1
袁安字邵公，汝南汝陽人也。 祖父良，習孟氏易，[一]平帝時舉明經，為太子舍人； [二]建武初，至成武令。 [三]
Yuan An, whose courtesy name was Shaogong, came from Ruyang in Runan. His grandfather Yuan Liang had mastered the Meng tradition of the Book of Changes; under Emperor Ping he was nominated for his classical learning and appointed gentleman attendant at the crown prince's residence; Early in the Jianwu era he was promoted to magistrate of Chengwu. Editorial note [3].
2
注[一]孟喜字長卿，東海人。 明易，為丞相掾。 見前書。
Note [1]: Meng Xi, style Changqing, was from Donghai. He was versed in the Changes and served as a clerk under the chancellor. See the account in the Former Han history.
3
注[二]續漢志曰：「太子舍人，秩二百石，無員。」
Note [2]: According to the Continued Han Monograph, gentlemen attendants at the crown prince's residence held rank at two hundred piculs and had no fixed quota.
4
注[三]成武，今曹州縣。
Note [3]: Chengwu is the present-day county under Cao prefecture.
5
安少傳良學。 為人嚴重有威，見敬於州裡。 初為縣功曹，[一]奉檄詣從事，從事因安致書於令。 [二]安曰：「公事自有郵驛，私請則非功曹所持。 」辭不肯受，從事懼然而止。 [三]後舉孝廉，[四]除陰平長﹑任城令，[五]所在吏人畏而愛之。
As a young man Yuan An carried on his grandfather's scholarship. He was grave and dignified, carried natural authority, and earned the respect of his neighbors. He began as county merit assessor; [1] when he carried an official dispatch to the provincial clerk, that clerk tried to have him pass a private letter to the magistrate. [2] Yuan An replied, "Official business travels by the post; a personal favor is not something a merit assessor should handle. " He refused to take the letter, and the clerk, alarmed, dropped the matter. [3] He was later nominated as filial and incorrupt; [4] he was appointed magistrate of Yinping and then of Rencheng; [5] in both places officials and commoners stood in awe of him and loved him.
6
注[一]續漢志曰：「縣功曹史，主選署功勞。」
Note [1]: The Continued Han Monograph states that the county merit assessor was responsible for evaluating and registering merit.
7
注[二]續漢志曰：「每州刺史皆有從事史。」
Note [2]: The Continued Han Monograph records that every provincial governor had headquarters clerks.
8
注[三]懼音九具反。
Note [3]: The commentary supplies the standard fanqie reading for the character glossed in the lemma.
9
注[四]汝南先賢傳曰「時大雪積地丈餘，洛陽令身出案行，見人家皆除雪出，有乞食者。 至袁安門，無有行路。 謂安己死，令人除雪入戶，見安僵臥。 問何以不出。 安曰：『大雪人皆餓，不宜干人。 』令以為賢，舉為孝廉」也。
Note [4]: The Worthies of Runan relates that snow lay more than ten feet deep; the magistrate of Luoyang went out on patrol and saw families shoveling paths into the street, among them people begging for food. At Yuan An's door no path had been cleared through the snow. Assuming Yuan An had frozen to death, he had the snow dug away and entered, only to find Yuan An lying rigid inside. The magistrate asked why he had not come outdoors. Yuan An said, "In this snow everyone is starving; I should not impose on others. " The magistrate deemed him worthy and nominated him as filial and incorrupt."
10
注[五]陰平，縣，故城在今沂州承縣西南。 任城，今兗州縣也。
Note [5]: Yinping was a county whose old seat lay southwest of present Cheng county in Yi prefecture. Rencheng is now a county under Yan prefecture.
11
永平十三年，楚王英謀為逆，事下郡覆考。 明年，三府舉安能理劇，拜楚郡太守。 是時英辭所連及系者數千人，顯宗怒甚，吏案之急，迫痛自誣，死者甚觿。
In Yongping 13, King Ying of Chu plotted treason; the case was referred to the commandery for reinvestigation. The following year the Three Offices nominated Yuan An for his skill with complex litigation, and he was named grand administrator of Chu. Thousands had been tied to the case by King Ying's confession; Emperor Ming was furious, and his clerks drove the interrogations so hard that people tortured themselves into false confessions, and deaths piled up in great number.
12
安到郡，不入府，先往案獄，理其無明驗者，條上出之。 府丞掾史皆叩頭爭，以為阿附反虜，法與同罪，不可。 安曰：「如有不合，太守自當坐之，不以相及也。 」遂分別具奏。 帝感悟，即報許，得出者四百餘家。 歲餘，征為河南尹。
Yuan An went straight to the jails instead of the yamen, reviewed the prisoners, separated out those without solid evidence, and memorialized in detail to have them freed. The assistant and the staff kowtowed in alarm, insisting that pandering to traitors made them liable under the same statute and must not be allowed. Yuan An said, "If anything is wrong, I as grand administrator will answer for it myself; I will not shift the blame onto you. " He then drew up separate memorials for each category. The emperor was persuaded, approved at once, and over four hundred families were released. A little over a year later he was recalled to serve as governor of Henan.
13
政號嚴明，然未曾以臧罪鞠人。 常稱曰：「凡學仕者，高則望宰相，下則希牧守。 錮人於聖世，尹所不忍為也。 」聞之者皆感激自勵。 在職十年，京師肅然，名重朝廷。 建初八年，遷太僕。
His administration was known for severity and clarity, yet he never hauled anyone in on a graft charge. He was fond of saying, "Men who enter office through study aim high at the chancellorship or, more modestly, at a governorship or grand administrator post. To lock people away in an enlightened reign is something I as governor cannot bring myself to do. " All who heard him were stirred and strove to live up to his example. During ten years in the post the capital stayed orderly, and his reputation at court was immense. In Jianchu 8 he was promoted to grand coachman.
14
元和二年，武威太守孟雲上書：「北虜既已和親，而南部復往抄掠，北單于謂漢欺之，謀欲犯邊。 宜還其生口，以安慰之。 」詔百官議朝堂。 公卿皆言夷狄譎詐，求欲無猒，[一]既得生口，當復妄自誇大，不可開許。 安獨曰：「北虜遣使奉獻和親，有得邊生口者，輒以歸漢，此明其畏威，而非先違約也。 雲以大臣典邊，不宜負信於戎狄，還之足示中國優貸，而使邊人得安，誠便。 」司徒桓虞改議從安。 太尉鄭弘﹑司空第五倫皆恨之。 弘因大言激勵虞曰：「諸言當還生口者，皆為不忠。 」虞廷叱之，倫及大鴻臚韋彪各作色變容，司隸校尉舉奏，安等皆上印綬謝。
In Yuanhe 2, Meng Yun, grand administrator of Wuwei, submitted a memorial: "The northern tribes are at peace with us, yet the southern court keeps raiding them; the northern shanyu believes we are betraying him and intends to strike the frontier. We ought to return the border captives we hold so as to reassure them. " The court ordered the high officials to debate the matter in the audience hall. The ministers argued that the barbarians were treacherous and insatiable; [1] if the captives were sent back they would only swagger and make fresh demands, so the door must not be opened. Yuan An alone said, "The northerners have sent tribute and sought peace; whenever they took Han subjects on the frontier they handed them back at once. That shows they respect our power and did not break the pact first. A frontier minister like Meng Yun should not break faith with the tribes; returning the captives would display the empire's largesse, calm the border, and plainly serve our interest. " Minister of education Huan Yu switched sides and backed Yuan An. Grand commandant Zheng Hong and minister of works Fifth Lun both resented him for it. Zheng Hong then shouted to provoke Huan Yu: "Anyone who says we should return the captives is disloyal. " Huan Yu dressed him down in court; Fifth Lun and grand herald Wei Biao flushed with anger; the metropolitan commandant filed charges, and Yuan An and his allies all tendered their seals in apology.
15
肅宗詔報曰：「久議沉滯，各有所志。 蓋事以議從，策由觿定，誾誾衎衎，得禮之容，[二]寢嘿抑心，更非朝廷之福。 君何尤而深謝？ 其各冠履。 」帝竟從安議。 明年，代第五倫為司空。 章和元年，代桓虞為司徒。
Emperor Zhang's rescript read, "This dispute has dragged on because every man clings to his own view. Affairs advance when counsel is heeded and policy settles once minds meet in debate; frank, respectful argument is what ritual commends; [2] forced silence and bottled resentment bode ill for the court. Why should you fault yourselves and apologize so abjectly? Put your caps and shoes back on and resume your posts. " In the end the emperor adopted Yuan An's recommendation. The following year he succeeded Fifth Lun as minister of works. In Zhanghe 1 he replaced Huan Yu as minister of education.
16
注[一]譎亦詐也。
Note [1]: The commentary explains the word as deceitful, synonymous with the common term for fraud.
17
注[二]誾誾，忠正貌。 衎衎，和樂貌。
Note [2]: The repeated syllables describe earnest, loyal forthrightness in debate. The paired syllables describe a genial, harmonious demeanor.
18
唯安獨與任隗守正不移，至免冠朝堂固爭者十上。 太后不聽，觿皆為之危懼，安正色自若。 竇憲既出，而弟衛尉篤﹑執金吾景各專威權，公於京師使客遮道奪人財物。 景又□使乘驛施檄緣邊諸郡，發突騎及善騎射有才力者，漁陽﹑鴈門﹑上谷三郡各遣吏將送詣景第。 有司畏憚，莫敢言者。 安乃劾景□發邊兵，驚惑吏人，二千石不待符信而輒承景檄，當伏顯誅。 又奏司隸校尉﹑河南尹阿附貴戚，無盡節之義，[一]請免官案罪。 並寢不報。 憲﹑景等日益橫，盡樹其親黨賓客於名都大郡，[二]皆賦斂吏人，更相賂遺，其餘州郡，亦復望風從之。 安與任隗舉奏諸二千石，又它所連及貶秩免官者四十餘人，竇氏大恨。 但安﹑隗素行高，亦未有以害之。
Only Yuan An and Ren Kui held their ground; they even removed their caps in the hall of state and argued tenaciously, memorializing again and again. The empress dowager ignored them; everyone feared for their lives, yet Yuan An kept his composure and an even countenance. Once Dou Xian had left the capital, his brother Dou Du as commandant of the guards and Dou Jing as bearer of the golden mace each wielded unchecked power; their agents openly waylaid people in Luoyang and seized their property. Dou Jing also abused the courier network to circulate orders along the frontier, drafting crack cavalry and expert bowmen; the three commanderies of Yuyang, Yanmen, and Shanggu each dispatched officers to march these men to Dou Jing's mansion. The bureaus were too intimidated to report any of it. Yuan An then impeached Dou Jing for illegally calling out frontier troops, throwing officials and commoners into panic, and for commandery governors who accepted his orders without imperial tallies—conduct that merited public execution. He further charged the metropolitan commandant and the governor of Henan with toadying to the Dou clan and failing in loyal service; [1] he asked that they be removed and tried. Every memorial was left on the shelf without reply. Dou Xian and Dou Jing grew bolder by the day, packing the great commanderies with their relatives, clients, and guests; [2] everywhere they extorted officials and commoners and traded favors, and other provinces took their cue and did the same. Yuan An and Ren Kui jointly impeached dozens of senior officials and more than forty others tied to the case who were demoted or dismissed; the Dou family hated them bitterly. Yet Yuan An and Ren Kui enjoyed unimpeachable reputations, so the Dous had no lever against them.
19
注[一]續漢書曰，安奏司隸鄭據﹑河南尹蔡嵩。
Note [1]: The Continued Han Book records that Yuan An impeached metropolitan commandant Zheng Ju and Henan governor Cai Song.
