251 General Wencheng

A12.11|12|13

At this time, the King of Jibei realized that the emperor was about to come to Mount Tai to hold the Fengshan Ceremony, so he took the opportunity to write a letter to the emperor, expressing his willingness to offer Mount Tai and the cities near Mount Tai. The emperor accepted it and compensated the King of Jibei with other counties. The King of Changshan committed a crime and was exiled by the court. The emperor appointed the King of Changshan's younger brother to the state of Zhending and made him king to continue the worship of the previous king. He himself changed the state of Changshan into Changshan County. After this, the Five Mountains were all included in the counties under the jurisdiction of the emperor. 

The next year, the Qi man Shao Weng claimed that he was familiar with ghosts and gods, and was allowed to meet the emperor. The emperor had a favorite concubine, Lady Wang, but unfortunately Lady Wang passed away, so Shao Weng used magic to make Lady Wang and the Kitchen God appear at night, and the emperor really saw Lady Wang, whom he had missed for a long time, from the curtains. So the emperor appointed Shao Weng as General Wencheng, rewarded him with a lot of money and property, and treated him with the etiquette of entertaining a distinguished guest. General Wencheng once said: "If the emperor wants to communicate with the gods, but the palace and clothes are not suitable for gods, then the gods will not come." So the emperor ordered people to make cars with cloud shapes painted on them. According to the principle of the Five Elements, people would drive cars of corresponding colors on the days of conflict to drive away the evil spirits. He also ordered the construction of Ganquan Palace, and built a high platform room in the palace. In the platform room, there were paintings of many gods, such as the God of Tianyi, the God of Diyi, the God of Taiyi, etc., and sacrificial vessels were placed there, hoping to attract the gods. After more than a year, the effects of those magic arts became weaker and weaker, and the gods still did not come. So General Wencheng wrote a letter on silk and had the cow eat it, pretending that he knew nothing about it and told the emperor that there was something strange in the cow's belly. The emperor ordered people to slaughter the cow and examine it carefully, and found the silk book. Some of the words in the book were very strange, so the emperor became suspicious. Someone recognized the handwriting on the silk book, and the emperor questioned that person, and finally confirmed that it was indeed forged by General Wencheng. So the emperor executed General Wencheng and concealed the truth. 

Afterwards, the emperor ordered the construction of buildings such as the Bailiang Terrace, the Bronze Pillars and the Statue of the Immortal with Dew.

于是济北王以为天子且封禅，乃上书献泰山及其旁邑。天子受之，更以他县偿之。常山王有罪，迁，天子封其弟于真定，以续先王祀，而以常山为郡。然后五岳皆在天子之郡。

其明年，齐人少翁以鬼神方见上。上有所幸王夫人，夫人卒，少翁以方术盖夜致王夫人及灶鬼之貌云，天子自帷中望见焉。于是乃拜少翁为文成将军，赏赐甚多，以客礼礼之。文成言曰：“上即欲与神通，宫室被服不象神，神物不至。”乃作画云气车，及各以胜日驾车辟恶鬼。又作甘泉宫，中为台室，画天、地、泰一诸神，而置祭具以致天神。居岁余，其方益衰，神不至。乃为帛书以饭牛，详弗知也，言此牛腹中有奇。杀而视之，得书，书言甚怪，天子疑之。有识其手书，问之人，果伪书。于是诛文成将军而隐之。

其后则又作柏梁、铜柱、承露仙人掌之属矣。

250 Unicorn

A12.7..10

After a long time, Li Shaojun fell ill and died. The emperor believed that he was not dead, but had ascended to heaven, so he sent Shi Kuanshu from Huangchui County to continue to learn Li Shaojun's magic. The alchemists who searched for Penglai Mountain and Anqisheng found nothing, but the weird and pedantic alchemists in the coastal areas of Yan and Qi rushed to imitate them and talked more about gods and ghosts.

