1
公孫弘
Gongsun Hong.
2
公孫弘，菑川薛人也。 少時為獄吏，有罪，免。 家貧，牧豕海上。 年四十餘，乃學《春秋》雜說。
Gongsun Hong was a native of Xue in Zichuan commandery. While young he worked as a prison clerk; he ran afoul of the law and lost his post. Poor at home, he kept pigs on the shore. Only after he had passed forty did he take up the Spring and Autumn and related exegetical traditions.
3
武帝初即位，招賢良文學士，是時，弘年六十，以賢良徵為博士。 使匈奴，還報，不合意，上怒，以為不能，弘乃移病免歸。
At the beginning of Emperor Wu's reign the court called for worthy men and literary scholars; Hong was sixty and was recommended as worthy and good and summoned to be a court erudite. Sent on a mission to the Xiongnu, he reported back in terms the emperor disliked. Enraged, the sovereign judged him useless; Hong pleaded illness, gave up his office, and went home.
4
元光五年，復征賢良文學，菑川國復推上弘。 弘謝曰：「前已嘗西，用不能罷，願更選。」 國人固推弘，弘至太常。 上策詔諸儒：
In Yuanguang year 5 the court once more summoned worthy men and literary scholars, and the state of Zichuan again put Hong forward. Hong demurred: "I have already been summoned west once and was let go for incompetence; please select someone else." The men of the state insisted on nominating him, and he was sent on to the Chamberlain for Ceremonials. The emperor set a policy examination and called the scholars to answer.
5
制曰：蓋聞上古至治，畫衣冠，異章服，而民不犯； 陰陽和，五穀登，六畜蕃，甘露降，風雨時，嘉禾興，硃草生，山不童，澤不涸； 麟鳳在郊藪，龜龍游於沼，河洛出圖書； 父不喪子，兄不哭弟； 北發渠搜，南撫交□止，舟車所至，人跡所及，□行喙息，咸得其宜。 朕甚嘉之，今何道而臻乎此？ 子大夫修先聖之術，明君臣之義，講論洽聞，有聲乎當世，敢問子大夫：天人之道，何所本始？ 吉凶之效，安所期焉？ 禹、湯水旱，厥咎何由？ 仁、義、禮、知四者之宜，當安設施？ 屬統垂業，物鬼變化，天命之符，廢興何如？ 天文、地理、人事之紀，子大夫習焉。 其悉意正議，詳具其對，著之於篇，朕將親覽焉，靡有所隱。
The edict read: They say that under the perfect rule of remote antiquity, distinguishing caps and robes and regulating insignia sufficed to keep the people from crime; yin and yang were balanced, the five grains stood high in the stack, livestock throve, sweet dew descended, wind and rain kept their seasons, auspicious grain appeared, red cinnabar grass sprouted, hills kept their timber, and marshes did not parch; unicorns and phoenixes haunted the outskirts, turtles and dragons disported in the pools, and chart and text emerged from the Yellow River and the Luo; fathers did not bury sons, and elder brothers did not mourn younger brothers; Their sway ran north to Qusou and south to Jiaozhi; wherever wheel and keel could go and foot could follow, every creature that walks or flies found its proper place. I greatly rejoice in such an age—by what path may we reach it today? You, gentlemen, have mastered the teachings of the ancient sages, understand the duty of lord and minister, and are learned and heard in counsel—your names resound in our time. Tell me, gentlemen: where do Heaven and the human realm first take their origin? Where may we look for the signs of blessing and calamity? When Yu and Tang suffered flood and drought, what fault brought it on? How should benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and wisdom be ordered and put into practice? As the succession is maintained and the work passed down, as things and spirits shift and Heaven's mandate shows itself—how are flourishing and decay to be read? You are versed in the patterns of sky and earth and the affairs of men. Set forth your views with care, spell out your replies in full on the scroll, and lay them before me; I shall read them myself and expect nothing held back.
6
弘對曰：
Hong answered:
7
臣聞上古堯、舜之時，不貴爵常而民勸善，不重刑罰而民不犯，躬率以正而遇民信也； 末世貴爵厚賞而民不勸，深刑重罰而奸不止，其上不正，遇民不信也。 夫厚賞重刑未足以勸善而禁非，必信而已矣。 是故因能任官，則分職治； 去無用之言，則事情得； 不作無用之器，即賦斂省； 不奪民時，不妨民力，則百姓富； 有德者進，無德者退，則朝廷尊； 有功者上，無功者下，則群臣逡； 罰當罪，則奸邪止； 賞當賢，則臣下勸：凡此八者，治民之本也。 故民者，業之即不爭，理得則不怨，有禮則不暴，愛之則親上，此有天下之急者也。 故法不遠義，則民服而不離； 和不遠禮，則民親而不暴。 故法之所罰，義之所去也； 和之所賞，禮之所取也。 禮義者，民之所服也，而賞罰順之，則民不犯禁矣。 故畫衣冠，異章服，而民不犯者，此道素行也。
I have heard that under Yao and Shun, rank and salary were not lavishly prized, yet the people strove toward goodness; punishments were not heavy, yet no one broke the law—the rulers corrected themselves first, and trust ran both ways; in a fallen age rich rewards failed to stir the people, cruel laws could not stop villainy, because those above were crooked and the people had no faith in them. Mere bounty and terror cannot make men good or stop evil; constancy and good faith alone can. Appoint officers to match their talents, and each office will govern itself; ban empty rhetoric, and the truth of affairs will come clear; forgo useless workmanship, and taxes and corvée shrink; do not steal the farmers' seasons or waste their strength, and the common people grow rich; promote the worthy and dismiss the unworthy, and the court gains dignity; let merit decide promotion and demotion, and the ministers will yield to one another in good order; when punishment fits the crime, wickedness ends; when reward matches true worth, officials take heart—these eight policies are the root of ruling the people. Give the people steady livelihoods and they cease to quarrel; give them justice and they cease to grumble; teach them ritual and they cease to riot; show them care and they cleave to the throne—nothing is more pressing for whoever holds the empire. When law stays true to moral right, the people obey and do not drift away; when concord is grounded in ritual, they grow close without turning savage. What the law strikes at is what moral duty rejects; what enlightened policy honors is what ritual esteems. The people yield to ritual and right; align penalties and rewards with those standards, and they will not break your bans. That caps and robes alone could keep men from crime was possible only because such a way had long been woven through daily life.
