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卷三 肅宗孝章帝紀

Volume 3: Annals of Emperor Suzong Xiaozhang

Chapter 5 of 後漢書 ✓ Translated
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1
西 𤸇 西 殿 𣅳 西 殿 便殿 殿 便殿殿 宿 使 退 使 西 使 使 調 𤸇 西 西 西 西 𤸇 鹿 使 使 殿 西 西 西 使 西 使 鹿 耀 𩜋𩜋 使 宿 𡜟𡜟 使 使使 西 殿 西 西西西 西 西 駿駿 駿 祿 西 使 退 滿 西 鹿 西 西 使 使 西 西 西 西 西 歿 祿 使 使使 使 西 使 殿 調
Emperor Zhang—temple name Suzong, posthumous epithet Xiaozhang—was Liu Da, the fifth son of Emperor Ming (Xianzong). (The regulations on posthumous names say: "Gentle, self-controlled, and dignified in bearing" earns the epithet Zhang. The 《Fu Hou Commentary》 gives his style as Zhu, read with the ding initial and da rime.) His mother was Lady Jia, mother of the heir. In Yongping 3 he was named crown prince. From boyhood he was easygoing and fond of Confucian scholarship; Emperor Ming thought the world of him. On renzi in the eighth month of Yongping 18 he ascended the throne at nineteen. The empress was elevated to empress dowager. On renxu Emperor Ming was interred at the Xianjie tomb. (The 《Imperial Annals》 says the Xianjie mound was three hundred paces on a side and eight zhang high. The site was the old Fushou post station, thirty-seven li northwest of Luoyang. In the tenth month of winter, on dingwei, the court proclaimed a general amnesty. Commoners received two steps of noble rank, three for filial exemplars and chief farmers, one for those who registered formerly uncounted persons or vagrants; excess rank above gongcheng could pass to a son or brother's son; three hu of grain for each widower, widow, orphan, person living alone, the gravely disabled, and the destitute. An edict read: "Young as I am, I sit above the princes yet must steer every affair of state; I fear losing the middle way and do not know how I shall manage. A sovereign who keeps the civil peace must have true grand tutors. The 《Odes》 ask: 'Forget no lesson, stray from no ancient rule. ' (The line comes from the Major Odes.) Zheng Xuan glosses: "Qian is transgression. Shuai means to follow. You means 'to use.' It praises King Cheng for erring neither in word nor deed and for holding to the Duke of Zhou's ritual code." Marquis of Jiexiang Zhao Xi has served as acting grand commandant across three reigns—he is the elder statesman of the court; (Zhao Xi was grand commandant under Guangwu and acted as grand commandant under Ming, hence "three reigns at the center." Yuan here means "senior." The 《Odes》 call Fang Shu "the old pillar of state." Minister of Works Mou Rong has served six years. (Rong is Mou Rong. ) He has labored without slackening. Appoint Xi grand tutor and Rong grand commandant, both with concurrent authority over the masters of writing. (Emperor Wu first had Zhang Ziru "hold" the masters of writing. Thus began the title "supervisor of the masters of writing." The 《Odes》 also mourn that "the three high ministers will not toil day and night"— (from "Yu wu zheng" in the Odes; san shi means the three dukes.) Zheng Xuan explains that when King You fled, the three dukes and marquels who followed him forgot lord-and-minister duty and would not attend him morning or night. "If I miss the Way, set me right; do not merely nod"—from the 《Documents》, "Yi and Ji", Kong Anguo glosses: when the ruler errs, ministers must correct him with right principle, not flatter to his face. That is the true duty of arm-and-thigh ministers. All you lords and officials: perfect your offices, speak in good faith, and help me where I fail. Send my meaning to every quarter of the realm." In the eleventh month, on wuxu, Di Wu Lun, governor of Shujun, became minister of works. General Geng Bing who smites the west was ordered to garrison Jiuquan. (Jiuquan is in modern Gansu. The Han commentaries say a spring below the city tasted like wine, hence the name "Wine Spring." Governor Duan Peng of Jiuquan was dispatched to relieve Colonel Geng Gong. At month's end on jiachen the sun was eclipsed. He vacated the main hall, stood down the guards, and suspended court business for five days. Every ministry was told to file sealed advice. On guisi in the twelfth month officials memorialized: "Emperor Ming's virtue was deep and rich; he worked past midday. (Ri ze is afternoon; the 《Documents》 say King Wen from dawn to mid-afternoon had no time to eat. He wore patched silk and took no second dish at dinner. His kindness spread to the four seas. (The 《Documents》 say "his light reached the four borders." Far peoples sought civilization; pygmies and Dan'er tribes came to the frontier gates unbidden. (Kuan means "to knock at." Jiaojiao and Dan'er are glossed in Emperor Ming's annals.) He chastised "Gui Fang" (a distant enemy. The 《Book of Changes》 says Gaozong campaigned three years against Gui Fang and won. He opened the Western Regions so that Han majesty reached everywhere and none could refuse allegiance. He worried for the common people, not for his own delight in ruling. He perfected the three suburban academies and personally celebrated the old-age rites. He set court hymns to rights, reformed the imperial music, and mastered the six arts. (The 《Zhou li》 lists ritual, music, archery, charioteering, writing, and numbers; the Han "Bibliographic Treatise" counts the six classics as the six arts. "Broad mastery" means he plumbed their depths.) He never flagged night or day. His acumen and depth were foretold in apocryphal charts. (The 《River Chart》 promises nine heavens opened and ten generations of glory. The 《Kuodi xiang》 says ten reigns of ritual and culture will follow. Both allude to Emperor Ming.) Such virtue moved even the spirits. His deeds lit the four seas; his humane example will last a thousand years. Yet he called himself unworthy, forbade a separate temple, asked only for swept-earth offerings, and ended daily sacrifices. (The outer commentary says: daily, monthly, seasonal rites; near ancestors daily, remoter ones monthly, the three distant temples by season; his edict followed seasonal and monthly worship instead of daily.) He cut funeral pomp and housed his tablet with Empress Guanglie in her robing chamber. The whole realm mourned when it heard. Your Majesty's filial devotion is deep; you follow that sage example. We humbly note the robing hall stands outside the inner gate—separate from the main shrine. We ask that the dynastic temple name Xianzong be granted; grand di and xia should be offered in Guangwu's hall, minor seasonal rites in the robing hall. (The 《Xu Han shu》 gives the five-year Yin cycle: xia every three years, di every five; fathers face south as zhao; sons face north as mu. The di falls in the fourth month of summer, the xia in the tenth month of winter. Di means "to sort": it fixes zhao-mu seniority. Xia means "joining" the lineage. In the tenth month the harvest is in, so kin gather at the high temple for the great Yin feast. Besides the four seasonal rites come minor tastings—new