1
元皇帝諱睿，字景文，宣帝曾孫，琅邪恭王覲之子也。 咸寧二年生於洛陽，有神光之異，一室盡明，所藉槁如始刈。 及長，白豪生於日角之左，隆準龍顏，目有精曜，顧眄煒如也。 年十五，嗣位琅邪王。 幼有令問。 及惠皇之際，王室多故，帝每恭儉退讓，以免於禍。 沈敏有度量，不顯灼然之迹，故時人未之識焉。 惟侍中嵇紹異之，謂人曰：「琅邪王毛骨非常，殆非人臣之相也。」
Emperor Yuan, whose personal name was Rui and courtesy name Jingwen, was a great-grandson of Emperor Xuan of Jin and the son of Sima Jin, Prince Gong of Langye. He was born in Luoyang in 276, amid a strange glow that lit the whole chamber and left the bedding straw looking freshly mown. As a man he bore a white filament beside the auspicious bump on his forehead, the high-bridged "dragon" profile of a ruler, and eyes so bright that every turn of his gaze seemed to flash with light. At fifteen he inherited the title of Prince of Langye. Even as a boy he was already known for an excellent name. Under Emperor Hui, when the house of Jin was rocked by one crisis after another, he habitually kept to modesty, frugality, and deference so as to stay clear of disaster. He was steady, astute, and large-minded, yet never advertised his abilities, so his contemporaries failed to see the ruler in him. Only Ji Shao, the palace attendant, saw something different in him and told others, "The Prince of Langye has a presence no ordinary man possesses; that is hardly the look of someone born to serve another."
2
元康二年，拜員外散騎常侍。 累遷左將軍，從討成都王穎。 蕩陰之敗也，叔父東安王繇爲穎所害。 帝懼禍及，將出奔。 其夜月正明，而禁衛嚴警，帝無由得去，甚窘迫。 有頃，雲霧晦冥，雷雨暴至，徼者皆馳，因得潛出。 穎先令諸關無得出貴人，帝旣至河陽，爲津吏所止。 從者宋典後來，以策鞭帝馬而笑曰：「舍長！ 官禁貴人，汝亦被拘邪！」 吏乃聽過。 至洛陽，迎太妃俱歸國。
In 292 he received appointment as supernumerary gentleman cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. He rose step by step to general of the left and marched with the army that moved against Sima Ying, prince of Chengdu. When the imperial forces were shattered at Dangyin, his uncle Sima Yao, prince of Dong'an, fell victim to Ying's purge. Fearing the blow would soon strike him too, he prepared to slip away from the capital. The moon shone clear that night, yet the inner-palace cordon was so tight that he could find no way out and grew desperate. Presently clouds swallowed the moon, a sudden storm broke, and the sentries scattered for shelter, which gave him the opening to steal out unseen. Ying had barred every pass to people of rank; when he reached the Heyang ferry a petty official held him up. His follower Song Dian rode up behind him, tapped his mount with a riding crop, and called out with a laugh, "Innkeeper! The authorities are detaining grandees—have they got you as well!" The clerk, fooled by the act, waved them through. He reached Luoyang, fetched his mother the grand consort, and escorted her home to his princedom.
3
東海王越之收兵下邳也，假帝輔國將軍。 尋加平東將軍、監徐州諸軍事，鎮下邳。 俄遷安東將軍、都督揚州諸軍事。 越西迎大駕，留帝居守。 永嘉初，用王導計，始鎮建鄴，以顧榮爲軍司馬，賀循爲參佐，王敦、王導、周顗、刁協並爲腹心股肱，賓禮名賢，存問風俗，江東歸心焉。 屬太妃薨于國，自表奔喪，葬畢，還鎮，增封宣城郡二萬戶，加鎮東大將軍、開府儀同三司。 受越命，討征東將軍周馥，走之。 及懷帝蒙塵于平陽，司空荀籓等移檄天下，推帝爲盟主。 江州刺史華軼不從，使豫章內史周廣、前江州刺史衛展討禽之。 愍帝卽位，加左丞相。 歲餘，進位丞相、大都督中外諸軍事。 遣諸將分定江東，斬叛者孫弼于宣城，平杜弢於湘州，承制赦荊揚。 及西都不守，帝出師露次，躬擐甲胄，移檄四方，徵天下之兵，剋日進討。 于時有玉册見於臨安，白玉麒麟神璽出於江寧，其文曰「長壽萬年」，日有重暈，皆以爲中興之象焉。
While Sima Yue, prince of the Eastern Sea, was concentrating his army at Xiapi, he gave him the brevet rank of general who supports the state. Shortly afterward he was named general who pacifies the east, put in charge of all military affairs in Xuzhou, and stationed at Xiapi. Before long he moved up to general who guards the east and area commander for Yangzhou. When Yue marched west to escort the emperor back to the capital, he left him behind to hold the eastern front. Early in the Yongjia era, on Wang Dao's advice, he shifted his headquarters to Jianye. He named Gu Rong army marshal and He Xun as staff officer, while Wang Dun, Wang Dao, Zhou Yi, and Diao Xie formed his inner circle of trusted commanders. He honored local talent, asked after regional ways, and so won the allegiance of the lands south of the Yangzi. When his mother the grand consort died in the princedom he asked leave to go into mourning; after the funeral he returned to his post, received another twenty thousand households in Xuancheng, and was promoted to general who guards the east with the privilege of an independent headquarters equated to the three highest ministers. On Yue's orders he attacked Zhou Fu, the general who conquers the east, and put him to flight. After Emperor Huai fell captive at Pingyang, Minister of Works Xun Fan and his colleagues circulated a manifesto naming him leader of the loyalist coalition. Hua Yi, the Jiangxi governor, refused to fall in line, so he dispatched Zhou Guang of Yuzhang and the former governor Wei Zhan to bring him in by force. When Emperor Min came to the throne he was named left chancellor as well. A little over a year later he was raised to full chancellor and grand commander of all forces at court and in the field. He sent his generals to secure the lower Yangzi region, executed the turncoat Sun Bi at Xuancheng, crushed Du Tao's rising in Hunan, and on delegated authority proclaimed an amnesty for Jingzhou and Yangzhou. When Chang'an fell he struck camp in the open field, buckled on his own armor, issued calls to arms across the empire, and mustered every force he could for a timed advance to recover the north. About then a jade register was reported at Lin'an, a white jade "qilin" seal turned up at Jiangning bearing the characters 'long life for ten thousand years,' and the sun showed double rings—omens everyone read as proof that the dynasty would rise again.
4
三月，帝素服出次，舉哀三日。 西陽王羕及羣僚參佐州征牧守等上尊號，帝不許。 羕等以死固請，至於再三。 帝慨然流涕曰：「孤，罪人也，惟有蹈節死義，以雪天下之恥，庶贖鈇鉞之誅。 吾本琅邪王，諸賢見逼不已！」 乃呼私奴命駕，將反國。 羣臣乃不敢逼，請依魏晉故事爲晉王，許之。 辛卯，卽王位，大赦，改元。 其殺祖父母、父母，及劉聰、石勒，不從此令。 諸參軍拜奉車都尉，掾屬駙馬都尉。 辟掾屬百餘人，時人謂之「百六掾」。 乃備百官，立宗廟社稷於建康。 時四方競上符瑞，帝曰：「孤負四海之責，未能思愆，何徵祥之有？」
That third month he donned mourning white, moved his quarters into the field, and kept three days of lament for the fallen capital. Sima Yang, prince of Xiyang, together with his staff and the provincial governors, urged him to take the imperial style; he refused. They pressed their plea as if their lives hung on it, again and again. With tears in his eyes he said, "I am a criminal in the eyes of the throne. My only path is to keep faith unto death and wipe away this shame upon the world—perhaps then I may escape the headsman's axe. I began as nothing more than prince of Langye, yet you gentlemen will not stop forcing me!" He shouted for his groom to harness a carriage, as though he meant to ride back to his old fief alone. The courtiers dared press him no further and asked instead that he accept the title of Prince of Jin after the Wei–Jin precedent; he consented. On the xinmao day he took the princely throne, proclaimed a general amnesty, and adopted a new reign title. Those guilty of parricide and the rebel leaders Liu Cong and Shi Le were excluded from the pardon. His military advisers were given the nominal rank of commandant of the imperial coach, and his secretarial aides that of commandant of the household cavalry. He called up more than a hundred clerks to staff his princely administration—contemporaries dubbed them the "hundred and six aides." He then filled out a full civil service and dedicated the imperial ancestral temple and the altars of soil and grain at Jiankang. While the provinces showered him with alleged portents, he replied, "I already shoulder the burden of the realm; I have scarcely begun to reckon my own faults—what right have I to speak of good omens?"
5
丙辰，立世子紹爲晉王太子。 以撫軍大將軍、西陽王羕爲太保，征南大將軍、漢安侯王敦爲大將軍，右將軍王導都督中外諸軍事、驃騎將軍，左長史刁協爲尚書左僕射。 封王子宣城公裒琅邪王。
On the bingchen day he named his heir apparent, Sima Shao, crown prince to the house of Jin. Sima Yang, prince of Xiyang, became grand guardian; Wang Dun, marquis of Han'an, grand general; Wang Dao retained command of all armies at court and in the provinces as general of agile cavalry; and Diao Xie, his senior clerk on the left, was made left vice director of the secretariat. His son Sima Pou, duke of Xuancheng, was invested as the new prince of Langye.
