1
魏自太祖至於武泰帝，及太皇太后、皇太后、皇后崩，悉依漢魏既葬公除。 唯高祖太和十四年文明太后崩，將營山陵，九月，安定王休，齊郡王簡，咸陽王禧，河南王幹，廣陵王羽，潁川王雍，始平王勰，北海王詳，侍中、太尉、錄尚書事、東陽王丕，侍中、司徒、淮陽王尉元，侍中、司空、長樂王穆亮，侍中、尚書左僕射、平原王陸叡等，率百僚詣闕表曰：「上靈不弔，大行太皇太后崩背，溥天率土，痛慕斷絕。 伏惟陛下孝思烝烝，攀號罔極。 臣等聞先王制禮，必有隨世之變； 前賢創法，亦務適時之宜。 良以世代不同，古今異致故也。 三年之喪，雖則自古，然中代已後，未之能行。 先朝成式，事在可準，聖后終制，刊之金冊。 伏惟陛下至孝發衷，哀毀過禮，欲依上古，喪終三年。 誠協大舜孝慕之德，實非俯遵濟世之道。 今雖中夏穆清，庶邦康靜，然萬機事殷，不可暫曠，春秋烝嘗，事難廢闕。 伏願天鑒，抑至孝之深誠，副億兆之企望，喪期禮數，一從終制，則天下幸甚。 日月有期，山陵將就，請展安兆域，以備奉終之禮。」 詔曰：「凶禍甫爾，未忍所請。」
From Taizu down to the Wutai Emperor, whenever a grand empress dowager, empress dowager, or empress died, the Wei court uniformly followed the Han and Wei custom of ending public mourning once the burial was complete. Only when Empress Dowager Wenming died in the fourteenth year of Taihe under Emperor Gaozu, as work on her imperial tomb was about to begin—in the ninth month, the Prince of Anding, Xiu; the Prince of Qijun, Jian; the Prince of Xianyang, Xi; the Prince of Henan, Gan; the Prince of Guangling, Yu; the Prince of Yingchuan, Yong; the Prince of Shiping, Rui; the Prince of Beihai, Xiang; Palace Attendant, Grand Commandant, Supervisor of the Masters of Writing, and Prince of Dongyang, Pi; Palace Attendant, Minister of Education, and Prince of Huaiyang, Wei Yuan; Palace Attendant, Minister of Works, and Prince of Changle, Mu Liang; Palace Attendant, Left Vice Director of the Masters of Writing, and Prince of Pingyuan, Lu Rui; and others led the full bureaucracy to the palace gate and submitted a memorial: 'Heaven offers no comfort; the Grand Empress Dowager has departed; all under heaven and across the land, grief and longing are cut off. We humbly note that Your Majesty's filial devotion is deep and unceasing, your cries of grief beyond measure. We have heard that when the former kings established ritual, they necessarily adapted it to the times; and when former worthies created institutions, they too sought what suited the age. This is simply because generations differ and ancient and modern circumstances are not the same. Three-year mourning, though ancient in origin, has not been practiced since the middle dynasties. The former court's established precedent may be followed; the Holy Empress's final regulations were recorded in the golden book. We humbly note that Your Majesty's utmost filial piety wells from the heart, that your grief and emaciation exceed ritual propriety, and that you wish to follow high antiquity and observe mourning for the full three years. This truly accords with the virtue of Shun's filial longing, but it does not bow to the way of governing and succoring the realm. Although the central lands are now tranquil and the myriad states at peace, the myriad affairs of state are pressing and cannot be set aside even briefly; the spring and autumn sacrifices are duties that cannot be neglected. We humbly pray that Heaven may restrain the deepest sincerity of your utmost filial piety, answer the hopes of the hundred millions, and let the mourning period and ritual observances follow the final regulations uniformly—then all under heaven would be greatly blessed. The appointed day draws near and the imperial tomb will soon be completed—we ask that the auspicious burial ground be prepared so that the rites of final service may be performed.' The edict read: 'Disaster has only just struck; I cannot bear to grant what you request.'
2
休等又表曰：「臣等聞五帝已前，喪期無數，三代相因，禮制始立，名雖虛置，行之者寡。 高宗徒有諒闇之言，而無可遵之式； 康王既廢初喪之儀，先行即位之禮。 於是無改之道或虧，三年之喪有缺。 夫豈無至孝之君，賢明之子？ 皆以理貴隨時，義存百姓。 是以君薨而即位，不暇改年； 踰月而即葬，豈待同軌； 葬而即吉，不必終喪。 此乃二漢所以經綸治道，魏晉所以綱理政術。 伏惟陛下以至孝之性，遭罔極之艱，永慕崩號，哀過虞舜，誠是萬古之高德，曠世之絕軌。 然天下至廣，萬機至殷，曠之一朝，庶政必滯。 又聖后終制，已有成典，宗社廢禮，其事尤大。 伏願天鑒，抑哀毀之至誠，思在予之深責，仰遵先志典冊之文，俯哀百辟元元之請。」 詔曰：「自遭禍罰，慌惚如昨，奉侍梓宮，猶悕髣髴。 山陵遷厝，所未忍聞。」
Xiu and the others submitted another memorial: 'We have heard that before the Five Emperors mourning periods had no fixed number; only when the Three Dynasties succeeded one another were ritual institutions first established—though the name was set in theory, few actually practiced it. Gaozong spoke only of seclusion in mourning, but left no pattern that could be followed; King Kang had already set aside the rites of initial mourning and performed the accession rites first. Thus the principle of making no changes was sometimes compromised, and three-year mourning was left incomplete. Were there not rulers of utmost filial piety and worthy, enlightened sons? They all held that principle lay in adapting to the times and that righteousness lay in caring for the people. Therefore when the ruler died they took the throne without waiting to change the year; buried after a month rather than waiting until all roads were in mourning; and after burial they at once returned to normal observance without completing the full mourning period. This is how the two Han dynasties organized the way of governance and how Wei and Jin structured the art of government. We humbly note that Your Majesty, with a nature of utmost filial piety, has encountered boundless hardship, forever longing and crying in grief, your sorrow surpassing even that of Shun—truly a virtue for ten thousand ages and a path unmatched in history. Yet the realm is vast and the myriad affairs pressing; leave them idle for a single morning and government will surely stall. Moreover the Holy Empress's final regulations already form an established canon; to abandon state ritual for the altars of land and grain is a matter of the greatest weight. We humbly pray that Heaven may restrain the utmost sincerity of your grief and emaciation, reflect on the heavy charge that rests upon you, look up and follow the writings of your predecessors in the canonical books, and look down with pity on the pleas of the ministers and the common people.' The edict read: 'Since this disaster struck, I have been dazed as though it were yesterday; attending the spirit coffin, she still seems dimly present. The removal and placement of the imperial tomb is what I cannot yet bear to hear.'
3
十月，休等又表曰：「臣等頻煩上聞，仰申誠款，聖慕惟遠，未垂昭亮。 伏讀哀灼，憂心如焚。 臣等聞承乾統極者宜以濟世為務，經綸天下者特以百姓為心。 故萬機在躬，周康弗獲申其慕； 漢文作戒，孝景不得終其禮。 此乃先代之成軌，近世所不易。 伏惟太皇太后叡聖淵識，慮及始終，明誥垂於典策，遺訓備于末命。 聿修厥德，聖人所重； 遵承先式，臣子攸尚。 陛下雖欲終上達之禮，其如黎元何？ 臣等不勝憂懼之誠，敢冒重陳，乞垂聽訪，以副億兆之望。」 詔曰：「仰尋遺旨，俯聞所奏，倍增號絕。 山陵可依典冊，如公卿所議。 衰服之宜，情所未忍，別當備敍在心。」
In the tenth month Xiu and the others submitted another memorial: 'We have repeatedly troubled Your Majesty with our reports and looked up to express our sincere sentiments, yet your sage longing remains distant and you have not granted clear illumination. Reading your grief, scorching as fire, our hearts burn with worry. We have heard that one who inherits Heaven and holds the supreme position should take succoring the age as his task, and one who governs all under heaven should take the welfare of the people as his heart. Therefore when the myriad affairs rest on one's person, even King Kang of Zhou could not fully express his longing; and when Emperor Wen of Han laid down his admonition, Emperor Jing could not complete the full mourning rites. This is the established precedent of former ages and what recent times do not lightly alter. We humbly note that the Grand Empress Dowager, wise and sage with profound understanding, thought through every stage from beginning to end; her clear instructions were recorded in the canonical books and her final teachings were complete in her last commands. To continue and cultivate her virtue is what the sages valued; and to follow and inherit the former pattern is what ministers and sons hold in highest esteem. Although Your Majesty wishes to complete the rites of utmost filial expression, what of the common people? We cannot overcome our worry and fear and dare press our case again, begging that you lend your ear to answer the hopes of the hundred millions.' The edict read: 'Looking up I trace her final will; looking down I hear what you submit—my cries of grief are doubled beyond measure. The imperial tomb may follow the canonical books, as the dukes and ministers discussed. What is proper for mourning garments is what my feelings cannot yet bear; I will separately set forth what is in my heart.'