wheat in the fifth month, new grain and autumn ale at the three fu and at Beginning of Autumn, new rice in the tenth month—each in the robing hall. The robing hall is not the principal shrine. The tomb precinct has a main hall and side halls. The "resting" hall is the chief structure on the mound. The "convenience" hall beside it is the robing chamber. Present the 《Wu De》 dance as Emperor Wen once did at the high temple xia offering." (Former Han used 《Wu De》, 《Wen Shi》, and 《Wu Xing》 at Gaozu's temple. The emperor answered: "Granted." That year a cattle plague swept the north. The capital and three provinces baked in drought; Yan, Yu, and Xu were excused rent and fodder tax, and stored grain was issued to the needy. Jianchu 1, first month of spring: the three drought provinces were told: "Spring plowing has begun; I fear relief grain is coming too slowly. (Bin means "issue rations." Shao means "little by little." Do not dump the whole ration at once. Constant travel for pickup wastes the spring plow. Identify the poorest households and deliver their full loaned grain in one trip. (Bin is read with the bi initial and zheng rime.) Vagrants heading home must receive enough grain from counties to complete the journey; let them rest at official hostels and not pay for private inns." Magistrates must go in person so the needy are not missed and clerks and magnates cannot hide fraud. (Former Han ranked petty clerks below one hundred piculs, the dou-shi assistants. Once the edict goes out there must be no foot-dragging; inspectors shall watch especially the worst offenders. "Wu zhuang" means crimes so grave they defy description. Other glosses follow the same rule.) On bingyin an edict said: "Cattle plague, shrinking tillage, dear grain, and drifting refugees have worn the realm down. Spring plowing is here; every county must keep pace with the season. Two-thousand-picul officials must push plowing and silkworms and welcome returning laborers. All high ministers must give honest effort and put the people first. No death sentence short of the gravest may be reviewed until autumn. Let officials choose men with care, promote the gentle, dismiss the corrupt, heed the seasons, and clear the jails. "The five teachings rest on mercy" - so the sage kings taught; (The five bonds: righteous fathers, kind mothers, friendly elder brothers, respectful younger brothers, filial sons. The Canon of Shun says the minister of education must spread those five teachings with mercy. The Odes praise the "happy, easy" prince who becomes father and mother to the people. (Kai is joy; ti is ease. The Major Odes say such a lord is "father and mother of the people." Publish this across the realm so all may know my mind." Duan Peng of Jiuquan attacked Cheshi and won a crushing victory. The Wu-Ji colonel post was abolished. In the second month the Lizhong tribesmen in Wuling rose in revolt. (Wuling is modern Hunan west of Dongting. The Shui jing traces the Li River to the Wuling hills. On jiayin in the third month Shanyang and Dongping were shaken by an earthquake. On jisi an edict said: "Without merit I hold the throne; I tremble night and day and dare not rest. (Kong Anguo glosses "dare not idle in self-ease." Yet omens still track my misrule. I am dim of wit and daily grow less sure of the Way; recommendations lie, harsh clerks ruin men, offices rot, justice wanders from the mean - how can I not grieve!" Ran Yong served the Ji family and Zi You tiny Wucheng, yet Confucius still taught them to pick worthy helpers. (The Analects: Confucius told Ran Yong to pardon small faults and promote talent. He asked Zi You of Wucheng whether he had found good men." Good government of any scale rests on the right appointments. Local recommendation must reward proven service. Today inspectors and governors cannot tell sham from true; hundreds of "flourishing talents" and "filial incorrupts" arrive yearly, most unproved, yet we hand them office - it is absurd. Past dynasties often raised men from the furrow with no regard for pedigree. (Quan means a field furrow. Read gong-quan fan. The Records define noble pedigree as fa and accumulated merit as yue. Earlier ages chose talent, not gate alone.) When candidates wrote memorials, their skill showed; when they were tested in office, their deeds stood out. (Fu is "set forth"; zou is "advance." Let each present a memorial to show ability. So the Documents pair speech with deed.) Culture and substance in balance (bin-bin means evenly mixed. I greatly approve. Let every grand tutor, duke, two-thousand-picul official, and governor nominate one worthy, upright man willing to speak truth to power. On xinyou in the fifth month of summer the court first ordered filial incorrupts and court gentlemen who were learned and shrewd to fill county magistrate and marquis-minister posts. (Ren means "fit for duty." Dian means "to govern." Chief is the county magistrate; minister the marquisate chancellor.) On xinhai in the seventh month of autumn the court gave Shanglin park land to the poor. (Yu is the imperial fence; read yu. Han commentaries describe the reed fence around the hunt park. On gengyin in the eighth month a comet appeared in the Celestial Market asterism. (The sky chart places the comet in the market stars near Fang. In the ninth month the Ailao tribes in Yongchang rebelled. In the tenth month of winter Wuling forces crushed the rebel tribes. In the eleventh month Prince Yan of Fuling lost his kingship for plotting revolt and was reduced to marquis. Jianchu 2, xinchou in the third month of spring: yin and yang are out of tune and famine keeps returning. I recall how the late emperor put the farmer first. (Ben means agriculture. The Documents forbid wasting wealth or harming the people - he wanted folk to leave commerce for the soil. Yet in-laws and kin still bankrupt themselves on weddings and funerals. Officials ignore the sumptuary laws and will not investigate. The Spring and Autumn principle is to let the high correct the low. From the three dukes down every minister must punish excess and show stern authority. I am barely twenty and have not known the plow; my view is a tube peep at the sky - how can I see every corner!" (Bian Que said a tube cannot span the heavens. Draw up the needed bans, begin at the capital, then extend to the provinces. (The Gongyang says the classic ranks inner China and outer barbarians. The king would unify all under Heaven - why inner and outer?" He begins with his own house.) On jiachen the garrison at Yiwu was withdrawn. (Placed there in Yongping 16. Han settlers and tribes of Yongchang, Yuexi, and Yizhou crushed the Ailao revolt. On wuzi in the fourth month of summer over four hundred families exiled for the Chu and Huaiyang cases were sent home. On guisi the court told the Qi chancellor to stop tribute of ice damask, openwork gauze, and fine floss. (Wan is plain silk. "Ice" means