1
陳騫
Chen Qian
2
陳騫，臨淮東陽人也。 父矯，魏司徒。 矯本廣陵劉氏，為外祖陳氏所養，因而改焉。 騫沈厚有智謀。 初，矯為尚書令，侍中劉曄見幸于魏明帝，譖矯專權。 矯憂懼，以問騫。 騫曰：「主上明聖，大人大臣，今若不合意，不過不作公耳。」 後帝意果釋，騫尚少，為夏侯玄所侮，意色自若，玄以此異之。
Chen Qian came from Dongyang in Linhuai commandery. His father, Chen Jiao, had served Wei as Minister of Education. Though Jiao was born into the Liu family of Guangling, his mother's Chen relatives raised him, and he took their surname. Qian was reserved and thoughtful, with a gift for strategy. While Jiao headed the Department of State Affairs, Palace Attendant Liu Ye enjoyed Emperor Ming of Wei's favor and accused Jiao of wielding unchecked authority. Alarmed, Jiao sought Qian's advice. Qian replied, 'The sovereign is wise, and you stand among the great ministers. Even if you fall from favor, the worst that happens is that you are not enfeoffed as a duke.' The emperor's anger soon passed. Qian was still a youth when Xiahou Xuan slighted him; he never lost his composure, and Xuan came to respect him for it.
3
起家尚書郎，遷中山、安平太守，並著稱績。 徵為相國司馬、長史、禦吏中丞，遷尚書，封安國亭侯。 蜀賊寇隴右，以尚書持節行征蜀將軍，破賊而還。 會諸葛誕之亂，復以尚書行安東將軍。 壽春平，拜使持節、都督淮北諸軍事、安東將軍，進爵廣陵侯。 轉都督豫州諸軍事、豫州刺史，持節、將軍如故。 又轉都督江南諸軍事，徙都督荊州諸軍事、征南大將軍，封郯侯。 武帝受禪，以佐命之勳，進車騎將軍，封高平郡公，遷侍中、大將軍，出為都督揚州諸軍事，餘如故，假黃鉞。 攻拔吳枳裏城，破塗中屯戍。 賜騫兄子惺爵關中侯。
He rose from Gentleman of the Palace Secretariat to governor of Zhongshan and Anping, distinguishing himself in both posts. The court called him to be chief clerk and major under the minister of state and palace censor, then director of the Department of State Affairs, with a village marquisate at An'guo. During the Shu incursion into Longyou he led the expedition as acting general while holding his director's commission, routed the raiders, and withdrew. During Zhuge Dan's revolt he took the same minister's commission and served as acting General of the East. When Shouchun fell, he received the credentials of area commander north of the Huai and kept his eastern generalship, with his title raised to Marquis of Guangling. He moved on to command Yuzhou's armies and govern the province, still bearing the staff and his general's rank. His command shifted to the southland, then to Jingzhou as General Who Conquers the South, with a marquisate at Tan. After Sima Yan founded the Jin, Qian's founding service earned him the chariots-and-cavalry command, the ducal fief of Gaoping, posts as palace attendant and grand general, command of Yangzhou, and the ceremonial axe that marked supreme delegated authority. He seized Wu's Zhili fortress and dismantled the encampment at Tuzhong. An imperial grant raised Qian's nephew Xing to Marquis of Guanzhong.
4
咸甯初，遷太尉，轉大司馬。 騫因入朝，言於帝曰：「胡烈、牽弘皆勇而無謀，強于自用，非綏邊之材，將為國恥。 願陛下詳之。」 時弘為揚州刺史，不承順騫命。 帝以為不協相構，於是征弘，既至，尋復以為涼州刺史。 騫竊歎息，以為必敗。 二人後果失羌戎之和，皆被寇喪沒，征討連歲，僅而得定，帝乃悔之。
At the opening of the Xianning reign he became Grand Commandant, then Grand Marshal. At audience Qian warned the throne that Hu Lie and Qian Hong were bold yet rash, unsuited to frontier settlement and apt to bring national shame. He urged the sovereign to reconsider their appointments. Hong was then governor of Yangzhou and would not follow Qian's directives. The ruler took their clash for mutual spite, recalled Hong, then almost immediately sent him west as governor of Liangzhou once more. Qian privately groaned, certain the policy would end badly. Both later shattered tribal alliances, fell to raids, and cost years of campaigning before the frontier steadied—only then did the court regret ignoring Qian.
5
騫少有度量，含垢匿瑕，所在有績。 與賈充、石苞、裴秀等俱為心膂，而騫智度過之，充等亦自以為不及也。 累處方任，為士庶所懷。 既位極人臣，年逾致仕，思欲退身。 ，求入朝，因乞骸骨。 賜袞冕之服，詔曰：「騫元勳舊德，統乂東夏，方弘遠績，以一吳會，而所苦未除，每表懇切，重勞以方事。 今聽留京城，以前太尉府為大司馬府，增置祭酒二人，帳下司馬、官騎、大車、鼓吹皆如前，親兵百人，廚田十頃，廚園五十畝，廚士十人，器物經用皆留給焉。 又給乘輿輦，出入殿中加鼓吹，如漢蕭何故事。」 騫累稱疾辭位，詔曰：「騫履德論道，朕所諮詢。 方賴謀猷，以弘庶績，宜時視事。 可遣散騎常侍諭意。」 騫輒歸第，詔又遣侍中敦諭還府。 遂固請，許之，位同保傅，在三司之上，賜以几杖，不朝，安車駟馬，以高平公還第。 帝以其勳舊耆老，禮之甚重。 又以騫有疾，聽乘輿上殿。
From boyhood Qian bore slights lightly and governed effectively wherever he was posted. He stood with Jia Chong, Shi Bao, and Pei Xiu among the sovereign's closest advisers, but his political judgment exceeded theirs, as they themselves allowed. Repeated tours as a regional commander won him the confidence of scholar and commoner alike. At the summit of a minister's career and past the usual age of retirement, he longed to withdraw. He sought permission to return to Luoyang and yield his office, pleading age and infirmity. The court invested him with ducal regalia and issued an edict praising his role in the east, explaining that though Wu remained unconquered and his illness lingered, his repeated pleas had forced military burdens upon him nonetheless. He was allowed to stay in Luoyang: his old grand commandant's offices became the grand marshal's residence, with added staff, guards, kitchen holdings, and household support left intact. He could ride the imperial litter into the palace precincts with musicians, as Xiao He once had under the Han. When Qian again cited poor health, the throne insisted he remained indispensable for moral counsel and policy. The edict declared that the state still needed his plans and ordered him back to work. A supernumerary attendant would bear the emperor's wishes to him in person. Instead Qian retired to his house, prompting another round of messages from attendants pressing him to reopen his offices. At last his resignation stood: he was ranked above the three highest ministers like an imperial mentor, with chair, staff, freedom from court audience, a coach and four, and the title of Duke of Gaoping while living privately. As a dynastic founder now grown old, Qian received extraordinary deference from the throne. Ill health won him the privilege of a litter right up to the audience hall.
