1
孫惠
Sun Hui.
2
孫惠，字德施，吳國富陽人，吳豫章太守賁曾孫也。 父祖並仕吳。 惠口訥，好學有才識，州辟不就，寓居蕭沛之間。 永甯初，赴齊王冏義，討趙王倫，以功封晉興縣侯，辟大司馬戶曹掾，轉東曹屬。 冏驕矜僭侈，天下失望。 惠獻言於冏，諷以五難、四不可，勸令歸籓，辭甚切至。 冏不納。 惠懼罪，辭疾去。 頃之，冏果敗。 成都王穎薦惠為大將軍參軍、領奮威將軍、白沙督。 是時，穎將征長沙王乂，以陸機為前鋒都督。 惠與機同鄉里，憂其致禍，勸機讓都督于王粹。 及機兄弟被戮，惠甚傷恨之。 時惠又擅殺穎牙門將梁俊，懼罪，因改姓名以遁。
Sun Hui, whose courtesy name was Deshi, came from Fuyang in the old state of Wu and was a great-grandson of Ben, the Yuzhang grand administrator who had served Wu. Both his father and his grandfather had served the Wu regime. He was awkward in speech but a devoted student, with real ability and insight. Though the provincial authorities tried to appoint him, he stayed out of office and lived for a time between Xiao and Pei. When Yongning began, he joined Sima Jiong, the Prince of Qi, in the loyalist campaign against Sima Lun, the Prince of Zhao. His service earned him the county marquisate of Jinxing, a post as clerk in the minister of war's revenue office, and then a place on the eastern staff. Jiong grew haughty and overbearing, overstepping his rank and spending on a princely scale until the empire had lost faith in him. Sun Hui laid before him a carefully framed remonstrance—the 'five difficulties' and 'four impossibilities'—urging him to withdraw to his princely domain. The tone was urgent and uncompromising. Jiong refused to listen. Fearing reprisals, Sun Hui pleaded illness and slipped away. Soon afterward Jiong fell, exactly as he had warned. Sima Ying, the Prince of Chengdu, then recommended him as an adviser on the grand general's staff, with the concurrent titles of General Who Rouses Might and commander of the Baisha garrison. Ying was preparing to move against Sima Yi, the Prince of Changsha, and named Lu Ji to lead the van. As a townsman of Lu Ji, Sun Hui worried the appointment would destroy him and urged him to step aside in favor of Wang Cui. When Lu Ji and his brothers were put to death, Sun Hui mourned them bitterly. He had already killed Liang Jun, one of Ying's gate generals, without orders. Dreading the consequences, he took a new identity and went into hiding.
3
後東海王越舉兵下邳，惠乃詭稱南嶽逸士秦秘之，以書幹越曰：
Later, when Sima Yue, the Prince of the Eastern Sea, mobilized at Xiapi, Sun Hui invented the persona of Qin Mizhi, a hermit of the southern sacred peak, and addressed him in a long letter that began:
4
天禍晉國，遘茲厄運。 曆觀危亡，其萌有漸，枝葉先零，根株乃斃。 伏惟明公資睿哲之才，應神武之略，承衰亂之餘，當傾險之運，側身昏讒之俗，局蹐凶諂之間。 執夷正立，則取疾奸佞； 抱忠懷直，則見害賊臣。 餔糟非聖性所堪，苟免非英雄之節，是以感激於世，發憤忘身。 抗辭金門，則謇諤之言顯； 扶翼皇家，則匡主之功著。 事雖未集，大命有在。 夫以漢祖之賢，猶有彭城之恥； 魏武之能，亦有濮陽之失。 孟明三退，終於致果； 勾踐喪眾，期於擒吳。 今明公名著天下，聲振九域，公族歸美，萬國宗賢。 加以四王齊聖，仁明篤友，急難之感，同獎王室，股肱爪牙，足相維持。 皇穹無親，惟德是輔，惡盈福謙，鬼神所贊。 以明公達存亡之符，察成敗之變，審所履之運，思天人之功，武視東夏之籓，龍躍海嵎之野。 西諮河間，南結征鎮，東命勁吳銳卒之富，北有幽并率義之旅，宣喻青徐，啟示群王，旁收雄俊，廣延秀傑，糾合攜貳，明其賞信。 仰惟天子蒙塵鄴宮，外矯詔命，擅誅無辜，豺狼篡噬，其事無遠。 夫心火傾移，喪亂可必，太白橫流，兵家攸杖，歲鎮所去，天厭其德。 玄象著明，謫譴彰見。 違天不祥，奉時必克。 明公思安危人神之應，慮禍敗前後之征，弘勞謙日昃之德，躬吐握求賢之義，傾府竭庫以振貧乏，將有濟世之才，渭濱之士，含奇謨於硃脣，握神策於玉掌，逍遙川嶽之上，以俟真人之求。 目想不世之佐，耳聽非常之輔，舉而任之，則元勳建矣。
Heaven is punishing Jin; the dynasty has stumbled into mortal peril. History shows that collapse comes in stages: the twigs die first, and only then does the trunk give way. You combine keen judgment with a soldier's grasp of power, yet you stand in the wreckage of civil war, in an age that could tip either way, hemmed in by sycophants and whispering malice. Stand straight, and the crooked courtiers turn on you. Show loyalty and candor, and venal officials will work your ruin. Muddling along like the world is not for a man of your stamp, and mere self-preservation is beneath a leader. That is why you have thrown yourself into the crisis, moved by duty more than by safety. Speak out at court, and honest counsel becomes visible for all to see. Uphold the throne, and your service to the sovereign will speak for itself. The work is unfinished, but Heaven's mandate still rests where it belongs. Even Liu Bang suffered the humiliation of Pengcheng. Cao Cao, for all his genius, once took a hard defeat at Puyang. Meng Mingyao retreated again and again, yet in the end he triumphed. Gou Jian lost his army yet still brought down Wu. Your name already fills the empire, your reputation shakes every quarter, the great clans look to you with admiration, and the regions acclaim your virtue. The four princes are men of true benevolence and clear judgment, bound by friendship as much as by kinship; in this emergency they are pulling together for the dynasty, each a pillar the others can lean on. Heaven favors no house forever; it crowns the worthy, cuts down the proud, and smiles on humility—spirits and gods watch the same scales. You read the signs of rise and fall, weigh every shift in fortune, and know both Heaven's part and man's; look east to the loyal fiefs and to the coast where a dragon might take wing. Secure the Hejian prince to your west, tie the southern commanderies to you, call on Wu's seasoned troops in the east, and count on the loyal levies of You and Bing in the north. Rally Qing and Xu, signal every prince, recruit every able sword, win over the undecided, and make your rewards and your word ironclad. The emperor lies humbled at Ye while forged orders slaughter the innocent beyond the walls; jackals hold the palace gates. None of this is ancient history—it is happening now. The omens say it plainly: the throne's inner fire is guttering, the war star cuts the sky, and Heaven is withdrawing its mandate from the usurpers. The constellations spell reproof; the warning could not be clearer. Fight Heaven and you lose; move with the moment and victory follows. Weigh how Heaven and the people answer danger and safety; read every warning written in defeat. Show the humility that keeps a ruler at his desk past dark, show the zeal that makes him skip meals to find advisers, open the granaries for the starving—and the strategists who can save the age, the sort once drawn from the banks of the Wei, will come: men who carry subtle plans behind a smile and a winning argument, who wait on mountain and river until the true leader calls. Picture in your mind's eye the rare counselor; listen for the voice that breaks the mold. Put such men in charge, and the great restoration is already half won.
