1
謝尚
Xie Shang
2
謝尚，字仁祖，豫章太守鯤之子也。 幼有至性。 七歲喪兄，哀慟過禮，親戚異之。 八歲神悟夙成。 鯤嘗攜之送客，或曰：「此兒一坐之顏回也。」 尚應聲答曰：「坐無尼父，焉別顏回！」 席賓莫不歎異。 十餘歲，遭父憂，丹陽尹溫嶠吊之，尚號咷極哀。 既而收涕告訴，舉止有異常童，嶠甚奇之。 及長，開率穎秀，辨悟絕倫，脫略細行，不為流俗之事。 好衣刺文袴，諸父責之，而因自改，遂知名。 善音樂，博綜眾藝。 司徒王導深器之，比之王戎，常呼為「小安豐」，辟為掾。 襲父爵咸亭侯。 始到府通謁，導以其有勝會，謂曰：「聞君能作鴝鵒舞，一坐傾想，寧有此理不？」 尚曰：「佳。」 便著衣幘而舞，導令坐者撫掌擊節，尚俯仰在中，傍若無人，其率詣如此。
Xie Shang, whose courtesy name was Renzu, was the son of Xie Kun, governor of Yuzhang. Even as a child he showed exceptional native goodness. When he was seven his elder brother died; he grieved so deeply that he outstripped what ritual prescribed, and kinsmen marveled at him. By eight his intuition and understanding were already remarkably mature. Once, when Kun brought him along to see a guest off, someone remarked, “For everyone at this mat, the boy is another Yan Hui.” Shang shot back, “With no Confucius at the mat, who could pick out a Yan Hui?” Every guest at the gathering murmured in admiration. Before he was twenty his father died; Wen Jiao, prefect of Danyang, called to offer condolences, and Shang gave way to violent weeping. Then he dried his tears and poured out his sorrow; his composure was unlike any ordinary boy’s, and Jiao was deeply struck. As an adult he was candid and brilliant, with judgment and insight few could match; he brushed aside small-minded scruples and refused the petty pursuits of the crowd. He favored brocaded breeches until his uncles scolded him; he mended his ways of his own accord and so earned a reputation. He excelled at music and commanded a wide range of accomplishments. Minister of Education Wang Dao thought the world of him, likened him to Wang Rong, habitually called him “little Anfeng,” and appointed him to his staff. He succeeded to his father’s title as marquis of Xianting. On his first visit to the ministry, Dao—knowing a choice company was assembled—said, “They say you can dance the mynah dance; everyone here is dying to see it. Can it be true?” Shang replied, “Gladly.” He donned formal dress and cap and danced while Dao had the company clap and keep time; Shang swayed through the steps as though the room were empty—so unguarded was his manner.
3
轉西曹屬，時有遭亂與父母乖離，議者或以進仕理王事，婚姻繼百世，於理非嫌。 尚議曰：「典禮之興，皆因循情理，開通弘勝。 如運有屯夷，要當斷之以大義。 夫無後之罪，三千所不過，今婚姻將以繼百世，崇宗緒，此固不可塞也。 然至於天屬生離之哀，父子乖絕之痛，痛之深者，莫深於茲。 夫以一體之小患，猶或忘思慮，損聽察，況於抱傷心之巨痛，懷忉恆之至戚，方寸既亂，豈能綜理時務哉！ 有心之人，決不冒榮苟進。 冒榮苟進之疇，必非所求之旨，徒開偷薄之門而長流弊之路。 或有執志丘園、守心不革者，猶當崇其操業以弘風尚，而況含艱履戚之人，勉之以榮貴邪？」
Promoted to a post in the Western Bureau, he found men arguing that those torn from their parents by war might still take office for the state and marry to perpetuate their line without moral fault. Shang countered, “Ritual grows out of human feeling and right principle; it should widen our humanity, not choke it. When fate turns cruel, judgment must still rest on the greater moral law. Failing to produce an heir was never counted among the gravest crimes; marriage exists to carry the hundred generations forward and honor the ancestral thread—that door cannot be shut. Yet nothing cuts deeper than the grief of kin torn apart while still living, of father and son cruelly separated. A minor bodily illness can cloud thought and dull the senses; how then can someone crushed by heartbreak and endless mourning, his inner world in chaos, hope to govern the realm? Anyone with a conscience will refuse rank seized in haste and bad faith. Such climbers are not the men we want; they only invite cynicism and entrench corruption. Even recluses who never waver deserve respect for holding the moral high ground—how much less should we prod the grief-stricken toward titles and wealth?”
4
遷會稽王友，入補給事黃門侍郎，出為建武將軍、曆陽太守，轉督江夏義陽隨三郡軍事、江夏相，將軍如故。 時安西將軍庾翼鎮武昌，尚數詣翼咨謀軍事。 嘗與翼共射，翼曰：「卿若破的，當以鼓吹相賞。」 尚應聲中之，翼即以其副鼓吹給之。 尚為政清簡，始到官，郡府以布四十匹為尚造烏布帳。 尚壞之，以為軍士褚襦袴。 建元二年，詔曰：「尚往以戎戍事要，故輟黃散，以授軍旅。 所處險要，宜崇其威望。 今以為南中郎將，餘官如故。」 會庾冰薨，復以本號督豫州四郡，領江州刺史。 俄而復轉西中郎將、督揚州之六郡諸軍事、豫州刺史、假節，鎮曆陽。
He rose to companion to the Prince of Kuaiji, then served at court as a Yellow Gate palace attendant before taking the field as General Who Establishes Might and prefect of Liyang; later he commanded the armies of Jiangxia, Yiyang, and Sui while serving as Jiangxia’s chancellor, keeping his general’s commission. Yu Yi, General Who Guards the West, held Wuchang, and Shang often rode over to discuss strategy with him. Once they shot together; Yi said, “Break the target and the military band is yours.” Shang loosed an arrow the instant Yi finished speaking and struck true; Yi handed over his secondary band on the spot. Shang ruled with austere simplicity; on arriving, he found the yamen had requisitioned forty bolts of cloth to sew him a black cloth canopy. He ordered it torn down and had the fabric cut into padded jackets and trousers for his troops. In the second year of Jianyuan an edict read: “Because frontier duty was urgent, Shang was earlier stripped of his Yellow Gate post and placed under arms. His position is strategically vital; his prestige must be heightened. He is now named General of the Centre of the South; all other titles stand.” Yu Bing soon died, and Shang resumed his old rank to oversee four Yuzhou commands while governing Jiangzhou. Before long he shifted to General of the Centre of the West, took command of six Yangzhou commanderies, became governor of Yuzhou, received the ceremonial baton, and garrisoned Liyang.
5
大司馬桓溫欲有事中原，使尚率眾向壽春，進號安西將軍。 初，苻健將張遇降尚，尚不能綏懷之。 遇怒，據許昌叛。 尚討之，為遇所敗，收付廷尉。 時康獻皇后臨朝，即尚之甥也，特令降號為建威將軍。 初，尚之行也，使建武將軍、濮陽太守戴施據枋頭。 會冉閔之子智與其大將蔣幹來附，復遣行人劉猗詣尚請救。 施止猗，求傳國璽，猗歸，以告幹。 幹謂尚已敗，慮不能救己，猶豫不許。 施遣參軍何融率壯士百入鄴，登三台助戍，譎之曰：「今且可出璽付我。 凶寇在外，道路梗澀，亦未敢送璽，當遣單使馳白。 天子聞璽已在吾許，知卿等至誠，必遣重軍相救，並厚相餉。」 幹乃出璽付融，融齎璽馳還枋頭。 尚遣振武將軍胡彬率騎三百迎璽致諸京師。 時苻健將楊平戍許昌，尚遣兵襲破之，征授給事中，賜軺車、鼓吹，戍石頭。
Grand Marshal Huan Wen planned a push into the heartland and sent Shang toward Shouyang with the main force, promoting him to General Who Guards the West. Zhang Yu, once a general under Fu Jian, had defected to Shang, but Shang failed to reassure him. Enraged, Zhang Yu seized Xuchang and rose in revolt. Shang marched against him, lost, and was arrested and remanded to the minister of justice. Empress Dowager Kangxian, Shang’s niece, was regent at the time and personally reduced him to General Who Establishes Might. At the outset of the campaign Shang had posted Dai Shi—General Who Establishes Might and prefect of Puyang—to Fangtou. Ran Min’s son Zhi and his general Jiang Gan then came over; they sent Liu Yi to beg Shang for relief. Dai Shi held Liu Yi and demanded the dynastic jade seal; Yi went back and told Jiang Gan. Gan assumed Shang’s army was broken and doubted any rescue would reach Ye, so he hesitated and refused. Dai Shi sent aide He Rong with a hundred picked men into Ye to reinforce the Three Terraces and lied, “Hand the seal to me for safekeeping—for now. Enemy bands ring the city and the roads are choked; we dare not send the seal out yet, only a lone courier to report. Once the emperor learns the seal is safe with us, he will see your loyalty and dispatch a major relief force with rich rewards.” Gan yielded the seal to He Rong, who galloped straight back to Fangtou with it. Shang ordered Hu Bin, General Who Rouses Might, to ride out with three hundred horsemen, take custody of the seal, and escort it to the capital. Fu Jian’s general Yang Ping still held Xuchang; Shang smashed his garrison and was recalled as palace attendant, given a light carriage, musicians, and a posting to garrison Stone Fortress.
6
永和中，拜尚書僕射，出為都督江西淮南諸軍事、前將軍、豫州刺史，給事中、僕射如故，鎮曆陽，加都督豫州揚州之五郡軍事，在任有政績。 上表求入朝，因留京師，署僕射事。 尋進號鎮西將軍，鎮壽陽。 尚於是采拾樂人，並制石磬，以備太樂。 江表有鐘石之樂，自尚始也。
Under Yonghe he became vice director of the secretariat, then field commander for the west-of-the-river and Huainan theaters as Forward General and governor of Yuzhou, keeping his court posts while based at Liyang; he later added five Yuzhou and Yangzhou commanderies to his brief and compiled a solid administrative record. He memorialized for an audience, stayed in the capital, and handled vice director duties in an acting capacity. Soon he was promoted to General Who Guards the West and shifted his headquarters to Shouyang. Shang then recruited musicians and commissioned stone chimes to rebuild the court orchestra. Court music with bells and lithophones south of the Yangzi began with him.
