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卷六十六公孫劉田王楊蔡陳鄭傳第三十六
Volume 66: Biographies of Gongsun, Liu, Tian, Wang, Yang, Cai, Chen, and Zheng—the thirty-sixth series.
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公孫賀
Gongsun He
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公孫賀字子叔，北地義渠人也。 賀祖父昆邪，景帝時為隴西守，以將軍擊吳、楚有功，封平曲侯，著書十餘篇。
Gongsun He, whose courtesy name was Zishu, came from Yiqu in Beidi commandery. His grandfather Kunxie had served as Guardian of Longxi under Emperor Jing; as a general he campaigned against Wu and Chu with distinction, was enfeoffed as Marquis of Pingqu, and left behind more than ten written works.
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賀子敬聲，代賀為太僕，父子並居公卿位。 敬聲以皇后姊子，驕奢不奉法，征和中擅用北軍錢千九百萬，發覺，下獄。 是時，詔捕陽陵硃安世不能得，上求之急，賀自請逐捕安世以贖敬聲罪。 上許之。 後果得安世。 安世者，京師大俠也，聞賀欲以贖子，笑曰：「丞相禍及宗矣。 南山之行不足受我辭，斜谷之木不足為我械。」 安世遂從獄中上書，告敬聲與陽石公主私通，及使人巫祭祠詛上，且上甘泉當馳道埋偶人，祝詛有惡言。 下有司案驗賀，窮治所犯，遂父子死獄中，家族。
His son Jingsheng succeeded him as Grand Coachman, so father and son both stood among the highest ministers of state. Jingsheng was the empress's nephew by her sister. He lived in swaggering luxury and flouted the statutes, and during the Zhenghe period he diverted nineteen million cash from the Northern Army's treasury. When the embezzlement came to light, he was thrown into jail. The court had long sought Zhu Anshi of Yangling without success, and the emperor was demanding results. Gongsun He volunteered to run Anshi to earth if that would redeem his son. The emperor agreed. They did in fact seize Anshi. Anshi was one of the capital's most feared swordsmen. When he learned Gongsun He meant to buy his son's freedom with Anshi's capture, he laughed and said, "The chancellor has doomed his whole lineage. Not every trail on Mount Zhongnan could hold the confession I would give; not every tree in Xie Gorge could furnish stocks for me." From his cell Anshi memorialized the throne, charging Jingsheng with adultery with Princess Yangshi, with hiring witches to sacrifice and curse the emperor, and with burying straw effigies along the imperial carriage road to Ganquan while uttering venomous imprecations. The case was referred to the judicial officials, who pursued every charge against Gongsun He. Father and son perished in prison, and their kin were extirpated to the last.
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巫蠱之禍起自硃安世，成於江充，遂及公主、皇后、太子，皆敗。 語在《江充》、《戾園傳》。
The witchcraft terror began with Zhu Anshi and was brought to a head by Jiang Chong; in its wake the princesses, the empress, and the crown prince all fell. The full story appears in the biographies of Jiang Chong and the Liyuan heir.
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劉屈氂
Liu Qumao
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劉屈氂，武帝庶兄中山靖王子也，不知其始所以進。
Liu Qumao was a bastard son of Emperor Wu's half-brother, the Prince Jing of Zhongshan; how he first came to court is not recorded.
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征和二年春，制詔御史：「故丞相賀倚舊故乘高勢而為邪，興美田以利子弟賓客，不顧元元，無益邊谷，貨賂上流，朕忍之久矣。 終不自革，乃以邊為援，使內郡自省作車，又令耕者自轉，以困農煩擾畜者，重馬傷枆，武備衰減； 下吏妄賦，百姓流亡； 又詐為詔書，以奸傳硃安世。 獄已正於理。 其以涿郡太守屈氂為左丞相，分丞相長史為兩府，以待天下遠方之選。 夫親親任賢，周、唐之道也。 以澎戶二千二百封左丞相為澎侯。」
In the spring of the second Zhenghe year the throne addressed the Imperial Secretary: "The late Chancellor Gongsun He traded on long acquaintance and lofty rank to act corruptly, seizing prime farmland for the benefit of his sons, clients, and guests. He showed no care for the populace, did nothing to fill the border granaries, and sent illicit gifts up the chain of command. I have swallowed these offenses for years. He never mended his ways. He used the border as an excuse to force interior commanderies to build wagons at their own cost and conscripted farmers to haul their own grain, vexing tillers and herdsmen alike, ruining horses and oxen, and sapping the army's strength; petty officers plundered the people with arbitrary levies until commoners scattered as refugees; he even forged an imperial rescript to entrap Zhu Anshi by false pretenses. His guilt has been fixed by law. Therefore Qu Mao, Guardian of Zhuo, is appointed Left Chancellor; the chief clerk's office is split into two establishments so that talent may be drawn from every quarter of the realm. Cherishing kinsmen and elevating the worthy—that was the way of the Zhou kings and of Tang of Shang. Invest the Left Chancellor with two thousand two hundred households and enfeoff him as Marquis of Peng."
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其秋，戾太子為江充所譖，殺充，發兵入丞相府，屈氂挺身逃，亡其印綬。 是時，上避暑在甘泉宮，丞相長史乘疾置以聞。 上問：「丞相何為？」 對曰：「丞相秘之，未敢發兵。」 上怒曰：「事籍籍如此，何謂秘也？ 丞相無周公之風矣。 周公不誅管、蔡乎？」 乃賜丞相璽書曰：「捕斬反者，自有賞罰。 以牛車為櫓，毋接短兵，多殺傷士眾。 堅閉城門，毋令反者得出。」
That autumn the crown prince Liu Ju, framed by Jiang Chong, executed Chong and marched on the chancellor's yamen. Qu Mao fled headlong and left his official seals behind. The emperor was then at his Ganquan summer palace; the chancellor's chief clerk took the post relays to bring word. The emperor asked what the chancellor was doing. The man answered that the chancellor had concealed the matter and had not yet dared to mobilize troops. The emperor flared: "The whole capital is buzzing—what secrecy is there? The chancellor is no Duke of Zhou. Did not the Duke of Zhou put Guan and Cai to the sword?" He then sent the chancellor a rescript on the jade tablet: "Whoever captures or slays the rebels will be rewarded or punished by regulation. Fight from behind ox-drawn barricades; do not close to hand strokes, or you will slaughter your own men by the thousands. Seal the gates; let no rebel escape."
