1
序
Prefatory essay to the treatise.
2
夫帝王者，配德天地，葉契陰陽，發號施令，動關幽顯，休咎之徵，隨感而作，故《書》曰：「惠迪吉，從逆凶，惟影響。」 昔伏羲氏繼天而王，受《河圖》，則而畫之，八卦是也。 禹治洪水，賜《洛書》，法而陳之，《洪範》是也。 聖人行其道，寶其真，自天祐之，吉無不利。 三五已降，各有司存。 爰及殷之箕子，在父師之位，典斯大範。 周既克殷，以箕子歸，武王虛己而問焉。 箕子對以禹所得《雒書》，授之以垂訓。 然則《河圖》、《雒書》相為經緯，八卦、九章更為表裏。 殷道絕，文王演《周易》； 周道弊，孔子述《春秋》。 奉乾坤之陰陽，郊洪範之休咎，天人之道粲然著矣。
The emperor-king aligns his virtue with Heaven and Earth and harmonizes Yin and Yang; every decree touches both the unseen and the seen, and portents answer conduct. The Book of Documents warns, "Follow the true path and be blessed; follow rebellion and invite calamity, as surely as shadow and echo." Thus in high antiquity Fuxi claimed the kingship as heir to Heaven; granted the Yellow River Chart, he patterned himself on it and drew forth the Eight Trigrams. Yu tamed the floods and received the writing from the Luo; he codified its principles and set them forth—that text became the "Great Plan" chapter of the Documents. When the sage walks that Way and guards its truth, Heaven lends its aid, and every outcome proves auspicious. After the era of the legendary Three and Five, each period entrusted these teachings to its own guardians. Among them was Jizi under Yin, Father-instructor to the throne, custodian of this overarching paradigm. Once Zhou had overthrown Yin, Jizi returned at its summons; King Wu bowed his pride and sought his counsel. Jizi answered with the Luo River scripture Yu had once received, transmitting its lesson as a lasting moral charter. The River Chart and Luo Writing thus interlock like warp and weft; the Eight Trigrams and the nine divisions of the Great Plan overlay one another as shell and core. When Yin’s mandate failed, King Wen unfolded the Zhou yi. When Zhou’s authority frayed, Confucius compiled the Spring and Autumn Annals. They upheld Qian and Kun’s interplay of Yin and Yang and brought the Great Plan’s calculus of blessing and blame into the suburban rites—so the correspondence between Heaven and humanity stands forth in unmistakable clarity.
3
漢興，承秦滅學之後，文帝時，虙生創紀《大傳》，其言五行庶徵備矣。 後景武之際，董仲舒治《公羊春秋》，始推陰陽，為儒者之宗。 宣元之間，劉向治《谷梁春秋》，數其禍福，傳以《洪範》，與仲舒多所不同。 至向子歆治《左氏傳》，其言《春秋》及五行，又甚乖異。 班固據《大傳》，采仲舒、劉向、劉歆著《五行志》，而傳載眭孟、夏侯勝、京房、谷永、李尋之徒所陳行事，訖于王莽，博通祥變，以傳《春秋》。
Han emerged from the ruins of Qin's assault on scholarship; during Emperor Wen's reign Fu Sheng framed the chronology of the Greater Commentary, and his chapter on the Five Elements with their diverse portents was already exhaustive. Under Emperors Jing and Wu, Dong Zhongshu took up the Gongyang Annals and pioneered correlating Yin and Yang with historical judgment, earning recognition as the fountainhead of Han Confucian learning. Across the Xuan–Yuan reigns Liu Xiang worked through the Guliang commentary, tallying fortune and disaster line by line and pairing his conclusions with the Great Plan—often diverging sharply from Dong Zhongshu. Liu Xin then approached the Zuo Tradition and produced yet another reading of the Annals and the Five Elements, wildly at odds with both earlier paradigms. Ban Gu anchored his narrative in the Greater Commentary and synthesized Dong Zhongshu with father and son Liu into the Han Treatise on the Five Elements; its records preserve testimony from Sui Meng, Xiahou Sheng, Jing Fang, Gu Yong, Li Xun, and others down through Wang Mang—an encyclopedic survey of prodigies intended to extend the moral algebra of the Annals.
4
綜而為言，凡有三術。 其一曰，君治以道，臣輔克忠，萬物咸遂其性，則和氣應，休徵效，國以安。 二曰，君違其道，小人在位，眾庶失常，則乖氣應，咎徵效，國以亡。 三曰，人君大臣見災異，退而自省，責躬修德，共禦補過，則消禍而福至。 此其大略也。 輒舉斯例，錯綜時變，婉而成章，有足觀者。 及司馬彪纂光武之後以究漢事，災眚之說不越前規。 今采黃初以降言祥異者，著於此篇。
Reduced to essentials, the exegetical tradition offers three recurring interpretive moves. First: when the ruler upholds the Way and ministers serve with perfect fidelity, creation fulfills its innate tendencies, harmonious energies gather, felicitous omens multiply, and the realm stays at peace. Second: when the throne abandons the Way, petty men crowd the councils, and common folk lose their moral bearings, disruptive energies answer, baleful omens cluster, and the dynasty slides toward extinction. Third: when sovereign and senior ministers heed Heaven's warnings, retire into self-scrutiny, discipline their persons, and cooperate to redress misrule, catastrophe may yet be averted and blessing renewed. Such is the broad scheme. Deploy these templates against shifting historical circumstances and they braid into narratives subtle yet coherent—eminently worth studying. When Sima Biao continued the Later Han record from Guangwu onward, his handling of calamities and ill omens still respected the older analytical frame. Here I compile every noteworthy prodigy reported from the Huangchu era forward and set them down in this treatise.
5
五行
Treatise: The Five Elements, also called the Five Phases.
6
《經》曰：「五行：一曰水，二曰火，三曰木，四曰金，五曰土。 水曰潤下，火曰炎上，木曰曲直，金曰從革，土爰稼穡。」
The canon declares: "Among the Five Phases, reckoning runs water first, fire second, wood third, metal fourth, earth fifth. Water's nature is to soak downward; fire's is to flame upward; wood bends and straightens; metal yields and can be recast; earth receives the seed and ripens the crop."
7
木
Wood — the eastern phase.
8
=《傳》曰：「田獵不宿，飲食不享，出入不節，奪農時及有奸謀，則木不曲直。」
The commentary continues: "When hunts roll on without pause, feasts ignore sacrificial propriety, movement ignores measure, corvées steal the farming calendar, and treachery festers, wood forfeits its office of bending and straightening."
9
說曰：木，東方也。 于《易》，地上之木為《觀》。 于王事，威儀容貌亦可觀者也。 故行步有佩玉之度，登車有和鸞之節，三驅之制，飲食有享獻之禮； 出入有名，使人以時，務在勸農桑，謀在安百姓，如此，則木得其性矣。 若乃田獵馳騁，不反宮室； 飲食沈湎，不顧法度； 妄興徭役，以奪農時； 作為奸詐，以傷人財，則木失其性矣。 蓋工匠之為輪矢者多傷敗，及木為變怪，是為不曲直。
Exposition: Wood correlates with the east. In the Zhou yi wood springing from soil forms the hexagram Guan, the figure entitled "Viewing." In matters of state, dignified bearing and department are meant to be exemplary—to edify all who behold them. Hence gait keeps time with belt-jades; chariot teams answer with tuned bells; the royal hunt limits itself to the thrice-driven quarry; at table every cup and dish observes the rhythms of offering and sacrifice; every mission travels under clear warrant; labor is summoned only in season with agriculture and sericulture promoted and the people's welfare the governing aim—only then does wood realize its true character. When the chase becomes endless roaming that never returns courtward, when feasting sinks into dissipation heedless of statute, when arbitrary corvées tear farmers from their proper seasons, and deceit drains the common people's substance—wood abandons its appointed nature. Wheelwrights and fletchers then see stock after stock split uselessly, while freak growths in the forest announce that wood has failed in its office of bend and straight.
10
魏文帝黃初六年正月，雨，木冰。 案劉歆說，上陽施不下通，下陰施不上達，故雨，而木為之冰，氛氣寒，木不曲直也。 劉向曰，冰者陰之盛，木者少陽，貴臣卿大夫象也。 此人將有害，則陰氣脅木，木先寒，故得雨而冰也。 是年六月，利成郡兵蔡方等殺太守徐質，據郡反。 太守，古之諸侯，貴臣有害之應也。 一說以木冰為木介，介者甲兵之象。 是歲，既討蔡方，又八月天子自將以舟師征吳，戍卒十餘萬，連旌數百里，臨江觀兵，又屬常雨也。
In Huangchu 6, first month, under Emperor Wen of Wei, rain encased the trees in ice. Liu Xin argued that Yang aloft failed to reach below while Yin below failed to rise—hence freezing rain that sheathed the branches; the air turned lethal-cold, the signature that wood had forfeited its bend-and-straight office. Liu Xiang read the ice as Yin at full flood against wood's lesser Yang—the emblem of senior ministers at court. When such an official faces mortal peril, Yin first presses upon wood's Yang; the timber turns chill before the freezing rain seals it. That sixth month the Licheng garrison under Cai Fang murdered Prefect Xu Zhi and seized the commandery in revolt. A commandery governor ranked as a feudal lord of old—precisely the ministerial token Liu Xiang had named. Another gloss treats glazed branches as "armored wood," armor auguring mobilization. The same year saw Cai Fang crushed; then in the eighth month the emperor personally led a river fleet against Wu—more than a hundred thousand men and banners unbroken for hundreds of li massed along the bank—another spell of untimely rain.
11
元帝太興三年二月辛未，雨，木冰。 後二年，周顗等遇害，是陽施不下通也。
On xinwei in Emperor Yuan's Taixing 3, second month, freezing rain rimed the trees. Two years later Zhou Yi and his associates were killed—the failure of Yang to extend below.
12
穆帝永和八年正月乙巳，雨，木冰。 是年殷浩北伐，明年軍敗，十年廢黜。 又曰，荀羨、殷浩北伐，桓溫入關之象也。
On yisi in Emperor Mu's Yonghe 8, first month, rain fell and trees froze over. Yin Hao marched north that year; his army collapsed the next, and within ten years he was stripped of rank. Commentators also tie the sign to Xun Xian's and Yin Hao's northern expeditions—the prelude to Huan Wen's thrust into Guanzhong.
13
孝武帝太元十四年十二月乙巳，雨，木冰。 明年二月王恭為北籓，八月庾楷為西籓，九月王國寶為中書令，尋加領軍將軍，十七年殷仲堪為荊州，雖邪正異規，而終同夷滅，是其應也。
On yisi in Emperor Xiaowu's Taiyuan 14, twelfth month, freezing rain glazed the trees. The following spring Wang Gong took charge of the northern marches; by autumn Yu Kai held the western frontier and Wang Guobao entered the Palace Secretariat, soon adding command of the capital guards; within seventeen years Yin Zhongkan gained Jingzhou—rival camps clashed in principle yet every faction was annihilated alike, answering the omen.
14
吳孫亮建興二年，諸葛恪征淮南，後所坐聽事棟中折。 恪妄興征役，奪農時，作邪謀，傷國財力，故木失其性致毀折也。 及旋師而誅滅，于《周易》又為「棟撓之凶」也。
Under Sun Liang of Wu in Jianxing 2, the central beam of Zhuge Ke's audience hall snapped after he marched against Huainan. Zhuge Ke had stirred needless wars, seized the farming calendar, and spun treasonous schemes that drained the realm—wood therefore abandoned its nature and shattered his hall. His retreat ended in execution and clan extinction; the Zhou Changes calls such collapse "the misfortune of the sagging ridgepole."
15
武帝太康五年五月，宣帝廟地陷，梁折。 八年正月，太廟殿又陷，改作廟，築基及泉。 其年九月，遂更營新廟，遠致名材，雜以銅柱，陳勰為匠，作者六萬人。 至十年四月乃成，十一月庚寅梁又折。 天戒若曰，地陷者分離之象，梁折者木不曲直也。 明年帝崩，而王室遂亂。
In Emperor Wu's Taikang 5, fifth month, the floor of Emperor Xuan's temple subsided and its beams gave way. The first month of the eighth year brought another collapse of the imperial ancestral hall; builders dug a new foundation to the water table. That autumn they raised a new shrine elsewhere, importing prized lumber and bronze columns; Chen Xie directed sixty thousand laborers. The structure stood finished in the tenth year's fourth month—yet on gengyin in the eleventh month the beams snapped again. Heaven's lesson read partition into the sinking soil and wood's failed office into the splintered beams. The emperor died the next year and the Sima house slid into chaos.
