1
皇甫規
Huangfu Gui
2
皇甫規字威明，安定朝那人也。 祖父稜，度遼將軍。 父旗，扶風都尉。
Huangfu Gui, whose courtesy name was Weiming, came from Chaona in Anding commandery. His grandfather Huangfu Ling had served as General Who Crosses the Liao. His father Huangfu Qi was commandant of Fufeng.
3
永和六年，西羌大寇三輔，圍安定，征西將軍馬賢將諸郡兵擊之，不能克。 規雖在布衣，見賢不恤軍事，審其必敗，乃上書言狀。 尋而賢果為羌所沒。 郡將知規有兵略，乃命為功曹，使率甲士八百，與羌交戰，斬首數級，賊遂退卻。
In Yonghe 6 (141 CE), the Western Qiang poured into the Three Adjuncts and surrounded Anding. Ma Xian, the general charged with campaigning westward, threw the united forces of several commanderies against them but failed to break the siege. Gui was still a private scholar, yet he could see that Ma Xian was neglecting his command; convinced the campaign was doomed, he memorialized the throne and laid out the facts. Before long Ma Xian was cut off and overrun by the Qiang, just as Gui had foreseen. The commandery commander, recognizing Gui’s grasp of strategy, made him merit clerk and gave him eight hundred armored troops; they clashed with the Qiang, took several heads, and the raiders fell back.
4
舉規上計掾。 其後羌觿大合，攻燒隴西，朝廷患之。 規乃上疏求乞自□，曰：「臣比年以來，數陳便宜。 羌戎未動，策其將反，馬賢始出，頗知必敗。 誤中之言，在可考校。 臣每惟賢等擁觿四年，未有成功，懸師之費且百億計，[1]出於平人，回入奸吏。 [2]故江湖之人，腢為盜賊，青、徐荒饑，襁負流散。 夫羌戎潰叛，不由承平，皆由邊將失於綏御。 乘常守安，則君侵暴，苟競小利，則致大害，微勝則虛張首級，軍敗則隱匿不言。 軍士勞怨，困於猾吏，進不得快戰以徼功，退不得溫飽以全命，餓死溝渠，暴骨中原。 徒見王師之出，不聞振旅之聲。 [3]酋豪泣血，驚懼生變。 是以安不能久，敗則經年。 臣所以搏手叩心而增歎者也。 願假臣兩營二郡，[4]屯列坐食之兵五千，出其不意，與護羌校尉趙沖共相首尾。 土地山谷，臣所曉習； 兵埶巧便，臣已更之。 可不煩方寸之印，尺帛之賜，高可以滌患，下可以納降。 若謂臣年少官輕，不足用者，凡諸敗將，非官爵之不高，年齒之不邁。 [5]臣不勝至誠，沒死自陳。 」時帝不能用。
He was then nominated as clerk to accompany the commandery’s accounts to the capital. Later the Qiang confederation massed, struck Longxi, and put towns to the torch, which alarmed the central government. Gui therefore memorialized, offering to take a commission himself, and wrote: "These past few years I have again and again urged policies that would serve the state." Before the Qiang had even stirred I warned they would rise; the moment Ma Xian marched, I could see his expedition would end in disaster. Whether my judgments were lucky guesses or sound forecasts is something the records can verify. I keep thinking how Ma Xian and his ilk have kept huge forces in the field for four years with nothing to show for it, while the cost of those stranded armies runs toward ten billion cash—money squeezed from common households and siphoned off by venal clerks. [2] Peasants along the great waterways have been driven to banditry; Qingzhou and Xuzhou are wasted by hunger, and families bundle their infants and scatter as refugees. The Qiang did not rebel because the realm was at peace; they rose because frontier commanders mishandled conciliation and control. When local commanders enjoy calm posts they turn to oppression; when they chase petty gains they invite catastrophe. A minor success prompts them to pad kill counts, while a rout never reaches the emperor’s ears. The troops are exhausted and bitter, at the mercy of corrupt handlers: they cannot advance to win glory in open battle, nor fall back to food and shelter enough to survive. They die of hunger in the hedgerows and leave their bones whitening on the Central Plain. The people watch imperial columns march out year after year, yet never hear the drums of a victorious homecoming. [3] Tribal headmen weep blood in terror, fearing they will be provoked into fresh revolt. Hence any calm is brief, while defeat drags on for years. That is why I wring my hands and strike my breast in ever deeper grief. I ask only for authority over two garrisons and two commanderies—five thousand idle camp troops—and permission to hit the enemy where they do not expect it, while Zhao Chong, the Colonel Protector of the Qiang, pins them from the other direction. I know every ridge and valley of that country; I have repeatedly handled troops there and learned how to use the terrain. The court need not lavish seals or silks on me: at best I will scour away the threat, at least I will win surrenders. If youth and low rank disqualify me, recall how many beaten commanders held lofty titles and grizzled heads. [5] I speak with all the candor I can muster, though it cost me my life. The throne took no notice of his advice.
5
沖質之閒，梁太后臨朝，規舉賢良方正。 對策曰：
During the brief reigns of the boy emperors Chong and Zhi, Empress Dowager Liang held the regency, and Gui was nominated as a candidate in the worthy-and-upright examination. His examination essay ran:
6
伏惟孝順皇帝，初勤王政，紀綱四方，幾以獲安。 後遭奸偽，威分近習，[6]畜貨聚馬，戲謔是聞； 又因緣嬖倖，受賂賣爵，輕使賓客，交錯其閒，天下擾擾，從亂如歸，[7]故每有征戰，鮮不挫傷，官民並竭，上下窮虛。 臣在關西，竊聽風聲，未聞國家有所先後，[8]而威福之來，咸歸權幸。 陛下體兼乾坤，聰哲純茂。 攝政之初，拔用忠貞，其餘維綱，多所改正。 遠近翕然，望見太平。 而地震之後，霧氣白濁，日月不光，旱魃為虐，[9]大賊從橫，流血丹野，庶品不安，譴誠累至，殆以奸臣權重之所致也。 其常侍尤無狀者，亟便黜遣，[10]披埽凶黨，收入財賄，以塞痛怨，以荅天誡。
Emperor Shun began his reign with earnest attention to governance; he tightened discipline across the empire and the realm nearly knew calm. Then deceitful favorites clawed away his authority; [6] the palace hoarded wealth and horses while rumor spoke only of sport and ridicule; pet favorites sold offices for silver and sent their hangers-on to weave a web of intrigue. The empire seethed; men drifted into rebellion as naturally as homing birds. [7] Every campaign ended in bloody setback; treasury and populace were bled white from court to countryside. From west of the passes I catch only whispers of policy; [8] I never hear the court set clear priorities—only that favour and fear alike flow from the men around the throne. Your Majesty unites heaven and earth in one person; your discernment is luminous and whole. When you first took the regency you promoted men of proven loyalty and reworked the instruments of rule. Near and far breathed easier, daring to hope for an age of peace. Yet since the earth shook, milky haze has veiled the sky, the lights of sun and moon have dimmed, drought fiends have scourged the fields, [9] and great rebels course unchecked—blood has dyed the countryside crimson. Every living order trembles under repeated heaven-sent warnings, surely because vicious ministers wield too much power. The most outrageous of the palace attendants should be cashiered at once; [10] rip out their criminal faction, seize their loot, quiet the people’s fury, and answer the reproof from above.
7
今大將軍梁冀、河南尹不疑，處周、邵之任，為社稷之鎮，加與王室世為姻族，[11]今日立號雖尊可也，[12]實宜增修謙節，輔以儒術，省去游娛不急之務，割減廬第無益之飾。 夫君者舟也，人者水也。 [13]腢臣乘舟者也，將軍兄弟操鐐者也。 若能平志畢力，以度元元，所謂福也。 如其怠□，將淪波濤。 可不慎乎！ 夫德不稱祿，猶鑿墉之趾，以益其高。 豈量力審功安固之道哉？ 凡諸宿猾、酒徒、戲客，皆耳納邪聲，口出諂言，甘心逸游，唱造不義。 亦宜貶斥，以懲不軌。 令冀等深思得賢之福，失人之累。 又在位素餐，尚書怠職，有司依違，莫肯糾察，故使陛下專受諂諛之言，不聞戶牖之外。 臣誠知阿諛有福，深言近禍，豈敢隱心以避誅責乎！ 臣生長邊遠，希涉紫庭，怖懾失守，言不盡心。
Your Grand General Liang Ji and Governor of Henan Liang Buyi stand in the places once held by the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao; they anchor the dynasty and are tied to the imperial clan by marriage after marriage. [11] Their honors are deservedly high; [12] still they should deepen their modesty, ground themselves in Confucian teaching, shed idle pleasures and needless display, and strip their mansions of wasteful finery. The sovereign is a boat; the common people are the water that bears or swamps it. [13] Your officials ride in that vessel; General Liang and his brothers grip the helm. If they steady their hearts and bend every effort to carry the people through, that is true good fortune. Should they slacken or grow careless, ship and crew alike will vanish under the swell. Can they afford anything less than the utmost care? Virtue that does not match one’s salary is like undermining a wall’s foundation to make the parapet taller. Surely that is no way to weigh one’s strength, judge real achievement, or build something that will stand. The hardened intriguers, drunkards, and hangers-on who throng your gates soak up vicious gossip, speak only flattery, live for pleasure, and urge unjust deeds. Cast them out as a warning against misconduct. Bid Liang Ji reflect on the blessing of wise ministers and the ruin that follows when talent is driven away. Officeholders feast on state grain while doing nothing; the Masters of Writing shirk their briefs; yamen clerks shuffle and dodge—none will call corruption by its name. That is why Your Majesty hears only adulation and nothing of the world beyond the palace shutters. I know frank speech courts disaster while smooth words win ease—yet I will not smother what I believe to escape punishment. Raised on the outer marches, seldom admitted to this purple hall, I tremble so that my words may fail to voice the fullness of my mind.
8
梁冀忿其刺己，以規為下第，拜郎中。 託疾免歸，州郡承冀旨，幾陷死者再三。
Liang Ji, smarting at Gui’s barbs, ranked him last among the candidates and gave him a sinceure as gentleman consultant. Gui pleaded illness and went home, but local authorities, doing Liang Ji’s bidding, thrice nearly engineered his death.
9
遂以詩、易教授，門徒三百餘人，積十四年。 後梁冀被誅，旬月之閒，禮命五至，皆不就。
He turned to teaching the Classic of Poetry and the Book of Changes to over three hundred pupils and kept at it for fourteen years. After Liang Ji’s execution the court summoned him five times within a month; he refused every offer.
10
時太山賊叔孫無忌侵亂郡縣，中郎將宗資討之未服。 公車特徵規，拜太山太守。
Bandits under Sun Wuji were ravaging Taishan commandery, and Zong Zi, the general of the household sent against them, could not bring them to heel. An imperial coach was dispatched to fetch Gui, and he was named governor of Taishan.
11
規到官，廣設方略，寇賊悉平。 延熹四年秋，叛羌零吾等與先零別種寇鈔關中，護羌校尉段熲坐征。 [14]後先零諸種陸梁，覆沒營塢。 [15]規素悉羌事，志自奮□，乃上疏曰：「自臣受任，志竭愚鈍，實賴兗州刺史牽顥之清猛，中郎將宗資之信義，得承節度，幸無咎譽。 今猾賊就滅，太山略平，復聞腢羌並皆反逆。 臣生長邠岐，年五十有九，昔為郡吏，再更叛羌，豫籌其事，有誤中之言。 臣素有固疾，恐犬馬齒窮，不報大恩，願乞冗官，備單車一介之使，勞來三輔，宣國威澤，以所習地形兵埶，佐助諸軍。 臣窮居孤危之中，坐觀郡將，已數十年矣。 自鳥鼠至於東岱，其病一也。 [16]力求猛敵，不如清平； 勤明吳、孫，未若奉法。 [17]前變未遠，臣誠戚之。 [18]是以越職，盡其區區。」
Once in office he deployed a wide range of measures and soon stamped out the insurgents. In the autumn of Yanxi 4 (161 CE), Lingwu and other rebel Qiang bands—kinsmen of the Xianling—pillaged Guanzhong, and Duan Jiong, the Colonel Protector of the Qiang, was impeached and recalled. [14] The Xianling confederation then rose in force and overran the frontier camps. [15] Gui knew the Qiang situation intimately and burned to offer himself; he memorialized: "Since taking office I have strained my meager talents, indebted above all to Inspector Qian Hao of Yanzhou for his integrity and bite and to General Zong Zi for reliable support—only thus could I follow orders and escape censure." The Taishan bandits are nearly gone and the commandery is quiet again, yet word comes that the Qiang along the frontier have risen in concert. I am a man of Bin and Qi, fifty-nine years old, once a commandery clerk who lived through two Qiang revolts and warned of them beforehand—some of those warnings proved uncannily accurate. Chronic illness gnaws at me; I fear my years will run out before I repay your kindness. Grant me even a minor posting—a lone envoy with a single cart—to rally the Three Adjuncts, proclaim imperial majesty, and put my knowledge of the terrain and tactics at the army’s disposal. For decades I have watched those commandery generals from the margins, poor and exposed. From the Niaoshu Mountains to Mount Tai the sickness is the same: misrule on the frontier. [16] Seeking ever fiercer foes avails less than honest, competent government; clever stratagems like Wu Qi’s or Sun Wu’s mean nothing next to faithful adherence to the law. [17] The last uprising is still a fresh wound; it fills me with dread. [18] So I overstep my rank to speak this humble plea."
