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卷六十上 馬融列傳

Volume 60a: Biography of Ma Rong

Chapter 66 of 後漢書 ✓ Translated
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Chapter 66
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Ma Rong, styled Jizhang, came from Maoling in Fufeng. He was the son of Yan, who served as Grand Architect of Works. He was gifted in both speech and looks, and carried uncommon intellectual brilliance.
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Early on, Zhi Xun of Jingzhao taught the Confucian curriculum from seclusion on Mount Zhongnan, refusing court appointments; his reputation towered in the Guanxi region. Ma Rong studied under him on the road and gained wide mastery of the canonical texts. Zhi Xun thought highly of Ma Rong's ability and married him to his daughter. Commentary: Ma Rong's own writings record that he was from the Cheng Huan ward of Maoling.
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Commentary: Yan was the son of Yu, elder brother to the general Ma Yuan.
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The Sanfu Juelu adds that Zhi Xun, styled Jizhi, loved scholarship and excelled at writing, and dwelt in retirement on the shaded northern face of the Southern Mountain.
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In 108 CE, Grand General Deng Zhi, having heard Ma Rong's reputation, offered him a post as palace gentleman—but that life did not suit him. He declined and wandered as a guest between Wudu and Hanyang in Liang province. Then Qiang rebels erupted along the frontier; grain prices skyrocketed, and west of the passes the dead from famine littered the highways—a sight repeated mile after mile. Pressed by hunger and want, Ma Rong reconsidered and sighed to a companion: "The old proverb runs: grasp the realm's map in your left hand and a blade to your throat in your right—even a dull man would refuse that bargain." The point, as the gloss adds, is that one's life outweighs dominion over the world." To let petty shame at vulgar opinion within arm's length cost me a life I cannot afford—that is scarcely the teaching of Laozi and Zhuangzi." So he went and accepted Deng Zhi's invitation. The commentary cites the Zuo Zhuan, where Shu Xiang speaks of famine victims dead along the road, one after another. Du Yu glosses jin as dying of starvation. Read jin (same as in 饉 'famine').
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The second note points to the Zhuangzi. It warns against trading life for reputation.
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In the fourth year of Yongchu he received appointment as collating gentleman and was sent to the Eastern Institute to oversee the palace library. Empress Dowager Deng was regent; Deng Zhi and his brothers guided the administration.
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Pedantic scholars argued that culture should flourish while arms were laid aside; they abandoned the royal hunt and drill, leaving the realm unprepared—so rebels and raiders flourished in the opening. Ma Rong was moved to argue that sage kings never renounced both civil and martial arts, and that of the five elements none—not even arms—could responsibly be discarded. In 115 CE he presented his "Guangcheng Rhapsody" as tactful admonition.
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The piece begins—note that Xie Cheng and the Continuation of the Han History both record the post as collator, then appointment as a palace gentleman.
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Commentary: the "five materials" are the traditional five phases—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The Zuo Zhuan quotes Song Zihan: Heaven gave five resources for human use; none may be cast aside—least of all arms.
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The Guangcheng imperial park lay west of Liang county in present-day Ruzhou, Henan.
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Confucius taught that excess breeds arrogance, while too much austerity leaves one crude. Between those poles, the rites mark the proper limit. The odes "Cricket" and "The Mountain Elms" each rebuke a duke, warning against the excess of untrammeled ease and sport. Delight without dissipation, care without despair—that is how the ancient kings harmonized the treasuries, refreshed the mind, and secured lasting order. Hence the Shang shu’s "Counsels of Yu" memorializes the strike of mallets and the ring of jade chimes. The Book of Odes places the hunt pieces "Auspicious Day" and "Our Chariots, Strong" in the Canon of Zhou. Sage sovereigns employed such pageantry to crown their reigns, not to indulge mere excess. Since your accession, Heaven’s portents have kept you vigilant: you have denied yourself, let the royal parks run fallow, silenced the court instruments, and brooded in care for over a decade—an austerity that outstrips the rites’ demand. The empress dowager, like Yao, cherishes every branch of the clan; you, like Shun, pour out filial devotion, slighting your own kin. At each illness or anxiety you dispatch messengers without long pause—your solicitude never flags. Yet in rare calm you have no outlet for refreshment—hardly a way to court cosmic concord or secure every blessing. Locusts may linger, but since the fifth month timely rains have fallen; good omens will follow. Winter brings a lull in the fields: this is the season to progress to Guangcheng, tour wet and dry ground, inspect the winter wheat, urge the harvest in, and hold maneuvers and a royal hunt. Let court and country again see plumes and streamers, hear drums and bells, and take heart along the borderlands—inviting gentle weather and heaping blessing. I am but a minor official, no more than an ant, yet I cannot hold back this humble plea. My office tends the archives; I have therefore followed classical precedent, restated the meaning of the royal hunt, and submit a rhapsody under seal.
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The piece is shallow and unworthy of your attention. The gloss: jie here means a fixed limit.
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The Great Preface to the Airs of the States says "Cricket" rebukes Duke Xi of Jin. His frugality failed to meet the measure of the rites." The ode reads: "Cease your lordly ease—mind the duties at home." Mao Heng glosses yi as 'excess.' Zheng Xuan adds: a ruler may enjoy himself, but not to dissipation; ritual must set the bounds. The Preface also says "The Mountain Elm" reproves Duke Zhao of Jin. He possessed talent but wasted it." The lines run: "You own teams and cars yet never drive them out." When you are gone, others will take your joy." Thus Xi is warned against idle ease, Zhao mocked for never riding forth—the moral is that civil and martial virtue demand balance. Read shu as ou (the tree name).
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The Zuo Zhuan records Prince Jizha of Wu visiting Lu, where he heard the Hymns performed. Jizha judged them "joyful yet never reckless." Next they played the airs of Wei. He described them as "weighty yet never crushed."
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Han Ying’s Outer Commentary asks: "Humankind stores spirit in five viscera and six chambers." What counts as the five viscera? Essence lodges in the kidneys, spirit in the heart, the ethereal soul in the liver, the corporeal soul in the lungs, and intent in the spleen—those are the five stores. And the six 'palaces'? The gullet is the yardstick of the bowels. The stomach is the granary of the five crops. The large intestine is the transport depot. The small intestine completes digestion. The gall bladder stockpiles refined essences. The bladder collects the humors." The Classic adds: "Heaven overspread the mass of folk, each thing with its proper rule."
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Jia denotes the yu scraper, read with the old fanqie spelling gu-ba. Shaped like a crouching animal with twenty-seven teeth, it is struck with a one-foot mallet to cut off the music. The zhu looks like a tub with an inner pestle on a swivel—shake it to begin the piece. See the Three Rituals diagrams. Qiu is the jade chime-stone. The "Counsels of Yu" section belongs to the Canon of Shun. The Lesser Ya intones: "This lucky day, the fifth stem—we have offered to the herd-lord and prayed." Our hunting cars are trim; the four bays tower high." Elsewhere: "Our chariots are tight; our teams move as one."
