Volume 56: Dong Zhongshu

卷五十六董仲舒傳第二十六

Book 56: The Biography of Dong Zhongshu, the Twenty-Sixth

董仲舒，廣川人也。少治《春秋》，孝景時為博士。下帷講誦，弟子傳以久次相授業，或莫見其面。蓋三年不窺園，其精如此。進退容止，非禮不行，學士皆師尊之。

Dong Zhongshu came from Guangchuan. He had devoted himself to the Spring and Autumn Annals from an early age, and under Emperor Jing he was appointed an erudite. He drew the curtains and taught, passing students on through successive cohorts so that some never met him face to face. They say he did not so much as look at his garden for three years; such was the depth of his focus. In every step he took and every gesture he made, he would not move outside the bounds of ritual, and the literati revered him as their master.

武帝即位，舉賢良文學之士前後百數，而仲舒以賢良對策焉。

After Emperor Wu came to the throne, he summoned hundreds of cultivated worthies in succession, and Dong Zhongshu was among those who answered the throne’s policy questions as a recommended talent.

制曰：「朕獲承至尊休德，傳之亡窮，而施之罔極，任大而守重，是以夙夜不皇康寧，永惟萬事之統，猶懼有闕。故廣延四方之豪俊，郡國諸侯公選賢良修潔博習之士，欲聞大道之要，至論之極。今子大夫褎然為舉首，朕甚嘉之。子大夫其精心致思，朕垂聽而問焉。

The emperor’s rescript ran: “Having inherited the highest seat and its gracious power, I would extend it endlessly and apply it without bound; the task is vast and the stewardship weighty, so I am never wholly at ease, pondering how all things hang together and still dreading where I may fall short.” I have therefore called in talent from every quarter and ordered the commanderies, kingdoms, and nobles to nominate cultivated scholars of wide learning, for I wish to hear the heart of the Great Way and the farthest reach of true argument. You who have been set at the head of this cohort have my warm approval. Apply your minds fully, for I am listening and will put questions to you.”

蓋聞五帝三王之道，改制作樂而天下洽和，百王同之。當虞氏之樂莫盛於《韶》，於周莫盛於《勺》。聖王已沒，鐘鼓管弦之聲未衰，而大道微缺，陵夷至乎桀、紂之行，王道大壞矣。夫五百年之間，守文之君，當塗之士，欲則先王之法以戴翼其世者甚眾，然猶不能反，日以僕滅，至後王而後止，豈其所持操或誖繆而失其統與？固天降命不查復反，必推之於大衰而後息與？烏乎！凡所為屑屑，夙興夜寐，務法上古者，又將無補與？三代受命，其符安在？災異之變，何緣而起？性命之情，或夭或壽，或仁或鄙，習聞其號，未燭厥理。伊欲風流而令行，刑輕而奸改，百姓和樂，政事宣昭，何修何飭而膏露降，百谷登，德潤四海，澤臻草木，三光全，寒暑平，受天之祜，享鬼神之靈，德澤洋溢，施乎方外，延及群生？

It is said that the Five Thearchs and the Three Kings set the world in order by changing institutions and composing ritual music, and that every true king has walked the same path. Under the house of Yu nothing surpassed the Shao; under the Zhou nothing surpassed the Shao in its Zhou form. The sage-kings are gone, but pipes and strings still sound, even as the great Way has thinned and cracked, sliding all the way to the tyranny of Jie and Zhou Xin, when the royal order collapsed. Across those five hundred years, conservative emperors and powerful ministers who tried to prop up their times with the models of antiquity were legion, yet the fall could not be reversed until it ran its course in later reigns—was it because their programs were skewed and they lost the true thread? Or is Heaven’s decree fixed, never to swing back until ruin has run its course? Alas! All that scrupulous labor, rising before dawn and retiring late, straining to imitate high antiquity—does any of it truly mend what is broken? When the three dynasties received Heaven’s charge, what omens confirmed them? What brings about calamities and strange portents? Some men die young and some live long; some are humane and some coarse—I know the labels, yet their inner pattern stays dark to me. What should I refine and regulate so that manners improve and orders are followed, penalties stay mild yet crime turns aside, the people live at peace, and policy stands clear—until sweet dew falls, grain fills the bins, virtue soaks the realm, grace touches every blade of grass, sun, moon, and stars keep their courses, the seasons stay true, Heaven’s favor rests on me, the spirits lend their power, and beneficence spreads beyond the frontiers to every creature?”

子大夫明先聖之業，習俗化之變，終始之序，講聞高誼之日久矣，其明以諭朕。科別其條，勿猥勿並，取之於術，慎其所出。乃其不正不直，不忠不極，枉於執事，書之不洩，興於朕躬，毋悼後害。子大夫其盡心，靡有所隱，朕將親覽焉。

You are steeped in the legacy of the sages, in how custom reshapes the world, and in how beginnings lead to ends; you have long pondered their high teaching—now set it out plainly for me. Sort your answers into clear topics; do not ramble or lump unlike things together; ground what you say in a coherent method and weigh every claim you put forward. If anything in your replies is crooked, disloyal, or less than fully candid, or if you twist the trust of office, the record will stay sealed; if fault lies with me, speak without dread of later blame.” Give your fullest counsel and conceal nothing; I shall read it with my own eyes.”

仲舒對曰：

Dong Zhongshu answered:

陛下發德音，下明詔，求天命與情性，皆非愚臣之所能及也。臣謹案《春秋》之中，視前世已行之事，以觀天人相與之際，甚可畏也。國家將有失道之敗，而天乃先出災害以譴告之，不知自省，又出怪異以警懼之，尚不知變，而傷敗乃至。以此見天心之仁愛人君而欲止其亂也。自非大亡道之世者，天盡欲扶持而全安之，事在強勉而已矣。強勉學習，則聞見博而知益明；強勉行道，則德日起而大有功：此皆可使還至而有效者也。《詩》曰「夙夜匪解」，《書》云「茂哉茂哉！」皆強勉之謂也。

The virtue in your tone and the clarity of your edict, asking after Heaven’s command and the truth of human nature and passion—these lie beyond the reach of a humble official like myself. I have combed the Spring and Autumn Annals for what past ages actually did, to see how Heaven and humanity meet—and the sight is sobering. When a dynasty is sliding toward the ruin that follows from abandoning the Way, Heaven first sends disasters as a rebuke; if the throne does not look inward, stranger portents follow to rouse fear; if still there is no reform, ruin closes in. This shows Heaven’s heart: it loves the ruler and wants to halt his disorder before it is too late. For any age short of utter moral collapse, Heaven wishes to uphold the sovereign and keep him whole; everything turns on resolute effort. Press yourself in study, and hearing and sight widen while understanding grows clearer day by day; press yourself in practicing the Way, and character mounts while great deeds accumulate—both can be turned around quickly and will show real results. The Classic of Poetry says, “From dawn to dusk he never slackens”; the Documents cry, “How glorious, how glorious!” Both lines praise unwearying exertion.

