Volume 77 Biographies 47: Lu Ye; He Chong; Chu Se; Cai Mo; Zhuge Hui; Yin Hao

陸曄，字士光，吳郡吳人也。伯父喜，吳吏部尚書。父英，高平相，員外散騎常侍，曄少有雅望，從兄機每稱之曰：「我家世不乏公矣。」居喪，以孝聞。同郡顧榮與鄉人書曰：「士光氣息裁屬，慮其性命，言之傷心矣。」後察孝廉，除永世、烏江二縣令，皆不就。元帝初鎮江左，辟為祭酒，尋補振威將軍、義興太守，以疾不拜。預討華軼功，封平望亭侯，累遷散騎常侍、本郡大中正。太興元年，遷太子詹事。時帝以侍中皆北士，宜兼用南人，曄以清貞著稱，遂拜侍中，徙尚書，領州大中正。

Lu Ye, courtesy Shiguang, was a native of Wu in Wu commandery. His uncle Lu Xi had served as Wu's minister of personnel. His father Lu Ying had been chancellor of Gaoping and supernumerary cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. Even as a young man Lu Ye was esteemed for poise and dignity; his older cousin Lu Ji used to say of him, "Our family has never wanted for men fit to be dukes." When he observed mourning for his parents, his filial devotion became widely known. Gu Rong, also from Wu commandery, wrote to friends at home: "Shiguang is so weak he can scarcely draw breath; I fear for his life—and it breaks my heart to speak of it." Later he was recommended on the filial-incorrupt roll and offered the magistracies of Yongshi and Wujiang; he declined both appointments. When Emperor Yuan first took up his seat east of the Yangzi, Lu Ye was called to serve as libationer; he was soon named general who rouses might and governor of Yixing, but illness kept him from taking up the post. He earned a share of the credit for the expedition against Hua Yi and was enfeoffed as village marquis of Pingwang; he rose step by step to cavalier attendant-in-ordinary and senior rectifier for his native commandery. In 318 he was appointed supervisor of the household of the heir apparent. The emperor felt that the attendants-in-ordinary were drawn too exclusively from northern families and that southerners should be brought in as well. Lu Ye was known for spotless integrity, so he was named attendant-in-ordinary, moved to a secretariat post, and made senior rectifier for the province.

明帝即位，轉光祿勳，遷太常，代紀瞻為尚書左僕射，領太子少傅，尋加金紫光祿大夫，代卞壼為領軍將軍。以平錢鳳功，進爵江陵伯。帝不豫，曄與王導、壼、庾亮、溫嶠、郗鑒並受顧命，輔皇太子，更入殿將兵直宿。遺詔曰：「曄清操忠貞，曆職顯允，且其兄弟事君如父，憂國如家，歲寒不凋，體自門風。既委以六軍，可錄尚書事，加散騎常侍。」

Under Emperor Ming he served as chamberlain for the palace revenues, then as grand astrologer; he succeeded Ji Zhan as left vice director of the secretariat while also serving as junior tutor to the heir apparent, and soon received the gold-and-purple cavalier supervisor title before replacing Bian Kun as commanding general of the imperial guards. For his part in defeating Qian Feng he was advanced in rank to earl of Jiangling. As the emperor lay dying, Lu Ye joined Wang Dao, Bian Kun, Yu Liang, Wen Qiao, and Xi Jian in receiving the deathbed commission to assist the heir apparent; they took turns entering the palace at the head of troops and standing night watch. The testamentary edict read: "Lu Ye is upright, loyal, and trustworthy in every post he has held; he and his brothers serve their sovereign as they would a father and care for the state as they would their own household—they keep faith when times turn harsh. That steadfastness is the very stamp of their line. The six armies are already in his hands; let him take charge of recording overseer business for the secretariat and add the title cavalier attendant-in-ordinary."

成帝踐阼，拜左光祿大夫、開府儀同三司，給親兵百人，常侍如故。蘇峻之難，曄隨帝左石頭，舉動方正，不以凶威變節。峻以曄吳士之望，不敢加害，使守留台。匡術以苑城歸順，時共推曄督宮城軍事。峻平，加衛將軍。給千兵百騎，以勳進爵為公，封次子嘏新康子。

When Emperor Cheng came to the throne, Lu Ye was named left grand household with the full ceremonial privileges of the three excellencies, given a hundred household guards, and kept on as cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. During Su Jun's revolt Lu Ye stayed with the emperor at the Stone fortress; he carried himself with unbending dignity and refused to bend his principles to brute force. Su Jun dared not harm him, knowing Lu Ye stood for the southern elite of Wu, and instead put him in charge of the rear secretariat. When Kuang Shu came over from Yuancheng with his garrison, the court leaders together asked Lu Ye to direct military operations inside the palace enclosure. After Su Jun's defeat Lu Ye received the additional title general who guards the guard. He was allotted a thousand infantry and a hundred cavalry; his noble rank was raised to duke for distinguished service, and his second son, Lu Gu, was enfeoffed as baron of Xinkang.

咸和中，求歸鄉里拜墳墓。有司奏，舊制假六十日。侍中顏含、黃門侍郎馮懷駁曰：「曄內蘊至德，清一其心，受託付之重，居台司之位，既蒙詔許歸省填塋，大臣之義本在忘己，豈容有期而反，無期必遠。愚謂宜還自還，不須制日。」帝從之，曄因歸。以疾卒，時年七十四。追贈侍中、車騎大將軍，諡曰穆。子諶，散騎常侍。

During the Xianhe years he asked leave to go home and tend his family's graves. The responsible officials reported that precedent allowed sixty days' leave for the purpose. Attendant-in-ordinary Yan Han and gentleman attendant at the yellow gates Feng Huai objected: "Lu Ye embodies the highest virtue and keeps his mind unclouded; he carries a regent's burden and sits at the summit of government. The throne has already granted him leave to visit his ancestors' graves. A great minister's duty is to forget himself—how can we tie him to a deadline for coming back, or, with no deadline, watch him stay away indefinitely? We submit that he should be left to return in his own time, without a fixed limit on his stay." The emperor agreed, and Lu Ye went home on those terms. He died of illness at the age of seventy-four. He was posthumously honored as attendant-in-ordinary and grand general of chariots and cavalry, with the posthumous epithet Mu, "Solemn." His son Lu Chen rose to cavalier attendant-in-ordinary.

玩字士瑤。器量淹雅，弱冠有美名，賀循每稱其清允平當，郡檄綱紀，東海王越辟為掾，皆不就。元帝引為丞相參軍。時王導初至江左，思結人情，請婚於玩。玩對曰：「培塿無松柏，薰蕕不同器。玩雖不才，義不能為亂倫之始。」導乃止。玩嘗詣導食酪，因而得疾。與導箋曰：「僕雖吳人，幾為傖鬼。」其輕易權貴如此。

Lu Wan's courtesy name was Shiyao. He was magnanimous and cultivated, and even before his capping at twenty he was already well spoken of. He Xun often praised his clarity, honesty, and even temper. The commandery tried to appoint him chief clerk; Sima Yue, prince of Donghai, invited him onto his staff—but Lu Wan refused every summons. Emperor Yuan then brought him in as an adjutant on the chancellor's staff. Wang Dao had only lately crossed the Yangzi and was eager to win local support; he asked to seal an alliance by marrying into Lu Wan's family. Lu Wan answered: "You do not plant pine and cypress on a little hillock, and sweet grass does not share a vessel with stinking rue. I am no man of parts, but I cannot in good conscience be the first to break the proper order between our houses." Wang Dao dropped the matter. On one visit to Wang Dao, Lu Wan was served fermented milk and fell ill from it. He sent Wang Dao a note: "I may be a southerner, but that meal nearly turned me into a ghost of your northern ways." That was the tone—easy and irreverent—in which he addressed the powerful.

累加奮武將軍，徵拜侍中，以疾辭。王敦請為長史，逼以軍期，不得已，乃從命。敦平，尚書令郗鑒議敦佐吏不能匡正奸惡，宜皆免官禁錮。會溫嶠上表申理，得不坐。復拜侍中，遷吏部尚書，領會稽王師，讓不拜，轉尚書左僕射，領本州大中正。及蘇峻反，遣玩與兄曄俱守宮城。玩潛說匡術歸順，以功封興平伯。轉尚書令。又詔曰：「玩體道清純，雅量弘遠，歷位內外，風績顯著。宜居台司，以允眾望。授左光祿大夫、開府儀同三司，加散騎常侍，餘如故。」玩頻自表，優詔褒揚。重復自陳曰：「臣實凡短，風操不立，階緣嘉會，便蕃榮顯，遂總括憲台，豫聞政道。竟不能敷融玄風，清一朝序，咎責之來，於臣已重。誠以身許國，義忘曲讓。而慺慺所守，終於陳訴者，特以端右機要，事務殷多，臣已盈六十之年，智力有限，疾患深重，體氣日弊，朝夕自勵，非復所堪。若偃息苟免，職事並廢，則莫大之悔，天下將謂臣何！乞陛下披豁聖懷，霈然垂允。」詔不許。玩重表曰：「臣比披誠款，不足上暢天聰，聖恩徘徊，厲以體國。臣聞至公之道，上下玄同，用才不負其長，量力不受其短。雖加官重祿無世不有，皆庸勳親賢，時所須賴，兼統以濟世務，非優崇以榮一人。臣受遇三世，恩隆寵厚，豈敢辭職事之勞，求沖讓之譽。徒以端右要重，興替所存，久以無任，妨賢曠職。臣猶自知不可，況天下之人乎！今復外參論道，內統百揆，不堪之名，有如皎日。願陛下少垂哀矜，使四海知官不可以私於人，人不可以私取官，則天工弘坦，誰不謂允！」猶不許。尋而王導、郗鑒、庾亮相繼而薨，朝野咸以為三良既沒，國家殄瘁。以玩有德望，乃遷侍中、司空，給羽林四十人。玩既拜，有人詣之，索杯酒，瀉置柱梁之間，咒曰：「當今乏材，以爾為柱石，莫傾人梁棟邪！」玩笑曰：「戢卿良箴。」既而歎息，謂賓客曰：「以我為三公，是天下為無人。」談者以為知言。

He was promoted to general who exerts martial might and summoned to the post of attendant-in-ordinary, which he declined on grounds of ill health. Wang Dun pressed him to serve as chief clerk, backing the demand with military deadlines; Lu Wan had no choice but to comply. After Wang Dun's defeat, grand director of the secretariat Xi Jian argued that Dun's aides had failed to restrain his treason and should all be cashiered and barred from office. Wen Qiao then submitted a memorial in their defense, and the penalty was not applied. He was again named attendant-in-ordinary and promoted to minister of personnel with concurrent appointment as tutor to the prince of Kuaiji, which he refused; he was then made left vice director of the secretariat while continuing as senior rectifier for his native province. When Su Jun rose in revolt, Lu Wan was ordered to defend the palace city alongside his elder brother Lu Ye. Lu Wan quietly persuaded Kuang Shu to come over to the throne; for that service he was enfeoffed as baron of Xingping. He was promoted to grand director of the secretariat. Another edict declared: "Lu Wan cleaves to the Way with unmixed purity; his breadth of mind is exceptional; in every office, civil or military, his record shines. He belongs in the highest councils of state, where the realm's expectations can rest on him. Let him be appointed left grand household with the full honors of the three excellencies, and add the title cavalier attendant-in-ordinary; his other duties remain unchanged." Lu Wan sent memorial after memorial declining the honor; the throne answered with warm edicts of praise. He laid out his case again: "I am a man of modest gifts who has never forged a reputation for integrity; sheer good fortune has raised me again and again until I preside over the censorate and take part in shaping policy. I have failed to spread the transforming influence of good government or to bring order to the court; if fault is to be found, I have already borne more than my share. I have given myself wholly to the state and set private pride aside. Yet I press this appeal because the senior posts at court are the pivot of power and their burden is crushing: I am past sixty, my strength and judgment are limited, my illness grows worse by the day, and I am no longer equal to the task no matter how hard I drive myself. If I stayed on only to save myself while duty collapsed around me, the shame would be beyond measure—what would the world think of me then? I beg Your Majesty to open your heart and grant this relief in full measure." The edict refused his request. Lu Wan submitted another memorial: "I have laid my sincerity before you, yet it has not risen to your ears; your kindness still holds me back with stern reminders to think of the realm as a whole. They say the path of perfect equity joins ruler and subject in a single purpose: talents are used without asking more of them than they can give, and offices are not piled on men beyond their strength. High rank and rich stipends exist in every reign, but they are meant for proven merit and trusted kin whom the age cannot do without—shared responsibility for the common good, not private glory for one man. I have enjoyed favor under three sovereigns, with kindness and honors beyond desert—how could I shirk real work merely to win a name for modesty? I speak only because these senior posts govern success or failure at court, and I have long been unfit to hold them—blocking better men while the office lies empty. If I know I am not equal to the task, how much more must everyone else! To counsel on the great principles abroad and direct every branch of government within—my unfitness for that role is as plain as the noonday sun. Show a little mercy, so that all within the four seas may see that office is not a private gift and that men ought not privately seize power—then the kingly work will stand open and fair, and who could call that wrong?" Again the throne refused. Soon Wang Dao, Xi Jian, and Yu Liang died one after another; court and country alike felt that three pillars of the state were gone and the dynasty had been left desolate. On account of Lu Wan's moral authority he was promoted to attendant-in-ordinary and minister of works, with a guard of forty picked troops from the feathery forest. After Lu Wan had received appointment, a caller asked for a cup of wine, poured it between a pillar and its tie-beam, and swore: "The age is short of timber, yet they make you their mainstay—are you trying to bring the roof down on us?" Lu Wan smiled and said, "I shall take your wise counsel to heart." Then he sighed and told his guests, "If they can make me one of the three excellencies, the realm must truly be out of men." Those who heard the remark judged it penetrating.

