周禮·冬官考工記（總敘）
The Record of the Crafts: The Opening Section
Anonymous (Warring States) 佚名 (compiled c. 5th–3rd century BCE)
Pre-Qin · Warring States period, c. 5th–3rd century BCE

Cold Library · Open Stacks · S-006208 · https://coldlibrary.com/s/006208
Rights: An anonymous text of the Warring States period, more than two thousand years old. Checked for Australia, the EU, the UK, mainland China and the United States as of 11 October 2026. Guidance, not legal advice.
Source: Wikisource, https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/周禮/冬官考工記 (retrieved 2026-10-11)
English translation: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0
Generated 2026-10-14 from https://coldlibrary.com/en/open-stacks/kaogongji-the-hundred-crafts

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國有六職，百工與居一焉。

或坐而論道；或作而行之；或審曲面勢，以飭五材，以辨民器；或通四方之珍異以資之；或飭力以長地財；或治絲麻以成之。

坐而論道，謂之王公；作而行之，謂之士大夫；審曲面勢，以飭五材，以辨民器，謂之百工；通四方之珍異以資之，謂之商旅；飭力以長地財，謂之農夫；治絲麻以成之，謂之婦功。

粵無鎛，燕無函，秦無廬，胡無弓車。粵之無鎛也，非無鎛也，夫人而能為鎛也。燕之無函也，非無函也，夫人而能為函也。秦之無廬也，非無廬也，夫人而能為廬也。胡之無弓車也，非無弓車也，夫人而能為弓車也。

知者創物。巧者述之守之，世謂之工。百工之事，皆聖人之作也。爍金以為刃，凝土以為器，作車以行陸，作舟以行水，此皆聖人之所作也。

天有時，地有氣，材有美，工有巧。合此四者，然後可以為良。材美工巧，然而不良，則不時、不得地氣也。橘逾淮而北為枳，鴝鵒不逾濟，貉逾汶則死，此地氣然也。鄭之刀，宋之斤，魯之削，吳粵之劍，遷乎其地而弗能為良，地氣然也。燕之角，荊之幹，妢胡之笴，吳粵之金錫，此材之美者也。天有時以生，有時以殺；草木有時以生，有時以死；石有時以泐；水有時以凝，有時以澤：此天時也。

凡攻木之工七，攻金之工六，攻皮之工五，設色之工五，刮摩之工五，搏埴之工二。

攻木之工：輪、輿、弓、廬、匠、車、梓。攻金之工：筑、冶、鳧、栗、段、桃。攻皮之工：函、鮑、韗、韋、裘。設色之工：畫、繢、鍾、筐、幌。刮摩之工：玉、櫛、雕、矢、磬。搏埴之工：陶、旊。

有虞氏上陶，夏后氏上匠，殷人上梓，周人上輿。故一器而工聚焉者，車為多。

車有六等之數：車軫四尺，謂之一等；戈柲六尺有六寸，既建而迤，崇於軫四尺，謂之二等；人長八尺，崇於戈四尺，謂之三等。殳長尋有四尺，崇於人四尺，謂之四等。車戟常，崇於殳四尺，謂之五等。酋矛常有四尺，崇於戟四尺，謂之六等。車謂之六等之數。

凡察車之道，必自載於地者始也，是故察車自輪始。凡察車之道，欲其樸屬而微至。不樸屬，無以為完久也；不微至，無以為戚速也。輪已崇，則人不能登也。輪已庳，則於馬終古登阤也。

故兵車之輪六尺有六寸，田車之輪六尺有三寸，乘車之輪六尺有六寸。六尺有六寸之輪，軹崇三尺有三寸也；加軫與轐焉，四尺也；人長八尺，登下以為節。

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国有六职，百工与居一焉。

或坐而论道；或作而行之；或审曲面势，以饬五材，以辨民器；或通四方之珍异以资之；或饬力以长地财；或治丝麻以成之。

坐而论道，谓之王公；作而行之，谓之士大夫；审曲面势，以饬五材，以辨民器，谓之百工；通四方之珍异以资之，谓之商旅；饬力以长地财，谓之农夫；治丝麻以成之，谓之妇功。

粤无镈，燕无函，秦无庐，胡无弓车。粤之无镈也，非无镈也，夫人而能为镈也。燕之无函也，非无函也，夫人而能为函也。秦之无庐也，非无庐也，夫人而能为庐也。胡之无弓车也，非无弓车也，夫人而能为弓车也。

知者创物。巧者述之守之，世谓之工。百工之事，皆圣人之作也。烁金以为刃，凝土以为器，作车以行陆，作舟以行水，此皆圣人之所作也。

天有时，地有气，材有美，工有巧。合此四者，然后可以为良。材美工巧，然而不良，则不时、不得地气也。橘逾淮而北为枳，鸲鹆不逾济，貉逾汶则死，此地气然也。郑之刀，宋之斤，鲁之削，吴粤之剑，迁乎其地而弗能为良，地气然也。燕之角，荆之干，妢胡之笴，吴粤之金锡，此材之美者也。天有时以生，有时以杀；草木有时以生，有时以死；石有时以泐；水有时以凝，有时以泽：此天时也。

凡攻木之工七，攻金之工六，攻皮之工五，设色之工五，刮摩之工五，搏埴之工二。

攻木之工：轮、舆、弓、庐、匠、车、梓。攻金之工：筑、冶、凫、栗、段、桃。攻皮之工：函、鲍、韗、韦、裘。设色之工：画、缋、钟、筐、幌。刮摩之工：玉、栉、雕、矢、磬。搏埴之工：陶、旊。