道者，所繇適於治之路也，仁義禮樂皆其具也。故聖王已沒，而子孫長久安寧數百歲，此皆禮樂教化之功也。王者未作樂之時，乃用先五之樂宜於世者，而以深入教化於民。教化之情不得，雅頌之樂不成，故王者功成作樂，樂其德也。樂者，所以變民風，化民俗也；其變民也易，其化人也著。故聲發於和而本於情，接於肌膚，臧於骨髓。故王道雖微缺，而管弦之聲未衰也。夫虞氏之不為政久矣，然而樂頌遺風猶有存者，是以孔子在齊而聞《韶》也。夫人君莫不欲安存而惡危亡，然而政亂國危者甚眾，所任者非其人，而所繇者非其道，是以政日以僕滅也。夫周道衰於幽、厲，非道亡也，幽、厲不繇也。至於宣王，思昔先王之德，興滯補弊，明文、武之功業，周道粲然復興，詩人美之而作，上天晁之，為生賢佐，後世稱通，至今不絕。此夙夜不解行善之所致也。孔子曰「人能弘道，非道弘人」也。故治亂廢興在於己，非天降命不得可反，其所操持誖謬失其統也。

The Way is the path that leads to good government; ritual, music, benevolence, and righteousness are the tools found along that road. That is why, long after the sage-kings are dust, their heirs can still reign in quiet for centuries—such is the work of rites, music, and moral education. Before a new king composes his own hymns, he adopts the court music handed down from earlier rulers that fits his times, and with it sinks moral teaching deep among the people. Until the temper of that instruction is right, the great court hymns cannot be finished; so the true king, his task complete, then fashions music to celebrate his inner power. Music exists to shift popular custom and reshape everyday habit; changing surface manners is quick work; changing the human heart shows clear and lasting effect. Sound arises from harmony and takes root in emotion; it meets the skin and lodges in the marrow. Hence, even when the royal order frays a little, pipes and strings still do not fall silent. The house of Yu has not ruled for ages, yet echoes of its ritual songs remain—which is why Confucius could hear the Shao in Qi. No ruler wants peril instead of peace, yet legions of them bring turmoil and danger—because they trust the wrong men and walk the wrong path, and so their rule slides steadily toward ruin. The Zhou decayed under Kings You and Li not because the Way vanished, but because those two kings refused to walk in it. King Xuan looked back to the virtue of his forebears, cleared blockages and patched abuses, and brought Wen and Wu’s achievement back into light; the royal road blazed anew, poets sang his praise, Heaven showed its favor, and wise ministers appeared at his side—later generations still call his reign a high road that has never been forgotten. That is what comes of never tiring, day or night, in doing the good. Confucius said, “Men broaden the Way; the Way does not broaden men.” Order and disorder, ruin and revival, rest in the ruler himself; Heaven does not hand down an irreversible doom—only when he clutches the wrong program and drops the true thread does the mandate slip away.

臣聞天之所大奉使之王者，必有非人力所能致而自至者，此受命之符也。天下之人同心歸之，若歸父母，故天瑞應誠而至。《書》曰「白魚入於王舟，有火復於王屋，流為烏」，此蓋受命之符也。周公曰「復哉復哉」，孔子曰「德不孤，必有鄰」，皆積善累德之效也。及至後世，淫佚衰微，不能統理群生，諸侯背畔，殘賤良民以爭壤土，廢德教而任刑罰。刑罰不中，則生邪氣；邪氣積於下，怨惡畜於上。上下不和，則陰陽繆戾而妖孽生矣。此災異所緣起也。臣聞命者天之令也，性者生之質也，情者人之欲也。或夭或壽，或仁或鄙，陶冶而成之，不能粹美，有治亂之所在，故不齊也。孔子曰：「君子之德風，小人之德草，草上之風必偃。」故堯、舜行德則民仁壽，桀、紂行暴則民鄙夭。夫上之化下，下之從上，猶泥之在鈞，唯甄者之所為，猶金之在熔，唯冶者之所鑄。「綏之斯徠，動之斯和」，此之謂也。

I have heard that when Heaven intends a man for the throne, it sends tokens no mortal contrives—such are the omens of received mandate. All under Heaven then turn to him with one heart, as children to parents, and Heaven’s favorable portents answer in good faith. The Documents record, “A white fish leaped into the king’s barge; fire ran over the royal hall and shaped itself into a crow”—such, in outline, are tokens of Heaven’s choice. The Duke of Zhou cried, “Report back, report back!” Confucius said, “Virtue never stands alone; it has neighbors”—both speak of goodness stacked high until it moves Heaven. Later ages sank into excess and weakness: rulers could not shepherd the living, lords rebelled, butchered the innocent for land, cast aside moral teaching, and trusted the lash alone. When penalties miss the mean, a miasma of wrong rises; that foul vapor pools below while resentment gathers above; when high and low fall out of tune, yin and yang jar against each other and uncanny prodigies appear. That is the root from which calamities and omens spring. I take fate to be Heaven’s order, nature to be the raw stuff of life, and emotion to be human appetite. Some die young, some old; some grow humane, some coarse—the world works them like clay in a kiln, so few come out flawless; where government stands or falls, there character sorts unevenly. Confucius said, “The gentleman’s virtue is wind; the commoner’s virtue is grass—let the wind sweep the grass and the grass must bend.” Under Yao and Shun’s virtue the people grew humane and long-lived; under Jie and Zhou Xin’s cruelty they turned coarse and died young. What those aloft transform, those below imitate, as clay on a wheel is only what the potter shapes, or molten bronze is only what the founder casts. “Calm them and they arrive; stir them and they fall into tune”—that is the truth of it.”

臣謹案《春秋》之文，求王道之端，得之於正。正次王，王次春。春者，天之所為也；正者，王之所為也。其意曰，上承天之所為，而下以正其所為，正王道之端云爾。然則王者欲有所為，宜求其端於天。天道之大者在陰陽。陽為德，陰為刑；刑主殺而德主生。是故陽常居大夏，而以生育養長為事；陰常居大冬，而積於空虛不用之處。以此見天之任德不任刑也。天使陽出佈施於上而主歲功，使陰入伏於下而時出佐陽；陽不得陰之助，亦不能獨成歲。終陽以成歲為名，此天意也。王者承天意以從事，故任德教而不任刑。刑者不可任以治世，猶陰之不可任以成歲也。為政而任刑，不順於天，故先王莫之肯為也。今廢先王德教之官，而獨任執法之吏治民，毋乃任刑之意與！孔子曰：「不教而誅謂之虐。」虐政用於下，而欲德教之被四海，故難成也。

I have traced the language of the Spring and Autumn Annals for where the royal way begins, and I find it in the phrase “the first month.” The word “first” stands after “king,” and “king” stands after “spring.” Spring is Heaven’s act; the first month is the king’s act. The sense is: on high he takes up Heaven’s work, and below he sets his own conduct right—there lies the starting point of the true king’s path. Therefore whatever a king would undertake, he should look for its source in Heaven’s pattern. The chief pattern of Heaven is yin and yang. Yang stands for life-giving power; yin for killing power; punishment kills while virtue nurtures. So yang dwells in the height of summer and busies itself with fostering life; yin lodges in the depth of winter and hoards itself in hollow, dormant places. From this we see that Heaven trusts in kindness, not in the axe. Heaven sends yang forth to spread above and master the year’s growth, while yin slips below and only surfaces now and then to second yang; yet without yin’s help yang cannot finish the year by itself. Still, the year is named for yang’s completion—that is Heaven’s meaning. The king takes up Heaven’s purpose, so he leans on moral teaching, not on terror. You cannot govern an age on punishments any more than you can ripen a harvest on yin alone. To rule by the rod is to defy Heaven; that is why the ancient kings would not do it. To discard the ministers who teach goodness and leave the people to law clerks is surely to lean on the rack and rope. Confucius said, “To strike before you have taught is tyranny.” Cruelty below and a wish for virtue to flood the realm—those two cannot be reconciled.

