Yan Tie Lun (鹽鐵論) · Volume 19

文學曰國有賢士而不用非士之過有國者之恥【叢談曰士橫道而偃四肢不掩非士之過有土之羞也邦君將昌天遺其道大夫將昌天遺其士庶人將昌必有良子】孔子大聖也諸侯莫能用當小位於魯三月不令而行不禁而止沛若時雨之灌萬物莫不興起也【家語曰孔子初仕為中都宰制為養生送死之節長防異食彊弱異任男女別塗路無拾遺噐不雕偽為四寸之棺五寸之槨因丘陵為墳不封不樹行之一年而四方之諸侯則焉】況乎位天下之本朝【音潮】而施聖主之徳音教澤乎今公卿處尊位執天下之要十有餘年功徳不施於天下而勤勞於百姓百姓貧陋困窮而私家累萬金此君子所恥而伐檀所刺也【詩序曰伐檀刺貪也在位貪鄙無功而受祿君子不得進仕爾】昔者商鞅相【去聲】秦後禮讓先貪鄙尚首功務進取【魯仲連曰彼秦者棄禮義而尚首功之國也譙周曰秦用衛鞅計制爵二十等以戰獲首級者計而受爵是以秦人每戰勝老弱婦人皆死計功賞至萬數天下謂之尚首功之國皆以惡之也司馬貞曰秦法斬首多為上功謂斬一人首賜爵一級故謂秦為首功之國也】無徳序於民而嚴刑罰於國俗日壊而民滋怨故惠王烹葅其身以謝天下當此之時亦不能論事矣今執政患儒貧賤而多言儒亦憂執事富貴而多患也大夫視文學悒悒而不言也【悒悒不安也】

The Literati said: When a state has worthy scholars and does not use them, it is not the scholars' fault but the shame of the one who holds the state [the Congtan says: A scholar who lies across the road with his four limbs not covered is not the scholar's fault but the shame of the one who holds the land. When a ruler of a state is about to flourish, Heaven sends him its Way; when a grand master is about to flourish, Heaven sends him scholars; when a commoner is about to flourish, he must have a good son.]. Confucius was a great sage, yet none of the feudal lords could use him. When he held a small post in Lu, within three months what he did not order was carried out and what he did not prohibit stopped, flowing like timely rain watering the myriad things, and nothing failed to flourish [the Jiayu says: When Confucius first served as magistrate of Zhongdu, he set regulations for nurturing life and sending off the dead, with the old and young eating differently, the strong and weak bearing different tasks, men and women using different roads, nothing lost on the road picked up, and vessels not carved or false, making coffins four inches thick and outer coffins five inches, and making tombs on hills without mounds or trees. After a year of practice, the feudal lords of the four quarters all imitated it.]. How much more if he were in the original court [phonetic gloss: "chao" is read chao] of the world and applied the virtuous words and teaching favor of a sage ruler? Now the dukes and ministers occupy honored positions and hold the world's essentials for more than ten years, yet their merit and virtue are not applied to the world and they toil over the common people, while the common people are poor, crude and in distress and private families accumulate tens of thousands in gold; this is what the gentleman is ashamed of and what the ode "Fa tan" criticizes [the Preface to the Poetry says: "Fa tan" criticizes greed. Those in office are greedy and mean, receiving salary without merit, and gentlemen cannot advance into office.]. In the past when Shang Yang served [phonetic gloss: "xiang" is read in the departing tone] as chancellor of Qin, he put courtesy and deference last and greed and meanness first, honored head-counting merit and worked for advancement [Lu Zhonglian said: That Qin is a state that discards ritual and rightness and honors head-counting merit. Qiao Zhou said: Qin used Wei Yang's plan, set twenty ranks of nobility, and awarded rank by counting heads taken in battle; so each time the people of Qin won a battle, the old, weak and women all died, and the merit counted up to the ten thousands, and the world called it the state that honors head-counting merit, and all considered it evil. Sima Zhen said: Qin law took the most heads as highest merit; for cutting off one man's head one gained one rank of nobility, so Qin was called the state of head-counting merit.]. Having no virtue to order the people and severe punishments in the state, customs daily worsened and the people's resentment grew, so King Hui had him boiled and minced to thank the world. At such a time one could not even discuss affairs. Now those in government worry that Confucians are poor and lowly and talk much, and Confucians worry that those who handle affairs are rich and noble and have much trouble. The Grand Secretary looked at the Literati and, uneasy, said nothing ["yiyi" means uneasy.]

丞相【去聲】史曰夫【音扶】辯國家之政事論執政之得失何不徐徐道理相喻何至切切如此乎大夫難罷鹽鐡者非有利也憂國家之用邊境之費也諸生誾誾【音銀】爭【去聲】鹽鐡亦非為【去聲】已也欲反之於古而輔成仁義也二者各有所宗時世異務又安可堅任古術而非今之理也且夫【音扶】小雅非人必有以易之諸生莫有能安集國中懐臧之來逺方使邊境無冦虜之災租稅盡為諸生除之何況鹽鐡均輸乎所以貴術儒者貴其處謙推讓以道盡人今辯訟愕愕【音鄂】然無赤賜之辭而見鄙倍之色非所聞也大夫言過而諸生亦如之諸生不直謝大夫耳

The Chancellor's Clerk [phonetic gloss: "xiang" is read in the departing tone] said: The opening "fu" [phonetic gloss: "fu" is read fu]: in debating matters of state and discussing the gains and losses of those in government, why not gradually instruct each other with reason; why must it be so urgent? The Grand Secretary objected to abolishing salt and iron not for private profit but out of worry for the state's needs and the expenses of the border; the scholars argue [phonetic gloss: "zheng" is read in the departing tone] earnestly [phonetic gloss: "yin" is read yin] against salt and iron not for [phonetic gloss: "wei" is read in the departing tone] themselves but wanting to return to antiquity and help complete humaneness and rightness. Each has his own source, the times and the age have different tasks, so how can one firmly rely on ancient methods and condemn present principles? Moreover, the opening "fu" [phonetic gloss: "fu" is read fu]: when the Lesser Odes criticize someone, they must have something to replace him. The scholars have not been able to settle the state, win over and soothe those from afar, leave the borders free from the calamity of raiders and captives, or remove all taxes, let alone salt, iron and equalization transport. So the reason Confucians of the method are valued is that they value their being modest and yielding and exhausting others by the Way. Now the argument is heated [phonetic gloss: "e" is read e], without the speech of Zigong or Zai Wo, yet shows a vulgar and rude look, which is not what we have heard. The Grand Secretary has said too much, and the scholars are likewise. The scholars should merely apologize to the Grand Secretary.

賢良文學皆離席曰鄙人固陋希涉大庭狂言多不稱【去聲】以逆執事夫藥酒苦於口而利於病忠言逆於耳而利於行【去聲湯曰藥食先嚐於卑然後至於貴藥言先獻於貴然後聞於卑道也故使人味食然後食者其得味也多使人味言然後聞言者其得言也少是故求道者不以目而以心取道者不以手而以耳孔子曰良藥苦於口利於病忠言逆於耳利於行故武王諤諤而昌紂嘿嘿而亡君無諤諤之臣父無諤諤之子兄無諤諤之弟夫無諤諤之婦士無諤諤之友其亡可立而待故曰君失之臣得之父失之子得之兄失之弟得之夫失之婦得之士失之友得之故無亡國敗家悖父亂子放兄棄弟狂夫滛婦絶交敗友韓非子曰夫良藥苦於口而智者勤而飲之知其入而已已疾也忠言拂於耳而明主聼之知其可以致功也】故愕愕【音鄂】者福也諓諓【音淺】者賤也林中多疾風富貴多防言萬里之朝【音潮】日聞唯唯而後聞諸生之愕愕【音鄂】此乃公卿之良藥針【音針】石【正諫篇曰趙簡子有臣曰周舍立於門下三日三夜簡子使問之曰子欲見寡人何事周舍對曰願為諤諤之臣墨筆操牘從君之過而日有記也月有成也嵗有效也簡子居則與之居出則與之出居無幾何而周舍死簡子如防子後與諸大夫飲於洪波之臺酒酣簡子涕泣諸大夫皆出走曰臣有罪而不自知簡子曰大夫皆無罪昔者吾有周舍有言曰千羊之皮不若一狐之腋眾人諾諾不若一士之諤諤昔者商紂黙黙而亡武王諤諤而昌今自周舍之死吾未嘗聞吾過也吾亡無日矣是以寡人泣也諸葛恪曰良藥苦口惟病者能甘之忠言逆耳惟逹者能受之】大夫色少寛面文學而蘇也【蘇氣索貌不安也】

The worthy and good Literati all left their mats and said: We are rustic and narrow, and rarely set foot in great courts, our wild words are mostly unsuitable [phonetic gloss: "cheng" is read in the departing tone] and have gone against the officials. Medicinal wine is bitter in the mouth but beneficial for the illness, and loyal words are against the ear but beneficial for conduct [phonetic gloss: "xing" is read in the departing tone. Tang said: Medicine and food are tasted first by the lowly and then given to the noble, and medicinal words are offered first to the noble and then heard by the lowly; this is the Way. So one who has others taste before eating gets more flavor; one who has others taste words before hearing them gets fewer words. Therefore one who seeks the Way does not use the eyes but the heart, and one who takes the Way does not use the hands but the ears. Confucius said: Good medicine is bitter in the mouth but beneficial for illness; loyal words are against the ear but beneficial for conduct. So King Wu flourished by frank speech and Zhou perished by silence. If a ruler has no ministers of frank speech, a father no sons of frank speech, an elder brother no younger brothers of frank speech, a husband no wife of frank speech, and a scholar no friends of frank speech, his ruin can be awaited at once. So it is said: What the ruler loses, the minister gets; what the father loses, the son gets; what the elder brother loses, the younger gets; what the husband loses, the wife gets; what the scholar loses, the friend gets. Therefore there are no ruined states and failed houses, rebellious fathers and disorderly sons, abandoned elder brothers and cast-off younger brothers, mad husbands and lewd wives, broken-off friendships and ruined friends. Han Feizi said: Good medicine is bitter in the mouth yet the wise drink it diligently, knowing that once it enters it will stop their illness; loyal words are harsh to the ear yet an enlightened ruler listens to them, knowing that they can bring merit.]. So those of frank speech [phonetic gloss: "e" is read e] are fortunate, and those of shallow flattery [phonetic gloss: the original has a rare character here, pronounced qian] are lowly. There are many violent winds in forests, and many slanders among the rich and noble. The court [phonetic gloss: "chao" is read chao] heard for ten thousand li only "yes, yes" day after day, and afterward heard the scholars' frank speech [phonetic gloss: "e" is read e], and this is the good medicine and acupuncture needle [phonetic gloss: "zhen" is read zhen] and stone for the dukes and ministers [the chapter "Zhengjian" says: Zhao Jianzi had a minister called Zhou She, who stood at the gate for three days and three nights. Jianzi sent someone to ask: What business do you have in wanting to see me? Zhou She replied: I wish to be a minister of frank speech, to take brush and tablet and follow your faults, with a daily record, a monthly result and a yearly effect. When Jianzi was at home he was with him, and when he went out he was with him. Before long Zhou She died. Jianzi was as if he had lost a son (the original has "fang" before "son"). Later he drank with the grand masters on the Hongbo Terrace, and when the wine was warm Jianzi wept. The grand masters all left and said: We are guilty and do not know it. Jianzi said: The grand masters are all innocent. In the past I had Zhou She, who had a saying: The skins of a thousand sheep are not worth the armpit of one fox, and the yes-saying of the multitude is not worth the frank speech of one scholar. In the past Zhou of Shang perished by silence while King Wu flourished by frank speech. Now since Zhou She's death I have not heard my faults, and my ruin is not far off. That is why I weep. Zhuge Ke said: Good medicine is bitter in the mouth, and only the sick can find it sweet; loyal words go against the ear, and only the enlightened can accept them.]. The Grand Secretary's expression eased slightly and he faced the Literati recovering ["su" is the look of one whose spirit has drained, uneasy].

