1
陳書卷四
Book of Chen, Volume 4
2
本紀第四
Annals, Part Four
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The Deposed Emperor, taboo name Bozong, styled Fengye and in youth called Yaowang, was the legitimate eldest son of Emperor Wen. He was born on gengyin day in the fifth month of the third year of Liang's Chengsheng era (554). In Yongding year 2, on wuchen day of the second month, he was named heir of the Prince of Linchuan. In year 3, when Emperor Wen took the throne, he was made crown prince on gengxu day of the eighth month. After the Liang court was torn apart, the eastern palace lay in ashes, and the crown prince lived in Yongfu Province.
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On guiyou day of the fourth month in Tiankang year 1, Emperor Wen died. That same day the crown prince ascended the throne in the hall before the Supreme Ultimate and proclaimed: "Heaven has sent calamity; the late emperor has left the realm. We cannot reach him with our laments; Our inmost being is broken. We, of little merit, have received the sacred charge; day and night in mourning We fear for the realm as for loose cap-strings, and now depend on our ministers to mend what We lack. Let there be a general amnesty throughout the realm." A further edict ordered civil and military officers at court and in the provinces to return to their posts, and forbade distant regions to hurry envoys to the capital.
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Fifth month yi On jimao day the empress dowager was raised to grand empress dowager and the empress to empress dowager. On gengyin day Xu, Prince of Ancheng—cavalry general, minister of works, inspector of Yangzhou, and newly appointed director of the Masters of Writing—was made grand general of agile cavalry, promoted to minister over the masses and recorder of the Masters of Writing, and given overall command of armies at court and in the field. On dingyou day Xu Du, central army general and opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes, was promoted to minister of works; Zhang Zhaoda, garrisoning south general, opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes, and inspector of Jiangzhou, became palace attendant and was promoted to general who campaigns south; Bomao, Prince of Shixing, garrisoning east general and inspector of East Yangzhou, was promoted to general who campaigns east with a mansion equal to the three dukes; Boshan, Prince of Poyang, pacifying north general and inspector of South Xuzhou, was promoted to general who garrisons the north; Yuan Shu, minister of personnel, became left vice director of the Masters of Writing; Shen Qin, cloud-banner general and administrator of Wuxing, became right vice director of the Masters of Writing; Wu Mingche, newly appointed central palace guard general, was made general of the palace guards; Shen Ke, newly appointed central protector general, was made protector general; Hua Jiao, pacifying south general and inspector of Xiangzhou, was promoted to general who pacifies the south; Xu Ling, regular attendant and censor-in-chief, became minister of personnel.
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冬十月庚申，輿駕奉祠太廟。
On gengshen day in the tenth month of winter the emperor offered sacrifice at the ancestral temple.
9
十一月乙亥，周遣使來弔。
On yihai day of the eleventh month Northern Zhou sent envoys to offer condolences.
10
十二月甲子，高麗國遣使獻方物。
On jiazi day of the twelfth month envoys from Goguryeo presented tribute.
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On guiyou day of the first month in Guangda year 1, Yuan Shu, left vice director of the Masters of Writing, died. On yihai day an edict declared: "In antiquity Heaven fulfilled the mandate and granted the sacred chart; two sage rulers succeeded one another and the nine domains were well ruled. We are young and slight in virtue; the royal way is not yet plain. To hold the throne is like crossing a treacherous sea. We look to worthy kinsmen and able governors to aid Us, that the realm may flourish and crime fade away. Now the calendar turns and the court is full of envoys; in the ancestral temple there is none to follow, yet every officer is in place. To look on the empty seat breaks Our heart. We mean to spread the late emperor's kindness and let it reach the common people. Let there be a general amnesty throughout the realm. Tiankang year 2 was renamed Guangda year 1. Men noted for filial piety, brotherliness, and farming received one step in rank." On jimao day Wu Mingche, general of the palace guards, was made governor of Danyang. On xinmao day the emperor sacrificed in person at the southern suburb.
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On xinhai day of the second month, Yu Xiaoqing, General Who Proclaims Resolution and inspector of Southern Yu Province, was executed for plotting rebellion. On guichou day Bomao, Prince of Shixing, general who campaigns east, opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes, and inspector of East Yangzhou, was made central army general; Huang Faqu was made general who garrisons the north and inspector of South Xuzhou; Boshan, Prince of Poyang, was shifted to general who garrisons the east and inspector of East Yangzhou.
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夏四月乙卯，太白晝見。
On yimao day in the fourth month of summer Venus was seen by day.
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On guisi day of the fifth month Wu Mingche, general of the palace guards and governor of Danyang, was made general who pacifies the south and inspector of Xiangzhou. On yiwei day Du Ling, garrisoning right general, was made general of the palace guards. Hua Jiao, general who pacifies the south and inspector of Xiangzhou, rebelled; on gengshen day Chunyu Liang, central pacifying general, was sent with the staff as general who campaigns south to command the fleet against him.
