1
夫在天莫明於日月，在人莫明於禮儀。 先王以安上治民，用成風化，苟或失之，斯亡云及。 聖者因人有尊敬哀思嗜慾喜怒之情，而制以上下隆殺長幼眾寡之節，本於人心，會於神道，故使三才惟穆，百姓允諧。 而淳澆世殊，質文異設，損益相仍，隨時作範。 秦滅儒經，漢承其弊，三代之禮，蓋如綫焉。 劉氏中興，頗率周典，魏晉之世，抑有可知。
In Heaven nothing shines more clearly than the sun and moon; in human affairs nothing shines more clearly than ritual and propriety. The ancient kings employed ritual to secure those above and govern the people below, thereby shaping custom and moral influence; once it is lost, ruin follows swiftly. The sages took human feelings—reverence, grief, longing, appetite, joy, and anger—and on that basis set gradations of rank, precedence, age, and number. Grounded in the human heart and aligned with the spirit world, they brought the three realms into harmony and made the people live in accord. Yet ages differ in refinement and decline; substance and ornament take different forms; ritual is trimmed or enlarged in succession, and each age fashions its own model. Qin annihilated the Confucian canon; Han inherited the wreckage; the rituals of the Three Dynasties survived only as a thread. When the Han house revived the realm, it largely followed Zhou models; under Wei and Jin, something of ritual could still be discerned.
2
自永嘉擾攘，神州蕪穢，禮壞樂崩，人神殲殄。 太祖南定燕趙，日不暇給，仍世征伐，務恢疆宇。 雖馬上治之，未遑制作，至於經國軌儀，互舉其大，但事多粗略，且兼闕遺。 高祖稽古，率由舊則，斟酌前王，擇其令典，朝章國範，煥乎復振。 早年厭世，叡慮未從，不爾劉馬之迹，夫何足數。 世宗優遊在上，致意玄門，儒業文風，顧有未洽，墜禮淪聲，因之而往。 肅宗已降，魏道衰羸，太和之風，仍世凋落，以至於海內傾圮，綱紀泯然。 嗚呼！ 魯秉周禮，國以克固； 齊臣撤器，降人折謀。 治身不得以造次忘，治國庸可而須臾忽也。 初自皇始，迄於武定，朝廷典禮之迹，故總而錄之。
After the Yongjia upheavals, the heartland was laid waste; ritual broke down and music fell apart; both the living and the sacred were blighted. Emperor Daizu subdued Yan and Zhao in the south; day after day he had no leisure, campaigning through successive reigns to recover lost dominions. Though he ruled from the saddle, he had no time to codify institutions; on the great frameworks of statecraft he took only the outlines, and much remained rough or incomplete. Emperor Gaozu looked to antiquity, followed established precedent, weighed the practices of earlier rulers and chose the best models—and court ritual and national norms shone forth anew. He died young before his plans ripened; had he lived, how could the achievements of Liu and Ma alone have defined the age? Emperor Shizong dallied on the throne, favoring esoteric teachings; Confucian learning and literary culture never fully took root, and ritual and music continued to slip away. From Emperor Suzong on, the Wei way declined; the spirit of Taihe withered reign after reign, until the realm collapsed and order vanished utterly. Alas! Lu clung to Zhou ritual, and the state held firm; When a Qi minister removed the ritual vessels, an enemy's plot was undone at once. In self-cultivation one must never set ritual aside even in haste; in governing a state, how could one neglect it even for a moment? From the Huangshi era through Wuding, the court's ritual record is gathered here as a whole.
3
太祖登國元年，即代王位於牛川，西向設祭，告天成禮。
In the first year of the founding of the state, Emperor Daizu assumed the throne of Dai at Niuchuan, offered sacrifice facing west, and performed the rite of announcing his reign to Heaven.
4
天興元年，定都平城，即皇帝位，立壇兆告祭天地。 祝曰：「皇帝臣珪敢用玄牡，昭告于皇天后土之靈。 上天降命，乃眷我祖宗世王幽都。 珪以不德，纂戎前緒，思寧黎元，龔行天罰。 殪劉顯，屠衞辰，平慕容，定中夏。 羣下勸進，謂宜正位居尊，以副天人之望。 珪以天時人謀，不可久替，謹命禮官，擇吉日受皇帝璽綬。 惟神祇其丕祚於魏室，永綏四方。」 事畢，詔有司定行次，正服色。 羣臣奏以國家繼黃帝之後，宜為土德，故神獸如牛，牛土畜，又黃星顯曜，其符也。 於是始從土德，數用五，服尚黃，犧牲用白。 祀天之禮用周典，以夏四月親祀于西郊，徽幟有加焉。
In the first year of Tianxing he made Pingcheng his capital, ascended the imperial throne, and established altars to report his accession to Heaven and Earth. The prayer ran: "The emperor, your subject Gui, dares to offer a black bull and plainly declare this to the spirits of August Heaven and August Earth. Heaven sent down the mandate and favored our ancestors, who for generations ruled Youdu. Gui, lacking in virtue, took up the martial legacy of our forebears, sought to bring peace to the people, and reverently carried out Heaven's punishment. I destroyed Liu Xian, overthrew Wei Chen, pacified Murong, and settled the Central Lands. My subjects urged me to advance, saying I ought to take the supreme place to fulfill the hopes of Heaven and humanity. Gui, because Heaven's time and human counsel could no longer be refused, respectfully ordered the ritual officers to choose an auspicious day to receive the imperial seal and cord. May the spirits grandly bless the house of Wei and forever bring peace to the four quarters." When the rite was finished, he ordered the responsible offices to fix ceremonial precedence and regulate court dress and colors. The ministers argued that the state succeeded the Yellow Emperor and should adopt the virtue of Earth; divine beasts therefore appeared as oxen, for the ox is the animal of Earth, and the Yellow Star shone forth as its sign. Thereupon they adopted Earth Virtue: the number five governed ritual reckoning, yellow was honored in dress, and white victims were used in sacrifice. The rite of sacrificing to Heaven followed Zhou usage; in the fourth month of summer the emperor personally sacrificed at the Western Suburb, with added banners and insignia.
5
二年正月，帝親祀上帝于南郊，以始祖神元皇帝配。 為壇通四陛，為壝埒三重。 天位在其上，南面，神元西面。 五精帝在壇內，壝內四帝，各於其方，一帝在未。 日月五星、二十八宿、天一、太一、北斗、司中、司命、司祿、司民在中壝內，各因其方。 其餘從食者合一千餘神，餟在外壝內。 藉用藁秸，玉用四珪，幣用束帛，牲用黝犢，[1]器用陶匏。 上帝、神元用犢各一，五方帝共用犢一，日月等共用牛一。 祭畢，燎牲體左於壇南巳地，從陽之義。 其瘞地壇兆，制同南郊。 明年正月辛酉，郊天。 癸亥，瘞地於北郊，以神元竇皇后配。 五岳名山在中壝內，四瀆大川於外壝內。 后土、神元后，牲共用玄牡一，[2]玉用兩珪，幣用束帛，五岳等用牛一。 祭畢，瘞牲體右於壇之北亥地，從陰也。 乙丑，赦京師畿內五歲刑以下。 其後，冬至祭上帝于圓丘，夏至祭地于方澤，用牲幣之屬，與二郊同。
In the first month of the second year the emperor personally sacrificed to the Supreme God at the Southern Suburb, with the founding ancestor Emperor Shenyuan as co-honoree. They built an altar with four ramps and a triple embankment and ridge. Heaven's place stood above, facing south; Shenyuan faced west. The Five Essence Emperors stood within the altar; within the embankment the four directional emperors each occupied his quarter, with one emperor placed at Wei. The sun and moon, the five planets, the twenty-eight lodges, Tianyi, Taiyi, the Northern Dipper, and the directors of the center, fate, salary, and people were placed within the middle embankment, each in its proper direction. More than a thousand lesser spirits who shared in the offering received libation within the outer embankment. Straw mats were used for seating, four gui tablets for jade, bundled silks for offerings, dark calves for victims,[1] and pottery and gourd vessels for the rite. The Supreme God and Shenyuan each received one calf; the Five Directional Emperors shared one calf; the sun, moon, and the rest shared one ox. When the sacrifice was finished, the left portion of the victim was burned at the si position south of the altar, in accord with the principle of yang. The altar for burying offerings to Earth was built on the same plan as the Southern Suburb. In the first month of the following year, on the day xinyou, they performed the suburban sacrifice to Heaven. On guihai they buried offerings to Earth at the Northern Suburb, with Empress Dowager Dou of Shenyuan as co-honoree. The Five Sacred Peaks and famous mountains stood within the middle embankment; the four rivers and great waterways within the outer embankment. Hou Tu and the Shenyuan empress shared one black bull;[2] two gui tablets were used for jade, bundled silks for offerings, and the Five Peaks and the like each received one ox. When the sacrifice was finished, the right portion of the victim was buried at the hai position north of the altar, in accord with yin. On yichou he granted amnesty within the capital region to those sentenced to five years or less. Thereafter, at the winter solstice they sacrificed to the Supreme God at the round mound; at the summer solstice they sacrificed to Earth at the square marsh; victims, silks, and the like matched those used at the two suburban rites.
6
冬十月，平文、昭成、獻明廟成。 歲五祭，用二至、二分、臘，牲用太牢，常遣宗正兼太尉率祀官侍祀。 置太社、太稷、帝社於宗廟之右，為方壇四陛。 祀以二月、八月，用戊，皆太牢。 句龍配社，周棄配稷，皆有司侍祀。 立祖神，常以正月上未，設藉於端門內，祭牲用羊、豕、犬各一。 又立神元、思帝、平文、昭成、獻明五帝廟於宮中，歲四祭，用正、冬、臘、九月，牲用馬、牛各一，太祖親祀宮中。 立星神，一歲一祭，常以十二月，用馬薦各一，[3]牛豕各二，雞一。
In the tenth month of winter the temples of Pingwen, Zhaocheng, and Xianming were completed. They were sacrificed to five times a year, at the two solstices, the two equinoxes, and the year-end festival, with the great pen; the Director of the Imperial Clan, also serving as Grand Commandant, regularly led the sacrificial officers. Great Soil, Great Millet, and Imperial Soil were placed to the right of the ancestral temple, each on a square altar with four ramps. Sacrifice was performed in the second and eighth months on wu days, always with the great pen. Goulong was paired with the soil altar and Hou Ji with the millet altar; in each case officials attended the sacrifice. They established the Ancestor Spirit; on the upper wei day of the first month mats were laid inside the Front Gate, and one sheep, one pig, and one dog were offered. Temples to the five emperors Shenyuan, Sidi, Pingwen, Zhaocheng, and Xianming were also built within the palace; they were sacrificed to four times a year in the first month, winter, year-end, and ninth month, with one horse and one ox each; Emperor Daizu personally performed the rites within the palace. They established the Star Spirit, sacrificed to once a year, usually in the twelfth month, with one horse offering,[3] two oxen, two pigs, and one chicken.
7
太祖初，有兩彗星見，劉后使占者占之，曰：「祈之則當掃定天下。」 后從之，故立其祀。 又立□□神十二，歲一祭，常以十一月，各用牛一、雞三。 又立王神四，歲二祭，常以八月、十月，各用羊一。 又置獻明以上所立天神四十所，歲二祭，亦以八月、十月。 神尊者以馬，次以牛，小以羊，皆女巫行事。 又於雲中及盛樂神元舊都祀神元以下七帝，歲三祭，正、冬、臘，用馬牛各一，祀官侍祀。 明年春，帝始躬耕籍田，祭先農，用羊一。 祀日於東郊，用騂牛一。 秋分祭月於西郊，用白羊一。
Early in Emperor Daizu's reign two comets appeared; Empress Liu had diviners interpret them, who said, "If you pray to them, you will sweep the realm clean and bring it to order." The empress followed their advice, and so the cult was established. They also established twelve spirits whose names are lost in the text; they were sacrificed to once a year, usually in the eleventh month, each with one ox and three chickens. They also established four King Spirits, sacrificed to twice a year, usually in the eighth and tenth months, each with one sheep. They also maintained forty heaven-spirit shrines established from Xianming's time onward, sacrificed to twice a year, likewise in the eighth and tenth months. The highest-ranked spirits received horses, the next oxen, and lesser ones sheep; shamanesses performed all these rites. At Yunzhong and at Shenyuan's old capital of Shengle they also sacrificed to the seven emperors from Shenyuan downward, three times a year in the first month, winter, and year-end, with one horse and one ox each, attended by sacrificial officers. The following spring the emperor first personally plowed the sacred field and sacrificed to the First Farmer with one sheep. The sun was sacrificed to at the Eastern Suburb with one red bull. At the autumn equinox the moon was sacrificed to at the Western Suburb with one white sheep.
8
天賜二年夏四月，復祀天于西郊，為方壇一，置木主七於上。 東為二陛，無等； 周垣四門，門各依其方色為名。 牲用白犢、黃駒、白羊各一。 祭之日，帝御大駕，百官及賓國諸部大人畢從至郊所。 帝立青門內近南壇西，內朝臣皆位於帝北，外朝臣及大人咸位於青門之外，后率六宮從黑門入，列於青門內近北，並西面。 廩犧令掌牲，陳於壇前。 女巫執鼓，立於陛之東，西面。 選帝之十族子弟七人執酒，在巫南，西面北上。 女巫升壇，搖鼓。 帝拜，后肅拜，[4]百官內外盡拜。 祀訖，復拜。 拜訖，乃殺牲。 執酒七人西向，以酒灑天神主，復拜，如此者七。 禮畢而返。 自是之後，歲一祭。
In the fourth month of summer in the second year of Tianci they again sacrificed to Heaven at the Western Suburb, building a single square altar with seven wooden spirit tablets upon it. On the east side were two ramps, without graded steps; The enclosing wall had four gates, each named for the color of its direction. The victims were one white calf, one yellow colt, and one white sheep. On the day of sacrifice the emperor rode in the great carriage, and all officials and chieftains of tributary states and tribal confederations followed in full array to the suburban altar. The emperor stood inside the Green Gate near the west side of the southern altar; inner-court officials took their places north of him; outer-court officials and tribal chieftains stood outside the Green Gate; the empress led the six palaces in through the Black Gate and lined up inside the Green Gate toward the north, all facing west. The Director of Sacrificial Victims supervised the offerings and set them out before the altar. A shamaness held the drum and stood east of the ramp, facing west. Seven youths chosen from the emperor's ten clans held wine south of the shamaness, facing west and arranged from south to north. The shamaness ascended the altar and beat the drum. The emperor bowed, the empress performed a respectful bow,[4] and all officials inside and outside the gate bowed in turn. When the offering was finished, they bowed again. After the bows were completed, the victims were slaughtered. The seven wine-bearers faced west, sprinkled wine on the heaven-god tablets, bowed again, and repeated this seven times. When the rite was finished, they returned. From then on it was performed once a year.