6
騫素無謇諤之風，然與帝語傲； 及見皇太子加敬，時人以為諂。 弟稚與其子輿忿爭，遂說騫子女穢行，騫表徙弟，以此獲譏於世。
He was not known for blunt remonstrance, but he spoke to the sovereign with something like insolence, yet before the heir apparent he became deferential, which contemporaries dismissed as sycophancy. When his brother Zhi feuded with nephew Yu and aired lurid tales about Qian's sons and daughters, Qian used a memorial to exile Zhi—earning widespread scorn.
7
薨，年八十一，加以袞斂，贈太傅，諡曰武。 及葬，帝于大司馬門臨喪，望柩流涕，禮依大司馬石苞故事。 子輿嗣爵。=
He died at eighty-one, laid out in princely robes, ennobled posthumously as Grand Tutor with the epithet "Martial." The sovereign mourned him at the Grand Marshal Gate, weeping over the bier as had been done for Grand Marshal Shi Bao. The marquisate passed to his son Yu.
8
子輿
Yu
9
=輿字顯初，拜散騎侍郎、洛陽令，遷黃門侍郎，厲將校左軍、大司農、侍中。 坐與叔父不睦，出為河內太守。 輿雖無檢正，而有力致。 尋卒，子植字弘先嗣，官至散騎常侍。 卒，子粹嗣，永嘉中遇害，孝武帝以騫玄孫襲爵。 卒，弟子浩之嗣。 宋受禪，國除。
Chen Yu, style Xianchu, rose through supernumerary gentleman and Luoyang magistrate to palace attendant, then led the left colonel's corps, ran the Ministry of Agriculture, and returned to the palace corps. A bitter break with his uncle cost him the capital and landed him in Henei as governor. He was no model of propriety, but he wielded real power. He died soon after; his heir Zhi (Hongxian) reached the post of supernumerary attendant. The line ran Zhi to Cui until Yongjia partisans murdered Cui; Emperor Xiaowu then restored the title through a great-grandson of Qian. When this successor died, cousin Haozhi inherited the fief. The Song founder's usurpation ended the house's noble title.
10
裴秀
Pei Xiu
11
裴秀，字季彥，河東聞喜人也。 祖茂，漢尚書令。 父潛，魏尚書令。 秀少好學，有風操，八歲能屬文。 叔父徽有盛名，賓客甚眾。 秀年十餘歲，有詣徽者，出則過秀。 然秀母賤，嫡母宣氏不之禮，嘗使進饌於客，見者皆為之起。 秀母曰：「微賤如此，當應為小兒故也。」 宣氏知之，後遂止。 時人為之語曰：「後進領袖有裴秀。」
Pei Xiu, style Jiyan, hailed from Wenxi county in Hedong. His grandfather Mao once directed the Han Department of State Affairs. His father Qian held the same office under Wei. He was bookish and principled even as a boy, composing polished prose at eight. Uncle Wei attracted crowds of distinguished visitors. Before he was eleven, departing guests routinely paid their respects to young Xiu. Because Xiu's mother was a concubine of humble origin, Lady Xuan snubbed her and once made her wait on guests—yet visitors rose to honor the boy she bore. His mother murmured that such degradation came only from standing behind her gifted son. Once Lady Xuan grasped the point, the abuse stopped. Contemporaries summed it up: Pei Xiu led the younger set of talent.
12
渡遼將軍毌丘儉嘗薦秀于大將軍曹爽，曰：「生而岐嶷，長蹈自然，玄靜守真，性入道奧； 博學強記，無文不該； 孝友著于鄉党，高聲聞於遠近。 誠宜弼佐謨明，助和鼎味，毗贊大府，光昭盛化。 非徒子奇、甘羅之儔，兼包顏、冉、游、夏之美。」 爽乃辟為掾，襲父爵清陽亭侯，遷黃門侍郎。 爽誅，以故吏免。 頃之，為廷尉正，曆文帝安東及衛將軍司馬，軍國之政，多見信納。 遷散騎常侍。
Guanqiu Jian urged Cao Shuang to notice Xiu as a prodigy whose calm integrity plumbed the Dao itself. The memorial praised his encyclopedic memory and mastery of every literary genre. It stressed his family virtue and reputation abroad. He belonged at court harmonizing institutions and magnifying the minister's work. Shuang was told to expect not a mere boy wonder but someone rivaling Confucius's finest disciples. Shuang took him on staff; Xiu succeeded to the Qingyang village fief and entered the palace corps. Shuang's fall stripped Xiu of rank as an affiliated official. He soon judged cases at court, then advised Sima Zhao as army major through the eastern and household commands, shaping both strategy and administration. He advanced to supernumerary palace attendant.
13
帝之討諸葛誕也，秀與尚書僕射陳泰、黃門侍郎鍾會以行台從，豫參謀略。 及誕平，轉尚書，進封魯陽鄉侯，增邑千戶。 常道鄉公立，以豫議定策，進爵縣侯，增邑七百戶，遷尚書僕射。 魏咸熙初，厘革憲司。 時荀顗定禮儀，賈充正法律，而秀改官制焉。 秀議五等之爵，自騎督已上六百餘人皆封。 於是秀封濟川侯，地方六十里，邑千四百戶，以高苑縣濟川墟為侯國。
During the Zhuge Dan campaign he rode with Chen Tai and Zhong Hui on the field headquarters staff, shaping operational plans. Dan's defeat brought him the ministry, a Luyang district marquisate, and a thousand extra households. He helped seat the Duke of Changdao and earned a county marquisate, seven hundred added households, and the ministry of the left. Wei reform reached the legal organs in the first Xianxi years. While Xun Yi handled rites and Jia Chong the code, Xiu rewrote the bureaucracy. His scheme of five noble grades ennobled over six hundred officers from cavalry commander up. He himself became marquis of Jichuan—sixty square li and fourteen hundred households centered on the Gaoyuan canton.
