1
卷八十二王商史丹傅喜傳第五十二
Volume 82: Biographies of Wang Shang, Shi Dan, and Fu Xi (the fifty-second chapter).
2
王商字子威，涿郡蠡吾人也，徙杜陵。 商公武、武兄無故，皆以宣帝舅封。 無故為平昌侯，武為樂昌侯。 語在《外戚傳》。
Wang Shang, whose courtesy name was Ziwei, came from Liwu in Zhuo Commandery; the household later relocated to Duling. Wang Shang's father was Wang Wu, and Wu's elder brother Wang Wugu; both received marquisates as maternal uncles of Emperor Xuan. Wugu was made Marquis of Pingchang, while Wu became Marquis of Lechang. The fuller story appears in the chapter on the imperial in-laws.
3
商少爲太子中庶子，以肅敬敦厚稱。 父薨，商嗣爲侯，推財以分異母諸弟，身無所受，居喪哀戚。 於是大臣薦商行可以厲群臣，義足以厚風俗，宜備近臣。 繇是擢爲諸曹、侍中、中郎將。 元帝時，至右將軍、光祿大夫。 是時，定陶共王愛幸，幾代太子。 商爲外戚重臣輔政，擁佑太子，頗有力焉。
In youth Wang Shang served as palace attendant to the crown prince and was known for solemn respect and steadfast integrity. When his father died, Wang Shang inherited the marquisate, gave away his share of the estate to his half-brothers, kept nothing for himself, and mourned with deep grief. Senior ministers then recommended him, saying his conduct could set an example for the bureaucracy and his righteousness could strengthen public morals; he ought to serve close to the throne. He was therefore promoted to posts in the various bureaus, as palace attendant, and as leader of the palace gentlemen. Under Emperor Yuan he rose to General of the Right and Grand Master of the Household. At that time Prince Kang of Dingtao enjoyed the emperor's favor and nearly displaced the crown prince. As a leading consort-clan minister in the government, Wang Shang supported the crown prince and did much to protect his position.
4
元帝崩，成帝即位，甚敬重商，徙為左將軍。 而帝元舅大司馬大將軍王鳳顓權，行多驕僭。 商論議不能平鳳，鳳知之，亦疏商。 建始三年秋，京師民無故相驚，言大水至，百姓奔走相蹂躪、老弱號呼，長安中大亂。 天子親御前殿，召公卿議。 大將軍鳳以為太后與上及後宮可御船，令吏民上長安城以避水。 群臣皆從鳳議。 左將軍商獨曰：「自古無道之國，水猶不冒城郭。 今政治和平，世無兵革，上下相安，何因當有大水一日暴至？ 此必訛言也，不宜令上城，重驚百姓。」 上乃止。 有頃，長安中稍定，問之，果訛言。 上於是美壯商之固守，數稱其議。 而鳳大慚，自恨失言。
After Emperor Yuan died and Emperor Cheng took the throne, the new sovereign held Wang Shang in high regard and appointed him General of the Left. Meanwhile Wang Feng, the emperor's senior maternal uncle, served as grand marshal and grand general and dominated the government, and his behavior was frequently overbearing and out of line. Wang Shang could not curb Wang Feng in council debate; Feng noticed the friction and kept his distance from him. In the autumn of Jianshi 3, rumor swept the capital that a catastrophic flood was imminent; people panicked, stampeded, and trampled one another while the elderly and children wailed, and Chang'an descended into chaos. The emperor went in person to the front hall and called the high ministers into council. Wang Feng proposed putting the empress dowager, the emperor, and the harem aboard boats and ordering officials and townsfolk onto the ramparts of Chang'an to ride out the supposed flood. The entire court fell in behind Wang Feng's plan. Only General of the Left Wang Shang objected: 'Since antiquity, even in states without the Way, floodwaters have not overrun city walls. We live in a time of peace, without war, and ruler and ruled are secure together; what could cause a deluge to strike the capital in an instant? This is surely a groundless scare. Ordering everyone onto the walls would only panic the populace again.' The emperor dropped the idea. Before long calm returned to Chang'an, and inquiries confirmed that the alarm had been nothing but rumor. The emperor then praised Wang Shang for holding firm and repeatedly commended his counsel. Wang Feng was deeply embarrassed and bitterly regretted his rash words.
5
明年，商代匡衡為丞相，益封千戶，天子甚尊任之。 為人多質有威重，長八尺餘，身體鴻大，容貌甚過絕人。 河平四年，單于來朝，引見白虎殿。 丞相商坐未央廷中，單于前，拜謁商。 商起，離席與言，單于仰視商貌，大畏之，遷延卻退。 天子聞而歎曰：「此真漢相矣！」
The following year Wang Shang succeeded Kuang Heng as chancellor, received an additional thousand-household grant to his estate, and enjoyed the emperor's full confidence. He was plainspoken yet imposing—well over eight feet tall, with a massive frame and a face that towered above ordinary men. In Heping 4 the Xiongnu chanyu paid a formal visit, and the court received him in the White Tiger Hall. Chancellor Wang Shang took his seat in the Weiyang Palace court; the chanyu stepped forward and performed obeisance to him. Wang Shang stood, stepped from his place, and addressed him; when the chanyu lifted his eyes to Wang Shang's towering figure, he shrank back in awe and edged away. When the emperor heard of it, he sighed and said, 'This truly is a Han chancellor!'
