The Book of Documents — Shangshu · Tianmu Anglican Church

Shangshu — the fifty-eight chapters of the received text, with the Preface to the Documents

The Book of Documents, Shangshu, also called the Shujing or "Classic of Documents," is the oldest gathering of Chinese political prose: proclamations to the people, oaths sworn before battle, counsels offered to a throne, charges handed to a departing officer, and one great cosmological memorandum on the ordering of the world. It runs from the legendary reigns of Yao and Shun, through the Xia and the Shang, to the kings of Zhou and their feudal lords. Tradition ascribes its gathering to Confucius. The documents in it are of very different ages, and the oldest of the Zhou announcements are among the hardest Chinese ever set down.

The collection is arranged in four Books — of Yu, of Xia, of Shang, and of Zhou — and is preceded here by the Preface to the Documents, the short traditional notice that says of each chapter why it was made. The received text of fifty-eight chapters is printed complete, including the "Old Text" chapters whose authenticity has been doubted since the philologists of the Qing dynasty; this translation prints what the tradition transmits and does not adjudicate that question. The documents recovered in recent decades from the Tsinghua bamboo slips are not included here, except that the source transcription sets a bamboo-slip version of the Metal-Bound Coffer beside the transmitted chapter and labels it as such, and both are given.

A note on the rendering. Persons, states, and places are given in pinyin without tone marks. 德 is "virtue," 天命 "the mandate of Heaven," 上帝 "the Lord on High," 禮 "rites" or "ritual propriety," 中 "the mean." The Documents constantly use the king's formula for himself, 予一人, "I, the one man," and speak of the common people as 黎民, "the black-haired people," and 百姓, "the hundred clans." Ranks follow the conventional five — duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron. Where the Chinese is broken or genuinely dark, the English has been left plain rather than smoothed over.

Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese, which is printed in full below. Complete English translations of this classic already exist — James Legge (1865), Bernhard Karlgren (1950), and Martin Palmer (2014) among them; this translation was made independently from the Chinese, did not consult them, and makes no claim of firstness.

Preface to the Documents (書序)
The Books of Yu (虞書)
- Canon of Yao (堯典)
- Canon of Shun (舜典)
- Counsels of the Great Yu (大禹謨)
- Counsels of Gao Yao (皐陶謨)
- Yi and Ji (益稷)
The Books of Xia (夏書)
- Tribute of Yu (禹貢)
- Speech at Gan (甘誓)
- Songs of the Five Sons (五子之歌)
- Punitive Expedition of Yin (胤征)
The Books of Shang (商書)
- Speech of Tang (湯誓)
- Announcement of Zhonghui (仲虺之誥)
- Announcement of Tang (湯誥)
- Instructions of Yi (伊訓)
- Taijia, Upper, Middle, and Lower (太甲上・中・下)
- Common Possession of Pure Virtue (咸有一德)
- Pan Geng, Upper, Middle, and Lower (盤庚上・中・下)
- Charge to Yue, Upper, Middle, and Lower (說命上・中・下)
- Day of the Supplementary Sacrifice to Gaozong (高宗肜日)
- Chief of the West's Conquest of Li (西伯戡黎)
- Viscount of Wei (微子)
The Books of Zhou (周書)
- Great Declaration, Upper, Middle, and Lower (泰誓上・中・下)
- Speech at Mu (牧誓)
- Successful Completion of the War (武成)
- Great Plan (洪範)
- Hounds of Lü (旅獒)
- Metal-Bound Coffer (金縢)
- Great Announcement (大誥)
- Charge to the Viscount of Wei (微子之命)
- Announcement to Kang (康誥)
- Announcement about Drunkenness (酒誥)
- Timber of the Rottlera (梓材)
- Announcement of Duke Shao (召誥)
- Announcement concerning Luo (洛誥)
- Numerous Officers (多士)
- Against Luxurious Ease (無逸)
- Prince Shi (君奭)
- Charge to Zhong of Cai (蔡仲之命)
- Numerous Regions (多方)
- Establishment of Government (立政)
- Officers of Zhou (周官)
- Prince Chen (君陳)
- Testamentary Charge (顧命)
- Announcement of King Kang (康王之誥)
- Charge to Bi (畢命)
- Jun Ya (君牙)
- Charge to Jiong (冏命)
- Marquis of Lü on Punishments (呂刑)
- Charge to the Marquis Wen (文侯之命)
- Speech at Bi (費誓)
- Speech of Qin (秦誓)

Translation

Preface to the Documents (書序)

Of old there was the Emperor Yao (堯), perceptive and intelligent, cultured and thoughtful, whose light filled and settled all under Heaven. When he was about to withdraw from his place and yield it to Shun of Yu, the Canon of Yao was made.

Shun of Yu (舜) was of low and obscure station. Yao heard that he was perceptive and intelligent, and meaning to have him succeed to the throne, tested him through one difficulty after another. Hence the Canon of Shun was made.

The Emperor set in order the lands below by their regions, established dwellings by region, and distinguished the living things and divided them into their kinds. Hence were made Guzuo, the Jiugong in nine sections, and Gaoyu.

Gao Yao (皋陶) set forth his counsels, Yu (禹) completed his work, and the Emperor Shun confirmed them. Hence were made the Great Yu, the Counsels of Gao Yao, and Yi and Ji.

Yu marked off the nine provinces, followed the mountains and dredged the rivers, and assessed the soils to make the Tribute.

Qi fought with the lord of Hu in the wilds of Gan. Hence the Speech at Gan was made.

Taikang lost his state. His five younger brothers waited at the bend of the Luo. Hence the Songs of the Five Sons were made.

Xi and He sank into drunkenness and excess, letting the seasons fall into neglect and throwing the days into confusion. The lord of Yin went out to chastise them. Hence the Punitive Expedition of Yin was made.

From Xie down to Cheng Tang there were eight removals. Tang first dwelt at Bo, following the dwelling of the former kings. Hence were made Digao and Liwo.

Tang chastised the feudal lords. The earl of Ge did not sacrifice, and Tang chastised him first of all. Hence the Chastisement of Tang was made.

Yi Yin (伊尹) left Bo and went to Xia. Having come to loathe the house of Xia, he returned again to Bo. Entering by the north gate, he met Ru Jiu and Ru Fang. Hence were made Ru Jiu and Ru Fang.

Yi Yin assisted Tang in attacking Jie. They went up from Er and then fought with Jie in the wilds of Mingtiao. Hence the Speech of Tang was made.

When Tang had conquered Xia he wished to move its altar of the soil, but it could not be done. Hence were made the Altar of Xia, Yizhi, and Chen Hu.

The army of Xia was utterly broken. Tang followed after it, then attacked Sanzong and carried off its precious jades. Yi Bo and Zhong Bo made the Canon of Treasures.

Tang returned from Xia and came to Dajiong, and Zhonghui made his Announcement.

When Tang had put away the mandate of Xia, he returned again to Bo. Hence the Announcement of Tang was made.

Jiu Dan made the Clear Dwelling.

When Cheng Tang had died, in the first year of Taijia, Yi Yin made the Instructions of Yi, Setting Forth the Charge, and The Departed Sovereign.

Taijia, having been set on the throne, was not enlightened, and Yi Yin banished him to Tong. In the third year he returned to Bo, having turned his mind to the constant way, and Yi Yin made Taijia in three sections.

Yi Yin made The Common Possession of Pure Virtue.

When Woding had buried Yi Yin at Bo, Jiu Dan set forth in instruction the deeds of Yi Yin. Hence Woding was made.

Yi Zhi assisted Dawu. At Bo a portentous mulberry and paper-mulberry grew up together in the court. Yi Zhi spoke of it to Wu Xian. Hence Xianyi was made in four sections.

Taiwu spoke of it to Yi Zhi. Hence were made Yi Zhi and Yuanming.

Zhongding removed to Xiao. Hence Zhongding was made.

Hedanjia dwelt at Xiang. Hence Hedanjia was made.

Zuyi was ruined by the waters at Geng. Hence Zuyi was made.

Pan Geng carried out the fifth removal, meaning to govern at Yin near Bo. The people sighed and resented one another. Hence Pan Geng was made in three sections.

Gaozong dreamed that he had found Yue, and sent the hundred craftsmen to seek him in the wilds. They found him at Fuyan. Hence the Charge to Yue was made in three sections.

Gaozong was sacrificing to Cheng Tang when a flying pheasant alighted on the ear of the tripod and crowed. Zu Ji instructed the king about it. Hence were made The Day of the Supplementary Sacrifice to Gaozong and The Instructions of Gaozong.

Yin began to blame Zhou when the men of Zhou overcame Li. Zu Yi was afraid and hurried to report it to Shou. Hence The Chief of the West's Conquest of Li was made.

When Yin had set aside the mandate of Heaven, the Viscount of Wei made his Announcement to the Grand Tutor and the Junior Tutor.

It was the eleventh year, and King Wu attacked Yin. In the first month, on the day wuwu, the army crossed at Mengjin. Hence the Great Declaration was made in three sections.

King Wu, with three hundred war chariots and three hundred tiger-brave guards, fought with Shou in the wilds of Mu. Hence the Speech at Mu was made.

King Wu attacked Yin. He went out and smote them, then sent back the beasts of war and set down in record the affairs of his government. Hence The Successful Completion of the War was made.

King Wu conquered Yin, killed Shou, set up Wugeng, and returned with the Viscount of Ji. Hence the Great Plan was made.

When King Wu had conquered Yin, he gave states to the feudal lords and distributed the ancestral vessels. Hence The Division of the Vessels was made.

The Lü of the west presented a mastiff, and the Grand Protector made The Hounds of Lü.

The earl of Chao came to court, and the earl of Rui made The Charge concerning the Chao Mission.

King Wu fell ill, and the Duke of Zhou (周公) made the Metal-Bound Coffer.

King Wu died. The three overseers and the Huai Yi rebelled. The Duke of Zhou assisted King Cheng, and being about to put away Yin, made the Great Announcement.

When King Cheng had put away the mandate of Yin and killed Wugeng, he charged Qi, the Viscount of Wei, to take the place of the successors of Yin. Hence The Charge to the Viscount of Wei was made.

Shu of Tang obtained a stalk of grain that grew on separate furrows but with joined ears, and presented it to the Son of Heaven. The king charged Shu of Tang to carry it to the Duke of Zhou in the east. Hence The Presenting of the Grain was made.

When the Duke of Zhou had received the charge and the grain, he set forth the Son of Heaven's charge. Hence The Auspicious Grain was made.

When King Cheng had smitten Shu of Guan and Shu of Cai, he invested Shu of Kang with the remaining people of Yin. Hence were made the Announcement to Kang, the Announcement about Drunkenness, and the Timber of the Rottlera.

King Cheng was at Feng and wished to settle at the city of Luo. He sent the Duke of Shao ahead to inspect the site. Hence the Announcement of Duke Shao was made.

When the Duke of Shao had inspected the site, the Duke of Zhou went to lay out Chengzhou and sent word of the divination. Hence the Announcement concerning Luo was made.

When Chengzhou was finished, the obstinate people of Yin were moved there, and the Duke of Zhou announced the king's command to them. Hence Numerous Officers was made.

The Duke of Zhou feared that the king would grow slack in government. Hence Against Luxurious Ease was made.

The Duke of Shao was Protector and the Duke of Zhou was Tutor, and they assisted King Cheng as his left and right hands. The Duke of Shao was not pleased, and the Duke of Zhou made Prince Shi.

When Shu of Cai had died, the king charged Zhong of Cai to take his place among the feudal lords. Hence the Charge to Zhong of Cai was made.

King Cheng attacked the Huai Yi in the east and then trod down Yan. Hence The Government of King Cheng was made.

When King Cheng had trodden down Yan and was about to move its ruler to Pugu, the Duke of Zhou informed the Duke of Shao. Hence The Removal to Pugu was made.

King Cheng returned from Yan and, at Zongzhou, made announcement to the many states. Hence Numerous Regions was made.

The Duke of Zhou assisted the king. He reflected on the cruelty of Jie, spoke of the merit of Tianyi, and set the hundred officers over their charges so as to establish the state. Hence The Establishment of Government was made.

When King Cheng had put away the mandate of Yin and destroyed the Huai Yi, he came back and was at Feng. Hence The Officers of Zhou was made.

When King Cheng had smitten the Eastern Yi, the Sushen came to offer congratulations, and the king had the earl of Rong make The Charge on the Gifts to the Sushen.

The Duke of Zhou was at Feng and, being near his end, wished to be buried at Chengzhou. When the duke passed away, King Cheng buried him at Bi and made announcement to the Duke of Zhou. Hence Bogu was made.

When the Duke of Zhou had died, the king charged Prince Chen to take his share in governing the eastern suburb at Chengzhou. Hence Prince Chen was made.

When King Cheng was about to die, he charged the Duke of Shao and the Duke of Bi to lead the feudal lords in assisting King Kang. Hence the Testamentary Charge was made.

When King Kang had taken his place as Son of Heaven, he made announcement to the feudal lords. Hence the Announcement of King Kang was made.

King Kang ordered the Document of Bi to be made, apportioning the dwellings and wards in the suburbs of Chengzhou. Hence the Charge to Bi was made.

King Mu charged Jun Ya to be Grand Minister of Education of Zhou. Hence Jun Ya was made.

King Mu charged Bo Jiong to be Chief of the Grand Equerries of Zhou. Hence the Charge to Jiong was made.

King Mu set forth in instruction the Xia rules for the redemption of punishments. Hence The Marquis of Lü on Punishments was made.

King Ping bestowed on Marquis Wen of Jin black-millet wine and a jade ladle. Hence the Charge to the Marquis Wen was made.

Bo Qin, marquis of Lu, dwelt at Qufu. The Xu and the Yi rose together and the eastern suburb was not open. Hence the Speech at Bi was made.

Duke Mu of Qin attacked Zheng. Duke Xiang of Jin led an army and defeated him at Yao. On his return the Speech of Qin was made.

The Books of Yu (虞書)

Canon of Yao (堯典)

Examining into antiquity, we find the Emperor Yao, who was called Fangxun. He was reverent, intelligent, cultured, and thoughtful, and at ease in all he did. Truly respectful and able to yield, his light spread over the four quarters and reached to what is above and what is below. He was able to make bright his lofty virtue, and so he drew close the nine branches of his kin; the nine branches of kin being harmonious, he distinguished and made clear the hundred clans; the hundred clans being made brilliant, he brought concord to the myriad states, and the black-haired people were transformed and lived in accord.

He then charged Xi and He reverently to accord with vast Heaven, to reckon and figure the sun, the moon, the stars and the constellations, and reverently to bestow the seasons upon the people.

He charged Xi Zhong separately to dwell at Yuyi, in the place called the Bright Valley, there reverently to greet the rising sun and to regulate in order the work of the east. When the day is of middle length and the star is the Bird, he was to fix the middle of spring. Then the people scatter to the fields, and birds and beasts pair and breed.

He further charged Xi Shu to dwell at Nanjiao, [in the place called the Bright Capital], to regulate in order the work of the south and reverently to mark the solstice. When the day is at its longest and the star is the Fire, he was to fix the middle of summer. Then the people go on as before, and birds and beasts have thin coats.

He charged He Zhong separately to dwell in the west[ern land], in the place called the Dark Valley, there reverently to see off the setting sun and to regulate in order the completing work of the west. When the night is of middle length and the star is the Void, he was to fix the middle of autumn. Then the people are at ease, and birds and beasts have new-grown hair.

He further charged He Shu to dwell in the northern region, in the place called the Dark Capital, to regulate and examine the changes of the north. When the day is at its shortest and the star is the Pleiades, he was to fix the middle of winter. Then the people keep to their warm rooms, and birds and beasts have downy hair.

The Emperor said: "Ah, you Xi and you He! The round of the year is three hundred and sixty-six days. Use an intercalary month to fix the four seasons and complete the year."

Truly regulate the hundred officers, and all works will flourish.

The Emperor said: "Who will find me one who accords with the times, that I may raise him to employment?"

Fang Qi said: "Your heir Zhu is open and enlightened."

The Emperor said: "Alas! He is deceitful in speech and quarrelsome. Will he do?"

The Emperor said: "Who will find me one to accord with my affairs?"

Huan Dou said: "Excellent! Gong Gong has just now been gathering merit."

The Emperor said: "Alas! His words are fine but his conduct departs from them; he wears the look of respect, but his arrogance floods up to Heaven."

The Emperor said: "Ah, you Four [Mountains]! The surging flood-waters do harm on every side. Vast and wide, they enfold the hills and rise above the mounds; boundless, they swell up to Heaven. The people below groan under them. Is there one who can be set to bring them to order?"

All said: "Ah, there is Gun!"

The Emperor said: "Alas, no! He is perverse. He defies commands and ruins his kindred."

The Mountains said: "Even so — try him. If he proves able, that will be enough."

The Emperor said: "Go, and be reverent!"

For nine years he labored, and the work was not brought to completion.

The Emperor said: "Ah, Four Mountains! I have held this place seventy years. You are able to carry out the charge — will you take my place?"

The Mountains said: "Our virtue is unequal to it; we should disgrace the Emperor's seat."

He said: "Then make manifest the illustrious, or raise up someone from the lowly and mean."

The multitude answered the Emperor, saying: "There is an unmarried man among the lowly, called Shun of Yu."

The Emperor said: "Yes, I have heard of him. What is he like?"

The Mountains said: "He is the son of a blind man. His father is stubborn, his mother is deceitful, his brother Xiang is arrogant. Yet he has been able to live with them in harmony; by his filial devotion, rising ever higher, he has brought them to order so that they have not come to wickedness."

The Emperor said: "I will try him."

He gave him wives then, and watched his conduct in the case of his two daughters. He arranged the matter and sent his two daughters down to the bend of the Gui, to be wives in the house of Yu.

The Emperor said: "Be reverent!"

The Emperor said: "Come, Shun. I have questioned you on affairs and examined your words; your words have proved able to bear fruit, for three years now. Ascend to the Emperor's place."

Shun yielded to one of greater virtue and would not succeed.

On the first day of the first month he received the ended charge in the temple of the Accomplished Ancestor. He examined the jade turning-sphere and the jade transverse tube, and so brought the seven governors into order. He then made the class-sacrifice to the Lord on High, the pure offering to the six honored ones, the distant sacrifice to the hills and rivers, and a general offering to the host of spirits. He gathered in the five tokens of rank; and when the month and then the day had been fixed, he gave audience to the Four Mountains and the many pastors, and distributed the tokens again among the many princes.

In the second month of the year he made a tour of inspection eastward, as far as Daizong. There he burned offerings, and sacrificed from afar, in their due order, to the hills and rivers. Then he gave audience to the princes of the east. He brought the seasons and months into accord and set the days right; he made uniform the pitch-pipes and the measures of length, of capacity, and of weight. He regulated the five rites, the five jades, the three kinds of silk, the two living creatures and the one dead one that are presented as gifts of introduction. As for the five jade instruments, when all was finished they were given back.

In the fifth month he made a tour of inspection southward, as far as the Southern Peak, with rites as at Daizong.

In the eighth month he made a tour of inspection westward, as far as the Western Peak, as at the first.

In the eleventh month he made a tour of inspection northward, as far as the Northern Peak, with rites as in the west.

On his return he came to the temple of the Cultivated Ancestor and offered a single bull.

Once in five years he made a tour of inspection, and the many princes came to court four times. They set forth their reports in words; their words were clearly tested by their achievements; and chariots and robes were given according to their service.

He first marked out the twelve provinces, raised altars on twelve mountains, and deepened the rivers.

He set forth the regular punishments in emblems. Banishment was made to soften the five punishments. The whip became the punishment of the offices, the rod the punishment of the schools, and metal the means of redemption. Offenses committed by mischance or misfortune were pardoned outright, but those who relied on their power and persisted to the end were punished with death.

"Be reverent! Be reverent! Let there be compassion in punishment!"

He banished Gong Gong to Youzhou, exiled Huan Dou to Mount Chong, drove the Sanmiao out to Sanwei, and put Gun to death on Mount Yu. These four were punished, and all under Heaven submitted.

After twenty-eight years Fangxun died. The hundred clans mourned as for a father and a mother; for three years, within the four seas, the eight kinds of music were stilled and silent.

He addressed the twelve pastors, saying: "Food is the thing! Be timely in it. Be gentle to the distant and kind to the near; make virtue generous and put trust in the good; be wary of the plausible man — then the Man and the Yi will all submit."

All said: "Bo Yu as Minister of Works."

The Emperor said: "Yes! Ah, Yu, you have brought the waters and the land to order. In this be diligent!"

Yu bowed with his head to the ground, and yielded to Ji, to Xie, and to Gao Yao.

The Emperor said: "Yes — but go you and do it!"

The Emperor said: "Qi, the black-haired people are suffering hunger. You are the Lord of Millet: sow in season the hundred grains."

The Emperor said: "Xie, the hundred clans are not affectionate to one another, and the five ranks of kin are not submissive. You shall be Minister of Education. Reverently spread abroad the five teachings, and [let the five teachings] be applied with leniency."

The Emperor said: "Gao Yao, the Man and the Yi trouble Xia; there are robbers and murderers, villains without and villains within. You shall be Officer of Justice. The five punishments have their fitting applications, and the five applications have their three places of execution; the five banishments have their proper stations, and the five stations have their three degrees of distance. Only clarity can make it just."

The Emperor said: "Who will accord with my works of craft?"

All said: "Chui!"

The Emperor said: "Yes. Ah, Chui, you shall be Master of Works."

Chui bowed with his head to the ground, and yielded to Shu Qiang and Bo Yu.

The Emperor said: "Yes — go! Work in harmony with them."

The Emperor said: "Who will accord with my grasses and trees, my birds and beasts, on the heights and in the lowlands?"

All said: "Yi!"

The Emperor said: "Yes. Ah, Yi, you shall be my Forester."

Yi bowed with his head to the ground, and yielded to Zhu Hu and Xiong Pi.

The Emperor said: "Yes — go! Work in harmony with them."

The Emperor said: "Ah, Four Mountains! Is there one who can take charge of my three ceremonies?"

All said: "Bo Yi."

The Emperor said: "Yes. Ah, Bo, you shall be Arranger of the Ancestral Rites. Morning and night be reverent; be upright, and so be pure."

Bo bowed with his head to the ground, and yielded to Kui and Long.

The Emperor said: "Yes — go, and be reverent!"

The Emperor said: "Kui, I charge you to take charge of music and to teach the sons of the nobles — upright yet mild, generous yet dignified, firm without harshness, plain without arrogance. Poetry speaks what the heart intends; song draws out the words; the notes follow the drawing-out; and the pitch-pipes bring the notes into concord. When the eight kinds of instrument can be made to agree and none usurps the order of another, then spirits and men are brought into harmony."

Kui said: "Ah! When I strike the sounding-stone and tap the sounding-stone, the hundred beasts follow one another in the dance."

The Emperor said: "Long, I detest slanderous talk and destroying conduct, which shake and alarm my host. I charge you to be Receiver of Words. Morning and night give out and take in my commands — and be faithful."

The Emperor said: "Ah, you twenty-two men, be reverent! In your season give light to the work of Heaven."

Every three years the achievements were examined; after three examinations the dark were put down and the bright raised up, and all works flourished.

The Sanmiao were divided and set apart.

Shun was thirty years old when he was called to service; for thirty years he was in office; after fifty years, going out on a progress, he died.

Canon of Shun (舜典)

Shun of Yu was of low and obscure station. Yao heard that he was perceptive and intelligent, and meaning to have him succeed to the throne, tested him through one difficulty after another. Hence the Canon of Shun was made.

Examining into antiquity, we find the Emperor Shun, who was called Chonghua, and who was in accord with the Emperor Yao. Deep and wise, cultured and brilliant, mild and respectful, truly solid, his hidden virtue rose up and was heard of, and so he was charged with the throne.

Carefully he made beautiful the five constant duties, and the five duties were followed. He was put in charge of all the offices, and the offices were in order in their season. He received the guests at the four gates, and the four gates were dignified. He was sent into the great forests at the foot of the mountains, and amid fierce winds, thunder, and rain he did not go astray. The Emperor said: "Come, Shun. I have questioned you on affairs and examined your words; your words have proved able to bear fruit, for three years now. Ascend to the Emperor's place." Shun yielded to one of greater virtue and would not succeed. On the first day of the first month he received the ended charge in the temple of the Accomplished Ancestor.

He examined the jade turning-sphere and the jade transverse tube, and so brought the seven governors into order. He then made the class-sacrifice to the Lord on High, the pure offering to the six honored ones, the distant sacrifice to the hills and rivers, and a general offering to the host of spirits. He gathered in the five tokens of rank; and when the month and then the day had been fixed, he gave audience to the Four Mountains and the many pastors, and distributed the tokens again among the many princes.

In the second month of the year he made a tour of inspection eastward, as far as Daizong, and there burned offerings. He sacrificed from afar, in their due order, to the hills and rivers, and then gave audience to the princes of the east. He brought the seasons and months into accord and set the days right, and made uniform the pitch-pipes and the measures of length, of capacity, and of weight. He regulated the five rites, the five jades, the three kinds of silk, the two living creatures and the one dead one, as gifts of introduction. As for the five jade instruments, when all was finished they were given back. In the fifth month he made a tour of inspection southward, as far as the Southern Peak, with rites as at Daizong. In the eighth month he made a tour of inspection westward, as far as the Western Peak, as at the first. In the eleventh month he made a tour of inspection northward, as far as the Northern Peak, with rites as in the west. On his return he came to the temple of the Cultivated Ancestor and offered a single bull. Once in five years he made a tour of inspection, and the many princes came to court four times. They set forth their reports in words; their words were clearly tested by their achievements; and chariots and robes were given according to their service.

He first marked out the twelve provinces, raised altars on twelve mountains, and deepened the rivers.

He set forth the regular punishments in emblems; banishment was made to soften the five punishments; the whip became the punishment of the offices, the rod the punishment of the schools, and metal the means of redemption. Offenses committed by mischance or misfortune were pardoned outright, but those who relied on their power and persisted to the end were punished with death. Be reverent! Be reverent! Let there be compassion in punishment! He banished Gong Gong to Youzhou, exiled Huan Dou to Mount Chong, drove the Sanmiao out to Sanwei, and put Gun to death on Mount Yu. These four were punished, and all under Heaven submitted.

After twenty-eight years the Emperor died. The hundred clans mourned as for a father and a mother; for three years, within the four seas, the eight kinds of music were stilled and silent.

On the first day of the first month Shun came to the temple of the Accomplished Ancestor. He consulted the Four Mountains, opened wide the four gates, made clear the four eyes, and opened the four ears. "Ah, you twelve pastors!" he said. "Food is the thing, and in its season! Be gentle to the distant and kind to the near; make virtue generous and put trust in the good; be wary of the plausible man — then the Man and the Yi will all submit."

Shun said: "Ah, Four Mountains! Is there one who can rouse himself to service and make glorious the undertakings of the Emperor — one to be set over all the offices, to give light to affairs and be a help in every field?" All said: "Bo Yu as Minister of Works." The Emperor said: "Yes! Ah, Yu, you have brought the waters and the land to order. In this be diligent!" Yu bowed with his head to the ground, and yielded to Ji, to Xie, and to Gao Yao. The Emperor said: "Yes — but go you and do it!"

The Emperor said: "Qi, the black-haired people are suffering hunger. You are the Lord of Millet: sow in season the hundred grains."

The Emperor said: "Who will accord with my works of craft?" All said: "Chui!" The Emperor said: "Yes. Ah, Chui, you shall be Master of Works." Chui bowed with his head to the ground, and yielded to Shu Qiang and Bo Yu. The Emperor said: "Yes — go! Work in harmony with them."

The Emperor said: "Who will accord with my grasses and trees, my birds and beasts, on the heights and in the lowlands?" All said: "Yi!" The Emperor said: "Yes. Ah, Yi, you shall be my Forester." Yi bowed with his head to the ground, and yielded to Zhu Hu and Xiong Pi. The Emperor said: "Yes — go! Work in harmony with them."

The Emperor said: "Ah, Four Mountains! Is there one who can take charge of my three ceremonies?" All said: "Bo Yi!" The Emperor said: "Yes. Ah, Bo, you shall be Arranger of the Ancestral Rites. Morning and night be reverent; be upright, and so be pure." Bo bowed with his head to the ground, and yielded to Kui and Long. The Emperor said: "Yes — go, and be reverent!"

The Emperor said: "Kui! I charge you to take charge of music and to teach the sons of the nobles — upright yet mild, generous yet dignified, firm without harshness, plain without arrogance. Poetry speaks what the heart intends; song prolongs the words; the notes follow the prolonging; and the pitch-pipes bring the notes into concord. When the eight kinds of instrument can be made to agree and none usurps the order of another, then spirits and men are brought into harmony." Kui said: "Ah! When I strike the sounding-stone and tap the sounding-stone, the hundred beasts follow one another in the dance."

The Emperor said: "Ah, you twenty-two men, be reverent! In your season give light to the work of Heaven."

Every three years the achievements were examined; after three examinations the dark were put down and the bright raised up, and all works flourished. The Sanmiao were divided and set apart.

Shun was thirty years old when he was called to service, and served thirty years; he was on the throne fifty years; and then, going out on a progress, he died.

The Emperor set in order the lands below, establishing dwellings by region and distinguishing the living things and dividing them into their kinds. Hence were made Guzuo, the Jiugong in nine sections, and Gaoyu.

Counsels of the Great Yu (大禹謨)

Gao Yao set forth his counsels, Yu completed his work, and the Emperor Shun confirmed them. Hence were made the Great Yu, the Counsels of Gao Yao, and Yi and Ji.

Examining into antiquity, we find the Great Yu, who was called Wenming. He spread his work over the four seas and reverently served the Emperor. He said: "When the sovereign can feel how hard it is to be sovereign, and the minister how hard it is to be minister, then government is well ordered and the black-haired people are quick to virtue."

The Emperor said: "Yes! If it is truly so, good words will nowhere lie hidden, no worthy man will be left in the wilds, and the myriad states will all be at peace. To take counsel of the multitude, to set aside oneself and follow others, not to oppress the helpless nor to neglect the poor and destitute — in this only the Emperor Yao was able."

Yi said: "Excellent! The Emperor's virtue moves far and wide; he is sagely and spiritlike, martial and cultured. August Heaven looked on him with favor and gave him the mandate, so that he possessed the four seas entire and became sovereign of all under Heaven."

Yu said: "To follow the right way brings good fortune, and to follow the perverse brings misfortune, as surely as shadow and echo."

Yi said: "Alas, take warning! Be on your guard even when there seems nothing to fear; do not let go of law and measure. Do not wander into idleness; do not drown yourself in pleasure. In employing the worthy be not of two minds; in putting away the crooked do not hesitate. Plans that you doubt, do not carry through — then all your purposes will be bright. Do not go against the Way in order to court the praise of the people; do not go against the people in order to follow your own desires. Be neither slack nor wasteful, and the Yi of the four quarters will come and own you as king."

Yu said: "Ah, let the Emperor consider it! Virtue lies in good government, and government lies in nourishing the people. Water, fire, metal, wood, earth, and grain — let these be well ordered; the rectifying of virtue, the useful employment of things, and the enriching of life — let these be brought into harmony. When the nine kinds of work are set in their order, let the nine orders be sung. Warn them with what is good, correct them with awe, urge them on with the nine songs, and let the work not fall to ruin."

The Emperor said: "Yes! The earth is leveled and Heaven's work is complete; the six storehouses and the three affairs are truly in order; ten thousand generations will rely on it forever. This is your achievement."

The Emperor said: "Come, Yu! I have occupied the Emperor's place thirty-three years. I am old and worn out with toil. You alone are never slack: take charge of my host."

Yu said: "My virtue is not equal to it; the people would not rest in me. Gao Yao has vigorously sown virtue, and his virtue has come down upon them, so that the black-haired people cherish him. Let the Emperor consider it! Think on him — it is this; set him aside — it is still this; name him in speech — it is this; let sincerity come forth — it is this. Let the Emperor consider his merit."

The Emperor said: "Gao Yao, among these ministers and this multitude none offends against my government. You are Officer of Justice; you have made clear the five punishments and by them supported the five teachings, with my good government as your aim. Punishment aims at there being no punishment, and the people accord with the mean. This is your achievement. Be diligent!"

Gao Yao said: "The Emperor's virtue is without fault. He deals with those below by simplicity and rules the multitude with generosity. Punishment does not extend to the offender's heirs, but reward reaches down to his descendants. He pardons faults of error, however great, and punishes deliberate crimes, however small. Where the offense is doubtful he treats it as light; where the merit is doubtful he treats it as great. Rather than put an innocent man to death, he will bear the blame of not keeping to the rule. This virtue that loves life has soaked into the hearts of the people, and therefore they do not offend against the officers."

The Emperor said: "That I am able to govern as I would wish, and that the four quarters stir as before a wind — this is your excellence."

The Emperor said: "Come, Yu! The descending waters were a warning to me. That you made good your word and completed the work — this is your worth. That you could be diligent for the state and frugal in your household, and never grew full of yourself or gave yourself airs — this is your worth. Because you do not pride yourself, no one under Heaven contends with you in ability; because you do not boast, no one under Heaven contends with you in merit. I esteem your virtue and commend your great achievement. The counted succession of Heaven rests upon your person, and in the end you shall ascend as Great Sovereign. The human heart is precarious; the heart of the Way is subtle. Be discerning, be single, and hold fast in sincerity to the mean. Do not listen to words that have not been examined; do not use plans that have not been consulted upon. What is to be loved, if not the ruler? What is to be feared, if not the people? If the multitude had no Great Sovereign, whom would they uphold? If the sovereign had no multitude, with whom would he guard the state? Be reverent! Be careful of the place you hold; reverently cultivate what may rightly be desired. If within the four seas there is want and distress, Heaven's stipend will end forever. It is from the mouth that good comes forth and war is stirred up. I shall not say this twice."

Yu said: "Divine one by one among the meritorious ministers, and follow the one that is auspicious."

The Emperor said: "Yu! In the official divination one first settles one's own mind and afterwards puts the question to the great tortoise. My mind was settled beforehand; when I consulted, the counsels all agreed; the ghosts and spirits assented; tortoise and milfoil concurred and followed. Divination is not repeated once it has been auspicious." Yu bowed with his head to the ground and firmly declined.

The Emperor said: "Do not. It is you who are fit for it."

On the morning of the first day of the first month he received the charge in the temple of the Spirit Ancestor, and led the hundred officers as the Emperor had done at his own beginning.

The Emperor said: "Ah, Yu! At this time the lord of Miao will not obey. Go and chastise him."

Yu then assembled the many princes and made a speech to the army, saying: "Numerous host, hear all of you my command. Stupid is this lord of Miao — benighted and unrespectful, insolent and self-satisfied, turning against the Way and ruining virtue. Gentlemen are in the wilds and mean men are in office; the people are cast off and unprotected, and Heaven sends down calamity upon him. Therefore, with you, my many officers, I take up the charge and punish the guilty. Let your hearts and your strength be one, and we shall be able to win merit."

For thirty days the people of Miao defied the command. Yi came forward to Yu and said: "It is virtue that moves Heaven; there is no distance it does not reach. Fullness invites loss, and humility receives increase: this is the Way of Heaven. When the Emperor was first at Mount Li, he went out to the fields and daily cried and wept to compassionate Heaven and to his father and mother, taking the guilt upon himself and drawing the evil to himself. Reverently he bore himself and went to see Gusou, trembling with awe and reverence; and Gusou too came to be compliant. Utmost sincerity moves the spirits — how much more this lord of Miao!"

Yu bowed at the excellent words and said: "Yes." He led the army back and mustered the ranks. The Emperor then greatly spread abroad his cultured virtue, and had the shield-and-feather dances performed between the two staircases; and in seventy days the lord of Miao came in submission.

Counsels of Gao Yao (皐陶謨)

Examining into antiquity, we find Gao Yao, who said: "If he truly treads in his virtue, his counsels will be clear and his helpers in harmony." Yu said: "Yes — but how?" Gao Yao said: "Ah! Let him be careful of his own person and cultivate himself with thought for what lasts. Let him make generous and orderly the nine branches of his kin; then the many enlightened will strive to be his wings, and the near may be carried to the far. It lies in this." Yu bowed at the excellent words and said: "Yes."

Gao Yao said: "Ah! It lies in knowing men, and in giving rest to the people." Yu said: "Alas! Even the Emperor found all this hard. To know men is wisdom, and enables one to appoint men to office; to give rest to the people is kindness, and the black-haired people cherish him for it. If one can be wise and kind, what need is there to worry about a Huan Dou? What need to banish a lord of Miao? What need to fear the artful of speech, the fair of face, the deeply crafty?"

Gao Yao said: "Ah! In conduct there are nine virtues; and to say that a man has virtue is to say that he has performed such and such deeds." Yu said: "Which are they?" Gao Yao said: "Generous yet dignified; yielding yet firm; sincere yet respectful; capable of order yet reverent; docile yet resolute; upright yet mild; plain yet scrupulous; hard yet substantial; strong yet righteous. When these are made manifest in a man and are constant in him, it is a good thing. He who daily displays three of these virtues, morning and night ordering them brightly, will hold a household. He who is daily strict and reverently attentive to six of these virtues, giving light to affairs, will hold a state. He who gathers them all in and spreads them abroad, so that the nine virtues are all in service, will have men of talent and worth in office, the hundred functionaries taking one another for masters and the hundred craftsmen at their work; and thus, keeping to the five seasons, all undertakings will be brought to firmness. Do not teach idleness and desire to those who hold states. Be watchful, be careful: in one day, in two days, there are ten thousand springs of things. Do not leave the many offices empty; the work is Heaven's, and men carry it out in Heaven's stead. Heaven sets out the ordered relations and has given us the five constant duties — let the five be made generous! Heaven ranks the ceremonies, and from us come the five rites — let the five be put to use! Let there be common reverence and shared respect, and a harmony of hearts! Heaven gives its mandate to the virtuous: there are the five robes with their five insignia. Heaven punishes the guilty: there are the five punishments with their five applications. In the business of government be diligent, be diligent! Heaven hears and sees through the hearing and seeing of our people; Heaven's brightness and awe come from the brightness and awe of our people. There is a passage between what is above and what is below. Be reverent, you who hold land!"

Gao Yao said: "Are my words such as may indeed be put into practice?" Yu said: "Yes — your words may be brought to fruit." Gao Yao said: "I have no knowledge of my own; I only think to help and help again in the raising up of the work."

The Emperor said: "Come, Yu, you too shall speak excellent words." Yu bowed and said: "Ah, Emperor, what shall I say? I think only of laboring day by day without rest." Gao Yao said: "Alas, how so?" Yu said: "The flood-waters swelled to Heaven; vast and wide they enfolded the hills and rose above the mounds, and the people below were sunk in darkness and drowning. I rode in the four kinds of conveyance; along the mountains I felled the trees; and with Yi I brought the multitude fresh food. I cut channels for the nine rivers and led them to the four seas; I deepened the field-ditches and drains and led them to the rivers. With Ji I sowed, and brought the multitude the grain that comes by hard labor, and fresh food besides. I encouraged the exchange of what men had for what they had not, and the moving on of goods that lay in store. Then the people had grain to eat, and the myriad states were brought to order." Gao Yao said: "Yes — I take your excellent words for my master." Yu said: "Ah, Emperor, be careful of the place you hold." The Emperor said: "Yes." Yu said: "Rest secure in your resting-place; attend to the springs of things and to what brings peace. Let your helpers be upright, and when you move there will be a great response. Wait upon the will of the Lord on High with a bright heart, to receive him, and Heaven will renew its mandate upon you with blessing."

The Emperor said: "Ah, ministers indeed, neighbors indeed! Neighbors indeed, ministers indeed!" Yu said: "Yes." The Emperor said: "My ministers are my legs and arms, my ears and eyes. I would help and support the people — you are my wings. I would spread my strength to the four quarters — you must do it. I would look upon the emblems of the men of old: the sun, the moon, the stars and constellations; the mountain, the dragon, the flowery fowl, which are painted; the ancestral vessels, the water-plant, the flame, the powdered rice, the ax, and the fu figure, in fine cloth and in embroidery, displayed with the five pigments in the five colors to make the robes — in this you must be clear. I would hear the six pitch-pipes, the five notes, the eight instruments, and by them examine what is well ordered and what is neglected, giving out and taking in the five kinds of utterance — in this you must listen. When I go wrong, you must correct me. Do not assent to my face and then, when you have withdrawn, have other words behind my back. Be reverent, you four neighbors! As for the obstinate crowd and the slanderous talkers, if they will not keep to what is right, mark them out by the archery test to make them plain; scourge them to make them remember; write their offenses down to keep them in mind — for the wish is that all should live together. Let the officers bring in their words, and in season let them be proclaimed. If a man comes right, then receive him and employ him; if not, then let him feel awe."

Yu said: "Yes indeed, Emperor! Under the wide Heaven, out to the green-growing life at the corners of the sea, the worthy men of the myriad states are all the Emperor's ministers, and it is for the Emperor to raise them up in their season. Let them set forth their words and be received; let them be made clear by their achievements and be tested; let chariots and robes be given for their service. Then who would dare not yield place, or dare not answer with reverence? But if the Emperor is not thus, though all alike come forward day after day, there will be no achievement. Do not be like Zhu of Dan, who was arrogant, who loved only idle roving, who made insolence and cruelty his practice, who night and day went clamoring on without ceasing, who would sail a boat where there was no water, who gave himself to lewd company in his house, and so brought his line to an end. I took warning from this. When I married at Mount Tu it was on the days xin, ren, gui, and jia; and when Qi was born and wailed as an infant, I did not treat him as a son, but only measured out on a great scale the work upon the land. I helped to establish the five domains, reaching out five thousand li; in the provinces there were twelve masters, and outward to the borders of the four seas we everywhere set up five chiefs. Each followed his own path and had merit — only the obstinate Miao would not come to the work. Let the Emperor consider it!" The Emperor said: "That my virtue is followed is your achievement, and it is in good order. Gao Yao everywhere reveres this order, and everywhere applies the emblematic punishments with clarity."

