Volume 41 Biographies 11: Wei Shu; Li Xi; Liu Shi; Gao Guang

魏舒，字陽元，任城樊人也。少孤，為外家寧氏所養。寧氏起宅，相宅者云：「當出貴甥。」外祖母以魏氏甥小而慧，意謂應之。舒曰：「當為外氏成此宅相。」久乃別居。身長八尺二寸，姿望秀偉，飲酒石餘，而遲鈍質樸，不為鄉親所重。從叔父吏部郎衡，有名當世，亦不之知，使守水碓，每歎曰：「舒堪數百戶長，我願畢矣！」舒亦不以介意。不修常人之節，不為皎曆之事，每欲容才長物，終不顯人之短。性好騎射，著韋衣。入山澤，以漁獵為事。唯太原王乂謂舒曰：「卿終當為台輔，然今未能令妻子免饑寒，吾當助卿營之。」常振其匱乏，舒受而不辭。舒嘗詣野王，主人妻夜產，俄而聞車馬之聲，相問曰：「男也，女也？」曰：「男，書之，十五以兵死。」復問：「寢者為誰？」曰：「魏公舒。」後十五載，詣主人，問所生兒何在，曰：「因條桑為斧傷而死。」舒自知當為公矣。

Wei Shu, whose courtesy name was Yangyuan, came from Fan in Rencheng commandery. He lost his father while still young and was brought up by his mother's people, the Nings. When the Nings raised a new house, a geomancer told them, "This site will produce a distinguished nephew." His maternal grandmother, seeing that the Wei boy was young but bright, assumed the omen pointed to him. Shu said, "It falls to me to fulfill that houselot prophecy for our mother's family." Only after many years did he move out and keep a separate household. He stood eight chi and two cun tall, carried himself with striking presence, and could put away more than a shi of wine, yet he seemed slow and unpolished, so neighbors and relatives thought little of him. His uncle Ning Heng, a Personnel Ministry officer celebrated in their day, never recognized his gifts either and set him to mind the water-powered mill, sighing, "If Shu can serve as headman over a few hundred households, I shall ask nothing more!" Shu did not resent him for it. He scorned petty convention and avoided ostentatious moralism, preferring always to nurture others' strengths and never to expose their faults. He loved riding and archery and habitually dressed in leather hunting clothes. He roamed hills and wetlands and made fishing and hunting his chief pastime. Wang Yi of Taiyuan alone told him, "You are destined for the highest councils of state, yet you cannot yet keep your wife and children from want; let me help you set them up." Wang regularly supplied what the household lacked, and Shu accepted without demur. On a visit to Yewang, while his host's wife labored in the night, voices like chariots and horses suddenly sounded outside, asking, "Boy or girl?" The answer came: "A son. Record it—he will die by the sword at fifteen." Then they asked, "Who lies abed here?" The reply was, "Wei Shu of Wei commandery." Fifteen years later he looked up the host and asked after that child; the man said, "He died when an axe slipped as he was pruning mulberry." Shu understood then that he was fated to rise to the rank of duke.

年四十餘，郡上計掾察孝廉。宗党以舒無學業，勸令不就，可以為高耳。舒曰：「若試而不中，其負在我，安可虛竊不就之高以為己榮乎！」於是自課。百日習一經，因而對策升第。除澠池長，遷浚儀令，入為尚書郎。時欲沙汰郎官。非其才者罷之。舒曰：「吾即其人也。」襆被而出。同僚素無清論者咸有愧色，談者稱之。

Past forty he went up with the commandery accounts as clerk and was nominated Filial and Incorrupt. Kinsmen, noting that he had never mastered the classics, urged him to stay home so he might pass for a lofty recluse. Shu replied, "If I sit the examination and fail, the fault is mine; I will not borrow the empty fame of refusing office and call it honor." So he drew up a strict course of study for himself. Within a hundred days he mastered one classic, passed the policy examination, and took top placement. He was appointed chief of Mianchi, promoted to magistrate of Junyi, and then called to the capital as a gentleman of the Masters of Writing. The court then meant to weed out the gentlemen of the Masters of Writing. Anyone who lacked the requisite ability would be dismissed. Shu said, "I am one of those you mean to remove." He bundled his bedding and walked out. Fellow officers who had never enjoyed a reputation for integrity colored with shame; men who discussed the affair praised him.

累遷後將軍鐘毓長史，毓每與參佐射，舒常為畫籌而已。後遇朋人不足，以舒滿數。毓初不知其善射。舒容范閒雅，發無不中，舉坐愕然。莫有敵者。毓歎而謝曰：「吾之不足以盡卿才，有如此射矣，豈一事哉！」轉相國參軍，封劇陽子。府朝碎務，未嘗見是非；至於廢興大事，眾人莫能斷者，舒徐為籌之，多出眾議之表。文帝深器重之，每朝會坐罷，目送之曰：「魏舒堂堂，人之領袖也。」遷宜陽、滎陽二郡太守，甚有聲稱。徵拜散騎常侍。出為冀州刺史，在州三年，以簡惠稱。入為侍中。武帝以舒清素，特賜絹百匹。遷尚書，以公事當免官，詔以贖論。舒三娶妻皆亡，是歲自表乞假還本郡葬妻，詔賜葬地一頃，錢五十萬。

Promoted step by step, he became chief clerk to Rear General Zhong Yu; whenever Yu held an archery contest with his staff, Shu merely kept score and never shot. Once there were not enough archers to make up the teams, they added Shu to complete the roster. Zhong Yu had not known he could shoot. Shu stepped forward with unhurried grace; every arrow found its mark, and the whole company sat speechless. No one there could match him. Zhong Yu sighed and apologized: "If I have failed until now to use your abilities, today's archery shows why—this is hardly the only thing you excel at!" He was transferred to serve as an aide in the chancellor's headquarters and enfeoffed as viscount of Ji. In the routine paperwork of the bureau he never picked petty quarrels; yet on great questions of state where the assembly could not agree, he would think them through quietly and often surpassed anything the others had proposed. Prince Wen of Jin thought the world of him; after each court session he would watch Shu withdraw and murmur, "Wei Shu carries himself like a true leader among men." He was promoted to governor of Yiyang and Xingyang, where he earned wide acclaim. The court summoned him and named him Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary. He was sent out as inspector of Ji Province and, across three years there, won praise for a light touch and humane government. He was recalled to serve as palace attendant. Emperor Wu, knowing how spare and honest Shu lived, sent him a special gift of a hundred bolts of silk. Promoted to minister of the Secretariat, he faced dismissal over an official matter, but an edict allowed him to commute the penalty with a fine. Three wives in succession had died; that year he asked leave to return to his home commandery for the burial, and the throne granted him one qing of cemetery land and five hundred thousand cash.

