1
杜根字伯堅，穎川定陵人也。 父安，字伯夷，少有志節，年十三入太學，號奇童。 京師貴戚慕其名，或遺之書，安不發，悉壁藏之。 及後捕案貴戚賓客，安開壁出書，印封如故，竟不離其患，時人貴之。 [一]位至巴郡太守，政甚有聲。 注[一]離，被也。
Du Gen, styled Bojian, came from Dingling in Yingchuan commandery. His father Du An, styled Boyi, showed moral fiber from an early age: at thirteen he entered the Imperial Academy and was hailed as a wonder child. The great families of the capital admired his reputation; some sent him letters. He never broke the seals, but sealed them away inside a wall. When the authorities later rounded up clients of powerful houses, Du An opened the niche: every letter’s seal was still intact, and he escaped implication. His contemporaries held him in high regard. He eventually became governor of Ba commandery, where his rule earned wide praise. The gloss reads: li here means ‘to incur’ or ‘to suffer.’
2
根性方實，好絞直。 [一]永初元年，舉孝廉，為郎中。 時和熹鄧後臨朝，權在外戚。 根以安帝年長，宜親政事，乃與同時郎上書直諫。 太后大怒，收執根等，令盛以縑囊，於殿上撲殺之。 執法者以根知名，私語行事人使不加力，既而載出城外，根得蘇。 太后使人檢視，根遂詐死，三日，目中生蛆，因得逃竄，為宜城山中酒家保。 [二]積十五年，酒家知其賢，厚敬待之。 注[一]絞，急也。
Du Gen was blunt and plainspoken by nature, and inclined to speak his mind without softening it. In 107 (Yongchu 1), he was nominated as filial and incorrupt and appointed gentleman of the palace. The Empress Dowager Deng of Hexi was regent, and real authority rested with her kin. Du Gen believed the emperor had come of age and ought to rule in person; he and several fellow gentlemen of the palace submitted a blunt memorial to that effect. The empress dowager flew into a rage, had Du Gen and his colleagues bound, stuffed into silk sacks, and beaten to death in the hall. The officers knew Du Gen by reputation and quietly told the men not to strike their hardest; he was carted outside the walls and revived. When the empress dowager sent inspectors, Du Gen played dead until maggots appeared in his eyes after three days—then he slipped away and hired himself out as a laborer at a mountain inn in Yicheng. Fifteen years passed; the innkeeper, sensing his quality, treated him with uncommon respect. The gloss: jiao means ‘pressing’ or ‘blunt.’
3
注[二]宜城縣故城在今襄州率道縣南，其地出美酒。 廣雅云：「保，使也。 」言為人傭力保任而使也。
Yicheng’s old walled town lay south of present-day Shuidao in Xiangzhou; the region was famous for its wine. The Guangya defines bao as ‘hireling’ or ‘agent.’ That is, he worked for wages under contract, the usual sense of ‘bondservant.’
4
及鄧氏誅，左右皆言根等之忠。 帝謂根已死，乃下詔佈告天下，錄其子孫。 根方歸鄉里，征詣公車，拜侍御史。 初，平原郡吏成翊世亦諫太后歸政，坐抵罪，與根俱征，擢為尚書郎，並見納用。 或問根曰：「往者遇禍，天下同義，知故不少，何至自苦如此？ 」根曰：「周旋民閒，非絕跡之處，邂逅發露，禍及知親，故不為也。 」順帝時，稍遷濟陰太守。 去官還家，年七十八卒。
After the Deng family fell, courtiers recalled Du Gen’s loyalty. Believing Du Gen dead, the emperor issued an edict to the empire and offered offices to his posterity. Du Gen had already returned to his home when he was summoned to the capital and made attendant censor. Earlier Cheng Yishi, a clerk from Pingyuan, had urged the empress dowager to step down and had been punished for it; he was now summoned with Du Gen, promoted to gentleman of the masters of writing, and both were put to use. Someone asked him: ‘After your ordeal, many who knew you would have sheltered you—why bury yourself in such hardship?’ Du Gen replied: ‘Hiding among common folk is no true disappearance; if I were found out, my friends and family would pay the price. I could not risk that.’ Under Emperor Shun he rose step by step to governor of Jiyin. He retired to his home and died at seventy-eight.
5
成翊世
Cheng Yishi
6
翊世字季明，少好學，深明道術。 延光，中常侍樊豐、帝乳母王聖共譖皇太子，廢為濟陰王。 翊世連上書訟之，又言樊豐、王聖誣罔之狀。 帝既不從，而豐等陷以重罪，下獄當死，有詔免官歸本郡。 及濟陰王立，是為順帝，司空張□辟之。 □以翊世前訟太子之廢，薦為議郎。 翊世自以其功不顯，恥於受位，自劾歸。 三公比辟，不應。 [一]尚書僕射虞詡雅重之，欲引與共參朝政，乃上書薦之，征拜議郎。 後尚書令左雄、僕射郭虔復舉為尚書。 在朝正色，百僚敬之。 注[一]比猶頻也。
Cheng Yishi, styled Jiming, loved learning from youth and had a serious interest in Daoist arts. During the Yanguang era, Fan Feng and the wet nurse Wang Sheng slandered the crown prince; he was demoted to prince of Jiyin. Cheng Yishi sent memorial after memorial in the prince’s defense, detailing how Fan and Wang had lied. The emperor ignored him; Fan’s faction then framed him for a grave offense. He was jailed and faced execution until an edict spared his life, stripped his rank, and sent him home. When the prince of Jiyin became Emperor Shun, the minister of works Zhang [name missing in text] summoned him to office. That official, because Cheng had earlier defended the deposed heir, recommended him as gentleman consultant. Ashamed that his service had gone unrecognized, he declined the post and resigned of his own accord. The three excellencies called for him repeatedly; he refused every time. Yu Xu, vice director of the masters of writing, admired him and wished to bring him into central policy; he memorialized for him, and Cheng was summoned as gentleman consultant. Later Zuo Xiong and Guo Qian nominated him again, and he became a master of writing. At court he kept a stern, upright bearing, and the bureaucracy stood in awe of him. The gloss: bi means ‘again and again’ or ‘repeatedly.’
7
欒巴字叔元，魏郡內黃人也。 [一]*[好道]*。 順帝世，以宦者給事掖庭，補黃門令，非其好也。 性質直，學覽經典，雖在中官，不與諸常侍交接。 後陽氣通暢，白上乞退，擢拜郎中，四遷桂楊太守。 以郡處南垂，不閒典訓，為吏人定婚姻喪紀之禮，興立* (校) *學*[校]*，以□進之。 雖幹吏卑末，皆課令習讀，程試殿最，隨能升授。 [二]政事明察。 視事七年，以病乞骸骨。 注[一]神仙傳云：「巴，蜀郡人也。 少而學道，不修俗事。」
Luan Ba, styled Shuyuan, was a native of Neihuang in Wei commandery. A lacunose commentary note, emended in modern editions to the sense that he was devoted to the Way. Under Emperor Shun he entered service as a eunuch in the rear palace and rose to yellow gate director—work he did not relish. He was forthright by temperament, well read in the classics, and kept his distance from the usual crowd of eunuch favorites. When he was able to leave eunuch service, he petitioned to do so and was made gentleman of the palace, then promoted four times to governor of Guiyang. The commandery lay on the southern rim and lacked classical norms; he set down rites for marriage and mourning and began to establish * A collation mark in the received text. He founded schools—here the manuscript is damaged—and used every means to advance literacy. Even lowly clerks were made to study, examined, ranked, and promoted by merit. His administration was noted for clear judgment. After seven years in office he retired on grounds of illness. The Biographies of Immortals says Luan Ba came from Shu commandery: from youth he cultivated the Way and shunned worldly pursuits.’
8
注[二]干，府吏之類也。 晉令諸郡國不滿五千以下，置幹吏二人。 郡縣皆有干。
The gloss: gan denotes a category of yamen clerk. Jin regulations allowed two such clerks in units under five thousand households. Every county and commandery had them.
9
干猶主也。
Here gan carries the sense of ‘chief’ or ‘foreman.’
10
荊州刺史李固薦巴治多，征拜議郎，守光祿大夫，與杜喬、周舉等八人徇行州郡。
Li Gu, inspector of Jing province, praised his record; Luan Ba was summoned as gentleman consultant and acting grandee of brilliant achievements and sent with Du Qiao, Zhou Ju, and six others on an inspection tour of the provinces.
11
巴使徐州還，再遷豫章太守。 郡土多山川鬼怪，小人常破貲產以祈禱。 巴素有道術，能役鬼神，乃悉毀壞房祀，翦理奸巫，[一]於是妖異自消。 百姓始頗為懼，終皆安之。 [二]遷沛相。 所在有績，征拜尚書。 [三]會帝崩，營起憲陵。
After his mission to Xu province he was promoted to governor of Yuzhang. The region swarmed with popular cults of mountain and river spirits; common folk often beggared themselves with offerings. Luan Ba, who already commanded Daoist arts, razed illicit shrines and purged corrupt mediums; uncanny disturbances then ceased. The people were alarmed at first, but soon grew calm. He was next made chancellor of the kingdom of Pei. Wherever he served he left a strong record and was recalled as master of writing. Just then the emperor died, and work began on the Xian mausoleum.
12
陵左右或有小人墳頤，主者欲有所侵毀，巴連上書苦諫。 時梁太后臨朝，詔詰巴曰：「大行皇帝晏駕有日，卜擇陵園，務從省約，塋域所極，裁二十頃，而巴虛言主者壞人頤墓。 事既非實，寢不報下，巴猶固遂其愚，復上誹謗。 苟肆狂瞽，益不可長。 」巴坐下獄，抵罪，禁錮還家。 注[一]房謂為房堂而祀者。
Officials meant to clear commoners’ graves near the site; Luan Ba sent a series of desperate memorials against it. The Liang empress dowager, regent, sent an edict rebuking him: the late emperor’s tomb was budgeted at twenty qing for economy, yet Luan Ba accused the stewards of razing common graves— a charge without basis. When his first plea went unanswered, he persisted and sent what they called slander. Such reckless blindness cannot be indulged further. Luan Ba was jailed, sentenced, barred from office, and sent home. The gloss: fang shrines are domestic cult halls.
13
注[二]神仙傳曰「時廬山廟有神，於帳中與人言語，飲酒投杯，能令宮亭湖中分風，船行者舉帆相逢。 巴未到十數日，廟中神不復作聲。 郡中常患黃父鬼為百姓害，巴到，皆不知所在，郡內無復疾疫」也。
The Biographies of Immortals adds: the Lu-shan temple spirit spoke from behind a curtain, drank with visitors, and parted the winds on Lake Gongting so boats could pass— ten days before Luan Ba arrived, the spirit fell silent. A pestilent ‘Yellow Father’ ghost had plagued the people; once he came, it vanished, and epidemics ended.’
