《资治通鉴·汉纪·汉纪二十二》
刘向因外戚王氏权位太盛，而皇上现在正在留意《诗经》、《书经》等古书，就根据《尚书·洪范篇》，汇集自上古以来，历经春秋战国，直至秦汉，所有关于祥瑞、天灾、变异的记载，推测天象变迁的原因，联系比附人间的祸福，突出其占卜与应验，分门别类，各立条目，共十一篇，书名为《洪范五行传论》，呈献成帝。
刘向以王氏权位太盛，而上方向《诗》、《书》古文，向乃因《尚书·洪范》，集合上古以来，历春秋、六国至秦、汉符瑞、灾异之记，推迹行事，连傅祸福，著其占验，比类相从，各有条目，凡十一篇，号曰《洪范五行传论》，奏之。
Because the power of the Wang family, his wife's relatives, was too strong, and because the emperor was currently paying attention to ancient books such as the "Classic of Poetry" and the "Classic of History", Liu Xiang used the "Flood Control" chapter of the "Classic of History" as a basis to collect records of auspicious omens, natural disasters, and anomalies from ancient times, through the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and up to the Qin and Han dynasties. He inferred the causes of astronomical changes, connected them with human calamities and blessings, and highlighted their divination and verification. He organized them into categories, each with its own sub-category, resulting in a total of eleven chapters. The book was titled "Treatise on the Transmission of Flood Control and the Five Elements" and was presented to Emperor Cheng.