14
初，文帝未定嗣，而屬意舞陽侯攸。 武帝懼不得立，問秀曰：「人有相否？」 因以奇表示之。 秀後言于文帝曰：「中撫軍人望既茂，天表如此，固非人臣之相也。」 由是世子乃定。 武帝既即王位，拜尚書令、右光祿大夫，與御史大夫王沈、衛將軍賈充俱開府，加給事中。 及帝受禪，加左光祿大夫，封钜鹿郡公，邑三千戶。
When Sima Zhao still hesitated over the succession, his eye rested on Prince You of Wuyang. The crown prince Sima Yan feared exclusion and asked whether physiognomy foretold fate. He unveiled his own striking features for Xiu to read. Xiu later assured Sima Zhao that Sima Yan's commanding presence marked him for more than ministerial rank. That endorsement fixed Yan as heir. As Prince of Jin, Yan named Xiu minister of state and right household grandee alongside Wang Shen and Jia Chong, each with separate offices and palace portfolios. At the Jin founding Xiu gained the left household grandee, the Julu ducal fief, and three thousand households.
15
時安遠護軍郝詡與故人書云：「與尚書令裴秀相知，望其為益。」 有司奏免秀官，詔曰：「不能使人之不加諸我，此古人所難。 交關人事，詡之罪耳，豈尚書令能防乎！ 其勿有所問。」 司隸校尉李憙復上言，騎都尉劉尚為尚書令裴秀占官稻田，求禁止秀。 詔又以秀幹翼朝政，有勳績於王室，不可以小疵掩大德，使推正尚罪而解秀禁止焉。
Protector Hao Xu boasted of pull with Minister Pei in a private letter. Censors indicted Xiu, yet the throne quoted the classical maxim that no ruler can stop others from gossiping. Court intrigue was Xu's fault, not Pei's, the edict concluded, dismissing charges. Li Xi then accused Liu Shang of grabbing state grain fields for Pei and demanded Pei's house arrest. The emperor refused: Pei's stewardship outweighed petty corruption; punish Shang instead and release Pei.
16
久之，詔曰：「夫三司之任，以翼宣皇極，弼成王事者也。 故經國論道，賴之明喆，苟非其人，官不虛備。 尚書令、左光祿大夫裴秀，雅量弘博，思心通遠，先帝登庸，贊事前朝。 朕受明命，光佐大業，勳德茂著，配蹤元凱。 宜正位居體，以康庶績。 其以秀為司空。」
Months later a pronouncement framed the three highest ministers as pillars of the throne. Good government requires worthy occupants; hollow titles dishonor the dynasty. It singled out Pei—minister of state and left household grandee—for wisdom cultivated under the previous reign. The new emperor hailed Pei's aid as rivaling the ancient worthies Gaoyuan and Kai. He should assume the fitting office and embody his role so that every branch of government thrives. Appoint Pei Xiu Minister of Works."
17
秀儒學洽聞，且留心政事，當禪代之際，總納言之要，其所裁當，禮無違者。 又以職在地官，以《禹貢》山川地名，從來久遠，多有變易。 後世說者或強牽引，漸以暗昧。 於是甄摘舊文，疑者則闕，古有名而今無者，皆隨事注列，作《禹貢地域圖》十八篇，奏之，藏于秘府。 其序曰：
Trained in the classics and widely read, Xiu focused on administration; at the dynastic handover he controlled the channels of counsel, and his rulings never violated prescribed ritual. His duties under the earth ministry also concerned the "Tribute of Yu," whose topography had shifted across centuries. Later exegetes often forced contrived readings, obscuring the original geography. He sifted the classical text, omitted uncertain points, glossed every obsolete toponym, and submitted his eighteen-scroll "Yugong" atlas to the palace library. The preface begins:
18
秀創制朝儀，廣陳刑政，朝廷多遵用之，以為故事。 在位四載，為當世名公。 服寒食散，當飲熱酒而飲冷酒，泰始七年薨，時年四十八。 詔曰：「司空經德履哲，體蹈儒雅，佐命翼世，勳業弘茂。 方將宣獻敷制，為世宗範，不幸薨殂，朕甚痛之。 其賜秘器、朝服一具、衣一襲、錢三十萬、布百匹。 諡曰元。」
His protocols for audience and criminal policy became the templates the court routinely followed. Across four years at court he stood among the reign's most eminent statesmen. Abusing the cold-food elixir with chilled wine instead of warm killed him in Taishi year seven at forty-eight. The throne mourned: "The minister embodied learning and wisdom, shaped the founding enterprise, and built vast achievements. We expected fresh institutions from him; his death leaves us grief-stricken. The burial grant included ritual vessels, court dress, a full wardrobe, three hundred thousand coins, and a hundred bolts of silk. Posthumously he received the epithet Yuan."
19
初，秀以尚書三十六曹統事准例不明，宜使諸卿任職，未及奏而薨。 其友人料其書記，得表草言平吳之事，其詞曰：「孫皓酷虐，不及聖明禦世兼弱攻昧，使遺子孫，將遂不能臣； 時有否泰，非萬安之勢也。 臣昔雖已屢言，未有成旨。 今既疾篤不起，謹重屍啟。 願陛下時共施用。」 乃封以上聞。 詔報曰：「司空薨，痛悼不能去心。 又得表草，雖在危困，不忘王室，盡忠憂國。 省益傷切，輒當與諸賢共論也。」
He had planned to clarify the thirty-six directorates and devolve power to senior ministers but died before submitting the reform. Editors recovered his Wu campaign draft: Sun Hao's cruelty could not compare with a true sage who annexes weak states and strikes dull rulers—leave him an heir, it warned, and future Jin ministers could not long bow to Wu. Fortunes rise and fall; no dynasty rests eternally secure. Though I have urged this often, no firm answer came. On my deathbed I press the matter once more. I beg you to enact it alongside companion policies at once. They forwarded the sealed memorial to the throne. The emperor answered: "We cannot shake our sorrow at losing the minister. His draft shows that even dying he thought only of the dynasty's welfare. Its words wound us anew; we will take counsel with the ministers immediately."
