釋氏稽古略 2.162

2.162

魏帝命群臣議行次。中書監高間議以為。帝王莫不以中原為正統。不以世數為與奪善惡為是非。故桀紂至虐不廢夏商之歷。厲惠至昏無害周晉之籙。晉承魏為金。趙承晉為水。燕承趙為木。秦承燕為火。秦之既亡。魏乃稱制玄朔。且魏之得姓出於軒轅。臣愚以為宣為土德。祕書丞李彪著作郎崔光等議。以為神元與晉武往來通好。至于桓穆。志輔晉室。是則司馬祚終於郟鄏。而拓跋受命於雲代。昔秦并天下。漢猶比之共工。卒繼周為火德。況劉石符氏地褊世促魏承其弊。豈可捨晉而為土邪。司空穆亮等皆請從彪等議。於是詔承晉為水德丙子年魏太和二十年。詔以為北人謂土為拓氏為跋。魏之先出於黃帝。以土德王故為拓跋氏。夫土者黃中之色。萬物之元也。宣改姓元氏。諸功臣舊族自代來者姓或重複。皆改之。於是始改拔拔氏為長孫氏。逮奚氏為奚氏。乙旃氏為叔孫氏。丘穆陵氏為穆氏。步六孤氏為陸氏。賀賴氏為賀氏。獨孤氏為劉氏。賀樓氏為樓氏。勿忸于氏為于氏。尉遲氏為尉氏。其餘所改不可勝紀。至西魏恭帝廓。去年號但稱元年。復姓拓跋氏。凡九十九姓改為單者皆復其舊。甲戌年魏帝南過比干墓。祭以太牢。自為文曰。嗚呼介七胡不我臣。

The Emperor of Wei ordered the court officials to deliberate on the sequence of elemental phases. Gao Lü, Supervisor of the Secretariat, deliberated and held: "Rulers always take the Central Plains as orthodox, not considering the number of generations in granting or taking away, nor using good and evil to judge right and wrong. Thus, the extreme cruelty of Jie and Zhou did not abolish the chronological sequences of Xia and Shang; the extreme dimness of King Li and Emperor Hui did not harm the Mandate tallies of Zhou and Jin. Jin succeeded Wei as Metal; Zhao succeeded Jin as Water; Yan succeeded Zhao as Wood; Qin succeeded Yan as Fire. After Qin perished, Wei claimed authority over the Northern Wasteland. Moreover, Wei's acquisition of its surname originated from Xuanyuan. Your servant foolishly considers that it should properly be the virtue of Earth." Assistant in the Palace Library Li Biao, Editorial Director Cui Guang, and others deliberated, holding that Shenyuan maintained friendly relations back and forth with Emperor Wu of Jin; arriving down to Huan and Mu, their intent was to support the Jin house. This means that the fortune of the Sima clan came to an end at Jiadu, while the Tuoba received the Mandate in Yun and Dai. In the past, when Qin unified the realm, the Han still likened it to Gonggong, ultimately succeeding the Zhou as the virtue of Fire. How much more so for the Liu, Shi, and Fu clans, whose lands were narrow and whose lineages were brief; Northern Wei inherited their broken situation. How could it bypass Jin and adopt Earth? Minister of Works Mu Liang and others all requested to follow the deliberation of Biao and the others. Thereupon an imperial edict was issued to succeed the Jin as the virtue of Water. In the bingzi year, the twentieth year of the Taihe reign era of Wei, an edict stated that northern people call earth "tuo" and a clan "ba". The ancestors of Northern Wei emerged from the Yellow Emperor and ruled through the virtue of Earth, hence they were the Tuoba clan. Now, earth is the color of the central yellow, the origin of the ten thousand things. It was decreed that the imperial surname be changed to the Yuan clan. For all meritorious officials and ancient lineages who came from Dai whose surnames were compound, all were changed. Thereupon, the Baba clan was initially changed to the Changsun clan, the Daixi clan to the Xi clan, the Yizhan clan to the Shusun clan, the Qiumuling clan to the Mu clan, the Buliugu clan to the Lu clan, the Helai clan to the He clan, the Dugu clan to the Liu clan, the Helou clan to the Lou clan, the Wuniuyu clan to the Yu clan, and the Yuchi clan to the Wei clan. The rest that were changed cannot be completely recorded. Down to Emperor Gong of Western Wei, Kuo, the reign name was abolished, only calling it the first year, and the surname was restored to Tuoba; all ninety-nine clans that had been changed to single surnames were restored to their old forms. In the jiaxu year, the Emperor of Wei traveled south and passed the tomb of Bigan, sacrificing to him with the grand sacrifice. He personally composed a text, saying: "Alas, resolute elder! Why did you not serve as my minister?"