1
是時既滅兩粵，粵人勇之乃言「粵人俗鬼，而其祠皆見鬼，數有效。 昔東甌王敬鬼，壽百六十歲。 後世怠嫚，故衰耗。」 乃命粵巫立粵祝祠，安臺無壇，亦祠天神帝百鬼，而以雞卜。 上信之，粵祠雞卜自此始用。
After the two Yue states had been destroyed, a Yue man named Yongzhi said: "The Yue people are accustomed to worshiping ghosts, and in their rites ghosts appear, often with real efficacy. In former times the King of Eastern Ou revered ghosts and lived to one hundred and sixty years. Later generations grew lax and irreverent, and so declined and weakened." So he ordered Yue shamans to establish Yue invocatory shrines, sacrificing on a level terrace without an altar mound, and also to the heavenly gods, the Thearch, and the hundred ghosts, using chicken divination. The emperor believed this, and from then on chicken divination was used in Yue rites.
2
公孫卿曰：「僊人可見，上往常遽，以故不見。 今陛下可為館如緱氏城，置脯棗，神人宜可致。 且僊人好樓居。」 於是上令長安則作飛廉、桂館，甘泉則作益壽、延壽館，使卿持節設具而候神人。 乃作通天臺，置祠具其下，將招來神僊之屬。 於是甘泉更置前殿，始廣諸宮室。 夏，有芝生甘泉殿房內中。 天子為塞河，興通天，若有光云，乃下詔赦天下。
Gongsun Qing said: "Immortals can be seen, but Your Majesty has always gone in haste, and so has not seen them. If Your Majesty builds lodgings like Goushi City and sets out dried meat and dates, spirit-men should be summonable. And immortals prefer to dwell in towers." So the emperor ordered the Feilian and Gui pavilions built at Chang'an, and the Yishou and Yanshou pavilions at Ganquan, sending Qing to bear the tally, prepare offerings, and await the spirit-men. He then built the Tongtian Terrace, with ritual implements beneath it, intending to summon divine immortals. Accordingly, a new front hall was added at Ganquan, beginning a broad expansion of palace buildings. That summer, zhi fungus grew inside the chamber rooms of Ganquan Hall. While the Son of Heaven was blocking the river and building Tongtian, there was said to be a strange light, and he issued an amnesty throughout the realm.
3
其明年，伐朝鮮。 夏，旱。 公孫卿曰：「黃帝時封則天旱，乾封三年。」 上乃下詔：「天旱，意乾封乎？ 其令天下尊祠靈星焉。」
The following year, he campaigned against Joseon. In summer there was drought. Gongsun Qing said: "In the Yellow Thearch's time, when Feng rites were performed, there was also drought; Qianfeng lasted three years." So the emperor issued an edict: "This drought—could it be a sign of Qianfeng? Let the realm honor and sacrifice to the Spirit Star."
4
明年，上郊雍五畤，通回中道，遂北出蕭關，歷獨鹿、鳴澤，自西河歸，幸河東祠后土。
The next year the emperor held suburban rites at Yong's five altars, opened the Huizhong route, then went north out through Xiao Pass, passed Dulu and Ming Marsh, returned by Xihe, and visited Hedong to sacrifice to Houtu.
5
明年冬，上巡南郡，至江陵而東。 登禮灊之天柱山，號曰南嶽。 浮江，自潯陽出樅陽，過彭蠡，禮其名山川。 北至琅邪，並海上。 四月，至奉高修封焉。
The following winter he inspected Nanjun, reached Jiangling, and continued east. He ascended and ritually honored Tianzhu Mountain at Qian, naming it the Southern Peak. He floated down the river, from Xunyang out by Zongyang, passed Pengli, and performed rites at famous mountains and rivers. He went north to Langya, traveling along the coast. In the fourth month he reached Fenggao and renewed the Feng rites.
6
初，天子封泰山，泰山東北阯古時有明堂處，處險不敞。 上欲治明堂奉高旁，未曉其制度。 濟南人公玉帶上黃帝時明堂圖。 明堂中有一殿，四面無壁，以茅蓋，通水，水圜宮垣，為復道，上有樓，從西南入，名曰昆侖，天子從之入，以拜祀上帝焉。 於是上令奉高作明堂汶上，如帶圖。 及是歲修封，則祠泰一、五帝於明堂上坐，合高皇帝祠坐對之。 祠后土於下房，以二十太牢。 天子從昆侖道入，始拜明堂如郊禮。 畢，抠堂下。 而上又上泰山，自有祕祠其顛。 而泰山下祠五帝，各如其方，黃帝并赤帝所，有司侍祠焉。 山上舉火，下悉應之。 還幸甘泉，郊泰畤。 春幸汾陰，祠后土。
At first, when the Son of Heaven performed Feng at Mount Tai, there was an ancient Mingtang site at the mountain's northeastern foot, but the place was steep and cramped. The emperor wanted to build a Mingtang near Fenggao but did not understand its design. A man of Jinan, Gongyu Dai, presented a Mingtang diagram from the Yellow Thearch's time. Within it, the Mingtang had one central hall, open on all four sides with no walls, thatched with reeds, and connected by water. Water circled the palace wall, forming a raised passage with a tower above it. Entry was from the southwest, called Kunlun, and through it the Son of Heaven entered to bow and sacrifice to the High Thearch. So the emperor ordered a Mingtang built above the Wen River at Fenggao according to Dai's diagram. That year, when renewing the Feng rites, he sacrificed to Taiyi and the Five Thearchs at the upper seats of the Mingtang, with the sacrificial seat for Emperor Gao facing them. He sacrificed to Houtu in the lower chamber, using twenty full ox victims. The Son of Heaven entered by the Kunlun way and for the first time bowed in the Mingtang according to suburban rites. When the rites were complete, he descended below the hall. Then the emperor ascended Mount Tai again and held secret rites at the summit. Below Mount Tai, sacrifices to the Five Thearchs were arranged according to their directions; the Yellow Thearch was placed together with the Red Thearch, and officials attended the rites. Fires were raised on the mountain, and all below answered with corresponding fires. He returned to Ganquan and held suburban rites at the Tai altar. In spring he visited Fenyin and sacrificed to Houtu.
7
明年，幸泰山，以十一月甲子朔旦冬至日祀上帝於明堂，後每修封。 其贊饗曰：「天增授皇帝泰元神策，周而復始。 皇帝敬拜泰一。」 東至海上，考入海及方士求神者，莫驗，然益遣，幾遇之。 乙酉，柏梁災。 十二月甲午朔，上親禪高里，祠后土。 臨勃海，將以望祀蓬萊之屬，幾至殊庭焉。
The next year he visited Mount Tai, and on the jiazi new-moon dawn of the winter solstice in the eleventh month, he sacrificed to the High Thearch in the Mingtang; afterward this was done whenever the Feng rites were renewed. The offering hymn said: "Heaven has additionally bestowed on the emperor the great-origin divine register, cycling and beginning again. The emperor reverently bows to Taiyi." Going east to the coast, he investigated those who had gone into the sea and the fangshi who sought spirits. Nothing could be verified, yet he sent out still more, hoping to encounter them. On yiyou day, Boliang burned. On jiawu new moon of the twelfth month, the emperor personally performed Shan rite at Gaoli and sacrificed to Houtu. He came to the Bohai shore, intending distant sacrifice to Penglai and the like, nearly reaching the strange court.
8
上還，以柏梁災故，受計甘泉。 公孫卿曰：「黃帝就青靈臺，十二日燒，黃帝乃治明庭。 明庭，甘泉也。」 方士多言古帝王有都甘泉者。 其後天子又朝諸侯甘泉，甘泉作諸侯邸。 勇之乃曰：「粵俗有火災，復起屋，必以大，用勝服之。」 於是作建章宮，度為千門萬戶。 前殿度高未央。 其東則鳳闕，高二十餘丈。 其西則商中，數十里虎圈。 其北治大池，漸臺高二十餘丈，名曰泰液，池中有蓬萊、方丈、瀛州、壺梁，象海中神山龜魚之屬。 其南有玉堂璧門大鳥之屬。 立神明臺、井幹樓，高五十丈，輦道相屬焉。
On returning, because of the Boliang fire, he held assessments at Ganquan. Gongsun Qing said: "The Yellow Thearch went to the Qingling Terrace; it burned for twelve days, and only then did the Yellow Thearch construct the Mingting. Mingting is Ganquan." Many fangshi said ancient emperors had capitals at Ganquan. After this, the emperor again received feudal lords at Ganquan, and Ganquan built lodgings for them. Yongzhi then said: "In Yue custom, after fire disaster one must rebuild houses on a grand scale to overcome and suppress it." So Jianzhang Palace was built, planned as a thousand gates and ten thousand households. Its front hall was designed higher than Weiyang. To the east were Phoenix Towers, over twenty zhang high. To the west was Shangzhong, with tiger enclosures extending dozens of li. To the north a great pond was built, with the Jian Terrace rising more than twenty zhang high, called Taiye. Within the pond were Penglai, Fangzhang, Yingzhou, and Huliang, imitating the spirit mountains in the sea and creatures such as turtles and fish. To the south were Jade Hall, Jasper Gate, and great bird features. The Shenming Terrace and Jinggan Tower were erected, fifty zhang high, with elevated carriage ways connecting them.
9
夏，漢改曆，以正月為歲首，而色上黃，官更印章以五字，因為太初元年。 是歲，西伐大宛，蝗大起。 丁夫人、雒陽虞初等以方祠詛匈奴、大宛焉。
In summer, Han changed the calendar, making the first month the start of the year, elevating yellow as the paramount color in accord with earth virtue, and replacing official seals with five-character legends, thereby establishing the first year of Taichu. That year Han campaigned west against Dayuan, and locusts rose massively. Lady Ding and Yu Chu of Luoyang used occult rites to curse the Xiongnu and Dayuan.
