1
志第七祭祀上
Treatise 7: Sacrifices, Part One.
2
光武即位告天郊封禅
Guangwu’s accession: reporting to Heaven, the suburban rites, and the feng and shan sacrifices on Mount Tai.
3
祭祀之道，自生民以來則有之矣。 豺獺知祭祀，而況人乎！ 故人知之至於念想，猶豺獺之自然也，顧古質略而後文飾耳。 自古以來王公所爲羣祀，至於王莽，《漢書·郊祀志》既著矣，故今但列自中興以來所修用者，以爲《祭祀志》。
The practice of sacrifice has existed ever since human society began. Even jackals and otters observe sacrificial customs; surely people can do no less. Human beings carry sacrifice in mind and memory as instinctively as those beasts do in nature; the difference is simply that early ages kept the rites spare and later ages elaborated them. The great state sacrifices of kings and nobles down through Wang Mang are already recorded in the Book of Han’s “Suburban Sacrifices”; this treatise therefore confines itself to what has been established and practiced since the dynasty’s revival.
4
建武元年，光武即位于鄗，爲壇營於鄗之陽。 祭告天地，采用元始中郊祭故事。 六宗羣神皆從，未以祖配。 天地共犢，餘牲尚約。 其文曰：「皇天上帝，后土神祇，睠顧降命，屬秀黎元，爲民父母，秀不敢當。 羣下百僚，不謀同辭。 咸曰王莽篡弑竊位，秀發憤興義兵，破王邑百萬眾於昆陽，誅王郎、銅馬、赤眉、青犢賊，平定天下，海内蒙恩，上當天心，下爲元元所歸。 讖記曰：『劉秀發兵捕不道，卯金修德爲天子。』 秀猶固辭，至於再，至於三。 羣下曰：『皇天大命，不可稽留。』 敢不敬承！」
In Jianwu 1 (25 CE), Guangwu was enthroned at Hao, where he raised an altar on the sunny slope south of the town. He reported his accession to Heaven and Earth, following the suburban-sacrifice precedents of the Yuanshi period (1–5 CE). The Six Honored Powers and the full pantheon were included, but no imperial ancestor was yet paired at the high altar. Heaven and Earth received a single calf between them; other offerings were still kept comparatively modest. The prayer read: “August Heaven and High God, Sovereign Earth and the spirits—you have looked down and issued your mandate, setting Xiu over the common people as their parent; Xiu dares not presume to accept such a burden. Every minister below, without having plotted together beforehand, spoke as one. They declared that Wang Mang had seized the throne by murder and usurpation; that Xiu, roused to action, had raised a loyal army, shattered Wang Yi’s host of a million at Kunyang, put down Wang Lang and the Bronze Horse, Red Eyebrows, and Green Calf rebels, restored peace to the realm, and won the gratitude of every shore—that Heaven above approved him and the people below rallied to him. The apocrypha ran: “Liu Xiu takes up arms against the wicked; the Liu house, refining its virtue, is destined for the throne.” Yet Xiu still refused—once, twice, and yet again. His officers replied: “Heaven’s great mandate brooks no delay.” How could we fail to accept it with reverence!”