6
六月丙寅，司空、幷州刺史、廣武侯劉琨，幽州刺史、左賢王、渤海公段匹磾，領護烏丸校尉、鎮北將軍劉翰，單于、廣甯公段辰，遼西公段眷，冀州刺史、祝阿子劭續，青州刺史、廣饒侯曹嶷，兗州刺史、定襄侯劉演，東夷校尉崔毖，鮮卑大都督慕容廆等一百八十人上書勸進，曰：
On the bingyin day in the sixth month, Liu Kun—minister of works, governor of Bingzhou, and marquis of Guangwu—joined Duan Pidi, governor of Youzhou and duke of Bohai; Liu Han, Wuhuan commandant and general who guards the north; the chanyu and duke of Guangning, Duan Chen; Duan Juan, duke of Liaoxi; Shao Xu, governor of Jizhou and lord of Zhu'a; Cao Yi, governor of Qingzhou and marquis of Guangrao; Liu Yan, governor of Yanzhou and marquis of Dingxiang; Cui Bi, colonel of the eastern Yi; Murong Hui, commander-in-chief of the Xianbei; and one hundred seventy-two other notables in a joint memorial pressing him to take the throne. They wrote:
7
臣聞天生蒸民，樹之以君，所以對越天地，司牧黎元。 聖帝明王監其若此，知天地不可以乏饗，故屈其身以奉之； 知蒸黎不可以無主，故不得已而臨之。 社稷時難，則戚藩定其傾； 郊廟或替，則宗哲纂其祀。 是以弘振遐風，式固萬世，三五以降，靡不由之。 伏惟高祖宣皇帝肇基景命，世祖武皇帝遂造區夏，三葉重光，四聖繼軌，惠澤侔於有虞，卜世過於周氏。 自元康以來，艱難繁興，永嘉之際，氛厲彌昏，宸極失御，登遐醜裔，國家之危，有若綴旒。 賴先后之德、宗廟之靈，皇帝嗣建，舊物克甄。 誕授欽明，服膺聰哲，玉質幼彰，金聲夙振。 冢宰攝其綱，百辟輔其政，四海想中興之美，羣生懷來蘇之望。 不圖天不悔禍，大災薦臻，國未忘難，寇害尋興。 逆胡劉曜，縱逸西都，敢肆犬羊，陵虐天邑。 臣奉表使還，乃承西朝以去年十一月不守，主上幽劫，復沈虜庭，神器流離，再辱荒逆。 臣每覽史籍，觀之前載，厄運之極，古今未有。 苟在食土之毛，含血之類，莫不叩心絕氣，行號巷哭。 況臣等荷寵三世，位廁鼎司，聞問震惶，精爽飛越，且驚且惋，五情無主，舉哀朔垂，上下泣血。
We have read that Heaven bred the common people and set a sovereign over them so that he might answer to Heaven and Earth and care for all who live under their sky. The sage-kings of old saw this pattern: the spirits of Heaven and Earth must receive their due, so they humbled themselves in the ritual service of the altars; and they knew the people could not long be without a head, which is why they took the throne only when they had no honorable choice. Whenever the altars tottered, it was a prince of the blood who righted the tilt; when the suburban rites faltered, a wise kinsman always stepped forward to keep the ancestral fire burning. Thus they spread their transforming influence to the farthest marches and bound the dynasty for ages to come—since the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, no true king has acted otherwise. Your house began when Emperor Xuan received the great mandate, and Emperor Wu brought all within the Xia heartland under one rule; three generations shone anew, four sagely sovereigns walked in one another's footsteps; their kindness rivaled that of Shun's age, and Heaven granted your line more years of fortune than ever blessed the house of Zhou. Since the Yuankang era troubles have multiplied; by Yongjia the air itself seemed poisoned with rebellion. The Son of Heaven lost his grip, barbarian pretenders seized the capital, and the dynasty hung by a thread like the king's tassels swaying over his brow. Through the virtue of your ancestresses and the blessing of the imperial shrines, a new sovereign was raised and the old regalia of Jin began to shine again. Heaven gave him a luminous mind; he cherished wisdom and keen judgment, and even as a boy the polish of jade and the ring of bronze in his speech marked him as the true heir. The chief minister held the reins, the nobles rallied to his government, and every corner of the realm looked for the splendor of a second founding, while the people clung to the hope of revival spoken of in the old odes. Yet Heaven did not relent: fresh disasters followed hard upon the last, the wounds of the state had scarcely closed when new invaders struck. The rebel Liu Yao ran wild in the western capital, behaving like a wolf in the fold and trampling the sacred precincts of the throne. When your servant's embassy returned from the west, we learned that Chang'an had fallen the previous winter: our sovereign was dragged back into captivity, the imperial regalia scattered abroad, and the sacred throne dishonored a second time by barbarian usurpers. Whenever we turn the pages of history we find nothing—ancient or modern—that matches this depth of calamity. Every creature that draws breath and lives on this soil beats its breast till breath fails and wanders the lanes in lament. How much more we who have enjoyed three generations of imperial favor and stood among the highest ministers: the news struck us senseless with grief and dread; our wits scattered; we mourned toward the lost north until eyes and hearts alike seemed to weep blood.
8
臣聞昏明迭用，否泰相濟，天命無改，曆數有歸。 或多難以固邦國，或殷憂以啓聖明。 是以齊有無知之禍，而小白爲五伯之長； 晉有麗姬之難，而重耳以主諸侯之盟。 社稷靡安，必將有以扶其危； 黔首幾絕，必將有以繼其緒。 伏惟陛下，玄德通于神明，聖姿合於兩儀，應命世之期，紹千載之運。 符瑞之表，天人有徵； 中興之兆，圖讖垂典。 自京畿隕喪，九服崩離，天下囂然，無所歸懷，雖有夏之遘夷羿，宗姬之離犬戎，蔑以過之。 陛下撫征江左，奄有舊吳，柔服以德，伐叛以刑，抗明威以攝不類，杖大順以號宇內。 純化旣敷，則率土宅心； 義風旣暢，則遐方企踵。 百揆時敘于上，四門穆穆于下。 昔少康之隆，夏訓以爲美談； 宣王中興，周詩以爲休詠。 況茂勳格於皇天，清暉光于四海，蒼生顒然，莫不欣戴，聲教所加，願爲臣妾者哉！ 且宣皇之胤，惟有陛下，憶兆攸歸，曾無與二。 天祚大晉，必將有主，主晉祀者，非陛下而誰！ 是以邇無異言，遠無異望，謳歌者無不吟諷徽猷，獄訟者無不思於聖德。 天地之際旣交，華夷之情允洽。 一角之獸，連理之木，以爲休徵者，蓋有百數。 冠帶之倫，要荒之衆，不謀同辭者，動以萬計。 是以臣等敢考天地之心，因函夏之趣，昧死上尊號。 願陛下存舜禹至公之情，狹由巢抗矯之節； 以社稷爲務，不以小行爲先； 以黔首爲憂，不以克讓爲事； 上尉宗廟乃顧之懷，下釋普天傾首之勤。 則所謂生繁華于枯荑，育豐肌于朽骨，神人獲安，無不幸甚。
We are taught that night yields to day, misfortune to ease, while Heaven's mandate stands unshaken and the turn of the dynastic cycle always finds its rightful heir. Often it is a flood of trials that steels a kingdom, or crushing sorrow that awakens a sage. Qi survived the coup of Wuzhi only to see Duke Huan rise as first among the Five Hegemons; and Jin weathered Lady Li's intrigue until Duke Wen held the covenant of the feudal lords. Whenever the altars totter, Heaven always sends someone to shore them up; when the people stand at the brink of extinction, Heaven always raises a man to carry on the line. Your Majesty's subtle virtue moves spirits and gods; your bearing answers Heaven and Earth; you have come in the very hour fate demands and taken up a mandate a thousand years in the making. The portents that have appeared are proof enough that Heaven and humanity are of one mind; and every chart and prophecy handed down from antiquity points to this restoration. Since the heartland fell the nine provinces have shattered and the empire roams uprooted with nowhere to lay its loyalty. The barbarian Yi who seized Xia and the Quanrong who drove out the Zhou were trifles beside this. You have rallied the south of the Yangzi, reunited the old lands of Wu, won allegiance with kindness, struck rebels with the law, let your majesty overawe the wicked, and wielded righteous authority to call the realm to order. Your transforming influence spreads, and every soil clings to you as its heart; your righteous example runs abroad, and distant peoples stand on tiptoe hoping for your rule. Above, every branch of government fell into harmony; below, the four gates of the court stood in august stillness. The restoration of Shaokang is still praised in the lessons of Xia; and King Xuan's revival became the glad theme of the Odes of Zhou. How much more when your towering merit moves High Heaven, your pure light floods the four seas, and the common people lift their faces in hope—who under the reach of your transforming influence would not gladly call himself your subject! Among the posterity of Emperor Xuan you alone survive, and the allegiance of millions rests on no second name. Heaven will not leave Great Jin without a master, and who but Your Majesty can tend the altars of the house of Sima! Hence none near speaks with two voices and none far harbors a rival hope: every song extols your wise design, and every quarrel in the market is hushed by thoughts of your virtue. Heaven and earth are in accord again, and Chinese and barbarian hearts beat as one. The unicorns, the trees whose branches grow as one—such tokens of blessing have been reported by the hundred. Gentry of the inner provinces and chieftains of the outer marches, though strangers to one another, speak with a single voice, and their memorials are counted in the tens of thousands. Therefore we have ventured to read the mind of Heaven and Earth and the temper of the heartland, and at peril of our lives we present this exalted title. We beg you to keep the selfless public spirit of Shun and Yu, and set aside the narrow scruples of recluse hermits; to put the altars first, not petty personal modesty; to fret for the black-haired millions rather than for the reputation of yielding the throne; thus you would ease the anxious dead who watch from the shrines and lift from the people the weary craning of their necks toward you. Then indeed you would make the dead stem bloom again and put flesh on dry bones—spirits and mortals alike would find peace, and none would count himself less than blessed.
9
臣聞尊位不可久虛，萬機不可久曠。 虛之一日，則尊位以殆； 曠之浹辰，則萬機以亂。 方今踵百王之季，當陽九之會，狡寇窺窬，伺國瑕隙，黎元波蕩，無所繫心，安可廢而不恤哉？ 陛下雖欲逡巡，其若宗廟何？ 其若百姓何？ 昔者惠公虜秦，晉國震駭，呂郤之謀，欲立子圉，外以絕敵人之志，內以固闔境之情。 故曰「喪君有君，羣臣輯睦，好我者勸，惡我者懼」。 前事之不忘，後代之元龜也。 陛下明並日月，無幽不燭，深謀遠猷，出自胸懷。 不勝犬馬憂國之情，遲睹人神開泰之路，是以陳其乃誠，布之執事。 臣等忝于方任，久在遐外，不得陪列闕庭，與睹盛禮，踴躍之懷，南望罔極。
We are told that the throne must not long stand vacant nor the myriad affairs of state long lie unattended. A single day's vacancy puts the supreme seat in peril; ten days of neglect throws every branch of government into confusion. We stand in the twilight of the dynasties, in the hour of fate's harshest reckoning: rebels watch for every crack in the armor of the state, and the people drift like flotsam with nothing to cling to—how can the throne be left empty and the realm unwatched? Even if you mean to hang back, what will become of the imperial shrines? What is to become of the common people? When Duke Hui of Jin fell captive in Qin, the court reeled; Lü and Xi plotted to put Prince Yu on the throne—both to break the enemy's will abroad and to steady hearts at home. Hence the saying: "A state may lose its ruler yet still have a ruler; when ministers pull together, friends take heart and foes grow afraid." To remember the past is to hold the mirror that guides the future. Your clarity rivals sun and moon—no corner stays hidden—and the far-reaching designs you frame come straight from a sovereign heart. We cannot contain the loyal servant's ache for the realm, nor our longing to see men and gods tread again the road of peace; therefore we lay bare our hearts before those who govern. We are unworthy men holding frontier posts, far from the capital and barred from the great ceremony; our hearts leap with hope, yet as we gaze southward there is no end to the distance.
10
帝優令答之。 語在《琨傳》。
The emperor replied with a gracious edict. The emperor's reply in full is narrated in the biography of Liu Kun.
11
石勒將石季龍圍譙城，平西將軍祖逖擊走之。 己巳，帝傅檄天下曰：「逆賊石勒，肆虐河朔，逋誅歷載，遊魂縱逸。 復遣凶黨石季龍犬羊之衆，越河南渡，縱其鴆毒。 平西將軍祖逖帥衆討擊，應時潰散。 今遣車騎將軍，琅邪王裒等九軍，銳卒三萬，水陸四道，逕造賊場，受逖節度。 有能梟季龍首者。 賞絹三千匹，金五十斤，封縣侯，食邑二千戶。 又賊黨能梟送季龍首，封賞亦同之。」
Shi Hu, a general under Shi Le, besieged Qiao, but Zu Ti, the general who pacifies the west, struck and forced him to withdraw. On the jisi day he circulated a manifesto: "The rebel Shi Le has ravaged the north for years, eluding execution while his hosts roam at will. He has again sent Shi Hu at the head of a brute herd across the river to work their malice on the southern bank. Zu Ti, general who pacifies the west, led his men against them and broke their host at a stroke. I now send Sima Pou, prince of Langye and general of chariots and cavalry, at the head of nine armies—thirty thousand picked men advancing by four routes, by water and land—straight into the rebel stronghold, every column answering to Zu Ti. Let any man who can bring in Shi Hu's head come forward. He shall receive three thousand bolts of silk, fifty catties of gold, a county marquisate, and a fief of two thousand households. The same titles and gifts shall go to any traitor in his ranks who brings in Shi Hu's head."
