1
序
Preface
2
漢宣帝有言：「百姓所以安其田里而無歎息愁恨之心者，政平訟理也。 與我共此者，其唯良二千石乎！」 此則長吏之官，實為撫導之本。 是以東裏相鄭，西門宰鄴，潁川黃霸，蜀郡文翁，或吏不敢欺，或人懷其惠，或教移齊魯，或政務寬和，斯並惇史播其徽音，良能以為准的。
Emperor Xuan of Han had a saying: 'The reason the common people can rest secure in their fields and lanes without sighing in resentment is that government is evenhanded and lawsuits are fairly judged. Those who share this with me—are they not only the good commandery governors [at two thousand shi]?' In other words, the county-level chief is the foundation of good rule and sound guidance. From Zi Chan in Zheng and Ximen Bao in Ye to Huang Ba in Yingchuan and Wen Weng in Shu—some overawed corrupt clerks, some won deep affection, some spread Confucian reform through Qi and Lu, some ruled with calm kindness—history praised them, and capable officials ever since have taken them as their yardstick.
3
有晉肇茲王業，光啟霸圖，授方任能，經文緯武。 泰始受禪，改物君臨，纂三葉之鴻基，膺百王之大寶，勞心庶績，垂意黎元，申敕守宰之司，婁發憂矜之詔，辭旨懇切，誨諭殷勤，欲使直道正身，抑末敦本。 當此時也，可謂農安其業，吏盡其能者歟！ 而帝寬厚足以君人，明威未能厲俗，政刑以之私謁，賄賂於此公行，結綬者以放濁為通，彈冠者以苟得為貴，流遁忘反，浸以為常。 劉毅抗賣官之言，當時以為矯枉，察其風俗，豈虛也哉！ 爰及惠懷，中州鼎沸，逮于江左，晉政多門，元帝比少康之隆，處仲為梗，海西微昌邑之罪，元子亂常，既權逼是憂，故羈縻成俗。 蒞職者為身擇利，銓綜者為人擇官，下僚多英俊之才，勢位必高門之胄，遂使良能之績僅有存焉。 雖復茂弘以明允贊經綸，安石以時宗鎮雅俗，然外虞孔熾，內難方殷，而匡救彌縫，方免傾覆，弘風革弊，彼則未遑。 今采其政績可稱者，以為《良吏傳》。
The Jin house raised its kingship and unfurled ambition across the realm, putting the right men in the right posts and pairing civil order with military strength. From the Taishi accession onward the throne changed hands peacefully; the dynasty inherited three generations of accumulated power and the nominal legitimacy of a long line of kings, toiled at every branch of administration, looked after the commoners, lectured prefects and magistrates again and again, and issued repeated edicts of heartfelt concern—demanding integrity, discipline, and a return to fundamental virtues. At that moment it seemed farmers could stay at their plows and officials actually did their jobs. But imperial lenience let him govern without inspiring awe; customs did not stiffen. Justice bent to pull and patronage; gifts passed hands in broad daylight. Men who wore official cords treated laxity and graft as sophistication; men who entered office prized whatever they could grab. People slid away and forgot to return until vice passed for routine. When Liu Yi denounced the sale of offices, contemporaries called his remedy overwrought—yet look at how morals actually behaved, and his warning rings true. Under Hui and Huai the heartland exploded into chaos; after the court crossed to the south, authority fractured among factions. Emperor Yuan likened his restoration to Shao Kang's revival, yet Wang Dun blocked him; the deposed emperor at Haixi echoed King Changyi's scandal on a lesser scale, and Huan Wen upset the proper order. Fear of raw coercion turned indulgence into habit. Officeholders picked rewards for themselves; personnel clerks picked jobs for friends. Staff might be brilliant, yet real power stayed with great-clan heirs, so genuine administrative talent surfaced only here and there. Wang Dao lent steady judgment to statecraft and Xie An anchored elite opinion, but foreign crises flared and domestic strife seethed; they spent every ounce of energy merely preventing collapse, with no room left to reform manners root and branch. This chapter gathers officials whose deeds on the job merit remembrance—the Good Officials.
4
魯芝
Lu Zhi
5
魯芝，字世英，扶風郿人也。 世有名德，為西州豪族。 父為郭氾所害，芝繈褓流離，年十七，乃移居雍，耽思墳籍。 郡舉上計吏，州辟別駕。 魏車騎將軍郭淮為雍州刺史，深敬重之。 舉孝廉，除郎中。 會蜀相諸葛亮侵隴右，淮復請芝為別駕。 事平，薦於公府，辟大司馬曹真掾，轉臨淄侯文學。 鄭袤薦于司空王朗，朗即加禮命。 後拜騎都尉、參軍事、行安南太守，遷尚書郎。 曹真出督關右，又參大司馬軍事。 真薨，宣帝代焉，乃引芝參驃騎軍事，轉天水太守。 郡鄰於蜀，數被侵掠，戶口減削，寇盜充斥，芝傾心鎮衛，更造城市，數年間舊境悉復。 遷廣平太守。 天水夷夏慕德，老幼赴闕獻書，乞留芝。 魏明帝許焉，仍策書嘉歎，勉以黃霸之美，加討寇將軍。
Lu Zhi (courtesy Shiying) came from Mei county in Fufeng. His clan had long been celebrated for integrity and ranked among the great houses of the northwest. Guo Si murdered his father; Zhi was still an infant when the family was scattered. At seventeen he settled in Yong and buried himself in the canon. The commandery nominated him accounts clerk; the province called him up as provincial aide. Wei general Guo Huai, as inspector of Yong, treated him with exceptional respect. Recommended as filial and incorrupt, he received a gentleman-of-the-interior appointment. When Zhuge Liang of Shu struck Longyou, Guo Huai again kept him on as provincial aide. After hostilities ended he went to the central ministries, served as staff to Grand Marshal Cao Zhen, then moved to tutor of literature for the marquis of Linzi. Zheng Mao introduced him to Wang Lang, minister of works, who honored him with an immediate posting. He rose through Commandant of Cavalry, military adviser, acting administrator of An'nan, and gentleman at the Masters of Writing. When Cao Zhen supervised the region west of the passes, Zhi again served on the grand marshal's staff. After Cao Zhen died Sima Yi took his place and attached Zhi to the agile-cavalry command; Zhi then became administrator of Tianshui. Tianshui lay against Shu and suffered repeated raids: population fell and bandits multiplied. Zhi threw himself into defense, rebuilt the city, and within a few years the district recovered its old bounds. He was transferred to Guangping. Yi tribesmen and Han alike cherished him; young and old traveled to the capital with petitions begging the court to keep him. Emperor Ming agreed, issued a warm commendation comparing him to Huang Ba, and added the title General Who Suppresses Brigands.
6
曹爽輔政，引為司馬。 芝屢有讜言嘉謀，爽弗能納。 及宣帝起兵誅爽，芝率餘眾犯門斬關，馳出赴爽，勸爽曰：「公居伊周之位，一旦以罪見黜，雖欲牽黃犬，復可得乎！ 若挾天子保許昌，杖大威以羽檄征四方兵，孰敢不從！ 舍此而去，欲就東市，豈不痛哉！」 爽懦惑不能用，遂委身受戮。 芝坐爽下獄，當死，而口不訟直，志不苟免。 宣帝嘉之，赦而不誅。 俄而起為使持節、領護匈奴中郎將、振威將軍、并州刺史。 以綏緝有方，遷大鴻臚。
When Cao Shuang controlled the regency he took Zhi on as marshal. Zhi gave blunt, sound advice again and again; Shuang refused to listen. When the Emperor Xuan [Sima Yi] raised troops to execute Shuang, Zhi led the remaining troops to force the gates and break through the barriers, galloping out to join Shuang, and urged Shuang: 'You occupy the position of Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou—once you are dismissed for crime, even if you wished to lead a yellow dog [on a hunt], could you have it again? If you seize the Son of Heaven and hold Xuchang, wielding great awe and dispatching feathered summons to levy troops from the four quarters, who would dare not follow? To abandon this and depart, only to go to the eastern market [for execution]—how could it not be bitter?' Shuang was timid and bewildered and ignored him; he surrendered and died under the blade. Zhi, tied to Shuang's faction, went to prison facing death, yet he neither whined for mercy nor grasped at an unworthy reprieve. Sima Yi admired him and spared his life. Soon he held credentials as commissioner, concurrent colonel of the central Xiongnu corps, General Who Rouses Might, and inspector of Bing. His skill at pacifying and administering won him promotion to grand herald.