5
二年正月，初制郊兆於于雒陽城南七里，依鄗。 采元始中故事。 爲圓壇八陛，中又爲重壇，天地位其上，皆南嚮乡，西上。 其外壇上爲五帝位。 青帝位在甲寅之地，赤帝位在丙巳之地，黄帝位在丁未之地，白帝位在庚申之地，黑帝位在壬亥之地。 其外壝，重營皆紫，以像紫宫； 有四通道以爲門。 日月在中營内南道，日在東，月在西，北斗在北道之西，皆别位，不在羣神列中。 八陛，陛五十八醊，合四百六十四醊。 五帝陛郭，帝七十二醊，合三百六十五醊。 中營四門，門五十四神，合二百一十六神。 外營四門，門百八神，合四百三十二神。 皆背營内乡。 中營四門，門封神四，外營四門，門封神四，合三十二神。 凡千五百一十四神。 營即壝也。 封，封土筑也。 背中營神，五星也，及中官宿五官神及五岳之屬也。 背外營神，二十八宿外官星，雷公、先農、風伯、雨師、四海、四瀆、名山、大川之屬也。
In the first month of Jianwu 2 (26 CE), he first marked out the suburban altar seven li south of Luoyang, following the layout used at Hao. The design drew on the Yuanshi-era precedents. They built a round altar with eight flights of steps and a nested inner terrace; Heaven and Earth were set atop it, every station facing south, with approach from the west. The outer ring held the stations of the Five Thearchs. The Green Thearch stood at the jiayin compass point, the Red at bingsi, the Yellow at dingwei, the White at gengshen, and the Black at renhai. Beyond the inner wall the layered enclosures were draped in purple, evoking the Purple Palace constellation; Four avenues served as gates. Within the inner camp’s southern aisle stood the Sun and Moon—the Sun to the east, the Moon to the west—with the Northern Dipper west of the northern aisle; each had its own station apart from the general ranks of deities. The eight flights of steps held fifty-eight ritual mounds apiece, four hundred sixty-four in all. Around the Five Thearchs’ steps ran seventy-two mounds for each ruler—three hundred sixty-five altogether, one for each day of the year. The inner precinct’s four gates held fifty-four deities each—two hundred sixteen in total. The outer ring’s four gates held a hundred eight spirits apiece, four hundred thirty-two altogether. Each deity faced outward, backs turned toward the center of the camp. Four gate-gods were posted at each of the inner camp’s four doors and four at each outer door—thirty-two gate spirits in all. The pantheon numbered one thousand five hundred fourteen deities. Here “enclosure” (ying) means the earthen wall (wei) around the altar. A feng is a mound of heaped earth. Those facing outward from the inner ring represented the Five Planets, the stellar gods of the central palace and the five bureaus, and the marchmounts and their affiliates. The outer ring’s outward-facing gods included the Twenty-Eight Mansions and outer asterisms, Thunder Duke, the god of agriculture, Wind and Rain, the four seas and four channel rivers, and celebrated peaks and streams.
6
至七年五月，詔三公曰：「漢當郊尧。 其与卿大夫、博士议。」 時侍御史杜林上疏，以爲「漢起不因缘尧，与殷、周異宜，而舊制以高帝配。 方軍師在外，且可如元年郊祀故事」。 上從之。 語在《林传》。
In the fifth month of the seventh year, he issued an edict to the Three Excellencies, saying, “Han ought to sacrifice to Yao at the suburbs. He bade them take counsel with senior ministers and academicians.” At that time Attendant Censor Du Lin presented a memorial, holding that “Han’s rise did not follow a line from Yao; its proper observances differ from those of Yin and Zhou, whereas the old arrangement matches Emperor Gao. With the armies still in the field, he argued, the court should for now adhere to the suburban rites observed in the first year of the reign.” The emperor accepted his advice. Du Lin’s memorial is preserved in his biography.
7
陇、蜀平后，乃增广郊祀，高帝配食，位在中壇上，西面北上。 天、地、高帝、黄帝各用犢一头，青帝、赤帝共用犢一头，白帝、黑帝共用犢一头，凡用犢六头。 日、月、北斗共用牛一头，四營羣神共用牛四头，凡用牛五头。 凡乐奏《青陽》、《朱明》、《西皓》、《玄冥》，及《云翘》、《育命》舞。 中營四門，門用席十八枚，外營四門，門用席三十六枚，凡用席二百一十六枚，皆莞簟，率一席三神。 日、月、北斗無陛郭醊。 既送神，燎俎實于壇南巳地。
Once Long and Shu had been subdued, the court expanded the suburban cult and set Emperor Gao as correlative recipient on the central terrace, facing west with senior rank to the north. Heaven, Earth, Emperor Gao, and the Yellow Thearch each received a calf; the Green and Red Thearchs shared one, as did the White and Black Thearchs—six calves in all. The Sun, Moon, and Northern Dipper shared a single ox; the deities of the four precincts shared four more—five oxen altogether. The musicians played the seasonal hymns Qingyang, Zhuming, Xihao, and Xuanming, accompanied by the Yunqiao and Yuming dances. Each inner gate held eighteen rush mats and each outer gate thirty-six—two hundred sixteen mats of coiled rush and bamboo, generally three deities to a mat. No stepped mounds (zhui) ringed the stations of the Sun, Moon, or Northern Dipper. Once the spirits had been dismissed, the meat from the sacrificial stands was burned at the south side of the altar in the si quarter.