4
既葬，休又表曰：「奉被癸酉詔書，述遺誡之旨，昭違從之義，遵儉葬之重式，稱孝思之深誠。 伏讀未周，悲感交切。 日月有期，山陵即就，伏惟陛下永慕崩號，倍增摧絕。 臣等具位在官，與國休戚，庇心之至，不敢不陳。 咸以為天下之至尊，莫尊於王業； 皇極之至重，莫重於萬機。 至尊，故不得以常禮任己； 至重，亦弗獲以世典申情。 是以二漢已降，逮于魏晉，葬不過踰月，服不淹三旬。 良以叔世事廣，禮隨時變，不可以無為之法，行之於有為之辰。 文質不同，古今異制，其來久矣。 自皇代革命，多歷年祀，四祖三宗，相繼纂業。 上承數代之故實，俯副兆民之企望，豈伊不懷，理宜然也。 文明太皇太后欽明稽古，聖思淵深，所造終制，事合世典。 送終之禮既明，遺誥之文載備，奉而行之，足以垂風百王，軌儀萬葉。 陛下以至孝之誠，哀毀過禮，三御不充半溢，晝夜不釋絰帶，永思纏綿，滅性幾及。 百姓所以憂懼失守，臣等所以肝腦塗地。 王者之尊，躬行一日，固可以感徹上靈，貫被幽顯。 況今山陵告終，百禮咸畢，[1]日已淹月，仍不卜練，比之前世，理為過矣。 願陛下思大孝終始之義，愍億兆悲惶之心，抑思割哀，遵奉終制，以時即吉，一日萬機，則天下蒙恩，率土仰賴。 謹依前式，求定練日，以備祔禫之禮。」 詔曰：「比當別敍在心。」
After the burial Xiu submitted another memorial: 'We have received the edict of the guiyou day, setting forth the intent of her final admonition, making clear the meaning of departing from compliance, following the weighty form of frugal burial, and praising the deep sincerity of your filial devotion. We read it without finishing, grief and feeling intersecting in anguish. The appointed day draws near and the imperial tomb is about to be completed—we humbly note that Your Majesty forever longs and cries in grief, your devastation doubled beyond measure. We hold office in our posts and share the state's weal and woe; to the utmost of our devotion we dare not fail to speak. All hold that of what is most honored under heaven nothing is more honored than the royal enterprise; and of what is most weighty at the imperial pole nothing is more weighty than the myriad affairs of state. Because of supreme honor one may not indulge oneself with ordinary ritual; and because of utmost weight one also cannot express feeling through worldly precedent alone. Therefore from the two Han down through Wei and Jin, burial did not exceed a month and mourning garments did not last thirty days. This is because in middle generations affairs were broad and ritual changed with the times—one cannot apply the method of non-action in a time that demands action. Refinement and simplicity differ; ancient and modern institutions differ—this has been so for a long time. Since the imperial dynasty's rise many years have passed; four ancestors and three founders have succeeded one another in inheriting the enterprise. Looking up they inherited the solid facts of many generations; looking down they answered the hopes of the hundred millions—how could they not cherish it? Reason demands that it be so. Empress Dowager Wenming was reverent, bright, and examined antiquity; her sage thought was profound; the final regulations she created accorded with established precedent. The rites of final send-off were already clear and the writings of her final commands fully complete; to receive and practice them is enough to hand down standards to a hundred kings and model ten thousand generations. Your Majesty, with sincerity of utmost filial piety, grief and emaciation exceeding ritual propriety—the three daily meals do not fill half a dipper, day and night you do not remove the hemp mourning sash, your eternal longing tangled and close, nearly reaching self-destruction. This is why the common people are worried and fearful, losing their composure, and why we would lay down our lives for you. The honor of the king—if he personally practices for one day, he can surely move the upper spirits and extend through the hidden and manifest realms. How much more now that the imperial tomb rites are complete and the hundred ceremonies finished—days have already filled a month, yet you still do not select a day for the lian mourning; compared with former ages, by reason this is excessive. We wish Your Majesty to reflect on the meaning of great filial piety from beginning to end, pity the hundred millions' hearts of grief and fear, restrain your grief, follow the final regulations, return to normal observance at the proper time, and handle the myriad affairs of state—then all under heaven would receive grace and the whole land would look up in reliance. We respectfully follow the former pattern and seek to fix the day of lian mourning to prepare the rites of enshrinement and end of mourning.' The edict read: 'I shall soon set forth separately what is in my heart.'
5
既而，帝引見太尉丕及羣臣等於太和殿前，哭拜盡哀，出幸思賢門右，詔尚書李沖宣旨於王等：「仰惟先后平日，近集羣官，共論政治，平秩民務。 何圖一旦禍酷奄鍾，獨見公卿，言及喪事，追惟荼毒，五內崩摧。」 丕對曰：「伏奉明詔，羣情圮絕。 臣與元等不識古義，以老朽之年，歷奉累聖，國家舊事，頗所知聞。 伏惟遠祖重光世襲，至有大諱之日，唯侍送梓宮者凶服，左右盡皆從吉。 四祖三宗，因而無改。 世祖、高宗臣所目見。 唯先帝升遐，臣受任長安，不在侍送之列，竊聞所傳，無異前式。 伏惟陛下以至孝之性，哀毀過禮，伏聞所御三食，不滿半溢。 臣等叩心絕氣，坐不安席。 願暫抑至慕之情，遵先朝成事，思金冊遺令，奉行前式，無失舊典。」 詔曰：「追惟慈恩，昊天罔極，哀毀常事，豈足關言。 既不能待沒，而朝夕食粥，粗亦支任，二公何足以至憂怖。 所奏先朝成事，亦所見聞。 祖宗情專武略，未修文教。 朕今仰禀聖訓，庶習古道，論時比事，又與先世不同。 太尉等國老，政之所寄，於典記舊式，或所未悉，且可知朕大意。 其餘喪禮之儀，古今異同，漢魏成事及先儒所論，朕雖在衰服之中，以喪禮事重，情在必行，故暫抑哀慕，躬自尋覽。 今且以所懷，別問尚書游明根、高閭等，公且可聽之。」
Thereafter the Emperor summoned Grand Commandant Pi and the host of ministers before the Hall of Great Harmony, wept and bowed to the full measure of grief, went out to the right of the Gate of Cherishing the Worthy, and ordered Master of Writing Li Chong to proclaim his intent to the princes: 'Looking up I recall the Empress's ordinary days—recently she gathered officials and together discussed government, leveling and ordering the people's affairs. Who could have thought that in a single morning disaster would suddenly strike—now I alone see the dukes and ministers and speak of funeral matters; recalling the bitter anguish, my five viscera collapse and are shattered.' Pi replied: 'We humbly receive your clear edict; the feelings of all are destroyed and cut off. Yuan and I do not understand ancient meaning; in our decrepit old age we have served successive sage emperors and have heard quite a bit of the state's former affairs. We humbly note that from remote ancestors through repeated glory and hereditary succession, down to the day of great taboo, only those attending and escorting the spirit coffin wore mourning garments; everyone else at left and right followed auspicious observance. The four ancestors and three founders followed this without change. Shizu and Gaozong I witnessed with my own eyes. Only when the former Emperor passed away I received appointment at Chang'an and was not in the ranks of those attending the escort; I privately heard what was transmitted and it did not differ from the former pattern. We humbly note that Your Majesty, with a nature of utmost filial piety, grief and emaciation exceeding ritual propriety—we humbly hear that the three meals you take do not fill half a dipper. We knock our hearts and stop our breath; we cannot sit at ease on our mats. We wish you temporarily to restrain your utmost longing, follow the former court's accomplished precedents, reflect on the golden book's final commands, practice the former pattern, and not lose the old canon.' The edict read: 'Recalling maternal grace—vast Heaven is without limit; grief and emaciation are ordinary matters—how could they be worth mentioning? Since I could not wait until her death, morning and evening I eat gruel and can roughly sustain myself—why should the two dukes be so worried and fearful. What you submit about the former court's accomplished affairs I also have seen and heard. The ancestors and founders focused on military strategy and did not cultivate literary teaching. I now look up and receive the sage's instruction, hoping to study the ancient way—discussing the time and comparing affairs, it again differs from the former age. The Grand Commandant and the others are elders of the state on whom government is entrusted; regarding canonical records and old patterns they may not all be familiar—yet you may know my general intent. As for the remaining rites of mourning, ancient and modern similarities and differences, Han and Wei precedents and what former Confucians discussed—although I am in mourning garments, because mourning ritual affairs are weighty and feeling must be carried through, I therefore temporarily restrain my longing and grief and personally search and review them. For now I shall take what is in my heart and separately question Masters of Writing You Minggen, Gao Lu, and others—you may listen for now.'