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太子既誅充發兵，宣言帝在甘泉病困，疑有變，奸臣欲作亂。 上於是從甘泉來，幸城西建章宮，詔發三輔近縣兵，部中二千石以下，丞相兼將。 太子亦遣使者撟制赦長安中都官囚徒，發武庫兵，命少傅石德及賓客張光等分將，使長安囚如侯持節發長水及宣曲胡騎，皆以裝會。 侍郎莽通使長安，因追捕如侯，告胡人曰：「節有詐，勿聽也。」 遂斬如侯，引騎入長安，又發輯濯士，以予大鴻臚商丘城。 初，漢節純赤，以太子持赤節，故更為黃旄加上以相別。 太子召監北軍使者任安發北軍兵，安受節已，閉軍門，不肯應太子。 太子引兵去，驅四市人凡數萬眾，至長樂西闕下，逢丞相軍，合戰五日，死者數萬人，血流入溝中。 丞相附兵浸多，太子軍敗，南奔覆盎城門，得出。 會夜司直田仁部閉城門，坐令太子得出，丞相欲斬仁。 御史大夫暴勝之謂丞相曰：「司直，吏二千石，當先請，奈何擅斬之？」 丞相釋仁。 上聞而大怒，下吏責問御史大夫曰：「司直縱反者，丞相斬之，法也，大夫何以擅止之？」 勝之皇恐，自殺。 及北軍使者任安，坐受太子節，懷二心，司直田仁縱太子，皆要斬。 上曰：「侍郎莽通獲反將如侯，長安男子景通從通獲少傅石德，可謂元功矣。 大鴻臚商丘成力戰獲反將張光。 其封通為重合侯，建為德侯，成為秺侯。」 諸太子賓客，嘗出入宮門，皆坐誅。 其隨太子發兵，以反法族。 吏士劫略者，皆徙敦煌郡。 以太子在外，始置屯兵長安諸城門。 後二十餘日，太子得於湖。 語在《太子傳》。
Once the crown prince had executed Jiang Chong and called out the guard, he proclaimed that the emperor was gravely ill at Ganquan, that turncoats were plotting a coup, and that the dynasty was in danger. The emperor rode down from Ganquan and took up quarters in Jianzhang Palace west of Chang'an, ordering the Three Assistants to mobilize neighboring counties. Every official below two thousand piculs fell under the chancellor's joint command. The crown prince likewise forged a general amnesty for prisoners in the capital jails, opened the imperial armory, named his junior tutor Shi De and clients such as Zhang Guang as field commanders, and dispatched the convict Ruhou with a tallies to mobilize the Xiongnu auxiliaries of Changshui and Xuqu, ordering every detachment to muster under arms. The Gentleman for Court Audience Mang Tong reached Chang'an, ran Ruhou down, and warned the Hu horsemen that the tallies were counterfeit and must be ignored, then executed Ruhou, rode into the city at the head of his column, impressed the palace boatmen, and placed them under Grand Herald Shangqiu Cheng. Han credentials had once been solid vermilion; because the crown prince carried a crimson staff, the court reissued tallies marked with yellow yak plumes so friend and foe could tell them apart. The crown prince summoned Ren An, overseer of the Northern Army, to turn out its garrison. Ren accepted the tally, then locked the gates and refused the prince. The prince withdrew, pressed tens of thousands of market dwellers into service, and marched to the western portal of Weiyang Palace. There he collided with the chancellor's host. For five days the armies slaughtered each other until corpses choked the canals and blood ran in the gutters. Reinforcements swelled the government ranks until the crown prince's force broke. He bolted south through Fugang Gate and slipped away. That night Chief Constable Tian Ren's company had barred the gate, yet he stood aside while the heir fled. The chancellor demanded his head. Imperial Counselor Bao Shengzhi protested: "The chief constable holds rank at two thousand piculs. You must seek imperial approval before killing him—what right have you to strike on your own?" The chancellor spared Tian Ren. When word reached the Son of Heaven, his wrath was terrible. He had the counselors examine Bao Shengzhi: "The chief constable abetted a traitor; the chancellor acted within the law when he sought his life—by what authority did you countermand him?" Bao Shengzhi, panic-stricken, took his own life. Ren An of the Northern Army, who had taken the prince's tally while his loyalties wavered, and Tian Ren, who had opened the way for the fugitive, were both sentenced to death by waist-slicing. The emperor declared: "Mang Tong of the Gentlemen for Court Audience seized the rebel commander Ruhou; the commoner Jing Tong of Chang'an aided him in capturing Junior Tutor Shi De. Both deserve the highest reward. Grand Herald Shangqiu Cheng fought stubbornly and took rebel commander Zhang Guang alive. Enfeoff Mang Tong as Marquis of Chonghe, Jing Tong as Marquis of De, and Shangqiu Cheng as Marquis of Du." Every client of the crown prince who had passed the palace gates was put to death. Anyone who had marched under the prince's banner was extirpated as a traitor. Soldiers and officials guilty of plunder were transported to Dunhuang. With the heir still abroad, the court for the first time posted garrisons on every Chang'an gate. Some three weeks later the crown prince was run to earth at Hu county. The particulars are recorded in the crown prince's biography.
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其明年，貳師將軍李廣利將兵出擊匈奴，丞相為祖道，送至渭橋，與廣利辭決。 廣利曰：「願君侯早請昌邑王為太子。 如立為帝，君侯長何憂乎？」 屈氂許諾。 昌邑王者，貳師將軍女弟李夫人子也。 貳師女為屈氂子妻，故共欲立焉。 是時，治巫蠱獄急，內者令郭穰告丞相夫人以丞相數有譴，使巫祠社，祝詛主上，有惡言，及與貳師共禱祠，欲令昌邑王為帝。 有司奏請案驗，罪至大逆不道。 有詔載屈氂廚車以徇，要斬東市，妻子梟首華陽街。 貳師將軍妻子亦收。 貳師聞之，降匈奴，宗族遂滅。
The following year General-in-chief Li Guangli marched against the Xiongnu. The chancellor saw him off with the road sacrifice as far as the Wei Bridge and there clasped hands in farewell. Li Guangli said, "Pray petition early to install the king of Changyi as heir. Once he mounts the throne, you will never want for favor, my lord." Qu Mao agreed. The king of Changyi was the Lady Li's son—Li Guangli's nephew by his sister. Because Li Guangli's daughter was married to Qu Mao's son, the two families schemed together to put the youth on the throne. While the witchcraft inquisitions raged, Chief of Palace Attendants Guo Rang denounced the chancellor's wife for hiring witches to curse the emperor at the sheji altars—she was smarting from her husband's repeated humiliations—and for conspiring with Li Guangli to enthrone the king of Changyi. The ministers asked for a full inquiry; the charges amounted to capital treason. An edict ordered Qu Mao displayed in the executioner's cart, cut in two at the eastern market, and his wife and children decapitated, their heads spiked along Huayang Street. Li Guangli's family was seized as well. Hearing the news, Li Guangli defected to the Xiongnu, and his entire lineage was wiped out.