7
高貴鄉公即位，賜爵關內侯，邑二百戶。 毌丘儉平，隨例增邑二百戶，拜揚武將軍、荆州刺史。 諸葛誕以壽春叛，文帝奉魏帝出征，徵兵四方，芝率荊州文武以為先驅。 誕平，進爵武進亭侯，又增邑九百戶。 遷大尚書，掌刑理。 常道鄉公即位，進爵斄城鄉侯，又增邑八百戶，遷監青州諸軍事、振武將軍、青州刺史，轉平東將軍。 五等建，封陰平伯。
When the duke of Gaoguixiang became emperor, Zhi received a secondary marquisate inside the passes with two hundred households. After Guanqiu Jian's rebellion was crushed his fief rose by another two hundred households by rule; he became General Who Displays Might and inspector of Jing. When Zhuge Dan rose at Shou-chun, Sima Zhao marched with the Wei emperor and called troops from every quarter; Zhi led Jing's civil and military officers in the van. After Dan fell he advanced to marquis of Wujin precinct with nine hundred more households. He entered the Masters of Writing with broadened duties and oversaw penal justice. When the duke of Changdao succeeded, his title rose to marquis of Lai township with eight hundred more households; he supervised Qing military affairs as General Who Rouses Might and inspector of Qing, then shifted to General Who Pacifies the East. Under the new five-rank nobility he became baron of Yinping.
8
武帝踐阼，轉鎮東將軍，進爵為侯。 帝以芝清忠履正，素無居宅，使軍兵為作屋五十間。 芝以年及懸車，告老遜位，章表十餘上，於是徵為光祿大夫，位特進，給吏卒，門施行馬。 羊祜為車騎將軍，乃以位讓芝，曰：「光祿大夫魯芝潔身寡欲，和而不同，服事華髮，以禮終始，未蒙此選，臣更越之，何以塞天下之望！」 上不從。 其為人所重如是。 泰始九年卒，年八十四。 帝為舉哀，賵贈有加，諡曰貞，賜塋田百畝。
When Emperor Wu took the throne Zhi became General Who Guards the East and full marquis. Seeing his integrity and learning he still owned no house, the emperor ordered fifty rooms built for him. Feeling he had reached retiring age, he repeatedly memorialized to step down—more than ten times—until the court recalled him as minister of the imperial household at nominal salary with specially advanced rank, staff and guards, and the privilege of a barrier gate. Yang Hu was General of Chariots and Cavalry and wished to yield his position to Zhi, saying: 'Minister of the Imperial Household Lu Zhi keeps himself pure with few desires, harmonizes without agreeing blindly, has served until his hair is hoary and observes ritual from first to last—he has not yet received this selection; if I leap past him, how shall I answer the hopes of the realm?' The emperor refused. That was how highly peers valued him. In the ninth year of Taishi, he died at eighty-four. The court mourned him, enriched his grave goods, gave the posthumous name Zhen ('steadfast'), and allotted one hundred mu of burial land.
9
胡威
Hu Wei
10
胡威，字伯武，一名貔。 淮南壽春人也。 父質，以忠清著稱，少與鄉人蔣濟、硃績俱知名于江淮間，仕魏至征東將軍、荊州刺史。 威早厲志尚。 質之為荊州也，威自京都定省，家貧，無車馬僮僕，自驅驢單行。 每至客舍，躬放驢，取樵炊爨，食畢，復隨侶進道。 既至，見父，停廄中十餘日。 告歸，父賜絹一匹為裝。 威曰：「大人清高，不審于何得此絹？」 質曰：「是吾俸祿之餘，以為汝糧耳。」 威受之，辭歸。 質帳下都督先威未發，請假還家，陰資裝于百餘里，要威為伴，每事佐助。 行數百里，威疑而誘問之，既知，乃取所賜絹與都督，謝而遣之。 後因他信以白質，質杖都督一百，除吏名。 其父子清慎如此。 於是名譽著聞。 拜侍御史，曆南鄉侯、安豐太守，遷徐州刺史。 勤於政術，風化大行。
Hu Wei (courtesy Bowu), also known as Pi. He came from Shou-chun in Huainan. His father Hu Zhi won fame for loyalty and rectitude; as a young man he stood alongside Jiang Ji and Zhu Ji from the same district across the Jiang-Huai region, rising in Wei to general who conquers the east and inspector of Jing. Wei shaped his ambitions early. When Hu Zhi governed Jing, Wei traveled from the capital to visit; the household was destitute—no cart, horses, or servants—so he rode a donkey by himself. At every hostel he watered his mount, gathered firewood, cooked his meal, ate, and moved on with other travelers. On reaching his father he lodged in the stable over ten days. When he prepared to leave, his father gave him one bolt of silk for the road. Wei said: 'Father, you are pure and lofty—from where did this silk come?' Zhi said: 'It is what remains of my salary, meant as provisions for you.' Wei took it and set out for home. Before Wei departed, his father's camp commandant took leave, rode ahead more than a hundred li, stocked supplies in secret, intercepted Wei as a traveling companion, and waited on him at every step. After several hundred li Wei suspected something, drew the truth out, returned his father's silk to the commandant with thanks, and dismissed him. He then wrote his father; Hu Zhi had the commandant thrashed one hundred strokes and erased him from the roster. Such was their mutual purity and care. His name soon traveled widely. He became attendant censor, marquis of Nanxiang, administrator of Anfeng, then inspector of Xu. He worked his administrative craft tirelessly and reshaped local custom.
11
後入朝，武帝語及平生，因歎其父清，謂威曰：「卿孰與父清？」 對曰：「臣不如也。」 帝曰：「卿父以何勝耶？」 對曰：「臣父清恐人知，臣清恐人不知，是臣不及遠也。」 帝以威言直而婉，謙而順。 累遷監豫州諸軍事、右將軍、豫州刺史，入為尚書，加奉車都尉。
Later he entered court; when Emperor Wu spoke of [his] whole life, he sighed at his father's purity and said to Wei: 'Between you and your father, who is the purer?' He replied: 'Your servant is not the equal [of his father].' The emperor said: 'In what does your father surpass you?' He replied: 'My father's purity feared that others would know; your servant's purity fears that others would not know—there your servant falls far short.' The emperor found the reply frank yet diplomatic, humble yet loyal. He rose to supervise Yu military affairs as General of the Right and inspector of Yu, entered the Masters of Writing, and picked up the additional title cavalry conductor.
12
威嘗諫時政之寬，帝曰：「尚書郎以下，吾無所假借。」 威曰：「臣之所陳，豈在丞郎令史，正謂如臣等輩，始可以肅化明法耳。」 拜前將軍、監青州諸軍事、青州刺史，以功封平春侯， 太康元年，卒於位，追贈使持節、都督青州諸軍事、鎮東將軍，余如故，諡曰烈。 子奕嗣。
Wei once remonstrated that current policy was too lenient; the emperor said: 'Below the Masters of Writing supervisors, I grant no indulgence.' Wei said: 'What your servant has stated—how could it concern only assistants and clerks? It is precisely men of your servant's rank who must then be able to stiffen transformation and clarify the law.' He took General of the Front, supervised Qing, served as Qing inspector, and earned the marquisate of Pingchun for merit. In the first year of Taikang, he died in office. Posthumously he received credentials as commissioner and concurrent governor of Qing military affairs as General Who Guards the East, kept his other honors, and took the posthumous name Lie ('ardent'). His son Yi succeeded to the title.