臣謹案《春秋》謂一元之意，一者萬物之所從始也，元者辭之所謂大也。謂一為元者，視大始而欲正本也。《春秋》深探其本，而反自貴者始。故為人君者，正心以正朝廷，正朝廷以正百官，正百官以正萬民，正萬民以正四方。四方正，遠近莫敢不壹於正，而亡有邪氣奸其間者。是以陰陽調而風雨時，群生和而萬民殖，五穀孰而草木茂，天地之間被潤澤而大豐美，四海之內聞盛德而皆徠臣，諸福之物，可致之祥，莫不畢至，而王道終矣。

I read in the Spring and Autumn Annals that the word “first” means “beginning”: the One is where all things take their rise, and “beginning” is the classic way of saying “greatest.” To treat the One as the beginning is to gaze at creation’s first moment and set the taproot straight. The Annals bore down to the taproot and began its lesson with the ruler’s own self. Hence the sovereign who straightens his heart straightens his court; with the court set right, the bureaucracy follows; with officials true, the people align; with the people true, the four quarters fall into line. When the four quarters stand true, none within reach dares wander from the mean, and no foul vapor slips between ruler and ruled. Then yin and yang keep time, wind and rain obey the seasons, creatures thrive and the people multiply, grain ripens and the woods grow thick, Heaven and earth share one rich damp, and within the four seas all hear the shining virtue and come to serve; every auspicious token that can answer a true king arrives at once, and the royal work is complete.

孔子曰：「鳳鳥不至，河不出圖，吾已矣夫！」自悲可致此物，而身卑賤不得致也。今陛下貴為天子，富有四海，居得致之位，操可致之勢，又有能致之資，行高而恩厚，知明而意美，愛民而好士，可謂誼主矣。然而天地未應而美祥莫至者，何也？凡以教化不立而萬民不正也。夫萬民之從利也，如水之走下，不以教化堤防之，不能止也。是故教化立而奸邪皆止者，其堤防完也；教化廢而奸邪並出，刑罰不能勝者，其堤防壞也。古之王者明於此，是故南面而治天下，莫不以教化為大務。立太學以教於國，設癢序以化於邑，漸民以仁，摩民以誼，節民以禮，故其刑罰甚輕而禁不犯者，教化行而習俗美也。

Confucius said, “No phoenix comes; the Yellow River sends up no chart—for me it is over.” He mourned because he knew such omens could answer a sage, yet his low station barred him from summoning them. You sit as Son of Heaven, own the world, stand where portents may answer, hold power they will heed, and possess the gifts that draw them; your conduct is lofty, your favor deep, your understanding keen, your purpose fair, you love the people and honor the learned—you are a righteous sovereign. Yet Heaven and earth withhold their echo and no great omens come—why? The reason, in every case, is that public teaching has not been founded, so the people never find their true north. The multitude chase profit as water runs downhill; without the levees of ritual instruction nothing will check them. When teaching is firmly set and wickedness ends, the dikes are whole; When moral education fails and vice runs riot, no amount of punishment can hold the flood—the levees have burst. The sage kings knew this, so every ruler who sat facing south made teaching his first duty. They founded the Imperial Academy for the capital, local schools for the towns, and there steeped the people in kindness, polished them with duty, and trimmed their conduct with rites—so penalties could stay light and the law stay unbroken, because custom had been shaped and manners made fair.

聖王之繼亂世也，掃除其跡而悉去之，復修教化而崇起之。教化已明，習俗已成，子孫循之，行五六百歲尚未敗也。至周之末世，大為亡道，以失天下。秦繼其後，獨不能改，又益甚之，重禁文學，不得挾書，棄捐禮誼而惡聞之，其心欲盡滅先聖之道，而顓為自恣苟簡之治，故立為天子十四歲而國破亡矣。自古以來，未嘗有以亂濟亂，大敗天下之民如秦者也。其遺毒余烈，至今未滅，使習俗薄惡，人民□頑，抵冒殊扞，孰爛如此之甚者也。孔子曰：「腐朽之木不可雕也，糞土之牆不可圬也。」今漢繼秦之後，如朽木、糞牆矣，雖欲善治之，亡可奈何。法出而奸生，令下而詐起，如以湯止沸，抱薪救火，愈甚亡益也。竊譬之琴瑟不調，甚者必解而更張之，乃可鼓也；為政而不行，甚者必變而更化之，乃可理也。當更張而不更張，雖有良工不能善調也：當更化而不更化，雖有大賢不能善治也。故漢得天下以來，常欲善治而至今不可善治者，失之於當更化而不更化也。古人有言曰：「臨淵羨魚，不如退而結網。」今臨政而願治七十餘歲矣，不如退而更化；更化則可善治，善治則災害日去，福祿日來。《詩》云：「宜民宜人，受祿於人。」為政而宜於民者，固當受祿於天。夫仁、誼、禮、知、信五常之道，王者所當修飭也；五者修飭，故受天之晁，而享鬼神之靈，德施於方外，延及群生也。

When a true king inherits chaos, he clears away its traces, then rebuilds moral education and lifts it high again. Once teaching is plain and habit fixed, heirs can follow the pattern five or six hundred years without ruin. By Zhou’s last days they had abandoned the Way outright and forfeited the realm. Qin followed and only dug the hole deeper: it banned study and books, spurned ritual and right, and meant to wipe out the sages’ teaching in favor of capricious, makeshift rule—so within fourteen years of taking the throne the dynasty was gone. Never has a dynasty used disorder to cure disorder or broken its people as thoroughly as Qin. Its toxin still lingers, souring custom and hardening hearts until men brawl against every restraint—nothing has corroded a people quite so far. Confucius said, “Rotten wood will not take the knife; a dung-plastered wall will not take the trowel.” Han has inherited Qin’s mess—rotted timber and a crumbling wall—so even the wish to rule well meets what cannot be mended by small repairs. Laws breed evasion the moment they are posted, and orders breed fraud the moment they drop—like pouring boiling water on a boil or fighting a blaze with kindling: the harder you try, the worse it gets. Think of a lute far out of tune: sometimes you must slack the strings and reseat them before it will sound true; likewise a policy that will not run must be remade root and branch before the state can be set right. If the strings need resetting and you refuse, no master can tune them; if the times demand reform and you refuse, no sage can govern. Han has wanted good order since the founding, yet never reached it—because it would not change when change was due. The old proverb says, “Better to mend your net by the stream than only to sigh at the fish.” You have faced the realm and longed for order for seventy years; it is time to step back and refashion policy; reform brings good rule, good rule drives calamity off day by day and draws blessing in its place. The Classic of Poetry says, “What suits the people wins Heaven’s pay.” A ruler whose government truly serves the people may expect Heaven’s reward. The five constants—humaneness, duty, ritual, wisdom, and good faith—are what a king must cultivate; when those five are kept in repair, Heaven’s light rests on him, the spirits attend, and his grace reaches beyond the frontiers to every living thing.

天子覽其對而異焉，乃復冊之曰：

The emperor read Dong Zhongshu’s answer with wonder and sent a second rescript:

制曰：蓋聞虞舜之時，游於巖郎之上，垂拱無為，而天下太平。周文王至於日昃不暇食，而宇內亦治。夫帝王之道，豈不同條共貫與？何逸勞之殊也？

The rescript ran: “They say Shun of Yu strolled the cliff galleries with folded hands and all beneath Heaven stayed at peace. King Wen of Zhou toiled past noon without pausing for a meal, yet the realm was still well ordered. Can the royal way be anything but one continuous thread? Why then do we see such opposite pictures of leisure and strain?

蓋儉者不造玄黃旌旗之飾。及至周室，設兩觀，乘大路，硃干玉戚，八佾陳於庭，而頌聲興。夫帝王之道豈異指哉？或曰良玉不瑑，又曰非文亡以輔德，二端異焉。

The frugal king does not pile on dark silks and gaudy banners. Zhou went on to twin watchtowers, the great chariot, crimson shields and jade axes, eight files of dancers in the courtyard—and then the hymns rose. So can the royal way point two different ways? One maxim says leave fine jade uncarved; another says without ornament virtue cannot shine—those two teachings pull apart.