6
初，大將軍鳳連昏楊肜為琅邪太守，其郡有災害十四，已上。 商部屬按問，鳳以曉商曰：「災異天事，非人力所為。 肜素善吏，宜以為後。」 商不聽，竟奏免肜，奏果寢不下，鳳重以是怨商，陰求其短，使人上書言商閨門內事。 天子以為暗昧之過，不足以傷大臣，鳳固爭，下其事司隸。
Wang Feng had earlier formed a marriage alliance with Yang Rong, governor of Langye, a commandery that had suffered more than a dozen calamities. Wang Shang ordered his staff to look into the matter. Wang Feng sent word: 'Portents come from Heaven; no mortal official controls them. Yang Rong has always been capable in office; you ought to deal with this leniently.' Wang Shang ignored the hint, memorialized for Yang Rong's removal, and saw the document shelved. Wang Feng's resentment deepened; he began hunting for dirt and had someone memorialize about scandal inside Wang Shang's household. The emperor treated the charges as private indiscretions unworthy of ruining a senior minister, but Wang Feng pressed the case until the matter was referred to the metropolitan superintendent.
7
先是，皇太后嘗詔問商女，欲以備後宮。 時女病，商意亦難之，以病對，不入。 及商以閨門事見考，自知為鳳所中，惶怖，更欲內女為援，乃因新幸李婕妤家白見其女。
Earlier the empress dowager had formally inquired after Wang Shang's daughter with an eye to admitting her to the harem. The girl happened to be ill, and Wang Shang himself was reluctant; he pleaded sickness, and she never entered the palace. Once Wang Shang faced investigation over domestic scandal, he realized Wang Feng had set him up. In panic he tried to push his daughter into the palace as a counterweight and used the household of the newly favored Lady Li to present her.
8
會日有蝕之，太中大夫蜀郡張匡，其人佞巧，上書願對近臣陳日蝕咎。 下朝者左將軍丹等問匡，對曰：「竊見丞相商作威作福，從外制中，取必於上，性殘賊不仁，遣票輕吏微求人罪，欲以立威，天下患苦之。 前頻陽耿定上書言商與父傅通，及女弟淫亂，奴殺其私夫，疑商教使。 章下有司，商私怨懟。 商子俊欲上書告商，俊妻左將軍丹女，持其書以示丹，丹惡其父子乘迕，爲女求去。 商不盡忠納善以輔至德，知聖主崇孝，遠別不親，後庭之事皆受命皇太后，太后前聞商有女，欲以備後宮，商言有固疾，後有耿定事，更詭道因李貴人家內女，執左道以亂政，誣罔悖大臣節，故應是而日蝕。 《周書》曰：『以左道事君者誅。』 《易》曰：『日中見昧，則折其右肱。』 往者丞相周勃再建大功，及孝文時纖介怨恨，而日爲之蝕，於是退勃使就國，卒無怵惕憂。 今商無尺寸之功，而有三世之寵，身位三公，宗族爲列侯、吏二千石、侍中諸曹，給事禁門內，連昏諸侯王，權寵至盛。 審有內亂殺人怨懟之端，宜究竟考問。 臣聞秦丞相呂不韋見王無子，意欲有秦國，即求好女以爲妻，陰知其有身而獻之王，產始皇帝。 及楚相春申君亦見王無子，心利楚國，即獻有身妻而產懷王。 自漢興幾遭呂、霍之患，今商有不仁之性，乃因怨以內女，其奸謀未可測度。 前孝景世七國反，將軍周亞夫以爲即得雒陽劇孟，關東非漢之有。 今商宗族權勢，合貲巨萬計，私奴以千數，非特劇孟匹夫之徒也。 且失道之至，親戚畔之，閨門內亂，父子相訐，而欲使之宜明聖化，調和海內，豈不謬哉！ 商視事五年，官職陵夷而大惡著於百姓，甚虧損盛德，有鼎折足之凶。 臣愚以爲聖主富於春秋，即位以來，未有懲奸之威，加以繼嗣未立，大異並見，尤宜誅討不忠，以遏未然。 行之一人，則海內震動，百奸之路塞矣。」
When a solar eclipse occurred, Palace Grandee Zhang Kuang of Shu commandery, a sly and fawning man, submitted a memorial asking to address the emperor's close advisers on the meaning of the eclipse. After court, General of the Left Shi Dan and others questioned Zhang Kuang. He answered, "I have observed Chancellor Wang Shang wielding arbitrary power, controlling the court from outside, and extracting whatever he wants from the throne. He is cruel and ruthless, sending out swift minor officials to hunt for crimes in order to terrify the realm, and the people suffer greatly under him. Earlier Geng Ding of Pinyang memorialized that Wang Shang had slept with his father's concubine, that his younger sister was promiscuous, and that a slave had killed her lover—some suspected Wang Shang had ordered it. The memorial was referred to the proper offices, and Wang Shang nursed private resentment. Wang Shang's son Jun tried to memorialize against his father. Jun's wife was Shi Dan's daughter; she showed the draft to her father. Dan despised the father-and-son breach and sought a divorce for his daughter. Wang Shang has not served with full loyalty or accepted good counsel to support your supreme virtue. Knowing that a sage ruler honors filial piety and that the empress dowager governs the inner palace, he refused when the empress dowager earlier asked for his daughter for the harem, pleading chronic illness. After the Geng Ding affair he tried again through the household of the newly favored Lady Li to smuggle a daughter inside. He practices heterodox ways that corrupt government and violates every standard of a chief minister—hence the eclipse. The Documents of Zhou says, "Those who serve their ruler by heterodox means are put to death." The Changes says, "When darkness appears at noon, break the right arm." Formerly Chancellor Zhou Bo had rendered great service twice, yet when minor resentments arose under Emperor Wen the sun was eclipsed on his account; the emperor then