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The commentator takes "first year" as the year Emperor An took the throne (107 CE). The missing graph marks Heaven’s ill favor—earthquakes, floods, hailstorms, and the like.
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Mencius once told King Xuan of Qi: "If you, my king, (Text variant: po 'quite.') If you raise music here, the people hear your bells and drums, brighten with joy, and say to one another, ‘Perhaps our king is well? How else could he make such music!’ ’ When you hunt here and folk see the splendor of your banners, they smile and ask the same: ‘Is our king hale? How else could he ride to the chase!’ ’ There is no other secret: you share their pleasures."
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They say the ancient kings summoned armies from the quiver and silenced war-horses at Lingtai; romantics still praise that restraint. Those critics never grasped that thunder belongs to Heaven’s regular pulse, or that arms and armor measure night from day. Before the Yellow Emperor and Yan Di, tradition hardly survives. From the Three August Ones and Five Emperors onward we catch only faint echoes. Even petty Feng kept a seventy-li royal park and staged spring and autumn hunts. The Odes hymned (Graph: you 'enclosed park.') The ode sings of parkland herbs while musicians played "Zouyu." Thus at Han’s founding the capital claimed Heaven’s mandate, drew wind and rain into one place, and wedded yin to yang. They measured the sacred hunting ground and laid out its lodges south of the city. Look across the parade ground where the manuscript is damaged: horizons swell, misted distances blur, and the eye races a thousand li until sky and scrubland merge. Round about run deer-fences and moats: San Tu rises to the right, Mount Song anchors the left. Ahead lies the northern flank of Mount Heng; behind tower the Wangwu ridges. The Bo and Zha rivers soak its skirts; the Ying and Luo wind along its flanks. Gold-hued ridges and stone forests surge upward—towering, jagged, with a ringing resonance where the manuscript is damaged—domed peaks coil while broken cliffs crowd in dizzy tiers. [10] Sacred springs well from the flanks, cinnabar-tinted waters and dark pools thread between, and fantastical boulders like suspended lithophones flash along the levees. [11] The turf yields hay for sacrifice and sweet meadow fodder, scented roots and mellow bitter greens; [12] royal fern and fragrant weeds, irises and pond-reeds; [13] wild mushrooms, violets, and legumes, myoga and taro; [14] perilla, water-lilies, and more whose names the damaged text only half records. [15] Ink-black groves swallow bamboo groves; ridges veil the capital mound while prized timber rises in thickets like the mythic Jian wood; [16] ailanthus, paulownia, hardy junipers and cypresses, oak, willow, maple, and poplar stand [17] in paired splendor, layered green ramparts scraping the sky. [18] They sip the spring breeze, swell with sap, and burst into bloom across slopes the manuscript only partly names—too lush, too luminous to describe in full. Commentary: the quiver case stores shafts; the bow-sheath cradles the bow. Pronounce jian with the fanqie ji-yan. Gao rhymes with ‘high’ (gao). The Book of Rites quotes Confucius: after conquering Shang, King Wu bundled spear and dagger-axe in hides and called the bundle the ‘sealed bow-case.’ Zheng Xuan glosses jian as ‘bolt’ (read qi-jian fan), meaning to seal away—here the Ma and Zheng schools diverge. The Methods of the Marshal says that when three years passed without war, the army sang paeans and sheathed the commander’s baton at Lingtai, thanking the realm and declaring peace. ‘Lay aside’ here means to rest. Bo is the marshal’s staff of authority. Lingtai was the observation terrace for reading Heaven’s omens.
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Zi Taishu of Zheng explains that penal awe mimics Heaven’s thunderbolt slaughter. Du Yu: lightning-flash is Heaven’s majesty. So sages fashioned prisons in imitation. Song Zihan adds that armies exist to awe rebellion and clarify kingly virtue. Sages rise and miscreants fall through them: war governs every turn from light to dark."
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Commentary: Feng was King Wen’s Zhou capital. Mencius records King Wen’s hunting park as seventy li on a side. The Er ya defines the seasonal hunts: spring sou, summer seedling-round, autumn autumn-drive, winter winter hunt."
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The Han version of the Odes begins: “Eastward lies The character is you, denoting the royal park. It continues with meadow herbs—hitch the car and ride to hunt.” The Mao text praises the marsh-reeds and the five boars dropped at one shot—“oh, the auspicious Zouyu beast!” Mao Heng identifies Zouyu as a righteous prodigy—a white tiger striped in black that takes no living prey. It appears only when perfect trust rules the age." The Rites of Zhou direct the court musicians to play “Zouyu” at the king’s great archery rite."
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The Zhou li says the capital sits where winds and rains converge and yin and yang balance. ‘Heaven’s city’ here means Luoyang.
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Kui means to survey or lay out. The Greater Ya sings: “The king walked his numinous park.” Ma Rong means Guangcheng is modeled on that royal preserve.
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The damaged graph is read miao; yang uses the fanqie wu-lang—both describe boundless space.
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Qu: read with fanqie qi-yu. Sima Xiangru’s “Upper Woods Rhapsody” turns rivers into deer-corralling moats. Guo Pu: corrals that follow ravines to trap game are called qu. The Guang ya glosses man as ‘to gaze.’ Read it ma-ban fan. Mount San Tu lies southwest of Luhun county.
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‘North of Heng’ means the northern flank of Mount Heng. The Guideways Through Mountains record Mount Zhi as the source of the Li River. Eastward it is styled Mount Heng, rich in green The alternate graph is read ju. Green minerals where the manuscript breaks off.” The Han geography monograph places Mount Zhi in Zhi county as the Li’s spring. That lies north of Xiangcheng in modern Nanyang prefecture. Mount Wangwu stands north of today’s Wangwu county seat. The Rites of Zhou list Bo and Zha as Yu province’s marshes, Ying and Luo as its main streams. The Commentary on the Water Classic traces the Zha to Huang Mountain. That source lies northeast of Zaoyang in Suizhou. The same work sets the Bo at Horse-Rest Ridge—Ying Shao’s ‘lonely peak’ whence the Bo rises. That spring lies northwest of Lushan in Ruzhou. The Ying east of Yingyang county is meant.
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Commentary: ‘Gold Mountain’ is Mount Golden Gate. Li Daoyuan places it south of Mianchi. ‘Stone Forest’ is the massif also known as Mount Wan’an in Henan commandery— The variant character is read bo. The Luoyang county gazetteer describes a giant stone mass south of the city, wooded and capped by the Great Stone Shrine, two hundred zhang tall. Sound glosses: yin (yu-jin), wei (wu-lai), the damaged graph (cu-hui), yu as ‘corner,’ wei as yu-gui—all denote towering crags.
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The Er ya defines The graph is the character wan. These are side-spouting springs (qiu springs).” ‘From a cavity’ means they well out sideways. The Dan and Nie streams lie in modern Nanyang prefecture. ‘Strange rocks’ are handsome stones that resemble jade. ‘Floating chimes’ evoke the lithophones quarried from the Si Riverbed. Yao kun means radiant light.
