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卷九十 列傳第六十 良吏

Volume 90 Biographies 60: Good Officials

Chapter 90 of 晉書 · Book of Jin
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Chapter 90
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Wikisource chapter banner for Volume 90, Biographies 60 — Good Officials of Jin (compiler Fang Xuanling); navigational links to volumes 89 and 91; notes list biographical subjects Lu Zhi, Hu Wei and descendants, Du Zhen and kin, Dou Yun, Wang Hong, Cao Shu, Pan Jing, Fan Gui and sons, Ding Shao, Qiao Zhiming, Deng You, and Wu Yin-zhi.
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Preface
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西
Emperor Xuan of Han once said that people live quietly in their villages without bitter complaint when governance is fair and justice runs true. Only sound prefects—those who truly earn their two-thousand-bushel salary—share that achievement with the throne.' 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.
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使 西 使
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.
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Lu Zhi
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西
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.
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使
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 Sima Yi rose to purge Cao Shuang, Zhi rallied what troops he could, broke through the gates, and rode to Shuang's side, urging him: 'You stand in the place of Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou—if you lose office as a criminal, not even the fantasy of walking your yellow dog will be yours. Seize the emperor, hold Xuchang, brandish imperial authority, and issue urgent summons to the provinces—who would refuse to march? Throw that chance away and march meekly to the execution ground—would that not be agony?' 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.
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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.
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使 祿 祿
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. General of chariots Yang Hu tried to give him the post, arguing that Lu Zhi lived modestly, harmonized without flattery, and had served honorably into old age without this promotion—'If I vault ahead of him, how do I face the empire?' The emperor refused. That was how highly peers valued him. 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.
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Hu Wei
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祿
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 asked how a man of such austerity had obtained the silk. Hu Zhi answered that it was leftover salary earmarked for his son's provisions. 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.
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Back at court Emperor Wu reminisced about his life, praised his father's honesty, and asked whether father or son was the cleaner man. Wei answered that he could not match his father. The emperor asked wherein the father excelled. Wei said his father's integrity shrank from publicity while his own hungered for recognition—that was how far he fell 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.
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使
When Wei complained policy was too soft, Emperor Wu said he showed no mercy below the Masters of Writing tier. Wei replied that his point was not about petty clerks—men of his own rank must exemplify discipline so the law shines clear.' He took General of the Front, supervised Qing, served as Qing inspector, and earned the marquisate of Pingchun for merit. 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.
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Hu Yi (son of Hu Wei)
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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.
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Du Zhen
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綿 滿
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 entered Chengdu, Du Zhen told the administrator that conquest would sweep away the old order—the wise course was to vacate office and stay safe. The administrator resigned at once. Deng Ai sent adjutant Qian Hong to the commandery; asked where the old administrator had gone, Du Zhen answered coldly that the man had read the times correctly and cleared the yamen to receive an honorable visitor. 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.
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Du Pi (Du Zhen's son)
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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.
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Du Xiu (younger brother of Du Pi)
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簿
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.
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Du Lie (younger brother of Du Zhen)
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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.
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Du Liang (younger brother of Du Lie)
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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.
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Dou Yun
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簿 調 使 鹿
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. A Taishi edict declared that officials must clean their own conduct before they could serve the state with full honor. Visible virtue deserves reward even from low station—that is how the court teaches the realm. Palace usher Dou Yun had already earned fame west of the Yellow River as a diligent, honest magistrate at Gaomen. Such men should be lifted up to encourage every upright officer. Let the ministries review the facts and give them public recognition.' 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.
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Wang Hong
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使 使
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 forwarded his methods; Emperor Wu responded: 'Food is the people's lifeblood; I dread flood and drought and lose sleep over farming. Edicts rain down and I nag earnestly, yet I worry idleness will still waste the year's growth. Too many inspectors, prefects, and county magistrates still slack off—fields lie fallow while labor sits idle. I want overseers to name who performs and who fails so rewards and fines can teach the lesson. Now Shi Jian reports that Ji prefect Wang Hong consoles the people and leads them well: he opened over five thousand qing of new land without dropping output on old fields. Years of famine starved the realm, yet Hong's jurisdiction alone stayed fed—that is real competence. Award him a thousand hu of grain and broadcast the decree so every circuit hears.'
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使
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. He died and received posthumous appointment as minister of ceremonies.
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Cao Shu
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調 使
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. On New Year's eve he toured death row and said, 'You should not be here—what can be done? The holiday is when hearts turn home—would you not spend a moment with kin?' They wept that one evening at home would repay any fate.' He threw open the gates, freed them all, and named the day they must return. His aides protested that the risk was insane. Cao Shu answered, 'They are humble men but not dishonorable—I alone will answer for them.' 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. He argued the inner palace was impregnable to thieves—the guards must have burned them against the cold.' Questioning proved him right. Illness forced him out. Luoyang eventually recalled him.