14
注[三]神仙傳曰：「巴為尚書，正朝大會，巴獨後到，又飲酒西南噀之。 有司奏巴不敬。 有詔問巴，巴頓首謝曰：『臣本縣成都巿失火，臣故因酒為雨以滅火。
The same text says: at New Year court, Luan Ba arrived late, then sprayed his wine toward the southwest— for which censors charged him with disrespect. Questioned by edict, he kowtowed: ‘The Chengdu market in my home county was burning; I turned my wine into rain to put it out.
15
臣不敢不敬。 』詔即以驛書問成都，成都荅言：『正旦大失火，食時有雨從東北來，火乃息，雨皆酒臭。 』後忽一旦大風，天霧晦暝，對坐皆不相見，失巴所在。 尋問之，雲其日還成都，與親故別也。」
I meant no disrespect.’ Messengers to Chengdu confirmed it: New Year’s Day saw a great blaze; at breakfast time a shower from the northeast doused it, and the rain smelled of wine.’ Later, in a sudden gale and black fog, he vanished from sight. Inquiry showed he had returned to Chengdu that same day to bid friends and kin farewell.’
16
帝怒，下詔切責，收付廷尉。 巴自殺。 子賀，官至雲中太守。
The emperor, furious, rebuked him by edict and handed him to the commandant of justice. Luan Ba took his own life. His son Luan He rose to governor of Yunzhong.
17
劉陶字子奇，一名偉，穎川穎陰人，濟北貞王勃之後。 陶為人居□，不修小節。
Liu Tao, styled Ziqi, also called Wei, came from Yingyin in Yingchuan and was descended from Prince Zhen of Jibei, Liu Bo. In temperament Liu Tao was [one character missing in text] and scorned petty niceties.
18
所與交友，必也同志。 好尚或殊，富貴不求合； 情趣苟同，貧賤不易意。 同宗劉愷，以雅德知名，獨深器陶。
He would befriend only those who shared his aims. Rank and wealth did not move him to court those whose tastes differed; but where feeling matched, he did not abandon friends in poverty. His kinsman Liu Kai, famed for cultivated virtue, alone thought the world of him.
19
時大將軍梁冀專朝，而桓帝無子，連歲荒饑，災異數見。 陶時游太學，乃上疏陳事曰：
General-in-chief Liang Ji dominated the court, Emperor Huan had no heir, famine ran year after year, and omens multiplied. While studying at the Imperial Academy, Liu Tao submitted a long memorial. It read:
20
臣聞人非天地無以為生，天地非人無以為靈，[一]是故帝非人不立，人非帝不寧。 夫天之與帝，帝之與人，猶頭之與足，相須而行也。 伏惟陛下年隆德茂，中天稱號，[二]襲常存之慶，循不易之制，目不視鳴條之事，耳不聞□車之聲，[三]天災不有痛於肌膚，震食不即損於聖體，故蔑三光之謬，輕上天之怒。 伏念高祖之起，始自布衣，[四]拾暴秦之敝，追亡周之鹿，[五]合散扶傷，克成帝業。 功既顯矣，勤亦至矣。 流福遺祚，至於陛下。 陛下既不能增明烈考之軌，而忽高祖之勤，妄假利器，委授國柄，使腢丑刑隸，芟刈小民，雕敝諸夏，虐流遠近，[六]故天降觿異，以戒陛下。 陛下不悟，而競令虎豹窟於麑場，豺狼乳於春囿。 [七]斯豈唐咨禹、稷，益典朕虞，議物賦土蒸民之意哉？ 又* (令) **[今]*牧守長吏，上下交競； 封豕長蛇，蠶食天下； 貨殖者為窮冤之魂，貧餒者作饑寒之鬼； 高門獲東觀之辜，豐室羅妖叛之罪； [八]死者悲於窀穸，生者戚於朝野； [九]是愚臣所為咨嗟長懷歎息者也。 且秦之將亡，正諫者誅，諛進者賞，[一０]嘉言結於忠舌，國命出於讒口，□閻樂於咸陽，授趙高以車府。 [一一]權去己而不知，威離身而不顧。 古今一揆，成敗同埶。 願陛下遠覽強秦之傾，近察哀、平之變，得失昭然，禍福可見。 注[一]書曰「惟天地萬物父母，惟人萬物之靈」也。
I have heard that humankind cannot live apart from Heaven and Earth, nor can Heaven and Earth show their spirit without humankind; thus the throne needs subjects, and subjects need a ruler. Heaven and the sovereign, the sovereign and the people, are like head and foot: each needs the other to move. I reflect that Your Majesty, in the prime of life and full of virtue, sits at the zenith of power, enjoying lasting fortune and stable institutions: you have not witnessed the wars of Mingtiao nor heard the rumble of the war carts [text damaged]; calamity and eclipse have not wounded your person—so the misalignment of sun, moon, and stars and Heaven's warnings may seem remote. Consider how Gaozu began as a commoner, seized the moment after brutal Qin, joined the race for the mandate of lost Zhou, rallied the broken and the wounded, and forged the imperial enterprise. His merit shone; his toil was extreme. That legacy of blessing reaches to Your Majesty. Yet you have not widened your illustrious father's path nor cherished Gaozu's labor; you have handed the state's edge to vile men born of the convict ranks, who mow down the common people, desolate the heartland, and spread cruelty from center to border—so Heaven sends strange portents to warn you. You do not wake to it, but let tigers and wolves den among the fawns and nurse their young in the royal spring park. How does this square with the age when Yao charged Yu, Ji, and Yi to order the wilds and parcel the land for the people's good? The sentence continues from the previous clause with a damaged join, marked * in the text. Editorial note: the supplied character is ling, ‘ordinance’ or ‘regulation.’ Meanwhile governors and magistrates at every level vie in extortion; they are like giant boars and serpents stripping the land as silkworms strip a leaf; profiteers become spirits of the wronged poor, while the starving become phantoms of cold and hunger; great houses earn the guilt of Shaozheng Mao’s execution at the Eastern View, while wealthy halls heap up charges of sedition and strange omens; the dead lament in their tombs, the living weep in palace and field; this is what moves your humble servant to endless sighs. When Qin neared its fall, straight remonstrators died, sycophants were enriched, loyal voices were silenced, policy came from calumniators, Yan Le was unleashed at Xianyang, and Zhao Gao was given the chariot office. Power slipped from his grasp unnoticed, peril stood at his shoulder unheeded. Past and present follow the same pattern; triumph and ruin wear the same face. Look back at how mighty Qin fell, and study the reigns of Ai and Ping: the lesson of rise and fall is plain, and fortune’s warning is plain to see. The gloss cites the Documents: Heaven and earth are parents to the myriad things; only humanity is their spirit.
21
注[二]中謂當天之中也。
The comment explains zhong as the zenith of Heaven.
22
注[三]鳴條，地名，在安邑之西。 尚書曰：「伊尹相湯伐桀，遂與桀戰於鳴條之野。 」□車，兵車也。 詩曰：「□車嘽嘽，四牡痯痯，征夫不遠。 」嘽音昌善反。 痯音管。
Mingtiao was a battlefield west of Anyi. The Documents records Yi Yin aiding Tang against Jie at Mingtiao. The lacuna stands for the war chariot mentioned in the next gloss. The Odes describe rumbling chariots and weary horses on campaign. Phonetic note on chan. Phonetic note on guan.
23
注[四]高祖曰：「吾以布衣提三尺以取天下。」
Gaozu’s boast that he won the empire with a commoner’s sword.
24
注[五]前書蒯通曰：「秦失其鹿，天下共遂之。 」音義云：「以鹿喻帝位也。」
Kuai Tong’s image of the lost deer—the contested throne. The commentary glosses the deer as the imperial mandate.
25
注[六]利器謂威權也。 周禮「太宰以八柄詔王馭腢臣」，謂爵、祿、與﹑置、生、奪、廢、誅也。 刑隸謂閹人也。
Here ‘sharp weapon’ means delegated power. The Zhou ritual’s eight handles by which the king governs his ministers. The text identifies ‘convict bondservants’ with the eunuchs.
26
注[七]鹿子曰麑。 乳，產也。
A fawn is called ni. Ru means to nurse or breed.
27
注[八]說苑曰「孔子為魯司寇，七日而誅少正卯於東觀之下」也。
The Garden of Stories recalls Confucius executing Shao Zheng Mao at the Eastern View.
28
注[九]杜元凱注左傳曰：「窀，厚也。 穸，夜也。 厚夜猶長夜也。」
Du Yu glosses zhun as ‘deep’ in the sense of burial. Xi means the long night of the grave. Hence ‘thick night’ is a euphemism for the tomb.
29
注[一０]前書賈山上書曰「秦始皇進諛諂之人，殺直諫之士」也。
Jia Shan’s memorial on Qin’s execution of honest critics.
30
注[一一]趙高為車府令，與豻咸陽令閻樂謀殺胡亥。 事見史記也。
Zhao Gao and Yan Le’s plot against the Second Emperor. The full story is in the Records.
31
臣又聞危非仁不扶，亂非智不救，故武丁得傅說，以消鼎雉之災，[一]周宣用申、甫，以濟夷、厲之荒。 [二]竊見故冀州刺史南陽朱穆，前烏桓校尉臣同郡李膺，皆履正清平，貞高絕俗。 穆前在冀州，奉憲操平，摧破奸黨，掃清萬里。
I have heard that crisis needs humanity to shore it up, chaos needs wisdom to mend it: Wuding found Fu Yue and silenced the omen of the crowing pheasant; King Xuan raised Shen and Shanfu and survived the dark years of Yi and Li. I see in Zhu Mu and Li Ying men of incorruptible, towering character. Zhu Mu in Ji province broke criminal cliques and cleared the region.
32
膺歷典牧守，正身率下，及掌戎馬，威揚朔北。 斯實中興之良佐，國家之柱臣也。 宜還本朝，挾輔王室，上齊七耀，下鎮萬國。 臣敢吐不時之義於諱言之朝，[三]猶冰霜見日，必至消滅。 臣始悲天下之可悲，今天下亦悲臣之愚惑也。 注[一]武丁，殷王高宗也。 尚書曰，高宗得傅說為相，殷復興焉。 高宗時，有雉登鼎耳而雊，武丁懼而修德，位以永寧。
Li Ying governed with personal integrity and, on the frontier, spread awe beyond the desert. They are the kind of ministers who could steady a restoration. Recall them to court to steady the throne—above to harmonize the heavens, below to quiet the realm. I speak plainly in a court that hates counsel, knowing it may melt me like frost in sun. I mourned for the world; now the world must think me a fool. Wuding is the temple name of King Gaozong of Shang. The Documents credits Fu Yue with Shang’s revival. The crowing pheasant on the tripod moved Wuding to reform.
33
注[二]申伯，仲山甫，周宣王之臣也。 詩曰：「惟申及甫，惟周之翰。 」史記曰，周孝王之子燮，是為夷王。 夷王崩，子厲王胡立，行暴虐，死於彘也。
Shen Bo and Zhong Shanfu served King Xuan of Zhou. The Odes praise them as Zhou’s bulwark. The Records names King Yi, son of King Xiao. His son King Li’s tyranny ended in exile at Zhi.