8
臣聞之，氣同則從，聲比則應。 今人主和德於上，百姓和合於下，故心和則氣和，氣和則形和，形和則聲和，聲和則天地之和應矣。 故陰陽和，風雨時，甘露降，五穀登，六畜蕃，嘉禾興，硃草生，山不童，澤不涸，此和之至也。 故形和則無疾，無疾則不夭，故父不喪子，兄不哭弟。 德配天地，明並日月，則麟鳳至，龜龍在郊，河出圖，洛出書，遠方之君莫不說義，奉幣而來朝，此和之極也。
I have heard that like vapors cling together and matching tones answer one another. When the sovereign cultivates virtue on high and the people live in concord below, mind, breath, body, and voice fall into tune with one another, and Heaven and earth answer in kind. Then yin and yang balance, seasons keep their promise, sweet dew falls, grain fills the granaries, herds increase, auspicious plants appear, hills stay green and marshes wet—that is harmony perfected. When body and breath are at peace, disease does not cut life short; fathers need not bury sons, nor elder brothers mourn younger ones. When a ruler's virtue fills Heaven and earth and his clarity rivals sun and moon, the unicorn and phoenix come, the tortoise and dragon show themselves at the capital's edge, chart and text rise from the rivers, and distant kings, rejoicing in his righteousness, arrive with gifts—that is harmony at its height.
9
臣聞之，仁者愛也，義者宜也，禮者所履也，智者術之原也。 致利除害，兼愛無私，謂之仁； 明是非，立可否，謂之義； 進退有度，尊卑有分，謂之禮； 擅殺生之柄，通壅塞之塗，權輕重之數，論得失之道，使遠近情偽必見於上，謂之術：凡此四者，治之本，道之用也，皆當設施，不可廢也。 得其要，則天下安樂，法設而不用； 不得其術，則主蔽於上，官亂於下。 此事之情，屬統垂業之本也。
Benevolence is love, righteousness is doing what is fitting, ritual is the path one walks, wisdom is the wellspring of statecraft. To seek the people's good and turn harm away, to love all without partiality, is benevolence; to settle right from wrong and yes from no is righteousness; to know when to step forward or back and how to order high and low is ritual; to hold the power of life and death, clear clogged channels, balance weighty and light matters, and lay bare gain and loss so that nothing hidden from the throne—near or far, true or feigned—may escape notice, is what we call method. These four are the foundation of government and the working of the Way; each must be cultivated, none cast aside. Master their essentials, and the realm rests easy though the statutes need seldom be drawn; miss that art, and the sovereign is blinded while clerks run wild below. Such is the truth of government—the very root of preserving the line and handing down the work.
10
臣聞堯遭鴻水，使禹治之，未聞禹之有水也。 若湯之旱，則桀之餘烈也。 桀、紂行惡，受天之罰； 禹、湯積德，以王天下。 因此觀之，天德無私親，順之和起，逆之害生。 此天文、地理、人事之紀。 臣弘愚戇，不足以奉大對。
I have heard that Yao met the great flood and charged Yu to tame it—I have not heard that the fault was Yu's. Tang's drought was the aftertaste of Jie's evil reign. Jie and Zhou did wickedness and bore Heaven's stroke; Yu and Tang piled up virtue and so won the empire. From this we see Heaven's favor is not a family heirloom: obey Heaven and blessing follows; defy it and disaster grows. These are the patterns of Heaven, earth, and man. Your servant is dull and unworthy and cannot sustain so great a theme.
11
時對者百餘人，太常奏弘第居下。 策奏，天子擢弘對為第一。 召見，容貌甚麗，拜為博士，待詔金馬門。
More than a hundred men had submitted answers; the Chamberlain for Ceremonials ranked Hong last. When the papers went up, the emperor placed Hong's first. Called into audience, he cut a striking figure; the court named him erudite and kept him on call at the Golden Horse Gate.