7
桓溫北平洛陽，上疏請尚為都督司州諸軍事。 將鎮洛陽，以疾病不行。 升平初，又進都督豫、冀、幽、并四州。 病篤，徵拜衛將軍，加散騎常侍，未至，卒于曆陽，時年五十。 詔贈散騎常侍、衛將軍、開府儀同三司，諡曰簡。
After Huan Wen took Luoyang in the north, he memorialized to put Shang in charge of all Sizhou forces. He was slated to garrison Luoyang but illness kept him from going. Early in Shengping his command was enlarged to cover Yuzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou. As his condition worsened he was summoned as General Who Guards the Court with cavalier attendant rank, but died at Liyang before reaching the capital, aged fifty. The court posthumously named him cavalier attendant, General Who Guards the Court, and ceremonially equal to the Three Excellencies, with the posthumous name “Jian” (“Unadorned”).
8
無子，從弟奕以子康襲爵，早卒。 康弟靜復以子肅嗣，又無子。 靜子虔以子靈佑繼鯤後。
Childless, he was succeeded by his cousin Yi’s son Kang, who died young. Kang’s brother Jing offered his own son Su as heir, but Su also left no sons. Finally Jing’s son Qian installed his boy Lingyou as heir to Xie Kun’s line.
9
謝安
Xie An
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謝安，字安石，尚從弟也。 父裒，太常卿。 安年四歲時，譙郡桓彝見而歎曰：「此兒風神秀徹，後當不減王東海。」 及總角，神識沈敏，風宇條暢，善行書。 弱冠，詣王蒙，清言良久，既去，蒙子修曰：「向客何如大人？」 蒙曰：「此客亹亹，為來逼人。」 王導亦深器之。 由是少有重名。
Xie An, courtesy name Anshi, was Shang’s younger cousin. His father Xie Ai served as minister of the imperial clan. At four he so impressed Huan Yi of Qiao that the man exclaimed, “The clarity of this boy’s presence—one day he will stand with Wang of the Eastern Sea.” By his teens his mind was steady and quick, his bearing relaxed and assured, and his running script already accomplished. At his capping he spent hours in “pure conversation” with Wang Meng; when he left, Meng’s son Xiu asked, “How did that visitor measure up to you, Father?” Meng answered, “He spoke on and on; his presence was almost overwhelming.” Wang Dao esteemed him no less. From then on his reputation carried real weight while he was still young.
11
初辟司徒府，除佐著作郎，並以疾辭。 寓居會稽，與王羲之及高陽許詢、桑門支遁遊處，出則漁弋山水，入則言詠屬文，無處世意。 揚州刺史庾冰就以安有重名，必欲致之，累下郡縣敦逼，不得已赴召，月餘告歸。 復除尚書郎、琅邪王友，並不起。 吏部尚書范汪舉安為吏部郎，安以書距絕之。 有司奏安被召，歷年不至，禁錮終身，遂棲遲東土。 嘗往臨安山中，坐石室，臨浚谷，悠然歎曰：「此去伯夷何遠！」 嘗與孫綽等泛海，風起浪湧，諸人並懼，安吟嘯自若。 舟人以安為悅，猶去不止。 風轉急，安徐曰：「如此將何歸邪？」 舟人承言即回。 眾咸服其雅量。 安雖放情丘壑，然每遊賞，必以妓女從。 既累辟不就，簡文帝時為相，曰：「安石既與人同樂，必不得不與人同憂，召之必至。」 時安弟萬為西中郎將，總籓任之重。 安雖處衡門，其名猶出萬之右，自然有公輔之望，處家常以儀範訓子弟。 安妻，劉惔妹也，既見家門富貴，而安獨靜退，乃謂曰：「丈夫不如此也？」 安掩鼻曰：「恐不免耳。」 及萬黜廢，安始有仕進志，時年已四十餘矣。
Summoned first to the minister of education’s staff and named assistant editor, he pleaded illness and declined both. He settled in Kuaiji with Wang Xizhi, Xu Xun of Gaoyang, and the monk Zhidun—fishing and roaming by day, writing and debating by night—with no interest in public life. Governor Yu Bing, coveting An’s fame, hounded him through every county until An grudgingly appeared—then, after barely a month, he resigned and went home. Further appointments as imperial secretary and companion to the Prince of Langye he ignored entirely. When Fan Wang, director of personnel, nominated him for a ministry post, An answered with a blunt letter of refusal. The authorities reported his years of ignoring summons; he was blacklisted for life and remained in the eastern provinces. Once, sitting in a stone chamber above a gorge in the Lin’an hills, he murmured, “How close this feels to Bo Yi!” Another time he sailed with Sun Chuo and others; when a gale whipped up the waves and everyone panicked, An went on humming and whistling as if nothing had changed. The crew mistook his calm for delight and held their course. As the storm sharpened, he said quietly, “At this rate, how do we get home?” The boatmen took the hint and came about immediately. Everyone present conceded his unflappable poise. For all his love of mountains, he never toured without a train of singing girls. After years of refusing office, Emperor Jianwen—then chief minister—remarked, “Anshi has joined others in pleasure; he could not avoid share their troubles. Call him and he will answer.” His brother Wan meanwhile held the critical post of General of the Centre of the West on the frontier. Though An lived behind a humble gate, his reputation eclipsed Wan’s; everyone expected him to reach the highest councils, and at home he drilled his kin in deportment. His wife, Liu Dan’s sister, watched the clan rise to wealth and rank while An held back and asked, “Is this what a man should do?” Pinching his nose, he muttered, “I doubt I can escape it forever.” Only after Wan’s disgrace did An think seriously of office, and he was already past forty.
12
征西大將軍桓溫請為司馬，將發新亭，朝士咸送，中丞高崧戲之曰：「卿累違朝旨，高臥東山，諸人每相與言，安石不肯出，將如蒼生何！ 蒼生今亦將如卿何！」 安甚有愧色。 既到，溫甚喜，言生平，歡笑竟日。 既出，溫問左右：「頗嘗見我有如此客不？」 溫後詣安，值其理髮。 安性遲緩，久而方罷，使取幘。 溫見，留之曰：「令司馬著帽進。」 其見重如此。 溫當北征，會萬病卒，安投箋求歸。 尋除吳興太守。 在官無當時譽，去後為人所思。 頃之徵拜侍中，遷吏部尚書、中護軍。
Huan Wen, grand general who conquers the west, named him marshal. As he was about to leave Xinting amid a throng of courtiers, Palace Assistant Secretary Gao Song teased him: “You defied every summons and lolled on Eastern Mountain while we kept asking what would become of the common people if Anshi never came out. And what are they to make of you now?” An colored deeply with embarrassment. Once he arrived, Wen was delighted; they traded life stories and laughed the day away. After An withdrew, Wen asked his attendants, “Have you ever seen me treat a visitor that way?” Later, when Wen called on An, he caught him arranging his hair. An was never rushed; he took his time finishing, then sent for a cap. Huan Wen stopped him and said, “Tell the marshal to come in properly capped.” Such was the regard Huan Wen showed him. As Huan Wen prepared his northern expedition, Xie Wan died; An handed in a request to resign and go home. He was soon named prefect of Wuxing. While in post he won no loud acclaim; once he left, people remembered him fondly. He was soon recalled as palace attendant, then rose to head the Ministry of Personnel and serve as central protector of the army.
13
簡文帝疾篤，溫上疏薦安宜受顧命。 及帝崩，溫入赴山陵，止新亭，大陳兵衛，將移晉室，呼安及王坦之，欲於坐害之。 坦之甚懼，問計于安。 安神色不變，曰：「晉祚存亡，在此一行。」 既見溫，坦之流汗沾衣，倒執手版。 安從容就席，坐定，謂溫曰：「安聞諸侯有道，守在四鄰，明公何須壁後置人邪？」 溫笑曰：「正自不能不爾耳。」 遂笑語移日。 坦之與安初齊名，至是方知坦之之劣。 溫嘗以安所作簡文帝諡議以示坐賓，曰：「此謝安石碎金也。」
As Emperor Jianwen lay dying, Huan Wen memorialized that An ought to be named in the imperial testament. After the emperor’s death Huan Wen came to the mausoleum rites, camped at Xinting with a massive escort, plotted to seize the dynasty, and called in An and Wang Tanzhi intending to murder them at the meeting. Tanzhi was terrified and begged An for a stratagem. An’s face never flickered. “Whether Jin stands or falls,” he said, “rides on this interview.” Inside, Tanzhi was drenched in sweat and clutched his name tablet upside down. An took his seat without hurry and told Huan Wen, “When lords upheld the Way, their bulwark was their neighbors—why post armed men behind your curtain?” Huan Wen smiled. “Circumstances left me no choice.” They went on talking and laughing until dusk. Once rivals in reputation, Tanzhi now looked plainly second-rate beside An. Huan Wen once passed around An’s draft temple name essay for Emperor Jianwen and told the company, “Every line is a flake of gold from Xie Anshi.”
14
時孝武帝富於春秋，政不自己，溫威振內外，人情噂，互生同異。 安與坦之盡忠匡翼，終能輯穆。 及溫病篤，諷朝廷加九錫，使袁宏具草。 安見，輒改之，由是曆旬不就。 會溫薨，錫命遂寢。
Emperor Xiaowu was still a boy, real power lay elsewhere, and Huan Wen’s prestige dominated the realm—rumor ran wild and factions took shape. An and Wang Tanzhi steadied the throne with utter loyalty until calm returned. As Huan Wen lay dying he pressured the court for the Nine Bestowals and told Yuan Hong to prepare the edict. An revised every draft Yuan produced, so weeks slipped by without a finished document. Huan Wen’s death buried the whole matter.