玩雖登公輔，謙讓不辟掾屬。成帝聞而勸之。玩不得已而從命，所辟皆寒素有行之士。玩翼亮累世，常以弘重為人主所貴，加性通雅，不以名位格物，誘納後進，謙若布衣，由是搢紳之徒莫不廕其德宇。後疾甚，上表曰：「臣嬰遘疾疢，沈頓曆月，不蒙痊損，而日夕漸篤，自省微綿，無復生望。荷恩不報，孤負已及，仰瞻天覆，伏枕隕涕。臣年向中壽，窮極寵榮，終身歸全，將復何恨！惟願陛下崇明聖德，弘敷洪化，曾構祖宗之基，道濟群生之命。臣不勝臨命遺戀之情，貪及視息，上表以聞。」薨年六十四，諡曰康，給兵千人，守塚七十家。太元中，功臣普被減削，司空何充等止得六家，以玩有佐命之勳，先陪陵而葬，由是特置興平伯官屬以衛墓。子始嗣，曆侍中、尚書。

Even after Lu Wan rose to chief minister, he modestly refused to appoint a private staff. Emperor Cheng heard of this and urged him to relent. Lu Wan yielded at last; every man he brought on was of humble birth but solid character. Lu Wan had steadied the throne through reign after reign; sovereigns valued his gravity and breadth, and his manner was open and refined—he never pulled rank, welcomed younger men, and carried himself with the modesty of a private scholar, so that the whole gentry class basked in his moral presence. When his illness grew severe he presented a memorial: "For months I have been laid low by sickness without improvement; each day leaves me weaker, and I no longer expect to live. I have received grace I cannot repay, and I have failed those who trusted me; I lift my eyes to Heaven's canopy and weep into my pillow. I have reached the years men call middle age and have tasted every honor the throne can give; if I may end my days with body whole, what more could I ask? Only let Your Majesty refine your sacred virtue, extend your transforming influence far and wide, deepen the foundations your ancestors laid, and bring the Way to bear on the lives of all your people. I cannot master the grief of this final parting; while I still have sight and breath I lay this memorial before you." He died at sixty-four and received the posthumous epithet Kang, "At ease"; a thousand soldiers were assigned to his tomb, with seventy households to maintain it. During the Taiyuan era merit nobles everywhere saw their hereditary privileges trimmed; even Minister of Works He Chong was left with only six tomb-keeping households. Because Lu Wan had helped establish the dynasty and lay buried beside the imperial mausoleum belt, a special baronial establishment was retained at Xingping to guard his grave. His son Lu Shi inherited the title and went on to serve as attendant-in-ordinary and in the secretariat.

玩子納

Lu Wan's son Lu Na

納字祖言。少有清操，貞厲絕俗。初辟鎮軍大將軍、武陵王掾，州舉秀才。太原王述雅敬重之，引為建威長史。累遷黃門侍郎、本州別駕、尚書吏部郎，出為吳興太守。將之郡，先至姑孰辭桓溫，因問溫曰：「公致醉可飲幾酒？食肉多少？」溫曰：「年大來飲三升便醉，白肉不過十臠。卿復云何？」納曰：「素不能飲，止可二升，肉亦不足言。」後伺溫閑，謂之曰：「外有微禮，方守遠郡，欲與公一醉，以展下情。」溫欣然納之。時王坦之、刁彝在坐。及受禮，唯酒一斗，鹿肉一拌，坐客愕然。納徐曰：「明公近雲飲酒三升，納止可二升，今有一斗，以備杯杓餘瀝。」溫及賓客並歎其率素，更敕中廚設精饌，酣飲極歎而罷。納至郡，不受俸祿。頃之，徵拜左民尚書，領州大中正。將應召，外白宜裝幾船，納曰：「私奴裝糧食來，無所復須也。」臨發，止有被襆而已，其餘並封以還官。遷太常，徙吏部尚書，加奉車都尉、衛將軍。謝安嘗欲詣納，而納殊無供辦。其兄子俶不敢問之，乃密為之具。安既至，納所設唯茶果而已。俶遂陳盛饌，珍羞畢具。客罷，納大怒曰：「汝不能光益父叔，乃復穢我素業邪！」於是杖之四十。其舉措多此類。

Lu Na, courtesy Zuyan From boyhood he was known for spotless conduct and a severity of principle that set him apart from the common run. He began his career as a clerk on the staff of the general who guards the army, the prince of Wuling, and the province nominated him as a provincial graduate. Wang Shu of Taiyuan, who admired him greatly, brought him in as chief clerk to the general who establishes might. He rose through gentleman at the yellow gates, chief administrator on the staff of his home province, and director in the ministry of personnel before being sent out as governor of Wuxing. Before leaving for his commandery he stopped at Gushu to bid Huan Wen farewell and asked him, "When you mean to drink yourself drunk, how much wine does it take? How much meat do you eat?" Huan Wen replied, "These days three pints of wine are enough to lay me out, and I take no more than ten slices of plain meat. What about you?" Lu Na said, "I have never been able to drink—two pints at most—and the meat hardly bears mentioning." Later, when he found Huan Wen at leisure, he said, "I have a small gift outside; I am bound for a distant post and should like to drink you under the table once, if I may, as a mark of regard." Huan Wen accepted with pleasure. Wang Tanzhi and Diao Yi were present. When the "gift" arrived it proved to be a single measure of wine and one platter of venison; the guests sat dumbstruck. Lu Na said evenly, "You told me yourself that three pints get you drunk and I can manage only two; I have brought a full gallon so there will be something left in the cups after we pour." Huan Wen and his guests marveled at his blunt honesty; Huan then ordered the kitchen to lay out a proper feast, and they drank their fill in high good humor. Once installed in his commandery, Lu Na refused to draw his official salary. Soon he was recalled as minister for the common people while continuing as senior rectifier for the province. As he prepared to leave for the capital, his staff asked how many riverboats should be fitted out. He replied, "My household slaves are already shipping my grain—nothing more is required." When he set out he carried nothing but a quilt roll; everything else he sealed up and sent back to the yamen. He was promoted to grand astrologer, then minister of personnel, with the added titles colonel who follows the carriage and general who guards the guard. Xie An once planned a call on Lu Na, who had made no arrangements to receive him. His nephew Lu Shu dared not question him and quietly laid in supplies behind his back. When Xie An arrived, Lu Na offered nothing but tea and fruit. Lu Shu then produced a lavish spread of every costly delicacy. After the guests had gone, Lu Na flared up: "You cannot add honor to your father and uncles—must you also smear my plain way of life?" He had him flogged forty blows. His behavior was habitually of that kind.

後以愛子長生有疾，求解官營視，兄子禽又犯法應刑，乞免官謝罪。詔特許輕降。頃長生小佳，喻還攝職。尋遷尚書僕射，轉左僕射，加散騎常侍。俄拜尚書令，常侍如故。恪勤貞固，始終不渝。時會稽王道子以少年專政，委任群小，納望闕而歎曰：「好家居，纖兒欲撞壞之邪！」朝士咸服其忠亮。尋除左光祿大夫、開府儀同三司，未拜而卒，即以為贈。長生先卒，無子。以弟子道隆嗣，元熙中，為廷尉。

Later, when his favorite son Changsheng fell ill, he asked leave to quit office and nurse him; his nephew Qin had also broken the law and faced the death penalty, so he offered to resign and accept blame. The throne granted a special mitigation of the penalties involved. When Changsheng rallied slightly, the court told Lu Na to resume his post. He was soon promoted to vice director of the secretariat, then left vice director, with the added title cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. Before long he became grand director of the secretariat while keeping his cavalier attendant post. He was tireless, upright, and utterly constant from beginning to end. While the prince of Kuaiji, Sima Daozi, was still a youth monopolizing power and filling office with small men, Lu Na looked toward the palace towers and sighed, "What a well-ordered house—and these children want to knock it flat!" Men at court respected him for that blunt loyalty. He was named left grand household with full honors of the three excellencies but died before he could assume office; those titles were then awarded him posthumously. Changsheng had predeceased him without issue. His nephew Daolong inherited the line; under the Yuanxi reign he served as minister of trials.

何充，字次道，廬江灊人，魏光祿大夫禎之曾孫也。祖惲，豫州刺史。父睿，安豐太守。充風韻淹雅，文義見稱。初辟大將軍王敦掾，轉主簿。敦兄含時為廬江郡，貪污狼藉，敦嘗於座中稱曰：「家兄在郡定佳，廬江人士咸稱之。」充正色曰：「充即廬江人，所聞異於此。」敦默然。傍人皆為之不安，充晏然自若。由是忤敦，左遷東海王文學，尋屬敦敗，累遷中書侍郎。

He Chong, courtesy Cidao, came from Qian in Lujiang; he was the great-grandson of He Zhen, who had been Cavalier Household Grandee under Wei. His grandfather He Yun had been inspector of Yu province. His father He Rui had governed Anfeng as prefect. He Chong combined poise with literary polish and was admired for both. He began as a clerk on Wang Dun's staff and rose to chief clerk. Wang Dun's brother Han was then prefect of Lujiang, venal and notorious; yet at table Wang Dun boasted, "My brother's administration down there must be first-rate—the whole of Lujiang sings his praises." He Chong answered coldly, "I am from Lujiang myself, and what I hear is not what you describe." Wang Dun had nothing more to say. The others squirmed for his sake, yet He Chong sat at ease. He earned Wang Dun's displeasure and was relegated to tutor in the prince of Donghai's household; after Wang Dun's fall he rose step by step to gentleman in attendance of the secretariat.

充即王導妻之姊子，充妻，明穆皇后之妹也，故少與導善，早曆顯官。嘗詣導，導以麈尾反指床呼充共坐，曰：「此是君坐也。」導繕揚州解會，顧而言曰：」正為次道耳。」明帝亦友昵之。成帝即位，遷給事黃門侍郎。蘇峻作亂，京都傾覆，導從駕在石頭，充東奔義軍。其後導奔白石，充亦得還。賊平，封都鄉侯，拜散騎常侍，出為東陽太守，仍除建威將軍、會稽內史。在郡甚有德政，薦征士虞喜，拔郡人謝奉、魏顗等以為佐吏。後以墓被髮去郡。詔征侍中，不拜。改葬畢，除建威將軍、丹陽尹。王導、庾亮並言於帝曰：「何充器局方概，有萬夫之望，必能總錄朝端，為老臣之副。臣死之日，願引充內侍，則外譽唯緝，社稷無虞矣。」由是加吏部尚書，進號冠軍將軍，又領會稽王師。及導薨，轉護軍將軍，與中書監庾冰參錄尚書事。詔充、冰各以甲杖五十人至止車門。尋遷尚書令，加左將軍。充以內外統任，宜相糾正，若使事綜一人，於課對為嫌，乃上疏固讓。許之。徙中書令，加散騎常侍，領軍如故。又領州大中正，以州有先達宿德，固讓不拜。

He Chong was Wang Dao's nephew by marriage, and his own wife was the younger sister of Empress Mingmu, so he had been close to Wang Dao from boyhood and rose early to high rank. On a visit to Wang Dao, the latter swept his fly-whisk toward the couch, beckoning He Chong to sit beside him, and said, "This place is meant for you." Wang Dao was refurbishing the Yangzhou yamen; glancing about he remarked, "The whole project is for Cidao's sake." Emperor Ming likewise befriended him. Under Emperor Cheng he was promoted to gentleman at the yellow gates with advisory duties. When Su Jun seized the capital, Wang Dao stayed with the court at Stone fortress while He Chong fled east to join the loyal forces. Later Wang Dao withdrew to Baishi, and He Chong was able to rejoin him. After the rebels were crushed he was enfeoffed as village marquis of Du, named cavalier attendant-in-ordinary, sent out as governor of Dongyang, then made general who establishes might and interior administrator of Kuaiji. His administration there was exemplary: he called up the recluse Yu Xi and appointed local men Xie Feng and Wei Yi to his staff. He later resigned the post when vandals broke into his family tombs. The court summoned him as attendant-in-ordinary; he declined to serve. After the reinterment was complete he was named general who establishes might and intendant of Danyang. Wang Dao and Yu Liang jointly told the emperor, "He Chong has the stature and backbone to lead; he can anchor the bureaucracy and stand as our junior partner in government. When we are gone, let him serve at your side within the palace—then rumor will quiet and the altars will be safe." The emperor therefore added minister of personnel to his duties, raised him to general champion, and made him tutor to the prince of Kuaiji. After Wang Dao's death He Chong became general who guards the army and, with Yu Bing as supervisor of the secretariat, jointly held the recording overseer portfolio. An edict allowed He Chong and Yu Bing each fifty armed attendants as far as the carriage-halt gate. He was soon promoted to grand director of the secretariat with the added title general of the left. He Chong argued that civil and military leadership should balance each other, and that one man holding both would skew accountability, so he memorialized repeatedly to decline the consolidation. The throne agreed. He was shifted to supervisor of the secretariat with the added title cavalier attendant-in-ordinary while keeping command of the guards. He was also offered senior rectifier for his province but declined firmly, citing worthier seniors already there.