34
注[三]不時謂不合於時也。 諱言謂拒諫也。
‘Untimely’ means ill-suited to the moment. ‘Shun speech’ means silencing remonstrance.
35
書奏不省。
The throne ignored his memorial.
36
時有上書言人以貨輕錢薄，故致貧困，宜改鑄大錢。 事下四府腢僚及太學能言之士。 陶上議曰：
Someone urged recasting heavy coin to cure poverty. The court referred the proposal to the high offices and the academy. Liu Tao answered with a counter-memorial.
37
聖王承天制物，與人行止，建功則觿悅其事，興戎而師樂其旅。 是故靈台有子來之人，武旅有鳧藻之士，[一]皆舉合時宜，動順人道也。 臣伏讀鑄錢之詔，平輕重之議，訪覃幽微，不遺窮賤，是以藿食之人，謬延逮及。 [二]注[一]詩大雅曰：「經始靈台，經之營之，不日成之。 經始勿亟，庶人子來。」
A sage king moves with heaven and with his people: they rejoice in worthy labor and march willingly for just arms. Hence the Spirit Terrace rose overnight; King Wu’s host went gladly—because policy matched the human way. Your coin edict sought every opinion, even from humble folk like me. The Great Ya describes the people flocking to build the Spirit Terrace. They came willingly because the king did not drive them.
38
武旅，周武王之旅。 鳧得水藻，言喜悅也。
The ‘martial host’ is King Wu’s army. Ducks amid sedge image willing service.
39
注[二]說苑曰：「有東郭祖朝者，上書於晉獻公曰：『願請聞國家之計。 』獻公使人告之曰：『肉食者已慮之矣，藿食者尚何預焉？ 』祖朝曰：『肉食者，一旦失計於廟堂之上，若臣等藿食，寧得無肝膽塗地於中原之野？ 其禍亦及臣之身，安得無預國家之計乎！ 』」蓋以為當今之憂，不在於貨，在乎民饑。 夫生養之道，先食後* (民) **[貨]*。
Dongguo Zuchao insisted that commoners too must care for policy. Duke Xian told him meat-eaters had matters in hand. Zuchao answered that when rulers err, commoners die first. Disaster reaches him too, so he must speak. His point matches mine: the crisis is hunger, not coin. In nurturing life, food comes before Editorial: the graph should read ‘people.’ goods—the manuscript is damaged here.
40
是以先王觀象育物，敬授民時，[一]使男不逋畝，女不下機。 故君臣之道行，王路之教通。 由是言之，食者乃有國之所寶，生民之至貴也。 竊見比年已來，良苗盡於蝗螟之口，杼柚空於公私之求，[二]所急朝夕之餐，所患靡盬之事，豈謂錢貨之厚薄，銖兩之輕重哉？ 就使當今沙礫化為南金，瓦石變為和玉，[三]使百姓渴無所飲，饑無所食，雖皇羲之純德，唐虞之文明，猶不能以保蕭牆之內也。 蓋民可百年無貨，不可一朝有饑，故食為至急也。 議者不達農殖之本，多言鑄冶之便，或欲因緣行詐，以賈國利。 國利將盡，取者爭競，造鑄之端於是乎生。 蓋萬人鑄之，一人奪之，猶不能給； 況今一人鑄之，則萬人奪之乎？ 雖以陰陽為炭，萬物為銅，[四]役不食之民，使不饑之士，猶不能足無猒之求也。 夫欲民殷財阜，要在止役禁奪，則百姓不勞而足。 陛下聖德，愍海內之憂戚，傷天下之艱難，欲鑄錢齊貨以救其敝，此猶養魚沸鼎之中，棲鳥烈火之上。 水木本魚鳥之所生也，用之不時，必至燋爛。 願陛下寬鍥薄之禁，後冶鑄之議，[五]聽民庶之謠吟，問路叟之所憂，[六]瞰三光之文耀，視山河之分流。 [七]天下之心，國家大事，粲然皆見，無有遺惑者矣。 注[一]象，天象也。 尚書曰：「欽若昊天，敬授人時。」
Ancient kings read the sky, set the seasons, and kept men at plow and women at loom. Thus ruler and subject walked the true kingly path. Food, then, is the state’s true treasure and the people’s highest good. For years locusts have eaten the crop and tax collectors have emptied the loom; families starve while debaters fuss over coin weight. Turn every pebble to gold and hunger would still topple the purest sage-kings within their own walls. People may lack money for generations but cannot miss a single meal. Critics ignore farming and chase mint profits or outright fraud at the treasury’s expense. When the treasury is picked clean, minting only feeds strife. If ten thousand mint and one hoards, supply still fails; what happens when one mints and ten thousand seize? Even smelting heaven and earth could not sate greed. To enrich the people, stop levies and predation; then they thrive without new coin. Minting to relieve distress is like keeping fish in boiling water or birds on a bonfire. Water and wood are life to fish and birds—misused, they become death. Relax clipping laws, shelve new mint schemes, listen to street songs and travelers’ woes, read the omens in sky and land. Then the nation’s heart and great matters will stand clear before you. Xiang here means the patterns of heaven. The Documents enjoins rulers to hand down the seasons reverently.
41
注[二]詩曰：「小東大東，杼柚其空。」
The Odes lament empty shuttles—extraction has bled the east dry.
42
注[三]詩曰：「大路南金。 」和玉，卞和之玉也。
Southern gold and The line names Bian He’s jade—tokens of fabulous wealth.
43
注[四]賈誼之言。
The image comes from Jia Yi.
44
注[五]鍥，刻也，音口結反。
Qie means incised; read kou-jie fan.
45
注[六]列子曰：「昔堯理天下五十年，不知天下理亂。 堯乃微服游於康衢。 兒童謠曰：『立我蒸人，莫* (不) **[非]*爾極，不識不知，順帝之則。 』」說苑曰：「孔子行游中路，聞哭者聲，其音甚悲。 孔子避車而問之曰：『夫子非有喪也，何哭之悲？ 』虞丘子對曰：『吾有三失：吾少好學，周□天下，還後吾親亡，一失也；
Liezi tells how Yao wandered incognito to learn the realm’s mood. Yao disguised himself and walked the great roads. Children sang that the people should be settled and the negative particle is editorially supplied. They were not pushed beyond what was right—ignorant and simple, they followed the high lord’s pattern. The Garden of Stories turns to Confucius hearing a funeral cry on the road. Confucius stepped aside from the carriage and asked: ‘You are not in mourning—why this bitter weeping?’ ’ Yuqiu Zi answered: ‘I have failed three times: in youth I loved learning and roamed the empire; when I came home my parents were already dead—that was the first.’
46
事君奢驕不遂，是二失也； 厚交友而後絕，是三失也。 』」注[七]三光，日、月、星也。 分謂山，流謂河。 言日月有□食之災，星辰有錯行之變，故視其文耀也。 山崩川竭，皆亡之征也。
‘Serving my ruler I was arrogant and achieved nothing—the second.’ ‘I made deep friendships and then abandoned them—the third.’ ’” The gloss: the three lights are sun, moon, and stars. Fen refers to mountains; liu to rivers. It means eclipses of sun and moon and errant stars—hence the need to read their bright patterns. Collapsing mountains and exhausted rivers are omens of ruin.
47
臣嘗誦詩，至於鴻鴈於野之勞，哀勤百堵之事，每喟爾長懷，中篇而歎。 [一]近聽征夫饑勞之聲，甚於斯歌。 是以追悟匹婦吟魯之憂，始於此乎？ [二]見白駒之意，屏營傍偟，不能監寐。 [三]伏念當今地廣而不得耕，民觿而無所食。
Whenever I recite the Odes to the passage on the wild geese’s field labor and the hundred walls raised in haste, I break off mid-couplet with a long sigh. Hearing today’s conscripts groan with hunger and fatigue is worse than that poem. So I wonder whether the common woman’s lament for Lu began in such an hour as this. Reading the ‘White Colt,’ I pace sleepless, heartsick. I reflect that the realm is wide untilled and the people are many yet unfed.
48
腢小競進，秉國之位，鷹揚天下，* (鳥) **[烏]*鈔求飽，吞肌及骨，並噬無猒。
Petty men scramble for power, seize the levers of state, and swoop like hawks over the empire—* (The graph supplied is niao ‘bird.’) —like crows snatching food, gnawing flesh to the bone, devouring without end.
49
誠恐卒有役夫窮匠，起於板築之閒，[四]投斤攘臂，登高遠呼，使愁怨之民，向應雲合，八方分崩，中夏魚潰。 [五]雖方尺之錢，何能有救！ 其危猶舉函牛之鼎，絓纖枯之末，[六]詩人所以眷然顧之，潸焉出涕者也。 [七]注[一]詩小雅鴻鴈之篇曰：「鴻鴈于飛，肅肅其羽。 之子於征，劬勞於野。 鴻鴈於飛，集於中澤。 之子於垣，百堵皆作。」
I dread that laborers and starving artisans will rise from the mud huts of the poor, cast aside their tools, bare their arms, climb a height and shout—and the angry masses will rally like storm clouds until the realm splinters and the heartland rots like spoiled fish. What good then is a fist-sized coin? The danger is like hoisting a cauldron big enough for an ox from a single dry thread—why the poet looked back in anguish and wept. The first gloss cites Lesser Ya, ‘Wild Geese,’ which opens with the wild geese beating their wings in flight before turning to the corvée laborers on the walls. Those men on campaign, worn thin in the wilds. The wild geese settle in the central marsh. Those men on the ramparts—every wall goes up at once.’
50
鄭玄注云：「壞滅之國，徵人起屋舍，築牆壁，百堵同時而起，言趨事也。」
Zheng Xuan explains that ruined states drafted the people to raise walls in frantic haste.
51
注[二]列女傳曰：「魯漆室邑之女，過時未適人。 當穆公之時，君老，太子幼，女倚柱而啼。 傍人聞之，心莫不慘慘者。 鄰婦從之遊，謂曰：『何哭之悲？ 子欲嫁乎？ 吾為子求偶。 』漆室女曰：『嗟乎，始吾以子為知，今反無識也。 豈為嫁之故不樂而悲哉，吾憂魯君老而太子少也。 』」注[三]詩曰：「皎皎白駒，食我場苗。 縶之維之，以永今朝。 」白駒諭賢人也。
The second gloss quotes Exemplary Women: a girl of Lacquer Chamber in Lu was past marriageable age. Under Duke Mu the ruler was old and the heir a child; she leaned on a pillar and wept. All who heard were stricken. A neighbor out walking asked: ‘Why weep so bitterly? Do you wish to wed? I will find you a husband.’ The girl answered: ‘I thought you had sense; I see you do not. This is not grief over marriage—I mourn because the lord of Lu is aged and the heir still a boy.’ ’” The third gloss cites the ‘White Colt’: ‘Your bright white colt nibbles the shoots in my enclosure. Tether him, hold him—linger with me this morning.’ The white colt images the worthy man.
