1
苻洪
Fu Hong
2
苻洪，字廣世，略陽臨渭氐人也。 其先蓋有扈之苗裔，世為西戎酋長。 始其家池中蒲生，長五丈，五節如竹形，時咸謂之蒲家，因以為氏焉。 父懷歸，部落小帥。 先是，隴右大雨，百姓苦之，謠曰：「雨若不止，洪水必起。」 故因名曰洪。 好施，多權略，驍武善騎射。 屬永嘉之亂，乃散千金，召英傑之士訪安危變通之術。 宗人蒲光、蒲突遂推洪為盟主。 劉曜僭號長安，光等逼洪歸曜，拜率義侯。 曜敗，洪西保隴山。 石季龍將攻上邽，洪又請降。 季龍大悅，拜冠軍將軍，委以西方之事。 季龍滅石生，洪說季龍宜徙關中豪傑及羌戎內實京師。 季龍從之，以洪為龍驤將軍、流人都督，處於枋頭。 累有戰功，封西平郡公，其部下賜爵關內侯者二千餘人，以洪為關內領侯將。 冉閔言于季龍曰：「苻洪雄果，其諸子並非常才，宜密除之。」 季龍待之愈厚。 及石遵即位，閔又以為言，遵乃去洪都督，余如前。 洪怨之，乃遣使降晉。 後石鑒殺遵，所在兵起，洪有眾十餘萬。
Fu Hong, style Guangshi, was a Di from Linwei in Lüeyang. The family claimed descent from Youhu; for generations his forebears had been chiefs of the western tribes. Once, cattails sprouted in the family pond—five zhang tall, jointed like bamboo—so folk called them the Pu clan, and the surname Pu stuck. His father, Huai Gui, was a petty chieftain among the tribesmen. Earlier, ceaseless rain had afflicted Longyou, and a ditty warned: if the downpour never ended, a mighty flood would follow. So the child was given the name Hong. He was open-handed, resourceful, a fierce fighter, and an expert horseman and archer. Amid the Yongjia upheaval he spent a fortune to gather bold men and ask how order might be restored. Clansmen Pu Guang and Pu Tu then made him head of the league. When Liu Yao declared himself emperor at Chang’an, Guang and the rest pressed Hong to join him; Yao enfeoffed him as Marquis Who Leads the Righteous. After Yao’s defeat, Hong fell back west and fortified the Long range. As Shi Hu prepared to strike Shanggui, Hong once more offered submission. Shi Hu was delighted, named him General Who Champions the Army, and put the western theater in his hands. After Shi Hu eliminated Shi Sheng, Hong advised moving Guanzhong’s elite and the Qiang and Rong peoples into the heartland to fill out the capital. Shi Hu agreed, made Hong General of the Soaring Dragon and Area Commander over the displaced populations, and based him at Fangtou. Battle honors piled up: he became Duke of Xiping, over two thousand of his men received “marquis within the passes,” and Hong was named to lead those titled marquises. Ran Min warned Shi Hu: “Fu Hong is fierce and able, and his sons are no ordinary men; cut them down before they grow dangerous.” Shi Hu showered Hong with even greater favor instead. When Shi Zun took the throne, Ran Min repeated the warning; Zun stripped Hong of his area command but left his other posts intact. Smarting at the slight, Hong dispatched envoys to offer allegiance to Jin. After Shi Jian murdered Shi Zun, rebellion flared across the land, and Hong’s following passed a hundred thousand.
3
，帝以洪為征北大將軍、都督河北諸軍事、冀州刺史、廣川郡公。 時有說洪稱尊號者，洪亦以讖文有「草付應王」，又其孫堅背有「草付」字，遂改姓苻氏，自稱大將軍、大單于、三秦王。 洪謂博士胡文曰：「孤率眾十萬，居形勝之地，冉閔、慕容俊可指辰而殄，姚襄父子克之在吾數中，孤取天下，有易於漢祖。」 初，季龍以麻秋鎮枹罕，冉閔之亂，秋歸鄴，洪使子雄擊而獲之，以秋為軍師將軍。 秋說洪西都長安，洪深然之。 既而秋因宴鴆洪，將並其眾，世子健收而斬之。 洪將死，謂健曰：「所以未入關者，言中州可指時而定。 今見困豎子，中原非汝兄弟所能辦。 關中形勝，吾亡後便可鼓行而西。」 言終而死，年六十六。 健僭位，偽諡惠武帝。
The Jin court then invested him as General Who Conquers the North, commander of Hebei’s armies, Governor of Ji, and Duke of Guangchuan. Counselors pressed him to take the throne; a prophecy spoke of the “grass-Fu” claimant, and his grandson Jian had those graphs inked on his back—so he adopted the surname Fu and proclaimed himself Grand General, Great Chanyu, and King of the Three Qins. Hong told Academician Hu Wen: “I command a hundred thousand soldiers on decisive terrain; Ran Min and Murong Jun I can crush at a stroke; the Yao Xiang pair are already counted; seizing the empire will be easier for me than it was for Han Gaozu.” Earlier, Shi Hu had garrisoned Ma Qiu at Baohan; when Ran Min rose, Qiu fled to Ye, where Hong’s son Xiong seized him and Hong named him Director of the Army. Ma Qiu argued for shifting the capital west to Chang’an, and Hong heartily concurred. Soon afterward Qiu poisoned Hong at a feast to seize his host; Crown Prince Jian arrested and beheaded him. Dying, Hong told Jian: “I stayed out of the passes only because I thought the heartland could be taken quickly. Now a wretch has undone me; you brothers cannot finish the work in the plain. Guanzhong is the ground that decides victory—when I am gone, strike west without delay.” He finished speaking and died at sixty-six. After Jian took power he gave Hong the spurious posthumous title Emperor Huiwu.
4
苻健
Fu Jian
5
苻健，字建業，洪第三子也。 初，母薑氏夢大羆而孕之，及長，勇果便弓馬，好施，善事人，甚為石季龍父子所親愛。 季龍雖外禮苻氏，心實忌之，乃陰殺其諸兄，而不害健也。 及洪死，健嗣位，去秦王之號，稱晉爵，遣使告喪于京師，且聽王命。
Fu Jian, style Jianye, was the third son of Fu Hong. His mother Lady Jiang dreamed of a great bear before his birth; as a man he was bold, skilled with bow and horse, generous, and winning in manner—Shi Hu and his heir doted on him. Shi Hu’s courtesy toward the Fu masked suspicion; he murdered Hong’s older sons in secret but spared Jian. On Hong’s death Jian took his place, dropped the “King of Qin” style, accepted Jin’s noble titles, reported the funeral to the southern court, and professed loyalty.