20
注[二]袁山松書曰，河南尹王調，漢陽太守朱敞，南陽太守滿殷﹑高丹等皆其賓客。 前書曰「十二萬戶為大郡」也。
Note [2]: Yuan Songshu lists Henan governor Wang Tiao, Hanyang grand administrator Zhu Chang, and Nanyang grand administrators Man Yin and Gao Dan among their clients. The Former Han history defines a "great commandery" as one with a hundred and twenty thousand households.
21
時竇憲復出屯武威。 明年，北單于為耿夔所破，遁走烏孫，塞北地空，余部不知所屬。 憲日矜己功，欲結恩北虜，乃上立降者左鹿蠡王阿佟[一]為北單于，置中郎將領護，如南單于故事。 事下公卿議，太尉宋由﹑太常丁鴻﹑光祿勳耿秉等十人議可許。 安與任隗奏，以為「光武招懷南虜，非謂可永安內地，正以權時之筭，可得扞御北狄故也。 今朔漠既定，宜令南單于反其北庭，並領降觿，無緣復更立阿佟，以增國費」。 宗正劉方﹑大司農尹睦同安議。 事奏，未以時定。
Dou Xian had again taken the field and camped at Wuwei. The next year Geng Kui shattered the northern shanyu, who fled to Wusun; the steppe north of the passes lay empty and the surviving bands had no leader. Dou Xian grew vain of his victory and sought to bind the northerners to him; he proposed enthroning the surrendered Left Luoli king Atong [1] as northern shanyu under a chief commandant of household cavalry, on the model of the southern court. The court referred the plan to the ministers; grand commandant Song You, minister of the imperial clan Ding Hong, supervisor of the household Geng Bing, and eight others favored approval. Yuan An and Ren Kui argued that "Emperor Guangwu courted the southern court not because they could permanently pacify the interior, but as a temporary expedient to hold the northern tribes in check. Now that the northern steppe is quiet, the southern shanyu should be sent back to his old seat to absorb the surrendered bands; enthroning Atong again would only waste the treasury for no gain." Director of the imperial clan Liu Fang and grand minister of agriculture Yin Mu sided with Yuan An. The memorial went in, but the court delayed a decision.
22
安懼憲計遂行，乃獨上封事曰：
Fearing Dou Xian's scheme would go through, Yuan An filed a confidential memorial alone. It read:
23
臣聞功有難圖，不可豫見； 事有易斷，較然不疑。 伏惟光武皇帝本所以立南單于者，欲安南定北之策也，恩德甚備，故匈奴遂分，邊境無患。 孝明皇帝奉承先意，不敢失墜，赫然命將，爰伐塞北。 至乎章和之初，降者十餘萬人，議者欲置之濱塞，東至遼東，[二]太尉宋由﹑光祿勳耿秉皆以為失南單于心，不可，先帝從之。 陛下奉承洪業，大開疆宇，大將軍遠師討伐，席捲北庭，此誠宣明祖宗，崇立弘勳者也。 宜審其終，以成厥初。
Your servant has heard that great deeds are hard to design and cannot be mapped out beforehand; yet some courses are easy to judge—they stand out plainly and admit no doubt. I submit that Emperor Guangwu founded the southern court as a strategy to stabilize both south and north; his grace was lavish, the Xiongnu divided, and the frontier knew peace. Emperor Ming carried forward that design without slackening; he sent generals in force against the steppe north of the frontier. By early Zhanghe over a hundred thousand tribesmen had submitted; some advisers wanted them settled along the inner frontier as far east as Liaodong; [2] grand commandant Song You and supervisor Geng Bing warned that this would alienate the southern shanyu—the late emperors heeded them. Your Majesty inherits a mighty enterprise and has widened the realm; the great general's distant campaign swept the northern court—truly a deed that honors the ancestors and raises up lasting glory. You should weigh the outcome carefully so the beginning may be brought to a worthy close.
24
伏念南單于屯，先父舉觿歸德，自蒙恩以來，四十餘年。 三帝積累，以遺陛下。 陛下深宜遵述先志，成就其業。 況屯首唱大謀，空盡北虜，輟而弗圖，更立新降，以一朝之計，違三世之規，失信於所養，建立於無功。 由、秉實知舊議，而欲背□先恩。 夫言行君子之樞機，[三]賞罰理國之綱紀。 論語曰：『言忠信，行篤敬，雖蠻貊行焉。 』今若失信於一屯，則百蠻不敢復保誓矣。
Consider the southern shanyu Tun: his fathers led their people to allegiance; forty years have passed since the court first showed them favor. Three reigns built that trust and handed it on to you. You ought in all seriousness to follow the intent of your predecessors and bring their policy to fruition. Tun himself opened the grand strategy that cleared the north; to abandon that design now, enthrone a new puppet, settle a morning's whim at the cost of three reigns' policy, break faith with an ally you raised up, and elevate a man without merit— Song You and Geng Bing understood the earlier debate yet would abandon the favor shown by past reigns. Word and deed are the pivot of the noble man; [3] reward and punishment are the warp and woof of government. The Analects says, "Speak with good faith and act with earnest respect, and you may walk even among barbarians." " If we break faith with Tun alone, no frontier people will ever again trust a solemn pledge.
25
又烏桓、鮮卑新殺北單于，凡人之情，鹹畏仇讎，今立其弟，則二虜懷怨。 兵、食可廢，信不可去。 [四]且漢故事，供給南單于費直歲一億九十餘萬，西域歲七千四百八十萬。 今北庭彌遠，其費過倍，是乃空盡天下，而非建策之要也。
The Wuhuan and Xianbei have just killed the northern shanyu; ordinary men shrink from blood-feud; if we enthrone his younger brother, both peoples will nurse a grudge. Arms and grain can be sacrificed; good faith must never be abandoned. [4] Under Han precedent the annual outlay for the southern court exceeded a hundred and ninety million cash, and another seventy-four million eight hundred thousand went to the Western Regions. The new northern court would lie even farther away and cost more than twice as much—an effort to drain the empire for no strategic gain.
26
詔下其議。 安又與憲更相難折。 憲險急負埶，言辭驕訐，[五]至詆毀安，稱光武誅韓歆、戴涉故事，安終不移。 [六]憲竟立匈奴降者右鹿蠡王於除鞬為單于，[七]後遂反叛，卒如安策。
The emperor ordered the proposal circulated for debate. Yuan An and Dou Xian traded bitter rebuttals in court. Dou Xian was sharp, overbearing, and drunk on his power; his tone turned arrogant and abusive; [5] he even smeared Yuan An by invoking Guangwu's executions of Han Xi and Dai She—yet Yuan An never budged. [6] Dou Xian still enthroned the surrendered Xiongnu prince Yuchujian of the Right Luoli band as shanyu; [7] the northerners soon revolted, exactly as Yuan An had warned.
27
注[一]徒冬反。
Note [1]: The commentary gives the fanqie spelling for the character in question.
28
注[二]濱，邊也。
Note [2]: Here the word glossed means the littoral or frontier strip.
29
注[三]易曰：「言行者，君子之樞機。 樞機之發，榮辱之主也。」
Note [3]: The Book of Changes reads, "Word and deed are the hinge of the noble man. When that hinge turns, it governs honor and shame."
30
注[四]論語：「孔子曰：『足食足兵，人信之矣。 』『必不得已而去，於斯三者何先？ 』曰：『去兵。 』曰：『必不得已而去，於斯二者何先？ 』曰：『去食。 自古皆有死，人無信不立。』」
Note [4]: The Analects records Confucius saying, "Give the people enough to eat, enough soldiers, and they will trust the ruler." "If you were forced to give up one of the three, which would go first?" He answered, "Strip away the army." "If you still had to surrender one of the two, which would it be?" "Let go of food." "Death has always been with us, but a state cannot stand if its people do not trust it."
31
注[五]訐謂發揚人之惡。
Note [5]: Here the gloss explains the word as "to air another's faults in public."
32
注[六]大司徒歆坐非帝讀隗囂書，自殺。 大司徒涉坐殺太倉令，下獄死。
Note [6]: Han Xi, grand minister of education, was charged with reading Wei Xiao's correspondence while still a commoner and took his own life. Note [6 continued]: Dai She, likewise grand minister of education, was condemned for executing the granary intendant and died in jail.
33
注[七]鞬音九言反。
Note [7]: The commentary supplies the fanqie spelling for the second syllable of the Xiongnu prince's name.
34
安以天子幼弱，外戚□權，每朝會進見，及與公卿言國家事，未嘗不噫嗚流涕。 [一]自天子及大臣皆恃賴之。 四年春，薨，朝廷痛惜焉。
The emperor was a boy and the maternal kin monopolized power; whenever Yuan An came to court or debated policy with the high ministers, he would end in audible sobs. [1] From the throne to the senior ministers, everyone leaned on him. He died in the spring of the fourth year of the reign; the whole bureaucracy mourned him.
35
注[一]噫音醫，又乙戒反。 嗚音一故反。 歎傷之貌也。
Note [1]: The sigh-word is glossed with the sound yi and an alternate fanqie reading. The character for the wail is glossed with another fanqie pair. The commentary defines the compound as the look and sound of grief-stricken weeping.
36
初，安父沒，母使安訪求葬地，道逢三書生，問安何之，安為言其故，生乃指一處，云「葬此地，當世為上公」。 須臾不見，安異之。 於是遂葬其所佔之地，故累世隆盛焉。 安子京、敞最知名。
When Yuan An's father died, his mother sent him to find a grave site. On the way he met three scholars who asked his errand; when he explained, they pointed to a plot and said, "Inter your father here and your line will produce grandees for generations." They vanished in an instant; Yuan An knew something uncanny had happened. He buried his father on the spot they named, and the Yuan clan rose to extraordinary eminence thereafter. Among his sons Yuan Jing and Yuan Chang became the most celebrated.
37
京字仲譽。 習孟氏易，作難記三十萬言。 初拜郎中，稍遷侍中，出為蜀郡太守。
His son Yuan Jing bore the courtesy name Zhongyu. He studied the Meng tradition of the Book of Changes and wrote three hundred thousand characters of critical notes. He began as a gentleman of the palace, rose to palace attendant, and was then posted grand administrator of Shu.
38
子彭，字伯楚。 少傳父業，歷廣漢、南陽太守。 順帝初，為光禒勳。 行至清，為吏麤袍糲食，終於議郎。 尚書胡廣等追表其有清絜之美，比前朝貢禹、第五倫。 [一]未蒙顯贈，當時皆嗟歎之。
His son Yuan Peng was known by the courtesy name Bochu. He inherited his father's scholarship and served in turn as grand administrator of Guanghan and Nanyang. When Emperor Shun ascended the throne, he was appointed supervisor of the household. He was austere almost to a fault, wearing homespun and eating plain fare, and died in the humble rank of gentleman consultant. Hu Guang of the masters office and others petitioned together, praising his spotless integrity and comparing him to Gong Yu and Fifth Lun of the Former Han. [1] The court never granted him a fitting posthumous honor, and his contemporaries lamented it.
39
注[一]貢禹，元帝御史大夫。 經明行修，清絜憂國也。
Note [1]: Gong Yu had risen to imperial counselor under Emperor Yuan of the Former Han. The gloss praises men learned in the classics, upright in life, frugal, and devoted to the public good.
40
彭弟湯
Yuan Tang, Yuan Peng's younger brother.