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Here mao means vegetation. The Zuo Zhuan quotes Milord Yu: ‘Everything sprung from this soil owes fealty—who is not subject or lord?’ Tradition reads quo like jiao. The compound quo mu remains obscure. Zhuangzi notes that deer browse thick pasture. Another gloss: rank grass is ‘jian.’ Ru denotes edible greens. The Er ya identifies tu as bitter lettuce. The ode compares vetch and sowthistle to honey. Here yi means sweetness.
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Zi rhymes with ‘purple.’ Qi as in ‘its.’ The Er ya calls this fern qi ‘moon-ear.’ Guo Pu: the purple bracken, edible like common fern. Yun is aromatic rue. The Shuowen likens it to clover. Zu: read zi-du fan. The Guang ya equates ji with zu. Its tuber recalls cogon root and is edible. ‘Iris root’ is the rhizome of sweet-flag. ‘Deep cattail’ is the white shoot sprouting in deep pools.
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Commentary: zhi er is a herbaceous plant. The Book of Rites lists fungus ears and water caltrops. Er rhymes with ‘ear.’ Violet-rabbit-ear bears purple blooms; its leaves are slick and edible. Yuan: fanqie hu-guan. The same classic pairs violet, hog-peanut, and elm flour. Zheng Xuan classes ju with the jin greens. Myoga looks like young ginger; its madder-red root tastes like lotus rhizome. Taro corms—also called ‘crouching owl’—bear broad leaves and starchy corms.
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The Er ya names perilla ‘cassia-basil.’ The regional glossary adds that su is another name for ren herb. The Er ya adds that mao is wild rice stem (water spinach family). Round leaves like water-shield; it grows submerged and is now called ‘water mallow.’ The Er ya pairs ge with a mountain herb whose name is lost in the lacuna. The graphs ge and ge were ancient variants. Ju (fanqie zi-lü) is the plantain lily, also named ‘bash banana.’ Yu is the marsh herb ‘xuan yu,’ alias you, rooted in water— Text variant yi. They grow along the margin’s si (shore).”
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Commentary: xuan means somber or shadowed. ‘Wrapping’ here means growing in thickets. The Er ya defines a grand terrace as ling and a towering bank as jing. ‘Hedge’ likewise means to veil. ‘Cosmic-axis trees’ are exceptionally lofty timber.
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All entries in the list are names of trees. Read gui like ju. Yang: fanqie yi-zheng where the rime-group graph is missing.
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These binomes describe the look of forest stands. Dui: fanqie tu-dui. Yin rhymes with ‘chant.’ Shen: fanqie suo-jin. Shuang: read sheng per the damaged rime gloss.
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Pu is read like fu ‘spread.’ Wei: fanqie yi-kui. Guo Pu defines the first emergence of blossoms as zi. It parallels wei and should use the wei phonetic; copies with the ren radical are wrong. Hu as in ‘door.’ Gui (fanqie hu-wa) takes the gui radical; both binomes paint foliage. Some manuscripts read the graph gui. That is where another graph stood.” The Shuowen defines gui as yellow blooms. The Guang ya glosses it as handsome coloration. Ying means gleaming light. Wu is the interrogative ‘how,’ read wu.
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In the tenth month yin’s killing breath strikes; grasses brown; forest wardens ready the grounds—torching brush and lopping timber. [1] Then Heaven’s net lifts, the eight reaches cinch tight, game from the nine marshlands is rounded up, and birds winging over the four wastes are netted in sacks. [2] Creatures are driven into the enclosure—hillocks drift under racing clouds; turtle-doves coo in chorus; rough beasts bay; court musicians strain their ears; keen-eyed trackers grow dizzy; legendary reckoners lose count. [3] The battue swells until valleys brim—pheasant nets, hare snares, bird nets, and boar nets quilt pools and bogs and seal every ridge. [4] Companies fall into line—van and rear guard stand in camps, jia and yi files wheel together, while wu and ji anchor the center. [5] Commentary cites the Er ya: the tenth month is called yang. Sun Yan explains that pure yin seems too bleak without yang, hence the name.
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The Zuo Zhuan says evil does not stir until after the first month’s new moon. Du Yu defines te as yin’s breath. ‘Harm arises’ means autumn’s killing frost scything every herb. The Rites of Zhou charge Forest Masters with policing the woodland reserves. Pasture officials oversee grazing lands and help torch fallow before hunts. That is, clearing undergrowth. Zha (fanqie shi-ya) means angled timber-cutting. The Rites assign the Zha officers to clear scrub and timber to the treeline.
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Qiu means ‘to gather,’ fanqie zi-you. The Rites list nine great marshlands—Tai Hu for Yang, Yunmeng for Jing, Park Field for Yu, Mengzhu for Qing, the Great Moor for Yan, Xianpu for Yong, Xi yang for You, Yangxu for Ji, Zhaoyuqi for Bing.
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Zheng Xuan defines sou as seasonally dry marsh. ‘Moving creatures’ means furred and feathered game. Huan: alternate fanqie hu-quan or hu-chuan. The Shuowen glosses huan as ‘drop-net.’ The Discourses of the States speaks of mountain-ring nets strung with han birds. Jia Kui reads huan as ‘encircle.’ Tuo is a game bag, read tuo. The ‘four wilds’ are the wastelands beyond the quarters. ‘Flying migrants’ means birds on the wing and beasts on the run.
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Commentary: jiu means to assemble. Dun (read tun) also means ‘heap together.’ Bi ai paints beasts lunging in frenzy. Bi: fanqie pu-mei; ai as in si ‘wait.’ Han Ying’s ode lines describe herds pairing off as mates or allies. Xuan means dazzled—read xuan per the damaged gloss. Lishou was the Yellow Emperor’s star accountant. ‘Chenzi’ is Chen Ping, master of counters and schemes. Hun means mental fog. The point is game beyond counting.
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Fu (read fu) is the long net for pheasants. Ju is the hare snare (text breaks mid-word). Lian nets swine—fanqie li-guan. All are defined in the Er ya. Keng: fanqie ku-geng. The primer defines keng as a sunken ravine. The damaged binome means ‘to pen’ or trap. Xunzi speaks of boxing in the empire as easily as children—despite the lacuna. Editions that read ‘stockade’ are corrupt.
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The Rites of Zhou’s horse marshal prescribes van and rear camps. Jia and yi mark successive ranks. Wu here denotes five-man squads with leaders. Wu and ji anchor the middle as the iron center.
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On the tenth month’s lucky new moon the emperor mounts his pierced-bronze state carriage drawn by six flecked chargers like black dragons; rainbow banners rise and long hawk pennants spear the sky. [1] Streamers trail like the planet Venus; the Grand Constant bears sun-and-moon blazons; Guiding Lance and Dark Dart staffs rear beside Sirius.