14
威子奕
Hu Yi (son of Hu Wei)
16
奕字次孫，仕至平東將軍。 威弟羆，字季象，亦有幹用，仕至益州刺史、安東將軍。
Hu Yi (courtesy Cisun) reached General Who Pacifies the East. Hu Wei's younger brother Pi (courtesy Jixiang) was likewise capable, rising to inspector of Yi and General Who Pacifies the East.
17
杜軫
Du Zhen
18
杜軫，字超宗，蜀郡成都人也。 父雄，綿竹令。 軫師事譙周，博涉經書。 州辟不就，為郡功曹史。 時鄧艾至成都，軫白太守曰：「今大軍來征，必除舊佈新，明府宜避之，此全福之道也。」 太守乃出。 艾果遣其參軍牽弘自之郡，弘問軫前守所在，軫正色對曰：「前守達去就之機，輒自出官舍以俟君子。」 弘器之，命復為功曹，軫固辭。 察孝廉，除建寧令，導以德政，風化大行，夷夏悅服。 秩滿將歸，群蠻追送，賂遺甚多，軫一無所受，去如初至。 又除池陽令，為雍州十一郡最。 百姓生為立祠，得罪者無怨言。 累遷尚書郎。 軫博聞廣涉，奏議駁論多見施用。 時涪人李驤亦為尚書郎，與軫齊名，每有論議，朝廷莫能逾之，號蜀有二郎。 軫後拜犍為太守，甚有聲譽。 當遷，會病卒，年五十一。 子毗。
Du Zhen (courtesy Chaozong) came from Chengdu in Shu. His father Du Xiong had been magistrate of Mianzhu. Du Zhen studied under Qiao Zhou and widely explored the classics. The provincial summons he declined; he worked as the commandery clerk of merit. When Deng Ai arrived at Chengdu, Zhen reported to the Administrator: 'Now the great army has come on campaign—it will surely remove the old and spread the new; you, sir, should withdraw from [office]; that is the way to preserve good fortune.' The administrator resigned at once. Ai indeed sent his adjutant Qian Hong to proceed to the commandery himself; Hong asked Zhen where the former Administrator was, and Zhen answered with stern demeanor: "The former Administrator grasped the moment to advance or withdraw and left the official residence on his own to await a gentleman." Qian Hong thought highly of him and tried to put him back in the clerk-of-merit post; Du Zhen refused outright. Raised as filial and incorrupt, he governed Jianning with benevolent rule until custom changed across the district and every community, tribal or Chinese, accepted his authority. As he finished his tour and prepared to go home, hill peoples trailed after him with lavish parting gifts; he took none of it and rode away as plainly as the day he came. His next post was Chiyang, where his evaluation topped all eleven Yong commanderies. Locals raised a shrine to him in his lifetime, and even convicts accepted punishment without grudge. He rose through several posts to gentleman of the Masters of Writing. Du Zhen was erudite; the court regularly adopted his memorials and policy debates. Li Xiang of Fu served alongside him as gentleman of the Masters of Writing; their arguments set the standard at court, earning the nickname 'the two gentlemen of Shu.' He later governed Qianwei and won wide acclaim. He was slated for promotion but died of illness at fifty-one. His son was Du Pi.
20
軫子毗
Du Pi (Du Zhen's son)
22
毗字長基。 州舉秀才，成都王穎辟大將軍掾，遷尚書郎，參太傅軍事。 及洛陽覆沒，毗南渡江，王敦表為益州刺史，將與宜都太守柳純共固白帝。 杜弢遣軍要毗，遂遇害。
Du Pi, courtesy Changji. Recommended as a cultivated talent, he entered Prince Chengdu Sima Ying's staff as grand-general aide, then became gentleman of the Masters of Writing and adviser on the grand tutor's army council. After the Luoyang catastrophe he fled south; Wang Dun nominated him for Yi Province so he could join Yidu prefect Liu Chun in defending the Ba gorges. The rebel Du Tao ambushed him and cut him down.
24
毗弟秀
Du Xiu (younger brother of Du Pi)
26
毗弟秀，字彥穎，為羅尚主簿。 州沒，為氏賊李驤所得，欲用為司馬。 秀不受，見害。 毗次子歆，舉秀才。
Du Xiu (courtesy Yanying), Du Pi's younger brother, was chief clerk to Luo Shang. After the province collapsed Di warlord Li Xiang seized him and offered him the post of army marshal. Du Xiu refused and was executed. Du Pi's second son Du Xin passed the provincial cultivated-talent examination.
28
軫弟烈
Du Lie (younger brother of Du Zhen)
30
軫弟烈，明政事，察孝廉，曆平康、安陽令，所居有異績，遷衡陽太守。 聞軫亡，因自表兄子幼弱，求去官，詔轉犍為太守，蜀土榮之。 後遷湘東太守，為成都王穎郎中令，病卒。
Du Lie, another brother of Du Zhen, excelled at governance; as filial-and-incorrupt nominee he magistrated Pingkang and Anyang with distinction, then became prefect of Hengyang. Learning of Du Zhen's death, he asked leave on the ground that his nephews were infants; the court moved him to Qianwei instead, a gesture Shu folk deeply respected. He later governed eastern Xiang and served as palace gentleman to Prince Chengdu, then died in office of illness.
32
烈弟良
Du Liang (younger brother of Du Lie)
34
烈弟良，舉秀才，除新都令、涪陵太守，不就，補州大中正，卒。
Du Liang, Du Lie's youngest brother, passed the cultivated-talent exam and received calls to Xindu and Fuling but declined; he ended as the province's senior evaluator and died in that role.
35
竇允
Dou Yun
36
竇允，字雅，始平人也。 出自寒門，清尚自修。 少仕縣，稍遷郡主簿。 察孝廉，除浩亹長。 勤於為政，勸課田蠶，平均調役，百姓賴之。 遷謁者。 泰始中，詔曰：「當官者能潔身修己，然後在公之節乃全。 身善有章，雖賤必賞，此興化立教之務也。 謁者竇允前為浩亹長，以修勤清白見稱河右。 是輩當擢用，使立行者有所勸。 主者詳復參訪，有以旌表之。」 拜臨水令。 克己厲俗，改修政事，士庶悅服，咸歌詠之。 遷钜鹿太守，甚有政績。 卒於官。
Dou Yun (courtesy Ya) came from Shiping. Born to a poor household, he disciplined himself toward austerity and honor. He began in county service and worked up to commandery chief clerk. As filial-and-incorrupt nominee he became magistrate of Gaomen county. He pushed farming and silk-rearing, spread levies fairly, and earned the people's trust. He moved up to palace usher. In the Taishi era an edict said: 'Those who hold office must purify and cultivate themselves; only then is public integrity complete. When personal goodness is manifest, though the rank be low, reward must follow—this is how one promotes transforming influence and establishes instruction. Usher Dou Yun, formerly magistrate of Gaomen, was praised west of the River for diligent cultivation and pure conduct. Men of this sort ought to be promoted so that those who practice upright conduct have something to strive toward. Let the responsible offices examine and investigate thoroughly and issue commendations.' Dou Yun received Linshui county. He tightened his own conduct, reshaped local practice, and won scholars and farmers alike—they sang his praises. Promoted to Julu, he compiled a notable administrative record. He died in harness.
