釋氏稽古略 1.65

1.65

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.'