treated the same, except an heir to the grandfather is exempt.' The Comprehensive Rites Compendium asks whether an heir to the grandfather should mourn a father's concubine birth mother for three years.' Its Record states that an heir mourns a grandmother for three years. It makes no distinction between principal and concubine status. Yet in ancestral rites rank mattered: a concubine grandmother was not enshrined beside the principal grandmother-in-law. One who had already borne the grandfather's ritual weight served as sacrificial host and could not indulge private feeling; Only if one had received the father's ritual weight in his place and been raised as heir would mourning be allowed.' It further asks what mourning a concubine grandmother requires. The classics say nothing about mourning a concubine grandmother, but they do prescribe garb for an heir to a grandfather's concubine wife. Wang Gao of Jin argued that one appointed heir could mourn without impropriety. When a childless woman entrusted the line to a kinsman, mourners still observed rites for her—how much more should her own descendants? No one would slight his own forebear. A concubine's son, moreover, could mourn his mother three years after his father's death. A grandson could hardly stand alone in refusing what his father would have observed.' The Five Mourning Grades Edict says nothing about bearing ritual weight, but the Meaning Compendium offered grounds for a ruling. Xue Shen was not heir to the grandfather but had received his father's ritual weight; he should observe three years' mourning."

史館檢討、同知太常禮院王洙言：「《五服年月敕》與新定令文及《通禮》正文內五服制度，皆聖朝典法，此三處並無為父所生庶母服三年之文。唯《義纂》者是唐世蕭嵩、王仲丘等撰集，非創修之書，未可據以決事。且所引兩條，皆近世諸儒之說，不出於《六經》，臣已別狀奏駁。今薛紳為映之孫，耀卿為別子始祖，紳繼別之後為大宗，所守至重，非如次庶子等承傳其重者也。不可輒服父所生庶母三年之喪，以廢始祖之祭也。臣謹按《禮經》所謂重者，皆承後之文。據《義纂》稱重於父，亦有二說：一者，嫡長子自為正體，受重可知；二者，或嫡長亡，取嫡或庶次承傳父重，亦名為受重也。若繼別子之後，自為大宗，所承至重，不得更遠係庶祖母為之服三年，惟其父以生己之故，為之三年可也。詳《義纂》所謂『受重於父者』，指嫡長子亡、次子承傳父重者也，但其文不同耳。」

Wang Zhu, historiographer and associate director of the Ritual Academy, argued: "The Five Mourning Grades Edict, the revised statutes, and the Comprehensive Rites—all current dynastic law—nowhere prescribe three years' mourning for a father's concubine birth mother. Only the Meaning Compendium—a Tang compilation by Xiao Song and Wang Zhongqiu—was not original legislation and could not govern the case. The two passages cited were recent scholarly opinions, not drawn from the Six Classics; he had already memorialized separately to refute them. Xue Shen was grandson of Ying; Yaoqing had founded a separate branch, and Shen succeeded as great-lineage heir—a burden far heavier than that of a younger or concubine son who merely inherited a father's ritual weight. He must not don three years' mourning for a concubine birth mother at the cost of abandoning sacrifice to the founding ancestor. In the Ritual Classics, he noted, every mention of 'bearing weight' referred to succeeding as heir. The Compendium's phrase 'receiving weight from the father' admitted two readings: the principal eldest son, as legitimate heir, clearly bore that weight; or, if the eldest son died, a younger principal or concubine son who inherited the father's ritual burden was also said to 'receive weight.' One who succeeded a separate-branch founder as great-lineage head bore a supremely heavy obligation and could not extend three years' mourning to a concubine grandmother; only his father, because she had borne him, might do so. The Compendium's 'receiving weight from the father,' he concluded, meant a younger son inheriting after the eldest died—the wording merely differed."

詔太常禮院與御史臺詳定聞奏。眾官參詳：「耀卿，王氏子；紳，王氏孫，尤親於慈母、庶母，祖母、庶祖母也，耀卿既亡，紳受重代養，當服之也。又薛紳頃因籍田覃恩，乞將敘封母氏恩澤，回授與故父所生母王氏，其薛紳官爵未合敘封祖母，蓋朝廷以耀卿已亡，紳是長孫，敦以教道，特許封邑，豈可王氏生則輒邀國恩，歿則不受重服？況紳被王氏鞠育之恩，體尊義重，合令解官持齊衰三年之服。」詔從之。

The court ordered the Ritual Academy and Censorate to review the case and report back. After joint review the officials held: "Yaoqing was Wang's son; Shen was Wang's grandson, closer to her than to a mere stepmother or concubine grandmother. With Yaoqing dead, Shen had borne her ritual weight and been raised by her—he should mourn. Moreover, at a recent plowing-ceremony amnesty Shen had asked to redirect enfeoffment honors meant for his mother to his late father's birth mother Wang—a rank that normally could not enfeoff a grandmother. The court had granted it because Yaoqing was dead and Shen, as eldest grandson, deserved moral encouragement. How could Wang seek imperial favor in life yet be denied full mourning in death? Shen owed Wang the debt of her upbringing; propriety demanded that he resign and observe three years' qi mourning." The court agreed.