52
監寐猶寤寐也。
Jianmei means fitful sleep, half waking.
53
注[四]役夫謂陳涉起蘄也。 窮匠謂驪山之徒也。 並見史記也。
The fourth gloss: ‘corvée man’ is Chen She’s uprising at Qi. ‘Impoverished craftsman’ means the convict laborers on Mount Li. Both are recorded in the Grand Historian.
54
注[五]公羊傳曰：「其言梁亡何？ 魚爛而亡也。 」何休曰：「魚爛，從中發潰爛也。」
The fifth gloss: Gongyang asks why Liang ‘perished.’ ‘It rotted like fish from within.’ He Xiu explains: the state collapsed from inner decay.’
55
注[六]函牛之鼎謂大鼎也。 淮南子曰：「函牛之鼎沸，則蛾不得置一足焉。 」絓，掛也，音胡賣反。
The sixth gloss: an ‘ox-capacity cauldron’ is a huge vessel. Huainanzi says when such a cauldron boils, even a moth cannot dip a leg. Gua means ‘to hang’; read hu-mai fan.
56
注[七]詩小雅大東之文也。 潸，涕下貌。 鄭玄注云：「傷今不如古也。」
The seventh gloss points to Lesser Ya, ‘Greater East.’ Shan describes tears streaming down. Zheng Xuan reads it as grief that the present falls short of antiquity.
57
臣東野狂闇，不達大義，緣廣及之時，對過所問，知必以身脂鼎鑊，為天下笑。
I am a rude man from the eastern marches, ignorant of high policy; I have used this broad inquiry to say more than was asked, knowing I may well end in the cauldron and be mocked by the world.
58
帝竟不鑄錢。
The emperor dropped the recoinage plan.
59
後陶舉孝廉，除順陽長。 縣多奸猾，陶到官，宣募吏民有氣力勇猛，能以死易生者，不拘亡命奸臧，於是剽輕□客之徒過晏等十餘人，[一]皆來應募。 陶責其先過，要以後效，使各結所厚少年，得數百人，皆嚴兵待命。 於是覆案奸軌，所發若神。 以病免，吏民思而歌之曰：「邑然不樂，思我劉君。 何時復來，安此下民。 」注[一]過，姓也，過國之後。 見左傳。
Later Liu Tao was nominated as filial and incorrupt and made magistrate of Shunyang. The county swarmed with rascals. At his post he offered a public bounty for stout fellows willing to risk death—no questions asked about past crimes—and a dozen daredevils such as Guo Yan [lacuna] answered the call. Liu Tao rebuked them for old misdeeds, bound them to redeem themselves, had each rally his young followers until he had several hundred armed men on standby. He then cracked criminal networks with uncanny speed. When illness forced him out, the people sang: ‘We are heartsick, we long for Magistrate Liu. When will he come again to give us peace?’ ’ The gloss: Guo is a clan name from the ancient state of Guo. It appears in the Zuo commentary.
60
陶明尚書、春秋，為之訓詁。 推三家尚書[一]及古文，是正文字七百餘事，名曰中文尚書。 注[一]三家謂夏侯建、夏侯勝、歐陽和伯也。
Liu Tao mastered the Documents and the Spring and Autumn and wrote glosses on both. He collated the three Han schools of the Documents with the old-script text, emended over seven hundred characters, and titled the work Central-text Documents. The gloss names the three traditions as Xiahou Jian, Xiahou Sheng, and Ouyang Hebo.
61
頃之，拜侍御史。 靈帝宿聞其名，數引納之。 時鉅鹿張角偽托大道，妖惑小民，陶與奉車都尉樂松、議郎袁貢連名上疏言之，曰：「聖王以天下耳目為視聽，故能無不聞見。 今張角支黨不可勝計。 前司徒楊賜奏下詔書，切□州郡，護送流民，會賜去位，不復捕錄。 唯會赦令，而謀不解散。 四方私言，雲角等竊入京師，覘視朝政，鳥聲獸心，私共鳴呼。 州郡忌諱，不欲聞之，但更相告語，莫肯公文。 宜下明詔，重募角等，賞以國土。 有敢迴避，與之同罪。 」帝殊不悟，方詔陶次第春秋條例。 明年，張角反亂，海內鼎沸，帝思陶言，封中陵鄉侯，三遷尚書令。 以所舉將為尚書，難與齊列，乞從□散，拜侍中。 以數切諫，為權臣所憚，徙為京兆尹。 到職，當出修宮錢直千萬，[一]陶既清貧，而恥以錢買職，稱疾不聽政。 帝宿重陶才，原其罪，征拜諫議大夫。 注[一]時拜職名，當出買官之錢，謂之修宮錢也。
Soon he became attendant censor. Emperor Ling had long known his reputation and called him in often. When Zhang Jue of Julu posed as a Daoist sage and duped the populace, Liu Tao, Song Song, and Yuan Gong jointly memorialized: ‘The sage king uses the whole realm as his eyes and ears, so nothing escapes him. Zhang Jue’s cells are now beyond counting. Minister Yang Ci once secured an edict ordering the provinces to round up vagrants; when Yang left office, enforcement stopped. Amnesties only let the conspiracy survive intact. Rumor said Zhang Jue’s men had infiltrated the capital to watch the court; they had beasts’ hearts under human tongues and whispered rebellion among themselves. Local officials hushed it up, swapping whispers instead of filing reports. You should issue a clear edict, set a heavy price on Zhang Jue’s head, and reward captors with fiefs. Anyone who shelters them should share their guilt. ’ The emperor paid no heed and instead told Liu Tao to draft Spring and Autumn precedents. The next year Zhang Jue rose; the empire convulsed. Remembering Liu Tao’s warning, the emperor enfeoffed him as marquis of Zhongling and thrice promoted him to director of the masters of writing. The man he had recommended became a fellow minister of writing, so Liu Tao asked to step down to a lesser post and was made palace attendant. His blunt remonstrance alarmed the mighty; they shifted him to governor of the capital. On taking office he owed ten million cash in ‘palace repair’ fees. Too poor to buy rank and unwilling to do so, he pleaded illness and refused to govern. The emperor still prized his talent, waived the offense, and recalled him as remonstrance counselor. The gloss: new appointees had to pay a fee officially termed ‘palace repair’ money.
62
是時天下日危，寇賊方熾，陶憂致崩亂，復上疏曰：「臣聞事之急者不能安言，心之痛者不能緩聲。 竊見天下前遇張角之亂，後遭邊章之寇，每聞羽書告急之聲，心灼內熱，四體驚竦。 今西羌逆類，私署將帥，皆多段熲時吏，曉習戰陳，識知山川，變詐萬端。
As the realm darkened and rebellion spread, Liu Tao feared total collapse and wrote again: ‘Urgent times admit no calm words; a burning heart cannot speak slowly. We have suffered Zhang Jue’s rising and Bian Zhang’s raids; each urgent dispatch leaves me shaken to the marrow. The western Qiang appoint their own officers—many are veterans from Duan Jiong’s campaigns, expert in terrain and guile.
63
臣常懼其輕出河東﹑馮翊，鈔西軍之後，東之函谷，據□高望。 今果已攻河東，恐遂轉更豕突上京。 如是則南道斷絕，車騎之軍孤立，[一]關東破膽，四方動搖，威之不來，叫之不應，雖有田單﹑陳平之策，計無所用。 臣前驛馬上便宜，急絕諸郡賦調，冀尚可安。 事付主者，留連至今，莫肯求問。 今三郡之民皆以奔亡，南出武關，北徙壺谷，[二]冰解風散，唯恐在後。 今其存者尚十三四，軍吏士民悲愁相守，民有百走退死之心，而無一前□生之計。 西寇浸前，去營咫尺，胡騎分佈，已至諸陵。 將軍張溫，天性精勇，而主者旦夕迫促，軍無後殿，假令失利，其敗不救。 臣自知言數見厭，而言不自裁者，以為國安則臣蒙其慶，國危則臣亦先亡也。 謹復陳當今要急八事，乞須臾之閒，深垂納省。」
I have long feared they would slip from Hedong and Pingyi to stab our western armies in the rear, then strike east for Hangu and seize the heights overlooking the capital. They have now struck Hedong; I fear they will wheel and charge the capital like wild boars. Then the southern route is severed, the field army is stranded east of the pass, panic spreads, reinforcements will not answer—stratagems like Tian Dan’s or Chen Ping’s would have no room to work. I once sent an express memorial urging suspension of every commandery’s taxes and levies, hoping the region might yet be calmed. The court sat on it; no one has acted. The three border commanderies are emptying: refugees pour south through Wu Pass or north into the valleys, scattering like thaw or wind, each fearing to be last. Barely thirty or forty percent remain; soldiers and civilians cling to one another in despair, ready to bolt in any direction but unwilling to advance into hope. The enemy closes on camp; Xiongnu cavalry range the imperial tombs. General Zhang Wen is a brave commander, yet his staff hounds him day and night, leaves him no reserve—if he loses, the disaster will be beyond remedy. I know I weary you with words I cannot hold back: if the state stands, I share its fortune; if it falls, I perish with it. I therefore set out eight urgent measures and beg you to read them in a spare moment.’
64
其八事，大較言天下大亂，皆由宦官。 宦官事急，共讒陶曰：「前張角事發，詔書示以威恩，自此以來，各各改悔。 今者四方安靜，而陶疾害聖政，專言妖驅。
In essence the eight points blamed the empire’s turmoil on the eunuchs. The eunuchs, cornered, jointly slandered Liu Tao: ‘After Zhang Jue, the edict blended severity with mercy; the factions have repented. The provinces are calm, yet Liu Tao maligns the sage court and cries sorcery.
65
州郡不上，陶何緣知？ 疑陶與賊通情。 」於是收陶，下黃門北寺獄，掠按日急。
If no province filed a report, how does he know? We suspect he is in league with the rebels. ’ They seized Liu Tao, jailed him in the eunuchs’ North Department prison, and tortured him relentlessly.
66
陶自知必死，對使者曰：「朝廷前封臣雲何？ 今反受邪譖。 恨不與伊﹑呂同疇，而以三仁為輩。 」[三]遂閉氣而死，天下莫不痛之。 注[一]時湟中義從胡北宮伯玉等叛，遣左車騎將軍皇甫嵩討之不克也。
Knowing he would die, Liu Tao asked the messenger: ‘What title did the court give me? And how is it I now stand accused of treachery?’ I had hoped to stand beside Yi Yin and Lü Wang, not to be counted only among the three loyal martyrs of Yin. With that he suffocated himself; the whole empire mourned him. The note refers to the Huangzhong Qiang rising under Beigong Boyu and Huangfu Song’s failed campaign.
67
注[二]三郡，河東﹑馮翊﹑京兆也。 壺谷，壺關之谷，在上黨也。
The three prefectures are Hedong, Pingyi, and the capital region. Hugu is the valley of Huguan Pass in Shangdang.
68
注[三]論語曰：「殷有三仁焉，微子去之，箕子為之奴，比干諫而死。」
The gloss quotes the Analects on the three worthies of fallen Yin.