41
彭弟湯，字仲河，少傳家學，諸儒稱其節，多歷顯位。 桓帝初為司空，以豫議定策封安國亭侯，食邑五百戶。 累遷司徒、太尉，以□異策免。 卒，謚曰康侯。 〈《風俗通》曰：「湯時年八十六，有子十二人。」〉 湯長子成，左中郎*[將]*。 早卒，次子逢嗣。
Yuan Tang, courtesy Zhonghe, Yuan Peng's brother, continued the family scholarship; Confucian circles admired his moral fiber, and he rose through a series of eminent posts. Early in Emperor Huan's reign he became minister of works; for advising on the choice of heir he was made village marquis of Anguo with a fief of five hundred households. He climbed to minister of education and then grand commandant until anomalous omens linked to his policies brought his dismissal by edict. He died and received the posthumous title Marquis Kang. The Customs and Usages records that at eighty-six Yuan Tang fathered twelve sons. His eldest son Yuan Cheng served as chief commandant on the left among the gentlemen. Yuan Cheng died young, and the marquisate passed to the second son, Yuan Feng.
42
湯子逢
Yuan Feng, son of Yuan Tang.
43
逢字周陽，以累世三公子，寬厚篤信，著稱於時。 靈帝立，逢以太僕豫議，增封三百戶。 後為司空，卒於執金吾。 朝廷以逢嘗為三老，特優禮之，賜以珠畫特詔秘器，[一]飯含珠玉二十六品，[二]使五官中郎將持節奉策，贈以車騎將軍印綬，加號特進，謚曰宣文侯。 子基嗣，位至太僕。
Yuan Feng, courtesy Zhouyang, came from a line that had thrice reached the three dukedoms; his openhanded loyalty won him wide renown. When Emperor Ling ascended the throne, Yuan Feng took part in the deliberations as grand coachman and gained another three hundred households on his fief. He later served as minister of works and died while holding the post of bearer of the golden mace. Because Yuan Feng had once been honored as a Three Elder, the court buried him with extraordinary ceremony: a vermilion-painted coffin provided by special edict, [1] twenty-six grades of mortuary jade for the mouth, [2] a chief commandant of household gentlemen bearing the imperial baton to read the patent, posthumous appointment as chariot-and-cavalry general with the added dignity "specially advanced," and the posthumous name Marquis Xuanwen. His son Yuan Ji inherited the title and rose to grand coachman.
44
注[一]《前書》曰，董賢死，以沙畫棺。 音義云：「以朱沙畫之也。 」「珠」與「朱」同。 秘器，棺也。
Note [1]: The Former Han history records that Dong Xian's coffin was painted with cinnabar dust. The sound gloss explains that the surface was painted with red sand. The word translated "pearl" here puns on the word for vermillion. "Secret burial goods" means the inner coffin set.
45
注[二]《谷梁傳》曰：「貝玉曰含。」
Note [2]: The Guliang commentary defines mortuary jade placed in the mouth.
46
逢弟隗
Yuan Wei, younger brother of Yuan Feng.
47
逢弟隗，少歷顯官， 〈隗字次陽。〉 先逢為三公。 時中常侍袁赦，隗之宗也，用事於中。 以逢、隗世宰相家，推崇以為外援。 故袁氏貴寵於世，富奢甚，不與它公族同。 獻帝初，隗為太傳。
Yuan Wei, Feng's younger brother, rose early through prominent posts, bearing the courtesy name Ciyang. He entered the three dukedoms even before Yuan Feng did. The eunuch Yuan She, a kinsman, dominated the inner court at the time. The Yuans treated Feng and Wei as pillars of a ministerial dynasty and leaned on them as allies outside the palace. The clan therefore enjoyed unmatched favor, fabulous wealth, and a swagger no other great family could match. Early in Emperor Xian's reign Yuan Wei became grand tutor.
48
成子紹，逢子術，自有傳。 董卓忿紹、術背己，遂誅隗及術兄基男女二十餘人。
Yuan Shao, son of Yuan Cheng, and Yuan Shu, son of Yuan Feng, receive full biographies elsewhere. When Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu broke with Dong Zhuo, the warlord slaughtered Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji—Yuan Shu's elder brother—along with more than twenty men and women of the family.
49
京弟敞
Yuan Chang, younger brother of Yuan Jing.
50
敞字叔平，少傳易經教授，以父任為太子舍人。 和帝時，歷位將軍、大夫、侍中，出為東郡太守，征拜太僕、光祿勳。 元初三年，代劉愷為司空。 明年，坐子與尚書郎張俊交通，漏洩省中語，策免。 敞廉勁不阿權貴，失鄧氏旨，遂自殺。
Yuan Chang, courtesy Shuping, taught the Book of Changes while young and entered office as crown prince's gentleman by his father's privilege. Under Emperor He he served as general, grandee, and palace attendant, governed Dong commandery, and was recalled to be grand coachman and supervisor of the household. In Yuanchu 3 he succeeded Liu Kai as minister of works. The next year his son's dealings with secretary Zhang Jun and the leak of palace secrets cost him his post by edict. Yuan Chang was upright and unbending and would not truckle to great clans; he crossed the Deng family and took his own life.
51
張俊者，蜀郡人，有才能，與兄龕並為尚書郎，年少勵鋒氣。 郎朱濟、丁盛立行不修，俊欲舉奏之，二人聞，恐，因郎陳重、雷義往請俊，俊不聽，因共私賂侍史，使求俊短，得其私書與敞子，遂封上之，皆下獄，當死。 俊自獄中占獄吏上書自訟，[一]書奏而俊獄已報。 [二]廷尉將出谷門，臨行刑，[三]鄧太后詔馳騎以減死論。 俊假名上書謝曰：「臣孤恩負義，自陷重刑，情斷意訖，無所復望。 廷尉鞠遣，歐[四]刀在前，棺絮在後，魂魄飛揚，形容已枯。 陛下聖澤，以臣嘗在近密，[五]識其狀貌，傷其眼目，留心曲慮，特加□覆。 喪車復還，白骨更肉，披棺發幟，起見白日。 天地父母能生臣俊，不能使臣俊當死復生。 陛下德過天地，恩重父母，誠非臣俊破碎骸骨，舉宗腐爛，所報萬一。 臣俊徒也，不得上書； 不勝去死就生，驚喜踴躍，觸冒拜章。 」當時皆哀其文。
Zhang Jun of Shu was talented; he and his brother Zhang Kan both served as secretaries, young men full of fire. Fellow secretaries Zhu Ji and Ding Sheng lived loosely; Zhang Jun meant to impeach them. They panicked, sent Chen Chong and Lei Yi to plead, and when Zhang Jun refused they bribed the chief clerk to dig up dirt, seized a private letter he had written to Yuan Chang's son, sealed it, and forwarded it to the throne. Everyone named in the case landed in prison under sentence of death. From his cell Zhang Jun dictated a self-defense memorial to the jailer, [1] but by the time it reached the throne his sentence had already been confirmed. [2] As the commandant of justice led him out through the Gumen gate for execution, [3] Empress Dowager Deng's rescript raced in on horseback and commuted the penalty to life. Zhang Jun, writing under an alias, thanked the throne: "I alone betrayed your grace and broke the law; I deserve the extreme penalty and have no further hope." "When the commandant of justice finished his inquest and marched me out, the executioner's blade gleamed ahead and the hearse with its padding waited behind; my soul scattered and my body seemed already a corpse." "Yet your sacred kindness—because I once served inside the masters' office [five] and you recognized my face—moved you to pity and to bend the law especially in my favor." "The death-cart turned round; dry bones grew flesh again; the lid was lifted and the winding-sheet torn away, and I walked once more under the open sun." "Heaven and earth and my parents gave me life but could not snatch me back from the grave." "Your virtue outshines heaven and earth; your favor outweighs a parent's—not one part in ten thousand could I repay by grinding my bones or offering my whole clan to rot." "As a convict I had no right to memorialize;" "yet I could not contain my leap from death to life, and in reckless gratitude I dare lay this petition before you." " Everyone who read it wept for him.
52
注[一]占謂口授也，前書曰「陳遵憑幾口占書吏」是也。
Note [1]: "Dictated" means spoken for another to write, as when Chen Zun dictated a memorial from his couch in the Earlier Han account.
53
注[二]謂奏報論死也。
Note [2]: That is, the return slip from the throne had already fixed the death sentence.
54
注[三]谷門，洛陽城北面中門也。
Note [3]: Gumen was the middle gate in the north wall of Luoyang, where executions were led out.
55
注[四]音一口反。
Note [4]: The commentary gives the fanqie spelling for the preceding graph.
56
注[五]謂為尚書郎。
Note [5]: "Near the privy chamber" refers to Zhang Jun's former post as secretary.
57
朝廷由此薄敞罪而隱其死，以三公禮葬之，復其官。 子盱。 [一]
The court therefore softened Yuan Chang's guilt, hushed up the manner of his death, buried him with honors due a three-duke, and restored his titles. He left a son, Yuan Yu, who carried on the line. Editorial note [1].
58
注[一]況於反。
Note [1]: The commentary gives the fanqie reading for the personal name.
59
盱後至光祿勳。 時大將軍梁冀□朝，內外莫不阿附，唯盱與廷尉邯鄲義正身自守。 及桓帝誅冀，使盱持節收其印綬，事已具梁冀傳。
Yuan Yu later rose to supervisor of the household. While Grand General Liang Ji ran the court, the whole bureaucracy toadied to him; only Yuan Yu and Yi of Handan, the commandant of justice, kept their integrity. When Emperor Huan destroyed Liang Ji, he sent Yuan Yu with the imperial baton to confiscate his seals; the full story is told in Liang Ji's memoir.
60
彭孫閎
Yuan Hong, grandson of Yuan Peng.
61
閎字夏甫，彭之孫也。 少勵操行，苦身修節。 父賀，為彭城相。 [一]閎往省謁，變名姓，徒行無旅。 既至府門，連日吏不為通，會阿母出，見閎驚，[二]入白夫人，乃密呼見。 既而辭去，賀遣車送之，閎稱眩疾不肯乘，反，郡界無知者。
Yuan Hong, style Xiafu, was a grandson of Yuan Peng. From boyhood he hardened his character and disciplined himself to live austerely. His father Yuan He served as chancellor to the king of Pengcheng. [1] When he called on his father he traveled under an alias, on foot and without attendants. For days the gate clerks refused him entry until the wet nurse stepped out, recognized him with a start, [2] and reported to Lady Yuan, who had him brought in secretly. When he left, Yuan He sent a cart; Yuan Hong pleaded vertigo and walked home, so nobody in the commandery realized who he was.
62
及賀卒郡，閎兄弟迎喪，不受賻贈，縗絰扶柩，冒犯寒露，禮貌枯毀，手足血流，見者莫不傷之。 服闋，累徵聘舉召，皆不應。 居處仄陋，以耕學為業。 從父逢、隗並貴盛，數饋之，無所受。
When Yuan He died in office, Yuan Hong and his brothers fetched the hearse, refused funeral gifts, and in full mourning hauled the coffin through bitter weather until their hands bled; every onlooker was moved. After the mourning period ended, repeated nominations and imperial calls never drew a response. He lived in a cramped hut and earned his keep by farming and reading. His cousins Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei were rich and powerful and often sent him money; he turned it all away.
63
注[一]風俗通曰：「賀字符服。 祖父京，為侍中。 安帝始加元服，百僚會賀，臨莊垂出而孫適生，喜其嘉會，因名字焉。」
Note [1]: Customs and Usages gives Yuan He's style as Fufu. His grandfather Yuan Jing had been a palace attendant. At Emperor An's coming-of-age rite the court gathered to congratulate; as Yuan He was leaving the hall a grandson was born, and in joy at the happy coincidence he named the child He."
64
注[二]謝承書曰：「乳母從內出，見在門側，面貌省瘦，為其垂泣。 閎厚丁寧：『此閒不知吾，慎勿宣露也。』」
Note [2]: Xie Cheng writes that the nurse found him haggard beside the gate and wept. Yuan Hong urged her, "They must not learn who I am—tell no one."