丞相【去聲】史曰窮巷多曲辯而寡見者難喻【公孫鞅曰窮巷多恡曲學多辯】文學守死渣滓之語而終不移夫【音扶】往古之事昔有之語已可覩矣今以近世觀之自以目有所見耳有所聞世殊而事異文景之際建元之始民樸而歸本吏亷而自重殷殷屯屯人衍而家富今政非改而敎非易也何世之彌薄而俗之滋衰也吏即少亷民即寡恥刑非誅惡而奸猶不止【食貨志曰文景之時屢敕有司以農為務民遂樂業至武帝之初七十年間國家亡事非遇水旱則民人給家足都鄙廩庾盡滿而府庫餘財京師之錢累百鉅萬貫朽而不可校大倉之粟陳陳相因充溢露積於外腐敗不可食眾庻街巷有馬阡陌之間成群乗牸牝者擯而不得會聚守閭閻者食梁肉為吏者長子孫居官者以為姓號人人自愛而重犯法先行誼而黜媿辱焉於是防疏而民富役財驕溢或至併兼豪黨之徒以武斷至鄉曲宗室有土公卿大夫以下爭於奢侈室廬車服僣上亡限物盛而衰固其變也】世人有言鄙儒不如都士【都美也都者鄙之對也左傳曰都鄙有章淮南子云始乎都者常卒乎鄙葢天子所居輦轂之下聲名文物之所聚故其士女雍容閒雅之態生故謂之都相如傳云車從甚都是也邉氓所居蕞爾之邑狐狸豺狼之所嚎故其閭閻吝嗇村陋之狀出故謂之鄙老子云眾人皆有以而我獨頑似鄙是也】文學皆出山東希涉大論子大夫論京師之日乆顧分明政治識之事故所以然者也【顔師古曰子者人之嘉稱大夫學官之稱也志在優賢故謂之子大夫也】

The Chancellor's Clerk [phonetic gloss: "xiang" is read in the departing tone] said: In remote alleys there are many crooked arguments, and those who have seen little are hard to enlighten [Gongsun Yang said: Remote alleys have much stinginess, and crooked learning has much argument.]. The Literati stubbornly cling to dregs and chaff of words and never change. The opening "fu" [phonetic gloss: "fu" is read fu]: things of ancient times and sayings of old are already visible. Now looking at recent times, our own eyes have seen and our ears have heard. The age is different and things are different. In the times of Wen and Jing and the start of Jianyuan, the people were simple and returned to the root, officials were honest and respected themselves, all was dense and abundant, people were many and families rich. Now government has not been changed and teaching has not been altered, so why has the age become thinner and customs more declined? Officials are less honest and the people have less shame, punishments do not fail to execute the evil yet cunning still does not stop [the Han shu, "Shihuo zhi," says: In the time of Wen and Jing, they repeatedly instructed officials to make agriculture their task, and the people delighted in their work. In the first seventy years up to the early reign of Emperor Wu, the state had no troubles, and unless there was flood or drought the people had enough and families were sufficient, the granaries in towns and villages were all full and the treasuries had surplus wealth; the capital's coins were hundreds of millions, the strings rotted and could not be counted, the grain in the great granary lay piled year on year and overflowed in the open outside, rotted and could not be eaten. Commoners had horses in the streets and alleys, and in the fields they were in herds, and those who rode mares were turned away and could not join the gatherings. Village gate guards ate grain and meat, officials raised sons and grandsons, those in office took their post as a surname, each person loved himself and took violating the law seriously, put conduct and righteousness first and rejected shame and disgrace. Then the net was loosened (the original has "fang" before "loosened") and the people were rich, wealth was used to be arrogant and overflowing, some reached the point of merging holdings, and powerful clans dominated the localities by force, imperial relatives had land, and dukes, ministers and grand masters and below competed in luxury, with houses, carriages and clothing exceeding their ranks without limit. When things flourish they decline, and this is simply how they change.]. People of the age say: A rustic Confucian is not as good as a city scholar ["du" means fine. "Du" is the opposite of "bi" (rustic). The Zuo zhuan says: City and rustic have regulations. The Huainanzi says: One who begins with the city often ends rustic. The place where the Son of Heaven lives, beneath the imperial carriage, where fame and culture gather, produces a refined and leisurely demeanor in its men and women, so it is called "du." The Sima Xiangru biography says his carriage and retinue were very "du," which is this. The small towns where border people live, where foxes, jackals and wolves howl, produce a stingy and rustic appearance in village lanes, so it is called "bi." Laozi says, "All others have a purpose, while I alone am dull and seem rustic," which is this.]. The Literati all come from Shandong and have rarely set foot in great discussions. You, sirs, have discussed in the capital for a long time; I hope you will explain governance clearly and show the reasons for knowing the causes of things [Yan Shigu said: "Zi" is a fine term of address, and "dafu" is the title of academy officials. Because the intention is to treat the worthy well, he calls them "zi dafu."].

賢良曰夫【音扶】山東天下之腹心賢士之戰塲也高皇帝龍飛鳯舉於宋楚之間山東子弟蕭曹樊酈滕灌之屬為輔雖既異世亦即閎夭太顛而已【班固曰高祖起於布衣之中奮劒而取天下不由唐虞之禪不階湯武之王龍行虎變卒從風雲徵亂伐暴廓清帝宇八載之間海內克定遂荷天之衢登建皇極上古以來書籍所載未嘗有也非雄俊之材寛明之畧歴數所授神只所相安能致功如此夫帝王之作必有神人之助非徳無以建業非命無以定眾或以文昭或以武興或以聖立或以人崇焚魚斬蛇異功同符豈非精靈之感哉書曰天工人其代之易曰湯武革命順乎天而應乎人其斯之謂乎蕭曹樊酈滕灌之屬謂鄼侯蕭何平陽侯曹參舞陽侯樊噲曲周侯酈商汝隂侯滕公頴隂侯灌嬰也】禹出西羌文王生北夷【戴叔鸞傳云大禹生西羌帝王世紀曰伯禹生於石坳水經注云禹生於蜀之廣柔縣石紐村今之石泉縣也石紐村今之石鼓山其山朝暮二時有五色霞氣孟子曰文王生於岐周餘氏解雲周自古公遷於岐山之下週原故號岐周即今鳯翔府岐山縣也地與畎夷近故曰北夷】然聖徳髙世有萬人之才負迭群之任【迭通作軼相過也】出入都市一旦不知返數然後終於廝【音斯】役而已僕雖不生長【音掌】京師才駑【音奴】下愚不足以大議竊者以聞閭里長【音掌】老之言往者常民衣服溫暖而不靡器質樸牢而致用衣足以蔽體噐足以便事馬足以易步車足以自載酒足以合歡而不湛【音酖】樂足以理心而不滛入無宴樂【音洛】之聞出無佚【音逸】遊之觀行即負羸【音縲】止作鋤耘用約而財饒夲修而民富送死哀而不華養生適而不奢大臣正而無慾執政寛而不苛故黎民寧其性百吏保其官建元始崇文修徳天下乂安其後邪臣各以伎藝虧亂至治外障【音瘴】山海內興諸利楊可勝告緡江充禁服張大夫革令杜周治獄罰贖科適微細並行不可勝【音升】載夏蘭之屬妄搏【音博】王溫舒之徒妄殺殘吏萌起擾亂良民【平凖書曰縣官悉禁郡國無鑄錢専令上林三官鑄錢既多而令天下非三官錢不得行諸郡國所前鑄錢皆廢銷之輸其銅三官而民之鑄錢益少計其費不能相當唯真工大奸乃盜為之楊可告緡徧天下中家以上大抵皆遇告杜周治之獄少反者江充傳曰上拜充為直指繡衣使者督三輔盜賊禁察逾侈貴戚近臣多奢僣充皆舉劾奏請沒入車馬令身待北軍擊匈奴奏可食貨志曰自造白金五銖錢後五嵗而赦吏民之坐盜鑄金錢死】

The Worthy and Good said: The opening "fu" [phonetic gloss: "fu" is read fu]: Shandong is the heart and belly of the world and the battleground of worthy scholars. Emperor Gao rose like a dragon and soared like a phoenix between Song and Chu, and the sons of Shandong, Xiao, Cao, Fan, Li, Teng, Guan and their like, were his assistants; though the ages differ, they are like Hongyao and Taidian [Ban Gu said: Gaozu rose from among commoners, wielded a sword and took the world, not through abdication like Tang and Yu, not climbing up as kings like Tang and Wu, walking like a dragon and changing like a tiger, in the end following wind and cloud, campaigning against disorder and punishing violence, clearing the imperial realm, and within eight years everything within the seas was subdued, and then he took Heaven's way and ascended to establish the imperial pole. Nothing like this has been recorded in books since remote antiquity. Without outstanding talent, broad and clear strategy, the calendrical numbers conferred and the spirits' help, how could he have achieved such merit? Emperors and kings always have the help of divine people; without virtue there is no establishing of an undertaking, without destiny there is no settling the multitude; some shine by culture, some rise by arms, some are established by sagehood, and some are honored by people. Burning a fish and cutting a snake were different feats with the same tally; are these not responses of spirits? The Book of Documents says: Heaven's work, human beings take its place. The Book of Changes says: Tang and Wu changed the mandate, following Heaven and responding to people. This is probably what is meant. Xiao, Cao, Fan, Li, Teng and Guan and their like refer to Xiao He, Marquis of Zan; Cao Shen, Marquis of Pingyang; Fan Kuai, Marquis of Wuyang; Li Shang, Marquis of Quzhou; Lord Teng, Marquis of Ruyin; and Guan Ying, Marquis of Yingyin.]. Yu came from the Western Qiang and King Wen was born among the Northern Yi [the biography of Dai Shuluan says Great Yu was born among the Western Qiang. The Diwang shiji says Bo Yu was born in a stone hollow. The Shuijing zhu says Yu was born in Shiniu village in Guangrou county of Shu, which is now Shiquan county. Shiniu village is now Mount Shigu, where five-colored glow of mist appears at morning and evening. Mencius says King Wen was born at Qizhou. Yu's explanation: The Zhou, from Gugong, moved to the Zhou plain below Mount Qi, so it was called Qizhou, which is now Qishan county of Fengxiang prefecture, near the Quan Yi, so it is called the Northern Yi.]. Yet their sage virtue was high above the age, they had the talent of ten thousand people and bore tasks surpassing the crowd ["die" is the same as "yi" and means to surpass]. If one goes in and out of cities and one day does not know how to return, after several times he ends up only a servant [phonetic gloss: "si" is read si]. Though I was not born and raised [phonetic gloss: "zhang" is read zhang] in the capital, my talent is dull [phonetic gloss: "nu" is read nu] and foolish, not enough to take part in great deliberations, I privately take what I have heard from village elders [phonetic gloss: "zhang" is read zhang] and say: In former times ordinary people wore warm clothes without extravagance, vessels were simple and sturdy and served their use, clothes were enough to cover the body, vessels enough to make work convenient, horses enough to replace walking, carriages enough to carry themselves, wine enough to join in joy without being sunk [phonetic gloss: "zhan" is read dan] in it, and music enough to regulate the heart without being licentious; at home they heard nothing of banquets and music [phonetic gloss: "le" is read luo], outside they saw no idle [phonetic gloss: "yi" is read yi] excursions; when walking they carried loads [phonetic gloss: "lei" is read lei], when resting they hoed and weeded; they used little yet had abundant wealth, the root was cultivated and the people were rich, they mourned the dead with grief but without ostentation, nurtured life moderately without extravagance, great ministers were upright and without desire, those in government were generous and not harsh, so the common people were at ease in their nature and the hundred officials kept their posts. At the beginning of Jianyuan, culture was honored and virtue cultivated, and the world was in order and at peace. Afterward wicked ministers each used their skills to damage perfect governance; outside they walled off [phonetic gloss: "zhang" is read zhang] mountains and seas, inside they raised various profits, Yang Ke reported on those hiding taxes, Jiang Chong prohibited clothing, Grand Master Zhang reformed the decrees, Du Zhou handled lawsuits, fines, redemptions and exiles and the tiniest matters were all in force, too many to record [phonetic gloss: "sheng" is read sheng]. Xia Lan and his like struck [phonetic gloss: "bo" is read bo] recklessly, Wang Wenshu and his kind killed recklessly, cruel officials arose and disturbed the good people [the Records of the Grand Historian, "Pingzhun shu," says: The county officials entirely prohibited the commanderies and states from casting coins and ordered the three offices of Shanglin to cast them alone. Coins having become many, it was ordered that no coin other than the three offices' coin could circulate, all coins previously cast by the commanderies and states were abolished and melted down, and their copper was delivered to the three offices. The people's casting of coins became rarer, and calculating the cost they did not break even, and only true craftsmen and great villains cast illicitly. Yang Ke's reports of hiding taxes spread across the world, and households of middle means and above were mostly reported; Du Zhou handled them, and few cases were ever overturned. The biography of Jiang Chong says: The emperor appointed Chong as direct-pointing embroidered-robe envoy to oversee bandits in the Three Metropolitan Regions and to prohibit and examine excess and extravagance. Many imperial relatives and close ministers were extravagant and overstepping, and Chong denounced all of them and requested that their carriages and horses be confiscated and that the people concerned be ordered to wait to attack the Xiongnu with the Northern Army. The memorial was approved. The Shihuo zhi says: Five years after the casting of white-metal and five-zhu coins there was an amnesty, and officials and people who were guilty of illicit casting of gold coins died

