前 言
《彝族历算书》是彝族原始宗教祭司即毕摩必备的职业用书之一,其内容集天文、
气候、占卜吉凶为一体,既有百解的功用,又有占卜择吉的庞杂体系。就其占卜择吉
的范围而言,包括了大量与干支五行说有关的吉凶宜忌,大至部落、氏族的举动行止,
小至待客、理发等生活琐事而无所不包,实际上成为了人们各种活动中趋吉避凶的
指南。
历算书是“日书”的俗称,关于“日书”,东汉王充《论衡·讥日》篇说:“世俗
既信岁时,而又信日。举事生病死灾患,大则谓之犯触岁月,小则谓之不避日禁。岁
月之传既用,日禁之书亦行。”“日禁之书”即有关对日禁忌的书籍,亦即“日书”。
我国现存最古且保存最完整的一部“日书”,是1975年在湖北睡虎地十一号墓出土的
秦简《日书》(《睡虎地秦墓竹简》,文物出版社,1990年)。经有学者将彝族历算内
容较为完备的《玄通大书》中《推看一年十二月》篇(马学良主编,罗国义审定:
《增订爨文丛刻》)与秦简《日书》中的《建除》篇对比研究,认为“彝族《推看一
年十二月》与秦简《建除》的宫辰次序,同生肖相配程序完全相同”(高明、张纯德:
《秦简日书〈建除〉与彝文日书〈建除〉比较研究》),由此可证《彝族历算书》产生
历史的悠久。
《彝族历算书》产生并在流传过程中,其内容随着彝族社会历史的发展和变迁有所
增衍,特别是对外来文化进行了改造和吸收,这在历算内容不算很完整的本书中亦不
乏有明显表现。例如,“奴隶逃跑日之历算”是彝族社会形态处于奴隶制时代的产物;
“大赦天下日历算”、“追捕逃犯历算”、“腊月地震是改朝换代兆”、“六月日月亏蚀伤
汉族君臣”、“八月九月天降大雪,彝汉都难避此一难”等等内容,明显是明代中期始
对彝族地区进行改土归流以后的产物。至于以五行和干支八宗为主的中国算命术,是
·1·
书书书
在唐代李虚中等人提出后方确立,本书中“六十甲子历算”、“六十花甲歌历算”等算
命内容是对汉文化的吸收;彝族传统的灵魂观念中无阴间、地狱、轮回等概念,但本
书中“天地煞星降日历算”却为亡灵回煞和转世托生,并以亡灵回煞留下的所谓痕迹
来判断死者灵魂在阴间地狱受罚的轻重,这则是对佛教文化的吸收。
彝文文献的形成,在历史上曾有两个鼎盛时期,从西汉至唐代是以五言诗为主体
的彝文文献鼎盛时期,从明代中期至清代又是一个鼎盛时期。在后一时期,彝文文献
不仅有五言诗,同时也出现了自由诗体,当时最负盛名的彝文《劝善经》就是自由诗
体的木刻印刷本。《彝族历算书》却打破了五言诗和自由诗体的格律,第一次使用民间
口语形式来作书面语而具有白话文的特点。彝文文献大多不署作者或传抄者姓名,特
别是西汉至唐代彝文文献鼎盛时期的作品都没有作者姓名,本书却署有辑录者姓名。
偶见署名的彝文文献,都是明代以来所撰写或传抄,这是受汉文化影响的表现。在明
代,彝族中就有秀才、举人、贡生等儒学知识分子。因此,根据本书吸收有外来文化
内容、白话写作及署有辑录者姓名的特点,可以确定其辑录成书时间约在明末清初。
本书文献版本收集于云南省武定县,内容共为两部分,第一部分是天文律历篇,
主要记载了古代彝族天文历法,其中“大小月”和“二十八星宿”把整个古代彝族的
历法勾出了个大概轮廓,把大小月的排列与二十四节令综合在一起,使之整体化。值
得一提的是,书中把彝族年的具体时期也作了规范性的记载,即一律用冬至日为过年
日,这是在其他文献中所没有的。二十八星宿是彝族民间较为熟悉的星座,漫长的原
始社会阶段是彝族先民在生产实践中积累自然知识的过程。最初,人们掌握了月亮圆
缺的规律,而后逐步掌握了太阳、月亮、星星在天空运动的规律。彝族先民通过观测
发现,除农历五月外,每个月中二十八星宿都要与月亮相交,有规律地进行位移。因
为每颗星座都代表着不同的吉凶,而这些星座每天都依次与月亮相交,故每日的吉凶
也不一致。人们根据每颗星座与月亮相交之日的不同来判断吉凶祸福,这是彝族先民
对天体的初步认识。第二部分为民俗篇,主要由婚姻、生活、疾病、卜筮、异兆等五
项内容组成,既涉及古代彝族狩猎和耕牧的生产活动,又涉及古代彝族思想、伦理道
德及宗教祭祀活动,既有彝族婚姻习俗,又有彝族民间民俗,尤其是反映宗教习俗和
历法知识,散见于全书的各个部分,假若抛弃了这些,这部历算书也就失去了其存在
的价值。彝文文献大多属于交叉学科,一部书往往包罗万象,精华糟粕并存,本书更
是充满了迷信的占术,但不能因为它有迷信或虚妄的内容而不去正视,相反,这正有
·2·
在唐代李虚中等人提出后方确立,本书中“六十甲子历算”、“六十花甲歌历算”等算