15
尋為尚書僕射，領吏部，加後將軍。 及中書令王坦之出為徐州刺史，詔安總關中書事。 安義存輔導，雖會稽王道子亦賴弼諧之益。 時強敵寇境，邊書續至，梁益不守，樊鄧陷沒，安每鎮以和靖，禦以長算。 德政既行，文武用命，不存小察，弘以大綱，威懷外著，人皆比之王導，謂文雅過之。 嘗與王羲之登冶城，悠然遐想，有高世之志。 羲之謂曰：「夏禹勤王，手足胼胝； 文王旰食，日不暇給。 今四郊多壘，宜思自效，而虛談廢務，浮文妨要，恐非當今所宜。」 安曰：「秦任商鞅，二世而亡，豈清言致患邪？」
He soon served as vice director of the secretariat while directing personnel appointments and holding the title of rear general. When Wang Tanzhi left the capital for Xuzhou, An was ordered to take charge of the palace secretariat. An devoted himself to mentoring the throne; even Prince Daozi of Kuaiji leaned on his steadying hand. Enemy armies pressed the frontiers, dispatches stacked up, Liangzhou and Yizhou collapsed, Fan and Deng were lost—yet An met each crisis with unruffled calm and far-sighted strategy. His humane rule won obedience from every arm of government; he spurned pettifogging and set broad policy, projecting authority and grace abroad. Observers likened him to Wang Dao—some thought him the more cultivated. Once, atop the foundry hill with Wang Xizhi, he gazed into the distance with the air of a man who meant to tower above his times. Xizhi said, “Great Yu served the realm until his hands and feet were raw; King Wen skipped meals; even long days were too short for his labors. Today enemy camps ring the capital; we should throw ourselves into service, yet idle ‘pure talk’ sidelines real work and florid words block what matters—that is no fit response to our age.” An answered, “Qin trusted Shang Yang and fell in two reigns—was that the fault of leisurely conversation?”
16
是時宮室毀壞，安欲繕之。 尚書令王彪之等以外寇為諫，安不從，竟獨決之。 宮室用成，皆仰模玄象，合體辰極，而役無勞怨。 又領揚州刺史，詔以甲仗百人入殿。 時帝始親萬機，進安中書監、驃騎將軍、錄尚書事，固讓軍號。 于時懸象失度，亢旱彌年，安奏興滅繼絕，求晉初佐命功臣後而封之。 頃之，加司徒，後軍文武盡配大府，又讓不拜。 復加侍中、都督揚豫徐兗青五州幽州之燕國諸軍事、假節。
The palace lay in ruins, and An proposed rebuilding it. Wang Biaozhi and others cited foreign invasion to argue against it; An overruled them and pushed the project through on his own authority. The new halls mirrored the constellations and aligned with the celestial pivot, yet the corvée stirred no bitterness. He added the Yangzhou governorship and was permitted to bring a hundred armed guards into the audience hall. When the emperor began to rule in person, An was elevated to supervise the secretariat, named general of agile cavalry, and put in charge of secretariat records—though he stubbornly refused the military rank. When drought dragged on and the heavens seemed out of joint, An memorialized to revive fallen houses and enfeoff the descendants of Jin’s founding supporters. He was soon offered the ministry of education and command of the rear army’s entire staff attached to the grand headquarters; again he refused to take office. He also received palace attendant rank, command over five southern provinces plus the Yan fief in Youzhou, and the credential staff.
17
時苻堅強盛，疆場多虞，諸將敗退相繼。 安遣弟石及兄子玄等應機征討，所在克捷。 拜衛將軍、開府儀同三司，封建昌縣公。 堅後率眾，號百萬，次於淮肥，京師震恐。 加安征討大都督。 玄入問計，安夷然無懼色，答曰：「已別有旨。」 既而寂然。 玄不敢復言，乃令張玄重請。 安遂命駕出山墅，親朋畢集，方與玄圍棋賭別墅。 安常棋劣于于玄，是日懼，便為敵手而又不勝。 安顧謂其甥羊曇曰：「以墅乞汝。」 安遂遊涉，至夜乃還，指授將帥，各當其任。 玄等既破堅，有驛書至，安方對客圍棋，看書既竟，便攝放床上，了無喜色，棋如故。 客問之，徐答云：「小兒輩遂已破賊。」 既罷，還內，過戶限，心喜甚，不覺屐齒之折，其矯情鎮物如此。 以總統功，進拜太保。
Fu Jian’s power was at its height; the frontiers flared with alarms and Jin’s generals fell back in succession. An dispatched his brother Shi and nephew Xuan to meet each threat; they won wherever they fought. He was named General Who Guards the Court, granted an opentent equal to the Three Excellencies, and created duke of Jianchang county. Fu Jian then marched, claiming a million men, and halted along the Huai and Fei rivers, throwing the capital into panic. An was named grand commander of the expeditionary forces. When Xuan came for instructions, An showed no alarm. “The orders are already settled,” he said. Then he fell silent. Xuan dared not press further and sent Zhang Xuan to ask a second time. An had his carriage brought to the hill estate; friends and family assembled; he sat down to a game of weiqi with Zhang Xuan, staking a villa on the outcome. An was usually the weaker player against Zhang Xuan, but that day fear levelled the match—yet An still could not win. He turned to his nephew Yang Tan and said, “The villa is yours.” He spent the day strolling outdoors, returned only at night, and then briefed each commander on his assignment. News of Fu Jian’s defeat arrived while An entertained a guest over weiqi; he read the dispatch, set it aside without a smile, and went on with the game. When the guest asked, he said quietly, “The boys have already broken the enemy.” Inside, crossing the threshold, he was so elated that he snapped the pegs of his clogs without noticing—such was his habit of masking emotion to steady those around him. For supreme command of the victory he was promoted to grand tutor.
18
安方欲混一文軌，上疏求自北征，乃進都督揚、江、荊、司、豫、徐、兗、青、冀、幽、并、寧、益、雍、梁十五州軍事，加黃鉞，其本官如故，置從事中郎二人。 安上疏讓太保及爵，不許。 是時桓沖既卒，荊、江二州並缺，物論以玄勳望，宜以授之。 安以父子皆著大勳，恐為朝廷所疑，又懼桓氏失職，桓石虔復有沔陽之功，慮其驍猛，在形勝之地，終或難制，乃以桓石民為荊州，改桓伊于中流，石虔為豫州。 既以三桓據三州，彼此無恐，各得所任。 其經遠無競，類皆如此。
Intent on reunifying the realm, An asked to lead the northern expedition himself and received command over fifteen provinces, the golden axe, retention of his existing posts, and two senior staff appointments. He memorialized to refuse the grand tutorship and ducal title; the throne would not hear of it. With Huan Chong dead and both Jingzhou and Jiangzhou open, opinion favored giving them to Xuan on the strength of his record and prestige. An worried that handing both posts to the Xuan branch—already laden with honors—would alarm the court, while leaving the Huans empty-handed might backfire: Huan Shiquan’s ferocity and victory at Mianyang made him dangerous on critical ground. He split the prize, giving Jingzhou to Huan Shimin, the river defense to Huan Yi, and Yuzhou to Shiquan. With three Huans on three provinces, the clan was satisfied and the throne unthreatened—each man had a fitting charge. His long-sighted, ungrudging settlements usually looked like this.
19
性好音樂，自弟萬喪，十年不聽音樂。 及登臺輔，期喪不廢樂。 王坦之書喻之，不從，衣冠效之，遂以成俗。 又于土山營墅，樓館林竹甚盛，每攜中外子侄往來游集，肴饌亦屢費百金，世頗以此譏焉，而安殊不以屑意。 常疑劉牢之既不可獨任，又知王味之不宜專城。 牢之既以亂終，而味之亦以貪敗，由是識者服其知人。
He loved music, yet for ten years after Wan’s death he would not hear a note. Once he reached the summit of power, he kept musicians even during lesser mourning. Wang Tanzhi wrote to protest; An ignored him, and the gentry imitated him until the practice spread. He raised a lavish villa on the artificial hill, hosting kinsmen with feasts that sometimes cost a hundred ounces of gold; contemporaries ridiculed him, but An brushed it off. He long doubted Liu Laozhi could safely hold sole command and knew Wang Weizhi was wrong to govern a strategic city alone. Laozhi ended in mutiny and Weizhi fell to corruption—observers then conceded An’s eye for character.
20
時會稽王道子專權，而奸諂頗相扇構，安出鎮廣陵之步丘，築壘曰新城以避之。 帝出祖于西池，獻觴賦詩焉。 安雖受朝寄，然東山之志始末不渝，每形於言色。 及鎮新城，盡室而行，造泛海之裝，欲須經略粗定，自江道還東。 雅志未就，遂遇疾篤。 上疏請量宜旋旆，並召子征虜將軍琰解甲息徒，命龍驤將軍硃序進據洛陽，前鋒都督玄抗威彭沛，委以董督。 若二賊假延，來年水生，東西齊舉。 詔遣侍中慰勞，遂還都。 聞當輿入西州門，自以本志不遂，深自慨失，因悵然謂所親曰：「昔桓溫在時，吾常懼不全。 忽夢乘溫輿行十六里，見一白雞而止。 乘溫輿者，代其位也。 十六里，止今十六年矣。 白雞主酉，今太歲在酉，吾病殆不起乎！」 乃上疏遜位，詔遣侍中、尚書喻旨。 先是，安發石頭，金鼓忽破，又語未嘗謬，而忽一誤，眾亦怪異之。 尋薨，時年六十六。 帝三日臨於朝堂，賜東園秘器、朝服一具、衣一襲、錢百萬、布千匹、蠟五百斤，贈太傅，諡曰文靖。 以無下舍，詔府中備凶儀。 及葬，加殊禮，依大司馬桓溫故事。 又以平苻堅勳，更封廬陵郡公。
With Prince Daozi of Kuaiji wielding power and sycophants weaving plots, An took up headquarters at Buchou in Guangling and threw up “New City” to keep his distance. The emperor saw him off at West Pool with wine and verse. Despite shouldering state business, he never renounced his dream of returning to Eastern Mountain; it showed in every word and glance. At New City he moved his entire household and fitted out a seagoing return, planning to slip back east by river once the frontier was stable. That dream went unfulfilled; grave illness struck first. He memorialized for a prudent withdrawal, told his son Yan to stand the army down, ordered Zhu Xu toward Luoyang and Xuan to hold the Peng–Pei front, charging them with overall direction. If both enemies linger, we would strike east and west together when the spring floods come. The court sent a palace attendant to console him, and he came back to the capital. Learning his litter would pass the West Province gate, he brooded that his lifelong wish had failed and said to intimates, “When Huan Wen lived, I always feared I might not survive. He dreamed he rode Huan Wen’s carriage sixteen li and halted at a white cockerel. The carriage meant another had taken Huan Wen’s seat. Sixteen li stood for sixteen years—now complete. White fowl marks the you hour; the year-star sits in you—this illness will kill me!” He memorialized to retire; the throne answered through a palace attendant and secretariat officials. Earlier, leaving Stone Fortress, his drums had snapped mid-march; he, never wrong in speech, once misspoke—onlookers took both for omens. He died soon after, at sixty-six. The emperor mourned him three days in court, heaped gifts of coffin finery, robes, cash, cloth, and wax upon his house, and posthumously named him grand tutor with the epithet Wenjing, “Cultured and Serene.” He had no town house, so the court ordered the ministry to stage the obsequies. Burial honors matched those once given Grand Marshal Huan Wen. For the victory over Fu Jian his fief was raised to duke of Luling commandery.