庾冰兄弟以舅氏輔王室，權侔人主，慮易世之後，戚屬轉疏，將為外物所攻，謀立康帝，即帝母弟也。每說帝以國有強敵，宜須長君，帝從之。充建議曰：「父子相傳，先王舊典，忽妄改易，懼非長計。故武王不授聖弟，即其義也。昔漢景亦欲傳祚梁王，朝臣咸以為虧亂典制，據而弗聽。今琅邪踐阼，如孺子何！社稷宗廟，將其危乎！」冰等不從，既而康帝立，帝臨軒，冰、充侍坐。帝曰：「朕嗣鴻業，二君之力也。充對曰：「陛下龍飛，臣冰之力也。若如臣議，不睹升平之世。」帝有慚色。

Yu Bing and his brothers, maternal uncles steering the throne, matched the sovereign in power; they worried that after a succession their ties to the court would thin and outsiders would move against them, so they schemed to enthrone Emperor Kang, uterine brother to the sitting emperor. They kept telling the emperor that powerful foes required an adult on the throne, and he yielded. He Chong objected: "Succession from father to son is the ancient pattern; to tamper with it on a whim invites lasting harm. That is why King Wu of Zhou passed the throne to his son rather than to a worthy younger brother—it is the same principle. Han Jingdi once wanted to pass the throne to the prince of Liang; the whole court called it a breach of precedent and refused. If the prince of Langye is set aside now, what becomes of the boy who is heir? What of the altars and the imperial shrines—will they not stand in peril?" The Yu brothers brushed him aside and enthroned Emperor Kang; at the imperial audience Yu Bing and He Chong sat in attendance. The emperor said, "I owe this great legacy to the two of you. He Chong answered, "Your Majesty's accession was Yu Bing's doing. Had my counsel prevailed, you would not be looking on an era of peace." The emperor colored with embarrassment.

建元初，出為驃騎將軍、都督徐州揚州之晉陵諸軍事、假節，領徐州刺史，鎮京口，以避諸庾。頃之，庾翼將北伐，庾冰出鎮江州，充入朝，言於帝曰：「臣冰舅氏之重，宜居宰相，不應遠出。」朝議不從。於是征充入為都督揚豫徐州之琅邪諸軍事、假節，領揚州刺史，將軍如故。先是，翼悉發江、荊二州編戶奴以充兵役，士庶嗷然。充復欲發揚州奴以均其謗。後以中興時已發三吳，今不宜復發而止。

Early in the Jianyuan era he was posted as general of agile cavalry and area commander over Jinling in Xu and Yang provinces, with credential staff, as inspector of Xu province at Jingkou—chiefly to escape the Yu clan's shadow. Soon, as Yu Yi prepared a northern expedition and Yu Bing took up post in Jiangzhou, He Chong went to court and said, "Yu Bing's stature as maternal uncle suits the chief ministership; he ought not be banished to the frontier." The court majority disagreed. He Chong was then recalled as area commander over Langye in Yang, Yu, and Xu provinces, with credential staff, and inspector of Yang province, retaining his general's commission. Earlier Yu Yi had drafted every registered bondservant in Jiang and Jing to fill the ranks, and the populace had erupted in outrage. He Chong now proposed drafting Yangzhou bondservants to spread the resentment. Later, remembering that the Three Wu regions had already been tapped during the restoration, he dropped the plan as unwise to repeat.

俄而帝疾篤，冰、翼意在簡文帝，而充建議立皇太子，奏可。及帝崩，充奉遺旨，便立太子，是為穆帝，冰、翼甚恨之。獻後臨朝，詔曰：「驃騎任重，可以甲杖百人入殿。」又加中書監、錄尚書事。充自陳既錄尚書，不宜復監中書，許之。復加侍中，羽林騎十人。

When the emperor sank suddenly, Yu Bing and Yu Yi favored Prince Jianwen, but He Chong insisted on the heir apparent; his memorial carried the day. At the emperor's death He Chong carried out the will and enthroned the heir apparent—Emperor Mu—earning the bitter hatred of the Yu brothers. Empress Dowager Xian assumed the regency and decreed that the general of agile cavalry, bearing such weight, might enter the hall with a hundred armed guards. He was further named supervisor of the secretariat with the recording overseer portfolio. He Chong argued that one man should not both supervise and record for the secretariat; the court agreed and split the duties. He was also made attendant-in-ordinary with ten mounted guards from the feathery forest.

冰、翼等尋卒，充專輔幼主。翼臨終，表以後任委息爰之。于時論者並以諸庾世在西籓，人情所歸，宜依翼所請，以安物情。充曰：「不然。荊楚國之西門，戶口百萬，北帶強胡，西鄰勁蜀，經略險阻，周旋萬里。得賢則中原可定，勢弱則社稷同憂，所謂陸抗存則吳存，抗亡則吳亡者，豈可以白麵年少猥當此任哉！桓溫英略過人，有文武識度，西夏之任，無出溫者。」議者又曰：「庾爰之肯避溫乎？如令阻兵，恥懼不淺。」充曰：「溫足能制之，諸君勿憂。」乃使溫西。爰之果不敢爭。充以衛將軍褚裒皇太后父，宜綜朝政，上疏薦裒參錄尚書。裒以地逼，固求外出。充每曰：「桓溫、褚裒為方伯，殷浩居門下，我可無勞矣。」

After Yu Bing and Yu Yi died in quick succession, He Chong became the sole pillar of the boy emperor. Yu Yi's deathbed memorial asked that his son Yuanzhi inherit his western command. Opinion then held that the Yu clan had long held the western defense and enjoyed the army's trust, and that honoring Yu Yi's wish would steady the mood of the realm. He Chong said, "That will not do. Jingzhou is the empire's western gate: a million households, powerful steppe peoples to the north, tough Shu to the west, and rugged country stretching for thousands of miles. A capable commander secures the heartland; a weak one puts the dynasty itself at risk—as they said of Wu, "While Lu Kang lived, Wu lived; when he died, Wu perished." How can we hand that burden to a boy with a scholar's complexion?" Huan Wen's strategic gifts outstrip others', and he combines civil insight with military nerve; for the western command no one matches him." Critics objected, "Will Yu Yuanzhi step aside for Huan Wen? If he defies the transfer with troops, the humiliation and danger would be grave." He Chong replied, "Huan Wen can handle him; you need not fear." He therefore sent Huan Wen west in Yu Yi's place. Yu Yuanzhi dared not resist. Because General Who Guards the Guard Chu Pou was the empress dowager's father, He Chong thought he should share in steering the government and recommended him for joint recording overseer duties. Chu Pou, feeling the awkwardness of kinship too close to the throne, begged for a provincial posting instead. He Chong used to say, "With Huan Wen and Chu Pou holding the provinces and Yin Hao minding the gate bureau, I may be spared the heavy lifting myself."

充居宰相，雖無澄正改革之能，而強力有器局，臨朝正色，以社稷為己任，凡所選用，皆以功臣為先，不以私恩樹親戚，談者以此重之。然所昵庸雜，信任不得其人，而性好釋典，崇修佛寺，供給沙門以百數，糜費巨億而不吝也。親友至於貧乏，無所施遺，以此獲譏於世。阮裕嘗戲之曰：「卿志大宇宙，勇邁終古。」充問其故。裕曰：「我圖數千戶郡尚未能得，卿圖作佛，不亦大乎！」于時郗愔及弟曇奉天師道，而充與弟崇准信釋氏，謝萬譏之云：「二郗諂於道，二何佞於佛。」充能飲酒，雅為劉惔所貴。惔每云：「見次道飲，令人欲傾家釀。」言其能溫克也。

As chief minister He Chong never mastered sweeping reform, but he was strong-willed and broad-shouldered; he kept a grave face at audience and treated the altars as his personal charge. He always promoted men of proven service before kin, and opinion respected him for it. Yet he surrounded himself with mediocrities and misplaced trust, doted on Buddhist scripture, poured silver into temple-building, and maintained well over a hundred monks at court expense without a second thought. When kinsmen and friends fell on hard times he offered no relief, and the world mocked him for it. Ruan Yu once teased He Chong: "You aim as high as heaven and earth; you fancy yourself bolder than anyone who ever lived." He Chong asked what he meant. Ruan Yu answered, "I cannot even win a middling prefecture, while you set your heart on becoming a Buddha—that is ambition on another scale altogether!" Xi Yin and his brother Tan followed the Celestial Master sect, while He Chong and his brother He Cong placed their faith in Buddhism; Xie Wan mocked them as "the two Xis toadying to the Dao and the two Hes toadying to the Buddha." He Chong was a capable drinker whom Liu Tan prized above others. Liu Tan used to say, "Watching Cidao hold his liquor makes you want to broach every jar in the house." He meant that He Chong could drink deeply yet stay steady.

永和二年卒，時年五十五，贈司空，諡曰文穆。無子，弟子放嗣。卒，又無子，又以兄孫松嗣，位至驃騎諮議參軍。充弟准，見《外戚傳》。

He died in 346 at fifty-five, posthumously honored as minister of works with the epithet Wenmu, "Accomplished and Solemn." He left no son, so his nephew Fang inherited his line. When Fang in turn died without issue, the grandson Song inherited; Song rose to advising secretary on the staff of the general of agile cavalry. His brother He Zhun has a separate biography under the outer kin.

褚翜，字謀遠，太傅裒之從父兄也。父頠，少知名，早卒。翜以才藝楨幹稱。襲爵關內侯，補冠軍參軍。于時長沙王乂擅權，成都、河間阻兵於外，翜知內難方作，乃棄官避地幽州。後河北有寇難，復還鄉里。河南尹舉翜行本縣事。及天下鼎沸，翜招合同志，將圖過江，先移住陽城界。潁川庾敳，即翜之舅也，亦憂世亂，以家付翜。翜道斷，不得前。東海王越以為參軍，辭疾不就。

Chu Se, courtesy Mouyuan, was a first cousin once removed of Grand Tutor Chu Pou. His father Chu Wei won a name while young but died young. Chu Se was esteemed for talent, polish, and the backbone needed in high office. He succeeded to the rank of marquis within the passes and became an adjutant on the champion general's staff. When Prince Sima Yi of Changsha seized power and the princes of Chengdu and Hejian held armies in the field, Chu Se saw civil war coming and quit his post to take refuge in Youzhou. Raids later drove him from the north, and he went home again. The Henan intendant appointed him acting magistrate of his native county. As the empire collapsed he rallied allies intent on crossing south and camped first in Yangcheng. His uncle Yu Kai of Yingchuan, equally alarmed by the chaos, handed his family into Chu Se's care. Fighting blocked the roads and he could not get through. Sima Yue, prince of Donghai, named him adjutant, but he pleaded illness and stayed away.

尋洛陽覆沒，與滎陽太守郭秀共保萬氏台，秀不能綏眾，與將陳撫、郭重等構怨，遂相攻擊。翜懼禍及，謂撫等曰：「以諸君所以在此，謀逃難也。今宜共戮力以備賊，幸無外難，而內自相擊，是避坑落井也。郭秀誠為失理，應且容之。若遂所忿，城內自潰，胡賊聞之，指來掩襲，諸君雖得殺秀，無解胡虜矣，累弱非一，宜深思之。」撫等悔悟，與秀交和。時數萬口賴翜獲全。

When Luoyang fell he joined Xingyang prefect Guo Xiu in defending Wan's Terrace; Guo Xiu failed to keep order, and his officers Chen Fu and Guo Zhong fell to feuding until they attacked one another. Fearing the violence would engulf him, Chu Se told Chen Fu and the rest, "You came here to flee disaster, not to court it. You should combine your strength against the enemy. With no foe at the gates you are tearing each other apart—leaping out of a ditch only to drop into a well. Guo Xiu may be unreasonable, but forbearance is the wiser course now. If you indulge this feud the garrison will destroy itself from within; the moment barbarian raiders hear of it they will swoop in. Killing Guo Xiu will not save you from them, and the women and children will suffer beyond measure—think again." Chen Fu and his comrades relented and made peace with Guo Xiu. Tens of thousands of refugees owed their survival to Chu Se.