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車千秋
Che Qianqiu
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車千秋，本姓田氏，其先齊諸田徙長陵。 千秋為高寢郎。 會衛太子為江充所譖敗，久之，千秋上急變訟太子冤，曰：「子弄父兵，罪當答； 天子之子過誤殺人，當何罷哉！ 臣嘗夢見一白頭翁教臣言。」 是時，上頗知太子惶恐無他意，乃大感寤，召見千秋。 至前，千秋長八尺餘，體貌甚麗，武帝見而說之，謂曰：「父子之間，人所難言也，公獨明其不然。 此高廟神靈使公教我，公當遂為吾輔佐。」 立拜千秋為大鴻臚。 數月，遂代劉屈氂為丞相，封富民侯。 千秋無他材能術學，又無伐閱功勞，特以一言寤意，旬月取宰相封侯，世未嘗有也。 反漢使者至匈奴，單于問曰：「聞漢新拜丞相，何用得之？」 使者曰：「以上書言事故。」 單于曰：「苟如是，漢置丞相，非用賢也，妄一男子上書即得之矣。」 使者還，道單于語。 武帝以為辱命，欲下之吏。 良久，乃貰之。
Che Qianqiu was born a Tian; his forebears were Qi princes of the Tian house who had resettled at Changling. He served as gentleman-attendant at the Lofty Temple mausoleum. Long after the Wei crown prince had been destroyed by Jiang Chong's slander, Qianqiu filed an emergency memorial insisting on the prince's innocence: "A son who plays with his father's arms deserves a flogging; but when the emperor's own child takes a life through mischance, what grave penalty could possibly apply?" A white-haired elder spoke these words to me in a dream." By then the emperor understood that the crown prince had acted only from terror, not treason. Deeply shaken, he summoned Qianqiu. Qianqiu stood over eight feet, splendidly proportioned. Emperor Wu took to him at once. "The bond between father and son is what other men dare not parse," he said; "you alone have shown it was never what rumour claimed. The spirit of Gaozu sent you to enlighten me; from this day you shall stand at my side." On the spot he named Qianqiu Grand Herald. A few months later he succeeded Liu Qumao as chancellor and received the marquisate of Fumin. He possessed neither scholarship nor administrative genius, nor any battlefield glory—yet a single sentence that pierced the emperor's remorse won him the seals of chancellor and a feudal fief within weeks, a rise without parallel in history. When the next Han envoy reached the steppe, the Chanyu asked how the new chancellor had earned his post. The envoy answered that he had risen by memorializing on a single incident. The Chanyu snorted: "If that is all it takes, then the Son of Heaven does not choose ministers for virtue—any scribbler who mails a petition may become chancellor." On his return the envoy repeated the Chanyu's gibe. Emperor Wu considered it a humiliation to the court and meant to hand the man to the jailers. After long reflection he relented and spared him.
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然千秋為人敦厚有智，居位自稱，逾於前後數公。 初，千秋始視事，見上連年治太子獄，誅罰尤多，群下恐懼，思欲寬廣上意，尉安眾庶。 乃與御史、中二千石共上壽頌德美，勸上施恩惠，緩刑罰，玩聽音樂，養志和神，為天下自虞樂。 上報曰：「朕之不德，自左丞相與貳師陰謀逆亂，巫蠱之禍流及士大夫。 朕日一食者累月，乃何樂之聽？ 痛士大夫常在心，既事不咎。 雖然，巫蠱始發，詔丞相、御史督二千石求捕，廷尉治，未聞九卿、廷尉有所鞫也。 曩者，江充先治甘泉宮人，轉至未央椒房，以及敬聲之疇、李禹之屬謀人匈奴，有司無所發，令丞相親掘蘭台蠱驗，所明知也。 至今余巫頗脫不止，陰賊侵身，遠近為蠱，朕愧之甚，何壽之有？ 敬不舉君之觴！ 謹謝丞相、二千石各就館。 書曰：『毋偏毋黨，王道蕩蕩。』 毋有復言。」
For all that, Qianqiu was stolid, warm-hearted, and shrewd; in office he conducted himself more creditably than many who had worn the seal before or after. When he first entered the chancellery he saw how relentlessly the emperor still pursued everyone tied to the crown prince, how the heads piled up, and how terror gripped the bureaucracy. He resolved to soften the sovereign and reassure the people. He joined the Imperial Secretary and every minister at full two thousand piculs in a court toast, hymning the emperor's virtue and urging him to scatter blessings, lighten sentences, lose himself in music, restore his spirit, and—for the good of the realm—grant himself some joy. The throne answered: "I am short of virtue. Ever since the Left Chancellor and Li Guangli conspired in the dark, the witchcraft terror has swallowed half my ministers. For months I have eaten a single meal a day—what music could I bear to hear? Their suffering haunts me still, yet the matter is closed and I levy no further blame. Nevertheless, when the witchcraft panic first erupted I told chancellor and censor to supervise arrests among the two-thousand-piculs ranks and let the Commandant of Justice try the cases—yet none of the nine ministers or the commandant ever pressed a real interrogation. Jiang Chong began with the maids of Ganquan, then moved on to Weiyang's harem quarters and clients such as Gongsun Jingsheng or Li Yu's clique, who supposedly plotted to flee to the Xiongnu—yet your bureaus found nothing until I made the chancellor himself unearth straw dolls at Orchid Terrace. You knew the truth all along. Even now leftover sorcery wriggles free; malign arts gnaw at the court from within and without. I am mortified—what toast to long life can I drink? I cannot in good conscience accept your cups! Let chancellor and ministers each withdraw to his quarters. The Classic says: 'Unswayed, uncliqued, the royal way runs level and broad.'" Let there be no more memorials on this."
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後歲餘，武帝疾，立皇子鉤弋夫人男為太子，拜大將軍霍光、車騎將軍金日磾、御史大夫桑弘羊及丞相千秋，並受遺詔，輔道少主。 武帝崩，昭帝初即位，未任聽政，政事一決大將軍光。 千秋居丞相位，謹厚有重德。 每公卿朝會，光謂千秋曰：「始與君侯俱受先帝遺詔，今光治內，君侯治外，宜有以教督，使光毋負天下。」 千秋曰：「唯將軍留意，即天下幸甚。」 終不肯有所言。 光以此重之。 每有吉祥嘉應，數褒賞丞相。 訖昭帝世，國家少事，百姓稍益充實。 始元六年，詔郡國舉賢良文學士，問以民所疾苦，於是鹽鐵之議起焉。
A year and more afterward the emperor fell mortally ill. He named the Lady of the Hook Clasp's boy crown prince and named Huo Guang as grand general, Jin Midi as general of chariots and cavalry, Sang Hongyang as imperial counselor, and Che Qianqiu as chancellor, charging them together with the deathbed rescript to steer the boy who would succeed him. Emperor Wu died; the young emperor Zhao took the throne but did not yet hold court. Every decision of state passed through Huo Guang alone. Che Qianqiu sat in the chancellery with the same cautious decency that had won the earlier emperors' trust. At each great assembly Huo Guang would remind the chancellor: "We both swore to the late emperor to shepherd the boy. You hold the civil side, I the inner court—counsel me frankly so I do not fail the realm." Che Qianqiu answered only, "If the general stays mindful of his charge, the empire is already fortunate." He never offered more than that. Huo Guang respected him deeply for his reticence. Whenever heaven sent favorable portents, Huo Guang heaped fresh honors on the chancellor. For the rest of Zhao's short reign the realm stayed quiet and the common folk slowly filled their granaries again. In Shiyuan 6 the throne ordered every commandery to send up worthy literati and asked what ailed the populace—thus began the famous salt-and-iron debate.
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千秋為相十二年，薨，謚曰定侯。 初，千秋年老，上優之，朝見，得乘小車入宮殿中，故因號曰「車丞相」。 子順嗣侯，官至雲中太守，宣帝時以虎牙將軍擊匈奴，坐盜增鹵獲自殺，國除。
Che Qianqiu died in office after twelve years as chancellor and received the posthumous name Ding, "the Steadfast." In his last years the emperor indulged him: he might drive a light carriage right into the palace yards, and courtiers nicknamed him the Cart Chancellor. His heir Shun rose to governor of Yunzhong; under Xuandi he led the Tiger-Fang host against the Xiongnu but padded the body count and killed himself when exposed, and the marquisate was struck off.