12
至冬，羌遂大合，朝廷為憂。 三公舉規為中郎將，持節監關西兵，討零吾等，破之，斬首八百級。 先零諸種羌慕規威信，相勸降者十餘萬。 明年，規因發其騎共討隴右，而道路隔絕，軍中大疫，死者十三四。 規親入庵廬，巡視將士，三軍感悅。 東羌遂遣使乞降，涼州復通。
By winter the Qiang had massed in overwhelming strength, and Luoyang grew alarmed. The Three Excellencies nominated Gui as general of the household with imperial insignia to oversee the armies west of the passes; he smashed Lingwu’s host and took eight hundred heads. Impressed by Gui’s authority and good faith, more than a hundred thousand Xianling Qiang let themselves be talked into submission. The following year he led his horsemen into Longyou, only to find the roads blocked and plague raging through the camps—three or four men in ten died. Gui walked the sick tents himself, steadying his officers and men, and the whole army rallied. The eastern Qiang sued for peace, and traffic with Liangzhou reopened.
13
先是安定太守孫鑈受取狼籍，屬國都尉李翕、督軍御史張稟多殺降羌，涼州刺史郭閎、漢陽太守趙熹並老弱不堪任職，而皆倚恃權貴，不遵法度。 規到州界，悉條奏其罪，或免或誅。 羌人聞之，翕然反善。 沉氐大豪滇昌、饑恬等十餘萬口，復詣規降。
Earlier the governor of Anding, Sun Ao, had lined his pockets shamelessly; Li Xi, commandant of the dependent state, and Zhang Bing, the army secretary, had butchered surrendered Qiang wholesale; Guo Hong, inspector of Liangzhou, and Zhao Xi, governor of Hanyang, were aged incompetents propped up by patrons who flouted every statute. As soon as Gui crossed into the province he memorialized each misdeed; some officials were cashiered, others executed. The Qiang heard the news and willingly returned to allegiance. More than a hundred thousand Chenshi tribesmen led by headmen such as Dianchang and Jitian came again to surrender to Gui.
14
規出身數年，持節為將，擁觿立功，還督鄉里，既無它私惠，而多所舉奏，又惡絕宦官，不與交通，於是中外並怨，遂共誣規貨賂腢羌，令其文降。 [19]天子璽書誚讓相屬。 規懼不免，上疏自訟曰：「四年之秋，戎丑蠢戾，[20]爰自西州，侵及涇陽，[21]舊都懼駭，朝廷西顧。 明詔不以臣愚駑，急使軍就道。 [22]幸蒙威靈，遂振國命，羌戎諸種，大小稽首，輒移書營郡，以訪誅納，[23]所省之費，一億以上。 以為忠臣之義，不敢告勞，[24]故恥以片言自及微□。 然比方先事，庶免罪悔。 [25]前踐州界，先奏郡守孫鑈，次及屬國都尉李翕、督軍御史張稟； 旋師南征，又上涼州刺史郭閎、漢陽太守趙熹，陳其過惡，執據大辟。 凡此五臣，支黨半國，其餘墨綬，下至小吏，所連及者，復有百餘。 吏托報將之怨，子思復父之恥，載贄馳車，懷糧步走，交構豪門，競流謗讟，雲臣私報諸羌，謝其錢貨。 [26]若臣以私財，則家無擔石； 如物出於官，則文簿易考。 就臣愚惑，信如言者，前世尚遺匈奴以宮姬，[27]鎮烏孫以公主。 [28]今臣但費千萬，以懷叛羌。 則良臣之才略，兵家之所貴，將有何罪，負義違理乎？ 自永初以來，將出不少，覆軍有五，動資巨億。 有旋車完封，寫之權門，[29]而名成功立，厚加爵封。 今臣還督本土，愨舉諸郡，絕交離親，戮辱舊故，觿謗陰害，固其宜也。 臣雖污穢，廉絜無聞，今見覆沒，恥痛實深。 傳稱『鹿死不擇音』，謹冒昧略上。 」[30]
Gui had spent years in the field with imperial seal in hand, commanding large forces and winning victories, then returned to oversee his native commandery. He granted no private favors but impeached widely, despised the eunuchs, and refused to deal with them—so court and countryside alike nursed grudges and jointly accused him of buying sham surrenders from the Qiang with public funds. [19] Imperial edicts bristling with reproof arrived one after another. Fearing he could not clear his name, Gui memorialized in his own defense: "In the autumn of my fourth year in office the western tribes rose in violence; [20] rebellion rolled out of Liangzhou toward Jingyang, [21] terrifying the old capital and forcing the court to anxiously scan the western horizon." Your enlightened decree overlooked my mediocrity and ordered my troops forward without delay. [22] Under your majesty’s awe I restored imperial writ: every Qiang clan, great or small, submitted. Orders went to camps and commanderies on whom to execute and whom to enroll; [23] the treasury saved upwards of one hundred million cash. A loyal servant does not boast of his toil; [24] I was ashamed to trouble you with petty self-praise. Still, set beside earlier disasters, I hoped I had earned reprieve rather than blame. [25] On entering the province I impeached Governor Sun Ao first, then Commandant Li Xi and Secretary Zhang Bing; When I swung south I charged Inspector Guo Hong and Governor Zhao Xi with crimes warranting execution and backed each count with proof. Those five men commanded factions that sprawled across half the bureaucracy; black-girdled officials and petty clerks caught in their net numbered another hundred-plus. Their underlings sought revenge for dismissed patrons; sons hungered to wipe out a father’s disgrace. Bearing bribes, they raced by carriage or foot to powerful houses and poured out slander that I had secretly paid off the Qiang with treasure. [26] Had I used private means, you would find not a bushel of grain in my house; if state funds were involved, the ledgers would give easy proof. Even accepting their absurd tale, former dynasties sent palace ladies to the Xiongnu [27] and married princesses to Wusun to keep the peace. [28] I spent perhaps ten million cash to win over hostile tribes. If that is the mark of a capable minister—the very quality armies prize—what offense have I committed against justice? Since the Yongchu era generals have marched in endless succession; five armies have been annihilated and each campaign drains billions from the treasury. Some run straight to the mighty with booty still under seal; [29] they win fame, collect rewards, and walk off with new titles and fiefs. I came home to clean my own courtyard: I impeached corrupt governors, cut ties with patrons and kin alike, and exposed old cronies—small wonder their factions slander me and strike from the shadows. I make no claim to purity, yet to be drowned in false accusation humiliates me beyond words. The texts say a hunted deer will bleat whatever sound may save it—I risk this blunt plea just so. Here ends the passage quoted from Gui’s memorial.
15
其年冬，徵還拜議郎。 論功當封。 而中常侍徐璜、左悺欲從求貨，數遣賓客就問功狀，規終不荅。 璜等忿怒，陷以前事，下之於吏。 官屬欲賦斂請謝，規誓而不聽，遂以餘寇不絕，坐系廷尉，論輸左校。 [31]諸公及太學生張鳳等三百餘人詣闕訟之。 會赦，歸家。
Late that same winter an edict recalled him to court as gentleman consultant. His victories plainly merited a noble fief. Attendants-in-ordinary Xu Huang and Zuo Guan demanded their share of the honors and kept dispatching clients to fish for details of his petition for rewards; Gui ignored every approach. Enraged, they dredged up old charges and handed him over to the judiciary. His staff urged him to raise a levy and buy the eunuchs off; Gui swore he would not. They then blamed lingering banditry on him, had him thrown to the Commandant of Justice, and sentenced him to hard labor in the imperial workshops. [31] More than three hundred high officials and academy scholars led by Zhang Feng marched to the palace gates to plead his case. A general amnesty followed and he went home.
16
徵拜度遼將軍，至營數月，上書薦中郎將張奐以自代。 曰：「臣聞人無常俗，而政有治亂； 兵無強弱，而將有能否。 伏見中郎將張奐，才略兼優，宜正元帥，以從觿望。 若猶謂愚臣宜充軍事者，願乞冗官，以為奐副。 」朝庭從之，以奐代為度遼將軍，規為使匈奴中郎將。
Recalled and named General Who Crosses the Liao, he spent only a few months at headquarters before memorializing that General of the Household Zhang Huan should succeed him. He wrote: "I have heard that habits among the people shift, while rule may be sound or chaotic; troops are neither strong nor weak in themselves—it is commanders who prove able or inept." General Zhang Huan combines counsel and courage; make him supreme commander and you will match what the host expects." If Your Majesty still thinks this dull servant should serve in the field, grant me only a subordinate post under Zhang Huan." " The court agreed: Zhang Huan became General Who Crosses the Liao; Gui was named general of the household for dealings with the Xiongnu.
17
及奐遷大司農，規復代為度遼將軍。
When Zhang Huan rose to grand minister of agriculture, Gui once more took command as General Who Crosses the Liao.
18
規為人多意筭，自以連在大位，欲退身避第，數上病，不見聽。 會友人上郡太守王旻喪還，規縞素越界，到下亭迎之。 因令客密告并州刺史胡芳，言規□遠軍營，公違禁憲，當急舉奏。 芳曰：「威明欲避第仕塗，故激發我耳。 [32]吾當為朝廷愛才，何能申此子計邪！ 」遂無所問。 及黨事大起，天下名賢多見染逮，規雖為名將，素譽不高。 自以西州豪桀，恥不得豫，乃先自上言：「臣前薦故大司農張奐，是附黨也。 又臣昔論輸左校時，太學生張鳳等上書訟臣，是為黨人所附也。 臣宜坐之。 」朝廷知而不問，時人以為規賢。
Gui was a subtle plotter; uneasy at holding one great post after another, he tried to step down and leave politics, pleading illness again and again without success. When his friend Wang Min, governor of Shangjun, was carried home for burial, Gui donned mourning white, crossed out of his jurisdiction, and met the cortège at Lower Pavilion. He then had a retainer tip off Bingzhou Inspector Hu Fang that Gui had abandoned his camp without leave—an open breach of statute fit for immediate impeachment. Hu Fang replied: "Weiming only wants an excuse to quit office—that is why he is baiting me." [32] The throne needs men like him; I will not play along with this trick!" " And he dropped the matter. When the Great Proscription swept the empire, celebrated scholars fell into its net in droves; Gui, though a renowned commander, had never enjoyed lofty standing among them. Counting himself a champion of the northwest, he was ashamed not to be listed and volunteered first: "I once recommended the former grand minister Zhang Huan—that makes me a partisan ally." When I was sent to the Left Workshops, Zhang Feng and his fellow students petitioned on my behalf—that shows I was backed by the faction." Punish me with the rest." " The court understood the gesture and took no action; contemporaries judged Gui the better man for it.