太康初，拜右僕射。舒與衛瓘、山濤、張華等以六合混一，宜用古典封禪東嶽，前後累陳其事，帝謙讓不許。以舒為左僕射，領吏部。舒上言：「今選六宮，聘以玉帛，而舊使禦府丞奉聘，宣成嘉禮，贄重使輕。以為拜三夫人宜使卿，九嬪使五官中郎將，美人、良人使謁者，於典制為弘。」有詔詳之，眾議異同，遂寢。加右光祿大夫、儀同三司。

Early in the Taikang era he was appointed right vice-director of the Masters of Writing. Shu joined Wei Guan, Shan Tao, Zhang Hua, and others in arguing that, with the realm reunited, the court ought to revive the classical Feng and Shan sacrifices on Mount Tai; they pressed the point in memorial after memorial, but the emperor modestly refused. Shu was named left vice-director of the Masters of Writing and placed in charge of the Personnel Ministry. Shu memorialized: "Selection for the six palaces still relies on jade and silk betrothal gifts, yet we continue to send the deputy superintendent of the palace storehouse as envoy—the treasure is weighty while the messenger is slight. I propose that investiture of the three senior consorts be entrusted to ministers, the nine imperial concubines to gentlemen of the household for all purposes, and the lower ranks of palace ladies to court heralds—so the ritual weight matches the statutes." The court ordered a full discussion, but opinions clashed and the plan was shelved. He received the additional titles of grand master of the right and privilege equal to the Three Dukes.

及山濤薨，以舒領司徒，有頃即真。舒有威重德望，祿賜散之九族，家無餘財。陳留周震累為諸府所辟，辟書既下，公輒喪亡，僉號震為殺公掾，莫有辟者。舒乃命之，而竟無患，識者以此稱其達命。以年老，每稱疾遜位。中復暫起，署兗州中正，尋又稱疾。尚書左丞郤詵與舒書曰：「公久疾小差，視事是也，唯上所念。何竟起訖還臥，曲身回法，甚失具瞻之望。公少立巍巍，一旦棄之，可不惜哉！」舒稱疾如初。後以災異遜位，帝不聽。後因正旦朝罷還第，表送章綬。帝手詔敦勉。而舒執意彌固，乃下詔曰：「司徒、劇陽子舒，體道弘粹，思量經遠，忠肅居正，在公盡規。入管銓衡，官人允敘；出贊袞職，敷弘五教。惠訓播流，德聲茂著，可謂朝之俊乂者也。而屢執沖讓，辭旨懇誠，申覽反覆，省用憮然。蓋成人之美，先典所與，難違至情。今聽其所執，以劇陽子就第，位同三司，祿賜如前。几杖不朝，賜錢百萬，床帳簟褥自副。以舍人四人為劇陽子舍人，置官騎十人。使光祿勳奉策，主者詳案典禮，令皆如舊制。」於是賜安車駟馬，門施行馬。舒為事必先行而後言，遜位之際，莫有知者。時論以為晉興以來，三公能辭榮善終者，未之有也。司空衛瓘與舒書曰：「每與足下共論此事，日日未果，可謂瞻之在前，忽焉在後矣。」太熙元年薨，時年八十二。帝甚傷悼，賵賻優厚，諡曰康。

When Shan Tao died, Shu was ordered to oversee the ministry of education and soon received full appointment. Shu combined moral authority with high prestige; stipends and gifts he shared across his entire kindred, leaving nothing hoarded at home. Zhou Zhen of Chenliu had been summoned again and again, yet each time the appointment was issued his patron died; people called him the adjutant who killed his superiors, and no one would hire him. Shu summoned him nonetheless, and no misfortune followed; observers praised this as proof of Shu's grasp of fate. In old age he often pleaded illness in order to resign. He briefly returned to office as middle appraiser for Yan Province, then again pleaded sickness. Xi Shen, left assistant in the Secretariat, wrote: "You have been ill a long time but are a little better; resuming duty is what the throne expects. Why rise only to go straight back to bed, bending every rule? You disappoint the court that looks to you for guidance. You built a towering reputation in youth—to throw it away now would be a bitter waste!" Shu pleaded illness as stubbornly as before. Later he cited portents and offered to retire, but the emperor would not hear of it. Then, after New Year's court, he went home and submitted his seals and ribbons of office. The emperor answered with a personal edict urging him to stay. Shu only dug in harder, so the throne issued an edict: "Minister of Education and Viscount of Ji, Wei Shu, embodies the Way in its pure breadth; his plans look far ahead; he is loyal, grave, and upright, and in office he has never stinted honest counsel. Within the ministry he balanced appointments so that every post went to a fitting man; without he aided the highest councils and spread the five teachings of moral order. His gentle instruction has spread everywhere and his virtuous name shines bright—he is truly one of the great pillars of the court. Yet he presses his modest resignations again and again, and each memorial is so earnest that, reading them back and forth, I must grieve. Ancient canons praise those who crown another man's excellence, and I cannot lightly set aside such heartfelt devotion. I therefore grant what he asks: he may retire to his mansion as viscount of Ji with rank equal to the Three Dukes and stipends as before. He need not attend court; he receives a million cash, with bed-curtains, fine mats, and bedding supplied. Four chamberlains shall attend him as householders of the viscount of Ji, with ten mounted escorts. Let the master of ceremonies present the rescript, and let the bureaus review the statutes so every detail follows precedent." He was then granted a secure carriage and four-horse team, and a mounting-block was set at his gate. Shu always acted before he spoke; when he resigned, no one had seen it coming. Public opinion held that since the founding of Jin no holder of the three highest posts had refused honor and finished his career with such dignity. Minister of Works Wei Guan wrote him, "We spoke of this again and again yet never settled it—truly it was always 'right before our eyes,' then 'gone in an instant,' as the saying goes." He died in the first year of Taixi, aged eighty-two. The emperor grieved deeply, sent lavish funeral gifts, and gave him the posthumous name Kang, "Peaceful."

子混，字延廣，清惠有才行，為太子舍人。年二十七，先舒卒，朝野咸為舒悲惜。舒每哀慟，退而歎曰：「吾不及莊生遠矣，豈以無益自損乎！」於是終服不復哭。詔曰：「舒惟一子，薄命短折。舒告老之年，處窮獨之苦，每念怛然，為之嗟悼。思所以散愁養氣，可更增滋味品物。仍給賜陽燧四望繐窗戶皁輪車牛一乘，庶出入觀望，或足散憂也。」以庶孫融嗣。又早卒，從孫晃嗣。

His son Hun, courtesy name Yanguang, was clear-minded, kind, and capable, and served as household gentleman to the heir apparent. He died at twenty-seven, before his father, and court and countryside alike pitied Shu. Shu mourned bitterly, then withdrew and sighed, "I am no Zhuangzi; why should I tear myself apart over what cannot help?" After that he observed the full mourning period but wept no more. An edict ran, "Shu had but one son, and fate cut him off in his prime. Now that Shu has asked to retire, he endures the bitterness of utter loneliness; whenever I think of it my heart aches for him. Find ways to lift his spirits and strengthen him—send richer foods and finer goods. Grant him besides a four-windowed carriage with bronze fittings, corded blinds, black hubs, and a yoke of oxen, so that riding out to see the world may ease his grief." His grandson Rong, born to a concubine's line, was named heir. Rong also died young, and a cousin's grandson, Huang, inherited the title.