12
七月，散騎侍郎朱嵩、尚書郎顧球卒，帝痛之，將爲舉哀。 有司奏，舊尚書郎不在舉哀之例。 帝曰：「衰亂之弊，特相痛悼。」 於是遂舉哀，哭之甚慟。 丁未，梁王悝薨。 以太尉荀組爲司徒。 弛山澤之禁。
That seventh month the gentlemen Zhu Song and Gu Qiu died; the emperor mourned them deeply and prepared to order court lamentation. The ministry reported that by old rule secretariat clerks were not entitled to a state funeral. The emperor said, "These are times of ruin; I mourn them the more keenly." He therefore ordered the court into mourning and wept for them with uncommon grief. On the dingwei day Sima Kui, prince of Liang, died. Grand Commandant Xun Zu was named minister of education. Restrictions on logging and foraging in the hills and lakes were lifted.
13
八月甲午，封梁王世子翹爲梁王。 荊州刺史第五猗爲賊帥杜曾所推，遂與曾同反。
On the jiawu day in the eighth month the heir apparent of Liang, Sima Qiao, succeeded as prince of Liang. Diwu Yi, governor of Jingzhou, was manipulated by the rebel leader Du Zeng and joined him in revolt.
14
九月戊寅，王敦使武昌太守趙誘、襄陽太守朱軌、陵江將軍黃峻討猗，爲其將杜曾所敗，誘等皆死之。 石勒害京兆太守華諝。 梁州刺史周訪討杜曾，大破之。
On the wuyin day in the ninth month Wang Dun ordered Zhao You of Wuchang, Zhu Gui of Xiangyang, and the river-fording general Huang Jun against Diwu Yi; Du Zeng routed them and Zhao You and his colleagues were killed. Shi Le executed Hua Xu, the governor of Jingzhao. Zhou Fang, governor of Liangzhou, attacked Du Zeng and shattered his army.
15
十月丁未，琅邪王裒薨。
On the dingwei day in the tenth month Sima Pou, prince of Langye, died.
16
十一月甲子，封汝南王子弼爲新蔡王。 丁卯，以司空劉琨爲太尉。 置史官，立太學。
On the jiazi day in the eleventh month the emperor invested Sima Bi, a son of the prince of Runan, as prince of Xincai. On the dingmao day Liu Kun was moved from minister of works to grand commandant. He instituted the office of court historian and founded the imperial university.
17
是歲，揚州大旱。
That year Yangzhou suffered a severe drought.
18
太興元年春正月戊申朔，臨朝，懸而不樂。
In the first month of 318, on the new-moon day wushen, he held court with bells stilled and no music played.
19
三月癸丑，愍帝崩問至，帝斬縗居廬。 丙辰，百僚上尊號。 令曰：「孤以不德，當厄運之極，臣節未立，匡救未舉，夙夜所以忘寢食也。 今宗廟廢絕，億兆無系，羣官庶尹，咸勉之以大政，亦何敢辭，輒敬從所執。」 是日，卽皇帝位。 詔曰：「昔我高祖宣皇帝誕應期運，廓開王基。 景、文皇帝奕世重光，緝熙諸夏。 爰暨世祖，應天順時，受茲明命。 功格天地，仁濟宇宙。 昊天不融，降此鞠凶，懷帝短世，越去王都。 天禍薦臻，大行皇帝崩殂，社稷無奉。 肆羣后三司六事之人，疇咨庶尹，至于華戎，致葺大命於朕躬。 予一人畏天之威，用弗敢違。 遂登壇南獄，受終文祖，焚柴頒瑞，告類上帝。 惟朕寡德，纘我洪緒，若涉大川，罔知攸濟。 惟爾股肱爪牙之佐，文武熊羆之臣，用能弼寧晉室，輔余一人。 思與萬國，共同休慶。」 於是大赦，改元，文武增位二等。 庚午，立王太子紹爲皇太子。
On guichou in the third month word came that Emperor Min was dead; he donned the coarsest mourning sackcloth and moved into the mourning shed. On the bingchen day the high ministers presented him with the imperial style. His rescript ran: "I am a man of small virtue caught at the worst pass of fate; I have not yet proved myself a loyal servant nor brought deliverance to the throne—night and day I forget to eat or sleep. Now the shrines stand empty and the people have no pole star; every minister urges the great charge upon me. How could I refuse? I bow and accept what you press upon me." That same day he mounted the throne. An edict declared: "Long ago my high ancestor Emperor Xuan answered Heaven's call and laid the foundations of our kingship. Emperors Jing and Wen renewed the dynasty's light and brought good order to the heartland of Xia. Then came my ancestor Emperor Wu, who obeyed Heaven and the hour and received this luminous charge. His merit spanned Heaven and Earth; his kindness reached to the bounds of the world. Yet August Heaven withheld its favor and sent down this crushing evil: Emperor Huai's reign was cut short and he was driven from the royal capital. Disaster followed disaster until the late emperor passed away and the altars of state were left untended. Therefore the feudal lords, the three high ministers, and the heads of the six boards, together with every governor and even leaders of Chinese and barbarian, have urged the great mandate upon my person. I stand alone in awe of Heaven's majesty and dare not refuse. So I ascended the southern altar, received the abdication as did the kings of old before the spirit of King Wen, burned the offering kindling, displayed the auspicious tokens, and reported to High Heaven according to the rite. I am a man of slender virtue who must carry on a mighty line; I am like one who faces a wide river without knowing where to find a ford. I look to you—my arms and claws, my civil and military ministers bold as bears—to steady the house of Jin and to uphold me, the solitary man above all. May I share this hour of peace and blessing with every land within the four seas." He then proclaimed a general amnesty, adopted a new reign title, and raised civil and military officials two steps in rank. On the gengwu day he named his heir apparent, Sima Shao, crown prince of the empire.
20
壬申，詔曰：「昔之爲政者，動人以行不以言，應天以實不以文，故我清靜而人自正。 其次聽言觀行，明試以功。 其有政績可述，刑獄得中，人無怨訟，久而日新，及當官軟弱，茹柔吐剛，行身穢濁，修飾時譽者，各以名聞。 令在事之人，仰鑒前烈，同心戮力，深思所以寬衆息役，惠益百姓，無廢朕命。 遠近禮贄，一切斷之。」
On the renshen day he issued an edict: "The ancients moved the people by deeds, not speeches; they answered Heaven with substance, not show. Hence in my stillness the people set themselves aright. Next they listened to what men said and watched what they did, testing merit in the clear light of day. Let every governor report by name those whose record deserves praise—where justice is even, the people are free of bitter suits, and government grows fresher with the years—as well as those who are timid in office, bully the weak while truckling to the strong, live corrupt lives, or chase hollow reputation. All who hold office shall take the great ministers of old as their mirror, work with one heart, think hard how to ease the burdens of the people and bring them real good, and not treat my command lightly. Gifts sent from near or far as court courtesy are hereby forbidden altogether."
21
夏四月丁丑朔，日有食之。 加大將軍王敦江州牧，進驃騎將軍王導開府儀同三司。 戊寅，初禁招魂葬。 乙酉，西平地震。
In the fourth month, on the new-moon day dingchou, the sun was partially eclipsed. Grand General Wang Dun was given the added title of governor of Jiangzhou, and Wang Dao, general of agile cavalry, was advanced to independent command with honors equal to the three highest ministers. On the wuyin day he issued the first ban on "soul-calling" burials where no body was present. On the yiyou day the earth shook at Xiping.
22
五月癸丑，使持節、侍中、都督、太尉、幷州刺史、廣武侯劉琨爲段匹磾所害。
On guichou in the fifth month Liu Kun—bearing the imperial insignia, palace attendant, area commander, grand commandant, governor of Bingzhou, and marquis of Guangwu—was murdered by Duan Pidi.
23
六月，旱，帝親雩。 改丹陽內史爲丹陽尹。 甲申，以尚書左僕射刁協爲尚書令，平南將軍、曲陵公荀崧爲尚書左僕射。 庚寅，以滎陽太守李矩爲都督司州諸軍事、司州刺史。 戊戌，封皇子晞爲武陵王。 初置諫鼓謗木。
The sixth month brought drought, and the emperor led the great rain prayer himself. The title of Danyang administrator was changed to Danyang intendant. On the jiashen day Diao Xie rose from left vice director to director of the secretariat, while Xun Song, the general who pacifies the south and marquis of Quling, was named left vice director. On the gengyin day Li Ju, governor of Xingyang, was put in command of all military affairs in Sizhou and given the governorship of that province. On the wuxu day the emperor's son Sima Xi was invested as prince of Wuling. For the first time he set up the complaint drum and the suggestion board of ancient model.
24
秋七月戊申，詔曰：「王室多故，姦凶肆暴，皇綱馳墜，顛覆大猷。 朕以不德，統承洪緒，夙夜憂危，思改其弊。 二千石令長當祗奉舊憲，正身明法，抑齊豪強，存恤孤獨，隱實戶口，勸課農桑。 州牧刺史當互相檢察，不得顧私虧公。 長吏有志在奉公而不見進用者，有貪惏穢濁而以財勢自安者，若有不舉，當受故縱蔽善之罪，有而不知，當受闇塞之責。 各明愼奉行。」 劉聰死，其子粲嗣偽位。
On wushen in the seventh month an edict read: "The house of Jin has suffered blow after blow; villains run riot; the cords of rule have slackened and the great design lies overturned. I lack virtue yet have inherited the great line; night and day I fret over these ills and seek a way to mend them. Every governor and county magistrate must uphold the standing laws, keep his own conduct straight, hold the rich and powerful in check, care for widows and orphans, bring hidden households back on the rolls, and urge farming and silk work. Provincial governors shall watch one another and never put private interest ahead of the public good. Where a worthy magistrate is passed over for promotion, or a corrupt one buys safety with gold and influence, any governor who fails to report him shall be guilty of shielding evil; one who truly did not know still bears the fault of blind negligence. Let every man carry this out with care." Liu Cong died, and his son Liu Can succeeded to the usurper's throne.
25
八月，冀、徐、青三州蝗。 靳准弑劉粲，自號漢王。
In the eighth month locusts swarmed Ji, Xu, and Qing provinces. Jin Zhun murdered Liu Can and proclaimed himself king of Han.
26
冬十月癸未，加廣州刺史陶侃平南將軍。 劉曜僭卽皇帝位于赤壁。
On guiwei in the tenth month Tao Kan, governor of Guangzhou, was additionally named general who pacifies the south. Liu Yao unlawfully declared himself emperor at Chibi.
27
二年春正月丁卯，崇陽陵毀，帝素服哭三日； 使冠軍將軍梁堪、守太常馬龜等修復山陵。 迎梓宮於平陽，不克而還。
In the first month of the second year, on dingmao, the Chongyang imperial tomb collapsed; the emperor wore mourning white and wept three days; he sent Liang Kan, general who takes the championship, Ma Gui, acting grand master of ceremonies, and others to repair the imperial tombs. An expedition to fetch the late emperor's coffin from Pingyang failed, and the party turned back.
