Shiji 10 — Xiaowen Benji · Tianmu Anglican Church

Xiaowen Benji — Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, chapter 10

Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 86 BCE) completed the Shiji, the first comprehensive history of China, while serving under Emperor Wu of Han. Its twelve Basic Annals (本紀) open the work, tracing paramount power dynasty by dynasty and reign by reign; this is the tenth, the chapter for Emperor Wen, whose reign the Grand Historian's own closing judgment calls an age of humaneness.

This chapter follows Emperor Wen from his summons to the throne from the kingdom of Dai after the fall of the Lü clan — his attendants' suspicion that the invitation was a trap, his divination by tortoise shell, the tense meeting with the great ministers at the Wei Bridge — through his edicts abolishing the punishment of an offender's innocent kin and the mutilating punishments, the latter moved by the plea of Tiying, who offered herself into government bondage to spare her father, his frugal rule and his refusal to build a terrace that would cost the wealth of ten households, his peace-and-kinship treaty and later border wars with the Xiongnu, the affair of the diviner Xinyuan Ping and the omens of the yellow dragon and the jade cup, and his death and testamentary edict ordering brief, plain mourning for the empire.

The section headings inside the chapter are editorial conveniences of the Wikisource transcription, not divisions of Sima Qian's own, and the Sanjia commentary (集解, 索隱, 正義) that travels with the source text is presented below but not translated; passages opening 太史公曰 are marked 'The Grand Historian says.' Names and titles are given in Hanyu pinyin (Liu Heng, Song Chang, Zhang Wu, Tiying), with Chinese characters at first appearance.

Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese printed in full below. Burton Watson's Records of the Grand Historian (1961; 1993) and the Nienhauser team's The Grand Scribe's Records (1994–) already cover the Basic Annals; they are named here as controls-in-existence that were not consulted, and no live search for other prior translations could be made when this file was prepared, so no claim of firstness is made.

Annals of Emperor Wen (孝文本紀)
- Emperor Xiaowen (孝文)
- Comment (評論)

Translation

Annals of Emperor Wen (孝文本紀)

Emperor Xiaowen (孝文)

Emperor Xiaowen was a middle son of Gaozu. In the spring of the eleventh year of Gaozu, after the army of Chen Xi (陳豨) had been broken and the territory of Dai settled, he was established as King of Dai, with his capital at Zhongdu. He was the son of the Empress Dowager, Lady Bo (薄). He had been on the throne seventeen years when, in the seventh month of the eighth year of Empress Gao, Empress Gao died. In the ninth month the Lü clan — Lü Chan (呂產) and the rest — wished to make a rebellion and endanger the house of Liu. The great ministers together put them to death and laid plans to summon and establish the King of Dai. That affair is set down in the account of Empress Lü.

The chancellor Chen Ping (陳平), the grand commandant Zhou Bo (周勃), and the others sent men to welcome the King of Dai. The King of Dai consulted his attendants, the prefect of the palace gentlemen Zhang Wu (張武) and the rest. Zhang Wu and the others deliberated and said: "The great ministers of Han are all former great generals of the time of Emperor Gao. They are practiced in arms and full of stratagem and deceit. Their real intentions do not stop at this; it is only that they feared the awe of Emperor Gao and of the Empress Dowager Lü. Now that they have put the Lü clan to death and have only just waded through blood in the capital, this welcoming of Your Majesty is a name given to the thing, and in truth is not to be trusted. We wish Your Majesty would plead illness and not go, and so watch how matters turn." The capital commandant Song Chang (宋昌) came forward and said: "The deliberations of the assembled officers are all wrong. When Qin lost its government, the feudal lords and the bold and daring rose up together, and those who each reckoned the empire won for themselves numbered in the tens of thousands; yet the one who in the end trod the throne of the Son of Heaven was the house of Liu. The empire has given up hoping otherwise: that is the first point. Emperor Gao enfeoffed his sons and younger brothers as kings, their lands interlocking like a dog's teeth so that they check one another; this is what is called a clan set upon bedrock, and the empire submits to its strength: that is the second point. When Han arose, it removed the harsh government of Qin, simplified the laws and ordinances, and extended virtue and kindness, so that every man is settled in himself and they would be hard to shake: that is the third point. With all the severity of the Empress Dowager Lü, who set up members of the Lü clan as three kings and seized power and ruled by her own will, still the grand commandant entered the Northern Army with a single tally, and at one shout the soldiers all bared their left arms for the house of Liu, turned against the Lü, and in the end destroyed them. This was Heaven's bestowal and not the strength of men. Now, though the great ministers might wish to make a change, the common people will not be used by them; and could their faction hold together as one? At present, within, there are the kinsmen the marquises of Zhuxu and Dongmou; without, they fear the strength of Wu, Chu, Huainan, Langya, Qi, and Dai. At present the only sons of Emperor Gao remaining are the King of Huainan and Your Majesty, and Your Majesty is the elder — worthy, sage, humane, and filial, renowned throughout the empire. Therefore the great ministers, following the heart of the empire, wish to welcome and establish Your Majesty. Let Your Majesty not doubt." The King of Dai reported it to the Empress Dowager and considered it with her, and they still hesitated and could not decide. He divined by the tortoise, and the crack gave the sign of the Great Transverse. The oracle said: "The Great Transverse, geng-geng; I shall be king of Heaven; as Qi of Xia was made glorious." The King of Dai said, "I am already a king. What further kingship is this?" The diviner said, "What is called king of Heaven is the Son of Heaven." Thereupon the King of Dai sent Bo Zhao (薄昭), the Empress Dowager's younger brother, to go and see the Marquis of Jiang. The Marquis of Jiang and the others set out for Zhao in full their purpose in welcoming and establishing the king. Bo Zhao returned and reported, "It is genuine. There is nothing to doubt." The King of Dai then laughed and said to Song Chang, "It is indeed as you said, sir." He ordered Song Chang to ride beside him in his carriage, and Zhang Wu and five others, six men in all, rode post carriages to Chang'an. Reaching Gaoling they halted, and he sent Song Chang ahead to gallop to Chang'an and observe how things stood.

Chang reached the Wei Bridge, where the chancellor and all below him came out to meet him. Song Chang went back and reported. The King of Dai galloped to the Wei Bridge, and the assembled officers bowed in audience and called themselves his subjects. The King of Dai got down from his carriage and returned their bows. The grand commandant Bo came forward and said, "I beg leave for a word in private." Song Chang said, "If what you have to say is public, say it publicly; if what you have to say is private, a king receives nothing private." The grand commandant then knelt and presented the seal and tallies of the Son of Heaven. The King of Dai declined them, saying, "Let us discuss it when we reach the Dai residence." He then galloped into the Dai residence, and the assembled officers followed him there. The chancellor Chen Ping, the grand commandant Zhou Bo, the general-in-chief Chen Wu, the imperial secretary Zhang Cang (張蒼), the director of the imperial clan Liu Ying, the Marquis of Zhuxu Liu Zhang (劉章), the Marquis of Dongmou Liu Xingju (劉興居), and the director of guests Liu Jie all bowed twice and said: "The son Hong and the others are not sons of Emperor Xiaohui, and ought not to serve the ancestral temple. We have respectfully consulted with the Marquis of Yin'an, the full marquises, the Dowager Queen Qing, the King of Langya, the imperial clan, the great ministers, the full marquises, and the officials of two thousand piculs, and they deliberated and said, 'The King of Dai is the eldest son of Emperor Gao; he ought to be Emperor Gao's heir.' We wish Your Majesty to ascend the position of Son of Heaven." The King of Dai said, "To serve the ancestral temple of Emperor Gao is a weighty affair. I am without talent and not fit to be equal to the ancestral temple. I beg that the King of Chu be asked to consider who is suitable. I dare not take it upon myself." The assembled officers all prostrated themselves and pressed him firmly. The King of Dai, facing west, declined three times, and facing south declined twice. The chancellor Ping and the rest all said: "Your servants, prostrate, have reckoned it: that Your Majesty should serve the ancestral temple of Emperor Gao is most fitting, and the feudal lords and the myriad people of the empire hold it fitting as well. We reckon for the ancestral temple and the altars of soil and grain, and dare not be careless. We wish Your Majesty would graciously heed us. We respectfully present the seal and tallies of the Son of Heaven, bowing twice as we offer them." The King of Dai said, "If the imperial clan, the generals and chancellors, the kings and full marquises hold that none is more fitting than I, then I dare not refuse." He thereupon ascended the position of Son of Heaven.

