Yan Tie Lun (鹽鐵論) · Volume 11

文學曰明者因時而變知【去聲】者隨世而制【趙武靈王曰古今異利逺近異用隂陽不同道四時不一宜鄉異而用變事異而禮易是以聖人觀其鄉而順宜因其事而制禮苟可以利其民不一其用果可以便其事不同其禮漢武帝曰五帝之教不相復而治禹湯之法不同道而王】孔子曰麻冕禮也今也純儉吾從眾故聖人上賢不離古順俗而不偏宜【汜論曰治國有常而利民為本政教有經而令行為上苟利於民不必法古苟周於事不必循舊夫夏商之衰也不變法而亡三代之起也不相襲而王故聖人法與時變禮與俗化衣服器械各便其用法度制令各因其宜故變古未可非而循俗未足多也百川異源而皆歸於海百家殊業而皆務於治】魯定公序昭穆順祖禰【音米】昭公廢卿士以省事節用不可謂變祖之所為而改父之道也二世充大阿房以崇緒趙髙累秦法以廣威而未可謂忠臣孝子也【秦紀曰二世東行郡縣還至咸陽曰先帝為咸陽朝廷小故營阿房宮為室堂未就防上崩罷其作者復上驪山驪山事大畢今釋阿房宮弗就則是章先帝舉事過也復作阿房宮外撫四夷如始皇計盡徴其材士五萬人為屯衛咸陽令教射狗馬禽獸當食者多度不足下調郡縣轉輸菽粟芻槀皆令自齎糧食咸陽三百里內不得食其谷用法益深】

The Literati said: The enlightened change with the times, and the wise regulate with the age. [King Wuling of Zhao said: past and present have different benefits, near and far have different uses, yin and yang do not share the same way, and the four seasons do not share one suitability. When the village differs, use changes; when affairs differ, ritual changes. So the sages looked at their villages and followed what was fitting, took their affairs as the basis for making ritual. If it can benefit the people, they do not hold to one use; if it can truly make affairs convenient, they do not share the same ritual. Emperor Wu of Han said: the teachings of the Five Emperors did not repeat one another and yet there was order, and the laws of Yu and Tang did not share a way and yet they became kings.] Confucius said: the hemp cap is ritual, but now silk is used, which is frugal, so I follow the crowd. So the sage honors worth and ability, does not depart from antiquity, and follows custom without being partial to what is fitting. [The Huainanzi, in the chapter on broad discussions, says: governing a state has constants, and benefiting the people is the root; government and instruction have principles, and orders being carried out is highest. If it benefits the people, one need not model on antiquity; if it suits affairs, one need not follow the old. Xia and Shang declined and perished without changing their laws; the Three Dynasties rose without copying one another and became kings. So the sage's laws change with the times and his rituals transform with customs, clothing and implements are each convenient for their use, and laws, institutions and orders each follow what is suitable. So changing the ancient is not necessarily to be condemned, and following custom is not necessarily to be praised. The hundred rivers have different sources and all return to the sea; the hundred schools differ in work and all strive for order.] Duke Ding of Lu ordered the zhao and mu ranks and followed the ancestors and father, and Duke Zhao dismissed ministers and officials to simplify affairs and economize use; it cannot be said that they changed what the ancestors did and altered the father's way. The Second Emperor enlarged the Epang Palace to exalt his predecessor's undertaking, and Zhao Gao added weight to Qin's laws to widen his authority, but one cannot call them loyal ministers or filial sons. [The Records of the Historian, in the Annals of the First Emperor, says: the Second Emperor, traveling east through the commanderies and counties, returned to Xianyang and said: the former emperor, because the court at Xianyang was small, built the Epang Palace as halls and chambers; it was not finished when he met his death, so he dismissed the workers and again used them on Mount Li. The matter of Mount Li is now largely finished; if I leave the Epang Palace unfinished, that would reveal the fault of the former emperor's undertaking. He again built the Epang Palace and, pacifying the four barbarians outside as the First Emperor had planned, drafted fifty thousand skilled men to garrison Xianyang and ordered them to train in shooting dogs, horses, birds and beasts. Those who had to be fed were many and the supply was judged insufficient, so he ordered the commanderies and counties to ship beans, grain, hay and straw, each bringing their own food; within three hundred li of Xianyang no one could eat the grain there. The laws were applied ever more severely.]