Kui said: "When the sounding jade is struck and tapped, when the zithers are played to accompany the singing, the ancestors come to us. The guest of Yu is in his place, and the many princes yield to one another in virtue. Below there are flutes and hand-drums; the zhu begins the music and the yu stops it; the reed-organ and the great bell sound in the intervals; and birds and beasts move in stately measure. When the Xiao Shao has been performed through its nine parts, the phoenix comes with its stately bearing." Kui said: "Ah! When I strike the sounding-stone and tap the sounding-stone, the hundred beasts follow one another in the dance, and all the chiefs of office are truly in accord."

The Emperor thereupon made a song, saying: "We are charged with the mandate of Heaven: mind the season, mind the springs of things." Then he sang:

When the legs and arms rejoice,
the head rises up,
and the hundred offices flourish!

Gao Yao bowed with his hands and knocked his head on the ground, and raising his voice said: "Consider it! It is you who lead in undertaking affairs. Be careful of your statutes; be reverent! Examine your results again and again; be reverent!" Then he took up the song and continued it, saying:

When the head is enlightened,
the legs and arms are good,
and every affair prospers!

And he sang again:

When the head is fussy over trifles,
the legs and arms grow idle,
and ten thousand affairs fall to ruin!

The Emperor bowed and said: "Yes. Go, and be reverent!"

Yi and Ji (益稷)

Yu said: "Ah, Emperor, be careful of the place you hold." The Emperor said: "Yes!" Yu said: "Rest secure in your resting-place; attend to the springs of things and to what brings peace. Let your helpers be upright, and when you move there will be a great response. Wait upon the will of the Lord on High with a bright heart, to receive him, and Heaven will renew its mandate upon you with blessing."

The Emperor said: "Ah, ministers indeed, neighbors indeed! Neighbors indeed, ministers indeed!" Yu said: "Yes!"

The Emperor said: "My ministers are my legs and arms, my ears and eyes. I would help and support the people — you are my wings. I would spread my strength to the four quarters — you must do it. I would look upon the emblems of the men of old: the sun, the moon, the stars and constellations, the mountain, the dragon, the flowery fowl, which are painted; the ancestral vessels, the water-plant, the flame, the powdered rice, the ax, and the fu figure, in fine cloth and in embroidery, displayed with the five pigments in the five colors to make the robes — in this you must be clear. I would hear the six pitch-pipes, the five notes, and the eight instruments, and by them examine what is well ordered and what is neglected, giving out and taking in the five kinds of utterance — in this you must listen. When I go wrong, you must correct me; do not assent to my face and then, when you have withdrawn, have other words behind my back. Be reverent, you four neighbors! As for the obstinate crowd and the slanderous talkers, if they will not keep to what is right, mark them out by the archery test to make them plain, scourge them to make them remember, and write their offenses down to keep them in mind — for the wish is that all should live together. Let the officers bring in their words, and in season let them be proclaimed; if a man comes right, then receive him and employ him; if not, then let him feel awe."

Yu said: "Yes indeed! Under the wide Heaven of the Emperor, out to the green-growing life at the corners of the sea, the worthy men of the myriad states are all the Emperor's ministers, and it is for the Emperor to raise them up in their season. Let them set forth their words and be received; let them be made clear by their achievements and be tested; let chariots and robes be given for their service. Then who would dare not yield place, or dare not answer with reverence? But if the Emperor does not thus spread his favor, and all alike come forward day after day, there will be no achievement."

The Emperor said: "Do not be like Zhu of Dan, who was arrogant, who loved only idle roving, who made insolence and cruelty his practice. Night and day he went clamoring on without ceasing; he would sail a boat where there was no water; he gave himself to lewd company in his house, and so brought his line to an end. I took warning from this. When I married at Mount Tu it was on the days xin, ren, gui, and jia; and when Qi was born and wailed as an infant, I did not treat him as a son, but only measured out on a great scale the work upon the land. I helped to establish the five domains, reaching out five thousand li; in the provinces there were twelve masters, and outward to the borders of the four seas we everywhere set up five chiefs. Each followed his own path and had merit — only the obstinate Miao would not come to the work. Let the Emperor consider it!" The Emperor said: "That my virtue is followed is your achievement, and it is in good order." Gao Yao everywhere revered this order, and everywhere applied the emblematic punishments with clarity.

Kui said: "The sounding jade is struck and tapped, the hand-drum is beaten, the qin and the se are played to accompany the singing." The ancestors came to them; the guest of Yu was in his place, and the many princes yielded to one another in virtue. Below there were flutes and hand-drums; the zhu began the music and the yu stopped it; the reed-organ and the great bell sounded in the intervals. Birds and beasts moved in stately measure; and when the Xiao Shao had been performed through its nine parts, the phoenix came with its stately bearing. Kui said: "Ah! When I strike the sounding-stone and tap the sounding-stone, the hundred beasts follow one another in the dance, and all the chiefs of office are truly in accord."

The Emperor thereupon made a song, saying: "We are charged with the mandate of Heaven: mind the season, mind the springs of things." Then he sang:

When the legs and arms rejoice,
the head rises up,
and the hundred offices flourish!

When the head is enlightened,
the legs and arms are good,
and every affair prospers!

And he sang again:

When the head is fussy over trifles,
the legs and arms grow idle,
and ten thousand affairs fall to ruin!

The Emperor bowed and said: "Yes. Go, and be reverent!"

The Books of Xia (夏書)

Tribute of Yu (禹貢)

Yu laid out the lands. Following the mountains he felled the trees, and he fixed the high mountains and the great rivers.

Jizhou (冀州)

Jizhou: the work was begun at Hukou, and Liang and Qi were brought to order. When Taiyuan had been dealt with, the work went on to the south side of the peak. At Tanhuai the labor bore its result, and it reached as far as the Zhang where it runs crosswise.

Its soil is white and friable. Its levy is of the first class of the first grade, with some of the next mixed in; its fields are of the middle class of the middle grade.

The Heng and the Wei were made to keep their courses, and the Great Land marsh was brought under cultivation. The Bird Yi bring garments of hide. Keeping Jieshi on the right, they enter the He.

Yanzhou (兖州)

Between the Ji and the He lies Yanzhou. The nine branches of the He were led in their courses; Leixia was made a marsh; the Yong and the Ju came together and joined. The mulberry lands were given over to silkworms, and the people came down from the hills to dwell on the level ground.

Its soil is black and rich. Its grasses grow luxuriantly, and its trees grow tall. Its fields are of the lowest class of the middle grade; its levy is the standard one, the lowest. Only after thirteen years of work did it come up with the rest.

Its tribute is lacquer and silk; in its baskets are woven patterned fabrics.

They float along the Ji and the Ta, and so reach the He.

Qingzhou (青州)

Between the sea and Dai lies Qingzhou. Yuyi was laid out in its boundaries, and the Wei and the Zi were led in their courses.

Its soil is white and rich, and along the sea shore are wide salt flats. Its fields are of the lowest class of the first grade; its levy is of the first class of the middle grade.

Its tribute is salt and fine cloth, with sea products of various kinds; and from the valleys of Dai come silk, hemp, lead, pine, and strange stones. The Lai Yi keep to herding. In their baskets is silk from the mountain mulberry.

They float along the Wen, and so reach the Ji.

Xuzhou (徐州)

From the sea and Dai onward lies Xuzhou. The Huai and the Yi were brought to order; Meng and Yu were made fit for planting; the Great Wild marsh was gathered into a lake, and the Eastern Plain was brought to level order.

Its soil is red, clayey, and rich. Grass and trees grow ever thicker and in clumps. Its fields are of the middle class of the first grade; its levy is of the middle class of the middle grade.

Its tribute is earth of the five colors, variegated pheasant feathers from the valleys of Yu, solitary paulownias from the south of Yi, floating sounding-stones from the banks of the Si, and from the Huai Yi oyster pearls and fish; in its baskets are dark silks, fine and white.

They float along the Huai and the Si, and so reach the Ge.

Yangzhou (楊州)

Between the Huai and the sea lies Yangzhou. Pengli was gathered into its basin, and there the migrant sun-birds had their dwelling; the Three Rivers entered the sea, and Lake Zhen was brought to settled rest. The small bamboo and the great bamboo spread abroad. Its grasses grew tender and thick, its trees grew tall. Its soil is miry mud. Its fields are the lowest of the low; its levy the highest of the low, with the grade above intermixed.

Its tribute is metal of three kinds; yao and kun gems; small bamboo and great bamboo; ivory, hides, feathers, and hair; and timber. The islanders of the east wear garments of plant fiber. Their baskets hold woven cloth patterned like shells; their bundles hold oranges and pomelos, brought in tribute when so commanded.

They go down along the Jiang and the sea, and reach the Huai and the Si.

Jingzhou (荊州)

From Mount Jing to the south of Mount Heng lies Jingzhou. The Jiang and the Han make their court-visit to the sea as vassals to their sovereign; the Nine Rivers were brought fully into their courses; the Tuo and the Qian were channeled; the lands of Yun and the marsh of Meng were brought under tillage.

Its soil is miry mud. Its fields are the middle of the low; its levy the lowest of the high.

Its tribute is feathers, hair, ivory, and hides; metal of three kinds; the chun tree, the gan, the juniper, and the cypress; coarse whetstones, fine whetstones, arrowhead stone, and cinnabar; and the jun and lu bamboos and the hu wood, of which three states send in the best that bears their name. Bundled and cased are the three-ribbed rushes for straining the sacrificial wine; their baskets hold dark silk, crimson silk, and strings of irregular pearls; and from the Nine Rivers the great tortoise is sent in when it is required.

They float on the Jiang, the Tuo, the Qian, and the Han, cross over to the Luo, and reach the southern course of the He.

Yuzhou (豫州)

Between Mount Jing and the He lies Yuzhou. The Yi, the Luo, the Chan, and the Jian entered the He; the waters of Xingbo were gathered into their basin; the marsh of Ge was led into its channel, and the marsh of Mengzhu was embanked.

Its soil is mellow loam, and in the lower ground rich and black-clayed. Its fields are the highest of the middle; its levy the middle of the high, with other grades intermixed.

Its tribute is lacquer, hemp, fine kudzu cloth, and ramie cloth; their baskets hold fine floss and silk wadding; and when commanded they bring in stone for chiming-stones and for polishing.

They float on the Luo and reach the He.

Liangzhou (梁州)

From the south of Mount Hua to the Black River lies Liangzhou. Mounts Min and Bo were made fit for sowing; the Tuo and the Qian were channeled; at Cai and Meng the sacrifices were offered and the roads made level; and in the land of Heyi the work was brought to completion.

Its soil is greenish and loose-textured. Its fields are the highest of the low; its levy the middle of the low, with three grades intermixed.

Its tribute is fine jade, iron, silver, hard steel, arrowhead stone, and chiming-stone; the skins of bears, brown bears, foxes, and wildcats; and woven hair-cloth. From Xiqing they come by way of the Huan.

They float on the Qian, cross over to the Mian, enter the Wei, and cut across the He.

Yongzhou (雍州)

From the Black River to the western course of the He lies Yongzhou. The Weak River was made to flow westward; the Jing was joined to the bend of the Wei; the Qi and the Ju followed their channels, and the waters of the Feng came together with them. At Jing and Qi the sacrifices were offered, and at Zhongnan and Dunwu, on as far as Niaoshu; on the high plains and the low wetlands the work was brought to completion, on as far as Zhuye; the Three Perils were made habitable, and the Three Miao were greatly set in order.

Its soil is yellow loam. Its fields are the highest of the high; its levy the lowest of the middle.

Its tribute is qiu and lin jade, and langgan stones.

They float from Jishi, reach the Dragon Gate on the western He, and come together at the bend of the Wei.

Woven hair-cloth comes from Kunlun, Xizhi, and Qusou; and so the Western Rong were brought into order.

Leading the Mountains (導山)

He led the way from Qian and Qi to Mount Jing, and crossed the He;

from Hukou and Leishou to Mount Taiyue;

from Dizhu and Xicheng to Wangwu;

from Taihang and Mount Heng to Jieshi, and so into the sea;

from Xiqing, Zhuyu, and Niaoshu to Mount Taihua;

from Xiong'er, Waifang, and Tongbo to Peiwei.

He led from Bozhong to Mount Jing; from Neifang to Dabie;

from the south of Mount Min to Mount Heng, past the Nine Rivers, to the plain of Fuqian.

Leading the Waters (導水)

He led the Weak River as far as Heli, and its overflow entered the Moving Sands.

He led the Black River as far as the Three Perils, and it entered the Southern Sea.

He led the He from Jishi to the Dragon Gate; south to Huayin; east to Dizhu; then east to Mengjin; east past the bend of the Luo to Dapi; north past the Jiang water to Dalu; then northward it spread out into the Nine Rivers, joined again into the Converging River, and entered the sea.

From Bozhong he led the Yang; flowing east it becomes the Han; further east it becomes the water of Canglang; it passes the Three Shi, reaches Dabie, and southward enters the Jiang; eastward its waters gather into a marsh to make Pengli; east of that it becomes the Northern Jiang and enters the sea.

From Mount Min he led the Jiang; eastward a branch parts from it to make the Tuo; further east it reaches the Li; it passes the Nine Rivers and reaches Dongling; then it slants eastward and northward to join the gathered waters; east of that it becomes the Middle Jiang and enters the sea.

He led the Yan water; flowing east it becomes the Ji; it enters the He, and overflowing becomes the Xing; it comes out north of Taoqiu; further east it reaches the Ge; further northeast it joins the Wen; then north and east it enters the sea.

He led the Huai from Tongbo; eastward it joins the Si and the Yi, and eastward enters the sea.

He led the Wei from Niaoshu-tongxue; eastward it joins the Feng; further east it joins the Jing; then east it passes the Qi and the Ju, and enters the He.

He led the Luo from Xiong'er; northeast it joins the Jian and the Chan; further east it joins the Yi; then northeast it enters the He.

The Work Accomplished (治績)

The Nine Provinces were made alike; the four coastlands were made habitable; the nine mountains had their trees cleared and their sacrifices offered; the nine rivers had their sources scoured clean; the nine marshes were embanked. Within the four seas all came together to court, and the six treasuries were well ordered. The various soils were assessed in due order, and care was taken in fixing the goods and levies; in every case the three classes of soil were the rule by which the levy was set. In the central states lands and clan-names were bestowed: "Reverently do I put virtue first, and none opposes my course."

The Five Domains (五服)

Five hundred li make the Domain of the Royal Estates. For the first hundred li the levy is rendered in whole sheaves; for the second hundred, in the cut ears; for the third hundred, in stripped straw, with labor service besides; for the fourth hundred, in grain in the husk; for the fifth hundred, in cleaned rice.

Five hundred li make the Domain of the Nobles. The first hundred li are the appanages of officers; the second hundred, the lands of barons; the remaining three hundred, the states of the various lords.

Five hundred li make the Domain of Pacification. In the first three hundred they take counsel for civil instruction; in the remaining two hundred they display martial defense.

Five hundred li make the Domain of Restraint. Three hundred li are for the Yi peoples, two hundred for those under sentence of banishment.

Five hundred li make the Wild Domain. Three hundred li are for the Man peoples, two hundred for those sent into distant exile.

The Close (結語)

Eastward it reached to the sea; westward it covered the Moving Sands; northward and southward his fame and his teaching went out, reaching to the four seas. Yu (禹) presented the dark jade tablet and announced the completion of his work.

Speech at Gan (甘誓)

There was a great battle at Gan, and the king summoned the six ministers.

The king said: "Ah! You men of the six hosts, I make my declaration and announce it to you. The lord of Hu has treated with contempt and insult the five elements, and has idly cast aside the three regulating standards. Heaven therefore cuts short and ends his mandate. Now I do no more than reverently carry out Heaven's punishment. If those on the left do not do their work on the left, you do not reverence my command; if those on the right do not do their work on the right, you do not reverence my command; if the charioteer does not keep his horses straight, you do not reverence my command. Those who obey the command will be rewarded before my ancestors; those who do not obey will be put to death before the altar of the soil, and I shall put your children to death along with you."

Songs of the Five Sons (五子之歌)

Taikang (太康) lost the state; his five brothers waited at the bend of the Luo. The Songs of the Five Sons was made.

Taikang occupied his throne as a corpse occupies its place, and by idleness and pleasure destroyed his virtue, so that the black-haired people were all of two minds. Yet he roamed in dissipation without measure, hunting beyond the Luo, and for a hundred days did not return. Yi, lord of Qiong (有窮后羿), taking advantage of the people's being no longer able to bear him, barred his way at the He. His five younger brothers, attending their mother, followed after him and waited at the bend of the Luo. All five sons made their complaint, setting forth the warnings of the Great Yu and turning them into songs.

The first said: "The august ancestor had an instruction. The people may be drawn near; they may not be looked down upon. The people are the root of the state; when the root is firm, the state is at rest. I look upon all under Heaven: a simple man, a simple woman — any one of them may prove stronger than I. If one man errs three times over, shall resentment be waited for until it shows plainly? Guard against it before it is seen. I stand over the people in their millions, trembling as one who drives six horses with rotting reins. How shall he who is set over others fail to be reverent?"

The second said: "The instruction has it: within, to make a wilderness of lust; without, to make a wilderness of hunting; to relish wine and crave music; lofty roofs and carved walls. Let a man have but one of these, and there is none who does not perish."

The third said: "That lord of Taotang held this region of Ji. Now his way is lost, its cords and meshes thrown into disorder, and so it has come to ruin and destruction."

The fourth said: "Bright and bright was my ancestor, sovereign of the myriad states. He had statutes, he had rules, and bequeathed them to his sons and grandsons. Uniform were the stone weights and harmonious the jun measures, and the royal storehouse held them. To let the inherited task fall in ruin is to overturn the ancestral house and cut off its sacrifices."

The fifth said: "Alas! Where shall we return? The grief I carry in my breast! The myriad surnames make us their enemy — on whom shall we lean? Pent up and smothered is my heart; my face is hot with shame. He was not careful of his virtue; though he repent, can what is gone be brought back?"

Punitive Expedition of Yin (胤征)

Xi and He sank into drunken excess, abandoned the seasons and confused the days, and the lord of Yin went and chastised them. The Punitive Expedition of Yin was made.

When Zhongkang (仲康) first took his place over all within the four seas, the marquis of Yin was charged with the command of the six hosts. Xi and He had abandoned their office and were drowned in wine in their own city; so the lord of Yin, receiving the king's command, went out to chastise them. He announced to the host, saying: "Ah, my host! The sages had their plans and their instructions: clear proof secures firm protection. The former kings were able to be careful of Heaven's warnings; their ministers were able to keep the constant statutes; the hundred officers cultivated their duties and aided their sovereign, and so the government was bright and bright. Every year, in the first month of spring, the herald with his wooden-tongued bell went along the roads: let the officers and instructors correct one another; let the artisans, holding to their crafts, offer remonstrance. Any who are not reverent — the state has its regular punishments. Now these, Xi and He, have overturned their virtue and are sunk in the disorder of wine. They have deserted their offices and left their posts, they have thrown into first confusion the ordering of Heaven, and have cast far from them the charge entrusted to them. On the first day of the last month of autumn the sun and moon did not meet in harmony in the mansion of Fang; the blind musicians beat their drums, the lesser officers galloped, the common people ran. Xi and He held their office like corpses, hearing and knowing nothing, blind and bewildered as to the signs of Heaven, and so incurred the death penalty of the former kings. The Statutes of Government say: 'One who goes before the time shall be put to death without pardon; one who falls behind the time shall be put to death without pardon.' Now I, with you my host, reverently carry out Heaven's punishment. You, my officers and men, join your strength for the royal house; aid me, and reverently receive the awful command of the Son of Heaven. When fire blazes on the ridge of Kun, jade and stone burn together. When an officer of Heaven runs to excess in his virtue, he is fiercer than raging fire. Destroy the chief ringleaders; do not punish those who were forced to follow. Those long stained by filthy customs — let them all be made new along with us. Alas! When sternness overcomes indulgence, the work is truly accomplished; when indulgence overcomes sternness, there is truly no achievement. You, my officers and men, take earnest warning!"

From Xie down to Cheng Tang there were eight removals. Tang first dwelt at Bo, following the dwelling of the former king. The Announcement of Di and the Li Wo were made.

Tang chastised the feudal lords. The earl of Ge did not sacrifice, and Tang chastised him first. The Chastisement of Tang was made.

Yi Yin left Bo and went to Xia; having come to loathe Xia, he returned to Bo. Entering by the north gate, he met Ru Jiu and Ru Fang. The Ru Jiu and the Ru Fang were made.

The Books of Shang (商書)

Speech of Tang (湯誓)

The king said: "Come, all you multitudes, and hear my words in full. It is not that I, the little one, dare to raise rebellion; the lord of Xia has many crimes, and Heaven has commanded that he be put to death. Now you, my host, say: 'Our lord has no pity for us, his host; he casts aside our harvest work and goes to cut down and chastise Xia.' I have indeed heard the words of you, my host; but the house of Xia is guilty, and I fear the Lord on High and dare not fail to chastise them. Now you may say: 'What are the crimes of Xia to us?' The king of Xia has drained away the strength of the multitude and has cut into the towns of Xia; his host is all slack and will not work with him, and they say: 'When will this sun perish? We would perish together with you!' Such is the virtue of Xia; now I must surely go. Do you help me, the one man, to bring down Heaven's punishment, and I will greatly reward you. Do not fail to believe me: I do not eat my words. If you do not follow the words of this oath, I shall put you and your children to death, and there shall be no pardon."

Announcement of Zhonghui (仲虺之誥)

Cheng Tang (成湯) banished Jie (桀) to Nanchao and felt shame in his virtue. He said: "I fear that the ages to come will make of me a byword in their mouths." Zhonghui (仲虺) thereupon made this announcement, saying:

"Alas! Heaven gives birth to the people, and they have desires; without a ruler they fall into disorder. Heaven gives birth to the keen of hearing and the clear of sight, that they may set the age in order. The lord of Xia was benighted in his virtue, and the people fell into mire and charcoal. Heaven then gave the king courage and wisdom, to be a standard and a rectifier to the myriad states, and to carry on the old service of Yu. In this, follow his statutes and obey Heaven's mandate.

"The king of Xia was guilty. He falsely claimed the authority of high Heaven in order to spread his commands below. God therefore held him not good, and made Shang receive the mandate, and used us to enlighten his multitudes. He slighted the worthy and clung to the powerful, and truly his followers were many. From the first, our state under Xia was like tares among the sprouting grain, like blighted husks among the millet. Small and great trembled, and none was free from the fear of punishment though guiltless — how much more when our words of virtue were fit to be heard. But the king does not come near to music and beauty, nor amass goods and gains. To him whose virtue is great he gives great office; to him whose merit is great he gives great reward. He employs others as he would himself; he corrects his faults without grudging; he can be generous and can be humane, and has made his good faith plain to the millions.

"Then the earl of Ge made an enemy of those who carried food to the field-workers, and the first campaign began with Ge. When the king campaigned in the east, the Yi of the west complained; when he campaigned in the south, the Di of the north complained, saying: 'Why does he put us alone last?' Wherever he went, the people congratulated one another in their households, saying: 'We have waited for our lord; when our lord comes we shall live again.' That the people uphold Shang is an old thing indeed. Help the worthy and aid the virtuous; make the loyal illustrious and advance the good; annex the weak and attack the benighted; take the disordered and press hard upon the perishing; push down what is falling and make firm what stands — then the state will flourish. When virtue is renewed day by day, the myriad states cherish him; when the will is filled full of itself, the nine branches of the kindred fall away.

"Let the king strive to make great virtue shine, and set up the mean among the people; let him govern affairs by righteousness and govern his heart by ritual, and hand down abundance to those who come after. I have heard it said: 'He who can get teachers for himself becomes king; he who says that no one is his equal perishes.' To love asking brings abundance; to rely on oneself alone makes a man small. Alas! To be careful of the end lies in the beginning. Nourish those who have ritual propriety; overturn the benighted and violent. Reverence and exalt the way of Heaven, and Heaven's mandate will be preserved forever."

Announcement of Tang (湯誥)

From the Spurious Old Text Documents (偽古文尚書)

When Tang had removed the mandate of Xia, he returned to Bo, and the Announcement of Tang was made.

The king returned from the conquest of Xia, came to Bo, and made a great announcement to the myriad regions. The king said: "Ah, you multitudes of the myriad regions, hear clearly the announcement of me, the one man. The august Lord on High has sent down a due mean to the people below. To follow their constant nature and be able to make their way peaceful — this belongs to the sovereign. The king of Xia extinguished virtue and made terror, spreading cruelty over you, the hundred clans of the myriad regions. You, the hundred clans of the myriad regions, suffered his savage harm and could not endure the bitterness of it. Together you declared your innocence to the spirits of heaven and earth above and below. The way of Heaven blesses the good and brings calamity upon the licentious; it sent down disasters upon Xia to make his crimes plain. Therefore I, the little one, taking up Heaven's mandate and its bright terror, dared not pardon him; I dared to use a black bull, and dared to make clear announcement to the spirit Sovereign of high Heaven, asking judgment upon Xia.

"Then I sought out the great sage and joined my strength with his, to ask for the mandate on behalf of you, my multitudes. High Heaven truly aided the people below; the guilty man was cast down and submitted. Heaven's mandate does not err; it is bright as grass and trees, and the millions truly increase. It has caused me, the one man, to gather and give peace to your states and houses; and in this I do not know whether I have incurred blame above or below. I am trembling and in dread, as though I were about to fall into a deep abyss. All you who have founded states with me: follow nothing that is not the rule, come not near to idle excess. Let each keep to your statutes, and so receive Heaven's favor. If you have goodness, I dare not conceal it; if the guilt is upon my own person, I dare not pardon myself. All of it is examined in the heart of the Lord on High. If you of the myriad regions have guilt, it rests upon me, the one man. If I, the one man, have guilt, it shall not be laid upon you of the myriad regions. Alas! If we can be sincere in this, we shall also have a good end."

Jiu Dan made the Ming Ju.

From the Genuine Old Text Documents (真古文尚書)

In the third month the king came himself to the eastern outskirts. He announced to the feudal lords and the assembled chiefs: "Let none of you fail to do meritorious work for the people; be diligent in your tasks. Otherwise I shall punish you and put you to death, and you must not resent me." He said: "Of old, Yu and Gao Yao labored long abroad, and because their work benefited the people, the people had peace. In the east they made the Jiang, in the north the Ji, in the west the He, in the south the Huai; when the four great rivers had been put in order, the myriad people had dwellings. Hou Ji came down and taught sowing, and the farmers planted the hundred grains. All three of these lords did meritorious work for the people, and therefore their descendants were established. Of old, Chiyou and his grandees made disorder among the hundred clans, and God did not grant them his favor; there is record of it. The words of the former kings must not fail to be striven after." He said: "To him who does not walk in the Way — let him have no place in the state; and you must not resent me."

Instructions of Yi (伊訓)

In the first year of the reign, in the twelfth month, on the day yichou, Yi Yin (伊尹) sacrificed to the former king, and presented the heir king reverently before his ancestor. The lords of the marquis lands and the domain lands and the assembled chiefs were all present. The hundred officers gathered up their charges and took their orders from the prime minister. Yi Yin then set forth clearly the perfected virtue of the illustrious ancestor as an instruction to the king, saying:

"Alas! In old times the former sovereigns of Xia strove after their virtue, and there were no calamities from Heaven. The spirits of the hills and streams were all at rest, and birds and beasts, fishes and turtles, all followed their nature. But when their descendants did not walk in that way, august Heaven sent down calamity and made use of our hands, who held the mandate. The attack was begun at Mingtiao; our own beginning was made from Bo. Our king of Shang spread abroad the light of his sagely valor; he replaced cruelty with generosity, and the millions truly turned to him in their hearts.

"Now the king inherits that virtue, and everything depends upon the beginning. Set up love, beginning with your kin; set up reverence, beginning with your elders; begin in the family and the state, and end within the four seas. Alas! The former king first put in order the bonds of human relation. He followed remonstrance without opposing it, and was in accord with the men of former times. Placed above, he could be enlightened; serving below, he could be loyal. In dealing with others he did not require completeness; in examining himself he was as one who could never reach the mark. So he came to possess the myriad states — and this was hard indeed! He sought everywhere for men of wisdom to aid his successors. He made the punishments for officers, warning those in office, saying: 'Whoever dares to dance continually in the palace or to sing in his chamber flushed with wine — this is called the manner of the shamans. Whoever dares to give himself up to goods and beauty, or to make a constant business of roaming and hunting — this is called the licentious manner. Whoever dares to scorn the words of the sages, to resist the loyal and upright, to keep far from the aged and virtuous, and to consort with stubborn boys — this is called the disorderly manner.' These three manners with their ten faults: if a minister or officer has one of them in himself, his house will surely be lost; if the lord of a state has one of them in himself, his state will surely perish. If a subject does not correct his ruler, the punishment for him is branding. Let all this be taught to the young officers.

"Alas! Let the heir king reverence his own person — think upon it! The plans of the sages are vast and flowing; their good words are very clear. The Lord on High is not constant: on the doer of good he sends down a hundred blessings; on the doer of evil he sends down a hundred woes. In virtue, hold nothing too slight to be done, and the myriad states will rejoice; in the want of virtue, hold nothing too great to be feared, lest it bring down your ancestral house."

Taijia, Upper (太甲上)

When Taijia (太甲) had been established and proved unenlightened, Yi Yin banished him to Tong. After three years he returned to Bo, having thought upon the constant way, and Yi Yin made the three books of Taijia.

The heir king was not compliant toward A Heng. Yi Yin made a writing, saying: "The former king kept his gaze upon the bright mandate of Heaven, and so served the spirits of heaven and earth above and below. At the altars of land and grain and in the ancestral temple there was nothing that was not done with reverence and awe. Heaven looked upon his virtue and gathered the great mandate upon him, so that he soothed and settled the myriad regions. I myself was able to be at my sovereign's right hand and left, and to settle the multitudes; and so the heir king greatly inherits the foundation that was laid. I myself formerly saw in the western city of Xia that where the rulers were faithful they had a good end, and their counselors also had a good end; and when the later heir kings could not have a good end, their counselors also had no good end. Let the heir king take warning! Be reverent as a ruler should be; a ruler who is not a ruler brings shame upon his ancestor."

The king in his ordinary way gave it no thought and would not listen. Then Yi Yin spoke, saying: "The former king, in the dim light before dawn, made all things bright, and sat waiting for the daybreak. He sought on every side for men of talent and distinction, to open the way for those who came after. Do not overturn his charge and so overthrow yourself. Be careful of your frugal virtue, and cherish plans that reach far. Be like the forester who, when the trigger is drawn, goes and examines whether the notch is true to the mark, and only then lets fly. Reverence the point at which you must stand; walk in the paths your ancestor walked; then I shall be glad, and for ten thousand generations you will have a good name."

The king was still unable to change. Yi Yin said: "This is unrighteousness; habit is becoming his nature. I will not be familiar with one who will not obey. I shall build a palace at Tong, where he may be close to the instruction of the former king and not be led astray for the rest of his life." The king went to the palace at Tong and dwelt there in mourning, and in the end he was able to attain true virtue.

Taijia, Middle (太甲中)

On the first day of the twelfth month of the third year of the reign, Yi Yin, with cap and robes of state, escorted the heir king back to Bo, and made a writing, saying: "Without a sovereign the people cannot correct one another and live; without the people the sovereign has no means to rule the four quarters. August Heaven has looked with favor upon Shang and aided it, causing the heir king to complete his virtue; this is truly a blessing without bound for ten thousand generations."

The king bowed with his hands to the ground and touched his head to the floor, saying: "I, the little one, was not enlightened in virtue, and brought myself to be unlike my fathers. By my desires I ruined measure; by my license I ruined ritual; and so I hastened guilt upon my own person. Calamities made by Heaven may still be avoided; calamities of one's own making cannot be escaped. In the past I turned my back on the instruction of my teacher and guardian, and could not do well at the beginning; but I still rely on the virtue that corrects and rescues me, and hope to plan for a good end."

Yi Yin bowed with his hands to the ground and touched his head to the floor, saying: "To cultivate one's own person, so that true virtue is in harmony with those below — this is the enlightened sovereign. The former king was as a father in his kindness to the distressed and destitute; the people submitted to his commands, and there were none who were not glad. Even the neighboring states that were his said: 'We wait for our lord; when our lord comes there will be no punishment.' Let the king strive after his virtue, look to his ancestor, and never be idle or slack. In serving your forebears think of filial duty; in receiving those below think of reverence. To see far is enlightenment; to listen to virtue is keenness of hearing. I shall receive the king's goodness without weariness."

Taijia, Lower (太甲下)

Yi Yin again made announcement to the king, saying: "Alas! Heaven has no kin: it treats as kin those who can be reverent. The people have no constant object of affection: they cherish the one who is humane. The ghosts and spirits have no constant recipient of their gifts: they accept the offerings of the one who can be sincere. The seat given by Heaven is a hard thing! Where there is virtue there is government; where virtue is wanting there is disorder. To follow the same way as those who governed well is never to fail to rise; to do the same as those who fell into disorder is never to fail to perish. From end to end be careful of the company you keep: this is the enlightened, enlightened sovereign. The former king in his time strove to reverence his virtue, and so could be the match of the Lord on High. Now the king inherits a fine succession — let him look well upon this! In climbing high one must begin from below; in traveling far one must begin from near at hand. Do not make light of the people's affairs, but think of their difficulty; do not rest easy in your place, but think of its danger. Be careful of the end at the very beginning. If a word goes against your heart, you must ask whether it accords with the Way; if a word yields to your wishes, you must ask whether it departs from the Way. Alas! Without thought, how shall anything be gained? Without action, how shall anything be accomplished? When one man is greatly good, the myriad states are thereby set right. Let the ruler not disorder the old government with clever speech; let the minister not sit still upon accomplished merit for the sake of favor and gain. Then the state will long be kept in blessing."

Common Possession of Pure Virtue (咸有一德)

Yi Yin made the Common Possession of Pure Virtue.

When Yi Yin had given the government back to his sovereign and was about to announce his retirement, he set forth a warning concerning virtue. He said: "Alas! Heaven is hard to trust, and the mandate is not constant. Keep your virtue constant, and you keep your place; if your virtue is not constant, the Nine Regions will be lost with it. The king of Xia could not make his virtue constant; he was careless of the spirits and cruel to the people. August Heaven no longer protected him. It looked upon the myriad regions, opened the way for one who should hold the mandate, and sought with favor a pure virtue, that its possessor might be made lord of the spirits. I myself, together with Tang, had that common possession of pure virtue, and could be received by the heart of Heaven. We received the bright mandate of Heaven, gained the hosts of the Nine Regions, and so changed the calendar of Xia. It was not that Heaven had a private love for our Shang; Heaven aids the one virtue. It was not that Shang sought out the people below; the people turned of themselves to the one virtue. When virtue is one, no movement fails to be auspicious; when virtue is double and triple, no movement fails to be inauspicious. Good and ill fortune do not err, and they lie with men; the calamity or blessing that Heaven sends down lies with virtue.

"Now the heir king newly takes up the mandate; let him make his virtue new. From beginning to end let it be one, and it will be renewed day by day. In appointing officers employ the worthy and able; let those at your right hand and left be the right men. The minister acts for those above, for virtue's sake, and for those below, for the people's sake. Let it be a matter of difficulty and of care; let it be harmony, let it be oneness. Virtue has no constant teacher: make the good your teacher. Goodness has no constant master: it accords with the ability to be one. Bring the myriad surnames all to say, 'Great are the king's words,' and again, 'One is the king's heart.' So you may keep in peace the blessing of the former king, and forever establish the life of the multitudes. Alas! By the temple of seven generations one may see a man's virtue; by his leadership of ten thousand men one may see his government. Without the people the sovereign has none to employ; without the sovereign the people have nothing to work for. Do not enlarge yourself and make others small: if a common man or a common woman is not allowed to give his full effort, the lord of the people has none with whom to complete his work."

When Woding had buried Yi Yin at Bo, Jiu Dan set forth the deeds of Yi Yin as instruction, and the Woding was made.

Yi Zhi was counselor to Dawu. At Bo a portentous mulberry and paper-mulberry grew together in the court. Yi Zhi gave counsel to Wu Xian, and the four books of the Xian Yi were made.

Taiwu gave counsel to Yi Zhi, and the Yi Zhi and the Yuan Ming were made.

Zhongding removed to Xiao, and the Zhongding was made.

He Danjia dwelt at Xiang, and the He Danjia was made.

Zu Yi's city was ruined at Geng, and the Zu Yi was made.

Pan Geng, Upper (盤庚上)

Pan Geng (盤庚) removed to Yin, and the people were unwilling to go to the dwelling place. He called together all who were troubled and put forth straight words to them, saying: "Our king came and changed our dwelling to this place. He valued our people and would not have them all destroyed; for here we cannot help one another to live. When it was inquired of by the tortoise, it said: What of it? The former kings had their service and were reverent and careful of Heaven's command; even so they did not rest constantly in one place, nor keep one city always: down to now there have been five settlements. If we do not now follow the ancients, we show that we do not know that Heaven cuts off the mandate — how much less may it be said that we are able to follow the great deeds of the former kings. As a fallen tree has fresh shoots springing from it, so Heaven will make our mandate long in this new city, continuing and restoring the great work of the former kings and bringing rest to the four quarters."

Pan Geng instructed the people, beginning with those in office, that they should keep to the constant old services and set right the laws and measures. He said: "Let none dare to suppress the admonition of the humble." The king commanded the multitude, and all came to the court. The king spoke to this effect: "Come, you multitudes. I announce to you my instruction: purge your hearts of scheming, be not arrogant nor given to ease. Of old, our former kings also planned to employ the men of the old families to share in the government. When the king spread out his announcements, they kept them and did not hide his intent, and therefore the king greatly revered them. There were no reckless words, and the people were greatly changed. Now you clamor and chatter, raising up as trustworthy what is perilous and empty; I do not know what it is you contend for.

"It is not that I myself lay this virtue waste; it is that you hold your virtue back and show no fear of me, the one man. I see it as clearly as I see fire; yet I too, by clumsy planning, have let you fall into idleness. As a net has its head-rope, so there is order and no tangle; as the farmer who works his field and labors at the reaping will also have his autumn crop — so if you can purge your hearts and bestow real virtue upon the people, and upon your kin by marriage and your friends, then you may boldly say in great words that you have laid up virtue. But you do not fear the great harm that comes to far and near. Like a lazy farmer who takes his ease, who does not exert himself in labor and does not work his acres, you will have neither millet nor grain.

"If you do not spread good words among the hundred clans, it is you yourselves who breed the poison; you work ruin and calamity, wickedness within and villainy without, and bring disaster upon your own persons. Having first done evil to the people, you must yourselves bear the pain of it; and when you repent, what good will it do you? Look at these petty and treacherous people: even they still have regard for one another's admonitions and fear that a reckless word may escape their mouths — how much more when I hold in my hand the making short or long of your lives! Why do you not tell me, but instead stir one another with idle talk and sink the multitude in fear? When fire blazes over the plain so that no one can come near it, can it still be beaten out? It is you, the multitude, who have made this unquietness; the fault is not mine.

"Chi Ren had a saying: 'In men seek the old; in vessels seek not the old but the new.' Of old, our former kings and your grandfathers and your fathers shared ease and toil together; how then should I dare to apply punishment that is not deserved? Generation by generation I reckon up your labors, and I do not hide your goodness. Now when I make the great offering to the former kings, your ancestors follow them and share in it. Whether blessing be made or calamity, I too dare not employ anything that is not virtue. I tell you of the hardship before us; be like the archer who has his aim. Do not slight grown men because they are old, nor treat the young and fatherless as weak. Let each grow old in his own dwelling; put out your strength with effort, and listen to the plans that I, the one man, have made. There shall be no distinction of far or near: for guilt I will punish with death, for virtue I will make goodness known. If the state prospers, it is by you, the multitude; if the state does not prosper, it is I, the one man, who bear the punishment of the failure. All you multitudes, let this announcement reach you: from this day forward let each be reverent in his business, order your places, and measure your words. When punishment comes upon your persons, there will be no repenting it."

Pan Geng, Middle (盤庚中)

Pan Geng arose, and crossing the He he removed the people. He spoke to those who would not follow, making a great announcement in sincerity. All his multitude came, and without irreverence stood in the royal court. Pan Geng then summoned them forward and said: "Hear my words clearly, and do not neglect or lose my command. Alas! Of old, our sovereigns before us never failed to sustain and protect the people; the sovereigns shared their sorrows and were sparing of ease, and so did not go against the seasons of Heaven. When Yin was visited with great affliction, the former kings did not cling to what they had built; seeing what would profit the people, they removed. Why do you not think upon what we have heard of our sovereigns of old? I sustain you and help you only that we may rejoice in peace together; it is not that you have any fault and are being brought near to punishment. When I call you to make this new city your home, it is also for your sake, and to follow fully what the former kings intended.

"Now I am about to try, by removing with you, to bring the state to rest and settlement. You do not grieve for the distress of my heart; you all utterly fail to open out your hearts, or to think reverently in sincerity so as to move me, the one man. You are only bringing yourselves to extremity and bitterness. It is as when men are in a boat: if you do not cross over, you will let the cargo rot. Your sincerity does not hold together, and you will only sink along with one another. If you will never examine yourselves, what cure is there in your own anger? You make no long plans, you do not think of the calamity, and so you greatly urge on your own grief. You have a today and no hereafter; how then shall you live upon the earth? Now I command you to be of one mind. Do not stir up filth and so make yourselves stink, lest others lean upon your persons and bend your hearts aside. I meet and continue your mandate from Heaven. Would I terrify you? It is to sustain and nourish you, my multitude. I think how our former spirit-sovereigns toiled for your forefathers; I am well able to nourish you, and therefore I cherish you as I do. Were I to fail in government and linger here, the high sovereign would send down great guilt and sickness upon me, saying: 'Why do you oppress my people?' And if you, the myriad people, do not seek to live and to go on living, and to be of one mind in planning with me, the one man, then the former sovereigns will send down great guilt and sickness upon you, saying: 'Why do you not join with our young grandson?' So, if there is any error of virtue, the punishment will come upon you from above, and you will have no way to escape it.

