1
司馬相如（下）
Sima Xiangru (Part Two).
2
相如為郎數歲，會唐蒙使略通夜郎、僰中，發巴、蜀吏卒，千人，郡又多為發轉漕萬餘人，用軍興法誅其渠率。 巴、蜀民大驚恐。 上聞之，乃遣相如責唐蒙等，因諭告巴、蜀民以非上意。 檄曰：
Xiangru had served as a gentleman attendant for several years when Tang Meng was dispatched to push the frontier toward Yelang and the Bozhong region. Tang called up a thousand officers and troops from Ba and Shu, and the commanderies raised more than ten thousand additional laborers for transport and supply. Invoking the statutes used in wartime mobilization, he put their leaders to death. The people of Ba and Shu were thrown into panic. When the emperor learned of the unrest, he sent Xiangru to reprimand Tang Meng and his associates and to make clear to the people of Ba and Shu that none of this had been the sovereign's will. The proclamation read:
3
夫邊郡之士，聞烽舉燧燔，皆攝弓而弛，荷兵而走，流汗相屬，惟恐居後，觸白刃，冒流矢，議不反顧，計不旋踵，人懷怒心，如報私仇。 彼豈樂死惡生，非編列之民，而與巴、蜀異主哉？ 計深慮遠，急國家之難，而樂盡人臣之道也。 故有剖符之封，析圭而爵，位為通侯，居列東第。 終則遺顯號於後世，傳土地於子孫，事行甚忠敬，居位甚安佚，名聲施於無窮，功烈著而不滅。 是以賢人君子，肝腦塗中原，膏液潤野草而不辭也。 今奉幣役至南夷，即自賊殺，或亡逃抵誅，身死無名，謚為至愚，恥及父母，為天下笑。 人之度量相越，豈不遠哉！ 然此非獨行者之罪也，父兄之教不先，子弟之率不謹，寡廉鮮恥，而俗不長厚也。 其被刑戮，不亦宜乎！
When the beacon fires go up along the frontier, the garrison men snatch up their bows, shoulder their arms, and run until they are drenched in sweat, each terrified of falling behind. They throw themselves against naked steel and whistling arrows without a thought for retreat, burning to strike as if settling a blood feud of their own. Surely they do not love death and despise life; they are ordinary subjects under the same throne as the people of Ba and Shu. They think ahead, rush to the nation's hour of need, and take honor in doing everything a loyal minister ought to do. That is why they receive investiture with split tallies, titles tied to ritual jade, rank as full marquises, and mansions in the noble quarter east of the palace. In the end they leave a glorious name to posterity and pass estates down to their children; their service is marked by deep loyalty, their posts by security and ease; their reputation never fades and their achievements are not forgotten. That is why the best men gladly give their lives on the battlefield and let their blood soak the weeds without a second thought. Yet you are sent south on imperial business with tribute and labor in train, and you turn to suicide or bolt and end on the executioner's block. You die disgraced, earn the epithet of utter folly, humiliate your parents, and become a laughingstock to the empire. How vast is the distance between such conduct and theirs! Nor is the blame theirs alone: elders failed to teach them early, juniors were not kept under firm guidance; shame and decency thinned out until the custom no longer bred integrity. When such people are put to the sword, they have only themselves to blame.
4
陛下患使者有司之若彼，悼不肖愚民之如此，故遣信使，曉諭百姓以發卒之事，因數之以不忠死亡之罪，讓三老孝弟以不教誨之過。 方今田時，重煩百姓，已親見近縣，恐遠所溪谷山澤之民不遍聞，檄到，亟下縣道，鹹諭陛下意，毋忽！
The throne deplores officials who behaved as they did and pities ignorant folk who reacted so rashly. Hence a reliable envoy has been sent to explain why levies were ordered, to spell out how disloyalty leads to death, and to call village elders to account for failing to teach their people. It is planting season, and the court regrets the burden on the people. Envoys have already toured the nearer counties, but those in remote valleys and hills may not have heard. When this edict reaches you, relay it at once along every county and post road so that every household understands the emperor's purpose. Do not treat it lightly.
