釋鑑稽古略續集 2.30

2.30

Iron tallies: their shape was like roof tiles; on the front were carved the patent inscriptions, and on the back were inscribed the amounts of crimes pardoned and death penalties remitted, with characters inlaid in gold. Their height and width varied, graded into seven ranks. They were cast in two halves: one was awarded to the meritorious official, and one was stored in the imperial palace; when an occasion arose, they were retrieved and fitted together as a token of trust. When the Emperor's banquet for the meritorious officials concluded, he said: "The perceptive must shine light on things before they take shape; the benighted are still blind even after things have become manifest. When an affair has not yet taken shape, it can still be planned for; once a calamity has become manifest, it is without remedy. When people reside in wealth and honor, their desires must not be indulged: if desires are indulged, there will be extravagance; their passions must not be let loose: if passions are let loose, there will be licentiousness. When extravagance and licentiousness reach their peak, sorrow and peril take advantage of them. Now I fear that as time goes by, you gentlemen will forget this, and therefore I admonish and urge you."