8
建武三十年二月，羣臣上言，即位三十年，宜封禅泰山。 詔書曰：「即位三十年，百姓怨气满腹，吾谁欺，欺天乎？ 曾谓泰山不如林放，何事污七十二代之編錄！ 桓公欲封，管仲非之」若郡縣遠遣吏上壽，盛稱虚美，必髡，兼令屯田。」 從此羣臣不敢复言。 三月，上幸鲁，过泰山，告太守以上过，故承詔祭山及梁父。 時，虎贲中郎將梁松等议：「《記》曰'齊將有事泰山，先有事配林'，蓋諸侯之禮也。 河岳視公侯，王者祭焉。 宜無即事之漸，不祭配林。」
In the second month of Jianwu 30 (54 CE), ministers urged that after thirty years on the throne the emperor should perform the feng and shan rites on Mount Tai. An edict declared: "After thirty years on the throne, the people are seething with grievance—whom could I fool? Could I fool Heaven? Confucius once held Mount Tai less worthy than Lin Fang—why should I stain the annals of seventy-two dynasties! Duke Huan wished to perform the feng rite, and Guan Zhong opposed it. If any commandery or county sends officials from afar to offer birthday congratulations with lavish empty flattery, the offenders will be shaved and assigned to frontier garrison farming." After that, no minister dared raise the subject again. In the third month the emperor visited Lu, passed Mount Tai, informed the governor of his route, and in accordance with the edict sacrificed at the mountain and at Liangfu. At that time Liang Song, commander of the Tiger Guard, and others argued: "The Record says, 'When Qi is about to perform rites at Mount Tai, it first performs rites at Peilin'—that is essentially the feudal-lord protocol. Rivers and marchmounts rank with dukes and marquises; only a king may sacrifice to them directly. One should not advance step by step toward the main rite without first sacrificing at Peilin."
9
三十二年正月，上齋，夜讀《河圖會昌符》曰：「赤劉之九，會命岱宗。 不慎克用，何益于承！ 誠善用之，奸伪不萌。」 感此文，乃詔松等复案索《河》、《雒》讖文言九世封禅事者。 松等列奏，乃許焉。
In the first month of Jianwu 32 (56 CE), while observing the fast, he read by lamplight the River Chart’s Talisman of Flourishing Accord: “The ninth generation of the Red Liu will receive its charge on the Eastern Marchmount. Unless it is applied with scrupulous care, what good can it do the heir who receives the mandate? Wielded in good faith, it leaves no room for deceit.” Stirred by these lines, he instructed Liang Song and his colleagues to comb the Yellow River and Luo River apocrypha for passages on the ninth-generation feng and shan. Liang Song and the others laid their findings before the throne, and the emperor gave his assent.
10
初，孝武帝欲求神仙，以扶方者言黄帝由封禅而後仙，于是欲封禅。 封禅不常，時人莫知。 元封元年，上以方士言作封禅器，以示羣儒，多言不合古，于是罷諸儒不用。 三月，上東上泰山，乃上石立之泰山颠。 遂東巡海上，求仙人，無所見而還。 四月，封泰山。 恐所施用非是，乃秘其事。 語在《漢書·郊祀志》。
Earlier, Emperor Wu had sought immortality; his fangshi advisers claimed the Yellow Thearch had ascended only after performing the feng and shan rites on Mount Tai, which fired the emperor’s own ambition to do the same. The feng and shan observances were rare, and contemporaries knew little about them. In the first year of Yuanfeng (110 BC), following his occult advisers' advice, he had ritual vessels for the feng and shan sacrifices made and shown to the Confucian scholars; most pronounced them uncanonical, so he set the literati aside. In the third month he climbed Mount Tai from the east and set a stone marker on its peak. He then cruised the eastern sea in search of immortals, found none, and turned back. In the fourth month he performed the feng sacrifice on Mount Tai. Doubting whether the procedure had been correct, he kept the details secret. The full story appears in the Book of Han’s “Treatise on Suburban Sacrifices.”
