1
〈師古曰：「但次古人而不表今人者，其書未畢故也。」〉
As Yan Shigu notes: "It lists only figures of antiquity and not contemporaries because this work was left unfinished."
2
自書契之作，先民可得而聞者，經傳所稱，唐虞以上，帝王有號謚。 輔佐不可得而稱矣，[1]而諸子頗言之，雖不考虖孔氏，然猶著在篇籍，歸乎顯善昭惡，勸戒後人，故博采焉。 孔子曰：「若聖與仁，則吾豈敢？」 [2]又曰：「何事於仁，必也聖乎！」 [3]「未知，焉得仁？」 [4]「生而知之者，上也； 學而知之者，又其次也； 困而不學，民斯為下矣。」 [5]又曰：「中人以上，可以語上也。」 [6]「唯上智與下愚不移。」 [7]傳曰：譬如堯舜，禹、稷、禼與之為善則行，[8]鮌、讙兜欲與為惡則誅。 [9]可與為善，不可與為惡，是謂上智。 桀紂，龍逢、比干欲與之為善則誅，[10]于莘、崇侯與之為惡則行。 [11]可與為惡，不可與為善，是謂下愚。 齊桓公，管仲相之則霸，竪貂輔之則亂。 [12]可與為善，可與為惡，是謂中人。 因茲以列九等之序，究極經傳，繼世相次，緫備古今之略要云。
From the time writing first appeared, what the classics and commentaries preserve about the earliest ages is that rulers from Yao and Shun back were remembered with formal titles and posthumous names. The chief ministers who aided those rulers cannot all be securely identified. Still, the various philosophical writings speak of them. Even when such accounts are not confirmed by the Confucian canon, they remain in the textual record and serve to highlight virtue, expose wrongdoing, and admonish later generations, so I have gathered them widely. Confucius said, "If you speak of sageliness and perfect benevolence, I would not presume to claim them." He also said, "Why stop at benevolence? One would have to be a sage." "Without understanding, how could one realize true benevolence?" "Those born with knowledge are the highest type; those who gain knowledge through study come next; and those who face difficulty yet refuse to learn are the lowest among the people." He also said, "With people above the middle level, you can discuss higher teachings." "Only those of the highest wisdom and the deepest folly are unchangeable." As one tradition puts it: under Yao and Shun, when Yu, Ji, and Xie promoted what was good, their policies were enacted; but when Gun and Huandou sought to push evil, they were punished with death. If one can be led into good but never into evil, that is what is called the highest wisdom. By contrast, under Jie and Zhou, loyal men like Long Feng and Bi Gan were killed for trying to guide their rulers toward good, while Yu Xin and the Marquis of Chong prospered by abetting evil. Those who can be drawn into evil but not into good are called the lowest fools. Duke Huan of Qi became a hegemon under Guan Zhong, but fell into disorder when advised by Shu Diao. Those who can be led toward either good or evil are what we call average people. On this basis, I set out a nine-rank order, drawing fully from the classics and commentaries, tracing each age in sequence, and assembling a concise outline of key figures from antiquity to later times.
3
〈張晏曰：「老子玄默，仲尼所師，雖不在聖，要為大賢，文伯之母達於禮典，動為聖人所歎，言為後世所則，而在第四。 田單以即墨孤城復強齊之大，魯連之博通，忽於榮利，藺子申威秦王，退讓廉頗，乃在第五。 大姬巫怪，好祭鬼神，陳人化之，國多淫祀，寺人孟子違於大雅，以保其身，旣被宮刑，怨刺而作，乃在第三。 嫪毐上烝，昬亂禮度，惡不忍聞，乃在第七。 其餘差違紛錯不少，略舉揚較，以起失謬。 獨馳騖於數千歲之中，旁觀諸子，事業未究，而尋遇竇氏之難，使之然乎？」 師古曰：「六家之論，輕重不同； 百行所存，趣拾難壹。 張氏輒申所見，掎摭班史，然其所論，又自差錯。 且年代乆遠，墳典隟亡，學者舛駮，師論分異，是以表載古人名氏，或與諸書不同。 今則特有發明，用暢厥旨。 自女媧以下，帝鴻以前，諸子傳記，互有舛駮，敘說不同，無所取正，大要知其古帝之號而已。 諸人士見於史傳，彰灼可知者，無待解釋，其間幽昧者，時復及焉。」〉
Zhang Yan comments: "Laozi was deep and reserved, and even Confucius learned from him. Though not classed as a sage, he was certainly a great worthy. Wenbo's mother was thoroughly versed in ritual, praised by sages for her conduct, and imitated by later generations for her words, yet she is only placed in the fourth class. Tian Dan revived powerful Qi from the isolated city of Jimo; Lu Zhonglian was widely learned and dismissed fame and gain; Lin Xiangru overawed the king of Qin and later yielded place to Lian Po, yet all are ranked only in the fifth class. Tai Ji indulged in shamanic superstition and spirit sacrifices, and the people of Chen followed her into proliferating illicit cults. The eunuch Mengzi, straying from orthodox standards to save himself, later wrote resentful satires after his castration, yet is ranked in the third class. Lao Ai committed unspeakable incest and threw ritual order into chaos, crimes too vile to recount, yet he is placed in the seventh class. There are many other inconsistencies and confusions; I mention and compare a few to highlight these mistakes. He ranged alone across several millennia, examining the various schools, but before he could complete the project he was caught up in the Dou clan calamity. Is that why it ended this way?" Yan Shigu says: "The six traditions evaluate things differently, assigning different weights and priorities; With so many forms of conduct preserved in the record, selecting and ranking them by one standard is difficult. Zhang simply advanced his own opinions and faulted Ban Gu's history, but his own arguments were themselves inconsistent. Besides, those eras are very distant, many classical records were lost, scholars disagree and dispute, and learned traditions diverge. For that reason, some names in this table differ from what appears in other texts. This note is offered specifically to clarify and bring out the underlying intent. For the era between Nüwa and before Dihong, the various textual traditions and biographies conflict with one another and offer no single authoritative account; at most, we can preserve the names of those ancient sovereigns. For people whose deeds are clearly recorded in the historical sources, no explanation is needed; where points remain obscure, I occasionally add clarification."