辯正論 4.6

4.6

Remotely contemplating distant antiquity, / far off I hear of the primordial sovereigns. / Following their times they instituted instructions; / employing wisdom, they handed down their fragrance. / Praying for grace, they gazed in sacrificial rites; / requiting virtue, they offered the autumn and winter feasts. / They only exalted minor offerings; / how could they have heard of the Great Way? / Not yet having propagated the three teachings, / they merely chanted the nine chapters [of the hymns]. / Responding to the appointed time and putting disorder to flight, / lo, there is our sacred Tang! / Brightly discerning cause and effect, / [the Emperor] holds his robes in reverence at the Wenchang Palace. / His transforming influence equals the Ten Epithets; / his benevolence runs deeper than that of a hundred kings. / The pitch-pipes accord with the mid-spring month; / the season ascends to the Shao-yang. / Below, he takes pity on the crawling masses; / above, he responds to the azure heavens. / Thus arranged within the Golden Gates, / he thereupon opened a ritual precinct. / The solar palace shines brightly; / the terrace of stars blazes with light. / In the void suspend the shadows of pearls; / flames stir around the radiant wheels. / Clouds part over jade graphs; / smoke disperses from exquisite incense. / Offerings seem to fly down from above; / chants carry the ringing cries of phoenixes. / The qilin manifests auspicious omens; / sweet dew displays good fortune. / His merits extend as far as the kalpas; / his virtue endures as long as heaven. / His grace moistens all who exist; / his bounty reaches boundlessly. / His lifespan equals the Primordial Origin; / his embodiment is like the vajra. / May the grand foundation last forever and ever, / bestowing blessings abundant and vast!