21
安少有盛名，時多愛慕。 鄉人有罷中宿縣者，還詣安。 安問其歸資，答曰：「有蒲葵扇五萬。」 安乃取其中者捉之，京師士庶競市，價增數倍。 安本能為洛下書生詠，有鼻疾，故其音濁，名流愛其詠而弗能及，或手掩鼻以斅之。 及至新城，築埭於城北，後人追思之，名為召伯埭。
From youth his fame drew wide admiration. A countryman back from a stint at Zhongsu county called on him. An asked what he had brought home. “Fifty thousand palm-leaf fans,” said the man. An picked an average fan to carry; the capital mobbed the market and prices multiplied. He sang the Luoyang scholar’s tune in a muffled voice—his chronic nasal trouble—and leading men adored the sound yet could only mimic it by pinching their noses. At New City he raised a northward dike later named for the Duke of Shao in his honor.
23
附羊曇
Appendix: Yang Tan
25
羊曇者，太山人，知名士也，為安所愛重。 安薨後，輟樂彌年，行不由西州路。 嘗因石頭大醉，扶路唱樂，不覺至州門。 左右白曰：「此西州門。」 曇悲感不已，以馬策扣扉，誦曹子建詩曰：「生存華屋處，零落歸山丘。」 慟哭而去。 安有二子：瑤、琰。
Yang Tan of Taishan was a celebrated scholar whom An cherished. After An’s death he gave up music for a year and would not walk the West Province road. Once, staggering drunk from Stone Fortress, he sang his way along until he found himself at the province gate. His attendants told him, “This is the West Province gate.” Overcome, Tan thrashed the gate with his whip and chanted Cao Zhi’s lines about glory in life and dust in death. He wept his way off. Xie An left two sons, Yao and Yan.
27
安子瑤
Xie An’s son: Yao
29
瑤襲爵，官至琅邪王友，早卒。 子該嗣，終東陽太守。 無子，弟光祿勳模以子承伯嗣，有罪，國除。
Yao succeeded to the title, rose to companion to the prince of Langye, and died young. His son Gai inherited the fief and finished his career as prefect of Dongyang. Without an heir, his uncle Mo, supervisor of the imperial clan, offered son Chengbo; a crime followed and the marquisate was stripped.
30
劉裕以安勳德濟世，特更封該弟澹為柴桑侯，邑千戶，奉安祀。 澹少曆顯位，桓玄篡位，以澹兼太尉，與王謐俱齎冊到姑孰。 元熙中，為光祿大夫，復兼太保，持節奉冊禪宋。
Liu Yu, honoring An’s service to the realm, created Dan—Gai’s brother—marquis of Chaisang with a thousand households to tend An’s rites. Dan had long held high office; under Huan Xuan’s usurpation he served as grand commandant and, with Wang Mi, delivered the accession tablets to Gushu. Under Yuanxi he was palace counsellor and again titular grand tutor, bearing the staff to hand over the Jin abdication to Song.
32
安子琰
Xie An’s son: Yan
34
琰字瑗度。 弱冠以貞幹稱，美風姿。 與從兄護軍淡雖比居，不往來，宗中子弟惟與才令者數人相接。 拜著作郎，轉秘書丞，累遷散騎常侍、侍中。 苻堅之役，安以琰有軍國才用，出為輔國將軍，以精卒八千，與從兄玄俱陷陣破堅，以勳封望蔡公，尋遭父憂去官，服闋，除征虜將軍、會稽內史。 頃之。 徵為尚書右僕射，領太子詹事，加散騎常侍，將軍如故。 又遭母憂，朝廷疑其葬禮。 時議者云：「潘岳為賈充婦《宜城宣君誄》云：'昔在武侯，喪禮殊倫。 伉儷一體，朝儀則均。 '謂宜資給葬，悉依太傅故事。」 先是，王珣娶萬女，珣弟瑉娶安女，並不終，由是與謝氏有隙。 珣時為僕射，猶以前憾緩其事。 琰聞恥之，遂自造轀輬車以葬，議者譏之。
Yan’s courtesy name was Yuandu. Capped young, he was known for integrity and ability, and he cut a striking figure. He lived beside his cousin Dan, the protector, yet they rarely met; among kinsmen he kept company only with the most gifted. He rose from editor to assistant director of the palace library, then to cavalier attendant and palace attendant. At Fei River, An judged Yan fit for war and statecraft, gave him eight thousand elite troops as General Who Supports the State, and watched him shatter Fu Jian’s line beside cousin Xuan—merit that earned the duchy of Wangcai. Mourning for his father interrupted service; afterward he became General Who Conquers the Barbarians and interior minister of Kuaiji. Soon after. He was recalled as right vice director of the secretariat and supervisor of the heir apparent’s household, kept his general’s commission, and added cavalier attendant. His mother’s death left the court debating how his mourning rites should run. Counselors cited Pan Yue’s dirge for Jia Chong’s wife: ‘At the house of the Wu marquis, mourning broke the usual mold.’ ‘Spouses are one; court ceremony should treat them alike.’ ‘So the state should fund the burial on the model used for the grand tutor.’ Wang Xun had wed Wan’s daughter and his brother Min had wed An’s daughter—both unions failed—so the Wangs nursed a grudge against the Xies. Xun, now vice director, dragged his feet out of spite. Humiliated, Yan built his own funeral wagon; critics sneered.
35
太元末，為護軍將軍，加右將軍。 會稽王道子以為司馬，右將軍如故。 王恭舉兵，假琰節，都督前鋒軍事。 恭平，遷衛將軍、徐州刺史、假節。 孫恩作亂，加督吳興、義興二郡軍事，討恩。 至義興，斬賊許允之，迎太守魏鄢還郡。 進討吳興賊丘尪，破之。 又詔琰與輔國將軍劉牢之俱討孫恩。 恩逃於海島，朝廷憂之，以琰為會稽內史、都督五郡軍事，本官並如故。 琰既以資望鎮越土，議者謂無復東顧之虞。 及至郡，無綏撫之能，而不為武備。 將帥皆諫曰：「強賊在海，伺人形便，宜振揚仁風，開其自新之路。」 琰曰：「苻堅百萬，尚送死淮南，況孫恩奔衄歸海，何能復出！ 若其復至，正是天不養國賊，令速就戮耳。」 遂不從其言。 恩後果復寇浹口，入余姚，破上虞，進及邢浦，去山陰北三十五里。 琰遣參軍劉宣之距破恩。 既而上党太守張虔碩戰敗，群賊銳進，人情震駭，咸以宜持重嚴備，且列水軍于南湖，分兵設伏以待之。 琰不聽。 賊既至，尚未食，琰曰：「要當先滅此寇而後食也。」 跨馬而出。 廣武將軍桓寶為前鋒，摧鋒陷陣，殺賊甚多，而塘路迮狹，琰軍魚貫而前，賊於艦中傍射之，前後斷絕。 琰至千秋亭，敗績。 琰帳下都督張猛于後斫琰馬，琰墮地，與二子肇、峻俱被害，寶亦死之。 後劉裕左裏之捷，生擒猛，送琰小子混，混刳肝生食之。 詔以琰父子隕于君親，忠孝萃於一門，贈琰侍中、司空，諡曰忠肅。
Late in Taiyuan he was General Who Guards the Army with concurrent rank as general of the right. Prince Daozi of Kuaiji named him marshal while he kept the right general’s baton. Wang Gong’s revolt earned Yan the credential staff and command of the vanguard. After Gong’s defeat he became General Who Guards the Court and governor of Xuzhou, still bearing the staff. Sun En’s rising added command of Wuxing and Yixing to his brief. In Yixing he executed the rebel Xu Yunzhi and restored Prefect Wei Yan to his yamen. He marched on Wuxing and crushed Qiu Gang’s band. The court paired him with Liu Laozhi, General Who Supports the State, for a second strike at Sun En. En slipped offshore; alarmed, the court made Yan interior minister of Kuaiji with five commanderies under his command, leaving his other titles intact. His prestige was thought enough to secure the entire southeast. On arrival he neither soothed the people nor readied defenses. His officers urged, ‘The raiders lurk offshore waiting for a slip; show mercy and offer them a way back.’ Yan replied, ‘Fu Jian’s million died south of the Huai—Sun En is a beaten refugee at sea; he cannot return!’ ‘If he does, Heaven itself has turned on the traitors and will deliver them to the blade.’ He ignored the advice. Sun En struck Jia Estuary, took Yuyao and Shangyu, and pushed to Xingpu, thirty-five li north of Shanyin. Yan dispatched aide Liu Xuanzhi, who drove him back. Then Zhang Qianshuo of Shangdang lost a fight; the rebels surged; panic spread; advisors called for a cautious stand, a fleet on South Lake, and ambushes along the approach. Yan refused. The enemy appeared before Yan had eaten; he declared, ‘We dine only after we crush them.’ He vaulted into the saddle and rode out. Huan Bao’s vanguard tore deep into the rebels, but the embankment was narrow—Yan’s men strung out in single file while ships raked them from the flanks and cut the column in two. At Qianqiu Pavilion his line collapsed. Yan’s camp officer Zhang Meng hacked his mount from behind; Yan fell and died with his sons Zhao and Jun; Bao perished too. Later Liu Yu’s victory at Zuoli captured Zhang Meng alive and sent him to Yan’s youngest son Hun, who cut out his liver and devoured it raw. The court ruled that Yan and his sons had died for sovereign and family alike, blending loyalty and filial piety; Yan was posthumously named palace attendant and minister of works with the epithet Zhongsu, ‘Loyal and Stern.’
36
三子：肇、峻、混。 肇曆驃騎參軍，峻以琰勳封建昌侯。 及沒於賊，詔贈肇散騎常侍，峻散騎侍郎。
He had three sons: Zhao, Jun, and Hun. Zhao had been on the staff of the general of agile cavalry; Jun held the Jianchang marquisate earned by Yan’s merit. Their deaths among the rebels brought posthumous honors: Zhao as cavalier attendant and Jun as cavalier gentleman.