【者數十萬人其不發覺相殺者不可勝計赦自出者百餘萬人然不能率自出天下大抵無慮皆鑄金錢矣犯法者眾吏不能盡誅於是遣博士禇大徐偃等分行郡國舉併兼之徒守相為利而御史大夫張湯方貴用事減宣杜周等為中丞義縱尹齊王溫舒等用慘急苛刻為九卿直指夏蘭之屬始出而大農顔異誅矣】當此之時百姓不保其首領豪富莫必其族姓聖主覺焉乃刑戮充等誅滅殘賊以殺【所戒切】死罪之怨塞天下之責故居民肆然復安然其禍累世不復瘡痍至今未息故百官尚有殘疾之政而強宰尚有強奪之心大臣擅權而斷擊豪猾多黨而侵陵富貴奢侈貧賤簒殺女紅【音工】難成而易車器難就而易敗車不累朞噐不終嵗一車千石一衣十鍾常民文杯畫【音壊】案几席緝【音牒】婢妾衣紈履絲匹庶粺【音稗】飯肉食裡有俗黨有塲康莊馳逐窮巷蹋【音逹】鞠秉耒抱挿躬耕身織者寡娶要【古腰字】斂【古本作臉】從容傅白黛青者眾無而為有貧而強【巨両切】誇文表無裡紈袴【音褲】枲【音徙】裝生不養【去聲】死厚送死殫【音丹】家遣女滿車富者欲過貧者欲及富者空藏【去聲】貧者稱貸是以民年急而嵗促貧即寡恥乏即少亷此所以刑非誅惡而奸猶不止也【反質篇曰魏文侯問李克曰刑罰之源安生李克曰生於奸邪淫佚之行凡奸邪之心飢寒而起淫佚者乆飢之詭也雕文刻鏤害農事者也錦繡纂組傷女工者也農事害則飢之夲也女工傷則寒之原也飢寒並至而能不為奸邪者未之有也男女飾羙以相矜而能無淫佚者未甞有也故上不禁伎巧則國貧民侈國貧窮者為奸邪而富足者為淫佚則驅民而為邪也民以為邪因以法隨誅之不赦其罪則是為民設陷也刑罰之起有原人主不塞其夲而替其末傷國之道乎文侯曰善以為法服也】故國有嚴不急之徵即生前不足疾矣

[... several hundred thousand of them. Those who killed each other without being discovered cannot be counted; more than a million who were pardoned came out on their own, yet they could not all come out, and across the world roughly everyone had cast gold coins. The law-breakers were many and the officials could not execute them all, so they sent the Erudites Chu Da, Xu Yan, and others to tour the commanderies and states and to identify the annexers and the governors and chancellors who made profit. And the Imperial Counselor Zhang Tang was then in the highest favor and in charge, with Jian Xuan, Du Zhou, and others as vice-censors, and Yi Zong, Yin Qi, Wang Wenshu, and others used harshness and severity to become Nine Ministers, and the direct inspectors like Xia Lan began to appear, and the Grand Minister of Agriculture Yan Yi was executed.] At that time, the common people could not protect their heads and the wealthy could not be sure of protecting their clans. When the sage ruler awakened, he punished Jiang Chong and others, exterminated the cruel and ruinous, so as to reduce [pronunciation note: the character is read 'sha'] resentment over capital crimes and answer the reproach of the world, and so the people settled and were at peace again. But its calamity has not recovered for generations, and the wounds have not healed to this day. So the hundred officials still have the government of the maimed, the strong stewards still have the mind to seize by force, the great ministers monopolize power and strike down arbitrarily, the powerful and cunning have many cliques and encroach on others, the rich and noble are extravagant, and the poor and lowly usurp and kill. Women's work [pronunciation note: the character is read 'gong'] is hard to complete and easy to spoil, carriages and implements are hard to make and easy to break, a carriage does not last the term and an implement does not last the year, one carriage costs a thousand shi and one garment ten zhong. Ordinary people have patterned cups and painted [pronunciation note: the character 'painted' is read 'huai'] tables, with mats and cushions layered (the received text lost a rare character here, read 'die'), maids and concubines wear fine silk and silk shoes, and commoners eat polished rice [pronunciation note: read 'bai'] and meat. Villages have customs and districts have sports grounds, and people gallop on broad roads while in narrow lanes they kick [pronunciation note: the character 'kick' is read 'da'] ball. Few hold plow and spade and till and weave themselves, while many have narrow waists [the ancient form of 'waist'] and made-up faces [the old text writes 'face' differently], powdering white and painting their brows blue at leisure. Having nothing they pretend to have, being poor they boast forcibly [pronunciation note: the character 'forcibly' is read 'ju-liang'], their outsides patterned and insides empty, wearing silk trousers [pronunciation note: the character 'trousers' is read 'ku'] over hemp lining [pronunciation note: the character 'hemp' is read 'xi']. In life they do not support [pronunciation note: the character 'support' is read in the departing tone] their parents, but in death they bury them lavishly, exhausting [pronunciation note: read 'dan'] the household in sending off the dead, and send their daughters off with carriages full. The rich want to surpass others and the poor want to catch up; the rich store [pronunciation note: the character 'store' is read in the departing tone] emptily and the poor borrow. Therefore the people hurry through the years and their days are pressed; with poverty shame is little, and with want integrity is little. This is why punishment does not fail to execute the wicked and yet treachery does not stop. [The 'Returning to Substance' chapter says: Marquis Wen of Wei asked Li Ke: "Where does the source of punishment arise?" Li Ke said: "It arises from treacherous, wicked, licentious, and dissolute conduct. All treacherous and wicked hearts arise from hunger and cold, and licentiousness is the strange change of long hunger. Carved patterns and engraving harm farm work, and brocade embroidery and braided cords injure women's work. When farm work is harmed it is the root of hunger, and when women's work is injured it is the source of cold. That hunger and cold come together and yet one is not treacherous or wicked has never happened. That men and women adorn themselves finely to show off each other and yet are not licentious has never been. So if those above do not prohibit craft and cunning, the state is poor and the people extravagant. When the state is poor, the destitute turn treacherous and wicked and the well-off turn licentious and dissolute, which is driving the people to wickedness. The people become wicked, and one then follows with the law to execute them and does not pardon their crimes, which is setting a pit for the people. Punishment has a source for its rise; if the ruler does not block its root and discards the branch, is this not a way of harming the state?" Marquis Wen said: "Good." He then took this as a law and followed it.] So when a state has levies that are severe but not urgent, the illness of insufficiency in life comes faster.

大夫曰吾以賢良為少愈乃反其幽明若胡車相隨而鳴諸生獨不見季夏之螇【音奚】乎【方言曰齊謂之螇螰蟬之別名也】音聲入耳秋風至而聲無者生無易【音異】由言不顧其患患至而後黙晩矣

The Grand Secretary said: I thought the Worthy and Good were a little better, but instead they confuse dark and bright, like Hu carriages following each other and rattling. Have you scholars not seen the late summer cicada [pronunciation note: the character is read 'xi'] [the Dialect Words says: (the received text lost two rare characters here), in the land of Qi it is called xixi, another name for the cicada]? Its sound enters the ear, but when the autumn wind arrives there is no sound at all. While alive, do not speak lightly [pronunciation note: the character 'lightly' is read 'yi'], disregarding the trouble; to fall silent when the trouble arrives is too late.

賢良曰孔子讀史記喟然而嘆傷正徳之廢君臣之危也【孔子世家曰孔子云弗乎弗乎君子病沒世而名不稱焉吾道不行矣吾何以自見於後世乃因史記作春秋上至隱公下訖哀公十四年十二公據魯親周故殷運之三代其文辭而指博故吳楚之君自稱王而春秋貶之曰子踐土之防實召周天子而春秋諱之曰天王狩於河陽推此類以防當世貶損之義後有王者舉而開之春秋之義行則天下亂臣賊子懼焉孔子在位聼訟文辭有可與人共者弗獨有也至於為春秋筆則筆削則削子夏之徒不能贊一辭弟子受春秋孔子曰後世知丘者以春秋而罪丘者亦以春秋】夫【音扶】賢人君子以天下為任者也任大者思逺思逺者忘近誠心閔悼惻加爾故忠心獨而無累此詩人所以傷而作比干子胥遺身忘禍也其惡【音汚】勞人若斯之急安能黙乎【子路曰夫士欲立身行道無顧難易然後能行之慾行義白召無顧利害然後能行之令狐茂曰子胥盡忠而忘其號比干盡仁而遺其身忠臣竭誠不顧鈇鉞之誅以陳其愚志在匡君安社稷也】詩云憂心如惔不敢戲談孔子棲棲疾固也墨子遑遑閔世也【文子曰墨子無黔突孔子無暖席非以貪祿慕位起天下之利除萬民之害也修務訓曰孔子無墨突墨子無暖席是以聖人不高山不廣河防恥辱以幹世主非以貪祿慕位欲事起天下利而除萬民之害葢聞傳書曰神農憔悴堯瘐臞舜黴黑禹胼胝由此觀之則聖人之憂勞百姓甚矣故自天子以下至於庻人四胑不動思慮不用事治求贍者未之聞也班固曰太上有立徳其次有立功夫徳不得後身而特盛功不得背時而獨彰是以聖哲之治棲棲遑遑孔席不防墨突不黔】大夫黙然

The Worthy and Good said: Confucius read the records of the historians and sighed deeply, grieving that right virtue had been abandoned and the ruler and ministers were in danger. [The House of Confucius says: Confucius said: "No, no! The gentleman is troubled if his name is not praised after his death. If my Way is not practiced, how shall I show myself to later ages?" So on the basis of the historians' records he composed the Spring and Autumn Annals, going back to Duke Yin and down to the fourteenth year of Duke Ai, twelve dukes, relying on Lu, honoring Zhou, treating Yin as the old dynasty, and drawing on the Three Dynasties. Its wording is concise and its meaning broad. So the rulers of Wu and Chu called themselves kings, and the Annals demoted them by calling them 'viscounts'; the meeting at Jiantu was in fact a summons of the Son of Heaven of Zhou, and the Annals concealed it by writing 'The Heavenly King hunted at Heyang.' By analogy with these cases, he used the principle of praise and blame to measure the age, and kings of later times could raise it and open it. When the meaning of the Annals is carried out, rebellious ministers and villainous sons of the world will be afraid. When Confucius sat in office hearing lawsuits, wording that could be shared with others he did not claim for himself alone. But when he composed the Annals, he wrote what should be written and cut what should be cut, and disciples like Zixia could not add a single word. When his disciples received the Annals, Confucius said: "Those in later ages who know me will do so through the Annals, and those who blame me will do so through the Annals."] The preface says: the worthy and the gentleman take the world as their charge. One who takes a great charge thinks far, one who thinks far forgets the near, and sincere compassion and sympathy are added to it, so loyalty is single-minded and free from entanglement. This is why poets wrote out of grief, and why Bi Gan and Zixu gave up their bodies and forgot disaster. They loathed [pronunciation note: the character 'loathe' is read 'wu'] the toil of the people being so urgent, how could they be silent? [Zilu said: if a scholar wishes to establish himself and practice the Way, he does so regardless of difficulty or ease before he can carry it out; if he wishes to show his righteousness, he does so regardless of benefit and harm before he can carry it out. Linghu Mao said: Zixu exhausted his loyalty and forgot his name, Bi Gan exhausted his benevolence and gave up his body. A loyal minister gives all his sincerity and, disregarding the execution by axe, sets out his foolish views, his aim being to correct the ruler and secure the altars.] The Odes say: "My heart is burning with worry, and I dare not joke." Confucius hurrying about was grieved at the obstinacy of people of his time; Mozi hastening about was distressed for the age. [The Wenzi says: Mozi's chimney was never black and Confucius's mat was never warm; it was not that they coveted salary and craved position, but that they wanted to promote the benefit of the world and remove the harm of the myriad people. The 'Cultivating Effort' chapter says: Confucius's chimney was never blackened and Mozi's mat was never warm, so the sage did not make the mountain high or the river wide but bore shame and disgrace to approach the rulers of the age; it was not that they coveted salary and craved position but that they wanted to promote the world's benefit and remove the myriad people's harm. I have heard from transmitted books: Shennong was haggard, Yao was gaunt, Shun was dark with mildew, and Yu had calluses on hands and feet. From this we see how greatly the sages worried and toiled for the people. So from the Son of Heaven down to the commoners, there has never been one whose four limbs were idle and whose thought was unused and yet whose affairs were ordered and needs supplied. Ban Gu said: the highest is to establish virtue, the next to establish merit. Virtue cannot become especially great after one's death, and merit cannot become uniquely illustrious against the times. Therefore the governance of sages and the wise is hurried and restless, so that Confucius's mat was never warm (the received text has a corrupted character here) and Mozi's chimney was never blackened.] The Grand Secretary was silent.