5
秘之不天，值此衰運，竊慕墨翟、申包之誠，跋涉荊棘，重繭而至，櫛風沐雨，來承禍難。 思以管穴毗佐大猷，道險時吝，未敢自顯。 伏在川泥，系情宸極，謹先白箋，以啟天慮。 若猶沈吟際會，徘徊二端，徼幸在險，請從恕宥之例。
I lack Heaven's favor and was born into a dying hour, yet I cherish the devotion of a Mo Di or a Shen Baoxu: I have crossed thorns until my feet were one blister, ridden wind and rain, and come to share this disaster with you. I hoped my narrow view might still shore up your grand design, but the road is steep and the hour treacherous, so until now I have kept my name hidden. I am nobody, mired far from court, yet my heart stays fixed on the throne. I send this paper first to lay my thoughts before you. If you linger between two paths, gambling on fortune in the teeth of danger, then treat my blunt words with the mercy you would show any petitioner who spoke out of turn.
6
明公今旋軫臣子之邦，宛轉名義之國，指麾則五嶽可傾，呼噏則江湖可竭。 況履順討逆，執正伐邪，是烏獲摧冰，賁育拉朽，猛獸吞狐，泰山壓卵，因風燎原，未足方也。 今時至運集，天與神助，復不能鵲起于慶命之會，拔劍于時哉之機，恐流濫之禍不在一人。 自先帝公王，海內名士，近者死亡，皆如蟲獸，屍元曳於糞壞，形骸捐於溝澗，非其口無忠貞之辭，心無義正之節，皆希目下之小生而惑終焉之大死。 凡人知友，猶有刎頸之報，朝廷之內，而無死命之臣。 非獨秘之所恥，惜乎晉世之無人久矣。 今天下喁喁，四海注目。 社稷危而復安，宗廟替而復紹，惟明公兄弟能弘濟皇猷。 國之存亡，在斯舉矣。
You ride through the heartland of loyal subjects, where every tie of name and duty runs through you alone. Lift a finger and the five sacred peaks tremble; draw breath and the great rivers could run dry. What then of marching in the name of the right to crush rebellion, of wielding justice against treason? That is strength against weakness—Wuhuo shattering ice, legendary braves snapping rotten timber, a tiger swallowing a fox, Tai Shan grinding an egg, fire racing through dry grass under a gale. The moment and the mandate align; Heaven and the gods are offering their help. If you still fail to spring up when fortune calls or bare steel when the hour strikes, the coming deluge will drown more than a single life. Late rulers and renowned scholars alike have died like animals—corpses hauled through filth, bones flung into ditches—not because they lacked loyal words or upright hearts, but because they clung to a little breathing space today and forgot the great finality waiting tomorrow. Common friends will die for one another, yet inside the palace no one will pledge his neck for the throne. This shames me as much as it wounds the throne—for Jin has gone too long without men willing to die for it. The realm is holding its breath; every eye is on you. The dynasty tottered and may yet stand; the temples darkened and may yet see sacrifice again—only you and your brothers can carry the house of Sima through. The kingdom's life or death turns on what you do next.
7
秘之以下才之姿，而值危亂之運，竭其狗馬之節，加之忠貞之心，左屬平亂之鞬，右握滅逆之矢，控馬鵠立，計日俟命。 時難獲而易失，機速變而成禍，介如石焉，實無終日，自求多福，惟君裁之！
I am the least of men, caught in the worst of seasons, yet I mean to spend myself like a loyal hound: loyal, upright, with a quiver for rebels on my left and a shaft for traitors in my right, holding my horse at the ready, counting the days until you give the word. Crisis offers a narrow gate: hesitate and it slams shut, for fate moves faster than armies. I stand firm as stone but cannot wait forever; win your own blessing, my lord—the choice is yours alone.
8
越省書，榜道以求之，惠乃出見。 越即以為記室參軍，專職文疏，豫參謀議。 除散騎郎、太子中庶子，復請補司空從事中郎。 越誅周穆等，夜召參軍王廙造表，廙戰懼，壞數紙不成。 時惠不在，越歎曰：「孫中郎在，表久就矣。」 越遷太傅，以惠為軍諮祭酒，數諮訪得失。 每造書檄，越或驛馬催之，應命立成，皆有文采。 除秘書監，不拜。 轉彭城內史、廣陵相，遷廣武將軍、安豐內史。 以迎大駕之功，封臨湘縣公。
Yue read the letter, put up notices on the highways to find the author, and Sun Hui at last came forward. Yue named him secretary-adviser on the spot, put him in charge of all memorials and proclamations, and brought him into every council of war. He received appointment as a palace gentleman and junior mentor to the crown prince, then asked to serve additionally as an aide in the minister of works' office. When Yue executed Zhou Mu's faction, he called Wang Yi in the dead of night to frame the rescript; Wang shook with fright and spoiled sheet after sheet without finishing. Sun Hui was away. Yue sighed, 'If Squadron Leader Sun were here, that document would already be done.' Not long afterward Yue rose to grand tutor and made Sun Hui army libationer-adviser, consulting him constantly on what was sound and what was not. Whenever a dispatch was needed, Yue would sometimes put post riders on him to hurry the draft; Sun Hui produced polished prose on demand. They named him director of the palace library; he declined the post. He moved on to interior administrator of Pengcheng and governor of Guangling, then rose to General Who Spreads Might and interior administrator of Anfeng. His part in escorting the imperial carriage earned him the county dukedom of Linxiang.
9
元帝遣甘卓討周馥于壽陽，惠乃率眾應卓，馥敗走。 廬江何銳為安豐太守，惠權留郡境。 銳以他事收惠下人推之，惠既非南朝所授，常慮讒間，因此大懼，遂攻殺銳，奔入蠻中。 尋病卒，時年四十七。 喪還鄉里，朝廷明其本心，追加吊賻。
When Yuan of Jin sent Gan Zhuo against Zhou Fu at Shouyang, Sun Hui brought his troops in on Gan's side; Zhou Fu broke and ran. He Rui of Lujiang held the Anfeng magistracy while Sun Hui kept a temporary hold on the district. He Rui arrested Sun Hui's followers on a trumped-up charge. Sun Hui had never received his post from the southern court and lived in fear of whispered accusations; panic drove him to strike first, kill He Rui, and bolt into Man country. He soon fell ill and died at forty-seven. When his body went home for burial, the court recognized what had truly moved him and sent additional mourning gifts.