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弘復上疏曰：「陛下有先聖之位而無先聖之名，有先聖之民而無先聖之吏，是以勢同而治異。 先世之吏正，故其民篤； 今世之吏邪，故其民薄。 政弊而不行，令倦而不聽。 夫使邪吏行弊政，用倦令治薄民，民不可得而化，此治之所以異也。 臣聞周公旦治天下，期年而變，三年而化，五年而定。 唯陛下之所志。」 書奏，天子以冊書答曰：「問：弘稱周公之治，弘之材能自視孰與周公賢？」 弘對曰：「愚臣淺薄，安敢比材於周公！ 雖然，愚心曉然見治道之可以然也。 去虎豹馬牛，禽獸之不可制者也，及其教馴服習之，至可牽持駕服，唯人之從。 臣聞揉曲術者不累日，銷金石者不累月，夫人之於利害好惡，豈比禽獸木石之類哉？ 期年而變，臣弘尚竊遲之。」 上異其言。
Hong again memorialized: "You hold the throne of the ancient paragons but not yet their renown; you rule the same kind of people yet lack their ministers—so your power matches theirs in name, but your peace does not match theirs in fact." When ancient officials were upright, the people grew steadfast; when today's clerks go crooked, the people turn shallow. Policy grows corrupt and stalls; decrees tire the ear and go unheeded. Send twisted men to execute a broken policy and weary commands to govern a jaded populace, and you will never win or change them—that is why your rule falls short." I have heard that the Duke of Zhou took the realm in hand: within a single cycle things began to shift, in three years they were transformed, in five they stood firm. All hangs on what Your Majesty resolves to do." The memorial reached the throne; the emperor replied in his own hand: "You praise the Duke of Zhou's rule—do you count your own gifts the equal of his?" Hong answered: "I am shallow and coarse—how dare I measure myself against the Duke of Zhou! Yet this dull heart clearly sees that such order is possible. Tiger, leopard, horse, and ox are brutes that defy control—yet train and gentle them long enough, and they will take halter and rein and obey the driver. They say the joiner straightens warped timber in days, not seasons, and the founder melts bronze or iron in months, not years—are men, with their loves and hates of profit and loss, no quicker to teach than wood and stone or fur and feather? A single cycle for the first change—your servant would still call that slow." The emperor was struck by his reply.
13
時方通西南夷，巴、蜀苦之，詔使弘視焉。 還奏事，盛毀西南夷無所用，上不聽。 每朝會議，開陳其端，使人主自擇，不肯面折庭爭。 於是上察其行慎厚，辯論有餘，習文法吏事，緣飾以儒術，上說之，一歲中至左內史。
The court was opening the southwest; Ba and Shu groaned under the burden; the emperor sent Hong to look into it. He returned and argued that the southwestern project was worthless; the emperor would not follow his advice. In every court debate he sketched the issue and let the sovereign decide; he would not cross him openly in the hall. The emperor saw that he was steady and substantial, fluent in argument, versed in legal precedent, and could dress Legalist practice in Confucian language; he delighted in him, and within a year Hong rose to Left Metropolitan Superintendent.
14
弘奏事，有所不可，不肯庭辯。 常與主爵都尉汲黯請間，黯先發之，弘推其後，上常說，所言皆聽，以此日益親貴。 嘗與公卿約議，至上前，皆背其約以順上指。 汲黯庭詰弘曰：「齊人多詐而無情，始為與臣等建此議，今皆背之，不忠。」 上問弘，弘謝曰：「夫知臣者以臣為忠，不知臣者以臣為不忠。」 上然弘言。 左右幸臣每毀弘，上益厚遇之。
When a memorial of his missed the mark, he would not wrangle over it in open session. He habitually asked private audience with Chief Commandant for the Household Ji An, let Ji An speak first, then added his own view; the ruler approved, adopted their advice, and drew Hong ever closer. He would fix a line with the high ministers beforehand, then before the throne they would all break the bargain to echo the emperor's whim. Ji An challenged him in open court: "Qi men are smooth and faithless—first he pledged this plan with us, then he turns his coat; that is treachery to his fellows." The emperor turned to Hong, who replied: "Those who know me call me loyal; those who do not call me false." The emperor accepted Hong's answer. The palace favorites slandered him all the more; the sovereign only treated him more generously.
15
弘為人談笑多聞，常稱以為人主病不廣大，人臣病不儉節。 養後母孝謹，後母卒，服喪三年。
In conversation he was witty and learned; he liked to say that rulers err by lacking breadth of mind, ministers by lacking thrift. He served his stepmother with scrupulous filial duty and mourned her the full three years.
16
為內史數年，遷御史大夫。 時又東置蒼海，北築朔方之郡。 弘數諫，以為罷弊中國以奉無用之地，願罷之。 於是上乃使硃買臣等難弘置朔方之便。 發十策，弘不得一。 弘乃謝曰：「山東鄙人，不知其便若是，願罷西南夷、蒼海，專奉朔方。」 上乃許之。
After some years as metropolitan superintendent he rose to imperial counselor. At the same time the court opened the Canghai commandery in the east and walled Shuofang in the north. Hong remonstrated again and again that these schemes beggared the heartland to hold empty borderlands and should be dropped. The emperor set Zhu Maichen and others to debate him on the worth of Shuofang. They put ten questions; Hong could not best a single one. Hong conceded: "I am a bumpkin from east of the passes; I did not see how useful Shuofang could be—let the southwest and Canghai go, and pour our strength into Shuofang alone." The emperor approved.
17
汲黯曰：「弘位在三公，奉祿甚多，然為布被，此詐也。」 上問弘，弘謝曰：「有之。 夫九卿與臣善者無過黯，然今日庭詰弘，誠中弘之病。 夫以三公為布被，誠飾詐欲以釣名。 且臣聞管仲相齊，有三歸，侈擬於君，桓公以霸，亦上僭於君。 晏嬰相景公，食不重肉，妾不衣絲，齊國亦治，亦下比於民。 今臣弘位為御史大夫，為布被，自九卿以下至於小吏無差，誠如黯言。 且無黯，陛下安聞此言？」 上以為有讓，愈益賢之。
Ji An said, "Hong sits among the Three Excellencies on a fat stipend yet sleeps under a homespun quilt—that is a pose." The emperor questioned Hong, who confessed: "It is true. Of the nine ministers none is closer to me than Ji An, yet he rebuked me in open court—and he put his finger on my fault. For a grand chancellor to affect a patchwork cover is plainly a trick to angle for a reputation. I recall Guan Zhong as minister of Qi kept three household establishments and lived almost like his lord; Duke Huan still made him the engine of hegemony—yet that was presumption toward the throne. Yan Ying served Duke Jing on a single meat dish and would not dress his concubines in silk, yet Qi was well governed—he pressed himself down to the people's level. I am imperial counselor yet share a peasant's bedding with every clerk from the nine ministers down—Ji An had the right of it. Moreover, without Ji An, how would Your Majesty ever have heard this?" The emperor read his reply as modesty and esteemed him the more.
