1
陳壽
Chen Shou
2
陳壽，字承祚，巴西安漢人也。 少好學，師事同郡譙周，仕蜀為觀閣令史。 宦人黃皓專弄威權，大臣皆曲意附之，壽獨不為之屈，由是屢被譴黜。 遭父喪，有疾，使婢丸藥，客往見之，鄉黨以為貶議。 及蜀平，坐是沈滯者累年。 司空張華愛其才，以壽雖不遠嫌，原情不至貶廢，舉為孝廉，除佐著作郎，出補陽平令。 撰《蜀相諸葛亮集》，奏之。 除著作郎，領本郡中正。 撰魏、吳、蜀《三國志》，凡六十五篇。 時人稱其善敘事，有良史之才。 夏侯湛時著《魏書》，見壽所作，便壞己書而罷。 張華深善之，謂壽曰：「當以《晉書》相付耳。」 其為時所重如此。 或云丁儀、丁暠有盛名于魏，壽謂其子曰：「可覓千斛米見與，當為尊公作佳傳。」 丁不與之，竟不為立傳。 壽父為馬謖參軍，謖為諸葛亮所誅，壽父亦坐被髡，諸葛瞻又輕壽。 壽為亮立傳，謂亮將略非長，無應敵之才，言瞻惟工書，名過其實。 議者以此少之。
Chen Shou, whose courtesy name was Chengzuo, came from Anhan in Baxi commandery. He loved books from boyhood and studied under Qiao Zhou of his commandery. In Shu-Han he served as a clerk in the imperial library. The eunuch Huang Hao monopolized power, and high officials fawned on him—except Chen Shou, who would not yield. He was repeatedly censured and demoted. During mourning for his father he fell ill and had a servant girl prepare his medicine. Visitors saw it, and local opinion condemned the breach of ritual. After Shu fell he remained in disgrace for years on that account. Minister of Works Zhang Hua admired his gifts. Though Chen Shou had not kept clear of scandal, Zhang judged his faults insufficient for permanent ruin, nominated him as Filial and Incorrupt, appointed him assistant drafter, and later sent him out as magistrate of Yangping. He compiled the collected works of Zhuge Liang, the Shu chancellor, and presented them to the throne. He was named a drafter and concurrently served as state appraiser for his home commandery. He wrote the Records of the Three Kingdoms for Wei, Wu, and Shu—sixty-five chapters in all. His contemporaries praised his narrative skill and called him a historian of the first rank. Xiahou Zhan was drafting a Wei history; when he read Chen Shou's work he tore up his own manuscript and quit. Zhang Hua thought it superb and told him, "The Jin history should be placed in your hands." Such was the regard he commanded. Some said that when Ding Yi and Ding Gao had been famous in Wei, Chen Shou told their sons, "Bring me a thousand hu of rice and I will write your fathers a fine biography." The Ding family refused, and he never gave them biographies. Chen Shou's father had been an adviser to Ma Su; when Ma Su was executed by Zhuge Liang, his father was shaven as an accomplice. Zhuge Zhan in turn despised Chen Shou. In Zhuge Liang's biography Chen Shou wrote that Liang was no master of strategy and lacked the gifts of a field commander, and that Zhuge Zhan was skilled only at calligraphy and more praised than deserved. Critics despised him for it.
3
張華將舉壽為中書郎，荀勖忌華而疾壽，遂諷吏部遷壽為長廣太守。 辭母老不就。 杜預將之鎮，復薦之於帝，宜補黃散。 由是授御史治書。 以母憂去職。 母遺言令葬洛陽，壽遵其志。 又坐不以母歸葬，竟被貶議。 初，譙周嘗謂壽曰：「卿必以才學成名，當被損折，亦非不幸也。 宜深慎之。」 壽至此，再致廢辱，皆如周言。 後數歲，起為太子中庶子，未拜。
Zhang Hua was about to recommend Chen Shou for the Palace Secretariat. Xun Xu, who resented Zhang, attacked Chen Shou as well and had the Ministry of Personnel move him to be Administrator of Changuang. He pleaded his mother's age and did not take up the post. When Du Yu was leaving for his frontier command, he recommended Chen Shou to the emperor again, arguing that he should fill a post as Yellow Gate or Palisade attendant. He was therefore named drafter to the imperial censor. He resigned to mourn his mother. Her last wish was to be buried in Luoyang, and Chen Shou obeyed. He was attacked again for not taking her body home for burial in the ancestral ground and suffered further disgrace. Long before, Qiao Zhou had told him, "You will make your name with learning, but you will also meet reversals—and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Guard yourself with care." Chen Shou's second round of ruin matched Qiao Zhou's warning exactly. Several years later he was appointed Palace Attendant to the heir apparent but never assumed the post.
4
，病卒，時年六十五。 梁州大中正、尚書郎范頵等上表曰：「昔漢武帝詔曰：『司馬相如病甚，可遣悉取其書。』 使者得其遺書，言封禪事，天子異焉。 臣等案：故治書侍御史陳壽作《三國志》，辭多勸誡，明乎得失，有益風化，雖文豔不若相如，而質直過之，願垂採錄。」 於是詔下河南尹、洛陽令，就家寫其書。 壽又撰《古國志》五十篇、《益都耆舊傳》十篇，餘文章傳於世。
He then died of illness at the age of sixty-five. Fan Ji, the grand state appraiser for Liang province and a Gentleman of the Masters of Writing, jointly memorialized: "Emperor Wu of Han once decreed, 'Sima Xiangru is gravely ill; send someone to collect all his writings. The envoy brought back his papers on the feng and shan sacrifices, and the emperor was astonished. We note that the late drafter-censor Chen Shou wrote the Records of the Three Kingdoms, a work rich in moral judgment that clarifies right and wrong and improves public morals. Its prose is less ornate than Sima Xiangru's, but its honest plainness surpasses him. We beg that it be copied into the imperial collection." An edict ordered the governor of Henan and the magistrate of Luoyang to copy the work at Chen Shou's house. Chen Shou also wrote fifty chapters of Records of Ancient States and ten chapters of Traditions of the Elders of Yidu; other essays of his circulated as well.
5
王長文
Wang Changwen
6
王長文，字德睿，廣漢郪人也。 少以才學知名，而蕩不羈，州府辟命皆不就。 州辟別駕，乃微服竊出，舉州莫知所之。 後於成都市中蹲踞齧胡餅。 刺史知其不屈，禮遣之。 閉門自守，不交人事。 著書四卷，擬《易》，名曰《通玄經》，有《文言》、《卦象》，可用卜筮，時人比之揚雄《太玄》。 同郡馬秀曰：「揚雄作《太玄》，惟桓譚以為必傳後世。 晚遭陸績，玄道遂明。 長文《通玄經》未遭陸績、君山耳。」
Wang Changwen, courtesy name Derui, was a native of Qi in Guanghan commandery. Known young for his scholarship, he was also wild and unbent; he turned down every summons from the province or the commandery. When the province called him as aide-de-camp, he slipped away in disguise and vanished without a trace. Later he was seen squatting in the Chengdu market eating flatbread. The inspector, seeing that he would not be forced, dismissed him with courtesy. He shut his gate and kept to himself, avoiding the world. He wrote four volumes modeled on the Book of Changes, titled the Classic of Penetrating Mystery, with sections on the literary commentary and hexagram images usable in divination. Contemporaries likened it to Yang Xiong's Grand Mystery. Ma Xiu of his commandery said, "When Yang Xiong wrote the Grand Mystery, only Huan Tan believed it would survive the ages. Later Lu Ji appeared, and the teaching of the Mystery became clear. Changwen's Classic of Penetrating Mystery has not yet found its Lu Ji or Huan Junshan."