殷人執五刑以督奸，傷肌膚以懲惡。成、康不式，四十餘年天下不犯，囹圄空虛。秦國用之，死者甚眾，刑者相望，□矣哀哉！

The Shang used the five mutilating punishments to hunt down crime and flayed men to frighten evil. Kings Cheng and Kang refused that model, and for forty years no one broke the law and the jails stood empty. Qin revived them: corpses piled up and convicts shuffled past one another in an endless line—how bitter a sight!

烏乎！朕夙寤晨興，惟前帝王之憲，永思所以奉至尊，章洪業，皆在力本任賢。今朕親耕籍田以為農先，勸孝弟，崇有德，使者冠蓋相望，問勤勞，恤孤獨，盡思極神，功烈休德未始雲獲也。今陰陽錯繆，氛氣充塞，群生寡遂，黎民未濟，廉恥貿亂，賢不肖渾淆，未得其真，故詳延特起之士，庶幾乎！今子大夫待詔百有餘人，或道世務而未濟，稽諸上古之不同，考之於今而難行，毋乃牽於文系而不得騁與？將所繇異術，所聞殊方與？各悉對，著於篇，毋諱有司。明其指略，切磋究之。以稱朕意。

Alas! I wake before dawn and brood on the laws of the ancient kings, seeking how to serve the throne and magnify the great work—knowing it all hangs on strengthening the roots and trusting the worthy. I have plowed the consecrated field to lead the farmers, honored filial devotion and the virtuous, sent a stream of envoys to ask after the weary and succor the lone—yet for all this outpouring of care, no matching blessing has appeared. Yin and yang are out of joint, foul air chokes the sky, creatures barely thrive and the common people flounder, honor and shame are traded like goods, worthies blur with fools—I still lack the truth, so I cast the net wide for exceptional men in hope of an answer. You over a hundred await orders: some speak of the age yet miss the mark, some echo antiquity yet cannot apply it, some offer schemes that will not run in our day—are you tangled in empty formulae and unable to speak plain? Or do you follow different roads and listen to contrary schools? Answer each point fully on the page and do not hold back for fear of the clerks. Set out your meaning clearly, then refine and probe it. So that it may match what I intend.”

仲舒對曰：

Dong Zhongshu answered:

臣聞堯受命，以天下為憂，而未以位為樂也，故誅逐亂臣，務求賢聖，是以得舜、禹、稷、□、咎繇。眾聖輔德，賢能佐職，教化大行，天下和洽，萬民皆安仁樂誼，各得其宜，動作應禮，從容中道。故孔子曰：「如有王者，必世而後仁，」此之謂也。堯在位七十載，乃遜於位以禪虞舜。堯崩，天下不歸堯子丹硃而歸舜。舜知不可辟，乃即天子之位，以禹為相，因堯之輔佐，繼其統業，是以垂拱無為而天下治。孔子曰「《韶》盡美矣，又盡善矣」，此之謂也。至於殷紂，逆天暴物，殺戮賢知，殘賊百姓。伯夷、太公皆當世賢者，隱處而不為臣。守職之人皆奔走逃亡，入於河海。天下□亂，萬民不安，故天下去殷而從周。文王順天理物，師用賢聖，是以閎夭、大顛、散宜生等亦聚於朝廷。愛施兆民，天下歸之，故太公起海濱而即三公也。當此之時，紂尚在上，尊卑昏亂，百姓散亡，故文王悼痛而欲安之，是以日昃而不暇食民。孔子作《春秋》，先正王而系萬事，見素王之文焉。由此觀之，帝王之條貫同，然而勞逸異者，所遇之時異也。孔子曰「《武》盡美矣，未盡善也」，此之謂也。

I have heard that Yao, once charged with the realm, worried for the world rather than rejoiced in the throne—so he purged corrupt ministers and sought sages, gaining Shun, Yu, Lord Millet, Xie, and Gaoyao. Those sages aided his virtue and worthy men filled his offices, until teaching spread wide, the land was at peace, and every man moved with ease inside ritual’s bounds. Confucius said, “Give a true king one generation and kindness would fill the land”—he meant exactly this. Yao reigned seventy years, then ceded the throne to Shun. When Yao died, the realm did not pass to his son Dan Zhu but rallied to Shun. Shun saw he could not refuse, mounted the throne, made Yu his minister, kept Yao’s counselors, and carried on the work—so he could fold his hands while the empire ran itself. Confucius said of the Shao, “It is perfect in beauty and perfect in goodness”—he spoke of this age. Zhou Xin of Shang defied Heaven, ravaged the world, butchered wise men, and tortured the people. Men like Boyi and the Grand Duke were the age’s finest, yet they hid and would not serve. Officeholders fled wholesale to the rivers and coasts. The realm fell into chaos and the people had no peace, so all under Heaven left Shang for Zhou. King Wen followed Heaven’s pattern in ordering things and took sages as his teachers, so Hongyao, Datian, Sanyisheng, and their like filled his court. His kindness reached every household, and the world turned to him—so the Grand Duke left his fishing rock and stepped straight into the three highest posts. Meanwhile Zhou Xin still sat on the throne, rank was upside down, and the people scattered in terror; King Wen grieved for them and strove to bring peace, laboring past sunset without time even to eat. Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals, beginning with the true king and threading every event, revealing the charter of the “king without a throne.” From this we see one royal thread running through history; ease and toil differ only with the age. Confucius said of the Wu dance, “The form is perfect, the goodness not yet perfect”—he meant this harder age.

臣聞制度文采玄黃之飾，所以明尊卑，異貴賤，而勸有德也。故《春秋》受命所先制者，改正朔，易服色，所以應天也。然則官至旌旗之制，有法而然者也。故孔子曰：「奢則不遜，儉則固。」儉非聖人之中制也。臣聞良玉不□，資質潤美，不待刻□，此亡異於達巷黨人不學而自知也。然則常玉不□，不成文章；君子不學，不成其德。

Rites, colors, banners, and silks exist to mark rank, separate noble from common, and reward virtue. The Annals, when Heaven appoints a king, begins by fixing the calendar and changing court dress—to answer Heaven’s rhythm. Hence regalia down to flags and streamers follows fixed law, not whim. Confucius said, “Luxury breeds rudeness; niggardliness leaves you mean.” But miserliness is no middle path for a sage. They say fine jade need not be cut—yet that is like claiming a lad from Daxiang ward is wise without study. Ordinary stone, if uncut, shows no grain; the gentleman, if untutored, never finishes his virtue.

臣聞聖王之治天下也，少則習之學，長則材諸位，爵祿以養其德，刑罰以威其惡，故民曉於禮誼而恥犯其上。武王行大誼，平殘賊，周公作禮樂以文之，至於成康之隆，囹圄空虛四十餘年，此亦教化之漸而仁誼之流，非獨傷肌膚之效也。至秦則不然。師申商之法，行韓非之說，憎帝王之道，以貪狼為俗，非有文德以教訓於下也。誅名而不察實，為善者不必免，而犯惡者未必刑也。是以百官皆飾虛辭而不顧實，外有事君之禮，內有背上之心；造偽飾詐，趣利無恥；又好用□酷之吏，賦斂亡度，竭民財力，百姓散亡，不得從耕織之業，群盜並起。是以刑者甚眾，死者相望，而奸不息，俗化使然也。故孔子曰「導之以政，齊之以刑，民免而無恥」，此之謂也。

The sage kings taught the young in school, gave grown men posts, fed their character with salary, curbed crime with punishment—so the people knew ritual and blushed to rebel. King Wu cut down Zhou’s cruelty, and the Duke of Zhou set rites and music to refine the realm; by the peace of Cheng and Kang the jails stood empty forty years—because custom had shifted and kindness spread, not because men were merely flayed into fear. Qin took the opposite road. It copied Shang Yang’s statutes and Han Fei’s theory, spurned the kings’ Way, made greed a habit, and offered the people no moral pattern. It chased labels instead of facts, so the good were not spared and the wicked were not sure to pay. Officials learned to mouth empty phrases while plotting disloyalty behind a show of duty; they forged, lied, and raced for gain without shame; they loved cruel taxmen, taxed without limit, bled the people dry, drove farmers from their looms and fields, and let bandit gangs rise side by side. Hence corpses and convicts choked the roads, yet crime never stopped—because habit had shaped them so. Confucius said, “Drive the people with edicts, herd them with penalties, and they may stay out of jail but will feel no shame”—he meant Qin.

