This is the section of the work which comprises treatises on matters of importance to the Government; but unfortunately, although this section of dynastic histories assumed great importance as a result of the pioneer effort of Sima Qian, in the Historical Records some of the chapters are confused and incomplete. Furthermore, most of the eight treatises include very little about the Qin Dynasty, which is unsurprising in view of its brevity. Of the three that do I have omitted the astronomical section in spite of the high regard in which it is held by experts. The reason for this is that it was very much Sima Qian’s professional concern, so the material it contains is inappropriate for the non-specialist reader. I therefore confine myself to a translation of the relevant passages in chapters 28 and 29, the former of which deals with state religious practices, and the latter with rivers and canals. The chapter on religious practices is entitled ‘The Feng and Shan Sacrifices’, taking its name from the two very important sacrifices that were performed by Sons of Heaven when they felt confident that their virtuous rule had fully justified their position.
WHEN the First Emperor of Qin, having unified all under Heaven, had become emperor, someone said: ‘The Yellow Emperor obtained the Power of Earth, and a yellow dragon and an earthworm appeared. The Xia obtained the Power of Wood, and a green dragon stopped at the bounds, and the grass and trees became luxuriant. The Yin obtained the Power of Metal, and silver flowed forth from the mountains. The Zhou obtained the Power of Fire, and there was the omen of the red bird.* Now that the Qin has replaced the Zhou, it is time for the Power of Water. Once upon a time, when Duke Wen of Qin sallied forth to hunt, he captured a black dragon, and this was his omen indicating the Power of Water.’ Thereupon Qin renamed the Yellow River as the ‘Powerful Water’, and took the tenth month, which was in winter, as the beginning of the year. Among colours they gave priority to black, and they treated six as the basis for measurement, and in sounds they gave priority to dalü, and in the conduct of affairs they gave priority to law.
Three years after he had assumed the position of emperor, he journeyed east and toured the provinces and districts. He made a sacrifice at Mount Yi in Zou and extolled the exploits of Qin. He then summoned seventy Confucian masters and scholars of broad learning from Qi and Lu who were in attendance to come to the foot of Mount Tai. Among the various Confucian masters someone counselled that ‘When the feng and shan were performed in antiquity, the carriage wheels were wrapped in rushes, for they hated to do harm to the soil or vegetation on the mountain; they sacrificed when the earth had been swept, and for mats they used rushes and grain-stalks, so the description would be easy to comply with.’ The First Emperor heard the counsel of these people, but each suggestion was bizarre and difficult to adopt, and as a result he got rid of the Confucian masters.
Next he opened up a roadway for carriages and, ascending via the southern face of Mount Tai, he reached the summit, where a stone tablet was set up, extolling the virtue of the First Emperor of Qin, to make clear that he had been able to perform the feng sacrifice. He descended via a route on the northern side of the mountain, and made the shan sacrifice at Liangfu. In the ceremonies for this they drew to some extent on the procedures which had been used by the Great Supplicator when he sacrificed to the Supreme God at Yong. But the feng sacrifice was hidden away and kept totally secret* so that it could not be recorded by contemporaries.
When the First Emperor ascended Mount Tai, he encountered violent wind and rain when half-way up the slope, and rested beneath a huge tree. The various Confucian masters who had been dismissed, and had not been able to be present to have their advice followed with regard to the ritual adopted in the feng procedures, ridiculed the Emperor when they heard that he had encountered the wind and rain.
Thereupon the First Emperor next went east and travelled along the sea coast. On his journey he performed rituals and sacrificed to the famous mountains and great rivers, together with the Eight Spirits, and searched for immortals such as Xianmen.
As for the Eight Spirits, it seems that they have existed since antiquity. Some say that this worship has been carried out since the Great Duke. Since sacrifices to them were not continued without a break, nobody knows when they started. Of the Eight Spirits, the first is called the Sovereign of Heaven, and it is sacrificed to at the Navel of Heaven, which is a deep pool situated at the foot of a mountain in the southern environs of Linzi.* (The reason why Qi was called Qi is because of the Navel of Heaven.) The second is called the Sovereign of Earth and it is sacrificed to at Liangfu near Mount Tai. To be sure, since it is said that Heaven loves the Yin, sacrifices to it must take place at the foot of a high mountain or at the top of a small mountain, naming it as the ‘sacred site’; and since Earth honours the Yang, offerings to it must take place on a round hill in the middle of marshy land. The third is called the Sovereign of Weapons, and one sacrificed to Chi You.* Chi You was situated in the district of Lujian in the province of Tongping, which is on the western borders of Qi. The fourth is called the Sovereign of Yin and it is sacrificed to at the Three Mountains. The fifth is called the Sovereign of Yang and it is sacrificed to at Zhifu. The sixth is called the Lord of the Moon and it is sacrificed to at Mount Lai. All of these were in the north of Qi, along the shore of Bohai. The seventh is called the Sovereign of the Sun and it is sacrificed to at Mount Cheng. Mount Cheng slopes steeply into the sea, and it is said that it is situated in the extreme north-eastern corner of Qi, to welcome the sunrise. The eighth is called the Sovereign of the Four Seasons and it is sacrificed to at Langye. Langye is in the eastern area of Qi, surely where the year begins. In each case sacrifice was offered using one set of sacrificial victims, but as to the additions and reductions introduced by the shamans and priests, as well as the jade tablets and silk offerings—these were various.