9
太宗永興三年三月，帝禱于武周車輪二山。 初清河王紹有寵於太祖，性凶悍，帝每以義責之，弗從。 帝懼其變，乃於山上祈福於天地神祇。 及即位壇兆，後因以為常祀，歲一祭，牲用牛，帝皆親之，無常日。
In the third month of the third year of Yongxing, Emperor Taizong prayed at Mount Wuzhou and Mount Chelun. Earlier Prince Qinghe Shao had enjoyed Emperor Daizu's favor, but his nature was fierce and violent; the emperor often rebuked him on grounds of right conduct, yet he would not listen. Fearing a coup, the emperor prayed on the mountain for blessing from the spirits of Heaven, Earth, and the gods. When he took the throne he established altars there; later this became a regular annual sacrifice with an ox, which the emperor always performed in person on no fixed calendar day.
10
明年，立太祖廟于白登山。 歲一祭，具太牢，帝親之，亦無常月。 兼祀皇天上帝，以山神配，旱則禱之，多有效。 是歲，詔郡國於太祖巡幸行宮之所，各立壇，祭以太牢，歲一祭，皆牧守侍祀。 又立太祖別廟於宮中，歲四祭，用牛馬羊各一。 又加置天日月之神及諸小神二十八所於宮內，歲二祭，各用羊一。 後二年，於白登西，太祖舊遊之處，立昭成、獻明、太祖廟，常以九月、十月之交，帝親祭，牲用馬、牛、羊，及親行貙劉之禮。 別置天神等二十三於廟左右，其神大者以馬，小者以羊。 華陰公主，帝姊也，元紹之為逆，有保護功，故別立其廟於太祖廟垣後，因祭薦焉。 又於雲中、盛樂、金陵三所，各立太廟，四時祀官侍祀。
The following year they built Emperor Daizu's temple on Mount Baideng. It was sacrificed to once a year with the full great pen; the emperor performed the rite in person, likewise on no fixed month. August Heaven and the Supreme God were also worshiped there, with the mountain spirit as co-honoree; in drought they prayed at this shrine, and it often proved effective. That year he ordered every commandery and kingdom to erect an altar wherever Emperor Daizu had toured or had a traveling palace, to sacrifice with the great pen once a year, with local governors and defenders officiating. A separate temple to Emperor Daizu was also built within the palace, sacrificed to four times a year with one ox, one horse, and one sheep. Shrines to the spirits of Heaven, the sun, the moon, and twenty-eight lesser deities were also set up within the palace, sacrificed to twice a year, each with one sheep. Two years later, west of Baideng where Emperor Daizu had once traveled, temples to Zhaocheng, Xianming, and Emperor Daizu were built; at the turn of the ninth and tenth months the emperor personally sacrificed with horse, ox, and sheep, and personally performed the bear-hunt rite. Twenty-three heaven-spirits and the like were separately placed to either side of the temples; greater spirits received horses, lesser ones sheep. Princess Huayin was the emperor's elder sister; in Yuan Shao's rebellion she had protected him, and so her shrine was separately built behind the wall of Emperor Daizu's temple, where offerings were made to her as well. Great ancestral temples were also established at Yunzhong, Shengle, and Jinling, with sacrificial officers attending in all four seasons.
11
泰常三年，為五精帝兆於四郊，遠近依五行數。 各為方壇四陛，埒壝三重，通四門。 以太皡等及諸佐隨配。 侑祭黃帝，常以立秋前十八日。 餘四帝，各以四立之日。 牲各用牛一，有司主之。 又六宗、靈星、風伯、雨師、司民、司祿、先農之壇，皆有別兆，祭有常日，牲用少牢。 立春之日，遣有司迎春於東郊，祭用酒、脯、棗、栗，無牲幣。 又立五岳四瀆廟於桑乾水之陰，春秋遣有司祭，有牲及幣。 四瀆唯以牲牢，準古望秩云。 其餘山川及海若諸神在州郡者，合三百二十四所，每歲十月，遣祀官詣州鎮遍祀。 有水旱災厲，則牧守各隨其界內祈謁，其祭皆用牲。 王畿內諸山川，皆列祀次祭，若有水旱則禱之。 [5]
In the third year of Taichang altar sites for the Five Essence Emperors were established in the four suburbs, their distances set according to the numbers of the Five Phases. Each was a square altar with four ramps, a triple embankment and ridge, and four communicating gates. Taihao and the other chief deities were honored, with their attendant spirits paired accordingly. The Yellow Emperor was honored as assessor, usually eighteen days before the Beginning of Autumn. The other four emperors were each honored on the day of its corresponding Beginning of Season. Each sacrifice used one ox, with responsible officials presiding. Altars to the Six Ancestors, the Bright Star, the Wind Lord, the Rain Master, the Director of the People, the Director of Blessings, and the First Farmer each had its own site, with fixed days of sacrifice and the lesser pen as victims. On the day of Beginning of Spring, officials were sent to welcome spring at the Eastern Suburb, offering wine, dried meat, jujubes, and chestnuts—without animal victims or silk. Temples to the Five Sacred Peaks and the Four Rivers were also built south of the Sanggan River; in spring and autumn officials were sent to sacrifice there with victims and silk. For the Four Rivers only the full pen was used, in accordance with the ancient principle of ranking sacrifices by what is gazed upon from afar. The remaining mountains, rivers, sea spirits, and other deities in the provinces totaled 324 sites; every tenth month sacrificial officers were dispatched to the prefectures and garrisons to sacrifice at them all. When flood, drought, or epidemic struck, governors and defenders each prayed within their own territories, and all such sacrifices used animal victims. Within the capital region all mountains and rivers were enrolled for graded secondary sacrifice and prayed to whenever flood or drought occurred. The text is deficient.
12
明年八月，帝嘗於白登廟，將薦熟，有神異焉。 太廟博士許鍾上言曰：「臣聞聖人能饗帝，孝子能饗親。 伏惟陛下孝誠之至，通於神明。 近嘗於太祖廟，有車騎聲，從北門入，殷殷轞轞，震動門闕，執事者無不肅慄。 斯乃國祚永隆之兆，宜告天下，使咸知聖德之深遠。」
The following August the emperor made offering at the Baideng temple; as he was about to present the cooked sacrifice, a divine manifestation occurred. Xu Zhong, Erudite of the Great Temple, submitted a memorial: "I have heard that sages can make the Lord on High partake of their offerings, and filial sons can make their parents partake. Humbly considered, Your Majesty's filial sincerity reaches its utmost and communes with the spirits. Recently, when offering at Emperor Daizu's temple, the sound of chariots and horsemen came in through the North Gate—rumbling and thundering, shaking the gate towers—so that every officiant was awed and trembling. This is a portent that the dynastic fortune will endure forever. It is fitting to announce it to the realm, so that all may know how deep and far-reaching Your Majesty's sagely virtue is."
13
辛未，幸代，至雁門關，望祀恒岳。 後二年九月，幸橋山，遣有司祀黃帝、唐堯廟。 明年正月，南巡恒岳，祀以太牢。 幸洛陽，[6]遣使以太牢祀嵩高、華岳。 還登太行。 五月，至自洛陽，諸所過山川，羣祀之。 後三年二月，祀孔子於國學，以顏淵配。
On the day xinwei he traveled to Dai, reached Yanmen Pass, and performed distant sacrifice to Mount Heng. Two years later, in the ninth month, he visited Qiaoshan and dispatched officials to sacrifice at the temples of the Yellow Emperor and Tang Yao. The following first month he toured south to Mount Heng and sacrificed with the great pen. At Luoyang, [6] he dispatched envoys to sacrifice to Mount Song and Mount Hua with the great pen. On the return journey he ascended the Taihang Mountains. In the fifth month he returned from Luoyang, and all mountains and rivers along the route were sacrificed to in turn. Three years later, in the second month, he sacrificed to Confucius at the National Academy, with Yan Yuan honored as assessor.
14
神䴥二年，[7]帝將征蠕蠕，省郊祀儀。 四月，以小駕祭天神，畢，帝遂親戎。 大捷而還，歸格於祖禰，徧告羣神。
In the second year of Shenlu, [7] as the emperor was about to campaign against the Rouran, suburban sacrifice rites were simplified. In the fourth month he sacrificed to Heaven with the lesser carriage; when the rite was complete, the emperor himself took the field. Returning in great victory, he reported to the ancestral temples and announced the triumph to spirits throughout the realm.
15
九月，立密皇太后廟於鄴，后之舊鄉也。 置祀官太常博士、齋郎三十餘人，侍祀，歲五祭。
In the ninth month a temple to Empress Dowager Mi was established at Ye, her former home district. More than thirty sacrificial officers, Erudites of the Director of Ritual, and Fast Officers were appointed to attend the rites, with five sacrifices each year.
16
太延元年，立廟於恒岳、華岳、嵩岳上，[8]各置侍祀九十人，歲時祈禱水旱。 其春秋泮涸，遣官率刺史祭以牲牢，有玉幣。
In the first year of Taiyan, temples were built atop Mount Heng, Mount Hua, and Mount Song; [8] at each ninety attendants were stationed to pray throughout the year against flood and drought. In spring and autumn, when the ice melted and the rivers ran clear, officials were sent leading prefectural governors to sacrifice with the full pen and jade and silk offerings.
17
魏先之居幽都也，鑿石為祖宗之廟於烏洛侯國西北。 自後南遷，其地隔遠。 真君中，烏洛侯國遣使朝獻，云石廟如故，民常祈請，有神驗焉。 其歲，遣中書侍郎李敞詣石室，告祭天地，以皇祖先妣配。 祝曰：「天子燾謹遣敞等用駿足、一元大武敢昭告于皇天之靈。 自啟闢之初，祐我皇祖，于彼土田。 歷載億年，聿來南遷。 惟祖惟父，光宅中原。 克翦凶醜，拓定四邊。 冲人纂業，德聲弗彰。 豈謂幽遐，稽首來王。 具知舊廟，弗毀弗亡。 悠悠之懷，希仰餘光。 王業之興，起自皇祖。 綿綿瓜瓞，時惟多祜。 敢以丕功，配饗于天。 子子孫孫，福祿永延。」 敞等既祭，斬樺木立之，以置牲體而還。 後所立樺木生長成林，其民益神奉之。 咸謂魏國感靈祇之應也。 石室南距代京可四千餘里。
When Wei first dwelt in Youdu, they carved a stone temple to the ancestors northwest of the Wuluohou state. After the southward migration, the place lay far away. During the Zhenjun era, the Wuluohou state sent envoys bearing tribute, reporting that the stone temple remained as before; the people constantly prayed there, and miracles were manifest. That year Vice Director of the Secretariat Li Chang was sent to the stone chamber to announce sacrifice to Heaven and Earth, with the imperial ancestors and consorts honored as assessors. The invocation ran: "The Son of Heaven Tao respectfully dispatches Chang and his party, with a swift horse and one great martial victim, to declare before the numinous Power of August Heaven. From the time Heaven and Earth were first opened, you aided our imperial ancestor in that land and fields. Through countless years we came southward. Both ancestor and father gloriously established their dwelling in the Central Plain. They cut down fierce enemies and extended and settled the four borders. A youth inherited the enterprise, yet his virtue's fame had not yet been displayed. Who would have thought that from remote depths they would come, bowing their foreheads, to pay homage. We have fully learned that the old temple has neither been destroyed nor lost. With deep longing we hope to look up to your remaining radiance. The rise of royal enterprise began with the imperial ancestor. Like melons spreading from the vine, in every season there is abundant blessing. We dare with this great merit to share the offering with Heaven. Sons upon sons, grandsons upon grandsons—may blessings and emoluments endure forever." When Chang and his party had finished the sacrifice, they cut birch poles, erected them, placed the victim flesh upon them, and returned. Later the birch poles they had erected grew into a forest, and the people revered them all the more as divine. All said it was a response of the numinous powers to Wei. The stone chamber lay more than four thousand li south of the capital at Dai.
18
明年六月，司徒崔浩奏議：「神祀多不經，案祀典所宜祀，凡五十七所，餘復重及小神，請皆罷之。」 奏可。
The following June, Minister of Works Cui Hao submitted a memorial: "Many spirit cults are unorthodox. According to the canonical register of proper sacrifices, there are fifty-seven in all; the rest are redundant or minor spirits—I request that all be abolished. The memorial was approved.
19
十一年十一月，世祖南征，逕恒山，祀以太牢。 浮河、濟，祀以少牢。 過岱宗，祀以太牢。 至魯，以太牢祭孔子。 遂臨江，登瓜步而還。
In the eleventh month of the eleventh year, Emperor Shizu marched south; passing Mount Heng he sacrificed with the great pen. Crossing the Yellow River and the Ji River, he sacrificed with the lesser pen. Passing Mount Dai, he sacrificed with the great pen. Arriving at Lu, he sacrificed to Confucius with the great pen. Then he reached the Yangzi River, ascended Guabu, and returned.