命内容是对汉文化的吸收;彝族传统的灵魂观念中无阴间、地狱、轮回等概念,但本
书中“天地煞星降日历算”却为亡灵回煞和转世托生,并以亡灵回煞留下的所谓痕迹
来判断死者灵魂在阴间地狱受罚的轻重,这则是对佛教文化的吸收。
彝文文献的形成,在历史上曾有两个鼎盛时期,从西汉至唐代是以五言诗为主体
的彝文文献鼎盛时期,从明代中期至清代又是一个鼎盛时期。在后一时期,彝文文献
不仅有五言诗,同时也出现了自由诗体,当时最负盛名的彝文《劝善经》就是自由诗
体的木刻印刷本。《彝族历算书》却打破了五言诗和自由诗体的格律,第一次使用民间
口语形式来作书面语而具有白话文的特点。彝文文献大多不署作者或传抄者姓名,特
别是西汉至唐代彝文文献鼎盛时期的作品都没有作者姓名,本书却署有辑录者姓名。
偶见署名的彝文文献,都是明代以来所撰写或传抄,这是受汉文化影响的表现。在明
代,彝族中就有秀才、举人、贡生等儒学知识分子。因此,根据本书吸收有外来文化
内容、白话写作及署有辑录者姓名的特点,可以确定其辑录成书时间约在明末清初。
本书文献版本收集于云南省武定县,内容共为两部分,第一部分是天文律历篇,
主要记载了古代彝族天文历法,其中“大小月”和“二十八星宿”把整个古代彝族的
历法勾出了个大概轮廓,把大小月的排列与二十四节令综合在一起,使之整体化。值
得一提的是,书中把彝族年的具体时期也作了规范性的记载,即一律用冬至日为过年
日,这是在其他文献中所没有的。二十八星宿是彝族民间较为熟悉的星座,漫长的原
始社会阶段是彝族先民在生产实践中积累自然知识的过程。最初,人们掌握了月亮圆
缺的规律,而后逐步掌握了太阳、月亮、星星在天空运动的规律。彝族先民通过观测
发现,除农历五月外,每个月中二十八星宿都要与月亮相交,有规律地进行位移。因
为每颗星座都代表着不同的吉凶,而这些星座每天都依次与月亮相交,故每日的吉凶
也不一致。人们根据每颗星座与月亮相交之日的不同来判断吉凶祸福,这是彝族先民
对天体的初步认识。第二部分为民俗篇,主要由婚姻、生活、疾病、卜筮、异兆等五
项内容组成,既涉及古代彝族狩猎和耕牧的生产活动,又涉及古代彝族思想、伦理道
德及宗教祭祀活动,既有彝族婚姻习俗,又有彝族民间民俗,尤其是反映宗教习俗和
历法知识,散见于全书的各个部分,假若抛弃了这些,这部历算书也就失去了其存在
的价值。彝文文献大多属于交叉学科,一部书往往包罗万象,精华糟粕并存,本书更
是充满了迷信的占术,但不能因为它有迷信或虚妄的内容而不去正视,相反,这正有
·2·
待我们深入研究,方能达到“吸其精华,弃其糟粕”和“古为今用”的目的。
《彝族历算书》因其与人们生产生活关系密切,以及具有白话文的优点,几乎人人
都能明白书中所言之意,所以一经成书,就身价百倍,毕摩争相传抄而在彝区流传甚
广,不少毕摩少时开蒙即用其作教材,易于理解和加深记忆。本书为楚雄彝族文化研
究所于20世纪90年代初征集收藏,目前其他同类的书大多已散佚,有些虽未散佚,
但都已严重残缺不全,只有这一部比较完整地保存下来,但有些章节仍有残缺,不全
部分只好存疑。本书除历算之外,还有一部分彝族祭祀礼俗,为了便于阅读,在翻译
中我们把与历算无关,有明显错误或文义与之关系不密切的皆不录。也为了便于理解,
节后面附有注释。关于译文,有的为直译,有的为意译,有的则是改作式的翻译,但
目的只有一个,即逐句紧扣原文之意,力存原文风格,并使之读得上口,听得顺耳,
词汇和句法尽量有口语根据,意译整理和注释也同样如此,尽可能减少错译。即使这
样,我们也不敢断言本书的译文是准确无误的,因为彝文历算书的翻译,这对我们来
说是首次,对书中的启奥发微、探赜索隐,尚待广大彝族文化工作者共同努力。因水
平有限,加之这个领域过去研究不多,资料十分缺乏,所做的这种拙劣工作难免有这
样或那样的不足和错误,盼祈方家斧正。
编译者
2005年7月
·3·
待我们深入研究,方能达到“吸其精华,弃其糟粕”和“古为今用”的目的。
《彝族历算书》因其与人们生产生活关系密切,以及具有白话文的优点,几乎人人
都能明白书中所言之意,所以一经成书,就身价百倍,毕摩争相传抄而在彝区流传甚
广,不少毕摩少时开蒙即用其作教材,易于理解和加深记忆。本书为楚雄彝族文化研
究所于20世纪90年代初征集收藏,目前其他同类的书大多已散佚,有些虽未散佚,
但都已严重残缺不全,只有这一部比较完整地保存下来,但有些章节仍有残缺,不全
部分只好存疑。本书除历算之外,还有一部分彝族祭祀礼俗,为了便于阅读,在翻译