明年，率數千家將謀東下，遇道險，不得進，因留密縣。司隸校尉荀組以為參軍、廣威將軍，復領本縣，率邑人三千，督新城、梁、陽城三郡諸營事。頃之，遷司隸司馬，仍督營事。率眾進至汝水柴肥口，復阻賊。翜乃單馬至許昌，見司空荀籓，以為振威將軍，行梁國內史。

The following year he shepherded several thousand families eastward but found the roads impassable and halted at Mi county. Commandant Xun Zu made him adjutant and general who spreads might, again put him in charge of his home county, and assigned him three thousand local militiamen to coordinate the camps of Xincheng, Liang, and Yangcheng. Soon he became provincial metropolitan marshal while continuing to direct the camps. He marched to the Chifei crossing on the Ru River and again ran into rebel forces. Chu Se rode alone to Xuchang, saw Minister of Works Xun Fan, and was named general who rouses might with acting authority as interior administrator of Liang.

建興初，復為豫州司馬，督司州軍事。太傅參軍王玄代翜為郡。時梁國部曲將耿奴甚得人情，而專勢，翜常優遇之。玄為政既急，翜知其不能容奴，因戒之曰：「卿威殺已多，而人情難一，宜深慎之。」玄納翜言，外羈縻奴，而內懷憤。會遷為陳留，將發，乃收奴斬之。翜奴餘黨聚眾殺玄。梁郡既有內難，而徐州賊張平等欲掩襲之。郡人遑惑，將以郡歸平。荀組遣翜往撫之，眾心乃定。頃之，組舉翜為吏部郎，不應召，遂東過江。

Early in Jianxing he was again made metropolitan marshal of Yu province with charge of Si province's armies. Grand Tutor staff officer Wang Xuan succeeded Chu Se as prefect of Liang. Geng Nu, a retainer captain in Liang, was beloved by the troops yet overbearing; Chu Se treated him with consistent generosity. Wang Xuan governed with a heavy hand; Chu Se knew he would not tolerate Geng Nu and warned him, "You have already shed much blood; winning hearts is harder than breaking them—tread carefully." Wang Xuan took the advice, outwardly indulging Geng Nu while nursing a grudge. On the eve of his transfer to Chenliu he arrested Geng Nu and had him beheaded. Geng Nu's diehards rallied, stormed his yamen, and killed Wang Xuan. With Liang in turmoil, Xu bandits led by Zhang Ping prepared to strike. The terrified populace was ready to surrender the prefecture to Zhang Ping. Xun Zu dispatched Chu Se to calm them, and order returned. Xun Zu soon recommended him for the ministry of personnel, but Chu Se ignored the call and crossed the river south.

元帝為晉王，以翜為散騎郎，轉太子中庶子，出為奮威將軍、淮南內史。永昌初，王敦構逆，征西將軍戴若思令翜出軍赴難，翜遣將領五百人從之。明帝即位，徵拜屯騎校尉，遷太子左衛率。成帝初，為左衛將軍。蘇峻之役，朝廷戒嚴，以翜為侍中，典征討軍事。既而王師敗績，司徒王導謂翜曰：「至尊當禦正殿，君可啟令速出。」翜即入上大閣，躬自抱帝登太極前殿。導升御床抱帝，翜及鐘雅、劉超侍立左右。時百官奔散，殿省蕭然。峻兵既入，叱翜令下。翜正立不動，呵之曰：「蘇冠軍來覲至尊，軍人豈得侵逼！」由是兵士不敢上殿。及峻執政，猶以為侍中，從乘輿幸石頭。明年，與光祿大夫陸曄等出據苑城。蘇逸、任讓圍之，翜等固守。賊平，以功封長平縣伯，遷丹陽尹。時京邑焚蕩，人物凋殘，翜收集散亡，甚有惠政。

As prince of Jin, Sima Rui named Chu Se cavalier gentleman in attendance, then junior tutor to the heir apparent, then general who exerts martial might and interior administrator of Huainan. Early in Yongchang, when Wang Dun rebelled, Dai Ruosi ordered Chu Se to send relief; Chu Se detached five hundred men under a commander. Under Emperor Ming he became colonel of the camp garrison, then left commandant guarding the heir apparent. When Emperor Cheng came to the throne he served as general of the left guard. During Su Jun's revolt the court declared martial law and named Chu Se attendant-in-ordinary to direct the war effort. After the imperial army collapsed, Wang Dao told Chu Se, "The emperor must appear in the main hall; go in at once and bring him out." Chu Se entered the upper gallery, lifted the boy emperor in his arms, and carried him to the Taiji Hall. Wang Dao mounted the dais and held the emperor while Chu Se, Zhong Ya, and Liu Chao flanked them. The officials had scattered; the palace corridors stood empty. Su Jun's men barked at Chu Se to step down from the dais. Chu Se stood rigid and shouted back, "General Su comes as a champion to greet the Son of Heaven—soldiers have no business threatening him!" The awed troops dared not mount the steps. Even under Su Jun's dictatorship Chu Se remained attendant-in-ordinary and accompanied the court to Stone fortress. The next year he joined Lu Ye and others in occupying Yuancheng. Su Yi and Ren Rang besieged the loyalists, who held their ground. After the rebels fell he was enfeoffed as village baron of Changping for his service and promoted intendant of Danyang. The capital was in ashes and the population decimated; Chu Se gathered refugees and governed with conspicuous kindness.

代庾亮為中護軍，鎮石頭。尋為領軍，徙五兵尚書，加奉車都尉，監新宮事。遷尚書右僕射，轉左僕射，加散騎常侍。久之，代何充為護軍將軍，常侍如故。咸康七年卒，時年六十七，贈衛將軍，諡曰穆。子希嗣，官至豫章太守。

He succeeded Yu Liang as general who guards the army, holding Stone fortress. Soon he headed the guards, became minister of the five divisions, added colonel who follows the carriage, and oversaw the new palace works. He rose to right vice director of the secretariat, then left vice director, with cavalier attendant-in-ordinary added. Eventually he replaced He Chong as commanding general of the guards while keeping his cavalier attendant post. He died in 341 at sixty-seven, posthumously honored as general who guards the guard with the epithet Mu. His son Chu Xi inherited the title and rose to governor of Yuzhang.

蔡謨，字道明，陳留考城人也。世為著姓。曾祖睦，魏尚書。祖德，樂平太守。父克，少好學，博涉書記，為邦族所敬。性公亮守正，行不合己，雖富貴不交也。高平劉整恃才縱誕，服飾詭異，無所拘忌。嘗行造人，遇克在坐，整終席慚不自安。克時為處士，而見憚如此。後為成都王穎大將軍記室督。穎為丞相，擢為東曹掾。克素有格量，及居選官，苟進之徒，望風畏憚。初，克未仕時，河內山簡嘗與琅邪王衍書曰：「蔡子尼今之正人。」衍以書示眾曰：「山子以一字拔人，然未易可稱。」後衍聞克在選官，曰：「山子正人之言，驗於今矣。」陳留時為大郡，號稱多士，琅邪王澄行經其界，太守呂豫遣吏迎之。澄人境問吏曰：「此郡人士為誰？」吏曰：「有蔡子尼、江應元。」是時郡人多居大位者，澄以其姓名問曰：「甲乙等，非君郡人邪？」吏曰：「是也。」曰：「然則何以但稱此二人？」吏曰：「向謂君侯問人，不謂問位。」澄笑而止。到郡，以吏言謂豫曰：「舊名此郡有風俗，果然小吏亦知如此。」克以朝政日弊，遂絕不仕。東嬴公騰為車騎將軍，鎮河北，以克為從事中郎，知必不就，以軍期致之。克不得已，至數十日，騰為汲桑所攻，城陷，克見害。

Cai Mo, courtesy Daoming, came from Kaocheng in Chenliu commandery. The Cais had been a leading clan for generations. His great-grandfather Cai Mu had been a Wei minister of the secretariat. His grandfather Cai De governed Leping as prefect. His father Cai Ke loved books from boyhood, read widely, and commanded the respect of the local gentry. He was upright and principled: he would not befriend anyone, however grand, whose conduct failed his standard. Liu Zheng of Gaoping, confident in his wit, flaunted outlandish dress and wild manners without restraint. Once, calling on friends, he found Cai Ke among the guests and squirmed in embarrassment the entire evening. Cai Ke was still a private scholar, yet he could intimidate such a man. Later he served Prince Sima Ying of Chengdu as recorder-in-chief on the great general's staff. When Ying became chancellor he promoted Cai Ke to the eastern bureau. Cai Ke had always shown judgment; as personnel selector he made careerists shrink at a distance. Before Cai Ke ever served, Shan Jian of Henei wrote Wang Yan of Langye calling Cai Zini the most upright man of the age. Wang Yan read the letter aloud and said, "Shan Jian praises a man in a single phrase, but living up to it is another matter." Later, learning that Cai Ke held the selector's post, Wang Yan said, "Shan Jian's judgment stands vindicated." Chenliu was then a major prefecture crowded with talent. Wang Cheng of Langye passed through its territory, and Prefect Lü Yu sent clerks to greet him. At the border Wang Cheng asked, "Whom does this commandery reckon among its leading men?" The clerk answered, "Cai Zini and Jiang Yingyuan." Many locals already held high rank, so Wang Cheng rattled off several names: "Surely these men are from your commandery too?" The clerk said they were. Wang Cheng asked why only the first pair had been mentioned. The clerk replied, "I thought you asked for men of quality, not for rank." Wang Cheng laughed and dropped the subject. At the yamen he repeated the exchange to Lü Yu: "They say this prefecture has character; even a lowly clerk proves it." Watching court politics rot, Cai Ke resolved never to serve. Sima Teng, duke of Dongying, was general of chariots and cavalry on the northern frontier and named Cai Ke retainer clerk; knowing he would refuse, Sima Teng used a military summons to force him. Cai Ke yielded at last but within weeks Ji Sang stormed Sima Teng's city; Cai Ke died in the sack.

謨弱冠察孝廉，州辟從事，舉秀才，東海王越召為掾，皆不就。避亂渡江。時明帝為東中郎將，引為參軍。元帝拜丞相，復辟為掾，轉參軍，後為中書侍郎，曆義興太守、大將軍王敦從事中郎、司徒左長史，遷侍中。

Cai Mo, capped at twenty, was recommended filially incorrupt, called to provincial staff, nominated flourishing talent, and invited by Sima Yue—he refused every offer. He crossed the Yangzi to escape the wars. Emperor Ming, then general who guards the east, took him on as adjutant. When Sima Rui became chancellor he recalled Cai Mo as clerk, moved him to adjutant, then gentleman in attendance of the secretariat, then through governor of Yixing, retainer to Wang Dun, chief clerk under the minister of education, left chief clerk, and finally attendant-in-ordinary.

蘇峻構逆，吳國內史庾冰出奔會稽，乃以謨為吳國內史。謨既至，與張闓、顧眾、顧颺等共起義兵，迎冰還郡。峻平，復為侍中，遷五兵尚書，領琅邪王師。謨上疏讓曰：「八坐之任，非賢莫居，前後所用，資名有常。孔愉、諸葛恢並以清節令才，少著名望。昔愉為御史中丞，臣尚為司徒長史；恢為會稽太守，臣為尚書郎；恢尹丹陽，臣守小郡。名輩不同，階級殊懸。今猥以輕鄙，超倫逾等，上亂聖朝貫魚之序，下違群士准平之論。豈惟微臣其亡之誡，實招聖政惟塵之累。且左長史一超而侍帷幄，再登而廁納言，中興已來，上德之舉所未嘗有。臣何人斯，而猥當之！是以叩心自忖，三省愚身，與其苟進以穢清塗，寧受違命狷固之罪。」疏奏，不許。轉掌吏部。以平蘇峻勳，賜爵濟陽男，又讓，不許。

When Su Jun rose, Yu Bing fled the Wu interior command to Kuaiji, and Cai Mo was named interior administrator of Wu in his place. After landing in Wu, Cai Mo joined Zhang Kai, Gu Zhong, Gu Yang, and others in raising loyal militia that escorted Yu Bing back to his seat. Once Su Jun fell, Cai Mo regained his post as attendant-in-ordinary, became minister of the five divisions, and resumed his role as tutor to the prince of Langye. Cai Mo memorialized his refusal: "The Eight Seats belong only to men of proven merit; previous appointments followed clear rules of seniority and name. Kong Yu and Zhuge Hui had both earned reputations early for integrity and talent. When Kong Yu was censor-in-chief, I was only chief clerk under the minister of education; when Zhuge Hui governed Kuaiji, I held a low secretariat post; when Zhuge Hui ran Danyang, I commanded a minor county. Our standing and our ranks were worlds apart. Now a mediocrity like me would vault over heads, disordering the throne's careful ranking and flouting every fair judgment below. It invites not merely my downfall but the smear of a policy grown dusty from neglect. Never since the restoration has a left chief clerk leaped twice in succession from the inner chamber to the rank of chief spokesman—nothing like it has honored "superior virtue." What sort of man am I to deserve such leaps? I have searched my conscience: better the crime of mulish disobedience than scrambling forward to foul a pure track." The throne refused his plea. He was rotated into control of the ministry of personnel. He earned the viscounty of Jiyang for defeating Su Jun, declined it again, and was again overruled.