10
明年，有司言雍五畤無牢孰具，芬芳不備。 乃令祠官進畤犢牢具，色食所勝，而以木寓馬代駒云。 及諸名山川用駒者，悉以木寓馬代。 獨行過親祠，乃用駒，它禮如故。
The next year, officials said the five Yong altars lacked fully prepared victims and complete fragrant offerings. So sacrificial officers were ordered to present calves and full offerings at the altars, with colors and food matching the phases they conquered, and to use wooden model horses in place of colts. At all famous mountains and rivers where colts had been used, wooden model horses replaced them. Only when the emperor passed and sacrificed in person were real colts used; other rites remained as before.
11
明年，東巡海上，考神僊之屬，未有驗者。 方士有言黃帝時為五城十二樓，以候神人於執期，名曰迎年。 上許作之如方，名曰明年。 上親禮祠，上犢黃焉。
The next year he toured the eastern coast and examined spirit-immortal matters; there was still no verification. Some fangshi said that in the Yellow Thearch's time there were five cities and twelve towers for awaiting spirit-men at the appointed seasons, called "welcoming the year." The emperor approved building them as prescribed and named it "Mingnian." The emperor personally performed rites and offered yellow calves.
12
公玉帶曰：「黃帝時雖封泰山，然風后、封鉅、岐伯令黃帝封東泰山，禪凡山，合符，然後不死。」 天子既令設祠具，至東泰山，東泰山卑小，不稱其聲，乃令祠官禮之，而不封焉。 其後令帶奉祠候神物。 復還泰山，修五年之禮如前，而加禪祠石閭。 石閭者，在泰山下阯南方，方士言僊人閭也，故上親禪焉。
Gongyu Dai said: "Although the Yellow Thearch performed Feng at Mount Tai, Fenghou, Fengju, and Qibo instructed him to perform Feng at East Mount Tai and Shan at Fan Mountain, matching the tallies; only then did he become deathless." After the Son of Heaven ordered ritual preparations and reached East Mount Tai, he found it low and small, not matching its reputation, so he ordered the sacrificial officers to perform rites there but did not perform Feng. Afterward he ordered Dai to maintain sacrifice and await divine signs. He returned again to Mount Tai and observed the five-year rite as before, adding a Shan sacrifice at Shilu. Shilu is south below Mount Tai's base; fangshi said it was a ward of immortals, so the emperor personally performed Shan there.
13
其後五年，復至泰山修封，還過祭恆山。
Five years later he again came to Mount Tai for renewed Feng rites, and on return passed by and sacrificed at Mount Heng.
14
自封泰山後，十三歲而周遍於五嶽、四瀆矣。
From his first Feng at Mount Tai, after thirteen years he had made the full circuit of the Five Peaks and Four Waterways.
15
後五年，復至泰山修封。 東幸琅邪，禮日成山，登之罘，浮大海，用事八神延年。 又祠神人於交門宮，若有鄉坐拜者云。
Five years later, he again came to Mount Tai to renew Feng rites. He went east to Langya, ritually honored the sun at Cheng Mountain, climbed Zhifu, sailed on the great sea, and conducted rites to the Eight Spirits for long life. He also sacrificed to spirit-men at Jiaomen Palace, where there seemed to be someone seated facing inward and bowing.
16
後五年，上復修封於泰山。 東游東萊，臨大海。 是歲，雍縣無雲如剨者三，或如虹氣蒼黃，若飛鳥集棫陽宮南，聲聞四百里。 隕石二，黑如黳，有司以為美祥，以薦宗廟。 而方士之候神入海求蓬萊者終無驗，公孫卿猶以大人之跡為解。 天子猶羈縻不絕，幾遇其真。
Five years later, the emperor again renewed Feng rites at Mount Tai. He toured east to Donglai and approached the great sea. That year in Yong county, the sky split three times without clouds, and there was vapor like blue-yellow rainbow qi, like flying birds gathering south of Yuyang Palace, with a sound heard four hundred li away. Two meteorites fell, black as dark dye; officials deemed them auspicious and offered them to the ancestral temple. Yet the fangshi who awaited gods and went to sea seeking Penglai never obtained verification; Gongsun Qing still explained the matter away as tracks of great beings. The Son of Heaven still held to them without breaking off, hoping to meet the real thing.
17
諸所興，如薄忌泰一及三一、冥羊、馬行、赤星，五床。 寬舒之祠宮以歲時致禮。 凡六祠，皆大祝領之。 至如八神，諸明年、凡山它名祠，行過則祠，去則已。 方士所興祠，各自主，其人終則已，祠官不主。 它祠皆如故。 甘泉泰一、汾陰后土，三年親郊祠，而泰山五年一修封。 武帝凡五修封。 昭帝即位，富於春秋，未嘗親巡祭云。
Among established cults were Bo Ji's Taiyi and Three Ones, Mingyang, Maxing, Red Star, and Five Beds. At Kuan Shu's shrine-palace, rites were offered seasonally. In all there were six such shrines, all overseen by the Grand Invocator. As for the Eight Spirits, all Mingnian shrines, Fan Mountain, and other named shrines, rites were performed when passing and stopped when leaving. Shrines initiated by fangshi each had their own master; when that person died, the shrine ended, and sacrificial offices did not manage them. All other shrines remained as before. At Ganquan-Taiyi and Fenyin-Houtu, the emperor personally performed suburban rites every three years; at Mount Tai, Feng rites were renewed every five years. Emperor Wu renewed Feng rites five times in total. When Emperor Zhao took the throne, he was still young in years and never personally made inspection sacrifices.
18
宣帝即位，由武帝正統興，故立三年，尊孝武廟為世宗，行所巡狩郡國皆立廟。 告祠世宗廟日，有白鶴集後庭。 以立世宗廟告祠孝昭寢，有鴈五色集殿前。 西河築世宗廟，神光興於殿旁，有鳥如白鶴，前赤後青。 神光又興於房中，如燭狀。 廣川國世宗廟殿上有鍾音，門戶大開，夜有光，殿上盡明。 上乃下詔赦天下。
When Emperor Xuan took the throne, because he had arisen from Emperor Wu's legitimate line, in his third year he honored Emperor Wu's temple as Shizong and established temples in all commanderies and kingdoms that Emperor Wu had visited on tours. On the day of proclamation sacrifice at Shizong's temple, a white crane gathered in the rear court. When announcing establishment of Shizong's temple at Emperor Zhao's mausoleum, five-colored geese gathered before the hall. When Shizong's temple was being built in Xihe, divine light arose beside the hall, and a bird like a white crane appeared, red in front and blue-green behind. Divine light again arose within a chamber, shaped like a candle. At Shizong's temple in Guangchuan state, a bell sound came from atop the hall; the doors and gates opened wide, and at night there was light, making the entire hall bright. The emperor then issued an amnesty for the whole realm.
19
時，大將軍霍光輔政，上共己正南面，非宗廟之祀不出。 十二年，乃下詔曰：「蓋聞天子尊事天地，修祀山川，古今通禮也。 間者，上帝之祠闕而不親十有餘年，朕甚懼焉。 朕親飭躬齊戒，親奉祀，為百姓蒙嘉氣，獲豐年焉。」
At this time Grand General Huo Guang assisted in government; the emperor restrained himself and faced south as ruler, and did not leave the palace except for ancestral-temple rites. In the twelfth year he issued an edict: "I have heard that for the Son of Heaven, honoring Heaven and Earth and maintaining the rites to mountains and rivers is a common ritual norm of antiquity and the present. Recently, sacrifice to the High Thearch has been lacking and unattended in person for over ten years; I am deeply fearful. I have personally purified and disciplined myself and personally performed the rites, so that the people may receive auspicious qi and obtain abundant harvests."
20
明年正月，上始幸甘泉，郊見泰畤，數有美祥。 修武帝故事，盛車服，敬齊祠之禮，頗作詩歌。
In first month of the next year, the emperor first visited Ganquan and made suburban audience at the Tai altar; auspicious signs appeared repeatedly. He restored Emperor Wu's precedents, made carriage and dress splendid, and reverently observed fasting and sacrificial rites, composing some hymns.
21
其三月，幸河東，祠后土，有神爵集，改元為神爵。 制詔太常：「夫江海，百川之大者也，今闕焉無祠。 其令祠官以禮為歲事，以四時祠江海雒水，祈為天下豐年焉。」 自是五嶽、四瀆皆有常禮。 東嶽泰山於博，中嶽泰室於嵩高，南嶽灊山於灊，西嶽華山於華陰，北嶽常山於上曲陽，河於臨晉，江於江都，淮於平氏，濟於臨邑界中，皆使者持節侍祠。 唯泰山與河歲五祠，江水四，餘皆一禱而三祠云。
That third month he visited Hedong, sacrificed to Houtu, and as divine birds gathered changed the era name to Shenjue. He ordered the Grand Minister of Ceremonies: "The Jiang and the sea are the greatest among waters, yet now they lack rites. Order the sacrificial officials to establish annual rites according to proper ritual and to perform four-season sacrifices to the Yangzi, the sea, and the Luo waters, praying for abundant harvests for all under Heaven." From this point the Five Peaks and Four Waterways all had regular ritual schedules. Eastern Peak Mount Tai at Bo, Central Peak Taishi at Songgao, Southern Peak Qian Mountain at Qian, Western Peak Mount Hua at Huayin, Northern Peak Mount Chang at Upper Quyang, the Yellow River at Linjin, the Yangzi at Jiangdu, the Huai at Pingshi, and the Ji within the boundary of Linyi were all served by envoys bearing tallies. Only Mount Tai and the River had five annual rites, Jiang had four; all others had one prayer and three rites.