69
陶著書數十萬言，又作七曜論﹑匡老子﹑反韓非﹑復孟軻，及上書言當世便事﹑條教﹑賦﹑奏﹑書﹑記﹑辯疑，凡百餘篇。
Liu Tao left a massive corpus—treatises on the planets, polemics on the philosophers, and over a hundred memorials, essays, and policy pieces on his own age.
70
時司徒東海陳耽，亦以非罪與陶俱死。 耽以忠正稱，歷位三司。 光和五年，詔公卿以謠言舉刺史﹑二千石為民蠹害者。 [一]時太尉許戫﹑司空張濟承望內官，受取貨賂，其宦者子弟賓客，雖貪污穢濁，皆不敢問，而虛愨邊遠小郡清修有惠化者二十六人。 吏人詣闕陳訴，耽與議郎曹操上言：「公卿所舉，率黨其私，所謂放鴟梟而囚鸞鳳。 」其言忠切，帝以讓戫﹑濟，由是諸坐謠言征者悉拜議郎。 宦官怨之，遂誣陷耽死獄中。 注[一]謠言謂聽百姓風謠善惡而黜陟之也。
Chen Dan of Donghai, the minister of education, died on the same trumped-up charge. Chen Dan was famed for integrity and had risen through the three excellencies. In 182 the court ordered high ministers to dismiss corrupt governors on the strength of popular rumor. Xu Jiong and Zhang Ji curried favor with the eunuchs, took bribes, shielded the corrupt clients of the palace, and perversely nominated a score of obscure magistrates as ‘pests.’ Officials and commoners petitioned at the gate; Chen Dan and Cao Cao charged that the lists freed birds of prey and caged phoenixes. The emperor rebuked Xu and Zhang, and everyone wrongly denounced by the rumor process was made a gentleman consultant. The eunuchs retaliated by framing Chen Dan to death in prison. The gloss explains nomination by popular reputation.
71
李雲字行祖，甘陵人也。 性好學，善陰陽。 初舉孝廉，再遷白馬令。
Li Yun, styled Xingzu, came from Ganling. He loved learning and was skilled in cosmology and portents. After a filial and incorrupt nomination he rose twice to magistrate of Baima.
72
桓帝延熹二年，誅大將軍梁冀，而中常侍單超等五人皆以誅冀功並封列侯，專權選舉。 又立掖庭民女亳氏為皇后，數月閒，後家封者四人，賞賜巨萬。 [一]是時地數震裂，觿災頻降。 雲素剛，憂國將危，心不能忍，乃露布上書，移副三府，[二]曰：「臣聞皇后天下母，德配坤靈，得其人則五氏來備，不得其人則地動搖宮。 [三]比年災異，可謂多矣，皇天之戒，可謂至矣。 高祖受命，至今三百六十四歲，君期一週，當有黃精代見，姓陳﹑項﹑虞﹑田﹑許氏，不可令此人居太尉﹑太傅典兵之官。 [四]舉厝至重，不可不慎。 班功行賞，宜應其實。 梁冀雖持權專□，虐流天下，今以罪行誅，猶召家臣搤殺之耳。 而猥封謀臣萬戶以上，高祖聞之，得無見非？ 西北列將，得無解體？ [五]孔子曰：『帝者，諦也。 』[六]今官位錯亂，小人諂進，財貨公行，政化日損，尺一拜用不經御省。 [七]是帝欲不諦乎？ 」帝得奏震怒，下有司逮雲，詔尚書都護□戟送黃門北寺獄，使中常侍管霸與御史廷尉雜考之。
In 159 Liang Ji fell; Shan Chao and four other eunuchs shared the credit, were enfeoffed as marquises, and seized control of appointments. They raised a commoner, Lady Bo, to empress and within months enfeoffed four of her kin at fabulous expense. The earth shook and cracked again and again; omens piled up. Li Yun, blunt by temperament, could bear no more: he posted an unsealed memorial and copied the three excellencies, declaring that the empress should mirror earth’s virtue—fit choice brings harmony, bad choice shakes the throne. Year after year the omens have multiplied; Heaven’s warnings could hardly be clearer. Three hundred sixty-four years have passed since Gaozu; the cycle turns; the yellow mandate will pass to houses surnamed Chen, Xiang, Yu, Tian, or Xu—keep them from the posts that hold the army. Appointments are weightier than anything; handle them with care. Rank rewards to real merit. Liang Ji tyrannized the realm; executing him was no more than throttling a household steward. Yet you shower tens of thousands of households on his accomplices—would Gaozu approve? Will the generals on the western frontier not lose heart? Confucius said the true emperor ‘examines’ all things. Today offices are chaos, sycophants rise, bribes run in the open, government decays, and edicts issue without the emperor’s eye. Does this mean Your Majesty refuses to ‘examine’ your realm? The emperor flew into a rage, had Li Yun arrested, and sent him to the eunuch prison under joint interrogation by Guan Ba, the censorate, and the commandant of justice.
73
時弘農五官掾杜觿傷雲以忠諫獲罪，上書願與雲同日死。 帝愈怒，遂並下廷尉。
Du Gu, a clerk from Hongnong, offered to die with Li Yun for his honest words. The emperor jailed them both.
74
大鴻臚陳蕃上疏救雲曰：「李雲所言，雖不識禁忌，幹上逆旨，其意歸於忠國而已。 昔高祖忍周昌不諱之諫，成帝赦朱雲□領之誅。 [八]今日殺雲，臣恐剖心之譏復議於世矣。 [九]故敢觸龍鱗，冒昧以請。 」[一０]太常楊秉﹑洛陽市長沐茂﹑郎中上官資並上疏請雲。 帝恚甚，有司奏以為大不敬。 詔切責蕃﹑秉，免歸田裡； 茂﹑資貶秩二等。 時帝在濯龍池，管霸奏雲等事。 霸* (跪) **[詭]*言曰：「李雲野澤愚儒，杜觿郡中小吏，出於狂戇，不足加罪。 」帝謂霸曰：「帝欲不諦，是何等語，而常侍欲原之邪？ 」顧使小黃門可其奏，雲﹑觿皆死獄中。
Grand herald Chen Fan pleaded: Li Yun’s words broke etiquette but aimed only at serving the state. Gaozu bore Zhou Chang’s bluntness; Chengdi spared Zhu Yun the collar of the executioner. Kill Li Yun now and you invite the world to accuse you of cutting out the loyal heart again. So I brave the dragon’s scales and beg for mercy. Yang Bing, Mu Mao, and Shangguan Zi joined Chen Fan’s plea. Enraged, he had the censors charge great disrespect. An edict savaged Chen Fan and Yang Bing and sent them home; Mu Mao and Shangguan Zi were demoted two grades. At the Zhuolong Pool, Guan Ba reported the case. Guan Ba— (The manuscript supplies gui ‘to kneel.’) —knelt and lied: ‘Li Yun is a rustic pedant, Du Gu a county clerk; their outburst hardly merits punishment.’ The emperor snapped: ‘So I refuse to examine—what kind of talk is that, and you would pardon it?’ He had a junior attendant ratify the death sentence; Li Yun and Du Gu perished in jail.
75
後冀州刺史賈琮使行部，過祠雲墓，刻石表之。 注[一]時封後兄康為比陽侯，弟統昆陽侯，統從兄會安陽侯，統弟秉為* (濟) **[淯]*陽侯。
Later Inspector Jia Cong of Ji province visited Li Yun’s grave, sacrificed, and set up a commemorative stone. The note lists the empress Bo’s kin: her brother Kang as marquis of Biyang, Tong as marquis of Kunyang, cousin Hui as marquis of Anyang, and Bing as— (Editor supplies ji.) —marquis of Yuyang, per the emended placename.
76
注[二]露布謂不封之也，並以副本上三公府也。
‘Open memorial’ means unsealed copies to the three excellencies.
77
注[三]史記曰：「庶征：曰雨，曰暘，曰燠，曰風，曰寒。 五者來備，各以其序，庶草繁廡。 」是與氏古字通耳。 春秋漢含孳曰：「女主盛，臣制命，則地動。」
The gloss cites the Documents on the five weather signs. When all five appear in good order, vegetation flourishes. Shi ‘clan’ puns with shi ‘sign’ in the received text. An apocryphon warns that when a consort’s faction rules, the earth trembles.
78
注[四]黃精謂魏氏將興也。 陳﹑項﹑虞﹑田並舜之後。 舜土德，亦尚黃，故忌也。
‘Yellow essence’ foretells Wei’s earth virtue. Those surnames trace their lines to Shun. Shun’s line favored yellow—hence the omen’s political sting.
79
注[五]列將謂皇甫規﹑段熲等。
The ‘column generals’ are frontier commanders such as Huangfu Gui and Duan Jiong.
80
注[六]春秋運斗樞曰：「五帝修名立功，修德成化，統調陰陽，招類使神，故稱帝。 帝之言諦也。 」鄭玄注云：「審諦於物也。」
The apocryphon defines di as one who harmonizes the cosmos. Di implies careful scrutiny. Zheng Xuan glosses it as discerning truth in affairs.
81
注[七]尺一之板謂詔策也。 見漢官儀也。
The ‘foot-one’ slip is the standard edict board. It is described in Han Official Breviary.
82
注[八]周昌，解見陳忠傳。 朱雲上書曰：「臣願賜尚方斬馬□，斷佞臣一人，以厲其餘。 」上問：「誰也？ 」對曰：「安昌侯張禹。 」上大怒曰：「小臣居下訕上，廷辱師傅，罪死不赦。 」御史將雲去。 左將軍辛慶忌以死爭，上意解，然後得已。 事並見前書。
Zhou Chang’s story appears under Chen Zhong. Zhu Yun asked for the executioner’s sword to behead a favorite. The emperor asked whom he meant. Zhu Yun named Zhang Yu of Anchang. The emperor roared that a junior official had insulted his teacher in open court. Guards dragged Zhu Yun off. General Xin Qingji blocked the railing until the emperor relented. Both anecdotes appear in the Book of Han.
83
注[九]比干以死諫紂，紂怒曰：「吾聞聖人心有七竅。 」乃剖比干而觀其心。 事見史記。
The gloss recalls King Zhou’s threat to Bigan. He cut Bigan open to count his heart’s orifices. The story is in the Grand Historian.
84
注[一０]韓子曰：「夫龍之為蟲也，可狎而馴也。 然喉下有逆鱗，嬰之則殺人。 人主有逆鱗，說者嬰之，則亦幾矣。」
Han Feizi’s parable of the dragon begins. But inverted scales beneath its throat will kill anyone who brushes them. A ruler has the same scales; remonstrators who graze them court death.’