5
相如還報。 唐蒙已略通夜郎，因通西南夷道，發巴、蜀、廣漢卒，作者數萬人。 治道二歲，道不成，士卒多物故，費以億萬計。 蜀民及漢用事者多言其不便。 是時邛、莋之君長聞南夷與漢通，得賞賜多，多欲願為內臣妾，請吏，比南夷。 上問相如，相如曰：「邛、莋、冉、□者近署，道易通，異時嘗通為郡縣矣，至漢興而罷。 今誠復通，為置縣，愈於南夷。」 上以為然，乃拜相如為中郎將，建節往使。 副使者王然於、壺棄國、呂越人，馳四乘之傳，因巴、蜀吏幣物以賂西南夷。 至蜀，太守以下郊迎，縣令負弩矢先驅，蜀人以為寵。 於是卓王孫、臨邛諸公皆因門下獻牛、酒以交歡。 卓王孫喟然而漢，自以得使女尚司馬長卿晚，乃厚分與其女財，與男等。 相如使略定西南夷，邛、莋、再、駹、斯榆之君皆請為臣妾，除邊關，邊關益斥，西至沫、若水，南至牁牂為徼，通靈山道，橋孫水，以通邛、莋。 還報，天子大說。
Xiangru returned and made his report. Tang Meng had already pushed through to Yelang and was extending the southwest road, drafting tens of thousands of laborers from Ba, Shu, and Guanghan. Work dragged on for two years without finishing the route. Casualties mounted among the troops, and costs ran into the hundreds of millions. Shu locals and influential men at court repeatedly argued that the project was a waste. The chiefs of Qiong and Zuo learned that the southern tribes had submitted to Han and been showered with gifts; most of them now wanted to enter the register as tributaries, asked for imperial magistrates, and sought the same status as the southern peoples. The emperor asked Xiangru for his view. He replied: "The tribes of Qiong, Zuo, Ran, and Mang border the interior; their routes are easier than Yelang's. They were once organized as commanderies in earlier dynasties and only lapsed when the Han arose. If we reopen ties and place magistrates among them, we will gain more for less trouble than we have had in the far south. The emperor agreed and appointed Xiangru a general of the gentlemen, giving him the credenza and dispatching him as chief envoy. His deputies Wang Ranyu, Hu Qiguo, and Lü Yueren raced ahead on four-horse relay carriages, while local officials from Ba and Shu carried gifts to win over the southwestern tribes. At their arrival in Shu the governor led his staff in a suburban welcome; the county magistrate marched ahead shouldering bow and bolts. The Shu people took it as a mark of singular favor. Zhuo Wangsun and the leading families of Linqiong then sent cattle and wine through Xiangru's attendants to join the celebration. Zhuo Wangsun sighed that he had waited too long to gain Sima Changqing as a son-in-law; he now settled a lavish marriage portion on his daughter, equal to what he gave his sons. On mission Xiangru brought the southwest under control: the rulers of Qiong, Zuo, Zai, Mang, and Siyu all asked to submit as tributaries. Frontier barriers came down and the line of outposts stretched west to the Mo and Ruoshui rivers and south to Zangke as the outer perimeter. Roads pierced Mount Ling, bridges spanned the Sun River, and traffic linked Qiong and Zuo. When he reported back, the emperor was delighted.
6
相如使時，蜀長老多言通西南夷之不為用，大臣亦以為然。 相如欲諫，業已建之，不敢，乃著書，借蜀父老為辭，而己詰難之，以風天子，且因宣其使指，令百姓皆知天子意。 其辭曰：
While Xiangru was away, Shu notables kept saying that the southwest road served no purpose, and senior ministers at court agreed. He wanted to argue the case but dared not, having himself sponsored the scheme. Instead he drafted a dialogue, putting the objections in the mouths of Shu elders and answering them in his own voice, both to sway the throne and to spell out what his mission had meant so that every household would grasp the emperor's purpose. The piece begins:
7
漢興七十有八載，德茂存乎六世，威武紛雲，港恩汪濊，群生霑濡，洋溢乎方外。 於是乃命使西征，隨流而攘，風之所被，罔不披靡。 因朝冉從□，定莋存邛，略斯榆，舉苞蒲，結軌還轅，東鄉將報，至於蜀都。
Seventy-eight years have passed since the Han rose; through six sovereigns virtue has deepened, military glory towers like clouds, and imperial kindness spreads wide until every living thing shares in it and the influence reaches beyond the borders. He therefore sent armies west along the rivers; wherever their influence reached, resistance collapsed. Ran came to court, Mang followed in train, Zuo was secured, Qiong preserved, Siyu overrun, Bao and Pu brought to heel; the expedition wheeled its chariots homeward, turned east toward the capital for its report, and halted at Chengdu.
8
耆老大夫搢紳先生之徒二十有七人，儼然造焉。 辭畢，進曰：「蓋聞天子之於夷狄也，其義羈縻勿絕而已。 今罷三郡之士，通夜郎之塗，三年於茲，而功不竟。 士卒勞倦，萬民不贍； 今又接之以西夷，百姓力屈，恐不能卒業，此亦使者這累也，竊為左右患之。 且夫邛、莋、西僰之與中國並也，歷年茲多，不可記已。 仁者不以德來，強者不以力並，意者殆不可乎！ 今割齊民以附夷狄，弊所恃以事無用，鄙人固陋，不識所謂。」
Twenty-seven elders, officials, and gentry in full dress presented themselves with grave formality. When he had finished speaking, they stepped forward: "We have always understood that the Son of Heaven's policy toward barbarians is to keep them on a loose tether without cutting them off. Yet you have drafted three commanderies, opened the road to Yelang, and three years on the work is still unfinished. The troops are exhausted and the people can barely feed themselves; now you would yoke them to the tribes of the west. Popular strength is spent; we doubt the task can ever be completed. That would be the envoys' legacy as well, and we tremble for your advisors. Besides, Qiong, Zuo, and the western Bo have stood beside China for ages beyond counting. The humane ruler does not win them by kindness alone; the strong state does not swallow them by force alone—and we suspect neither course will really work! To strip our settled farmers for the sake of barbarians, to waste what we depend on to serve a useless venture—we are plain folk, perhaps, but we cannot see the sense of it.
9
使者曰：「烏謂此乎？ 必若所云，則是蜀不變服而巴不化俗也，僕尚惡聞若說。 然斯事體大，固非觀者之所覯也。 余之行急，其詳不可得聞已。 請為大夫粗陳其略：
The envoy replied: "How can you speak so? If your words were true, Shu would never have adopted Han costume nor Ba Han manners—and I would still shrink from such talk. The matter is too large for casual observers to judge. My mission left no time; I could not hear you out in every particular. Let me sketch the main lines for you:
10
「蓋世必有非常之人，然後有非常之事； 有非常之事，然後有非常之功。 非常者，固常人之所異也。 故曰非常之元，黎民懼焉； 及臻厥成，天下晏如也。」
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary men; Extraordinary enterprises yield extraordinary achievements. What common people call strange is simply what they have never seen before. Hence the saying: at the first stirrings of a great venture the people are afraid; when it succeeds, the realm rests easy.
