“SEASONAL RULES” is the third part of a trilogy with chapters 3 and 4. Having established, in those chapters, the patterns of Heaven (and their astrological significance) and the shape of Earth (and how creatures interact with topography), the Huainanzi’s authors turn here to the role of monthly and seasonal ritual time in the proper governing of the empire. Reflecting the annual waxing and waning of the powers of yin and yang and the successive seasonal potency of each of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water), the chapter prescribes ritual behavior, colors of vestments, and actions of government for each of the year’s twelve months; proscribes certain other behaviors and actions; and warns of the bad consequences of applying the rules appropriate to any one season inappropriately to any of the others. The year is divided not into the four natural seasons of the solar year but into five seasons (with the third month of summer being treated as an artificial fifth season, “midsummer”) so as to make all the ritual prescriptions of the seasons conform to the correlative cosmology of the Five Phases. The chapter thus integrates yin–yang and Five Phase theory in a detailed and holistic fashion for the guidance of government policy throughout the year.
The Chapter Title
The title of this chapter is “Shi ze” 
. Shi means “season” and, by extension, “time.” Ze is one of several words in classical Chinese sharing a spectrum of meanings such as “law,” “pattern,” “model,” “rule,” “ordinance,” and “commandment.” (Other words in this group include fa 
, lü 
, du 
, and ling 
.) We translate the chapter title as “Seasonal Rules.” The grouping of the chapter’s twelve monthly sections into five “seasons” (the four natural seasons plus an artificial “midsummer”) emphasizes the importance of seasonal time. The connotations of the English word “rules” capture the cosmic and impersonal nature of the chapter’s prescriptions, which allow no latitude for modification or
abrogation.
Chapter 5 is one of three versions of a text otherwise known as Yueling 
(Monthly Ordinances). One version is found as the first section of each of the first twelve chapters of the Lüshi chunqiu, the so-called Almanac chapters of that work.1 Another version, substantially identical to that in the Lüshi chunqiu but collected into a single chapter, is found as chapter 6 of the Liji (Record of Rites).2
Summary and Key Themes
“Seasonal Rules” prescribes appropriate ritual and administrative behavior for the ruler throughout the year, according to a scheme based on the annual cycles of yin and yang and the Five Phases. The chapter begins with twelve sections corresponding to the twelve months and concludes with three more sections that supplement and amplify the prescriptions contained in sections 5.1 through 5.12. The first month of spring—that is, the second lunar month following the month in which the winter solstice occurs—is designated by the third earthly branch, yin. (This is the first civil month according to the so-called Xia calendar, followed throughout the Huainanzi.) Each of the monthly sections follows a set pattern of correlations, with the correlates varying systematically from section to section:3
In the nth month of season A, zhaoyao4 points to [the direction indicated by] earthly branch B. Lunar lodge C culminates at dusk; lodge D culminates at dawn.
Season A occupies direction E; the season’s heavenly stems are XY. The fullness of power is in [seasonal] phase F. The [seasonal] class of creatures is G. The pentatonic note is H [seasonal], the pitch pipe is I [monthly]. The number is J, the taste is K, the smell is L [all seasonal]. Sacrifices are made to the M household god; organ O is offered first [seasonal].
Omens and portents from the world of living creatures; signs of the changing year [monthly].
The Son of Heaven wears [seasonal] P-colored clothing. He rides in a chariot drawn by dragon horses of [seasonal] color P, wears P-colored jade pendants, and flies a P-colored banner. He eats grain Q and meat R (for ritual meals). He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with a fire kindled from stalks of [seasonal] plant S. The ladies of the court wear P-colored clothing with P-colored trim. They play musical instruments T and U. The weapon of season A is V; its domestic animal is W.
The Son of Heaven holds court in the [monthly] chamber N of the Mingtang, from where he issues appropriate orders.
Inauguration of season A [first month of each season only]. The Son of Heaven personally leads the Three Sires, Nine Lords, and the great nobles to meet the A season at the altar in the (direction E) suburb.
The Son of Heaven issues regulations for sacrifices and promulgates prescriptions and prohibitions appropriate to the month and the season and makes pronouncements regarding the people’s livelihoods. The Son of Heaven issues charges to appropriate officials.
The chapter warns of the disastrous consequence of applying, in any given season, the rules appropriate to each of the other seasons.
Month N governs office Z; its tree is AA.
There are minor but systematic differences between monthly sections that begin a season and those that do not. The signs and portents from the natural world, the orders given to officials, and the prohibitions and prescriptions naturally vary from month to month, but overall this outline is followed closely in the twelve chapter sections corresponding to the twelve months of the year.
The chapter concludes with three sections that build on the twelve monthly sections:
1. Section 5.13, the “five positions” (wu wei 
), provides information, partly geographical and partly mythographical, about five regions: east, south, the center, west, and north, with the rules governing each. These rules are prescriptions for the conduct of government and are similar but not identical to those for the five “seasons” contained in the twelve monthly sections of the text.
2. Section 5.14, the “six coordinates” (liu he 
),5 are six pairs of months linked conceptually as if by diagonals drawn across the celestial circle, similar to the “six departments” found in Huainanzi section 3.13. The pairs thus are of opposites—for example, first month of spring–first month of autumn, middle month of spring–middle month of autumn, and so on. (Note that in this scheme the third month of summer is not singled out as a special “midsummer” season.) Each of the twelve months is characterized in a phrase or two, followed by formulas for the pairs: “If government fails in its duties in month N, in month N + 6, there will be bad consequence X.” The section ends with a set of prognostications similar to those concluding each of the twelve monthly sections of the text: “If in season A the ordinances of season B (C, D) are carried out, there will be bad consequence X (Y, Z).”
3. Section 5.15, the “six regulators” (liu du 
), is a fu (poetic exposition) celebrating six measuring instruments—the marking cord, the level, the compass, the balance beam, the square, and the weight—that are correlated with Heaven, Earth, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. Each instrument is the subject of a poetic paean to its virtues as a standard, and later lines tell how each should be applied “in the regulation of the Mingtang,” or in other words, to the annual calendar of ritual observances. (The Mingtang, a term sometimes translated as “Hall of Light,” was a special building in which monthly and seasonal rituals were conducted.)
Throughout the chapter, appropriate monthly and seasonal rules, rituals, and other human and natural phenomena are linked to the two complementary annual cycles of yin and yang (expressed through the correlation of the twelve months with the twelve earthly branches and their associated directions) and the Five Phases. The yin–yang cycle is seen as an annual round of months in which yang begins to grow in the first month of spring, becomes dominant in summer, is at its maximum in the midsummer month, and wanes in autumn and winter as the power of yin emerges and grows. The Five Phases are most apparent in the ritual colors associated with each of the five seasons, but these chapters embrace many other Five Phase correlations as well.6
The extent to which these prescriptions and prohibitions formed, or even could have formed, the basis for Han ritual and public policy is an important historical question worthy of consideration. Approached from a modern sensibility, they strike the reader as fanciful. Even with some knowledge of Han ritual and politics, two arguments point in the direction of considering “Seasonal Rules” no more than an unreachable ideal of imperial behavior. The first is the sheer complexity and rigidity of the rules themselves. It is difficult to imagine a busy and overburdened emperor taking the time and trouble to carry out these measures in person, as the text demands. The second is the artificiality of the prescriptions themselves. There was, of course, general agreement on key points: the branch correlations of the months, the annual cycle of yin and yang, and the color and directional correlations of the Five Phases. These had been widely understood and accepted since at least the mid–Warring States period. But other correlations—seasonal weapons, monthly trees, and the like—were not as securely established, and the correlations given in the Yueling (in the Huainanzi or any other version) represented the prescriptions of only one text. Many other texts circulating at the time also contained ritual calendars, with lists of prescriptions, prohibitions, and correlates that differed to greater or lesser degree from those of the Yueling. The choice of which text to follow would not have been uncontested, and the decision would have inevitably been as much a political one—which advisers were backing which text, and why—as one based on ritual and cosmological principles alone.
Nevertheless, there is considerable evidence that the Han emperors did attempt to carry out a ritual program like that prescribed in “Seasonal Rules,” at least in its broadest outlines. First, considerable attention was paid to selecting the ruling phase of the Han dynasty itself. This was a matter of state policy and was the subject of heated debate and (in 104 B.C.E.) an actual change in the ruling phase, from Water to Earth.7 From the beginning of the dynasty, emperors had carried out suburban sacrifices to the Five Thearchs (wudi 
)—not the traditional sage-rulers of mythical antiquity, such as the Divine Farmer and Lord Millet, but personifications or deifications of the Five Phases, conceived of as the Bluegreen, Red, Yellow, White, and Black thearchs. (Later their altars were made subordinate to another deified principle, the Grand One.)8 At these rites, the emperor and his attendants would have been dressed in vestments of the appropriate color, just as prescribed in the “Seasonal Rules.” Moreover, several Mingtang buildings were constructed in the Han period, not only at the capital but also at the foot of the holy Mount Tai. In these simple structures, emperors could sit in the correct monthly room, face in the appropriate direction, and issue edicts and instructions, just as envisioned in the “Seasonal Rules.” And at a more general level of government operation, the annual and seasonal cycles of yin and yang and the Five Phases were respected in practice. It was a matter of settled policy, for example, to avoid carrying out executions in the spring and summer and to schedule them for the fall and winter, thereby matching the supposed cycles of leniency and severity of the cosmos itself.
Overall, it appears that while “Seasonal Rules” may not have been the keystone of Han ritual and public policy (which involved many other kinds of observances and actions as well), the emperors and their advisers and ministers did make a serious effort to carry out their prescriptions and prohibitions, although perhaps not in every detail.
