釋鑑稽古略續集 3.55

3.55

On the first day of the first month of the first year of Hongxi, yisi, the emperor attended the Fengtian Hall to hold court with the assembled ministers; music was set out but not played. A great sacrifice to Heaven and Earth was held at the Southern Suburb, with the Imperial Ancestor and the Imperial Father sharing in the offerings. The Tianyuan yuli xiangyi fu was bestowed upon the Three Excellencies and the Six Ministers, and an imperial edict stated: 'The Way of Heaven and human affairs have never been separated into two paths; movement here must resonate there. In my youth, I attended Taizu, who always instructed me to cultivate vigilance and revere Heaven, and I have never dared to be negligent.' Posthumous honors were additionally bestowed on Junior Preceptor and Duke of Rongguo with the posthumous title Zhongjing, Yao Guangxiao, and three others, sharing in the sacrifices at Emperor Wen's ancestral temple. An imperial edict exempted tax grains; the emperor said: 'Rescuing the people from distress should be like rescuing them from fire and drowning, without hesitation.' The emperor said: 'In showing solicitude to the people, it is better to be too generous; as master of the realm, should one haggle over every inch with the people?' He bestowed a seal upon Jian Yi inscribed 'Loyal and Upright', and a seal upon Yang Shiqi inscribed 'Pure and Unified'; previously he had bestowed seals for correcting errors and rectifying mistakes. In the fifth month, the emperor was indisposed. The next day he took a critical turn for the worse, leaving a testamentary edict transmitting the throne to the Crown Prince, and then passed away. On the twelfth day of the sixth month, the Crown Prince ascended the imperial throne and proclaimed a general amnesty for all under Heaven. In the eighth month, an imperial edict commanded the compilation of the Veritable Records of the two reigns of Taizong and Renzong.