28
二月，太山太守徐龕斬周撫，傳首京師。 夏四月，龍驤將軍陳川以浚儀叛，降于石勒。 太山太守徐龕以郡叛，自號兗州刺史，寇濟岱。 秦州刺史陳安叛，降于劉曜。
In the second month Xu Kan, governor of Taishan, executed Zhou Fu and sent his head to the capital. In the fourth month Chen Chuan, the dragon-soaring general, rebelled from Junyi and went over to Shi Le. Xu Kan of Taishan then rose with his whole commandery, styled himself governor of Yanzhou, and raided the lands about Ji and Mount Tai. Chen An, governor of Qinzhou, mutinied and submitted to Liu Yao.
29
五月癸丑，太陽陵毀，帝素服哭三日。 徐楊及江西諸郡蝗。 吳郡大饑。 平北將軍祖逖及石勒將石季龍戰于浚儀，王師敗績。 壬戌，詔曰：「天下凋弊，加以災荒，百姓困窮，國用並匱，吳郡饑人死者百數。 天生蒸黎而樹之以君，選建明哲以左右之，當深思以救其弊。 昔吳起爲楚悼王明法審令，捐不急之官，除廢公族疏遠，以附益將士，而國富兵強。 況今日之弊，百姓凋困邪！ 且當去非急之務，非軍士所須者皆省之。」 甲子，梁州刺史訪及杜曾戰于武當，斬之，禽第五猗。
On guichou in the fifth month the Taiyang mausoleum fell in; again the emperor donned mourning white and wept three days. Locusts ravaged Xu, Yang, and the commanderies west of the Yangzi. Great famine struck Wu commandery. Zu Ti, general who pacifies the north, met Shi Hu near Junyi; the imperial army suffered a sharp defeat. On the renxu day he proclaimed: "The empire is worn thin and famine stalks the land; the people are desperate and the treasury empty; in Wu commandery alone hundreds have starved. Heaven bred the people and set a ruler over them, choosing wise helpers at his side; we must think deeply how to cure these ills. When Wu Qi served King Dao of Chu he tightened the laws, cut useless offices, stripped distant cadet branches of their stipends to feed the army, and so made Chu rich and its soldiers strong. How much more today, when the people are on their last breath! Cut every task that is not urgent and strike every expense the troops do not need." On the jiazi day Zhou Fang, governor of Liangzhou, met Du Zeng at Wudang, slew him, and took Diwu Yi prisoner.
30
六月丙子，加周訪安南將軍。 罷御府及諸郡丞，置博士員五人。 己亥，加太常賀循開府儀同三司。
On the bingzi day in the sixth month Zhou Fang was additionally named general who guards the south. He abolished the palace wardrobe office and the assistant posts in the commanderies and set five doctoral chairs at court. On the jihai day He Xun, grand master of ceremonies, was granted an independent headquarters with honors equal to the three highest ministers.
31
秋七月乙丑，太常賀循卒。
He Xun, grand master of ceremonies, died on the yichou day in the seventh month.
32
八月，肅愼獻楛矢石砮。 徐龕寇東莞，遣太子左衛率羊鑒行征虜將軍，統徐州刺史蔡豹討之。
In the eighth month envoys from Sushen brought tribute of mulberry arrows and flint arrowheads. When Xu Kan raided Dongguan, the emperor sent Yang Jian, leader of the crown prince's left guard, as acting general who captures the foe, with Cai Bao, governor of Xuzhou, under his command to crush the rising.
33
冬十月，平北將軍祖逖使督護陳超襲石勒將桃豹，超敗，沒於陣。
In the tenth month Zu Ti ordered Chen Chao to strike Shi Le's general Tao Bao; Chen Chao was beaten and killed in the fighting.
34
十一月戊寅，石勒僭卽王位，國號趙。
On wuyin in the eleventh month Shi Le unlawfully took the title of king and named his state Zhao.
35
十二月乙亥，大赦，詔百官各上封事，幷省衆役。 鮮卑慕容廆襲遼東，東夷校尉、平州刺史崔毖奔高句驪。
On yihai in the twelfth month he proclaimed a general amnesty, called for sealed advice from every ministry, and ordered cuts to public labor. Murong Hui of the Xianbei struck Liaodong; Cui Bi, colonel of the eastern Yi and governor of Pingzhou, fled to Koguryŏ.
36
是歲，南陽王保稱晉王于祁山。 三吳大饑。
That year Sima Bao, prince of Nanyang, proclaimed himself Jin prince at Qishan. Famine gripped the Three Wu region.
37
三年春正月丁酉朔，晉王保爲劉曜所逼，遷于桑城。
In the first month of the third year, on the new-moon day dingyou, Sima Bao, the Jin prince, was driven by Liu Yao to withdraw to Sangcheng.
38
二月辛未，石勒將石季龍寇猒次，平北將軍、冀州刺史邵續擊之，續敗，沒於陣。
On xinwei in the second month Shi Hu attacked Yanci; Shao Xu, the general who pacifies the north and governor of Jizhou, marched to meet him but was defeated and killed.
39
三月，慕容廆奉送玉璽三紐。
In the third month Murong Hui sent three imperial jade seals as tribute.
40
閏月，以尚書周顗爲尚書僕射。
In the intercalary month Zhou Yi was promoted from secretary to vice director of the secretariat.
41
夏四月壬辰，枉矢流于翼軫。
On renchen in the fourth month a "crooked-arrow" comet streaked across the lodges of Yi and Zhen.
42
五月丙寅，孝懷帝太子詮遇害于平陽，帝三日哭。 庚寅，地震。 是月，晉王保爲其將張春所害。 劉曜使陳安攻春，滅之，安因叛曜。 石勒將徐龕帥衆來降。
On bingyin in the fifth month Sima Quan, the late Emperor Huai's crown prince, was murdered at Pingyang; the court kept three days of mourning. The earth shook on the gengyin day. That same month Sima Bao, the Jin prince, was murdered by his general Zhang Chun. Liu Yao sent Chen An against Zhang Chun, destroyed his force, and then Chen An turned on Liu Yao. Xu Kan, a general under Shi Le, brought his army over to the Jin side.
43
六月，大水。 丁酉，盜殺西中郎將、護羌校尉、涼州刺史、西平公張寔，寔弟茂嗣，領平西將軍、涼州刺史。
The sixth month brought severe flooding. On the dingyou day assassins murdered Zhang Shi—general of the western center, Qiang commandant, governor of Liangzhou, and duke of Xiping. His brother Zhang Mao succeeded him as acting general who pacifies the west and governor of Liangzhou.
44
秋七月丁亥，詔曰：「先公武王、先考恭王臨君琅邪四十餘年，惠澤加于百姓，遺愛結于人情。 朕應天符，創基江表，兆庶宅心，繈負子來。 琅邪國人在此者近有千戶，今立爲懷德縣，統丹陽郡。 昔漢高祖以沛爲湯沐邑，光武亦復南頓，優復之科一依漢氏故事。」 祖逖部將衛策大破石勒別軍於汴水。 加逖爲鎮西將軍。
On dinghai in the seventh month an edict declared: "My grandfather King Wu and my late father King Gong ruled Langye for more than forty years; their kindness touched every household and their memory still binds the people's hearts. I have answered Heaven's omens and laid the foundations south of the Yangzi; the millions look to me as their home, and families flock to me as to a father. Nearly a thousand households of our old Langye subjects now live here; I create for them Huaide county under the administration of Danyang. Han Gaozu once made his home county of Pei a ritual fief, and Guangwu did the same for Nandun; the tax relief I grant shall follow those Han precedents in every detail." Meanwhile Zu Ti's officer Wei Ce shattered a detached column of Shi Le's army on the Bian River. Zu Ti was promoted to general who guards the west.
45
八月戊午，尊敬王后虞氏爲敬皇后。 辛酉，遷神主于太廟。 辛未，梁州刺史、安南將軍周訪卒。 皇太子釋尊于太學。 以湘州刺史甘卓爲安南將軍、梁州刺史。
On wuwu in the eighth month Lady Yu, the late queen, was posthumously honored as Empress Jing. On the xinyou day the imperial spirit tablets were carried into the grand ancestral temple. Zhou Fang, governor of Liangzhou and general who guards the south, died on the xinwei day. The crown prince performed the capping rite at the imperial university. Gan Zhuo was transferred from Xiangzhou to be general who guards the south and governor of Liangzhou.
46
九月，徐龕又叛，降于石勒。
In the ninth month Xu Kan rebelled again and went over to Shi Le.
47
冬十月丙辰，徐州刺史蔡豹以畏愞伏誅。 王敦殺武陵內史向碩。
On bingchen in the tenth month Cai Bao, governor of Xuzhou, was executed for cowardice in the field. Wang Dun had Xiang Shuo, the administrator of Wuling, put to death.
48
四年春二月，徐龕又帥衆來降。 鮮卑末波奉送皇帝信璽。 庚戌，告於太廟，乃受之。 癸亥，日鬭。
In the second month of the fourth year Xu Kan once more brought his troops in to surrender. Mobo of the Xianbei sent the emperor's bronze credence seal. On the gengxu day he reported to the grand temple and formally received the seal. On the guihai day the sun showed the "eclipse battle" omen—two disks contending in the sky.
49
三月，置《周易》、《儀禮》、《公羊》博士。 癸酉，以平東將軍曹嶷爲安東將軍。
In the third month he created doctoral chairs for the Zhou Changes, the Book of Etiquette and Rites, and the Gongyang commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals. On the guiyou day Cao Yi was promoted from general who pacifies the east to general who guards the east.
50
夏四月辛亥，帝親覽庶獄。 石勒攻猒次，陷之。 撫軍將軍、幽州刺史段匹磾沒于勒。
On xinhai in the fourth month the emperor personally reviewed criminal cases. Shi Le stormed Yanci and took the city. Duan Pidi, the general who garrisons the army and governor of Youzhou, fell into Shi Le's hands.
51
五月，旱。 庚申，詔曰：「昔漢二祖及魏武皆免良人，武帝時，涼州覆敗，諸爲奴婢亦皆復籍，此累代成規也。 其免中州良人遭難爲揚州諸郡僮客者，以備征役。」
Drought gripped the fifth month. On the gengshen day he decreed: "The two founders of Han and Cao Cao of Wei both freed commoners pressed into servitude; under Emperor Wu, when Liangzhou collapsed, every bondsman was returned to free status. Such relief has been the settled practice of many reigns. Let every freeborn northerner who, in the turmoil, became a tenant or bondsman in Yangzhou be restored to commoner status so he may again bear arms for the state."
52
秋七月，大水。 甲戌，以尚書戴若思爲征西將軍、都督司兗豫幷冀雍六州諸軍事、司州刺史，鎮合肥； 丹陽尹劉隗爲鎮北將軍、都督青徐幽平四州諸軍事、青州刺史，鎮淮陰。 壬千，以驃騎將軍王導爲司空。
In the seventh month catastrophic floods struck. On the jiaxu day Dai Ruosi was named general who conquers the west, area commander for six northern provinces, and governor of Sizhou, with headquarters at Hefei; while Liu Wei, the intendant of Danyang, became general who guards the north, commander for Qing, Xu, You, and Ping, governor of Qingzhou, and encamped at Huaiyin. On the renqian day Wang Dao was moved from general of agile cavalry to minister of works.