bright as ice. The Shiming calls hu gauze. Fang kong is gauze so sheer it seems hollow. Some read kong as "mesh" - the square window gauze of today. Lun floss is finer than padding. Chui floss is gauze blown fine on the loom. Former Han kept three Qi weaving houses; this edict closed them.) In the sixth month the Shao Dang Qiang rose; Jincheng governor Hao Chong was beaten and they raided Hanyang. In the eighth month of autumn Acting Chariot and Cavalry General Ma Fang was sent and crushed the revolt. On wuyin in the twelfth month a comet appeared in the Purple Palace. Jianchu 3, jiyou in the first month of spring: the emperor worshipped at the Bright Hall. Afterward he climbed the Spirit Terrace to read the clouds. A general amnesty followed. On guisi in the third month Lady Dou became empress. The court granted two noble steps per man, three to elders and moral exemplars, one to those who registered; five hu of grain to each widower, widow, orphan, solitary person, the gravely disabled, and the destitute. On jisi in the fourth month of summer the Hutuo-Shijiu canal corvee in Changshan was ended. (Shijiu is northeast of Tang county in Hebei. Deng Xun had warned the work could not be finished, so the court dropped it. Cao (canal transport) is read cai-dao fan. Acting Chariot and Cavalry General Ma Fang crushed the Shao Dang Qiang at Lintao. (Lintao county lay in Longxi, in the Minshan region of modern Gansu. In the intercalary month Ban Chao, acting chief commandant of the Western Regions, smashed the state of Jimo. (Jimo lay over eight thousand li from Chang'an. On dingyou in the twelfth month of winter Ma Fang was made chariot and cavalry general. The Louzhong tribes in Wuling rose in revolt. (The Lou River rises in northwestern Hunan. That year Lingling sent lingzhi fungus as tribute. Jianchu 4, gengyin in the second month of spring: Grand Commandant Mou Rong died. On wuzi in the fourth month of summer Prince Qing was named crown prince. The court granted two noble steps per man, three to elders and moral exemplars, one to those registering vagrants or the uncounted; five hu of grain to each widower, widow, orphan, solitary person, the gravely disabled, and the destitute. On jichou Prince Gong of Julu became King of Jiangling, Prince Chang of Runan King of Liang, and Prince Bing of Changshan King of Huaiyang. On xinmao Prince Kang, personal name read kang, was enfeoffed as King of Qiansheng. Prince Quan was made King of Pingchun. (Pingchun county was in Jiangxia. On bingchen in the fifth month Ma Fang was relieved as chariot and cavalry general. On jiaxu Bao Yu became grand commandant and Nanyang governor Huan Yu minister of education. (Huan Yu, style Zhongchun, was from Fengyi. On guichou in the sixth month Empress Dowager Ma died. On renxu in the seventh month of autumn she was buried with the title Empress Dowager Mingde. In winter a severe cattle plague struck. On renxu in the eleventh month an edict said: "The Three Dynasties led the people by putting schools first. (Former Han notes: Xia called schools xiao, Yin xiang, Zhou xu. Han succeeded cruel Qin by honoring Confucian learning, fixing the Five Classics, and appointing academicians for each. Later scholars deepened the texts; even when they shared one master, they split into rival schools. (Pupils of one teacher spun off new chapter-and-verse lineages. Emperor Xuan thought the sages far off and learning should be wide; he therefore founded chairs for the Greater and Lesser Xiahou Documents and later for the Jing lineage Changes. (Greater and Lesser Xiahou were Xiahou Sheng and his nephew Xiahou Jian. The Jing school was Jing Fang. Mid-Jianwu restored chairs for the Yan and Yan schools of the Spring and Autumn Annals and for the Greater and Lesser Dai Rituals. (The Yan school of Gongyang associated with Yan Pengzu. The Yan school of Gongyang associated with Yan Anle. Greater and Lesser Dai were Dai De and Dai Sheng. All this was meant to foster minor traditions and widen the Way. The Zhongyuan 1 edict complained that Five Classics commentary had grown bloated and sought to trim it. In Yongping 1 Fan Chou, chief commandant of archers of the Long Waters regiment, memorialized that Emperor Ming's project should go forward. He wanted scholars to harmonize the classics so students could find their bearings. Confucius said, "I fret when learning is not discussed. He also said, "Wide study, firm purpose, sharp questions, careful thought—that is where humanity lies. ' (Analects. Jiang means "to practice." Du means "deep." Zhi means "to hold fast." It urges broad study, then mastery; hard questions on what puzzles you; reflection on what you can do. Love of learning is part of humanity, so humanity lies there. Therefore strive at this! Orders went to the minister of rituals, generals, grandees, and academicians. (They were under the minister of rituals. Deliberation gentlemen, palace gentlemen, and students met at White Tiger Hall to debate the Five Classics, while Wei Ying of the five offices asked the questions. (That post ranked near two thousand piculs. Chunyu Gong presented summaries; the emperor ruled from the chair like Emperor Xuan at the Ganlu and Stone Canal conferences. (In Ganlu 2 Xuan had scholars debate the classics at Stone Canal. Shi Chou had debated there in Ganlu. The Stone Canal gallery stood north of Weiyang Palace, where secret archives were kept. The conference produced the White Tiger memorials. (These became the White Tiger tong. That year sweet dew fell on Quanling and Taoyang. (Both were in Lingling commandery. Quanling stood north of modern Lingling. Old Taoyang lay northwest of Xiangyuan. Jianchu 5, new moon on gengchen in the second month of spring: a solar eclipse. An edict said: "I have just lost my mother's care. (The empress dowager died last year. My faults show plain; Heaven sends portents and great changes follow. The 《Odes》 say, "This is a hideous thing. ' (The ode on the xinmao eclipse calls it "hideous. Kong means "very." Chou means "shameful." ) Long drought has ruined the wheat, and grief cuts deep. Let every minister nominate one blunt critic of my faults and send him to the public carriage office; I will read his words myself. Favor recluses over courtiers. (Zou Yang asked to elevate cave scholars. Do not pick empty show-offs." On jiashen an edict said: "The classic records 'no wheat, no shoots' as a grave matter. (Zhuang 7: autumn flood destroyed wheat and shoots. The Gongyang says one calamity is not recorded alone; only when both fail does the text say so. He Xiu notes the classic stresses human food by naming wheat and shoots. Last autumn's rains failed; now drought returns like scorching fire. (Yan and fen picture fierce heat. The Han version of the Odes says the drought fiend "burns like fire." Famine comes without warning, yet we are not ready. My faults dim sun, moon, and stars; I tremble and my head