Sources
“Seasonal Rules” belongs to a genre of early Chinese almanacs that give astronomical, stem–branch, yin–yang, and Five Phase correlations for each of the twelve months and prescribe appropriate ritual and administrative behavior for the ruler throughout the year. As noted earlier, the Huainanzi’s “Seasonal Rules” is one of three extant versions of a text usually known as the Yueling (Monthly Ordinances). This text may once have existed as an independent work, but if so, it was not transmitted independently in the received tradition. The earliest extant version of the Yueling (possibly quoted from this now-lost hypothetical independent source) is found in the first twelve chapters of the Lüshi chunqiu, a text whose earliest portions date to about 239 B.C.E.9 The other version, substantially identical to that in the Lüshi chunqiu (and either derived from it or based on the same now-lost original source), is a chapter of the Liji (Record of Rites). These texts also are similar to other texts prescribing behavior for the ruler in accordance with the seasons and the months and based on the concept of ganying (resonance) between the cosmos as a whole and the actions of humans.10 These texts include the “Zhou yue” (Months of Zhou) chapter of the Yizhou shu (Remnant Writings of the Zhou Period); the “You guan” (Dark Palace), “Sishi” (Four Seasons), “Wuxing” (Five Phases), and “Qingzhong ji” (Light and Heavy) chapters of the Guanzi (Book of Master Guan);11 as well as the “Xia xiaozheng” (Lesser Annuary of Xia), which is usually published with the Da Dai liji (The Elder Dai’s Record of Rites) as an appendix to that text;12 and the Chu silk manuscript.13 The previously unknown text Sanshi shi (Thirty Periods), excavated at Yinqueshan in 1972 and dated to about 134 B.C.E., is similar to the Guanzi’s “You guan” chapter. Several sections of the third chapter of the Huainanzi, “Celestial Patterns”—particularly 3.16, 3.17, 3.22–24, and 3.26—are also closely related to this cluster of texts dealing with calendrical astrology.14
Chapter 5 of the Huainanzi therefore must be seen in the context of a substantial body of calendrical works (probably including some now-lost works that have not been transmitted from the past) that, while differing widely in details, all agreed that it was imperative for the ruler to match his personal, ritual, and political conduct to the annual rhythms of yin and yang and the Five Phases. But it seems very likely that in that context, “Seasonal Rules” is directly descended from the Lüshi chunqiu. The Lüshi chunqiu’s “Annals” and the Huainanzi’s “Seasonal Rules” are not identical, but their differences are significant and systematic rather than minor and random; that is, they are likely to reflect deliberate editorial choices rather than copyists’ errors. It also is possible that both the Lüshi chunqiu and the Huainanzi versions of the text (and, as noted earlier, the Liji version as well) were derived separately from a now-lost original source. The possibility that the Lüshi chunqiu and the Huainanzi are related only by common descent fades, however, with the observation that other portions of the Huainanzi (for example, 4.1 and 4.2, as noted in the introduction to chapter 4) are also quoted verbatim from the Lüshi chunqiu. Liu An, the king of Huainan, was not only a famous scholar and patron of scholarship but a bibliophile as well. It would therefore be surprising if his famous library at the court of Huainan did not include a copy of the Lüshi chunqiu,15 which would have been available to the king’s court scholars to serve as the source for “Seasonal Rules.” The reasons for the systematic differences between the current Lüshi chunqiu and Huainanzi versions may be (1) that Liu An’s copy of the Lüshi chunqiu was different from the present received version, in ways reflected in the current Huainanzi “Seasonal Rules”; and (2) that as the Lüshi chunqiu material was incorporated into the Huainanzi, it was systematically edited and revised to suit the beliefs and preferences of Liu An and his circle.
Whichever of those possibilities is correct, the differences among the Lüshi chunqiu, Liji, and Huainanzi texts are consistent and not random. One of the most conspicuous variations between the Lüshi chunqiu and Huainanzi versions is the use of the formula “Zhaoyao points to branch X” instead of “the sun is in lunar lodge Y” to begin each of the twelve monthly sections of the text. This substitution probably represents a tendency in the second century B.C.E.—the time of Liu An and his circle—to use the shi (cosmograph) for determining the astronomical and astrological positions of the heavenly bodies, rather than the direct visual observation that would have been employed a century or so earlier in the time of Lü Buwei. Other differences include the additional correlations that were systematically added to the Huainanzi version, including seasonal correlations of weapons, domestic animals, fuel for the ruler’s ritual cooking fire, and monthly correlations of offices and trees. The Lüshi chunqiu version includes a seasonal thearch (di 
) and god (shen 
) in the text for each month. These are omitted in the Huainanzi version, perhaps because a similar (although not identical) roster of planetary gods and their “assistants” already appears in section 3.6 and again as deities of the five directions in 5.13, the “five positions.”
Chapter 5 of the Huainanzi and the Lüshi chunqiu /Liji Yueling versions have two other conspicuous differences. The first is the treatment of the artificial fifth season of “midsummer.” Early ritual calendars from the Warring States period, such as the Guanzi’s “Four Seasons,” base their ritual prescriptions on the self-evident fact that the year contains four, and only four, seasons. These are correlated in the customary fashion with the phases Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water; phase Earth and its correlates play little or no role. In the Lüshi chunqiu/Liji Yueling, the section for the sixth month treats it as the third month of summer, and all correlations for that month are to phase Fire. This section also contains a short supplementary (or alternative) section that gives phase Earth correlations for a midsummer season of unspecified date and duration. In chapter 5 of the Huainanzi, however, Earth correlations are substituted for Fire ones throughout the sixth month; in other words, the sixth month is treated as a separate midsummer “season,” in defiance of astronomical reality but incorporating the theoretical resonances of the Five Phase system.
The other significant difference is that the three additional sections of chapter 5 of the Huainanzi (5.13–15) are neither found in nor closely related to the Lüshi chunqiu. They do not seem to be derived from any extant Warring States or early Han text. Therefore, they either may be original to the Huainanzi or were copied or derived from now-lost ancient texts. The fact that each of these three sections has a “set piece” quality to it—that is, each could stand alone as an independent short treatise—argues (entirely speculatively) for the latter possibility.
Regardless of how the differences between various versions of the text came about, chapter 5 of the Huainanzi and the Lüshi chunqiu and Liji versions of the Yueling are all, in effect, the same text in the sense that their commonalities are far more substantial than their differences.
The Chapter in the Context of the Huainanzi as a Whole
“Seasonal Rules,” “Celestial Patterns,” and “Terrestrial Forms” comprise a distinct subunit of the Huainanzi. Their treatment of the key issues of Heaven, Earth, and Time demonstrates to readers that the entire cosmos is an integrated whole and that the phenomena of the universe are in constant resonant contact with one another through the workings of yin and yang and the Five Phases, and the subtleties of qi matter-energy. An understanding of these matters, sufficient for a ruler to understand and acquiesce in or modify ritual procedures as suggested by his technical advisers, was an integral part of the curriculum for a young ruler-in-training devised by the Huainan masters.
The summary of “Seasonal Rules” in chapter 21 of the Huainanzi, “An Overview of the Essentials,” says that
“Seasonal Rules” provides the means by which to
follow Heaven’s seasons above;
utilize Earth’s resources below;
determine standards and implement correspondences,
aligning them with human norms.
It is formed into twelve sections to serve as models and guides.
Ending and beginning anew,
they repeat limitlessly,
adapting, complying, imitating, and according
in predicting bad and good fortune.
Taking and giving, opening and closing,
each has its prohibited days,
issuing commands and administering orders,
instructing and warning according to the season.
[It] enables the ruler of humankind to know the means by which to manage affairs. (21.2)
The program of this chapter thus fits smoothly into that of the work overall, in training a ruler to govern the empire with sagelike wisdom and enabling him to harmonize with the rhythms and cycles of the cosmos itself.
John S. Major
1. Knoblock and Riegel 2000, 60–64, 77–79, 95–98, 115–18, 133–35, 153–56, 172–75, 189–92, 206–9, 223–26, 241–44, 258–61.
2. James Legge, trans., Li Chi: Book of Rites, Sacred Books of the East, vols. 27 and 28 (1885; repr., New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1967), 1:249–310.
3. Compare the schematic outline of the LSCQ/Liji version of the Yueling in Major 1993, 220–21.
4. Zhaoyao 
, “Far Flight” (in Schafer’s translation; a more literal rendering would be “Resplendent”), is a bright star in Boötes that in Chinese astronomy was taken to be an extension of the “pointer” of the handle of the Northern Dipper. See Edward H. Schafer, Pacing the Void: T’ang Approaches to the Stars (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977), 52. See the reference to the star Yaoguang (Gemlike Brilliance, the last star in the handle of the Dipper) in 8.5. The direction in which the Dipper’s handle points could be observed directly in the sky, or indirectly by means of the cosmograph (shi 
). For the cosmograph, see Donald Harper, “The Han Cosmic Board (Shih 
),” Early China 4 (1978–1979): 2; and Christopher Cullen, “Some Further Points on the Shih,” Early China 6 (1980–1981): 31–46, esp. 37, fig. 6.
5. Note that the meaning of liu he here is different from its usual meaning (as in the opening lines of chap. 4) of “up and down, left and right, back and front.”
6. For tables of chap. 5’s earthly-branch correlations with the twelve months and associated phenomena, and the Five-Phase correlations with the seasons and associated phenomena, see Major 1993, 222–23.
7. Michael Loewe, “The Concept of Sovereignty,” in The Ch’in and Han Empires, 221 b.c.–a.d. 220, ed. Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe, vol. 1 of The Cambridge History of China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 730, 737–39. See also Gopal Sukhu, “Yao, Shun, and Prefiguration: The Origins and Ideology of the Han Imperial Genealogy,” Early China 30 (2005): 91–153, esp. 118–21.
8. These matters are discussed in detail in Shiji 28, “The Treatise on the Feng and Shan Sacrifices.”
9. Some scholars, notably E. Bruce Brooks of the Warring States Project, argue that portions of the Lüshi chunqiu postdate the 235 B.C.E. date of the suicide of Lü Buwei.
10. On ganying resonance, see John B. Henderson, The Development and Decline of Chinese Cosmology (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984), 22–28; and Charles Le Blanc, “The Idea of Kan-Ying in Huai-nan Tzu,” in Le Blanc 1985, 191–206.
11. “You guan” is translated in Rickett 1985, 169–92. The other chapters mentioned are translated in Rickett 1998: “Sishi,” 108–17; “Wuxing,” 118–28; and “Qingzhong ji” (in several parts), 446–516.
12. Translated as an appendix to William Soothill, The Hall of Light: A Study of Chinese Kingship (London: Lutterworth Press, 1951).