丞相【去聲】史曰願聞防不足

The Chancellor's Secretary said: I would like to hear about the gathering (the received text has a corrupted character here) of what is insufficient.

賢良曰宮室輿馬衣服噐械防祭食飲聲色玩好【去聲】人情之所不能已也故聖人為之制度以坊【古防字】之【泰族訓曰良匠不能斵金巧冶不能鑠木金之勢不可斵而木之性不可鑠也埏埴而為器窬木而為舟鑠鐵而為月鑄金而為鍾因其可也駕馬服牛令雞司夜令狗守門因其然也民有好色之性故有大婚之禮有飲食之性故有大饗之誼有喜樂之性故有鐘鼓筦之音有悲哀之性故有衰絰哭踴之節故先王之製法也因民之所好而為之節文者也因其好色而制婚姻之禮故男女有別因其喜音而正雅頌之聲故風俗不流因其寧家室樂妻子敎之以順故父子有親因其喜朋友而教之以悌故長防有序然後修朝聘以明貴賤鄉飲習射以明長防時搜振旅以習用兵也入學庠序以修人倫此皆人之所有於性而聖人之所匠成也傳曰人有六情目欲視好色耳欲聼宮商鼻欲嗅芬香口欲嗜防其身體四肢欲安而不作衣欲被文繡而輕暖此六者民之六情也失之則亂從之則穆故聖王之敎其民也必因其情而節之以禮必從其欲而制之以義義簡而備禮易而法去情不逺故民之從命也速孔子知道之易行曰詩云牖民孔易非虛辭也】間【音諫】者士大夫務於權利怠於禮義故百姓仿效頗逾制度今故陳之曰古者穀物菜果不時不食鳥獸魚鱉不中【去聲】殺不食故繳網不入於澤雜毛不取【王制曰五穀不時果實未熟不粥於市木不中伐不粥於市禽獸魚鼈不中殺不粥於市】今富者遂驅殱【音尖】網罝掩捕麑鷇【音冦】躭【音耽】湎沉猶鋪百川鮮羔防【音兆】【音幾】胎扁皮黃口春鵝秋雛冬葵溫韭浚芘【音疪】蓼蘇豐奕耳菜毛果蟲貉古者採椽茅茨陶桴複穴足禦寒暑蔽風雨而已及其後世採椽不斵【音卓】茅茨不剪無斵【音卓】削之事磨礱之功大夫達稜楹士頴【音影】首庶人斧成木構而已今富者井榦增梁【井榦復屋熒井刻花置其中也】雕文檻修【雕文雕鏤文章也】【音珎】憂壁飾古者衣服不中【去聲】制器械不中【去聲】用不粥於市【王制曰用器不中度不粥於市兵車不中度不粥於市布帛精麤不中數幅廣狹不中量不粥於市奸色亂正色不粥於市】今民間雕琢不中【去聲】之物刻畫【音壊】無用之器玩好黃雜青五色繡衣戲弄蒲人雜婦百獸馬戲鬬虎唐銻【音提】追人竒蟲胡妲古者諸侯不秣馬天子有命以車就牧庶人之乗者馬足以代其勞而已故行則服扼止則就犁今富者連車列騎驂貳輜【音之】軿【音駢】中者微輿短轂煩尾掌蹄夫【音扶】一馬伏當【去聲】中家六口之食亡丁男一人之事古者庶人耋老而後衣【去聲】絲其餘則麻枲【音徙】而已故命曰布衣及其後則絲裡枲表直領無禕【音揮】袍合不縁夫【音扶】羅紈文繡者人君后妃之服也繭防縑練者婚姻之嘉飾也是以文繒【音曾】薄織不粥於市今富者縟繡羅紈中者素綈【音啼】錦氷常民而被后妃之服褻人而居婚姻之飾夫【音扶】紈素之賈倍縑縑之用倍紈也古者椎車無柔棧【音湛】輿無植及其後木軨【音零】不衣長轂數幅蒲薦苙【音立】蓋蓋無染絲之飾大夫士則單椱木具盤韋柔革常民染輿大軨蜀輪今庶人富者銀黃華左搔結綏韜槓中者錯鏕【音鹿】塗採珥【音二】靳飛鈴古者鹿裘皮冐蹄足不去及其後大夫士狐貉縫腋羔麑豹祛庶人則毛絝【音庫】衳【音鍾】彤【音同】樸羝皮傳今富者鼲【音渾】鼯【音吾】狐白鳬翥【音注】中者罽【音計】衣金縷燕防【音喝】代黃古者庶人賤騎繩控革鞮【音低】皮廌而已及其後革鞍犛【音茅】成鐡鑣不飾今富者【音劇】耳銀鑷【音聶】防【音列】黃金琅勒罽【音計】繡弇【音掩】汙垂珥【音二】胡鮮中者染緯紹系採畫【音壊】暴幹古者汙尊壞飲葢無爵觴樽爼及其後庶人器用即行桞陶瓠而已唯瑚璉觴豆而後雕文彤漆今富者銀口黃耳金罍玉鍾中者舒玉紵器金錯蜀杯夫【音扶】一文杯得銅杯十賈【通作價】賤而用不殊箕子之譏始在天子今在匹夫【宋世家曰紂始為象箸箕子嘆曰彼為象箸必為玉杯為杯則必思逺方珍怪之物而御之輿馬宮室之漸自此始不可振也韓非子曰昔者紂為象箸而箕子怖以為象箸必不加於土鉶必將犀玉之杯象箸玉杯必不羮菽藿則必旄象豹胎必不衣短褐而食於茅屋之下則錦衣九重廣室廣室高臺吾畏其卒故怖其始故箕子見象箸以知天下之禍故曰見小曰明】古者燔黍食稗而熚【音畢】豚以相饗其後鄉人飲酒老者重豆少者立食一醬一肉旅飲而已及其後賔婚相召則豆羮白飯綦膾熟肉今民間酒食殽旅重疊燔炙滿案臑【音如】鼈膾腥麑卵鶉【音純】鷃【音晏】撜抅鮐【音臺】鱧【音禮】醢【音海】醯【音希】眾物雜味古者庶人春夏耕耘秋冬收藏昏晨力作夜以繼日詩云晝爾於茅宵爾索綯亟其乗屋其始播百穀非膢【音婁】臘不休息非祭祀無酒肉今賔昏酒食接連相因折醒什半棄事相隨慮無之日古者庶人糲食藜藿非鄉飲酒膢臘祭祀無酒肉故諸侯無故不殺牛羊大夫士無故不殺犬豕【王制曰諸侯無故不殺牛大夫無故不殺羊士無故不殺犬豕庶人無故不食珎】今閭巷縣伯阡陌屠沽無故烹殺相聚野外負粟而往挈肉而歸夫【音扶】一豕之肉得中年之收十五斗粟當【去聲】丁男半月之食古者庶人魚菽之祭春秋修其祖祠士一廟大夫三以時有事於五祀【月令曰孟春之月其祀戶孟夏祀灶中央祀中霤孟秋祀門孟冬祀行謂之五祀】葢無出門之祭今富者祈名嶽望山川椎牛擊鼓戱倡舞像中者南居當路水上雲臺屠羊殺狗皷瑟吹笙貧者雞豕五芳衛保散臘傾葢社塲古者徳行【去聲】求福故祭祀而寛仁義求吉故卜筮而希今世俗寛於行【去聲】而求於鬼怠於禮而篤於祭嫚【音慢】親而貴勢至妄而信日聼馳【音移】言而幸得出實物而享虗福古者君子夙夜孳孳思其徳小人晨昏孜孜思其力故君子不素飡小人不空食世俗飾偽行詐為【去聲】民巫祝以取釐謝堅頟【音額】徤舌或以成業致富故憚事之人釋夲相學是以街巷有巫閭里有祝古者無槓樠【音防】之寢床栘【音移】之案及其後世庶人即採木之槓葉華之樠士不斤成大夫葦莞而已今富者黼繡幃幄塗屏錯跗【音夫】中者錦綈【音提】高張採畫【音壊】丹漆古者皮毛草蓐無茵席之加旃【音氊】蒻【音弱】之美及其後大夫士復薦草縁蒲平單莞庶人即草蓐索經單藺【音吝】蘧【音瞿】蒢【音除】而已今富者繡茵翟柔蒲子露林中者皮代旃【音氊】闒【音逹】坐平莞古者不粥絍不市食及其後則有屠沽沽酒市脯魚鹽而已今熟食徧列殽施成市作業墮怠食必趣時楊豚韭卵狗防【音折】馬朘【音唆】煎魚切肝羊淹雞寒蜩馬駱日蹇【音簡】捕庸脯胹【音而】羔豆賜【音谷】膹【音憤】鴈羮自鮑瓠熱梁和炙古者土皷凷【音塊】枹【音浮】擊木拊【音府】石以盡其歡【明堂篇曰土鼔蕢桴葦籥伊耆氏之樂也齊俗訓曰古者非不能陳鐘鼓盛筦簫揚干鏚奮羽旄以為費財亂政制樂足以合歡宣意而已喜不羨於音也】及其後卿大夫有管磬士有琴瑟往者民間酒會各以黨俗彈箏鼓缶【浮去聲】而已無要玅之音變羽之轉今富者鐘鼓五樂歌兒數曹中者鳴竽調瑟鄭儛趙謳古者瓦棺容屍木板堲【音即】周足以收形骸藏發齒而已【國子高曰也者藏也藏也者欲人之弗得見也是故衣足以飾身棺周於衣槨周於棺土周於槨反壤樹之哉齊俗訓曰古者非不能竭國靡民虛府殫財舍珠鱗施綸組節以為窮民絶業而無益於槁骨腐肉也故薶足以收斂葢藏而已昔舜蒼梧之野商不變其肆禹葬防稽之山農不易其畆明乎死生之分通乎侈儉之適者也】及其後桐棺不衣採棺不斵【音卓】今富者繡牆題湊【音腠題湊棺木內向也】中者梓棺楩槨貧者畫荒衣袍繒囊緹【音提】槖古者明器有形無實示民不用也【檀弓曰孔子曰之死而致死之不仁而不可為也之死而致生之不知而不可為也是故竹不成用瓦不成味木不成斵琴瑟張而不平竽笙備而不和有鐘磬而無簨簴其曰明器神明之也仲憲言於曾子曰夏后氏用明器示民無知也殷人用祭器示民有知也周人兼用之示民疑也曾子曰其不然乎其不然乎夫明器鬼器也祭器人器也夫古之人胡為而死其親乎孔子謂明器者知防道矣備物而不可用也哀哉死者而用生者之器也不殆於物殉乎哉其曰明器神明之也塗車芻靈自古有之明器之道也孔子謂為芻靈者善謂為俑者不仁不殆於用人乎哉】及其後則有醯【音希】醢【音海】之藏桐馬偶人彌祭其物不備今厚資多藏器用如生人郡國繇【音遙】吏素桑楺【柔上聲】偶車櫓輪匹夫無貎領桐人衣【去聲】紈【音丸】綈【音提】古者不封不樹反虞祭於寢無檀宇之居廟堂之位【易曰占之葬者厚衣之以薪之中野不封不樹防期無數】及其後則封之庶人之墳半仞其高可隱今富者積土成山列樹成林臺榭連閣集觀【去聲】增樓中者祠堂屏閣垣闕罘【音浮】罳【音思顔師古曰罘罳謂連闕曲閣也以覆重刻垣墉之處其形罘罳然也劉熈曰罘復也罳思也言臣將請