"Of old, our former sovereigns made your grandfathers and your fathers toil, and you together are the people I nourish. If you hold thoughts of harm and injury in your hearts, our former sovereigns will call in your grandfathers and your fathers, and your grandfathers and your fathers will cut you off and cast you away and will not save you from death. Here among us are those who disorder the government and hold office beside me, hoarding their cowries and their jades; and your grandfathers and fathers will make a great report to our high sovereign, saying: 'Inflict great punishment upon our descendants.' So they will lead the high sovereign to send down great misfortune.

"Alas! Now I tell you that it is no easy matter. Be forever reverent in this great anxiety; do not cut yourselves off far from one another. Share in the planning and the thought and follow one another; let each set up the mean within his own heart. If there be any who are not good and will not follow, who are perverse and irreverent, who seize the moment for villainy within and without, I will cut off their noses and destroy them utterly, leaving no offspring, letting no seed of them be carried over into this new city. Go now, and live and go on living! Now I am about to try, by removing with you, to establish your houses forever."

Pan Geng, Lower (盤庚下)

When Pan Geng had removed, he fixed the places of dwelling. Then he set right the positions of rank and gave rest to the multitude, saying: "Do not play, do not be idle; strive to establish the great mandate. Now I lay open to you my heart and my belly, my liver and my bowels, and set forth in order to you, the hundred clans, what is in my mind. I do not hold you, my multitude, guilty; do not you join together in anger and band together in slanderous words against me, the one man.

"Of old, our former kings, wishing to add to the achievements of those before them, went up to the hill country. By this they lessened the harm that had come upon us, and made fine works for our state. Now our people are scattered and broken and driven from their homes, with no settled abode. You say to me: 'Why do you shake the myriad people and remove them?' It is because the Lord on High is about to restore the virtue of our high ancestor and bring our house into order. In deepest reverence I respectfully receive the destiny of the people, and make a lasting ground for them in the new city. Therefore I, a young man, have not cast aside your counsel; I have followed what is good, and the spirits' answer has come. I have not dared to disobey the oracle, and by it I make this undertaking great.

"Alas! You chiefs of states, you leaders and heads, you hundred officers who hold charge — may you all have compassion. I will strive to choose you out and to help you, and to think with reverence of my multitude. I will not employ those who love goods; I will devote myself with you to the work of living and going on living. Those who nourish the people and who plan for the people's secure dwelling — these I will set in order and honor. Now I have set before you what is in my mind, what I approve and what I do not; let none be irreverent. Do not gather up goods and treasures; make your merit in the work of living and going on living. Spread abroad virtue among the people, and forever bear with one heart."

Charge to Yue, Upper (說命上)

The king dwelt in mourning in the dark shed for three years. When the mourning was over he still did not speak. All the ministers remonstrated with the king, saying: "Alas! He who knows is called enlightened and wise, and the enlightened and wise indeed makes the rule. The Son of Heaven is sovereign over the myriad states, and the hundred officers receive their pattern from him. The king's words become commands; if he does not speak, his ministers have nothing from which to receive orders."

The king thereupon made a writing to announce to them, saying: "Since it falls to me to set the four quarters right, I have feared that my virtue was not equal to it, and for this reason I have not spoken. Reverent and silent, I was pondering the Way, and I dreamed that God gave me a good helper who should speak in my place."

Then he examined closely the image he had seen, and had a likeness made and search carried on every side throughout the empire. Yue (說) was building walls in the wilds of Fuyan, and the likeness matched him. Thereupon he was set up as chief counselor, and the king placed him at his right hand and his left. He charged him, saying: "Morning and evening bring in your instruction, to aid my virtue. If I were metal, I would use you for the whetstone; if I were crossing a great stream, I would use you for boat and oars; if the year were one of great drought, I would use you for the soaking rain. Open your heart and water my heart. If the medicine does not make the head swim and the eyes dim, the sickness will not be cured. If a man goes barefoot and does not watch the ground, his feet will be hurt. Be with your colleagues, all of one heart, to correct your sovereign, that I may follow the former kings and tread the path of our high ancestor, and so give rest to the millions. Alas! Revere this charge of mine, and let it have a good end."

Yue answered the king, saying: "When wood follows the marking-line it is made straight; when a sovereign follows remonstrance he becomes a sage. If the sovereign can be a sage, his ministers will take up his will without being commanded — who then would dare not reverence and obey the king's fine charge?"

Charge to Yue, Middle (說命中)

Yue, charged with the command of all the officers, came forward to the king and said: "Alas! The enlightened king honors and follows the way of Heaven: he founds states and sets up capitals, establishes the sovereign king and the ruling lords, and supports them with grandees and heads of office. This is not for idleness and pleasure, but for the ordering of the people. Heaven is keen of hearing and clear of sight; the sage takes this for his model; the ministers reverently follow him; and the people are governed and obey. It is the mouth that gives rise to shame; it is armor and helmet that give rise to war. Robes of honor should be kept in the chest; shield and spear should make a man examine his own person. Let the king be warned in this: be truly clear in it, and nothing will fail to be good.

"Order and disorder lie with the many officers. Offices should not go to private favorites, but to the able; rank should not go to men of bad virtue, but to the worthy. Consider what is good before you act, and act in its proper season. To make a show of one's goodness is to lose that goodness; to pride oneself on one's ability is to lose the merit of it. In every affair there must be preparation; with preparation there is no distress. Do not open the way to favoritism and so admit insult; do not, being ashamed of a fault, turn it into a wrong. If each rests in what belongs to him, the business of government will be pure. Irreverence in the sacrifices — this is called want of reverence. When ritual is made burdensome it falls into confusion, and the serving of the spirits becomes hard."

The king said: "Excellent! Yue, your words are to be put into practice. Had you not been good in speech, I should not have heard what to do."

Yue bowed with his head to the ground and said: "It is not the knowing that is hard, but the doing. If the king is sincere and does not find it hard, he will truly accord with the perfected virtue of the former kings. If I, Yue, do not speak, the fault will be mine."

Charge to Yue, Lower (說命下)

The king said: "Come, Yue. I, the little one, formerly studied under Gan Pan; then I withdrew into the wilds and went to dwell by the He. From the He I went to Bo, and to the end of it I gained no distinction. Do you instruct me in my aims. If I were making wine and sweet liquor, you should be the yeast and the malt; if I were making a well-blended broth, you should be the salt and the plum. Correct me on every side and do not cast me off, and I shall be able to walk in your instruction."

Yue said: "O king! A man seeks to hear much, that he may establish his affairs. Learn from the instructions of antiquity, and you will gain something. That an affair not modeled on antiquity should endure for generations is not what I, Yue, have heard. In learning, humble your mind and strive to be constantly diligent, and your cultivation will come. Truly cherish this, and the Way will be laid up in your own person. Teaching is the half of learning; keep your mind from beginning to end constantly upon learning, and your virtue will be cultivated without your knowing it. Take the perfected statutes of the former kings for your mirror, and you will be forever without fault. Then I, Yue, may reverently receive your charge and call in men of talent from every side, to be ranged in the various offices."

The king said: "Alas, Yue! That all within the four seas look up to my virtue is your doing, as the wind bends the grass. Arms and legs make the man; good ministers make the sage. Of old, the former chief minister Bao Heng raised up our former king. He said: 'If I cannot make my sovereign a Yao or a Shun, my heart is ashamed, as though I were flogged in the marketplace.' If a single man did not find his place, he said: 'This is my fault.' He aided our illustrious ancestor until his merit reached august Heaven. Do you brightly protect me, and do not let A Heng alone hold the glory of Shang. A sovereign without worthy men cannot govern; worthy men without a sovereign have nothing to live by. May you be able to make your sovereign the successor of the former kings, and give lasting peace to the people!"

Yue bowed with his head to the ground and said: "I dare to answer and make known the fine charge of the Son of Heaven!"

Day of the Supplementary Sacrifice to Gaozong (高宗肜日)

On the day of the supplementary sacrifice to Gaozong there was a pheasant that crowed. Zu Ji said: "First the king must be set right; then this matter will be corrected." He then instructed the king, saying: "Heaven watches over the people below and takes their sense of right as its standard. Of the years it sends down, some are long and some are not long; it is not Heaven that cuts life short — the people themselves break off their allotted span midway. There are people who do not comply with virtue and will not acknowledge their guilt. When Heaven has already given its charge that they correct their virtue, they say, 'What is that to me?' Alas! The king's charge is to hold the people in reverence; none of them is other than the offspring of Heaven. In the regular sacrifices, be not lavish toward the nearest shrine."

Chief of the West's Conquest of Li (西伯戡黎)

When the Chief of the West had subdued Li, Zu Yi (祖伊) was afraid and hurried to report it to the king.

He said: "Son of Heaven! Heaven has already brought our mandate of Yin to an end. Neither the men who can reach the spirits nor the great tortoise dare find anything auspicious in it. It is not that the former kings do not help us who come after; it is that the king, by wanton play, has cut himself off. Therefore Heaven has cast us away. We have no settled food; we take no thought of the nature Heaven gave us; we do not follow the statutes and canons. Now among our people there is none who does not desire the fall, and they say: 'Why does Heaven not send down its terror? Why does the great mandate not arrive?' What will the king do now?"

The king said: "Alas! Was I not born with a mandate in Heaven?"

Zu Yi answered: "Alas! Your offenses are many and heaped up on high — and can you then demand a mandate from Heaven? Yin is going down to ruin. Look at what your works have brought about: your state will not escape the slaughter."

Viscount of Wei (微子)

The Viscount of Wei (微子) spoke thus: "Grand Tutor, Junior Tutor — Yin can no longer order and govern the four quarters. Our ancestor brought his work to completion and set it forth on high; we, sunk and besotted with wine, have thrown into confusion and ruined his virtue here below. In Yin, small and great alike, all delight in plunder, theft, villainy within and outrage without. The high ministers and the officers copy one another in what is beyond all measure. Of all who bear guilt, not one is bound and taken. The lesser people rise up on every side and make enemies of one another. Now Yin is sinking to ruin, like a man fording a great water who finds neither ford nor shore. Yin is going down to ruin — and it has come to this today."

He said: "Grand Tutor, Junior Tutor — shall I set out and go away? Shall my house grow old in withdrawal into the wilds? Now if you give me no settled counsel, I shall fall and be overthrown — what then is to be done?"

The Grand Tutor spoke thus: "Prince! Heaven has heavily sent down calamity and laid waste the state of Yin. On every side men rise up drunk and besotted with wine. They do not fear what should be feared; they set themselves against their aged elders and the men long in office. Now the people of Yin steal even the pure victims consecrated to the spirits of heaven and earth, and are suffered to carry them off and eat them, and no penalty falls. Look down upon the people of Yin: the government breeds enmity among them, and gathers and summons foes without slackening. The guilt is joined together into one; many waste away with hunger and there is none to speak for them. Shang is now to have its disaster, and I shall stand up and take its ruin upon myself. When Shang sinks to ruin, I will not become another man's servant and slave. I counsel the Prince to go out — this accords with what I said long ago, that harm would come to the Prince. If the Prince does not go out, we shall be utterly overthrown. Let each man settle his own course; let each present himself to the former kings. I, for my part, do not look to flight."

The Books of Zhou (周書)

Great Declaration, Upper (泰誓上)

In the thirteenth year, in the spring, there was a great assembly at Mengjin.

The king said: "Ah, you chief lords of my friendly states, and you my officers of affairs and my many knights — hear clearly this declaration. Heaven and earth are the father and mother of all things; and of all things, man is the most spiritually endowed. He who is truly perceptive and wise becomes the great sovereign, and the great sovereign becomes the father and mother of the people. Now Shou, king of Shang, does not revere high Heaven and sends down calamity on the people below. He is sunk and drowned in drink, reckless after women, and dares to practice cruelty and violence. He punishes men together with their whole kindred and appoints men to office by inheritance. He has his palaces and chambers, his terraces and pavilions, his embankments and ponds, his extravagant robes — and with these he injures and destroys you, the myriad clans. He has burned and roasted the loyal and good; he has cut open pregnant women.

"August Heaven was moved to anger and charged my accomplished father to carry out with reverence the terror of Heaven; but the great work was not completed. Therefore I, Fa, the little one, together with you chief lords of the friendly states, have looked into the government of Shang. Shou has no repentant heart. He squats at his ease, does not serve the Lord on High or the spirits of heaven and earth, and leaves the ancestral temple of his forebears without sacrifice. The victims and the vessels of grain have gone to wicked robbers. Yet he says: 'I have the people, I have the mandate,' and takes no warning against his own contempt. Heaven, to protect the people below, made rulers for them and made teachers for them, that they might be able to assist the Lord on High and cherish and give peace to the four quarters. As to who is guilty and who is guiltless, how should I dare to go beyond His will? Where strength is equal, measure virtue; where virtue is equal, measure righteousness. Shou has ministers by the hundred million, but they have a hundred million hearts. I have three thousand ministers, and they have one heart. The crimes of Shang are strung full to the brim, and Heaven has charged me to punish them. If I did not obey Heaven, my guilt would be the same as his. I, the little one, am reverent and fearful morning and night. I have received the charge of my accomplished father. I have made the lei sacrifice to the Lord on High and the yi sacrifice at the great earth-mound; and with you, my multitudes, I will carry out the punishment of Heaven. Heaven has compassion on the people, and what the people desire, Heaven will surely follow. Do you assist me, the one man, to purify the four seas forever. This is the time! It must not be lost."

Great Declaration, Middle (泰誓中)

On the day wuwu the king halted north of the Yellow River. The many lords with their armies were all assembled. The king then went through the host and made his declaration, saying:

"Alas! You multitudes of the western land, all hear my words. I have heard that the good man doing good finds the days never enough, and the evil man doing evil likewise finds the days never enough. Now Shou, king of Shang, strenuously practices what is beyond all measure. He casts away the aged and gray and draws close to criminals. Given over to drunkenness and unbridled cruelty, he has made his ministers like himself. Households band into factions and make feuds; men use coercive power to destroy one another; the innocent cry out to Heaven; the stench of his conduct is heard afar. Heaven loves the people, and the ruler serves Heaven. Jie of Xia could not conform to Heaven, and poured out his poison upon the states below; Heaven then blessed and charged Tang the Successful, and sent down its rejection of the Xia mandate. But Shou's guilt overflows beyond that of Jie. He has stripped away and destroyed the chief among the good; he has injured and tormented those who remonstrate and assist. He says of himself that he has Heaven's mandate; he says that reverence is not worth practicing; he says that sacrifice brings no benefit; he says that cruelty does no harm. His mirror is not far off — it stands in that king of Xia.

"Heaven means to use me to govern the people. My dreams agree with my divinations, and both fall together upon a fortunate sign: the attack on Shang must succeed. Shou has ordinary men by the hundred million, but they are divided in heart and divided in virtue; I have ten ministers able to bring order, and they are one in heart and one in virtue. Though he has his close kindred, they are not like men of humanity. Heaven sees as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear. Where the hundred clans have faults, the fault rests upon me, the one man. Now I must go. My martial power shall be raised; I shall enter his borders and seize that cruel destroyer. My attack will be spread wide, and it will bring glory to Tang. Be strenuous, my men! Let none of you be without awe; hold rather that they are no feeble enemy. The hundred clans tremble in dread, as though their very horns would fall. Alas! Be of one virtue and one heart; set up and settle this achievement, and you shall endure through all generations."

Great Declaration, Lower (泰誓下)

At dawn of the next day the king made a great review of the six armies and clearly declared his charge to the multitude of officers.

The king said: "Alas! You noble men of my western land. Heaven has a bright way, and its ordering is manifest. Now Shou, king of Shang, treats the five constant duties with contempt; he is wild and idle and without reverence. He has cut himself off from Heaven and knotted up the hatred of the people. He cut through the shinbones of men who waded a stream in the morning; he cut open the heart of a worthy man. Making a display of terror, he kills and slaughters and poisons and afflicts the four seas. He honors and trusts the crooked and treacherous; he banishes and dismisses his tutors and guardians; he casts aside the statutes and punishments; he imprisons and enslaves upright officers. The suburban and earth sacrifices are not kept up; the ancestral temple receives no offering. He makes strange devices and wanton contrivances to please a woman. The Lord on High does not accord with him, and has pronounced this ruin down upon him. Do you be diligent in supporting me, the one man, to carry out with reverence the punishment of Heaven. The men of old had a saying: 'He who soothes us is our sovereign; he who oppresses us is our enemy.' This solitary fellow Shou, in his vast display of terror, is the enemy of your generations. In planting virtue, strive to make it grow; in rooting out evil, strive to reach its root. Therefore I, the little one, with you, the host of officers, will exterminate and wipe out your enemy. Let you, the host of officers, advance with resolution and firmness, and so raise up your ruler. Great merit will have rich reward; failure to advance will have open execution. Alas! My accomplished father was like the shining of the sun and the moon, his light upon the four quarters, his brightness upon the western land. Our house of Zhou has greatly received the allegiance of many regions. If I overcome Shou, it will not be by my martial power, but because my accomplished father was without fault. If Shou overcomes me, it will not be because my accomplished father had any fault, but because I, the little one, am not good."

Speech at Mu (牧誓)

On the day jiazi, in the dim light before dawn, the king came in the morning to Muye in the outskirts of Shang, and there made his declaration.

The king held in his left hand a yellow battle-axe and in his right a white ox-tail standard, which he waved, saying: "Far have you come, men of the western land!"

The king said: "Ah! You chief lords of my friendly states; my officers of affairs, my ministers of education, marshals, and ministers of works; the assistant officers and the many officers, the commanders of the guard, the leaders of a thousand and the leaders of a hundred; and you men of Yong, Shu, Qiang, Mao, Wei, Lu, Peng, and Pu. Lift up your dagger-axes, bring your shields together, set up your spears — I will make my declaration."

The king said: "The men of old had a saying: 'The hen does not announce the dawn. When a hen announces the dawn, it is the ruin of the house.' Now Shou, king of Shang, uses only the words of a woman. Blindly he has cast off the sacrifices that were his to offer and makes no return for them; blindly he has cast off the kindred left him — his father's and his mother's kin and his own brothers — and does not employ them. Instead it is the men of many crimes who have fled from the four quarters whom he honors, whom he exalts, whom he trusts, whom he employs, whom he makes his grandees and high ministers; and he lets them be cruel and violent to the hundred clans and work villainy and outrage in the city of Shang. Now I, Fa, am only reverently carrying out the punishment of Heaven. In today's business, do not go beyond six paces or seven paces, but halt and dress your ranks. Be strenuous, my men! Do not go beyond four strokes, five strokes, six strokes, or seven strokes, but halt and dress your ranks. Be strenuous, my men! Be bold and martial, like tigers, like panthers, like bears, like great bears, here in the outskirts of Shang. Do not strike down those who are able to come over to us, but let them serve the western land. Be strenuous, my men! Wherever you are not strenuous, execution will fall upon your own persons."

Successful Completion of the War (武成)

In the first month, on the day renchen, next after the dying of the moon's brightness, and on the following day, guisi, the king marched in the morning from Zhou to attack and punish Shang. In the fourth month, on the day when the brightness first began to be born, the king came from Shang and arrived at Feng. He then laid down his arms and cultivated the arts of peace. He sent the horses back to the sunny side of Mount Hua and let the oxen loose in the wilds of Taolin, showing the world that he would use them no more. On the day dingwei he sacrificed in the temple of Zhou; the lords of the royal domain, the marquises, and the guard lands hurried swiftly to and fro, bearing the sacrificial stands and baskets. Three days later, on gengxu, he made the burnt offering and the distant sacrifice and announced in full the successful completion of the war. When the moon's dark part had come into being, the chief lords of the many states and the hundred officers received their charges from Zhou.

The king spoke thus: "Alas, you many lords! It was our former kings who founded the state and opened up the land. Gong Liu was able to make firm the achievements of those before him; and coming down to the Great King, he first laid the foundations of the royal course; King Ji labored for the royal house. My accomplished father, King Wen, was able to complete their work; he greatly received the mandate of Heaven and so soothed the regions of Xia. Great states feared his strength; small states cherished his virtue. For nine years — and yet the great unification was not achieved. I, the little one, will carry on his purpose. Having fixed upon the crimes of Shang, I announced them to august Heaven and to the sovereign Earth, and at the famous mountains and great rivers through which I passed, saying: 'I, Fa, king of Zhou, the distant descendant of a man of the Way, am about to execute a great correction upon Shang.' Now Shou, king of Shang, is without the Way. He violently destroys the creatures Heaven has made and injures and torments the multitudes of the people. He is the host of all who flee the world, gathering them as a deep pool gathers fish and a marsh gathers beasts. I, the little one, having obtained men of humanity, dare reverently to receive the charge of the Lord on High and to stop the schemes of disorder. The lands of Hua and Xia and the Man and Mo tribes alike are none who do not follow and submit, reverently to complete the mandate of Heaven. Therefore I marched east and gave peace to their men and women. Those men and women filled their baskets with black and yellow silks to make glorious our king of Zhou. Heaven's favor moved and stirred them, so that they attached themselves to our great city of Zhou. You spirits, may you be able to help me, to carry over the millions of the people, and let no shame be brought upon the spirits."

On the day wuwu the army crossed at Mengjin; on guihai it was drawn up in the outskirts of Shang, awaiting Heaven's gracious command. At dawn on jiazi Shou led out his host like a forest and met us at Muye. There was none who withstood our army: those in the front ranks turned their weapons around and attacked those behind them, driving them in flight, and the blood flowed until it floated the pestles. With one donning of armor, the world was greatly settled.

He then reversed the government of Shang and restored the old governance. He released the Viscount of Ji from prison, raised a mound over the grave of Bi Gan, and bowed at the gate of Shang Rong's village. He scattered the wealth of the Deer Terrace and opened out the grain of Juqiao. He made great gifts throughout the four seas, and the myriad clans were glad and submitted. He arranged the ranks in five orders and divided the lands in three grades. He established offices only for the worthy and set men over affairs only for their ability. He gave weight to the five teachings for the people, and to food, mourning, and sacrifice. He made good faith sincere and righteousness clear; he honored virtue and rewarded merit; and letting his robes hang down and folding his hands, he found the world well governed.

Great Plan (洪範)

In the thirteenth year of sacrifices, the king went to consult the Viscount of Ji (箕子).

The king then said: "Alas, Viscount of Ji! Heaven, unseen, determines the people below and helps them to be joined together in their dwelling. I do not know the ordering of the constant norms."

The Viscount of Ji then said: "I have heard that in ancient times Gun dammed up the flooding waters and threw into confusion the arrangement of the five agents. The Lord was moved to anger and did not give him the nine divisions of the Great Plan, and so the constant norms were ruined. Gun was then put to death in banishment, and Yu rose up in his place. Heaven then bestowed on Yu the nine divisions of the Great Plan, and the constant norms were set in order.

"The first is called the Five Agents. The second is the reverent use of the Five Businesses. The third is the diligent use of the Eight Objects of Government. The fourth is the harmonious use of the Five Regulators. The fifth is the establishment and use of the Sovereign Standard. The sixth is the governing use of the Three Virtues. The seventh is the intelligent use of the Examination of Doubts. The eighth is the thoughtful use of the Various Verifications. The ninth is the use of the Five Blessings for encouragement and of the Six Extremities for awe.

"One. The Five Agents. The first is water, the second fire, the third wood, the fourth metal, the fifth earth. Water is that which soaks and descends; fire is that which blazes and rises; wood is that which bends and straightens; metal is that which yields and is reshaped; earth is that which takes sowing and reaping. What soaks and descends produces the salt taste; what blazes and rises produces the bitter; what bends and straightens produces the sour; what yields and is reshaped produces the pungent; sowing and reaping produce the sweet.

"Two. The Five Businesses. The first is bearing, the second speech, the third seeing, the fourth hearing, the fifth thinking. Bearing should be respectful; speech should be compliant; seeing should be clear; hearing should be acute; thinking should be penetrating. Respectfulness makes gravity; compliance makes good order; clearness makes discernment; acuteness makes good counsel; penetration makes sageliness.

"Three. The Eight Objects of Government. The first is food, the second goods, the third sacrifice, the fourth the minister of works, the fifth the minister of education, the sixth the minister of justice, the seventh the reception of guests, the eighth the army.

"Four. The Five Regulators. The first is the year, the second the month, the third the day, the fourth the stars and the constellations, the fifth the reckoning of the calendar.

"Five. The Sovereign Standard. The sovereign establishes his standard. He gathers up these five blessings and spreads them abroad to bestow them on his multitude of people. Then that multitude of your people will look to your standard and give you their keeping of it. Among all that multitude of people let there be no lawless factions, and among men no private confederacies: it is the sovereign who makes the standard. Among all that multitude of people, those who have plans, who have deeds, who have what they hold to — these you shall bear in mind. Those who do not come up to the standard yet do not fall into offense, the sovereign shall receive. When their faces are at ease and they say, 'What we love is virtue,' you shall then bestow blessing upon them, and these men will hold to the sovereign's standard. Do not oppress the solitary and the childless; do not stand in awe of the high and illustrious. Where men have ability and have deeds, let them advance in their conduct, and the state will flourish. As for all who hold office, when they are already made rich they will be good; if you cannot make them love your house, these men will fall into guilt. As for those who have no love of virtue, though you bestow blessings upon them they will make you incur offense. Without partiality, without leaning, follow the king's righteousness. Forming no private likings, follow the king's way. Forming no private hatreds, follow the king's road. Without partiality, without faction, the king's way is broad and wide; without faction, without partiality, the king's way is level and even; without turning back, without turning aside, the king's way is straight and true. Gather to that which has the standard; return to that which has the standard. The words spread abroad of the Sovereign Standard are the constant rule and the instruction; they are the instruction of the Lord himself. When all that multitude of people take the words spread abroad of the standard as their instruction and act upon them, they draw near to the brightness of the Son of Heaven. It is said: The Son of Heaven is the father and mother of the people, and so is king of all beneath Heaven.

"Six. The Three Virtues. The first is correctness and straightness, the second firmness in overcoming, the third mildness in overcoming. In peace and calm, correctness and straightness; toward the strong who are not friendly, firmness in overcoming; toward the harmonious and friendly, mildness in overcoming; for the sunken and withdrawn, firmness in overcoming; for the high and brilliant, mildness in overcoming. It is the ruler alone who makes blessings, the ruler alone who makes terror, the ruler alone who eats the jade delicacies. A minister must not make blessings, nor make terror, nor eat the jade delicacies. If ministers make blessings, make terror, and eat the jade delicacies, it will bring harm upon your house and misfortune upon your state. Men will then become slanted, one-sided, and crooked, and the people will become presumptuous and errant.

"Seven. The Examination of Doubts. Choose and appoint men for the tortoise-shell and the milfoil, and then charge them to divine. The signs are: rain; clearing; drifting cloud; haze; and crossing; and further, the inner and the outer. In all there are seven: five belong to the tortoise and are used in prognostication, and two belong to the milfoil and extend the reckoning of change. Appoint these men to work the tortoise and the milfoil. When three men divine, follow the words of the two who agree. If you have a great doubt, take counsel with your own heart, take counsel with your ministers and officers, take counsel with the common people, take counsel with the tortoise and the milfoil. If you agree, the tortoise agrees, the milfoil agrees, the ministers and officers agree, and the common people agree, this is called the great concord: your person will be healthy and strong, your sons and grandsons will meet good fortune — auspicious. If you agree, the tortoise agrees, and the milfoil agrees, while the ministers and officers oppose and the common people oppose — auspicious. If the ministers and officers agree, the tortoise agrees, and the milfoil agrees, while you oppose and the common people oppose — auspicious. If the common people agree, the tortoise agrees, and the milfoil agrees, while you oppose and the ministers and officers oppose — auspicious. If you agree and the tortoise agrees, while the milfoil opposes, the ministers and officers oppose, and the common people oppose, then for what is done within, auspicious; for what is done without, inauspicious. If the tortoise and the milfoil both go against men, then to remain still is auspicious and to act is inauspicious.

"Eight. The Various Verifications. They are rain, sunshine, heat, cold, and wind — and their seasonableness. When these five come complete, each in its own order, the many plants will grow thick and luxuriant. If one of them is present to excess, that is inauspicious; if one of them is wholly wanting, that too is inauspicious. These are the favorable verifications: gravity, and seasonable rain follows; good order, and seasonable sunshine follows; discernment, and seasonable heat follows; good counsel, and seasonable cold follows; sageliness, and seasonable wind follows. These are the unfavorable verifications: wildness, and constant rain follows; presumption, and constant sunshine follows; idleness, and constant heat follows; haste, and constant cold follows; benightedness, and constant wind follows. It is said: the king is to be examined as the year is, the ministers and officers as the month, the many heads of office as the day. When year, month, day, and season are without alteration, the hundred grains ripen, the government is enlightened, outstanding men are made illustrious, and the house is at peace and rest. When day, month, year, and season have been altered, the hundred grains do not ripen, the government is dark and unenlightened, outstanding men are kept obscure, and the house is not at peace. The common people are as the stars. Some stars love wind; some stars love rain. In the courses of the sun and the moon there is winter and there is summer; and as the moon follows the stars, so come wind and rain.

"Nine. The Five Blessings. The first is long life, the second riches, the third health and peace, the fourth the love of virtue, the fifth the completion of the destined span. The Six Extremities: the first is misfortune that cuts life short, the second sickness, the third sorrow, the fourth poverty, the fifth wickedness, the sixth weakness."

Hounds of Lü (旅獒)

When Shang had been overcome, the roads were opened through to the nine Yi and the eight Man. The Lü of the west brought as tribute their great hound. The Grand Protector then made the Hounds of Lü to instruct the king, saying:

"Alas! The enlightened king is careful of his virtue, and the tribes of the four quarters all come as guests. Far or near, they all present the products of their own regions — only such things as serve for clothing, for food, and for the vessels of use. The king then displays what his virtue has brought in to the states of other surnames, that they may not fail in their service; and he distributes the precious jades among the states of his uncles and elder kin, and so makes his kinship manifest. Men do not make light of the objects; it is virtue that gives the objects their worth. Where virtue abounds there is no contempt. To treat the noble man with contempt is to make it impossible to obtain men's full hearts; to treat the small man with contempt is to make it impossible to obtain his full strength. Do not be enslaved to the ear and the eye, and all your measures will be correct. To toy with men is to lose virtue; to toy with things is to lose one's purpose. Let the purpose find rest in the Way, and let words meet with the Way. Do not do what is useless to the harm of what is useful, and your work will be accomplished. Do not prize strange objects and hold cheap the objects of use, and the people will have enough. Dogs and horses not native to the soil should not be kept; rare birds and strange beasts should not be reared in the state. If you do not treasure things from afar, then men from afar will come to you; if what you treasure is only the worthy, then the men near at hand will be at peace. Alas! From morning to night let there be no moment without diligence. If you are not careful in small acts, in the end you will burden your great virtue. In raising a mound of nine fathoms, the work may fail for one basketful of earth. If you truly follow this, the living people will keep their dwellings, and you will be king for generations."

Metal-Bound Coffer (金縢)

Transmitted Text (傳本)

Two years after the conquest of Shang, the king was ill and not at ease. The two dukes said: "Let us reverently divine for the king." The Duke of Zhou (周公) said: "We may not yet trouble our former kings with this." The duke then offered himself as the gift. He made three altars upon one cleared ground; and he made an altar to the south of them, and the Duke of Zhou stood there facing north, wearing the jade disc and holding the jade tablet, and addressed the Great King, King Ji, and King Wen. The scribe then made the prayer upon the tablets, saying: "Your chief descendant So-and-so has met with a violent and cruel sickness. If it is that you three kings owe above the charge of a great son, then let Dan take the place of So-and-so's person. I am quick and deft, of many talents and many arts, and able to serve the ghosts and the spirits. Your chief descendant has not Dan's many talents and many arts, and cannot serve the ghosts and the spirits. He received his charge in the court of the Lord, to hold the four quarters widely, and thereby to settle your sons and grandsons here on the earth below; and among the people of the four quarters there is none who does not stand in reverent awe. Alas! Do not let fall the precious mandate that Heaven sent down, and our former kings too will have forever a place of refuge and return. Now I go to seek the charge from the great tortoise. If you grant me my request, I will take this disc and this tablet and go back and await your command; if you do not grant me my request, I will put the disc and the tablet away." He then divined with three tortoises, and each in turn was auspicious. He opened the lock and looked at the written oracles, and these too were all auspicious. The duke said: "By the form of the cracks, the king will suffer no harm. I, the little one, have myself sought a charge from the three kings; it is a lasting end that I plan for, and what I now await is that they be mindful of me, the one man." The duke went back and placed the tablets in the metal-bound casket. The next day the king recovered. After King Wu had died, Shu of Guan and his younger brothers spread a rumor through the state, saying: "The duke will do no good to the young child." The Duke of Zhou then told the two dukes: "If I do not proceed against them, I shall have nothing to report to our former kings." The Duke of Zhou dwelt in the east for two years, and afterwards the guilty men were taken. The duke then made a poem to present to the king and named it The Owl; and the king did not yet dare to reproach the duke.

In autumn the crop was full ripe but not yet gathered, when Heaven sent great thunder and lightning with wind. The grain was all beaten flat, great trees were torn up, and the men of the state were greatly afraid. The king and the grandees all put on their ceremonial caps to open the writings of the metal-bound casket, and there they found the words in which the Duke of Zhou had offered himself as the gift in place of King Wu. The two dukes and the king then questioned the scribes and all the officers in charge. They answered: "It is true. But the duke commanded us not to dare to speak of it." The king held the writing and wept, saying: "Let there be no reverent divination. Formerly the duke labored diligently for the royal house, and I, the young one, did not come to know of it. Now Heaven has moved its terror in order to make manifest the virtue of the Duke of Zhou. I, the little one, will go in person to meet him; the rites of our state and house also make this fitting."

The king went out to the suburbs, and Heaven then sent rain and reversed the wind, and the grain all rose up again. The two dukes ordered the men of the state that wherever great trees had been laid flat they should all be raised again and the earth banked about them; and that year the harvest was full.

Tsinghua Bamboo-Slip Text (清華簡)

(King Wu falls ill; the Duke of Zhou prays.)

Three years after King Wu had conquered Yin, the king was unwell and slow to mend. The two dukes told the Duke of Zhou: "Let us reverently divine for the king." The Duke of Zhou said: "We may not yet trouble our former kings with this." The Duke of Zhou then made three altars upon one cleared ground, and made one altar to the south, and the Duke of Zhou stood there, holding the jade disc and wearing the jade tablet. The scribe then made the prayer upon the tablets, announcing to the former kings: "Your chief descendant Fa has met with a harmful and cruel sickness. Is it not that you have above the charge of a son to answer for? Now your chief descendant Fa is not like Dan, who is quick and deft and able, of many talents and many arts, and able to serve the ghosts and the spirits. He received his charge in the court of the Lord, to hold the four quarters widely, and so to settle your sons and grandsons here on the earth below. If you grant me my request, I will bury the disc and the tablet; if you do not grant me my request, I will take the disc and the tablet back with me." The Duke of Zhou then placed in the metal-bound casket the words in which he had offered himself as the gift in the king's place, and charged the officers in attendance: "Do not dare to speak of it."

(King Wu dies; Guan and Cai spread rumors; the Duke of Zhou goes east.)

Afterwards King Wu ascended on high, and King Cheng, still a child, was on the throne. Shu of Guan and his brothers spread a rumor through the state, saying: "The duke will do no good to the young child." The Duke of Zhou then told the two dukes: "If I do not proceed against them […], I shall have no way to appear again before our former kings." The Duke of Zhou dwelt in the east for three years, and the men who had made the trouble were then taken.

(The Duke of Zhou sends a poem; King Cheng does not trust him.)

Afterwards the Duke of Zhou sent the king a poem called The Owl; and the king still did not go out to meet the duke.

(Heaven shows portents; King Cheng repents and welcomes the Duke of Zhou.)

In that year the autumn crop was full ripe but not yet cut. Heaven sent a violent wind with thunder; the grain was laid flat and great trees were torn up. The men of the state were [all] afraid. The king […] put on the ceremonial cap and the grandees followed after him, to open the metal-bound casket. The king found the words in which the Duke of Zhou had offered himself as the gift in place of King Wu. The king questioned the officers in attendance. They said: "It is true. Alas, the duke commanded us not to dare to speak of it." The king clasped the writing and wept, saying: "Formerly the duke labored diligently for the royal house, and I, the young one, did not come to know of it. Now august Heaven has moved its terror in order to make manifest the duke's virtue. I, the young one, will go in person to meet the duke; the rites of our state and house also make this fitting."

(King Cheng goes out to the suburbs to meet the Duke of Zhou, and the year's harvest is great.)

The king then went out to meet the duke, coming as far as the suburbs. That evening Heaven reversed the wind and the grain rose up again; and wherever great trees had been torn up, the two dukes ordered the men of the state to set them all back and bank the earth about them. The year was one of great abundance, and in autumn the reaping was great.

(Title on the back of slip fourteen:) King Wu of Zhou fell ill; the record of the Duke of Zhou's offering himself in the king's place.

Great Announcement (大誥)

The king spoke thus: "Ho! I make a great announcement to you, the many states, and to you my officers of affairs. Unhappily, Heaven has sent down harm upon our house, and grants us no small delay. Still more, I, a young and childlike man, have succeeded to the boundless charge of the great succession. I have not attained to wisdom, nor led the people to peace; how much less can it be said that I am able to reach and know the mandate of Heaven? Ah! I am but a little one, like a man wading a deep water: I must go and seek where I may cross. I spread out what is great; I spread out the mandate that the men before me received; and so the great achievement is not lost. I dare not shut myself away from the terror Heaven sends down. King Wen left me the great precious tortoise, that I might carry on the brightness of Heaven; and I went to it for the charge, saying: 'There is great hardship in the western land, and the men of the western land are not quiet. And now this stirring remnant of Yin, small and grown fat, greatly dares to take up again the thread of its own succession. Heaven has sent down its terror; they know that our state has a flaw and that the people are not at peace, and they say, "We shall be restored," and would make our state of Zhou their border land. Now, this spring, on this coming day, among the people's worthy men there are ten who have come to me, and I will use them to carry on and complete the work planned by Wen and Wu. I have a great undertaking. Is it favorable? Are my divinations all auspicious?' Therefore I tell the lords of my friendly states, and the heads of office, the many officers, and the officers of affairs: 'I have obtained an auspicious oracle, and with you, the many states, I will go to punish the fugitive and scattered servants of Yin.' You lords of the many states, and the many officers and officers of affairs, all answered back: 'The hardship is great; the people are not quiet; and the root of it lies within the royal palace and in the houses of the lords of states. We, the young and the old, hold otherwise: the campaign cannot be made. Why does the king not set the oracle aside?' Therefore I, the young one, think long upon the hardship. I say: Alas! Truly this stirring afflicts the widowers and the widows. How grievous! I have met with the service Heaven lays upon me; it has left me a great burden and cast this hardship upon my person; and I, the young one, have no leisure to pity myself. It is right that you, lords of states, and you many officers, heads of office, and officers of affairs, should comfort me, saying: 'Do not be worn down by your sorrows; you cannot but complete the work planned by your accomplished father.' Ah! I am but a little one; I dare not overstep the charge of the Lord on High. Heaven favored King Wen and raised up our small state of Zhou. King Wen used the oracles, and so was able to receive this mandate in peace. Now Heaven is helping the people — how much more should the oracles be used! Alas! The bright terror of Heaven assists our great, great foundation."

The king said: "You are men of old standing, and you cannot look back far; yet you know how diligent King Wen was! Heaven has kept hidden, and toiled at, the place where our success is to be completed; and I dare not fail to carry through to the very end the work King Wen planned. Therefore I greatly transform and lead on the lords of my friendly states. Heaven is not to be trusted in words alone: it will put our people to the test. How then should I not bring to its end the work planned by the accomplished men before me? Heaven also uses toil and caution upon our people, as though they had a sickness. How then should I dare not to help complete the favor received by the accomplished men before me?"

The king said: "As in old days, I now make my declaration. My words are of hardship, and day by day I ponder it. It is as when a father builds a house: when he has already fixed the plan, his son will not so much as raise the platform — how much less put up the frame? Or when a father clears the field, his son will not sow it — how much less will he reap it? Would such a father, so far apart from him, be willing to say, 'I have an heir who will not cast away my foundation'? Therefore how should I dare not to take upon myself the carrying on of King Wen's great mandate? And it is as when an august father has a friend who attacks his son: will the people look on, urging it forward, and not go to the rescue?"

The king said: "Alas! Exert yourselves, you lords of the many states and you officers of affairs. In helping the state, wisdom is the guide; and there are the ten men who have come to know the charge of the Lord on High and to know that Heaven is not to be trusted in words alone. In that time you did not dare to set the law aside — how much less now, when Heaven has sent down calamity upon the state of Zhou? These men of great hardship, neighbors greatly attacking one another within their own household — you too do not know that the mandate of Heaven is not easily kept. I think long and say: Heaven is destroying Yin. Like a farmer, how should I dare not to finish my furrows? Heaven also showed favor to the accomplished men before me. How should I press the oracles to their limit and yet dare not follow them, nor lead on within the borders and lands that the accomplished men marked out? How much more when now the oracles are all auspicious! Therefore I go with you in a great campaign to the east. Heaven's charge does not err, and the oracle's showing is just as this."

Charge to the Viscount of Wei (微子之命)

The king spoke thus: "Ho! Chief son of the king of Yin! Consider antiquity: honor virtue and take the worthy for your model. You continue the line of the former kings and keep up their rites and their vessels. You are a guest in the royal house; with the kingdom you shall share its blessing, through endless generations without end. Alas! Your ancestor Tang the Successful was reverent and sage, broad and deep. August Heaven looked on him with favor and helped him, and he greatly received its mandate. He soothed the people with liberality and removed from among them what was crooked and cruel. His achievement reached his own age; his virtue came down to his descendants. You have trodden in his ways and cultivated them, and have long had a good name. Careful and reverent, able in filial duty, solemn and respectful toward spirits and men — I commend your virtue. I say: it is sincere, and shall not be forgotten. The Lord on High accepts your offerings; the people below are reverent and in accord; and I therefore establish you as a duke of the highest rank, to govern this eastern land of Xia. Be reverent! Go and spread abroad your instructions; be careful of the charge you wear; follow the statutes and the constants, and so be a hedge for the royal house. Make great your illustrious ancestor; give law to the people you have; forever rest in your place and support me, the one man; generation after generation enjoy your virtue and be a pattern for the myriad states, that our house of Zhou may never be wearied of you. Alas! Go, and be blessed. Do not set aside my charge."