13. Noel Barnard, ed., Ch’u and the Silk Manuscript, vol. 1 of Early Chinese Art and Its Possible Influence in the Pacific Basin (New York: Intercultural Arts Press, 1972), esp. Jao Tsung-yi, “Some Aspects of the Calendar, Astrology, and Religious Conceptions of the Ch’u People as Revealed in the Ch’u Silk Manuscript,” 113–22, and Hayashi Minao, “The Twelve Gods of the Chan-Kuo Period Silk Manuscript Excavated at Ch’ang Sha,” 123–86.
14. Discussions of the Yueling texts, with reviews of the appropriate scholarly literature, can be found in Major 1993, 217–21; Knoblock and Riegel 2000, 35–43; Henderson, Development and Decline of Chinese Cosmology, 20–24; and Rickett 1985, 148–69. See also Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. Derk Bodde (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1952–53), 1:164–65; Joseph Needham, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth, vol. 3 of Science and Civilisation in China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1959), 194–96; Derk Bodde, Festivals in Classical China: New Year and Other Annual Observances During the Han Dynasty, 206 b.c. to a.d. 220 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1975); Hsü Dau-lin, “Crime and Cosmic Order,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 30 (1970): 111–25; and William G. Boltz, “Philological Footnotes to the Han New Year Rites,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 99 (1979): 425–39.
15. Or parts thereof, specifically the first twelve chapters, which at that time might have circulated as an independent text. It is likely that the Lüshi chunqiu, like many other early Chinese texts, had not yet achieved its familiar final form by the time the Huainanzi was written.
In the first month of spring, Zhaoyao1 points to [the earthly branch] yin [ENE]. [The lunar lodge] Array culminates at dusk; Tail culminates at dawn. [Spring] occupies the east. Its days are [the heavenly stems] jia and yi. The fullness of Potency is in Wood. Its beasts are [those of the] scaly [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is jue. The pitch pipe [of the first month] is Great Budding. The number [of spring] is eight. Its flavor is sour. Its smell is rank. Its sacrifices are made to the door god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the spleen is offered first.
The east wind dispels the cold. Hibernating creatures begin to stir and revive. Fish rise and [rub their] backs [against] the ice. Otters sacrifice fish.2 Look for the geese [to return] north. The Son of Heaven wears bluegreen clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] azure dragon [horses]. He wears azure jade [pendants] and flies a bluegreen banner. He eats wheat with mutton. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds3 and cooks with fire [kindled from] fern stalks. The imperial ladies of the Eastern Palace wear bluegreen clothing with bluegreen trim. They play qin and se [musical instruments]. The weapon [of spring] is the spear. The domestic animal [of spring] is the sheep.4 [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the corner [chamber of the Mingtang] to the left of [i.e., counterclockwise from] the Bluegreen Yang Chamber in order to promulgate the spring ordinances. He extends his Moral Potency, bestows favor, carries out [rites of] celebration and praise, and reduces corvée exactions and tax levies. [5/39/3–7]
On the first day of spring, the Son of Heaven personally leads the Three Sires, the Nine Lords, and the great nobles to welcome the year at [the altar of] the eastern suburbs. He repairs and cleans out the place of sacrifice and [employs] wealth offerings to pray to the ghosts and spirits. Only male animals are used as sacrificial victims. It is prohibited to cut down trees. Nests must not be overturned nor the unborn young killed, likewise neither young creatures nor eggs. People must not be assembled [for labor duty] or fortifications erected. Skeletons must be reburied, and corpses interred. [5/39/9–11]
If during the first month of spring the ordinances of summer were carried out, then there would be unseasonable winds and rain; plants and trees would wither early; and there would be fear in the state. If the ordinances of autumn were carried out, the people would suffer epidemics; violent winds and torrential rains would arrive at the same time; and thorns, weeds, briars, and overgrowth would spring up together. If the ordinances of winter were carried out, floods would create ruin, and there would be rain, frost, and great hailstones. The first-sown seeds would not sprout. [5/39/13–14]
The first month governs the Master of Works. Its tree is the willow.5 [5/39/16]
In the middle month of spring, Zhaoyao points to mao [E]. [The lunar lodge] Bow culminates at dusk; Establishing Stars culminates at dawn. [Spring] occupies the east. Its days are jia and yi. Its beasts are [those of the] scaly [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is jue. The pitch pipe [of the second month] is Pinched Bell. The number [of spring] is eight. Its flavor is sour. Its smell is rank. Its sacrifices are made to the door god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the spleen is offered first.
The rains begin. Peaches and pears begin to blossom. The oriole sings. Hawks metamorphose into pigeons. The Son of Heaven wears bluegreen clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] azure dragon [horses]. He wears azure jade [pendants] and flies a bluegreen banner. He eats wheat with mutton. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] fern stalks. The imperial ladies of the Eastern Palace wear bluegreen clothing with bluegreen trim. They play the qin and the se. The weapon [of spring] is the spear. The domestic animal [of spring] is the sheep. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the Bluegreen Yang [chamber of the Mingtang]. He orders those in authority to ameliorate penal servitude and to cause manacles and fetters to be struck off. [There is to be] no flogging, and criminal trials are halted. The young and the small are to be nourished [and] the orphaned and childless protected in order that [these policies] may communicate [their efficacy] to the growing sprouts.6 He chooses an auspicious7 day and orders the people [to sacrifice] at shrines. [5/39/18–23]
In this month, the days and nights are equally divided. The sound of thunder begins to be heard. Hibernating insects all stir and revive. Anticipating the thunder by three days, [he sends messengers to] strike bells with wooden clappers, proclaiming among the people, “The thunder is about to sound forth. Those who are not careful of their demeanor [and] who give birth without taking [appropriate] precautions will surely suffer catastrophes.” He orders the Master of Markets to make uniform all weights and measures: the jun, the steelyard, the dan, the catty, the peck, and the pail. [In this month, one must] not drain rivers and marshes, draw off water from embanked ponds, set fire to the mountain forests, or undertake any large-scale works such as would impede the efficiency of farming. In sacrifices, animal victims are not used; [rather] one uses [jade] scepters and disks, fur pelts, and rolls of [silk] cloth. [5/39/25–5/40/2]
If during the second month of spring the autumn ordinances were carried out, the country [would suffer] great floods and cold winds at the same time. Bandits and Rong [barbarians] would attack. If the ordinances of winter were carried out, the yang qi would not prevail; wheat would not ripen; and the people thereby would suffer great ruin. If the ordinances of summer were carried out, the country [would suffer] great drought, [and] hot qi would arrive prematurely. Insect pests would wreak havoc. [5/40/4–5]
The second month governs the granary. Its tree is the almond. [5/40/7]
In the final month of spring, Zhaoyao points to chen [ESE]. [The lunar lodge] Seven Stars culminates at dusk; Ox Leader culminates at dawn. [Spring] occupies the east. Its days are jia and yi. Its beasts are [those of the] scaly [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is jue. The pitch pipe [of the third month] is Maiden Purity. The number [of spring] is eight. Its flavor is sour. Its smell is rank. Its sacrifices are made to the door god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the spleen is offered first.
The tong tree begins to bloom. Fieldmice transform into quail. Rainbows first appear. Duckweed begins to sprout. The Son of Heaven wears bluegreen clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] azure dragon [horses]. He wears azure jade [pendants] and flies a bluegreen banner. He eats wheat with mutton. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] fern stalks. The imperial ladies of the Eastern Palace wear bluegreen clothing with bluegreen trim. They play the qin and the se. The weapon [of spring] is the spear. The domestic animal [of spring] is the sheep. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the corner [chamber of the Mingtang] to the right of the Bluegreen Yang Chamber. [He orders] the Master of Boats to turn over the boats [to inspect them] five times over and five times back and then to deliver a report [on their condition] to the Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven thereupon8 boards his boats for the first time [in the new year]. A sturgeon is offered in the inner chamber of the [ancestral] temple, and prayers are made that the wheat should bear grain. [5/40/9–13]
In this month, the production of qi reaches its fullest, [and] yang qi is released. Young plants grow no more, and the sprouting plants attain their maximum growth, but they cannot [yet] be gathered in. The Son of Heaven orders those in authority to open the granaries and storehouses to assist the impoverished and the bereft, to relieve the exhausted and [those who are] cut off [from their families], and to open the strong rooms and treasuries to distribute rolls of silk. He sends embassies to the nobles, inquires after eminent scholars, and performs courtesies to the worthy. He orders the Minister of Works, when the seasonal rains are about to descend, to mount his carriage as the water descends and, following all of the roads from the capital city, make an inspection of the plains and uncultivated fields, repairing the dikes and embankments, channeling the ditches and watercourses, following to its end every road and comprehending every byway,
beginning at the metropolis,
stopping [only] upon reaching the border.
Those who hunt, [whether with] nets or with arrows, with rabbit snares or bird nets, or by putting out poisoned bait, are prohibited from going out from the nine gates [of the city]. [The Son of Heaven] also [issues] a prohibition to the foresters in the wilderness, [saying that there must be] no cutting down of mulberry trees or cudrania trees.9 The turtledove spreads its wings, [and] the crested hoepoe lands in the mulberry tree. Preparing plain cocoon frames,10 round baskets and rectangular baskets, the royal consort and the royal concubines fast and perform austerities. Then they go11 to the mulberry [groves] in the eastern suburbs where
the lady overseers initiate
and supervise [the work of] sericulture.12
[He] commands [those in charge of] the five storehouses to order the workmen to inspect the gold and iron, the pelts and hides, the sinew and horn, the arrowshaft bamboo and the bow-wood, the grease and glue, the cinnabar and lac, [seeing to it that] there is none that is not excellent. Selecting an auspicious day in the last ten-day period of the month, [he holds] a great musical performance, which brings jubilation. Moreover [he orders] bulls to be mated with cows and stallions with mares; afterward the female animals are driven out to their herdsmen. He orders on behalf of the kingdom an exorcism at the nine gates [of the capital city], [and] sacrificial [animal victims] are torn apart in order to bring an end to the qi of springtime.