65
閎見時方險亂，而家門富盛，常對兄弟歎曰：「吾先公福祚，後世不能以德守之，而競為驕奢，與亂世爭權，此即晉之三卻矣。 」[一]延熹末，黨事將作，閎遂散發絕世，欲投多深林。 以母老不宜遠遁，乃築土室，四周於庭，不為戶，自牖納飲食而已。 旦於室中東向拜母。 母思閎，時往就視，母去，便自掩閉，兄弟妻子莫得見也。 及母歿，不為制服設位，時莫能名，或以為狂生。 潛身十八年，黃巾賊起，攻沒郡縣，百姓驚散，閎誦經不移。 賊相約語不入其閭，卿人就閎避難，皆得全免。 年五十七，卒於土室。 [二]二弟忠、弘，節操皆亞於閎。
Seeing a lawless age and a household bloated with wealth, Yuan Hong often told his brothers, "Our ancestors left us fortune we cannot keep by virtue; we vie in luxury and scramble for power in dark times—the house of Jin's three Xi clans all over again." [1] Near the end of the Yanxi era, as the partisan prosecutions loomed, he let his hair hang wild and withdrew from society, ready to flee to the deep woods. His mother's age forbade flight, so he raised an earthen cell in the courtyard without a door, taking food only through a window. Each dawn he faced east inside the cell and bowed to his mother. She missed him and sometimes peered in; when she left he sealed the window again, and even his brothers and family never saw his face. When she died he wore no mourning and set up no shrine; people could not fathom his conduct and called him a madman. He stayed hidden eighteen years; when the Yellow Turbans overran the countryside and the people fled, he kept chanting the classics without stirring. The rebels pledged to spare his lane, and neighbors who sheltered with him all survived. He died in that cell at fifty-seven. [2] His brothers Yuan Zhong and Yuan Hong ranked just below him in moral stature.
66
注[一]三卻謂卻錡、卻粲、卻至，皆晉卿也。 各驕奢，為厲公所殺。 事見左傳。
Note [1]: The "three Xi" were Xi Qi, Xi Can, and Xi Zhi, grandees of Jin who perished through their own arrogance. Each grew haughty and wasteful and fell to Duke Li's purge. The story is in the Zuo Tradition.
67
注[二]汝南先賢傳曰：「閎臨卒，□其子曰：『勿設殯棺，但著褌衫疏布單衣幅巾，親屍於板默之上，以五百墼為藏。』」
Note [2]: The Worthies of Runan records his deathbed words: "No outer coffin—only drawers, a thin gown, and a cloth cap; lay me on a plank above the vault; bury me with five hundred bricks."
68
閎弟忠
Yuan Zhong, younger brother of Yuan Hong.
69
忠字正甫，與同郡范滂為友，俱證黨事得釋，語在 〈滂傳〉 。 初平中，為沛相，[一]乘葦車到官，以清亮稱。 及天下大亂，忠□官客會稽上虞。 [二]一見太守王朗徒從整飾，心嫌之，遂稱病自絕。 [三]後孫策破會稽，忠等浮海南投交址。 獻帝都許，征為□尉，未到，卒。
Yuan Zhong, style Zhengfu, was friends with Fan Pang of their commandery; both were cleared after testifying in the partisan case, as told in the biography of Fan Pang The sentence concludes the cross-reference to Fan Pang's biography. During the Chuping years he became chancellor of Pei; [1] he took office in a reed-woven cart and won fame for incorruptibility. When the realm collapsed into chaos he resigned and lodged as a private guest in Shangyu, Kuaiji. [2] One glimpse of Governor Wang Lang's polished retinue disgusted him; he pleaded illness and broke off contact. [3] After Sun Ce conquered Kuaiji, Yuan Zhong and his companions sailed south to take refuge in Jiaozhi. Emperor Xian summoned him to the post of commandant of the guards at Xu, but he died before he could take up the office.
70
注[一]沛王琮相也。 琮，光武八代孫也。 注[二]縣名，城在今越州余姚縣西。
Note [1]: He was chancellor to Liu Cong, king of Pei. Liu Cong was an eighth-generation descendant of Emperor Guangwu. Note [2]: Shangyu was a county whose old seat lay west of present Yuyao in Yue prefecture.
71
注[三]王朗字景興，肅之父也，《魏志》有傳。 謝承書曰「忠乘船載笠蓋詣朗，見朗左右僮從皆著青絳采衣，非其奢麗，即辭疾發而退」也。
Note [3]: Wang Lang, style Jingxing, was Wang Su's father; his life appears in the Records of Wei. Xie Cheng relates that Yuan Zhong sailed to call on Wang Lang in hat and parasol, saw the governor's boys in gaudy silks, found the display intolerable, feigned illness, and left at once.
72
忠弟弘
Yuan Hong (courtesy Shaofu), younger brother of Yuan Zhong.
73
弘字邵甫，恥其門族貴埶，乃變姓名，徒步師門，不應徵辟，終於家。 [一]
This Yuan Hong, style Shaofu, shamed by his clan's eminence, lived under an alias, walked to study with a master, ignored every appointment, and died a private citizen. Editorial note [1].
74
注[一]謝承書曰：「弘嘗入京師太學，其從父逢為太尉，呼弘與相見。 遇逢宴會作樂，弘伏稱頭痛，不聽* (呼) **[音]*聲而退，遂不復往。 紹、術兄弟亦不與通。」
Note [1]: Xie Cheng writes that Yuan Hong once entered the imperial academy while his cousin Yuan Feng was grand commandant; Feng summoned him to an audience. At one of Yuan Feng's musical banquets Yuan Hong collapsed feigning a violent headache and refused (Variant text inserts the verb "to summon.") He would not stay when summoned back to the banquet, pleaded his headache, and left for good. Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu likewise cut him dead."
75
忠子秘
Yuan Mi, son of Yuan Zhong.
76
忠子秘，為郡門下議生。 黃巾起，秘從太守趙謙擊之，軍敗，秘與功曹封觀等七人以身扞刃，皆死於陳，謙以得免。 詔秘等門閭號曰「七賢」。 [一]注[一]謝承書曰「秘字永寧。 封觀與主簿陳端、門下督范仲禮、賊曹劉偉德、主記史丁子嗣、記室史張仲然、議生袁秘等七人擢刃突陳，與戰並死」也。
Yuan Mi, Yuan Zhong's son, was a student adviser at the commandery gate. When the rebellion broke out, Yuan Mi rode with Governor Zhao Qian against the rebels; the army broke; Yuan Mi, merit assessor Feng Guan, and five companions threw themselves on the enemy blades and died in formation so Zhao Qian could escape. The court honored their lanes with the title "the Seven Worthies." [1] Note [1]: Xie Cheng gives Yuan Mi's style as Yongning. Feng Guan, chief clerk Chen Duan, gate captain Fan Zhongli, bandit-crew officer Liu Weide, chief recorder Ding Zisi, secretary Zhang Zhongran, and student Yuan Mi—seven men—drew swords, charged the enemy line, and perished together."
77
封觀者，有志節，當舉孝廉，以兄名位未顯，恥先受之，遂稱風疾，喑不能言。 火起觀屋，徐出避之。 忍而不告。 後數年，兄得舉，觀乃稱損而仕郡焉。 [一]
Feng Guan had high principles; when nominated as filial and incorrupt he was ashamed to accept before his elder brother was known, so he feigned a paralyzing wind illness and could not speak. When fire broke out on his roof he strolled out unhurriedly. He told no one, though he could have cried for help. Years later, once his brother had been nominated, he declared himself cured and entered commandery service. Editorial note [1].
78
注[一]謝承書曰：「觀字孝起，南頓人也。」
Note [1]: Xie Cheng identifies Feng Guan, style Xiaoqi, as a man of Nandun.
79
論曰：陳平多陰謀，而知其後必廢； [一]邴吉有陰德，夏侯勝識其當封及子孫。
The historian remarks: Chen Ping trafficked in dark stratagems, yet foresaw his line would fall; [1] Bing Ji stored up hidden grace; Xiahou Sheng predicted ennoblement for his descendants.
80
[二]終陳掌不侯，而邴昌紹國，雖有不類，未可致詰，其大致歸然矣。 袁公竇氏之閒，乃情帝室，[三]引義雅正，可謂王臣之烈。 [四]及其理楚獄，未嘗鞫人於臧罪，其仁心足以覃乎後昆。 [五]子孫之盛，不亦宜乎？ [六]
[2] Chen Zhang never won a marquisate while Bing Chang inherited a fief—the outcomes do not mirror each other in every point, yet the moral pattern is the same. [3] Between Yuan An and the Dou clan his heart stayed with the throne; he argued from principle with a minister's steel. [4] In the Chu trials he never tortured anyone on a graft charge; that humanity reached far down his line. [5] Small wonder his descendants flourished. Editorial note [6].
81
注[一]丞相陳平為高祖謀臣，出六奇，歎曰：「我多陰謀，道家之所禁，吾世即廢，以吾多陰謀禍也。 」其後曾孫掌以□氏親戚貴達，願得續封，而終不得也。
Note [1]: Chancellor Chen Ping, architect of six stratagems for Gaozu, lamented that his love of secret schemes would doom his house, as Daoist teaching warns. His great-grandson Chen Zhang later sought to renew the marquisate through imperial kinship but never received it.
82
注[二]武帝末，戾太子巫蠱事起，邴吉為廷尉監。 時宣帝年二歲，坐太子事系。 望氣者言長安獄中有天子氣，於是上遣使者分條中都官詔獄，系者亡輕重一切皆殺之。 內者令郭穰至郡邸獄，吉閉門扞拒曰：「它人無辜猶不可，況親曾孫乎？」
Note [2]: Near the end of Emperor Wu's reign, during the witchcraft case against the heir, Bing Ji served as jail overseer under the commandant of justice. The future Emperor Xuan was two years old and imprisoned as collateral damage. A court astrologer reported imperial aura in the Chang'an jails, so the throne ordered every prisoner in the capital prisons executed without distinction of guilt. When Guo Rang reached the hostel jail, Bing Ji barred the gate: "You cannot kill the innocent—least of all the emperor's own great-grandson."
83
穰不得入，還以聞。 上曰：「天使之也。 」因大赦天下。 曾孫賴吉得立。 宣帝立，吉為丞相，未及封而病。 上憂吉不起，夏侯勝曰：「此未死也。 臣聞有陰德者必饗其樂以及子孫。 」後吉病癒，封博陽侯。 薨，子顯嗣。 甘露中，削爵為關內侯。 至孫昌，復封博陽侯。 傳子至孫，王莽敗乃絕。
Guo Rang could not get in and reported back. The emperor said, "Heaven meant to spare him. The emperor then proclaimed a general amnesty for the realm. The boy lived because of Bing Ji and eventually ascended the throne. Emperor Xuan made Bing Ji chancellor; he fell ill before receiving a fief. The court feared he would die; Xiahou Sheng said, "He is not finished yet. Men who store hidden grace enjoy lasting blessing in their posterity. " Bing Ji recovered and was enfeoffed as marquis of Boyang. He died and was succeeded by his son Bing Xian. During the Ganlu era his rank was reduced to marquis within the passes. His grandson Bing Chang later regained the Boyang marquisate. The line ran through sons and grandsons until Wang Mang fell and the title lapsed.
84
注[三]乃情猶竭情也。
Note [3]: The gloss equates the phrase with "to give one's whole heart."
85
注[四]易曰：「王臣蹇蹇，匪躬之故。 」烈，業也。
Note [4]: The Book of Changes line, "The king's minister struggles—never for private gain," applies here. The gloss defines the closing word as achievement or devoted service.
86
注[五]爾雅曰：「覃，延也。」
Note [5]: The Erya glosses the word as "to extend."
87
注[六]此論並華嶠之詞也。
Note [6]: This summation follows Hua Qiao's wording.