sent Bo back to his fief, and he lived out his days without further fear. Today Wang Shang has achieved nothing, yet enjoys three generations of imperial favor. He holds one of the Three Excellencies; his clan fills marquisates, two-thousand-shi offices, palace attendance, and bureau posts inside the forbidden gates; his family is intermarried with kings and lords, and his power and favor are at their height. There are clear signs of domestic scandal, murder, and defiance; the matter should be thoroughly investigated. I have heard that Qin's chancellor Lü Buwei, seeing that the king had no heir, plotted to seize Qin: he found a beautiful woman, knew she was pregnant, and presented her to the king, and she bore the First Emperor. Chu's chancellor Lord Chunshen did the same when he saw the king had no heir, scheming for Chu's advantage by presenting a pregnant wife who bore King Huai of Chu. Since the founding of Han the dynasty has nearly fallen to the Lü and Huo clans. Wang Shang is ruthless and, nursing grievance, now tries to place a daughter in the palace—who can gauge the depth of such treachery? In Emperor Jing's reign the seven states rebelled. General Zhou Yafu said that with Ju Meng of Luoyang on their side, the rebels could take everything east of the Pass from Han. Today Wang Shang's clan commands wealth beyond counting and keeps thousands of private slaves—they are far more dangerous than a lone adventurer like Ju Meng. When a man has lost the Way so completely that kin rebel, the household is in scandal, and father and son denounce each other, how can he be expected to embody sage rule and harmonize the empire? The very idea is absurd! In five years in office Wang Shang has let government decay while the people suffer openly, gravely harming your sacred virtue—the omen of a broken tripod leg. Your servant believes that although Your Majesty is still young, since your accession you have not yet shown decisive power against traitors. With the succession unsettled and great portents appearing together, this is the moment to punish disloyalty and forestall worse to come. Strike down this one man, and the empire will tremble; the roads of every kind of treachery will be closed."
9
於是左將軍丹等奏：「商位三公，爵列侯，親受詔策為天下師，不遵法度以翼國家，而回辟下媚以進其私，執左道以亂政，為臣不忠，罔上不道，《甫刑》之辟，皆為上戮，罪名明白。 臣請詔謁者召商詣若盧詔獄。」 上素重商，知匡言多險，制曰「勿治」。 鳳固爭之，於是制詔御史：「蓋丞相以德輔翼國家，典領百寮，協和萬國，為職任莫重焉。 今樂昌侯商為丞相，出入五年，未聞忠言嘉謀，而有不忠執左道之辜，陷於大辟。 前商女弟內行不修，奴賊殺人，疑商教使，為商重臣，故抑而不窮。 今或言商不以自悔而反怨懟，朕甚傷之。 惟商與先帝有外親，未忍致於理。 其赦商罪。 使者收丞相印綬。」
General of the Left Shi Dan and his colleagues then memorialized: 'Wang Shang ranks among the Three Excellencies and holds a marquisate; he was personally commissioned to guide the realm. Instead of upholding the law to support the state, he courts favor below and pursues private ends, peddling heterodox practices that corrupt government. Such disloyalty and deceit of the throne violate the standards of the Fu Xing and merit execution; his offenses are plain. We ask that Your Majesty order the court usher to take Wang Shang into custody at the Rolu imperial prison.' The emperor had long respected Wang Shang and recognized Zhang Kuang's memorial for the vicious attack it was, so he ruled, 'Take no further action.' Wang Feng would not let the matter drop, and the emperor had to issue an edict to the censor-in-chief: 'The chancellor exists to support the dynasty with moral authority, to head the bureaucracy, and to keep the realm in harmony—no burden is weightier. Yet in five years as chancellor, Lechang Marquis Wang Shang has offered no loyal counsel worthy of the name, while the charge of disloyalty and heterodox conduct would carry the death penalty. Earlier his younger sister's private conduct was scandalous: a household slave committed murder, and some suspected Wang Shang ordered it. Because he was a pillar of the court, I suppressed the case and did not press to the bottom. Now I am told he shows no remorse but nurses grievance instead. That wounds me deeply. Yet Wang Shang is tied to the late emperor by marriage, and I cannot bring myself to subject him to full criminal process. I therefore pardon his offenses. Envoys shall relieve him of the chancellor's seal and sash.'
