第一章 孟春纪
Chapter One The first month of Spring
一曰：
Section One
孟春之月：日在营室，昏参中，旦尾中。其日甲乙。其帝太！。其神句芒。其虫鳞。其音角。律中太蔟。其数八。其味酸。其臭膻。其祀户。祭先脾。东风解冻。蛰虫始振。鱼上冰。獭祭鱼。侯雁北。天子居青阳左个，乘鸾辂，架苍龙，载青旗，衣青衣，服 青玉，食麦与羊。其器疏以达。
The frist month of Spring : The Sun is in the direction of Gamma, while Betelgeuse is hanging at the South sky in the evening and Scorpio is right in the upper sky in the morning. The Sun always rise from East. The King on duty is Fuxi , One of the five Kings who command five directions. The God in charges of this month is Goumang who brings the newly sprout of everything，and the animal is Lindorm snake, the sound is Jiao, one of the five sounds , the temperaments is Taicu , one of the twelve temperaments, the numeral is eight , the flavor is sour, the smell is gamy odor。It's a good time to worship house, the first dish place on oltar is spleen. Warm wind unleashed the frozen earth, insects are flaping their wings, fish is swimming against the other orient of the current, otters start to eat fish, the wild gooses are flying towards North. The empiror lives in the left room of the Administration Holl, riding the carriage decorated with phoenix pattern and powered by black hourses, waving red colored flag, dressing red colored dress, wearing red colored jeden, eating wheat and muttom, using simplized crystal worship instruments.
是月也，以立春。先立春三日，太史谒之天子曰：“某日立春，盛德在木。”天子乃斋。立春之日，天子亲率三公九卿诸侯大夫以迎春于东郊。还，乃赏公卿诸侯大夫于朝。命相布德和令，行庆施惠，下及兆民。庆赐遂行，无有不当。乃命太史，守典奉法，司天日月星辰之行，宿离不忒，无失经纪，以初为常。
This month will see the spring kicking off. Three days ahead of the spring start, the minister in charge of recording history of the kingdom come to meet the empiror and say : " At the spring kicking off, the most dignity direction is East." And then, the empiror start to keep eating as a vegeterian . When the day comes, he will take the whole administration officers to welcome the Spring at the East of the city. When return to the palace, he will award the officers who deserve it. He will ask the Prime Ministor to present the fevoriable merciable doctrines and announcing the terms of forbidden to the people, ensure the people enjoy the benefit of well policy. As long as the well policy carry on, it will do good deeds to people. He continued to ask the offier in charge of recording the history of the kingdom to watch the operation of Sun , the Moon and the constellations according to the ancient rules and regulation, to tolerate no mistakes and omit no records, and to keep the manner as a rutine.
是月也，天子乃以元日祈谷于上帝。乃择元辰，天子亲载耒耜，措之参于保介之御间，率三公九卿诸侯大夫躬耕帝籍田，天子三推，三公五推，卿诸侯大夫九推。反，执爵于太寝，三公九卿诸侯大夫皆御，命曰“劳酒”。
At the begining of this month , the empiror will pray for a harvest year at the alter. On the chosen day , as it regarded as lucky day, he will take all the officers to the farm and farming by himself , he will drive the carriage which carrying farming tools that putting at the feet of driver and knights, all by himself. He will perform farming three times, the Three Fathers of the country will perform it five , the rest if the top management will perform nine . By returning , all of them will banquet at the ancestor's memorial palace , the government officers will be required to entertain the party and providing service such as company the empiror to drink, it 's known as' serving drinking'.