李憙，字季和，上黨銅鞮人也。父牷，漢大鴻臚。憙少有高行，博學研精，與北海管甯以賢良征，不行。累辟三府，不就。宣帝復辟憙為太傅屬，固辭疾，郡縣扶輿上道，時憙母疾篤，乃竊逾泫氏城而徒還，遂遭母喪，論者嘉其志節。後為并州別駕，時驍騎將軍秦朗過并州，州將畢軌敬焉。令乘車至閣。憙固諫以為不可，軌不得已從之。

Li Xi, whose courtesy name was Jihe, came from Tongdi in Shangdang. His father had served the Han as grand herald. From youth Xi showed noble character, wide learning, and exacting scholarship; he and Guan Ning of Beihai were summoned as men of worth and virtue, but he did not go. The three highest offices summoned him repeatedly, yet he never took a post. Emperor Xuan summoned him again as an aide to the grand tutor; he pleaded illness, but county and commandery officers lifted him into a litter and forced him onto the road. His mother lay dying, so he slipped past Xuanshi and walked home, where he was able to mourn her passing; commentators praised his resolve. Later he became senior administrator of Bing Province when General of Agile Cavalry Qin Lang passed through the region; the provincial commander Bi Gui treated him with great respect. He had Xi ride in a carriage right up to the inner gate. Xi argued strenuously that this was improper, and Bi Gui, unable to refuse, yielded.

景帝輔政，命憙為大將軍從事中郎，憙到，引見，謂憙曰：「昔先公辟君而君不應，今孤命君而君至，何也？」對曰：「先君以禮見待，憙得以禮進退。明公以法見繩，憙畏法而至。」帝甚重之。轉司馬，尋拜右長史。從討毌丘儉還，遷御史中丞。當官正色，不憚強禦，百僚震肅焉。薦樂安孫璞，亦以道德顯，時人稱為知人。尋遷大司馬，以公事免。

When Prince Jing of Wei directed the government, he named Xi aide to the grand general. At their first audience he asked, "My father once called you to office and you stayed away; now I summon you and you appear—what has changed?" Xi replied, "Your father treated me with courtesy, so I could accept or decline according to ritual. You hold me to the law; I came because I fear the law." The prince thought all the more highly of him. He was promoted to marshal, then soon named chief clerk on the right. After the expedition against Guanqiu Jian he was promoted to palace assistant secretary. In office he kept a straight face and did not flinch from the mighty, so the whole bureaucracy stood in awe of him. He recommended Sun Pu of Le'an, another man who won fame for integrity, and contemporaries praised his eye for talent. Soon afterward he rose to grand marshal, then lost the post over an official matter.

司馬伷為甯北將軍，鎮鄴，以憙為軍司。頃之，除涼州刺史，加揚威將軍、假節，領護羌校尉，綏禦華夷，甚有聲績。羌虜犯塞，憙因其隙會，不及啟聞，輒以便宜出軍深入，遂大克獲，以功重免譴，時人比之漢朝馮、甘焉。於是請還，許之。居家月餘，拜冀州刺史，累遷司隸校尉。及魏帝告禪于晉，憙以本官行司徒事，副太尉鄭沖奉策。泰始初，封祁侯。

When Sima Zhou served as pacify-the-north general at Ye, he named Xi director of the army. Before long he became inspector of Liangzhou with the added titles of general who spreads might and protector-general of the Qiang, bearing the credential staff; he kept peace among Chinese and tribesmen and earned a strong reputation. When Qiang raiders broke through the frontier, Xi seized the moment, moved troops deep into their territory without waiting for court approval, and won a major victory; his merit outweighed any rebuke, and people likened him to Feng Fengshi and Gan Yanshou of the Han. He then asked to leave the post, and the court agreed. After a month at home he was named inspector of Ji Province and eventually metropolitan commandant. When the Wei emperor abdicated in favor of Jin, Xi, still holding his current rank, handled the minister of education's duties and assisted Grand Commandant Zheng Chong in presenting the abdication instruments. Early in the Taishi era he was enfeoffed as marquis of Qi.

憙上言：「故立進令劉友、前尚書山濤、中山王睦、故尚書僕射武陔各占官三更稻田，請免濤、睦等官。陔已亡，請貶諡。」詔曰：「法者，天下取正，不避親貴，然後行耳，吾豈將枉縱其間哉！然案此事皆是友所作，侵剝百姓，以繆惑朝士。奸吏乃敢作此，其考竟友以懲邪佞。濤等不貳其過者，皆勿有所問。《易》稱'王臣蹇蹇，匪躬之故'。今憙亢志在公，當官而行，可謂'邦之司直'者矣。光武有云：'貴戚且斂手以避二鮑'。豈其然乎！其申敕群僚，各慎所司，寬宥之恩，不可數遇也。」憙為二代司隸，朝野稱之。以公事免。

Xi memorialized: "The former magistrate of Lijin, Liu You, the former minister Shan Tao, Prince Mu of Zhongshan, and the late vice-director Wu Gai each seized several geng of government paddy; I ask that Shan Tao, Prince Mu, and the others be stripped of office. Wu Gai is dead; I ask that his posthumous title be lowered." The edict read, "Law is the standard for the whole realm; it must be enforced without favor to kin or great houses—do you imagine I would twist it for anyone's sake? Yet the inquiry shows Liu You alone engineered the scheme, extorting the common people and deceiving the court with lies. For a corrupt clerk to dare such things is intolerable; try Liu You to the full penalty to warn the sycophants. Shan Tao and the rest, having no second fault, shall face no charges. The Classic of Changes says, "The king's minister faces hardship after hardship—not for private ends." Xi has set his heart on the public good and does his duty as an officer—he is truly what the ode calls "the straight man of the state." Emperor Guangwu said that even imperial in-laws "drew back their hands" for fear of the two Baos." Can that not be so again now? Let this be a warning to every official to mind his charge—royal mercy is not something you can count on receiving again and again." Xi served as metropolitan commandant under two dynasties, and both court and countryside praised him. He was removed from office over an official matter.

其年，皇太子立，以憙為太子太傅。自魏明帝以後，久曠東宮，制度廢闕，官司不具，詹事、左右率、庶子、中舍人諸官並未置，唯置衛率令典兵，二傅並攝眾事。憙在位累年，訓道盡規。遷尚書僕射，拜特進、光祿大夫，以年老遜位。詔曰：「光祿大夫、特進李憙，杖德居義，當升台司。毗亮朕躬，而以年尊致仕。雖優遊無為，可以頤神，而虛心之望，能不憮然！其因光祿之號，改假金紫，置官騎十人，賜錢五十萬，祿賜班禮，一如三司，門施行馬。」

The same year the heir apparent was installed, Xi was named his grand tutor. Since Emperor Ming of Wei the eastern palace had stood empty for years; its institutions had decayed and many posts were unfilled—the household superintendent, the left and right guard leaders, the household gentlemen, the palace gentlemen, and the rest had never been appointed, and only a guard commander held the troops, so the two tutors had to oversee everything. Xi held the post for many years, instructing the heir in every duty. He rose to vice-director of the masters of writing, received the titles specially advanced and grand master of splendid carriage, then resigned on account of age. An edict declared, "Grand Master of Splendid Carriage and Specially Advanced Li Xi upholds virtue and cleaves to duty; he should join the highest council. He has been a pillar at my side, yet advanced years have led him to retire. Leisure may nourish his spirit, yet how can I not grieve at losing the counsel I counted on? Let him keep the title of grand master of splendid carriage but add the gold seal and purple ribbon, assign ten mounted attendants, and grant five hundred thousand cash, with stipends, gifts, and court precedence equal to the Three Dukes and a mounting-block at his gate."