18
元朔中，代薛澤為丞相。 先是，漢常以列侯為丞相，唯弘無爵，上於是下詔曰：「朕嘉先聖之道，開廣門路，宣招四方之士，蓋古者任賢而序位，量能以授官，勞大者厥祿厚，德盛者獲爵尊，故武功以顯重，而文德以行褒。 其以高成之平津鄉戶六百五十封丞相弘為平津侯。」 其後以為故事，至丞相封，自弘始也。
During Yuanshuo he succeeded Xue Ze as chancellor. Before Hong, every Han chancellor had held a marquisate; Hong alone had none. The emperor therefore proclaimed: "I honor the teaching of the ancient sages, throw wide the doors, and call talent from every quarter. Antiquity appointed the worthy by rank and matched office to ability—great toil won rich pay, towering virtue a high title—so martial deeds were exalted and civil grace rewarded. I enfeoff Chancellor Hong as Marquis of Pingjin with six hundred fifty households at Pingjin township in Gaocheng." Thereafter the grant of a marquisate with the seal of chancellor became precedent, and it began with Hong.
19
時，上方興功業，婁舉賢良。 弘自見為舉首，起徒步，數年至宰相封侯，於是起客館，開東閣以延賢人，與參謀議。 弘身食一肉，脫粟飯，故人賓客仰衣食，奉祿皆以給之，家無所餘。 然其性意忌，外寬內深。 諸常與弘有隙，無近遠，雖陽與善，後竟報其過。 殺主父偃，徙董仲舒膠西，皆弘力也。
The court was launching great projects and repeatedly called for worthy men. Hong had been first on the list, a commoner who within a few years became chancellor and marquis; he now built guest quarters and opened the east wing to host scholars and take counsel with them. He himself dined on a single meat and millet rice, while friends and clients lived on his salary until his purse was empty. Yet he was jealous by nature—open in manner, secretive at heart. Whoever crossed him, soon or late, might win a smiling face for a time, but Hong always settled scores in the end. The execution of Zhufu Yan and Dong Zhongshu's banishment to Jiaoxi were Hong's work.
20
後淮南、衡山謀反，治黨與方急，弘病甚，自以為無功而封侯，居宰相位，宜佐明主填撫國家，使人由臣子之道。 今諸侯有畔逆之計，此大臣奉職不稱也。 恐病死無以塞責，乃上書曰：「臣聞天下通道五，所以行之者三。 君臣、父子、夫婦、長幼、朋友之交，五者天下之通道也； 仁、知、勇三者，所以行之也。 故曰『好問近乎知，力行近乎仁，知恥近乎勇，知此三者，知所以自治； 知所以自治，然後知所以治人。』 未有不能自治而能治人者也。 陛下躬孝弟，監三王，建周道，兼文武，招徠四方之士，任賢序位，量能授官，將以厲百姓勸賢材也。 今臣愚駑，無汗馬之勞，陛下過意擢臣弘卒伍之中，封為列侯，致位三公。 臣弘行能不足以稱，加有負薪之疾，恐先狗馬填溝壑，終無以報德塞責。 願歸侯，乞骸骨，避賢者路。」 上報曰：「古者賞有功，褒有德，守成上文，遭遇右武，未有易此者也。 朕夙夜庶幾，獲承至尊，懼不能寧，惟所與共為治者，君宜知之。 蓋君子善善及後世，若茲行，常在朕躬。 君不幸罹霜露之疾，何恙不已，乃上書歸侯，乞骸骨，是章朕之不德也。 今事少閒，君其存精神，止念慮，輔助醫藥以自恃。」 因賜告牛、酒、雜帛。 居數月，有瘳，視事。
When Huainan and Hengshan rose, the dragnet for their partisans tightened; Hong lay gravely ill, convinced that he—a man without battlefield merit who had still been made marquis and chancellor—should be steadying the realm and teaching subjects their duty to ruler and father. Now the kings plot treason on the frontier; that means ministers like me have failed their charge. Afraid he might die before answering for it, he memorialized: "I have heard the world knows five constant relationships, yet only three virtues carry them out. Between lord and minister, father and son, husband and wife, elder and younger brother, and friend—these five bonds are the highways of human life; benevolence, wisdom, and courage are what put them into practice. The classic says, 'Love of inquiry nears wisdom, earnest effort nears benevolence, conscience of shame nears courage; know these three and you know how to govern yourself; know yourself and you will know how to govern others.' No one who cannot rule himself can rule another. Your Majesty embodies filial piety and brotherly love, takes the Three Kings as mirror, revives Zhou's institutions, blends wen and wu, draws talent from every quarter, ranks the worthy by merit, fits office to ability—all to stir the people and lift the able. Yet I am a dull blade with no campaign sweat; you plucked me from the ranks, made me a full marquis, and set me among the Three Excellences. My deeds do not match my titles, and I bear the 'wood-carrier's' sickness—likely I shall die in harness like a dog or horse and never repay your kindness. I beg leave to surrender my fief, retire my bones, and clear the path for better men." The throne answered: "Antiquity rewarded merit, praised virtue; peaceful times exalted letters, peril exalted arms—nothing has changed that rule. I took the throne trembling day and night; you are among those I trust to bring peace—surely you know my mind. A gentleman's goodness ripples to later ages; such conduct begins with myself. You are ill with nothing worse than wind and chill—why not heal? To resign your fief now would advertise my lack of grace. Affairs are light for the moment—gather your strength, quiet your cares, and let medicine do its work." He granted sick leave with gifts of cattle, wine, and silks. A few months later he mended and returned to duty.
