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第五倫
Diwu Lun
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第五倫字伯魚，京兆長陵人也。 其先齊諸田，諸田徙園陵者多，故以次第為氏。
Diwu Lun, courtesy name Boyu, came from Changling in the Jingzhao commandery. His forebears belonged to the Tian families of Qi; when many of those clans were moved into the tomb parklands, they took surnames from their place on the roster—his branch became "Diwu," the Fifth.
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倫少介然有義行。 王莽末，盜賊起，宗族閭里爭往附之。 倫乃依險固築營壁，有賊，輒奮厲其眾，引強持滿以拒之，銅馬、赤眉之屬前後數十輩，皆不能下。 倫始以營長詣郡尹鮮于褒，褒見而異之，署為吏。 後褒坐事左轉高唐令，臨去，握倫臂訣曰：「恨相知晚。」
Even as a young man he was stiffly principled and acted with a strong sense of right and wrong. When Wang Mang fell and rebellion spread, his kinsmen and neighbors rushed to rally under his banner. He threw up fortified camps on defensible ground. Each time raiders came he rallied his men, put every bowstring to the ear, and threw them back. Dozens of bands over the years—including the Bronze Horse and Red Eyebrow armies—failed to break him. He first reported to Prefect Xianyu Bao as leader of the camp. Bao was impressed and gave him a post on the official staff. Later Bao was caught up in some matter and was demoted to magistrate of Gaotang. As he left he took Lun's arm in parting and said, "If only we had met sooner."
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倫後為鄉嗇夫，平徭賦，理怨結，得人歡心。 自以為久宦不達，遂將家屬客河東，變名姓，自稱王伯齊，載鹽往來太原、上黨，所過輒為糞除而去，陌上號為道士，親友故人莫知其處。
He went on to serve as village overseer, balancing corvée and taxes, untangling old quarrels, and earning genuine goodwill. Believing he would never rise after years in minor posts, he moved his household to sojourn in Hedong under an assumed name, calling himself Wang Boqi. He hauled salt between Taiyuan and Shangdang, and everywhere he went he cleaned up manure from the road as he passed—so travelers took him for a wandering ascetic. Friends and family lost track of him entirely.
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數年，鮮于褒薦之於京兆尹閻興，興即召倫為主簿。 時長安鑄錢多奸巧，乃署倫為督鑄錢掾，領長安市。 倫平銓衡，正斗斛，市無阿枉，百姓悅服。 每讀詔書，常歎息曰：「此聖主也，一見決矣。 」等輩笑之曰：「爾說將尚不下，安能動萬乘乎？ 」倫曰：「未遇知己，道不同故耳。」
A few years later Xianyu Bao recommended him to Yan Xing, governor of Jingzhao, who at once appointed him chief clerk. Chang'an's mints were riddled with cheating, so Lun was named superintendent of coinage and given charge of the capital market. He standardized weights and measures and straightened out the bushel and peck. The market ran fair—no favoritism—and the people trusted him. Whenever he read an imperial rescript he would sigh and say, "Here is a true sage-king—one meeting with him would settle everything." " His companions jeered: "You cannot win over a mere commander—how would you ever sway the Son of Heaven?" " Lun answered, "I have not yet met the patron who would understand me—that is all. Our paths simply did not cross."
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建武二十七年，舉孝廉，補淮陽國醫工長，隨王之國。 光武召見，甚異之。 二十九年，從王朝京師，隨官屬得會見，帝問以政事，倫因此酬對政道，帝大悅。 明日，復特召入，與語至夕。 帝戲謂倫曰：「聞卿為吏篣婦公，不過從兄飯，寧有之邪？ 」倫對曰：「臣三娶妻皆無父。 少遭饑亂，實不敢妄過人食。 」帝大笑。 倫出，有詔以為扶夷長，未到官，追拜會稽太守。 雖為二千石，躬自斬芻養馬，妻執炊爨。 受俸裁留一月糧，餘皆賤貿與民之貧羸者。 會稽俗多淫祀，好卜筮。 民常以牛祭神，百姓財產以之困匱，其自食牛肉而不以薦祠者，發病且死先為牛鳴，前後郡將莫敢禁。 倫到宮，移書屬縣，曉告百姓。 其巫祝有依托鬼神詐怖愚民，皆案論之。 有妄屠牛者，吏輒行罰。 民初頗恐懼，或祝詛妄言，倫案之愈急，後遂斷絕，百姓以安。
In Jianwu 27 he was recommended on the filial-and-incorrupt list and posted chief physician to the Huaiyang principality, accompanying the prince to his fief. Emperor Guangwu received him in audience and was deeply impressed. In the twenty-ninth year he came to the capital with his prince and, joining the princely staff, gained an audience. The emperor questioned him on statecraft; Lun answered cogently on policy, and the sovereign was delighted. The following day he was summoned again and talked with the emperor until nightfall. The emperor teased him: "They say you flogged your father-in-law when you held office and took meals only at your cousin's table—any truth to that?" " Lun replied, "I have married three times, and none of my wives' fathers was still living." I grew up in famine and chaos and never dared impose on others for meals." The emperor roared with laughter. As he withdrew, an edict named him magistrate of Fuyi, but before he could take up the post a follow-up order elevated him to governor of Kuaiji. Though he held a governor's salary, he cut hay and groomed his own horses while his wife cooked the meals. He kept only one month's grain from his pay and sold the rest at low prices to the poorest of his people. Kuaiji was given to lavish, illegitimate shrines and to fortune-telling. People routinely slaughtered oxen for unauthorized cults until households were bled dry. Anyone who ate beef without dedicating it to a shrine was said to fall ill and, before death, to low like a cow—yet one governor after another had feared to ban the practice. When he took up his post he circularized every county under his command and published clear rules for the people. Shamans who invented spirit possession to terrify the credulous were arrested and prosecuted. Anyone who butchered cattle unlawfully was fined or punished on the spot. At first the populace was frightened, and a few muttered curses; Lun pressed prosecutions harder until the abuses stopped and calm returned.
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永平五年，坐法征，老小攀車叩馬，啼呼相隨，日裁行數里，不得前，倫乃偽止亭舍，陰乘船去。 眾知，復追之。 及詣廷尉，吏民上書守闕者千餘人。 是時，顯宗方案梁松事，亦多為松訟者。 帝患之，詔公車諸為梁氏及會稽太守上書者勿復受。 會帝幸廷尉錄囚徒，得免歸田里。 身自耕種，不交通人物。
In Yongping 5 he was recalled to answer a legal charge. Young and old clung to his carriage and horses, wailing as they followed; his escort could cover only a few miles a day. Lun pretended to halt at a relay inn, then slipped away by boat. When the crowd realized what he had done, they set off after him again. By the time he reached the court of the commandant of justice, over a thousand clerks and commoners had petitioned at the palace gates on his behalf. At that moment Emperor Ming was hearing the case against Liang Song, and many others were pleading for Song as well. Annoyed, the emperor ordered the petition office to refuse any more memorials on behalf of the Liangs or the governor of Kuaiji. When the emperor inspected the prison rolls at the commandant's court, Lun was cleared and sent home. He farmed his own land and kept aloof from public life.