Announcement to Kang (康誥)

In the third month, when the moon's dark part first began to be born, the Duke of Zhou first laid the foundations and built a great new city in the eastern region at Luo. The people of the four quarters came together in great harmony: the marquis lands, the domain lands, the baron lands, the chiefs of states, the tribute lands and the guard lands, the hundred officers and the settled people, came in harmony to present themselves for service at Zhou. The Duke of Zhou received them all in audience, and then made a great announcement concerning the government.

The king spoke thus: "Chief of the marquises, my younger brother, little one Feng! It was your greatly illustrious father, King Wen, who was able to make his virtue bright and to be careful in punishments. He did not dare to insult the widower or the widow. He employed the employable, revered the reverend, awed those to be awed, and made the people illustrious. With these he first made our region of Xia; and with our one or two states he brought our western land into order. From that trust his fame rose and was heard by the Lord on High, and the Lord approved. Heaven then gave the great charge to King Wen, to destroy the great state of Yin and greatly to receive its mandate, its lands, and its people. From that ordering, and by the diligence of your elder brother, the solitary man, you, little one Feng, are here in this eastern land."

The king said: "Alas, Feng! Do you bear this in mind! Now the people's lot lies in your reverently following your accomplished father, and carrying on what you have heard of the virtuous words of Yin. Go and seek widely among the former wise kings of Yin, and use what you find to protect and govern the people. Look far back to the aged and mature men of Shang; measure your own heart and come to know their teaching. Search everywhere for what has been heard from the ancient wise kings of old, and use it to give peace and protection to the people. Be great toward Heaven, that virtue may enrich your person, and you will not fail in the royal charge."

The king said: "Alas, little one Feng! Let the people's pain and sickness be in your own body — be reverent! The terror of Heaven is not to be relied on merely; but the people's disposition may be clearly seen. The small people are hard to keep. Go and exhaust your heart in it; do not love ease and pleasure, and then you will govern the people. I have heard it said: 'Resentment does not lie in what is great, nor in what is small; make kind those who are not kind, and make diligent those who are not diligent.' Ah! You are but a little one, yet your charge is a great one. The king has undertaken to protect the people of Yin; do you also help the king to hold Heaven's mandate and to make the people new."

The king said: "Alas, Feng! Be reverent and clear in your punishments. When a man has a small offense, and it was not an accident but a thing he does of himself to the end against the statutes, then though his offense be small he may not but be put to death. But when a man has a great offense, and it is not his fixed course but an accident and a mischance, and he has fully told out the guilt that is his — then he may not be put to death."

The king said: "Alas, Feng! When there is such an ordering, men will greatly understand and submit; the people will be admonished and will strive for harmony. As one who treats a sickness, so the people will cast off all their faults; as one who protects an infant, so the people will be at peace and well governed. It is not for you, Feng, to mutilate men or to put men to death at your pleasure; let none mutilate men or put men to death. It is not for you, Feng, to order a man's nose cut off or his foot cut off; let none cut off a nose or a foot."

The king said: "In affairs outside, set forth these standards, and in directing the officers let the punishments of Yin be applied according to their order." And he said: "With a prisoner under charge, take thought upon the case for five or six days, and on to a full ten days or a season, and then give judgment on the prisoner under charge."

The king said: "Set forth these standards in your affairs, and decide punishments by the constant law of Yin. Use the fitting punishments and the fitting executions, and do not use them to follow your own will, Feng. When all is compliant with you and you say that there is order, still you should say that there is not yet compliance in the work. Ah! You are but a little one, and there is no heart like yours, Feng; my heart and my virtue are known to you. Of all the people who bring guilt upon themselves — robbing, seizing, working villainy within and outrage without, killing men and knocking them over for their goods, fierce and unafraid of death — there is none who is not hated."

The king said: "Feng! These are the chief of evils and the greatest of hatreds — how much more the unfilial and the unbrotherly. When a son does not reverently attend to his father's business but greatly wounds his father's heart; when a father cannot cherish his son but hates him; when a younger brother does not consider the manifest will of Heaven and cannot be respectful to his elder brother; when an elder brother does not consider the sorrows of the child reared beside him and is greatly unbrotherly to his younger brother — if in such a case we who govern do not hold them guilty, then the norms Heaven has given our people will be utterly ruined and thrown into confusion. Therefore I say: quickly apply the punishments made by King Wen; punish these men and grant no pardon. And those who do not follow the great law — how much more the officers outside, the many sons who instruct the people, the men in charge, the lesser ministers, and the holders of tallies, when they spread their own ordinances abroad everywhere and make a great name for themselves among the people, not mindful of the king and not using his law, but afflicting their ruler — these draw evil after them, and they are hateful to me. Ah! Do you then quickly follow this fitting rule and put them to death. So too with rulers and heads of houses: if they cannot govern the men of their household, their lesser ministers, and the officers outside, but are only terrible and only cruel, greatly setting aside the royal charge, then it is not by virtue that they govern. You too must be able to reverence the statutes, and to follow them. In guiding the people, hold before you King Wen's reverence and caution; and in guiding the people say, 'I would only reach up to him' — and I, the one man, will be pleased."

The king said: "Feng! It is clear that with the people one must lead them to good fortune and to peace. I take for my model the virtue of the former wise kings of Yin, and use it to give peace to the people and govern them, and so to be their match. How much more now, when the people have nothing to follow and do not go the right way; and where there is no leading, there is no government in the state."

The king said: "Feng! I cannot but take warning. I have told you the doctrine of virtue in the carrying out of punishments. Now the people are not quiet; their hearts are not yet settled; they have been led again and again and are not yet of one mind. It is clear that if Heaven should punish me and put me to death, I would not complain. Their offenses do not lie in being great, nor in being many — how much less when it is said that such things rise up and are heard on high by Heaven."

The king said: "Oh! Feng (封), be reverent. Do not breed resentment; do not use crooked counsels or crooked norms, which darken this sincerity. Rather be quick in virtue: with it make your heart at rest, look to your virtue, make your plans far-reaching, and so let the people through you come to peace. Then I shall not find fault in you and cut you off."

The king said: "Oh! Therefore, you my young son Feng: the mandate does not rest constantly with one house. Think on it! Do not let the offerings I receive be cut off. Make clear the charge of your service, raise your hearing high, and with it bring peace and order to the people."

The king spoke thus: "Go, Feng! Do not let reverence lapse. Constantly listen to my announcement, and then with the people of Yin you will enjoy your state through the generations."

Announcement about Drunkenness (酒誥)

The king spoke thus: "Make a great proclamation in the land of Mei (妹). Your revered father King Wen founded the state in the western lands. He announced and warned the many states and the many officers, and the junior heads and the managers of affairs, saying morning and evening: 'For sacrifice, this wine.' When Heaven sent down its charge and first raised up our people, wine was for the great sacrifices. When Heaven sent down its terrors and our people fell into great disorder and lost their virtue, in every case it was wine that brought it about; and when states small and great were ruined, in every case it was wine that was the offense.

"King Wen instructed the young — those holding office and those managing affairs — not to be constant in wine. In the many states they were to drink only at the sacrifices, and virtue was to keep them from drunkenness. He said: let our people be led; let the young cherish only the produce of the soil, and then their hearts will be good. Let them listen attentively to the constant instructions of their fathers and forefathers, in virtue small and great; let the young be single in this.

"In the land of Mei let the strength of your arms and legs be given wholly to the planting of the millets, and hasten to serve your fathers and your elders. Yoke your carts and oxen, travel far in trade, and so nourish your fathers and mothers in filial care. When your fathers and mothers are glad, then you may cleanse and set out a rich meal and bring out wine with it.

"You many officers and holders of office, you many chiefs and gentlemen: constantly hear my teaching. When you have amply provided food for your aged and for your ruler, then you may eat and drink to fullness. And this I say: when you can look upon and examine yourselves lastingly, and make your conduct accord with the virtue of the mean, then you may present the offerings of the sacrificial feast, and then you may allow yourselves ease. Such a man is truly a servant fit for the king's business of government; such a man Heaven too approves for his great virtue, and he will never be lost from the royal house."

The king said: "Feng! In our western lands, in the time gone by, the lords of states, the managers of affairs, and the young men were able to follow King Wen's teaching and were not lavish with wine. Therefore we have come down to this day and have been able to receive the mandate of Yin."

The king said: "Feng, I have heard it said: 'In former times the early wise kings of Yin stood in awe of the brightness of Heaven and of the lowly people, holding steadily to virtue and grasping wisdom. From Cheng Tang (成湯) down to Di Yi (帝乙), each completed his kingship in reverent awe. Their assistants and the managers of affairs gave their help with reverence, and did not dare to take leisure or ease for themselves — how much less would they have dared to make much of drinking! And in the outer service — the marquises, the men of the royal domains, the barons, the guards, and the chiefs of states; and in the inner service — the hundred officers, the many directors, the seconds, the servitors, and the officers of the ancestral temple, and the heads of the hundred clans in the villages — none dared to drown himself in wine; not only did they not dare, they had no leisure for it. They only helped to make the king's virtue bright, and those who directed the people reverenced their sovereign.'

"I have also heard it said: 'In these later days the successor king has steeped his body in wine. His commands have no brightness among the people, no reverence; he holds fast to what breeds resentment and will not change. Wildly he has given himself to excess in what is not the norm; through feasting he has ruined his dignity of bearing, and there is no one among the people who is not cut to the heart with grief. He is deep and lavish in wine and cannot bring himself to stop, but goes on in dissolution. His heart is savage and cruel, and he cannot fear death. His guilt lies in the city of Shang, and though the state of Yin perish he is untroubled by it. There is no fragrance of virtue whose sacrifices rise and are heard in Heaven; there is only the great resentment of the people, and the crowds drinking of themselves, so that the reek of it is smelled on high. Therefore Heaven sent down ruin upon Yin and had no love for Yin — because of that dissoluteness. Heaven is not cruel; the people themselves hastened their own guilt.'"

The king said: "Feng, it is not for nothing that I make so many announcements as these. The men of old had a saying: 'Let a man not take water for his mirror; let him take the people for his mirror.' Now Yin has let its mandate fall. Can we fail to take a great mirror from it and steady ourselves by that time? Therefore I say: firmly warn the worthy ministers of Yin — the marquises, the men of the domains, the barons, and the guards; and still more the colleagues of the Grand Scribe and the colleagues of the Inner Scribe, and the worthy ministers and the hundred officers of the ancestral temple; and still more your own attendants, those who serve in leisure and those who serve in office; and still more your peers: the Father of the Borders, who drives back the disobedient, the Father of Husbandry, who cares for the people, and the Father of Works, who fixes their dwellings. How much more must you be firm in your control of wine!

"And if it be announced further: 'There is drinking in company' — do not let them go, but seize and bind them all and send them to Zhou, and I shall put them to death. But as for the officers and workmen of Yin who follow their old ways and drown themselves in wine, do not put them to death; for the present only teach them. If they receive this clear guidance and still do not use my teaching and my ordering, then I, the one man, shall have no pity: I shall not hold their service clean, and they shall be dealt with as those put to death."

The king said: "Feng, constantly listen to my warning. Do not let those who order your people be sunk in wine."

Timber of the Rottlera (梓材)

The king said: Feng! By his common people and by his ministers a ruler reaches the great houses; by his ministers he reaches the king. Such is the lord of a state. If you constantly say, "I have my teachers and models — the minister of education, the marshal, the minister of works, the directors and the officers," and say, "I will not be harsh and put men to death"; and if the lord himself first shows reverence and toil, then those who come after him will show reverence and toil. As to what has gone before: for the villains and robbers, for the killers of men and those who do violence to men, there is pardon; and where the lord's own business is concerned, for those who wound and ruin men there is pardon. The king began his oversight of their disorders in order to transform the people. He said: Do not harm one another, do not tyrannize one another; down to the widower and the widow, down to the dependent women, gather them all and guide them so that each finds place. The king takes the lords of states and the managers of affairs and instructs them; and with what does he charge them? To lead them into nourishment and to lead them into repose. From of old, when a king kept such oversight as this, there was no occasion for punishment.

This I say: it is like tilling a field. When you have labored to break and clear it, you must then work it in order and make its boundaries and its furrows. It is like building a house: when you have labored at the walls, you must then plaster them and lay the thatch. It is like working the timber of the rottlera: when you have labored at the rough cutting and hewing, you must then lay on the red and the vermilion.

Now the king says: The former kings labored to use their bright virtue. They cherished the people and made them their support, and the many states came with their offerings, and brothers and neighboring regions came in. And because they used bright virtue, the sovereigns constantly gathered them, and the many states brought great offerings. August Heaven gave over to the former kings the people of the central lands and their territories. Therefore let the king use only virtue: let him bring harmony and gladness to the deluded people, going before them and following after them, and so carry on the mandate the former kings received. Ah! Take such oversight as this. And I say: if you would reach ten thousand years, then let the king's sons and the sons of his sons forever protect the people.

Announcement of Duke Shao (召誥)

In the second month, after the full moon had passed, on the sixth day, yiwei, the king in the morning walked out from Zhou, and by the westering of the sun reached Feng.

The Grand Protector went before the Duke of Zhou (周公) to survey the site. In the third month that followed, on bingwu, when the new moon first showed its light, on the third day thereafter, wushen, the Grand Protector came in the morning to Luo (洛) and divined about the site. When he had obtained the oracle, he laid out the plan. On the third day thereafter, gengxu, the Grand Protector, with the multitude of Yin, set to work on the positions at the bend of the Luo; and on the fifth day thereafter, jiayin, the positions were completed.

On the next day, yimao, the Duke of Zhou came in the morning to Luo and made a full inspection of the plan of the new city. On the third day thereafter, dingsi, he offered victims in the suburban sacrifice, two oxen. On the day after that, wuwu, he sacrificed at the altar of the soil in the new city, with one ox, one sheep, and one pig. On the seventh day thereafter, jiazi, the Duke of Zhou in the morning used a written document to give charge to the multitude of Yin: to the marquises, the men of the domains, the barons, and the chiefs of states. When he had charged the multitude of Yin, the multitude of Yin set greatly to work.

The Grand Protector then went out with the chief lords of the many states to take up the offerings of silk, and when he came in again he presented them to the Duke of Zhou. [The Duke of Zhou] said: "With bowed hands and head to the ground, I set these before the king and before the duke. Make announcement to the multitude of Yin, and to your own managers of affairs.

"Oh! August Heaven, the Lord on High, has changed the mandate of his eldest son, this great state of Yin. The king has received the mandate: boundless is the blessing in it, and boundless also is the anxiety. Oh! How then can one be anything but reverent!

"Heaven has now brought far and finally to an end the mandate of the great state of Yin. Many of Yin's former wise kings are in Heaven, but as for their later kings and their later people, these in carrying out their mandate came to their end: the wise withdrew into hiding, and only the sick and afflicted were left in place. Men who knew how to shield them carried and led their wives and children, wailing to Heaven in grief: 'We go, yet there is no going out from their grasp.' Oh! Heaven also grieved for the people of the four quarters, and its regarding gaze and its mandate went to the diligent. Let the king be swift to reverence virtue.

"Look to the ancient men of old, the house of Xia. Heaven guided them, followed them, and protected them as its children; they turned their faces to consider what Heaven approved. Yet in this present time they have let their mandate fall. Now look at the house of Yin. Heaven guided them, came down and protected them; they turned their faces to consider what Heaven approved. Yet in this present time they too have let their mandate fall.

"Now a young child succeeds; let him not cast aside the aged and the long-lived. Let it be said that he considers the virtue of our men of old — how much more that he is able to seek out counsel and consider it from Heaven. Oh! Though the king be young, he is the eldest son of Heaven! If he can greatly bring the lowly people into concord, that is the present blessing. Let the king not dare to be slow, but look with awe upon the perilous ruggedness of the people. The king has come to take up his charge from the Lord on High, and himself takes his service in the center of the land. Dan (旦) says: 'Let him build the great city, and from this let him be the match of August Heaven; let him offer careful sacrifices to the powers above and below, and from this let him rule from the center. When the king has the completed mandate and governs the people, that is the present blessing.' Let the king first take into service the managers of affairs of Yin, joining and pairing them with the managers of affairs of our house of Zhou. This will temper their nature, and day by day they will advance. Let the king make reverence his dwelling place; he cannot but reverence virtue.

"We cannot but take our mirror from the house of Xia, and we cannot but take our mirror from the house of Yin. I do not presume to know and say that the house of Xia held Heaven's mandate for a long span of years; I do not presume to know and say that it could not have been prolonged — only that they did not reverence their virtue, and so let their mandate fall early. I do not presume to know and say that the house of Yin received Heaven's mandate for a long span of years; I do not presume to know and say that it could not have been prolonged — only that they did not reverence their virtue, and so let their mandate fall early. Now the king succeeds and receives that mandate; and I too think upon the mandates of these two states and upon succeeding to such achievement.

"The king is now at the beginning of his service. Oh! It is as with the birth of a child: everything lies in what he is at his first birth, and he confers upon himself a wise destiny. Now Heaven appoints wisdom, appoints good fortune and ill, appoints the span of years. It knows that we now begin our service and dwell in the new city. Therefore let the king be swift to reverence virtue. Let the king make virtue his own, and with it pray for Heaven's lasting mandate. Let the king not allow the lowly people to run to excess in what is not the norm, nor dare to cut them off and slaughter them; let him govern the people so, and he will have achievement. Let the king's place be first in virtue, and then the lowly people will take him for their model throughout the world, and the king will be glorious. Above and below let all labor with anxious care and say: 'We have received Heaven's mandate; may it be great as the span of years of the house of Xia, and may it not fall short of the span of years of the house of Yin.' I would have the king, together with the lowly people, receive Heaven's lasting mandate."

With bowed hands and head to the ground he said: "I, a small servant, presume, with the king's disaffected people, with the hundred gentlemen, and with the friendly people, to guard and receive the king's awful command and bright virtue. In the end the king will have the completed mandate, and the king will be glorious. It is not that I presume to claim any labor of my own; I only reverently present these offerings of silk, that the king may be served in his praying for Heaven's lasting mandate."

Announcement concerning Luo (洛誥)

The Duke of Zhou, bowing with joined hands and his head to the ground, said: "I return to my son the bright sovereignty. The king seemed not to dare to take it up. Heaven laid the foundation of the mandate and fixed the mandate; I then continued as protector and made a great survey of the eastern lands, that there might be laid the foundation for a bright sovereign over the people. On yimao I came in the morning to the city of Luo. I divined about the Li water north of the Yellow River. Then I divined about the ground east of the Jian water and west of the Chan water, and it was Luo that the oracle accepted. I divined again about the ground east of the Chan water, and again it was Luo that the oracle accepted. I now send a messenger with the map and with the presentation of the oracles."

The king, bowing with joined hands and his head to the ground, said: "The duke did not dare fail to reverence Heaven's blessing, but came to survey the site so as to make a match for Zhou. Blessed be the duke! He has now fixed the site and sent a messenger to come and show me the oracles: they are blessed, they are constantly auspicious; we two men hold this divination in common. May the duke, with me, through ten thousand and a hundred million years, reverence the blessing of Heaven. With bowed hands and head to the ground I receive his counseling words."

The Duke of Zhou said: "Let the king begin by raising up the rites of Yin and sacrificing in the new city, ranking all in order without confusion. I have set the hundred officers in array and sent them to follow the king at Zhou. I have said: there will be much business. Now let the king give his charge, saying: 'Record the meritorious and honor them; by their merit make the great sacrifice.' And let the charge say: 'You have received the charge to be a firm support; look well to the record of merit, and you shall then in all things offer up your own achievement.'

"Young son, guard against factions; young son, guard against factions; go forward with care. Be not like a fire when it first flickers: what it has once kindled runs on in its course, and there is no cutting off its way. In holding to the norms and in taking hold of affairs, do as I have done: I take the officers who are at Zhou and send them to the new city, sending them to turn toward and join their colleagues, that they may brightly work and have achievement, and bring the great work to a solid completion, so that you may forever have a name that men will speak."

The duke said: "Ah! Though you are but a young child, see the thing through to the end. Reverently mark which of the hundred lords bring their offerings, and mark also which of them do not. Offering has many observances; if the observances do not match the gifts, then it is said that there is no offering, for the will was not bent upon the offering. When of all the people it is said that they do not offer, then affairs go awry and fall into contempt. It is for the young son to make the apportionment; I have no leisure to hear it all. I have taught you concerning what is not the norm for the people. If in this you are not diligent, then your time will not be long. Be steadfast and orderly toward your chief officers and your elders, so that nothing goes out of its course, and I shall not dare to abandon your charge. Go, and be reverent! And I shall now be a bright husbandman. May our people, however far off, still come in and not be estranged."

The king spoke thus: "Duke, you have brightly protected me, a young child. The duke has held up the greatly illustrious virtue, so that I, the little one, may make bright the achievements of Wen and Wu. Receiving and answering Heaven's mandate, he has brought harmony and constancy to the people of the four quarters. He has settled the multitude in the city, honored the ancestral temple and carried out its rites, raised up and set in order the great sacrifices, and ranked them all without confusion. The duke's virtue shines bright above and below; he has labored to spread it through the four quarters; on every side he has made all solemn and reverent, so that the wardens of forest and stream do not stray from the diligent teaching of Wen and Wu. I, the young child, morning and night will be careful in the sacrifices."

The king said: "The duke's achievement and guidance have been steadfast; there is nothing that is not so."

The king said: "Duke, I, the little one, will withdraw and take up my rule at Zhou, and I charge the duke to remain behind. The four quarters have been guided into order, but the rites of the ancestral temple are not yet fixed, and I have not yet been able to carry on the duke's achievement. Lead and support those who come after; oversee my officers, my hosts, and my workmen; greatly protect the people that Wen and Wu received, and be as the four supports of the throne."

The king said: "Duke, stay; I go now. The duke's achievement is reverently carried forward, and there is reverent gladness in it. Duke, do not trouble yourself over me! Never weary of the work of bringing peace; do not let it lapse, but be a model to the four quarters, and through the generations your line will have its offerings."

The Duke of Zhou, bowing with joined hands and his head to the ground, said: "The king charged me to come and take up the guardianship of the people that his cultured ancestor received by mandate, and of the great work of his glorious father King Wu, that I might enlarge my reverent service. The young son has come to survey the site. Let him deal in full earnest and by the norms with the worthy people of Yin, and lead them as the new sovereign of the four quarters, setting up reverence as the first thing in Zhou. And I say: from this center let him rule, and the ten thousand states will all be blessed, and the king will have a completed record. I, Dan, with the many sons and the managers of affairs, will make firm the finished work of our predecessors, and answer to the host, setting up good faith as the first thing in Zhou. Let him complete the model I set before my bright son, and so bring to its fullness the virtue of his cultured ancestor.

"The king sent a messenger to make careful provision for Yin, and charged him to comfort me with two jars of black-millet fragrant wine, saying: 'Make a bright and pure offering; with bowed hands and head to the ground receive it as a blessed offering.' I did not dare keep it overnight, but made the pure offering to King Wen and King Wu. May there be kindness, steadfastness, and good order; may there be no meeting with guilt or sickness; may Yin for ten thousand years be satisfied with your virtue and be long sustained. When the king sends to Yin, they will receive and follow the order, and for ten thousand years they will look upon my young sovereign and cherish his virtue."

On wuchen the king in the new city held the winter sacrifice, offering for the year one red ox to King Wen and one red ox to King Wu. The king charged the scribe Yi (逸) to make the invocation and the written record, announcing that the Duke of Zhou was to remain behind. The king received the guests; the victims were killed and the pure offering made; and when all had come, the king entered the great chamber and poured the libation. The king charged the Duke of Zhou to remain behind, and the scribe Yi made the announcement. It was in the twelfth month; and the Duke of Zhou greatly guarded the mandate received by Wen and Wu — it was the seventh year.

Numerous Officers (多士)

In the third month, the Duke of Zhou, at the beginning in the new city of Luo, made announcement to the officers of the Shang king.

The king spoke thus: "You many officers who remain of Yin. It was no good fortune! Compassionate Heaven sent down great ruin upon Yin. We of Zhou received the favoring mandate, bore Heaven's bright terror, carried out the royal punishment, and set right the mandate of Yin, so that it came to its end with the Lord. Therefore, you many officers: it is not that our small state dared to take the mandate of Yin for itself. It is that Heaven greatly gave it, and that Heaven truly did not uphold those who worked disorder, but supported us. How should we dare to seek the throne? It was the Lord who greatly gave it; it was our lowly people who took hold and acted; it was Heaven's bright terror.

"I have heard it said: the Lord on High draws men away from dissoluteness. When the house of Xia did not go toward ease, then the Lord came down and made himself present and enjoyed the offerings of that Xia. But they could not use the Lord, and fell into great excess and license, and made excuses for it. At that Heaven no longer regarded them nor heard them, but cast away their great mandate and sent down its punishment. Then it charged your ancestor Cheng Tang to overthrow Xia, and with excellent men to govern the four quarters. From Cheng Tang down to Di Yi there was none who did not make his virtue bright and take care in the sacrifices. And Heaven greatly established them and protected and ordered the house of Yin; and the kings of Yin also did not dare to lose the Lord, and there was none who did not match Heaven in his bounty. But in these later days the successor king was utterly without brightness before Heaven — how much less could it be said that he listened to and thought upon the labors of the former kings for their house! Wildly he ran to excess and license, and gave no regard to Heaven's brightness or to the reverence due the people. Therefore the Lord on High did not protect him, but sent down this great ruin. Heaven does not give to one who does not make his virtue bright; and in all the fall of states great and small in the four quarters, there is not one that had not given cause for its punishment."

The king spoke thus: "You many officers of Yin. Now our king of Zhou has greatly and with spirit taken up the Lord's business. There was a mandate that said, 'Cut off Yin,' and he announced its execution to the Lord. In our business there was no second course; it was your royal house that was our object. And I say: it was you who were vast and without measure; it was not we who set you in motion — it came from your own city. And I consider too that Heaven came upon Yin with great severity, because it was not upright."

The king said: "Now I announce to you, many officers. It is for this that I have moved you and settled you in the west. It is not that I, the one man, hold to a virtue that will not let you rest; this is Heaven's mandate — do not go against it. I dare not delay; do not resent me. You know it: the men of old in Yin had their records and their statutes, telling how Yin overthrew the mandate of Xia. And now you also say, 'The men of Xia were chosen and set in the royal court, and had service among the hundred officers.' I, the one man, listen and employ only virtue; and so I dared to seek you out in the great city of Shang. In this I follow the old way and have pity on you. It is not my crime; this is Heaven's mandate."

The king said: "Many officers. Formerly, when I came from Yan (奄), I greatly lightened the sentence upon the people of your four states. Then I clearly carried out Heaven's punishment and moved you far away, that you might serve near at hand and be subjects of our house, and be much submissive."

The king said: "I announce to you, many officers of Yin. Now I do not put you to death; this charge I here renew. Now I have made a great city here at Luo, because in the four quarters there was no place where guests could be received. And it is for you, many officers, to render service, hastening to serve me as subjects and being much submissive. Then you shall still keep your lands, and you shall still rest in peace upon your holdings. If you can be reverent, Heaven will give to you and pity you; if you cannot be reverent, then not only will you not keep your lands, but I shall also carry out Heaven's punishment upon your persons. Now dwell here in your city, continue in your settlements, and you shall have your holdings and your harvests here at Luo; and your children will rise up, since they came with you when you moved."

The king said: "This further I say: it is now that I again give you my instructing words, about where you are to dwell."

Against Luxurious Ease (無逸)

The Duke of Zhou said: "Oh! The noble man in his place is without idle ease. Let him first know the hardship of sowing and reaping, and then take his ease, and he will know what the common people depend on. Look at the common people: their fathers and mothers toil at sowing and reaping, but their sons do not know the hardship of sowing and reaping; they take their ease and talk loosely, and, being grown wild, they even despise their fathers and mothers, saying: 'These people of the old time have heard nothing and know nothing.'"

The Duke of Zhou said: "Oh! I have heard it said: In old times, in the case of Zhongzong (中宗), king of Yin, he was strict, respectful, and reverently fearful; he measured himself by the mandate of Heaven; he governed the people in reverent dread and did not dare to be idle and at ease. So Zhongzong enjoyed his kingdom for seventy-five years. In the case of Gaozong (高宗), he had long labored abroad and had lived among the common people. When he rose to the throne, he kept the mourning silence and for three years did not speak; and because he did not speak, when he did speak it was in harmony. He did not dare to be idle and at ease, and he brought good order and quiet to the state of Yin. Among small and great alike there was not one who had any resentment. So Gaozong enjoyed his kingdom for fifty-nine years. In the case of Zujia (祖甲), he refused the kingship as unrighteous for him and long lived as a common man. When he rose to the throne, he knew therefore what the common people depend on, and could protect and be gracious to the multitude, and did not dare to slight the widower and the widow. So Zujia enjoyed his kingdom for thirty-three years. From that time onward, the kings who were set up were born to ease. Born to ease, they did not know the hardship of sowing and reaping, they did not hear of the toil of the common people, and they followed only after pleasure and indulgence. From that time onward there was not one who could live long: some ten years, some seven or eight, some five or six, some four or three."

The Duke of Zhou said: "Oh! So also with our Great King and King Ji of Zhou: they could hold themselves down in awe. King Wen took up humble service and turned to the work of settling the land and the work of the fields. Mild and gentle, admirable and reverent, he cherished and protected the common people and was gracious and kind to the widower and the widow. From the morning until the sun stood at noon and then went down to the west, he had no leisure to eat, so that he might bring the myriad people into concord. King Wen did not dare to give himself to pleasure in roaming or in hunting, but with the many states attended only to the business of government. King Wen received the mandate in the middle of his life, and he enjoyed his kingdom for fifty years."

The Duke of Zhou said: "Oh! From this time onward, let the successor kings not run to excess in sightseeing, in idleness, in roaming, or in hunting, but with the myriad people attend only to the business of government. Let none say idly, 'Today I will take my pleasure.' That is not what the people will follow, nor what Heaven will approve; such a man will greatly fall into fault. Do not be like Shou (受), king of Yin, in his delusion and disorder, drunken and wild in the way of wine!"

The Duke of Zhou said: "Oh! I have heard it said: 'The men of old still instructed and admonished one another, protected and were kind to one another, taught and guided one another; and among the people there was none who deceived and deluded another with lies.' If a ruler does not listen to this, his men will teach him otherwise, and he will change and confound the correct models of the former kings, in matters small and great. Then in the people's hearts there will be estrangement and resentment, and in the people's mouths there will be cursing."

The Duke of Zhou said: "Oh! From Zhongzong, king of Yin, to Gaozong, to Zujia, and to our King Wen of Zhou — these four men were guided by wisdom. When someone told them, 'The common people resent you and revile you,' then they greatly reverenced their own virtue; and as to their faults, they said, 'My fault — it is truly so.' Not only did they not dare to harbor anger. But if a ruler does not listen to this, then men will deceive and delude him with lies; when it is said, 'The common people resent you and revile you,' he will believe it. And being so, he will not think long upon his rulership, nor make his heart broad and generous, but will punish the guiltless in confusion and put to death the innocent. Then the resentments will gather into one, and they will heap themselves upon his own person."

The Duke of Zhou said: "Oh! Let the successor kings take their mirror from this!"

Prince Shi (君奭)

The Duke of Zhou spoke thus: "Prince Shi (君奭). It was no good fortune! Heaven sent down ruin upon Yin. Yin has let its mandate fall, and we of Zhou have received it. I do not presume to know and say that our foundation will forever hold true in blessing; and if Heaven's help is not to be relied on, neither do I presume to know and say that the end will come out in misfortune. Oh! Prince, you have already said that it rests with us. I too do not dare to rest content in the mandate of the Lord on High, nor to fail to think far ahead upon Heaven's terror and upon our people. That there be no blame and no turning away — that lies with men. If our descendants and later sons cannot greatly revere the powers above and below, and let the light of their forefathers be shut out and lost within their own house, not knowing that Heaven's mandate is not easy to keep and that Heaven is hard to trust, then their mandate will fall, and they will not be able to carry on through the years the reverent and bright virtue of their forefathers. As for me now, Dan, the little one, it is not that I can set things right; I only take the light of our forefathers and pass it on to our young sovereign." He said further: "Heaven cannot be relied upon; the way I follow is only the virtue of King Wen, and Heaven will not withdraw from what King Wen received as mandate."

The duke said: "Prince Shi! I have heard that in old times, when Cheng Tang had received the mandate, there was then such a man as Yi Yin (伊尹), who reached up to August Heaven. Under Taijia there was then such a man as Bao Heng. Under Taiwu there were then such men as Yi Zhi and Chen Hu, who reached up to the Lord on High, and Wu Xian (巫咸), who ordered the royal house. Under Zuyi there was then such a man as Wu Xian the Worthy (巫賢). Under Wuding there was then such a man as Gan Pan. It was these who set things in order and protected and governed the house of Yin, so that in the rites of Yin the dead kings ascended and were the mates of Heaven, and they lasted through many years. Heaven gave its unmixed help to their mandate; and then in Shang the hundred clans and the royal men, all of them, held to virtue and were bright in their care; and the lesser servants and the marquises and the men of the domains all hastened to their duties. It was because virtue alone was raised up in this way that they ordered their sovereign. Therefore when the one man had business in the four quarters, it was like the shell and the milfoil: there was nothing in which men did not trust him."

The duke said: "Prince Shi. Heaven gave long life to those who were upright and reached up to it, and protected and governed the house of Yin; but when the later successors of Yin came, Heaven destroyed them with its terror. Now if you think far ahead, then we shall have a firm mandate, and the ordering of it will make bright our newly founded state."

The duke said: "Prince Shi. In old times the Lord on High cut short the house of Yin and looked again and again upon the virtue of King Wen, and gathered the great mandate upon his person. It was King Wen who was still able to attune and harmonize our region of Xia; and there were also such men as Guo Shu (虢叔), such men as Hong Yao (閎夭), such men as San Yisheng (散宜生), such men as Tai Dian (泰顛), and such men as Nangong Kuo (南宮括). And it is said: had there been none able to go to and fro on his business, and by the norms to learn from him, King Wen's virtue would have come down but small upon the men of the state. It was these too who, with Heaven's unmixed help, held to virtue and knew Heaven's terror; it was they who instructed King Wen, and through them he was seen and heard on high before the Lord, and so he received the mandate that had been Yin's. Of these four men King Wu still had the good fortune to be guided. Afterward, with King Wu, they bore Heaven's terror and cut down all his enemies. It was these four men who instructed King Wu, and it was through their strenuous effort that virtue was fully raised up and proclaimed.

"Now with me, Dan, the little one, it is as though I were crossing a great river: I shall go, and with you, Shi, we shall get across. The little child is untaught and in the dark upon the throne, yet lays no blame upon me. If those who gather men in do not press on toward what is still unreached, and the virtue perfected by the aged does not come down, then we shall not hear the singing bird — how much less could it be said that there is anyone able to reach up to Heaven?"

The duke said: "Oh! Prince, therefore take your mirror from this. The mandate we have received is a boundless blessing, but also a great hardship. I tell the prince my plan: I would not have those who come after us go astray."

The duke said: "Our predecessor laid open his heart and charged you fully, making you the standard for the people. He said: 'Be bright and strenuous, and be the mate of the king! With your whole strength take up this great mandate, that by King Wen's virtue you may greatly bear the boundless care.'"

The duke said: "Prince. I tell you, my elder and protector Shi: may you be able, together with me, to take reverent warning from the great ruin in which Yin fell, and so to keep in mind Heaven's terror toward us. It is not idly that I make so many announcements as these; I only say that in former days we two men had words that agreed. It was said: 'With these two men, Heaven's blessings come in ever greater abundance, until these two men cannot bear them.' May you be able to reverence virtue and to make bright our men of talent; then those who come after will be raised up in this great time. Oh! Truly it was these two men, and so we have been able to come to this day's blessing. Let us together complete King Wen's work without slackening, and strive greatly, until to the corners of the sea where the sun comes forth there is none who does not follow and submit."

The duke said: "Prince, it is not that I am fond of making so many announcements as these; it is only that I am anxious about Heaven and about the people."

The duke said: "Oh! Prince. You know the virtue of the people: there is no one who cannot make a beginning, but few who see it to the end. Reverence this. Go, and govern with reverence."

Charge to Zhong of Cai (蔡仲之命)

The Duke of Zhou held the place of prime minister and set the hundred officers in order. When the several uncles spread slanderous rumors, he carried out the sentence upon Shu of Guan (管叔) at Shang, imprisoned Shu of Cai (蔡叔) at Guolin, giving him seven chariots, and reduced Shu of Huo (霍叔) to the rank of a commoner, not to be counted among the officers for three years. Zhong of Cai (蔡仲) was able to employ and reverence virtue, and the Duke of Zhou made him a minister. When Shu of Cai died, the duke charged the king to enfeoff him in the state of Cai.

The king spoke thus: "Hu (胡), my young kinsman! You have followed virtue and changed your conduct, and have been able to be careful in your course. Therefore I charge you to be marquis in the eastern lands. Go to your fief, and be reverent! Cover over the faults of him who went before you; be loyal, be filial. Make your own footsteps go forward from your own person; be able to labor and never slacken, so as to leave a rule for those who come after you. Follow the constant instructions of your ancestor King Wen, and do not be like your father, who went against the king's command.

"August Heaven has no partiality; it helps virtue alone. The hearts of the people have no constancy; they cherish kindness alone. Good deeds differ from one another, yet all come alike to good order; evil deeds differ from one another, yet all come alike to disorder.

"Be warned! Be careful of the beginning and mindful of the end, and the end will bring no distress; be not mindful of the end, and the end will bring distress and want. Strive in what you accomplish; be at peace with your four neighbors; be a hedge to the royal house and a concord among brothers.

"Give ease and relief to the lowly people; follow the mean in all things; do not play the clever and the knowing so as to throw the old statutes into confusion. Be careful in what you look at and what you listen to, and do not let one-sided words alter your measures. Then I, the one man, shall praise you."

The king said: "Oh! Hu, my young kinsman, go now! Do not neglect and cast away my charge."

Numerous Regions (多方)

In the fifth month, on dinghai, the king came from Yan and arrived at Zongzhou (宗周).

The Duke of Zhou said: "The king spoke thus: 'Now I announce to you of the four states and the many regions, and to you, the lords of Yin and the chiefs of the people. I have greatly lightened the sentence upon you, and there is none of you who does not know it. How much more, then, when you have despised Heaven's mandate and have not long and reverently thought upon the sacrifices!

"'The Lord came down to Xia; but the house of Xia gave itself wildly to ease and would not speak a word of concern for the people. They fell into great excess and blindness, and could not for a single day be diligent in what the Lord guided them to — this is what you have heard. They despised the Lord's mandate and could not open a way to that which the people cleave to. Then he sent down great punishments, heaped disorder upon the house of Xia, and let them grow familiar with disorder within. They could not carry themselves with spirit toward the multitude, nor greatly advance in reverence, but were vastly slack toward the people. And so the people of Xia grew greedy and full of rage, and day by day the fire rose in them, and they cut and mutilated the city of Xia. Then Heaven sought a lord for the people, and sent down its bright and blessed mandate in abundance upon Cheng Tang, and punished and extinguished the house of Xia.

"'That Heaven did not give the mandate wholly to Xia, and that with the righteous men of your many regions Xia could not long continue in its many enjoyments — this was because the many officers of Xia, who should have been reverent, were greatly unable to make bright, to protect, and to sustain the people, but instead worked tyranny upon them; and in the hundred things they did, they were greatly unable to open a way. Then it was Cheng Tang who, with you of the many regions, was chosen to take the place of Xia and be lord of the people. He was careful about that which the people cleave to, and so they were encouraged; he used punishments upon the people, and thus too they were encouraged. Down to Di Yi there was none who did not make his virtue bright and take care in punishment, and thereby too could encourage them. When men were arrested and held, and the many guilty were cut off and put to death, this too could encourage them; when the innocent were released and set free, this too could encourage them. But now, coming to your own sovereign, he was unable, with you of the many regions, to enjoy the mandate of Heaven.'

"Oh! The king spoke thus: 'I announce to you of the many regions: it was not that Heaven wearied of the house of Xia; it was not that Heaven wearied of the house of Yin. It was your own sovereign, who with you of the many regions went to great excess and despised Heaven's mandate, and made trifling excuses for it. It was the house of Xia that despised its own government and did not bring things together in enjoyment; Heaven sent down that ruin, and another state came between. It was your later kings of Shang who indulged their own indulgence, despised their own government, and did not offer clean sacrifice; and Heaven sent down that ruin.

"'Even a sage, if he does not reflect, becomes a madman; even a madman, if he can reflect, becomes a sage. Heaven for five years waited and gave respite to the descendants of Tang, that they might yet be great as lords of the people; but there was nothing in them that could be regarded or listened to. Heaven then sought among you of the many regions and greatly stirred you with its terror, to open in you a regard for Heaven; but among you of the many regions there was none that could regard it. It was our king of Zhou who carried himself with spirit toward the multitude, who could bear the use of virtue, and who took charge of the spirits and of Heaven. Heaven therefore taught us and used us for blessing, chose us and gave us the mandate of Yin, and set us to govern you of the many regions.

"'Now how should I dare to make many announcements? I have greatly lightened the sentence upon the people of your four states. Why do you not deal in sincerity and generosity with your many regions? Why do you not assist and help our king of Zhou, and so enjoy the mandate of Heaven? Now you still dwell in your dwellings and till your fields — why then are you not obedient to the king and do not make Heaven's mandate shine? But you have repeatedly gone astray and are not quiet; your hearts are not yet content. You do not greatly measure Heaven's mandate; you scatter and squander Heaven's mandate; you make for yourselves what is not the norm, and despise sincerity toward what is right. In this I have taught and admonished you; in this I have fought you and arrested and held you, twice and three times over. And if there are still those who will not use the sentence I have lightened for you, then I shall greatly punish and put them to death. It is not that we of Zhou hold to a virtue that will not let you rest; it is you who hasten your own guilt.'