7
太康中，蜀土荒饉，開倉振貸。 長文居貧，貸多，後無以償。 郡縣切責，送長文到州。 刺史徐幹舍之，不謝而去。 後成都王穎引為江源令。 或問：「前不降志，今何為屈？」 長文曰：「祿以養親，非為身也。」 梁王肜為丞相，引為從事中郎。 在洛出行，輒著白旃小鄣以載車，當時異焉。 後終於洛。
During the Taikang era famine struck Shu; the government opened the granaries for relief loans. Changwen was poor, borrowed heavily, and could not repay. The county pressed him and escorted him to the provincial capital. Inspector Xu Gan let him go; he left without a word of thanks. Later Prince Ying of Chengdu appointed him magistrate of Jiangyuan. Someone asked, "You once refused to humble yourself—why yield now?" Changwen replied, "I take office to support my parents, not for my own sake." When Prince Rong of Liang became chancellor, he named Changwen a retainer gentleman. In Luoyang he rode with a small white silk screen fixed to his carriage, which people found odd. He died in Luoyang.
8
虞溥
Yu Pu
9
虞溥，字允源，高平昌邑人也。 父秘，為偏將軍。 鎮隴西。 溥從父之官，專心墳籍。 時疆場閱武，人爭視之，溥未嘗寓目。 郡察孝廉，除郎中，補尚書都令史。 尚書令衛瓘、尚書褚䂮-{竝}-器重之。 溥謂瓘曰：「往者金馬啓符，大晉應天，宜復先王五等之制，以綏久長。 不可承暴秦之法，遂漢魏之失也。」 瓘曰：「歷代歎此，而終未能改。」
Yu Pu, courtesy name Yuanyuan, came from Changyi in Gaoping commandery. His father Yu Mi was a general of the wings. He was stationed in Longxi. Yu Pu accompanied his father to the post and gave himself entirely to books. When the army drilled on the frontier, crowds rushed to watch; Yu Pu never looked. His commandery nominated him as Filial and Incorrupt; he became a gentleman of the interior and then a chief clerk in the Masters of Writing. Director Wei Guan of the Masters of Writing and Minister Chu Lü both thought highly of him. Yu Pu told Wei Guan, "When the golden-horse omen appeared, Great Jin received Heaven's mandate. You should restore the five ranks of the ancient kings to ensure lasting peace. Do not perpetuate the harsh laws of the Qin or repeat the mistakes of Han and Wei." Wei Guan answered, "Every age has lamented that, yet none has ever changed it."
10
稍遷公車司馬令，除鄱陽內史。 大修庠序，廣詔學徒，移告屬縣曰：「學所以定情理性而積眾善者也。 情定于內而行成於外，積善於心而名顯於教，故中人之性隨教而移，積善則習與性成。 唐虞之時，皆比屋而可封，及其廢也，而雲可誅，豈非化以成俗，教移人心者哉！ 自漢氏失-{御}-，天下分崩，江表寇隔，久替王教，庠序之訓，廢而莫修。 今四海一統，萬里同軌，熙熙兆庶，-{咸}-休息乎太和之中，宜崇尚道素，廣開學業，以贊協時雍，光揚盛化。」 乃具為條制。 於是至者七百餘人。 溥乃作誥以獎訓之，曰：
He rose to be marshal of the petition coaches and was then named internal historian of Poyang. He rebuilt the schools, summoned students widely, and sent a circular to his counties: "Study steadies the feelings, orders the nature, and heaps up every virtue. What is settled within becomes conduct without; goodness stored in the heart wins a name through instruction. Ordinary natures shift with teaching; pile up good deeds and habit becomes second nature. Under Yao and Shun every household deserved a noble rank; when virtue failed, common folk were marked for execution. Is that not proof that transformation makes custom and instruction moves the heart? Since the Han lost the reins, the realm shattered and the south was cut off by war. Royal teaching languished for ages; schools fell into ruin and none repaired them. Now the four seas are one, the cart tracks run unbroken for a thousand li, and the people bask in the Great Harmony. It is time to honor plain virtue, widen the path of learning, help perfect the age's peace, and spread this splendid transformation." He drew up detailed regulations. More than seven hundred students enrolled. Yu Pu issued a proclamation of encouragement, which said:
11
時祭酒求更起屋行禮，溥曰：「君子行禮，無常處也，故孔子射於矍相之圃，而行禮於大樹之下。 況今學庭庠序，高堂顯敞乎！」
When the libationer asked to erect another hall for ritual, Yu Pu said, "The gentleman performs ritual wherever he is: Confucius shot at the Juexiang garden and held ceremony beneath a great tree. How much more our present academy, with its high, open hall!"
12
溥為政嚴而不猛，風化大行，有白烏集於郡庭。 注《春秋》經、傳，撰《江表傳》及文章詩賦數十篇。 卒于洛，時年六十二。 子勃，過江上《江表傳》於元帝，詔藏于秘書。
Yu Pu governed firmly but not harshly, and moral influence spread; white crows gathered in the commandery courtyard. He annotated the Spring and Autumn Annals and its commentaries, wrote the Traditions from South of the Yangzi, and left several dozen prose and verse pieces. He died in Luoyang at sixty-two. His son Yu Bo brought the Traditions from South of the Yangzi to Emperor Yuan after crossing the Yangzi; an edict placed it in the palace library.
13
司馬彪
Sima Biao
14
司馬彪，字紹統，高陽王睦之長子也。 出後宣帝弟敏。 少篤學不倦，然好色薄行，為睦所責，故不得為嗣，雖名出繼，實廢之也。 彪由此不交人事，而專精學習，故得博覽群籍，終其綴集之務。 初拜騎都尉。 泰始中，為秘書郎，轉丞。 注《莊子》，作《九州春秋》。 以為「先王立史官以書時事，載善惡以為沮勸，撮教世之要也。 是以《春秋》不修，則仲尼理之； 《關雎》既亂，則師摯修之。 前哲豈好煩哉？ 蓋不得已故也。 漢氏中興，訖于建安，忠臣義土亦以昭著，而時無良史，記述煩雜，譙周雖已刪除，然猶未盡，安順以下，亡缺者多。」 彪乃討論眾書，綴其所聞，起于世祖，終於孝獻，編年二百，錄世十二，通綜上下，旁貫庶事，為紀、志、傳凡八十篇，號曰《續漢書》。
Sima Biao, courtesy name Shaotong, was the eldest son of Sima Mu, the Prince of Gaoyang. He was adopted as heir to Sima Min, younger brother of Emperor Xuan. He studied tirelessly in youth but was lewd and dissolute. Mu censured him and barred him from the succession; though nominally adopted out, he was in effect cast aside. Thereafter Sima Biao shunned public life and devoted himself to scholarship, reading widely and completing his compilations. He first received appointment as a cavalry commandant. During the Taishi era he was a gentleman of the palace library and then its aide. He annotated the Zhuangzi and wrote the Spring and Autumn of the Nine Provinces. He held that "the ancient kings founded historiography to record events, inscribing good and evil to encourage and warn—this is the hinge of governing the age. Thus when the Spring and Autumn Annals fell into neglect, Confucius set them in order; when the "Guanju" ode was corrupted, Master Zhi restored it. Did the sages relish such toil? They had no choice. From the Han restoration to the Jian'an era, loyal men made shining names, yet there was no worthy historian; accounts grew tangled. Qiao Zhou pruned them but left the job unfinished, and from the An and Shun reigns onward much was lost." Sima Biao collated the sources and arranged what he had learned from Emperor Guangwu through Emperor Xian—two hundred years in annalistic form, twelve reigns, linking high policy with humble detail in annals, treatises, and biographies: eighty chapters titled the Continued Book of Han.