19
遷規弘農太守，封壽成亭侯，邑二百戶，讓封不受。 再轉為護羌校尉。 熹平三年，以疾召還，未至，卒於谷城，年七十一。 所著賦、銘、碑、贊、禱文、吊、章表、教令、書、檄、箋記，凡二十七篇。
He was promoted governor of Hongnong and offered the village marquisate of Shoucheng with two hundred households; he refused the fief. He was soon reassigned as Colonel Protector of the Qiang. In Xiping 3 (174 CE) illness brought an edict recalling him; he died en route at Gucheng, aged seventy-one. His writings—rhapsodies, inscriptions, dirges, encomia, prayers, laments, memorials, edicts, letters, calls to arms, and private notes—total twenty-seven pieces.
20
論曰：孔子稱「其言之不怍，則其為之也難」。 [39]察皇甫規之言，其心不怍哉！
The historian remarks: Confucius observed that when a man speaks without shame, carrying his words into deed becomes nearly impossible. [39] Listen to Huangfu Gui’s memorials: here was a man who felt no shame about speaking the truth.
21
夫其審己則干祿，見賢則委位，故干祿不為貪，而委位不求讓； 稱己不疑伐，而讓人無懼情。 故能功成於戎狄，身全於邦家也。
When office suited him he took it; when someone better appeared he stepped aside—so his ambition never sank to greed, and his retirements carried no hunger for cheap praise; he claimed merit without sounding vain and yielded rank without timidity. Thus he won triumph on the barbarian frontier and kept his skin safe at court.
22
張奐字然明，敦煌* (酒) **〔淵〕*泉人也。 [40]父惇，為漢陽太守。 奐少游三輔，師事太尉朱壟，學歐陽尚書。 初，牟氏章句浮辭繁多，[41]有四十五萬餘言，奐減為九萬言。 後辟大將軍梁冀府，乃上書桓帝，奏其章句，詔下東觀。 以疾去官，復舉賢良，對策第一，擢拜議郎。
Zhang Huan, courtesy name Ranming, was a native of Dunhuang— (scribal gloss in source) —from Yuanquan in Dunhuang commandery (per textual note in the received text). [40] His father Zhang Dun had served as governor of Hanyang. In youth he studied in the capital region under Grand Commandant Zhu Long and mastered the Ouyang school of the Documents. The Mou commentary on the Documents had swollen past four hundred fifty thousand characters of empty gloss; [41] Zhang Huan pared it to ninety thousand. Summoned to Liang Ji’s headquarters, he presented his digest to Emperor Huan; an edict ordered it archived in the Eastern Vista library. Illness forced him home, but he was nominated again as worthy-and-upright, topped the examination, and was appointed gentleman consultant.
23
永壽元年，遷安定屬國都尉。 初到職，而南匈奴左薁鞬台耆、且渠伯德等七千餘人寇美稷，東羌復舉種應之，而奐壁唯有二百許人，聞即勒兵而出。 軍吏以為力不敵，叩頭爭止之。 奐不聽，遂進屯長城，收集兵士，遣將王□招誘東羌，因據龜茲，[42]使南匈奴不得交通東羌。 諸豪遂相率與奐和親，共擊薁鞬等，連戰破之。 伯德惶恐，將其觿降，郡界以寧。
In Yongshou 1 (155 CE) he became commandant of the dependent state attached to Anding. On his first day in office over seven thousand Southern Xiongnu under Taiqi of the Left Awugi clan and Qiju Bode struck Meiji, while eastern Qiang tribes rose in support. Huan had barely two hundred men in camp but marched out the moment word arrived. His officers argued they were outmatched and threw themselves at his feet to block the sortie. Huan refused to listen, pushed forward to camp on the Long Wall, rallied troops, and sent a commander named Wang [given name missing in text] to win over the eastern Qiang; seizing Qiuci county, [42] he severed the Southern Xiongnu line to their eastern allies. Tribal headmen then allied with Huan, joined him against Taiqi’s horde, and broke them in successive fights. Bode panicked, brought his bands in submission, and the commandery knew calm again.
24
注〔1〕龜茲音丘慈，縣名，屬上郡。 前書音義曰「龜茲國人來降之，因以名縣」也。
Commentary [1]: Qiuci is read qiuci; it is a county in Shangjun commandery. The Han shu gloss notes that settlers from the kingdom of Qiuci surrendered there, hence the county name.
25
羌豪帥感奐恩德，上馬二十匹，先零酋長又遺金鐻八枚。 奐並受之，〔1〕而召主簿於諸羌前，以酒酹地曰：[43]「使馬如羊，不以入□； 使金如粟，不以入懷。 」悉以金馬還之。 [44]羌性貪而貴吏清，前有八都尉率好財貨，為所患苦，及奐正身絜己，威化大行。
Grateful Qiang leaders offered twenty horses; a Xianling chief added eight golden vessels. Huan accepted both gifts [1] yet called his registrar before the tribes, poured a libation, and swore: [43] "Were horses plentiful as sheep they would not enter my stable (text damaged in source);" were gold common as grain it would not fill my purse." " He returned every horse and ingot. [44] The Qiang are grasping yet respect an honest yamen; eight successive commandants had enriched themselves and earned their hatred. Huan kept his own hands clean, and his moral authority transformed the frontier.
26
遷使匈奴中郎將。 時休屠各[45]及朔方烏桓並同反叛，燒度遼將軍門，[46]引屯赤坑，鞭火相望。 兵觿大恐，各欲亡去。 奐安坐帷中，與弟子講誦自若，軍士稍安。 乃潛誘烏桓陰與和通，遂使斬屠各渠帥，襲破其觿。 諸胡悉降。
He was promoted general of the household for dealings with the Xiongnu. The Xiuchuge tribesmen [45] and the Wuhuan of Shuofang rose together, torched the headquarters of the General Who Crosses the Liao, [46] and ringed Red Pit with beacon fires. The army panicked; men wanted to bolt. Huan stayed seated in his tent lecturing pupils as if nothing were wrong, and the ranks slowly steadied. He secretly treated with the Wuhuan, then had them execute the Xiuchuge chiefs and surprise their host. Every Hu band submitted.
27
延熹元年，鮮卑寇邊，奐率南單于擊之，斬首數百級。
In Yanxi 1 (158 CE) the Xianbei struck the frontier; Huan marched with the Southern Shanyu and took several hundred heads.
28
明年，梁冀被誅，奐以故吏免官禁錮。 奐與皇甫規友善，奐既被錮，凡諸交舊莫敢為言，唯規薦舉前後七上。 在家四歲，復拜武威太守。 平均徭賦，率厲散敗，常為諸郡最，河西由是而全。 其俗多妖忌，凡二月、五月產子及與父母同月生者，悉殺之。 奐示以義方，嚴加賞罰，風俗遂改，百姓生為立祠。 舉尤異，遷度遼將軍。 數載閒，幽、并清靜。
The next year Liang Ji died under sentence of death; as his former subordinate Huan was stripped of rank and barred from office. Huan and Huangfu Gui were close; when the proscription hit, former colleagues fell silent—only Gui memorialized seven times on his behalf. After four years at home he was named governor of Wuwei. He balanced labor levies and taxes, rallied broken communities, and topped every commandery’s record for good rule—Hexi survived the turmoil because of him. Local superstition demanded that infants born in the second or fifth month—or in the same month as a parent—be put to death. He taught humane principle, enforced clear rewards and penalties, and the horror ceased—the people raised shrines to him in his lifetime. Cited for exceptional merit, he became General Who Crosses the Liao. Within a few years Youzhou and Bingzhou lay quiet.
29
九年春，徵拜大司農。 鮮卑聞奐去，其夏，遂招結南匈奴、烏桓數道入塞，或五六千騎，或三四千騎，寇掠緣邊九郡，殺略百姓。 秋，鮮卑復率八九千騎入塞，誘引東羌與共盟詛。 於是上郡沈氐、安定先零諸種共寇武威、張掖，緣邊大被其毒。 朝廷以為憂，復拜奐為護匈奴中郎將，以九卿秩督幽、并、涼三州及度遼、烏桓二營，[47]兼察刺史、二千石能否，賞賜甚厚。 匈奴、烏桓聞奐至，因相率還降，凡二十萬口。 奐但誅其首惡，餘皆慰納之。 唯鮮卑出塞去。
In the spring of the ninth year of Yanxi (166 CE) he was recalled as grand minister of agriculture. Learning that Huan had left the frontier, the Xianbei that summer enlisted the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan for multi-pronged raids—columns of five or six thousand horsemen or three or four thousand—striking nine border commanderies and slaughtering the populace. That autumn they poured eight or nine thousand riders through the passes and drew the eastern Qiang into blood oaths against the Han. Chenshi bands from Shangjun and Xianling clans from Anding then struck Wuwei and Zhangye, spreading devastation along the whole frontier belt. Alarmed, the court sent Huan back as general of the household over the Xiongnu at nine-minister rank to oversee You, Bing, and Liang plus the two frontier corps at Liaodong and among the Wuhuan; [47] he was also to judge the performance of inspectors and grandees, and received lavish gifts. When Huan arrived the Xiongnu and Wuhuan submitted in a body—some two hundred thousand people. He executed only the ringleaders and pacified the rest. Only the Xianbei withdrew beyond the frontier.
30
永康元年春，東羌、先零五六千騎寇關中，圍祋祤，掠雲陽。 夏，復攻沒兩營，殺千餘人。 冬，羌岸尾、摩蟞等[48]脅同種復鈔三輔。 奐遣司馬尹端、董卓並擊，大破之，斬其酋豪，首虜萬餘人，三州清定。 論功當封，奐不事宦官，故賞遂不行，唯賜錢二十萬，除家一人為郎。 並辭不受，而願徙屬弘農華陰。 舊制邊人不得內移，唯奐因功特聽，故始為弘農人焉。
In Yongkang 1 (167 CE) eastern Qiang and Xianling horsemen—five or six thousand strong—thundered into Guanzhong, surrounded Duyi, and looted Yunyang. That summer they overran two garrisons and killed over a thousand troops. In winter Anwei, Mobie, and other Qiang chiefs [48] forced their kinsmen into fresh raids on the Three Adjuncts. Huan sent Majors Yin Duan and Dong Zhuo against them; they shattered the alliance, executed its leaders, and counted over ten thousand heads and captives—You, Bing, and Liang were calm again. Merit called for a fief, but Huan would not court the eunuchs, so honors stopped at two hundred thousand cash and a gentleman post for one kinsman. He refused both offers and asked instead to register his household in Huayin in Hongnong. Frontier households were forbidden to move inward, but Huan’s service earned a unique waiver—so his line became Huayin natives.
31
明年夏，青蛇見於御坐軒前，[49]又大風雨雹，霹靂拔樹，詔使百僚各言災應。
The following summer a green snake appeared before the imperial carriage porch [49] and violent storms—wind, hail, and lightning that tore up trees—prompted an edict bidding every minister interpret the omens.
32
奐上疏曰：「臣聞風為號令，動物通氣。 [50]木生於火，相須乃明。 蛇能屈申，配龍騰蟄。 [51]順至為休征，逆來為殃咎。 陰氣專用，則凝精為雹。 故大將軍竇武、太傅陳蕃，或志寧社稷，或方直不回，前以讒勝，並伏誅戮，海內默默，人懷震憤。 昔周公葬不如禮，天乃動威。 [52]今武、蕃忠貞，未被明宥，妖眚之來，皆為此也。 宜急為改葬，徙還家屬。 其從坐禁錮，一切蠲除。 又皇太后雖居南居，而恩禮不接，朝臣莫言，遠近失望。 宜思大義顧復之報。 」[53]天子深納奐言，以問諸黃門常侍，左右皆惡之，帝不得自從。
Huan memorialized: "I am told the wind carries the ruler’s commands and stirs the realm’s vital breath." [50] Wood arises from fire—the two must sustain each other before the flame shines clear. The snake bends and straightens like the dragon that mounts to heaven or sleeps in the deeps. [51] Obedience to heaven brings blessed omens; defiance brings disaster. When yin force rules unchecked, its chill falls as hail. Grand General Dou Wu and Grand Tutor Chen Fan—one steadied the dynasty, the other stood incorrupt—were destroyed because calumny prevailed. The empire went mute, but rage smoldered in every breast. When the Duke of Zhou was buried short of proper rite, heaven answered with terrifying signs. [52] Dou and Chen died faithful men still denied honorable amnesty—these uncanny visitations spring from that wrong. Rebury them at once and restore their kin to their homes." Everyone punished by guilt-by-association was pardoned outright. Though the empress dowager lodges in the southern palace, she receives neither kindness nor courtesy; officials dare not speak for her, and disappointment runs from capital to countryside. Remember the debt a son owes the mother who bore and nursed him. When Zhang Huan fell silent, the emperor embraced his advice—until he aired it before the eunuchs, who recoiled; in the end he could not act as his conscience urged.
