Shiji 12 — Xiaowu Benji · Tianmu Anglican Church

Xiaowu Benji — Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, chapter 12

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 twelfth and last, the chapter for Sima Qian's own reigning sovereign.

This chapter follows Emperor Wu's decades of engagement with sacrifice and the search for immortality: the suburban sacrifices to Taiyi and the Five Emperors, the Spirit Lord installed within the palace, the masters of methods Li Shaojun, Shaoweng (made General of Literary Perfection and put to death after a forged omen was exposed), and Luan Da (made General of the Five Benefits and likewise put to death), the discovery of an ancient cauldron at Fenyin, the feng and shan sacrifices performed on and below Mount Tai with parts of the rite kept secret even from the emperor's own attendants, and the building of the Ganquan and Jianzhang palaces to receive immortals who never came; it closes with the Grand Historian's own first-person account of having followed these progresses and examined the claims made to the throne. This chapter is widely held, in both traditional and modern scholarship, to be a later replacement for Sima Qian's own lost original account of Emperor Wu's reign, substantially overlapping with the Fengshan shu (封禪書) elsewhere in the Shiji; that transmission history is noted here as a matter of record, without our adjudicating it.

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 Che, Li Shaojun, Shaoweng, Luan Da, Gongsun Qing), 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 Wu (孝武本紀)
- Emperor Xiaowu (孝武)
- Judgment (評論)

Translation

Annals of Emperor Wu (孝武本紀)

Emperor Xiaowu (孝武)

Emperor Xiaowu was the middle son of Emperor Xiaojing. His mother was called Empress Dowager Wang. In the fourth year of Xiaojing, being an imperial son, he was made King of Jiaodong. In the seventh year of Xiaojing the heir apparent, son of the Li consort, was deposed and made King of Linjiang, and the King of Jiaodong was made heir apparent. In the sixteenth year of Xiaojing the emperor passed away, and the heir apparent took the throne and became Emperor Xiaowu. When Emperor Xiaowu first took the throne, he was especially reverent toward the sacrifices to ghosts and spirits.

In his first year, Han had already flourished for more than sixty years; the empire was orderly and at peace, and the men of sash and tablet all hoped that the Son of Heaven would perform the feng and shan sacrifices and reform the calendar and the measures. The emperor inclined toward the learning of the Ru and summoned the worthy and the good. Zhao Wan (趙綰), Wang Zang (王臧), and others became high ministers on the strength of their literary learning. They wished to deliberate upon antiquity and set up a Hall of Light (明堂) south of the city, at which the feudal lords should attend court. The drafts on the progresses of inspection, on the feng and shan sacrifices, and on changing the calendar and the colors of the robes were not completed. It happened that Empress Dowager Dou (竇太后) practiced the sayings of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi and had no liking for the learning of the Ru. She had men secretly obtain evidence of corrupt gain taken by Zhao Wan and the others, and summoned and examined Wan and Zang. Wan and Zang killed themselves, and everything they had begun to establish was abolished.

Six years later, Empress Dowager Dou passed away.

First Year of Yuanguang (元光元年)

In the following year the emperor summoned scholars of literary learning, Gongsun Hong (公孫弘) and others.

In the year after that, the emperor came for the first time to Yong and performed the suburban sacrifice, presenting himself at the Five Altars. Thereafter he regularly performed the suburban sacrifice once in three years. At this time the emperor sought out the Spirit Lord (神君) and lodged her in the Tishi Lodge in the Shanglin Park. The Spirit Lord was a woman of Changling who, grieving at the death of her child, appeared as a spirit to her brother's wife Wanruo. Wanruo sacrificed to her in her chamber, and many of the common people went there to sacrifice. The Lady of Pingyuan went and sacrificed there, and afterward her sons and grandsons became honored and eminent. When Emperor Wu came to the throne, he installed the sacrifice within the palace with rich rites. Her words were heard, but her person, they say, was not seen.

At this time Li Shaojun (李少君) also gained audience with the emperor by his methods for sacrificing to the stove, for the way of grains, and for warding off old age, and the emperor honored him. Shaojun had formerly entered the household of the Marquis of Shenze to take charge of his recipes. He concealed his age and where he had been born and raised, and always said of himself that he was seventy, that he could make things obey him and could drive off old age. He traveled by his arts through all the states of the feudal lords. He had neither wife nor child. When people heard that he could command things and did not die, they vied with one another in making him presents, and he always had a surplus of gold, cash, silk, clothing, and food. Everyone considered that he pursued no occupation and yet was amply supplied, and no one knew where he came from, so they believed in him the more and struggled to serve him. Shaojun by nature loved arts, and was skilled at clever pronouncements that hit the mark in unexpected ways. He once drank in the company of the Marquis of Wu'an. Among the company was an old man of more than ninety, and Shaojun spoke of the places where he had gone shooting with the old man's grandfather. As a boy the old man had gone about with his grandfather and recognized the places, and the whole company was astonished. When Shaojun had audience with the emperor, the emperor had an old bronze vessel and asked him about it. Shaojun said, "This vessel was set out at Boqin in the tenth year of Duke Huan of Qi." Presently they examined its inscription, and it was indeed a vessel of Duke Huan of Qi. The whole palace was amazed and took Shaojun to be a spirit, a man several hundred years old.

Shaojun said to the emperor: "Sacrifice to the stove and the spirit beings will be summoned; summon the spirit beings and cinnabar can be transformed into gold; when the gold has been made and used for vessels of food and drink, your years will be lengthened; when your years are lengthened, the immortals of Penglai in the midst of the sea may be seen; see them and perform the feng and shan sacrifices, and you will not die. So it was with the Yellow Emperor. Your servant once traveled by the sea and saw Anqi Sheng (安期生). He fed me jujubes as large as melons. Anqi Sheng is an immortal, and passes freely into Penglai. If a man suits him he shows himself; if not, he hides." Thereupon the Son of Heaven for the first time sacrificed to the stove in person; he sent masters of methods out into the sea to seek Penglai and Anqi Sheng and their kind; and he took up the transformation of cinnabar and the several drugs and minerals into gold.

After a long time Li Shaojun fell ill and died. The Son of Heaven held that he had been transformed and departed and had not died, and he had Kuanshu, the recorder of Huangchui, receive his methods. Penglai and Anqi Sheng were sought and could not be found, and along the seacoast in Yan and Qi the strange and roundabout masters of methods imitated one another in great numbers and spoke more and more of the affairs of the spirits.

Bo Youji (薄誘忌), a man of Bo, submitted a method for sacrificing to Taiyi (泰一), saying: "The most honored of the gods of Heaven is Taiyi; the assistants of Taiyi are called the Five Emperors. In antiquity the Son of Heaven sacrificed to Taiyi in the southeastern suburb in spring and autumn, using the full set of the Great Sacrifice, for seven days, and made an altar with eight ghost-roads opening from it." Thereupon the Son of Heaven ordered the Grand Invocator to establish that sacrifice in the southeastern suburb of Chang'an, and it was regularly maintained after Ji's method. Afterward a man submitted a memorial saying, "In antiquity the Son of Heaven once in three years used the full set of the Great Sacrifice to sacrifice to three Ones among the gods: the One of Heaven, the One of Earth, and Taiyi." The Son of Heaven approved it and ordered the Grand Invocator to have charge of the sacrifice upon Ji's Taiyi altar, according to that method. Later another man submitted a memorial saying, "In antiquity the Son of Heaven regularly performed the dispelling sacrifice in spring and autumn: for the sacrifice to the Yellow Emperor, one owl and one pojing beast; for Mingyang, a sheep; for the sacrifice to Maxing, one dark stallion; for Taiyi, the Mountain Lord of Mount Gao, and Dizhang, an ox; for the Lord of Wuyi, dried fish; for the Messenger of Yin and Yang, one ox." He ordered the officers of sacrifice to take charge of these according to that method, and to sacrifice beside Ji's Taiyi altar.

After this there was a white deer in the Son of Heaven's park; its hide was made into currency, so as to bring forth the responses of good omen, and white metal coin was cast.

In the following year, at the suburban sacrifice at Yong, a one-horned beast was taken, resembling a roebuck. The officials in charge said: "Your Majesty performs the suburban sacrifices with grave reverence, and the Lord on High has requited the offerings by bestowing a one-horned beast: surely it is a unicorn." Thereupon it was presented at the Five Altars, and at each altar one ox was added to be burned in offering. White metal coin was granted to the feudal lords, to intimate that the tally of the response accorded with Heaven and Earth. Then the King of Jibei, thinking that the Son of Heaven was about to perform the feng and shan sacrifices, submitted a memorial presenting Mount Tai and the towns about it. The Son of Heaven accepted them and compensated him with other counties instead. The King of Changshan committed an offense and was removed; the Son of Heaven enfeoffed his younger brother at Zhending to continue the sacrifices of the former king, and made Changshan a commandery. After this the Five Marchmounts all lay within the commanderies of the Son of Heaven.