53
八月，常山崩。
In the eighth month Mount Chang suffered a landslide.
54
九月壬寅，鎮西將軍、豫州刺史祖逖卒。
Zu Ti, the general who guards the west and governor of Yuzhou, died on the renyin day in the ninth month.
55
冬十月壬午，以逖弟侍中約爲平西將軍、豫州刺史。
On renwu in the tenth month Zu Yue, the palace attendant and younger brother of Zu Ti, succeeded him as general who pacifies the west and governor of Yuzhou.
56
十二月，以慕容廆爲持節、都督幽平二州東夷諸軍事、平州牧，封遼東郡公。
In the twelfth month Murong Hui received the imperial baton, command over the eastern Yi of You and Ping, the governorship of Pingzhou, and the title of duke of Liaodong.
57
永昌元年正月乙卯，大赦，改元。 戊辰，大將軍王敦舉兵於武昌，以誅劉隗爲名，龍驤將軍沈充帥衆應之。
On yimao in the first month of the first year of Yongchang he proclaimed a general amnesty and adopted the new reign title. On the wuchen day Grand General Wang Dun rose in arms at Wuchang on the pretext of punishing Liu Wei, while Shen Chong, the dragon-soaring general, brought his army to join him.
58
三月，徵征西將軍戴若思、鎮北將軍劉隗還衛京都。 以司空王導爲前鋒大都督，以戴若思爲驃騎將軍，丹陽諸郡皆加軍號。 加僕射周顗尚書左僕射，領軍王邃尚書右僕射。 以太子右衛率周筵行冠軍將軍，統兵三千討沈充。 甲午，封皇子昱爲琅邪王。 劉隗軍于金城，右將軍周札守石頭，帝親被甲徇六師於郊外。 遣平南將軍陶侃領江州，安南將軍甘卓領荊州，各帥所統以躡敦後。
In the third month Dai Ruosi and Liu Wei were recalled from the front to defend the capital. Wang Dao was named commander of the vanguard, Dai Ruosi became general of agile cavalry, and every Danyang county received a military designation. Zhou Yi was promoted to left vice director of the secretariat and Wang Sui, the army commandant, to right vice director. Zhou Yan, leader of the crown prince's right guard, was given the brevet rank of general who takes the championship and three thousand men to move against Shen Chong. On the jiawu day the emperor's son Sima Yu was invested as prince of Langye. Liu Wei took position at Jincheng, Zhou Zha, general of the right, held Stone City, and the emperor buckled on his armor and rode through the six hosts outside the walls. He ordered Tao Kan, the general who pacifies the south, to take charge of Jiangzhou and Gan Zhuo, the general who guards the south, of Jingzhou, each marching to fall on Wang Dun from behind.
59
四月，敦前鋒攻石頭，周札開城門應之，奮威將軍侯禮死之。 敦據石頭，戴若思、劉隗帥衆攻之，王導、周顗、郭逸、虞潭等三道出戰，六軍敗績。 尚書令刁協奔於江乘，爲賊所害。 鎮北將軍劉隗奔于石勒。 帝遣使謂敦曰：「公若不忘本朝，於此息兵，則天下尚可共安也。 如其不然，騰當歸於琅邪，以避賢路。」 辛未，大赦。 敦乃自爲丞相、都督中外諸軍、錄尚書事，封武昌郡公，邑萬戶。 丙子，驃騎將軍、秣陵侯戴若思，尚書左僕射、護軍將軍、武城侯周顗爲敦所害。 敦將沈充陷吳國，魏乂陷湘州，吳國內史張茂，湘州刺史、譙王承並遇害。
In the fourth month Wang Dun's van stormed Stone City; Zhou Zha opened the gates to him, and Hou Li, the general who rouses might, died defending the wall. Wang Dun seized Stone City. Dai Ruosi and Liu Wei attacked him while Wang Dao, Zhou Yi, Guo Yi, and Yu Tan sallied by three roads, but the imperial army was routed. Diao Xie, director of the secretariat, fled toward Jiangcheng and was cut down by the rebels. Liu Wei, the general who guards the north, fled north and threw in his lot with Shi Le. The emperor sent word to Wang Dun: "If you still care for the house of Jin and halt your armies here, the realm may yet know peace again. If not, I shall retire to my old fief of Langye and leave the field to worthier men." On the xinwei day he proclaimed a general amnesty. Wang Dun then named himself chancellor, commander of all forces, and recorder of the secretariat, and took the title of duke of Wuchang with a fief of ten thousand households. On the bingzi day Wang Dun executed Dai Ruosi, general of agile cavalry and marquis of Moling, and Zhou Yi, left vice director of the secretariat, general who guards the army, and marquis of Wucheng. Shen Chong, Wang Dun's officer, overran Wu commandery; Wei Yi took Hunan; Zhang Mao, the administrator of Wu, and Sima Cheng, prince of Qiao and governor of Xiangzhou, were both killed.
60
五月壬申，敦乙太保、西陽王羕爲太宰，加司空王導尚書令。 乙亥，鎮南大將軍甘卓爲襄陽太守周慮所害。 蜀賊張龍寇巴東，建平太守柳純擊走之。 石勒遣騎寇河南。
On renshen in the fifth month Wang Dun named Sima Yang, prince of Xiyang and grand guardian, grand preceptor, and made Wang Dao, the minister of works, director of the secretariat. On the yihai day Gan Zhuo, the grand general who guards the south, was murdered by Zhou Lu, the governor of Xiangyang. The Shu rebel Zhang Long raided Badong but was driven off by Liu Chun, governor of Jianping. Shi Le sent horsemen to raid the lands south of the Yellow River.
61
六月，旱。
Drought returned in the sixth month.
62
秋七月，王敦自加兗州刺史郗鑒爲安北將軍。 石勒將石季龍攻陷太山，執守將徐龕。 兗州刺史郗鑒自鄒山退守合肥。
In the seventh month Wang Dun on his own authority promoted Xi Jian, the governor of Yanzhou, to general who guards the north. Shi Hu, serving under Shi Le, took Taishan and captured the defender Xu Kan. Xi Jian, governor of Yanzhou, fell back from Zou Mountain to hold Hefei.
63
八月，敦以其見含爲衛將軍，自領寧、益二州都督。 琅邪太守孫默叛，降于石勒。
In the eighth month Wang Dun appointed his elder brother Wang Han guards-general and added the Ning and Yi military commands to his own portfolio. Sun Mo, the governor of Langye, rebelled and went over to Shi Le.
64
冬十月，大疫，死者十二三。 己丑，都督荊梁二州諸軍事、平南將軍、荊州刺史、武陵侯王暠卒。 辛卯，以下邳內史王邃爲征北將軍、都督青徐幽平四州諸軍事，鎮淮陰。 新昌太守梁碩起兵反。 京師大霧，黑氣蔽天，日月無光。 石勒攻陷襄城、城父，遂圍譙，破祖約別軍，約退據壽春。
In the tenth month a great plague swept the capital; as many as two or three in every ten of the sick perished. On the jichou day Wang Hao died—he had commanded the armies of Jing and Liang, held the posts of general who pacifies the south and governor of Jingzhou, and bore the title marquis of Wuling. On the xinmao day Wang Sui, the administrator of Xiapi, was named general who conquers the north, commander of Qing, Xu, You, and Ping, and stationed at Huaiyin. Liang Shuo, governor of Xinchang, rose in revolt. A heavy fog hung over the capital, black vapors veiled the sky, and neither sun nor moon could be seen. Shi Le stormed Xiangcheng and Chengfu, then surrounded Qiao, destroyed a detached force under Zu Yue, and drove Zu Yue back to Shouchun.
65
十一月，以司徒荀組爲太尉。 己酉，太尉荀組薨。 罷司徒，幷丞相。
In the eleventh month Xun Zu was moved from minister of education to grand commandant. Grand Commandant Xun Zu died on the jiyou day. The office of minister of education was abolished and its duties folded into the chancellorship.
66
閏月己丑，帝崩于內殿，時年四十七，葬建平陵，廟號中宗。 帝性簡儉沖素，容納直言，虛己待物。 初鎮江東，頗以酒廢事，王導深以爲言，帝命酌，引觴覆之，於此遂絕。 有司嘗奏太極殿廣室施絳帳，帝曰：「漢文集上書皁囊爲帷。」 遂令冬施青布，夏施青綀帷帳。 將拜貴人，有司請市雀釵，帝以煩費不許。 所幸鄭夫人衣無文彩。 從母弟王廙爲母立屋過制，流涕止之。 然晉室遘紛，皇輿播越，天命未改，人謀叶贊。 元戎屢動，不出江畿，經略區區，僅全吳楚。 終于下陵上辱，憂憤告謝。 恭儉之德雖充，雄武之量不足。
On the jichou day of the intercalary month he died in the inner palace at forty-seven. He lies in the Jianping mausoleum and bears the temple name Zhongzong. He was frugal, modest, and plain in habit, welcomed blunt counsel, and met the world with an open mind. Early in his tenure south of the Yangzi he sometimes neglected duty for wine until Wang Dao remonstrated sharply; the emperor called for a cup, raised it, and dashed it to the floor—after that he touched no more drink. When the ministry asked to hang crimson curtains in the great hall of the Grand Ultimate, he replied, "The Han emperors took the plain black silk bags that held memorials as their pattern for hangings." He therefore had plain blue cloth hung in winter and light blue gauze curtains in summer. When a consort was to be elevated, the ministry asked to purchase jeweled sparrow pins; he refused, calling the expense needless. His favorite, Lady Zheng, wore plain cloth without brocade. When his cousin Wang Yi built his mother a house above his rank, the emperor wept until the project was halted. Yet the house of Jin was torn by rebellion, the throne driven into exile; Heaven had not withdrawn its mandate, and human counsel still rallied to the cause. Though armies marched again and again, they never crossed the Yangzi frontier; his strategic reach was narrow, and he barely held Wu and Chu. In the end inferiors shamed their sovereign; he died broken with grief and rage. He had modesty and thrift in abundance, but lacked the stature of a conqueror.
