1
卷八十五谷永杜鄴傳第五十五
Volume 85, the fifty-fifth biography: Gu Yong and Du Ye.
2
谷永字子雲，長安人也。 父吉，為衛司馬，使送郅支單于侍子，為郅支所殺，語在《陳湯傳》。 永少為長安小史，後博學經書。 建昭中，御史大夫繁延壽聞其有茂材，除補屬，舉為太常丞，數上疏言得失。
Gu Yong, styled Ziyun, was a native of Chang'an. His father Ji served as guard marshal on the mission to escort Zhizhi's heir and died at Zhizhi's hands, as told in the biography of Chen Tang. He began as a petty clerk in Chang'an, then immersed himself in the canon. Under Jianzhao, Imperial Counselor Fan Yanshou, hearing of his ability, took him on staff, nominated him aide to the chamberlain of ceremonials, and Yong repeatedly memorialized on policy.
3
建始三年冬，日食、地震同日俱發，詔舉方正直言極諫之士，太常陽城侯劉慶忌舉永待詔公車。 對曰：
In the third year of Jianshi, winter brought a solar eclipse and an earthquake on the same day. The throne called for blunt critics; Liu Qingji, Marquis of Yangcheng and chamberlain of ceremonials, nominated Gu Yong to the waiting roster at the public carriage office. He answered:
4
陛下踐至尊之祚為天下主，奉帝王之職以統群生，方內之治亂，在陛下所執。 誠留意於正身，勉強於力行，損燕私之閒以勞天下，放去淫溺之樂，罷歸倡優之笑，絕卻不享之義，慎節游田之虞，起居有常，循禮而動，躬親政事，致行無倦，安服若性。 經曰：「繼自今嗣王，其毋淫於酒，毋逸於游田，惟正之共。」 未有身治正而臣下邪者也。
You occupy the throne and bear the charge of shepherding every life; whether the realm stands firm or falters rests in your hands alone. Set your heart on self-correction and resolute action: trim private revelry to labor for the state, cast off sensual excess, send singers and jesters home, end neglect of sacrifice, curb the dangers of the hunt, keep regular hours, act only by ritual, take the reins of government yourself, and never tire of right conduct until it becomes second nature. The canon warns future kings: "No drunkenness, no heedless sport in the field—only upright service." When the ruler's person is straight, the ministers do not go crooked.
5
夫妻之際，王事綱紀，安危之機，聖王所致慎也。 昔舜飭正二女，以崇至德； 楚莊忍絕丹姬，以成伯功； 幽王惑於褒姒，周德降亡； 魯桓脅於齊女，社稷以傾。 誠修後宮之政，明尊卑之序，貴者不得嫉妨專龐，以絕驕嫚之端，抑褒、閻之亂，賤者咸得秩進，各得厥職，以廣繼嗣之統，息《白華》之怨，後宮親屬，饒之以財，勿與政事，以遠皇父之類，損妻黨之權，未有閨門治而天下亂者也。
The bond between sovereign and consort is the backbone of kingship and the hinge of fortune; the sage kings weighed it with utmost care. Shun disciplined his two royal brides to perfect his virtue; King Zhuang of Chu renounced his favorite Dan Ji to win hegemony; King You drowned in Bao Si and the Zhou mandate collapsed; Duke Huan of Lu let a princess of Qi overawe him and lost his state. Reform the harem: fix precedence so favorites cannot monopolize favor or breed arrogance; check the chaos of Bao Si and Zhao Feiyan; let humble consorts rise in due order, each to her station, to widen the chance of heirs and still the jealousies sung in the "White Flowers"; enrich in-laws with gold but bar them from office like the royal fathers of old, and clip the power of consort clans—when the inner quarters are ordered, the realm does not fall into chaos.
6
治遠自近始，習善在左右。 昔龍管納言，而帝命惟允； 四輔既備，成王靡有過事。 誠敕正左右齊栗之臣，戴金貂之飾、執常伯之職者，皆使學先王之道，知君臣之義，濟濟謹孚，無敖戲驕恣之地，則左右肅艾，群僚仰法，化流四方。 經曰：「亦惟先正克左右。」 未有左右正而百官枉者也。
Rule the distant by ordering what is near; cultivate virtue first among those at your elbow. When Long held the office of remonstrance, the sovereign's word was true; with the four counselors in place, the young King Cheng never stumbled. Command every awe-struck attendant who bears the golden marten and holds a chief counselor's post to study the Way of the ancients and the duty between ruler and minister; let them stand grave and trustworthy, with no room for swagger or caprice—then your entourage grows disciplined, the bureaucracy takes its cue, and civilizing influence spreads to the four quarters. The text says, "It is upright men who steady those at your side." When those at your side are straight, the bureaucracy does not go awry.
7
治天下者尊賢考功則治，簡賢違功則亂。 誠審思治人之術，歡樂得賢之福，論材選士，必試於職，明度量以程能，考功實以定德，無用比周之虛譽，毋聽浸潤之譖訴，則抱功修職之吏無蔽傷之憂，比周邪偽之徒不得即工，小人日銷，俊艾日隆。 經曰：「三載考績，三考黜陟幽明。」 又曰：「九德咸事，俊艾在官。」 未有功賞得於前眾賢佈於官而不治者也。
Honor talent and judge by results, and the realm is governed; slight the worthy and ignore performance, and it slides into chaos. Think hard how to govern men, delight in winning true talent, match candidates to posts, and test them in office; use clear standards to measure ability and real deeds to judge character; spurn hollow praise from cabals and ignore drip-by-drip slander—then diligent officials need not fear being ruined in secret, sycophants cannot worm into power, the mean fade away, and the worthy rise. The canon runs: "Review performance every three years; after three reviews, promote the bright and dismiss the dim." It adds, "When the nine virtues are all at work, the finest men fill the government." Reward merit first, spread able men through the bureaucracy, and the state cannot fail to be well governed.