88
張酺字孟侯，汝南細陽人，趙王張敖之後也。 [一]敖子壽，封細陽之池陽鄉，後廢，因家焉。
Zhang Hao, style Meng-hou, came from Xiyang in Runan and traced his descent to King Zhang Ao of Zhao. [1] Zhang Ao's son Zhang Shou held a fief at Chiyang in Xiyang; when it was revoked the family remained there.
89
注[一]敖父耳，自楚降漢，高祖封為趙王。 敖嗣，後有罪，廢為宣平侯。
Note [1]: Zhang Ao's father Zhang Er had defected from Chu to Han; Gaozu made him king of Zhao. Zhang Ao inherited the throne, later lost it for a crime, and was demoted to marquis of Xuanping.
90
酺少從祖父充受尚書，能傳其業。 [一]又事太常桓榮。 勤力不怠，聚徒以百數。
As a boy Zhang Hao studied the Book of Documents under his grandfather Zhang Chong and mastered that tradition. [1] He also studied under Minister Huan Rong of the imperial clan. He worked tirelessly and drew hundreds of students.
91
永平九年，顯宗為四姓小侯開學於南宮，[二]置五經師。 酺以尚書教授，數講於御前。 以論難當意，除為郎，賜車馬衣裳，遂令入授皇太子。
In Yongping 9 Emperor Ming opened a school in the Southern Palace for the four great consort clans' cadet marquises; [2] he appointed lecturers on each of the Five Classics. Zhang Hao lectured on the Documents and was often called to expound before the throne. His disputations pleased the emperor, who named him a gentleman, gave him a carriage, horses, and robes, and assigned him to tutor the crown prince.
92
注[一]《東觀記》曰：「充與光武同門學，光武即位，求問充，充已死。」
Note [1]: The Eastern Lodge Record states that Zhang Chong had been Guangwu's classmate; when Guangwu became emperor he looked for Chong, but Chong was already dead.
93
注[二]小侯，解見 〈明紀〉 也。
Note [2]: On the "minor marquises," see the Annals of Emperor Ming for the full explanation.
94
酺為人質直，守經義，每侍講閒隙，數有匡正之辭，以嚴見憚。 [一]及肅宗即位，擢酺為侍中、虎賁中郎將。 數月，出為東郡太守。 酺自以嘗經親近，未悟見出，意不自得，[二]上疏辭曰：「臣愚以經術給事左右，少不更職，不曉文法，猥當剖符典郡，班政千里，必有負恩辱位之咎。 臣竊私自分，殊不慮出城闕，冀蒙留恩，托備□官，腢僚所不安，耳目所聞見，不敢避好醜。 」詔報曰：「經云：『身雖在外，乃心不離王室。 』[三]典城臨民，益所以報效也。 好醜必上，不在遠近。 [四]今賜裝錢三十萬，其亟之官。 」酺雖儒者，而性剛斷。 下車擢用義勇，搏擊豪強。 長安有殺盜徒者，酺輒案之，以為令長受臧，猶不至死，盜徒皆饑寒傭保，何足窮其法乎！
Zhang Hao was blunt and principled; during breaks in the lectures he often corrected errors and his stern manner made others uneasy. [1] When Emperor Zhang succeeded, he promoted Zhang Hao to palace attendant and chief commandant of the household gentlemen. A few months later he was posted grand administrator of Dong. Zhang Hao had expected to stay at court; the sudden transfer unsettled him, [2] so he memorialized to decline: "I have served near the throne only as a classicist, with no broad administrative experience; to take the seal of a commandery and govern a thousand li invites failure and disgrace. I never meant to leave the capital; I hoped to remain in a minor court post where I could speak plainly on whatever I saw or heard, fair or foul." "The rescript answered, "The canon says, Though your body be far away, your heart must not leave the royal house." [3] Governing the people from a commandery is itself the way to repay the throne. Report every good or ill you find; distance does not matter. [4] Here are thirty thousand cash for your journey—go to your post at once." Though a scholar, Zhang Hao was resolute by nature. On arrival he promoted stalwart men and moved against great bullies. When someone in Chang'an slaughtered a gang of thieves, Zhang Hao reviewed the case: a corrupt magistrate might not deserve death, but these were starving hirelings—why stretch the statute to the limit against them?
95
注[一]《東觀記曰：「太子家時為奢侈物，未嘗不正諫，甚見重焉。」
Note [1]: The Eastern Lodge Record says that whenever the crown prince's household ordered luxuries, Zhang Hao remonstrated without fail and was deeply respected.
96
注[二]悟，曉也。
Note [2]: The gloss defines the word as to understand or perceive.
97
注[三]《尚書》康王之誥曰「雖爾身在外，乃心罔不在王室」也。
Note [3]: The Book of Documents, in King Kang's announcement, reads, "Though you serve abroad, your hearts never leave the royal house."
98
注[四]好醜謂善惡也。 言事之善惡，必以聞上，此即報效，豈拘外內也。
Note [4]: "Good and ugly" here means good and bad conduct. Whatever happens, good or evil, must reach the throne; that is loyal service, whether at court or in the provinces.
99
郡吏王青者，[一]祖父翁，與前太守翟義起兵攻王莽，及義敗，余觿悉降，翁獨守節力戰，莽遂燔燒之。 父隆，建武初為都尉功曹，青為小史。 與父俱從都尉行縣，道遇賊，隆以身□全都尉，遂死於難； 青亦被矢貫咽，音聲流喝。 [二]前郡守以青身有金夷，竟不能舉。 [三]酺見之，歎息曰：「豈有一門忠義而爵賞不及乎？ 」遂擢用極右曹，[四]乃上疏薦青三世死節，宜蒙顯異。 奏下三公，由此為司空所辟。 [五]
Among his clerks was Wang Qing; [1] his grandfather Wang Weng had joined Governor Zhai Yi's rebellion against Wang Mang; when Yi fell the survivors surrendered, but Weng fought to the end and Mang had him burned alive. His father Wang Long had been merit assessor to the commandant in early Jianwu; Wang Qing himself was a junior clerk. Father and son accompanied the commandant on an inspection tour; bandits ambushed them; Wang Long shielded the commandant with his body and died; Wang Qing took an arrow through the throat and his voice was reduced to a rasp. [2] The previous governor had never nominated him because of his battle scars. [3] When Zhang Hao met him he exclaimed, "Can a house of such loyalty go unrewarded?" " He gave Wang Qing a senior staff appointment, [4] then memorialized that three generations of his family had died for loyalty and deserved extraordinary honors. The memorial went to the Three Dukes, and Wang Qing was recruited by the minister of works. Editorial note [5].
100
注[一]謝承書曰：「青字公然，東郡聊城人也。」
Note [1]: Xie Cheng gives Wang Qing, style Gongran, as a native of Liaocheng in Dong.
101
注[二]「流」或作「嘶」。 喝音一介反。 廣蒼曰：「聲之幽也。」
Note [2]: Some texts read "hoarse" instead of "flowing" for his voice. The commentary gives the fanqie reading for the character describing his voice. The Guangcang defines the term as a hollow, dying sound.
102
注[三]夷，傷也。
Note [3]: Here the gloss means wound or scar.
103
注[四]漢官儀曰：「督郵﹑功曹，郡之極位。」
Note [4]: The Han Official Rites lists postal inspector and merit assessor as the commandery's highest staff offices.
104
注[五]《東觀記》曰「青從此除步兵司馬。 酺傷青不遂，復舉其子孝廉」也。
Note [5]: The Eastern Lodge Record says Wang Qing was then named infantry commandant and that Zhang Hao, sorry Wang Qing had not risen higher, also nominated his son as filial and incorrupt."
105
自酺出後，帝每見諸王師傅，常言：「張酺前入侍講，屢有諫正，誾誾惻惻，出於誠心，可謂有史魚之風矣。 」[一]元和二年，東巡狩，幸東郡，引酺及門生並郡縣掾史並會庭中。 帝先備弟子之儀，使酺講尚書一篇，然後修君臣之禮。 [二]賞賜殊特，莫不沾洽。
After Zhang Hao left the capital, the emperor often told the princes' tutors, "Zhang Hao used to lecture the heir with blunt, heartfelt remonstrance—true Shi Yu spirit." [1] In Yuanhe 2, on an eastern tour he visited Dong commandery, summoned Zhang Hao, his students, and the local staff to an audience in the courtyard. The emperor first received him as a disciple while Zhang Hao expounded one chapter of the Documents, then they observed the etiquette of sovereign and subject. [2] The gifts were lavish and everyone present went away enriched.
106
注[一]誾誾，忠正也。 惻惻，懇切也。 史魚，衛大夫，名□，字子魚。 孔子曰「直哉史魚，邦有道如矢，邦無道如矢」也。
Note [1]: The reduplication describes loyal, forthright speech. The second pair describes deep, urgent sincerity. Shi Yu was a minister of Wei, known as Ziyu. Confucius said of him, "How straight was Shi Yu! In an ordered age he was straight as an arrow; in a disordered age he was straight as an arrow."
107
注[二]《東觀記》曰：「時使尚書令王鮪與酺相難，上甚欣悅。」
Note [2]: The Eastern Lodge Record adds that Director Wang Wan was ordered to debate Zhang Hao, to the emperor's delight.
108
酺視事十五年，和帝初，遷魏郡太守。 郡人鄭據時為司隸校尉，奏免執金吾竇景。 景後復位，遣掾夏猛私謝酺曰：「鄭據小人，為所侵冤。 聞其兒為吏，放縱狼藉。 取是曹子一人，足以驚百。 」酺大怒，即收猛系獄，檄言執金吾府，疑猛與據子不平，矯稱卿意，以報私讎。 會有贖罪令，猛乃得出。 [一]頃之，征入為河南尹。 竇景家人復擊傷市卒，吏捕得之，景怒，遣緹騎侯海等五百人歐傷市丞。 [二]酺部吏楊章等窮究，正海罪，徙朔方。 景忿怨，乃移書辟章等六人為執金吾吏，欲因報之。 章等惶恐，入白酺，願自引臧罪，以辭景命。 酺即上言其狀。 竇太后詔報：「自今執金吾辟吏，皆勿遣。」
After fifteen years in Dong he was moved to grand administrator of Wei under Emperor He. His townsman Zheng Ju was metropolitan commandant and had impeached Dou Jing, bearer of the golden mace, out of office. When Dou Jing was restored, he sent clerk Xia Meng to Zhang Hao with thanks and a message: "Zheng Ju is a nobody who slandered me unfairly. I hear his son holds office and behaves outrageously. Arrest one of that man's sons and you will terrify a hundred evildoers." Zhang Hao was furious: he jailed Xia Meng and notified Dou Jing's office that the clerk had probably forged Dou's orders out of private spite against Zheng Ju's son. An amnesty for commutable offenses soon freed Xia Meng. [1] Shortly afterward he was recalled to be governor of Henan. Dou Jing's retainers beat market guards; when the guards arrested them, Dou Jing sent five hundred crimson-clad horsemen under Hou Hai to thrash the market superintendent. [2] Zhang Hao's subordinates Yang Zhang and others ran the case to ground, convicted Hou Hai, and sent him to Shuofang. Dou Jing, enraged, tried to summon Zhang and six others into his own service so he could ruin them. They fled to Zhang Hao in terror and offered to confess bribery rather than obey Dou Jing's summons. Zhang Hao at once memorialized the facts. Empress Dowager Dou replied by edict: "Henceforth no clerk may be transferred to the bearer of the golden mace's staff on such orders."
109
注[一]《東觀記》曰「據字平卿，黎陽人也。 為侍御史，轉司隸校尉」也。
Note [1]: The Eastern Lodge Record gives Zheng Ju, style Pingqing, as a man of Liyang. He had served as attendant censor and metropolitan commandant."
