To Thee， O Ancestor of the Silken World， a humble man， with face to earth，which thou didst bless and make glad， asks of thee in all the humility ofhis soul to hear his prayer of praise and petition.
To Thee， O Ancestor of a Noble Work， it is not given that thou shouldsthearken unto my words， for in the celestial world of the Seven Springs a million millions of them that drewfrom thee on earth the breath of their souls and the food of their bodies are now thy meekest servants and subjects； and the voices of their praise mustring so loud and sweet to thine ears that these rough words of mine are but as jarring sounds of discord.
To Thee， O Gladsome Queen of a Gladsome Art， it cannot be known that one so poorand miserable as I doth even in thy
loved land exist， much less that thy most degraded petitioner did in all his dayshonour and praise thy name， sing thy glories， pray for them that prayed to thee， thoughtby day and dreamed by night of all the vast goodness thou didst bestow upon this Flowery Land.
But， O Transcendent Lady of the Ancient Sin，I， thy miserable petitioner， did， when a boy， labour among the trees of the mulberry， feed with tender care the creatures thou didst teach to spin， threaded from their shells the divinegleams which thou taughtest to produce， wove with mine own hands the silken strands of thy invention， and made into great widths and breadths the shimmering fabric which is the glory of the world.
Yet， Yuen Fi， Goddess of the Golden Weave， all， all the words of this most humbleman are true ； as true as ever lowly one did vouch to speak to one exalted high.
And now， Yuen Fi， Lady of the Blessed Silk，I crave that thou wilt think of me in thy celestial sphere； that to the holy ones forgathered there， thou wilt but speak a kindly word and say that hereupon the sordid earth， which thou alone didst beautify， there lives a humble man of poor renown， who， in all the hours of all his days did strive and toil by sweat of faceand tire of brain to do thy bidding in the silken fields； who . . .
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My prayer， O Heavenly One， O Goddess Rare， though I would speak to thee the wholenight through， in pain I do make brief； for well I know that in that High Beyond this voice of mine can hold no charm. But now again of thee I fain would ask： that in this hour of darkest night anewer blessing thou wilt give to all that work in arts of thine； bless them that harvest in the fields， bless thou the silkworms’ rounded home， bless them that toil at factory loom， bless them that mart thy precious weave， bless them that sail the far salt seas and take thy goods to foreign shore； bless them that on theirbodies fair - in Indies and the far beyond， the lands of Europe and the West， in every isle， in every clime， in cold and heat， in shine and rain， in mountain home and valley mild， in palace rich and humble cot， - where‘er， O Mighty Sun-Loved Queen， thy name is thought or heard or sung， send down thy blessings like the dew！
编者特注--多年之后，当李鸿章在清帝国地位一人之下万人之上时，即官居四大学士之首的文华殿大学士的几年间，李鸿章在其日记中最明显的位置先后三次提到了他亲自下令，要求大量印制，广泛传播慈禧太后老佛爷撰写的《嫘祖颂》，要让清帝国的所有子民不仅要更加了解蚕神，还要了解嫘祖发明的养蚕缫丝之技艺，大力鼓励养蚕缫丝业的发展，以图国富民安。
在对宫廷史料的调查中我们发现《嫘祖颂》的创作者是慈禧太后。此外，由于慈禧太后非常在意自己的文学能力，而且，朝野上下都认可她的文学能力，因此，也没有人会怀疑慈禧太后创作《嫘祖颂》的真实性。
可以肯定的是，李鸿章在其一生中从未公开声称《嫘祖颂》的作者其实是他，而是尽心尽力下令印制传播，在一个李鸿章发布的命令中，他宣称《嫘祖颂》是“最伟大的太后老佛爷献给蚕神嫘祖的不朽真言”。
在对李总督的日记，以及大量的公开文件、书信和其他文稿的仔细整理和翻译中，我们发现除了之前提到的那篇祭文外，并没有其他与“祭文”或“颂歌”相关的文稿。毋庸置疑的是，李鸿章就是《嫘祖颂》的作者，把这篇祭文放在这里也是非常合适的。加上研究者和译者在李鸿章的手稿中并未找到任何《嫘祖颂》的复制品。将这首“颂歌”译成英文后可能要占十到十二页的篇幅。在东方学者宣布《嫘祖颂》具有很高的文学价值之后，欧美国家中许多对李鸿章感兴趣的学者对李鸿章有了另一个更重要的评价：晚年的李鸿章不仅仅是一个伟大的政治家、外交官和清帝国最富有的人，他还是一个学富五车、孜孜不倦的学者。