67
始秦時望氣者云「五百年後金陵有天子氣」，故始皇東遊以厭之，改其地曰秣陵，塹北山以絕其勢。 及孫權之稱號。 自謂當之。 孫盛以爲始皇逮于孫氏四百三十七載，考其曆數，猶爲未及； 元帝之渡江也，乃五百二十六年，眞人之應在于此矣。 咸寧初，風吹太社樹折，社中有青氣，占者以爲東莞有帝者之祥。 由是徙封東莞王於琅邪，卽武王也。 及吳之亡，王濬實先至建鄴，而皓之降款，遠歸璽於琅邪。 天意人事，又符中興之兆。 太安之際，童謠云：「五馬浮渡江，一馬化爲龍。」 及永嘉中，歲、鎮、熒惑、太白聚斗、牛之間，識者以爲吳越之地當興王者。 是歲，王室淪覆，帝與西陽、汝南、南頓、彭城五王獲濟，而帝竟登大位焉。
The diviner said that in five hundred years Jinling would bear imperial aura, so the First Emperor toured the east to break the omen, renamed the place Moling, and cut a trench through the northern hills to sever its geomantic power. A prophecy ran, "Five hundred years hence Jinling will have the aura of a Son of Heaven." The moment arrived when Sun Quan assumed the royal title. He believed he was the man the prophecy meant. Sun Sheng observed that only 437 years lay between the First Emperor and the house of Sun—by the reckoning of cycles the span had not yet been fulfilled; but when Emperor Yuan crossed the Yangzi, 526 years had passed—the true bearer of the mandate was clearly he. Early in Xianning a gale snapped the tree at the grand soil altar and a green mist rose from the mound; diviners read it as a sign that Dongguan would breed a Son of Heaven. The prince of Dongguan was therefore transferred to Langye—he who became King Wu of Jin. When Wu fell Wang Jun was first into Jianye, yet Sun Hao's surrender sent the imperial seal all the way back to Langye. Heaven and history together pointed again to a second founding. In the Tai'an era a children's song ran: "Five horses float across the river; one becomes a dragon." By Yongjia, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus had massed between the lodges Dipper and Ox; wise men said a king would rise in the Wu–Yue region. That year the dynasty collapsed; he and the princes of Xiyang, Runan, Nandun, and Pengcheng were among the few who escaped across the river, and he alone climbed to the throne.
68
初，《玄石圖》有「牛繼馬後」，故宣帝深忌牛氏，遂爲二榼，共一口，以貯酒焉，帝先飲佳者，而以毒酒鴆其將牛金。 而恭王妃夏侯氏竟通小吏牛氏而生元帝，亦有符云。
The Dark Stone Chart once warned that "an ox would follow the horse"; Emperor Xuan therefore feared the Niu surname, set out paired flasks with a single spout, drank the good wine himself, and poisoned his general Niu Jin from the other. Yet Princess Xiahou of Gong took up with a minor clerk surnamed Niu and bore Emperor Yuan—another omen fulfilled, men said.
69
史臣曰：晉氏不虞，自中流外，五胡扛鼎，七廟隳尊，滔天方駕，則民懷其舊德者矣。 昔光武以數郡加名，元皇以一州臨極，豈武宣餘化猶暢于琅邪，文景垂仁傳芳于南頓，所謂後乎天時，先諸人事者也。 馳章獻號，高蓋成陰，星斗呈祥，金陵表慶。 陶士行擁三州之旅，郢外以安； 王茂弘爲分陝之計，江東可立。 或高旌未拂，而遐心斯偃，回首朝陽，仰希乾棟，帝猶六讓不居，七辭而不免也。 布帳綀帷，詳刑簡化，抑揚前軌，光啓中興。 古首私家不蓄甲兵，大臣不爲威福，王之常制，以訓股肱。 中宗失馭強臣，自亡齊斧，兩京胡羯，風埃相望。 雖復《六月》之駕無聞，而《鴻雁》之歌方遠，享國無幾，哀哉！
The historians write: Jin could not guard against calamity from within; beyond the heartland the Five Hu seized the cauldron, the imperial shrines were cast down, and rebellion rose like a flood—so the people clung to the memory of better days. Guangwu rose from a handful of commanderies, while Emperor Yuan ruled from a single province—perhaps the lingering virtue of Sima Yi and his sons still warmed Langye, and the kindness of Han Wendi and Jingdi still lingered at Nandun: fate came late, but human effort came first. Memorials flew in offering the throne, noble coaches crowded the roads like a forest, the stars showed blessing, and Jinling proclaimed good fortune. Tao Kan held three provinces' troops and the country beyond Jing grew calm; Wang Dao laid plans like the ancient "divided Shaan" partnership, and the lower Yangzi could stand as a realm. Before his banners had swept the north, distant hearts already bowed; all eyes turned to the rising sun and looked for a pillar of state—yet even after six refusals of the throne and seven pleas to be spared, he could not escape taking it. Plain curtains and gauze screens, careful justice and lean government—he trimmed the excesses of the past and lit the torch of the restoration. The ancients said that private houses must not hoard arms and that ministers must not wield arbitrary power—such is the king's standing rule for teaching his servants. Zhongzong failed to bridle mighty vassals and so lost the regal axe himself; the twin capitals fell to Hu and Jie, and dust of war stretched from plain to plain. He never heard the war-chariots of the "Sixth Month" ode, and the lament of "Wild Geese" still rang far off; his reign was brief—how pitiful!
70
明皇帝
The annals turn to Emperor Ming.
71
明皇帝諱紹，字道畿，元皇帝長子也。 幼而聰哲，爲元帝所寵異。 年數歲，嘗坐置膝前，屬長安使來，因問帝曰：「汝謂日與長安孰遠？」 對曰：「長安近。 不聞人從日邊來，居然可知也。」 元帝異之。 明日，宴羣僚，又問之。 對曰：「日近。」 元帝失色，曰：「何乃異間者之言乎？」 對曰：「舉目則見日，不見長安。」 由是益奇之。
Emperor Ming, personal name Shao and courtesy name Daoji, was the eldest son of Emperor Yuan. Even as a boy he showed unusual wit, and his father singled him out for favor. When he was still small he sat on his father's knee as an envoy from Chang'an arrived, and Yuan asked him, "Which do you think lies farther away—the sun or Chang'an?" "Chang'an is nearer. Nobody says he has come from beside the sun, so the answer is plain." Yuan marveled at the boy. The next day at a banquet for his ministers he put the question again. This time the child said, "The sun is nearer." The emperor blanched and said, "Why does that contradict the answer you gave yesterday?" "I lift my eyes and see the sun, but I do not see Chang'an." From that day his father prized him the more.
72
建興初，拜東中郎將，鎮廣陵。 元帝爲晉王，立爲晉王太子。 及帝卽尊號，立爲皇太子。 性至孝，有文武才略，欽賢愛客，雅好文辭。 當時名臣，自王導、庚亮、溫嶠、桓彝、阮放等，咸見親待。 嘗論聖人眞假之意，導等不能屈。 又習武藝，善撫將士。 於時東朝濟濟，遠近屬心焉。
Early in the Jianxing era he became general of the eastern center and took post at Guangling. When his father held the title of Prince of Jin, he was named heir to that princedom. When Yuan took the imperial throne, he was created crown prince. He was deeply filial, gifted in both civil and military affairs, delighted in worthy men and open house, and cultivated a love of letters. Leading ministers of the day—Wang Dao, Yu Liang, Wen Qiao, Huan Yi, Ruan Fang, and others—all enjoyed his intimate confidence. Once he debated the subtle question of true and false in the sage's teaching, and not even Wang Dao could get the better of him. He trained in arms and knew how to win the hearts of his troops. The eastern palace then stood full of talent, and men near and far pinned their hopes on him.
73
及王敦之亂，六軍敗績，帝欲帥將士決戰，升車將出，中庶子溫嶠固諫，抽劍斬鞅，乃止。 敦素以帝神武明略，朝野之所欽信，欲誣以不孝而廢焉。 大會百官而問溫嶠曰：「皇太子以何德稱？」 聲色俱厲，必欲使有言。 嶠對曰：「鉤深致遠，蓋非淺局所量。 以禮觀之，可稱爲孝矣。」 衆皆以爲信然，敦謀遂止。 永昌元年閏月己丑，元帝崩。 庚寅，太子卽皇帝位，大赦，尊所生荀氏爲建安郡君。
During Wang Dun's revolt the imperial army was routed; he wanted to lead a sortie in person and had stepped into his carriage when Wen Qiao, his attendant of the palace, barred the way, drew his sword, and severed the traces—only then did he give up. Wang Dun knew the heir enjoyed a reputation for courage and clear judgment, trusted at court and in the country, so he plotted to brand him unfilial and depose him. At a full assembly of officials he demanded of Wen Qiao, "What merit earns the crown prince his name?" His voice and face were fierce; he would force an answer. Wen Qiao answered, "To plumb the depths and see far ahead is beyond the measure of petty minds. Judged by the rites, he may truly be called a filial son." The assembly accepted this, and Wang Dun dropped his scheme. On the jichou day of the intercalary month in the first year of Yongchang, Emperor Yuan died. On the gengyin day the crown prince took the throne, proclaimed a general amnesty, and raised his birth mother, Lady Xun, to the title of lady of Jian'an commandery.
74
太寧元年春正月癸巳，黃霧四塞，京師火。 李雄使其將李驤、任回寇臺登，將軍司馬玖死之。 越巂太守李釗、漢嘉太守王載以郡叛，降于驤。
On guisi in the first month of the first year of Taining, yellow fog blanketed the land and fires broke out in the capital. Li Xiong dispatched Li Xiang and Ren Hui against Taideng; Sima Jiu, the general sent against them, was killed. The governors Li Zhao of Yuegui and Wang Zai of Hanjia rose with their commands and submitted to Li Xiang.
75
二月，葬元帝于建平陵，帝徒跣至于陵所。 以特進華恒爲驃騎將軍、都督石頭水陸軍事。 乙丑，黃霧四塞。 丙寅，隕霜。 壬申，又隕霜，殺穀。
In the second month Emperor Yuan was laid in the Jianping tombs; the new emperor walked the last miles barefoot behind the bier. Hua Heng, holding the title specially advanced, was named general of agile cavalry and commander of land and river forces at Stone City. On the yichou day yellow fog closed in on every side. Frost fell on the bingyin day. On renshen frost struck again and blighted the crops.
76
三月戊寅朔，改元，臨軒，停饗宴之禮，懸而不樂。 丙戌，隕霜，殺草。 饒安、東光、安陵三縣災，燒七千餘家，死者萬五千人。 石勒攻陷下邳，徐州刺史卞敦退保盱眙。 王敦獻皇帝信璽一紐。 敦將謀篡逆，諷朝廷徵己，帝乃手詔征之。
On the new moon wuyin in the third month he changed the reign title, held court from the gallery, canceled banquets, and kept the bells silent. On bingxu frost killed the spring grass. A great fire ravaged Rao'an, Dongguang, and Anling, destroying more than seven thousand homes and killing fifteen thousand people. Shi Le took Xiapi, forcing Bian Dun, the governor of Xuzhou, to fall back to Xuyi. Wang Dun presented one of the imperial bronze credence seals. As Wang Dun prepared treason he hinted that the court should recall him; the emperor answered with his own brush, summoning him to the capital.
77
夏四月，敦下屯於湖，轉司空王導爲司徒，自領揚州牧。 巴東監軍柳純爲敦所害。 以尚書陳昣爲都督幽平二州諸軍事、幽州刺史。
In the fourth month Wang Dun moved his camp to Yuhu, shifted Wang Dao from minister of works to minister of education, and named himself governor of Yangzhou. Liu Chun, the army supervisor in Badong, was murdered on Wang Dun's orders. Chen Zhen of the secretariat was named area commander for You and Ping and governor of Youzhou.
78
五月，京師大水。 李驤等寇寧州，刺史王遜遣將姚岳距戰于堂狼，大破之。 梁碩攻陷交州，刺史王諒死之。
The capital was inundated in the fifth month. Li Xiang invaded Ningzhou; Wang Xun, the governor, sent Yao Yue to meet him at Tanglang and won a crushing victory. Liang Shuo overran Jiaozhou, and Governor Wang Liang fell in the defense.