11
「昔者，洪水沸出，氾濫衍溢，民人升降移徙，崎嶇而不安。 夏後氏戚之，乃堙洪原，決江疏河，灑沈澹災，東歸之於海，而天下永寧。 當斯之勤，豈惟民哉？ 心煩於慮，而身親其勞，躬傶骿胝無□，膚不生毛，故休烈顯乎無窮，聲稱浹乎於茲。」
"In ancient times the flood surged until it drowned the land; people climbed hills and fled from place to place, never finding peace. The Xia founders mourned that suffering: they dammed the headwaters, cut channels through the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, drained the drowned lowlands, and sent the waters east to the sea until the world knew lasting calm. Do you imagine the burden fell on the common people alone? The ruler's mind labored over every plan while his body did the heaviest work—his shins and soles hardened with callus, his skin bare of down—so that his glory still lights the ages and his name rings down to us.
12
「且夫賢君之踐位也，豈特委瑣握齪，拘文牽俗，循誦習傳，當世取說云爾哉！ 必將崇論□議，創業垂統，為萬世規。 故馳騖乎兼容並包，而勤思乎參天貳地。 且《詩》不雲乎：『普天之下，莫非王土； 率土之濱，莫非王臣。』 是以六合之內，八方之外，浸淫衍溢，懷生之物有不浸潤於澤者，賢君恥之。 今封疆之內，冠帶之倫，鹹獲嘉祉，靡有闕遺矣。 而夷狄殊俗之國，遼絕異黨之域，舟車不通，人跡罕至，政教未加，流風猶微，內之則犯義侵禮於邊境，外之則邪行橫作，放殺其上，君臣易位，尊卑失序，父兄不辜，幼孤為奴虜，係累號泣。 內鄉而怨，曰：『蓋聞中國有至仁焉，德洋恩普，物磨不得其所，今獨曷為遺己！』 舉踵思慕，若枯旱之望雨，□夫為之垂涕，況乎上聖，又烏能已？ 故北出師以討強胡，南馳使以誚勁越。 四面風德，二方之君鱗集仰流，願得受號者以億計。 故乃關沫、若，徼牂牁，鏤靈山，梁孫原，創道德之塗，垂仁義之統，將博恩廣施，遠撫長駕，使疏逖不閉，昒爽暗昧得耀乎光明，以偃甲兵於此，而息討伐於彼。 遐邇一體，中外禔福，不亦康乎？ 夫拯民於沈溺，奉至尊之休德，反衰世之陵夷，繼周氏之絕業，天子之急務也。 百姓雖勞，又惡可以已哉？
"And when a true king takes the throne, does he mean to stay petty and cramped, shackled by precedent and slave to gossip, merely repeating old formulas to win easy applause? No—he must voice great policies and bold counsel, found institutions that will last, and lay down models for endless generations. He therefore rides forth on a course broad enough to embrace all under heaven and sets his sights as high as the sky and as deep as the earth. Does not the Odes say, "Under the whole sky every scrap of soil belongs to the king; along every shore of the realm every man is the king's subject. Within the six directions and beyond the eight outer regions, if any creature fails to feel the royal bounty, a worthy ruler counts it his shame. Inside the frontiers every belted official already shares in the blessing; none is left out. Yet beyond lie tribes of strange dress and alien speech, lands cut off by distance where neither cart nor boat can pass and few travelers go, places never touched by law or rite. Leave them outside and they raid the frontier; fold them in and murder and revolt multiply—subjects kill their lords, high and low are reversed, the innocent are cut down, children are dragged off as slaves, roped together and sobbing. They turn their faces toward China and cry, "We hear that the Middle Kingdom is ruled by perfect humanity, that virtue floods every corner until nothing lacks its place—why then are we alone cast off? They strain on tiptoe toward us like parched fields waiting for rain; the plowman weeps for them—how could the sage on high hold back? That is why armies went north against the Xiongnu and envoys raced south to rebuke the Yue. On every side peoples incline toward our virtue; chiefs of two quarters swarm upstream like spawning fish, and those begging for investiture are counted by the hundred thousand. Hence the passes on the Mo and Ruo were shut, Zangke was ringed with outposts, Mount Ling was cut through, the Sun River bridged, opening a highway of moral sway and stretching the net of benevolence and duty—intending to spread grace far and wide, to bind the distant in peace, to leave no far corner closed, to bring twilight peoples into the light, to stack weapons here and end campaigns there. Near and far become one fabric, inner and outer alike secure—is that not the true peace? Snatching people from the flood, displaying the sovereign's perfect virtue, reversing the rot of a declining age, and taking up the broken work of the Zhou—these are the throne's pressing duties. Even if the people grow tired, how can such work simply stop?
13
「且夫王者固未有不始於憂勤，而終於佚樂者也。 然則受命之符合在於此。 方將增太山之封，加梁父之事，鳴和鸞，揚樂頒，上鹹五，下登三。 觀者未睹指，聽者未聞音，猶焦朋已翔乎寥廓，而羅者猶視乎藪澤，悲夫！」
No true king has ever begun in comfort and ended in idleness; he always starts in care and finishes in repose. That is where the mandate of heaven shows itself. He will soon add the great feng on Mount Tai and the shan on Liangfu, ring the ritual bells, raise the hymns of praise, rival the Five Thearchs above and the Three August Ones below. Spectators have not yet grasped his purpose, listeners have not caught the music—it is as though the great roc were already wheeling in the empyrean while the fowler squints into the reeds. How sad!
