Lian Shan Yi (連山易)

《連山易》　附：《古三墳》、《連山易通考》

This volume's main subject is the "Linked Mountains Changes" or "Lianshan Yi." The appendix includes the "Ancient Three Tombs" transmitted by Mao Jian of the Song dynasty. The title also mentions a work called "Comprehensive Study of the Linked Mountains Changes," but this edition does not actually include it. The "Linked Mountains" is said to have been the "Yi" used in the Xia dynasty, but it has long been lost. What is available today consists only of scattered quotations collected by Qing dynasty scholars from various ancient texts. Readers should understand from the beginning that this is not a complete original text of the "Linked Mountains," but rather a compilation of quotations gathered from other texts by later scholars.

清·馬國翰輯

The compiler of this book was Ma Guohan, a native of Licheng, Shandong, in the Qing dynasty. He collected individual quotations from the "Lianshan" found in various classical texts throughout history and included them in his own work, the "Juyihan Shanfang Ji Yi Shu." The term "ji" refers to the compilation of fragmented quotations rather than the composition of a new work. Therefore, each entry below is merely a fragmentary remark preserved by others when they cited the "Lianshan."

馬國翰序：《連山》一卷，殘闕。案《周禮·春官·太卜》：“掌《三易》之法，一曰《連山》”，鄭玄注：“名曰《連山》，似山出內氣，變也。”賈公彥疏：“此《連山易》，其卦以純艮為首，艮為山，山上山下，是名《連山》，雲氣出內于山，故名易為《連山》。”又曰：“夏以十三月為正，人統，人無為卦首之理，艮漸正月，故以艮為首也。”

Ma Guohan said in the preface that the book collects only one volume of the "Linked Mountains Changes," and it is incomplete. According to the "Zhou Li · Chun Guan · Tai Bu," the Tai Bu was in charge of the methods of the three "Yi" divination systems, the first of which was called the "Linked Mountains Changes." Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han dynasty explained that the name "Linked Mountains" was derived from the imagery of "mountains emitting internal qi," meaning that clouds and mist rise and fall continuously within the mountains, symbolizing endless change. Jia Gongyan of the Tang dynasty further explained in his commentary that the "Linked Mountains Yi" took the pure "Gen" trigram as the first among the sixty-four trigrams. The trigram "Gen" represents a mountain, with the upper trigram being a mountain and the lower trigram also being a mountain, hence the name "Linked Mountains." Additionally, because clouds and mist continuously enter and exit the mountains, the book was named "Linked Mountains." Jia's commentary also mentioned that the Xia dynasty used the Xia calendar's thirteenth month (the month of the rat, which is the first month of the year) as the beginning of the year, belonging to the "human system." However, among the eight trigrams, none directly represented "human," and none was suitable to be the first trigram. Only the "Gen" trigram, which is positioned at the time of the coming of the first month, was closest to human affairs, so it was chosen as the first trigram.

桓譚《新論》曰：“《連山》八萬言”，蓋後漢時此書尚存，君山及見之，而傳者甚少，故《漢·藝文志》、《隋·經藉志》皆不著錄，《唐·藝文志》有《連山》十卷，司馬膺注。考《北史·劉炫傳》：“時牛宏奏購求天下遺逸之書，炫遂偽造書百餘卷，題為《連山易》、《魯史記》等，錄上送官，求賞而去，後人有訟之，經赦免死，坐除名。”自炫有偽造之《連山》，而司馬膺注本至唐始出，後儒獻疑，有繇也。

During the Eastern Han dynasty, Huan Tan wrote in his book "Xin Lun" that "The Linked Mountains Changes contains eight thousand characters," indicating that by the Later Han period, this book was still in existence and Huan Tan himself had personally seen it. However, due to the scarcity of transmitted copies, it was not recorded in the "Han Shu · Yi Wen Zhi" or the "Sui Shu · Jing Ji Zhi." It was not until the "Tang Shu · Yi Wen Zhi" that there was an entry stating, "The Linked Mountains Changes, ten volumes, annotated by Si Ma Ying." Further investigation into the "Bei Shi · Liu Xuan Zhuan" reveals that at that time, Niu Hong submitted a petition to the court, offering a reward for the recovery of lost ancient texts. Liu Xuan then forged over a hundred volumes, titling them works such as "The Linked Mountains Changes" and "Lu Shi Ji," and presented them to the authorities, receiving the reward and then leaving. Later, when someone reported this, he was pardoned due to a general amnesty but had his name removed from official records. Since Liu Xuan had forged a version of the "Linked Mountains Changes," and the edition attributed to Si Ma Ying's annotations appeared only during the Tang dynasty, later scholars have just cause to doubt it.

然皇甫謐《帝王世紀》、酈道元《水經注》、李淳風《乙巳占》皆引《連山》，謐晉人，道元北魏人，皆在劉炫前，淳風所引“姮娥奔月枚筮有黃”，與張衡《靈憲》同，決為古之佚文，其它以韻為爻，與《易林》頗似，縱非古經，要與《三墳》所載《山墳》為《連山》出於毛漸手序者迥不侔矣。

Although this is the case, the Jin dynasty historian Huangfu Mi's "Imperial Annals of the Kings," the Northern Wei dynasty geographer Li Daoyuan's "Commentary on the Water Classic," and the Tang dynasty astronomer Li Chunfeng's "Yisi Divination Treatise" all cite the "Lianshan" (Continual Mountains). Huangfu Mi was a Jin dynasty figure, and Li Daoyuan was a Northern Wei figure, both living before Liu Xuan, so the citations they made could not have come from Liu Xuan's forged text. The citation by Li Chunfeng, "Heng'e fleeing the moon, the divination oracle is yellow," matches the account in Zhang Heng's Eastern Han dynasty "Lingxian," which confirms that it is an excerpt from an ancient text. The other citations use rhyming verse as line statements, a style very similar to that of Jiao Yanshou's Han dynasty "Yilin." Even if these are not the original forms of the ancient classics from the Xia dynasty, they are far more reliable than the "Shanfeng" passage in Mao Jian's transmitted "Sanfeng," which falsely claims to be part of the "Lianshan." The two are fundamentally incomparable.

梁元帝亦有《連山》三十卷，段成式謂每卦引《歸藏》、《斗圖》、《立成》、《委化》、《集林》及焦贛《易林》，今已亡佚，或者後人稱述不能區別歟？茲輯諸書所引並眾家論說為一卷，而朱元昇、薛貞二家說或見本書，或合先制，取以附正經之下，觸長引伸，在好學深思者之善會焉爾。歷城馬國翰竹吾甫。

Liang Yuan Di also compiled a thirty-volume edition of "Lianshan", according to Duan Chengshi of the Tang dynasty, this edition quoted "Guicang", "Doutu", "Licheng", "Weihua", "Jilin" and Jiao Gong's "Yilin" under each hexagram. However, this version is now also lost. When later scholars cited "Lianshan", would they have mixed together these different sources and failed to distinguish them? Now I have compiled all the lost texts of "Lianshan" cited by various books, along with related discussions by scholars throughout history into one volume. Among them, Zhu Yuansheng and Xue Zhen's views, some are already found in their own works, some conform to the old practices of ancient times, and all have been included after the collected texts. As for further deductions and elaborations based on this, it is left for readers who are diligent and thoughtful to understand on their own. Self-introduction by Ma Guohan of Licheng.

1、剝 上七曰：數窮至剝而終吝。——黃佐《六藝流別》引有曰字、吝字，羅泌《路史》引有而字。 象曰：至剝而終，亦不知變也。——黃佐《六藝流別》引有曰字及上句，羅泌《路史》引有亦字。

This is a lost text from the "Lianshan" hexagram of "Bao." "Shang Qi" is the name of a line in the "Lianshan," as the "Summer Changes" used "Qi" and "Ba" to represent the initial lines of divination, meaning the young yang and young yin. Therefore, the topmost line is called "Shang Qi," corresponding to "Shang Jiuxi" in the "Zhou Changes." The line statement "The number has reached its limit, and the process of peeling off has reached its extreme, leading to inevitable hardship" means that when the vital energy has reached its end, the process of decay has reached its peak, and the outcome is bound to be difficult. The image statement "When peeling off has reached its extreme, one still does not know how to change" means that when things have deteriorated to the point of conclusion, the person involved still does not know how to be flexible. Ma Guohan notes the sources and variations of these two statements: the line statement quoted in Huang Zuo's "Liuyi Liubie" of the Ming dynasty adds the characters "yue" and "lin," while the one quoted in Luo Mo's "Lushih" of the Song dynasty adds the character "er." The image statement in Huang Zuo's version adds the character "yue" and connects it with the previous line, while the one in Luo Mo's version adds the character "yi." The variations in the quoted phrases from these two sources are already so different, indicating that the original text of the "Lianshan" has long been lost and cannot be restored. What we see today are only fragments left by others when they cited books.

2、復 初七曰：龍潛於神，復以存身，淵兮無畛，操兮無垠。——羅泌《路史》引無曰字，黃佐《六藝流別》引作“復上七曰：龍潛於淵，存神無畛” 象曰：復以存神，可與致用也。——《六藝流別》引無與字，《路史》引無上句，作“象可與致用也。”

This is an excerpt from the lost text of the "Lianshan" hexagram Fu. "Chu Qi" refers to the lowest line, using the same "Qi" line title as the Xia Yi, corresponding to "Chu Ji" in the Zhou Yi Fu hexagram. The line statement says: The dragon is hidden in a profound and mysterious place, preserving itself by returning to its origin; the realm is so deep it has no boundary, and maintaining it has no end. The image statement says: By returning to its origin to cultivate the spirit, such a person can be said to have something to accomplish. Ma Guohan then notes the differences in the citations from two sources: Luo Mi's "Lushih" does not include the word "yu"; Huang Zuo's "Luyi Liubie" quotes it as "Fu Shang Qi Yu: Long Qian Yu Yuan, Cun Shen Wu Zhen," not only changing the line position from "Chu Qi" to "Shang Qi," but also changing "Qian Yu Shen" to "Qian Yu Yuan," making the sentence very different. Regarding the image statement, the citation in "Luyi Liubie" lacks the character "yu," while "Lushih" omits the first part entirely, only quoting "Xiang: Ke Yu Zhi Yong Ye."

3、姤 初八曰：龍化於蛇，或潛於窪，茲孽之牙。——《路史》引作“初六”，無曰字；《六藝流別》引作“姤初八曰：潛蛇於窪茲孽之牙”。 象曰：陰滋牙，不可與長也。——《六藝流別》引無與字，《路史》引無“曰陰滋牙”四字，云：“象：不可與長也”。

This is an excerpt from the lost text of the "Lianshan" Gou hexagram. "Chu Ba" is the title of a yao (line) in the Xia Yi, where "Ba" represents the minor yin, corresponding to the "Chu Liu" line of the Gou hexagram in the Zhou Yi. The yao statement says: the dragon descended and transformed into a snake, or hid in a low, damp place; this is the beginning of a calamity. The Gou hexagram has one yin line arising beneath five yang lines, symbolizing the initial emergence of yin energy and the gradual increase of small people, hence the use of the dragon transforming into a snake as a metaphor. The image statement says: when yin energy has just begun to sprout, it must absolutely not be allowed to grow. Ma Guohan then notes in his collation: Luo Mi's "Lushih" cites the yao title as "Chu Liu," using the terminology of the Zhou Yi, and does not include the word "yue"; Huang Zuo's "Liuyi Liubie" cites it as "Gou Chu Ba Yue: Qian Sha Yu Wang Zi Nie Zhi Ya," with the sentence compressed and altered. Regarding the image statement, the "Liu yi Liubie" omits the character "yu," while the "Lushih" omits the four characters "yue Yin Zi Ya," and only states "Xiang: Bu Ke Yu Chang Ye."

4、中孚 初八：一人知女，尚可以去。——黃佐《六藝流別》 象曰：女來歸，孚不中也。——同上

This is an excerpt from the lost text of the "Lianshan" hexagram Zhongfu, with only two lines remaining. The line statement says: "If one person already knows the woman, then this marriage can still be abandoned." This means that since there is already another person who knows the woman, this match can still be abandoned. The image statement says: "The woman comes to marry, but the sincerity is not equal." Here, "fu" means sincerity, and "zhong" means equal or appropriate. The name of the hexagram "Zhongfu" originally refers to sincerity arising from the heart, but here it is used in the opposite sense, indicating that the two parties in the marriage are not matching in reality. Both statements are cited from Huang Zuo's "Liuyi Liubie" of the Ming dynasty. The second statement is noted by Ma Guohan as "Same as above," indicating the same source, and there are no other references for verification.

5、陽豫 6、遊徙——羅蘋《路史注》：“《春秋演孔圖》：‘孔子成《春秋》，卜之，得陽豫之卦’；《史記》：‘始皇得鎬池君璧，言明年祖龍死。卜之，得遊徙吉’，陽豫、遊徙，《連山》卦也。”

The only two hexagram names preserved from the "Lianshan" are "Yang Yu" and "You Xi," while both the hexagram statements and line statements have been completely lost. Luo Ping, a Song dynasty scholar, noted in his commentary on Luo Bi's "Lushih" that the apocryphal text "Chunqiu Yankongtu" records that after Confucius completed the "Chunqiu," he consulted the oracle and received the hexagram "Yang Yu." The "Shiji" records that the First Emperor of Qin received a jade bi returned by the Gaochi Jun, and the messenger conveyed a message that the next year the "Zulong" would die. "Zulong" refers to the First Emperor himself. The Emperor consulted the oracle and received "You Xi," interpreting it as a favorable omen. Based on this, Luo Ping concluded that the hexagram names "Yang Yu" and "You Xi" cannot be found in the commonly transmitted sixty-four hexagrams of the "Zhouyi," and must therefore be the names of hexagrams from the "Lianshan." The value of this account does not lie in its wording, but rather in the fact that it provides indirect evidence that the "Lianshan" indeed had a different system of hexagram names from the "Zhouyi."

7、有崇伯鯀伏於羽山之野。——酈道元《水經注》 8、鯀封於崇。——裴駰《史記集解》 9、禹娶塗山之子名曰攸女，生啟。——皇甫謐《帝王世紀》，《太平御覽》卷一百三十五。

These three statements are all extracted from the "Lianshan" and refer to historical events of the Xia dynasty. The seventh one, "There was a nobleman named Gun of the Chong state who was buried in the wilderness of Yu Mountain," says that after Gun, the nobleman of the Chong state, was executed, his body lay in the wilderness of Yu Mountain. This comes from Li Daoyuan's "Shui Jing Zhu" of the Northern Wei dynasty. The eighth one, "Gun was granted the fief of Chong," says that Gun was granted the territory of Chong, hence he was called "Chong Bo." This comes from Pei Yin of the Southern Dynasty's "Shiji Jiejie." The ninth one, "Yu married the daughter of the Tushan clan named Younü, and they had a son named Qi," says that Yu married the daughter of the Tushan clan named Younü, and they had a son named Qi. This comes from Huang Fu Mi of the Jin dynasty's "Dingwang Jishi," and the Song dynasty's "Taiping Yulian" volume 135 quoted this passage. These three are not line statements of the hexagrams, but rather narrative statements, indicating that the original "Lianshan" contained elements of historical records from the Xia dynasty. It is precisely because Huang Fu Mi and Li Daoyuan were far earlier than Liu Xuan of the Sui dynasty who fabricated false texts that these statements were regarded by Ma Guohan as solid evidence that the "Lianshan" actually existed.