16
惠帝，成都王穎使陸機率眾向京都，擊長沙王乂，及軍始引而牙竿折，俄而戰敗，機被誅，穎遂奔潰，卒賜死。 此奸謀之罰，木不曲直也。
Emperor Hui's reign: Prince Chengdu Sima Ying sent Lu Ji against Prince Changsha Sima Yi at Luoyang; the host had barely marched when the standard mast splintered—soon Lu Ji fell defeated and executed, Ying's army melted away, and Ying himself was ultimately compelled to suicide. Heaven punished the conspiracy by stripping wood of its bend-and-straight virtue.
17
元帝太興四年，王敦在武昌，鈴下儀仗生華如蓮華，五六日而萎落。 此木失其性。 干寶以為狂華生枯木，又在鈴閣之間，言威儀之富，榮華之盛，皆如狂華之發，不可久也。 其後王敦終以逆命加戮其屍。 一說亦華孽也，于《周易》為「枯楊生華」。
Under Emperor Yuan in Taixing 4, Wang Dun's ceremonial gear at Wuchang burst into lotus-like blooms that wilted within days. Wood had plainly forfeited its proper nature. Gan Bao read freak blossoms on dead timber beside the headquarters bell as an emblem of pomp and transient glory flashing as briefly as those unnatural flowers. Wang Dun later died in rebellion and suffered posthumous mutilation for defying the throne. Another reading classes it among floral prodigies, the Zhou Changes image of "a withered poplar produces blossoms."
18
桓玄始篡，龍旂竿折。 時玄田獵無度，飲食奢恣，土木妨農，又多奸謀，故木失其性。 天戒若曰，旂所以掛三辰，章著明也，旂竿之折，高明去矣。 玄果敗。
As Huan Xuan seized the throne, the great dragon standard broke. He hunted without restraint, feasted extravagantly, and pressed construction works that tore peasants from their fields while intrigue multiplied—wood therefore lost its nature. Heaven hinted that the banner displays the Three Lights of sovereignty—a shattered mast meant manifest legitimacy had departed. Huan Xuan soon met ruin.
19
火
Fire — the southern phase.
20
=《傳》：「棄法津，逐功臣，殺太子，以妾為妻，則火不炎上。」
The commentary warns: "When statutes are discarded, loyal servants banished, the heir murdered, and a concubine elevated to wife, fire ceases to flame upward as it should."
21
說曰：火，南方，揚光輝為明者也。 其于王者，南面向明而治。 《書》云：「知人則哲，能官人。」 故堯舜舉群賢而命之朝，遠四佞而放諸野。 孔子曰：「浸潤之譖，膚受之訴，不行焉，可謂明矣。」 賢佞分別，官人有序，帥由舊章，敬重功勳，殊別嫡庶，如此則火得其性矣。 若乃通道不篤，或耀虛偽，讒夫昌，邪勝正，則火失其性矣。 自上而降，及濫炎妄起，焚宗廟，燒宮館，雖興師眾，不能救也，是為火不炎上。
Exposition: Fire belongs to the south; its virtue is to radiate clarifying light. The true king sits facing south toward the light and rules from that clarity. The Book of Documents says: "To know one's ministers is to be discerning; it enables one to assign office rightly." Hence Yao and Shun summoned every worthy to court while driving the Four Fiends into distant exile. Confucius says, "If dripping slander and skin-deep accusations gain no foothold, that may be called clear-sightedness." With worthies sorted from slanderers, appointments disciplined by precedent, honors paid to true service, and succession sorted between legitimate heirs and lesser sons, fire realizes its nature. When rulers merely toy with the Way, parade hollow virtue, empower whispering calumniators, and let deviance defeat integrity, fire abandons its nature. Then rogue fire drops from on high, gutting ancestral shrines and palace halls—no host, however vast, can stamp it out; that is fire refusing to rise and illuminate as ordained.
22
魏明帝太和五年五月，清商殿災。 初，帝為平原王，納河南虞氏為妃。 及即位，不以為后，更立典虞車工卒毛嘉女為后。 后本仄微，非所宜升，以妾為妻之罰也。
In Taihe 5, fifth month, under Emperor Ming of Wei, Qingshang Hall burned. Earlier, while still Prince of Pingyuan, he had married a lady of the Yu clan from Henan. On accession he declined to elevate her to empress, instead enthroning the daughter of Mao Jia—a common artisan of the imperial carriage workshop—as his consort. The new empress's origins were far too humble for such promotion—Heaven's rebuke for raising a concubine to wife.
23
青龍元年六月，洛陽宮鞠室災。 二年四月，崇華殿災，延于南閣，繕復之。 至三年七月，此殿又災。 帝問高堂隆：「此何咎也？ 于禮寧有祈禳之義乎？」 對曰：「夫災變之發，皆所以明教誡也，惟率禮修德可以勝之。 《易傳》曰：『上不儉，下不節，孽火燒其室。』 又曰：『君高其臺，天火為災。』 此人君苟飾宮室，不知百姓空竭，故天應之以旱，火從高殿起也。 案《舊占》曰：『災火之發，皆以臺榭宮室為誡。』 今宜罷散作役，務從節約，清掃所災之處，不敢於此有所營造，萐莆嘉禾必生此地，以報陛下虔恭之德。」 帝不從。 遂復崇華殿，改曰九龍。 以郡國前後言龍見者九，故以為名。 多棄法度，疲眾逞欲，以妾為妻之應也。
In the first year of Qinglong, the following sixth month the polo grounds inside Luoyang palace burned. In the fourth month of the second year Chonghua Hall burned, flames spreading to the southern annex until craftsmen rebuilt it. By the seventh month of the third year the same hall was afire again. The emperor demanded of Gao Tanglong: "What offense does this betoken? Do the rites even admit prayer or apotropaic rites for such things?" Gao answered: "Every calamity is Heaven's tutorial; only scrupulous ritual and cultivated virtue can master it. The commentary on the Changes warns: 'When those above forsake thrift and those below abandon restraint, baleful fire consumes the hall.' It adds: 'When a ruler heaps his terraces skyward, Heaven answers with consuming flame.' When a ruler bankrupts his people to gild his halls, Heaven answers with drought and sends flame sweeping down from the highest roofs. The Old Prognostications record that destructive fire always singles out palace terraces and halls as its cautionary targets. Suspend every levy, embrace austerity, clear the charred ground, and raise nothing new upon it—auspicious grain and ritual plants will spring up there to reward your sober piety." The emperor brushed the counsel aside. Chonghua Hall rose again, rechristened the Nine Dragons Palace. Nine regional reports of dragon sightings supplied the new name. Law lay in ruins, the people were driven past endurance, and private appetite ruled—all Heaven's echo of elevating a concubine to wife.
24
吳孫亮建興元年十二月，武昌端門災，改作，端門又災。 內殿門者，號令所出； 殿者，聽政之所。 是時諸葛恪執政，而矜慢放肆，孫峻總禁旅，而險害終著。 武昌，孫氏尊號所始。 天戒若曰，宜除其貴要之首者，恪果喪眾殄人，峻授政於綝，綝廢亮也。 或曰，孫權毀撤武昌以增太初宮，諸葛恪有遷都意，更起門殿，事非時宜，故見災也。 京房《易傳》曰：「君不思道，厥妖火燒宮。」
In Sun Liang's Jianxing 1, twelfth month, Wuchang's ceremonial gate burned; rebuilt, it burned again. The inner hall gate is where imperial commands depart; the hall itself is where policy is heard and settled. Zhuge Ke dominated court yet swaggered beyond restraint; Sun Jun controlled the capital guard and nursed malice that soon surfaced. Wuchang was the cradle of Sun Wu's kingship. Heaven hinted at cutting down the paramount lord—Zhuge Ke fell and brought slaughter; Sun Jun yielded power to Sun Lin, who then cast Sun Liang aside. Others blame Sun Quan's dismantling of Wuchang to expand Taichu Palace and Zhuge Ke's scheme to shift the capital—untimely construction drew Heaven's fire. Jing Fang's commentary warns, "When a ruler abandons the Way, flame consumes his palace."
25
太平元年二月朔，建鄴火，人之火也。 是秋，孫綝始執政，矯以亮詔殺呂據、滕胤。 明年，又輒殺硃異。 棄法律逐功臣之罰也。
On the first day of Taiping 1.2, Jianye burned; human hands, not Heaven, lit it. That fall Sun Lin seized power and forged Sun Liang's order to execute Lu Ju and Teng Yin. The following year he murdered Zhu Yi without sanction. Heaven's penalty for tearing up statute and purging loyal servants.
26
孫休永安五年二月，城西門北樓災。 六年十月，石頭小城火，燒西南百八十丈。 是時嬖人張布專擅國勢，多行無禮，而韋昭、盛沖終斥不用，兼遣察戰等為內史，驚擾州郡，致使交趾反亂，是其咎也。
In Sun Xiu's Yong'an 5, second month, fire consumed the north tower on the western gate. The tenth month of the sixth year saw Shitou fortress burn along a hundred eighty zhang of its southwest wall. The favorite Zhang Bu hijacked government with systematic rudeness while scholars like Wei Zhao and Sheng Chong languished in disgrace; inspectors terrorized the provinces until Jiaozhi rose in revolt—the fitting sequel.
27
孫皓建衡二年三月，大火，燒萬餘家，死者七百人。 案《春秋》齊大災，劉向以為桓公好內，聽女口，妻妾數更之罰也。 時皓制令詭暴，蕩棄法度，勞臣名士，誅斥甚眾，後宮萬餘，女謁數行，其中隆寵佩皇后璽綬者又多矣，故有大火。
Sun Hao's Jianheng 2, third month, brought a conflagration that gutted ten thousand homes and killed seven hundred people. The Qi inferno recorded in the Annals Liu Xiang read as Duke Huan's harem politics—women's whispered counsel and ever-shifting favorites inviting Heaven's blaze. Sun Hao's capricious cruelty hollowed out law, purged countless ministers, and stuffed the harem past ten thousand women whose intrigues ran unchecked—many bore regalia fit for an empress—so the capital caught flame.
28
武帝太康八年三月乙丑，震災西閣楚王所止坊及臨商觀窗。 十年四月癸丑，崇賢殿災。 十一月庚辰，含章鞠室、修成堂前廡、景坊東屋、暉章殿南閣火。 時有上書曰：「漢王氏五侯，兄弟迭任，今楊氏三公，並在大位，故天變屢見，竊為陛下憂之。」 由是楊珧求退。 是時帝納馮紞之間，廢張華之功，聽楊駿之讒，離衛瓘之寵，此逐功臣之罰也。 明年，宮車宴駕。 其後楚王承竊發之旨，戮害二公，身亦不免。 震災其坊，又天意乎。
On yichou in Emperor Wu's Taikang 8, third month, lightning shattered the Prince of Chu's western annex and the Linshang Observatory's windows. Chongxian Hall burned on guichou in the tenth year's fourth month. On gengchen in the eleventh month flame raced through the polo grounds at Hanzhang, Xiucheng Hall's front galleries, Jing Ward's east rooms, and Huizhang Hall's south pavilion. A memorial warned, "In Han, the five Wang marquises rotated power among brothers; now the three Yang dukes monopolize the highest posts. Heaven's warnings keep appearing, and I worry for Your Majesty." Yang Yao promptly petitioned to resign. The throne swallowed Feng Dan's intrigues, erased Zhang Hua's merit, heeded Yang Jun's malice, and spurned Wei Guan—exactly the crime of banishing loyal servants. The following year the emperor died—the euphemism for the imperial hearse departing forever. Then Prince Chu, acting on clandestine orders, murdered both elder statesmen yet could not save himself. Lightning scarred his precinct—another cipher of Heaven's will?