20
咸甯初，與石苞等並為王公，配享廟庭。 有二子：浚、頠。 浚嗣位，至散騎常侍，早卒。 浚庶子憬不惠，別封高陽亭侯，以浚少弟頠嗣。=
Early in Xianning he joined Shi Bao and other peers as a spirit recipient in the imperial temple. His sons were Pei Jun and Pei Yi. Jun inherited the fief, rose to supernumerary attendant, and died young. The dull illegitimate Jing received a minor Gaoyang village marquisate while the legitimate junior uncle Yi took the primary succession.
21
子頠
Pei Yi
22
=頠字逸民。 弘雅有遠識，博學稽古，自少知名。 御史中丞周弼見而歎曰：「頠若武庫，五兵縱橫，一時之傑也。」 賈充即頠從母夫也，表「秀有佐命之勳，不幸嫡長喪亡，遺孤稚弱。 頠才德英茂，足以興隆國嗣。」 詔頠襲爵，頠固讓，不許。 太康二年，徵為太子中庶子，遷散騎常侍。 惠帝既位，轉國子祭酒，兼右軍將軍。
Pei Yi, whose courtesy name was Yimin, Renowned while still young, he combined Classical breadth with long vision. Zhou Bi likened him to an armory bristling with arms—a singular talent. Jia Chong—Yi's uncle-in-law—argued that Xiu's founding honors deserved an heir, yet the legitimate eldest had died, leaving a helpless child. Yi boasted virtue enough to sustain the ducal succession. The court ordered Yi to succeed; he refused repeatedly yet had to accept. Taikang year two brought him tutor of the heir and promotion to supernumerary attendant. Under Emperor Hui he directed the imperial academy and still led the right guard.
23
初，頠兄子憬為白衣，頠論述世勳，賜爵高陽亭侯。 楊駿將誅也，駿党左軍將軍劉豫陳兵在門，遇頠，問太傅所在。 頠紿之曰：「向於西掖門遇公乘素車，從二人西出矣。」 豫曰：「吾何之？」 頠曰：「宜至廷尉。」 豫從頠言，遂委而去。 尋而詔頠代豫領左軍將軍，屯萬春門。 及駿誅，以功當封武昌侯，頠請以封憬，帝竟封頠次子該。 頠苦陳憬本承嫡，宜襲钜鹿，先帝恩旨，辭不獲命。 武昌之封，己之所蒙，特請以封憬。 該時尚主，故帝不聽。 累遷侍中。
Once cousin Jing wore only commoner's garb, Yi narrated the clan's achievements until the court ennobled Jing at Gaoyang village. As Yang Jun fell, Liu Yu—Jun's colonel of the left—blocked the gate and demanded Sima Liang's whereabouts. Yi lied that he had seen the grand tutor leave west through the western portal in a plain cart." Where should I run?" Yu asked." Surrender to the Ministry of Justice," Yi replied. Yu obeyed, abandoned his post, and withdrew. Yi soon replaced Yu as colonel of the left, camped at Wanchun Gate. After Jun's purge Yi earned a Wuchang marquisate but begged to transfer it to Jing; the throne instead ennobled second son Gai. Yi insisted Jing deserved the Julu title per the late emperor's grace yet could not refuse the earlier mandate. He tried to give his own Wuchang prize to Jing. Because Gai had married into the imperial clan, the emperor refused. He rose again to palace attendant.
24
時天下暫寧，頠奏修國學，刻石寫經。 皇太子既講，釋奠祀孔子，飲饗射侯，甚有儀序。 又令荀籓終父勖之志，鑄鐘鑿磬，以備郊廟朝享禮樂。 頠通博多聞，兼明醫術。 荀勖之修律度也，檢得古尺，短世所用四分有餘。 頠上言：「宜改諸度量。 若未能悉革，可先改太醫權衡。 此若差違，遂失神農、岐伯之正。 藥物輕重，分兩乖互，所可傷夭，為害尤深。 古壽考而今短折者，未必不由此也。」 卒不能用。 樂廣嘗與頠清言，欲以理服之，而頠辭論豐博，廣笑而不言。 時人謂頠為言談之林藪。
During the lull he urged rebuilding the academy and cutting stone classics. Once the heir finished lectures, courtiers sacrificed to Confucius, banqueted, and shot at targets with punctilious ritual. He tasked Xun Fan with casting bells and lithophones for suburban rites and ancestral music, honoring Xun Xu's unfinished plan. Besides encyclopedic scholarship he practiced medicine. Xun Xu's pitch reform uncovered an old foot-rule nearly a quarter shorter than contemporary measures. "Every balance and yardstick needs reform," he wrote. If wholesale change is impossible, start with the imperial dispensary's weights. Wrong measures betray Shennong and Qi Bo's pharmacological norms. Inconsistent dosages kill patients. Perhaps shorter modern lifespans stem from exactly these errors." The court ignored him. Yue Guang tried to win a xuanxue debate yet yielded silently before Yi's torrent. Contemporaries dubbed him the wilderness where discourse gathered.
25
頠以賈后不悅太子，抗表請增崇太子所生謝淑妃位號，仍啟增置後衛率吏，給三千兵，於是東宮宿衛萬人。 遷尚書，侍中如故，加光祿大夫。 每授一職，未嘗不殷勤固讓，表疏十餘上，博引古今成敗以為言，覽之者莫不寒心。
To shield Crown Prince Yu against Empress Jia's spite, Yi demanded higher honors for Lady Xie and three thousand extra rear-guard troops, swelling the heir's garrison to ten thousand. He moved up to minister of state, kept his attendant post, and gained the household grandee title. Every promotion drew stacks of refusal memorials stuffed with historical warnings that chilled every reader.