今陛下並有天下，海內莫不率服，廣覽兼聽，極群下之知，盡天下之美，至德昭然，施於方外。夜郎、康居，殊方萬里，說德歸誼，此太平之致也。然而功不加於百姓者，殆王心來加焉。曾子曰：「尊其所聞，則高明矣；行其所知，則光大矣。高明光大，不在於它，在乎加之意而已。」願陛下因用所聞，設誠於內而致行之，則三王何異哉！

You now hold the realm; none within the seas refuses allegiance; you listen wide and think deep, drawing on every talent and every good—your supreme virtue already shines beyond the borders. Yelang and Kangju, lands ten thousand li off, speak of your virtue and pledge fealty—this is the threshold of true peace. Yet the common people feel little gain—almost surely because the royal heart has not fully reached them. Zengzi said, “Hold high what you have heard and your vision clears; put into deed what you know and your influence widens.” That height and breadth lie in nothing else but bending your will to them.” If you take what you have heard and act on it in earnest, you will walk no differently from the Three Kings.

陛下親耕籍田以為農先，夙寤晨興，憂勞萬民，思維往古，而務以求賢，此亦堯、舜之用心也，然而未雲獲者，士素不厲也。夫不素養士而欲求賢，譬猶不琢玉而求文采也。故養士之大者，莫大乎太學；太學者，賢士之所關也，教化之本原也。今以一郡一國之眾，對亡應書者，是王道往往而絕也。臣願陛下興太學，置明師，以養天下之士，數考問以盡其材，則英俊宜可得矣。今之郡守、縣令，民之師帥，所使承流而宣化也；故師帥不賢，則主德不宣，恩澤不流。今吏既亡教訓於下，或不承用主上之法，暴虐百姓，與奸為市，貧窮孤弱，冤苦失職，甚不稱陛下之意。是以陰陽錯繆，氛氣棄塞，群生寡遂，黎民未濟，皆長吏不明，使至於此也。

You plow the sacred field, rise before dawn, fret for the people, study antiquity, and hunt for worthies—this is the mind of Yao and Shun; what still fails is that talent is not schooled beforehand. To demand worthies without first raising scholars is to expect grain from an uncut stone. Nothing nurtures talent like the Imperial Academy; it is the gate where talent gathers and the wellspring of moral education. When a whole commandery cannot produce one man fit to answer the court’s call, the royal road has nearly snapped. I beg you to found the Imperial Academy, appoint clear-sighted masters, and there rear the empire’s talent, testing them often so their gifts show through—then true men will appear. Governors and magistrates are the people’s teachers and the pipes through which your transforming intent flows; if those guides are unworthy, your virtue never reaches the grass roots and grace stops at the yamen gate. Too many local officials neither teach nor obey your laws; they bully the weak, haggle with criminals, and leave the humble wronged—far from what you intend. So yin and yang tangle, foul air blocks the sky, creatures fail, and the people drown—all because the men on top are blind.

夫長吏多出於郎中、中郎，吏二千石子弟選郎吏，又以富訾，未必賢也。且古所謂功者，以任官稱職為差，非謂積日累久也。故小材雖累日，不離於小官；賢材雖未久，不害為輔佐。是以有司竭力盡知，務治其業而以赴功。今則不然。累日以取貴，積久以致官，是以廉恥貿亂，賢不肖渾淆，未得其真。臣愚以為使諸列侯、郡守、二千石各擇其吏民之賢者，歲貢各二人以給宿衛，且以觀大臣之能；所貢賢者有賞，所貢不肖者有罰。夫如是，諸侯、吏二千石皆盡心於求賢，天下之士可得而官使也。遍得天下之賢人，則三王之盛易為，而堯、舜之名可及也。毋以日月為功，實試賢能為上，量材而授官，錄德而定位，則廉恥殊路，賢不肖異處矣。陛下加惠，寬臣之罪，令勿牽制於文，使得切磋究之，臣敢不盡愚！

Most magistrates come from court cadet posts or rich sons of high ministers—wealth, not worth, still picks many of them. Ancient “merit” meant filling a post well, not merely counting years. Mediocre men may serve long yet never rise past petty rank; Even a brief tenure need not bar a capable man from high counsel. So officials strain every nerve on their duties and race to show results. Today the opposite holds. Rank comes from seniority, office from long sitting—so honor and shame are confused, worthies blur with fools, and the court never sees men plain. I would have every noble, governor, and two-thousand-bushel official nominate two local talents each year for palace service, and so test how well the great ministers seek men. Reward honest nominations, punish empty names. Then every lord and governor will hunt talent in earnest, and the empire’s scholars can be placed in office as they deserve. Gather the realm’s worthies and the glory of the Three Kings is within reach, the fame of Yao and Shun no longer a distant echo. Forget mere seniority; test real ability, match office to gifts and rank to character—then honor and shame part company, and the worthy stand clear of the mean. You have shown grace, forgiven my bluntness, and told me not to stay bound by formal prose so I can argue the matter through—I shall not hold back.

於是天子復冊之。

The emperor then sent a third rescript.

制曰：蓋聞「善言天者必有征於人，善言古者必有驗於今」。故朕垂問乎天人之應，上嘉唐虞，下悼桀、紂，浸微浸滅浸明浸昌之道，虛心以改。今子大夫明於陰陽所以造化，習於先聖之道業，然而文采未極，豈惑乎當世之務哉？條貫靡竟，統紀未終，意朕之不明與？聽若眩與？夫三王之教所祖不同，而皆有失，或謂久而不易者道也，意豈異哉？今子大夫既已著大道之極，陳治亂之端矣，其悉之究之，孰之復之。《詩》不雲乎，「嗟爾君子，毋常安息，神之聽之，介爾景福。」朕將親覽焉，子大夫其茂明之。

The rescript read: “They say, ‘He who explains Heaven must prove it on human beings; he who explains the past must prove it in the present.’” So I ask how Heaven answers man, praising Yao and Shun above, mourning Jie and Zhou below, tracing how states fade or flourish—hoping to mend my ways with an open heart. You know yin and yang’s work and the sages’ teaching, yet your answers still feel thin—are you holding back on what today most needs? The thread of your argument still hangs loose—is my question unclear? Or do my ears spin when I listen? The Three Kings each built on a different past, each had blind spots; some say the unchanging core is the Way—do you read that differently? You have traced the Great Way and the roots of order and chaos—now push further: nail each point down, then say it again plain. The Odes warn, “Gentlemen, do not lounge in comfort—the spirits are listening, and great blessing follows the wakeful.” I shall read every word; give your answers in full, rich detail.”

仲舒復對曰：

Dong Zhongshu answered again:

臣聞《論語》曰：「有始有卒者，其唯聖人虖！」今陛下幸加惠，留聽於承學之臣，復下明冊，以切其意，而究盡聖德，非愚臣之所能具也。前所上對，條貫靡竟，統紀不終，辭不別白，指不分明，此臣淺陋之罪也。

The Analects says, “To see a thing through from start to finish—that belongs to the sage alone.” You have stooped to hear a student of the classics and sent a second, sharper rescript—demands no humble scholar can fully meet. My first answer trailed off, tangled its thread, blurred its terms—that was my fault for shallow learning.