You Ji, a native of Bo County, reported to the emperor that he had a way to worship the god Taiyi, saying: "The most honorable among the gods is Taiyi, and the gods who assist Taiyi are the emperors of the five directions. In ancient times, the emperor would go to the southeastern suburbs of Chang'an every spring and autumn to worship the God of Taiyi ( the supreme one), offering cattle, sheep, and pigs as sacrifices. A grand ceremony lasting seven days was held, and passages were set up in eight directions of the altar for ghosts and gods to walk through. So the emperor ordered Taizhu ( the chief priest) to build a shrine dedicated to the god Taiyi in the southeast suburbs of Chang'an City, and often went there to worship using the method of enticement and transmission. Later, someone wrote to the emperor, saying: "In ancient times, the emperor would offer a complete meal of three kinds of livestock, cattle, sheep, and pigs, as sacrifices every three years to worship the 'Trinity': the gods of heaven, earth, and Taiyi." The emperor agreed and ordered the Taizhu to preside over the matter. On the altar dedicated to the God of Taiyi, the other two gods of the "Trinity" were also worshipped at the same time, and sacrifices were performed according to the method taught by the person who wrote the letter. Later, someone wrote to the emperor, saying, "In ancient times, the emperor often offered sacrifices in spring and autumn to dispel disasters and pray for blessings. To the Yellow Emperor, an owl and a leopard were used; to the Dark Sheep, a sheep was used; to the Horse God, a blue stallion was used; to the Taiyi God, the Gaoshan God, and the Earth God, a whole ox was used; to the Wuyi God, dried fish was used; and to the Yin-Yang Messenger, a bull was used." Later, someone wrote to the emperor, saying, "In ancient times, the emperor often offered sacrifices in spring and autumn to dispel disasters and pray for blessings. To the Yellow Emperor, an owl and a leopard were used; to the Dark Sheep, a sheep was used; to the Horse God, a blue stallion was used; to the Taiyi God, the Gaoshan God, and the Earth God, a whole ox was used; to the Wuyi God, dried fish was used; and to the Yin-Yang Messenger, a bull was used." The emperor ordered the temple officials to preside over the sacrifice according to the method taught by the person who wrote the letter, and the sacrifice was held next to the altar dedicated to the God of Taiyi.

Later, a white deer appeared in the emperor's Shanglin Garden. Some people said that using the skin of the white deer to make leather coins could cause auspicious signs to be sent down from heaven, so the emperor began to make "white gold". 

The next year, when the emperor was holding a suburban sacrifice in Yongdi, he captured a unicorn that looked like a roe deer. Someone in charge of the sacrifice said, "Your Majesty held a suburban sacrifice respectfully. In order to repay your offering, the heavens specially gave you a unicorn. This is probably the Qilin." So the emperor presented the unicorn to the five emperors of the sky, added a cow to the sacrifice to each emperor, and burned them all with a big fire. At the same time, "white gold" was rewarded to all the princes, and the heaven sent down the auspicious sign of "unicorn", which showed that the act of casting "white gold" was in line with the will of heaven. 

居久之，李少君病死。天子以为化去不死也，而使黄锤史宽舒受其方。求蓬莱安期生莫能得，而海上燕齐怪迂之方士多相效，更言神事矣。

亳人薄诱忌奏祠泰一方，曰：“天神贵者泰一，泰一佐曰五帝。古者天子以春秋祭泰一东南郊，用太牢具，七日，为坛开八通之鬼道。”于是天子令太祝立其祠长安东南郊，常奉祠如忌方。其后人有上书，言“古者天子三年一用太牢具祠神三一：天一，地一，泰一”。天子许之，令太祝领祠之忌泰一坛上，如其方。后人复有上书，言“古者天子常以春秋解祠，祠黄帝用一枭破镜；冥羊用羊；祠马行用一青牡马；泰一、皋山山君、地长用牛；武夷君用乾鱼；阴阳使者以一牛”。令祠官领之如其方，而祠于忌泰一坛旁。