"The king said: 'Oh! Now I announce to you, many officers of the regions, and to you, many officers of Yin. Now you have hastened to serve me as subjects under my overseers for five years, and you have had your levies and imposts, small and great, and your many exactions, and there is none of you who has not been able to keep to the measure. If you make discord among yourselves — you must be at concord! If your households are not harmonious — you must be at concord! When your cities can be bright, it will be because you have been able to labor at your business. If you can keep clear of the dread of evil ways, then you may stand in your places in solemn dignity, and be reviewed in your cities, and take counsel for your own advantage. From this city of Luo you may long put forth your strength to till your fields, and Heaven will give to you and pity you. We of Zhou will greatly help and reward you; you shall be led and chosen into the royal court, and be advanced in your business, with service among the great officers.'

"The king said: 'Oh! Many officers. If you cannot be encouraged to sincerity toward my charge, then you will also be unable to make your offering, and of all the people it will be said that they do not offer. If you are idle and crooked and go far from the king's command, then it will be you of the many regions who have gone deep into Heaven's terror, and I shall carry out Heaven's punishment and take you far away from your lands.'

"The king said: 'It is not that I would make many announcements; I only reverently announce to you my charge.' And he said further: 'This is your beginning; if you cannot be reverent in concord, then do not resent me.'"

Establishment of Government (立政)

The Duke of Zhou spoke thus: "With bowed hands and head to the ground, I make announcement to the successor Son of Heaven, now king." With this he gave warning to all about the king — to those on the king's left and right: the regular chiefs, the regular officers, the men of the standard, the keepers of the robes, and the tiger guards.

The Duke of Zhou said: "Oh! It is a blessing when men know this anxious care, but they are few! The men of old who were guided in it were the house of Xia. Then their great houses vied strenuously in calling upon Heaven, greatly honoring the Lord on High, and were guided to know what is sincere and trustworthy in the practice of the nine virtues. Then they dared to instruct and admonish their sovereign, saying: 'With bowed hands and head to the ground, O sovereign!' And they said: 'Set in place your officers of affairs, set in place your officers of the pastures, set in place your officers of justice, and then you are a sovereign indeed. But if you take a man by his face and his talk instead of by well-instructed virtue, and so place men, then in your three placings there will be men who are not upright.'

"The virtue of Jie (桀) was such that he would not follow the appointments of the past, and this was violent virtue, and he had no posterity. And when Cheng Tang rose, he greatly took up the bright mandate of the Lord on High. He used the three sorts of placed officers, and they could indeed fill their places; and the three sorts of eminent men, and they could indeed be eminent. Strictly he made this his great model, and could use the three placings and the three eminences. In the city of Shang he used them to bring concord to his city; in the four quarters he used them, and by this great model his virtue was seen.

"Alas! As for Shou (受), his conduct was harsh and violent. He advanced only men of the whip and of cruel conduct, and shared his state with them; and only men practiced in dissolute conduct shared his government. The Lord on High sternly punished him, and caused our Xia to take Shang's place in receiving the mandate, and to govern the myriad clans throughout.

"So too with King Wen and King Wu. They were able to know the minds of the three kinds of men fit for appointment, and clearly to see the minds of the three kinds of eminent men; and with reverence they served the Lord on High and set up chiefs and elders over the people. In establishing government they had the men of employment, the men of the standard, and the shepherds of the people, who made the three great services; the tiger-brave guards, the keepers of the robes, the grooms of the horses, the lesser directors, the attendants of the left and right and the household servants, the hundred offices and the many storehouses; the officers of the great cities and the lesser chiefs, the men of skill in close attendance, the outer ministers and the hundred officers; the Grand Scribe, the chief directors, and the multitude of constant good officers; the minister of education, the marshal, the minister of works, and the officers of second rank; the chiefs of the Yi, the Wei, the Lu and the Zheng peoples; and the directors of the three Bo and of Ban. King Wen was able to fix his mind on the making of appointments, and so was able to establish these constant officers, directors, and shepherds of men, and thereby to obtain eminent men who had virtue. King Wen took nothing upon himself in the many pronouncements, the many lawsuits, and the many cautions; it was the officers in charge and the shepherds who were instructed in what to follow and what to avoid. With the many lawsuits and the many cautions, King Wen did not presume to concern himself at all. So too with King Wu: he devoted himself only to consolidating the work, and did not dare to set aside their righteous virtue; he devoted himself only to planning and to following out that discerning virtue; and so together they received this great, great foundation.

"Alas! The young son is now king. From this time onward, let us establish the government — the officers of affairs, the men of the standard, the shepherds of the people. Let us be able clearly to know how they should be, and greatly to make them order and assist us in governing the people we have received, and bring harmony into our many lawsuits and our many cautions; and let no one then come between them, not by a single speech or a single word. Then we shall have at the last only the fine men of completed virtue to govern the people we have received.

"Alas! I, Dan, have received the excellent sayings of the men before us, and have declared them all to the young son who is king. From this time onward, cultured sons and cultured grandsons, do not err in the many lawsuits and the many cautions: let only the proper officers govern them. From of old the men of Shang, and so too our King Wen of Zhou, in establishing government — the officers of affairs, the shepherds of the people, the men of the standard — were able to settle such men in their places and able to pick them out. Thus they caused the state to be well governed; and in establishing government they never employed crafty men. Crafty men are not schooled in virtue, and where they are used there is no brightness in that age. From this time onward, in establishing government, do not employ crafty men; let there be good officers only, to strive and to assist our state and our households.

"Now, cultured sons and cultured grandsons, the young son is king. Do not err in the many lawsuits; leave them to the officers in charge and the shepherds of the people. Be able to put in order your arms and your soldiers, so as to mount upon the tracks of Yu and travel everywhere through the world, as far as the far side of the seas, with none that does not submit. Thus make manifest the shining light of King Wen, and raise on high the great achievement of King Wu. Alas! From this time onward, when the kings who come after establish government, let them be able to employ men of constancy."

The Duke of Zhou spoke thus: "Grand Scribe, and Duke Su, minister of justice: with reverence conduct your lawsuits, and so make our royal kingdom long endure. In this be careful and cautious, and by precedent apply the penalties of the mean."

Officers of Zhou (周官)

The king of Zhou soothed the myriad states and made his progress through the marquis lands and the domain lands. He campaigned in the four quarters against those who did not come to his court, and gave rest to his millions of people. The many rulers of the six domains all received his virtue. He returned to Zongzhou and set in order and rectified the officers of government.

The king said: "As to the great plan of antiquity: order the government before there is disorder; make the state secure before it is in danger. It is said: 'Tang and Yu examined antiquity, and established a hundred officers. Within there were the chief of the hundred counsels and the Four Mountains; without there were the pastors of the provinces and the marquises and earls. The many affairs of government were harmonious, and the myriad states were all at peace.' Xia and Shang doubled the number of officers, and were still able to govern by them. When an enlightened king establishes government, it is not the offices that matter but the men. Now I, the little child, reverently toil at virtue, and early and late I fall short of it. I look up to former ages and would accord with them, instructing and guiding their officers.

"I establish the Grand Preceptor, the Grand Tutor, and the Grand Protector: these are the Three Dukes. They discourse upon the Way and give order to the state, harmonizing and regulating the yin and the yang. These offices need not all be filled; only the right man matters. The Junior Preceptor, the Junior Tutor, and the Junior Protector are called the Three Solitaries. They second the Dukes and enlarge the transforming influence, reverently making bright Heaven and Earth, and assisting me, the one man.

"The prime minister governs the rule of the state, directs the hundred officers, and makes even all within the four seas. The minister of education governs the teaching of the state, spreads abroad the five constant duties, and makes docile the millions of the people. The chief of the ancestral temple governs the rites of the state, orders the relations of spirits and men, and harmonizes those above and those below. The marshal governs the military administration of the state, directs the six armies, and pacifies the states of the realm. The minister of justice governs the prohibitions of the state, investigates the treacherous and the wicked, and punishes the violent and the disorderly. The minister of works governs the lands of the state, settles the four classes of the people, and takes the seasons for the advantages of the soil. The six ministers divide their duties, each leading his subordinates, so as to give the lead to the nine pastors and to enrich and perfect the millions of the people.

"Every sixth year the five domains come to a single court audience. After another six years the king makes his seasonal progress and examines the regulations and measures at the Four Mountains. The feudal lords come each to court at the mountain of his own quarter, and demotions and promotions are made greatly clear."

The king said: "Alas! All you noble men who hold office: reverence that with which you are charged, be careful in the orders you issue. When an order goes out it is to be carried out, and not to be reversed. Extinguish private interest by public duty, and the people will truly cherish you. Study antiquity and then enter office; deliberate upon affairs according to the regulations, and the government will not go astray. Let the constant statutes be your teachers; do not let a glib tongue throw your office into confusion. Hoarded doubts ruin plans; sloth and negligence lay government waste. Not to study is to stand facing a wall, and when such a man comes to affairs he is only vexed.

"I warn you, ministers and officers: achievement rises high only through resolve; the work grows wide only through diligence. Only if you can be resolute and decisive will there be no hardship afterward. Rank does not intend arrogance, nor emolument extravagance, and yet they come. Let reverence and frugality be your virtue; carry no falsity in you. Practice virtue, and the mind is at ease and the days grow better; practice falsity, and the mind toils and the days grow worse. Dwelling in favor, think of danger; let there be nothing you do not hold in awe. He who does not fear enters into what is to be feared. Push forward the worthy and yield to the capable, and the many offices will be in harmony; if they are not in harmony, government becomes a tangle. If those you raise are equal to their offices, that is your own ability; if those you name are not the right men, that is your own unfitness for your charge."

The king said: "Alas! You of the three services and you grandees: reverence the offices you hold and set in order the government you hold, so as to aid your sovereign, forever to give repose to the millions of the people, and that the myriad states may never grow weary of us."

Prince Chen (君陳)

The king spoke thus: "Prince Chen, your fine virtue is filial and reverent. Being filial, and a friend to your brothers, you are able to extend this to government. I charge you to direct this eastern district. Be reverent! Formerly the Duke of Zhou was preceptor and guardian to the myriad people, and the people cherished his virtue. Go and be careful in your charge; follow here his constant ways. Strive to make bright the instructions of the Duke of Zhou, and the people will be well governed.

"I have heard it said: 'Perfect government is fragrant, and moves the bright spirits. It is not the millet that is fragrant; it is bright virtue alone that is fragrant.' Do you take for your model the plans and the instructions of the Duke of Zhou, day by day toiling and toiling, never daring to be idle and at ease. Ordinary men, before they have seen a sage, seem unable to see one; and having seen a sage, they are still unable to follow the sage. Be you warned by this!

"You are the wind, and the people below are the grass. In planning your government, treat nothing as easy. There is abolishing and there is raising up; in going out and coming in take counsel with your multitude, and when the many voices agree, then carry it through. When you have a good plan or a good counsel, go in and tell your sovereign of it within, and then carry it out abroad, saying: 'This plan, this counsel, is the virtue of my sovereign.' Alas! If ministers were all like this, how good and how illustrious it would be!"

The king said: "Prince Chen, you are to enlarge the great instructions of the Duke of Zhou. Do not rely upon power to make yourself terrible; do not lean upon the law to cut men down. Be lenient, yet with regulation; be unhurried, and so bring harmony. When the people of Yin are under punishment, and I say 'punish,' do not you punish; and when I say 'pardon,' do not you pardon: hold to what is the mean. If there are those who do not conform to your government and are not transformed by your instruction, then punish where the punishment will put an end to punishment — then punish. Those hardened in villainy within and outrage without, who ruin the constant duties and disorder custom, do not pardon even in three small offenses.

"Do not be angry and vexed at the obstinate; do not require completeness in any one man. You must be able to bear, and then you will accomplish; be able to contain, and your virtue will be great. Distinguish those who are cultivated, and distinguish also those who are not; advance the good, so as to lead those who are not good. The people are born with generous natures, but through outward things they are changed. They go against what their superiors command, and follow what their superiors love. If you can reverence the statutes and abide in virtue, then there will be none who are not changed, and you will truly ascend to the great plan. I, the one man, shall then receive much blessing, and your excellence shall have a name to the end of endless ages."

Testamentary Charge (顧命)

It was the fourth month, when the moon began to wane, that the king was unwell. On the day jiazi the king washed his hands and his face; his attendants put upon him his cap and robes, and he leaned on his jade bench. He then summoned together the Grand Protector Shi, the Earl of Rui, the Earl of Tong, the Duke of Bi, the Marquis of Wei, and the Duke of Mao; the heads of the guards, the tiger officers, the hundred directors, and the officers who manage affairs.

The king said: "Alas! The sickness grows greatly worse; it is at the crisis. The illness comes on day by day, and now it lingers at the end. I fear I may not have the chance to speak solemnly of the succession, and therefore I now carefully instruct and charge you. Formerly our rulers King Wen and King Wu spread abroad a doubled brightness. They settled what was fitting and set forth their teachings, and the rules were labored at and labored at and never transgressed, and so they were able to smite Yin and to gather in the great mandate. I, who came after, a child untaught, reverently met the awe of Heaven and continued to keep the great instructions of Wen and Wu, not daring in my blindness to alter them. Now Heaven has sent down sickness and danger upon me; I cannot rise, I cannot wake. Do you make clear these my words, and reverently guard my eldest son Zhao, and greatly help him through hardship and difficulty. Be gentle to those far off and kind to those near at hand; give peace to and encourage the many states, small and great. Make every man order himself in dignified bearing, and let not Zhao be rashly led into what is not right."

When they had received the charge they withdrew, and the royal robes were brought out into the courtyard. On the next day, yichou, the king died.

The Grand Protector ordered Zhong Huan and Nangong Mao to charge Lü Ji, the Marquis of Qi, to take two men with shield and dagger-axe and a hundred tiger-brave guards, and to meet the prince Zhao outside the south gate and lead him into a side chamber, where in mourning he took his place as chief mourner. On the day dingmao the order was given to prepare the written record of the ceremony. On the seventh day thereafter, guiyou, the earl who acted as chief minister ordered the officers to provide the materials.

The ushers set out the axe-figured screen and the royal robes. Between the windows, facing south, they spread a double mat of fine bamboo with an axe-patterned border, and the customary bench of variegated jade. By the western wall, facing east, they spread a double mat of fine rush with a bordered edging, and the customary bench inlaid with patterned shells. By the eastern wall, facing west, they spread a double mat of rich sedge with a painted border, and the customary bench of carved jade. In the western side-chamber, facing south, they spread a double mat of bamboo-shoot matting with a dark variegated border, and the customary bench of lacquer.

There were also five sets of jade objects. The treasures displayed — the red knife, the Great Instructions, the great jade disc, the wan sceptre and the yan sceptre — were by the western wall; the great jade, the Yi jade, the heavenly sphere-stone, and the River Chart were by the eastern wall. The dancing garments of Yin, the great cowries, and the great war drum were in the western chamber; the dagger-axe of Dui, the bow of He, and the bamboo arrows of Chui were in the eastern chamber.

The great state carriage stood facing the guests' steps, and the second carriage facing the eastern steps. The foremost carriage stood before the left side-room of the gate, and the next carriage before the right side-room. Two men in sparrow-colored caps, holding three-cornered halberds, stood within the Bi gate. Four men in mottled caps, holding dagger-axes with the blades upward, stood on either side at the foot of the two flights of steps. One man in a ceremonial cap, holding a battle-axe, stood in the eastern hall; one in a ceremonial cap, holding a great axe, stood in the western hall; one in a ceremonial cap, holding a kui lance, stood at the eastern edge; one in a ceremonial cap, holding a ju lance, stood at the western edge; and one in a ceremonial cap, holding a pointed spear, stood at the side steps.

The king, in a hempen cap and an axe-patterned lower robe, ascended by the guests' steps. The ministers, officers, and rulers of states, in hempen caps and dark lower robes, entered and took their places. The Grand Protector, the Grand Scribe, and the Grand Master of the Ancestral Temple all wore hempen caps and red lower robes. The Grand Protector bore the great jade tablet, and the chief master of rites carried the cup and the mao jade, and they ascended by the eastern steps. The Grand Scribe held the document, ascended by the guests' steps, and presented to the king the charge written upon the tablets.

He said: "The august sovereign, leaning upon his jade bench, declared and proclaimed his last charge: he charges you to succeed to his instructions, to preside as ruler over the state of Zhou, to follow the great rules, to harmonize the world, and thereby to answer and raise high the glorious instructions of Wen and Wu."

The king bowed twice and rose, and answered: "I am but a small and insignificant last child. How shall I be able to order the four quarters, and reverently to stand in awe of the majesty of Heaven?"

Then he received the cup and the jade. The king advanced three times, three times poured out the offering, and three times set down the cup. The chief master of rites said, "May the offering be enjoyed." The Grand Protector received the cup, descended, washed his hands, and with another cup, holding the zhang sceptre, made the return offering; he handed the cup to the officer of rites and bowed, and the king bowed in answer. The Grand Protector received the cup, made the offering, tasted it, and returned to his place; he handed the cup to the officer of rites and bowed, and the king bowed in answer. The Grand Protector descended, and the vessels were taken away. The feudal lords went out of the temple gate and waited.

Announcement of King Kang (康王之誥)

The king came out and stood within the Ying gate. The Grand Protector led the lords of the western regions in by the left of the Ying gate, and the Duke of Bi led the lords of the eastern regions in by the right of the Ying gate. All of them displayed teams of four bay horses with red manes. The ushers announced them as they presented their jade tokens together with offerings of silk, saying: "We, your one or two servants and guardians, presume to bring the produce of our soil as offerings." All bowed twice with their heads to the ground. The king, being the fitting heir in virtue, bowed in answer.

The Grand Protector and the Earl of Rui both advanced, saluted one another, and both bowed twice with their heads to the ground. They said: "We presume reverently to inform the Son of Heaven. August Heaven changed the mandate of the great state of Yin; and it was King Wen and King Wu of Zhou who greatly received its guidance and favor, and were able to care for the western lands. The king newly ascended to Heaven fully harmonized rewards and punishments, and firmly settled their achievement, and so spread abroad and left to those who came after his excellence. Now, O King, be reverent in this! Make great and strong the six armies, and do not ruin the singular mandate of our high ancestor."

The king spoke thus: "You of the many states, of the marquis lands, the domain lands, the baron lands, and the guard lands: I, the one man Zhao, make announcement in reply. Formerly our rulers Wen and Wu greatly leveled and enriched, and did not busy themselves with faults; they arrived at the utmost of even good faith, and so shone bright over all the world. There were also officers like bears and grizzlies, and ministers without a divided heart, who preserved and governed the royal house, and so received the rightful mandate from the Lord on High. August Heaven accordingly followed out its Way and delivered over to them the four quarters. It was then commanded that princes be set up and screens of defense be planted, for the sake of us who came after. Now, my one or two uncles, may you look to one another and take thought together, continuing the service which your former lords rendered as ministers to the former kings. Though your persons are abroad, let your hearts be never anywhere but in the royal house. Support and care for what is right, and leave no shame to me, the child you have reared."

When the assembled dukes had all heard the charge, they saluted one another and hurried out. The king took off his ceremonial cap and put on again his mourning garments.

Charge to Bi (畢命)

It was in the twelfth year, in the sixth month, on the day gengwu, that the new moon showed its light. Three days after, on renshen, the king walked in the morning from Zongzhou and came to Feng. With the multitude of Chengzhou he charged the Duke of Bi to protect and regulate the eastern district.

The king spoke thus: "Alas! Grand Preceptor, King Wen and King Wu spread great virtue over the world, and were thereby able to receive the mandate of Yin. The Duke of Zhou assisted the former kings on the right hand and the left, gave peace and settlement to their house, took careful measures with the obstinate people of Yin, and removed them to the city of Luo, close by the royal house, that they might be transformed by his instruction. Thirty-six years have now passed; the generations have changed and the customs have shifted; there is no anxiety in the four quarters, and I, the one man, am at rest. The Way has its risings and its fallings, and government is altered according to custom. If what is good is not held to be good, the people will have nothing to encourage them. You, Duke, have striven in virtue, and are able to be diligent in small things; you have assisted and given light to four reigns; with a grave countenance you have led those below, and there is none who does not reverence the words of the preceptor. Your fine achievements are many under the former kings, and I, the little child, have only to let my robes hang and fold my hands and look up to what is accomplished."

The king said: "Alas! Grand Preceptor, now I reverently charge you, Duke, with the work of the Duke of Zhou. Go! Mark out and separate the good from the evil; designate their dwellings and their wards; make manifest the good and afflict the wicked; and so establish a reputation and an influence. Those who do not follow the instructions and the statutes, set apart the boundaries of their fields, that they may be made to fear and to admire. Define anew the borders of the suburbs and of the royal domain, and carefully strengthen the frontier defenses, so as to give repose within the four seas. In government, constancy is prized; in words, substance and the essential point are esteemed, and not a love of the strange. The customs of Shang were soft and enervating, and a glib tongue was accounted worth; the lingering influence is not yet destroyed, and you, Duke, must give thought to it. I have heard it said: 'Families with hereditary emoluments seldom keep to the rites; in their dissipation they trample upon virtue, and truly go against the Way of Heaven. Corrupted manners and lavish display flow in one stream through ten thousand generations.' These many officers of Yin have long sat upon favor; relying on their extravagance they destroy righteousness, and outdo others in the splendor of their dress. Arrogant, dissolute, self-important, and boastful, they will come to a bad end; and though their wandering hearts may be gathered in, to keep them within bounds is hard. Wealth joined to the capacity to be taught — by this alone can a man live out long years. It is virtue, it is righteousness: these are the great instruction. If a man does not follow the ancient instructions, wherein shall he be instructed?"

The king said: "Alas! Grand Preceptor, the safety or the danger of the state rests with these officers of Yin. Be neither hard nor soft, and their virtue will truly be cultivated. The Duke of Zhou was able to be careful at the beginning; Prince Chen was able to bring harmony in the middle; and you, Duke, are able to complete the end. When the three lords are united in heart, they arrive together at the Way; the Way pervades all, government is well ordered, and their bounty enriches the living people. The Yi of the four quarters, who fasten their garments on the left, will all rely upon it; and I, the little child, shall forever receive much blessing. Duke, take now this Chengzhou and lay a foundation without end, and you too shall have a fame without end. Your sons and grandsons will take your finished model for their instruction, and there will be good rule. Alas! Do not say 'I cannot'; only exhaust your heart upon it. Do not say 'the people are few'; only be careful in your affairs. Reverently follow the completed achievements of the former kings, and so make excellent the government that went before."

Jun Ya (君牙)

The king spoke thus: "Alas! Jun Ya, your grandfather and your father were for generations sincerely loyal and upright; they served laboriously the royal house, and their achievements were completed and are recorded upon the great banner. I, the little child, succeed to and keep the legacy left by Wen, Wu, Cheng, and Kang; and it is also by the ministers of the former administrators that the four quarters can be ordered on the right hand and the left. The anxiety and peril of my heart are as though I trod upon a tiger's tail or waded across the spring ice. Now I charge you to be my wings, to be my thighs and arms, my heart and my backbone. Continue the old service of your house; do not disgrace your ancestors. Spread widely the five constant duties, and by them harmonize the rules of the people. If your own person is correct, none will dare to be incorrect; if the hearts of the people lack the mean, it is upon your mean that they depend. In the summer's heat and rain the small people only murmur and sigh; in the winter's great cold the small people also only murmur and sigh. How hard it is! Think upon their hardship, and plan for their ease, and the people will be at rest. Alas! How greatly illustrious were the plans of King Wen! How greatly were they carried on in the achievement of King Wu! They opened the way and helped us who came after, all with what is correct and without defect. Do you reverently make clear your instructions, and thereby serve and comply with the former kings; answer and raise high the glorious charge of Wen and Wu, and match yourself in retrospect with the men who went before."

The king spoke thus: "Jun Ya, follow the former administrators; the old statutes are the model for these times, and the good order or the disorder of the people rests in this. Follow what your grandfather and your father practiced, and make bright the good government of your sovereign."

Charge to Jiong (冏命)

The king spoke thus: "Bo Jiong! I am not equal to virtue, and yet I succeed my forefathers and occupy the place of the great sovereign. I am fearful and anxious as at a danger; in the middle of the night I rise, thinking how to escape from faults. Formerly, in the time of Wen and Wu, they were keen of hearing and clear of sight, complete and sagely; and the ministers, small and great, all cherished loyalty and goodness. Their attendants, drivers, servants, and followers were none but correct men, who morning and evening supported and assisted their sovereign, so that in going out and coming in, in rising up and sitting down, there was nothing that was not reverent, and in the issuing of proclamations and the giving of orders there was nothing that was not good. The people below reverently obeyed, and the myriad states were all made excellent.

"I, the one man, am without goodness, and truly depend upon the officers in place to the right and the left, before me and behind me, to correct what I fall short of — to set straight my faults and rectify my errors, to correct my wrong heart, that I may be able to continue the achievements of my predecessors. Now I charge you to be the Grand Rectifier, to set right the body of servants, attendants, and drivers, to stimulate the virtue of your sovereign, and jointly to mend what is deficient. Carefully choose your associates. Do not take men of artful speech and ingratiating looks, of fawning manner and crooked flattery; let them be good men only. If the servant ministers are correct, their sovereign can be correct; if the servant ministers are flatterers, their sovereign will think himself a sage. The sovereign's virtue comes from his ministers, and his want of virtue also comes from his ministers. Do not you be intimate with crafty men, nor fill with them the offices that are my ears and eyes, leading your superior into what is not the statute of the former kings. If it is not a man's goodness but his goods that are counted good, then in this way the office is left derelict, and that will be your great failure to reverence your sovereign, and I shall hold you guilty."

The king said: "Alas! Be reverent! Forever assist your sovereign in the constant laws."

Marquis of Lü on Punishments (呂刑)

It was when Lü received his charge. The king had enjoyed the kingdom for a hundred years and was very old, and he greatly deliberated and made the punishments, so as to restrain the four quarters.

The king said: "According to the teaching of antiquity, Chi You was the first to make disorder, and it spread as far as the common people, so that there were none who were not robbers and murderers, rapacious in the name of right, treacherous within and outrageous without, seizing, snatching, forging, and slaying. The people of Miao did not use the good commands, but restrained men by punishment: they made the five oppressive punishments and called them law, killing and slaughtering the innocent. Then they began excessively to make the cutting off of the nose, the cutting off of the ears, castration, and the branding of the face; and to these punishments they attached men and applied them all together, making no distinction for any who had a plea. The people rose and corrupted one another, all confusion and tangle; there was no mean of good faith among them, and so they overturned their oaths and covenants. Those many who were slain under that cruel terror everywhere declared their innocence to Heaven above.

"The Lord on High looked down upon the people, and there was no fragrance of virtue; what the punishments sent up to be smelled was only rankness. The august Lord pitied the innocence of the many who were slain, and requited cruelty with his terror. He cut off and extinguished the people of Miao, so that they had no posterity here below. Then he charged Chong and Li to sever the communication between earth and heaven, so that there were no more descents of the spirits. The assembled lords who came after, here below, made bright and bright the assisting norms, so that the widower and the widow were not left uncovered. The august Lord clearly questioned the people below, and the widowers and widows had complaints against Miao. His virtue was awful, and men feared; his virtue was bright, and men were enlightened.

"He then charged three lords to labor with care for the people. Bo Yi sent down the statutes and restrained the people by punishment; Yu regulated the waters and the land and gave names to the chief mountains and rivers; Ji sent down the arts of sowing, and the husbandmen grew the fine grains. When the three lords had completed their work, the people were made abundant. The officers of justice regulated the hundred clans by the mean of punishment, and thereby taught them reverence for virtue. Majestic above, bright and bright below, shining into the four quarters, there was none who was not diligent in virtue. Therefore they were clear in the mean of punishment, and led and governed the people, assisting the constant norms. He who has charge of prisons is not to end in terror, but to end in the people's abundance. Be reverent and cautious, and let there be no word upon your own person that can be picked at. He who can attain to the virtue of Heaven makes for himself the great mandate, and shares in the sacrifices here below."

The king said: "Ah! You who in the four quarters direct government and have charge of prisons: are you not made shepherds for Heaven? Now what are you to look to, if not the way in which Bo Yi spread out the punishments? And from what are you to take warning now? Only from the people of Miao, who did not examine into the application of the law in trials, who did not choose good men to look into the mean of the five punishments, but let the many overbearing men who seized goods pass judgment with the five punishments, and so threw the innocent into confusion. The Lord on High did not hold them clean, and sent down calamity upon Miao; and the people of Miao had no plea against their punishment, and their line was cut off."

The king said: "Alas! Think upon it! Uncles and eldest brothers, second and third brothers, youngest brothers, young sons and young grandsons: hear all of you my words, and there may yet be an enduring mandate. Now let none of you fail to be daily diligent in what gives comfort, and let none of you, though warned, be undiligent. Heaven, in bringing order to the people, grants us but a single day. Whether there be an end or no end lies with men. Do you reverently meet the mandate of Heaven, and so serve me, the one man. Though there be cause for terror, be not terrible; though there be cause for indulgence, be not indulgent. Only reverence the five punishments, so as to perfect the three virtues. When the one man has blessing, the millions of the people rely upon it, and their repose will be lasting."

The king said: "Oh! Come, you who have states and you who have lands. I tell you now what makes punishment auspicious. In giving repose to the hundred clans, what will you choose but men? What will you reverence but punishments? What will you measure but the reach of the case? When both parties are present with their full statements, let the officers hear the five kinds of pleading; and when the five pleadings have been sifted and found trustworthy, adjust them to the five punishments. If the five punishments do not fit upon examination, adjust them to the five redemption fines; and if the five fines are not accepted, adjust them to the five cases of error. The flaws in the five cases of error are these: the influence of office, private grudge, the intercession of the inner chambers, bribes, and solicitation. The judge's crime is then equal to the criminal's; examine it and be able to determine it. Where the five punishments are doubtful, there is remission; where the five fines are doubtful, there is remission; examine and be able to determine.

"Let the sifting and its verification rest upon the multitude of witnesses, and let the demeanor of the accused be checked. Where there is no verified examination, do not hear the case; in all things be stern with the awe of Heaven. Where branding is doubtful and remitted, the fine is a hundred huan; examine and verify the crime. Where the cutting off of the nose is doubtful and remitted, the fine is double that; examine and verify the crime. Where the cutting off of the feet is doubtful and remitted, the fine is double and more; examine and verify the crime. Where castration is doubtful and remitted, the fine is six hundred huan; examine and verify the crime. Where death is doubtful and remitted, the fine is a thousand huan; examine and verify the crime. The cases falling under the branding penalty are a thousand; under the nose-cutting penalty a thousand; under the foot-cutting penalty five hundred; under castration three hundred; and under the death penalty two hundred. The cases under the five punishments number three thousand.

"Compare crimes with those above and below them, and let no excess confuse the pleadings. Do not use what is no longer in force; only examine, only follow the law; examine and be able to determine. When the higher punishment is fitly lightened, apply the lower; when the lower punishment is fitly made heavier, apply the higher: in light and heavy penalties there is a weighing. Punishments and fines are light in one age and heavy in another; the making even of what is uneven has its order and its essentials. The fine chastises without killing, and yet men are brought by it to the utmost distress. It is not the glib who decide; it is the good who decide lawsuits. Let nothing fall outside the mean. Examine the pleadings where they differ; and what at first was not to be accepted may yet be accepted. With pity and reverence decide the cases; clearly open the book of punishments and consult together, that all may reach the mean and the right. In the punishment and in the fine, examine and be able to determine. When the case is settled, it carries conviction; and when it is reported above, it carries conviction too. When the record of punishment is complete for the higher court, there may be a joining of two punishments."

The king said: "Alas! Be reverent in this! You officers and chiefs, you of the clans and surnames: my words are full of dread. I am reverent toward punishment, for it is where there is virtue that punishment is rightly used. Now Heaven is helping the people and has made its counterpart here below; be clear and unclouded in judging a one-sided plea. The good order of the people lies in nothing else than hearing with the mean the two pleadings of a case; let no man make private profit for his house out of the two pleadings of a case. Goods gained from lawsuits are no treasure; they are only a hoarding up of guilt and its reckoning, requited with many blames. Let the lasting dread be of punishment. It is not that Heaven fails of the mean; it is men who ruin their allotted portion. If the punishments of Heaven were not carried through, the common people would have no good government in the world."

The king said: "Alas! You who succeed me, sons and grandsons: from now on, what will you look to? Is it not the virtue that lies in the mean shown toward the people? Listen to this clearly! Wise men in the matter of punishment have a fame without bound. Bring the cases under the five extremes, and where all is in the mean there will be blessing. You who receive from the king this fine people, look to this auspicious use of punishment."

Charge to the Marquis Wen (文侯之命)

The king spoke thus: "Uncle Yihe. Greatly illustrious were Wen and Wu. They were able to be careful of their bright virtue, which rose shining on high and spread its fame here below, and therefore the Lord on High settled his mandate upon King Wen. There were also the former administrators, who were able on the right hand and the left to serve their sovereign with brightness, so that in plans and counsels small and great there were none who did not follow along; and therefore my forefathers rested at ease in their places. Alas! Pity me, the little child, who succeed to the throne and have met with Heaven's great affliction. The resources and the bounty for the people below are cut off; invaders and men in arms have greatly harassed our state and house. Among my officers who manage affairs there is none aged and long-lived, none eminent in his charge, and so I am not equal to it. I say: 'You who are as grandfathers and fathers to me, it is for you to care for my person.' Alas! Achieve something for me, the one man, that I may rest forever at peace in my place.

"Uncle Yihe, you are able to continue your illustrious ancestor; you have begun to take Wen and Wu for your pattern, and you gather and guide your sovereign, extending your filial devotion back to the accomplished men who went before. You have done much that is excellent, and have shielded me in hardship. Such as you are, I hold you good."

The king said: "Uncle Yihe, return and look to your host, and give peace to your state. I bestow upon you one jar of black-millet spirit flavored with herbs; one red bow and a hundred red arrows; one black bow and a hundred black arrows; and four horses. Go, my uncle! Be gentle to those far off and kind to those near at hand; be generous and give repose to the small people; do not be idle in your ease. Take thought and care for your city, and so perfect your illustrious virtue."

Speech at Bi (費誓)

The duke said: "Ah! Let there be no noise among you, men; hear the command. Now the Huai Yi and the Rong of Xu have risen together. Sew well your coats of mail and your helmets; fasten the straps of your shields; let none dare to be less than sound. Prepare your bows and arrows, forge your dagger-axes and your spears, whet your points and your blades; let none dare to be less than good.

"Now we shall turn loose the penned oxen and horses. Close up your traps, fill in your pitfalls; let none dare to injure the penned beasts. If the penned beasts are injured, you shall suffer the regular punishment. If horses and cattle stray away after one another, or if male and female servants run off, let none dare to go beyond the lines in pursuit of them; return them respectfully, and I will reward and requite you. But if you go beyond in pursuit and do not return them, you shall suffer the regular punishment. Let none dare to rob or to plunder, to climb over fences and walls, to steal horses and cattle, or to entice away male and female servants; if you do, you shall suffer the regular punishment.

"On the day jiaxu I will campaign against the Rong of Xu. Store up your parched grain and your provisions; let none dare to fall short, or you shall suffer the great punishment. Men of Lu, of the three suburbs and the three outer districts, store up your posts and your planks. On the day jiaxu I will build; let none dare to fail in supplying them, or you shall suffer the punishment that leaves nothing over, short of death. Men of Lu, of the three suburbs and the three outer districts, store up your fodder and your hay; let none dare to be short in the quantity, or you shall suffer the great punishment."

Speech of Qin (秦誓)

The duke said: "Ah! My officers, listen and make no noise. I solemnly declare to you the chief of all sayings. The men of old had a saying: 'When men follow only themselves, there is much waywardness. To blame others is no hard thing; but to receive blame and let it flow in freely — that is hard indeed.' The sorrow of my heart is that the days and the months go by and pass away, as though they would never come again.

"As for the counselors of the old sort, I said that they did not come up to what I wanted, and I was set against them; and as for the counselors of the present sort, for a time I made them my intimates. Though this is how it was, I will yet take counsel with these yellow-haired elders, and then I shall have nothing to go wrong. The white-haired good officer, whose bodily strength has already failed — him I would still keep with me. The stout and vigorous warrior, who never fails in shooting and driving — him I would rather not have. As for the sharp-tongued man skilled in specious speech, who makes the noble man change his words — what leisure have I for many such?

"In the dark I have pondered it. If there be a single, simple minister, steadfast and sincere with no other arts, whose heart is generous and easy and is as though it had room within it; who, when others have ability, regards it as though he had it himself; who, when others are fine and sagely, loves it in his heart, and not merely as though the praise had come out of his own mouth — such a man can contain others. With him one may protect my sons and grandsons and the black-haired people, and there will indeed be profit in his office. But he who, when others have ability, is jealous of them and hates them for it; who, when others are fine and sagely, opposes them and keeps them from getting through — such a man cannot contain others. With him one cannot protect my sons and grandsons and the black-haired people, and it may be called dangerous. The tottering of a state comes, it is said, from one man; and the glory and the repose of a state also depend upon the blessing of one man."

Colophon

This translation was prepared for the Chinese shelf of the Good Works Library and made independently from the classical Chinese printed below. The whole of the received text is given, in the order the source transcription carries it: the Preface to the Documents first, then the Books of Yu, of Xia, of Shang, and of Zhou, with the chapters that tradition divides into Upper, Middle, and Lower parts kept so divided. Most of the collection is direct speech, and it is set as such: the formula 王若曰 is rendered "The king spoke thus" and 王曰 "The king said," so that the two are told apart wherever the Chinese distinguishes them. The Tribute of Yu keeps its own internal divisions by province, by mountain range, and by watercourse; verse quoted inside the prose keeps its lines. Two chapters carry a second version in the source transcription, and both versions of each are translated under their own subheadings, with the transcription's own labels rendered as it gives them: the Announcement of Tang, in the Old Text form the transcription marks as spurious and in the form it marks as genuine; and the Metal-Bound Coffer, as transmitted and in the Tsinghua bamboo-slip recension, whose section markers and gaps are shown as the transcription shows them.

A translation-status check was made once for the work as a whole. The Book of Documents has been translated into English complete more than once: James Legge, The Shoo King (1865); Bernhard Karlgren, The Book of Documents (1950); and Martin Palmer, The Most Venerable Book (2014), among others. These are named here as controls in existence. None of them was fetched or consulted, and no claim of firstness is made for this rendering; the English above was derived from the Chinese alone.

On terms and names. 上帝 is "the Lord on High" throughout and 皇天 "August Heaven"; 天命 is "the mandate of Heaven"; 德 "virtue"; 中 "the mean." Among offices, 太保 is "the Grand Protector," 太師 "the Grand Preceptor," 太史 "the Grand Scribe," 冢宰 "the prime minister," 司徒 "the minister of education," 司馬 "the marshal," 司空 "the minister of works," 司寇 "the minister of justice." 百姓 is "the hundred clans" and 黎民 "the black-haired people." Personal names of the form 管叔, 蔡叔, 康叔 are given as Shu of Guan, Shu of Cai, Shu of Kang. Sexagenary day names are left in pinyin (jiazi, wuwu, yichou). The reader should know that several chapters in the received arrangement repeat one another in large part — the Canon of Yao and the Canon of Shun, the Counsels of Gao Yao and Yi and Ji — and that the repetition is in the transmitted Chinese, not an editorial doubling here. The parenthetical round brackets, angle brackets, and square brackets inside the Chinese text below are the transcription's own collation apparatus and have been left untouched.