大夫曰諸侯以國為家其憂在內天子以八極為境其慮在外故宇小者用菲功巨者用大是以縣官開園池總山海致利以助貢賦修溝渠立諸農廣田收盛囿太僕水衡少府大農嵗課諸入田收之利池籞【音御】之假【説文曰籞禁苑也顔師古曰池籞謂於水邊作小屋落障魚鳥籞者禁苑之遮衛也本御幸者假與貧民】及北邊置任田官以澹【古贍字】諸用猶不足今欲罷之絶其原杜其流上下俱殫【音丹】睏乏之應也雖好省事節用如之何其可也

The Grand Secretary said: The feudal lords take the state as their household, and their worry is within; the Son of Heaven takes the eight extremities as his borders, and his thought is directed outward. So one with a small domain spends little, and one with great achievements spends greatly. Therefore the government opens gardens and ponds and brings mountains and seas under unified control, bringing in profit to assist tribute and taxes; it repairs ditches and canals, sets up agricultural offices, broadens field harvests, and enriches parks and preserves. The Grand Coachman, the Water Warden, the Privy Treasury and the Grand Agriculture each year assess their revenues: the profits from field harvests and the leases of pond and fishery preserves [the Shuowen says: a preserve is a forbidden park. Yan Shigu said: a pond preserve is a small shed built by the water to screen fish and birds, as a protected forbidden park; originally the place visited by the emperor, now leased to the poor] and the farm officials set up on the northern border to supply the many needs, and still it is not enough. Now if one wants to abolish them, cutting their source and blocking their stream, high and low will both be exhausted and distress and want will come in response. Even if one likes to economize and save, how could it be done?

文學曰古者制地足以養民民足以承其上千乗【去聲】之國百里之地公侯伯子男各充其求澹【古贍字】其欲秦兼萬國之地有四海之富而意不澹【古贍字】非宇小而用菲者欲多而下不堪其求也【賈山曰昔者周蓋千八百國以九州之民養千八百國之君用民之力嵗不過三日什一而籍君有餘財民有餘力而頌聲作秦始皇以千八百國之民自養力罷不能勝其役財盡不能勝其求一君之身耳所以自養者馳騁弋獵之虞天下弗能供也】語曰廚有腐肉國有饑民廐有肥馬路有餧【音餒】人【孟子曰庖有肥肉廐有肥馬民有飢色野有餓莩此率獸而食人也獸相食且人惡之為民父母行政不免於率獸而食人惡在其為民父母也】今狗馬之養蟲獸之食豈特腐肉秣馬之費哉無用之官不急之作服侈之變無功而衣食縣官者眾是以上不足而下睏乏也今不減除其本而欲澹【古瞻字】其末設機利造田畜與百姓爭薦草與商賈【音古】爭市利非所以明主徳而相【去聲】國家也夫【音扶】男耕女織天下之大業也故古者分地而處之利田畆而事之是以業無不食之地國無乏作之民今縣官之多張苑囿公田池澤公家有鄣假之名而利歸權家三輔廹近於山河【三輔黃圖曰三輔者謂主爵中尉及左右內史漢武帝改曰京兆尹左馮翊右扶風共治長安城中是為三輔】地狹人眾四方並臻粟米薪菜不能相澹【古贍字】公田轉假桑榆菜菓不植地力不盡愚以為非先帝之開苑囿池籞【音御】可賦歸之於民縣官租稅而已假稅殊名其實一也夫【音扶】如是匹夫之力盡於南畆匹婦之力盡於麻枲【音徙】田野闢【音闢】麻枲【音徙】治則上下俱衍何睏乏之有矣【公孫鞅曰女事盡於內男事盡於外則入多矣呂氏春秋曰丈夫不織而衣婦人不耕而食男女貿功以長生此聖人之制也故敬時愛日非老不休非疾不息非死不舎賈生曰民不足而可治者自古及今未之嘗聞古之人曰一夫不耕或受之飢一女不織或受之寒生之有時而用之無度則物力必屈今驅民而歸之農皆著於本使天下各食其力末議遊食之民轉而緣南畆則畜積足而人樂其所矣】大夫黙然視其丞相【去聲】御史