The assembled officers attended upon him in order according to rite. He sent the grand coachman Ying and the Marquis of Dongmou, Xingju, to clear the palace, and with the ceremonial carriage of the Son of Heaven they escorted him from the Dai residence. That same evening the emperor entered the Weiyang Palace. That night he appointed Song Chang general of the guards, to hold and calm the Southern and Northern Armies, and made Zhang Wu prefect of the palace gentlemen, to patrol within the halls. He then returned and took his seat in the front hall. That night he issued an edict: "Of late the Lü clan wielded affairs and usurped power, plotting great treason and seeking to endanger the ancestral temple of the house of Liu. Thanks to the generals and chancellors, the full marquises, the imperial clan, and the great ministers, they were put to death and all have submitted to their guilt. We have newly come to the throne. Let there be an amnesty throughout the empire; let the people be granted one degree of rank; let a hundred households of women be given oxen and ale; and let there be five days of feasting."

In the first year of Emperor Xiaowen, in the tenth month, on the day gengxu, the former King of Langya, Ze, was transferred and established as King of Yan.

On the day xinhai the emperor ascended the eastern steps and paid a visit to the temple of Gaozu. The chancellor of the right, Ping, was transferred to be chancellor of the left; the grand commandant Bo became chancellor of the right; and the general-in-chief Guan Ying (灌嬰) became grand commandant. All the former lands of Qi and Chu that the Lü clan had seized were restored to them.

On the day renzi he sent the general of chariots and cavalry Bo Zhao to escort the Empress Dowager from Dai. The emperor said: "Lü Chan set himself up as chancellor of state and Lü Lu as senior general; on their own authority they falsified an order sending General Guan Ying with troops to strike Qi, meaning to supplant the house of Liu. Ying stayed at Xingyang and did not strike, and joined with the feudal lords in a plan to put the Lü clan to death. Lü Chan meant to do evil, and the chancellor Chen Ping and the grand commandant Zhou Bo plotted to take away the armies of Lü Chan and the rest. The Marquis of Zhuxu, Liu Zhang, was first to arrest Lü Chan and the others. The grand commandant in person led the Marquis of Xiangping, Tong, who bore the tally and carried the edict, into the Northern Army. The director of guests, Liu Jie, in his own person took away the seal of Lü Lu, King of Zhao. Let the fief of the grand commandant Bo be increased by ten thousand households, and let five thousand catties of gold be bestowed on him. To the chancellor Chen Ping and General Guan Ying, three thousand households of estate each and two thousand catties of gold. To the Marquis of Zhuxu Liu Zhang, the Marquis of Xiangping Tong, and the Marquis of Dongmou Liu Xingju, two thousand households each and a thousand catties of gold. Let the director of guests, Jie, be enfeoffed as Marquis of Yangxin, and a thousand catties of gold bestowed on him."

In the twelfth month the emperor said: "The law is the rectitude of government, the means by which violence is restrained and the good are led. Now, when a man who has broken the law has already been sentenced, to make his innocent parents, wife and children, and brothers and sisters bear the guilt with him, and to take them into bondage — this We by no means approve. Let it be deliberated." The officials in charge all said: "The people cannot govern themselves, and so laws are made to restrain them. Shared liability and the seizure of kin bind their hearts and make them take the breaking of law seriously. This has come down from far back. It is best as it stands." The emperor said: "We have heard that when the law is upright the people are honest, and when the punishment fits the crime the people comply. Moreover, those who shepherd the people and lead them to good are the officials. If they cannot lead them, and then convict them by an unjust law, this on the contrary harms the people and works violence upon them. How shall violence be restrained by such means? We do not see the good of it. Let it be weighed carefully." The officials in charge all said: "Your Majesty extends a great kindness; your virtue is most abundant, beyond what your servants can reach. We beg to receive the edict and abolish the statutes on the seizure of kin into bondage and on all shared liability."

In the first month the officials in charge said: "To establish an heir apparent early is the way to honor the ancestral temple. We beg that an heir apparent be established." The emperor said: "We are without virtue; the Lord on High and the bright spirits have not yet savored our offerings, and the people of the empire are not yet content in their hearts. If now We cannot even search widely through the empire for a worthy, sage, and virtuous man and yield the empire to him, and yet speak of establishing an heir apparent in advance, this would double our want of virtue. What should We say to the empire? Let the matter rest." The officials in charge said: "To establish an heir apparent in advance is the way to give weight to the ancestral temple and the altars of soil and grain, and to show that the empire is not forgotten." The emperor said: "The King of Chu is our youngest uncle; he is advanced in years and has passed in review much of the right principle of the empire, and understands the great frame of the state. The King of Wu is our elder brother, kind and humane and a lover of virtue. The King of Huainan is our younger brother, who holds fast to virtue and assists Us. How then can it be said that no provision is made? Among the feudal kings, the imperial clan, our brothers, and the meritorious ministers, many are worthy and possess virtue and righteousness. If a virtuous man were raised up to supplement what We cannot carry through to the end, that would be the numen of the altars of soil and grain and the good fortune of the empire. If now no such choice is made and it is said the successor must be a son, men will take Us to have forgotten the worthy and the virtuous and to think only of our own son. That is not the way to be anxious for the empire. We by no means approve it." The officials in charge all pressed him firmly, saying: "In antiquity Yin and Zhou held their states, and both were governed in peace for more than a thousand years; of those who held the empire in antiquity none lasted longer, and it was by this method. That the heir set up must be a son has come down from far back. Emperor Gao personally led the officers and grandees, first settled the empire, and established the feudal lords; he is the Grand Progenitor of emperors. The feudal kings and the full marquises who first received their states are likewise the progenitors of their states. That sons and grandsons succeed in the line, generation after generation without break, is the great righteousness of the empire; therefore Emperor Gao instituted it to soothe all within the seas. Now to set aside the one who ought to be established and choose instead from among the feudal lords and the imperial clan is not the intent of Emperor Gao. To deliberate a change is not fitting. Your son So-and-so is the eldest, pure, generous, kind, and humane. We beg that he be established as heir apparent." The emperor then consented. Accordingly he granted one degree of rank to every man in the empire who was due to succeed his father as heir, and enfeoffed the general Bo Zhao as Marquis of Zhi.

In the third month the officials in charge asked that an empress be established. The Empress Dowager Bo said, "The feudal lords are all of the same surname as ourselves; make the mother of the heir apparent empress." The empress's surname was Dou. Because of the establishing of the empress the emperor granted to the widowers, widows, orphans, and childless of the empire, to the poor and destitute, to those eighty years and older, and to orphans nine years and younger, cloth and silk, rice and meat, each in a fixed measure. The emperor had come from Dai and newly ascended the throne. He extended virtue and kindness to the empire, and settled and soothed the feudal lords and the barbarians of the four quarters, all of whom were in harmony and glad; and he then turned to the meritorious officers who had come with him from Dai. The emperor said: "When the great ministers put the Lü clan to death and welcomed Us, We doubted like a fox, and all urged Us to stop; only the capital commandant Song Chang urged Us forward, and by this We have been able to preserve and serve the ancestral temple. We have already honored Chang as general of the guards; let him now be enfeoffed as Marquis of Zhuangwu. Of the six men who followed Us, let all be advanced in office to the nine ministers."

The emperor said: "Of the full marquises who followed Emperor Gao into Shu and Hanzhong, sixty-eight men — let each have his fief increased by three hundred households. Of former officials of two thousand piculs and above who followed Emperor Gao: the governor of Yingchuan, Zun, and nine others, an estate of six hundred households; the governor of Huaiyang, Shentu Jia, and nine others, five hundred households; the commandant of the palace guard, Ding, and nine others, four hundred households. Enfeoff Zhao Jian, maternal uncle of the King of Huainan, as Marquis of Zhouyang, and Si Jun, maternal uncle of the King of Qi, as Marquis of Qingguo." In autumn he enfeoffed Cai Jian, formerly chancellor of Changshan, as Marquis of Fan.