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桑弘羊為御史大夫八年，自以為國家興榷管之利，伐其功，欲為子弟得官，怨望霍光，與上官桀等謀反，遂誅滅。
Sang Hongyang had held the censorate for eight years, convinced he had enriched the treasury with state monopolies. He bragged of it, angled jobs for his kin, resented Huo Guang, and joined Shangguan Jie's cabal—when the plot collapsed his whole line perished.
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王訢，濟南人也。 以郡縣吏積功，稍遷為被陽令。 武帝末，軍旅數發，郡國盜賊群起，繡衣御史暴勝之使持斧逐捕盜賊，以軍興從事，誅二千石以下。 勝之過被陽，欲斬訢，訢已解衣伏質，仰言曰：「使君顓殺生之柄，威震郡國，令夏斬一訢，不足以增威，不如時有所寬，以明恩貸，令盡死力。」 勝之壯其言，貰不誅，因與訢相結厚。
Wang Xin came from Jinan. He had begun as a petty clerk and climbed step by step until the court named him magistrate of Beiyang. Late in Wu's reign armies marched without cease and robber bands overran the countryside. The robed censor Bao Shengzhi rode circuit with executioner's axe, invoking wartime powers to behead any local magnate who stood in his way. When Bao's column reached Beiyang he meant to strike off Wang Xin's head. Xin bared his neck to the chopping block but pleaded: "You hold every man's life in your hand; lopping off one magistrate at midsummer wins you no terror. Spare me once and word will spread that mercy pays—that buys you fiercer loyalty than a pile of heads." Bao admired the speech, stayed the blade, and afterward treated Xin as a sworn friend.
19
勝之使還，薦訢，徵為右輔都尉，守右扶風。 上數出幸安定、北地，過扶風，宮館馳道修治，供張辦。 武帝嘉之，駐車，拜訢為真，視事十餘年。 昭帝時為御史大夫，代車千秋為丞相，封宜春侯。 明年薨，謚曰敬侯。
On returning to the capital Bao recommended him; the court summoned Xin as chief commandant of the western preserves and acting governor of Youfufeng. Whenever the emperor toured Anding and Beidi his route crossed Youfufeng, and Xin saw that every relay station and lodge stood ready and every curtain and cushion was in place. Wu was so pleased that he stopped the imperial carriage to confirm Xin in full rank; he governed the commandery for more than a decade. Under Emperor Zhao he rose to imperial counselor, then replaced Che Qianqiu as chancellor with the marquisate of Yichun. He died the following year and was canonized as Jing, "the Reverent."
20
子譚嗣，以列侯與謀廢昌邑王立宣帝，益封三百戶。 薨，子咸嗣。 王莽妻即咸女，莽篡位，宜春氏以外戚寵。 自訢傳國至玄孫，莽敗，乃絕。
His son Tan inherited the fief and, still a full marquis, helped depose the king of Changyi and enthrone Xuandi, earning three hundred extra households. Tan was succeeded by his son Xian. Wang Mang married Xian's daughter; when Mang seized the throne the Yichun house rode the wave as maternal relatives. The line ran from Wang Xin down to a fourth-generation heir; it ended when Mang fell.
21
楊敞，華陰人也。 給事大將軍莫府，為軍司馬，霍光愛厚之，稍遷至大司農。 元鳳中，稻田使者燕倉知上官桀等反謀，以告敞。 敞素謹累事，不敢言，乃移病臥。 以告諫大夫杜延年，延年以聞。 蒼、延年皆封，敞以九卿不輒言，故不得侯。 後遷御史大夫，代王訢為丞相，封安平侯。
Yang Chang was a native of Huayin. He clerked in Huo Guang's field headquarters as army major, won the regent's confidence, and climbed to grand minister of agriculture. During Yuanfeng the paddy-field inspector Yancang uncovered Shangguan Jie's conspiracy and took the news to Yang Chang. Yang was timid by habit and dared not act; he pleaded illness and hid under his covers. He confided instead in remonstrant Du Yannian, who carried the matter to the emperor. Yancang and Yannian both received fiefs; Yang, though a nine minister, had held his tongue too long and won no marquisate. He was later promoted to imperial counselor, replaced Wang Xin as chancellor, and enfeoffed as marquis of Anping.
22
明年，昭帝崩。 昌邑王征即位，淫亂，大將軍光與車騎將軍張安世謀欲廢王更立。 議既定，使大司農田延年報敞。 敞驚懼，不知所言，汗出洽背，徒唯唯而已。 延年起至更衣，敞夫人遽從東箱謂敞曰：「此國大事，今大將軍議已定，使九卿來報君侯。 君侯不疾應，與大將軍同心，猶與無決，先事誅矣。」 延年從更衣還，敞、夫人與延年參語許諾，請奉大將軍教令，遂共廢昌邑王，立宣帝。 宣帝即位月餘，敞薨，謚曰敬侯。 子忠嗣，以敞居位定策安宗廟，益封三千五百戶。
The next year young Emperor Zhao died. The prince of Changyi, rushed to the capital, proved a debauchee on the throne. Huo Guang and chariot general Zhang Anshi resolved to pull him down and choose a worthier Liu. When the cabal had fixed its course they sent grand minister of agriculture Tian Yannian to sound Yang Chang. Yang broke into a cold sweat and could only mumble yes. Tian stepped out to change robes; Lady Yang slipped from the eastern alcove and hissed at her husband, "This is dynastic life or death. The generals have settled on a coup and a minister of state comes to your door. Hesitate one heartbeat and you die before dawn—say yes now and mean it." When Tian returned, husband and wife whispered their assent with him; Yang then obeyed Huo Guang's orders, and the coalition deposed the king of Changyi and raised Liu Bingyi as Xuandi. Within a month of Xuandi's accession Yang Chang died and received the posthumous name Jing. His heir Zhong inherited the title and, because his father had sealed the succession, was granted thirty-five hundred extra households.
23
忠弟惲，字子幼，以忠任為郎，補常侍騎，惲母，司馬遷女也。 惲始讀外祖《太史公記》，頗為《春秋》。 以材能稱。 好交英俊諸儒，名顯朝廷，擢為左曹。 霍氏謀反，惲先聞知，因侍中金安上以聞，召見言狀。 霍氏伏誅，惲等五人皆封，惲為平通侯，遷中郎將。
Zhong's younger brother Yun, courtesy Ziyou, entered the palace as a gentleman cadet through his brother's rank and served as mounted attendant; his mother was Sima Qian's daughter. Yun grew up on his grandfather's Shiji and knew the Spring and Autumn Annals well enough to argue its cases. The court praised his wit and polish. He cultivated the capital's brightest scholars, made a name at court, and won appointment as left aide. When the Huo family turned traitor Yun heard first; he tipped off the emperor through palace attendant Jin Anshang and was called in to give chapter and verse. After the Huo extermination Yun was one of five ennobled; he received Pingtong county as his fief and was promoted general of the gentlemen of the household.