10、有馮羿者得不死之藥於西王母，姮娥竊只以奔月，將往，枚筮於有黃，有黃占之曰：“吉。翩翩歸妹，獨將西行，逢天晦芒，毋恐毋驚，後且大昌。”姮娥遂託身於月。——李淳風《乙巳占》

This is the most famous passage from the lost text of the "Lianshan" (The Continuous Mountain), which tells the story of Chang'e flying to the moon. There was a man named Feng Yi, also known as Hou Yi, who obtained the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West. His wife, Heng'e, who later became known as Chang'e to avoid the taboo of the Han Wendi emperor Liu Heng, stole the elixir intending to fly to the moon. Before she left, she consulted a diviner named "Youhuang" using yarrow stalks for divination. Youhuang interpreted the omen as favorable. The divination showed a graceful and light movement, resembling the hexagram "Guimei" (the Hexagram of the Maiden's Marriage). Youhuang predicted that she would travel alone westward, encountering dark and misty skies along the way, but she should not be afraid or alarmed, for she would eventually achieve great prosperity. Heng'e then entrusted her body to the moon. This passage comes from Li Chunfeng's "Yisi Divination Treatise" of the Tang dynasty. Ma Guohan particularly noted in his preface that it completely matches the account in Zhang Heng's "Lingxian" from the Eastern Han dynasty. Both accounts originate from the same source and are not copies of each other, which proves that it is indeed an ancient lost text and not a forgery from the Sui or Tang dynasties.

11、陽文啟筮享神於大陵之上

This passage states: In the era of yang wen, after the Xia dynasty's ruler started using the yarrow stalks for divination, he performed worship and offerings to the spirits on a great hill. "Qi" refers to Yu's son and the second ruler of the Xia dynasty; "xian shen" means to hold a ritual worship; "da ling" is a high hill, and ancient people often set up altars on elevated places to worship heaven. This entry is similar in style to entries in the "Guicang" concerning "qi shi," as both associate the divination and worship practices of the early Xia dynasty with the name of the Book of Changes. It is worth noting that the original text does not specify the source of this entry, making it the only one among the fifteen lost passages in the entire text without a cited source; whether it truly comes from the "Lianshan" remains uncertain due to the lack of supporting evidence.

12、帝出乎震，齊乎巽，相見乎離，致役乎坤，說言乎兌，戰乎乾，勞乎坎，成言乎艮。 ——干寶《周禮注》引云：“此《連山》之易也。”羅泌《路史·發揮》亦云。

The eight lines describe how the heavenly ruler operates through the eight trigrams in a cycle corresponding to the later so-called "Later Heaven Trigrams" sequence: all things begin with "Zhen" (Thunder), representing the east and the vernal equinox, and then emerge; they grow orderly in "Xun" (Wind), representing the southeast; they become visible to each other in "Li" (Fire), representing the south and the summer solstice; they bear the labor of transformation in "Kun" (Earth), representing the southwest; they are joyful and mature in "Dui" (Lake), representing the west and the autumnal equinox; they experience the struggle between yin and yang in "Qian" (Heaven), representing the northwest; they labor and rest in "Kan" (Water), representing the north and the winter solstice; and finally they complete and renew in "Gen" (Mountain), representing the northeast. This passage is found today in the "Shuo Gua Zhuan" (Commentary on the Trigrams) of the "Zhou Yi" (I Ching), and it is a well-known passage among those who study the I Ching. However, when Jin dynasty scholar Gan Bao annotated the "Zhou Li" (Rites of Zhou), he cited this passage and said, "This is the 'Lianshan' Yi." Similarly, Song dynasty scholar Luo Mi in his "Lu Shi · Fayan" (History of the Road · Explication) held the same view. If Gan Bao's words are true, then this section from the "Shuo Gua Zhuan" was originally part of the "Lianshan" Yi and was later absorbed into the Zhou Yi system. The placement of "Gen" at the end and beginning also corresponds with the "Lianshan" Yi's view that "Gen" is the first trigram.

13、同復於父，敬如君所。——《春秋左傳》：閔二年，魯史卜楚丘之父，筮之，遇大有之乾。程迥《古占法》引之云：“此固二易之辭也。”

"The same status as one's father, respected as if in the presence of a ruler" means that this person's future status will be the same as his father's and he will be respected as if he were in the presence of a ruler. This sentence appears in the "Spring and Autumn Annals: Zuo Zhuan" for the second year of Min Gong: The chief historian of Lu, Bo Chuqiu, whose father was Chengji, also known as Ji You, had a divination for his birth, and the result was the Dali hexagram changing into the Qian hexagram. However, the present version of the Zhou Yi does not include these two lines in the ninth line of the third trigram. Therefore, Cheng Xiong of the Song dynasty concluded in his "Gu Zhan Fa" that "this is indeed the statement of the two ancient Yis"—it originally belonged to the Lianshan and Guicang, the two ancient Yis. In the Spring and Autumn period, people used all three Yis for divination, so such statements not found in the present version of the Zhou Yi appeared in the Zuo Zhuan. Ma Guohan collected such statements into the Lianshan, intending to use them as evidence that the old Yis of Xia and Shang dynasties once coexisted with the Zhou Yi.

14、千乘三去，三去之餘，獲其雄狐。——《春秋左傳》：僖十五年，晉卜徒父筮，卦遇蠱。 15、南國蹙，射其元王，中厥目。——《春秋左傳》：成十六年，戰於鄢陵，公筮之，史曰：“吉，其卦遇復”。顧炎武《日知錄》引此二節云：“即所謂三易之法也。”並附於此。

Article 14, 「A thousand chariots retreat three times, after three retreats, they capture the male fox」, refers to the enemy's forces retreating three times with a thousand chariots, and finally capturing the male fox, which symbolizes the enemy's leader. This phrase appears in the "Spring and Autumn Annals: Zuo Zhuan" from the fifteenth year of Duke Xi: when the State of Jin's diviner Tu Fu cast a divination, he obtained the Gu hexagram, which was used to predict the outcome of the battle between Qin and Jin at Han Yuan. Article 15, 「The southern state is constrained, shoot its king, hit his eye」, refers to the southern state being in a difficult situation, and the king being shot in the eye. This phrase appears in the "Spring and Autumn Annals: Zuo Zhuan" from the sixteenth year of Duke Cheng: during the battle between Jin and Chu at Yancheng, Duke Li of Jin ordered a divination, and the historian reported that 「it is auspicious, the hexagram encountered Fu」. Later, King Gong of Chu was indeed wounded in the eye by an arrow. These two lines of divination are not found in the current version of the Zhou Changes under the Gu hexagram and Fu hexagram. Gu Yanwu cited these two passages in his "Rizhi Lu" and said: 「This is what is called the three methods of divination」, which is an example of the three methods of divination mentioned in the "Rites of Zhou". Ma Guohan therefore included them together in this appendix.

朱元昇《三易備考》曰：《連山》二篇，自復至乾為陽儀，自姤至坤為陰儀，其策萬有一千五百二十，《繫辭》二篇之末，萬有一千五百二十，舉《連山》策言之也。

Zhu Yuansheng of the late Song and early Yuan dynasties wrote in "San Yi Baokao" that "Lianshan" is divided into upper and lower parts. From the Fu hexagram to the Qian hexagram, it belongs to the "Yang Yi", and from the Gou hexagram to the Kun hexagram, it belongs to the "Yin Yi". The total number of蓍策 in the two parts is eleven thousand five hundred and twenty. The number "wan yi qian wu bai wu shi er" appears at the end of both the upper and lower parts of the "Zhou Yi · Xi Ci". Zhu Yuansheng believed that number refers to the count of蓍策 in "Lianshan". According to ancient methods, the sixty-four hexagrams contain three hundred and eighty-four lines. Each yang line corresponds to thirty-six蓍策 and each yin line corresponds to twenty-four蓍策. When the yang and yin lines are equally divided, the total is exactly eleven thousand five hundred and twenty. The ancients used this number to symbolize the number of all things. Zhu Yuansheng used this number to connect "Xi Ci" with "Lianshan", intending to prove that "Lianshan" has its own complete sequence of hexagrams, and is not a fabrication.

又曰：《連山易》，夏時之取則也；《堯典》一書“分命羲和”，亦夏時之取則也。以《書》考《易》，其義一也。《書》：“日中星鳥，以殷仲春”、“日永星火，以正仲夏”、“宵中星虛，以殷仲秋”、“日短星昴，以正仲冬”，蓋取仲星以定四時者也。今即《連山易》而布以二十八宿，冬至其卦也復，其宿也虛；夏至其卦也姤，其宿也星；春分其卦也臨，其宿也氐、房；秋分其卦也遯，其宿也昴。四時之二至二分，以卦準宿，即《堯典》之中星。

Zhu Yuansheng also said: The Lianshan Yi is based on the seasonal calendar of the Xia dynasty. The passage "Fen ming Xihe" in the Shangshu Yao Dian is also based on the seasonal calendar of the Xia dynasty; using the Shangshu to verify the Yi, their meanings are entirely consistent. The Yao Dian says "Rizhong xingniao, yi yin zhongchun," meaning when the sun is at its zenith, the bird constellation is in the south at dusk, used to determine the beginning of spring; "Riyong xinghuo, yi zheng zhongxia," meaning when the day is longest, the fire star is in the south at dusk, used to determine the beginning of summer; "Xiaozhong xingxu, yi yin zhongqiu," meaning when the day and night are again equal, the emptiness mansion is in the south at dusk, used to determine the beginning of autumn; "Riduan xingmao, yi zheng zhongdong," meaning when the day is shortest, the hairy head mansion is in the south at dusk, used to determine the beginning of winter. These are all using the star that is in the south at dusk during the middle month of each season to determine the four seasons. Now, matching the order of the hexagrams of the Lianshan Yi with the twenty-eight mansions: the hexagram Fu corresponds to the mansion Xu at the winter solstice; the hexagram Gou corresponds to the mansion Xing at the summer solstice; the hexagram Lin corresponds to the mansions Di and Fang at the spring equinox; the hexagram Duan corresponds to the mansion Mao at the autumn equinox. The two solstices and two equinoxes of the four seasons, using hexagrams to match the mansions, result exactly in the stars mentioned in the Yao Dian.

又曰：長分消翕者《連山易》，至精至變至神之理寓焉。乾與坤對，乾之長即坤之消，乾之分即坤之翕；坤之長即乾之消，坤之分即乾之翕。兌與艮對，離與坎對，震與巽對，餘五十六卦兩兩相對，長分消翕，悉準八卦。

Zhu Yuansheng further says: Those who discuss the four kinds of movement and reversal, namely "lengthening," "division," "decline," and "convergence," are referring to the "Linked Mountains Changes" or "Lianshan Yi." It contains extremely subtle, extremely flexible, and extremely mysterious principles. The trigrams Qian and Kun are opposite to each other: the growth of Qian corresponds to the decline of Kun, and the division of Qian corresponds to the convergence of Kun. Conversely, the growth of Kun corresponds to the decline of Qian, and the division of Kun corresponds to the convergence of Qian. Similarly, Dui and Gen are opposite, Li and Kan are opposite, Zhen and Xun are opposite; the remaining fifty-six trigrams also form pairs, and their lengthening, division, decline, and convergence all follow the criteria of these eight trigrams. This structure of mutual opposition and mutual reversal is the卦变 model reconstructed by Zhu Yuansheng for the "Lianshan," which belongs to the scholarly tradition of the Song dynasty using the principles of the "Book of Changes" to deduce ancient texts, and is not the original structure presented in the "Lianshan" text itself.

薛貞曰：《連山》乾始於子，坤始於午，與先天小圖合。又以艮、震、巽、離、坤、兌、乾、坎為序。

Xue Zhen said: The Qian trigram of "Lianshan" begins at the "Zi" position, and the Kun trigram begins at the "Wu" position, which matches the directional arrangement of Shao Yong's "Xiantian Small Diagram." He also said that the order of the eight trigrams in "Lianshan" is Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui, Qian, and Kan. This order places Gen first, which agrees with the old saying that "Lianshan" begins with Gen. As for matching Qian and Kun to the positions of Zi and Wu, and cross-referencing it with the Xiantian diagram, this is also a speculation of the Song dynasty's Yi diagram studies. Ma Guohan appended the views of Zhu Yuansheng and Xue Zhen to the text he compiled, intending to provide readers with a clue to understanding the structure of "Lianshan," rather than asserting that the original form of the Xia Yi was indeed like this.

1、《周禮·太卜》：掌《三易》之法，一曰《連山》，二曰《歸藏》，三曰《周易》。其經卦皆八，其別皆六十有四。　又曰：簭人掌《三易》以辨九簭之名：一曰《連山》，二曰《歸藏》，三曰《周易》。

The Zhou Li · Chun Guan · Tai Bu records that the Tai Bu was in charge of three methods of the Yi, the first called the Lianshan, the second the Guicang, and the third the Zhou Yi; the basic hexagrams of these three Yi were all eight, and the composite hexagrams formed by overlapping were all sixty-four. The same passage also records that the Shiren was in charge of the three Yi, using them to distinguish the names of nine types of divination matters, with the order also being first the Lianshan, second the Guicang, and third the Zhou Yi. This is the earliest record of the name Lianshan appearing in classical texts, and also the main source for all subsequent discussions on the Lianshan. It can only prove one point: that the Zhou dynasty government indeed used all three divination methods simultaneously; as for the content of the Lianshan, the Zhou Li mentions only the title and the number of hexagrams, saying nothing else.

2、《山海經》：伏羲氏得《河圖》，夏后氏因之曰《連山》。 3、杜子春曰：《連山》，宓犧。 4、桓譚曰：《連山》八萬言，《歸藏》四千三百言。夏《易》煩而殷《易》簡。　又曰：《連山》藏於蘭臺。

The second item cites the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" saying that Fuxi obtained the "River Chart," and the Xia dynasty inherited it and called it the "Continuous Mountains." According to this account, the original source of the "Continuous Mountains" is Fuxi, and it was only during the Xia dynasty that it received its name. The third item states that Du Zichun, a Han dynasty master of the classics, said that the "Continuous Mountains" belongs to Fuxi, that is, Fuxi, which agrees with the account in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas." The fourth item says that Huan Tan of the Eastern Han dynasty said that the "Continuous Mountains" has eighty thousand characters, and the "Guicang" has four thousand three hundred characters. The "Continuous Mountains" of the Xia dynasty is elaborate, while the "Guicang" of the Shang dynasty is concise. He also said that the "Continuous Mountains" was kept in the Lan Tai. The Lan Tai was a repository for official documents in the Han dynasty palace, and Huan Tan himself had once served there. Therefore, this statement has always been regarded as his own account of having personally seen the book—this is also the main evidence supporting the claim that the "Continuous Mountains" still existed in the Han dynasty.

5、鄭康成曰：《連山》，似山出內氣，變也。 6、淳于俊曰：《連山》似山出內氣，運連天地也。 7、姚信曰：連山氏得《河圖》，夏人因之曰《連山》。 8、阮籍曰：庖犧氏布演六十四卦之變，後世聖人觀而因之，象而用之，禹、湯之經皆在而上古之文不存。

Article five, Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han dynasty, whose courtesy name was Kangcheng, said: The name "Lianshan" is derived from the rising and falling of clouds in the mountains, and it discusses the concept of "change." Article six, Chun Yu Jun of the Wei dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period said: "Lianshan" is like clouds rising from the mountains, its movement connecting heaven and earth. Both these interpretations are based on the concept of "mountain clouds," and later commentaries on the title mostly followed this approach. Article seven, Yao Xin of the Wu dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period said: The Lianshan School was founded by the Lianshan clan, who received the River Chart, and the Xia dynasty inherited it and called it "Lianshan." He identified the originator as the Lianshan clan, which differs slightly from the attribution to Fuxi in the "Shanhai Jing" and to Mifu Xi by Du Zichun. Article eight, Ruan Ji of the Wei dynasty said: Paoxi clan arranged and interpreted the changes of the sixty-four hexagrams, later sages observed and followed this, taking its hexagrams for use, so the Yi of Yu and the Yi of Tang still remained, while the most ancient writings have been lost. Ruan Ji's statement highlights a key point: the Yi of Xia and Yin was itself a modification of Fuxi's original method, and going further back there is no written record to rely on.