110
注[二]《說文》曰：「緹，帛丹黃色也。 」漢官儀曰，執金吾有緹騎。
Note [2]: The Shuowen defines ti silk as red-yellow. The Han Official Rites notes that the bearer of the golden mace commands crimson-clad cavalry.
111
及竇氏敗，酺乃上疏曰：「臣實愚惷，不及大體，[一]以為竇氏雖伏厥辜，而罪刑未著，後世不見其事，但聞其誅，非所以垂示國典，貽之將來。 宜下理官，與天下平之。 [二]方憲等寵貴，腢臣阿附唯恐不及，皆言憲受顧命之托，懷伊﹑呂之忠，[三]至乃復比鄧夫人於文母。 [四]今嚴威既行，皆言當死，不復顧其前後，考折厥衷。 臣伏見夏陽侯纓，每存忠善，前與臣言，常有盡節之心，檢□賓客，未嘗犯法。 臣聞王政骨肉之刑，有三宥之義，過厚不過薄。 [五]今議者為纓選嚴能相，恐其迫切，必不完免，宜裁加貸宥，以崇厚德。 」和帝感酺言，徙纓封，就國而己。
After the Dou clan's fall Zhang Hao wrote: "I may be slow to see the whole picture, [1] but even though the Dous have paid for their crimes, the record of their offenses is unclear; posterity will hear only that they were killed, not why—which does not serve the law or instruct the future. Let the judiciary publish a balanced verdict for the realm." [2] While Dou Xian was all-powerful, every official flattered him, claiming he held the late emperor's deathbed charge and rivaled Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou; [3] some even likened Lady Deng to King Wen's consort. [4] Now that terror reigns, everyone cries death with no thought of weighing earlier service against later crime. I speak for Dou Ying, marquis of Xiayang: he has always meant well; he once told me he wished to serve loyally to the end, and I have watched his clients break no law. Royal justice toward kin allows three grounds for mercy; generosity should not slide into cruelty. [5] Those who would assign Dou Ying a harsh governor mean to hound him to death; I ask that he be shown leniency instead, in keeping with humane government." Emperor He accepted Zhang Hao's plea: Dou Ying's fief was shifted and he was sent to his domain with his life spared.
112
注[一]鄭玄注《周禮》云：「惷愚，癡騃也。 」惷音陟降反。
Note [1]: Zheng Xuan glosses the phrase as "dull-witted." The line gives the fanqie reading for the dull-witted character in the preceding gloss.
113
注[二]平之謂平論其罪也。
Note [2]: "Level" means to give a fair, public accounting of their crimes.
114
注[三]臨終之命曰顧命。
Note [3]: A ruler's final charge to his ministers is called the "testament charge."
115
注[四]臣賢案：鄧夫人即穰侯鄧疊母元也。 元出入宮掖，共竇憲女豻郭舉父子同謀殺害，與竇氏同誅，語見 〈憲傳〉 ，故張酺論憲兼及其黨。 稱鄧夫人者，猶如《前書》霍光妻稱霍顯，祁太伯母號祁夫人之類也。 文母，文王之妻也。 詩曰：「既有烈考，亦有文母。」
Note [4]: Li Xian identifies "Lady Deng" as Yuan, mother of Deng Die, marquis of Rang. She moved freely in the inner palace and with Dou Xian's daughter-in-law Guo Ju and her kin plotted murder; she perished with the Dous, as related in Dou Xian's biography —hence Zhang Hao's memorial on Dou Xian touched her clique as well. The title "Lady Deng" follows the Former Han usage for Huo Guang's wife Huo Xian or Lady Qi, not a formal queenly title. The "cultured mother" means King Wen's consort. The Classic of Poetry says, "We had a mighty father; we have a cultured mother as well."
116
注[五]《禮記》曰「公族有罪，獄成，有司讞於公曰：『某之罪在大辟。 』公曰：『宥之。 』有司又曰：『在大辟。 』公又曰：『宥之。 』有司又曰：『在大辟。 』公又曰：『宥之。 』及三宥不對，走出，致刑於甸人。 公又使人追之，曰：『雖然，必宥之。 』有司曰：『無及也。 』反命於公，公素服如其倫之喪」也。
Note [5]: The Record of Rites describes how a ducal kinsman's capital case was reported: "The prisoner's offense carries the death penalty." The duke answered, "Pardon him." The officer repeated, "The crime is capital." Again the duke said, "Pardon him." A third time: "It is a capital crime." A third pardon from the duke. After the third pardon the officer left in silence and delegated execution to the steward of the ducal fields. The duke sent a runner: "Even so, you must spare him." The officer replied, "It is too late." He reported back; the duke donned white as for the death of a peer."
117
永元五年，遷酺為太僕。 數月，代尹睦為太尉。 [一]數上疏以疾乞身，薦魏郡太守徐防自代。 帝不許，使中黃門問病，加以珍羞，賜錢三十萬。 酺遂稱篤。
In Yongyuan 5 Zhang Hao was promoted to grand coachman. A few months later he succeeded Yin Mu as grand commandant. [1] He repeatedly asked leave for illness and nominated Xu Fang of Wei to take his place. The emperor refused, sent a eunuch to ask after his health, sent costly food, and gave him three hundred thousand cash. Zhang Hao then insisted he was desperately ill.
118
時子蕃以郎侍講，帝因令小黃門□蕃曰：「陰陽不和，萬人失所，朝廷望公思惟得失，與國同心，而托病自絜，求去重任，誰當與吾同憂責者？ 非有望於斷金也。 [二]司徒固疾，司空年老，[三]公其傴僂，勿露所□。 」[四]酺惶恐詣闕謝，還復視事。 酺雖在公位，而父常居田裡，酺每有遷職，輒一詣京師。 嘗來候酺，適會歲節，公卿罷朝，俱詣酺府奉酒上壽，極歡卒日，觿人皆慶羨之。
His son Zhang Fan was lecturing at court as a gentleman; the emperor sent a junior eunuch to tell him, "Heaven and earth are out of joint and the people suffer; we need your father to weigh policy and stand with the throne, yet he hides behind sickness to shed a great burden—who then will bear this worry with me? I am not asking him for some oath of unbreakable friendship." [2] The minister of education is bedridden and the minister of works is aged; [3] bend your back to duty and keep counsel to yourself." [4] Zhang Hao, alarmed, apologized at the palace gate and went back to office. Though Zhang Hao served at court, his father stayed on the farm; every time Zhang Hao was promoted he made one trip to Luoyang. Once when his father visited him at the New Year, the high ministers had left court and all converged on Zhang Hao's house with toasts and good cheer; the whole company feasted the day away to universal envy.
119
及父卒，既葬，詔遣使繼牛酒為釋服。
After his father was buried, the court sent envoys with oxen and wine for the end-of-mourning rites.
120
注[一]漢官儀曰：「睦字伯師，河南鞏人也。」
Note [1]: The Han Official Rites gives Yin Mu, style Boshi, as a native of Gong in Henan.
121
注[二]斷金，解在 〈皇后紀〉 。
Note [2]: On the phrase "severing metal," see the Annals of the Empresses End of the cross-reference.
122
注[三]時司徒劉方，司空張奮也。
Note [3]: The minister of education was Liu Fang and the minister of works Zhang Fen.
123
注[四]傴僂言恭敬從命也。 《左氏傳》曰：「一命而僂，再命而傴，三命而俯。」
Note [4]: The phrase means to bow humbly and obey. The Zuo Tradition says, "One appointment made him bow; two made him bend; three made him stoop."
124
後以事與司隸校尉晏稱會於朝堂，酺從容謂稱曰：「三府辟吏，多非其人。 」稱歸，即奏令三府各實其掾史。 酺本以私言，不意稱奏之，甚懷恨。 會復共謝闕下，酺因責讓於稱。 稱辭言不順，酺怒，遂廷叱之，稱乃劾奏酺有怨言。 天子以酺先帝師，有詔公卿﹑博士﹑朝臣會議。 司徒呂蓋奏酺位居三司，知公門有儀，不屏氣鞠躬以須詔命，反作色大言，怨讓使臣，不可以示四遠。 [一]於是策免。
Later, meeting metropolitan commandant Yan Cheng in the hall of state, Zhang Hao remarked in an offhand way that too many of the Three Dukes' appointees were unfit. Yan Cheng went straight home and memorialized that each of the Three Dukes must audit his staff. Zhang Hao had spoken in confidence and never dreamed Yan Cheng would memorialize it; he nursed a bitter grudge. When they next met at the palace gate to apologize together, Zhang Hao scolded Yan Cheng. Yan Cheng answered insolently; Zhang Hao lost his temper and dressed him down in open court, so Yan Cheng impeached him for seditious language. Because Zhang Hao had tutored the late emperor, the throne ordered the ministers, academicians, and court to debate the charge. Minister of education Lü Gai argued that as a three-duke Zhang Hao knew court etiquette yet had not waited humbly for orders but had flushed and shouted at an imperial agent—conduct unworthy of a minister. [1] The court dismissed him by edict.
125
注[一]司隸校尉督大奸猾，無所不察，故曰使臣也。
Note [1]: The metropolitan commandant oversaw great malefactors and was known as the emperor's investigator.
126
乘輿縞素臨吊，賜頤塋地，賵贈恩寵異於它相。 酺病臨危，□其子曰：「顯節陵埽地露祭，欲率天下以儉。 [一]吾為三公，既不能宣揚王化，令吏人從制，豈可不務節約乎？ 其無起祠堂，可作□蓋廡，施祭其下而已。 」[二]
The emperor came in mourning white to mourn him, granted a tomb plot, and sent funeral gifts beyond the usual for a minister. On his deathbed Zhang Hao told his sons, "Emperor Ming's tomb is honored with a broomed-earth sacrifice in the open, to teach the empire thrift. [1] I held one of the three highest posts; if I could not model the law for officials and commoners, how could I ignore frugality in death? Do not build me a mortuary shrine—only a simple roofed gallery for offerings underneath." [2] End of his testament.
127
注[一]顯節，明帝陵也。 明帝遺詔無起寢廟，故言埽地而祭也，故酺遵奉之。
Note [1]: The Manifest Virtue mausoleum is Emperor Ming's tomb. Emperor Ming had forbidden inner temples at his tomb, hence the earth-sweeping rite; Zhang Hao followed that example.
128
注[二]廡，屋也。
Note [2]: The word means a covered gallery, not a full hall.
129
曾孫濟
Zhang Ji, great-grandson of Zhang Hao.
130
曾孫濟，好儒學，[一]光和中至司空，病罷。 及卒，靈帝以舊恩贈車騎將軍﹑關內侯印綬。 其年，追濟侍講有勞，封子根為蔡陽鄉侯。
Zhang Ji loved Confucian scholarship; [1] under Emperor Ling he rose to minister of works, then retired ill. When he died Emperor Ling, remembering old ties, posthumously awarded the seals of chariot-and-cavalry general and marquis within the passes. The same year the court enfeoffed his son Zhang Gen as village marquis of Caiyang for Zhang Ji's service as lecturer.
131
注[一]華嶠書曰：「蕃生盤，盤生濟。 濟字符江。 靈帝初，楊賜薦濟明習典訓，為侍講。」
Note [1]: Hua Qiao gives the line as Zhang Fan, then Zhang Pan, then Zhang Ji. Zhang Ji bore the courtesy name Yuanjiang. Early in Emperor Ling's reign Yang Ci recommended him for his mastery of the canon, and he became court lecturer."
132
濟弟喜，初平中為司空。
His brother Zhang Xi became minister of works during the Chuping years.