79
六月壬子，立皇后庾氏。 平南將軍陶侃遣參軍高寶攻梁碩，斬之，傳首京師。 進侃位征南大將軍、開府儀同三司。
On renzi in the sixth month he invested Lady Yu of the Yu clan as empress. Tao Kan, the general who pacifies the south, sent his aide Gao Bao against Liang Shuo, executed him, and sent the head to the capital. Tao Kan was promoted to grand general who conquers the south with an independent headquarters equated to the three highest ministers.
80
秋七月丙子朔，震太極殿柱。 是月，劉曜攻陳安於隴城，滅之。
On the new moon bingzi in the seventh month lightning shattered a pillar of the Grand Ultimate Hall. That month Liu Yao stormed Longcheng, destroyed Chen An, and annexed his domain.
81
八月，以安北將軍郗鑒爲尚書令。 石勒將石季龍攻陷青州，刺史曹嶷遇害。
In the eighth month Xi Jian, general who guards the north, became director of the secretariat. Shi Hu seized the province of Qingzhou and killed Cao Yi, its governor.
82
冬十一月，王敦以其兄征南大將軍含爲征東大將軍、都督揚州江西諸軍事。 以軍國饑乏，調刺史以下米各有差。
In the eleventh month Wang Dun gave his brother Wang Han, the grand general who conquers the south, the posts of grand general who conquers the east and commander of all forces west of the Yangzi in Yangzhou. With army and treasury empty, he requisitioned grain from every governor downward on a graded scale.
83
二年春正月丁丑，帝臨朝，停饗宴之禮，懸而不樂。 庚辰，赦五歲刑以下。 術人李脫造妖書惑衆，斬于建康市。 石勒將石季龍寇兗州，刺史劉遐自彭城退保泗口。
On dingchou in the first month of the second year he held court without feasts or music. On the gengchen day he remitted sentences of five years or less. The sorcerer Li Tuo, who forged seditious tracts, was executed in the marketplace at Jiankang. Shi Hu struck Yanzhou, and Liu Xia withdrew from Pengcheng to hold the mouth of the Si River.
84
三月，劉曜將康平寇魏興，及南陽。
In the third month Kang Ping, a general of Liu Yao, raided Weixing and pushed into Nanyang.
85
夏五月，王敦矯詔拜其子應爲武衛將軍，兄含爲驃騎大將軍。 帝所親信常從督公乘雄、冉曾並爲敦所害。
In the fifth month Wang Dun forged an edict naming his son Wang Ying martial guards general and his brother Wang Han grand general of agile cavalry. Gongcheng Xiong and Ran Zeng, the trusted bodyguard officers at the emperor's side, were murdered on Wang Dun's orders.
86
六月，敦將舉兵內向，帝密知之，乃乘巴滇駿馬微行，至于湖，陰察敦營壘而出。 有軍士疑帝非常人。 又敦正書寢，夢日環其城，驚起曰：「此必黃須鮮卑奴來也。」 帝母荀氏，燕代人，帝狀類外氏，鬚黃，敦故謂帝云。 於是使五騎物色追帝。 帝亦馳去，馬有遺糞，輒以水灌之。 見逆旅賣食嫗，以七寶鞭與之，曰：「後有騎來，可以此示也。」 俄而追者至，問嫗。 嫗曰：「去巳遠矣。」 因以鞭示之。 五騎傳玩，稽留遂久，又見馬糞冷，以爲信遠而止不追。 帝僅而獲免。
In the sixth month, learning that Wang Dun meant to march on the capital, the emperor rode a swift Bashu horse in disguise to Yuhu, spied on the rebel camp, and slipped away unseen. Some sentries sensed that he was no common traveler. Meanwhile Wang Dun, napping over his desk, dreamed that the sun ringed his camp; he started up and cried that the yellow-bearded Xianbei dog had come." The emperor's mother, Lady Xun, came from the northern frontier, and he resembled her kin in his yellow beard—hence Wang Dun's slur. He then dispatched five horsemen to hunt him down. He galloped on, and whenever the mount dropped dung he washed the trail away with water. At a roadside inn he gave the old proprietress a jeweled riding crop and told her, "Show this to anyone who rides after me." Soon the pursuers arrived and questioned her. "He is long gone by now," she said. She handed them the crop. The five men passed the whip from hand to hand, wasting time; finding the droppings cold, they believed he was far ahead and gave up the chase. So the emperor barely escaped with his life.
87
丁卯，加司徒王導大都督、假節，領揚州刺史，以丹陽尹溫嶠爲中壘將軍，與右將軍卞敦守石頭，以光祿勳應詹爲護軍將軍、假節、督朱雀橋南諸軍事，以尚書令郗鑒行衛將軍、都督從駕諸軍事，以中書監庾亮領左衛將軍，以尚書卞壼行中軍將軍。 徵平北將軍、徐州刺史王邃，平西將軍、豫州刺史祖約，北中郎將、兗州刺史劉遐，奮武將軍、臨淮太守蘇峻，奮威將軍、廣陵太守陶瞻等還衛京師。 帝次於中堂。
On dingmao Wang Dao became grand commander with the imperial baton and kept the Yangzhou governorship; Wen Qiao, intendant of Danyang, was named general of the central rampart to hold Stone City with Bian Dun, general of the right; Ying Zhan took charge of the southern approaches to the Zhuque Bridge; Xi Jian directed the escort forces; Yu Liang led the left guard; Bian Kun commanded the central army. He recalled Wang Sui, Zu Yue, Liu Xia, Su Jun, Tao Zhan, and other frontier commanders to defend the capital. He took station in the central hall of the palace.
88
秋七月壬申朔，敦遣其兄含及錢鳳、周撫、鄧岳等水陸五萬，至于南岸。 溫嶠移屯水北，燒朱雀桁，以挫其鋒。 帝躬率六軍，出次南皇堂。 至癸酉夜，募壯士，遣將軍段秀、中軍司馬曹渾、左衛參軍陳嵩、鐘寅等甲卒千人渡水，掩其未備。 平旦，戰于越城，大破之，斬其前鋒將何康。 王敦憤惋而死。 前宗正虞潭起義師于會稽。 沈充帥萬餘人來會含等，庚辰，築壘于陵口。 丁亥，劉遐、蘇峻等帥精卒萬人以至，帝夜見，勞之，賜將士各有差。 義興人周蹇殺敦所署太守劉芳，平西將軍祖約逐敦所署淮南太守任台于壽春。 乙未，賊衆濟水，護軍將軍應詹帥建威將軍趙胤等距戰，不利。 賊至宣陽門，北中郎將劉遐、蘇峻等自南塘橫擊，大破之。 劉遐又破沈充于青溪。 丙申，賊燒營宵遁。
On the new moon renshen in the seventh month Wang Dun sent Wang Han, Qian Feng, Zhou Fu, and Deng Yue with fifty thousand men across land and water to the south bank of the Yangzi. Wen Qiao moved his camp north of the river and burned the Zhuque bridge to check the rebel advance. He led the six hosts in person and drew up his lines at the southern imperial hall. On the night of guiyou he chose a thousand picked men under Duan Xiu, Cao Hun, Chen Song, and Zhong Yin to cross the river and strike before dawn. At daybreak they routed the enemy at Yuecheng and slew the van leader He Kang. Wang Dun died of rage and shame. Yu Tan, the former director of the imperial clan, raised loyal forces in Kuaiji. Shen Chong brought more than ten thousand men to reinforce Wang Han; on the gengchen day they threw up earthworks at Lingkou. On dinghai Liu Xia and Su Jun marched in ten thousand veterans; the emperor met them at night, thanked them, and rewarded the ranks according to merit. In Yixing Zhou Jian slew Liu Fang, Wang Dun's puppet governor, while Zu Yue chased Ren Tai, the bogus governor of Huainan, back toward Shouchun. On yiwei the rebels crossed the river; Ying Zhan and Zhao Yin met them but were driven back. At Xuanyang Gate Liu Xia and Su Jun swung out from the south levee and shattered the rebel line. Liu Xia then crushed Shen Chong at Qingxi. That night the rebels torched their camp and fled.
89
丁西，帝還宮，大赦，惟敦黨不原。 於是分遣諸將追其黨與，悉平之。 封司徒王導爲始興郡公，邑三千戶，賜絹九千匹； 丹陽尹溫嶠建寧縣公，尚書卞壼建興縣公，中書監庾亮永昌縣公，北中郎將劉遐泉陵縣公，奮武將軍蘇峻邵陵縣公，邑各一千八百戶，絹各五千四百匹； 尚書令郗鑒高平縣侯，護軍將軍應詹觀陽縣侯，邑各千六百戶，絹各四千八百匹； 建威將軍趙胤湘南縣侯，右將軍卞敦益陽縣侯，邑各千六百戶，絹各三千二百匹。 其餘封賞各有差。
He re-entered the palace, ordered a general amnesty, and withheld mercy only from Wang Dun's faction. He sent his generals to run down every accomplice until the rising was stamped out. The court enfeoffed Wang Dao as duke of Shixing with three thousand households and nine thousand bolts of silk; The court named Wen Qiao duke of Jianning, Bian Kun duke of Jianxing, Yu Liang duke of Yongchang, Liu Xia duke of Quanling, and Su Jun duke of Shaoling—each with eighteen hundred households and fifty-four hundred bolts of silk; The court made Xi Jian marquis of Gaoping and Ying Zhan marquis of Guanyang, each with sixteen hundred households and forty-eight hundred bolts; The court named Zhao Yin marquis of Xiangnan and Bian Dun marquis of Yiyang, each with sixteen hundred households and thirty-two hundred bolts of silk. Other officers received graded rewards.
90
冬十月，以司徒王導爲太保、領司徒，太宰、西陽王羕領太尉，應詹爲平南將軍、都督江州諸軍事、江州刺史，劉遐爲監淮北諸軍事、徐州刺史，庾亮爲護軍將軍。 詔王敦羣從一無所問。 是時，石勒將石生屯洛陽，豫州刺史祖約退保壽陽。
In the tenth month Wang Dao was made grand guardian while keeping the ministry of education; Sima Yang added the grand commandancy; Ying Zhan took Jiangzhou; Liu Xia oversaw the Huai front as Xuzhou governor; Yu Liang became general who guards the army. He issued a general pardon for Wang Dun's collateral kin. Meanwhile the general Shi Sheng held Luoyang, and Zu Yue pulled back to Shouyang.
91
十二月壬子，帝謁建平陵，從大祥之禮。 梁水太守爨亮、盜竊州太守李逷以興古叛，降于李雄。 沈充故將顧颺反於武康，攻燒城邑，州縣討斬之。
On renzi he performed the great felicity rites at his father's tomb. The administrators Cuan Liang of Liangshui and Li Ti of Ningzhou rose in the district of Xinggu and went over to Li Xiong. Gu Yang, once a subordinate of Shen Chong, mutinied at Wukang and burned towns until the local forces cut him down.
92
三年春二月戊辰，復三族刑，惟不及婦人。
In the second month of the third year he revived collective punishment of three generations, exempting women.
93
三月，幽州刺史段末波卒，以弟牙嗣。 戊辰，立皇子衍爲皇太子，大赦，增文武位二等，大酺三日，賜鰥寡孤獨帛，人二匹。 癸巳，徵處士臨海任旭、會稽虞喜並爲博士。
The governor Duan Mobo of Youzhou died; his brother Duan Ya inherited the command. On wuchen he named Sima Yan crown prince, proclaimed amnesty, raised officials two steps, feasted the realm for three days, and gave two bolts of silk to every helpless household. On guisi he called the scholars Ren Xu and Yu Xi to court as doctors.