26
頠深慮賈后亂政，與司空張華、侍中賈模議廢之而立謝淑妃。 華、模皆曰：「帝自無廢黜之意，若吾等專行之，上心不以為是。 且諸王方剛，朋黨異議，恐禍如發機，身死國危，無益社稷。」 頠曰：「誠如公慮。 但昏虐之人，無所忌憚，亂可立待，將如之何？」 華曰：「卿二人猶且見信，然勤為左右陳禍福之戒，冀無大悖。 幸天下尚安，庶可優遊卒歲。」 此謀遂寢。 頠旦夕勸說從母廣城君，令戒喻賈后親待太子而已。 或說頠曰：「幸與中宮內外可得盡言。 言若不行，則可辭病摒退。 若二者不立，雖有十表，難乎免矣。」 頠慨然久之，而竟不能行。
Fearing Jia Nanfeng's misrule, he plotted with Zhang Hua and Jia Mo to replace her with Lady Xie. "The emperor never meant to depose her," Zhang and Jia replied; acting alone would anger him. The martial princes split into factions; forcing the issue might spring a trap that kills us without saving the realm." True enough," Yi conceded. Yet a reckless tyrant invites instant chaos—what then?" Stay close and lecture him on fortune and ruin," Zhang urged. While peace lasts we might survive." They dropped the plot. Yi besought Aunt Guangcheng daily to teach Nanfeng to honor the heir. Advisers told him he alone could speak freely across palace walls. If ignored, resign on grounds of illness. Otherwise ten memorials will not spare you." Yi brooded yet never acted.
27
遷尚書左僕射，侍中如故。 頠雖後之親屬，然雅望素隆，四海不謂之以親戚進也，惟恐其不居位。 俄復使頠專任門下事，固讓，不聽。 頠上言：「賈模適亡，復以臣代，崇外戚之望，彰偏私之舉。 後族何常有能自保，皆知重親無脫者也。 然漢二十四帝惟孝文、光武、明帝不重外戚，皆保其宗，豈將獨賢，實以安理故也。 昔穆叔不拜越禮之饗，臣亦不敢聞殊常之詔。」 又表云：「咎繇謨虞，伊尹相商，呂望翊周，蕭張佐漢，咸播功化，光格四極。 暨于繼體，咎單、傅說，祖己、樊仲，亦隆中興。 或明揚側陋，或起自庶族，豈非尚德之舉，以臻斯美哉！ 曆觀近世，不能慕遠，溺於近情，多任後親，以致不靜。 昔疏廣戒太子以舅氏為官屬，前世以為知禮。 況朝廷何取于外戚，正復才均，尚當先其疏者，以明至公。 漢世不用馮野王，即其事也。」 表上，皆優詔敦譬。
He became senior minister of the left while remaining attendant. Despite ties to Nanfeng, his prestige rested on merit; the realm dreaded losing him, not nepotism. The court tried to leave the entire Chancellery to him; refusals went unheard. "Replacing Jia Mo with me," he warned, "spotlights consort power. No maternal house survives forever by leaning on blood ties. Only Han Wen, Guangwu, and Ming avoided nepotism—and kept their dynasties secure. Like Shu Zhao rejecting improper feasts, I cannot obey irregular favors." His second essay cited Gao Yao, Yi Yin, Lü Wang, Xiao He, and Zhang Liang as ministers whose virtue illumined the corners of the world. Lesser heirs too relied on Gu Dan, Fu Yue, Zu Yi, and Fan Zhong during revivals. Elevating talent over pedigree produced golden ages. Later courts chased sentiment and stuffed offices with in-laws—hence chaos. Shu Guang once forbade crown-prince posts for maternal uncles—praised as ritual correctness. Even when talent matches, prefer distant kin to prove impartiality. Han Wudi refused Feng Yewang for just that lesson. Each memorial drew soothing replies begging him to stay.
28
時以陳准子匡、韓蔚子嵩並侍東宮，頠諫曰：「東宮之建，以儲皇極。 其所與遊接，必簡英俊，宜用成德。 匡、嵩幼弱，未識人理立身之節。 東宮實體夙成之表，而今有童子侍從之聲，未是光闡遐風之弘理也。」 湣懷太子之廢也，頠與張華苦爭不從，語在《華傳》。
When Chen Kuang and Han Song waited on the heir, Yi protested that the Eastern Palace anchors the throne. Its companions must be seasoned worthies. Kuang and Song were mere boys ignorant of duty. Stationing children there signals boy-emperor gossip, hardly an august tutorial vision. Yi and Zhang Hua fought bitterly against Minhuai's removal—the fuller story sits in Zhang's biography.
29
頠深患時俗放蕩，不尊儒術，何晏、阮籍素有高名於世，口談浮虛，不遵禮法，屍祿耽寵，仕不事事； 至王衍之徒，聲譽太盛，位高勢重，不以物務自嬰，遂相放效，風教陵遲，乃著崇有之論以釋其蔽曰：
Yi despised how fashion praised He Yan and Ruan Ji for idle chatter that ignored ritual while they pocketed salaries and neglected duty. By Wang Yan's generation fame had inflated, office brought lazy emulation, and teaching collapsed—Yi answered with his "Exalting Being" essay to cure the cult of emptiness.
30
王衍之徒攻難交至，並莫能屈。 又著《辯才論》，古今精義皆辨釋焉，未成而遇禍。
The qingtan circle attacked his thesis from every side without refuting it. His unfinished "Treatise on Eloquence" surveyed classical debates but death cut it short.
31
初，趙王倫諂事賈后，頠甚惡之，倫數求官，頠與張華復固執不許，由是深為倫所怨。 倫又潛懷篡逆，欲先除朝望，因廢賈后之際遂誅之，時年三十四。 二子嵩、該，倫亦欲害之。 梁王肜、東海王越稱頠父秀有勳王室，配食太廟，不宜滅其後嗣，故得不死，徙帶方； 惠帝反正，追復頠本官，改葬以卿禮，諡曰成。 以嵩嗣爵，為中書黃門侍郎。 該出後從伯凱，為散騎常侍，並為乞活賊陳午所害。
Sima Lun curried Jia Nanfeng's favor while Yi and Zhang Hua blocked his offices, planting a deadly grudge. Lun used Jia's fall as cover to murder Yi at thirty-four while plotting a coup. Lun targeted Yi's sons Song and Gai next. Liang and Donghai princes cited Xiu's temple honors to spare the sons, exiling them to Liaodong instead. After Hui's restoration Yi won reinstatement, a proper reburial, and the posthumous name Cheng. The marquisate passed to Song in the central secretariat. Adopted heir Gai died beside Song when Chen Wu's refugee warriors slaughtered them.