38
琰子混
Yan’s son: Hun
39
混字叔源。 少有美譽，善屬文。 初，孝武帝為晉陵公主求婿，謂王珣曰：「主婿但如劉真長、王子敬便足。 如王處仲、桓元子誠可，才小富貴，便豫人家事。」 珣對曰：「謝混雖不及真長，不減子敬。」 帝曰：「如此便足。」 未幾，帝崩，袁山松欲以女妻之，珣曰：「卿莫近禁臠。」 初，元帝始鎮建業，公私窘罄，每得一㹠，以為珍膳，項上一臠尤美，輒以薦帝，群下未嘗敢食，于時呼為「禁臠」，故珣因以為戲。 混竟尚主，襲父爵。 桓玄嘗欲以安宅為營，混曰：「召伯之仁，猶惠及甘棠； 文靖之德，更不保五畝之宅邪？」 玄聞，慚而止。 歷中書令、中領軍、尚書左僕射、領選。 以党劉毅誅，國除。 及宋受禪，謝晦謂劉裕曰：「陛下應天受命，登壇日恨不得謝益壽奉璽紱。」 裕亦歎曰：「吾甚恨之，使後生不得見其風流！」 益壽，混小字也。
Hun’s courtesy name was Shuyuan. Young Hun was celebrated and wrote superb prose. Emperor Xiaowu once sought a husband for the Jinling princess and told Wang Xun, ‘Someone in the mold of Liu Tan or Wang Xianzhi would do.’ ‘Figures such as Wang Dun or Huan Wen have talent, yet the moment they grow rich and powerful they meddle where they should not.’ Xun answered, ‘Xie Hun may fall short of Liu Tan, but he is every bit Wang Xianzhi’s peer.’ The emperor said, ‘Then he will do.’ The emperor died soon after. When Yuan Shansong wanted Hun for his daughter, Xun warned, ‘Stay away from the emperor’s reserved dish.’ The joke referred to old Jianye days when pork was scarce and the best morsel went straight to the throne—‘forbidden cut’—so courtiers likened the prized Hun to that delicacy. Hun married the princess and inherited Yan’s title. Huan Xuan wanted to seize An’s house for barracks; Hun protested, ‘The Duke of Shao’s kindness lingered in the pear trees— could Wenjing’s memory not shelter five mu of roof?’ Ashamed, Huan Xuan dropped the plan. He served as director of the palace secretariat, central supervising general, left vice director, and chief of personnel selection. His tie to Liu Yi cost him his life and his fief. At the Jin–Song transition Xie Huo told Liu Yu, ‘When you took the mandate I wished Xie Yishou could have carried the jade seal.’ Liu Yu sighed, ‘I regret it too—the young will never see his grace.’ ‘Yishou’ was the familiar byname of Xie Hun.
40
安兄奕
Xie An’s elder brother: Yi
41
奕字無奕，少有名譽。 初為剡令，有老人犯法，奕以醇酒飲之，醉猶未已。 安時年七八歲，在奕膝邊，諫止之。 奕為改容，遣之。 與桓溫善。 溫辟為安西司馬，猶推布衣好。 在溫坐，岸幘笑詠，無異常日。 桓溫曰：「我方外司馬。」 奕每因酒，無復朝廷禮，嘗逼溫飲，溫走入南康主門避之。 主曰：「君若無狂司馬，我何由得相見！」 奕遂攜酒就聽事，引溫一兵帥共飲，曰：「失一老兵，得一老兵，亦何所怪。」 溫不之責。 從兄尚有德政，既卒，為西蕃所思，朝議以奕立行有素，必能嗣尚事，乃遷都督豫司冀並四州軍事、安西將軍、豫州刺史、假節。 未幾。 卒官，贈鎮西將軍。
Yi, courtesy name Wuyi, was known early. As magistrate of Shan he punished an elderly offender by forcing cup after cup of strong wine on him. An, only seven or eight, sat on his knee and begged him to stop. Yi checked himself and released the old man. He and Huan Wen were close. Huan Wen named him marshal of the west while treating him as an old friend. In Huan Wen’s hall he tipped back his cap, joked, and recited poetry as casually as at home. Huan Wen called him ‘my unbuttoned field marshal.’ Drunk, Yi ignored protocol—once he chased Huan Wen with a wine cup until Wen fled through the princess of Nankang’s gate. She laughed, ‘Without your wild marshal I would never see you here!’ Yi marched into her reception hall, dragged one of Huan Wen’s officers into the party, and said, ‘Trade one veteran for another—what of it?’ Huan Wen let it pass. When cousin Shang died, the west missed his rule; the court, trusting Yi’s steady character, gave him Shang’s old brief—four provinces, General Who Guards the West, Yuzhou governor, with the staff. Soon. He died in post and was posthumously named General Who Guards the West.
42
三子：泉、靖、玄。 泉早有名譽，曆義興太守。 靖官至太常。
His three sons were Quan, Jing, and Xuan. Quan won early fame and became prefect of Yixing. Jing rose to minister of the imperial clan.
43
=奕子玄=
Yi’s son: Xie Xuan
44
玄字幼度。 少穎悟，與從兄朗俱為叔父安所器重。 安嘗戒約子侄，因曰：「子弟亦何豫人事，而正欲使其佳？」 諸人莫有言者。 玄答曰：「譬如芝蘭玉樹，欲使其生於庭階耳。」 安悅。 玄少好佩紫羅香囊，安患之，而不欲傷其意，因戲賭取，即焚之，於此遂止。
Xuan’s courtesy name was Youdu. Bright as a boy, he and cousin Lang were favorites of their uncle An. An once lectured his nephews: ‘What business of the world is it how we raise our boys—except that we want them to turn out well?’ No one answered. Xuan said, ‘Think of orchids and jade trees—we only want them rooted on our own terrace.’ An beamed. As a boy Xuan loved a purple incense pouch; An disapproved yet hated to scold him, so he won it in a mock wager and burned it—ending the fad.
45
及長，有經國才略，屢辟不起。 後與王珣俱被桓溫辟為掾，並禮重之。 轉征西將軍桓豁司馬、領南郡相、監北征諸軍事。 于時苻堅強盛，邊境數被侵寇，朝廷求文武良將可以鎮禦北方者，安乃以玄應舉。 中書郎郗超雖素與玄不善，聞而歎之，曰：「安違眾舉親，明也。 玄必不負舉，才也。」 時咸以為不然。 超曰：「吾嘗與玄共在桓公府，見其使才，雖履屐間亦得其任，所以知之。」 於是征還，拜建武將軍、兗州刺史、領廣陵相、監江北諸軍事。
Grown, he showed statesmanlike gifts but spurned every summons. He and Wang Xun later joined Huan Wen’s staff on equal honor. He became marshal to Huan Huo, general who conquers the west, with Nan commandery and oversight of the northern campaigns. With Fu Jian pressing the border, the court wanted a northern shield; An put forward Xuan’s name. Xi Chao, no friend of Xuan’s, still marveled: ‘An defies the pack to lift a relative—that is clarity.’ ‘And Xuan will prove worthy—that is judgment.’ Everyone else scoffed. Chao added, ‘I served with him under Huan Wen; he placed every man, even grooms, exactly right.’ Xuan was recalled as General Who Establishes Might, Yanzhou governor, Guangling chancellor, and commander of all forces north of the river.
46
時苻堅遣軍圍襄陽，車騎將軍桓沖禦之。 詔玄發三州人丁，遣彭城內史何謙遊軍淮泗，以為形援。 襄陽既沒，堅將彭超攻龍驤將軍戴逯于彭城。 玄率東莞太守高衡、後軍將軍何謙次於泗口，欲遣間使報逯，令知救至，其道無由。 小將田泓請行，乃沒水潛行，將趣城，為賊所獲。 賊厚賂泓，使云「南軍已敗」。 泓偽許之。 既而告城中曰：「南軍垂至，我單行來報，為賊所得，勉之！」 遂遇害。 時彭超置輜重於留城，玄乃揚聲遣謙等向留城。 超聞之，還保輜重。 謙馳進，解彭城圍。 超復進軍南侵，堅將句難、毛當自襄陽來會。 超圍幽州刺史田洛于三阿，有眾六萬。 詔征虜將軍謝石率水軍次塗中，右衛將軍毛安之、遊擊將軍河間王曇之、淮南太守楊廣、宣城內史丘准次堂邑。 既而盱眙城陷，高密內史毛藻沒，安之等軍人相驚，遂各散退，朝廷震動。 玄於是自廣陵西討難等。 何謙解田洛圍，進據白馬，與賊大戰，破之，斬其偽將都顏。 因復進擊，又破之。 斬其偽將邵保。 超、難引退。 玄率何謙、戴逯、田洛追之，戰於君川，復大破之。 玄參軍劉牢之攻破浮航及白船，督護諸葛侃、單父令李都又破其運艦。 難等相率北走，僅以身免。 於是罷彭城、下邳二戍。 詔遣殿中將軍慰勞，進號冠軍，加領徐州刺史，還于廣陵，以功封東興縣侯。
Fu Jian besieged Xiangyang; Huan Chong rode out to meet him. The court told Xuan to draft three prefectures and sent He Qian of Pengcheng to threaten Fu Jian’s flank along the Huai. When Xiangyang collapsed, Peng Chao struck Dai Lu at Pengcheng. Xuan camped at Sikou with Gao Heng and He Qian, desperate to word Dai Lu that help was near yet unable to pierce the lines. Tian Hong swam underwater toward the city and was captured. The besiegers bought him, demanding he cry that the south had lost. Hong pretended to agree. At the wall he shouted that relief was hours away and urged them to stand firm. They executed him. Peng Chao had parked supplies at Liucheng; Xuan leaked a feint toward that depot. Chao wheeled back to protect his trains. He Qian raced in and broke the ring around Pengcheng. Chao pushed south again; Gou Nan and Mao Dang marched down from Xiangyang to reinforce him. Sixty thousand rebels penned Tian Luo at San’a. The court sent Xie Yan’s flotilla to Tu while Mao Anzhi, Prince Tan, Yang Guang, and Qiu Zhun stacked at Tangyi. Xuyi fell, Mao Zao died, and Mao Anzhi’s men routed themselves, rattling the capital. Xuan swung west from Guangling to strike Gou Nan’s host. He Qian raised the siege at San’a, seized Baima, shattered the rebels, and took Du Yan’s head. He pressed on and broke them a second time. Shao Bao’s head joined Du Yan’s. Peng Chao and Gou Nan pulled back. Xuan chased with He Qian, Dai Lu, and Tian Luo and crushed them at Junchuan. Liu Laozhi tore the pontoon; Zhuge Kan and Li Du of Shanfu smashed their grain barges. Gou Nan’s column fled north, lucky to live. Pengcheng and Xiapi garrisons stood down. The emperor’s envoy brought word of promotion to Champion, added Xuzhou, a return to Guangling, and a Dongxing county marquisate.