37
王宏
Wang Hong
38
王宏，字正宗，高平人，魏侍中粲之從孫也。 魏時辟公府，累遷尚書郎，曆給事中。 泰始初，為汲郡太守，撫百姓如家，耕桑樹藝，屋宇阡陌，莫不躬自教示，曲盡事宜，在郡有殊績。 司隸校尉石鑒上其政術，武帝下詔稱之曰：「朕惟人食之急，而懼天時水旱之運，夙夜警戒，念在於農。 雖詔書屢下，敕厲殷勤，猶恐百姓廢惰以損生植之功。 而刺史、二千石、百里長吏未能盡勤，至使地有遺利而人有餘力，每思聞監司糾舉能不，將行其賞罰，以明沮勸。 今司隸校尉石鑒上汲郡太守王宏勤恤百姓，導化有方，督勸開荒五千餘頃，而熟田常課頃畝不減。 比年普饑，人食不足，而宏郡界獨無匱乏，可謂能矣。 其賜宏穀千斛，佈告天下，咸使聞知。」
Wang Hong (courtesy Zhengzong) of Gaoping traced his line collaterally from Wei inner-court attendant Wang Can. Under Wei he entered the central ministries, rose to gentleman of the Masters of Writing, and served as palace attendant. Early in Taishi he took Ji commandery and treated households like kin: he walked every field and lane to teach sowing, mulberry, and building until nothing essential was left undone, and his ratings soared. Metropolitan Governor Shi Jian reported his administrative methods; Emperor Wu issued an edict praising him, saying: 'I consider the urgency of people's food and fear the workings of flood and drought in season; day and night I am on guard, my thoughts on agriculture. Though edicts have been issued repeatedly and instructions earnestly urged, I still fear the common people may grow idle and lazy and impair the work of nurturing growth. Yet inspectors, commandery governors of two thousand shi, and magistrates of a hundred li have not been able to do their utmost, so that the land still holds uncultivated surplus while people have leftover strength; whenever I think of this I wish to hear whether overseers report who can and who cannot, so as to apply rewards and punishments and make encouragement and discouragement clear. Now Metropolitan Governor Shi Jian reports that Administrator of Ji commandery Wang Hong diligently comforts the common people and guides transformation effectively; he supervised and urged the opening of more than five thousand qing of new fields while tax grain from mature fields did not decrease per mu. In recent years famine has been widespread and people lack food, yet within Hong's commandery alone there was no shortage—this may be called capable. Grant Hong one thousand hu of grain; proclaim this throughout the realm so all may hear and know.'
39
俄遷衛尉、河南尹、大司農，無復能名，更為苛碎。 坐桎梏罪人，以泥墨塗面，置深坑中，餓不與食，又擅縱五歲刑以下二十一人，為有司所劾。 帝以宏累有政績，聽以贖罪論。 太康中，代劉毅為司隸校尉，於是檢察士庶，使車服異制，庶人不得衣紫絳及綺繡錦繢。 帝常遣左右微行，觀察風俗，宏緣此復遣吏科檢婦人衵服，至褰發于路。 論者以為暮年謬妄，由是獲譏於世，復坐免官。 後起為尚書。 永嘉三年，暴疾而卒，臨終歎曰：「此乃天亡冀州，豈吾命哉！」
Soon he commanded the guards, ran Henan, and took the granaries ministry—but the humane magistrate was gone; he turned petty and cruel. He shackled prisoners, smeared mud on their faces, dropped them in pits, starved them, and illegally freed twenty-one convicts serving five years or less—the ministries impeached him. The emperor credited his earlier record and let him buy off the charge. Under Taikang he succeeded Liu Yi as metropolitan governor and regulated dress for nobles and commoners—common people could not wear purple, red, brocade, or figured silk. The sovereign habitually sent plain-clothes agents to gauge morals; Hong sent clerks after women's under-robes and even had garments lifted in the street. Observers wrote him off as a foolish old man; ridicule followed and he was cashiered again. He later returned as a masters-of-writing minister. In the third year of Yongjia, he died of a sudden illness. At the end he sighed, "This is Heaven destroying Jizhou; how could it be my fate!"
40
曹攄
Cao Shu
41
曹攄，字顏遠，譙國譙人也。 祖肇，魏衛將軍。 攄少有孝行，好學善屬文，太尉王衍見而器之，調補臨淄令。 縣有寡婦，養姑甚謹。 姑以其年少，勸令改適，婦守節不移。 姑湣之，密自殺。 親党告婦殺姑，官為考鞫，寡婦不勝苦楚，乃自誣。 獄當決，適值攄到。 攄知其有冤，更加辯究，具得情實，時稱其明。 獄有死囚，歲夕，攄行獄，湣之，曰：「卿等不幸致此非所，如何？ 新歲人情所重，豈不欲暫見家邪？」 眾囚皆涕泣曰：「若得暫歸，死無恨也。」 攄悉開獄出之，克日令還。 掾吏固爭，咸謂不可。 攄曰：「此雖小人，義不見負，自為諸君任之。」 至日，相率而還，並無違者，一縣嘆服，號曰聖君。 入為尚書郎，轉洛陽令，仁惠明斷，百姓懷之。 時天大雨雪，宮門夜失行馬，群官檢察，莫知所在。 攄使收門士，眾官咸謂不然。 攄曰：「宮掖禁嚴，非外人所敢盜，必是門士以燎寒耳。」 詰之，果服。 以病去官。 復為洛陽令。
Cao Shu (courtesy Yuanyuan) came from Qiao in the Qiao princedom. His grandfather Cao Zhao had been Wei general who guards the borders. Filial from boyhood, bookish and eloquent, he impressed grand commandant Wang Yan, who moved him to magistrate of Linzi. The county had a widow who nursed her mother-in-law devotedly. The elder, pitying her youth, urged her to remarry; the widow refused to abandon her vow. The mother-in-law, heartsick for her, committed suicide in secret. Kin accused the widow of murder; torture broke her and she confessed to a crime she did not commit. Sentence was about to fall when Cao Shu took office. He sensed a miscarriage, reopened the file, and extracted the truth; contemporaries praised his insight. In the jail were condemned prisoners; at year's end Shu inspected the prison and pitied them, saying: 'You have unfortunately come to this place—what can be done? New Year's is what human feelings most treasure—do you not wish briefly to see your families?' All the prisoners wept and said: 'If we could return for a little while, we would die without regret.' He threw open the gates, freed them all, and named the day they must return. His aides protested that the risk was insane. Shu said: 'Though these are petty men, in honor they will not betray me; I myself answer for them to you gentlemen.' Every man returned on time; the county hailed him as a sage official. He reached the Masters of Writing and then Luoyang county—kind, sharp, and beloved. One night of blizzard the palace gate's traveling barriers vanished; no search turned them up. Cao Shu arrested the gate guards; colleagues called it nonsense. Shu said: 'The palace is strictly forbidden—outsiders would not dare steal them; it must be the gate guards taking them to warm themselves by fire.' Questioning proved him right. Illness forced him out. Luoyang eventually recalled him.
42
及齊王冏輔政，攄與左思俱為記室督。 冏嘗從容問攄曰：「天子為賊臣所逼，莫有能奮。 吾率四海義兵興復王室，今入輔朝廷，匡振時艱，或有勸吾還國，於卿意如何？」 攄曰：「蕩平國賊，匡復帝祚，古今人臣之功未有如大王之盛也。 然道罔隆而不殺，物無盛而不衰，非唯人事，抑亦天理。 竊預下問，敢不盡情。 願大王居高慮危，在盈思沖，精選百官，存公屏欲，舉賢進善，務得其才，然後脂車秣馬，高揖歸籓，則上下同慶，攄等幸甚。」 冏不納。 尋轉中書侍郎。 長沙王乂以為驃騎司馬。 乂敗，免官。 因丁母憂。 惠帝末，起為襄城太守，
When Prince Qi Sima Jiong directed the regime, Cao Shu and Zuo Si jointly supervised the secretariat. Jiong once calmly asked Shu: 'The Son of Heaven was coerced by traitorous ministers; none could rouse himself. I led righteous troops from within the four seas to restore the royal house; now I enter and assist the court, aiding the hardship of the times—some urge me to return to my princedom; what is your thought?' Shu said: 'Sweeping away state rebels and restoring the imperial throne—among ministers through history none has achieved merit as great as the great king's. Yet the Way never rises without decline; nothing flourishes without fading—not only in human affairs but also in the pattern of Heaven. Having received your humble inquiry below, how dare I not speak my whole mind. I wish the great king, dwelling high, to think of peril; in fullness to think of emptiness; carefully select the hundred officials; preserve impartiality and restrain desire; promote the worthy and advance the good, striving to obtain true talent—then grease the carriage and feed the horses, bow deeply and return to your fief; then high and low alike will rejoice, and Shu and the rest will be greatly fortunate.' Sima Jiong brushed the counsel aside. He soon moved to vice director of the Secretariat. Prince Changsha Sima Yi named him staff marshal on the agile-cavalry command. After Prince Changsha fell, Cao Shu lost his post. He then withdrew to mourn his mother. Late in Emperor Hui's reign he returned as Xiangcheng prefect.