20
文成皇帝即位，二年正月，遣有司詣華岳修廟立碑。 [9]數十人在山上，聞虛中若有音聲，[10]聲中稱萬歲云。
When Emperor Wencheng ascended the throne, in the second month of the second year, officials were dispatched to Mount Hua to repair the temple and erect a stele. [9] Several dozen people on the mountain heard what seemed like voices in empty air; [10] among the voices came cries of "Long live the Emperor."
21
和平元年正月，帝東巡。 歷橋山，祀黃帝； 幸遼西，望祀醫無閭山。 遂緣海西南，幸冀州，北至中山，過恒岳，禮其神而返。 明年，帝南巡，過石門，遣使者用玉璧牲牢，禮恒岳。
In the first month of the first year of Heping, the emperor toured east. Passing Qiaoshan, he sacrificed to the Yellow Emperor; Traveling to Liaoxi, he performed distant sacrifice to Mount Yiwulu. Then following the coast southwest, he visited Jizhou; going north to Zhongshan and passing Mount Heng, he performed rites to its spirit and returned. The following year the emperor toured south; passing Shimen, he dispatched envoys to perform rites at Mount Heng with jade disks and the full pen.
22
四月旱，下詔州郡，於其界內神無大小，悉洒掃薦以酒脯。 年登之後，各隨本秩，祭以牲牢。 至是，羣祀先廢者皆復之。
In the fourth month there was drought; an edict went to the provinces and commanderies that within their borders, spirits great and small, were all to be swept clean and offered wine and dried meat. After the harvest, each according to its original rank was sacrificed to with the full pen. By then all collective cults previously abolished were restored.
23
顯祖皇興二年，以青徐既平，遣中書令兼太常高允奉玉幣祀於東岳，以太牢祀孔子。
In the second year of Huangxing under Emperor Xianzu, as Qing and Xu had been pacified, Director of the Secretariat and concurrent Director of Ritual Gao Yun was sent with jade and silk to sacrifice at the Eastern Peak and to sacrifice to Confucius with the great pen.
24
高祖延興二年，有司奏天地五郊、社稷已下及諸神，合一千七十五所，歲用牲七萬五千五百。 顯祖深愍生命，乃詔曰：「朕承天事神，以育羣品，而咸秩處廣，用牲甚眾。 夫神聰明正直，享德與信，何必在牲。 易曰：『東隣殺牛，不如西隣之礿祭，實受其福。』 苟誠感有著，雖行潦菜羹，可以致大嘏，何必多殺，然後獲祉福哉！ 其命有司，非郊天地、宗廟、社稷之祀，皆無用牲。」 於是羣祀悉用酒脯。
In the second year of Yanxing under Emperor Gaozu, the responsible officials reported that Heaven and Earth, the Five Suburban Altars, the Altar of Soil and Grain, and all spirits below totaled 1,075 sites, consuming 75,500 victims each year. Emperor Xianzu deeply pitied living creatures and therefore issued an edict: "We undertake Heaven's affairs and serve the spirits to nurture the multitude; yet because rites are performed everywhere, victims are extremely numerous. Spirits are bright, upright, and discerning—they partake of virtue and faith. Why must sacrifice depend on victims. The Changes says: 'The eastern neighbor slaughters an ox—it is not as good as the western neighbor's spring sacrifice; he truly receives its blessing.' If sincerity and feeling are truly manifest, even water gathered in roadside ruts and vegetable broth can bring great blessings—why must one slaughter many victims before obtaining good fortune! Order the responsible officials that for all sacrifices except those to Heaven and Earth at the suburbs, the ancestral temples, and the Altar of Soil and Grain, no victims shall be used. Thereupon all collective cults used only wine and dried meat.
25
先是，長安牧守常有事於周文、武廟。 四年，坎地埋牲，廟玉發見。 四月，詔東陽王丕祭文、武二廟。 以廟玉露見，若即而埋之，或恐愚民將為盜竊，敕近司收之府藏。
Before this, the governors and defenders of Chang'an regularly performed rites at the temples of Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou. In the fourth year, when pits were dug to bury victims, temple jade was revealed. In the fourth month, Prince Dongyang Pi was ordered to sacrifice at the two temples of Wen and Wu. Because the temple jade had been exposed and would otherwise be buried again, there was fear that ignorant people might steal it, so he ordered nearby officials to collect it for the treasury.
26
六月，顯祖以西郊舊事，歲增木主七，易世則更兆，其事無益於神明。 初革前儀，定置主七，立碑於郊所。
In the sixth month, Emperor Xianzu, regarding the old Western Suburb custom of adding seven wooden tablets each year and changing the site with every change of reign, judged the practice useless to the spirits. He first reformed the former rite, fixing seven tablets in place, and erected a stele at the suburban site.
27
太和二年，旱。 帝親祈皇天、日月五星於苑中，祭之夕大雨，遂赦京師。
In the second year of Taihe there was drought. The emperor personally prayed to August Heaven, the sun, moon, and Five Planets in the park; on the evening of the sacrifice great rain fell, and he thereupon pardoned the capital.
28
三年，上祈於北苑，又禱星於苑中。
In the third year the emperor prayed at the Northern Park and again prayed to the stars in the park.
29
六年十一月，將親祀七廟，詔有司依禮具儀。 於是羣官議曰：「昔有虞親虔，祖考來格； 殷宗躬謁，介福逌降。 大魏七廟之祭，依先朝舊事，多不親謁。 今陛下孝誠發中，思親祀事，稽合古王禮之常典。 臣等謹案舊章，并採漢魏故事，撰祭服冠屨牲牢之具，罍洗簠簋俎豆之器，百官助祭位次，樂官節奏之引，升降進退之法，別集為親拜之儀。」 制可。 於是上乃親祭。 其後四時常祀，皆親之。
In the eleventh month of the sixth year, as he was about to personally sacrifice at the Seven Temples, he ordered officials to prepare the full rites according to ritual. Thereupon the assembled officials deliberated, saying: "In antiquity You personally and reverently attended sacrifice, and ancestors and fathers came; the Yin sovereign personally attended, and great blessings descended promptly. Sacrifice at the Seven Temples of Great Wei, following former dynastic practice, mostly did not involve the emperor's personal attendance. Now Your Majesty's filial sincerity rises from within; you think of personally attending sacrifice—a thing that accords with the constant canon of ancient royal ritual. We your servants respectfully examine former regulations and also gather precedents from Han and Wei, composing the details of sacrificial robes, caps, shoes, and full-pen victims, the vessels of washbasin, pure water, grain baskets, meat stands, and offering cups, the seating order for all officials assisting sacrifice, the rhythmic cues for music officers, and the methods of ascending, descending, advancing, and withdrawing—compiling these separately into rites for personal obeisance. The proposal was approved. Thereupon the emperor personally performed sacrifice. Thereafter at the regular seasonal sacrifices he always attended in person.
30
十年四月，帝初以法服御輦，祀於西郊。
In the fourth month of the tenth year, the emperor for the first time wore formal robes and rode in the imperial carriage to sacrifice at the Western Suburb.
31
十二年閏九月，帝親築圓丘於南郊。 [11]
In the intercalary ninth month of the twelfth year, the emperor personally built a round mound at the Southern Suburb. The text is deficient.
32
十三年正月，帝以大駕有事於圓丘。 五月庚戌，車駕有事於方澤。 壬戌，高祖臨皇信堂，引見羣臣。 詔曰：「禮記祭法稱：『有虞氏禘黃帝。』 大傳曰『禘其祖之所自出』，又稱『不王不禘』。 論曰：『禘自既灌。』 詩頌：『長發，大禘。』 爾雅曰：『禘，大祭也。』 夏殷四時祭：礿、禘、烝、嘗，周改禘為礿。 [12]祭義稱『春禘、秋嘗』，[13]亦夏殷祭也。 王制稱：『犆礿、祫禘、祫嘗、祫烝。』 其禮傳之文如此。 鄭玄解禘，天子祭圓丘曰禘，祭宗廟大祭亦曰禘。 三年一祫，五年一禘。 祫則合羣毀廟之主於太廟，合而祭之。 禘則增及百官配食者，審諦而祭之。 天子先禘祫而後時祭，諸侯先時祭而後禘祫。 魯禮，三年喪畢而祫，明年而禘。 圓丘、宗廟大祭俱稱禘，祭有兩禘明也。 王肅解禘祫，稱天子諸侯皆禘於宗廟，非祭天之祭。 郊祀后稷，不稱禘，宗廟稱禘。 禘、祫一名也，合而祭之故稱祫，審諦之故稱禘，非兩祭之名。 三年一祫，五年一禘，總而互舉之，故稱五年再殷祭，不言一禘一祫，斷可知矣。 禮文大略，諸儒之說，盡具於此。 卿等便可議其是非。」
In the first month of the thirteenth year, the emperor with the full imperial procession performed rites at the round mound. On gengxu in the fifth month, the imperial carriage performed rites at the square pond. On renxu, Emperor Gaozu came to the Hall of Imperial Trust and received the officials in audience. He issued an edict: "The Record of Rites, Sacrificial Canon, says: 'You performed the di sacrifice to the Yellow Emperor. The Great Tradition says, 'Perform di to the ancestor from whom one's line descends,' and again says, 'Without being king, one does not perform di.' The Analects says: 'Di begins after the libation has been poured.' The Odes, Hymns: 'Changfa—great di.' The Erya says: 'Di is a great sacrifice.' The Xia and Yin seasonal sacrifices were yue, di, zheng, and chang; Zhou changed di to yue. [12] The Meaning of Sacrifice says 'spring di, autumn chang,' [13] which are also the Xia and Yin sacrifices. The Royal Regulations say: 'sole yue, xia di, xia chang, and xia zheng.' Such are the words of the ritual texts. Zheng Xuan explained di thus: when the Son of Heaven sacrifices at the Round Mound it is called di, and when he performs the great sacrifice in the ancestral temple it is also called di. Xia is performed once every three years, di once every five years. In xia, the spirit tablets of all abolished shrines are gathered in the Grand Temple and sacrificed to as one. In di, the tablets of officials who share the sacrifice are also included, and the rite is performed with meticulous scrutiny. The Son of Heaven performs di and xia before the seasonal sacrifices; feudal lords perform the seasonal sacrifices before di and xia. In Lu's ritual, xia was performed when the three-year mourning ended, and di the following year. Both the Round Mound and the great ancestral temple sacrifice are called di—clearly there are two distinct di sacrifices. Wang Su explained di and xia, holding that the Son of Heaven and feudal lords all perform di in the ancestral temple—it is not a sacrifice to Heaven. Sacrifice to Hou Ji at the suburban rites is not called di; in the ancestral temple it is called di. Di and xia are one name: because the shrines are combined for sacrifice it is called xia; because the rite is scrutinized with care it is called di—they are not the names of two separate sacrifices. Xia every three years and di every five years are counted together and mentioned in turn, hence the phrase 'two grand sacrifices in five years'—without speaking of one di and one xia separately. From this the point is clear. The gist of the ritual texts and the scholars' explanations are all set forth here. You ministers may now debate which view is correct."
33
尚書游明根、左丞郭祚、中書侍郎封琳、著作郎崔光等對曰：「鄭氏之義，禘者大祭之名。 大祭圓丘謂之禘者，審諦五精星辰也； 大祭宗廟謂之禘者，審諦其昭穆。 圓丘常合不言祫，宗廟時合故言祫。 斯則宗廟祫禘並行，圓丘一禘而已。 宜於宗廟俱行禘祫之禮。 二禮異，故名殊。 依禮，春廢犆礿，於嘗於蒸則祫，不於三時皆行禘祫之禮。」 [14]中書監高閭、儀曹令李韶、中書侍郎高遵等十三人對稱：「禘祭圓丘之禘與鄭義同，其宗廟禘祫之祭與王義同。 與鄭義同者，以為有虞禘黃帝，黃帝非虞在廟之帝，不在廟，非圓丘而何？ 又大傳稱祖其所自出之祖，又非在廟之文。 論稱『禘自既灌』，事似據。 [15]爾雅稱『禘，大祭也』。 頌『長發，大禘也』，殷王之祭。 斯皆非諸侯之禮，諸侯無禘。 禮唯夏殷，夏祭稱禘，又非宗廟之禘。 魯行天子之儀，不敢專行圓丘之禘，改殷之禘，取其禘名於宗廟，因先有祫，遂生兩名。 據王氏之義，祫而禘祭之，故言禘祫，總謂再殷祭，明不異也。 禘祫一名也。 其禘祫止於一時，止於一時者，祭不欲數，數則黷。 一歲而三禘，愚以為過數。」
Minister You Minggen, Left Assistant Director Guo Zuo, Secretariat Vice Director Feng Lin, Director of Compilation Cui Guang, and others replied: "In Master Zheng's interpretation, di is the name of a great sacrifice. The great sacrifice at the Round Mound is called di because the Five Essences and the stars are scrutinized with care; the great sacrifice in the ancestral temple is called di because senior and junior lineage order is scrutinized with care. At the Round Mound the rites are always combined, so xia is not mentioned; in the ancestral temple they are combined only at certain times, hence xia is mentioned. Thus in the ancestral temple xia and di are performed together, while at the Round Mound there is only one di. Both di and xia rites ought to be performed together in the ancestral temple. The two rites differ, and so their names differ. According to ritual, in spring the sole yue is omitted; at chang and zheng xia is performed—the di and xia rites are not carried out in all three seasons." [14] Secretariat Director Gao Lu, Director of Rituals Li Shao, Secretariat Vice Director Gao Zun, and thirteen others replied: "The di sacrifice at the Round Mound accords with Master Zheng's interpretation; the di and xia sacrifices in the ancestral temple accord with Master Wang's interpretation. What accords with Master Zheng is this: Yu performed di to the Yellow Emperor; the Yellow Emperor was not an emperor of Yu enshrined in the temple—if not in the temple, what could it be but the Round Mound? Moreover, the Great Tradition speaks of di to the ancestor from whom one's line descends—again, not language about one enshrined in the temple. The Analects says 'Di begins after the libation has been poured'—the matter seems to have textual support. [15] The Erya says 'Di is a great sacrifice.' The hymn 'Changfa—great di' describes the sacrifice of the Yin kings. None of these are the rites of feudal lords—feudal lords do not perform di. Ritual speaks only of Xia and Yin; the Xia sacrifice was called di, and again this was not the di of the ancestral temple. Lu followed the Son of Heaven's rites but dared not perform the Round Mound di on its own; it changed Yin's di, borrowing the name di for the ancestral temple, and because xia already existed, two names arose. According to Master Wang's interpretation, xia is performed as di sacrifice, hence the term di-xia; taken together this means two grand sacrifices, showing they are not different. Di and xia are one name. Di and xia are limited to one season, because sacrifice should not be frequent—if performed too often, it becomes irreverent. Three di sacrifices in one year—we consider that excessive."