94
夏四月，詔曰：「大事初定，其命惟新。 其令太宰司徒巳下，詣都坐參議政道，諸所因革，務盡事中。」 又詔曰：「湌直言，引亮正，想羣賢達吾此懷矣。 予違汝弼，堯舜之相君臣也。 吾雖虛闇，庶不距逆耳之談。 稷契之任，君居之矣。 望共勖之。」 己亥，雨雹。 石勒將石良寇兗州，刺史檀贇力戰，死之。 將軍李矩等並衆潰而歸，石勒盡陷司、兗、豫三州之地。
In the fourth month he decreed, "The realm is only just steadied; every ordinance must be made new. Let every minister from the grand preceptor down meet in the capital office to debate policy—what to keep, what to change—and aim always at the balanced course." A second edict urged, "Welcome blunt counsel and upright remonstrance; I count on you gentlemen to read my heart. When I err, you correct me"—that was how Yao and Shun treated their ministers. Though I am a dull man, I will not shut my ears to what hurts. You hold the burden that once fell to Ji and Xie. I look to you to press one another to this duty." Hail fell on jihai. Shi Liang struck Yanzhou; Tan Yun, the governor, fought to the death. Li Ju and the other generals broke and fled, and Shi Le overran the provinces of Si, Yan, and Yu.
95
五月，以征南大將軍陶侃爲征西大將軍、都督荊湘雍梁四州諸軍事、荊州刺史，王舒爲安南將軍、都督廣州諸軍事、廣州刺史。
In the fifth month Tao Kan became grand general who conquers the west, commanding Jing, Xiang, Yong, and Liang, while Wang Shu took Guangzhou.
96
六月，石勒將石季龍攻劉曜將劉岳於新安，陷之。 以廣州刺史王舒爲都督湘州諸軍事、湘州刺史，湘州刺史劉顗爲平越中郎將、都督廣州諸軍事、廣州刺史。 大旱，自正月不雨，至于是月。
In the sixth month Shi Hu defeated Liu Yue at Xin'an for Liu Yao. Wang Shu was shifted to Xiangzhou while Liu Yi took Guangzhou and the Yue command. A severe drought had gripped the land since the first month without rain.
97
秋七月辛未，以尚書令郗鑒爲車騎將軍、都督青兗二州諸軍事、假節，鎮廣陵，領軍將軍卞壼爲尚書令。 詔曰：「三恪二王，世代之所重； 興滅繼絕，政道之所先。 又宗室哲王有功勳于大晉受命之際者，佐命功臣，碩德名賢，三祖所與共維大業，咸開國胙土、誓同山河者，而並廢絕，禋祀不傳，甚用懷傷。 主者其祥議諸應立後者以聞。」 又詔曰：「郊祀天地，帝王之重事。 自中興以來，惟南郊，未曾北郊，四時五郊之禮都不復設，五嶽、四瀆、名山、大川載在祀典應望秩者，悉廢而未舉。 主者其依舊詳處。」
On xinwei in the seventh month Xi Jian became general of chariots and cavalry on the northern front at Guangling, and Bian Kun succeeded him as director of the secretariat. He proclaimed, "The three guest houses and the two royal houses are the honor of every age; to restore fallen lines is the first duty of government. Those princes and ministers who helped found Jin, received fiefs, and swore oaths with the throne have seen their lines die out and their sacrifices cease—this grieves me deeply. Let the ministries report which lines deserve heirs." Another edict added, "The suburban rites to Heaven and Earth are the sovereign's greatest duty. Since the court moved south we have sacrificed only at the southern suburb; the northern rite and the seasonal five-suburb liturgy have lapsed, and offerings to the great mountains and rivers have not been restored. Let the ministries draft a restoration plan on old precedents."
98
八月，詔曰：「昔周武克殷，封比干之墓； 漢高過趙，錄樂毅之後，追顯旣往，以勸將來也。 吳時將相名賢之胄，有能纂修家訓，又忠孝仁義，靜己守眞，不聞于時者，州郡中正亟以名聞，勿有所遺。」
In the eighth month he cited how King Wu of Zhou tended Bi Gan's tomb after conquering Yin; and how Han Gaozu honored the descendants of Yue Yi in Zhao—to glorify the past and hearten the future. If any descendant of Wu's great houses keeps the family teachings in loyalty, filial piety, and integrity yet lives in obscurity, the local rectifiers shall send their names at once and omit none."
99
閏月，以尚書左僕射荀崧爲光祿大夫、錄尚書事，尚書鄧攸爲尚書左僕射。 壬午，帝不悆，召太宰、西陽王羕，司徒王導，尚書令卞壼，車騎將軍郗鑒，護軍將軍庾亮，領軍將軍陸曄，丹陽尹溫嶠並受遺詔，輔太子。 丁亥，詔曰：「自古有死，賢聖所同，壽夭窮達，歸于一概，亦何足特痛哉！ 朕枕疾已久，常慮忽然。 仰惟祖宗洪基，不能克終堂構，大恥未雪，百姓塗炭，所以有慨耳。 不幸之日，斂以時服，一遵先度，務從簡約，勞衆崇飾，皆勿爲也。 衍以幼弱，猥當大重，當賴忠賢，訓而成之。 昔周公匡輔成王，霍氏擁育孝昭，義行前典，功冠二代，豈非宗臣之道乎？ 凡此公卿，時之望也。 敬聽顧命，任託付之重，同心斷金，以謀王室。 諸方嶽征鎮，刺史將守，皆朕扞城，推轂於外，雖事有內外，其致一也。 故不有行者，誰扞牧圉？ 譬若脣齒，表裏相資。 宜戮力一心，若合符契，思美焉之美，以緝事爲期。 百辟卿士，其總己以聽于冢宰，保祐沖幼，弘濟艱難，永令祖宗之靈，寧于九天之上，則朕沒于地下，無恨黃泉。」
In the intercalary month Xun Song became supernumerary minister and recorder of the secretariat, and Deng You became left vice director. On renwu, failing in health, he called Sima Yang, Wang Dao, Bian Kun, Xi Jian, Yu Liang, Lu Ye, and Wen Qiao to the bedside and entrusted them with the crown prince. On the dinghai day he wrote, "Death comes to all, wise or foolish; long or short life ends the same—there is no cause for singular grief! I have long been bedridden and fear a sudden end. I grieve that I cannot finish the house my ancestors built, that shame to the north remains unavenged, and that the people still suffer—that is what stirs my heart. When I die, dress me in the robes fit to the season, follow the old sumptuary rules, and do not burden the people with lavish display. Yan is still a child yet must bear the throne; lean on loyal men to train him. The Duke of Zhou raised King Cheng, and Huo Guang guarded young Zhaodi—does that not show the way of a pillar of the house? You are the men the age looks to. Hear my will, share the burden I lay on you, and like metal cut by one stroke plan for the house of Jin. Every governor and general is a wall of the throne; though some serve at court and some in the field, your charge is one. Without armies in the field, who guards the marches? You are lip and tooth to one another. Work as one, match your efforts like tally halves, and aim at the good order the Odes praise. All officers shall obey the chief minister, guard the boy emperor, and carry the state through danger so the spirits of our ancestors may rest easy; then I shall lie in the earth without regret."
100
戊子，帝崩于東堂，年二十七，葬武平陵，廟號肅祖。 帝聰明有機斷，尤精物理。 于時兵凶歲饑，死疫過半，虛弊旣甚，事極艱虞。 屬王敦挾震主之威，將移神器。 帝騎驅遵養，以弱制強，潛謀獨斷，廓清大祲。 改授荊、湘等四州，以分上流之勢，撥亂反正，強本弱枝。 雖享國日淺，而規模弘遠矣。
He died in the eastern hall on wuzi at twenty-seven, was buried at Wuping, and received the temple name Suzu. He was quick-witted, resolute, and keenly observant of how things work. War, famine, and plague had carried off more than half the people; the realm was exhausted and peril pressed from every side. Wang Dun then wielded power enough to overshadow the throne and meant to seize the regalia. He temporized, feigned weakness, and struck by secret design until the great peril was swept away. He carved Jing, Xiang, and neighboring provinces into new commands to break the power of the upper Yangzi, righting the realm and strengthening the center against the regions. His reign was short, yet his institutions looked far ahead.
101
史臣曰：維揚作宇，憑帶洪流，楚江恒戰，方城對敵，不得不推誠將相，以總戎麾。 樓船萬計，兵倍王室，處其利而無心者，周公其人也。 威權外假，嫌隙內興，彼有順流之師，此無強籓之援。 商逢九亂，堯止八音，明皇負圖，屬在茲日。 運龍韜於掌握，起天旆於江靡，燎其餘燼，有若秋原。 去縗絰而踐戎場，斬鯨鯢而拜園闕。 鎮削威權，州分江漢，覆車不踐。 貽厥孫謀。 其後七十餘年，終罹敬道之害。 或曰：「興亡在運，非止上流。」 豈創制不殊，而弘之者異也。
The historians write: With the capital on the Yangzi, ever threatened from Chu and Fangcheng, the throne had no choice but to put the army in the hands of its generals. When fleet and soldiery outmatched the court yet no selfish heart remained, that was the Duke of Zhou's way. Once power was delegated abroad, suspicion flared within: rebels rode the current downriver while no strong shield stood at court. As Shang knew nine turmoils and Yao silenced the eight tones, so the "bright sovereign" faced his trial in this hour. He held strategy in his hand, raised the imperial banner along the shore, and burned the rebel embers like stubble on an autumn field. He left mourning for war, struck down the leviathan, and returned to bow at the gate. He pared back warlord power, split the Jiang–Han command, and kept the cart from the old ruts. He left his grandson a blueprint. Yet seventy years later the house still met the disaster of Huan's revolt. Some say rise and fall ride fate, not the upper river alone. Perhaps the institutions were the same, but the men who carried them forward were not.
102
贊曰：傾天起害，猛獸呈災。 琅邪之子，仁義歸來，龔行趙璧，命箠荊臺。 雲瞻北晦，江望南開。 晉陽禦敵，河西全壤。 胡寇雖艱，靈心弗爽。 三方馳騖，百蠻從響。 寶命還昌，金輝載朗。 明后岐嶷，軍書接要。 莽首晨懸，董臍昏燎。 厥德不回，餘風可劭。
The encomium reads: Heaven was overthrown and calamity rose; savage beasts showed their fangs. The prince of Langye brought benevolence and right back to the realm, marched in the manner of a righteous host bearing the sacred charge, and laid the rod to rebellion on the Jing terraces. The north lay under lowering clouds; south of the river a new horizon opened. At Jinyang they turned the enemy; beyond the river the land stayed intact. Though the barbarian hosts pressed hard, the sovereign mind never wavered. Armies raced to the three fronts, and the myriad tribes answered the call. The sacred mandate shone again, and the golden virtue of the throne gleamed bright. The brilliant ruler showed precocious judgment, and orders from the field came thick and fast. Like Wang Mang's head hung at dawn and Dong Zhuo's navel burned for a night lamp, the usurpers met their end. His virtue held true without swerving, and the wind of his example still urges the age onward.