If the ordinances for this month are observed, sweet rain will fall during the three ten-day periods of the month. [5/40/15–22] If during the last month of spring the ordinances of winter were carried out, then cold qi would from time to time issue forth; all the plants and trees would wither; and the state would [suffer] great fear. If the ordinances of summer were carried out, the people would [suffer] epidemics; the seasonal rains would not fall; and nothing would grow on the mountains and tumuli. If the ordinances of autumn were carried out, Heaven would produce a flood of yin. Rains would fall [unseasonably] early, [and] military rebellions would break out. [5/40/24–25]
The third month governs villages. Its tree is the pear. [5/40/27]
In the first month of summer, Zhaoyao points to si [SSE]. [The lunar lodge] Wings culminates at dusk; [the constellation] Widow culminates at dawn. [Summer] occupies the south. Its days are bing and ding. The fullness of Potency is in Fire. Its beasts are [those of the] feathered [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is zhi. The pitch pipe [of the fourth month] is Median Regulator. The number [of summer] is seven. Its flavor is bitter. Its smell is burnt. Its sacrifices are made to the stove god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the lungs are offered first.
Crickets and tree frogs sing on the hillsides; earthworms emerge. The king melon [begins to] set fruit. Bitter herbs flourish. The Son of Heaven wears vermilion clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] black-maned vermilion horses. He wears vermilion jade [pendants] and flies a vermilion banner. He eats legumes with chicken. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] cudrania branches. The imperial ladies of the Southern Palace wear vermilion clothing with vermilion trim. They play reed pipes and mouth organs. The weapon [of summer] is the glaive.13 The domestic animal [of summer] is the chicken. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the corner [chamber of the Mingtang] to the left of the Mingtang Chamber, in order to promulgate the summer ordinances. [5/41/1–5]
On the first day of summer, the Son of Heaven personally leads the Three Sires, the Nine Lords, and the great nobles to welcome the year at [the altar of] the southern suburbs. Returning [from this ceremony], he bestows favors, enfeoffs nobles, rectifies ceremonials and music, and gives a feast for [the officials of] the left and the right. He commands the Intendant-General to single out for praise the heroic and meritorious, to select the eminent and excellent, and to raise up the filial and fraternal. He carries out [ceremonies of] ennoblement and issues official emoluments; assisting [the work of] Heaven, he increases the nurture [of the people], lengthens what is long [and] piles up what is high. [There must be] no destructive or vicious [behavior]. It is prohibited to build up earthen [fortifications] or to cut down great trees. He orders the foresters to travel [through] the cultivated fields and the plains, to encourage the practices of agriculture, and to drive away [both] wild and domestic animals so as not to permit them to harm the [growing] grain. The Son of Heaven takes a pig [and] sacrificial wheat and presents them as the first offerings in the inner chamber of the [ancestral] temple. Domestic animals are rounded up, and the hundred medicinal herbs [are gathered]. The fragile grassy plants die, and wheat attains its autumn growth. Minor criminal cases are decided, and petty punishments are carried out. [5/41/7–10]
If during the first month of summer the autumn ordinances were carried out, then bitter rains would come on numerous occasions. The grain would not be nourished [by that rain]. Neighboring peoples on four sides would penetrate [the country’s] defensive fortifications. If the ordinances of winter were carried out, the plants and trees would dry up early; thereafter there would be floods, destroying the city walls and outer fortifications. If the ordinances of spring were carried out, grasshoppers and locusts would cause devastation; scorching winds would come and attack [the fields, so that] the flourishing plants would not bear seed. [5/41/12–13]
The fourth month governs the tilled fields. Its tree is the peach. [5/41/15]
In the second month of summer, Zhaoyao points to wu [S]. [The lunar lodge] Neck culminates at dusk; [the lodge] Rooftop culminates at dawn. [Summer] occupies the south. Its days are bing and ding. Its beasts are [those of the] feathered [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is zhi. The pitch pipe [of the fifth month] is Luxuriant. The number [of summer] is seven. Its flavor is bitter. Its smell is burnt. Its sacrifices are made to the stove god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the lungs are offered first.
The Lesser Heat arrives; mantises are born. The shrike begins to cry; the turn-tongue is not heard.14 The Son of Heaven wears vermilion clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] black-maned vermilion horses. He wears vermilion jade [pendants] and flies a vermilion banner. He eats legumes with chicken. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] cudrania branches. The imperial ladies of the Southern Palace wear vermilion clothing with vermilion trim. They play reed pipes and mouth organs. The weapon [of summer] is the glaive. The domestic animal [of summer] is the chicken. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the Mingtang Great Chamber. He commands the Music Master to repair the hand drums and kettle drums, the qin and the se, the flutes and panpipes; to polish the bells and chimestones; and to attend to the [ceremonial] shields, battle-axes, haldberds, and feather plumes [used in war dances].
[He] commands those in authority to pray and sacrifice to the mountains, rivers, and the hundred [= all] river sources. In the great prayer to the gods for rain, a full panoply of music is employed. The Son of Heaven takes a chicken [and] the sacrificial pannicled millet, along with a sacrificial offering of ripe peaches, and presents them [all] as first offerings in the inner temple of the [ancestral] temple. [He] issues prohibitions to the people, [saying that they must] not reap indigo for dyeing, bake charcoal, or dry bolts of cloth in the sun. City and village gates must not be closed, [and] taxes must not be levied on markets. Serious criminal cases are put off, and [the prisoners’] rations are increased. Widows and widowers are preserved [from want], and relief is distributed to [those incurring] funeral expenses. The [pregnant] female animals are separated out from the herds, [and] stallions and colts are tied up. [The ruler] promulgates regulations for [the raising of] horses. [5/41/17–24]
The longest day [of the year] arrives. Yin and yang contend. Life and death reach a dividing point. The nobles fast and perform austerities. They display no angry emotions, refrain from music and sex, and eat meagerly. Officials all rest in tranquillity from their duties and do not travel abroad; [all this] in order to make definite the establishment of the serene [forces of] yin. Deer shed their antlers, [and] cicadas begin to sing. The half-summer plant begins to grow, [and] the hibiscus tree blooms. A prohibition is issued to the people, [saying] they must not set fires. [But] it is permitted to dwell in high places [so as to] see clearly into the distance, to climb on hills and mounds, and to stay on estrades and towers. [5/41/26–28]
If during the middle month of summer the ordinances of winter were carried out, hail and sleet would damage the grain; the roads would be impassable; and fierce armies would invade. If the ordinances of spring were carried out, the five kinds of grain would not ripen; all kinds of destructive insects would spring up during the season; and the country would suffer famine. If the ordinances of autumn were carried out, the plants and trees would droop and fall; fruits and grains would ripen prematurely; and the people would suffer calamities of pestilence. [5/42/1–2]
The fifth month governs functionaries. Its tree is the elm. [5/42/4]
In the final month of summer, Zhaoyao points to wei [SSW]. [The lunar lodge] Heart culminates at dusk; [the lodge] Stride culminates at dawn. [Midsummer] occupies the center. Its days are wu and jia. The fullness of Potency is in Earth. Its beasts are [those of the] naked [class].15 Its [pentatonic] note is gong. The pitch pipe [of the sixth month] is Hundred Bell.16 The number [of midsummer] is five. Its flavor is sweet. Its smell is fragrant. Its sacrifices are made to the [god of the] drain hole. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the heart is offered first.
The cool winds begin to arrive, [and] crickets dwell in the snug corners [of the house]. [Young] geese begin to practice flying, [and] rotting vegetation transforms into millipedes.17 The Son of Heaven wears yellow clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] black-maned yellow horses. He wears yellow jade [pendants] and flies a yellow banner. He eats millet with beef. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] cudrania branches. The imperial ladies of the Central Palace wear yellow clothing with yellow trim. They play reed pipes and mouth organs. The weapon [of midsummer] is the sword. The domestic animal [of midsummer] is the ox. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the Central Palace [chamber of the Mingtang]. [He] commands the Master of Fisheries to spear scaly dragons, capture alligators, fetch up turtles [from the depths], and capture sea turtles. [He] commands the Marsh Masters to present timber and rushes. [He] commands the four supervisory lords to order all districts [to present] the customary [amount of] fodder to feed the sacrificial beasts. In service to the Supreme Thearch of August Heaven,18 the illustrious mountains, the great rivers, and the gods of the four directions, he sacrifices millet in the great sanctuary of the [ancestral] temple, praying for the prosperity of the people.
[He] carries out benefactions, commanding that the dead should be mourned, the sick inquired after, and the elderly protected and cared for. He causes bran and gruel to be sent to them and sees to it that their sleeping mats are [comfortably] thick. [All this is] to speed the myriad things on their return [journey as the year begins to wane]. [He] commands the officials of the women’s [quarters] to dye [fabrics] in various hues and multicolored designs, patterned and ornamented, bluegreen, yellow, white, and black. There may be none that are not beautiful and fine. [This is to] provide new vestments for the ancestral temple: There must be a display of [things] that are brightly new. [5/42/6–13]
In this month, the trees that were planted are fully flourishing, [and] one must not dare cut them. It is not permitted to call an assembly of the nobles, to raise earthworks, to recruit corvée labor, or to call up armies. [If these things were done], Heaven inevitably would call down calamities. The soil is richly wet from the humid heat, and the great rains fall in season, beneficially bringing to an end the life cycle of the grassy plants. It is permitted to19 fertilize the fields and to enrich the boundary strips between the fields. [5/42/15–16]
If during the last month of summer the ordinances of spring were carried out, the kernels of grain would scatter and fall; [the people would suffer] many colds and coughs; and people would depart the country. If the ordinances of autumn were carried out, hills and lowlands alike would be flooded; the grain that had been sown would not ripen; and there would be many women’s calamities [= miscarriages]. If the ordinances of winter were carried out, then winds and cold would arrive out of season; falcons and hawks would snatch their prey [unseasonably] early; and along the four borders of the country, people would withdraw to places of safety. [5/42/18–19]
The sixth month governs the Lesser Ingathering. Its tree is the catalpa. [5/42/21]
In the first month of autumn, Zhaoyao points to shen [WSW]. [The lunar lodge] Dipper culminates at dusk; [the lodge] Net culminates at dawn. [Autumn] occupies the west. Its days are geng and xin. The fullness of Potency is in Metal. Its beasts are [those of the] hairy [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is shang. The pitch pipe [of the seventh month] is Tranquil Pattern. The number [of autumn] is nine. Its flavor is pungent. Its smell is rancid. Its sacrifices are made to the door god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the liver is offered first.