中我们把与历算无关,有明显错误或文义与之关系不密切的皆不录。也为了便于理解,
节后面附有注释。关于译文,有的为直译,有的为意译,有的则是改作式的翻译,但
目的只有一个,即逐句紧扣原文之意,力存原文风格,并使之读得上口,听得顺耳,
词汇和句法尽量有口语根据,意译整理和注释也同样如此,尽可能减少错译。即使这
样,我们也不敢断言本书的译文是准确无误的,因为彝文历算书的翻译,这对我们来
说是首次,对书中的启奥发微、探赜索隐,尚待广大彝族文化工作者共同努力。因水
平有限,加之这个领域过去研究不多,资料十分缺乏,所做的这种拙劣工作难免有这
样或那样的不足和错误,盼祈方家斧正。
编译者
2005年7月
·3·
Preface
TheYiAlmanacisoneoftheindispensablereferencebooksofBimo,theYipriest.A
know-allbook,itcontainsYipeoplesunderstandingofastronomyandclimateandtheir
methodsofdivination.Ithasacomplicatedsystemofdivinationthatisrelatedtoheavenly
stems,earthlybranchesandfiveelementsandguidespeopletopursuegoodfortuneandavoid
disaster.Ittouchesuponthingsbigandsmall,includingactionsandmovementsoftribesand
clans,stateandmilitaryaffairsofdifferentkingdoms,guestreception,andevenhaircut.
Almanacisthepopularnamefor“ephemerisofdate”,aboutwhich,WangChongofthe
EasternHanDynastywroteinhisRidiculeonDate,OnBalance:“Peoplebelieveinnotonly
yeartaboos,butalsodatetaboos.Theyhandletheiraffairssuchasbirth,illness,death,and
sooncarefully,tryinghardnottoviolateyearanddatetaboos.Becauseofthis,thebookof
datetaboosispopular.”“Thebookofdatetaboos”isthe“ephemerisofdate”.Theoldest
andbestpreservedephemerisofdateinChinaistheoneoftheQinDynastyunearthedin1975
fromNo.11tomboftheSleepingTigerLandinHubeiProvince.(BambooSlipfromQinTomb
oftheSleepingTigerLand,CulturalRelicsPublishingHouse,1990)Somescholarshavestud
iedthechapterofCalculationofTwelveMonthsofaYearintheBookofMetaphysics,aYial
manacwithrelativelycompletecalendarcontents(editedbyMaXueliang,revisedbyLuo
Guoyi:SupplementedCuanwenBlockPrinting),againstthechapterofJianchuintheQinE
phemerisofDate.Theyconcludedthat“thetwogivethetotallysameprocedureinwhichtheir
constellationordermatcheswiththetwelveearthlybranches”.(ComparativeStudyof“Jian
chu”oftheQinEphemerisofDateand“Jianchu”oftheYiEphemerisofDate,byGaoMing
andZhangChunde)ThisshowsthattheYiAlmanachasalonghistory.
