Book IV 289achievements and virtue, as I observe, always expressed their greatness
through music so that the music could illuminate their times and could also
be transmitted to posterity. Hence they say, ‘When a new dynasty arises, it
must have music of its own to celebrate a new age.’
“Your distinguished martial prowess assists your intelligence, and your
courage and wisdom are provided by Heaven. Naturally, it has been a long
time since your excellent virtue and benevolence became engraved on the
hearts of the people. The great expectations among the people enabled you to
ascend to the throne, so you should remedy the ills before the day breaks.
“Auspicious phoenixes and sacred herbs are different from their incep-
tion from ordinary ones. Likewise, it is quite natural that auspicious signs
appear when a sage emerges as a leader. When King Wu rose against tyrant
Zhou, he was confident because his dream agreed with his divination sign.
Emperor Guangwu^12 also received from Heaven a red tally called chifufu,
which was another auspicious sign for a great man recorded in the annals of
h ist or y.
“Your Majesty also had a dream before you ascended to the throne. In
that dream, you received a golden ruler from a divinity, who told you to rule
the state with that ruler. Another person also offered you a mysterious scroll,
saying, “Keep this only to yourself and do not show it to others.” Ten years
after these incidents, the prophecies indeed turned out to be true, and they
were foretold by Heaven.
“With magnanimous generosity, Your Majesty listens to the voices of all
people. Hence you are able to know unfailingly about your people. If there is
anyone among ordinary people who is unable to find a place to live, you
know about it, and once you know about it, you always provide help to the
person. Notwithstanding, you worry that people may fail to report their
problems. You expanded the road to free speech and treated merit subjects
sincerely. You bestowed upon them your written pledge and furthermore had
their contributions permanently engraved in stone. That shows how much
you are committed to preserving the honor of your merit subjects. At the end
of the previous dynasty, the public administration and law were in serious
disarray. People suffered harm because the land system collapsed, and offi-
cials failed to keep their posts as rites and music degenerated. Your Majesty
rectified all these anomalies at once. What you have done is manifestly in
accord with the way of Heaven and the way of man. Your contributions and
- The emperor of the Han dynasty (5 b c–57 a d) and the founder of the Eastern Han.