Cool winds arrive, [and] the hoarfrost descends. Cold-weather cicadas sing. Hawks sacrifice birds. [This is] used [as a signal to] begin executing criminals. The Son of Heaven wears white clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] black-maned white horses. He wears white jade [pendants] and flies a white banner. He eats hemp seed with dog meat. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] cudrania branches. The imperial ladies of the Western Palace wear white clothing with white trim. They play music on white[-metal] bells. The weapon [of autumn] is the halberd.20 The domestic animal [of autumn] is the dog. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the corner [chamber of the Mingtang] to the left of the Comprehensive Template [chamber], in order to promulgate the autumn ordinances. [He commands his officials to] search out the unfilial and unfraternal and those who are oppressive, cruel, tyrannical, and ruthless, in order to punish them, thus encouraging the waxing of baleful qi. [5/42/23–5/43/3]
On the first day of autumn, the Son of Heaven personally leads the Three Sires, the Nine Lords, and the great nobles to welcome the autumn at [the altar of] the western suburbs. Returning [from this ceremony], at court he bestows rewards on the leaders of his armies and on his soldiers. [He] orders the generals and commanders to select soldiers and sharpen weapons, seeking out and selecting men who are heroic and valiant, placing trust in those of proven accomplishments. [This is done] so that he might chastise the unrighteous and investigate and punish the overbearing and those who are derelict in their duties. [The execution of these orders] must extend to the farthest reaches of the realm.
[He] orders those in authority to set in order the laws and regulations and to repair the prisons, to prohibit licentiousness and bring an end to depravity, [and] to judge criminal cases and adjudicate disputes at law. Heaven and Earth now begin to be severe; it therefore is not permissible to act with mildness.
In this month the farmers begin to present their [newly harvested] grain to the throne. The Son of Heaven [ritually] tastes the new grain and then offers it as the first sacrificial offering in the inner shrine of the [ancestral] temple. [He] orders all the officials to begin to gather [the tax grain], to complete [the building of] barriers and embankments, to pay careful attention to embankments and dikes in order to prepare for floods, to repair city walls and boundary walls, and to refurbish palaces and mansions. There must be no enfeoffment of nobles or raising high officials to office; there must be no bestowals of costly gifts or any sending forth of important embassies. [5/43/5–9]
If the ordinances for this month are observed, the cool winds will arrive in thirty days. [5/43/9–10] If during the first month of autumn the ordinances of winter were observed, the yin qi would be excessive; land snails21 would devour the grain; and Rong [“barbarian”] warriors would invade. If the ordinances of spring were observed, the country would suffer drought; the yang qi would return [out of season]; and the five kinds of grain would not yield any harvest. If the ordinances of summer were observed, there would be many disastrous fires; cold and heat would not conform to their seasonal order; and the people would suffer fevers. [5/43/12–13]
The seventh month governs the armory. Its tree is the Chinaberry. [5/43/15]
In the second month of autumn, Zhaoyao points to you [W]. [The lunar lodge] Ox Leader culminates at dusk; [the lodge] Turtle Beak culminates at dawn. [Autumn] occupies the west. Its days are geng and xin. Its beasts are [those of the] hairy [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is shang. The pitch pipe [of the eighth month] is Southern Regulator. The number [of autumn] is nine. Its flavor is pungent. Its smell is rancid. Its sacrifices are made to the door god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the liver is offered first.
The cool winds arrive. Look for the wild geese to arrive. Swallows return [to their wintering grounds], [and] flocks of birds fly to and fro. The Son of Heaven wears white clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] black-maned white horses. He wears white jade [pendants] and flies a white banner. He eats hemp seed with dog meat. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] cudrania branches. The imperial ladies of the Western Palace wear white clothing with white trim. They play music on white[-metal] bells. The weapon [of autumn] is the halberd. The domestic animal [of autumn] is the dog. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the Comprehensive Template [chamber of the Mingtang]. He orders those in authority to increase the strictness of all punishments. Beheadings and other capital punishments must be applied appropriately, with neither excess nor leniency.
If the application of punishments is not appropriate,
the penalty will revert to [those in authority].22 [5/43/17–21]
In this month the elderly must be carefully attended to; they are given stools and walking sticks, congee and gruel, drink and food. [He] commands those in charge of sacrifices and prayer to go to the sacrificial beasts and see to their fodder and grain, examine their fatness or leanness, and see that they are of uniform color. [The officials] check the sacrificial beasts for suitability and color, examine their quality and type, measure whether they are small or large, and see whether they are immature or fully grown. When [they are sure that] none fail to meet the required standard, the Son of Heaven [sacrifices them] in an exorcism to lead in the autumn qi. [He] takes a dog and [ritually] tastes [its flesh, along with] hemp seed, and then offers them as the first sacrificial offerings in the inner chamber of the [ancestral] temple.
In this month, it is permitted to build city walls and outer fortifications, to establish metropolises and walled towns, to dig underground irrigation channels and storage pits, and to repair granaries and storehouses. [He] also commands those in authority more urgently to collect the taxes [due from] the people, to store vegetables, and to accumulate large stores [of all sorts of things]. [The officials] exhort the people to plant the [winter] wheat,23 without missing the time [for doing so]. If any should miss the time [for planting], they will be punished without fail.
In this month the thunder begins to recede. Hibernating creatures shut the doors [of their burrows]. The deadly [yin] qi gradually becomes abundant, [and] the yang qi daily declines. Water begins to dry up. Day and night are equally divided. [The Son of Heaven orders the Master of Markets to] calibrate correctly the weights and measures, equalize the balance beam and its weights; correct the weight of the jun, the dan, and the catty [and the volume] of the peck and the pail. [He orders his officials to] regulate barrier gates and markets and to bring in [to the capital] merchants and travelers [to] import goods and wealth so as to promote the affairs of the people. Coming from the four quarters and assembling from distant places, they arrive with wealth and goods. There is no deficiency in what is offered [in the markets], no exhaustion of what is [made available for] use; thus affairs of all sorts are facilitated. [5/43/23–5/44/6]
If during the second month of autumn the ordinances of spring were carried out, the autumn rains would not fall; plants and trees would blossom [out of season]; and the country would be in fear. If the ordinances of summer were carried out, the country would suffer drought; creatures that hibernate would not retire to their burrows; and the five kinds of grain would all [unseasonably] sprout again. If the ordinances of winter were carried out, calamities caused by wind would arise over and over again, the thunder that had abated would break out again prematurely, and plants and trees would die too soon. [5/44/8–9]
The eighth month governs military officers. Its tree is the cudrania. [5/44/11]
In the last month of autumn, Zhaoyao points to xu [WNW]. [The lunar lodge] Emptiness culminates at dusk; [the lodge] Willow culminates at dawn. [Autumn] occupies the west. Its days are geng and xin. Its beasts are [those of the] hairy [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is shang. The pitch pipe [of the ninth month] is Tireless. The number [of autumn] is nine. Its flavor is pungent. Its smell is rancid. Its sacrifices are made to the door god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the liver is offered first.
Wild geese arrive as guests. Sparrows enter the ocean and turn into clams. Chrysanthemums bear yellow flowers. Dholes sacrifice small animals and kill birds.24 The Son of Heaven wears white clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] black-maned white horses. He wears white jade [pendants] and flies a white banner. He eats hemp seed with dog meat. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] cudrania branches. The imperial ladies of the Western Palace wear white clothing with white trim. They play music on white[-metal] bells. The weapon [of autumn] is the halberd. The domestic animal [of autumn] is the dog. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the corner [chamber of the Mingtang] to the right of the Comprehensive Template [chamber]. [He] commands those in authority to further increase the severity of their proclamations. [He] orders all officials [to see to it that] among nobles and commoners [alike], there is none who does not fulfill his duty to bring in [the harvest] in accordance with the going-into-storage [= quiescence] of Heaven and Earth. Nothing must be taken out [of storehouses]. [He] also issues orders to the chief minister that when all agricultural affairs are settled and [the grain tax has been] received, [he should] present an accounting of receipts of the five kinds of grain. The grain harvested from the sacred fields is stored in the spirit granary. [5/44/13–18]
In this month the hoarfrost begins to descend, [and] the various artisans rest from their work. [He] therefore commands those in authority to make [a public announcement] saying, “The cold qi has definitely set in. The people’s strength cannot withstand it. All should [now] stay inside their dwellings.” On the first ding day of the month, [the musicians] enter the Hall of Study to practice playing wind instruments. A great sacrificial feast is held for the thearch.25 The beasts offered in sacrifice are sampled. [The Son of Heaven] assembles the Lords of the Land and those who govern all of the districts so that they may receive [the almanac, which sets] the first days of the months of the coming year. [He] gives the Lords of the Land the light and heavy standard [weights] for the taxation of the people. The annual schedule for presenting tribute is set according to the distance [of the fief from the royal domain] and the quality of the land.
[He] also instructs them in hunting so that they may practice the use of the five weapons. [He] orders the grand charioteer and the seven [grades of] grooms to yoke up the chariots and set out banners. Chariots are assigned [to the nobles] on the basis of rank and [are] arrayed in correct order before the screen-of-state [of the ruler]. The minister-overseer, with his baton of office stuck into his sash, stands facing north and gives [the hunters] their instructions. Then the Son of Heaven, wearing martial garb and wide-spreading ornaments, grasps his bow and holds his arrows, and [goes forth] to hunt. [At the conclusion of the hunt,] he orders the Master of Sacrificial Rites to sacrifice [some of] the game to the [gods of] the four directions.