11
上許梁松等奏，乃求元封時封禅故事，议封禅所施用。 有司奏當用方石再累置壇中，皆方方尺，厚一尺，用玉牒書藏方石。 牒厚五寸，长尺三寸，广五寸，有玉檢。 又用石檢十枚，列于石傍，東西各三，南北各二，皆长三尺，广一尺，厚七寸。 檢中刻三處，深四寸，方五寸，有蓋。 檢用金縷五周，以水銀和金以爲泥。 玉璽一方寸二分，一枚方五寸。 方石四角又有距石，皆再累。 枚长一丈，厚一尺，广二尺，皆在圓壇上。 其下用距石十八枚，皆高三尺，厚一尺，广二尺，如小碑，环壇立之，去壇三步。 距石下皆有石跗，入地四尺。 又用石碑，高九尺，广三尺五寸，厚尺二寸，立壇丙地，去壇三丈以上，以刻書。 上以用石功难，又欲及二月封，故詔松欲因故封石空檢，更加封而已。 松上疏争之，以爲「登封之禮，告功皇天，垂后無窮，以爲萬民也。 承天之敬，尤宜章明。 奉圖書之瑞，尤宜顯著。 今因舊封，窜寄玉牒故石下，恐非重命之義。 受命中興，宜當特異，以明天意」。 遂使泰山郡及鲁趣石工，宜取完青石，無必五色。 時以印工不能刻玉牒，欲用丹漆書之； 會求得能刻玉者，遂書。 書秘刻方石中，命容玉牒。
The emperor approved the memorial from Liang Song and his colleagues, ordered a search for Western Han precedents from the Yuanfeng performance, and convened discussion of the equipment and ritual program. Officials reported that the altar should hold stacked square stones a foot thick on each face, with the jade proclamation sealed inside. The jade slip was five cun thick, thirteen cun long, five cun wide, and fitted with a jade sealing plate. Ten stone sealing blocks were to flank the central stone—three on the east and west, two on the north and south—each three feet long, a foot wide, and seven inches thick. Each stone seal was carved with three recesses, four inches deep and five inches square, and capped with a lid. They bound the seals with five turns of gold wire and sealed the joints with an amalgam of mercury and gold. One jade seal measured an inch and two tenths square; another slab measured five inches square. Corner posts were set at each angle of the central block, each built up in courses. Each measured ten feet in length, a foot thick, and two feet wide, standing on the round terrace. Eighteen supporting stones, each three feet high and shaped like miniature steles, ringed the altar three paces out. Each footing stone sat on a socket sunk four feet into the earth. A stone stele nine feet high, three feet five inches wide, and a little over a foot thick was raised in the bing sector more than thirty feet from the mound to bear the inscription. Because quarrying new stone would be slow and he hoped to perform the feng in the second month, he initially told Liang Song to reuse the old Western Han block, hollow out a new cavity in its seal, and simply reseal it. Liang Song protested in a memorial: “The feng rite proclaims your achievement to Heaven and must stand for ages to come on behalf of the people. The reverence owed to Heaven ought above all to be displayed openly. The auspicious charts that justify the rite should be honored with equal clarity. To tuck the new jade text under the old Western Han stone would look furtive and ill suit a renewed mandate. This restoration deserves its own monument, plainly declaring Heaven’s will.” He therefore instructed Taishan and Lu to press masons into service and quarry sound bluestone without insisting on polychrome marble. Seal-cutters at first could not incise the jade slip, so the court considered writing the text in vermilion lacquer instead; but when a craftsman skilled in jade carving was found, the text was engraved after all. The inscription was cut secretly into the square stone, hollowed to receive the jade document.