33
秀從弟楷
Pei Kai—cousin to Pei Xiu
34
=楷字叔則。 父徽，魏冀州刺史。 楷明悟有識量，弱冠知名，尤精《老》、《易》，少與王戎齊名。 鍾會薦之于文帝，辟相國掾，遷尚書郎。 賈充改定律令，以楷為定科郎。 事畢，詔楷於御前執讀，平議當否。 楷善宣吐，左右屬目，聽者忘倦。 武帝為撫軍，妙選僚采，以楷為參軍事。 吏部郎缺，文帝問其人於鍾會。 會曰：「裴楷清通，王戎簡要，皆其選也。」 於是以楷為吏部郎。
Pei Kai, whose courtesy name was Shuzé, Father Pei Wei governed Ji province for Wei. Celebrated before twenty, he mastered the Daoist classics alongside Wang Rong. Zhong Hui's referral brought him into Sima Zhao's bureau and the secretariat. Jia Chong's law revision named Kai specialist for codifying clauses. At court he read the new code aloud for imperial scrutiny. His exposition captivated the hall. Sima Yan made him staff adviser during the princely generalship. Sima Zhao asked Zhong Hui who should head personnel. "Pei Kai or Wang Rong," said Zhong Hui, "both fit." Kai received the appointment.
35
楷風神高邁，容儀俊爽，博涉群書，特精理義，時人謂之「玉人」，又稱「見裴叔則如近玉山，映照人也」。 轉中書郎，出入宮省，見者肅然改容。 武帝初登阼，探策以卜世數多少，而得一，帝不悅，群臣失色，莫有言者。 楷正容儀，和其聲氣，從容進曰：「臣聞天得一以清，地得一以甯，王侯得一以為天下貞。」 武帝大悅，群臣皆稱萬歲。 俄拜散騎侍郎，累遷散騎常侍、河內太守，入為屯騎校尉、右軍將軍，轉侍中。
His aura and learning earned the nickname "jade man"—seeing him was likened to climbing a luminous jade peak. Palace corridors fell silent when he passed. An ill-omened slip "one" from the imperial divination silenced the court. Pei Kai cited the Laozi to turn one into cosmic blessing. The emperor brightened and the hall cheered. Promotions swept him through Henei, camp command, the right guard, and back to attendant.
36
石崇以功臣子有才氣，與楷志趣各異，不與之交。 長水校尉孫季舒嘗與崇酣燕，慢傲過度，崇欲表免之。 楷聞之，謂崇曰：「足下飲人狂藥，責人正禮，不亦乖乎！」 崇乃止。
The meritor Shi Chong avoided Kai on temperament. Sun Jishu's drunken arrogance at Chong's banquet nearly cost him his post. "You ply guests with reckless wine," Kai said, "then fault their manners—how absurd?" Chong relented.
37
楷性寬厚，與物無忤。 不持儉素，每游榮貴，輒取其珍玩。 雖車馬器服，宿昔之間，便以施諸窮乏。 嘗營別宅，其從兄衍見而悅之，即以宅與衍。 梁、趙二王，國之近屬，貴重當時，楷歲請二國租錢百萬，以散親族。 人或譏之，楷曰：「損有餘以補不足，天之道也。」 安於毀譽，其行己任率，皆此類也。 與山濤、和嶠並以盛德居位，帝嘗問曰：「朕應天順時，海內更始，天下風聲，何得何失？」 楷對曰：「陛下受命，四海承風，所以未比德於堯舜者，但以賈充之徒尚在朝耳。 方宜引天下賢人，與弘正道，不宜示人以私。」 時任愷、庾純亦以充為言，帝乃出充為關中都督。 充納女于太子，乃止。 平吳之後，帝方修太平之化，每延公卿，與論政道。 楷陳三五之風，次敘漢魏盛衰之跡。 帝稱善，坐者嘆服焉。
Genial and conciliatory, he picked no quarrels. He freely accepted gifts from the mighty. By morning those luxuries reached the poor. Yan admired his new manor; Kai signed it over. He diverted a million coins yearly from those princely estates to aid relatives. "Redistribution follows Heaven," he replied. He shrugged at gossip and followed instinct. Emperor Wu surveyed the realm's moral climate with Shan Tao and He Jiao at his side. Kai blamed Jia Chong's lingering presence for any shortfall from sage kings. Elevate talent rather than cronies. Ren Kai and Yu Chun echoed him until the emperor reassigned Chong as Guanzhong area commander. Chong betrothed his daughter to the crown prince, so the transfer was cancelled. Pacifying Wu opened seminars on governance. He lectured on antiquity's golden ages versus Han-Wei cycles. The throne approved and the assembly marveled.
38
楷子瓚娶楊駿女，然楷素輕駿，與之不平。 駿既執政，乃轉為衛尉，遷太子少師，優遊無事，默如也。 及駿誅，楷以婚親收付廷尉，將加法。 是日事倉卒，誅戮縱橫，眾人為之震恐。 楷容色不變，舉動自若，索紙筆與親故書。 賴侍中傅祗救護得免，猶坐去官。 太保衛瓘、太宰亮稱楷貞正不阿附，宜蒙爵土，乃封臨海侯，食邑二千戶。 代楚王瑋為北軍中候，加散騎常侍。 瑋怨瓘、亮斥己任楷，楷聞之，不敢拜，轉為尚書。
Zan's marriage to Jun's daughter strained Kai's contempt for Jun. Jun sidelined him as ceremonial tutor with nothing to do. Jun's purge dragged Kai toward execution. Sudden killings terrified Luoyang. He calmly penned letters while awaiting death. Fu Zhi intervened; Kai merely lost rank. Wei Guan and Sima Liang restored him as marquis of Linhai. He took the northern army colonelcy alongside attendant honors. Wei blamed Kai for stealing his command; Kai fled upward to the ministry.