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On guisi day of the intercalary month Bogu, Prince of Xin'an and cloud-banner general, was made governor of Danyang.
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An edict declared: "The traitor Hua Jiao, steeped in evil, has enthroned Xiao Kui and menaced the dynasty. He has abandoned his own house for the foe; heaven and earth are angered. Our armies rush forward by land and sea, and his end is near. His family held in the Northern Ward of the Palace Workshop are to be executed, that the nation's law may be plain." On jingchen day envoys from Baekje presented tribute. That month Northern Zhou's general Tuoba Ding, Duke of Chang, entered Yingzhou with twenty thousand foot and horse and joined Hua Jiao on land and water; Chunyu Liang, Wu Mingche, and others fought them and won a great victory. Jiao fled alone by boat to Jiangling; Tuoba Ding was captured, and more than ten thousand prisoners and four thousand horses were sent to the capital. On xinsi day in the tenth month of winter a pardon was granted to Xiang and Ba (commandery) [province] for those misled by Jiao. On jiashen day the emperor offered sacrifice in person at the ancestral temple.
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On jiwei day of the eleventh month Shen Ke, protector general, was made general who pacifies the west and inspector of Jingzhou. On jiazi day Wang Chong, palace attendant, central authority general, opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes, special grand master, and left grand master of the palace, died.
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On gengyin day of the twelfth month Kong Yingzhe, acting regular attendant, was made Marquis of Fengsheng Pavilion to maintain the rites to Confucius.
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On jihai day in the first month of year 2 Xu, Prince of Ancheng—palace attendant, commander of all armies, grand general of agile cavalry, minister over the masses, recorder of the Masters of Writing, and inspector of Yangzhou—was promoted to grand tutor, retained the post of minister over the masses, received extraordinary honors, and was allowed to wear shoes in the audience hall; Zhang Zhaoda, palace attendant, general who campaigns south, opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes, and inspector of Jiangzhou, was promoted to grand general who campaigns south; Chunyu Liang, central pacifying general and newly named general who campaigns south, became palace attendant, central army general, and opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes; Wu Mingche, general who pacifies the south and inspector of Xiangzhou, received a mansion equal to the three dukes on his current rank and was promoted to general who garrisons the south; Cheng Lingxi, cloud-banner general and inspector of Yingzhou, was promoted to general who pacifies the west. On gengzi day an edict directed that troops who died fighting Hua Jiao receive coffins and be sent home, and their families restored to standing. On jiazi day Wu Province was abolished and Poyang commandery was placed back under Jiangzhou. Xu Du, palace attendant, minister of works, and general of chariots and cavalry, died.
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夏四月辛巳，太白晝見。 丁亥，割東揚州晉安郡為豐州。
On xinsi day in the fourth month of summer Venus was seen by day. On dinghai day Jin'an commandery in East Yangzhou was detached to form Feng Province.
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On jingchen day of the fifth month Grand Tutor Xu, Prince of Ancheng, presented a jade seal.
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六月丁卯，彗星見。
On dingmao day of the sixth month a comet appeared.
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On jingwu day in the seventh month of autumn the emperor offered sacrifice in person at the ancestral temple. On wushen day envoys from Silla presented tribute. On renxu day the emperor's younger brother Bozhi was made Prince of Yongyang and Bomou Prince of Guiyang.
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On jiachen day of the ninth month envoys from Linyi presented tribute. On jingwu day envoys from Langyaxiu presented tribute. Zhang Zhaoda, palace attendant, general who campaigns south, opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes, and inspector of Jiangzhou, was made central pacifying general. On wuwu day Venus was seen by day.
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冬十月庚午，輿駕親祠太廟。
On gengwu day in the tenth month of winter the emperor offered sacrifice in person at the ancestral temple.
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On jingwu day of the eleventh month Shen Ke, former general who pacifies the west and inspector of Jingzhou, was made protector general. On renzi day Huang Faqu, general who garrisons the north, opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes, and inspector of South Xuzhou, was made general who garrisons the west and inspector of Yingzhou; Chunyu Liang, newly appointed central army general with a mansion equal to the three dukes, was made general who garrisons the north and inspector of South Xuzhou. On jiayin day Dowager Empress Cixun assembled the ministers in the audience hall and proclaimed:
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To the central army commander with staff equal to the three dukes, the garrisoning north commander with equal honors, the garrisoning right general, the protector general, and the eight chief ministers: In the closing years of Liang, the empire boiled over and the common people were all but destroyed. The Founder put rebellion down and righted the realm, took the mandate and ruled by the tally, restored heaven's lights, and repaired earth's order; Emperor Wen carried on the great foundation, enlarged the royal work, nourished the heartland, and pacified the frontier; both labored in fear and sweat to build the state, hoping the dynasty might flourish like Yin and Xia.