9、皇甫謐曰：夏人因炎帝曰《連山》。《連山易》其卦以純艮為首，艮為山，山上山下，是名《連山》。雲氣出內于山，夏以十三月為正，人統，艮漸正月，故以艮為首。

A man named Huangfu Mi of the Jin dynasty said: The Xia people inherited the system of the Flame Emperor and called it The Linked Mountains Changes. This The Linked Mountains Changes takes the pure Gen trigram as the first among the sixty-four trigrams. The trigram Gen represents a mountain; the upper trigram is a mountain and the lower trigram is also a mountain, with two mountains overlapping, hence the name The Linked Mountains Changes. Also, because clouds move in and out among the mountains, this image was used. The Xia dynasty took the thirteenth month of the Xia calendar, which is the month of the rat, as the beginning of the year, belonging to the 'human system'. The trigram Gen is precisely at the time when the first month is about to arrive, so it was chosen as the first trigram. Huangfu Mi attributed the origin of The Linked Mountains Changes to the Flame Emperor Shen Nong, differing from the previous ones attributed to Fuxi. As for this explanation of taking Gen as the first trigram, later Jia Gongyan fully inherited it, making it the commonly accepted view.

10、梁元帝曰：杜子春云：“《連山》，伏羲也；《歸藏》，黃帝也。”按《禮記》：“我欲觀殷道，得坤乾焉”。今《歸藏》先坤後乾，則知是殷明矣。《歸藏》既繫殷制，《連山》理是夏書。

Liang Yuan Di Xiao Ye said: Du Zichun mentioned that "The Lianshan is attributed to Fuxi, and the Guicang is attributed to the Yellow Emperor." However, according to the Li Yun section of the Li Ji, Confucius said he wanted to observe the Yin dynasty's system, but he found "Kun and Qian," meaning he saw a book of Yi in the State of Song that arranged Kun before Qian. Now the transmitted Guicang is also arranged with Kun before Qian, so it clearly belongs to the Yin dynasty. Since Guicang is a work of the Yin dynasty, by logical deduction, Lianshan should be a book of the Xia dynasty. The value of Liang Yuan Di's reasoning lies in his method: he did not rely on oral tradition from his teachers, but used the actual arrangement of the book mentioned in the Li Ji to determine the period of Guicang, and then deduced that Lianshan belonged to the Xia dynasty by following the order of "three Yis corresponding to three dynasties." This approach is much more reliable than merely identifying the author based on hearsay.

11、孔穎達曰：《連山》起於神農。　又曰：周世之卜，雜用《連山》、《歸藏》、《周易》。《連山》、《歸藏》以不變為占，占七八之爻。二易並亡，不知實然與否。

Tang dynasty scholar Kong Yingda said that the book of Lianshan originated from Shen Nong. He also said that during the Zhou dynasty, the books of Lianshan, Guicang, and Zhouyi were all used together; Lianshan and Guicang used unchanging lines for divination, taking the numbers seven and eight, which correspond to the minor yang and minor yin. However, both of these books have since been lost, and it is unknown whether the situation was actually as described. As the person in charge of the official compilation of the Five Classics with Correct Meanings during the Tang dynasty, Kong Yingda clearly stated, "the two other books have been lost, and we do not know if the situation was indeed as such," showing a very cautious attitude. This statement also indirectly reveals that scholars in the early Tang dynasty did not recognize the version of Lianshan that was then in circulation as the authentic one.

12、賈公彥曰：《洪範》云：“擇建立卜筮人三人，占從二人之言”。蓋筮時《連山》、《歸藏》、《周易》三易並用。夏殷以不變為占，《周易》以變者為占，三人各占一易。《士喪禮》：筮宅東西“旅占”，旅，眾也，與其屬共占之。《春秋演孔圖》云：“孔子修《春秋》，九月而成，卜之，得《陽豫》之卦”，宋均注云：“夏、殷之卦名，故今《周易》無文。”是孔子亦用二代之筮也。

Tang dynasty scholar Jia Gongyan said: The "Shangshu · Hongfan" states, "Select three officials for divination and choose the opinion of two of them," meaning that three diviners were selected, and the final decision was based on the agreement of two of them. This shows that during divination, the three schools of the Yi (Book of Changes)—the Lianshan, Guicang, and Zhouyi—were used simultaneously: the Xia Yi and Yin Yi used unchanging lines for divination, while the Zhouyi used changing lines. Each of the three people was in charge of one school of Yi, and then the majority opinion was taken. The "Yilǐ · Sisanli" records that when selecting a burial site, people on both sides of the east and west participated in a "lv zhan" (traveling divination); "lv" means many, indicating that the main diviner and his subordinates jointly made the decision, which is a trace of the system of three people divining together. Furthermore, the "Chunqiu Yanguotu" says that Confucius spent nine months compiling the "Chunqiu," and for this purpose he consulted a divination, receiving the hexagram "Yang Yu." Han dynasty scholar Song Jun noted in his commentary that this was the name of a hexagram from the Xia and Yin dynasties, so it is not found in the current version of the Zhouyi. This shows that even Confucius used the divination methods of the previous two dynasties. Jia Gongyan's passage is the most complete argument for the theory that the three schools of Yi were used together.

13、劉敞曰：“艮其背，不獲其身”，人之道也。以寅為正，穆姜之筮，遇《艮》之八，是為《艮》之《隨》者，此《連山》之易。 14、邵子曰：夏以建寅之月為正月，謂之人統，《易》曰《連山》，以艮為首者，人也。

Article thirteen, Song dynasty scholar Liu Chang said: The hexagram statement of the "Gèn" hexagram in The Zhou Changes, "Gèn qí bèi, bù huò qí shēn," refers to the way of human beings. The Xia dynasty took the month of Yín (the first month of the year) as the beginning of the year, which corresponds with the Gèn hexagram. The Zuo Zhuan records that in the ninth year of Duke Xiang of Lu, Lady Mu Jiang divined and encountered "Gèn zhi ba," meaning the Gèn hexagram transforming into the "Suí" hexagram. This used the "Lianshan" version of the Changes, because "ba" is the number of the young yin, and the divination method used here was to keep the original without change, which is the mark of the divination methods of the Xia and Shang dynasties. The Zhou Changes, however, generally refers to the numbers as nine and six. Article fourteen, Song dynasty scholar Shao Yong said: The Xia dynasty took the month of Yín as the first month of the year, called "ren tong" (human system). Its version of the Changes was called "Lianshan," and it took the "Gèn" hexagram as the first hexagram, which was to signify "human." Both scholars connected the "first Gèn" with the Xia's beginning of the year in Yín month and the "ren tong" in the three systems of the dynasties. This is the most mainstream interpretation of Song scholars regarding the "Lianshan" Changes.

15、方慤曰：《連山》首乎艮，其卦具內外而一體，其位居東北之兩間，則向乎人之時焉。夏用人正，故其書以之。 16、黃裳曰：闡幽者，易之仁也。故夏曰《連山》，象其仁而言之也。山者，靜而生養乎物者也，有仁之道也。

Article 15: Song dynasty scholar Fang Qu says: The "Lianshan" hexagram begins with Gen. The inner and outer trigrams of Gen are both Gen, with the upper and lower parts identical. Its position is in the Northeast, between East and North, precisely facing the season associated with "human." The Xia dynasty used the human calendar, taking the month of Jiayin as the beginning of the year, so its book of changes started with the Gen trigram. Article 16: Song dynasty scholar Huang Chang says: The ability to reveal hidden things is the "ren" in the way of the Book of Changes. Therefore, the Xia dynasty's Book of Changes was called "Lianshan," named after its moral quality of "ren." The image of a mountain, though still and unmoving, can nurture all things, embodying the virtue of "ren." Fang Qu explained from the perspective of direction and season, while Huang Chang explained from the perspective of moral quality. Although their approaches differed, both aimed to explain why the Xia Book of Changes placed the Gen trigram first.

17、沈括曰：卦爻之辭皆九六，惟《連山》、《歸藏》以七八占。 18、陸佃曰：《連山》始於艮，故曰《連山》，《易》曰“兼山”是也。先儒以為象雲氣之出於山，連連不絕，非是。　又曰：《連山易》，長安人家有之，其卦皆縱。

Article seventeen, Shen Kuobu of the Song dynasty said: In the line statements of the hexagrams, the position of the lines is indicated uniformly by 'nine' and 'six', while the Lianshan and Guizang use 'seven' and 'eight' to start the divination. Article eighteen, Lu Dian of the Song dynasty said: The Lianshan starts with the Gen hexagram, hence its name, Lianshan. The great image statement of the Gen hexagram in the Zhouyi refers to 'combined mountains', which means this. Previous scholars thought the name was derived from clouds rising from the mountains, continuous and unbroken, but this interpretation is incorrect. Lu Dian also said: There was a copy of the Lianshan Yi kept in a family in Chang'an. The hexagram illustrations in that copy were arranged vertically. Lu Dian's account of 'there was a copy in a family in Chang'an' is worth noting: during the Northern Song dynasty, there were indeed copies of the Lianshan Yi circulating among the people, with the hexagram illustrations arranged vertically, differing in form from the commonly circulated Yi texts; however, whether it was an ancient surviving text or a later forgery, Lu Dian did not clarify, and today we cannot verify it either.

19、邵博曰：《連山易》意義淺甚，其劉炫之偽書乎？ 20、李綱曰：《連山》、《歸藏》以靜為占，故爻稱七八，七八者，少陰、少陽之數也。陰陽之少，虛而未盈，故靜而不變。

Article 19: Song dynasty scholar Shao Bo said: The version of The Linked Mountains Changes he saw had very shallow meaning, and he suspected it might have been forged by Liu Xuan of the Sui dynasty. This represents a typical view of Song dynasty scholars in identifying forgeries. When read together with the previous account by Lu Dian about the Chang'an manuscript, it shows that at that time the transmitted versions were already widely suspected. Article 20: Song dynasty scholar Li Gang said: The Linked Mountains and Guizang used static and unchanging principles for divination, so the lines were labeled as 'seven' and 'eight'. 'Seven' and 'eight' represent the numbers of lesser yin and lesser yang. Yin and yang were still in their initial stages, empty and not yet full, so they remained static and did not change. Li Gang's explanation of the 'seven and eight' divination method is thorough: only mature yin and yang change, while lesser yin and lesser yang remain unchanged. Since the Yijing of the Xia and Shang dynasties only used unchanging lines, they naturally only used the numbers seven and eight.

21、朱震曰：《連山》首艮者，八風始於不周，實居西北之方，七宿之次，是為東壁、營室，於辰為亥，於律為應鐘，於時為立冬，此顓帝之歷，所以首十月也。 22、郭雍曰：夏易曰《連山》，商易曰《歸藏》，而布名曰夏商易者，時尚無易之名也。

Article 21: Zhu Zhen of the Song dynasty said: The fact that the "Lianshan" hexagram begins with Gen can be compared with the statement "the eight winds begin with the Bu Zhou wind": the direction of the Bu Zhou wind is the northwest, which corresponds to the two constellations Dong Bi and Ying Shi in the twenty-eight mansions, the twelfth earthly branch "Hai", the twelfth tone "Ying Zhong", and the season "Li Dong". This was the starting point of the Zhuan Xu calendar, so that calendar took the tenth month as the beginning of the year. Zhu Zhen used the tenth month as the starting point of the Zhuan Xu calendar to compare with the beginning of the hexagram Gen in the Xia Yi, intending to show that each dynasty had its own starting point. Article 22: Guo Yong of the Song dynasty said: The Yi of the Xia dynasty was called "Lianshan", the Yi of the Shang dynasty was called "Guicang", and later people generally referred to them as "Xia-Shang Yi", because there was no general term "Yi" at that time. Guo Yong pointed out a problem that is often overlooked: the term "San Yi" might have been added by the Zhou people or even later.

23、張行成曰：夏曰《連山》，天易也，《太玄易》取之。 24、鄭諤曰：《周易》以九六為占，而《連山》、《歸藏》以七八為占，《周易》占其變者，《連山》、《歸藏》占其不變者。 25、鄭樵曰：《連山》，夏后氏易，至唐始出，今亡。

Article 23: Zhang Xingcheng of the Song dynasty said: The Yi of the Xia dynasty was called the "Lianshan" and belonged to the "Tianyi" tradition. Yang Xiong of the Han dynasty's "Tai Xuan" was modeled after it. Article 24: Zheng E of the Song dynasty said: The Zhouyi used "jiu" and "liu" to begin divination, while the Lianshan and Guicang used "qi" and "ba". The Zhouyi divined changing lines, while the Lianshan and Guicang divined unchanging lines. This passage most clearly distinguishes the three Yis in terms of their methods of divination. Article 25: Zheng Qiao of the Song dynasty said: The Lianshan was the Yi of the Xia dynasty, and it only appeared in the Tang dynasty, and now it is lost. Zheng Qiao's statement "until the Tang dynasty did it appear" seems plain, but in fact it is a strong remark. A book from the Xia dynasty, which was not recorded in the bibliographies of the Han and Sui dynasties, suddenly appeared in the Tang dynasty. Its origin is itself highly questionable.

26、程迥曰：《連山》、《歸藏》，宜與《周易》數同而其辭異。先儒謂《周易》以變者占，非也；《連山》、《歸藏》以不變者占，亦非也。古之筮者兼用三易之法，衛元之筮遇《屯》曰：“利見侯”，是《周易》以不變者占也；季有之筮，遇《大有》之《乾》曰：“同復於父，敬如君所”，此固二易之辭也，既之乾則用變也，是《連山》、《歸藏》或以變者占也。

Song dynasty scholar Cheng Jiong said that the "Lianshan" and "Guicang" should have the same number of hexagrams as the "Zhouyi" but different hexagram statements. Previous scholars claimed that the "Zhouyi" was exclusively used for divination based on changing lines, which is incorrect; similarly, claiming that "Lianshan" and "Guicang" were exclusively used for divination based on unchanging lines is also incorrect. Ancient diviners used the methods of the three "Yi" together. For example, Wei Yuan encountered the "Zun" hexagram and made a judgment of "favorable to meet a nobleman," using the hexagram statement of "Zun" itself, which is an example of the "Zhouyi" using an unchanging line for divination. Another example is the divination at the birth of Ji You, where the hexagram "Da You" changed to "Qian," and the statement was "returning to the father, respectful as the ruler commands." These two lines originally belonged to the statements of "Lianshan" and "Guicang," but since it mentioned "changing to Qian," it already used the changing hexagram. Thus, "Lianshan" and "Guicang" sometimes also used changing lines for divination. Cheng Jiong cited two counterexamples, breaking the dogma that "Zhouyi" used changing lines while the other two "Yi" used unchanging lines, showing that the actual divination methods were much more flexible than the rules summarized by later scholars.

27、程大昌曰：《周官》紀三易，其經卦皆八，其別皆六十有四，《連山》，夏也；《歸藏》，商也，夏商之世，八卦固已別為六十四矣。 28、蔡元定曰：《連山》首艮，《歸藏》首坤，意其作用必與《周易》大異，然其為道則同。

Article 27: Cheng Dachang of the Song dynasty said: The "Rites of Zhou" records three Yis, each of which consists of the eight fundamental trigrams overlapped to form the sixty-four variant trigrams. "Lianshan" belongs to the Xia dynasty, and "Guicang" belongs to the Shang dynasty; this shows that as early as the Xia and Shang dynasties, the eight trigrams had already been developed into the sixty-four trigrams. This statement uses the number of hexagrams recorded in the "Rites of Zhou" to refute the old view that the formation of the sixty-four trigrams began with King Wen. Article 28: Cai Yuanding of the Song dynasty said: "Lianshan" takes Gen as its first trigram, while "Guicang" takes Kun as its first trigram. He speculated that their specific applications must have been quite different from those of the "Zhou Yi", but the principles they contained were the same. Cai Yuanding's statement set a stable standard for later discussions: although the order of the hexagrams and the methods of divination may differ, the essence of the Yi remains the same.