10
商免相三日，發病嘔血薨，謚曰戾侯。 而商子弟親屬爲駙馬都尉、侍中、中常侍、諸曹大夫郎吏者，皆出補吏，莫得留給事宿衛者。 有司奏商罪過未決，請除國邑。 有詔長子安嗣爵爲樂昌侯，至長樂衛尉、光祿勳。
Three days after Wang Shang was dismissed as chancellor, he fell ill, vomited blood, and died. He was posthumously titled Marquis Li. All of Wang Shang's sons, brothers, and kinsmen who held posts as chief commandant of horsemen-at-attendance, palace attendant, palace secretary, bureau official, or clerk were reassigned to outside offices and none were allowed to remain on palace duty or in the guard. The proper offices reported that Wang Shang's offenses were still unresolved and asked that his fief be abolished. An edict ordered that his eldest son Wang An inherit the title as Marquis of Lechang; he later rose to Commandant of the Chang'le Palace Guard and Superintendent of the Imperial Household.
11
商死後，連年日蝕、地震，直臣京兆尹王章上封事召開，訟商忠直無罪，言鳳顓權蔽主。 鳳竟以法誅章，語在《元後傳》。 至元始中，王莽為安漢公，誅不附己者，樂昌侯安見被以罪，自殺，國除。
After Wang Shang's death, solar eclipses and earthquakes followed year on year. Wang Zhang, the principled governor of the capital, submitted a sealed memorial; when the emperor summoned him and opened it, Zhang argued that Wang Shang had been loyal and blameless and that Wang Feng had monopolized power and blinded the throne. Wang Feng eventually had Wang Zhang executed on a legal pretext; the story is told in the biography of Empress Dowager Yuan. In the Yuanshi years Wang Mang, as Duke of Anhan, purged everyone who would not bend to him. Lechang Marquis Wang An was framed, took his own life, and his marquisate was extinguished.
12
史丹字君仲，魯國人也，徙杜陵。 祖父恭有女弟，武帝時爲衞太子良娣，產悼皇考。 皇考者，孝宣帝父也。 宣帝微時依倚史氏。 語在《史良娣傳》。 及宣帝即尊位，恭已死，三子，高、曾、玄。 曾、玄皆以外屬舊恩封：曾爲將陵侯，玄平台侯。 高侍中，貴幸，以發舉反者大司馬霍禹功封樂陵侯。 宣帝疾病，拜高爲大司馬、車騎將軍，領尚書事。 帝崩，太子襲尊號，是爲孝元帝。 高輔政五年，乞骸骨，賜安車駟馬、黃金，罷就第。 薨，謚曰安侯。
Shi Dan, courtesy name Junzhong, came from Lu; his family later relocated to Duling. His grandfather Shi Gong had a younger sister who, in Emperor Wu's reign, served as a worthy lady attendant to Crown Prince Wei and bore the Lamented Imperial Father. The Lamented Imperial Father was Emperor Xuan's father. In his lowly days Emperor Xuan relied on the Shi family. The fuller account appears in the biography of Lady Attendant Shi. When Emperor Xuan took the throne, Gong was already dead, leaving three sons: Gao, Zeng, and Xuan. Zeng and Xuan were both enfeoffed as maternal relatives on account of old favor: Zeng as Marquis of Jiangling and Xuan as Marquis of Pingtai. Shi Gao served as palace attendant and enjoyed high favor; for exposing the rebel Grand Marshal Huo Yu he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yueling. When Emperor Xuan fell ill, he appointed Shi Gao Grand Marshal and General of Chariots and Cavalry with oversight of the Masters of Writing. When the emperor died, the crown prince succeeded as Emperor Yuan. Shi Gao served as regent for five years, then asked to retire. He was given a comfortable carriage and team of four, gold, and permission to withdraw to his estate. When he died he was posthumously titled Marquis An.