15
泰始初，武帝親祠南郊，彪上疏定議，語在《效祀志》。 後拜散騎侍郎。 惠帝末年卒，時所六十餘。
Early in Taishi, when Emperor Wu sacrificed at the southern suburb in person, Sima Biao memorialized with a settled opinion—the text appears in the treatise on suburban sacrifice. He was later appointed gentleman cavalier attendant. He died toward the end of Emperor Hui's reign, aged over sixty.
16
初，譙周以司馬遷《史記》書周秦以上，或采俗語百家之言，不專據正經，周於是作《古史考》二十五篇，皆憑舊典，以糾遷之謬誤。 彪復以周為未盡善也，條《古史考》中凡百二十二事為不當，多據《汲塚紀年》之義，亦行於世。
Qiao Zhou had objected that Sima Qian's Records, in treating antiquity down through Zhou and Qin, sometimes drew on vulgar lore and the hundred schools rather than orthodox classics, so he wrote twenty-five chapters of Ancient History Examined, grounding each point in older texts to correct Sima Qian's mistakes. Sima Biao still found Qiao Zhou incomplete and listed 122 points in Ancient History Examined as wrong, relying chiefly on the Ji Tomb Bamboo Annals; his critique too circulated.
17
王隱
Wang Yin
18
王隱，字處叔，陳郡陳人也。 世寒素。 父銓，曆陽令，少好學，有著述之志，每私錄晉事及功臣行狀，未就而卒。 隱以儒素自守，不交勢援，博學多聞，受父遺業，西都舊事多所諳究。
Wang Yin, courtesy name Shushu, was a native of Chen in Chen commandery. His family was of humble station. His father Wang Quan, magistrate of Liyang, loved learning and hoped to write a history; he privately noted Jin events and the deeds of eminent men but died before finishing. Wang Yin lived plainly as a scholar, shunned powerful patrons, read widely, inherited his father's project, and knew the old stories of the western capital in depth.
19
建興中，過江，丞相軍諮祭酒涿郡祖納雅相知重。 納好博弈，每諫止之。 納曰：「聊用忘憂耳。」 隱曰：「蓋古人遭時，則以功達其道； 不遇，則以言達其才，故否泰不窮也。 當今晉未有書，天下大亂，舊事蕩滅，非凡才所能立。 君少長五都，游宦四方，華夷成敗皆在耳目，何不述而裁之！ 應仲遠作《風俗通》，崔子真作《政論》，蔡伯喈作《勸學篇》，史遊作《急就章》，猶行於世，便為沒而不朽。 當其同時，人豈少哉？ 而了無聞，皆由無所述作也。 故君子疾沒世而無聞，《易》稱自強不息，況國史明乎得失之跡，何必博弈而後忘憂哉」納喟然歎曰：「非不悅子道，力不足也。」 乃上疏薦隱。 元帝以草創務殷，未遑史官，遂寢不報。
During Jianxing he crossed the Yangzi, and Zu Na of Zhuo commandery, the chancellor's army advisory libationer, became his close friend and patron. Zu Na loved board games, and Wang Yin often urged him to give them up. Zu Na said, "They help me forget my cares—that is all." Wang Yin replied, "The ancients, when the times favored them, realized the Way through achievement; when they were blocked, they showed their gifts in writing—so they were never left without recourse. Today there is no Jin history; the realm is in chaos and the past is being lost—no ordinary talent could set it down. You grew up in the great cities and served across the empire; the rise and fall of Chinese and barbarian alike has passed before your eyes—why not commit it to writing? Ying Shao wrote the Comprehensive Meaning of Customs, Cui Shi the Political Treatise, Cai Yong the essay urging study, Shi You the literacy primer—they still circulate and keep their authors alive after death. Were talented men rare in their day? Yet we hear nothing of them because they left no writings. The gentleman dreads leaving the world unknown; the Book of Changes praises unstriving effort—how much more a national history that sets gain and loss in clear light! Must you gamble to forget sorrow?" Zu Na sighed, "I do not reject your path—I lack the strength to follow it." He thereupon memorialized to recommend Wang Yin. Emperor Yuan was too busy founding the court to appoint historians and let the matter drop.
20
太興初，典章稍備，乃召隱及郭璞俱為著作郎，令撰晉史。 豫平王敦功，賜爵平陵鄉侯。 時著作郎虞預私撰《晉書》，而生長東南，不知中朝事，數訪於隱，並借隱所著書竊寫之，所聞漸廣。 是後更疾隱，形於言色。 預既豪族，交結權貴，共為朋黨，以斥隱，竟以謗免，黜歸於家。 貧無資用，書遂不就，乃依征西將軍庾亮于武昌。 亮供其紙筆，書乃得成，詣闕上之。 隱雖好著述，而文辭鄙拙，蕪舛不倫。 其書次第可觀者，皆其父所撰； 文體混漫義不可解者，隱之作也。 年七十餘，卒於家。
Early in Taixing, as institutions took shape, the throne summoned Wang Yin and Guo Pu as drafters and ordered them to compile the Jin history. For his part in suppressing Wang Dun he was enfeoffed as village marquis of Pingling. Yu Yu, another drafter, was privately writing a Jin history. Raised in the southeast, he knew little of the old central court; he often questioned Wang Yin and copied his manuscripts in secret, widening his knowledge. Afterward he turned against Wang Yin and showed it openly. Yu Yu was a magnate with ties to the mighty; he formed a clique to drive Wang Yin out and had him dismissed on a slander charge and sent home. Destitute, he could not finish the book until he attached himself to Yu Liang, the General Who Conquers the West, at Wuchang. Yu Liang supplied paper and ink; the work was completed and presented at court. Wang Yin loved to write, but his prose was crude and confused. Whatever in the book reads well came from his father's pen; the muddled, unintelligible passages are Wang Yin's own. He died at home in his seventies.
21
隱兄瑚，字處仲。 少重武節，成都王穎舉兵向洛，以為冠軍參軍，積功，累遷遊擊將軍，與司隸滿奮、河南尹周馥等俱屯大司馬門，以衛宮掖。 時上官已縱暴，瑚與奮等共謀除之，反為所害。
Wang Yin's elder brother Wang Hu, courtesy name Zhongchu He honored military duty from youth. When Prince Ying of Chengdu marched on Luoyang, Wang Hu became an army adviser to the champion general, won promotion to mobile-corps general, and with Metropolitan Governor Man Fen, Henan Governor Zhou Fu, and others held the gate of the Grand Marshal's compound to defend the palace. When Shangguan Ji ran amok, Wang Hu and Man Fen plotted to kill him but were killed instead.
22
虞預
Yu Yu
23
虞預，字叔甯，征士喜之弟也，本名茂，犯明穆皇后母諱，故改焉。 預十二而孤，少好學，有文章。 余姚風俗，各有朋黨，宗人共薦預為縣功曹，欲使沙汰穢濁。 預書與其從叔父曰：「近或聞諸君以預入寺，便應委質，則當親事，不得徒已。 然預下愚，過有所懷。 邪党互瞻，異同蜂至，一旦差跌，眾鼓交鳴。 毫釐之失，差以千里，此古人之炯戒，而預所大恐也。」 卒如預言，未半年，遂見斥退。
Yu Yu, courtesy name Shuning, was the younger brother of the recluse Yu Xi. His original name was Mao, but he changed it to avoid the personal name of Empress Mingmu's mother. Orphaned at twelve, he loved learning and wrote well. Yuyao was ridden with factions; his kinsmen jointly nominated him county merit clerk hoping he would purge corruption. Yu wrote his uncle: "I hear you mean to bring me into office; if I accept, I must take real responsibility—I cannot serve in name only. I am a dull man, yet I have grave doubts. Rival cliques watch one another; agreement and strife swarm in; one misstep and every drum will beat against you. A hair's-breadth error becomes a thousand-li blunder—the ancients warned us sharply, and that is what I dread." Events unfolded as he predicted: within half a year he was cashiered.