22
時，南郡獲白虎，獻其皮牙爪，上為立祠。 又以方士言，為隨侯、劍寶、玉寶璧、周康寶鼎立四祠於未央宮中。 又祠太室山於即墨，三戶山於下密，祠天封苑火井於鴻門。 又立歲星、辰星、太白、熒惑、南斗祠於長安城旁。 又祠參山八神於曲城，蓬山石社石鼓於臨朐，之罘山於腄，成山於不夜，萊山於黃。 成山祠日，萊山祠月。 又祠四時於琅邪，蚩尤於壽良。 京師近縣鄠，則有勞谷、五床山、日月、五帝、僊人、玉女祠。 雲陽有徑路神祠，祭休屠王也。 又立五龍山僊人祠及黃帝、天神、帝原水，凡四祠於膚施。
At this time Nanjun captured a white tiger and presented its skin, teeth, and claws; the emperor established a shrine for it. And on the advice of fangshi, he established four shrines in Weiyang Palace for Marquis Sui's jewel, the Sword Jewel, the Jade Jewel Disc, and Duke Kang's Zhou tripod. He also sacrificed to Taishi Mountain at Jimo, Sanhu Mountain at Xiami, and to Heavenly-sealed Garden Fire-well at Hongmen. He also established shrines for Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Southern Dipper beside Chang'an. He also offered sacrifices at Qucheng to the Eight Spirits of Can Mountain, at Linqu to Peng Mountain's Stone Altar and Stone Drum, at Chui to Zhifu Mountain, at Buye to Cheng Mountain, and at Huang to Lai Mountain. At Cheng Mountain he sacrificed to the sun; at Lai Mountain to the moon. He also sacrificed to the Four Seasons at Langya and to Chiyou at Shouliang. In Hu county near the capital there were shrines to Laogu, Wuchuang Mountain, sun and moon, Five Thearchs, immortals, and jade maidens. At Yunyang there was a roadside spirit shrine, sacrificing to King Xiutu. He also established at Fushi four shrines: Wulong Mountain immortal shrine, Yellow Thearch shrine, Heavenly Spirit shrine, and Diyuan Water shrine.
23
或言益州有金馬碧雞之神，可醮祭而致，於是遣諫大夫王褒使持節而求之。
Someone said Yizhou had the spirits of Golden Horse and Jade Rooster, which could be brought by jiao offerings, so he sent Remonstrant Grandee Wang Bao, bearing a tally, to seek them.
24
大夫劉更生獻淮南枕中洪寶苑祕之方，令尚方鑄作。 事不驗，更生坐論。 京兆尹張敞上疏諫曰：「願明主時忘車馬之好，斥遠方士之虛語，游心帝王之術，太平庶幾可興也。」 後尚方待詔皆罷。
Grandee Liu Gengsheng presented secret formulas from Huainan's Pillow-Book Great Treasure Garden and had the Imperial Workshop cast and produce them. When they proved ineffective, Gengsheng was convicted and censured. Capital Governor Zhang Chang memorialized in remonstrance: "May the enlightened ruler at times forget his fondness for fine chariots and horses, reject the empty talk of distant fangshi, and turn his mind to the methods of ancient emperors and kings; then great peace may perhaps be revived." Afterward all workshop consultants were dismissed.
25
是時，美陽得鼎，獻之。 下有司議，多以為宜薦見宗廟，如元鼎時故事。 張敞好古文字，桉鼎銘勒而上議曰：「臣聞周祖始乎后稷，后稷封於斄，公劉發跡於豳，大王建國於廄梁，文武興於酆鎬。 由此言之，則廄梁豐鎬之間周舊居也，固宜有宗廟壇場祭祀之臧。 今鼎出於廄東，中有刻書曰：『王命尸臣：「官此栒邑，賜爾旂鸞黼黻琱戈。」 尸臣拜手稽首曰：「敢對揚天子丕顯休命。」』 臣愚不足以跡古文，竊以傳記言之，此鼎殆周之所以褒賜大臣，大臣子孫刻銘其先功，臧之於宮廟也。 昔寶鼎之出於汾脽也，河東太守以聞，詔曰：『朕巡祭后土，祈為百姓蒙豐年，今穀嗛未報，鼎焉為出哉？』 博問耆老，意舊臧與？ 誠欲考得事實也。 有司驗脽上非舊臧處，鼎大八尺一寸，高三尺六寸，殊異於眾鼎。 今此鼎細小，又有款識，不宜薦見於宗廟。」 制曰：「京兆尹議是。」
At this time a tripod was found at Meiyang and presented. Officials were ordered to deliberate; most said it should be presented to the ancestral temple as in the Yuanding precedent. Zhang Chang, skilled in ancient script, examined the tripod inscription and submitted this opinion: "I hear that Zhou ancestry began with Houji, who was enfeoffed at Tai; Gong Liu rose at Bin; the Great King founded the state at Juliang; Wen and Wu prospered at Feng and Hao. From this it follows that between Ju-Liang and Feng-Hao were old Zhou settlements where one would indeed expect temple altars and ritual deposits. Now this tripod emerged east of Ju, and inside is an inscription: 'The king commands Minister Shi: "Administer this Xun city; I grant you a banner with luan-bells, embroidered insignia, and carved halberds."' Minister Shi bowed with hands joined and touched his forehead to the ground, saying: 'I dare to proclaim and magnify the Son of Heaven's great and manifest gracious command.' Though my foolish understanding is insufficient to trace ancient script, judging privately from transmitted records, this tripod was likely something Zhou used to commend and reward a great minister, whose descendants inscribed their ancestor's merit and stored it in palace temples. When the precious tripod emerged at Fenshui, the Administrator of Hedong reported it; the edict then said: 'I toured and sacrificed to Houtu, praying that the people receive abundant harvests. The grain harvest has not yet answered that prayer, so why has the tripod emerged?' He broadly questioned elders, seeking whether it had been an old deposit. He truly wished to verify facts. Officials inspected the mound and found that it was not an old storage site; that tripod was eight chi and one cun wide and three chi and six cun high, very different from ordinary tripods. This present tripod is small and has inscriptions; it should not be presented in ancestral temple audience." The decree said: "The Capital Commandant's judgment is correct."
26
上自幸河東之明年正月，鳳皇集祋祤，於所集處得玉寶，起步壽宮，乃下詔赦天下。 後間歲，鳳皇神爵甘露降集京師，赦天下。 其冬，鳳皇集上林，乃作鳳皇殿，以答嘉瑞。 明年正月，復幸甘泉，郊泰畤，改元曰五鳳。 明年，幸雍祠五畤。 其明年春，幸河東，祠后土，赦天下。 後間歲，改元為甘露。 正月，上幸甘泉，郊泰畤。 其夏，黃龍見新豐。 建章、未央、長樂宮鍾虡銅人皆生毛，長一寸所，時以為美祥。 後間歲正月，上郊泰畤，因朝單于於甘泉宮。 後間歲，改元為黃龍。 正月，復幸甘泉，郊泰畤，又朝單于於甘泉宮。 至冬而崩。 鳳皇下郡國凡五十餘所。
In the first month of the year after the emperor personally visited Hedong, phoenixes gathered at Duiyu, and at the place where they gathered a jade treasure was found. Bushou Palace was built, and an amnesty was issued throughout the realm. In subsequent years, phoenixes, divine birds, and sweet dew descended and gathered in the capital, and amnesties were proclaimed. That winter phoenixes gathered in Shanglin, so Phoenix Hall was built to respond to the auspicious omen. In first month next year, he again visited Ganquan, made suburban rites at Tai altar, and changed era name to Wufeng. The next year he visited Yong and sacrificed at the five altars. In spring of the following year, he visited Hedong, sacrificed to Houtu, and granted amnesty. In a later alternating year, the era name was changed to Ganlu. In first month, the emperor visited Ganquan and made suburban rites at Tai altar. That summer a yellow dragon appeared at Xinfeng. Bronze figures on the bell-racks of Jianzhang, Weiyang, and Changle palaces all grew hair about one cun long, which was then regarded as auspicious. In a later alternating year's first month, the emperor sacrificed at the Tai altar and then held court for the Chanyu at Ganquan Palace. In another alternating year, the era was changed to Huanglong. In the first month he again visited Ganquan, sacrificed at the Tai altar, and again held court for the Chanyu there. By winter he died. Phoenixes descended in commanderies and kingdoms at over fifty sites.
27
元帝即位，遵舊儀，間歲正月，一幸甘泉郊泰畤，又東至河東祠后土，西至雍祠五畤。 凡五奉泰畤、后土之祠。 亦施恩澤，時所過毋出田租，賜百戶牛酒，或賜爵，赦罪人。
When Emperor Yuan took the throne, he followed old ritual: every other year, in the first month, he visited Ganquan for the suburban Tai rites, then went east to Hedong for Houtu and west to Yong for the five altars. In all, he personally performed Tai and Houtu rites five times. He also bestowed favors: where he passed, that year's land tax was remitted; one hundred households were granted oxen and wine; sometimes ranks were granted and prisoners were pardoned.
28
元帝好儒，貢禹、韋玄成、匡衡等相繼為公卿。 禹建言漢家宗廟祭祀多不應古禮，上是其言。 後韋玄成為丞相，議罷郡國廟，自太上皇、孝惠帝諸園寢廟皆罷。 後元帝寢疾，夢神靈譴罷諸廟祠，上遂復焉。 後或罷或復，至哀、平不定。 語在韋玄成傳。
Emperor Yuan favored Confucian learning, and Gong Yu, Wei Xuancheng, Kuang Heng, and others successively became high ministers. Yu argued that many Han ancestral rites did not accord with ancient ritual, and the emperor accepted his view. Later, when Wei Xuancheng became chancellor, he deliberated abolishing the commandery and kingdom temples; from the Supreme Emperor and Emperor Hui onward, the mausoleum-park temples were all abolished. Later, when Emperor Yuan was gravely ill, he dreamed of spirits reproaching abolition of the temples, and so restored them. Afterward some were abolished and some restored; through Ai and Ping it remained unsettled. This is recorded in Wei Xuancheng's biography.