13
自元帝為太子時，丹以父高任為中庶子，侍從十餘年。 元帝即位，為駙馬都尉侍中，出常驂乘，甚有寵。 上以丹舊臣，皇考外屬，親信之，詔丹護太子家。 是時，傅昭儀子定陶共王有材藝，子母俱愛幸，而太子頗有酒色之失，母王皇后無寵。
While Emperor Yuan was still crown prince, Shi Dan, through his father Shi Gao's standing, was appointed palace attendant to the heir and served at his side for more than a decade. When Yuan took the throne, Shi Dan became chief commandant of horsemen-at-attendance and palace attendant, routinely rode beside the emperor in the side car, and basked in imperial favor. The emperor treated Shi Dan as a veteran of his father's household and a maternal relative, kept him close, and ordered him to oversee the crown prince's establishment. At that time Consort Fu's son, Prince Kang of Dingtao, was gifted and accomplished, and mother and son both enjoyed the emperor's affection, whereas the crown prince showed a weakness for wine and women and his mother, Empress Wang, had fallen out of favor.
14
建昭之後，元帝被疾，不親政事，留好音樂。 或置鼙鼓殿下，天子自臨軒檻上，隤銅丸以擿鼓，聲中嚴鼓之節。 後宮及左右習知音者莫能爲，而定陶王亦能之，上數稱其材。 丹進曰：「凡所謂材者，敏而好學，溫故知新，皇太了是也。 若乃器人於絲竹鼓鼙之間，則是陳惠、李微高於匡衡，可相國也。」 於是上嘿然而笑。 其後，中山哀王薨，太子前吊。 哀王者，帝之少弟，與太子遊學相長大。 上望見太子，感念哀王，悲不能自止。 太子既至前，不哀。 上大恨曰：「安有人不慈仁而可奉宗廟爲民父母者乎！」 上以責謂丹。 丹免冠謝上曰：「臣誠見陛下哀痛中山王，至以感損。 向者太子當進見，臣竊戒屬毋涕泣，感傷陛下。 罪乃在臣，當死。」 上以爲然，意乃解。 丹之輔相，皆此類也。 竟寧元年，上寢疾，傅昭儀及定陶王常在左右，而皇后、太子希得進見。 上疾稍侵，意忽忽不平，數問尚書以景帝時立膠東王故事。 是時，太子長舅陽平侯王鳳爲衛尉、侍中，與皇后、太子皆憂，不知所出。 丹以親密臣得侍視疾，侯上間獨寢時，丹直入臥內，頓首伏青蒲上，涕泣言曰：「皇太子以適長立，積十餘年，名號繫於百姓，天下莫不歸心臣子。 見定陶王雅素愛幸，今者道路流言，爲國生意，以爲太子有動搖之議。 審若此，公卿以下必以死爭，不奉詔。 臣願先賜死以示群臣！」 天子素仁，不忍見丹涕泣，言又切至，上意大感，喟然太息曰：「吾日困劣，而太子、兩王幼少，意中戀戀，亦何不念乎！ 然無有此議。 且皇后謹慎，先帝又愛太子，吾豈可違指！ 駙馬都尉安所受此語？」 丹即卻，頓首曰：「愚臣妾聞，罪當死！」 上因納，謂丹曰：「吾病浸加，恐不能自還。 善輔道太子，毋違我意！」 丹噓唏而起。 太子由是遂爲嗣矣。 元帝竟崩，成帝初即位，擢丹爲長樂衛尉，遷右將軍，賜爵關內侯，食邑三百戶，給事中，後徙左將軍、光祿大夫。 鴻嘉元年，上遂下詔曰：「夫褒有德，賞元功，古今通義也。 左將軍丹往時導朕以忠正，秉義醇一，舊德茂焉。 其封丹爲武陽侯，國東海郯之武強聚，戶千一百。」
After the Jianzhao period Emperor Yuan fell ill, ceased to attend to government himself, and devoted himself to music. Drums were sometimes set below the hall; the emperor himself stood on the upper balustrade, dropped copper balls to beat the drums, and matched the rhythm of the ceremonial drum pattern. None of the harem or the emperor's attendants who knew music could match the feat, yet the Prince of Dingtao could, and the emperor repeatedly praised his ability. Shi Dan stepped forward and said, "True talent means quickness and love of learning, reviewing the old to know the new—the crown prince is such a man. If you measure men by skill with music and drums, then Chen Hui and Li Wei outrank Kuang Heng and ought to be chancellor." The emperor smiled but said nothing. Later Prince Ai of Zhongshan died, and the crown prince went to offer condolences. Prince Ai was the emperor's younger brother; he and the crown prince had studied and grown up together. When the emperor saw the crown prince, memories of Prince Ai overwhelmed him and he could not stop grieving. When the crown prince came forward, he showed no grief. The emperor was furious and said, "How can anyone lacking kindness and humaneness be fit to tend the ancestral temple and be father and mother to the people!" The emperor reproached Shi Dan. Shi Dan removed his cap and apologized: "Your servant saw that Your Majesty was grieving for Prince Ai of Zhongshan to the point of harming your health. When the crown prince was about to appear, I privately warned him not to weep and add to Your Majesty's sorrow. The fault is mine alone, and I deserve death." The emperor accepted this explanation and his anger subsided. Shi Dan's guidance of the crown prince was always of this sort. In Jingning 1 the emperor was bedridden. Consort Fu and the Prince of Dingtao were constantly at his side, while the empress and crown prince were rarely admitted. As his illness deepened, the emperor grew restless and repeatedly asked the Masters of Writing about the precedent from Emperor Jing's