平公有疾,韓宣子贊,授館客,客問君疾。
對曰:「君之疾久矣,上下神祗,無不遍諭也,而無除。
When the guest inquired about Lord Ping’s illness, Hán replied, “Our ruler’s illness has been of long duration. We have sacrificed to all the greater and lesser spirits, omitting none, but the illness has not gone away.
今夢黃熊入於寢門,不知人鬼耶?
意厲鬼也?
Now he has dreamt of a brown bear that entered his bedchamber.
」子產曰:「君之明,子為政,其何厲之有?
僑聞之,昔鯀違帝命,殛之于羽山,化為黃熊,以入于羽淵。
We don’t know if it is someone he killed or an evil ghost or phantom.” Zichan said, “The enlightenment of your ruler is such that you practice great and wise government; how could there be evil phantoms?
是為夏郊,三代舉之。
I have heard that in former times, when Gun violated the decrees of the High Lord and was put to death on Feather Mountain, he changed into a brown bear and in this form entered Feather Lagoon. He came to be the object of city-outskirt sacrifices under the Xia, and the practice was continued throughout the era of the three dynasties.
夫鬼神之所及,非其族類,則紹其同位。
是故天子祠上帝,公侯祠百神,自卿已下,不過其族。
Those whom ghosts and spirits draw near to, if not members or associates of their clan, are those who have inherited the position formerly held by their clan. It is for this reason that the Son of Heaven sacrifices to the Lord on High and that the lords of states sacrifice to the various spirits, whereas, from ministers on down, only clan members are the objects of sacrifices.
今周室少卑,晉實繼之。
其或者未舉夏郊也?
Now that the house of Zhou is weak and diminished, and Jin has inherited its real authority, could it be that this haunting is because the Xia cityoutskirt sacrifices have not been performed?” Xuanzi made a report of this, and a Xia city-outskirt sacrifice was performed, with Dong Bo acting as impersonator of the dead.
」宣子以告;祀夏郊,董伯為尸,五日瘳。
公見子產,賜之莒鼎。
Five days later, Lord Ping granted an audience to Zichan and bestowed on him the cauldrons of Ju.