12
二月，上至奉高，遣侍御史与蘭臺令史，將工先上山刻石。 文曰：維建武三十有二年二月，皇帝東巡狩，至於岱宗，柴，望秩于山川，班于羣神，遂觐東后。 從臣太尉熹、行司徒事特进高密侯禹等。 漢宾二王之后在位。 孔子之后褒成侯，序在東后，蕃王十二，咸來助祭。 《河圖赤伏符》曰：「劉秀發兵捕不道，四夷云集龙斗野，四七之际火爲主。」 《河圖會昌符》曰：「赤帝九世，巡省得中，治平則封，誠合帝道孔矩，則天文靈出，地祇瑞興。 帝劉之九，會命岱宗，誠善用之，奸伪不萌。 赤漢德興，九世會昌，巡岱皆當。 天地扶九，崇經之常。 漢大興之，道在九世之王。 封于泰山，刻石著纪，禅于梁父，退省考五。」 《河圖合古篇》曰：「帝劉之秀，九名之世，帝行德，封刻政。」 《河圖提劉予》曰：「九世之帝，方明聖，持衡拒，九州平，天下予。」 《雒書甄曜度》曰：「赤三德，昌九世，會修符，合帝际，勉刻封。」 《孝經钩命决》曰：「予谁行，赤劉用帝，三建孝，九會修，专兹竭行封岱青。」 《河》、《雒》命后，經讖所传。 昔在帝尧，聪明密微，让与舜庶，后裔握机。 王莽以舅后之家、三司鼎足冢宰之权势，依托周公、霍光辅幼歸政之義，遂以篡叛，僭号自立。 宗廟堕坏，社稷丧亡，不得血食，十有八年。 杨、徐、青三州首乱，兵革横行，延及荆州，豪杰并兼，百里屯聚，往往僭号。 北夷作寇，千里無烟，無鸡鸣狗吠之声。 皇天睠顧皇帝，以匹庶受命中興，年二十八载興兵，以次誅讨，十有餘年，罪人斯得。 黎庶得居尔田，安尔宅。 舟舆所通，人迹所至，靡不贡职。 建明堂，立辟雍，起靈臺，設庠序。 同律、度、量、衡。 修五禮，五玉，三帛，二牲，一死，贽。 吏各修职，复于舊典。 在位三十有二年，年六十二。 乾乾日曰矢，不敢荒宁，涉危历险，亲巡黎元，恭肃神祇，惠恤耆老，理庶遵古，聪允明恕。 皇帝唯慎《河圖》、《雒書》正文，是月辛卯，柴，登封泰山。 甲午，禅于梁阴。 以承靈瑞，以爲兆民，永兹一宇，垂于後昆。 百僚從臣，郡守師尹，咸蒙祉福，永永無极。 秦相李斯燔《诗》、《書》，乐崩禮坏。 建武元年已前，文書散亡，舊典不具，不能明經文，以章句细微相況八十一卷，明者爲验，又其十卷，皆不昭晰。 子贡欲去告朔之饩羊，子曰：「賜也，尔爱其羊，我受其禮。」 后有聖人，正失誤，刻石記。 二十二日辛卯晨，燎祭天于泰山下南方，羣神皆從，用樂如南郊。 諸王、王者後二公、孔子後褒成君，皆助祭位事也。 事毕，將升封。 或曰：「泰山虽已從食于柴祭，今亲升告功，宜有禮祭。」 于是使謁者以一特牲于常祠泰山處，告祠泰山，如亲耕、貙劉、先祠、先農、先虞故事。 至食時，御輦升山，日中后到山上更衣，早晡時即位于壇，北面。 羣臣以次陳後，西上，毕位升壇。 尚書令奉玉牒檢，皇帝以寸二分璽亲封之，訖，太常命人发壇上石，尚書令藏玉牒已，复石覆讫，尚書令以五寸印封石檢。 事毕，皇帝再拜，羣臣稱萬岁。 命人立所刻石碑，乃复道下。
In the second month the emperor reached Fenggao and sent an attendant censor and a palace clerk to lead workmen up the mountain ahead of him to cut the stele. The inscription read: In the second month of Jianwu 32 (56 CE), the emperor made an eastern tour of inspection, reached the Eastern Marchmount, performed the firewood rite, ranked offerings to mountains and rivers, distributed them among the host of spirits, and then received the Eastern Lord. Attending ministers included Grand Commandant Xi, Acting Minister over the Masses and Special Advancement Marquis of Gaomi Yu, and others. The descendants of the two kings who were guests of Han took their places. Confucius's descendant, the Marquis of Baocheng, was ranked after the Eastern Lord; twelve feudal kings all came to assist in the sacrifice. The River Chart's Red Talisman of Hidden Submission said: "Liu Xiu takes up arms against the wicked; the four barbarians gather like clouds at Longdou Field; at the juncture of four and seven, Fire is master." The River Chart's Talisman of Flourishing Accord said: "The ninth generation of the Red Thearch, touring and inspecting, attains the center; when governance is settled, then the feng is performed; if truly it matches the Thearch's Way and Confucius's measure, then celestial signs appear and earthly numina bring auspicious omens. The ninth of the Liu emperors will receive the mandate on the Eastern Marchmount; wielded in good faith, it leaves no room for deceit. The Red Han's virtue rises; the ninth generation meets flourishing accord; touring Dai is always fitting. Heaven and Earth support the Nine; honoring the classics is the constant way. When Han greatly rises, the Way lies with the king of the ninth generation. Perform the feng on Mount Tai, carve stone to set forth the record, perform the shan at Liangfu, withdraw and examine the Five." The River Chart's "Conforming to Antiquity" said: "The Thearch Liu's Xiu, the generation of the ninth name; the Thearch practices virtue, feng and carving establish governance." The River Chart's "Presenting Liu with the Grant" said: "The Thearch