reign of enthroning the Prince of Jiaodong instead of the crown prince. The crown prince's elder maternal uncle, Yangping Marquis Wang Feng, served as Commandant of the Guard and palace attendant; he, the empress, and the crown prince were all anxious and at a loss. As an intimate adviser permitted to attend the sickbed, Shi Dan waited until the emperor was resting alone, then entered the inner chamber, prostrated himself on the green rush mat, and weeping said, "The crown prince was established as the legitimate eldest son more than ten years ago. His title is bound up with the people, and all the realm looks to him as heir. The Prince of Dingtao has long enjoyed your favor, and now rumor runs through the streets that the succession may be changed. If that is true, the high ministers and officials below them will resist to the death and refuse to obey any contrary edict. Your servant asks to die first as a warning to the court!" The emperor was by nature humane and could not bear to see Shi Dan weeping. His words cut to the heart. Deeply moved, the emperor sighed and said, "My days are failing, and the crown prince and the two princes are still young. My heart clings to them—how could I not think of them! But there is no such plan. Besides, the empress is prudent, and the late emperor loved the crown prince. How could I go against his intent! Chief Commandant of Horsemen-at-attendance, where did you hear such talk?" Shi Dan drew back and kowtowed: "This foolish servant merely heard rumor. The offense deserves death!" The emperor accepted this and said to Shi Dan, "My illness grows worse, and I fear I may not recover. Guide the crown prince well and do not betray my intent!" Shi Dan sobbed and rose. The crown prince was thereby secured as successor. When Emperor Yuan died and Emperor Cheng first succeeded, Shi Dan was promoted to Commandant of the Chang'le Palace Guard, then General of the Right, granted Marquis within the Pass with a three-hundred-household fief and palace attendance, and later moved to General of the Left and Grand Master of the Household. In Hongjia 1 the emperor issued an edict: "Honoring the virtuous and rewarding great service is a principle honored in every age. General of the Left Shi Dan long ago guided Us with loyal uprightness, held to pure integrity, and his old merit is abundant. Let Shi Dan be enfeoffed as Marquis of Wuyang, with a fief at Wuqiang in Tan county, Donghai commandery, of eleven hundred households."
15
丹為人足知，愷弟愛人，貌若儻蕩不備，然心甚謹密，故尤得信於上。 丹兄嗣父爵為侯，讓不受分。 丹盡得父財，身又食大國邑，重以舊恩，數見褒賞，賞賜累千金，僮奴以百數，後房妻妾數十人，內奢淫，好飲酒，極滋味聲色之樂。 為將軍前後十六年，永始中病乞骸骨，上賜策曰：「左將軍寢病不衰，願歸治疾，朕愍以官職之事久留將軍，使躬不瘳。 使光祿勳賜將軍黃金五十斤，安車駟馬，其上將軍印綬。 宜專精神，務近醫藥，以輔不衰。」
Shi Dan was shrewd, warm, and considerate; he looked relaxed and even careless, but he was meticulous by nature, which is why the emperor trusted him above others. His elder brother inherited their father's marquisate; Shi Dan declined any share of the estate. He kept the whole of his father's fortune, drew income from a large fief, and, thanks to long-standing favor, was heaped with honors and gifts worth thousands in gold. He kept hundreds of slaves, dozens of concubines, and lived in private luxury—drinking heavily and indulging every appetite for food, music, and women. He served sixteen years as a general. In the Yongshi period he fell ill and asked to retire. The emperor replied: 'Your illness as General of the Left does not improve, and you wish to go home to heal. I regret that state business has kept you at your post so long that your health has not mended. Send the superintendent of the imperial household with fifty catties of gold, a comfortable carriage and team of four, and take your seal and sash as general. Devote yourself to rest and medical care so that your strength may return.'
