Pitch-Pot

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.8

Word count: 769 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The Rite of Pitch-Pot: The host holds the arrows, the master of archery holds the tally-stand, and a servant holds the pot. The host invites: "I have crooked arrows and a misshapen pot; I beg to use them for the guests' enjoyment." The guest replies: "You have already bestowed fine wine and good fare upon me; to add further amusement—I dare not accept." The host says: "Crooked arrows and a misshapen pot are not worth declining; I venture to press the invitation." The guest says: "You have already bestowed your gifts; to add further amusement—I dare firmly decline." The host says: "Crooked arrows and a misshapen pot are not worth declining; I venture to press the invitation." The guest says: "Since I may not obtain your command by declining, how dare I not respectfully comply?" The guest bows twice and receives [the arrows]; the host turns aside and says: "Avoid [ceremony]." The host bows and escorts him from the eastern steps; the guest turns aside and says: "Avoid [ceremony]." This done, he receives the arrows, advances to stand between the two pillars, retreats to his place, and bows to the guest to take his seat at the mat.

Editor's review

Touhu is a short chapter recording an ancient banquet rite. Bashu Press has issued it as a stand-alone volume so that readers can focus on touhu, an activity that combines ceremonial propriety with playful contest. The text centers on the polite dialogue of host and guest: from the arrangement of objects—“the host holds the arrows, the master of archery holds the tally”—to the repeated demurrals of “may we please entertain the guests,” and on to the ritual gestures of “bowing twice to receive” and “turning aside and saying ‘I decline.’” It presents the complete opening sequence of a touhu ceremony. Its value lies in the way its highly concrete ritual details reflect the behavioral norms of “respect” and “yielding” in pre-Qin aristocratic interaction: the host humbles himself with “crooked arrows and a small pot,” the guest responds with “I venture to decline” and “I firmly decline,” and in this back-and-forth of courtesy, hierarchy, affection, and the propriety of the occasion are each given their place. The prose is spare and the action descriptions dense, making it a suitable micro-sample for understanding ritual life in antiquity. Readers can see how ritual constructs order through objects, positions, words, and bodily posture, and can also savor it as a short classical narrative, appreciating the care with which the ancients brought a game within the framework of rites and music.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in pre-Qin ritual, banquet culture, or ancient games
Students who need short classical narrative material to understand how ritual texts were written
Practitioners in traditional culture popularization or etiquette education looking for concrete examples of ritual procedure
General readers who enjoy approaching historical life through details of objects and actions

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for touhu techniques, win-loss rules, or gameplay guides
Scholars who need a systematic theoretical framework of ritual studies and are not satisfied with a single record of ritual procedure
Readers who find classical dialogue tedious and prefer narrative storytelling

Reading tips

First clarify the participants and objects: what the host, guest, and master of archery each do, and what “arrows,” “tally,” and “pot” refer to; draw a simple diagram of their positions.
Mark out the three rounds of host-guest demurral separately, observe how the wording of each refusal and response changes, and sense the ritual rhythm of “firmly requesting” and “firmly declining.”
Read alongside common introductory material on relevant chapters of the Book of Rites to understand where the touhu rite stands in the sequence of a banquet; there is no need to delve into elaborate commentaries.
Try retelling the ritual procedure in modern vernacular, then return to the original and check which details of action were omitted in the retelling, and consider their function.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
投壶第四十

FAQ

Is touhu merely an ancient game?

Touhu has a dual character as both amusement and ritual. As this chapter shows, it has fixed objects and arrangements, a procedure of host-guest demurral, and a master of archery presiding over it; it is an activity conducted according to ritual at banquets. The ancients often used touhu in place of the archery rite, completing indoors a restrained form of competition and social intercourse, so it cannot simply be equated with an ordinary game.

Why does this chapter contain so much dialogue of host and guest declining?

Repeated demurral is part of the expression of ritual. The host humbles himself with “crooked arrows and a small pot” and persists in inviting; the guest expresses thanks with “you have already bestowed it” and declines. Through “firmly requesting” and “firmly declining,” both sides display respect and propriety. This dialogue is not empty courtesy but a necessary part of what makes the ceremony valid, embodying the norms of “respect” and “yielding.”

Can I understand it without knowing ancient ritual?

You can basically grasp the general meaning, but some ritual gestures require annotation. For example, “turning aside and saying ‘I decline’” involves the posture of turning away, and “the eastern steps” and “between the two pillars” involve positions in the hall. It is advisable to choose an annotated translation, first grasp the outline of the procedure, then look closely at the meaning of the action descriptions; there is no need to investigate every ritual term from the start.

What practical use does reading this have today?

It offers a micro-perspective for observing ritual and social interaction. In the touhu rite, objects, words, positions, and actions work together to create a restrained atmosphere of social intercourse. Modern readers can use it to reflect on how procedure, modesty, and bodily posture convey respect on formal occasions, and it can also serve as a concrete case for discussion in classes on traditional culture.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.