8
堯遭洪水之災，天下分絕為十二州，制遠之道微而無乖畔之難者，德厚恩深，無怨於下也。 秦居平土，一夫大呼而海內崩析者，刑罰深酷，吏行殘賊也。 夫違天害德，為上取怨於下，莫甚乎殘賊之吏。 誠放退殘賊酷暴之吏錮廢勿用，益選溫良上德之士以親萬勝，平刑釋冤以理民命，務省繇役，毋奪民時，薄收賦稅，毋殫民財，使天下黎元咸安家樂業，不苦逾時之役，不患苛暴之政，不疾酷烈之吏，雖有唐堯之大災，民無離上之心。 經曰：「懷保小人，惠於鰥寡。」 未有德厚吏良而民畔者也。
Under Yao the world was shattered by flood and carved into twelve regions; control of the periphery grew weak, yet the people did not revolt—such was the depth of his virtue that none nursed a grudge. Qin ruled level ground, yet a single cry brought the empire down—because its laws were savage and its clerks predatory. Nothing turns Heaven and the people against the throne faster than brutal magistrates. Dismiss every cruel official, bar them forever from office, promote gentle men of high character to care for the myriad households, right wrongs and ease sentences, cut corvée so as not to steal the farming seasons, lighten taxes so as not to drain the purse—then the people will live in peace, unvexed by endless labor or harsh rule or pitiless clerks, and even a flood like Yao's would not shake their loyalty. The text bids the ruler cherish the common folk and show special kindness to widows and widowers. When the sovereign is benevolent and his magistrates honest, the people do not rise in revolt.
9
臣聞災異，皇天所以譴告人君過失，猶嚴父之明誡。 畏懼敬改，則禍銷福降； 忽然簡易，則咎罰不除。 經曰：「饗用五福，畏用六極。」 傳曰：「六沴作見，若不共禦，六罰既侵，六極其下。」 今三年之間，災異鋒起，小大畢具，所行不享上帝，上帝不豫，炳然甚著。 不求之身，無所改正，疏舉廣謀，又不用其言，是循不享之跡，無謝過之實也，天責愈深。 此五者，王事之綱紀。 南面之急務，唯陛下留神。
I have heard that omens are Heaven's way of rebuking a sovereign's faults, as a strict father warns a son. Dread them and mend your ways, and disaster yields to blessing; treat them lightly, and guilt and punishment never lift. The text says Heaven rewards with five blessings and chastises with six extremes. Commentary adds that when the six baleful signs appear, failure to meet them together brings the six punishments and the six extremes upon the realm. In three years omens have flared without cease, great and small alike; your conduct has failed to honor High Heaven, and Heaven's displeasure blazes plain for all to see. Without searching your own heart there can be no reform; though counsel pours in from every side, you ignore it—thus you persist in refusing Heaven's sacrifice and never truly repent, and Heaven's rebuke deepens. These five points are the pillars of kingship. They are the urgent business of the throne; I beg you to weigh them with care.
10
對奏，天子異焉，特召見永。
The emperor was struck by the memorial and summoned Gu Yong for a private audience.
11
其夏，皆令諸方正對策，語在《杜欽傳》。 永對畢，因曰：「臣前幸得條對災異之效，禍亂所極，言關於聖聰。 書陳於前，陛下委棄不納，而更使方正對策，背可懼之大異，問不急之常論，廢承天之至言，角無用之虛文，欲末殺災異，滿讕誣天，是故皇天勃然發怒，甲己之間暴風三溱，拔樹折木，此天至明不可欺之效也。」 上特復問永，永對曰：「日食、地震，皇后、貴妾專寵所致。」 語在《五行志》。
That summer every candidate of square integrity was examined in debate; the details appear in Du Qin's biography. When he had finished, Yong added: "I was once allowed to set forth how portents foretell disaster—matters that touched your sacred ear. You set my memorial aside, then called for more policy essays—turning from awesome portents to pedantic trivia, spurning words that bear Heaven's charge for hollow rhetoric. You meant to explain away the omens and deceive Heaven; so Heaven answered with three great windstorms between the jia and ji days, tearing up trees—a sign that High Heaven cannot be mocked." Questioned again, Yong answered that the eclipse and quake came from the empress and favored consorts monopolizing the emperor's affection. The particulars are recorded in the Treatise on the Five Phases.
12
是時，上初即位，謙讓委政元舅大將軍王鳳，議者多歸咎焉。 永知鳳方見柄用，陰欲自托，乃復曰：
The emperor had just succeeded and had handed power to his uncle, Grand General Wang Feng; many blamed the omens on him. Knowing Feng was ascendant, Yong sought quietly to win his favor and added:
13
方今四夷賓服，皆為臣妾，北無薰粥冒頓之患，南無趙佗、呂嘉之難，三垂晏然，靡有兵革之警。 諸侯大者乃食數縣，漢吏制其權柄，不得有為，亡吳、楚、燕、梁之勢。 百官盤互，親疏相錯，骨肉大臣有申伯之忠，洞洞屬屬，小心畏忌，無重合、安陽、博陸之亂。 三者無毛髮之辜，不可歸咎諸舅。 及欲以政事過差丞相父子、中尚書宦官，檻塞大異，皆□說欺天者也。 竊恐陛下捨昭昭之白過，忽天地之明戒，聽暗昧之□說，歸咎乎無辜，倚異乎政事，重失天心，不可之大者也。
The barbarians are all tributary; the north holds no Xiongnu threat like Modun's day, the south no rebellion like Zhao Tuo or Lu Jia; the frontiers are calm and no call to arms sounds. Even the largest feudal lords feed on a few counties only, while Han officials hold their levers of power—nowhere is there strength like old Wu, Chu, Yan, or Liang. The bureaucracy is a web of kin and stranger, yet your kinsmen-ministers show the loyalty of Shen Bo—solemn, cautious, nothing like the Chonge, Huo, or Han clique rebellions. On these three counts the maternal kin are blameless as a hair's weight. To blame the chancellor and his son, the inner secretariat, or eunuchs for administrative slips, or to fence off great portents with petty excuses, is to lie to Heaven. I fear you may ignore your own clear faults, spurn Heaven's plain warnings, heed shadowy slander, punish the innocent, read strange meanings into routine policy, and doubly forfeit the Mandate—that would be intolerable.