33
轉奐太常，與尚書劉猛、刁韙、□良同薦王暢、李膺可參三公之選，而曹節等彌疾其言，遂下詔切責之。 奐等皆自囚廷尉，數日乃得出，並以三月俸贖罪。
Promoted grand sacrificer, Huan joined Masters of Writing Liu Meng, Diao Wei, and Liang in urging Wang Chang and Li Ying for the highest offices; Cao Jie’s faction exploded with rage and forced down an edict of stern censure. They booked themselves into the Commandant’s jail; days later they bought release by forfeiting three months’ pay.
34
司隸校尉王寓，出於宦官，欲借寵公卿，以求薦舉，百僚畏憚，莫不許諾，唯奐獨拒之。 寓怒，因此遂陷以黨罪，禁錮歸田里。
Wang Yu, the colonel’s eunuch-backed appointmentee, tried to trade on ministerial favor for promotion; officials cringed into consent—Huan alone declined. Enraged, Yu pinned a partisan label on him and barred him from office for life.
35
奐前為度遼將軍，與段熲爭擊羌，不相平。 及熲為司隸校尉，欲逐奐歸敦煌，將害之。
As former commander on the Liao frontier Huan had clashed with Duan Jiong over strategy against the Qiang; bad blood lingered. Once Jiong took the colonelcy he plotted to banish Huan to Dunhuang and finish him there.
36
奐憂懼，奏記謝熲曰：「小人不明，得過州將，千里委命，以情相歸。 [54]足下仁篤，照其辛苦，使人未反，復獲郵書。 恩詔分明，前以寫白，而州期切促，郡縣惶懼，屏營延企，側待歸命。 父母朽骨，孤魂相托，若蒙鄉憐，壹惠咳唾，則澤流黃泉，施及冥寞，非奐生死所能報塞。 夫無毛髮之勞，而欲求人丘山之用，此淳于髡所以拍髀仰天而笑者也。 [55]誠知言必見譏，然猶未能無望。 何者？ 朽骨無益於人，而文王葬之； [56]死馬無所復用，而燕昭寶之。 [57]黨同文、昭之德，豈不大哉！ [58]凡人之情，冤則呼天，窮則叩心。 今呼天不聞，叩心無益，誠自傷痛。 俱生聖世，獨為匪人。 [59]孤微之人，無所告訴。 如不哀憐，便為魚肉。 [60]企心東望，無所復言。 」熲雖剛猛，省書哀之，卒不忍也。 時禁錮者多不能守靜，或死或徙。 奐閉門不出，養徒千人，著尚書記難三十餘萬言。
Terrified, Huan sent Jiong a humble note: "I was a fool to cross your predecessor as inspector; I throw myself on your mercy from a thousand li away." [54] Your kindness saw my distress—before my messenger even returned a second letter reached me." The benevolent order was plain—I reported as ordered—but the provincial office hounds us on deadline; yamen clerks panic; I hover on edge awaiting your word." My parents’ bones lie bare and their spirits look to you for shelter; a cough’s worth of mercy from you would reach them under the yellow springs—more than I could repay in life or death." To ask mountain-high favors after feather-light effort is why Chunyu Kun slapped his thigh and roared with laughter at heaven. [55] I know plain speech invites mockery—yet hope dies hard." Why? King Wen buried bones that could no longer help anyone; [56] King Zhao of Yan prized a dead horse no workshop could use. [57] To match the generosity of Wen and Zhao—could any deed be greater? [58] Mortals cry to heaven when wronged and beat their breasts when driven to the wall. Heaven does not hear me; beating my breast avails nothing—I ache with grief. We live under a sage Son of Heaven, yet I alone am cast out as vile. [59] A nobody like me has nowhere to plead. Without your pity I am knife and board. [60] I lift my eyes east toward Luoyang and have said all I can." For all his harshness, Jiong read the plea with pity and could not bring himself to destroy him. Most men under proscription could not sit still—some fled, some died in the attempt. Huan stayed behind closed doors, taught a thousand pupils, and wrote well over three hundred thousand characters of commentary on the Documents.
37
奐少立志節，嘗與士友言曰：「大丈夫處世，當為國家立功邊境。 」及為將帥，果有勳名。 董卓慕之，使其兄遺縑百匹。 奐惡卓為人，絕而不受。 光和四年卒，年七十八。 遺命曰：「吾前後仕進，十要銀艾，[61]不能和光同塵，為讒邪所忌。 [62]通塞命也，始終常也。 但地厎冥冥，長無曉期，而復纏以纊撓，牢以釘密，為不喜耳。 幸有前窀，朝殞夕下，措屍靈默，幅巾而已。 奢非晉文，[63]儉非王孫，[64]推情從意，庶無咎吝。 」諸子從之。 武威多為立祠，世世不絕。 所著銘、頌、書、教、誡述、志、對策、章表二十四篇。
In youth Huan told friends: "A man of spirit wins honor for the realm on the frontier." As a commander he earned the renown he had promised. Dong Zhuo admired him and sent his elder brother with a gift of a hundred bolts of silk. Loathing Zhuo’s character, he refused the gift outright. He died in Guanghe 4 (181 CE), aged seventy-eight. His final instructions read: "Ten times I wore ministerial insignia [61] yet never learned to blend with the crowd—so slander brought me down." [62] Success and setback are heaven’s lot; birth and death are the constant way. The grave is endless night; swaddling my corpse in silk and sealing the coffin with tight nails gives me no cheer. Luckily an old family tomb awaits—bury me at dusk of the day I die, lay me in silence, nothing but a plain cloth about my head. I ask neither Duke Wen’s splendor [63] nor Wangsun’s stinginess; [64] let affection decide—and spare me posthumous blame. His sons obeyed. Wuwei raised shrines to him that flourished for generations. His writings—inscriptions, hymns, letters, moral essays, admonitions, treatises, examination papers, and memorials—number twenty-four pieces.
38
長子芝，字伯英，最知名。 [65]芝及弟昶，字文舒，並善草書，至今稱傳之。
His eldest son Zhang Zhi, courtesy Boying, became the most celebrated. [65] Zhang Zhi and his brother Chang, courtesy Wenshu, mastered cursive hand—masters still speak their names.
39
初，奐為武威太守，其妻懷孕，夢帶奐印綬登樓而歌。 訊之占者，曰：「必將生男，復臨茲邦，命終此數。 」既而生子猛，以建安中為武威太守，殺刺史邯鄲商，州兵圍之急，猛恥見擒，乃登樓自燒而死，卒如占云。
While Huan governed Wuwei his pregnant wife dreamed she wore his official ribbons, climbed a tower, and sang. The diviner said: "You will bear a son who will rule this commandery again—and die when fate counts its span." She bore Zhang Meng, who in the Jian’an era governed Wuwei, murdered Inspector Handan Shang, and—when provincial troops closed in—chose to burn himself atop a tower rather than surrender, fulfilling the omen.
40
論曰：自鄛鄉之封，中官世盛，[66]暴恣數十年閒，四海之內，莫不切齒憤盈，願投兵於其族。 陳蕃、竇武奮義草謀，征會天下，名士有識所共聞也，而張奐見欺豎子，揚戈以斷忠烈。 [67]雖恨毒在心，辭爵謝咎。 詩云：「啜其泣矣，何嗟及矣！ 」[68]
Since the great houses enfeoffed the eunuchs, [66] they tyrannized the realm for decades until every corner gnashed its teeth and hungered to destroy their kin. Chen Fan and Dou Wu summoned the realm to righteous arms—every scholar knew—yet Zhang Huan let palace striplings trick him into raising spears against men loyal unto death. [67] Though bitterness gnawed him, he renounced honors and owned his wrong. The Classic of Poetry says: "They sob into their sleeves—what good is regret now?" Here ends the quotation from the ode.
41
段熲字紀明，武威姑臧人也。 其先出鄭共叔段，西域都護會宗之從曾孫也。 [69]熲少便習弓馬，尚遊俠，輕財賄，長乃折節好古學。 初舉孝廉，為憲陵園丞、陽陵令，[70]所在〔有〕能政。
Duan Jiong, courtesy Jiming, came from Guzang in Wuwei commandery. His line traced to Duke Duan of Zheng; he was a collateral descendant of Gan Huizong, protector-general of the Western Regions. [69] As a youth he excelled at riding and archery, admired roaming swordsmen, and scorned riches; with age he turned scholar and cultivated classical studies. Recommended as filial and incorrupt, he served as steward of Emperor Shun’s mausoleum park and magistrate of Yangling; [70] every post saw sound administration.
42
遷遼東屬國都尉。 時鮮卑犯塞，熲即率所領馳赴之。 既而恐賊驚去，乃使驛騎詐繼璽書詔熲，熲於道偽退，潛於還路設伏。 虜以為信然，乃入追熲。 熲因大縱兵，悉斬獲之。 坐詐璽書伏重刑，以有功論司寇。 刑竟，徵拜議郎。
He was promoted commandant of the dependent state in Liaodong. When the Xianbei breached the frontier he dashed to meet them with every man under his command. Fearing they would scatter if pressed, he had dispatch riders fake a recall order; he pretended to withdraw, then lay in ambush along their retreat. The tribesmen swallowed the ruse and chased him. Jiong wheeled and destroyed them to the last man. Forging an imperial rescript earned him a capital sentence; merit commuted it to minister-of-crime labor. When his sentence ended the court named him gentleman consultant.
43
時太山、琅邪賊東郭竇、公孫舉等聚觿三萬人，破壞郡縣，遣兵討之，連年不克。 永壽二年，桓帝詔公卿選將有文武者，司徒尹* (訟) **〔頌〕*薦熲，[71]乃拜為中郎將。
Dongguo Dou and Gongsun Ju had raised thirty thousand bandits in Taishan and Langye, wrecking local government; imperial columns spent years unable to crush them. In Yongshou 2 (156 CE) Emperor Huan ordered the high ministers to nominate a commander versed in both letters and arms; Minister of Education Yin— (scribal gloss in source) —Yin Song recommended Jiong, [71] who was commissioned general of the household.
44
擊竇、舉等，大破斬之，獲首萬餘級，餘黨降散。 封熲為列侯，賜錢五十萬，除一子為郎中。
He smashed Dou and Ju, took over ten thousand heads, and broke their remnant bands. The throne made him a full marquis, granted five hundred thousand cash, and gave one son a gentleman consultant’s berth.
45
延熹二年，遷護羌校尉。 會燒當、燒何、當煎、勒姐等八種羌[72]寇隴西、金城塞，熲將兵及湟中義從羌萬二千騎出湟谷，擊破之。 追討南度河，使軍吏田晏、夏育募先登，懸索相引，復戰於羅亭，大破之，斬其酋豪以下二千級，獲生口萬餘人，虜皆奔走。
In Yanxi 2 (159 CE) he became Colonel Protector of the Qiang. Eight Qiang confederations—Shaodang, Shaohe, Dangjian, Lejie, and allies [72]—struck Longxi and Jincheng; Jiong marched twelve thousand Han and loyal Qiang horse out of the Huangzhong gorge and broke them. He chased them south across the river, sent officers Tian Yan and Xia Yu to lead shock troops up cliff ropes, and fought again at Luoting. Two thousand chiefs fell, ten thousand captives were taken, and the enemy fled headlong.