Someone said to the chancellor of the right: "My lord, you began by putting the Lü clan to death and welcoming the King of Dai; now you also pride yourself on your merit, receive the highest reward, and occupy an honored place. Disaster will reach your person." The chancellor of the right, Bo, then pleaded illness, was relieved of office, and retired; and the chancellor of the left, Ping, alone became chancellor.

In the tenth month of the second year the chancellor Ping died, and the Marquis of Jiang, Bo, was again made chancellor. The emperor said: "We have heard that in antiquity the feudal lords founded states that lasted more than a thousand years; each guarded his own land and came in with tribute at the proper seasons, so that the people were not worn with toil, high and low were glad, and no virtue was left undone. Now most of the full marquises dwell in Chang'an, far from their estates, and the officers and soldiers suffer the cost of carrying supplies to them, while the marquises for their part have no way of teaching and shaping their people. Let the full marquises go to their states. Those who hold office, or whom We have ordered to remain, shall send their heirs."

On the last day of the eleventh month there was an eclipse of the sun. At the full moon of the twelfth month the sun was eclipsed again. The emperor said: "We have heard it said that Heaven gives birth to the multitude of the people and sets a lord over them to nourish and govern them. When the lord of men is without virtue and spreads his government unevenly, then Heaven shows him a calamity as a warning against misrule. Now on the last day of the eleventh month there was an eclipse of the sun; the reproach was made visible in the heavens. What calamity could be greater? We have obtained the keeping of the ancestral temple, and with this slight and tiny person are set above the myriad people and the kings. Whether the empire is ordered or disordered rests with Us alone, and only these two or three who hold the government are as our thighs and arms. Below, We cannot order and nurture the living multitude; above, We have burdened the brightness of the three luminaries. Our want of virtue is great. When this order arrives, let all reflect upon our faults and failings, and upon what our knowledge, sight, and thought have not reached, and be so good as to tell Us of it. And let there be raised up men worthy and good, upright and square, able to speak straight and to remonstrate to the utmost, so as to correct where We fall short. Let each accordingly put his own office in order, and take care to reduce corvée and expense for the convenience of the people. Since We cannot make our virtue reach far, We are uneasy in thinking that men beyond the borders may do wrong, and for this reason the defenses have not been laid down. Now though We cannot disband the frontier garrisons, to muster troops besides and thicken our own guard is not right. Let the army of the general of the guards be disbanded. Of the horses now held by the grand coachman, let only enough be kept; let the rest all be given to the post relay stations."

In the first month the emperor said: "Agriculture is the root of the empire. Let the sacred field be opened; We shall lead the ploughing in person, to supply the grain offerings of the ancestral temple."

In the third month the officials in charge asked that the imperial sons be established as feudal kings. The emperor said: "King You of Zhao died in confinement, and We greatly pity him; We have already established his eldest son, Sui, as King of Zhao. Sui's younger brother Piqiang, and the sons of King Daohui of Qi — the Marquis of Zhuxu, Zhang, and the Marquis of Dongmou, Xingju — have merit and may be made kings." He then established Piqiang, the younger son of King You of Zhao, as King of Hejian; with the Ju commandery of Qi he established the Marquis of Zhuxu as King of Chengyang; he established the Marquis of Dongmou as King of Jibei; the imperial son Wu as King of Dai; the son Can as King of Taiyuan; and the son Yi as King of Liang.

The emperor said: "When the empire was governed in antiquity, at court there stood a banner for the offering of good counsel and a post for criticism, by which the way of government was opened and remonstrants were drawn in. Now the law has the crimes of criticism and of inauspicious speech. This makes the many officers not dare to speak their full feeling, and leaves the throne no way of hearing of its faults. How then are the worthy and good of distant parts to be drawn in? Let these crimes be abolished. When some among the people invoke curses upon the throne, bind themselves by mutual oath, and afterwards deceive one another, the officials treat it as great treason; and if they say anything else, the officials treat that in turn as criticism. This is the ignorance of humble folk, who without knowledge run up against death. We by no means approve it. From now on, when anyone offends in this way, let no case be heard against him."

In the ninth month bronze tiger tallies and bamboo envoy tallies were first made for the governors and chancellors of the commanderies and kingdoms.

In the third year, in the tenth month, on the last day, dingyou, there was an eclipse of the sun. In the eleventh month the emperor said: "Some days ago We ordered the full marquises to go to their states, and some made excuses and have not gone. The chancellor is the man We hold in weight; let him for Our sake lead the full marquises to their states." The Marquis of Jiang, Bo, was relieved of the chancellorship and went to his state, and the grand commandant, the Marquis of Yingyin, Ying, was made chancellor. The office of grand commandant was abolished and its functions attached to the chancellor. In the fourth month the King of Chengyang, Zhang, passed away. The King of Huainan, Chang, together with his follower Wei Jing, killed the Marquis of Biyang, Shen Yiji.

In the fifth month the Xiongnu entered Beidi and settled south of the Yellow River, raiding. The emperor for the first time visited Ganquan. In the sixth month the emperor said: "Han and the Xiongnu agreed to be as elder and younger brothers, that no harm should be done to the frontier, and for this reason what We send the Xiongnu has been very generous. Now the Right Worthy King has left his own country, led a host to settle in the surrendered land south of the Yellow River — which is not the usual practice — coming and going near the barriers, seizing and killing officers and soldiers, driving off the barbarians who guard the barrier so that they cannot dwell in their old places, riding roughshod over the frontier officials, and entering to plunder. This is exceedingly arrogant and lawless, and is not according to the agreement. Let eighty-five thousand frontier officers and cavalry be sent to Gaonu, and let the chancellor, the Marquis of Yingyin, Guan Ying, be dispatched to strike the Xiongnu." The Xiongnu withdrew. The skilled soldiers of the capital commandant were called up and attached to the general of the guards, encamped at Chang'an.

On the day xinmao the emperor went from Ganquan to Gaonu, and from there visited Taiyuan, where he saw his former officers and made gifts to them all. He raised up merit and dispensed rewards; to the people of every hamlet he gave oxen and ale. He exempted the people of Jinyang and Zhongdu from taxes for three years, and stayed touring Taiyuan more than ten days.

The King of Jibei, Xingju, hearing that the emperor had gone to Dai and meant to go and strike the Hu, rebelled and raised troops, intending to fall upon Xingyang. Thereupon the emperor ordered the chancellor's troops disbanded, and sent the Marquis of Jipu, Chen Wu, as general-in-chief, leading a hundred thousand men to go and strike him; and the Marquis of Qi, He, as general, encamped at Xingyang. In the seventh month, on the day xinhai, the emperor came from Taiyuan to Chang'an. He then issued an edict to the officials in charge: "The King of Jibei has turned his back on virtue and rebelled against his superior, misleading his officers and people into great treason. Of the officers and people of Jibei, those who settle themselves before Our army arrives, and those who surrender with their troops, their lands, or their towns, shall all be pardoned and restored to office and rank. Those who have come and gone with King Xingju shall also be pardoned." In the eighth month the army of Jibei was broken and its king taken prisoner. All the officers and people of Jibei who had rebelled with the king were pardoned.

In the sixth year the officials in charge said that the King of Huainan, Chang, had set aside the laws of the former emperor and had not obeyed the edicts of the Son of Heaven; that he lived without measure, went out and came in with the trappings of the Son of Heaven, and made laws and ordinances on his own authority; that he had plotted rebellion with Qi, the heir of the Marquis of Jipu; and that he had sent men as envoys to Minyue and to the Xiongnu to raise their troops, meaning to endanger the ancestral temple and the altars of soil and grain. The assembled officers deliberated and all said, "Chang ought to be executed in the marketplace." The emperor could not bear to bring the law to bear upon the king; he pardoned his crime and deposed him, so that he was king no longer. The assembled officers asked that the king be placed at Yandao and Qiongdu in Shu, and the emperor consented. Before Chang reached the place appointed, he fell ill on the road and died, and the emperor pitied him. Sixteen years afterward the King of Huainan, Chang, was posthumously honored with the title King Li, and his three sons were established as King of Huainan, King of Hengshan, and King of Lujiang.

