261 Huangdi Mingtang

A12.39..43

A year later, the emperor invaded Korea. In the summer, there was a drought. Gongsun Qing said, "During the time of Huangdi, when the Fengshan ceremony was held, there would be drought. In order to dry the soil of the altar as soon as possible, it would take three years of drought." So the emperor issued an edict, saying, "The drought is to dry the soil of the altar, right? Order the whole country to offer sacrifices to the spiritual star in charge of agriculture."

A year later, the emperor went to Yong County to offer sacrifices in the suburbs, and he went there to inspect on the way to Huizhong. In spring, he came to Mingze and then returned via Xihe.

The following winter, the emperor went to Nanjun for inspection. After arriving in Jiangling, he headed east. He climbed Tianzhu Mountain in Qian County and called this mountain Nanyue. He sailed down the river from Xunyang to Congyang and passed Pengli. He offered sacrifices to the famous mountains and rivers along the river. He went north to Langye County and then went north along the coast. In mid-April, he arrived in Fenggao County and held a Fengshan ceremony.

At first, when the emperor came to Mount Tai to hold the Fengshan ceremony, he found an ancient Mingtang in the northeast of the foot of Mount Tai. The terrain was steep and not spacious. The emperor planned to build a Mingtang near Fenggao County, but he could not find out the shape and size of the Mingtang. Gong Yudai, a native of Jinan, presented the "Mingtang Drawing" from the Yellow Emperor period. The "Mingtang Drawing" depicts a hall with no walls around it. The roof is made of thatch. There are ditches around it. There are also sky bridges around the palace walls. There are buildings on the hall, which extend into the hall from the southwest. It is called Kunlun Road. The emperor walked into the hall from here and went there to worship God. Therefore, the emperor ordered the construction of Mingtang in Wenshang, Fenggao according to Gong Yudai's drawings. When he came here again five years later to perform Fengshan, he placed the tablets of Taiyi God and the Five Emperors on the upper seats of the Mingtang for worship, and ordered the tablet of Emperor Gao to face them. In the lower room, he worshipped God Hou Tu, using twenty cows, sheep, and pigs. The emperor entered from Kunlun Road and began to worship in the Mingtang, just like the ritual of suburban sacrifice. After the worship, the offerings were burned under the hall. After that, the emperor climbed Mount Tai again and held a secret sacrifice on the top of the mountain. When worshiping the Five Emperors at the foot of Mount Tai, they all followed their respective positions. Only the Yellow Emperor and the Red Emperor were together, and they were accompanied by relevant officials. When a fire was lit on Mount Tai, fires were also lit at the foot of the mountain to echo.

Two years later, on the first day of the eleventh month, the morning coincided with the winter solstice. Those who calculated the calendar believed that this day should be the starting point of the new calendar to be orthodox. The emperor personally went to Mount Tai and came to the Mingtang to worship God on the morning of the first day of the eleventh month, but no Fengshan ceremony was held. In the congratulatory speech, it said: "The heaven has given the emperor the Taiyuan Divine Strategy, which will repeat itself. The emperor here respectfully worships the Taiyi God." The emperor went east again to the seaside and investigated the people who went to the sea to seek immortality and the alchemists, but to no avail. However, he still sent more messengers to the sea to seek immortality, eager to meet the gods.

其明年，伐朝鲜。夏，旱。公孙卿曰：“黄帝时封则天旱，乾封三年。”上乃下诏曰：“天旱，意乾封乎？其令天下尊祠灵星焉。”