10
熊遠
Xiong Yuan.
11
熊遠，字孝文，豫章南昌人也。 祖翹，嘗為石崇蒼頭，而性廉直，有士風。 黃門郎潘嶽見而稱異，勸崇免之，乃還鄉里。 遠有志尚，縣召為功曹，不起，強與衣幘，扶之使謁。 十餘日薦於郡，由是辟為文學掾。 遠曰：「辭大不辭小也。」 固請留縣。 太守察遠孝廉。 屬太守討氐羌，遠遂不行，送至隴右而還。 後太守會稽夏靜辟為功曹。 及靜去職，遠送至會稽以歸。 州辟主簿、別駕，舉秀才，除監軍華軼司馬、領武昌太守、甯遠護軍。
Xiong Yuan, courtesy name Xiaowen, came from Nanchang in Yuzhang commandery. His grandfather Xiong Qiao had once served Shi Chong as a household steward, yet remained honest and carried himself like a gentleman. Pan Yue of the yellow gates noticed him, praised his quality, persuaded Shi Chong to free him, and he went home. Xiong Yuan had high aims. The county tried to name him merit clerk, but he refused to answer the call; they practically forced a cap on him and half carried him to the yamen. Within a fortnight the county had recommended him upward, and the commandery appointed him literary clerk. Xiong Yuan said, 'I may turn down a grand appointment, but not a humble one.' He insisted on staying at county level instead. The grand administrator put him forward as filial and incorrupt. When that official marched against the Di and Qiang, Xiong Yuan declined to join the expedition but escorted him as far as Longyou before turning back. Later Xia Jing, grand administrator of Kuaiji, summoned him as merit clerk. When Xia Jing left his post, Xiong Yuan saw him all the way to Kuaiji before heading home. The province named him chief clerk and aide-de-camp, put him up as flourishing talent, and gave him staff posts under the supervising commander Hua Yi, with concurrent charge of Wuchang and the title General Who Brings Peace from Afar.
12
元帝作相，引為主簿。 時傳北陵被髮，帝將舉哀，遠上疏曰：「園陵既不親行，承傳言之者未可為定。 且園陵非一，而直言侵犯，遠近吊問，答之宜當有主。 謂應更遣使攝河南尹案行，得審問，然後可發哀。 即宜命將至洛，修復園陵，討除逆類。 昔宋殺無畏，莊王奮袂而起，衣冠相追於道，軍成宋城之下。 況此酷辱之大恥，臣子賓士之日！ 夫修園陵，至孝也； 討逆叛，至順也； 救社稷，至義也； 恤遺黎，至仁也。 若修此四道，則天下回應，無思不服矣。 昔項羽殺義帝以為罪，漢祖哭之以為義，劉項存亡，在此一舉。 群賊豺狼，弱於往日； 惡逆之甚，重於丘山。 大晉受命，未改於上； 兆庶謳吟，思德於下。 今順天下之心，命貔貅之士，鳴檄前驅，大軍後至，威風赫然，聲振朔野，則上副西土義士之情，下允海內延頸之望矣。」 屬有杜弢之難，不能從。
When Sima Rui was still minister, he took Xiong Yuan on as his chief clerk. Word ran that mourners at the northern imperial tombs had loosened their hair in grief, and the prince was ready to go into full mourning. Xiong Yuan argued: you have not inspected the tombs yourself, so rumor is no basis for state ritual. The necropolis is not a single site; to speak flatly of 'violation' is premature. If the realm is to send condolences, someone must verify the facts before anyone replies. Send an acting governor of Henan to inspect the sites, establish the truth, and only then proclaim court mourning. Order a general straight to Luoyang to repair the tombs and extirpate the usurpers. When Song executed Wushe, King Zhuang of Chu sprang up, sleeves rolled, and officials thronged the roads until his host stood ready beneath Song's walls. How much more is this shame—a moment when every loyal subject should stake life and station on the answer! Restoring the tombs is the highest filial duty. Punishing the traitors is perfect obedience to justice. Saving the altars is the supreme righteous act. Relieving the people who survive is the deepest humanity. Pursue those four policies and the realm will rally to you without a voice left outside your standard. Xiang Yu murdered the Righteous Emperor and wore the guilt; Liu Bang mourned him and claimed the moral high ground—their struggle turned on that single gesture. The rebel chiefs are wolves and jackals, and weaker now than before. Their treason weighs heavier than any mountain. Great Jin still holds the mandate; what sits above us has not changed. Among the people songs of longing rise; they hunger for true virtue from the throne. March in accord with the realm's will: call up your bravest, let the drums of the van roll ahead, bring the main host behind in overwhelming force, and your name will thunder across the north—honoring the loyalists of the west and answering the yearning of everyone who watches for a sign.' The memorial ended there—but Du Tao's rebellion erupted, and the court could not act on his advice.
13
時江東草創，農桑弛廢，遠建議曰：「立春之日，天子祈穀于上帝，乃擇元辰，載耒耜，帥三公、九卿、諸侯、大夫，躬耕帝藉，以勸農功。 《詩》云：'弗躬弗親，庶人不信。 '自喪亂以來，農桑不修，遊食者多，皆由去本逐末故也。」 時議美之。
While the eastern court was still taking shape, fields lay idle and silk production had collapsed. Xiong Yuan urged: on Beginning of Spring the Son of Heaven prays to High God for the harvest, chooses a lucky day, takes up plow and share, leads the high ministers and nobles, and opens the sacred furrow himself to teach the realm the value of the soil. The Odes put it plainly: 'Unless the ruler goes himself, the people will not believe.' Since the wars began, neither plough nor mulberry has been tended; idlers wander everywhere because men have abandoned the fundamentals for quick profit. When he set down his brush, the court praised his counsel.