29
惠帝元康五年閏月庚寅，武庫火。 張華疑有亂，先命固守，然後救火。 是以累代異寶，王莽頭，孔子屐，漢高祖斷白蛇劍及二百八萬器械，一時蕩盡。 是後湣懷太子見殺之罰也。 天戒若曰，夫設險擊柝，所以固其國，儲積戒器，所以戒不虞。 今塚嗣將傾，社稷將泯，禁兵無所復施，皇旅又將誰衛。 帝后不悟，終喪四海，是其應也。 張華、閻纂皆曰，武庫火而氐羌反，太子見廢，則四海可知。」
On gengyin in the intercalary month of Emperor Hui's Yuankang 5, the imperial arsenal burned. Zhang Hua feared revolt and sealed the depot before allowing anyone to fight the flames. Treasures hoarded across dynasties—Wang Mang's skull, Confucius's shoe, Gaozu's serpent-slaying blade, nearly three million weapons—vanished in an afternoon. Heaven foreshadowed the murder of Crown Prince Minhuai. Heaven warned that ramparts and night patrols secure a realm while arsenals hedge against surprise—yet both were reduced to ash. The heir totters, the altars face extinction, palace guards lose their arms, and no loyal host remains to shield the throne. Throne and consort ignored the lesson and forfeited the realm—the fitting aftermath. Zhang Hua and Yan Zuan warned that burning arsenals, Di-Qiang revolt, and a deposed heir spelled empire-wide collapse.
30
八年十一月，高原陵火。 是時賈后凶恣，賈謐擅朝，惡積罪稔，宜見誅絕。 天戒若曰，臣妾之不可者，雖親貴莫比，猶宜忍而誅之，如吾燔高原陵也。 帝既眊弱，而張華又不納裴頠、劉卞之謀，故後遂與謐殺太子也。 干寶以為「高原陵火，太子廢之應。 漢武帝世，高園便殿火，董仲舒對與此占同」，
Gaoyuan tumulus burned in the eighth year's eleventh month. Empress Jia ravaged the palace while Jia Mi hijacked government—crimes piled high enough to merit extinction. Heaven signaled that even the emperor's favorite kin must face the axe—as when lightning scorched Gaoyuan's mound. The feeble emperor dithered while Zhang Hua spurned Pei Yi and Liu Bian's plots—so Empress Jia and Jia Mi murdered the heir. Gan Bao read it as, "The tomb fire was Heaven's verdict on the heir's deposition. Emperor Wu of Han had a blaze at Gaoyuan's annex, and Dong Zhongshu read it the same way."
31
永康元年，帝納皇后羊氏，后將入宮，衣中忽有火，眾咸怪之。 永興元年，成都王遂廢后，處之金墉城。 是後還立，立而復廢者四。 又詔賜死，荀籓表全之。 雖來還在位，然憂逼折辱，終古未聞。 此孽火之應也。
In Yongkang 1, when Emperor Hui welcomed Empress Yang, flame burst from her robes as she entered the palace. In Yongxing 1, the Prince of Chengdu deposed her and confined her at Jinyong. She was enthroned, cast down, restored, and stripped again—four wrenching cycles. Another edict demanded her death until Xun Fan's plea spared her. Even when briefly restored she endured humiliation unparalleled in memory. The robe-fire had warned of every outrage that followed.
32
永興二年七月甲午，尚書諸曹火起，延崇禮闥及閣道。 夫百揆王化之本，王者棄法津之應也。 後清河王覃入嗣，不終於位，又殺太子之罰也。
In the second year of Yongxing, on jiawu in the seventh month flame leaped through the Secretariat, racing to Chongli Gate and the aerial corridors. The ministries anchor civilization itself—the blaze mirrored the monarch's contempt for law. Prince Qinghe Sima Tan briefly succeeded yet fell—Heaven's further reckoning for slaying the heir.
33
孝懷帝永嘉四年十一月，襄陽火，燒死者三千餘人。 是時王如自號大將軍、司雍二州牧，眾四五萬，攻略郡縣。 此下陵上，陽失其節之應也。
Emperor Huai's Yongjia 4, eleventh month, saw Xiangyang burn with more than three thousand dead. Wang Ru styled himself generalissimo and governor of Si-Yong at the head of forty or fifty thousand bandits pillaging every county. Commoners overawed their betters—Yang energy slipped its reins.
34
元帝太興中，王敦鎮武昌，武昌災，火起，興眾救之，救於此而發於彼，東西南北數十處俱應，數日不絕。 舊說所謂「濫炎妄起，雖興師眾，不能救之」之謂也。 干寶以為「此臣而君行，亢陽失節，是為王敦陵上，有無君之心，故災也。」
While Wang Dun held Wuchang during Taixing, freak fires erupted in dozens of spots at once—soldiers smothered one blaze only to see another ignite, for days without end. Classic glosses call it "rampant flame no army can quench." Gan Bao diagnosed it as "a minister usurping the monarch, yang run riot: Wang Dun trespassing above with a heart that knew no ruler, and so Heaven sent fire."
35
永昌二年正月癸巳，京師大火。 三月，饒安、東光、安陵三縣火，燒七千餘家，死者萬五千人。
In Yongchang 2.1, on guisi, the capital burned fiercely. March brought firestorms across Rao'an, Dongguang, and Anling—seven thousand homes lost and fifteen thousand lives.
36
明帝太寧元年正月，京都火。 是時王敦威侮朝廷，多行無禮，內外臣下咸懷怨毒，極陰生陽也。
Emperor Ming's Taining 1, first month, saw the capital burn. Wang Dun bullied the throne until spite filled every minister—Yin pressed so hard it burst into fiery Yang.
37
成帝咸和二年五月，京師火。
Emperor Cheng's Xianhe 2, fifth month, brought another capital blaze.
38
康帝建元元年七月庚申，吳郡災。
On gengshen in the seventh month of the first year of Emperor Kang's Jianyuan era, Wu Commandery burned.
39
穆帝永和五年六月，震災石季龍太武殿及兩廟端門。 震災月餘乃滅，金石皆盡。 其後季龍死，大亂，遂滅亡。
Emperor Mu's Yonghe 5, sixth month, saw lightning blast Shi Hu's Taiwu Palace and the twin ancestral gates. The strikes raged more than a month until bronze and stone melted away. Shi Hu died soon after, plunging Later Zhao into ruin.
40
海西公太和中，郗愔為會稽太守。 六月大旱災，火燒數千家。 延及山陰倉米數百萬斛，炎煙蔽天，不可撲滅。 此亦桓溫強盛，將廢海西，極陰生陽之應也。
Under the deposed Duke of Haixi, Xi Yin governed Kuaiji. June drought fed flames that consumed thousands of homes. Fire swallowed millions of hu of grain at Shanyin's granaries under smoke-choked skies none could fight. Commentators tied it to Huan Wen's ascent and his coming deposition of Duke Haixi—Yin yielding explosive Yang.
41
孝武帝寧康元年三月，京師風火大起。 是時桓溫入朝，志在陵上，少主踐位，人懷憂恐，此與太寧火事同。
Emperor Xiaowu's Ningkang 1, third month, brought wind-driven firestorms through the capital. Huan Wen marched on Luoyang while the boy emperor trembled on the throne—anxiety matched Taining-era omens.
42
太元十年正月，國子學生因風放火，焚房百餘間。 是後考課不厲，賞黜無章。 蓋有育才之名，而無收賢之實，此不哲之罰先兆也。
In the tenth year of Taiyuan, first-month winds let academy students torch more than a hundred chambers. Afterward examinations slackened and promotions followed no discernible rule. The school cultivated talent in name alone—the first tremor of Heaven's sentence on benighted rule.
43
十三年十二月乙未，延賢堂災。 是月丙申，螽斯則百堂及客館、驃騎府庫皆災。 于時朝多弊政，衰陵日兆，不哲之罰，皆有象類。 主相不悟，終至亂亡。 會稽王道子寵倖尼及姏母，各樹用其親戚，乃至出入宮掖，禮見人主。 天戒若曰，登延賢堂及客館者多非其人，故災之也。 又，孝武帝更不立皇后，寵倖微賤張夫人，夫人驕妒，皇子不繁，乖「螽斯則百」之道，故災其殿焉。 道子復賞賜不節，故府庫被災，斯亦其罰也。
Yancian Hall burned on yiwei in the thirteenth year's twelfth month. On bingshen the same month flame swept the Zhongsi Zepai hall, state guesthouses, and the guard general's depot. Court rot grew daily manifest—every ill omen mirrored Heaven's reproach of blind rule. Throne and regent ignored the signs until collapse followed. Prince Kuaiji Wang Daozi pampered nuns and nursemaids who installed their kin inside the harem with ceremonial audiences before the emperor. Heaven hinted that unworthy men thronged the halls reserved for worthies—so fire purged them. Emperor Xiaowu never named an empress but exalted the humble Lady Zhang, whose jealousy thinned the imperial nursery; violating the ode's prayer, "May the locusts be a hundredfold," flame consumed her hall. Wang Daozi's reckless patronage emptied treasuries—and fire answered.
44
安帝隆安二年三月，龍舟二乘災，是水沴火也。 其後桓玄篡位，帝乃播越。 天戒若曰，王者流遷，不復禦龍舟，故災之耳。
Emperor An's Long'an 2, third month, consumed two imperial barges, water's imbalance quenching fire. Huan Xuan's coup soon drove the emperor into wandering exile. Heaven hinted that a throne adrift no longer commands the dragon barges—so they burned.
45
元興元年八月庚子，尚書下舍曹火。 時桓玄遙錄尚書，故天火，示不復居也。
In the first year of Yuanxing, the Secretariat's lower offices burned on gengzi in the eighth month. Huan Xuan held the Secretariat by remote control—Heaven's lightning declared the office uninhabitable.
46
三年，盧循攻略廣州，刺史吳隱之閉城固守。 其十月壬戌夜，火起。 時百姓避寇盈滿城內，隱之懼有應賊者，但務嚴兵，不先救火。 由是府舍焚蕩，燒死者萬餘人，因遂散潰，悉為賊擒。
In the third year Lu Xun besieged Guangzhou while Wu Yinshi barred the gates. Fire broke out on renxu night in the tenth month. Refugees packed the walls while Wu Yinshi feared collaborators and marshaled guards instead of firefighters. Official quarters became pyres; ten thousand perished; defenses collapsed and Lu Xun seized everyone.
47
義熙四年七月丁酉，尚書殿中吏部曹火。 九年，京都大火，燒數千家。 十一年，京都所在大行火災，吳界尤甚。 火防甚峻，猶自不絕。 王弘時為吳郡，晝在聽事，見天上有一赤物下，狀如信幡，遙集路南人家屋上，火即大發。 弘知天為之災，故不罪火主。 此帝室衰微之應也。
In the fourth year of Yixi, the Personnel bureau inside the Secretariat burned on dingyou in the seventh month. The ninth year brought a capital inferno devouring thousands of homes. The eleventh year brought capital-wide infernos, most severe throughout Wu. Even draconian fire watches failed to halt the flames. Prefect Wang Hong watched a crimson banner-like mass drift from the sky onto a roof—and instant blaze followed. Recognizing Heaven's hand, Wang Hong spared the householder any blame. It foretold the dynasty's fading mandate.
48
土
Earth — the central phase.
49
=《傳》曰：「修宮室，飾臺榭，內淫亂，犯親戚，侮兄弟，則稼穡不成。」
The gloss warns, "Lavish inner palaces, moral chaos among kin and siblings, and neglected farmers doom the harvest."
50
說曰：土，中央，生萬物者也。 其于王者，為內事，宮室、夫婦、親屬，亦相生者也。 古者天子諸侯，宮廟大小高卑有制，后夫人媵妾多少有度，九族親疏長幼有序。 孔子曰：「禮，與其奢也，寧儉。」 故禹卑宮室，文王刑于寡妻，此聖人之所以昭教化也。 如此，則土得其性矣。 若乃奢淫驕慢，則土失其性。 亡水旱之災而草木百穀不熟，是為稼穡不成。
Exposition: Earth occupies the center and brings forth all creatures. State ritual begins at home: halls, marriage ties, and kin networks must nourish one another. Classical kings capped shrine dimensions, limited consorts by rank, and ordered the nine branches of kin. Confucius taught, "In ritual, better frugality than extravagance." Hence Yu kept his palace humble and King Wen modeled virtue for his household—the sage pattern for transforming the realm. Then earth fulfills its appointed office. Extravagance, lust, pride, and indolence strip earth of its virtue. Without flood or drought the crops still refuse to ripen—the failure called 'grain does not finish.'