其明年，上郊雍，通回中道，巡之。春，至鸣泽，从西河归。

其明年冬，上巡南郡，至江陵而东。登礼潜之天柱山，号曰南岳。浮江，自寻阳出枞阳，过彭蠡，祀其名山川。北至琅邪，并海上。四月中，至奉高脩封焉。

初，天子封泰山，泰山东北阯古时有明堂处，处险不敞。上欲治明堂奉高旁，未晓其制度。济南人公玉带上黄帝时明堂图。明堂图中有一殿，四面无壁，以茅盖，通水，圜宫垣为复道，上有楼，从西南入，命曰昆仑，天子从之入，以拜祠上帝焉。于是上令奉高作明堂汶上，如带图。及五年脩封，则祠泰一、五帝于明堂上坐，令高皇帝祠坐对之。祠后土于下房，以二十太牢。天子从昆仑道入，始拜明堂如郊礼。礼毕，燎堂下。而上又上泰山，有秘祠其颠。而泰山下祠五帝，各如其方，黄帝并赤帝，而有司侍祠焉。泰山上举火，下悉应之。

其后二岁，十一月甲子朔旦冬至，推历者以本统。天子亲至泰山，以十一月甲子朔旦冬至日祠上帝明堂，每脩封禅。其赞飨曰：“天增授皇帝泰元神筴，周而复始。皇帝敬拜泰一。”东至海上，考入海及方士求神者，莫验，然益遣，冀遇之。

261 Ganoderma lucidum

A12.34..38

In the autumn of that year, a comet appeared in the Dongjing constellation, shining brightly. Ten days later, another comet appeared in the Santai constellation, still shining brightly. A man named Wang Shuo, who was good at observing the weather, said: "I was observing at that time, and I saw that when the star appeared, it was shaped like a gourd, and it disappeared again in the time it took to eat a meal." The relevant officials said: "Your Majesty created the Fengshan ritual system of the Han Dynasty, and the heavens let the auspicious star of virtue appear to repay you."

In the winter of the following year, the emperor went to Yong County to offer sacrifices to the Five Emperors, and after returning, he also offered sacrifices to the Taiyi God. In his speech, he said: "The Virtue Star shines brightly in all directions, heralding good fortune. The Longevity Star also appears, and its brilliance spreads far and wide. The Faith Star shines brightly and brings blessings, and the emperor offers sacrifices to all the gods."

In the spring of this year, Gongsun Qing said that he had met an immortal in Donglai Mountain, and the immortal seemed to say "I want to see the emperor". The emperor therefore came to Goushi City and appointed Gongsun Qing as a senior official. Then he went to Donglai and stayed there for a few days, but he saw nothing but big footprints. The emperor once again sent thousands of alchemists to search for immortal objects and collect Ganoderma lucidum. This year there was a drought. So the emperor had no reasonable reason to go out again, so he went to Wanlisha temple to pray for rain and offered sacrifices when passing by Mount Tai. On his way back, he went to Huzikou and personally went to the place where the Yellow River breach was blocked. He stayed there for two days and sank a white horse to worship the river god before leaving. The emperor ordered two ministers to lead troops to block the breach and dig two canals for the Yellow River, making it look like it did after Dayu controlled the flood.

At that time, Nanyue had been destroyed. The Yue people, Yongzhi, said to the emperor, "The Yue people have the custom of believing in ghosts, and they can see ghosts every time they offer sacrifices, and it is always effective. In the past, the King of Dong'ou respected ghosts and gods and lived to be 160 years old. His descendants neglected ghosts, so they gradually declined." The emperor therefore ordered the shamans in Yue to build the Yue Temple, but only set up a platform but not an altar, to worship the gods and ghosts, and to use chicken bones for divination. Because the emperor believed in it, the Yue Temple and the chicken divination method gradually became popular from then on.

Gongsun Qing said: "It is possible to see immortals, but the emperor is always in a hurry every time he goes to visit immortals, so he cannot see them. Now your majesty can build a pavilion, like the one in Gaoshi City, and prepare offerings such as dried meat, dates and fruits, which should be able to attract immortals. Besides, immortals like to live in pavilions." So the emperor ordered people to build Feilian Temple and Gui Temple in Chang'an, and Yiyanshou Temple in Ganquan Palace, and asked Gongsun Qing to hold the talisman and arrange the offerings to welcome the immortals. Then he built Tongtian Terrace, and placed various ritual vessels for sacrifice under the terrace, hoping to attract immortals. From then on, the front hall was built in Ganquan Palace, and the palace began to be expanded. In summer, Ganoderma lucidum grows in the palace. The emperor built Tongtian Terrace because the Yellow River was blocked, and he seemed to see the light, so he issued an edict saying: "Nine stems of Ganoderma lucidum have grown in the room of Ganquan Palace. I will grant amnesty to the world and will no longer send soldiers to disturb the people."