其后，天子苑有白鹿，以其皮为币，以发瑞应，造白金焉。

其明年，郊雍，获一角兽，若麃然。有司曰：“陛下肃祗郊祀，上帝报享，锡一角兽，盖麟云。”于是以荐五畤，畤加一牛以燎。赐诸侯白金，以风符应合于天地。

249 Li Shaojun

A12.5|6

At that time, there was a Li Shaojun who was said that he could achieve immortality by offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God and not eating nor excreting, and only then was he able to meet the emperor. And the emperor had deep respect for him. Li Shaojun was the former servant in charge of medicinal materials in the mansion of Marquis Shen Ze. He concealed his age and birthplace, often saying that he was seventy years old and could control ghosts and spirits to prevent himself from aging. He traveled all over the world under the pretext of seeking spiritual enlightenment, and had no wife or children. When people heard that he could control ghosts and spirits and that he would never die, they offered him gifts, so he often received plenty of money, silk, clothing, and delicious food. People thought that he could be very rich without running a business, and they didn't know where he came from, so they trusted him even more and vied to serve him. Li Shaojun was naturally fond of alchemy and was good at taking advantage of opportunities to make inferences and guesses, which could then be confirmed. He once attended a banquet with Marquis Wu'an Tian Fen. Among the guests was an old man in his nineties. Li Shaojun talked about the hunting and shooting spots that he and the old man's grandfather had visited. The old man knew what the place he described was like because he had been there with his grandfather when he was a child. All the guests present were shocked. Once, Li Shaojun paid a visit to the emperor. The emperor happened to have obtained an ancient bronze ware, so he asked Li Shaojun about the age of the bronze ware. Li Shaojun said: "This bronze vessel was displayed on the Baiqin Terrace in the tenth year of Duke Huan of Qi." The emperor immediately checked the words on the bronze ware and found that it was indeed a bronze ware from the time of Duke Huan of Qi. Everyone in the palace was shocked and thought that Li Shaojun was truly a god and had lived for hundreds of years. 

Li Shaojun said to the emperor: "Sacrificing to the Kitchen God can summon the gods, and summoning the gods can refine cinnabar into gold, and then use the gold to make utensils for eating and drinking. Using these utensils can increase life span. After the life span is increased, you can see the immortals on Penglai Island in the East China Sea. After seeing the Penglai immortals and starting the Fengshan ceremony, you can achieve immortality. This is how Huangdi achieved immortality. I once traveled on the sea and met An Qisheng by chance. He made me eat a huge date, which was about the size of a melon. An Qisheng is an immortal who often communicates with other immortals on Penglai Island. If he thinks he is compatible with you, he will appear to meet you; if he thinks he is not compatible with you, he will disappear. So the emperor began to worship the Kitchen God himself, and sent alchemists to the East China Sea to look for people like Anqisheng and the immortals on Penglai Island. He also tried to mix cinnabar with various other medicines to refine it into gold.

是时而李少君亦以祠灶、谷道、卻老方见上，上尊之。少君者，故深泽侯入以主方。匿其年及所生长，常自谓七十，能使物，卻老。其游以方遍诸侯。无妻子。人闻其能使物及不死，更馈遗之，常余金钱帛衣食。人皆以为不治产业而饶给，又不知其何所人，愈信，争事之。少君资好方，善为巧发奇中。尝从武安侯饮，坐中有年九十余老人，少君乃言与其大父游射处，老人为儿时从其大父行，识其处，一坐尽惊。少君见上，上有故铜器，问少君。少君曰：“此器齐桓公十年陈于柏寝。”已而案其刻，果齐桓公器。一宫尽骇，以少君为神，数百岁人也。

少君言于上曰：“祠灶则致物，致物而丹沙可化为黄金，黄金成以为饮食器则益寿，益寿而海中蓬莱仙者可见，见之以封禅则不死，黄帝是也。臣尝游海上，见安期生，食臣枣，大如瓜。安期生仙者，通蓬莱中，合则见人，不合则隐。”于是天子始亲祠灶，而遣方士入海求蓬莱安期生之属，而事化丹沙诸药齐为黄金矣。