51
吳孫皓時，常歲無水旱，苗稼豐美而實不成，百姓以饑，闔境皆然，連歲不已。 吳人以為傷露，非也。 案劉向《春秋說》曰「水旱當書，不書水旱而曰大無麥禾者，土氣不養，稼穡不成」，此其義也。 皓初遷都武昌，尋還建鄴，又起新館，綴飾珠玉，壯麗過甚，破壞諸營，增廣苑囿，犯暑妨農，官私疲怠。 《月令》，季夏不可以興土功，
Sun Hao's reign saw freak seasons: lush fields that yielded empty ears and famine coast to coast. Wu gossip blamed 'scorched dew,' but the treatise rejects that reading. Liu Xiang explained, "Flood and drought should be written as such; when the text instead says there was no wheat or grain, earth refused to nourish seed and the harvest failed." That is the point here. Sun Hao's restless building—fine veneers, shattered barracks, swollen parks—wrecked harvests and exhausted everyone. The ritual calendar bans groundbreaking in late summer—
52
皓皆冒之。 此修宮室飾臺榭之罰也。
—yet Hao flouted every rule. Heaven punished his palace extravagance.
53
元帝太興二年，吳郡、吳興、東陽無麥禾，大饑。
In Emperor Yuan's Taixing 2, Wu, Wuxing, and Dongyang had no wheat or grain and fell into famine.
54
成帝咸和五年，無麥禾，天下大饑。
Under Emperor Cheng in Xianhe 5, the empire-wide wheat and grain crop failed.
55
穆帝永和十年，三麥不登。 十二年，大無麥。
In Emperor Mu's Yonghe 10, the three wheat crops failed. The twelfth year brought total wheat failure.
56
孝武太元六年，無麥禾，天下大饑。
In Emperor Xiaowu's Taiyuan 6, the wheat and grain crop failed empire-wide, bringing great famine.
57
安帝元興元年，無麥禾，天下大饑。
In Emperor An's Yuanxing 1, the empire again had no wheat or grain and fell into famine.
58
金
Metal — the western phase.
59
=《傳》曰：「好戰攻，輕百姓，飾城郭，侵邊境，則金不從革。」
The gloss says, "Militarism, contempt for the people, rampart-building, and border raids make metal rebel."
60
說曰：金，西方，萬物既成，殺氣之始也。 故立秋而鷹隼擊，秋分而微霜降。 其于王事，出軍行師，把旄杖鉞，誓士眾，抗威武，所以征叛逆，止暴亂也。 《詩》云：「有虔執鉞，如火烈烈。」 又曰：「載戢干戈，載橐弓矢。」 動靜應宜，說以犯難，人忘其死，金得其性矣。 若乃貪欲恣睢，務立威勝，不重人命，則金失其性。 蓋工冶鑄金鐵，冰滯涸堅，不成者眾，乃為變怪，是為金不從革。
West belongs to metal where creation ends and autumn's killing breath begins. Hence ritual autumn opens with raptors on the hunt and ends with first frost. War lies in metal's sphere: banners, axes, oaths, and awe rightly crush traitors. The Odes pictures warriors, "With reverent awe they grasp the axe, blazing like fire." It also says, "Store shields and spears; bag bows and arrows." When force serves measured ends soldiers forget fear—metal stays true. Ruthless ambition that wastes lives corrupts metal. Forgeries twist in the forge; ore rebels—that is metal spurning its office.
61
魏時張掖石瑞，雖是晉之符命，而于魏為妖。 好攻戰，輕百姓，飾城郭，侵邊境，魏氏三祖皆有其事。 石圖發于非常之文，此不從革之異也。 晉定大業，多斃曹氏，石瑞文「大討曹」之應也。 案劉歆以《春秋》石言于晉，為金石同類也，是為金不從革，失其性也，劉向以為石白色為主，屬白祥。
Those Zhangye stones augured Jin's rise yet haunted Wei as anomalies. Cao warlords indulged every offense the commentary condemns. Cryptic stonework signals metal run wild. The inscription's vow to 'punish Cao' foretold Jin's triumph. Liu Xin classed speaking stone with rebellious metal; Liu Xiang added the white-omen reading.
62
魏明帝青龍中，盛修宮室，西取長安金狄，承露槃折，聲聞數十里，金狄泣，於是因留霸城。 此金失其性而為異也。
Metal gods wept when Qinglong-era builders shattered the Chang'an bronzes—an ill omen halted at Ba. Metal had plainly forsaken its virtue.
63
吳時，曆陽縣有岩穿，似印，咸云「石印封發，天下太平」。 孫皓天璽元年，印發。 又，陽羨山有石穴，長十餘丈。 皓初修武昌宮，有遷都之意。 是時武昌為離宮。 班固云「離宮與城郭同占」，飾城郭之謂也。 其寶鼎三年後，皓出東關，遣丁奉至合肥，建衡三年皓又大舉出華里，侵邊境之謂也。 故令金失其性，卒面縛而吳亡。
A seal-shaped cavity at Liyang fed the rumor, "When the stone seal opens, all under heaven will be at peace." In Sun Hao's Tianxi 1, the 'seal' cracked open. Yangxian also revealed a ten-zhang cavern. Sun Hao rebuilt Wuchang as prelude to shifting the seat of power. Wuchang stood as a secondary court. Ban Gu said, "Detached palaces share omens with city walls," meaning glorified battlements. After Baoding 3 and again in Jianheng 3, Sun Hao's eastern campaigns fulfilled the gloss's warning about border raids. Metal's curse concluded with Sun Hao bound and Wu extinguished.
64
惠帝元康三年閏二月，殿前六鐘皆出涕，五刻止。 前年賈后殺楊太后于金墉城，而賈后為惡不止，故鐘出涕，猶傷之也，
In Emperor Hui's Yuankang 3, intercalary second month, six court bells wept metal tears for five ke. Heaven's bronze mourned Yang's murder and Jia's ceaseless cruelty.
65
永興元年，成都伐長沙，每夜戈戟鋒有火光如懸燭。 此輕人命，好攻戰，金失其性而為光變也。 天戒若曰，兵猶火也，不戢將自焚。 成都不悟，終以敗亡。
In the first year of Yongxing, Night assaults between Chengdu and Changsha lit spearheads like lamps. Wanton war turned weapons into will-o'-wisp flames. Heaven echoed the adage that armies, like fire, devour undisciplined masters. Prince Chengdu ignored the lesson and perished.
66
懷帝永嘉元年，項縣有魏豫州刺史賈逵石碑，生金可采，此金不從革而為變也。 五月，汲桑作亂，群寇飆起。
In Emperor Huai's Yongjia 1, mineable gold blooming on Jia Kui's stele proved metal deranged. Ji Sang's fifth-month rising unleashed wholesale banditry.
67
清河王覃為世子時，所佩金鈴忽生起如粟者，康王母疑不祥，毀棄之。 及後為惠帝太子，不終於位，卒為司馬越所殺。
Sima Tan's coronet bell sprouted tumors his grandmother destroyed as accursed. Elevated heir yet cut down by Sima Yue.
68
湣帝建興五年，石言於平陽。 是時帝蒙塵亦在平陽，故有非言之物而言，妖之大者。 俄而帝為逆胡所弑。
Stones reportedly spoke at Pingyang under Emperor Min in Jianxing 5. With the throne lost in Pingyang, speech from stone was nightmare augury. Alien soldiers murdered him shortly after.
69
元帝永昌元年，甘卓將襲王敦，既而中止。 及還，家多變怪，照鏡不見其頭。 此金失其性而為妖也。 尋為敦所襲，遂夷滅。
In Emperor Yuan's Yongchang 1, Gan Zhuo hesitated and abandoned his move against Wang Dun. His house filled with signs—reflections lacked his head. Metal prodigy stalked him. Wang Dun crushed him soon thereafter.
70
石季龍時，鄴城鳳陽門上金鳳皇二頭飛入漳河。
Shi Hu watched gilt phoenixes plunge from Ye's gate into the Zhang.
71
海西太和中，會稽山陰縣起倉，鑿地得兩大船，滿中錢，錢皆輪文大形。 時日向暮，鑿者馳以告官，官夜遣防守甚嚴。 至明旦，失錢所在，惟有船存。 視其狀，悉有錢處。
Granary works at Shanyin unearthed treasure barges of cash. Dig crews alerted magistrates who sealed the find overnight. Dawn revealed empty hulls. Imprints outlined vanished treasure.
72
安帝義熙初，東陽太守殷仲文照鏡不見其頭，尋亦誅翦，占與甘卓同也。
Yin Zhongwen's headless reflection prefaced his execution like Gan Zhuo's.
73
水
Water — the northern phase.
74
=《傳》曰：「簡宗廟，不禱祠，廢祭祀，逆天時，則水不潤下。」
The gloss says, "Neglect shrines, silence prayers, abandon sacrifice, and defy the calendar, and water will no longer moisten downward."
75
說曰：水，北方，終藏萬物者也。 其於人道，命終而形藏，精神放越。 聖人為之宗廟，以收魂氣，春秋祭祀，以終孝道。 王者即位，必郊祀天地，禱祈神祇，望秩山川，懷柔百神，亡不宗事。 慎其齋戒，致其嚴敬，是故鬼神歆饗，多獲福助。 此聖王所以順事陰氣，和神人也。 及至發號施令，亦奉天時。 十二月咸得其氣，則陰陽調而終始成。 如此，則水得其性矣。 若乃不敬鬼神，政令逆時，水失其性。 霧水暴出，百川逆溢，壞鄉邑，溺人民，及淫雨傷稼穡，是為水不潤下。
Northwater seals all life in winter storage. Death hides the body while souls wander. Temples bind wandering qi; seasonal offerings finish filial love. Accession demands suburban rites to Heaven, Earth, and every ranked spirit. Strict vigil wins the ancestors' feast. Such kings align Yin forces with the invisible realm. Edicts too obey the calendar. Monthly qi in balance spins the cycle whole. Then water flows as ordained. Irreverence and mad policy befoul water. Flash floods, backward rivers, drowned towns, and sodden crops spell rebellious water.
76
京房《易傳》曰：「顓事者加，誅罰絕理，厥災水。 其水也，雨，殺人，以隕霜，大風天黃。 饑而不損，茲謂泰，厥大水，水殺人。 避遏有德，茲謂狂，厥水，水流殺人也。 已水則地生蟲。 歸獄不解，茲謂追非，厥水寒，殺人。 追誅不解，茲謂不理，厥水五穀不收。 大敗不解，茲謂皆陰，厥水流入國邑，隕霜殺穀。」 董仲舒曰：「交兵結仇，伏屍流血，百姓愁怨，陰氣盛，故大水也。」
Jing Fang lists the pattern: "When autocracy and lawless punishment grow, the disaster is flood. The flood comes as killing rain, falling frost, great winds, and a yellow sky. Ignored famine is complacency; its flood drowns people. Blocking the worthy is madness; its currents kill. After the flood, the soil breeds insects. Unresolved punishments chase wrong; cold flood kills people. Endless executions are disorder; their flood leaves no grain harvest. Total yin dominance pours water into cities and kills crops with frost." Dong Zhongshu said, "When armies clash, corpses lie in blood, and the people grieve, yin qi swells; therefore comes the great flood."
77
魏文帝黃初四年六月，大雨霖，伊洛溢，至津陽城門，漂數千家，殺人。 初，帝即位，自鄴遷洛，營造宮室，而不起宗廟。 太祖神主猶在鄴，嘗於建始殿饗祭如家人禮，終黃初不復還鄴。 又郊社神祇，未有定位。 此簡宗廟廢祭祀之罰也。
In Emperor Wen of Wei's Huangchu 4.6, relentless rain swelled the Yi and Luo to Jinyang Gate, sweeping away thousands of homes and killing people. Cao Pi moved the capital to Luoyang yet left the royal shrine unbuilt. The founder's tablet stayed in Ye while Cao Pi offered makeshift rites in Jianshi Hall—never restoring the old shrine. Heaven and Earth altars also stood unplaced. Heaven's rebuke for neglected ancestors.
78
吳孫權赤烏八年夏，茶陵縣鴻水溢出，漂二百餘家。 十三年秋，丹陽、故鄣等縣又鴻水溢出。 案權稱帝三十年，竟不於建鄴創七廟。 惟父堅一廟遠在長沙，而郊祀禮闕。 嘉禾初，群臣奏宜郊祀，又不許。 末年雖一南郊，而北郊遂無聞焉。 吳楚之望亦不見秩，反祀羅陽妖神，以求福助。 天戒若曰，權簡宗廟，不禱祠，廢祭祀，故示此罰，欲其感悟也，
In Sun Quan's Chiwu 8, summer, the Chaling torrent washed away more than two hundred homes. Autumn of the thirteenth year reflooded Danyang and Guchang. Sun Quan reigned three decades without the canonical seven-ancestor temple in Jianye. Only Sun Jian's distant Changsha chapel remained; the great suburban liturgy lapsed. Ministers' pleas for sacrifice met refusal in the Jiahe years. One southern suburb marked his reign—never its northern pair. He neglected regional gods while honoring dubious spirits for favors. Heaven flagged Sun Quan's shrine neglect hoping he would repent.