29、鄭東鄉曰：自庖犧至夏商，八卦雖重而未知七八、九六之長變也，《連山》始艮，《歸藏》始坤，夏商用之，皆以不變為占，其數止於六十四而已。

Song dynasty scholar Zheng Dongxiang said: From Paoxi to the Xia and Shang dynasties, although the eight trigrams had already been combined into sixty-four hexagrams, they did not yet understand the changes of yin and yang between 'seven and eight' and 'nine and six'. The Lianshan began with the Gen trigram, and the Guicang began with the Kun trigram. Both the Xia and Shang dynasties used them, relying on unchanging lines for divination, so the total number of hexagrams remained at sixty-four, without deriving additional hexagrams from the primary ones. According to his view, the system of line changes where one hexagram can transform into sixty-four hexagrams was an invention of the Zhou Yi. The Yi of the Xia and Yin dynasties remained at the stage of a fixed set of sixty-four hexagrams. This also explains why the two other Yis used seven and eight but not nine and six.

30、羅泌曰：炎帝神農氏令司怪主卜，巫咸、巫陽主筮，於是通其變，以成天下之文，極其數以定天地之象，八八成卦以酬醡而祐神，以通天下之志，以定天下之業。謂始萬物、終萬物者，莫盛乎艮，艮，東北之卦也，故重艮以為始，所謂《連山易》也。 31、羅蘋曰：《連山》之文，禹代之作。

Article thirty, Song dynasty scholar Luo Mi said: The Flame Emperor Shen Nong sent the official in charge of strange phenomena to oversee divination by turtle shells, and sent Wu Xian and Wu Yang to oversee divination by yarrow stalks. Thus, they comprehended the transformations in between, to establish the principles of the world; they exhausted the numbers within, to determine the images of heaven and earth. Eight and eight combined form the sixty-four hexagrams, used to respond to the divine, to seek divine protection, to communicate the hearts of the people, and to lay the foundation for the people's endeavors. He then said: The hexagram that can begin and end all things is none more complete than Gen. Gen is the hexagram of the northeast, so two Gen hexagrams were overlapped to form the beginning, which is called the Linked Mountains Changes. Article thirty-one, Song dynasty scholar Luo Ping said: The textual content of the Linked Mountains Changes was composed in the time of Yu. Luo Ping, the son of Luo Mi, had annotated the Road History; he dated the composition of the text to the time of the Xia dynasty's Yu, which is later than his father's attribution to the time of Shen Nong.

32、陳藻曰：夏有《連山》，筮昉於此乎？故夏未代虞而舜廷有之矣。 33、李過曰：《易鈔》云：“有天地，然後有萬物”，夏易首艮，是物先乎天地矣，夏易所以不傳，其說固善，然未免為率爾之談。夏、商、周易首卦不同，蓋寓三統之義。夏后氏建寅以正月為歲首，為人紀，天地二十四位，艮連於寅，萬物終乎艮，又始乎艮也。夏正建寅，連於寅，故首艮爾。

Article 32: A Song dynasty scholar named Chen Zhao said: The Xia dynasty had the book of Lianshan, and the method of using the yarrow stalks for divination probably originated from here. Therefore, even before the Xia dynasty replaced the Yu Shun dynasty, the court of Yu Shun already had it. Article 33: A Song dynasty scholar named Li Guo said: The "Yi Chao" states, "After heaven and earth were formed, then all things came into being." However, the Xia version of the Yi placed the Gen trigram first. Would that not mean that all things came into being before heaven and earth? Some people have used this to argue that the Xia Yi was lost for this very reason. Although this argument sounds impressive, it is likely just a casual remark. The first trigrams of the Yi books of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were all different, and this was intended to express the meaning of the "Three Standards." The Xia dynasty established the year beginning with the first month of the Yin zodiac, which belonged to the "human standard." Among the twenty-four directions of heaven and earth, the Gen trigram is directly connected to the Yin direction. All things end at Gen and begin anew at Gen. Since the Xia dynasty began the year with Yin and Gen was connected to Yin, it therefore placed Gen as the first trigram.

34、劉炎曰：或問《連山》、《歸藏》之真偽，曰：《漢志》不錄《連山》，《唐志》則有之，《漢志》不錄《歸藏》，晉《中經》、隋、唐《志》則有之，昔無今有，其偽可知，況其言之不經耶？

Song dynasty scholar Liu Yan said: When someone asked about the authenticity of the books of "Lianshan" and "Guicang", he replied: The "Han Shu · Yiwen Zhi" did not record "Lianshan", but the "Tang Shu · Yiwen Zhi" did. The "Han Shu · Yiwen Zhi" did not record "Guicang", but the "Zhongjing Biao" of the Jin dynasty, as well as the "Sui Shu" and "Tang Shu" entries under the categories of Jingji and Yiwen, did. Since these books were not recorded before but suddenly appeared now, it is evident that they are forgeries. Moreover, the content of these books is so inconsistent with the principles of the classics. Liu Yan's remarks are among the sharpest in Song dynasty textual criticism. He did not focus on the origin of the book titles, but directly used the presence or absence of records in bibliographic catalogs as evidence. He regarded the fact that these books appeared later as an ironclad proof of forgery.

35、王應麟曰：《連山》首艮，艮是萬物之所終始也，八風始於不周，卦氣始於中孚，冬至為曆元，黃鐘為律本，太元紀日於牛宿，紀氣於中首而以罔冥，於元艮之終始萬物也。又曰：意夏、商卦下亦各有辭，故周人並存以為占。 36、黃寅炎曰：《連山》，庖犧先天易也。

Article thirty-five: Wang Yinglin of the Song dynasty said: The "Lianshan" begins with Gen, because Gen is the place where all things end and begin anew. This is consistent with several other matters that share the same underlying principle: the eight winds start from the Buzhou wind, the trigram energies start from Zhongfou, the winter solstice is set as the beginning of the calendar system, the Huangzhong is set as the fundamental tone of the musical scale, Yang Xiong's "Tai Xuan" uses the Ox mansion to mark days and uses "Zhong" as the starting point for the seasonal changes, ending with "Wang" and "Ming" as the final points — all of these are seeking a starting point for a cyclic system. The reason why Gen can both end and begin all things lies precisely here. He also said: It is presumed that the hexagrams of the Xia and Shang dynasties originally each had their own yao words, so the Zhou people preserved them together for use in divination. Article thirty-six: Huang Yiniang said: "Lianshan" is the Earlier Heaven Changes of Fuxi. This is another concise expression of pushing "Lianshan" back to Fuxi.

37、朱元昇曰：《連山》者，三易之首也。　又曰：《連山》之作，兼取則於圖書。　又曰：《連山》作於伏羲，用於夏；《歸藏》作於黃帝，用於商。周公相成王，設官分職，命太卜、筮人與《周易》並掌，不以周用《周易》而置《連山》、《歸藏》於無用。

Zhu Yuansheng of the late Song and early Yuan dynasties said: The Lianshan is the first of the three Yis. He also said: The making of the Lianshan was based on the principles of the River Chart and the Lo Book. He further said: The Lianshan was composed by Fuxi but used in the Xia dynasty; the Guicang was composed by the Yellow Emperor but used in the Shang dynasty. When Duke Zhou assisted King Cheng, he established officials and assigned duties, ordering the Grand Astrologer and the diviner to jointly manage the Lianshan, Guicang, and Zhouyi. He did not discard the Lianshan and Guicang merely because the Zhouyi was prevalent in the Zhou dynasty. Zhu Yuansheng here separated the question of who composed the work from the question of when it was used, intending to reconcile the two conflicting traditional views that the Lianshan belongs to Fuxi and that the Lianshan belongs to the Xia dynasty.

又曰：《周禮疏》賈公彥釋《連山》之義曰：“《連山》其卦以純艮為首，艮為山，山上山下，是名《連山》”。即賈氏之疏稽之《說卦》之辭，夏時之候，夏建寅正，純艮實應立春，春為時之首，艮所以為《連山易》之首乎？考《漢·律曆志》述三統，謂人統，寅木也，太蔟律長八寸，象八卦，伏羲氏之所以順天地、通神明、類萬物也。以是知庖羲氏亦用寅正，夏后氏因之而已。公彥謂《連山》作於伏羲，因於夏后，此之謂也。

Zhu Yuansheng also said: In the "Commentary on the Rites: The Ceremonial Officer" (Zhou Li Shu), Jia Gongyan explained the meaning of the "Linked Mountains Changes" (Lianshan Yi), stating that "The Linked Mountains Changes takes the pure Gen trigram as its first trigram. The image of the Gen trigram is mountain, with the upper trigram being mountain and the lower trigram also being mountain, hence it is called the Linked Mountains Changes." Comparing this passage from Jia's commentary with the words in the "Commentary on the Trigrams" and checking against the seasonal calendar of the Xia dynasty: the Xia calendar established寅 (Yin) as the first month, and the pure Gen trigram corresponds to the solar term of the Beginning of Spring, which is the start of the four seasons. Therefore, the reason why Gen can be the first trigram of the Linked Mountains Changes is probably due to this. Further, the "Book of Han: Records of the Rites and Calendars" discusses the three unities, stating that the human unity corresponds to "Yin," which belongs to wood. The Tai Zhuo tuning pipe is eight inches long, symbolizing the eight trigrams. This is exactly the method by which Fuxi followed the heavens and earth, connected the divine, and compared things with their kinds. From this we can know that Fuxi also used Yin as the starting point, and the Xia dynasty merely continued this tradition. Jia Gongyan's statement that the Linked Mountains Changes was created by Fuxi and continued by the Xia dynasty refers to this meaning.

又曰：《連山易》亡久矣，因《周禮》得存其名，因《說卦傳》得存其義，因夏時得存其用。

Zhu Yuansheng also said: The "Linked Mountains Changes" has been lost for a long time, and its book title was preserved only through the "Rites of Zhou," its meaning was preserved only through the "Commentary on the Hexagrams," and its usage was preserved only through the calendar of the Xia dynasty. These three statements are the most measured among all discussions on the "Linked Mountains Changes" throughout history: since the original book no longer exists, later generations can only grasp it through the three indirect clues of its name, meaning, and usage. This is precisely the reason why Ma Guohan compiled this collected edition — to gather together the fragments of name, meaning, and usage scattered throughout various texts, rather than to hope for the restoration of a complete "Linked Mountains Changes."

38、金履祥曰：《連山》、《歸藏》其辭不復可考，學者謂邵氏互體、《既濟》諸卦圖即《連山》之遺法也，後世納甲歸魂之法，即《歸藏》之遺法也。 39、胡一桂曰：《連山》十卷，見《唐·藝文志》，自唐以前並無其書，則唐之《連山》似隋世偽書。

Article thirty-eight, Yuan dynasty scholar Jin Luxiang said: The divinatory texts of the books of "Continuous Mountains" and "Return to the Hidden" are no longer traceable. Some scholars believe that Shao Yong's concept of "mutual structures" and the diagrams of the "Completion" hexagram are the remaining methods of the "Continuous Mountains." Later methods such as "Najia" and "Return Soul" are considered to be the remnants of the "Return to the Hidden." This is attributing certain techniques of Song dynasty cosmological mathematics back to the two books, essentially belonging to speculative statements. Article thirty-nine, Yuan dynasty scholar Hu Yigui said: The "Continuous Mountains" with ten volumes is mentioned in the "Artful Literature Catalogue" of the "Tang Book," but there was no such book before the Tang dynasty. Therefore, the "Continuous Mountains" seen in the Tang dynasty might have been a forgery from the Sui dynasty. Hu Yigui's argument continues the line of thought of Liu Yan and Zheng Qiao, both pointing their criticism towards Liu Xuan.

40、吳澂曰：《連山》，夏之易。 41、吳萊曰：易占以變，故其數但用九六而尚老，《連山》、《歸藏》占以不變，故其數但用七八二尚少。《連山》七而首艮，《歸藏》八而初坤，亦不過伏羲之舊，及推其取用之策，《連山》三十有六，《歸藏》四十有六，《易》則四十有九，又若不相為用者。

Article forty, Yuan dynasty scholar Wu Cheng stated in one sentence that the "Lianshan" is the Book of Changes of the Xia dynasty. Article forty-one, Yuan dynasty scholar Wu Lai said: The "Zhouyi" deals with change, so it uses only "nine" and "six" and values old yang and old yin; the "Lianshan" and "Guicang" deal with unchanging matters, so they use only "seven" and "eight" and value young yang and young yin. The "Lianshan" uses seven and takes Gen as the first trigram, while the "Guicang" uses eight and takes Kun as the first trigram. This is merely following the old method of Fuxi. When investigating the number of stalks used in the three books, the "Lianshan" uses thirty-six, the "Guicang" uses forty-six, and the "Zhouyi" uses forty-nine, and they seem to be completely different from each other. Wu Lai combined the analysis of the number of lines and the number of stalks, pointing out that the three books indeed have substantial differences in terms of technique, not just differing in the first trigram.

42、朱隱老曰：《連山》，神農之易也，以艮為首，而凡建寅者宗之，雖唐虞亦然，不獨夏后氏為然也。 43、雷思齊曰：《連山》、《歸藏》之易，其筮法同而爻辭異也。 44、朱升曰：《連山》首艮，終始之際也。

Article forty-two, Zhu Yinya of the Yuan dynasty said: The "Lianshan" is the Book of Changes of Shen Nong, with Gen as the first trigram; all dynasties that used the beginning of the year in the寅 (Yin) month revered it, even in the time of the Yao and Yu dynasties, not only in the Xia dynasty. This article expands the concept of "first Gen" from being exclusive to the Xia dynasty to all dynasties that used the寅 (Yin) month as the beginning of the year. Article forty-three, Lei Siqi of the Yuan dynasty said: The "Lianshan" and "Guicang" both have the same method of divination but different line statements. Article forty-four, Zhu Sheng of the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties said: The "Lianshan" takes Gen as the first trigram, precisely because it represents the moment of completion and renewal. The three articles are all very brief, yet each represents a distinct position: one is to push the origin of the "Lianshan" back to Shen Nong, another is to limit the difference between the two Books of Changes to their line statements rather than their methods, and the third is to interpret "first Gen" as the junction of cyclical renewal.

45、王禕曰：易自伏羲始畫八卦，因而重之為六十四卦，當時蓋有圖而無書也，後聖因之作《連山》，作《歸藏》，作《周易》，皆本於伏羲之圖而取用各不同。 46、何喬新曰：《唐藝文志》有《連山》十卷，出於長孫無忌次述，文多缺誤，其書不傳久矣，然求之尚有可言者，所謂兼山艮，即《連山》之遺意也，六爻皆別，人象。書雖不存，象可得而推焉。

Article forty-five: A Ming dynasty person, Wang Yi, said: The Book of Changes began with Fuxi drawing the Eight Trigrams, then overlapping them to form the sixty-four hexagrams. At that time, there were probably only the trigram diagrams and no written text. Later sages based on the trigram diagrams the books of Lianshan, Guicang, and Zhouyi. All three originated from Fuxi's diagram, but they differed in the way they used them. Article forty-six: A Ming dynasty person, He Qiaoxin, said: The Tang Dynasty Book of Arts and Literature records that Lianshan consists of ten volumes, compiled and narrated by Changsun Wuxiu and others. The text is often incomplete and erroneous, and this book has not been passed down for a long time. However, if one seriously seeks it out, there is still something to say: The great image of the Gen hexagram in Zhouyi refers to 'dual mountains of Gen', which is the meaning left behind by Lianshan. Each of the six lines distinguishes itself, taking the image of things. Although the book is no longer available, the hexagram images can still be inferred. He Qiaoxin's statement represents a moderate position: acknowledging that the original book has been lost, yet advocating for seeking the remnants of Lianshan through the Gen hexagram of Zhouyi.