133
韓稜字伯師，穎川舞陽人，弓高侯頹當之後也。 [一]世為鄉里著姓。 父尋，建武中為隴西太守。
Han Leng, style Boshi, came from Wuyang in Yingchuan and traced his line to Marquis Tuidang of Gonggao. [1] The family had been a leading clan in the district for generations. His father Han Xun had been grand administrator of Longxi under Guangwu.
134
注[一]頹當，韓王信之子。 見《前書》。
Note [1]: Tuidang was a son of Han Xin, king of Han. See the Former Han history.
135
稜四歲而孤，養母弟以孝友稱。 及壯，推先父余財數百萬與從昆弟，鄉里益高之。 初為郡功曹，太守葛興中風，病不能聽政，稜陰代興視事，出入二年，令無違者。 興子嘗發教欲署吏，稜拒執不從，因令怨者章之。 [一]事下案驗，吏以稜掩蔽興病，專典郡職，遂致禁錮。
Han Leng was orphaned at four; he reared his mother and younger brother and was known for filial piety and brotherly devotion. As an adult he handed several million cash of his father's estate to his cousins, and the locality esteemed him all the more. He began as county merit assessor; when Governor Ge Xing was paralyzed and could not govern, Han Leng quietly ran the commandery for two years without anyone challenging his authority. Ge Xing's son tried to issue appointments; Han Leng blocked him, so enemies filed charges. [1] The case was investigated; the clerks ruled that he had hidden the governor's illness and usurped power, and he was barred from office for life.
136
顯宗知其忠，後詔特原之。 由是征辟，五遷為尚書令，與僕射郅壽﹑尚書陳寵，同時俱以才能稱。 肅宗嘗賜諸尚書□，唯此三人特以寶□，自手署其名曰：「韓稜楚龍淵，[二]郅壽蜀漢文，陳寵濟南椎成。 」[三]時論者為之說：以稜淵深有謀，故得龍淵； 壽明達有文章，故得漢文； 寵敦樸，善不見外，故得椎成。
Emperor Ming knew him loyal and later issued a special pardon. He was then recruited and rose in five steps to director of the masters alongside vice director Zhi Shou and Master Chen Chong—all three celebrated for ability. Emperor Zhang once gave swords to the masters of writing; to these three alone he gave blades of fine steel and inscribed their names himself: "Han Leng—Dragon Pool of Chu," [2] "Zhi Shou—Han pattern of Shu," "Chen Chong—Hammer Forged of Jinan." [3] Critics explained: Han Leng was deep and resourceful as the Dragon Pool spring; Zhi Shou was lucid and literary, hence the Shu blade; Chen Chong was sturdy and plain, his virtue not flashy, hence the hammer-forged sword.
137
注[一]章謂令上章告言之。
Note [1]: Here the word means to file a formal memorial of accusation.
138
注[二]《晉大康記》曰：「汝南西平縣有龍泉水，可淬刀□，特堅利。 」汝南即楚分野。
Note [2]: The Jin Taikang Record says the Dragon Spring at Xiping in Runan hardened steel for especially keen blades. Runan lay in the old astrological field of Chu.
139
注[三]椎音直追反。 漢官儀「椎成」作「鍛成」。
Note [3]: The commentary gives the fanqie reading for the syllable in the sword name. The Han Official Rites variant reads "forged complete" instead of "hammer complete."
140
注[一]易下系之辭也。
Note [1]: The allusion comes from the lower part of the Book of Changes.
141
注[二]前書音義曰：「城旦，輕刑之名也。 晝日司寇虜，夜暮築長城，故曰城旦。」
Note [2]: The Former Han gloss defines chengdan as a lighter penal labor. By day they served as corvée guards, by night they built the wall—hence the term."
142
遷南陽太守，特聽稜得過家上頤，鄉里以為榮。 稜發擿奸盜，郡中震慄，政號嚴平。 數歲，征入為太僕。 九年冬，代張奮為司空。 明年薨。
As grand administrator of Nanyang he was specially allowed to visit his family tomb on the way; his neighbors counted it an honor. He rooted out bandits and thieves until the commandery shook; his rule was known as strict but fair. After a few years he was recalled as grand coachman. In the ninth year, winter, he succeeded Zhang Fen as minister of works. He died the following year.
143
子輔，安帝時至趙相。 [一]
His son Han Fu became chancellor to the king of Zhao under Emperor An. Editorial note [1].
144
注[一]趙王良孫商之相也。
Note [1]: He was chancellor to Liu Shang, king of Zhao, a grandson of Prince Liang of Zhao.
145
稜孫演
Han Yan, grandson of Han Leng.
146
稜孫演，順帝時為丹陽太守，政有能名。 桓帝時為司徒。 [一]大將軍梁冀被誅，演坐阿黨抵罪，以減死論，遣歸本郡。 [二]後復征拜司隸校尉。
Han Yan served as grand administrator of Danyang under Emperor Shun and was known for capable rule. Under Emperor Huan he became minister of education. [1] When Grand General Liang Ji fell, Han Yan was convicted as his partisan and spared only exile to his home commandery. [2] He was later recalled as metropolitan commandant.
147
注[一]演字伯南。
Note [1]: Han Yan's style was Bonan.
148
注[二]華嶠書曰「梁皇后崩，梁貴人大幸，將立，大將軍冀欲分其寵，謀冒姓為貴人父，演陰許諾，及冀誅事發，演坐抵罪」也。
Note [2]: Hua Qiao records that after Empress Liang died, another Liang lady was favored for empress; Liang Ji wanted a rival and had Han Yan pose as her father; when Ji fell, Han Yan was implicated."
149
周榮字平孫，廬江舒人也。 肅宗時，舉明經，辟司徒袁安府。 安數與論議，甚器之。 及安舉奏竇景及與竇憲爭立北單于事，皆榮所具草。 竇氏客太尉掾徐齮深惡之，脅榮曰：「子為袁公腹心之謀，排奏竇氏，竇氏悍士刺客滿城中，謹備之矣！ 」榮曰：「榮江淮孤生，蒙先帝大恩，以歷宰二城。 今復得備宰士，[一]縱為竇氏所害，誠所甘心。 」故常□妻子，若卒遇飛禍，無得殯斂，[二]冀以區區腐身覺悟朝廷。
Zhou Rong, style Pingsun, came from Shu in Lujiang. Under Emperor Zhang he passed the classics examination and entered Minister Yuan An's staff. Yuan An debated policy with him often and thought highly of him. The memorials impeaching Dou Jing and opposing Dou Xian's northern shanyu plan were all drafted by Zhou Rong. The Dou retainer Xu Qi, clerk to the grand commandant, hated him and snarled, "You are Yuan An's secret pen against the Dous; their bravos and killers pack the capital—watch yourself!" Zhou Rong replied, "I am a nobody from the south, favored by the late emperor and trusted in two magistracies. [1] Now I serve on a minister's staff—even if the Dous kill me, I accept it gladly." " He often warned his family that if assassins struck he was not to be given a full funeral; [2] he was willing to die anonymously to wake the court to the danger."
150
及竇氏敗，榮由此顯名。 自郾令擢為尚書令。 出為穎川太守，坐法，當下獄，和帝思榮忠節，左轉共令。 [三]歲餘，復以為山陽太守。 所歷郡縣，皆見稱紀。
When the Dous fell he became famous for his courage. He rose from magistrate of Yan to director of the masters. As grand administrator of Yingchuan he broke the law and should have been jailed; Emperor He remembered his loyalty and only demoted him to magistrate of Gong. [3] A year later he was again named grand administrator of Shanyang. Everywhere he served he left a good name in the registers.
151
以老病乞身，卒於家，詔特賜錢二十萬，除子男興為郎中。
He asked to retire for age and illness and died at home; the court gave two hundred thousand cash and appointed his son Zhou Xing a gentleman of the palace.
152
注[一]榮辟司徒府，故稱宰士。 注[二]飛禍言倉卒而死也。
Note [1]: He was on the minister of education's staff, hence "ministerial clerk." Note [2]: "Flying disaster" means sudden death.
153
注[三]共，縣名，屬河內郡，故城在今衛州共城縣東，即古共國也。
Note [3]: Gong was a county in Henei; its old seat lay east of present Gongcheng in Weizhou, the ancient state of Gong.
154
興少有名譽，永寧中，尚書陳忠上疏薦興曰：「臣伏惟古者帝王有所號令，言必弘雅，辭必溫麗，垂於後世，列於典經。 故仲尼嘉唐虞之文章，從周室之鬱鬱。 [一]臣竊見光祿郎周興，[二]孝友之行，著於閨門，清厲之志，聞於州裡。 蘊橋古今，博物多聞，[三]三墳之篇，五典之策，無所不覽。 [四]屬文著辭，有可觀采。 尚書出納帝命，為王喉舌。 [五]臣等既愚闇，而諸郎多文俗吏，鮮有雅才，每為詔文，宣示內外，轉相求請，或以不能而專己自由，辭多鄙固。 興抱奇懷能，隨輩棲□，誠可歎惜。 」詔乃拜興為尚書郎。 卒。 興子景。
Zhou Xing was known young; in the Yongning era Chen Zhong of the masters office memorialized: "Ancient sovereigns phrased edicts in lofty, polished language meant to endure in the canon. Confucius praised the splendor of Yao and Shun and admired the rich culture of Zhou." [1] I nominate Zhou Xing of the supervisor of the household office; [2] his filial piety is known at home, his integrity in the district." [3] He has mastered antiquity and the present, read every classic from the Three Tombs to the Five Canons, and commands a scholar's breadth." [4] His memorials are worth publishing." The masters office is the sovereign's voice—it receives and issues the imperial will." [5] We ministers are untalented, and most gentlemen of the office are petty clerks with little literary skill; edicts drafted by them are passed from hand to hand or written stubbornly by the incompetent, and the prose turns crude." Zhou Xing is a man of rare gifts yet stuck among petty colleagues—a waste." " The emperor appointed Zhou Xing gentleman of the masters. He died soon afterward. His son was Zhou Jing.
155
注[一]《論語》孔子曰：「大哉堯之為君也，煥乎其有文章。 」又曰：「周監於二代，鬱鬱乎文哉。 吾從周。」
Note [1]: The Analects quotes Confucius praising Yao's civilizing splendor. " He also said, Zhou studied the two earlier dynasties—how rich its culture." " I follow Zhou."
156
注[二]光祿主郎，故曰光祿郎。
Note [2]: The office oversaw gentlemen of the household, hence the title.
157
注[三]蘊，藏也。 橋，匱也。
Note [3]: The first character means to store or accumulate. The gloss defines the second character as a chest or storehouse of learning.
158
注[四]伏羲﹑神農﹑黃帝之書曰三墳； 少昊﹑顓頊﹑高辛﹑唐﹑虞之書曰五典也。
Note [4]: The Three Tombs are the scriptures attributed to Fuxi, Shennong, and the Yellow Emperor; the Five Canons are those of Shaohao, Zhuanxu, Gaoxin, Tang, and Shun."
159
注[五]尚書為王之喉舌官也。 李固對策曰：「今陛下有尚書，猶天之有北斗也。 北斗為天之喉舌，尚書亦為陛下之喉舌也。」
Note [5]: The masters office was traditionally called the ruler's "throat and tongue." Li Gu once said in a policy essay, "The masters office is to Your Majesty what the Big Dipper is to Heaven." The Dipper guides the sky; the masters office guides your government."
160
興子景
Zhou Jing, son of Zhou Xing.
161
景字仲饗。 辟大將軍梁冀府，稍遷豫州刺史﹑河內太守。 好賢愛士，其拔才薦善，常恐不及。 每至歲時，延請舉吏入上後堂，與共宴會，如此數四，乃遣之。
Zhou Jing bore the courtesy name Zhongxiang. He entered Grand General Liang Ji's staff, then rose to governor of Yu province and grand administrator of Henei. He loved men of talent and strained to recommend the worthy, always fearing he had missed someone. Each year he invited nominated clerks to his rear hall, feasted them several times, and only then let them go.