其秋，有星茀于东井。后十余日，有星茀于三能。望气王朔言：“候独见其星出如瓠，食顷复入焉。”有司言曰：“陛下建汉家封禅，天其报德星云。”

其来年冬，郊雍五帝，还，拜祝祠泰一。赞飨曰：“德星昭衍，厥维休祥。寿星仍出，渊耀光明。信星昭见，皇帝敬拜泰祝之飨。”

其春，公孙卿言见神人东莱山，若云“见天子”。天子于是幸缑氏城，拜卿为中大夫。遂至东莱，宿留之数日，毋所见，见大人迹。复遣方士求神怪采芝药以千数。是岁旱。于是天子既出毋名，乃祷万里沙，过祠泰山。还至瓠子，自临塞决河，留二日，沈祠而去。使二卿将卒塞决河，河徙二渠，复禹之故迹焉。

是时既灭南越，越人勇之乃言“越人俗信鬼，而其祠皆见鬼，数有效。昔东瓯王敬鬼，寿至百六十岁。后世谩怠，故衰秏”。乃令越巫立越祝祠，安台无坛，亦祠天神上帝百鬼，而以鸡卜。上信之，越祠鸡卜始用焉。

公孙卿曰：“仙人可见，而上往常遽，以故不见。今陛下可为观，如缑氏城，置脯枣，神人宜可致。且仙人好楼居。”于是上令长安则作蜚廉桂观，甘泉则作益延寿观，使卿持节设具而候神人，乃作通天台，置祠具其下，将招来神仙之属。于是甘泉更置前殿，始广诸宫室。夏，有芝生殿防内中。天子为塞河，兴通天台，若有光云，乃下诏曰：“甘泉防生芝九茎，赦天下，毋有复作。”

260 Yuan Feng

A12.31..33

In April, the emperor returned to Fenggao. The emperor considered that the Fengshan rituals mentioned by Confucian scholars and alchemists were different, and there was no record of them in ancient books, so it was indeed difficult to implement them. The emperor then went to Liangfu Mountain to hold a ceremony to worship the earth god. On the Yimao day, he ordered the Confucian scholars of the imperial court to wear white deerskin hats and official uniforms with hu tablets inserted in them to hold a ceremony to shoot the bull. An altar was built in the east foot of Mount Tai for offering sacrifices, and the rituals of worshipping the Taiyi God were strictly followed. The altar for offering sacrifices to the sky was 12 feet wide and 9 feet high, and the documents of Fengshan were placed under the altar, and the contents of the documents were very secret. After the sacrifice, the emperor climbed Mount Tai alone with his attendant, the imperial carriage commander Huo Zihou, and also held a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heavens. These things were top secret and could not be disclosed to the public. The next day, they descended along the road on the north slope of the mountain. On the day of Bingchen, a ceremony of offering sacrifice to the earth was held at the Suran Mountain northeast of the foot of Mount Tai, referring to the ritual of offering sacrifice to Hou Tu. During these Fengshan ceremonies, the emperor personally offered sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth, wearing yellow formal clothes and using music. Three-edged Lingshao collected from the Jianghuai area was used as a god mat, and the altar was built with five-colored mud symbolizing the five directions. At that time, some strange birds and beasts from afar and animals such as white-haired pheasants were released, which greatly increased the solemn atmosphere of the ceremony. However, animals such as yak, yak, rhinoceros, and elephants were not used. The emperor and his ministers came to Mount Tai first and then left. During the period of Fengshan, there seemed to be a light every night, and white clouds rose from the altar during the day. 