34
帝曰：「尚書、中書等，據二家之義，論禘祫詳矣。 然於行事取衷，猶有未允。 監等以禘祫為名，義同王氏，禘祭圓丘，事與鄭同。 無所間然。 尚書等與鄭氏同，兩名兩祭，並存並用，理有未稱。 俱據二義，一時禘祫，而闕二時之禘，事有難從。 夫先王制禮，內緣人子之情，外恊尊卑之序。 故天子七廟，諸侯五廟，大夫三廟，數盡則毀，藏主於太祖之廟，三年而祫祭之。 世盡則毀，以示有終之義； 三年而祫，以申追遠之情。 禘祫既是一祭，分而兩之，事無所據。 毀廟三年一祫，又有不盡四時，於禮為闕。 七廟四時常祭，祫則三年一祭，而又不究四時，於情為簡。 王以禘祫為一祭，王義為長。 鄭以圓丘為禘，與宗廟大祭同名，義亦為當。 今互取鄭、王二義。 禘祫并為一名，從王； 禘是祭圓丘大祭之名，上下同用，從鄭。 若以數則黷，五年一禘，改祫從禘。 五年一禘，則四時盡禘，以稱今情。 禘則依禮文，先禘而後時祭。 便即施行，著之於令，永為世法。」
The emperor said: "Ministers and secretariat officials, relying on the interpretations of both schools, have debated di and xia in detail. Yet in choosing a practical middle course, there are still points that do not satisfy. The director and others take di and xia as one name, in meaning agreeing with Master Wang; di sacrifice at the Round Mound, in practice agreeing with Master Zheng. On these there is nothing to question. The ministers and others agree with Master Zheng—two names, two sacrifices, both preserved and both used—the reasoning is not fully adequate. Both rely on the two interpretations, performing di and xia in one season while omitting di in the other two seasons—this is hard to follow in practice. When the former kings fashioned ritual, inwardly they followed a son's feelings, outwardly they harmonized the order of senior and junior. Hence the Son of Heaven had seven shrines, feudal lords five, and grand officers three; when the number was full a shrine was abolished, its tablet stored in the shrine of the Great Ancestor, and xia sacrifice was performed every three years. When generations were exhausted a shrine was abolished, to show that all things have an end; xia every three years, to express the feeling of honoring the distant past. Since di and xia are one sacrifice, dividing them into two has no basis in practice. Abolished shrines receive xia once every three years, and moreover not all four seasons are covered—in ritual terms this is deficient. The seven shrines have regular seasonal sacrifices in all four seasons, while xia is once every three years and again does not cover all four seasons—in human feeling this is too spare. Master Wang takes di and xia as one sacrifice—Master Wang's interpretation is superior. Master Zheng takes the Round Mound as di, sharing the name with the great ancestral temple sacrifice—this interpretation is also fitting. Now we shall take from both Master Zheng's and Master Wang's interpretations. Di and xia together as one name—following Master Wang; di is the name of the great sacrifice at the Round Mound, used alike above and below—following Master Zheng. If frequency makes sacrifice irreverent, then di once every five years—change xia to follow di. Di once every five years will cover all four seasons with di, suiting present sentiment. For di, follow the ritual texts: perform di before the seasonal sacrifices. Implement this at once, record it in edict, and make it the law for all generations."
35
高閭曰：[16]「書稱：『肆類于上帝，禋于六宗。』 六宗之祀，禮無明文，名位壇兆，歷代所疑。 漢魏及晉諸儒異說，或稱天地四時，或稱六者之間，或稱易之六子，或稱風雷之類，或稱星辰之屬，或曰世代所宗，或云宗廟所尚，或曰社稷五祀，凡有十一家。 自晉已來，逮于聖世，以為論者雖多，皆有所闕，莫能評究。 遂相因承，別立六宗之兆，總為一位而祭之。 比敕臣等評議取衷，附之祀典。 臣等承旨，披究往說，各有其理。 較而論之，長短互有，若偏用一家，事或差舛。 眾疑則從多，今惑則仍古。 請依先別處六宗之兆，總為一祀而祭之。」 帝曰：「詳定朝令，祀為事首，以疑從疑，何所取正？ 昔石渠、虎閤之議，皆準類以引義，原事以證情，故能通百家之要，定累世之疑。 況今有文可據，有本可推，而不評而定之，其致安在？ 朕躬覽尚書之文，稱『肆類上帝，禋於六宗』，文相連屬，理似一事。 上帝稱肆而無禋，六宗言禋而不別其名。 以此推之，上帝、六宗當是一時之祀，非別祭之名。 肆類非獨祭之目，焚煙非他祀之用。 六宗者，必是天皇大帝及五帝之神明矣。 禋是祭帝之事，故稱禋以關其他，故稱六以證之。 然則肆類上帝，禋于六宗，一祭也，互舉以成之。 今祭圓丘，五帝在焉，其牲幣俱禋，故稱肆類上帝，禋于六宗。 一祭而六祀備焉。 六祭既備，無煩復別立六宗之位。 便可依此附令，永為定法。」
Gao Lu said: [16] "The Documents say: 'Perform the si rite to August Heaven, and the yin rite to the Six Honored Ones. Sacrifice to the Six Honored Ones has no explicit text in ritual; their names, ranks, altars, and sites have been doubted by every generation. Han, Wei, and Jin scholars offered differing views: some called them Heaven, Earth, and the four seasons; some the spaces between the six; some the six sons of the Changes; some wind, thunder, and the like; some stars and constellations; some said what each age revered; some said what the ancestral temple honored; some said the five sacrifices of the altars of soil and grain—in all eleven schools. From Jin down to the present sage age, though commentators were many, all had gaps and none could fully evaluate the matter. They therefore followed one another, separately establishing sites for the Six Honored Ones and sacrificing to them as one combined seat. Recently Your Majesty ordered us to debate and choose a middle course, and append it to the sacrificial canon. We your servants received the edict, examined past explanations, and found each had its reasoning. Comparing them, each has strengths and weaknesses; if one school alone were adopted, practice might go astray. When many doubt, follow the majority; when doubt remains today, keep the ancient practice. We ask to follow the former practice of separately establishing sites for the Six Honored Ones and sacrificing to them as one combined rite." The emperor said: "When drafting court edicts in detail, sacrifice is the foremost affair—if doubt follows doubt, what standard can be taken as correct? In former days the debates at Shiqu and Huke all matched categories to draw out principle and traced matters to verify sentiment, and so could penetrate the essentials of the hundred schools and settle doubts accumulated over generations. Moreover, today there are texts to rely on and origins to trace—if one does not evaluate and decide, where is the point in this? I have personally read the text of the Documents, which says 'Perform the si rite to August Heaven, and the yin rite to the Six Honored Ones'—the words are linked together, and the reasoning seems to concern one affair. August Heaven is called si but not yin; the Six Honored Ones are called yin but their names are not distinguished. Inferring from this, August Heaven and the Six Honored Ones must be one sacrifice at one time—not the names of separate sacrifices. Si and lei are not terms for a sacrifice alone; burning incense smoke is not used for other sacrifices. The Six Honored Ones must be the Heavenly August Emperor and the spirits of the Five Emperors. Yin is the act of sacrificing to emperors; hence yin is named to connect with the others, and six is named to verify this. Thus 'Perform the si rite to August Heaven, and the yin rite to the Six Honored Ones' is one sacrifice, the terms mutually cited to complete it. Today when sacrificing at the Round Mound, the Five Emperors are present there; victims and silks are all offered with yin, hence it is called 'Perform the si rite to August Heaven, and the yin rite to the Six Honored Ones.' One sacrifice, and all six sacrifices are complete. Since the six sacrifices are complete, there is no need to establish separate seats for the Six Honored Ones. Let this be appended to edict accordingly and made the fixed law forever."
36
十四年八月詔曰：「丘澤初志，[17]配尚宜定，五德相襲，分敍有常。 然異同之論，著於往漢，未詳之說，疑在今史。 羣官百辟，可議其所應，必令合衷，以成萬代之式。」
In the eighth month of the fourteenth year an edict said: "The original intent of mound and pond sacrifice, [17] the pairing and honors ought to be fixed; the Five Virtues succeed one another, and their ordering has fixed norms. Yet conflicting theories were recorded in former Han; unresolved explanations remain doubtful in present histories. All officials may debate what is appropriate, and it must accord with the middle course, to establish the model for ten thousand generations."
37
中書監高閭議以為：「帝王之作，百代可知，運代相承，書傳可驗。 雖祚命有長短，德政有優劣，至於受終嚴祖，殷薦上帝，其致一也。 故敢述其前載，舉其大略。 臣聞居尊據極，允應明命者，莫不以中原為正統，神州為帝宅。 苟位當名全，化迹流洽，則不專以世數為與奪，善惡為是非。 故堯舜禪揖，一身異尚； 魏晉相代，少紀運殊。 桀紂至虐，不廢承歷之敍； 厲惠至昏，不闕周晉之錄。 計五德之論，始自漢劉，一時之議，三家致別。 故張蒼以漢為水德，賈誼、公孫臣以漢為土德，劉向以漢為火德。 以為水德者，正以嘗有水溢之應，則不推運代相承之數矣。 以土德者，則以亡秦繼曆，相即為次，不推逆順之異也。 以為火德者，懸證赤帝斬蛇之符，棄秦之暴，越惡承善，不以世次為正也，故以承周為火德。 自茲厥後，乃以為常。 魏承漢，火生土，故魏為土德。 晉承魏，土生金，故晉為金德。 趙承晉，金生水，故趙為水德。 燕承趙，水生木，故燕為木德。 秦承燕，木生火，故秦為火德。 秦之未滅，皇魏未克神州，秦氏既亡，大魏稱制玄朔。 故平文之廟，始稱『太祖』，以明受命之證，如周在岐之陽。 若繼晉，晉亡已久； 若棄秦，則中原有寄。 [18]推此而言，承秦之理，事為明驗。 故以魏承秦，魏為土德，又五緯表驗，黃星曜彩，考氏定實，合德軒轅，承土祖未，事為著矣。 又秦趙及燕，雖非明聖，各正號赤縣，統有中土，郊天祭地，肆類咸秩，明刑制禮，不失舊章。 奄岱踰河，境被淮漢。 非若齷齪邊方，僭擬之屬，遠如孫權、劉備，近若劉裕、道成，事繫蠻夷，非關中夏。 伏惟聖朝，德配天地，道被四海，承乾統曆，功侔百王。 光格同於唐虞，享祚流於周漢，正位中境，奄有萬方。 今若并棄三家，遠承晉氏，則蔑中原正次之實。 存之無損於此，而有成於彼； 廢之無益於今，而有傷於事。 臣愚以為宜從尚黃，定為土德。 又前代之君，明賢之史，皆因其可褒褒之，可貶貶之。 今議者偏據可絕之義，而不錄可全之禮。 所論事大，垂之萬葉。 宜並集中秘羣儒，人人別議，擇其所長，於理為悉。」
Secretariat Director Gao Lu argued: "The rise of emperors and kings can be known across a hundred generations; dynasties succeed one another, verifiable in written records. Though fortunes may be long or short and governance good or poor, in receiving the end, honoring ancestors, and abundantly offering to August Heaven, the purpose is one. Therefore I dare recount earlier records and set forth the general outline. I have heard that those who occupy the highest place and truly respond to the bright mandate all take the Central Plains as orthodox succession and the divine land as the imperial domain. If position matches name and transformation spreads widely, then one does not judge solely by number of generations for granting or withholding legitimacy, or by good and evil for right and wrong. Hence Yao and Shun abdicated by yielding, yet in one person their honors differed; Wei and Jin succeeded one another, yet their brief reigns and fortunes differed. Jie and Zhou were utterly tyrannical, yet the sequence of succession was not abolished; King Li and King Hui were utterly benighted, yet the records of Zhou and Jin were not omitted. Reckoning of the Five Virtues theory began with the Liu Han house; in the debates of that era, three rival schools gave differing accounts. Zhang Cang held that Han possessed Water Virtue; Jia Yi and Gongsun Chen held Earth Virtue; Liu Xiang held Fire Virtue. The Water Virtue school rested on omens of inundation and did not calculate the numerical sequence of dynastic succession. The Earth Virtue school treated fallen Qin as continuing the calendar in direct succession and did not weigh whether the transition ran forward or counter to the cycle. Fire Virtue advocates cited the legend of the Red Emperor and the slain serpent, repudiated Qin's tyranny, chose virtue over sequential inheritance, and therefore declared Han's succession from Zhou to be Fire Virtue. From that point forward, this became the established rule. Wei succeeded Han—fire engenders earth—so Wei holds Earth Virtue. Jin succeeded Wei—earth engenders metal—so Jin holds Metal Virtue. Zhao succeeded Jin—metal engenders water—so Zhao holds Water Virtue. Yan succeeded Zhao—water engenders wood—so Yan holds Wood Virtue. Qin succeeded Yan—wood engenders fire—so Former Qin holds Fire Virtue. While Former Qin still stood, Imperial Wei had not yet won the Central Domain; once Qin perished, Great Wei established its mandate in the northern heartland. Hence Emperor Wen's temple first took the title "Grand Ancestor," marking the receipt of Heaven's mandate—just as the Zhou rose south of Mount Qi. To claim succession from Jin when Jin fell so long ago— to discard Qin is to acknowledge where the Central Plains truly rested. [18] Reasoning from this, the logic of succeeding Qin is plainly confirmed. Thus Wei succeeds Qin as Earth Virtue—and the Five Conjunctions, the bright Yellow Star, examination of lineage, and correspondence with the Yellow Emperor's virtue all confirm it beyond dispute. Though Former Qin, Later Zhao, and the Yan states were no sage rulers, each claimed legitimate title over China, held the Central Lands, worshipped Heaven and Earth with full ceremonial order, and maintained law and ritual without abandoning received institutions. Their domains stretched from Mount Tai across the Yellow River to the Huai and Han rivers. They were nothing like petty frontier regimes or pretenders—whether distant ones such as Sun Quan and Liu Bei or recent ones such as Liu Yu and Xiao Daocheng—whose affairs belong to the barbarian margins, not to the heartland of China. Your Sacred Majesty's virtue rivals Heaven and Earth, the Way pervades the four seas, the Mandate is upheld and the calendar maintained, and accomplishments match those of the sage kings of old. Its luminous governance equals that of Yao and Shun, its dynastic fortune endures like Zhou and Han, it holds the central throne and embraces all lands within the four seas. To discard all three dynasties and claim distant succession from Jin would slight the true order of legitimate succession in the Central Plains. Keeping them does this court no injury, yet brings completion elsewhere; abolishing them profits nothing now, yet wounds what must be done. Your servant humbly holds that the court should honor yellow and establish Earth Virtue. Wise historians of past dynasties praised what deserved praise and condemned what deserved condemnation. Those debating today fixate on reasons to sever the line of succession and overlook the ritual grounds for preserving it. This is a matter of the greatest consequence, to endure through ten thousand generations. The court should assemble all the palace scholars for individual debate, take the best of each argument, and thereby reach the fullest understanding of principle."