aches with shame. (Read dao for the graph glossed as anxious grief. The 《Odes》 speak of "dao-dao" care. They also compare grief to sickness in the head. Ancient sages sought wide counsel. (Zi-yu means "to plan," read zi-yu. When disaster struck, they opened the golden coffer and winds turned fair. (King Wu fell ill; the Duke of Zhou hid a prayer in the golden coffer. When Guan and Cai slandered him, King Cheng doubted the duke; a gale flattened the fields. Cheng opened the coffer, read the prayer, sacrificed to Heaven, and the storm reversed. The story is in the 《Documents》. I, least of men, can only grieve. Let two-thousand-picul officials clear unjust jails and free minor prisoners; pray at the five peaks and four rivers and at rain-making mountains, hoping for a morning shower over the whole realm. (The Documents commentary says the sacred peaks can cloud over and rain the realm before noon. Perform these rites with utmost reverence." On jiayin in the third month an edict quoted Confucius: "When punishments miss the mark, the people are lost. Too many clerks are cruel: they bully the innocent into suicide more often than courts convict—this is not how fathers and mothers of the people should rule. (The 《Documents》 call the king father and mother to the people. Let ministers draft measures to stop it." Forces from Jing and Yu crushed the Louzhong rebels in Wuling. On xinhai in the fifth month of summer an edict said: "I long for honest men I have yet to meet; I set aside the mat and listen for what I have not heard. Chi here means "to long for," read chi-er fan. A tilted mat meant the ruler left a seat empty for a worthy man. Those who came first spoke with passion; I have heard something of your minds and mean to keep you near for counsel. A Jianwu edict recalled that Yao tried officials in post, not on paper alone. (The Canon of Shun says, "I will try them." It also speaks of testing through hardship. Zha means a writing slip.) Many provincial posts stand empty and may now be filled. On wuchen Grand Tutor Zhao Xi died. That winter the court first used the Monthly Ordinances music to greet each season. (The Dongguan ji records Ma Fang urging seasonal music to harmonize yin and yang. He proposed opening the year with the great-cluster pitch and classical hymns. Cost killed the full plan; only the tenth-month qi rite was kept. That year Lingling sent lingzhi as tribute. Eight yellow dragons were sighted at Quanling. (They sported in the Xiang River at Quanling. Two were horse-sized and horned; six were colt-sized and hornless. Ban Chao then broke the kingdom of Su-le. Jianchu 6, xinmao in the second month of spring: King Jing of Langye died. On xinyou in the fifth month of summer King Xu of Zhao died. On bingchen in the sixth month Grand Commandant Bao Yu died. At month's end on xinwei the sun was eclipsed. On guisi in the seventh month Grand Minister of Agriculture Deng Biao became grand commandant. Jianchu 7, first month of spring: Princes Fu, Kang, Cang, Yan, Zheng, and Yu attended court. On jiayin in the sixth month Crown Prince Qing was demoted to Prince of Qinghe and Prince Zhao was named heir in his place. On jiwei Prince Xian of Guangping became Prince of Xiping. In the eighth month of autumn the court tasted the autumn ale at Gaozu's temple and offered the grand di to Guangwu and Ming. (Former Han had used the Wu De and Wu Xing dances at that rite. Commentaries explain zhou ale, brewed New Year's day and ready by autumn, as especially strong. Emperor Wu made marquels pay gold toward the zhou offering. Southern commanderies could substitute rhino horn or tortoise shell for gold. Yulin could send ivory or kingfisher plumes in lieu of gold. On jiachen an edict quoted the Documents: "The ancestors draw near" at a wise ruler's sacrifice. (Read ge for the word glossed as "visit." It means "to arrive." Kui in the Documents cries, "Ah! I strike stone and strum strings until the ancestors draw near." The gloss says true sacrifice draws the dead to the hall. I am young and slight of merit; thinking of my father's love I have already held a di to show filial piety. Thus I learned the zhao-mu order and honored a distant forebear. This year's grand rite adds Emperor Ming's spirit tablet. Grief fills me. Music greets the spirits, mourning sees them off; though the classic says the dead are "as if present," I feel hollow and hardly know how to proceed—yet I hope they feast. Surely I have ministers reverent and mild to assist the rites? (Su is reverence; yong is harmony; xiang means aid. The Major Odes describe feudatories assisting at sacrifice in solemn harmony. Every prince who shared the rite showed grave respect. You all steady me in this long grief. (Yi-yi is tender longing.) Grant the dukes four hundred thousand cash, ministers half, and other officials graded sums." On jiaxu in the ninth month he went to Yanshi and crossed east at Juan. (Juan county lay in Henan. Read juan with the qiu initial and quan rime.) He entered Henei. An edict said: "This tour is to see the autumn harvest as we pass through the provinces. We ride light with no baggage train. Do not rebuild roads, meet the train far out, or spy on my movements. (Ci-tan means to scout. Read tan tang-kan fan.) Such bustle only wearies the people. Keep things spare; I would be content with plain millet and gourd water. (Yan Ying ate coarse grain in Qi. Confucius praised Yan Hui for living on a single gourd of drink.) Let every stop help the poor and break no part of this order." He then toured the Qi Garden. (The Qi Garden was the old Wei royal park. On jiyou he reached Ye, feasted Wei officials from governor down to gate guards, and gave cash by rank. He rewarded Changshan and Zhao staff and remitted three years of taxes in Yuanshi. On xinmao the court returned to the capital. Death sentences empire-wide were commuted one degree, the rod waived, and convicts sent to the frontier; wives and children could follow and register there; parents or full brothers could join them if they wished; no-shows were charged as if they had blocked military supply. (That statute carried a capital penalty.) Those facing the worst death were castrated instead; women convicts went to palace labor. Prisoners sentenced to gui-xin, white-rice, or worse. (Former Han defined those as three-year labor. Men on gui-xin gathered temple fuel. Women on white-rice sifted grain until it shone white. All such sentences were cut one degree to minister-of-crimes corvee. Fugitives could buy off sentences on a fixed scale; self-surrender when the edict arrived halved the price. On guichou in the tenth month of winter he began a western progress to Chang'an. On bingchen he worshipped at Gaozu's temple and the eleven Western Han tombs. Envoys sacrificed at Wannian to Liu Taigong, Gaozu's father (also named Zhijia. His tomb north of Duyang was called Wannian; a county of that name was split