Initsadventandcirculation,theYiAlmanachasevolvedwiththedevelopmentandevo
lutionofYisociety.Moreover,ithastransformedandassimilatedculturesofothernationali
ties,whichcanbeseeninthisbookwithinsufficientcalendarcontents.Forexample,“alma
nacofdayofslaveescape”istheproductofaYisocietyunderslavery.Thefollowingsarethe
productsofaYisocietyafterthebureaucratizationofaboriginalofficialsduringtheMingDy
·4·
nasty:“almanacofdayofgeneralpardon”,“almanacoffugitivepursuit”,“earthquakeinlu
narDecembersymbolizingchangeofdynasties”,“solarorlunareclipseinJuneharmingHan
kingandofficials”,“heavysnowfallinAugustorSeptemberaffectingbothYiandHan”.The
Hanhoroscopy,involvingmainlyfiveelements,heavenlystems,andearthlybranches,was
establishedafterbeingputforwardbyLiXuzhongoftheTangDynastyandothers.Thisbook
assimilatesHancultureandincludeshoroscopiccontentssuchas“sixty-yearcyclealmanac”
and“sixty-yearcyclesongalmanac”.ThoughtheYitraditionhasnosuchconceptsashell
andreincarnation,thisbookintroducestheminthe“almanacofdevilsdescentday”.This
bookalsotalksaboutjudgingthesufferingofthedeadinthehellaccordingtothetraceoftheir
soulsreincarnation.ThisshowstheassimilationoftheBuddhistculture.
Yidocumentshadtwoprosperousperiods.OnewasfromtheWesternHanDynastytothe
TangDynastywhenpoemswithfivecharacterstoonelinedominatedYidocuments.Theother
wasfrommidMingDynastytotheQingDynastywhenfreeversesalsoappearedinthedocu
ments.Duringthesecondperiod,themostrenownedwoodblockYiScriptureofPersuasionto
Goodnesswasinfreestyle.TheYiAlmanac,however,abandonsbothstylesandforthefirst
timeeveriswritteninoralfolklanguage.MostYidocumentsbearnonameofauthorsorcopi
ers,especiallyduringthefirstprosperousperiod.Thisbook,however,haseditorsnameson
it.SomebylinedYidocumentswerewrittenorcopiedaftertheMingDynastyundertheHan
influence.IntheMingDynasty,therewerealreadyYiConfucianscholarswhowereentitled
Xiucai,Juren,andGongsheng.Judgingfromallthis,weconcludethatthisbookwascom
piledbetweentheMingandQingdynasties.
ThisbooksdocumenteditionwascollectedinWudingCountyofYunnanProvince.Ithas
twochapters.Thefirstchaptercontainsastronomicallaws,mainlytheancientYicalendar,
whichisoutlinedbytheintroductionof“smallandbigmonths”andthe“28constellations”.