162
贈送什物，無不充備。 既而選其父兄子弟，事相優異。 常稱曰：「臣子同貫，若之何不厚！ 」先是司徒韓演在河內，志在無私，舉吏當行，一辭而已，恩亦不及其家。 曰：「我舉若可矣，豈可令□積一門！ 」故當時論者議此二人。
He sent them off with lavish parting gifts. He then favored their relatives in office as well. He used to say, "Officials and their kin are one household—why stint them?" His predecessor Han Yan as minister of education had governed Henei with cold justice: one brief farewell to outgoing nominees and no favors for their families. Han Yan had said, "My nomination is enough honor—why heap every favor on one clan?" " The age compared the two styles of patronage.
163
景後征入為將作大匠。 及梁冀誅，景以故吏免官禁錮。 朝廷以景素著忠正，頃之，復引拜尚書令。 [一]遷太僕﹑衛尉。 六年，代劉寵為司空。 是時宦官任人及子弟充塞列位。 景初視事，與太尉楊秉舉奏諸奸猾，自將軍牧守以下，免者五十餘人。 遂連及中常侍防東侯覽﹑東武陽侯具瑗，皆坐黜。 朝廷莫不稱之。
Zhou Jing was later recalled as court architect. When Liang Ji fell he was stripped as a former client and barred from office. The court soon recalled him as director of the masters, knowing his old reputation for integrity. [1] He rose to grand coachman and commandant of the guards. In the sixth year he succeeded Liu Chong as minister of works. Eunuchs and their kin had packed the bureaucracy. On taking office he and Grand Commandant Yang Bing impeached dozens of corrupt officials from generals and governors down. The purge reached the eunuchs Hou Lan of Fangdong and Ju Yuan of Dongwuyang, both of whom were cashiered. The whole court applauded.
164
注[一]蔡質《漢儀》曰：「延熹中，京師遊俠有盜發順帝陵，賣御物於市，市長追捕不得。 周景以尺一詔召司隸校尉左雄詣台對詰，雄伏於廷荅對，景使虎賁左駿頓頭，血出覆面，與三日期，賊便擒也。」
Note [1]: Cai Zhi records that in Yanxi tomb robbers sold imperial grave goods in Luoyang until Zhou Jing summoned Metropolitan Commandant Zuo Xiong to the terrace and forced a confession within three days. He had guards beat Zuo Xiong until he bled, then gave him three days to make the arrests—which were done."
165
長子崇嗣，至甘陵相。 [一]
His eldest son Zhou Chong inherited the title and became chancellor to the king of Ganling. Editorial note [1].
166
注[一]甘陵王理相也。 理即章帝曾孫。
Note [1]: He was chancellor to Liu Li, king of Ganling. Liu Li was a great-grandson of Emperor Zhang.
167
景子忠
Zhou Zhong, son of Zhou Jing.
168
中子忠，少歷列位，累遷大司農。 [一]忠子暉，前為洛陽令，去官歸。 兄弟好賓客，雄江淮閒，出入從車常百餘乘。 及帝崩，暉聞京師不安，來候忠，董卓聞而惡之，使兵劫殺其兄弟。 忠後代皇甫嵩為太尉，錄尚書事，以災異免。 復為衛尉，從獻帝東歸洛陽。
The second son, Zhou Zhong, rose through many offices to grand minister of agriculture. [1] His son Zhou Hui had been magistrate of Luoyang and then retired home. The brothers kept open house between the Yangzi and Huai and traveled with a hundred-car retinue. When the emperor died Zhou Hui came to consult his father; Dong Zhuo had both brothers murdered by soldiers. Zhou Zhong later succeeded Huangfu Song as grand commandant with control of the masters office, then lost the post over omens. He served again as commandant of the guards and escorted Emperor Xian back east to Luoyang.
169
注[一]吳書曰，忠字嘉謀，與朱儁共敗李傕於曹陽也。
Note [1]: The Wu Records gives his style as Jiamou and credits him with Zhu Jun's victory over Li Jue at Caoyang.
170
贊曰：袁公持重，誠單所奉。 [一]惟德不忘，延世承寵。 孟侯經博，侍言帝幙。 稜﹑榮事君，志同鸇雀。 [二]
The eulogy reads: Yuan An was steadfast; he gave the throne his whole heart. [1] Virtue is long remembered, and his line enjoyed favor for generations. Zhang Hao mastered the canon and counseled the sovereign at close range. Han Leng and Zhou Rong served like hawks striking every breach of duty against their lords. Editorial note [2].
171
注[一]單，盡也。
Note [1]: Here the word means utterly or to the utmost.
172
注[二]《左傳》曰：「見無禮於其君者誅之，如鷹鸇之逐鳥雀也。」
Note [2]: The Zuo Tradition compares punishing disloyalty to a hawk taking small birds.
173
校勘記
Textual collation notes follow.
174
一五一七頁三行汝南汝陽人也按：集解引惠棟說，謂袁紀作「汝南宛人」。
Collation: some editions read Wan instead of Ruyang for Yuan An's birthplace.
175
一五一八頁二行洛陽令身出案行按：殿本考證引孫□說，謂「洛陽」當作「汝陽」。 又按：汲本、殿本「身」作「自」。
Collation: an editor argues the magistrate should be of Ruyang, not Luoyang. Collation: some editions read zi for shen in this line.
176
一五二０頁四行南陽太守滿殷按：汲本「滿」作「蒲」。
Collation: the surname appears as Pu in some editions.
177
一五二０頁六行左鹿蠡王阿佟按：集解引惠棟說，謂袁紀「阿佟」作「阿修」。 又引錢大昭說，謂疑即於除鞬也。 「左」當作「右」。
Collation: the Xiongnu prince's name is spelled differently in Yuan Ji. Collation: Qian Dazhao identifies the figure with Yuchujian. Collation: the graph for left should read right.
178
一五二０頁一二行至乎章和之初降者十餘萬人按：汲本「乎」作「於」。 汲本、殿本「十餘萬人」作「十萬餘人」。
Collation: preposition variant yu versus hu in this line. Collation: word order of the numeral phrase differs in palace editions.
179
一五二二頁一二行未蒙顯贈按：「未」原斗「求」，逕據汲本、殿本改正。
Collation: a misprint was emended to wei per Ji and palace editions.
180
一五二三頁四行左中郎*[將]*集解引何焯說，謂「左中郎」下當有「將」字。 又校補引柳從辰說，謂袁紀亦作「左中郎將」，與華嶠書同。 今據補。
Collation: He Zhuo argues for inserting general after left gentleman-of-the-palace. Collation: Yuan Ji agrees with Hua Qiao on the fuller title. Collation: the character is supplied in the text.
181
一五二三頁一一行中常侍袁赦按：集解引惠棟說，謂袁紀作「袁朗」，案梁冀傳當作「赦」。
Collation: the eunuch's name is disputed between Lang and She.
182
一五二三頁一四行遂誅隗及術兄基等男女二十餘人按：沈家本謂袁紹傳注引獻帝春秋曰：「卓使司隸宣璠盡口收之，母及姊妹嬰孩以上五十餘人下獄死。 」獻紀注引亦同。 此傳雲二十餘人，恐「二」字誤也。
Collation: other sources give fifty victims, not twenty; the numeral may be wrong. Collation: the same figure appears in the Xiandi commentary. Collation: "twenty" may be a scribal error for "fifty."
183
一五二四頁九行識其狀貌傷其眼目按：汲本、殿本二「其」字皆作「臣」。
Collation: some editions read "my appearance" for "his appearance."
184
一五二六頁一五行徒步師門按：汲本「師門」下有「從師」二字。 殿本無「從師」二字，考證雲從宋本刪。
Collation: Ji edition adds "to follow a teacher." Collation: palace text omits the phrase per Song recension.
185
一五二七頁一行其從父逢為太尉按：張森楷校勘記謂案袁逢以太僕為司空，未嘗為太尉，「尉」字疑誤，否則竟謝承謬也。
Collation: Yuan Feng's highest office may be misstated as grand commandant.
186
一五二七頁一行不聽* (呼) **[音]*聲而退據汲本、殿本改。
Collation: lacuna in the phrase "would not listen." Collation: some manuscripts insert the verb summon here. Collation: the corrupted phrase emended from Ji and palace texts.
187
一五二七頁四行詔秘等門閭號曰七賢按：御覽一五七引作「詔復秘等閭號曰七賢閭」。
Collation: Yiwen leiju quotes a slightly longer wording.
188
一五二八頁三行曾孫賴吉得立按：刊誤謂案前書「立」當作「全」。
Collation: Kanwu argues the graph li should read quan by parallel to the Former Han text.
189
一五三一頁三行足以驚百按：汲本「驚」作「警」。
Collation: some editions use the graph for warn instead of the graph for startle.
190
一五三二頁九行公又曰宥之及三宥不對走出按：刊誤謂案今禮記文，注多下「公又曰宥之」五字。
Collation: Kanwu notes a longer Rites quotation in modern texts.
191
一五三六頁七行稜孫演按：桓帝紀「演」作「演」。 沈欽韓謂胡廣傳作「演」。 李慈銘謂吳志周瑜傳注引張璠漢紀作「演」，與桓紀同。
Collation: the grandson's name varies in parallel texts. Collation: Hu Guang's biography uses one spelling. Collation: Zhang Fan's Hanji agrees with the Huan annals spelling.
192
一五三八頁九行豈可令□積一門按：「□」原作「偏」，逕據汲本、殿本改。
Collation: the partisan wording was emended to match Ji and palace texts.
193
一五三八頁一三行中常侍防東侯覽宸翰樓覆宋本東漢書刊誤云：「案覽本傳，覽防東人，封高鄉侯。 今此載其侯爵，當雲高鄉侯，若載其本縣名，則非例也。 蓋脫一『侯』字，誤二『高鄉』字。 」今按劉氏之意，蓋謂「防東」二字乃「高鄉」之誤，其下又脫一「侯」字。 是劉氏所見本，亦作「中常侍防東侯覽」也。
Collation: Hou Lan's fief should read Gaoxiang, not Fangdong, per his biography. Collation: the entry should list his noble title, not his birthplace. Collation: editors note a missing marquis character and a duplicated place-name phrase. Collation: Liu concludes Fangdong is a corruption for Gaoxiang marquis. The manuscript Liu Ban collated likewise read "eunuch marquis of Fangdong, Hou Lan."
194
殿本正文作「中常侍防東陽侯侯覽」* (汲本同) *，而引劉攽刊誤，則刪去「脫一侯字」四字，遂使讀者不知劉氏所言謂何，當時校勘之粗疏如是。 又集解引錢大昕說，謂劉據覽傳證此文當為「高鄉」之誤，是矣。 予又疑高鄉即防東之鄉，故傳稱防東鄉侯，因下文有「東武陽」字，又誤「鄉」為「陽」也。 今按錢氏之意，蓋謂疑當作「中常侍防東鄉侯侯覽」也。
The palace block text reads "eunuch, Marquis of Fangdongyang, Hou Lan," with an extra graph in the placename. (The Ji recension agrees.) The editors then dropped Liu Ban's remark about a missing marquis character, leaving later readers puzzled—a sloppy piece of textual work. Collected Explications quotes Qian Daxin: Hou Lan's biography shows the toponym should be Gaoxiang, not Fangdong—and Qian is right. Gaoxiang may be the district attached to Fangdong, which would explain a title "marquis of Fangdong district"; copyists may have corrupted district into the following placename Yang. On Qian Daxin's reading the line should read "eunuch, marquis of Fangdong district, Hou Lan."