14
於是諸大夫茫然喪其所懷來，失厥所以進，喟然並稱曰：「允哉漢德，此鄙人之所願聞也。 百姓雖勞，請以身先之。」 敞罔靡徙，遷延而辭避。
The elders stood dumbstruck, their prepared speeches forgotten. Sighing, they said as one: "So this is Han virtue—we have heard what we needed to hear. Even if the people must toil, let us go first. They shuffled, empty of further argument, and withdrew in confusion.
15
其後人有上書言相如使時受金，失官。 居歲餘，復召為郎。
Later a memorial accused Xiangru of taking bribes on mission, and he was dismissed. A little over a year later he was recalled to serve again as a gentleman attendant.
16
相如口吃而善著書。 常有消渴病。 與卓氏婚，饒於財。 故其仕宦，未嘗肯與公卿國家之事，常稱疾閒居，不慕官爵。 嘗從上至長楊獵。 是時天子方好自擊熊豕，馳逐野獸，相如因上疏諫。 其辭曰：
Xiangru stammered yet excelled at literary composition. He suffered chronically from diabetes. His marriage to the Zhuo family left him wealthy. Hence he seldom took part in high policy, often pleaded illness, lived quietly at home, and showed no ambition for office or title. He once accompanied the emperor on a hunt at the Changyang park. The emperor had taken to killing bears and boars with his own hands and racing after game; Xiangru therefore presented a written remonstrance. It read:
17
臣聞物有同類而殊能者，故力稱烏獲，捷言慶忌，勇其賁、育。 臣之愚，竊以為人誠有之，獸亦宜然。 今陛下好陵阻險，射猛獸，卒然遇逸材之獸，駭不存之地，犯屬車之清塵，輿不及還轅，人不暇施巧，雖有烏獲、逢蒙之技不能用，枯木朽株盡為難矣。 是胡越起於轂下，而羌夷接軫也，豈不殆哉！ 雖萬全而無患，然本非天子之所宜近也。
Your servant has heard that creatures of one kind may differ in gifts: hence men praise Wuhuo for strength, Qingji for speed, Ben and Yu for valor. In my ignorance I believe that if this is true of men, it is true of beasts as well. Yet Your Majesty loves to climb dangerous ground and shoot savage game. Should some powerful beast bolt from cover in a spot where the chariot cannot save you, the dust of your escort would be thrown into peril: the carriage could not wheel about in time, guards could not react in time—even Wuhuo's strength or Peng Meng's archery would be useless, and every dead trunk becomes a weapon against you. It would be like barbarians springing up beneath the royal axle—could anything be more deadly? Even if no disaster came, such sport is unworthy of the Son of Heaven.
18
且夫清道而後行，中路而馳，猶時有銜橛之變。 況乎涉豐草，騁丘虛，前有利獸之樂，而內無存變之意，其為害也不亦難矣！ 夫輕萬乘之重不以為安，樂出萬有一危之塗以為娛，臣竊為陛下不取。
Even when the avenue is cleared and you gallop down the highway, accidents of rein and bit still happen. How much worse to plunge through tall grass and race over open wastes, with the thrill of the kill ahead and no guard against ambush—the danger then is beyond reckoning! To treat the safety of the imperial equipage lightly and seek pleasure on a road where ruin needs only one chance in ten thousand—your servant respectfully urges that Your Majesty should not choose this.
19
蓋明者遠見於未萌，而知者避危於無形，禍固多藏於隱微而發於人之所忽者也。 故鄙諺曰：「家累千金，坐不垂堂。」 此言雖小，可以諭大。 臣願陛下留意幸察。
The clear-sighted foresee trouble before it appears; the wise step aside before danger takes shape—most disasters nest in what is small and silent until they burst forth where no one was watching. Hence the proverb: a family rich enough to count its wealth in gold does not lounge under the exposed edge of a high roof. Small as the adage is, it speaks to a great truth. I beg Your Majesty to weigh these words with care.
20
上善之。 還過宜春宮，相如奏賦以哀二世行失。 其辭曰：
The emperor approved the memorial. On the way back the imperial train passed Yichun Palace, where Xiangru offered a rhapsody mourning the Second Emperor's moral failure. The piece begins:
21
登陂□之長阪兮，坌入曾宮之嵯峨。 臨曲江之隑州兮，望南山之參差。 巖巖深山之谾□兮，通谷豁乎谽。 汨淢靸以永逝兮，注平皋之廣衍。 觀眾樹之蓊薆兮，覽竹林之榛榛。 東馳土山兮，北揭石瀨。 弭節容與兮，歷吊二世。 持身不謹兮，亡國失勢； 信讒不寤兮，宗廟滅絕。 烏乎！ 操行之不得，墓蕪穢而不修兮，魂亡歸而不食。
I climb the long terraced slope and sweep into palaces piled one above another, sheer as cliffs. Below me the river bends around its shoals; before me the southern peaks stagger in broken ranks. The mountains lift savage crags; hollows open into gulfs where valleys yawn wide as a mouth. The flood races on without rest until it spills across the flat marsh, wide as a sea of reeds. Every tree stands in a tangle of shade; the bamboo runs on in an unbroken wall of green. I wheel east past earthen knolls and strike north through stony rapids. I check the horses, let the carriage drift, and halt where the Second Emperor lies. He could not govern himself—his empire slipped away and his power failed; he trusted slander to the end and never woke—till his ancestral shrines were cold ash. Alas! His life came to nothing; his mound chokes with weeds and no hand tends it; his ghost wanders hungry, with no altar to feed it.