14
建興初，正旦將作樂，遠諫曰； 「謹案《尚書》，堯崩，四海遏密八音。 《禮》雲，凶年，天子撤樂減膳。 孝懷皇帝梓宮未反，豺狼當途，人神同忿。 公明德茂親，社稷是賴。 今杜弢蟻聚湘川，比歲征行，百姓疲弊，故使義眾奉迎未舉。 履端元日，正始之初，貢士鱗萃，南北雲集，有識之士於是觀禮。 公與國同體，憂容未歇。 昔齊桓貫澤之會，有憂中國之心，不召而至者數國。 及葵丘自矜，叛者九國。 人心所歸，惟道與義。 將紹皇綱於既往，恢霸業於來今，表道德之軌，闡忠孝之儀，明仁義之統，弘禮樂之本，使四方之士退懷嘉則。 今榮耳目之觀，崇戲弄之好，懼違《雲》、《韶》、《雅》、《頌》之美，非納軌物，有塵大教。 謂宜設饌以賜群下而已。」 元帝納之。
Early in Jianxing, when the court prepared music for New Year's Day, Xiong Yuan objected. He cited the Documents: when Yao died, music fell silent throughout the realm for the mourning period. The Rites add that in famine years the Son of Heaven cancels performances and cuts his table. Emperor Huai's catafalque still has not come home; jackals hold the road, and every man and god shares the outrage. You combine moral weight with royal blood; the dynasty's survival rests on you. Du Tao still knots his forces along the Xiang; repeated campaigns have drained the people, so the loyal army that should escort the late emperor's remains has never mustered. New Year's Day opens the cycle; graduates crowd the capital like fish scales, coming from every quarter—and thoughtful men take the court's tone from what happens today. You are the body of the state, and the mourning drum has hardly faded. Duke Huan of Qi once met the lords at Guanze with true worry for the heartland, and allies came unbidden. When he strutted at Kuiqiu, nine states turned their backs. Hearts follow nothing but the Way and what is right. You mean to mend what Heaven broke and build a lasting peace—show the path of true kingship, hold up loyalty and filial piety, bind the realm with benevolence and right, deepen rites and music, until every scholar who leaves your gate carries away a standard worth keeping. To dazzle the eye with spectacle and indulge in entertainments would betray the austere music of the classics; it would reject the very norms you claim to teach. Lay a simple feast for your officials and stop there—that is enough for the day. Yuan of Jin took his advice.
15
轉丞相參軍。 是時琅邪國侍郎王鑒勸帝親征杜弢，遠又上疏曰：「皇綱失統，中夏多故，聖主肇祚，遠奉西都。 梓宮外次，未反園陵，逆寇游魂，國賊未夷。 明公憂勞，乃心王室，伏讀聖教，人懷慷慨。 杜弢小豎，寇抄湘川，比年征討，經載不夷。 昔高宗伐鬼方，三年乃克，用兵之難，非獨在今。 伏以古今之霸王遭時艱難，亦有親征以隆大勳，亦有遣將以平小寇。 今公親征，文武將吏、度支籌量、舟輿器械所出若足用者，然後可征。 愚謂宜如前遣五千人，徑與水軍進征，既可得速，必不後時。 昔齊用穰苴，燕晉退軍； 秦用王翦，克平南荊。 必使督護得才，即賊不足慮也。」 會弢已平，轉從事中郎，累遷太子中庶子、尚書左丞、散騎常侍。 帝每歎其忠公，謂曰：「卿在朝正色，不茹柔吐剛，忠亮至到，可為王臣也。 吾所欣賴，卿其勉之！」
He moved to a staff post under the minister. Wang Jian, an attendant of the Langye princedom, pressed the throne to lead an expedition against Du Tao. Xiong Yuan added another memorial: the imperial order has frayed, the heartland is in chaos, yet your sagely enterprise still defers to the western capital. The late emperor's coffin still waits by the road; the tombs lie unrestored; rebel ghosts still roam, and the great traitors are unbeaten. You wear yourself out for the house of Sima, and every man who reads your edicts burns to answer you. Du Tao is a minor bandit chewing up the Xiang country; armies have marched against him year on year, yet he still stands after a full round of seasons. King Wu Ding needed three years to break the Gui Fang—war has always been slow work, not only today. Past and present, rulers in straits have either ridden east themselves to win lasting fame or sent a capable general to mop up a lesser foe. A personal expedition demands ready generals, full supply lines, boats, carts, and arms—only when every piece is in place should you march. Better, I think, to repeat the earlier plan: send five thousand men straight downriver with the fleet—fast, sure, and timely. When Qi put Tian Rangju in command, Yan and Jin broke off their siege. When Qin gave Wang Jian the baton, he flattened the southern Jing. Name the right commander, and the bandits cease to matter. Du Tao fell before the plan was tested; Xiong Yuan was shifted to bureau assistant, then stepped up through junior mentor to the heir, left vice director of the ministry, and supernumerary gentleman at court. The emperor often praised his loyalty: 'You keep a straight face at court, neither bullying the weak nor truckling to the strong; your candor runs bone-deep—you are the stuff of kings' ministers. You are where I place my trust—do not slacken.'
16
及中興建，帝欲賜諸吏投刺勸進者加位一等，百姓投刺者賜司徒吏，凡二十餘萬。 遠以為「秦漢因赦賜爵，非長制也。 今案投刺者不獨近者情重，遠者情輕，可依漢法例，賜天下爵，於恩為普，無偏頗之失。 可以息檢核之煩，塞巧偽之端。」 帝不從。
After the restoration he wanted every clerk who had pressed a name card urging his accession raised a grade, and every commoner who had done the same enrolled as a ministry clerk—more than two hundred thousand people in all. Xiong Yuan objected that Qin and Han had handed out titles with general amnesties—a policy that could not last. The petitioners were not all equally close to you; better to follow Han practice and grant a general tithe of rank to the whole realm, spreading the favor evenly instead of picking favorites. That spares endless vetting and shuts the door on fraud. The emperor would not hear him.
17
轉御史中丞。 時尚書刁協用事，眾皆憚之。 尚書郎盧綝將入直，遇協于大司馬門外。 協醉，使綝避之，綝不回。 協令威儀牽捽綝墮馬，至協車前而後釋。 遠奏免協官。
He was promoted to palace secretary. Diao Xie ran the ministry, and everyone walked wide of him. Lu Shen of the ministry was riding to his shift when he met Diao Xie outside the minister of war's gate. Diao Xie, drunk, ordered Lu Shen to yield the road; Lu Shen refused to rein aside. Diao Xie had his guards haul Lu Shen from the saddle and hold him kneeling before his own carriage. Xiong Yuan impeached Diao Xie and stripped him of his post.
18
時冬雷電，且大雨，帝下書責躬引過，遠復上疏曰：
That winter brought thunder, lightning, and pounding rain; the emperor published a self-blaming edict, and Xiong Yuan answered with another memorial.
19
被庚午詔書，以雷電震，暴雨非時，深自克責。 雖禹湯罪己，未足以喻。 臣暗于天道，竊以人事論之。 陛下節儉敦朴，愷悌流惠，而王化未興者，皆群公卿士不能夙夜在公，以益大化，素餐負乘，秕穢明時之責也。
I have read the gengwu edict blaming the court for untimely storm and lightning. Even the self-reproach of Yu and Tang hardly matches your tone. Heaven's mind is dark to me; I speak only of what men have done. You live plainly and mean kindly by your people, yet good government does not take hold because your high ministers will not stay at their desks from dawn to dusk; they draw fat salaries while acting like petty men, smearing a moment that calls for clarity.