初，憙為僕射時，涼州虜寇邊，憙唱義遣軍討之。朝士謂出兵不易，虜未足為患，竟不從之。後虜果大縱逸，涼州覆沒，朝廷深悔焉。以憙清素貧儉，賜絹百匹。及齊王攸出鎮，憙上疏諫爭，辭甚懇切。憙自曆仕，雖清非異眾，而家無儲積，親舊故人乃至分衣共食，未嘗私以王官。及卒，追贈太保，諡曰成。子贊嗣。

Earlier, while Xi served as vice-director, tribesmen raided Liangzhou; he was the first to urge dispatch of an army against them. Court officials argued that mobilizing troops was difficult and the raiders no real threat, and in the end they ignored him. The tribesmen then ran riot, Liangzhou collapsed, and the court bitterly regretted its refusal. Because Xi lived plainly in real poverty, the throne sent him a hundred bolts of silk. When Prince You of Qi was sent out to a frontier command, Xi submitted a heartfelt memorial urging the emperor to reconsider. Through a long career he was honest but not ostentatious, yet he never laid up stores; with kinsmen and old friends he would even share a cloak or a meal, and never used public office for private gain. After his death he was posthumously named grand guardian with the posthumous title Cheng, "Accomplished." His son Zan inherited the title.

少子儉，字仲約，曆左積弩將軍、屯騎校尉。儉子弘，字世彥，少有清節，永嘉末，曆給事黃門侍郎、散騎常侍。

His younger son Jian, courtesy name Zhongyue, served as general of the left strong crossbowmen and as colonel of garrison cavalry. Jian's son Hong, courtesy name Shiyan, showed moral clarity from youth; late in the Yongjia era he served as palace attendant at the yellow gates and as cavalier attendant-in-ordinary.

劉寔，字子真，平原高唐人也。漢濟北惠王壽之後也，父廣，斥丘令。寔少貧苦，賣牛衣以自給。然好學，手約繩，口誦書，博通古今。清身潔己，行無瑕玷。郡察孝廉，州舉秀才，皆不行。以計吏入洛，調為河南尹丞，遷尚書郎、廷尉正。後曆吏部郎，參文帝相國軍事，封循陽子。

Liu Shi, courtesy name Zizhen, was a native of Gaotang in Pingyuan commandery. He descended from Prince Hui of Jibei, named Shou, under the Han; his father Guang had been magistrate of Chiqiu. He grew up in grinding poverty and sold winter straw mats for cattle to keep himself fed. Yet he loved study, knotting cord to tally his lessons while he recited texts aloud, until he mastered the classical corpus past and present. He kept his person and conduct spotless, without a blemish on his record. The commandery nominated him Filial and Incorrupt and the province as flourishing talent; he declined both. He went to Luoyang as a commandery accounts clerk, was transferred to assistant intendant of Henan, then rose to gentleman of the masters of writing and director in the court of justice. He later served as personnel ministry gentleman, joined the military staff of Prince Wen's chancellery, and was enfeoffed as viscount of Xun.

鐘會、鄧艾之伐蜀也，有客問寔曰：「二將其平蜀乎？」寔曰：「破蜀必矣，而皆不還。」客問其故，笑而不答，竟如其言。寔之先見，皆此類也。

During Zhong Hui and Deng Ai's invasion of Shu, a visitor asked Liu Shi, "Will those two generals conquer Shu?" Shi replied, "They will break Shu, yet neither will come back alive." When pressed for his reasons he only smiled and said nothing—and events proved him right. His foresight was often of this order.

以世多進趣，廉遜道闕，乃著《崇讓論》以矯之。其辭曰：

Seeing his contemporaries scramble for advancement while modesty vanished, he wrote the "Treatise on Honoring Yielding" to set matters right. It begins:

古之聖王之化天下，所以貴讓者，欲以出賢才，息爭競也。夫人情莫不欲已之賢也，故勸令讓賢以自明賢也，豈假讓不賢哉！故讓道興，賢能之人不求而自出矣，至公之舉自立矣，百官之副亦豫具矣。一官缺，擇眾官所讓最多者而用之，審之道也。在朝之士相讓於上，草廬之人咸皆化之，推賢讓能之風從此生矣。為一國所讓，則一國士也；天下所共推，則天下士也。推讓之風行，則賢與不肖灼然殊矣。此道之行，在上者無所用其心，因成清議，隨之而已。故曰，蕩蕩乎堯之為君，莫之能名。言天下自安矣，不見堯所以化之，故不能名也。又曰，舜禹之有天下而不與焉，無為而化者其舜也歟。賢人相讓于朝，大才之人恆在大官，小人不爭於野，天下無事矣。以賢才化無事，至道興矣。已仰其成，復何與焉！故可以歌《南風》之詩，彈五弦之琴也。成此功者非有他，崇讓之所致耳。孔子曰，能以禮讓為國，則不難也。

The sage kings of old transformed the world by honoring deference because they wanted worthy men to come forward and strife to fall silent. Every man wishes to be thought worthy, so the sage kings urged men to yield place to the better qualified and thus prove their own worth—never to pretend humility while yielding to the unworthy! When yielding is honored, able men step forward unbidden, the most impartial choices make themselves, and the whole chain of secondary offices fills of its own accord. When a post opens, appoint the man to whom the greatest number of colleagues have already deferred—that is the sure way to choose well. Courtiers defer to one another before the throne, recluses take the lesson from them, and a wind of recommending the worthy and yielding to the able springs up everywhere. The man a whole state agrees to honor is that state's true gentleman; the man the whole realm presses forward is the gentleman of the realm. Once yielding becomes the fashion, worthy and unworthy stand out as clearly as fire and ice. Under such a system those on high need not scheme; pure public opinion takes shape of itself, and they have only to follow it. Hence the saying, "Vast was Yao as ruler—no one could put a name to his art." The realm was at peace of itself; people could not point to what Yao had done to change them, and so they could not describe his government. It is also said that Shun and Yu possessed the empire yet seemed not to grasp it; perhaps Shun was the one who ruled without acting. Worthy men defer to one another at court, great talent always fills high office, petty men do not squabble in the countryside, and the realm is untroubled. When worthies bring about an age without crises, the highest Way prevails. The ruler has only to trust the outcome—what need has he to meddle? That is why he could sing the "South Wind" and strum the five-string lute in peace. No other art produced that achievement—only the honoring of yielding did. Confucius said, "To govern a state by ritual and deference presents no difficulty."