85
論曰：禮有五諫，諷為上。 [一]若夫托物見情，因文載旨，使言之者無罪，聞之者足以自戒，[二]貴在於意達言從，理歸乎正。 曷其絞訐摩上，以衒沽成名哉？ [三]李雲草茅之生，不識失身之義，[四]遂乃露布帝者，班檄三公，至於誅死而不顧，斯豈古之狂也！
The historian’s judgment: of the five forms of remonstrance, oblique counsel ranks first. The finest remonstrance entrusts meaning to images so the ruler may take warning without bloodshed—provided the sense is clear and upright. Why then grind the throne with blunt accusation just to buy a martyr’s fame? Li Yun was a commoner who ignored self-preservation: he broadcast his rebuke to the throne and the three dukes and marched to death—was that not the very madness the ancients praised?
86
[五]夫未信而諫，則以為謗己，[六]故說者識其難焉。 [七]注[一]五諫謂諷諫﹑順諫﹑窺諫﹑指諫﹑陷諫也。 諷諫者，知患禍之萌而諷告也。 順諫者，出辭遜順，不逆君心也。 窺諫者，視君顏色而諫也。 指諫者，質指其事而諫也。 陷諫者，言國之害忘生為君也。 見大戴禮。
Remonstrance without trust reads as slander; hence wise advisers tread softly. The gloss lists the five modes: oblique, gentle, reading the ruler’s mood, pointing to facts, and risking life. Oblique remonstrance warns before disaster buds. Gentle remonstrance tempers the message to the ruler’s mood. Watchful remonstrance studies the sovereign’s face. Direct remonstrance names the issue plainly. Desperate remonstrance risks life for the realm’s good. The list comes from the Great Dai’s Record of Rites.
87
注[二]卜商詩序之文也。
The second gloss cites Zixia’s preface to the Odes.
88
注[三]絞，直也。 訐，正也。 沽，賣之。
Jiao means blunt or straight. Jie means confrontational candor. Gu means peddling—as in peddling reputation.
89
注[四]儀禮曰：「凡自稱於君宅*[者]*，在邦* (者) *曰市井之臣，在野則曰草茅之臣，庶人則刺草之臣。 」易曰：「臣不密，則失身。」
The Etiquette and Ritual prescribes humble self-designations at court— (Editor supplies zhe ‘those.’) —townsmen call themselves ‘marketplace ministers,’ rustics ‘thatch-hut ministers,’ and commoners ‘thorn-and-bramble ministers.’ The Book of Changes warns that careless ministers destroy themselves.
90
注[五]論語曰：「古之狂也直，今之狂也詐而已矣。」
The fifth gloss cites the Analects on straight versus deceitful ‘wildness.’
91
注[六]論語曰：「事君信而後諫，其君未信，則以為謗己。」
The sixth gloss quotes the Analects on trust before remonstrance.
92
注[七]韓非有說難篇。
Han Feizi’s ‘Shuinan’ treats the perils of counsel.
93
劉瑜字季節，廣陵人也。 高祖父廣陵靖王。 父辯，清河太守。 [一]瑜少好經學，尤善圖讖﹑天文﹑歷筭之術。 州郡禮請不就。 注[一]謝承書云：「父祥，為清河太守。」
Liu Yu, styled Jijie, came from Guangling. His great-grandfather was the Prince Jing of Guangling. His father Liu Bian served as governor of Qinghe. From youth he excelled in the classics, charts, astronomy, and calendrical science. Local authorities courted him; he declined. Xie Cheng’s text gives his father’s name as Xiang, governor of Qinghe.
94
延熹八年，太尉楊秉舉賢良方正，及到京師，上書陳事曰：
In 165 Yang Bing nominated him as worthy and upright; at the capital he presented a long memorial:
95
臣瑜自念東國鄙陋，得以豐沛枝胤，被蒙復除，不給卒伍。 故太尉楊秉知臣竊窺典籍，猥見顯舉，誠冀臣愚直，有補萬一。 而秉忠謨不遂，命先朝露。 臣在下土，聽聞歌謠，驕臣虐政之事，遠近呼嗟之音，竊為辛楚，泣血漣如。 幸得引錄，備荅聖問，洩寫至情，不敢庸回。 [一]誠願陛下且以須臾之慮，覽今往之事，人何為咨嗟，天曷為動變。 注[一]庸，用也。 回，邪也。
I am a rustic from the east, spared conscription only because I spring from the imperial house at Pei. Yang Bing knew I studied in private and honored me with nomination, hoping my blunt honesty might help in some small way. But Yang Bing’s loyal counsel failed and his life ended like dew at dawn. From afar I hear ballads of cruel ministers and oppressive rule, and I weep blood for the people’s pain. Now that I am summoned to answer you, I will speak plainly without evasion. I beg you to weigh present against past and ask why the people groan and Heaven sends portents. Yong means ‘to employ’ here. Hui means ‘devious’ or ‘crooked.’
96
蓋諸侯之位，上法四七，垂文炳耀，關之盛衰者也。 [一]今中官邪驅，比肩裂土，皆競立胤嗣，繼體傳爵，或乞子□屬，或買兒市道，殆乖開國承家之義。 [二]注[一]四七，二十八宿也。 諸侯為天子守四方，猶天之有二十八宿。 漢官儀曰「天子建侯，上法四七」也。
Feudal lords mirror the twenty-eight lunar lodges; their stars mark the rise and fall of the age. Eunuchs sit rank on rank with fiefs, fight to adopt heirs and pass down marquisates—some beg nephews, some buy infants—mocking the very idea of founding a house and line. The gloss identifies four-seven as the twenty-eight mansions. Feudal lords guard the four quarters for the Son of Heaven as the lodges gird the sky. The Han Official Breviary says the Son of Heaven models his enfeoffments on the twenty-eight lodges.
97
注[二]易曰：「大君有命，開國承家。」
The gloss cites the Changes on founding states and noble houses.
98
古者天子一娶九女，[一]娣侄有序，河圖授嗣，正在九房。 今女嬖令色，充積閨帷，皆當盛其玩飾□食空宮，勞散精神，生長六疾。 [二]此國之費也，生之傷也。 且天地之性，陰陽正紀，隔絕其道，則水旱為並。 詩云：「五日為期，六日不詹。 」[三]怨曠作歌，仲尼所錄。 [四]況從幼至長，幽藏歿身。 又常侍﹑黃門，亦廣妻娶。 怨毒之氣，結成妖眚。
The ancient Son of Heaven took nine wives in one marriage; the River Chart placed the succession in nine inner chambers. Favored women crowd the harem, decked in jewels, draining the treasury and the emperor’s vigor, breeding every kind of malady. That wastes the state and wounds the living. Heaven and earth require yin and yang in balance; block their coupling and flood and drought follow. The Odes cry: ‘He promised five days, failed to come by the sixth.’ Those songs of forsaken wives were kept by Confucius. How much worse girls hidden from girlhood to the grave. Even eunuch attendants pile up marriages. That resentment congeals into uncanny ill.
99
行路之言，官發略人女，取而復置，轉相驚懼。 孰不悉然，無緣空生此謗。 鄒衍匹夫，□氏匹婦，尚有城崩霜隕之異； 況乃腢輩咨怨，能無感乎！ [五]注[一]公羊傳曰，諸侯一聘三女，天子一娶九女，夏﹑殷制也。
Street talk says officials kidnap girls, swap them about, and spread terror. The rumors did not spring from nowhere. Zou Yan and the wife of Qi Liang moved heaven to frost and shook walls with tears— —how much more must the people’s groans stir response! The gloss cites Gongyang on royal versus feudal marriage quotas.
100
注[二]左傳曰「天有六氣，淫生六疾。 六氣曰陰﹑陽﹑風﹑雨﹑晦﹑明，過則為災。 陰淫寒疾，陽淫熱疾，風淫末疾，雨淫腹疾，晦淫惑疾，明淫心疾。 女，陽物而晦時，淫則生內熱惑蠱之疾」也。
Zuo on the six qi and six diseases: yin, yang, wind, rain, dark, and bright—excess brings calamity. Each excess maps to a specific ailment. Women are classed ‘yang’ in a yin hour; imbalance breeds inner fever and delusion.’
101
注[三]詩小雅曰：「終朝采藍，不盈一襜。 五日為期，六日不詹。 」注云：「詹，至也。 婦人過時而怨曠，期至五日而歸，今六日不至，是以憂也。」
The gloss cites Lesser Ya on the forsaken wife: ‘Five days the tryst, the sixth he never came.’ Zhan means ‘to arrive.’ She waited past the promised day—hence her grief.’
102
注[四]謂仲尼刪詩編錄也。
The fourth gloss refers to Confucius’s editing of the Odes.
103
注[五]淮南子曰：「鄒衍事燕惠王盡忠，左右譖之，王系之，仰天而哭，五月天為之下霜。 」列女傳曰「齊人□梁襲莒，戰死。 其妻無所歸，乃就夫屍於城下而哭之，七日城崩」也。
Huainanzi tells of Zou Yan’s frost omen; Exemplary Women tells how Qi Liang’s wife mourned her husband— —wept seven days until the wall fell.’
104
昔秦作阿房，國多刑人。 今第捨增多，窮極奇巧，掘山攻石，不避時令。 [一]促以嚴刑，威以* (法) *正*[法]*。 民無罪而覆入之，民有田而覆奪之。 州郡官府，各自考事，姦情賕賂，皆為吏餌。 民悉鬱結，起入賊黨，官輒興兵，誅討其罪。 貧困之民，或有賣其首級以要酬賞，父兄相代殘身，妻孥相* (見) **[視]*分裂。 窮之如彼，伐之如此，豈不痛哉！ 注[一]禮記月令曰「孟夏之月，無有壞墮，無起土功，無發大觿」也。
Qin’s Epang palace was built on convict labor. Today mansions multiply in fantastic luxury, quarries break mountains without regard to season— —drive the work with cruel law and threaten with * (Editor supplies fa ‘law.’) —‘rectitude’ read as legal terror. Guiltless men are jailed; landowners are stripped of land. Every yamen runs its own inquisitions; bribery feeds the clerks. The people choke on injustice and join bandits; the state then sends troops to punish them. The poor sell heads for bounty; kin mutilate one another, wives and children * (Editor supplies jian ‘see.’) —watch one another torn apart. To beggar them thus and then strike them—is it not heartbreaking? The Monthly Ordinances forbids major building in early summer.
105
又陛下以北辰之尊，神器之寶，而微行近習之家，私幸宦者之捨，[一]賓客市買，熏灼道路，因此暴縱，無所不容。 今三公在位，皆博達道蓺，而各正諸己，莫或匡益者，非不智也，畏死罰也。 惟陛下設置七臣，以廣諫道，[二]及開東序金縢史官之書，從堯舜禹湯文武致興之道，[三]遠佞邪之人，放鄭□之聲，則政致和平，德感祥風矣。 [四]臣悾悾推情，言不足采，[五]懼以觸忤，征營懾悸。 注[一]近習謂親近狎者。
Yet you, pole star of the realm, slip out to favorites’ houses and eunuchs’ villas while clients block the streets and abuse grows boundless. The three excellencies are learned men who dare not speak—they fear the headsman, not ignorance. Appoint seven remonstrating ministers, open the royal library, study the sage-kings, banish flatterers and the licentious airs of Zheng and Wei—then policy will calm and auspicious winds blow. I speak in earnest though my words are slight; I tremble at giving offense. ‘Intimate favorites’ are the emperor’s boon companions.