冊曰：「善言天者必有征於人，善言古者必有驗於今。」臣聞天者群物之祖也。故遍覆包涵而無所殊，建日月風雨以和之，經陰陽寒暑以成之。故聖人法天而立道，亦溥愛而亡私，布德施仁以厚之，設誼立禮以導之。春者天之所以生也，仁者君之所以愛也；夏者天之所以長也，德者君之所以養也；霜者天之所以殺也，刑者君之所以罰也。繇此言之，天人之征，古今之道也。孔子作《春秋》，上揆之天道，下質諸人情，參之於古，考之於今。故《春秋》之所譏，災害之所加也；《春秋》之所惡，怪異之所施也。書邦家之過，兼災異之變；以此見人之所為，其美惡之極，乃與天地流通而往來相應，此亦言天之一端也。古者修教訓之官，務以德善化民，民已大化之後，天下常亡一人之獄矣。今世廢而不修，亡以化民，民以故棄行誼而死財利，是以犯法而罪多，一歲之獄以萬千數。以此見古之不可不用也，故《春秋》變古則譏之。天令之謂命，命非聖人不行；質樸之謂性，性非教化不成；人欲之謂情，情非度制不節。是故王者上謹於承天意，以順命也；下務明教化民，以成性也；正法度之宜，別上下之序，以防欲也；修此三者，而大本舉矣。人受命於天，固超然異於群生，入有父子兄弟之親，出有君臣上下之誼，會聚相遇，則有耆老長幼之施，粲然有文以相接，歡然有恩以相愛，此人之所以貴也。生五穀以食之，桑麻以衣之，六畜以養之，服牛乘馬，圈豹檻虎，是其得天之靈，貴於物也。故孔子曰：「天地之性人為貴。」明於天性，知自貴於物；知自貴於物，然後知仁誼；知仁誼，然後重禮節；重禮節，然後安處善；安處善，然後樂循理；樂循理，然後謂之君之。故孔子曰「不知命，亡以為君子」，此之謂也。

Your text said, “Explain Heaven on the evidence of man; prove antiquity by what we see today.” Heaven is father to the myriad things. It roofs all creation without partiality, sets sun and moon and wind and rain to tune them, and weaves cold and heat through yin and yang to ripen them. The sage takes Heaven as his model: boundless care without private favor, kindness to feed the people, duty and rites to lead them. Spring is Heaven’s birth-gift; humaneness is how the ruler loves. Summer is Heaven’s growth; nurturing character is the ruler’s part. Frost is Heaven’s killing edge; penalties are how the ruler checks wrong. Thus the echo between Heaven and man is the same bridge from past to present. Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals with one eye on Heaven’s pattern, one on human passion, checked against old ages and today. What the Annals mocks, Heaven strikes; what the Annals condemns, portents visit. It inscribes the failings of houses and kingdoms beside their calamities and omens; so we see human conduct, pushed to its best or worst, trades breath with Heaven and earth—another way of “speaking Heaven.” Antiquity set officers to teach, moved the people by goodness until, fully transformed, the empire often held not a single prisoner. We let that office rot, so the people ditch duty for profit, break the law in droves, and fill the jails by tens of thousands a year. The Annals jeer whenever a state abandons the old model—Heaven’s lesson is that the ancient machinery must be used. Heaven’s command is fate, and fate does not stir without a sage; the raw endowment is nature, and nature is not finished without teaching; appetite is feeling, and feeling runs wild without measure and law. So the true king above heeds Heaven’s mind to answer his mandate; below he clarifies moral teaching to perfect human nature; he sets just laws, marks rank high and low, and fences desire; do those three and the great root is planted. Man, charged by Heaven, stands above the creatures: at home he has the ties of kin, abroad the order of ruler and subject; in company he shows respect for age; he moves in clear ritual and warm kindness—that is his nobility. He grows grain for food, silk for clothes, herds for meat, harnesses oxen and horses, cages beasts—gifts of Heaven’s spirit that set him above the brutes. Confucius said, “Of all nature between Heaven and earth, none is nobler than man.” Knowing Heaven’s intent for man, he knows his own dignity; that dignity found, he grasps humaneness and right; with humaneness and right, he cherishes ritual and measure; cherishing ritual, he rests in the good; resting in the good, he takes joy in the Way; joying in the Way, he earns the name of gentleman. Hence Confucius said, “Without knowing Heaven’s charge, one cannot be a gentleman”—he meant this ladder of self-cultivation.

冊曰：「上嘉唐、虞，下悼桀、紂，浸微浸滅浸明浸昌之道，虛心以改。」臣聞眾少成多，積小致臣，故聖人莫不以晻致明，以微致顯。是以堯發於諸侯，舜興乎深山，非一日而顯也，蓋有漸以致之矣。言出於已，不可塞也；行發於身，不可掩也。言行，治之大者，君子之所以動天地也。故盡小者大，慎微者著。《詩》云：「惟此文王，小心翼翼。」胡堯兢兢日行其道，而舜業業日致其孝，善積而名顯，德章而身尊，以其浸明浸昌之道也。積善在身，猶長日加益，而人不知也；積惡在身，猶火之銷膏，而人不見也。非明乎情性察乎流俗者，孰能知之？此唐、虞之所以得令名，而桀、紂之可為悼懼者也。夫善惡之相從，如景鄉之應形聲也。故桀、紂暴謾，讒賊並進，賢知隱伏，惡日顯，國日亂，晏然自以如日在天，終陵夷而大壞。夫暴逆不仁者，非一日而亡也，亦以漸至，故桀、紂雖亡道，然猶享國十餘年，此其浸微浸滅之道也。

Your rescript asked me to praise Yao and Shun, mourn Jie and Zhou, and trace how kingdoms wither or wax—so you may reform with an open heart.” Many grains of sand make a tower; the sage turns faint beginnings into blazing success. Yao rose from a fief, Shun from the wildwood—neither leaped to fame in a day; both climbed by slow degrees. A word once spoken cannot be chased home; a deed once done cannot be hidden. Speech and conduct are government’s hinge—they are how a gentleman shakes Heaven and earth. Mind the small to grow great, watch the subtle to shine bright. The Odes say of King Wen, “He walked in fear and care.” So Yao trod the Way with trembling care, Shun piled up filial deeds day by day—goodness stacked until their names shone, virtue plain until all honored them: the path of slow, sure growth. Goodness in the body lengthens like a summer day—yet no one notices the stretch; evil eats the marrow like fire on lard—yet the victim never sees the burn. Only a man who reads passion and probes fashion can see it coming. That is how Yao and Shun won praise, and how Jie and Zhou became warnings. Good and evil trail each other as shadow and echo answer body and voice. Jie and Zhou grew cruel and slack; flatterers swarmed while sages hid; evil mounted, the realm rotted, yet they lolled as if the sun would never set—then came the crash. Tyrants do not fall overnight; Jie and Zhou clung to the throne years after the Way was gone—such is the slow slide to ruin.