off for sacrifice there.) He offered ox and sheep at the shrines of Xiao He and Huo Guang. He continued to Huaili. A bronze jar-shaped vessel found on Mount Qi was sent to court. A white deer was taken as well. The emperor said, "With no enlightened sovereign above and no worthy shepherds below, (As noted under Emperor Ming. The Odes say, "When men lack goodness they blame one another." (Minor Odes. Liang means "good." It blames a ruler whose deeds are not good. The Han version of the Odes gives this gloss.) Why, then, has this bronze come to me?" He echoed Confucius at the unicorn: "Who sent you? Who sent you? Who sent you?" He also stopped at Changping and the Chiyang palace. (Changping ridge lay south of Chiyang, some fifty li from Chang'an. He went east to Gaoling, linked boats on the Jing to ford, and turned back. (Zao here means "to reach." Boats were chained into a floating bridge. The Erya ranks royal and noble boat bridges by rank. At each stop he called in local officials, feasted them, and had music played. In the eleventh month he rewarded Hedong's governor, magistrates, and staff down to assistants. On dinghai in the twelfth month the court returned to the capital. That year locusts or caterpillars struck the capital and provinces. Jianchu 8, renchen in the first month of spring: Liu Cang, king of Dongping, died. On xinmao in the third month King Xian of Dongping was buried with imperial hearse emblems. In the sixth month of summer a Northern Xiongnu chief brought his people to surrender at the frontier. On jiawu in the twelfth month of winter he began an eastern tour through Chenliu, Liang, Huaiyang, and Yingyang. On wushen the court returned to the palace. An edict said: "The classics have fractured; we drift from the sages; rival glosses breed doubt; I fear the masters' subtle teachings will die if we do not recover antiquity." Let scholars choose gifted pupils to study Zuo and Guliang, old-text Documents, and Mao Odes to keep minor traditions alive." That year pests again hit the capital and provinces. Yuanhe 1, first month of spring: Prince Yan of Zhongshan attended court. Rinan frontier tribes sent a live rhino and white pheasants. (A Jiaozhou note describes the rhinoceros: pig-like hair, three hooves, three horns. The Yiwu zhi adds that a "heaven-piercing" horn shows a bright line through it. In the intercalary month, on xinchou, King Chang of Jiyin died. On jiaxu in the second month an edict said: "The eight policies of state put food first, as the Hong fan teaches." The ancients toiled at plow and hoe. The handle is the lei; the blade is the si.) They saved grain against famine so that even in bad years folk did not go hungry. Since the cattle plague grain has stayed short because magistrates and governors have not taken it to heart. (Fu means "burden" or "worry." Let every commandery recruit landless men willing to move to richer districts. At their destination give them public land, hired plows, seed, and rations. Loan them tools; waive rent five years and poll tax three. Anyone who later wishes to go home may do so." On jimao in the fourth month of summer Dongping was partitioned and Liu Shang, son of Liu Cang, became King of Rencheng. On xinyou in the sixth month King Fu of Pei died. On dingwei in the seventh month an edict quoted the code: interrogation may use only the rod, bamboo, and standing question. (Lue means "to question." Bang means to strike. Chi means beating. Li means questioning while standing.) Ordinance Bing fixed bamboo-rod lengths for beating. (Bing is a section title in the code. Han law was arranged in jia, yi, and bing sections. Jing Di standardized the five-foot rod with set thickness. Since the great witch-hunts, torture has grown cruel with drills and augers. (The "great prison" means cases like Prince Ying of Chu. Read zuan qi-lian fan. Shuowen glosses zuan as pierce. The Guoyu lists drill among middle punishments. All refer to flaying the body.) Torture knew no limit. Their agony wrings my heart. The Documents make the whip the official's tool—did they mean torture like this? (Kong Anguo says the whip was for disciplining officials. Review prisons in autumn and winter and publish clear bans." On jiazi in the eighth month Deng Biao stepped down as grand commandant and Zheng Hong replaced him. On guiyou an edict said: "My rule lacks virtue; local government is out of tune; the people stumble into crime." Robbery will not end; frontier hamlets and walls lie in disrepair. (Some manuscripts read "filled" instead of "repaired." I ponder every task and would work with all good men to set things right. My heart is heavy; where shall I turn? Rename Jianchu 9 as Yuanhe 1. Commute capital convicts one degree and send them to the frontier without the rod; wives and children may follow and register there. Special capital crimes are commuted to castration; women to palace labor. Gui-xin and white-rice convicts are cut one degree to minister-of-crimes corvee. Fugitives may buy off sentences on a scale." On dingyou he began a southern tour; counties along the route must not lay up feasts or displays. (Chu means "stockpile." Zhi means "full outfit." No pre-staged supplies.) The minister of works was to lead corvee gangs to shore up bridges. (Read zhu with the zhu initial and zhu rime for the word meaning "to prop.") Any governor who sends escorts or spies will be punished. Give five hu of grain to each widower, widow, orphan, solitary person, and destitute soul. On yiwei in the ninth month King Zhong of Dongping died. On xinchou he visited Zhangling, worshipped at the old Liu shrines, greeted kin and old friends, and gave graded gifts. On jiwei in the tenth month he reached Jiangling, ordered Lujiang to sacrifice at the southern sacred peak, and Changsha and Lingling to honor Prince Ding of Changsha, Marquis Jie of Chunling, and the Yulin prefect. On the return journey he stopped at Wan. On jichou in the eleventh month the court was home and followers rewarded by rank. On renzi in the twelfth month an edict quoted the Documents: kin should not punish one another for one man's fault. (Zhi means "reverent." Zuo Zhuan cites the same Kang gao lines. The received Kang gao text differs slightly from the quotation. Past sorcery trials barred three whole clans from office. Father's, mother's, and wife's kin were all banned. None could take Han office. Good men grew old under disgrace—that was no fresh start. Lift every ban imposed for those old sorcery cases. (Zuo uses "fetter" for political freeze. Du Yu glosses proscription as barring office. Clear the way back to public life—only palace guard posts stay closed to them." Yuanhe 2, yiyou in the first month of spring: the code exempts new parents from corvée and poll tax for three years. For every woman now carrying a child (the Shuowen glosses the graph simply as "pregnant"), grant three hu of grain to nourish the fetus; spare