24
郎官故事，令郎出錢市財用，給文書，乃得出，名曰「山郎」。 移病盡一日，輒償一沐，或至歲余不得沐。 其豪富郎，日出遊戲，或行錢得善部。 貨賂流行，傳相放效。 惲為中郎將，罷山郎，移長度大司農，以給財用。 其疾病休謁洗沐，皆以法令從事。 郎、謁者有罪過，輒奏免，薦舉其高弟有行能者，至郡守、九卿。 郎官化之，莫不自厲，絕請謁貨賂之端，令行禁止，宮殿之內翕然同聲。 由是擢為諸吏光祿勳，親近用事。
Cadets had long paid cash for stationery and relief before they could leave rotation—office slang called them mountain gentlemen. A full day's sick leave cost you one of your rare bath-and-rest days; some men went a year without a single leave. Rich cadets lounged in the markets by daylight or bought cushy billets with silver. Graft became habit, each man copying the last. Yun as chief of the gentlemen abolished the pay-to-leave rule, routed supplies through the grand minister of agriculture, and fed the corps from the public purse. Sick leave, rest days, and audiences were henceforth governed by written regulation. He cashiered erring cadets and ushers by memorial and promoted the ablest, some all the way to governors and nine ministers. The corps straightened under him: no more backstairs silver, orders ran clean, and the inner palace spoke with one voice. He was therefore raised to superintendent of the palace and privy treasurer of the gentlemen, standing at the emperor's elbow.
25
初，惲受父財五百萬，及身封侯，皆以分宗族。 後母無子，財亦數百萬，死皆子惲，惲盡復分後母昆弟。 再受訾千餘萬，皆以分施。 其輕財好義如此。
His father had left him five million cash; the day he became a marquis he gave every coin to his clan. His childless stepmother owned millions more; when she died it fell to Yun, who shared it with her brothers. Twice more he inherited sums over ten million and gave them away as fast as they arrived. That was how lightly he held money and how dearly he held honor.
26
惲居殿中，廉潔無私，郎官稱公平。 然惲伐其行治，又性刻害，好發人陰伏，同位有忤己者，必欲害之，以其能高人。 由是多怨於朝廷，與太僕戴長樂相失，卒以是敗。
Inside the palace he took no bribes and showed no favoritism; the cadets called him just. Yet he swaggered over his own rectitude, savored cutting others down, ferreted out private scandal, and ruined any peer who crossed him—his cleverness became a bludgeon. He made enemies everywhere, quarreled with grand coachman Dai Changle, and in the end that feud destroyed him.
27
長樂者，宣帝在民間時與相知，及即位，拔擢親近。 長樂嘗使行事肄宗廟，還謂掾史曰：「我親面見受詔，副帝肄，秺侯御。」 人有上書告長樂非所宜言，事下廷尉。 長樂疑惲教人告之，亦上書告惲罪。
Dai had been Xuandi's companion in the lanes before the throne; the new emperor raised him to ride at his side. Once, after Dai had served as the emperor's deputy in the temple drill, he bragged to his clerks that he had taken edict face to face while the marquis of Du drove the chariot. A tipster denounced that boast as lèse-majesté; the case went to the commandant of justice. Dai decided Yun had put the accuser up to it and struck back with his own bill of indictment.
28
高昌侯車奔入北掖門，惲語富平侯張延壽曰：「聞前曾有奔車抵殿門，門關折，馬死，而昭帝崩。 今復如此，天時，非人力也。」 左馮翊韓延壽有罪下獄，惲上書訟延壽。 郎中丘常謂惲曰：「聞君侯訟韓馮翊，當得活乎？」 惲曰：「事何容易！ 脛脛者未必全也。 我不能自保，真人所謂鼠不容穴銜窶數者也。」 又中書謁者令宣持單于使者語，視諸將軍、中朝二千石。 惲曰：「冒頓單于得漢美食好物，謂之殠惡，單于不來明甚。」 惲上觀西閣上畫人，指桀、紂畫謂樂昌侯王武曰：「天子過此，一二問其過，可以得師矣。」 畫人有堯、舜、禹、湯，不稱而舉桀、紂。 惲聞匈奴降者道單于見殺，惲曰：「得不肖君，大臣為畫善計不用，自令身無處所。 若秦時但任小臣，誅殺忠良，竟以滅亡； 令親任大臣，即至今耳。 古與今如一丘之貉。」 惲妄引亡國以誹謗當世，無人臣禮。 又語長樂曰：「正月以來，天陰不雨，此《春秋》所記，夏侯君所言。 行必不至河東矣。」 以主上為戲語，尤悖逆絕理。
When the marquis of Gaochang's carriage bolted through the north vee gate, Yun remarked to Zhang Yanshou of Fuping, "They say the last time a team careered into a palace gate, the bar snapped, the horses fell, and Emperor Zhao was dead within days." "Here we go again—omens, not accidents." When Han Yanshou, governor of left Fengyi, landed in prison, Yun filed a memorial pleading his innocence. Cadet Qiu Chang asked whether Yun thought Han would walk out alive. Yun snapped, "You think that is an easy fix?" Even honest men do not always walk free. "I can barely save my own skin—the proverb about the cornered rat chewing rags fits me too well." Again the palace usher director Xuan relayed the Xiongnu envoys' gossip to the generals and inner-court ministers of two thousand piculs. Yun added that Modun had called Han delicacies rotten and foul—proof the Chanyu would never bother to visit. Touring the western gallery he pointed at the portraits of Jie and Zhou and told Wang Wu of Lechang, "If our ruler paused here and asked what those two did wrong, he might learn something." The wall also showed Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang—yet he singled out the tyrants. Hearing from surrendered nomads that their Chanyu had been murdered, Yun said, "Give a realm to a fool who ignores good counsel and even his ministers have nowhere to stand. Qin fell because it trusted petty men and butchered its loyalists; had it trusted great ministers it might still reign today. "Past and present are badgers dug from the same burrow." He had invoked ruined dynasties to mock his own sovereign—conduct no subject may offer. He also told Dai, "Since new year the sky has stayed black without rain—the very sign the Spring and Autumn and Lord Xiahou warned against. "The imperial train will never reach Hedong." Jesting about the Son of Heaven crossed every line of loyalty.
29
事下廷尉。 廷尉定國考問，左驗明白，奏：
The file went to the commandant of justice. Commandant Yu Dinggu questioned him until the corroborating testimony was plain, then reported to the throne:
30
惲不服罪，而召戶將尊，欲令戒飭富平侯延壽，曰：「太僕定有死罪數事，朝暮人也。 惲幸與富平侯婚姻，今獨三人坐語，侯言『時不聞惲語』，自與太僕相觸也。」 尊曰：「不可。」 惲怒，持大刀，曰：「蒙富平侯力，得族罪！ 毋洩惲語，令太僕聞之亂餘事。」 惲幸得列九卿諸吏，宿衛近臣，上所信任，與聞政事，不竭忠愛，盡臣子義，而妄怨望，稱引為訞惡言，大逆不道，請逮捕治。
Yun refused to plead guilty but called in steward Zun to coach Zhang Yanshou: "The grand coachman sits on multiple capital offenses—he is living on borrowed time. I am tied to Fuping by marriage; if the marquis later swears he never heard me speak, he perjures himself against Dai." Zun refused. Yun drew a long knife and snarled, "Only Fuping's favor kept my clan alive!" "Keep your mouth shut or Dai will wreck the rest of our story." Though Yun had stood among the nine ministers and palace superintendents, heard every state secret, and enjoyed imperial trust, he had not repaid that trust with loyalty but spread venomous slander—conduct that amounted to great treason; Yu Dinggu asked leave to clap him in chains.