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

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Source Text: 尚書

Classical Chinese text in the Chinese Wikisource transcription. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

書序

昔在帝堯，聰明文思，光宅天下，將遜于位，讓于虞舜，作《堯典》。

虞舜側微，堯聞之聰明，將使嗣位，歷試諸難，作《舜典》。

帝釐下土方，設居方，別生分類。作《汨作》、《九共九篇》、《稾飫》。

臯陶矢厥謨，禹成厥功，帝舜申之。作《大禹》、《臯陶謨》、《益稷》。

禹別九州，隨山濬川，任土作《貢》。

啟與有扈戰于甘之野，作《甘誓》。

太康失邦，昆弟五人，須于洛汭，作《五子之歌》。

羲和湎淫，廢時亂日，胤往征之，作《胤征》。

自契至于成湯八遷，湯始居亳，從先王居。作《帝告》、《釐沃》。

湯征諸侯，葛伯不祀，湯始征之，作《湯征》。

伊尹去亳適夏，旣醜有夏，復歸於亳。入自北門，乃遇汝鳩汝方。作《汝鳩》、《汝方》。

伊尹相湯伐桀，升自陑，遂與桀戰于鳴條之野，作《湯誓》。

湯既勝夏，欲遷其社，不可。作《夏社》、《疑至》、《臣扈》。

夏師敗績，湯遂從之，遂伐三朡，俘厥寶玉。誼伯仲伯作《典寶》。

湯歸自夏，至于大坰，仲虺作《誥》。

湯旣黜夏命，復歸于亳，作《湯誥》。

咎單作《明居》。

成湯旣沒，太甲元年，伊尹作《伊訓》、《肆命》、《徂后》。

太甲既立，不明，伊尹放諸桐。三年，復歸于亳，思庸，伊尹作《太甲三篇》。

伊尹作《咸有一德》。

沃丁既葬伊尹于亳，咎單遂訓伊尹事，作《沃丁》。

伊陟相大戊，亳有祥桑穀共生于朝。伊陟贊于巫咸，作《咸乂四篇》。

太戊贊于伊陟，作《伊陟》、《原命》。

仲丁遷于囂，作《仲丁》。

河亶甲居相，作《河亶甲》。

祖乙圯于耿，作《祖乙》。

盤庚五遷，將治亳殷，民咨胥怨。作《盤庚三篇》。

高宗夢得說，使百工營求諸野，得諸傅巖，作《說命三篇》。

高宗祭成湯，有飛雉升鼎耳而雊，祖己訓諸王，作《高宗肜日》、《高宗之訓》。

殷始咎周，周人乘黎。祖伊恐，奔告于受，作《西伯戡黎》。

殷旣錯天命，微子作《誥父師少師》。

惟十有一年，武王伐殷。一月戊午，師渡孟津，作《泰誓三篇》。

武王戎車三百兩，虎賁三百人，與受戰于牧野，作《牧誓》。

武王伐殷，往伐，歸獸，識其政事，作《武成》。

武王勝殷殺受，立武庚，以箕子歸。作《洪範》。

武王既勝殷，邦諸侯，班宗彝，作《分器》。

西旅獻獒，太保作《旅獒》。

巢伯來朝，芮伯作《旅巢命》。

武王有疾，周公作《金縢》。

武王崩，三監及淮夷叛，周公相成王，將黜殷，作《大誥》。

成王既黜殷命，殺武庚，命微子啟代殷後，作《微子之命》。

唐叔得禾，異畝同穎，獻諸天子。王命唐叔歸周公于東，作《歸禾》。

周公既得命禾，旅天子之命，作《嘉禾》。

成王既伐管叔、蔡叔，以殷餘民封康叔，作《康誥》、《酒誥》、《梓材》。

成王在豐，欲宅洛邑，使召公先相宅，作《召誥》。

召公旣相宅，周公往營成周，使來告卜，作《洛誥》。

成周既成，遷殷頑民，周公以王命告，作《多士》。

周公恐王怠于政，作《無逸》。

召公為保，周公為師，相成王為左右；召公不說，周公作《君奭》。

蔡叔既沒，王命蔡仲踐諸侯位，作《蔡仲之命》。

成王東伐淮夷，遂踐奄，作《成王政》。

成王既踐奄，將遷其君於蒲姑，周公告召公，作《將蒲姑》。

成王歸自奄，在宗周，誥庶邦，作《多方》。

周公辅王，念桀之暴，言天乙之功，司百官以立邦，作《立政》。

成王既黜殷命，滅淮夷，還歸在豐，作《周官》。

成王既伐東夷，肅慎來賀。王俾榮伯作《賄肅慎之命》。

周公在豐，將沒，欲葬成周。公薨，成王葬于畢，告周公，作《亳姑》。

周公既沒，命君陳分正東郊成周，作《君陳》。

成王將崩，命召公、畢公率諸侯相康王，作《顧命》。

康王旣尸天子，遂誥諸侯，作《康王之誥》。

康王命作《冊畢》，分居里，成周郊，作《畢命》。

穆王命君牙，為周大司徒，作《君牙》。

穆王命伯冏為周太僕正，作《冏命》。

穆王訓夏贖刑，作《呂刑》。

平王錫晉文侯秬鬯、圭瓚，作《文侯之命》。

魯侯伯禽宅曲阜，徐夷並興，東郊不開。作《費誓》。

秦穆公伐鄭，晉襄公帥師敗諸崤，還歸，作《秦誓》。

虞書 · 堯典

曰若稽古帝堯：曰放勛。欽明文思安安。允恭克讓，光被四表，格于上下。克明俊〔另作：峻、畯〕德：以親九族，九族既睦；平〔另作：便、辨、辯〕章百姓，百姓昭明；協和萬邦〔另作：國〕，黎民於變時雍。

乃命羲、和：欽若昊天，曆象日月星辰，敬授民時。

分命羲仲，宅〔另作：度〕嵎夷〔另作：郁夷、禺銕〕，曰暘谷。寅賓出日，平秩東作；日中星鳥，以殷仲春。厥民析，鳥獸孳尾。

申命羲叔，宅南交，［曰明都］。平秩南僞，敬致，日永星火，以正仲夏。厥民因，鳥獸希革。

分命和仲，宅西［土］，曰昧谷。寅餞納日，平秩西成；宵中星虛，以殷仲秋。厥民夷，鳥獸毛毨。

申命和叔，宅朔方，曰幽都。平在朔易；日短星昴，以正仲冬。厥民隩〔另作：燠〕，鳥獸氄毛。

帝曰：「咨！汝義暨和，期三百有六旬有六日，以閏月定四時成歲。」

允釐百工，庶績咸熙。

帝曰：「疇咨若時登庸？」

放齊曰：「胤子朱啟明。」

帝曰：「吁！嚚訟，{可乎}？」

帝曰：「疇咨若予采？」

驩兜曰：「都！共工方鳩𠊩功。」

帝曰：「吁！靜言庸違，象恭滔天。」

帝曰：「咨！四岳〔另作：嶽〕！湯湯洪水方（旁）割，蕩蕩懷山襄陵，浩浩滔天。下民其咨，有能俾乂？」

僉曰：「於，鯀哉！」

帝曰：「吁！咈哉！方命圮族。」

岳曰：「异哉，試可乃已。」

帝曰：「往，欽哉！」

九載，績用弗〔另作：不〕成。

帝曰：「咨！四岳！朕在位七十載，汝能庸命，巽朕位？」

岳曰：「否〔另作：鄙〕德忝帝位。」

曰：「明明揚側〔另作：仄〕陋。」

師錫帝曰：「有鰥〔另作：矜〕在下，曰虞舜。」

帝曰：「俞，予聞。如何？」

岳曰：「瞽子，父頑，母嚚，象傲；克諧，以孝烝烝，乂不格姦。」

帝曰：「我其試哉。」

女于時，觀厥刑（型）于二女。釐降二女于嬀汭，嬪于虞。

帝曰：「欽哉！」

慎徽五典，五典克從；納于百揆，百揆時敘〔另作：序〕；賓于四門，四門穆穆；納于大麓，烈風雷雨弗迷。

帝曰：「格，汝舜。詢事考言，乃言厎可績，三載。汝陟帝位。」

舜讓于德，弗嗣。

正月上日，受終于文祖。在璇璣玉衡，以齊七政。肆類于上帝，禋于六宗，望于山川，徧于羣神。揖〔另作：輯〕五瑞，既月乃日，覲四岳羣牧，班瑞于羣后。

歲二月，東巡守〔另作：狩〕，至于岱宗，柴，望秩于山川，肆覲東后。協時月正日；同律、度、量、衡。修五禮、五玉、三帛、二生、一死贄，如五器，卒乃復。

五月，南巡守，至于南岳，如岱禮。

八月，西巡守，至于西岳，如初。

十月一月，朔巡守，至于北岳，如西禮。

歸，格于藝祖，用特。

五載一巡守，羣后四朝。敷奏〔另作：傅奏、徧告〕以言，明試以功，車服以庸。

肇十有二州，封十有二山，濬川。

象以典刑。流宥五刑。鞭作官刑，扑作教刑，金作贖刑，眚（省）災肆赦，怙終賊刑。

「欽哉！欽哉！惟刑之卹哉！」

流共工于幽州〔另作：洲〕，放驩兜于崇山，竄三苗于三危，殛鯀于羽山，四罪而天下咸服。

二十有八載，放勛乃殂落，百姓如喪考妣，三載，四海遏密八音。

月正元日，舜格于文祖。詢于四岳，辟四門，明四目，達〔另作：通〕四聰〔另作：窻〕。

咨十有二牧，曰：「食哉！惟時柔遠能邇，惇德允元，而難任人，蠻夷率服。」

舜曰：「咨！四岳！有能奮庸，熙帝之載，使宅百揆，亮采惠疇？」

僉曰：「伯禹作司空。」

帝曰：「俞，咨！禹，汝平水土，惟時懋哉！」

禹拜稽首，讓于稷、契暨皋陶。

帝曰：「俞，汝往哉！」

帝曰：「弃。黎民阻〔另作：祖、徂、始〕飢。汝后稷，播時百穀。」

帝曰：「契。百姓不親，五品不遜。汝作司徒，敬敷五教，［五教］在寬。」

帝曰：「皋陶。蠻夷猾夏，寇賊奸宄。汝作士，五刑有服，五服三就；五流有宅，五宅三居。惟明克允。」

帝曰：「疇若予工？」

僉曰：「垂哉。」

帝曰：「俞。咨！垂，汝共工。」

垂拜稽首，讓于殳斨暨伯與。

帝曰：「俞，往哉。汝諧（偕）。」

帝曰：「疇若予上下草木鳥獸？」

僉曰：「益哉！」

帝曰：「俞。咨！益，汝作朕虞。」

益拜稽首，讓于朱、虎、熊、羆。

帝曰：「俞，往哉！汝諧（偕）。」

帝曰：「咨，四岳。有能典朕三禮？」

僉曰：「伯夷。」

帝曰：「俞，咨！伯，汝作秩宗。夙夜惟寅，直哉惟清。」

伯拜稽首，讓于夔、龍。

帝曰：「俞，往，欽哉！」

帝曰：「夔，命汝典樂，教胄子。直而溫，寬而栗，剛而無虐，簡而無傲。詩言志，歌詠言，聲依詠，律和聲。八音克諧，無相奪倫，神人以和。」

夔曰：「於！予擊石拊石，百獸率舞。」

帝曰：「龍，朕墍讒說殄行，震驚朕師。命汝作納言，夙夜出納朕命，惟允。」

帝曰：「咨！汝二十有二人，欽哉！惟時亮天功〔另作：工〕。」

三載考績，三考黜陟幽明，庶績咸熙。

分北三苗。

舜生三十徵庸，三十在位，五十載，陟方乃死。

舜典

虞舜側微，堯聞之聰明，將使嗣位，歷試諸難，作《舜典》。

曰若稽古，帝舜曰重華，協于帝。濬哲文明，溫恭允塞，玄德升聞，乃命以位。

慎徽五典，五典克從；納于百揆，百揆時敘；賓于四門，四門穆穆；納于大麓，烈風雷雨弗迷。帝曰：「格！汝舜。詢事考言，乃言厎可績，三載。汝陟帝位。」舜讓于德，弗嗣。正月上日，受終于文祖。

在璿璣玉衡，以齊七政。肆類于上帝，禋于六宗，望于山川，徧于群神。輯五瑞。既月乃日，覲四岳群牧，班瑞于群后。

歲二月，東巡守，至于岱宗，柴。望秩于山川，肆覲東后。協時月正日，同律度量衡。修五禮、五玉、三帛、二生、一死，贄。如五器，卒乃復。五月南巡守，至于南岳，如岱禮。八月西巡守，至于西岳，如初。十有一月朔巡守，至于北岳，如西禮。歸，格于藝祖，用特。五載一巡守，群后四朝。敷奏以言，明試以功，車服以庸。

肇十有二州，封十有二山，濬川。

象以典刑，流宥五刑，鞭作官刑，扑作教刑，金作贖刑。眚災肆赦，怙終賊刑。欽哉，欽哉，惟刑之恤哉！流共工于幽洲，放驩兜于崇山，竄三苗于三危，殛鯀于羽山，四罪而天下咸服。

二十有八載，帝乃殂落。百姓如喪考妣，三載，四海遏密八音。

月正元日，舜格于文祖，詢于四岳，闢四門，明四目，達四聰。「咨，十有二牧！」曰，「食哉惟時！柔遠能邇，惇德允元，而難任人，蠻夷率服。」

舜曰：「咨，四岳！有能奮庸熙帝之載，使宅百揆亮采，惠疇？」僉曰：「伯禹作司空。」帝曰：「俞，咨！禹，汝平水土，惟時懋哉！」禹拜稽首，讓于稷、契暨皋陶。帝曰：「俞，汝往哉！」

帝曰：「棄，黎民阻飢，汝后稷，播時百穀。」

帝曰：「契，百姓不親，五品不遜。汝作司徒，敬敷五教，在寬。」

帝曰：「皋陶，蠻夷猾夏，寇賊姦宄。汝作士，五刑有服，五服三就。五流有宅，五宅三居。惟明克允！」

帝曰：「疇若予工？」僉曰：「垂哉！」帝曰：「俞，咨！垂，汝共工。」垂拜稽首，讓于殳斨暨伯與。」帝曰：「俞，往哉！汝諧。」

帝曰：「疇若予上下草木鳥獸？」僉曰：「益哉！」帝曰：「俞，咨！益，汝作朕虞。」益拜稽首，讓于朱虎、熊羆。帝曰：「俞，往哉！汝諧。」

帝曰：「咨！四岳，有能典朕三禮？」僉曰：「伯夷！」帝曰：「俞，咨！伯，汝作秩宗。夙夜惟寅，直哉惟清。」伯拜稽首，讓于夔、龍。帝曰：「俞，往，欽哉！」

帝曰：「夔！命汝典樂，教冑子，直而溫，寬而栗，剛而無虐，簡而無傲。詩言志，歌永言，聲依永，律和聲。八音克諧，無相奪倫，神人以和。」夔曰：「於！予擊石拊石，百獸率舞。」

帝曰：「龍，朕堲讒說殄行，震驚朕師。命汝作納言，夙夜出納朕命，惟允！」

帝曰：「咨！汝二十有二人，欽哉！惟時亮天功。」

三載考績，三考，黜陟幽明，庶績咸熙。分北三苗。

舜生三十徵庸三十，在位五十載，陟方乃死。

帝釐下土，方設居方，別生分類。作《汨作》、《九共》九篇、《槀飫》。

大禹謨

皋陶矢厥謨，禹成厥功，帝舜申之。作《大禹》、《皋陶謨》、《益稷》。

曰若稽古，大禹曰文命。敷於四海，祗承于帝。曰：「后克艱厥后，臣克艱厥臣，政乃乂，黎民敏德。」
帝曰：「俞！允若茲，嘉言罔攸伏，野無遺賢，萬邦咸寧。稽于眾，舍己從人，不虐無告，不廢困窮，惟帝時克。」
益曰：「都，帝德廣運，乃聖乃神，乃武乃文。皇天眷命，奄有四海為天下君。」
禹曰：「惠迪吉，從逆凶，惟影響。」
益曰：「吁！戒哉！儆戒無虞，罔失法度。罔遊于逸，罔淫于樂。任賢勿貳，去邪勿疑。疑謀勿成，百志惟熙。罔違道以干百姓之譽，罔咈百姓以從己之欲。無怠無荒，四夷來王。」
禹曰：「於！帝念哉！德惟善政，政在養民。水、火、金、木、土、穀，惟修；正德、利用、厚生、惟和。九功惟敘，九敘惟歌。戒之用休，董之用威，勸之以九歌俾勿壞。」
帝曰：「俞！地平天成，六府三事允治，萬世永賴，時乃功。」
帝曰：「格，汝禹！朕宅帝位三十有三載，耄期倦于勤。汝惟不怠，總朕師。」
禹曰：「朕德罔克，民不依。皋陶邁種德，德乃降，黎民懷之。帝念哉！念茲在茲，釋茲在茲，名言茲在茲，允出茲在茲，惟帝念功。」
帝曰：「皋陶，惟茲臣庶，罔或干予正。汝作士，明于五刑，以弼五教。期于予治，刑期于無刑，民協于中，時乃功，懋哉。」
皋陶曰：「帝德罔愆，臨下以簡，御眾以寬；罰弗及嗣，賞延于世。宥過無大，刑故無小；罪疑惟輕，功疑惟重；與其殺不辜，寧失不經；好生之德，洽于民心，茲用不犯于有司。」
帝曰：「俾予從欲以治，四方風動，惟乃之休。」
帝曰：「來，禹！降水儆予，成允成功，惟汝賢。克勤于邦，克儉于家，不自滿假，惟汝賢。汝惟不矜，天下莫與汝爭能。汝惟不伐，天下莫與汝爭功。予懋乃德，嘉乃丕績，天之歷數在汝躬，汝終陟元后。人心惟危，道心惟微，惟精惟一，允執厥中。無稽之言勿聽，弗詢之謀勿庸。可愛非君？可畏非民？眾非元后，何戴？后非眾，罔與守邦？欽哉！慎乃有位，敬修其可願，四海困窮，天祿永終。惟口出好興戎，朕言不再。」
禹曰：「枚卜功臣，惟吉之從。」
帝曰：「禹！官占惟先蔽志，昆命于元龜。朕志先定，詢謀僉同，鬼神其依，龜筮協從，卜不習吉。」禹拜稽首，固辭。
帝曰：「毋！惟汝諧。」
正月朔旦，受命于神宗，率百官若帝之初。
帝曰：「咨，禹！惟時有苗弗率，汝徂征。」
禹乃會群后，誓于師曰：「濟濟有眾，咸聽朕命。蠢茲有苗，昏迷不恭，侮慢自賢，反道敗德，君子在野，小人在位，民棄不保，天降之咎，肆予以爾眾士，奉辭伐罪。爾尚一乃心力，其克有勳。」
三旬，苗民逆命。益贊于禹曰：「惟德動天，無遠弗屆。滿招損，謙受益，時乃天道。帝初于歷山，往于田，日號泣于旻天，于父母，負罪引慝。祗載見瞽瞍，夔夔齋慄，瞽亦允若。至諴感神，矧茲有苗。」
禹拜昌言曰：「俞！」班師振旅。帝乃誕敷文德，舞干羽于兩階，七旬有苗格。

皐陶謨

曰若稽古皋陶，曰：「允迪（由）厥德，謨明弼諧。」禹曰：「俞，如何？」皋陶曰：「都！慎厥身，修思永。惇敘九族，庶明勵翼，邇可遠在兹。」禹拜昌言曰：「俞。」

皋陶曰：「都！在知人，在安民。」禹曰：「吁！咸若時，惟帝其難（戁）之。知人則哲，能官人；安民則惠，黎民懷之。能哲而惠，何憂乎驩兜？何遷乎有苗？何畏乎巧言令色孔壬？」

皋陶曰：「都！亦行有九德，亦言其人有德，乃言曰：載采采。」禹曰：「何？」皋陶曰：「寬而栗，柔而立，愿而恭，亂而敬，擾而毅，直而溫，簡而廉，剛而塞（㥶），彊而義。彰厥有常，吉哉。日宣三德，夙夜浚（俊）明有家。日嚴祗敬六德，亮采有邦。翕受敷施九德，咸事（使）俊乂在官，百僚、師師、百工。惟時撫于五辰，庶績其凝。無教逸欲有邦，兢兢業業，一日二日萬幾。無曠庶官，天工（功）人其代（飭）之。天敘有典，勑我五典五惇哉。天秩有禮，自我五禮五庸（用）哉。同寅協恭和衷哉。天命有德，五服五章哉；天討有罪，五刑五用哉。政事懋哉懋哉。天聰明，自我民聰明；天明畏（威），自我民明威。達于上下，敬哉有土！」

皋陶曰：「朕言惠可厎行？」禹曰：「俞，乃言厎可績。」皋陶曰：「予未有知，思曰贊贊襄哉。」

帝曰：「來，禹。汝亦昌言。」禹拜曰：「都，帝。予何言？予思日孜孜。」皋陶曰：「吁！如何？」禹曰：「洪水滔天，浩浩懷山襄陵；下民昏墊。予乘四載，隨（墮）山刊木，暨益奏庶鮮食。予決九川，距四海，浚畎澮，距川。暨稷播奏庶艱食，鮮食，懋（貿）遷有無化（貨）居。烝民乃粒（立），萬邦作乂。」皋陶曰：「俞，師汝昌言。」禹曰：「都，帝。慎乃在位。」帝曰：「俞。」禹曰：「安汝止，惟幾惟康，其弼直（德），惟動丕應。徯志以昭（紹）受上帝，天其申命用休。」

帝曰：「吁！臣哉，鄰哉！鄰哉，臣哉！」禹曰：「俞。」帝曰：「臣作朕股肱耳目，予欲左右有民，汝翼。予欲宣力四方，汝爲。予欲觀古人之象，日、月、星辰；山、龍、華蟲、作會宗彝、藻、火；粉米、黼、黻、絺、繡，以五采（彩）彰施于五色作服，汝明。予欲聞六律、五聲、八音、在〈七〉治（始），忽以出納（入）五言，汝聽。予違，汝弼。汝無面從，退有後言。欽四鄰。庶頑讒說，若不在時，侯以明之，撻以記（誋）之；書用識哉，欲並生（省）哉。工以納言，時而揚之。格則承之庸（用）之，否（丕）則威之。」

禹曰：「俞哉，帝！光（廣）天之下，至于海隅蒼生，萬邦黎獻，共惟帝臣。惟帝時舉，敷納以言，明庶以功，車服以庸（用）。誰敢不讓，敢不敬應？帝不時，敷同日奏罔功。無若丹朱敖，惟慢遊是好，敖虐是作，罔晝夜頟（詻）頟（詻），罔水行舟，朋（風）淫于家，用殄厥世，予創若時。娶于塗山，辛壬癸甲，啟呱呱而泣，予弗子，惟荒度土功。弼成五服，至于五千；州十有二師，外薄四海，咸建五長。各迪（由）有功，苗頑弗即工。帝其念哉。」帝曰：「迪（由）朕德，時乃功惟敘。皋陶方（旁）祗厥敘，方（旁）施象刑惟明。

夔曰：「戛擊鳴球，搏拊琴瑟以詠，祖考來格，虞（迓）賓在位，羣后德讓。下管鼗鼓，合止柷敔，笙鏞以間；鳥獸蹌蹌。《簫韶》九成，鳳皇來儀。」夔曰：「於！予擊石拊石，百獸率舞，庶尹允諧。」

帝庸作歌，曰：「勑天之命，惟時惟幾。」乃歌曰：「股肱喜哉，元首起哉，百工熙哉。」皋陶拜手稽首，颺言曰：「念哉！率作興事，慎乃憲，欽哉！屢省乃成，欽哉！」乃賡載歌曰：「元首明哉，股肱良哉，庶事康哉！」又歌曰：「元首叢脞哉，股肱惰哉，萬事墮哉！」帝拜曰：「俞，往欽哉！」

益稷

帝曰：「來，禹！汝亦昌言。」禹拜曰：「都！帝，予何言？予思日孜孜。」皋陶曰：「吁！如何？」禹曰：「洪水滔天，浩浩懷山襄陵，下民昏墊。予乘四載，隨山刊木，暨益奏庶鮮食。予決九川，距四海，濬畎澮距川；暨稷播，奏庶艱食鮮食。懋遷有無，化居。烝民乃粒，萬邦作乂。」皋陶曰：「俞！師汝昌言。」

禹曰：「都！帝，慎乃在位。」帝曰：「俞！禹曰：「安汝止，惟幾惟康。其弼直，惟動丕應。徯志以昭受上帝，天其申命用休。」

帝曰：「吁！臣哉鄰哉！鄰哉臣哉！」禹曰：「俞！」

帝曰：「臣作朕股肱耳目。予欲左右有民，汝翼。予欲宣力四方，汝為。予欲觀古人之象，日、月、星辰、山、龍、華蟲作會；宗彝、藻、火、粉米、黼、黻，絺繡，以五采彰施于五色，作服，汝明。予欲聞六律五聲八音，在治忽，以出納五言，汝聽。予違，汝弼，汝無面從，退有後言。欽四鄰！庶頑讒說，若不在時，侯以明之，撻以記之，書用識哉，欲並生哉！工以納言，時而颺之，格則承之庸之，否則威之。」

禹曰：「俞哉！帝光天之下，至于海隅蒼生，萬邦黎獻，共惟帝臣，惟帝時舉。敷納以言，明庶以功，車服以庸。誰敢不讓，敢不敬應？帝不時敷，同，日奏，罔功。」

帝曰：「無若丹朱傲，惟慢遊是好，傲虐是作。罔晝夜頟頟，罔水行舟。朋淫于家，用殄厥世。予創若時，娶于塗山，辛壬癸甲。啟呱呱而泣，予弗子，惟荒度土功。弼成五服，至于五千。州十有二師，外薄四海，咸建五長，各迪有功，苗頑弗即工，帝其念哉！」帝曰：「迪朕德，時乃功，惟敘。」皋陶方祗厥敘，方施象刑，惟明。

夔曰：「戛擊鳴球、搏拊、琴、瑟、以詠。」祖考來格，虞賓在位，群后德讓。下管鼗鼓，合止柷敔，笙鏞以閒。鳥獸蹌蹌；《簫韶》九成，鳳皇來儀。夔曰：「於！予擊石拊石，百獸率舞，庶尹允諧。」

帝庸作歌，曰：「勑天之命，惟時惟幾。」乃歌曰：「股肱喜哉！元首起哉！百工熙哉！」皋陶拜手稽首颺言曰：「念哉！率作興事，慎乃憲，欽哉！屢省乃成，欽哉！」乃賡載歌曰：「元首明哉，股肱良哉，庶事康哉！」又歌曰：「元首叢脞哉，股肱惰哉，萬事墮哉！」帝拜曰：「俞，往欽哉！」

夏書 · 禹貢

禹敷土，隨（墮）山刊〔另作：栞〕木，奠〔另作：定〕高山大川。

冀州

冀州：既載壺口，治梁及岐。既修太原，至于岳陽。覃懷厎績，至于衡（橫）漳〔另作：章〕。

厥土{惟}白壤，{厥}賦{惟}上上錯，{厥}田{惟}中中。

{黑}恒衛既從，大陸既作。鳥〔另作：島〕夷皮服。夾右碣石入于河〔另作：海〕。

兖州

濟〔另作：泲〕、河惟兖州：九河既道（導），雷夏既澤，灉〔另作：雍〕、沮會同。桑土既蠶，是降丘宅土。

厥土黑墳。{厥}草{惟}繇，{厥}木{惟}條。厥田惟中下，厥賦貞。作十有三載〔另作：年〕，乃同。

厥貢漆絲，厥篚〔另作：棐〕織文。

浮于濟〔另作：泲〕、漯，達于河。

青州

海、岱惟青州：嵎夷既略，濰、淄其〔另作：既〕道（導）。

厥土白墳，海濱〔另作：瀕〕廣斥〔另作：潟〕。{厥}田{惟}上下，{厥}賦中上。

厥貢鹽、絺，海物惟錯，岱畎絲、枲、鉛、松、怪石。萊夷作牧。厥篚檿〔另作：酓〕絲。

浮于汶，達于濟〔另作：泲〕。

徐州

海、岱及惟徐州：淮、沂其乂，蒙、羽其藝〔另作：蓺〕。大野〔另作：壄〕既豬〔另作：都、瀦〕，東原厎平。

厥土赤埴墳。草木漸〔另作：蔪〕包。厥〔另作：其〕田{惟}上中，{厥}賦中中。

{厥}貢{ 惟〔另作：維〕 }土五色，羽畎夏（華）翟，嶧陽孤桐，泗濱浮磬，淮夷蠙〔另作：玭〕珠暨〔另作：臮〕魚；厥篚玄纖縞。

浮于淮、泗，達于菏〔另作：河〕。

楊州

淮、海惟楊〔另作：揚〕州：彭蠡既豬，陽鳥攸居；三江既入，震〔另作：振〕澤厎定。篠簜既敷。{厥}草{惟}夭，{厥}木{惟}喬。厥土惟塗泥。厥田惟下下，厥賦下{上、}上錯。

厥貢惟金三品，瑤、琨〔另作：瑻〕、篠簜，齒、革、羽、毛{惟木}。島〔另作：鳥〕夷卉（草）服。厥篚織貝；厥包橘、柚，錫貢。

沿于〔另作：均〕江、海，達于〔另作：通〕淮、泗。

荊州

荊及衡陽惟荊州：江、漢朝宗于海，九江孔殷〔另作：甚中〕；沱、潛既道（導），雲土夢〔另作：夢土〕作乂。

厥土惟塗泥。厥田惟下中，厥賦上下。

厥貢羽、毛〔另作：旄〕、齒、革，惟金三品，杶、榦、栝、柏，礪、砥、砮、丹，惟箘、簵、楛，三邦厎貢厥名。包匭菁茅；厥篚玄、纁、璣組；九江納（入）錫（賜）大龜。

浮于江、沱、潛、漢，逾于洛〔另作：雒〕，至于南河。

豫州

荊、河惟豫州：伊、洛〔另作：雒〕、瀍、澗既入于河，滎波〔另作：播、潘〕既豬，導菏澤，被（陂）孟〔另作：明〕豬。

厥土惟壤，下土墳壚。厥田惟中上，厥賦錯上中。

厥貢漆、枲〔另作：絲〕、絺、紵，厥篚纖、纊，錫貢磬、錯。

浮于洛〔另作：雒〕，達于河。

梁州

華陽、黑水惟梁州：岷〔另作：汶〕、嶓既藝，沱、潛〔另作：涔、灊〕既道（導），蔡蒙旅平，和夷厎績。

厥土青黎〔另作：驪〕，{厥}田{惟}下上，{厥}賦下中三錯。

厥貢璆、鐵、銀、鏤、砮、磬、熊、羆、狐、貍、織皮，西傾因桓是來。

浮于潛，逾〔另作：踰〕于沔，入于渭，亂于河。

雍州

黑水、西河惟雍州：弱水既西，涇屬渭汭，漆、沮既從，灃水攸同。荊、岐既旅，終南、惇〔另作：敦〕物，至于鳥鼠；原隰厎績，至于豬野；三危既宅，三苗丕敘。

厥土惟黃壤，厥田惟上上，厥賦中下。

厥貢惟球〔另作：璆〕、琳，琅玕。

浮于積石，至于龍門西河，會于渭汭。

織皮：崐崘、析支、渠搜，西戎即敘。

導山

導岍及岐，至于荊山，逾于河；

壺口、雷首，至于太岳〔另作：嶽〕；

厎〔另作：砥〕柱、析城，至于王屋；

太行、恒山，至于碣石，入于海；

西傾、朱圉〔另作：圄〕、鳥鼠，至于太華；

熊耳、外方、桐柏，至于陪〔另作：負、倍〕尾。

導嶓冢，至于荊山；內方，至于大別；

岷〔另作：汶、㟭〕山之陽，至于衡山，過九江，至于敷淺原。

導水

導弱水，至于合黎〔另作：藜〕，餘波入于流沙。

導黑水，至于三危，入于南海。

導河積石，至于龍門，南至于華陰，東至于厎柱，又東至于孟津，東過洛汭，至于大伾〔另作：邳、岯、𠃂〕；北過降水，至于大陸，{又}北播爲九河，同爲逆河，入于海。

嶓冢導漾〔另作：瀁〕，東流爲漢，又東爲滄〔另作：蒼〕浪之水，過三澨，至〔另作：入〕于大別，南入于江；東匯澤爲彭蠡，東爲北江，入于海。

岷山導江，東別爲沱，又東至于澧〔另作：醴〕，過九江，至于東陵，東迤北會于匯，東爲中江，入于海。

導沇水，東流爲濟〔另作：泲〕，入于河，溢〔另作：泆、軼〕爲滎，東出{于}陶丘北，又東至于菏〔另作：荷〕，又東北會于汶，又北東〔另作：東北〕入于海。

導淮自桐柏，東會于泗、沂，東入于海。

導渭自鳥鼠同穴，東會于灃〔另作：酆〕，又東〔另作：東北〕會〔另作：至〕于涇，{又}東過漆沮，入于河。

導洛自熊耳，東北會于澗、瀍，又東會于伊，又東北入于河。

治績

九州攸同，四隩〔另作：奧、墺〕既宅；九山刊〔另作：栞〕旅，九川滌源〔另作：原〕，九澤既陂。四海會同，六府孔修。庶土交正（征），厎慎財賦，咸則三壤成賦。中邦錫（賜）土姓，祗台（以）德先，不距朕行。

五服

五百里甸服：百里賦納〔另作：內〕總，二百里納銍，三百里納秸〔另作：戛〕服，四百里粟，五百里米。

五百里侯服：百里采，二百里男邦〔另作：任國〕，三百里諸侯。

五百里綏服：三百里揆文教，二百里奮武衛。

五百里要服：三百里夷，二百里蔡。

五百里荒服：三百里蠻，二百里流。

結語

東漸于海，西被于流沙，朔、南暨聲教，訖于四海。禹賜玄圭，告厥成功。

甘誓

大戰于甘，乃召六卿。

王曰：「嗟！六事之人，予誓告汝。有扈氏威〈烕—蔑〉侮五行，怠弃三正，天用剿絕其命。今予惟恭行天之罰。左不攻于左，汝不恭命；右不攻于右，汝不恭命；御非其馬之正，汝不恭命。用命，賞于祖；弗用命，戮于社，予則孥戮汝。」

五子之歌

太康失邦，昆弟五人須于洛汭。作《五子之歌》。

太康尸位以逸豫滅厥德，黎民咸貳。乃盤遊無度，畋于有洛之表，十旬弗反。「有窮后羿」，因民弗忍，距于河。厥弟五人，御其母以從，徯于洛之汭。五子咸怨，述大禹之戒以作歌。

其一曰：「皇祖有訓。民可近，不可下。民惟邦本，本固邦寧。予視天下。愚夫愚婦，一能勝予。一人三失，怨豈在明？不見是圖。予臨兆民，懍乎若朽索之馭六馬。為人上者，柰何不敬！」

其二曰：「訓有之，內作色荒。外作禽荒。甘酒嗜音，峻宇彫牆；有一于此，未或不亡。」

其三曰：「惟彼陶唐，有此冀方。今失厥道，亂其紀綱，乃厎滅亡。」

其四曰：「明明我祖，萬邦之君。有典有則，貽厥子孫。關石和鈞，王府則有。荒墜厥緒，覆宗絕祀。」

其五曰：「嗚呼曷歸！予懷之悲。萬姓仇予，予將疇依？鬱陶乎予心，顏厚有忸怩。弗慎厥德，雖悔可追。」

胤征

羲和湎淫，廢時亂日，胤往征之。作《胤征》。

惟仲康肇位四海，胤侯命掌六師，羲和廢厥職，酒荒于厥邑，胤后承王命徂征。告于眾曰：嗟予有眾！「聖有謨訓。明徵定保。」先王克謹天戒，臣人克有常憲，百官修輔厥后，惟明明。每歲孟春，「遒人以木鐸徇于路，官師相規，工執藝事以諫。」其或不恭，邦有常刑，惟時羲和，顛覆厥德，沈亂于酒。畔（宮）〔官〕離次，俶擾天紀，遐棄厥司。乃季秋月朔，「辰弗集于房，瞽奏鼓，嗇夫馳，庶人走。」羲和尸厥官，罔聞知，昏迷于天象，以干先王之誅。政典曰：「先時者殺無赦，不及時者殺無赦。」今予以爾有眾，奉將天罰。爾眾士同力王室，尚弼予，欽承天子威命。火炎崑岡，玉石俱焚。天吏逸德，烈于猛火。殲厥渠魁，脅從罔治，舊染汙俗，咸與惟新。嗚呼！「威克厥愛，允濟。」愛克厥威，允罔功。其爾眾士，懋戒哉！

自契至于成湯八遷，湯始居亳，從先王居。作《帝告》《釐沃》。

湯征諸侯，葛伯不祀，湯始征之。作《湯征》。

伊尹去亳適夏，既醜有夏，復歸于亳。入自北門，乃遇汝鳩汝方。作《汝鳩》《汝方》。

商書 · 湯誓

王曰：「格爾眾庶，悉聽朕言。非台（以）小子，敢行稱亂；有夏多罪，天命殛之。今爾有眾，汝曰：『我后不恤我眾，舍我穡事而割正〈夏〉{夏}。』予惟聞汝眾言；夏氏有罪，予畏上帝，不敢不正（征）。今汝其曰：『夏罪其如台（何）？』夏王率遏眾力，率割夏邑，有眾率怠弗協。曰：『時日曷喪？予及汝皆亡！』夏德若兹，今朕必往。爾尚輔予一人，致天之罰，予其大賚汝。爾無不信，朕不食言。爾不從誓言，予則孥戮汝，罔有攸赦。」

仲虺之誥

成湯放桀于南巢，惟有慚德，曰：「予恐來世以台為口實。」仲虺乃作誥，曰：「嗚呼！惟天生民有欲，無主乃亂；惟天生聰明時乂，有夏昬德，民墜涂炭，天乃錫王勇智，表正萬邦，纘禹舊服。茲率厥典，奉若天命。

「夏王有罪，矯誣上天，以布命于下；帝用不臧，式商受命，用爽厥師；簡賢附勢，寔繁有徒；肇我邦于有夏，若苗之有莠，若粟之有秕；小大戰戰，罔不懼于非辜，矧予之德言足聽聞；惟王不邇聲色，不殖貨利。德懋懋官，功懋懋賞，用人惟己，改過不吝，克寬克仁，彰信兆民。

「乃葛伯仇餉，初征自葛，東征西夷怨，南征北狄怨；曰：『奚獨後予。』攸徂之民，室家相慶，曰：『徯予后，后來其蘇。』民之戴商，厥惟舊哉，佑賢輔德，顯忠遂良，兼弱攻昧，取亂侮亡，推亡固存，邦乃其昌。德日新，萬邦惟懷；志自滿，九族乃離。

「王懋昭大德，建中于民，以義制事，以禮制心，垂裕後昆。予聞曰：『能自得師者王，謂人莫己若者亡。』好問則裕，自用則小。嗚呼！慎厥終，惟其始；殖有禮，覆昬暴。欽崇天道，永保天命。」

湯誥

偽古文尚書

湯既黜夏命，復歸于亳，作《湯誥》。

王歸自克夏，至于亳，誕告萬方。王曰：「嗟爾萬方有眾，明聽予一人誥！惟皇上帝，降衷于下民。若有恒性，克綏厥猷惟後，夏王滅德作威，以敷虐于爾萬方百姓，爾萬方百姓罹其兇害，弗忍荼毒。并告無辜于上下神只。天道福善禍淫，降災于夏，以彰厥罪；肆臺小子，將天命明威，不敢赦，敢用玄牡，敢昭告于上天神後，請罪有夏。

「聿求元聖，與之戮力，以與爾有眾請命。上天孚佑下民，罪人黜伏，天命弗僭，賁若草木，兆民允殖。俾予一人，輯寧爾邦家，茲朕未知獲戾于上下。栗栗危懼，若將隕于深淵。凡我造邦，無從匪彝，無即慆淫。各守爾典，以承天休。爾有善，朕弗敢蔽，罪當朕躬，弗敢自赦。惟簡在上帝之心。其爾萬方有罪，在予一人。予一人有罪，無以爾萬方。嗚呼！尚克時忱，乃亦有終。」

咎單作《明居》。

真古文尚書

維三月，王自至於東郊。告諸侯群后：「毋不有功於民，勤力乃事。予乃大罰殛女，毋予怨。」曰：「古禹、皋陶久勞於外，其有功乎民，民乃有安。東為江，北為濟，西為河，南為淮，四瀆已修，萬民乃有居。后稷降播，農殖百穀。三公咸有功於民，故后有立。昔蚩尤與其大夫作亂百姓，帝乃弗予，有狀。先王言不可不勉。」曰：「不道，毋之在國，女毋我怨。」

伊訓

惟元祀，十有二月，乙丑，伊尹祠于先王。奉嗣王祗見厥祖。侯甸群後咸在。百官總己以聽冢宰。伊尹乃明言烈祖之成德，以訓于王，曰：「嗚呼！古有夏先后，方懋厥德，罔有天災。山川鬼神，亦莫不寧，暨鳥獸魚鱉咸若。于其子孫弗率，皇天降災，假手于我有命。造攻自鳴條，朕哉自亳。惟我商王，布昭聖武，代虐以寬，兆民允懷。

「今王嗣厥德，罔不在初。立愛惟親，立敬惟長，始于家邦，終于四海。嗚呼！先王肇修人紀，從諫弗咈，先民時若；居上克明，為下克忠；與人不求備，檢身若不及，以至于有萬邦，茲惟艱哉！敷求哲人，俾輔于爾後嗣。制官刑，儆于有位。曰：『敢有恒舞于宮、酣歌于室，時謂巫風；敢有殉于貨色、恒于游畋，時謂淫風；敢有侮聖言、逆忠直、遠耆德、比頑童，時謂亂風。』惟茲三風十愆，卿士有一于身，家必喪；邦君有一于身，國必亡。臣下不匡，其刑墨，具訓于蒙士。

「鳴呼！嗣王祗厥身，念哉！聖謨洋洋，嘉言孔彰。惟上帝不常，作善降之百祥，作不善降之百殃。爾惟德罔小，萬邦惟慶；爾惟不德罔大，墜厥宗。」

太甲上

太甲既立，不明，伊尹放諸桐。三年復歸于亳，思庸，伊尹作《太甲》三篇。

惟嗣王不惠于阿衡，伊尹作書曰：「先王顧諟天之明命，以承上下神祇。社稷宗廟，罔不祗肅。天監厥德，用集大命，撫綏萬方。惟尹躬克左右厥辟，宅師，肆嗣王丕承基緒。惟尹躬先見于西邑夏，自周有終。相亦惟終；其後嗣王罔克有終，相亦罔終，嗣王戒哉！祗爾厥辟，辟不辟，忝厥祖。」

王惟庸罔念聞。伊尹乃言曰：「先王昧爽丕顯，坐以待旦。旁求俊彥，啟迪後人，無越厥命以自覆。慎乃儉德，惟懷永圖。若虞機張，往省括于度則釋。欽厥止，率乃祖攸行，惟朕以懌，萬世有辭。」

王未克變。伊尹曰：「茲乃不義，習與性成。予弗狎于弗順，營于桐宮，密邇先王其訓，無俾世迷。王徂桐宮居憂，克終允德。」

太甲中

惟三祀十有二月朔，伊尹以冕服奉嗣王歸于亳，作書曰：「民非后，罔克胥匡以生；后非民，罔以辟四方。皇天眷佑有商，俾嗣王克終厥德，實萬世無疆之休。」

王拜手稽首曰：「予小子不明于德，自厎不類。欲敗度，縱敗禮，以速戾于厥躬。天作孽，猶可違；自作孽，不可逭。既往背師保之訓，弗克于厥初，尚賴匡救之德，圖惟厥終。」

伊尹拜手稽首曰：「修厥身，允德協于下，惟明后。先王子惠困窮，民服厥命，罔有不悅。並其有邦厥鄰，乃曰：『徯我后，后來無罰。』王懋乃德，視乃厥祖，無時豫怠。奉先思孝，接下思恭。視遠惟明；聽德惟聰。朕承王之休無斁。」