In the following year Shaoweng (少翁), a man of Qi, gained audience with the emperor by his methods concerning ghosts and spirits. The emperor had a favorite, the Lady Wang; when the lady died, Shaoweng by his arts is said to have summoned at night the likeness of the Lady Wang and of the ghost of the stove, and the Son of Heaven gazed upon her from within the curtains. Thereupon Shaoweng was appointed General of Literary Perfection (文成將軍); his rewards were very many, and he was treated with the rites due a guest. The General of Literary Perfection said: "If Your Majesty wishes to have communication with the spirits, and the palaces and the garments do not resemble those of the spirits, then the spirit beings will not come." So carriages were made painted with cloud vapors, and on each of the conquering days a carriage was driven to ward off evil ghosts. He also built the Ganquan Palace, with a terrace chamber inside it, in which Heaven, Earth, Taiyi, and all the gods were painted, and where sacrificial vessels were set out to summon the gods of Heaven. After a year or more his methods grew weaker and the spirits did not come. He then made a writing on silk and fed it to an ox, pretending to know nothing of it, and said that there was something strange in this ox's belly. The ox was killed and inspected, and the writing was got. The writing spoke of marvels, and the Son of Heaven doubted it. Someone recognized his handwriting; the man was questioned, and it proved to be a forged writing. Thereupon the General of Literary Perfection was put to death, and the matter was concealed.

After this there were also made the Bailiang Terrace, the bronze pillar, the immortal's palm for receiving the dew, and things of that kind.

In the year after the death of the General of Literary Perfection, the Son of Heaven fell gravely ill at Dinghu. There was no shaman or physician he did not bring in, yet he did not recover. Youshui Fagen then said: "In Shangjun there is a shamaness upon whom, when she is ill, a ghost descends." The emperor summoned her and installed her with sacrifices at Ganquan. When he was ill he sent men to inquire of the Spirit Lord. The Spirit Lord said: "Let the Son of Heaven not be troubled about his illness. When the illness is a little better, make the effort to meet me at Ganquan." Thereupon the illness grew better, and he went to Ganquan, and the illness was wholly gone. He proclaimed a general amnesty in the empire and installed the Spirit Lord in the Palace of Longevity. Of the Spirit Lords the most honored was Taiyi; his assistants were called Dajin, Siming, and the like, and all of them followed him. They could not be seen; their voices were heard, like the speech of men. Now they went, now they came, and when they came a wind blew sharply. They dwelt within the curtains of a chamber. Sometimes they spoke by day, but usually by night. The Son of Heaven purified himself and only then entered. He made the shamaness the host, and food and drink passed through her hands. Whatever the spirit desired was spoken out and passed down for enactment. He also set up the Palace of Longevity and the Northern Palace, spread out feather banners, and arranged the offering vessels, to do honor to the Spirit Lord. What the Spirit Lord said, the emperor had men take down in writing, and named it the "Method of the Design." What was spoken there was what the common world already knows; there was nothing extraordinary in it; yet the Son of Heaven alone was pleased with it. These matters were kept secret, and the world did not know of them.

Three years afterward the officials in charge said that reign eras ought to be named from the auspicious signs of Heaven, and ought not to be numbered one, two, and so on. The first era was called Jianyuan; the second era, from the long star, was called Yuanguang; and the third era, from the one-horned beast taken at the suburban sacrifice, was called Yuanshou.

First Year of Yuanshou (元狩元年)

In the winter of the following year the Son of Heaven performed the suburban sacrifice at Yong and said in council: "Now I sacrifice in person in the suburb to the Lord on High, yet the Sovereign Earth has no sacrifice. Then the rites are not answered." The officials in charge deliberated together with the Grand Historian, Kuanshu the officer of sacrifices, and others: "For Heaven and Earth the horns of the victims should be like a cocoon or a chestnut. Now that Your Majesty sacrifices in person to the Sovereign Earth, the Sovereign Earth should be served upon a round mound in the midst of a marsh, with five altars, each altar having one yellow calf with the full set of the Great Sacrifice; when the sacrifice is finished all is to be buried, and those attending the sacrifice are to wear yellow as their upper garment." Thereupon the Son of Heaven went east and for the first time established the sacrifice to the Sovereign Earth on the mound at Fenyin, as Kuanshu and the others had proposed. The emperor gazed and made obeisance in person, as in the rites for the Lord on High. When the rites were finished, the Son of Heaven went on to Xingyang and turned back. Passing through Luoyang, he issued an edict saying: "The Three Dynasties are cut off and distant; being far away, they are hard to preserve. Let thirty li of land be used to enfeoff the descendant of Zhou as Lord Zhou Zinan, that he may maintain the sacrifices of the former kings." In that year the Son of Heaven first made a progress through the commanderies and counties, drawing gradually nearer to Mount Tai.

In the spring of that year the Marquis of Lecheng submitted a memorial speaking of Luan Da (欒大). Luan Da was a palace attendant of Jiaodong. He had formerly studied under the same master as the General of Literary Perfection, and afterward became master of recipes to the King of Jiaodong. The elder sister of the Marquis of Lecheng was the queen of King Kang, and she had no son. When King Kang died, the son of another concubine was set up as king. The dowager queen Kang was licentious in her conduct and was not on good terms with the king, and each threatened the other with the law. When the dowager queen Kang heard that the General of Literary Perfection was dead, wishing to make herself pleasing to the emperor, she sent Luan Da to seek an audience through the Marquis of Lecheng and speak of his arts. The Son of Heaven, having put the General of Literary Perfection to death, afterward regretted that he had died so early and grieved that his arts had not been exhausted; so when he saw Luan Da he was greatly pleased. Da was a tall and handsome man, his speech full of stratagems, and he dared to utter great words and hold to them without hesitation. Da said: "Your servant has gone back and forth in the midst of the sea and has seen Anqi, Xianmen, and their kind. But they thought your servant of low station and did not trust me; and they thought King Kang was only a feudal lord and not worth giving the arts to. Your servant spoke to King Kang many times, and King Kang made no use of me. My master said: 'Gold can be made, the breach in the Yellow River can be closed, the drug of deathlessness can be obtained, and the immortals can be brought here.' Yet I fear I may go the way of the General of Literary Perfection; then the masters of methods would all cover their mouths, and how would they dare to speak of arts?" The emperor said: "The General of Literary Perfection merely died from eating horse liver. If you can truly cultivate his arts, what would I begrudge you?" Da said: "My master seeks nothing from men; it is men who seek him. If Your Majesty must bring them here, then honor his envoy, let him have kin connections, treat him with the rites of a guest and do not humble him, and let each wear his seal of good faith: only then can he be made to carry words to the divine men. Even so, the divine men may consent or they may not. Honor his envoy greatly, and then they may be brought." Thereupon the emperor first had him prove a small art: pieces were set to contend, and the pieces struck against one another of themselves.

At this time the emperor was troubled by the breach in the Yellow River, and gold had not been achieved; so he appointed Da General of the Five Benefits (五利將軍). After a month or more he had obtained four golden seals and wore the seals of General Gentleman of Heaven, General Gentleman of Earth, General of Great Communication, and General of the Way of Heaven. An edict was issued to the imperial secretary: "Long ago Yu opened the Nine Rivers and channeled the Four Watercourses. Of late the Yellow River has overflowed the high ground and the low, and the labor upon the dikes has not ceased. I have looked down upon the empire twenty-eight years, and Heaven seems to have sent me a gentleman for a great communication. Qian speaks of the 'flying dragon,' and it is said, 'the wild goose draws near the great rock' — my thought is that this may come near it. Let two thousand households be given to enfeoff Da, General Gentleman of Earth, as Marquis of Letong." He was granted the first-class mansion of a full marquis and a thousand servants. Carriages, horses, curtains, hangings, and vessels were set aside from the imperial equipage to fill his household. The emperor also gave him the Elder Princess Wei to wife, with a gift of ten thousand catties of gold, and changed the name of her town, calling her the Princess of Dangli. The Son of Heaven went in person to the mansion of the General of the Five Benefits. Envoys who came to inquire after him and to furnish his wants followed one another along the road without a break. From the Grand Princess, the generals, and the chancellors downward, all set out wine in his house and made him presents. Then the Son of Heaven also cut a jade seal reading "General of the Way of Heaven" and sent an envoy in feather robes, who stood at night upon white rushes; and the General of the Five Benefits, likewise in feather robes, stood upon white rushes to receive the seal, to show that he was not treated as a subject. He who wore the seal "Way of Heaven" was to guide the gods of Heaven on behalf of the Son of Heaven. Thereupon the General of the Five Benefits regularly sacrificed at night in his house, wishing to bring the gods down. The gods did not come, but a hundred ghosts gathered, and he was fairly able to command them. Afterward he made ready his baggage and set out, going east into the sea to seek his master. Da had been in audience only a few months, yet he wore six seals, and his eminence shook the empire; and along the sea between Yan and Qi there was no one who did not grip his own wrist and declare that he had secret arts and could bring spirits and immortals.

