Book 13, Part 6
CHAPTER 60
Complying with and Deviating from the Five Phases
Section 60.1
Wood [corresponds to] spring. Its nature is to give birth. It is the root of agriculture. [When Wood governs,] make every effort to encourage agricultural affairs, and do not impinge on the common people’s seasonal [tasks]. Employ the people not more than three days annually, tax them [only] one-tenth of their output, and promote scholars versed in the classical arts. Relax the numerous prohibitions, pardon light offenses, release the detained and incarcerated, and remove handcuffs and shackles. Open doors and covers, and penetrate barriers and obstructions. Then [Heaven’s] favor will extend to the grasses and trees; the plants and trees will flourish beautifully; and the numerous [kinds of] grasses1 will germinate. [Heaven’s] favor also will extend to the scaly creatures: fish will spawn abundantly; sturgeons and whales will not appear; and numerous dragons will descend.
If, however, the people’s ruler is untimely in his comings and goings, his sporting dogs and trained horses will run away and gallop off and not return to the palace halls. If he is fond of lewd music, drinks wine and sinks into drunkenness, is unrestrained and indulgent, and does not attend to his governance; and if his public works proliferate, calling forth numerous people to serve him, impinging on the time necessary for the people to attend to their agricultural tasks, [and] making plans and increasing taxes so that he steals the resources of the people, the people will suffer sores from itching, scratching their bodies until they grow feverish, and their feet and shins will [be racked with] pain. Then [Heaven’s] calamities will extend to Wood, so that trees that once flourished will become withered, and the cart wheels hewn by artisans will become badly broken. Noxious waters will engulf the teeming masses [of living things], and the banks of ponds will dry up, [strewn with] stranded fish. [Heaven’s] calamities also will visit scaly creatures, so that fish will not spawn, the numerous dragons will hide themselves in the depths, and the great whales will appear.
Fire corresponds to summer, growth and maturation, and the present dynasty. [When Fire governs,] promote the Worthy and Excellent,2 and advance the Cultivated Talent3 so that
offices secure their abilities
and posts secure their strengths.
Reward the meritorious
and enfeoff the virtuous.
Distribute goods and resources to supplement those in need. Correct the boundaries of the principalities and send envoys to the four quarters. Then [Heaven’s] favors will extend to Fire.4 Fire will comply with the people’s [needs,] and sweet dew will descend. [Heaven’s] favors also will extend to the feathered creatures. Flying birds will greatly proliferate; the yellow crane will appear; and the male and female phoenix will soar.
If, however, the people’s ruler is deluded by the slanderous and deceitful,
inside his household he will grow estranged from his relatives,
and outside his household he will grow distant from his loyal officials.
The heir apparent will be summarily killed;
the innocent will be punished with execution;
and loyal ministers will be expelled.
If he takes his concubine as a wife, disregards [his own] laws and orders, lets women run the government, and bestows gifts on the unworthy, the people will suffer ailments of the blood, their bodies will swell, and their sight will become unclear. Then [Heaven’s] calamities will extend to Fire and there will be a great drought. Conflagrations will be inevitable. Birds’ nests will be destroyed and nestlings snatched. [Heaven’s] calamities will extend to winged creatures so that flying birds will not proliferate, “winter responders”5 will not arrive, owls will gather shrieking together, and the male and female phoenix will fly high and away.
Earth [corresponds to] midsummer, the maturing and ripening of the numerous kinds of [crops], and the ruler’s officials. [When Earth governs,]
follow the regulations of the palace,
heed the distinctions of husband and wife,
increase the gratitude of relatives.
Then [Heaven’s] favors will extend to Earth.
The five [types of] grain will mature,
and the best [types of] millet will flourish.
[Heaven’s] favors also will extend to the “naked creatures.”6 The populace will grow intimate and close; cities and suburbs will fill to capacity; worthies and sages will transfer their lodgings; and immortals will descend.
If, however, the people’s ruler is fond of lewdness and indolence, his wives and concubines will exceed the proper limits,
offending his close and distant relatives
and insulting his father and elder brothers.
If he defrauds and cheats the populace, erects grand open air pavilions, dazzles the eyes with the five colors, carves ornaments and sculpts rafters, the people will suffer “the yellow and black” illnesses of the heart and stomach, and their tongues will burn with pain. Then [Heaven’s] calamities will extend to Earth, so the five [types of] grain will not ripen, and there will be much violence and suffering. [Heaven’s] calamities also will extend to naked creatures. Naked creatures will not reproduce; the populace will rebel and flee; and worthies and sages will be banished and lost.
