Volume 110 Biographies 48: Yang Yunyi, Zhao Bingwen, Han Yu, Feng Bi, Li Xianfu, Lei Yuan, Cheng Zhen

楊雲翼

Yang Yunyi

楊雲翼，字之美，其先贊皇檀山人，六代祖忠，客平定之樂平縣，遂家焉。曾祖青、祖鬱、考恆，皆贈官於朝。雲翼天資穎悟，初學語輒畫地作字，日誦數千言。登明昌五年進士第一，詞賦亦中乙科，特授承務郎、應奉翰林文字。承安四年，出為陝西東路兵馬都總管判官。泰和元年，召為太學博士，遷太常寺丞，兼翰林修撰。七年，簽上京、東京等路按察司事，因召見，章宗咨以當世之務，稱旨。大安元年，翰林承旨張行簡薦其材，且精術數，召授提點司天臺，兼翰林修撰，俄兼禮部郎中。崇慶元年，以病歸。貞祐二年，有司上官簿，宣宗閱之，記其姓名，起授前職，兼吏部郎中。三年，轉禮部侍郎，兼提點司天臺。

Yang Yunyi, whose style name was Zhi Mei, came from Tan Mountain in Zanhuang. Six generations back, his ancestor Zhong settled in Leping County in Pingding as a guest resident, and the family made its home there. His great-grandfather Qing, grandfather Yu, and father Heng were all posthumously granted offices at court. Yunyi was exceptionally bright by nature. As soon as he learned to speak he would trace characters on the ground, and he recited several thousand words a day. He took first place in the jinshi examination of the fifth year of Mingchang and also passed the second rank in the rhapsody examination. He was specially appointed as Cheng Wu Lang and Hanlin Attendant for Documentation. In the fourth year of Chengan he was posted as judicial officer under the Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs on the Shaanxi Eastern Circuit. In the first year of Taihe he was summoned to serve as Erudite of the Imperial Academy, then promoted to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices while also serving as Hanlin Compiler. In the seventh year he handled affairs for the Surveillance Commission on the Shangjing, Dongjing, and other circuits. Summoned to audience, he answered Zhangzong's questions on current affairs to the emperor's satisfaction. In the first year of Daan, Hanlin Academician-in-Chief Zhang Xingjian recommended him for his ability and his mastery of numerology. He was summoned and appointed Director of the Directorate of Astronomy while retaining his post as Hanlin Compiler, and soon afterward was also made Director in the Ministry of Rites. In the first year of Chongqing he retired home because of illness. In the second year of Zhenyou the authorities submitted the official register. Xuanzong read through it, noted Yunyi's name, and recalled him to his former post while also making him Director in the Ministry of Personnel. In the third year he was transferred to Vice Minister of Rites while continuing to direct the Directorate of Astronomy.

四年，大元及西夏兵入鄜延，潼關失守，朝議以兵部尚書蒲察阿裏不孫為副元帥以禦之。雲翼言其人言浮於實，必誤大事。不聽，後果敗。興定元年六月，遷翰林侍講學士，兼修國史，知集賢院事，兼前職，詔曰：「官制入三品者例外除，以卿遇事敢言，議論忠讜，故特留之。」時右丞相高琪當國，人有請榷油者，高琪主之甚力，詔集百官議，戶部尚書高夔等二十六人同聲曰：「可。」雲翼獨與趙秉文、時戩等數人以為不可，議遂格。高琪後以事譴之，雲翼不恤也。二年，拜禮部尚書，兼職如故。三年，築京師子城，役兵民數萬，夏秋之交病者相籍，雲翼提舉醫藥，躬自調護，多所全濟。四年，改吏部尚書。凡軍興以來，入粟補官及以戰功遷授者，事定之後，有司苛為程式，或小有不合輒罷去，雲翼奏曰：「賞罰國之大信，此輩宜從寬錄，以勸將來。」

In the fourth year, Yuan and Western Xia forces entered Fuyan and Tong Pass fell. The court decided to appoint Minister of War Pucha Alibusun deputy commander-in-chief to meet the invasion. Yunyi said the man's talk outran his substance and that he was bound to ruin the campaign. The court would not listen, and defeat followed as he had predicted. In the sixth month of the first year of Xingding he was promoted to Hanlin Attendant Lecturer, made Compiler of the National History and Administrator of the Hall of Assembled Talents while keeping his other posts. An edict read: 'Regulations require that officials who reach the third rank give up concurrent appointments, but because you speak boldly when matters arise and your counsel is loyal and candid, you are specially allowed to keep them.' At that time Right Chancellor Gao Qi dominated the government. When someone proposed a state monopoly on oil, Gao Qi pushed it hard. The emperor ordered all officials to debate the matter. Minister of Revenue Gao Kui and twenty-six others spoke as one: 'It should be done.' Yunyi alone, together with Zhao Bingwen, Shi E, and a few others, argued that it should not be done, and the proposal was dropped. Gao Qi later punished him over the affair, but Yunyi took no notice. In the second year he was appointed Minister of Rites while keeping his other posts unchanged. In the third year work began on the capital's inner wall, conscripting tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. At the height of summer sickness spread through the camps. Yunyi took charge of medical relief, tended the sick himself, and saved a great many lives. In the fourth year he was transferred to Minister of Personnel. Since the wars began, men who had bought office with grain contributions or won promotion through military merit found that once fighting ended, the bureaucracy applied the rules harshly and dismissed them for the slightest irregularity. Yunyi submitted a memorial: 'Rewards and punishments are the foundation of state credibility. These men should be treated leniently so as to encourage others in the future.'

是年九月，上召雲翼及戶部尚書夔、翰林學士秉文于內殿，皆賜坐，問以講和之策，或以力戰為言，上俯首不樂，雲翼徐以《孟子》事大、事小之說解之，且曰：「今日奚計哉，使生靈息肩，則社稷之福也。」上色乃和。

In the ninth month of that year the emperor summoned Yunyi, Minister of Revenue Kui, and Hanlin Academician Bingwen to the inner hall and had them seated. He asked their views on making peace. Some urged continued fighting, and the emperor looked down, plainly displeased. Yunyi gently explained the matter using Mencius's distinction between serving a greater power and serving a lesser one, and said: 'What is there to calculate today? If the people can lay down their burdens, that will be the state's greatest blessing.' The emperor's expression softened.

十一月，改御史中丞。宗室承立權參知政事，行尚書省事於京兆，大臣言其不法，詔雲翼就鞫之，獄成，廷奏曰：「承立所坐皆細事，不足問。向大兵掠平涼以西，數州皆破，承立坐擁強兵，瞻望不進。鄜延帥臣完顏合達以孤城當兵沖，屢立戰績。其功如此，而承立之罪如彼，願陛下明其功罪以誅賞之，則天下知所勸懲矣。自余小失，何足追咎。」承立由是免官，合達遂掌機務。

In the eleventh month he was made Vice Censor-in-Chief. The imperial clansman Chengli served as acting Vice Grand Councilor and ran the Secretariat at Jingzhao. Senior ministers accused him of misconduct, and the emperor ordered Yunyi to investigate. When the trial concluded, Yunyi reported at court: 'Chengli's offenses are all trifles, not worth pursuing. When the enemy swept west of Pingliang and overran several prefectures, Chengli sat on a strong force and watched without advancing. The Fuyan commander Wanyan Hedai held a isolated city against the main enemy thrust and won repeated victories. Here is merit of one kind and guilt of another. I ask Your Majesty to weigh their deeds clearly and reward or punish accordingly, so that the realm will know what conduct to encourage and what to forbid. As for his other petty faults, they are hardly worth pursuing.' Chengli was dismissed from office as a result, and Hedai was put in charge of state affairs.