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[2] Plumes toss like loosened hair; bells of bronze clang while jade cheek-pieces flash. [3] Supply wagons ring the flats, runners swarm the ridges, felt banners crowd like woods, and five-colored silks braid shifting light. [4] Haze lifts from the drill ground, heralds bind oaths on six armies, smiths test keen weapons. [5] The Minister of Education tightens files, the marshal aligns wings—chariots level, teams paired—so orders run clear through every command. [6] Fault drums thunder, ritual bells boom, beaters spring forward into scrub oak. [7] Teams flare and wheel—chargers split, squadrons veer, dust boiling east, west, south, north without pattern.
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[8] Wind and cloud spin together; hooves drum like muffled thunder; ocher dust boils until noon seems twilight. [9] Sun and moon dull among dust; constellations fade—swift riders prove skill, stout men measure mettle. [10] Hounds and racers spur each other; hawks stoop where text fails; cataphracts sweep the flanks, light cars shear sideways—the whole host stampedes the heartland. Greyhounds in silk leashes, pale coursers, bull-necks ringed, lacquered armor gleaming, fur and feather prizes corded by teams. [11] Iron lances flash like lightning, arrows sheet down—every hunter finds his mark; quarry drops mid leap; rolling wheels flush bears from stone dens. [12] Butt-spiked staffs crunch bone—no beast slips the cordon, no bird darts a sidelong escape. [13] Some quarry still twitches, some sprawls headlong—beasts writhe in heaps choking paths where blossoms fleck the dust beyond count. [14] The received text marks citation fourteen without verse—likely a lacuna in the manuscript.
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Commentary: ‘yang new moon’ is the first day of the tenth month. ‘Openwork’ here means open-carved bronze. A Zhou ritual note begins: the jade-sheathed chariot, with heavy the graph jiao (uprights). The gloss ends with the lu carriage-body.” The gold- and jade-banded state cars share one pattern. ‘Six’ means a six-horse team. The Later Han monograph says the emperor’s five chariots use six bays each.”
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Suxian names a famous bay pattern. The Zuo Zhuan credits Duke Cheng of Tang with a pair of suxian steeds. The Rites measure eight chi from withers to crown as a ‘dragon’ horse.” Winter ritual rides the sable coach behind iron-black stallions.” Ma Rong likewise aligns with winter’s colorway—dark carriage, dark horses. Guo Pu calls the brighter rainbow arc the male rainbow. The Zuo Zhuan has the master of dance emblazon the great standard.” Du Yu: jing xia is the king’s great ensign.”
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Jie: read qu-lie fan, ‘to lift aloft.’ The Book of Rites says to fly the kite banner when dust swirls ahead—an omen of wind.” Yuan is the kite; read yuan. Kites cry before a gust, so their image on silk warned the vanguard of rising dust. Tong is the flagstaff—fanqie zhi-jiang.
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Commentary: the ‘long Geng’ star is Venus. Shao (suo-jiao) names the plumes that trail from the banner’s edge. The Grand Constant is the royal standard blazoned with sun and moon. The Rites of Zhou define the ‘constant’ as the sun-moon blazon.” Bootes’ Lance, the Dark Dart, and Sirius are asterisms painted on the vexilla. The Crooked Arrow meteor trails like a snake— text variant chi ‘red.’ —likewise emblazoned on the army’s silks.”
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Commentary: biao you depicts plumage whipping in the wind. Biao: fanqie bi-you. You: fanqie yang-jiu. Cai Yong explains the bronze crest on the horse’s brow—four cun square—just ahead of the animal’s ting: alternate readings wu-fan or zi-gong. Xiang are jade cheek-straps; read xiang.
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The Lesser Ya sings: ‘Our chariots are trim.’ It adds: ‘Our bowmen move as one.’ Meaning the attendants’ toggles match rank on rank. Kuai equals felt banners—fanqie gu-hui. The Zuo Zhuan drums when the commander’s kuai lifts. Shen (suo-jin) matches the character sen ‘dense.’
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Commentary: ‘wild arena’ means scythed ground fit for the chase. The Zuo Zhuan credits the Son of Heaven with six armies. ‘Nie liang’ glosses as keen mounts.
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The Minister of Education takes marching orders from the marshal before mobilizing hunts or levies. The marshal marks left and right gates of the battue with paired banners. Van and rear camps anchor the line; officers pace every hundred paces. Zheng Xuan: straighten each file. The ode repeats: ‘Our cars are tight; our teams move as one.’ Mao Heng glosses gong as ‘solid,’ tong as ‘aligned.’ In war you prize united muscle; in the hunt you prize matched hooves for speed.”
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The ‘fault’ drum is the great drum—fanqie gong-dao. The Rites record the royal drum’s length though the first graph is lost.
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Hua (fanqie huo-huo) paints horses at full gallop.
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Shen and hong gloss hoof-thunder—fanqie ku-gai and huo-hong. Weng: fanqie wu-dong.
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Commentary: piao jiao marks daring agility. Piao: fanqie pi-miao.
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Juan ties like a snare—same word family as juan guan. Kun gao names steppe ponies. The Er ya praises kun gao for climbing broken ridges. Read kun as in ‘kunlun.’ Cong means to spear or strike. Yang Xiong notes Wu-Chu dialects name spears cong. Fanqie chu-jiang. Han Ying’s Qi ode runs ‘pair-chasing the three-year boars.’ Xue Han: a boar in its third year is a ‘shoulder.’ Dou is the throat—here a neck shot. Dou as in ‘bean.’ Wan di is the wild billy-goat. Li Xian cites lexicons spelling it yuan (hu-guan), cognate with wan. Gu receives gu-ku fan everywhere. The Shuowen’s gu with hand radical is archaic ‘disturb’—not fetters.
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Chuan names light throwing spears—fanqie shi-yan. The Rites arm royal archers with bows fit to pierce armor and targets. Zheng glosses zhi as ‘true,’ read zheng like ‘expedition.’ Reng: fanqie ren-zheng. The rhyme-book glosses reng as ‘crush.’ Meaning quarry pinned under chariot wheels. Wu ‘prop’ reads like ‘awaken.’ Beasts wedge against axles to resist. Pi is the axle-cap—lexicons gloss killing strikes at the hub though one graph fails.
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Dui equals the butt-spiked sha—fanqie ding-wai. Lu is crown or brow. Quan is ‘bolt’—fanqie chou-lian. Pie is a sidelong glance—fanqie pi-li where the book breaks. Sha as in ‘special.’
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Commentary: yi you is hesitation. The Songs of Chu sighs ‘wavering, you never march.’ ‘Not yet ended’ means still twitching. Ruan: fanqie ru-yan. The Shuowen defines ruan as writhing motion. Yin (si-lin) likewise paints squirming prey.