21
凡為丞相御史六歲，年八十，終丞相位。 其後李蔡、嚴青翟、趙周、石慶、公孫賀、劉屈□繼踵為丞相。 自蔡至慶，丞相府客館丘虛而已，至賀、屈□時壞以為馬廄車庫奴婢室矣。 唯慶以惇謹，復終相位，其餘盡伏誅雲。
Six years he held chancellor and censor together; he died in office at eighty. After him came Li Cai, Yan Qingdi, Zhao Zhou, Shi Qing, Gongsun He, and Liu Qu—[lacuna in text]—each in turn as chancellor. From Li Cai through Shi Qing the chancellor's guest halls stood empty as ruins; under Gongsun He and Liu Qu they were torn down for stables, coach houses, and servants' quarters. Only Shi Qing, honest and careful, finished his term; the rest died by the headsman's ax.
22
弘子度嗣侯，為山陽太守十餘歲，詔征巨野令史成詣公車，度留不遣，坐論為城旦。
His son Du inherited the title; as governor of Shanyang he blocked an edict summoning Magistrate Shi Cheng of Juye to the capital and was condemned to hard labor on the wall.
23
元始中，修功臣後，下詔曰：「漢興以來，股肱在位，身行儉約，輕財重義，未有若公孫弘者也。 位在宰相封侯，而為布被脫粟之飯，奉祿以給故人賓客，無有所餘，可謂減於制度，而率下篤俗者也，與內厚富而外為詭服以釣虛譽者殊科。 夫表德章義，所以率世厲俗，聖王之也。 其賜弘後子孫之次見為適者，爵關內侯，食邑三百戶。」
In Yuanshi the court ennobled the descendants of great servants and proclaimed: "Since Han began, no minister on the dais has matched Hong for thrift in his person and zeal for right over riches. Chancellor and marquis though he was, he ate millet under a homespun cover and spent every coin on friends—below the sumptuary norm, yet he pulled custom upward; that is not the same breed as men who hoard gold yet dress like beggars for a hollow name. To make virtue visible and righteousness plain is how sage kings lead the age and steel the folk—the received line may lack a final character. Bestow marquis-within-the-passes rank and three hundred households on the senior legitimate heir among Hong's descendants."
24
卜式，河南人也。 以田畜為事。 有少弟，弟壯，式脫身出，獨取畜羊百餘，田宅財物盡與弟。 式入山牧，十餘年，羊致千餘頭，買田宅。 而弟盡破其產，式輒復分與弟者數矣。
Bu Shi was a native of Henan. He made his living from tillage and livestock. He had a younger brother; when the lad came of age, Bu Shi walked away with only a flock of a hundred-odd sheep, leaving land, house, and goods to him. He drove his flock into the hills; in ten-odd years it passed a thousand head, and he bought land and a house. His brother squandered everything; Bu Shi more than once divided his own herd and fields and gave them back.
25
時漢方事匈奴，式上書，願輸家財半助邊。 上使使問式：「欲為官乎？」 式曰：「自小牧羊，不習仕宦，不願也。」 使者曰：「家豈有冤，欲言事乎？」 式曰：「臣生與人亡所爭，邑人貧者貸之，不善者教之，所居，人皆從式，式何故見冤！」 使者曰：「苟，子何欲？」 式曰：「天子誅匈奴，愚以為賢者宜死節，有財者宜輸之，如此而匈奴可滅也。」 使者以聞。 上以語丞相弘。 弘曰：「此非人情。 不軌之臣不可以為化而亂法，願陛下勿許。」 上不報，數歲乃置式。 式歸，復田牧。
While Han was fighting the Xiongnu, Bu Shi offered to send half his estate to the frontier. The court sent men to ask: "Do you want an appointment?" Bu Shi replied: "I have herded sheep since I was a boy; I know nothing of government—I do not want a post." The envoy pressed: "Is there a wrong you wish to redress?" Bu Shi said: "I have quarreled with no man; I lend to the poor in my village and teach the unruly; my neighbors follow my lead—what grievance could I have?" The envoy said, "Very well—what is it you want?" Bu Shi answered: "The Son of Heaven is chastising the Xiongnu; the worthy should be ready to die for the cause, the rich should open their granaries—only so can the nomads be crushed." The envoys carried his words to the throne. The emperor mentioned it to Chancellor Hong. Hong said, "That is not how ordinary men behave. A restless subject must not be held up as an example or he will wreck your statutes; I beg you to decline his offer." The emperor made no answer; only years later did he take Bu Shi up. Bu Shi went home to his flocks and fields.
