《宋西太乙宫碑铭》

In the spring, third month of the sixth year of Tiansheng in the Song dynasty (1028), the Taiyi Palace (Taiyi Gong) was built in the southwest corner of the capital. According to the astrologers, Taiyi stands to the right of the gate of the Ziwei Palace. It is the deity of the Polestar, governing the standards of the sixteen spirits and, together with the position of the Balance, maintaining order and establishing the principles of rule. The Yin-Yang (yinyang) specialists held that Taiyi is an envoy dispatched by the Primal Sovereign, who oversees measurement and the upright qi (vital energy), corrects the constant course of Heaven and Earth, and commands the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), so that all things take shape in solemn order.

Daoists hold that primordial Qi arises from "One" and transforms from one into nine, which is why Taiyi moves through the Nine Palaces. When an altar is set up for prayers or for a Zhaijiao (purification ritual), the ceremony must be arranged according to the ranks of the true immortals and their officials. Tradition says that the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan, regulated the five qi and drew the myriad spirits to him. He created the Chongshi divination board, probed the limits of transformation, established its gates and generals' positions, and calculated the movement through the Nine Palaces. Each position Taiyi passes through governs its own fortune or misfortune. Later generations elaborated these principles further, producing the names used to invoke the spirits, eighty-one in all, of which ten are the venerable deities. Their names derive from the Ten Primes, the Six Cycles, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), and the Three Governances.

In general, Taiyi travels upward through the regions of the stars and downward along the positions of the palaces. Wherever it goes, it surveys the human world. It examines human affairs in order to foresee the future, assists the way of the spirits, and sends down calamity upon wrongdoers. Those who do good prosper, and those who follow the right path receive protection. Zhang Heng, Li Yun, Xiao Zixian, and others have all written about this in detail.

Among these, the "Five Blessings" (Wufu) belong to Wood among the Five Phases and to benevolence among the virtues. They travel through five palaces, led by the five "zi" days, and move to a new palace once every two hundred and seventy jiazi cycles. The sequence begins at the Qian position, passes leftward through three corner positions, and then arrives at the center, repeating in a continuous cycle. Where Taiyi passes, there is no war, plague, or disaster; the harvest is abundant and the people live in peace.

In the eighth year of Taizong's reign, the officials in charge of astronomy and the calendar calculated that in the jiashen year Taiyi would leave the Liaojie region and move to the position of the Dou and Niu lunar mansions. The court therefore built a palace at the Xun position, where they observed the signs in the sky to await Taiyi's arrival. They set up images of the "Two Wanderers, Four Spirits, and Three Chess Pieces" to express the rites of welcome. All related regulations followed earlier records and were documented by the responsible officials.

Emperor Wu of Han had established the sacrifice to the "Three Ones" and had their images painted in a terrace chamber. After the Qianyuan era of the Tang, altars were set up in the suburbs of the capital and the emperor performed the sacrifices in person. During the Dali era, a temple was built at Shicheng and marked with the reign title. These events are all clearly recorded in the canonical texts. The court drew on the practices of earlier ages, weighing what to add and what to omit, and established ritual forms suited to the present.

On each day of welcoming the seasonal qi in the four suburbs, sacrifices are held. Sacrificial animals, silk offerings, and wine vessels are prepared, a ritual officer reads the prayer text, and attendants assist in the rites, on a scale roughly half that of the sacrifice at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. At the times of the Three Primes festivals, a jiao offering is also held, with incense burners, ornate lamps, and green-bordered documents set out. A ritual master expounds the Keyi (liturgy), palace eunuchs take part in the ceremony, and the rite follows the Lingbao ritual model.

After Zhenzong took the throne, the state reported every major matter to Taiyi first, and when the court held celebrations, the emperor went in person to pay homage. He followed the established practice and made offerings at regular intervals. In the wuchen year, the procession set out again from the Yellow Chamber and went west to the Kun position. At the request of local officials, the ritual texts were expanded and a separate altar was built in the suburbs. The court determined the orientation and the date, and chose a site not far from the Yiqiu Gate. Craftsmen and laborers were summoned, and timber, earth, and all necessary materials were gathered.

The emperor sent Zhang Huaide, Director of Imperial Medicines, to oversee the entire project, with Huangfu Jihe and Chen Yanda, Palace Attendants of the Inner Court, supervising the construction. The craftsmen were highly skilled, and the work was soon completed. Four halls were built within the palace, each with its own inscribed plaque. At the center stood the Hall of the Yellow Court (Huangting Dian), enshrining the Lord of the Five Blessings, the Chess Spirit, and the Great Wanderer. Behind it was the Hall of Tranquil Blessing (Ningxi Dian), enshrining the Lesser Wanderer. The eastern hall, the Hall of Extended Presence (Yanji Dian), housed Heaven One, the Four Spirits, and the Minister's Chess Piece. The western hall, the Hall of Aid and Protection (Ziyou Dian), housed Earth One, the Direct Talisman, and the People's Chess Piece.

