Volume 48: Jia Yi

卷四十八賈誼傳第十八

Volume 48: Biography of Jia Yi, the eighteenth memoir.

賈誼，雒陽人也，年十八，以能誦詩書屬文稱於郡中。河南守吳公聞其秀材，召置門下，甚幸愛。文帝初立，聞河南守吳公治平為天下第一，故與李斯同邑，而嘗學事焉，征以為廷尉。廷尉乃言誼年少，頗通諸家之書。文帝召以為博士。

Jia Yi came from Luoyang. By the time he was eighteen, his ability to recite the canonical texts and turn out polished essays had earned him a reputation across the commandery. When the governor of Henan, Wu Gong, heard of him as a promising scholar, he brought Jia into his household and came to treat him with real favor. As soon as Emperor Wen took the throne, he learned that Wu Gong’s administration in Henan was ranked the finest in the realm—that Wu had hailed from the same home district as Li Si and had once studied under him—and summoned Wu to appoint him commandant of justice. The commandant then told the emperor that Jia Yi, though still young, had a solid grasp of the literature of the major schools of thought. Emperor Wen summoned him and appointed him to the corps of court erudites.

是時，誼年二十餘，最為少。每詔令議下，諸老先生未能言，誼盡為之對，人人各如其意所出。諸生於是以為能。文帝說之，超遷，歲中至太中大夫。

Jia Yi was in his early twenties then—the youngest among the erudites by a wide margin. Whenever the court issued a topic for debate, the senior scholars often had nothing to say; Jia Yi would supply a full response that seemed to capture exactly what each of them had wished to argue. His peers concluded that he was the ablest man in their ranks. Pleased with his performance, Emperor Wen skipped him ahead through the ranks until, within a single year, he had risen to grand palace counselor.

誼以為漢興二十餘年，天下和洽，宜當改正朔，易服色制度，定官名，興禮樂。乃草具其儀法，色上黃，數用五，為官名悉更，奏之。文帝廉讓未皇也。然諸法令所更定，及列侯就國，其說皆誼發之。於是天子議以誼任公卿之位。絳、灌、東陽侯、馮敬之屬盡害之，乃毀誼曰：「雒陽之人年少初學，專欲擅權，紛亂諸事。」於是天子後亦疏之，不用其議，以誼為長沙王太傅。

Jia Yi argued that more than two decades into the Han restoration, the empire had settled into peace; the time had come to reform the calendar, adopt new ritual colors and institutions, standardize office titles, and revive court music and ceremony. He drafted a full blueprint: yellow as the paramount color, the number five as the organizing principle, and a thorough overhaul of bureaucratic nomenclature, which he then submitted to the throne. Emperor Wen, preferring modesty and delay, was not yet ready to act on such sweeping change. Still, the legal revisions that did go through and the policy of sending enfeoffed nobles out to their fiefs all originated with proposals Jia Yi had first advanced. The emperor began to discuss elevating Jia Yi to one of the highest ministerial posts. Zhou Bo, Guan Ying, the Marquis of Dongyang, Feng Jing, and their faction resented him and began to traduce him: "That youngster from Luoyang has only just begun his studies; all he wants is to seize power for himself and sow chaos in every department of government." The emperor gradually cooled toward him, set aside his policy recommendations, and instead named him grand tutor to the king of Changsha.

誼既以適去，意不自得，及渡湘水，為賦以吊屈原。屈原，楚賢臣也，被讒放逐，作《離騷賦》，其終篇曰：「已矣！國亡人，莫我知也。」遂自投江而死。誼追傷之，因以自諭。其辭曰：

Banished from court, Jia Yi felt ill at ease in his own mind; when he crossed the Xiang, he composed a rhapsody to lament Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan had been a loyal minister of Chu until slander drove him into exile; in his "Encountering Sorrow" he wrote, toward the end, "Enough! The kingdom is gone, and no one left in the world understands me." He cast himself into the river and drowned. Jia Yi mourned him from across the centuries and found in that grief a mirror for his own plight. The piece begins:

恭承嘉惠兮，俟罪長沙。仄聞屈原兮，自湛汨羅。造托湘流兮，敬吊先生。遭世罔極兮，乃隕厥身。烏呼哀哉兮，逢時不祥！鸞鳳伏竄兮，鴟□翱翔。 □茸尊顯兮，讒諛得志；賢聖逆曳兮，方正倒植。謂隨、夷混兮，謂跖、□廉；莫邪為鈍兮，鉛刀為□。于嗟默默，生之亡故兮！斡棄周鼎，寶康瓠兮。騰駕罷牛，驂蹇驢兮；驥垂兩耳，服鹽車兮。章父薦屨，漸不可久兮；嗟苦先生，獨離此咎兮！

I bow to the emperor’s favor even as I bide my disgrace here in Changsha. I have long heard how Qu Yuan walked into the Miluo and let the waters close over him. Now I commit my words to the Xiang’s current, offering this solemn lament for the master. He met an age that knew no limit to its cruelty, and so he threw his life away. Alas, what sorrow, to be born into such an unlucky hour! The phoenix hides in the thicket while ill-omened birds wheel freely in the sky. Petty men rise to prominence, and toadies who whisper malice get whatever they want. The worthy are dragged underfoot while the straight and true stand on their heads. They lump the pure hermits with the corrupt, and call the ruthless bandit honest. The legendary blade is mocked as dull, while a soft lead knife passes for keen. Oh, to live on in this dumb grief with no reason left to be alive! They toss aside the sacred cauldrons of Zhou and prize a worthless gourd ladle. They yoke worn-out oxen and pair them with limping donkeys for the traces. The noble steed hangs its head in harness, dragging a salt peddler’s cart up the hill. They take a ritual cap for a slipper—such insult cannot go on forever. Alas for you, master, that you alone should suffer such undeserved blame!

誶曰：已矣！國其莫吾知兮，子獨壹郁其誰語？鳳縹縹其高逝兮，夫固自引而遠去。襲九淵之神龍兮，□淵潛以自珍；偭蟂獺以隱處兮，夫豈從蝦與蛭螾？所貴聖之神德兮，遠濁世而自臧。使麒麟可系而羈兮，豈雲異夫犬羊？般紛紛其離此郵兮，亦夫子之故也！歷九州而相其君兮，何必懷此都也？鳳皇翔於千仞兮，覽德煇而下之；見細德之險征兮，遙增擊而去之。彼尋常之污瀆佤，豈容吞舟之魚！橫江湖之鱣鯨兮，固將制於螻蟻。

The coda reads: Enough! The kingdom had no use for your truth; you nursed your grief alone—who was left for you to tell? The phoenix wheels upward into the distance; of its own will it breaks away and is gone. Like the dragon coiled in the ninefold abyss, it sinks into the depths to keep its pearl intact. It turns from the otter’s reach to hide in deep water—would it school with shrimp and leeches? The sage is prized for a spirit that flees the mire of the age and preserves itself intact. If the qilin could be haltered like cattle, how would it differ from a dog or a sheep? You walked into this disaster amid such confusion—and that too was the path you chose, Master! You could have crossed the nine regions and found another worthy lord—why die clinging to this one capital? The phoenix circles above sheer cliffs; only when it catches the gleam of true virtue does it stoop to earth. At the first hint of a ruler’s petty ways, it beats its wings once and is gone. A ditch a few feet wide cannot hold a fish big enough to swallow a boat. Even the great fish that roam river and sea may yet fall prey to ants on the bank.

誼為長沙傅三年，有服飛入誼捨，止於坐隅。服似鴞，不祥鳥也。誼既以適居長沙，長沙卑濕，誼自傷悼，以為壽不得長，乃為賦以自廣。其辭曰：

In his third year as tutor to the king of Changsha, a fu owl flew into his quarters and settled in a corner of his mat. The fu looks like an owl—a bird of ill omen. Exiled to Changsha, a low, damp place, Jia Yi brooded on his fate and feared he would not live long; he wrote a rhapsody to steady his own mind. It runs as follows:

單閼之歲，四月孟夏，庚子日斜，服集余捨，止於坐隅，貌甚閒暇。異物來崒，私怪其故，發書佔之，讖言其度。曰「野鳥入室，主人將去。」問於子服：「余去何之？吉乎告我，凶言其災。淹速之度，語余其期。」

In the year Chanyan, early summer of the fourth month, on a gengzi day at sunset, the owl came to my house, perched quietly in a corner of my seat, and looked oddly at ease. Something strange had alighted among us; puzzled, I opened the diviner’s manuals to learn what omen it bore. The books said, "When a wild bird enters the house, the master is about to leave." I put the question to the bird: "If I must go, where am I going? If the sign is good, say so plainly; if it is ill, tell me what disaster awaits. Whether my end comes soon or late, give me a date I can understand."