事於此復思也蘇鶚曰按罘罳從四是形不思是聲罘浮也罳絲也謂織絲之文輕疎浮虛之貌葢宮殿簷戶之間也】古者鄰有防舂不相杵巷不歌謡【曲禮曰適墓不登壟助葬必執紼臨防不笑揖人必違其位望柩不歌入臨不翔當食不嘆鄰有防舂不相里有殯不巷歌適墓不歌哭日不歌送防不由徑送不闢塗潦臨防則必有哀色執紼不笑臨樂不嘆】孔子食於有防者之側未嘗飽也子於是日哭則不歌今俗因人之防以求酒肉幸與小坐而責辦歌舞俳【音排】優連笑伎【音至】戱古者男女之際尚矣嫁娶之服未之以記及虞夏之後蓋表布內絲骨笄【音記】象珥【音二】封君夫人加錦尚褧而已今富者皮衣朱貉繁露環佩中者長裾交禕【音揮】璧端簮珥【音二】古者事生盡愛送死盡哀故聖人為制節非虛加之【檀弓曰子游問防具夫子曰稱家之有亡子游曰有亡烏乎齊夫子曰有母過禮茍亡矣斂首足形還懸棺而封人豈有非之者哉】今生不能致其愛敬死以奢侈相髙雖無哀慼之心而厚重幣者則稱以為孝顯名立於世光榮著於俗故黎民相慕效至於廢屋賣業古者夫婦之好一男一女而成家室之道及後士一妾大夫二諸侯有侄娣九女而已今諸侯百數卿大夫十數中者侍御富者盈室是以女或曠怨失時男或放死無匹古者凶年不備豐年補敗仍舊貫而不改作今工異變而吏殊心壊敗成功以匿厥意意極乎功業務存乎面目積功以市譽不恤民之急田野不闢而飾亭落邑居丘墟而髙其郭古者不以人力徇於禽獸不奪民財以養狗馬是以財衍而力有餘今猛獸竒蟲不可以耕耘而令當耕耘者養食之百姓或短褐不完而犬馬衣【去聲】文繡黎民或糠糟不接而禽獸食肉【雜事篇曰昔者燕相得罪於君將出亡召門下諸大夫曰有能從我出者乎三問諸大夫莫對燕相曰嘻亦有士之不足養也大夫有進者曰亦有君之不能養士安有士之不足養者凶年飢嵗士糟粕不厭而君之犬馬有餘谷粟隆冬烈寒士短褐不完四體不蔽而君之臺觀帷防錦繡隨風飄飄而財者君之所輕死者士之所重也君不能施君之所輕而求得士之所重不亦難乎燕相遂慙遁逃不復敢見】古者人君敬事愛下使民以時天子以天下為家臣妾各以其時共【音供】公職古今之通義也【王符曰王者以四海為家兆民為子一夫不耕天下受其飢一婦不織天下受其寒一夫耕百人食之一婦桑百人衣之以一奉百孰能供之是故明主之養民憂之勞之教之誨之慎防防萌以防其邪故易美節以制度不傷財不害民七月之詩大小敎之終而復始由此觀之人固不可恣也】今縣官多畜奴婢坐稟衣食私作產業為奸利力作不盡縣官失實百姓或無斗筲之儲官奴累百金黎民昏晨不釋事奴婢垂拱遨遊也【垂拱言晏安無事垂衣拱手而已】古者親近而疏逺貴所同而賤非類不賞無功不養無用今蠻貊無功縣官居肆廣屋大第坐稟衣食百姓或旦暮不澹【古贍字】蠻夷或厭酒肉黎民泮汗力作令蠻夷交脛肆踞古者庶人鹿菲草芰【音技】縮絲尚韋而已及其後則綦【音其】下不借鞔【音漫】鞮【音低】革舄今富者革中名工輕靡使容紈【音丸】裡紃【音廵】下越端縱縁中者鄧裡間作蒯【音快】苴【音蛆】秦堅婢妾韋沓絲履走者茸【音戎】芰【音技】狗官古聖人勞躬養神節慾適情尊天敬地履徳行仁是以上天歆焉永其世而豐其年故堯秀眉髙彩享國百載【修務解曰堯母慶都葢天帝之女寄伊長孺家年二十無夫出觀於河有赤龍負圖而至曰赤龍受天下之圖有人赤衣光面八彩鬢須長赤帝起成元寳奄然隂雲赤龍與慶都合而生堯帝如圖故眉有八彩之色】及秦始皇覽怪迂信禨【音幾】祥使盧生求羨門高徐市等入海求不死之藥當此之時燕齊之士釋鋤耒爭言神仙方士於是趣咸陽者以千數言仙人食金飲珠然後夀與天地相保於是數【音朔】廵狩五嶽濵海之館以求神仙蓬萊之屬數【音朔】幸之郡縣富人以貲【音茲】佐貧者築道旁其後小者亡逃大者藏匿吏捕索掣【音徹】頓【釋名曰掣制也制頓之使順已也】不以道理名宮之旁廬舍丘落無生苗立樹百姓離心怨思者十有半【半一作九封禪書曰自齊威宣之時騶子之徒論著終始五徳之運及秦帝而齊人奏之故始皇採用之而宋母忌正伯僑充尚羨門子高最後皆燕人為方僊道形解銷化依於鬼神之事騶衍以隂陽主運顯於諸侯而燕齊海上之方士傳其術不能通然則怪迂阿防苟合之徒自此興不可勝數也自威宣燕昭使人入海求蓬萊方丈瀛洲此三神山者其傳在渤海中去人不逺患且至則船風引而去葢嘗有至者諸僊人及不死之藥皆在焉其物禽獸盡白而黃金銀為宮闕未至望之如雲及到三神山反居水下臨之風輙引去終莫能至雲世主莫不心焉及至秦始皇並天下至海上則方士言之不可勝數始皇自以為至海上而恐不及矣使人乃齎童男女入海求之船交海中皆以風為解曰未能至望見之焉其明年始皇復遊海上至琅邪過恆山從上黨歸後三年逰碣石考入海方士從上郡歸後五年始皇南至湘山遂登防稽並海上冀遇海中三神山之竒藥不得還至沙丘崩反質篇曰秦始皇既兼天下大侈靡即位三十五年猶不息治大馳道從九原抵雲陽塹山堙谷直通之厭先王宮室之小乃於豐鎬之間文武之處營作朝宮渭南山林苑中作前殿阿房東西五百步南北五十丈上可以坐萬人下可建五丈旗周為閣道自殿直抵南山之嶺以為闕為複道由阿房度渭水屬咸陽以象天極閤道絶漢抵營室也又興驪山之役錮三泉之底闗中離宮三百所闗外四百所皆有鐘磬帷帳婦女倡優立石闕東海上朐山界中以為秦東門於是有方士韓客侯生齊客盧生相與謀曰當今時不可以居上樂以刑殺為威天下畏罪持祿莫敢盡忠上不聞過而日驕下懾伏以漫欺而取容諫者不用而失道滋甚吾黨乆居且為所害乃相與亡去始皇聞之大怒曰吾異日厚盧生尊爵而事之今乃誹謗我吾聞諸生多為妖言以亂黔首乃使御史悉上諸生諸生轉相告犯法者四百六十餘人皆坑之盧生不得而侯生後得始皇聞之召而見之升阿東之臺臨四通之街將數而車裂之始皇望見侯生大怒曰老虜不良誹謗而主廼敢復見我侯生至仰臺而言曰臣聞知死必勇陛下肯聼臣一言乎始皇曰若欲何言言之侯生曰臣聞禹立誹謗之木欲以知過也今陛下奢侈失本淫泆趨末宮室臺閣連屬増累珠玉重寳積襲成山錦繡文防滿府有餘婦女倡優數鉅萬人鍾鼔之樂流漫無窮酒食珎味盤錯於前衣服輕暖輿馬文飾所以自奉麗靡爛漫不可勝極黔首匱竭民力單盡尚不自知又急誹謗嚴威克下下喑上聾臣等故去臣等不惜臣之身惜陛下國之亡耳聞古之明王食足以飽衣足以暖宮室足以處輿馬足以行故上不見棄於天下不見棄於黔首堯茅茨不剪採椽不斵土階三等而樂終身者以其文采之少而質素之多也丹朱傲虐好慢淫不修理化遂不以升今陛下之淫萬丹朱而千昆吾桀紂臣恐陛下之十亡也而曾不一存始皇黙黙乆之曰如何不早言侯生曰陛下之意方乘青雲飄揺於文章之觀自賢自徤上侮五帝下凌三王棄素樸就末技陛下亡徵見乆矣臣等恐言之無益也而自取死故逃而不敢言今臣必死故為陛下陳之雖不能使陛下不亡欲使陛下自知也始皇曰吾可以變乎侯生曰形已成矣陛下坐而待亡耳若陛下欲更之能若堯與禹乎不然無異也陛下之佐又非也臣恐變之不能存也始皇喟然而嘆遂釋不誅後三年始皇崩二世即位三年而秦亡】書曰享多儀儀不及物曰不享故聖人非仁義不載於已非正道不御於前是以先帝誅文成五利等【谷永曰明天地之性者不可惑以神怪知萬物之情者不可罔以非類諸背仁義之正道不遵五經之法言而盛稱竒怪鬼神廣崇祭祀之方求報無福之祠及言世有僊人服食不終之藥遙興輕舉覽觀縣圃浮游蓬萊耕耘五徳朝種暮獲與山石無極黃冶變化堅氷淖溺化色五倉之術者皆奸人惑眾挾左道懷詐偽以欺罔世主聼其言洋洋滿耳若將可遇求之蕩蕩如繫風捕景終不可得是以明主拒而不聽聖人絶而不言封禪書曰齊人少翁以鬼神方見上上有所幸王夫人夫人卒少翁以方葢夜致王夫人及灶鬼之貌雲天子自帷中望見焉於是乃拜少翁為文成將軍賞賜甚多以客禮禮之居嵗餘其方益衰神不至乃為帛書以飯牛佯不知言曰此牛腹中有竒殺視得書書言甚怪天子識其手書問其人果是偽書於是誅文成將軍隱之欒大因樂成侯見求言方天子既誅文成後悔其蚤死惜其方不盡及見欒大大説大為人長美言多方畧而敢為大言處之不疑是時上方憂河決有黃金不就乃拜大為五利將軍其後五利妄言見其師其方多不讐上乃誅五利】陛下建學官親近忠良欲以絶怪惡之端而昭至徳之塗也宮室奢侈林木之蠧【音妬】也器械雕琢財用之蠧【音妬】也衣服靡麗布帛之蠧【音妬】也狗馬食人之食五穀之蠧【音妬】也口腹縱恣魚肉之蠧【音妬】也用費不節府庫之蠧【音妬】也漏積不禁田野之蠧【音妬】也防祭無度傷生之蠧【音妬】也【諺曰蠧眾而木折隙大而牆壊】墮成變故傷功工商上通傷農故一杯棬用百人之力一屏風就萬人之功其為害亦多矣目修於五色耳營於五音體極輕薄口極甘脆【音翠】功積於無用財盡於不急口腹不可為多故國病聚不足即政怠人病聚不足則身危【傳曰福生於無為而患生於多欲知足然後富從之徳宜君人然後貴從之故貴爵而賤徳者雖為天子不尊矣貪物而不知止者雖有天下不富矣夫土地之生不益山澤之出有盡懐不富之心而求不益之物挾百倍之慾而求有盡之財是桀紂之所以失其位也】