38
秘書丞臣李彪、著作郎崔光等議以為：「尚書閭議，繼近秦氏。 臣職掌國籍，頗覽前書，惜此正次，慨彼非緒。 輒仰推帝始，遠尋百王。 魏雖建國君民，兆眹振古，祖黃制朔，緜迹有因。 然此帝業，神元為首。 案神元、晉武，往來和好。 至于桓、穆，洛京破亡。 二帝志摧聰、勒，思存晉氏，每助劉琨，申威并冀。 是以晉室銜扶救之仁，越石深代王之請。 平文、太祖，抗衡苻石，終平燕氏，[19]大造中區。 則是司馬祚終於郟鄏，而元氏受命於雲代。 蓋自周之滅及漢正號，幾六十年，著符尚赤。 後雖張、賈殊議，暫疑而卒從火德，以繼周氏。 排虐嬴以比共工，蔑暴項而同吳廣。 近蠲謬偽，遠即神正，若此之明也。 寧使白蛇徒斬，雕雲空結哉！ 自有晉傾淪，暨登國肇號，亦幾六十餘載，物色旗幟，率多從黑。 是又自然合應，玄同漢始。 且秦并天下，革創法度，漢仍其制，少所變易。 猶仰推五運，竟踵隆姬。 而況劉、石、苻、燕，世業促褊，綱紀弗立。 魏接其弊，自有彝典，豈可異漢之承木，捨晉而為土耶？ 夫皇統崇極，承運至重，必當推恊天緒，考審王次，不可雜以僭竊，參之強狡。 神元既晉武同世，桓、穆與懷、愍接時。 晉室之淪，平文始大，廟號太祖，抑亦有由。 紹晉定德，孰曰不可，而欲次茲偽僭，豈非惑乎？ 臣所以慺慺惜之，唯垂察納。」 詔令羣官議之。
Secretariat Assistant Li Biao, Composition Director Cui Guang, and others submitted: "Director Lu's proposal would place our succession immediately after Former Qin. We who keep the state archives have read widely in earlier histories; we lament what would be lost in the proper succession and mourn the false lineage it would embrace. We have looked back to the founding of kingship and traced the lineage of rulers through antiquity. Though Wei founded a realm and ruled the people, its portents reach back to antiquity; taking the Yellow Emperor as forebear and fixing the calendar, its succession follows clear precedent. Yet the imperial enterprise truly began with Emperor Shenyuan. Emperor Shenyuan and Emperor Wu of Jin maintained cordial relations. By the reigns of Emperors Huan and Mu, Luoyang had fallen. These two rulers aimed to smash Liu Cong and Shi Le, resolved to preserve the Jin dynasty, repeatedly aided Liu Kun, and projected power across Bing and Ji. Hence the Jin court acknowledged the grace of Tuoba rescue, and Liu Kun acknowledged the deep obligation owed to the Prince of Dai. Emperors Wen and Taizu stood against Fu Jian and Shi Hu, finally conquered the Murong Yan, [19] and rebuilt the Central Domain. The Sima line ended in the Zhou heartland, while the Yuan clan received the Mandate in Yun and Dai. From Zhou's fall until Han claimed the throne, nearly sixty years elapsed—and the omens favored red. Though Zhang Cang and Jia Yi later disagreed, Han soon settled on Fire Virtue as successor to Zhou. Han rejected the Qin tyrant Ying as Gong Gong had been rejected, and disdained the brutal Xiang Yu as it had Wu Guang. In the near term it cast off false claimants; in principle it aligned with Heaven's true succession—so lucid a logic. Surely one would rather see the white serpent slashed to no purpose and the carved cloud sign come to nothing! From Jin's fall to the founding of our dynasty at Dengguo, again nearly sixty years passed—and colors, banners, and flags largely favored black. Here again nature offered its own confirmation—black, like the Han at its founding. Qin unified the realm and forged its institutions; Han largely kept them with few alterations. Han still traced the Five Cycles back through time and ultimately claimed succession from flourishing Zhou. Yet the Liu, Shi, Fu, and Yan dynasties were passing and petty, their institutions never firmly established. Wei inherited their ruin and possesses its own sacred canon—how could it break with Han's precedent of succeeding Zhou's Wood to become Fire, abandon Jin, and declare Earth Virtue? Imperial succession is a matter of the highest gravity; one must align with Heaven's plan and soberly weigh the true order of kings—not mingle with usurpers or heed the strong and the cunning. Emperor Shenyuan was contemporaneous with Emperor Wu of Jin; Emperors Huan and Mu were contemporaneous with Emperors Huai and Min. When the Jin dynasty fell, Emperor Wen first raised Great Wei's fortunes; that his temple name is Grand Ancestor is not without reason. To succeed Jin and fix our elemental virtue—who would deny it? To place these illegitimate interlopers in the line of succession—is that not folly? This is why your servants plead earnestly and beg only that Your Majesty weigh and approve our view." The emperor commanded all officials to debate the matter.
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十五年正月，侍中、司空、長樂王穆亮，侍中、尚書左僕射、平原王陸叡，侍中、吏部尚書、中山王王元孫，侍中、尚書、駙馬都尉、南平王馮誕，散騎常侍、都曹尚書、新泰侯游明根，[20]散騎常侍、南部令鄧侍祖，秘書中散李愷，尚書左丞郭祚，右丞、霸城子衞慶，中書侍郎封琳，中書郎、泰昌子崔挺，中書侍郎賈元壽等言：「臣等受敕共議中書監高閭、秘書丞李彪等二人所議皇魏行次。 尚書高閭以石承晉為水德，以燕承石為木德，以秦承燕為火德，大魏次秦為土德，皆以地據中夏，以為得統之徵。 皇魏建號，事接秦末，晉既滅亡，天命在我。 故因中原有寄，即而承之。 彪等據神元皇帝與晉武並時，桓、穆二帝，仍修舊好。 始自平文，逮于太祖，抗衡秦、趙，終平慕容。 晉祚終於秦方，大魏興於雲朔。 據漢棄秦承周之義，以皇魏承晉為水德。 二家之論，大略如此。 臣等謹共參論，伏惟皇魏世王玄朔，下迄魏、晉，趙、秦、二燕雖地據中華，德祚微淺，並獲推敍，於理未愜。 又國家積德修長，道光萬載。 彪等職主東觀，詳究圖史，所據之理，其致難奪。 今欲從彪等所議，宜承晉為水德。」 詔曰：「越近承遠，情所未安。 然考次推時，頗亦難繼。 朝賢所議，豈朕能有違奪。 便可依為水德，祖申臘辰。」
In the first month of the fifteenth year, Mu Liang, Prince of Changle, Palace Attendant and Minister of Works; Lu Rui, Prince of Pingyuan, Palace Attendant and Left Vice Director of the Secretariat; Wang Yuansun, Prince of Zhongshan, Palace Attendant and Director of Personnel; Feng Dan, Prince of Nanping, Palace Attendant and Commandant of the Horse; You Minggen, Marquis of Xintai, Attendant-in-Regular Service and Director of the Department of State Affairs; [20] and Deng Shizu, Li Kai, Guo Zuo, Wei Qing, Feng Lin, Cui Ting, Jia Yuanshou, and others memorialized: "We have been ordered to deliberate the succession sequence proposed by Gao Lu, Li Biao, and their colleagues for Imperial Wei. Director Gao Lu held that Later Zhao succeeded Jin as Water, Yan succeeded Zhao as Wood, Former Qin succeeded Yan as Fire, and Great Wei followed Qin as Earth—each on grounds of holding the Central Plains as proof of legitimate succession. Imperial Wei rose at the fall of Former Qin; Jin had already perished—and Heaven's mandate rested with us. Therefore, because legitimacy had a haven in the Central Plains, Wei took up that succession directly. Li Biao and his allies argue that Emperor Shenyuan was contemporary with Emperor Wu of Jin, and that Emperors Huan and Mu continued the old alliance. From Emperor Wen through Emperor Taizu, they stood against Former Qin and Later Zhao and finally overthrew the Murong Yan. Jin's mandate ended in the Qin heartland, while Great Wei arose in the northern frontier. Following Han's precedent of rejecting Qin to succeed Zhou, they would make Imperial Wei succeed Jin as Water Virtue. In broad outline, the two positions are as stated. We have deliberated together and conclude: though Imperial Wei has long ruled the north, to elevate Wei, Jin, Zhao, Qin, and both Yan states in the succession—despite their shallow virtue and brief reigns, solely because they held Chinese soil—satisfies neither reason nor precedent. Our dynasty's accumulated virtue is deep and enduring; its brilliance should shine across ten thousand generations. Li Biao and his colleagues, keepers of the Eastern Archives, have scrutinized historical records—and the logic they invoke is formidable. We therefore favor Li Biao's position: Imperial Wei should succeed Jin as Water Virtue." The edict replied: "To skip what is near and claim what is far does not sit well with me. Yet to trace the sequence through time is also hard to sustain. When the court worthies have spoken, how could I overrule them? Let Water Virtue stand, with the Shen and twelfth-month sacrifices as our ancestral rite."
40
四月，經始明堂，改營太廟。 詔曰：「祖有功，宗有德，自非功德厚者，不得擅祖宗之名，居二祧之廟。 仰惟先朝舊事，舛駁不同，難以取準。 今將述遵先志，具詳禮典，宜制祖宗之號，定將來之法。 烈祖有創基之功，世祖有開拓之德，宜為祖宗，百世不遷。 而遠祖平文功未多於昭成，然廟號為太祖； 道武建業之勳，高於平文，廟號為烈祖。 比功校德，以為未允。 朕今奉尊道武為太祖，與顯祖為二祧，餘者以次而遷。 平文既遷，廟唯有六，始今七廟，一則無主。 唯當朕躬此事，亦臣子所難言。 夫生必有終，人之常理。 朕以不德，忝承洪緒，若宗廟之靈，獲全首領以沒于地，為昭穆之次，心願畢矣。 必不可豫，設可垂之文，示後必令遷之。」 司空公、長樂王穆亮等奏言：「升平之會，事在於今。 推功考德，實如明旨。 但七廟之祀，備行日久，無宜闕一，虛有所待。 臣等愚謂，依先尊祀，可垂文示後。 理衷如此，不敢不言。」 詔曰「理或如此。 比有間隙，當為文相示」。
In the fourth month work began on the Bright Hall and the Grand Temple was reconstructed. An edict declared: "'Ancestor' honors achievement; 'Temple Lord' honors virtue—none but those of the greatest merit and virtue may bear those titles or hold places in the two eternal shrines. Reviewing earlier court practice, the precedents are tangled and inconsistent—no reliable standard emerges. We must now follow our forebears' intent, set out the ritual code fully, fix the titles of Ancestor and Temple Lord, and establish the rule for generations to come. Illustrious Ancestor founded the realm; World Ancestor expanded it—both deserve the titles of Ancestor and Temple Lord, immovable for a hundred generations. Yet remote ancestor Wen accomplished no more than Zhaocheng—yet bore the temple title Grand Ancestor; while Daowu, whose founding achievements surpassed Wen's, received only Illustrious Ancestor. Weighing service against merit, we find this unsatisfactory. I therefore honor Daowu as Grand Ancestor and Xianzu as the second eternal shrine; the remainder will shift down in order. With Wen removed, the temple holds only six shrines; instituting seven leaves one without a lord. Only when my own death supplies the seventh seat—and that is what no subject dares broach. All who live must die; that is human nature. Lacking virtue, I unworthily bear this great line. If the spirits of the ancestral temple grant me a peaceful death and a place in the proper zhao-mu order, my heart's desire will be fulfilled. This cannot be decided prematurely; if I commit it to writing for posterity, I must afterward command that my shrine be moved." Mu Liang, Minister of Works and Prince of Changle, and his colleagues memorialized: "The moment of peace and proper order is now. Your assessment of merit and virtue is entirely correct. Yet the seven-shrine ritual has long been complete; it is unfitting to leave one seat empty in indefinite waiting. We humbly propose that the court maintain the present honors for now and commit the arrangement to written precedent. This is our honest view, and we dare not withhold it." The edict replied: "That reasoning may stand. When time permits, I will set it down in writing for you."