From the times of Wei and Xuan of Qi the disciples of Master Cou* discussed and wrote about the succession of the Five Powers. When Qin became an empire, the men of Qi submitted an account of this, and so the First Emperor made use of it. Song Wuji, Zhengbo Qiao, Chong Shang, and, last of all, Xianmen Gao were all men of Qi. They practised magic and the way of the immortals, and their bodies disintegrated, melted, and were transformed, and they relied on the activities of ghosts and spirits. Cou Yan became distinguished in the feudal states because of the Yin and Yang and the succession of the Five Powers, and the magicians from the sea coast of Yan and Qi handed down his techniques but could not understand them. Consequently there developed from this a situation in which there were innumerable exponents of the bizarre but flattering and ingratiating.
From the time of Wei and Xuan and Zhao of Yan, people had been sent to sea to seek Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. These three spirit mountains were said to be situated in the Bohai, and they were not far away from human beings; but the trouble was that when one was about to reach them, the boat would be driven off course by the wind. To be sure, there once existed people who reached these places, and both immortals and the elixir of everlasting life were to be found there. All the flora and fauna there were white, and the palaces and gates were made of gold and silver. Before one arrived they were like clouds as one gazed upon them from afar; but when one did get there, the three spirit mountains were situated upside-down beneath the water. As one approached them, the wind suddenly drove one off course, and it is said that in the end nobody could reach them. All the rulers of the time felt frustrated at this.
Coming to the time when the First Emperor of Qin unified all under Heaven, when he reached the sea coast innumerable magicians mentioned these places. The First Emperor considered going to sea himself, but was afraid he would not reach them, so he appointed someone to send youths and maidens to sea in search of them. Although boats passed backwards and forwards over the sea, they all made the wind their excuse and said that they had so far been unable to get there, but had seen them in the distance.
Next year the First Emperor again travelled along the sea coast, and went as far as Langye. He passed Mount Heng and returned via Shangdang. Three years later he travelled to Jieshi and interrogated the magicians who had gone to sea, and then returned home via Shang province. Five years later the First Emperor went south and reached Mount Xiang, and next he climbed Kuaiji and went along the sea coast, hoping to come across the marvellous elixirs from the three spirit mountains in the sea. He did not obtain them and, when he reached Shaqiu on his return, he passed away.*
In the first year of his reign Second Generation made a tour eastwards to Jieshi, followed the coastline southwards, went past Mount Tai, and reached Kuaiji. He performed ceremonies and sacrifices at all these places, and engraved inscriptions on the side of the writings on the stone tablets which the First Emperor had erected, in order to make manifest the achievements and virtue of the First Emperor. In the autumn of that year the feudal states rebelled against Qin, and in his third year Second Generation died by assassination.
Qin perished twelve years after the First Emperor had performed the feng and shan sacrifices. All the Confucian scholars hated Qin for burning the Songs and the Documents, and putting to death the men of letters, and the people resented its laws, so all under Heaven rebelled against it and completely misrepresented the situation by saying: ‘When the First Emperor climbed Mount Tai, he was attacked by violent wind and rain and could not perform the feng and shan.’ Is this not what is meant by one who performs sacrifices although be lacks the virtue for it?
In ancient times the rulers of the Three Dynasties were all to be found between the Yellow River and the Luo. Therefore Mount Song was regarded as the Central Peak, and the four peaks each corresponded with their own particular directions. The four watercourses were all east of the mountains. When Qin adopted the name of ‘emperor’ and the capital was established at Xianyang, the five peaks and the four watercourses were all likewise in the east. From the Five Emperors down to Qin, prosperity alternated with decay, and some of the famous mountains and great rivers were within the territory of the feudal lords and some within the territory of the Son of Heaven. The ceremonies used at these places fluctuated and varied from age to age, so they cannot be completely recorded. When Qin unified all under Heaven, orders were given that there should be a systematization of those offerings which had been regularly made by the officials responsible for sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, the famous mountains, the great rivers, and the ghosts and spirits.
After that, to the east of Xiao sacrifices were offered to five famous mountains and two great rivers. They were called the Great Room (which is Mount Song), Mount Heng, Mount Tai, Kuaiji, and Mount Xiang. The rivers were the Ji and the Huai. In spring a sacrifice was made using dried meat and wine for the sake of the harvest, and as a result the ice was made to thaw. In autumn they made the water freeze, and in winter prayers and sacrifices of thanksgiving were made. At each of these sacrifices a single offering of an ox and a calf was used, but the implements and the jade and silk were different in each case.