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When taloned birds and nameless crawlers bare black muzzles, swell chests, whistle hindquarters, and coil in defensible rocks, none dare close. [1] Then professionals like Zheng Shu and the Jin huntress—solitary killers in half-clad combat. [2] They ram mulberry brakes, tear jujube thickets, sound dark ravines, leap misted canyons—wrestling tigers, rhinos, bears where text fails, grappling giant swine. [3] Lithe runners skip shale ribs, scale Song summits, swing pine branches, race gibbons through the canopy till every arboreal beast is spent. [4] Mesh rare nets with corded squads, bend bows in concert, advance like constellations, and keep each platoon in its lane. [5] Line sinkers and whistling bolts fly; mesh nets quilt the sky—pheasants flare, teal thunder upward like driven cloud, then strikers rain like hail. [6] The manuscript marks citation six without further verse—a lacuna in the received Guangcheng text.
66
[] 耀 耀 觿
The Er ya describes the bo steed with curling tusks that prey on big cats. Qian glosses as jet black. The Kaogong ji praises beasts broad in chest and glossy aft—powerful but no runners. Zheng reads yao as shao. Shao means ‘petite,’ read shao. Yun xun paints paired pacing. Yun: fanqie yu-fen. Mencius cites Tong stalking a tiger that backs into a cliff—no one closes. Ying means ‘press’ or harry. Yu is to block or parry.
67
[] 觿 * () **[]*
Commentary identifies Zheng Shu as Prince Duan—Ma Rong echoes the ode of Taishu hunting stripped to the waist. Mencius adds Feng Fu of Jin, famed for bare-handed tiger fights. Kui means operating alone. Gu stresses solitary daring. The phrase describes lone hunters thrusting home. Kui ‘stab’ uses fanqie ku-gui. The Er ya defines tan xi as stripped chest. Mencius pairs tan xi with full nakedness. The Shuowen glosses cheng as tan, the variant graph tan, meaning complete nakedness.” The character belongs to the garment radical.
68
[]
Commentary glosses mountain mulberry though the head character is lost. Fanqie yi-ran. Cha means slash—fanqie shi-ya. Xie names misted mountain defiles. The primer glosses chi as ‘great.’ The missing graph denotes frenzy—fanqie ji-ye. The Shuowen pictures the rhino as bluish wild cattle. Qu reads jie—ancient variants coincide. Feng glosses as huge. Xi names giant swine—fanqie xu-qi.
69
[]
Commentary: chao marks airy speed. Qiao: fanqie qiu-zhao. The Shuowen defines qiao as buoyant stride. Sou shu equals reconnoitering. Sou: fanqie suo-you. The Lin yuan zi calls ridge crest lou. The Er ya distinguishes mighty Song peaks from sharp young ridges. Man: fanqie mo-han. Chuo means vault—the fanqie is partly lost. Xun marks whip-long branches. Miao and biao both gloss twig ends. Dialects preserve only fragments of wei’s fanqie. The Er ya describes the snub-nosed gibbon. Guo Pu paints a long-tailed ape that shelters from rain aloft. Dialect maps three readings—yu, yi, yu-jiu—for the same beast. Ji: fanqie ju-yi. The Shuowen defines ji as tripping with one leg. ‘Wood-born’ lists canopy dwellers. ‘Lodging kinds’ covers burrowers.
70
[]
Commentary: han equals drag-net. Sima Xiangru loads cloud nets on chariots. The Later Han office table nests companies under divisions. The lacunar graph names seine nets—read zeng. Yi stands for arrow-with-string retrieval. Fen: fanqie fu-wen.
71
[]
Commentary: zeng marks whistling quarrels. Bo equals stone sinker pan—fanqie bu-he or bu-zuo. The Shuowen ties stone weights to retrieve bolts. Luo mo paints nets stretched curtain-wide. Mo parallels mu ‘awning.’ Hui reads like ‘waving.’ Sha: fanqie su-qia. The Guang ya glosses sha as sudden shower. Birds struck by yi bolts drop like hailstones.
72
[] [] [] []宿[] []黿 [] [] []西 []涿 [] []鷿 [] [] [][]
Then the hunt pivots—chariots wheel, oarsmen invoke river gods, leap liminal mists, pierce heaven’s ninth layer, breast the Milky Way, ford the celestial pier. [1] They chart ghost districts, pace ritual fields, conjure shamans, parade exorcists, scourge epidemics, banish river sprites. [2] They whip marsh demons, net will-o’-wisps, leash meteor dogs, heap graveyard omens. [3] Pageantry slows—boats beach at broken graphemes while marsh officers net fish. [4] Legendary divers and ancient ichthyists swing axes, split ice, probe pools, trail scaled hosts. [6] They strike rapids, churn oars, dredge pools, wrestle flood-dragons, drag river saurians, tabulate seasonal tribute fish. [7] The hosts scour hill and dale bare—only banners and spent gear remain before re-entering the imperial preserve. [8] They lodge at the Bright View tower, nap on the High Balustrade, overlook the mirror lake. [9] Jade terraces and golden levees rim reed banks—waters swell boundlessly while sun climbs east and moon trims west. [10] Sorcerers scour shoals—drive flood bugs, net river bogeys, harpoon leviathans. [11] Pleasure craft unfurl silk sails on breezes—fish leap, omens rise, river goddesses drift aboard. [12] Every manner of waterbird folds wings on the berm. [13] Fish schools surge toward virtue—more vivid than Zhou omens of white birds or leaping prey. [14] Yet chroniclers still hymn them—Ma Rong’s lament rings. [15] Commentary glosses ‘far gaze’ though the head graph fails. After the battue the cortège swaps escort. The Zuo Zhuan idioms turning north after hunt. Su means row upstream. Hui glosses as vast. Ping Yi is the Yellow River god. Gou Mang rules spring wood. Huang hu sketches misted distance. ‘Double yang’ names the empyrean. Yun Han is the Milky Way. The Celestial Ford asterism bridges heaven.
73
[]
Commentary: ling bao denotes chief conjuror. The Nine Songs idolizes Ling Bao’s grace. The Rites describe masked exorcists chasing epidemics. Esoteric texts blame southern yi sprites for shadow shots. Popular lore names the three-legged archer-frog.
74
[]
Shao in this sense uses fanqie suo-jiao. Zheng glosses shao as sweep away. The Discourses speak of forest bogeys named Kui and Wangliang. Youguang spirits ride eight siblings. The Sky Dog is an asterism. Omencraft assigns the Sky Dog to ward wealth. Zeng reads xi-lie fan and means ‘bind.’ The fen-yang earth bogey looks ovine. See the School Sayings of Confucius.
75
[] 綿使
Commentary glosses the lacunar pool term though characters fail. The Han gloss describes sunken bird blinds in imperial pools. The same text ropes bamboo rafts to fence bathers out. The Rites charge river marshals with stream regulations. Marsh wardens police wetland decrees.” The Zuo Zhuan describes Duke Yin netting fish at Tang. Here shi means ‘display.’ The Discourses tell how counselor Li Ge rebuked Duke Xuan’s summer seine on the Si—citing ancient midwinter sacrifices of river fowl. Today fry fill the streams yet you drag nets—sheer greed. The duke admits fault. The damaged graph sounds yu.