20
今逆賊猾夏，暴虐滋甚，二帝幽殯，梓宮未反，四海延頸，莫不東望。 而未能遣軍北討，仇賊未報，此一失也。 昔齊侯既敗，七年不飲酒食肉，況此恥尤大。 臣子之責，宜在枕戈為王前驅。 若此志未果者，當上下克儉，恤人養士，撤樂減膳，惟修戎事。 陛下憂勞于上，而群官未同戚容於下，每有會同，務在調戲酒食而已，此二失也。 選官用人，不料實德，惟在白望，不求才幹，鄉舉道廢，請托交行。 有德而無力者退，修望而有助者進； 稱職以違俗見譏，虛資以從容見貴。 是故公正道虧，私途日開，強弱相陵，冤枉不理。 今當官者以理事為俗吏，奉法為苛刻，盡禮為諂諛，從容為高妙，放蕩為達士，驕蹇為簡雅，此三失也。
Rebels mock the heartland, cruelty deepens, two emperors lie unburied, the catafalque still wanders, and every corner of the realm cranes eastward for relief. Yet no host has gone north to avenge them—that is the first failure. Duke Huan of Qi gave up meat and wine for seven years after a defeat; today's shame runs deeper still. Subjects should sleep on their arms and ride ahead for their king. Until that can happen, court and country should tighten belts, cherish the people, feed the troops, cancel music, cut the kitchens, and think of nothing but war. You mourn above while your officials feast below—every meeting turns to jokes, wine, and courses. That is the second failure. Appointments weigh swagger, not character, and pull never talent; the old village-recommendation path is dead, replaced by patronage and deals. Men of quiet virtue fall back; well-connected mediocrities rise. Competence that offends fashion earns mockery; smooth drones with fine pedigrees win praise. Justice rots, backstairs thrive, bully grinds bully, and no wrong is righted. Officials now call diligence 'clerking,' law 'nitpicking,' courtesy 'flattery,' laziness 'sophistication,' debauch 'freedom,' and boorish pride 'ease.' That is the third failure.
21
世所謂三失者，公法加其身； 私議貶其非； 轉見排退，陸沈泥滓。 時所謂三善者，王法所不加； 清論美其賢； 漸相登進，仕不輟官，攀龍附鳳，翱翔雲霄。 遂使世人削方為圓，撓直為曲，豈待顧道德之清塗，踐仁義之區域乎！ 是以萬機未整，風俗偽薄，皆此之由。 不明其黜陟，以審能否，此則俗未可得而變也。
Men tagged with the 'three faults' face the full law. Gossip marks them for shame. They are shoved aside and left to mire in the ranks. Men praised for the 'three excellences' never see the statute book. Pure chatter hails them as sages. They climb without pause, clinging to every rising star until they ride the clouds. So the age files every square corner round and bends every straight line—who then still looks for the high road of virtue or the country of benevolence and right? That is why government stays tangled and manners grow hollow. Until promotion and demotion honestly test talent, manners will not mend.
22
今朝廷群司以從順為善，相違見貶，不復論才之曲直，言之得失也。 時有言者，或不見用，是以朝少辯爭之臣，士有祿仕之志焉。 郭翼上書，武帝擢為屯留令，又置諫官，所以容受直言，誘進將來，故人得自盡，言無隱諱。 任官然後爵之，位定然後祿之。 敷奏以言，明試以功，車服以庸。 舜猶曆試諸難，而今先祿不試，甚違古義，亂之所由也。 求才急於疏賤，用刑先於親貴，然後令行禁止，野無遺滯。 堯取舜於仄陋，舜拔賢於岩穴，姬公不曲繩于天倫，叔向不虧法于孔懷。 今朝廷法吏多出於寒賤，是以章書日奏而不足以懲物，官人選才而不足以濟事。 宜招賢良于屠釣，聘耿介於丘園。 若此道不改，雖並官省職，無救弊亂也。 能哲而惠，何憂乎歡兜，何遷乎有苗，何畏乎巧言令色孔壬！ 此官得其人之益也。
Today the ministries reward yes-men and punish dissent; no one asks whether a man is crooked or straight, only whether he nods. Even when someone speaks truth, he is ignored—so the hall has no debaters, and every scholar thinks only of keeping his stipend. When Gu Yi wrote bluntly, Emperor Wu made him magistrate of Tunliu and opened remonstrance posts so straight words had a door—men could speak their minds without fear. Give the post first, then the title; fix the grade, then the pay. Hear their plans, test them in deed, reward chariots and robes by proven work. Even Shun was tried through ordeal; paying men before they prove themselves breaks the old pattern and breeds chaos. Hunt talent hard among the humble, swing the law first at the great—then orders bite, and nothing worthy languishes unseen. Yao drew Shun from obscurity, Shun from mountain caves; the Duke of Zhou did not bend law for kin, nor Shu Xiang for a brother's son. Today your legal clerks rise from cold houses—papers flood in daily yet change nothing, and 'talent' fills the rolls yet nothing gets done. Call up sages from butcher stalls and hermit huts alike. Without fixing that habit, merging bureaus will not cure the rot. Be wise and kind, and who need fear Huandou, the Miao, or smooth-tongued courtiers? That is what comes of putting the right man in each chair.
23
累遷侍中，出補會稽內史。 時王敦作逆，沈充舉兵應之，加遠將軍，距而不受，不輸軍資於充，保境安眾為務。 敦至石頭，諷朝廷征遠，乃拜太常卿，加散騎常侍。 敦深憚其正而有謀，引為長史。 數月病卒。
He rose to attendant-in-ordinary, then left the capital for Kuaiji as interior administrator. When Wang Dun rose, Shen Chong answered him in arms; the court tried to name Xiong Yuan general, but he refused the baton, sent Shen Chong no supplies, and devoted himself to holding his territory quiet. Once Wang Dun camped at Stone, he nudged the court into summoning Xiong Yuan away—so Yuan was given the grand master of ceremonies post with a supernumerary gentleman title. Wang Dun feared his integrity and wit enough to pull him in as chief clerk. Within a few months he died in office.
24
遠弟縉，名亞於遠，為王敦主簿，終於鄱陽太守。 縉子鳴鵠，位至武昌太守。
His younger brother Xiong Jin, less famous but still able, served Wang Dun as chief clerk and died as grand administrator of Poyang. Jin's son Xiong Minghu rose to grand administrator of Wuchang.
25
王鑒
Wang Jian.
26
王鑒，字茂高，堂邑人也。 父濬，御史中丞。 鑒少以文筆著稱，初為元帝琅邪國侍郎。 時杜弢作逆，江湘流弊，王敦不能制，朝廷深以為憂。 鑒上疏勸帝征之，曰：
Wang Jian, courtesy name Maogao, came from Tangyi. His father Wang Jun had been palace secretary. He won early fame as a writer and began as an attendant gentleman when Yuan still held the Langye princedom. When Du Tao revolted, the Jiang and Xiang regions bled chaos that Wang Dun could not stifle, and the court grew desperate. Wang Jian urged the emperor to take the field himself, arguing:
27
疏奏，帝深納之，即命中外戒嚴，將自征弢。 會弢已平，故止。
The throne accepted every word, ordered full mobilization, and prepared to lead the host against Du Tao. Du Tao collapsed before the expedition sailed, so the plan was dropped.
