Preface序
1The Xia Lands and the Wild Fringe
蓋天地之所覆載至大，日月之所照臨至廣。萬物之內，生靈寡而禽獸多；兩儀之間，中土局而殊俗曠。人寓形天地，稟氣陰陽，愚智本于自然，剛柔系於水土。故霜露所會，風氣所通，九川爲紀，五嶽作鎮，此之謂諸夏，生其地者，則仁義所出；昧穀嵎夷，孤竹北戶，限以丹徼紫塞，隔以滄海交河，此之謂荒裔，感其氣者，則凶德行稟。若夫九夷、八狄，種落繁熾，七戎、六蠻，充牣邊鄙，雖風土殊俗，嗜欲不同，至於貪而無厭，狠而好亂，強則旅拒，弱則稽服，其揆一也。
What heaven and earth cover and carry is vast beyond measure, and what the sun and moon shine down upon is broad beyond measure. Among the ten thousand things, living souls are few and birds and beasts are many. Between the two principles, the central land (中土) is narrow and the lands of strange custom are wide. People lodge their bodies in heaven and earth and take their breath from yin and yang. Folly and wisdom are rooted in what is natural, and hardness and softness are bound to the water and the soil. Therefore, where frost and dew gather and the winds pass through, where the nine rivers run as the cords of the land and the five great peaks stand as its guardians, this is called the Xia lands (諸夏), and from those born in that soil come benevolence and right. Meigu and Yuyi, Guzhu and Beihu are bounded by the southern outposts and the northern ramparts, and shut off by the blue sea and the Jiaohe. This is called the wild fringe (荒裔), and those who take in its air receive a baleful nature. As for the Nine Yi and the Eight Di, their tribes are many and thriving, and the Seven Rong and the Six Man fill the border marches. Their lands and their customs differ, and what they crave is not the same. Yet in being greedy without end, in being fierce and fond of disorder, in standing off in force when they are strong and bowing their heads in submission when they are weak, they are all of one measure.
2The Treatise on the Four Yi, Gathered from Four Dynasties
秦皇鞭笞天下，黷武于遐方；漢武士馬強盛，肆志於遠略。匈奴已卻，其國乃虛；天馬既來，其人亦困。是知雁海龍堆，天所以絕夷夏也；炎方朔漠，地所以限內外也。況乎時非秦、漢，志甚嬴、劉，逆天道以求其功，殫人力而從所欲，顛墜之釁，固不旋踵。是以先王設教，內諸夏而外夷狄；往哲垂範，美樹德而鄙廣地。雖禹跡之東漸西被，不過海及流沙；《王制》之自北徂南，裁猶穴居交趾。豈非道貫三古，義高百代者乎！自魏至隋，市朝屢革，其四夷朝享，亦各因時。今各編次，備《四夷傳》云。
The First Emperor of Qin whipped the world onward and made war without restraint in far regions. Emperor Wu of Han had strong soldiers and horses, and gave free rein to his ambition for distant campaigns. Once the Xiongnu had been driven back, his own state was left empty. Once the heavenly horses had come, his own people were worn down. From this it may be known that Yanhai and Longdui are the means by which heaven cut off the Yi from the Xia, and that the burning south and the northern desert are the means by which earth set the bounds of inner and outer. How much more so when the times are not those of Qin or Han, and yet the ambition runs deeper than that of Ying Zheng or Liu Che. To go against the way of heaven in seeking merit, and to spend the strength of the people in following one's own desires, is to bring on the rift of downfall before one can turn on one's heel. Therefore the former kings set up their teaching, keeping the Xia lands within and the Yi and the Di without. The wise men of old handed down their model, praising the planting of virtue and holding it mean to widen one's land. The traces of Yu spread eastward and reached westward, yet went no further than the sea and the shifting sands. The Wangzhi runs from the north down to the south, yet reaches only the cave dwellers and Jiaozhi. Is this not a way that runs through the three ages of antiquity, a rightness that stands high over a hundred generations? From Wei down to Sui the market and the court were altered many times, and the audiences and tribute of the Four Yi (四夷) each followed their own time. Now each is set down in order, and so the Siyi zhuan (四夷傳) is made complete.