46
明年春，余羌復與燒何大豪寇張掖，攻沒鉅鹿塢，殺屬國吏民，又招同種千餘落，並兵晨奔熲軍。 熲下馬大戰，至日中，刀折矢盡，虜亦引退。 熲追之，且□且行，晝夜相攻，割肉食雪，四十餘日，遂至河首積石山，出塞二千餘里，斬燒何大帥，首虜五千餘人。 又分兵擊石城羌，斬首溺死者千六百人。 燒當種九十餘口詣熲降。 又雜種羌屯聚白石，[73]熲復進擊，首虜三千餘人。 冬，勒姐、零吾種圍允街，[74]殺略吏民，熲排營救之，斬獲數百人。
The next spring stray Qiang joined Shaohe headmen to strike Zhangye, overwhelm Julu stockade, slaughter dependent-state households, rally another thousand settlements, and charge Jiong’s camp at dawn. Jiong fought on foot until noon broke every blade and emptied every quiver; the enemy then peeled away. He harried them for forty days through snow and starvation strikes, reaching Mount Jishi at the river’s source beyond two thousand li of steppe; the Shaohe commander fell with five thousand counted dead or taken. A detached column hit the Shicheng Qiang and left sixteen hundred killed or drowned. More than ninety Shaodang clansmen came in to Jiong. Mixed Qiang bands rallied at Baishi; [73] Jiong struck again and counted three thousand heads or prisoners. That winter Lejie and Lingwu warriors besieged Yunjie [74] and butchered the town until Jiong thrust forward his camps and killed hundreds in the relief.
47
四年冬，上郡沉氐、隴西牢姐、烏吾諸種羌共寇並涼二州，熲將湟中義從討之。
In the fourth year of Yanxi, Chenshi bands from Shangjun joined Laojie and Wuwu clans from Longxi to ravage Bing and Liang; Jiong marched loyal Huangzhong auxiliaries against them.
48
涼州刺史郭閎貪共其功，稽固熲軍，使不得進。 [75]義從役久，戀鄉舊，皆悉反叛。 郭閎歸罪於熲，熲坐征下獄，輸作左校。 羌遂陸梁，覆沒營塢，轉相招結，唐突諸郡，於是吏人守闕訟熲以千數。 朝廷知熲為郭閎所誣，詔問其狀。
Inspector Guo Hong of Liangzhou, hungry to share the glory, stalled Jiong’s advance. [75] The auxiliaries, weary and homesick, rose in mutiny. Guo Hong pinned the revolt on Jiong; an edict recalled him to jail and the Left Workshops. The Qiang ran wild, stormed stockades, linked clan to clan, and trampled command after commandery—until thousands of officials and commoners besieged the palace gates demanding Jiong’s reinstatement. The court saw through Guo Hong’s frame and ordered an inquiry.
49
熲但謝罪，不敢言枉，京師稱為長者。 起於徒中，復拜議郎，遷并州刺史。
Jiong apologized without crying injustice; Luoyang hailed him as a man of honor. Raised from penal labor, he became gentleman consultant and then inspector of Bingzhou.
50
時滇那等諸種羌五六千人寇武威、張掖、酒泉，燒人廬舍。 六年，寇埶轉盛，涼州幾亡。 冬，復以熲為護羌校尉，乘驛之職。 明年春，羌封僇、良多、滇那等[76]酋豪三百五十五人率三千落詣熲降。 當煎、勒姐種猶自屯結。 冬，熲將萬餘人擊破之，斬其酋豪，首虜四千餘人。
Some five or six thousand Qiang under Dianna and allied headmen swept Wuwei, Zhangye, and Jiuquan, putting homesteads to the torch. By the sixth year of Yanxi the rebels had nearly swallowed Liangzhou. That winter he was reappointed colonel and raced by post-chaise to headquarters. The next spring three hundred fifty-five chiefs—Fenglu, Liangduo, Dianna, and others [76]—brought three thousand settlements to surrender at Jiong’s camp. Dangjian and Lejie bands still held out in fortified camps. That winter he threw ten thousand men against them, slew their headmen, and counted four thousand dead or captive.
51
八年春，熲復擊勒姐種，斬首四百餘級，降者二千餘人。 夏，進軍擊當煎種於湟中，熲兵敗，被圍三日，用隱士樊志張策，潛師夜出，鳴鼓還戰，大破之，首虜數千人。 熲遂窮追，展轉山谷閒，自春及秋，無日不戰，虜遂饑困敗散，北略武威閒。
In the spring of Yanxi 8 he struck the Lejie again—four hundred heads and two thousand surrendering warriors. That summer his assault on the Dangjian in Huangzhong went wrong—three days besieged until recluse Fan Zhizhang’s stratagem slipped the army out by night; drums thundered at dawn and thousands of tribesmen fell. He dogged them ridge to ravine from spring to autumn without a day’s pause until hunger broke them; survivors fled north to raid toward Wuwei.
52
熲凡破西羌，斬首二萬三千級，獲生口數萬人，馬牛羊八百萬頭，降者萬餘落。
In sum his western campaigns took twenty-three thousand heads, tens of thousands of captives, eight million head of livestock, and brought more than ten thousand settlements to surrender.
53
封熲都鄉侯，邑五百戶。
He was enfeoffed village marquis of Douxiang with five hundred households.
54
永康元年，當煎諸種復反，合四千餘人，欲攻武威，熲復追擊於鸞鳥，大破之，[77]殺其渠帥，斬首三千餘級，西羌於此弭定。
In Yongkang 1 (167 CE) four thousand Dangjian warriors marched on Wuwei; Jiong ran them down at Luanniao, slew their chiefs, took three thousand heads, [77] and the western Qiang were finally quiet.
55
而東羌先零等，自覆沒征西將軍馬賢後，朝廷不能討，遂數寇擾三輔。 其後度遼將軍皇甫規、中郎將張奐招之連年，既降又叛。 桓帝詔問熲曰：「先零東羌造惡反逆，而皇甫規、張奐各擁強觿，不時輯定。 欲熲移兵東討，未識其宜，可參思術略。 」熲因上言曰：「臣伏見先零東羌雖數叛逆，而降於皇甫規者，已二萬許落，善惡既分，餘寇無幾。 今張奐躊躇久不進者，當慮外離內合，兵往必驚。 且自冬踐春，屯結不散，人畜疲羸，自亡之埶，徒更招降，坐制強敵耳。
East of the passes the Xianling and their allies, unbeaten since Ma Xian’s disaster, still plagued the Three Adjuncts while the court hesitated. Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan spent years coaxing them in—each time they submitted they rose again. Emperor Huan asked Jiong: The eastern Xianling Qiang remain rebels, while Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan sit on large forces yet delay pacification. Should we move your army east? Weigh the strategy and advise us. Jiong replied: The eastern Xianling have risen often, yet some twenty thousand settlements already yielded to Huangfu Gui—loyal and hostile are largely sorted; the remnant is small. Zhang Huan tarries because he dreads driving allies apart only to see them reunite; any march would stampede them. They have huddled in camp since winter into spring, men and livestock dropping from exhaustion—they are rotting on their own. Keep offering surrender and you pin the enemy without a blow.
56
臣以為狼子野心，難以恩納，[78]埶窮雖服，兵去復動。 唯當長矛挾脅，白刃加頸耳。 計東種所餘三萬餘落，居近塞內，路無險折，非有燕、齊、秦、趙從橫之埶，而久亂並、涼，累侵三輔，西河、上郡，已各內徙，安定、北地，復至單危，自雲中、五原，西至漢陽二千餘里，匈奴、種羌，並□其地，是為漢疽伏疾，留滯脅下，如不加誅，轉就滋大。 今若以騎五千，步萬人，車三千兩，三冬二夏，足以破定，無慮用費為錢五十四億。 [79]如此，則可令腢羌破盡，匈奴長服，內徙郡縣，得反本土。 伏計永初中，諸羌反叛，十有四年，用二百四十億； 永和之末，復經七年，用八十餘億。 費耗若此，猶不誅盡，餘孽復起，於茲作害。 今不暫疲人，則永寧無期。 臣庶竭駑劣，伏待節度。 」帝許之，悉聽如所上。
They are wolfish by nature—kindness cannot hold them; [78] corner them and they yield; lift the army and they revolt. Only steel at the throat will answer. Some thirty thousand eastern settlements hug the inner frontier—no mountain maze like old central-plain states—yet they have gutted Bing and Liang for years, hammered the Three Adjuncts, forced Xihe and Shangjun to relocate, left Anding and Beidi exposed, and from Yunzhong–Wuyuan westward two thousand li to Hanyang Xiongnu and Qiang share the ground—a festering boil on the empire’s flank that must be lanced or it grows. Five thousand cavalry, ten thousand infantry, three thousand supply carts, and two full cycles of seasons—fifty-four hundred million cash—would finish them. [79] Then the Qiang could be crushed outright, the Xiongnu cowed, and resettled interior counties moved back to their old soil. The Yongchu rebellions ran fourteen years and burned twenty-four billion. Yonghe’s closing campaigns took seven years and over eight billion more. Even that outlay left vermin alive to rise again and wound us. Unless the realm accepts short pain now, quiet never comes. I beg leave to spend my mean strength as you direct. The emperor approved every item.
57
建寧元年春，熲將兵萬餘人，繼十五日糧，從彭陽直指高平，[80]與先零諸種戰於逢義山。 虜兵盛，熲觿恐。 熲乃令軍中張鏃利刃，長矛三重，挾以強弩，列輕騎為左右翼。 淚怒兵將曰：「今去家數千里，進則事成，走必盡死，努力共功名！ 」因大呼，觿皆應騰赴，熲馳騎於傍，突而擊之，虜觿大潰，斬首八千餘級，獲牛馬羊二十八萬頭。
In Jianning 1 (168 CE) spring he marched ten thousand men with a fortnight’s supplies from Pengyang toward Gaoping [80] and met the Xianling at Fengyi Mountain. The tribesmen outnumbered him and his men quailed. He ordered glittering arms displayed—three spear lines flanked by heavy crossbowmen and light cavalry on either wing. He roared at the ranks: "Thousands of li from hearth—push forward or die together—fight for the honor we came for!" A thunderous cheer answered; Jiong swept the flank and shattered them—eight thousand heads and twenty-eight thousand livestock.
58
時竇太后臨朝，下詔曰：「先零東羌歷載為患，熲前陳狀，欲必埽滅。 涉履霜雪，兼行晨夜，身當矢石，感厲吏士。 曾未浹日，凶丑奔破，[81]連屍積俘，掠獲無筭。 洗雪百年之逋負，以慰忠將之亡魂。 [82]功用顯著，朕甚嘉之。 須東羌盡定，當並錄功勤。 今且賜熲錢二十萬，以家一人為郎中。 」□中藏府調金錢彩物，增助軍費。 拜熲羌將軍。
Regent Dou’s edict read: The eastern Xianling have long been a scourge; Colonel Jiong vowed to wipe them out. He marched through ice and dark, took bolts himself, and steeled his men. Inside ten days the rebels shattered; [81] dead and captured heaped beyond reckoning. He avenged a hundred years of defeat and gave peace to fallen loyalists. [82] Such service merits my warm approval. Full honors will follow once the east is quiet. For now award him two hundred thousand cash and a gentleman post for a kinsman. The privy purse released bullion, coin, and brocade for the war chest. He received the title general against the Qiang.
59
夏，熲復追羌出橋門，至走馬水上。 [83]尋聞虜在奢延澤，[84]乃將輕兵兼行，一日一夜二百餘里，晨及賊，擊破之。 余虜走向落川，復相屯結。 熲乃分遣騎司馬田晏將五千人出其東，假司馬夏育將二千人繞其西。 羌分六七千人攻圍晏等，晏等與戰，羌潰走。 熲急進，與晏等共追之於令鮮水上。 [85]熲士卒飢渴，乃勒觿推方奪其水，[86]虜復散走。 熲遂與相連綴，且□且引，及於靈武谷。 [87]熲乃被甲先登，士卒無敢後者。 羌遂大敗，□兵而走。 追之三日三夜，士皆重繭。 [88]既到涇陽，[89]餘寇四千落，悉散入漢陽山谷閒。
That summer he chased them past Bridge Gate to the Running-Horse River. [83] Hearing they camped at Sheyan Marsh [84] he raced light infantry two hundred li without halt, hit them at dawn, and routed the lot. Survivors bolted for Luochuan and rallied. He sent Tian Yan east with five thousand and Xia Yu west with two thousand. Six or seven thousand Qiang surrounded Tian Yan; he fought free and they scattered. Jiong closed up and with Yan cornered them on the Linxian River. [85] His troops were dying of thirst; he locked shields, seized the ford [86], and the Qiang broke. He dogged them in stop-and-go pursuit to Lingwu Gorge. [87] He armored himself and sprang first—none dared hang back. The Qiang collapsed and dropped arms in flight. Three days and nights of pursuit left every sole raw. [88] At Jingyang [89] four thousand surviving settlements melted into the Hanyang ranges.
