《史记·十二本纪·孝文本纪》
正月，皇帝说： 农业是国家的基础，我要开垦籍田，亲自率领耕种，以供给祭祀宗庙时所用的谷物。 
正月，上曰： 农，天下之本，其开籍田，朕亲率耕，以给宗庙粢盛。 
In the 1st month, the Emperor said: Agriculture is the foundation of the State, and I will open up the Imperial fields, and will myself personally lead the way in their cultivation, in order to supply grain for the sacrifices in the ancestral temple.