47、王道曰：《連山》首艮，說者皆謂艮寅位，與建寅之義合，此殊不然。艮在寅，文王後天卦位，夏何由而預取之？且六子皆屬人道，獨首艮，何也？蓋三女無論。震一陽動於二陰之下，坎以一陽階於二陰之中，具不足以當人道之正也，惟艮一陽止二陰之上，既有符於一君二民之象，而又深契夫惟止能止眾止之妙，人道之最善也，首艮取此。

A modern scholar named Wang said: The book of Lianshan starts with the trigram Gen. Those who explain it say that Gen is associated with the position of Yin, which corresponds to the beginning of the summer season in the Xia dynasty. But this is not correct. The association of Gen with Yin is a later arrangement by King Wen. How could the Xia dynasty have used the position of Yin, which was only established later? Moreover, the six sub-trigrams derived from Qian and Kun all relate to human affairs. Why then is Gen chosen as the first? As for the three female trigrams Xun, Li, and Dui, they can be set aside for now. Zhen is a single yang line emerging from two yin lines, and Kan is a single yang line between two yin lines, neither of which can represent the central and upright position of human affairs. Only Gen, with a single yang line resting on two yin lines, corresponds to the image of "one ruler and two subjects" and also aligns with the principle of "only by stopping can one stop others from stopping." Gen is the most complete trigram in human affairs, and thus it is chosen as the first. This argument carries significant weight, as it directly refutes the popular view that Gen and Yin are associated, pointing out that this is a later arrangement of the trigrams. Instead, it proposes a new interpretation based on the structure of the trigrams and the image of ruler and subjects.

48、湛若水曰：夏之《連山》，知止者，始終之要，程子所以取艮卦也。 49、孫宜曰：解《連山》者，謂如山出云，連綿不絕，夫出雲連綿，奚足盡天下之理？　又曰：八卦以序相循環，《連山》、《歸藏》亦各有序，而其義未備。

Article forty-eight: A Ming scholar named Zhan Ruoshui said: The book of Lianshan from the Xia dynasty discusses the concept of "stop" ("止"). "Stop" is the key to both the end and the beginning. Cheng Yi particularly valued the Gen hexagram for this very reason. Article forty-nine: A Ming scholar named Sun Yi said: Those who explain Lianshan say it is like clouds rising from a mountain, continuous and unending. However, the meaning of clouds rising continuously is not sufficient to explain the principles of the universe. He also said: The eight trigrams follow a sequence that cycles continuously, and both Lianshan and Guicang also have their own sequences of hexagrams. However, their meanings are incomplete and fragmented. Sun Yi's first statement criticizes the old interpretation of "clouds rising from a mountain" as too superficial, while his second statement acknowledges that although the sequences of the two books still exist in name, their meanings are no longer accessible.

50、胡應麟曰：《連山易》十卷，見《唐藝文志》。按班氏六經首《周易》，凡夏商之易絕不同。隋牛宏購得域內遺書至三十七萬卷，魏文成等修《隋史》，晉、梁以降，亡佚篇名無不具載，皆不聞所謂《連山》者，至唐始出，可乎？《北史·劉炫傳》：隋文搜訪圖藉，炫因偽造《連山》及《魯史記》上之，馬端臨據此以為炫作，或有然者，蓋炫後事發除名，故《隋志》不錄，而其書尚傳於後，開元中，盛集群書，仍入禁中爾。

A Ming dynasty scholar named Hu Yinglin said that the "Linked Mountains Changes" (Lianshan Yi) is recorded as a ten-volume work in the "Artful Literature Catalogue" of the Tang dynasty. According to Ban Gu's "Artful Literature Catalogue" of the Han dynasty, the Six Classics begin with the "Zhou Changes" (I Ching), which is entirely different from the so-called "Yi" of the Xia and Shang dynasties. During the Sui dynasty, Niu Hong collected lost books from all over the country, receiving as many as three million seven hundred thousand volumes. When Wei Wencheng and others compiled the "Sui History," they recorded the titles of all lost books from the Jin and Liang dynasties and later, yet they never mentioned the "Linked Mountains Changes." It appeared only in the Tang dynasty, which raises the question of whether this is plausible. The "Northern History" records that Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty searched for ancient books, and Liu Xuan took the opportunity to forge the "Linked Mountains Changes" and the "Lu History" and presented them. Ma Duanlin used this to conclude that the book was written by Liu Xuan, and perhaps this is indeed the case. It is likely that Liu Xuan later revealed his deception and was removed from the official records, so the "Sui History" did not include it. However, the books he forged still circulated in later generations. During the Kaiyuan period, the court gathered many books, and this book thus entered the imperial collection. Hu Yinglin's account completed the chain of evidence for identifying the book as a forgery: it explained why the "Sui History" did not record it and how the fake book could have circulated and reappeared in the Tang dynasty.

51、沈懋孝曰：夏易首艮，以成終而胎出震之用。 52、郝敬曰：《連山》六畫艮卦，艮為山，上下兩艮，故曰《連山》。 53、焦竑曰：《連山》艮也，夏時，講學者所重在止。

Article fifty-one: Shen Maoxiao of the Ming dynasty said: The "Book of Changes" of the summer dynasty takes Gen as the first trigram, using Gen's virtue of "completion and conclusion" to nurture the function of "Zhen emerging" — Gen represents conclusion, while Zhen represents movement and initiation. Within the conclusion lies the seed of the next beginning. Article fifty-two: Hao Jing of the Ming dynasty said: The "Lianshan" discusses the trigram Gen, which is the image of a mountain. Since the trigram Gen is repeated above and below, it is called "Lianshan." Article fifty-three: Jiao Hong of the Ming dynasty said: "Lianshan" is Gen. In the Shang dynasty, scholars valued the character "zhi" (stop). All three articles focus on Gen, showing that by the Ming dynasty, scholars' interest in "Lianshan" had shifted from verifying its authenticity to exploring its meaning and principles.

54、孫奇逢曰：《連山》首艮，艮，止也，天下事不日新於行而日新於止，惟其時止則止，所以時行則行也，成始成終之義也。 55、黃宗炎曰：桓譚謂《連山》八萬言，《歸藏》四千三百言，是殷書與《周易》等夏之文字幾二十倍於文王、周公之辭，豈古昔之方冊乎？為此說者亦不明古今之通義矣。

Article 54: Sun Qifeng of the Ming and Qing periods said: The "Lianshan" begins with Gen, which means "to stop"; the affairs of the world are not renewed day by day through action, but through stopping and resting, day by day. Because when it is time to stop, it can stop, so when it is time to move forward, it can move forward. This is the meaning of achieving the beginning and the end. Article 55: Huang Zongyan of the Qing dynasty said: Huan Tan wrote eighty thousand characters on the "Lianshan" and four thousand three hundred characters on the "Guicang". According to this, the books of the Shang dynasty were about the same length as the "Zhouyi", while the writings of the Xia dynasty were almost twenty times the length of the words of King Wen and the Duke of Zhou. But in ancient times, bamboo slips and wooden tablets were used for writing, how could such a length be possible? Those who proposed this view did not understand the general conditions of the past and present. Huang Zongyan's rebuttal is very convincing: he started from the material conditions of writing in ancient times, directly questioning the credibility of the figure "eighty thousand characters", which was precisely the main basis for the claim that the "Lianshan" still existed in the Han dynasty.

56、顧炎武曰：《連山》、《歸藏》，非易也，而《周官》云“三易”者，後人因易之名以名之也，猶之《墨子》言周之春秋、燕之春秋、宋之春秋、齊之春秋，周、燕、宋、齊之史，非比皆《春秋》也，而云“春秋”者，因魯史之名以名之也。

Qing scholar Gu Yanwu said: The "Lianshan" and "Guicang" were originally not "Yi", but the "Zhou Li" referred to them as the "San Yi". This was because later people borrowed the name "Yi" to refer to them. This is similar to the "Mozi" mentioning the "Chunqiu" of the Zhou, the "Chunqiu" of Yan, the "Chunqiu" of Song, and the "Chunqiu" of Qi: the historical records of these states were originally not all called "Chunqiu", but they were collectively referred to as "Chunqiu" by using the name of the historical record of Lu. Gu Yanwu's analogy is very insightful: he pointed out that "San Yi" is a later general term, and the divination books of the Xia and Shang dynasties may not have called themselves "Yi". Therefore, arguing whether "Lianshan" is or is not "Yi" is meaningless; the question should be redirected to what kind of divination book "Lianshan" actually was.

57、尤侗曰：《連山》首艮，《歸藏》首坤，序卦略殊，卦名未嘗異也。 58、黃與堅曰：易，周所名，則《連山》、《歸藏》亦周以易名而謂之“三易”也。

Article 57, Yu Tong of the Qing dynasty said: "The book of Lianshan starts with Gen, and the book of Guicang starts with Kun. The order of the hexagrams in the three books is slightly different, but the names of the hexagrams have never been different. This contradicts the previous account by Luo Ping, who said that 'Yang Yu' and 'You Xi' are hexagram names unique to Lianshan. This shows that the Qing scholars still have no definite conclusion on this issue. Article 58, Huang Yujian of the Qing dynasty said: 'Yi' is the name established by the Zhou people. Therefore, Lianshan and Guicang were also called 'Yi' by the Zhou people, and thus collectively referred to as 'San Yi'. This is in line with Gu Yanwu's view, both seeing 'San Yi' as a general term added later by the Zhou people.

59、朱彝尊曰：毛漸所序《三墳》，首列《山墳》，謂是《連山》之易，伏羲所作。其象有崇山君、伏山臣、列山民、兼山物、潛山陰、連山陽、藏山兵、疊山象等義，其言曰“天皇始畫八卦，《連山》名易，君、臣、民、物、陰、陽、兵、象始明於世”，荒誕不足信也。

Qing scholar Zhu Yizun said: Mao Jian's version of the "San Fen" begins with "Shan Fen," claiming it to be the "Lianshan" Yi, composed by Fuxi. Its trigrams are named with such terms as "Chongshan" for the sovereign, "Fushan" for the minister, "Lie Shan" for the people, "Jianshan" for things, "Qianshan" for the yin, "Lianshan" for the yang, "Cangshan" for military affairs, and "Diedeshan" for the image. The book says, "The heavenly emperor first drew the eight trigrams, and thus the "Lianshan" came to be called Yi. From then on, the eight categories of sovereign, minister, people, things, yin, yang, military affairs, and image became clear to the world." These statements are absurd and not worth believing. This point is especially important: the "Gusan San Fen" appended at the end of this volume is precisely the one that Zhu Yizun severely criticized as a forgery. Ma Guohan included both the critical discussion of its authenticity and the original text itself, intending to let readers compare and judge for themselves.

又曰：按杜子春以“連山”為宓犧，“歸藏”為黃帝，姚信以“列山”為神農，而班孟堅《古今人表》既於聖人列宓犧、神農、黃帝，又於仁人著列山、歸藏，不應復出乃爾。

Zhu Yizun also said: Chá Du Zichun assigned "Lianshan" to Fuyi, and "Guicang" to the Yellow Emperor; Yao Xin assigned "lieshan" to Shen Nong. However, Ban Gu, whose courtesy name was Mengjian, had already listed Fuyi, Shen Nong, and the Yellow Emperor under the category of "saints" in the "Ancient and Modern Persons Table" of the "Book of Han," and later listed "lieshan" and "guicang" under the category of "benevolent persons." The same group of people should not appear twice in this way. Zhu Yizun thus pointed out that the names "Lianshan," "Guicang," and "lieshan" were in the minds of Han people distinct from Fuyi, Shen Nong, and the Yellow Emperor. Later generations confused them and directly regarded them as alternative names for the Three Emperors, which was actually a mistake. This also shows that the origin of the name "Lianshan" has been controversial since the Han dynasty.

《春秋左氏傳》云：楚左史倚相能讀《三墳》《五典》《八索》《九丘》。孫安國敘《書》以謂伏羲、神農、黃帝之書，謂之《三墳》，言大道也。《漢書·藝文志》錄古書為詳，而三墳之書巳不載，豈此書當漢而亡歟？

The "Spring and Autumn Zuo Tradition" records that a left historian of the State of Chu named Yi Xiang was able to read several ancient classical texts known as the "Three Barrows," "Five Classics," "Eight Threads," and "Nine Mountains." Sun Anguo, who is identified as Sun Xingyan, refers to Kong Anguo in the "Book of Documents" preface. He says that the books of Fuxi, Shen Nong, and the Yellow Emperor were called the "Three Barrows," and they explained the great principles. The "Book of Han · Artful Literature Catalogue" records ancient texts most comprehensively, yet the "Three Barrows" are no longer mentioned. Could this book have been lost by the Han dynasty? Note: The original text says "si bu zai," but the original manuscript has "si," which is likely a mistake for "yi." This is recorded as is. Mao Jie starts with this question to set the stage for his subsequent account of how he obtained the book.

元豐七年，予奉使西京，巡按屬邑，而唐州之泌陽，道無郵亭，因寓食於民舍。有題於戶：《三墳》書某人借去。亟呼主人而問之。曰：古之《三墳》也，某家實有是書。因命取而閱之。《三墳》各有《傳》，《墳》乃古文，而《傳》乃隸書。觀其言簡而理暢，疑非後世之所能為也。就借而歸錄，間出以示好事，往往指為偽書。

In the seventh year of Yuanfeng during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, I was sent on a mission to the western capital, Luoyang, to inspect the affiliated prefectures and counties. When I reached Biyang in Tangzhou, there were no official inns to stay at, so I borrowed lodging from a local family. I noticed that the door had a line written on it: "The Book of Sanfeng is borrowed by someone." I hurriedly called the host to ask about it. The host said that it was an ancient Book of Sanfeng, and his family indeed had a copy of it. So I asked him to bring it out and read through it. Each section of the Book of Sanfeng was accompanied by a commentary. The main text of the Sanfeng was written in ancient script, while the commentary was written in clerical script. The language was concise yet the meaning was clear and coherent, making me suspect that it could not have been written by someone from later generations. I therefore borrowed it and made a copy. Occasionally, I would show it to those who loved ancient books, but they often regarded it as a forgery. This passage is the only account of the origin of the Ancient Sanfeng. The controversy over its authenticity has all stemmed from this.

然考《墳》之所以有三，蓋以山、氣、形為別：《山墳》言君、臣、民、物、陰、陽、兵、象，謂之《連山》；《氣墳》言歸、藏、生、動、長、育、止、殺，謂之《歸藏》；《形墳》言天、地、日、月、山、川、雲、氣，謂之《乾坤》。與先儒之說《三墳》特異。皆以義類相從，曲盡天地之理。復有《姓紀》《皇策》《政典》之篇，文辭質略，信乎上古之遺書也。

However, the division of the "San Feng" into three parts is probably based on the categories of mountains, qi, and forms: "Shan Feng" discusses eight aspects, namely king, minister, people, things, yin, yang, army, and phenomena, and is called "Lian Shan"; "Qi Feng" discusses eight aspects, namely return, concealment, birth, movement, growth, nurturing, stopping, and killing, and is called "Gui Cang"; "Xing Feng" discusses eight aspects, namely heaven, earth, sun, moon, mountains, rivers and valleys, clouds, and qi, and is called "Qian Kun". This differs greatly from the previous scholars' interpretations of the "San Feng". All three are arranged according to the categories of meaning, thoroughly and elaborately exploring the principles of heaven and earth. The book also includes several chapters such as "Xing Ji", "Huang Ce", and "Zheng Dian", which have plain and concise language, indeed resembling ancient documents left from the remote past. One point worth noting is that identifying "Lian Shan" and "Gui Cang" as two parts of the "San Feng" is precisely the most questionable aspect of this book—the "Lian Shan" recorded in the "Zhou Li" is a book of divination, while the "Shan Feng" here is merely a table of correspondences between names and objects.

《胤征》引《政典》曰先時者殺無赦，不及時者殺無赦。孔氏以謂夏后為政之典籍，頗與《書》合，豈後人之能偽邪？世人徒以此書漢時已亡，非後世之宜有。且《尚書》當漢初重購而莫得，武帝時方出於屋壁間，詎可遂為偽哉？予考此書，既篤信之，將詒諸好事君子，故為之敘雲。

The Book of Documents, Shangshu · Yunzheng, cites the Zhengdian, saying: those executed before the proper season are not pardoned, and those executed after the season are also not pardoned. Kong Anguo believed that the Zhengdian was a collection of policies from the Xia dynasty, which is very consistent with what is recorded in the Shangshu. Could it be fabricated by later people? The world only assumes that because this book was lost in the Han dynasty, it should not exist in later times. However, the Shangshu was also not found even when the Han dynasty offered a large reward for its retrieval, until it was discovered in the walls of Confucius' old residence during the reign of Emperor Wu. Can this therefore be used to conclude that the Shangshu is a forgery? After examining this book, I am convinced of its authenticity and intend to pass it on to gentlemen who love ancient texts, so I have written this preface. Mao Jian used the precedent of the Shangshu being found in the walls of a house to defend the Gu Sanfeng, which is the strongest argument in his entire work, and it is also the point that later scholars such as Zhu Yizun had to address directly.

