《北史·列传·卷三十》
刘芳上表说，礼乐事关国家大事，不能擅行决断。如果不是博采公卿大臣的意见，广泛征集高才博学的读书人的建议，讨论其中的得与失，明辨是与非，就无法写进典籍，成为不朽的范式。
芳表以礼乐事大，不容辄决，自非博延公卿，广集儒彦，讨论得失，研穷是非，无以垂之万叶，为不朽之式。
Liu Fang wrote a memorial in which he stated that the rules of etiquette and music were of great importance to the state. It was impossible to make a decision rashly. Without extensively seeking advice from the nobles and ministers, widely soliciting suggestions from well-informed and erudite scholars, and thoroughly discussing the advantages and disadvantages before making distinctions between right and wrong, it would be impossible to enter it into the historical records and become an enduring model.