41
八月壬辰，詔郡國有時果可薦者，並送京師以供廟饗。
On the renchen day of the eighth month, an edict commanded that wherever seasonal fruit suitable for offering could be obtained, it should be sent to the capital for ancestral temple rites.
42
又詔曰：「禮云自外至者，無主不立。 先朝以來，以正月吉日，於朝廷設幕，中置松栢樹，設五帝坐。 此既無可祖配，揆之古典，實無所取，可去此祀。 又探策之祭，既非禮典，可悉罷之。」
Another edict declared: "The Rites say: 'What comes from without cannot be established without a lord. Former courts observed an auspicious day in the first month by erecting a canopy at court, setting pine and cypress at its center, and arranging seats for the Five Emperors. No ancestral spirit can be paired with this rite; by classical precedent it serves no purpose—this ceremony should be abolished. The rite of probing the divination stalks, moreover, is no part of the canonical ritual—it should be abolished altogether."
43
戊午詔曰：「國家自先朝以來，饗祀諸神，凡有一千二百餘處。 今欲減省羣祀，務從簡約。 昔漢高之初，所祀眾神及寢廟不少今日。 至于元、成之際，匡衡執論，乃得減省。 後至光武之世，禮儀始備，饗祀有序。 凡祭不欲數，數則黷，黷則不敬。 神聰明正直，不待煩祀也。」 又詔曰：「明堂、太廟，並祀祖宗，配祭配享，於斯備矣。 白登、崞山、雞鳴山廟唯遣有司行事。 馮宣王誕生先后，復因在官長安，立廟宜異常等。 可敕雍州，以時供祭。」 又詔曰：「先恒有水火之神四十餘名，及城北星神。 今圓丘之下，既祭風伯、雨師、司中、司命，明堂祭門、戶、井、竈、中霤，每神皆有。 此四十神計不須立，悉可罷之。」
On the wuwu day an edict declared: "Since earlier reigns the state has maintained sacrificial feasts to the spirits at more than twelve hundred shrines. We now intend to cut back the multitude of sacrifices and keep them as simple as possible. At the start of the Han under Gaozu, the gods honored and the ancestral sleeping temples were scarcely fewer than today's. Not until the Yuanshi and Chengdi reigns, when Kuang Heng pressed his case, was any real reduction achieved. Later, under Emperor Guangwu, ritual was at last fully established and sacrificial worship was put in proper order. Sacrifice should not be performed too often; frequency breeds profanation, and profanation breeds irreverence. The spirits are discerning and upright; they have no need of excessive offerings." Another edict stated: "At the Bright Hall and Grand Ancestral Temple the ancestors are worshipped together; paired offerings and enshrined companions are fully provided for there. At the temples of Baideng, Guoshan, and Jimingshan, let the responsible officials alone carry out the ceremonies. Prince Xuan of Feng was born to the empress consort, and since the court then resided at Chang'an, the shrine raised for him should be accorded exceptional standing. Yong Province should be instructed to furnish offerings at the appointed seasons." Another edict noted: "Formerly more than forty spirits of water and fire were regularly honored, along with the Star Spirit north of the city. At the Round Mound the Earl of Wind, Master of Rain, Director of the Center, and Director of Fate are already worshipped; at the Bright Hall the Gate, Household, Well, Stove, and Central Drain each have their own rite—every one of these spirits is already accounted for. These forty deities need not be maintained at all and may be abolished entirely."
44
甲寅，集羣官，詔曰：「近論朝日夕月，皆欲以二分之日，於東西郊行禮。 然月有餘閏，行無常準。 若一依分日，或值月出於東，而行禮於西，尋情即理，不可施行。 昔秘書監薛謂等嘗論此事，以為朝日以朔，夕月以朏。 卿等意謂朔朏二分，何者為是？」 尚書游明根對曰「考案舊式，推校眾議，宜從朏月」。
On jiayin day the officials were assembled and an edict declared: "In recent debate over the morning-sun and evening-moon ceremonies, all proposed holding them at the eastern and western suburbs on the equinox days. Yet the moon has extra and intercalary days, and its course follows no fixed rule. If the equinox alone were followed, the moon might rise in the east while the rite was performed in the west; judged by both sentiment and reason, such a practice cannot be adopted. Formerly Xue Wei, Director of the Secretariat, and others debated this question and held that the morning-sun rite should fall on the new moon and the evening-moon rite on the crescent. Which do you deem correct—the new moon and crescent, or the equinoxes?" Minister You Minggen answered: "After reviewing old precedents and weighing the general opinion, the crescent-moon rule should be adopted."
45
十一月己未朔，帝釋禫祭於太和廟。 帝衮冕，與祭者朝服。 既而帝冠黑介幘，素紗深衣，拜山陵而還宮。 庚申，帝親省齊宮冠服及郊祀俎豆。 癸亥冬至，將祭圓丘，帝衮冕劍舄，侍臣朝服。 辭太和廟，之圓丘，升祭柴燎，遂祀明堂，大合。 既而還之太和廟，乃入。 甲子，帝衮冕辭太和廟，臨太華殿，朝羣官。 既而帝冠通天，絳紗袍，臨饗禮。 帝感慕，樂懸而不作。 丁卯，遷廟，陳列冕服，帝躬省之。 既而帝衮冕，辭太和廟，之太廟，百官陪從。 奉神主於齋車，至新廟。 有司升神主於太廟，諸王侯牧守、四海蕃附，各以其職來祭。
On the new-moon day jimei of the eleventh month, the Emperor ended mourning seclusion and offered sacrifice at the Taihe Temple. The Emperor wore full ceremonial regalia; those attending the sacrifice wore court dress. Then the Emperor put on a black kerchief cap and plain gauze deep robes, paid homage at the imperial tombs, and returned to the palace. On gengshen day the Emperor personally examined the fasting-palace vestments and the vessels and stands for the suburban sacrifice. On the winter solstice, guihai day, as he prepared to sacrifice at the Round Mound, the Emperor wore ceremonial robes, sword, and court shoes, and his attendants wore court dress. He took leave at the Taihe Temple, proceeded to the Round Mound, ascended and burned the offering, then worshipped at the Bright Hall in a grand ceremony. He then returned to the Taihe Temple before entering the palace. On jiazi day, in full ceremonial dress, the Emperor took leave at the Taihe Temple, entered the Taihua Hall, and held audience with the officials. He then donned the tongtian cap and crimson gauze robe and presided over the feast ceremony. Overcome with grief and longing, the Emperor had the bells and chimes hung but not played. On dingmao day, during the transfer of the ancestral temple, the ceremonial caps and robes were laid out and the Emperor inspected them in person. Then, in full ceremonial dress, the Emperor took leave at the Taihe Temple and proceeded to the Grand Ancestral Temple, attended by the officials. The spirit tablets were borne on the fasting carriage to the new temple. The officials installed the spirit tablets in the Grand Ancestral Temple, and princes, marquises, governors, and tributaries from all quarters came to offer sacrifice according to their rank.
46
十六年正月戊午，詔曰：「夫四時享祀，人子常道。 然祭薦之禮，貴賤不同。 故有邑之君，祭以首時，無田之士，薦以仲月。 況七廟之重，而用中節者哉！ 自頃蒸嘗之禮，頗違舊義。 今將仰遵遠式，以此孟月，犆礿於太廟。 但朝典初改，眾務殷湊，無遑齋潔，遂及於今。 又接神饗祖，必須擇日。 今禮律未宣，有司或不知此。 可敕太常令剋日以聞。」
On the wuwu day of the first month of the sixteenth year, an edict declared: "Seasonal offerings are the constant obligation of a filial son. Yet the rites of sacrificial offering differ according to rank. A lord with a fief sacrifices at the first season; a gentleman without land offers in the middle month. How much less, then, should the weight of the seven temples be served by a middle-season rite! In recent times the winter and autumn offerings have departed considerably from the old meaning. We shall now look back to ancient precedent and, in this first month of spring, perform the special yue offering at the Grand Ancestral Temple. But the court rites had only just been revised, affairs pressed in from every side, and there was no time for fasting and purification—thus matters have reached the present day. Moreover, receiving the spirits and feasting the ancestors requires that a day be chosen. The ritual statutes have not yet been announced, and officials may not know this. Let the Director of Imperial Worship be instructed to fix a day and report back."
47
二月丁酉，詔曰：「夫崇聖祀德，遠代之通典； 秩□□□，中古之近規。 故三五至仁，唯德配享； 夏殷私己，稍用其姓。 且法施於民，祀有明典，立功垂惠，祭有恒式。 斯乃異代同途，弈世共軌。 今遠遵明令，憲章舊則，比於祀令，已為決之。 其孟春應祀者，頃以事殷，遂及今日。 可令仍以仲月而饗祀焉。 凡在祀令者，其數有五。 帝堯樹則天之功，興巍巍之治，可祀於平陽。 虞舜播太平之風，致無為之化，可祀於廣寧。 夏禹禦洪水之災，建天下之利，可祀於安邑。 周文公制禮作樂，垂範萬葉，可祀於洛陽。 其宣尼之廟，已於中省，[21]當別敕有司。 饗薦之禮，自文公已上，可令當界牧守，各隨所近，攝行祀事，皆用清酌尹祭也。」
On dingyou day of the second month, an edict declared: "Honoring sages and worshipping the virtuous is a universal practice of antiquity; Rank □□□ is a recent norm of the middle ages. Thus the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, supreme in benevolence, were enshrined by virtue alone; Xia and Yin favored their own kin and gradually enshrined their own clansmen. When law is given to the people, sacrifice has clear statutes; when merit is achieved and blessings extended, offering has fixed forms. Different ages have followed the same path; generation after generation has kept to the same course. We now follow the enlightened edict from afar and take the old rules as our charter; as against the sacrificial ordinances, the matter has already been settled. Those due for worship in early spring have been delayed by pressing affairs until today. Let them be instructed to perform the feast and sacrifice in the middle month instead. Those listed on the sacrificial ordinance number five in all. Emperor Yao established the merit of aligning with Heaven and brought forth a lofty order of government—he may be worshipped at Pingyang. Yu-Shun spread the spirit of great peace and achieved rule through non-action—he may be worshipped at Guangning. Yu of Xia checked the calamity of the great flood and built benefits for all under Heaven—he may be worshipped at Anyi. Duke Wen of Zhou fashioned ritual and music, leaving a model for ten thousand generations—he may be worshipped at Luoyang. As for the temple of Confucius, it has already been established at the Directorate;[21] separate orders should be issued to the responsible officials. For the feast and offering rites from Duke Wen upward, let the governors of the nearest territories each, according to proximity, conduct the sacrifices in proxy, all using pure libation and ministerial oversight."
48
丙午，詔有司剋吉亥，備小駕，躬臨千畝，官別有敕。
On bingwu day officials were ordered to choose an auspicious hai day, prepare the lesser imperial escort, and have the Emperor personally attend the Thousand-Acre field; each office received separate instructions.
49
癸丑，帝臨宣文堂，引儀曹尚書劉昶、鴻臚卿游明根、行儀曹事李韶，授策孔子，崇文聖之諡。 於是昶等就廟行事。 既而，帝齋中書省，親拜祭於廟。
On guichou day the Emperor entered the Xuanwen Hall, summoned Liu Chang, Director of the Ritual Office, You Minggen, Chief of Protocol, and Li Shao, acting head of the Ritual Office, and conferred the edict upon Confucius, raising him with the posthumous title Wen Sheng. Thereupon Chang and the others went to the temple to carry out the ceremony. Then the Emperor fasted at the Secretariat and personally bowed in sacrifice at the temple.
50
九月甲寅朔，大享於明堂，祀文明太后於玄室，帝親為之詞。
On the new-moon day jiayin of the ninth month a grand feast was held at the Bright Hall; Empress Dowager Wenming was worshipped in the Mysterious Chamber, and the Emperor composed the prayer himself.
51
十月己亥，詔曰：「夫先王制禮，所以經綸萬代，貽法後昆。 至乃郊天享祖，莫不配祭，然而有節。 白登廟者，有為而興，昭穆不次。 故太祖有三層之宇，已降無方丈之室。 [22]又常用季秋，躬駕展虔，祀禮或有褻慢之失，嘉樂頗涉野合之譏。 今授衣之旦，享祭明堂； 玄冬之始，奉烝太廟。 若復致齋白登，便為一月再駕，事成褻瀆。 回詳二理，謂宜省一。 白登之高，未若九室之美； 幃次之華，未如清廟之盛。 將欲廢彼東山之祀，成此二享之敬。 可具敕有司，但令內典神者，攝行祭事。 獻明、道武各有廟稱，可具依舊式。」 自太宗諸帝，昔無殿宇，因停之。
On jihai day of the tenth month, an edict declared: "Former kings fashioned ritual to govern all generations and bequeath law to later descendants. Even in suburban worship of Heaven and feasting the ancestors, all have paired offerings—yet there are limits. The Baideng Temple arose from circumstances; the zhao and mu order there is irregular. Hence the Grand Ancestor has a hall of three stories, while those below have no proper chamber at all. [22] Moreover it was customary in late autumn for the Emperor to go in person in reverence; the sacrificial rites sometimes lapsed into disrespect, and the fine music invited criticism verging on impropriety. Now, on the day of receiving winter garments, sacrifice and feast at the Bright Hall; at the start of deep winter, present the winter offering at the Grand Ancestral Temple. If fasting at Baideng were added again, the imperial train would go forth twice in one month, and the rite would become profane. Weighing the two practices together, one of them should be eliminated. The height of Baideng cannot compare with the splendor of the Nine Chambers; the ornament of the canopy tent cannot match the majesty of the Pure Temple. We intend to abolish the sacrifice at the Eastern Mountain and complete the reverence due these two great feasts. Let full orders be issued to the officials, but have only those of the inner bureau who tend the spirits conduct the sacrifice in proxy. Xianming and Daowu each have their temple titles; let all follow the old forms in full." From the Taizong emperors onward there had been no halls, and so the practice was discontinued.