76
[]
Read ye like ‘smelt.’
77
[] 宿使宿 宿 *[]* 黿黿 觿
Commentary equates zi fei with the diver title ci fei. The Springs and Autumns of Lü Buwei tells of Ci Fei beset by twin crocodiles. Ci Fei plunged blade-first and slew both beasts. Lu Lun proves Suosha Quzi no dull angler—mountain pools simply lack fish. Skill mattered less than habitat. Yan Ying’s tale pits three braves against two peaches. Gongsun boasts shield work against tiger cubs. Tian claims martial command twice over. Gu recounts diving the rapids to kill a river monster. Two warriors yield the peaches and fall on their swords. Gu refuses to survive alone. He joins them in death. Lexicons swap gu and ye graphs. Hui equals ‘wave.’ The Guang ya calls the zhong kui a hammer-head. ‘Frontier axe’ names a halberd pattern. Kan means cut away ice. Zhong means trace downstream. Jie covers scaled schools. Lü denotes cohorts.
78
[] 黿
Ben uses fanqie pu-gen; rao uses nu-jiao—both gloss diving strokes. ‘Sink extinct’ means submerged. The crocodile graph lacks a clear fanqie here. Sturgeon tier king versus lesser ‘uncle’ fish. Spring ritual serves sturgeon at the ancestral shrine. Summer edicts harvest river turtles.”
79
[] 礿
Commentary: liu lan is sweeping reconnaissance. The Rites plant tally flags to collect bag limits. Zheng glosses plant as ‘erect.’ Field pennons gather every hunter’s bag. Stopped cars yield birds for the spring yue rite. ‘Chariots halt’ simply means the chase ends. Liao and qiao binomes paint barren wastes.
80
[]
Hong glosses the vast pool.
81
[] 西
Chun means gold-faced dike—fanqie zhi-yin. Pu willows fringe the bank. Four binomes chart rolling flood. Cuo zhen braids currents. Zhen: fanqie zhi-ren. Wei: fanqie yu-wei. Hong dong means seamless horizon. Hong: fanqie hu-gong. Shuo names moonrise. The Book of Rites pairs eastern sun and western moon. Zheng identifies Great Brightness as sun. Ma Rong imagines sun and moon rising from the lake.
82
[]涿 涿 * () **[]* 觿
The Rites assign Hu Zhuo priests to scour flood bogeys. Zhuo: fanqie ding-jue. Gu: fanqie gong-hu. Wang equals marsh sprites. Chi names hornless dragons— text particle ye. —of that ilk.” ‘Short fox’ equals the yi sprite. Ce: fanqie qi-yi. The Shuowen glosses ce as skewering. The Rites name seasonal fishers though one graph fails. Zheng Zhong describes pole-spearing mudfish.”
83
[] *[]*
Fang marks paired hulls. Yuhuang was the great Wu dreadnought. See Zuo’s battle of Huangchi. Qiong skiffs use fanqie qu-gong. The Huainanzi notes even light craft need waves. Fan as in ‘sail.’ Chou is awning—fanqie zhi-you. Si names slick breezes. Liu Che’s lyric opens with drums and boat songs. Liu Xiang records the ferry girl’s river hymn. Han Ying says Hu Ba’s qin charmed leaping fish. Huainan pairs yarrow stands with tortoise augury. The Analects cites Zang’s sacred tortoise. The gloss ties the shell to Cai provenance. Lady Xiang guards the Xiang shallows. See the Songs of Chu. Han Maiden personifies the Han. The Canon sings ‘Han girls at play.’
84
[] 鹿 鷿 * () **[]* 宿
Commentary: yuanyang mate for life. Ou names silver gulls. Yi covers river teals. The Er ya identifies cang as graylag-type fowl. Modern folk style it the ‘melon goose.’ Read gua like ‘melon.’ Lu names the cormorant.” Yang Fu marvels at cormorant parturition—chicks strung like silk from the maw. Yet these divers nest high in the canopy.” Yi is the white-fronted goose.” Lu denotes snowy egrets.” Pi uses fanqie bu-li. The damaged graph sounds ti.” The Fang yan opens: the variant bai. The passage refers to tiny wild teal whose fat polishes blades where the manuscript breaks. Qin means roost.” The ode sighs ‘they settle softly.’” Ya marks the water’s lip.”
85
[] * () **[]* 滿
Commentary: xu resembles bream with finer scales. Han names chin-mouth catfish—fanqie xu-lin. The lacunar fish equals fanqie bei-lian.” Yan names the pale-brow carp— text variant li.” same species.” Chang is the yellow-jowl fish of river markets.” Sha alternates with the shark graph.” Guo Yigong tracks minnows plowing silt.” The Greater Ya fills Ling pond with leaping fish.” Zheng reads Ling pond as thronged with jumping fish.” Another ode praises plump white fowl.” He glosses glossy plumage.” He uses reading xue. Every creature finds its niche.” The Middle Documents omens King Wu’s white fish.”
86
[] 滿
Commentary: ling denotes court musicians.” The Airs praise worthy Wei musicians.” The Book of Rites archives kings Wen and Wu on bamboo.” The Rites distinguish long scrolls from short tablets.” Zheng glosses bang as plank slips.”
87
[]滿 [] [][][] []西 [] [][]
Temples fed, larders packed, hosts trimmed, arms whetted— [1] Victims fan out, quarry ranks, wine saturates merit—stacked cohorts, thousandfold captains, mountain urns brimming, sacrifice boards laden.” [2] Intoxicants roll by cart, chefs patrol ranks—clear ale foams, skewers ride courier mounts—drums thunder with each toast.” [3] Jin's Yang'e airs and lacunar southern dances purge the breast, wake ear and eye, scatter pent cares—bells and drums clang along the highroad where commons throng.” [6] Virtue radiates inward while spirits reach beyond seas—eastern islands sail to sacrifice, western tribes ford unnamed ridges, southern tongues chain nine relays, northern herds attach translators.” [7] Peace remembers danger—such is the Way kings wield spirit arms and blunt distant blades.” [9] Commentary cites the thrice-year hunt.” First rites, second guests, third royal board.”
88
[] 西
The Guang ya glosses bai as spread.” Lexicons equate bai with bu-mai fan.” Ban Gu spreads victims on stands.” Ban means array.” Yu equals feasting surfeit.” The Zuo Zhuan couples gifts with feasting.” Kao rewards labor.” Mountain urns bear peak motifs.” The Rites attribute mountain cups to Xia.” Zhou prefers chamber-style trays.” Zheng likens tray feet to side rooms.”
89
[]
Wine stewards catalogue mashes and spirits.” Head cooks oversee royal fare.” The Shuowen defines lao as unstrained ale.” The ode pairs roasting and broiling.” Jiang marks riders advancing skewers.” Ji indicates drained cups.” Popular copies corrupt cup and ji graphs.”
90
[] 調
Huainan pairs harvest songs with Yang'e dance.” The Rites tie mellow music to popular joy.” The Pheasant-Cap Master adds: ‘Southern luxuriance trains reed pipes.’”