6
高祖謂明根曰：「朕丁罹酷罰，日月推移，山陵已過，公卿又依金冊，據案魏晉，請除衰服。 重聞所奏，倍增號哽。 前者事逼山陵，哀疚頓弊，未得論敍，今故相引，欲具通所懷。 卿前所表，除釋衰麻，聞之實用悲恨。 于時親侍梓宮，匍匐筵几，哀號痛慕，情未暫闋，而公卿何忍便有此言。 何於人情之不足！ 夫聖人制卒哭之禮，授練之變，皆奪情以漸。 又聞君子不奪人之喪，亦不可奪喪。 今則旬日之間，言及即吉，特成傷理。」 明根對曰：「臣等伏尋金冊遺旨，踰月而葬，葬而即吉。 故於卜葬之初，因奏練除之事，仰傷聖心，伏增悲悚。」 高祖曰：「卿等咸稱三年之喪，雖則自古，然中代以後，未之能行。 朕謂中代所以不遂三年之喪，蓋由君上違世，繼主初立，故身襲衮冕，以行即位之禮。 又從儲宮而登極者，君德未沇，臣義不洽，天下顒顒，未知所傒，故頒備朝儀，示皇極之尊。 及后之喪也，因父在不遂，即生惰易之情，踵以為法。 諒知敦厚之化，不易遵也。 朕少蒙鞠育，慈嚴兼至，臣子之情，君父之道，無不備誨。 雖自蒙昧，粗解告旨，庶望量行，以免咎戾。 朕誠不德，在位過紀，雖未能恩洽四方，化行萬國，仰稟聖訓，足令億兆知有君矣。 於此之日，而不遂哀慕之心，使情禮俱損，喪紀圮壞者，深可痛恨。」
Emperor Gaozu said to Minggen: 'I have encountered cruel punishment; the days pass; the imperial tomb rites are complete; the dukes and ministers again rely on the golden book, cite Wei and Jin precedents, and request that I remove my mourning garments. Hearing again what they submit, my choked cries of grief are doubled. Earlier affairs pressed upon the imperial tomb; grief and affliction overwhelmed me and I could not set forth my views; now I therefore draw you in, wishing fully to communicate what is in my heart. Your former memorial on removing coarse hemp mourning—I heard it and truly felt grief and anguish. At that time I personally attended the spirit coffin, prostrate on the mat and table, crying in grief and painful longing—my feeling had not briefly ceased—how could the dukes and ministers bear to speak such words at once? How lacking in human feeling! The sage established the rite of ending wailing and the change of granting lian—all restrain feeling by gradual steps. I also hear that the gentleman does not cut short another's mourning, nor may one's mourning be cut short. Now within a ten-day period they speak of at once returning to normal observance—this especially violates principle.' Minggen replied: 'We humbly trace the golden book's final intent—bury after a month, and after burial at once return to normal observance. Therefore at the beginning of selecting the burial day we took occasion to submit the matter of lian removal—looking up we wounded your sage heart; humbly our grief and fear increased.' Emperor Gaozu said: 'You all say three-year mourning, though ancient, yet since the middle ages it has not been practiced. I consider that the reason the middle ages did not carry through three-year mourning is broadly because when the ruler departed the world the succeeding lord was newly established, so he personally assumed dragon robes and cap to perform the rites of accession. Moreover for one who ascended the throne from the heir apparent—the ruler's virtue was not yet settled, ministers' righteousness not yet harmonized, all under heaven looked up expectantly not knowing what to hope for—therefore he promulgated complete court ritual to display the honor of the imperial pole. As for mourning for the empress, because the father was alive it was not carried through, and at once the feeling of lax ease arose and was followed as law. They knew that the full measure of sincere mourning was hard to follow. From childhood I was nourished in her care; kindness and discipline alike reached their fullest; as subject and son, as ruler and father, nothing in that bond was left untaught. Though I am myself unlearned, I roughly grasp her admonitions and hope to act accordingly, that I may avoid fault and offense. I truly lack virtue; I have reigned more than a full cycle of years; though I could not extend grace to all four quarters or spread transformation throughout the realm, upheld by her sage instruction the hundred millions yet know there is a ruler. Yet on such a day as this not to fulfill my heart of grief and longing, to let both feeling and ritual suffer and the mourning statutes crumble—this is deeply to be lamented.'
7
高閭對曰：「太古既遠，事難襲用，漢魏以來，據有成事。 漢文繼高惠之蹤，斷獄四百，幾致刑措，猶垂三旬之禮。 孝景承平，遵而不變。 以此言之，不為即位之際，有所逼懼也。 良是君人之道，理自宜然。 又漢稱文景，雖非聖君，亦中代明主。 今遺冊之旨，同於前式。 伏願陛下述遵遺令，以副羣庶之情。 杜預晉之碩學，論自古天子無有行三年之喪者，以為漢文之制，闇與古合。 雖叔世所行，事可承踵，是以臣等慺慺干謁。」 高祖曰：「漢魏之事，與今不同，備如向說。 孝景雖承昇平之基，然由嫡子即位，君德未顯，無異前古。 又父子之親，誠是天屬之重，然聖母之德，昊天莫報，思自殞滅，豈從衰服而已。 竊尋金冊之旨，所以告奪臣子之心令早即吉者，慮遺絕萬機，荒廢政事。 羣官所以慺慺，亦懼機務之不理矣。 今仰奉冊令，俯順羣心，不敢闇默不言，以荒庶政。 唯欲存衰麻，廢吉禮，朔望盡哀，寫泄悲慕，上無失導誨之志，下不乖眾官所請，情在可許，故專欲行之。 公卿宜審思朕懷，不當固執。 至如杜預之論，雖暫適時事，於孺慕之君，諒闇之主，蓋亦誣矣。 孔聖稱『喪與其易也寧戚』，而預於孝道簡略，朕無取焉。」
Gao Lu replied: 'High antiquity is already distant; its practices are hard to adopt wholesale; since Han and Wei one may rely on established precedents. Emperor Wen of Han followed Gaozu and Empress Dowager Hui; only four hundred cases were tried, punishments nearly fell into disuse, yet he still observed the thirty-day mourning rite. Emperor Xiaojing inherited a time of peace and followed without change. From this it follows that they were not acting at accession under compulsion or fear. Truly this is the way of a ruler; by principle it was fitting so. Moreover Han praises Wen and Jing; though not sage rulers, they were enlightened sovereigns of the middle age. Now the testamentary book's intent matches the former pattern. We humbly beg Your Majesty to follow the final command and satisfy the feelings of the people. Du Yu was Jin's leading scholar; he argued that from antiquity no Son of Heaven had observed three-year mourning, and held that Emperor Wen's practice tacitly accorded with antiquity. Though it was the practice of a declining age, the precedent may still be followed; therefore we earnestly press our petition.' Emperor Gaozu said: 'Han and Wei affairs differ from today, as I have just explained in full. Xiaojing though inherited a foundation of rising peace, ascended as the legitimate heir while his virtue was not yet manifest—no different from earlier times. Moreover the bond of father and son is truly heaven's closest tie; yet the sage mother's virtue—broad heaven cannot repay it; the thought is to give up one's life—how could that be satisfied by coarse mourning garments alone? I privately trace the golden book's intent: it instructs ministers and subjects to set grief aside and return early to normal observance lest the myriad affairs be neglected and government fall into neglect. The reason officials press so earnestly is also fear that urgent business will go unattended. Now I receive the book's command from above and comply with the officials' wishes below; I dare not remain silent and leave government affairs neglected. I only wish to keep coarse hemp mourning, set aside auspicious ritual, grieve fully at each new and full moon, and pour out my grief; above, not failing her guiding instruction, below, not going against what officials request—where feeling may be permitted, I therefore insist on doing so. Dukes and ministers should weigh what is in my heart and ought not cling obstinately to their view. As for Du Yu's argument—though for the moment it fits current affairs—for a ruler still in childlike grief, still in the darkness of mourning, it is surely wide of the mark. The sage Confucius said, 'In mourning, better genuine grief than an easy observance,' yet Yu treated filial piety as something brief and simple—I have nothing to take from him.'