26
歲餘，會渾邪等降，縣官費眾，倉府空，貧民大徙，皆卬給縣官，無以盡贍。 式復持錢二十萬與河南太守，以給徙民。 河南上富人助貧民者，上識式姓名，曰：「是固前欲輸其家半財助邊。」 乃賜式外繇四百人，式又盡復與官。 是時，富豪皆爭匿財，唯式尤欲助費。 上於是以式終長者，乃召拜式為中郎，賜爵左庶長，田十頃，佈告天下，尊顯以風百姓。
A year later, when Hunye and his people came in, state expenses soared, the treasuries ran dry, and refugees mobbed the counties beyond what rations could feed. Bu Shi handed two hundred thousand cash to the governor of Henan to help the settlers. When Henan listed rich men who had succored the poor, the emperor recognized Bu Shi's name: "This is the fellow who offered half his estate for the border." He rewarded him with four hundred corvée exemptions; Bu Shi turned the whole benefit back to the treasury. While magnates hid their silver, Bu Shi alone strained to aid the exchequer. The court pronounced him a true elder, summoned him as gentleman of the palace, awarded the rank of left shuzhang, granted ten qing of land, and published the edict to shame the stingy and teach the people thrift.
27
初，式不願為郎，上曰：「吾有羊在上林中，欲令子牧之。」 式既為郎，布衣草蹻而牧羊。 歲餘，羊肥息。 上過其羊所，善之。 式曰：「非獨羊也，治民亦猶是矣。 以時起居，惡者輒去，毋令敗群。」 上奇其言，欲試使治民。 拜式緱氏令，緱氏便之； 遷成皋令，將漕最。 上以式樸忠，拜為齊王太傅，轉為相。
Bu Shi did not want a court title; the emperor said, "I keep sheep in the imperial park—I mean you to tend them." So Bu Shi became a courtier in homespun coat and straw sandals, still a shepherd. Within a year the flock grew fat and bred well. The emperor visited his fold and praised the work. Bu Shi said, "Sheep are not the only lesson—ruling the people is the same. Let them feed and rest in season; cull the sickly at once and do not let one scabby beast spoil the herd." Struck by the metaphor, the emperor decided to test him on a magistracy. They named him magistrate of Goushi, where he pleased the people. Promoted to Chenggao, he topped the list for river transport. Judging him plain and loyal, the court made him grand tutor to the king of Qi, then minister of that kingdom.
28
會呂嘉反，式上書曰：「臣聞主愧臣死。 群臣宜盡死節，其駑下者宜出財以佐軍，如是則強國不犯之道也。 臣願與子男及臨菑習弩博昌習船者請行死之，以盡臣節。」 上賢之，下詔曰：「朕聞報德以德，報怨以直。 今天下不幸有事，郡縣諸侯未有奮繇直道者也。 齊相雅行躬耕，隨牧畜悉，輒分昆弟，更造，不為利惑。 日者北邊有興，上書助官。 往年西河歲惡，率齊人入粟。 今又首奮，雖未戰，可謂義形於內矣。 其賜式爵關內侯，黃金四十斤，田十頃，佈告天下，使明知之。」
When Lü Jia rose in the south, Bu Shi wrote: "They say when the sovereign is shamed his servants must die. Every minister should be ready to lay down his life; the least of us should open our purses for the host—only thus does a great power go unchallenged. Let me take my sons and the crossbowmen of Linzi and boatmen of Bochang and march to the death—so I may pay my debt of honor." The emperor praised him and proclaimed: "Kindness is answered with kindness, injury with plain dealing." The realm is in trouble, yet no county or kingdom has stepped forward as duty demands. The minister of Qi tills his own soil, shares every head from fold and field with his kin, builds them up when they fail, and never lets greed cloud him—though the line is damaged in transmission. When the north flared up, he was first to offer funds to the state. In a lean year west of the river he drove his neighbors to ship grain. Now he leads again though swords are not yet drawn—his good faith shows from within. I grant him marquis-within-the-passes rank, forty jin of gold, ten qing of land, and publish the edict so all may know."
29
元鼎中，征式代石慶為御史大夫。 式既在位，言郡國不便鹽鐵而船有算，可罷。 上由是不說式。 明年當封禪，式又不習文章，貶秩為太子太傅，以兒寬代之。 式以壽終。
In Yuanding the court called Bu Shi to replace Shi Qing as imperial counselor. Once in office he urged repeal of the salt-and-iron monopoly and the boat levy, which he said hurt the commanderies. The emperor took offense and cooled toward him. The next year, with the Feng and Shan rites at hand, Bu Shi could not draft the liturgies; he was demoted to tutor to the heir apparent while Er Kuan took his chair. Bu Shi died in his bed, full of years.
30
兒寬，千乘人也。 治《尚書》，事歐陽生。 以郡國選詣博士，受業孔安國。 貧無資用，嘗為弟子都養。 時行賃作，帶經而鋤，休息輒讀誦，其精如此。 以射策為掌故，功次，補廷尉文學卒史。
Er Kuan came from Qiansheng commandery. He studied the Book of Documents under Ouyang Sheng. Recommended by his commandery, he entered the academy and studied with Kong Anguo. Too poor for tuition, he hired out as the class cook. He took day labor with the Documents tucked in his belt, read at every break from the hoe, and pushed himself that hard. He passed the graded examination and became a palm antiquarian, then by seniority stepped up to literary clerk under the commandant of justice.