79
太元元年，吳又有大風湧水之異。 是冬，權南郊，宜是鑒咎徵乎！ 還而寢疾，明年四月薨。 一曰，權時信納譖訴，雖陸遜勳重，子和儲貳，猶不得其終，與漢安帝聽讒免楊震、廢太子同事也。 且赤烏中無年不用兵，百姓愁怨。 八年秋，將軍馬茂等又圖逆。
In the first year of Taiyuan, Wu also suffered hurricanes and tidal catastrophes. Perhaps his belated southern suburb answered Heaven's warning. He fell ill on his return and died the next spring. Court gossip ruined Lu Xun and Crown Prince He—parallel to Han tragedies involving Yang Zhen. Chiwu-era wars bred ceaseless popular resentment. Autumn of the eighth year brought Ma Mao's plot.
80
魏明帝景初元年九月，淫雨，冀、兗、徐、豫四州水出，沒溺殺人，漂失財產。 帝自初即位，便淫奢極欲，多占幼女，或奪士妻，崇飾宮室，妨害農戰，觸情恣欲，至是彌甚，號令逆時，饑不損役。 此水不潤下之應也。 吳孫亮五鳳元年夏，大水。 亮即位四年，乃立權廟。 又終吳世不上祖宗之號，不修嚴父之禮，昭穆之數有闕。 亮及休、皓又並廢二郊，不秩群神。 此簡宗廟不祭祀之罰也。 又，是時孫峻專政，陰勝陽之應乎！
In Wei Emperor Ming's Jingchu 1, ninth month, sheets of rain drowned four provinces and swept away their wealth. His reign layered lust, corvée, and reckless policy on starving peasants. Classic symptoms of rebellious water. Sun Liang's Wufeng 1 summer brought inundation. Only after four years did Sun Liang dedicate Sun Quan's shrine. Wu ended without proper temple tablets or Zhao-Mu ordering. Three sovereigns junked twin suburbs and neglected the pantheon. Another heaven-sent penalty for forgotten ancestors. Sun Jun's dictatorship embodied Yin ascendant.
81
孫休永安四年五月，大雨，水泉湧溢。 昔歲作浦裏塘，功費無數，而田不可成，士卒死叛，或自賊殺，百姓愁怨，陰氣盛也。 休又專任張布，退盛沖等，吳人賊之應也。 五年八月壬午，大雨震電，水泉湧溢。
Sun Xiu's Yong'an 4, fifth month, saw rains burst springs across Wu. The ruinous Puli project wasted treasure, soldiers, and morale—pure Yin. Zhang Bu's monopoly after Sheng Chong's exile invited assassination. Renwu day brought thunderstorms and boiling groundwater.
82
武帝泰始四年九月，青、徐、兗、豫四州大水。 七年六月，大雨霖，河、洛、伊、沁皆溢，殺二百餘人。 自帝即尊位，不加三后祖宗之號。 泰始二年又除明堂南郊五帝座，同稱昊天上帝，一位而已。 又省先后配地之祀。 此簡宗廟廢祭祀之罰也。
In the ninth month of the fourth year of Emperor Wu's Taishi era, four eastern provinces drowned. Month-long rain burst the Yellow River and tributaries with hundreds dead. He withheld temple honors from mothers and dynastic founders. In the second year of Taishi, he collapsed five gods into one ambiguous Heaven. He canceled earth-paired rites for the late empress. Temple neglect drew predictable floods.
83
咸甯元年九月，徐州大水。 二年七月癸亥，河南、魏郡暴水，殺百餘人。 閏月，荊州郡國五大水，流四千餘家。 去年采擇良家子女，露面入殿，帝親簡閱，務在姿色，不訪德行，有蔽匿者以不敬論，搢紳愁怨，天下非之，陰盛之應也。
Xuzhou flooded in Xianning's first autumn. A cloudburst drowned Henan and Wei. Five Jing-region floods displaced four thousand families. Palace beauty hunts humiliated families—ominous Yin.
84
三年六月，益、梁二州郡國八暴水，殺三百餘人。 七月，荊州大水。 九月，始平郡大水。 十月，青、徐、兗、豫、荊、益、梁七州又大水。 是時賈充等用事專恣，而正人疏外者多，陰氣盛也。
Eight Yi-Liang districts drowned three hundred souls. Jingzhou flooded that summer. Shiping county vanished under rain. Seven provinces reeled under repeated inundation. Jia Chong's clique dominated while moral ministers sat idle.
85
四年七月，司、冀、兗、豫、荊、揚郡國二十大水，傷秋稼，壞屋室，有死者。
Twenty commanderies lost harvest and housing to summer storms.
86
太康二年六月，泰山、江夏大水，泰山流三百家，殺六十餘人，江夏亦殺人。 時平吳後，王浚為元功而詆劾妄加，荀、賈為無謀而並蒙重賞，收吳姬五千，納之後宮，此其應也。
In the second year of Taikang, Taishan and Jiangxia torrents killed dozens. Post-conquest injustice and plunder mirrored Heaven's anger.
87
四年七月，兗州大水。 十二月，河南及荊、揚六州大水。 五年九月，郡國四大水，又隕霜。 是月，南安等五郡大水。 六年四月，郡國十大水，壞廬舍。 七年九月，郡國八大水。 八月六月，郡國八大水。
Yanzhou drowned again. Winter floods swept Henan and six southern provinces. Autumn brought flood and killing frost together. Nan'an pentad vanished under rain. Ten districts lost homes to spring surge. Eight commanderies flooded late summer. Repeated summer and autumn waves struck eight commanderies.
88
惠帝元康二年，有水災。 五年五月，潁川、淮南大水。 六月，城陽、東莞大水，殺人，荊、揚、徐、兗、豫五州又水。 是時帝即位已五載，猶未郊祀，其蒸嘗亦多不親行事。 此簡宗廟廢祭祀之罰。
Emperor Hui's Yuankang 2 brought inundations. Yingchuan and Huainan drowned in the fifth month. Shandong seasides drowned while five heartland provinces sank. Five years without suburb rites or personal ancestral meals. Ignored shrines summoned more water.
89
六年五月，刑、揚二州大水。 是時賈后亂朝，寵樹賈、郭，女主專政，陰氣盛之應也。
The Jing and Yang heartlands flooded together. Empress Jia's matriarchy spelled Yin flooding.
90
八年五月，金墉城井溢。 《漢志》，成帝時有此妖，後王莽僭逆。 今有此妖，趙王倫篡位，倫廢帝於此城，井溢所在，其天意也。 九月，荊、揚、徐、冀、豫五州大水。 是時賈后暴戾滋甚，韓謐驕猜彌扇，卒害太子，旋以禍滅。 九年四月，宮中井水沸溢。
Jinyong's wells erupted. Han history tied boiling wells to Wang Mang. Sima Lun's coup at Jinyong replayed the Han omen. Five provinces drowned that autumn. Jia Nanfeng and Han Mi killed the crown prince then fell. Palace wells seethed.
91
永甯元年七月，南陽、東海大水。 是時齊王冏專政，陰盛之應也。
Yongning opened with eastern floods. Sima Jiong's dictatorship meant Yin tide.
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太安元年七月，兗、豫、徐、冀四州水。 時將相力政，無尊主心，陰盛故也。
In the first year of Tai'an, Four northern provinces drowned midsummer. Warlord politics unmanned the throne—classic Yin.
93
孝懷帝永嘉四年四月，江東大水。 時王導等潛懷翼戴之計，陰氣盛也。
In Emperor Huai's Yongjia 4, fourth month, Jiangdong sank under spring rains. Wang Dao's backstage maneuvering embodied Yin.
94
元帝太興三年六月，大水。 是時王敦內懷不臣，傲很陵上，此陰氣盛也。 四年七月，又大水。
Emperor Yuan's Taixing 3 summer brought a great flood. Wang Dun's rebellion typified surging Yin. Another midsummer inundation.
95
永昌二年五月，荊州及丹陽、宣城、吳興、壽春大水。
In Yongchang 2, fifth month, Jingzhou and the Danyang-Wuxing belt drowned.
96
明帝太寧元年五月，丹陽、宣城、吳興、壽春大水。 是時王敦威權震主，陰氣盛故也。
In Emperor Ming's Taining 1, fifth month, the same Danyang-Wuxing belt flooded. Wang Dun's terror matched Yin water.
97
成帝咸和元年五月，大水。 是時嗣主幼沖，母后稱制，庾亮以元舅決事禁中，陰勝陽故也。
In Emperor Cheng's Xianhe 1, fifth month, there was a great flood. Child emperor and Yu Liang's harem rule inverted Yin and Yang.
98
二年五月戊子，京都大水。 是冬，以蘇峻稱兵，都邑塗地。
Luoyang drowned on wuzi. Su Jun turned the capital into a slaughterfield.
99
四年七月，丹陽、宣城、吳興、會稽大水。 是冬，郭默作亂，荊豫共討之，半歲乃定，兵役之應也。
Lower Yangtze counties flooded again. Guo Mo's mutiny answered flood with war.
100
七年五月，大水。 是時帝未親機務，政在大臣，陰勝陽也。
Another fifth-month surge. Absent sovereigns ceded authority—Yin tide.
101
咸康元年八月，長沙、武陵大水。
In Xiankang 1, eighth month, Changsha and Wuling drowned late in the summer.
102
穆帝永和四年五月，大水。 五年五月，大水。 六年五月，又大水。 時幼主沖弱，母后臨朝，又將相大臣各執權政，與咸和初同事也。
In Emperor Mu's Yonghe 4, fifth month, there was a great flood. His fifth year repeated inundation. Yet another fifth-month flood. Regency gridlock mirrored earlier crises.
103
七年七月甲辰夜，濤水入石頭，死者數百人。 是時殷浩以私忿廢蔡謨，遐邇非之。 又幼主在上而殷桓交惡，選徒聚甲，各崇私權，陰勝陽之應也。 一說，濤水入石頭，以為兵占。 是後殷浩、桓溫、謝尚、荀羨連年征伐，百姓愁怨也。
A night bore smashed Jinling's Stone fortress. Yin Hao's feud with Cai Mo drew universal blame. Child emperor amid Yin Hao–Huan Wen feud meant private armies and Yin flood. Some read the Stone City bore purely as war omen. Endless eastern Jin expeditions left the people resentful.
104
昇平二年五月，大水。 五年四月，又大水。 是時桓溫權制朝廷，專征伐，陰勝陽也。
In the second year of Shengping, May brought another inundation. The fifth year's fourth month flooded again. Huan Wen's military dictatorship tipped Yin over Yang.
105
海西太和六年六月，京師大水，平地數尺，浸及太廟。 硃雀大航纜斷，三艘流入大江。 丹陽、晉陵、吳郡、吳興、臨海五郡又大水，稻稼蕩沒，黎庶饑饉。 初，四年桓溫北伐敗績，十喪其九，五年又征淮南，逾歲乃克，百姓愁怨之應也。
In Taihe 6, sixth month, under the Duke of Haixi, floodwaters in the capital reached the imperial shrine. The capital pontoon broke adrift into the Yangtze. The lower Yangtze rice bowl drowned and famine followed. Failed northern wars matched public bitterness.
106
簡文帝咸安元年十二月壬午，濤水入石頭。 明年，妖賊盧竦率其屬數百人入殿，略取武庫三庫甲仗，遊擊將軍毛安之討滅之，兵興、陰盛之應也。
On renwu in Emperor Jianwen's Xian'an 1, twelfth month, a bore swept into Stone City. Lu Song's raid on Luoyang arsenals reflected Yin militarism.
107
孝武帝太元三年六月，大水。 是時帝幼弱，政在將相。 五年五月，大水。 六年六月，揚、荊、江三州大水。 八年三月，始興、南康、廬陵大水，平地五丈。 十年五月，大水。 自八年破苻堅後，有事中州，役無寧歲，愁怨之應也。
Emperor Xiaowu's Taiyuan 3 summer brought a great flood. Child emperor; ministers held real power. Another fifth-month surge. Three great river provinces drowned. Southern Jiangxi sank under fifteen-meter floods. The tenth year's May inundation. Endless Huai River wars bred popular exhaustion.