In this month [the leaves of] the plants and trees turn yellow and fall; then their branches are cut and made into charcoal. Hibernating creatures all go [farther] into concealment. Thereupon [those in authority] hasten [the process of] judgment and punishment and do not delay in executing the guilty. [The Son of Heaven] receives [the petitions of] those whose emoluments and rank do not correspond [to their due] and [of] those who [have] not [received] care and nurture according to right principles. [He orders the Master of Works] to go along the highways and open up the roads from the frontiers to the capital. In this month, the Son of Heaven takes a dog and [ritually] tastes [its flesh, along with] hemp seed, and then presents them as the first sacrificial offering in the inner chamber of the [ancestral] temple. [5/44/20–5/45/2]
If the ordinances of summer were observed in the final month of autumn,, then the country would suffer floods, and the winter stores would be destroyed. The people would suffer respiratory diseases. If the ordinances of winter were observed, there would be many robbers and bandits in the country; the frontiers would be unquiet, and the territory [of the state] would be divided and split up [by others]. If the ordinances of spring were observed, warm winds would arrive [out of season]; the people’s energies [qi] would be dissipated accordingly; and battalions and companies [of troops] would thereupon rise up [in rebellion]. [5/45/4–5]
The ninth month governs the Lords of the Land.26 Its tree is the sophora. [5/45/7]
In the first month of winter, Zhaoyao points to hai [NNW]. [The lunar lodge] Rooftop culminates at dusk; [the lodge] Seven Stars culminates at dawn. [Winter] occupies the north. Its days are ren and gui. The fullness of Potency is in Water. Its beasts are [those of the] armored [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is yu. The pitch pipe [of the tenth month] is Responsive Bell. The number [of winter] is six. Its flavor is salty. Its smell is putrid. Its sacrifices are made to the well god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the kidneys are offered first.
Water begins to freeze. The earth begins to harden with cold. Pheasants enter the ocean and turn into large clams. The rainbow [dragon] remains hidden and is not seen. The Son of Heaven wears black clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] black horses. He wears black jade [pendants] and flies a black banner. He eats millet with suckling pig. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] pine branches. The imperial ladies of the Northern Palace wear black clothing with black trim. They play music on chimestones. The weapon [of winter] is the partisan.27 The domestic animal [of winter] is the pig.28 [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the corner [chamber of the Mingtang] to the left of the Dark Hall [chamber], in order to promulgate the winter ordinances. He commands those in authority to reinstitute the general prohibitions. It is prohibited to walk around [outside the city walls]. Gates of cities and outer fortifications are closed, [and] strangers are placed under detention. Punishments are speedily carried out, [and] those under sentence of death are killed. Those who have corruptly abused their positions to confound the law are punished. [5/45/9–14]
On the first day of winter the Son of Heaven personally leads the Three Sires, the Nine Lords, and the great nobles to welcome the year at [the altar of] the northern suburbs. Returning [from this ceremony], he bestows rewards on [the descendants of] those who were killed [while carrying on the ruler’s] affairs, and he puts widows and orphans under his protection. In this month he commands the Master of Prayers to pray and sacrifice to the spirits that they might establish [as true and correct] the oracles of the tortoise and the milfoil stalks, inquiring by means of the trigrams and the bone crackings to foretell good fortune and ill fortune. [In this month] the Son of Heaven begins to wear fur garments. [He] commands all the officials to carefully cover up and store away [all articles for which they are responsible]. [He] commands the minister-overseer to carry out the collecting and gathering. City walls and outer fortifications are repaired, and their doors and gates [are] inspected. Door bolts and fastenings are repaired, [and] keys and locks [are] carefully attended to. Earthen mounds and boundary walls are strengthened, [and] frontier and border fortifications are repaired. [The defenses of] important passes are strengthened, and narrow defiles and byways are blocked up. Regulations are issued with regard to terms of mourning, and inquiries are made [regarding] the quality of inner and outer coffins, burial clothes, and shrouds. The designs of grave mounds and tumuli are regulated with regard to size and height, so that for nobles and commoners, the humble or the honorable, each has its proper gradation. In this month, the Master of Artisans verifies the results [of the year’s] labors, displaying the ritual vessels and examining their conformity to the [prescribed] patterns; those that are of fine quality are offered to the throne. In the carrying out of the work of the artisans, if there is [anyone who,] through hateful and dilatory [conduct,] produces [things that are] meretricious or shoddy, the [appropriate] criminal sentence must be carried out. In this month there is a great feast.29 The Son of Heaven prays [for blessings] for the coming year. A grand rite of prayer and sacrifice is conducted at the shrine of the founder of the lineage, and a general feast is given for the royal ancestors. [The Son of Heaven] rewards the farmers so that they may rest from their labors. [He] commands the generals and [other] military officers to give lectures on war craft [to the troops and to have them] practice archery and chariot driving [and to engage in] trials of strength. [He] also orders the Superintendent of Waters and the Master of Fisheries to collect the taxes [due on the products of] the rivers, springs, ponds, and marshes. There must be no embezzlement or overcollection [of these taxes]. [5/45/16–23]
If during the first month of winter the ordinances of spring were observed, then the freezing [of the earth] would not be complete. The qi of Earth would issue forth and spread about, [and] the people in large numbers would drift away and be lost [to the kingdom]. If the ordinances of summer were observed, there would be many hot windstorms. [Even in] the dead of winter, it would not be cold; hibernating creatures would reemerge. If the ordinances of autumn were observed, then snow and frost would not come in season. Minor warfare would break out from time to time, [and] territory would be usurped and seized [by invaders]. [5/45/25–26]
The tenth month governs the Master of Horses. Its tree is the sandalwood. [5/45/28]
In the middle month of winter, Zhaoyao points to zi [N]. [The lunar lodge] [Eastern] Wall culminates at dusk; [the lodge] Chariot Platform culminates at dawn. [Winter] occupies the north. Its days are ren and gui. Its beasts are [those of the] armored [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is yu. The pitch pipe [of the eleventh month] is Yellow Bell. The number [of winter] is six. Its flavor is salty. Its smell is putrid. Its sacrifices are made to the well god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the kidneys are offered first.
The ice becomes stronger. The earth begins to crack. The gandan bird does not cry.30 Tigers begin to mate. The Son of Heaven wears black clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] black horses. He wears black jade [pendants] and flies a black banner. He eats millet with suckling pig. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] pine branches. The imperial ladies of the Northern Palace wear black clothing with black trim. They play music on chime-stones. The weapon [of winter] is the partisan. The domestic animal [of winter] is the pig. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the Dark Hall [chamber of the Mingtang]. He commands those in authority, saying, “No works having to do with earth may be undertaken, nor may rooms and dwellings be opened.” [He also commands them] to call together the masses and say to them, “If anyone opens up what has been shut away by Heaven and Earth, then hibernating creatures all will die; the people will surely suffer illness and pestilence; and in the wake of this will come destruction.” It is obligatory to arrest thieves and robbers and to punish those who are debauched, licentious, deceitful, or fraudulent. [He issues a] pronouncement saying, “[This is] the month when nothing grows.” [He] commands the superintendent of eunuchs to reissue the standing orders of the palace and to examine the doors and gates and attend to the rooms and apartments; all must be closed up tightly. [There must be] a general diminution of all affairs having to do with women. [He] also issues orders to the Master Brewer, [saying that] the glutinous millet and rice must be uniform [in quality]; the yeast cakes must be ready; the soaking and cooking must be done under conditions of cleanliness; and the water must be fragrant. The earthenware vessels must be of excellent quality, and the fire must be properly regulated. There must be no discrepancy or error [in these things]. The Son of Heaven also commands those in authority to pray to the Four Seas, the great rivers, and the illustrious marshes. [5/46/1–8]
In this month, if the farmers have any [crops] that they have not harvested and stored away in granaries, or any cattle, horses, or other domestic animals that they have allowed to stray and get lost, then anyone who takes such things will not be subject to prosecution. In the mountains, forests, marshes and moors, if there are any who are able to gather wild food to eat or to capture rats and other small game, the superintendent of uncultivated land should instruct and guide them [in these activities]. If there are any who encroach on or steal from [such folk], they will be punished without mercy.
In this month the day reaches its shortest extent. Yin and yang contend. The Superior Man fasts and practices austerities. His dwelling place must be closed, [and] his body must be tranquil. He abstains from music and sex and forbids himself to feel lust or desire. He rests his body and quiets his whole nature. In this month, lychee buds stand out [on their twigs], [and] the rue plant begins to grow. Earthworms wriggle. The palmate deer shed their antlers. Springs of water stir into movement.31 Accordingly, [this is the time to] fell trees for wood and collect bamboo for arrow shafts. Unserviceable articles in offices and articles of equipment that are of no use, are discarded. Gate towers, pavilions, doors, and gates are [repaired with] mud plaster, and prison walls are repaired, thus assisting in the closing up of Heaven and Earth.
If during the middle month of winter the summer ordinances were observed, the country would suffer drought. Vapors and fog would spread gloom and obscurity, and the sound of thunder would break out. If the ordinances of autumn were observed, the season32 would have [excessive] rain. Melons and gourds would not ripen. The country would experience major warfare. If the ordinances of spring were observed, insect pests and caterpillars would cause destruction. The rivers and springs all would run dry. The people would suffer greatly from ulcerating diseases. [5/46/10–16]
The eleventh month governs the metropolitan guards. Its tree is the jujube. [5/46/18]
In the last month of winter, Zhaoyao points to chou [NNE]. [The lunar lodge] Bond culminates at dusk; [the lodge] Root culminates at dawn. [Winter] occupies the north. Its days are ren and gui. Its beasts are [those of the] armored [class]. Its [pentatonic] note is yu. The pitch pipe [of the twelfth month] is Great Regulator. The number [of winter] is six. Its flavor is salty. Its smell is putrid. Its sacrifices are made to the well god. From the body of the sacrificial victim, the kidneys are offered first.
Wild geese head north. Magpies add to their nests. The cock pheasant cries, [and] hens cluck and lay their eggs. The Son of Heaven wears black clothing. He mounts [a carriage drawn by] black horses. He wears black jade [pendants] and flies a black banner. He eats millet with suckling pig. He drinks water gathered from the eight winds and cooks with fire [kindled from] pine branches. The imperial ladies of the Northern Palace wear black clothing with black trim. They play music on chime-stones. The weapon [of winter] is the partisan. The domestic animal [of winter] is the pig. [The Son of Heaven] holds the dawn session of court in the [chamber of the Mingtang] to the right of the Dark Hall [chamber]. He commands those in authority to conduct a grand exorcism, in which sacrificial victims are torn apart on all [four] sides [of the city walls]. An earthen ox is set out [to lead away the cold qi].