6
時京兆杜洪竊據長安，自稱晉征北將軍、雍州刺史，戎夏多歸之。 健密圖關中，懼洪知之，乃偽受石祗官，繕宮室於枋頭，課所部種麥，示無西意，有知而不種者，健殺之以徇。 既而自稱晉征西大將軍、都督關中諸軍事、雍州刺史，盡眾西行，起浮橋於盟津以濟。 遣其弟雄率步騎五千入潼關，兄子菁自軹關入河東。 健執菁手曰：「事若不捷，汝死河北，我死河南，不及黃泉，無相見也。」 既濟，焚橋，自統大眾繼雄而進。 杜洪遣其將張先要健於潼關，健逆擊破之。 健雖戰勝，猶修箋于洪，並送名馬珍寶，請至長安上尊號。 洪曰：「幣重言甘，誘我也。」 乃盡召關中之眾來距。 健筮之，遇《泰》之《臨》，健曰：「小往大來，吉亨。 昔往東而小，今還西而大，吉孰大焉！」 是時眾星夾河西流，占者以為百姓還西之象。 健遂進軍，次赤水，遣雄略地渭北，又敗張先于陰槃，擒之，諸城盡陷，菁所至無不降者，三輔略定。 健引兵至長安，洪奔司竹。 健入而都之，遣使獻捷京師，並修好于桓溫。
Du Hong of Jingzhao held Chang’an, calling himself Jin’s northern commander and Governor of Yong, and drew large followings from Hu and Han alike. Jian meant to take Guanzhong but hid it from Du Hong: he took a sham post from Shi Zhi, built at Fangtou, and forced everyone to plant wheat as proof he would not march west—slackers were executed pour encourager les autres. Then he declared himself Jin’s Grand General Who Conquers the West, commander of Guanzhong, Governor of Yong, and drove the entire army west, spanning the river at Meng Ford. He sent Xiong with five thousand men through Tong Pass and his nephew Jing from Zhi Pass into Hedong. Clasping Jing’s hand he vowed: “If this miscarries, you perish north of the Yellow River and I south of it—we meet again only in the underworld.” After crossing he burned the bridge and followed Xiong with the main force. Du Hong’s general Zhang Xian tried to stop Jian at Tong Pass; Jian turned and routed him. Even in victory Jian wrote Du Hong, sending fine horses and jewels and inviting him to Chang’an for a grander investiture. Du Hong replied: “Heavy bribes and sweet words mean a trap.” He called up every force in Guanzhong to oppose Jian. Jian divined and got Tai moving to Lin: “The small goes out, the great comes in—auspicious success. Once we marched east as the lesser power; now we return west as the greater—what sign could top that?” Stars clustered along the river and seemed to drift westward; soothsayers called it a portent of folk returning to the western heartland. He pushed on to Chishui, sent Xiong to clear the Wei’s north shore, crushed Zhang Xian again at Yinpan and took him; city after city opened; Jing’s column met no resistance; the Three Adjuncts were nearly his. Jian closed on Chang’an while Du Hong bolted for the bamboo groves at Sizhu. He occupied the city as his capital, reported triumph to Jiankang, and courted Huan Wen’s goodwill.
7
健軍師將軍賈玄碩等表健為侍中、大都督關中諸軍事、大單于、秦王，健怒曰：「我官位輕重，非若等所知。」 既而潛使諷玄碩等使上尊號。 ，僭稱天王、大單于，赦境內死罪，建元皇始，繕宗廟社稷，置百官于長安。 立妻強氏為天王皇后，子萇為天王皇太子，弟雄為丞相、都督中外諸軍事、車騎大將軍、領雍州刺史，自余封授各有差。
Jia Xuanshuo and staff asked that Jian be named palace attendant, Guanzhong commander, Great Chanyu, and King of Qin; Jian snapped that such rank was none of their business. He then quietly had the same men coached to press him toward the throne. He proclaimed himself Heavenly King and Great Chanyu, amnestied capital crimes, adopted the reign name Huangshi, rebuilt the temples and altars, and seated a full administration at Chang’an. Lady Qiang became queen; Crown Prince Chang succeeded in line; Xiong became chancellor, supreme commander, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Governor of Yong; the rest took posts by rank.
8
初，杜洪之奔也，招晉梁州刺史司馬勳。 至是，勳率步騎三萬入秦川，健敗之于五丈原。
Earlier, Du Hong’s flight had prompted him to call in Jin’s Liang governor Sima Xun. Now Xun marched thirty thousand men into Qinchuan; Jian broke him at Wuzhangyuan.
9
八年，健僭即皇帝位於太極前殿，諸公進為王，以大單于授其子萇。
In the eighth year he took the imperial seat in the Hall of the Supreme Ultimate, raised his dukes to kings, and passed the Great Chanyu title to Chang.
10
杜洪屯宜秋，為其將張琚所殺，琚自立為秦王，置百官。 健率步騎二萬攻琚，斬其首。 健至自宜秋，遣雄、菁率眾掠關東，並援石季龍豫州刺史張遇于許昌，與晉鎮西將軍謝尚戰于潁水之上，王師敗績。 雄乘勝逐北，至於壘門，殺傷太半，遂虜遇及其眾歸於長安，拜遇司空、豫州刺史，鎮許昌。 雄攻王擢於隴上，擢奔涼州，雄屯隴東。 張重華拜擢征東大將軍，使與其將張弘、宋修連兵伐雄。 雄與菁率眾擊敗之，獲弘、修送長安。
Du Hong camped at Yiqiu until his general Zhang Ju slew him, styled himself King of Qin, and appointed a court. Jian marched twenty thousand men against Zhang Ju and struck off his head. Returning from Yiqiu, he sent Xiong and Jing to scour the east and aid Zhang Yu, Shi Hu’s man at Xuchang; they met Xie Shang on the Ying and shattered the Jin force. Xiong chased the broken army to its gates, slaughtered half or more, dragged Zhang Yu and his troops to Chang’an, named Yu minister and governor, and left him holding Xuchang. Xiong struck Wang Zhuo on the Long plateau; Zhuo ran to Liangzhou; Xiong halted east of Long. Zhang Chonghua made Zhuo eastern commander and teamed him with Zhang Hong and Song Xiu against Xiong. Xiong and Jing crushed the allied force, took Hong and Song prisoner, and shipped them to Chang’an.