Thealmanacisanintegratedsystemwiththearrangementofthetwotypesofmonthand24so
larterms.Whatisnoteworthyisthatthisbookmakesitarulethatthedayofwintersolsticeis
theNewYearsDayforYicalendar,whichhasbeenunseeninotherdocuments.The28con
stellationsarenostrangertoYipeople.Atfirst,Yiancestorsgraduallyunderstoodthemoons
waxandwane,thenthemovementofthesun,moon,andstarsinthesky.Throughobserva
tion,theyfoundthatexceptinlunarMay,themoonoverlappedthe28constellationsevery
monthandmovedbetweenthemregularly.Sincesomeconstellationsbodedwellandsomeill
andtheywereeclipsedbymoononebyone,differentdaysbodeddifferentlyaswell.Thiswas
Yipeoplesprimitiveunderstandingoftheheavenlybodies.Thesecondchapterismainlya
boutfolkcustomsandincludesfiveparts:marriage,dailylife,diseases,sortilege,and
strangeomens.Ittouchesuponnotonlyhunting,planting,andgrazingofancientYipeople,
·5·
nasty:“almanacofdayofgeneralpardon”,“almanacoffugitivepursuit”,“earthquakeinlu
narDecembersymbolizingchangeofdynasties”,“solarorlunareclipseinJuneharmingHan
kingandofficials”,“heavysnowfallinAugustorSeptemberaffectingbothYiandHan”.The
Hanhoroscopy,involvingmainlyfiveelements,heavenlystems,andearthlybranches,was
establishedafterbeingputforwardbyLiXuzhongoftheTangDynastyandothers.Thisbook
assimilatesHancultureandincludeshoroscopiccontentssuchas“sixty-yearcyclealmanac”
and“sixty-yearcyclesongalmanac”.ThoughtheYitraditionhasnosuchconceptsashell
andreincarnation,thisbookintroducestheminthe“almanacofdevilsdescentday”.This
bookalsotalksaboutjudgingthesufferingofthedeadinthehellaccordingtothetraceoftheir
soulsreincarnation.ThisshowstheassimilationoftheBuddhistculture.
Yidocumentshadtwoprosperousperiods.OnewasfromtheWesternHanDynastytothe
TangDynastywhenpoemswithfivecharacterstoonelinedominatedYidocuments.Theother
wasfrommidMingDynastytotheQingDynastywhenfreeversesalsoappearedinthedocu
ments.Duringthesecondperiod,themostrenownedwoodblockYiScriptureofPersuasionto
Goodnesswasinfreestyle.TheYiAlmanac,however,abandonsbothstylesandforthefirst
timeeveriswritteninoralfolklanguage.MostYidocumentsbearnonameofauthorsorcopi
ers,especiallyduringthefirstprosperousperiod.Thisbook,however,haseditorsnameson
it.SomebylinedYidocumentswerewrittenorcopiedaftertheMingDynastyundertheHan
influence.IntheMingDynasty,therewerealreadyYiConfucianscholarswhowereentitled
Xiucai,Juren,andGongsheng.Judgingfromallthis,weconcludethatthisbookwascom
piledbetweentheMingandQingdynasties.
ThisbooksdocumenteditionwascollectedinWudingCountyofYunnanProvince.Ithas
twochapters.Thefirstchaptercontainsastronomicallaws,mainlytheancientYicalendar,
whichisoutlinedbytheintroductionof“smallandbigmonths”andthe“28constellations”.
Thealmanacisanintegratedsystemwiththearrangementofthetwotypesofmonthand24so
larterms.Whatisnoteworthyisthatthisbookmakesitarulethatthedayofwintersolsticeis
theNewYearsDayforYicalendar,whichhasbeenunseeninotherdocuments.The28con
stellationsarenostrangertoYipeople.Atfirst,Yiancestorsgraduallyunderstoodthemoons
waxandwane,thenthemovementofthesun,moon,andstarsinthesky.Throughobserva
tion,theyfoundthatexceptinlunarMay,themoonoverlappedthe28constellationsevery
monthandmovedbetweenthemregularly.Sincesomeconstellationsbodedwellandsomeill
andtheywereeclipsedbymoononebyone,differentdaysbodeddifferentlyaswell.Thiswas
Yipeoplesprimitiveunderstandingoftheheavenlybodies.Thesecondchapterismainlya
boutfolkcustomsandincludesfiveparts:marriage,dailylife,diseases,sortilege,and
strangeomens.Ittouchesuponnotonlyhunting,planting,andgrazingofancientYipeople,
·5·
butalsotheirthoughts,ethics,religiousactivities,marriagecustoms,andfolkcustoms.Yi
peoplesreligiouscustomsandcalendarknowledgearescatteredinthebook,andwithout
them,thisalmanacwillloseitsvalueforexistence.MostYidocumentsareaboutcross-dis
ciplinarystudiesandtherefore,eachofthemcontainsnumerousthings,bigandsmall,good
andbad.Thisalmanacisfullofsuperstitioushoroscopy,yetweshouldnotbelittleit.Onthe
contrary,weshouldgiveitathoroughstudysoastodevelopwhatisusefulanddiscardwhatis
notandadaptancientwisdomforpresentuse.