14
陛下即位，委任遵舊，未有過政。 元年正月，白氣較然起乎東方，至其四月，黃濁四塞，覆冒京師，申以大水，著以震蝕。 各有占應，相為表裡，百官庶事無所歸倚，陛下獨不怪與？ 白氣起東方，賤人將興之表也； 黃濁冒京師，王道微絕之應也。 夫賤人當起而京師道微，二者已丑。 陛下誠深察愚臣之言，致懼天地之異，長思宗廟之計，改往反過，抗湛溺之意，解偏駁之愛，奮乾剛之威，平天覆之施，使列妾得人人更進，猶尚未足也，急復益納宜子婦人，毋擇好醜，毋避嘗字，毋論年齒。 推法言之，陛下得繼嗣於微賤之間，乃反為福。 得繼嗣而已，母非有賤也。 後宮女吏使令有直意者，廣求於微賤之間，以遇天所開右，慰釋皇太后之憂慍，解謝上帝之譴怒，則繼嗣蕃滋，災異訖息。 陛下則不深察愚臣之言，忽於天地之戒，咎根不除，水雨之災，山石之異，將發不久； 發則災異已極，天變成形，臣雖欲捐身關策，不及事已。
Since your accession you have followed established usage in appointments; you have not misgoverned. In your first year, first month, a white aura rose in the east; by the fourth month yellow murk choked the capital, followed by flood and by earthquake and eclipse—each omen matching the other. They answer one another as inner and outer signs; no official can tell where to stand—is this not strange to you alone? White vapor in the east foretells the rise of commoners to power; yellow haze over the capital answers to a royal Way grown faint to the breaking point. Low-born power rising while the capital's virtue fails—the two omens compound an ill augury. If you heed this counsel, dread Heaven's signs, think long on the ancestral shrines, mend past errors, shake off sensual obsession and lopsided favor, show the firmness of the sovereign's will, and spread your favor evenly so every consort may in turn attend you—even that would not suffice: you must urgently take in more women likely to bear sons, without regard to looks, taboo homonyms, or age. By every principle of state, an heir born to a humble mother would prove a blessing. Once there is an heir, the mother's low rank ceases to matter. Send trustworthy women of the harem to search widely among humble families for matches Heaven favors, ease the empress dowager's anxiety, and appease divine anger—then heirs will multiply and the omens will cease. If you ignore this counsel and slight Heaven's warning, the root of evil remains—flood and strange stones will soon follow; once they break, calamity will be complete and Heaven's shape fixed—though I would give my life to counsel you, it would be too late.
15
疏賤之臣，至敢直陳天意，斥譏帷幄之私，欲間離貴後、盛妾，自知忤心逆耳，必不免於湯鑊之誅。 此天保右漢家，使臣敢直言也。 三上封事，然後得召； 待詔一旬，然後得見。 夫由疏賤納至忠，甚苦； 由至尊聞天意，甚難。 語不可露，願具書所言，因待中奏陛下，以示腹心大臣。 腹心大臣以為非天意，臣當伏妄言之誅； 即以為誠天意也，奈何忘國家大本，背天意而從欲！ 唯陛下省察熟念，厚為宗廟計。
A humble subject who dares speak Heaven's mind aloud, who mocks what passes within the bed-curtains and would part the empress from a powerful favorite, knows his words grate and invite the cauldron. Only because Heaven guards the house of Han do I dare speak so plainly. I had to submit three sealed memorials before I was summoned; then waited ten days on the roster before I gained an audience. For a nobody to win a hearing for utmost loyalty is bitter work; for the Son of Heaven to heed Heaven's voice is harder still. These things cannot be spoken in the open: let me set them down in writing for a chamber attendant to present to you and to your closest ministers. If those ministers judge my words false to Heaven's mind, I will accept death for reckless speech; if they agree it is Heaven's truth, how can you ignore the foundation of the dynasty and choose desire over the Mandate! I beg you to reflect long and hard for the sake of the ancestral temple.
16
時，對者數十人，永與杜欽為上第焉。 上皆以其書示後宮。 後上嘗賜許皇后書，采永言以責之，語在《外戚傳》。
Of the dozens who responded, Gu Yong and Du Qin ranked highest. The emperor had his memorials circulated in the harem. Later the emperor sent Empress Xu a letter borrowing Yong's phrases to chastise her, as told among the consort kin biographies.
17
永既陰為大將軍鳳說矣，能實最高，由是擢為光祿大夫。 永奏書謝鳳曰：「永斗筲之材，質薄學朽，無一日之雅，左右之介，將軍說其狂言，擢之皁衣之吏，廁之爭臣之末，不聽浸潤之譖，不食膚受之訴，雖齊桓、晉文用士篤密，察父哲兄覆育子弟，誠無以加！ 昔豫子吞炭壞形以奉見異，齊客隕首公門以報恩施，知氏、孟嘗猶有死士，何況將軍之門！」 鳳遂厚之。
Having quietly pleaded Wang Feng's cause, Yong was judged the ablest candidate and was raised to grand counselor of the palace. He wrote Wang Feng: "I am a trifling talent, shallow and ill-read, a stranger to you without introduction, yet you welcomed my blunt words, raised me from a petty clerk to the ranks of remonstrators, and refused both whispered slander and shallow complaint. Not even Duke Huan of Qi or Lord Wen of Jin treated their men with such care—no fond father or elder brother could do more." Yurang disfigured himself with charcoal for his lord; a Qi retainer dashed out his brains at the gate to repay a kindness. Even the houses of Zhi Bo and Lord Mengchang kept men willing to die—how much more may your own gate command such loyalty!" Feng thereafter treated him with great favor.
18
永遠為郡吏，恐為音所危，病滿三月免。 音奏請永補營軍司馬，永數謝罪自陳，得轉為長史。
When Yong was posted as a commandery clerk, he feared Wang Yin would harm him and pleaded illness for three months until he was released. Yin asked to appoint him camp marshal; Yong repeatedly begged off in self-defense and was instead made chief clerk.