In the middle of the sixth month of that summer, Jin, a shaman of Fenyin, was sacrificing for the people beside the precinct of the Sovereign Earth on the mound of Wei when he saw the ground shaped like a hook; digging and looking, he found a cauldron. The cauldron was greatly unlike ordinary cauldrons: it had ornament and chasing but no inscription. Thinking it strange, he spoke of it to the officials. The officials reported it to Sheng, Grand Administrator of Hedong, and Sheng made it known. The Son of Heaven sent envoys to test and question the shaman Jin, and finding no fraud in the obtaining of the cauldron, they sacrificed to it with due rites and escorted the cauldron to Ganquan, following in the imperial train, and the emperor presented it in offering. When they came to Zhongshan, the air was calm and warm, and a yellow cloud covered them. A roebuck passed by; the emperor shot it himself, and used it to sacrifice there. When they came to Chang'an, the high ministers and grandees all deliberated and asked that the precious cauldron be honored. The Son of Heaven said: "Of late the Yellow River has overflowed and the harvests for several years have not ripened; therefore I made a progress to sacrifice to the Sovereign Earth, praying that grain be nourished for the hundred families. This year has been rich and abundant, and no requital has yet been made — why then has the cauldron come forth?" The officials in charge all said: "We have heard that in ancient times the Great Emperor raised up one divine cauldron; the one is the single unity, that in which Heaven and Earth and the ten thousand things are bound and completed. The Yellow Emperor made three precious cauldrons, in the image of Heaven, Earth, and Man. Yu gathered the metal of the nine pastors and cast nine cauldrons, and in all of them offerings were boiled for the Lord on High and for the ghosts and spirits. When they met with a sage they arose; they passed to Xia and to Shang. When the virtue of Zhou declined and the altar of Song perished, the cauldrons sank away, hid themselves, and were not seen. The Hymns say: 'From the hall to the base, from the sheep to the ox; the great cauldron and the small; no clamor, no arrogance; the blessing of long old age.' Now the cauldron has come to Ganquan, glossy and shining, changing like a dragon, receiving blessing without limit. This accords with Zhongshan, where a yellow and white cloud came down to cover you, where a beast served as the tally, where with the great bow and its four arrows the game was taken below the altar and requital was made in sacrifice and a great offering. Only he who has received the mandate and reigns as emperor knows in his heart the meaning of this and joins his virtue to it. The cauldron should be shown before the shrines of the ancestors and stored in the emperor's court, so as to accord with the manifest response." The rescript said: "Approved."

Those who went into the sea to seek Penglai said that Penglai was not far off, but that they could not reach it, doubtless because they did not see its vapor. The emperor therefore sent assistants skilled in watching vapors to observe its vapors.

In the autumn of that year the emperor went to Yong and was about to perform the suburban sacrifice. Someone said, "The Five Emperors are the assistants of Taiyi. Taiyi should be established, and the emperor should sacrifice to him in person in the suburb." The emperor was in doubt and had not decided. Gongsun Qing (公孫卿), a man of Qi, said: "This year the precious cauldron was obtained; this winter, on the xinsi day, the dawn of the new moon and the winter solstice fall together, as in the time of the Yellow Emperor." Qing had a writing on tablets which said: "The Yellow Emperor obtained a precious cauldron at Wanqu and asked Guiyuqu about it. Qu replied: 'The Emperor has obtained the precious cauldron and the divine reckoning-stalks. In this year, on the jiyou day, the dawn of the new moon and the winter solstice fall together; he has obtained the ordering-thread of Heaven, which ends and begins again.' Thereupon the Yellow Emperor greeted the days and reckoned with the stalks, and thereafter about every twenty years the dawn of the new moon and the winter solstice fell together; in all he made twenty such reckonings, three hundred and eighty years. The Yellow Emperor as an immortal ascended to Heaven." Qing wished to submit this through Suo Zhong. Suo Zhong looked at the writing, found it unorthodox, suspected it a wild composition, and declined, saying, "The matter of the precious cauldron is already settled. What more is to be made of this?" Qing then submitted it through one of the emperor's favorites. The emperor was greatly pleased, summoned Qing, and questioned him. He replied: "I received this writing from Shen Gong. Shen Gong is dead." The emperor said, "What man was Shen Gong?" Qing said: "Shen Gong was a man of Qi. He had dealings with Anqi Sheng and received from him the words of the Yellow Emperor. He had no books; he had only this cauldron writing. It says: 'The rise of Han will again correspond to the time of the Yellow Emperor. The sage of Han will be among the grandsons and great-grandsons of Gaozu. When the precious cauldron comes forth and he has communication with the spirits, he will perform the feng and shan. Of the seventy-two kings who performed the feng and shan, only the Yellow Emperor was able to ascend Mount Tai and perform the feng.' Shen Gong said: 'The ruler of Han too ought to ascend and perform the feng; and when he has ascended and performed the feng, he will be able as an immortal to ascend to Heaven. In the time of the Yellow Emperor there were ten thousand feudal lords, and seven thousand of the fiefs were for the spirits and gods. Of the famous mountains of the empire there are eight: three are among the Man and Yi peoples, and five are in the Middle Kingdom. In the Middle Kingdom they are Mount Hua, Mount Shou, Taishi, Mount Tai, and Donglai. These five mountains the Yellow Emperor regularly visited, and there he met with the spirits. The Yellow Emperor made war and at the same time studied to be an immortal. Troubled that the hundred families opposed his Way, he cut down and executed those who denied the ghosts and spirits. Only after more than a hundred years was he able to have communication with the spirits. The Yellow Emperor sacrificed in the suburb at Yong to the Lord on High and stayed there three months. Guiyuqu was styled Dahong; when he died he was buried at Yong, and that is the Hong Barrow. Afterward the Yellow Emperor received the ten thousand spirits at the Bright Court. The Bright Court is Ganquan. What is called the Cold Gate is Gukou. The Yellow Emperor gathered copper from Mount Shou and cast a cauldron at the foot of Mount Jing. When the cauldron was finished, a dragon with hanging whiskers came down to meet the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor mounted it, and his ministers and the women of the harem, more than seventy persons, mounted the dragon after him; then it rose and departed. The lesser officials who were left could not get up, and all seized the dragon's whiskers; the whiskers came away, and the Yellow Emperor's bow fell down. The hundred families gazed up as the Yellow Emperor went up to Heaven, and then embraced his bow and the dragon's whiskers and wailed. Therefore later ages named that place Dinghu, the Cauldron Lake, and named his bow Wuhao, the Raven's Cry.'" Thereupon the Son of Heaven said: "Alas! If I could truly become like the Yellow Emperor, I should look upon leaving wife and children as upon slipping off a sandal." He then appointed Qing a gentleman of the palace and sent him east to watch for the spirits at Taishi.

The emperor then performed the suburban sacrifice at Yong, went to Longxi, climbed Kongtong in the west, and visited Ganquan. He ordered Kuanshu the officer of sacrifices and others to prepare the altar for the sacrifice to Taiyi. The altar followed the model of Bo Ji's Taiyi altar and had three tiers. The altars of the Five Emperors stood in a ring below it, each in its own quarter, the Yellow Emperor at the southwest, and eight ghost-roads were cleared from it. What was used for Taiyi was as at a single altar at Yong, with the addition of sweet ale, jujubes, dried meat, and the like; and one yak was killed to furnish the stands, dishes, and the full set of victims. For the Five Emperors there were only stands, dishes, and offerings of sweet ale. Below, on the ground of the four quarters, libation food was set out for the attendant throng of gods and for the Northern Dipper. When the sacrifice was over, all the remaining sacrificial meat was burned. The ox used was white; a deer was placed within it and a pig within the deer, and water was poured over them. For the sacrifice to the sun an ox was used; for the sacrifice to the moon, a sheep or a pig alone. The invocator and butcher of Taiyi wore purple and embroidery. For the Five Emperors each wore the color of his quarter; for the sun, red; for the moon, white.

In the eleventh month, on the xinsi day, when the dawn of the new moon and the winter solstice fell together, at first light the Son of Heaven for the first time performed the suburban sacrifice and made obeisance to Taiyi. In the morning he made morning greeting to the sun and in the evening evening greeting to the moon, bowing with joined hands; and he presented himself before Taiyi with the rites used at Yong. The words of the offering said: "Heaven has now bestowed upon the August Emperor the precious cauldron and the divine reckoning-stalks; new moon follows new moon, ending and beginning again; the August Emperor reverently bows and presents himself." His upper garment was yellow. At the sacrifice, ranked fires filled the altar, and beside the altar stood vessels for boiling and cooking. The officials in charge said, "There is a light above the sacrifice." The high ministers said: "When the August Emperor first performed the suburban sacrifice and presented himself before Taiyi at Yunyang, the officials in charge offered the round jade disc and fine victims in sacrifice. That night there was a beautiful light, and when day came a yellow vapor rose and joined itself to Heaven." The Grand Historian, Kuanshu the officer of sacrifices, and the others said: "This is the blessing of the spirits, the good fortune and the omen of their protection. It is fitting that in this place, in the region of the light, an altar of the Grand Precinct be set up to make the response manifest. Let the Grand Invocator have charge of it, and let sacrifice be made in autumn and at the time of the La festival. Once in three years the Son of Heaven shall come to the suburban audience."

In the autumn of that year, for the campaign against Nanyue, announcement and prayer were made to Taiyi. With the wood of the male vitex a banner was made, painted with the sun, the moon, the Northern Dipper, and a rising dragon, to represent the three stars of Tianyi, as the spearpoint of Taiyi; it was named the "Spirit Banner." When prayers were made for the troops, the Grand Historian held it up and pointed it toward the country to be attacked. But the General of the Five Benefits, being sent out, did not dare go into the sea and went instead to sacrifice at Mount Tai. The emperor had men follow him secretly and verify: in truth he had seen nothing. The General of the Five Benefits falsely claimed to have seen his master; his arts were exhausted, and most of them did not come true. The emperor then put the General of the Five Benefits to death.

In the winter of that year Gongsun Qing was watching for spirits in Henan, and saw the footprints of an immortal upon the wall of Goushi, and a creature like a pheasant that came and went upon the wall. The Son of Heaven went in person to the city of Goushi to look at the tracks. He asked Qing: "Are you not doing as the General of Literary Perfection and the General of the Five Benefits did?" Qing said: "It is not the immortals who seek the ruler of men; the ruler of men seeks them. If in this Way one is not somewhat patient and indulgent, the spirits will not come. To speak of the affairs of the spirits, the business seems roundabout and absurd; only when years have been accumulated can they be brought." Thereupon the commanderies and kingdoms each cleared the roads and repaired the palaces, the lodges, the famous mountains, and the shrines of the gods, in hope of an imperial visit.