服乃太息，舉首奮翼，口不能言，請對以意。萬物變化，固亡休息。斡流而遷，或推而還。形氣轉續，變化而嬗。 □穆亡間，胡可勝言！禍兮福所倚，福兮禍所伏；憂喜聚門，吉凶同域。彼吳強大，夫差以敗；粵棲會稽，句踐伯世。斯游遂成，卒被五刑；傅說胥靡，乃相武丁。夫禍之與福，何異糾纆！命不可說，孰知其極？水激則旱，矢激則遠。萬物回薄，震盪相轉。雲□雨降，糾錯相紛。大鈞播物，□無垠。天不可與慮，道不可與謀。遲速有命，烏識其時？

The owl heaved a long sigh, lifted its head, and ruffled its wings; it could not speak, yet seemed to offer an answer in gesture alone. The myriad things never cease their turning; there is no pause in the flux of nature. The current wheels onward, now driven forward, now thrown back on itself. Matter and breath succeed one another in endless alternation, each state yielding to the next. The vast process runs deep and without seam—no tongue could exhaust its workings! Good fortune leans on disaster; disaster lurks inside good fortune. Grief and joy arrive at the same doorway; blessing and curse occupy the same ground. Wu was mighty as a kingdom, yet King Fuchai fell in ruin. Yue was driven to Kuaiji, yet Gou Jian rose to hegemony over the age. Li Si climbed to the summit of power, yet in the end he died under the full set of mutilating punishments. Fu Yue labored in fetters as a convict before King Wu Ding raised him to chancellor. Disaster and good luck are twisted together like strands in a rope. Fate cannot be argued out in words; who can see where its thread runs? Water driven hard shoots upward; an arrow loosed with force flies far. The myriad things press and rebound, jostling one another in constant exchange. Clouds gather and rain falls; the patterns tangle and cross in endless complication. The great forge of heaven casts its work across a boundless field. Heaven is not a partner in our schemes, nor can we take the Dao into council. Whether the end comes soon or late is decreed—how should a mortal know the hour?

且夫天地為爐，造化為工；陰陽為炭，萬物為銅，合散消息，安有常則？千變萬化，未始有極。忽然為人，何足控揣；化為異物，又何足患！小智自私，賤彼貴我；達人大觀，物亡不可。貪夫徇財，列士徇名；誇者死權，品庶每生。怵迫之徒，或趨西東；大人不曲，意變齊同。愚士系俗，窘若囚拘；至人遺物，獨與道俱。眾人惑惑，好惡積意；真人恬漠，獨與道息。釋智遺形，超然自喪；寥廓忽荒，與道翱翔。乘流則逝，得坎則止；縱軀委命，不私與已。其生兮若浮，其死兮若休。澹虖若深淵之靚，泛虖若不系之舟。不以生故自保，養空而浮。德人無累，知命不憂。細故蒂芥，何足以疑！

Heaven and earth are the smelting furnace; nature is the smith who tends the fire. Yin and yang feed the coals; the myriad things are ore in the crucible—now fused, now scattered, now ebbing, now swelling—where is the fixed rule? The changes are endless; they have never known a boundary. One moment you stand human on the earth—why clutch and measure that accident? The next moment you may be something else entirely—why should that dismay you? Small minds hoard the self, belittling everyone else to puff up "me." The true gentleman takes the wide view and finds nothing in the world that cannot be accepted. The miser dies chasing gold; the man of honor dies for a name. The braggart stakes all on power; the common crowd clings blindly to mere survival. Men driven by fear dart this way and that like startled animals. The great man does not twist himself to suit events; he meets every turn of fate on the same steady ground. The fool is bound by convention and squirms as if locked in a cell. The perfected man lets the world slip from his hands and walks only with the Dao. The crowd stumbles in a fog of likes and dislikes that choke the heart. The true man rests in quiet emptiness, breathing in rhythm with the Dao alone. He drops cleverness and sheds the body, self-forgotten beyond the world. He drifts in the vast haze beyond form, wheeling with the Dao through open sky. Where the stream runs free, he floats on; where the channel narrows, he halts. He yields his body to fate and keeps nothing back for private hoarding. Life is no more than drifting on the surface; death is simply coming to rest. Still as the mirrored depths of a pool; adrift as a boat with no mooring line. He does not cling to life to save himself; he nourishes inner emptiness and lets the current carry him. The man of true power travels light; knowing what fate allows, he leaves anxiety behind. Trifles no bigger than a burr on the sleeve—why should such things shake your mind?

後歲餘，文帝思誼，征之。至，入見，上方受厘，坐宣室。上因感鬼神事，而問鬼神之本。誼具道所以然之故。至夜半，文帝前席。即罷，曰：「吾久不見賈生，自以為過之，今不及也。」乃拜誼為梁懷王太傅。懷王，上少子，愛，而好書，故令誼傅之，數問以得失。

A little over a year later, Emperor Wen thought again of Jia Yi and recalled him to court. When he arrived for audience, the emperor had just received the post-sacrifice blessing and was seated in the Xuan chamber. Moved by thoughts of the spirit world, the emperor asked him to explain what ghosts and spirits truly are. Jia Yi laid out the full reasoning behind every point. By midnight the emperor had edged his seat closer, unwilling to miss a word. When the audience ended, he said, "It has been so long since I saw Jia Yi that I fancied I had outgrown him. Now I see I still fall short." He thereupon appointed Jia Yi grand tutor to Prince Huai of Liang. Prince Huai was the emperor’s favorite youngest son and a devoted reader; the emperor set Jia Yi to instruct him and often asked Jia Yi’s judgment on policy.

是時，匈奴強，侵邊。天下初定，制度疏闊。諸侯王僭擬，地過古制，淮南、濟北王皆為逆誅。誼數上疏陳政事，多所欲匡建，其大略曰：

The Xiongnu were powerful then and raiding the frontier without letup. The empire was only lately pacified, and its laws and institutions remained loose and incomplete. The feudal kings set themselves up as rivals to the throne and held domains larger than ancient precedent allowed; the kings of Huainan and Jinbei had both been put to death for rebellion. Jia Yi sent up memorial after memorial on statecraft, setting out reforms he believed essential. In outline he wrote:

臣竊惟事勢，可為痛哭者一，可為流涕者二，可為長太息者六，若其它背理而傷道者，難遍以疏舉。進言者皆曰天下已安已治矣，臣獨以為未也。曰安且治者，非愚則諛，皆非事實知治亂之體者也。夫抱火厝之積薪之下而寢其上，火未及燃，因謂之安，方今之勢，何以異此！本末舛逆，首尾衡決，國制搶攘，非甚有紀，胡可謂治！陛下何不壹令臣得孰數之於前，因陳治安之策，試詳擇焉！

I have weighed the state of affairs: one issue should move Your Majesty to weeping, two to tears, and six to long, bitter sighs. Other wrongs that offend both reason and the Way are too many to list fully in a single memorial. Men at court insist the empire is already at peace and in good order; I alone believe we are not there yet. Anyone who calls the realm secure and well governed is either a fool or a flatterer—certainly not someone who grasps what order and chaos really look like. It is like sleeping on a pile of kindling with live coals tucked beneath: because the flames have not yet burst out, you call the bed safe. Our situation today is no different. Fundamentals and details are at odds, beginning and end no longer connect, and the machinery of state lurches without clear pattern—how can anyone call that good government? Why not allow me to lay these matters before you in full, present concrete plans for peace and good order, and let Your Majesty weigh them at leisure?

夫射獵之娛，與安危之機孰急」使為治，勞智慮，苦身體，乏鐘鼓之樂，勿為可也。樂與今同，而加之諸侯軌道，兵革不動，民保首領，匈奴賓服，四荒鄉風，百姓素樸，獄訟衰息，大數既得，則天下順治，海內之氣清和咸理，生為明帝，沒為明神，名譽之美，垂於無窮《禮》祖有功而宗有德，使顧成之廟稱為太宗，上配太祖，與漢亡極。建久安之勢，成長治之業，以承祖廟，以奉六親，至孝也；以幸天下，以育群生，至仁也；立經陳紀，輕重同得，後可以為萬世法程，雖有愚幼不肖之嗣，猶得蒙業而安，至明也。以陛下之明達，因使少知治體者得佐下風，致此非難也。其具可素陳於前，願幸無忽。臣謹稽之天地，驗之往古，按之當今之務，日夜念此至孰也，雖使禹、舜復生，為陛下計，亡以易此。

Which matters more—the sport of the hunt or the pivot on which safety and ruin turn? If good government demands weary thought, a worn body, and no time for music and feasting, one could still accept that trade. Suppose Your Majesty kept every pleasure you enjoy today, yet the feudal lords walked the straight path, weapons stayed sheathed, common folk kept their heads, the Xiongnu came as suppliants, distant peoples took their cue from the capital, the people grew simple and honest, and lawsuits dwindled away. Once those great ends were secured, the realm would fall naturally into order; a clear, harmonious spirit would run through the empire. You would shine in life as a sage emperor and in death as an exalted spirit, and fair fame would stretch without end. The Rites teach us to honor ancestors for their deeds and dynastic founders for their virtue: let the Gucheng temple be styled Grand Exemplar, paired on high with the Grand Progenitor, so that the Han line knows no boundary. To secure lasting stability and build a government that endures, thereby honoring the ancestral shrines and providing for your kin in every degree—that is the highest filial piety. To bring good fortune to the empire and nurture every living creature—that is the deepest humanity. To lay down enduring norms so that every degree of crime and punishment finds its proper measure is to hand future ages a template for rule; even a weak or foolish heir could inherit such a legacy in safety. That is true perspicacity. Given Your Majesty’s clarity of mind, you need only let men who understand governance lend their counsel at court; the rest is not hard to achieve. The concrete measures can all be laid before you plainly; I beg you not to pass them by inattentively. I have tested these proposals against heaven and earth, against the record of antiquity, and against the needs of the hour; I have turned them over day and night until they ring true. Had Yu and Shun themselves returned to advise Your Majesty, they could offer no better course.

