| | Entering the grandeur of Taihong, exiting to observe beyond the divine, establishing the will of Taiyi as a standard for all things, heaven has nine hongs, earth has nine provinces; the way of Taiyi is the legacy of the Nine Emperors. Please complete this at the end of Taishi, revealing inexplicable matters outside conventional understanding. Fan was formless, often tasteless, thus becoming the essence where principles and reason converge. Fan is the quintessence of flavor; flavor is the parent of qi; the subtle essence is the beginning of heaven and earth. Without visible form or portion, yet all under heaven ascribe beauty to it. The one who embodies the divine and is named by reason is the Great Dao. When actions are misaligned yet intentions harmonize, when righteousness is upheld and benevolence is the foundation, these are achievements of accumulated virtue—thus they arise from the sage ancestors. Those who practice the Dao possess its name; those who perform its deeds receive its merit. Therefore, heaven and earth were formed from the primal qi, all things ride upon heaven and earth, sages and saints ride upon morality and the Dao, to thoroughly investigate their principles. If the supreme sage and heavenly sovereign, upon whom the ancestors relied to establish authority and decree destiny, then achieving governance naturally depends on oneself. The lofty is attracted by loftiness; the lowly by lowness. Thus, once form is completed it does not change—this is measure. That which has not departed from self yet resides elsewhere is like froth upon water. Displaying one's nature and establishing virtue, remaining unchanged through ten thousand generations—this is the position of heaven and earth. Classifying things and recording names, distinguishing through culture and wisdom—this is the standard of sages and saints. Following heaven's pattern while residing on earth, removing squareness to embrace roundness—this is the mirror of sages and saints. Illustrating principles by naming objects, achieving success in endeavors; hidden and manifest never separate—this is the teaching of sages and saints. Therefore, when flow differentiates, spirit arises; when movement ascends, clarity emerges; when clarity is perceived, form takes shape; and when form is established, achievement endures. Therefore, culture serves to distinguish things, principle serves to record names, and heaven and earth are co-participants yet occupy different domains. Without compass-drawn circles, this is the pattern of heaven; without square-measured squares, this is the principle of earth. Heaven moves in accordance with its pattern, and earth acts in accordance with its principle. The two extremes are the law of the divine. Sages and saints are those who precede or follow heaven and earth and thus attain reverence. Born after heaven and earth, yet knowing the beginning of heaven and earth; perishing before heaven and earth, yet understanding their end. The Dao encompasses all things, hence one can know the measure; reverence and esteem are held, hence one can initiate change; sensitivity and clarity are present, hence one can make decisive judgments. Spirit and essence are the most precious aspects of things; inner sagehood is the source of spirit and essence. Nothing is more valuable, hence all things look up to it for regulation. Regulation serves to protect essence, elevate spirit, and direct qi. When profound, it does not leak; when simple, it is not burdensome. When not burdensome, clarity and wisdom reach their fullness, thus enabling the subjugation of the wise and the invocation of divine insight. A hundred transformations follow in change, beginning and end proceed with foreknowledge. Divine wisdom is the result of accumulated subtlety and pure essence. The sage Dao and divine methods are the ultimate essentials; imperial regulation and divine transformation are the aspirations of governance. Therefore, the teacher becomes ruler and learning becomes minister; the most virtuous ascend as Son of Heaven, the next in virtue become the Three Dukes, the highly virtuous become feudal lords. Changing surnames to rule, not taking ancestral lineage as sovereign—this is done to achieve unity under one good governance. Heaven and earth move within the chest; only then do affairs succeed externally. All things enter and exit freely, thus generating life without harm. Opening and closing with the four seasons, guiding yin and yang to shift, purifying all things from resentment and obscurity—under heaven it is seen as natural. This is why sages and saints surpass the multitude. The origin of sagehood and divine wisdom is verifiable yet invisible. Therefore, those who surpass others are visible; those who transcend all are not far removed—this is how the divine and wisdom achieve harmony. Therefore, divine wisdom tightly binds its great principles; generation upon generation arises in succession. Using one principle without exhaustion—shadow follows form, echo responds to sound. Thus, form and sound are the models of heaven and earth. The achievements of the four seasons cannot be accomplished by yin and yang alone. The sage sovereign never loses sight of origins and ends, hence divine wisdom governs from beginning to end. Even sudden commands concerning the eight winds and three luminaries, changes in qi that are not constant—how could they fail to be decreed and regulated by the ultimate principle? Therefore, divine spirits and luminous authority transform the light above; swift or slow movements regulate the qi in harmony. Destruction, injury, and calamity lie below on earth. Thus, the mandate of heaven and earth's yin and yang draws its model from the efficacy of divine wisdom—this has already been revealed. Heaven is the source from which all qi originates; earth is the inevitable manifestation of principle. Therefore, the sage arises from heaven and is grounded in earth; within heaven and earth he functions like yin and yang. He regulates dryness and dampness according to principle and righteousness, adapting with the times. The two—when sages exist, order prevails; when they perish, chaos arises—this is because heaven loses its pattern and earth loses its principle. From this we know that the ancestors, sovereigns, and hundred deities who came before all held high virtue and upheld the Great Dao. All these are the leaders of things. Until the era when ancestral lineage succeeded in succession, even if a ruler was personally unworthy yet sat facing south as "I alone" (a sovereign), still did not inevitably perish—this is because he could receive instruction. Those who are virtuous scholars do not act thus; yet there has never been one who could uphold ancestral temples and preserve the state.
|