8
祕書丞李彪對曰：「漢明德馬后，保養章帝，母子之道，無可間然。 及后之崩，葬不淹旬，尋以從吉。 然漢章不受譏於前代，明德不損名於往史。 雖論功比德，事有殊絕，然母子之親，抑亦可擬。 願陛下覽前世之成規，遵金冊之遺令，割哀從議，以親萬機。 斯誠臣下至心，兆庶所願。」 高祖曰：「既言事殊，固不宜仰匹至德，復稱孝章從吉，不受譏前代。 朕所以眷戀衰絰，不從所議者，仰感慈恩，情不能忍故也。 蓋聞孝子之居喪，見美麗則感親，故釋錦而服粗衰。 內外相稱，非虛加也。 今者豈徒顧禮違議，苟免嗤嫌而已。 抑亦情發於衷，而欲肆之於外。 金冊之意，已具前答，故不復重論。 又卒日奉旨，不忍片言。 後事遂非，默默在念，不顯所懷。 今奉終之事，一以仰遵遺冊，於令不敢有乖。 但痛慕之心，事繫於予。 雖無丁蘭之感，庶聖靈不奪至願，是以謂無違旨嫌。 諸公所表，稱先朝成式，事在可準。 朕仰惟太祖龍飛九五，初定中原，及太宗承基，世祖纂歷，皆以四方未一，羣雄競起，故銳意武功，未修文德。 高宗、顯祖亦心存武烈，因循無改。 朕承累世之資，仰聖善之訓，撫和內外，上下輯諧。 稽參古式，憲章舊典，四海移風，要荒革俗。 仰遵明軌，庶無愆違。 而方於禍酷之辰，引末朝因循之則，以為前準，非是所喻。」
Secretariat Director Li Biao replied: 'In Han, the Illumined Virtue Empress Ma raised and nurtured Emperor Zhang; the bond of mother and son admitted no breach. When the empress died, burial came within ten days, and soon thereafter he returned to normal observance. Yet Emperor Zhang incurred no censure from former ages, and Illumined Virtue did not lose standing in past histories. Though merit and virtue differ beyond comparison, the bond of mother and son may yet be likened. We beg Your Majesty to review former precedents, follow the golden book's final command, set grief aside and accept our counsel, and attend personally to the myriad affairs of state. This is truly the inmost wish of your subjects and of the hundred millions.' Emperor Gaozu said: 'Having already said the cases differ, it is surely not fitting to look up and match ultimate virtue, then again cite Emperor Zhang's return to normal observance and freedom from censure in former ages— The reason I cling to coarse mourning fringe and do not follow your counsel is that, looking up, I feel her kind grace and my heart cannot bear it. I have heard that when a filial son is in mourning, seeing beauty reminds him of his parent; therefore he puts aside brocade and wears coarse hemp. Inner feeling and outward display correspond; it is not mere show. Surely I am not merely attending to ritual, defying your counsel, and seeking only to avoid ridicule? Rather, feeling rises from within and I wish to give it outward expression. The golden book's meaning I have already answered fully; I will not repeat the argument. Moreover, on the day of her passing I received your directive and could not bear a single word in reply. Later matters went awry; I kept my thoughts to myself and did not reveal what was in my heart. Now, in funeral matters, I uniformly follow the testamentary book; in what it commands I dare not deviate. Only the heart of painful longing is a matter that binds to me alone. Though I lack Ding Lan's devotion, I hope her sage spirit will not deny my utmost wish; therefore I say there is no ground to suspect violation of her command. Your memorial cites former dynasties' established patterns as something that may serve as standard. I reflect that Taizu rose to the throne, first settled the Central Plain, and Taizong and Shizu in turn inherited and continued the line—all while the four quarters were not yet united and rival heroes contended; therefore they focused on martial achievement and did not cultivate civil virtue. Gaozong and Xianzu likewise kept martial glory in mind and followed precedent without change. I inherit the accumulated resources of many reigns and receive her sage and good instruction; I have soothed and harmonized inner and outer, and above and below are united. I have examined ancient models and taken old canons as charter; within the four seas customs have shifted, and even the frontier wastes have changed their ways. Looking up, I follow the enlightened path, hoping to commit no offense or deviation. Yet at a time of such calamity to cite the last dynasty's follow-along rules as precedent—this is not what I can accept.'
9
高閭對曰：「臣等以先朝所行，頗同魏晉，又適於時，故敢仍請。」 高祖曰：「卿等又稱今雖中夏穆清，庶邦康靜，然萬機事廣，不可暫曠。 朕以卿苦見逼奪，情不自勝。 尋覽喪儀，見前賢論者，稱卒哭之後，王者得理庶事。 依據此文，又從遺冊之旨，雖存衰服，不廢萬機，無闕庶政，得展罔極之思，於情差申。」
Gao Lu replied: 'We hold that what former dynasties practiced largely matches Wei and Jin, and again fits the times; therefore we dare press our request again.' Emperor Gaozu said: 'You again say that though the central realm is tranquil and the myriad states at peace, the affairs of state are vast and cannot be left vacant even briefly. Because you press me so bitterly, my feelings cannot contain themselves. Searching through mourning ritual, I find former worthies who say that after the end of wailing a king may attend to common affairs. Relying on this text and again following the testament's intent, I may keep mourning garments yet not abandon the myriad affairs, leave government unimpaired, and still extend my boundless longing—in feeling this is somewhat fulfilled.'
10
高閭對曰：「君不除服於上，臣則釋衰於下，從服之義有違，為臣之道不足。 又親御衰麻，復聽朝政，吉凶事雜，臣竊為疑。」 高祖曰：「卿等猶以朕之未除於上，不忍專釋於下，奈何令朕獨忍於親舊！ 論云，王者不遂三年之服者，屈己以寬羣下也。 先后之撫羣下也，念之若子，視之猶傷。 卿等哀慕之思，既不求寬； 朕欲盡罔極之慕，何為不可？ 但逼遺冊，不遂乃心。 將欲居廬服衰，寫朝夕之慕； 升堂襲素，理日昃之勤。 使大政不荒，哀情獲遂，吉不害於凶，凶無妨於吉。 以心處之，謂為可爾。 遺旨之文，公卿所議，皆服終三旬，釋衰襲吉。 從此而行，情實未忍； 遂服三年，重違旨誥。 今處二理之際，唯望至期，使四氣一周，寒暑代易。 雖不盡三年之心，得一經忌日，情結差申。 案禮，卒哭之後，將受變服。 於朕受日，庶民及小官皆命即吉。 內職羽林中郎已下，虎賁郎已上，及外職五品已上無衰服者，素服以終三月； 內職及外臣衰服者，變從練禮。 外臣三月而除； 諸王、三都、駙馬及內職，至來年三月晦朕之練也，除凶即吉； 侍臣君服斯服，隨朕所降。 此雖非舊式，推情即理，有貴賤之差，遠近之別。」
Gao Lu replied: 'If the ruler does not remove mourning above, ministers release mourning below—the principle of shared mourning is violated and the minister's duty is unfulfilled. Moreover, to wear mourning garments personally yet again hear court government, with auspicious and inauspicious affairs intermixed—I privately have doubts.' Emperor Gaozu said: 'You still, because I have not removed mourning above, cannot bear to release mourning below—how then can you make me bear mourning alone among kin and old associates! Discussions say that a king who does not observe three-year mourning restrains himself to give latitude to those below. The late empress in caring for those below thought of them as sons and viewed them as still wounded. Your thoughts of grief and longing do not seek such latitude; why may I not exhaust my boundless longing? I am only compelled by the testamentary book, and my own heart is not fulfilled. I intend to dwell in a mourning hut and wear coarse garments, pouring out morning-and-evening longing; then ascend the hall in white garments and attend to the day's business at its height. Thus great government will not lie waste, grieving feeling may be fulfilled, and the auspicious will not harm the inauspicious nor the inauspicious obstruct the auspicious. Taking this to heart, I say it can be done. The testamentary text and what dukes and ministers discussed both prescribe mourning to the end of thirty days, then release mourning and assume auspicious garments. To follow that course my feeling truly cannot bear it; to wear mourning three years would gravely violate her directive edict. Now caught between two principles, I only hope for the full term, that the four seasons complete one cycle and cold and heat succeed one another. Though I cannot fulfill the three-year heart, to pass one anniversary of her death would somewhat ease the knot of feeling. According to ritual, after the end of wailing one is about to receive changed garments. On the day I receive lian garments, common people and minor officials are all ordered at once to normal observance. For inner offices from Household Guard Gentleman down and Tiger Guard Gentleman up, and for outer offices of fifth rank and above who wear no mourning garments, white garments until the end of three months; inner offices and outer ministers in mourning garments shall change and follow lian ritual. Outer ministers remove mourning after three months; all princes, the three capitals, imperial sons-in-law, and inner offices—until the last day of the third month of next year, my lian observance—shall remove inauspicious garments and assume auspicious ones; attending ministers shall wear what the ruler wears, following what I prescribe. This is not the old pattern, but guided by feeling it accords with principle; there are differences of rank and of near and far.'
11
明根對曰：「聖慕深遠，孝情彌至，臣等所奏，已不蒙許，願得踰年即吉。 既歷冬正，歲序改易，且足申至慕之情，又近遺誥之意，何待期年。」 高祖曰：「冊旨速除之意，慮廣及百官，久曠眾務。 豈於朕一人，獨有違奪？ 今既依次降除，各不廢王政，復何妨於事，而猶奪期年之心。」
Minggen replied: 'Your sage grief is deep and far-reaching; your filial feeling is utmost. Our memorial has not been granted. We beg that after the year has passed you may at once return to normal observance. The winter solstice has passed and the year's sequence has changed; that is enough to express your utmost longing, and it is again near the testamentary edict's intent—why wait the full year?' Emperor Gaozu said: 'The book's intent in prescribing swift removal of mourning is concern that it extend broadly to the hundred officials and long leave public duties vacant. How could it apply to me alone, with a special exception? Now that mourning has been lowered step by step and government is not suspended, what further impediment remains, that you still seek to seize my wish for the full year?'