夫樹國固必相疑之勢，下數被其殃，上數爽其憂，甚非所以安上而全下也。今或親弟謀為東帝，親兄之子西鄉而擊，今吳又見告矣。天子春秋鼎盛，行義未過，德澤有加焉，猶尚如是，況莫大諸侯，權力且十此者乎！

Founding powerful regional states inevitably breeds mutual suspicion: the people below suffer repeated disaster, and the throne above lives in constant anxiety. That is no way to keep the ruler secure or the realm whole. Already Your Majesty’s own brother plotted to declare himself emperor in the east; a nephew turned his armies west against the capital; and now fresh accusations reach us from Wu. You are in the prime of life, Your Majesty, without fault in conduct, and your benevolence only grows—yet even so we see such things. What would happen if the greatest feudal lords wielded ten times the power they hold now?

然而天下少安，何也？大國之王幼弱未壯，漢之所置傅、相方握其事。數年之後，諸侯之王大抵皆冠，血氣方剛，漢之傅、相稱病而賜罷，彼自丞、尉以上偏置私人，如此，有異淮南、濟北之為邪！此時而欲為治安，雖堯、舜不治。

Why, then, does the realm seem a little calmer than this picture suggests? The kings of the great fiefs are still boys; the tutors and chancellors Han appointed for them still hold real authority over their domains. In a few years those kings will come of age, flush with youth and ambition. The court-appointed tutors will beg off on grounds of illness and be retired; the kings will pack their administrations with their own men from county level on up. At that point, how will their conduct differ from the rebellions of Huainan and Jinbei? Wait until then to seek peace and good order, and not even Yao or Shun could save the situation.

屠牛坦一朝解十二牛，而芒刃不頓者，所排擊剝割，皆眾理解也。至於髖髀之所，非斤則斧。夫仁義恩厚，人主之芒刃也；權勢法制，人主之斤斧也。今諸侯王皆眾髖髀也，釋斤斧之用，而欲嬰以芒刃，臣以為不缺則折。胡不用之淮南、濟北？勢不可也。

Butcher Tan could carve twelve oxen before noon yet never dull his blade, because he always cut along the natural seams. When he reached the hip joint and thighbone, he had to bring out the chopping blade and the axe. Benevolence, righteousness, and generous favor are the ruler’s keen knife. Authority, statute, and coercive law are the ruler’s axe and adze. The feudal kings today are all massive joints like hips and thighs. To lay aside the heavy tools of law and try to slice them with kindness alone will either nick the blade or snap it—I see no third outcome. Why were those heavy tools not used in good time on Huainan and Jinbei? The circumstances of the moment made that impossible.

臣竊跡前事，大抵強者先反。淮陰王楚最強，則最先反；韓信倚胡，則又反；貫高因趙資，則又反；陳豨兵精，則又反；彭越用梁，則又反；黥布用淮南，則又反；盧綰最弱，最後反。長沙乃在二萬五千戶耳，功少而最完，勢疏而最忠，非獨性異人也，亦形勢然也。曩令樊、酈、絳、灌據數十城而王，今雖以殘亡可也；令信、越之倫列為徹侯而居，雖至今存可也。然則天下之大計可知已。欲諸王之皆忠附，則莫若令如長沙王；欲臣子之勿菹醢，則莫若令如樊、酈等；欲天下之治安，莫若眾建諸侯而少其力。力少則易使以義，國小則亡邪心。令海內之勢如身之使臂，臂之使指，莫不制從，諸侯之君不敢有異心，輻湊並進而歸命天子，雖在細民，且知其安，故天下咸知陛下之明。割地定制，令齊、趙、楚各為若干國，使悼惠王、幽王、元王之子孫畢以次各受祖之分地，地盡而止，及燕、梁它國皆然。其分地眾而子孫少者，建以為國，空而置之，須其子孫生者，舉使君之。諸侯之地其削頗入漢者，為徙其侯國及封其子孫也，所以數償之；一寸之地，一人之眾，天子亡所利焉，誠以定治而已，故天下咸知陛下之廉。地制壹定，宗室子孫莫慮不王，下無倍畔之心，上無誅伐之志，故天下咸知陛下之仁。法立而不犯，令和而不逆，貫高、利幾之謀不生，柴奇、開章之計不萌，細民鄉善，大臣致順，故天下咸知陛下之義。臥赤子天下之上而安，植遺腹，朝委裘，而天下不亂，當時大治，後世誦聖。壹動而五業附，陛下誰憚而久不為此？

I have traced the pattern of past rebellions: as a rule, the strongest vassals turned first. When the Prince of Huaiyin held Chu—the mightiest of the fiefs—he was the first to rebel; when Han Xin looked to forces outside the court, he plotted rebellion again; Guan Gao drew on the strength of Zhao and rose again; Chen Xi commanded elite troops and rebelled in his turn; Peng Yue used the wealth of Liang to arm another revolt; Qing Bu exploited Huainan and rose as well; only Lu Wan, the weakest of them all, rebelled last. The kingdom of Changsha held barely twenty-five thousand households: the smallest enfeoffment, yet the one that survived intact; the most remote from power, yet the most loyal. That was not merely because its princes were unusually virtuous men, but because weakness and distance left them no room for treason. Had Fan Kuai, Li Shang, Zhou Bo, and Guan Ying been granted dozens of cities as kings in those days, their lines might well have perished by now—and the realm would have been none the worse. Had men like Han Xin and Peng Yue been kept at the rank of full marquises with modest estates, their houses could still be standing today. From this the fundamental lesson for the empire is plain. If you want every feudal king to remain loyal, nothing beats reducing them to the scale of the king of Changsha. If you want your vassals to escape the executioner’s block, keep them in the condition of Fan Kuai and Li Shang—powerful in honor but not in territory. If you desire peace and good order under heaven, nothing surpasses splitting the great fiefs into many small states and so bleeding away their strength. Weak states can be guided by moral suasion; small domains breed no treasonous ambition. The empire would move as a body moves an arm and an arm moves a finger: every part obedient to the center. No feudal lord would dare a separate will; all would wheel toward the throne like spokes in a hub. Even common folk would feel secure—and all would recognize Your Majesty’s wisdom. Carve existing domains into fixed parcels: split Qi, Zhao, and Chu into a number of smaller states and let the descendants of Princes Daohui, You, and Yuan take their shares in order of seniority until the original territory is fully apportioned. Apply the same rule to Yan, Liang, and every other great fief. Where a large allotment has too few heirs, charter the state anyway, leave the seat vacant for the moment, and install a ruler only when a legitimate heir comes of age. When a fief’s territory has largely reverted to the crown, use that land to relocate the noble house or to enfeoff its junior lines—so that each loss is matched with a compensating grant. Not an inch of ground nor a single extra subject accrues to the throne from this policy—the sole aim is stable rule. The world will then see Your Majesty’s disinterested fairness. Once the territorial settlement is fixed, every imperial clansman may look forward to a kingship of his own; vassals will feel no urge to rebel, and the court will feel no need to chastise them by arms. All will call it benevolence. Laws would stand unbroken, edicts meet no defiance; the likes of Guan Gao and Li Ji would find no opening, nor Chai Qi and Kai Zhang room for conspiracy. Commoners would incline to virtue and high ministers to loyalty—and the realm would praise Your Majesty’s justice. An infant could lie on the throne in perfect safety; a posthumous heir could succeed, a regent could hold court with the late emperor’s robe on the seat—yet the realm would not stir. Your own age would know perfect order, and later ages would hymn a sage. A single stroke would secure five great achievements. What fear stays Your Majesty’s hand from acting?