BecausetheYiAlmanaciscloselyrelatedtopeoplesdailylifeandproduction,itisin
vernacularformandalmosteveryonecanunderstandit.Eversinceitscompletion,ithasbeen
muchsoughtafter.BimocopiedandspreaditinYidistricts.AlotofBimouseditastheir
firsttextbookintheirchildhood.ThisalmanacwascollectedandpreservedbytheChuxiongYi
CultureResearchInstituteintheearly1990s.Otherworksofthesamekindhavebeeneither
lostordamaged.Thisistheonlyonepreservedrelativelywell,withonlyafewchaptersin
complete,whichhadtoremainunknown.Apartfromcalendarcalculation,thisalmanaccon
tainssomeYicustomsinsacrificeoffering.Tofacilitateyourreading,weomitthecontents
thatareunrelatedtothecalendarcalculation,apparentlywrong,orlooseinmeaning.Foryour
betterunderstanding,weattachedtoeachsectionnotesandannotations.Eventsmentionedin
thebookareallcataloguedintherelevantsectionsandallfounderrorsarecorrected.Someof
ourtranslationsareliteralandsomeliberalandstillsomeareontheparaphrasingbasis.We
havebutonepurpose:tosticktotheoriginaltextandkeeptheoriginalstyle.Wevaluehigh
smoothnessinreadingaswellasthecomfortinlistening.Wetryhardtobasethewordingand
sentencingonorallanguage,sowedowiththetranslation,annotation,andrearrangement.E
venso,wedarenotsayourtranslationisfaultless.Forus,itisthefirsttimetotranslatethe
YialmanacandweknowthattheroadaheadisstilllongandhardandeffortsofallYiculture
researchersareneeded.Duetoourlimitedability,incompleteknowledgeinthisfield,and
scantmaterials,weexpectmistakesinthebookandlookforwardtoyourcomments.
July2005
·6·
butalsotheirthoughts,ethics,religiousactivities,marriagecustoms,andfolkcustoms.Yi
peoplesreligiouscustomsandcalendarknowledgearescatteredinthebook,andwithout
them,thisalmanacwillloseitsvalueforexistence.MostYidocumentsareaboutcross-dis
ciplinarystudiesandtherefore,eachofthemcontainsnumerousthings,bigandsmall,good
andbad.Thisalmanacisfullofsuperstitioushoroscopy,yetweshouldnotbelittleit.Onthe
contrary,weshouldgiveitathoroughstudysoastodevelopwhatisusefulanddiscardwhatis
notandadaptancientwisdomforpresentuse.
BecausetheYiAlmanaciscloselyrelatedtopeoplesdailylifeandproduction,itisin
vernacularformandalmosteveryonecanunderstandit.Eversinceitscompletion,ithasbeen
muchsoughtafter.BimocopiedandspreaditinYidistricts.AlotofBimouseditastheir
firsttextbookintheirchildhood.ThisalmanacwascollectedandpreservedbytheChuxiongYi
CultureResearchInstituteintheearly1990s.Otherworksofthesamekindhavebeeneither
lostordamaged.Thisistheonlyonepreservedrelativelywell,withonlyafewchaptersin
complete,whichhadtoremainunknown.Apartfromcalendarcalculation,thisalmanaccon
tainssomeYicustomsinsacrificeoffering.Tofacilitateyourreading,weomitthecontents
thatareunrelatedtothecalendarcalculation,apparentlywrong,orlooseinmeaning.Foryour
betterunderstanding,weattachedtoeachsectionnotesandannotations.Eventsmentionedin
thebookareallcataloguedintherelevantsectionsandallfounderrorsarecorrected.Someof
ourtranslationsareliteralandsomeliberalandstillsomeareontheparaphrasingbasis.We
havebutonepurpose:tosticktotheoriginaltextandkeeptheoriginalstyle.Wevaluehigh
smoothnessinreadingaswellasthecomfortinlistening.Wetryhardtobasethewordingand
sentencingonorallanguage,sowedowiththetranslation,annotation,andrearrangement.E
venso,wedarenotsayourtranslationisfaultless.Forus,itisthefirsttimetotranslatethe
YialmanacandweknowthattheroadaheadisstilllongandhardandeffortsofallYiculture
researchersareneeded.Duetoourlimitedability,incompleteknowledgeinthisfield,and
scantmaterials,weexpectmistakesinthebookandlookforwardtoyourcomments.
July2005
·6·