The Literati said: In ancient times the land was laid out enough to nourish the people, and the people were enough to support those above them. A state of a thousand chariots, a hundred li of land, was enough for dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts and barons each to meet their needs and satisfy their wishes. Qin combined the lands of ten thousand states and had the wealth of the four seas and yet its will was not satisfied; it was not that its domain was small and its spending little, but that its desires were many and those below could not bear its demands. [Jia Shan said: formerly the Zhou had about eighteen hundred states, and the people of the nine provinces supported the rulers of eighteen hundred states, using the people's labor for no more than three days a year, taxing one tenth; the ruler had surplus wealth and the people had surplus strength, and songs of praise arose. The First Emperor of Qin supported himself on the people of eighteen hundred states; their strength was exhausted and could not bear his labor, their wealth was used up and could not meet his demands. For one ruler's person alone, what he used to support himself on galloping, hunting and shooting for pleasure, the whole world could not supply.] A proverb says: when the kitchen has rotten meat, the state has hungry people; when the stable has fat horses, the road has starving men. [Mencius said: if the kitchen has fat meat and the stable has fat horses while the people have a hungry look and the fields have bodies of the starved, this is leading beasts to eat people. When beasts eat each other, people still dislike it; to be father and mother of the people and in governing not escape leading beasts to eat people, how can one be their father and mother?] Now the keeping of dogs and horses and the feeding of insects and animals costs far more than the expense of rotten meat and fodder. Useless offices, unurgent works, extravagant changes in dress and carriage, and many who live on the government without merit are the reasons above is short and below is distressed. Now without cutting back the root, to try to supply the tip, setting up devices for profit, making fields and herds, competing with the people for forage and with merchants for market profit, is not how to make a ruler's virtue clear and assist the state. Men plowing and women weaving is the great enterprise of the world. So in ancient times land was divided and people settled on it, and fields were made profitable and worked, so that no occupation lacked land to feed it and the state had no lack of working people. Now the government has opened many parks, public fields and ponds and marshes, and the public side holds the name of protecting and leasing while the profit goes to powerful families. The Three Metropolitan Regions are close to the mountains and rivers [the Sanfu Huangtu says: the Three Metropolitan Regions refer to the Chief Commandant of Titles and the left and right inner ministers, which Emperor Wu of Han renamed the Governor of the Capital, the Left Feng Yi and the Right Fufeng, who jointly governed the city of Chang'an, the Three Metropolitan Regions], the land is narrow and the people many, people come from all four directions, and grain, firewood and vegetables cannot supply each other. Public fields are leased on, mulberry, elm, vegetables and fruit are not planted, and the strength of the land is not fully used. In my foolish view, it was not that the former emperor could not open parks and preserves; the land could have been taxed and returned to the people, with the government merely collecting rent and taxes. Leasing and taxing have different names but are really the same matter. If so, the strength of every man would be exhausted in the southern fields, and the strength of every woman exhausted in hemp and flax; when fields are opened and hemp and flax are processed, high and low would all be generously supplied, so what distress would there be? [Gongsun Yang said: if women's work is done entirely within and men's work entirely without, income is large. The Lüshi Chunqiu says: a man who does not weave yet has clothes and a woman who does not plow yet has food: men and women exchange work to sustain life; this is the sage's system. So they respected the seasons and cherished the days, not resting unless old, not stopping unless ill, not giving up unless dead. Jia Yi said: that the people are insufficient and yet can be governed has never been heard from ancient times till now. The men of old said: if one man does not plow, someone may suffer hunger; if one woman does not weave, someone may suffer cold. If production has its season and use has no measure, the strength of things must be exhausted. Now to drive the people back to farming, all attached to the root, so that all under Heaven live by their own strength, and let those who do petty crafts and live idly turn to the southern fields, then stores will be sufficient and people will enjoy their places.] The Grand Secretary was silent and looked toward the Chancellor and the Imperial Secretary.