In the summer of the thirteenth year the emperor said: "We have heard that in the way of Heaven calamity arises from resentment and good fortune arises from virtue. The faults of the hundred officials ought to be traced back to Our own person. Now the officers of secret invocation shift the blame downward, and so make manifest Our want of virtue. We by no means approve it. Let the office be abolished."

In the fifth month the director of the Great Granary of Qi, Master Chunyu, was guilty of an offense that called for mutilating punishment. By imperial warrant he was arrested, transferred, and held in custody at Chang'an. The Master of the Great Granary had no sons but five daughters. As he was about to set out under arrest he cursed his daughters, saying, "I have begotten children but no son; when trouble comes there is no use in you!" His youngest daughter, Tiying (緹縈), was wounded in her heart and wept; she followed her father to Chang'an and submitted a letter, saying: "Your handmaid's father was an official, and throughout Qi all praised him as incorrupt and fair; now he has fallen under the law and is due for mutilation. Your handmaid grieves that the dead cannot live again, and that what is cut off cannot be joined on again, so that even if a man wishes to correct his fault and renew himself, there is no road by which to do it. Your handmaid wishes to be taken into bondage as a government slave woman, to redeem her father from his mutilating punishment and let him have the means of making himself new." The letter was submitted to the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven pitied and grieved at her intent. He then issued an edict: "We have heard that in the time of the House of Yu they painted the garments and caps and made the insignia and dress different, and this served as punishment, yet the people did not offend. Why so? Because government was at its height. Now the law has three mutilating punishments, and yet wickedness does not cease. Where does the fault lie? Is it not that Our virtue is thin and our teaching unclear? We are deeply ashamed of it. When the way of training is not pure, the ignorant people fall into the pit. The Odes say:

Genial and gentle is the noble man,
the father and mother of the people.

"Now when a man commits a fault, teaching has not yet been applied and punishment is laid upon him; and some wish to change their conduct and do good, but have no road by which to do it. We deeply pity them. When a punishment goes so far as to cut off limbs and carve the flesh and skin, so that it never grows again as long as life lasts — how painful it is, and how devoid of virtue! How can it answer to the meaning of being father and mother to the people? Let the mutilating punishments be abolished."

The emperor said: "Agriculture is the root of the empire; no undertaking is greater. Now men labor with their own bodies at it and still bear the levy of the land tax; this makes no difference between root and branch, and in the way of encouraging agriculture it is not yet complete. Let the land tax on fields be abolished."

In the winter of the fourteenth year the Xiongnu plotted to enter the frontier and raid; they attacked the Chaona barrier and killed Ang, the commandant of Beidi. The emperor then sent three generals to encamp at Longxi, Beidi, and Shangjun; the capital commandant Zhou She was made general of the guards, and the prefect of the palace gentlemen, Zhang Wu, general of chariots and cavalry, encamped north of the Wei with a thousand chariots and a hundred thousand horse and foot. The emperor in person went to comfort the army, drew up the troops, made clear his instructions and orders, and made gifts to the officers and men. The emperor wished to lead in person and strike the Xiongnu; the assembled officers remonstrated, and he heeded none of them. The Empress Dowager pressed him firmly, and only then did he desist. Thereupon the Marquis of Dongyang, Zhang Xiangru, was made general-in-chief, the Marquis of Cheng, Chi, was made metropolitan governor, and Luan Bu was made general, to strike the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu fled away.

In spring the emperor said: "We have been permitted to take up the sacrificial victims, the jade tablets, and the offerings of silk to serve the Lord on High and the ancestral temple; from that time to this is fourteen years, and the days have stretched long. Being neither quick nor clear-sighted, We have long soothed and presided over the empire, and We are deeply ashamed. Let the altars and sacred grounds of all the sacrifices, and the jade tablets and the silks, be broadly increased. In old times the former kings gave far and wide without seeking any return, and in the distant sacrifices did not pray for their own good fortune; they set the worthy on the right and their own kin on the left, put the people first and themselves last. This was the utmost of enlightenment. Now We hear that the officers of sacrifice, when they invoke blessing, turn all the good fortune upon Our own person and not upon the hundred families. We are deeply ashamed of it. For Us, lacking virtue, to enjoy in our own person and alone take the beauty of that blessing, with the hundred families having no share in it, doubles our want of virtue. Let the officers of sacrifice offer reverence and pray for nothing."

At this time the Marquis of Beiping, Zhang Cang, was chancellor and was expert in the pitch-pipes and the calendar. A man of Lu, Gongsun Chen, submitted a letter setting out the matter of the cycle of endings and beginnings and the transmission of the Five Powers, saying that the present was the time of the power of Earth; that the power of Earth would answer with the appearance of a yellow dragon; and that the beginning of the calendar, the colors of dress, and the institutions ought to be changed. The Son of Heaven sent the matter down for the chancellor to deliberate. The chancellor reckoned it out and held that the present was the power of Water, that the beginning of the year had been fixed at the tenth month and black was the color honored, and that Gongsun Chen's words were not right; and he asked that the matter be dropped.

In the fifteenth year a yellow dragon appeared at Chengji, and the Son of Heaven then summoned Gongsun Chen of Lu again, made him an erudite, and had him set forth the matter of the power of Earth. Thereupon the emperor issued an edict: "A spirit in strange form has appeared at Chengji, without harm to the people, and the year will have a good harvest. We shall in person perform the suburban sacrifice to the Lord on High and the several spirits. Let the officers of rites deliberate, and let them not hold back for fear of troubling Us." The officials in charge and the officers of rites all said: "In antiquity the Son of Heaven in summer performed in person the rite of sacrifice to the Lord on High in the suburb; therefore it is called the suburban sacrifice." Thereupon the Son of Heaven for the first time visited Yong and in the suburb had audience with the Five Emperors, answering the rite in the fourth month, the first month of summer. A man of Zhao, Xinyuan Ping (新垣平), obtained audience through his skill in watching the vapors, and thereupon persuaded the emperor to set up the five temples north of the Wei; he wished to bring forth the cauldrons of Zhou, and said that a jade blossom would appear.

In the sixteenth year the emperor went in person to the suburb and had audience at the temples of the Five Emperors north of the Wei, likewise answering the rite in summer and honoring the color red.

In the seventeenth year a jade cup was obtained, engraved with the words "Let the lord of men have lengthened years." Thereupon the Son of Heaven for the first time renumbered the year as a first year, and ordered a great feasting throughout the empire. In that year the affair of Xinyuan Ping came to light, and his three sets of kin were exterminated.

In the second year of the later reckoning the emperor said: "We are not clear-sighted and cannot make our virtue reach far; thus the states beyond our borders are at times not at rest. Beyond the four wildernesses men are not secure in their livelihood, and within the royal domain men toil without rest. The fault in both cases comes from Our thin virtue, which cannot reach far. For some years past the Xiongnu have together done violence upon the frontier and killed many officers and people, and Our frontier ministers and military officers have not been able to make Our inward intent understood, which doubles Our want of virtue. When hardship is long knotted and armies are joined without end, how are the states within and without to be at peace? Now We rise early and lie down late, toiling for the empire and grieving for the myriad people; We are alarmed and uneasy on their account and have never for a single day put it out of Our heart. Therefore We have sent envoys whose caps and canopies are within sight of one another and whose carriage tracks are knotted along the roads, to make Our intent known to the chanyu. Now the chanyu has returned to the ancient way, has reckoned the security of the altars of soil and grain and the advantage of the myriad people, and has himself joined with Us in casting aside petty faults, going together upon the great road, and knotting the bond of elder and younger brother, so as to preserve the plain people of the whole world. The peace-and-kinship agreement is settled, beginning in this year."