11
初，張遇自許昌來降，健納遇後母韓氏為昭儀，每於眾中謂遇曰：「卿，吾子也。」 遇慚恨，引關中諸將欲以雍州歸順，乃與健中黃門劉晃謀夜襲健，事覺，遇害。 於是孔特起池陽，劉珍、夏侯顯起鄠，喬景起雍，胡陽赤起司竹，呼延毒起霸城，眾數萬人，並遣使詣征西桓溫、中軍殷浩請救。
When Zhang Yu first defected from Xuchang, Jian had installed Yu’s stepmother Lady Han as concubine and humiliated Yu by calling him “my son” before the court. Burning with shame, Yu rallied Guanzhong’s commanders to deliver Yong to Jin and conspired with Liu Huang to ambush Jian; the scheme surfaced and Yu died for it. Revolt flared: Kong Te at Chiyang, Liu Zhen and Xia Houqi at Hu, Qiao Jing at Yong, Hu Yangchi at Sizhu, Huyandu at Bashicheng—each mustered tens of thousands—and all begged Huan Wen and Yin Hao for relief.
12
雄遣菁掠上洛郡，于豐陽縣立荊州，以引南金奇貨、弓竿漆蠟，通關市，來遠商，於是國用充足，而異賄盈積矣。
Xiong had Jing plunder Shangluo and set up a shadow “Jing Province” at Fengyang to funnel southern bullion, luxuries, bows, lacquer, and beeswax; frontier trade boomed and the treasury overflowed.
13
十年，溫率眾四萬趨長安，遣別將入淅川，攻上洛，執健荊州刺史郭敬，而遣司馬勳掠西鄙。 健遣其子萇率雄、菁等眾五萬，距溫于堯柳城、愁思堆。 溫轉戰而前，次於灞上，萇等退營城南。 健以羸兵六千固守長安小城，遣精銳三萬為遊軍以距溫。 三輔郡縣多降于溫。 健別使雄領騎七千，與桓沖戰于白鹿原，王師敗績，又破司馬勳于子午穀。 初，健聞溫之來也，收麥清野以待之，故溫眾大饑。 至是，徙關中三千餘戶而歸。 及至潼關，又為萇等所敗，司馬勳奔還漢中。
In the tenth year Huan Wen drove forty thousand men on Chang’an, detached a force up the Xi to seize Shangluo and Fu Jian’s governor Guo Jing, and ordered Sima Xun to scour the western frontier. Jian answered with fifty thousand under Chang, Xiong, and Jing, blocking Huan Wen at Yaoliu and Chousidui. Huan Wen fought through to Bashang; Chang’s corps fell back south of the city. Jian defended the lesser city of Chang’an with six thousand threadbare soldiers while thirty thousand picked troops harried Wen in the field. County after county in the Three Adjuncts went over to Huan Wen. He detached Xiong with seven thousand cavalry to meet Huan Chong on Bailuyuan and shattered the Jin horse; Sima Xun was beaten again in Zigug. Forewarned of Huan Wen’s march, Jian had stripped the fields and barns so the invaders would go hungry. Huan Wen then deported three thousand-odd households from Guanzhong and retreated. At Tong Pass Chang struck him again; Sima Xun bolted for Hanzhong.
14
其年，西虜乞沒軍邪遣子入侍，健於是置來賓館于平朔門以懷遠人。 起靈台于杜門。 與百姓約法三章，薄賦卑宮，垂心政事，優禮耆老，修尚儒學，而關右稱來蘇焉。
The same year the western leader Qimojunxie sent a son as hostage, and Jian opened a state guesthouse at Pingpuo Gate to impress distant peoples. He erected a spirit terrace at Dumen. He pledged the three simple laws, kept levies low and building modest, worked at governance, favored graybeards, and patronized Confucian schools—west of the pass they compared him to the “coming in renewal” of the Shang restoration.
15
新平有長人見，語百姓張靖曰：「苻氏應天受命，今當太平，外面者歸中而安泰。」 問姓名，弗答，俄而不見。 新平令以聞，健以為妖，下靖獄。 會大雨霖，河、渭溢，蒲津監冠登得一屐於河，長七盡三寸，人跡稱之，指長尺餘，文深一寸。 健歎曰：「覆載之中何所不有，張靖所見定不虛也。」 赦之。 蝗蟲大起，自華澤至隴山，食百草無遺。 牛馬相噉毛，猛獸及狼食人，行路斷絕。 健自蠲百姓租稅，減膳撤懸，素服避正殿。
At Xinping a giant figure told the commoner Zhang Jing that the Fu would take the mandate, peace would follow, and wanderers would come home to rest. Asked his name, he gave none and vanished. The county magistrate reported the tale; Jian called it witchcraft and imprisoned Zhang Jing. Relentless storms swelled the Yellow and Wei; Guan Deng, warden of Pujin ford, pulled from the current a sandal some seven chi and three cun long—its tread matched a foot with toes over a chi long and an imprint a cun deep. Jian mused: “The world holds stranger things than we know—Zhang Jing’s vision must be true.” He freed Zhang Jing. Swarms of locusts swept from Huaze to Long, stripping every green thing. Horses and oxes chewed one another’s coats; wolves and brutes preyed on men; highways went dead. Jian cancelled taxes, cut court feasts and music, dressed in white, and quit the main hall.