47
及苻堅自率兵次於項城，眾號百萬，而涼州之師始達咸陽，蜀漢順流，幽并系至。 先遣苻融、慕容暐、張蠔、苻方等至潁口，梁成、王顯等屯洛澗。 詔以玄為前鋒、都督徐兗青三州揚州之晉陵幽州之燕國諸軍事，與叔父征虜將軍石、從弟輔國將軍琰、西中郎將桓伊、龍驤將軍檀玄、建威將軍戴熙、揚武將軍陶隱等距之，眾凡八萬。 玄先遣廣陵相劉牢之五千人直指洛澗，即斬梁成及成弟雲，步騎崩潰，爭赴淮水。 牢之縱兵追之，生擒堅偽將梁他、王顯、梁悌、慕容屈氏等，收其軍實。 堅進屯壽陽，列陣臨肥水，玄軍不得渡。 玄使謂苻融曰：「君遠涉吾境，而臨水為陣，是不欲速戰。 諸君稍卻，令將士得周旋，僕與諸君緩轡而觀之，不亦樂乎！」 堅眾皆曰：「宜阻肥水，莫令得上。 我眾彼寡，勢必萬全。」 堅曰：「但卻軍，令得過，而我以鐵騎數十萬向水，逼而殺之。」 融亦以為然，遂麾使卻陣，眾因亂不能止。 於是玄與琰、伊等以精銳八千涉渡肥水。 石軍距張蠔，小退。 玄、琰仍進，決戰肥水南。 堅中流矢，臨陣斬融。 堅眾奔潰，自相蹈藉投水死者不可勝計，肥水為之不流。 餘眾棄甲宵遁，聞風聲鶴唳，皆以為王師已至，草行露宿，重以饑凍，死者十七八。 獲堅乘輿雲母車，儀服、器械、軍資、珍寶山積，牛馬驢騾駱駝十萬餘。 詔遣殿中將軍慰勞。 進號前將軍、假節，固讓不受。 賜錢百萬，彩千匹。
Fu Jian halted at Xiangcheng at the head of a ‘million’ while reinforcements straggled from Liangzhou, Shu, You, and Bing. Fu Rong, Murong Wei, Zhang Hao, and Fu Fang massed at Yingkou; Liang Cheng and Wang Xian held Luojian. Xuan took the vanguard, joined Xie Shi, Xie Yan, Huan Yi, Tan Xuan, Dai Xi, and Tao Yin—eighty thousand men under one command. Liu Laozhi’s five thousand hit Luojian, killed Liang Cheng and Liang Yun, and hurled Fu Jian’s van into the Huai. Laozhi ran them down, bagging Liang Ta, Wang Xian, Liang Ti, Murong Qushi, and their gear. Fu Jian stacked at Shouyang along the Fei, blocking Xuan’s crossing. Xuan told Fu Rong, ‘You invade yet hug the river—you shrink from a quick fight.’ ‘Step back a little, let the ranks breathe, and we can watch from the saddle—far more satisfying.’ Fu Jian’s officers said, ‘Hold the Fei—never let them ford.’ ‘We outnumber them—safety demands we hold the line.’ Fu Jian said, ‘Pull back, let them ford, then ride hundreds of thousands of armored horses to the bank and crush them.’ Fu Rong agreed; the order to retreat broke the formation beyond recall. Xuan, Xie Yan, and Huan Yi splashed eight thousand elites over the Fei. Xie Shi’s line facing Zhang Hao bent slightly. Xuan and Xie Yan slammed home south of the river. Fu Jian took an arrow; Fu Rong died on the field. Fu Jian’s horde stampeded into the Fei until the river dammed with corpses. Survivors fled by night, mistook wind and crane calls for Jin drums, and froze or starved—eight in ten perished. They took Fu Jian’s mica coach, mountains of gear, and a hundred thousand head of livestock. The throne again sent an envoy with gifts. They offered Forward General and the staff; Xuan refused. A million cash and a thousand bolts of silk followed.
48
既而安奏苻堅喪敗，宜乘其釁會，以玄為前鋒都督，率冠軍將軍桓石虔徑造渦潁，經略舊都。 玄復率眾次於彭城，遣參軍劉襲攻堅兗州刺史張崇于鄄城，走之，使劉牢之守鄄城。 兗州既平，玄患水道險澀，糧運艱難，用督護聞人奭謀，堰呂梁水，樹柵，立七埭為派，擁二岸之流，以利運漕，自此公私利便。 又進伐青州，故謂之青州派。 遣淮陵太守高素以三千人向廣固，降堅青州刺史苻朗。 又進伐冀州，遣龍驤將軍劉牢之、濟北太守丁匡據碻磝，濟陽太守郭滿據滑台，奮武將軍顏雄渡河立營。 堅子丕遣將桑據屯黎陽。 玄命劉襲夜襲據，走之。 丕惶遽欲降，玄許之。 丕告饑，玄饋丕米二千斛。 又遣晉陵太守滕恬之渡河守黎陽，三魏皆降。 以兗、青、司、豫平，加玄都督徐、兗、青、司、冀、幽、并七州軍事。 玄上疏以方平河北，幽冀宜須總督，司州縣遠，應統豫州。 以勳封康樂縣公。 玄請以先封東興侯賜兄子玩，詔聽之，更封玩豫甯伯。 復遣甯遠將軍{夭曰}演伐申凱于魏郡，破之。 玄欲令豫州刺史硃序鎮梁國，玄住彭城，北固河上，西援洛陽，內籓朝廷。 朝議以征役既久，宜置戍而還，使玄還鎮淮陰，序鎮壽陽。 會翟遼據黎陽反，執滕恬之，又泰山太守張願舉郡叛，河北騷動，玄自以處分失所，上疏送節，盡求解所職。 詔慰勞，令且還鎮淮陰，以硃序代鎮彭城。
An urged a follow-up: Xuan led Huan Shiquan toward the Guo–Ying line to retake the ancient metropolis. He camped at Pengcheng, chased Zhang Chong from Juancheng, and left Liu Laozhi there. Yanzhou won, he dammed Lüliang, threw up seven dikes, and eased logistics for everyone. The works became known as the Qingzhou channel. Gao Su took three thousand men to Guanggu and won Fu Lang’s surrender. He pushed into Jizhou: Liu Laozhi and Ding Kuang seized Qiao’ao, Guo Man took Hua Terrace, Yan Xiong bridged the Yellow River. Fu Pi posted Sang Ju at Liyang. Liu Xi’s night attack scattered Sang Ju. Fu Pi begged to yield; Xuan accepted. Xuan fed him two thousand hu of grain. Teng Tianzhi crossed to Liyang and the heartland of Wei capitulated. Four provinces quiet, Xuan took command of seven. He argued that pacifying Hebei required one hand on You and Ji, while distant Sizhou was better yoked to Yuzhou. Merit brought the duchy of Kangle. He ceded the Dongxing marquisate to nephew Wan; the court made Wan baron of Yuning instead. He dispatched Tian Yan against Shen Kai in Wei commandery and broke him. Xuan wanted Zhu Xu in Liang, himself at Pengcheng, shielding the river, Luoyang, and the capital. The court called for drawdown: Xuan to Huaiyin, Zhu Xu to Shouyang. Zhai Liao took Liyang and Teng Tianzhi; Zhang Yuan mutinied in Taishan; Xuan blamed himself and offered every seal. The throne soothed him, kept him at Huaiyin, and shifted Zhu Xu to Pengcheng.
49
玄既還，遇疾，上疏解職，詔書不許。 玄又自陳，既不堪攝職，慮有曠廢，詔又使移鎮東陽城。 玄即路，於道疾篤，上疏曰：
Back at post he sickened and begged off; the emperor refused. He pleaded incapacity again and was ordered to Dongyang city. En route his condition collapsed; he drafted:
50
臣以常人，才不佐世，忽蒙殊遇，不復自量，遂從戎政。 驅馳十載，不辭鳴鏑之險，每有征事，輒請為軍鋒，由恩厚忘軀，甘死若生也。 冀有毫釐，上報榮寵。 天祚大晉，王威屢舉，實由陛下神武英斷，無思不服。 亡叔臣安協贊雍熙，以成天工。 而雰霧尚翳，六合未朗，遺黎塗炭，巢窟宜除，復命臣荷戈前驅，董司戎首。 冀仰憑皇威，宇宙甯一，陛下致太平之化，庸臣以塵露報恩，然後從亡叔臣安退身東山，以道養壽。 此誠以形于文旨，達於聖聽矣。 臣所以區區家國，實在於此，不謂臣愆咎夙積，罪鐘中年，上延亡叔臣安、亡兄臣靖，數月之間，相系殂背，下逮稚子，尋復夭昏。 哀毒兼纏，痛百常情。 臣不勝禍酷暴集，每一慟殆弊。 所以含哀忍悲，期之必存者，雖哲輔傾落，聖明方融，伊周嗣作，人懷自厲，猶欲申臣本志，隆國保家，故能豁其情滯，同之無心耳。
‘I am a common man unfit to serve, yet grace swept me into the army.’ ‘Ten years at the front—always first in the charge, repaying favor with my life.’ ‘I hoped a speck of merit might match the honor given me.’ ‘Heaven favors Jin; Your Majesty’s awesomeness awes every mind.’ ‘My uncle An helped perfect your harmonious reign.’ ‘Mists linger; the people still burn; you ordered me again to lead the van.’ ‘I dreamed of unifying the realm, repaying you in dust and dew, then retiring east with my uncle.’ ‘I set that hope in every memorial you read.’ ‘I meant only to serve house and state—not to watch uncle, brother, and sons die in a single season.’ ‘Grief poisons me beyond bearing.’ ‘Each loss nearly kills me.’ ‘Yet I clung to life hoping still to serve while the court found new pillars.’
