(In this 10th and final installment of this blog’s Huangling Bei 皇陵碑 translation, Zhu Yuanzhang establishes a proper cemetery for his parents and contemplates their suffering. Click here to see the previous section. Also – click on any line number to see complete annotations of each section.)

Line 91: 欲厚陵之微葬，卜者乃曰:不可，而地且臧。I desired a more lavish tomb for the modest graves, but the one who divined said that this could not happen, because the burial location was auspicious.

Line 92: 於是祀事之禮已定，每精潔乎蒸嘗。Therefore the sacrificial duties of performing rituals were established, and each spirit was kept pure through the seasonal offerings.

Line 93: 惟劬勞罔極之恩難報，勒石銘於皇堂。Thinking of my parents’ toil and suffering, I know I can never repay their limitless kindness, I can only carve into stone the inscription for this imperial hall.

Line 94: 世世承運而務德，必仿佛於殷商。If we rule with virtue, then generation after generation, this dynasty will last as long as the Yin-Shang era.

Line 95: 淚筆以述難，諭嗣以撫昌。With tears and a brush I write out my difficulties and instruct my heirs to nurture prosperity.

Line 96: 稽首再拜，願時時而來饗。I bow down, and bow down again, desiring that for time everlasting my parents will receive ritual offerings here.

Dateline: 洪武十一年，歲次戊午，七月吉日建。Erected on an auspicious day in the seventh month in the 11^th year of the Hongwu Era.

To learn more about this text click on 大明皇陵之碑 The Imperial Tomb Tablet of the Great Ming.

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