Chapter Five: The Confucian Perspective — Liqiu and the Virtue of "Righteousness"

I. Autumn Corresponds to Righteousness: The Virtue of Solemn Rectification Among the Four Seasonal Virtues

In Confucian philosophy, the four seasons have a profound correspondence with the four virtues. Though the specifics differ across texts, the basic framework is clear: spring corresponds to benevolence (ren), summer to propriety (li), autumn to righteousness (yi), and winter to wisdom (zhi). The autumn season inaugurated by Liqiu corresponds to the core virtue of "righteousness."

Why does autumn correspond to yi$21 This requires understanding the essential nature of righteousness. Yi is what is fitting, what decides, what discerns. At its deepest level, it means "the proper course for affairs" and "the rectitude of judgment." Righteousness is the capacity to make appropriate judgments, distinctions, and dispositions — what should be taken and what abandoned, what rewarded and what punished, what spared and what cut down.

Autumn is precisely the season when heaven and earth carry out such "judgment." Spring's birth and summer's growth are heaven and earth's "bestowal," corresponding to benevolence and propriety; autumn's harvest and winter's storage are heaven and earth's "judgment" and "gathering," corresponding to righteousness and wisdom. In autumn, mature grain is reaped (taken) while empty husks are discarded (abandoned); lush fruit is treasured (rewarded) while withered leaves are shed (punished). Heaven and earth, in a manner both impartial and inexorable, judge all things — what should succeed, succeeds; what should fail, fails; what should be gathered is gathered; what should be killed is killed. This cosmic adjudication, "each receiving its due portion," is the universal embodiment of "righteousness."

Master Meng said: "Benevolence is the human heart; righteousness is the human path." (Mengzi, "Gaozi shang") He also said: "The sense of shame and dislike is the sprout of righteousness." (Mengzi, "Gongsun Chou shang") This sense of shame and revulsion — toward what is wrong and improper — is the very beginning of righteousness. Its character of judgment, exclusion, and solemn rectification is spiritually consonant with autumn Metal's qi of solemn killing.

II. "Heaven and Earth Begin Their Solemnity": The Qi of Solemn Killing and the Season of Punishment

The "Yueling" contains a pivotal sentence in its description of the month of Early Autumn: "This month, heaven and earth begin their solemnity (su 肃)." This character su is the key to understanding autumn's "righteousness."

Su means stern, solemn, austere, killing. Heaven and earth beginning their su means that the warm, generous, life-nurturing qi of spring and summer has ended, replaced by an austere, severe, judging autumn qi. Precisely because "heaven and earth begin their solemnity," autumn becomes the season of punishment — especially of penal action. This is the fountainhead of the "autumn execution" concept: capital and severe punishments should be aligned with autumn Metal's qi and carried out in autumn.

Here lies a profoundly deep jurisprudential thought: the legitimacy of punishment derives from its alignment with the "righteousness" of the Way of Heaven. Rulers cannot kill at will; their punishments must accord with celestial timing — just as heaven and earth carry out solemn killing only in autumn. This simultaneously sacralizes punishment (it emulates the Way of Heaven) and constrains it (it must follow celestial timing and cannot be abused). Autumn's "righteousness" is thus not merely a moral quality but an institution — a grand institutional vision that situates justice, judgment, and punishment within cosmic rhythm.

III. The Master on "Righteousness": The Substance of the Noble Person

The Master placed supreme importance on yi, regarding it as one of the foundations of the noble person's character. The Lunyu ("Weiling gong") records the Master's words: "The noble person takes righteousness as substance, practices it through propriety, expresses it with humility, and completes it with trustworthiness. That is a noble person indeed!"

The Lunyu ("Liren") also records: "The noble person comprehends righteousness; the petty person comprehends profit." The distinction between righteousness and profit is the fundamental divide between noble and petty person. This resonates profoundly with Pi hexagram's concern about "petty persons within, noble persons without" and "the way of the noble person waning."

The Master also said: "To see what is right and not do it — that is cowardice." (Lunyu 2.24) Righteousness is not merely a judgment (knowing what ought to be done) but an action (courageously doing what ought to be done). This decisiveness resonates with autumn Metal's vigor and judgment.

IV. Master Xun on "Righteousness" and "Differentiation"

Master Xun offered extraordinarily profound discussions of yi, particularly emphasizing its relationship with "differentiation" (fen 分). Xunzi, "Wangzhi" ("On the Regulations of a King"), states: "Water and fire possess qi but not life; plants possess life but not awareness; birds and beasts possess awareness but not righteousness; humans possess qi, life, awareness, and moreover righteousness — therefore they are the most precious beings under heaven. In strength they are not equal to oxen, in speed not equal to horses, yet oxen and horses serve them. Why$22 Because humans can form communities. How can they form communities$23 Through differentiation. How is differentiation implemented$24 Through righteousness."

Master Xun here reveals the fundamental function of yi: "differentiation." Righteousness is the basis upon which society can be "differentiated" (establishing ranks, boundaries, and roles); and it is precisely through differentiation that humans can "form communities," thereby surpassing stronger oxen and swifter horses. This "differentiation" and "judgment" function aligns perfectly with autumn Metal's virtue of solemn rectification.

V. Benevolence Within Righteousness: The Completion Behind Solemn Killing

Yet autumn's "righteousness," though it bears the character of solemn killing and judgment, is by no means heartless cruelty. In the Confucian understanding, behind autumn's yi lies a deep reservoir of ren (benevolence).

Why$25 Because autumn's "killing" serves "completion." The harvest of grain (killing) is for the survival of people and next year's sowing (completion); the withering of leaves (killing) is for nutrients to return to roots, storing up for next spring (completion). Heaven and earth's solemn killing in autumn is not aimed at destruction but at fulfillment. As a stern father's discipline conceals deep love, heaven and earth's autumn severity conceals a benevolence that fulfills the cycle of all things.

Master Meng said: "Benevolence is the peaceful dwelling of humanity; righteousness is the proper path of humanity. To leave that peaceful dwelling unoccupied and forsake that proper path untraveled — how lamentable!" (Mengzi, "Lilou shang") At the season of Liqiu, let us neither abandon benevolence's peaceful dwelling nor forsake righteousness's proper path — maintaining inner benevolence amid solemn rectification, while upholding the impartiality of judgment.