[He] orders the Master of Fisheries to commence fishing. The Son of Heaven personally goes [to take part in] the fish shooting. [The fish that are caught] are presented as first offerings in the inner temple of the [ancestral] temple. Orders are issued to the people to withdraw [from the storehouses] the five kinds of seed grain and to the farmers to calculate [the schedules? for] using the teams [of draft animals], to put in order their plowshares, and to equip themselves with the implements of cultivation. [He] commands the master of music to give a grand concert of wind instruments and then to stop [any further music making]. [He] also commands the superintendents of the four directions to collect and set in order firewood for use in the ceremonies of the inner temple of the [ancestral] temple, as well as firewood and kindling for sacrifices of every kind. [5/46/20–26]
In this month, the sun completes [its circuit] through the stages [of the twelve divisions of the celestial circle]. The moon completes its cycle. The stars have made a complete revolution around the heavens. The year is about to begin again. Orders are given that the farmers and commoners must rest, [that] they not be employed [in any public works]. The Son of Heaven calls together his sires, the lords, and the great officers to promulgate33 the statutes of the realm and to discuss the seasonal ordinances, in order to plan what is suitable for the coming year. He commands the grand recorder to make a list of the nobles in order of rank, assigning to them their [appropriate] levies of sacrificial animals [for the coming year] for use in worship of the Sovereign of Heaven Supreme Thearch and at the shrines of the [gods of] the soil and the grain. [He] also commands the states [ruled by fief holders] having the same surname [as that of the ruler] to provide fodder and feed [for the sacrificial animals] used in worship in the inner temple of the [ancestral] temple. [He also commands all, from] the lords, knights, and great officials to the common people, to provide [articles for] use in worship at the sacrifices to the mountains, forests, and illustrious rivers. [5/47/1–4]
If during the last month of winter the ordinances of autumn were observed, then the white dew would descend too early, [and] shell-bearing creatures would suffer deformities;34 on the four frontiers, people would enter places of refuge. If the ordinances of spring were observed, pregnant females and the young would suffer injury; the country would suffer many intractable diseases. If one were to inquire about this fate, it would be called “adverse.” If the ordinances of summer were observed, floods would cause ruin in the country; the seasonable snow would not fall; the ice would melt; and the cold would dissipate. [5/47/6–7]
The twelfth month governs the prisons. Its tree is the chestnut. [5/47/9]
There are five positions. [5/47/11]
The extreme limit of the eastern region begins from Stele-Stone Mountain, passing through the Land of Chaoxian35 and the Land of Giants. In the east it reaches the place from whence the sun rises,36 the land of the Fu [-Sang] tree, the wild fields of the Green-Land trees. The places ruled by Tai Hao and Gou Mang [encompass] 12,000 li.
The ordinances [of the East] say: Hold fast to all prohibitions. Open what is closed or covered. Penetrate to the utmost all blocked-up passes. Extend to the frontiers and passes. Wander afar. Reject resentment and hatred. Free slaves and those condemned to hard labor [for crimes]. Avoid mourning and grief. Refrain from imposing corporal punishments. Open gates and dams. Proclaim a [general] distribution of wealth [from the public treasury]. Harmoniously resolve [any] resentment [that may be] abroad. Pacify the four directions. Act with pliancy and kindness. Put a stop to hardness and [overbearing] strength. [5/47/13–16]
The extreme limit of the southern region begins from outside [= beyond] [the country of] the people of North-Facing Doors37 and passes through the country of Zhuan Xu.38 It extends to the wild lands of Stored Fire and Blazing Winds. The regions governed by the Vermilion Thearch and Zhu Rong encompass 12,000 li.
The ordinances [of the south] say: Ennoble the virtuous [and] reward the meritorious. Show kindness to the beneficent and excellent. Come to the aid of the hungry and thirsty. Raise up those who display prowess in agriculture. Relieve the poor and destitute. Show kindness to orphans and widows. Grieve with the infirm and ill. Dispense great emoluments [and] carry out great bestowals of rewards. Raise up ruined lineages. Support those who have no posterity. Enfeoff nobles. Establish [in office] worthy assistants. [5/47/18–20]
The extreme limits of the central region extend from Kunlun east through the region of [the two peaks? of] Constancy Mountain.39 This is where the sun and the moon have their paths. It is the source of the Han and Jiang [= Yangzi] rivers. [Here are] the open fields of the multitudes of people, [the lands] suitable for the five [kinds of] grain. At Dragon Gate the He [= Yellow] and the Qi rivers merge. [Here, Yu the Great] took swelling earth to dam the floodwaters and traced out the [nine] provinces. [These territories] extend eastward to Stele-Stone Mountain. The territories governed by the Yellow Emperor and the Sovereign of the Soil encompass 12,000 li.
The ordinances [of the center] say: Be evenhanded without inconsistency. Be enlightened without petty fault finding. Embrace, enfold, cover over, [and] enrich as with dew, so that there is none who is not tenderly enwrapped in [the royal] bosom. Be vast and overflowing, without private considerations. Let government be tranquil, to bring about harmony. Succor, nurture, and feed the old and the weak. Send condolences to [the families of] the dead, inquire after the sick, [all] to escort the myriad creatures on their return.40 [5/47/22–25]
The extreme limits of the regions of the west extend from Kunlun through the Flowing Sands and the Sinking Feathers, westward to the country of Three Dangers. [They extend to] the Walled City of Stone and the Metal Palace [and] the open fields of the people who drink qi and do not die. The territories governed by Shao Hao and Ru Shou encompass 12,000 li.
The ordinances [of the west] say: Scrupulously use the laws. Punishment of the guilty must be carried out. Take precautions against thieves and robbers. Prohibit sexual license and debauchery. Issue instructions regarding the general collection [of harvest taxes]. Make a careful record of all collections [of revenue]. Repair city walls and outer fortifications. Repair and clear out drainage pipes. Close off footpaths and lanes; block up sluices and ditches. Shut off flowing water, swamps, gorges, and valleys. Guard doors and gates. Set out [in readiness] weapons and armor. Select officials. Punish the lawless. [5/47/27–5/48/3]
The extreme limits of the regions of the north extend from the nine marshes and the farthest reaches of Exhaust-the-Summer Gloom, north to the Valley Where Ordinances Cease.41 Here are the open fields of freezing cold, piled-up ice, snow, hail, frost, sleet, and of pooling, soaking, massed-up water. The regions governed by Zhuan Xu and Xuan Ming encompass 12,000 li.42
The ordinances [of the north] say: Extend all prohibitions. Firmly shut and store away. Repair [the fortifications of] the frontiers and passes. Fix gates and water barriers. Prohibit walking around [outside the city walls]. Speedily carry out corporal punishments. Kill those who are under sentence of death. Close up the city gates and the gates of the outer fortifications. On a large scale, conduct investigations of strangers. Put a stop to communications and travel. Prohibit the pleasures of the night. Close up [chambers] early and open them late, in order to restrain lewd folk. If lewd persons are already to be found, they must be seized and held under severe restraint. Heaven has already almost completed its cycle: Punishments and executions must [be carried out] without any being pardoned; even in the case of [royal] relatives of surpassing venerableness, the law must be carried out to the full degree.
There must be no travel by water.
There must be no opening up of that which is stored away.
There must be no relaxation of punishments. [5/48/5–9]
[There are] six coordinates. [5/48/11]
The first month of spring and the first month of autumn are a coordinate.
The middle month of spring and the middle month of autumn are a coordinate.
The last month of spring and the last month of autumn are a coordinate.
The first month of summer and the first month of winter are a coordinate.
The middle month of summer and the middle month of winter are a coordinate.
The last month of summer and the last month of winter are a coordinate.
In the first month of spring, [crops] begin to grow; in the first month of autumn, [crops] begin to wither.
In the middle month of spring, [crops] begin to emerge; in the middle month of autumn, [crops] begin to be brought in.
In the last month of spring, [crops] are fully grown; in the last month of autumn, [crops] are harvested on a large scale.
In the first month of summer, [things] begin to slow down; in the first month of winter. [things] begin to quicken.
In the middle month of summer, [the day] reaches its greatest length;
in the middle month of winter, [the day] reaches its shortest length.
In the last month of summer, accretion reaches its climax;
in the last month of winter, recision reaches its climax.
Thus,
if the government fails in its duties in the first month, the cool winds will not arrive in the seventh month.
If the government fails in its duties in the second month, the thunder will not go into hiding in the eighth month.
If the government fails in its duties in the third month, the frost will not descend in the ninth month.
If the government fails in its duties in the fourth month, it will not be cold in the tenth month.
If the government fails in its duties in the fifth month, hibernating creatures will emerge in the winter in the eleventh month.
If the government fails in its duties in the sixth month, grasses and trees will not be bare of leaves in the twelfth month.
If the government fails in its duties in the seventh month, the great cold will not disperse in the first month.
If the government fails in its duties in the eighth month, the thunder will not be heard in the second month.
If the government fails in its duties in the ninth month, the spring winds will not cease in the third month.
If the government fails in its duties in the tenth month, the grasses and trees will not bear seed in the fourth month.
If the government fails in its duties in the eleventh month, there will be hail and frost in the fifth month.
If the government fails in its duties in the twelfth month, the five [kinds of] grain will sicken and become weedy in the sixth month. [5/48/13–19]
In spring,
if the ordinances of summer are carried out, there will be inundations.
If the ordinances of autumn are carried out, there will be [too much] water.
If the ordinances of winter are carried out, there will be severity.
In summer,
if the ordinances of spring are carried out, there will be [excessive] winds.
If the ordinances of autumn are carried out, there will be wild growth of vegetation.
If the ordinances of winter are carried out, there will be interruption [of natural processes].
In autumn,
if the ordinances of summer are carried out, there will be [untimely] blooming of flowers.
If the ordinances of spring are carried out, there will be [untimely] breaking out of new buds.
If the ordinances of winter are carried out, there will be spoilage of the harvest.
In winter,
if the ordinances of spring are carried out, there will be excessive flows [of water].
If the ordinances of summer are carried out, there will be drought.
If the ordinances of autumn are carried out, there will be fog. [5/48/21–22]
Regulating the standards:
For the great regulation of yin and yang, there are six standards.
Heaven is the marking cord.
Earth is the level.
Spring is the compass.43
Summer is the balance beam.
Autumn is the square.
Winter is the weight.44
The marking cord is that by which the myriad things are marked out.
The level is that by which the myriad things are leveled.
The compass is that by which the myriad things are made round.
The balance beam is that by which the myriad things are equalized.
The square is that by which the myriad things are made square.
The weight is that by which the myriad things are weighed. [5/48/24–28]
The marking cord as a standard:
It is straight without swerving.