43
永嘉二年，高密王簡鎮襄陽，以攄為征南司馬。 其年流人王逌等聚眾屯冠軍，寇掠城邑。 簡遣參軍崔曠討之，令攄督護曠。 曠，奸凶人也，譎攄前戰，期為後繼，既而不至。 攄獨與逌戰於酈縣，軍敗死之。 故吏及百姓並奔喪會葬，號哭即路，如赴父母焉。
In the second year of Yongjia, Prince Gaomi Sima Jian, commanding Xiangyang, put Cao Shu in charge of the southern army staff. Refugee bands under Wang You encamped at Guanjun that year and looted cities along the way. Sima Jian dispatched Cui Kuang to attack them while Cao Shu oversaw Kuang as protector. Cui Kuang was treacherous: he pushed Cao Shu forward and promised support that never arrived. Cao Shu met Wang You near Li county alone, lost the battle, and was killed. Old aides and ordinary folk raced to his funeral, weeping in the street as for a parent.
44
潘京
Pan Jing
45
潘京，字世長，武陵漢壽人也。 弱冠，郡辟主簿，太守趙廞甚器之，嘗問曰：「貴郡何以名武陵？」 京曰：「鄙郡本名義陵，在辰陽縣界，與夷相接，數為所攻，光武時移東出，遂得全完，共議易號。 《傳》曰止戈為武，《詩》稱高平曰陵，於是名焉。」 為州所辟，因謁見問策，探得「不孝」字，刺史戲京曰：「辟士為不孝邪？」 京舉版答曰：「今為忠臣，不得復為孝子。」 其機辯皆此類。 後太廟立，州郡皆遣使賀，京白太守曰：「夫太廟立，移神主，應問訊，不應賀。」 遂遣京作文，使詣京師，以為永式。 京仍舉秀才，到洛。 尚書令樂廣，京州人也，共談累日，深歎其才，謂京曰：「君天才過人，恨不學耳。 若學，必為一代談宗。」 京感其言，遂勤學不倦。 時武陵太守戴昌亦善談論，與京共談，京假借之，昌以為不如己，笑而遣之，令過其子若思，京方極其言論。 昌竊聽之，乃嘆服曰：「才不可假。」 遂父子俱屈焉。 曆巴丘、邵陵、泉陵三令。 京明於政術，路不拾遺。 遷桂林太守，不就，歸家，年五十卒。
Pan Jing (courtesy Shichang) came from Hanshou in Wuling commandery. At the capping age the commandery summoned him as chief clerk; Administrator Zhao Xin esteemed him highly and once asked: "Why is your commandery called Wuling?" Jing replied: "Our commandery was originally Yiling, within Chenyang county; it bordered the Yi tribes and suffered repeated attacks; in Emperor Guangwu's reign it was shifted eastward and survived intact; the elders then chose a new name. The Documents says 'stopping weapons is martial'; the Odes calls a high, peaceful land a "mound"; hence the new name." Summoned by the province, at audience he drew lots for a policy question and received the pair 'unfilial'; the inspector teased Jing: "Are you summoning a man who is unfilial?" Jing lifted his writing tablet and answered: "Today I am a loyal subject; I cannot also be a filial son." His repartee ran in that vein. Later, when the Grand Ancestral Temple was completed, every province and commandery sent envoys to congratulate; Jing told the administrator: "When the temple is dedicated and spirit tablets move, the court deserves condolence, not cheering." The prefect had Pan Jing draft the proper notice; Luoyang adopted it as precedent. Recommended again as cultivated talent, he went to Luoyang. Masters of Writing chief Yue Guang, a fellow townsman, talked with him for days, marveled at his gifts, and said: "Your genius surpasses others; I only regret you have not studied. If you studied, you would surely become this age's master of pure conversation." Pan Jing took the hint and studied without slackening. Wuling prefect Dai Chang fancied himself a wit; Pan Jing played dumb until Dai sent him to spar with Dai Yuan—then he revealed his depth. Chang listened in secret and sighed: "Talent cannot be borrowed." Father and son both yielded the point. He magistrated Baqiu, Shaoling, and Quanling in turn. His administration ran so honestly that no one picked up lost property. Called to Guilin, he declined, retired, and died at fifty.
46
范晷
Fan Gui
47
范晷，字彥長，南陽順陽人也。 少遊學清河，遂徙家僑居。 郡命為五官掾，曆河內郡丞。 太守裴楷雅知之，薦為侍御史。 調補上谷太守，遭喪，不之官。 後為司徒左長史，轉馮翊太守，甚有政能，善於綏撫，百姓愛悅之。 徵拜少府，出為涼州刺史，轉雍州。 于時西土荒毀，氏羌蹈藉，田桑失收，百姓困弊，晷傾心化導，勸以農桑，所部甚賴之。 元康中，加左將軍，卒于官。 二子：廣、稚。
Fan Gui (courtesy Yanchang) came from Shunyang in Nanyang. He studied in Qinghe as a youth and moved his family there. The commandery gave him the five-bureaus clerkship; he became assistant administrator of Henei. Prefect Pei Kai admired him and nominated him attendant censor. Ordered to Shanggu, he stayed home mourning instead. He advanced to senior clerk under the minister of education, then governed Pingyi with strong relief efforts and popular affection. The court called him privy treasurer, then sent him west as Liang inspector and Yong inspector. The northwest was shattered by Di and Qiang raids and crop failure; Fan Gui preached farming and care until the region stabilized. Under Yuankang he added General of the Left and died in harness. He left two sons, Guang and Zhi.
49
晷子廣
Fan Guang (Fan Gui's son)
51
廣字仲將。 舉孝廉，除靈壽令，不之官。 姊適孫氏，早亡，有孫名邁，廣負以南奔，雖盜賊艱急，終不棄之。 元帝承制，以為堂邑令。 丞劉榮坐事當死，郡劾以付縣。 榮即縣人，家有老母，至節，廣輒聽暫還，榮亦如期而反。 縣堂為野火所及，榮脫械救火，事畢，還自著械。 後大旱，米貴，廣散私穀振饑人，至數千斛，遠近流寓歸投之，戶口十倍。 卒於官。
Fan Guang, courtesy Zhongjiang. Recommended filial and incorrupt for Lingshou, he never took the post. His widowed sister had left a grandson, Mai; Fan Guang fled south with the boy on his back and never abandoned him to bandits. Emperor Yuan's provisional regime named him magistrate of Tangyi. Assistant Liu Rong faced capital charges; the prefect sent him down to the county jail. Liu was a local with an elderly mother; Fan Guang released him for holidays and he always returned on time. When brush fire threatened the yamen, Liu slipped his chains to fight the flames, then refastened himself. During famine he fed thousands of hu from his own granaries; refugees poured in and his county rolls swelled tenfold. He died in office.
53
晷子稚
Fan Zhi (Fan Gui's son)
55
稚少知名，辟大將軍掾，早卒。 子汪，別有傳。
Fan Zhi won early fame, joined the grand general's staff, and died young. His son Fan Wang has his own biography elsewhere.