在朝之人不務相讓久矣，天下化之。自魏代以來，登進辟命之士，及在職之吏，臨見受敘，雖自辭不能，終莫肯讓有勝己者。夫推讓之風息，爭競之心生。孔子曰，上興讓則下不爭，明讓不興下必爭也。推讓之道興，則賢能之人日見推舉；爭競之心生，則賢能之人日見謗毀。夫爭者之欲自先，甚惡能者之先，不能無毀也。故孔墨不能免世之謗己，況不及孔墨者乎！議者僉然言，世少高名之才，朝廷不有大才之人可以為大官者。山澤人小官吏亦復雲，朝廷之士雖有大官名德，皆不及往時人也。餘以為此二言皆失之矣。非時獨乏賢也，時不貴讓。一人有先眾之譽，毀必隨之，名不得成使之然也。雖令稷契復存，亦不復能全其名矣。能否混雜，優劣不分，士無素定之價，官職有缺，主選之吏不知所用，但案官次而舉之。同才之人先用者，非勢家之子，則必為有勢者之所念也。非能獨賢，因其先用之資，而復遷之無已。遷之無已，不勝其任之病發矣。觀在官之人，政績無聞，自非勢家之子，率多因資次而進也。

Courtiers have long ceased to practice mutual deference, and the whole realm has taken its tone from them. Since the Wei era, every man summoned to office or promoted on appointment, even when he protests his unfitness, still refuses in the end to yield to anyone better qualified. When deference dies, the scramble for place begins. Confucius said, "When superiors honor yielding, inferiors do not fight among themselves"—which shows that without yielding below, contention is inevitable. When yielding prevails, able men are advanced every day; when contention rules, they are slandered every day. A man who fights for precedence loathes anyone ahead of him who is more capable, and slander follows inevitably. Even Confucius and Mozi could not escape slander—what hope have lesser men? Critics all insist that the age lacks men of towering reputation and that the court has no great talent fit for high office. Rustics and petty clerks echo the charge that today's grandees, however eminent their titles, fall short of men of earlier generations. Both judgments miss the mark. The problem is not a sudden dearth of worthies but that the age no longer esteems yielding. Let a single man win praise above the rest, and malice dogs his steps; no good name can stand under such pressure. Even if Ji and Xie walked the earth again, they could not keep their reputations intact. Able and useless are jumbled together with no clear ranking, so gentlemen carry no settled market value; when a vacancy opens, the appointing clerk has no idea whom to choose and simply promotes the next man in line. Among equals the first to win appointment is either a son of the mighty or a protégé of the mighty. Not because they alone deserve it, but because early preferment becomes a ladder of endless promotions. Promote such men without end and you soon see them collapse under duties they cannot bear. Look at officials today: few have any record of real achievement; unless they are sons of great houses, they have usually climbed sheerly by seniority.

向令天下貴讓，士必由於見讓而後名成，名成而官乃得用之。諸名行不立之人，在官無政績之稱，讓之者必矣，官無因得而用之也。所以見用不息者，由讓道廢，因資用人之有失久矣。故自漢魏以來，時開大舉，令眾官各舉所知，唯才所任，不限階次，如此者甚數矣。其所舉必有當者，不聞時有擢用，不知何誰最賢故也。所舉必有不當，而罪不加，不知何誰最不肖也。所以不可得知，由當時之人莫肯相推，賢愚之名不別，令其如此。舉者知在上者察不能審，故敢漫舉而進之。或舉所賢，因及所念，一頓而至，人數猥多，各言所舉者賢，加之高狀，相似如一，難得而分矣。參錯相亂，真偽同貫，更復由此而甚。雖舉者不能盡忠之罪，亦由上開聽察之路濫，令其爾也。昔齊王好聽竽聲，必令三百人合吹而後聽之，廩以數人之俸。南郭先生不知吹竽者也，以三百人合吹可以容其不知，因請為王吹竽，虛食數人之俸。嗣王覺而改之，難彰先王之過。乃下令曰：「吾之好聞竽聲有甚于先王，欲一一列而聽之。」先生于此逃矣。推賢之風不立，濫舉之法不改，則南郭先生之徒盈於朝矣。才高守道之士日退，馳走有勢之門日多矣。雖國有典刑，弗能禁矣。

Suppose the realm honored deference: a man would first win recommendation through others' yielding to him, build a reputation on that, and only then receive appointment. Men of no established reputation who leave no record of achievement in office would find plenty of colleagues ready to yield to them, and no bureau could justify hiring them. The endless parade of unfit appointees comes from the death of yielding and from long reliance on seniority instead of merit. Since Han and Wei the court has often ordered a general nomination: every official recommends men he knows, with talent the sole criterion and rank ignored—such campaigns have been many. Some nominees must be suitable, yet we never hear of timely promotions from these lists—because no one can tell who is truly the best. Some nominees must be unsuitable, yet no one is punished—because no one can tell who is the worst. The reason is that contemporaries will not recommend one another, worthy and foolish look alike, and the system ends in this confusion. Nominators know superiors cannot vet every name, so they toss lists together without care. Some push their favorites and tag along their cronies; names arrive in heaps, every sponsor swears his pick is brilliant and piles on the same lofty phrases, so the court cannot sort them out. Truth and falsehood are jumbled in one bundle, and the tangle only grows worse. Nominators share the blame for disloyalty, yet the throne has opened so wide a gate for rumor that the mess was inevitable. Once the King of Qi loved the sound of the yu and insisted that three hundred players blow together before he would listen, paying them the rations of several men each. Master Nanguo of the southern suburb could not play at all, but hid inside a chorus of three hundred and drew several men's pay for doing nothing. When the new king saw through the trick, he wished to reform the practice yet hesitated to shame his father. So he proclaimed, "I love the yu even more than my father did; I mean to hear each musician play in turn." At that the fellow fled the kingdom. Until we honor real recommendation and stop indiscriminate lists, the court will swarm with Nanguos. Talented men who keep their integrity withdraw further each day, while toadies at great houses grow more numerous. Even the full code cannot check it.

夫讓道不興之弊，非徒賢人在下位，不得時進也，國之良臣荷重任者，亦將以漸受罪退矣。何以知其然也？孔子以為顏氏之子不貳過耳，明非聖人皆有過。寵貴之地欲之者多矣，惡賢能者塞其路，其過而毀之者亦多矣。夫謗毀之生，非徒空設，必因人之微過而甚之者也。譭謗之言數聞，在上者雖欲弗納，不能不杖所聞，因事之來而微察之也，無以，其驗至矣。得其驗，安得不理其罪。若知而縱之，王之威日衰，令之不行自此始矣。知而皆理之，受罪退者稍多，大臣有不自固之心。夫賢才不進，貴臣日疏，此有國者之深憂也。《詩》曰：「受祿不讓，至於已斯亡。」不讓之人憂亡不暇，而望其益國朝，不亦難乎！

When yielding dies, the harm is not only that able men stuck below cannot rise; even good ministers who bear the heaviest burdens will step by step be hounded from office. How do we know this is true? Confucius said even Yan Hui never repeated a mistake—meaning everyone short of a sage errs sometimes. Everyone covets high favor; rivals who hate true talent block the path, and many seize on small slips to ruin a man. Slander is never spun from thin air; it always seizes some tiny fault and blows it out of proportion. When calumny is repeated often enough, the ruler may wish to ignore it yet cannot help leaning on what he hears; each new incident invites scrutiny, and in time the charges seem proved. Once it looks verified, how can the throne fail to punish? To know guilt and overlook it drains royal authority and marks the moment when decrees cease to bite. If every charge is prosecuted, dismissed ministers multiply and great officers lose confidence in their own survival. Blocked promotion of talent and estrangement of loyal ministers are a ruler's deepest fears. The Classic of Poetry says, "He took his salary without yielding—unto himself came ruin." Men who never yield are too busy saving their own skins to strengthen the state—can we expect much from them?