29
成帝初即位，丞相衡、御史大夫譚奏言：「帝王之事莫大乎承天之序，承天之序莫重於郊祀，故聖王盡心極慮以建其制。 祭天於南郊，就陽之義也； 瘞地於北郊，即陰之象也。 天之於天子也，因其所都而各饗焉。 往者，孝武皇帝居甘泉宮，即於雲陽立泰畤，祭於宮南。 今行常幸長安，郊見皇天反北之泰陰，祠后土反東之少陽，事與古制殊。 又至雲陽，行谿谷中，阨陝且百里，汾陰則渡大川，有風波舟楫之危，皆非聖主所宜數乘。 郡縣治道共張，吏民困苦，百官煩費。 勞所保之民，行危險之地，難以奉神靈而祈福祐，殆未合於承天子民之意。 昔者周文武郊於豐鄗，成王郊於雒邑。 由此觀之，天隨王者所居而饗之，可見也。 甘泉泰畤、河東后土之祠宜可徙置長安，合於古帝王。 願與群臣議定。」 奏可。 大司馬車騎將軍許嘉等八人以為所從來久遠，宜如故。 右將軍王商、博士師丹、議郎翟方進等五十人以為禮記曰「燔柴於太壇，祭天也； 瘞薶於大折，祭地也。」 兆於南郊，所以定天位也。 祭地於大折，在北郊，就陰位也。 郊處各在聖王所都之南北。 書曰「越三日丁巳，用牲於郊，牛二。」 周公加牲，告徙新邑，定郊禮於雒。 明王聖主，事天明，事地察。 天地明察，神明章矣。 天地以王者為主，故聖王制祭天地之禮必於國郊。 長安，聖主之居，皇天所觀視也。 甘泉、河東之祠非神靈所饗，宜徙就正陽大陰之處。 違俗復古，循聖制，定天位，如禮便。 於是衡、譚奏議曰：「陛下聖德，璴明上通，承天之大，典覽群下，使各悉心盡慮，議郊祀之處，天下幸甚。 臣聞廣謀從眾，則合於天心，故洪範曰『三人占，則從二人言』，言少從多之義也。 論當往古，宜於萬民，則依而從之； 違道寡與，則廢而不行。 今議者五十八人，其五十人言當徙之義，皆著於經傳，同於上世，便於吏民； 八人不案經藝，考古制，而以為不宜，無法之議，難以定吉凶。 太誓曰：『正稽古立功立事，可以永年，丕天之大律。』 《詩》曰『毋曰高高在上，陟降厥士，日監在茲』，言天之日監王者之處也。 又曰『乃眷西顧，此維予宅』，言天以文王之都為居也。 宜於長安定南北郊，為萬世基。」 天子從之。
When Emperor Cheng first took the throne, Chancellor Heng and Censor-in-Chief Tan memorialized: "Among the affairs of emperors and kings, none is greater than continuing Heaven's order; and in continuing Heaven's order, none is weightier than the suburban sacrifice. Therefore sage kings exhausted their minds and thoughts in establishing its regulations. Sacrificing to Heaven in the southern suburb accords with pursuing yang. Burying offerings to Earth in the northern suburb accords with the image of yin. For Heaven in relation to the Son of Heaven, wherever he establishes his capital, that is where Heaven receives sacrifice. Formerly, Emperor Wu resided at Ganquan Palace and so established the Tai altar at Yunyang, sacrificing south of the palace. Now, with regular residence in Chang'an, to make suburban audience to August Heaven in the northern Taiyin direction and sacrifice to Houtu in the eastern Shaoyang direction differs from the ancient system. Moreover, going to Yunyang requires travel through valley routes, narrow and constricted for nearly a hundred li; at Fenyin one must cross great waters, with danger from wind, waves, and boats. None of this is fitting for a sage ruler to undertake often. Commanderies and counties must repair roads and prepare supplies; officials and people are burdened, and all offices are vexed with expense. To weary the people one is meant to protect and travel through dangerous places, while seeking divine blessing, hardly accords with the intent of bearing Heaven's charge and caring for the people. In former times Zhou Wen and Wu made suburban sacrifice at Feng-Hao; King Cheng made it at Luoyi. From this it is clear: Heaven receives offerings where the ruler resides. The Ganquan Tai altar and Hedong Houtu shrine should be moved to Chang'an, in accord with ancient emperors. We request deliberation with all ministers to settle this." The memorial was approved. Grand Marshal, Chariot-Cavalry General Xu Jia and seven others argued that longstanding precedent should remain unchanged. Right General Wang Shang, Erudite Shi Dan, Consulting Gentleman Zhai Fangjin, and fifty others argued: "The Liji says: Burning wood on the great altar is sacrifice to Heaven; burying offerings at the great pit is sacrifice to Earth." The southern-suburb ritual marker fixes Heaven's position. Sacrificing Earth at the great pit in the northern suburb accords with yin position. Each suburb belongs south and north of the capital where sage kings reside. The Book says: 'Three days later, on ding-si, use two oxen at the suburban rite.' The Duke of Zhou added victims when announcing relocation to the new city and established suburban rites at Luo. An enlightened sage ruler serves Heaven with clarity and serves Earth with careful discernment. When Heaven and Earth are served with clarity and discernment, numinous powers are made manifest. Heaven and Earth take the ruler as principal; thus sage kings set Heaven-Earth sacrifice necessarily at the state suburbs. Chang'an is the dwelling of the sage ruler and where August Heaven looks down. The Ganquan and Hedong rites are not where spirits properly receive offerings and should be moved to correct yang and great yin positions. To depart from current custom and restore antiquity, following sage institutions and fixing Heaven's position, is ritually convenient. Thereupon Heng and Tan submitted further: "Your Majesty's sagely virtue and bright insight reach upward; you have undertaken Heaven's great charge, examined all below, and had each person devote full thought to the location of the suburban rites. This is great fortune for the realm. I have heard that broad planning and following the many accords with Heaven's mind; therefore the Hongfan says, "When three divine, follow what two say," meaning that the few should follow the many. If a proposal accords with antiquity and suits the people, it should be followed. If it departs from the Way and has little support, it should be discarded. Now among fifty-eight discussants, fifty support relocation, all grounded in canonical transmission, matching earlier ages, and convenient for officials and people. The eight dissenters did not base themselves on the classics and arts or examine ancient institutions; their argument that the change was improper has no lawful principle and cannot determine auspice or inauspice. The Taishi says: 'Correctly examining antiquity to establish merit and institutions can make years enduring; this is Heaven's great law.' The Odes says, "Do not say Heaven is high above; it ascends and descends among its officers, watching here each day," meaning that Heaven daily watches the place where rulers dwell. It also says, "Then he looked back westward: this is my dwelling," meaning Heaven took King Wen's capital as its dwelling. Thus southern and northern suburbs should be fixed at Chang'an as the foundation for ten thousand generations." The Son of Heaven followed this.
30
既定，衡言：「甘泉泰畤紫壇，八觚宣通象八方。 五帝壇周環其下，又有群神之壇。 以尚書禋六宗、望山川、遍群神之義，紫壇有文章采鏤黼黻之飾及玉、女樂，石壇、僊人祠，瘞鸞路、騂駒、寓龍馬，不能得其象於古。 臣聞郊紫壇饗帝之義，埽地而祭，上質也。 歌大呂舞雲門以俟天神，歌太蔟舞咸池以俟地祇，其牲用犢，其席槁峵，其器陶匏，皆因天地之性，貴誠上質，不敢修其文也。 以為神祇功德至大，雖修精微而備庶物，猶不足以報功，唯至誠為可，致上質不飾，以章天德。 紫壇偽飾女樂、鸞路、騂駒、龍馬、石壇之屬，宜皆勿修。」
After it was settled, Heng said: "At Ganquan, the Tai altar's purple platform has eight corners opening through, symbolizing eight directions. Below it the Five Thearch altars encircle it, and there are also altars for many spirits. According to the Shangshu's meaning of yin sacrifice to the six powers, distant offerings to mountains and rivers, and complete offerings to all spirits, the purple altar, with its carved ornament, patterned embroidery, jade, female music, stone altars, immortal shrines, and buried luan chariots, red colts, and model dragon-horses, has no counterpart in ancient models. I have heard that the suburban purple-altar rite to feast the Thearch should be sweeping the ground and sacrificing, valuing plain substance. One sings Dalu and dances Yunmen to await the heavenly gods; sings Taicu and dances Xianchi to await the earthly powers; uses calves as victims, coarse grass mats, and pottery and gourd vessels. All of this follows the nature of Heaven and Earth, honors sincerity and plainness, and does not dare to embellish the forms. Because the merits of the gods and powers are supremely great, even refined preparations of all things are still insufficient to repay them. Only utmost sincerity suffices, and so plain, unornamented ritual manifests Heaven's virtue. Thus false adornments such as female music, luan chariots, red colts, dragon-horses, and stone altars at the purple platform should all cease."
31
衡又言：「王者各以其禮制事天地，非因異世所立而繼之。 今雍鄜、密、上下畤，本秦侯各以其意所立，非禮之所載術也。 漢興之初，儀制未及定，即且因秦故祠，復立北畤。 今既稽古，建定天地之大禮，郊見上帝，青赤白黃黑五方之帝皆畢陳，各有位饌，祭祀備具。 諸侯所妄造，王者不當長遵。 及北畤，未定時所立，不宜復修。」 天子皆從焉。 及陳寶祠，由是皆罷。
Heng also said: "Each kingly house uses its own ritual system for Heaven and Earth, not simply inheriting what different ages established. The Fu, Mi, Upper, and Lower altars at Yong were originally established by Qin marquises according to their own ideas, not by procedures recorded in ritual canons. At Han's beginning, ritual institutions were not yet fixed, so it temporarily followed Qin rites and additionally set up Northern altar. Now that antiquity has been examined and the great rites to Heaven and Earth have been fixed, with the suburban audience to the High Thearch and the full arrangement of the five directional Thearchs in blue, red, white, yellow, and black, each with its proper seat and offerings, the sacrifices are fully complete. What feudal lords arbitrarily created should not be followed long by a kingly house. As for Northern altar, it was set up before institutions were fixed and should not be maintained." The Son of Heaven accepted all this. From then on, including Chenbao shrine, all were abolished.