19
音用從舅越親輔政，威權損於鳳時，永復說音曰：「將軍覆上將之位，食豪腴之都，任周、召之職，擁天下之樞，可謂富貴之極，人臣無二，天下之責四面至矣，將何以居之？ 宜夙夜孳孳，執伊尹之強德，以守職匡上，誅惡不避親愛，舉善不避仇讎，以章至公，立信四方。 篤行三者，乃可以長堪重任，久享盛寵。 太白出西方六十日，法當參天，今已過期，尚在桑榆之間，質弱而行遲，形小而光微。 熒惑角怒明大，逆行守尾。 其逆，常也； 守尾，變也。 意豈將軍忘湛漸之義，委曲從順，所執不強，不廣用士，尚有好惡之忌，蕩蕩之德未純，方與將相大臣乖離之萌也？ 何故始襲司馬之號，俄而金火並有此變？ 上天至明，不虛見異，唯將軍畏之慎之，深思其故，改求其路，以享天意。」 音猶不平，薦永為護菀使者。
When Yin came to power through a maternal uncle and his authority fell short of Wang Feng's, Yong urged him: "You hold a marshal's rank, feed on the richest commanderies, bear the burden of the Zhou dukes, and turn the empire's hinge—you have reached the peak of wealth and power, yet blame now converges from every quarter. How will you bear it?" Labor day and night in the stern virtue of Yi Yin: keep your charge, aid the throne, punish evil without sparing kin, promote good without shunning enemies—only thus can you show perfect fairness and win trust across the realm. Faithfully do these three, and you may long bear heavy office and long keep supreme favor. Venus rose in the west for sixty days—by rule it should have climbed the zenith, yet it lingers low in the sky, faint and slow, small and dim: a weakened star. Mars blazes angry and bright, retrograde, lodged in the Tail constellation. Retrograde motion is common enough; to halt at the Tail is the omen of crisis. Does it mean you have forgotten how power seeps like water—yielding everywhere, holding your course weakly, failing to employ men broadly, still nursing likes and dislikes—so that your broad virtue is not pure and the first rift opens between you and the great ministers of state? Why, the moment you took the title of marshal, should Venus and Mars together show such a change? High Heaven does not warn without cause. Dread these signs, search your heart, mend your course, and answer Heaven's will. Yin, still resentful, had Yong appointed commissioner of the imperial hunting park.
20
臣聞王天下有國家者，患在上有危亡之事，而危亡之言不得上聞； 如使危亡之言輒上聞，則商、周不易姓而迭興，三正不變改而更用。 夏、商之將亡也，行道之人皆知之，晏然自以若天有日莫能危，是故惡日廣而不自知，大命傾而不寤。 《易》曰：「危者有其安者也，亡者保其存者也。」 陛下誠垂寬明之聽，無忌諱之誅，使芻蕘之臣得盡所聞於前，不懼於後患，直言之路開，則四方眾賢不遠千里，輻湊陳忠，群臣之上願，社稷之長福也。
I have heard that the true peril for a sovereign is not danger itself but that warnings of danger never reach the throne. Had every warning of ruin reached the throne, the Shang and Zhou would not have fallen in succession, nor would the Three Ages of calendar have turned over as they did. As Xia and Shang neared collapse, common gossip knew the truth, yet the courts lounged as if the sun would never set—evil spread unseen until the Mandate broke and they still did not stir. The "Changes" teaches: "He who senses danger keeps his peace; he who knows doom may yet preserve life." Grant a candid hearing, punish no man for plain speech, and let the humblest clerk speak his mind without fear—then worthies will flock from every quarter, and that is both the ministers' dearest hope and the lasting good of the altars.
21
《易》曰：「在中饋，無攸遂」，言婦人不得與事也。 《詩》曰：「懿厥哲婦，為梟為鴟」； 「匪降自天，生自婦人」。 建始、河平之際，許、班之貴，頃動前朝，熏灼四方，賞賜無量，空虛內臧，女寵至極，不可上矣； 今之後起，天所不饗，什倍於前。 廢先帝法度，聽用其言，官秩不當，縱釋王誅，驕其親屬，假之威權，從橫亂政，刺舉之吏，莫敢奉憲。 又以掖庭獄大為亂阱，榜棰□於砲格，絕滅人命，主為趙、李報德復怨，反除白罪，建治正吏，多系無辜，掠立迫恐，至為人起責，分利受謝。 生入死出者，不可勝數。 是以日食再既，以昭其辜。
The "Changes" says a woman's place is "the inner kettle"—she must not meddle in state business. The "Odes" cries: "That clever woman—owl and kite"; "It did not fall from Heaven—it rose from the women's quarters." Under Jianshi and Heping the houses of Xu and Ban dazzled the court, burned through the empire, poured out limitless gifts until the privy purse ran dry—feminine favor had climbed as high as it could; today's favorites, whom Heaven does not bless, outdo them tenfold. They scrap the late emperor's laws, obey their whisperers, muddle official rank, waive capital crimes, puff up their kin and lend them power, and throw the government into chaos while no inspector dares enforce the code. They turned the harem jail into a torture pit worse than the paoge, traded lives for Zhao and Li family vendettas, framed the innocent, extorted confessions, and invented debts to pocket bribes. The tally of those who walked in living and came out dead is beyond counting. Hence Heaven twice blotted out the sun to publish their guilt.
22
王者必先自絕，然後天絕之。 陛下棄萬乘之至貴，樂家人之賤事，厭高美之尊號，好匹夫之卑字，崇聚□輕無義小人以為私客，數離深宮之固，挺身晨夜，與群小相隨，烏集雜會，飲醉吏民之家，亂服共坐，流面媟嫚，混淆無別，閔免遁樂，晝夜在路。 典門戶奉宿衛之臣執干戈而守空宮，公卿百僚不知陛下所在，積數年矣。
A king must first forfeit the Way himself before Heaven forfeits him. You abandon imperial dignity for the pleasures of the street, spurn your rightful style for a low nickname, pack your retinue with riffraff, slip the palace night and day, carouse in commoners' houses, sit in disheveled company, smear your face in debauch, and spend your nights on the road like a vagabond. Your guards stand at empty gates while the high ministers have no idea where you are—and this has gone on for years.
