釋氏稽古略 1.65

1.65

社稷神　風俗通曰。共工氏之子曰修。好遠遊。舟車所至。足跡所達。靡不窮覽。故祀以為社神。左傳曰。共工氏有子曰勾龍氏。平水土故祀以社。禮記曰。共工氏之霸九州也。其子曰后土。能平九州。故祀以為社。又厲山氏之有天下也。其子柱能植五穀。故祀以為稷。蔡邕獨斷曰。周棄播殖百穀。以稷為百穀之長。因以稷名。其神棄周后稷也。

Gods of the Altars of Soil and Grain. The Fengsu tong states: 'The son of the Gonggong Clan was named Xiu. He loved to travel far. Wherever boats and carts reached, wherever footprints extended, there was nowhere he did not thoroughly explore. Therefore, he was sacrificed to as the god of the soil.' The Zuo zhuan states: 'The Gonggong Clan had a son named Goulong Clan. Because he pacified the waters and the land, he was sacrificed to as the god of the soil.' The Book of Rites states: 'When the Gonggong Clan hegemonized the Nine Provinces, their son was called Houtu. Because he was able to pacify the Nine Provinces, he was sacrificed to as the god of the soil. Furthermore, when the Lishan Clan possessed All-under-Heaven, their son Zhu was able to plant the five grains. Therefore, he was sacrificed to as the god of grain.' Cai Yong's Duduan states: 'Qi of the Zhou sowed and cultivated the hundred grains; taking grain (ji) as the chief of the hundred grains, he was accordingly named after grain. That god was Qi, Houtu of the Zhou.'