60
時張奐上言：「東羌雖破，余種難盡，熲性輕果，慮負敗難常。 宜且以恩降，可無後悔。 」詔書下熲。 熲復上言：「臣本知東羌雖觿，而剁弱易制，所以比陳愚慮，思為永寧之筭。 而中郎將張奐，說虜強難破，宜用招降。 聖朝明監，信納瞽言，故臣謀得行，奐計不用。 事埶相反，遂懷猜恨。 信叛羌之訴，飾潤辭意，雲臣兵累見折磨，[90]又言羌一氣所生，不可誅盡，[91]山谷廣大，不可空靜，血流污野，傷和致災。 臣伏念周秦之際，戎狄為害，中興以來，羌寇最盛，誅之不盡，雖降復叛。 今先零雜種，累以反覆，攻沒縣邑，剽略人物，發頤露屍，禍及生死，上天震怒，假手行誅。 [92]昔邢為無道，□國伐之，師興而雨。 [93]臣動兵涉夏，連獲甘澍，歲時豐稔，人無疵疫。 上佔天心，不為災傷； [94]下察人事，觿和師克。 [95]自橋門以西，落川以東，故* (宮) **〔官〕*縣邑，更相通屬，非為深險絕域之地，車騎安行，無應折磨。 案奐為漢吏，身當武職，駐軍二年，不能平寇，虛欲修文戢戈，招降獷敵，[96]誕辭空說，僭而無征。 何以言之？ 昔先零作寇，趙充國徙令居內，[97]煎當亂邊，馬援遷之三輔，[98]始服終叛，至今為鯁。 [99]故遠識之士，以為深憂。 今傍郡戶口單少，數為羌所創毒，而欲令降徒與之雜居，是猶種枳棘於良田，養虺蛇於室內也。 故臣奉大漢之威，建長久之策，欲絕其本根，不使能殖。 [100]本規三歲之費，用五十四億，今適開年，所耗未半，而余寇殘燼，將向殄滅。 [101]臣每奉詔書，軍不內御，[102]願卒斯言，一以任臣，臣時量宜，不失權便。」
Zhang Huan warned: The east is beaten but not erased; Jiong is reckless—disaster may follow. Conciliate them now and spare remorse. The throne sent Zhang’s words to Jiong. Jiong shot back: I said the eastern tribes were many but splintered—easy prey—and urged a lasting solution. Zhang Huan calls them invincible and peddles amnesty. The court believed me, not him. We disagreed—so he nurses a grudge. He repeats rebel propaganda—that my men are worn to the bone, [90] that Qiang are kin one cannot extirpate, [91] that hills are too wide to clear, that slaughter poisons heaven. From Zhou through Qin barbarians scourged us; since Guangwu none matched the Qiang—never fully killed, always rising again. Today’s Xianling mix betray every treaty, sack towns, strip corpses—wrath from above uses our blades. [92] When lawless Xing was attacked the army marched and rain blessed them. [93] My summer campaigns brought timely rain and full granaries—no pestilence. Heaven signs favor us— [94] and our army stands united and wins. [95] From Bridge Gate west to Luochuan east the old— (scribal gloss in source) —the text restores ‘official’ counties—lie in chains of settlements, not impassable wastes; wagons roll freely—no excuse of broken terrain. Huan held command two years and achieved nothing; now he mouths Confucian peace to wild enemies—[96] empty boasting. Why do I say so? Xianling trouble drove Zhao Chongguo to settle them at Lingju; [97] Jiandang risings made Ma Yuan plant them in Sanfu—[98] each time they obeyed then rose; they still choke us. [99] Wise heads have long warned of this. Border counties are bled white—yet he would dump surrendered tribes among Han farmers as if sowing brambles in wheat or keeping snakes in the hall. I march under Han majesty to rip out the root. [100] We budgeted fifty-four hundred million over three years—barely a year in and under half spent—the embers are almost out. [101] Edicts say field command needs no court micromanagement; [102] honor it—leave execution to me and I will seize every opening."
61
二年，詔遣謁者馮禪說降漢陽散羌。 熲以春農，百姓布野，羌雖暫降，而縣官無廩，必當復為盜賊，不如乘虛放兵，埶必殄滅。 夏，熲自進營，去羌所屯凡亭山四五十里，遣田晏、夏育將五千人據其山上。 羌悉觿攻之，厲聲問曰：「田晏、夏育在此不？ 湟中義從羌悉在何面？ 今日欲決死生。 」軍中恐，晏等勸激兵士，殊死大戰，遂破之。 羌觿潰，東奔，復聚射虎谷，分兵守諸谷上下門。
In year two the court sent Feng Shan to parley with stray Hanyang Qiang. Jiong protested: farmers filled the fields; surrendered bands without state grain would revert to looting—better strike now and extirpate. He pushed within forty or fifty li of Fan Mountain and posted Tian Yan and Xia Yu with five thousand atop it. The entire Qiang host assailed them, roaring: "Where are Tian Yan and Xia Yu? Where are the Huangzhong loyalists? Today we fight to the death. Terror swept the lines until Yan spurred them to a desperate stand—and won. Broken, they fled east to Tiger-Shooting Valley and fortified its gates.
62
熲規一舉滅之，不欲復令散走，乃遣千人於西縣結木為柵，廣二十步，長四十里，遮之。 [103]分遣晏、育等將七千人，銜枚夜上西山，結營穿塹，去虜一里許。 又遣司馬張愷等將三千人上東山。 虜乃覺之，遂攻晏等，分遮汲水道。 熲自率步騎進擊水上，羌□走，因與愷等挾東西山，縱兵擊破之，羌覆敗散。 熲追至谷上下門窮山深谷之中，處處破之，斬其渠帥以下萬九千級，獲牛馬驢騾氈裘廬帳什物，不可勝數。 馮禪等所招降四千人，分置安定、漢陽、隴西三郡，於是東羌悉平。
Intent on annihilation, he had a thousand men build a forty-li wooden barrier west of Xi county. [103] Seven thousand under Yan and Yu scaled the west ridge by night, dug in a li off. Zhang Kai took three thousand up the eastern slope. The Qiang woke, struck Yan, and blocked the water parties. Jiong led the ford assault; the Qiang broke; with Kai he squeezed both ridges and shattered them. He hunted them through the winding gorges—nineteen thousand heads—livestock and baggage uncountable. Feng Shan’s four thousand surrenders went to Anding, Hanyang, and Longxi—the eastern Qiang were finished.
63
凡百八十戰，斬三萬八千六百餘級，獲牛馬羊騾驢駱駝四十二萬七千五百餘頭，費用四十四億，軍士死者四百餘人。 更封新豐縣侯，邑萬戶。 熲行軍仁愛，士卒疾病者，親自瞻省，手為裡創。 在邊十餘年，未嘗一日蓐寢。 [104]與將士同苦，故皆樂為死戰。
One hundred eighty fights, 38,600 heads, 427,500 animals, 4.4 billion cash, four hundred dead. His fief became Xinfeng county—ten thousand households. He nursed sick soldiers with his own hands. A decade on the march—never a soft bed. [104] Shared misery made every man willing to die.
64
三年春，征還京師，將秦胡步騎五萬餘人，及汗血千里馬，生口萬餘人。 詔遣大鴻臚持節慰勞於鎬。 [105]軍至，拜侍中。 轉執金吾河南尹。 有盜發馮貴人頤，坐左轉諫議大夫，再遷司隸校尉。
In spring of year three he entered Luoyang with fifty thousand frontier troops, famed horses, and ten thousand captives. The grand herald met him at Hao with imperial insignia. [105] At arrival he became palace attendant. Then Bearer of the Mace and governor of Henan. Tomb robbery cost him rank; he rose again to colonel director of retainers.
65
熲曲意宦官，故得保其富貴，遂黨中常侍王甫，枉誅中常侍鄭颯、董騰等，增封四千戶，並前萬四千戶。
He curried eunuchs, backed Wang Fu, framed Zheng Sa and Dong Teng to death, and grew his fief to fourteen thousand households.
66
明年，伐李咸為太尉，其冬病罷，復為司隸校尉。 數歲，轉穎川太守，徵拜太中大夫。
The next year he succeeded Li Xian as grand commandant; illness ended that winter; he became colonel again. Years later he governed Yingchuan, then grand counselor.
67
光和二年，復代橋玄為太尉。 在位月餘，會日食自劾，有司舉奏，詔收印綬，詣廷尉。 時司隸校尉陽球奏誅王甫，並及熲，就獄中詰責之，遂飲鴆死，家屬徙邊。 後中常侍呂強上疏，追訟熲功，靈帝詔熲妻子還本郡。
In Guanghe 2 (179 CE) he succeeded Qiao Xuan as grand commandant. A month in office—eclipse—self-impeachment—seals seized—Commandant of Justice. Yang Qiu’s strike on Wang Fu dragged Jiong in; questioned in prison he swallowed poison; family exiled. Attendant Lü Qiang later pleaded Jiong’s service; Emperor Ling let his family return.
68
初，熲與皇甫威明、張然明，並知名顯達，京師稱為「涼州三明」云。
Early on Jiong, Huangfu Gui (Weiming), and Zhang Huan (Ranming) rose to fame together—Luoyang dubbed them the Three Luminaries of Liangzhou.
69
贊曰：山西多猛，「三明」儷蹤。 [106]戎驂糾結，塵斥河、潼。 [107]規、奐審策，亟遏囂凶。 文會志比，更相為容。 段追兩狄，束馬縣鋒。 紛紜騰突，谷靜山空。
The ode runs: west of the Taihang bred fierce men; the Three Luminaries matched stride for stride. [106] Barbarian riders swarmed until dust veiled the Yellow River and Tong Pass. [107] Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan read the field and stemmed the worst violence. In council their temperaments harmonized—they yielded to one another. Duan Jiong ran both Di coalitions to ground—bridled horses and sheathed blades. When the tumult cleared, gorges fell silent and hills stood bare.
70
校勘記
Editorial collation notes
71
二一二九頁七行、規乃上疏求乞自□。 按：殿本無「乞」字，王先謙謂無「乞」字是。
Collation: passage reads ' Gui memorialized requesting [lacuna] himself.' Commentary: the Dian edition drops; Wang Xianqian accepts that reading.
72
二一三一頁一行、流血丹野殿本「丹」作「川」，校補引錢大昭說，謂閩本作「川」。 按：集解引周壽昌說，謂丹野猶赤地也，本書公孫瓚傳有「流血丹水」語，與此同，作「丹」為是。
Variant: vs across editions; Fujian has. Scholarly note: parallels 'blood reddened the waters' elsewhere—prefer.
73
二一三一頁五行、言國家不妄有□貶進退。 校補謂案文「妄」當作「聞」。
Line speaks of the court not lightly [lacuna] advancing or demoting officials. Editorial emendation: read wen ‘hear’ where the text had wang ‘recklessly’.
74
二一三二頁八行、護羌校尉段熲坐征。 按「段」字原皆斗「□」，逕改正，後如此不悉出校記。
Witness line: Duan Jiong impeached and recalled. Scholarly note: missing graphs stood in for Duan’s surname everywhere—normalized silently.
75
二一三二頁一一行、臣生長邠岐。 按：「岐」原斗「歧」，逕據汲本、殿本改正。
Witness: 'born in Bin and Qi.' Glyph correction from ‘fork’ qi to Mount Qi qi.
76
二一三三頁五行、若求猛* (敵) **〔將〕*。 據汲本、殿本改。
Witness: 'if one seeks fierce' (scribal gloss: enemy) Restored reading: general (jiang). Emended per Ji and Dian.
77
二一三三頁一三行、沉氐大豪滇昌饑恬等十餘萬口。 按：集解引惠棟說，謂袁紀作「二十餘萬口」。
Witness: Dianchang, Jitian, etc., 100,000+. Variant: Yuan Ji gives 200,000.
78
二一三四頁二行、急使軍就道。 按：刊誤謂「軍」上少一字，或「督」或「領」也。
Witness: 'ordered troops onto the road.' Textual note: possible lacuna before (/).
79
二一三五頁一五行、才略兼優。 按：「兼」原斗「廉」，逕據汲本、殿本改正。
Witness: 'talent and strategy both excellent.' Glyph correction: incorrupt–combined.