哀宗即位，首命雲翼攝太常卿，尋拜翰林學士。正大二年二月，複為禮部尚書，兼侍讀。詔集百官議省費，雲翼曰：「省費事小，戶部司農足以辦之。樞密專制軍政，蔑視尚書。尚書出政之地，政無大小，皆當總領。今軍旅大事，社稷系焉，宰相乃不得預聞，欲使利病兩不相蔽得乎。」上嘉納之。

When Aizong ascended the throne he first made Yunyi acting Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, then appointed him Hanlin Academician. In the second month of the second year of Zhengda he was again appointed Minister of Rites and Lecturer-in-Waiting. The emperor ordered all officials to discuss cutting expenses. Yunyi said: 'Economizing is a minor matter that the Ministry of Revenue and the Directorate of Agriculture can handle on their own. The Bureau of Military Affairs monopolizes military administration and treats the Secretariat with contempt. The Secretariat is where government issues forth, and affairs great and small ought all to come under its oversight. Yet on great military matters on which the fate of the state depends, the chief ministers are not even informed in advance. How can benefit and harm be weighed without each side hiding from the other?' The emperor approved his advice.

明年，設益政院，雲翼為選首，每召見賜坐而不名。時講《尚書》，雲翼為言帝王之學不必如經生分章析句，但知為國大綱足矣。因舉「任賢」「去邪」、「與治同道」「與亂同事」、「有言逆於汝心」「有言遜於汝志」等數條，一皆本於正心誠意，敷繹詳明。上聽忘倦。尋進《龜鑑萬年錄》、《聖學》、《聖孝》之類凡二十篇。

The following year the Bureau for Promoting Governance was established with Yunyi as its head. Whenever he was summoned, he was given a seat and addressed without using his personal name. While lecturing on the Documents, Yunyi said that a ruler's learning need not follow the classicists' habit of parsing every chapter and line. Knowing the great principles of governing the state is enough. He then cited such passages as 'appoint the worthy' and 'remove the wicked,' 'walk the same path as good government' and 'share the work of disorder,' and 'words that go against your mind' and 'words that flatter your wishes.' Each he traced back to rectifying the mind and making the will sincere, and he explained them at length with great clarity. The emperor listened without tiring. Soon afterward he presented twenty works including Records of the Tortoise Mirror for Ten Thousand Years, Sacred Learning, and Sacred Filial Piety.

當時朝士，廷議之際多不盡言，顧望依違，浸以成俗。一日，經筵畢，因言：「人臣有事君之禮，有事君之義。禮，不敢齒君之路馬，蹴其芻者有罰，入君門則趨，見君之幾杖則起，君命召不俟駕而行，受命不宿於家，是皆事君之禮，人臣所當盡者也。然國家之利害，生民之休戚，一一陳之，則向所謂禮者特虛器耳。君曰可，而有否者獻其否；君曰否，而有可者獻其可。言有不從，雖引裾、折檻、斷鞅、軔輪有不恤焉者。當是時也，姑徇事君之虛禮，而不知事君之大義，國家何賴焉。」上變色曰：「非卿，朕不聞此言。」雲翼嘗患風痹，至是稍愈，上親問愈之之方，對曰：「但治心耳。心和則邪氣不幹，治國亦然，人君先正其心，則朝廷百官莫不一於正矣。」上矍然，知其為醫諫也。

At that time court officials often held back at deliberations, looking about and hedging until evasion became the custom. One day, after the classics lecture ended, he said: 'A subject owes the ruler both ritual observance and loyal duty. Ritual means not daring to stand beside the ruler's horses on the road, punishing anyone who kicks their fodder, hurrying through the palace gate, rising at sight of the ruler's staff, setting out at once when summoned without waiting for the carriage to be readied, and not spending the night at home after receiving a command. These are the rituals of serving the ruler, and every subject should observe them. But unless one sets forth the state's interests and the people's welfare point by point, all those observances are empty forms. When the ruler says yes but there is reason to say no, one must present the no; when the ruler says no but there is reason to say yes, one must present the yes. If counsel goes unheeded, there are those who will grasp the ruler's robe, break the balustrade, seize the bridle, or block the chariot wheel without flinching. If in such times one observes only the empty rituals of service and ignores the great duty owed the ruler, what can the state rely on?' The emperor's expression changed. He said: 'Had it not been for you, I would never have heard this said.' Yunyi had long suffered from rheumatic paralysis, and by now he was somewhat better. The emperor personally asked how to cure it. He answered: 'Only by curing the mind. When the mind is at peace, no malign influence can touch the body. Governing the state works the same way: if the ruler first sets his mind right, every official at court will follow suit.' The emperor started, recognizing this as medical counsel directed at the state.

夏人既通好，遣其徽猷閣學士李弁來議互市，往返不能決，朝廷以雲翼往議乃定。五年卒，年五十有九，諡文獻。

After peace with the Western Xia, they sent Academician Li Bian of the Hall of Splendid Teachings to negotiate border trade, but talks went back and forth without resolution until the court sent Yunyi to negotiate and the terms were settled. He died in the fifth year at the age of fifty-nine and was given the posthumous title Wenuian.

雲翼天性雅重，自律甚嚴，其待人則寬，與人交分一定，死生禍福不少變。其於國家之事，知無不言。貞祐中，主兵者不能外禦而欲取償于宋，故頻歲南伐。有言之者，不謂之與宋為地，則疑與之有謀。至於宰執，他事無不言者，獨南伐則一語不敢及。雲翼乃建言曰：「國家之慮，不在於未得淮南之前，而在城既得淮南之後。蓋淮南平則江之北盡為戰地，進而爭利於舟楫之間，恐勁弓良馬有不得騁者矣。彼若扼江為屯，潛師於淮以斷餉道，或決水以瀦淮南之地，則我軍何以善其後乎。」及時全倡議南伐，宣宗以問朝臣，雲翼曰：「朝臣率皆諛辭，天下有治有亂，國勢有弱有強，今但言治而不言亂，言強而不言弱，言勝而不言負，此議論所以偏也。臣請兩言之。夫將有事于宋者，非貪其土地也，第恐西北有警而南又綴之，則我三面受敵矣，故欲我師乘勢先動，以阻其進。借使宋人失淮，且不敢來，此戰勝之利也。就如所料，其利猶未可必然。彼江之南其地尚廣，雖無淮南豈不能集數萬之眾，伺我有警而出師耶。戰而勝且如此，如不勝害將若何。且我以騎當彼之步，理宜萬全，臣猶恐其有不敢恃者。蓋今之事勢與泰和不同。泰和以冬征，今我以夏往，此天時之不同也。冬則水涸而陸多，夏則水潦而塗淖，此地利之不同也。泰和舉天下全力，驅颭軍以為前鋒，今能之乎？此人事之不同也。議者徒見泰和之易，而不知今日之難。請以夏人觀之，向日弓箭手之在西邊者，一遇敵則搏而戰、袒而射，彼已奔北之不暇，今乃陷吾城而虜守臣，敗吾軍而禽主將。曩則畏我如彼，今則侮我如此。夫以夏人既非前日，奈何以宋人獨如前日哉。願陛下思其勝之之利，又思敗之之害，無悅甘言，無貽後悔。」章奏不報。時全果大敗於淮上，一軍全沒。宣宗責諸將曰：「當使我何面目見楊雲翼耶？」

By nature Yunyi was refined and dignified, stern with himself but generous toward others. Once he fixed the terms of a friendship, he changed little whether in life or death, fortune or misfortune. On matters of state he spoke whenever he had knowledge to offer. During Zhenyou, the men in charge of the armies could not hold the northern frontier yet sought compensation from Song, and so they launched southern campaigns year after year. Anyone who spoke up was either accused of colluding with Song or suspected of secret dealings with them. Even the chief ministers, who spoke freely on every other matter, dared not utter a single word about the southern campaigns. Yunyi submitted a memorial: 'The state's worry lies not in failing to take Huainan, but in what happens after Huainan is taken. Once Huainan falls, everything north of the Yangzi becomes a battleground. Fighting for advantage on the water, our strong bows and fine horses may have no room to show their worth. If they block the river with camps, move troops secretly along the Huai to cut our supply lines, or breach the dikes to flood Huainan, how will our army recover afterward?' When Shi Quan urged a southern campaign, Xuanzong asked the court for their views. Yunyi said: 'The ministers speak only to flatter. The realm knows order and disorder, and a state knows strength and weakness. Yet they speak only of order, not disorder; only of strength, not weakness; only of victory, not defeat. That is why their counsel is one-sided. I ask leave to speak of both sides. Those who wish to act against Song are not greedy for territory. They fear that if trouble breaks out in the northwest while the south also presses us, we will face enemies on three sides. They want our armies to strike first and block Song's advance. Even if Song lost the Huai and dared not advance, that would be the benefit of victory. Even if events unfold as they predict, the benefit is still far from certain. South of the Yangzi their territory remains vast. Even without Huainan, can they not raise tens of thousands of men and march out when they see us distracted? If victory still brings such risks, what harm awaits us if we lose? We would meet their infantry with our cavalry, which in principle should make victory certain, yet I still fear there may be grounds we cannot rely on. Today's circumstances differ from those of the Taihe era. Taihe campaigned in winter; we would go in summer. That is one difference in season. In winter the rivers run low and dry land is plentiful; in summer the waters rise and the roads turn to mud. That is a difference in terrain. Taihe mobilized the full strength of the realm and drove the Fengyang army as vanguard. Can we do that today? That is a difference in human resources. Those who debate the matter see only how easy Taihe was and do not understand how hard today would be. Consider the Western Xia. Once our bowmen on the western frontier grappled and fought bare-armed at the first contact, and the enemy had no time but to flee. Now they take our cities and capture our defending officials, defeat our armies and seize our commanders. They once feared us as they did then; now they treat us with contempt. If the Xia are no longer what they once were, how can we assume the Song alone remain unchanged? I ask Your Majesty to weigh the gains of victory and the harm of defeat, not to delight in flattering words, and not to leave yourself regret.' The memorial received no response. Shi Quan was indeed routed on the Huai, and an entire army was destroyed. Xuanzong rebuked the generals: 'What face can I show Yang Yunyi now?'