御史進曰昔太公封於營丘闢【音闢】草萊而居焉地薄人少於是通利末之道極女紅【音工】之巧是以鄰國交於齊財畜貨殖世為彊國管仲相【去聲】桓公襲先君之業行輕重之變南服彊楚而伯【音霸】諸侯【齊世家曰武王已平商而王天下封師尚父於齊營丘東就國萊侯來伐與之爭營丘營丘邉萊萊人夷也防紂之亂而周初定未能集逺方是以與太公爭國太公至國修政因其俗簡其禮通商工之業便魚塩之利而人民多歸齊齊為大國桓公之時管仲為大夫修齊國政連五家之兵設輕重魚塩之利以贍貧窮祿賢能齊人皆説七年諸侯防桓公於甄而桓公於是始覇焉貨殖傳曰太公望封於營丘人民寡於是太公勸其女功極技巧通魚鹽則人物歸之繦至而輻湊故齊冠帯衣履天下海岱之間斂袵而往朝焉其後齊中衰管子修之設輕重九府則桓公以霸九合諸侯一匡天下而管子氏亦有三歸位在陪臣富於列國之君是以齊富強至於威宣也】今大夫各修太公桓管之術總一鹽鐵通山川之利而萬物殖是以縣官用饒足民不睏乏本末並利上下俱足此籌計之所致非獨耕桑農業也

The Imperial Secretary came forward and said: Formerly Taigong was enfeoffed at Yingqiu and cleared the wilderness to live there. The land was thin and the people few, so he opened the way of trade and carried women's handicraft to its utmost skill; so neighboring states had dealings with Qi, wealth and livestock and goods multiplied, and for generations it was a strong state. Guan Zhong, as chancellor to Duke Huan, took over the former lord's work, carried out the changes of light and heavy, subdued strong Chu in the south, and became hegemon over the feudal lords. [The Records of the Historian, in the House of Qi, says: when King Wu had pacified Shang and ruled the world, he enfeoffed Shi Shangfu in Yingqiu of Qi. He went east to his state, and the Marquis of Lai came to attack and contended with him for Yingqiu. Yingqiu bordered Lai, and the people of Lai were Yi. As Zhou's disorder had only just been settled, Zhou could not yet gather distant regions, so they contended with Taigong for the state. When Taigong reached the state he cultivated government, followed its customs and simplified its ritual, opened the work of trade and craft and made convenient the profit of fish and salt, and many people turned to Qi, and Qi became a great state. In the time of Duke Huan, Guan Zhong was a senior official, cultivated the government of Qi, joined the soldiers of five households together, set up the profits of light and heavy, fish and salt to provide for the poor and pay the worthy and capable, and the people of Qi were all pleased. In the seventh year the feudal lords met Duke Huan at Zhen, and Duke Huan began to be hegemon there. The Biographies of Moneymakers says: Taigong Wang was enfeoffed at Yingqiu, where the people were few, so Taigong encouraged their women's work, brought their skills to the utmost, and opened the trade in fish and salt, and then people and goods turned to him, coming in swaddling and gathering like spokes, so Qi's caps, sashes, clothes and shoes covered the world, and those between the sea and Mount Dai gathered their robes and went to pay court. Later Qi fell into decline, and Master Guan restored it, set up the nine treasuries of light and heavy, and Duke Huan thereby became hegemon, assembled the feudal lords nine times, and set the world right at a stroke; and Master Guan also had three residences, a minister's rank richer than the rulers of states. So Qi's wealth and strength lasted to Wei and Xuan.] Now each of the Grand Secretaries cultivates the arts of Taigong and Duke Huan and Guan Zhong, unifies salt and iron and opens the profit of mountains and rivers, and all things multiply; so the government's use is plentiful, the people are not in distress, root and tip are both profitable, and high and low are both sufficient. This is brought about by calculation and planning, not only by plowing, mulberry and farming.

文學曰禮義者國之基也而權利者政之殘也孔子曰能以禮讓為國乎何有伊尹太公以百里興其君桓公以千乗【去聲】之齊而不能至於王其所務非也故功名隳【音灰】壞而道不濟當此之時諸侯莫能以德而爭於公私故以權相傾今天下合為一家利末惡【音汚】欲行巧惡【音汚】欲施大夫君以心計冊【通作防】國用【食貨志曰桑羊以心計顔師古曰心計不用籌也】構諸侯參以酒【音較】咸陽孔僅增以鹽鐵江充耕谷之等各以鋒銳言利末之事析秋毫可謂無間【音諫】矣非特管仲設九府徼【音呌】山海也【平凖書曰東郭咸陽孔僅為大農丞領鹽鐵事而桑羊貴幸咸陽齊之大鬻鹽孔僅南陽大冶皆致產累千金故鄭當時進言之羊洛陽賈人之子以心計年十三侍中故三人言利事析秋毫矣食貨志曰太公為周立九府圜法太公退又行之於齊至管仲相桓公通輕重之權桓公遂用區區之齊合諸侯顯霸名顔師古曰周官太府玉府內府外府泉府天府職內職金職幣謂之九府皆掌財幣之官也】然而國家衰耗城郭空虗故非崇仁義無以化民非力本農無以富邦也