In the winter of the sixth year of the later reckoning thirty thousand Xiongnu entered Shangjun and thirty thousand entered Yunzhong. The palace counsellor Ling Mian was made general of chariots and cavalry, encamped at Feihu; the former chancellor of Chu, Su Yi, was made general, encamped at Gouzhu; the general Zhang Wu was stationed at Beidi; the governor of Henei, Zhou Yafu (周亞夫), was made general and posted at Xiliu; the director of the imperial clan, Liu Li, was made general and posted at Bashang; and the Marquis of Zhuzi encamped at Jimen — all to guard against the Hu. After several months the Hu withdrew, and these forces too were disbanded.

There was drought in the empire, and locusts. The emperor extended kindness: he ordered the feudal lords not to send in tribute, relaxed the restrictions on the mountains and marshes, reduced the imperial equipages and robes and the dogs and horses, cut the number of palace officials, opened the granaries to relieve the poor, and allowed the people to sell their ranks.

Emperor Xiaowen came from Dai, and in the twenty-three years of his reign he added nothing to the palaces and chambers, the parks and enclosures, the dogs and horses, the robes and equipages; whatever was not convenient he at once relaxed for the benefit of the people. He once wished to build an open terrace and summoned the artisans to reckon it: it came to a hundred catties of gold. The emperor said, "A hundred catties of gold is the property of ten households of middling people. I have received the palaces of the former emperor and constantly fear to shame them. What need have I of a terrace?" The emperor habitually wore coarse silk, and his favorite, Lady Shen, was ordered that her clothes should not trail on the ground and that her curtains and hangings should not be figured with embroidery, so as to display plainness and simplicity and to lead the empire. In building Baling he used only earthenware vessels and would not have gold, silver, bronze, or tin used for ornament; he raised no mound, wishing to be sparing and not to trouble the people. The King of Nanyue, Wei Tuo, set himself up as Emperor Wu; but the emperor summoned Wei Tuo's brothers and honored them, repaying him with virtue, and Tuo thereupon put aside the title of emperor and called himself a subject. With the Xiongnu he made a peace-and-kinship agreement; and when the Xiongnu turned their backs on the agreement and entered to plunder, he still only ordered the frontier to prepare and hold, and did not send out troops to penetrate deep, hating to burden and distress the hundred families. The King of Wu feigned illness and did not come to court, and he was given a stool and staff instead. When officers such as Yuan Ang spoke out, however cutting their words, the emperor always made allowance for them and used them. When officers such as Zhang Wu took bribes of gold and cash and were found out, the emperor opened the imperial treasury and bestowed gold and cash upon them, to shame their hearts, and did not hand them over to the officials. He devoted himself wholly to transforming the people by virtue, and thus all within the seas grew rich and abundant and rose in rites and righteousness.

In the sixth month of the seventh year of the later reckoning, on the day jihai, the emperor died in the Weiyang Palace. His testamentary edict said: "We have heard that of all the myriad things that sprout and are born in the world there is none that does not die. Death is the principle of Heaven and Earth and the natural way of things; why should it be greatly mourned? In the present age the world all delights in life and hates death: men break their estates with lavish burials and injure the living with heavy mourning. We by no means approve it. Moreover We lack virtue and have had nothing with which to help the hundred families; and now that We have died, to make men wear heavy mourning and keep long lament, passing through the round of cold and heat, grieving the fathers and sons of the people, wounding the purposes of old and young, diminishing their food and drink, and cutting off the sacrifices to ghosts and spirits — this would double our want of virtue. What should We say to the empire? We obtained the keeping of the ancestral temple, and with this tiny person were set above the kings of the empire, for more than twenty years. By the numen of Heaven and Earth and the blessing of the altars of soil and grain, within our borders there has been peace and quiet, with no resort to arms and armor. We are not quick, and have constantly feared to act amiss and so shame the virtue the former emperor left behind; and as the years grew long We feared not to come to a good end. Now happily We complete Our natural span and may again offer service in the temple of Gaozu. Unenlightened as We are, We take it for a good thing. What sorrow and grief should there be in it? Let the officers and people of the empire, when this order arrives, come out and lament for three days and then all put off mourning dress. Let no prohibition be laid on taking wives, marrying off daughters, offering sacrifice, drinking wine, or eating meat. Those whose duty it is to attend the funeral and to lament in mourning dress shall none of them go barefoot. The mourning band and sash shall not exceed three inches. Do not drape the carriages and the weapons with cloth, and do not call up the men and women of the people to wail in the palace halls. Those within the palace halls whose duty it is to lament shall raise their voices fifteen times each morning and evening, and when the rite is finished shall stop. Outside the times of morning and evening lament, wailing on one's own account is forbidden. After the interment, let the heavy mourning be worn fifteen days, the lighter mourning fourteen days, the fine mourning seven days, and then let mourning dress be put off. Whatever else is not covered by this order shall be dealt with by the measure of this order. Publish it throughout the empire, so that Our intent may be clearly known. The hills and streams of Baling shall be left as they are, with nothing altered. Send home the women of the palace, from the Ladies down to the Junior Attendants." The capital commandant Yafu was made general of chariots and cavalry; Han, the director of the dependent states, was made general of the encamped troops; and the prefect of the palace gentlemen, Wu, was made general of the returning of the earth. Sixteen thousand of the soldiers on hand in the nearby counties were called up, and fifteen thousand soldiers of the metropolitan governor; the setting of the outer coffin, the digging, and the returning of the earth were assigned to General Wu.

On the day yisi the assembled officers all knocked their heads to the ground and presented the honorific title Emperor Xiaowen.

The heir apparent took the throne in the temple of Gaozu. On the day dingwei he succeeded to the title of emperor.

In the tenth month of the first year of Emperor Xiaojing an edict was issued to the imperial secretary: "We have heard that in antiquity the Progenitor was he who had merit and the Ancestor he who had virtue, and that the making of rites and music each had its ground. We have heard that song is the means by which virtue is brought forth, and dance the means by which merit is made manifest. At the strong-wine offering in the temple of Gaozu, the dances of Wude, Wenshi, and Wuxing are performed; at the strong-wine offering in the temple of Xiaohui, the dances of Wenshi and Wuxing are performed. Emperor Xiaowen presided over the empire: he opened the passes and the bridges and made no difference of distant regions; he abolished the crime of criticism, did away with the mutilating punishments, gave rewards to the aged, gathered in and relieved the orphaned and the solitary, and so nurtured all living things; he lessened his appetites and desires, did not accept presentations, and took no private profit; he did not enslave the families of criminals and did not put the innocent to death; he abolished castration and sent out the beautiful women of the palace, holding it a grave thing to cut off a man's line. We are not quick and cannot fully understand it. All this the highest antiquity did not attain, and Emperor Xiaowen carried it out in person. His virtue in richness matched Heaven and Earth; his benefit and bounty spread through the four seas, and there was none who did not obtain blessing. His brightness was like that of the sun and moon, and yet the temple music does not answer to it. We are deeply afraid of this. Let there be made for the temple of Emperor Xiaowen the Dance of Manifest Virtue, to make his fair virtue clear. Then the merit and virtue of the Progenitor and the Ancestor will be set down on bamboo and silk and extended through ten thousand generations, forever and without end, and We shall greatly approve it. Let the chancellor, the full marquises, the officials of the full two thousand piculs, and the officers of rites draw up the ceremonial in full and submit it." The chancellor, your servant Jia, and the others said: "Your Majesty thinks unceasingly upon the way of filial piety, and establishes the Dance of Manifest Virtue to make clear the abundant virtue of Emperor Xiaowen. All this is beyond what your servant Jia and the rest in our foolishness could reach. We respectfully deliberate: in merit for the age none is greater than the Exalted Emperor, and in virtue none more abundant than Emperor Xiaowen. The temple of the Exalted Emperor should be the temple of the Grand Progenitor of emperors, and the temple of Emperor Xiaowen should be the temple of the Grand Ancestor of emperors. The Son of Heaven should generation after generation make offering in the temples of the Progenitor and the Ancestor. The commanderies and kingdoms and the feudal lords should each establish for Emperor Xiaowen a temple of the Grand Ancestor. The envoys of the feudal kings and the full marquises should attend the Son of Heaven at the sacrifice and yearly make offering in the temples of the Progenitor and the Ancestor. We beg that this be set down on bamboo and silk and proclaimed throughout the empire." The rescript said: "Approved."