河朔民十有一人為遊騎所迫，泅河而南，有司論罪當死，雲翼曰：「法所重私渡者，防奸偽也。今平民為兵所迫，奔入於河，為逭死之計耳。今使不死於敵而死於法，後惟從敵而已。」宣宗悟，盡釋之。哀宗以河南旱，詔遣官理冤獄，而不及陝西，雲翼言：「天地人通為一體，今人一支受病則四體為之不寧，豈可專治受病之處而置其餘哉。」朝廷是之。

In Heshuo, nine out of ten civilians forced by enemy scouts to swim the river south were sentenced to death. Yunyi said: 'The law punishes unauthorized river crossings to prevent spies and traitors. These were ordinary people driven by enemy troops into the river simply to escape death. If they die not by the enemy's hand but by our law, hereafter they will have no choice but to join the enemy.' Xuanzong understood and released them all. When drought struck Henan, Aizong ordered officials to review wrongful convictions there but not in Shaanxi. Yunyi said: 'Heaven, earth, and humanity form one body. When one limb falls ill, the whole body suffers. How can we treat only the afflicted part and ignore the rest?' The court agreed.

司天有以《太乙新曆》上進者，尚書省檄雲翼參訂，摘其不合者二十餘條，曆家稱焉。所著文集若干卷，校《大金禮儀》若干卷，《續通鑑》若干卷，《周禮辨》一篇，《左氏》、《莊》、《列賦》各一篇，《五星聚井辨》一篇，《縣象賦》一篇，《勾股機要》、《象數雜說》等著藏於家。

When the Directorate of Astronomy submitted the New Taoyi Calendar, the Secretariat ordered Yunyi to review it. He identified more than twenty errors, and the calendar specialists praised his work. He left collected writings in several volumes, collated several volumes of the Rites of the Great Jin, compiled several volumes of a Continued Comprehensive Mirror, and wrote such works as Discourse on the Rites of Zhou, rhapsodies on the Zuo Tradition, Zhuangzi, and Liezi, Discourse on the Five Stars Gathering at the Well, Rhapsody on the Suspended Images, Essential Methods of Gougu, and Miscellaneous Discourses on Numbers and Images, all kept in his household.

趙秉文

Zhao Bingwen

趙秉文，字周臣，磁州滏陽人也。幼穎悟，讀書若夙習。登大定二十五年進士第，調安塞簿，以課最遷邯鄲令，再遷唐山。丁父憂，用薦者起複南京路轉運司都勾判官。明昌六年，入為應奉翰林文字，同知制誥。上書論宰相胥持國當罷，宗室守貞可大用。章宗召問，言頗差異，於是命知大興府事內族膏等鞫之。秉文初不肯言，詰其僕，歷數交遊者，秉文乃曰：「初欲上言，嘗與修撰王庭筠、御史周昂、省令史潘豹、鄭贊道、高坦等私議。」庭筠等皆下獄，決罰有差。有司論秉文上書狂妄，法當追解，上不欲以言罪人，遂特免焉。當時為之語曰：「古有硃雲，今有秉文，硃雲攀檻，秉文攀人。」士大夫莫不恥之。坐是久廢，後起為同知岢嵐軍州事，轉北京路轉運司支度判官。承安五年冬十月，陰晦連日，宰相張萬公入對，上顧謂萬公曰：「卿言天日晦冥，亦猶人君用人邪正不分，極有理。若趙秉文曩以言事降授，聞其人有才藻，工書翰，又且敢言，朕非棄不用，以北邊軍事方興，姑試之耳。」泰和二年，召為戶部主事，遷翰林修撰。十月，出為甯邊州刺史。三年，改平定州。前政苛于用刑，每聞赦將至，先掊賊死乃拜赦，而盜愈繁。秉文為政，一從寬簡，旬月盜悉屏跡。歲饑，出祿粟倡豪民以賑，全活者甚眾。

Zhao Bingwen, whose style name was Zhouchen, came from Fuyang in Cizhou. As a boy he was exceptionally bright and took to books as though he had studied them from birth. He passed the jinshi examination in the twenty-fifth year of Dading, was appointed clerk of Anse, and for outstanding performance was promoted to magistrate of Handan and then of Tangshan. After his father's death he left office for mourning, then on recommendation was recalled to serve as Chief Intendant Clerk on the Nanjing Circuit Transport Commission. In the sixth year of Mingchang he entered the capital as Hanlin Attendant for Documentation and Associate Drafter of Edicts. He submitted a memorial arguing that Chancellor Xu Chiguo should be dismissed and that the imperial clansman Shouzhen deserved greater employment. Zhangzong summoned him for questioning. His account differed markedly from expectation, so the emperor ordered the Administrator of Daxing Prefecture, the imperial clansman Gao, and others to investigate. At first Bingwen refused to speak. They questioned his servant, who named his associates one by one. Bingwen then said: 'When I first planned to submit the memorial, I had privately discussed it with Compiler Wang Tingjian, Censor Zhou Ang, Secretariat Clerk Pan Bao, Zheng Zandao, Gao Tan, and others.' Tingjian and the others were all imprisoned and punished to varying degrees. The authorities ruled that Bingwen's memorial was reckless and that by law he should be dismissed. The emperor did not wish to punish a man for his words and specially exempted him. People at the time said: 'In antiquity there was Zhu Yun; today there is Bingwen. Zhu Yun seized the balustrade; Bingwen seized men.' Scholar-officials were unanimous in their shame. Because of this he remained out of office for a long time. Later he was appointed Associate Administrator of Keilan Military Prefecture, then transferred to Expenditure Judicial Officer on the Beijing Circuit Transport Commission. In the tenth month of winter in the fifth year of Chengan, the sky stayed dark for days on end. When Chancellor Zhang Wangong came to audience, the emperor turned to him and said: 'What you said about heaven and sun growing dim is much like a ruler who cannot tell the upright from the wicked in his appointments. That is very well put. As for Zhao Bingwen, who was once demoted for speaking out on state affairs, I have heard he has literary talent, excels at calligraphy, and dares to speak frankly. I have not cast him aside. With military affairs on the northern frontier just heating up, I am merely testing him for now.' In the second year of Taihe he was summoned as Director in the Ministry of Revenue and then promoted to Hanlin Compiler. In the tenth month he was posted as Prefect of Ningbian. In the third year he was transferred to Pingding Prefecture. The previous administration was harsh in applying punishments. Whenever word came that an amnesty was near, officials would beat thieves to death first and only then accept the amnesty, yet banditry only grew worse. Bingwen governed with leniency and simplicity, and within a month bandits had all vanished. During a famine year he distributed his salary grain and urged wealthy households to join the relief effort, saving a great many lives.