In that year, Nanyue having been destroyed, the emperor had a favorite courtier, Li Yannian, who gained audience by his skill in music. The emperor thought well of him and sent the matter down to the high ministers for deliberation, saying: "Among the common people the sacrifices still have the music of drums and dancing, and now the suburban sacrifices have no music. How is this fitting?" The high ministers said: "In antiquity the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth all had music, and thus the gods of Heaven and Earth could be duly honored." Someone said: "The Great Emperor made the Plain Girl play a zither of fifty strings. It was mournful, and though the emperor forbade it, it would not stop; therefore he broke her zither into one of twenty-five strings." Thereupon, in fulfilment of the vows made over Nanyue, in the prayers and sacrifices to Taiyi and the Sovereign Earth music and dance were used for the first time; singing boys were called up in greater numbers; and the making of the twenty-five-stringed zither and of the konghou harp arose from this.

In the winter of the next year the emperor said in council: "In antiquity men first shook out their weapons and disbanded their troops, and only then performed the feng and shan." So he made a progress north to Shuofang, mustering more than a hundred thousand troops, and on his return sacrificed at the tomb of the Yellow Emperor on Mount Qiao, disbanding the troops at Xuru. The emperor said: "I have heard that the Yellow Emperor did not die. Now there is a tomb. How is this?" Someone replied: "The Yellow Emperor had already become an immortal and ascended to Heaven; his ministers buried his cap and robes." When he came to Ganquan, since he was about to perform the service at Mount Tai, he first offered the lei sacrifice to Taiyi.

From the time the precious cauldron was obtained, the emperor deliberated with the high ministers and the scholars about the feng and shan. The feng and shan had been used so seldom and had been broken off so long that no one knew their ceremonies and rites, and the assembled Ru gathered from the Documents, the Offices of Zhou, and the Royal Regulations the matters of the distant sacrifices and of the shooting of the ox for the feng and shan. Ding Gong, a man of Qi more than ninety years old, said: "The feng is a name for joining with deathlessness. The August Emperor of Qin was not able to ascend and perform the feng. If Your Majesty must ascend, then go up a little way; if there is no wind or rain, then go on up and perform the feng." The emperor thereupon ordered the Ru scholars to practice the shooting of the ox and to draft the ceremonies of the feng and shan. After several years the time came to set out. The Son of Heaven had heard the words of Gongsun Qing and the masters of methods, that the feng and shan of the Yellow Emperor and those before him had all summoned strange beings and gained communication with the spirits; he wished to imitate the Yellow Emperor, to have contact with the divine immortals and the men of Penglai, to rise above his age and match his virtue with the Nine August Ones; and he drew somewhat upon Ru learning to give it literary dress. But the assembled Ru were unable to make the matter of the feng and shan clear, and being bound and hampered by the Odes, the Documents, and the ancient writings, they did not dare to give free rein. When the emperor showed them the vessels for the feng sacrifice, some of the Ru said, "They are not the same as those of antiquity." Xu Yan said further, "The scholars of the Grand Master of Ceremonies do not perform the rites as well as those of Lu." Zhou Ba drew up plans for the matter of the feng. Thereupon the emperor dismissed Yan and Ba and put aside all the Ru and made no use of them.

In the third month he went east to Goushi and with due rites ascended Taishi, the Central Marchmount. The attendant officials at the foot of the mountain heard what seemed a voice crying "Ten thousand years!" They asked those above, and those above had not spoken; they asked those below, and those below had not spoken. Thereupon three hundred households were given to maintain the sacrifices to Taishi, and the place was named the Town of Exalted Height. Going east he ascended Mount Tai. The grass and trees of the mountain had not yet put out their leaves, so he had men carry a stone up and set it on the summit of Mount Tai.

The emperor then went east on a progress to the seacoast and performed the rites of sacrifice to the Eight Spirits. Men of Qi who submitted memorials speaking of spirits, marvels, and strange arts were counted in the tens of thousands, yet none of them proved true. So he sent out more ships, ordering several thousand of those who spoke of the divine mountains in the sea to seek Penglai and the divine men. Gongsun Qing, bearing the imperial credentials, regularly went ahead to watch at the famous mountains. When he reached Donglai, he said that at night he had seen a man several zhang tall; when he approached him he was not to be seen, but he saw his footprints, which were very large, like those of a bird or a beast. Some of the officials said they had seen an old man leading a dog who said, "I wish to see the Great Lord," and then suddenly was not to be seen. The emperor, having seen the great footprints, had not yet believed; but when the officials spoke of the old man, he was greatly inclined to take him for an immortal. He stayed on by the sea, and the masters of methods with post-carriages, and the unofficial envoys sent to seek immortals, were counted in the thousands.

In the fourth month he returned to Fenggao. The emperor considered that the Ru scholars and the masters of methods differed one from another in what they said of the feng and shan, that it was unorthodox and hard to put into practice. The Son of Heaven went to Liangfu and with due rites sacrificed to the Lord of the Earth. On the yimao day he ordered the palace attendants who were Ru scholars to wear leather caps and the sash with the tablet and to shoot the ox and perform the service. He made the feng sacrifice on the eastern side at the foot of Mount Tai, with the rites of the suburban sacrifice to Taiyi. The feng mound was twelve chi across and nine chi high, and beneath it was a writing upon jade tablets, and the writing was kept secret. When the rites were finished, the Son of Heaven, alone with Zihou, the palace attendant and Master of the Carriage, ascended Mount Tai and there too performed the feng. All these matters were forbidden to be spoken of. The next day he came down by the northern road. On the bingchen day he performed the shan sacrifice at Suran Mountain, northeast of the foot of Mount Tai, with the rites of the sacrifice to the Sovereign Earth. In all of them the Son of Heaven made obeisance in person; his upper garment was yellow, and music was used throughout. Reed grass from between the Jiang and the Huai, one stalk with three ridges, was used as the mat of the spirits. Earth of the five colors was added and mixed into the mound. Strange beasts and flying birds from distant regions, white pheasants and other creatures, were released, and something of these was added to the sacrifice. The wild ox, the yak, the rhinoceros, the elephant, and their like were not used. All came to Mount Tai and then departed. At the sacrifice of the feng and the shan there was as it were a light by night, and by day a white cloud rose from within the mound.

When the Son of Heaven returned from the feng and shan, he took his seat in the Hall of Light, and the assembled officials came forward in turn to wish him long life. Then an edict was issued to the imperial secretary: "With my small and slight person I have received the highest honor; fearful and trembling, I dread that I am not equal to it. My virtue is meager and thin, and I am not clear in the rites and music. When I performed the sacrifice to Taiyi there was as it were an image of shining light; I gazed up as though there were something to be seen; lingering and clinging, I was shaken by the strange manifestations. I wished to stop and did not dare; and so I ascended and performed the feng on Mount Tai, went on to Liangfu, and afterward performed the shan at Suran. Renewing myself, I would gladly begin again together with the officers and grandees. Let there be granted to the people, for every hundred households, one ox and ten piculs of wine; and to those of eighty years and more, and to orphans and widows, two bolts of cloth and silk besides. Let Bo, Fenggao, Sheqiu, and Licheng be exempted and pay no land tax this year. Let there be an amnesty in the empire, as in the amnesty order of the yimao day. In the places through which I have passed, let no convict labor be imposed. Matters more than two years old are none of them to be prosecuted." He also issued an edict saying: "In antiquity the Son of Heaven made a progress of inspection once in five years and performed the service at Mount Tai, and the feudal lords had lodging places for attending court. Let the feudal lords each build a residence at the foot of Mount Tai."

After the Son of Heaven had performed the feng and shan at Mount Tai, there had been no calamity of wind or rain, and the masters of methods said again that Penglai and the divine mountains might now be reached. The emperor was delighted and hoped that he might meet with them, and so he went east again to the sea to gaze out, hoping to meet with Penglai. Zihou, the Master of the Carriage, fell suddenly ill and died in a single day. The emperor then departed, went along the coast, reached Jieshi in the north, made his progress from Liaoxi, passed along the northern frontier, and came to Jiuyuan. In the fifth month he returned to Ganquan. The officials in charge said that, since the precious cauldron had come forth, the era should be Yuanding, and that the present year should be the first year of Yuanfeng.

In the autumn of that year a comet appeared at the Eastern Well. More than ten days later a comet appeared at the Three Terraces. Wang Shuo, the watcher of vapors, said: "When I watched, I alone saw that star come out like a gourd, and after the space of a meal it went in again." The officials in charge said: "Your Majesty has established the feng and shan for the house of Han, and Heaven has requited you with the Star of Virtue."

In the winter of the following year he performed the suburban sacrifice to the Five Emperors at Yong, and on his return bowed and invoked in sacrifice to Taiyi. The words of the offering said: "The Star of Virtue shines and spreads; this is a blessed omen. The Star of Longevity has come forth again, deep-glowing and bright. The Star of Good Faith appears in brightness; the August Emperor reverently bows at the offering of the Grand Invocator."