80
二一三六頁二行、欲退身避第。 按：集解引錢大昕說，謂「第」當作「弟」，避弟謂己避位而弟得辟召也，此事見風俗通過譽篇，下文「避第仕途」亦「弟」字之鬥。
Witness: 'wished to retire from high office.' Note: read for —step aside for a sibling’s appointment per Fengsu tong.
81
二一三六頁七行、時人以為規賢。 按：刊誤謂案文當作「以規為賢」。
Witness: 'people deemed Gui worthy.' Preferred wording:.
82
二一三七頁一行、誅鄧萬。 按：校補謂鄧萬即鄧萬世，章懷避唐諱，省去一「世」字。
Witness: executed Deng Wan. Name note: Deng Wan = Deng Wanshi (taboo truncation).
83
二一三八頁一行、敦煌* (酒) **〔淵〕*泉人也。 按：集解引錢大昕說，謂酒泉郡名，非縣名，當作「淵泉」。 漢志敦煌郡有淵泉縣，晉志作「深泉」，蓋避唐諱。 章懷本亦當作「深」，後人妄改為「酒」耳。 胡注通鑒雲奐敦煌淵泉人，胡所見本尚未鬥也。 今據改。 注同。
Witness: Dunhuang— (corrupt gloss: wine) Read Yuanquan as the county name. Geographic fix: Yuanquan county, not Jiuquan. Han zhi: Yuanquan; Jin zhi: Shenquan (taboo). Post-Zhang Huai corruption →. Hu Sanxing still read. Emended. Commentary likewise.
84
二一三八頁四行、* (陽) **〔瓜〕*州晉昌縣。 汲本、殿本「陽」作「永」。 按：刊誤謂「永」當作「瓜」。 集解引錢大昕說，謂閩本「永」作「陽」，考唐書地理志，晉昌縣屬瓜州，永陽二字俱誤。 今據改。
Witness fragment— (scribal: yang) Restore Gua prefecture and Jinchang county. Variant graphs yong versus yang in editions. Editorial note: read gua for yong. Qian Daxin argues Jinchang belongs under Gua—the readings yong and yang both fail. Emended.
85
二一三八頁五行、時牟卿受書於張堪。 按：集解引洪亮吉說，謂「張」字應作「周」字。
Witness: Mou Qing studied under Zhang Kan. Hong Liangji: emend →.
86
二一三八頁一四行、金* (食) **〔銀〕*器名。 集解引洪頤粻說，謂中山經郭注，鐻，金銀器之名。 李注「食」當是「銀」字之鬥。 今據改。
Witness: gold— (corrupt gloss) Read silver vessel where the gloss miswrites ‘food’. Hong explains ju as a silver-or-gold ritual vessel. Li Shan emends the gloss from ‘food’ to ‘silver’. Emended.
87
二一四一頁八行、天乃雷雨以風。 按：汲本、殿本「雨」作「電」。
Witness: Zhougong omens—storm. Ji/Dian variant lightning versus rain.
88
二一四二頁一三行、穰穰滿家。 按：「穰穰」原斗「禳禳」，逕據汲本、殿本改正。
Witness: 'granaries overflowing.' Glyph correction between homophonous harvest and ritual graphs.
89
二一四三頁五行、乃以五百金買其首以報。 按：校補引柳從辰說，謂今新序「首」作「骨」。 案北史隱逸傳崔賾荅豫章王書「燕求馬首，□養□鳴」，知古本原有作「首」者。 南史鄭鮮之傳「燕昭市骨而駿足至」，則仍作「骨」。 且孔融與魏武論盛孝章書已云「燕君市駿馬之骨」，是作「骨」亦由來已久。 疑新序自有南北本之別，唐起北方，章懷所據蓋是北本。
Witness: paid five hundred gold for the head. Modern Xinshu parallels prefer bone over head. Northern History parallels confirm head appears in early witnesses. Southern History sticks with bone for the parable. Kong Rong’s wording shows bone had literary sanction early. Text-family hypothesis for Xinshu variants.
90
二一四三頁一六行、奢非晉文。 按：集解引惠棟說，謂「晉」續漢書作「桓」，據注引齊桓公事，疑本書亦元是「桓」字。
Witness line reading against extravagant Jin-wen burial parallels. Hui Dong prefers Duke Huan of Qi over Duke Wen of Jin.
91
二一四四頁八行、王愔文志。 按：殿本「文志」作「文字志」。
Witness: Wang Kai’s Wen zhi. Palace edition adds zi to the title.
92
二一四五頁六行、所在*〔有〕*能政。 據刊誤補。
Witness: lacuna filled with. Errata supplement.
93
二一四五頁八行、*〔會〕*宗字子松。 據殿本補。
Supply for lacuna. Dian supplement.
94
二一四六頁一行、司徒尹* (訟) **〔頌〕*薦熲通。 鑒胡注謂桓帝紀「訟」作「頌」，作「頌」為是。 今據改。 注同。
Witness: Yin— (corrupt:) Restore Yin Song’s personal name. Hu Sanxing: correct. Emended. Commentary likewise.
95
二一四六頁一〇行、首虜五千餘人。 按：「千」原斗「十」，逕據汲本、殿本改正。
Witness line tallying five thousand heads or captives. Numeral correction ten to thousand.
96
二一四六頁一一行、燒當種九十餘口詣熲降。 按：刊誤謂燒當一種不止九十餘口，其種中九十口降亦不足記，「十」當作「千」。
Witness: ninety-odd Shaodang households. Editorial suggestion emends tens to thousands.
97
二一四八頁八行、徒更招降。 按：「徒」字疑鬥，通鑒作「欲」。
Witness line discussing redundant summons to surrender. Zizhi tongjian substitutes wish for only.
98
二一四九頁五行、乃令軍中張鏃利刃刊誤謂案文鏃非可張，未知何字。 按：殿本考證謂通鑒「張」作「長」。
Textual crux on. Palace investigation cites Zizhi tongjian variant.
99
二一五〇頁六行、段熲* (曰) *傳*〔曰〕*。 據汲本改。
Witness: Duan Jiong— (corrupt gloss) Restore biography citation marker. Ji edition fix.
100
二一五一頁六行、故* (宮) **〔官〕*縣邑更相通屬。 據汲本改。 按：刊誤謂案文「宮」當作「官」，舊屯田營壁皆是故官也。
Witness: former— (corrupt: palace) Restore official counties linking together. Ji edition fix. Editor reads official offices where editions wrongly wrote palace.
101
懸猶停也。
Gloss: the graph denotes stopping.
102
平人，齊人也。
The commentator identifies Ping Ren as a native of Qi.
103
振，整； 旅，觿也。 穀梁傳曰「出曰治兵，入曰振旅」也。
Gloss: zhen, to draw up or regulate formation. Lu denotes the marching host—the soldiery as a body. From the Guliang: "outbound maneuvers are zhibing; inbound review is zhenlu."
104
兩營謂馬賢及趙沖等。 二郡，安定、隴西也。
Both encampments: Ma Xian’s and Zhao Chong’s commands. Anding and Longxi—the paired frontier jurisdictions.
105
邁，往也。
Mai: to march or advance.
106
近習，諸佞幸親近小人也。 禮記曰：「雖有貴戚近習。」
Intimates at court—sycophants who nestle beside the throne. A line from the Liji on kin and palace favorites.
107
左傳曰「人患王之無厭也，故從亂如歸」也。
The Zuo gloss: popular dread of royal greed turns revolt into a refuge.
108
先後謂進退也。 言國家不妄有□貶進退，而權幸之徒反為禍福也。
Order of movement—forward motion and pullback. The point: personnel policy should stay steady, while favorites twist outcomes.
109
詩大雅曰：「旱魃為虐，如惔如焚。 」魃，旱神也。
A line from the Mao Shi on the ba scourge—drought like flame. Ba: the drought fiend of folklore.
110
無狀者，謂無善狀。
Wu zhuang—no credible merit on the books.
111
梁商女為順帝后，後女弟又為桓帝后。 冀即商子，故曰代姻也。
Two Liang daughters crowned—ties to Shun and Huan. Liang Ji inherits those marital bonds with the throne.
112
可猶宜也。
Ke: appropriately; it should be so.
113
家語孔子曰：「夫君者舟也，人者水也。 水可載舟，亦以覆舟。 君以此思危，則可知也。」
The Jia Yu image casts the throne as the hull and the people as the tide. The same element bears the realm or swamps it. Closing counsel from the passage on sober rule.
114
熲擊羌，坐為涼州刺史郭閎留兵不進下獄。
Jiong’s Qiang campaign ended in jail—Guo Hong stalled the army.
115
說文曰：「塢，小障也。 一曰庳城也。 」音烏古反。
Shuowen gloss on wu—miniature rampart. Alternate gloss: a squat enclosing wall. Phonetic fanqie: wu plus gu.
116
郡將，郡守也。 鳥鼠，山名，在今渭州西，即先零羌寇鈔處也。 東岱謂泰山，叔孫無忌反處也。 皆由郡守不加綏撫，致使反叛，其疾同也。
County chief—the commanding guardian of the commandery. Bird-Rat Mountain—scene of Xianling sorties west of Weizhou. Taishan anchor—Sun Wuji’s rising. Shared pathology: neglectful magistrates seed revolt.
117
吳起，魏將也。 孫武，吳將也。 言若求猛* (敵) **〔將〕*，不如撫以青平之政； 明習兵書，不如郡守奉法，使之無反也。
Wu Qi—the Wei strategist. Sun Wu—Wu’s classical tactician. The argument opens: craving sheer ferocity— Marginal gloss (enemy). Rather than hunting a fierce enemy general, better soothe them with calm, even-handed rule; Tomes of war matter less than a lawful governor who keeps peace.
118
戚，憂也。 前變謂羌反。
Qi: anxious care. Earlier crisis—the Qiang uprising.
119
以文簿虛降，非真心也。
Paper capitulation—no true submission.
120
蠢，動也。 戾，乖也。
Chun: restless motion. Li: twisted, contrary.
121
縣名，屬安定郡，其故城在今原州平源縣南也。
Anding county seat—ruins south of Pingyuan in Yuanzhou.
122
就猶上也。
Jiu: to lay before superiors.
123
訪，問也。 規言羌種既服，臣即移書軍營及郡，勘問誅殺並納受多少之數目也。
Fang: to examine by questioning. Gui’s audit—dispatch tallies of slain and enrolled across camps.
124
詩小雅曰：「密勿從事，不敢告勞。 無罪無辜，讒口□□。」
A Xiao Ya line on thankless labor. The innocent maligned—lacunae mar the verse.
125
先事謂前輩敗將也。
Those earlier routs—the veteran failures.
126
謝猶讎也。
Xie: settling scores like feud.
127
元帝賜呼韓邪單于待詔掖庭王嬙為閼氏也。
Yuan’s marriage diplomacy—Zhaojun to Huhanye.
128
武帝以江都王建女細君妻烏孫王昆莫為夫人也。
Wu’s western alliance—Xijun to the Wusun ruler.
129
言覆軍之將，旋師之日，多載珍寶，封印完全，便入權門。
Routed commanders freight loot to patron villas—wax seals unbroken.
130
左傳曰「鹿死不擇音，鋌而走險，急何能擇」也。
The Zuo maxim: desperation knows no scruple.
131
《漢官儀》曰：左校署屬將作大匠也。
Per the Han Official Regulations, the Left Workshop falls under the chief builder.
132
言欲歸第避仕宦之塗也。
Yearning to quit the bureaucratic road for private life.
133
謂誅梁冀，誅鄧萬、鄧會，誅李膺等黨事也。
The purge tally—Liang Ji, Deng kin, and the partisan roster.
134
無德而壟曰嬖，謂廢鄧皇后也。
Bi favorite without merit—the deposition of Empress Deng.
135
殺桂陽太守任胤，殺南陽太守成焰、太原太守劉質等也。
Administrator murders—Ren, Cheng, Liu, and peers.
136
漢官儀曰：「矩字叔方。」
The Han guan yi records Ju styled Shufang.
137
古本反。
Phonetic note: gu plus ben.
138
鉤，引也。 謂李膺等事也。
Gou: to hook forth precedent. The Li Ying affair and cohort.