her husband corvée and poll tax for one year; and write this rule into the statutes." He told the three dukes: "Spring quickens life; buds split their sheaths. The Changes says the hundred fruits burst their husks." Help the growing yang and nurture living things. Let no office try non-capital cases for now; reject mutual denunciations on petty written charges. So may affairs quiet and the people match Heaven's mood. At Beginning of Autumn resume normal justice. Village clerks who look honest and lie—pleasant to hear yet ruinous to good government—disgust and weary me. Quiet magistrates who are plainspoken and free of show (Shuowen glosses kun-bi as "utterly sincere." Read kun ku-ben fan. Read bi fu-bi fan.) They look slow by the day yet leave a surplus by the month. (Zhuangzi tells of Gengsang Chu on Mount Wei-lei. The locals first thought him strange; day by day he seemed idle, year by year he left plenty—perhaps a sage?" Liu Fang of Xiangcheng was such a man. (Style Bokuang, from Pingyuan. His staff called him "no bother"; though he won no fame, he came near this ideal. I keep telling governors to be clear and mild, yet rich men bribe clerks, clerks twist the law, the guilty walk free and innocents are beaten—that is a gross perversion. Harshness masquerading as diligence, cruelty as clarity, light sentences as kindness, heavy ones as terror—any of these breeds popular resentment. Edicts stream out and couriers crowd the post roads, yet local rule does not improve—whose fault is that? Study the old statutes again and match my will." On jiayin in the second month the court adopted the quarter-day calendar. (The Xu Han shu records a trial of calendrical systems: Zhang Sheng's quarter-day method won and was adopted. An edict said: "Spirits entitled to rite have not all received ordered worship." (Xian means "all." Zhi means "proper sequence." Many river and peak gods still lack their turn at the altar. The Documents say to put even unsung spirits in their place. Expand and repair the pantheon of sacrifices to pray for good harvests." On bingchen he set out on an eastern tour. On jiwei phoenixes were reported at Feicheng. (Feicheng lay in Taishan, southeast of modern Pingyin. On yichou he turned the sacred furrow at Dingtao. An edict said: "The three elders honor age; filial piety and brotherly love are virtue; The champions of farming are the diligent. The state relies on them. Give each one bolt of silk and urge them to lead the spring work." Envoys sacrificed to Yao at Chengyang's Spirit Terrace. (Chengyang county was in Jiyin. Guo's travel notes place Qingdu's tomb southeast of Chengyang. Folk also call it the Great Mother's Spirit Mound." On xinwei he climbed Tai and performed the wood-fire offering to the peak. Thirty yellow swans flew from the southwest over the altar and northeast past the hall. He continued to Fenggao. On renshen he worshipped the Five Thearchs at the Bright Hall on the Wen River. (Former Han says Gongyu Dai's chart showed a thatched hall with water channels. A tower opened from the southwest called Kunlun for worship of Shangdi. The Han hall on the Wen followed that plan." The Wen rises on Mount Laiwu. On guiyou he reported the sacrifice to the two founding ancestors and four temple exalted. (The two ancestors are Gaozu and Guangwu; the four exalted are Wen, Wu, Xuan, and Ming. He held a great assembly of the whole court. On bingzi he said: "I have sacrificed on Tai, announced the peaks, worshipped at the Bright Hall, to show forth our founders' merit." The heirs of the two former dynasties (the Rites preserve Yin and Zhou descendants. Gongyang says this links the three calendar beginnings. Han enfeoffed the houses of Shang and Zhou. Descendants of Confucius came to the rites. (The Dongguan ji names the Baocheng marquels. Eastern lords as the royal screen (feudatories guard the throne. Hence they are called the royal hedge. Uncles, brothers, sons, and grandsons (from the Documents, "Lu xing." All are imperial Liu princes ranked by generation. Ministers, imperial kin, and the yao and huang outer zones yao lay two thousand li from the capital, huang two thousand five hundred; yao can still be taught by rites; huang means wild beyond control. Yi means "distant." That is, beyond the outermost huang zone. North of the desert and west of the Pamirs (a Western note places the "onion" range west of Dunhuang. It was named for its wild onions." Bearded frontier types (gloss: ran means heavy beard. Many whiskers hide the face. Some say westerners wear hoods and long beards—hence the phrase. They crossed deserts and rope bridges (ba is overland, she is river crossing. Zuo Zhuan speaks of "fording mountains and rivers." The Han Western Regions treatise describes "hanging crossings," stone gorges spanned by ropes, far beyond Yang Pass. They braved hardship to gallop to the suburban altars (jun means swift. The Documents speak of "galloping in haste." The suburban altars are where Heaven is worshipped. Han glosses zhi as the spirit's resting place. All came to join the sacrifice. Ancestral merit reaches even to me. I am young, frail, and sick with worry as I inherit this throne. (Jiu is illness; zuan means "to continue." When I rinse my hands and raise the victim, shame and fear seize me. The Odes say: "When the prince is a blessing to his people, rebellion soon ends. ' (Minor Odes. Chuan means "quickly." Yi means "to stop." Zhi means "blessing." Zheng Xuan glosses: bless the worthy with rank and salary; then rebellion may end at once." The new calendar runs true and sun and moon shine clear (the court had adopted the quarter-day system; heavenly bodies stand in true alignment. I wish to make a fresh start with every minister. Therefore grant a general amnesty. Even crimes normally excluded from amnesty are remitted. Bo, Fenggao, and Ying owe no land tax or fodder levy for this year." On wuyin he traveled to Jinan. (Old Jinan city lay northwest of modern Zouping area. On jichou in the third month he reached Lu and sacrificed at King Gong of Donghai's tomb. On gengyin he worshipped Confucius at Queli, the seventy-two disciples, and gave silk to the Baocheng marquis and Confucius clan. On renchen he went to Dongping and sacrificed at King Xian's tomb. (The tomb lay east of Xuchang. On jiawu envoys sacrificed to Empress Dowager Dingtao and King Gong of Dingtao. (She was Lady Fu, honored consort of Emperor Yuan. King Gong of Dingtao was Liu Kang; his tomb stood north of Jiyin.) On yiwei he visited Dong'e, climbed the Taihang range, and reached Tianjing Pass. (The pass lay south of Jincheng on the Taihang ridge, near three springs. On yisi in the fourth month of summer a guest star entered the Purple Palace asterism. On yimao the court returned to the capital. On gengshen he entered the shrines of his forebears. (Jia means "to reach," read ge. Mi is the father's temple.) The Book of Changes speaks