32
明年，上始祀南郊，赦奉郊之縣及中都官耐罪囚徒。 是歲衡、譚復條奏：「長安廚官縣官給祠郡國候神方士使者所祠，凡六百八十三所，其二百八所應禮，及疑無明文，可奉祠如故。 其餘四百七十五所不應禮，或復重，請皆罷。」 奏可。 本雍舊祠二百三所，唯山川諸星十五所為應禮云。 若諸布、諸嚴、諸逐，皆罷。 杜主有五祠，置其一。 又罷高祖所立梁、晉、秦、荊巫、九天、南山、萊中之屬，及孝文渭陽、孝武薄忌泰一、三一、黃帝、冥羊、馬行、泰一、皋山山君、武夷、夏后啟母石、萬里沙、八神、延年之屬，及孝宣參山、蓬山、之罘、成山、萊山、四時、蚩尤、勞谷、五床、僊人、玉女、徑路、黃帝、天神、原水之屬，皆罷。 候神方士使者副佐、本草待詔七十餘人皆歸家。
The next year the emperor first sacrificed at southern suburb and pardoned penal convicts in counties serving suburban rites and in central offices. That year Heng and Tan again submitted an itemized memorial: "Chang'an culinary offices and county offices provide for sacrifices performed by commanderies, kingdoms, spirit-awaiting fangshi, and envoys, totaling 683 sites. Of these, 208 accord with ritual, and some others lacking clear texts may continue as before. The remaining 475 do not accord with ritual or are duplicative; we request all be abolished." The memorial was approved. Of the old Yong shrines, 203 in total, only fifteen for mountains, rivers, and stars were deemed ritually proper. Sites such as various Bu, Yan, and Zhu rites were all abolished. Of five Du Lord shrines, only one was kept. Also abolished were Gaozu's rites to the Liang, Jin, Qin, and Chu shamans, the Nine Heavens, Nanshan, and Laizhong; Emperor Wen's Weiyang rites; Emperor Wu's rites to Bo Ji Taiyi, the Three Ones, the Yellow Thearch, Mingyang, Maxing, Taiyi, Lord of Gaoshan, Wuyi, Xia Hou Qi's mother stone, Wanli Sha, the Eight Spirits, and Yannian; and Emperor Xuan's rites to Can Mountain, Peng Mountain, Zhifu, Cheng Mountain, Lai Mountain, the Four Seasons, Chiyou, Laogu, the Five Beds, immortals, jade maidens, Jinglu, the Yellow Thearch, the Heavenly Spirit, and Yuanshui. All were abolished. Over seventy assistant spirit-waiting fangshi envoys and materia-medica consultants were all sent home.
33
明年，匡衡坐事免官爵。 眾庶多言不當變動祭祀者。 又初罷甘泉泰畤作南郊日，大風壞甘泉竹宮，折拔畤中樹大十圍以上百餘。 天子異之，以問劉向。 對曰：「家人尚不欲絕種祠，況於國之神寶舊畤！ 且甘泉、汾陰及雍五畤始立，皆有神祇感應，然後營之，非苟而已也。 武、宣之世，奉此三神，禮敬敕備，神光尤著。 祖宗所立神祇舊位，誠未易動。 及陳寶祠，自秦文公至今七百餘歲矣，漢興世世常來，光色赤黃，長四五丈，直祠而息，音聲砰隱，野雞皆雊。 每見雍太祝祠以太牢，遣候者乘一乘傳馳詣行在所，以為福祥。 高祖時五來，文帝二十六來，武帝七十五來，宣帝二十五來，初元元年以來亦二十來，此陽氣舊祠也。 及漢宗廟之禮，不得擅議，皆祖宗之君與賢臣所共定。 古今異制，經無明文，至尊至重，難以疑說正也。 前始納貢禹之議，後人相因，多所動搖。 易大傳曰：『誣神者殃及三世。』 恐其咎不獨止禹等！」 上意恨之。
The next year, Kuang Heng was dismissed from office and stripped of rank and title for an offense. Many among the common people said sacrifices should not be altered. Moreover, on the day when the Ganquan Taiyi altar was first abolished and the southern suburb established, a great wind destroyed Ganquan's bamboo palace and broke or uprooted more than a hundred trees of ten arm-spans or more inside the altar grounds. The emperor thought it strange and questioned Liu Xiang. He replied, "Even a household does not wish to cut off ancestral sacrifices—how much more the state's divine treasures and old altars! Moreover, when Ganquan, Fenyin, and Yong's Five Altars were first established, divine spirits responded in each case, and only then were they built. They were not casual undertakings. In the eras of Emperor Wu and Emperor Xuan, these three spirits were served with complete ritual reverence, and divine radiance was especially manifest. The old positions of the spirits established by the ancestors are truly not easy to move. As for the Chenbao shrine, from Duke Wen of Qin to the present it has been more than seven hundred years. Since Han arose, it has come generation after generation, its light red and yellow, four or five zhang in length, resting straight at the shrine; its sounds boom in the distance, and wild pheasants all crow. Whenever Yong's Grand Supplicator sacrificed with the great offering, he dispatched a watcher riding a single relay carriage to hurry to the emperor's traveling residence, treating this as an auspicious blessing. Under Gaozu it came five times, under Emperor Wen twenty-six times, under Emperor Wu seventy-five times, under Emperor Xuan twenty-five times, and since the first year of Chuyuan also twenty times. This is an old shrine of yang qi. As for the rites of the Han ancestral temples, they may not be discussed on one's own authority; all were jointly fixed by ancestral sovereigns and worthy ministers. Ancient and modern institutions differ; the classics have no explicit text; the supreme sovereign is supremely weighty—it is difficult to rectify by doubtful theories. Previously the proposal of Gong Yu was first adopted; later men followed one another, and many things were shaken. The Great Commentary on the Changes says, 'Those who deceive the spirits bring disaster on three generations.' I fear the blame will not stop with Yu and his followers alone!" The emperor inwardly resented this.
34
後上以無繼嗣故，今皇太后詔有司曰：「蓋聞王者承事天地，交接泰一，尊莫著於祭祀。 孝武皇帝大聖通明，始建上下之祀，營泰畤於甘泉，定后土於汾陰，而神祇安之，饗國長久，子孫蕃滋，累世遵業，福流於今。 今皇帝寬仁孝順，奉循聖緒，靡有大愆，而久無繼嗣。 思其咎職，殆在徙南北郊，違先帝之制，改神祇舊位，失天地之心，以妨繼嗣之福。 春秋六十，未見皇孫，食不甘味，寢不安席，朕甚悼焉。 春秋大復古，善順祀。 其復甘泉泰畤，汾陰后土如故，及雍五畤、陳寶祠在陳倉者。」 天子復親郊禮如前。 又復長安、雍及郡國祠著明者且半。
Later, because the emperor had no heir, the Empress Dowager issued an edict through the officials: "I hear that among kingly duties in serving Heaven and Earth and communing with Taiyi, nothing displays honor more clearly than sacrifice. Emperor Wu, greatly sagely and penetratingly clear, first established the upper and lower rites, set the Taiyi altar at Ganquan, and fixed Houtu at Fenyin. The gods and powers accepted this, granting long duration to the state and flourishing descendants through successive generations, with blessings flowing down to the present. Now the emperor is broad-hearted, benevolent, and filial, following sacred succession without grave fault, yet long without heir. Reflecting on where the blame lies, it is likely in moving the southern and northern suburbs, departing from the former emperor's institutions, changing the old seats of the divine powers, losing the mind of Heaven and Earth, and obstructing the blessing of succession. At sixty years old I still have not seen an imperial grandson; food has no flavor, sleep no rest, and I grieve deeply. The Spring and Autumn greatly values restoring antiquity and rightly aligning sacrifice. Restore as before Ganquan Tai altar, Fenyin Houtu, and Yong five altars, and Chenbao shrine at Chencang." The Son of Heaven again personally performed suburban rites as before. And roughly half the notable shrines of Chang'an, Yong, and commanderies were also restored.
