釋氏稽古略 1.81

1.81

帝嚳子。摯之弟也。摯立封堯為陶侯。改封唐故曰陶唐氏。伊祁姓也。堯既受摯禪。以火德。都平陽（今晉寧路冀州之域）。茅茨不剪。土階三尺蓂莢生于庭蓂草也。一日生一莢。至十五日成十五莢。十六日落一莢。至三十日落而盡（月小連落二莢）。更生更落。帝自奉甚薄。賦役甚寡是時有大風猰（苦八反）㺄（音俞）封豨（胡鬼反）脩蛇。皆為民害。帝乃使羿繳大風於青丘之澤（東方澤名）殺猰㺄。斷脩蛇於洞庭。擒封豨於桑林。民乃悅。洪水為災。四岳舉鯀（禹之父也）。治水九年弗成。帝之子丹朱不肖求賢德可以遜位者。群臣舉舜。帝以二女妻舜。歷試諸難。納于大麓（今順德路）。烈風雷雨不迷。使之攝位。又二十八年帝崩。堯在位通舜攝共九十八年。壽一百九十八歲。堯作樂曰大章。舜避堯之子丹朱於河南（今汴梁地）。天下朝覲訟獄者不歸丹朱而歸舜。舜乃即天子位（史記）　書堯典曰放勳。蔡氏沈曰。放勳者總言堯之德業也。

He was a son of Emperor Ku and the younger brother of Zhi. When Zhi ascended the throne, he enfeoffed Yao as the Marquis of Tao, and later transferred his fief to Tang; hence he was called the Taotang clan. His surname was Yiqi. After Yao received the abdication from Zhi, he ruled by the virtue of Fire and established his capital at Pingyang (present-day Jinning Route, in the territory of Jizhou). His thatched eaves were untrimmed, and his earthen steps were only three feet high. Auspicious calendar-beans (mingjia) grew in his courtyard: it is an auspicious herb that sprouts one pod each day until the fifteenth day when fifteen pods are formed, and sheds one pod from the sixteenth day onwards until the thirtieth day when all have fallen (in a short month, two pods fall in succession), sprouting and shedding anew. The Emperor supported himself very frugally and levied few taxes and corvée services. At that time, there were the Dafeng, the Yayu, the Fengxi, and the giant serpent, which were all harms to the people. The Emperor sent Yi to shoot the Dafeng at the marsh of Qingqiu (a marsh in the east), kill the Yayu, cut down the giant serpent at Dongting, and capture the Fengxi at the Mulberry Forest; thereupon the people were delighted. A great flood became a disaster, and the Four Mountains recommended Gun (the father of Yu). He regulated the waters for nine years without success. The Emperor's son Danzhu was unworthy, so he sought a virtuous person who could receive his abdication. The ministers recommended Shun. The Emperor gave his two daughters in marriage to Shun and tested him through various hardships. When sent into the Great Foothills (present-day Shunde Route), violent winds, thunder, and rain did not cause him to lose his way. [Yao] then made him regent. After another twenty-eight years, the Emperor passed away. Yao's reign, including Shun's regency, totaled ninety-eight years, and his lifespan was one hundred and ninety-eight years. Yao composed music called Dazhang. Shun yielded before Yao's son Danzhu and retired to the south of the Yellow River (present-day Bianliang area), but the lords of the realm presenting court audiences and those seeking litigation went not to Danzhu but to Shun; thereupon Shun ascended the throne of the Son of Heaven (Records of the Grand Historian). The 'Canon of Yao' in the Book of Documents calls him 'Fangxun'. Shen of the Cai family said: ''Fangxun' is an overall description of Yao's virtue and deeds.'