The Literati said: Ritual and righteousness are the foundation of a state, and power and profit are the ruin of government. Confucius said: can one govern a state by ritual and yielding? What difficulty is there? Yi Yin and Taigong raised their rulers with a hundred li; Duke Huan, with the thousand-chariot state of Qi, could not reach kingship, because what he strove for was wrong. So achievement and fame were ruined and the Way was not completed. At that time the feudal lords could not contend by virtue over public and private, so they overturned each other by power. Now the world is joined into one family, and the evil of profiting from trade wants to be practiced and the evil of cleverness wants to be applied. The Grand Secretary plans state expenditure with his heart-reckoning [the Book of Han, Treatise on Food and Money, says: Sang Hongyang used heart-reckoning. Yan Shigu said: heart-reckoning is reckoning without counting rods], building on the feudal lords' practices, adding the wine monopoly; Xianyang and Kong Jin added salt and iron, and Jiang Chong and others on grain farming each, with sharp edge, spoke of the matters of profit in trade, splitting autumn hairs, which may be called without gap, not only Guan Zhong setting up nine treasuries and patrolling mountains and seas. [The Records of the Historian, Treatise on the Balanced Standard, says: Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin were Deputy Ministers of Grand Agriculture, in charge of salt and iron affairs, and Sang Hongyang was favored. Xianyang was a great salt boiler of Qi, Kong Jin a great iron smelter of Nanyang, each with property amounting to thousands in gold, so Zheng Dangshi recommended them. Sang Hongyang was the son of a merchant of Luoyang, was good at heart-reckoning, and at age thirteen served in the palace. So the three of them in speaking of matters of profit split autumn hairs. The Treatise on Food and Money says: Taigong set up the nine treasuries and circulating money law for Zhou, and when Taigong withdrew he also practiced it in Qi; when Guan Zhong was chancellor to Duke Huan, he opened up the power of light and heavy, and Duke Huan thereby used the little state of Qi to unite the feudal lords and make clear his hegemon's name. Yan Shigu said: the Rites of Zhou offices of Grand Treasury, Jade Treasury, Inner Treasury, Outer Treasury, Spring Treasury, Heaven Treasury, Inner Accounts, Metals and Currency are called the nine treasuries, all offices in charge of wealth and currency.] Yet the state has declined and been drained and the cities are empty, so without exalting benevolence and righteousness there is no way to transform the people, and without devoting strength to the root and agriculture there is no way to enrich the realm.

御史曰水有猵【音篇】獺【音塔】而池魚勞國有強御而齊民消【兵略訓曰畜池魚者必去猵獺養禽獸者必去豺狼】故茂林之下無豐草大塊之間無美苗【叢談曰髙山之巔無美木傷於多陽也大樹之下無美草傷於多隂也記曰髙山浚源不出草木松栢之地其土不肥】夫【音扶】理國之道除穢鉏【音鋤】豪然後百姓均平各安其宇張廷尉論定律令明法以繩天下誅奸猾絶併兼之徒而強不凌弱眾不暴寡大夫各運籌冊【通作防】逹國用籠天下鹽鐵諸利以排富商大賈【音古】買官贖罪損有餘補不足以齊黎民是以兵革東西征伐賦斂不増而用足夫【音扶】損益之事賢者所覩非眾人之所知也

The Imperial Secretary said: Where water has otters, the fish in the pond are worn out; where a state has strong oppressors, the common people dwindle. [The Huainanzi, in the chapter on military strategy, says: one who raises pond fish must remove otters, and one who raises birds and beasts must remove jackals and wolves.] So under a luxuriant forest there is no rich grass, and among the great clods there are no fine sprouts. [The Miscellaneous Talks say: on the top of high mountains there are no fine trees, harmed by too much yang; under great trees there is no fine grass, harmed by too much yin. The Record says: high mountains and deep sources do not produce grass and trees, and where pines and cypresses grow the soil is not fertile.] The way to govern a state is to remove weeds and hoe out the powerful, and then the people are even and each is at peace in his dwelling. Commandant Zhang settled the statutes and ordinances, made clear the laws to bind the world, punished the wicked and cunning and cut off the annexing clans, so that the strong do not bully the weak and the many do not oppress the few. The Grand Secretary has each turned his calculations to supply the state's expenses, taking in the profits of salt, iron and the like to push aside rich merchants and great traders, selling offices and ransoming crimes, reducing the surplus and supplying the lack, to even out the common people. So armies campaign east and west, taxes do not increase and yet the supply is sufficient. The business of reducing and adding is what the worthy see and is not what the crowd knows.