39
楷長子輿先娶亮女，女適衛瓘子，楷慮內難未已，求出外鎮，除安南將軍、假節、都督荊州諸軍事，垂當發而瑋果矯詔誅亮、瓘。 瑋以楷前奪己中候，又與亮、瓘婚親，密遣討楷。 楷素知瑋有望于己，聞有變，單車入城，匿于妻父王渾家，與亮小子一夜八徙，故得免難。 瑋既伏誅，以楷為中書令，加侍中，與張華、王戎並管機要。
Marriage ties to both factions drove Kai toward Jingzhou—Wei's forged orders struck first. Wei sent killers after Kai for family links to his victims. He dodged patrols by hiding with Wang Hun and Liang's orphan. Wei fell and Kai joined Zhang Hua and Wang Rong at power's core.
40
楷有渴利疾，不樂處勢。 王渾為楷請曰：「楷受先帝拔擢之恩，復蒙陛下寵遇，誠竭節之秋也。 然楷性不競於物，昔為常侍，求出為河內太守； 後為侍中，復求出為河南尹； 與楊駿不平，求為衛尉； 及轉東宮，班在時類之下，安於淡退，有識有以見其心也。 楷今委頓，臣深憂之。 光祿勳缺，以為可用。 今張華在中書，王戎在尚書，足舉其契，無為復令楷入，名臣不多，當見將養，不違其志，要其遠濟之益。」 不聽，就加光祿大夫、開府儀同三司。 及疾篤，詔遣黃門郎王衍省疾，楷回眸矚之曰：「竟未相識。 衍深歎其神俊。
Diabetes-like thirst made central office unbearable. Wang Hun pleaded that Kai deserved lighter duty despite imperial debt. Kai had sought Henei while an attendant, then pressed for Henan, then asked for the palace guard ministry against Jun, and accepted junior tutor rank without envy—proof of modest intent. Wang Hun warned the emperor that Kai was failing. He proposed the cushioned Household Grandee sinecure. Keep Kai rested while Zhang and Wang ran policy—the plea went unanswered. The throne instead piled on Household Grandee and three-duke parity. The dying Kai told Wang Yan they had never met—then stared him down. Yan stood awed by that dying brilliance.
41
楷有知人之鑒，初在河南，樂廣僑居郡界，未知名，楷見而奇之，致之於宰府。 嘗目夏侯玄云「肅肅如入宗廟中，但見禮樂器」，鍾會「如觀武庫森森，但見矛戟在前」，傅嘏「汪翔靡所不見」，山濤「若登山臨下，幽然深遠」。
He discovered Yue Guang before fame. His portraits compared Xiahou Xuan to ritual bells, Zhong Hui to weapon racks, Fu Gu to soaring flight, Shan Tao to commanding vistas.
42
初，楷家炊黍在甑，或變如拳，或作血，或作蕪菁子。 其年而卒，時年五十五，諡曰元。 有五子：輿、瓚、憲、禮、遜。
Omens spoiled his grain—fists, blood, turnip seeds. He died the same year at fifty-five as Marquis Yuan. His sons were Yu, Zan, Xian, Li, and Xun.
43
輿字祖明。 少襲父爵，官至散騎侍郎，卒諡曰簡。
Pei Yu bore the style Zuming. He succeeded early, died as supernumerary gentleman Jian.
44
瓚字國寶，中書郎，風神高邁，見者皆敬之。 特為王綏所重，每從其遊。 綏父戎謂之曰：「國寶初不來，汝數往，何也？」 對曰：「國寶雖不知綏，綏自知國寶。」 楊駿之誅，為亂兵所害。=
Guobao Zan awed onlookers from the palace secretariat. Wang Sui constantly shadowed Zan. Wang Rong wondered why Sui chased a host who never called." He need not notice me," Sui said, "I notice him." Jun's purge left Zan dead among the soldiers.
45
楷子憲
Pei Xian
46
=憲字景思。 少而穎悟，好交輕俠。 及弱冠，更折節嚴重，修尚儒學，足不逾閾者數年。 陳郡謝鯤、潁川庾敳皆俊郎士也，見而奇之，相謂曰：「裴憲鯁亮宏達，通機識命，不知其何如父； 至於深弘保素，不以世物嬰心者，其殆過之。」
Pei Xian, style Jingsi, Brilliant boy, he chased gallantry. He sobered into scholarship and stayed home. Xie Kun and Yu Ai praised his integrity and depth versus his father, yet his quiet integrity may exceed the older Pei's.
47
初，侍講東宮，曆黃門吏部郎、侍中。 東海王越以為豫州刺史、北中郎將、假節。 王浚承制，以憲為尚書。 永嘉末，王浚為石勒所破，棗嵩等莫不謝罪軍門，貢賂交錯，惟憲及荀綽恬然私室。 勒素聞其名，召而謂之曰：「王浚虐暴幽州，人鬼同疾。 孤恭行乾憲，拯茲黎元，羈舊咸歡，慶謝交路。 二君齊惡傲威，誠信岨絕，防風之戮，將誰歸乎？」 憲神色侃然，泣而對曰：「臣等世荷晉榮，恩遇隆重。 王浚凶粗醜正，尚晉之遺籓。 雖欣聖化，義岨誠心。 且武王伐紂，表商容之閭，未聞商容在倒戈之例也。 明公既不欲以道化厲物，必于刑忍為治者，防風之戮，臣之分也。 請就辟有司。」 不拜而出。 勒深嘉之，待以賓禮。 勒乃簿王浚官寮親屬，皆貲至巨萬，惟憲與荀綽家有書百餘帙，鹽米各十數斛而已。 勒聞之，謂其長史張賓曰：「名不虛也。 吾不喜得幽州，喜獲二子。」 署從事中郎，出為長樂太守。 及勒僭號，未遑制度，與王波為之撰朝儀，於是憲章文物，擬于王者。 勒大悅，署太中大夫，遷司徒。
He rose from tutor through Huangmen and personnel to attendant. Sima Yue sent him to Yuzhou as northern commander with staff. Wang Jun's mandate elevated him to minister. When Le crushed Jun, officials rushed to abase themselves—Xian and Xun Chuo stayed dignified. Le cited Jun's cruelty to Youzhou, claimed Heaven's mandate to rescue commoners, and threatened the Fangfeng-style fate for defiant nobles. Xian wept yet answered that Jin had long favored his house. Wang Jun remains Jin's coarse frontier lord—brutal yet nominally our man. Even savoring your sage rule, integrity bars easy surrender. King Wu honored Shang Rong's lane after conquering Yin—no sage minister belongs with spear-turning traitors. If you reject the Way for terror tactics, treat me like executed Fangfeng. I ask the judiciary to take me. He declined the post and withdrew. Shi Le honored him as a guest. Le inventoried Jun's corrupt circle—only Xian and Chuo owned books and handfuls of grain instead of piled gold. Le told Zhang Bin the gossip understated their worth. He prized two Jin gentlemen more than Youzhou itself. Le named him staff adviser and governor of Changle. When Later Zhao began court ritual, Xian and Wang Bo drafted ceremonies fit for emperors. Le made him grand counselor, then minister of education.
