釋鑑稽古略續集 2.8

2.8

戊申洪武元年正月四日乙亥。上親為文祭告天地於南郊。禮成即皇帝位於郊壇南。定有天下之號。曰大明。建元洪武。追尊四代祖考皆為帝后。立妃馬氏為皇后。立世子標為皇太子　是日天宇澄清香霧凝結。獨露中星。實天開景運之徵也　以李善長為中書左丞相。徐達為右丞相。章溢為御史中丞　上為東宮設官曰。夫舉賢任才立國之本。崇德尚齒尊賢之道。又曰。連抱之木必以授良匠。萬金之璧不以付拙工　勅立典祀。曰圜丘。曰方丘。曰宗廟。曰社稷。以祀天地祖宗百祇　頒律令諭曰。律令者治天下之法也。令以教之於先。律以齊之於後　諭州縣官曰。初飛之鳥不可拔其羽新植之木不可搖其根。

In the wushen year, the first year of the Hongwu era, in the first month on the fourth day yihai, His Majesty personally composed a liturgy to sacrifice and announce it to Heaven and Earth at the southern suburbs. When the rites were completed, he ascended the imperial throne to the south of the suburban altar, established the dynastic name for possessing all under heaven as Great Ming, and established the reign era as Hongwu. He posthumously honoured the ancestors and fathers of four generations as emperors and empresses, established his primary consort Lady Ma as Empress, and established his eldest son Biao as Crown Prince. On that day, the celestial vault was pure and clear, fragrant mist condensed, and the Central Star alone was visible: truly a sign of Heaven opening an auspicious destiny. He appointed Li Shanchang as the Left Grand Councillor of the Secretariat, Xu Da as the Right Grand Councillor, and Zhang Yi as the Vice Censor-in-Chief. His Majesty appointed officials for the Eastern Palace, saying: 'Promoting the worthy and employing talent is the foundation of establishing the state; revering virtue and esteeming age is the way of honouring the worthy.' He also said: 'Timber of many spans must be entrusted to an expert artisan; a jade disc of ten thousand gold must not be handed to an unskilful worker.' He ordered the establishment of standard sacrifices: the Round Mound, the Square Mound, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Altars of Soil and Grain, to sacrifice to Heaven, Earth, the ancestors, and all the spirits. He promulgated the penal code and administrative ordinances, instructing: 'The penal code and ordinances are the laws for governing all under heaven. The ordinances are to instruct them beforehand; the penal code is to regulate them after.' He instructed the officials of prefectures and counties, saying: 'The feathers of a bird just learning to fly cannot be plucked; the roots of a tree newly planted cannot be shaken.'