52
十八年，南巡。 正月，次殷比干墓，祭以太牢。
In the eighteenth year the Emperor toured the south. In the first month, halting at the tomb of Bi Gan of Yin, he offered sacrifice with the grand victim.
53
三月，詔罷西郊祭天。
In the third month an edict abolished the western-suburb sacrifice to Heaven.
54
十九年，帝南征。 正月，車駕濟淮，命太常致祭。 又詔祀岱岳。
In the nineteenth year the Emperor marched south on campaign. In the first month the imperial train crossed the Huai, and the Director of Imperial Worship was ordered to perform the sacrifice. Another edict ordered sacrifice at Mount Tai.
55
二月癸亥，詔曰：「知太和廟已就，神儀靈主，宜時奉寧。 可剋三月三日己巳，內奉遷於正廟。 [23]其出金墉之儀，一準出代都太和之式。 入新廟之典，可依近至金墉之軌。 其威儀鹵簿，如出代廟。 百官奉遷，宜可省之。 但令朝官四品已上，侍官五品已上及宗室奉迎。」
On guihai day of the second month, an edict declared: "Now that the Taihe Temple is complete, the divine images and spirit tablets should be enshrined and settled without delay. Let the third day of the third month, jisi, be chosen for the inner escort to transfer them to the main temple. [23] The ceremony for leaving Jinyong should follow entirely the form used when the Taihe Temple left the capital at Dai. The rite for entering the new temple may follow the recent precedent of arriving at Jinyong. Its guard of honor and ceremonial escort should be the same as when leaving the Dai temple. The officials escorting the transfer may suitably be reduced in number. Only court officials of the fourth rank and above, attendants of the fifth rank and above, and members of the imperial clan need come to receive them."
56
六月，相州刺史高閭表言：「伏惟太武皇帝發孝思之深誠，同渭陽之遠感，以鄴土舅氏之故鄉，有歸魂之舊宅，故為密皇后立廟於城內，歲時祭祀，置廟戶十家，齋宮三十人。 春秋烝嘗，冠服從事，刺史具威儀，親行薦酌，升降揖讓，與七廟同儀，禮畢，撤會而罷。 今廟殿虧漏，門牆傾毀，簠簋故敗，行禮有闕。 臣備職司，目所親覩。 若以七廟惟新，明堂初制，配饗之儀，備於京邑者，便應罷壞，輟其常祭。 如以功高特立，宜應新其靈宇。 敢陳所見，伏請恩裁。」 詔罷之。
In the sixth month Gao Lü, Governor of Xiang Province, submitted a memorial: "Your Majesty's servant reflects that Emperor Taiwu, stirred by the deepest filial devotion and the far-reaching grief of Weiyang, because Ye was the ancestral home of the empress's kin and held the old dwelling to which her soul returned, had a temple built within the city for Empress Mi, with seasonal sacrifices, ten temple households, and thirty attendants for the fasting palace. At the spring and autumn, winter and autumn offerings, all wore ceremonial dress; the governor arrayed the guard of honor, personally performed the offering and libation, and observed the ascending, descending, bowing, and yielding in the same manner as the seven temples; when the rite was finished, the assembly was dismissed. Now the temple hall leaks and is in disrepair, the gate and walls are crumbling, the ritual vessels are worn and broken, and the rites can no longer be properly performed. Your servant, in the discharge of his duties, has seen this with his own eyes. If, because the seven temples have been newly restored and the Bright Hall newly built, and the rites of paired feasting are now complete in the capital, this shrine should be abolished and its regular sacrifices discontinued. If, because her merit was lofty and singular, her spirit hall should be rebuilt anew. I venture to offer my view; I humbly ask Your Majesty to decide. An edict ordered it discontinued.
57
十一月庚午，帝幸委粟山，議定圓丘。 己卯，帝在合溫室，引咸陽王禧，司空公穆亮，吏部尚書、任城王澄及議禮之官。 詔曰：「朝集公卿，欲論圓丘之禮。 今短晷斯極，長日方至。 案周官祀昊天上帝於圓丘，禮之大者。 兩漢禮有參差，魏晉猶亦未一。 我魏氏雖上參三皇，下考叔世近代都祭圓丘之禮，復未考周官，為不刊之法令。 以此祭圓丘之禮示卿等，欲與諸賢考之厥衷。」 帝曰：「夕牲之禮，無可依準，近在代都，已立其議。 殺牲祼神，誠是一日之事，終無夕而殺牲，待明而祭。」 員外散騎常侍劉芳對曰：「臣謹案周官牧人職，正有夕展牲之禮，實無殺牲之事。」 秘書令李彪曰：「夕不殺牲，誠如聖旨。 未審告廟以不？ 臣聞魯人將有事于上帝，必先有事于泮宮，注曰，『先人』。 以此推之，應有告廟。」 帝曰：「卿言有理，但朕先以郊配，意欲廢告，而卿引證有據，當從卿議。」
In the eleventh month, on gengwu, the emperor went to Weisu Mountain to discuss and establish the round mound rite. On jimao, at He Wen Hall, the emperor summoned Prince Xi of Xianyang, Director of Works Duke Mu Liang, Prince Cheng of Rencheng—who also held the Ministry of Personnel—and the ritual specialists. An edict ran: "I have summoned the ministers this morning to discuss the round mound rite. The winter solstice is upon us—the shortest shadows have reached their limit, and the days are just beginning to lengthen. The Offices of Zhou prescribe sacrifice to the Supreme God at the round mound—the greatest of all rites. Even the two Han dynasties observed the rite inconsistently; under Wei and Jin no single standard has prevailed. Our Wei, though tracing precedent to the Three Sovereigns and reviewing recent practice at the round mound, have never grounded these rites in the Offices of Zhou as fixed law. I present this round-mound ritual for your review and ask you worthy ministers to weigh its true intent." The emperor said: "For the evening-victim rite there is no reliable precedent. At Dai we recently debated the matter and reached a decision. Slaughter and libation are properly a single day's work—it is unthinkable to kill the victim at dusk and wait until morning to sacrifice." Attendant Extraordinary Liu Fang replied: "Your servant finds in the Herdsman's duties in the Offices of Zhou an evening rite for displaying the victims—but no provision for slaughter at that hour." Secretariat Director Li Biao said: "Your Majesty is right not to slaughter victims in the evening. It is unclear whether one should announce the rite to the ancestral temple. I recall that when the people of Lu were to sacrifice to the Lord on High, they first offered at the Pan palace; the commentaries gloss this as honoring their forebears. By that reasoning, an announcement to the ancestral temple should be required." The emperor said: "You make a fair point. Because our suburban sacrifice pairs with the ancestral co-honoree, I had meant to dispense with the temple announcement—but your citations are well founded. We shall follow your recommendation."
58
帝又曰：「圓丘之牲，色無常準，覽推古事，乖互不一。 周家用騂，解言是尚。 晉代靡知所據。 舜之命禹，悉用堯辭，復言玄牡告于后帝。 今我國家，時用夏正，至於牲色，未知何準？」 秘書令李彪曰：「觀古用玄，似取天玄之義，臣謂宜用玄。 至於五帝，各象其方色，亦有其義。」 帝曰：「天何時不玄，地何時不黃，意欲從玄。」
The emperor continued: "For round-mound victims, color has no fixed standard. A review of antiquity shows conflicting practices. The Zhou favored reddish-brown victims—the commentaries take this as the preferred color. Under Jin no one could say what precedent they followed. When Shun charged Yu, he adopted Yao's wording entirely, declaring a dark bull offered to the Supreme Lord. Our realm keeps the Xia calendar—yet for the color of victims, what standard should we follow?" Li Biao replied: "Ancient usage favors dark victims, evoking Heaven's own hue. I recommend black. For the Five Directional Emperors, each color matches its quarter—that too has ritual logic." The emperor said: "Is Heaven ever not dark? Is Earth ever not yellow? I mean to follow the darker color."
59
又曰：「我國家常聲鼓以集眾。 易稱二至之日，商旅不行，后不省方，以助微陽、微陰。 今若依舊鳴鼓，得無闕寢鼓之義。」 員外郎崔逸曰：「臣案周禮，當祭之日，靁鼓靁鼗，八面而作，猶不妨陽。 臣竊謂以鼓集眾，無妨古義。」
He added: "Our court customarily beats drums to assemble the officials. The Book of Changes says that on the solstices merchants cease travel and the empress suspends her regional tours, so as not to disturb the returning yang or yin. If we continue to beat drums as usual, do we not violate the spirit of the solstice drum-rest?" Outer Gentleman Cui Yi said: "The Rites of Zhou prescribe thunder-drums and thunder-tambourines on sacrifice days, beaten on all eight sides—yet this does not harm the yang principle. I believe beating drums to assemble the court in no way contravenes ancient practice."
60
癸未詔，三公衮冕八章，太常鷩冕六章，用以陪薦。
On guiwei an edict prescribed that the Three Dukes wear dark ceremonial robes with eight emblems and the Director of Ceremonies pheasant-pattern robes with six emblems, to assist in the sacrifice.
61
甲申長至，祀昊天於委粟山，大夫祭。〈〉
On jiashen, the winter solstice, sacrifice to the Supreme Heaven was offered at Weisu Mountain, with grandees officiating.
62
二十年，立方澤於河陰，仍遣使者以太牢祭漢光武及明、章三帝陵。
In the twentieth year a square pond altar was built at Heyin, and envoys were sent with the grand victim to sacrifice at the tombs of Emperor Guangwu of Han and Emperors Ming and Zhang.
63
校勘記
Collation Notes
64
牲用黝犢諸本「牲」訛「牡」，今據冊府卷三二下〈〉 、通典卷四二郊天上後魏道武帝條改。
"Victims: dark calves" — various editions wrongly read "victim" as "male animal"; emended per Cefu, juan 32b. , with further correction according to Tongdian juan 42, entry on the suburban Heaven rite under Emperor Daowu of Later Wei.
65
牲共用玄牡一諸本「牡」訛「牲」，今據冊府〈〉 改。
"Shared victims: one dark bull" — various editions wrongly read "bull" as "victim"; emended per Cefu. —emended accordingly.
66
用馬薦各一冊府〈〉 「薦」作「鹿」。 按既云「各一」，應是二物，疑作「鹿」是，但他處不見祭祀用鹿，今不改。
"One horse and one jian offering each" — per Cefu. Cefu reads "jian" as "deer." Since the text says "one each," two distinct victims are implied; "deer" may well be correct, but deer appear nowhere else in these sacrificial records, so the original is left unchanged.
67
帝拜后肅拜諸本「后」作「若」，冊府卷三二下〈〉 作「后」。 按通典卷四二也作「后」。 上云：「后率六宮從黑門入」，則后亦參與祭祀，「若」字形近而訛，今據改。
"The emperor bowed and the empress performed a respectful bow" — various editions misread "empress" as "ruo"; Cefu juan 32b. Reads "empress." Tongdian juan 42 likewise reads "empress." The passage above states that "the empress led the Six Palaces in through the Black Gate," so the empress did take part in the rite; "ruo" is a graphic error for "empress," and the text is emended accordingly.
68
若有水旱則禱之諸本「若」訛「各」，今據冊府〈〉 改。
"In cases of flood or drought, prayers were offered there" — various editions wrongly read "if" as "each"; emended per Cefu. —emended accordingly.
69
幸洛陽冊府〈〉 「幸洛陽」上有「四月」二字。 按事見卷三太宗紀泰常八年四月，此條前後都記月，不應獨缺，當脫「四月」二字。
"Visited Luoyang" — per Cefu. Cefu inserts the words "fourth month" before "visited Luoyang." The event appears in the Taichang eighth-year, fourth-month entry of Emperor Taizong's annals (juan 3); neighboring entries all give the month, so "fourth month" has clearly dropped out here and should be restored.
70
神䴥二年冊府〈〉 上有「太武」二字。 按志例凡始見於志的某帝，在年號上必加廟號，這裏上當有「世祖」二字，傳本脫去。 冊府例改廟號為諡號。
Second year of Shenjuan — per Cefu. Cefu prefixes "Emperor Wu of Taizu." By the treatise's convention, an emperor's first appearance must include his temple name before the era; "Shizu" (Emperor Shizu) is missing here and has dropped from the transmitted text. Cefu regularly substitutes posthumous titles for temple names.
71
立廟於恒岳華岳嵩岳上諸本「華」下脫「岳」字，今據冊府〈〉 補。
"Temples were established on Mount Heng, Mount Hua, and Mount Song" — various editions omit "peak" after "Hua"; emended per Cefu. —supplied.
72
文成皇帝即位二年正月遣有司詣華岳修廟立碑諸本「二年」作「三年」。 冊府卷二六〈〉 作「二年」，卷三二下〈〉 作「興光元年正月」。 按拓跋濬於拓跋燾的正平二年十月即位，即在本月改元興安，興安只二年，次年改元興光，興光也只二年。 這裏「三」字必誤。 觀上稱「文成皇帝即位」，當是即位後不久事。 興安二年正月實在即位後第三個月，今據冊府卷二六改。 冊府卷三二作「興光元年」，恐是以意改。 又魏書例稱廟號，不應此處獨稱「文成皇帝」，上當脫「高宗」二字。
"In the first month of the second year of Emperor Wencheng's reign, officials were sent to Mount Hua to repair the temple and erect a stele" — various editions read "third year" for "second year." Cefu, juan 26. Reads "second year"; Cefu juan 32b. Reads "first month of the first year of Xingguang." Tuoba Jun succeeded Tuoba Tao in the tenth month of Zhengping 2 and immediately declared the Xing'an era; Xing'an lasted two years, followed by Xingguang, which also lasted two years. The reading "three" here must be wrong. The phrase "upon Emperor Wencheng's accession" indicates a date soon after he took the throne. The first month of Xing'an 2 falls only three months after his accession; emended per Cefu juan 26. Cefu juan 32 gives "first year of Xingguang," perhaps an arbitrary emendation. The Book of Wei routinely uses temple names; this lone reference to "Emperor Wencheng" suggests "Gaozong" has dropped out above.
