| Ji Fa: |
According to the institutes of the sage kings about sacrifices, sacrifice should be offered to him who had given (good) laws to the people to him who had laboured to the death in the discharge of his duties; to him who had strengthened the state by his laborious toil; to him who had boldly and successfully met great calamities; and to him who had warded off great evils. Such were the following - Nong, the son of the lord of Li-shan, who possessed the kingdom, and showed how to cultivate all the cereals; and Ji (the progenitor) of Zhou, who continued his work after the decay of Xia, and was sacrificed to under the name of Ji; Hou-tu, a son of the line of Gong-gong, that swayed the nine provinces, who was able to reduce them all to order, and was sacrificed to as the spirit of the ground; the Di Ku, who could define all the zodiacal stars, and exhibit their times to the people; Yao, who rewarded (the worthy), made the penal laws impartial, and the end of whose course was distinguished by his righteousness; Shun, who, toiling amid all his affairs, died in the country (far from his capital); Yu, (the son of) Gun, who was kept a prisoner till death for trying to dam up the waters of the flood, while Yu completed the work, and atoned for his father's failure; Huang Di, who gave everything its right name, thereby showing the people how to avail themselves of its qualities; Zhuan-xu, who completed this work of Huang Di; Xie, who was minister of Instruction, and perfected the (condition and manners of the) people; Ming, who, through his attention to the duties of his office, died in the waters; Thang, who ruled the people with a benignant sway and cut off their oppressor; and king Wen, who by his peaceful rule, and king Wu, who by his martial achievements, delivered the people from their afflictions. All these rendered distinguished services to the people. As to the sun and moon, the stars and constellations, the people look up to them, while mountains, forests, streams, valleys, hills, and mountains supply them with the materials for use which they require. Only men and things of this character were admitted into the sacrificial canon. |