冊曰：「三王之教所祖不同，而皆有失，或謂久而不易者道也，意豈異哉？」臣聞夫樂而不亂復而不厭者謂之道；道者萬世之弊，弊者道之失也。先王之道必有偏而不起之處，故政有眊而不行，舉其偏者以補其弊而已矣。三王之道所祖不同，非其相反，將以救溢扶衰，所遭之變然也。故孔子曰：「亡為而治者，其舜乎！」改正朔，易服色，以順天命而已；其餘盡循堯道，何更為哉！故王者有改制之名，亡變道之實。然夏上忠，殷上敬，周上文者，所繼之救，當用此也。孔子曰：「殷因於夏禮，所損益可知也；周因於殷禮，所損益可知也；其或繼周者，雖百世可知也。」此言百王之用，以此三者矣。夏因於虞，而獨不言所損益者，其道如一而所上同也。道之大原出於天，天不變，道亦不變，是以禹繼舜，舜繼堯，三聖相受而守一道，亡救弊之政也，故不言其所損益也。繇是觀之，繼治世者其道同，繼亂世者其道變。今漢繼大亂之後，若宜少損周之文致，用夏之忠者。

You also asked whether the Three Kings’ different models each failed, yet some call the unchanging core “the Way”—do those views clash? What stays ordered yet never cloys, returns yet never wearies—that is the Way; the Way runs through all ages; “flaw” only means a moment when the Way slips. Every old program tilts somewhere; when policy dims, lift the weak side and patch the crack—nothing more. The Three Kings differed because each age needed a different brace—not because their goals contradicted. Confucius said, “To rule without fuss—perhaps only Shun managed it.” Shun merely fixed the calendar and court dress to answer Heaven; the rest followed Yao’s path unchanged. So kings may “reform” rites, yet never touch the Way itself. Xia stressed plain good faith, Shang awe, Zhou refinement—each repaired what the last age had spoiled. Confucius said, “Shang took Xia’s rites—what it dropped or added can be known; Zhou took Shang’s rites—again the shifts can be traced; and whoever follows Zhou, even a hundred reigns later, can be foretold.” He meant every dynasty’s tool kit comes down to those three shifts. Xia took Yu’s legacy whole, so the Annals name no tweaks—the Way stayed one. The Way springs from Heaven; Heaven is changeless, so the Way is changeless—Yao, Shun, and Yu handed on one thread with no “repair” edicts, hence silence on additions or cuts. Who follows peace may keep the same Way; who inherits chaos must change the recipe. Han comes after total ruin; it should trim Zhou’s ornament and recover Xia’s plain loyalty.

陛下有明德嘉道，愍世欲之靡薄，悼王道之不昭，故舉賢良方正之士，論議考問，將欲興仁誼之林德，明帝王之法制，建太平之道也。臣愚不肖，述所聞，誦所學，道師之言，廑能勿失耳。若乃論政事之得失，察天下之息耗，此大臣輔佐之職，三公九卿之任，非臣仲舒所能及也，然而臣竊有怪者。夫古之天下亦今之天下，今之天下亦古之天下，共是天下，古以大治，上下和睦，習俗美盛，不令而行，不禁而止，吏亡奸邪，民亡盜賊，囹圄空虛，德潤草木，澤被四海，鳳皇來集，麒麟來游，以古准今，壹何不相逮之遠也！安所繆□而陵夷若是？意者有所失於古之道與？有所詭於天之理與？試跡之於古，返之於天，黨可得見乎。

Your luminous virtue grieves for a drifting age and a half-hidden royal road, so you summon the worthy and upright to debate policy—aiming to grow the grove of humaneness and duty, set out true kingship, and build the road to great peace. I am unworthy: I repeat what I was taught and hope not to garble my masters. Weighing policy, measuring the realm’s pulse—that belongs to the high ministers, not to me—yet one thing puzzles me. Antiquity’s world is today’s world—yet antiquity knew great peace: custom fair, orders needless, jails empty, omens kind, phoenix and unicorn at court. Match that to now—why the chasm? What twist in the road has brought us so low? Have we dropped some thread of the old Way? Or twisted Heaven’s pattern? Search the past and scan Heaven’s logic—then the cause may show.

夫天亦有所分予，予之齒者去其角，傅其翼者兩其足，是所受大者不得取小也。古之所予祿者，不食於力，不動於末，是亦受大者不得取小，與天同意者也。夫已受大，又取小，天不能足，而況人乎！此民之所以囂囂苦不足也。身寵而載高位，家溫而食厚祿，因乘富貴之資力，以與民爭利於下，民安能如之哉！是故眾其奴婢，多其牛羊，廣其田宅，博其產業，畜其積委，務此而亡已，以迫蹴民，民日削月浸，浸以大窮。富者奢侈羨溢，貧者窮急愁苦；窮急愁苦而不上救，則民不樂生；民不樂生，尚不避死，安能避罪！此刑罰之所以蕃而奸邪不可勝者也。故受祿之家，食祿而已，不與民爭業，然後利可均布，而民可家足。此上天之理，而亦太古之道，天子之所宜法以為制，大夫之所當循以為行也。故公儀子相魯，之其家見織帛，怒而出其妻，食於捨而茹葵，慍而拔其葵，曰：「吾已食祿，又奪園夫紅女利乎！」古之賢人君子在列位者皆如是，是故下高其行而從其教，民化其廉而不貪鄙。及至周室之衰，其卿大夫緩於誼而急於利，亡推讓之風而有爭田之訟。故詩人疾而刺之，曰：「節彼南山，惟石巖巖，赫赫師尹，民具爾瞻。」爾好誼，則民鄉仁而俗善；爾好利，則民好邪而俗敗。由是觀之，天子大夫者，下民之所視效，遠方之所四面而內望也。近者視而放之，遠者望而效之，豈可以居賢人之位而為庶人行哉！夫皇皇求財利常恐乏匱者，庶人之意也；皇求仁義常恐不能化民者，大夫之意也。《易》曰：「負且乘，致寇至。」乘車者君子之位也，負擔著小人之事也，此言居君子之位而為庶人之行者，其患禍必至也。若居君子之位，當君子之行，則捨公儀休之相魯，亡可為者矣。

Heaven parcels gifts with a sparing hand: hornless where teeth are sharp, two-legged where wings grow—great endowments do not stack small ones. Ancient stipendiaries lived on their salary alone, not on trade or manual labor—Heaven's rule that great gifts forbid petty pickings. Grab the high stipend and still scrape for coin, and neither Heaven nor earth can fill your purse. That is why the people groan they can never get enough. They ride rank and salary to squeeze the market against commoners—how should the poor compete? So they stack slaves and herds, swell fields and storehouses, pile hoards without end, and trample the people—who shrink month by month into utter want. The rich wallow in excess while the poor choke on desperation; and when no help comes from the throne, men cease to love life; men who no longer cherish life will not shrink from death, let alone from crime. Hence penalties multiply and vice cannot be stamped out. Salary families should live on salary alone and leave trade to others—then wealth spreads and every hearth can thrive. That is Heaven's pattern and antiquity's rule—law for the emperor, conduct for his ministers. Gongyi Xiu, as Lu's minister, divorced his wife for weaving at home, yanked the gardener's greens from his bowl, crying, "I already draw a state salary—I will not snatch the craftsman's or the weaver's living." Every worthy who held office did the same, so the people looked up, learned restraint, and shed petty greed. When Zhou decayed, its nobles chased profit, forgot deference, and sued one another over fields. The Odes lash them: "Lofty southern hills, sheer stone peaks—awe-inspiring Minister Yin, all eyes are fixed on you." If you love right, the people lean toward kindness and manners turn fair; if you love profit, they turn to crooked ways and manners rot. Emperor and ministers are the mirror the people hold up; the four quarters watch them for a sign. Neighbors copy what they see, frontiers echo it—how may a man sit as a sage and walk as a plebeian? Scheming for every coin is the commoner's mind; fearing only that you cannot teach the people is the minister's mind. The Classic of Changes warns, "He who porter's load rides in a carriage invites robbers." The carriage is the gentleman's seat; the shoulder pole is the laborer's tool—trade places and bandits will come. Play the gentleman's part as Gongyi Xiu did in Lu, and nothing more is required.

《春秋》大一統者，天地之常經，古今之通誼也。今師異道，人異論，百家殊方，指意不同，是以上亡以持一統；法制數變，下不知所守。臣愚以為諸不在六藝之科孔子之術者，皆絕其道，勿使並進。邪辟之說滅息，然後統紀可一而法度可明，民知所從矣。

The Annals' praise of "great unity" is Heaven and earth's fixed rule and history's common thread. Today every master teaches a different doctrine, every school its own angle—so the throne cannot enforce one standard; laws flicker and shift, and the people lose their footing. I urge you to bar every path that is not the Six Classics and Confucius' teaching from advancing alongside the true Way. Silence heterodox schools, and the thread runs straight, the law stands clear, and the people know where to walk.