35
成帝末年頗好鬼神，亦以無繼嗣故，多上書言祭祀方術者，皆得待詔，祠祭上林苑中長安城旁，費用甚多，然無大貴盛者，谷永說上曰：「臣聞明於天地之性，不可或以神怪； 知萬物之情，不可罔以非類。 諸背仁義之正道，不遵五經之法言，而盛稱奇怪鬼神，廣崇祭祀之方，求報無福之祠，及言世有僊人，服食不終之藥，揽興輕舉，登遐倒景，覽觀縣圃，浮游蓬萊，耕耘五德，朝種暮穫，與山石無極，黃冶變化，堅冰淖溺，化色五倉之術者，皆姦人惑眾，挾左道，懷詐偽，以欺罔世主。 聽其言，洋洋滿耳，若將可遇； 求之，盪盪如係風捕景，終不可得。 是以明王距而不聽，聖人絕而不語。 昔周史萇弘欲以鬼神之術輔尊靈王會朝諸侯，而周室愈微，諸侯愈叛。 楚懷王隆祭祀，事鬼神，欲以獲福助，卻秦師，而兵挫地削，身辱國危。 秦始皇初并天下，甘心於神僊之道，遣徐福、韓終之屬多齎童男童女入海求神采藥，因逃不還，天下怨恨。 漢興，新垣平、齊人少翁、公孫卿、欒大等，皆以僊人黃冶祭祠事鬼使物入海求神采藥貴幸，賞賜累千金。 大尤尊盛，至妻公主，爵位重絫，震動海內。 元鼎、元封之際，燕齊之間方士瞋目扼掔，言有神僊祭祀致福之術者以萬數。 其後，平等皆以術窮詐得，誅夷伏辜。 至初元中，有天淵玉女、鉅鹿神人、轑陽侯師張宗之姦，紛紛復起。 夫周秦之末，三五之隆，已嘗專意散財，厚爵祿，竦精神，舉天下以求之矣。 曠日經年，靡有毫氂之驗，足以揆今。 經曰：『享多儀，儀不及物，惟曰不享。』 論語說曰：『子不語怪神。』 唯陛下距絕此類，毋令姦人有以窺朝者。」 上善其言。
In the late years of Emperor Cheng's reign, he became somewhat fond of ghosts and spirits, and also because he had no heir, many who submitted memorials on sacrificial methods and arts were all allowed to await edicts. They performed sacrifices in Shanglin Park and beside Chang'an city, at enormous expense, yet none achieved great prosperity. Gu Yong advised the emperor: "I hear that one who understands the nature of Heaven and Earth cannot be swayed by spirits and prodigies; one who understands the true condition of things cannot be deceived by what is not of its kind. All who depart from the correct way of benevolence and righteousness, fail to follow the lawful words of the Five Classics, and instead lavishly praise strange marvels, ghosts, and spirits, broadly exalt methods of sacrifice, seek responses from shrines without blessing, and claim that the world has immortals, medicines to ingest for unending life, soaring ascent and light flight, journeys far away where shadows are inverted, views of the Hanging Garden, wandering at Penglai, cultivation of the five virtues with morning sowing and evening harvest, endlessness like mountains and stones, transformations by yellow smelting, hard ice changed into mire, and techniques for changing color into the five granaries, are all wicked men who delude the masses, rely on heterodox arts, and harbor fraud and deceit to trick the rulers of the age. Listening to them, their words overflow the ears as if they can be encountered. Seeking them, it is as empty as tying wind and catching shadows - never obtainable. Therefore enlightened kings reject and do not hear them; sages cut them off and do not speak of them. Formerly, the Zhou historian Chang Hong tried to use arts of ghosts and spirits to support King Ling's prestige in convening audiences of the feudal lords, yet Zhou grew weaker and the lords more rebellious. King Huai of Chu exalted sacrifice and served ghosts and spirits, hoping to obtain blessings that would help him repel the Qin armies, yet his forces were defeated, his territory was cut away, his person was disgraced, and his state was imperiled. When the First Emperor of Qin first unified the realm, he set his heart on the way of spirits and immortals. He sent Xu Fu, Han Zhong, and others, heavily provisioned with boys and girls, into the sea to seek spirits and gather medicines; they escaped and never returned, and the realm resented it. After Han arose, Xinyuan Ping, the Qi man Shaoweng, Gongsun Qing, Luan Da, and others all gained favor and rewards of many thousands in gold through matters of immortals, yellow smelting, sacrifices and service to ghosts, sending objects into the sea, and seeking spirits and gathering medicines. Luan Da was especially exalted, even marrying a princess, with ranks and offices stacked heavily and his prestige shaking the realm. Between Yuanding and Yuanfeng, among Yan and Qi, fangshi glared and clenched fists; those claiming arts of spirits, immortals, sacrifices, and blessings were numbered in the tens of thousands. Later, Ping and the others were all exposed when their arts were exhausted and their frauds revealed, and they were executed with their clans annihilated. By the Chuyuan period, frauds such as the Heavenly Abyss Jade Maiden, the Julu Spirit-Man, and Zhang Zong, retainer of Lord Liaoyang, rose again in confusion. At the end of Zhou and Qin, and even in the flourishing ages of the Three and Five, rulers had already devoted their whole attention, scattered wealth, granted rich titles and salaries, roused their spirits, and mobilized the realm to seek these things. After long years and decades, not even the slightest proof appeared - enough to judge the present. The Classic says: 'Though many rites are performed, if rites do not reach the object, it is simply "not offered.'" The Analects says: 'The Master did not speak of prodigies and spirits.' May Your Majesty reject this whole class and not let deceitful men find openings into court." The emperor approved his words.
36
後成都侯王商為大司馬衛將軍輔政，杜鄴說商曰：「『東鄰殺牛，不如西鄰之瀹祭』，言奉天之道，貴以誠質大得民心也。 行穢祀豐，猶不蒙祐； 德修薦薄，吉必大來。 古者壇場有常處，抠禋有常用，贊見有常禮； 犧牲玉帛雖備而財不匱，車輿臣役雖動而用不勞。 是故每奉其禮，助者歡說，大路所歷，黎元不知。 今甘泉、河東天地郊祀，咸失方位，違陰陽之宜。 及雍五畤皆曠遠，奉尊之役休而復起，繕治共張無解已時，皇天著象殆可略知。 前上甘泉，先敺失道； 禮月之夕，奉引復迷。 祠后土還，臨河當渡，疾風起波，船不可御。 又雍大雨，壞平陽宮垣。 乃三月甲子，震電災林光宮門。 祥瑞未著，咎徵仍臻。 跡三郡所奏，皆有變故。 不答不饗，何以甚此！ 《詩》曰『率由舊章』。 舊章，先王法度，文王以之，交神于祀，子孫千億。 宜如異時公卿之議，復還長安南北郊。」
Later, when Marquis Wang Shang of Chengdu served as Grand Marshal and Guard General assisting the government, Du Ye advised him: "'The eastern neighbor's slaughtered ox is not as good as the western neighbor's simple boiled offering' means that in serving Heaven, sincerity and plainness are what most greatly win the people's hearts. Lavish but polluted sacrifice still gains no blessing. When virtue is cultivated though offerings are thin, great fortune must come. In antiquity altar fields had fixed locations, libation and yin offerings had fixed forms, and presentation rites had fixed ceremony. Though victims, jade, and silk were complete, resources were not exhausted; though chariots, attendants, and labor moved, use was not burdensome. Therefore whenever rites were performed, assistants were joyful, and where great roads passed, common people scarcely noticed. Now Ganquan and Hedong Heaven-Earth suburban rites both miss proper orientation, violating yin-yang fitness. And Yong's five altars are all remote; the duties of honoring them cease and then arise again, with repair and provisioning burdens that never come to an end. Heaven's omens have already made this roughly knowable. On the earlier visit to Ganquan, advance drivers lost the route. On the evening moon rite, the ceremonial leading party got lost again. Returning from Houtu sacrifice, at river crossing strong winds raised waves and boats could not be controlled. Then at Yong heavy rain damaged the walls of Pingyang Palace. Then on third month jiazi, thunder and lightning disaster struck Lingguang Palace gate. Auspicious signs are not manifest, while ominous portents keep arriving. Looking at what three commanderies reported, all had abnormal incidents. If there is no response and no acceptance, why is it this severe! The Odes says, 'Follow the old standards.' The old standards are the laws of former kings; King Wen used them to commune with spirits through sacrifice, and his descendants reached into the hundreds of billions. It is proper to follow earlier ministerial deliberations and restore Chang'an southern and northern suburbs."
37
後數年，成帝崩，皇太后詔有司曰：「皇帝即位，思順天心，遵經義，定郊禮，天下說憙。 懼未有皇孫，故復甘泉泰畤、汾陰后土，庶幾獲福。 皇帝恨難之，卒未得其祐。 其復南北郊長安如故，以順皇帝之意也。」
Some years later Emperor Cheng died, and the Empress Dowager ordered the officials: "When the emperor took the throne, he sought to follow Heaven's will, obey canonical meaning, and fix the suburban rites, and the realm rejoiced. Fearing no imperial grandson, he therefore restored Ganquan Tai altar and Fenyin Houtu, hoping to receive blessing. The emperor lamented the difficulty and in the end did not obtain that blessing. Restore southern and northern suburbs at Chang'an as before, to accord with the late emperor's intent."
38
哀帝即位，寢疾，博徵方術士，京師諸縣皆有侍祠使者，盡復前世所常興諸神祠官，凡七百餘所，一歲三萬七千祠云。
When Emperor Ai took the throne and fell ill, he widely summoned masters of methods and arts. In the capital and the counties there were sacrificial envoys everywhere, and all the divine shrines and offices commonly revived in previous ages were restored, more than seven hundred sites in all, said to total 37,000 rites in a year.
39
明年，復令太皇太后詔有司曰：「皇帝孝順，奉承聖業，靡有解怠，而久疾未瘳。 夙夜唯思，殆繼體之君不宜改作。 其復甘泉泰畤、汾陰后土祠如故。」 上亦不能親至，遣有司行事而禮祠焉。 後三年，哀帝崩。
The next year, the Grand Empress Dowager again ordered the officials: "The emperor is filial and compliant, carries on the sacred enterprise without slackness, yet his long illness remains unhealed. Day and night I think only this: perhaps an heir-ruler should not alter established institutions. Restore Ganquan Tai altar and Fenyin Houtu rites as before." The emperor could not personally go, and sent officials to perform the rites. Three years later, Emperor Ai died.