22
相如拜為孝文園令。 上既美子虛之事，相如見上好仙，因曰：「上林之事未足美也，尚有靡者。 臣嘗為《大人賦》，未就，請具而奏之。」 相如以為列仙之儒居山澤間，形容甚□，此非帝王之仙意也，乃遂奏《大人賦》。 其辭曰：
Xiangru received appointment as steward of Emperor Wen's mausoleum park. The sovereign had already praised his "Sir Fantasy" rhapsody. Seeing how fond the emperor was of transcendents, Xiangru said: "What I wrote of the Upper Grove is not the limit of splendor; something grander remains. I have drafted a "Rhapsody for the Great Man" but never finished it; allow me to polish it and lay it before you. He thought the common picture of immortals—emaciated recluses in hills and swamps—beneath an emperor's dignity, and so he offered the "Rhapsody for the Great Man" instead. It opens:
23
世有大人兮，在乎中州。 宅彌萬里兮，曾不足以少留。 悲世俗之迫隘兮，朅輕舉而遠遊。 乘絳幡之素蜺兮，載雲氣而上浮。 建格澤之修竿兮，總光耀之采旄。 垂旬始以為幓兮，曳慧星而為□。 掉指橋以偃□兮，又猗抳以招搖。 攬攙搶以為旌兮，靡屈虹而為綢。 紅杳眇以玄□兮，□風湧而雲浮。 駕應龍象輿之蠖略委麗兮，驂赤螭青虯之蚴□宛蜓。 低卬夭蟜裾以驕驁兮，詘折隆窮□以連捲。 沛艾赳螑仡以佁儗兮，放散畔岸驤以孱顏。 □踱輵螛容以骫麗兮，蜩□偃□怵彘以梁倚。 糾蓼叫踏以□路兮，□蒙踴躍騰而狂□。 蒞颯□歙焱至電過兮，煥然霧除，霍然雲消。
There walks among us a Great Man, and his seat is the Middle Kingdom. His house is ten thousand leagues wide, yet he cannot bear to linger there an hour. The world's meanness galls him; he shakes free and soars on a journey without end. He mounts a rainbow threaded through a scarlet banner and climbs on a tide of cloud. He plants a pole tall as the Geze comet and braids sunbeams into streaming pennants. The comet Xunshi hangs like a canopy; a sweeping comet trails behind as his standard. His chariot poles flex and dip; the traces sway and swing as if beckoning the wind. He twists meteors into his ensigns and stretches the curving rainbow for reins. A flush of red fades into purple depths; gusts boil up and clouds stream beneath him. His car is drawn by the winged yinglong, sinuous and long; scarlet chi and green qiu pace as outriders, bodies coiled like ropes. The team arches and dips, manes flaring like proud banners, shoulders rolling in deep folds that link one curve to the next. They surge and rear, hesitate and hold, then break along the shore, heads tossing, eyes rolling white. Their gait is a slow, sliding dance—now crouched, now stretched—like creatures clinging to a rafter in fear. They twist, cry, stamp the way, then bound and leap in a frenzy of motion. They rush like wind, flash like lightning; in an instant mist lifts and clouds shred away.
24
邪絕少陽而登太陰兮，與真人乎相求。 互折窈窕以右轉兮，橫厲飛泉以正東。 悉征靈圉而選之兮，部署眾神於搖光。 使五帝先導兮，反大壹而從陵陽。 左玄冥而右黔雷兮，前長離而後矞皇。 廝征伯僑而役羨門兮，詔岐伯使尚方。 祝融警而蹕御兮，清氣氛而後行。 屯余車而萬乘兮，綷雲蓋而樹華旗。 使句芒其將行兮，吾欲往乎南娭。
He cuts across the lesser yang and climbs the greater yin, seeking the companionship of transcendents. He veers through winding depths toward the east, vaults the flying cataract, and holds a true eastward course. He calls every spirit warden, chooses his escort, and ranks the gods beneath the star Yaoguang. The Five Thearchs lead the way; Taiyi falls in behind; Lingyang brings up the rear. Xuanming rides his left flank, Qianlei his right; Changli leads, Yuhuang follows. He drafts Boyang and Xianmen as runners and bids Qibo to ready the sovereign's medicaments. Zhurong sounds the escort and clears the path; ill vapors scatter before he moves on. He parks ten thousand cars beneath a canopy of stacked rainbows and a forest of jeweled flags. He sets Gou Mang at the head of the column, for I mean to visit the southern pleasure-grounds.