天下之勢方病大□。一脛之大幾如要，一指之大幾如股，平居不可屈信，一二指搐，身慮亡聊。失今不治，必為錮疾，後雖有扁鵲，不能為已。病非徒□也，又苦□。元王之子，帝之從弟也；今之王者，從弟之子也。惠王，親兄子也；今之王者，兄子之子也。親者或亡分地以安天下，疏者或制大權以逼天子，臣故曰非徒病□也，又苦□。可痛哭者，此病是也。

The empire is like a body stricken with a monstrous, crippling swelling. One shin has swollen until it is nearly the size of the waist; a single toe balloons like a thigh. At rest the limbs cannot bend or straighten; when a finger spasms, the whole frame is thrown into useless pain. If we neglect treatment now, the sickness will set into the bone; later, even a physician like Bian Que could do nothing. The disease is not one lesion alone; a second torment twists through the body as well. The Prince of Chu was the emperor’s first cousin; today’s king is only the son of that cousin’s son—two generations removed from the throne. The Prince of Qi was the emperor’s own nephew, son of his elder brother; today’s king is merely the grandson of that brother—kinship thinned by another generation. Close kin may hold no territory with which to anchor the realm, while remote branches may command enough force to cow the throne. Thus I say the malady is worse than a single swollen limb—it contorts the whole frame. This is the first of the evils that should move Your Majesty to weeping.

天下之勢方倒縣。凡天子者，天下之首，何也？上也。蠻夷者，天下之足，何也？下也。今匈奴嫚侮侵掠，至不敬也，為天下患，至亡已也，而漢歲致金絮采繒以奉之。夷狄征令，是主上之操也；天子共貢，是臣下之禮也。足反居上，首顧居下，倒縣如此，莫之能解，猶為國有人乎？非但倒縣而已，又類辟，且病痱。夫辟者一面病，痱者一方痛。今西邊北邊之郡，雖有長爵不輕得復，五尺以上不輕得息，斥候望烽燧不得臥，將吏被介冑而睡，臣故曰一方病矣。醫能治之，而上不使，可為流涕者此也。

The empire hangs upside down. The Son of Heaven is meant to be the head of the body politic—why? Because he sits on high. The barbarians of the four quarters are the feet—why? Because they belong below. Today the Xiongnu mock us, raid our borders, and show open contempt; they are a scourge on the realm without end—yet every year we ship them gold, silk floss, and fine brocades as tribute. The barbarians should answer levies and orders from the throne—that is the Son of Heaven’s proper hold on power; and vassals should bring tribute to the Son of Heaven—that is the proper ritual of subjects. The feet have climbed above the head. In such an inversion no one can set the body right—and can we still pretend the state has wise ministers? It is worse than hanging upside down: the body is twisted like a palsy patient and racked by creeping numbness. Hemiplegia cripples one side of the body; creeping numbness torments one region alone. Along the western and northern frontier, even holders of high noble rank rarely win exemption from service; no able-bodied man rests easy; pickets stare at signal fires without sleep; officers doze in full armor. That is the "one region in pain" I mean. The remedy exists, yet those in power will not apply it—this too should wring tears from Your Majesty.

陛下何忍以帝皇之號為戎人諸侯，勢既卑辱，而禍不息，長此安窮！進謀者率以為是，固不可解也，亡具甚矣。臣竊料匈奴之眾不過漢一大縣，以天下之大困於一縣之眾，甚為執事者羞之。陛下何不試以臣為屬國之官以主匈奴？行臣之計，請必系單于之頸而制其命，伏中行說而笞其背，舉匈奴之眾唯上之令。今不獵猛敵而獵田彘，不搏反寇而搏畜菟，玩細娛而不圖大患，非所以為安也。德可遠施，威可遠加，而直數百里外威令不信，可為流涕者此也。

How can Your Majesty endure reducing the imperial dignity to the status of a tributary vassal before barbarians? The humiliation deepens, yet disaster shows no end—where does such a road lead? Counselors treat this policy as sound—there is no reasoning with them. The state is worse than unprepared. I reckon the entire Xiongnu host would not fill one of Han’s large counties. For a realm as vast as ours to be bled white by a force that size should shame every man who holds office. Why not appoint me to the office that oversees dependent states and charge me with the Xiongnu problem? Give me leave to carry out my plan, and I will put a halter on the Chanyu’s neck, lay the renegade eunuch Zhonghang Yue on the ground for a flogging, and bring every Xiongnu warrior to heel at Your Majesty’s word. You hunt wild boar in the park instead of crushing a mortal foe, wrestle tame rabbits instead of striking rebels, and busy yourself with small amusements while ignoring the gravest danger—that is no path to security. Your virtue could reach to the horizon, your majesty could awe distant peoples—yet a few hundred li from the capital your commands already lose force. That is the second reason we should weep.

今民賣僮者，為之繡衣絲履偏諸緣，內之閒中，是古天子後服，所以廟而不宴者也，而庶人得以衣婢妾。白□之表，薄紉之裡，□以偏諸，美者黼繡，是古天子之服，今富人大賈嘉會召客者以被牆。古者以奉一帝一後而節適，今庶人屋壁得為帝服，倡優下賤得為後飾，然而天下不屈者，殆未有也。且帝之身自衣皁綈，而富民牆屋被文繡；天子之後以緣其領，庶人孽妾緣其履：此臣所謂舛也。夫百人作之不能衣一人，欲天下亡寒，胡可得也？一人耕之，十人聚而食之，欲天下亡饑，不可得也。饑寒切於民之肌膚，欲其亡為奸邪，不可得也。國已屈矣，盜賊直須時耳，然而獻計者曰「毋動為大」耳。夫俗至大不敬也，至亡等也，至冒上也，進計者猶曰「毋為」，可為長太息者此也。

Slave merchants dress their human chattel in embroidered gowns, silk slippers, and ribboned hems fit for the inner palace—garments once reserved for the Son of Heaven’s consort in ancestral rites, never for banquet display—yet commoners now wrap their serving girls in the same splendor. White gauze for the shell, fine homespun for the lining, edged with decorative braid and emblazoned with ritual embroidery—those were robes for the Son of Heaven alone; today magnates hang such silks on their walls when they entertain. Antiquity tailored such finery to one emperor and one empress; now plebeian walls wear imperial patterns, and low-born entertainers flaunt a consort’s jewels. I do not believe the realm can long bear such inversion without breaking. The emperor himself goes in plain black silk while the walls of the rich blaze with brocade. The empress edges her collar with fine braid; a rich man’s concubine edges her shoes with the same stuff—that is the inversion I mean. A hundred laborers may weave enough to dress one wastrel—how then can you hope that no one in the realm will shiver? One farmer tills while ten mouths feast on his harvest—you will never banish famine that way. When hunger and cold bite into the flesh, you cannot expect ordinary folk to stay honest. The nation is already crippled; brigands need only wait their moment—yet counselors still chant, "The greatest wisdom is to do nothing." Custom has sunk to open contempt for rank, to erasure of all distinction, to brazen defiance of authority—yet advisers still urge inaction. This is another of the six causes for a long, bitter sigh.

商君遺禮義，棄仁恩，並心於進取，行之二歲，秦俗日敗。故秦人家富子壯則出分，家貧子壯則出贅。借父□鋤，慮有德色；毋取箕帚，立而誶語。抱哺其子，與公並倨；婦姑不相說，則反脣而相稽。其慈子耆利，不同禽獸者亡幾耳。然並心而赴時，猶曰蹶六國，兼天下。功成求得矣，終不知反廉愧之節，仁義之厚。信並兼之法，遂進取之業，天下大敗；眾掩寡，智欺愚，勇威怯，壯陵衰，其亂至矣。是以大賢起之，威震海內，德從天下。曩之為秦者，今轉而為漢矣。然其遺風余俗，猶尚未改。今世以侈靡相競，而上亡制度，棄禮誼，捐廉恥，日甚，可謂月異而歲不同矣。逐利不耳，慮非顧行也，今其甚者殺父兄矣。盜者□寢戶之簾，搴兩廟之器，白晝大都之中剽吏而奪之金。矯偽者出幾十萬石粟，賦六百餘萬錢，乘傳而行郡國，此其亡行義之尤至者也。而大臣特以簿書不報，期會之間，以為大故。至於俗流失，世壞敗，因恬而不知怪，慮不動於耳目，以為是適然耳。夫移風易俗，使天下回心而鄉道，類非俗吏之所能為也。俗吏之所務，在於刀筆筐篋，而不知大體。陛下又不自憂，竊為陛下惜之。

When Lord Shang discarded ritual, benevolence, and every humane restraint in favor of naked ambition, within two years the customs of Qin rotted away. Hence in Qin a rich family drove out grown sons to split the estate, while a poor family sent them out as indentured sons-in-law. A son who borrows his father’s hoe expects a scowl of condescending favor in return; a mother-in-law who lends her broom hears muttered curses before her feet have left the room. A daughter-in-law nurses her baby while lounging as insolently as her father-in-law; when wife and mother-in-law quarrel, they answer each other with sneers and spiteful jibes. Parental tenderness there is, but it is love of gain; they stand barely a hair’s breadth above the beasts. Yet because every mind was fixed on conquest, Qin could boast of toppling the six kingdoms and swallowing the realm. Victory won and every goal seized, they never thought to restore modesty, shame, and the generous virtues of benevolence and right. They trusted the law of annexation and pressed on with conquest until the whole moral order collapsed. The strong trampled the weak, the clever duped the simple, the bold terrified the timid—chaos reached its height. Then a great sage rose; his might shook the empire and his virtue drew the world to follow. The realm that was Qin has become Han. Yet the foul habits Qin left behind linger still. Today men outdo one another in luxury while those above enforce no standards, abandon ritual and right, and shed every sense of honor. The decline worsens by the month and shifts beyond recognition year by year. Profit is all they hear; decency never enters the reckoning—until some go so far as to murder father or brother. Thieves strip curtains from bedchamber doors, loot ritual vessels from both shrines, and in broad daylight in the capital mug officials for their gold. Forgers issue false orders for hundreds of thousands of piculs of grain and six million cash in levies, then tour the commanderies by official post—there is no lower depth of lawlessness. Yet high ministers fuss only over late paperwork and missed deadlines, as if those were the gravest crises. When custom rots and society crumbles, they remain placid and call it normal, for nothing their eyes or ears report seems worth a second thought. To shift the wind of custom and turn the empire’s heart toward the Way is not work for petty bureaucrats. Such men live for their brush cases and document satchels; they have no grasp of the larger pattern. When Your Majesty will not even trouble yourself over it, I can only grieve in private.