太甲下

伊尹申誥于王曰：「嗚呼！惟天無親，克敬惟親，民罔常懷，懷于有仁；鬼神無常享，享于克誠；天位艱哉！德惟治，否德亂；與治同道，罔不興！與亂同事，罔不亡！終始慎厥與，惟明明後；先王惟時懋敬厥德，克配上帝。今王嗣有令緒，尚監茲哉！若升高必自下，若陟遐必自邇；無輕民事惟難，無安厥位惟危，慎終于始。有言逆于汝心，必求諸道；有言遜于汝志，必求諸非道。嗚呼！弗慮胡獲，弗為胡成，一人元良，萬邦以貞，君罔以辯言亂舊政，臣罔以寵利居成功。邦其永孚于休！」

咸有一德

伊尹作《咸有一德》。

伊尹既復政厥辟，將告歸，乃陳戒于德。曰：「嗚呼！天難諶，命靡常。常厥德，保厥位。厥德匪常，九有以亡。夏王弗克庸德，慢神虐民。皇天弗保，監于萬方，啟迪有命，眷求一德，俾作神主。惟尹躬暨湯，咸有一德，克享天心，受天明命，以有九有之師，爰革夏正。非天私我有商，惟天祐于一德；非商求于下民，惟民歸于一德。德惟一，動罔不吉；德二三，動罔不凶。惟吉凶不僭在人，惟天降災祥在德。今嗣王新服厥命，惟新厥德。終始惟一，時乃日新。任官惟賢材，左右惟其人。臣為上為德，為下為民。其難其慎，惟和惟一。德無常師，主善為師。善無常主，協于克一。俾萬姓咸曰：『大哉王言。』又曰：『一哉王心』。克綏先王之祿，永厎烝民之生。嗚呼！七世之廟，可以觀德。萬夫之長，可以觀政。后非民罔使；民非后罔事。無自廣以狹人，匹夫匹婦，不獲自盡，民主罔與成厥功。」

沃丁既葬伊尹于亳，咎單遂訓伊尹事，作《沃丁》。

伊陟相大戊，亳有祥桑谷共生于朝。伊陟贊于巫咸，作《咸乂》四篇。

太戊贊于伊陟，作《伊陟》、《原命》。

仲丁遷于囂，作《仲丁》。

河但甲居相，作《河但甲》。

祖乙圯于耿，作《祖乙》。

盤庚上

盤庚遷于殷，民不適有居。率籲眾戚出矢言。曰：「我王來，既爰（易）宅于兹；重我民，無盡劉。不能胥匡以生。卜稽曰：其如台（何）？先王有服，恪謹（勤）天命；兹猶（由）不常寧，不常厥邑，于今五邦。今不承于古，罔知天之斷命，矧曰其克從先王之烈？若顛木之有由蘗，天其永我命于兹新邑，紹復先王之大業，厎綏四方。」

盤庚斆于民，由乃在位，以常舊服，正法度。曰：「無或（有）敢伏小人之攸箴。」王命眾，悉至于庭。王若曰：「格汝眾。予告汝訓：汝猷黜乃心，無傲從（縱）康。古我先王，亦惟圖任舊人共政。王播告之，修（攸）不匿厥指，王用丕欽；罔有逸言，民用丕變。今汝聒聒，起（圮？）信險膚（臚？），予弗知乃所訟。

「非予自荒兹德，惟汝含德，不惕（施）予一人。予若觀火，予亦拙謀，作乃逸。若網在綱，有條而不紊；若農服田力穡，乃亦（弈）有秋。汝克黜乃心，施實德于民，至于婚友；丕乃敢大言，汝有積德。乃不畏戎毒于遠邇；惰農自安，不昏（暋）作勞，不服田畝，越其罔有黍稷。汝不和（宣）吉言于百姓，惟汝自生毒；乃敗禍奸宄，以自災于厥身。乃既先惡于民，乃奉其恫，汝悔身何及！相時憸民，猶胥顧于箴言；其發有逸口，矧予制乃短長之命？汝曷弗告朕，而胥動以浮言，恐沈（抌）于眾？若火之燎于原，不可嚮邇，其猶可撲滅？則惟汝眾自作弗靖，非予有咎。

「遲任有言曰：『人惟求舊；器非求舊，惟新。』古我先王，暨乃祖乃父，胥及逸勤；予敢動用非罰？世選（纂）爾勞，予不掩爾善。兹予大享于先王，爾祖其從與享之。作福作災，予亦不敢動用非德。予告汝于難；若射之有志（識）。汝無老侮成人，無弱孤有幼。各長于厥居，勉出乃力，聽予一人之作猷。無有遠邇，用罪伐厥死，用德彰厥善。邦之臧，惟汝眾；邦之不臧，惟予一人有佚（抶）罰。凡〈同〉爾眾，其惟致告：自今至于後日，各恭爾事，齊乃位，度（𢾖）乃口。罰及爾身，弗可悔。」

盤庚中

盤庚作，惟涉河以民遷，乃話（會）民之弗率，誕告用亶。其有眾咸造，勿褻在王庭。盤庚乃登（徵）進厥民。曰：「明聽朕言，無荒失朕命。嗚呼！古我前后，罔不惟民之承保，后胥戚鮮，以不浮于天時。殷降大虐，先王不懷厥攸作，視民利用遷。汝曷弗念我古后之聞？承汝俾汝，惟喜康共；非汝有咎，比于罰。予若籲懷兹新邑，亦惟汝故，以丕從厥志。

「今予將試以汝遷，安定厥邦。汝不憂朕心之攸困，乃咸大不宣（和）乃心，欽念以忱，動予一人。爾惟自鞠自苦。若乘舟，汝弗濟，臭厥載。爾忱不屬，惟胥以沈。不其或（有）稽，自怒曷瘳？汝不謀長，以思乃災，汝誕勸憂。今其有今罔後，汝何生在上？今予命汝一，無起穢以自臭，恐人倚乃身、迂乃心。予迓續乃命于天，予豈汝威？用奉畜汝眾。予念我先神后之勞爾先，予丕克羞爾，用懷爾然。失于政，陳于兹，高后丕乃崇降罪疾，曰：『曷虐朕民！』汝萬民乃不生生，暨予一人猷同心，先后丕降與汝罪疾，曰：『曷不暨朕幼孫有比！』故有爽德，自上其罰汝，汝罔能迪。

「古我先后，既勞乃祖乃父，汝共作我畜民。汝有戕則（賊）在乃心，我先后綏乃祖乃父；乃祖乃父乃斷棄汝，不救乃死。兹予有亂政同位，具乃貝玉。乃祖先父丕乃告我高后曰：『作丕刑于朕孫。』迪高后丕乃崇降弗祥。嗚呼！今予告汝不易。永敬大恤，無胥絕遠。汝分猷念以相從，各設中于乃心。乃有不吉不迪（由），顛越不恭，暫（漸）遇（偶）姦宄。我乃劓殄滅之，無遺育（胄），無俾易種于兹新邑。往哉生生！今予將試以汝遷，永建乃家。」

盤庚下

盤庚既遷，奠厥攸居。乃正厥位，綏爰有眾。曰：「無戲怠，懋建大命。今予其敷心腹腎腸，歷告爾百姓于朕志。罔罪爾眾；爾無共怒，協比讒言予一人。

古我先王，將多于前功，適于山。用降我凶德，嘉績于朕邦。今我民用蕩析離居，罔有定極。爾謂朕：『曷震動萬民以遷？』肆上帝將復我高祖之德，亂越（乂）我家。朕及篤敬，恭承民命，用永地于新邑。肆予沖人，非廢厥謀，弔（淑）由靈各；非敢違卜，用宏兹賁。

嗚呼！邦伯、師長、百執事之人，尚皆隱（依）哉。予其懋簡相爾，念敬我眾。朕不肩好貨，敢共生生，鞠人、謀人之保居，敘欽。今我既羞告爾于朕志若否，罔有弗欽。無總于貨寶，生生自庸。式敷民德，永肩一心。」

說命上

王宅憂亮，陰三祀。既免喪，其惟弗言。群臣咸諫于王，曰：「嗚呼！知之曰明哲，明哲實作則。天子惟君萬邦，百官承式。」王言惟作命，不言，臣下罔攸稟令。王庸作書以誥曰：「以臺正于四方，惟恐德弗類，茲故弗言。恭默思道，夢帝賚予良弼，其代予言。」

乃審厥象，俾以形旁求于天下。說筑傅巖之野，惟肖。爰立作相，王置諸其左右。命之曰：「朝夕納誨，以輔臺德。若金，用汝作礪；若濟巨川，用汝作舟楫；若歲大旱，用汝作霖雨。啟乃心，沃朕心，若藥弗瞑眩，厥疾弗瘳。若跣弗視地，厥足用傷。惟暨乃僚，罔不同心，以匡乃辟。俾率先王，迪我高后，以康兆民。嗚呼！欽予時命，其惟有終。」說復于王曰：「惟木從繩則正，后從諫則聖。后克聖，臣不命其承，疇敢不祗若王之休命！」

說命中

惟說命總百官，乃進於王，曰：「嗚呼！明王奉若天道，建邦設都，樹后王君公，承以大夫師長。不惟逸豫，惟以亂民。惟天聰明，惟聖時憲，惟臣欽若，惟民從乂；惟口起羞，惟甲胄起戎；惟衣裳在笥，惟干戈省厥躬。王惟戒茲，允茲克明，乃罔不休。

「惟治亂在庶官；官不及私昵，惟其能。爵罔及惡德，惟其賢。慮善以動，動惟厥時。有其善，喪厥善；矜其能，喪厥功。惟事事乃其有備，有備無患。無啟寵納侮，無恥過作非。惟厥攸居，政事惟醇。黷于祭祀，時謂弗欽；禮煩則亂，事神則難。」王曰：「旨哉！說乃言惟服。乃不良于言，予罔聞于行。」說拜稽首，曰：「非知之艱，行之惟艱。王忱不艱，允協于先王成德。惟說不言，有厥咎。」

說命下

王曰：「來！汝說。臺小子舊學于甘盤，既乃遯于荒野，入宅于河。自河徂亳，暨厥終罔顯。爾惟訓于朕志。若作酒醴，爾惟麴糵；若作和羹，爾惟鹽梅。爾交修予，罔予棄，予惟克邁乃訓。」

說曰：「王！人求多聞，時惟建事。學于古訓，乃有獲。事不師古，以克永世，匪說攸聞。惟學遜志，務時敏，厥修乃來。允懷于茲，道積于厥躬。惟教學半，念終始典于學，厥德修罔覺。監于先王成憲，其永無愆。惟說式克欽承，旁招俊乂，列于庶位。」

王曰：「嗚呼！說！四海之內，咸仰朕德，時乃風。股肱惟人，良臣惟聖。昔先正保衡，作我先王，乃曰：『予弗克俾厥後惟堯、舜，其心愧恥，若撻于市。』一夫不獲，則曰：『時予之辜！』佑我烈祖，格于皇天。爾尚明保予，罔俾阿衡，專美有商。為后非賢不乂，惟賢非后不食。其爾克紹乃辟于先王，永綏民！」說拜稽首，曰：「敢對揚天子之休命！」

高宗肜日

高宗肜日，越有雊雉。祖己曰：「惟先格王，正厥事。」乃訓于王曰：「惟天監下民，典厥義。降年有永有不永；非天夭民，民中絕命。民有不若德，不聽罪；天既孚（付）命正厥德，乃曰：『其如台？』嗚呼！王司敬民；罔非天胤，典祀無豐于昵。」

西伯戡黎

西伯既戡黎，祖伊恐，奔告于王。

曰：「天子。天既訖我殷命；格人元龜，罔敢知吉。非先王不相我後人，惟王淫戲用自絕。故天弃我，不有康食，不虞天性，不迪（由）率（律）典。今我民罔弗欲喪，曰：『天曷不降威？大命不摯？』今王其如台？」

王曰：「嗚呼！我生不有命在天？」祖伊反曰：「嗚呼！乃罪多參〈絫〉在上，乃能責命于天！殷之即喪，指（厎）乃功，不無戮于爾邦。」

微子

微子若曰：「父師、少師，殷其弗或（有）亂正四方。我祖厎遂陳于上；我用沈酗于酒，用亂敗厥德于下。殷罔不小大，好草（鈔）竊奸宄，卿士師師非度，凡有辜罪，乃罔恒（縆）獲。小民方（旁）興，相爲敵讎。今殷其淪喪，若涉大水，其無津涯。殷遂喪，越至于今。」

曰：「父師、少師，我其發出狂（往）？吾家耄遜于荒？今爾無指（厎）告，予顛隮，若之何其？」父師若曰：「王子。天毒（篤）降災荒殷邦，方（旁）興沈酗于酒，乃罔畏畏，咈其耇長、舊有位人。今殷民乃攘竊神祇之犧牷牲用，以容將食，無災。降監殷民，用乂讎，斂召敵讎不怠。罪合于一，多瘠罔詔。商今其有災，我興受其敗。商其淪喪，我罔爲臣仆。詔王子出，迪我舊云刻子；王子弗出，我乃顛隮。自靖，人自獻于先王，我不顧行遯。」

周書 · 泰誓上

惟十有三年，春，大會于孟津。王曰：「嗟我友邦冢君，越我御事庶士，明聽誓。惟天地，萬物父母；惟人，萬物之靈。亶聰明，作元后，元后作民父母。今商王受，弗敬上天，降災下民，沈緬冒色，敢行暴虐。罪人以族，官人以世。惟宮室、臺榭、陂池、侈服，以殘害于爾萬姓。焚炙忠良，刳剔孕婦。

「皇天震怒，命我文考，肅將天威，大勛未集。肆予小子發，以爾友邦冢君，觀政于商，惟受罔有悛心，乃夷居，弗事上帝神祗，遺厥先宗廟弗祀。犧牲粢盛，既于兇盜。乃曰：『吾有民有命，罔懲其侮。』天佑下民，作之君、作之師。惟其克相上帝，寵綏四方。有罪無罪，予曷敢有越厥志？同力度德，同德度義，受有臣億萬，惟億萬心。予有臣三千，惟一心。商罪貫盈，天命誅之，予弗順天，厥罪惟鈞。予小子夙夜祗懼，受命文考，類于上帝，宜于冢土，以爾有眾，厎天之罰。天矜于民，民之所欲，天必從之。爾尚弼予一人，永清四海。時哉！弗可失。」

泰誓中

惟戊午，王次于河朔。群后以師畢會。王乃徇師而誓，曰：「嗚呼！西土有眾，咸聽朕言。我聞：吉人為善，惟日不足；兇人為不善，亦惟日不足。今商王受，力行無度，播棄犁老，昵比罪人。淫酗肆虐，臣下化之。朋家作仇，脅權相滅，無辜籲天，穢德彰聞。惟天惠民，惟辟奉天。有夏桀，弗克若天，流毒下國，天乃佑命成湯，降黜夏命。惟受罪浮于桀，剝喪元良，賊虐諫輔，謂己有天命，謂敬不足行，謂祭無益，謂暴無傷，厥監惟不遠，在彼夏王。

「天其以予乂民，朕夢協朕卜，襲于休祥，戎商必克，受有億兆夷人，離心離德，予有亂臣十人，同心同德。雖有周親，不如仁人。天視自我民視，天聽自我民聽。百姓有過，在予一人。今朕必往，我武惟揚，侵于之疆，取彼兇殘，我伐用張，于湯有光。勖哉夫子，罔或無畏，寧執非敵。百姓檁檁，若崩厥角。嗚呼！乃一德一心，立定厥功，惟克永世。」

泰誓下

時厥明，王乃大巡六師，明誓眾士。王曰：「嗚呼！我西土君子，天有顯道，厥類惟彰。今商王受，狎侮五常，荒怠弗敬。自絕于天，結怨于民，斮朝涉之脛，剖賢人之心。作威殺戮毒痡四海。崇信奸回，放黜師保，屏棄典刑，囚奴正士，郊社不修，宗廟不享，作奇技淫巧以悅婦人。上帝弗順，祝降時喪。爾其孜孜，奉予一人，恭行天罰。古人有言曰：『撫我則後，虐我則讎。』獨夫受，洪惟作威，乃汝世讎。樹德務滋，除惡務本，肆予小子，誕以爾眾士，殄殲乃讎。爾眾士其尚迪果毅，以登乃辟。功多有厚賞，不迪有顯戮。嗚呼！惟我文考，若日月之照臨，光于四方，顯于西土。惟我有周，誕受多方。予克受，非予武，惟朕文考無罪。受克予，非朕文考有罪，惟予小子無良。」

牧誓

時甲子昧爽，王朝至于商郊牧野，乃誓。

王左杖黃鉞，右秉白旄以麾，曰：「逖矣西土之人。」

王曰：「嗟！我友邦冢君，御事、司徒、司馬、司空、亞、旅、師氏、千夫長、百夫長及庸、蜀、羌、髳、微、盧〔另作：纑〕、彭、濮人。稱爾戈，比爾干，立爾矛，予其誓。」

王曰：「古人有言（曰）：『牝雞無晨。牝雞之晨，惟家之索。』今商王受，惟婦言是用。昏棄厥肆祀，弗答；昏（泯）弃厥遺王〔另作：任〕父母弟，不迪〔另作：用〕（由）。乃惟四方之多罪逋逃，是崇是長，是信是使，是以爲大夫卿士；俾暴虐于百姓，以姦宄于商邑。今予發，惟恭〔另作：共、龔〕行天之罰。今日之事，不愆于六步、七步，乃止齊焉。夫子勖哉！不愆于四伐、五伐、六伐、七伐，乃止齊焉。勖哉夫子！尚桓桓，如虎、如貔、如熊、如羆〔另作：如虎如羆，如豺如離〕，于商郊；弗御〔另作：迓〕（禦）克奔，以役西土。勖哉夫子！爾所弗勖，其于爾躬有戮。」

武成

惟一月壬辰，旁死魄，越翼日癸巳，王朝步自周，于征伐商。厥四月哉生明，王來自商至于豐。乃偃武修文。歸馬于華山之陽，放牛于桃林之野，示天下弗服。丁未，祀于周廟，邦甸、侯、衛，駿奔走，執豆籩。越三日庚戌，柴望大告武成。既生魄，庶邦冢君，暨百工，受命于周。王若曰：「嗚呼！群后，惟先王建邦啟土。公劉克篤前烈，至于大王，肇基王跡，王季其勤王家。我文考文王，克成厥勛，誕膺天命，以撫方夏。大邦畏其力，小邦懷其德。惟九年，大統未集。予小子其承厥志。厎商之罪，告于皇天后土，所過名山大川。曰：『惟有道曾孫周王發，將有大正于商。』今商王受無道，暴殄天物，害虐烝民，為天下逋逃主，萃淵藪。予小子既獲仁人，敢祇承上帝，以遏亂略。華夏蠻貊，罔不率俾，恭天成命。肆予東征，綏厥士女。惟其士女，篚厥玄黃，昭我周王。天休震動，用附我大邑周。惟爾有神，尚克相予，以濟兆民，無作神羞。」既戊午，師逾孟津，癸亥，陳于商郊，俟天休命。甲子昧爽，受率其旅若林，會于牧野。罔有敵于我師，前徒倒戈，攻于後以北，血流漂杵。一戎衣，天下大定。乃反商政，政由舊。釋箕子囚，封比干墓，式商容閭。散鹿臺之財，發鉅橋之粟。大賚于四海，而萬姓悅服。列爵惟五，分土惟三。建官惟賢，位事惟能。重民五教。惟食喪祭。惇信明義，崇德報功，垂拱而天下治。

洪範

惟〔另作：維〕十有三祀，王訪于箕子。

王乃〔另作：迺〕言曰：「嗚呼〔另作：於乎、烏嘑〕！箕子。惟〔另作：《宋世家》作「維」，篇內同〕天陰騭下民，相協厥居，我不知其彝倫攸〔另作：《五行志》作「逌」，篇內同〕敘〔另作：《宋世家》作「序」，篇內同〕。」

箕子乃言曰：「我聞在昔，鯀陻〔另作：伊〕洪〔另作：《宋世家》作「鴻」，篇內同。〕水，汩〔另作：曰〕陳其五行；帝乃震怒，不〔另作：弗〕畀洪范九疇，彝倫攸斁〔另作：釋〕。鯀則殛死，禹乃嗣興，天乃錫禹洪范九疇，彝倫攸敘。」

「初一曰五行，次二曰敬〔另作：𦟤—羞〕用五事，次三曰農用八政，次四曰協〔另作：旪〕用五紀，次五曰建用皇〔另作：王〕極，次六曰乂〔另作：艾〕用三德，次七曰明用稽〔另作：卟〕疑，次八曰念（驗）用庶徵，次九曰嚮〔另作：饗〕用五福，威〔另作：畏〕用六極。」

「一、五行：一曰水，二曰火，三曰木，四曰金，五曰土。水曰潤下，火曰炎上，木曰曲直，金曰從革，土爰〔另作：曰〕稼穡。潤下作鹹，炎上作苦，曲直作酸，從革作辛，稼穡作甘。」

「二、五事：一曰貌，二曰言，三曰視，四曰聽，五曰思。貌曰恭，言曰從，視曰明，聽曰聰，思曰睿。恭作肅，從作乂〔另作：艾〕，明作晢〔另作：悊〕，聰作謀（敏），睿作聖。」

「三、八政：一曰食，二曰貨，三曰祀，四曰司空，五曰司徒，六曰司寇，七曰賓，八曰師。」

「四、五紀：一曰歲，二曰月，三曰日，四曰星辰，五曰曆〔另作：歷〕數。」

「五、皇極：皇建其有極，斂時五福，用敷錫厥庶民。惟時厥庶民于汝極，錫汝保極。凡厥庶民，無有淫朋；人無有比德，惟皇作極。凡厥庶民，有猷有爲有守，汝則念之。不協于極，不罹〔另作：麗、離〕于咎，皇則受之。而康而色，曰『予攸好德』，汝則錫之福。時人斯其惟皇之極。無虐煢獨〔另作：毋侮鰥寡、無侮鰥寡〕，而畏高明。人之有能有爲，使羞〔另作：循、脩〕其行，而邦其昌。凡厥正人，既富方穀，汝弗能使有好于而家，時人斯其辜。于其無好{德}，汝雖錫之福，其作汝用咎。無偏無頗〔另作：陂〕，遵王之義；無有作好〔另作：𡚽〕，遵王之道；無有作惡，遵王之路。無偏無黨，王道蕩蕩；無黨無偏，王道平平〔另作：便便〕；無反無側，王道正直。會其有極，歸其有極。曰皇〔另作：王〕極之敷言，是彝〔另作：夷〕是訓，于帝其訓。凡厥庶民極之敷言，是訓是行，以近天子之光。曰天子作民父母，以爲天下王。」

「六、三德：一曰正直，二曰剛克，三曰柔克。平康正直，彊弗友剛克，燮〔另作：內〕友柔克；沈潛剛克，高明柔克。惟辟作福，惟辟作威，惟辟玉食，臣無有作福、作威、玉食；臣之有作福、作威、玉食，其害于而家、{而}凶于而國。人用側頗僻〔另作：辟〕，民用僭忒〔另作：慝〕。」

「七、稽疑：擇建立卜筮人，乃命卜筮，曰雨，曰霽〔另作：濟〕，曰圛〔另作：驛、涕、洟〕，曰雺〔另作：蒙、霧、被〕，曰克，曰貞，曰悔。凡七卜，五占用，二衍忒。立時人作卜筮，三人占，則從二人之言。汝則有大疑，謀及乃心，謀及卿士，謀及庶人〔另作：民〕，謀及卜筮。汝則從、龜從、筮從、卿士從、庶民從，是之謂大同；身其康彊，子孫其逢：吉。汝則從、龜從、筮從、卿士逆、庶民逆：吉。卿士從、龜從、筮從、汝則逆、庶民逆：吉。庶民從、龜從、筮從、汝則逆、卿士逆：吉。汝則從、龜從、筮逆、卿士逆、庶民逆：作內，吉；作外，凶。龜筮共違于人：用靜，吉；用作，凶。」

「八、庶徵：曰雨，曰暘〔另作：陽〕，曰燠〔另作：奥〕，曰寒，曰風。曰時五者〔另作：是、氏、韙〕來備，各以其敘，庶草〔另作：屮、卉〕蕃〔另作：緐〕廡（蕪）。一極備凶，一極無凶。曰休徵：曰肅，時雨若；曰乂，時暘若；曰晢，時燠若；曰謀，時寒若；曰聖，時風若。曰咎徵：曰狂，恒雨若；曰僭，恒暘若；曰豫〔另作：荼〕（舒），恒燠若；曰急，恒寒若；曰雺〔另作：蒙、霧、霿、瞀〕，恒風若。曰王省惟歲，卿士惟月，師尹惟日。歲月日時無易，百穀用成，乂用明，俊〔另作：畯〕民用章，家用平康。日月歲時既易，百穀用不成，乂用昏不明，俊民用微，家用不寧。庶民惟星，星有好風，星有好雨。日月之行，則有冬有夏；月之從星，則以風雨。」

「九、五福：一曰壽，二曰富，三曰康寧，四曰攸好德，五曰考終命。六極（殛）：一曰凶短折，二曰疾，三曰憂，四曰貧，五曰惡，六曰弱。」

旅獒

惟克商，遂通道于九夷八蠻。西旅厎貢厥獒。太保乃作《旅獒》，用訓于王。曰：「嗚呼！明王慎德，四夷咸賓。無有遠邇，畢獻方物，惟服食器用。王乃昭德之致于異姓之邦，無替厥服。分寶玉于伯叔之國，時庸展親。人不易物，惟德其物。德盛不狎侮；狎侮君子，罔以盡人心；狎侮小人，罔以盡其力。不役耳目，百度惟貞，玩人喪德，玩物喪志。志以道寧，言以道接。不作無益害有益，功乃成；不貴異物賤用物，民乃足。犬馬非其土性不畜；珍禽奇獸，不育于國。不寶遠物，則遠人格；所寶惟賢，則邇人安。嗚呼！夙夜罔或不勤，不矜細行，終累大德；為山九仞，功虧一簣；允迪茲，生民保厥居，惟乃世王。」

金縢

傳本

既克商二年，王有疾，弗豫。二公曰：「我其爲王穆卜。」周公曰：「未可以戚我先王。」公乃自以爲功（貢），爲三壇同墠。爲壇於南方，北面周公立焉；植（戴）璧秉珪，乃告太王、王季、文王。史乃冊祝曰：「惟爾元孫某，遘厲虐疾；若爾三王，是有丕子之責于天，以旦代某之身。予仁（年）若考，能多材多藝，能事鬼神。乃元孫不若旦多材多藝，不能事鬼神。乃命于帝庭，敷（溥）佑（有）四方，用能定爾子孫于下地，四方之民，罔不祗畏。嗚呼！無墜天之降寶命，我先王亦永有依歸。今我即命于元龜，爾之許我，我其以璧與珪，歸俟爾命；爾不許我，我乃屏璧與珪。」乃卜三龜，一習（襲）吉。啓籥見書，乃并是吉。公曰：「體，王其罔害。予小子新（親）命于三王，惟永終是圖，兹攸俟，能念予一人。」公歸，乃納冊于金縢之匱中。王翌日乃瘳。武王既喪，管叔及其羣弟乃流言於國，曰：「公將不利於孺子。」周公乃告二公曰：「我之弗辟，我無以告我先王。」周公居東二年，則罪人斯得于後。公乃爲詩以貽王，名之曰《鴟鴞》；王亦未敢誚〈逆〉公。

秋大熟，未獲，天大雷電以風，禾盡偃，大木斯拔，邦人大恐。王與大夫盡弁，以啓金縢之書，乃得周公所自以爲功（貢）代武王之說。二公及王乃問諸史與百執事。對曰：「信。噫（抑）公命我勿敢言。」王執書以泣，曰：「其勿穆卜。昔公勤勞王家，惟予沖人弗及知；今天動威，以彰周公之德；惟朕小子其新（親）逆，我國家禮亦宜之。」

王出郊，天乃雨，反風，禾則盡起。二公命邦人，凡大木所偃，盡起而築之，歲則大熟。

清華簡

（武王有疾，周公祝禱）武王既克殷三年，王不豫有遲。二公告周公曰：「我其為王穆卜。」周公曰：「未可以戚吾先王。」周公乃為三壇同墠，為一壇於南方，周公立焉，秉璧戴珪。史乃冊祝告先王曰：「尔元孫發也，遘害虐疾，爾毋乃有備子之責在上。惟尔元孫發也，不若旦也，是佞若巧能，多才多藝，能事鬼神。命于帝廷，溥有四方，以定尔子孫于下地。尔之許我，我則瘗璧與珪。尔不我許，我乃以璧與珪歸。」周公乃納其所為功自以代王之說于金縢之匱，乃命執事人曰：「勿敢言。」

（武王崩，管蔡流言，周公東征）就後武王陟，成王猶幼在位。管叔及其羣兄弟乃流言于邦曰：「公將不利于孺子。」周公乃告二公曰：「我之[弗辟口我]亡以復見於先王。」周公宅東三年，禍人乃斯得。

（周公遺詩，成王不信周公）於後，周公乃遺王詩曰《鴟鴞》，王亦未逆公。

（天現異象，成王悔悟迎周公）是歲也，秋大熟，未刈。天疾風以雷，禾斯偃，大木斯拔。邦人[皆/大恐。王口]弁，大夫綴，以啓金縢之匱。王得周公之所自以為攻，以代武王之說。_ 王問執事人，曰：「信。噫，公命我勿敢言。」 _ 王搏書以泣，曰：『昔公勤勞王家，惟余沖人亦弗及知。今皇天動威，以章公德。_ 惟余沖人其親逆公，我邦家禮亦宜之。_

（成王出郊迎周公，歲大熟）王乃出逆公至郊。是夕，天反風，禾斯起，凡大木之所拔，二公命邦人盡復筑之。_ 歲大有年，秋則大刈。

周武王有疾，周公所自以代王之志（簡十四背）

大誥

王若曰：「猷大誥爾多邦越爾御事。弗弔（淑）！天降割（害）于我家，不少延。洪〈引—矧〉惟我幼沖人，嗣無疆大歷服。弗造哲，迪民康，矧曰其有能格知天命？巳（嘻）！予惟小子，若涉淵水，予惟往求朕攸濟。敷賁，敷前人受命，兹不忘（亡）大功，予不敢閉于天降威。用寧〈文〉王遺我大寶龜，紹天明，即命曰：『有大艱于西土，西土人亦不靜，越兹蠢殷小腆，誕敢紀其敘。天降威，知我國有疵，民不康。曰：予復。反鄙我周邦。今蠢（春）今翼（翌）日，民獻有十夫，予翼（異）以于敉〈—纂〉寧〈文〉武圖功。我有大事，休，朕卜并吉？』肆予告我友邦君越尹氏、庶士、御事，曰：『予得吉卜，以惟以爾庶邦于伐殷逋播臣。』爾庶邦君越庶士、御事，罔不反曰：『艱大，民不靜，亦惟在王宮、邦君室，越予小子考，翼（異？）不可征；王害不違卜？』肆予沖人永思艱。曰：嗚呼！允蠢鰥寡，哀哉！予造（遭）天役，遺大投艱于朕身，越予沖人，不卬自恤。義爾邦君越爾多士、尹氏、御事，綏予曰：『無毖于恤，不可不成乃寧〈文〉考圖功。』巳（嘻）！予惟小子，不敢替〈朁—僭〉上帝命。天休于寧〈文〉王，興我小邦周；寧〈文〉王惟卜用，克綏受兹命。今天其相民，矧亦惟卜用。嗚呼！天明畏（威），弼我丕丕基。」

王曰：「爾惟舊人，爾丕（不）克遠省，爾知寧〈文〉王若勤哉！天閟{毖}［勞］我成功所，予不敢不極卒寧〈文〉王圖事。肆予大化誘我友邦君，天棐（非）忱辭，其考我民，予曷其不于前寧人圖功攸終？天亦惟用勤毖我民，若有疾，予曷敢不于前寧〈文〉人攸受休畢〈異—翼〉？」

王曰：「若昔朕其逝（誓），朕言艱日思：若考作室，既厎法，厥子乃弗肯堂，矧肯構？厥父菑，厥子乃弗肯播，矧肯獲？厥考翼（異）其肯曰：『予有後，弗弃基？』肆予曷敢不越卬敉〈—纂〉寧〈文〉王大命？若兄（皇）考，乃有友伐厥子，民養（佯？）其勸弗救？」

王曰：「嗚呼！肆哉，爾庶邦君越爾御事，爽（相）邦由哲，亦惟十人，迪知上帝命越天棐（非）忱。爾時罔敢易法（廢），矧今天降戾于周邦？惟大艱人，誕鄰胥伐于厥室；爾亦不知天命不易。予永念曰：天惟喪殷；若穡夫，予曷敢不終朕畝？天亦惟休于前寧〈文〉人，予曷其極卜？敢弗于從，率寧〈文〉人有指疆土？矧今卜并吉？肆朕誕以爾東征；天命不僭，卜陳惟若兹。」

微子之命

王若曰：「猷！殷王元子！惟稽古，崇德象賢。統承先王，修其禮物。作賓于王家，與國咸休，永世無窮。嗚呼！乃祖成湯，克齊聖廣淵；皇天眷佑，誕受厥命；撫民以寬，除其邪虐；功加于時，德垂後裔；爾惟踐修厥猷，舊有令聞；恪慎克孝，肅恭神人，予嘉乃德。曰：『篤！不忘。』上帝時歆，下民祗協，庸建爾于上公，尹茲東夏；欽哉！往敷乃訓，慎乃服命，率由典常，以蕃王室。弘乃烈祖，律乃有民，永綏厥位，毗予一人；世世享德，萬邦作式；俾我有周無斁。嗚呼！往哉惟休，無替朕命。」

康誥

惟三月哉生魄，周公初基作新大邑于東國洛，四方民大和會，侯、甸、男、邦、采、衛、百工、播民，和見士（事）于周。周公咸勤（覲），乃洪大誥治。

王若曰：「孟侯，朕其弟，小子封。惟乃丕顯考文王，克明德慎罰，不敢侮鰥寡，庸（用）庸（用）、祗祗、威威、顯民，用肇造我區夏，越我一二邦，以修（調）我西土。惟時怙，冒聞于上帝，帝休。天乃大命文王，殪戎殷，誕受厥命越厥邦厥民。惟時敘，乃寡兄勖，肆汝小子封，在兹東土。」

王曰：「嗚呼！封。汝念哉！今民將在祗遹乃文考，紹聞衣（殷）德言，往敷求于殷先哲王，用保乂民。汝丕遠惟商耇成人，宅（度）心知訓。別（徧）求聞由古先哲王，用康保民，弘于天，若德裕乃身，不廢在王命。」

王曰：「嗚呼！小子封。恫（痛）瘝乃身，敬哉！天畏（威）棐（非）忱，民情大可見。小人難保，往盡乃心，無康好逸豫，乃其乂民。我聞曰：『怨不在大，亦不在小；惠不惠，懋不懋。』巳（嘻）！汝惟小子，乃服惟弘。王應（膺）保殷民，亦惟助王宅天命，作新民。」

王曰：「嗚呼！封。敬明乃罰。人有小罪，非眚（省），乃惟終自作不典，式爾有厥罪小，乃不可不殺。乃有大罪，非終，乃惟眚（省）災，適爾既道（迪）極（殛）厥辜，時乃不可殺。」

王曰：「嗚呼！封。有敘時，乃大明服，惟民其勑，懋和。若有疾，惟民其畢（祓）棄咎。若保赤子，惟民其康乂。非汝封刑人殺人，無或（有）刑人殺人；非汝封又（有）曰劓刵〈刖〉人，無或（有）劓刵〈刖〉人。」

王曰：「外事，汝陳時臬，司師兹殷罰有倫。」又曰：「要囚，服念五六日，至于旬時，丕蔽要囚。」

王曰：「汝陳時臬事，罰蔽殷彝，用其義（宜）刑義（宜）殺，勿庸（用）以次（即）汝封。乃汝盡遜（順），曰時敘，惟曰未有遜（順）事。巳（嘻）！汝惟小子，未其有若汝封之心；朕心朕德惟乃知。凡民自得罪，寇攘姦宄，殺越人于貨，暋不畏死，［凡民］罔弗憝。」

王曰：「封。元惡大憝，矧惟不孝不友。子弗祗服厥父事，大傷厥考心；于父不能字厥子，乃疾厥子。于弟弗念天顯，乃弗克恭厥兄；兄亦不念鞠子哀，大不友于弟。惟弔（淑）兹，不于我政（正）人得罪，天惟與我民彝大泯亂，曰乃其速由文王作罰，刑兹無赦。不率大戛，矧惟外庶子訓人，惟厥正人越小臣、諸節，乃別（徧）播敷，造民大譽，弗念弗庸（用），瘝厥君，時乃引惡，惟朕憝。巳（嘻）！汝乃其速由兹義（宜）率殺。亦惟君惟長，不能厥家人越厥小臣、外正，惟威惟虐，大放王命，乃非德用乂。汝亦罔不克敬典，乃由。裕（欲）民惟文王之敬忌，乃裕（欲）民曰：『我惟有及。』則予一人以懌。」

王曰：「封！爽惟民，迪吉康。我時其惟殷先哲王德，用康乂民，作求（仇/逑）。矧今民罔迪（由）、不適，不迪則罔政（正）在厥邦。」

王曰：「封！予惟不可不監，告汝德之說于罰之行。今惟民不靜，未戾厥心，迪屢未同。爽惟天其罰殛我，我其不怨。惟厥罪無在大，亦無在多，矧曰其尚（上）顯聞于天。」

王曰：「嗚呼！封，敬哉！無作怨，勿用非謀非彝蔽（敝）時忱。丕則敏德，用康乃心，顧乃德，遠乃猷，裕（欲）乃以民寧，不汝瑕殄。」

王曰：「嗚呼！肆汝小子封。惟命不于常；汝念哉，無我殄享，明乃服命，高乃聽，用康乂民。」

王若曰：「往哉，封！勿替敬，典聽朕誥，汝乃以殷民世享。」

酒誥

王若曰：「明大于妹（沬）邦。乃穆考文王，肇國在西土，厥誥毖庶邦庶士，越少正、御事，朝夕曰：『祀兹酒。』惟天降命，肇我民惟元祀。天降威，我民用大亂喪德，亦罔非酒惟行；越小大邦用喪，亦罔非酒惟辜。

「文王誥教小子：有正、有事，無彝酒；越庶國，飲惟祀，德將無醉。惟曰我民迪（由），小子惟土物愛；厥心臧，聰聽祖考之彝訓越小大德，小子惟一。

「妹（沬）土嗣（司？）爾股肱，純其藝黍稷，奔走事厥考厥長。肇牽車牛，遠服賈用，孝養厥父母；厥父母慶，自洗腆，致用酒。

「庶士、有正，越庶伯、君子，其爾典聽朕教：爾大克羞耇惟君，爾乃飲食醉飽。丕惟曰：爾克永觀省，作稽中德，爾尚克羞饋祀，爾乃自介（匄）用逸。兹乃允惟王正事之臣；兹亦惟天若元德，永不忘（亡）在王家。」

王曰：「封！我西土棐（非）徂，邦君、御事、小子，尚克用文王教，不腆于酒。故我至于今，克受殷之命。」

王曰：「封。我聞惟曰：『在昔殷先哲王，迪畏天顯小民，經德秉哲。自成湯咸至于帝乙，成王畏。相惟御事，厥棐有恭，不敢自暇自逸，矧曰其敢崇飲？越在外服，侯、甸、男、衛、邦伯；越在內服，百僚、庶尹、惟亞、惟服、宗工，越百姓里居〈君〉，罔敢湎于酒，不惟不敢，亦不暇。惟助成王德顯，越尹人祗辟。』

「我聞亦惟曰：『在今後嗣王酣身，厥命罔顯于民祗，保越怨，不易。誕惟厥縱淫泆于非彝，用燕喪威儀，民罔不衋傷心。惟荒腆于酒，不惟自息，乃逸。厥心疾很，不克畏死；辜在商邑，越殷國滅無罹。弗惟德馨香，祀登聞于天；誕惟民怨，庶羣自酒，腥聞在上。故天降喪于殷，罔愛于殷，惟逸。天非虐，惟民自速辜。』」

王曰：「封。予不惟若兹多誥。古人有言曰：『人無於水監，當於民監。』今惟殷墜厥命，我其可不大監撫于時？予惟曰：『汝劼毖殷獻臣，侯、甸、男、衛；矧太史友、內史友，越獻臣百宗工；矧惟爾事：服休、服采；矧惟若疇：圻父薄違，農父若保，宏父定辟，矧汝剛制于酒。』厥或（又）誥曰：『羣飲，汝勿佚，盡執拘以歸于周，予其殺。又惟殷之迪諸臣惟工，乃湎于酒，勿庸（用）殺之，姑惟教之。有斯明享（嚮），乃不用我教辭（治），惟我一人弗恤，弗蠲乃事，時同于殺。』」

王曰：「封。汝典聽朕毖，勿辯（弁）〈史—使〉乃司民湎于酒。」

梓材

王曰：封！以厥庶民暨厥臣達大家，以厥臣達王，惟邦君。汝若恒越曰：我有師師：司徒、司馬、司空、尹、旅，曰：予罔厲殺人。亦厥君先敬勞，肆徂厥敬勞。肆往，姦宄、殺人、歷人宥；肆亦見厥君事，戕敗人宥。王啟〈肇〉監厥亂，爲（化）民。曰：無胥戕，無胥虐，至于敬（矜—鰥）寡，至于屬婦，合由以容。王其效邦君越御事，厥命曷以？引養引恬。自古王若兹監，罔攸辟。

惟曰：若稽田，既勤敷菑，惟其陳（甸）修，爲厥疆畎。若作室家，既勤垣墉，惟其斁（塗）墍茨。若作梓材，既勤樸〈剗〉斲，惟其斁（塗）丹雘。

今王惟曰：先王既勤用明德，懷爲夾，庶邦享作，兄弟方來。亦既用明德，后式典集，庶邦丕享。皇天既付中國民，越厥疆土于先王，肆王惟德用，和懌先後迷民，用懌（繹）先王受命。巳（嘻）！若兹監。惟曰：欲至于萬年，惟王子子孫孫永保民。

