The Highest Good Is Like Water: The Nourishing Virtue of Yushui and How Heaven-One Begets Water
This article offers a deep reading of Yushui (Rain Water) among the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, drawing on pre-Qin Confucian and Daoist philosophy, etymology, and astronomical phenology. Through an examination of the original meanings of the characters "雨" (rain) and "水" (water), the astronomical positioning of the sun at 330° of celestial longitude, and the three phenological signs of the term, combined with Laozi's teaching that 'the highest good is like water,' Guanzi's view of water as the origin of all things, and the Book of Changes' vision of Heaven-One begetting water and clouds moving to bring forth rain, the essay reveals the virtue of water and the meaning—between Heaven and humanity—of spring rain nourishing all things.
Chapter 12 Ritual and Rite: Sacrificing to Water, Praying for Rain, and Repaying the Root
1. Why Sacrifice to the Spirits of Water$8
The ritual dimension of the Yushui solar term finds its most concentrated expression in the sacrifice to "water." We discussed the Yu sacrifice (praying for rain) earlier; here let us explore further the ancients' tradition of sacrificing to water, and the spirit behind it.
Why did the ancients sacrifice to water$9 Because water is "the origin of the ten thousand things" (in Master Guan's words), the source of life, and the foundation of agriculture. The ancients' sacrifice to water was, in essence, a form of worship of and gratitude toward "the origin of life." Within the pre-Qin sacrificial system, sacrifice to water took several forms: sacrifice to rivers, sacrifice to marshes and lakes, sacrifice to wells, and the Yu sacrifice (praying for rain). Together, these sacrifices constituted the ancients' solemn repayment for the grace of water.
The "Sacrificial Regulations" chapter of the Book of Rites records the pre-Qin sacrificial system, stating: "Mountains, forests, rivers, valleys, and hills, which are able to raise clouds, bring forth wind and rain, and manifest strange phenomena, are all called spirits." Mountains and forests, rivers and valleys, hills and mounds—all capable of raising clouds, forming wind and rain, or manifesting mysterious phenomena—were called "spirits" and accordingly sacrificed to. Note the phrase "able to raise clouds, bring forth wind and rain"—this ability to summon clouds and bring on rain was the core reason these nature spirits were sacrificed to. In other words, the ancients' sacrifice to mountains and rivers was, to a great degree, because of their connection to "rain" (the source of the water of life). The Yushui solar term, as the season when the first spring rains fall, is precisely an important occasion for the ancients to express their gratitude and hope toward the spirits who summon clouds and bring rain.
2. Repaying the Root and Returning to the Origin: The Fundamental Spirit of Sacrifice
In Chapter Five, when discussing "the otter lays out fish," we already touched upon "repaying the root and returning to the origin," the core spirit of Confucian ritual learning. Here let us set it within the overall framework of sacrificial ritual, and expound upon it more fully.
The "Single Victim at the Border Sacrifices" chapter of the Book of Rites says: "All things are rooted in Heaven; humans are rooted in their ancestors." All things take Heaven as their root; humans take their ancestors as their root. Every sacrifice, in the final analysis, is a repayment toward "the root": sacrificing to Heaven repays the grace of Heaven and Earth's generation and nurture; sacrificing to ancestors repays the grace of the ancestors' transmission of life. And sacrifice to water repays the nourishing grace of water (the origin of the ten thousand things).
Why is "repaying the root" so important that it becomes the fundamental spirit of ritual propriety itself$10 Because, in the ancients' view, no life is self-sufficient or isolated; every life exists only by having received the bestowal of "the root" (Heaven and Earth, ancestors, water and soil). Having received such a bestowal, one ought to repay it—this is the inevitable demand of both the principle of Heaven and the sentiment of humanity. To fail to know how to repay the root is to be ungrateful and unfaithful, to violate the most fundamental ethic of life itself. Thus the core spirit of ritual propriety is "repaying the root," and sacrifice is the most solemn form this repayment takes.