12
高閭對曰：「昔王孫裸葬，士安去棺，其子皆從而不違，不為不孝。 此雖貴賤非倫，事頗相似，臣敢借以為諭。 今親奉遺令，而有所不從，臣等所以頻煩干奏。」 李彪亦曰：「三年不改其父之道，可謂大孝。 今不遵冊令，恐涉改道之嫌。」 高祖曰：「王孫、士安皆誨子以儉，送終之事，及其遵也，豈異今日。 改父之道者，蓋謂慢孝忘禮，肆情違度。 今梓宮之儉，玄房之約，明器幃帳，一無所陳。 如斯之事，卿等所悉。 衰服之告，乃至聖心卑己申下之意，寧可苟順沖約之旨，而頓絕創巨之痛。 縱有所涉，甘受後代之譏，未忍今日之請。 又表稱春秋烝嘗，事難廢闕。 朕聞諸夫子，『吾不與祭，如不祭』。 自先朝以來，有司行事，不必躬親，比之聖言，於事殆闕。 賴蒙慈訓之恩，自行致敬之禮。 今昊天降罰，殃禍上延，人神喪恃，幽顯同切，想宗廟之靈，亦輟歆祀。 脫行饗薦，恐乖冥旨。 仰思成訓，倍增痛絕。 豈忍身襲衮冕，親行吉事。」
Gao Lu replied: 'Formerly Wang Sun ordered naked burial and Shi'an removed his coffin; their sons all followed without violation and were not deemed unfilial. Though rank differs, the cases are rather alike; I dare borrow them as illustration. Now we personally receive her final command, yet in some matters it is not followed—that is why we press our memorials again and again.' Li Biao also said: 'Three years without changing his father's way may be called great filial piety. Not to follow the book's command now may invite suspicion of changing her way.' Emperor Gaozu said: 'Wang Sun and Shi'an both instructed their sons in frugality in funeral matters; when sons followed, how does that differ from today? To change a father's way means to neglect filial piety, forget ritual, give free rein to feeling, and violate proper measure. Now the spirit coffin's frugality, the dark chamber's restraint, bright vessels and curtain hangings—not one is displayed. Matters such as these you all know. The announcement on mourning garments goes even to her sage heart's intent to humble herself and extend grace below—how can one perfunctorily follow the intent of mild restraint and abruptly cut off the pain of a wound greater than one's body? Even if I thereby invite censure from later generations, I gladly accept it—I cannot bear today's requests. Your memorial also says that spring and autumn offerings and seasonal sacrifices are hard to omit. I heard from the Master, 'If I do not participate in sacrifice, it is as if there were no sacrifice.' Since former dynasties officials have conducted the rites without the ruler necessarily attending in person; compared with the sage's words, the practice falls short. Relying on the grace of her kind instruction, I myself shall perform the rites of reverence. Heaven has now sent down punishment; calamity reaches even above. Humans and spirits alike have lost their support; the living and the dead share the same anguish. I believe the spirits in the ancestral temples have also ceased to accept our offerings. If I were to proceed with feasting and offerings, I fear it would violate her intent in the unseen realm. When I reflect on her accomplished instruction, my grief doubles unbearably. How could I bear to clothe myself in the dragon robe and crown and personally perform auspicious rites?"
13
高閭對曰：「古者郊天，越紼行事，宗廟之重，次於郊祀。 今山陵已畢，不可久廢廟饗。」 高祖曰：「祭祀之典，事由聖經，未忍之心，具如前告。 脫至廟庭，號慕自纏，終恐廢禮。 公卿如能獨行，事在言外。」
Gao Lü replied, "In antiquity, when sacrificing to Heaven, one tied the mourning sash aside to perform the rite. The ancestral temples ranked second only to the suburban sacrifice. The imperial tomb rites are now complete; temple offerings cannot be suspended much longer." Emperor Gaozu said, "The canon of sacrifice derives from the sage classics. My heart's inability to bear it has been fully explained already. If I were to enter the temple courtyard, my wailing grief would overwhelm me, and I fear the rite would ultimately be abandoned. If you ministers can perform the rites yourselves, that lies beyond what I can say."
14
李彪曰：「三年不為禮，禮必壞； 三年不為樂，樂必崩。 今欲廢禮闕樂，臣等未敢。」 高祖曰：「此乃宰予不仁之說，己受責於孔子，不足復言。 羣官前表，稱『高宗徒有諒闇之言，而無可遵之式』。 朕惟信闇默之難，周公禮制，自茲以降，莫能景行。 言無可遵之式，良可怪矣。 復云，康王既廢初喪之儀，先行即位之禮。 於是無改之道式虧，三年之喪有缺。 朕謂服美不安，先賢有諭； 禮畢居喪，著在前典。 或虧之言，有缺之義，深乖理衷。」 高閭對曰：「臣等據案成事，依附杜預，多有未允。 至乃推校古今，量考眾議，實如明旨。 臣等竊惟曾參匹夫，七日不食，夫子以為非禮。 及錄其事，唯書七日，不稱三年，蓋重其初慕之心。 伏惟陛下以萬乘之尊，不食竟於五日，既御則三食不充半溢。 臣等伏用悲惶，肝腦塗地。 躬行一日，足以貫被幽顯，豈宜衰服三年，以曠機務。 夫聖人制禮，不及者企而及之，過之者俯而就之。 伏願陛下抑至慕之情，俯就典禮之重，誠是臣等慺慺之願。」 高祖曰：「恩隆德厚，則思戀自深，雖非至情，由所感發。 然曾參之孝，曠代而有，豈朕今日所足論也。 又前表，稱『古者葬而即吉，不必終禮，此乃二漢所以經綸治道，魏晉所以綱理庶政』。 朕以為既葬即吉，蓋其季俗多亂，權宜救世耳，諒非光治興邦之化。 二漢之盛，魏晉之興，豈由簡略喪禮，遺忘仁孝哉。 公卿偏執一隅，便謂經治之要，皆在於斯，殆非義也。 昔平日之時，公卿每奏稱當今四海晏安，諸夏清泰，禮樂日新，政和民悅。 蹤侔軒唐，事等虞禹，漢魏已下，固不足仰止聖治。 及至今日，便欲苦奪朕志，使不踰於魏晉。 如此之意，未解所由。 昔文母上承聖主之資，下有賢子之化，唯助德宣政，因風致穆而已。 當今眾事草創，萬務惟始，朕以不德，沖年踐祚。 而聖母匡訓以義方，詔誨以政事，經綸內外，憂勤億兆，使君臣協和，天下緝穆。 上代已來，何后之功，得以仰比？ 如有可擬，則從眾議。 堯雖棄子禪舜，而舜自有聖德，不假堯成。 及其徂也，猶四海遏密，終於三年。 今慈育之恩，詔教之德，尋之曠代，未有匹擬。 既受非常之恩，寧忍從其常式。 況未殊一時，而公卿欲令即吉。 冠冕黼黻，行禮廟庭； 臨軒設懸，饗會萬國。 尋事求心，實所未忍。」
Li Biao said, "If for three years one does not practice ritual, ritual must decay; if for three years one does not practice music, music must collapse. Now Your Majesty wishes to abandon ritual and omit music—we your ministers dare not consent." Emperor Gaozu said, "That is the inhumane doctrine of Zai Yu. He already received Confucius's rebuke and is not worth discussing again. Your earlier memorial said, 'Gaozong merely spoke of mourning seclusion but left no pattern to follow.' I believe that silent seclusion is difficult to sustain. Since Duke of Zhou's ritual system, none has been able to model their conduct on it. To say there is no pattern to follow is truly strange. It also said that King Kang, having set aside the initial mourning rites, first performed the accession ceremony. Thus the pattern of the undiminished way was impaired, and the three-year mourning was left incomplete. I hold that finding fine garments uncomfortable—the former sages had instruction on this; and that one completes the rites and then dwells in mourning is recorded in the former canons. Words of impairment and meanings of incompleteness deeply violate what reason embraces." Gao Lü replied, "We your ministers, relying on precedent to settle the matter and following Du Yu, found much that was not acceptable. When we compared ancient and modern practice and weighed all opinions, we found it truly accords with Your Majesty's enlightened intent. We privately reflect that Zeng Shen was but a common man. When he went seven days without food, the Master deemed it contrary to ritual. When the affair was recorded, only seven days were written, not three years—probably because they honored the depth of his initial grief. We consider that Your Majesty, lord of ten thousand chariots, abstained from food for five full days, and that since resuming rule your three daily meals have not filled half a bowl. We prostrate ourselves in grief and dread, ready to lay down our lives. A single day of personal observance suffices to reach both the living and the dead. How could one wear mourning for three years and neglect the affairs of state? The sage fashioned ritual so that those who fall short may strive to reach it and those who exceed may bow and comply. We pray that Your Majesty will restrain your utmost grief and bow to the weight of canonical ritual. That is truly our ministers' earnest wish." Emperor Gaozu said, "When grace is lofty and virtue profound, longing runs deep of itself. Though not the utmost feeling, it arises from what one has received. Yet Zeng Shen's filial piety appears only once in an age. How am I fit to be compared with him today? Your earlier memorial also said, 'In antiquity one buried the dead and then immediately resumed auspicious dress without necessarily completing the full ritual. This is how the two Han dynasties wove their governance and how Wei and Jin regulated public affairs.' I hold that resuming auspicious dress immediately after burial was probably because those decadent ages were chaotic and needed an expedient to save the realm—not the transformation that illumines governance and raises a state. Did the flourishing of the two Han dynasties and the rise of Wei and Jin come from simplifying mourning ritual and forgetting humaneness and filial piety? You ministers cling stubbornly to one point and then declare that the essentials of governing the realm all lie in this. That can hardly be called righteous. In former peaceful times you ministers repeatedly memorialized that the realm was tranquil within the four seas, that all the Xia lands were clear and peaceful, that ritual and music were daily renewed, and that governance was harmonious and the people content. Our tracks matched those of Xuanyuan and Tang; our affairs equaled those of Yu and Shun. Han and Wei and all below were certainly not worth looking up to as models of sage governance. Yet now you wish bitterly to wrest away my intent and make me not exceed Wei and Jin. I do not understand whence such intent comes. Formerly Empress Wen received above the endowment of a sage sovereign and below the transformation of a worthy son. She only assisted virtue and spread governance, riding the wind to bring peace. Today myriad affairs are newly founded and ten thousand tasks are just beginning. I, lacking in virtue, ascended the throne in my tender years. Yet the sage mother corrected my instruction with righteous principle, edified me in affairs of state, wove governance inside and out, and toiled in care for the hundred million people, so that lord and minister were harmonious and all under Heaven was tranquil. Since antiquity, what empress's achievement could be looked up to for comparison? If there is one to match her, then I shall follow your counsel. Though Yao set aside his son and ceded the throne to Shun, Shun possessed sage virtue of his own and did not owe his completion to Yao. When he passed away, the four seas still muffled their music, and mourning did not end until three years had passed. The grace of her fostering care and the virtue of her edifying instruction—searching across distant ages, there is none to match. Having received such extraordinary grace, how could I bear to follow the ordinary pattern? Moreover, not even a full season has passed, yet you ministers wish to make me resume auspicious dress immediately. To don the crown and dragon robes and perform rites in the temple court; to face the hall with suspended music set up and feast with the myriad states— when I weigh the affair against my heart, it is truly what I cannot bear."