爻卦大象： 崇山君 君臣相 君民官 君物龍 君陰後 君陽師 君兵將 君象首 伏山臣 臣君侯 臣民士 臣物龜 臣陰子 臣陽父 臣兵卒 臣象股

The "Yao Gua Great Images" of the "Shan Fen" is an eight-by-eight table. It assigns the eight trigrams named "Mountain" to eight categories: ruler, minister, people, things, yin, yang, army, and image. Each trigram is then combined successively with the other seven categories to form the sixty-four special trigrams. Each trigram is marked with three characters to indicate the image it represents. The first row, "Chong Shan" (High Mountain), represents the ruler's path: when the ruler combines with the minister, the image is "Xiang" (Minister); when the ruler combines with the people, the image is "Guan" (Official); when the ruler combines with things, the image is "Long" (Dragon); when the ruler combines with yin, the image is "Hou" (Queen), the ruler's spouse; when the ruler combines with yang, the image is "Shi" (Soldier); when the ruler combines with army, the image is "Jiang" (General); when the ruler combines with image, the image is "Shou" (Head), representing the position of the supreme ruler. The second row, "Fu Shan" (Hidden Mountain), represents the minister's path: when the minister combines with the ruler, the image is "Hou" (Lord); when the minister combines with the people, the image is "Shi" (Scholar); when the minister combines with things, the image is "Gui" (Turtle); when the minister combines with yin, the image is "Zi" (Son); when the minister combines with yang, the image is "Fu" (Father); when the minister combines with army, the image is "Cu" (Soldier); when the minister combines with image, the image is "Gu" (Thigh), symbolizing the minister who supports the ruler.

列山民 民君食 民臣力 民物貨 民陰妻 民陽夫 民兵器 民象體 兼山物 物君金 物臣木 物民土 物陰水 物陽火 物兵執 物象春

The third line uses "列山" to govern civil affairs: the people and the sovereign are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "food," because people regard food as essential; the people and the minister are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "strength," referring to the labor the people provide; the people and objects are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "goods," meaning wealth; the people and yin are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "wife"; the people and yang are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "husband"; the people and weapons are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "weapon," meaning military equipment; the people and images are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "body," meaning the physical form. The fourth line uses "兼山" to govern objects: objects and the sovereign are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "metal"; objects and the minister are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "wood"; objects and the people are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "earth"; objects and yin are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "water"; objects and yang are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "fire"; objects and weapons are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "holding," referring to tools for holding; objects and images are in mutual emphasis, and their image is "spring." These two lines assign the Five Phases to "objects" and use husband and wife, body to match "people," and the method of taking images differs entirely from the system of hexagrams in the Zhou Changes.

潛山陰 陰君地 陰臣野 陰民鬼 陰物獸 陰陽樂 陰兵妖 陰象冬 連山陽 陽君天 陽臣乾 陽民神 陽物禽 陽陰禮 陽兵譴 陽象夏

The fifth line takes "Qian Mountain" as the main symbol for Yin: Yin combined with the ruler produces the image of "earth"; Yin combined with the minister produces the image of "wilderness"; Yin combined with the people produces the image of "ghosts"; Yin combined with objects produces the image of "beasts"; Yin combined with Yang produces the image of "music"; Yin combined with military force produces the image of "monsters"; Yin combined with images produces the image of "winter." The sixth line takes "Lian Mountain" as the main symbol for Yang: Yang combined with the ruler produces the image of "heaven"; Yang combined with the minister produces the image of "branches"; Yang combined with the people produces the image of "gods"; Yang combined with objects produces the image of "birds"; Yang combined with Yin produces the image of "ritual"; Yang combined with military force produces the image of "reproach," meaning censure and military action; Yang combined with images produces the image of "summer." There is one point particularly worth noting: "Lian Mountain" in this table is merely one of the eight trigrams, assigned to Yang; this is entirely different from the old interpretation that the entire book of "Lian Mountain" begins with "Gen" (Mountain), taking the meaning of two mountains overlapping.

藏山兵 兵君帥 兵臣佐 兵民軍 兵物材 兵陰謀 兵陽陣 兵象秋 迭山象 象君日 象臣月 象民星 象物雲 象陰夜 象陽晝 象兵氣

The seventh line takes "concealed mountain" as the main subject of military affairs: when military power overlaps with the sovereign, its image is "commander"; when it overlaps with the minister, its image is "assistant," meaning a deputy general; when it overlaps with the people, its image is "army"; when it overlaps with objects, its image is "material," meaning military supplies; when it overlaps with yin, its image is "strategy"; when it overlaps with yang, its image is "formation"; when it overlaps with the image, its image is "autumn," as autumn's energy is characterized by肃杀 (severe and destructive). The eighth line takes "repeated mountain" as the main subject of object images: when the image overlaps with the sovereign, its image is "sun"; when it overlaps with the minister, its image is "moon"; when it overlaps with the people, its image is "star"; when it overlaps with objects, its image is "cloud"; when it overlaps with yin, its image is "night"; when it overlaps with yang, its image is "day"; when it overlaps with military power, its image is "energy." Altogether, these eight lines amount to sixty-four lines, which constitute all the hexagrams of the "Mountain坟" (Mountain Tomb). The previous criticism by Zhu Yizun that it was "absurd and not trustworthy" refers precisely to this system of forcibly pairing the sovereign, ministers, people, and objects into the eight trigrams. It lacks line statements and divination methods, and has no substantial connection with the sixty-four additional hexagrams of the "Lianshan" (Continuous Mountain) recorded in the "Zhou Li" (Rites of Zhou). Note: The original text of the first hexagram is "Dier Shan Xiang," but Zhu Yizun cited it as "Diedian Shan Xiang," and both versions are recorded according to the original text.

清氣未升，濁氣未沉，游神未靈，五色未分，中有其物，冥冥而性存，謂之混沌。混沌為太始。太始者，元胎之萌也。太始之數一，一為太極。太極者，天地之父母也。一極易，天高明而清，地博厚而濁，謂之太易。太易者，天地之變也。太易之數二，二為兩儀。兩儀者，陰陽之形也，謂之太初。太初者，天地之交也。太初之數四，四盈易，四象變而成萬物，謂之太素。太素者，三才之始也。太素之數三，三盈易，天地孕而生男女，謂之三才。三才者，天地之備也。

Before the clear qi rises, before the turbid qi sinks, before the wandering origin god manifests, and before the five colors separate, there already exists something within, dark and indistinct with its nature contained. This is called "hundun." Hundun is also called "Taishi." Taishi refers to the initial stirring of the primordial embryo. The number of Taishi is one, and one is called "Taiji." Taiji is the parents of heaven and earth. When one reaches its extreme, transformation occurs, so heaven becomes high and bright, light and subtle, while earth becomes vast and profound, heavy and turbid. This is called "Taiyi." Taiyi refers to the differentiation of heaven and earth. The number of Taiyi is two, and two is called "Liangyi." Liangyi refers to yin and yang taking form separately. This is called "Taichu." Taichu refers to the union of heaven and earth. The number of Taichu is four, and when four is full, transformation occurs. The four images change and generate all things. This is called "Taisu." Taisu refers to the beginning of the three elements. The number of Taisu is three, and when three is full, transformation occurs. Heaven and earth nurture and produce male and female. This is called "Sanchai." Sanchai refers to the completion of the way of heaven and earth. This passage uses hundun, Taishi, Taiji, Taiyi, Liangyi, Taichu, Taisu, and Sanchai to progressively explain the generation of the universe, forming a sequence with clear order. It clearly combines ideas from the "Yi Wei · Gan Zao Du" and the "Lie Zi."

游神動而靈，故飛、走、潛、化、動、植、蟲、魚之類，必備於天地之間，謂之太古。太古者，生民之始也。太古之人皆壽，盈易始三男三女，冬聚夏散，食鳥、獸、蟲、魚、草、木之實，而男女構精，以女生為姓。始三頭，謂之合雄紀。生子三世。合雄氏沒，子孫相傳，記其壽命，謂之敘命紀。通紀四姓，生子二世。男女眾多，群居連逋，從強而行，是謂連逋紀。生子一世，通紀五姓，是謂五姓紀。

A wandering Origin God, once in motion, gained spirit, so birds, beasts, fish, and creatures of transformation, along with animals, plants, insects, and fish, were certainly present in the world, which is called "Tai Gu." Tai Gu refers to the beginning of humanity. People in the Tai Gu period lived very long lives. When the heavens and earth were full and overflowing, change began. Initially, three males and three females were born. In winter they lived together, in summer they dispersed, eating the flesh of birds, beasts, insects, and fish, and the fruits of trees and plants. Males and females joined together to produce offspring, and surnames were determined by the mother's lineage. At first, they were divided into three leading clans, called "He Xiong Ji." This lasted for three generations of descendants. After the death of He Xiong, the descendants passed down the lineage generation after generation, beginning to record each person's lifespan, called "Xu Ming Ji," totaling four surnames, lasting for two generations. Later, the population of men and women grew large, living in groups and being connected with each other, migrating together, following the strong, which is called "Lian Bu Ji," lasting for one generation, totaling five surnames, called "Wu Xing Ji." These sentences divide the ancient clan into periods called "Ji" and mention "using the female lineage as surname," preserving the ancient concept of matrilineal naming.

天下群居，以類相親，男女眾多，分為九頭，各有居方，故號居方氏。沒，生子三十二世，強弱相迫，欲生吞害。中有神人，提挺而治，故號提挺氏。提挺氏生子三十五紀，通紀七十二姓，故號通姓氏。有巢氏生，太古之先覺，識於天地草、木、蟲、魚、鳥、獸，俾人居巢穴，積鳥獸之肉，聚草木之實，天下九頭咸歸。有巢始君也，動止，群群相聚而尊事之。壽一太易，本通姓氏之後也。

People all over the world gathered in groups, associating with each other according to their categories. The number of men and women increased continuously, and they were divided into nine leading clans, each occupying a specific area, thus being called "Residence Clans." After the Residence Clans died, their lineage passed down for thirty-two generations of descendants, with the strong forcing the weak, even to the point of wanting to eat each other. Among them emerged a divine person who took the initiative to manage and regulate, thus being called "Titing Clan." The Titing Clan passed down for thirty-five generations of descendants, totaling seventy-two surnames, thus being called "General Surname Clan." Later, Youchao Clan was born, who was a wise figure in the ancient times, understanding the conditions of heaven and earth, as well as grass, trees, insects, fish, birds, and beasts. He taught people to live in nests in trees and holes in the ground, to store meat from animals and gather fruits from plants. All nine clans submitted to him. Youchao Clan was the first ruler, and his every action caused people to gather and revere him. His reign lasted for one "Taiyi" period, and he was a descendant of the General Surname Clan.

燧人氏，有巢子也，生而神靈，教人炮食，鑽木取火，天下生靈尊事之。始有日中之市，交易其物，有傳教之臺，有結繩之政，壽一太易，本通姓氏之後也。

The Shui Ren Shi was the son of the You Chaoshi. From birth, he was intelligent and supernatural, teaching people to roast food and drill wood to make fire. All living beings revered him. From him, there began the custom of having markets at noon for people to exchange their products. He also established high platforms for spreading teachings and implemented the system of knot-tying for record-keeping. His reign lasted for a period called "Tai Yi." Originally, he was a descendant of a common surname. This passage attributes three things—markets, education, and the system of knot-tying—to Shui Ren Shi. It corresponds with the legend in the "Great Treatise" of the "Zhou Yi" that "markets were held at noon," but in the "Great Treatise," this is attributed to Shen Nong, while here it is placed earlier, under Shui Ren Shi.

伏羲氏，燧人子也，因風而生，故風姓。末甲八太七成，三十二易草木，草生月，雨降日，河泛，時龍馬負圖，蓋分五色，文開五易，甲象崇山。天皇始畫八卦，皆連山，名《易》。君、臣、民、物、陰、陽、兵、象，始明於世。

Fuxi was the son of Suiren, and was born in response to the wind, so he took the surname "Feng" (Wind). In the time of the last Jia stem and during the period of eight great and seven completed things, he experienced thirty-two cycles of the growth and withering of grass and trees. When the month of the sprouting of grass and trees arrived and the day of rain came, the Yellow River rose, and at that time a dragon horse emerged from the river carrying a book. The book had five colors arranged, with patterns that showed five kinds of change, and its Jia symbol corresponded to "Chongshan" (High Mountains). The heavenly emperor then began to draw the Eight Trigrams, all based on "Lianshan" (Continuous Mountains), and named it "Yi" (Change). From then on, the eight categories of ruler, minister, people, things, yin, yang, army, and image became clear to the world. Note: This passage uses "ji yi caomu" (a few changes in grass and trees) to count years, meaning that each cycle of grass and tree growth and withering is considered a year. This is a unique method of dating found only in the "Gǔ Sān Fén" (Ancient Three Tombs), and it does not appear in any pre-Qin texts. It is also one of the pieces of evidence used by later scholars to determine that this book was falsely attributed to a Song dynasty author.

圖出後二成三十二易草木，木枯月，命臣飛龍氏造六書。後草木一易，木王月，命臣潛龍氏作甲曆。伏制犧牛，治金成器，教民炮食。易九頭為九牧，因尊事為禮儀，因龍出而紀官，因風來而作樂。命降龍氏何率萬民，命水龍氏平治水土，命火龍氏炮治器用，因居方而置城郭。天下之民號曰天皇、太昊、伏犧、有庖、升龍氏，本通姓氏之後也。

After the appearance of the River Chart, two cycles and thirty-two cycles of the growth and withering of plants passed. When it came to the month when plants withered, Fuxi ordered his minister Feilong to create the six scripts, that is, writing. Then, after another cycle of plant growth and withering, when the wood element was at its peak, he ordered his minister Qianlong to make the Jia calendar. He tamed the Shixi cattle, smelted metal to make tools, and taught the people to roast food. He reorganized the nine tribal groups into nine regions, established rituals based on the people's reverence, named officials according to the appearance of the dragon, and composed music in response to the arrival of the wind. He ordered the minister Xianglong He to lead the people, ordered Shuilong to manage water and land, and ordered Huolong to make tools. He built cities according to the original dwelling areas of each tribe. The people of the world called him Tianhuang, Taihao, Fuxi, Youpao, and Shenglong. He was a descendant of the clan of Tong. The character 'He' in 'Xianglong He' is as written in the original text; it may be a person's name or a borrowed character for 'He', meaning to bear the responsibility. Both interpretations are uncertain.

昔在天皇，居於君位，諮於將，諮於相，諮於民，垂皇策辭。皇曰：惟我生無道，承父居方，三十二易草木，上升君位。我父燧皇歸世，未降河圖，生民結繩，而無不信。於末甲八太七成，三十二易草木，惟我老極。姓生人眾多，群群蟲聚，欲相吞害。惟天至仁，於草生月，天雨降河，龍馬負圖，神開我心，子其未生，我畫八卦，自上而下咸安。

In ancient times, the Heavenly Emperor Fuxi held the position of ruler. He consulted with generals, ministers, and the common people, and then issued this text called "The Imperial Strategy Discourse." The Heavenly Emperor said: I was born without extraordinary virtue, merely inheriting the territory my father occupied. After thirty-two cycles of the growth and withering of plants, I ascended to the throne. When my father, the Fire Emperor, passed away, the River Chart had not yet descended. The people used knotted ropes to record events, yet none failed to keep their word. By the time of the era of the last Jia and the seventh generation of the eighth dynasty, after another thirty-two cycles of plant growth and decay, I had grown extremely old. The population of each clan had increased greatly, gathering in groups like insects, wanting to devour and destroy each other. Fortunately, heaven is very benevolent. In the month when plants begin to sprout, heavy rain fell, the rivers rose, and a dragon horse emerged carrying the book. The divine opened my mind. At that time, you had not yet been born. I drew the Eight Trigrams, and from top to bottom, spread them out, and thus the world became peaceful.