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數歲，拜為宕渠令，顯拔鄉佐玄賀，賀後為九江、沛二郡守，以清潔稱，所在化行，終於大司農。
A few years later he was named magistrate of Ququ, where he singled out the village aide Xuan He for promotion. He went on to govern Jiujiang and Pei, earning renown for incorruption; good order followed him everywhere, and he rose to finish as grand minister of agriculture.
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倫在職四年，遷蜀郡太守。 蜀地肥饒，人吏富實，掾史家資多至千萬，皆鮮車怒馬，以財貨自達。 倫悉簡其豐贍者遣還之，更選孤貧志行之人以處曹任，於是爭賕抑絕，文職修理。 所舉吏多至九卿、二千石，時以為知人。
After four years in office he was promoted to governor of Shu commandery. Shu was rich country; officials and gentry flaunted fortunes in the millions, drove glossy carriages behind spirited horses, and bought influence with money. Lun sent every clerk who lived in luxury packing and replaced them with poor but honest men. Bribery dried up and the paperwork ran straight. Many of his picks rose to ministerial rank and governorships; contemporaries said he had a gift for reading character.
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視事七歲，肅宗初立，擢自遠郡，代牟融為司空。 帝以明德太后故，尊崇舅氏馬廖，兄弟並居職任。 廖等傾身交結，冠蓋之士爭赴趣之。 倫以後族過盛，欲令朝廷抑損其權，上疏曰：
Seven years into his tenure Emperor Zhang came to the throne and plucked him from a remote post to succeed Mou Rong as minister of works. Out of respect for Empress Dowager Mingde, the emperor favored her brother Ma Liao and his siblings with high office. The Ma brothers poured energy into building connections, and every ambitious gentleman in cap and carriage scrambled to court them. Believing the empress's kin had grown too strong, Lun urged the court to rein them in and submitted a memorial that began:
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及馬防為車騎將軍，當出征西羌，倫又上疏曰：
When Ma Fang was named general of chariots and cavalry and prepared to lead the western campaign against the Qiang, Lun offered another memorial:
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臣愚以為貴戚可封侯以富之，不當職事以任之。 何者？ 繩以法則傷恩，私以親則違憲。 伏聞馬防今當西征，臣以太后恩仁，陛下至孝，恐卒有纖介，難為意愛。 聞防請杜篤為從事中郎，多賜財帛。 篤為鄉里所廢，客居美陽，女弟為馬氏妻，恃此交通，在所縣令苦其不法，收係論之。 今來防所，議者咸致疑怪，況乃以為從事，將恐議及朝廷。 今宜為選賢能以輔助之，不可復今防自請人，有損事望。 苟有所懷，敢不自聞。
This servant believes imperial in-laws may be ennobled as marquises to keep them wealthy, but they ought not be handed substantive offices. Why? Apply the statutes strictly and you wound family feeling; show partiality and you violate the law. I understand Ma Fang is bound west on campaign. Given the empress dowager's kindness and Your Majesty's deep filial devotion, I fear the slightest friction could strain ties that deserve the utmost care. I hear Fang has appointed Du Du retainer attendant and lavished gifts of silk and cash on him. Du was disgraced in his home county and lived as a lodger in Meiyang; his sister married into the Mas, and he traded on that connection until the local magistrate, fed up with his abuses, jailed and convicted him. His arrival in Fang's camp already raises eyebrows; appointing him staff officer risks dragging the throne itself into gossip. Choose worthy aides for him now; do not let Fang handpick his own men again—it would damage the expedition's standing. What I feel I cannot keep from reporting.
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並不見省用。
None of his advice was adopted.
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倫雖峭直，然常疾俗吏苛刻。 及為三公，值帝長者，屢有善政，乃上疏褒稱盛美，因以勸成風德，曰：
For all his austerity, Lun despised petty officials who ruled by cruelty. As one of the three dukes he served under a mature sovereign whose reign brought many good measures; Lun submitted a memorial praising those achievements and urging that they become lasting moral example:
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及諸馬得罪歸國，而竇氏始貴，倫復上疏曰：
After the Ma clan fell and was sent back to its fiefs and the Dou family began to rise, Lun addressed the throne again:
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臣得以空虛之質，當輔弼之任。 素性駑怯，位尊爵重，抱迫大義，思自策厲，雖遭百死，不敢擇地，又況親遇危言之世哉！ 今承百王之敝，人尚文巧，感趨邪路，莫能守正。 伏見虎賁中郎將竇憲，椒房之親，典司禁兵，出入省闥，年盛誌美，卑謙樂善，此誠其好士交結之方。 然諸出入貴戚者，類多瑕釁禁錮之人，尤少守約安貧之節，士大夫無誌之徒更相販賣，雲集其門。 眾煦飄山，聚蚊成雷，蓋驕佚所從生也。 三輔論議者，至雲以貴戚廢錮，當復以貴戚浣濯之，猶解酲當以酒也。 詖險趣勢之徒，誠不可親近。 臣愚願陛下中宮嚴敕憲等閉門自守，無妄交通士大夫，防其未萌，慮於無形，令憲永保福祿，君臣交歡，無纖介之隙。 此臣之至所願也。
Unworthy as I am, I hold a minister's burden. I am by nature dull and timid, yet honor and duty weigh on me; I mean to steel myself and would face death a hundred times without flinching—especially in an age when plain speech is dangerous. We inherit the slack habits of many reigns: clever words are prized and men veer onto crooked paths—few hold the straight course. I observe General Dou Xian of the imperial guard—imperial in-law, commander of the palace corps, moving freely within the inner palace. He is young, ambitious, modest, and eager to do good; it is natural that he should gather clients. Yet those who haunt great houses are usually men under stigma or sentence—few are humble scholars content with poverty. Ruthless careerists hawk their services and swarm his door. Many warm breaths can shift a mountain; enough mosquitoes buzz like thunder—that is how arrogance and excess breed. Wits in the capital joke that if great families fall under ban, other great families must rinse them clean—like curing a hangover with more wine. Sycophants who thrive on intrigue must not be indulged. I beg Your Majesty and the palace to instruct Dou Xian and his circle to shut their gates, avoid politicking with scholars, and choke trouble before it starts. Forethought now will preserve Dou Xian's fortune and keep ruler and ministers at ease, with never a hair's breadth of suspicion. That is my deepest hope.