24
太守庾琛命為主簿，預上記陳時政所失，曰：「軍寇以來，賦役繁數，兼值年荒，百姓失業，是輕徭薄斂，寬刑省役之時也。 自頃長吏輕多去來，送故迎新，交錯道路。 受迎者惟恐船馬之不多，見送者惟恨吏卒之常少。 窮奢竭費謂之忠義，省煩從簡呼為薄俗，轉相放效，流而不反，雖有常防，莫肯遵修。 加以王途未夷，所在停滯，送者經年，永失播植。 一夫不耕，十夫無食，況轉百數，所妨不訾。 愚謂宜勒屬縣，若令、尉先去官者，人船吏侍皆具條列，到當依法減省，使公私允當。 又今統務多端，動加重制，每有特急，輒立督郵。 計今直兼三十餘人，人船吏侍皆當出官，益不堪命，宜復減損，嚴為之防。」 琛善之，即皆施行。 太守紀瞻到，預復為主簿，轉功曹史。 察孝廉，不行。 安東從事中郎諸葛恢、參軍庾亮等薦預，召為丞相行參軍兼記室。 遭母憂，服竟，除佐著作郎。
Administrator Yu Chen made him chief clerk. Yu submitted a report on policy failures: "Since the wars, taxes and labor service have multiplied while famine has thrown people out of work—this is the moment to ease levies, lighten punishments, and cut corvée. Magistrates lately change post at whim; send-offs and welcomes choke the roads. Incoming officials want ever more boats and horses; outgoing parties complain there are never enough attendants. Extravagance is hailed as loyalty, thrift mocked as stinginess; the fashion spreads unchecked and even standing rules go unheeded. The royal highways are still unsafe; processions stall for years while farmers abandon their fields. If one man does not till, ten go hungry; when hundreds are tied up in escorts, the waste is beyond reckoning. Order every county: when a magistrate or captain departs, list every man, boat, and attendant required for the escort and cut the totals by law so public need and private burden stay fair. Administration grows ever more complex with extra controls; every emergency spawns another supervising courier. Some thirty-odd posts now overlap; each demands clerks, boats, and runners from the offices—the people cannot bear it. Slash the numbers and enforce strict limits." Yu Chen approved and put the proposals into effect. When Ji Zhan became administrator, Yu Yu again served as chief clerk, then as merit assessor. He was nominated Filial and Incorrupt but declined to take up the post. Zhuge Hui, the retainer gentleman of the Eastern Pacification general, and Yu Liang the army adviser recommended him; he was called to serve as a mobile army adviser to the chancellor and concurrently as secretary. After mourning his mother he became assistant drafter.
25
，大旱，詔求讜言直諫之士，預上書諫曰：
A great drought struck; the court called for blunt counsel, and Yu submitted a memorial:
26
預以寇賊未平，當須良將，又上疏曰：
Because rebels were still active and able generals were needed, he also memorialized:
27
轉琅邪國常侍，遷秘書丞、著作郎。
He became a regular attendant in the Langye princedom, then palace secretary aide and drafter.
28
咸和初，夏旱，詔眾官各陳致雨之意。 預議曰：
Early in Xianhe a summer drought led the throne to ask every official how to bring rain. Yu Yu offered his view:
29
從平王含，賜爵西鄉侯。 蘇峻作亂，預先假歸家，太守王舒請為諮議參軍。 峻平，進爵平康縣侯，遷散騎侍郎，著作如故。 除散騎常侍，仍領著作。 以年老歸，卒於家。
For helping to crush Wang Han he was enfeoffed as marquis of Xixiang. When Su Jun rebelled, Yu Yu was on leave at home; Administrator Wang Shu engaged him as advisory army adviser. After Su Jun fell he was advanced to county marquis of Pingkang and promoted gentleman cavalier attendant while keeping his drafting duties. He was named regular cavalier attendant and continued to supervise the history office. He retired with age and died at home.
30
預雅好經史，憎疾玄虛，其論阮籍裸袒，比之伊川被髮，所以胡虜遍於中國，以為過衰周之時。 著《晉書》四十餘卷、《會稽典錄》二十篇、《諸虞傳》十二篇，皆行於世。 所著詩賦碑誄論難數十篇。
Yu Yu loved the classics and histories and detested empty Daoist talk. He likened Ruan Ji's nakedness to the disheveled hair that foretold barbarian invasion in the Book of Changes, and blamed such conduct for the spread of non-Chinese power across China—worse, he thought, than the late Zhou decay. He wrote more than forty chapters of a Jin history, twenty essays of Kuaiji Standard Records, and twelve chapters of Traditions of the Yu Clan—all of which circulated. He also left several dozen poems, rhapsodies, inscriptions, dirges, essays, and polemics.
31
孫盛
Sun Sheng
32
孫盛，字安國，太原中都人。 祖楚，馮翊太守。 父恂，潁川太守。 恂在郡遇賊，被害。 盛年十歲，避難渡江。 及長，博學，善言名理。 于時殷浩擅名一時，與抗論者，惟盛而已。 盛嘗詣浩談論，對食，奮擲麈尾，毛悉落飯中，食冷而復暖者數四，至暮忘餐，理竟不定。 盛又著醫卜及《易象妙於見形論》，浩等竟無以難之，由是遂知名。
Sun Sheng, courtesy name Anguo, came from Zhongdu in Taiyuan. His grandfather Sun Chu was Administrator of Fengyi. His father Sun Xun was Administrator of Yingchuan. Sun Xun was killed by bandits while in office. At ten Sun Sheng fled south across the Yangzi. Grown, he was widely read and skilled in arcane philosophy. Yin Hao then dominated intellectual fashion; only Sun Sheng could argue him to a standstill. Once Sun Sheng debated Yin Hao over a meal, gesticulating so wildly that the hairs of his fly-whisk fell into the rice. The food cooled and was reheated four times; by nightfall they had forgotten to eat and still reached no conclusion. He also wrote on medicine, divination, and the thesis that the images of the Changes are subtler than outward form—Yin Hao could not refute him, and his reputation was made.
