廣弘明集 11.51

11.51

The first reply, on the claim that 'for twenty-nine generations after Baoxi, fathers and sons, rulers and ministers established loyalty and filial piety, upheld the Way and practiced virtue, and received the orthodox qi of Huaxia': It is answered: The Historical Records, the Huainanzi, and other texts state: In the time of the Yellow Emperor, Chiyou had a bronze head and an iron forehead; he caused chaos throughout the world and fought with the Yellow Emperor at Banquan so that the Emperor ascended the throne. Chiyou rebelled against the mandate, and they fought again in the wilderness of Zhuolu, undergoing fifty-two battles in all. In the time of Zhuanxu, the Three Miao were executed at Dongting on the left and Pengli on the right. The Bamboo Annals from the Ji Tomb state that Shun imprisoned Yao at Pingyang and took his imperial throne; today there is still seen the City of Yao's Imprisonment. Shun also fought with the Youmiao on the shores of the Dan River. Yao shot upward at the nine suns, bringing down the feathers of their crows (the Chuci says: 'Ten suns came out in turn, melting metal and scorching stone'); he shot arrows tied to cords at the Great Wind at Qingqiu, severed the Long Serpent at Dongting, slaughtered the Giant Boar at the Great Marsh, and killed the Nine-Headed Monster at the Xionghuang Waters. The Documents say: 'The floodwaters surged to the heavens, embracing the mountains and overtopping the hills; the black-haired people were distressed and famished, and the common people were sinking in distress.' In Yu's time, the common people each harbored their own minds, and Boguzi withdrew to farm in the wilderness. The Three Miao did not cultivate virtuous governance, and Yu personally destroyed them. As for the dwelling of Jie of Xia: to the left were the Yellow River and the Ji, to the right was Mount Taihua, Yique lay to the south, and Yangchang backed it to the north; yet he burned the imperial maps, killed Longfeng, imprisoned Cheng Tang, and indulged Moxi; he conducted governance [without benevolence, and Tang exiled and destroyed him]. Tang carried out nine punitive expeditions in all, with twenty-seven battles; there was a great drought for seven years, the Yellow and Luo Rivers dried up, and metal melted and stones softened. Gaozong campaigned against the Guifang for three years. Xin, King Zhou of Yin, was deluded by Daji; he gave free rein to the harm of the ten evils and spread the punishments of the five cruelties, cutting open the heart of a worthy man and slicing open the belly of a pregnant woman, imprisoning King Wen and confining Jizi. King Wu of Zhou campaigned against Zhou at Muye, where blood flowed so deep as to float pestles; he executed him at the Deer Terrace. The King personally shot Zhou with arrows, and with his own hands hung his head on the banner of the Great White Star; yet Boyi and Shuqi condemned him and would not eat his grain. Confucius said: 'The Wu music is completely beautiful, but not completely good.' In the era of King Wu, the Three Overseers rebelled; in the days of King Cheng, the Two Uncles spread slander. When King Xuan campaigned in the sixth month, the Odes said: 'We severely attacked the Xianyun, reaching as far as Taiyuan.' In 'Plucking the Fern', sending troops on border garrison, it says: 'In the north there is the calamity of the Xianyun, in the west there is the trouble of the Kunyi.' 'Plucking the Sowthistle' also says: 'King Xuan campaigned in the south.'