廣弘明集 26.15

26.15

前臣曰。夫神道茫昧求諸不一。或尚血腥之祀。或歆蘊藻之誠。設教隨時貴其為善。其誠無忒何往不通。若祭享理無則四代之風為爽。神明實有三世之道為弘。語其無不待牲牷之潔。據其有宜存去殺之仁周文禴祭由來尚矣。苟有明德神其吐諸。而以麵為牲於義未達。方之紋錦將不矛盾乎。

The former minister says: 'The way of the spirits is obscure, and approaches to them are not uniform. Some favor sacrifices of blood and raw meat, while others relish the sincerity of simple aquatic weeds. Sages establish teachings according to the times, valuing what is good; if sincerity is without deceit, what would not reach them? If sacrificial feasts are in principle nonexistent, then the customs of the Four Dynasties were mistaken. If divine spirits truly exist, then the Way of the three times is vast. Speaking of their nonexistence, one does not need the purity of whole sacrificial beasts; resting upon their existence, one ought to maintain the benevolence of abolishing killing. King Wen of Zhou's summer sacrifice of simple herbs was already of ancient origin; if there is illustrious virtue, will the spirits spit it out? Yet using dough for sacrificial beasts is not yet understood in principle; compared with the prohibition on patterned brocades, is this not contradictory?'