15
高閭對曰：「臣等遵承冊令，因循前典，惟願除衰即吉，親理萬機。 至德所在，陛下欽明稽古，周覽墳籍，孝性發於聖質，至情出於自然，斟酌古今，事非臣等所及。」 李彪曰：「當今雖治風緝穆，民庶晏然。 江南有未賓之吳，朔北有不臣之虜，東西二蕃雖文表稱順，情尚難測。 是以臣等猶懷不虞之慮。」 高祖曰：「魯公帶絰從師，晉侯墨衰敗寇，往聖無譏，前典所許。 如有不虞，雖越紼無嫌，而況衰麻乎？ 豈可於晏安之辰，豫念戎旅之事，以廢喪紀哉！」
Gao Lü replied, "We your ministers obey the edict commands and follow former canon. We only wish that Your Majesty remove mourning garments and resume auspicious dress immediately and personally administer the myriad affairs of state. Where utmost virtue resides, Your Majesty is respectfully bright, examines antiquity, and has comprehensively reviewed the tomb classics. Filial nature arises from your sage substance and utmost feeling from the natural. In weighing ancient and modern practice, the affair is beyond what we your ministers can reach." Li Biao said, "Though today the winds of governance are tranquil and the people are at peace, south of the Yangtze there is Wu, not yet submissive; north of the frontier there are barbarians who do not acknowledge our rule. The eastern and western frontier domains, though their documents claim obedience, remain hard to read in sentiment. Therefore we your ministers still harbor unanticipated concerns." Emperor Gaozu said, "The Duke of Lu wore the mourning sash while following his teacher; the Marquis of Jin, in ink-dyed mourning, defeated invaders. Former sages did not criticize this, and former canon permitted it. If the unexpected should arise, even crossing the mourning sash would be without blame—how much more so wearing coarse hemp mourning? How could one, in a time of peaceful calm, premeditate military affairs and thereby abandon mourning observance!"
16
李彪對曰：「昔太伯父死適越，不失至德之名。 夫豈不懷，有由然也。 伏願抑至慕之心，從遺告之重。 臣聞知子莫若父母，聖后知陛下至孝之性也難奪，故豫造金冊，明著遺禮。 今陛下孝慕深遠，果不可奪，臣等常辭，知何所啟。」 高祖曰：「太伯之言，有乖今事，諸情備如前論，更不重敍古義。 亦有稱王者除衰而諒闇終喪者，若不許朕衰，朕則當除衰闇默，委政冢宰。 二事之中，惟公卿所擇。」 明根對曰：「陛下孝侔高宗，慕同大舜，服衰麻以申至痛，理萬機以從遺旨，興曠世之廢禮，制一代之高則。 臣等伏尋淵默不言，則代政將曠，仰順聖慕之心，請從衰服之旨。」 東陽王丕曰：「臣與尉元，歷事五帝，雖衰老無識，敢奏所聞。 自聖世以來，大諱之後三月，必須迎神於西，攘惡於北，具行吉禮。 自皇始以來，未之或易。」 高祖曰：「太尉國老，言先朝舊事，誠如所陳。 但聰明正直，唯德是依。 若能以道，不召自至。 苟失仁義，雖請弗來。 大禍三月，而備行吉禮，深在難忍。 縱即吉之後，猶所不行，況數旬之中，而有此理。 恐是先朝萬得之一失，未可以為常式。 朕在不言之地，不應如此。 但公卿執奪，朕情未忍從，遂成往復，追用悲絕。」 上遂號慟，羣官亦哭而辭出。
Li Biao replied, "Formerly, when Taibo's elder brother died, Taibo was in Yue, yet he did not lose the name of utmost virtue. Surely he yearned in his heart, yet there was reason for it. We pray that Your Majesty restrain your utmost grief and follow the weight of her testament. I have heard that none knows a son like his parents. The sage empress knew that Your Majesty's utmost filial nature was hard to wrest away, and therefore pre-made the golden edict, clearly setting forth her departing ritual instructions. Now Your Majesty's filial grief is deep and far-reaching and truly cannot be wrested away. We your ministers have spoken repeatedly and know not what further to present." Emperor Gaozu said, "Taibo's words do not fit today's affair. All the circumstances have been fully argued as before. I will not recount ancient meanings again. There are also those who say that a king may remove mourning garments yet complete the mourning in silent seclusion. If you do not permit me to wear mourning, I shall remove mourning and dwell in silent seclusion, entrusting governance to the chief minister. Between these two courses, let you ministers choose." Ming Gen replied, "Your Majesty's filial piety matches Gaozong of Shang; your yearning equals that of Great Shun. You wear hemp mourning to express your utmost grief and administer the myriad affairs of state to follow her testament. You revive long-abandoned ritual and establish a lofty norm for the age. We reflect that if you dwell in deep silence and do not speak, governance for the age will lie vacant. Looking up to follow your sage grief, we request that you follow the intent of wearing mourning garments." Prince Pi of Dongyang said, "Yu Yuan and I have served five emperors. Though old and without understanding, we dare report what we have heard. Since the sage reigns began, in the third month after the great taboo one must welcome the spirits in the west, expel ill omens in the north, and fully perform the auspicious rites. Since the Huangshi reign, this has never been altered." Emperor Gaozu said, "The Grand Mentor, elder of the state, speaks of former court affairs as they truly were. But the intelligent and upright follow only virtue. If one can act through the Way, spirits come without being summoned. If one lacks humaneness and righteousness, though invited they will not come. In the third month after great calamity to fully perform auspicious rites is deeply hard to bear. Even after resuming auspicious dress it would still be unthinkable—how much more so within a few tens of days. I fear it was the former court's one lapse in ten thousand and cannot be made the regular pattern. I am in the place of not speaking and ought not be treated thus. But you ministers cling and press; my heart cannot bear to comply. Thus the exchange went back and forth, and to recall it renews my grief to the breaking point." The Emperor then wailed aloud. The officials also wept and withdrew.
17
壬午詔曰：「公卿屢上啟事，依據金冊遺旨，中代成式，求過葬即吉。 朕仰惟恩重，不勝罔極之痛。 思遵遠古，終三年之禮。 比見羣官具論所懷，今依禮既虞卒哭，剋此月二十日受服，以葛易麻。 既衰服在上，公卿不得獨釋於下。 故於朕之授變從練，已下復為節降。 斷度今古，以情制衷。 但取遺旨速除之一節，粗申臣子哀慕之深情。 欲令百官同知此意，故用宣示。 便及變禮，感痛彌深。」
On the day renwu an edict said, "You ministers have repeatedly submitted memorials, relying on the golden edict's testament and the established pattern of middle antiquity, seeking to pass beyond burial and resume auspicious dress immediately. I look up and consider the weight of her grace and cannot overcome my boundless grief. I had thought to follow remote antiquity and complete the full three-year ritual. Having recently seen the officials fully state their thoughts, I now follow ritual. Having passed the yu and zu ku observances, on the twentieth of this month I shall receive the changed garments, replacing hemp with ge cloth. Since mourning garments are worn above, officials below cannot release theirs alone. Therefore, from my granting the change to follow the dian mourning stage downward, graduated reductions are again made. I have judged ancient and modern practice and regulated the mean according to feeling. I take only the one section of her testament on swift removal, to give rough expression to the deep mourning yearning of ministers and subjects. I wish all officials to know this intent and therefore proclaim it. Now that the change in ritual is upon us, my grief grows deeper still."