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伯宗昔在儲宮，本無令問，及居崇極，遂騁凶淫。 居處諒闇，固不哀慼，嬪嬙弗隔，就館相仍，豈但衣車所納，是譏宗正，衰絰生子，得誚右師。 七百之祚何憑，三千之罪為大。 且費引金帛，令充椒閫，內府中藏，軍備國儲，未盈硋稔，皆已空竭。 太傅親承顧託，鎮守宮闈，遺誥綢繆，義深垣屏，而欑塗未御，翌日無淹，仍遣劉師知、殷不佞等顯言排斥。 韓子高小豎輕佻，推心委仗，陰謀禍亂，決起蕭牆。 元相雖持，但除君側。 又以余孝頃密邇京師，便相徵召，殃慝之咎，凶徒自擒，宗社之靈，祅氛是滅。 於是密詔華皎，稱兵上流，國祚憂惶，幾移醜類。 乃至要招遠近，叝力巴、湘，支黨縱橫，寇擾黟、歙。 又別队歐陽紇等攻逼衡州，嶺表紛紜，殊淹弦望。 豈止罪浮於昌邑，非唯聲醜於太和。 但賊豎皆亡，祅徒已散，日望懲改，猶加掩抑，而悖禮忘德，情性不悛，樂禍思亂，犷慝無已。 張安國蕞爾凶狡，窮為小盜，仍遣使人蔣裕鉤出上京，即置行臺，分選凶黨。 賊皎妻呂，舂徒為戮，納自奚 (宮) [官]，[12]藏諸永巷，使其結引親舊，規圖戕禍。 盪主侯法喜等，太傅麾下，恆遊府朝，啗以深利，謀興肘腋。 適又盪主孫泰等潛相連結，大有交通，兵力殊彊，指期挻亂。 皇家有慶，歷數遐長，天誘其衷，同然開發。 此諸文纹，今以相示，是而可忍，誰則不容？ 祖宗基業，將懼傾霣，豈可復肅恭禋祀，臨御兆民？ 式稽故實，宜在流放，今可特降為臨海郡王，送還藩邸。
Bozong had no good name as heir apparent; once he took the throne he abandoned himself to cruelty and debauchery. In the mourning lodge he showed no grief; he would not stay from the inner consorts, and one visiting bed followed another—not only the garments and carriages he took in, which the director of the imperial clan censured, but children born while he wore mourning, which made a mockery of the right mentor. How could he sustain a reign like Zhou's seven hundred years? His offenses were greater still. He poured out gold and silk to stock the inner quarters; palace treasuries, armories, and state reserves were drained before the bins were full. The Grand Tutor had been entrusted in person to guard the palace; the late emperor's will bound him like a wall—yet the emperor never came to him on the first day of mourning, and on the very next day sent Liu Shizhi, Yin Buxin, and others to push him aside. Han Ziga, a low creature, was light and reckless; the emperor trusted him with his heart, and treason brewed inside the palace. Though the chief minister still held office, the emperor only removed those at the ruler's side. Because Yu Xiaoqing lay near the capital he was called in; the guilty destroyed themselves, and the spirits of the state swept away the foul air. Then he secretly instructed Hua Jiao to take up arms on the upper Yangtze; the realm trembled and the throne nearly fell to a usurper's line. He even rallied allies far and near, gathered force in Ba and Xiang, and sent his factions to ravage Yi and She. Another column under Ouyang He and others besieged Hengzhou; the south of the mountains was in turmoil for many months. His crimes outdid the deposed Prince of Changyi; his name was fouler than Emperor Taihe's. Though the ringleaders were dead and their gangs broken up, We still waited for him to mend his ways, but he only hid his faults; scorning ritual and virtue, he would not change—he loved trouble and schemed rebellion, fierce and unrepentant. Zhang Anguo, mean, violent, and sly, had shrunk to a petty robber, yet still sent Jiang Yu to draw men from the capital, set up a field headquarters, and pick out hardened criminals. Jiao's wife Lu, sentenced to labor at the mortar, was received from the (palace) palace offices and hidden in the Everlasting Lane to win over kin and friends and plot murder. The steward Hou Faxi and others, who served in the Grand Tutor's household and frequented the court, were bought with heavy bribes to strike at close range. Then the steward Sun Tai and others secretly joined them; their traffic was heavy and their forces strong, and they set a day for revolt. The dynasty is blessed with long fortune; Heaven moved their hearts, and the plot came to light together. We now show you these documents—if this can be tolerated, who could bear it? The ancestral foundation would totter—how could We still perform the great sacrifices and rule the people? By ancient precedent he belongs in exile; let him therefore be demoted to Prince of Linhai and sent to his fief.