31
上不忍加誅，有詔皆免惲、長樂為庶人。
Xuandi shrank from blood and issued an edict stripping both Yun and Dai to commoner status.
32
惲既失爵位，家居治產業，起室宅，以財自娛。 歲餘，其友人安定太守西河孫會宗，知略士也，與惲書諫戒之，為言大臣廢退，當闔門惶懼，為可憐之意，不當治產業，通賓客，有稱譽。 惲宰相子，少顯朝廷，一朝以暗昧語言見廢，內懷不服，報會宗書曰：
Stripped of rank, Yun retired to his lands, built fine halls, and amused himself with his fortune. A year later his friend Sun Huizong, governor of Anding, a shrewd man from Xihe, wrote urging him to live like a disgraced minister—bar the gates, look wretched, beg sympathy—and not to rebuild a fortune, throw open his house to clients, or court a reputation. Yun was a prime minister's son who had glittered at court while young; one murky phrase had ruined him, and resentment still seethed as he answered Sun Huizong:
33
惲材朽行穢，文質無所底，幸賴先人余業得備宿衛，遭遇時變以獲爵位，終非其任，卒與禍會。 足下哀其愚，蒙賜書，教督以所不及，殷勤甚厚。 然竊恨足下不深惟其終始，而猥隨俗之毀譽也。 言鄙陋之愚心，若逆指而文過，默而息乎，恐違孔氏「各言爾志」之義，故敢略陳其愚，唯君子察焉！
I am warped wood and foul conduct, neither learned nor presentable; I inherited a name that bought me a slot in the palace guard, then luck and turmoil raised me to nobility—posts I was never fit for, and disaster followed. You pity my folly and lecture me where I fall short—kindness I do not forget. Yet I resent that you never traced my story from start to finish but parrot the world's gossip. If I hide my thoughts I twist your meaning; if I hold my tongue I break Confucius's rule that each man should speak his mind—so I lay my folly before you; judge it as you will.
34
惲家方隆盛時，乘硃輪者十人，位在列卿，爵為通侯，總領從官，與聞政事，曾不能以此時有所建明，以宣德化，又不能與群僚同心並力，陪輔朝廷之遺忘，已負竊位素餐之責久矣。 懷祿貪勢，不能自退，遭遇變故，橫被口語，身幽北闕，妻子滿獄。 當此之時，自以夷滅不足以塞責，豈意得全首領，復奉先人之丘墓乎？ 伏惟聖主之恩，不可勝量。 君子游道，樂以忘憂； 小人全軀，說以忘罪。 竊自思念，過已大矣，行已虧矣，長為農夫以沒世矣。 是故身率妻子，戮力耕桑，灌園治產，以給公上，不意當復用此為譏議也。
When my house flourished, ten kinsmen rode the vermilion-wheeled carriages of the highest nobility; I myself ranked among the nine ministers, bore a full marquisate, commanded the emperor's bodyguard, and sat in on policy—yet I never once spoke a word that might spread the court's virtue, never rallied my peers to patch what the throne forgot. Long before my fall I deserved the charge of drawing pay for an empty chair. I clung to office and salary, would not step down, then a storm of slander locked me in the north gate prison while my wife and children filled the cells. I was sure clan execution would not atone for my guilt—who dreamed I would keep my head and walk my father's hill again? I bow to a grace no man can measure. The gentleman who walks the Way finds joy and forgets his cares. The small man who saves his skin finds comfort and forgets his shame. I told myself my crimes were grave and my name ruined—that I would die a ploughman. So I took my family to the fields, hoed and mulched, watered the garden, and sent the tax grain to the granary—I never thought that life would earn me fresh slander.
35
夫人情所不能止者，聖人弗禁，故君父至尊親，送其終也，有時而既。 臣之得罪，已三年矣。 田家作苦，歲時伏臘，亨羊□羔，鬥酒自勞。 家本秦也，能為秦聲。 婦，趙女也，雅善鼓瑟。 奴婢歌者數人，酒後耳熱，仰天拊缶而呼烏烏。 其詩曰：「田彼南山，蕪穢不治，種一頃豆，落而為其。 人生行樂耳，須富貴何時！」 是日也，拂衣而喜，奮袖低卬，頓足起舞，誠淫荒無度，不知其不可也。 惲幸有餘祿，方糴賤販貴，逐什一之利，此賈豎之事，污辱之處，惲親行之。 下流之人，眾毀所歸，不寒而慄。 雖雅知惲者，猶隨風而靡，尚何稱譽之有！ 董生不雲乎？ 「明明求仁義，常恐不能化民者，卿大夫意也； 明明求財利，常恐困乏者，庶人之事也。」 故「道不同，不相為謀。」 今子尚安得以卿大夫之制而責僕哉！
What passion cannot restrain, even sages do not forbid: lord and father are the highest bonds, yet mourning for them also has its term. It is three years since my conviction. Farm work is brutal; on the summer and winter festival days I boil mutton, roast lamb, and toast myself with a jar of wine. We are Qin folk by stock and still sing in the Qin mode. My wife is a Zhao girl who plucks the se better than I deserve. A few bondmaids carry the tune; when the wine fires my blood I beat the clay fou and howl the old Qin refrains. My impromptu lines run: 'South Mountain lies untilled, rank with weeds I never cleared; I sowed a full qing of beans—only beanstalks dropped where the pods should be. "Life is for the living—wait for fortune and you wait forever!" That day I shook out my sleeves, stamped the beat, and danced like a fool—shameless, and blind to how it looked. I still had a trickle of stipend, so I bought low and sold high for the merchant's ten-percent—work fit for a stall boy, yet I did it with my own hands. Stand in the mud downstream and every slur finds you—you shiver without a wind. Even old friends bend with the rumor mill—what praise could reach me now? Has not Master Dong written? "Those who burn to spread benevolence and dread lest the people never mend—that is the temper of high ministers; those who plainly chase coin and fear poverty—that is the commoner's trade." Hence the saying: different roads, no shared counsel." How dare you measure a farmer by a minister's yardstick?
36
夫西河魏土，文侯所興，有段干木、田子方之遺風，漂然皆有節概，知去就之分。 頃者，足下離舊土，臨安定，安定山谷之間，昆戎舊壤，子弟貪鄙，豈習俗之移人哉？ 於今乃睹子之志矣。 方當盛漢之隆，願勉旃，毋多談。
Your own Xihe was the heart of Wei, raised by Marquess Wen and still breathing the austerity of Duan Ganmu and Tian Zifang—men who knew when to serve and when to walk away. You have moved to Anding, a gully land of Rong stock where the young men are coarse and grasping—has the border curdled your taste, or only revealed it? Now I see what you are really after. Han still rides its zenith—spare me further sermons.