18
十五年四月癸亥朔，設薦於太和廟。 是日，高祖及從服者仍朝夕臨，始進蔬食，上哀哭追感不飯。 侍中、南平王馮誕等諫，經宿乃膳。 甲子罷朝，夕哭。 九月丙戌，有司上言求卜祥日。 詔曰：「便及此期，覽以摧絕。 敬祭卜祥，乃古之成典。 但世失其義，筮日求吉，[2]既乖敬事之志，又違永慕之心。 今將屈禮厲眾，不訪龜兆。 已企及此晦，寧敢重違冊旨，以異羣議。 尋惟永往，言增崩裂。」 丁亥，高祖宿於廟。 至夜一刻，引諸王、三都大官、駙馬、三公、令僕已下，奏事中散已上，及刺史、鎮將，立哭於廟庭，三公、令僕升廟。 既出，監御令陳服笥於廟陛南，近侍者奉而升列於堊室前席。 侍中、南平王馮誕跽奏請易服，進縞冠、皂朝服、革帶、黑屨，侍臣各易以黑介幘、白絹單衣、革帶、烏履，遂哀哭至乙夜，盡戊子。 質明薦羞，奏事中散已上，冠服如侍臣，刺史已下無變。 高祖薦酌，神部尚書王諶讚祝訖，哭拜遂出。 有司陽祥服如前。 [3]侍中跽奏，請易祭服，進縞冠素紕、白布深衣、麻繩履。 侍臣去幘易幍，羣官易服如侍臣，又引入如前。 儀曹尚書游明根升廟跽慰，復位哭，遂出。 引太守外臣及諸部渠帥入哭，次引蕭賾使并雜客入。 至甲夜四刻，侍御、散騎常侍、司衞監以上升廟哭，既而出。 帝出廟，停立哀哭，久而乃還。
In the fifteenth year, on the first day of the fourth month, the day guihai, offerings were established at the Taihe Temple. That day Emperor Gaozu and those in mourning garments still attended morning and evening. Vegetable food was first introduced. The Emperor, mourning and weeping in recollection of grief, would not eat. The attendant-in-chief, Prince Dan of Nanping Feng Dan, and others remonstrated with him. After a full night he finally took food. On the day jiazi court was dismissed and evening mourning was observed. In the ninth month, on the day bingxu, the relevant offices submitted a memorial requesting divination of an auspicious day. An edict said, "Now that this date is upon us, to read the memorial shatters my spirit. Reverent sacrifice and divination for an auspicious day are an established canon of antiquity. Yet the age has lost their meaning: to divine a day and seek good fortune [2] both betrays the spirit of reverent observance and runs counter to the heart's everlasting grief. Now I shall bend ritual to steel the multitude and will not consult turtle omens. I have already set my hopes on this month's end; how could I again defy the edict's intent and stand apart from the assembly's counsel? When I reflect on her everlasting departure, every word only deepens my collapse and grief." On the day dinghai, Emperor Gaozu lodged overnight at the temple. At the first quarter of the night, he summoned the princes, grand officials of the three capitals, imperial sons-in-law, the Three Excellencies, and all officials from directors and vice directors on down, together with memorialists and palace attendant draftsmen on up, as well as regional inspectors and garrison commanders, to stand weeping in the temple courtyard; the Three Excellencies and the directors and vice directors ascended into the temple. When they came out, the Supervisor of the Imperial Wardrobe set out the garment chest at the south side of the temple steps; attendants carried it up and laid out the garments before the seats in front of the whitewashed mourning chamber. The attendant-in-chief, Prince Dan of Nanping Feng Dan, knelt and submitted a request to change garments, presenting unbleached hemp caps, black court robes, leather belts, and black shoes; the attendant ministers each changed into black kerchiefs, white silk single garments, leather belts, and black shoes, then mourned and wept until the second watch of the night and on through the day wuzi. At dawn, delicacies were presented as offerings; memorialists and palace attendant draftsmen on up wore caps and garments like the attendant ministers, while regional inspectors on down made no change of dress. Emperor Gaozu presented the libations; Wang Chen, Director of the Ministry of Spirits, intoned the invocation to its end, and after weeping and bowing they departed. The relevant offices displayed the auspicious garments as before. [3] The attendant-in-chief knelt and submitted a request to change into sacrificial garments, presenting unbleached hemp caps with plain borders, white cloth deep garments, and hemp-rope shoes. The attendant ministers removed their kerchiefs and changed into mourning caps; the host of officials changed garments like the attendant ministers and were again led in as before. You Minggen, Director of the Bureau of Rites, ascended the temple, knelt to offer consolation, returned to his place and wept, then departed. He then led in grand administrators, outer subjects, and chieftains of the various tribes to weep; next he led in the envoy of Xiao Ze and miscellaneous guests. At the fourth quarter of the first watch of the night, palace attendants, regular palace attendant cavalrymen, and supervisors of the palace guard on up ascended the temple to weep, then came out. The Emperor came out of the temple, halted and stood there mourning and weeping, and only after a long while returned.
19
十月，太尉丕奏曰：「竊聞太廟已就，明堂功畢，然享祀之禮，不可久曠。 至於移廟之日，須得國之大姓，遷主安廟。 神部尚書王諶既是庶姓，不宜參豫。 臣昔以皇室宗屬，遷世祖之主。 先朝舊式，不敢不聞。」 詔曰：「具聞所奏，尋惟平日，倍增痛絕。 今遵述先旨，營建寢廟，既而粗就。 先王制禮，職司有分。 移廟之日，遷奉神主，皆太尉之事，朕亦親自行事，不得越局，專委大姓。 王諶所司，惟贊板而已。 時運流速，奄及縞制，復不得哀哭於明堂，後當親拜山陵，寫泄哀慕。」
In the tenth month, Grand Commandant Pi submitted a memorial: "I have heard that the Grand Temple is complete and work on the Bright Hall finished, yet the rites of sacrifice and offering cannot long be neglected. On the day the temple is transferred, the great clans of the state must be obtained to move the spirit tablets and install them in the temple. Wang Chen, Director of the Ministry of Spirits, is of a common clan and is not fit to take part. Your subject formerly moved the tablet of Emperor Shizu in my capacity as a member of the imperial house clan. This was the former court's established practice, and I dare not fail to report it." An edict said, "I have fully heard your memorial; when I reflect on ordinary days, my grief is doubled and cut off. Now, following my predecessor's intent, the resting temple has been built and is roughly complete. When the former kings established ritual, each office had its proper division of duty. On the day the temple is transferred, moving and presenting the spirit tablets are all the Grand Commandant's affairs; I too shall personally perform the rites and may not overstep office to entrust this exclusively to great clans. Wang Chen's office is responsible only for intoning the invocation board. Time flows swiftly; I have suddenly reached the period of unbleached hemp mourning and again cannot mourn and weep in the Bright Hall; later I shall personally pay my respects at the mountain tomb and pour out my grief and longing."
20
是年，高麗王死，十二月詔曰：「高麗王璉守蕃東隅，累朝貢職，年踰期頤，勤德彌著。 今既不幸，其赴使垂至，將為之舉哀。 而古者同姓哭廟，異姓隨其方，皆有服制。 今既久廢，不可卒為之衰，且欲素委貌、白布深衣，於城東為盡一哀，以見其使也。 朕雖不嘗識此人，甚悼惜之。 有司可申敕備辦。」 事如別儀。
That year the king of Goguryeo died. In the twelfth month an edict said, "King Rian of Goguryeo guarded the eastern frontier, through successive reigns fulfilled his tribute duties, lived beyond a hundred years, and his diligent virtue grew ever more manifest. Now that this misfortune has come, his envoy of condolence is about to arrive, and I shall hold mourning for him. In antiquity those of the same surname wept in the temple, while those of different surnames followed the customs of their region; each had prescribed mourning garments. That practice has long been abandoned, and I cannot suddenly adopt full mourning for him; for now I wish to wear a plain cap and white cloth deep garments and, east of the city, perform a full mourning observance to receive his envoy. Although I never met this man in person, I deeply mourn and cherish him. Let the relevant offices proclaim the order and make all preparations." The matter was carried out according to separate regulations.
21
十六年九月辛未，高祖哭於文明太后陵左，終日不絕聲，幕越席為次，侍臣侍哭。 壬申，高祖以忌日哭於陵左，哀至則哭，侍哭如昨。 帝二日不御膳。 癸酉，朝中夕三時，哭拜於陵前。 夜宿監玄殿，是夜徹次。 甲戌，帝拜哭辭陵，還永樂宮。
In the sixteenth year, on the day xinwei of the ninth month, Emperor Gaozu wept to the left of Empress Dowager Wenming's tomb, all day without ceasing; curtains and rush mats were set up as his lodging, and attendant ministers attended the mourning. On the day renshen, Emperor Gaozu wept at the left of the tomb on the anniversary of her death; whenever grief overcame him he wept, and the attendant ministers mourned as on the previous day. The Emperor took no meals for two days. On the day guiyou, at morning, midday, and evening, he wept and bowed before the tomb. At night he lodged in the Jianxuan Hall; that night the mourning encampment was struck. On the day jiaxu, the Emperor bowed, wept, and took leave of the tomb, then returned to the Yongle Palace.