23
王者以民為基，民以財為本，財竭則下畔，下畔則下亡。 是以明王愛養基本，不敢窮極，使民如承大祭。 今陛下輕奪民財，不愛民力，聽邪臣之計，去高敞初陵，捐十年功緒，改作昌陵，反天地之性，因下為高，積土為山，發徒起邑，並治宮館，大興繇役，重增賦斂，征發如雨，役百乾溪，費疑驪山，靡敝天下，五年不成而後反故。 又廣盱營表，發人塚墓，斷截骸骨，暴揚屍柩，百姓財竭力盡，愁恨感天，災異屢降，饑饉仍臻。 流散冗食，餧死於道，以百萬數。 公家無一年之畜，百姓無旬日之儲，上下俱匱，無以相救。 《詩》云：「殷監不遠，在夏後之世。」 願陛下追觀夏、商、周、秦所以失之，以鏡考己行。 有不合者，臣當伏妄言之誅。
The throne rests on the people, the people on their livelihood; drain their wealth and they revolt; revolt ends the dynasty. The wise king husbands the people's strength as if preparing the grand sacrifice—never squeezing them dry. You heed evil counsel, abandon the first mausoleum site, waste a decade of labor to raise Changling against nature—piling hills, dragging conscripts from town to town, throwing up palaces, doubling taxes, drafting men like rain until the burden recalls King Chu's Qianxi or the First Emperor's Lishan—exhausting the empire, and after five fruitless years you fell back to the old plan. You widen the boundary, break open graves, scatter bones and coffins in the sun until the people are beggared and heartsick—Heaven answers with omens and repeated famine. Refugees starve by the hundred thousand along the roads. The treasury holds less than a year's grain, the common folk less than ten days' food—court and country are broke together. The "Odes" says Yin's lesson lies close at hand in the fall of Xia. Look back at how Xia, Shang, Zhou, and Qin fell, and hold that mirror to your own acts. If I am wrong, I will accept death for reckless counsel.
24
漢興九世，百九十餘載，繼體之主七，皆承天順道，遵先祖法度，或以中興，或以治安。 至於陛下，獨違道縱欲，輕身妄行，當盛壯之隆，無繼嗣之福，有危亡之憂，積失君道，不合天意，亦已多矣。 為人後嗣，守人功業，如此，豈不負哉！ 方今社稷宗廟禍福安危之機在於陛下，陛下誠肯發明聖之德，昭然遠寤，畏此上天之威怒，深懼危亡之徵兆，蕩滌邪辟之惡志，厲精緻政，專心反道，絕群小之私客，免不正之詔除，悉罷北宮私奴車馬□出之具，克己復禮，毋二微行出飲之過，以防迫切之禍，深惟日食再既之意，抑損椒房玉堂之盛寵，毋聽後宮之請謁，除掖庭之亂獄，出砲格之陷阱，誅戮邪佞之臣及左右執左道以事上者以塞天下之望，且寢初陵之作，止諸繕治宮室，闕更減賦，盡休力役，存恤振救困乏之人以弭遠方，厲崇忠直，放退殘賊，無使素餐之吏久屍厚祿，以次貫行，固執無違，夙夜孳孳，屢省無怠，舊愆畢改，新德既章，纖介之邪不復載心，則赫赫大異庶幾可銷，天命去就庶幾可復，社稷宗廟庶幾可保。 唯陛下留神反覆，熟省臣言。 臣幸得備邊部之吏，不知本朝失得，□言觸忌諱，罪當萬死。
For nine generations and nearly two hundred years Han has known seven succession emperors who kept Heaven's Way and ancestral law—some restoring order, some ruling in peace. You alone defy the Way and follow appetite; in your prime you lack an heir and court disaster; your lapses as sovereign have mounted until they no longer match Heaven's mind. You are heir to a great house—can you betray that charge without shame? The fate of the dynasty rests with you: rouse your virtue, dread Heaven's anger, scourge evil counsel, govern with vigor, banish your low companions and irregular appointments, strip the Northern Palace of its private carriages and outings, keep ritual and end secret drinking, read the lesson of the twin eclipses, curb the harem's power, reject palace pleas, empty the harem jails and torture pits, execute corrupt favorites and occultists who mislead you, stop the mausoleum works, end palace building, cut taxes and corvée, feed the starving, honor the loyal, sack the cruel, drive out idle officials who fatten on salary—hold to this without wavering, amend old faults and let new virtue show, and let no petty vice lodge in your heart. Then the great omens may fade, the Mandate may return, and the altars may stand. I beg you to turn these words over in your mind again and again. I am only a frontier officer who does not know court secrets; if I have touched taboo, I deserve death ten thousand times.
25
成帝性寬而好文辭，又久無繼嗣，數為微行，多近幸小臣，趙、李從微賤專寵，皆皇太后與諸舅夙夜所常憂。 至親難數言，故推永等使因天變而切諫，勸上納用之。 永自知有內應，展意無所依違，每言事輒見答禮。 至上此對，上大怒。 衛將軍商密□永令發去。 上使侍御史收永，敕過交道廄者勿追，御史不及永，還，上意亦解，自悔。 明年，征永為太中大夫，遷光祿大夫給事中。
Emperor Cheng was mild and loved letters, long lacked an heir, often slipped out among petty favorites, while Zhao Feiyan and Li Ping from humble rank seized his love—the empress dowager and her brothers lost sleep over it. Kin could not speak plainly, so they pushed Gu Yong and others to use celestial portents as a lever for blunt advice the emperor might accept. Yong knew he had backers at court and never pulled his punches; each memorial won a polite hearing. When this memorial arrived, the emperor flew into a rage. General Wang Shang secretly told Yong to flee. He sent censors after Yong but ordered the relay post not to give fresh mounts; they failed to overtake him, and the emperor's anger cooled into regret. The next year Yong was recalled as grandee of the palace, then promoted to grand counselor of the palace with concurrent palace attendant.