108
十三年十二月，濤水入石頭，毀大航，殺人。 明年，慕容氏寇擾司兗，鎮戍西北，疲於奔命，愁怨之應也。
Winter bore smashed the capital bridge. Frontier fatigue mirrored flood omens.
109
十五年七月，沔中諸郡及兗州大水。 是時緣河紛爭，征戍勤瘁之應也。
The Han basin and Yanzhou drowned. Riverine warfare drained the armies.
110
十七年六月甲寅，濤水入石頭，毀大航，漂船舫，有死者。 京口西浦亦濤入殺人。 永嘉郡潮水湧起，近海四縣人多死。 後四年帝崩，而王恭再攻京師，京師亦發眾以禦之，兵彼頻興，百姓愁怨之應也。
Jiayin bore shattered shipping at Stone City. Jingkou's harbor drowned souls too. Zhejiang's tidal bore killed thousands. Posthumous chaos echoed the floods.
111
十八年六月己亥，始興、南康、廬陵大水，深五丈。 十九年七月，荊徐大水，傷秋稼。 二十年六月，荊徐又大水。 二十一年五月癸卯，大水。 是時政事多弊，兆庶非之。
Another fifteen-meter flood hit southern commanderies. Jing-Xu autumn harvest ruined. The pair flooded anew next summer. Guimao day brought universal inundation. Rotten policy drew popular curses.
112
安帝隆安三年五月，荊州大水，平地三丈。 去年殷仲堪舉兵向京師，是年春又殺郗恢，陰盛作威之應也。 仲堪尋亦敗亡。
In Emperor An's Long'an 3, fifth month, Jingzhou sank three zhang deep. Yin Zhongkan's violence epitomized Yin ascendant. He died in defeat.
113
五年五月，大水。 是時會稽王世子元顯作威陵上，又桓玄擅西夏，孫恩亂東國，陰勝陽之應也。
Another spring flood. Yuanxian, Huan Xuan, and Sun En split the realm—pure Yin.
114
元興二年十二月，桓玄篡位。 其明年二月庚寅夜，濤水入石頭。 商旅方舟萬計，漂敗流斷，骸胔相望。 江左雖頻有濤變，未有若斯之甚。 三月，義軍克京都，玄敗走，遂夷滅之。
In the second year of Yuanxing, Huan Xuan seized the yellow robe. Gengyin night bore returned. Trade fleets shattered along the stone shore. No Jin bore matched that slaughter. Liu Yu's host crushed Huan Xuan.
115
三年二月己丑朔夜，濤水入石頭，漂沒殺人，大航流敗。
Jichou-night bore ruined the bridge again.
116
義熙元年十二月己未，濤水入石頭。 二年十二月己未夜，濤水入石頭。 明年，駱球父環潛結桓胤、殷仲文等謀作亂，劉稚亦謀反，凡所誅滅數十家。
In the first year of Yixi, Jiwei bore struck Stone City. Another jiwei-night surge. Plotters died by the score after the omens.
117
三年五月丙午，大水。 四年十二月戊寅，濤水入石頭。 明年，王旅北討。
Bingwu flood. Wuyin bore. Northern expedition followed.
118
六年五月丁巳，大水。 乙丑，盧循至蔡洲。
Dingsi deluge. Lu Xun's warfleet closed on Cai Isle.
119
八年六月，大水。 九年五月辛巳，大水。 十年五月丁丑，大水。 戊寅，西明門地穿，湧水出，毀門扇及限，亦水沴土也。 七月乙丑，淮北風災，大水殺人。 十一年七月丙戌，大水，淹漬太廟，百官赴救。 明年，王旅北討關河。
Eighth-year summer flood. Xinsi inundation. Dingchou flood. West gate sinkhole vomited water—water harming earth. Huai winds and floods killed. Flood threatened the ancestral shrine. Northern drive toward the Yellow River.
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敬用五事
Section: The Five Governance Countenances.
121
《經》曰：「敬用五事：一曰貌，二曰言，三曰視，四曰聽，五曰思。 貌曰恭，言曰從，視曰明，聽曰聰，思曰睿。 恭作肅，從作乂，明作哲，聰作謀，睿作聖。 休徵：曰肅，時雨若； 乂，時晹若； 哲，時燠若； 謀，時寒若； 聖，時風若。 咎徵：曰狂，恆雨若； 僭，恆晹若； 豫，恆燠若； 急，恆寒若； {雨瞀}，恆風若。」
The canon says, "Use the five matters reverently: demeanor, speech, sight, hearing, and thought. Demeanor should be reverent, speech compliant, sight clear, hearing acute, and thought wise. Reverence makes solemnity, compliance makes order, clarity makes discernment, acuity makes planning, and wisdom makes sageliness. Among the fortunate signs: when solemnity prevails, rain comes in season; with order, sunshine comes in season; with discernment, warmth comes in season; with planning, cold comes in season; with sageliness, wind comes in season. The blame signs are madness, and endless rain follows; usurpation, and endless sunshine follows; complacency, and endless warmth follows; urgency, and endless cold follows; obscuration, and endless wind follows."
122
《傳》曰：「貌之不恭，是謂不肅，厥咎狂，厥罰恆雨，厥極惡。 時則有服妖，時則有龜孽，時則有雞禍，時則有下體生上之痾，時則有青眚青祥。 惟金沴木。」
The Commentary says, "Disrespectful demeanor is lack of solemnity; its blame is madness, its punishment endless rain, its extreme evil. At such times come strange clothing, turtle prodigies, chicken omens, illnesses of the lower body rising above, and green calamities and green signs. Metal's qi harms wood."
123
說曰：凡草木之類謂之妖。 妖猶夭胎，言尚微也。 蟲豸之類謂之孽。 孽則芽孽矣。 及六畜，謂之禍，言其著也。 及人，謂之痾。 痾，病貌也，言浸深也。 甚則有異物生，謂之眚； 自外來，謂之祥。 祥，猶禎也。 氣相傷，謂之沴。 沴猶臨蒞，不和意也。 每一事云「時則」以絕之，言非必俱至，或有或亡，或在前或在後。 孝武時，夏侯始昌通《五經》，善推《五行傳》，以傳族子夏侯勝，下及許商，皆以教所賢弟子。 其傳與劉向同，惟劉歆傳獨異。
Vegetation anomalies rank as yao. Yao hints at incipient ill. Insects are nie. Nie signals sprouting harm. Livestock omens are huo—open harm. Human signs are e—personal sickness. E describes worsening symptoms. Severe cases yield inner sheng. Outward agents are xiang. Xiang resembles zhen. Mutual injury is li. Li implies malign friction. The formula "at such times" marks contingent omens: not all must arrive together; some appear, some vanish, some come before, some after. Western Han masters chained the Hong Fan gloss across generations. Liu Xin alone broke with Liu Xiang.
124
貌之不恭，是謂不肅。 肅，敬也。 內曰恭，外曰敬。 人君行己，體貌不恭，怠慢驕蹇，則不能敬萬事，失則狂易，故其咎狂也。 上慢下暴，則陰氣勝，故其罰常雨也。 水傷百穀，衣食不足，則奸宄並作，故其極惡也。
The gloss opens with irreverent bearing. Su is awe. Gong within, jing without. Royal laziness slides into mania. Arrogance aloft draws endless Yin rain. Famine from flood breeds crime.
125
一曰，人多被刑，或形貌醜惡，亦是也。 風俗狂慢，變節易度，則為剽輕奇怪之服，故有服妖。 水類動，故有龜孽。 于《易》，《巽》為雞。 雞有冠、距，文武之貌。 而不為威，貌氣毀，故有雞禍。 一曰，水歲多雞死及為怪，亦是也。 上失威儀，則有強臣害君上者，故有下體生於上之痾。 木色青，故有青眚青祥。 凡貌傷者病木氣，木氣病則金沴之，沖氣相通也。 于《易》，《震》在東方，為春為木； 《兌》在西方，為秋為金； 《離》在南方，為夏為火； 《坎》在北方，為冬為水。 春與秋日夜分，寒暑平，是以金木之氣易以相變，故貌傷則致秋陰常雨，言傷則致春陽常旱也。 至於冬夏，日夜相反，寒暑殊絕，水火之氣不得相並，故視傷常燠、聽傷常寒者，其氣然也。 逆之，其極曰惡； 順之，其福曰攸好德。 劉歆《貌傳》曰有鱗蟲之孽，羊禍，鼻痾。 說以為于天文東方辰為龍星，故為鱗蟲。 于《易》，《兌》為羊，木為金所病，故致羊禍，與常雨同應。 此說非是。 春與秋氣陰陽相敵，木病金盛，故能相並，惟此一事耳。 禍與妖痾祥眚同類，不得獨異。
Mass mutilation mirrors the same fault. Fashion anomalies signal mad manners. Turtle omens belong to moving Yin. The Zhou yi maps Xun to fowl. Cocks symbolize regalia. When ritual awe fails, fowl portents strike. Chicken die-offs in wet years belong to the same family of omens. Collapsed dignity invites ministers who usurp the throne—literal body-upon-body prodigies. Wood-phase faults tint omens jade-green. Demeanor faults harm wood; metal strikes wood in turn. Zhen trigram maps east and spring wood. Dui maps west and autumn metal. Li maps south and midsummer fire. Kan maps north and winter water. Balanced seasons let metal and wood swap energies—manners fault to flood; words fault to drought. Solstice extremes isolate fire and water—vision errs toward heat, hearing toward chill. Defiance caps in villainy. Compliance crowns in love of virtue. Liu Xin's schema piles animal and nasal omens. Eastern asterisms become dragon-scale prodigies. Dui-sheep symbolism ties wood-metal strife to ceaseless rain—or so one theory runs. The treatise rejects that pairing. Only equinox seasons balance wood illness with metal surge. All anomaly categories intergrade.
126
魏尚書鄧颺揚行步馳縱，筋不束體，坐起傾倚，若無手足，此貌之不恭也。 管輅謂之鬼躁。 鬼躁者，凶終之徵，後卒誅也。
Deng Yang's twitching gait matched classic 'lack of solemnity.' Guan Lu dubbed his twitch ghost-frantic. The gloss foretold Deng Yang's execution.
127
惠帝元康中，貴遊子弟相與為散發倮身之飲，對弄婢妾，逆之者傷好，非之者負譏，希世之士恥不與焉。 蓋貌之不恭，胡狄侵中國之萌也。 其後遂有五胡之亂，此又失在狂也。
Yuankang elite staged hair-down orgies—classic deportment collapse. Such manners foreshadowed Five Hu upheaval. The barbarian tide answered manic ritual.
128
元康中，賈謐親貴，數入二宮，與儲君遊戲，無降下心。 又嘗因弈棋爭道，成都王穎厲色曰：「皇太子國之儲貳，賈謐何敢無禮！」 謐猶不悛，故及於禍，貌不恭之罰也。
Jia Mi treated the crown prince as playmate. At the chessboard, Sima Ying rebuked him: "The crown prince is the state's heir. How dare Jia Mi be so disrespectful!" Jia Mi's arrogance earned ruin.
129
齊王冏既誅趙王倫，因留輔政，坐拜百官，符敕臺府，淫醟專驕，不一朝覲，此狂恣不肅之咎也。 天下莫不高其功而慮其亡也，冏終弗改，遂致夷滅。
Sima Jiong hijacked court ritual from his chair. His swagger invited extinction.
130
司馬道子於府園內列肆，使姬人酤鬻，身自貿易。 干寶以為貴者失位，降在皁隸之象也。 俄而道子見廢，以庶人終，此貌不恭之應也。
Prince Kuaiji ran a bazaar inside his mansion. Gan Bao saw merchants masquerading as princes. Daozi died degraded.
131
安帝義熙七年，將拜授劉毅世子，毅以王命之重，當設饗宴，親請吏佐臨視。 至拜日，國僚不重白，默拜於廄中。 王人將反命，毅方知之，大以為恨，免郎中令劉敬叔官。 天戒若曰，此惰略嘉禮不肅之妖也。 其後毅遂被殺焉。
In Emperor An's Yixi 7, Liu Yi planned a banquet to celebrate his son's investiture and summoned his staff to witness it. Ceremony occurred hidden in the stables. Liu Yi punished an aide when he discovered the botched rite. Heaven scorned the slovenly ceremony. Liu Yi died by assassination.
132
庶征恆雨，劉歆以為《春秋》大雨，劉向以為大水。
Exegetes split rain versus flood readings.