The emperor returned from Fengshan and sat in the Mingtang. His ministers came up to congratulate him. So the emperor issued an edict to the censor, saying: "I have assumed the supreme position of the emperor with my insignificant body. I am cautious and fearful that I am not competent for it. My virtue is shallow and I don't know much about rituals and music. When I was offering sacrifices to the Taiyi God, auspicious light seemed to appear in the sky. I felt very uneasy, as if I saw something. I was deeply touched by this strange scene. Although I wanted to stop, I didn't dare. Finally, I was able to climb Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the sky. After reaching Liangfu Mountain, I offered sacrifices to the earth at the Suran Mountain Rest Area. I want to improve myself and I am happy to start again with the literati. Grant the common people one hundred households One cow and ten shi of wine for each household, and two bolts of cloth for the elderly over eighty years old and the widowed and widower. Bo County, Fenggao, Sheqiu, and Licheng are exempt from taxes for the year. A general amnesty is issued, the same as the amnesty in the year of Yimao. In any place I pass through during my tour, no more trouble will be caused to the people. If the crime happened two years ago, it will not be investigated. Then he issued an edict saying, "In ancient times, the emperor would go on a tour every five years to worship at Mount Tai, and the princes who came to pay homage had their own residences. Each prince should build an official residence at the foot of Mount Tai."

After the Emperor finished the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai, he did not encounter any disturbance from wind and rain, and the alchemists also said that the sacred mountains such as Penglai would be found. So the Emperor was very happy, thinking that he might meet a fairy, so he went east again to the seaside to look out, hoping to meet the immortals of Penglai. The commander of the imperial carriage, Huo Zihou, suddenly fell seriously ill and died in one day. The Emperor then left, along the coast, north to Jieshi, and then began to tour from Liaoxi, passing the northern border and reaching Jiuyuan County. In May, the Emperor returned to Ganquan Palace. Relevant officials proposed that the year when the tripod was discovered be named "Yuan Ding". Because of this year's Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai, the year name was set as "Yuan Feng", and this year was the first year of Yuan Feng.

四月，还至奉高。上念诸儒及方士言封禅人人殊，不经，难施行。天子至梁父，礼祠地主。乙卯，令侍中儒者皮弁荐绅，射牛行事。封泰山下东方，如郊祠泰一之礼。封广丈二尺，高九尺，其下则有玉牒书，书秘。礼毕，天子独与侍中奉车子侯上泰山，亦有封。其事皆禁。明日，下阴道。丙辰，禅泰山下址东北肃然山，如祭后土礼。天子皆亲拜见，衣上黄而尽用乐焉。江淮闲一茅三脊为神藉。五色土益杂封。纵远方奇兽蜚禽及白雉诸物，颇以加祠。兕旄牛犀象之属弗用。皆至泰山然后去。封禅祠，其夜若有光，昼有白云起封中。

天子从封禅还，坐明堂，群臣更上寿。于是制诏御史：“朕以眇眇之身承至尊，兢兢焉惧弗任。维德菲薄，不明于礼乐。修祀泰一，若有象景光，屑如有望，依依震于怪物，欲止不敢，遂登封泰山，至于梁父，而后禅肃然。自新，嘉与士大夫更始，赐民百户牛一酒十石，加年八十孤寡布帛二匹。复博、奉高、蛇丘、历城，毋出今年租税。其赦天下，如乙卯赦令。行所过毋有复作。事在二年前，皆勿听治。”又下诏曰：“古者天子五载一巡狩，用事泰山，诸侯有朝宿地。其令诸侯各治邸泰山下。”

天子既已封禅泰山，无风雨灾，而方士更言蓬莱诸神山若将可得，于是上欣然庶几遇之，乃复东至海上望，冀遇蓬莱焉。奉车子侯暴病，一日死。上乃遂去，并海上，北至碣石，巡自辽西，历北边至九原。五月，返至甘泉。有司言宝鼎出为元鼎，以今年为元封元年。