The Worthies said: Palaces and houses, carriages and horses, clothing, utensils, funerals and sacrifices, food and drink, music and women, and playthings are things human feeling cannot do without, so the sages made institutions for them to guard against excess. [The Huainanzi, 'Tai Zu Xun,' says: A good craftsman cannot chop metal, and a skilled smith cannot melt wood, for the nature of metal cannot be chopped and the nature of wood cannot be melted. Kneading clay into vessels, hollowing wood into boats, smelting iron into blades, casting metal into bells: these follow what is possible. Harnessing horses, subduing oxen, making cocks keep the night watch, and making dogs guard the gate: these follow what is natural. People have the nature of loving beauty, so there are the rites of great marriage; they have the nature of eating and drinking, so there is the meaning of the great feast; they have the nature of joy, so there are the sounds of bells, drums, pipes and strings; they have the nature of sorrow, so there are the regulations of mourning garments, weeping and leaping. So the former kings' making of laws was to give measure and form to what people like. Because people love beauty, they made the rites of marriage, so that men and women have distinction; because people enjoy music, they corrected the sounds of the Ya and Song, so customs do not drift; because people like to settle in family and be glad with wife and children, they taught them compliance, so father and son have closeness; because people like friends, they taught brotherly respect, so old and young have order. Then they cultivated court and visiting rites to make clear honor and humility, village drinking and archery practice to make clear old and young, seasonal hunts and troop reviews to practice military use, and entering schools to cultivate human relations. All these are things people have in their nature that the sages shaped. A tradition says: People have six feelings: the eyes want to see beauty, the ears want to hear gong and shang, the nose wants to smell fragrance, the mouth wants to savor fine flavors, the body and limbs want ease and no work, and the clothes want to be embroidered and light and warm. These six are the people's six feelings; losing them brings disorder, following them brings harmony. Therefore the sage kings teaching their people necessarily followed their feelings and regulated them by ritual, necessarily followed their desires and restrained them by righteousness. Righteousness is simple and complete, ritual is easy and models itself on nature, not far from feeling, so the people follow commands quickly. Confucius knew how easy the Way is to practice, and said: 'The Poem says, to guide the people is very easy,' which is no empty word.] Recently scholar-officials have attended to power and profit and been lax in ritual and righteousness, so the common people imitate them and greatly exceed the institutions. Now to speak of it in particular: in ancient times grains, vegetables and fruit were not eaten out of season, and birds, beasts, fish and turtles were not eaten if not suitable to be killed, so nets and tethered arrows did not enter marshes and mixed-color animals were not taken. [The Wang Zhi says: Five grains out of season and fruit not yet ripe are not sold at market; trees not fit to be cut are not sold at market; birds, beasts, fish and turtles not fit to be killed are not sold at market.] Now the rich drive and exterminate with nets and snares, seize fawns and nestlings, indulge in drinking and revelry, set out viands from a hundred streams, fresh lamb and fawn embryos, flat-skinned yellow-mouthed young, spring geese and autumn chicks, winter mallow and warm chives, and quantities of pickled smartweed and perilla, bountiful in vegetables, furred fruit and insects. In ancient times they used rough-cut rafters and thatch, pottery and burrow dwellings, simply seeking enough to resist cold and heat and shelter from wind and rain. Later, the rough rafters were not hewn and thatch was not trimmed, with no cutting or polishing work. High officials had polished pillars, scholars had pointed ones, and commoners had wood frames made with axes only. Now the rich have layered log-cabin roofs with added beams, carved and patterned railings and balustrades, and decorated walls. In ancient times, clothes that did not meet the standard and utensils that did not meet the need were not sold at market. [The Wang Zhi says: Utensils that do not meet the measure are not sold at market; war chariots that do not meet the measure are not sold at market; cloth and silk whose fineness or coarseness do not meet the count and whose width does not meet the measure are not sold at market; false colors that confuse true colors are not sold at market.] Now among the people, things that do not meet the standard are carved, useless utensils are engraved, playthings in black and yellow mixed with blue, five-color embroidered clothes, performances of rush men and mixed women, horse shows with a hundred beasts and tiger fights, spectacles chasing people with strange insects and Hu women. In ancient times the feudal lords did not feed horses, and when the Son of Heaven gave orders carriages were brought to the pasture; commoners' riding horses sufficed only to replace their labor, so they wore the yoke when traveling and went to the plow when resting. Now the rich line up carriages and cavalry, with side horses and baggage carts and covered wagons, and the middling have small carriages with short hubs, with tails trimmed and hooves attended. A single horse in the stable consumes the food of six members of a middling family and the labor of one grown man. In ancient times commoners wore silk only after old age, and otherwise hemp and flax only, so they were called cloth-clothed. Later, they had silk lining with hemp outside, straight collars without borders, and robes closed without edging. Gauze, silk and embroidery were the clothes of rulers and consorts, and cocoon silk and plain silk were the fine ornaments of marriage, so patterned silk and thin weave were not sold at market. Now the rich have rich embroidery and gauze, and the middling plain heavy silk and brocade; commoners wear the clothes of consorts and the low wear the ornaments of weddings. The price of white silk is double that of plain silk, but the use of plain silk is double that of white silk. In ancient times pushcarts had no soft padding, and wooden carts had no uprights. Later, the wooden railings were not covered, hubs were long and spokes many, with rush mats and reed covers, and the covers had no dyed silk ornament; high officials and scholars used plain wooden vehicles with coiled hides and soft leather, and ordinary people had dyed carriages with great railings and Shu wheels. Now rich commoners have carriages with silver and yellow gilding, tied cords, and covered poles, and the middling have inlaid, painted, colored decorations, ear ornaments, and flying bells on harness. In ancient times they wore deerskin coats with the hides intact, not removing hooves and feet. Later, high officials and scholars had fox and badger sewn at the armpits and lamb and leopard at the cuffs, and commoners had hairy trousers, red leather coats and ram skins. Now the rich wear squirrel, flying squirrel and white fox, flying like ducks, and the middling wear woolen clothes with gold thread, with Yan brown replacing yellow. In ancient times commoners rode lowly mounts controlled with rope, using leather boots and hide padding only. Later, leather saddles and yak tails were made, and iron bits were not ornamented. Now the rich have ear ornaments, silver tweezers, gold and jade bridles, woolen embroidered covers, and hanging earrings from Hu, and the middling have dyed reins and colorful decoration. In ancient times they drank from hollowed pits and sunken vessels, with no cups, goblets, jars or tables. Later, commoners' utensils were just willow ware, pottery and gourds, and only the huqian vessels and goblets then had carved and red-lacquered patterns. Now the rich have silver-rimmed and yellow-eared, gold and jade cups, and the middling jade and ramie vessels and gold-inlaid Shu cups. A patterned cup is worth ten copper cups, with a cheap price but the same use. The criticism of Jizi began with the Son of Heaven, and now it applies to ordinary men. [The Records of the Grand Historian, Hereditary House of Song, says: When Zhou first made ivory chopsticks, Jizi sighed and said: 'If he makes ivory chopsticks he will surely make jade cups, and having cups he will surely think of strange and rare things from distant places to use them, and the beginning of carriages, horses and palaces starts from this and cannot be rescued.' Han Feizi said: In ancient times Zhou made ivory chopsticks and Jizi was alarmed, thinking that ivory chopsticks would surely not be used with earthen bowls but with rhinoceros and jade cups; with ivory chopsticks and jade cups he would surely not eat bean soup but yak, elephant and leopard embryo; he would surely not wear short hemp clothes and eat under a thatched roof but nine layers of brocade clothing, broad rooms and high terraces. I fear the end, so I am alarmed at the beginning. So Jizi, seeing ivory chopsticks, knew the calamity of the world. Therefore it is said: Seeing the small is called brightness.] In ancient times they roasted millet and ate barnyard grass and roasted piglets to feast one another. Later, when villagers drank wine, the elders had double stands and the young ate standing, with one sauce and one meat, and drank in company only. Later, for guests and weddings, they summoned each other with bean soup, white rice, minced meat and cooked meat. Now among the people wine and food overlap with dishes in layers, roasts fill the tables, there are stewed turtle and raw minced meat, fawn eggs and quail, loach and pomfret and snakehead, pickles and vinegar, all sorts of things and mixed flavors. In ancient times commoners plowed and weeded in spring and summer and harvested and stored in autumn and winter, working dawn and dusk, night as day. The Poem says: 'By day you gather thatch, by night you twist ropes; quickly climb the roof; soon begin sowing the hundred grains.' They did not rest except at the lou-la festival and had no wine and meat except for sacrifices. Now wine and food at feasts and weddings succeed one another, half the time sobering up, abandoning work to follow, with no days to think. In ancient times commoners ate coarse rice and goosefoot and had no wine or meat except at village drinking, the lou-la festival and sacrifices, so feudal lords did not kill oxen and sheep without cause, and high officials and scholars did not kill dogs and pigs without cause. [The Wang Zhi says: Feudal lords do not kill oxen without cause, high officials do not kill sheep without cause, scholars do not kill dogs and pigs without cause, and commoners do not eat delicacies without cause.] Now village heads and roadside butchers and wine sellers kill and cook without cause, gather in the fields, carrying grain there and bringing meat back. The meat of one pig is worth fifteen dou of grain from a middling harvest, the food of a grown man for half a month. In ancient times commoners offered fish and beans in sacrifice, repaired their ancestral shrines in spring and autumn; a scholar had one temple, a high official three, and at the proper times they held rites to the five household spirits. [The Yue Ling says: In the first month of spring the sacrifice is to the door, in the first month of summer to the stove, in the center to the central courtyard, in the first month of autumn to the gate, and in the first month of winter to the road; these are called the five sacrifices.] There was originally no sacrifice for leaving the gate. Now the rich pray to famous peaks and look to mountains and rivers, slaughter oxen and beat drums, with actors and dances; the middling live to the south by the road, on cloud terraces over water, slaughter sheep and dogs, play zithers and blow sheng; the poor offer chickens and pigs and five fragrant herbs, guard and scatter offerings, and overturn their carriage canopies in the sacrificial grounds. In ancient times people sought blessing by virtuous conduct, so sacrifices were modest; they sought good fortune by humaneness and righteousness, so divination was rare. Now common custom is lax in conduct and seeks from ghosts, is idle in ritual and earnest in sacrifice, neglects kin and values power, is utterly irrational and believes in lucky days, listens to wandering words and hopes for luck, and puts forth real things to enjoy empty blessings. In ancient times the noble man thought of virtue diligently morning and night, and the petty man thought of strength diligently morning and evening, so the noble man did not eat without work and the petty man did not eat in idleness. Common custom adorns falsehood and practices deceit, acts as shaman and invocator for the people to gain thanks and fees, with hard foreheads and strong tongues, some of whom make careers and wealth from it, so those who shirk work abandon their roots and learn it, and thus there are shamans in the streets and invocators in the lanes. In ancient times there was no bed of poles or leaf-wood and no table of bed and rest. Later commoners used just felled-wood poles and leaf-flower wood, scholars did not hew with axes, and high officials had only reed mats. Now the rich have embroidered curtains and tents, painted screens with inlaid bases, and the middling have brocade and heavy silk hung high, painted and red-lacquered. In ancient times they had skins, hair and grass bedding and no mats and rugs or fine felt and rush mats. Later, high officials and scholars had grass-bordered mats and flat single rush mats, and commoners had grass bedding and rope weaving, single rush and reed mats. Now the rich have embroidered mats and soft pheasant rugs, rush cushions, and the middling have hide in place of felt and plain rush seats. In ancient times women's handiwork was not sold and food was not marketed. Later there were butchers, wine sellers, and markets for dried meat, fish and salt. Now cooked foods are laid out everywhere, dishes are sold in markets, work becomes lazy, and food must follow the season: roast pig with chives and eggs, dog, horse and tripe, fried fish and sliced liver, mutton, pickled and cold chicken, cicadas and horses, and so on, with stewed lambs and beans, goose soup and mixed grilled meats with millet. In ancient times they had earthen drums, earthen clods and beaters, and struck wood and tapped stone to exhaust their delight. [The Ming Tang chapter says: The earthen drum, the straw mallet and the reed flute were the music of the House of Yi Qi. The Qi Su Xun says: In ancient times it was not that they could not display bells and drums, fill the air with pipes and flutes, raise shields and axes, and wave feathers and yak tails, but they thought it wasted wealth and disordered government; music was made enough to unite joy and express intent, and delight did not go beyond sound.] Later high officials had pipes and chimes and scholars had zithers and lutes. In the past people's wine gatherings went by their local customs, plucking the zheng and beating the fou, without subtle sound or shifting yu notes. Now the rich have bells, drums and five musics, and several troupes of singers, and the middling have playing sheng and tuning lutes, Zheng dances and Zhao songs. In ancient times a clay coffin held the corpse, with boards baked around it, enough to receive the body and hide hair and teeth. [Guozi Gao said: Burial is hiding; hiding means wanting people not to see. So clothes are enough to adorn the body, the coffin goes around the clothes, the outer coffin around the coffin, and the earth around the outer coffin; why raise a mound and plant trees besides? The Qi Su Xun says: In ancient times it was not that they could not exhaust the state, waste the people, empty the treasuries and use up wealth, with pearls in the mouth, scaled jade and cords and braids; they only thought it would impoverish the people and cut off their livelihood and do no good for dry bones and rotting flesh. So burial was just enough to gather and hide. In the past Shun was buried in the wilds of Cangwu, and merchants did not change their shops; Yu was buried on Mount Kuaiji (the base text has a corrupt reading here), and farmers did not change their fields. They understood the distinction of life and death and the suitability of extravagance and thrift.] Later, paulownia coffins were not covered and colored coffins were not hewn. Now the rich have embroidered walls and coffins with inward-facing wood, the middling have catalpa coffins and elm outer coffins, and the poor have painted pall cloths and silk wrappers and orange bags. In ancient times spirit objects had form without substance, to show the people they would not be used. [The Tan Gong says: Confucius said: To treat the dead as dead is unhumane and should not be done; to treat the dead as living is unwise and should not be done. So bamboo vessels were not made usable, pottery was not made to hold flavor, wood was not made hewn, zithers and lutes were strung but not tuned, pipes and sheng were prepared but not harmonized, bells and chimes had no stands. They were called spirit objects, treated as for the spirits. Zhong Xian said to Zengzi: The Xia used spirit objects to show people the dead have no knowledge; the Yin used sacrificial vessels to show people the dead have knowledge; the Zhou used both to show people doubt. Zengzi said: Not so, not so. Spirit objects are ghost objects and sacrificial vessels are human objects. How could the ancients think that their dead kin had no knowledge? Confucius said: Those who made spirit objects knew the way of mourning (the base text has a corrupt reading here). To prepare things that cannot be used is sad; if the dead use the vessels of the living, is it not close to burying with objects? They were called spirit objects, treated as for the spirits. Clay carriages and straw figures have existed since antiquity and are the way of spirit objects. Confucius thought that making straw figures was good and making wooden figurines was inhumane, as it comes close to using people.] Later there were stores of pickled sauces, and wooden horses and figurines filled the sacrifice, though the things were not yet complete. Now they invest heavily and store much, and utensils are like those for the living. Commandery and state officials use plain mulberry bent wood for figurine carriages and wheels, a common man has no face or collar, and wooden people wear silk and heavy silk. In ancient times they raised no mounds and planted no trees, and the return sacrifice was held in the bedchamber, with no sandalwood hall and no seat in the ancestral temple. [The Changes says: The ancients buried their dead thickly clothed with firewood in the middle of the wilds, raised no mound and planted no trees, and the mourning period had no fixed number.] Later they raised mounds, and the grave of a commoner was half a ren, high enough to conceal. Now the rich pile earth into mountains and line trees into forests, with terraces, pavilions and linked towers, and gathering observation towers with added stories; the middling have shrines, screens, walls and gate towers with fusi screens. [Yan Shigu says: fusi are connected gate towers and winding pavilions used to cover places of repeated carved walls, in the shape of fusi. Liu Xi said: fu means to repeat and si means to think, meaning that ministers about to request something here think again. Su E said: according to the characters, fusi take the net radical for form, not for sound from 'si'; fu means float and si means thread, referring to the light, sparse and floating appearance of woven silk patterns, probably located between palace eaves and doors.] In ancient times, if a neighbor had a death, they did not use the pestle in pounding grain, and did not sing songs in the lane. [The Qu Li says: Going to a tomb one does not climb the mound; helping with a burial one must hold the rope; at a mourning one does not laugh; in greeting people one must leave one's place; looking at a coffin one does not sing; entering to mourn one does not stride; at a meal one does not sigh. If a neighbor has a death, one does not chant in pounding; if there is a coffin in the village, one does not sing in the lane; going to a tomb one does not sing; on the day of weeping one does not sing; escorting a funeral one does not take shortcuts; escorting a burial one does not avoid mud and puddles; at a funeral one must have a sorrowful look; holding the rope one does not laugh; at music one does not sigh.] Confucius ate beside one who had a death and never ate his fill, and on a day he had wept he did not sing. Now custom takes people's mourning as occasion to seek wine and meat, and having luckily sat a while demands to be served, with song, dance, jesters and joking entertainers. In ancient times the relations between