[原文]
11.1 昔帝轩刻舆几以弼违，大禹勒笋虡而招谏;成汤盘盂，著日新之规，武王户席，题必戒之训;周公慎言于金人，仲尼革容于欹器:则先对鉴戒，其来久矣。故铭者，名也，观器必也正名，审用贵乎盛德。盖臧武仲之论铭也，曰:“天子令德，诸侯计功，大夫称伐。”夏铸九牧之金鼎，周勒肃慎之楛矢，令德之事也;吕望铭功于昆吾，仲山镂绩于庸器，计功之义也;魏颗纪勋于景钟，孔悝表勤于卫鼎，称伐之类也。若乃飞廉有石椁之锡，灵公有[嵩]夺里之谥，铭发幽石，吁可怪矣。赵灵勒迹于番吾，秦昭刻博于华山，夸诞示众，吁可笑也。详观众例，铭义见矣。
[今译]
从前黄帝在车子和矮桌上刻上文句，来帮助自己纠正过错;大禹在乐器架上刻上文句，请人提意见;商汤王的《盘铭》，写上天天新的规戒，周武王的《户铭》《席四端铭》，写上一定要警诚的教训;周公在《金人铭》里提出说话谨慎，孔子看到欹器脸色变了:那么从前圣人注重借鉴警诫，它的来源是很久了。所以铭就是名称，观察器物一定要端正它的名称，考察用途重在美好的德行。臧武仲议论铭文，说:“对天子赞扬他的美德，对诸侯计数他的功勋，对大夫称说他的劳迹。”夏朝把九州贡献的金属铸成金属鼎;周朝在肃慎氏进贡的楛木箭上刻字，这是颂扬美德的事;吕望把他的大功刻在冶工昆吾铸的金属版上，仲山甫把他的大功刻在记功的器物上，这是计算大功的事;魏颗把他的劳绩刻在景钟上，孔悝把他的勤劳刻在卫鼎上，这是称说劳绩的事。至于飞廉得到天赐的石制外棺，卫灵公得到夺取圹穴里石椁上的谥号，铭文从地下石头上发现，唉，可怪了。赵武灵王在番吾山上刻上他的游踪，秦昭王在华山上刻上他的赌具，用虚夸的刻石来告诉众人，唉，可笑的。详尽地观察众多例子，铭文的意义可见了。
11.1 In the past, the Yellow Emperor carved words of self-admonition on his desk and on the royal chariot. King Yu of Xia carved words on his bell frames to invite criticisms. King Tang of Shang inscribed a motto on his bathtub to remind himself to make daily progress. King Wu of Zhou wrote moral lessons on his door and his mat. Duke Zhou learned to speak cautiously from an inscription on a bronze figure. Confucius was awed on perceiving the moral message conveyed by a sacrificial vessel that was toppled when overfilled with water. Thus our ancient sages always cautioned themselves. The character for "inscription" is related to "name." To study an object, one first establishes the meaning of its name before deciding how useful it is in promoting virtue. Zang Wuzhong said of the inscription: "It encourages the virtues in the Son of Heaven, merits in princes and dukes, and military feats in ministers." In the Xia Dynasty, a tripod was cast with the bronze contributed by the chieftains of the nine states. In the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu carved words on the arrows presented by the state of Sushen: Both embody imperial virtues. Lü Wang's deeds were inscribed on a bronze vessel by a man called Kun Wu; Zhongshan Fu's achievements were carved on an honor vessel. These lauded princely accomplishments. Wei Ke's military exploits were inscribed on the Bell of Jing and Kong Kui's on a tripod. These praised military feats. There are bizarre stories too. One relates that heaven bequeathed to Fei Lian a stone coffin with an inscription. Another claims that at Duke Ling's funeral ceremony a stone coffin was unearthed bearing his posthumous title. Yet another says that Prince Wuling had his name carved on Mount Fanwu. A final example asserts that Prince Zhao of Qin had a chess game carved on Mount Hua. How ridiculous they all are! A careful study of these instances should clarify the meaning of an inscription.
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