大安初，北兵南向，召秉文與待制趙資道論備邊策，秉文言：「今我軍聚於宣德，城小，列營其外，涉暑雨，器械弛敗，人且病，俟秋敵至將不利矣。可遣臨潢一軍搗其虛，則山西之圍可解，兵法所謂'出其不意、攻其必救'者也。」衛王不能用，其秋宣德果以敗聞。尋為兵部郎中，兼翰林修撰，俄轉翰林直學士。

At the beginning of Daan, as northern troops marched south, Bingwen was summoned with Attendant-in-Waiting Zhao Zidao to discuss border defense. Bingwen said: 'Our army is now massed at Xuande. The city is small and the camps lie outside its walls. Exposed to summer heat and rain, weapons are failing and men are falling ill. When the enemy arrives in autumn, we will be at a grave disadvantage. We could send an army from Linhuang to strike where they are weak, and the encirclement of Shanxi would be lifted. That is what military strategy calls striking where the enemy does not expect it and attacking what he must rescue.' The Prince of Wei would not adopt his advice, and that autumn news came of defeat at Xuande. Soon afterward he was made Director in the Ministry of War and Hanlin Compiler, then shortly promoted to Hanlin Academician-in-Attendance.

貞祐初，建言時事可行者三：一遷都，二導河，三封建。朝廷略施行之。明年，上書願為國家守殘破一州，以宣佈朝廷恤民之意，且曰：「陛下勿謂書生不知兵，顏真卿、張巡、許遠輩以身許國，亦書生也。」又曰：「使臣死而有益於國，猶勝坐糜廩祿為無用之人。」上曰：「秉文志固可尚，然方今翰苑尤難其人，卿宿儒，當在左右。」不許。四年，拜翰林侍講學士，言：「寶券滯塞，蓋朝廷初議更張，市肆已妄傳其不用，因之抑遏，漸至廢絕。臣愚以為宜立回易務，令近上職官通市道者掌之，給以銀鈔粟麥縑帛之類，權其低昂而出納。」詔有司議行之。

At the beginning of Zhenyou he proposed three timely measures: relocating the capital, channeling the Yellow River, and restoring enfeoffment. The court adopted them in part. The following year he submitted a memorial offering to hold one battered prefecture for the state so as to proclaim the court's care for the people. He said: 'Your Majesty must not assume that scholars know nothing of war. Yan Zhenqing, Zhang Xun, Xu Yuan, and men like them gave their lives to the state, and they were scholars too.' He also said: 'If my death should benefit the state, that is still better than sitting idle on court salary as a useless man.' The emperor said: 'Bingwen's resolve is admirable, but the Hanlin Academy especially needs such a man just now. You are a veteran scholar and should remain at my side.' The request was denied. In the fourth year he was appointed Hanlin Attendant Lecturer and said: 'Treasury notes have ceased to circulate. When the court first debated reform, the markets falsely spread word that the notes would be abolished. They were suppressed and have gradually fallen out of use altogether. I believe we should establish an Exchange Office run by senior officials who understand commerce, stocked with silver notes, grain, wheat, silk, and cloth, and regulate prices as goods are issued and received.' An edict ordered the relevant offices to deliberate and implement the plan.

五年，複為禮部尚書，入謝，上曰：「卿春秋高，以文章故須複用卿。」秉文以身受厚恩，無以自效，願開忠言、廣聖慮，每進見從容為上言，人主當儉勤、慎兵刑，所以祈天永命者，上嘉納焉。哀宗即位，再乞致仕，不許。改翰林學士，同修國史，兼益政院說書官。以上嗣德在初，當日親經史以自裨益，進《無逸直解》、《貞觀政要》、《申鑒》各一通。

In the fifth year he was again appointed Minister of Rites. When he came to give thanks, the emperor said: 'You are advanced in years, but because of your writings I must put you back in office.' Bingwen, having received such great favor and unable to repay it adequately, sought to offer loyal counsel and broaden the emperor's vision. Whenever he attended audience he calmly urged that a ruler should be frugal, diligent, and cautious in war and punishments—the means by which one prays Heaven for a lasting mandate—and the emperor approved his advice. When Aizong ascended the throne, Bingwen twice asked to retire, but both requests were denied. He was made Hanlin Academician, Compiler of the National History, and Lecturer at the Bureau for Promoting Governance. Because the heir's character was still being formed, he ought daily to study the classics and histories for his own improvement. Bingwen presented one copy each of Direct Explication of "Against Idleness," Essentials of Government from the Zhenguan Reign, and Shen Jian.

正大九年正月，汴京戒嚴，上命秉文為赦文，以布宣悔悟哀痛之意。秉文指事陳義，辭情俱盡。及兵退，大臣欲稱賀，且命為表，秉文曰：「《春秋》'新宮火，三日哭'。今園陵如此，酌之以禮，當慰不當賀。」遂已。時年已老，日以時事為憂，雖食息頃不能忘。每聞一事可便民，一士可擢用，大則拜章，小則為當路者言，殷勤鄭重，不能自已。三月，草《開興改元詔》，閭巷間皆能傳誦，洛陽人拜詔畢，舉城痛哭，其感人如此。是年五月壬辰，卒，年七十四，積官至資善大夫、上護軍、天水郡侯。

In the first month of the ninth year of Zhengda, Bianjing was placed under martial law. The emperor ordered Bingwen to draft the amnesty edict expressing repentance and grief. Bingwen cited concrete events and laid out their moral meaning with complete force of language and feeling. When the enemy withdrew, senior ministers wished to offer congratulations and ordered him to draft a congratulatory memorial. Bingwen said: 'The Spring and Autumn Annals records that when the new palace caught fire, there was mourning for three days. Now the imperial tombs lie in such a state. Judged by ritual propriety, we ought to offer consolation, not congratulations.' The plan was dropped. By then he was old and worried constantly about current affairs, unable to forget them even for a moment. Whenever he heard of some measure that could benefit the people or some worthy man who deserved promotion, he would memorialize on great matters and speak privately to those in power on lesser ones, earnest and insistent, unable to restrain himself. In the third month he drafted the Edict on Opening Prosperity and Changing the Reign Era. People in every lane could recite it from memory. When the people of Luoyang finished bowing to the edict, the whole city wept together. Such was its power to move them. In the fifth month of that year, on the day renchen, he died at the age of seventy-four, having risen through accumulated offices to Worthy and Good Grand Master, Upper Guardian of the Army, and Marquis of Tianshui.

正大間，同楊雲翼作《龜鑑萬年錄》上之。又因進講，與雲翼共集自古治術，號《君臣政要》為一編以進焉。秉文自幼至老未嘗一日廢書，著《易叢說》十卷，《中庸說》一卷，《揚子發微》一卷，《太玄箋贊》六卷，《文中子類說》一卷，《南華略釋》一卷，《列子補注》一卷，刪集《論語》、《孟子解》各一十卷，《資暇錄》一十五卷，所著文章號《滏水集》者三十卷。

During the Zhengda era he collaborated with Yang Yunyi on Records of the Tortoise Mirror for Ten Thousand Years and presented it to the throne. On another occasion, while lecturing at court, he and Yunyi compiled governing methods from antiquity into a work titled Essential Policies of Ruler and Minister and presented it. From youth to old age Bingwen never went a day without reading. His works included Collected Discourses on the Changes in ten volumes, Discourse on the Mean in one volume, Unfolding the Subtle in the Yangzi in one volume, Annotated Praise of the Supreme Mystery in six volumes, Classified Sayings of Wenzhongzi in one volume, Brief Explication of the Zhuangzi in one volume, Supplementary Notes on the Liezi in one volume, abridged editions of Explications of the Analects and Mencius in ten volumes each, Records of Leisure Learning in fifteen volumes, and his collected writings, the Fu River Collection, in thirty volumes.

秉文之文長於辨析，極所欲言而止，不以繩墨自拘。七言長詩筆勢縱放，不拘一律，律詩壯麗，小詩精絕，多以近體為之，至五言古詩則沉鬱頓挫。字畫則草書尤遒勁。朝使至自河、湟者，多言夏人問秉文及王庭筠起居狀，其為四方所重如此。

Bingwen's prose excelled in clear analysis. He said what he had to say and stopped, never binding himself to formal rules. His long seven-character poems were bold and unrestrained, never bound to one pattern. His regulated verse was magnificent and his short poems exquisite, mostly in recent forms, while his five-character ancient verse was somber and forceful. In calligraphy his cursive script was especially powerful. Court envoys returning from the He and Huang regions often reported that the Western Xia inquired after the health of Bingwen and Wang Tingjian. Such was the esteem in which he was held across the realm.