40
平帝元始五年，大司馬王莽奏言：「王者父事天，故爵稱天子。 孔子曰：『人之行莫大於孝，孝莫大於嚴父，嚴父莫大於配天。』 王者尊其考，欲以配天，緣考之意，欲尊祖，推而上之，遂及始祖。 是以周公郊祀后稷以配天，宗祀文王於明堂以配上帝。 禮記天子祭天地及山川，歲遍。 春秋穀梁傳以十二月下辛卜，正月上辛郊。 高皇帝受命，因雍四畤起北畤，而備五帝，未共王地之祀。 孝文十六年用新垣平，初起渭陽五帝廟，祭泰一、地祇，以太祖高皇帝配。 日冬至祠泰一，夏至祠地祇，皆并祠五帝，而共一牲，上親郊拜。 後平伏誅，乃不復自親，而使有司行事。 孝武皇帝祠雍，曰：『今上帝朕親郊，而后土無祠，則禮不答也。』 於是元鼎四年十一月甲子始立后土祠於汾陰。 或曰，五帝，泰一之佐，宜立泰一。 五年十一月癸未始立泰一祠於甘泉，二歲一郊，與雍更祠，亦以高祖配，不歲事天，皆未應古制。 建始元年，徙甘泉泰畤、河東后土於長安南北郊。 永始元年三月，以未有皇孫，復甘泉、河東祠。 綏和二年，以卒不獲祐，復長安南北郊。 建平三年，懼孝哀皇帝之疾未瘳，復甘泉、汾陰祠，竟復無福。 臣謹與太師孔光、長樂少府平晏、大司農左咸、中壘校尉劉歆、太中大夫朱陽、博士薛順、議郎國由等六十七人議，皆曰宜如建始時丞相衡等議，復長安南北郊如故。」
In the fifth Yuanshi year of Emperor Ping, Grand Marshal Wang Mang memorialized: "A ruler serves Heaven as a son serves his father; therefore his title is Son of Heaven. Confucius said: 'Among human actions, none is greater than filiality; in filiality, none is greater than honoring one's father; in honoring one's father, none is greater than pairing him with Heaven.' A ruler honors his father and wishes to pair him with Heaven; following the meaning of honoring his father, he wishes to honor his ancestors, and by extension reaches up to the first ancestor. Thus the Duke of Zhou sacrificed to Houji in the suburbs to pair him with Heaven, and in the Mingtang performed ancestral sacrifice to King Wen to pair him with the High Thearch. The Liji says the Son of Heaven sacrifices to Heaven and Earth and to mountains and rivers, covering all through the year. The Guliang Commentary says one divines on lower-xin day of twelfth month and performs suburban sacrifice on upper-xin day of first month. After receiving the mandate, Emperor Gao built on Yong's four altars and set up the Northern Altar, completing the Five Thearchs, but he had not yet performed the royal sacrifice to Earth. In Emperor Wen's sixteenth year, he employed Xinyuan Ping and first established the Weiyang Five Thearchs temple, sacrificing to Taiyi and the earth spirits, with Emperor Gao, the Grand Ancestor, as paired ancestor. At the winter solstice he sacrificed to Taiyi, and at the summer solstice to the earthly powers, in both cases also sacrificing to the Five Thearchs and sharing a single victim, with the emperor personally performing the suburban bows. After Ping was executed, the emperor no longer attended personally and had officials perform the rites. When Emperor Wu sacrificed at Yong, he said: 'Now I personally make the suburban rite to the High Thearch, yet Houtu has no sacrifice; then ritual reciprocity is lacking.' Thus in the fourth year of Yuanding, on jiazi day of the eleventh month, the Houtu shrine was first established at Fenyin. Some said: The Five Thearchs are attendants of Taiyi; Taiyi should be established. Thus in the fifth year, on the guiwei day of the eleventh month, the Taiyi shrine was first established at Ganquan. The suburban rite was performed once every two years, alternating with the Yong rites, with Gaozu as the paired ancestor, and Heaven was not served annually. All of this still did not match ancient institutions. In the first year of Jianshi, the Ganquan Taiyi altar and the Hedong Houtu shrine were moved to the southern and northern suburbs of Chang'an. In yongshi first year, third month, because there was still no imperial grandson, Ganquan and Hedong rites were restored. In suihe second year, since blessing still was not obtained, they restored southern and northern suburbs of Chang'an again. In jianping third year, fearing Emperor Ai's illness remained unhealed, Ganquan and Fenyin rites were restored, yet in the end still no blessing came. I have carefully deliberated with Grand Tutor Kong Guang, Changle Lesser Treasury Ping Yan, Grand Minister of Agriculture Zuo Xian, Inner Rampart Colonel Liu Xin, Grandee Zhu Yang, Erudite Xue Shun, Consulting Gentleman Guo You, and others, sixty-seven in all. They all said that we should follow the deliberation of Chancellor Heng and the others in the Jianshi era and restore Chang'an's southern and northern suburbs as before."
41
莽又頗改其祭禮，曰：「周官天墬之祀，樂有別有合。 其合樂曰『以六律、六鐘、五聲、八音、六舞大合樂』，祀天神，祭墬祇，祀四望，祭山川，享先妣先祖。 凡六樂，奏六歌，而天墬神祇之物皆至。 四望，蓋謂日月星海也。 三光高而不可得親，海廣大無限界，故其樂同。 祀天則天文從。 祭墬則墬理從。 三光，天文也。 山川，地理也。 天地合祭，先祖配天，先妣配墬，其誼一也。 天墬合精，夫婦判合。 祭天南郊，則以墬配，一體之誼也。 天墬位皆南鄉，同席，墬在東，共牢而食。 高帝、高后配於壇上，西鄉，后在北，亦同席共牢。 牲用繭栗，玄酒陶匏。 禮記曰天子籍田千具以事天墬，繇是言之，宜有黍稷。 天地用牲一，燔抠瘞薶用牲一，高帝、高后用牲一。 天用牲左，及黍稷燔抠南郊； 墬用牲右，及黍稷瘞於北郊。 其旦，東鄉再拜朝日； 其夕，西鄉再拜夕月。 然後孝弟之道備，而神衹嘉享，萬福降輯。 此天墬合祀，以祖妣配者也。 其別樂曰『冬日至，於墬上之圜丘奏樂六變，則天神皆降； 夏日至，於澤中之方丘奏樂八變，則墬衹皆出。』 天墬有常位，不得常合，此其各特祀者也。 陰陽之別於日冬夏至，其會也以孟春正月上辛若丁。 天子親合祀天墬於南郊，以高帝、高后配。 陰陽有離合，《易》曰『分陰分陽，迭用柔剛』。 以日冬至使有司奉祠南郊，高帝配而望群陽，日夏至使有司奉祭北郊，高后配而望群陰，皆以助致微氣，通道幽弱。 當此之時，后不省方，故天子不親而遣有司，所以正承天順地，復聖王之制，顯太祖之功也。 渭陽祠勿復修。 群望未定悉定，定復奏。」 奏可。 三十餘年間，天地之祠五徙焉。
Wang Mang further altered sacrificial ritual somewhat, saying: "In Zhou offices, rites to Heaven and Earth include separate and combined music. On the combined music, it says: 'Use the six pitch-pipes, six bells, five tones, eight instruments, and six dances for the great joining of music' to sacrifice to the heavenly gods, the earthly powers, the four distant quarters, mountains and rivers, and to feast the former mothers and former ancestors. In all six musics, six songs are played, and all offerings for Heaven, Earth, gods, and powers arrive. The four distant quarters likely mean sun, moon, stars, and sea. The three lights are high and cannot be approached closely; the sea is vast and boundless, so their music is the same. When sacrificing Heaven, heavenly patterns are followed. When sacrificing Earth, earthly principles are followed. The three lights belong to heavenly pattern. Mountains and rivers belong to earthly pattern. Combined sacrifice to Heaven and Earth, with first ancestor paired to Heaven and first ancestress paired to Earth, has one underlying principle. Heaven and Earth join essences, as husband and wife separate and unite. When sacrificing Heaven at southern suburb, Earth is paired with it - principle of one body. Heaven and Earth seats both face south on shared mat; Earth is in the east, sharing one victim and meal. Gao Emperor and Gao Empress are paired above altar, facing west; Empress is in north, also sharing one mat and victim. Victims use chestnut-brown calves; dark ritual wine and pottery-gourd vessels. The Liji says the Son of Heaven tills a thousand plots to serve Heaven and Earth; from this, millet and grain should be used. One victim is used for Heaven-Earth, one for burned and buried rites, and one for Gao Emperor and Gao Empress. Heaven uses left-side victim, with millet and grain burned at southern suburb. Earth uses right-side victim, with millet and grain buried at northern suburb. At dawn, facing east, one bows twice to greet the sun. At dusk, facing west, one bows twice to greet the moon. Then the way of filiality and fraternality is complete, divine powers gladly receive offerings, and ten thousand blessings gather. This is combined sacrifice to Heaven and Earth with ancestor and ancestress as pairings. The separate music says: 'At winter solstice, on the round mound atop Earth, play music with six changes and heavenly gods all descend; at summer solstice, on square mound in marshes, play music with eight changes and earthly powers all emerge.' Heaven and Earth have fixed positions and cannot always be combined; these are their separate rites. Yin and yang divide at winter and summer solstice days; they join on first month upper-xin or ding days of early spring. The Son of Heaven personally combines Heaven-Earth sacrifice at southern suburb, with Gao Emperor and Gao Empress as pairings. Yin and yang have separation and union; the Changes says, 'Divide yin and divide yang, alternately employing soft and hard.' On the winter solstice, officials performed the southern-suburb rite with Emperor Gao paired, looking toward all yang powers; on the summer solstice, officials performed the northern-suburb rite with Empress Gao paired, looking toward all yin powers. Both rites helped draw forth subtle qi and open the way to hidden and faint powers. At such times the empress does not make inspection tours; thus the Son of Heaven does not go personally but dispatches officials, in order properly to receive Heaven and follow Earth, restore the institutions of the sage kings, and manifest the great ancestor's merit. The Weiyang shrine should no longer be repaired. All unsettled group-offering sites should be settled and then memorialized again." The memorial was approved. Within just over thirty years, Heaven-Earth rites moved five times.