133
魏明帝太和元年秋，數大雨，多暴卒，雷電非常，至殺鳥雀。 案楊阜上疏，此恆雨之罰也。 時天子居喪不哀，出入弋獵無度，奢侈繁興，奪農時，故水失其性而恆雨為罰。
In Wei Emperor Ming's Taihe 1 autumn, lethal thunderstorms killed people and even birds. Yang Fu called it Hong Fan constant rain. Imperial indulgence summoned Hydrology's revenge.
134
太和四年八月，大雨霖三十餘日，伊、洛、河、漢皆溢，歲以凶饑。
In Taihe 4, eighth month, a month-long storm drowned the heartland and brought famine.
135
吳孫亮太平二年二月甲寅，大雨，震電。 乙卯，雪，大寒。 案劉歆說，此時當雨而不當大，大雨，恆雨之罰也。 於始震電之，明日而雪，大寒，又常寒之罰也。 劉向以為既已雷電，則雪不當復降，皆失時之異也。 天戒若曰，為君失時，賊臣將起。 先震電而後雪者，陰見間隙，起而勝陽，逆弑之禍將成也。 亮不悟，尋見廢。 此與《春秋》魯隱同。
On jiayin in Sun Liang's Taiping 2, second month, a spring storm thundered. Next day freak snow and bitter freeze. Liu Xin read oversized storm as Hong Fan rain. Thunder then blizzard signaled cold fault. Liu Xiang stressed temporal discord. Heaven warned of regicide weather. Snow after thunder meant Yin usurpation. Sun Liang lost throne. Parallel to Lu Yin chronicle.
136
武帝泰始六年六月，大雨霖。 甲辰，河、洛、伊、沁水同時並溢，流四千九百餘家，殺二百餘人，沒秋稼千三百六十餘頃。
The sixth month of the sixth year of Emperor Wu's Taishi era was sodden with prolonged rain. Four rivers burst together.
137
太康五年七月，任城、梁國暴雨，害豆麥。 九月，南安郡霖雨暴雪，樹木摧折，害秋稼。 是秋，魏郡西平郡九縣、淮南、平原霖雨暴水，霜傷秋稼。
In the fifth year of Taikang, Henan counties lost spring grains. Nan'an storm shattered orchards. Northern belt suffered compound disasters.
138
惠帝永寧元年十月、義陽、南陽、東海霖雨，淹害秋麥。
In Emperor Hui's Yongning 1, tenth month, late rains rotted winter wheat in Yiyang, Nanyang, and Donghai.
139
元帝太興三年，春雨至於夏。 是時王敦執權，不恭之罰也，
In Emperor Yuan's Taixing 3, rain bridged spring and summer. Wang Dun's arrogance matched endless drizzle.
140
永昌元年，春雨四十餘日，晝夜雷電震五十餘日。 是時王敦興兵，王師敗績之應也。
In the first year of Yongchang, a seven-week storm brought ceaseless thunder. Weather mirrored Wang Dun's rebellion.
141
成帝咸和四年，春雨五十餘日，恆雷電。 是時雖斬蘇峻，其餘黨猶據守石頭，至其滅後，淫雨乃霽。
In Emperor Cheng's Xianhe 4, spring rains lasted over fifty days with constant thunder. Rain lifted only after Su Jun's fall.
142
咸康元年八月乙丑，荊州之長沙攸、醴陵、武陵之龍陽，三縣雨水，浮漂屋室，殺人，損秋稼。 是時帝幼，權在於下。
In the first year of Xiankang, Hunan counties washed away. Child emperor—ministers held reins.
143
服妖
Section: dress anomalies.
144
=魏武帝以天下凶荒，資財乏匱，始擬古皮弁，裁縑帛為白帢，以易舊服。 傅玄曰； 「白乃軍容，非國容也。」 干寶以為「縞素，凶喪之象也」。 名之為帢，毀辱之言也，蓋革代之後，劫殺之妖也。
Cao Cao mandated white silk caps amid scarcity. Fu Xuan warned: "White is battle attire, not court attire." Gan Bao read it as, "White mourning cloth is an image of death and funerals." The cap's name augured coup and slaughter.
145
魏明帝著繡帽，披縹紈半袖，常以見直臣楊阜，諫曰：「此禮何法服邪！」 帝默然。 近服妖也。 夫縹，非禮之色。 褻服尚不以紅紫，況接臣下乎？ 人主親禦非法之章，所謂自作孽不可禳也。 帝既不享永年，身沒而祿去王室，後嗣不終，遂亡天下，
When Wei Mingdi received Yang Fu in an embroidered cap and pale silk half-sleeve, Yang Fu protested, "What ritual model makes this proper court dress!" The throne stayed mute. Classic dress anomaly. Such dye broke sumptuary code. Even informal robes banned purple—let alone court. Monarchs sewing their own doom. Mingdi's line collapsed into Wei-Jin transition.
146
景初元年，發銅鑄為巨人二，號曰翁仲，置之司馬門外。 案古長人見，為國亡。 長狄見臨洮，為秦亡之禍。 始皇不悟，反以為嘉祥，鑄銅人以象之。 魏法亡國之器，而於義竟無取焉。 蓋服妖也。
In the first year of Jingchu, Twin bronze colossi guarded the palace gate. Giants historically foretold ruin. Lintao giant prefaced Qin collapse. Qin Shi Huang celebrated the omen. Wei revived Qin's fatal gimmick. Hence dress anomaly.
147
尚書何晏好服婦人之服，傅玄曰：「此妖服也。 夫衣裳之制，所以定上下殊內外也。 《大雅》云『玄袞赤舄，鉤膺鏤錫』，歌其文也。 《小雅》云『有嚴有翼，共武之服』，詠其武也。 若內外不殊，王制失敘，服妖既作，身隨之亡。 妹嬉冠男子之冠，桀亡天下； 何晏服婦人之服，亦亡其家，其咎均也。」
He Yan wore women's clothing at court, and Fu Xuan said, "This is prodigious dress. Clothing rules exist to distinguish rank and separate inner from outer. The Greater Odes praise formal regalia, "Black robes and red slippers, hooked breast-straps and engraved ornaments." The Lesser Odes sing of martial dignity, "Stern and winglike, reverent in martial dress." If inner and outer are not distinct, royal order collapses; when prodigious clothing appears, the wearer perishes with it. Mei Xi wore a man's cap, and Jie lost the realm; He Yan wore women's clothing and likewise ruined his house; the blame is the same."
148
吳婦人修容者，急束其發而劘角過於耳，蓋其俗自操束太急，而廉隅失中之謂也。 故吳之風俗，相驅以急，言論彈射，以刻薄相尚。 居三年之喪者，往往有致毀以死。 諸葛患之，著《正交論》，雖不可以經訓整亂，蓋亦救時之作也。
Wu fashion tortured hairlines. Wu speech turned razor-edged. Mourners starved themselves fashionable. Zhuge Ke's tract rebuked frenetic ethos.
149
孫休後，衣服之制上長下短，又積領五六而裳居一二。 干寶曰：「上饒奢，下儉逼，上有餘下不足之妖也。」 至孫皓，果奢暴恣情於上，而百姓雕困于下，卒以亡國，是其應也。
Silhouettes inverted hemline ratios. Gan Bao said, "Those above are rich and extravagant while those below are pinched and frugal: an omen of excess above and want below." Sun Hao fulfilled the stacked-collar prophecy.
150
武帝泰始初，衣服上儉下豐，著衣者皆厭䙅，此君衰弱，臣放縱，下掩上之象也。 至元康末，婦人出兩襠，加乎交領之上，此內出外也。 為車乘者苟貴輕細，又數變易其形，皆以白篾為純，蓋古喪車之遺象也。 夫乘者，君子之器。 蓋君子立心無恆，事不崇實也。 干寶以為晉之禍徵也。 及惠帝踐阼，權制在於寵臣，下掩上之應也。 至永嘉末，六宮才人流冗沒于戎狄，內出外之應也。 及天下撓亂，宰輔方伯多負其任，又數改易不崇實之應也。
Early Jin coats inverted authority—ample skirts belittled narrow bodices. Women draped inner garments outside collars—a reversal omen. White-trimmed gig coaches echoed funeral hearses. Chariots symbolize rulership. Fickle masters matched toy-like coaches. Gan Bao saw Jin's doom in fashion. Petty favorites overshadowed the boy emperor. Court ladies poured into steppe camps. Frontier posts turned over endlessly.
151
泰始之後，中國相尚用胡床貊槃，及為羌煮貊炙，貴人富室，必畜其器，吉享嘉會，皆以為先。 太康中，又以氈為絈頭及絡帶袴口。 百姓相戲曰，中國必為胡所破。 夫氈毳產于胡，而天下以為絈頭、帶身、袴口，胡既三制之矣，能無敗乎！ 至元康中，氐羌互反，永嘉後，劉、石遂篡中都，自後四夷迭據華土，是服妖之應也。
Xianbei furniture and cuisine conquered elite parlors. Wool edged collars and cuffs. Street rhyme predicted barbarian victory. Three body zones bound in felt signaled conquest. Foreign dress augured foreign rule.
152
初作屐者，婦人頭圓，男子頭方。 圓者順之義，所以別男女也。 至太康初，婦人屐乃頭方，與男無別。 此賈后專妒之徵也。
Gendered clog toes encoded ritual. Round toes marked feminine compliance. Women donned square-toed men's clogs. Jia Nanfeng's tyranny matched blurred footwear.
153
太康中，天下為《晉世寧》之舞，手接杯盤而反覆之，歌曰「晉世寧，舞杯盤」。 識者曰：「夫樂生人心，所以觀事也。 今接杯盤於手上而反覆之，至危之事也。 杯盤者，酒食之器，而名曰《晉世寧》，言晉世之士苟偷於酒食之間，而知不及遠，晉世之寧猶杯盤之在手也。」
During Taikang, a fad dance spun cups and plates while people sang, "Jin's age is at peace; dance the cups and plates." Observers said, "Music comes from people's hearts and reveals affairs. Now they hold feast vessels in their hands and flip them over and over, an act of extreme danger. Cups and plates are vessels for wine and food, yet the song is called Jin's Age at Peace: it says Jin's gentlemen seek petty ease among food and drink, see no farther, and hold Jin's peace as precariously as cups and plates in the hand."
154
惠帝元康中，婦人之飾有五兵佩，又以金銀玳瑁之屬，為斧鉞戈戟，以當笄。 干寶以為「男女之別，國之大節，故服物異等，贄幣不同。 今婦人而以兵器為飾，此婦人妖之甚者。 於是遂有賈后之事」。 終亡天下。 是時婦人結髮者既成，以繒急束其環，名曰擷子紒。 始自中宮，天下化之。 其後賈后廢害太子之應也。
Ladies wore miniature weapons as pins. Gan Bao held, "The distinction between men and women is a great joint of the state; clothing and objects mark different ranks, gifts and tokens differ. Now women use weapons as ornaments; this is the worst form of women's prodigy. Thus came the affair of Empress Jia." Dynasty collapsed. Hair cages tightened into horn buns. Empress's style spread empire-wide. Foreshadowed crown prince murder.
155
元康中，天下始相傚為烏杖以柱掖，其後稍施其鐓，住則植之。 夫木，東方之行，金之臣也。 杖者扶體之器，烏其頭者，尤便用也。 必旁柱掖者，旁救之象也。 施其金，柱則植之，言木因于金，能孤立也。 及懷湣之世，王室多故，而此中都喪敗，元帝以籓臣樹德東方，維持天下，柱掖之應也。 至社稷無主，海內歸之，遂承天命，建都江外，獨立之應也。
Black-headed staffs became walking sticks of fashion. Wood serves metal politically. Crow staff aided gait. Underarm tuck hinted salvage. Metal ferrule meant wood needed metal prop. Sima Rui's eastern bastion answered the staff omen. Lone riverbank court matched lone-standing augury.
156
元康、太安之間，江淮之域有敗屩自聚於道，多者至四五十量，人或散投坑穀，明日視之復如故。 或云，見狸銜聚之。 干寶以為'夫屩者，人之賤服，處於勞辱，黔庶之象也。 敗者，疲弊之象； 道者，四方往來，所以交通王命也。 今敗屩聚於道者，象黔庶罷病，將相聚為亂，以絕王命也」。 太安中，發壬午兵，百姓怨叛。 江夏張昌唱亂，荊楚從之如流。 於是兵革歲起，服妖也。
Ruined straw shoes haunted Jianghuai roads. Gossip blamed foxes or cats. Gan Bao read sandals as commoners. Shredded straps meant fatigue. Highways carried imperial decrees. Collective exhaustion foretold mutiny. Renwu draft sparked riots. Zhang Chang's slogan swept the lake. Fashion omens predicted yearly war.