25
歷唐堯於崇山兮，過虞舜於九疑。 紛湛湛差差錯兮，雜□膠輵以方馳。 騷擾沖蓯其紛拏兮，滂濞泱軋麗以林離。 攢羅列聚叢以籠茸兮，衍曼流爛□以陸離。 徑入雷室之砰磷鬱律兮，洞出鬼谷之堀□崴魁。 遍覽八□而觀四海兮，朅度九江越五河。 經營炎火而浮弱水兮，杭絕浮渚涉流沙。 奄息蔥極氾濫水娭兮，使靈媧鼓琴而舞馮夷。 時若曖曖將混濁兮，召屏翳誅風伯，刑雨師。 西望崑崙之軋沕荒忽兮，直徑馳乎三危。 排閶闔而入帝宮兮，載玉女而與之歸。 登閬風而遙集兮，亢鳥騰而壹止。 低徊陰山翔以紆曲兮，吾乃今日睹西王母。 暠然白首戴勝而穴處兮，亦幸有三足烏為之使。 必長生若此而不死兮，雖濟萬世不足以喜。
He salutes Yao at Mount Chong and Shun among the peaks of Jiuyi. His train piles deep—ranks staggered, teams interlaced—yet every car keeps pace abreast. They boil forward in a tangle of hooves and wheels, a surging mass that breaks and re-forms like surf. They crowd like stacked sheaves, then spill in a long glittering flood, banners and chariots a shifting dazzle. He plunges into the Thunder God's vault where drums never cease, then bursts through Ghost Valley's broken teeth of rock. He scans the eight limits, eyes all four seas, crosses the nine streams, and rides the five great rivers. He sails through infernal flame, drifts the Weak Water, poles past floating shoals, and wades the moving dunes. He rests on the emerald peak, sports in the spreading flood, and sets Lingwa plucking strings while Fengyi dances for him. When gloom closes and the air turns foul, he calls Pingyi, binds the Earl of Wind, and puts the Lord of Rain to the sword. He looks west where Kunlun blurs into mist, then gallops straight toward the Three Perils. He thrusts aside the celestial gate, enters the High God's hall, and bears away the jade maidens in his train. He mounts Langfeng's height and hovers far aloft; black birds wheel up and settle in a single flock. He circles Yin Mountain in slow spirals—at last I look upon the Queen Mother of the West. Her hair gleams white; she wears the jade crown and lives in a stone cavern, yet commands the three-legged crow as herald. If immortality meant only this—never dying, yet living thus—it would run ten thousand generations without bringing delight.
26
回車朅來兮，絕道不周，會食幽鬱。 呼吸沆瀣兮餐朝霞，咀□芝英兮嘰瓊華。 僸祲尋而高縱兮，紛鴻溶而上厲。 貫列缺之倒景兮，涉豐隆之滂濞。 騁游道而修降兮，騖遺霧而遠逝。 迫區中之隘陝兮，舒節出乎北垠。 遺屯騎於玄闕兮，軼先驅於寒門。 下崢嶸而無地兮，上□廓而無天。 視眩泯而亡見兮，聽敞怳而亡聞。 乘虛亡而上遐兮，超無友而獨存。
He wheels his car and returns, breaks the road at Mount Buzhou, and takes his meal in shadowed stillness. He drinks the night mist, eats the dawn's rose cloud, chews the essence of magic fungi, and tastes petals of jade. He shoots upward through swirling radiance, climbing on a swell of light. He threads the lightning's backward flash and rides the cataract where the thunder god walks. He races the roads of heaven on a long descent, drives through trailing mist, and vanishes into distance. Stifled by the world's narrow lanes, he opens the reins and bursts out past the northern rim. He leaves his escort at the Dark Tower and outruns the vanguard at the Gate of Cold. Beneath him gulf on gulf with no ground; above, hollow without bound, with no sky to mark it. His eyes swim in blur until sight fails; his ears ring hollow until sound dies. He rides the empty dark beyond the highest reach, peerless, alone, the only thing that endures.
27
相如既奏《大人賦》，天子大說，飄飄有陵雲氣游天地之間意。
After Xiangru recited the "Rhapsody for the Great Man," the emperor was transported; he felt light enough to ride the wind between heaven and earth.
28
相如既病免，家居茂陵。 天子曰：「司馬相如病甚，可往從悉取其書，若後之矣。」 使所忠往，而相如已死，家無遺書。 問其妻，對曰：「長卿未嘗有書也。 時時著書，人又取去。 長卿未死時，為一卷書，曰有使來求書，奏之。」 其遺札書言封禪事，所忠奏焉，天子異之。 其辭曰：
When illness forced Xiangru to retire, he lived quietly at Maoling. The emperor said: "Sima Xiangru is dying; send someone to collect whatever manuscripts he has before it is too late. Suo Zhong was dispatched, but Xiangru had already died and his house held no books. When they asked his wife, she said: "Changqing never kept books of his own. Whenever he wrote something, someone carried the draft away. Before he died he sealed a single scroll with the words: if an envoy comes for my writings, submit this memorial to the throne. That final manuscript discussed the feng and shan sacrifices. Suo Zhong laid it before the throne, and the emperor received it with wonder. It reads:
29
伊上古之初肇，自顥穹生民。 歷選列辟，以迄乎秦。 率邇者踵武，聽逖者風聲。 紛輪威蕤，堙滅而不稱者，不可勝數也。 繼《昭》、《夏》，崇號謚，略可道者七十有二君。 罔若淑而不昌，疇逆失而能存？
In the dawn of time, when the bright sky first quickened the human race— —sovereigns rose in turn, chosen one after another, down to the house of Qin. Neighbors watched their predecessors' footprints; distant lands heard only their fame. Countless kings shone for a moment, then sank into silence without a name left to us. After the hymns of Shao and Xia, when styles and temple names were fixed, seventy-two rulers still left a trace in the record. None who kept to the good ever failed to thrive; none who flouted the way long survived.