51
去冬奉司徒道子告括囊遠圖，逮問臣進止之宜。 臣進不達事機，以蹙境為恥，退不自揆，故欲順其宿心。 豈謂經略不振，自貽斯戾。 是以奉送章節，待罪有司，執徇常儀，實有愧心。 而聖恩赦過，黷法垂宥，使抱罪之臣復得更名于所司。 木石猶感，而況臣乎！ 顧將身不良，動與釁會，謙德不著，害盈是荷，先疾既動，便至委篤，陛下體臣疢重，使還籓淮側。 甫欲休兵靜眾，綏懷善撫，兼苦自療，冀日月漸瘳，繕甲俟會，思更奮迅。 而所患沈頓，有增無損。 今者惙惙，救命朝夕。 臣之平日，率其常矩，加以匪懈，猶不能令政理弘宣，況今內外天隔，永不復接，寧可臥居重任，以招患慮。
‘Last winter the prince asked whether to push or pause.’ ‘I was ashamed to yield ground yet unwilling to cling beyond my strength.’ ‘I never thought our plans would stall and shame would fall on me.’ So I return my seals to await judgment—strict justice would shame me further. Yet Your Majesty forgave and let me keep office despite my faults. Stone and wood would be grateful—how much more a man. Illness dogs me; each step invites blame; the old sickness flared until I collapsed—so you sent me back to the Huai fief. I meant to rest the army, heal myself, refit, and wait for another chance. Instead the malady only deepened. Now I cling to life hour by hour. Even in health I barely governed; cut off from court, I cannot cling to high office.
52
追尋前事，可為寒心。 臣之微身，復何足惜，區區血誠，憂國實深。 謹遣兼長史劉濟重奉送節蓋章傳。 伏願陛下垂天地之仁，拯將絕之氣，時遣軍司鎮慰荒雜，聽臣所乞，盡醫藥消息，歸誠道門，冀神祇之佑。 若此而不差，修短命也。 使臣得及視息，瞻睹墳柏，以此之盡，公私真無恨矣，伏枕悲慨，不覺流涕。
Looking back chills the blood. My life is nothing; the realm is everything. I send Liu Ji with every seal and baton I hold. I beg a physician, leave to retire into Daoist healing, and a garrison chief to steady the chaos I leave behind. If I still die, call it Heaven’s cut. Let me see my family graves once more and I will die content—yet thinking of it I weep on this pillow.
53
詔遣高手醫一人，令自消息，又使還京口療疾。
The court sent a master physician and ordered him to convalesce at Jingkou.
54
玄奉詔便還，病久不差，又上疏曰：「臣同生七人，凋落相繼，惟臣一己，孑然獨存。 在生荼酷，無如臣比。 所以含哀忍痛，希延視息者，欲報之德，實懷罔極，庶蒙一瘳，申其此志。 且臣孤遺滿目，顧之惻然，為欲極其求生之心，未能自分於灰士。 慺慺之情，可哀可湣。 伏願陛下矜其所訴，霈然垂恕，不令微臣銜恨泉壤。」 表寢不報。 前後表疏十餘上，久之。 乃轉授散騎常侍、左將軍、會稽內史。 時吳興太守晉甯侯張玄之亦以才學顯，自吏部尚書與玄同年之郡，而玄之名亞于玄，時人稱為「南北二玄」，論者美之。
He obeyed, saw no cure, and wrote again: ‘Six siblings are gone; I alone survive.’ No one living has suffered as I have. I cling to life only to repay you, praying one recovery will let me finish that debt. Orphans surround me; I cannot abandon them to the grave. The plea is wretched. Spare me dying embittered underground. No answer came. He sent more than ten pleas over many months. Finally he was named cavalier attendant, general of the left, and interior minister of Kuaiji. Zhang Xuanzhi left personnel the same year as Xuan; folk dubbed them the northern and southern ‘Xuan’—both stars of their age.
55
玄既輿疾之郡，十三年，卒于官，時年四十六。 追贈車騎將軍、開府儀同三司，諡曰獻武。
He took his sickbed to Kuaiji and died there at forty-six in year thirteen. The court named him general of chariots and cavalry, opentent equal to the Three Excellencies, with the epithet Xianwu.
56
子瑍嗣，秘書郎，早卒。 子靈運嗣。 瑍少不惠，而靈運文藻豔逸，玄嘗稱曰：「我尚生瑍，瑍那得生靈運！」 永熙中，為劉裕世子左衛率。
Son Gun inherited, served as palace secretary, and died young. Lingyun next inherited the line. Gun was dull; Lingyun’s genius dazzled—Xuan joked, ‘I barely sired Gun; how did Gun sire Lingyun?’ Under Yongxi he led the heir’s left guard for Liu Yu.
57
=附何謙戴逯=
Appendix: He Qian and Dai Lu
58
始從玄征伐者，何謙字恭子，東海人，戴逯字安丘，處士逵之弟，並驍果多權略。 逵厲操東山，而逯以武勇顯。 謝安嘗謂逯曰：「卿兄弟志業何殊？」 逯曰：「下官不堪其憂，家兄不改其樂。」 逯以軍功封廣信侯，位至大司農。
He Qian of Donghai and Dai Lu—brother of recluse Dai Kui—were Xuan’s earliest fighters, bold and cunning. Dai Kui stayed pure on Eastern Mountain; Dai Lu won fame in arms. An asked Lu, ‘How do you and your brother differ in calling?’ Lu answered, ‘I cannot shoulder his sorrows; he never loses his joy.’ Lu earned the Guangxin marquisate and became minister of agriculture.
59
安弟萬
Xie An’s brother: Wan
60
萬字萬石，才器雋秀，雖器量不及安，而善自炫曜，故早有時譽。 工言論，善屬文，敘漁父、屈原、季主、賈誼、楚老、龔勝、孫登、嵇康四隱四顯為《八賢論》，其旨以處者為優，出者為劣，以示孫綽。 綽與往反，以體公識遠者則出處同歸。 嘗與蔡系送客於征虜亭，與系爭言。 系推萬落床，冠帽傾脫。 萬徐拂衣就席，神意自若，坐定，謂系曰：「卿幾壞我面。」 系曰：「本不為卿面計。」 然俱不以介意，時亦以此稱之。
Wan, courtesy Wanshi, flashed brilliance—less depth than An but a genius at self-promotion. He wrote the ‘Eight Sages’ essay favoring reclusion over office and showed it to Sun Chuo. Chuo answered that the far-sighted serve or hide to the same moral end. Once he argued with Cai Xi at the conquest-general’s pavilion. Cai Xi tipped him off the bench and knocked his cap askew. Wan dusted off, sat down, and said, ‘You nearly ruined my face.’ Xi shot back, ‘I was not thinking of your face.’ Neither cared; onlookers admired the poise.
61
弱冠，辟司徒掾，遷右西屬，不就。 簡文帝作相，聞其名，召為撫軍從事中郎。 萬著白綸巾，鶴氅裘，履版而前。 既見，與帝共談移日。 太原王述，萬之妻父也，為揚州刺史。 萬嘗衣白綸巾，乘平肩輿，徑至聽事前，謂述曰：「人言君侯癡，君侯信自癡。」 述曰：「非無此論，但晚合耳。」 萬再遷豫州刺史、領淮南太守、監司豫冀並四州軍事、假節。 王羲之與桓溫箋曰：「謝萬才流經通，處廊廟，參諷議，故是後來一器。 而今屈其邁往之氣，以俯順荒餘，近是違才易務矣。」 溫不從。
He was called to the minister of education’s staff and a western bureau post—he declined. Emperor Jianwen heard of him and named him aide to the pacification general. He arrived in white silk cap, crane cloak, and wooden clogs. They talked the day away. His father-in-law Wang Shu governed Yangzhou. He once rode straight into Wang Shu’s hall in white cap and said, ‘They call you a fool—you really are one.’ Wang Shu answered, ‘The rumor exists—I am just a slow starter.’ He rose to Yuzhou governor, Huainan prefect, and commander of four provinces with the staff. Wang Xizhi told Huan Wen, ‘Wan belongs in council, not the frontier.’ ‘Sending his dash to herd ruins misuses him.’ Huan Wen ignored the advice.
62
萬既受任北征，矜豪傲物，嘗以嘯詠自高，未嘗撫眾。 兄安深憂之，自隊主將帥已下，安無不慰勉。 謂萬曰：「汝為元帥，諸將宜數接對，以悅其心，豈有傲誕若斯而能濟事也！」 萬乃召集諸將，都無所說，直以如意指四坐云：「諸將皆勁卒。」 諸將益恨之。 既而先遣征虜將軍劉建修治馬頭城池，自率眾入渦潁，以援洛陽。 北中郎將郗曇以疾病退還彭城，萬以為賊盛致退，便引軍還，眾遂潰散，狼狽單歸，廢為庶人。 後復以為散騎常侍，會卒，時年四十二，因以為贈。
Wan took command preening on verse and whistle, never visiting the ranks. An personally encouraged every officer down to team leaders. An warned, ‘A commander must court his generals—swagger wins nothing.’ Wan called a meeting, said nothing useful, and flicked his ruyi at them: ‘Fine soldiers, all of you.’ The officers seethed. He sent Liu Jian to repair Makou, then marched toward Guo–Ying to relieve Luoyang. When Xi Tan fell back ill, Wan assumed a rout and ran—his army collapsed and he was stripped to commoner status. Recalled as cavalier attendant, he died at forty-two; that title became his posthumous honor.
63
=萬子韶=
Wan’s son: Shao
64
子韶，字穆度，少有名。 時謝氏憂彥秀者，稱封、胡、羯、末。 封謂韶，胡謂主朗，羯謂玄，末謂川，皆其小字也。 韶、朗、川並早卒，惟玄以功名終，韶至車騎司馬。 韶子恩，字景伯，宏達有遠略，韶為黃門郎、武昌太守。 恩三子、曜、弘微，皆曆顯位。
Shao, courtesy Madu, was known young. The clan’s brightest youths were nicknamed Feng, Hu, Jie, Mo. Feng was Shao, Hu Lang, Jie Xuan, Mo Chuan—baby names all. Shao, Lang, and Chuan died young; only Xuan lived to glory; Shao rose to marshal of cavalry. En, courtesy Jingbo, was broad-gauged; Shao had been palace attendant and Wuchang prefect. His boys Yao and Hongwei each climbed to high office.