為人至誠樂易，與人交不立崖岸，未嘗以大名自居。仕五朝，官六卿，自奉養如寒士。楊雲翼嘗與秉文代掌文柄，時人號「楊趙」。然晚年頗以禪語自汙，人亦以為秉文之恨雲。

As a man he was utterly sincere, cheerful, and approachable. In friendship he set up no barriers and never traded on his great reputation. He served five reigns and rose to the six ministries, yet lived as simply as a poor scholar. Yang Yunyi and Bingwen once alternately held literary authority at court, and contemporaries called them "Yang and Zhao." Yet in his later years he rather sullied himself with Chan Buddhist language, which people took as a stain on Bingwen's reputation.

贊曰：楊雲翼、趙秉文，金士巨擘，其文墨論議以及政事皆有足傳。雲翼諫伐宋一疏，宣宗雖不見聽，此心何愧景略。庭筠之累，秉文所為，茲事大愧高允。

The encomium reads: Yang Yunyi and Zhao Bingwen were towering figures among Jin scholars. Their writings, counsel, and public service all deserve to be remembered. Yunyi's memorial against campaigning against Song went unheeded by Xuanzong, yet what shame does his conscience owe to Wang Meng? The trouble that fell on Tingjian was Bingwen's doing, and in this matter he falls far short of Gao Yun.

韓玉，字溫甫，其先相人，曾祖錫仕金，以濟南尹致仕。玉明昌五年經義、辭賦兩科進士，入翰林為應奉。應制一日百篇，文不加點。又作《元勳傳》，稱旨，章宗歎曰：「勳臣何幸，得此家作傳耶！」泰和中，建言開通州潞水漕渠，船運至都。升兩階，授同知陝西東路轉運使事。

Han Yu, whose style name was Wenfu, came from Xiang. His great-grandfather Xi served the Jin and retired as Administrator of Jinan. Yu passed both the jingyi and cifu examinations as jinshi in the fifth year of Mingchang and entered the Hanlin as an Attendant. On imperial command he wrote a hundred pieces in a single day without needing to revise a stroke. He also wrote Biographies of Founding Merit, which pleased the emperor. Zhangzong sighed and said: 'How fortunate are our meritorious ministers to have this family write their biographies!' During the Taihe era he proposed opening the Tongzhou Lushui transport canal so that grain could be shipped to the capital by boat. He was promoted two ranks and appointed Associate Commissioner of the Shaanxi Eastern Circuit Transport Commission.

大安三年，都城受圍。夏人連陷邠、涇，陝西安撫司檄玉以鳳翔總管判官為都統府募軍，旬日得萬人，與夏人戰，敗之，獲牛馬千餘。時夏兵五萬方圍平涼，又戰于北原，夏人疑大軍至，是夜解去。當路者忌其功，驛奏玉與夏寇有謀，朝廷疑之，使使者授玉河平軍節度副使，且覘其軍。先是，華州李公直以都城隔絕，謀舉兵入援，而玉恃其軍為可用，亦欲為勤王之舉，乃傳檄州郡雲：「事推其本，禍有所基，始自賊臣貪容奸賂，繼緣二帥貪固威權。」又雲：「裹糧坐費，盡膏血於生民。棄甲複來，竭資儲于國計。要權力而望形勢，連歲月而守妻孥。」又雲：「人誰無死，有臣子之當然。事至於今，忍君親之弗顧。而謂百年身後，虛名一聽史臣。只如今日目前，何顏以居人世。」公直一軍行有日矣，將有違約、國朝人有不從者，輒以軍法從事。京兆統軍便謂公直據華州反，遣都統楊珪襲取之，遂置極刑。公直曾為書約玉，玉不預知，其書乃為安撫所得。及使者覘玉軍，且疑預公直之謀，即實其罪。玉道出華州，被囚，死於郡學。臨終書二詩壁間，士論冤之。

In the third year of Daan the capital came under siege. The Western Xia overran Bin and Jing in succession. The Shaanxi Pacification Commission ordered Yu, serving as judicial officer under the Fengxiang Commander-in-Chief, to recruit troops for the General Command. Within ten days he raised ten thousand men, defeated the Xia in battle, and captured more than a thousand cattle and horses. At that time fifty thousand Xia troops were besieging Pingliang. He fought again at Beiyuan, and the Xia, suspecting that a large army had arrived, lifted the siege that night and withdrew. Those in power envied his success and reported by courier that Yu had plotted with the Xia. The court grew suspicious and sent an envoy to appoint him Vice Military Commissioner of the Heping Army while also observing his troops. Earlier, Li Gongzhi of Huazhou, finding the capital cut off, plotted to raise troops to relieve it. Yu, trusting that his army could be used, also wished to march to the emperor's aid and circulated a proclamation to the prefectures saying: 'Affairs trace back to their root, and calamity has its foundation. It began with wicked ministers who greedily harbored treachery and bribes, and continued through two commanders who greedily clung to power.' It also said: 'They consume rations without fighting and drain the lifeblood of the people. They cast off their armor and return again, draining the state's reserves. They grasp for power while watching how the wind blows, staying with their wives and children month after month.' It also said: 'Who among men does not die? Yet there is what is proper for a subject and minister. Matters have come to this pass, yet they cannot bring themselves to care for ruler and kin. They think that a hundred years after death, empty fame will be left entirely to the historians. As for the present moment before their eyes, what face have they to show in this world?' Gongzhi's army had been on the march for days. Anyone who broke the agreement or any subject of the dynasty who refused to follow was dealt with by military law. The Jingzhao Commander-in-Chief declared that Gongzhi had seized Huazhou in rebellion, sent Commander-in-Chief Yang Gui to take him by surprise, and put him to death. Gongzhi had once written Yu a letter proposing joint action. Yu had not known of it beforehand, and the letter fell into the hands of the Pacification Commission. When the envoy observed Yu's army and suspected he had shared in Gongzhi's plot, he confirmed the charge against him. Yu, passing through Huazhou on the road, was imprisoned and died in the prefectural school. Facing death he wrote two poems on the wall, and scholars widely regarded his case as a miscarriage of justice.

子不疑，字居之。以父死非罪，誓不祿仕。藏其父臨終時手書雲：「此去冥路，吾心皓然，剛直之氣，必不下沉。兒可無慮。世亂時艱，努力自護，幽明雖異，寧不見爾。」讀者惻然。

His son Bu Yi, whose style name was Juzhi. Because his father had died though guilty of no crime, he swore never to accept office or salary. He kept his father's last handwritten words, which read: 'On this road to the dark realm my heart remains bright and clear. The spirit of firm uprightness will surely not sink down. Son, you need not worry. The age is chaotic and times are hard, so strive to protect yourself. Though the living and the dead are apart, surely I shall still see you.' Readers were deeply moved.

馮璧，字叔獻，真定縣人。幼穎悟不凡，弱冠補太學生。承安二年經義進士，制策複優等，調莒州軍事判官，宰相奏留校秘書。未幾，調遼濱主簿。縣有和糴粟未給價者餘十萬斛，散貯民居，以富人掌之，有腐敗則責償於民，民殊苦之。璧白漕司，即日罷之，民大悅。

Feng Bi, whose style name was Shuxian, came from Zhending County. As a boy he was exceptionally bright, and at his capping age he was selected as an Imperial Academy student. In the second year of Chengan he passed the jingyi jinshi examination and received a superior grade in the policy examination. He was assigned as Military Judicial Officer of Juzhou, but the chancellor memorialized to keep him at the school secretariat. Before long he was posted as Registrar of Liaobin. The county held more than a hundred thousand hu of harmonized-purchase grain for which payment had not yet been made, stored in scattered private homes under wealthy managers. When grain spoiled, commoners were held liable, and the people suffered greatly. Bi reported to the transport commission, and the practice was abolished that very day to the people's great relief.