冬蒸，謨領祠部，主者忘設明帝位，與太常張泉俱免，白衣領職。頃之，遷太常，領秘書監，以疾不堪親職，上疏自解，不聽。成帝臨軒，遣使拜太傅、太尉、司空。會將作樂，宿縣於殿庭，門下奏，非祭祀燕饗則無設樂之制。事下太常。謨議臨軒遣使宜有金石之樂，遂從之。臨軒作樂，自此始也。彭城王紱上言，樂賢堂有先帝手畫佛象，經歷寇難，而此堂猶存，宜敕作頌。帝下其議。謨曰：「佛者，夷狄之俗，非經典之制。先帝量同天地，多才多藝，聊因臨時而畫此象，至於雅好佛道，所未承聞也。盜賊奔突，王都隳敗，而此堂塊然獨存，斯誠神靈保祚之征，然未是大晉盛德之形容，歌頌之所先也。人臣睹物興義，私作賦頌可也。今欲發王命，敕史官，上稱先帝好佛之志，下為夷狄作一象之頌，於義有疑焉。」於是遂寢。

At the winter sacrifice Cai Mo supervised the ritual office; the registrar omitted Emperor Ming's tablet, so he was cashiered along with Grand Astrologer Zhang Quan and resumed duty in undyed robes pending review. He was soon named grand astrologer and librarian, pleaded illness, asked to resign, and was refused. Emperor Cheng held court and sent envoys to invest the grand tutor, grand commandant, and minister of works. Court musicians were to hang bells in the courtyard overnight; the gate bureau objected that only sacrifice or state feast justified music there. The question went to the ritual office. Cai Mo argued that an investiture audience required bronze and stone music, and the court agreed. Thus began the practice of playing ritual music at such audiences. The prince of Pengcheng noted that the Hall for Honoring Worthies still housed a Buddha sketch by a late emperor despite wartime damage, and asked for a commemorative ode. The emperor referred it for discussion. Cai Mo answered, "Buddhism is a barbarian cult, not sanctioned by the canon. A late sovereign's genius might indulge a doodle in passing; I have never heard that he meant to embrace Buddhism as a personal faith. That one hall survived massacres may mark divine favor, but it is hardly the foremost symbol of Jin's civilizing virtue for court poets to celebrate. If private gentlemen wish to compose verses on their own, that is fine. To issue an edict and tell historians to laud a dead emperor's Buddhist taste and to praise a barbarian cult for a sketch sits ill with public duty." The proposal was dropped.

時征西將軍庾亮以石勒新死，欲移鎮石城，為滅賊之漸。事下公卿。謨議曰：

General Who Guards the West Yu Liang, learning of Shi Le's death, wanted to advance his base to Stone City as the opening move against Zhao. The emperor circulated the plan to the high ministers. Cai Mo answered in a long memorial:

時有否泰，道有屈伸，暴逆之寇雖終滅亡，然當其強盛，皆屈而避之。是以高祖受黜于巴漢，忍辱于平城也。若爭強於鴻門，則亡不終日。故蕭何曰「百戰百敗，不死何待」也。原始要終，歸於大濟而已。豈與當亡之寇爭遲速之間哉！夫惟鴻門之不爭，故垓下莫能與之爭。文王身圮於羑裏，故道泰於牧野；句踐見屈於會稽，故威申于強吳。今日之事，亦由此矣。賊假息之命垂盡，而豺狼之力尚強；宜抗威以待時。

History moves between crisis and calm; strategy must bend and stretch. Even doomed rebels must be dodged when their storm is fiercest. That is why Han Gaozu endured exile in Ba-Han and shame at Pingcheng. Had he forced a showdown at Hong Gate he would not have lasted a day. As Xiao He warned, "Win every skirmish and still lose the war—what then but death?" The point is the final rescue of the realm, not momentary pride. Why wrestle a dying enemy over who moves faster? Precisely because Gaozu skipped Hong Gate, no rival could face him at Gaixia. King Wen suffered captivity at Youli so the Mandate could blaze at Muye; King Goujian bowed at Kuaiji so his armies could humble strong Wu. Our situation follows the same logic. Shi Hu clings to borrowed time—he is dying—yet his wolves still bite hard; we should brandish strength and bide the right moment.

或曰：「抗威待時，時已可矣。」愚以為時之可否在賊之強弱，賊之強弱在季龍之能否。季龍之能否，可得而言矣。自勒初起，則季龍為爪牙，百戰百勝，遂定中國，境土所據，同于魏世。及勒死之日，將相內外欲誅季龍。季龍獨起於眾異之中，殺嗣主，誅寵臣。內難既定，千里遠出，一攻而拔金墉，再戰而斬石生，禽彭彪，殺石聰，滅郭權，還據根本，內外並定，四方鎮守，不失尺土。詳察此事，豈能乎，將不能也？假令不能者為之，其將濟乎，將不濟也？賊前襄陽而不能拔，誠有之矣。不信百戰之效，而執一攻之驗，棄多從少，于理安乎？譬若射者，百發而一不中，可謂之拙乎？且不拔襄陽者，非季龍身也。桓平北，守邊之將耳。賊前攻之，爭疆埸耳，得之為善，不得則止，非其所急也。今征西之往，則異於是。何者？重鎮也，名賢也，中國之人所聞而歸心也。今而西度，實有席捲河南之勢，賊所大懼，豈與桓宣同哉！季龍必率其精兵，身來距爭。若欲與戰，戰何如石生？若欲城守，守何如金墉？若欲阻沔，沔何如大江？蘇峻何如季龍？凡此數者，宜群校之。

Some say the moment is ripe already. Whether the hour has struck depends on how strong Zhao remains, and that rests on whether Shi Hu can still dominate his court. Shi Hu's ability is plain from the record alone. Since Shi Le's first rising, Shi Hu has been his cutting edge—undefeated until the heartland was theirs—controlling ground comparable to Wei at its height. When Shi Le died, every minister in Luoyang wanted Shi Hu dead. Shi Hu rose alone among the factions, murdered the heir, and slaughtered the inner favorites. He then marched a thousand miles, seized Gold Citadel, killed Shi Sheng in the field, took Peng Biao, executed Shi Cong, wiped out Guo Quan, secured his base, pacified every garrison, and lost no territory. Study that track record: could he pull it off or not? Suppose a lesser man tries again—will he succeed? It is true they once failed at Xiangyang. But to ignore a hundred proofs and seize on one failure, trusting rarity over pattern—does that make sense? If an archer misses once in a hundred draws, do we call him a fool? Besides, Shi Hu never led that siege of Xiangyang himself. General Huan Xuanzhi was merely a border commander. The Zhao army had fenced for border gains, advancing when they could and stopping when they could not—it was never a do-or-die thrust. Yu Liang's proposed move is something else entirely. Why? It is a strategic choke point garrisoned by a celebrated commander whom the world already trusts. Westward advance under Yu Liang would look like a sweep through Henan—the very nightmare of Zhao—nothing like Huan's border skirmish. Shi Hu will march his elites in person to bar the way. If we fight, can we beat Shi Sheng's defense? If we sit behind walls, can we hold better than Gold Citadel did? If we try to block the Han, is that barrier like the Yangzi? Was Su Jun half as dangerous as Shi Hu? These points belong in one calculation for the council.

愚謂石生猛將，關中精兵，征西之虎不能勝也。金墉險固，劉曜十萬所不能拔，今征西之守不能勝也。又是時兗州、洛陽、關中皆舉兵擊季龍。今此三處反為其用，方之於前，倍半之覺也。若石生不能敵其半，而征西欲當其倍，愚所疑也。蘇峻之強，不及季龍，沔水之險，不及大江。大江不能禦蘇峻，而以沔水禦季龍，又所疑也。昔祖士稚在譙，佃於城北，慮賊來攻，因以為資，故豫安軍屯，以禦其外。穀將熟，賊果至，丁夫戰於外，老弱獲於內，多持炬火，急則燒穀而走。如此數年，竟不得其利。是時賊唯據沔北，方之於今，四分之一耳。士稚不能捍其一，而征西欲禦其四，又所疑也。或云：「賊若多來，則必無糧。」然致糧之難，莫過崤函。而季龍昔涉此險，深入敵國，平關中而後還。今至襄陽，路既無險，又行其國內，自相供給，方之於前，難易百倍。前已經至難，而謂今不能濟其易，又所疑也。

Shi Sheng commanded Guanzhong elites; even Yu Liang's "tiger" host could not defeat him. A hundred thousand of Liu Yao could not storm Gold Citadel; Yu Liang is no surer shield. Moreover Yan, Luoyang, and Guanzhong then all attacked Shi Hu together. Now those regions feed his war machine—our peril is doubled. If Shi Sheng buckled under half that weight, how can Yu Liang bear twice as much? Su Jun was weaker than Shi Hu; the Han is no Yangzi. The Yangzi failed to hold Su Jun—why expect the Han to hold Shi Hu? Zu Ti once farmed north of Qiao, planted camps to shield the fields, and readied for raiders. When harvest neared, raiders came; young men fought on the perimeter while women and elders reaped inside, torches ready to burn the crop and flee if pressed. After years of this they still gained nothing. The enemy then held only the Han's north bank—a fraction of today's front. Zu Ti could not master a quarter of this threat; can Yu Liang endure four times as much? Some argue a large Zhao host would run out of grain. Yet no supply line is harder than the Yao-Han passes. Shi Hu once marched those gorges, cut deep into hostile ground, subdued Guanzhong, and marched home. The road to Xiangyang is open; moving inside Zhao he feeds his army from home soil—logistics are a hundredfold easier than before. Having mastered the harder march, why assume he cannot manage the easier?

然此所論，但說征西既至之後耳，尚未論道路之慮也。自沔以西，水急岸高，魚貫溯流，首尾百里。若賊無宋襄之義，及我未陣而擊之，將如之何？今王士與賊，水陸異勢，便習不同。寇若送死，雖開江延敵，以一當千，猶吞之有餘，宜誘而致之，以保萬全。棄江遠進，以我所短擊彼所長，懼非廟勝之算。

This even assumes Yu Liang reaches his objective—route hazards remain unmentioned. West of the Han the current runs fast between high banks; boats must nose upstream in single file for a hundred miles. If Zhao strikes before we can form line, with no chivalric scruples, what becomes of us? Our men differ from theirs in what maneuvers we know—river versus plain. If they charge recklessly, we can absorb them even at ten-to-one odds by opening the river line—we should bait them in for a safe kill. To abandon the river barrier and strike their strength with our weakness is not what the ancestral shrine would advise.

朝議同之，故亮不果移鎮。

The council concurred, and Yu Liang dropped the relocation.

初，皇后每年拜陵，勞費甚多，謨建議曰：「古者皇后廟見而已，不拜陵也。」由是遂止。

Early on, when the empress yearly toured the tombs at crippling expense, Cai Mo cited antiquity: the empress worshipped only within the ancestral shrines, not in the fields. The practice stopped.