of the king "arriving at the temple." He reported his journey at Gaozu's temple. On wushen in the fifth month an edict said phoenixes, dragons, and luan had flocked in seven commanderies. (A bestiary calls the luan the phoenix's red attendant. It has a fowl body, red tail, and five-colored plumage. It appears when the ruler keeps proper distance and demeanor." Bi means "repeatedly." Some counties saw them twice; white crows, divine sparrows, and sweet dew followed. Former emperors answered such omens with gifts and amnesties. (Wu and Xuan had answered omens with general amnesties. Grant every official three steps of noble rank; one bolt of silk to each elder, widower, widow, orphan, and solitary person. The classic says not to despise the widowed and to pity the alone. Add for Henan women of one hundred households an ox and wine. (Han glosses vary: Su Lin says women get ox and wine; Yao Cha takes it as wives of ennobled men. The Fengshan shu sets one ox and ten shi of wine per hundred households. Li Xian argues these are female-headed households. That matches the female-household register. The whole realm rejoices, so men get rank and women ox and wine. Order five days of public feasting. Give dukes and ministers graded cash and silk; Luoyang residents at the feast get one bolt per in-wall household, one bolt per three out-wall households. Academy students in residence receive three bolts each. Each commandery shall send five classicists per hundred thousand people, three if under that count." Lujiang became the kingdom of Lu'an; Jiangling was restored as Nan commandery. (Jiangling had been a kingdom since Jianchu 4; that was revoked. Prince Gong of Jiangling was transferred to Lu'an. On gengzi in the seventh month of autumn an edict discussed why the classic writes "king" each spring month: the three beginnings and three "subtle" months. (Heaven, earth, and human calendar beginnings. The three "micro" months begin the three calendars. A ritual weft says the first month shifts with dynasty. In each the world is still "small"; colors differ; the king takes them as models. In the eleventh month yang stirs below ground; all is tinged red. Zhou used that month as Heaven's first and honored red. In the twelfth month things sprout white. Yin took it as Earth's first and honored white. The "thirteenth" month of Xia saw black shoots and human labor; Xia honored black." The Documents commentary lists Xia, Yin, and Zhou new-year rules. Yin used midnight-to-cockcrow reckoning. Zhou began the year at midnight of the eleventh month." The king must "finish" the tender year by gentle rule. Statute: do not pass final sentence in the month that contains Beginning of Spring. (Bao means "to judge." Spring nurtures life, so courts pause executions. The winter section of the Monthly Ordinances urges quiet until yin and yang settle. Yet it does not authorize criminal trials in that season. I have asked the scholars: life and death should follow the seasons. Therefore write into law: no capital case reports in the eleventh or twelfth month." On renchen in the ninth month: two years' tax holiday for hamlets where phoenixes or dragons appeared. (A phoenix sat on a Feicheng locust. A dragon appeared in Luoyang's Yuan-yan district. Read the place name with yu rime.) Add two noble steps for every man; first witnesses twenty bolts of silk, neighbors three, governors thirty, magistrates fifteen, assistants half. The Odes say, "Though I lack gifts for you, we may still sing and dance." (Minor Odes. The gloss: even small joy deserves celebration. Shi means "therefore." Other gifts follow the usual rank-reward rules. On bingshen Princes Kang and Yan were summoned for the winter sacrifice. On renchen at the winter solstice the court first closed frontier passes and bridges. (The Changes says kings shut passes at the solstices. Wang Bi explains rest at the turning of yin and yang. Yuanhe 3, yiyou in the first month of spring: a ruler should love the people as parents, teach loyalty and harmony, and crawl to save them in need. (The Zhou li lists wisdom, benevolence, sageliness, righteousness, loyalty, and harmony. The Odes urge crawling to help neighbors in mourning. Feed abandoned infants and families who cannot feed children, as the statutes provide." On bingshen he began a northern tour accompanied by seven princes. On xinchou he plowed the sacred field at Huai. On renyin in the second month he wrote the northern governors: touring spreads instruction and clears popular grievance. He quoted the Odes: "The four states lack good government; they do not use their good men." The lines blame misrule on ignoring worthies. The gloss blames the throne when the regions fail. I ride out to see whether life is hard or easy there. I have worshipped the tombs and offered distant sacrifice to Mount Hua and Mount Huo. (Here "Huo" is the sacred peak southwest of Qian in Lujiang, also called Tianzhu. The Erya names Hua west and Huo south—here Huo is the southern peak honored on this tour. Eastward I sacrificed on Tai for the people's blessing. Now I go to worship Changshan, then north through Wei and Pingyuan; elders recall that before the Bian gates were built the river was chasm or mudflat. I recall Emperor Ming's Yongping 12 work on the Bian canal. He laid a lasting foundation, renewing Yu's work. (The Documents praise "setting down achievement." Kong Anguo glosses di as "set down." Ji is "merit." Yuan tu is long-term planning. It means completing Yu's flood control. That work reached the sea. I cannot match my father's "hall and roof"; I am ashamed. (The Documents image of the son who cannot finish his father's house. The Monthly Ordinances tell the first month to survey land for crops. The first month's chapter orders the ruler to walk the fields himself. Good land still lies fallow. Assign it to the poor with seed grain; put every acre to work; ban idlers. Counties along the route may collect only half this year's land tax to reward the farmers. On yichou he told the censorate and minister of works: in spring the tour must kill no living thing. Where the train can detour around trees or game, it must detour; Unhitch the outer team horses wherever possible; (The pole team are "service" horses; the wing horses are the outer pair. The Odes say, "Thick stand the rushes by the road; let no herd trample them." (From the Major Odes. Zheng Xuan: protect the roadside rushes from herds—how much more must we spare people! Ritual calls it unfilial for a ruler to cut one plant out of season. (The Li ji quotes Confucius: killing or cutting out of season is unfilial. Common folk obey other men but not Heaven. Publish this clearly." On wuchen he reached Zhongshan, sacrificed at Mount Heng, and rode beyond the Wall. (Shiji: Meng Tian's Qin wall ran from Lintao to the sea. On guiyou he stopped at Yuanshi and worshipped Guangwu and Ming in the county hall; next day