16
初，桓溫之入關也，其太子萇與溫戰，為流矢所中死。 至是，立其子生為太子。 健寢疾，菁勒兵入東宮，將殺苻生自立。 時生侍健疾，菁以健為死，回攻東掖門。 健聞變，升端門陳兵，眾皆舍杖逃散，執菁殺之。 數日，健死，時年三十九，在位四年。 偽諡明皇帝，廟號世宗，後改曰高祖。
Earlier, Crown Prince Chang had faced Huan Wen’s invasion and fallen to a stray shaft. He then named Chang’s son Sheng heir apparent. As Jian sickened, Jing marched on the Eastern Palace intending to murder Fu Sheng and usurp. Sheng was at Jian’s bedside; Jing, believing the king already dead, turned his column against the east inner gate. Jian, hearing the uproar, took the Duan Gate with guards; the rebels dropped their weapons and scattered; Jing was caught and killed. A few days later Jian died at thirty-nine after four years on the throne. He was posthumously styled Emperor Ming with temple Shizong, later renamed Gaozu.
18
健第三子生
Fu Sheng—Fu Jian’s third son.
20
生字長生，健第三子也。 幼而無賴，祖洪甚惡之。 生無一目，為兒童時，洪戲之，問侍者曰：「吾聞瞎兒一淚，信乎？」 侍者曰：「然。」 生怒，引佩刀自刺出血，曰：「此亦一淚也。」 洪大驚，鞭之。 生曰：「性耐刀槊，不堪鞭捶。」 洪曰：「汝為爾不已，吾將以汝為奴。」 生曰：「可不如石勒也。」 洪懼，跣而掩其口，謂健曰：「此兒狂勃，宜早除之，不然，長大必破人家。」 健將殺之，雄止之曰：「兒長成自當修改，何至便可如此！」 健乃止。 及長，力舉千鈞，雄勇好殺，手格猛獸，走及奔馬，擊刺騎射，冠絕一時。 桓溫之來伐也，生單馬入陣，搴旗斬將者前後十數。
Fu Sheng, style Changsheng, was the third son of Fu Jian. As a boy he was a bully, and his grandfather Fu Hong loathed him. Born with a single eye, he was mocked in childhood when Fu Hong asked a servant whether a one-eyed child truly shed only one tear. The servant answered that it was. Enraged, he drew his belt knife, cut himself until he bled, and snapped, “There—another tear.” Hong was horrified and had him whipped. He retorted that blades and spears he could stand, but not the rod. Hong threatened to reduce him to slavery if he did not mend his ways. He sneered that even slavery would beat being another Shi Le. Hong blanched, clapped a hand over his mouth, and warned Fu Jian to kill the boy before his savagery destroyed the clan. Fu Jian drew his sword, but Fu Xiong stayed his hand, arguing that age would tame the child. Fu Jian relented. As a man he could hoist weights beyond measure, delighted in slaughter, wrestled beasts bare-handed, outran horses, and excelled every rival in arms. Against Huan Wen’s invasion he charged solo into the ranks, snatching banners and beheading commanders time after time.
21
萇既死，健以讖言三羊五眼應符，故立為太子。 健卒，僭即皇帝位，大赦境內，改年壽光，時也。 尊其母強氏為皇太后，立妻梁氏為皇后。 以呂婆樓為侍中、左大將軍，苻安領太尉，苻柳為征東大將軍、并州牧，鎮蒲阪，苻謏為鎮東大將軍、豫州牧，鎮陝城，自余封授有差。
When Crown Prince Fu Chang fell, Fu Jian chose him heir because omens spoke of three rams, five eyes, and the “Fu” sign. On Fu Jian’s death he seized the throne, declared a general amnesty, and adopted the reign title Shouguang. He elevated Lady Qiang to empress dowager and Lady Liang to empress. Lü Lou became palace attendant and left grand general; Fu An took the grand commandant’s seal; Fu Liu held Bing as eastern conqueror from Puban; Fu Sou held Yu from Shancheng; others were ranked accordingly.
22
初，生將強懷與桓溫戰沒，其子延未及封而健死。 會生出遊，懷妻樊氏于道上書，論懷忠烈，請封其子。 生怒，射而殺之。 偽中書監胡文、中書令王魚言於生曰：「比頻有客星孛於大角，熒惑入于東井。 大角為帝坐，東井秦之分野，於占，不出三年，國有大喪，大臣戮死。 願陛下遠追周文，修德以禳之，惠和群臣，以成康哉之美。」 生曰：「皇后與朕對臨天下，亦足發塞大喪之變。 毛太傅、梁車騎、梁僕射受遺輔政，可謂大臣也。」 於是殺其妻梁氏及太傅毛貴，車騎、尚書令梁楞，左僕射梁安。 未凡，又誅侍中、丞相雷弱兒及其九子、二十七孫。 諸羌悉叛。 弱兒，南安羌酋也，剛鯁好直言，見生嬖臣趙韶、董榮亂政，每大言於朝，故榮等譖而誅之。
Qiang Huai, who had fallen battling Huan Wen, left a son Yan still without a title when Fu Jian died. While Fu Sheng was abroad, Lady Fan waylaid the cortège with a plea for her husband’s martyred honor and a fief for their son. He answered with a bowshot and left her dead. Hu Wen and Wang Yu warned that a broom star haunted Dajiao and Mars sat in Dongjing—ill omens. Dajiao signified the throne; Dongjing mapped to Qin—astrologers foretold a royal death and slaughter of high ministers within three years. They begged him to imitate King Wen, mend his rule, and soothe the court to avert disaster. He replied that he and the empress ruled jointly, which ought to satisfy heaven’s demand for a great bereavement. The regents Mao, Liang the cavalry general, and Liang the vice director, he added, surely counted as the doomed ministers. He then murdered his empress, Grand Tutor Mao Gui, Minister Secretary Liang Leng, and Left Vice Director Liang An. Soon afterward he extirpated Chancellor Lei Ruo’er’s entire close line—nine sons and twenty-seven grandsons. Every Qiang clan rose in revolt. Lei Ruo’er, a Nan’an Qiang chief who spoke his mind, had denounced the favorites Zhao Shao and Dong Rong; they framed him and brought about his death.