26
臣永幸得以愚朽之材為太中大夫，備拾遺之臣，從朝者之後，進不能盡思納忠輔宣聖德，退無被堅執銳討不義之功，猥蒙厚恩，仍遷至北地太過。 絕命隕首，身膏野草，不足以報塞萬分。 陛下聖德寬仁，不遺易忘之臣，垂周文之聽，下及芻蕘之愚，有詔使衛尉受臣永所欲言。 臣聞事君之義，有言責者盡其忠，有官守者修其職。 臣永幸得免於言責之辜，有官守之任，當畢力遵職，養綏百姓而已，不宜復關得失之辭。 忠臣之於上，志在過厚，是故遠不違君，死不忘國。 昔史魚既沒，余忠未訖，委柩後寢，以屍達誠； 汲黯身外思內，發憤舒憂，遺言李息。 經曰：「雖爾身在外，乃心無不在王室。」 臣永幸得給事中出入三年，雖執干戈守邊垂，思慕之心常存於省闥，是以敢越郡吏之職，陳累年之憂。
I am a worn-out man raised to grandee of the palace, a minor remonstrator who neither advances good counsel nor wins glory in arms; your kindness in moving me even to Beidi is more than I deserve. Even to die in the grass would not repay one fraction of your grace. Your kindness does not forget the humble: like King Wen you listen even to woodcutters, and you ordered the commandant of the guards to hear me out. They say remonstrators owe full loyalty and office-holders owe diligent service. I am no longer chief remonstrator but a line officer—I should devote myself to the people and not debate policy. A loyal minister never abandons his lord alive or dead, and never forgets the state. Shi Yu, dying with counsel unheard, had his coffin wheeled into the inner room so his corpse could speak; Ji An, though outwardly aloof, nursed grief for the state and left his last plea with Li Xi. The canon says, "Though your body be far off, your heart never leaves the royal house." Though three years a palace attendant and now a frontier guard, my heart stayed at the palace gate—so I overstep my rank to voice years of worry.
27
臣聞天生蒸民，不能相治，為立王者以統理之，方制海內非為天子，列土封疆非為諸侯，皆以為民也。 垂三統，列三正，去無道，開有德，不私一姓，明天下乃天下之天下，非一人之天下也。 王者躬行道德，承順天地，博愛仁怒，恩及行葦，籍稅取民不過常法，宮室車服不逾制度，事節財足，黎庶和睦，則卦氣理效，五征時序，百姓壽考，庶草蕃滋，符瑞並降，以昭保右。 失道妄行，逆天暴物，窮奢極欲，湛湎荒淫，婦言是從，誅逐仁賢，離逖骨肉，群小用事，峻刑重賦，百姓愁怨，則卦氣悖亂，咎徵著郵，上天震怒，災異屢降，日月薄食，五星失行，山崩川潰，水泉踴出，妖孽並見，□星耀光，饑饉荐臻，百姓短折，萬物夭傷。 終不改寤，惡洽變備，不復譴告，更命有德。 《詩》云：「乃眷四顧，此惟予宅。」
Heaven made the people and gave them kings to rule—not for the king's private glory but for the people's good. He sets the three cosmic threads and three calendar beginnings, casts out the wicked and welcomes virtue, favors no single clan, and shows that All-under-Heaven belongs to All-under-Heaven, not to one man alone. When the king walks in virtue, loves broadly, taxes lightly, builds within measure, and the people thrive, omens fall into harmony, the folk live long, and auspices gather to bless him. When he defies Heaven, wastes the people, drowns in lust, obeys women, drives off worthies, trusts petty men, and crushes the folk with cruel law and tax, omens pile up—eclipses, wandering stars, flood, famine, early death, and every kind of baleful sign. If he will not wake until evil is complete, Heaven ceases to warn and hands the Mandate to another. The "Odes" says the king looked about the four quarters and knew the realm was his house.
28
禍起細微，奸生所易。 願陛下正君臣之義，無復與群小媟黷燕飲； 中黃門後庭素驕慢不謹嘗以醉酒失臣禮者，悉出勿留。 勤三綱之嚴，修後宮之政，抑遠驕妒之憲，崇近婉順之行，加惠失志之人，懷柔怨恨之心。 保至尊之重，秉帝王之威，朝覲法出而後駕，陳兵清道而後行，無復輕身獨出，飲食臣妾之家。 三者既除，內亂之路塞矣。
Disaster begins in trifles; treason sprouts where guard is slack. Set right the relation of lord and minister, and never again carouse in lewd company with petty men; Expel every arrogant palace attendant who has broken court etiquette in his cups. Strengthen the three bonds, order the harem, curb jealous favorites, cherish the gentle, comfort the slighted, and soothe bitter hearts. Guard your majesty: issue your commands before the chariot rolls, clear the streets before you ride, and never again slip out alone to sup in servants' houses. Remove these three evils and the inner court is sealed against chaos.