he offered again at the hall where Ming was born (the Yuanshi posthouse. Both services had music. On bingzi in the third month the Gaoyi magistrate sacrificed to Guangwu at the enthronement altar. Yuanshi was excused seven years of corvee. On jimao he traveled to Zhao. On gengchen he worshipped Mount Fang at Lingshou. (Lingshou was in Changshan. Mount Fang is northwest of Fangshan, folk-named Queen Mother peak. On xinmao the court returned to the capital. Followers received graded gifts. On bingyin in the fourth month Zheng Hong left office and Song You became grand commandant. (Song You, style Shulu, from Chang'an. On bingzi in the fifth month Di Wu Lun was dismissed as minister of works and Yuan An appointed. On yichou in the eighth month he visited Anyi and the salt lagoons. (Xu Shen measured the Hedong pool at fifty-one by seven li. It lay west of modern Yongji in Shanxi. In the ninth month he returned from Anyi. In the tenth month of winter King Ji of Beihai died. The Shao Dang Qiang rose and struck Longxi. That year Western Regions chief clerk Ban Chao executed the king of Su-le. Zhanghe 1, third month of spring: Fu Yu, colonel director of the Qiang, pursued rebels and fell in battle. On bingzi in the fourth month capital convicts were commuted one degree and sent to Jin cheng. On wuchen in the sixth month Minister of Education Huan Yu was removed. On guimao Yuan An became minister of education and Ren Kui minister of works. (Huan Yu, style Zhongchun, from Wannian. Ren Kui, style Zhonghe, from Wan. On guimao in the seventh month Prince Huang of Qi was demoted to Marquis of Wuhu for a crime. (Wuhu lay in Danyang, southeast of Dangtu. On renzi King Bing of Huaiyang died. The Xianbei routed the Northern Shanyu and killed him. Shao Dang Qiang struck Jin cheng; Liu Xu destroyed them and beheaded their leader. On renxu an edict praised the enlightened ruler's light reaching every hidden corner. (Ji-xi means radiance; the six "dark" regions are the six directions. All mankind obeys; humane breeze crosses the seas and terror strikes the ghost lands. (Ghost regions means distant Gui Fang. Then he sacrifices and receives the five blessings and the phoenix's gift. (The Documents list five felicities: long life, wealth, peace, love of virtue, and a good death. Lai yi means the phoenix. The Documents say, "The phoenixes come in ritual grace." I, unworthy, have inherited my ancestors' great enterprise. Lately phoenixes flock, qilin come, dew falls at night, grain sprouts with omens, lingzhi never stops. I tremble before Heaven yet cannot display my fathers' merit. Rename Yuanhe 4 as Zhanghe 1. That autumn, per the Monthly Ordinances mid-autumn chapter, the court ordered care for the aged: staffs, gruel, and porridge. (Mid-autumn ordinances. Give each pair of elders one bolt for dairy foods. Death-row prisoners whose crimes predated the bingzi amnesty but who were arrested later are commuted and sent to Jin cheng without the rod. On guiyou in the eighth month he began a southern tour. On renwu envoys sacrificed to Lady Zhao Ling at Lesser Huang. (Lesser Huang was northeast of Chenliu. Han ritual texts say Gaozu's mother died north of Lesser Huang when the army rose; a shrine was built there. Chenliu lore adds that the Duke of Pei lost his mother at Huang in the wars. When peace returned, he summoned her soul with a coffin; a red snake bathed and entered the coffin, leaving hair—hence the title Lady Zhao Ling." On jiashen Prince Shang of Rencheng was ordered to Suiyang. On wuzi he visited Liang. On jichou envoys worshipped Gaozu's Pei temple and the Feng white-elms earth altars. (Fen is the white elm. Gaozu's village altar lay fifteen li northeast of Feng. The "lofty" shrines are glossed under Guangwu. On yiwei he reached Pei, sacrificed at King Xian's tomb, and summoned Prince Zheng of Donghai. At month's end on yiwei the sun was eclipsed. On gengzi in the ninth month he was at Pengcheng with Princes Zheng, Ding, and Shang. On xinhai he visited Shouchun. On renzi capital convicts were commuted one degree to Jin cheng; special capital crimes were castrated; women to palace labor. Gui-xin and white-rice convicts dropped one degree to minister-of-crimes corvee. Fugitives: twenty bolts for death, seven for mutilation sentences, three for lesser labor; self-surrender when the edict arrives halves the ransom. Prince Yan of Fuling was restored to his kingship. On jiwei he visited Ru-yin. (Ru-yin was in Runan, modern Yingzhou area. On bingzi in the tenth month of winter the court returned home. Wu-lan-chu of the Northern Xiongnu surrendered with his people. That year Ban Chao crushed the kingdom of Shache (Yarkand). Yuezhi sent envoys with fu-ba beasts and lions. (Fu-ba looks like a hornless qilin. Read ba bu-mo fan. Zhanghe 2, first month of spring: Princes Kang, Yan of Fuling, and Yan of Zhongshan attended court. On renchen the emperor died in the Zhangde front hall at thirty-three. His will forbade a separate temple, as for his predecessors. The historian notes: Cao Pi called Ming "over-sharp" and Zhang "the elder type." (Hua Qiao's judgment. Zhang knew the people had tired of Ming's harshness and leaned toward lenience. Heeded Chen Chong and repealed cruel-prison statutes. (Chen Chong as master of writing had memorialized away fifty cruel provisions—see his biography. He deepened care for commoners and issued the fetal-nourishment edict. (The Yuanhe 2 edict had given three hu of grain to every pregnant woman. He served Empress Dowager Mingde with complete filial devotion. He carved up great fiefs to enrich his nearest kin. (Zhou here means "closest" or "most intimate.") He lightened corvée and cut taxes so the people lived under his blessing. He tempered rule with loyalty and forbearance, and adorned it with ritual and music. Feudatories fell into harmony and princes deferred to one another in virtue. Small wonder they called him an elder. In thirteen years the provinces reported hundreds upon hundreds of omens matching the apocryphal charts. Ah, how splendid! (Mao means "splendid." The verse praise runs: "Suzong stood grave and tall, kind and easy by nature. Deep ran the queenly virtue within him, a truly profound nature. (Yu mu is a cry of admiration. The Documents praise the sage as acute, holy, wide, and deep. At his side stood culture and learning, balanced against law and rite. (The classics conference at White Tiger Hall, where he ruled from the chair. Statutes: the spring edict halting executions. Rites: the grand di and xia, the Spirit Terrace, and such observances. He pondered the imperial Way and built lasting excellence. Scholars sang his praises at the academy; frontier beacons rarely fired. (Cui Yin at the Grand Academy had offered the "Four Tours" and similar odes.) Heaven and the seasons stayed in tune; the laws ran fair and the people grew wealthy.
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