37
又惲兄子安平侯譚為典屬國，謂惲曰：「西河太守建平杜侯前以罪過出，今徵為御史大夫。 侯罪薄，又有功，且復用。」 惲曰：「有功何益？ 縣官不足為盡力。」 惲素與蓋寬饒、韓延壽善，譚即曰：「縣官實然，蓋司隸、韓馮翊皆盡力吏也，俱坐事誅。」 會有日食變，騶馬猥佐成上書告惲「驕奢不悔過，日食之咎，此人所致。」 章下廷尉案驗，得所予會宗書，宣帝見而惡之。 廷尉當惲大逆無道，要斬。 妻子徙酒泉郡。 譚坐不諫正惲，與相應，有怨望語，免為庶人。 召拜成為郎，諸在位與惲厚善者，未央衛尉韋玄成、京兆尹張敞及孫會宗等，皆免官。
His nephew Tan, marquis of Anping and commissioner for dependent states, added gossip: "Du, the Jianping marquis who was governor of Xihe, left office under a cloud but is back as imperial counselor. His guilt was slight and his service real—he will rise again." Yun answered, "Merit buys nothing. This emperor is not worth breaking yourself for." Yun had been close to Gai Kuanrao and Han Yanshou; Tan shot back, "If that is how the court treats men, Gai the metropolitan superintendent and Han the governor of Zuo Fengyi gave everything they had—and both died on the block." Then came an eclipse; a stable-hand named Cheng memorialized that Yun's swaggering refusal to reform had brought down heaven's rebuke. The throne forwarded the charge; the commandant seized the letter to Sun Huizong, and Xuandi read it with disgust. The commandant ruled capital treason; Yun was halved at the waist. His wife and children were marched to Jiuquan. Tan fell for not rebuking his uncle and for answering him with mutinous talk—stripped to commoner. Cheng was rewarded with a gentleman cadetship; every official who had stood close to Yun—Wei Xuancheng of the palace guard, Zhang Chang of the capital, Sun Huizong—lost his post.
38
蔡義，河內溫人也。 以明經給事大將軍莫府。 家貧，常步行，資禮不逮眾門下，好事者相合為義買犢車，令乘之。 數歲，遷補覆盎城門候。
Cai Yi came from Wen county in Henei. His classical learning won him a clerkship in Huo Guang's headquarters. He was too poor to keep pace on foot with richer clients, so well-wishers pooled cash and bought him a ox-drawn gig. Within a few years he was posted warden of Fugang Gate.
39
久之，詔求能為《韓詩》者，征義待詔，久不進見。 義上疏曰：「臣山東草萊之人，行能亡所比，容貌不及眾，然而不棄人倫者，竊以聞道於先師，自托於經術也。 願賜清閒之燕，得盡精思於前。」 上召見義，說《詩》，甚說之，擢為光祿大夫給事中，進授昭帝。 數歲，拜為少府，遷御史大夫，代楊敝為丞相，封陽平侯。 又以定策安宗廟益封，加賜黃金二百斤。
An edict called for an expert on the Han Odes; Yi answered as a reserve scholar but languished without an audience. He filed a memorial: "I am a weed scholar from east of the mountains—no beauty, no genius—yet I cling to human society because old masters taught me the classics." Grant me one quiet audience and I will lay out every thought I have." The emperor received him, loved his lecture on the Odes, named him grand palace grandee with palace access, and set him to tutor young Emperor Zhao. Within a few years he rose to junior minister, then imperial counselor, then replaced Yang Chang as chancellor with the marquisate of Yangping. He earned a larger fief and two hundred catties of gold for helping settle the imperial succession.
40
義為丞相時年八十餘，短小無鬚眉，貌似老嫗，行步俯僂，常兩吏扶夾乃能行。 時大將軍光秉政，議者或言光置宰相不選賢，苟用可專制者。 光聞之，謂侍中左右及官屬曰：「以為人主師當為宰相，何謂云云？ 此語不可使天下聞也。」
As chancellor he was past eighty, beardless, wizened as a crone, so stooped that two clerks had to prop him under the arms. Critics muttered that Huo Guang picked a chancellor he could puppeteer. Huo Guang heard and told his staff, "A tutor to the Son of Heaven should wear the chancellor's seal—what idle chatter is this? Let that rumor go no further."
41
義為相四歲，薨，謚曰節侯。 無子，國除。
He died after four years in office and was canonized Jie, "the Prudent." He left no heir; the marquisate lapsed.
42
陳萬年
Chen Wannian
43
陳萬年字幼公，沛郡相人也。 為郡吏，察舉，至縣令，遷廣陵太守，以高弟入為右扶風，遷太僕。
Chen Wannian, courtesy Yougong, was a native of Xiang in Pei. He rose from county clerk through recommendation to magistrate, then governor of Guangling, then entered the capital as Youfufeng with top marks, then grand coachman.
44
萬年廉平，內行修，然善事人。 賂遺外戚許、史，傾家自盡，尤事樂陵侯史高。 丞相丙吉病，中二千石上謁問疾。 遣家丞出謝，謝已皆去，萬年獨留，昏夜乃歸。 及吉病甚，上自臨，問以大臣行能。 吉薦於定國、杜延年及萬年，萬年竟代定國為御史大夫八歲，病卒。
He was honest and cultivated at home, yet a master flatterer in public. He poured his fortune into gifts for the Xu and Shi consort clans and fawned especially on Marquis of Leling Shi Gao. When Chancellor Bing Ji fell ill, every minister at two thousand piculs paid a sick call. The steward bowed them out—Wannian alone lingered until midnight. When Ji neared death the emperor came in person and asked which ministers were fit to succeed. Ji named Yu Dinggu, Du Yannian, and Wannian; Wannian eventually succeeded Yu Dinggu as imperial counselor for eight years until he died in office.
45
子咸字子康，年十八，以萬年任為郎。 有異材，抗直，數言事，刺譏近臣，書數十上，遷為左曹。 萬年嘗病，召咸教戒於床下，語至夜半，咸睡，頭觸屏風。 萬年大怒，欲仗之，曰：「乃公教戒汝，汝反睡，不聽吾言，何也？」 咸叩頭謝曰：「具曉所言，大要教咸諂也。」 萬年乃不復言。
His son Chen Xian, courtesy Zikang, entered as a gentleman cadet at eighteen through his father's rank. He had rare ability, spoke bluntly, peppered the throne with memorials mocking the inner circle, and won promotion to left aide. Once, ill in bed, Wannian lectured him past midnight until Xian nodded off and cracked his head on the screen. Wannian roared that he would cane him: "Your father is handing you the keys to survival and you snore?" Xian kowtowed: "I heard every word—the lesson was sycophancy." Wannian never finished the lecture.
46
萬年死後，元帝擢咸為御史中丞，總領州郡奏事，課第諸刺史，內執法殿中，公卿以下皆敬憚之。 是時，中書令石顯用事顓權，咸頗言顯短，顯等恨之。 時槐裡令硃雲殘酷殺不辜，有司舉奏，未下。 咸素善雲，雲從刺候，教令上書自訟。 於是石顯微伺知之，白奏咸漏洩省中語，下獄掠治，減死，髡為城旦，因廢。
After his father's death Yuan appointed him palace secretary to the censorate, sorting provincial memorials, grading governors, and policing the inner court—every minister walked softly around him. Palace secretary Shi Xian monopolized power; Chen Xian exposed his faults and earned a bitter enemy. Zhu Yun, magistrate of Huaili, had tortured innocents to death; a bill of impeachment sat unsigned on the desk. Chen Xian, Zhu's friend, tipped him to file a counter-memorial. Shi Xian's agents caught the leak, denounced Chen Xian for betraying palace secrets, had him flogged in jail, spared his life but shaved him for wall labor, and ended his career.