召誥

惟二月既望，越六日乙未，王朝步自周，則（昃）至于豐。

惟太保先周公相宅。越若來三月，惟丙午朏，越三日戊申，太保朝至于洛，卜宅。厥既得卜，則經營。越三日庚戌，太保乃以庶殷攻位于洛汭，越五日甲寅，位成。

若翌日乙卯，周公朝至于洛，則達觀于新邑營。越三日丁巳，用牲于郊，牛二。越翌日戊午，乃社于新邑，牛一、羊一、豕一。越七日甲子，周公乃朝用書命庶殷：侯、甸、男邦伯。厥既命殷庶，庶殷丕作。

太保乃以庶邦冢君出取幣，乃復入錫周公。［周公］曰：「拜手稽首，旅王若公。誥告庶殷，越自乃御事。嗚呼！皇天上帝，改厥元子兹大國殷之命。惟王受命，無疆惟休，亦無疆惟恤。嗚呼！曷其奈何弗敬！天既遐終大邦殷之命，兹殷多先哲王在天，越厥後王後民，兹服厥命厥終，智藏瘝在。夫知保抱攜持厥婦子，以哀籲天：『徂，厥亡（無）出執。』嗚呼！天亦哀于四方民，其眷命用懋，王其疾敬德。相古先民有夏，天迪（由）從子保，面稽天若，今時既墜厥命。今相有殷，天迪（由）格保，面稽天若，今時既墜厥命。今沖子嗣，則無遺壽耇；曰：其稽我古人之德，矧曰其有能稽謀自天。嗚呼！有王雖小，元子哉！其丕能諴于小民，今休。王不敢後，用顧畏于民碞。王來紹（詔）上帝，自服于土中。旦曰：『其作大邑，其自時配皇天；毖祀于上下，其自時中乂。王厥有成命，治民，今休。』王先服殷御事，比介于我有周御事。節性，惟日其邁。王敬作所，不可不敬德。

「我不可不監于有夏，亦不可不監于有殷。我不敢知曰，有夏服天命，惟有歷年；我不敢知曰，不其延，惟不敬厥德，乃早墜厥命。我不敢知曰，有殷受天命，惟有歷年；我不敢知曰，不其延，惟不敬厥德，乃早墜厥命。今王嗣受厥命，我亦惟兹二國命，嗣若功。王乃初服。嗚呼！若生子，罔不在厥初生，自貽哲命。今天其命哲，命吉凶，命歷年。知今我初服，宅新邑，肆惟王其疾敬德。王其德之，用祈天永命。其惟王勿以小民淫用非彝，亦敢殄戮，用乂民，若有功；其惟王位在德元，小民乃惟刑（型）用于天下，越王顯。上下勤卹，其曰：『我受天命，丕若有夏歷年，式勿替有殷歷年。』欲王以小民受天永命。」

拜手稽首曰：「予小臣，敢以王之讎民、百君子越友民，保受王威命明德。王末有成命，王亦顯。我非敢勤，惟恭奉幣，用供王能祈天永命。」

洛誥

《尚書·洛誥》

周公拜手稽首曰：「朕復子明辟。王如弗敢及，天基命定命，予乃胤保，大相東土，其基作民明辟。予惟乙卯，朝至于洛師。我卜河朔黎水。我乃卜澗水東、瀍水西，惟洛食。我又卜瀍水東，亦惟洛食。伻來以圖及獻卜。」

王拜手稽首曰：「公不敢不敬天之休，來相宅，其作周匹。休公既定宅，伻來，來視予卜，休，恒吉，我二人共貞。公其以予萬億年敬天之休。拜手稽首誨（謀）言。」

周公曰：「王肇稱殷禮，祀于新邑，咸秩無文（閔）。予齊百工，伻從王于周。予惟曰：庶有事，今王即命曰：『記功宗，以功作元祀。』惟命曰：『汝受命篤弼；丕視功載（哉），乃汝其悉自教（效）工（功）。』孺子其朋，孺子其朋，［慎］其往。無若火始燄燄，厥攸灼敘，弗其絕厥若。彝及撫事，如予惟以在周工往新邑，伻嚮即有（友）僚，明作有功，惇（敦）大成，裕（欲）汝永有辭。」

公曰：「巳（嘻）！汝惟（雖）沖子，惟終。汝其敬識百辟享，亦識其有不享。享多儀；儀不及物，惟曰不享。惟不役志于享。凡民惟曰不享，惟事其爽侮。乃惟孺子頒，朕不暇聽。朕教汝于棐（匪）民彝。汝乃是不蘉（薎—蔑？），乃時惟不永哉！篤敘乃正、父，罔不若；予不敢廢乃命。汝往，敬哉！兹予其明農哉！彼裕（欲）我民無遠用戾。」

王若曰：「公，明保予沖子。公稱丕顯德，以予小子揚文武烈。奉答天命，和恒四方民。居師，惇（敦）宗將禮，稱秩元祀，咸秩無文（閔）。惟公德明光于上下，勤施于四方，旁作穆穆，御（虞）衡不迷文武勤教。予沖子夙

夜毖祀。」王曰：「公功棐（匪）迪（由）篤，罔不若時。」

王曰：「公，予小子其退即辟于周，命公後。四方迪亂，未定于宗禮，亦未克敉〈—纂〉公功。迪將其後，監我士、師、工，誕保文武受民，亂〈率〉爲四輔。」

王曰：「公定，予往已。公功肅將祗歡。公，無〈女—汝〉困〈念〉哉｛我｝！惟無斁其康事，公勿替，刑（型）四方，其世享。」

周公拜手稽首曰：「王命予來承保乃文祖受命民，越乃光烈考武王弘朕恭。孺子來相宅，其大惇典殷獻民，亂〈率〉爲四方新辟，作周恭先。曰其自時中乂，萬邦咸休，惟王有成績。予旦以多子越御事，篤前人成烈，答其師，作周孚先。考朕昭子刑，乃單（殫）文祖德。伻來毖殷，乃命寧予以秬鬯二卣，曰：『明禋，拜手稽首休享。』予不敢宿，則禋于文王、武王。惠篤敘，無有遘自（辠？）疾，萬年猒（厭）于乃德，殷乃引考。王伻殷乃承敘，萬年其永觀朕（沖）子懷德。」

戊辰，王在新邑烝祭，歲文王騂牛一，武王騂牛一。王命作冊逸祝、冊，惟告周公其後。王賓（儐），殺、禋，咸格，王入太室裸。王命周公後，作冊逸誥，在十有二月，惟周公誕保文武受命，惟七年。

多士

《尚書·多士》

惟三月，周公初于新邑洛，用告商王士。

王若曰：「爾殷遺多士。弗弔（淑）！旻天大降喪于殷；我有周佑命，將天明威，致王罰，勑殷命終于帝。肆爾多士，非我小國敢弋（代）殷命，惟天不（丕）畀，允罔固（怙）亂，弼我。我其敢求位？惟帝不（丕）畀，惟我下民秉爲，惟天明畏（威）。

「我聞曰：上帝引逸。有夏不適逸，則惟帝降格，嚮（饗）于時夏。弗克庸帝，大淫泆，有辭。惟時天罔念聞，厥惟廢元命，降致罰。乃命爾先祖成湯革夏，俊（畯）民甸四方。自成湯至于帝乙，罔不明德卹祀。亦惟天丕建，保乂有殷；殷王亦罔敢失帝，罔不配天其澤。在今後嗣王，誕罔顯于天，矧曰其有聽念于先王勤家？誕淫厥泆，罔顧于天顯民祗。惟時上帝不保，降若兹大喪。惟天不畀不明厥德；凡四方小大邦喪，罔非有辭于罰。」

王若曰：「爾殷多士。今惟我周王丕靈承帝事，有命曰『割殷』，告勑于帝。惟我事不貳適，惟爾王家我適。予其曰：『惟爾洪無度；我不爾動，自乃邑。』予亦念天即于殷大戾，肆不正。」

王曰：「猷告爾多士。予惟時其遷居西爾。非我一人奉德不康寧，時惟天命，無違。朕不敢有後，無我怨。惟爾知，惟殷先人有冊有典，殷革夏命。今爾又曰：『夏迪簡在王庭，有服在百僚。』予一人惟聽用德，肆予敢求爾于天（大）邑商。予惟率肆矜爾。非予罪，時惟天命。」

王曰：「多士。昔朕來自奄，予大降爾四國民命。我乃明致天罰，移爾遐逖，比事臣我宗，多遜（順）。」王曰：「告爾殷多士。今予惟不爾殺，予惟時命有申。今朕作大邑于兹洛，予惟四方罔攸賓。亦惟爾多士攸服，奔走臣我，多遜（順）。爾乃尚有爾土，爾乃尚寧幹止。爾克敬，天惟畀矜爾；爾不克敬，爾不啻不有爾土，予亦致天之罰于爾躬。今爾惟時宅爾邑，繼爾居，爾厥有幹有年于兹洛，爾小子乃興，從爾遷。」

王曰：「又（有）曰，時予乃或（又）［誨］言，爾攸居。」

無逸

《尚書·無逸》

周公曰：「嗚呼！君子所其無逸。先知稼穡之艱難，乃逸，則知小人之依（隱）。相小人，厥父母勤勞稼穡，厥子乃不知稼穡之艱難，乃逸乃諺，既誕，否（丕）則侮厥父母曰：『昔之人無聞知！』」

周公曰：「嗚呼！我聞曰：昔在殷王中宗，嚴恭寅畏，天命自度，治民祗懼，不敢荒寧。肆中宗之享國，七十有五年。其在高宗，時舊勞于外，爰暨小人。作其即位，乃或（有）亮陰，三年不言；其惟不言，言乃雍。不敢荒寧，嘉靖殷邦。至于小大，無時或（有）怨。肆高宗之享國，五十有九年。其在祖甲，不義惟王，舊爲小人。作其即位，爰知小人之依（隱），能保惠于庶民，不敢侮鰥寡。肆祖甲之享國，三十有三年。自時厥後，立王生則逸；生則逸，不知稼穡之艱難，不聞小人之勞，惟湛樂之從。自時厥後，亦罔或（有）克壽，或十年，或七八年，或五六年，或四三年。」

周公曰：「嗚呼！厥亦惟我周太王、王季，克自抑畏。文王卑（俾）服，即康功田功。徽柔懿恭，懷保小人，惠鮮〈于〉鰥寡。自朝至于日中昃，不遑暇食，用咸（諴）和萬民。文王不敢盤于遊{于}田，以庶邦惟正（政）之共（供）。文王受命惟中身，厥享國五十年。」

周公曰：「嗚呼！繼自今嗣王，則其無淫于觀、于逸、于遊、于田，以萬民惟正（政）之共（供）。無皇曰：『今日湛樂。』乃非民攸訓（順），非天攸若，時人丕則有愆。無若殷王受之迷亂，酗于酒德哉！」

周公曰：「嗚呼！我聞曰：『古之人猶胥訓告，胥保惠，胥教誨；民無或（有）胥譸張爲幻。』此厥不聽，人乃訓之，乃變亂先王之正刑（型），至于小大。民否（丕）則厥心違怨，否（丕）則厥口詛祝。」

周公曰：「嗚呼！自殷王中宗，及高宗，及祖甲，及我周文王，兹四人迪（由）哲。厥或（有）告之曰：『小人怨汝詈汝。』則皇自敬德。厥愆，曰：『朕之愆，允若時。』不啻不敢含怒。此厥不聽，人乃或（有）譸張爲幻。曰：『小人怨汝詈汝。』則信之。則若時，不永念厥辟，不寬綽厥心，亂罰無罪，殺無辜。怨有同，是叢于厥身。」

周公曰：「嗚呼！嗣王其監于兹！」

君奭

周公若曰：「君奭。弗弔（淑）！天降喪于殷。殷既墜厥命，我有周既受，我不敢知{曰}厥基永孚于休；若天棐（非）忱，我亦不敢知曰其終出于不祥。嗚呼！君已曰時我，我亦不敢寧于上帝命，弗永遠念天威越我民，罔尤違惟人在（哉）。我後嗣子孫，大弗克恭上下，遏佚前人光在家，不知天命不易，天難諶，乃其墜命，弗克經歷嗣前人恭明德。在今予小子旦，非克有正，迪（由）惟前人光，施于我沖子。」又曰：「天不可信，我道（迪）惟寧〈文〉王德，延（誕）天不庸（用）釋（斁）于文王受命。」

公曰：「君奭！我聞在昔，成湯既受命，時則有若伊尹，格于皇天。在太甲，時則有若保衡。在太戊，時則有若伊陟、臣扈，格于上帝；巫咸乂王家。在祖乙，時則有若巫賢。在武丁，時則有若甘盤。率惟兹有陳，保乂有殷，故殷禮陟配天，多歷年所。天惟純佑命，則商實（寔）百姓、王人，罔不秉德明恤；小臣屏（并）侯甸，矧咸奔走。惟兹惟德稱，用乂厥辟。故一人有事于四方，若卜筮，罔不是孚。」

公曰：「君奭。天壽（讎）平（辯）格，保乂有殷；有殷嗣，天滅威。今汝永念，則有固命，厥亂明我新造邦。」

公曰：「君奭。在亅昔上帝割申勸（觀）寧〈文〉王{之}德，其集大命于厥躬。惟文王尚克修（調）和我有夏，亦惟有若虢叔，有若閎夭，有若散宜生，有若泰顛，有若南宮括。又曰無能往來，兹迪（由）彝〈（襲）〉教（學）文王蔑德，降于國人。亦惟純佑秉德，迪（由）知天威，乃惟時昭（詔）文王，迪（由）見冒聞于上帝，惟時受有殷命哉！武王惟兹四人，尚迪有祿。後暨武王，誕將天威，咸劉厥敵。惟兹四人昭（詔）武王，惟冒（勖/懋），丕單（殫）稱德。今在予小子旦，若游大川，予往暨汝奭其濟。小子同（侗/童）未（昧）在位，誕無我責。收罔勖不及，耇造德不降，我則鳴鳥不聞，矧曰其有能格？」

公曰：「嗚呼！君肆其監于兹。我受命無疆惟休，亦大惟艱。告君乃猷，裕（欲）我不以後人迷。」

公曰：「前人敷乃心，乃悉命汝，作汝民極。曰：『汝明勖偶王在（哉）！亶（殫）乘（承）兹大命，惟文王德丕承無疆之恤。』」

公曰：「君。告汝朕允〈兄〉保奭，其汝克敬以予監于殷喪大否，肆念我天威。予不允〈兄—皇〉惟若兹誥，予惟曰，襄（曩）我二人汝〈毋〉有合哉（在）言。曰：『在時二人，天休滋至，惟時二人弗戡（堪）。』其汝克敬德，明我俊民在（哉）！讓（襄）後人于丕時。嗚呼！篤棐（非）時二人，我式克至于今日休。我咸成文王功于不怠，丕冒（勖/懋），海隅出日，罔不率俾。」公曰：「君。予不惠若兹多誥，予惟用閔于天越民。」

公曰：「嗚呼！君。惟乃知民德，亦罔不能厥初，惟其終。祗若兹。往，敬用治。」

蔡仲之命

惟周公位冢宰，正百工。群叔流言，乃致辟管叔于商，囚蔡叔于郭鄰，以車七乘；降霍叔于庶人，三年不齒；蔡仲克庸祗德，周公以為卿士。叔卒，乃命諸王邦之蔡。王若曰：「小子胡！惟爾率德改行，克慎厥猷；肆予命爾侯于東土，往即乃封，敬哉！爾尚蓋前人之愆，惟忠惟孝；爾乃邁跡自身，克勤無怠，以垂憲乃後；率乃祖文王之彝訓，無若爾考之違王命。

皇天無親，惟德是輔，民心無常，惟惠之懷；為善不同，同歸于治，為惡不同，同歸于亂。

爾其戒哉！慎厥初，惟厥終，終以不困，不惟厥終，終以困窮；懋乃攸績，睦乃四鄰，以蕃王室，以和兄弟。

康濟小民，率自中，無作聰明亂舊章；詳乃視聽，罔以側言改厥度，則予一人汝嘉。」

王曰：「嗚呼！小子胡，汝往哉！無荒棄朕命。」

多方

《尚書·多方》

惟五月丁亥，王來自奄，至于宗周。

周公曰：「王若曰：『猷告爾四國多方，惟爾殷侯尹民〈氏〉。我惟大降爾命，爾罔不知。洪〈引—矧〉惟圖（鄙）天之命，弗永寅念于祀。惟帝降格于夏，有夏誕厥逸，不肯慼言于民；乃大淫昏，不克終日勸于帝之迪，乃爾攸聞。厥圖（鄙）帝之命，不克開于民之麗，乃大降罰，崇亂有夏，因甲（狎）于內亂。不克靈承于旅，罔丕惟進之恭，洪舒于民。亦惟有夏之民叨懫日欽（廞），劓割夏邑。天惟時求民主，乃大降顯休命于成湯，刑殄有夏。惟天不畀純，乃惟以爾多方之義民，不克永于多享。惟夏之恭多士，大不克明保享于民，乃胥惟虐于民；至于百爲，大不克開。乃惟成湯，克以爾多方簡代夏作民主。慎厥麗，乃勸；厥民刑，用勸。以至于帝乙，罔不明德慎罰，亦克用勸。要囚，殄戮多罪，亦克用勸；開釋無辜，亦克用勸。今至于爾辟，弗克以爾多方享天之命。』

「嗚呼！王若曰：『誥告爾多方，非天庸（用）釋（斁）有夏，非天庸（用）釋（斁）有殷；乃惟爾辟，以爾多方大淫圖（鄙）天之命，屑有辭。乃惟有夏圖（鄙）厥政，不集于享；天降時喪，有邦間之。乃惟爾商後王，逸厥逸，圖（鄙）厥政，不蠲烝，天惟降時喪。惟（雖）聖罔念作狂，惟（雖）狂克念作聖。天惟五年須暇之子孫，誕作民主，罔可念聽。天惟求爾多方，大動以威，開厥顧天。惟爾多方，罔堪顧之。惟我周王，靈承于旅，克堪用德，惟典神天。天惟式教我用休，簡畀殷命，尹爾多方。今我曷敢多誥？我惟大降爾四國民命。爾曷不忱裕之于爾多方？爾曷不夾{介}乂我周王，享天之命？今爾尚宅爾宅，畋爾田，爾曷不惠王熙天之命？爾乃迪屢不靜，爾心未愛；爾乃不大宅（度）天命，爾乃屑（泆）播天命；爾乃自作不典，圖（鄙）忱于正。我惟時其教告之，我惟時其戰要囚之，至于再，至于三。乃有不用我降爾命，我乃其大罰殛之。非我有周秉德不康寧，乃惟爾自速辜。』

「王曰：『嗚呼！猷告爾有方多士，暨殷多士：今爾奔走臣我監五祀，越惟有胥伯（賦）小大多正（征），爾罔不克臬。自作不和，爾惟和哉！爾室不睦，爾惟和哉！爾邑克明，爾惟克勤乃事。爾尚不忌于凶德，亦則以穆穆在乃位，克閱于乃邑，謀介爾，乃自時洛邑，尚永力畋爾田；天惟畀矜爾。我有周惟其大介賚爾，迪簡在王庭，尚爾事，有服在大僚。』

「王曰：『嗚呼！多士。爾不克勸忱我命，爾亦則惟不克享，凡民惟曰不享。爾乃惟逸惟頗，大遠王命；則惟爾多方探〈冞〉天之威，我則致天之罰，離逖爾土。』

「王曰：『我不惟多誥，我惟祗告爾命。』又曰：『時惟爾初，不克敬于和，則無我怨。』」

立政

《尚書·立政》

周公若曰：「拜手稽首，告嗣天子王矣。用咸戒于王，曰（越）王左右常伯、常任、準人、綴衣、虎賁。」

周公曰：「嗚呼！休兹知恤，鮮哉！古之人迪惟有夏，乃有室大競籲，俊（駿）尊上帝，迪知忱恂于九德之行。乃敢告教厥后曰：『拜手稽首，后矣。』曰：『宅乃事，宅乃牧，宅乃準，兹惟后矣。謀面用丕訓德，則乃宅人，兹乃三宅無義（俄）民。』桀德惟乃弗作往任，是惟暴德，罔後。亦越成湯陟，丕釐上帝之耿命；乃用三有宅，克即宅；曰（越）三有俊，克即俊。嚴惟丕式，克用三宅三俊。其在商邑，用協于厥邑；其在四方，用丕式見德。

「嗚呼！其在受德暋，惟羞刑（型）暴德之人，同于厥邦，乃惟庶習逸德之人，同于厥政。帝欽罰之，乃伻我有夏式（代）商受命，奄甸萬姓。亦越文王、武王，克知三有宅心，灼見三有俊心；以敬事上帝，立民長伯。立政（正）：任人、準夫、牧，作三事；虎賁、綴衣、趣馬、小尹、左右攜仆，百司庶府；大都、小伯、藝（暬/邇）人、表臣百司；太史、尹伯、庶常吉士，司徒、司馬、司空、亞旅；夷微盧烝，三亳阪尹。文王惟克厥宅心，乃克立兹常事、司、牧人，以克俊有德。文王罔攸兼于庶言、庶獄、庶慎，惟有司之牧夫，是訓用違；庶獄、庶慎，文王罔敢知于兹。亦越武王，率惟敉〈—纂〉功，不敢替厥義德，率惟謀（敏）從容（睿）德，以並受此丕丕基。

「嗚呼！孺子王矣。繼自今，我其立政（正）：立事、準人、牧夫，我其克灼知厥若，丕乃俾亂相我受民，和我庶獄、庶慎，時則勿有間之，自一話一言。我則末惟成德之彥，以乂我受民。

「嗚呼！予旦已受人之徽言，咸告孺子王矣！繼自今，文子文孫，其勿誤于庶獄、庶慎，惟正是乂之。自古商人，亦越我周文王，立政（正）：立事、牧夫、準人，則克宅之，克由繹（擇）之。兹乃俾乂國，則罔有立政（正）用憸人。［憸人］不訓{于}德，是罔顯在厥世。繼自今立政（正），其勿以憸人，其惟吉士，用勱相我國家。

「今文子文孫，孺子王矣。其勿誤于庶獄，惟有司之牧夫。其克詰爾戎兵，以陟禹之跡，方（旁）行天下，至于海表，罔有不服。以覲（勤）文王之耿光，以揚武王之大烈。嗚呼！繼自今後王立政（正），其惟克用常人。」

周公若曰：「太史、司寇蘇公。式敬爾由獄，以長我王國。兹式有慎，以列（例）用中罰。」

周官

《尚書·周官》

惟周王撫萬邦，巡侯甸。四征弗庭，綏厥兆民。六服群辟，罔不承德，歸于宗周，董正治官。王曰：「若昔大猷，制治于未亂，保邦于未危。曰：『唐虞稽古，建官惟百，內有百揆四岳，外有州牧侯伯。庶政惟和，萬國咸寧。』夏、商官倍，亦克用乂。明王立政，不惟其官，惟其人。今予小子，祗勤于德，夙夜不逮。仰惟前代時若，訓迪厥官。「立太師、太傅、太保，茲惟三公。論道經邦，燮理陰陽。官不必備，惟其人。少師、少傅、少保曰三孤。貳公弘化，寅亮天地，弼予一人。冢宰掌邦治，統百官，均四海；司徒掌邦教，敷五典，擾兆民；宗伯掌邦禮，治神人，和上下；司馬掌邦政，統六師，平邦國；司寇掌邦禁，詰奸慝，刑暴亂；司空掌邦土，居四民，時地利。六卿分職，各率其屬，以倡九牧，阜成兆民。六年五服一朝。又六年，王乃時巡，考制度于四岳。諸侯各朝于方岳，大明黜陟。」王曰：「嗚呼！凡我有官君子，欽乃攸司，慎乃出令，令出惟行，弗惟反。以公滅私，民其允懷。學古入官，議事以制，政乃不迷。其爾典常作之師，無以利口亂厥官。蓄疑敗謀，怠忽荒政，不學墻面，蒞事惟煩。戒爾卿士，功崇惟志，業廣惟勤，惟克果斷，乃罔後艱。位不期驕，祿不期侈。恭儉惟德，無載爾偽。作德心逸日休，作偽心勞日拙。居寵思危，罔不惟畏，弗畏入畏。推賢讓能，庶官乃和，不和政厖。舉能其官，惟爾之能，稱匪其人，惟爾不任。」王曰：「嗚呼！三事暨大夫，敬爾有官，亂爾有政。以佑乃辟，永康兆民，萬邦惟無斁。」

君陳

《尚書·君陳》

王若曰：「君陳，惟爾令德孝恭。惟孝，友于兄弟，克施有政。命汝尹茲東郊，敬哉！昔周公師保萬民，民懷其德，往慎乃司，茲率厥常。懋昭周公之訓，惟民其乂。我聞曰：『至治馨香，感于神明，黍稷非馨，明德惟馨。』爾尚式時，周公之猷訓，惟日孜孜，無敢逸豫。凡人未見聖，若不克見，既見聖，亦不克由聖。爾其戒哉！爾惟風，下民惟草。圖厥政，莫或不艱，有廢有興，出入自爾師虞，庶言同則繹。爾有嘉謀嘉猷，則入告爾后于內，爾乃順之于外。曰：『斯謀斯猷，惟我后之德。』嗚呼！臣人咸若時，惟良顯哉！」王曰：「君陳，爾惟弘周公丕訓，無依勢作威，無倚法以削。寬而有制從容以和：殷民在辟，予曰辟，爾惟勿辟；予曰宥，爾惟勿宥--惟厥中。有弗若于汝政，弗化于汝訓，辟以止辟，乃辟。狃于奸宄，敗常亂俗，三細不宥。爾無忿疾于頑，無求備于一夫，必有忍，其乃有濟；有容，德乃大。簡厥修，亦簡其或不修；進厥良，以率其或不良。惟民生厚，因物有遷。違上所命，從厥攸好。爾克敬典在德，時乃罔不變，允升于大猷。惟予一人，膺受多福。其爾之休，終有辭於永世。」

顧命

《尚書·顧命》

惟四月，哉生魄，王不懌。甲子，王乃洮頮水，相被冕服，憑玉几。乃同召太保奭、芮伯、彤伯、畢公、衛侯、毛公；師氏、虎臣、百尹、御事。

王曰：「嗚呼！疾大漸，惟幾，病日臻，既彌留，恐不獲誓言嗣，兹予審訓命汝。昔［先］君文王、武王，宣重光，奠麗陳教則肄肄不違，用克達（撻？）殷集大命。在後之侗（童），敬迓天威，嗣守文武大訓，無敢昏逾（渝）。今天降疾殆，弗興弗悟（寤），爾尚明時朕言，用敬保元子釗，弘濟于艱難。柔遠能邇，安勸小大庶邦。思（使）夫人自亂于威儀，爾無以釗冒貢于非幾兹（哉）。」

既受命，還，出綴衣于庭。越翌日乙丑，王崩。

太保命仲桓、南宮毛俾爰齊侯呂伋，以二干戈、虎賁百人，逆子釗於南門之外，延入翼室，恤宅宗。丁卯，命作冊度。越七日癸酉，伯相命士須材。狄設黼扆、綴衣。牖間南嚮，敷重篾席黼純，華玉仍几。西序東嚮，敷重厎席綴純，文貝仍几。東序西嚮，敷重豐席畫純，雕玉仍几。西夾南嚮，敷重筍席玄紛純，漆仍几。越玉五重：陳寶、赤刀，大訓、弘璧、琬、琰，在西序；大玉、夷玉、天球、河圖，在東序。胤之舞衣，大貝、鼖鼓，在西房；兌之戈、和之弓、垂之竹矢，在東房。大輅在賓階面，綴輅在阼階面。先輅在左塾之前，次輅在右塾之前。二人雀弁執惠，立于畢門之內；四人綦弁，執戈上刃，夾兩階戺；一人冕執劉，立于東堂；一人冕執鉞，立于西堂；一人冕執戣，立于東垂；一人冕執瞿，立于西垂；一人冕執銳，立于側階。王麻冕黼裳，由賓階隮。卿士邦君麻冕蟻裳，入即位。太保、太史、太宗，皆麻冕彤裳。太保承介圭，上宗奉同{瑁}，由阼階隮。太史秉書，由賓階隮，御王冊命。

曰：「皇后憑玉几，道揚末命：命汝嗣訓，臨君周邦，率循大卞，燮和天下，用答揚文武之光訓。」王再拜，興。答曰：「眇眇予末小子，其能而亂四方，以敬忌天威？」乃受同{瑁}，王三宿，三祭，三咤。上宗曰：「饗。」太保受同，降，盥，以異同秉璋以酢，授宗人同，拜，王答拜。太保受同，祭、嚌、宅，授宗人同，拜，王答拜。太保降，收。諸侯出廟門俟。

康王之誥

《尚書·康王之誥》

王出在應門之內。太保率西方諸侯，入應門左；畢公率東方諸侯，入應門右。皆布乘黃朱。賓（擯）稱奉圭兼幣，曰：「一二臣衛，敢執壤奠。」皆再拜稽首。王義（宜）嗣德，答拜。太保暨芮伯咸進，相揖，皆再拜稽首。曰：「敢敬告天子，皇天改大邦殷之命，惟周文武，誕受羑若，克恤西土。惟新陟王，畢協賞罰，戡（咸）定（成）厥功，用敷遺後人休。今王敬之哉！張皇六師，無壞我高祖寡命。」

王若曰：「庶邦侯、甸、男、衛。惟予一人釗報誥：昔君文武，丕平富，不務咎，厎至齊信，用昭明于天下。則亦有熊羆之士、不二心之臣，保乂王家，用端命于上帝；皇天用訓（順）厥道，付畀四方。乃命建侯樹屏，在我後之人。今予一二伯父，尚胥暨顧，綏（緌）爾先公之臣服于先王。雖爾身在外，乃心罔不在王室。用奉恤厥若，無遺鞠子羞。」羣公既皆聽命，相揖，趨出。王釋冕，反喪服。

畢命

惟十有二年，六月，庚午朏。越三日壬申，王朝步自宗周，至于豐。以成周之眾，命畢公保厘東郊。王若曰：「嗚呼！父師，惟文王、武王，敷大德于天下，用克受殷命。惟周公左右先王，綏定厥家，毖殷頑民，遷于洛邑，密邇王室，式化厥訓。既歷三紀，世變風移，四方無虞，予一人以寧。道有升降，政由俗革，不臧厥臧，民罔攸勸。惟公懋德，克勤小物，弼亮四世，正色率下，罔不祗師言。嘉績多于先王，予小子垂拱仰成。」王曰：「嗚呼！父師，今予祗命公以周公之事，往哉！旌別淑慝，表厥宅里，彰善癉惡，樹之風聲。弗率訓典，殊厥井疆，俾克畏慕。申畫郊圻，慎固封守，以康四海。政貴有恒，辭尚體要，不惟好異。商俗靡靡，利口惟賢，餘風未殄，公其念哉！我聞曰：『世祿之家，鮮克由禮，以蕩陵德，實悖天道。敝化奢麗，萬世同流。』茲殷庶士，席寵惟舊，怙侈滅義，服美于人。驕淫矜侉，將由惡終，雖收放心，閑之惟艱。資富能訓；惟以永年，惟德惟義，時乃大訓。不由古訓，于何其訓？」王曰：「嗚呼！父師，邦之安危，惟茲殷士，不剛不柔，厥德允修。惟周公克慎厥始，惟君陳克和厥中，惟公克成厥終。三后協心，同底于道，道洽政治，澤潤生民。四夷左衽，罔不咸賴，予小子永膺多福。公其惟時成周，建無窮之基，亦有無窮之聞。子孫訓其成式，惟乂。嗚呼！罔曰弗克，惟既厥心；罔曰民寡，惟慎厥事。欽若先王成烈，以休于前政。」

君牙

王若曰：『嗚呼！君牙，惟乃祖乃父，世篤忠貞，服勞王家，厥有成績，紀于太常。惟予小子，嗣守文、武、成、康遺緒，亦惟先正之臣，克左右亂四方。心之憂危，若蹈虎尾，涉于春冰。今命爾予翼，作股肱心膂。纘乃舊服，無忝祖考，弘敷五典，式和民則。爾身克正，罔敢弗正，民心罔中，惟爾之中。夏暑雨，小民惟日怨咨。冬祁寒，小民亦惟日怨咨。厥惟艱哉！思其艱以圖其易，民乃寧。嗚呼！丕顯哉，文王謨；丕承哉，武王烈。啟佑我後人，咸以正罔缺。爾惟敬明乃訓，用奉若于先王。對揚文、武之光命，追配于前人。』

王若曰：『君牙，乃惟由先正，舊典時式，民之治亂在茲。率乃祖考之攸行，昭乃辟之有乂。』

冏命

王若曰：「伯冏！惟予弗克于德，嗣先人宅丕后。怵惕惟厲，中夜以興，思免厥愆。昔在文、武，聰明齊聖，小大之臣，咸懷忠良。其侍御僕從，罔匪正人，以旦夕承弼厥辟，出入起居，罔有不欽，發號施令，罔有不臧，下民祗若，萬邦咸休。惟予一人無良，實賴左右前後有位之士，匡其不及。繩愆糾謬，格其非心，俾克紹先烈。今予命汝作大正，正于群僕侍御之臣，懋乃后德，交修不逮；慎簡乃僚，無以巧言令色，便辟側媚，其惟吉士。僕臣正，厥后克正，僕臣諛，厥后自聖；后德惟臣，不德惟臣。爾無昵于憸人，充耳目之官，迪上以非先王之典；非人其吉，惟貨其吉；若時瘝厥官；惟爾大弗克祗厥辟，惟予汝辜。」王曰：「嗚呼！欽哉！永弼乃后于彝憲。」

呂刑

《尚書·呂刑》

惟呂命：王享國百年，耄〔另作：眊、旄〕，荒度作刑，以詰四方。

王曰：「若古有訓，蚩尤惟始作亂，延及于平民，罔不寇賊，鴟〔另作：消〕義奸宄，奪〔另作：敓〕攘矯〔另作：撟〕虔。苗民弗〔另作：匪、非、否（不）〕用靈〔另作：命、臸、練〕，制〔另作：折〕以刑，惟作五虐之刑曰法，殺戮無辜。爰始淫爲劓〔另作：㓷〕亅刵〈刖〉、椓、黥，越兹麗刑并制，罔差有辭。民興胥漸，泯泯棼棼〔另作：湎湎紛紛〕，罔中于信，以覆詛盟。虐威庶戮〔另作：僇〕，方〔另作：旁〕告無辜于上。上帝監民，罔有馨香德，刑發聞惟腥。皇〔另作：君〕帝哀矜庶戮之不辜，報虐以〔另作：用〕威，遏絕苗民，無世在下。乃命重黎，絕地天通，罔有降格。羣后之逮〔另作：肆〕在下，明明棐〔另作：不、匪〕常，鰥寡無〔另作：不〕蓋。（皇）帝清問下民，（鰥寡）有辭于〔另作：有〕苗。德威惟畏〔另作：威〕，德明惟明。乃命〔另作：名〕三后，恤功于〔另作：於〕民：伯夷降典（禮），折〔另作：哲、悊、制〕民惟刑；禹平水土，主名〔另作：命〕山川，稷降〔另作：隆〕播種，農殖嘉穀。三后成功，惟殷于民。士制百姓于刑之中〔另作：爰制百姓于刑之衷〕，以教祗德。穆穆在上，明明在下，灼于四方，罔不惟德之勤。故乃明于刑之中，率乂于民棐〔另作：非、匪〕彝。典獄非訖于威，惟訖于富。敬忌，（而）罔有擇言在身〔另作：躬〕。惟克天德，自作元命〔另作：自貽哲命〕，配享在下。」

王曰：「嗟！四方司政典獄。非爾惟作天牧？今爾何監，非時伯夷播刑之迪？其今爾何懲？惟時苗民，匪察于獄之麗，罔擇吉人觀于五刑之中，惟時庶威奪貨，斷制五刑，以亂無辜。上帝不蠲，降咎于苗；苗民無辭于罰，乃絕厥世。」

王曰：「嗚呼！念之哉！伯父、伯兄、仲叔、季弟、幼子、童孫，皆聽朕言，庶有格命。今爾罔不由慰日勤，爾罔或（有）戒不勤。天齊于民，俾我一日〔另作：天齊乎人，假我一日〕。非終惟終，在人。爾尚敬逆天命，以奉我一人。雖畏勿畏，雖休勿休；惟敬五刑，以成三德。一人有慶，兆〔另作：万、萬〕民賴〔另作：贎、𮗹〕之，其寧惟永。」

王曰：「吁！來，有邦有土，告爾祥刑在今。爾安百姓，何擇非人？何敬非刑？何度非及？兩造具備，師聽五辭，五辭簡孚，正于五刑；五刑不簡，正于五罰；五罰不服，正于五過；五過之疵，惟官、惟反、惟內、惟貨、惟來〔另作：求〕。其罪惟均〔另作：鈞〕，其審克〔另作：核〕之。五刑之疑有赦，五罰之疑有赦，其審克之。簡孚有眾，惟貌〔另作：訊、緢〕有稽；無簡不聽，具嚴天威。墨〔另作：黥〕辟〔另作：罰〕疑赦，其罰百鍰〔另作：率〕，閱實其罪。劓辟疑赦，其罰惟倍〔另作：其罰倍灑〕，閱實其罪。剕〔另作：臏〕辟疑赦，其罰倍差，閱實其罪。宮辟疑赦，其罰六〔另作：五〕百鍰，閱實其罪。大辟疑赦，其罰千鍰，閱實其罪。墨罰之屬千，劓罰之屬千，剕〔另作：臏、髕〕罰之屬五百，宮罰之屬三百，大辟之罰，其屬二百；五刑之屬三千。上下比罪，無僭亂辭。勿用不行，惟察惟法，其審克之。上刑適輕，下服；下刑適重，上服，輕重諸罰有權。刑罰世輕世重，惟〔另作：維〕齊非齊，有倫有要。罰懲非死，人〔另作：佞〕極于病。非佞折，惟良折獄。罔非在中，察辭于差，非從惟從，哀敬折獄獄〔另作：哀矜哲獄、哀鰥哲獄〕，明啓刑書胥占，咸庶中正。其刑其罰，其審克之。獄成而孚，輸而孚。其刑上備，有并兩刑。」

王曰：「嗚呼！敬之哉！官伯族姓，朕言多懼。朕敬于刑，有德惟刑。今天相民，作配在下，明清于單辭。民之亂，罔不中聽獄之兩辭，無或（有）私家于獄之兩辭。獄貨非寶，惟府辜功，報以庶尤，永畏惟罰。非天不中，惟人在命。天罰不極，庶民罔有令政在于天下。」

王曰：「嗚呼！嗣孫。今往何監？非德于民之中，尚明聽之哉！哲人惟刑，無疆之辭，屬于五極，咸中有慶。受王嘉師，監于兹祥刑。」

文侯之命

《尚書·文侯之命》

王若曰：「父義和。丕顯文武，克慎明德，昭升于上，敷聞在下，惟時上帝集厥命于文王。亦惟先正，克左右昭事厥辟，越小大謀猷，罔不率從。肆先祖懷在位。嗚呼！閔予小子嗣，造（遭）天丕愆；殄資澤于下民，侵戎我國家純。即我御事，罔或（有）耆壽，俊（駿）在厥服，予則罔克。曰：『惟祖惟父，其伊恤朕躬。』嗚呼！有績予一人，永綏在位。父義和。汝克昭（紹）乃顯祖，汝肇刑（型）文武，用會紹（詔）乃辟，追孝于前文人。汝多修（休），捍我于艱，若汝，予嘉。」

王曰：「父義和。其歸視爾師，寧爾邦。用賚爾秬鬯一卣；彤弓一，彤矢百；盧弓一，盧矢百；馬四匹。父往哉！柔遠能邇，惠康小民，無荒寧，簡恤爾都，用成爾顯德。」

費誓

《尚書·費誓》

公曰：「嗟！人無嘩，聽命。徂兹淮夷、徐戎并興，善敹（選）乃甲胄，敿乃干，無敢不弔（淑）。備乃弓矢，鍛乃戈矛，礪乃鋒刃，無敢不善。今惟淫舍牿牛馬，杜乃擭，敜乃穽，無敢傷牿。牿之傷，汝則有常刑。馬牛其風，臣妾逋逃，無敢越逐，祗復之，我商（賞）賚汝。乃越逐不復，汝則有常刑。無敢寇攘，逾垣墻，竊馬牛，誘臣妾，汝則有常刑。甲戌，我惟征徐戎。峙乃糗糧，無敢不逮，汝則有大刑。魯人三郊三遂，峙乃楨榦。甲戌，我惟筑，無敢不供，汝則有無餘刑，非殺。魯人三郊三遂，峙乃芻茭，無敢不多，汝則有大刑。」

秦誓

《尚書·秦誓》

公曰：「嗟！我士。聽無嘩。予誓告汝羣言之首。古人有言曰：『民訖自若是多盤。責人斯無難，惟受責俾如流，是惟艱哉！』我心之憂，日月逾邁，若弗云來。惟古之謀人，則曰未就予忌（惎）；惟今之謀人，姑將以爲親。雖則云然，尚猷詢兹黃髪，則罔所愆。番（皤）番（皤）良士，旅（膂）力既愆，我尚有之。仡仡勇夫，射御不違，我尚不欲。惟截截善諞言，俾君子易辭，我皇多有之。昧昧我思之：如有一介臣，斷斷猗無他技，其心休休焉，其如有容。人之有技，若己有之；人之彥（獻）聖，其心好之，不啻如自其口出，是能容之。以保我子孫黎民，亦職有利哉！人之有技，冒（媢）疾（嫉）以惡（䛩）之；人之彥（獻）聖，而違之，俾不達，是不能容。以不能保我子孫黎民，亦曰殆哉！邦之杌隉，曰由一人；邦之榮懷，亦尚一人之慶。」

Source Colophon

The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the Shangshu (articles: 尚書 on Chinese Wikisource, revisions of 24 February 2016 to 21 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 and license templates have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.

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The Book of Documents — Shangshu