佛祖歷代通載 2.91

2.91

The Sacrificial Methods states: (Sacrifices in general are of four kinds: the spring sacrifice is called yue, meaning meager; the summer sacrifice is called di, meaning orderly succession; the autumn sacrifice is called chang, savoring the flavors of the hundred grains; the winter sacrifice is called zheng, meaning offering, as all kinds of offerings are presented. The Son of Heaven sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, sacrificing nine times a year: three sacrifices to Vast Heaven, and six sacrifices to the Great Thearchs of the Five Quarters. The feudal lords sacrifice to the altars of soil and grain; the grand masters sacrifice to the five household deities: the arbiter of fate, the central hearth, the gate, the path, and the plague spirit—these five. The feudal lords have five shrines: the Supreme Ancestor along with two zhao and two mu. The grand masters have three shrines: the Supreme Ancestor along with one zhao and one mu. Eminent and ordinary servicemen have two shrines; junior servicemen have one shrine. Commoners have no shrines, but sacrifice in their private bedchambers). Suburban sacrifices, di sacrifices, and the ancestral cult: (The di sacrifice is to Emperor Ku, with the Cultured Ancestor paired with the Cultured Ancestor and the Supreme Ancestor. The suburban sacrifice is to Houji paired with Heaven, and King Wen is taken as the progenitor and King Wu as the exemplar father). King Cheng sacrificed three times: (Sacrificing to Heaven is called ji; to Earth is called si; to human spirits is called xiang). The regulations of the Bright Hall: (It is the palace for disseminating governance. It is situated three li outside the city's south, within seven li, in the direction of bing-si. It is nine mats east-west and seven mats north-south. There are five rooms in the east-west direction, and likewise north-south. The upper part is round, modeling Heaven; the lower part is square, modeling Earth. Eight windows mirror the eight winds; four doors model the four seasons. Nine rooms model the Nine Provinces; twelve steps model the twelve months. Thirty-six doorways model the thirty-six decades; seventy-two casements model the seventy-two solar pentads. There are four shrines, nine rooms, and thirteen positions). He instituted the imperial crown with tassels and the dragon robe (with twelve emblems): Sun, moon, and stars (the three symbolize brightness); Dragons (symbolizing their transformations, representing the virtue of the sage); Flowery birds (pheasants, symbolizing cultured pattern); Ancestral cups (tiger and monkey on the ancestral vessel, symbolizing filial piety); Algae (water plants, symbolizing purity); Powdered rice (ground grains of rice, symbolizing the nourishment of the people); Mountains (valuing stillness, taking their essence, not taking their towering majesty); Fire (radiating roundly, taking its brilliance, not taking its sharpness); Axe emblems (black and white make the fu, forming the shape of an axe, signifying decisiveness); Bow-shaped emblems (black and blue-green make the fu, two back-to-back axes, taking their power to distinguish; thus they are painted and embroidered onto the robe). He acceded in the bingxu year.