157
初，魏造白帢，橫縫其前以別後，名之曰顏帢，傳行之。 至永嘉之間，稍去其縫，名無顏帢，而婦人束發，其緩彌甚，紒之堅不能自立，發被於額，目出而已。 無顏者，愧之言也。 覆額者，慚之貌也。 其緩彌甚者，言天下亡禮與義，放縱情性，及其終極，至於大恥也。 永嘉之後，二帝不反，天下愧焉。
Wei split white caps front/back. Faceless caps and collapsed coifs marked collapse. No-face caps spelled guilt. Forehead veils hid shame. Sloppy hair mirrored moral slack. Captive sovereigns fit the cap omen.
158
孝懷帝永嘉中，士大夫競服生箋單衣。 識者指之曰：「此則古者繐衰，諸侯所以服天子也。 今無故服之，殆有應乎！」 其後遂有胡賊之亂，帝遇害焉。
Courtiers donned mourning-weight linen casually. Observers pointed to it and said, "This is the ancient suai mourning cloth, worn by feudal lords for the Son of Heaven. Now they wear it without cause; surely it will have an answer!" Hu raiders killed the throne.
159
元帝太興中，兵士以絳囊縛紒。 識者曰：「紒者在首，為乾，君道也。 囊者坤，臣道也。 今以硃囊縛紒，臣道上侵君之象也。」 於是王敦陵上焉。
Troops wrapped buns in red silk sacks. Observers said, "The hair-knot is on the head and represents Qian, the ruler's way. The sack is Kun, the minister's way. Binding the hair-knot with a red sack images the minister's way invading above the ruler." Wang Dun rebelled.
160
舊為羽扇柄者，刻木象其骨形，列羽用十，取全數也。 自中興初，王敦南征，始改為長柄，下出可捉，而減其羽用八。 識者尤之曰：「夫羽扇，翼之名也。 創為長柄者，將執其柄以制羽翼也。 改十為八者，將未備奪已備也。 此殆敦之擅權以制朝廷之柄，又將以無德之材欲竊非據也。」 是時，為衣者又上短，帶才至於掖，著帽者又以帶縛項。 下逼上，上無地也。 為袴者直幅為口，無殺，下大之象。 尋而王敦謀逆，再攻京師。
Classical fans used ten plumes. Wang Dun shortened plumes to eight. Those who understood condemned it: "A feather fan is named for wings. Making a long handle means someone will seize the handle and control the wings. Changing ten plumes to eight means the unprepared will seize what is prepared. This likely means Wang Dun monopolizing power to control the court's handle, and using talent without virtue to steal a place not rightly his." Truncated jackets and choked hatbands spread. Lower garments smothered upper. Baggy pants augured bottom-heavy rule. Wang Dun's double Luoyang siege followed.
161
海西嗣位，忘設豹尾。 天戒若曰，夫豹尾，儀服之主，大人所以豹變也。 而海西豹變之日，非所宜忘而忘之。 非主社稷之人，故忘其豹尾，示不終也。 尋而被廢焉。
Duke Haixi omitted leopard-tail pennons. Leopard tails signal royal metamorphosis. He forgot transformation regalia on accession. Forgetfulness doomed his reign. Deposition followed.
162
孝武太元中，人不復著帩頭。 天戒若曰，頭者元首，帩者助元首為儀飾者也。 今忽廢之，若人君獨立無輔佐，以至危亡也。 至安帝，桓玄乃篡位焉。
Head-wraps vanished late fourth century. Kerchiefs framed the imperial brow. Bareheaded sovereigns faced doom. Huan Xuan seized throne.
163
舊為屐者，齒皆達楄上，名曰露卯。 太元中忽不徹，名日陰卯。 識者以為卯，謀也，必有陰謀之事。 至烈宗末，驃騎參軍袁悅之始攬構內外，隆安中遂謀詐相傾，以致大亂。
Classic clogs showed pegs. Pegs hid inside—yin mao. Hidden pegs hinted conspiracy. Yuan Yuezhi's intrigues matched hidden peg omen.
164
太元中，公主婦女必緩鬢傾髻，以為盛飾。 用髲既多，不可恆戴，乃先於木及籠上裝之，名曰假髻，或名假頭。 至於貧家，不能自辦，自號無頭，就人借頭。 遂布天下，亦服妖也。 無幾時，孝武晏駕而天下騷動，刑戮無數，多喪其元。 至於大殮，皆刻木及蠟或縛菰草為頭，是假頭之應云。
Slouching wigs became high fashion. Frame-mounted wigs weighed princesses down. Paupers rented faux hair. Borrowed hair augured borrowed dynasties. Mutiny decapitated thousands. Funerals used wooden wax heads.
165
桓玄篡立，殿上施絳帳，鏤黃金為顏，四角金龍銜五色羽葆流蘇。 群下相謂曰：「頗類轜車。」 尋而玄敗，此服之妖也。
Usurper throne hung funeral drapery. The officials whispered, "It rather looks like a funeral cart." Huan Xuan's robe augured defeat.
166
晉末皆冠小而衣裳博大，風流相放，輿臺成俗。 識者曰：「上小而下大，此禪代之象也。」 尋而宋受終焉。
Small hats and billowing robes democratized. Observers said, "Small above and large below: this is the image of abdication and replacement." Liu Yu seized mandate.
167
雞禍
Section: poultry prodigies.
168
魏明帝景初二年，廷尉府中雌雞化為雄，不鳴不將。 干寶曰：「是歲宣帝平遼東，百姓始有與能之義，此其象也。 然晉三后並以人臣終，不鳴不將，又天意也。」
In Wei Emperor Ming's Jingchu 2, a court hen turned into a mute, leaderless rooster. Gan Bao said, "That year Emperor Xuan pacified Liaodong, and the people first conceived of yielding power to the capable; this was the image. Yet the three Jin consorts all died as subjects; the bird's failure to crow or lead was also Heaven's meaning."
169
惠帝元康六年，陳國有雞生雄雞無翅，既大，墜坑而死。 王隱以為：「雄者，胤嗣子之象。 坑者，母象。 今雞生無翅，墜坑而死，此子無羽翼，為母所陷害乎？」 于後賈后誣殺湣懷，此其應也。
In Emperor Hui's Yuankang 6, a wingless cockerel hatched in Chen and later fell into a pit and died. Wang Yin held, "The male chick images the heir. The pit images the mother. Now a wingless chick was born, fell into a pit, and died: was this the son, lacking wings and support, trapped and harmed by his mother?" Jia Nanfeng's murder answered the omen.
170
太安中，周玘家雌雞逃承溜中，六七日而下，奮翼鳴將，獨毛羽不變。 其後有陳敏之事。 敏雖控制江表，終無紀綱文章，殆其象也。 卒為玘所滅。 雞禍見玘家，又天意也。 京房《易傳》曰：「牝雞雄鳴，主不榮。」
Zhou Qi's hen roosted in rainspout then crowed like cock. Chen Min's revolt followed. Chen Min's river banditry lacked statecraft. Zhou Qi exterminated him. The omen chose Zhou Qi's roof. Jing Fang's commentary says, "When a hen crows like a rooster, the ruler is not honored."
171
元帝太興中，王敦鎮武昌，有雌雞化為雄。 天戒若曰，雌化為雄，臣陵其上。 其後王敦再攻京師。
Wang Dun's headquarters saw sex-changing chicken. Female-to-male bird mirrored regicide. Wang Dun's double coup matched.
172
孝武太元十三年四月，廣陵高平閻嵩家雌雞生無右翅，彭城人劉象之家雞有三足。 京房《易傳》曰：「君用婦人言，則雞生妖。」 是時，主相並用尼媼之言，寵賜過厚，故妖象見焉。
In Emperor Xiaowu's Taiyuan 13, fourth month, two poultry freaks appeared: a wingless chick in Guangling and a three-footed chicken in Pengcheng. Jing Fang's commentary says, "When a ruler follows women's words, chickens produce prodigies." Court listened to wet nurses and old abbesses.
173
安帝隆安元年八月，琅邪王道子家青雌雞化為赤雄雞，不鳴不將。 桓玄將篡，不能成業之象。
In Emperor An's Long'an 1, eighth month, a green hen at Wang Daozi's mansion turned into a mute red cock. Silent cock pictured Huan Xuan's failed coup.
174
四年，荊州有雞生角，角尋墮落。 是時桓玄始擅西夏，狂慢不肅，故有雞禍。 天戒若曰，角，兵象，尋墮落者，暫起不終之妖也。 後皆應也，
Horned hen lost horns. Western satrapy bred poultry anomaly. Falling horns meant abortive revolt. History verified each gloss.
175
元興二年，衡陽有雌雞化為雄，八十日而冠萎。 天戒若曰，衡陽，桓玄楚國之邦略也。 及桓玄篡位，果八十日而敗，此其應也。
In the second year of Yuanxing, Chu border bird swapped sex then wilted. Hengyang mapped Huan's base. Eighty-day emperor mirrored eighty-day cock.
176
青祥
Section: green anomalies.
177
武帝咸寧元年八月丁酉，大風折大社樹，有青氣出焉，此青祥也。 占曰：「東莞當有帝者。」 明年，元帝生。 是時，帝大父武王封東莞，由是徙封琅邪。 孫盛以為中興之表。 晉室之亂，武帝子孫無孑遺，社樹折之應，又常風之罰。
On dingyou in Emperor Wu's Xianning 1, eighth month, a gale snapped the state altar tree and green vapor emerged, a green omen. The prognostication said, "Dongguan will produce an emperor." Sima Rui followed. Langye line descended from Dongguan peerage. Sun Sheng called it Eastern Jin omen. Extinct imperial grandsons matched shattered shrine.
178
惠帝元康中，洛陽南山有虻作聲，曰「韓屍屍」。 識者曰：「韓氏將屍也，言屍屍者，盡死意也。」 其後韓謐誅而韓族殲焉，此青祥也。
During Emperor Hui's Yuankang era, gadflies on Luoyang's southern mountain droned, "Han corpses, corpses." Observers said, "The Han clan will become corpses; saying corpses, corpses means utter death." Han Mi's purge fulfilled insect chorus.
179
金沴木
Section: metal harming wood.
180
魏文帝黃初七年正月，幸許昌。 許昌城南門無故自崩，帝心惡之，遂不入，還洛陽。 此金沴木，木動之也。 五月，宮車晏駕。 京房《易傳》曰：「上下咸悖，厥妖也城門壞。」
In Wei Emperor Wen's Huangchu 7, first month, Cao Pi visited Xuchang. Gate ruin turned Cao Pi back. Metal qi shattered timber gate. Cao Pi died that spring. Jing Fang's commentary says, "When above and below are both rebellious, the prodigy is broken city gates."
181
元帝太興二年六月，吳郡米廡無故自壞。 天戒若曰，夫米廡，貨糴之屋，無故自壞，此五穀踴貴，所以無糴賣也。 是歲遂大饑，死者千數焉。
In Emperor Yuan's Taixing 2.6, the Wu granary arcade collapsed without cause. Empty granaries augured famine. Thousands starved.
182
明帝太甯元年，周莚自歸王敦，既立其宅宇，所起五間六梁，一時躍出墜地，餘桁猶亙柱頭。 此金沴木也。 明年五月，錢鳳謀亂，遂族滅莚，而湖熟尋亦為墟矣。
Roof beams ejected themselves. Classic metal-wood clash. Zhou Yan died in Wang Dun purge.
183
安帝元興元年正月丙子，會稽王世子元顯將討桓玄，建牙竿于揚州南門，其東者難立，良久乃正。 近沴妖也。 而元顯尋為玄所擒。
On bingzi in Emperor An's Yuanxing 1, first month, as Yuanxian prepared to attack Huan Xuan, the eastern command mast at Yangzhou's south gate resisted standing upright. Marshaling omen of discord. Yuanxian fell to Huan Xuan.
184
三年五月，樂賢堂壞。 時帝嚚眊，無樂賢之心，故此堂是沴。
Hall of Cherishing Worthies collapsed. Brain-dead throne despised talent.
185
義熙九年五月，國子聖堂壞。 天戒若曰，聖堂，禮樂之本，無故自壞，業祚將墜之象。 未及十年而禪位焉。
In the ninth year of Yixi, National university shrine fell. Ruined school augured abdication. Song usurpation followed.