33
起家佐著作郎，以家貧親老，求為小邑，出補瀏陽令。 太守陶侃請為參軍。 庾亮代侃，引為征西主簿，轉參軍。 時丞相王導執政，亮以元舅居外，南蠻校尉陶稱讒構其間，導、亮頗懷疑貳。 盛密諫亮曰：「王公神情朗達，常有世外之懷，豈肯為凡人事邪！ 此必佞邪之徒欲間內外耳。」 亮納之。 庾翼代亮，以盛為安西諮議參軍，尋遷廷尉正。 會桓溫代翼，留盛為參軍，與俱伐蜀，軍次彭模，溫自以輕兵入蜀，盛領贏老輜重在後，賊數千忽至，眾皆遑遽。 盛部分諸將，並力距之，應時敗走。 蜀平，賜爵安懷縣侯，累遷溫從事中郎。 從入關平洛，以功進封吳昌縣侯，出補長沙太守。 以家貧，頗營資貨，部從事至郡察知之，服其高名而不劾之。 盛與溫箋，而辭旨放蕩，稱州遣從事觀采風聲，進無威鳳來儀之美，退無鷹鸇搏擊之用，徘徊湘川，將為怪鳥。 溫得盛箋，復遣從事重案之，髒私鋃籍，檻車收盛到州，舍而不罪。 累遷秘書監，加給事中。 年七十二卒。
He began as assistant drafter but, being poor with aged parents, asked for a minor post and became magistrate of Liuyang. Administrator Tao Kan took him on as army adviser. When Yu Liang succeeded Tao Kan, Sun Sheng became his chief clerk, then army adviser. Chancellor Wang Dao held power while Yu Liang, the emperor's uncle by marriage, commanded the frontier. Tao Cheng, the South Man colonel, sowed discord, and Wang Dao and Yu Liang grew mutually suspicious. Sun Sheng urged Yu Liang in private: "His Grace Wang Dao is open-minded and lives above petty quarrels—why would he stoop to ordinary intrigue? This is surely slander meant to split court from camp." Yu Liang took the advice. When Yu Yi succeeded Yu Liang, Sun Sheng became advisory army adviser to the General Who Pacifies the West and soon rectifier at the commandant of justice. Huan Wen kept him as army adviser for the Shu campaign. At Pengmo, Huan Wen took light troops forward while Sun Sheng shepherded the baggage train of veterans. Thousands of enemy suddenly appeared and the column panicked. Sun Sheng rallied the officers, held the line, and the enemy broke and ran. After Shu fell he was enfeoffed as county marquis of Anhuai and rose to retainer gentleman under Huan Wen. He followed Huan Wen through the passes to secure Luoyang, was advanced to county marquis of Wuchang for merit, and became Administrator of Changsha. Poor, he dabbled in trade for profit. The regional investigator found out but, respecting his reputation, brought no charges. Sun Sheng wrote Huan Wen a letter in reckless vein, saying the province had sent an investigator who was neither a phoenix of good omen nor a hunting hawk—only a odd bird flapping along the Xiang. Huan Wen ordered a second investigation, turned up Sun Sheng's irregular profits, and had him carted to headquarters in a prison wagon—then let him go without sentence. He rose to supervisor of the palace library with additional appointment as palace attendant. He died at seventy-two.
34
盛篤學不倦，自少至老，手不釋卷。 著《魏氏春秋》、《晉陽秋》，並造詩賦論難復數十篇。 《晉陽秋》詞直而理正，咸稱良史焉。 既而桓溫見之，怒謂盛子曰：「枋頭誠為失利，何至乃如尊君所說！ 若此史遂行，自是關君門戶事。」 其子遽拜謝，謂請刪改之。 時盛年老還家，性方嚴有軌憲，雖子孫白，而庭訓愈峻。 至此，諸子乃共號泣稽顙，請為百口切計。 盛大怒。 諸子遂爾改之。 盛寫兩定本，寄于慕容俊。 太元中，孝武帝博求異聞，始於遼東得之，以相考校，多有不同，書遂兩存。 子潛、放。
Sun Sheng studied tirelessly from youth to old age and never laid a book aside. He wrote the Spring and Autumn of Wei and the Jin Yangqiu, plus several dozen poems, rhapsodies, essays, and polemics. The Jin Yangqiu was blunt yet fair, and everyone hailed it as the work of a true historian. When Huan Wen read it he was furious and told Sun Sheng's son, "The Fangtou campaign was a setback, but how could it be as bad as your father wrote! If this history goes out, it will be your family's neck on the line." The son kowtowed and begged leave to revise the text. Sun Sheng was old and home by then, stern and principled; even when his grandchildren were gray, his household discipline grew harsher. At that his sons wept and kowtowed, pleading for the whole clan's safety. Sun Sheng exploded with rage. His sons altered the text anyway. Sun Sheng made two fair copies of the original and sent them to Murong Jun. Under Taiyuan, Emperor Xiaowu cast a wide net for rare texts and recovered a copy from Liaodong. Compared with the court version, the two differed widely, so both were kept. His sons were Sun Qian and Sun Fang.
36
子潛、放
Sons: Sun Qian and Sun Fang
37
=潛字齊由，為豫章太守。 殷仲堪之討王國寶也，潛時在郡，仲堪逼以為諮議參軍，固辭不就，以憂卒。
Sun Qian, courtesy name Qiyou, served as Administrator of Yuzhang. During Yin Zhongkan's campaign against Wang Guobao, Sun Qian was in his post. Yin Zhongkan pressed him to serve as advisory army adviser; he refused steadfastly and died of distress.
38
放字齊莊，幼稱令慧。 年七八歲，在荊州，與父俱從庾亮獵，亮謂曰：「君亦來邪？」 應聲答曰：「無小無大，從公於邁。」 亮又問：「欲齊何莊邪？」 放曰：「欲齊莊周。」 亮曰：「不慕仲尼邪？」 答曰：「仲尼生而知之，非希企所及。」 亮大奇之，曰：「王輔嗣弗過也。」 庾翼子爰客嘗候盛，見放而問曰：「安國何在？」 放答曰：「庾稚恭家。」 爰客大笑曰：「諸孫太盛，有兒如此也！」 放又曰：「未若諸庾翼翼。」 既而語人曰：「我故得重呼奴父也。」 終於長沙相。
Sun Fang, courtesy name Qizhuang, was celebrated as a bright child. At seven or eight, in Jing province, he went hunting with his father and Yu Liang. Yu Liang said, "You came along too?" He answered at once, "Young or old, we follow our lord on the road." Yu Liang asked, "Whose 'Zhuang' do you wish to match?" Sun Fang said, "Zhuang Zhou." Yu Liang said, "Do you not admire Confucius?" He answered, "Confucius was born knowing; no one can aspire that high." Yu Liang was astonished. "Wang Bi himself would not surpass this child." Yu Aike, son of Yu Yi, once called on Sun Sheng, saw Sun Fang, and asked, "Where is Anguo?" Sun Fang answered, "At Zhigong's house." Yu Aike roared with laughter: "The Sun clan is thriving—to raise a boy like this!" Sun Fang added, "Still not as fine as the Yu cousins, wing beside wing." Later he told someone, "So I got to call him 'slave's father' a second time." He ended his career as chancellor of Changsha princedom.
39
干寶
Gan Bao
40
干寶，字令升，新蔡人也。 祖統，吳奮武將軍、都亭侯。 父瑩，丹陽丞。 寶少勤學，博覽書記，以才器召為著作郎。 平杜弢有功，賜爵關內侯。
Gan Bao, courtesy name Lingsheng, came from Xincai. His grandfather Gan Tong was Wu's General Who Rouses Might and marquis of Metropolitan Village. His father Gan Ying was an aide in Danyang. Gan Bao studied hard and read widely; for his ability he was summoned as a drafter. For helping to defeat Du Tao he was enfeoffed as marquis within the passes.
41
中興草創，未置史官，中書監王導上疏曰：「夫帝王之跡，莫不必書，著為令典，垂之無窮。 宣皇帝廓定四海，武皇帝受禪于魏，至德大勳，等蹤上聖，而紀傳不存於王府，德音未被乎管弦。 陛下聖明，當中興之盛，宜建立國史，撰集帝紀，上敷祖宗之烈，下紀佐命之勳，務以實錄，為後代之准，厭率土之望，悅人神之心，斯誠雍熙之至美，王者之弘基也。 宜備史官，敕佐著作郎干寶等漸就撰集。」 元帝納焉。 寶於是始領國史。 以家貧，求補山陰令，遷始安太守。 王導請為司徒右長史，遷散騎常侍，著《晉紀》，自宣帝迄於湣帝五十三年，凡二十卷，奏之。 其書簡略，直而能婉，咸稱良史。
Early in the restoration no history office existed. Wang Dao, the palace secretariat supervisor, memorialized: "The deeds of emperors must all be recorded, set down as a lasting code for endless ages. Emperor Xuan pacified the realm and Emperor Wu received the Wei abdication—virtue and achievement matching the ancient sages—yet their annals do not fill the royal archive and their praise is not sung in music. Your Majesty rules in the full flower of the restoration: found a national history, compile the reign annals, glorify the ancestors above and the founding ministers below, aim at truthful record as a model for posterity, answer the hopes of the land and gladden gods and men—that is the crown of peace and the true foundation of kingship. Appoint historians and instruct assistant drafter Gan Bao and his colleagues to begin the compilation." Emperor Yuan agreed. Gan Bao thereupon took charge of the national history. Poor, he asked for appointment as magistrate of Shanyin and later became Administrator of Shian. Wang Dao had him named chief clerk to the minister of education; he rose to regular cavalier attendant and wrote the Jin Annals in twenty scrolls from Emperor Xuan through Emperor Min—fifty-three years—which he presented to the throne. The work is concise, forthright yet tactful, and was praised as a master history.