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及季龍之世，彌加禮重。 憲有二子：挹、㲄，並以文才知名。 㲄仕季龍為太子中庶子、散騎常侍。 挹、㲄俱豪俠耽酒，好臧否人物。 與河間邢魚有隙，魚竊乘㲄馬奔段遼，為人所獲，魚誣㲄使己以季龍當襲鮮卑，告之為備。 時季龍適謀伐遼，而與魚辭正合。 季龍悉誅挹、㲄，憲亦坐免。 未幾，復以為右光祿大夫、司徒、太傅，封安定郡公。
Shi Hu later elevated him further. Yi and Gu inherited literary fame. Gu advised Shi Hu's heir as household tutor. The brothers drank, swaggered, and gossiped about peers. A stolen horse and Xing Yu's lie framed them before Duan Liao. Hu's planned Xianbei war lent credence to the forgery. Hu purged both sons and cashiered Xian. He returned as household grandee, minister, tutor, and duke of Anding.
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憲曆官無干績之稱，然在朝玄默，未嘗以物務經懷。 但以德重名高，動見尊禮。 竟卒于石氏，以族人峙子邁為嗣。
He governed quietly without bustle while minds praised his virtue. Reputation alone won him ritual honor. He died under Shi rule; cousin Mai continued the line.
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楷長兄黎，次兄康，並知名。 康子盾，少曆顯位。 永嘉中，為徐州刺史，委任長史司馬奧。 奧勸盾刑殺立威，大發良人為兵，有不奉法者罪便至死。 在任三年，百姓嗟怨。 東海王越，盾妹夫也。 越既薨，騎督滿衡便引所發良人東還。 尋而劉元海遣將王桑、趙固向彭城，前鋒數騎至下邳，文武不堪苛政，悉皆散走，盾、奧奔淮陰，妻子為賊人所得。 奧又誘盾降趙固。 固妻盾女，有寵，盾向女涕泣，固遂殺之。
Pei Li and Pei Kang matched their fame. Kang's son Dun rose fast. As Xuzhou governor he delegated to Sima Ao. Ao's terror tactics—mass levies and capital punishment—ruled Xuzhou. Within three years the people cursed them. Donghai Wang Yue was Dun's brother-in-law. After Yue died Man Heng marched the levies east. Liu Yuan's vanguard reached Xiapi; officials fled harsh rule; Dun fled to Huaiyin and lost family to bandits. Ao pushed Dun toward Zhao Gu. Gu slew Dun's daughter—his own wife—after Dun's tearful plea.
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盾弟邵，字道期。 元帝為安東將軍，以邵為長史，王導為司馬，二人相與為深交。 徵為太子中庶子，復轉散騎常侍，使持節、都督揚州江西淮北諸軍事、東中郎將，隨越出項，而卒於軍中。 及王導為司空，既拜，歎曰：「裴道期、劉王喬在，吾不得獨登此位。」 導子仲豫與康同字，導思舊好，乃改為敬豫焉。
Younger brother Shao, style Daoqi. Under Yuan-di Shao served with Wang Dao as the prince's twin pillars. He died with Yue's army after tutor and Yangzhou commands. Wang Dao mourned that Pei Shao and Liu Tan had vacated the seat before him. Dao renamed a son to avoid clashing with Pei Kang's style.
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楷弟綽，字季舒，器宇宏曠，官至黃門侍郎、長水校尉。 綽子遐，善言玄理，音辭清暢，泠然若琴瑟。 嘗與河南郭象談論，一坐嗟服。 又嘗在平東將軍周馥坐，與人圍棋。 馥司馬行酒，遐未即飲，司馬醉怒，因曳遐墮地。 遐徐起還坐，顏色不變，復棋如故。 其性虛和如此。 東海王越引為主簿，後為越子毗所害。
Chuo rose to palace gates and the Long River corps. Xia's qingtan equaled music in clarity. He once silenced a hall debating Guo Xiang. At Pacifying the East Zhou Fu's headquarters he played weiqi with companions. When Fu's major passed wine, Xia hesitated; drunk and furious, the man dragged him from the mat. He rose slowly, resumed his seat without changing color, and continued the game. His cool temper matched his metaphysics. Donghai heir Pi executed him.
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初，裴、王二族盛于魏晉之世，時人以為八裴方八王：徽比王祥，楷比王衍，康比王綏，綽比王澄，瓚比王敦，遐比王導，頠比王戎，邈比王玄雲。
Wei-Jin society paired eight Peis with eight Wangs like paired stars.
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史評
Section heading for editorial judgement.
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史臣曰：周稱多士，漢曰得人，取類星象，頡頏符契。 時乏名流，多以幹翮相許，自家光國，豈陳騫之謂歟！ 秀則聲蓋朋僚，稱為領袖。 楷則機神幼發，目以清通。 俱為晉氏名臣，良有以也。
The Jin historians compare worthy ministers to Zhou's host of talents and Han's knack for personnel. They hint Chen Qian embodied vain ministerial boasting. Pei Xiu led his generation. Pei Kai earned his reputation for enlightened clarity. They deserved Jin's esteem.
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贊曰：世既順才，才膺世至。 高平沈敏，蘊茲名器。 钜鹿自然，亦云經笥。 媧皇煉石，晉圖開秘。 頠有清規，承家來媚。
The verse praises timely union of talent and age. It salutes Chen Qian's steady grasp of power. It salutes Pei Xiu's effortless scholarship. It invokes myth and charts to praise Jin mapping. It closes by honoring Pei Yi's integrity.