In the spring Gongsun Qing said that he had seen a divine man on Mount Donglai who seemed to say, "I wish to see the Son of Heaven." The Son of Heaven thereupon went to the city of Goushi and appointed Qing a grandee of the palace. He then went on to Donglai and stayed there several days; he saw nothing, but he saw the footprints of a giant. He again sent out masters of methods, in their thousands, to seek spirits and marvels and to gather the magic mushroom and drugs. That year there was drought. The Son of Heaven, having gone out with no proper occasion, therefore prayed at Wanlisha and, passing by, sacrificed at Mount Tai. On his return he came to Huzi and himself came down to close the breach in the Yellow River; he stayed two days, sank offerings in the water, and departed. He sent two ministers to lead the soldiers in closing the breach; the river was turned into two channels, and the old traces of Yu were restored.

At this time, Nanyue having been destroyed, a man of Yue named Yongzhi said: "It is the custom of the people of Yue to believe in ghosts, and at their sacrifices ghosts are always seen, and they often have effect. Long ago the King of Dong'ou reverenced ghosts and lived to a hundred and sixty. Later generations were slack and negligent, and therefore declined and wasted away." Thereupon shamans of Yue were ordered to set up sacrifices with Yue invocations, with a level terrace and no altar; they too sacrificed to the gods of Heaven, the Lord on High, and the hundred ghosts, and they used divination by fowl. The emperor believed in this, and from that time the Yue sacrifices and divination by fowl were used.

Gongsun Qing said: "The immortals can be seen, but the emperor always goes in haste, and therefore they are not seen. Now Your Majesty may build a lodge such as the one at the city of Goushi and set out dried meat and jujubes, and the divine men may fitly be brought. Besides, immortals like to dwell in towers." Thereupon the emperor ordered that at Chang'an the Feilian and Gui lodges be built, and at Ganquan the Yiyanshou lodge; and he had Qing bear the imperial credentials and set out the appointments and watch for the divine men. He then built the Tongtian Terrace and set the sacrificial vessels beneath it, meaning to call down the immortals and their kind. At Ganquan a new front hall was set up, and the palace buildings began to be enlarged. In summer a magic mushroom grew upon a wall inside a hall. The Son of Heaven, having closed the breach in the river and raised the Tongtian Terrace, and there being as it were a light, issued an edict saying: "Upon the wall at Ganquan a mushroom has grown with nine stalks. Let there be an amnesty in the empire, and let no convict labor be imposed."

In the following year Chaoxian was attacked. In summer there was drought. Gongsun Qing said: "In the time of the Yellow Emperor, when the feng was performed, Heaven sent drought, to dry the feng mound for three years." The emperor then issued an edict saying: "Heaven has sent drought — is the intention to dry the feng mound? Let the empire honor and sacrifice to the Numinous Star."

In the following year the emperor performed the suburban sacrifice at Yong, opened the road through Huizhong, and made a progress along it. In spring he came to Mingze and returned by way of Xihe.

In the winter of the following year the emperor made a progress through Nanjun, came to Jiangling, and turned east. He ascended and made offering at Tianzhu Mountain in Qian, and gave it the title of Southern Marchmount. He floated down the Jiang, went out from Xunyang to Zongyang, passed Pengli, and sacrificed to the famous mountains and rivers there. He went north to Langye and along the seacoast. In the middle of the fourth month he came to Fenggao and performed the feng sacrifice again.

Earlier, when the Son of Heaven performed the feng at Mount Tai, there was a place at the northeastern foot of Mount Tai where in ancient times there had been a Hall of Light; but the place was steep and not open. The emperor wished to build a Hall of Light beside Fenggao, but did not understand its plan and measurements. Gong Yudai, a man of Jinan, presented a diagram of the Hall of Light of the Yellow Emperor's time. In the diagram of the Hall of Light there was a single hall, with no walls on its four sides, roofed with thatch, with water running through, a wall encircling the building and carrying a double roadway, and above it a tower; the entrance was from the southwest and was called Kunlun, and by it the Son of Heaven entered to bow and sacrifice to the Lord on High. Thereupon the emperor ordered that a Hall of Light be built at Fenggao on the Wen River, according to Dai's diagram. When in the fifth year he performed the feng again, he sacrificed to Taiyi and the Five Emperors, seated in the upper place in the Hall of Light, and had the seat of the sacrifice to the Exalted Emperor face them. He sacrificed to the Sovereign Earth in the lower chamber, with twenty sets of the Great Sacrifice. The Son of Heaven entered by the Kunlun road and for the first time made obeisance in the Hall of Light with the rites of the suburban sacrifice. When the rites were finished, the offerings were burned below the hall. The emperor again ascended Mount Tai and had a secret sacrifice upon its summit. Below Mount Tai he sacrificed to the Five Emperors, each in his own quarter, with the Yellow Emperor placed together with the Red Emperor, and the officials in charge attended the sacrifice. When fire was raised on the top of Mount Tai, below they all answered it with fire.

Two years afterward, in the eleventh month, on the jiazi day, the dawn of the new moon and the winter solstice fell together, and those who reckon the calendar took this for the root of the system. The Son of Heaven went in person to Mount Tai and on that day of the eleventh month — the jiazi day, when the dawn of the new moon and the winter solstice fell together — sacrificed to the Lord on High in the Hall of Light, at each renewal of the feng and shan. The words of the offering said: "Heaven has again bestowed upon the August Emperor the Grand Prime and the divine reckoning-stalks; the cycle ends and begins again. The August Emperor reverently bows to Taiyi." He went east to the sea and examined those who had gone into the sea and the masters of methods who sought spirits; none of them proved true, yet he sent out still more, hoping to meet with them.

In the eleventh month, on the yiyou day, the Bailiang Terrace burned. In the twelfth month, on the jiawu day of the new moon, the emperor in person performed the shan sacrifice at Gaoli and sacrificed to the Sovereign Earth. He came to the Bohai Sea, intending to sacrifice from afar toward Penglai and its kind, hoping to reach the Court Apart.

On his return, because of the burning of the Bailiang Terrace, the emperor received the annual accounts at court in Ganquan. Gongsun Qing said: "The Yellow Emperor completed the Qingling Terrace, and on the twelfth day it burned; then the Yellow Emperor built the Bright Court. The Bright Court is Ganquan." Many of the masters of methods said that emperors and kings of antiquity had had their capital at Ganquan. Afterward the Son of Heaven also received the feudal lords at court in Ganquan, and residences for the feudal lords were built at Ganquan. Yongzhi then said: "It is the custom in Yue that when there has been a fire, the house raised again must be made larger, so as to overcome the fire and make it submit." Thereupon the Jianzhang Palace was built, laid out with a thousand gates and ten thousand doors. The front hall was measured higher than the Weiyang Palace. On its east was the Phoenix Watchtower, more than twenty zhang high. On its west was Tangzhong, with a tiger pen of several tens of li. On its north a great pool was made, with the Jian Terrace more than twenty zhang high, called the Taiye Pool; in it were Penglai, Fangzhang, Yingzhou, and Huliang, images of the divine mountains in the sea and of the turtles and fishes there. On its south were the Jade Hall, the Jade-Disc Gate, the great bird, and the like. Then the Shenming Terrace and the Jinggan Tower were raised, measured at more than fifty zhang, with carriage roads joining one to the other.

First Year of Taichu (太初元年)

In summer Han reformed the calendar, making the first month the beginning of the year; yellow was honored as the color; the titles of offices were changed and the seals made with five characters. Accordingly this became the first year of Taichu. In that year there was a western campaign against Dayuan. Locusts rose in great numbers. Lady Ding, Yu Chu of Luoyang, and others used their arts to sacrifice and to curse the Xiongnu and Dayuan.

In the following year the officials in charge said that at the Five Altars at Yong there were no cooked victims in the full set, and that the fragrant offerings were not complete. So the officers of sacrifice were ordered to present at the altars calves with the full set of victims, and food of the five colors according to the conquering phase, and to use wooden figures of horses in place of colts. Only for the Five Emperors were colts used, and colts were used when the emperor went in person to the suburban sacrifice. As for the famous mountains and rivers where colts had been used, wooden figures of horses were substituted in all of them. When the emperor passed by in person, then colts were used. The other rites were as before.

The following year he toured east to the sea and examined the whole class of matters concerning gods and immortals, but there was nothing that could be verified. One of the masters of methods (方士) said, "In the time of the Yellow Emperor five walled enclosures and twelve towers were made, in order to await the divine men at Zhiqi (執期); it was called Welcoming the Year." The Emperor approved building it after that method, and named it Mingnian (明年). The Emperor in person performed the rite of sacrifice to the Supreme Thearch (上帝), and his robes were yellow.

Gongyu Dai (公玊帶) said, "Although in the time of the Yellow Emperor the feng sacrifice was performed on Mount Tai, still Fenghou (風后), Fengju (封鉅), and Qibo (岐伯) had the Yellow Emperor perform the feng on East Mount Tai and the shan sacrifice on Mount Fan, where the tallies matched; only after that did he escape death." The Son of Heaven, having ordered the sacrificial gear set out, came to East Mount Tai; but East Mount Tai was low and small and did not answer to its reputation, so he ordered the officials of sacrifice to perform the rites there, and did not perform the feng and shan. Afterward he ordered Dai to take charge of the sacrifices and to watch for divine manifestations. In summer he then returned to Mount Tai and carried out the rite of the fifth year as before, adding to it the shan sacrifice at Shilü (石閭). Shilü lies on the southern side at the foot of Mount Tai. The masters of methods often said that this was the gateway of the immortals, and therefore the Emperor performed the shan there in person.

Five years after this he came again to Mount Tai and renewed the feng, and on his return passed by Mount Chang (常山) and sacrificed there.