Metal [corresponds to] autumn and the inception of the “killing qi.” [When Metal governs,]
set up flags and drums,
take hold of tassled spears and battle-axes
in order to
execute the violent and injurious,
restrain the oppressive and cruel,
and thereby bring security to and gather together the populace.7 Thus, when arousing the multitudes and raising armies, you must respond with righteous principles. When embarking on military expeditions, control your forces; when returning from [expeditions], regulate your forces. In periods of leisure, be sure to drill them, taking advantage of the seasonal hunts to do so.
In times of survival, do not forget the possibility of destruction.
In times of peace, do not forget the possibility of danger.
Renovate your cities and suburbs,
repair walls and ramparts,
reexamine the various prohibitions,
refurbish weapons and armor,
admonish the numerous officials,
and execute the unlawful.
Then [Heaven’s] favors will extend to metal and stone,8 and cool winds will arise. [Heaven’s] favors also will extend to hairy creatures, so that running animals will greatly proliferate and the qilin will arrive.
If, however, the people’s ruler is fond of warfare and he attacks and oppresses the Lords of the Land,
coveting the goods of the marketplace
and scorning the lives of the commoners,
the people will suffer coughing throats, lethargic muscles, and congested noses from colds. Then [Heaven’s] calamities will extend to Metal so that
casting and smelting will be congealed and weak,
cold tempering will not succeed.
[If you] set up nets on all sides, and [then] set fire to the forests to flush the game, [Heaven’s] calamities also will extend to hairy creatures so that running creatures will not proliferate, the white tiger will attack wildly, and qilins will stray far away.
Water [corresponds to] winter, storing up, and the height of yin qi. It marks the beginning of the sacrifices and offerings at the ancestral temple, the sacrifices that reverence the four seasons, and the proper sequence of the Di and Xia9 sacrifices before the ancestral spirit tablets, left and right.
[When Water governs,]
the Son of Heaven sacrifices to Heaven;
the Lords of the Land sacrifice to Earth.
Shut doors and gates,
investigate strangers,
apprehend the condemned,
garrison the passes and bridges,
and prohibit travel abroad.
Then [Heaven’s] favors will extend to Water. Sweet springs will gush forth. [Heaven’s] favors also will extend to armored [i.e., shell-covered] creatures; sea turtles and water lizards will greatly proliferate; and loggerhead turtles will appear.
If, however, the people’s ruler neglects the ancestral temples, does not pray and make offerings to the spirits, abandons the sacrifices, does not administer the laws compliantly, and defies Heaven’s seasons, the common people will suffer the illnesses of weeping swellings, dropsy,10 paralysis, rheumatism, and constipation. Then [Heaven’s] calamities will extend to Water, so that fog will grow murky and dark and inevitably there will be great floods, the water wreaking havoc on the common people. [Heaven’s] calamities also will extend to armored creatures so that loggerhead turtles will go into deep hiding, and sea turtles and water lizards will gasp for air. [60/62/13–60/63/17]
 
  1.  Accepting the emendation of 朱 to 諸; see CQFL 60/62/15, note 5.
  2.  Following Lau, we have corrected the order of these two terms. The “Worthy and Excellent” (Xianliang 賢良) was a recommendation category for men nominated by local officials to be considered at the capital for selection and appointment to government posts, as defined in Charles O. Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1985), 242.
  3.  During the Eastern Han, the term “Cultivated Talent” (maocai 茂才) was adopted as an official variant of xiucai 秀才 to avoid the taboo on Emperor Guangwu’s name. Cultivated talent was a rubric under which talented men were nominated to be considered for official appointments.
  4.  The Lau text has 恩及於人, but the Su Yu and Lai Yanyuan editions have 恩及於火, which makes better sense in the context of the paragraph. We have followed Su Yu (CQFLYZ 363) and Lai Yanyuan here.
  5.  This refers to migratory birds that normally arrive from the south in spring or early summer to breed in China and then migrate south again when cold weather arrives, hence the term dong ying 冬應 (winter responders).
  6.  That is, humans and animals lacking feathers, fur, scales, or shells.
  7.  Several early commentators correctly point out that two characters appear to be missing following 安集. We follow one suggested emendation and supply baixing 百姓 (Zhong, CQFLJS 689, note 2).
  8.  That is, musical instruments such as bells and chime stones.
  9.  The Di sacrifice was an offering to the remotest ancestor from whom the founder of the dynasty traced his descent, and the Xia sacrifice was a collective offering to remote ancestors.
10.  Following Ling Shu’s edition, which has chang 脹 (accumulation of water), instead of chang 長 (to extend) (Su Yu, CQFLYZ 381).