139
怍，籩也。
Zuo: mortification—the standard gloss reads shame.
140
* (酒) **〔淵〕*泉，縣名，地多泉水，故城在今* (陽) **〔瓜〕*州晉昌縣東北也。
Editorial asterisk flagging textual damage or alternate reading. Marginal gloss (wine). Yuanquan county lies spring-rich; the old walled town stood northeast of Marginal gloss (Yang). Jinchang County northeast of Guazhou.
141
時牟卿受書於張堪，為博士，故有牟氏章句。
Mou Qing’s exegetical line—trained under Zhang Kan as boshi.
142
龜茲音丘慈，縣名，屬上郡。 前書音義曰「龜茲國人來降之，因以名縣」也。
Qiuci County—Shang commandery outpost. The toponym recalls surrendered Qiuci settlers.
143
以酒沃地謂之酹。 音力外反。
Libation pour—lei on the earth. Phonetic: li plus wai.
144
如羊如粟，喻多也。
Stock metaphor—flocks and grain sheaves of plenty.
145
屠音直於反。
Reading note for tu.
146
時度遼將軍屯五原。
Wuyuan billet for the Liao-crossing general.
147
明帝永平八年，初置度遼將軍，屯五原郡曼□縣，漢官儀曰「烏丸校尉屯上谷郡寧縣」，故曰二營。
Twin frontier posts: the Liao general at Wuyuan and the Wuhuan colonel at Shanggu.
148
蟞音必薛反。
Reading for bie: bi plus xue.
149
軒，殿檻闌板也。
Hall thresholds—the carved sill rails called xuan.
150
翼氏風角曰：「凡風者天之號令，所以譴告人君者也。」
Yi-style wind divination casts the gale as Heaven’s rebuke.
151
易曰「龍蛇之蟄，以存身也。 」慎子曰「騰蛇游霧，飛龍乘雲，雲罷霧散，與蚯蚓同」也。
A Zhou Yi line on lying low to endure. Shenzi’s sobering image—without clouds, dragons are worms.
152
尚書大傳：「周公薨，成王欲葬之於成周，天乃雷雨以風，禾即盡偃，大木斯拔，國人大恐。 王葬周公畢，示不敢臣也。」
Heaven’s tantrum at Chengzhou burial plans for the Duke of Zhou. Ceremony affirmed—the duke honored above mere minister.
153
顧，旋視也。 復，反覆也。 小雅曰：「父兮生我，母兮鞠我，顧我復我，出入腹我。」
Gu: backward glance. Fu: rocking back and forth. A parental refrain drawn from the Xiao Ya.
154
漢官儀曰：「司隸州部河南雒陽，管三輔、三河、弘農七郡。 」所以奐屈於熲，稱曰「州將」焉。
The metropolitan belt spans the capital counties plus seven jurisdictions. Why Huan bowed to Jiong as zhou jiang.
155
拍音片百反。 髀音步弟反。 史記，楚發兵伐齊，齊威王使淳于髡繼百金，車馬十駟，之趙請救。 髡仰天大笑，冠纓索絕。 王曰：「先生少之乎？ 」髡曰：「今者臣從東方來，見道傍有禳田者，操一豚縞，酒一盂，而祝曰：『甌婁滿篝，污邪滿車，五穀蕃熟，穰穰滿家。 』臣見其所持者狹，所求者奢，故笑。 」於是王乃益以黃金千鎰、白璧十雙、車馬百駟也。
Reading for pai. Reading note for bi meaning thigh. Shiji vignette—Qi’s Kun dispatched to buy Zhao aid. Roaring laughter—cap cords burst. The king asks whether he finds the gift too slight? Kun’s roadside parable—meager offering, immense petition. The joke was a tiny sacrifice paired with cosmic expectations. Qi upped the ante with gold, jade, and a hundred teams.
156
新序曰：「文王作靈臺，掘得死人骨，吏以聞。 文王曰：『葬之。 』吏曰：『此無主矣。 』文王曰：『有天下者，天下之主也； 有一國者，一國之主也。 寡人固其主焉。 』令吏以棺葬之。 天下聞之，曰：『文王賢矣，澤及朽骨，又況人乎。』」
A Xinxu tale of bones under the Ling Terrace. Wen orders decent burial. The clerks protest that the bones lack a claimant. Wen answers that the sovereign tends every soul in the realm. The ruler of a single realm speaks as its sovereign. The lonely throne nonetheless answers for every soul. He commanded proper coffin burial for the bones. The realm praised Wen for mercy that touched the dead before the quick.
157
黨音佗朗反。
Reading note for dang.
158
詩小雅曰「哀我征夫，獨為匪人」也。
A Xiao Ya couplet on soldiers treated as expendable.
159
言將為人所吞噬也。
Figurative prey—about to be consumed.
160
銀印綠綬也，以艾草染之，故曰艾也。
Green-silk silver seal—the hue earned its mugwort nickname.
161
老子曰「和其光，同其塵」也。
Daodejing counsel to dim brilliance and move among the common.
162
陸翽鄴中記曰：「永嘉末，發齊桓公墓，得水銀池金蠶數十箔，珠襦、玉匣、繒彩不可勝數。 」左傳曰：「晉文公朝王，請隧。 王不許，曰：『王章也，未有代德而有二王，亦叔父之所惡也。 』」晉文既臣，請用王禮，是其奢也。
Ye chronicle of Yongjia tomb-breaking—mercury pools and stacked grave goods. Zuo vignette—Jin Wen’s bid for kingly funeral honors. The Zhou king rejects a second ritual kingship. Even as liege he pressed for imperial ceremony.
163
武帝時，楊王孫死，誡其子為布囊盛屍，入地七尺，脫去其囊，以身親土。
Yang Wangsun’s austere burial—cloth sack and naked earth.
164
王愔文志曰：「芝少持高操，以名臣子勤學，文為儒宗，武為將表。 太尉辟，公車有道徵，皆不至，號張有道。 尤好草書，學崔、杜之法，家之衣帛，必書而後練。 臨池學書，水為之黑。 下筆則為楷則，號□□不暇草書，為世所寶，寸紙不遺，韋仲將謂之『草聖』也。」
Wang Yin’s encomium—Zhi as paragon of brush and blade. Shunned high summons—hence "Zhang Youdao." Calligraphy zeal—scribbled every bolt before it saw the vat. Ink-blackened pool from endless practice. His regular hand set the standard; contemporaries crowned him cursive sage.
165
宦者鄭觿封鄛鄉侯也。
Palace favorite Zheng Yi’s Chao-xiang fief.
166
奐被曹節等矯制，使率五營士圍殺陳蕃、竇武等。
Coerced purge—Huan’s troops trapped Chen Fan and Dou Wu.
167
詩國風也。 啜，泣貌也，音知劣反。
A Guofeng citation. Chuo: tear-stained face; phonetic gloss attached.
168
*〔會〕*宗字子松，天水上邽人，元帝時為西域都護。 死，城郭諸國為發喪立祠。
Duan Huizong—Yuan-era protector of the Western Regions. Frontier polities mourned him like a patron.
169
憲陵，順帝陵； 陽陵，景帝陵。 漢官儀曰「氶秩三百石，令秩六百石」也。
Shun’s burial mound at Xianling. Jing’s Yangling sepulcher. Salary ladder for assistants versus county heads.
170
漢官儀曰：「* (訟) **〔頌〕*字公孫，鞏人也。」
Han guan yi quotation opens mid-sentence. Marginal gloss on the disputed graph. Resolved reading: Song of Gong, styled Gongsun.
171
姐音紫且反。
Phonetic note for jie.
172
白石，山，在今蘭州狄道縣東。
Baishi Ridge east of Didao.
173
允音鈆。 街音階。
Phonetic hint: yun as qian. Street-name reading: jie.
174
稽固猶停留也。
Ji gu: stuck in place.
175
僇音良逐反，又力救反。
Alternate fanqie for lu.
176
鳥音爵，縣名，屬武威郡，故城在今涼州昌松縣北也。
Jue County—Wuwei outpost north of Changsong.
177
左傳晉叔向母曰「狼子野心」也。
Zuo proverb on irredeemable fierceness.
178
無慮，都凡也。
Wu lu: rough total.
179
彭陽，高平，並縣名，屬安定郡。 彭陽縣即今原州彭原縣也。 高平縣今原州也。
Twin Anding counties—Pengyang and Gaoping. Old Pengyang maps to Pengyuan. Gaoping’s successor seat is Yuanzhou.
180
浹，□也。 浹音子牒反。 謂□十二辰也。
Gloss breaks—graph unreadable in archetype. Reading note for jia. Likely the twelve chen branches—lacuna mars the lemma.
181
東觀記曰，太后詔云「此以慰種光、馬賢等亡魂」也。
Palace edict framed burial honors as solace for fallen generals.
182
東觀記段熲* (曰) *傳*〔曰〕*「出橋門谷」也。
Dongguan excerpt on Duan Jiong—sentence fractures. Marginal particle yue. Variant biography records exit via Qiaomen Valley.
183
即上郡奢延縣界也。
Ground tied to Sheyan in Shang.
184
令鮮，水名，在今甘州張掖縣界。 一名合黎水，一名羌谷水也。
The Ling River by Zhangye. Aliases Heli and Qiang Valley streams.
185
推方謂方頭競進也。
Massed spearheads grinding ahead.
186
靈武，縣名，有谷，在今靈州懷遠縣西北。
Lingwu Gorge northwest of Huaiyuan.
187
繭，足下傷起形如繭也。 淮南子曰「申包胥曾繭重胝」也。
March blisters thick as cocoons. Huainanzi image of relentless marching.
188
縣名，屬安定郡。
Another Anding county seat.
189
傷敗曰磨，音女六反。
Mo: shattered ranks; phonetic gloss.
190
言羌亦稟天之一氣所生，誅之不可盡也。
They share humanity’s breath—annihilation is fantasy.
191
假，借也。 尚書曰「皇天降災，假手於我有命」也。
Jia: Heaven “lends” another’s hand. Shangshu line on delegated punishment.
192
左傳曰「衛大旱，卜有事於山川，不吉。 寧莊子曰：『昔周饑，克殷而年豐。 今邢方無道，天欲衛伐邢乎？ 』從之，師興而雨」也。
Zuo drought episode opens. Precedent—conquest after famine. Heaven’s drought as mandate against Xing? Campaign launched; skies opened.
193
占，候也。
Zhan: scan the signs.
194
克，勝也。 左傳曰「師克在和不在觿」也。
Ke: decisive victory. Classic maxim—unity beats mass (graph variant in source).
195
獷，惡魍也，音谷猛反。
Savage mien—possibly 貌 miswritten as 魍 in source.
196
宣帝時，充國擊西羌，徙之於金城郡也。
Xuan-era resettlement into Jincheng.
197
遷置天水、隴西、扶風，見西羌傳也。
See Western Qiang chapter for later shifts.
198
「鯁」與「梗」同。 梗，病也。 大雅云：「至今為梗。」
Orthographic note—geng equals stubborn blockage. Geng: chronic harm. Da Ya verse on enduring harm.
199
殖，生也。 左傳曰：「為國家者，見惡如農夫之務去草焉，絕其本根，勿使能殖。」
Zhi: spring back like weeds. Zuo agrarian metaphor for extirpating rebels.
200
杜預注左傳曰：「燼，火余木也。」
Du Yu gloss—jin as embers.
201
御，制御也。 淮南子曰「國不可從外理，軍不可從中御」也。
Yu: steer from afar. Huainanzi warning against remote meddling.
202
西縣屬天水郡，故城在今秦州上邽縣西南也。
Xi County ruins southwest of Shanggui.
203
郭璞曰：「蓐，席也。 」言身不自安。
Guo Pu gloss—ru as bedding. Figurative tossing—as if sleeping on thorns.
204
鎬，水名，在今長安縣西。
Hao River west of Chang’an.
205
儷，偶也。 前書班固曰：「秦漢以來，山東出相，山西出將。 」若白起、王翦、李廣、辛慶忌之流，皆山西人也。
Li: paired counterparts. Ban Gu’s east-west divide of civil and martial talent. The western pantheon—Bai Qi to Xin Qingji.
206
潼，谷名。 谷有水，曰潼水，即潼關。
Tong Gorge as landmark. Tong River threading Tongguan.