《論語．八佾》篇「禘自既灌而往」章只記錄孔子的話語，沒有清楚交代孔子說話的特定語境。加上前人說禘紛然殽亂，甚或互相牴啎，為後人理解《論語》此章平添了許多障礙。唐寫本鄭玄《論語注》的發現，對理解鄭義至關重要。諸家整理寫本，大多把「盛」當成「甚」的誤字，非禮之「甚」就是極為非禮。此說大誤。「禘祭之禮，自血腥始」，意謂禘祭的正祭就從薦血腥開始。「至於尸灌而神事訖」，指灌尸而尸祭於地以求神，神降之後，神事也就此完結。不欲觀，是因為灌尸祭地降神後的儀節，包括朝踐薦血腥、饋食薦熟食及食後酳尸，都是些相當繁縟的人事小節，並非禘禮的大節。就義理而言，《易傳》與《論語》每有契合、可相發明之處。馬融、虞翻、王弼以「禘自既灌而往」章說《易．觀》之意。灌祭所包含的禮意精神，在宋代理學家那裏得到進一步的發揮。

The passage from the Analects, “As for that part of the di sacrifice which follows the opening libation, I do not wish to witness it,” has long been misinterpreted by almost all commentators from ancient times to the present because they believed that Confucius felt indignation at the di sacrifice being performed in Lu. This paper presents Zheng Xuan’s (127-200) annotation of the passage, which is imperative to understanding what Confucius really meant. It argues that the character sheng in Zheng Xuan’s annotation refers to the most important part of the di sacrifice. According to Zheng’s interpretation, Confucius expresses his views that the climax of the di sacrifice lies in the pouring of the opening libation (guan) for the impersonator, in which the worshipper spiritually interacts with his ancestor, and that the ensuing ceremonies are not worth witnessing. This interpretation accords completely with some Han and Song scholars’ commentaries on Hexagram 20 (Guan) in the Book of Changes and this attests to the correlation of the Analects and the Book of Changes and its commentaries. This paper thus provides reflections on the interpretation of the Analects.