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When Prince Qi Sima Jiong directed the regime, Cao Shu and Zuo Si jointly supervised the secretariat. Jiong once asked privately how he should respond now that traitors had seized the emperor and none had stirred. He had raised armies across the realm to restore Jin and now guided the court—yet voices urged him back to his fief—what did Cao Shu advise?' Cao Shu replied that crushing rebels and seating the throne anew was unmatched glory. Yet every zenith tilts toward decline—human affairs mirror heaven's turning wheel. Asked for candor, he would withhold nothing. He begged Jiong to remember danger from the heights and humility in success, pick ministers on merit, stay fair and sober, promote talent—and then retire to his princedom with honor so the realm could rejoice and Cao Shu could rest easy.' 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.
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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.
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Pan Jing
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簿 使 使
Pan Jing (courtesy Shichang) came from Hanshou in Wuling commandery. When he came of age the commandery called him chief clerk. Prefect Zhao Xin favored him and asked why the region bore the name Wuling. Pan Jing explained that the seat had been Yiling on Chenyang's border with tribal neighbors; Guangwu moved it east to safety, and the community renamed it. The Classics define martial as laying down arms and ling as a serene rise of ground—hence Wuling. At a provincial audience he drew the lot 'unfilial' during an examination sketch; the inspector joked about recruiting an unfilial son. Pan Jing lifted his tablet: a loyal minister cannot always be a model son at home. His repartee ran in that vein. When the dynastic temple opened, counties sent congratulations; Pan Jing insisted mourners should grieve the move of ancestral tablets, not toast them. The prefect had Pan Jing draft the proper notice; Luoyang adopted it as precedent. Recommended again as cultivated talent, he went to Luoyang. Yue Guang of the Masters of Writing, his countryman, debated him for days and sighed that raw genius needed schooling. With study, he could dominate the fashion for 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. Dai Chang eavesdropped and admitted talent cannot be faked. 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.
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-{}-
Fan Gui
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-{}- 調 西
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.
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Fan Guang (Fan Gui's son)
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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.
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Fan Zhi (Fan Gui's son)
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Fan Zhi won early fame, joined the grand general's staff, and died young. His son Fan Wang has his own biography elsewhere.
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Ding Shao
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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. A violent illness struck him down; dying, he cried that Heaven was killing Ji Province, not merely himself. Emperor Huai posthumously named him general of chariots and cavalry.
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Qiao Zhiming
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輿 使
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 adored him as their "divine official." 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. Friends urged flight; Zhang refused to shame such a judge. Even freedom would leave him unable to show his face. 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. He urged Sima Ying to greet the emperor; the prince roared that a clever adviser should not betray him. Petty men had cornered the throne and would blame the prince—why counsel surrender? Was this loyalty among allies? Qiao Zhiming fell silent. When Yongjia chaos erupted he entered Liu Yao's Han-Zhao regime.
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Deng You
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簿
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.
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使 使
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. The prefect wanted him to yield the inherited title for a filial-and-incorrupt nomination; Deng You refused to dishonor his grandfather. At camp commandant Jia Hun's interview he was handed a civil suit to judge. He declined the brief, quoting Confucius on ending lawsuits rather than judging them. 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.
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宿 西
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. Unable to save both children, he told his wife his nephew must survive his own boy. If they lived, he could father another child. 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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祿
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. Lines spread along the river: fifth-watch drums and the cock before dawn. They cried that neither Minister Deng nor Magistrate Xie could be refused. 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.
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退 祿
Yongchang era: he succeeded Zhou Yi as guards general. 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. Posthumous honors included minister of the imperial household, gold seal, purple ribbon, and a pig offering.
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使
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. Popular pity coined the proverb: Heaven left Deng Bodao heirless. Nephew Deng Sui mourned him three years.
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Wu Yin-zhi
69
姿
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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祿
Han Kangbo's mother, Yin Hao's sister, wept whenever Wu Yin-zhi wailed next door. She told her son to promote such men if he ran appointments. 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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使 使 祿
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. He told family that abstaining from temptation steadied the heart. He knew how men spoiled integrity on the frontier.' At Greedy Spring he drank deliberately and wrote that one sip could corrupt like gold. Yet Boyi and Shuqi would sip without altering their resolve.' 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. A Yuanxing edict praised household virtue and frost-proof integrity as rare gentlemanly feats. It cited Wu Yin-zhi's filial generosity, equal stipends for kin, and diet poorer than a fish supper. Tempted by Guangzhou's wealth yet unmoved, family still in coarse cloth—his thrift reshaped the Lingnan frontier. Promote him general of the front with cash and grain awards.'
72
祿 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.
73
祿 祿
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.
74
簿 使
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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Son Wu Yan-zhi governed Poyang with equal austerity. Younger kin in county office inherited his cautious integrity—less gifted but equally dutiful.
76
Historians' appraisal
77
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.
78
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.
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