492 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
yourself for posterity. Since the burden of construction work imposed on
the people is heavier than usual, this is contrary to your intention to love and
foster the people, and since you are at times surrounded by those who are
eager to flatter you, we fear that this goes against the way of the leader who
takes command of his subordinates by controlling himself first. It is not
profitable to fear and flatter Buddha and the spirits, and it undermines the
royal dignity to place female musicians in front of your carriage. These few
things make the people suspicious and Heaven indignant.
“If Your Majesty emulates the laws of the flourishing ages of the two
emperors and three kings while taking the mistakes made after the Han and
Wei dynasties as a mirror for your conduct and thereby maintains discipline
in enjoying music or taking outdoor activities, reduces construction work,
keeps away flatterers, and is careful not to go extreme in serving Buddha
and the spirits or keeping female musicians too close, the people will be
delighted and the wrath of Heaven will relent. We urge you to take our
request seriously and grant it.”
The king said, “I will change my ways with regard to having music per-
formed at night, leaving the palace frequently, and having female musicians
in front of the royal carriage. Serving Buddha and the spirits is a practice
handed down from former kings, and it is performed at the request of the
Board of Rites and the Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory. Since
the royal palace is a place where affairs of state are carried out, its space
should not be too small. If there is anything problematic with the system we
have, make a report about it again. If there are flatterers around me, submit
a list of their names.”On this day, the Office of the Inspector-General submitted a memorial to
the king: “In olden days when sage emperors and kings established their
rites and rituals, they made various wine cups and ritual vessels as well as
musical instruments fashioned out of metal and stone, string, and bamboo,
and they used them for the sacrifices held in the royal ancestral shrines and
outdoors or for the banquets in the palace. The reason they created and
regulated all the rites and rituals of banquets and sacrifices starting from
the king on top down to the people below was to make a distinction between
the high and the low in rank and status and thereby establish order and dis-
cipline in the hearts of the people. They were also concerned that people
might fall into trouble because of excessive drinking, so they admonished
the people by establishing the rites and rituals.