47
時，車騎將軍王音輔政，信用陳湯。 咸數賂遺湯，予書曰：「即蒙子公力，得入帝城，死不恨。」 後竟征入為少府。 少府多寶物、屬官，咸皆鉤校，發其奸臧，沒入辜榷財物。 官屬及諸中宮黃門、鉤盾、掖庭官吏，舉奏按論，畏咸，皆失氣。 為少府三歲，與翟方進有隙。 方進為丞相，奏：「咸前為郡守，所在殘酷，毒螫加於吏民。 主守盜，受所監。 而官媚邪臣陳湯以求薦舉。 苟得無恥，不宜處位。」 咸坐免。 頃之，紅陽侯立舉咸方正，為光祿大夫給事中，方進復奏免之。 後數年，立有罪就國，方進奏歸咸故郡，以憂死。
Later General of Chariots and Cavalry Wang Yin governed and favored Chen Tang. Chen Xian showered Tang with gifts and wrote, "If you, Zigong, pull me back inside the walls, I can die content." Tang did bring him back as junior minister. He inventoried the ministry's vaults and bureaus, exposed every embezzlement, and impounded the hoarded monopoly profits. Yellow gates, hook-shield guards, harem clerks—he impeached them in batches until they went pale at his name. After three years he quarreled with Zhai Fangjin. Zhai, now chancellor, charged that Chen Xian had been a savage governor who poisoned every place he ruled. He stole from the treasuries he guarded and took bribes from his own staff. He debased himself flattering Chen Tang for a recommendation. He is shameless and unfit for office." Chen Xian was cashiered. Wang Li of Hongyang soon nominated him as "upright"; he won back a palace post until Zhai struck him down again. When Wang Li later fell, Zhai had Chen Xian packed off to his home commandery, where he died of shame.
48
鄭弘字稚卿，泰山剛人也。 兄昌字次卿，亦好學，皆明經，通法律政事。 次卿為太原、涿郡太守，弘為南陽太守，皆著治跡，條教法度，為後所述。 次卿用刑罰深，不如弘平，遷淮陽相，以高第入為右扶風，京師稱之。 代韋玄成為御史大夫。 六歲，坐與京房論議免，語在《房傳》。
Zheng Hong, courtesy Zhiqing, came from Gang in Taishan. His elder brother Zheng Chang, courtesy Ciqing, loved books as well; both mastered the classics and the code. Ciqing governed Taiyuan and Zhuo, Hong governed Nanyang—each left a clean record and statutes others copied. Ciqing ruled with a heavy hand; Hong was the fairer judge. Ciqing moved to chancellor of Huaiyang, then entered as Youfufeng with top marks and won the capital's praise. He replaced Wei Xuancheng as imperial counselor. Six years later he lost his post for debating policy with Jing Fang of the capital; the story is told in Jing Fang's biography.
49
贊曰：所謂鹽鐵議者，起始元中，徵文學賢良問以治亂，皆對願罷郡國鹽鐵、酒榷均輸，務本抑末，毋與天下爭利，然後教化可興。 御史大夫弘羊以為此乃所以安邊竟，制四夷，國家大業，不可廢也。 當時相詰難，頗有其議文。 至宣帝時，汝南桓寬次公治《公羊春秋》舉為郎，至廬江太守丞，博通善屬文，推衍鹽鐵之議，增廣條目，極其論難，著數萬言，亦欲以究治亂，成一家之法焉。 其辭曰：「觀公卿賢良文學之議，『異乎吾所聞』。 聞汝南硃生言，當此之時，英俊並進，賢良茂陵唐生、文學魯國萬生之徒六十有餘人咸聚闕庭，舒六藝之風，陳治平之原，知者贊其慮，仁者明其施，勇者見其斷，辯者騁其辭，斷斷焉，行行焉，雖未詳備，斯可略觀矣。 中山劉子推言王道，撟當世，反諸正，彬彬然弘博君子也。 九江祝生奮史魚之節，發憤懣，譏公卿，介然直而不撓，可謂不畏強圉矣。 桑大夫據當世，合時變，上權利之略，雖非正當，巨儒宿學不能自解，博物通達之士也。 然攝公卿之柄，不師古始，放於末利，處非其位，行非其道，果隕其性，以及厥宗。 車丞相履伊、呂之列，當軸處中，括囊不言，容身而去，彼哉！ 彼哉！ 若夫丞相、御史兩府之士，不能正議以輔宰相，成同類，長同行，阿意苟合，以說其上，『斗筲之徒，何足選也！』」
The historian's verdict: the salt-and-iron debate opened in the Shiyuan years, when the court summoned literati and worthies and asked how to cure the realm's ills. They answered in one voice—scrap the state monopolies on salt, iron, wine, and the equal-supply caravans, strengthen agriculture and starve the merchant, stop competing with the people for coin—only then could moral instruction take root. Imperial Counselor Sang Hongyang countered that those policies guarded the frontier, cowed the four quarters, and underpinned the dynasty—they could not simply be junked. The two sides cross-examined each other at length, and much of that dialogue survives. Under Xuandi, Huan Kuan of Runan—who had mastered the Gongyang Annals, risen to gentleman, and risen to aide to the governor of Lujiang—was erudite and eloquent. He reworked the debate into a book, added topics, pushed every argument to its limit, and wrote tens of thousands of characters, hoping to settle what brings order and what brings chaos in a treatise that stands on its own. His preface reads: "Reading the speeches of ministers and worthies, I find them far from what I had been taught." Runan's Master Zhu told me how, in that hall, talent pressed forward together: more than sixty worthies—Tang Sheng of Maoling, Wan Sheng of Lu, and the rest—thronged the court, unfurled the six classics, traced the springs of good government. Wisdom applauded their designs, humanity their policies, courage their resolve, rhetoric their language. Sharp, steadfast, if not complete—it is still a panorama worth studying. Liu Zitui of Zhongshan preached the royal Way, bent the age back toward rectitude, and carried himself like a true junzi—learned, ample, composed. Zhu Sheng of Jiujiang took up the unbending spirit of Ziyu of Wei, poured out honest rage, mocked the high ministers, and would not bow—here was a man who feared no power. Minister Sang spoke to his own day, adapted to shifting circumstance, and spun schemes of profit and control. His doctrine was not classical, yet the greatest academicians could not refute him—whatever else, he was formidably learned. Yet he seized the levers of state, scorned the models of antiquity, chased the merchant's margin, sat in a chair that did not fit him, and walked a path that was not his—until he destroyed himself and dragged his kin down with him. Che Qianqiu stood where Yi Yin and Lü Wang once stood, yet at the hub of power he sealed his lips like a tied purse, never counseled aloud, saved his skin, and withdrew—such men! Such men! And the clerks of chancellor and censor yamens who dared not speak straight to aid their chief, who flocked with their own kind, lengthened each other's faults, and flattered upward for favor—"those pint-measure politicians were never worth the choosing!"