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倫奉公盡節，言事無所依違。 諸子或時諫止，輒叱遣之，吏人奏記及便宜者，亦並封上，其無私若此。 性質愨，少文采，在位以貞白稱，時人方之前朝貢禹。 然少蘊藉，不修威儀，亦以此見輕。 或問倫曰：「公有私乎？ 」對曰：「昔人有與吾千里馬者，吾雖不受，每三公有所選舉，心不能忘，而亦終不用也。 吾兄子常病，一夜十往，退而安寢； 吾子有疾，雖不省視而竟夕不眠。 若是者，豈可謂無私乎？ 」連以老病上疏乞身。 元和三年，賜策罷，以二千石奉終其身，加賜錢五十萬，公宅一區。 後數年卒，時年八十餘，詔賜秘器、衣衾、錢布。
Lun served the state with absolute integrity and never trimmed his counsel to please. When his sons tried to dissuade him he drove them off with a rebuke. Petitions and policy suggestions from subordinates went to the throne sealed—such was his impartiality. Plain-spoken and little given to rhetoric, he was known in office for incorruption and likened to Gong Yu of the Western Han. Yet he lacked polish and paid no heed to dignified bearing, for which some underestimated him. Someone once asked him, "Are you free of private feeling?" " He said, "Once a man offered me a famous horse. I refused it, but whenever the three dukes held nominations I still thought of him—yet I never put him forward." When my nephew was sick I visited him ten times in a night, then slept soundly afterward; when my own son fell ill I might not go to his bedside, yet I lay awake all night. Can anyone call that impartiality?" He repeatedly asked leave to retire on grounds of age and health. In Yuanhe 3 he received a formal dismissal with a pension at the full governor's rate for life, plus fifty thousand cash and a government residence. He died some years later in his eighties; the court sent a lacquered coffin, burial clothes, and cloth for mourning.
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少子頡嗣，歷桂陽、廬江、南陽太守，所在見稱。 順帝之為太子廢也，頡為太中大夫，與太僕來曆等共守闕固爭。 帝即位，擢為將作大匠，卒官。 倫曾孫種。
His youngest son Jie inherited his title and served as governor of Guiyang, Lujiang, and Nanyang, earning praise at every post. When the heir apparent who became Emperor Shun was cast aside, Jie—then a grand counselor of the palace—joined Coachman Lai Li and others in besieging the palace gates to protest. When that prince became emperor he promoted Jie to court architect; Jie died in that office. Lun's great-grandson was Zhong.
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論曰：第五倫峭核為方，非夫愷悌之士，省其奏議，惇惇歸諸寬厚，將懲苛切之敝使其然乎？ 昔人以弦韋為佩，蓋猶此矣。 然而君子侈不僭上，儉不逼下，豈尊臨千里而與牧圉等庸乎？ 詎非矯激，則未可以中和言也。
Appreciation: Diwu Lun cut a severe figure—no mild Confucian gentleman. Yet read his memorials: again and again he argues for leniency. Perhaps he meant to cure an age addicted to harsh rule. The ancients wore bowstring and soft leather as their pendant—reminders to balance firmness with give. Lun did much the same. A gentleman may live richly without lèse-majesté or plainly without demeaning inferiors; ruling a vast commandery is hardly the same as mucking stables. Unless that stern edge was deliberate counterweight, he could not be called a man of true equipoise.
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種字興先，少厲誌義，為吏，冠名州郡。 永壽中，以司徒掾清詔使冀州，廉察災害，舉奏刺史、二千石以下，所刑免甚眾，棄官奔走者數十人。 還，以奉使稱職，拜高密侯相。 是時徐、兗二州盜賊群輩，高密在二州之郊，種乃大儲糧稸，勤厲吏士，賊聞皆憚之，桴鼓不鳴，流民歸者，歲中至數千家。 以能換為衛相。
Zhong, courtesy name Xingxian, devoted his youth to principle; as soon as he entered office his name led the rolls across his province. During Yongshou he was dispatched to Ji Province as a ministry clerk on an imperial fact-finding mission. Auditing disaster relief, he impeached governors and subordinate officials by the score; many were punished or dismissed, and dozens fled their posts. On his return the court judged his mission a success and named him chancellor of the Gaomi marquisate. Xu and Yan were overrun with bandits, and Gaomi lay between them. Zhong stockpiled grain, drilled his troops, and put such fear into the robbers that his district heard no alarm drums; within a year thousands of refugee families came home. His performance earned him transfer to chancellor of Wei.
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遷兗州刺史。 中常侍單超兄子匡為濟陰太守，負勢貪放，種欲收舉，未知所使。 會聞從事衛羽素抗厲，乃召羽具告之。 謂曰：「聞公不畏強禦，今欲相委以重事，若何？ 」對曰：「願庶幾於一割。 」羽出，遂馳至定陶，閉門收匡賓客親吏四十餘人，六七日中，糾發其臧五六千萬。 種即奏匡，並以劾超。 匡窘迫，遣刺客刺羽，羽覺其奸，乃收係客，具得情狀。 州內震栗，朝廷嗟歎之。
He was promoted to inspector of Yan Province. Shan Chao's nephew Kuang governed Jiyin and abused his connections with greed and license. Zhong meant to arrest and indict him but had no agent he trusted for the job. Learning that his aide Wei Yu had a reputation for fearless integrity, Zhong summoned him and laid out the whole situation. He said, "They say you do not flinch from the mighty. I need to charge you with something serious—will you take it on?" " Yu answered, "Let me prove useful—even a blunt knife gets one good cut." Yu rode straight to Dingtao, sealed the yamen, and arrested over forty of Kuang's clients and personal clerks. Within a week he had documented embezzlement on the order of fifty or sixty million cash. Zhong memorialized against Kuang and joined the indictment of Shan Chao as well. Cornered, Kuang sent killers after Yu, who saw through the plot, rounded up the conspirators, and extracted a full confession. The province was shaken; at court officials spoke of the affair with awe.
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是時太山賊叔孫無忌等暴橫一境，州郡不能討。 羽說種曰：「中國安寧，忘戰日久，而太山險阻，寇猾不製。 今雖有精兵，難以赴敵，羽請往譬降之。 」種敬諾。 羽乃往，備說禍福，無忌即帥其黨與三千餘人降。 單超積懷忿恨，遂以事陷種，竟坐徙朔方。 超外孫董援為朔方太守，稸怒以待之。 初，種為衛相，以門下掾孫斌賢，善遇之。 及當徙斥，斌具聞超謀，乃謂其友人同縣閭子直及高密甄子然曰：「蓋盜憎其主，從來舊矣。 第五使君當投裔土，而單超外屬為彼郡守。 夫危者易仆，可為寒心。 吾今方追使君，庶免其難。 若奉使君以還，將以付子。 」二人曰：「子其行矣，是吾心也。 」於是斌將俠客晨夜追種，及之於太原，遮險格殺送吏，因下馬與種，斌自步從。 一日一夜行四百餘里，遂得脫歸。
Meanwhile bandits led by Sun Wuji on Mount Tai terrorized the whole area, and local authorities could not bring them to heel. Yu urged Zhong: "The heartland has known peace so long that men have forgotten how to fight, while Mount Tai's terrain favors the brigands—they slip through our fingers." Even picked troops would struggle in those hills. Let me go talk them into submitting." Zhong agreed. Yu went and laid out the stakes. Wuji promptly brought more than three thousand followers down from the hills. Shan Chao nursed a grudge and eventually framed Zhong on a charge that sent him into exile on the northern frontier. Chao's grandson Dong Yuan governed Shuofang and waited for Zhong with murder in mind. Earlier, as chancellor of Wei, Zhong had taken a liking to his clerk Sun Bin and treated him generously. When exile loomed, Bin learned every detail of Chao's plan and told his friends Lü Zizhi from their county and Zhen Ziran of Gaomi, "A thief hates an honest master—that has always been true. Our patron Diwu is being shipped to the frontier while Chao's in-law holds that commandery. A man on the edge can be toppled with a breath—it makes your blood run cold." I mean to ride after him now and try to save him from that fate. If I bring him home safely, I will hand him over to you two." They answered, "Go with our blessing—that is what we want too." Bin gathered swordsmen and rode night and day until he overtook the escort at Taiyuan, ambushed them in a defile, killed the guards, put Zhong on his own horse, and walked beside him. They covered over four hundred li in a day and a night and won Zhong his freedom.
