佛祖歷代通載 2.30

2.30

(16. Sexagenary Cycle 6) Emperor Shun, the Youyu clan (surname: Yao; personal name: Chonghua; style name: Dujun; sixth-generation descendant of Zhuanxu. He had a dragon's visage and a large mouth, with double pupils in his eyes. At age twenty he became famous throughout the world for his filial piety; at thirty he was employed; during a southern tour of inspection he died at Cangwu at the age of one hundred and fifty). He ruled by the virtue of Earth. His capital was at Puban (present-day Hezhong Prefecture). During Yao's time he acted as regent for twenty-eight years, governing for a total of fifty years (ascending the throne in the bingwu year and ending in the yiwei year; he was buried at Jiuyi Mountain; he was given the posthumous title Shun, meaning 'benevolent, sagacious, gracious, and brilliant'). He sang the 'Poem of the Southern Wind'. He raised up the sixteen ministers (meaning the Eight Harmonious Ones and the Eight Primal Ones). He banished the Four Evils (The Zuo zhuan says: Huanxiong was an unworthy son of the Yellow Emperor, who covered over righteousness and concealed virtue, loving violent deeds; he was called Hundun. Gonggong was an unworthy son of Shaohao, who destroyed trust and abandoned loyalty, adorning wicked words; he was called Qiongqi. Gun was an unworthy son of Zhuanxu, who was arrogant and perverse against illustrious virtue, disrupting the celestial norms; he was called Taowu. Sanmiao, the unworthy descendant of the Yellow Emperor's minister, the clan of Jinyun, was greedy for food and drink, coveting wealth and gain; he was called Taotie). His minister Chui created lacquerware. He sent Gaoyao to judge lawsuits and establish the five punishments (The Shangshu says: The five punishments began in the reign of Shun. Zheng's commentary on the Liji says: Tattooing means cutting the forehead and filling it with ink; those who act inappropriately and do not follow morality are subjected to this. Amputation of the nose means cutting off the nose; those who alter carriages and garments or change regulations are subjected to this. Cutting off the feet means amputating the feet; those who breach mountain passes or canals or scale city walls are subjected to this. Castration means removing the genitals for men and confining women to secluded chambers; men and women who engage in illicit relations contrary to ritual and propriety are subjected to this. Capital punishment means the death penalty; bandits and plunderers are subjected to this). He composed the Shao music and built the Zongzhang (The Shao has nine variations and eleven movements. The music on the terrace has six instruments: the zhu resembles a lacquer tub, two feet four inches square and one foot eight inches deep, with a mallet-handle inside, used to begin the music; the yu resembles a crouching tiger, with twenty-four serrations on its back, carved from wood about a foot long, modeling the culmination of the yang number of three times nine, scraped to end the music; the qin is three feet six inches long, symbolizing the three hundred and sixty days, and six inches wide, symbolizing the six directions; its upper opening is called the pond and its lower opening is called the shore; wide in front and narrow in back, symbolizing the noble and base; round above and square below, modeling heaven and earth; its seven strings are made of boiled vermilion silk, seven feet two inches long, modeling the seventy-two solar pentads; some say King Wen and King Wu of Zhou added strings to the five-string qin to make seven strings, with the large and small strings harmonizing the sentiments of ruler and minister; the Fengsu tong says: The qin is the ruler of music, which a gentleman keeps by him without parting from his person, unlike bells and drums displayed in palace temples or lined up on racks; because its size is moderate and its tone harmonious and elegant, its loud notes do not become clamorous or diffuse, and its soft notes are not extinguished or unheard, fully able to arouse a person's spirit; the se is as noted previously; the bo-fu is shaped like a drum, made of leather, filled with chaff, and struck to keep time; the qiu is jade, made into a chime and struck to sound. The music below the terrace has five instruments: the xiao resembles phoenix wings, made of bundled bamboo, one foot five inches long; the larger with twenty-three pipes is called the diaoxiao, and the smaller with sixteen pipes is called the yaxiao; the Zhouli has two yaxiao: the fanxiao of one foot four inches with twenty-four pipes, and the dongxiao of one foot two inches with twenty-three pipes; the tao drum has a handle held and shaken so the ear-clappers at the sides strike itself; the yong is a large bell; the sheng is as noted previously; the guan is made of bamboo and has seven holes). He established twelve provinces and used earthenware coffins for burial (Before Shaohao, the designations under heaven modeled their virtues; from Zhuanxu onward, the designations under heaven derived from their places, like Gaoyang and Gaoxin, which were the places of their rise. Liu's Waiji regards the titles of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors as popular traditions).