22
十九年，太師馮熙薨，有數子尚幼。 議者以為童子之節，事降成人，謂為衰而不裳，免而不絰，又無腰麻繆垂，唯有絞帶。 時博士孫惠蔚上書言：「臣雖識謝古人，然微涉傳記。 近取諸身，遠取諸禮，驗情以求理，尋理以推制。 竊謂童子在幼之儀，居喪之節，冠杖之制，有降成人。 衰麻之服，略為不異。 以玉藻二簡，微足明之，曰：童子之節，錦紳并紐。 錦紳即大帶，[4]既有佩觿之革，又有錦紐之紳。 此明童子雖幼，已備二帶。 以凶類吉，則腰絰存焉。 又曰：童子無緦服。 鄭注曰：『雖不服緦，猶免深衣。』 是許其有裳，但不殊上下。 又深衣之制，長幼俱服。 童子為服之緦，猶免深衣，況居有服之斬，而反無裳乎？ 臣又聞先師舊說，童子常服類深衣，衰裳所施，理或取象。 但典無成言，故未敢孤斷。 又曰：聽事則不麻。 則知不聽事麻矣。 故注曰：『無麻往給事。』 此明族人之喪，童子有事，貫絰帶麻，執事不易，故暫聽去之，以便其使。 往則不麻，不往則絰。 如使童子本自無麻，禮腰、首，聽與不聽，俱闕兩絰，唯舉無麻，足明不備，豈得言聽事則不麻乎？ 以此論之，有絰明矣。 且童子不杖不廬之節，理儉於責； [5]不裳不絰之制，未覩其說。 又臣竊解童子不衣裳之記，是有間之言。 [6]將謂童子時甫稚齡，未就外傅，出則不交族人，內則事殊長者，餕旨父母之前，往來慈乳之手，故許其無裳，以便易之。 若在志學之後，將冠之初，年居二九，質並成人，受道成均之學，釋菜上庠之內，將命孔氏之門，執燭曾參之室，而唯有掩身之衣，無蔽下之裳，臣愚未之安矣。 又女子未許嫁，二十則笄，觀祭祀，納酒漿，助奠廟堂之中，視禮至敬之處，其於婉容之服，寧無其備。 以此推之，則男女雖幼，理應有裳。 但男女未冠，禮謝三加，女子未出，衣殊狄褖。 無名之服，禮文罕見。 童子雖不當室，苟以成人之心，則許其人服緦之絰。 輕猶有絰，斬重無麻，是為與輕而奪重，非禮之意，此臣之所以深疑也。 又衰傍有袵，以掩裳際，如使無裳，袵便徒設，若復去袵，衰又不備。 設有齊斬之故，而便成童男女唯服無袵之衰，去其裳絰，此必識禮之所不行，亦以明矣。 若不行於己，而立制於人，是為違制以為法，從制以誤人。 恕禮而行，理將異此。」 詔從其議。
In the nineteenth year, Grand Tutor Feng Xi died, leaving several sons still young. Deliberators held that a child's observances, being reduced from those of an adult, meant wearing the mourning garment without a skirt, removing the cap without a hemp sash, and having no waist hemp with dangling ends—only a twisted sash. At the time Erudite Sun Huiwei submitted a memorial saying, "Your subject, though my knowledge falls short of the ancients, has lightly studied transmitted records. I take what is near from human experience and what is far from ritual, test feeling to seek principle, and trace principle to infer regulation. I venture to hold that for a child, observances in youth, rules for dwelling in mourning, and regulations for cap and staff are all reduced from those of an adult. The garments of coarse hemp mourning are broadly not different. Two passages from Jade Ornament are enough to clarify this: it says, "A child's observances: brocade sash and girdle knot together." The brocade sash is the great girdle; [4] there is both the leather strap for the girdle pendant and also the brocade-knotted sash. This shows that though a child is young, he already wears both girdles. When the inauspicious category is applied to the auspicious, the waist hemp sash remains. It also says, "A child wears no fifth-degree mourning garment." Zheng Xuan's commentary says, "Though he does not wear fifth-degree mourning, he still removes the deep garment." This permits him to wear a skirt, but without distinguishing upper and lower garments. Moreover, the regulation of the deep garment is that elder and younger alike wear it. When a child wears fifth-degree mourning he still removes the deep garment—how much more when he is in the most severe mourning, yet is said to have no skirt? I have also heard the old explanation of former masters: a child's ordinary garment resembles the deep garment, and what is applied in the mourning skirt may in principle take that as its model. But the canon has no settled statement on this, so I have not dared to decide alone. It also says, "When attending to affairs, then no hemp." From this one knows that when not attending to affairs, hemp is worn. Therefore the commentary says, "Without hemp when going to perform duties." This clarifies that at a clansman's mourning, when a child has duties to perform, he threads the sash and wears hemp; because holding office makes it hard to change garments, he is temporarily permitted to remove them to facilitate his service. When he goes, then no hemp; when he does not go, then the sash. If a child originally had no hemp at all, then for waist and head in ritual, whether attending to affairs or not, both sashes would be lacking—yet only "no hemp" is mentioned, which is enough to show the rule is incomplete; how then could one say "when attending to affairs, then no hemp"? Judged by this argument, the sash is clearly required. Moreover, the observances by which a child does not carry a staff and does not build a mourning hut are, in principle, sparing in what is required; [5] as for the regulation of no skirt and no sash, I have never seen its explanation. Moreover, I venture to interpret the record that a child does not wear skirt and garment as a qualified statement. [6] I would say that when a child is still in tender years, not yet sent to an outer tutor, he does not mingle with clansmen when he goes out and serves elders differently within the home, receiving food before his parents and passing constantly through the hands of loving nurses—therefore he is permitted to go without a skirt for ease. But after the age of aspiring to study, at the threshold of capping, at eighteen with the substance of an adult, receiving instruction at the Imperial Academy, presenting vegetables in the upper school, about to be sent to Confucius's gate and hold candles in Zeng Shen's chamber—yet having only garments covering the body and no skirt below, I in my folly cannot be at ease with this. Moreover, a woman not yet betrothed is capped with a hairpin at twenty, observes sacrifices, presents wine and gruel, and assists at offerings within the temple hall at the place of utmost reverence—for her graceful garments, would she not have what is required? Inferring from this, though male and female are young, in principle they ought to wear skirts. But when male and female are not yet capped, ritual declines the three additions; when a woman is not yet married out, her garments differ in Di-style padded robes. Garments without established names are rarely described in ritual texts. Though a child does not head the household, if he is treated with an adult's heart, he is permitted to wear the fifth-degree mourning sash. Light mourning still has a sash, yet the most severe mourning has no hemp—this would give light mourning what is denied to heavy mourning, contrary to ritual's intent; this is why I deeply doubt it. Moreover, beside the mourning garment is a lapel to cover the skirt's edge—if there were no skirt, the lapel would serve no purpose; if the lapel were removed as well, the mourning garment would be incomplete. Suppose there were occasion for second- or third-degree mourning, yet boys and girls nearing maturity wore only mourning garments without lapels and removed skirt and sash—those who know ritual would never permit this; that too is clear. If one will not practice it oneself yet establishes a regulation for others, that is to violate regulation and make it law, and to follow regulation in order to mislead people. To act by setting ritual aside would, in principle, be quite different." An edict adopted his proposal.
23
校勘記
Collation Notes
24
百禮咸畢百衲本「百禮」二字空二格，南本已下諸本並注「闕二字」，今據通典卷八０總論喪期後魏條補。
All rites complete: In the patchwork edition the two characters bai li are left blank for two spaces; the Southern edition and later editions all note "two characters missing"; the text is now restored from the Northern Wei entry on mourning periods in the general discussion, juan 80 of the Tongdian.
25
筮日求吉諸本作「筮曰永吉」，通鑑卷一三七 〈四三一三頁〉 如上摘句。 按上云「有司上言，求卜祥日」，知通鑑是，今據改。
Divining a day to seek good fortune: all editions read "divining a day for eternal good fortune"; Zizhi Tongjian, juan 137 〈p. 4313〉 As quoted above. Since the passage above reads "the relevant offices submitted a memorial requesting divination of an auspicious day," the Zizhi Tongjian reading is correct; the text is emended accordingly.
26
有司陽祥服如前按「陽」字不可解，上云「監御令陳服笥於廟陛南」，此云「如前」，疑「陽」乃「陳」之訛。
The relevant offices displayed the auspicious garments as before: the character yang is inexplicable; the passage above says "the Supervisor of the Imperial Wardrobe set out the garment chest at the south of the temple steps," and here it says "as before"—yang is suspected to be a corruption of chen ("set out").
27
錦紳并紐錦紳即大帶諸本「紐」作「細」，下「錦紳」無「紳」字。 冊府卷五八０ 〈六九五六頁〉 如上摘句。 按禮記玉藻本文作紐，正義謂「絇，帶之紐」，「細」字無義，今據改。 又「錦紳」連文，「錦」不得云「即大帶」，今據補。
Brocade sash and knot; brocade sash is the great girdle: all editions read niu as xi ("fine"), and below jin shen lacks the character shen. Imperial Archives, juan 580 〈p. 6956〉 As quoted above. The main text of Record of Rites, "Jade Ornament," reads niu; the Correct Meaning gloss says "the knot of the girdle"; the character xi has no meaning here, and the text is emended accordingly. Moreover, jin shen is a continuous phrase, so jin alone cannot mean "that is, the great girdle"; the text is supplemented accordingly.
28
且童子不杖不廬之節理儉於責諸本「責」下旁注「疑」字。 按童子不杖、不廬見禮記雜記下，注云：「未成人者，不能備禮也。」 這裏是說童子不杖不廬的禮節，於理不該苛責。 並無可疑，今刪。
Moreover, the observances by which a child does not carry a staff and does not build a hut are, in principle, sparing in requirement: all editions have a side note reading "doubtful" below ze. A child's not carrying a staff and not building a hut appear in Record of Rites, "Miscellaneous Records," lower scroll; the commentary says, "One who is not yet an adult cannot fully observe ritual." Here the text means that the ritual observances by which a child does not carry a staff and does not build a hut should not, in principle, be harshly required. There is nothing doubtful here; the note is deleted.
29
是有間之言諸本「間」訛「聞」，不可通，今據冊府卷五八０ 〈六九五六頁〉 改。
Is a qualified statement: all editions corrupt jian to wen ("hearing"), which will not parse; the text is restored according to Imperial Archives, juan 580 〈p. 6956〉 Corrected.