23
種匿於閭、甄氏數年，徐州從事臧旻上書訟之曰：
Zhong stayed hidden with the Lü and Zhen families for years until Zang Min, an aide in Xu Province, addressed the throne on his behalf:
24
臣聞士有忍死之辱，必有就事之計，故季布屈節於朱家，管仲錯行於召忽。 此二臣可以死而不死者，非愛身於須臾，貪命於苟活，隱其智力，顧其權略，庶幸逢時有所為耳。 卒遭高帝之成業，齊桓之興伯，遺其亡逃之行，赦其射鉤之仇，拔於囚虜之中，信其佐國之謀，勳效傳於百世，君臣載於篇籍。 假令二主紀過於纖介，則此二臣同死於犬馬，沉名於溝壑，當何由得申其補過之功，建其奇奧之術乎？ 伏見故兗州刺史第五種，傑然自建，在鄉曲無苞苴之嫌，步朝堂無擇言之闕，天性疾惡，公方不曲，故論者說清高以種為上，序直士以種為首。 《春秋》之義，選人所長，棄其所短，錄其小善，除其大過。 種所坐以盜賊公負，筋力未就，罪至征徙，非有大惡。 昔虞舜事親，大杖則走。 故種逃亡，苟全性命，冀有朱家之路，以顯季布之會，願陛下無遺須臾之恩，令種有持忠入地之恨。
I have read that a man who swallows mortal shame does so to serve a larger purpose—Ji Bu humbled himself before the Zhu clan; Guan Zhong broke faith with Shao Hu to save a state. They could have died honorably but chose to live—not from cowardice but to husband their strength until the moment came to act. Gaozu and Duke Huan overlooked flight and old grudges—even the arrow that nearly killed Duke Huan—pulled these men from chains, and trusted their counsel. Their deeds outlive them in the histories. Had those rulers punished petty faults, both men would have rotted unremembered in ditches—what chance then to redeem themselves or serve with genius? Your former Yan inspector Diwu Zhong held himself apart: no whiff of bribery in his district, no careless word at court. He loathed wickedness by instinct and would not bend for favor. Critics ranked him first among the incorrupt and the plain-spoken. The Spring and Autumn teaches us to prize what is strong in a man, forgive weakness, credit small virtue, and overlook great fault when justice demands. Zhong's case arose from banditry and official duty left undone—the sentence was exile, not some monstrous crime. Even Shun fled the beating when the stick was too heavy. Zhong ran to save his skin, hoping for the sort of rescue Zhu Jia gave Ji Bu. Do not withhold the smallest mercy and leave him to die loyal but unsung.
25
會赦出，卒於家。
An amnesty freed him; he died at home.
26
鍾離意
Zhongli Yi
27
鍾離意字子阿，會稽山陰人也。 少為郡督郵。 時部縣亭長有受人酒禮者，府下記案考之。 意封還記，入言於太守曰：「《春秋》先內後外，《詩》云『刑於寡妻，以禦於家邦』，明政化之本，由近及遠。 今宜先清府內，且闊略遠縣細微之愆。 」太守甚賢之，遂任以縣事。 建武十四年，會稽大疫，死者萬數，意獨身自隱親，經給醫藥，所部多蒙全濟。
Zhongli Yi, courtesy name Zi'e, came from Shanyin in Kuaiji commandery. In his youth he served as the commandery's courier inspector. A village post chief in his circuit had accepted wine as a bribe; the prefecture ordered an inquiry. Yi sent the warrant back unopened and told the governor, "The Spring and Autumn teaches us to set our own house in order before looking outward. The Poetry says, 'Begin with your wife, then rule kin and state.' Reform starts close to home." Clean the yamen first and leave remote counties' petty slips for later." The governor was impressed and put him in charge of county business. In Jianwu 14 a plague struck Kuaiji and claimed tens of thousands. Yi went himself from house to house among his people with medicines, and most of those under his care survived.
28
舉孝廉，再遷，辟大司徒侯霸府。 詔部送徒詣河內，時冬寒，徒病不能行。 路過弘農，意輒移屬縣使作徒衣，縣不得已與之，而上書言狀，意亦具以聞。 光武得奏，以視霸，曰：「君所使掾何乃仁於用心？ 誠良吏也！ 」意遂於道解徒桎梏，恣所欲過，與克期俱至，無或違者。 還，以病免。
Recommended filial and incorrupt, promoted twice, he was recruited into Grand Minister Hou Ba's administration. The court ordered his unit to march convicts to Henei, but winter cold laid them low and they could not march. At Hongnong he ordered each county along the route to sew winter clothes for the men. The counties complied and memorialized; Yi reported the same to the throne. Guangwu showed the memorial to Hou Ba and said, "Where did you find a clerk with such a humane heart?" This is the real thing—a true official." Yi removed the manacles on the road, let the men travel at their own pace, and set a rendezvous date in Henei. Everyone arrived on time. Afterward he resigned on grounds of ill health.
29
後除瑕丘令。 吏有檀建者，盜竊縣內，意屏人問狀，建叩頭服罪，不忍加刑，遣令長休。 建父聞之，為建設酒，謂曰：「吾聞無道之君以刃殘人，有道之君以義行誅。 子罪，命也。 」遂令建進藥而死。 二十五年，遷堂邑令。 縣人防廣為父報仇，係獄，其母病死，廣哭泣不食。 意憐傷之，乃聽廣歸家，使得殯斂。 丞掾皆爭，意曰：「罪自我歸，義不累下。 」遂遣之。 廣斂母訖，果還入獄。 意密以狀聞，廣竟得以減死論。
He was later named magistrate of Xiaqiu. A clerk named Tan Jian had stolen public funds. Yi questioned him alone; Tan confessed, and Yi, unable to bring himself to punish him, sent him away on prolonged leave. Jian's father set out wine and said, "I have read that a wicked lord kills with the sword; a good lord punishes through justice. Your guilt is your fate." He made Jian drink poison and die. In the twenty-fifth year of the reign he became magistrate of Tangyi. Fang Guang of the county lay in jail for avenging his father. When his mother died he wept and refused food. Yi pitied him and let him go home to arrange his mother's funeral. His deputies protested. Yi said, "Blame will fall on me alone—I will not let principle hurt subordinates." He let Guang go. When the burial was done, Guang walked back into jail as promised. Yi quietly memorialized the facts, and Guang's sentence was commuted from death.