56
丁紹
Ding Shao
57
丁紹，字叔倫，譙國人也。 少開朗公正，早曆清官，為廣平太守，政平訟理，道化大行。 于時河北騷擾，靡有完邑，而廣平一郡四境乂安，是以皆悅其法而從其令。 及臨漳被圍，南陽王模窘急，紹率郡兵赴之，模賴以獲全。 模感紹恩，生為立碑。 遷徐州刺史，士庶戀慕，攀附如歸。 未之官，復轉荊州刺史。 從車千乘，南渡河至許。 時南陽王模為都督，留紹，啟轉為冀州刺史。 到鎮，率州兵討破汲桑有功，加甯北將軍、假節、監冀州諸軍事。 時境內羯賊為患，紹捕而誅之，號為嚴肅，河北人畏而愛之。 紹自以為才足為物雄，當官蒞政，每事克舉，視天下之事若運於掌握，遂慨然有董正四海之志矣。 是時王浚盛于幽州，苟晞盛於青州，然紹視二人蔑如也， 暴疾而卒，臨終歎曰：「此乃天亡冀州，豈吾命哉！」 懷帝策贈車騎將軍。
Ding Shao (courtesy Shulun) came from the Qiao princedom. Cheerful and fair in youth, he rose through unsullied posts; at Guangping justice ran straight and instruction spread wide. While Hebei burned and every other county shattered, Guangping stayed calm; people welcomed his code. When Linzhang was invested and Prince Nanyang Sima Mo was trapped, Ding Shao marched county troops and saved him. Sima Mo was so grateful he raised a stele to Ding Shao during his lifetime. Promoted to Xu inspector, he drew scholars and commoners who clung to him like kin. He never reached Xu—the court shifted him to Jing inspector. A thousand-car entourage forded the river toward Xu. Area commander Sima Mo kept him and arranged a Ji inspector posting instead. On station he crushed Ji Sang's bandits and earned General Who Pacifies the North with credentials over Ji. He hunted Jie marauders ruthlessly; northerners feared and respected his severity. He fancied himself master of the moment—every policy worked—and dreamed of rectifying the empire. Wang Jun ruled You and Gou Xi ruled Qing, yet Ding Shao sneered at both. He suddenly died of a violent illness; facing death he sighed: "This is Heaven destroying Ji Province—how could it be my fate alone!" Emperor Huai posthumously named him general of chariots and cavalry.
58
喬智明
Qiao Zhiming
59
喬智明，字元達，鮮卑前部人也。 少喪二親，哀毀過禮，長而以德行著稱。 成都王穎辟為輔國將軍。 穎之敗趙王倫也，表智明為殄寇將軍、隆慮、共二縣令。 二縣愛之，號為「神君」。 部人張兌為父報仇，母老單身，有妻無子，智明湣之，停其獄。 歲餘，令兌將妻入獄，兼陰縱之。 人有勸兌逃者，兌曰：「有君如此，吾何忍累之！ 縱吾得免，作何面目視息世間！」 於獄產一男。 會赦，得免。 其仁感如是。 惠帝之伐鄴也，穎以智明為折沖將軍、參丞相前鋒軍事。 智明勸穎奉迎乘輿，穎大怒曰：「卿名曉事，投身事孤。 主上為群小所逼，將加非罪於孤，卿奈何欲使孤束手就刑邪！ 共事之義，正若此乎？」 智明乃止。 尋屬永嘉之亂，仕于劉曜。
Qiao Zhiming (courtesy Yuanda) belonged to the forward wing of the Xianbei confederation. Orphaned young, he mourned beyond ritual and matured renowned for character. Prince Chengdu Sima Ying appointed him General Who Supports the State. After defeating Prince Zhao Sima Lun, Sima Ying named him General Who Exterminates Brigands and magistrate of Longlu and Gong. Both counties loved him; they called him the "divine magistrate." Commoner Zhang Dui killed for vengeance; his mother lived alone and he lacked an heir; Qiao Zhiming stayed judgment out of mercy. After a year he let Zhang bring his wife into custody and quietly allowed intimacy. Someone urged Dui to flee; Dui said: "With a magistrate like this, how could I bear to drag him down! Even if I could escape, what face would I have to face the world and breathe!" His wife delivered a son in prison. An amnesty freed him. Such was the power of his humane rule. During Emperor Hui's expedition against Ye, Sima Ying made him General Who Charges the Enemy on the vanguard staff. Zhiming urged Ying to welcome the emperor's carriage; Ying raged: "Your reputation says you understand affairs—yet you entered my service. The sovereign was forced by petty men and will heap false crimes on me—why would you have me bind my hands for execution! Is comradeship supposed to mean this?" Qiao Zhiming fell silent. When Yongjia chaos erupted he entered Liu Yao's Han-Zhao regime.
60
鄧攸
Deng You
61
鄧攸，字伯道，平陽襄陵人也。 祖殷，亮直強正。 鐘會伐蜀，奇其才，自黽池令召為主簿。 賈充伐吳，請殷為長史。 後授皇太子《詩》，為淮南太守。 夢行水邊，見一女子，猛獸自後斷其盤囊。 占者以為水邊有女，汝字也，斷盤囊者，新獸頭代故獸頭也，不作汝陰，當汝南也。 果遷汝陰太守。 後為中庶子。
Deng You (courtesy Bodao) came from Xiangling in Pingyang. His grandfather Deng Yin was blunt and incorruptible. Zhong Hui's western campaign spotted his talent and pulled him from Mengchi magistrate to chief clerk. Jia Chong's Wu expedition drafted Deng Yin as senior clerk. He tutored the heir apparent in the Classic of Odes and took the Huainan prefecture. He dreamed of walking waterside: a woman appeared and a beast tore his belt pouch from behind. Dream readers said water plus maiden spelled Ru; swapping pouch ornaments meant a new seal—expect Runan, not Runyin. He was posted to Runyin after all. He rose to palace attendant for the heir.
62
攸七歲喪父，尋喪母及祖母，居喪九年，以孝致稱。 清和平簡，貞正寡欲。 少孤，與弟同居。 初，祖父殷有賜官，敕攸受之。 後太守勸攸去王官，欲舉為孝廉，攸曰：「先人所賜，不可改也。」 嘗詣鎮軍賈混，混以人訟事示攸，使決之。 攸不視，曰：「孔子稱聽訟吾猶人也，必也使無訟乎！」 混奇之，以女妻焉。 舉灼然二品，為吳王文學，曆太子洗馬、東海王越參軍。 越欽其為人，轉為世子文學、吏部郎。 越弟騰為東中郎將，請攸為長史。 出為河東太守。
Orphaned at seven, he buried mother and grandmother in turn and mourned nine years—a model of filial grief. Calm, modest, and spare in appetite—honest and detached. Fatherless early, he kept house with his brother. His grandfather Yin's ennoblement had passed down by edict to Deng You. Later the administrator urged You to surrender the royal patent so he could be raised as filial and incorrupt; You said: 'What forebears granted cannot be altered.' At camp commandant Jia Hun's interview he was handed a civil suit to judge. You would not look at it and said: 'Confucius said, "In hearing lawsuits I am like others—surely the task is to make lawsuits cease!"' Jia Hun admired him and married him to his daughter. Rated ‘brilliant’ second grade, he taught literature for Prince Wu, tutored the heir, and joined Prince Donghai Sima Yue's staff. Sima Yue esteemed him and moved him to heir's tutor and personnel director. Sima Teng, east-center general, took him as chief clerk. He governed Hedong.