Comment (評論)

The Grand Historian says: Confucius said, "Only after a generation will humaneness prevail," and, "When good men have governed a state for a hundred years, they too can overcome cruelty and do away with killing." Truly are these words! From the rise of Han down to Xiaowen was more than forty years, and virtue reached its height. He stood on the very verge of changing the calendar and the colors of dress and of performing the feng and shan sacrifices; but out of modesty and yielding it has not been accomplished even to this day. Alas! Was he not humane indeed!

Colophon

This file was prepared for the Chinese shelf of the Good Works Library, translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. Much of the chapter consists of Emperor Wen's own edicts, quoted at length in the formal first person ('We'); these are kept in full and in that register rather than paraphrased, including the testamentary edict on mourning that closes the account of his reign, and Tiying's petition, which is likewise kept as direct address.

No live search for prior translations could be made when this file was prepared. Burton Watson's Records of the Grand Historian (1961; 1993) and William H. Nienhauser Jr. and colleagues' The Grand Scribe's Records (1994–2002) are known to cover this chapter and are named here as controls-in-existence; neither was fetched or consulted in making this translation. No claim of firstness is made for this Good Works Translation.

A note on terms: 和親, the treaty relationship negotiated with the Xiongnu, is rendered 'peace-and-kinship agreement' throughout; the emperor's posthumous temple designation, Taizong (太宗), Grand Ancestor, is named only in the closing edict of the next reign that establishes it, and is left in that later context rather than imported earlier into this chapter.

Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.

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Source Text: 史記卷10

Classical Chinese text in the Chinese Wikisource transcription, with the Sanjia commentary set in 〔〕 as the transcription carries it. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above; the commentary is not translated.

孝文

孝文皇帝，高祖中子也。高祖十一年春，已破陳豨軍，定代地，立為代王，都中都。太后薄氏子。即位十七年，高后八年七月，高后崩。九月，諸呂呂產等欲為亂，以危劉氏，大臣共誅之，謀召立代王，事在呂后語中。

丞相陳平、太尉周勃等使人迎代王。代王問左右郎中令張武等。張武等議曰：「漢大臣皆故高帝時大將，習兵，多謀詐，此其屬意非止此也，特畏高帝、呂太后威耳。今已誅諸呂，新啑血京師，此以迎大王為名，實不可信。願大王稱疾毋往，以觀其變。」中尉宋昌進曰：「群臣之議皆非也。夫秦失其政，諸侯豪桀并起，人人自以為得之者以萬數，然卒踐天子之位者，劉氏也，天下絕望，一矣。高帝封王子弟，地犬牙相制，此所謂盤石之宗也，天下服其彊，二矣。漢興，除秦苛政，約法令，施德惠，人人自安，難動搖，三矣。夫以呂太后之嚴，立諸呂為三王，擅權專制，然而太尉以一節入北軍，一呼士皆左袒，為劉氏，叛諸呂，卒以滅之。此乃天授，非人力也。今大臣雖欲為變，百姓弗為使，其黨寧能專一邪？方今內有朱虛、東牟之親，外畏吳、楚、淮南、瑯邪、齊、代之彊。方今高帝子獨淮南王與大王，大王又長，賢聖仁孝，聞於天下，故大臣因天下之心而欲迎立大王，大王勿疑也。」代王報太后計之，猶與未定。卜之龜，卦兆得大橫。占曰：「大橫庚庚，余為天王，夏啟以光。」代王曰：「寡人固已為王矣，又何王？」卜人曰：「所謂天王者乃天子。」於是代王乃遣太后弟薄昭往見絳侯，絳侯等具為昭言所以迎立王意。薄昭還報曰：「信矣，毋可疑者。」代王乃笑謂宋昌曰：「果如公言。」乃命宋昌參乘，張武等六人乘傳詣長安。至高陵休止，而使宋昌先馳之長安觀變。

昌至渭橋，丞相以下皆迎。宋昌還報。代王馳至渭橋，群臣拜謁稱臣。代王下車拜。太尉勃進曰：「願請閒言。」宋昌曰：「所言公，公言之。所言私，王者不受私。」太尉乃跪上天子璽符。代王謝曰：「至代邸而議之。」遂馳入代邸。群臣從至。丞相陳平、太尉周勃、大將軍陳武、御史大夫張蒼、宗正劉郢、朱虛侯劉章、東牟侯劉興居、典客劉揭皆再拜言曰：「子弘等皆非孝惠帝子，不當奉宗廟。臣謹請（與）陰安侯列侯頃王后與瑯邪王、宗室、大臣、列侯、吏二千石議曰：『大王高帝長子，宜為高帝嗣。』願大王即天子位。」代王曰：「奉高帝宗廟，重事也。寡人不佞，不足以稱宗廟。願請楚王計宜者，寡人不敢當。」群臣皆伏固請。代王西鄉讓者三，南鄉讓者再。丞相平等皆曰：「臣伏計之，大王奉高帝宗廟最宜稱，雖天下諸侯萬民以為宜。臣等為宗廟社稷計，不敢忽。願大王幸聽臣等。臣謹奉天子璽符再拜上。」代王曰：「宗室將相王列侯以為莫宜寡人，寡人不敢辭。」遂即天子位。

群臣以禮次侍。乃使太仆嬰與東牟侯興居清宮，奉天子法駕，迎于代邸。皇帝即日夕入未央宮。乃夜拜宋昌為衛將軍，鎮撫南北軍。以張武為郎中令，行殿中。還坐前殿。於是夜下詔書曰：「閒者諸呂用事擅權，謀為大逆，欲以危劉氏宗廟，賴將相列侯宗室大臣誅之，皆伏其辜。朕初即位，其赦天下，賜民爵一級，女子百戶牛酒，酺五日。」

孝文皇帝元年十月庚戌，徙立故琅邪王泽为燕王。

辛亥，皇帝即阼，謁高廟。右丞相平徙為左丞相，太尉勃為右丞相，大將軍灌嬰為太尉。諸呂所奪齊楚故地，皆復與之。

壬子，遣車騎將軍薄昭迎皇太后於代。皇帝曰：「呂產自置為相國，呂祿為上將軍，擅矯遣灌將軍嬰將兵擊齊，欲代劉氏，嬰留滎陽弗擊，與諸侯合謀以誅呂氏。呂產欲為不善，丞相陳平與太尉周勃謀奪呂產等軍。朱虛侯劉章首先捕呂產等。太尉身率襄平侯通持節承詔入北軍。典客劉揭身奪趙王呂祿印。益封太尉勃萬戶，賜金五千斤。丞相陳平、灌將軍嬰邑各三千戶，金二千斤。朱虛侯劉章、襄平侯通、東牟侯劉興居邑各二千戶，金千斤。封典客揭為陽信侯，賜金千斤。」

十二月，上曰：「法者，治之正也，所以禁暴而率善人也。今犯法已論，而使毋罪之父母妻子同產坐之，及為收帑，朕甚不取。其議之。」有司皆曰：「民不能自治，故為法以禁之。相坐坐收，所以累其心，使重犯法，所從來遠矣。如故便。」上曰：「朕聞法正則民愨，罪當則民從。且夫牧民而導之善者，吏也。其既不能導，又以不正之法罪之，是反害於民為暴者也。何以禁之？朕未見其便，其孰計之。」有司皆曰：「陛下加大惠，德甚盛，非臣等所及也。請奉詔書，除收帑諸相坐律令。」