對既畢，天子以仲舒為江都相，事易王。易王，帝兄，素驕，好勇。仲舒以禮誼匡正，王敬重焉。久之，王問仲舒曰：「粵王勾踐與大夫洩庸、種、蠡謀伐吳，遂滅之。孔子稱殷有三仁，寡人亦以為粵有三仁。桓公決疑於管仲，寡人決疑於君。」仲舒對曰：「臣愚不足以奉大對。聞昔者魯君問柳下惠：『吾欲伐齊，何如？』柳下惠曰：『不可。』歸而有憂色，曰：『吾聞伐國不問仁人，此言何為至於我哉！』徒見問耳，且猶羞之，況設詐以伐吳乎？由此言之，粵本無一仁。夫仁人者，正其誼不謀其利，明其道不計其功。是以仲尼之門，五尺之童羞稱五伯，為其先詐力而後仁誼也。苟為詐而已，故不足稱於大君子之門也。五伯比於他諸侯為賢，其比三王，猶武夫之與美玉也。」王曰：「善。」

When the answers were done, the emperor named Dong Zhongshu chancellor to the king of Jiangdu. King Yi was the emperor's elder brother—proud by nature and fond of brawling. Dong Zhongshu set him right with ritual and duty, and the king treated him with deep respect. One day the king asked, "Goujian of Yue and his ministers Xie Yong, Wen Zhong, and Fan Li destroyed Wu by counsel. Confucius called Shang's three men humane; I say Yue had three as well. Duke Huan trusted Guan Zhong with every doubt; I would trust you the same." Dong Zhongshu answered, "I am too dull for so weighty a question. I recall the lord of Lu asking Liuxia Hui whether he should attack Qi. The sage said no. At home he darkened with shame: "Humane men are never consulted on invasion—why were those words put to me?" He had only been asked, yet blushed—how much more men who used fraud to crush Wu! By that measure Yue never had a single true man of humaneness. The humane man sets duty straight and ignores profit, clarifies the Way and scorns mere success. Even a child at Confucius' gate is ashamed to praise the Five Hegemons—they put fraud and force ahead of kindness and right. Pure cunning wins no place among great men. The hegemons surpassed other lords, yet beside the Three Kings they look like a brawler beside polished jade." The king said, "Well spoken."

仲舒治國，以《春秋》災異之變推陰陽所以錯行，故求雨，閉諸陽，縱諸陰，其止雨反是；行之一國，未嘗不得所欲。中廢為中大夫。先是遼東高廟、長陵高園殿災，仲舒居家推說其意，草稿未上，主父偃候仲舒，私見，嫉之，竊其書而奏焉。上召視諸儒，仲舒弟子呂步舒不知其師書，以為大愚。於是下仲舒吏，當死，詔赦之，仲舒遂不敢復言災異。

As chancellor he read the Annals' portents to track yin and yang; for rain he blocked yang and freed yin, for drought the opposite; and in each kingdom the weather answered as he asked. Later he was demoted to palace grandee. Before that, lightning struck the Gaozu shrines; Dong drafted an interpretation at home. Zhufu Yan peeked at it, envied him, stole the draft, and sent it up. The emperor showed it to the scholars; his own pupil Lü Bushu, not recognizing his master's hand, called it absurd. Dong was jailed for a capital crime, then pardoned—and never again lectured the throne on omens.

仲舒為人廉直。是時方外攘四夷，公孫弘治《春秋》不如仲舒，而弘希世用事，位至公卿。仲舒以弘為從諛，弘嫉之。膠西王亦上兄也，尤縱恣，數害吏二千石。弘乃言於上曰：「獨董仲舒可使相膠西王。」膠西王聞仲舒大儒，善待之。仲舒恐久獲罪，病免。凡相兩國，輒事驕王，正身以率下，數上疏諫爭，教令國中，所居而治。及去位歸居，終不問家產業，以修學著書為事。

Dong Zhongshu was upright and austere. The court was busy driving the barbarians back; Gongsun Hong knew the Annals less well than Dong yet flattered his way to the highest posts. Dong despised him as a sycophant, and Hong hated Dong in return. The king of Jiaoxi was another imperial brother—wild and fond of ruining his governors. Hong told the emperor, "Only Dong Zhongshu is fit to chancellor Jiaoxi." The king had heard Dong was a great scholar and treated him with courtesy. Fearing eventual punishment, Dong pleaded illness and quit. He served two proud kings, yet by personal integrity, remonstrance, and clear orders he kept each domain in order. Retired, he never fussed over property but gave himself to study and writing.

仲舒在家，朝廷如有大議，使使者及廷尉張湯就其家而問之，其對皆有明法。自武帝初立，魏其、武安侯為相而隆儒矣。及仲舒對冊，推明孔氏，抑黜百家。立學校之官，州郡舉茂材孝廉，皆自仲舒發之。年老，以壽終於家，家徙茂陵，子及孫皆以學至大官。

Whenever the court faced a great decision, envoys and Zhang Tang came to his door, and every answer he gave was lucid and grounded in law. Since Emperor Wu's accession, Weiqi and Wu'an had raised Confucian learning at court. Dong's policy answers exalted Confucius and set the hundred schools aside. Imperial academies and the commandery system of "filial and incorrupt" nominations began with his memorials. He died of old age at home; the clan moved to Maoling, and sons and grandsons rose to high rank through scholarship.

仲舒所著，皆明經術之意，及上疏條教，凡百二十三篇。而說《春秋》事得失，《聞舉》、《玉杯》、《蕃露》、《清明》、《竹林》之屬，復數十篇，十餘萬言，皆傳於後世。掇其切當世施朝廷者著於篇。

His writings—mostly elucidating the classics, with memorials and edicts—number one hundred twenty-three pieces. His essays on the Annals—titles such as *Wenju*, *Jade Cup*, *Luxuriant Dew*, *Qingming*, and *Bamboo Grove*—add dozens more chapters and over a hundred thousand words, all handed down. This chapter records what was most urgent for the state.

贊曰：劉向稱：「董仲舒有王佐之材，雖伊、呂亡以加，管、晏之屬，伯者之佐，殆不及也。」至向子歆以為：「伊、呂乃聖人之耦，王者不得則不興。故顏淵死，孔子曰『噫！天喪余。』唯此一人為能當之，自宰我、子贛、子游、子夏不與焉。仲舒遭漢承秦滅學之後，《六經》離析，下帷發憤，潛心大業，令後學者有所統壹，為群儒首。然考其師友淵源所漸，猶未及乎游、夏，而曰管、晏弗及，伊、呂不加，過矣。」至向曾孫龔，篤論君子也，以歆之言為然。

The historian's praise quotes Liu Xiang: "Dong Zhongshu could have served a true king—Yi Yin and Lü Wang would not outshine him; Guan and Yan, mere tools of hegemons, fall short." Liu Xin answered his father: "Yi Yin and Lü Wang are the sage's matched pair—a king cannot rise without them. When Yan Hui died, Confucius cried, "Alas! Heaven is killing me." Only Hui could stand beside them—not Zaiwo, Zigong, Ziyou, or Zixia. Dong lived when Qin had shattered learning; he drew the curtain, burned with purpose, and gave later scholars a single thread to follow—chief among the Confucians. Yet weighed against the lineage that produced Ziyou and Zixia, to call Guan and Yan his inferiors and rank him with Yi and Lü is going too far." Liu Xiang's great-grandson Liu Gong, a fair critic, sided with Liu Xin.

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