42
性好陰陽術數，留思京房、夏侯勝等傳。 寶父先有所寵侍婢，母甚妒忌，及父亡，母乃生推婢於墓中。 寶兄弟年小，不之審也。 後十餘年，母喪，開墓，而婢伏棺如生，載還，經日乃蘇。 言其父常取飲食與之，恩情如生，在家中吉凶輒語之，考校悉驗，地中亦不覺為惡。 既而嫁之，生子。 又寶兄嘗病氣絕，積日不冷，後遂悟，雲見天地間鬼神事，如夢覺，不自知死。 寶以此遂撰集古今神祇靈異人物變化。 名為《搜神記》，凡三十卷。 以示劉惔，惔曰：「卿可謂鬼之董狐。」 寶既博采異同，遂混虛實，因作序以陳其志曰：
He loved cosmology and numerology and pondered the traditions of Jing Fang, Xiahou Sheng, and their school. Gan Bao's father had favored a concubine; his jealous mother, when the father died, had the girl sealed alive in the tomb. Gan Bao and his brothers were young and knew nothing of it. More than a decade later, when his mother died and the tomb was opened, the girl was found crouched on the coffin as if alive. She was carried home and revived after a day. She said the father had brought her food in the tomb and treated her as when he lived; back in the house she foretold fortune and misfortune and was always right, and she had not suffered underground. She was married off and bore a child. Gan Bao's elder brother once lay breathless for days without growing cold, then woke and described visions of spirits between heaven and earth like a dream—unaware he had died. On that basis Gan Bao collected tales of gods, marvels, and strange transformations past and present. He titled it In Search of the Supernatural—thirty scrolls. He showed it to Liu Tan, who said, "You are the Dong Hu of the spirit world." Gan Bao had gathered conflicting accounts and mingled fact with fable; he wrote a preface explaining his purpose:
43
寶又為《春秋左氏義外傳》，注《周易》、《周官》凡數十篇，及雜文集皆行於世。
He also wrote an Outer Tradition on the Meaning of the Zuo Commentary, annotated the Zhou Changes and the Offices of Zhou in several dozen chapters, and left a collection of miscellaneous essays—all of which circulated.
44
鄧粲
Deng Can
45
鄧粲，長沙人。 少以高潔著名，與南陽劉驎之、南郡劉尚公同志友善，並不應州郡辟命。 荊州刺史桓沖卑辭厚禮請粲為別駕，粲嘉其好賢，乃起應召。 驎之、尚公謂之曰：「卿道廣學深，眾所推懷，忽然改節，誠失所望。」 粲笑答曰：「足下可謂有志於隱而未知隱。 夫隱之為道，朝亦可隱，市亦可隱。 隱初在我，不在於物。」 尚公等無以難之，然粲亦於此名譽減半矣，後患足疾，不能朝拜，求去職，不聽，令臥視事。 後以病篤，乞骸骨，許之。 粲以父騫有忠信言而世無知者，著《元明紀》十篇，注《老子》，並行於世。
Deng Can was a native of Changsha. Known young for lofty integrity, he was friends with Liu Linzhi of Nanyang and Liu Shanggong of Nanjun; none would accept provincial or commandery appointments. Inspector Huan Chong of Jing province wooed him with humble words and rich gifts for the post of aide-de-camp. Deng Can honored his respect for talent and accepted. Liu Linzhi and Liu Shanggong told him, "Your learning is wide and admired by all; to change course so suddenly disappoints us." Deng Can smiled: "You wish to be recluses but do not understand reclusion. The Way of reclusion may be practiced at court or in the marketplace. Reclusion is in the mind, not in the place." They could not refute him, but Deng Can's reputation was cut in half. Later, crippled by foot trouble, he could not attend court and asked to resign; permission was denied, and he was told to conduct business from bed. When his illness worsened he asked to retire and was allowed. Because his father Deng Qian had spoken with loyalty and good faith but was forgotten, Deng Can wrote ten chapters of Yuan–Ming Annals and a commentary on the Laozi—both circulated.
46
謝沈
Xie Chen
47
謝沈，字行思，會稽山陰人也。 曾祖斐，吳豫章太守。 父秀，吳翼正都尉。 沈少孤，事母至孝，博學多識，明練經史。 郡命為主簿、功曹，察孝廉，太尉郗鑒辟，並不就。 會稽內史何充引為參軍，以母老去職。 平西將軍庾亮命為功曹，征北將軍蔡謨版為參軍，皆不就。 閒居養母，不交人事，耕耘之暇，研精墳籍。 康帝即位，朝議疑七廟迭毀，乃以太學博士徵，以質疑滯。 以母憂去職。 服闋，除尚書度支郎。 何充、庾冰並稱沉有史才，遷著作郎，撰《晉書》三十餘卷。 會卒，時年五十二。 沉先著《後漢書》百卷及《毛詩》、《漢書外傳》，所著述及詩賦文論皆行於世。 其才學在虞預之右云。
Xie Chen, courtesy name Xingsi, came from Shanyin in Kuaiji. His great-grandfather Xie Fei was Wu's Administrator of Yuzhang. His father Xie Xiu was Wu's capital commandant of the rectifying wing. Orphaned young, he was devoted to his mother, learned widely, and mastered the classics and histories. The commandery made him chief clerk and merit assessor, nominated him Filial and Incorrupt, and Grand Commandant Xi Jian summoned him—he refused every post. He Chong, internal historian of Kuaiji, took him as army adviser; he resigned when his mother aged. Yu Liang, the General Who Pacifies the West, named him merit clerk; Cai Mo, the General Who Conquers the North, offered him an army advisership on emergency commission—he took neither. He lived quietly, cared for his mother, shunned office, and between farm chores studied the classics. When Emperor Kang took the throne, court debate stalled on the rite of cycling destruction among seven ancestral temples; Xie Chen was summoned as an Imperial Academy erudite to settle the doubts. He left office to mourn his mother. When mourning ended he became a revenue gentleman in the Masters of Writing. He Chong and Yu Bing both pronounced Xie Chen a born historian; he was promoted drafter and wrote more than thirty chapters of a Jin history. He died at fifty-two. Earlier he had written a hundred-chapter Later Han history, works on the Mao Odes and an outer commentary to the Han history; his essays, poems, and treatises all circulated. His scholarship was reckoned superior to Yu Yu's.
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習鑿齒
Xi Zuochi
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習鑿齒，字彥威，襄陽人也。 宗族富盛，世為鄉豪。 鑿齒少有志氣，博學洽聞，以文筆著稱。 荊州刺史桓溫辟為從事，江夏相袁喬深器之，數稱其才于溫，轉西曹主簿，親遇隆密。
Xi Zuochi, courtesy name Yanwei, was from Xiangyang. His clan was wealthy and for generations had been local magnates. Ambitious from youth, widely read, he was famed for his pen. Inspector Huan Wen of Jing province took him as a retainer. Yuan Qiao, chancellor of Jiangxia, thought the world of him and praised him repeatedly to Huan Wen. Xi Zuochi became chief clerk of the western bureau and enjoyed the warmest confidence.