文學曰扁鵲撫息脈而知疾所由生陽氣盛則損乏而調隂寒氣盛則損乏而調陽是以氣脈調和而邪氣無所留矣【扁鵲傳曰扁鵲過虢虢太子死扁鵲至虢宮門下問中庻子喜方者曰太子何病國中治穰過於眾事中庻子曰太子病血氣不時交錯而不得洩暴發於外則為中害精神不能止邪氣畜積而不得洩是以陽緩而隂急故暴蹷而死扁鵲曰其死何如時曰雞鳴至今曰收乎曰未也其死未能半日也言臣齊勃海越人也家在於鄭未嘗得望精光侍謁於前也聞太子不幸而死臣得生之中庶子曰先生得無誕之乎何以言太子可生也臣聞上古之時醫有俞跗治病不以湯液醴灑鑱石橋引案杌毒熨一撥見病之應因五臟之輸乃割皮解肌訣脈結筋搦髓腦揲荒幕前浣腸胃潄滌五藏練精易形先生之方能若是則太子可生也不能若是而欲生之曾不可以告咳嬰之兒終日扁鵲仰天嘆曰夫子之為方也若以管窺天以郄視文越人之為方也不待切脈望色聼聲寫形言病之所在聞病之陽論得其隂聞病之隂論得其陽病應見於大表不出千里決者至眾不可曲止也子以吾言為不誠試入診太子當聞其耳鳴而張循其兩股以至於隂當尚溫也中庶子聞扁鵲言目然而不瞚舌撟然而不下乃以扁鵲言入報虢君虢君聞之大驚出見扁鵲於中闕曰竊聞髙義之日乆矣然未嘗得拜謁於前也先生過小國幸而舉之偏國寡臣幸甚有先生則活無先生則棄捐填溝壑長終而不得反言未卒因唏服臆防精洩橫流涕長忽忽承防悲不能自止容貎變更扁鵲曰若太子病所謂屍蹷者也夫以陽入隂中動胃繵緣中經維絡別下於三焦膀胱是以陽脈下遂隂脈上爭防氣閉而不通隂上而陽內行下內鼔而不起上外絶而不為使上有絶陽之絡下有破隂之紐破隂絶陽之色已廢脈亂故形靜如死狀太子未死也夫以陽入隂支蘭藏者生以隂入陽支蘭藏者死凡此數事皆五藏蹷中之時暴作也良工取之拙者疑殆扁鵲乃使弟子子陽厲針砥石以取外三陽五防有間太子蘓乃使子豹為五分之熨以八減之齊和煑之以更熨兩脇下太子起坐更適隂陽但服湯二旬而復故】夫【音扶】拙醫不知脈理之腠血氣之分妄刺而無益於疾傷肌膚而已矣今欲損有餘補不足富者益富貧者益貧矣嚴法任刑欲以禁暴止奸而奸猶不止意者非扁鵲之用針【音箴】石故眾人未得其職也【王符曰凡療病者必知脈之虗實氣之所結然後為之方故疾可愈而壽可長也為國者必先知民之所苦禍之所起然後為之禁故奸可塞而國可安也】御史曰周之建國也蓋千八百諸侯其後強吞弱大兼小併為六國六國連兵結難【去聲】數百年內拒敵國外攘四夷由此觀之兵甲不休戰伐不乏軍旅外奉倉庫內實今以天下之富海內之財百郡之貢非特齊楚之畜趙魏之庫也計委量入雖急用之宜無乏絶之時顧大農等以術體躬稼則后稷之烈【周紀曰周后稷名棄帝嚳之子也棄為兒時屹如巨人之志其遊好種樹麻菽麻菽美遂好耕農相地之宜宜谷者稼穡焉民皆法則之帝堯聞之舉棄為農師天下得其利有功帝舜曰棄黎民始飢爾後稷播時百穀封棄於邰號曰后稷】軍四出而用不繼非天之財少也用針【音箴】石調均有無補不足亦非也上大夫君與治粟都尉管領大農事炙刺稽滯開利百脈是以萬物流通而縣官富實當此之時四方徵暴亂車甲之費克獲之賞皆澹【古贍字】大司農此皆扁鵲之力而鹽鐵之福也