16
丹歸第數月薨，謚曰頃侯。 有子男女二十人，九男皆以丹任並爲侍中、諸曹，親近在左右。 史氏凡四人侯，至卿、大夫、二千石者十餘人，皆訖王莽乃絶，唯將陵侯曾無子，絶於身云。 傅喜字稚游，河內溫人也，哀帝祖母定陶傅太后從父弟。 少好學問，有志行。 哀帝立爲太子，成帝選喜爲太子庶子。 哀帝初即位，以喜爲衛尉，遷右將軍。 是時，王莽爲大司馬，乞骸骨，避帝外家。 上既聽莽退，眾庶歸望於喜。 喜從弟孔鄉侯晏親與喜等，而女爲皇后。 又帝舅陽安侯丁明，皆親以外屬封。 喜執謙稱疾。 傅太后始與政事，喜數諫之，由是傅太后不欲令喜輔政。 上於是用左將軍師丹代王莽爲大司馬，賜喜黃金百斤、上將軍印綬，以光祿大夫養病。
A few months after Shi Dan retired to his estate he died and was posthumously titled Marquis Qing. He had twenty children; nine sons, through Shi Dan's influence, all held posts as palace attendants and bureau officials close to the throne. Four members of the Shi clan became marquises, and more than a dozen reached ministerial or two-thousand-shi rank; the line ended only under Wang Mang, except Marquis of Jiangling Zeng, who died without heirs. Fu Xi, courtesy name Zhiyou, came from Wen in Henei commandery. He was the younger brother of Grand Empress Dowager Fu of Dingtao, Emperor Ai's grandmother. From youth he loved learning and conducted himself with purpose. When Emperor Ai was made crown prince, Emperor Cheng appointed Fu Xi palace attendant to the heir. When Emperor Ai first took the throne, Fu Xi was made Commandant of the Guard and then General of the Right. At that time Wang Mang served as Grand Marshal but asked to retire in order to step aside before the new emperor's maternal relatives. Once the emperor accepted Wang Mang's retirement, public expectation turned to Fu Xi. Fu Xi's cousin, Marquis of Kongxiang Fu Yan, was close to him, and Yan's daughter was empress. The emperor's maternal uncle, Marquis of Yang'an Ding Ming, was likewise enfeoffed as a close maternal relative. Fu Xi, insisting on humility, pleaded illness. When Grand Empress Dowager Fu began to intervene in government, Fu Xi repeatedly remonstrated with her, and she therefore did not want him in power. The emperor then replaced Wang Mang with General of the Left Shi Dan as Grand Marshal, gave Fu Xi one hundred jin of gold and the seal and sash of Upper General, and allowed him to convalesce with the rank of Grand Master of the Household.
17
大司空何武、尚書令唐林皆上書言：「喜行義修潔，忠誠憂國，內輔之臣也，今以寢病，一旦遣歸，眾庶失望，皆曰傅氏賢子，以論議不合於定陶太后故退，百寮莫不為國恨之。 忠臣，社稷之衛，魯以季友治亂，楚以子玉輕重，魏以無忌折衝，項以范增存亡。 故楚跨有南土，帶甲百萬，鄰國不以為難，子玉為將，則文公側席而坐，及其死也，君臣相慶。 百萬之眾，不如一賢，故秦行千金以間廉頗，漢散萬金以疏亞父。 喜立於朝，陛下之光輝，傅氏之廢興也。」 上亦自重之。 明年正月，乃徙師丹為大司空，而拜喜為大司馬，封高武侯。
Grand Minister of Works He Wu and Secretary Director Tang Lin jointly wrote: 'Fu Xi is upright, scrupulous, and devoted to the state—exactly the kind of man who should stand at the emperor's side. To dismiss him overnight on grounds of illness will disappoint the empire. People will say the worthy son of the Fu clan was cashiered because he would not trim his opinions to suit the Dowager of Dingtao, and every official will feel the dynasty has wronged itself. Loyal ministers are what defend the altars of state: Lu rose or fell with Jiyou, Chu with Ziyu, Wei with Lord Xinling, and Xiang Yu with Fan Zeng. Chu commanded the south with a million armored men, yet its neighbors did not fear it—until Ziyu took command, when Duke Wen of Jin could not sit at ease. The moment Ziyu died, ruler and ministers across the river celebrated. A million soldiers count for less than one wise counselor—hence Qin spent a thousand in gold to drive a wedge beside Lian Po, and Han poured out ten thousand to estrange Fan Zeng from his lord. Fu Xi's presence at court is both your majesty's good fortune and the making or breaking of the Fu clan.' The emperor himself still set great store by him. The following first month the emperor moved Shi Dan into the grand minister of works post, appointed Fu Xi grand marshal, and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Gaowu.
