子曰:“夏礼,吾能言之,杞不足征也;殷礼,吾能言之,宋不足征也。文献不足故也。足,则吾能征之足矣。”
The Master said: I can describe the li of Xia Dynasty, but my description can't be verified by its descendants in the state of Qi. I can describe li of the Yin Dynasty, but my descriptions can't be verified by its descendant in the state of Song. Not enough documents survive, if they did, I could verify what I say.
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