其居後二成二十二易草木，皇曰：命子襄居我飛龍之位，主我圖文，代我諮於四方上下，無或私。襄曰：咸若諮眾之辭，君無念哉。後一易草木，皇曰：命子英居我潛龍之位，主我陰陽甲曆，諮於四方上下，無或差。英曰：依其法亦順，君無念哉。皇曰：無為。

After another two cycles of the growth and withering of plants, the heavenly emperor said: I appoint my son Xiang to the position of "Flying Dragon," in charge of books and writings, to consult opinions from all directions above and below, without any private bias. Xiang replied: I will act according to the opinions gathered from the people, so the king need not worry. After another cycle of the growth and withering of plants, the heavenly emperor said: I appoint my son Ying to the position of "Hidden Dragon," in charge of yin and yang and the calendar of the heavenly stems, to consult opinions from all directions above and below, without any mistakes. Ying replied: By following the established rules and regulations, everything will be proper, so the king need not worry. The heavenly emperor said: In this way, I can govern without action. Here, "Flying Dragon" and "Hidden Dragon" are both official titles, consistent with the previous account that the Flying Dragon clan created the six scripts and the Hidden Dragon clan made the calendar of the heavenly stems.

後二十二易草木，昊英氏進歷於君曰：歷起甲寅。皇曰：甲日寅辰，乃鳩眾於傳教臺，告民示始甲寅。易二月，天王升傳教臺，乃集生民後女媧子，無分臣工大小列之。右上相共工，下相皇桓。飛龍朱襄氏、潛龍昊英氏居君左右。栗陸氏居北，赫胥氏居南，昆連氏居西，葛天氏居東，陰康民居下。九州之牧，各統其人群，居於外。

After another twenty-two cycles of the growth and decay of plants, the ruler Hòuyīng presented a new calendar to the king, saying: "The calendar begins with Jiayin." The heavenly king said: "Take Jia as the day and Yin as the hour." Then he gathered all the people on the platform for teaching and announced to the people that the calendar began with Jiayin. In the second month, the heavenly king ascended the platform for teaching, summoned the people and the descendants of Nüwa, and arranged them all around regardless of their rank or position. Standing on the right were the senior ministers Gonggong and Huanghan; the dragon of flight, Zhu Xiangshi, and the dragon of concealment, Hòuyīng, stood on either side of the king; Lulushishi was to the north, Hexushishi to the south, Kunlianshi to the west, Getianshi to the east, and the people of Yinkang were below. The chieftains of the nine regions each led their own tribes and stood in the outer circle. This is a diagram of an ancient court assembly, arranging the leaders of various tribal clans around Fuxi according to their directions.

皇曰：諮予上相共工，我惟老極無為，子惟扶我正道，諮告於民，俾知甲曆，日月歲時自茲始，無或不記，子勿怠。共工曰：工居君臣之位，無有勞，君其念哉。皇曰：下相皇桓，我惟老極無為，子惟扶我正道，撫愛下民，同力諮告於民，俾知甲曆，曰月歲時自茲始，無或不記，子其勿怠。桓曰：居君臣之位，無有勞，君其念哉。

Heavenly Emperor said: Tell me, the upper minister Gonggong, I have grown so old that I can only remain inactive, so you must support me in promoting the right path, and announce to the people so that they understand the Jia calendar; the calculation of days, months, years, and hours shall now begin, and there must be no omissions or forgotten records; do not be lazy. Gonggong replied: Since I am in the position of a minister, this is not laborious, so please rest assured. Heavenly Emperor said: The lower minister Huanghuan, I have grown so old that I can only remain inactive, so you must support me in promoting the right path, nurture and care for the people below, and work together with Gonggong to announce to the people so that they understand the Jia calendar; the calculation of days, months, years, and hours shall now begin, and there must be no omissions or forgotten records; do not be lazy. Both instances of 「无有劳」 are expressions of humility from the ministers, meaning that they do not consider their duties as laborious.

皇曰：栗陸子居我水龍之位，主養草木，開道泉源，無或失時，子其勿怠。陸曰：竭力於民，君其念哉。皇曰：大庭主我屋室，視民之未居者喻之，借力同構其居，無或寒凍。庭曰：順民之辭。皇曰：陰康子居水土，俾民居處無或漂流，勤於道，達於下。康曰：順君之辭。

Heavenly Emperor said: Luli, you are in the position of "Water Dragon," in charge of nurturing grass and trees, dredging and guiding the sources of spring water, do not miss the farming season, and do not be lazy. Luli replied: I will do my best for the people, please let the king rest assured. Heavenly Emperor said: Dingting, you are in charge of houses and dwellings, if you see people without shelter, go and guide them, and together with the people build houses, do not let anyone suffer from cold or hardship. Dingting replied: I will strictly follow the king's instructions. Heavenly Emperor said: Yankang, you are in charge of water and soil, ensuring that people's dwellings are not washed away by water and do not drift away, work diligently according to the Dao, and convey the orders to the people below. Yankang replied: I will strictly follow the king's instructions. These three sections assigned responsibilities in the areas of agriculture, housing, and water and soil, which are three essential duties for the people's livelihood.

皇曰：渾沌子居我降龍之位，惟主於民。皇曰：昆連子主我刀斧，無俾野獸犧虎之類傷殘生命，無俾同類大力之徒區逐微弱，子其伏之。連曰：專主兵事，君無念哉。皇曰：四方之君，咸順我辭，則世無害惟愛於民，則位不危。皇曰：子無懷安，惟安於民，民安子安，民危子危，子其念哉。

Heavenly Emperor said: Holiness, you are to take the position of "Descending Dragon," specifically in charge of the affairs of the common people. Heavenly Emperor said: Kunlian, you are in charge of weapons and arms; you must not allow wild beasts and fierce beasts such as the sacrificial tiger to harm and kill living beings, nor should you permit the strong among your own kind to drive and oppress the weak; you must subdue all these things. Kunlian replied: I am specifically in charge of military affairs, please let the king rest assured. Heavenly Emperor said: The rulers of the four directions, as long as they all obey my words, there will be no calamities in the world; as long as they genuinely love and care for the people, their positions will not be shaken. Heavenly Emperor said: You should not only seek your own comfort, but should be fully devoted to ensuring the people's stability; the people's stability brings your stability, and the people's danger brings your danger. Remember this point well. The whole passage ends with "When the people are secure, the position is secure," which is a typical expression of the later people-oriented ideology, and the tone deliberately imitates the style of the诰命 (edicts) in the Book of Documents.

爻卦大象： 天氣歸 歸藏定位 歸生魂 歸動乘舟 歸長兄 歸育造物 歸止居域 歸殺降 地氣藏 藏歸交 藏生卯 藏動鼠 藏長姊 藏育化物 藏止重門 藏殺盜

The *Qi Fen* establishes hexagrams based on "qi" and is paired with the *Guicang Yi*. Its eight hexagrams are respectively associated with the qi of heaven, earth, wood, wind, fire, water, mountain, and metal. These eight are then combined in pairs to form sixty-four hexagrams, following the same format as the previous *Shan Fen*. The first line, associated with the qi of heaven and "returning": when "returning" combines with "concealing," the image is "establishing a position"; when "returning" combines with "growing," the image is "soul"; when "returning" combines with "movement," the image is "riding a boat"; when "returning" combines with "growth," the image is "brother"; when "returning" combines with "nurturing," the image is "creating things"; when "returning" combines with "stopping," the image is "residing in a territory," meaning the boundary of a settled area; when "returning" combines with "killing," the image is "subduing." The second line, associated with the qi of earth and "concealing": when "concealing" combines with "returning," the image is "meeting"; when "concealing" combines with "growing," the image is "卯"; when "concealing" combines with "movement," the image is "rat"; when "concealing" combines with "growth," the image is "sister"; when "concealing" combines with "nurturing," the image is "transforming things"; when "concealing" combines with "stopping," the image is "double doors"; when "concealing" combines with "killing," the image is "theft."

木氣生 生歸孕 生藏害 生動勳陽 生長元胎 生育澤 生止性 生殺相剋 風氣動 動歸乘軒 動藏受種 動生機 動長風 動育源 動止戒 動殺虐

The third line, Wood energy governs 'birth': birth combined with return signifies 'pregnancy'; birth combined with concealment signifies 'harm'; birth combined with movement signifies 'Yang merit'; birth combined with growth signifies 'original embryo'; birth combined with nurturing signifies 'moisture'; birth combined with stillness signifies 'nature'; birth combined with killing signifies 'mutual control'. The fourth line, Wind energy governs 'movement': movement combined with return signifies 'riding in a carriage', where carriage refers to the vehicle used by a scholar-official; movement combined with concealment signifies 'receiving seeds', meaning taking in sown seeds; movement combined with birth signifies 'mechanism', meaning the initial release of a mechanism; movement combined with growth signifies 'wind'; movement combined with nurturing signifies 'source'; movement combined with stillness signifies 'caution'; movement combined with killing signifies 'oppression'.

火氣長 長歸從師 長藏從夫 長生志 長動麗 長育違道 長止平 長殺順性 水氣育 育歸流 育藏海 育生愛 育動漁 育長苗 育止養 育殺畜

The fifth phase, fire, governs "length" (长): when "length" combines with "return" (归), the image is "following a teacher"; when "length" combines with "storage" (藏), the image is "following a husband"; when "length" combines with "birth" (生), the image is "will"; when "length" combines with "movement" (动), the image is "attachment" (丽), meaning attachment or dependence; when "length" combines with "nurturing" (育), the image is "deviating from the path"; when "length" combines with "rest" (止), the image is "level"; when "length" combines with "kill" (杀), the image is "following nature". The sixth phase, water, governs "nurturing" (育): when "nurturing" combines with "return" (归), the image is "flow"; when "nurturing" combines with "storage" (藏), the image is "sea"; when "nurturing" combines with "birth" (生), the image is "love"; when "nurturing" combines with "movement" (动), the image is "fishing"; when "nurturing" combines with "length" (长), the image is "seedling"; when "nurturing" combines with "rest" (止), the image is "nourishment"; when "nurturing" combines with "kill" (杀), the image is "raising livestock", meaning the raising of animals. These two phases involve images related to human relationships and livelihoods, differing somewhat from the approach of the "Mountain Tomb" (山坟) which focuses more on the distinctions between sovereign and minister.

山氣止 止歸約 止藏淵 止生貌 止動濟 長植物 止育潤 止殺寬宥 金氣殺 殺歸尸 殺藏墓 殺生無忍 殺動干戈 殺長戰 殺育無傷 殺止亂

The seventh line, mountain qi signifies 'stop': stopping combined with returning produces the image of 'binding', that is, constraint; stopping combined with concealment produces the image of 'deep pool'; stopping combined with growth produces the image of 'appearance'; stopping combined with movement produces the image of 'crossing a river'. The next section originally reads 'growing plants', but according to the overall format of the table, it should read 'stopping and growing' with a certain image. These three characters do not fit the context and are likely a loss or error. I have recorded them as they are without alteration, and do not dare to make up any additions. Further down, stopping combined with nurturing produces the image of 'moisture'; stopping combined with killing produces the image of 'leniency'. The eighth line, metal qi signifies 'killing': killing combined with returning produces the image of 'corpse'; killing combined with concealment produces the image of 'grave'; killing combined with growth produces the image of 'without endurance', that is, unwilling to act; killing combined with movement produces the image of 'weapons'; killing combined with length produces the image of 'battle'; killing combined with nurturing produces the image of 'without injury'; killing combined with stopping produces the image of 'chaos'. This table follows the same format as the 'Mountain Tomb', but replaces the ruler, ministers, people, and objects with the eight kinds of qi. It also lacks line statements and divination methods.

政典曰：惟天生民，惟君奉天，惟食喪祭衣服教化，一歸於政。皇曰：我惟生無德，咸若古政。嗟爾四方之君，有官有業，乃子乃父，乃兄乃弟，無亂於政。昔二君始王，未有書契，結繩而治，交易而生，亦惟歸政。昔在天皇，肇修文教，始畫八卦，明君臣民物陰陽兵象，以代結繩之政。出言惟辭，制器惟象，動作惟變，卜筮惟占。天皇氏歸氣，我惟代政，惟若古道以立政。

The "Political Classic" says: Heaven produces myriad people, and the ruler inherits the mandate of Heaven; matters such as food and drink, funerals, worship, clothing, and education and moral guidance all fall under the realm of governance. The divine emperor Shen Nong said: I have no special virtue, and I follow the ancient laws and regulations. Alas, you rulers of the four directions, all officials and professionals, sons, fathers, brothers, and brothers, do not disrupt governance. In the past, two rulers first began to be called kings, and at that time there were no written records or contracts, so they used knotted ropes to govern and trade to sustain life, and these also belonged to governance. In the past, the heavenly emperor Fuxi first promoted cultural education, drawing the Eight Trigrams, explaining the eight aspects of ruler, minister, people, things, yin, yang, military, and symbols, to replace the system of knotted ropes. Speech became words, making objects followed the model, action showed change, and divination was used to make decisions. When the heavenly emperor's spirit departed, I took over governance, and could only follow the ancient ways to establish regulations.

皇曰：正天時，因地利，惟厚於民。民惟邦本，食惟民天。農不正，食不豐；民不正，業不專。惟民有數，惟食有節，惟農有教。林林生人，無亂政典。

The Human Emperor said: Rectify the heavenly timing, rely on the advantage of the land, and must treat the people kindly. The people are the foundation of the state, and grain is the people's heaven. If agricultural affairs are not properly managed, grain will not be abundant; if the people's hearts are not properly aligned, their primary occupations will not be focused. Population should have a fixed number, diet should be regulated, and farming should be taught. All living beings multiply endlessly, and none should disturb this Book of Governance. The phrase "the people are the foundation of the state" is later found in the Book of Documents, the Five Songs, but here it is attributed to the Divine Farmer. This is a clear example of the ancient Three Barrows borrowing later idioms, and it is also a point often cited by those who have questioned the authenticity of the text.

政典曰：君正一道，二三凶。臣正一德，有常吉。時正惟四，亂時不植。氣正惟和，氣亂作癘。官正惟百，民正惟四，色正惟五，惟質惟良。病正四百四，藥正三百六十五。過數乃亂，而昏而毒。道正惟常，過政反僻。刑正平，過正反私。祿正滿，過正反侈。禮正度，過政反僭。樂正和，過政反流。治正簡，過政反亂。喪正哀，過政反遊。干戈正亂，過政反危。市肆正貨，過政反邪。譏禁正非，過政失用。

The "Political Classic" says: The sovereign upholds righteousness through a single path; if he is fickle-minded, it will bring misfortune. The minister upholds righteousness through one virtue; if he persists with consistency, it will bring good fortune. The seasons are correct only in the four seasons; if they are disordered, crops will not grow. The climate is correct only when it is harmonious; if it is disordered, plague will arise. Official positions are correct in one hundred kinds; the people's occupations are correct in four categories; colors are correct in the five colors; what is precious is simplicity and purity. The names of diseases are correct in four hundred and four kinds; the medicines are correct in three hundred and sixty-five kinds; exceeding these numbers will lead to disorder, and people will become confused and poisoned. The way of upholding righteousness lies in constancy; excessive governance leads to deviation. Punishment upholds righteousness through fairness; excessive punishment leads to partiality. Salary upholds righteousness through sufficiency; excessive salary leads to luxury. Ritual upholds righteousness through moderation; excessive ritual leads to overstepping. Music upholds righteousness through harmony; excessive music leads to licentiousness. Governance upholds righteousness through simplicity; excessive governance leads to confusion. Mourning upholds righteousness through sorrow; excessive mourning leads to superficiality. The use of military force upholds righteousness through quelling disorder; excessive use leads to danger. Markets and shops uphold righteousness through the circulation of goods; excessive regulation leads to deceit. Inspection and enforcement uphold righteousness through the correction of faults; excessive enforcement loses its function. The whole passage contrasts "righteousness" with "excess" repeatedly, emphasizing the principle that all things should be measured and that excess is as bad as deficiency.