91
[]
Yue means ventilate.” Yun xu stacks pent cares.” Xu parallels stored grain.” Tong rhymes with ‘cave.’ Di fu names suppressed dread.” Lü Buwei credits dance with draining stagnant qi.” Music likewise disperses bottled fear.”
92
[] *[]*
Commentary: these onomatopoeia ring bronze.” Huang as in ‘bright.’ Qiang: fanqie ce-geng. Mencius tells Qi’s king that shared joy wins the realm.” ‘Farm outskirts’ means upland commons.”
93
[] 西西 西 西 使
Commentary: ru xiang marks tributary audiences.” Kong Anguo places Western Host beyond Longxi.” Commentary names a Pamir pass though characters fail.” Local lore ties the pass name to cliff goats.” Jiao marks frontier tracks.” Nine relays bridge distant grammar.” The Great Tradition recounts ninefold relay tribute.” Shuo Di labels northern herdsmen.” The Rites assign interpreters to four barbarians.”
94
西
Zheng defines interpreters as polyglot envoys.” Each quarter names translators differently.” Zhou coined xiang when Yue relays arrived.” Xu reads like ‘counsel.’
95
[]使 [] [] [] [] [] []宿西 [] [] [] [][]
Yan Ying foils Jin spies.” Qi’s duke hosts Fan Zhao.” Fan demands the ruler’s goblet.” The duke agrees.” Yan Ying swaps the ritual cup.” Fan admits Yanzi read every insult.” Confucius praises diplomacy at the banquet.” Ma Rong contrasts Han moral triumph with neglected martial drills.” [1] Twelve years without royal hunts blind and deafen the realm to Heaven’s majesty.” Next the king would unlock palace archives, harmonize statutes with ancient deeds, and revive exemplary law. [2] He would tour Qingyuan’s precedent, honor Qi-yang’s hunt, lift genius from neglect. [3] Screen flashy reputations, prize solitary merit, call poets from the plow and sages from deep water. [4] Like kings who fetched Yi Yin and Fu Yue—Ma Rong lists every motif though lacunas bite. [5] Court poets would outshine the classics and tally every omen. [6] Omens pile—phoenix, qilin, pygmies’ feathers, Queen Mother’s ring. [7] The Son of Heaven would harmonize heaven and earth without rival. [8] Bless lineage beyond counting and years without end. [9] Court wheels north from the hunt at Xincheng back through Yi Pass to the capital. Commentary: pan names the royal chase. Yu equals royal sport.
96
[]
The fourth of eight statutes fixes bureaucratic routine. Heaven’s vault watches imperial seals and clerks. Zhao Dun ruled Jin by covenant precedents. Du glosses you as ‘apply.’ Zhi yao names bronze contracts. Kan uses fanqie ku-han.
97
[]
Qingyuan sits north of modern Wenxi. Jin’s Qingyuan hunt reorganized five hosts. Chu ministers cite Mengjin and Qiyang precedents. Summer edicts promote talent. Chu’s reform dredged buried ability. Du defines ‘submerged’ cadres blocked from office.”
98
[]
Commentary: flashy praise deceives. Jie te marks lone integrity. Quan mu hides talent under clods. The Upper Woods ode gathers rustic poets. Glossators identify Airs masters. ‘Hidden dragon’ sketches recluse sages.
99
[]
The damaged verb reads suo-jie fan. Tripods evoke Yi Yin’s kitchen plea. Mozi records Yi Yin’s ascent from hearth. ‘Kang avenue’ names cowherd Ning Qi. Garden of Stories sets Ning Qi singing by the road. Fu Yue rose from mortar gangs. Mencius cites Jiao Ge’s salty stall.
100
[]使
Bi equals ‘send forth.’ Chang marks fitting speech. Hong magnifies counsel. Yang Xiong praised august debate. Yi means outrun. ‘Three houses’ names the Three August Ones.
101
[] 西
Han Ying recounts phoenix omens. Middle Documents place qilin at court. Royal annals record pygmy plumes. The queen mother’s ring praised Shun.”
102
[]
Confucius hymns Yao’s luminous wen.
103
[]祿
The ode promises myriad heirs.
104
[]
Que marks cessation—fanqie ku-xue. Li Xian maps Xincheng to modern Yique.
105
調 [] [][]
The Guangcheng praise trapped Ma Rong at the archives. Nephew’s death drew his resignation. [1] Empress Deng barred him for snubbing central posts. His papers cite nephew Kang’s death at his house.
106
[]* () **[]*
The dossier notes Left General’s memorial— graph dao. —mourning his nephew and quitting post.” The court stripped rank yet spared jail. The blacklist lasted six years.
107
[] 西西 [] 觿 []西 [] 西宿 []西 西 []
133 CE rehabilitation brought him back as consultant. [1] Liang Shang made him staff aide then frontier governor. Qiang revolt stalled Ma Xian’s column. Ma Rong begged command five thousand Guandong troops before tribes united. Delay lets riders envelop Sanfu. He pledged thirty-day victory with scratch troops. He admits civilian cheek inviting calumny. He cites Mao Sui’s single speech saving Zhao. [3] He warns western fixation invites eastern raids like Zheng’s Gao Ke. The throne ignored him. He read comets over Jin lands. [5] Portents threaten frontier flare-ups. Garrison both quarters. Events vindicated every warning. Later Han notes place answers.
108
[]退
‘Buried roots’ means no withdrawal.
109
[]
Mao Sui served Zhao Sheng. Three years passed unnoticed. Peers laughed at the twenty-first man. At Chu he sealed covenant despite lacuna. See Sima Qian. ‘Stable boy’ marks bottom rank.
110
[]使
Gao Ke’s idle army fled.
111
[]
Astro-fields map Shen to Bingzhou.
112
Under Huan he rose to southern governor. Liang Ji had him exiled north. Survived suicide—returned to compile.
113
涿 觿
He commanded a thousand disciples. Lu Zhi and Zheng Xuan sat his hall. He played flute yet broke Ru starch. His lodge rang gold. Crimson curtain hid singers behind lecturers. He ranked Jia narrow and Zheng thin. Both perfected—no room to improve. So he wrote collation only. His corpus spans classics and twenty-one titled works.
114
西 [][]
Cowardice after Deng led him to flatter Liang Ji. He died at eighty-eight in 166 CE. His will demanded humble tomb. Grand-nephew Ma Midi reached grand tutor. Glossary names Midi Wengshu.”
115
[][] [] [] [] [] []
The historian asks whether Ma Rong’s refusal of the Deng clan hid resolve to stay pure. [1–2] Ashamed of penniless pride yet unwilling to die—he sank into luxury and partisan shame—few natures master appetite. [3] Hardship thins caution. Comfort deepens fear of risk. [4] Convicts scale cliffs unafraid. [5] Silk heirs never skim perilous eaves. [6] Everyone settles where they feel safe. Classes mock each other’s fears. Commentary dates wandering to Hanyang exile. The Zhou yi counsels steadiness amid hesitation.