of the ninth generation, squarely bright and sage, holds the balance and resists; the Nine Provinces are pacified, and all under Heaven is granted." The Luo River Writing's "Discipline of Radiant Brilliance" said: "Red, three virtues; flourishing, nine generations; meeting, repairing the talisman; matching the Thearch's juncture; strive to carve and feng." The Classic of Filial Piety's "Hooked Mandate Verdict" said: "To whom is the grant—who will act? The Red Liu uses the Thearch; thrice establishing filial piety, nine meetings repairing; exclusively here exhaust effort to perform feng at Dai and Qing." After the mandates of the River and Luo, the classics and prophecies transmitted them. Formerly under Emperor Yao, intelligence was subtle and profound; he yielded to Shun the common people, and his descendants grasped the pivot. Wang Mang, wielding the power of the empress's clan, the Three Excellencies, and the chancellor, invoked the precedent of the Duke of Zhou and Huo Guang assisting a young ruler and returning power—then usurped the throne and rebelled. The ancestral temples collapsed; the altars of soil and grain perished; they received no blood offerings for eighteen years. The three provinces of Yang, Xu, and Qing first rebelled; warfare spread as far as Jing Province; local strongmen annexed one another; within a hundred li they gathered in camps, often usurping titles. Northern barbarians raided the frontier; for a thousand li there was no smoke; not even the sound of crowing cocks or barking dogs could be heard. August Heaven turned its gaze and favored the emperor; as a common man he received the mandate and restored the dynasty; at age twenty-eight he raised troops and in sequence suppressed the rebels; for more than ten years, the guilty were brought to justice. The common people were able to dwell in their fields and settle in their homes. Where boats and chariots reach, where human tracks extend—none failed to offer tribute and service. He built the Bright Hall, established the Imperial Academy, raised the Spirit Terrace, and set up schools. He standardized pitch pipes, measures, capacity, and weights. He restored the Five Rites, five jades, three silks, two victims, one death-offering, and presentation gifts. Officials each restored their duties and returned to the old canons. On the throne thirty-two years; age sixty-two. Diligent day by day, he dared not be idle or at ease; crossing dangers and braving hardships, he personally toured the people; reverent and solemn toward the numinous powers, he kindly cared for the aged; governing the people he followed antiquity—perceptive, fair, bright, and forgiving. The emperor alone carefully verified the orthodox text of the River Chart and Luo River Writing; in this month on xinmao, he performed the firewood rite and ascended to perform the feng on Mount Tai. On jiawu, he performed the shan at Liang's northern slope. To receive numinous auspice, to serve as lord of the myriad people, forever in this one realm, handed down to later generations. The host of officials and attending ministers, commandery governors and district chiefs—all received blessed fortune, forever without limit. Qin's Chancellor Li Si burned the Odes and Documents; music collapsed and rites were ruined. Before Jianwu 1 (25 CE), documents were