竊以為改此俗甚易耳。何以知之？夫一時在官之人，雖雜有凡猥之才，其中賢明者亦多矣，豈可謂皆不知讓賢為貴邪！直以其時皆不讓，習以成俗，故遂不為耳。人臣初除，皆通表上聞，名之謝章，所由來尚矣。原謝章之本意，欲進賢能以謝國恩也。昔舜以禹為司空，禹拜稽首，讓於稷契及咎繇。使益為虞官，讓於硃虎、熊、羆。使伯夷典三禮，讓于夔龍。唐虞之時，眾官初除，莫不皆讓也。謝章之義，蓋取於此。《書》記之者，欲以永世作則。季世所用，不賢不能讓賢，虛謝見用之恩而已。相承不變，習俗之失也。

I believe this custom could be changed with ease. Why do I say so? The men in office at any moment, though many are mediocre, include a host of able and upright men—surely they all know that yielding to the better man is the honorable course! They do not yield only because no one yields now; habit has frozen into custom, and so they follow along. Every new appointee submits a memorial of thanks to the throne—a practice of great antiquity. The original purpose of that memorial was to recommend worthier men in gratitude for imperial favor. When Shun made Yu minister of works, Yu kowtowed and yielded the honor to Ji, Xie, and Gao Yao. When Yi was made warden of forests and marshes, he deferred to Zhu Hu, Xiong, and Pi. When Boyi was put in charge of the three classes of rites, he yielded to Kui and Long. Under Yao and Shun every first appointment was accompanied by such deferrals. The memorial of thanks took its meaning from that age. The Book of Documents set down these acts so later ages would have a model. In a decadent age the unworthy cannot yield to worthier men; the memorial becomes an empty gesture of thanks. Generation after generation never changed the form—only the spirit was lost.

夫敘用之官得通章表者，其讓賢推能乃通，其不能有所讓徒費簡紙者，皆絕不通。人臣初除，各思推賢能而讓之矣，讓之文付主者掌之。三司有缺，擇三司所讓最多者而用之。此為一公缺，三公已豫選之矣。且主選之吏，不必任公而選三公，不如令三公自共選一公為詳也。四征缺，擇四征所讓最多而用之，此為一征缺，四征已豫選之矣，必詳於停缺而令主者選四征也。尚書缺，擇尚書所讓最多者而用之，此為八尚書共選一尚書，詳于臨缺令主者選八尚書也。郡守缺，擇眾郡所讓最多者而用之，詳于任主者令選百郡守也。

Let every bureau that may submit memorials accept only those that name worthier men to replace the writer; any memorial that yields no one and wastes paper should be rejected unread. On first appointment each man should propose a worthier candidate; the text of his deferral goes to the keeper of records. When a seat among the Three Dukes falls vacant, choose the man to whom the three have most often deferred. Thus one grandee's vacancy is filled from names the three have already ranked. It is needless to charge the personnel bureau with picking the Three Dukes; better let the three jointly choose their own colleague—that is surer. When a Four Expeditions command opens, pick the man most often yielded to by the four commanders—so one vacancy is filled from lists the four have already filed, a far sounder method than leaving the post empty while some clerk picks among four nominees. When a minister of the masters of writing is needed, take the man most deferred to by the eight ministers—eight colleagues choose one, which beats leaving a gap and letting a single clerk juggle eight names. When a commandery governorship opens, choose the man most often yielded to across the commanderies—far better than asking one appointing officer to rank a hundred magistrates.

夫以眾官百郡之讓，與主者共相比，不可同歲而論也。雖復令三府參舉官，本不委以舉選之任，各不能以根其心也。其所用心者裁之不二三，但令主者案官次而舉之，不用精也。賢愚皆讓，百姓耳目盡為國耳目。夫人情爭則欲毀己所不知，讓則競推於勝己。故世爭則毀譽交錯，優劣不分，難得而讓也。時讓則賢智顯出，能否之美歷歷相次，不可得而亂也。當此時也，能退身修已者，讓之者多矣。雖欲守貧賤，不可得也。馳騖進趣而欲人見讓，猶卻行而求前也。夫如此，愚智咸知進身求通，非修之於己則無由矣。游外求者，於此相隨而歸矣。浮聲虛論，不禁而自息矣。人人無所用其心，任眾人之議，而天下自化矣。不言之化行，巍巍之美於此著矣。讓可以致此，豈可不務之哉！

The judgment of hundreds of deferring officials cannot be mentioned in the same breath as one clerk's guess. Even when the three bureaus are ordered to deliberate on nominations, they are not truly charged with selection, so none commits his judgment. They give the matter a moment's thought, then tell the appointing clerk to go by seniority—no care for quality. When worthy and foolish alike must defer to someone else, every commoner's eyes and ears become the eyes and ears of the state. In a scramble men slander what they do not understand; in yielding they compete to lift up whoever surpasses them. When the age is contentious, praise and blame tangle until no one can tell who excels—deference becomes impossible. When yielding is the fashion, talent stands out and able and useless line up in clear order—no confusion possible. In such an hour, any man who steps back to cultivate himself will find many ready to yield him place. Even if he wished to remain poor and obscure, he could not. To scramble for promotion and still expect others to defer is like walking backward and hoping to advance. Then fool and sage alike see that to rise they must polish themselves—there is no other road. Men who chase outside connections will come home to self-cultivation instead. Empty rumor and hollow debate die away without a ban. No one needs to scheme; trust public discussion, and the realm orders itself. Silent transformation takes hold, and the majesty of good rule shows forth. Yielding can achieve this—how can we fail to pursue it?

《春秋傳》曰：「范宣子之讓，其下皆讓。欒黶雖汰，弗敢違也。晉國以平，數世賴之。」上世之化也，君子尚能而讓其下，小人力農以事其上，上下有禮，讒慝遠黜，由不爭也。及其亂也，國家之弊，恆必由之。篤論了了如此。在朝君子典選大官，能不以人廢言，舉而行之，各以讓賢舉能為先務，則群才猥出，能否殊別，蓋世之功，莫大於此。

The Zuo commentary says, "When Fan Xuanzi yielded, his subordinates yielded in turn. Even the arrogant Luan Yan did not dare refuse. Jin was pacified thereby, and generations reaped the benefit." Such was the transformation of high antiquity: gentlemen honored ability and deferred to inferiors, while commoners bent to the plow to serve their betters; rank observed ritual, slander and malice were driven off, and all because men did not fight for place. When that order breaks down, the state's sickness always stems from the same cause. The argument stands clear as this. If the great officers who control appointments will not dismiss good counsel because of its source, but put these measures into practice and make yielding to worthier men their first duty, talent will pour forth, able and useless will stand apart, and no achievement could match it for an age.