29
諸夏舉兵，萌在民饑饉而吏不恤，興於百姓困而賦斂重，發於下怨離而上不知。 《易》曰：「屯其膏，小貞吉，大貞凶。」 傳曰：「饑而不損茲謂泰，厥災水，厥咎亡。」 《訞辭》曰：「關動牡飛，辟為無道，臣為非，厥咎亂臣謀篡。」 王者遭衰難之世，有饑饉之災，不損用而大自潤，故凶； 百姓困貧無以共求，愁悲怨恨，故水； 城關守國之固，固將去焉，故牡飛。 往年郡國二十一傷於水，災，禾黍不入。 今年蠶麥咸惡。 百川沸騰，江河溢決，大水氾濫郡國五十有餘。 比年喪稼，時過無宿麥。 百姓失業流散，群輩守關。 大異較炳如彼，水災浩浩，黎庶窮困如此，宜損常稅小自潤之時，而有司奏請加賦，甚繆經義，逆於民心，布怨趨禍之道也。 牡飛之狀，殆為此發。 古者谷不登虧膳，災屢至損服，凶年不□塗，明王之制也《詩》云：「凡民有喪，扶服救之。」 《論語》曰：「百姓不足，君孰予足？」 臣願陛下勿許加賦之奏，益減大官、導官、中御府、均官、掌畜、廩犧用度，止尚方、織室、京師郡國工服官發輸造作，以助大司農。 流恩廣施，振贍困乏，開關梁，內流民，恣所欲之，以救基急。 立春，遣使者循行風俗，宣佈聖德，存恤孤寡，問民所苦，勞二千石，敕勸耕桑，毋奪農時，以慰綏元元之心，防塞大奸之隙，諸夏之亂，庶幾可息。
Rebellion in the heartland begins when famine goes unrelieved, taxes crush the poor, and the throne never hears their rage. The "Changes" warns: hoard the people's fat for small gain and you may survive a little probe, but the great cast is ill omened. Commentary says famine unmet with thrift is called false ease—it brings flood and ruin. The "Yaoci" says when the pass bolts fly the ruler has lost the Way and ministers plot usurpation. In famine a king who enriches himself instead of cutting expenses courts ill fortune; when the people cannot meet your exactions, grief turns to flood; the city gate is the state's lock—when bolts fly, the lock is going. Last year twenty-one commanderies drowned; no grain was gathered. This year silk and wheat alike failed. Streams boil over, rivers burst their banks, and flood has swamped more than fifty commanderies. Harvests fail year on year; the season passes with no winter wheat in the bin. The people are jobless and drift; mobs block the passes. With omens so plain and the people so ruined, this is the moment to cut taxes—yet offices ask to raise them, a gross breach of the classics and an invitation to revolt. The flying gate-bolts surely answer to this policy. The ancients cut court meals when crops failed and wore plain cloth when omens piled up; the "Odes" bids the ruler help the people in mourning. The "Analects" asks: when the people are empty, what can fill the throne? Reject higher taxes; slash spending on kitchens, workshops, the inner treasury, and imperial manufactories, and shift the savings to the minister of finance. Open the roads, admit refugees, and spend freely to meet the crisis. At spring's start send inspectors to tour the realm, aid widows and orphans, urge the governors to farming, and never steal the plowing season—thus you calm the people and choke rebellion before it rises.
30
臣聞上主可與為善而不可與為惡，下主可與為惡而不可與為善。 陛下天然之性，疏通聰敏，上主之姿也。 少省愚臣之言，感寤三難，深畏大異，定心為善，捐忘邪志，毋二舊愆，厲精緻政，至誠應天，則積異塞於上，禍亂伏於下，何憂患之有？ 竊恐陛下公志未專，私好頗存，尚愛群小，不肯為耳！ 對奏，天子甚感其言。
The finest ruler can be led toward good, never toward evil; the basest the reverse. Your natural gifts are quick and clear—you have the makings of a supreme ruler. Heed my three warnings, dread the omens, set your heart on reform, shed old vices, and govern with utmost sincerity toward Heaven—then portents will fade above and rebellion sink below. I fear your public resolve still wavers, private tastes linger, and you still cling to petty men and will not act! The emperor was deeply moved by the memorial.
31
永於經書，泛為疏達，與杜欽、杜鄴略等，不能洽浹如劉向父子及揚雄也。 其於天官、《京氏易》最密，故善言災異，前後所上四十餘事，略相反覆，專攻上身與後宮而已。 黨於王氏，上亦知之，不甚親信也。
Gu Yong's learning was broad but shallow compared with Du Qin, Du Ye, or the depth of Liu Xiang and his son and Yang Xiong. He mastered astronomy and Jing Fang's "Changes," so his forty-odd memorials on omens harped on the emperor and the harem. He leaned on the Wangs; the emperor knew it and kept him at arm's length.
32
杜鄴字子夏，本魏郡繁陽人也。 祖父及父積功勞皆至郡守，武帝時徙茂陵。 鄴少孤，其母張敞女。 鄴。 鄴壯，從敞子吉學問，得其家書。 以孝廉以郎。
Du Ye, styled Zixia, was originally from Fanyang in Wei commandery. His grandfather and father rose on merit to grand warden and were moved to Maoling under Emperor Wu. Ye lost his father young; his mother was a daughter of Zhang Chang. His name was Ye, Du Ye. As a grown man he studied under Zhang Ji and inherited the Zhang family library. Filial-incorrupt nomination won him a gentleman's post.
33
臣聞禽息憂國，碎首不恨； 卞和獻寶，刖足願之。 臣幸得奉直言之詔，無二者之危，敢不極陳！ 臣聞陽尊陰卑，卑者隨尊，尊者兼卑，天之道也。 是以男雖賤，各為其家陽； 女雖貴，猶為其國陰。 故禮明三從之義，雖有文母之德，必繫於子。 《春秋》不書紀侯之母，陰義殺也。 昔鄭伯隨姜氏之欲，終有叔段篡國之禍； 周襄王內迫惠後之難，而遭居鄭之危。 漢興，呂太后權私親屬，又以外孫為孝惠後，是時繼嗣不明，凡事多暗，晝昏冬雷之變，不可勝載。 竊見陛下行不偏之政，每事約儉，非禮不動，誠欲正身與天下更始也。 然嘉瑞未應，而日食、地震，民訛言行籌，傳相驚恐。 案《春秋》災異，以指象為言語，故在於得一類而達之也。 日食，明陽為陰所臨，《坤卦》乘《離》，《明夷》之象也。 《坤》以法地，為土為母，以安靜為德。 震，大陰之效也。 占像甚明，臣敢不直言其事！
Qinxi broke his head for the state and felt no regret; Bian He offered the jade though it cost him his feet; I am summoned to speak plainly without facing their fate—how can I hold back? Yang is high and yin low; the low follows the high—that is Heaven's Way. Thus the man, though humble, is the yang of his house; the woman, though exalted, remains the yin of the state. Rite therefore binds even a woman of Tai Si's virtue to her son's line. The "Spring and Autumn" omits the mother of the marquis of Ji because a woman's power must not eclipse the yin role. Duke Zhuang of Zheng indulged his mother and reaped Shu Duan's revolt; King Xiang of Zhou, squeezed by palace strife, fell into danger as a guest of Zheng. At Han's rise Empress Lü favored her clan and set her grandson on the heir's seat until succession was a muddle; omens darkened the court—dusk at noon, thunder in winter—too many to list. I see you govern even-handedly, live frugally, and never act without ritual—you mean to reform yourself and begin anew with the realm. Yet no blessed omens answer; instead come eclipse and earthquake while the people whisper of divining rods and panic spreads. The "Spring and Autumn" reads each portent as a pointed image—one type unlocks the whole lesson. An eclipse means yin has veiled yang—Kun mounting Li, the "Brightness Wounded" sign. Kun stands for earth, the mother principle, whose virtue is stillness. The earthquake is the work of dominant yin. The reading is plain—I must speak plainly!