The Yushui solar term is precisely a solar term brimming with the significance of "repaying the root." Its first phenological sign is "the otter lays out fish"—even the otter understands how to express, through "sacrifice," solemn gratitude toward the water (the origin) that bestows its food. In this season, when all things receive the grace of Heaven and Earth's spring rain and begin to revive and grow, human beings, all the more, ought to emulate Heaven and Earth's "love of life" and emulate the otter's "repayment of the root," repaying with a grateful heart that fundamental root which nourishes all things. The various sacrifices of the Yushui season—sacrificing to water, praying for rain, welcoming spring—are, in the final analysis, all embodiments of this spirit of "repaying the root and returning to the origin": even as people receive the grace of spring rain, they do not forget to repay, through solemn ritual, Heaven and Earth, and the origin that is water.
3. The Rite of Welcoming Spring and Yushui
The Yushui solar term falls within the first month of spring, closely related to the rite of "welcoming spring." In Chapter Three we already discussed the rite of welcoming spring recorded in the "Monthly Ordinances" of the Book of Rites: "On the day of the Beginning of Spring, the Son of Heaven personally leads the Three Dukes, the Nine Ministers, the feudal lords, and the great officers to welcome spring at the eastern suburbs." Here let us explore further the inner connection between the rite of welcoming spring and Yushui.
Spring is welcomed at the eastern suburbs because the East belongs to Wood, to spring. The Son of Heaven leading his ministers to the eastern suburbs to welcome spring is, in essence, an expression, through the most solemn ritual, of welcoming and according with spring's qi of Wood, with Heaven and Earth's virtue of germination. And the Yushui solar term, as the "central qi" solar term of the first month of spring, is precisely crucial to the germination of spring's Wood qi—for the germination of Wood qi depends on the nourishment of spring rain (water begetting wood). Thus the substantial content of the "spring" welcomed by the rite of welcoming spring is, to a great degree, precisely the "spring rain nourishing all things, plants and trees sprouting" that Yushui brings. Welcoming spring is, in a sense, welcoming that spring rain which nourishes all things.
The rite of welcoming spring also carries a profound political philosophy. That the Son of Heaven personally leads his ministers to welcome spring means that the highest ruler must take the lead in according with the timing of Heaven and reverently honoring the Way of Heaven. This is both a constraint upon the ruler's power (you cannot act willfully against the timing of Heaven) and a sacralization of the ruler's authority (your actions represent the Way of Heaven). During this Yushui season, when spring rain nourishes all things, the Son of Heaven welcomes spring, enacts benevolent governance, forbids killing and destruction, and values the nurture of life—this entire body of ritual conduct translates the cosmic law of "according with the timing of Heaven" into concrete political practice. Ritual propriety, here, becomes the bridge connecting the Way of Heaven to human affairs.
4. The Significance of Ritual: Confirming the Order of Heaven and Humanity Through Repetition
Finally, we must ask a more fundamental question: why did the ancients hold these Yushui-related rituals (sacrificing to water, praying for rain, welcoming spring, repaying the root) year after year$11 What, in the end, is the significance of ritual$12
The significance of ritual lies in "confirmation"—confirming, through cyclical repetition, that eternal order between Heaven and humanity. The sacrifices and spring-welcoming held each year during the Yushui season are not meant to "change" anything (Heaven will send rain when rain is due, regardless); rather, they are meant to "confirm" something—confirming that human beings forever remember the grace of Heaven and Earth, confirming that human beings forever accord with the operation of the Way of Heaven, confirming that the ancient bond between Heaven and humanity has never been severed.
This wisdom of "confirming through repetition" is precisely the deep function of ritual propriety. Master Xun, in his "Discourse on Ritual Propriety," offers a profound account of ritual's function, holding that one of its roles is "nurture"—"ritual propriety is nurture." Through solemn ritual, ritual propriety nurtures human emotion, human ethics, and the relationship between humanity and Heaven and Earth. The various rituals of the Yushui season are precisely engaged in this "nurture"—nurturing people's gratitude toward Heaven and Earth, nurturing people's reverent awe toward the timing of Heaven, nurturing that harmonious relationship of coexistence between Heaven and humanity. When we, during the Yushui season, welcome the spring rain with solemn ritual and express gratitude to Heaven and Earth, we are not merely praying for a year's good harvest, but confirming and nurturing our fundamental identity as "members of the community between Heaven and Earth." This is the most profound significance underlying the ritual system of Yushui.