夫立君臣，等上下，使父子有禮，六親有紀，此非天之所為，人之所設也。夫人之所設，不為不立，不植則僵，不修則壞。《管子》曰：「禮義廉恥，是謂四維；四維不張，國乃滅亡。」使管子愚人也則可，管子而少知治體，則是豈可不為寒心哉！秦滅四維而不張，故君臣乖亂，六親殃戮，奸人並起，萬民離叛，凡十三歲，而社稷為虛。今四維猶未備也，故奸人幾幸，而眾心疑惑。豈如今定經制，令君君臣臣，上下有差，父子六親各得其宜，奸人亡所幾幸，而群臣眾信，上不疑惑！此業壹定，世世常安，而後有所持循矣。若夫經制不定，是猶度江河亡維楫，中流而遇風波，船必覆矣。可為長歎息者此也。

The order of ruler and minister, high and low, the rites between father and son, the bonds among the six degrees of kin—these are not heaven’s work but human institutions. What men establish must be actively upheld: neglect to plant it and it withers; neglect to tend it and it rots. The Guanzi says, "Propriety, justice, integrity, and sense of shame are the four cords that bind the state; if those cords slacken, the state falls." Dismiss Guanzi as a fool if you will—but if he understood even the rudiments of rule, his warning should freeze your blood. Qin cut the four cords and never tightened them again; ruler and minister turned on each other, families were massacred, villains sprang up everywhere, and the people rose in revolt. Within thirteen years the altars lay empty. Our four cords are still incomplete, so villains sniff their chance and the people walk in doubt. Better to fix the fundamental laws now: true sovereignty above, true service below, clear ranks from top to bottom, every family relationship in its proper place—so that villains lose their opening, ministers win the people’s trust, and the throne never wavers in doubt. Once that settlement is made, peace can pass down the generations, and posterity will have a model to follow. Leave the basic order unsettled and you cross a great river without oar or rudder: meet a squall midstream and the vessel must founder. This too is cause for one of the six long sighs.

夏為天子，十有餘世，而殷受之。殷為天子，二十餘世，而周受之。周為天子，三十餘世，而秦受之。秦為天子，二世而亡。人性不甚相遠也，何三代之君有道之長，而秦無道之暴也？其故可知也。古之王者，太子乃生，固舉以禮，使士負之，有司齊肅端冕，見之南郊，見於天也。過闕則下，過廟則趨，孝子之道也。故自為赤子而教固已行矣。昔者成王幼在襁抱之中，召公為太保，周公為太傅，太公為太師。保，保其身體；傅，傅之德義；師，道之教訓：此三公之職也。於是為置三少，皆上大夫也，曰少保、少傅、少師，是與太子宴者也。故乃孩提有識，三公、三少固明孝仁禮義以道習之，逐去邪人，不使見惡行。於是皆選天下之端士孝悌博聞有道術者以衛翼之，使與太子居處出入。故太子乃生而見正事，聞正言，行正道，左右前後皆正人也。夫習與正人居之，不能毋正，猶生長於齊不能不齊言也；習與不正人居之，不能毋不正，猶生長於楚之地不能不楚言也。故擇其所耆，必先受業，乃得嘗之；擇其所樂，必先有習，乃得為之。孔子曰：「少成若天性，習慣如自然。」及太子少長，知妃色，則入於學。學者，所學之官也。《學禮》曰：「帝入東學，上親而貴仁，則親疏有序而恩相及矣；帝入南學，上齒而貴信，則長幼有差而民不誣矣；帝入西學，上賢而貴德，則聖智在位而功不遺矣；帝入北學，上貴而尊爵，則貴賤有等而下不逾矣；帝入太學，承師問道，退習而考於太傅，太傅罰其不則而匡其不及，則德智長而治道得矣。此五學者既成於上，則百姓黎民化輯於下矣。」及太子既冠成人，免於保傅之嚴，則有記過之史，徹膳之宰，進善之旌，誹謗之木，敢諫之鼓。瞽史誦詩，工誦箴諫，大夫進謀，士傳民語。習與智長，故切而不愧；化與心成，故中道若性。三代之禮：春朝朝日，秋暮夕月，所以明有敬也；春秋入學，坐國老，執醬而親饋之，所以明有孝也；行以鸞和，步中《採齊》，趣中《肆夏》，所以明有度也；其於禽獸，見其生不食其死，聞其聲不食其肉，故遠庖廚，所以長恩，且明有仁也。

The Xia held the mandate for more than a dozen reigns before Yin succeeded them. The Shang reigned for more than twenty generations before Zhou took the throne. The Zhou line lasted more than thirty generations before Qin inherited the realm. Qin held the mandate for two reigns and collapsed. Human nature has not changed much across the ages—so why did the rulers of the three ancient dynasties enjoy long, virtuous reigns while Qin’s lack of the Way brought sudden ruin? The reason is not hard to see. The kings of old, as soon as the heir was born, received him with full ceremony: a knight bore the infant on his back while officers in fasting garb and formal regalia presented him at the southern suburb to acknowledge Heaven. He dismounted at the palace gate and quickened his step past the ancestral shrine—such was the training of a filial heir. Thus moral instruction began while he was still in swaddling clothes. King Cheng was still in the cradle when the Duke of Shao became his grand guardian, the Duke of Zhou his grand tutor, and the Grand Duke of Qi his grand preceptor. The guardian watches over the child’s physical welfare; the tutor instills virtue and moral principle; the preceptor imparts the larger lessons of statecraft. Such were the three high ministers’ roles. They also appointed three junior ministers—all senior grandees—styled junior guardian, tutor, and preceptor, who shared the heir’s daily life and informal instruction. From the moment the boy could understand speech, the six mentors drilled him in filial piety, humanity, ritual, and right, drove away corrupt companions, and shielded him from base example. The court then chose the finest scholars in the land—men of filial piety, wide learning, and proven principle—to attend the heir at home and abroad. Thus from birth the crown prince saw only upright conduct, heard only upright speech, and walked only upright paths; every face around him belonged to a good man. Live always among the upright and you cannot help becoming upright, just as a child raised in Qi cannot help speaking the Qi dialect; dwell among the crooked and you will twist like them, as surely as a child of Chu speaks the Chu tongue. Therefore, before indulging any new appetite, he must first master the proper teaching—only then may he sample it; before taking up any pastime, he must rehearse it under guidance—only then may he pursue it. Confucius said, "What the boy learns in youth becomes second nature; habit hardens into instinct." When the heir grew old enough to notice women, he was enrolled in the royal academy. That academy was the proper bureau for his schooling. The Study Rites says: "When the sovereign attends the eastern school, honoring kin and prizing benevolence, the degrees of nearness and distance fall into order and kindness flows through them all; when he attends the southern school, honoring seniority and good faith, elders and juniors know their station and the people cease to deceive one another; when he attends the western school, prizing worth and virtue, the wise fill office and no good deed goes unrewarded; when he attends the northern school, revering rank and title, high and low stay within their bounds and inferiors do not step out of line; when he enters the grand academy, learns at the teacher’s feet, and afterward rehearses his lessons before the grand tutor, who punishes every lapse and repairs every shortcoming, virtue and wisdom mature and the art of rule is mastered." When the ruler has completed this fivefold schooling, the common people below him fall naturally into harmony." After the capping ceremony freed him from the tutors’ constant vigil, he gained scribes to note his faults, stewards who could cut his meals to warn him, banners to invite good counsel, wooden boards for anonymous complaints, and drums any subject might strike to demand audience. Blind historians chanted the Odes, artisans recited admonitory verse, high ministers offered strategy, and petty officers relayed the voice of the people. Counsel grew sharper as his mind matured, so rebukes could be blunt without giving offense; moral transformation fused with his inner heart until the middle path felt as natural as instinct. The rites of the three dynasties required spring audiences at dawn to greet the sun and autumn ceremonies at dusk to honor the moon—training the heir in awe; each spring and autumn he entered the academy, seated the kingdom’s elders, and with his own hands served them condiments—training in filial respect; his carriage bells rang in harmony, his slow walk kept time to "Cai Qi," his quick step to "Si Xia"—training in measured deportment; toward animals he would not eat what he had seen living nor flesh whose cry he had heard, and he kept his distance from the kitchen—cultivating compassion and demonstrating humanity.