初，太尉郗鑒疾篤，出謨為太尉軍司，加侍中。鑒卒，即拜謨為征北將軍、都督徐兗青三州揚州之晉陵豫州之沛郡諸軍事、領徐州刺史、假節。時左衛將軍陳光上疏請伐胡，詔令攻壽陽，謨上疏曰：

When Grand Commandant Xi Jian lay dying, Cai Mo was seconded as army director on his staff with attendant-in-ordinary added. When Xi Jian died, Cai Mo became general who campaigns north, area commander over Xu, Yan, Qing, Jinling within Yang, and Pei in Yu, with inspector's authority over Xu and credential staff. Then Left Guard general Chen Guang urged a strike on the barbarians; an edict fixed on Shouyang; Cai Mo answered with a memorial:

今壽陽城小而固。自幫陽至琅邪，城壁相望，其間遠者裁百餘里，一城見攻，眾城必救。且王師在路五十餘日，劉仕一軍早已入淮，又遣數部北取堅壁，大軍未至，聲息久聞。而賊之郵驛，一日千里，河北之騎足以來赴，非惟鄰城相救而已。夫以白起、韓信、項籍之勇，猶發梁焚舟，背水而陣。今欲停船水渚，引兵造城，前對堅敵，顧臨歸路，此兵法之所誡也。若進攻未拔，胡騎卒至，懼桓子不知所為，而舟中之指可掬。今征軍五千，皆王都精銳之眾，又光為左衛，遠近聞之，名為殿中之軍，宜令所向有征無戰。而頓之堅城之下，勝之不武，不勝為笑。今以國之上駟擊寇之下邑，得之則利薄而不足損敵，失之則害重而足以益寇，懼非策之長者。臣愚以為聞寇而致討，賊退而振旅，於事無失。不勝管見，謹冒陳聞。

Shouyang is compact but its walls are strong. From Xiangyang east to Langye, walled towns stand shoulder to shoulder—barely a hundred miles apart—so a strike on one draws relief from every neighbor. Our columns have marched fifty days; Liu Shi is already in the Huai line, other units are peeling off to seize forts—word will reach Zhao long before the main body closes in. Zhao's courier relays cover a thousand miles a day; northern cavalry can reinforce every garrison—not merely the next town over. Even Bai Qi, Han Xin, and Xiang Yu burned their boats and fought with backs to the river. To anchor midstream, march on the city, fight elite troops ahead while the retreat route yawns astern is exactly what every manual forbids. If the siege stalls and Zhao horse arrive overnight, we may relive Duke Huan's panic at dense—fingers enough to fill a boat scooped from the water. These five thousand are the capital's picked household guards—Chen Guang's own left-guard veterans—famed as the palace corps; they should march to sure victory. Yet pinning them under a fortress wall makes even victory petty and defeat a public joke. Using our best troops on Zhao's second-tier towns yields little if we win and costs dearly if we lose—hardly sound strategy. Better to strike when raiders appear and stand down when they withdraw—nothing lost by that rhythm. These are crude thoughts offered in earnest.

季龍於青州造船數百，掠緣海諸縣，所在殺戮，朝廷以為憂。謨遣龍驤將軍徐玄等守中洲，並設募，若得賊大白船者，賞布千匹，小船百匹。是時謨所統七千餘人，所戍東至土山，西至江乘，鎮守八所，城壘凡十一處，烽火樓望三十餘處，隨宜防備，甚有算略。先是，郗鑒上部下有勳勞者凡一百八十人，帝並酬其功，未卒而鑒薨，斷不復與。謨上疏以為先已許鑒，今不宜斷。且鑒所上者皆積年勳效，百戰之餘，亦不可不報。詔聽之。

Shi Hu built hundreds of warships in Qingzhou and harried the coast, slaughtering as he went; the court was alarmed. Cai Mo sent General Who Prances the Dragon Xu Xuan to hold Central Isle and offered a bounty—one thousand bolts for a large enemy hull, a hundred for a small craft. He commanded seven thousand men in eight sectors from Mount Tu to Jiangcheng—eleven forts and thirty beacon towers—each post tailored to terrain with evident tactical sense. Xi Jian had nominated 180 men for merit pay; the throne had approved, but his death left the roster unpaid. Cai Mo argued that a pledge to Xi Jian must not be broken midstream. These were veterans of a hundred fights—denying them reward would be unjust. The emperor agreed.

康帝即位，徵拜左光祿大夫、開府儀同三司，領司徒。代殷浩為揚州刺史。又錄尚書事，領司徒如故。初，謨沖讓不辟僚佐，詔屢敦逼之，始取掾屬。

Emperor Kang named him left grand household with three-excellency honors while keeping him as minister of education. He succeeded Yin Hao as inspector of Yang province. He also took the recording overseer portfolio while remaining minister of education. At first Cai Mo refused to build a private staff until repeated edicts forced him to appoint clerks.

石季龍死，中國大亂。時朝野咸謂當太平復舊，謨獨謂不然，語所親曰：「胡滅，誠大慶也，然將貽王室之憂。」或曰：「何哉？」謨曰：「夫能順天而奉時，濟六合於草昧，若非上哲，必由英豪。度德量力，非時賢所及。必將經營分表，疲人以逞志。才不副意，略不稱心，財單力竭，智勇俱屈，此韓廬、東郭所以雙斃也。」

Shi Hu's death threw the north into chaos. Court and country assumed peace would follow; Cai Mo alone told friends that crushing the barbarians would bring new woes for the throne. They asked why. He answered, "To reunite the realm from chaos takes either a sage-king or a conquering hero. Our present worthies lack both the virtue and the strength for it. They will overreach, exhaust the people, and chase private ambition. When ability falls short of aim, funds run dry, nerve fails—both hunter and hound collapse together, as in the old fable."

遷侍中、司徒。上疏讓曰：「伏自惟省，昔階謬恩，蒙忝非據，屍素累積而光寵更崇，謗讟彌興而榮進復加，上虧聖朝棟隆之舉，下增微臣覆餗之釁，惶懼戰灼，寄顏無所。乞垂天鑒，回恩改謬，以允群望。」皇太后詔報不許。謨猶固讓，謂所親曰：「我若為司徒，將為後代所哂，義不敢拜也。」皇太后遣使喻意，自四年冬至五年末，詔書屢下，謨固守所執。六年，復上疏，以疾病乞骸骨，上左光祿大夫、領司徒印綬。章表十餘上。穆帝臨軒，遣侍中紀璩、黃門郎丁纂征謨。謨陳疾篤，使主簿謝攸對曰：「臣謨不幸有公族穆子之疾，天威不違顏咫尺，不敢奉詔，寢伏待罪。」自旦至申，使者十餘反，而謨不至。時帝年八歲，甚倦，問左右曰：「所召人何以至今不來？臨軒何時當竟？」君臣俱疲弊。皇太后詔：「必不來者，宜罷朝。」中軍將軍殷浩奏免吏部尚書江虨官。簡文時為會稽王，命曹曰：「蔡公傲違上命，無人臣之禮。若人主卑屈于上，大義不行於下，亦不知復所以為政矣。」於是公卿奏曰：「司徒謨頃以常疾，久逋王命，皇帝臨軒，百僚齊立，俯僂之恭，有望於謨，若志存止退，自宜致辭闕庭，安有人君卑勞終日而人臣曾無一酬之禮！悖慢傲上，罪同不臣。臣等參議，宜明國憲，請送廷尉，以正刑書。」謨懼，率子弟素服詣闕稽顙，躬到廷尉待罪。皇太后詔曰：「謨先帝師傅，服事累世。且歸罪有司，內訟思愆。若遂致之於理，情所未忍。可依舊制免為庶人。」

He was promoted to attendant-in-ordinary while remaining minister of education. He begged off again, citing unworthiness, mounting scandal, and fear of shaming the court's choice of pillars. He asked the throne to withdraw the appointment and satisfy public opinion." Empress Dowager Chu refused. He told friends, "If I take the ministry of education, posterity will laugh—I cannot in good conscience accept." From winter of the fourth year to the end of the fifth year she sent messengers urging him; he still refused. In year six he pleaded illness, asked to retire, and returned the seals of left grand household and minister of education. He sent more than ten memorials to the same effect. Emperor Mu held audience and sent Ji Quan and Ding Zuan to fetch Cai Mo to court. Cai Mo pleaded the chronic illness of Zhao Muzi of Jin, said he dared not face the Son of Heaven, and sent his chief clerk to beg leave while awaiting censure. Messengers shuttled more than ten times from dawn past noon; Cai Mo never appeared. The eight-year-old emperor wearied and asked why the minister had not come. He asked when the audience would end." Court and throne were exhausted alike. The empress dowager ordered court suspended if Cai Mo stayed away. Yin Hao impeached Minister of Personnel Jiang Bin. Prince Sima Yu of Kuaiji declared that Cai Mo had defied the sovereign and abandoned ministerial duty. If the throne bows while ministers withhold respect, government cannot continue." The high ministers charged Cai Mo with leaving the boy emperor standing all day while he hid at home. Such arrogance toward the throne is tantamount to treason. They moved to remand him to the minister of trials for sentencing." Cai Mo relented, led his family in mourning dress to the palace gate, and surrendered to the minister of trials. The empress dowager replied that Cai Mo had tutored two emperors and served many years. He had humbled himself before the law and repented. She could not bear to jail him formally. She stripped him of rank but spared his life."

謨既被廢，杜門不出，終日講誦，教授子弟。數年，皇太后詔曰：「前司徒謨以道素著稱，軌行成名，故曆事先朝，致位台輔，以往年之失，用致黜責。自爾已來，闔門思愆，誠合大臣罪己之義。以謨為光祿大夫、開府儀同三司。」於是遣謁者僕射孟洪就加冊命。謨上疏陳謝曰：「臣以頑薄，皆忝殊寵，屍素累紀，加違慢詔命，當肆市朝。幸蒙寬宥，不悟天施復加光飾，非臣隕越所能上報。臣寢疾未損，不任詣闕。不勝仰感聖恩，謹遣拜章。」遂以疾篤，不復朝見。詔賜几杖，門施行馬。十二年，卒，時年七十六。賵贈之禮，一依太尉陸玩故事。詔贈侍中、司空，諡曰文穆。

Disgraced, Cai Mo stayed home, teaching his children and reading. Years later she cited his old virtue and past service, blaming only his recent refusal. Since then he had shut his doors in repentance, as great ministers should. She restored him as grand household with three-excellency honors." Herald Meng Hong brought the patent to his house. Cai Mo thanked her in a memorial admitting fault and declaring himself unworthy of renewed favor. He had expected execution, not restoration. Ill health still kept him from court. He sent thanks in writing instead." His illness kept him from audiences thereafter. The court sent a couch, cane, and ceremonial gate barriers. He died in 356 at seventy-six. Funeral honors matched those given Lu Wan. He was posthumously named attendant-in-ordinary and minister of works with the epithet Wenmu.

謨博學，於禮儀宗廟制度多所議定。文筆論議，有集行於世。總應劭以來注班固《漢書》者，為之集解。謨初渡江，見彭蜞，大喜曰：「蟹有八足，加以二螯。」令烹之。既食，吐下委頓，方知非蟹。後詣謝尚而說之。尚曰：「卿讀《爾雅》不熟，幾為《勸學》死。」謨性方雅。丞相王導作女伎，施設床席。謨先在坐，不悅而去，導亦不止之。性尤篤慎，每事必為過防。故時人云：「蔡公過浮航，脫帶腰舟。」長子邵，永嘉太守。少子系，有才學文義，位至撫軍長史。

Cai Mo was erudite and helped codify court ritual and temple law. His essays were collected and published. He compiled a critical edition of Han shu commentary from Ying Shao onward. On first crossing south he spotted estuarine crabs and cried, "Eight legs and two claws—just like the classic says of true crabs!" He ordered them cooked at once. Violent vomiting taught him they were not edible crabs. Later he told Xie Shang the story. Xie Shang laughed, "Had you studied the Erya you would not have nearly killed yourself on the crab verse from the Encourage Learning school primer." Cai Mo was grave and refined. Wang Dao once staged female musicians and laid out banquet seats. Cai Mo, already present, left in disgust; Wang Dao did not call him back. He was almost comically cautious in every detail. Wits said, "When Lord Cai crossed the pontoon he loosened his sash to double as a life preserver." His eldest son Cai Shao governed Yongjia. His younger son Cai Xi, a scholar, rose to chief clerk on the staff of the general who soothes the army.

諸葛恢

The text next treats Zhuge Hui.

諸葛恢，字道明，琅邪陽都人也。祖誕，魏司空，為文帝所誅。父靚，奔吳，為大司馬。吳平，逃竄不出。武帝與靚有舊，靚姊又為琅邪王妃，帝知靚在姊間，因就見焉。靚逃於廁，帝又逼見之，謂曰：「不謂今日復得相見。」靚流涕曰：「不能漆身皮面，復睹聖顏！」詔以為侍中，固辭不拜，歸於鄉里，終身不向朝廷而坐。

Zhuge Hui, courtesy Daoming, came from Yangdu in Langye commandery. His grandfather Zhuge Dan had been Wei minister of works and was executed by Cao Rui. His father Zhuge Jing fled to Wu and rose to grand marshal. After Wu fell he stayed in hiding. Emperor Wu had known Zhuge Jing in youth, and Jing's sister was consort to the prince of Langye; learning Jing hid with her, the emperor went to see him. Zhuge Jing bolted to the privy; Sima Yan cornered him there and said, "I never thought we would meet again." Zhuge Jing wept, "I could not mutilate myself like Yao Li; I must face your sacred face again." The emperor named him attendant-in-ordinary; he refused, retired to his village, and never again sat with his back to the north as a subject would.

