| | The writing of eulogies and descriptions is intended to clarify and record meritorious virtue, to reflect upon and praise virtuous governance; this is essentially the later development of poetry and odes. It should be initiated from above, not composed solely by those below. The world examines it: if a person indeed has meritorious achievements, bestows benefits upon the people, and leaves behind affection cherished by the populace, such individuals should be recommended to the state, recorded by historians, inscribed on bamboo slips and silk, extolling above the virtue of rulers and generals, and proclaiming below the loyalty of officials. If words are insufficient for record, if deeds are unworthy of narration, fabricating emptiness as fullness, or inventing nonexistence as existence—this is what sages abhor and what common people regard as a disgrace.
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