23
生雖在諒闇，游飲自若，荒耽淫虐，殺戮無道，常彎弓露刃以見朝臣，錘鉗鋸鑿備置左右。 又納董榮之言，誅其司空王墮以應日蝕之災。 饗群臣於太極前殿，飲酣樂奏，生親歌以和之。 命其尚書辛牢典勸，既而怒曰：「何不強酒？ 猶有坐者！」 引弓射牢而殺之。 於是百僚大懼，無不引滿昏醉，汙服失冠，蓬頭僵僕，生以為樂。
Even in mourning he caroused, indulged every cruelty, and met officials with strung bow and naked steel while torturer’s tools waited at his elbow. Heeding Dong Rong, he sacrificed Minister of Works Wang Duo to “answer” an eclipse. He banqueted the bureaucracy in the forward hall of the Supreme Ultimate, conducting the chorus himself as cups circled. He put Xin Lao in charge of refills, then snarled why the guests were not forced to drink. Some still sat upright—sober. He shot Xin Lao dead on the spot. The court emptied every cup until men sprawled in vomit and lost headgear—Fu Sheng laughed at the spectacle.
24
生聞張祚見殺，玄靚幼沖，命其征東苻柳參軍閻負、梁殊使涼州，以書喻之。 負、殊至姑臧，玄靚年幼，不見殊等。 其涼州牧張瓘謂負、殊曰：「孤之本朝，世執忠節，遠宗大晉，臣無境外之交，君等何為而至？」 負、殊曰：「晉王以鄰籓義好，有自來矣。 雖擁阻山河，然風通道會，不欲使羊、陸二公獨美於前。 主上以欽明紹統，八表宅心，光被四海，格於天地。 晉王思與張王齊曜大明，交玉帛之好，兼與君公同金蘭之契，是以不遠而來，有何怪乎！」 瓘曰：「羊、陸一時之事，亦非純臣之義也。 本朝六世重光，固忠不貳，若與苻征東交玉帛之好者，便是上違先公純誠雅志，下乘河右遵奉之情。」 負、殊曰：「昔微去殷，項伯歸漢，雖背君違親，前史美其先覺。 亡晉之餘，遠逃江會，天命去之，子故尊先王翻然改圖，北面二趙，蓋神算無方，鑒機而作。 君公若欲稱制河西，眾旅非秦之敵，如欲宗歸遺晉，深乖先君雅旨，孰若遠蹤竇融附漢之規，近述先王歸趙之事，垂祚無窮，永享遐祉乎？」 瓘曰：「中州無信，好食誓言。 往與石氏通好，旋見寇襲。 中國之風，誡在昔日，不足復論通和之事也。」 負、殊曰：「三王異政，五帝殊風，趙多奸詐，秦以義信，豈可同年而語哉！ 張先、楊初皆擅兵一方，不供王貢，先帝命將擒之，宥其難恕之罪，加以爵封之榮。 今上道合二儀，慈弘山海，信符陰陽，禦物無際，不可以二趙相況也。」 瓘曰：「秦若兵強化盛，自可先取江南，天下自然盡為秦有，何辱征東之命！」 負、殊曰：「先帝以大聖神武，開構鴻基，強燕納款，八州順軌。 主上欽明，道必隆世，慨徽號擁於河西，正朔未加吳會，以吳必須兵，涼可以義，故遣行人先申大好。 如君公不能蹈機而發者，正可緩江南數年之命，回師西旆，恐涼州弗可保也。」 瓘曰：「我跨據三州，帶甲十萬，西包昆域，東阻大河，伐人有餘，而況自固！ 秦何能為患！」 負、殊曰：「貴州險塞，孰若崤、函？ 五郡之眾，何如秦、雍？ 張琚、杜洪因趙之成資，據天阻之固，策三秦之銳，藉陸海之饒，勁士風集，驍騎如雲，自謂天下可平，關中可固，先帝神矛一指，望旗冰解，人詠來蘇，不覺易主。 燕雖武視關東，猶以地勢之義，逆順之理，北面稱籓，貢不逾月。 致肅慎楛矢，通九夷之珍； 單于屈膝，名王內附。 控弦之士百有餘萬，鼓行而濟西河者，君公何以抗之？ 盍追遵先王臣趙故事，世享大美，為秦之西籓。」 瓘曰：「然秦之德義加於天下，江南何以不賓？」 負、殊曰：「文身之俗，負阻江山，道洿先叛，化盛後賓，自古而然，豈但今也！ 故《詩》曰：'蠢爾蠻荊，大邦為仇。 '言其不可以德義懷也。」 瓘曰：「秦據漢舊都，地兼將相，文武輔臣，領袖一時者誰也？」 負、殊曰：「皇室懿籓，忠若公旦者，則大司馬、武都王安，征東大將軍、晉王柳； 文武兼才，神器秀拔，入可允厘百工，出能折沖萬里者，衛大將軍、廣平王黃眉，後將軍、清河王法，龍驤將軍、東海王堅之兄弟； 其耆年碩德，德侔尚父者，則太師、錄尚書事、廣寧公魚遵； 其清素剛嚴，骨鯁貞亮，則左光祿大夫強平，金紫光祿程肱、牛夷； 博聞強識，探賾索幽，則中書監胡文，中書令王魚，黃門侍郎李柔； 雄毅厚重，權智無方，則左衛將軍李威，右衛將軍苻雅； 才識明達，令行禁止，則特進、領御史中丞梁平老，特進、光祿大夫強汪，侍中、尚書呂婆樓； 文史富贍，鬱為文宗，則尚書右僕射董榮，秘書監王颺，著作郎梁讜； 驍勇多權略，攻必取，戰必勝，關、張之流，萬人之敵者，則前將軍、新興王飛，建切將軍鄧羌，立忠將軍彭越，安遠將軍范俱難，建武將軍徐盛； 常伯納言，卿校牧守，則人皆文武，莫非才賢； 其餘懷經世之才，蘊佐時之略，守南山之操，遂而不奪者，王猛、硃肜之倫，相望于岩穀。 濟濟多士，焉可罄言！ 姚襄、張平一時之傑，各擁眾數萬，狼顧偏方，皆委忠獻款，請為臣妾。 小不事大，《春秋》所誅，惟君公圖之。」 瓘笑曰：「此事決之主上，非身所了。」 負、殊曰：「涼王雖天縱英睿，然尚幼沖，君公居伊、霍之任，安危所系，見機之義，實在君公。」 瓘新輔政，河西所在兵起，懼秦師之至，乃言于玄靚，遣使稱籓，生因其所稱而授之。
Learning of Zhang Zuo’s murder and Zhang Xuanjing’s minority, he dispatched Yan Fu and Liang Shu to Liangzhou under Fu Liu’s banner with a lecturing letter. At Guzang the boy ruler declined to meet the envoys. Regent Zhang Guan demanded why Qin envoys had come when Liangzhou owed allegiance only to Jin. They answered that neighborly courtesy between courts was nothing new. Mountains divide realms, yet messengers still pass; Qin would not leave the Yang–Lu rapprochement unmatched. Their emperor, they said, ruled with clarity and won every quarter’s heart; his virtue filled the world. Qin sought friendship with the Zhangs as sworn allies—hence the long journey. Zhang Guan dismissed the Yang–Lu parallel as opportunism, not steadfast loyalty. Six generations of Liangzhou loyalty to Jin would be betrayed by treating with Fu Liu. Yan and Liang cited lords who had wisely changed sides. Jin was a spent force; past Liangzhou rulers had bowed to Zhao when heaven shifted—wise timing, they argued. Independence was hopeless; clinging to Jin broke precedent; better follow Dou Rong and accept Qin’s suzerainty. Zhang Guan called the heartland treacherous oath-breakers. Friendship with the Shi had ended in invasion. Central Plains “good faith,” he said, was an old cautionary tale. Qin, they retorted, was nothing like the faithless Zhao. Earlier Qin had spared and enfeoffed recalcitrant border lords such as Zhang Xian and Yang Chu. Fu Sheng’s virtue, they claimed, outshone both