65
=安兄據子朗=
Son of An’s brother Ju: Lang
66
朗字長度。 父據，早卒。 朗善言玄理，文義豔發，名亞于玄。 總角時，病新起，體甚贏，未堪勞，于叔父安前與沙門支遁朗論，遂至相苦。 其母王氏再遣信令還，安欲留，使竟論，王氏因出云：「新婦少遭艱難，一生所寄惟在此兒。」 遂流涕攜朗去。 安謂坐客曰：「家嫂辭情慷慨，恨不使朝士見之。」 朗終於東陽太守。
Lang’s courtesy name was Changdu. Father Ju died young. Lang’s metaphysics and prose rivaled Xuan’s. Still weak from illness, he debated Zhidun before An until sparks flew. His mother dragged him away, crying that her life hung on this frail son. Weeping, she took him home. An told guests, ‘My sister-in-law’s speech would shame the capital.’ He died as Dongyang prefect.
67
朗子重
Lang’s son: Chong
68
子重，字景重，明秀有才名，為會稽王道子驃騎長史。 嘗因侍坐，于時月夜明淨，道子歎以為佳。 重率爾曰：「意謂乃不如微雲點綴。」 道子因戲重曰：「卿居心不淨，乃復強欲滓穢太清邪！」
Chong, courtesy Jingzhong, shone as chief clerk to Daozi’s agile cavalry command. Once on a clear moonlit night Daozi sighed at the beauty. Chong said he preferred a wisp of cloud. Daozi joked, ‘Impure heart—you would stain the empyrean!’
70
重子絢
Chong’s son: Xuan
72
子絢，字宣映，曾於公坐戲調，無禮于其舅袁湛。 湛甚不堪之，謂曰：「汝父昔已輕舅，汝今復來加我，可謂世無渭陽情也。」 絢父重，即王胡之外孫，與舅亦有不協之論，湛故有此及雲。
Xuan, courtesy Xuanying, once insulted uncle Yuan Zhan at a gathering. Zhan snapped, ‘Your father insulted me; you continue it—kinship means nothing in your house.’ Chong, Wang Hu’s grandson, had quarreled with his uncle—Zhan remembered.
73
安弟石
An’s brother: Shi
74
石字石奴。 初拜秘書郎，累遷尚書僕射。 征句難，以勳封興平縣伯。 淮肥之役，詔石解僕射，以將軍假節征討大都督，與兄子玄、琰破苻堅。 先是，童謠云：「誰謂爾堅石打碎。」 故桓豁皆以「石」名子，以邀功焉。 堅之敗也，雖功始牢之，而成于玄、琰，然石時實為都督焉。 遷中軍將軍、尚書令，更封南康郡公。 于時學校陵遲，石上疏請興復國學，以訓胄子，班下州郡，普修鄉校。 疏奏，孝武帝納焉。
Shi, courtesy Shinu. He rose from palace secretary to vice director. The Gou Nan campaign won him the Xingping barony. At Fei River he shed the vice director’s tile, took the grand command, and broke Fu Jian with Xuan and Yan. A children’s rhyme ran, ‘Who says you’re hard as stone? Stone shatters you.’ So Huan Huo named sons ‘Stone’ to claim the omen. Laozhi opened the victory, Xuan and Yan finished it—but Shi held supreme command. He took the central army, the secretariat, and a Nankang ducal title. He memorialized to rebuild the imperial academy and local schools across the realm. Emperor Xiaowu approved.
75
兄安薨，石遷衛將軍，加散騎常侍。 以公事與吏部郎王恭互相短長，恭甚忿恨，自陳褊厄不允，且疾源深固，乞還私門。 石亦上疏遜位。 有司奏，石輒去職，免官。 詔曰：「石以疾求退，豈准之常制！ 其喻令還。」 歲餘不起。 表十餘上，帝不許。 石乞依故尚書令王彪之例，於府綜攝，詔聽之。 疾篤，進位開府儀同三司，加鼓吹，未拜，卒，時年六十二。
An’s death moved him up to General Who Guards the Court with cavalier rank. He feuded with Wang Gong of personnel; Gong quit in fury, pleading illness. Shi offered his own resignation. The ministry ruled he had abandoned post and stripped him. The emperor said, ‘Illness is no ordinary reason to quit!’ Tell him to come back. He stayed home over a year. Ten-plus pleas went unanswered. He won permission to run the secretariat from home like Wang Biaozhi. They offered him opentent rank and musicians; he died at sixty-two before the ceremony.
76
石少患-{面}-創，療之莫愈，乃自匿。 夜有物來舐其瘡，隨舐隨差，舐處甚白，故世呼為「謝白-{面}-」。 石在職務存文刻，既無他才望，直以宰相弟兼有大才，遂居清顯，而聚斂無饜，取譏當世。 追贈司空，禮官議諡，博士范弘之議諡曰襄墨公，語在弘之傳。 朝議不從，單諡曰襄。
A chronic facial ulcer drove him to hide his face. Something licked the wound white by night—folk dubbed him ‘Pale-Face Xie.’ He rose on his brother’s name, nitpicked documents, and hoarded wealth—contemporaries sneered. Fan Hongzhi wanted the harsh epithet Xiangmo; his memorial survives elsewhere. The court settled on ‘Xiang’ alone.
77
子汪嗣，早卒。 汪從兄-{沖}-以子明慧嗣，為孫恩所害。 明慧從兄喻復以子暠嗣。 宋受禪，國除。
Son Wang inherited and died young. Cousin Chong adopted heir Minghui, whom Sun En murdered. Yu then installed son Gao as heir. The Liu-Song founding ended the fief.
78
=從子邈=
Nephew: Miao
79
邈字茂度。 父鐵，永嘉太守。 邈性剛鯁，無所屈撓，頗有理識。 累遷侍中。 時孝武帝觴樂之後多賜侍臣文詔，辭義有不雅者，邈輒焚毀之，其他侍臣被詔者或宣揚之，故論者以此多邈。 後為吳興太守。 孫恩之亂，為賊胡桀、郜驃等所執，害之。 賊逼令北面，邈厲聲曰：「我不得罪天子，何北面之有！」 遂害之。 邈妻郗氏，甚妒。 邈先娶妾，郗氏怨懟，與邈書告絕。 邈以其書非婦人詞，疑其門下生仇玄達為之作，遂斥玄達。 玄達怒，遂投孫恩，並害邈兄弟，竟至滅門。
Miao, courtesy Maodu. Father Tie governed Yongjia. He was rigid, fearless, and shrewd. He rose to palace attendant. After imperial banquets Xiaowu handed out draft edicts; Miao burned the bad ones while others flaunted theirs—critics preferred Miao’s discretion. He later governed Wuxing. Sun En’s men, Hu Jie and Gao Piao among them, took him and killed him. They ordered him to bow north; he shouted, ‘I wronged no emperor—I face no usurper!’ They cut him down. Lady Xi, his wife, was fiercely jealous. She repudiated him in writing when he took a concubine. He thought student Qiu Xuanda forged her voice and expelled him. Qiu fled to Sun En and helped wipe out Miao’s kin.
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【史論】==史臣曰：建元之後，時政多虞，巨猾陸梁，權臣橫恣。 其有兼將相於中外，系存亡於社稷，負扆資之以端拱，鑿井賴之以晏安者，其惟謝氏乎！ 簡侯任總中台，效彰分閫； 正議雲唱，喪禮墮而復弘； 遺音既補，雅樂缺而還備。 君子哉，斯人也！ 文靖始居塵外，高謝人間，嘯詠山林，浮泛江海，當此之時，蕭然有陵霞之致。 暨於褫薜蘿而襲硃組，去衡泌而踐丹墀，庶績於是用康，彝倫以之載穆。 苻堅百萬之眾已瞰吳江，桓溫九五之心將移晉鼎，衣冠易慮，遠邇崩心。 從容而杜奸謀，宴衎而清群寇，宸居獲太山之固，惟揚去累卵之危，斯為盛矣。 然激繁會於期服之辰，敦一歡于百金之費，廢禮于偷薄之俗，崇侈于耕戰之秋，雖欲混哀樂而同歸，齊奢儉於一致，而不知頹風已扇，雅道日淪，國之儀刑，豈期若是！ 琰稱貞幹，卒以忠勇垂名； 混曰風流，竟以文詞獲譽：並階時宰，無墮家風。 奕萬以放肆為高，石奴以褊濁興累，雖曰微纇，猶稱名實。 康樂才兼文武，志存匡濟，淮肥之役，勍寇望之而土崩； 渦潁之師，中州應之而席捲。 方欲西平鞏洛，北定幽燕，廟算有遺，良圖不果，降齡何促，功敗垂成，拊其遺文，經綸遠矣。
The historians write: After Jianyuan, traitors and strongmen ran wild. Who held both sword and seal, steadied the throne, and let the court breathe easy? The Xies. Marquis Jian ran the center and the frontier alike. His principled voice restored ritual when mourning law frayed. He refitted bells and stones so the court heard music again. A gentleman, that man. Xie An began above the fray, singing in hills and on rivers like an immortal. Once he took office, the realm steadied and ethics calmed. Fu Jian’s horde and Huan Wen’s ambition terrified every minister. He broke plots over wine and saved Jin from stacked odds—true greatness. Yet music during mourning and feasts of gold eroded the very manners he saved—decay spread unseen. Yan: integrity and courage; Hun: poetry and polish—both kept the clan’s stature. Yi and Wan flaunted excess; Shi’s meanness stained them—small faults, true labels. Kangle—Xie Xuan—was soldier and scholar; at Fei River enemies shattered at his name; his Guo–Ying thrust rolled up the heartland. He nearly reconquered the north—cut down young, his plans live on in his words.
81
贊曰：安西英爽，才兼辯博。 宣力方鎮，流聲台閣。 太保沈浮，曠若虛舟。 任高百辟，情惟一丘。 琰邈忠壯，奕萬虛放。 為龍為光，或卿或將。 偉哉獻武，功宣授斧。 克翦凶渠，幾清中宇。
The eulogy praises the marquis of the west, brilliant and learned. He spent his strength on the frontier and left his name in the capital. The grand tutor moved through office like a raft on an empty stream. Rank towered above his peers, yet one hill held all his longing. Yan and Miao embody loyalty; Yi and Wan embody unbridled ease. They were dragons, they brought glory—some as ministers, some as generals. How great Xianwu, whose merit earned the battle-axe of command. He nearly scoured the realm clean of rebels.