30
顯宗即位，徵為尚書。 時交阯太守張恢，坐臧千金，徵還伏法，以資物簿入大司農，詔班賜群臣。 意得珠璣，悉以委地而不拜賜。 帝怪而問其故。 對曰：「臣聞孔子忍渴於盜泉之水，曾參回車於勝母之閭，惡其名也。 此臧穢之寶，誠不敢拜。 」帝嗟歎曰：「清乎尚書之言！ 」乃更以庫錢三十萬賜意。 轉為尚書僕射。 車駕數幸廣成苑，意以為從禽廢政，常當年陣諫般樂遊田之事，天子即時還宮。 永平三年夏旱，而大起北宮，意詣闕免冤上疏曰：
When Emperor Ming took the throne he summoned Yi to the secretariat. The governor of Jiaozhi, Zhang Hui, had been executed for embezzling a fortune; his confiscated goods went to the ministry of finance, and the emperor ordered them shared among officials. Yi was allotted pearls and jade but dropped them on the floor and refused to accept the grant. The emperor asked why. Yi answered, "Confucius would not drink from Thieves' Spring; Zeng Shen would not enter Victory Mother Lane—the names were foul. These gems are stained by corruption—I cannot take them in good conscience." The emperor exclaimed, "How pure—what the secretary says!" He gave Yi three hundred thousand cash from the treasury instead. He was promoted to vice director of the secretariat. The emperor often hunted at Guangcheng Park. Yi believed sport was distracting him from rule and repeatedly planted himself in the emperor's path to protest extravagant outings; each time the sovereign turned back to the palace. In Yongping 3 drought gripped the land while labor gangs threw up the Northern Palace. Yi appeared at the palace gate bareheaded to remonstrate and memorialized:
31
伏見陛下以天時小旱，憂念元元，降避正殿，躬自克責，而比日密雲，遂無大潤，豈政有未得應天心者邪？ 昔成湯遭旱，以六事自責曰：「政不節邪？ 使人疾邪？ 宮室榮邪？ 女謁盛邪？ 苞苴行邪？ 讒夫昌邪？ 」竊見北宮大作，人失農時，此所謂宮室榮也。 自古非苦宮室小狹，但患人不安寧。 宜且罷止，以應天心。 臣意以匹夫之才，無有行能，久食重祿，擢備近臣，比受厚賜，喜懼相並，不勝愚戇征營，罪當萬死！
You have worried for the people in this drought, moved out of the main hall, and blamed yourself—yet day after day the clouds gather without rain. Does something in our governance still fail heaven? When Cheng Tang faced drought he asked himself six questions: "Have I misruled? Have I burdened the people? Are my palaces too grand? Does patronage through the women's quarters run unchecked? Is bribery rife? Do slanderers prosper?" " I see the Northern Palace rising on a vast scale while farmers miss the seasons—that is 'palaces too grand.'" History does not fault rulers for small halls but for unrest among the people. Suspend the work now and answer heaven. I am a man of ordinary gifts yet I draw a heavy stipend and stand close to the throne; your recent bounty fills me with gratitude and fear. I tremble at my blunt words—I deserve death a thousand times over."
32
帝策詔報曰：「湯引六事，咎在一人。 其冠履，勿謝。 比上天降旱，密雲數會，朕戚然慚懼，思獲嘉應，故分布禱請，窺候風雲，北祈明堂，南設雩場。 今又敕大匠止作諸宮，減省不急，庶消災譴。 」詔因謝公卿百僚，遂應時澍雨焉。
The emperor replied by edict: "Tang's six questions found the fault in himself alone. Keep your cap and shoes—I absolve your gesture of shame." These drought years with lowering clouds but no rain have shamed and frightened me. I have prayed everywhere—reading the skies, sacrificing north at the Bright Hall and south at the rain altar—seeking heaven's favor. I have now ordered the superintendent of works to halt palace projects and cut every nonessential expense, hoping to lift this scourge. " The court apologized to the bureaucracy, and timely rain followed.
33
時，詔賜降胡子縑，尚書案事，誤以十為百。 帝見司農上簿，大怒，召郎，將笞之。 意因入叩頭曰：「過誤之失，常人所容。 若以懈慢為愆，則臣位大，罪重，郎位小，罪輕，咎皆在臣，臣當先坐。 」乃解衣就格。 帝意解，使復冠而貰郎。
An edict awarded silk to surrendered northern tribesmen; the secretariat bungled the paperwork and multiplied ten rolls into one hundred. When the emperor saw the agriculture ministry's ledger he exploded and ordered the clerk responsible dragged in for a beating. Yi threw himself forward and said, "Honest mistakes happen every day. If this is negligence, then fault lies heavier on me than on him—I rank higher and should be punished first. " He stripped to the waist and lay on the bench for the cane. The emperor relented, let Yi dress, and spared the clerk.
34
帝性褊察，好以耳目隱發為明，故公卿大臣數被詆毀，近臣尚書以下至見提拽。 嘗以事怒郎藥崧，以杖撞之。 崧走入床下，帝怒甚，疾言曰：「郎出！ 郎出！ 」崧曰：「天子穆穆，諸侯煌煌。 未聞入君自起撞郎。 」帝赦之。 朝廷莫不悚栗，爭為嚴切，以避誅責； 惟意獨敢諫爭，數封還詔書，臣下過失輒救解之。 會連有變異，意復上疏曰：
The emperor was suspicious and sharp-eyed, proud of catching secrets through informers. Great ministers were constantly humiliated; even secretaries were hauled about by the collar. Once he lost his temper with the gentleman Yao Song and beat him with a stick. Song scrambled under the couch. The emperor shouted, "Come out! Come out!" From beneath the bed Song said, "The Son of Heaven should be solemn; the feudal lords resplendent. I have never heard of a sovereign who climbs down to thrash his own gentleman." The emperor let him go. The whole court walked on eggshells, each man trying to seem sterner than the next to escape punishment. Only Zhongli Yi dared speak plainly—he repeatedly returned unacceptable edicts unopened and shielded officials who erred. When strange portents came one after another, Yi addressed the throne again:
35
伏惟陛下躬行孝道，修明經術，郊祀天地，畏敬鬼神，憂恤黎元，勞心不怠。 而天氣未和，日月不明，水泉湧溢，寒暑違節者，咎在群臣不能宣化理職，而以苛刻為俗。 吏殺良人，繼踵不絕。 百官無相親之心，吏人無雍雍之志。 至於骨肉相殘，毒害彌深，感逆和氣，以致天災。 百姓可以德勝，難以力服。 先王要道，民用和睦，故能致天下和平，災害不生，禍亂不作。 《鹿鳴》之詩必言宴樂者，以人神之心洽，然後天氣和也。 願陛下垂聖德，揆萬機，詔有司，慎人命，緩刑罰，順時氣，以調陰陽，垂之無極。
Your Majesty lives filial piety, honors the classics, sacrifices to heaven and earth, stands in awe of the spirits, and labors without rest for the common people. Yet the seasons fail, the lamps of sun and moon dim, rivers overrun their banks, and cold and heat reverse themselves—the ministers have failed to spread your virtue and govern rightly; harshness has become habit. Magistrates kill the innocent one after another without pause. High officials share no mutual goodwill; clerks and commoners live without harmony. Kin turn on kin; malice deepens; the gentle breath of harmony is broken—and heaven sends calamity. The people yield to virtue, not to brute force. The ancient kings taught men to live at peace with one another—so the realm stayed quiet, free of plague and rebellion. The "Deer Call" ode praises feast and music because when men and spirits are at one, the weather itself turns kind. Extend your sacred virtue, weigh every policy, charge the agencies to spare lives, ease punishments, and move with the seasons so yin and yang stay balanced—may this never end.