28
中興建，拜駙馬都尉、奉朝請，出補永興令。 大將軍王敦請為記室參軍，未就而卒，時年四十一。 文集傳於世。
After the restoration he received the titles commandant-escort and court attendant, then took office as magistrate of Yongxing. Wang Dun asked him onto his staff as secretary, but he died before he could report, at forty-one. His literary collection survived him in circulation.
29
鑒弟濤及弟子戭，並有才筆。 濤字茂略，曆著作郎、無錫令。 戭字庭堅，亦為著作。 並早卒。
His brother Wang Tao and his nephew Wang Yan were both fine writers. Wang Tao, courtesy Maolue, rose through editorial director to magistrate of Wuxi. Wang Yan, courtesy Tingjian, also held a compiler's post. Both died young.
30
陳頵
Chen Yun.
31
陳頵，字延思，陳國苦人也。 少好學，有文義。 父訢立宅起門，頵曰：「當使容馬車。」 訢笑而從之。 仕為郡督郵，檢獲隱匿者三千人，為一州尤最。 太守劉享拔為主簿，州辟部從事，乘馬車還家，宗党榮之。
Chen Yun, courtesy Yansi, came from Ku in the old state of Chen. From boyhood he loved books and showed a fine literary mind. When his father Xin built a new house and set the gate, Chen Yun said, 'Make it wide enough for a carriage.' His father laughed—and widened the gate as he suggested. As commandery postal inspector he flushed out three thousand tax dodgers and ranked first in the province. Grand Administrator Liu Xiang made him chief clerk, the province took him on as departmental retainer, and he rode home in a horse carriage to the pride of his clan.
32
劾案沛王韜獄，未竟，會解結代楊准為刺史，韜因河間王顒屬結。 結至大會，問主簿史鳳曰：「沛王貴籓，州據何法而擅拘邪？」 時頵在坐，對曰：「甲午詔書，刺史銜命，國之外台，其非所部而在境者，刺史並糾。 事征文墨，前後列上，七被詔書。 如州所劾，無有違謬。」 結曰：「眾人之言不可妄聽，宜依法窮竟。」 又問僚佐曰：「河北白壤膏粱，何故少人士，每以三品為中正？」 答曰：「《詩》稱'維嶽降神，生甫及申'。 夫英偉大賢多出於山澤，河北土平氣均，蓬蒿裁高三尺，不足成林故也。」 結曰：「張彥真以為汝潁巧辯，恐不及青徐儒雅也。」 頵曰：「彥真與元禮不協，故設過言。 老子、莊周生陳梁，伏羲、傅說、師曠、大項出陽夏，漢魏二祖起於沛譙，准之眾州，莫之與比。」 結甚異之，曰：「豫州人士常半天下，此言非虛。」 會結遷尚書，結恨不得盡其才用。
He was investigating Prince Pei's man Tao when Xie Jie replaced Yang Zhun as regional inspector; Tao then leaned on Sima Yong, the Prince of Hejian, to bring pressure on Xie Jie. When Xie Jie took up his post he called a full meeting and asked his chief clerk Shi Feng, 'The Prince of Pei is a royal fief—what statute let your office seize him on its own?' Chen Yun, who was in the hall, answered: 'The jiawu edict made the inspector Heaven's agent beyond the capital: anyone inside his circuit, whether or not under his nominal department, falls under his remit. The paperwork went up again and seven imperial replies confirmed the procedure. If the province's impeachment follows that paper trail, it is legally sound.' Xie Jie answered, 'You cannot trust every rumor; investigate to the letter of the law.' He went on, 'Hebei is fat white farmland—why are there so few eminent families that every third-rank house rates as zhongzheng?' Someone replied, 'The 《Book of Odes》 says Heaven sends its finest spirits down from the sacred peaks. Heroes sprout from rough country; Hebei is flat and tame, its scrub barely shoulder high—no forest, no giants.' Xie Jie quoted Zhang Yanzhen: 'The clever talkers of Run and Ying cannot rival the classical scholars of Qing and Xu.' Chen Yun said, 'Yanzhen feuded with Yuanli—that slander was personal, not geography. Laozi and Zhuang Zhou were Chen and Liang men; Fuxi, Fu Yue, Shi Kuang, and Xiang Yu hailed from Yangxia; the Han and Wei founders rose in Pei and Qiao—name a province that can match that roll call.' Xie Jie stared, then said, 'They say half the realm's talent comes from Yuzhou—now I believe it.' Soon Xie Jie went to the ministry in the capital and regretted he had not used Chen Yun to the full.
33
元康中，舉孝廉，而州將留之。 頵薦同縣焦保曰：「保出自寒素，稟質清沖，若得參嘉命，必能光贊大猷，允清朝望，使黃憲之徒不乏於豫土，令頵庶免臧文之責。」 州乃辟保。
During Yuankang he was put up as filial and incorrupt, but the provincial commander kept him on staff. He recommended his townsman Jiao Bao: 'He is poor but brilliant; give him office and he will honor the court the way Huang Xian once honored his age—then I will not repeat Zang Wenzhong's fault of hiding talent.' The province took Jiao Bao on his word.
34
齊王冏起義，州遣頵將兵赴之，拜駙馬都尉。 遭賊避難於江西。 曆陽內史朱彥引為參軍。 鎮東從事中郎袁琇薦頵於元帝，遷鎮東行參軍事，典法兵二曹。 頵與王導書曰：「中華所以傾弊，四海所以土崩者，正以取才失所，先白望而後實事，浮競驅馳，互相貢薦，言重者先顯，言輕者後敘，遂相波扇，乃至陵遲。 加有莊老之俗傾惑朝廷，養望者為弘雅，政事者為俗人，王職不恤，法物墜喪。 夫欲制遠，先由近始。 故出其言善，千里應之。 今宜改張，明賞信罰，拔卓茂於密縣，顯硃邑於桐鄉，然後大業可舉，中興可冀耳。」
When Sima Jiong, the Prince of Qi, raised the loyalist army, the province sent Chen Yun with troops to join him and named him commandant-escort. Banditry drove him to take shelter west of the Yangzi. Zhu Yan, interior administrator of Liyang, added him to his staff. Yuan Xiu, staff adviser to the eastern headquarters, introduced him to Yuan of Jin, who made him a campaign staff officer over both law and war bureaus. He wrote Wang Dao: 'China fell because appointments chased reputations instead of results—men traded favors, loud voices jumped the queue, quiet merit waited, and the whole ladder rotted. Add the Zhuang-Lao fashion that poisons policy—recluses pass for refined, administrators pass for coarse, offices go empty, and the state's regalia gather dust. To rule the horizon you must first fix what lies at your feet. Speak truth at the center and the provinces echo it. Change course now: spell out rewards and punishments, elevate a Zhuo Mao from obscurity, honor a Zhu Yi in a humble town—then the restoration has a chance.'