31
寬為人溫良，有廉知自將，善屬文，然懦於武，口弗能發明也。 時張湯為廷尉，廷尉府盡用文史法律之吏，而寬以儒生在其間，見謂不習事，不署曹，除為從史，之北地視畜數年。 還至府，上畜簿，會廷尉時有疑奏，已再見卻矣，掾史莫知所為。 寬為言其意，掾史因使寬為奏。 奏成，讀之皆服，以白廷尉湯。 湯大驚，召寬與語，乃奇其材，以為掾。 上寬所作奏，即時得可。 異日，湯見上。 問曰：「前奏非俗吏所及，誰為之者？」 湯言兒寬。 上曰：「吾固聞之久矣。」 湯由是鄉學，以寬為奏讞掾，以古法義決疑獄，甚重之。 及湯為御史大夫，以寬為掾，舉侍御史。 見上，語經學，上說之，從問《尚書》一篇。 擢為中大夫，遷左內史。
Er Kuan was gentle, frugal, and self-contained, a fine writer but no soldier and no orator. Zhang Tang's bureau was a nest of legal clerks; a classicist like Kuan was thought useless, kept out of the sections, and packed off to Beidi to count herds for years. Back at headquarters he filed his herd book just as a vexed memorial from the commandant had been bounced twice—no one dared rewrite it. Kuan unpacked the legal point; the staff begged him to redraft the paper. When they read his version, every man conceded; they took it to Zhang Tang. Tang was astonished, talked with him at length, and took him on as a regular clerk. The throne accepted Kuan's draft at once. A few days later Tang went in to the emperor. He asked who could have written the memorial "no routine clerk could touch." Tang gave the name Er Kuan. "I have had his name in mind for ages," said the emperor. From then on Tang turned scholarward, named Kuan clerk for petitions and verdicts, and leaned on classical principle to settle hard cases—he prized him highly. When Tang rose to imperial counselor, he kept Kuan on staff and put him forward as attendant censor. At audience he spoke on the canon; the emperor delighted in it and had him expound a chapter of the Book of Documents. They raised him to grand counsellor of the palace, then moved him to left metropolitan superintendent.
32
寬既治民，勸農業，緩刑罰，理獄訟，卑體下士，務在於得人心； 擇用仁厚士，推情與下，不求名聲，吏民大信愛之。 寬表奏開六輔渠，定水令以廣溉田。 收租稅，時裁闊狹，與民相假貸，以故租多不入。 後有軍發，左內史以負租課殿，當免。 民聞當免，皆恐失之，大家牛車，小家擔負，輸租繈屬不絕，課更以最。 上由此愈奇寬。
As magistrate he pushed agriculture, softened penalties, cleared the docket, and humbled himself before local talent—all to win trust; he picked humane assistants, dealt straight with the people, and cared nothing for reputation—officials and townsfolk alike came to love him. He petitioned to dig the Six Auxiliary channels and codify water rights to spread irrigation. He timed collections to hardship, sometimes letting farmers borrow against the tithe—so the granary books often ran short. When war levies came due, his office ranked last for unpaid rent and he faced removal. Learning he might go, rich and poor rushed grain in oxcarts and on shoulder poles until the arrears vanished and his rating jumped to first. The sovereign marveled at him anew.
33
及議欲放古巡狩封禪之事，諸儒對者五十餘人，未能有所定。 先是，司馬相如病死，有遺書，頌功德，言符瑞，足以封泰山。 上奇其書，以問寬，寬對曰：「陛下躬發聖德，統楫群元，宗祀天地，薦禮百神，精神所鄉，徵兆必報，天地並應，符瑞昭明。 其封泰山，禪梁父，昭姓考瑞，帝王之盛節也。 然享薦之義，不著於經，以為封禪告成，合祛於天地神祇，祗戒精專以接神明。 總百官之職，各稱事宜而為之節文。 唯聖主所由，制定其當，非君臣之所能列。 令將舉大事，優遊數年，使群臣得人自盡，終莫能成。 唯天子建中和之極，兼總條貫，金聲而玉振之，以順成天慶，垂萬世之基。」 上然之，乃自製儀，采儒術以文焉。
Debate on restoring the ancient progress and the Tai-shan rites drew answers from fifty-odd scholars and still no decision. Sima Xiangru had left a posthumous memorial praising the reign and its omens as warranting the Tai-shan ceremony. The emperor showed him Xiangru's text; Kuan answered: "Your virtue steers the people, your sacrifices reach Heaven, earth, and the gods—where mind and rite meet, omens reply in plain sight. The feng on Tai and the shan at Liangfu, proclaiming your line and reading the portents, are the crown acts of true kings. The classics do not spell every detail of the offerings; still, feng and shan close the great enterprise, join your report to Heaven and earth, and call for the purest reverence toward the gods. Each ministry must fit its part to the season and supply the proper liturgical text. Only the Son of Heaven can set the mean and fix the forms—no roster of ministers can substitute for that. Dawdle for years while every adviser pushes a private scheme, and the great rite will never be done. Only the throne can strike the perfect chord, draw every strand together, and "sound the bell of metal and the chime of jade"—finishing Heaven's celebration and founding an age that will last." The emperor agreed, wrote much of the ritual himself, and draped it in Confucian phrase.
34
既成，將用事，拜寬為御史大夫，從東封泰山，還登明堂。 寬上壽曰：「臣聞三代改制，屬象相因。 間者聖統廢絕，陛下發憤，合指天地，祖立明堂辟雍，宗祀泰一，六律五聲，幽贊聖意，神樂四合，各有方象，以丞嘉祀，為萬世則，天下幸甚。 將建大元本瑞，登告岱宗，發祉闓門，以候景至。 癸亥宗祀，日宣重光； 上元甲子，肅邕永享。 光輝充塞，天文粲然，見象日昭，報降符應。 臣寬奉觴再拜，上千萬歲壽。」 制曰：「敬舉君之觴。」
When all was ready he named Kuan imperial counselor; Kuan escorted him east to Tai, then back to the Bright Hall. At the Bright Hall Kuan raised his cup: "The Three Houses refashioned rites and handed their emblems down in turn. That line fell silent until you took it up: you paired earth with sky, raised the Bright Hall and the Biyong academy, honored the Grand Unity, and let pitch and mode voice a music the spirits answer—rites that will model all later ages and bless the world. You will plant the Grand Beginning omen, mount Tai to report, fling wide the gate of blessing, and wait for the sign. On the guihai day of the lineage rite the sun shows double radiance; In the founding jiazi of the new cycle, solemn peace is pledged without end. Heaven's patterns blaze; each omen grows plainer; the matching signs fall in reply. Your servant raises the cup twice and bows, wishing Your Majesty ten thousand years of life." The emperor replied, "I accept your toast with respect."