106
注[二]孝經曰：「古者天子有爭臣七人。 」鄭玄註：「七人謂三公及前疑﹑後承﹑左輔﹑右弼。」
The Filial Piety Classic prescribes seven ministers who may dispute the throne. Zheng Xuan glosses them as the three excellencies plus four high advisers.
107
注[三]爾雅曰：「東西廂謂之序。 」書曰：「天球河圖在東序。 」縢，緘也。 以金緘之，不欲人開也。
Erya defines the eastern gallery as xu. The Documents places the River Chart in the eastern gallery. Teng means sealed with cord. Metal seals kept the chests unopened.
108
注[四]孝經援神契曰：「德至八方則祥風至。」
The apocryphon promises auspicious wind when virtue reaches every quarter.
109
注[五]悾悾，誠懇之貌。
Kongkong describes utter sincerity.
110
於是特詔召瑜問災咎之征，指事案經讖以對。 執政者欲令瑜依違其辭，而更策以它事。 瑜復悉心以對，八千餘言，有切於前，帝竟不能用。 拜為議郎。
An edict then summoned Liu Yu to interpret omens from the classics and charts. The faction wanted him to hedge his answers and shift topics. He answered at length—over eight thousand characters, blunter than before—and the emperor ignored it all. He was made gentleman consultant.
111
及帝崩，大將軍竇武欲大誅宦官，乃引瑜為侍中，又以侍中尹勳為尚書令，共同謀畫。 及武敗，瑜﹑勳並被誅。 事在武傳。
At Lingdi’s death Dou Wu planned a purge of the eunuchs and made Liu Yu and Yin Xun palace attendant and director of the masters of writing to help plot. When Dou Wu fell, both were killed. The story is told under Dou Wu.
112
勳字伯元，河南人。 從祖睦為太尉，睦孫頌為司徒。 勳為人剛毅直方。 少時每讀書，得忠臣義士之事，未嘗不投書而仰歎。 自以行不合於當時，不應州郡公府禮命。 桓帝時，以有道征，四遷尚書令。 延熹中，誅大將軍梁冀，帝召勳部分觿職，甚有方略，封宜陽鄉侯。 僕射霍諝，尚書張敬﹑歐陽參﹑李偉﹑虞放﹑周永，並封亭侯。
Yin Xun, styled Boyuan, was from Henan. His kinsman Yin Mu had been grand commandant; Yin Song became minister of education. Yin Xun was stern, upright, and uncompromising. As a boy he threw down his book and sighed whenever he read of loyal martyrs. Finding himself out of step with the age, he ignored every summons. Under Emperor Huan he was called for his moral reputation and rose four steps to director of the masters of writing. During the Liang Ji coup the emperor used him to assign special duties; he proved resourceful and was enfeoffed as village marquis of Yiyang. Huo Xu, Zhang Jing, Ouyang Can, Li Wei, Yu Fang, and Zhou Yong received village marquisates with him.
113
勳後再遷至九卿，以病免，拜為侍中。 八年，中常侍具瑗﹑左悺等有罪免，奪封邑，因黜勳等爵。
He later rose twice to nine-minister rank, retired ill, then returned as palace attendant. In 165, when Ju Yuan and Zuo Guan fell, the court stripped Yin Xun and others of their fiefs.
114
瑜誅後，宦官悉焚其上書，以為訛言。
After Liu Yu’s death the eunuchs burned his memorials as slander.
115
子琬，傳瑜學，明占候，能著災異。 舉方正，不行。
His son Liu Wan inherited his learning in astrology and wrote on omens. Nominated as upright; he declined to serve.
116
謝弼字輔宣，東郡武陽人也。 [一]中直方正，[二]為鄉邑所宗師。 建寧二年，詔舉有道之士，弼與東海陳敦﹑玄菟公孫度俱對策，皆除郎中。 注[一]謝承書曰：「弼字輔鸞，東郡濮陽人也。 」與此不同。
Xie Bi, styled Fuxuan, came from Wuyang in Dong commandery. Upright and square-dealing, he was the moral leader of his locality. In 169 an edict called for men of the Way; Xie Bi, Chen Dun, and Gongsun Du passed the examination and became gentlemen of the palace. Xie Cheng records his style as Fuluan and his home as Puyang— —which disagrees with the main text here.
117
注[二]猶言中正方直也。
The second gloss: ‘centered and square’ means morally upright.
118
時青蛇見前殿，大風拔木，詔公卿以下陳得失。 弼上封事曰：
A green serpent appeared in the front hall and gales tore up trees; the court ordered officials to speak on policy failures. Xie Bi then submitted a sealed memorial:
119
臣聞和氣應於有德，妖異生乎失政。 上天告譴，則王者思其愆； 政道或虧，則奸臣當其罰。 夫蛇者，陰氣所生； 鱗者，甲兵之符也。 [一]鴻範傳曰：「厥極弱，時則有蛇龍之驅。 」[二]又熒惑守亢，裴回不去，法有近臣謀亂，發於左右。
Harmony follows virtue; omens follow misrule. When Heaven sends reproof, the ruler examines his errors; when governance fails, wicked ministers pay the price. The serpent is born of yin energy; scales foretell arms and armor. The Hong Fan apocryphon warns that weakness brings serpents and dragons. Mars stalled in Kang—an omen of mutiny among those at your elbow.
120
不知陛下所與從容帷幄之內，親信者為誰。 宜急斥黜，以消天戒。 臣又聞「惟虺惟蛇，女子之祥」。
I do not know whom you trust within the curtain. Dismiss them at once to answer Heaven. The Odes say serpents portend women’s ill.
121
[三]伏惟皇太后定策宮闥，援立聖明，書云：「父子兄弟，罪不相及。 」竇氏之誅，豈宜咎延太后？ 幽隔空宮，愁感天心，如有霧露之疾，陛下當何面目以見天下？ [四]昔周襄王不能敬事其母，戎狄遂至交侵。 [五]孝和皇帝不絕竇後之恩，前世以為美談。 [六]禮為人後者為之子，今以桓帝為父，豈得不以太后為母哉？ 援神契曰：「天子行孝，四夷和平。 」方今邊境日蹙，兵革蜂起，自非孝道，何以濟之！ 願陛下仰慕有虞蒸蒸之化，俯思凱風慰母之念。 [七]注[一]謝承書曰：「蛇者，陰* (之) **[氣]*所生，龍之類也。 龍有鱗，甲兵之符也。」
The Dowager set the succession; the Documents says kin are not punished for one another’s crimes. Why then visit the Dou purge on the empress dowager? Confining her in an empty palace wounds Heaven; if she sickens, how will you face the realm? King Xiang of Zhou slighted his stepmother and drew the barbarians in. Emperor He’s kindness to the Dou empress dowager was praised for ages. Rites make the heir a true son: you honor Huan as father—honor the dowager as mother. The apocryphon says filial piety stills the frontiers. The borders shrink and arms multiply—only filial conduct can save us. Look up to Shun’s example and down to the Odes’ lesson on honoring a mother. The gloss begins: serpents are yin— (Editor supplies zhi ‘of.’) —qi that engenders them; they belong to the dragon kind. Dragons bear scales—the omen of war.’
122
注[二]前書曰「皇之不極，是謂不建，厥極弱，時則有下伐上之痾，龍蛇之驅」也。
The Book of Han echoes the Hong Fan omen of inferior attacking superior.
123
注[三]詩小雅之文也。 鄭玄注云：「虺﹑蛇□處，陰之祥也，故為生女。」
The third gloss cites Lesser Ya. Zheng Xuan reads serpents coiled in hiding as a woman’s omen.
124
注[四]文帝徙淮南王長於蜀，袁盎曰：「淮南王為人剛，今暴摧折之，臣恐其逢霧露病死，陛下有殺弟之名也。」
Yuan Ang warned Wen against exiling Liu Chang lest he die and stain the emperor’s name.
125
注[五]史記曰，周襄王母早死，後母曰惠後，生叔帶，有寵。 帶與戎翟謀伐襄王。
King Xiang’s stepmother favored her son Shudai. Shudai conspired with the Rong and Di against the king.
126
注[六]竇太后崩，張酺等奏云：「不宜合葬先帝。 」和帝手詔曰：「臣子無貶尊上之文，恩不忍離。 」於是合葬。 見皇后紀也。
Ministers once opposed burying Dou with Zhangdi. Emperor He’s own edict insisted on honoring her. She was buried with the late emperor. See the empress’s biography.
127
注[七]尚書舜典曰：「蒸蒸乂，不格奸。 」孔安國注云：「蒸蒸猶進進也。 言舜進於善道。 」詩凱風曰：「有子七人，莫慰母心。」
The gloss cites Shun’s ‘steaming’ virtue. Kong Anguo glosses it as ever-advancing goodness. It describes Shun’s moral ascent. The ‘Fair Breeze’ laments sons who fail their mother.
128
臣又聞爵賞之設，必酬庸勳； 開國承家，小人勿用。 [一]今功臣久外，未蒙爵秩，阿母寵私，乃享大封，大風雨雹，亦由於茲。 又故太傅陳蕃，輔相陛下，勤身王室，夙夜匪懈，而見陷腢邪，一旦誅滅。 其為酷濫，駭動天下，而門生故吏，並離徙錮。 蕃身已往，人百何贖！ [二]宜還其家屬，解除禁網。 夫台宰重器，國命所繼。 今之四公，唯司空劉寵斷斷守善，余皆素餐致寇之人，[三]必有折足覆餗之凶。 可因災異，並加罷黜。 [四]征故司空王暢，長樂少府李膺，並居政事，庶災變可消，國祚惟永。 臣山藪頑闇，未達國典。 策曰「無有所隱」，敢不盡愚，用忘諱忌。 伏惟陛下裁其誅罰。 注[一]易師卦上六爻詞也。
Ranks and fiefs should reward real service; the Changes warns against employing petty men in great houses. Your generals go unrewarded while a nurse’s kin take vast fiefs—hence the storm omens. Chen Fan served you tirelessly yet was destroyed overnight on false charges. His students and former staff were exiled and banned. Chen Fan is dead—no hundred substitutes can ransom him! Restore his kin and lift the proscription. The high ministers are the state’s tripod; only Liu Chong is honest; the rest are empty sinecures inviting the ‘broken leg, spilled stew’ omen. Use these omens as cause to dismiss them. Recall Wang Chang and Li Ying to office—the omens may cease and the dynasty endure. I am a rustic, ignorant of court protocol; but the edict said ‘conceal nothing’—so I speak without holding back. I beg you to weigh mercy and justice in what follows. The gloss cites the Army hexagram’s warning against petty men in power.
129
注[二]詩國風曰：「如可贖兮，人百其身。」
The Odes say a hundred lives would not redeem the lost worthy.
