釋鑑稽古略續集 2.118

2.118

乙丑洪武十八年二月。魏國公徐達卒。年五十四。追封中山王諡武寧。賜葬鍾山之陰。上親為祭文。親製神道碑記享大廟　勅建鷄鳴寺造浮圖五級。祠寶公歲遣官祭祀。初西番僧星吉鑑藏居是山。至是為闢院。命為僧錄司右覺義　三月十八日。本部官於武英殿欽奉聖旨。僧錄司右覺義如錦病故。恁禮部辦素祭去祭祀他。欽此。令祠部備祀。庫支價買祭物去祭祀　詔曰。嗚呼罪盈自己。蠹政害民。朕為民設官。為民造福。必欲除姦。復生姦甚擾害吾民。實朕不才之所致。今詔天下。凡吾良民。憐朕不敏以居君位。書不云乎。天位艱哉。寢食不安以圖民康。仰天俯察求治姦貪愈增。若此人心為之奈何。自詔之後凡擾吾民者大赦不赦　七月詔曰。嗚呼天位艱哉。朕自即位以來十有八年。不遑暇食以撫生民。奈何內外之臣數用弗當。實在予一人以致上天垂戒。災於萬姓水旱相。仍今聞。山東北平雨水愆期。農艱栽種歲苗有虧。詔書到日。今歲秋糧盡行蠲免。有司如命毋擾吾民云云　九月諭曰。農桑衣食之本。然棄本逐末。鮮有救其弊者。先王之世。野無不耕之民。室無不蠶之女。水旱無虞。饑寒不至云云　九月命蜀王閱武於中都。王太祖第十子也。諱椿最有賢德。博通經藝旁及釋典。上所鍾愛呼為蜀秀才。王至中都首闢西堂。以讀書自娛。閱武餘暇。召儒臣李叔荊蘇伯衡及名僧來復輩。與之講道論文。殆無虛日。復建寶訓堂。尊奉祖訓及前代帝王經典。命來復記之。又命來復作正心觀道崇本敬賢四箴。以自警。

In the yichou year, the eighteenth year of Hongwu (1385), in the second month, Duke of Wei Xu Da died at the age of fifty-four. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Prince of Zhongshan and given the posthumous name Wuning. He was granted burial on the north slope of Mount Zhong. The Emperor personally composed a funeral oration, personally authored an inscription for the spirit-path stele, and sacrificed [to him] in the Great Ancestral Temple. An imperial decree ordered the construction of Jiming Monastery, the erection of a five-tiered pagoda, and the building of a shrine to Master Bao [Zhi], where officials were dispatched annually to offer sacrifices. Earlier, the Tibetan monk Sengge Gyantsen had dwelt on this mountain; at this point, a compound was cleared for him, and he was appointed Awakener of Righteousness on the Right of the Central Buddhist Registry. On the eighteenth day of the third month, officials of this Ministry [of Rites] reverently received an imperial edict in the Wuying Hall: “The Awakener of Righteousness on the Right of the Central Buddhist Registry, Rujin, has died of illness. Let your Ministry of Rites prepare a vegetarian sacrificial offering and go sacrifice to him. Respect this.” The Bureau of Sacrifices was ordered to prepare the offering, with funds disbursed from the treasury to purchase the sacrificial items and perform the sacrifice. An imperial edict declared: “Alas, guilt overflows from within; [corrupt elements] corrode governance and harm the people. We instituted officials for the people and created welfare for the people. Desiring to eradicate wickedness, yet further wickedness arises severely disturbing and harming Our people—this is truly brought about by Our own unworthiness. Now We issue an edict to all under Heaven: all Our good commoners, take pity on Our lack of intelligence in occupying the sovereign seat! Does not the *Book of Documents* say, ‘O, arduous is the heavenly throne!’? Uneasy in sleep and eating to strive for the people’s peace, looking up to Heaven and looking down to inspect, seeking good governance, yet wicked greed increases all the more. Facing such human hearts, what can be done? From this edict onward, any who disrupt Our people shall not be pardoned by general amnesties!” In the seventh month, an imperial edict declared: “Alas, arduous is the heavenly throne! Since Our accession, eighteen years have passed, wherein We have had no leisure to eat in peace while tending the people. How is it that the appointments of inner and outer ministers have repeatedly been inappropriate? It truly rests with Us alone, thereby bringing about Heaven's warnings, afflicting the myriad commoners with successive floods and droughts. Now We hear that in Shandong and Beiping rains have missed their season, farmers find planting difficult, and the year's sprouts have suffered. Upon the arrival of this edict, this year’s autumn grain tax shall be entirely remitted. Let the authorities comply with the decree and not disturb Our people, and so forth.” In the ninth month, an imperial instruction declared: “Sericulture and agriculture are the basis of food and clothing. Yet people abandon the fundamental and pursue the trivial, and rare are those who remedy such shortcomings. In the era of the ancient sage-kings, in the fields there were no unplowed people, and in the rooms there were no women who did not tend silkworms; floods and droughts brought no anxiety, and hunger and cold did not arrive, and so forth.” In the ninth month, the King of Shu was ordered to review military forces at the Central Capital. The King was the tenth son of Taizu, named Chun, who possessed the greatest virtue. He was widely versed in the Classics and arts, and also delved into Buddhist scriptures. Cherished by the Emperor, he was called the “Talented Scholar of Shu.” Arriving at the Central Capital, the King first opened a West Hall to amuse himself with reading books. In his leisure from reviewing the military, he summoned the Confucian ministers Li Shujing and Su Boheng, as well as renowned monks such as Laifu, to discuss the Way and discourse on literature with them, scarcely leaving a day empty. He also built the Baoxun (Precious Instructions) Hall to revere the ancestral instructions and the classics of past emperors and kings, and commanded Laifu to record it. He further ordered Laifu to compose four admonitions—on Correcting the Mind, Contemplating the Way, Exalting the Fundamental, and Reverencing the Worthy—to alert himself.