42
後莽又奏言：「書曰『類於上帝，禋于六宗』。 歐陽、大小夏侯三家說六宗，皆曰上不及天，下不及墬，旁不及四方，在六者之間，助陰陽變化，實一而名六，名實不相應。 禮記祀典，功施於民則祀之。 天文日月星辰，所昭仰也； 地理山川海澤，所生殖也。 易有八卦，乾坤六子，水火不相逮，雷風不相誖，山澤通氣，然後能變化，既成萬物也。 臣前奏徙甘泉泰畤、汾陰后土皆復於南北郊。 謹案周官『兆五帝於四郊』，山川各因其方，今五帝兆居在雍五畤，不合於古。 又日月雷風山澤，易卦六子之尊氣，所謂六宗也。 星辰水火溝瀆，皆六宗之屬也。 今或未特祀，或無兆居。 謹與太師光、大司徒宮、羲和歆等八十九人議，皆曰天子父事天，母事墬，今稱天神曰皇天上帝，泰一兆曰泰畤，而稱地祇曰后土，與中央黃靈同，又兆北郊未有尊稱。 宜令地祇稱皇墬后祇，兆曰廣畤。 《易》曰『方以類聚，物以群分』。 分群神以類相從為五部，兆天墬之別神：中央帝黃靈后土畤及日廟、北辰、北斗、填星、中宿中宮於長安城之未墬兆； 東方帝太昊青靈勾芒畤及雷公、風伯廟、歲星、東宿東宮於東郊兆； 南方炎帝赤靈祝融畤及熒惑星、南宿南宮於南郊兆； 西方帝少皞白靈蓐收畤及太白星、西宿西宮於西郊兆； 北方帝顓頊黑靈玄冥畤及月廟、雨師廟、辰星、北宿北宮於北郊兆。」 奏可。 於是長安旁諸廟兆畤甚盛矣。
Later Wang Mang further memorialized: "The Book says, 'Class sacrifice to the High Thearch; yin rite to six powers.' In the explanations of the Ouyang and the two Xiahou schools, the six powers above do not reach Heaven, below do not reach Earth, and to the sides do not reach the four directions. They are between these six, aiding the transformations of yin and yang; in reality they are one but are named six, so name and substance do not match. In Liji sacrificial canons, those whose merit benefited people are sacrificed to. In heavenly pattern: sun, moon, stars. In earthly pattern: mountains, rivers, seas, marshes, where growth is generated. The Changes has eight trigrams: Qian, Kun, and the six children. Water and fire do not overtake each other, thunder and wind do not oppose each other, and mountain and marsh communicate qi; only then can transformation occur and all things be completed. I previously memorialized moving Ganquan Tai altar and Fenyin Houtu, both restored to south and north suburbs. Carefully examining the Zhou Offices, it says, 'Mark the Five Thearchs in the four suburbs'; mountains and rivers each follow their direction. Now the markers for the Five Thearchs remain at Yong's five altars, which does not match antiquity. Further, sun, moon, thunder, wind, mountain, and marsh are the esteemed qi of the six children among the Changes trigrams; these are the so-called six powers. Stars, waters, fires, and channels all belong under six-powers category. Now some lack separate sacrifice, and some lack fixed marked seats. I carefully deliberated with Grand Tutor Guang, Grand Minister over the Masses Gong, Xihe Liu Xin, and others, eighty-nine in all. They all said that the Son of Heaven serves Heaven as father and Earth as mother. Now the heavenly gods are called August Heaven High Thearch, and the Taiyi marker is called the Tai altar, while the earthly powers are called Houtu, the same title as the central Yellow Spirit, and the northern suburb marker still has no honored title. It should be ordered that Earth powers be titled August Earth Sovereign Power, with marker called Broad altar. The Changes says, 'By kind, forms gather; by group, things divide.' Divide the gathered gods by category into five divisions, and mark the separate gods of Heaven and Earth: the central Thearch Yellow Spirit and Houtu altar, together with the sun temple, north pole, northern dipper, Saturn, central lodges, and central palace, at Chang'an's weidi marker; eastern Thearch Taihao Azure Spirit Goumang altar, plus Thunder Duke, Wind Earl temples, Jupiter, eastern lodges and eastern palace at eastern suburb marker; southern Flame Thearch Red Spirit Zhurong altar, plus Mars, southern lodges and southern palace at southern suburb marker; western Thearch Shaohao White Spirit Rushou altar, plus Venus, western lodges and western palace at western suburb marker; northern Thearch Zhuanxu Black Spirit Xuanming altar, plus moon temple, Rain Master temple, Mercury, northern lodges and northern palace at northern suburb marker." The memorial was approved. Thereupon shrines and marked altars around Chang'an became extremely numerous.
43
莽又言：「帝王建立社稷，百王不易。 社者，土也。 宗廟，王者所居。 稷者，百穀之王，所以奉宗廟，共粢盛，人所食以生活也。 王者莫不尊重親祭，自為之主，禮如宗廟。 《詩》曰『乃立冢土』。 又曰『以御田祖，以祈甘雨』。 《禮記》曰『唯祭宗廟社稷，為越紼而行事』。 聖漢興，禮儀稍定，已有官社，未立官稷。」 遂於官社後立官稷，以夏禹配食官社，后稷配食官稷。 稷種穀樹。 徐州牧歲貢五色土各一斗。
Wang Mang again said: "Kings establish altars of Soil and Grain; a hundred kings do not alter this. She means soil. Ancestral temple is where kings dwell. Ji is king of hundred grains, serving ancestral temples with grain offerings and sustaining human life. Rulers all honor and personally sacrifice, taking themselves as principal officiant, with ritual like ancestral temple. The Odes says, 'Then he established the great earth altar.' It also says, 'To direct the field-ancestor and pray for sweet rain.' The Liji says, 'Only for ancestral temple and Soil-Grain rites does one cross the funeral cords and proceed with the rite.' When Sacred Han arose, rites gradually stabilized; there was already official Soil altar, but no official Grain altar." So behind the official Soil altar he established official Grain altar, pairing Xia Yu in official Soil and Houji in official Grain offerings. At Grain altar he planted grain crops and trees. The Xuzhou governor annually presented one dou each of five-colored soils.
44
莽篡位二年，興神僊事，以方士蘇樂言，起八風臺於宮中。 臺成萬金，作樂其上，順風作液湯。 又種五粱禾於殿中，各順色置其方面，先煮鶴齔、毒冒、犀玉二十餘物漬種，計粟斛成一金，言此黃帝穀僊之術也。 以樂為黃門郎，令主之。 莽遂崇鬼神淫祀，至其末年，自天地六宗以下至諸小鬼神，凡千七百所，用三牲鳥獸三千餘種。 後不能備，乃以雞當鶩鴈，犬當麋鹿。 數下詔自以當僊，語在其傳。
In second year after Wang Mang's usurpation, he promoted immortal affairs; on fangshi Su Le's advice, he built Eight Winds Terrace inside palace. The terrace cost ten thousand gold; music was performed atop it, and wind-following liquid soup was prepared. He also planted five kinds of grain in the palace halls, placing each according to color and direction; he first boiled more than twenty substances, including crane-bones, du-mao, and rhinoceros jade, soaked the seeds in the decoction, and calculated that one hu of millet would be worth one gold, saying this was the Yellow Thearch's art of immortal grain. He made Le a Palace Gentleman and ordered him to manage it. Mang then exalted ghosts and licentious sacrifices; by his final years, from Heaven, Earth, and the six powers down to minor spirits, there were 1,700 sites, using more than 3,000 kinds of three-victim offerings, birds, and beasts. Later he could not provide all of them, and substituted chickens for ducks and geese, dogs for elk and deer. He repeatedly issued edicts claiming he should become immortal; details are in his biography.
45
贊曰：漢興之初，庶事草創，唯一叔孫生略定朝廷之儀。 若乃正朔服色郊望之事，數世猶未章焉。 至於孝文，始以夏郊，而張倉據水德，公孫臣、賈誼更以為土德，卒不能明。 孝武之世，文章為盛，太初改制，而兒寬、司馬遷等猶從臣、誼之言，服色數度，遂順黃德。 彼以五德之傳從所不勝，秦在水德，故謂漢據土而克之。 劉向父子以為帝出於震，故包羲氏始受木德，其後以母傳子，終而復始，自神農、黃帝下歷唐虞三代而漢得火焉。 故高祖始起，神母夜號，著赤帝之符，旗章遂赤，自得天統矣。 昔共工氏以水德間於木火，與秦同運，非其次序，故皆不永。 由是言之，祖宗之制蓋有自然之應，順時宜矣。 究觀方士祠官之變，谷永之言，不亦正乎！ 不亦正乎！
Appraisal says: At the beginning of Han, all affairs were rough beginnings; only Uncle Sun Tong gave a rough settling of court ritual. As for calendrical beginning, dress color, suburban and distant sacrifices, even after several generations they were still not clear. By Emperor Wen's time, the summer suburban rite first began; yet Zhang Cang held to Water virtue, while Gongsun Chen and Jia Yi instead argued for Earth virtue, and in the end the matter could not be clarified. In Emperor Wu's age, literary culture flourished and the Taichu reforms changed institutions; yet Er Kuan, Sima Qian, and others still followed Chen and Yi's views on dress colors and numerical degrees, ultimately following Yellow virtue. They took transmission of five virtues by conquering sequence: Qin in Water virtue, so Han was said to hold Earth and overcome it. Liu Xiang and his son held that the Thearch emerges from Zhen; thus Fuxi first received Wood virtue, and afterward, through mother-to-son transmission ending and beginning again, from Shennong and the Yellow Thearch down through Tang, Yu, and the Three Dynasties, Han obtained Fire virtue. Thus when Gaozu first arose, a spirit-mother cried out at night and manifested the tally of the Red Thearch; banners and emblems accordingly became red, and Heaven's succession was naturally obtained. Formerly Gonggong lineage with Water virtue inserted between Wood and Fire, sharing Qin's cycle but not proper sequence, so neither endured long. From this we may say ancestral institutions likely had natural responses and were fitting to their times. Looking to the end at changes of fangshi and sacrificial officials, were Gu Yong's words not correct? Were they not correct?