廣弘明集 9.61

9.61

化胡經云。三皇修道人皆不死。上古時。天生甘露地生醴泉。食飲長生。中古來天生五氣地出五味。食之延年。下古世薄天生風雨地養百獸。人捕食之。吾傷此際。故嘗百穀以食兆民。於是三皇各奉粟五斗為信。求世世子孫不絕五穀生神州。

The Huahu jing says: The Three Sovereigns cultivated the Dao, and people never died. In high antiquity, heaven produced sweet dew and earth brought forth wine springs; eating and drinking them yielded longevity. From middle antiquity onward, heaven produced the five qi and earth brought forth the five flavors; eating them extended one's years. In low antiquity, the world deteriorated; heaven produced wind and rain, and earth nourished the hundred beasts, which humans hunted and ate. Pained by this condition, I tasted the hundred grains to feed the teeming masses. Thereupon, the Three Sovereigns each presented five pecks of grain as a pledge of faith, seeking that their sons and grandsons throughout generations would never lack the five grains born in the Divine Continent.