This article provides a rigorous exegesis of the *Analects* passage regarding Zang Wenzhong’s "usurpation of position," utilizing philological analysis and historical contextualization to examine the political ethics underlying his failure to promote the virtuous Liuxia Hui. By synthesizing evidence from the *Zuo Zhuan* and the *Records of the Grand Historian*, the study elucidates Confucius's profound discourse on the legitimacy of political authority and the moral imperatives of personnel selection.

This article offers an in-depth reading of the opening core text of Xunzi's Discourse on Ritual (Lilun), systematically analyzing the logical chain by which ritual arises from human desire and social conflict, elucidating the structural vision of 'honoring the root is called pattern; cleaving to function is called order,' and exploring the graduated levels of abundance, reduction, and the middle course in ritual, together with the Way of the noble person.

This article offers an in-depth interpretation of Liqiu (Start of Autumn) among the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, drawing on pre-Qin Confucian and Daoist philosophy, the original meanings of Chinese characters, and astronomical-phenological perspectives. By examining the etymological roots of 'qiu' (autumn) as grain-and-fire, the astronomical coordinate of 135° solar longitude, and the image of Hexagram Pi (Standstill) from the Yijing — 'Heaven and Earth do not interact' — it reveals Liqiu as the pivotal moment when all things shift from 'growth' to 'gathering,' illuminating the virtue of Metal, the onset of solemn killing, and the ancient roots of the autumnal grief tradition.

This article explores Chushu (End of Heat) from the perspectives of pre-Qin Confucian and Daoist philosophy, etymological origins, and astronomical phenology, revealing the wisdom shared between 'heat ceases at this point' and 'knowing where to stop, one finds stability.' Through analysis of the character chu (to stop), the hawk's ritual offering of birds, the onset of heaven and earth's solemnity, and the grain's ascent as a return to origins, the article illuminates the ancient way of measured restraint and reverent remembrance.

This article offers an in-depth examination of the "Dali" chapter of the *Xunzi*, focusing on the dialectic between penal law and moral virtue (*xingde*) alongside the discourse of the "heaven-ordained people" (*tianmin*). By analyzing the historical evolution of penal practices, it elucidates the core tenets of pre-Qin Confucian populism and governance philosophy, underscoring the critical role of ritual and music in moral transformation while uncovering the metaphysical foundations of social order embedded in pre-Qin political thought.

This article offers an in-depth reading of the twelve characters 'Frost's Descent — welcome the bride; ice thaws — gradually cease; every ten days — one conjugal union,' tracing their origins through the Rites of Zhou, the Record of Rites, and other pre-Qin classics, and analyzing the marriage-season restrictions, yin-yang philosophy, agrarian-political considerations, and conjugal temperance they encode, with the aim of reconstructing the core of the pre-Qin ritual-thought system.