鄙諺曰：「不習為吏，視已成事。」又曰：「前車覆，後車誠。」夫三代之所以長久者，其已事可知也；然而不能從者，是不法聖智也。秦世之所以亟絕者，其轍跡可見也；然而不避，是後車又將覆也。夫存亡之變，治亂之機，其要在是矣。天下之命，縣於太子；太子之善，在於早諭教與選左右。夫心未濫而先諭教，則化易成也；開於道術智誼之指，則教之力也。若其服習積貫，則左右而已。夫胡、粵之人，生而同聲，耆欲不異，及其長而成俗，累數譯而不能相通，行者有雖死而不相為者，則教習然也。臣故曰選左右早諭教最急。夫教得而左右正，則太子正矣，太子正而天下定矣。《曰書》：「一人有慶，兆民賴之。」此時務也。

A common proverb runs, "If you have never served as an official, study what has already been done." Another says, "When the lead wagon spills, the wagon behind should beware." How the three dynasties lasted so long is plain from the record they left; yet we refuse to follow their example—that is to reject the wisdom of the sages. Why Qin fell so swiftly is written clear as wagon ruts in the mud; yet we swerve aside from none of its mistakes—the second wagon is about to overturn. The hinge on which survival or ruin turns, the lever of order or chaos, lies exactly here. The fate of the empire hangs from the crown prince; his worth depends on early teaching and careful choice of companions. Instruct the heart before passions run wild and moral transformation comes easily; open his mind to the Way, to method, to wisdom and right—that is the true force of education. If you want lasting habit and inward conviction, nothing matters more than those who stand at his elbow. The Hu and the Yue are born with the same infant cry and the same appetites; grown to manhood they grow so far apart that stacks of interpreters cannot bridge their speech, and men of one land will die before aiding the other—all from upbringing and habit. I repeat: choose his companions and begin his instruction early—nothing is more urgent. When teaching succeeds and his attendants are upright, the heir becomes upright; when the heir is upright, the realm is settled. The Documents says, "When the ruler knows blessing, the myriad people lean upon him." That is the business of the hour.

凡人之智，能見已然，不能見將然。夫禮者禁於將然之前，而法者禁於已然之後，是故法之所用易見，而禮之所為生難知也。若夫慶賞以勸善，刑罰以懲惡，先王執此之政，堅如金石，行此之令，信如四時，據此之公，無私如天地耳，豈顧不用哉？然而曰禮雲禮雲者，貴絕惡於未萌，而起教於微眇，使民日遷善遠罪而不自知也。孔子曰：「聽訟，吾猶人也，必也使毋訟乎！」為人主計者，莫如先審取捨；取捨之極定於內，而安危之萌應於外矣。安首非一日而安也，危者非一日而危也，皆以積漸然，不可不察也。人主之所積，在其取捨。以禮義治之者，積禮義；以刑罰治之者，積刑罰。刑罰積而民怨背，禮義積而民和親。故世主欲民之善同，而所以使民善者或異。或道之以德教，或驅之以法令。道之以德教者，德教洽而民氣樂；驅之以法令者，法令極而民風哀。哀樂之感，禍福之應也。秦王之欲尊宗廟而安子孫，與湯、武同，然而湯、武廣大其德行，六七百歲而弗失，秦王治天下，十餘歲則大敗。此亡它故矣，湯、武之定取捨審而秦五之定取捨不審矣。夫天下，大器也。今人之置器，置諸安處則安，置諸危處則危。天下之情與器亡以異，在天子之所置之。湯、武置天下於仁義禮樂，而德澤洽，禽獸草木廣裕，德被蠻貊四夷，累子孫數十世，此天下所共聞也。秦王置天下於法令刑罰，德澤亡一有，而怨毒盈於世，下憎惡之如仇讎，禍幾及身，子孫誅絕，此天下之所共見也。是非其明效大驗邪！人之言曰：「聽言之道，必以其事觀之，則言者莫敢妄言。」今或言禮誼之不如法令，教化之不如刑罰，人主胡不引殷、周、秦事以觀之也？

Ordinary wit sees only what has already happened; it cannot see what is coming. Ritual stops wrong before it sprouts; law punishes wrong after the fact. The effects of law are obvious; the quiet work of ritual is easy to overlook. Rewards to encourage good and punishments to check evil—the ancient kings wielded both, unshakable as metal, as reliable as the seasons, as impartial as heaven and earth. Of course they used them. When we speak of ritual, we mean killing evil in the bud and teaching in the finest grain of life, so the people drift toward goodness and away from crime without noticing the tug. Confucius said, "In hearing cases I am no wiser than other men; what I want is to bring it about that there are no cases at all." For a ruler’s counselor, nothing comes before weighing what to embrace and what to reject; once that choice is settled within, the seeds of safety or ruin appear without. Security does not arrive in a single dawn, nor danger in a single dusk—both creep in by degrees, and that is what you must watch. What the ruler piles up day by day is precisely this choice. Govern with ritual and right, and you accumulate ritual and right; govern with the lash alone, and you accumulate nothing but penalties. Stack up punishments and the people turn bitter; stack up ritual and the people grow gentle and kinlike. Every ruler wants a good populace, yet the means they use to get there diverge wildly. Some lead with moral instruction; others herd with statutes and threats. Where virtue-teaching prevails, the air of the people turns light; where law is pushed to the limit, the mood of the people sinks into grief. Joy and grief in the people answer directly to fortune and disaster. The Qin king wanted to glorify his shrines and secure his line no less than Tang or Wu; yet Tang and Wu broadened their virtue and held the realm six or seven hundred years, while Qin’s way collapsed in little more than a decade. No other cause lies beneath it: Tang and Wu chose their course with care, while the rulers of Qin chose theirs with blind recklessness. The empire is a great vessel. Set a precious thing on a safe shelf and it stays whole; set it on a ledge over a cliff and it will shatter. The realm is no different: everything depends on where the Son of Heaven places it. Tang and Wu set the realm on benevolence, right, ritual, and music: kindness spread until beasts and plants flourished and barbarians of every quarter felt its touch, and their houses ruled dozens of generations. That story the whole world knows by heart. The Qin king set the realm on statutes and the rack: not a drop of grace remained, hatred flooded the age, his subjects loathed him as they would a mortal foe, disaster brushed his own skin, and his line was cut off root and branch. That spectacle everyone has seen with his own eyes. Could proof be clearer or the lesson louder? Men say, "Test every counsel against the facts, and no one will dare traffic in empty words." If anyone claims ritual cannot match statute or moral suasion the rack, let the ruler weigh the histories of Yin, Zhou, and Qin and judge for himself.

人主之尊譬如堂，群臣如陛，眾庶如地。故陛九級上，廉遠地，則堂高；陛亡級，廉近地，則堂卑。高者難攀，卑者易陵，理勢然也。故古者聖王制為等列，內有公卿、大夫、士，外有公、侯、伯、子、男，然後有官師小吏，延及庶人，等級分明，而天子加焉，故其尊不可及也。里諺曰：「欲投鼠而忌器。」此善諭也。鼠近於器，尚憚不投，恐傷其器，況於貴臣之近主乎！廉恥節禮以治君子，故有賜死而亡戮辱。是以黥、劓之罪不及大夫，以其離主上不遠也。禮不敢齒君之路馬，蹴其芻者有罰；見君之几杖則起，遭君之乘車則下，入正門則趨；君之寵臣雖或有過，刑戮之罪不加其身者，尊君之故也。此所以為主上豫遠不敬也，所以體貌大臣而厲其節也。今自王侯三公之貴，皆天子之所改容而禮之也，古天子之所謂伯父、伯舅也，而令與眾庶同黥、劓、髡、刖、笞傌、棄市之法，然則堂不亡陛乎？被戮辱者不泰迫乎？廉恥不行，大臣無乃握重權，大官而有徒隸亡恥之心乎？夫望夷之事，二世見當以重法者，投鼠而不忌器之習也。

The ruler’s majesty is the high hall; his ministers are the stair; the common people are the earth below. Many tiers of steps lift the hall high above the ground; strip away those steps and the hall sits almost in the dust. What stands high is hard to storm; what lies low invites trampling—that is simply how things work. The sage kings built a ladder of rank—within the court from dukes down to ordinary knights, without from feudal princes down to petty clerks and then the people—each step distinct, with the Son of Heaven alone above them all. That is how his majesty became unapproachable. The proverb says, "You hesitate to strike the rat for fear of the vase beside it." That is apt counsel. Even a rat beside a precious jar gives pause—how much more a high minister standing at the ruler’s elbow! Integrity, shame, and ritual governed the gentleman class: they might be sentenced to die, but never dragged through public mutilation. Branding and cropping never touched a grandee, for he stood too close to the throne. Ritual forbade even naming the age of the ruler’s team horses; kick their fodder and you were fined; you rose at sight of his armrest or staff, dismounted when his chariot passed, and quickened your step through the main gate; and a favored minister, though at fault, was spared mutilating execution—all to preserve the dignity of the throne. All this was to keep contempt at a distance from the ruler and to clothe high ministers in honor so they would steel their integrity. Today kings, marquises, and the three dukes—men the emperor greets with altered mien, the very kin the ancients called uncle or great-uncle—are thrown to the same branding, cropping, shaving, hobbling, flogging, and public execution as common felons. Is that not tearing the steps from under the hall? Are not those who suffer such shame driven past endurance? When shame no longer restrains them, will not great officers who hold the levers of power begin to think like shackled slaves? The slaughter at Wangyi Palace, where the Second Emperor fell to harsh law, was the fruit of striking rats without regard for the vase.

