古之帝者，地不過千里，諸侯各守其封域，或朝或否，相侵暴亂，殘伐不止，猶刻金石，以自為紀。古之五帝三王，知教不同，法度不明，假威鬼神，以欺遠方，實不稱名，故不久長。其身未歿，諸侯背叛，法令不行。今皇帝並一海內，以為郡縣，天下和平。昭明宗廟，體道行德，尊號大成。羣臣相與誦皇帝功德，刻於金石，以為表經。

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The ancient emperors[1] had territories not exceeding a thousand li[2]. Each of their vassals received a domain; some paid due homage at court others did not, instead invading, raiding and spreading chaos among themselves, never off the offensive, all the while commissioning elegant inscriptions taking themselves as their object. The Five Emperors and Three Sovereigns[2] of old professed differing teachings. Their methods of government were opaque. They shammed divinity to spread their deceptions far and wide, but the reality did not match up to their claims and thus they did not endure. Their lives had not yet reached their term before their vassals forsook them and their laws and decrees went unfollowed. The present Emperor has united all within the seas, making the world into commanderies and counties, and All-Under-Heaven is at peace. He burnished the lustre of his ancestral shrines, establishing honour with decorum in keeping with his illustrious title. His assembled attendants and ministers having thus recounted his accomplishments, they had them engraved on this stele to serve as a model[3].

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[1] According to Sima Qian this was engraved somewhere on the East coast of China following a discussion between Li Si and the ministers Wang Wan, Wang Wu, Zhao Ying and Yang Jiu.

[2] Semi-legendary Huaxia founding fathers. The precise list of individuals varies by source.

[3] Sima Qian gives the original Langya Terrace Inscription, omits the Second Emperor's addendum, gives a list of the officials who were present at the time, and  then announces that this is what they said. It may be intended as a continuation of the original text, but the difference in tone and style, as well as the fact that this would have made the text too long for the known dimensions of the stele itself suggest that this is not the case. Possibly it was a forgery added to a similar stone in the area or inserted into Sima Qian's text, or was recorded to reflect the behind-the-scenes discussions that led to the stele project.