The palace corridors were also painted with images of sages and true ones, star deities, and the spirits of mountains and rivers, arranged as subsidiary objects of worship. The successive gates were inscribed "Manifest Truth," "Extended Radiance," and "Gathered Splendor." A separate Hall of Pure Cultivation (Qingxiu Dian) was set aside for fasting and practice. Outside the palace stood more than four hundred rooms for public use. Thirty Daoists skilled in the Daoist arts were chosen, headed by Master Xu Sijian, titled Master Yuanjing. The sacrifices and jiao offerings largely continued the old practices of the Yongxi era.

Previously, the images of Taiyi had been temporarily enshrined in the Zhen Palace. The court carefully checked the designs and repaired the halls. On the renyin day in autumn, following the rites of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, Dongshen), they led the images of the Sovereign Chess Piece and the other deities in stages into the main hall to the music of the nine ensembles of inner music. On the following day the emperor came in person to bow before the images. When the Heavenly Primary day arrived and the images of the Five Blessings were moved into the new palace, the emperor again came close to the images to pay his respects.

At dawn on the previous day, the emperor accompanied the empress dowager on a visit of homage and appointed Zhang Shixun, Minister of Rites and Chief Councilor, to serve as envoy bearing the imperial credentials. The procession was augmented with yellow banners, feathered canopies, and troops. The emperor escorted the images on foot as far as the palace gate, and the senior ministers also came out of the gate to see them off. The empress dowager and the emperor then ascended the high terrace, and immortal guards escorted the carriage back. That night the emperor lodged at Xindian, and after settling in at daybreak, he performed the fasting rite and sacrificial offerings. On the first day of the following month, the emperor visited the Taiyi Palace again, and on the dingha day of the second month of the seventh year of Tiansheng (1029), the empress dowager also traveled there by carriage. On every outing, the emperor and empress dowager showed concern for farming, held banquets to reward the officials who accompanied them, and cared for the common people. Even when the journey was long and wearying, they went with reverence all the same.

It is respectfully noted that the state has received the protection of the divine powers, and that the ancestors of every generation left clear instructions emphasizing reverence in ritual and care for the ancestral temples. For this reason the dynasty has enjoyed good fortune and the protection of many spirits, and its blessings continue to this day. The empress dowager is benevolent and wise, and protects the emperor as he carries on the work of his predecessors. The emperor is sagacious and filial, honors the example set by his mother, and harmonizes the affairs of government accordingly. He is careful in conduct, thinks far ahead even in times of peace, reveres Daoism, and also respects learning and culture. Thus his sincerity reaches the spirits, auspicious omens appear one after another, and signs of abundant harvest follow. Even so, the court takes great care in preparing the fasts and sacrifices, harmonizing the many deities, completing every ritual detail, so that the rites meet the proper standards and the offerings are generous.

The old histories record that the spirits of Heaven and Earth descend wherever the ruler is present, and that sacrifices to the mountains and rivers of the four quarters are conducted according to their respective directions, without being bound by near or far. For this reason, temples and palaces for sacrifice are generally established on auspicious ground. In governing all within the four seas and cherishing the people, a ruler must follow the impartial principle of Heaven and Earth and let blessings extend as widely as possible. When the spirits bestow blessings, they do not confine them to a single region. Though Shu is distant, it still corresponds to the capital, and wherever imperial grace reaches, it bestows favor universally. To revere the spirits and bring peace to the people is the great Dao (the Way) of governing a state. Taizu established the laws, Taizong assisted in ordering the realm, and now the emperor, who excels at carrying on the legacy of his predecessors, is a ruler who both receives the past and opens the future.

The inscription reads:

We gaze upon the solemn new palace,

Where the plain lies level and auspicious qi gathers thick.

The spirits, vast and radiant, descend to this place,

Resting in peace, at ease and joyful.

Colored tiles like scales, vermilion halls rising into the clouds;

Fine mats spread out, jade-adorned banquet seats laid.

Immortal music drifts through the air, the ceremony solemn and grave;

The offerings are complete, the hearts sincere and reverent.

The Taiyi Palace sits at the pivot of Heaven, facing the Ziwei celestial realm,

Governing all quarters, bringing blessings to the whole world.

May the sovereign and the Empress Dowager Wende enjoy long life and happiness,

And may the fortunes of the state flourish, as lasting as Heaven and Earth.

Song Xi Taiyi Gong Beiming (《宋西太乙宫碑铭》) means: the stele inscription of the Western Taiyi Palace of the Song dynasty.