36
帝雖不能用，然知其至誠。 亦以此故不得久留，出為魯相。 後德陽殿成，百官大會。 帝思意言，謂公卿曰：「鍾離尚書若在，此殿不立。」
The emperor did not adopt every proposal but recognized Yi's absolute sincerity. For that reason he could not long remain at court and was posted chancellor of Lu. Later, when Deyang Hall was finished, the court gathered for the dedication. Remembering Yi's warnings, the emperor told his ministers, "If Secretary Zhongli were alive, this hall would never have been built."
37
意視事五年，以愛利為化，人多殷富。 以久病卒官。 遺言上書陳升平之世，難以急化，宜少寬假。 帝感傷其意，下詔嗟歎，賜錢二十萬。
Yi governed Lu for five years with kindness and restraint; the people grew prosperous. He died in office after a long illness. His final memorial urged that in peaceful times harsh reform avails little—the court should ease its grip. Touched, the emperor issued an edict of praise and sent two hundred thousand cash to his house.
38
藥崧者，河內人，天性樸忠。 家貧為郎，常獨直臺上，無被，枕杫，食糟糠。 帝每夜入臺，輒見崧，問其故，甚嘉之，自此詔太官賜尚書以下朝夕餐，給帷被阜袍，及侍史二人。 崧官至南陽太守。
Yao Song of Henei was plainspoken and loyal by nature. Poor, he served as a palace gentleman and often pulled night duty alone without bedding—just a wooden stool for a pillow—living on chaff and husks. The emperor often found him there on night rounds, heard his story, and commended him. After that the court kitchen fed the secretariat morning and evening, issued bedding and winter robes, and assigned two clerks to assist. He rose to governor of Nanyang.
39
宋均字叔癢，南陽安眾人也。 父伯，建武初為五官中郎將。 均以父任為郎，時年十五，好經書，每休沐日，輒受業博士，通《詩》、《禮》，善論難。 至二十餘，調補辰陽長。 其俗少學者而信巫鬼，均為立學校，禁絕淫祀，人皆安之。 以祖母喪去官，客授潁川。
Song Jun, courtesy name Shuyang, came from Anzhong in Nanyang commandery. His father Song Bo served as general of the household at the start of the Jianwu era. Thanks to his father's rank he became a gentleman at fifteen. He loved the classics, studied under court scholars on every rest day, mastered the Poetry and the Ritual, and excelled at disputation. In his twenties he was posted magistrate of Chenyang. The people had few schools and trusted witchcraft; Jun founded academies, stamped out illegitimate cults, and the populace accepted his rule. He resigned to mourn his grandmother, then taught privately in Yingchuan.
40
後為謁者。 會武陵蠻反，圍武威將軍劉尚，詔使均乘傳發江夏奔命三千人往救之。 既至而尚已沒。 會伏波將軍馬援至，詔因令均監軍，與諸將俱進，賊拒厄不得前。 及馬援卒於師，軍士多溫濕疾病，死者太半。 均慮軍遂不反，乃與諸將議曰：「今道遠士病，不可以戰，欲權承製降之何如？ 」諸將皆伏地莫敢應。 均曰：「夫忠臣出竟，有可以安國家，專之可也。 」乃矯製調伏波司馬呂種守沅陵長，命種奉詔書入虜營，告以恩信，因勒兵隨其後。 蠻夷震怖，即共斬其大帥而降，於是入賊營，散其眾，遣歸本郡，為置長吏而還。 均未至，先自劾矯製之罪。 光武嘉其功，迎賜以金帛，令過家上塚。 其後每有四方異議，數訪問焉。
He later served as a court herald. When Wuling tribes rose and besieged General Liu Shang, the court ordered Song Jun to take the post relays and raise three thousand emergency troops from Jiangxia for the relief march. They arrived too late—Liu Shang was already dead. General Ma Yuan reached the front soon after, and an edict named Song Jun army supervisor. The combined force advanced until the tribes held the defiles and stalled the campaign. When Ma Yuan died on campaign, damp heat felled the army until more than half the men were lost. Fearing the army might never get home, Song Jun asked the generals, "The march is long and the men are sick—we cannot fight. What if I assume emergency authority and accept the tribes' surrender?" The generals knelt in silence—no one dared answer. Jun said, "A loyal minister beyond the frontier may act on his own when the state's safety requires it." He forged orders naming Ma Yuan's major Lü Zhong magistrate of Yuanling and sent him into the enemy camp with a proclamation of mercy while Song Jun massed troops behind him. The tribes panicked, slew their own chieftain, and submitted. Jun entered their camps, broke up the hosts, sent them home to their counties with new magistrates, and withdrew. Before he reached the capital he memorialized his own forgery of imperial orders. Guangwu approved the victory, rewarded him with gold and silk, and told him to visit his family graves on the way home. After that the emperor often sought his counsel whenever frontier policy was disputed.
41
遷上蔡令。 時府下記，禁人喪葬不得侈長。 均曰：「夫送終逾制，失之輕者。 今有不義之民，尚未循化，而遽罰過禮，非政之先。 」竟不肯施行。
He was promoted to magistrate of Shangcai. The prefecture ordered limits on funeral extravagance and duration. Jun replied, "Burials that break sumptuary rules are a minor fault. Unruly people have not yet accepted instruction—punishing funeral excess before anything else is the wrong priority for government. He refused to enforce the order.
42
永平元年，遷東海相，在郡五年，坐法免官，客授潁川。 而東海吏民思均恩化，為之作歌，詣闕乞還者數千人。 顯宗以其能，七年，徵拜尚書令。 每有駁議，多合上旨。 均嘗刪剪疑事，帝以為有奸，大怒，收郎縛格之。 諸尚書惶恐，皆叩頭謝罪。 均顧厲色曰：「蓋忠臣執義，無有二心。 若畏威失正，均雖死，不易誌。 」小黃門在傍，入具以聞。 帝善其不撓，即令貰郎，遷均司隸校尉。 數月，出為河內太守，政化大行。
In Yongping 1 he became chancellor of the East Sea. Five years later a legal charge removed him from office, and he taught privately in Yingchuan. Yet East Sea officials and commoners missed his rule, composed songs in his honor, and thousands petitioned at the palace gate for his recall. Impressed by his record, Emperor Ming named him director of the secretariat in the seventh year of his reign. His dissenting opinions usually matched the emperor's wishes. Once Jun cut passages from a doubtful case file; the emperor suspected foul play, flew into a rage, and had the clerk seized for the cane. The secretaries panicked and begged forgiveness on their knees. Jun turned with a fierce look and said, "A loyal minister holds one duty—no second thoughts. If I feared your wrath and betrayed the right, I could die branded a coward—I will not swerve." A young eunuch attendant overheard and carried the whole exchange to the emperor. The emperor admired his backbone, spared the clerk, and promoted Song Jun to metropolitan superintendent. Months later he became governor of Henei, where his reforms flourished.