The Literati said: Bian Que presses the pulse and knows where disease arises: when yang is strong he reduces it and regulates yin, when cold is strong he reduces it and regulates yang, so the qi and vessels are harmonized and wicked qi has nowhere to stay. [The Records of the Historian, Biography of Bian Que, says: Bian Que passed through Guo, where the crown prince of Guo had died. Bian Que arrived at the palace gate and asked a palace attendant who loved techniques: what disease did the prince have, that the state's exorcisms exceeded every other matter? The attendant said: the prince's disease was that blood and qi were out of season and crossed with one another and could not be released; bursting out suddenly outward, it caused internal harm; the spirit could not stop the wicked qi, which accumulated and could not be released, so yang was slack and yin tense, and so he died suddenly of collapse. Bian Que asked when he died and was told from cockcrow till now; had he been encoffined? Not yet; he had not been dead half a day. Bian Que called himself Qin Yueren of Bohai in Qi, whose family was in Zheng, who had never been able to look upon his bright presence or attend before him, and said that hearing the prince had unfortunately died, he could make him live. The attendant doubted his boast: in high antiquity there was the physician Yu Fu, who treated illness not with decoctions, sweet wine or wine pouring, but could cut the skin, open the flesh, release the vessels, tie the sinews, knead marrow and brain, handle the diaphragm, wash and rinse the intestines and stomach, rinse and cleanse the five organs, refine the essence and change the form; if your method could do this the prince could live, and if not, you could not even tell it to a child who coughs. Bian Que looked up to heaven and sighed: your method of speaking is like looking at the sky through a tube or looking at a pattern through a crack; my method does not wait to take the pulse, look at the color, listen to the voice or observe the form; hearing the yang of the illness I can infer its yin, and hearing the yin I can infer its yang, and the disease must show itself in the great outside, within a thousand li. Let me try going in to examine the prince; you will hear his ears ringing and his nose flaring, and if you feel along his two thighs to the private parts they should still be warm. The attendant went in and reported to the lord of Guo. The lord of Guo was greatly startled, came out to meet Bian Que at the middle gate, tears flowing long, sobbing and blinking, so grieved he could not stop himself and his spirit overflowing. Bian Que said: the prince's illness is what is called collapse like a corpse. Yang entered yin, moving through the stomach and winding along, passing through the channels and linking vessels, and branching down to the triple burner and bladder, so the yang vessel descended and the yin vessel rose in struggle, the meeting qi was shut and did not pass, yin rose while yang moved inward, the lower internal drummed and did not rise, the upper outer was cut off and did not act, above there was the vessel cut off from yang and below there was the knot where yin was broken, the color of broken yin and cut yang had faded, the pulse was disordered, so the form was still like death; the prince was not dead. When yang enters yin and props up the organs one lives; when yin enters yang and props up the organs one dies. All these matters occur suddenly when the five organs collapse inside; a good physician takes hold of it, a clumsy one doubts and is in danger. Then he had his disciple Zi Yang sharpen the needles and whet the stone, and took the Outer Three Yang and Five Meetings, and after a while the prince revived; he also had Zi Bao prepare a five-part hot compress, mixed and boiled with an eight-part-reduced preparation, and again compressed under the two flanks, and the prince rose and sat; he further regulated yin and yang and only took decoctions for twenty days and returned to normal.] A clumsy physician does not know the interstices of the vessel principle or the divisions of blood and qi, pricks recklessly and does no good to the illness, only harming the skin and flesh. Now wishing to reduce what is in surplus and supply what is lacking makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. Strict laws and relying on punishment to prohibit violence and stop wickedness do not stop wickedness yet; I suppose this is not like Bian Que's use of needles and stones, so the multitude has not received its due. [Wang Fu said: in treating illness one must know whether the vessel is empty or full and where the qi is knotted, and only then make the prescription, so the illness can be healed and life lengthened; in governing a state one must first know what the people suffer from and where disaster arises, and only then make the prohibition, so wickedness can be blocked and the state can be safe.] The Imperial Secretary said: when Zhou founded its state there were about eighteen hundred feudal lords; later the strong swallowed the weak and the large annexed the small, and they merged into six states. The six states joined troops and built enmity for several hundred years, resisting enemy states within and repelling the four barbarians outside. From this it can be seen that if soldiers and armor did not rest and campaigns were not lacking, armies were supplied outside and storehouses were filled within. Now with the wealth of the world, the riches within the seas, and the tribute of a hundred commanderies, we have not only the stores of Qi and Chu and the treasuries of Zhao and Wei. Reckoning outlay and weighing income, even if it were urgently used, there should be no time of shortage. See how the Grand Agriculture and others use arts to embody plowing; they are the successors of Hou Ji [the Records of the Historian, Annals of Zhou, says: Hou Ji of Zhou was named Qi, a son of Emperor Ku. As a child Qi was as steady as a giant in his aims; in play he liked to plant hemp and beans, and the hemp and beans were fine, so he came to love farming, examined what the land was suited for, and where grain was suitable he sowed and reaped, and the people all took him as a model. Emperor Yao heard of it and raised Qi to be master of agriculture, and the world received the benefit and he had merit. Emperor Shun said: Qi, the common people are just beginning to starve; you, Hou Ji, sow the hundred grains in their seasons. He enfeoffed Qi at Tai and called him Hou Ji]. The army went out in four directions and its use was not sustained, but it was not that Heaven's wealth was small; using needles and stones to adjust the equal distribution of what is had and not had and to supply what is lacking is not wrong either. The senior ministers and the Commandant for Grain who manage the Grand Agriculture moxibustion and needle the stagnant, opening and benefiting the hundred vessels, so all things flow and circulate and the government is wealthy and full. At that time, in four directions we campaigned against violence and disorder; the cost of chariots and armor and the rewards for victories were all supplied by the Grand Minister of Agriculture. All this was Bian Que's strength and the blessing of salt and iron.