130
注[三]四公謂劉矩為太尉，許訓為司徒，胡廣為太傅及寵也。 書曰：「如有一介臣，斷斷猗，無它伎。 」孔安國注云：「斷斷猗然專一之臣也。 」素，空也。 無德而食其祿曰素餐。 易曰「負且乘，致寇至」也。
The ‘four’ are Liu Ju, Xu Xun, Hu Guang, and Liu Chong. The Documents praises the single-minded minister. Kong Anguo explains duanduan as whole-hearted devotion. Su means ‘empty.’ Drawing pay without merit is the ‘white rice’ of the Odes. The Changes warns that unworthy men in high place attract robbers.
131
注[四]易曰：「鼎折足，覆公餗。 」鼎以喻三公。 餗，鼎實也。 折足覆餗，言不勝其任。
The gloss cites the broken tripod leg. The tripod images the three dukes. The su is the meat in the vessel. It means ministers who collapse under their charge.
132
左右惡其言，出為廣陵府丞。 去官歸家。
The court exiled him to a subordinate post in Guangling. He resigned and went home.
133
中常侍曹節從子紹為東郡太守，忿疾於弼，遂以它罪收考掠按，死獄中，時人悼傷焉。 初平二年，司隸校尉趙謙訟弼忠節，求報其怨*[魂]*，乃收紹斬之。
Cao Shao, Cao Jie’s nephew as governor of Dong, framed Xie Bi and tortured him to death; the realm grieved. In 191 Zhao Qian vindicated Xie Bi, avenged his ghost, arrested Cao Shao, and executed him.
134
贊曰：鄧不明辟。 [一]梁不損陵。 慊慊欒、杜，諷辭以興。 黃寇方熾，子奇有識。 [二]武謀允臧，瑜亦協志。 弼忤宦情，雲犯時忌。 成仁喪己，同方殊事。 注[一]尚書曰：「朕復子明辟。 」孔安國注云：「復還明君之政於成王也。 」言鄧後臨朝，不還政於安帝也。
The historian sighs: the Deng regents never handed back full authority. The Liang faction trampled even imperial dignity. Luan Ba and Du Gen spoke in veiled rebuke. Liu Tao foresaw the Yellow Turban rising. Dou Wu’s coup was just; Liu Yu shared his purpose. Xie Bi defied the eunuchs; Li Yun broke unspoken rules. They died for principle by different paths. The gloss quotes the Documents on restoring rule. Kong Anguo reads it as regents yielding to the young king. It criticizes Empress Dowager Deng for not yielding to Emperor An.
135
注[二]識，協韻音式侍反。
Phonetic note: shi read shi-shi fan for rhyme.
136
校勘記
Section heading: textual collation notes
137
一八三九頁一０行積十五年按：校補引柳從辰說，謂袁宏紀載根上書直諫在永初二年十二月，「積十五年」作「積十年餘」。
Critical note: one edition reads ‘over ten years’ for Du Gen’s hiding.
138
一八四０頁三行拜侍御史按：校補引錢大昭說，謂先賢行狀作「符節郎」。
Note: another source gives a different title for Du Gen’s appointment.
139
一八四０頁六行年七十八卒按：集解引周壽昌說，謂三國魏志引先賢行狀，雲年八十七，以壽終，與此作「七十八」微異。
Note: age at death varies between seventy-eight and eighty-seven in sources.
140
一八四一頁一行魏郡內黃人也*[好道]*據汲本、殿本補。
Critical note: ‘loves the Way’ restored from editions for Luan Ba’s biography.
141
一八四一頁三行興立* (校) *學*[校]*據刊誤改。 按：汲本作「學校」。
Note on damaged phrase ‘raised and established’— editorial collation mark —emended to ‘schools’ per the Errata list. The Ji edition has the full word ‘schools.’
142
一八四二頁七行以功自劾按：汲本「劾」作「效」。 又按：刊誤謂功不可以自劾，當是「無功自劾」，少一「無」字。
Variant graph: xiao vs. he for self-dismissal. Errata suggests adding ‘without’ before ‘merit.’
143
一八四三頁八行又* (令) **[今]*牧守長吏刊誤謂案文「令」當作「今」。 張森楷校勘記謂腢書治要「令」作「今」。 今據改。
Page 1843 line 8: further * character should be ‘now’ Errata: read jin ‘now’ not ling ‘order.’ Zhang Senkai agrees with jin. The text is emended to jin.
144
一八四三頁九行蠶食天下按：「蠶」原斗「吞」，逕據汲本、殿本改正。
Critical note: corrected tun to can ‘silkworm’ in the metaphor.
145
一八四四頁三行吾以布衣提三尺以取天下汲本、殿本「三尺」下有「□」字。
Collation: Ji and Palace add a damaged character after ‘three chi.’
146
今按：史記有「□」字。 漢書無「□」字，小顏謂三尺，□也，流俗本或云「提三尺□」，「□」字後人所加耳。
The Grand Historian’s text includes that graph. Yan Shigu reads ‘three feet’ as the sword; some vulgar editions add an extra character.
147
一八四五頁一五行先食後* (民) **[貨]*據刊誤改。
The note discusses the lacuna in the phrase ‘first food, then people, then goods.’ editor supplies min ‘people.’ —emended to ‘goods’ per Errata.
148
一八四七頁三行莫* (不) **[非]*爾極據刊誤改。
The note marks a lacuna before the negative particle in the line on page 1847. negative particle supplied —emended per Errata to fei ‘not.’
149
一八四七頁一二行* (鳥) **[烏]*鈔求飽集解引惠棟說，謂「鳥」當作「烏」，引周禮射鳥氏「以弓矢歐烏鳶」鄭玄注「烏鳶喜鈔盜，故雲烏鈔」為證。 今據改。
The note flags a lacuna in the crow-and-raven metaphor on page 1847. should read crow Hui Dong argues niao should be wu ‘crow,’ citing the Zhou li commentary on scavenging birds. Text emended to wu.
150
一八四八頁一二行後陶舉孝廉除順陽長集解引汪文台說，謂類聚十九引謝承書作「樅陽長」，類聚五十、御覽二百六十七引續漢書作「湞陽長」。 今按：校補引柳從辰說，謂御覽四百六十五引本書，仍作「順陽長」。 又按：類聚十九引謝承書，御覽二百六十七引續漢書，「劉陶」作「劉騊駼」，類聚五十作「劉騊」，御覽四百六十五引本書作「劉陶駼」，皆誤。
Variant toponyms for Liu Tao’s magistracy appear in quotations. Liu Congchen defends Shunyang as in the received Hou Hanshu. Miscopyings of Liu Tao’s name in other sources are noted as wrong.
151
一八四九頁六行不復捕錄按：校補謂案上文止言護送流民，未言捕賊，楊賜又本以下州郡捕討恐更騷擾，明不主捕，先捕後錄，亦不成文理，「捕」當為「補」之鬥。
Commentator argues bu should be ‘mend/register’ not ‘capture’ in Yang Ci’s memorial context.
152
一八五一頁九行按：此注原在「二千石」下，今據殿本移正。
A commentary block was relocated in Palace edition.
153
一八五二頁一二行霸* (跪) **[詭]*言曰據汲本、殿本改。 按：胡刻通鑒亦斗「跪」，章鈺胡刻通鑒正文校宋記雲明孔天胤本作「詭」，張敦仁校本同。
Guan Ba * kneel supplied Gui read as wei ‘deceive’ per editions. Tongjian editions agree on gui vs. wei.
154
一八五二頁一四行冀州刺史賈琮按：集解引惠棟說，謂水經注作「賈瑤」。
Jia Cong vs. Jia Yao in Shui jing zhu.
155
一八五二頁一五行統弟秉為* (濟) **[淯]*陽侯據集解引惠棟說改。
The line names Bo Tong’s brother Bing with a lacuna before the marquis title. Ji supplied Yuyang emended per Hui Dong.
156
一八五三頁一二行吾聞聖人心有七竅按：「七」原斗「九」，逕據汲本、殿本改正。
Nine vs. seven orifices corrected.
157
一八五四頁七行凡自稱於君宅*[者]*在邦* (者) *曰巿井之臣據汲本改，與儀禮文合。
The collation cites the Etiquette and Ritual passage on humble self-designations at court. zhe supplied Ji edition aligns with the Yili wording.
158
一八五四頁九行古之狂也直今之狂也詐而已矣按：今論語兩「狂」字皆作「愚」。
Modern Analects reads yu ‘foolish’ where this text has kuang ‘wild.’
159
意者，范氏元以李雲為古之愚，而正文鬥「愚」為「狂」，後人遂並注文而改之歟？
Speculation on kuang vs. yu in Fan Ye’s editorial history.
160
一八五四頁一０行事君信而後諫其君未信按：今論語無「事君」「其君」字，或章懷所見本異也。
Analects textual variants in Li Ji’s gloss.
161
一八五五頁四行泣血漣如按：「漣」原作「連」，逕據汲本、殿本改。
Graph for ‘streaming tears’ emended.
162
一八五五頁八行關之盛衰者也按：集解引何焯說，謂「關」字下有脫文。
He Zhuo notes missing text after guan.
163
一八五六頁一行行路之言官發略人女按：張森楷校勘記謂治要「之」下有「人」字。
Zhenyao may add ren after zhi.
164
一八五六頁三行公羊傳曰諸侯一聘三女天子一娶九女按：集解引惠棟說，謂公羊傳無此文，逸禮王度記有之，未知章懷何據以為公羊傳也。
Hui Dong doubts the Gongyang attribution for the marriage rule.
165
一八五六頁一二行威以* (法) *正*[法]*據刊誤改。 按：汲本作「正法」。
The phrase ‘awe them with’ breaks off where the manuscript was damaged. fa supplied Zheng fa emended per Errata. Ji reads zhengfa.
166
一八五六頁一四行妻孥相* (見) **[視]*分裂據汲本、殿本改。
The line ‘wives and children mutually’ breaks off where the graph for ‘watch’ was lost. jian supplied shi ‘watch’ for split kin emended.
167
一八五八頁六行建寧二年詔舉有道之士殿本「二年」作「三年」。 集解引錢大昕說，謂靈帝紀建寧元年五月，詔郡國守相舉有道之士各一人，「二年」當是「元年」之誤。 按：校補謂案靈帝紀舉有道下詔雖在元年，郡國守相遵旨薦舉，奉准以某人為有道之士，豈必尚在元年，錢說殊泥。 惟殿本作「三年」，證以弼上封事所言各事，無一合者，殆必誤矣。
Palace edition dates the edict to year three. Qian Daxin argues year one from annals. Collation defends year two as possible. Palace ‘year three’ contradicts memorial content.
168
一八五九頁八行蛇者陰* (之) **[氣]*所生據殿本改。
‘Snakes are yin’ * zhi supplied qi graph emended per Palace.
169
一八六０頁四行司空劉寵按：校補謂案靈帝紀，詔公卿以下各上封事在建寧二年四月，其時劉寵尚為司徒，傳文「司空」明是「司徒」之誤。
Liu Chong’s title should be minister of education at that date.