43
均嘗寢病，百姓耆老為禱請，旦夕問起居，其為民愛若此。 以疾上書乞免，詔除子條為太子舍人。 均自扶輿詣闕謝恩，帝使中黃門慰問，因留養疾。 司徒缺，帝以均才任宰相，召入視其疾，令兩騶扶之。 均拜謝曰：「天罰有罪，所苦浸篤，不復奉望帷幄！ 」因流涕而辭。 帝甚傷之，召條扶侍均出，賜錢三十萬。
When Song Jun fell ill, elders and villagers prayed for him and asked after him day and night—such was their devotion. He asked leave on grounds of health; the court appointed his son Song Tiao attendant to the crown prince. Song Jun had himself carried to the palace to give thanks; the emperor sent a eunuch to console him and kept him at court to convalesce. When the minister of education post stood empty, the emperor judged Song Jun fit for high office and summoned him to court despite his illness, ordering attendants to support him on both sides. Song Jun bowed and said, "Heaven punishes sin; my pain grows worse—I can no longer serve in the imperial council." Tears streaming, he declined. Deeply moved, the emperor called Song Tiao to escort his father home and gave three hundred thousand cash.
44
意字伯志。 父京，以《大夏侯尚書》教授，至遼東太守。 意少傳父業，顯宗時舉孝廉，以召對合旨，擢拜阿陽侯相。 建初中，徵為尚書。
Song Yi was styled Bozhi. His father Jing taught the Large Xia Hou recension of the Documents and rose to governor of Liaodong. Yi studied under his father. Under Emperor Ming he was recommended filial and incorrupt; an audience pleased the throne, and he was named chancellor of the Ayang marquisate. During Jianchu he was summoned to the secretariat.
45
肅宗性寬仁，而親親之恩篤，故叔父濟南、中山二王每數入朝，特加恩寵，及諸昆弟並留京師，不遣就國。 意以為人臣有節，不宜逾禮過恩，乃上疏諫曰：「陛下至孝烝烝，恩受隆深，以濟南王康、中山王焉先帝昆弟，特蒙禮寵，聖情戀戀，不忍遠離，比年朝見，久留京師，崇以叔父之尊，同之家人之禮，車入殿門，即席不拜，分甘損膳，賞賜優渥。 昔周公懷聖人之德，有致太平之功，然後王曰叔父，加以錫幣。 今康、焉幸以支庶享食大國，陛下即位，蠲除前過，還所削黜，衍食他縣，男女少長，並受爵邑，恩寵逾製，禮敬過度。 《春秋》之義，諸父昆弟無所不臣，所以尊尊卑卑，強幹弱枝者也。 陛下德業隆盛，當為萬世典法，不宜以私恩損上下之序，失君臣之正。 又西平王羨等六王，皆妻子成家，官屬備具，當早就蕃國，為子孫基阯。 而室第相望，久磐京邑，婚姻之盛，過於本朝，仆馬之眾，充塞城郭，驕奢僭擬，寵祿隆過。 今諸國之封，並皆豪腴，風氣平調，道路夷近，朝聘有期，行來不難。 宜割情不忍，以義斷恩，發遣康、焉各歸蕃國，令羨等速就便時，以塞眾望。 」帝納之。
Emperor Zhang was kindly and devoted to his kin: the kings of Jinan and Zhongshan—his junior uncles—visited court often with extraordinary favor, and his brothers were kept in the capital rather than sent to their fiefs. Yi believed ministers must uphold propriety and that favor must not breach ritual. He memorialized: "Your filial devotion runs deep. The kings Kang of Jinan and Yan of Zhongshan—your father's brothers—enjoy extraordinary favor; your affection keeps them year after year in the capital. You honor them as uncles yet treat them like kin at home: their carriages enter the hall doors; they need not bow from their mats; you share your table and heap gifts on them. The Duke of Zhou earned the title 'uncle' and gifts of metal only after his virtue had brought peace to the realm. Kang and Yan are cadet princes feasting on great domains. Since Your Majesty took the throne you have erased old offenses, restored confiscated income, added counties to their allotments, and ennobled every child—grace and ceremony alike overshoot the statutes. The Spring and Autumn demands that even uncles serve the throne—honoring rank, strengthening the trunk, weakening the branches. Your virtue should set the pattern for ages; private affection must not upset the order of high and low or corrupt the right relation of sovereign and subject. The six kings including Xian of Xiping have wives, heirs, and full households—they should return promptly to their fiefs and lay foundations for their posterity. Instead their mansions crowd the capital; intermarriage outshines even the imperial clan; grooms and carriages choke the roads; they swagger like sovereigns and draw salaries beyond reason. Their fiefs are rich, the climate mild, the roads easy; scheduled audiences make travel undemanding. Master your affection and sever favor with duty: send Kang and Yan home to their kingdoms and order Xian and his peers to depart at once—this is what the empire expects. The emperor accepted the advice.
46
章和二年，鮮卑擊破北匈奴，而南單于乘此請兵北伐，因欲還歸舊庭。 時竇太后臨朝，議欲從之。 意上疏曰：
In Zhanghe 2 the Xianbei shattered the Northern Xiongnu. The Southern Chanyu seized the moment to ask for an expedition so he could move back to his old steppe court. Empress Dowager Dou held court; the debate leaned toward agreement. Song Yi addressed the throne:
47
夫戎狄之隔遠中國，幽處北極，界以沙漠，簡賤禮義，無有上下，強者為雄，弱即屈服。 自漢興以來，征伐數矣，其所克獲，曾不補害。 光武皇帝躬服金革之難，深昭天地之明，故因其來降，羈縻畜養，邊人得生，勞役休息，於茲四十餘年矣。 今鮮卑奉順，斬獲萬數，中國坐享大功，而百姓不知其勞，漢興功烈。 於斯為盛。 所以然者，夷虜相攻，無損漢兵者也。 臣察鮮卑侵伐匈奴，正是利其抄掠，及歸功聖朝，實由貪得重賞。 今若聽南虜還都北庭，則不得不禁製鮮卑。 鮮卑外失暴掠之願，內無功勞之賞，豺狼貪婪，必為邊患。 今北虜西遁，請求和親，宜因其歸附，以為外扞，巍巍之業，無以過此。 若引兵費賦，以順南虜，則坐失上略，去安即危矣。 誠不可許。
The northern tribes live beyond the deserts, scorning our rituals—might alone rules them, and the weak submit. Since the founding of Han, campaigns have multiplied, yet victories rarely repay their cost. Emperor Guangwu bore the armor himself and read heaven's mind: he settled the surrendering tribes under loose rein so the frontier could live and corvée ease—forty years of quiet. Now the Xianbei obey and have taken tens of thousands of heads; China reaps the glory without lifting a spear—the greatest feat since the restoration. Nothing since Han's rise matches it. Barbarians are bleeding each other while our troops stay home. The Xianbei raid the Xiongnu for plunder; they credit the throne only because they hunger for rich rewards. If we let the Southern Chanyu resettle the northern steppe, we must choke off the Xianbei raids that fuel him—and that they will not endure. Deprived of plunder and imperial bounty alike, those wolves will turn on our frontiers. The Northern Xiongnu are fleeing west and sue for peace—take them in as an outer shield; no policy could be grander. To march armies and drain the treasury merely to gratify the Southern Chanyu would abandon the best strategy and trade safety for peril. The request must be refused.