Of the sacrifices instituted by the present Son of Heaven: to Taiyi (泰一) and to Houtu (后土), where every third year he performs the suburban sacrifice in person; and the establishing of the feng and shan of the House of Han, the feng being renewed once every five years. The Taiyi of Bo Ji (薄忌), together with Sanyi, Mingyang, Maxing, and Chixing — five in all — are attended with rites at the proper seasons of the year by the officials of sacrifice under Kuanshu (寬舒). In all there are six sacrifices, and the Grand Invocator has charge of them all. As for the Eight Spirits and the various gods, and Mingnian, Mount Fan, and the other named shrines, they were sacrificed to when the imperial progress passed by, and when it went away the sacrifices ceased. The sacrifices instituted by the masters of methods were each managed by the man himself; when that man came to his end they ceased, and the officials of sacrifice did not take charge of them. All the other sacrifices continued as before. Twelve years after the present Emperor performed the feng and shan he returned, having made the round of the Five Marchmounts and the Four Watercourses. But of the masters of methods who watched and sacrificed for the divine men, and who entered the sea in search of Penglai, in the end not one had any proof to show. And Gongsun Qing (公孫卿), who kept watch for the spirits, still offered the footprints of the giant as his explanation, and it came to nothing. The Son of Heaven grew ever more slack and weary of the strange and roundabout talk of the masters of methods, yet to the end he kept them on a loose tether and did not break with them, hoping that he might meet a true one. From this time forward the masters of methods who spoke of sacrificing to the spirits grew more numerous than ever, and what their results were may be seen.

Judgment (評論)

The Grand Historian says: I have followed the imperial progresses that sacrificed to Heaven and Earth, to the various gods and to the famed mountains and rivers, and that performed the feng and shan. I entered the Palace of Longevity and attended at the sacrifices where the spirits spoke; I examined thoroughly the words of the masters of methods and of the officials of sacrifice; and thereupon I withdrew and set them out in order. Of all those who from ancient times onward have had dealings with ghosts and spirits, the outward face and the inward reality are here fully to be seen. If there is a gentleman in later days, he will be able to look into the matter. As for the particulars of the sacrificial stands and dishes, of the jade tablets and the offerings of silk, and the rites of presenting and pledging the cup — for these there are the officers in charge.

Colophon

This file was prepared for the Chinese shelf of the Good Works Library, translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. The chapter is dense with the names and titles of masters of methods, spirits, and sacrificial offices; these are kept in full rather than trimmed, and the Grand Historian's closing first-person note — that he personally followed the progresses and examined the claims made to the emperor — is kept as his own direct statement rather than folded into third-person narration.

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 the text: as is generally recognized, this chapter is thought to be a later replacement for Sima Qian's lost original account of Emperor Wu's reign, and it overlaps substantially with the Fengshan shu (封禪書) elsewhere in the Shiji; we note that transmission question here as a matter of record, not as something this translation resolves.

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12 孝武本紀

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.

孝武

孝武皇帝者，孝景中子也。母曰王太后。孝景四年，以皇子為膠東王。孝景七年，栗太子廢為臨江王，以膠東王為太子。孝景十六年崩，太子即位，為孝武皇帝。孝武皇帝初即位，尤敬鬼神之祀。

元年，漢興已六十餘歲矣，天下乂安，薦紳之屬皆望天子封禪改正度也。而上鄉儒術，招賢良，趙綰、王臧等以文學為公卿，欲議古立明堂城南，以朝諸侯。草巡狩封禪改歷服色事未就。會竇太后治黃老言，不好儒術，使人微得趙綰等姦利事，召案綰、臧，綰、臧自殺，諸所興為者皆廢。

後六年，竇太后崩。

元光元年

其明年，上徵文學之士公孫弘等。

明年，上初至雍，郊見五畤。後常三歲一郊。是時上求神君，捨之上林中蹄氏觀。神君者，長陵女子，以子死悲哀，故見神於先後宛若。宛若祠之其室，民多往祠。平原君往祠，其後子孫以尊顯。及武帝即位，則厚禮置祠之內中，聞其言，不見其人云。

是時而李少君亦以祠灶、穀道、卻老方見上，上尊之。少君者，故深澤侯入以主方。匿其年及所生長，常自謂七十，能使物，卻老。其游以方遍諸侯。無妻子。人聞其能使物及不死，更饋遺之，常餘金錢帛衣食。人皆以為不治產業而饒給，又不知其何所人，愈信，爭事之。少君資好方，善為巧發奇中。嘗從武安侯飲，坐中有年九十餘老人，少君乃言與其大父游射處，老人為兒時從其大父行，識其處，一坐盡驚。少君見上，上有故銅器，問少君。少君曰：「此器齊桓公十年陳於柏寢。」已而案其刻，果齊桓公器。一宮盡駭，以少君為神，數百歲人也。

少君言於上曰：「祠灶則致物，致物而丹沙可化為黃金，黃金成以為飲食器則益壽，益壽而海中蓬萊僊者可見，見之以封禪則不死，黃帝是也。臣嘗游海上，見安期生，食臣棗，大如瓜。安期生僊者，通蓬萊中，合則見人，不合則隱。」於是天子始親祠灶，而遣方士入海求蓬萊安期生之屬，而事化丹沙諸藥齊為黃金矣。

居久之，李少君病死。天子以為化去不死也，而使黃錘史寬舒受其方。求蓬萊安期生莫能得，而海上燕齊怪迂之方士多相效，更言神事矣。

亳人薄誘忌奏祠泰一方，曰：「天神貴者泰一，泰一佐曰五帝。古者天子以春秋祭泰一東南郊，用太牢具，七日，為壇開八通之鬼道。」於是天子令太祝立其祠長安東南郊，常奉祠如忌方。其後人有上書，言「古者天子三年一用太牢具祠神三一：天一，地一，泰一」。天子許之，令太祝領祠之忌泰一壇上，如其方。後人復有上書，言「古者天子常以春秋解祠，祠黃帝用一梟破鏡；冥羊用羊；祠馬行用一青牡馬；泰一、皋山山君、地長用牛；武夷君用乾魚；陰陽使者以一牛」。令祠官領之如其方，而祠於忌泰一壇旁。

其後，天子苑有白鹿，以其皮為幣，以發瑞應，造白金焉。

其明年，郊雍，獲一角獸，若麃然。有司曰：「陛下肅祗郊祀，上帝報享，錫一角獸，蓋麟云。」於是以薦五畤，畤加一牛以燎。賜諸侯白金，以風符應合于天地。於是濟北王以為天子且封禪，乃上書獻泰山及其旁邑。天子受之，更以他縣償之。常山王有罪，遷，天子封其弟於真定，以續先王祀，而以常山為郡。然後五嶽皆在天子之郡。

其明年，齊人少翁以鬼神方見上。上有所幸王夫人，夫人卒，少翁以方術蓋夜致王夫人及灶鬼之貌云，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。文成言曰：「上即欲與神通，宮室被服不象神，神物不至。」乃作畫雲氣車，及各以勝日駕車辟惡鬼。又作甘泉宮，中為臺室，畫天、地、泰一諸神，而置祭具以致天神。居歲餘，其方益衰，神不至。乃為帛書以飯牛，詳弗知也，言此牛腹中有奇。殺而視之，得書，書言其怪，天子疑之。有識其手書，問之人，果（為）［偽］書。於是誅文成將軍而隱之。

其後則又作柏梁、銅柱、承露僊人掌之屬矣。

文成死明年，天子病鼎湖甚，巫醫無所不致，（至）不愈。游水發根乃言曰：「上郡有巫，病而鬼下之。」上召置祠之甘泉。及病，使人問神君。神君言曰：「天子毋憂病。病少愈，彊與我會甘泉。」於是病愈，遂幸甘泉，病良已。大赦天下，置壽宮神君。神君最貴者（大夫）［太一］，其佐曰大禁、司命之屬，皆從之。非可得見，聞其音，與人言等。時去時來，來則風肅然也。居室帷中。時晝言，然常以夜。天子祓，然後入。因巫為主人，關飲食。所欲者言行下。又置壽宮、北宮，張羽旗，設供具，以禮神君。神君所言，上使人受書其言，命之曰「畫法」。其所語，世俗之所知也，毋絕殊者，而天子獨喜。其事祕，世莫知也。

其後三年，有司言元宜以天瑞命，不宜以一二數。一元曰建元，二元以長星曰元光，三元以郊得一角獸曰元狩云。

元狩元年

其明年冬，天子郊雍，議曰：「今上帝朕親郊，而后土毋祀，則禮不答也。」有司與太史公、祠官寬舒等議：「天地牲角繭栗。今陛下親祀后土，后土宜於澤中圜丘為五壇，壇一黃犢太牢具，已祠盡瘞，而從祠衣上黃。」於是天子遂東，始立后土祠汾陰脽上，如寬舒等議。上親望拜，如上帝禮。禮畢，天子遂至滎陽而還。過雒陽，下詔曰：「三代邈絕，遠矣難存。其以三十里地封周後為周子南君，以奉先王祀焉。」是歲，天子始巡郡縣，侵尋於泰山矣。