有虞氏上陶，夏后氏上匠，殷人上梓，周人上舆。故一器而工聚焉者，车为多。

车有六等之数：车轸四尺，谓之一等；戈柲六尺有六寸，既建而迤，崇于轸四尺，谓之二等；人长八尺，崇于戈四尺，谓之三等。殳长寻有四尺，崇于人四尺，谓之四等。车戟常，崇于殳四尺，谓之五等。酋矛常有四尺，崇于戟四尺，谓之六等。车谓之六等之数。

凡察车之道，必自载于地者始也，是故察车自轮始。凡察车之道，欲其朴属而微至。不朴属，无以为完久也；不微至，无以为戚速也。轮已崇，则人不能登也。轮已庳，则于马终古登阤也。

故兵车之轮六尺有六寸，田车之轮六尺有三寸，乘车之轮六尺有六寸。六尺有六寸之轮，轵崇三尺有三寸也；加轸与轐焉，四尺也；人长八尺，登下以为节。

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English translation by Claude (an AI)

A state has six occupations, and the hundred crafts are one of them.

Some sit and discuss the Way; some rise and carry it out; some study the curve, the face and the set of things in order to work the five materials and provide the people with their implements; some move the rare and precious things of the four quarters so that all are supplied; some put their strength into increasing the wealth of the land; some work silk and hemp to make cloth.

Those who sit and discuss the Way are called kings and dukes. Those who rise and carry it out are called officers and great officers. Those who study the curve, the face and the set of things in order to work the five materials and provide the people with their implements are called the hundred crafts. Those who move the rare and precious things of the four quarters so that all are supplied are called merchants and travelling traders. Those who put their strength into increasing the wealth of the land are called farmers. Those who work silk and hemp to make cloth are called the women’s work.

Yue has no hoe-makers, Yan no armourers, Qin no makers of spear-shafts, and the Hu no makers of bows and carriages. It is not that Yue has no hoes: every man there can make a hoe. It is not that Yan has no armour: every man there can make armour. It is not that Qin has no shafts: every man there can make a shaft. It is not that the Hu have no bows and carriages: every man there can make bows and carriages.

The wise create things. The skilful hand them on and keep them, and the world calls them craftsmen. The work of the hundred crafts was all the making of the sages. Melting metal to make blades, setting clay to make vessels, making carts to go by land and boats to go by water: all these were made by the sages.

Heaven has its seasons, the earth its virtues, materials their excellence, and the craftsman his skill. Only when these four come together can good work be made. If the material is fine and the skill is great and still the work is not good, then it was not made in season, or did not have the virtue of its ground. The orange crosses the Huai going north and becomes a bitter orange; the mynah does not cross the Ji; the raccoon dog dies if it crosses the Wen: such is the virtue of the ground. The knives of Zheng, the axes of Song, the writing-knives of Lu and the swords of Wu and Yue cannot be made well when their makers move away from their own lands: such is the virtue of the ground. The horn of Yan, the bow-wood of Jing, the arrow-shafts of Fenhu, the copper and tin of Wu and Yue: these are fine materials. Heaven has a season for growing and a season for killing; grass and trees have a season to grow and a season to die; stone has a season to split; water has a season to freeze and a season to flow: these are the seasons of Heaven.

Of the crafts that work wood there are seven, of those that work metal six, of those that work skins five, of those that apply colour five, of those that scrape and polish five, and of those that mould clay two.

The workers in wood: wheelwrights, carriage-body makers, bow-makers, shaft-makers, builders, cart-makers and joiners. The workers in metal: the zhu, the ye, the fu, the li, the duan and the tao. The workers in skins: armourers, tanners, drum-makers, workers in soft leather and furriers. The workers in colour: painters, embroiderers, the zhong, the kuang and the huang. The scrapers and polishers: workers in jade, comb-makers, carvers, arrow-makers and chime-makers. The workers in clay: potters and the fang.

The house of Yu prized pottery, the Xia prized building, the people of Yin prized joinery, and the people of Zhou prized carriages. And so, of all the single objects in which the crafts come together, the carriage gathers the most.

The carriage has its six levels. The carriage floor stands four feet high: that is called the first level. The dagger-axe on its shaft of six feet six inches, set slanting in the carriage, rises four feet above the floor: that is called the second level. A man, eight feet tall, rises four feet above the dagger-axe: that is called the third level. The staff, a fathom and four feet long, rises four feet above the man: that is called the fourth level. The carriage halberd, a chang long, rises four feet above the staff: that is called the fifth level. The spear, a chang and four feet long, rises four feet above the halberd: that is called the sixth level. These are called the carriage’s six levels.

The way to examine a carriage must begin with what bears on the ground; so the examination of a carriage begins with the wheel. In examining a carriage one wants it to be close-knit and to touch the ground lightly. If it is not close-knit, it cannot be sound and long-lasting; if it does not touch the ground lightly, it cannot be quick. If the wheel is too high, a man cannot climb in; if it is too low, the horse will be forever pulling uphill.

So the wheel of the war carriage is six feet six inches, the wheel of the hunting carriage six feet three inches, and the wheel of the riding carriage six feet six inches. With a wheel of six feet six inches, the hub-end stands three feet three inches high; add the floor and the axle-block, and it is four feet; and a man eight feet tall has a measure for climbing up and down.