Zhaos. Zhang Guan challenged them: if Qin were so mighty, conquer Jin first instead of jawboning Liangzhou. They praised the late emperor who had humbled Yan and won eight provinces. Fu Sheng, they said, would use force on Wu but courtesy on Liangzhou—hence the embassy. Refusal would buy Jin a few years until Qin’s western march crushed Liangzhou. Zhang Guan boasted three provinces, a hundred thousand spears, and natural barriers. What could Qin do to him? They asked whether Liangzhou’s defenses rivaled the Xiao–Han passes. They compared five commanderies’ manpower to Qin and Yong. Zhang Ju and Du Hong had seemed invincible on Qin’s soil until Fu Jian’s spear shattered them overnight. Even mighty Yan had submitted within a month. Tribute flowed—Sushen arrows, goods of the nine Yi. Chanyus knelt and tribal kings came in. Over a million bowmen could ford the west—how would Liangzhou stand? Better follow old kings who served Zhao and become Qin’s western bulwark. Zhang Guan asked why Jin still held out if Qin’s virtue was universal. They answered that southerners were tattooed barbarians behind rivers—rebellious when rule faltered, docile when culture triumphed. Hence the Odes: “Stupid Man and Jing—you make yourselves foes of the great state.” Meaning: they cannot be won by virtue alone. Zhang Guan asked who led Qin’s civil and martial elite. They began with princes Fu An and Fu Liu, paragons like the Duke of Zhou. Fu Huangmei, Fu Fa, and Fu Jian—brothers who could order the court or shatter armies. Yu Zun matched the Grand Duke of Shang in age and weight. Qiang Ping, Cheng Gong, and Niu Yi embodied austere integrity. Hu Wen, Wang Yu, and Li Rou were learned scholars. Li Wei and Fu Ya were steady strategists. Liang Pinglao, Qiang Wang, and Lü Lou enforced crisp policy. Dong Rong, Wang Yang, and Liang Dan headed letters. Fu Fei, Deng Qiang, Peng Yue, Fan Junan, and Xu Sheng matched Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in valor—Deng Qiang with the “establish insignia” general’s baton. Every governor and colonel, they claimed, combined civil and martial gifts. Recluses such as Wang Meng and Zhu Rong still waited in the hills. The roll call, they said, could run forever. Even Yao Xiang and Zhang Ping, warlords on the margins, had pledged fealty. The Spring and Autumn censured those who scorned the great—only Zhang Guan could choose. Zhang Guan smiled that only the young prince could decide. They pressed him: the boy-king needed an Yi Yin or Huo Guang—Zhang Guan must act. With rebellion along the frontier and Qin looming, Zhang Guan persuaded Zhang Xuanjing to submit; Fu Sheng accepted the vassal’s titles.
25
慕容俊遣將慕輿長卿等率眾七千入自軹關，攻幽州刺史張哲于裴氏堡。 晉將軍劉度等率眾四千，攻青州刺史袁朗于盧氏。 生遣其前將軍苻飛距晉，建節鄧羌距燕。 飛未至而度退。 羌及長卿戰于堡南，大敗之，獲長卿及甲首二千七百餘級。
Murong Jun dispatched Moyu Changqing with seven thousand men through Zhi Pass against Zhang Zhe at Peishi Fort. Jin’s Liu Du struck Yuan Lang at Lushi with four thousand men. Fu Sheng ordered Fu Fei against Jin and Deng Qiang against Yan. Liu Du retreated before Fu Fei arrived. Deng Qiang crushed Moyu Changqing below the fort, taking him prisoner and over 2,700 heads.
26
姚襄率眾萬餘，攻其平陽太守苻產于匈奴堡，苻柳救之，為襄所敗，引還蒲阪。 襄遂攻堡，克之，殺苻產，盡坑其眾，遣使從生假道，將還隴西。 生將許之，苻堅諫曰：「姚襄，人傑也，今還隴西，必為深害，不如誘以厚利，伺隙而擊之。」 生乃止。 遣使拜襄官爵，襄不受，斬其使者，焚所送章策，寇掠河東。 生怒，命其大將軍張平討之。 襄乃卑辭厚幣與平結為兄弟，平更與襄通和。
Yao Xiang besieged Fu Chan at the Xiongnu Fort; Fu Liu’s relief column failed and limped back to Puban. Yao Xiang stormed the fort, executed Fu Chan, massacred the garrison, then asked Fu Sheng for safe passage west to Longxi. Fu Sheng meant to grant passage; Fu Jian urged him to bait Yao Xiang instead and destroy him before he reached Longxi. Fu Sheng dropped the idea. Envoys bearing titles were slain; Yao Xiang scorched the credentials and ravaged Hedong. Fu Sheng tasked Grand General Zhang Ping with crushing him. Yao Xiang bought Zhang Ping with gifts and flattery; the general switched sides.