熙寧八年，禮院請為祖承重者依《封爵令》立嫡孫，以次立嫡子同母弟，無母弟立庶子，無庶子立嫡孫同母弟；如又無之，即立庶長孫，行斬衰服。於是禮房詳定：「古者封建國邑而立宗子，故周禮適子死，雖有諸子，猶令嫡孫傳重，所以一本統、明尊尊之義也。至於商禮，則嫡子死立眾子，然後立孫。今既不立宗子，又未嘗封建國邑，則嫡孫喪祖，不宜純用周禮。若嫡子死無眾子，然後嫡孫承重，即嫡孫傳襲封爵者，雖有眾子猶承重。」時知廬州孫覺以嫡孫解官持祖母服，覺叔父在，有司以新令，乃改知潤州。

In Xining 8 (1075), the Ritual Academy proposed that heirs bearing a grandfather's ritual weight follow the Enfeoffment Statutes: first a principal grandson, then a principal son's younger full brother, then a concubine son, then a principal grandson's younger full brother; and if none remained, the eldest concubine grandson would succeed and wear zhan mourning. The Ritual Office then ruled: "Ancient enfeoffment had established lineage heads, so Zhou practice kept the principal grandson as heir even when other sons survived—preserving a single ancestral line and the hierarchy of honor. Under Shang practice, when the principal son died a younger son succeeded first and only then a grandson. Since the dynasty no longer enfeoffed lineage heads or domains, a principal grandson mourning a grandfather should not follow Zhou rites alone. Only when the principal son died without other sons should the principal grandson bear the weight—but a principal grandson who inherited a title bore it even if other sons survived." Sun Jue of Luzhou had resigned as principal grandson to mourn his grandmother; because his uncle was still alive, the authorities applied the new rule and reassigned him to Runzhou.

元豐三年，太常丞劉次莊祖母亡，有嫡曾孫，次莊為嫡孫同母弟，在法未有庶孫承重之文。詔下禮官立法：「自今承重者，嫡子死無諸子，即嫡孫承重；無嫡孫，嫡孫同母弟承重；無母弟，庶孫長者承重；曾孫以下準此。其傳襲封爵，自依禮、令。」

In the third year of Yuanfeng (1080), when Vice Director Liu Cizhuang's grandmother died, a principal great-grandson existed; Cizhuang was a principal grandson's younger full brother, and the law had no provision for a concubine grandson bearing ritual weight. The court ordered ritual officers to codify the rule: "Henceforth, when the principal son dies without other sons, the principal grandson bears the weight; if no principal grandson exists, a principal grandson's younger full brother; if no full brother, the eldest concubine grandson; the same order applied to great-grandsons and below. Inheritance of titles still followed the rites and statutes separately."

雜議。大中祥符八年，廣平公德彝聘王顯孫女，將大歸而德彝卒，疑其禮制。禮官言：「按《禮》：『曾子問曰：娶女有吉日而女死，如之何？孔子曰：婿齊衰而吊，既葬而除之。夫死亦如之。』《注》云：『謂無期三年之恩也，女服斬衰。』又《刑統》云：『依禮，有三月廟見、有未廟見就婚等三種之文，妻並同夫法，其有克吉日及定婚夫等，惟不得違約改嫁，自餘相犯，並同凡人。』今詳女合服斬衰於室，既葬而除；或未葬，但出欑即除之。」

Miscellaneous Cases In Dazhong Xiangfu 8 (1015), the Duke of Guangping, Degong, betrothed Wang Xian's granddaughter; Degong died just before the wedding, raising questions of proper mourning. The ritual officers cited the Rites: "Zengzi asked what to do when a betrothed bride died on the eve of the wedding. Confucius answered that the groom should wear qi mourning, pay a condolence visit, and lay the garb aside after burial. The same rule applied when the groom died.' The commentary explained that no full marital bond had yet formed; the woman wore zhan mourning.' The Penal Code added that under rites covering temple presentation, pre-presentation marriage, and related cases, a wife followed her husband's status; betrothed couples could not break engagement to remarry, but other offenses were judged as between ordinary persons.' They ruled that the bride should wear zhan mourning at home and lay it aside after burial; or, if burial had not yet occurred, as soon as the coffin left the house."

