Book XIII 773
Since they show both moral virtue and natural majesty,
One can prophesy a thousand years of history ahead.The second was about the city walls and royal gardens:
The impregnable city walls are a thousand feet high,
And covered with the colorful clouds of Mount Penglai.
In the Forbidden Gardens, nightingales sing and flowers bloom.
Citizens will enjoy themselves forever, busy moving around.The third was about the various office buildings lined up outside the royal
palace:
The high- rise office buildings that face one another
Are like the countless stars surrounding Polaris.
The moonlit official streets in the dawn look like a river.
A carriage runs with its jade decorations ringing, but hardly a speck of
dust rises.The fourth was about the numerous wards of the capital city arrayed like a
go playing board:
The grand mansions stand tall above the clouds,
And the villages, closely connected, fully occupy the land.
Since they are covered with smoke every morning and evening,
One sees the peace and prosperity of an age.The fifth was about the military training field inside the East Gate:
The resounding sound of bells and drums shake the earth,
And the flying banners and flags reach out to the sky.
More than ten thousand horses move as if they were one.
With the horses driven like that, one can go to war.The sixth was about the cargo ships anchored in the West River:
Ships gather in the West River from all quarters,
Fast as dragons carrying thousands of tons of grain.
Look at the ceiling of the granary getting rotten with grains.
The secret of good government is to secure sufficient food.