其春，樂成侯上書言欒大。欒大，膠東宮人，故嘗與文成將軍同師，已而為膠東王尚方。而樂成侯姊為康王后，毋子。康王死，他姬子立為王。而康后有淫行，與王不相中（得），相危以法。康后聞文成已死，而欲自媚於上，乃遣欒大因樂成侯求見言方。天子既誅文成，後悔恨其早死，惜其方不盡，及見欒大，大悅。大為人長美，言多方略，而敢為大言，處之不疑。大言曰：「臣嘗往來海中，見安期、羨門之屬。顧以為臣賤，不信臣。又以為康王諸侯耳，不足予方。臣數言康王，康王又不用臣。臣之師曰：『黃金可成，而河決可塞，不死之藥可得，僊人可致也。』臣恐效文成，則方士皆掩口，惡敢言方哉！」上曰：「文成食馬肝死耳。子誠能修其方，我何愛乎！」大曰：「臣師非有求人，人者求之。陛下必欲致之，則貴其使者，令有親屬，以客禮待之，勿卑，使各佩其信印，乃可使通言於神人。神人尚肯邪不邪。致尊其使，然後可致也。」於是上使先驗小方，鬬旗，旗自相觸擊。

是時上方憂河決，而黃金不就，乃拜大為五利將軍。居月餘，得四金印，佩天士將軍、地土將軍、大通將軍、天道將軍印。制詔御史：「昔禹疏九江，決四瀆。閒者河溢皋陸，隄繇不息。朕臨天下二十有八年，天若遺朕士而大通焉。乾稱『蜚龍』，『鴻漸于般』，意庶幾與焉。其以二千戶封地士將軍大為樂通侯。」賜列侯甲第，僮千人。乘輿斥車馬帷帳器物以充其家。又以衛長公主妻之，齎金萬斤，更名其邑曰當利公主。天子親如五利之第。使者存問所給，連屬於道。自大主將相以下，皆置酒其家，獻遺之。於是天子又刻玉印曰「天道將軍」，使使衣羽衣，夜立白茅上，五利將軍亦衣羽衣，立白茅上受印，以示弗臣也。而佩「天道」者，且為天子道天神也。於是五利常夜祠其家，欲以下神。神未至而百鬼集矣，然頗能使之。其後治裝行，東入海，求其師云。大見數月，佩六印，貴振天下，而海上燕齊之閒，莫不搤捥而自言有禁方，能神僊矣。

其夏六月中，汾陰巫錦為民祠魏脽后土營旁，見地如鉤狀，掊視得鼎。鼎大異於眾鼎，文鏤毋款識，怪之，言吏。吏告河東太守勝，勝以聞。天子使使驗問巫錦得鼎無姦詐，乃以禮祠，迎鼎至甘泉，從行，上薦之。至中山，晏溫，有黃雲蓋焉。有麃過，上自射之，因以祭雲。至長安，公卿大夫皆議請尊寶鼎。天子曰：「閒者河溢，歲數不登，故巡祭后土，祈為百姓育穀。今年豐廡未有報，鼎曷為出哉？」有司皆曰：「聞昔大帝興神鼎一，一者一統，天地萬物所系終也。黃帝作寶鼎三，象天地人也。禹收九牧之金，鑄九鼎，皆嘗鬺烹上帝鬼神。遭聖則興，遷于夏商。周德衰，宋之社亡，鼎乃淪伏而不見。頌云『自堂徂基，自羊徂牛；鼐鼎及鼒，不虞不驁，胡考之休』。今鼎至甘泉，光潤龍變，承休無疆。合茲中山，有黃白雲降蓋，若獸為符，路弓乘矢，集獲壇下，報祠大饗。惟受命而帝者心知其意而合德焉。鼎宜見於祖禰，藏於帝廷，以合明應。」制曰：「可。」

入海求蓬萊者，言蓬萊不遠，而不能至者，殆不見其氣。上乃遣望氣佐侯其氣雲。

其秋，上幸雍，且郊。或曰「五帝，泰一之佐也。宜立泰一而上親郊之」。上疑未定。齊人公孫卿曰：「今年得寶鼎，其冬辛巳朔旦冬至，與黃帝時等。」卿有札書曰：「黃帝得寶鼎宛（侯）［朐］，問於鬼臾區。區對曰：『（黃）帝得寶鼎神筴，是歲己酉朔旦冬至，得天之紀，終而復始。』於是黃帝迎日推筴，後率二十歲得朔旦冬至，凡二十推，三百八十年。黃帝僊登于天。」卿因所忠欲奏之。所忠視其書不經，疑其妄書，謝曰：「寶鼎事已決矣，尚何以為！」卿因嬖人奏之。上大說，召問卿。對曰：「受此書申功，申功已死。」上曰：「申功何人也？」卿曰：「申功，齊人也。與安期生通，受黃帝言，無書，獨有此鼎書。曰『漢興復當黃帝之時。漢之聖者在高祖之孫且曾孫也。寶鼎出而與神通，封禪。封禪七十二王，唯黃帝得上泰山封』。申功曰：『漢主亦當上封，上封則能僊登天矣。黃帝時萬諸侯，而神靈之封居七千。天下名山八，而三在蠻夷，五在中國。中國華山、首山、太室、泰山、東萊，此五山黃帝之所常遊，與神會。黃帝且戰且學僊。患百姓非其道，乃斷斬非鬼神者。百餘歲然後得與神通。黃帝郊雍上帝，宿三月。鬼臾區號大鴻，死葬雍，故鴻冢是也。其後於黃帝接萬靈明廷。明廷者，甘泉也。所謂寒門者，谷口也。黃帝采首山銅，鑄鼎荊山下。鼎既成，有龍垂胡髯下迎黃帝。黃帝上騎，群臣後宮從上龍七十餘人，乃上去。餘小臣不得上，乃悉持龍髯，龍髯拔，墮黃帝之弓。百姓仰望黃帝既上天，乃抱其弓與龍胡髯號。故後世因名其處曰鼎湖，其弓曰烏號。』」於是天子曰：「嗟乎！吾誠得如黃帝，吾視去妻子如脫屣耳。」乃拜卿為郎，東使候神於太室。

上遂郊雍，至隴西，西登空桐，幸甘泉。令祠官寬舒等具泰一祠壇，壇放薄忌泰一壇，壇三垓。五帝壇環居其下，各如其方，黃帝西南，除八通鬼道。泰一所用，如雍一畤物，而加醴棗脯之屬，殺一牦牛以為俎豆牢具。而五帝獨有俎豆醴進。其下四方地，為餟食群神從者及北斗云。已祠，胙餘皆燎之。其牛色白，鹿居其中，彘在鹿中，水而洎之。祭日以牛，祭月以羊彘特。泰一祝宰則衣紫及繡。五帝各如其色，日赤，月白。

十一月辛已朔旦冬至，昧爽，天子始郊拜泰一。朝朝日，夕夕月，則揖；而見泰一如雍禮。其贊饗曰：「天始以寶鼎神筴授皇帝，朔而又朔，終而復始，皇帝敬拜見焉。」而衣上黃。其祠列火滿壇，壇旁烹炊具。有司云「祠上有光焉」。公卿言「皇帝始郊見泰一雲陽，有司奉瑄玉嘉牲薦饗。是夜有美光，及晝，黃氣上屬天。」太史公、祠官寬舒等曰：「神靈之休，祐福兆祥，宜因此地光域立泰畤壇以明應。令太祝領，（祀）［秋］及臘閒祠。三歲天子一郊見。」

其秋，為伐南越，告禱泰一，以牡荊畫幡日月北斗登龍，以象天一三星，為泰一鋒，名曰「靈旗」。為兵禱，則太史奉以指所伐國。而五利將軍使不敢入海，之泰山祠。上使人微隨驗，實無所見。五利妄言見其師，其方盡，多不讎。上乃誅五利。

其冬，公孫卿候神河南，見僊人跡緱氏城上，有物若雉，往來城上。天子親幸緱氏城視跡。問卿：「得毋效文成、五利乎？」卿曰：「僊者非有求人主，人主求之。其道非少寬假，神不來。言神事，事如迂誕，積以歲乃可致。」於是郡國各除道，繕治宮觀名山神祠所，以望幸矣。

其年，既滅南越，上有嬖臣李延年以好音見。上善之，下公卿議，曰：「民閒祠尚有鼓舞之樂，今郊祠而無樂，豈稱乎？」公卿曰：「古者祀天地皆有樂，而神祇可得而禮。」或曰：「泰帝使素女鼓五十弦瑟，悲，帝禁不止，故破其瑟為二十五弦。」於是塞南越，禱祠泰一、后土，始用樂舞，益召歌兒，作二十五弦及箜篌瑟自此起。

其來年冬，上議曰：「古者先振兵澤旅，然後封禪。」乃遂北巡朔方，勒兵十餘萬，還祭黃帝冢橋山，澤兵須如。上曰：「吾聞黃帝不死，今有冢，何也？」或對曰：「黃帝已僊上天，群臣葬其衣冠。」即至甘泉，為且用事泰山，先類祠泰一。

自得寶鼎，上與公卿諸生議封禪。封禪用希曠絕，莫知其儀禮，而群儒采封禪尚書、周官、王制之望祀射牛事。齊人丁公年九十餘，曰：「封者，合不死之名也。秦皇帝不得上封。陛下必欲上，稍上即無風雨，遂上封矣。」上於是乃令諸儒習射牛，草封禪儀。數年，至且行。天子既聞公孫卿及方士之言，黃帝以上封禪，皆致怪物與神通，欲放黃帝以嘗接神僊人蓬萊士，高世比德於九皇，而頗采儒術以文之。群儒既以不能辯明封禪事，又牽拘於詩書古文而不敢騁。上為封祠器示群儒，群儒或曰「不與古同」，徐偃又曰「太常諸生行禮不如魯善」，周霸屬圖封事，於是上絀偃、霸，盡罷諸儒弗用。