天聖七年，興化軍進士陳可言：「臣昨與本軍進士黃價同保，臣預解送之後，本軍言黃價昨赴舉時，有叔為僧，喪服未滿，臣例當駁放。竊思出家製服，禮律俱無明文，況僧犯大罪，並無緣坐；犯事還俗，準敕不得均分父母田園。又釋門儀式，見父母不拜，居父母喪不絰，死則法門弟子為之制服，其於本族並無服式。望下禮官詳議，許其赴試。」太常禮院言：「檢會敕文，期周尊長服，不得取應。又禮為叔父齊衰期，外繼者降服大功九月。其黃價為叔僧，合比外繼，降服大功。」

In Tiansheng 7 (1029), Chen Keyan, a presented scholar of Xinghua Circuit, reported: "I had vouched for fellow scholar Huang Jia. After I passed the preliminary exam, the circuit said Huang Jia's uncle was a monk still in mourning when Huang took the test—by rule I should be disqualified too. Leaving home, I reasoned, had no explicit mourning rule in rites or law; monks who committed grave crimes incurred no guilt by association; and monks who returned to lay life after misconduct were barred by edict from sharing equally in parental property. Buddhist practice forbade bowing to parents, wearing mourning headbands for them, or clan mourning rites—only fellow disciples observed funeral garb. I ask that ritual officers review the case and allow Huang to sit the exam." The Ritual Academy replied: "Edicts bar candidates still in one-year mourning for elders within the mourning circle. Rites prescribe one-year qi mourning for a paternal uncle, but an heir from outside the line wears reduced greater-merit mourning for nine months. Huang Jia's monk uncle should be treated like an outside heir—reduced to greater-merit mourning."

皇祐四年，吉州司理參軍祝紳幼孤，鞠於兄嫂。已嘗為嫂持服，兄喪，又請解官持喪。有司以為言。仁宗曰：「近世蓋有匿親喪而幹進者。紳雖所服非禮，然不忘鞠養恩，亦可勸也。候服闋日與幕職、知縣。」

In Huangyou 4 (1052), Zhu Shen, a legal assistant in Jizhou, had been orphaned young and raised by his elder brother and sister-in-law. He had already mourned his sister-in-law; when his brother died he again asked to resign and observe mourning. The authorities raised the matter with the throne. Emperor Renzong said: "Lately many have hidden bereavements to pursue office. Shen's mourning may be irregular, but his gratitude for being raised deserves encouragement. When his mourning ends, give him a staff post and a county magistracy."

大觀四年，詔曰：「孔子謂興滅繼絕，天下之民歸心。王安石子雱無嗣，有族子棣，已嘗用安石孫恩例官，可以棣為雱後，以稱朕善善之意。」先是，元豐國子博士孟開，請以侄孫宗顏為孫，據晉侍中荀顗無子，以兄之孫為孫；其後王彥林請以弟彥通為叔母宋繼絕孫，詔皆如所請。淳熙四年十月二十七日，戶部言：「知蜀州吳擴申明：乞自今養同宗昭穆相當之子，夫死之後，不許其妻非理遣還。若所養子破蕩家產，不能侍養，實有顯過，即聽所養母訴官，近親尊長證驗得實，依條遣還，仍公共繼嗣。」

In Daguan 4 (1110), an edict cited Confucius: "To revive extinguished lines and continue broken ones is to win the people's hearts. Wang Anshi's son Bian had no heir; a kinsman Di, already promoted under the Anshi-grandson privilege, may succeed Bian—fulfilling Our wish to honor merit." Earlier, in Yuanfeng, Imperial University doctor Meng Kai had asked to adopt his nephew's son Zongyan, citing Jin minister Xun Yi, who had adopted his brother's grandson when childless; later Wang Yanlin had asked to make his brother Yantong heir to his childless aunt Song—both petitions had been granted. On Chunxi 4, tenth month, day 27 (1177), the Ministry of Revenue reported that Shuzhou prefect Wu Kuo had asked that when a couple adopted a clansman of matching generation, the widow might not arbitrarily dismiss the adoptee after her husband's death. If the adoptee squandered the estate, failed to support her, and had clear fault, the adopting mother might sue; with verification by close kin, he could be sent away under statute while the clan still maintained the succession line."

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