正月，有司言曰：「蚤建太子，所以尊宗廟。請立太子。」上曰：「朕既不德，上帝神明未歆享，天下人民未有嗛志。今縱不能博求天下賢聖有德之人而禪天下焉，而曰豫建太子，是重吾不德也。謂天下何？其安之。」有司曰：「豫建太子，所以重宗廟社稷，不忘天下也。」上曰：「楚王，季父也，春秋高，閱天下之義理多矣，明於國家之大體。吳王於朕，兄也，惠仁以好德。淮南王，弟也，秉德以陪朕。豈為不豫哉！諸侯王宗室昆弟有功臣，多賢及有德義者，若舉有德以陪朕之不能終，是社稷之靈，天下之福也。今不選舉焉，而曰必子，人其以朕為忘賢有德者而專於子，非所以憂天下也。朕甚不取也。」有司皆固請曰：「古者殷周有國，治安皆千餘歲，古之有天下者莫長焉，用此道也。立嗣必子，所從來遠矣。高帝親率士大夫，始平天下，建諸侯，為帝者太祖。諸侯王及列侯始受國者皆亦為其國祖。子孫繼嗣，世世弗絕，天下之大義也，故高帝設之以撫海內。今釋宜建而更選於諸侯及宗室，非高帝之志也。更議不宜。子某最長，純厚慈仁，請建以為太子。」上乃許之。因賜天下民當代父後者爵各一級封將軍薄昭為軹侯。

三月，有司請立皇后。薄太后曰：「諸侯皆同姓，立太子母為皇后。」皇后姓竇氏。上為立后故，賜天下鰥寡孤獨窮困及年八十已上孤兒九歲已下布帛米肉各有數。上從代來，初即位，施德惠天下，填撫諸侯四夷皆洽驩，乃循從代來功臣。上曰：「方大臣之誅諸呂迎朕，朕狐疑，皆止朕，唯中尉宋昌勸朕，朕以得保奉宗廟。已尊昌為衛將軍，其封昌為壯武侯。諸從朕六人，官皆至九卿。」

上曰：「列侯從高帝入蜀、漢中者六十八人皆益封各三百戶，故吏二千石以上從高帝潁川守尊等十人食邑六百戶，淮陽守申徒嘉等十人五百戶，衛尉定等十人四百戶。封淮南王舅父趙兼為周陽侯，齊王舅父駟鈞為清郭侯。」秋，封故常山丞相蔡兼為樊侯。

人或說右丞相曰：「君本誅諸呂，迎代王，今又矜其功，受上賞，處尊位，禍且及身。」右丞相勃乃謝病免罷，左丞相平專為丞相。

二年十月，丞相平卒，復以絳侯勃為丞相。上曰：「朕聞古者諸侯建國千餘（歲），各守其地，以時入貢，民不勞苦，上下驩欣，靡有遺德。今列侯多居長安，邑遠，吏卒給輸費苦，而列侯亦無由教馴其民。其令列侯之國，為吏及詔所止者，遣太子。」

十一月晦，日有食之。十二月望，日又食。上曰：「朕聞之，天生蒸民，為之置君以養治之。人主不德，布政不均，則天示之以菑，以誡不治。乃十一月晦，日有食之，適見于天，菑孰大焉！朕獲保宗廟，以微眇之身讬于兆民君王之上，天下治亂，在朕一人，唯二三執政猶吾股肱也。朕下不能理育群生，上以累三光之明，其不德大矣。令至，其悉思朕之過失，及知見思之所不及，匄以告朕。及舉賢良方正能直言極諫者，以匡朕之不逮。因各飭其任職，務省繇費以便民。朕既不能遠德，故憪然念外人之有非，是以設備未息。今縱不能罷邊屯戍，而又飭兵厚衛，其罷衛將軍軍。太仆見馬遺財足，餘皆以給傳置。」

正月，上曰：「農，天下之本，其開籍田，朕親率耕，以給宗廟粢盛。」

三月，有司請立皇子為諸侯王。上曰：「趙幽王幽死，朕甚憐之，已立其長子遂為趙王。遂弟辟彊及齊悼惠王子朱虛侯章、東牟侯興居有功，可王。」乃立趙幽王少子辟彊為河閒王，以齊劇郡立朱虛侯為城陽王，立東牟侯為濟北王，皇子武為代王，子參為太原王，子揖為梁王。

上曰：「古之治天下，朝有進善之旌，誹謗之木，所以通治道而來諫者。今法有誹謗妖言之罪，是使眾臣不敢盡情，而上無由聞過失也。將何以來遠方之賢良？其除之。民或祝詛上以相約結而後相謾，吏以為大逆，其有他言，而吏又以為誹謗。此細民之愚無知抵死，朕甚不取。自今以來，有犯此者勿聽治。」

九月，初與郡國守相為銅虎符、竹使符。

三年十月丁酉晦，日有食之。十一月，上曰：「前日（計）［詔］遣列侯之國，或辭未行。丞相朕之所重，其為朕率列侯之國。」絳侯勃免丞相就國，以太尉潁陰侯嬰為丞相。罷太尉官，屬丞相。四月，城陽王章薨。淮南王長與從者魏敬殺辟陽侯審食其。

五月，匈奴入北地，居河南為寇。帝初幸甘泉。六月，帝曰：「漢與匈奴約為昆弟，毋使害邊境，所以輸遺匈奴甚厚。今右賢王離其國，將眾居河南降地，非常故，往來近塞，捕殺吏卒，驅保塞蠻夷，令不得居其故，陵轢邊吏，入盜，甚敖無道，非約也。其發邊吏騎八萬五千詣高奴，遣丞相潁陰侯灌嬰擊匈奴。」匈奴去，發中尉材官屬衛將軍軍長安。

辛卯，帝自甘泉之高奴，因幸太原，見故群臣，皆賜之。舉功行賞，諸民里賜牛酒。復晉陽中都民三歲。留游太原十餘日。

濟北王興居聞帝之代，欲往擊胡，乃反，發兵欲襲滎陽。於是詔罷丞相兵，遣棘蒲侯陳武為大將軍，將十萬往擊之。祁侯賀為將軍，軍滎陽。七月辛亥，帝自太原至長安。乃詔有司曰：「濟北王背德反上，詿誤吏民，為大逆。濟北吏民兵未至先自定，及以軍地邑降者，皆赦之，復官爵。與王興居去來，亦赦之。」八月，破濟北軍，虜其王。赦濟北諸吏民與王反者。

六年，有司言淮南王長廢先帝法，不聽天子詔，居處毋度，出入擬於天子，擅為法令，與棘蒲侯太子奇謀反，遣人使閩越及匈奴，發其兵，欲以危宗廟社稷。群臣議，皆曰「長當棄市」帝不忍致法於王，赦其罪，廢勿王。群臣請處王蜀嚴道、邛都，帝許之。長未到處所，行病死，上憐之。後十六年，追尊淮南王長謚為厲王，立其子三人為淮南王、衡山王、廬江王。

十三年夏，上曰：「蓋聞天道禍自怨起而福繇德興。百官之非，宜由朕躬。今祕祝之官移過于下，以彰吾之不德，朕甚不取。其除之。」

五月，齊太倉令淳于公有罪當刑，詔獄逮徙系長安。太倉公無男，有女五人。太倉公將行會逮，罵其女曰：「生子不生男，有緩急非有益也！」其少女緹縈自傷泣，乃隨其父至長安，上書曰：「妾父為吏，齊中皆稱其廉平，今坐法當刑。妾傷夫死者不可復生，刑者不可復屬，雖復欲改過自新，其道無由也。妾願沒入為官婢，贖父刑罪，使得自新。」書奏天子，天子憐悲其意，乃下詔曰：「蓋聞有虞氏之時，畫衣冠異章服以為僇，而民不犯。何則？至治也。今法有肉刑三，而姦不止，其咎安在？非乃朕德薄而教不明歟？吾甚自愧。故夫馴道不純而愚民陷焉。《詩》曰『愷悌君子，民之父母』。今人有過，教未施而刑加焉？或欲改行為善而道毋由也。朕甚憐之。夫刑至斷支體，刻肌膚，終身不息，何其楚痛而不德也，豈稱為民父母之意哉！其除肉刑。」