恢弱冠知名，試守即丘長，轉臨沂令，為政和平。值天下大亂，避地江左，名亞王導、庾亮。導嘗謂曰：「明府當為黑頭公。」及導拜司空，恢在從，導指冠謂曰：「君當復著此。」導嘗與恢戲爭族姓，曰：「人言王葛，不言葛王也。」恢曰：「不言馬驢，而言驢馬，豈驢勝馬邪！」其見親狎如此。于時潁川荀闓字道明、陳留蔡謨字道明，與恢俱有名譽，號曰「中興三明」，人為之語曰：「京都三明各有名，蔡氏儒雅荀葛清。」

Zhuge Hui was famous before his capping, served as acting magistrate of Jiqiu, then Linyi, governing gently and fairly. He crossed south during the wars, ranked just below Wang Dao and Yu Liang in reputation. Wang Dao once told him, "You will die still a black-haired minister of state—still in harness at the top." When Wang Dao became minister of work, Zhuge Hui stood in his train; Wang Dao tapped his own cap and said, "You will wear this again yourself." Wang Dao once teased him about surname precedence: "Everyone says Wang and Ge, never Ge and Wang." Zhuge Hui shot back, "People say donkey and horse, not horse and donkey—does that make the donkey the better beast?" Such was the easy familiarity he enjoyed with Wang Dao. Yingchuan's Xun Kai, Chenliu's Cai Mo, and Zhuge Hui—each with the courtesy Daoming—were famed as the "Three Bright Men of the Restoration," and a rhyme ran: "Three bright stars shine in the capital: the Cais are cultured, the Xuns and Ges are clear."

元帝為安東將軍，以恢為主簿，再遷江寧令。討周馥有功，封博陵亭侯，復為鎮東參軍。與卞壼並以時譽遷從事中郎，兼統記室。時四方多務，箋疏殷積，恢斟酌酬答，咸稱折中。于時王氏為將軍，而恢兄弟及顏含並居顯要，劉超以忠謹掌書命，時人以帝善任一國之才。湣帝即位，徵用四方賢雋，召恢為尚書郎，元帝以經緯須才，上疏留之，承制調為會稽太守。臨行，帝為置酒，謂曰：「今之會稽，昔之關中，足食足兵，在於良守。以君有蒞任之方，是以相屈。四方分崩，當匡振圮運。政之所先，君為言之。」恢陳謝，因對曰：「今天下喪亂，風俗陵遲，宜尊五美，屏四惡，進忠實，退浮華。」帝深納焉。太興初，以政績第一，詔曰：「自頃多難，官長數易，益有諸弊，雖聖人猶久于其道，然後化成，況其餘乎！漢宣帝稱'與我共安天下者，其惟良二千石'，斯言信矣。是以黃霸等或十年，或二十年而不徙，所以能濟其中興之勳也。賞罰黜陟，所以明政道也。會稽內史諸葛恢蒞官三年，政清人和，為諸郡首，宜進其位班，以勸風教。今增恢秩中二千石。」

As general who guards the east, Emperor Yuan made Zhuge Hui his chief clerk, then twice promoted him to magistrate of Jiangning. He earned the village marquisate of Boling for helping crush Zhou Fu and returned to the eastern headquarters staff. He and Bian Kun rose together on reputation to retainer clerk, jointly heading the secretariat record office. Memorials from every quarter piled up; Zhuge Hui drafted replies that everyone called fair. The Wangs held military power while Zhuge Hui, his brothers, and Yan Han filled high civil posts; Liu Chao handled edicts with scrupulous care—contemporaries said the emperor knew how to use every kind of talent. Emperor Min summoned him to the secretariat, but Emperor Yuan kept him south to serve as interior administrator of Kuaiji. At his farewell audience the emperor said, "Kuaiji is now what Guanzhong once was—plenty of grain and troops if the governor is right. You have a proven hand at administration, which is why we ask this of you. The realm is shattered; we need you to shore up what remains. Tell me which policies must come first." Zhuge Hui thanked him and answered: "In these ruined times we must honor the five virtues, cast out the four vices, promote honest men, and dismiss empty show." The emperor took his counsel to heart. Early in Taixing, citing Zhuge Hui's top-ranked administration, the court observed that frequent turnover of magistrates had bred abuse—even sages need time to teach customs. Han Xuandi's line about good "two-thousand-bushel" governors still holds true. Men like Huang Ba held the same post ten or twenty years and so could finish the work of revival. Clear rewards and promotions are how government shows its course. Zhuge Hui has governed Kuaiji three years with clean rule and popular harmony; he leads every commandery and deserves a raise to model others. His stipend is raised to the full two-thousand-bushel rank."

頃之，以母憂去官。服闋，拜中書令。王敦上恢為丹陽尹，以久疾免。明帝征敦，以恢為侍中，加奉車都尉。討王含有功，進封建安伯，以先爵賜次子虪為關內侯。又拜恢後將軍、會稽內史。徵為侍中，遷左民尚書、武陵王師、吏部尚書。累遷尚書右僕射，加散騎常侍、銀青光祿大夫、領選本州大中正、尚書令，常侍、吏部如故。成帝踐阼，加侍中、金紫光祿大夫。卒，年六十二。贈左光祿大夫、儀同三司。賵贈之禮，一依太尉興平伯故事，諡曰敬。祠乙太牢。子甝嗣，位至散騎常侍。

Soon afterward he resigned to mourn his mother. After the mourning period he became supervisor of the secretariat. Wang Dun named him intendant of Danyang, but chronic illness forced him out. Emperor Ming made him attendant-in-ordinary with colonel who follows the carriage for the campaign against Wang Dun. For crushing Wang Han's revolt he was raised to earl of Jian'an and passed his old title to his second son Zhuge Shu as marquis within the passes. He was again named general of the rear and interior administrator of Kuaiji. Recalled as attendant-in-ordinary, he became minister for the common people, tutor to the prince of Wuling, and minister of personnel. He rose to right vice director, then grand director, with cavalier attendant, silver-and-blue grand household, home-province senior rectifier, while keeping personnel duties. Under Emperor Cheng he received gold-and-purple grand household with attendant-in-ordinary. He died at sixty-two. Posthumous honors included left grand household and three-excellency ceremonial rank. Funeral rites matched those for the village earl of Xingping; his epithet was Jing, "Reverent." He received burial sacrifice of the highest ox-offering grade. His son Zhuge Chan inherited the line and rose to cavalier attendant-in-ordinary.

恢兄頤，字道回，亦為元帝所器重，終於太常。

His elder brother Zhuge Yi, courtesy Daohui, likewise won Emperor Yuan's favor and died as grand astrologer.

殷浩，字深源，陳郡長平人也。父羨，字洪喬，為豫章太守，都下人士因其致書者百餘函，行次石頭，皆投之水中，曰：「沈者自沈，浮者自浮，殷洪喬不為致書郵。」其資性介立如此。終於光祿勳。

Yin Hao, courtesy Shenyuan, came from Changping in Chen commandery. His father Yin Xian, as Yuzhang prefect, once dumped a hundred letters from Luoyang dignitaries into the Yangzi at Stone, saying, "Sink or swim—I am no mail courier." Such was his stubborn integrity. He died in office as chamberlain for the palace revenues.

浩識度清遠，弱冠有美名，尤善玄言，與叔父融俱好《老》《易》。融與浩口談則辭屈，著篇則融勝，浩由是為風流談論者所宗。或問浩曰：「將蒞官而夢棺，將得財而夢糞，何也？」浩曰：「官本臭腐，故將得官而夢屍，錢本糞土，故將得錢而夢穢。」時人以為名言。

Yin Hao was celebrated for subtle learning and lofty manner; with his uncle Yin Rong he mastered Daoist exegesis of the Laozi and Zhouyi. In talk Yin Rong could corner him, but on paper Yin Hao won the day—so the salon set Yin Hao at its head. Someone asked why dreaming of coffers meant promotion and dung meant money. Yin Hao answered, "Rank smells of carrion—hence corpse dreams; cash is filth—hence dung dreams." Wits hailed the reply as a classic line.

三府辟，皆不就。征西將軍庾亮引為記室參軍，累遷司徒左長史。安西庾翼復請為司馬。除侍中、安西軍司，並稱疾不起。遂屏居墓所，幾將十年，于時擬之管、葛。王蒙、謝尚猶伺其出處，以卜江左興亡，因相與省之，知浩有確然之志。既反，相謂曰：「深源不起，當如蒼生何！」庾翼貽浩書曰：「當今江東社稷安危，內委何、褚諸君，外托庾、桓數族，恐不得百年無憂，亦朝夕而弊。足下少標令名，十餘年間，位經內外，而欲潛居利貞，斯理難全。且夫濟一時之務，須一時之勝，何必德均古人，韻齊先達邪！王夷甫，先朝風流士也，然吾薄其立名非真，而始終莫取。若以道非虞夏，自當超然獨往，而不能謀始，大合聲譽，極致名位，正當抑揚名教，以靜亂源。而乃高談《莊》《老》，說空終日，雖云談道，實長華競。及其末年，人望猶存，思安懼亂，寄命推務。而甫自申述，徇小好名，既身囚胡虜，棄言非所。凡明德君子，遇會處際，寧可然乎？而世皆然之。益知名實之未定，弊風之未革也。」浩固辭不起。

The three highest bureaus called him; he refused each. Yu Liang made him recording adjutant; he rose to left chief clerk under the minister of education. Yu Yi again asked him to serve as marshal. He was named attendant-in-ordinary and western-army marshal but pleaded sick and stayed home. For almost a decade he lived as a recluse at his father's tomb while rumor compared him to Guan Zhong and Zhuge Liang. Wang Meng and Xie Shang watched whether he would emerge, taking it as an omen for the southland, and a visit showed Yin Hao would not budge. Leaving, they said, "If Yin Hao stays hidden, what becomes of the people?" Yu Yi wrote urging him: the realm's fate rested on inner ministers and outer generals, and could not survive long without Yin Hao. Yin Hao had held high office yet clung to reclusion—Yu Yi called that stance untenable. A crisis needs timely talent, not a perfect sage. He dismissed Wang Yan as a hollow poseur. Had Wang Yan truly scorned worldly rank he should have lived the recluse's life; instead he chased fame yet preached Zhuangzi. His all-day "dark learning" only fed empty competition. In old age he clung to office while preaching detachment. He ended a barbarian captive—irony complete. Can worthy men behave that way? Yet the world called Wang Yan right. That shows how hollow fashion still was. Yin Hao still refused office.

建元初，庾冰兄弟及何充等相繼卒。簡文帝時在籓，始綜萬幾，衛將軍褚裒薦浩，徵為建武將軍、揚州刺史。浩上疏陳讓，並致箋于簡文，具自申敘。簡文答之曰：「屬當厄運，危弊理盡。誠賴時有其才，不復遠求版築。足下沈識淹長，思綜通練，起而明之，足以經濟。若復深存挹退，苟遂本懷，吾恐天下之事於此去矣，今紘領不振，晉網不綱，願蹈東海，復可得邪！由此言之，足下去就即是時之廢興，時之廢興則家國不異。足下弘思之，靜算之，亦將有以深鑒可否。望必廢本懷，率群情也。」浩頻陳讓，自三月至七月，乃受拜焉。

Early in Jianyuan the Yu brothers and He Chong died in quick succession. While still prince of Kuaiji, Sima Yu took power; Chu Pou recommended Yin Hao as general who establishes might and governor of Yang. Yin Hao memorialized his refusal and wrote Sima Yu privately to explain. Sima Yu answered that the dynasty faced ruin. The throne needs able men now, not mythical hermits. Yin Hao's breadth of mind could save the state. If you cling to reclusion, the dynasty unravels—Sima Yu said he would sooner drown than watch Yin Hao stay home. Yin Hao's choice was the dynasty's life or death. He begged Yin Hao to weigh duty soberly. He asked Yin Hao to heed public expectation." Yin Hao refused from spring to midsummer, then took office.

時桓溫既滅蜀，威勢轉振，朝廷憚之。簡文以浩有盛名，朝野推伏，故引為心膂，以抗于溫，於是與溫頗相疑貳。會遭父憂，去職，時以蔡謨攝揚州，以俟浩，服闋，徵為尚書僕射，不拜。復為建武將軍、揚州刺史，遂參綜朝權。潁川荀羨少有令聞，浩擢為義興、吳郡，以為羽翼。王羲之密說浩、羨，令與桓溫和同，不宜內構嫌隙，浩不從。

Huan Wen's conquest of Shu had made him terrifying to the court. Sima Yu promoted Yin Hao to counterbalance Huan Wen, sowing mutual distrust. When his father died, Cai Mo held Yang province in his stead; after mourning Yin Hao was offered vice director of the secretariat but declined. He was again named general who establishes might and governor of Yang, then entered central policy-making. He promoted the talented Xun Xian to Yixing and Wu as allies. Wang Xizhi privately begged Yin Hao and Xun Xian to work with Huan Wen; Yin Hao refused.