73
聞虛中若有音聲諸本脫「有」字，今據冊府卷二六〈〉 補。
"If sound is heard within the hollow" — various editions omit "have"; emended per Cefu juan 26. —supplied.
74
十二年閏九月帝親築圓丘於南郊諸本「閏九月」作「十月」，冊府卷三二〈〉 作「閏九月甲子」。 按卷七下高祖紀作「閏月甲子」。 是年魏閏九月，丁未朔，甲子是十八日，十月丁丑朔，無甲子。 這裏「十月」顯誤，今據紀及冊府改。 志例只記年月，其一月不止一事者始記日。 冊府「甲子」疑據紀增，今不補。
"In the intercalary ninth month of the twelfth year the emperor personally built the round mound at the Southern Suburb" — various editions read "tenth month" for "intercalary ninth month"; Cefu juan 32. Reads "jiazi, intercalary ninth month." The Gaozu annals (juan 7b) give "jiazi, intercalary month." That year had an intercalary ninth month: dingwei was the new moon, and jiazi fell on the eighteenth day; the tenth month began on dingchou, so no jiazi occurred there. "Tenth month" here is clearly wrong; emended per the annals and Cefu. The treatise normally records only year and month; a day is given only when more than one event falls in the same month. Cefu's "jiazi" was probably added from the annals; it is not supplied here.
75
周改禘為礿諸本「礿」作「祠」，冊府卷五八０〈〉 作「礿」。 按禮記王制「天子犆礿、祫禘、祫嘗、祫烝」，鄭注：「周改夏祭曰礿。」 「祠」乃「礿」形近而訛，今據改。
"Zhou renamed the summer sacrifice yue" — various editions wrongly read "yue" as "ci"; Cefu juan 580. Reads "yue." The Royal Regulations in the Record of Rites reads: "The Son of Heaven performs zhi yue, xia di, xia chang, and xia zheng." Zheng Xuan comments: "Zhou renamed the summer sacrifice yue." Ci" is a graphic error for "yue," and the text is emended accordingly.
76
祭義稱春禘秋嘗諸本「禘」作「祭」，冊府〈〉 作「禘」。 按禮記祭義作「禘」，「祭」字訛，今據改。
The Meaning of Sacrifice reads "spring di, autumn chang" — various editions misread "di" as "sacrifice"; Cefu. Reads "di." The Meaning of Sacrifice in the Record of Rites reads "di"; "sacrifice" is a scribal error, and the text is emended accordingly.
77
依禮春廢犆礿於嘗於蒸則祫不於三時皆行禘祫之禮冊府卷五八０〈〉 作「依禮：春廢祫，犆礿，於禘則禘祫，嘗則禘嘗，於烝則祫烝，不廢三時，三時皆行禘祫之禮」。 通典卷五０祫禘下載此議作「依禮，春廢特礿，於嘗於烝則祫嘗祫烝，不於三時皆行禘祫之禮」。 按禮記王制：「天子犆礿、祫禘、祫嘗、祫烝。」 鄭注：「犆猶一也，祫合也。〈〉 凡祫之歲，春一礿而已，不祫，以物無成者，不殷祭。」 則四時之祭，唯春不祫，其餘三時之祭，禘、嘗、烝都祫。 這裏文有訛脫，「廢」下當從冊府有「祫」字，即鄭注「春一礿而已，不合」之意。 下文只說嘗、烝，不及夏祭之禘，則四時缺一，也當從冊府有「於禘則祫禘」〈〉 一句。 最後一句「不於三時皆行禘祫之禮」，和王制本文不合，「不於」二字乃「不廢三時」之訛脫。 前云「廢」，後云「不廢」，前後相應。 疑原文當作「依禮：春廢祫，犆礿，於禘則祫禘，於嘗、於烝則祫嘗祫烝，不廢三時，三時皆行禘祫之禮」。 通典訛脫與此志略同，不可解。
"By ritual, spring omits the zhi yue; at chang and zheng the xia rite is not performed in all three seasons alike" — Cefu juan 580. Reads: "By ritual, spring omits xia and performs zhi yue; at di, di and xia together; at chang, di and chang together; at zheng, xia and zheng together; the three seasons are not abolished, and all three perform the di-xia rite." Tongdian, juan 50, under Xia and Di, records this deliberation as: "By ritual, spring omits the special yue; at chang and zheng, xia-chang and xia-zheng; the di-xia rite is not performed in all three seasons alike." The Royal Regulations in the Record of Rites reads: "The Son of Heaven performs zhi yue, xia di, xia chang, and xia zheng." Zheng Xuan comments: "Zhi means 'only one'; xia means 'joining together. In every year when xia is performed, spring has only a single yue and no xia, because the harvest is not yet ripe and no grand sacrifice is held." Thus among the four seasonal sacrifices, only spring omits xia; di, chang, and zheng in the other three seasons all include xia. Here the text is corrupt and incomplete; after "abolish" Cefu supplies "xia," matching Zheng's meaning that in spring there is only one yue and no joining. The passage below mentions only chang and zheng, not the summer di sacrifice, leaving one of the four seasons unaccounted for; Cefu also has "at di, then xia di" —one sentence. The final line, "the di-xia rite is not performed in all three seasons alike," does not match the Royal Regulations; "not at all" is a corruption of "do not abolish the three seasons." Earlier the text says "abolish," later "do not abolish"—the two readings correspond. The original text probably read: "By ritual, spring omits xia and performs zhi yue; at di, xia di; at chang and zheng, xia chang and xia zheng; the three seasons are not abolished, and all three perform the di-xia rite." Tongdian's corruptions and omissions closely match those in this treatise and are equally inexplicable.
78
論稱禘自既灌事似據按語未足，下當有脫文。 通典卷五０「禘自既灌」下有「以往」二字，無「事似據」三字。 通典錄文本有節略，「以往」二字乃據論語增，此志原文不必同通典，今於「據」下句斷。
The passage reads "di from after the libation" followed by the corrupt characters "shi si ju" — the wording is incomplete, and text must be missing below. Tongdian, juan 50, after "di from after the libation" has the two characters "and onward," without the three corrupt characters "shi si ju." Tongdian's text is abbreviated, and "and onward" was supplied from the Analects; the original of this treatise need not match Tongdian, so the sentence break is placed after "ju."
79
高閭曰按這是關於祭祀六宗之議，上未叙明，乍觀不知高閭所議何事。 通典卷四四注引此節，上有「時大議禋祀之禮」七字，始接「高閭曰」，知上必有脫文。 高閭議有云「比較臣等評議取衷，附之祀典」，似當有元宏命羣臣議六宗語，所脫或不止通典所有的七字。
Gao Lu said — Comment: this concerns deliberation on sacrifice to the Six Honored Ones; the passage above gives no context, and at first reading one cannot tell what Gao Lu is discussing. A note in Tongdian, juan 44, quotes this passage with seven characters above it—"At the time there was great debate on the di-worship rite"—before "Gao Lu said," showing that text must be missing above. Gao Lu's deliberation includes the phrase "Compare our ministers' deliberations and choose the middle course, attach it to the sacrificial canon"—suggesting there should be a passage in which Yuan Hong ordered the ministers to debate the Six Honored Ones, and the omission may exceed Tongdian's seven characters.
80
丘澤初志冊府卷四〈〉 「志」作「制」，疑是。
"Original intent of mound and marsh sacrifice" — Cefu, juan 4. Reads "zhi" as "regulations"—probably correct.
81
若棄秦則中原有寄按高閭主張以魏承苻秦，此語與閭本意不合，「棄」當是「承」或「繼」之訛，也可能「有」為「無」之訛。
"If one abandons Qin, the Central Plains has a refuge" — Comment: Gao Lu argued that Wei succeeded Fu Jian's Qin, so this wording contradicts his intent; "abandon" is probably a corruption for "inherit" or "succeed," and "has" may be a corruption for "has not."
82
平文太祖抗衡苻石終平燕氏按此「太祖」乃指拓跋珪，故云「終平燕氏」，下穆亮等議引述李彪原議稱「始自平文，逮於太祖，抗衡燕趙，終平慕容」，平文和太祖分述，意更明白。 但此時「太祖」即平文帝廟號，下文明云「平文始大，廟號太祖」，拓跋珪廟號是烈祖，至次年四月始改珪廟號「太祖」，豈得先有此稱？ 疑本作「烈祖」，後人所改。
"Emperors Wen and Taizu stood against Fu Jian and Shi Hu and finally conquered the Murong Yan" — Comment: here "Taizu" refers to Tuoba Gui, hence "finally conquered the Murong Yan"; below, Mu Liang and others quote Li Biao's original argument: "From Emperor Wen through Emperor Taizu, they stood against Yan and Zhao and finally overthrew the Murong"—distinguishing Wen and Taizu makes the sense clearer. But at this point "Taizu" was already Emperor Wen's temple name; the passage below explicitly says "Wen first grew great, and his temple name was Taizu," whereas Tuoba Gui's temple name was Liezu and was not changed to "Taizu" until the fourth month of the following year—so how could the title appear here first? The original probably read "Liezu" and was altered by a later copyist.
83
新泰侯游明根諸本「泰」作「秦」。 洪氏考異卷一０云：「『新秦』當作『新泰』。 游明根傳〈〉 『就拜東兗州刺史，改爵新泰侯』。」 按新泰屬北徐州東泰山郡，「新秦」，北魏不聞有此縣，洪說是，今改正。
You Minggen, Marquis of Xintai — various editions misread "Tai" as "Qin." Hong Yixuan's Critical Notes, juan 10, states: "'Xin Qin' should read 'Xin Tai. Biography of You Minggen He was immediately appointed Inspector of Eastern Yan Province and ennobled Marquis of Xintai." Xintai belonged to Eastern Mount Tai commandery in Northern Xu Province; "Xin Qin" is unknown in Northern Wei records; Hong is correct, and the text is emended accordingly.
84
已於中省按下文稱策諡孔丘，「帝齋於中書省」，當時洛陽孔廟即在中書省，這裏「中省」下當脫「置」字。
"Already at the Central Secretariat" — Comment: the passage below on conferring a posthumous title on Confucius reads "the Emperor fasted at the Secretariat," and Luoyang's Confucius temple was then located within the Secretariat; the character "establish" is missing after "Central Secretariat."
85
故太祖有三層之宇已降無方丈之室諸本「已降」作「巴陵」，通典卷四七太和十六年十月條作「已降」。 按元宏以前北魏諸帝並無曾封「巴陵」者。 「巴陵」乃「已降」之訛，指拓跋嗣已下諸帝，下云「自太宗諸帝，昔無殿宇」可證，今據改。
"Former Taizu had halls of three tiers; from him down there were no one-square-room halls" — various editions misread "from him down" as "Baling"; Tongdian, juan 47, under the tenth month of Taihe 16, reads "from him down." Before Yuan Hong, no Northern Wei emperor had ever held the title "Marquis of Baling." "Baling" is a corruption of "from him down," referring to emperors from Tuoba Si onward; the passage below, "from Emperor Taizong on, formerly no hall buildings," confirms this, and the text is emended accordingly.
86
二月癸亥詔曰知太和廟已就〈〉 可剋三月三日己巳內奉遷於正廟諸本「二月」作「三月」，通典卷四七作「二月」，又「三月三日己巳」，通典作「五月」。 按太和十九年三月庚午朔，無「癸亥」，二月庚子朔，「癸亥」乃二十五日。 卷七下高祖紀下太和十九年二月戊辰：「行幸碻磝。 太和廟成。」 戊辰乃三十日，當是不知確在哪一日，故系於月盡，其廟成實在二月癸亥前。 這裏「三月」乃「二月」之訛，今據改。 又三月亦無「己巳」，五月己巳朔，非三日。 卷七下高祖紀下是年五月庚午〈〉 「遷文成皇后馮氏神主於太和廟」。 疑「三月三日己巳」為「五月朔日己巳」之訛。 但此志所云所遷者似指歷代神主，紀唯云遷馮太后神主，又差一日，不知何故。
On guihai of the second month an edict said that the Taihe Temple was complete The tablets may be moved into the main temple on the third day, jisi, of the third month — various editions misread "second month" as "third month"; Tongdian, juan 47, reads "second month," and for "third month, third day, jisi" it reads "fifth month." In Taihe 19 the third month began on gengwu, so there was no guihai; the second month began on gengzi, and guihai fell on the twenty-fifth day. The Gaozu annals (juan 7b) for Taihe 19, second month, wuchen, read: "The Emperor traveled to Qiaodao. The Taihe Temple was completed." Wuchen is the thirtieth day—the date was probably uncertain, so the entry was placed at month's end; the temple was in fact completed before guihai of the second month. Here "third month" is a corruption of "second month," and the text is emended accordingly. Moreover the third month has no jisi; in the fifth month jisi is the new-moon day, not the third day. The Gaozu annals (juan 7b) for that year, fifth month, gengwu "Moved the spirit tablet of Empress Wen Cheng, née Feng, to the Taihe Temple." "Third month, third day, jisi" is probably a corruption of "fifth month, new-moon day, jisi." But the tablets said to have been moved here seem to mean those of successive generations, whereas the annals mention only Empress Dowager Feng's tablet—and the dates differ by one day; the reason is unclear.