廣弘明集 9.12

9.12

道德經序云。老子以上皇元年丁卯。下為周師。無極元年癸丑去周度關。笑曰。古先帝王立年無號。至漢武帝創起建元。後王因之遂至今日。上皇孟浪可笑之深。

The preface to the Daodejing says: 'Laozi descended to become the preceptor of Zhou in the first year of Shanghuang, dingmao, and departed Zhou to cross the pass in the first year of Wuji, guichou.' I laugh, saying: In ancient times, when the former sovereigns and kings established years, there were no reign titles. It was only with Emperor Wu of the Han that the creation of reign titles began, and later rulers followed it down to the present day. 'Shanghuang' is rash nonsense, deeply laughable.