27
生髮三輔人營渭橋，金紫光祿大夫程肱以妨農害時，上疏極諫。 生怒，殺之。
Fu Sheng drafted the Three Adjuncts to labor on a Wei River bridge; Cheng Gong protested that the corvée ruined the harvest. Fu Sheng had him executed.
28
長安大風，髮屋拔樹，行人顛頓，宮中奔擾，或稱賊至，宮門晝閉，五日乃止。 生推告賊者，殺之，刳而出其心。 左光祿大夫強平諫曰：「元正盛旦，日有蝕之，正陽神朔，昏風大起，兼水旱不時，獸災未息，此皆由陛下不勉強于政事，乖和氣所致也。 願陛下務養元元，平章百姓，棄纖介之嫌，含山嶽之過，致敬宗社，愛禮公卿，去秋霜之威，垂三春之澤，則奸回寢止，妖昆自消，乾靈祗祐皇家，永保無窮之美矣。」 生怒，以為妖言，鑿其頂而殺之。
A gale ripped Chang’an apart; courtiers screamed of raiders and sealed the gates for five days. He blamed the rumor-mongers, cut out their hearts, and left them dead. Qiang Ping cited eclipse, ill winds, drought, and man-eating beasts as heaven’s rebuke of Fu Sheng’s neglect. He begged for mercy, reform, and reconciliation so omens would fade. Fu Sheng called it witchcraft, trepanned his skull, and killed him.
29
平之囚也，偽衛將軍苻黃眉、前將軍苻飛、建節鄧羌侍宴禁中，叩頭固諫，以太后為言。 平即生母強氏之弟也。 生既弗許，強氏憂恨而死。
While Qiang Ping languished in prison, Fu Huangmei, Fu Fei, and Deng Qiang banqueted inside the palace and begged clemency in the dowager’s name. Qiang Ping was Empress Dowager Qiang’s brother. Fu Sheng refused; the dowager died of grief.
30
生下書曰：「朕受皇天之命，承祖宗之業，君臨萬邦，子育百姓，嗣統已來，有何不善，而謗讟之音扇滿天下。 殺不過千，而謂刑虐。 行者比肩，未足為稀。 方當峻刑極罰，復如朕何！」 時猛獸及狼大暴，晝則斷道，夜則髮屋，惟害人而不食六畜。 自生立一年，獸殺七百餘人，百姓苦之，皆聚而邑居。 為害滋甚，遂廢農桑，內外兇懼。 群臣奏請禳災，生曰：「野獸饑則食人，飽當自止，終不能累年為患也。 天豈不子愛群生，而年年降罰，正以百姓犯罪不已，將助朕專殺而施刑教故耳。 但勿犯罪，何為怨天而尤人哉！」
Fu Sheng published a rant: he had heaven’s mandate—why did the world slander him? Fewer than a thousand dead, yet they call me cruel. Corpses lining the roads are nothing special. Wait until I tighten the noose—then see what they say!” Meanwhile wolves and brutes blocked daylight travel, tore roofs at night, and killed humans but left livestock alone. In his first year beasts slew over seven hundred; peasants fled into fortified hamlets. Fields went untilled; terror gripped city and countryside. Ministers sought exorcisms; Fu Sheng sneered that hungry beasts simply needed feeding. He claimed heaven egged him on to slaughter sinners. Stop sinning—then quit blaming heaven!”
31
生如阿房，遇兄與妹俱行者，逼令為非禮，不從，生怒殺之。 又宴群臣於咸陽故城，有後至者，皆斬之。 嘗使太醫令程延合安胎藥，問人參好惡並藥分多少，延曰：「雖小小不具，自可堪用。」 生以為譏其目，鑿延目出，然後斬之。
At Epang he forced a brother and sister into incest and murdered them when they refused. At an old Xianyang banquet he beheaded every latecomer. He ordered Cheng Yan to brew a pregnancy draft; asked about the ginseng, Yan said the mix was slightly short yet usable. Fu Sheng decided “incomplete” mocked his blind eye, gouged Cheng Yan’s eyes, then took his head.
32
有司奏：「太白犯東井。 東井，秦之分也，太白罰星，必有暴兵起于京師。」 生曰：「星入井者，必將渴耳，何所怪乎！」
Officials reported Venus trespassing Dongjing. They warned that Dongjing mapped to Qin and Venus meant mutiny in the capital. Fu Sheng retorted that stars in a well only meant they were thirsty.
33
姚襄遣姚蘭、王欽盧待招動鄜城、定陽、北地、芹川諸羌胡，皆應之，有眾二萬七千，進據黃落。 生遣苻黃眉、苻堅、鄧羌率步騎萬五千討之。 襄深溝高壘，固守不戰。 鄧羌說黃眉曰：「傷弓之鳥，落於虛發。 襄頻為桓溫、張平所敗，銳氣喪矣。 今謀固壘不戰，是窮寇也。 襄性剛很，易以剛動，若長驅鼓行，直壓其壘，襄必忿而出師，可一戰擒也。」 黃眉從之，遣羌率騎三千軍於壘門。 襄怒，盡銳出戰。 羌偽不勝，引騎而退，襄追之于三原，羌回騎距襄。 俄而黃眉與堅至，大戰，斬之，盡俘其眾，黃眉等振旅而歸。 黃眉雖有大功，生不加旌賞，每於眾中辱之。 黃眉怒，謀殺生自立，事發，伏誅，其王公親戚多有死者。
Yao Lan and Wang Qinlu rallied Qiang and Hu bands at Fucheng, Dingyang, Beidi, and Qinchuan—twenty-seven thousand strong—and seized Huangluo. Fu Sheng dispatched Fu Huangmei, Fu Jian, and Deng Qiang with fifteen thousand men. Yao Xiang went behind walls and refused battle. Deng Qiang said a spooked bird drops to a blank shot. Huan Wen and Zhang Ping had already broken his spirit. Hiding behind earthworks, he was a trapped foe. Provoke the stubborn chief with a frontal rush and he would storm out to be crushed. Fu Huangmei agreed; Deng Qiang planted three thousand riders at the gate. Yao Xiang hurled his best troops into the open. Deng Qiang feigned flight, drew Yao Xiang to Sanyuan, then wheeled to fight. Fu Huangmei and Fu Jian arrived, slew Yao Xiang, bagged his army, and marched home in triumph. Despite the victory, Fu Sheng never honored Fu Huangmei and routinely shamed him before the troops. Fu Huangmei plotted a coup, failed, died, and dragged many kinsmen to execution.