35
建興初制，版補錄事參軍。 參佐掾屬多設解故以避事任。 頵議：「諸僚屬乘昔西台養望餘弊，小心恭肅，更以為俗，偃蹇倨慢，以為優雅。 至今朝士縱誕，臨事遊行，漸弊不革，以至傾國。 故百尋之屋突直而燎焚，千里之堤蟻垤而穿敗，古人防小以全大，慎微以杜萌。 自今臨使稱疾，須催乃行者，皆免官。」
Jianxing's new rules named him acting recording secretary on the staff. Staff men invented leave slips to dodge real work. Chen Yun warned: 'Your aides still mimic the western court's cult of empty fame—diligence looks vulgar to them, swagger looks chic. So capital officials grow reckless, drift through assignments, and nobody repairs the rot until the kingdom tips. A hundred-fathom hall burns when the flue runs straight; a thousand-mile levee fails on ant tunnels—the ancients fixed small leaks before the flood. From today, any officer who pleads sick on assignment until couriers chase him out the door loses his post.'
36
初，趙王倫篡位，三王起義，制《己亥格》，其後論功雖小，亦皆依用。 頵意謂不宜以為常式，駁之曰：「聖王懸爵賞功，制罰糾違，斯道苟明，人赴水火。 且名器之實，不可妄假，非才謂之致寇，寵厚戒在斯亡。 昔孫秀口唱篡逆，手弄天機，惠皇失禦，九服無戴。 三王建議，席捲四海，合起義之眾，結天下之心，故設《己亥義格》以權濟難。 此自一切之法，非常倫之格也。 其起義以來，依格雜猥，遭人為侯，或加兵伍，或出皁僕，金紫佩士卒之身，符策委庸隸之門，使天官降辱，王爵黷賤，非所以正皇綱重名器之謂也。 請自今以後宜停之。」 頵以孤寒，數有奏議，朝士多惡之，出除譙郡太守。
When Sima Lun seized the throne, the three princes issued the 《Yihai Precedent》 to rank wartime merit, and later even petty favors hid behind that code. Chen Yun argued it must not become permanent law: 'Sage kings reward merit and punish crime—make that clear and men will walk through fire for you. Titles are not party favors; calling fools worthy invites rebellion; showering empty rank is how dynasties die. Sun Xiu preached treason and toyed with the edict; Emperor Hui lost control, and no one in the nine circuits wore the cap straight. The three princes swept the realm, welded the loyal armies, and issued the 《Yihai Righteousness Precedent》 as a temporary wartime ladder. That was an emergency rulebook, not a peacetime statute. Since then the code has handed marquisates to pull, put silks on privates, and stuffed tally books into lackeys' sleeves—that is not how you mend the net of state or honor a title. Abolish it from this day forward.' Chen Yun had no faction and a cold pedigree; his blunt papers earned him enemies, and the court parked him as grand administrator of Qiao.
37
大興初，以疾征。 久之，白衣兼尚書，因陳時務，以為「昔江外初平，中州荒亂，故貢舉不試。 宜漸循舊，搜揚隱逸，試以經策。 又馬隆、孟觀雖出貧賤，勳濟甚大，以所不習，而統戎事，鮮能以濟。 宜開舉武略任將率者，言問核試，盡其所能，然後隨才授任。 舉十得一，猶勝不舉，況或十得二三。 日磾降虜，七世內侍； 由余戎狄，入為秦相。 豈藉華宗之族，見齒於奔競之流乎！ 宜引幽滯之雋，抑華校實，則天清地平，人神感應。」
Early in Daxing he was recalled to the capital on sick leave. Months later he served as concurrent minister in plain dress and laid out policy: 'When the south was first pacified and the heartland still a wreck, exams were suspended. It is time to phase the old exams back in, call recluses forward, and test them on the canon. Men like Ma Long and Meng Guan rose from nothing to great deeds, yet war was not their craft and they seldom lasted. Open a track for proven tacticians, interview them hard, then match post to gift. Ten recommendations and one hit still beats none—sometimes you will land two or three. Jin Midi was a captive-turned-councillor whose family served the inner palace for seven generations. You Yu was a barbarian who became chief minister of Qin. They did not need gilded pedigrees or a place in the scramble for office. Lift the buried genius, cut the hollow fame, and Heaven clears, earth steadies, gods and men nod in agreement.'
38
後拜天門太守，殊俗安之。 選腹心之吏為荊州參軍，若有調發，動靜馳白，故恆得宿辦。 陶侃征還，頵先至巴陵上禮。 侃以為能，表為梁州刺史。 綏懷荒弊，甚有威惠。 梁州大姓互相嫉妒，說頵年老耳聾，侃召頵還，以西陽太守蔣巽代之。 年六十九卒。
Later, as grand administrator of Tianmen, he soothed the frontier tribes. He planted trusted men on the Jingzhou staff so every levy or movement reached him by fast courier and he could answer overnight. When Tao Kan was recalled, Chen Yun reached Baling first to greet him with full ceremony. Tao Kan judged him able and recommended him as inspector of Liangzhou. He nursed a ruined borderland with a mix of awe and mercy. Liangzhou's magnates turned on one another and whispered that Chen Yun was old and deaf; Tao Kan recalled him and swapped in Jiang Xun of Xiyang. He died at sixty-nine.
39
高崧
Gao Song.
40
高崧，字茂琰，廣陵人也。 父悝，少孤，事母以孝聞。 年十三，值歲饑，悝菜蔬不饜，每致甘肥於母。 撫幼弟以友愛稱。 寓居江州，刺史華軼辟為西曹書佐。 及軼敗，悝藏匿軼子經年，會赦乃出。 元帝嘉而宥之，以為參軍，遂曆顯位，至丹陽尹、光祿大夫，封建昌伯。
Gao Song, courtesy Maoyan, came from Guangling. His father Gao Kui lost his parents young and earned a name for tending his mother. At thirteen, in a famine year, he went hungry on greens but still set the choicest morsels before his mother. He raised his younger brothers and was known for fraternal devotion. While living in Jiangzhou he joined Inspector Hua Yi's staff as western-bureau secretary. When Hua Yi fell, Gao Kui hid the boy for a year before bringing him out under amnesty. Yuan of Jin praised his loyalty, pardoned him, took him on as an adviser, and watched him rise to Danyang governor, grand master of splendid happiness, and count of Jianchang.