63
永嘉末，沒于石勒。 然勒宿忌諸官長二千石，聞攸在營，馳召，將殺之。 攸至門，門幹乃攸為郎時幹，識攸，攸求紙筆作辭。 幹候勒和悅，致之。 勒重其辭，乃勿殺。 勒長史張賓先與攸比舍，重攸名操，因稱攸於勒。 勒召至幕下，與語，悅之，以為參軍，給車馬。 勒每東西，置攸車營中。 勒夜禁火，犯之者死。 攸與胡鄰轂，胡夜失火燒車。 吏按問，胡乃誣攸。 攸度不可與爭，遂對以弟婦散發溫酒為辭。 勒赦之。 既而胡人深感，自縛詣勒以明攸，而陰遺攸馬驢，諸胡莫不歎息宗敬之。 石勒過泗水，攸乃斫壞車，以牛馬負妻子而逃。 又遇賊，掠其牛馬，步走，擔其兒及其弟子綏。 度不能兩全，乃謂其妻曰：「吾弟早亡，唯有一息，理不可絕，止應自棄我兒耳。 幸而得存，我後當有子。」 妻泣而從之，乃棄之。 其子朝棄而暮及。 明日，攸繋之於樹而去。
Yongjia's collapse delivered him to Shi Le. Shi Le despised former prefects; hearing Deng You's rank, he planned execution. At the gate an old clerk recognized him and slipped him brush and paper for a plea. The clerk waited for Shi Le's good humor and submitted it. Shi Le admired the prose and spared him. Chief clerk Zhang Bin, once his neighbor, praised Deng You until Shi Le listened. Summoned to HQ, Deng You won a staff post with mounts. Every campaign parked Deng You's wagon in headquarters. Shi Le banned night fires on penalty of death. A Hu neighbor's campfire torched the wagon train. Guards questioned the Hu, who blamed Deng You. Knowing argument was useless, he claimed his sister-in-law had warmed wine by night—a face-saving fiction. Shi Le accepted the excuse. The Hu, ashamed, confessed to Shi Le and sent Deng You livestock; tribesmen revered him. At the Si crossing he smashed the cart and fled with family on draft animals. Bandits stole the beasts; he walked, bearing his son and nephew Sui. Judging he could not save both, he told his wife: 'My younger brother died early and left only this breath of life—the line cannot end; I must abandon only my own son. If we are fortunate enough to survive, I shall yet have sons.' She wept and consented; they left his son behind. The boy abandoned at dawn somehow reached them by dusk. Next morning Deng You bound his son to a tree and walked on.
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至新鄭，投李矩。 三年，將去，而矩不聽。 荀組以為陳郡、汝南太守，湣帝徵為尚書左丞、長水校尉，皆不果就。 後密捨矩去，投荀組於許昌，矩深恨焉，久之，乃送家屬還攸。 攸與刁協、周顗素厚，遂至江東。 元帝以攸為太子中庶子。 時吳郡闕守，人多欲之，帝以授攸。 攸載米之郡，俸祿無所受，唯飲吳水而已。 時郡中大饑，攸表振貸，未報，乃輒開倉救之。 臺遣散騎常侍桓彝、虞慰勞饑人，觀聽善不，乃劾攸以擅出穀。 俄而有詔原之。 攸在郡刑政清明，百姓歡悅，為中興良守。 後稱疾去職。 郡常有送迎錢數百萬，攸去郡，不受一錢。 百姓數千人留牽攸船，不得進，攸乃小停，夜中發去。 吳人歌之曰：「紞如打五鼓，雞鳴天欲曙。 鄧侯挽不留，謝令推不去。」 百姓詣臺乞留一歲，不聽。 拜侍中。 歲餘，轉吏部尚書。 蔬食弊衣，周急振乏。 性謙和，善與人交，賓無貴賤，待之若一，而頗敬媚權貴。
They reached Li Ju at Xinzheng. Three years later Li Ju refused his request to leave. Imperial appointments from Xun Zu and Emperor Min never materialized. He fled secretly to Xuchang; Li Ju resented it but eventually returned his household. He crossed to the south with Diao Xie and Zhou Yi. Emperor Yuan named him palace aide to the heir. Everyone wanted Wu commandery; the throne gave it to Deng You. He arrived carrying grain for relief, took no salary, and drank only local river water. Famine struck; before capital approval he opened state granaries. Huan Yi and Yu Wei inspected the hungry, then impeached him for opening stores. An edict soon absolved him. His Wu tenure brought lucid justice—acclaimed minister of the restoration. Illness became his excuse to resign. Locals offered millions in parting gifts; he refused every coin. Thousands gripped his boat until he feigned a stop and fled by night. The people of Wu sang: "The drum rolls like the fifth watch; the cock crows—dawn nears. Minister Deng cannot be held back; Magistrate Xie cannot be turned away." They petitioned the court for one more year; it refused. He became palace attendant. A year later he directed personnel. He lived on greens and rags while aiding the needy. Humble with guests yet currying powerful patrons.
65
永昌中，代周顗為護軍將軍， 太寧二年，王敦反，明帝密謀起兵，乃遷攸為會稽太守。 初，王敦伐都之後，中外兵數每月言之於敦。 攸已出在家，不復知護軍事，有惡攸者，誣攸尚白敦兵數。 帝聞而未之信，轉攸為太常。 時帝南郊，攸病不能從。 車駕過攸問疾，攸力病出拜。 有司奏攸不堪行郊而拜道左，坐免。 攸每有進退，無喜慍之色。 久之，遷尚書右僕射。 咸和元年卒，贈光祿大夫，加金章紫綬，祠以少年。
Yongchang era: he succeeded Zhou Yi as guards general. In the second year of Taining, Mingdi plotted against Wang Dun by moving Deng You to Kuaiji. After Wang Dun's coup, monthly troop returns still went to him. A foe claimed Deng You still fed Wang Dun troop counts. The emperor doubted the tale and moved him to minister of ceremonies. During the suburban sacrifice Deng You was too ill to attend. The imperial train stopped at his door; he dragged himself out to bow. Officials impeached him for bowing trackside while skipping the rite—he was stripped of office. Promotion or demotion never touched his expression. He eventually became vice president of the Masters of Writing. In the first year of Xianhe, Posthumous honors included minister of the imperial household, gold seal, purple ribbon, and a pig offering.
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攸棄子之後，妻子不復孕。 過江，納妾，甚寵之，訊其家屬，說是北人遭亂，憶父母姓名，乃攸之甥。 攸素有德行，聞之感恨，遂不復畜妾，卒以無嗣。 時人義而哀之，為之語曰：「天道無知，使鄧伯道無兒。」 弟子綏服攸喪三年。
After abandoning his son his wife bore none. Across the river he favored a concubine who proved, under questioning, to be his niece. Mortified, he dismissed concubines and died childless. People of the time deemed him righteous and pitied him, saying for him: 'Heaven's way is blind—it left Deng Bodao without sons.' Nephew Deng Sui mourned him three years.
67
吳隱之
Wu Yin-zhi
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吳隱之，字處默，濮陽鄄城人，魏侍中質六世孫也。 隱之美姿容，善談論，博涉文史，以儒雅標名。 弱冠而介立，有清操，雖日晏歠菽，不饗非其粟，儋石無儲，不取非其道。 年十餘，丁父憂，每號泣，行人為之流涕。 事母孝謹，及其執喪，哀毀過禮。 家貧，無人鳴鼓，每至哭臨之時，恆有雙鶴警叫，及祥練之夕，復有群雁俱集，時人咸以為孝感所至。 嘗食咸菹，以其味旨，掇而棄之。
Wu Yin-zhi (courtesy Chumo) of Juancheng descended six generations from Wei attendant Wu Zhi. Handsome, eloquent, learned—known as a Confucian gentleman. Young but austere: he starved rather than eat ill-gotten food. He mourned his father so loudly strangers wept. He exceeded ritual mourning his mother. Poor families lacked funeral drums; cranes and wild geese answered his obsequies—called heaven's echo of his grief. Tasting savory pickles during mourning, he spat them out for excess pleasure.
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與太常韓康伯鄰居，康伯母，殷浩之姊，賢明婦人也，每聞隱之哭聲，輟餐投箸，為之悲泣。 既而謂康伯曰：「汝若居銓衡，當舉如此輩人。」 及康伯為吏部尚書，隱之遂階清級，解褐輔國功曹，轉參征虜軍事。 兄坦之為袁真功曹，真敗，將及禍，隱之詣桓溫，乞代兄命，溫矜而釋之。 遂為溫所知賞，拜奉朝請、尚書郎，累遷晉陵太守。 在郡清儉，妻自負薪。 入為中書侍郎、國子博士、太子右衛率，轉散騎常侍，領著作郎。 孝武帝欲用為黃門郎，以隱之貌類簡文帝，乃止。 尋守廷尉、秘書監、御史中丞，領著作如故，遷左衛將軍。 雖居清顯，祿賜皆班親族，冬月無被，嘗浣衣，乃披絮，勤苦同於貧庶。
Han Kangbo's mother, Yin Hao's sister, wept whenever Wu Yin-zhi wailed next door. Afterward she told Kangbo: 'If you ever hold personnel authority, raise men like this.' When Han Kangbo took personnel, Wu Yin-zhi rose from clerk to campaign staff. He offered his life to Huan Wen to save brother Wu Tan-zhi after Yuan Zhen's fall. Huan Wen favored him; he reached Jinling prefect. As prefect his wife gathered firewood. Central posts stacked up—secretariat, academy, heir's guard, historian, left guard. Emperor Xiaowu cancelled a yellow-gate post fearing he looked like Emperor Jianwen. He headed justice, the palace library, and censors while editing histories. He shared salary with relatives and slept under patched cotton like a pauper.