泰和四年，調鄜州錄事。明年，伐蜀，行部檄充軍前檢察，帥府以書檄委之。章宗欲招降吳曦，詔先以文告曉之，然後用兵。蜀人守散關不下，金兵殺獲甚眾，璧言：「彼軍拒守而並禍其民，無乃與詔旨相戾乎？」主帥憾之，以璧招兩當潰卒，璧即日率風州已降官屬淡剛、李果偕行。道逢軍士所得子女金帛牛馬皆奪付剛，使歸其家，軍士則以違制決遣之。比到兩當，軍民三萬餘眾鼓舞迎勞，璧以朝旨慰遣之。及還，主帥嘉其能，奏遷一官。五年，自東阿丞召補尚書省令史，用宗室承暉薦授應奉翰林文字，兼韓王府記室參軍。俄轉太學博士。至甯初，忽沙虎弑逆，遂去官。

In the fourth year of Taihe he was posted as Recorder of Fuzhou. The following year, during the campaign against Shu, the circuit inspection office assigned him as front-line inspector, and the command headquarters entrusted him with official correspondence. Zhangzong wished to induce Wu Xi to surrender and ordered that he first be addressed with a written proclamation before troops were used. The Shu forces held Sans Pass and would not yield. Jin troops killed and captured a great many. Bi said: 'The enemy holds the pass yet we bring calamity on their people as well. Is that not contrary to the edict's intent?' The commander resented his words and assigned Bi to recruit routed troops from Liangdang. Bi set out that same day with the surrendered Fengzhou officials Dan Gang and Li Guo. On the road he met soldiers carrying captured women, children, gold, silk, cattle, and horses. He seized them all and handed them to Gang to return to their families, while the soldiers were punished and dismissed for violating regulations. When he reached Liangdang, more than thirty thousand soldiers and civilians came out drumming and dancing to welcome him. Bi, by imperial order, consoled them and sent them home. On his return the commander praised his ability and memorialized for his promotion by one rank. In the fifth year he was summoned from Assistant Magistrate of Dong'e to serve as a Secretariat Clerk in the Ministry of Works. On the recommendation of the imperial clansman Chenghui he was appointed Hanlin Attendant for Documentation and Secretary of the Prince of Han's household. Soon afterward he was made Erudite of the Imperial Academy. At the beginning of Zhi'ning, when Hushahu murdered the emperor, Bi left office.

宣宗南遷，璧時避兵東方，由單父渡河詣汴梁，時相奏複前職。貞祐三年，遷翰林修撰。時山東、河朔軍六十余萬口，仰給縣官，率不逞輩竄名其間。詔璧攝監察御史，汰逐之。總領撒合問冒券四百餘口，劾案以聞，詔杖殺之，故所至爭自首，減幾及於半。複進一官。初，監察御史本溫被命汰宗室從坦軍于孟州，軍士欲謀變，本溫懼不知所為。尋有旨，北軍沈思忠以下四將屯衛州，餘眾果叛入太行。於是，密院奏以璧代本溫竟其事。璧馳至衛，召四將喻以上意。思忠等挾叛者請還奏之，璧責以大義，將士慚服，不日就汰者三千人。

When Xuanzong moved the court south, Bi had been avoiding the fighting in the east. He crossed the river from Shanfu to Bianliang, and the chief minister memorialized to restore his former post. In the third year of Zhenyou he was promoted to Hanlin Compiler. At that time the armies of Shandong and Heshuo numbered more than six hundred thousand men on government rations, and unruly elements had mostly slipped in among them. An edict ordered Bi to serve as acting Investigating Censor and weed them out. Chief Controller Sahewen had falsely claimed more than four hundred ration tickets. Bi impeached him and reported the case, and an edict ordered Sahewen beaten to death. Wherever Bi went, men competed to confess, and the rolls were reduced by nearly half. He was promoted one rank. Earlier, Investigating Censor Ben Wen had been ordered to weed out the army of the imperial clansman Congtan at Mengzhou. The soldiers plotted mutiny, and Ben Wen was terrified and at a loss. Soon an order came that the four northern generals under Shen Sizhong should encamp at Weizhou. The rest of the force did rebel and fled into the Taihang Mountains. The Privy Council then memorialized that Bi replace Ben Wen to finish the task. Bi galloped to Weizhou, summoned the four generals, and explained the court's intent. Sizhong and the others brought the rebels along and asked to return and report. Bi rebuked them on principle, and the officers and soldiers submitted in shame. Within days three thousand men were weeded out.

六月，改大理丞，與台官行關中，劾奏奸髒之尤者商州防禦使宗室重福等十數人，自是權貴側目。

In the sixth month he was made Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review and toured Guanzhong with censorial officials. He impeached more than ten of the worst offenders, including Defender of Shangzhou, the imperial clansman Chongfu. From then on the powerful watched him with hostility.

興定四年，以宋人拒使者于淮上，遣兵南伐，詔京東總帥紇石烈牙吾塔攻盱眙，牙吾塔不從命，乃率精騎由滁州略宣化，縱兵大掠。故兵所至原野蕭條，絕無所資，宋人堅壁不戰，乃無功而歸。行省奏牙吾塔故違節制，詔璧佩金符鞫之。璧馳入牙吾塔軍，奪其金符，易以他帥攝。牙吾塔入獄，兵士嘩噪，以吾帥無罪為言，璧怒責牙吾塔曰：「元帥欲以兵抗制使耶？待罪之禮恐不如此，使者還奏，獄能竟乎。」牙吾塔伏地請死，璧曰：「兵法，進退自專，有失機會以致覆敗者斬。」即擬以聞，時議壯之。

In the fourth year of Xingding, because Song rejected envoys on the Huai, troops were sent on a southern campaign. An edict ordered Shandong Eastern Commander-in-Chief He Shilie Yawuta to attack Xuyi. Yawuta disobeyed and led elite cavalry through Chuzhou to raid Xuanhua, letting his men plunder freely. Wherever his army went the countryside was stripped bare and there was nothing to supply them. Song held their walls and refused battle, and the campaign returned without success. The Branch Secretariat reported that Yawuta had deliberately disobeyed orders. An edict ordered Bi to wear the gold tally and investigate him. Bi galloped into Yawuta's camp, seized his gold tally, and replaced him with another commander. When Yawuta was imprisoned the soldiers clamored that their commander was innocent. Bi angrily rebuked him: 'Commander, do you mean to use your troops against the commissioner? The proper conduct of a man awaiting judgment is surely not this. When the envoy returns to report, do you think the case can be closed?' Yawuta prostrated himself and begged for death. Bi said: 'Military law holds that advance and retreat are the commander's own decision, and whoever misses his chance and brings defeat is beheaded.' He immediately drafted his report and submitted it, and public opinion admired his firmness.

十月，改禮部員外郎，權右司諫、治書侍御史。詔問時務所當先者，璧上六事，大略言減冗食，備選鋒，緩疑似以慎刑，擇公廉以檢吏，屯戍革朘削之弊，權貴嚴請托之科。又條自治之策四，謂別賢佞，信賞罰，聽覽以通下情，貶損以謹天戒。詔以東方饑饉，盜賊並起，以御史中丞完顏伯嘉為宣慰使，監察御史道遠從行。道遠發永城令簿奸贓，伯嘉與令有違，付令有司，釋簿不問，燕語之際，又許參佐克忠等台職。璧皆劾之，伯嘉竟得罪去。

In the tenth month he was made Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites while acting as Right Remonstrance Official and Attending Imperial Scribe Censor. When the emperor asked what current affairs should come first, Bi submitted six proposals: reduce redundant spending, prepare elite vanguard forces, ease doubtful cases to make punishments more cautious, select fair and incorrupt officials to inspect the bureaucracy, reform abuses in military encampments, and strictly penalize patronage among the powerful. He also set forth four policies for self-governance: distinguish the worthy from the wicked, trust rewards and punishments, listen and review to learn what the people feel, and reduce extravagance to heed Heaven's warnings. Because famine struck the east and bandits rose together, an edict appointed Vice Censor-in-Chief Wanyan Bojia Pacification Commissioner, with Investigating Censor Dao Yuan accompanying him. Dao Yuan exposed the magistrate and clerk of Yongcheng for corruption. Bojia sided with the magistrate, handed the magistrate to the authorities, and released the clerk without inquiry. In private conversation he also promised aides such as Ke Zhong posts on the censorate. Bi impeached them all, and Bojia was eventually punished and dismissed.