35
後太史令司馬遷等言：「歷紀壞廢，漢興未改正朔，宜可正。」 上乃詔寬與遷等共定漢《太初曆》。 語在《律曆志》。
Later Sima Qian and his colleagues said the calendar was broken and Han had never reset the civil year—it must be fixed. He charged Er Kuan, Sima Qian, and the rest to draft the Grand Inception calendar. The details stand in the Treatise on Pitchpipes and the Calendar.
36
初，梁相褚大通《五經》，為博士，時寬為弟子。 及御史大夫缺，征褚大，大自以為得御史大夫。 至洛陽，聞兒寬為之，褚大笑。 及至，與寬議封禪於上前，大不能及，退而服曰：「上誠知人。」 寬為御史大夫，以稱意任職，故久無有所匡諫於上，官屬易之。 居位九歲，以官卒。
Long before, Liang minister Chu Da, a Five-Classics scholar and court erudite, had numbered Kuan among his students. When the censor's chair fell empty, the court called for Chu Da, who assumed the job was his. At Luoyang he learned Er Kuan had the seal—and laughed aloud. In open court on the Tai rite he could not keep pace with his former pupil; afterward he conceded, "The throne really knows how to pick men." Kuan pleased the emperor so well that he rarely criticized policy; his staff despised him for it. Nine years he held the censorate, then died in harness.
37
贊曰：公孫弘、卜式、兒寬皆以鴻漸之翼困於燕爵，遠跡羊豕之間，非遇其時，焉能致此位乎？ 是時，漢興六十餘載，海內艾安，府庫充實，而四夷未賓，制度多闕。 上方欲用文武，求之如弗及，始以蒲輪迎枚生，見主父而歎息。 群士慕向，異人並出。 卜式拔於芻牧，弘羊擢於栗豎，衛青奮於奴僕，日磾出於降虜，斯亦曩時版築飯牛之朋已。 漢之得人，於茲為盛，儒雅則公孫弘、董仲舒、兒寬，篤行則石建、石慶，質直則汲黯、卜式，推賢則韓安國、鄭當時，定令則趙禹、張湯，文章則司馬遷、相如，滑稽則東方朔、枚皋，應對則嚴助、硃買臣，歷數則唐都、洛下閎，協律則李延年，運籌則桑弘羊，奉使則張騫、蘇武，將率則衛青、霍去病，受遺則霍光、金日磾，其餘不可勝紀。 是以興造功業，制度遺文，後世莫及。 孝宣承統，纂修洪業，亦講論六藝，招選茂異，而蕭望之、梁丘賀、夏侯勝、韋玄成、嚴彭祖，尹更始以儒術進，劉向，王褒以文章顯，將相則張安世、趙充國、魏相、丙吉、於定國、杜延年，治民則黃霸、王成、龔遂、鄭弘、召信臣、韓延壽、尹翁歸、趙廣漢、嚴延年、張敞之屬，皆有功跡見述於世。 參其名臣，亦其次也。
The historian sighs: Hong, Bu Shi, and Er Kuan were swans mistaken for hens, men of worth herding pigs and sheep—without a ruler who sought them, how would they ever have risen? By then Han had stood sixty years at peace, the vaults were full, but the border tribes still stood outside the rites and many statutes waited to be written. The sovereign meant to wield both wen and wu and hunted talent as if starved for it—he fetched Mei Sheng with the herb-wheeled cart and caught his breath at the sight of Zhufu Yan. Scholars flocked to the capital; strange gifts turned up in pairs. Bu Shi rose from the pasture, Sang Hongyang from the granary urchin, Wei Qing from slavery, Jin Midi from the ranks of captives—kin to the wall-builders and ox-herders of legend. Never did the dynasty gather talent so thickly: Hong, Dong, and Kuan for classical breadth; the Shi brothers for steadfast service; Ji An and Bu Shi for blunt loyalty; Han Anguo and Zheng Dangshi for lifting others; Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang for codifying law; Sima Qian and Xiangru for voice; jesters Dongfang Shuo and Mei Gao; debaters Yan Zhu and Zhu Maichen; calendar-makers Tang Dou and Luoxia Hong; the harmonist Li Yan'nian; the reckoner Sang Hongyang; envoys Zhang Qian and Su Wu; blades Wei Qing and Huo Qubing; regents Huo Guang and Jin Midi—and a cloud of names besides. Hence the works they raised and the laws they left posterity have scarcely been equaled since. Xuan continued the work, revived the six arts, and called forth the brilliant: Confucians such as Xiao Wangzhi, Liangqiu He, and the rest; stylists Liu Xiang and Wang Bao; ministers Zhang Anshi, Zhao Chongguo, Wei Xiang, Bing Ji, Yu Dingguo, Du Yannian; magistrates Huang Ba, Wang Cheng, Gong Sui, Zheng Hong, Shao Xinchen, Han Yanshou, Yin Wengui, Zhao Guanghan, Yan Yannian, Zhang Chang—each left a mark the age remembers. Against that roster of great servants, the three men treated here belong in the second rank.