To the west of Hua there were seven famous mountains and four famous rivers. They were called Mount Hua, Mount Bo (alias Mount Shuai), Mount Yue, Mount Qi, Wu Peak, Crane Mound, and Mount Du (alias Mount Wen in Shu). The rivers were the Yellow River (which was sacrificed to at Linjin), the Mian (which was sacrificed to at Hanzhong), the Jiao Deep (which was sacrificed to at Chaona, and the Yangtze (which was sacrificed to at Shu).
Likewise sacrifices for thawing and freezing in spring and autumn, as well as prayers of thanksgiving, were offered, just as to the famous mountains and streams of the east. The sacrificial victims were an ox and a calf, but the implements, jades and silks, were different in each case. Also the four great peaks of Hong, Qi, Wu, and Yue all received fresh grain. The Treasures of Chen* were sacrificed to at the season when they appeared, and the Yellow River in addition had a sacrifice of newly made unstrained wine. These were all in the region of Yongzhou, near to the capital of the Son of Heaven, so a carriage and four red horses with black manes were added.
The Ba, Chan, Changshui, Feng, Lao, Jing, and Wei were all of them not great rivers, but because of their proximity to Xianyang they all got sacrifices comparable with those received by the mountains and rivers, although without the various additions. Rivers such as the Qian, Luo, Two Deeps, and Mingze, and mountains such as Mount Pu and Mount Yuexu, although they were small rivers and mountains, were also all given prayers for the harvest and sacrifices for thawing, freezing, and thanksgiving, although the ritual was not necessarily the same.
At this point a passage equivalent to about a page in translation is omitted because it consists of a further list of places of worship and sacrifice.
In Qin the spirits which had only the tiniest amount of divine power were each offered sacrifices in accordance with the season of the year. But the supreme gods of the four sacred places at Yong were deemed the most honourable. But it was only the Treasures of Chen whose luminosity moved the people. Therefore in the four sacred places at Yong in spring prayers were said for the harvest, and because of this the ice was made to thaw, and in autumn the waters were made to freeze, and in winter sacrifices of thanksgiving were made. In spring and summer red colts were used and in autumn and winter red colts with black manes. In the sacred places four colts were used, together with wooden images of one team of four dragons drawing a belled carriage and one team of four horses drawing an ordinary carriage, each in accordance with the colour of the appropriate deity. Four yellow calves and four lambs, each together with a specific number of jades and silks, were all buried alive, and there was no paraphernalia such as stands and platters.
The sacrifice at the bounds took place once every three years. Qin took the tenth month in winter as the beginning of the year, and so it was always the tenth month when the Emperor fasted and appeared at the bounds. Beacon fires were raised, and he made his prostrations on the Xianyang side, and in his vestments white was predominant, and it is said that his practices conformed with those of ordinary sacrifices. The sacrifices at the western sacred place and the sacred place of Xi conformed with their previous practice, but the Emperor did not go in person.
All these sacrifices the Great Supplicator regularly presided over, and sacrifices were offered in accordance with the seasons of the year. With regard to, for example, the other famous mountains and rivers and the various ghosts and also the Eight Spirits, if the Emperor was passing, he made a sacrifice; but when he left, it was over and done with. As for those who sacrificed to the spirits in the remote regions of the provinces and districts, in each case the people themselves offered up the sacrifices, and they were not directed by the supplicatory officials of the Son of Heaven. Among the supplicatory officials there was the Secret Supplicator. As soon as there was an omen of disaster, he immediately offered up prayers and sacrifices so that the fault might instead be visited on inferiors.
There follows a much shorter extract from the treatise on rivers and canals, which gives a fuller account of the construction of the Zheng Guo Canal which was referred to briefly in the biography of Li Si.
But Hann heard that Qin was fond of embarking on enterprises, so with the intention of causing its energies to be dissipated and in order to prevent it from making an attack to the east, it accordingly dispatched a water engineer named Zheng Guo to give controversial advice to Qin by making it excavate a canal from the Jing river west of Mount Zhong as far as Hukou, from where it was to go east along the Northern Mountains and flow into the Luo. It would be more than 300 li long, and the intention would be to use it to irrigate the fields. When it was half completed the true purpose was realized, and Qin intended to kill Zheng Guo, but Zheng Guo said: ‘At first I was acting in order to cause dissension, but when the canal is completed it will surely be a benefit to Qin.’ Qin thought this was true, so in the end had the progress on the canal continued. When the canal did make further progress, it was used to cause the stagnant waters to flow, and irrigate the salty land over an area of more than 40,000 qing, so that the harvest totalled one zhong per mou.* Thereupon the area within the passes was turned into fertile but uncultivated land, and there were no calamitous years, and thus Qin became rich and strong, and in the end unified the feudal states. Because of this it was called the Zheng Guo Canal.