初，諜者告歸德行樞密院言，河朔叛軍有竊謀南渡者，行院事胡土門、都水監使毛花輦易其人，不為備。一日，紅衲數百聯筏南渡，殘下邑而去。命璧鞫之。璧以二將托疾營私，聞寇弛備，且來不戰、去不追，在法皆當斬。或以為言：「二將皆寵臣，而都水者貲累巨萬，若求援禁近，必從輕典。君徒結怨權貴，果何益耶？」璧歎曰：「睢陽行闕，東籓重兵所宿，門廷之寇且不能禦，有大於此者，複何望乎！」即具所擬聞。

Earlier a spy reported to the Guiding Military Commission that rebel troops from Heshuo were secretly plotting to cross the river south. Commission administrator Hu Tumen and Director of Waterworks Mao Huanian replaced the informant and made no preparations. One day several hundred Red-Robed rebels linked rafts and crossed south, ravaged nearby towns, and withdrew. Bi was ordered to investigate. Bi held that the two generals had feigned illness to pursue private gain, heard of the raid yet relaxed their guard, and neither fought when the enemy came nor pursued when they left. By law all three offenses deserved execution. Someone warned him: 'Both generals are favored courtiers, and the Director of Waterworks has amassed wealth in the tens of thousands. If they appeal to those close to the throne, they will surely receive lenient punishment. You will only make enemies of the powerful. What good will that do you?' Bi sighed and said: 'Suiyang is the traveling palace where the eastern defense's main forces are stationed. If bandits at the gate cannot even be repelled, what hope is there for anything greater!' He immediately submitted his proposed sentence.

四年，遷刑部郎中。關中旱，詔璧與吏部侍郎畏忻審理冤獄。時河中帥阿虎帶及僚屬十數人皆以棄城罪當死，系同州獄待報。同州官僚承望風旨，問璧何以處之，璧曰：「河中今日重地，朝議擬為駐蹕之所，若失此則河南、陝西有脣亡之憂。以彼宗室勳貴故使鎮之，平居無事竭民膏血為浚築計，一旦有警乃遽焚蕩而去，此而不誅，三尺法無用矣。」竟以無冤上之。

In the fourth year he was promoted to Director in the Ministry of Punishments. When drought struck Guanzhong, an edict ordered Bi and Vice Minister of Personnel Wei Xin to review wrongful convictions. At that time the Hezhong commander A Hudai and more than ten of his subordinates faced death for abandoning their city and were held in Tongzhou prison awaiting sentence. The Tongzhou officials, reading the prevailing wind, asked how Bi would handle the case. Bi said: 'Hezhong is a vital post today, and the court plans to make it a place for the emperor to halt. If we lose it, Henan and Shaanxi will face the danger that comes when the lips are gone and the teeth grow cold. Imperial clansmen of noble merit were sent to guard it. In peacetime they drained the people's blood for dredging and fortification, and at the first alarm they burned everything and fled. If this goes unpunished, the law is worthless.' In the end he reported that there was no injustice in the case.

冬十月，出為歸德治中。未幾，改同知保靜軍節度使。又改同知集慶軍節度使，到官即上章乞骸骨，進一官致仕。正大九年，河南破，北歸，又數年卒，年七十有九。

In the tenth month of winter he was posted as Administrator of Guide. Before long he was made Associate Military Commissioner of the Baojing Army. He was then made Associate Military Commissioner of the Jiqing Army. On taking office he immediately submitted a memorial requesting retirement, was promoted one rank, and retired. In the ninth year of Zhengda, when Henan fell, he returned north and died several years later at the age of seventy-nine.

李獻甫

Li Xianfu

李獻甫，字欽用，獻能從弟也。博通書傳，尤精《左氏》及地理學。為人有幹局，心所到則絕人遠甚，故時人稱其精神滿腹。興定五年登進士第，曆咸陽簿，辟行台令史。正大初，夏使來請和，朝廷以翰林待制馮延登往議，時獻甫為書表官，從行。夏使有口辯，延登不能折，往復數日不定，至以歲幣為言，獻甫不能平，從旁進曰：「夏國與我和好百年，今雖易君臣之名為兄弟之國，使兄輸幣，寧有據耶？」使者曰：「兄弟且不論。宋歲輸吾國幣二十五萬疋，典故具在，君獨不知耶？金朝必欲修舊好，非此例不可。」獻甫作色曰：「使者尚忍言耶？宋以歲幣餌君家而賜之姓，岸然以君父自居，夏國君臣無一悟者，誠謂使者當以為諱，乃今公言之。使者果能主此議，以從賜姓之例，弊邑雖歲捐五十萬，獻甫請以身任之。」夏使語塞，和議乃定。後朝廷錄其功，授慶陽總帥府經歷官。尋辟長安令。京兆行台所在，供億甚繁，獻甫處之常若有餘，縣民賴之以安。入為尚書省令史。天興元年，充行六部員外郎，守備之策時相倚任之。以功遷鎮南軍節度副使，兼右警巡使，死于蔡州之難，年四十。

Li Xianfu, whose style name was Qinyong, was a younger cousin of Li Xianneng. He was broadly learned in the classics, especially skilled in the Zuo Tradition and geography. He was a man of great capacity and force of mind, far surpassing others in whatever he undertook, and contemporaries said his spirit filled his whole being. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of Xingding, served as clerk of Xianyang, and was recruited as a clerk of the Branch Secretariat. At the beginning of Zhengda, Western Xia envoys came to seek peace. The court sent Hanlin Attendant-in-Waiting Feng Yandeng to negotiate, with Xianfu serving as document officer on the mission. The Xia envoy was a skilled debater whom Yandeng could not refute. Talks went back and forth for days without resolution until tribute payments came up. Xianfu could not contain himself and spoke from the side: 'The Xia state has been at peace with us for a hundred years. Though we have changed the names of ruler and subject to those of brother states, can there be any grounds for the elder brother to pay tribute?' The envoy said: 'Let us set aside the question of brothers. Song pays our state two hundred fifty thousand bolts of silk each year. The precedents are all on record. Are you alone ignorant of this? If the Jin court wishes to restore the old peace, it cannot be done without following this precedent.' Xianfu flushed with anger and said: 'Envoy, how can you still speak of such a thing? Song used annual tribute to bait your rulers and then bestowed a surname on them, standing aloof as lord and father over you. Not one among Xia's ruler and ministers has understood this shame. I thought an envoy ought to treat it as taboo, yet today you speak of it openly. If you can truly uphold this proposal and follow the precedent of receiving a bestowed surname, then though our state must pay five hundred thousand a year, I myself will answer for it.' The Xia envoy was left speechless, and the peace agreement was settled. Later the court recognized his merit and appointed him Administrator of the Qingyang Commander-in-Chief's headquarters. Soon afterward he was appointed Magistrate of Chang'an. The Jingzhao Branch Secretariat was located there and demands on the county were heavy. Xianfu handled them as though he always had surplus, and the people relied on him for security. He entered the capital as a Secretariat Clerk in the Ministry of Works. In the first year of Tianxing he served as Vice Director of the Traveling Six Ministries, and the chief ministers relied heavily on him for defense strategy. For his merit he was made Vice Military Commissioner of the Zhennan Army and Right Patrol Commissioner. He died in the disaster at Caizhou at the age of forty.

所著文章號《天倪集》，留汴京。獻甫死，其家亦破，同年華陰王元禮購得之，傳於世。

His collected writings, titled Collection of Heaven's Margin, were left behind in Bianjing. After Xianfu's death his family was ruined as well. His examination-year fellow Wang Yuanli of Huayin purchased the work and preserved it for posterity.