泰始初，進爵為伯，累遷少府。咸甯中為太常。轉尚書。杜預之伐吳也，寔以本官行鎮南軍司。

Early in Taishi his noble rank rose to earl, and he was promoted step by step to privy treasurer. During the Xianning era he served as minister of ceremonies. He was transferred to the masters of writing. When Du Yu campaigned against Wu, Liu Shi, still in his current post, served as army director on the southern pacification staff.

初，寔妻盧氏生子躋而卒，華氏將以女妻之。寔弟智諫曰：「華家類貪，必破門戶。」辭之不得，竟婚華氏而生子夏。寔竟坐夏受賂，免官。頃之為大司農，又以夏罪免。

Earlier, Shi's wife of the Lu clan bore a son, Ji, then died; the Hua family wished to give him a daughter in marriage. His brother Zhi warned him, "The Huas are a grasping clan; they will ruin our house." Shi could not refuse the match; he married into the Hua family and fathered a son named Xia. In the end Shi lost his office because Xia took bribes. Soon he was named grand minister of agriculture, then dismissed again over Xia's crimes.

寔每還州裏，鄉人載酒肉以候之。寔難逆其意，輒共啖而返其餘。或謂寔曰：「君行高一世，而諸子不能遵。何不旦夕切磋，使知過而自改邪！」寔曰：「吾之所行，是所聞見，不相祖習，豈復教誨之所得乎！」世以寔言為當。

Whenever Shi returned to his home district, villagers brought wine and meat to greet him. Unwilling to refuse their kindness outright, he would share a little of the feast and send the rest back. Someone said to him, "Your conduct towers above the age, yet your sons will not follow your example. Why not lecture them day and night until they see their faults and mend their ways?" Shi answered, "What I do rests on what I myself saw and heard; my sons have not walked the same path—how could mere lecturing reach them now?" People of the time judged his reply sound.

後起為國子祭酒、散騎常侍。湣懷太子初封廣陵王，高選師友，以寔為師。元康初，進爵為侯，累遷太子太保，加侍中、特進、右光祿大夫、開府儀同三司，領冀州都督。九年，策拜司空，遷太保，轉太傅。太安初，寔以老病遜位，賜安車駟馬、錢百萬，以侯就第。及長沙成都之相攻也，寔為軍人所掠，潛歸鄉里。

Later he was recalled as libationer of the imperial academy and cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. When Crown Prince Minhuai was first enfeoffed as prince of Guangling, the court chose his tutors with care and named Shi his principal teacher. Early in Yuankang his rank rose to marquis; he rose through junior tutor to the heir apparent to the added titles of palace attendant, specially advanced, grand master of the right of splendid carriage, and opener of a bureau with privilege equal to the Three Dukes, while commanding military affairs in Ji Province. In the ninth year of the era he received the rescript as minister of works, then moved up to grand guardian and finally grand tutor. Early in the Tai'an era he resigned on grounds of age and illness; the court granted him a secure carriage, four-horse team, a million cash, and permission to retire to his mansion as a marquis. When the princes of Changsha and Chengdu turned on each other, soldiers plundered him and he slipped away to his home district.

三年，詔曰：「昔虞任五臣，致垂拱之化，漢相蕭何，興寧一之譽，故能光隆於當時，垂裕於百代。朕紹天明命，臨御萬邦，所以崇顯政道者，亦賴之於元臣庶尹，畢力股肱，以副至望。而君年耆告老，確然難違。今聽君以侯就第，位居三司之上，秩祿准舊，賜几杖不朝及宅一區。國之大政，將就諮於君，副朕意焉。」歲余薨，時年九十一，諡曰元。

In the third year an edict declared, "Ancient Shun ruled through five ministers and achieved the government of folded hands; Han's chancellor Xiao He brought an age of unity and calm—thus they shone in their own day and left an example for a hundred generations. I have received Heaven's mandate to rule the myriad regions; to exalt the way of government I depend on great ministers and heads of office who give their full strength as my arms and legs, answering my deepest hopes. Yet you, venerable in years, have asked to retire, and your resolve cannot lightly be set aside. I grant you, lord, to retire to your mansion as a marquis with standing above the Three Dukes, stipend as before, the gift of a folding-stool and staff exempting you from court, and one residence. On weighty affairs of state I shall still seek your counsel, that you may answer my deepest purpose." A little over a year later he died, aged ninety-one, with the posthumous name Yuan, "Primal."

寔少貧窶，杖策徒行，每所憩止，不累主人，薪水之事，皆自營給。及位望通顯，每崇儉素，不尚華麗。嘗詣石崇家，如廁，見有絳紋帳，裀褥甚麗，兩婢持香囊。寔便退，笑謂崇曰：「誤入卿內。」崇曰：「是廁耳。」寔曰：「貧士未嘗得此。」乃更如他廁。雖處榮寵，居無第宅，所得俸祿，贍恤親故。雖禮教陵遲，而行己以正。喪妻為廬杖之制，終喪不禦內。輕薄者笑之，寔不以介意。自少及老，篤學不倦，雖居職務，卷弗離手。尤精《三傳》，辨正《公羊》，以為衛輒不應辭以王父命，祭仲失為臣之節，舉此二端以明臣子之體，遂行於世。又撰《春秋條例》二十卷。

In youth Shi was destitute; leaning on a staff he went on foot, and wherever he lodged he imposed no burden on his host, gathering his own firewood and water. Even when rank and fame were at their height he clung to plain frugality and scorned display. Once at Shi Chong's house he stepped into what he thought was a lavatory and found crimson brocade curtains, sumptuous mats, and two maids bearing sachets of incense. Shi drew back at once and said with a smile, "I have blundered into your private rooms." Chong replied, "That is the privy." Shi said, "A poor scholar like me has never seen such a privy." He asked directions to an ordinary latrine instead. Though he stood high in favor, he owned no grand mansion and spent his salary supporting kinsmen and old friends. Even as public morals slackened, he kept his own conduct upright. When his wife died he observed the mourning hut and staff rites and took no concubine until the mourning ended. Wits mocked him for it, but he paid them no heed. From youth to old age he studied tirelessly; even in office he never laid down his books. He mastered the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn and corrected the Gongyang tradition, arguing that Prince Kuaire of Wei should not have refused the throne citing his grandfather's order and that Zhai Zhong had failed a minister's duty; by these two cases he defined the proper relation of subject to ruler, and his reading won wide acceptance. He also compiled twenty fascicles of Spring and Autumn precedents and principles.

有二子，躋、夏。躋字景雲，官至散騎常侍。夏以貪污棄放於世。

He had two sons, Ji and Xia. Ji, courtesy name Jingyun, rose to cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. Xia was cast out of public life for corruption.