men and women were very ancient, and wedding dress is not recorded; after Yu and Xia, it was probably cloth outside and silk inside, bone hairpins and ivory earrings, and consorts of fief lords added brocade and a plain overcoat. Now the rich have fur coats and red badger, hanging pearls and rings and pendants, and the middling have long trailing hems and crossed robes, jade ends on hairpins and earrings. In ancient times in serving the living one gave all one's love, and in sending off the dead one gave all one's grief, so the sages made rules for them, not adding in vain. [The Tan Gong says: Ziyou asked about funeral equipment. The Master said: Match it to what the family has or lacks. Ziyou said: How to make having and lacking equal? The Master said: If you have, do not exceed ritual; if you do not, cover the head and feet to shape the body, return it and bury it, lower the coffin and mound it; would anyone object?] Now while alive they cannot show love and respect, and in death compete in extravagance; though they have no heart of grief, those who give lavish burials and heavy coins are called filial, and fame is established in the world and glory is shown in custom, so the common people admire and imitate it, even to the point of demolishing houses and selling their livelihoods. In ancient times the marital good between husband and wife was one man and one woman completing the way of household; later a scholar had one concubine, a high official two, and feudal lords had nine women including nieces and younger sisters. Now feudal lords have hundreds, ministers and high officials dozens, the middling have attendants and the rich fill their houses, so women are left in resentment and miss their time, and men die without mates. In ancient times in bad years they did not build and in good years they repaired what was broken, keeping the old ways without remaking. Now the craftsmen change and the officials differ in mind, destroying finished work to hide their intent, their intent being set on achievement, attending to appearances, accumulating deeds to sell reputation, not caring about the people's urgent need, the fields not opened while they decorate pavilions, towns in ruins while they heighten their walls. In ancient times they did not use human strength for birds and beasts, and did not seize people's wealth to feed dogs and horses, so wealth was abundant and strength had a surplus. Now fierce beasts and rare insects cannot plow and weed, yet people who should plow and weed are ordered to feed them, so the people may have incomplete short coats while dogs and horses wear embroidery, and the common people may lack even husks while birds and beasts eat meat. [The Za Shi chapter says: In the past a chancellor of Yan offended the ruler and was about to flee, and summoned the high officials of his household, saying: 'Is there anyone who can go out with me?' He asked three times, and none of the high officials replied. The chancellor of Yan said: 'Ah, it is also that scholars are not worth feeding.' A high official came forward and said: 'It is also that the ruler cannot feed scholars; how could scholars not be worth feeding? In bad and hungry years, scholars do not get their fill of husks and dregs while the ruler's dogs and horses have surplus grain; in the depth of winter cold, scholars have incomplete short coats and uncovered limbs, while the ruler's terraces, curtains and brocade embroideries flutter in the wind and decay. Wealth is what the ruler takes lightly, and death is what scholars take seriously. If the ruler cannot give what he takes lightly yet seeks to obtain what scholars take seriously, is that not hard?' The chancellor of Yan was ashamed and fled, not daring to be seen again.] In ancient times the ruler respected affairs and loved his subordinates and used the people at proper times; the Son of Heaven made the world his home, and servants and maids each supplied public duties at their proper times; this is the common principle of ancient and modern times. [Wang Fu said: The king takes the four seas as his home and the myriad people as his children; if one man does not plow the world suffers hunger, and if one woman does not weave the world suffers cold. One man plowing feeds a hundred and one woman picking mulberry clothes a hundred; with one supporting a hundred, who can provide enough? Therefore a bright ruler in nurturing the people is anxious for them and toils for them, teaches and instructs them, is careful about the slight and guards against the sprouting, to prevent their wickedness. So the Changes praises regulation by measure, not hurting wealth and not harming the people. The Qi Yue poem teaches the great and small things, ending and starting again. From this we see that people originally cannot be indulged.] Now the government keeps many slaves and maids, who sit eating and clothed, privately make property and profit by wrongdoing, do not exhaust their labor, and the government loses actual gain; the common people may lack a store of a dou or shao while government slaves accumulate hundreds of gold; the common people do not put down their work from dawn to dusk, while the slaves and maids dangle their sleeves and roam and play. [Dangling sleeves means living at ease with nothing to do, only lowering the clothing and folding hands.] In ancient times they treated near ones as near and distant ones as distant, valued those of the same kind and thought little of those not of the same kind, did not reward the meritless and did not feed the useless. Now barbarians without merit are allowed by the government to live in broad houses and great mansions and sit eating and clothed; the common people may not be sufficiently fed morning or evening (the base text has the old form of 'fed' here), while barbarians may be sated with wine and meat; the common people sweat and toil, but barbarians are made to sit cross-legged and sprawled. In ancient times commoners wore rush shoes and grass sandals with twisted silk and leather only. Later they had shoes with flat soles not lent, and leather boots and hide shoes. Now the rich have leather shoes by famous craftsmen, light and delicate to adorn the appearance, with silk lining and rolled fringes along the edge; the middling have shoes made in Deng village, with cogon and hemp, Qin-made and sturdy; maids and concubines have hide shoes and silk slippers, and walkers have woven shoes and dog-skin ones. The ancient sages toiled in body and nourished spirit, restrained desires and adapted feelings, honored Heaven and respected Earth, walked in virtue and practiced humaneness, so Heaven enjoyed their sacrifices and prolonged their generations and enriched their years. So Yao had fine eyebrows and high color and enjoyed the state for a hundred years. [The Xiu Wu Jie says: Yao's mother Qingdu was originally a daughter of the Heavenly Lord, lodging in the house of Yi Changru; at twenty she had no husband and went out to look at the river, and a red dragon came bearing a chart and said: 'The Red Dragon receives the chart of the world.' Someone in red clothes with a radiant face of eight colors and long whiskers appeared. The Red Emperor arose and completed the primal treasure. Suddenly dark clouds came, and the red dragon joined Qingdu and she gave birth to Yao. The Emperor was as in the chart, so his eyebrows had the eight-color hues.] When Qin Shi Huang read of the strange and absurd and believed omens and portents, he sent Lu Sheng to seek Xianmen Gao and Xu Fu and others to go to sea to seek the medicine of immortality. At that time, gentlemen of Yan and Qi put down their hoes and plows and vied to speak of divine immortals and magicians, and thousands hurried to Xianyang, saying that immortals eat gold and drink pearls and then live as long as Heaven and Earth. So he repeatedly toured the five peaks and coastal lodges to seek immortals and Penglai and the like, and repeatedly visited them. The rich of commanderies and counties used their wealth to help the poor build roads. Afterward the small fled and the great hid, and officials searched and seized and pressed them, without regard to reason. Beside famous palaces, there were huts and village sites with no seedlings or standing trees, and of the people who left in resentment and longing, half (one text has nine tenths). [The Records of the Grand Historian, Feng Shan Shu, says: From the time of Kings Wei and Xuan of Qi, followers of Zou Zi discussed and wrote on the cycle of the five virtues' beginning and end. When the Qin emperor came, a man of Qi presented it, and Shi Huang adopted it. Song Wuji, Zheng Boqiao, Chong Shang and Xianmen Zigao were all men of Yan at the end and practiced the way of the immortal magicians, dissolving their bodies and relying on affairs of ghosts and spirits. Zou Yan became famous among the feudal lords for his theory of yin-yang and cycles, and the magicians by the sea of Yan and Qi transmitted his arts without being able to understand them, so absurd, flattering and conveniently accommodating people arose from this, beyond counting. From the time of Wei, Xuan and Zhao of Yan, men were sent to sea to seek Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. These three divine mountains were said to be in the Bohai, not far from people, but when one was about to reach them, the boats were drawn away by wind. Some had reached them: the immortals and the deathless medicine were all there, the creatures and beasts all white, and the palace gates of gold and silver. From afar they looked like clouds, but when reached the three divine mountains were beneath the water, and when approached the wind would draw the boats away, so none ever arrived. No ruler of the age did not set his heart on them. When Qin Shi Huang united the world and came to the sea, the magicians' talk was beyond counting. Shi Huang thought that on reaching the sea he feared he would not reach them, and sent people carrying boys and girls to sea to seek it. When the ships got into the sea they all used wind as an excuse, saying they had not been able to reach but had seen them. The next year Shi Huang again toured the sea to Langye, passed Mount Heng and returned from Shangdang. Three years later he toured Jieshi and examined the magicians who had gone to sea, and returned from Shangjun. Five years later Shi Huang went south to Mount Xiang, and ascended Kuaiji (the base text has a corrupt reading here) and along the sea, hoping to meet the rare medicine of the three divine mountains in the sea, but did not, and on returning died at Shaqiu. The Fan Zhi chapter says: After Qin Shi Huang united the world he was greatly extravagant; in the thirty-fifth year of his reign he did not rest, built the great speedway from Jiuyuan to Yunyang, digging mountains and filling valleys to make it straight. Finding the former kings' palaces small, he built the court palace at the place of Wen and Wu between Feng and Hao, and built the Front Hall Epang in the forests of the southern Wei mountains, five hundred paces east to west and fifty zhang north to south, above which ten thousand could sit and below which a flag five zhang tall could be set up, surrounded by covered ways reaching from the hall directly to the peak of the southern mountain to serve as gate towers, and a double way over the Wei River connecting to Xianyang, in imitation of the pole star and the Milky Way reaching the Yingshi constellation. He also undertook the Mount Li labor, sealing the bottom of three springs. In Guanzhong there were three hundred detached palaces and outside the pass four hundred, all with bells, chimes, curtains, women and entertainers. He set up stone gate towers on the border of Mount Qu by the eastern sea as the eastern gate of Qin. Then the magician Hou Sheng of Han and Lu Sheng of Qi plotted together, saying: 'At present one cannot live here. The ruler likes to establish awe by punishment and execution, the world fears crime and holds its stipends and none dare be fully loyal; the ruler does not hear of his faults and grows more arrogant daily, those below tremble and submit and deceive to be tolerated, remonstrators are not used and the loss of the Way is the greater; if our company stays long we will be harmed.' So they fled together. Hearing of it, Shi Huang was greatly angry and said: 'I formerly treated Lu Sheng generously, honored him with rank and served him, and now he slanders me. I have heard that many scholars speak wild words to disorder the black-haired people.' So he sent imperial clerks to examine all the scholars, and the scholars informed on each other, and more than four hundred sixty who broke the law were all buried alive. Lu Sheng was not caught, but Hou Sheng was later seized. Hearing of it Shi Huang summoned him, ascended the terrace east of the palace, overlooked the crossing of four roads, and was about to enumerate his crimes and have him torn apart by chariots. Shi Huang saw Hou Sheng and said angrily: 'You old rogue, not good, slandering your ruler and daring to see me again.' When Hou Sheng arrived, he spoke looking up at the terrace: 'I have heard that one who knows he will die is surely brave; will Your Majesty listen to one word from me?' Shi Huang said: 'What do you want to say? Say it.' Hou Sheng said: 'I have heard that Yu set up the post of slander to learn of his faults. Now Your Majesty is extravagant and has lost the root, indulgent and following the branches, with palaces, terraces and pavilions linked and piled higher, pearls, jade and heavy treasures heaped into mountains, brocade and embroidered patterns filling the storehouses with surplus, women and entertainers in the tens of thousands, the music of bells and drums flowing without end, wine, food and delicacies spread before you, light and warm clothing, ornamented carriages and horses, so that your self-indulgence is gorgeous and boundless beyond measure, and the black-haired people are exhausted and the people's strength used up, yet you do not know to examine yourself, and are hasty to slander and severe to rule over those below, so those below are mute and those above deaf; for this reason we left. We do not spare our own persons, but we regret the loss of Your Majesty's state. I have heard that the bright kings of old had food enough to fill them, clothes enough to warm them, palaces enough to live in, carriages and horses enough to travel, so that above they were not abandoned by Heaven and below not abandoned by the black-haired people. Yao did not trim his thatch, did not hew his rafters, had earth steps of three levels, and enjoyed himself all his life, because he had little ornament and much plainness. Danzhu was arrogant, cruel, fond of pride and licentiousness, did not cultivate principle and transformation, and in the end could not rise. Now Your Majesty's licentiousness is ten thousand times Danzhu's and a thousand times that of Kunwu, Jie and Zhou; I fear Your Majesty will perish ten times and not survive once.' Shi Huang was silent a long time, then said: 'Why did you not say so earlier?' Hou Sheng said: 'Your Majesty's mind is riding the blue clouds drifting in the view of ornament, considering yourself worthy and strong, insulting the Five Emperors above and trampling on the Three Kings below, abandoning simplicity for minor arts; the signs of Your Majesty's ruin have been seen for long. We feared speaking would do no good and only bring death on ourselves, so we fled and dared not speak. Now I must die, so I present it to Your Majesty. Though I cannot prevent Your Majesty from perishing, I want Your Majesty to know it.' Shi Huang said: 'Can I change?' Hou Sheng said: 'The form is already set, and Your Majesty is only sitting and awaiting ruin. If Your Majesty wishes to change, could you be like Yao and Yu? Otherwise there is no difference. Your Majesty's assistants are not such men either. I fear that change would not save you.' Shi Huang sighed deeply and released him without executing him. Three years later Shi Huang died, and the Second Emperor took the throne, and in three years Qin perished.]. The Book of Documents says: In offering, many ceremonies; if ceremonies do not match the gifts, it is called not offering. So the sage bears nothing on himself that is not humaneness and righteousness, and takes nothing before him that is not the right way. For this reason the former emperor executed Wencheng, Wuli and others. [Gu Yong said: Those who understand the nature of heaven and earth cannot be deluded by spirits and marvels, and those who know the feelings of the myriad things cannot be deceived by what is not of their kind. All who turn their backs on the upright way of humaneness and righteousness, do not follow the words of the Five Classics, and loudly extol the strange, ghosts and spirits, widely exalt methods of sacrifice, seek rewards from blessing-less shrines, and say there are immortals in the world, take medicines of never-ending life, soar lightly from afar, view Xuanpu, roam Penglai, plow the five virtues, sow in the morning and reap in the evening, with endless as mountains and stones, alchemy and transformation, hard ice and soft drowning, transforming colors in the five granaries, are all treacherous men who delude the crowd, who hold left-handed ways and cherish deceit to deceive rulers. Listening to their words fills the ear like something that could be met, but seeking them is like tying the wind and catching shadows, never attainable. So a bright ruler rejects and does not listen, and the sage cuts off and does not speak of them. The Records of the Grand Historian, Feng Shan Shu, says: Shao Weng of Qi presented the ruler with a method of ghosts and spirits. The ruler's favorite Lady Wang died, and Shao Weng by his method at night summoned the appearance of Lady Wang and the stove spirit, which the Son of Heaven saw from within a curtain. He then appointed Shao Weng as General Wencheng, with many rewards, and treated him with the rites for a guest. After more than a year his method declined and the spirits did not arrive, so he wrote a silk letter and fed it to an ox, pretending not to know, and said there was something strange in this ox's belly. They killed it and looked, and found a letter in which the words were very strange. The Son of Heaven recognized his handwriting, questioned the man, and it was a false letter, so he executed General Wencheng and concealed it. Luan Da asked for an audience through the Marquis of Lecheng to speak of his method. Since the Son of Heaven had already executed Wencheng, he regretted his early death and was sorry that his method had not been exhausted, and when he saw Luan Da he was greatly pleased. Da was tall, fine of speech, full of methods and plans, and dared to speak grandly and handle it without doubt. At that time the ruler was worried about the breach of the Yellow River and gold that would not form, and appointed Da as General Wuli. Later Wuli recklessly said he had seen his teacher, and his methods mostly failed to prove true, so the ruler executed Wuli.] Your Majesty has established school offices and draws close to the loyal and good, wishing to cut off the beginnings of the strange and evil and make bright the path of supreme virtue. Extravagant palaces are moths to forests, carved utensils are moths to wealth, gorgeous clothes are moths to cloth and silk, dogs and horses eating people's food are moths to the five grains, indulgence of mouth and belly is a moth to fish and meat, unrestrained spending is a moth to the treasury, unchecked leakage is a moth to the fields, and unrestrained funerals and sacrifices are moths that harm life. [A proverb says: When moths are many, the wood breaks; when the crack is large, the wall collapses.] Destroying the finished and changing the old harms achievement, and craftsmen and merchants communicating upward harm farming. So one cup uses the strength of a hundred men and one screen the work of ten thousand, and their harm is great. The eyes are cultivated by five colors, the ears are occupied by five sounds, the body goes to the utmost of lightness and thinness, the mouth to the utmost of sweetness and crispness, achievement piles up in uselessness and wealth is spent on what is not urgent; mouth and belly should not be made much of. So when a state is sick from accumulated insufficiency, government slackens; when a person is sick from accumulated insufficiency, the body is in danger. [The Commentary says: Blessing is born of non-action and trouble is born of many desires. Only after knowing contentment does wealth follow, and only after virtue is fit to rule people does honor follow. So those who value rank and make light of virtue, though they are Son of Heaven, are not honored; those who covet things and do not know when to stop, though they own the world, are not rich. The produce of the land does not increase, and the yield of mountains and marshes is limited; to hold a mind that is not rich and seek things that do not increase, to hold a hundredfold desire and seek limited wealth, this is why Jie and Zhou lost their positions.]

