5. Theking replied, ＇It did,＇ and then Mencius said, ＇The heart seen in this is sufficient to carry you to the royal sway. The people all supposed that your Majesty grudged the animal, but your servant knows surely,that it was your Majesty＇s not being able to bear thesight, which made you do as you did.＇
Ch? Hsi explains 衅钟 from the meaning of 衅 as＇a crack＇, ＇a crevice＇, saying:-—＇After the casting of a bell, they killed an animal, took its blood, and suneared over the crevices.＇ But the first meaning of衅 is —＇a sacrifice by blood＇, and anciently ＇almost all things＇, connected with their religious worship,were among the Chinese purified with blood;—their temples, and the vessels in them. See the Li Chi, Bk.XXII. The reference here is to the religious rite. The only thing is that, in using an ox to consecrate his bell,the prince of Ch＇? was usurping a royal privilege.