18
丁、傅驕奢，皆嫉喜之恭儉。 又傅太后欲求稱尊號，與成帝母齊尊，喜與丞相孔光、大司空師丹共執正議。 傅太后大怒，上不得已，先免師丹以感動喜，喜終不順。 後數月，遂策免喜曰：「君輔政出入三年，未有昭然匡朕不逮，而本朝大臣遂其奸心，咎由君焉。 其上大司馬印綬，就第。」 傅太后又自詔丞相、御史曰：「高武侯喜無功而封，內懷不忠，附下罔上，與故大司空丹同心背畔，放命圮族，虧損德化，罪惡雖在赦前，不宜奉朝請，其遣就國。」 後又欲奪喜侯，上亦不聽。
The Ding and Fu clans lived in swaggering luxury and all resented Fu Xi's modest restraint. When Grand Empress Dowager Fu demanded a title equal to Emperor Cheng's mother, Fu Xi stood with Chancellor Kong Guang and Grand Minister of Works Shi Dan on the side of precedent. The grand empress dowager raged. Cornered, the emperor first dismissed Shi Dan, hoping to intimidate Fu Xi into yielding; Fu Xi still refused to bend. Months later an edict stripped him of office: 'You have held power for three years without once plainly correcting my shortcomings, while intriguers in this court have had their way. The blame rests with you. Surrender the grand marshal's seal and sash and retire to your estate.' Grand Empress Dowager Fu then issued her own order to the chancellor and censor: 'Marquis of Gaowu Fu Xi received a fief without merit. In his heart he is disloyal: he panders to factions below while misleading the throne, and he conspired with the former grand minister of works Shi Dan in mutinous defiance. Such conduct tears down the moral order. Even though his offenses predate the last amnesty, he must not continue at court; send him back to his fief.' She later tried to strip him of his title as well, but the emperor would not allow it.
19
喜在國三歲余，哀帝崩，平帝即位，王莽用事，免傅氏宮爵歸故郡，晏將妻子徙合浦。 莽白太后下詔曰：「高武侯喜姿性端愨，論議忠直。 雖與故定陶太后有屬，終不順指從邪，介然守節，以故斥逐就國。 傳不云乎？ 『歲寒然後知松伯之後凋也』。 其還喜長安，以故高安侯莫府賜喜，位特進，奉朝請。」 喜雖外見褒賞，孤立憂懼，後復遣就國，以壽終。 莽賜謚曰貞侯。 子嗣，莽敗乃絕。
Fu Xi spent three years in his fief. After Emperor Ai died and the child Emperor Ping ascended, Wang Mang took charge, stripped the Fu clan of their titles, and sent them home; Fu Yan removed his wife and children to Hepu on the southern coast. Wang Mang persuaded the empress dowager to issue an edict: "Marquis of Gaowu Fu Xi is sober, steady, and outspoken in loyalty. Though related to the late Dowager of Dingtao, he never truckled to her whims; he held his integrity and was banished to his fief for it. Does not the Analects say, 'Only when the cold season comes do we see that the pine and cypress wither last.' Recall Fu Xi to Chang'an, grant him the former Gao'an Marquis's mansion as a residence, advance him to specially advanced rank, and permit him to attend scheduled audiences." Outwardly honored, Fu Xi lived in isolation and dread, was sent back to his fief a second time, and died there in old age. Wang Mang gave him the posthumous title Marquis of Integrity. His son inherited the line, which ended when Wang Mang fell.
20
贊曰：自宜、元、成、哀外戚興者，許、史、三王、丁、傅之家，皆重侯累將，窮貴極富，見其位矣，未見其人也。 陽平之王多有材能，好事慕名，其勢尤盛，曠貴最久。 然至於莽，亦以覆國。 王商有剛毅節，廢黜以憂死，非其罪也。 史丹父子相繼，高以重厚，位至三公。 丹之輔道副主，掩惡揚美，傅會善意，雖宿儒達士無以加焉。 及其歷房闥，入臥內，推至誠，犯顏色，動寤萬乘，轉移大謀，卒成太子，安母后之位。 「無言不讎」，終獲忠貞之報。 傅喜守節不傾，亦蒙後凋之賞。 哀、平際會，禍福速哉！
The historian's judgment: From the reigns of Xuan through Ai, the consort clans—the Xu, the Shi, the three Wang lines, the Ding, and the Fu—stacked marquisates and generalships until they towered in wealth and rank; you could see their offices, rarely the men who deserved them. The Yangping Wangs were unusually able, ambitious, and conspicuous; no other kin clan held such power for so long. Yet it was that same house that produced Wang Mang and overturned the dynasty. Wang Shang was a man of iron principle; driven from office, he died of grief for a fault that was not his own. Shi Dan and his father Shi Gao followed each other into high office; the father was famed for sober reliability, and both rose to the Three Excellencies. In guiding the heir he glossed over faults, magnified virtues, and put the best face on the prince's intentions—skills no veteran scholar could have surpassed. When he crossed into the inner apartments, spoke with blunt sincerity, and risked the emperor's anger, he swayed a decision that touched the throne itself, secured the succession for the crown prince, and preserved the empress's station. The ode says, 'No loyal word goes unanswered'—and he lived to see the reward of his constancy. Fu Xi held his integrity without wavering and likewise earned the praise reserved for the last evergreen. How swiftly fortune and misfortune alternated at the juncture of the Ai and Ping reigns!