三月，遂東幸緱氏，禮登中嶽太室。從官在山下聞若有言「萬歲」云。問上，上不言；問下，下不言。於是以三百戶封太室奉祠，命曰崇高邑。東上泰山，山之草木葉未生，乃令人上石立之泰山顛。

上遂東巡海上，行禮祠八神。齊人之上疏言神怪奇方者以萬數，然無驗者。乃益發船，令言海中神山者數千人求蓬萊神人。公孫卿持節常先行候名山，至東萊，言夜見一人，長數丈，就之則不見，見其跡甚大，類禽獸云。群臣有言見一老父牽狗，言「吾欲見巨公」，已忽不見。上既見大跡，未信，及群臣有言老父，則大以為僊人也。宿留海上，與方士傳車及閒使求僊人以千數。

四月，還至奉高。上念諸儒及方士言封禪人人殊，不經，難施行。天子至梁父，禮祠地主。乙卯，令侍中儒者皮弁薦紳，射牛行事。封泰山下東方，如郊祠泰一之禮。封廣丈二尺，高九尺，其下則有玉牒書，書祕。禮畢，天子獨與侍中奉車子侯上泰山，亦有封。其事皆禁。明日，下陰道。丙辰，禪泰山下阯東北肅然山，如祭后土禮。天子皆親拜見，衣上黃而盡用樂焉。江淮閒一茅三脊為神藉。五色土益雜封。縱遠方奇獸蜚禽及白雉諸物，頗以加祠。兕旄牛犀象之屬弗用。皆至泰山然後去。封禪祠，其夜若有光，晝有白雲起封中。

天子從封禪還，坐明堂，群臣更上壽。於是制詔御史：「朕以眇眇之身承至尊，兢兢焉懼弗任。維德菲薄，不明于禮樂。修祀泰一，若有象景光，屑如有望，依依震於怪物，欲止不敢，遂登封泰山，至於梁父，而後禪肅然。自新，嘉與士大夫更始，賜民百戶牛一酒十石，加年八十孤寡布帛二匹。復博、奉高、蛇丘、歷城，毋出今年租稅。其赦天下，如乙卯赦令。行所過毋有復作。事在二年前，皆勿聽治。」又下詔曰：「古者天子五載一巡狩，用事泰山，諸侯有朝宿地。其令諸侯各治邸泰山下。」

天子既已封禪泰山，無風雨菑，而方士更言蓬萊諸神山若將可得，於是上欣然庶幾遇之，乃復東至海上望，冀遇蓬萊焉。奉車子侯暴病，一日死。上乃遂去，并海上，北至碣石，巡自遼西，歷北邊至九原。五月，返至甘泉。有司言寶鼎出為元鼎，以今年為元封元年。

其秋，有星茀于東井。後十餘日，有星茀于三能。望氣王朔言：「候獨見其星出如瓠，食頃復入焉。」有司言曰：「陛下建漢家封禪，天其報德星雲。」

其來年冬，郊雍五帝，還，拜祝祠泰一。贊饗曰：「德星昭衍，厥維休祥。壽星仍出，淵耀光明。信星昭見，皇帝敬拜泰祝之饗。」

其春，公孫卿言見神人東萊山，若云「見天子」。天子於是幸緱氏城，拜卿為中大夫。遂至東萊，宿留之數日，毋所見，見大人跡。復遣方士求神怪采芝藥以千數。是歲旱。於是天子既出毋名，乃禱萬里沙，過祠泰山。還至瓠子，自臨塞決河，留二日，沈祠而去。使二卿將卒塞決河，河徙二渠，復禹之故跡焉。

是時既滅南越，越人勇之乃言「越人俗信鬼，而其祠皆見鬼，數有效。昔東甌王敬鬼，壽至百六十歲。後世謾怠，故衰秏」。乃令越巫立越祝祠，安臺無壇，亦祠天神上帝百鬼，而以雞卜。上信之，越祠雞卜始用焉。

公孫卿曰：「僊人可見，而上往常遽，以故不見。今陛下可為觀，如緱氏城，置脯棗，神人宜可致。且僊人好樓居。」於是上令長安則作蜚廉桂觀，甘泉則作益延壽觀，使卿持節設具而候神人，乃作通天臺，置祠具其下，將招來神僊之屬。於是甘泉更置前殿，始廣諸宮室。夏，有芝生殿防內中。天子為塞河，興通天臺，若有光雲，乃下詔曰：「甘泉防生芝九莖，赦天下，毋有復作。」

其明年，伐朝鮮。夏，旱。公孫卿曰：「黃帝時封則天旱，乾封三年。」上乃下詔曰：「天旱，意乾封乎？其令天下尊祠靈星焉。」

其明年，上郊雍，通回中道，巡之。春，至鳴澤，從西河歸。

其明年冬，上巡南郡，至江陵而東。登禮潛之天柱山，號曰南嶽。浮江，自尋陽出樅陽，過彭蠡，祀其名山川。北至瑯邪，并海上。四月中，至奉高修封焉。

初，天子封泰山，泰山東北阯古時有明堂處，處險不敞。上欲治明堂奉高旁，未曉其制度。濟南人公玊帶上黃帝時明堂圖。明堂圖中有一殿，四面無壁，以茅蓋，通水，圜宮垣為複道，上有樓，從西南入，命曰昆侖，天子從之入，以拜祠上帝焉。於是上令奉高作明堂汶上，如帶圖。及五年修封，則祠泰一、五帝於明堂上坐，令高皇帝祠坐對之。祠后土於下房，以二十太牢。天子從昆侖道入，始拜明堂如郊禮。禮畢，燎堂下。而上又上泰山，有祕祠其顛。而泰山下祠五帝，各如其方，黃帝并赤帝，而有司侍祠焉。泰山上舉火，下悉應之。

其後二歲，十一月甲子朔旦冬至，推歷者以本統。天子親至泰山，以十一月甲子朔旦冬至日祠上帝明堂，每修封禪。其贊饗曰：「天增授皇帝泰元神筴，周而復始。皇帝敬拜泰一。」東至海上，考入海及方士求神者，莫驗，然益遣，冀遇之。

十一月乙酉，柏梁災。十二月甲午朔，上親禪高里，祠后土。臨渤海，將以望祠蓬萊之屬，冀至殊庭焉。

上還，以柏梁災故，朝受計甘泉。公孫卿曰：「黃帝就青靈臺，十二日燒，黃帝乃治明庭。明庭，甘泉也。」方士多言古帝王有都甘泉者。其後天子又朝諸侯甘泉，甘泉作諸侯邸。勇之乃曰：「越俗有火災，復起屋必以大，用勝服之。」於是作建章宮，度為千門萬戶。前殿度高未央，其東則鳳闕，高二十餘丈。其西則唐中，數十里虎圈。其北治大池，漸臺高二十餘丈，名曰泰液池，中有蓬萊、方丈、瀛洲、壺梁，象海中神山龜魚之屬。其南有玉堂、璧門、大鳥之屬。乃立神明臺、井幹樓，度五十餘丈，輦道相屬焉。

太初元年

夏，漢改歷，以正月為歲首，而色上黃，官名更印章以五字。因為太初元年。是歲，西伐大宛。蝗大起。丁夫人、雒陽虞初等以方祠詛匈奴、大宛焉。

其明年，有司言雍五畤無牢熟具，芬芳不備。乃命祠官進畤犢牢具，五色食所勝，而以木耦馬代駒焉。獨五帝用駒，行親郊用駒。及諸名山川用駒者，悉以木耦馬代。行過，乃用駒。他禮如故。

其明年，東巡海上，考神僊之屬，未有驗者。方士有言「黃帝時為五城十二樓，以候神人於執期，命曰迎年」。上許作之如方，名曰明年。上親禮祠上帝，衣上黃焉。

公玊帶曰：「黃帝時雖封泰山，然風后、封鉅、岐伯令黃帝封東泰山，禪凡山合符，然後不死焉。」天子既令設祠具，至東泰山，東泰山卑小，不稱其聲，乃令祠官禮之，而不封禪焉。其後令帶奉祠候神物。夏，遂還泰山，修五年之禮如前，而加禪祠石閭。石閭者，在泰山下阯南方，方士多言此僊人之閭也，故上親禪焉。

其後五年，復至泰山修封，還過祭常山。

今天子所興祠，泰一、后土，三年親郊祠，建漢家封禪，五年一修封。薄忌泰一及三一、冥羊、馬行、赤星，五，寬舒之祠官以歲時致禮。凡六祠，皆太祝領之。至如八神諸神，明年、凡山他名祠，行過則祀，去則已。方士所興祠，各自主，其人終則已，祠官弗主。他祠皆如其故。今上封禪，其後十二歲而還，徧於五嶽、四瀆矣。而方士之候祠神人，入海求蓬萊，終無有驗。而公孫卿之候神者，猶以大人跡為解，無其效。天子益怠厭方士之怪迂語矣，然終羈縻弗絕，冀遇其真。自此之後，方士言祠神者彌眾，然其效可睹矣。

【索隐述赞】孝武纂極，四海承平。志尚奢麗，尤敬神明。壇開八道，接通五城。朝親五利，夕拜文成。祭非祀典，巡乖卜征。登嵩勒岱，望景傳聲。迎年祀日，改曆定正。疲秏中土，事彼邊兵。日不暇給，人無聊生。俯觀嬴政，幾欲齊衡。

Source Colophon

The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian (article 史記/卷012, revision of 22 August 2026), 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 12 — Xiaowu Benji