臣聞之，履雖鮮不加於枕，冠雖敝不以苴履。夫嘗已在貴寵之位，天子改容而體貌之矣，吏民嘗俯伏以敬畏之矣，今而有過，帝令廢之可也，退之可也，賜之死可也，滅之可也；若夫束縛之，系□之，輸之司寇，編之徒官，司寇小吏詈罵而榜笞之，殆非所以令眾庶見也。夫卑賤者習知尊貴者之一旦吾亦乃可以加此也，非所以習天下也，非尊尊貴貴之化也。夫天子之所嘗敬，眾庶之所嘗龐，死而死耳，賤人安宜得如此而頓辱之哉！

I have heard it said: never put new shoes on the pillow, nor plug worn-out shoes with your cap—each thing keeps its proper use. A man raised to high favor—whom the emperor has greeted with respect and whom officials and commoners have learned to revere—may be cashiered, demoted, sentenced to death, or his house destroyed if he sins; but to bind him, drag him to the Minister of Justice, register him with the convict labor corps, and let petty jailers curse and flog him—that is no sight for the people to witness. Low folk will learn that even the mighty may one day be treated so—that trains the realm in contempt, not in reverence for rank. Men whom the emperor has honored and the people have held in awe—when they die, let them die; how can common jailers be allowed to heap sudden humiliation on them?

豫讓事中行之君，智伯伐而滅之，移事智伯。及趙滅智伯，豫讓釁面吞炭，必報襄子，五起而不中。人問豫子，豫子曰：「中行眾人畜我，我故眾人事之；智伯國士遇我，我故國士報之。」故此一豫讓也，反君事仇，行若狗彘，已而抗節致忠，行出乎列士，人主使然也。故主上遇其大臣如遇犬馬，彼將犬馬自為也；如遇官徒，彼將官徒自為也。頑頓亡恥，□詬亡節，廉恥不立，且不自好，苟若而可，故見利則逝，見便則奪。主上有敗，則因而挻之矣；主上有患，則吾苟免而已，立而觀之耳；有便吾身者，則欺賣而利之耳。人主將何便於此？群下至眾，而主上至少也，所托財器職業者粹於群下也。俱亡恥，俱苟妄，則主上最病。故古者禮不及庶人，刑不至大夫，所以厲寵臣之節也。古者大臣有坐不廉而廢者，不謂不廉，曰「□簋不飾」；坐污穢淫亂男女亡別者，不曰污穢，曰「帷薄不修」；坐罷軟不勝任者，不謂罷軟，曰「下官不職」。故貴大臣定有其罪矣，猶未斥然正以呼之也，尚遷就而為之諱也。故其在大譴大何之域者，聞譴何則白冠□纓，盤水加劍，造請室而請罪耳，上不執縛係引而行也。其有中罪者，聞命而自弛，上不使人頸□而加也。其有大罪者，聞命則北面再拜，跪而自裁，上不使捽抑而刑之也，曰：「子大夫自有過耳！吾遇子有禮矣。」遇之有禮，故群臣自喜；嬰以廉恥，故人矜節行。上設廉恥禮義以遇其臣，而臣不以節行報其上者，則非人類也。故化成俗定，則為人臣者主耳忘身，國耳忘家，公耳忘私，利不苟就，害不苟去，唯義所在。上之化也，故父兄之臣誠死宗廟，法度之臣誠死社稷，輔翼之臣誠死君上，守圄扞敵之臣誠死城郭封疆。故曰聖人有金誠者，比物此志也。彼且為我死，故吾得與之俱生；彼且為我亡，故吾得與之俱存；夫將為我危，故吾得與之皆安。顧行而忘利，守節而仗義，故可以托不御之權，可以寄六尺之孤。此厲廉恥行禮誼之所致也，主上何喪焉！此之不為，而顧彼之久行，故曰可為長歎息者此也。

Yu Rang first served the lord of Zhonghang; when Earl Zhi destroyed that house, he transferred his allegiance to Earl Zhi. When Zhao wiped out Earl Zhi, Yu Rang scarred his face and swallowed charcoal, swore to avenge himself on Viscount Xiang of Zhao, and struck five times without success. Someone asked Yu Rang why. He replied, "The lord of Zhonghang treated me like common herd—I served him as a common retainer; Earl Zhi treated me as a man of the kingdom, so I repaid him as a man of the kingdom." The same Yu Rang first turned traitor and served his master’s killer like a cur, then died for loyalty like the noblest knight—because his lords had treated him first as beast, then as peer. Treat your ministers like dogs or horses, and they will behave like dogs or horses; treat them like convict laborers, and they will answer as convict laborers. They grow thick-skinned, shameless, abusive, and unprincipled; they stop caring for their own good name. Once that is tolerated, they bolt at the sight of gain and snatch every advantage. If the ruler stumbles, they press the wound; if disaster strikes, they stand aside muttering, "Not my affair," and watch; if treason profits them, they cheat and sell you out without a blink. What good can that do the throne? The many serve the one, yet wealth, arms, and every office rest in the hands of those below. If they are all shameless and reckless together, the ruler is the one who suffers most. Hence antiquity withheld full ritual from commoners and withheld degrading punishments from grandees—to steel the integrity of men the ruler honors. When a great officer was removed for corruption, the court did not call it corruption; it said his "sacrificial vessels lacked proper polish"; when charged with sexual scandal, they spoke of "slack inner curtains" instead of naming the filth; when removed for incompetence, they blamed "subordinate officers" rather than call him weak. Even when guilt was fixed, the court still wrapped the fault in euphemism rather than shout the crime aloud. For grave faults the minister donned white mourning garb, carried sword across a basin of water, and presented himself in the plea chamber; the emperor did not send guards to drag him in chains. For middling crimes he removed his own insignia at the order; no bailiff wrenched his collar or forced the halter on him. For capital guilt he faced north, bowed twice, knelt, and opened his own veins; the ruler did not send thugs to wrestle him to the block, saying only, "Minister, you brought this on yourself. I have treated you with all due ritual." Such courtesy made every minister eager to serve; wrapping them in honor made each man prize his own good name. If the ruler met his ministers with ritual and shame and they still failed him in duty, they were not fit to be called men. When custom had settled, a minister thought first of his lord and forgot his skin, first of the state and forgot his kin, first of the public good and forgot private gain; he did not chase profit rashly nor flee danger rashly—only duty guided him. Such was the ruler’s transforming power: clan elders died for the shrines, law officers for the altars of state, tutors for their sovereign, frontier generals for their walls and marches. Hence the saying that the sage’s pledge is firm as metal and stone: weigh the outward deed against the inward resolve. They will die for me, therefore I may live with them; they will risk ruin for me, therefore I may survive with them; they will face danger for my sake, therefore we may all dwell in safety together. Men who heed duty over gain and cling to right can be given unchecked authority and entrusted with a fatherless child. That is the fruit of fostering shame and ritual—what does the ruler lose by it? To neglect this while clinging to the opposite is another of the six causes for a long sigh.

是時，丞相絳侯周勃免就國，人有告勃謀反，逮系長安獄治，卒亡事，復爵邑，故賈誼以此譏上。上深納其言，養臣下有節。是後大臣有罪，皆自殺，不受刑。至武帝時，稍復入獄，自甯成始。

At that time the Marquis of Zhou, Chancellor Zhou Bo, had retired to his fief when someone accused him of treason; he was clapped in irons in the Chang’an jail, then cleared and restored to his title—an outrage Jia Yi cited to rebuke the throne. The emperor took the lesson to heart and thereafter treated his ministers with measured restraint. Afterward disgraced high ministers were expected to take their own lives rather than suffer public torture. Only under Emperor Wu did great officers begin again to rot in jail—starting with Ning Cheng.