34
昔曾子問從令之義，孔子曰：「是何言與！」 善閔子騫守禮不苟，從親所行，無非理者，故無可間也。 前大司馬新都侯莽退伏弟家，以詔策決，復遣就國。 高昌侯宏去蕃自絕，猶受封土。 制書侍中、駙馬都尉遷不忠巧佞，免歸故郡，間未旬月，則有詔還，大臣奏正其罰，卒不得遣，而反兼官奉使，顯寵過故。 及陽信侯業，皆緣私君國，非功義所止。 諸外家昆弟無賢不肖，並侍帷幄，布在列位，或典兵衛，或將軍屯，寵意並於一家，積貴之勢，世所稀見所稀聞也。 至乃並置大司馬、將軍之官。 皇甫雖盛，三桓雖隆，魯為作三軍，無以甚此。 當拜之日，暗然日食。 不在前後，臨事而發者，明陛下謙遜無專，承指非一，所言輒聽，所欲輒隨，有罪惡者不坐辜罰，無功能者畢受官爵，流漸積猥，正尤在是，欲令昭昭以覺聖朝。 昔詩人所刺，《春秋》所譏，指象如此，殆不在它。 由後視前，忿邑非之，逮身所行，不自鏡見，則以為可，計之過者。 疏賤獨偏見，疑內亦有此類。 天變不空，保右世主如此之至，奈何不應！
When Zengzi asked about blind obedience, Confucius cried, "What talk is that!" He praised Min Ziqian for keeping ritual: whatever his parents did stayed within reason, so no wedge could enter. Wang Mang of Xindu once retired to his brother's house until an edict sent him back to his fief. Marquis Hong of Gaochang quit his fief yet kept his title. Wang Qian was cashiered for sycophancy, recalled within the month, never sent home despite ministers' protests, and ended with added titles and missions—more honored than before. Marquis Ye of Yangxin likewise rode private favor to power beyond what merit allows. Every in-law brother, worthy or not, sits by the throne, fills every post, commands troops or camps—favor heaps on one clan as seldom seen in history. It went so far as twin offices of Grand Marshal and general. The Huang and Three Huan never matched this: even Lu's triple host was a lesser climb. The day of the appointments the sun went dark. The eclipse fell on the very day of the promotions—Heaven shows you take counsel from every voice, grant every wish, spare the guilty, and ennoble the useless until corruption pools; the omen points straight at this, begging the court to wake. The poets mocked it and the "Spring and Autumn" condemned the like—Heaven points here, nowhere else. Men hate past favorites yet never hold a mirror to their own acts—thinking themselves blameless is the true error. A humble outsider may see one-sidedly, yet I suspect the inner court harbors the same disease. Heaven does not warn in vain; it guards the sovereign so faithfully—how can you not answer!
35
臣聞野雞著怪，高宗深動； 大風暴過，成王怛然。 願陛下加致精誠，思承始初，事稽諸古，以厭下心，則黎庶群生無不說喜，上帝百神收還威怒，禎祥福祿何嫌不報！
When wild pheasants foretold the Shang restoration, Gaozong took fright; when the gale tore the mulberry grove, King Cheng trembled. Add utmost sincerity, think back to your first intent, test policy against the classics, and win the people's hearts—then the spirits will lay aside wrath and blessings will return without stint.
36
鄴未拜，病卒。 鄴言民訛言行籌，及谷永言王者買私田，彗星隕石牡飛之占，語在《五行志》。
Du Ye died of illness before he could take office. Du Ye on the rod divinations and Gu Yong on the emperor's private land, comets, meteors, and flying gate-bolts are recorded in the Treatise on the Five Phases.
37
初，鄴從張吉學，吉子竦又幼孤，從鄴學問，亦著於世，尤長小學。 鄴於林，清靜好古，亦有雅材，建武中歷位列卿，至大司空。 其正文字過於鄴、竦，故世言小學者由杜公。
Ye had studied under Zhang Ji; Ji's orphaned son Song studied under Ye in turn and won fame, especially in philology. His son Du Lin loved antiquity and had talent; under Guangwu he rose to Grand Minister of Works. He surpassed father and master in textual criticism, so later scholars trace philology to the Du house.
38
贊曰：孝成之世，委政外家，諸舅持權，重於丁、傅在孝哀時。 故杜鄴敢譏丁、傅，而欽、永不敢言王氏，其勢然也。 及欽欲挹損鳳權，而鄴附會音、商。 永陳三七之戒，斯為忠焉，至其引申伯以阿鳳，隙平阿於車騎，指金、火以求合，可謂諒不足而談有餘者。 孔子稱「友多聞」，三人近之矣。
The summation: Chengdi handed the realm to in-laws whose grip exceeded the Ding and Fu clans under Aidi. So Du Ye could mock the Ding and Fu, while Du Qin and Gu Yong kept silent on the Wangs—such was the force of circumstance. When Du Qin tried to check Wang Feng, Du Ye curried Wang Yin and Wang Shang instead. Gu Yong's "three-seven" warning was true loyalty; yet he cited Shen Bo to flatter Wang Feng, sowed strife with Ping'e, and read Venus and Mars to suit his patrons—candor thin, words many. Confucius praised the friend rich in counsel—these three came close to that mark.