50
時溫有大志，追蜀人知天文者至，夜執手問國家祚運修短。 答曰：「世祀方永。」 疑其難言，乃飾辭云：「如君言，豈獨吾福，乃蒼生之幸。 然今日之語自可令盡，必有小小厄運，亦宜說之。」 星人曰：「太微、紫微、文昌三宮氣候如此，決無憂虞。 至五十年外不論耳。」 溫不悅，乃止。 異日，送絹一匹、錢五千文以與之。 星人乃馳詣鑿齒曰：「家在益州，被命遠下，今受旨自裁，無由致其骸骨。 緣君仁厚，乞為標碣棺木耳。」 鑿齒問其故，星人曰：「賜絹一匹，令僕自裁，惠錢五千，以買棺耳。」 鑿齒曰：「君幾誤死！ 君嘗聞前知星宿有不覆之義乎？ 此以絹戲君，以錢供道中資，是聽君去耳。」 星人大喜，明便詣溫別。 溫問去意，以鑿齒言答。 溫笑曰：「鑿齒憂君誤死，君定是誤活。 然徒三十年看儒書，不如一詣習主簿。」
Huan Wen harbored great designs. He summoned a Shu stargazer and by night took his hand, asking how long the dynasty would last. The man answered, "The house will endure for ages." Huan Wen suspected he was holding back and coaxed him: "If that is so, it is not my fortune alone but the blessing of the people. Speak plainly: if there is any minor ill omen, you should say so." The astrologer said, "The configurations of the Grand Tenuity, Purple Palace, and Civil Office stars show no cause for fear. Beyond fifty years I will not speak." Huan Wen was displeased and dropped the subject. Another day he sent the man one bolt of silk and five thousand cash. The astrologer rushed to Xi Zuochi: "My home is in Yizhou; I was ordered south. Now I am commanded to kill myself and cannot bring my bones home. You are kind—please mark my grave and supply a coffin." Xi Zuochi asked what he meant. The man said, "One bolt of silk means I am to hang myself; five thousand cash buys the coffin." Xi Zuochi cried, "You nearly killed yourself for nothing! Surely you have heard that a true star reader does not go back on his own reading. The silk was his joke; the cash is travel money. He is letting you go." The astrologer was overjoyed and next day took leave of Huan Wen. Huan Wen asked why he was leaving; he repeated Xi Zuochi's explanation. Huan Wen laughed: "Xi Zuochi feared you would die by mistake—you nearly died of stupidity. Thirty years of Confucian books are worth less than one talk with Chief Clerk Xi."
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累遷別駕。 溫出征伐，鑿齒或從或守，所在任職，每處機要，蒞事有績，善尺牘論議，溫甚器遇之。 時清談文章之士韓伯、伏滔等並相友善，後使至京師。 簡文亦雅重焉。 既還，溫問：「相王何似？」 答曰：「生平所未見。」 以此大忤溫旨，左遷戶曹參軍。 時有桑門釋道安，俊辯有高才，自北至荊州，與鑿齒初相見。 道安曰：「彌天釋道安。」 鑿齒曰：「四海習鑿齒。」 時人以為佳對。
He rose to become aide-de-camp. On Huan Wen's campaigns Xi Zuochi either went with the army or held the rear; every post was sensitive, and he performed well. Skilled at memorials and debate, he enjoyed Huan Wen's deepest favor. He befriended pure-conversation men of letters such as Han Bo and Fu Tao, and later went on mission to the capital. Emperor Jianwen thought highly of him as well. Back from the capital, Huan Wen asked, "What is the minister-king like? He answered, "I have never seen his like. That answer deeply offended Huan Wen, who demoted him to army adviser in the revenue bureau. The monk Shi Daoan, a brilliant debater, came from the north to Jing province and met Xi Zuochi for the first time. Daoan introduced himself: "I am Shi Daoan, who fills heaven. Xi Zuochi replied: "I am Xi Zuochi, who fills the four seas. Contemporaries praised the exchange as a perfect riposte.
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初，鑿齒與其二舅羅崇、羅友俱為州從事。 及遷別駕，以坐越舅右，屢經陳請。 溫後激怒既盛，乃超拔其二舅，相繼為襄陽都督，出鑿齒為滎陽太守。 溫弟秘亦有才氣，素與鑿齒相親善。 鑿齒既罷郡歸，與秘書曰：
Xi Zuochi and his maternal uncles Luo Chong and Luo You all served as provincial retainers. When promoted aide-de-camp he outranked his uncles in seating—a breach he repeatedly tried to excuse. When Huan Wen's rage peaked, he leapfrogged both uncles to command Xiangyang in turn and posted Xi Zuochi away as Administrator of Yingyang. Huan Wen's brother Huan Mi was talented and had long been close to Xi Zuochi. After leaving his command Xi Zuochi wrote to Huan Mi:
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其風期俊邁如此。
Such was the lofty tone of that letter.
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是時溫覬覦非望，鑿齒在郡，著《漢晉春秋》以裁正之。 起漢光武，終於晉湣帝。 于三國之時，蜀以宗室為正，魏武雖受漢禪晉，尚為篡逆，至文帝平蜀，乃為漢亡而晉始興焉。 引世祖諱炎興而為禪受，明天心不可以勢力強也。 凡五十四卷。 後以腳疾，遂廢於里巷。
Huan Wen was nursing imperial ambitions. Xi Zuochi, still in his command, wrote the Han–Jin Spring and Autumn to set the moral record straight. It ran from Han Guangwu to Emperor Min of Jin. Among the Three Kingdoms he treated Shu, as heir to the Han house, as holding the true mandate. Wei had taken the Han abdication and Jin had succeeded Wei, yet both remained usurpation until Jin Wendi conquered Shu—only then did Han truly end and Jin's rise stand justified. He cited the Shu ruler's reign motto Yanxing and the peaceful handover to show that Heaven's intent cannot be forced by mere power. Fifty-four scrolls in all. Crippled by foot trouble, he lived out his days in retirement.
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及襄陽陷於苻堅，堅素聞其名，與道安俱輿而致焉。 既見，與語，大悅之，賜遺甚厚。 又以其蹇疾，與諸鎮書：「昔晉氏平吳，利在二陸； 今破漢南，獲士裁一人有半耳。」 俄以疾歸襄陽。 尋而襄鄧反正，朝廷欲徵鑿齒，使典國史，會卒，不果。 臨終上疏曰：
When Xiangyang fell to Fu Jian, the king, who had long admired him, had him brought in a litter alongside Daoan. They talked; Fu Jian was delighted and showered him with gifts. Because Xi Zuochi was lame, Fu Jian wrote the garrisons: "When Jin conquered Wu, the prize was the two Lus; now that south of the Han is taken, I have gained one and a half worthy men." Soon he returned to Xiangyang on grounds of illness. When Xiangyang and Deng returned to Jin, the court meant to recall him to head the national history, but he died before it happened. On his deathbed he submitted a memorial:
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臣每謂皇晉宜越魏繼漢，不應以魏後為三恪。 而身微官卑，無由上達，懷抱愚情，三十餘年。 今沈淪重疾，性命難保，遂嘗懷此，當與之朽爛，區區之情，切所悼惜，謹力疾著論一篇，寫上如左。 願陛下考尋古義，求經常之表，超然遠覽，不以臣微賤廢其所言。 論曰：
I have always held that legitimate Jin should bypass Wei to continue Han, and that Wei should not be honored among the three reverent former dynasties. Low in rank, I could not get a hearing; this conviction has burned in me for thirty years. Now I sink under mortal illness and may die with this unspoken—grief to me. Though sick I have drafted the essay below. I beg Your Majesty to search the classical precedents for the enduring standard, to see far beyond my low station, and not dismiss my words. The essay begins:
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子辟強，才學有父風，位至驃騎從事中郎。
His son Xi Pijiang inherited his gifts and rose to retainer gentleman to the cavalry-in-attendant.
