廣弘明集 7.7

7.7

濟表云。稽古之詔。未聞崇邪之命重沓。歲時禘祫未嘗親享。竹脯麪牲𣣋誣宗廟。違黃屋之尊。就蒼頭之役。朝夕敬妖怪之胡鬼。曲躬供貪婬之賊禿。耽信邪胡諂祭淫祀。恐非聰明正直而可以福祐陛下者也。濟吐斯言。故動怒也。梁祖享祀於晦朔。四時交易於溫清。流涕動於臣下。興言賦於孝思。故景陽臺至敬殿。咸陳文祖獻后之奠。何得言未嘗親享。故反前事肆情罵之。竹脯麪牲用替犧栗。蘋藻礿祭豈惟有梁之時。屈尊就卑乃萬代之希有。遺若脫屣豈百王之虛構哉。自非行總八恒位隣上忍。安能行慈絕欲於盛年。長齋竭誠於終事哉。

Ji's memorial stated: 'Among edicts examining antiquity, I have never heard of repeated commands honoring heterodoxy. At the seasonal dī and xiá sacrifices, Your Majesty has never personally partaken of the offerings; bamboo dried meat and dough animals shamelessly deceive the ancestral temple. Discarding the honor of the yellow canopy, you attend to the menial work of a bonded servant. Morning and night, you revere the deceitful barbarian ghosts; bending your body, you make offerings to greedy and lecherous bald thieves. Indulging in belief in heterodox barbarians, flattery-offerings, and improper sacrifices—I fear this is not the intelligent and upright that can bring blessings and protection to Your Majesty.' When Ji uttered these words, it was deliberately to incite anger. The Liang progenitor made offerings at the new and dark moons, and throughout the four seasons attended to heating and cooling; his shedding of tears moved his ministers, and his poetic expressions arose from filial thoughts. Thus, in the Jingyang Terrace and the Hall of Utmost Reverence, offerings to Ancestor Wen and Empress Xian were all laid out; how could one say he never personally partook? Hence [Ji] inverted previous affairs and gave free rein to his emotions to revile him. Bamboo dried meat and dough animals replaced sacrificial animals; were algae and spring sacrifices only practiced during the Liang? For the exalted to humble himself is a rarity in ten thousand generations; discarding the throne like cast-off sandals—could that be an empty fabrication among a hundred kings? Were it not that his practice encompassed the eight constants and his status bordered on supreme patience, how could he practice compassion and sever desire in his prime years, and observe perpetual fasting with exhaustive sincerity unto his very end?