7.9 The son eats on the side of the mourner, and he is not satisfied.
7.10The son weeps on that day, but singeth not.
Confucius ate next to a mourner, and never had enough.
Confucius mourned and wept on this day, and he stopped singing.
Interpretation] has not tasted - never, never.
It's the day—this day.
Crying – This refers to crying while mourning.
These two chapters record Confucius's performance in relation to funerals.
When Lin Fang greeted the salute, Confucius said: "Mourning, rather than Yi, rather Qi." (Chapter 34) Confucius emphasized the importance of benevolence rather than a thorough ritual.
The importance of this kind of benevolence is not only to the parties, but even as a bystander, Confucius himself has a deep sense of compassion and forbearance.
Eat on the side of the mourner", Confucius "did not taste full". "Untasted" means "never", neither "occasionally" or "occasionally" not full. Feeling the same as the mourning, there is no desire to eat. If there is mourning, then do not sing that day, and the rest of the mourning will not be forgotten, and you can't be happy.
Reading these words today, I take 10,000 steps back and imagine that even if I don't feel the truth for the mourning of others, but only out of the requirements of etiquette, I can restrain myself and be able to not be full and not sing, which is a deep comfort to the unfortunate and a manifestation of kindness.
When Zhang Juzheng explained this article to Xiao Wanli, he said: "When the ancient emperor saw the hunger, cold, hardship and death of the people, he would reduce his food and withdraw from the music, and he would not bear it. If there is a person in the world who can push this heart to be benevolent to the people, there is no husband who cannot do it, and benevolence covers the world. This is a different interpretation of what is said to those who are in a higher position.
Confucius said that he could "serve the country with courtesy", and from this two chapters, the experience is deeper.