48
會南單于竟不北徙。
In the end the Southern Chanyu did not migrate north.
49
遷司隸校尉。 永元初，大將軍竇憲兄弟貴盛，步兵校尉鄧疊、河南尹王調、故蜀郡太守廉範等群黨，出入憲門，負勢放縱。 意隨違舉奏，無所回避，由是與竇氏有隙。 二年，病卒。
He was promoted to metropolitan superintendent. Early in Yongyuan the Dou brothers ruled the court. Deng Die, Wang Diao of Henan, former Shu governor Lian Fan, and their clique haunted Dou Xian's gate, swaggering on his influence. Yi impeached wrongdoing wherever he found it and spared no one—so he fell out with the Dou clan. He died of illness in the second year.
50
孫俱，靈帝時為司空。
His descendant Sun Ju served as minister of works under Emperor Ling.
51
寒朗字伯奇，魯國薛人也。 生三日，遭天下亂，棄之荊刺； 數日兵解，母往視，猶尚氣息，遂收養之。 及長，好經學，博通書傳，以《尚書》教授。 舉孝廉。
Han Lang, courtesy name Boqi, came from Xue in the kingdom of Lu. He was born into rebellion; on the third day his family abandoned him in a bramble patch; when the fighting moved on his mother found him still breathing and took him home. As a man he devoted himself to the classics, mastered the literature of the canon, and taught the Documents. He was recommended on the filial-and-incorrupt list.
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永平中，以謁者守侍御史，與三府掾屬共考案楚獄顏忠、王平等，辭連及隧鄉侯耿建、朗陵侯臧信、護澤侯鄧鯉、曲成侯劉建。 建等辭未嘗與忠、平相見。 是時，顯宗怒甚，吏皆惶恐，諸所連及，率一切陷入，無敢以情恕者。 朗心傷其冤，試以建等物色獨問忠、平，而二人錯愕不能對。 朗知其詐，乃上言建等無奸，專為忠、平所誣，疑天下無辜類多如此。 帝乃召朗人，問曰：「建等即如是，忠、平何故引之？ 」朗對曰：「忠、平自知所犯不道，故多有虛引，冀以自明。 」帝曰：「即如是，四侯無事，何不早奏，獄竟而久係至今邪？ 」郎對曰：「臣雖考之無事，然恐海內別有發其奸者，故未敢時上。 」帝怒罵曰：「吏持兩端，促提下。 」左右方引去，朗曰：「願一言而死。 小臣不敢欺，欲助國耳。 」帝問曰：「誰與共為章？ 」對曰：「臣自知當必族滅，不敢多汙染人，誠冀陛下一覺悟而已。 臣見考囚在事者，咸共言妖惡大故，臣子所宜同疾，今出之不如入之，可無後責。 是以考一連十，考十連百。 又公卿朝會，陛下問以得失，皆長跪言，舊制大罪禍及九族，陛下大恩，裁止於身，天下幸甚。 及其歸舍，口雖不言，而仰屋竊歎，莫不知其多冤，無敢牾陛下者。 臣今所陳，誠死無悔。 」帝意解，詔遣朗出。 後二日，車駕自幸洛陽獄錄囚徒，理出千餘人。 後平、忠死獄中，朗乃自繫。 會赦，免官。 復舉孝廉。
Under Yongping he served as herald and acting censor, joining staff from the three high offices to retry the Chu conspiracy case against Yan Zhong and Wang Ping. Their confessions dragged in Marquis Geng Jian of Suixiang, Marquis Zang Xin of Langling, Marquis Deng Li of Huze, and Marquis Liu Jian of Qucheng. Geng and the others swore they had never met Yan Zhong or Wang Ping. Emperor Ming was furious; every clerk quaked. Anyone named in the indictments was dragged in wholesale—no one dared plead mercy. Lang felt the injustice keenly. He separately showed Yan and Wang portraits of Geng Jian and the others they had accused; the pair gaped, unable to recognize them. Seeing the fraud, Lang memorialized that Geng Jian and his peers were guiltless and had been framed by Yan and Wang—and that many such wrongful convictions might blanket the empire. The emperor called Lang in and asked, "If Geng Jian and the rest are innocent, why did Yan Zhong and Wang Ping name them?" " Lang answered, "They knew their own crimes were capital—and invented accomplices in hope of lightening their guilt." " The emperor said, "If the four marquises were blameless, why did you not report sooner? Why keep them chained until now?" " Lang said, "I found no crime, yet I feared fresh evidence might surface elsewhere—I dared not memorialize until I was certain." " The emperor snarled, "This official sits on the fence—drag him out." As guards pulled him away Lang cried, "One sentence before I die!" Your servant does not lie—I meant only to serve the realm." " Who helped you draft the memorial?" " Lang said, "I expected my clan to die for this—I would not incriminate others. I only hoped to wake Your Majesty." Everyone handling the case cried sorcery and treason—crimes every loyal subject must abhor. Better jail the innocent than free them and risk blame later. So one suspect led to ten, and ten to a hundred. At audience you ask our counsel; we kneel and praise your mercy—the old law struck nine kin for one rebel, but you punish only the offender. The realm rejoices. Yet at home we stare at the rafters and sigh—everyone knows how many innocents rot in jail, and no one dares contradict you. What I say now I will stand by to the death. The emperor relented and ordered Lang released. Two days later the emperor inspected Luoyang prison himself and freed over a thousand inmates. When Wang Ping and Yan Zhong died in custody, Lang placed himself under arrest. An amnesty cleared him but stripped his post. He was recommended again on the filial-and-incorrupt list.
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永初三年，太尉張禹薦朗為博士，徵詣公車，會卒，時年八十四。
In Yongchu 3 Grand Commandant Zhang Yu nominated Lang for the imperial academy; the summons reached the public carriage office the day Lang died, aged eighty-four.
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論曰：左丘明有言：「仁人之言，其利博哉！ 」晏子一言，齊侯省刑。 若鍾離意之就格請過，寒朗之廷爭冤獄，篤矣乎，仁者之情也！ 夫正直本於忠誠則不詭，本於諫爭則絞切。 彼二子之所本得乎天，故言信而志行也。
Appreciation: Zuo Qiuming said, "The words of a humane man spread wide benefit! One word from Yan Ying moved the duke of Qi to ease punishments. Think of Zhongli Yi offering his back for the cane and Han Lang pleading innocent lives in court—how deep runs that humane spirit! Uprightness rooted in loyalty is never false; rooted in remonstrance it cuts sharp. Those two drew their courage from heaven itself—so their words rang true and their resolve held.
55
贊曰：伯魚、子阿，矯急去苛。 臨官以潔，匡帝以奢。 宋均達政，禁此妖禜。 禽蟲畏德，子民請病。 意明尊尊，割恩蕃屏。 惵惵楚黎，寒君為命。
Encomium: Boyu and Zi'e—stern men who swept away cruelty. They ruled with purity and checked an extravagant throne. Song Jun grasped governance and stamped out occult cults. Beasts and insects felt his virtue; the people prayed when he fell ill. Yi upheld rank and severed favor to send princes to their fiefs. The trembling people of Chu owed Han Lang their lives.