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徐廣
Xu Guang
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徐廣，字野民，東莞姑幕人，侍中邈之弟也。 世好學，至廣尤為精純，百家數術無不研覽。 謝玄為兗州，辟從事。 譙王恬為鎮北，補參軍。 孝武世，除秘書郎，典校秘書省。 增置省職，轉員外散騎侍郎，仍領校書。 尚書令王珣深相欽重，舉為祠部郎，會稽世子元顯時錄尚書，欲使百僚致敬，內外順之，使廣為議，廣常以為愧焉。 元顯引為中軍參軍，遷領軍長史。 桓玄輔政，以為大將軍文學祭酒，義熙初，奉詔撰車服儀注，除鎮軍諮議，領記室，封樂成侯，轉員外散騎常侍，領著作。 尚書奏：「左史述言，右官書事，《乘》《志》顯于晉鄭，《春秋》著乎魯史。 自聖代有造《中興記》者，道風帝典，煥乎史策。 而太和以降，世曆三朝，玄風聖跡，倏為疇古。 臣等參詳，宜敕著作郎徐廣撰成國史。」 於是敕廣撰集焉。 遷驍騎將軍，領徐州大中正，轉正員常侍、大司家、仍領著作如故。 十二年，勒成《晉紀》，凡四十六卷，表上之。 因乞解史任，不許。 遷秘書監。
Xu Guang, courtesy name Yemin, came from Gumu in Dongguan and was the younger brother of Palace Attendant Xu Miao. His family were scholars; Guang was the most thorough, mastering every school and technical art. Xie Xuan, as Inspector of Yan province, took him as a retainer. Prince Tian of Qiao, the Defender of the North, appointed him army adviser. Under Emperor Xiaowu he became a gentleman of the palace library and collated texts there. When the office expanded he became supernumerary cavalier attendant and kept charge of collation. Director Wang Xun of the Masters of Writing prized him and named him to the sacrifices section. When Yuanxian, heir of Kuaiji, headed the Masters of Writing and ordered the bureaucracy to bow to him, the court complied and told Xu Guang to draft the protocol—Xu Guang was ashamed. Yuanxian took him as army adviser to the central army; he became chief clerk to the garrison general. Under Huan Xuan's regency he was literary libation to the grand general. Early in Yixi he was ordered to compile regulations for carriages and dress, became adviser to the garrison general with secretary duties, was enfeoffed marquis of Lecheng, then supernumerary regular cavalier attendant in charge of drafting. The Masters of Writing memorialized: "The left recorder sets down speeches, the right records events—the Sheng and Zhi made Jin and Zheng famous, and the Spring and Autumn was fixed in Lu's annals. Since this blessed age began, the Restoration Record has given imperial virtue radiant form in the histories. Yet from the Taihe era onward three reigns have passed; those lofty deeds are already distant memory. We therefore ask that drafter Xu Guang be charged to finish the national history. An edict ordered Xu Guang to compile it. He was promoted general of fierce cavalry and grand state appraiser for Xu province, then full regular attendant and grand minister of agriculture while keeping his drafting post. In the twelfth year he finished the Jin Annals in forty-six scrolls and presented them. He asked to be relieved of the history office; permission was denied. He became supervisor of the palace library.
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初，桓玄篡位，帝出宮，廣陪列，悲動左右。 及劉裕受禪，恭帝遜位，廣獨哀感，涕泗交流。 謝晦見之，謂曰：「徐公將無小過也。」 廣收淚而言曰：「君為宋朝佐命，吾乃晉室遺老，憂喜之事固不同時。」 乃更歔欷。 因辭衰老，乞歸桑梓。 性好讀書，老猶不倦。 年七十四，卒於家。 廣《答禮問》行於世。
When Huan Xuan seized the throne and the emperor left the palace, Xu Guang stood in the cortège and wept so that all around were moved. When Liu Yu took the abdication and Emperor Gong stepped down, Xu Guang alone sobbed aloud. Xie Hui said, "Sir, are you not overdoing it a little? Xu Guang dried his tears: "You serve the new Song; I am an old man of Jin—our reasons to weep or smile are not the same. He wept again. Citing age, he asked to retire to his home country. He loved books to the end of his life. He died at home at seventy-four. His Answers to Questions on Ritual circulated widely.
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【史論】
Historical essay
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史臣曰：古之王者咸建史臣，昭法立訓，莫近於此。 若夫原始要終，紀情括性，其言微而顯，其義皎而明，然後可以茵藹緹油，作程遐世者也。 丘明即沒，班馬迭興，奮鴻筆於西京，騁直詞於東觀。 自斯已降，分明競爽，可以繼明先典者，陳壽得之乎！ 江漢英靈，信有之矣。 允源將率之子，篤志典墳； 紹統戚籓之胤，研機載籍。 咸能綜緝文，垂諸不朽，豈必克傳門業，方擅箕裘者哉！ 處叔區區，勵精著述，混淆蕪舛，良不足觀。 叔甯寡聞，穿窬王氏，雖勒成一家，未足多尚。 令升、安國有良史之才，而所著之書惜非正典。 悠悠晉室，斯文將墜。 鄧粲、謝沈祖述前史，葺宇重軒之下，施床連榻之上，奇詞異義，罕見稱焉。 習氏、徐公俱云筆削，彰善癉惡，以為懲勸。 夫蹈忠履正，貞士之心； 背義圖榮，君子不敢。 而彥威跡淪寇壤，逡巡于偽國； 野民運遭革命，流漣於舊朝。 行不違言，廣得之矣。
The historians write: Every ancient king appointed official historians to clarify law and teach posterity—nothing comes closer to that duty. To trace beginnings and ends, capture motive and character, to speak subtly yet clearly and make meaning shine—then a work may ride the carriage of fame and set a distant model for the world. After Zuo Qiuiming came Ban and Sima, wielding mighty pens in the western capital and plain words in the Eastern Pavilion. Among later writers who could carry forward the great models, Chen Shou succeeded! The Yangzi and Han country truly breeds such genius. Yu Pu, son of a commander, devoted himself to the classics; Sima Biao, a kinsman of the blood princes, plumbed subtle learning in texts. Each wove lasting prose without needing to inherit a family office to master the craft. Wang Yin toiled at history, but his text is tangled and flawed—little to admire. Yu Yu stole from Wang Yin's materials; though he finished a book, it hardly deserves praise. Gan Bao and Sun Sheng had historian's gifts, yet their chief works stray from standard history. Long did the house of Jin drift; its literary culture nearly fell away. Deng Can and Xie Chen followed earlier models, writing under their eaves and couches—odd diction that won little praise. Xi Zuochi and Xu Guang wielded the historian's brush to praise good and blast evil for warning and example. Loyalty and rectitude are the steadfast man's way; to sell principle for favor the gentleman shuns. Yet Yanwei lingered in a usurper's court; Yemin clung to the fallen dynasty when heaven changed rulers. Xu Guang's deeds matched his words—there he succeeded.
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贊曰：陳壽含章，岩岩孤峙。 彪溥勵節，摛辭綜理。 王恧雅才，虞慚惇史。 幹孫撫翰，前良可擬。 鄧謝懷鉛，異聞無紀。 習亦研思，徐非絢美，咸被簡冊，共傳遙祀。
The judgment runs: Chen Shou holds his pattern aloft like a lone peak. Sima Biao and Yu Pu strove for integrity and ordered their prose. Wang Yin wasted fine gifts; Yu Yu falls short of a true historian. Gan Bao and Sun Sheng take up the brush in the track of the ancients. Deng and Xie carried their styluses but left marvels unrecorded. Xi Zuochi thought deeply; Xu Guang wrote plainly—yet all entered the chronicles and will be read in ages to come.