雷淵，字希顏，一字季默，應州渾源人。父思，名進士，仕至同知北京轉運使，注《易》行於世。淵庶出，年最幼，諸兄不齒。父歿，不能安於家，乃發憤入太學。衣弊履穿，坐榻無席，自以跣露，恆兀坐讀書，不迎送賓客，人皆以為倨。其友商衡每為辯之，且周恤焉。後從李之純游，遂知名。登至甯元年詞賦進士甲科，調涇州錄事，坐高庭玉獄，幾死。後改東平，河朔重兵所在，驕將悍卒倚外敵為重，自行台以下皆摩撫之，淵出入軍中，偃然不為屈。不數月，閭巷間多畫淵像，雖大將不敢以新進書生遇之。尋遷東阿令，轉徐州觀察判官。興定末，召為英王府文學兼記室參軍，轉應奉翰林文字。拜監察御史，言五事稱旨，又彈劾不避權貴，出巡郡邑所至有威譽，奸豪不法者立箠殺之。至蔡州，杖殺五百人，時號曰「雷半千」。坐此為人所訟，罷去。久之，用宰相侯摯薦，起為太學博士、南京轉運司戶籍判官，遷翰林修撰。一夕暴卒，年四十八。

Lei Yuan, whose style names were Xiyan and Jimo, came from Hunyuan in Yingzhou. His father Si, a renowned jinshi, rose to Associate Commissioner of the Beijing Circuit Transport Commission. His commentary on the Changes circulated widely. Yuan was born of a concubine and was the youngest. His elder brothers looked down on him. After his father's death he could not remain at home and entered the Imperial Academy in indignant resolve. His clothes were worn and his shoes torn, his couch had no mat, and he went barefoot. He always sat upright reading and never greeted or saw off guests. People took him for arrogant. His friend Shang Heng often spoke up for him and gave him support. Later he studied under Li Zhichun and became well known. In the first year of Zhi'ning he passed the cifu jinshi examination in the top rank and was assigned as Recorder of Jingzhou. He was implicated in Gao Tingyu's case and nearly died. Later he was posted to Dongping, where Heshuo's main forces were stationed. Proud generals and fierce soldiers relied on foreign enemies for leverage, and everyone from the Branch Secretariat down indulged them. Yuan moved in and out of the armies unbowed. Within a few months portraits of Yuan appeared in the streets, and even senior generals did not dare treat the newly advanced scholar lightly. Soon he was promoted to Magistrate of Dong'e, then transferred to Judicial Officer of the Xuzhou Observation Commission. At the end of the Xingding era he was summoned as Literary Scholar of the Prince of Ying's household and Secretary of the household staff, then made Hanlin Attendant for Documentation. He was appointed Investigating Censor. Five proposals he made pleased the emperor, and he impeached without fear of the powerful. Touring the prefectures, he won awe wherever he went and immediately clubbed to death any outlaw bully he found. At Caizhou he beat five hundred men to death, and people called him "Lei Five Hundred." Because of this he was impeached and dismissed. After a long interval, on Chancellor Hou Zhi's recommendation, he was recalled as Erudite of the Imperial Academy and Household Registration Judicial Officer on the Nanjing Transport Commission, then promoted to Hanlin Compiler. One evening he died suddenly at the age of forty-eight.

正大庚寅倒回穀之役，淵嘗上書破朝臣孤注之論，引援深切，灼然易見，主兵者沮之，策竟不行。為人軀幹雄偉，髯張口哆，顏渥丹，眼如望洋，遇不平則疾惡之氣見於顏間，或嚼齒大罵不休，雖痛自懲創，然亦不能變也。為文章詩喜新奇。善結交，凡當塗貴要與布衣名士無不往來。居京師，賓客踵門未嘗去舍，家無餘貲，及待賓客甚豐腆。蒞官喜立名，初登第攝遂平縣事，年少氣稅，擊豪右，發奸伏，一邑大震，稱為神明。嘗擅笞州魁吏，州檄召之不應，罷去。後凡居一職輒震耀，亦坐此不達。

During the gengyin year of Zhengda, in the campaign at Daohuigu, Yuan submitted a memorial refuting the court's all-or-nothing strategy. His argument was penetrating and clear, but the men in charge of the armies blocked it and the plan was never adopted. He was a man of heroic build, bristling beard and gaping mouth, ruddy face and eyes like the open sea. When he met injustice, fierce hatred showed on his face. Sometimes he ground his teeth and cursed without cease. Though he punished himself severely, he could not change. In essays and poetry he delighted in the new and strange. He made friends easily, associating alike with men in power and with renowned scholars in plain dress. In the capital guests crowded his door and never seemed to leave. His household had no surplus wealth, yet he entertained guests lavishly. In office he liked to make a name for himself. When he first passed the examinations and acted in Suiping county affairs, young and bold, he struck down powerful families and exposed hidden crimes. The whole district was shaken and called him divine. He once beat the leading clerk of the prefecture on his own authority. When the prefecture summoned him he did not respond and was dismissed. Later, in every post he held he made a brilliant mark, yet because of this he never rose high.

程震，字威卿，東勝人。與其兄鼎俱擢第。震入仕有能聲。興定初，詔百官舉縣令，震得陳留，治為河南第一，召拜監察御史，彈劾無所撓。時皇子荊王為宰相，家僮輩席勢侵民，震以法劾之，奏曰：「荊王以陛下之子，任天下之重。不能上贊君父，同濟艱難。顧乃專恃權勢，蔑棄典禮，開納貨賂，進退官吏。縱令奴隸侵漁細民，名為和市，其實脅取。諸所不法不可枚舉。陛下不能正家，而欲正天下，難矣。」於是，上責荊王，出內府銀以償物直，杖大奴尤不法者數人。未幾，坐為故吏所訟，罷官。歲餘。嘔血卒。

Cheng Zhen, whose style name was Weiqing, came from Dongsheng. He and his elder brother Ding both passed the examinations. Zhen earned a reputation for ability from the start of his career. At the beginning of Xingding an edict ordered all officials to recommend county magistrates. Zhen was appointed to Chenliu and his governance ranked first in Henan. He was summoned and made Investigating Censor, impeaching without fear. At that time the Prince of Jing, an imperial son, served as chancellor. His household servants abused their master's power to oppress the people. Zhen impeached them by law and memorialized: 'The Prince of Jing, as Your Majesty's son, bears the weight of the realm. Yet he cannot assist his sovereign father above or share in relieving the state's hardships. Instead he relies solely on power, scorns proper ritual, openly accepts bribes, and advances or dismisses officials at will. He lets his slaves prey on commoners under the name of official markets when in fact they extort by force. His unlawful acts are too many to list. If Your Majesty cannot set your own household in order, how can you hope to set the realm in order? That will be difficult indeed.' The emperor thereupon rebuked the Prince of Jing, paid compensation from the inner treasury for seized goods, and had several of the worst offenders among his chief slaves beaten. Before long he was impeached by a former subordinate and dismissed from office. A little over a year later, he vomited blood and died.

震為人剛直有材幹，忘身徇國，不少私與。及為御史，台綱大振，以故小人側目者眾，不能久留於朝，士論惜之。

Zhen was a man of firm uprightness and real ability who forgot himself in service to the state and showed little favoritism in private dealings. As censor he revived the censorate's authority, and for that reason many petty men watched him with hostility. He could not long remain at court, and scholars regretted his loss.

贊曰：韓玉、馮璧、李獻甫、雷淵，皆金季豪傑之士也。邠、涇之變，玉募兵旬日而得萬人。牙吾塔之兇暴，璧以王度繩之，卒不敢動。夏人援宋例以邀歲幣，獻甫以宋賜夏姓一事折之，夏使語塞而和議定。淵為御史，權貴斂避，古之國士何加焉。玉以疑見冤，璧、淵疾惡太甚，議者以酷譏之，瑕豈可以掩瑜哉。程震劾荊抵罪，比蹤馮、雷，然亦以群小齟齬而死，直士之不容於世也久矣。籲！

The encomium reads: Han Yu, Feng Bi, Li Xianfu, and Lei Yuan were all heroic figures of the late Jin. During the crisis at Bin and Jing, Yu raised ten thousand troops within ten days. When Yawuta turned violent, Bi restrained him by royal authority, and in the end he did not dare resist. The Western Xia cited Song precedent to demand annual tribute. Xianfu refuted them with the shame of Song bestowing a surname on Xia. The Xia envoy was left speechless and peace was settled. As censor Yuan made the powerful shrink back. What more could be asked of the great men of old? Yu was wronged through suspicion. Bi and Yuan hated evil too fiercely, and critics called them cruel. Yet can a flaw hide the jade? Cheng Zhen impeached the Prince of Jing and brought him to account, in the same mold as Feng and Lei, yet he too died through petty men's hostility. That upright men find no place in the world has been true for a long time. Alas!

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