《魏书·列传·卷八十六》
萧衍因为自己严守佛教戒律，以至于在祭祀祖先时，不用牛羊猪等，当时人们私下里都说，他虽然僭立王者之位，但他的祖先宗庙也不能吃荤食了。
衍自以持戒，乃至祭其祖祢，不设牢牲，时人皆窃云，虽僭司王者，然其宗庙实不血食矣。
Xiao Yan observed Buddhist precepts so strictly that even when offering sacrifices to his ancestors, he forbade the use of cattle, sheep, or swine. At the time, people secretly said that even though he had usurped the throne, even the ancestral temple of his ancestors could not eat meat.