文學曰邉郡山居谷處隂陽不和寒凍裂地沖風飄滷【音魯】沙石凝積地勢無所宜【地形訓曰北方曰大曰寒澤北方有不釋之氷】中國天地之中隂陽之際也【地形訓曰中央四逹風氣之所通雨露之所防也】日月經其南斗極出其北含眾和之氣產育庶物今去而侵邉多斥不毛寒苦之地是猶棄江臯河濱而田於嶺坂【音反】菹【音疽】澤也轉倉廩之委飛府庫之財以給邉民中國困於繇【音遙】役邊民苦於戍【音絮】御力耕不便種糴無桑麻之利仰中國絲絮而後衣【去聲】之皮裘毛曾不足蓋形夏不失復【音復重衣也】冬不離【去聲】窟【苦骨切土室也】父子夫婦內藏於專室土圜之中中外空虗扁鵲何力而鹽鐵何福也

The Literati said: The border commanderies lie in mountains and valleys, yin and yang are not in harmony, the cold freezes and splits the ground, the gales blow salt and gravel, sand and stones are packed, and the lay of the land has nothing suitable. [The Huainanzi, in the chapter on terrain, says: the northern region is called Great Obscure and also called Cold Marsh. In the north there is ice that does not melt.] China is the middle of heaven and earth and the juncture of yin and yang. [The Huainanzi, in the chapter on terrain, says: the center is open in four directions, where winds and breath pass and rain and dew meet.] The sun and moon pass to its south and the Dipper pole rises to its north; it holds the breath of many harmonies and produces and nourishes the many things. Now to leave it and encroach on the border, mostly driving into barren, cold and bitter land, is like abandoning river banks and shores and farming on mountain slopes and swampy marshes. To transport the stores of the granaries and fly the wealth of the treasuries to supply the border people, China is exhausted by labor service and the border people suffer from garrison and defense. They work the land hard but it is not suited to planting or buying grain, they have no profit from mulberry and hemp, and depend on China's silk and floss before they can dress, while hide coats and fur are not even enough to cover their bodies. In summer they do not lack double garments [fu means layered clothes], in winter they do not leave their pits [a pit is an earthen room]. Fathers and sons, husbands and wives hide within special rooms and earth circles, while the center and the outside are empty; what strength has Bian Que here and what blessing has salt and iron?