及石季龍死，胡中大亂，朝過欲遂蕩平關河，於是以浩為中軍將軍、假節、都督揚豫徐兗青五州軍事。浩既受命，以中原為己任，上疏北征許洛。將發，墜馬，時咸惡之。既而以淮南太守陳逵、兗州刺史蔡裔為前鋒，安西將軍謝尚、北中郎將荀羨為督統，開江西田千餘頃，以為軍儲。師次壽陽，潛誘苻健大臣梁安、雷弱兒等，使殺健，許以關右之任。初，降人魏脫卒，其弟憬代領部曲。姚襄殺憬，以並其眾，浩大惡之，使龍驤將軍劉啟守譙，遷襄于梁。既而魏氏子弟往來壽陽，襄益猜懼。俄而襄部曲有欲歸浩者，襄殺之，浩於是謀誅襄。會苻健殺其大臣，健兄子眉自洛陽西奔，浩以為梁安事捷，意苻健已死，請進屯洛陽，修復園陵，使襄為前驅，冠軍將軍劉洽鎮鹿台，建武將軍劉遁據倉垣，又求解揚州，專鎮洛陽，詔不許。浩既至許昌，會張遇反，謝尚又敗績，浩還壽陽。後復進軍，次山桑，而襄反，浩懼，棄輜重退保譙城，器械軍儲皆為襄所掠，士卒多亡叛。浩遣劉啟、王彬之擊襄于山桑，並為襄所殺。

Shi Hu's death sparked northern chaos; the court named Yin Hao general of the central army with command over five provinces to recover the heartland. Yin Hao vowed to reclaim the Central Plain and memorialized a drive on Xu and Luoyang. On the eve of departure he fell from his horse—a bad omen everyone noted. He named Chen Kui and Cai Yi vanguard commanders, Xie Shang and Xun Xian as coordinators, and opened a thousand qing of farmland west of the river for grain reserves. At Shouyang he bribed Fu Jian's ministers Liang An and Lei Ruo'er to murder their sovereign with promises of Guanzhong. The defector Wei Tuo had died; his brother Wei Jing led his followers. Yao Xiang murdered Wei Jing and absorbed his troops; Yin Hao detested this, posted Liu Qi at Qiao, and shifted Yao Xiang to Liang. Wei clansmen then shuttled through Shouyang, stoking Yao Xiang's fears. When Yao Xiang executed men who wanted to defect to Yin Hao, Yin Hao resolved to kill him. When Fu Jian slaughtered his ministers while his nephew Fu Mei bolted west from Luoyang, Yin Hao mistook a coup rumor for Fu Jian's death, sought to occupy Luoyang and restore the tombs, sent Yao Xiang ahead, posted Liu Zhi at Deer Terrace and Liu Dun at Cangyuan, and again asked to shed Yang province for a Luoyang-only command—the court refused. At Xuchang Zhang Yu mutinied, Xie Shang lost a battle, and Yin Hao fell back to Shouyang. He advanced again to Shansang, but Yao Xiang rose against him; Yin Hao fled to Qiao, losing supplies and most of his army. Liu Qi and Wang Binzhi died fighting Yao Xiang at Shansang.

桓溫素忌浩，及聞其敗，上疏罪浩曰：

Huan Wen, long jealous, seized the defeat to memorialize:

案中軍將軍浩過蒙朝恩，叨竊非據，寵靈超卓，再司京輦，不能恭慎所任，恪居職次，而侵官離局，高下在心。前司徒臣謨執義履素，位居台輔，師傅先帝，朝之元老，年登七十，以禮請退，雖臨軒固辭，不順恩旨，適足以明遜讓之風，弘優賢之禮。而浩虛生狡說，疑誤朝聽，獄之有司，將致大辟。自羯胡夭亡，群凶殄滅，而百姓塗炭，企遲拯接。浩受專征之重，無雪恥之志，坐自封植，妄生風塵，遂使寇仇稽誅，奸逆並起，華夏鼎沸，黎元殄悴。浩懼罪將及，不容於朝，外聲進討，內求苟免。出次壽陽，頓甲彌年，傾天府之資，竭五州之力，收合無賴，以自強衛，爵命無章，猜害罔顧。故范豐之屬反叛於芍陂，奇德、龍會作變於肘腋。羌帥姚襄率眾歸化，遣其母弟入質京邑，浩不能撫而用之，陰圖殺害，再遣剌客，為襄所覺。襄遂惶懼，用致逆命。生長亂階，自浩始也。復不能以時掃滅，縱放小豎，鼓行毒害，身狼狽于山桑，軍破碎于梁國，舟車焚燒，輜重覆沒。三軍積實，反以資寇，精甲利器，更為賊用。神怒人怨，眾之所棄，傾危之憂，將及社稷。臣所以忘寢屏營，啟處無地。夫率正顯義，所以致訓，明罰敕法，所以齊眾，伏願陛下上追唐堯放命之刑下鑒《春秋》無君之典。若聖上含弘，末忍誅殛，且宜遐棄，擯之荒裔。雖未足以塞山海之責，粗可以宣誡於將來矣。

He accused Yin Hao of arrogating power, bungling two capital commands, and ignoring duty. He praised Cai Mo's stubborn refusal of high office as true modesty. Yin Hao had slandered Cai Mo to the point of capital charges. With Shi Hu gone the people still suffered, awaiting rescue. Yin Hao squandered his mandate, let rebels multiply, and left the heartland in flames. Fearing impeachment, Yin Hao talked of new offensives while angling for personal escape. He camped a year at Shouyang, draining the treasury and five provinces to hire riffraff as bodyguards while handing out rank without rule. Fan Feng mutinied at Shaobei; Qi De and Long Hui struck from within his own camp. Yao Xiang had pledged loyalty and sent kin as hostages; Yin Hao tried twice to murder him instead. Yao Xiang turned rebel out of fear. The spiral of rebellion began with Yin Hao. He failed to crush them in time, let minor foes roam free, and was routed at Shansang and in Liang, losing wagons and stores. His supplies armed the enemy; his armor re-equipped them. Heaven and men turned on him, endangering the altars themselves. Hence your memorialist cannot sleep. He begged the emperor to punish Yin Hao as Yao punished rebels and the Chunqiu punished traitors. If execution is too harsh, at least exile him beyond the pale. Even exile would warn posterity.

竟坐廢為庶人，徙于東陽之信安縣。

Yin Hao was reduced to commoner and banished to Xinan in Dongyang.

浩少與溫齊名，而每心競。溫嘗問浩：「君何如我？」浩曰：「我與君周旋久，寧作我也。」溫既以雄豪自許，每輕浩，浩不之憚也。至是，溫語人曰：「少時吾與浩共騎竹馬，我棄去，浩輒取之，故當出我下也。」又謂郗超曰：「浩有德有言，向使作令僕，足以儀刑百揆，朝廷用違其才耳。」

Yin Hao had rivaled Huan Wen in reputation since youth. Huan Wen once asked how Yin Hao rated against himself. Yin Hao answered, "We have known each other too long for me to be anyone but myself." Huan Wen swaggered as a hero and sneered at Yin Hao, who did not flinch. After the defeat Huan Wen sneered that even as boys Yin Hao had always picked up his cast-off toys—proof Yin Hao was always second best. To Xi Chao he granted Yin Hao's gifts but said civil office would have suited him better.

浩雖被黜放，口無怨言，夷神委命，談詠不輟，雖家人不見其有流放之戚。但終日書空，作「咄咄怪事」四字而已。浩甥韓伯，浩素賞愛之，隨至徙所，經歲還都，浩送至渚側，詠曹顏遠詩云：「富貴他人合，貧賤親戚離。」因而泣下。後溫將以浩為尚書令，遺書告之，浩欣然許焉。將答書，慮有謬誤，開閉者數十，竟達空函，大忤溫意，由是遂絕。永和十二年卒。

Banished, Yin Hao showed no bitterness to his household. All day he traced "What a strange business" in empty air. His nephew Han Bo accompanied him into exile; on Han's return Yin Hao quoted Cao's verse on how fortune divides friends. He wept at the parting. Later Huan Wen offered him grand director of the secretariat; Yin Hao eagerly accepted. He sealed and reopened his reply so many times he sent an empty envelope—Huan Wen never forgave him. He died in 356.

子涓，亦有美名，咸安初，桓溫廢太宰、武陵王晞，誣涓及庾倩與晞謀反，害之。

His son Yin Juan was murdered in 371 when Huan Wen framed him with Prince Xi and Yu Qian.

浩後將改葬，其故吏顧悅之上疏訟浩曰：

When Yin Hao was reinterred, Gu Yuezhi memorialized in his defense:

伏見故中軍將軍、揚州刺史殷浩體德沈粹，識理淹長，風流雅勝，聲蓋當時，再臨神州，萬里肅清，勳績茂著，聖朝欽嘉，遂授分陝推轂之任。戎旗既建，出鎮壽陽，驅其豺狼，翦其荊棘，收羅向義，廣開屯田，沐雨櫛風，等勤台僕。仰憑皇威，群醜革面，進軍河洛，修復園陵。不虞之變，中路猖蹶，遂令為山之功崩于垂成，忠款之志於是而廢。既受削黜，自擯山海，杜門終身，與世兩絕，可謂克己復禮，窮而無怨者也。尋浩所犯，蓋負敗之常科，非即情之永責。論其名德深誠則如彼，察其補過罪己則如此，豈可棄而不恤，使法有餘冤！方今宅兆已成。埏隧已開，懸棺而窆，禮同庶人，存亡有非命之分，九泉無自訴之斯，仰感三良，昊天罔極。若使明詔爰發，旌我善人，崇復本官，遠彰幽昧，斯則國家威恩有兼濟之美，死而可作，無負心之恨。

The memorial praised Yin Hao's past virtue and northern command. It lauded his garrison work and colonization at Shouyang. It credited his plan to restore the Luoyang tombs. Misfortune wrecked his campaign at the last moment. It argued that exile had made Yin Hao a model of patient resignation. His faults were those of any defeated general. Justice should not leave him unrehabilitated. His tomb is ready. Burial as a commoner shames a man of his stature. Restoring his post would honor living and dead alike.

疏奏，詔追復浩本官。

The throne restored Yin Hao's former titles.

顧悅之

The text next treats Gu Yuezhi.

顧悅之，字君叔，少有義行。與簡文同年，而髮早白。帝問其故。對曰：「松柏之姿，經霜猶茂；蒲柳常質，望秋先零。」簡文悅其對。始將抗表訟浩，浩親故多謂非宜，悅之決意以聞，又與朝臣爭論，故眾無以奪焉。時人咸稱之。為州別駕，曆尚書右丞，卒。子凱之，別有傳。

Gu Yuezhi, courtesy Junshu, was known early for principled conduct. He was Emperor Jianwen's age-mate but grayed young. The emperor asked why. He answered, "Pine and cypress stay green through frost; willow and rush wither at the first hint of autumn." Emperor Jianwen delighted in the reply. Friends warned Gu Yuezhi against memorializing for Yin Hao, but he insisted and won the debate. Contemporaries praised his courage. He served as provincial chief administrator and right aide in the secretariat before his death. His son Gu Kaizhi has his own biography in this history.

蔡裔者，有勇氣，聲若雷震。嘗有二偷入室，裔拊床一呼，而盜俱隕，故浩委以軍鋒焉。

Cai Yi was famed for a shout like thunder. Two burglars once dropped dead when he roared from his couch—why Yin Hao made him a vanguard commander.

史臣曰：陸曄等並以時望國華，效彰曆試，迭居端揆，參掌機衡。然皆率由舊章，得免祗悔。而充抗言孺子，雖屈壓於權臣，翊奉儲君，竟導揚於末命，頻參大議，屢畫嘉謀，可謂忠貞在斯而已。殷浩清徽雅量，眾議攸歸，高秩厚禮，不行而至，咸謂教義由其興替，社稷俟以安危。及其入處國鈞，未有嘉謀善政，出總戎律，唯聞蹙國喪師，是知風流異貞固之才，談論非奇正之要。違方易任，以致播遷，悲失！蔡謨度德而處，弘斯止足，置以刑書，斯為過矣。

The historian concludes that Lu Ye, He Chong, Chu Se, Cai Mo, Zhuge Hui, and Yin Hao were men of national stature who reached the highest councils. Most governed conservatively and avoided grave error. He Chong alone spoke truth to power over the imperial succession and served three emperors faithfully. Yin Hao's charisma made the realm expect him to save or sink the dynasty. Once in power he bungled civil and military duties—proving salon brilliance is not statecraft. Misplaced trust in him brought disaster—sad indeed. Cai Mo knew his limits; punishing him harshly was excessive.

贊曰：士光時望，士瑤允當。政既弟兄，任惟台相。祖言簡率，遺風可尚。蔡葛知名，或雅或清。次道方概，謀遠忠貞。中軍鑒局，譽光雅俗。夷曠有餘，經綸不足。舍長任短，功虧名辱。

Eulogy: Shiguang's fame, Shiyao's steady grace. Brothers shared government; ministers anchored the state. Lu Na's blunt honesty set a tone worth emulating. Cai Mo and Zhuge Hui shone—one refined, one lucid. He Chong stood firm; Chu Se planned deep and true. Yin Hao read the game—his fame lit court and countryside. He had breadth but not the rope to rule. He played his weakness as strength—merit undone, honor ruined.

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