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Grand Tutor Xu, Prince of Ancheng, is virtuous by nature, sage and far-reaching; both empresses trust him, and heaven and earth mark him out. Since the last reign's troubles he has governed the realm; power and grace went together, law and ritual alike; at his word Xiang and Ying were pacified, and in opening lands Jing and Yi submitted—like Taiwu carrying on Yin, or Zhongdu upholding Han; beside his merit and fame, who else even comes close? The earth has shown a sacred seal and heaven a long comet; omens of renewal have all appeared. Emperor Wen knew which son could bear the charge, as Yao did; his wish to pass the throne to his younger brother matched the Duke of Wu. Let his former intent now be fulfilled: raise the worthy prince and secure the temple, that the throne and the heavens may stand firm. Court and command should follow the old rites and welcome the new emperor.
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未亡人不幸屬此殷憂，不有崇替，容危社稷，何以拜祠高寢，歸祔武園？ 攬筆潸然，兼懷悲慶。
We, the bereaved, have met this heavy sorrow; without this great change the state could not stand—how could We worship at the high shrine or lay the late emperor in the martial tomb? As We set brush to paper, Our tears fall, and Our heart holds both grief and relief.
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是日，出居別第。 太建二年四月薨，時年十九。
That same day he left the palace for a separate residence. In the fourth month of Taijian year 2 he died, aged nineteen.
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The emperor was mild and feeble and lacked a ruler's stature; Emperor Wen long feared he could not bear the inheritance. Because he was the principal legitimate heir, replacing him was grave, and for years Emperor Wen could not decide. As his illness deepened he called Emperor Xuan and said, "I mean to follow the Duke of Wu's example of yielding the throne." At first Emperor Xuan did not understand; when he did, he prostrated himself, wept, and refused. Later Dowager Empress Xuan carried out the will and deposed him.
36
The historian writes: Though Linhai held the heir's place, he was gentle, mild, and timid in the Confucian way; he blurred right and wrong and was unmoved by gain or loss—in the line of Emperor Zhi and Emperor Hui of Han. Emperor Wen knew how heavy the throne was and that this son could not carry it; reading Yao's intent, he did not hand him the mandate.
37
校勘記
Collation notes
38
On "eighth month, gengxu day, established as crown prince"—note: 〈Annals of Emperor Wen〉 reads "ninth month, xinyou day."
39
五月 (乙) [己]卯據《南史》改。 按是月丁丑朔，無乙卯。
Fifth month yi [ji] mao—emended per the History of the Southern Dynasties. Note: that month began on dingchou; yimao does not occur.
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On "autumn, seventh month, dingyou": the three characters autumn seventh month were ink lacunae in the original; supplied from the Southern Dynasties annals of the Deposed Emperor and the Comprehensive Mirror. All editions read "autumn eighth month"—an error. That year the eighth month began on yisi; dingyou does not occur.
42
二后重光九區咸乂「光九」二字原本墨丁，今據各本補。
On "two sovereigns shone in succession and the nine regions were governed": the two characters shone nine were ink lacunae; restored from other editions.
43
思播遺恩「播」字原本墨丁，據各本補。
On "spread the late emperor's grace": spread was an ink lacuna; restored from other editions.
44
On "Prince of Shixing Bomao, general who campaigns east, opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes, inspector of East Yangzhou, made central army general"—note on general who campaigns east: 〈Annals of Emperor Wen〉 Tianjia year 3 reads "general who garrisons the east," matching his biography. "Central army general" in his biography reads "central commander general."
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On "Wu Mingche, general who pacifies the south and inspector of Xiangzhou, on his present title made opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes and advanced to general who garrisons the south"—note: 〈Annals of Emperor Xuan〉 Taijian year 1 again has the passage "newly appointed general who pacifies the south, opener of the mansion equal to the three dukes, inspector of Xiangzhou Wu Mingche, promoted in title to general who garrisons the south"; his biography also says "in Taijian year 1 appointed general who garrisons the south." The six characters "promoted in title to general who garrisons the south" here are probably intrusive.
47
昔梁運季末「運」原訛「道」，各本不訛，今改正。
On "in the last days of Liang's mandate": the text originally read way for mandate; other editions are correct; emended.
48
納自奚 (宮) [官]「宮」當作「官」，各本並訛，今改。
Taken in from the (palace) On [offices]: "palace" should read "offices"; all editions err; emended.
49
仁厚儒弱「儒」各本作「懦」。 按儒有懦弱義，各本作「懦」，疑後人臆改。
On "benevolent, mild, and Confucian-weak": all editions read cowardly for Confucian. Note: ru can mean timid weakness; all editions read "cowardly"; a later unwarranted change is suspected.