初，文帝以代王入即位，後分代為兩國，立皇子武為代王，參為太原王，小子勝則梁王矣。後又徙代王武為淮陽王，而太願王參為代王，盡得故地。居數年，梁王勝死，亡子。誼復上疏曰：

When Emperor Wen ascended from the throne of Dai, he later split Dai into two domains: his son Wu became king of Dai, Can king of Taiyuan, and the youngest, Sheng, king of Liang. Later Wu was transferred to Huaiyang while Can (here called Grand Vow) was moved to Dai and given the whole of the old territory. A few years later Prince Sheng of Liang died leaving no heir. Jia Yi thereupon submitted another memorial:

陛下即不定制，如今之勢，不過一傳再傳，諸侯猶且人恣而不制，豪植而大強，漢法不得行矣。陛下所以為蕃扞及皇太子之所恃者，唯唯陽、代二國耳。代北邊匈奴，與強敵為鄰，能自完則足矣。而淮陽之比大諸侯，廑如黑子之著面，適足以餌大國耳，不足以有所禁御。方今制在陛下，制國而令子適足以為餌，豈可謂工哉！人主之行異布衣。布衣者，飾小行，競小廉，以自托於鄉黨，人主唯天下安社稷固不耳。高皇帝瓜分天下以王功臣，反者如□毛而起，以為不可，故蔪去不義諸侯而虛其國。擇良日，立諸子雒陽上東門之外，畢以為王，而天下安。故大人者，不牽小行，以成大功。

If Your Majesty does not fix the institutions now, within a generation or two the feudal kings will run wild, powerful houses will grow unchecked, and Han law will cease to run. The screen you rely on for the heir apparent consists of Huaiyang and Dai alone. Dai fronts the Xiongnu; if it can merely hold itself together, that is achievement enough. Huaiyang beside the great fiefs is a mole on a cheek—bait for a larger fish, not a barrier. The power to shape the realm is in your hands—yet you carve out states for your sons that serve only as bait. Can that be called wise statecraft? A ruler’s conduct cannot be that of a commoner. Commoners polish petty virtue to win a name in the village; the Son of Heaven cares only whether the realm is at peace and the altars stand firm. The Founding Emperor carved the realm to enfeoff his generals until rebels sprouted thick as hair; seeing that it would not do, he mowed down the faithless kings and left their domains empty. Pick an auspicious day, invest your sons as kings outside the Upper East Gate of Luoyang, and the realm will rest easy. A true leader does not let petty scruples keep him from a great achievement.

今淮南地遠者或數千里，越兩諸侯，而縣屬於漢。其吏民徭役往來長安者，自悉而補，中道衣敝，錢用諸費稱此，其苦屬漢而欲得王至甚，逋逃而歸諸侯者已不少矣。其勢不可久。臣之愚計，願舉淮南地以益淮陽，而為梁王立後，割淮陽北邊二三列城與東郡以益梁；不可者，可徙代王而都睢陽。梁起於新□以北著之河，淮陽包陳以南揵之江，則大諸侯之有異心者，破膽而不敢謀。梁足以扞齊、趙，淮陽足以禁吳、楚，陛下高枕，終亡山東之憂矣，此二世之利也。當今恬然，適遇諸侯之皆少，數歲之後，陛下且見之矣。夫秦日夜苦心勞力以除六國之禍，今陛下力制天下，頤指如意，高拱以成六國之禍，難以言智。苟身亡事，畜亂宿禍，孰視而不定，萬年之後，傳之老母弱子，將使不寧，不可謂仁。臣聞聖主言問其臣而不自造事，故使人臣得畢其愚忠。唯陛下財幸！

Huainan stretches a thousand li or more, straddles two great fiefs, yet answers to Han as if it were a mere county. Its people drag themselves to Chang’an for corvée until their clothes fall off their backs and their purses are empty; they loathe Han rule and long for a king of their own, and no small number have already fled to neighboring fiefs. That situation cannot last. My humble proposal: cede Huainan’s territory to enlarge Huaiyang, establish an heir for Liang, and transfer two or three northern Huaiyang cities plus land from Dong commandery to strengthen Liang; if that will not serve, move the king of Dai to Suiyang as his capital instead. Let Liang anchor the Yellow River from the region south of Xin[damaged], and Huaiyang lock the Yangtze south of Chen—then the mightiest fiefs will be too terrified even to plot. Liang can hold Qi and Zhao in check, Huaiyang can pin Wu and Chu; you may sleep soundly with no fear from the east of the passes—a blessing for your reign and your heir’s. The realm looks calm only because the feudal kings are still boys; wait a few years, Your Majesty, and you will see what follows. Qin wore itself out ridding the world of the six-state peril; you hold absolute power yet sit with folded hands while that same peril grows again—that is not wisdom. To ignore brewing chaos, to stare at the danger and do nothing, then bequeath it to widows and infants—that is not humanity. I have heard that the sage ruler consults his ministers instead of deciding everything alone—so that a subject may speak his foolish loyalty to the end. I beg Your Majesty to weigh these words and deign to accept or reject them.

文帝於是從誼計，乃徙淮陽王武為梁王，北界泰山，西至高陽，得大縣四十餘城；徙城陽王喜為淮南王，撫其民。

Emperor Wen adopted the plan: he transferred Wu from Huaiyang to Liang with a domain running north to Mount Tai and west to Gaoyang—more than forty large counties. He moved King Xi of Chengyang to Huainan to soothe that populace.

時又封淮南厲王四子皆為列侯。誼知上必將復王之也，上疏諫曰：「竊恐陛下接王淮南諸子，曾不與如臣者孰計之也。淮南王之悖逆亡道，天下孰不知其罪？陛下幸而赦遷之，自疾而死，天下孰以王死之不當？今奉尊罪人之子，適足以負謗於天下耳。此人少壯，豈能忘其父哉」白公勝所為父報仇者，大父與伯父、叔父也。白公為亂，非欲取國代主也，發憤快志，剡手以沖仇人之匈，固為俱靡而已。淮南雖小，黥布嘗用之矣，漢存特幸耳。夫擅仇人足以危漢之資，於策不便。雖割而為四，四子一心也。予之眾，積之財，此非有子胥、白公報於廣都之中，即疑有剸諸、荊軻起於兩柱之間，所謂假賊兵為虎翼者也。願陛下少留計！」

The court then enfeoffed all four sons of the late King Li of Huainan as full marquises. Jia Yi saw that the emperor would restore them as kings and sent up a warning: "I fear that when you move to make the Huainan princes kings again, you have not yet weighed the matter with a counselor like me." Who under heaven does not know the crimes of the rebel King of Huainan? You spared his life and sent him into exile; he died of natural illness—no one calls that fate unjust. To heap honors on a traitor’s sons will earn you nothing but reproach across the realm. When those boys come of age, can they forget their father? Bai Sheng took vengeance for his father against his grandfather and uncles. Bai Gong rose in revolt not to seize the throne but to vent a private fury—he would gladly perish so long as his blade reached his enemy’s heart. Huainan is small, yet Qing Bu once used it as a dagger at Han’s throat—the dynasty survived only by luck. To hand sworn enemies of the dynasty the means to threaten Han is bad strategy. Split the domain four ways and you still leave four brothers with one mind. Give them followers and treasure, and you may face not only a Wu Zixu or Bai Gong in the open market but a Zhuan Zhu or Jing Ke in the palace forecourt—that is lending a bandit a blade and wings to a tiger. I beg you to pause and think again!"

梁王勝墜馬死，誼自傷為傅無狀，常哭泣，後歲餘，亦死。賈生之死，年三十三矣。

When Prince Sheng of Liang died in a riding fall, Jia Yi blamed himself bitterly as tutor and wept without cease; a little over a year later he too was dead. Jia Yi died at the age of thirty-three.

孝武初立，舉賈生之孫二人至郡守。賈嘉最好學，世其家。

When Emperor Wu first took the throne, he promoted two of Jia Yi’s grandsons to governorships. Jia Jia, the most studious of the line, carried on the family tradition.

贊曰：劉向稱「賈誼言三代與秦治亂之意，其論甚美，通達國體，雖古之伊、管未能遠過也。使時見用，功化必盛。為庸臣所害，甚可悼痛。」追觀孝文玄默躬行以移風俗，誼之所陳略施行矣。及欲改定制度，以漢為土德，色上黃，數用五，及欲試屬國，施五餌三表以系單于，其術固以疏矣。誼亦天年早終，雖不至公卿，未為不遇也。凡所著述五十八篇，掇其切於世事者著於傳云。

Appraisal: Liu Xiang said, "In Jia Yi’s discussion of order and chaos in the three dynasties and Qin, his argument is superb and grasps the body politic; not even ancient Yi Yin or Guan Zhong clearly surpassed him." Had he been employed in his prime, his achievement would have been immense. Mediocre ministers brought him down—a grief indeed." Looking back, Emperor Wen’s quiet personal example did change the temper of the age, and much of what Jia Yi urged was eventually carried out. His proposals to reform the calendar, declare Han an earth-phase dynasty with yellow as the ruling color and five as the sacred number, and to test the dependent-state office with "five baits and three displays" to leash the Chanyu were always far-fetched in method. Heaven cut Jia Yi’s life short; though he never reached the highest offices, he was not ill-fated. His writings ran to fifty-eight pieces; those most pertinent to statecraft are excerpted in this memoir.

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