30
軒轅之前，遐哉邈乎，其詳不可得聞已。 五三《六經》載籍之傳，維見可觀也。 《書》曰：「元首明哉！ 股肱良哉！」 因斯以談，君莫盛於堯，臣莫賢於後稷。 後稷創業於唐，公劉發跡於西戎，文王改制，爰周郅隆，大行越成，而後陵遲衰微，千載亡聲，豈不善始善終哉！ 然無異端，慎所由於前，謹遺教於後耳。 故軌跡夷易，易遵也； 湛恩龐洪，易豐也； 憲度著明，易則也； 垂統理順，易繼也。 是以業隆於繈保而崇冠乎二後。 揆厥所元，終都攸卒，未有殊尤絕跡可考於今者也。 然猶躡梁甫，登太山，建顯號，施尊名。 大漢之德，逢湧原泉，沕譎曼羨，旁魄四塞，雲布霧散，上暢九垓，下溯八埏。 懷生之類，沾濡浸潤，協氣橫流，武節焱逝，爾□游原，迥闊泳末，首惡郁沒，□昧昭晰，昆蟲闓怪，回首面內。 然後囿騶虞之珍群，徼麋鹿之怪獸，導一莖六穗於包，犧雙觡共抵之獸，獲周餘放龜於岐，招翠黃乘龍於沼。 鬼神接靈圉，賓於閒館。 奇物譎詭，俶倘窮變。 欽哉，符瑞臻茲，猶以為薄，不敢道封禪。 蓋周躍魚隕杭，休之以燎。 微夫斯之為符也，以登介丘，不亦恧乎！ 進攘之道，何其爽與？
Before the Yellow Thearch the past is too dim; no trustworthy detail survives. What the Five Thearchs, Three Ages, and Six Classics preserve is all we have to go on. The Book of Documents says: "Let the sovereign be clear-sighted! Let his ministers be worthy! Judging by that text, no ruler surpassed Yao and no minister equaled Houji. Houji began the work under Tang, Gong Liu raised the clan among the western Rong, King Wen reshaped the rites, and Zhou climbed to its zenith; their grand achievement was fulfilled, then slowly waned until a thousand years of silence followed—yet that is still what we call beginning well and ending well! They never strayed into excess: they chose their models with care and handed down sober lessons to those who came after. Their footprints lie on level ground—easy for any heir to follow; their kindness ran deep and wide—easy for any heir to share; their laws shone plain for all to see—easy to take as pattern; the succession they left was orderly—easy to continue without break. So the dynasty's greatness grew from the cradle and reached its crown in the two later sage-kings. Yet from root to branch no age has left a deed so supreme that posterity can still measure itself against it. Even so they climbed Liangfu, ascended Tai Shan, proclaimed glorious titles, and assumed the noblest styles. The virtue of the great Han wells up like a spring, spreads without limit, floods the four quarters, rolls out like clouds and mist, rises through the nine heavens above, and washes the eight outer reaches below. Every creature drinks it in; a gentle qi rolls everywhere; martial order flashes past; the worst offenders sink from sight and blind corners come into the light; even strange beasts and crawling things turn homeward toward the throne. The royal preserves now hold herds of zouyu, rare elk and deer penned for the altar, grain ears of six spikes on a single stalk wrapped as tribute, sacrificial oxen whose paired horns grow from one boss, the tortoise freed at Qi when Zhou fell, and the yellow dragon of omen summoned from the marsh. Spirits welcome spirit wardens as guests in the silent halls. Portents multiply, each odder than the last, beginning in strangeness and ending in transformation without end. Such omens crowd in, yet the court still calls its merit slight and hesitates even to name the feng and shan sacrifices. The house of Zhou received its sign when fish leaped into the king's boat and grain filled the vessel—then offered them up with fire. Without such signs to climb a mere knoll would have been shame enough. How twisted is a course that grasps at glory yet shrinks from the rite that crowns it!
31
於是大司馬進曰：「陛下仁育群生，義征不譓，諸夏樂貢，百蠻執贄，德牟往初，功無與二，休烈液洽，符瑞眾變，斯應紹至，不特創見。 意者太山、梁父設壇場望幸，蓋號以況榮，上帝垂恩儲祉，，將以慶成，陛下嗛讓而弗發也。 挈三神之歡，缺王道之儀，群臣恧焉。 或謂且天為質□，示珍符固不可辭； 若然辭之，是泰山靡記而梁父罔幾也。 亦各並時而榮，鹹濟厥世而屈，說者尚何稱於後，而雲七十二君哉？ 夫修德以錫符，奉符以行事，不為進越也。 故聖王弗替，而修禮地祇，謁款天神，勒功中岳，以章至尊，舒盛德，發號榮，受厚福，以浸黎民。 皇皇哉斯事，天下之壯觀，王者之卒業，不可貶也。 願陛下全之。 而後因雜縉紳先生之略術，使獲曜日月之末光絕炎，以展采錯事。 猶兼正列其義，祓飾厥文，作《春秋》一藝。 將襲舊六為七，攄之無窮，俾萬世得激清流，揚微波，蜚英聲，騰茂實。 前聖之所以永保鴻名而常為稱首者用此。 宜命掌故悉奏其儀而覽焉。」
The commander-in-chief then stepped forward: "Your Majesty nurtures all life with humanity and chastises the stubborn with justice. The Hua states gladly bring tribute; barbarian chiefs arrive with gifts. Your virtue outshines antiquity; your deeds have no peer. Glory spreads abroad; omens arrive in endless variety—this is no first-time wonder but heaven's steady answer. Mount Tai and Mount Liangfu have long stood ready with their altars, waiting for your chariot so their names may share your glory. High God heaps favor upon you to mark the work fulfilled—yet you modestly hold back and will not begin. To deny the Three Powers their joy and leave the kingly sacrifice incomplete shames every minister at court. Some argue that heaven itself is bond, that the rare talismans it sends cannot decently be refused; and that to refuse them would leave Tai Shan without its inscription and Liangfu without its hope of rite. The seventy-two ancient kings each rose in his season, served his age, then bowed out—what would later ages praise in them if you break the chain now? To earn heaven's tallies by virtue and to act once they are granted is not presumption—it is the way of the sage. That is why sage kings never set the rite aside: they perfected worship of earth, made humble approach to heaven, carved their achievement on the sacred peak, displayed the supremacy of the throne, unfolded deep virtue, proclaimed a noble style, drew down rich blessing, and let it flood the common people. This is the supreme spectacle of the empire and the capstone of kingship; it must not be slighted. We beg you to bring it to fulfillment. Then let your scholars catch a reflected gleam of your glory and set their talents to the task. Let them align the doctrine, polish the prose, and add a chapter worthy of the Spring and Autumn. The canon will swell from six classics to seven, its influence endless, so that ages to come may ride its clear stream, catch its ripples, and carry its fame and solid achievement abroad. Earlier sages kept their great names forever at the head of the record by doing exactly this. Order the archivists to set down the full ritual program for your review.