116
[]
Zhuangzi dismisses narrow pedants.
117
[]
Commentary glosses shi as innate disposition. Kuang equals curb.
118
[]
Commentary cites Laozi: "Men rush death chasing life. Comfort breeds contempt for mortality."
119
[] * () *
Han gloss divides xu-mi compound. Mi glosses as attendant. Denotes yoked convicts. Zhuangzi continues bondsmen scaling cliffs particle ye. Without fear—beyond living and dying. Thus desperation dismisses safety.
120
[]
Han Shu quotes Chuo’s proverb on cautious heirs. Luxury breeds dread.
121
Textual collation (jiao kan ji).
122
Collation: 蹲 → 坎 from Ji woodblock.
123
殿
挍 normalized to 校 to match commentaries. Editions align on 校 for ‘collate.’
124
*[]*
Fixes 丞 to 承 for Xie Cheng’s work. Title completed as 謝承書.
125
*[]*殿
Inserts 勸 per woodblocks.
126
殿
Variant 嬉/欣 noted.
127
Scholar proposes wealth-oriented reading.
128
* () *
Page break before graph cluster. variant graph po. Deletes stray graphs aligning Mencius.
129
* () **[]*
Ode citation lacuna line. graph you. The Ji edition and its gloss read vegetable-plot instead of park for this word. Qian Daxin favors 圃. Zheng Xuan’s phonetic gloss cited.
130
Vulgar variant fixed to 恢. Same fix downstream.
131
殿
寥 restored from 寒 error.
132
Wang Niansun proposes 枕 for 概. Other sources agree on the verb ‘pillow’ for the range to the left.
133
Wang Niansun reorders the line so that ‘backing Ji’ pairs with ‘facing Heng’ and explains the place-name as a pun on ‘base’ and ‘perch upon.’ Ru river commentary confirms reorder.
134
殿
Palace uses 蒲 variant. Plants interchangeable.
135
殿
彤 corrected from 肜.
136
* () **[]*
Shanhai jing citation stub. variant ju. Lacuna filled per classic. Mineral gloss lines fragment. Parallel pigment gloss. Editor harmonizes color graphs.
137
Historian’s name fixed.
138
* () **[簿]* 簿簿
Lemma marker. variant bo. The line cites the Henan county register, not a cloud graph. Source identified as Luoyang register.
139
* () **[氿]*
Lemma. variant wan. Qiu spring issued from a hollow—corrected against the Erya gloss.
140
Title corrected from Er ya to Guang ya. Shen cites Guang ya.
141
* () **[]*殿
Plant habitat break. particle yi. Si shore graph restored.
142
* () **[]*
Variant lemma. graph gui. Ji supplies missing graph. Ji omits 或.
143
Li proposes 駓 for 鄙. Links to Han Shi variant.
144
Compare Guoyu Qi wording. Shen Qinhan repoints the second star from lance to halberd to match the Sui treatise on the sky chart. Sui catalog cites Dark Lance. Tang regiment named for asterism.
145
Character debate on ting crown. Seal-script lemma quoted. Fanqie spelling. Phonology aligns Shuowen. Later misreads spawned alternate fanqie.
146
Ji prefers 爭.
147
Restores 祋 graph. Gloss aligned.
148
* () **[]*殿
Chariot lemma. graph jiao. Lu carriage normalized.
149
* () **[]*
Comet gloss lemma. chi variant. Kanwu deletes rogue chi clause. Syntax adjusted. Parallel with solar banners. Editors adopt revision.
150
輿
Later carriage manuals disagree with this line on whether the plaque measures four or five cun and on whether the ornament is general horse hair or a named tuft.
151
Ode lemma 我→田 proposed. The Book of Odes’ “Carriage Hunt” line uses the word “field” at this place.
152
殿
On page 1962, line 1, the Palace woodblock substitutes kun for ji in the phrase about gray hides and calluses. The standard Erya text likewise reads kun.
153
Qian Daxin, cited in the commentary, fills the broken graph with zhi to restore the line about a prison-maddened creature.
154
The compositor had swapped biao for piao; the tree-crown line is emended without further comment. The gloss adopts the same fix.
155
* () **[]*殿
Line 4 of page 1963 marks the lemma cheng for glossing. The gloss glosses the graph as tan, meaning bare the torso. Ji and Palace editions read “naked,” which replaces the older wording here.
156
Kanwu repoints the verb to the homophone meaning track or boundary for the ghost precinct.
157
殿
Both woodblocks prefer the cat-tail character for the willow grove; the commentary matches. Editors treat the two spellings as graphic variants here.
158
The Ji text swaps the homophone so the line refers to panpipes, not sedge.
159
A misprint turned expel into strike; the purge-of-pestilence line is restored.
160
*[]*
The Ji block inserts the phrase “said Jie” into Gongsun Jie’s boast about the tiger. Because early glosses lack “said Jie,” Liu Ban thinks the line should mirror the sons’ “I said” formula. The extra “said Jie” looks like Mao Zijin’s conjectural patch. Zhang Senkai sides with Liu about the missing “I said,” yet wonders why Mao substituted Jie’s given name.
161
* () **[]*
Page 1966, line 7 marks the chi-dragon lemma for commentary. The gloss supplies the particle ye. The Ji woodblock reads zhu ‘belong to’ at this lemma.
162
The Ji text uses the musical instrument character in the line about pipes and drums.
163
*[]*殿
Ji and Palace editions add nü ‘woman’ to identify the river goddess.
164
The Ji block substitutes the pheasant name for the second ‘gull’ in the gloss.
165
* () **[]*殿
Line 16 on page 1966 carries a starred lemma awaiting gloss. The gloss adds the adjective ‘white.’ Ji and Palace editions read ‘wild’ before ‘duck’ in the identification.
166
* () **[]*殿
The lemma on page 1967 names the broad-headed white fish. The gloss equates the fish with the carp. Ji and Palace editions reinstate the copula ye at the end of the gloss.
167
A slip confused the verb ‘spread’ with ‘subsidiary’; the wordplay on bo is restored.
168
西西
Shen Qinhan reassigns the cross-slaughter couplet to Zhang Heng and faults the attribution to Ban Gu.
169
*[]*殿
Ji and Palace editions insert King Xuan’s temple name into Mencius’ address.
170
Kanwu transposes the compound to ‘general title’ so the sentence defines the generic office name. Ruan Yuan shows Zheng’s text already contains ming, refuting Kanwu’s reordering.
171
The place-name graph is restored from a miswritten fork character. The gloss matches that emendation.
172
* () **[]*殿
The lemma on page 1970 concerns the Left General’s memorial on Ma Rong. The gloss notes a dao variant beside the name Rong. The Palace block reads zao ‘to suffer loss,’ yielding Ma Rong mourning a nephew.
173
Kanwu deletes secretary because chief of the royal stable is a complete office by itself.
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