上曰：「農，天下之本，務莫大焉。今勤身從事而有租稅之賦，是為本末者毋以異，其於勸農之道未備。其除田之租稅。」

十四年冬，匈奴謀入邊為寇，攻朝那塞，殺北地都尉卬。上乃遣三將軍軍隴西、北地、上郡，中尉周舍為衛將軍，郎中令張武為車騎將軍，軍渭北，車千乘，騎卒十萬。帝親自勞軍，勒兵申教令，賜軍吏卒。帝欲自將擊匈奴，群臣諫，皆不聽。皇太后固要帝，帝乃止。於是以東陽侯張相如為大將軍，成侯赤為內史，欒布為將軍，擊匈奴。匈奴遁走。

春，上曰：「朕獲執犧牲珪幣以事上帝宗廟，十四年于今，歷日（縣）［綿］長，以不敏不明而久撫臨天下，朕甚自愧。其廣增諸祀墠場珪幣。昔先王遠施不求其報，望祀不祈其福，右賢左戚，先民後己，至明之極也。今吾聞祠官祝釐，皆歸福朕躬，不為百姓，朕甚愧之。夫以朕不德，而躬享獨美其福，百姓不與焉，是重吾不德。其令祠官致敬，毋有所祈。」

是時北平侯張蒼為丞相，方明律歷。魯人公孫臣上書陳終始傳五德事，言方今土德時，土德應黃龍見，當改正朔服色制度。天子下其事與丞相議。丞相推以為今水德，始明正十月上黑事，以為其言非是，請罷之。

十五年，黃龍見成紀，天子乃復召魯公孫臣，以為博士，申明土德事。於是上乃下詔曰：「有異物之神見于成紀，無害於民，歲以有年。朕親郊祀上帝諸神。禮官議，毋諱以勞朕。」有司禮官皆曰：「古者天子夏躬親禮祀上帝於郊，故曰郊。」於是天子始幸雍，郊見五帝，以孟夏四月答禮焉。趙人新垣平以望氣見，因說上設立渭陽五廟。欲出周鼎，當有玉英見。

十六年，上親郊見渭陽五帝廟，亦以夏答禮而尚赤。

十七年，得玉杯，刻曰「人主延壽」。於是天子始更為元年，令天下大酺。其歲，新垣平事覺，夷三族。

後二年，上曰：「朕既不明，不能遠德，是以使方外之國或不寧息。夫四荒之外不安其生，封畿之內勤勞不處，二者之咎，皆自於朕之德薄而不能遠達也。閒者累年，匈奴并暴邊境，多殺吏民，邊臣兵吏又不能諭吾內志，以重吾不德也。夫久結難連兵，中外之國將何以自寧？今朕夙興夜寐，勤勞天下，憂苦萬民，為之怛惕不安，未嘗一日忘於心，故遣使者冠蓋相望，結軼於道，以諭朕意於單于。今單于反古之道，計社稷之安，便萬民之利，親與朕俱棄細過，偕之大道，結兄弟之義，以全天下元元之民。和親已定，始于今年。」

後六年冬，匈奴三萬人入上郡，三萬人入雲中。以中大夫令勉為車騎將軍，軍飛狐；故楚相蘇意為將軍，軍句注；將軍張武屯北地；河內守周亞夫為將軍，居細柳；宗正劉禮為將軍，居霸上；祝茲侯軍棘門：以備胡。數月，胡人去，亦罷。

天下旱，蝗。帝加惠：令諸侯毋入貢，弛山澤，減諸服御狗馬，損郎吏員，發倉庾以振貧民，民得賣爵。

孝文帝從代來，即位二十三年，宮室苑囿狗馬服御無所增益，有不便，輒弛以利民。嘗欲作露臺，召匠計之，直百金。上曰：「百金中民十家之產，吾奉先帝宮室，常恐羞之，何以臺為！」上常衣綈衣，所幸慎夫人，令衣不得曳地，幃帳不得文繡，以示敦樸，為天下先。治霸陵皆以瓦器，不得以金銀銅錫為飾，不治墳，欲為省，毋煩民。南越王尉佗自立為武帝，然上召貴尉佗兄弟，以德報之，佗遂去帝稱臣。與匈奴和親，匈奴背約入盜，然令邊備守，不發兵深入，惡煩苦百姓。吳王詐病不朝，就賜幾杖。群臣如袁盎等稱說雖切，常假借用之。群臣如張武等受賂遺金錢，覺，上乃發御府金錢賜之，以愧其心，弗下吏。專務以德化民，是以海內殷富，興於禮義。

後七年六月己亥，帝崩於未央宮。遺詔曰：「朕聞蓋天下萬物之萌生，靡不有死。死者天地之理，物之自然者，奚可甚哀。當今之時，世咸嘉生而惡死，厚葬以破業，重服以傷生，吾甚不取。且朕既不德，無以佐百姓；今崩，又使重服久臨，以離寒暑之數，哀人之父子，傷長幼之志，損其飲食，絕鬼神之祭祀，以重吾不德也，謂天下何！朕獲保宗廟，以眇眇之身讬于天下君王之上，二十有餘年矣。賴天地之靈，社稷之福，方內安寧，靡有兵革。朕既不敏，常畏過行，以羞先帝之遺德；維年之久長，懼于不終。今乃幸以天年，得復供養于高廟。朕之不明與嘉之，其奚哀悲之有！其令天下吏民，令到出臨三日，皆釋服。毋禁取婦嫁女祠祀飲酒食肉者。自當給喪事服臨者，皆無踐。绖帶無過三寸，毋布車及兵器，毋發民男女哭臨宮殿。宮殿中當臨者，皆以旦夕各十五舉聲，禮畢罷。非旦夕臨時，禁毋得擅哭。已下，服大紅十五日，小紅十四日，纖七日，釋服。佗不在令中者，皆以此令比率從事。布告天下，使明知朕意。霸陵山川因其故，毋有所改。歸夫人以下至少使。」令中尉亞夫為車騎將軍，屬國悍為將屯將軍，郎中令武為復土將軍，發近縣見卒萬六千人，發內史卒萬五千人，藏郭穿復土屬將軍武。

乙巳，群臣皆頓首上尊號曰孝文皇帝。

太子即位于高廟。丁未，襲號曰皇帝。

孝景皇帝元年十月，制詔御史：「蓋聞古者祖有功而宗有德，制禮樂各有由。聞歌者，所以發德也；舞者，所以明功也。高廟酎，奏武德、文始、五行之舞。孝惠廟酎，奏文始、五行之舞。孝文皇帝臨天下，通關梁，不異遠方。除誹謗，去肉刑，賞賜長老，收恤孤獨，以育群生。減嗜欲，不受獻，不私其利也。罪人不帑，不誅無罪。除（肉）［宮］刑，出美人，重絕人之世。朕既不敏，不能識。此皆上古之所不及，而孝文皇帝親行之。德厚侔天地，利澤施四海，靡不獲福焉。明象乎日月，而廟樂不稱。朕甚懼焉。其為孝文皇帝廟為昭德之舞，以明休德。然後祖宗之功德著於竹帛，施于萬世，永永無窮，朕甚嘉之。其與丞相、列侯、中二千石、禮官具為禮儀奏。」丞相臣嘉等言：「陛下永思孝道，立昭德之舞以明孝文皇帝之盛德。皆臣嘉等愚所不及。臣謹議：世功莫大於高皇帝，德莫盛於孝文皇帝，高皇廟宜為帝者太祖之廟，孝文皇帝廟宜為帝者太宗之廟。天子宜世世獻祖宗之廟。郡國諸侯宜各為孝文皇帝立太宗之廟。諸侯王列侯使者侍祠天子，歲獻祖宗之廟。請著之竹帛，宣布天下。」制曰：「可。」

Source Colophon

The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian (article 史記/卷010, revision of 21 September 2025), inspected from a witness copy captured on 22 August 2026. Chinese Wikisource transcriptions are published under CC BY-SA 4.0 and the GFDL; the text itself is ancient and in the public domain. The wiki header, navigation links, license templates, and modern contributors' footnotes have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.

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Shiji 10 — Xiaowen Benji