32
於是天子沛然改容，曰：「俞乎，朕其試哉！」 乃遷思回慮，總公卿之議，詢封禪之事，詩大澤之博，廣符瑞之富。 遂作頌曰：
The emperor's face cleared; he said, "Very well—I will make the attempt! He gathered his wits, polled his high ministers on the feng and shan, praised the breadth of the great marsh, and rehearsed the wealth of recent omens. He then composed this hymn:
33
自我天覆，雲之油油。 甘露時雨，厥壤可游。 滋液滲漉，何生不育！ 嘉谷六穗，我穡曷蓄？
Heaven spreads its canopy above us; clouds roll in soft billows. Sweet dew and seasonable rain make every field a pleasure to walk. Moisture seeps everywhere—what could fail to grow? The good grain bears six ears to a stalk—how can we hoard enough of such bounty?
34
匪唯雨之，又潤澤之； 匪唯偏我，泛布護之； 萬物熙熙，懷而慕之。 名山顯位，望君之來。 君兮君兮，侯不邁哉！
Heaven sends not rain alone but a soaking kindness; it favors not us only but spreads shelter over all; the myriad creatures thrive and turn toward it with love. The great peaks stand in ordered rank, watching for the sovereign's approach. O our king, why do you still hold back your step?
35
□之獸，樂我君圃； 白質黑章，其儀可喜； 旼□穆穆，君子之態。 蓋聞其聲，今視其來。 厥塗靡從，天瑞之征。 慈爾於舜，虞氏以興。
The zouyu takes joy in our ruler's park; white hide barred with black, a creature of lovely mien; gentle, solemn, grave—the very air of a gentleman. We knew it only by report; now we watch it arrive. No footprints mark its path—sure sign of heaven's grace. Such kindness shone in Shun, and the house of Yu rose on it.
36
濯濯之麟，游彼靈畤。 孟冬十月，君徂郊祀。 馳我君輿，帝用享祉。 三代之前，蓋未嘗有。
The sleek qilin wanders the sacred enclosure of the spirit altar. In the tenth winter month our lord drives out to the suburban offering. His chariot flies to the rite, and High God accepts the blessing. In the three earlier dynasties such a thing had never been recorded.
37
宛宛黃龍，興德而升； 采色玄耀，炳炳輝煌。 正陽顯見，覺寤黎烝。 於傳載之，雲受命所乘。
The sinuous yellow dragon mounts on virtue and climbs the sky; its colors blaze darkly, flash with dazzling fire. The true yang shines forth and wakes the common people. The classics record it as the mount of the received mandate.
38
厥之有章，不必諄諄。 依類托寓，諭以封巒。
The pattern is plain; it need not be argued at length. Each creature bears its type and speaks in parable, pointing toward the sacrifices on the twin peaks.
39
披藝觀之，天人之際已交，上下相發允答。 聖王之事，兢兢翼翼。 故曰於興必慮衰，安必思危。 是以湯、武至尊嚴，不失肅祗，舜在假典，顧省厥遺：此之謂也。
Open the classics and see: heaven and man already meet; high and low answer each other in truth. The sage-king's business is done with trembling care. Hence the saying: in advance remember retreat; in peace remember peril. Tang and Wu held the highest rank yet never dropped their awe; Shun, though enthroned by borrowed forms, still reviewed his faults. This is the sense of it.
40
相如既卒五歲，上始祭后土。 八年而遂禮中岳，封於太山，至梁甫，禪肅然。
Five years after Xiangru's death the emperor first offered sacrifice to Hou Tu. Eight years later he worshiped the central peak, performed the feng on Mount Tai, went on to Liangfu, and the shan at Suyan.
41
相如它所著，若《遺平陵侯書》、《與五公子相難》、《草木書篇》，不採，采其尤著公卿者雲。
Other pieces attributed to him—letters to the Marquis of Pingling, debates with the five gentlemen, botanical sketches—are omitted here; this chapter records chiefly what he laid before the high ministers.
42
贊曰：司馬遷稱：《春秋》推見至隱，《易本》隱以之顯，《大雅》言王公大人，而德逮黎庶，《小雅》譏小己之得失，其流及上。 所言雖殊，其合德一也。 相如雖多虛辭濫說，然要其歸引之於節儉，此亦《詩》之風諫何異？」 揚雄以為靡麗之賦，勸百而諷一，猶騁鄭、衛之聲，曲終而奏雅，不已戲乎！
The historian's comment: Sima Qian said the Spring and Autumn reads the surface to expose what lies beneath; the Changes moves from the hidden toward the clear; the Greater Odes praise kings and dukes yet their virtue washes down to the people; the Lesser Odes fault petty faults yet their lesson rises to the throne. Their subjects differ, but the moral thread is one. Xiangru's prose is often inflated, yet in the end he pulls the reader back toward restraint—much like the corrective voice of the Odes. Yang Xiong thought such sumptuous fu encourage a hundred times for every warning they utter—like a concert of Zheng and Wei music with a scrap of classical air tacked on at the end: clever, perhaps, but hardly serious moral art.