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廣州包帶山海，珍異所出，一篋之寶，可資數世，然多瘴疫，人情憚焉。 唯貧窶不能自立者，求補長史，故前後刺史皆多黷貨。 朝廷欲革嶺南之弊，隆安中，以隱之為龍驤將軍、廣州刺史、假節，領平越中郎將。 未至州二十里，地名石門，有水曰貪泉，飲者懷無厭之欲。 隱之既至，語其親人曰：「不見可欲，使心不亂。 越嶺喪清，吾知之矣。」 乃至泉所，酌而飲之，因賦詩曰：「古人云此水，一歃懷千金。 試使夷齊飲，終當不易心。」 及在州，清操逾厲，常食不過菜及幹魚而已，帷帳器服皆付外庫，時人頗謂其矯，然亦終始不易。 帳下人進魚，每剔去骨存肉，隱之覺其用意，罰而黜焉。 元興初，詔曰：「夫孝行篤於閨門，清節厲乎風霜，實立人之所難，而君子之美致也。 龍驤將軍、廣州刺史吳隱之孝友過人，祿均九族，菲己潔素，儉愈魚飧。 夫處可欲之地，而能不改其操，饗惟錯之富，而家人不易其服，革奢務嗇，南域改觀，朕有嘉焉。 可進號前將軍，賜錢五十萬、穀千斛。」
Guangzhou brimmed with pearls but also fever airs men dreaded. Broke men sought the post; predecessors lined their pockets. Long'an reforms sent Wu Yin-zhi as dragon general and Guangzhou inspector with Yue-pacification colonelcy. Before the city, Greedy Spring at Shimen was said to inflame covetousness. When Yin-zhi arrived he told his kin: 'Not seeing what can be desired keeps the mind unperturbed. To lose purity crossing the ranges—I understand how that happens.' Thereupon he went to the spring, scooped and drank, and composed a poem: "Men of old spoke of this water—one sip loads the breast with desire worth a thousand in gold. Try offering it to Bo Yi and Shu Qi—they would never change their hearts." As prefect he tightened austerity—greens and dried fish, gear warehoused—critics called him theatrical but he never wavered. When aides served deboned fish to curry favor, he cashiered them. At the start of Yuanxing an edict said: "Filial conduct rooted in inner chambers, pure integrity tempered by frost and wind—such things are truly hard for ordinary men yet mark the finest gentlemen. General Who Rouses the Dragon, Inspector of Guangzhou Wu Yin-zhi surpasses others in filial devotion and friendship, divides stipends among nine branches of kin, keeps himself spare and pure, more frugal than a meal of fish alone. Standing where desire could strike yet not changing his integrity; facing piled riches yet his household changes not its clothing—rejecting extravagance for thrift, he altered southern outlook—I approve. He may advance to General of the Front; grant fifty myriad cash and one thousand hu of grain."
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及盧循寇南海，隱之率厲將士，固守彌時，長子曠之戰沒。 循攻擊百有餘日，逾城放火，焚燒三千餘家，死者萬餘人，城遂陷。 隱之攜家累出，欲奔還都，為循所得。 循表朝廷，以隱之党附桓玄，宜加裁戮，詔不許。 劉裕與循書，令遣隱之還，久方得反。 歸舟之日，裝無餘資。 及至，數畝小宅，籬垣仄陋，內外茅屋六間，不容妻子。 劉裕賜車牛，更為起宅，固辭。 尋拜度支尚書、太常，以竹篷為屏風，坐無氈席。 後遷中領軍，清儉不革，每月初得祿，裁留身糧，其餘悉分振親族，家人績紡以供朝夕。 時有困絕，或並日而食，身恆布衣不完，妻子不沾寸祿，
Lu Xun struck Guangzhou; Wu Yin-zhi held the walls until his heir Wu Kuang-zhi fell. After a hundred-day siege Lu Xun fired the suburbs, killing tens of thousands before the city collapsed. Wu Yin-zhi fled with family toward Jiankang but Lu Xun seized them. Lu Xun accused him of siding with Huan Xuan; the court refused execution. Liu Yu demanded his release; months passed before he sailed home. His return junk carried no private fortune. Home was a few acres of hut—six thatched rooms too tight for his household. Liu Yu offered ox-cart and a new house; Wu Yin-zhi refused. As minister of finance and rites he screened rooms with bamboo mats and sat on bare boards. Central guard commander pay still fed relatives after he skimmed daily rice; women spun for food. Days brought doubled hunger and patched robes—family saw none of his salary.
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義熙八年，請老致事，優詔許之，授光祿大夫，加金章紫綬，賜錢十萬、米三百斛。 九年，卒，追贈左光祿大夫，加散騎常侍。 隱之清操不渝，屢被褒飾，致事及於身沒，常蒙優錫顯贈，廉士以為榮。
In the eighth year of Yixi, Old age retirement brought minister of the imperial household honors, purple ribbon, cash, and rice. He died Yixi year nine with posthumous vice minister and attendant honors. Honors followed him from resignation through death—clean officials prized the recognition.
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初，隱之為奉朝請，謝石請為衛將軍主簿。 隱之將嫁女，石知其貧素，遣女必當率薄，乃令移廚帳助其經營。 使者至，方見婢牽犬賣之，此外蕭然無辦。 後至自番禺，其妻劉氏齎沈香一斤，隱之見之，遂投於湖亭之水。
When Wu Yin-zhi was court gentleman, Xie Shi recruited him for the guards general's secretariat. Knowing the wedding would be bare, Xie Shi shipped kitchens and tents to help. Envoys found only a maidservant selling a dog—nothing else ready. His wife brought aloeswood from Guangzhou; he dumped it into the lake kiosk.
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子延之復厲清操，為鄱陽太守。 延之弟及子為郡縣者，常以廉慎為門法，雖才學不逮隱之，而孝悌潔敬猶為不替。
Son Wu Yan-zhi governed Poyang with equal austerity. Younger kin in county office inherited his cautious integrity—less gifted but equally dutiful.
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【史論】
Historians' appraisal
76
史臣曰：魯芝等建旟剖竹，布政宣條，存樹威恩，沒留遺愛，咸見知明主，流譽當年。 若伯武之潔己克勤，顏遠之申冤緩獄，鄧攸贏糧以述職，吳隱酌水以厲精，晉代良能，此焉為最。 而攸棄子存侄，以義斷恩，若力所不能，自可割情忍痛，何至預加徽纆，絕其奔走者乎！ 斯豈慈父仁人之所用心也？ 卒以絕嗣，宜哉！ 勿謂天道無知，此乃有知矣。 世英盡節曹氏，犯門斬關，宣帝收雷霆之威，獎忠貞之烈，豈非既已在我，欲其罵人者歟！
The editors praise these prefects for governance that won both sovereigns and commoners. Hu Wei, Cao Shu, Deng You, and Wu Yin-zhi epitomized Jin integrity. Yet Deng You tying his son abandoned kinship—if fate forced choice, why bind the boy to a tree? Would a humane father act so? Childlessness suited such choices. Heaven noticed. Lu Zhi stayed loyal to Wei; Sima Yi spared him—perhaps victors still needed moral examples.
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贊曰：猗歟良宰，嗣美前賢。 威同禦黠，靜若烹鮮。 唯嘗吳水，但挹貪泉。 人風既偃，俗化斯遷。
Encomium: noble ministers inheriting ancient virtue. They daunted knaves and ruled lightly, like frying small fish. Some drank Suzhou river water; others drank Greedy Spring on purpose. When exemplars bow, folkways follow.