丞相【去聲】史曰治聚不足奈何

The Chancellor's Secretary said: How should one treat the sickness of accumulated insufficiency?

賢良曰蓋橈【音閙】枉者過直【橈通作撓屈也】救文者以質昔者晏子相【去聲】齊一狐裘三十載故民奢示之以儉民儉示之以禮【曽子曰晏子可謂知禮也已恭敬之有焉有若曰晏子一狐裘三十年遣車一乗及墓而反國君七個遣車七乘大夫五個遣車五乗晏子焉知禮曾子曰國無道君子恥盈禮焉國奢則示之以儉國儉則示之以禮】方今公卿大夫子孫誠能節車輿適衣服躬親節儉率以敦樸罷園池損田宅內無事乎市列外無事乎山澤農夫有所施其功女紅【音工】有所粥其業如是則氣脈和平無聚不足之病矣【反質篇曰齊桓公謂管仲曰吾國甚小而財用甚少而群臣衣服輿馬甚汰吾欲禁之可乎管仲曰臣聞之君嘗之臣食之君好之臣服之今君之食也必桂之漿衣練紫之衣狐白之裘此群臣之所奢大也詩云不躬不親庻民不信君欲禁之胡不自親乎桓公曰善於是更制練帛之衣大帛之冠朝一年而齊國儉也】

The Worthies said: To straighten what is crooked one often goes too far toward straightness [the character 'nao' is used interchangeably with 'nao', meaning to bend], and to save what is overly ornate one must use plainness. In the past Yan Zi was chancellor of Qi and wore one fox-fur coat for thirty years, so when the people were extravagant he showed them thrift, and when the people were thrifty he showed them ritual. [Zengzi said: Yan Zi can be said to know ritual; respect he certainly had. You Ruo said: Yan Zi wore one fox coat for thirty years and had one funeral carriage that returned on reaching the grave. A state ruler has seven funeral carriages and a high official five; how could Yan Zi know ritual? Zengzi said: When a state lacks the Way, the noble man is ashamed to fulfil ritual in full. When a state is extravagant, show it thrift; when it is thrifty, show it ritual.] If the sons and grandsons of today's dukes, ministers and high officials could truly economize carriages, adapt clothing, personally practice thrift, lead by simplicity, abolish gardens and ponds, reduce fields and houses, have no business in the market rows within and none in mountains and marshes outside, farmers would have a place to apply their work and women's handiwork a place to sell its product; then the vital energy would be harmonious and level, and there would be no sickness of accumulated insufficiency. [The Fan Zhi chapter says: Duke Huan of Qi said to Guan Zhong: 'My state is very small and its wealth very little, yet the ministers' clothing and carriages are very extravagant; I want to forbid it; can it be done?' Guan Zhong said: 'I have heard that what the ruler tastes the ministers eat, and what the ruler likes the ministers wear. Now when you eat you must have cassia drink, and wear white silk in purple, and fox-white fur coats, and this is why the ministers are so extravagant. The Poem says: If you do not do it personally and with your own hands, the common people will not believe. If you want to forbid it, why not begin with yourself?' Duke Huan said: 'Good.' He then changed to wearing boiled-silk clothes and a cap of coarse white silk to court, and in one year the state of Qi became thrifty.]

大夫曰孤子語孝躄【音璧】者語杖貧者語仁賤者語治議不在巳者易稱【去聲】從旁議者易是其當局則亂故公孫布被倪寛練袍衣若僕妾食若庸夫淮南逆於內蠻夷暴於外盜賊不為禁奢侈不為節若疫嵗之巫徒能鼓口耳何防不足之能治乎

The Grand Secretary said: An orphan talks about filial piety, a cripple talks about canes, the poor talk about humaneness, and the lowly talk about government. Discussions that are not about oneself are easy to praise, and those who discuss from the side easily think they are right, but when one is in the situation, one is confused. So Gongsun Hong used cloth bedding and Ni Kuan wore boiled-silk robes, dressing like servants and eating like common laborers, yet Huainan was rebellious within and the barbarians violent outside, robbers were not curbed and extravagance was not restrained; it is like the shaman in a plague year, who can only beat his mouth; how could he cure the accumulated insufficiency?