41
崧少好學，善史書。 總角時，司空何充稱其明惠。 充為揚州，引崧為主簿，益相欽重。 轉驃騎主簿，舉州秀才，除太學博士，父艱去職。 初，悝以納妾致訟被黜，及終，崧乃自系廷尉訟冤，遂停喪五年不葬，表疏數十上。 帝哀之，乃下詔曰：「悝備位大臣，違憲被黜，事已久判。 其子崧求直無已。 今特聽傳侯爵。」 由是見稱。 拜中書郎、黃門侍郎。
Gao Song loved study as a boy and excelled at clerical calligraphy. While still a child he won praise from He Chong, the minister of works, for quick wit. When He Chong governed Yangzhou he made Gao Song his chief clerk and leaned on him heavily. He moved to chief clerk for the swift cavalry, took provincial flourishing talent, became an academy erudite, then left office to mourn his father. His father had been cashiered over a concubine suit; when the old man died, Gao Song chained himself to the gate of the commandant of justice to protest the verdict, halted the burial for five years, and filed dozens of appeals. The emperor took pity and issued an edict: 'Gao Kui served as a minister, broke the law, and was punished; the case is closed. Yet his son Gao Song will not drop his plea for justice. I therefore allow him to inherit the marquisate after all.' The gesture won him wide praise. Gao Song was named a palace-secretariat gentleman and yellow-gates gentleman.
42
簡文帝輔政，引為撫軍司馬。 時桓溫擅威，率眾北伐，軍次武昌，簡文患之。 崧曰：「宜致書喻以禍福，自當反旆。 如其不爾，便六軍整駕，逆順於茲判矣。 若有異計，請先釁鼓。」 便於坐為簡文書草曰：「寇難宜平，時會宜接，此實為國遠圖，經略大算。 能弘斯會，非足下而誰！ 但以此興師動眾，要當以資實為本。 運轉之艱，古人之所難，不可易之於始而不熟慮，須所以深用惟疑，在乎此耳。 然異常之舉，眾之所駭，遊聲噂，想足下亦少聞之。 苟患失之，無所不至。 或能望風振擾，一時崩散。 如其不然者，則望實並喪，社稷之事去矣。 皆由吾暗弱，德信不著，不能鎮靜群庶，保固維城，所以內愧於心，外慚良友。 吾與足下雖職有內外，安社稷，保家國，其致一也。 天下安危，系之明德。 先存甯國，而後圖其外，使王基克隆，大義弘著，所望於足下。 區區誠懷，豈可復顧嫌而不盡哉！」 溫得書，還鎮。
When Emperor Jianwen directed the regency he took Gao Song on as marshal of the pacification army. Huan Wen then monopolized military power, marched north, and camped at Wuchang—Jianwen was terrified. Gao Song said, 'Write him a letter that spells out blessing and disaster; he will turn his banners on his own. If he refuses, ready the six hosts—here loyalty and treason will be judged. If worse follows, I ask leave to beat the oath drums first.' On the spot he drafted a letter for Jianwen: 'The rebels must be crushed, the moment seized—this is the dynasty's long game. Who but you can seize that moment? Yet any campaign lives or dies on money and supplies. Logistics broke ancient armies; do not rush the first move without counting the cost—that is what gives me pause. Extraordinary measures frighten the crowd; rumor already flies—I suspect you have heard the whispers too. Men who fear for their place will stoop to anything. Some will panic at rumor and melt away overnight. Otherwise you lose both credit and substance, and the altars slip from your grasp. The fault lies in my own weakness and poor example: I cannot steady the people or shore the fiefs, and I am ashamed before the realm and before you. You serve in the field and I in the chamber, yet we both exist to save the dynasty and the house of Sima. The empire's fate rides on your clear judgment. Secure the interior before you look outward; thicken the throne's base and let justice show—this is what I beg of you. How could I hold back honest counsel for fear of giving offense?' Huan Wen read the letter and marched back to his headquarters.
43
崧累遷侍中。 是時謝萬為豫州都督，疲于親賓相送，方臥在室。 崧徑造之，謂曰：「卿令疆理西籓，何以為政？」 萬粗陳其意。 崧便為敘刑政之要數百言。 萬遂起坐，呼崧小字曰：「阿酃！ 故有才具邪！」 哀帝雅好服食，崧諫以為「非萬乘所宜。 陛下此事，實日月之一食也」。 後以公事免，卒於家。 子耆，官至散騎常侍。
Gao Song rose step by step to attendant-in-ordinary. Xie Wan then commanded Yuzhou, worn out from endless farewell parties, and had taken to his bed. Gao Song walked in unannounced and asked, 'You are taking charge of the western marches—what is your plan for governing them?' Xie Wan sketched a vague reply. Gao Song then laid out several hundred words on law and administration. Xie Wan sat bolt upright and cried, 'Ah Ling! You really do have the stuff of a statesman!' Emperor Ai dabbled in elixirs; Gao Song warned that no Son of Heaven should court such risk. For a ruler, chasing elixirs is like willing a solar eclipse on yourself. Later he lost his post over an administrative matter and died at home. His son Gao Qi rose to supernumerary gentleman at court.
44
【史論】
Historian's commentary.
45
史臣曰：昔張良拙說項氏，巧謀於沛公； 孫惠沮計齊王，耀奇於東海，終而誓甘之旅炎運載昌，稱狩之師金行不競。 豈遭時之會斯蹇，將謀國之道未通？ 迷於委質之貞，暗于所修之慮，本既顛矣，何以能終！ 熊遠、王鑒有毗濟之道，比之大廈，其榱桷之佐乎！ 崧之詆溫，頵之距結，挫其勞役之策，申其汝潁之論，采郭嘉之風旨，挹硃育之餘波，故桓溫輟許攸之謀，解結欽王朗之跡。 緝之時典，用此道歟！
The historians write: Zhang Liang could not move Xiang Yu with words, yet he read Liu Bang's mind to perfection; Sun Hui checked Sima Jiong yet dazzled Sima Yue; still, the loyalist oaths that fired Western Jin could not repeat Han's blazing rise, and the great hosts that marched under the hunt banner never secured the metal mandate of Sima Jin. Was the hour itself unkind, or did their statecraft never quite measure up? They mistook personal loyalty for policy and misread what truly needed tending—uproot a tree and it cannot stand long. Xiong Yuan and Wang Jian were the men who steadied the timbers—never the central pillar, yet without their braces the hall would have fallen. Gao Song's letter to Huan Wen and Chen Yun's stand against Xie Jie broke reckless mobilization, revived the Run-Ying argument, echoed Guo Jia's bluntness and Zhu Yu's wit—so Huan Wen dropped a rash Xun You scheme and Xie Jie learned to admire Wang Lang's example. Even Xiong Jin's later service seems to have walked the same path.
46
贊曰：臨湘遊藝，才識英發。 詭名違穎，陳書幹越。 孝文忠謇，嘉言斯踐。 茂高器鑒，雕章尤善。 侯爵崧傳，高門頵顯。
Eulogy: The Linxiang lord mastered letters and strategy, his genius plain for all to see. He fled Chengdu under an alias and moved Sima Yue with his pen. Xiong Yuan the 'filial and literate' lived blunt loyalty—his good counsel was heeded. Wang Jian the 'luxuriant and lofty' read men and texts with equal sharpness. Gao Song's marquisate endured in the record; Chen Yun's house rose to lasting fame.