scattered and lost; old canons were incomplete; the classic texts could not be made clear; fine clauses were compared across eighty-one scrolls, with the clear ones taken as verification; another ten scrolls were all obscure. Zigong wished to abolish the sacrificial sheep for the first-of-month announcement; the Master said: "Ci, you love the sheep; I receive the rite." Later there will be a sage who corrects errors and records them by carving stone. On the morning of the twenty-second day, a xinmao day, they burned offerings and sacrificed to Heaven south of Mount Tai; the host of spirits all followed; music was used as at the southern suburb. The kings, the two dukes who were descendants of kings, and Confucius's descendant, Lord of Baocheng—all assisted in the sacrificial stations and duties. When the rites were finished, they were about to ascend for the feng. Someone said: "Although Mount Tai has already received offerings in the firewood sacrifice, now in personally ascending to announce merit, there ought to be a ritual sacrifice." Therefore they sent an usher with one specially prepared victim to the place of the regular sacrifice to Mount Tai, to announce and sacrifice to Mount Tai, following the precedents of the emperor's personal plowing, the autumn hunt, the prior shrine, the prior agriculture, and the prior Yu. At mealtime the imperial carriage ascended the mountain; after midday he reached the summit to change clothes; in early afternoon he took his position on the mound, facing north. The ministers in sequence arrayed behind, ascending from the west; when all were in place they ascended the mound. The Director of the Masters of Writing bore the jade slip and cover-plate; the emperor personally sealed it with the one-cun-two-fen seal; when finished, the Grand Master of Ceremonies ordered men to open the stone on the mound; after the Director of the Masters of Writing stored the jade slip, the stone was covered again; the Director of the Masters of Writing sealed the stone cover-plate with the five-cun seal. When the rites were finished, the emperor bowed twice; the ministers proclaimed "Ten thousand years!" He ordered men to set up the carved stone stele; then he descended by the covered way.
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二十五日甲午，禅，祭地于梁阴，以高后配，山川羣神從，如元始中北郊故事。
On the twenty-fifth day, a jiawu day, he performed the shan, offering to Earth on the northern slope of Mount Liang with Empress Lü as consort and the terrestrial spirits in attendance, following the northern-suburban model of the Yuanshi era.
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四月己卯，大赦天下，以建武三十二年爲建武中元元年，复博、奉高、赢勿出元年租、刍稿。 以吉日刻玉牒書函藏金匮，璽印封之。 乙酉，使太尉行事，以特告至高廟。 太尉奉匮以告高廟，藏于廟室西壁石室高主室之下。
On the jimao day of the fourth month he proclaimed a general amnesty, renamed the year from Jianwu 32 to the first year of the Zhongyuan era, and remitted rent and fodder levies for Bo, Fenggao, and Ying for that year. On an auspicious day the jade text was boxed, placed in a metal casket, and sealed with the imperial seals. On yiyou he had the Grand Commandant officiate and announce the deed at Gaodi’s temple with a specially prepared bull. The Grand Commandant presented the coffer at the shrine to Emperor Gao and deposited it in the stone vault under the western wall of the inner sanctum.