皇曰：嗟爾有官有業，乃子乃父，乃兄乃弟，咸若我辭，一歸於正。皇曰：君相信任惟正，相君··位惟忠，相官統治惟公，官相代位惟勤，民官撫愛惟仁，官民事上惟業。父無不義，厥子惟孝。兄無不友，厥弟惟恭。夫不遊，妻不淫，師不怠，教不失。刑者形也，形爾身。道者導也，導爾志。禮者制也，制爾情。樂者和也，和爾聲。政者正也，正其事。

The Human Emperor said: Alas, you who hold official positions and have occupations, whether you are sons, fathers, elder brothers, or younger brothers, you all should follow my words and be upright in your conduct. The Human Emperor said: A ruler should treat his ministers with trust; ministers should serve the ruler with loyalty; ministers should govern the officials with fairness; officials should carry out the duties assigned to them with diligence; officials should deal with the people with benevolence; and the people should serve the government by fulfilling their respective duties. If a father has no unjust deeds, his son will naturally be filial; if an elder brother has no unkind behavior, his younger brother will naturally be respectful. If a husband does not wander about, his wife will not be licentious; if a teacher does not slack off, education will not fail. The term '刑' means '形', which refers to shaping one's body; '道' means '导', which refers to guiding one's aspirations; '礼' means '制', which refers to controlling one's emotions; '乐' means '和', which refers to harmonizing one's voice; and '政' means '正', which refers to rectifying one's affairs. The use of five pairs of homophones at the end is a common technique in the Han dynasty's study of phonetic explanation.

爻卦大象： 乾形天 地天降氣 日天中道 月天夜明 山天曲上 川天曲下 雲天成陰 氣天習蒙 坤形地 天地圓丘 日地圜宮 月地斜曲 山地險徑 川地廣平 雲地高林 氣地下溼

The "Xing Fen" establishes hexagrams based on "form," paired with the "Kun and Qian Yi." Its eight hexagrams are: the Qian form represents Heaven, the Kun form represents Earth, the Yang form represents the Sun, the Yin form represents the Moon, the Earth form represents Mountains, the Water form represents Rivers, the Rain form represents Clouds, and the Wind form represents Qi. These are combined in pairs to form sixty-four hexagrams. The first set, with the Qian form as Heaven: Heaven and Earth combined, its image is "descending Qi"; the Sun and Heaven combined, its image is "middle path," meaning the Sun travels along the central path of Heaven; the Moon and Heaven combined, its image is "night illumination"; the Mountain and Heaven combined, its image is "curved upward," meaning the mountain's shape curves upward; the River and Heaven combined, its image is "curved downward"; the Cloud and Heaven combined, its image is "forming shadow"; the Qi and Heaven combined, its image is "layered obscurity," meaning layered veils. The second set, with the Kun form as Earth: Heaven and Earth combined, its image is "circular mound," referring to the circular altar for Heaven worship; the Sun and Earth combined, its image is "circular palace"; the Moon and Earth combined, its image is "slanting curve"; the Mountain and Earth combined, its image is "dangerous path"; the River and Earth combined, its image is "broad plain"; the Cloud and Earth combined, its image is "high forest"; the Qi and Earth combined, its image is "low dampness," referring to low and damp areas.

陽形日 天日昭明 地日景隨 月日從朔 山日沉西 川日流光 雲日蔽霠 氣日緡蔀 陰形月 天月淫 地月伏輝 日月代明 山月升騰 川月東浮 雲月藏宮 氣月冥陰

The third line describes the yang forms associated with the sun: Heaven and the sun overlap, their image is "Zhao Ming" (bright and clear); Earth and the sun overlap, their image is "Jing Sui" (shadow follows the sunlight); Moon and the sun overlap, their image is "Cong Shuo" (following the new moon), referring to when the moon and sun are together during the new moon; Mountain and the sun overlap, their image is "Chen Xi" (sinking west); River and the sun overlap, their image is "Liu Guang" (flowing light); Cloud and the sun overlap, their image is "Bi Yin" (obscuring), where Yin refers to shadow, meaning clouds block the sunlight; Qi and the sun overlap, their image is "Mian Bu" (darkness covering), meaning darkness covers. The fourth line describes the yin forms associated with the moon: Heaven and the moon overlap, their image is "Yin" (excess), referring to the moon moving beyond its course; Earth and the moon overlap, their image is "Fu Hui" (hidden brilliance); Sun and the moon overlap, their image is "Dai Ming" (alternating illumination), meaning the sun and moon take turns illuminating; Mountain and the moon overlap, their image is "Sheng Teng" (rising and ascending); River and the moon overlap, their image is "Dong Fu" (floating east); Cloud and the moon overlap, their image is "Cang Gong" (hiding the palace); Qi and the moon overlap, their image is "Ming Yin" (darkness and shadow). These two lines specifically discuss the light and shadow phenomena when the sun and moon meet with heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers, with the imagery having a poetic and pictorial quality.

土形山 天山嶽 地山盤石 曰山危峰 月山斜巔 川山島 雲山岫 氣山岩 水形川 天川漢 地川河 日川湖 月川曲池 山川澗 雲川溪 氣川泉

The Fifth Row, Earth Phase, governs mountains: Heaven and mountain overlap, its image is "mountain peak"; Earth and mountain overlap, its image is "rocky stone"; the next line originally reads "曰山危峰", where "曰" is likely a mistake for "日", meaning sun and mountain overlap, its image is "dangerous peak"; today we still retain the original character without alteration; moon and mountain overlap, its image is "slanting peak"; river and mountain overlap, its image is "island"; cloud and mountain overlap, its image is "mountain cave", that is, a cave in the mountain; qi and mountain overlap, its image is "rocky cliff". The Sixth Row, Water Phase, governs rivers: Heaven and river overlap, its image is "galaxy", that is, the Milky Way in the sky; Earth and river overlap, its image is "river"; sun and river overlap, its image is "lake"; moon and river overlap, its image is "curved pool"; mountain and river overlap, its image is "stream"; cloud and river overlap, its image is "streamlet"; qi and river overlap, its image is "spring".

雨形雲 天雲祥 地雲黃霙 日雲赤曇 月雲素雯 山雲疊峰 川雲流 氣雲散彩 風形氣 天氣垂氤 地氣騰氳 日氣晝圍 月氣夜圓 山氣籠煙 川氣浮光 雲氣流章

The seventh line describes rain forms: when heaven and clouds overlap, the image is "auspiciousness"; when earth and clouds overlap, the image is "hanging snowflakes," referring to snow and rain falling together; when sun and clouds overlap, the image is "red lotus"; when moon and clouds overlap, the image is "white cloud patterns," referring to colorful clouds with patterns; when mountain and clouds overlap, the image is "stacked peaks"; when river and clouds overlap, the image is "flowing"; when qi and clouds overlap, the image is "scattered colors." The eighth line describes wind forms: when heaven and qi overlap, the image is "hanging mist"; when earth and qi overlap, the image is "rising vapor," with "yinyun" meaning the appearance of primordial qi spreading everywhere; when sun and qi overlap, the image is "daylight surrounding"; when moon and qi overlap, the image is "night circle"; when mountain and qi overlap, the image is "smoke enveloping the mountain"; when river and qi overlap, the image is "floating light"; when cloud and qi overlap, the image is "flowing chapter." The final character "zhang" was originally a rare character with "rain" on top and "zhang" below, but it is now written as "zhang" according to the common form, and here we explain its original appearance. The three great diagrams of the "San Feng" end here; throughout the text, only names and objects are paired, and there is not a single line statement, which is the fundamental reason why scholars throughout history have determined it to be a forgery.

皇曰：嗟爾天師、相、五正、百官、士子、農夫、商人、工技，咸若我言。政典曰：國無邪教，市無淫貨，地無荒土，官無濫士，邑無遊民，山不童，澤不涸，其正道至矣。正道至則官有常職，民有常業，父子不背恩，夫婦不背情，兄弟不去義，禽獸不失長，草木不失生。

The Earth Emperor said: Alas, you heavenly sages, ministers, five officials, hundred officials, scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans, all must follow my words. The "Political Classic" says: In the country, there are no heretical teachings; in the market, no deceitful goods; on the land, no uncultivated fields; in the government, no incompetent officials; in the towns, no idle people; mountains are not barren, and lakes and marshes are not dry. Then the righteous path has reached its peak. When the righteous path reaches its peak, officials have fixed duties, and common people have fixed occupations; father and son do not forsake their filial piety, husband and wife do not forsake their affection, brothers do not abandon their righteousness, animals do not lose their growth, and plants do not lose their vitality. The term "child" in "mountains are not childless" refers to mountains without grass and trees, appearing as barren as a child who has not yet received his cap. This is a common interpretation from the Warring States period.

政典曰：方圓角直，曲斜凹凸，必有形。遠近高下，長短疾緩，必有制。寒暑燥溼，風雨逆順，必有時。金木水火，土石羽毛，必有濟。布帛桑麻，筋角齒革，必有用。百工器用，必有制。

The "Political Classic" says: square, round, angular, straight, curved, slanting, concave, convex, certainly each has its own form. Far and near, high and low, long and short, fast and slow, certainly each has its own standard. Cold and heat, dry and damp, the reverse and the normal of wind and rain, certainly each has its own season. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, stone, feathers, and hair, certainly each has its own way of complementing and supporting each other. Silk and hemp, sinew, horn, teeth, and leather, certainly each has its own use. The tools made by various craftsmen, certainly each has its own standard. The meaning of this passage is: all things in the world certainly have their own form, their own standard, their own season, and their own use. Those in government only need to arrange matters according to these existing boundaries, without needing to invent new methods.

聖人治天下，權以聚財，財以施智，智以畜賢，賢以輔道，道以統下，不以事上，上以施仁，仁以保位，位以制義，義以··禮，禮以制情，情以敦信，信以一德，德以明行，行以崇教，教以歸政，政以崇化，化以順性，性以存命，命以保生，生以終壽。

The sage governs the world by using authority to gather resources, using resources to employ wisdom, using wisdom to nurture virtuous talents, using virtuous talents to assist the great way, using the great way to lead the people, rather than using it to serve superiors; those in high positions use it to practice benevolence, using benevolence to maintain their position, using their position to judge righteousness, righteousness then proceeds to use rites to regulate emotions, using emotions to cultivate sincerity, using sincerity to focus on virtue, using virtue to clarify actions, using actions to promote education, using education to conclude in governance, using governance to expand moral influence, using moral influence to align with nature, using nature to preserve life, using life to protect vitality, using vitality to ultimately enjoy a long life. The entire passage links one thing to another, from authority, wealth, all the way to longevity, arranging the principles of state governance into a continuous chain.

皇曰：岐伯天師，爾司日月星辰，陰陽曆數。爾正爾考，無有差貸。先時者殺，不及時者殺，爾惟戒哉。　皇曰：后土中正，爾識山川草木，蟲魚鳥獸。爾掌爾察，無亂田制，以作田訟。爾惟念哉。　皇曰：龍東正，爾分爵祿賢智，爾諮爾行，無掩大賢以悕財，無庇惡德以私嘗。

The Earth Emperor said: Qi Bo, you are in charge of the sun, moon, stars, and the yin and yang calendar. You must correct and examine, without any mistakes — the character '贷' in '差贷' is a borrowed character for '忒', meaning error. Those who act before the proper time shall be executed without mercy, and those who act after the proper time shall also be executed without mercy; you must take this as a warning. The Earth Emperor said: Hou Tu, you are the official of the Middle and Right, you must identify mountains, rivers, grass, trees, insects, fish, birds, and beasts. You must manage and investigate, without disturbing the system of fields and land, thus causing disputes over land. You must remember this in your heart. The Earth Emperor said: Dragon, you are the official of the East and Right, you are responsible for distributing titles and salaries to the virtuous and wise. You must consult and implement, without concealing great talents for personal gain, nor protecting wicked people for private rewards. The previous quotation from "Ancient Three Tombs Preface" citing "Yin Zheng" — "Those who act before the time shall be executed without mercy, and those who act after the time shall be executed without mercy" — originates from here.

皇曰：融南正，爾平禮服祭祀，爾正惟，無亂國制以僭上，無廢祀事以簡恭，爾惟念哉。　皇曰：太封西正，爾分干戈刑法，爾掌爾平。　皇曰：太常北正，爾居田制民事，爾訓爾均。百工惟良，山川爾圖。爾惟勤恭哉。　皇曰：天師輔相、五正、百官、士子、農夫、商人、工技，咸順我言，終身於休。

The Earthly Emperor said: Zhurong, you are appointed as the official of the Southern Division, you are responsible for establishing the regulations of ceremonial garments and the rites of worship. The original text seems to be missing some words below the phrase "er zheng wei", making the meaning incomplete. You must not disrupt the state system and overstep your position, nor neglect the rites of worship and show disrespect. Remember these words in your heart. The Earthly Emperor said: Taifeng, you are appointed as the official of the Western Division, you are responsible for managing weapons and legal punishments. You must take charge and ensure fairness. The Earthly Emperor said: Taichang, you are appointed as the official of the Northern Division, you are responsible for the system of land measurement and the affairs of the people. You must teach and ensure equality. All craftsmen should strive for excellence, and the terrain and features of mountains and rivers should be drawn into maps by you. You must be diligent and respectful. The Earthly Emperor said: Tian Shi, Fu Xiang, the five officials, the hundred officials, the scholars, the farmers, the merchants, and the craftsmen, if all of you obey my words, you will enjoy a peaceful and prosperous life forever. The five officials are the officials of the five directions: East, South, West, North, and Center. This passage sequentially names and assigns positions, following the same pattern as the previous text "Huang Ce Ci" where the assignment of the officials of Flying Dragon and Hidden Dragon was described.

（唐末隱士） 《傳》曰：《河圖》隱於周初，《三墳》亡於幽厲，《洛書》火於亡秦，治世之道不可復見。餘自天復中隱於青城之西，因風雨石裂，中有石匣，得古文三篇，皮斷簡脫，皆篆字，乃上古三皇之書也。 《漢魏叢書》本

This postscript is attributed to a hermit from the late Tang dynasty. The preface states that the "Transmission" mentions that the "River Chart" disappeared during the early Zhou dynasty, the "Three Barrows" were lost during the reigns of King You and King Li of Zhou, and the "Luoshu" was burned during the fall of the Qin dynasty, and thus the great way of governing the world was no longer visible. I have been living in seclusion in the western part of Qingcheng Mountain since the Tianfu period of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, when I discovered a stone box exposed by weathering and cracking rocks. Inside the box, I found three ancient texts written in classical script. The cords used to bind the bamboo slips had broken, and the slips were scattered, all written in seal script. These were originally the writings of the Three Emperors of antiquity. The last line notes "the edition from the Han and Wei Series," indicating that the source of this appendix is from a collection compiled by Ming dynasty scholars called the "Han and Wei Series." Notably, this postscript describes the discovery of the texts in a stone box, which is completely different from the account given by Mao Jie, who claimed to have copied the texts from a private collection in Biyang. The coexistence of two entirely different origins within the same book itself serves as a clear indication of the questionable nature of the "Ancient Three Barrows." The entire volume ends here: the first half consists of Ma Guohan's compilation of lost texts from the "Lianshan" and discussions throughout history, while the second half is the "Ancient Three Barrows," which has been judged by scholars throughout history as a forgery. When viewed together, they reveal the full picture of the long-standing debate over the "Lianshan" since the Han dynasty, which has never reached a definitive conclusion.