弟智，字子房，貞素有兄風。少貧窶，每負薪自給，讀誦不輟，竟以儒行稱。曆中書黃門吏部郎，出為潁川太守。平原管輅嘗謂人曰：「吾與劉潁川兄弟語，使人神思清發，昏不假寐。自此之外，殆白日欲寢矣。」入為秘書監，領南陽王師，加散騎常侍，遷侍中、尚書、太常。著《喪服釋疑論》，多所辨明。太康末卒，諡曰成。

His younger brother Zhi, courtesy name Zifang, was as upright and spare in habit as his brother. He grew up in want, often carried firewood to live, and never stopped his studies; in the end he won fame as a Confucian gentleman. He served as gentleman at the palace secretariat, at the yellow gates, and in the personnel ministry, then became governor of Yingchuan. Guan Lu of Pingyuan once remarked, "Conversation with Governor Liu of Yingchuan and his brothers clears the mind so that even at dusk I need no nap. With anyone else I could fall asleep in broad daylight." He was recalled as director of the palace library and tutor to the prince of Nanyang, with the added title cavalier attendant-in-ordinary, then rose to palace attendant, minister of the secretariat, and minister of ceremonies. He wrote the Discourse Resolving Doubts on Mourning Garments, which settled many disputed points. He died toward the end of the Taikang era with the posthumous name Cheng, "Accomplished."

高光，字宣茂，陳留圉城人，魏太尉柔之子也。光少習家業，明練刑理。初以太子舍人累遷尚書郎，出為幽州刺史、潁州太守。是時武帝置黃沙獄，以典詔囚。以光曆世明法，用為黃沙御史，秩與中丞同，遷廷尉。元康中，拜尚書，典三公曹。時趙王倫篡逆，光於其際，守道全貞。及倫賜死，齊王冏輔政，復以光為廷尉，遷尚書，加奉車都尉。後從駕討成都王穎有勳，封延陵縣公，邑千八百戶。于時朝廷咸推光明于用法，故頻典理官。惠帝為張方所逼，幸長安，朝臣奔散，莫有從者，光獨侍帝而西。遷尚書左僕射，加散騎常侍。光兄誕為上官巳等所用，曆徐、雍二州刺史。誕性任放無倫次，而決烈過人，與光異操。常謂光小節，恆輕侮之，光事誕愈謹。帝既還洛陽，時太弟新立，重選傅訓，以光為少傅，加光祿大夫，常侍如故。及懷帝即位，加光祿大夫金章紫綬，與傅祗並見推崇。尋為尚書令，本官如故。以疾卒，贈司空、侍中。屬京洛傾覆，竟未加諡。

Gao Guang, courtesy name Xuanmao, was a native of Yucheng in Chenliu, the son of Grand Commandant Gao Rou of Wei. From youth he trained in his family's legal tradition and became expert in penal law. He began as household gentleman to the heir apparent and rose to gentleman of the masters of writing, then became inspector of You province and governor of Yingzhou commandery. At that time Emperor Wu founded the Yellow Sand prison for prisoners sentenced by imperial edict. Because his family had long mastered the code, Guang was named censor of Yellow Sand with rank equal to the palace assistant secretary, then promoted director of justice. During Yuankang he was appointed minister of the masters of writing in charge of the Three Dukes section. When Sima Lun, prince of Zhao, usurped the throne, Guang held to principle and kept his integrity intact. After Lun was forced to take his life and Prince Jiong of Qi directed the government, Guang was again named director of justice, then minister of the masters of writing with the added title colonel who conducts the carriage. Later he accompanied the imperial train against Prince Ying of Chengdu and earned distinction; he was enfeoffed as duke of Yanling county with one thousand eight hundred households. The whole court acknowledged his clarity in applying the law, so he was repeatedly placed over the judiciary. When Emperor Hui was driven by Zhang Fang to take refuge in Chang'an and the court fled in panic with none willing to follow, Guang alone accompanied the emperor westward. He was promoted left vice-director of the masters of writing with the added title cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. Guang's elder brother Dan was employed by Shangguan Si and his faction and served as inspector of Xu and Yong provinces in turn. Dan was wild and unmethodical, yet bolder than most—a temper quite unlike his brother's. He constantly mocked Guang for fussiness and treated him with contempt, yet Guang served his elder brother with growing deference. After the emperor returned to Luoyang, the heir-designate had just been installed and tutors were chosen with care; Guang was named junior tutor with the added title grand master of splendid carriage while keeping his post as attendant-in-ordinary. When Emperor Huai came to the throne, Guang received the grand master of splendid carriage's gold seal and purple ribbon and was honored together with Fu Zhi. Soon he was named director of the masters of writing while retaining his other titles. He died of illness and was posthumously named minister of works and palace attendant. The fall of Luoyang followed so closely that no posthumous title was ever conferred.

子韜字子遠，放佚無檢。光為廷尉時，韜受貨賕，有司奏案之，而光不知。時人雖非光不能防閑其子，以其用心有素，不以為累。初，光詣長安留台，以韜兼右衛將軍。韜與殿省小人交通，及光卒，仍於喪中往來不絕。時東海王越輔政，不朝觀。韜知人心有望，密與太傅參軍薑賾、京兆杜概等謀討越，事泄伏誅。

His son Tao, courtesy name Ziyuan, was dissolute and unrestrained. While Guang served as director of justice, Tao took bribes; the authorities impeached him, yet Guang knew nothing of it. Contemporaries faulted him for failing to restrain his son, yet because his own integrity was long established they did not let the scandal touch his reputation. Earlier, when Guang went to the provisional administration at Chang'an, he had Tao act concurrently as general of the right guard. Tao had dealings with low palace clerks, and after Guang's death he kept up those visits even during mourning. Prince Yue of the Eastern Sea then directed the government and no longer attended court. Tao sensed growing resentment against Yue and secretly plotted with the grand tutor's aide Jiang Ze, Du Gai of Jingzhao, and others to strike at him; the plot leaked and Tao was put to death.

史臣曰：下士競而文，中庸靜而質，不若進不足而退有餘也。魏舒、劉寔發慮精華，結綬登槐，覽止成務。季和切問近對，當官正色。詩云「貪人敗類」，豈劉夏之謂歟！

The historians write: Petty men strive for outward polish and the middling keep a dull quiet—both fall short of advancing with restraint and withdrawing while still leaving something in hand. Wei Shu and Liu Shi brought the finest of their judgment to bear, took high office beneath the court locusts, and saw their policies through to completion. Li Xi of courtesy Jihe answered sharp questions with plain good sense and kept a straight face in office. The Classic of Poetry says, "Greedy men destroy their kin"—can that mean anyone but Liu Xia?"

贊曰：舒言不矜，憙對千乘。子真、宣茂，雅志難陵。進忠能舉，退讓攸興。皎皎瑚器，來光玉繩。

Encomium: Shu spoke without swagger; Xi faced princes of a thousand chariots undaunted. Zizhen and Xuanmao—noble purpose none could overthrow. They pressed loyalty and lifted the worthy; in yielding office they set a lasting example. Bright as ritual coral, they brought luster to the constellations of state.

Cite this Chapter