It is long and inexhaustible.
It is long enduring and does not wear out.
It reaches to far distances without deviation.
It matches Heaven in Potency.
It matches the spirits in illumination.
[By its means,] what one desires may be obtained,
and what one loathes may be caused to perish.
From ancient times to the present, there can be no deviation from its trueness. Its innate Potency is vast and subtle; it is broad and capacious. For this reason, the Supreme Thearch takes it as the ancestor of things. [5/48/30–5/49/2]
The level as a standard:
It is flat and not bumpy,
balanced and not inconsistent,
broad and capacious,
spacious and abundant,
so as to be harmonious.
It is pliant and not hard,
acute but not injurious,
flowing and not stopped up,
simple [to use] and unsullied,
expansively penetrating and [proceeding in] an orderly course.
It is comprehensive and subtle but not sluggish.
The level makes things perfectly flat without error,
thereby the myriad things are leveled.
The people are without malice or scheming; resentment and hatred do not arise.
Therefore the Supreme Thearch uses it to make all things level. [5/49/4–6]
The compass as a standard:
It revolves without repeating itself.
It is round without turning [from its course].
Great but without excess,
broad and spacious,
feelings and actions are ordered [thereby].
It is expansively penetrating and [proceeds] on an orderly course.
Abundant! Simple!
The hundred forms of resentment do not arise.
The standard of the compass does not err;
it gives birth to both qi and pattern. [5/49/8–9]
The balance beam as a standard:
It is deliberate but does not lag behind.
It is impartial and not resented.
It bestows but is not benevolent.
It condoles but does not rebuke.
It adjusts to an appropriate level the people’s emoluments.
It continues but does not heap up.
Majestic! Brilliant!
Only those [possessing] Potency act thus.
Nurturing, bringing to full growth, transforming, rearing;
the myriad creatures abundantly flourish.
It makes the five [kinds of] grain bear seed,
and the bounded fields be fruitful.
Government [by this standard] does not err; Heaven and Earth are illuminated thereby. [5/49/11–13]
The square as a standard:
It is majestic and not contrary.
It is hard and unbroken.45
It seizes but does not provoke resentment,
[Penetrates] within but does no injury.
It is stern and severe but not coercive.
Its ordinances are carried out but without wasteful destruction.
In killing and smiting, its ends are attained;
the enemy is brought to submission.
The square’s trueness is without error; all punishments are [thereby] suitably fulfilled. [5/49/15–16]
The weight as a standard:
It is hasty but not excessive.
It kills but does not slaughter.
It is filled to completion.
It is comprehensive and subtle but without sluggishness.
It inflicts destruction on things but does not single things out.
It punishes and kills without pardon.
Sincerity and trustworthiness are essential to it,
Strength and sincerity make it firm.
Cleanse away filth! Chastise the evil!
Wickedness may not be tolerated.
Therefore, if correct [policies] for winter are to be carried out, [the ruler] must appear
weak in order to be strong,
pliant in order to be firm.
The weight’s trueness is without error; through it the myriad things are shut away. [5/49/18–20]
In the regulation of the Mingtang,
be tranquil, taking the level as a pattern.
Be active, taking the marking cord as a pattern.
For the government of spring, adopt the compass.
For the government of autumn, adopt the square.
For the government of winter, adopt the weight.
For the government of summer, adopt the balance beam.
Thus dryness and dampness, cold and heat, will arrive in their proper seasonal nodes.
Sweet rain and fertile dew will descend in their proper times.[5/49/22–23]
Translated by John S. Major
1. Zhaoyao 
, “Far Flight” in Schafer’s translation, is a bright star in the constellation Boötes. It was envisioned by the Chinese as the last star in the “handle” of the constellation beidou 
, “Northern Dipper” (usually called the “Big Dipper” in English). See Edward H. Schafer, Pacing the Void: T’ang Approaches to the Stars (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977), 239. The direction to which the Dipper’s handle points shifts one Chinese degree (1d) per day with respect to the horizon—that is, one full rotation per solar year. It thus marks out directions on the horizon, which in turn are correlated with the lunar months. In the context of the Huainanzi, the reference to Zhaoyao as a moving pointer is probably not to the constellation itself but to the depiction of the constellation on the round “heaven plate” of the “cosmograph” (shi 
), an astronomical/astrological instrument that mimicked the movements of the Dipper.
2. Otters, which sometimes arrange fish that they have caught in a neat line on the bank of a stream, were thus thought in ancient China to “sacrifice” fish in a ritualistic manner. See also 5.9 and 9.28.
3. On “water gathered from the eight winds,” see 4.6: “The clouds of the eight outlying regions, the eight distant regions, and the eight marshes bring rain to the nine provinces and produce harmony in the central province.” The implication here would seem to be that rainwater was collected for ritual use.
4. The Chinese word yang 
means both “sheep” and “goat,” without distinguishing between the two. A more exact but less graceful translation would be “ovicaprid.” We choose the translation “sheep” rather than “goat” because in early China, sheep seem to have been preferred to goats as sacrificial animals.
5. Yang 
ordinarily means “poplar.” We follow the Er Ya in taking it as a type of willow in this instance.
6. Reading ju 
as gou 
.
7. Following Gao You’s gloss of yuan 
as “auspicious.”
8. Reading wu 
as yan 
.
9. The Cudrania, or false-mulberry tree, is an alternative source of food for silkworms when mulberry leaves are not available.
10. Reading qu 
as qu 
.
11. Reading qin 
as jiu 
, as in TPYL.
12. Reading quan 
as guan 
, as in TPYL.
13. Ji 
is a weapon with a long, curved blade mounted to the end of a pole, similar to the medieval European glaive.
14. The turn-tongue, fanshe 
, is a kind of bird, possibly a blackbird, that can imitate the songs of other birds. The blackbird is more commonly known as the hundred-tongue (bai she 
). See 16.44.
15. Reading luo 
as luo 
, “naked”—that is, hairless. Five-Phase theory calls for creatures of the “naked class”—that is, humans—to be correlated with the center and midsummer.
16. Hundred Bell is another name for Forest Bell (linzhong 
).
17. For the millipede, see also 13.22, 15.12, and 17.151.
18. Supreme Thearch (Shangdi 
) was the high god of the Shang culture. Here the term is being used in a more generic sense to indicate the deity who presides over the cosmos in like fashion to the rule of the Son of Heaven over the human realm.
19. Reading keyi 
, as in LSCQ.
20. The halberd or “dagger axe,” ge 
, had one or more short, broad daggerlike blades mounted transversely near one end of a pole several feet long. It was one of the principal weapons of ancient China, used by both foot soldiers and chariotmen from the Shang era through the Warring States period. Wang Niansun and Yu Dacheng argue strenuously that the weapon of autumn should be the battle axe, yue 
. We have taken note of that opinion but have translated the text as written. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 1:575–76n.11.
21. Jiechong 
, “shelled insects”; here the context calls for the meaning “land snails.”
22. This is a rhymed couplet and could be translated loosely as “If a punishment’s applied but does not fit, It reverts upon him who ordered it.”
23. Deleting the word su 
; it is superfluous, and the rhetoric of this line calls for a three-character phrase.
24. The dhole (chai 
) is a small wild dog of southern Asia. Like the otter, it sometimes leaves uneaten for a period of time small animals that it has killed and so was thought to “sacrifice” its prey. See 5.1 and 9.28.
25. That is, di 
, presumably the same deity as the Supreme Thearch of August Heaven (huangtian shangdi 
) mentioned in 5.6. See Lau, HNZ 5/42/11.
26. Taking hou 
, “marquises,” here as equivalent here to zhu hou 
, “Lords of the Land”—that is, all high-ranking nobles.
27. Sha 
, a pole-mounted thrusting weapon with a swordlike blade fitted with quillons (crosspieces). The medieval European partisan is a rough equivalent.
28. Zhi 
, literally, “suckling pig,” but here clearly intended to mean swine in general.
29. Literally, a “great drinking and steam-cooking.”
30. The gandan 
is a night-flying bird of some kind, possibly a member of the nightjar family.
31. Rejecting Lao’s suggested insertion here of the phrase ri duan zhi 
, “the day reaches its shortest extent,” which already occurs earlier in this paragraph and seems out of place here.
32. Reading qi 
in place of tian 
here, contrary to Lao’s suggestion.
33. Reading shi 
as chi 
.
34. Reading yao 
as yao 
.
35. Chaoxian 
is an old name for a state occupying part of what is now Korea. The name was revived as the name of the dynastic kingdom that ruled Korea from 1398 to 1910. Chaoxian is often, but incorrectly, translated as “Land of Morning Freshness” or “Land of Morning Calm.” It is probable that the Chinese term was an attempt to transliterate the sound of a now-lost toponym in a proto-Korean language.
36. Possibly a reference to Japan.
37. In China, doors normally faced south, thus facing the sun. The implication is that the land of “north-facing doors” must be below the equator, where doors would have to face north to capture the sunlight. See also 4.6.
38. Zhuan Xu was a legendary figure who fought with Gong Gong for rulership of the universe. See 3.1.
39. The word liang 
in liangheng shan 
, “Two(-Peaks?) Constancy Mountain,” may be an intrusion into the text, as it does not appear in this passage as quoted in TPYL.
40. A similar phrase appears in the text for the sixth month. The sense is that the myriad creatures are being speeded on their journey in the waning half of the year. The year is “returning” to its yin phase, and the myriad creatures are returning to a state of quiescence.
41. Reading ling zhi 
instead of ling zheng 
. The implication is that in the farthest reaches of the frozen north, the king’s writ ceases to run.
42. The mythical ruler Zhuan Xu sometimes is associated with the south, as in the immediately preceding section on the southern regions. Here he is named as a ruler of the north. Some commentators speculate that this is a consequence of his having been exiled to the north after his battle with Gong Gong. See chap. 3, n. 3.
43. Gui 
—that is, the drafting instrument, not the (much later) navigational magnetic compass.
44. For the various meanings and metaphorical usages of the word “weight” (quan 
), see chap. 3, n. 36; and Griet Vankeerberghen, “Choosing Balance: Weighing (quan) as a Metaphor for Action in Early Chinese Texts,” Early China 30 (2005): 47–89.
45. Reading kui 
as gui 
, as suggested by Yu Dacheng.