34
初，生夢大魚食蒲，又長安謠曰：「東海大魚化為龍，男便為王女為公。 問在何所洛門東。」 東海，苻堅封也，時為龍驤將軍，第在洛門之東。 生不知是堅，以謠夢之故，誅其侍中、太師、錄尚書事魚遵及其七子、十孫。 時又謠曰：「百里望空城，鬱鬱何青青。 瞎兒不知法，仰不見天星。」 於是悉壞諸空城以禳之。 金紫光祿大夫牛夷懼不免禍，請出鎮上洛。 生曰：「卿忠肅篤敬，宜左右朕躬，豈有外鎮之理。」 改授中軍。 夷懼，歸而自殺。
He dreamed a fish devouring reeds; a ditty spoke of a sea fish becoming a dragon. Look east of Luomen—that is their seat.” The riddle pointed at Fu Jian, Soaring Dragon general, whose manor stood east of Luomen. Misreading the omen, Fu Sheng slaughtered Grand Tutor Yu Zun’s whole close line. Another song spoke of green, empty cities stretching a hundred li. It mocked the one-eyed king who could not read heaven’s signs. He razed empty towns to break the spell. Niu Yi begged for a frontier post to escape the purge. Fu Sheng replied that such a loyal man must stay at court. He reassigned him to the central army instead. Niu Yi went home and committed suicide.
35
初，生少凶暴嗜酒，健臨死，恐其不能保全家業，誡之曰：「酋師、大臣若不從汝命，可漸除之。」 及即偽位，殘虐滋甚，耽湎於酒，無復晝夜。 群臣朔望朝謁，罕有見者，或至暮方出，臨朝輒怒，惟行殺戮。 動連月昏醉，文奏因之遂寢。 納奸佞之言，賞罰失中。 左右或言陛下聖明宰世，天下惟歌太平。 生曰：「媚於我也。」 引而斬之。 或言陛下刑罰微過。 曰：「汝謗我也。」 亦斬之。 所幸妻妾小有忤旨，便殺之，流其屍于渭水。 又遣宮人與男子裸交於殿前。 生剝牛羊驢馬，活爓雞豚鵝，三五十為群，放之殿中。 或剝死囚面皮，令其歌舞，引群臣觀之，以為嬉樂。 宗室、勳舊、親戚、忠良殺害略盡，王公在位者悉以疾告歸，人情危駭，道路以目。 既自有目疾，其所諱者不足、不具、少、無、缺、傷、殘、毀、偏、只之言皆不得道，左右忤旨而死者不可勝紀，至於截脛、刳胎、拉脅、鋸頸者動有千數。
Fu Jian on his deathbed warned the drunken, brutal youth to prune any chief or minister who defied him. Once enthroned, he drank without night or day and killed more savagely than ever. Courtiers seldom saw him before dusk; every audience ended in executions. Month-long binges left state papers unanswered. Flatterers set policy; justice vanished. Courtiers who praised his sage rule— he branded flattery. He had them led out and beheaded. Others hinted his punishments were harsh— he called it slander. They too lost their heads. Favored women who crossed him were killed and dumped in the Wei. He staged public orgies in the throne hall. He tore the hides from livestock and roasted poultry alive in batches inside the palace. He skinned convicts’ faces, forced them to perform, and made officials watch for sport. Clan, veterans, and loyalists perished; nobles feigned illness; folk dared only exchange glances on the street. His blind eye made words like “lacking” or “one-eyed” lethal; mutilations—shin-cutting, womb-gouging—numbered in the thousands.
36
太史令康權言於生曰：「昨夜三月並出，勃星入於太微，遂入于東井。 兼自去月上旬沈陰不雨，迄至於今，將有下人謀上之禍，深願陛下修德以消之。」 生怒，以為妖言，撲而殺之。
Kang Quan reported three moons and a comet in Taiwei and Dongjing. Weeks without sun foretold regicide, he said—unless the king reformed. Fu Sheng beat Kang Quan to death for “witch talk.”
37
生夜對侍婢曰：「阿法兄弟亦不可信，明當除之。」 是夜清河王苻法夢神告之曰：「旦將禍集汝門，惟先覺者可以免之。」 寤而心悸。 會侍婢來告，乃與特進梁平老、強汪等率壯士數百人潛入雲龍門，苻堅與呂婆樓率麾下三百餘人鼓噪繼進，宿衛將士皆舍杖歸堅。 生猶昏寐未寤。 堅眾既至，引生置於別室，廢之為越王，俄而殺之。 生臨死猶飲酒數斗，昏醉無所知矣。 時年二十三，在位二年，偽諡厲王。
He told a maid he would kill Fu Fa’s faction next dawn. That night Fu Fa dreamed a god warning of dawn attack. He woke in terror. The maid warned Fu Fa; with Liang Pinglao and Qiang Wang he seized the Cloud Dragon Gate as Fu Jian and Lü Lou stormed in—guards threw down their weapons for Fu Jian. Fu Sheng lay drunk and unaware. Fu Jian’s men dragged him out, demoted him to Prince of Yue, then killed him. He drank himself insensible even at the end. He died at twenty-three after two years on the throne, posthumously styled the cruel Prince Li.
39
洪季子雄
Fu Xiong—Fu Hong’s youngest son.
41
苻雄，字元才，洪之季子也。 少善兵書，而多謀略，好施下士，便弓馬，有政術。 健僭位，為佐命元勳，權侔人主，而謙恭奉法。 健常曰：「元才，吾姬旦也。」 及卒，健哭之歐血，曰：「天不欲吾定四海邪？ 何奪元才之速也！」 子堅，別有載記。
Fu Xiong, style Yuancai, was the last son of Fu Hong. He mastered military classics, schemed generously, won soldiers’ hearts, rode and shot well, and governed shrewdly. Under Fu Jian’s usurpation he was pillar of the state—mightier than most kings yet modest and lawful. Fu Jian called him his own Duke of Zhou. When Fu Xiong died, Fu Jian wept blood and asked if heaven blocked his conquests. Why take Yuancai so soon!” His son Fu Jian has his own annals.
42
王墮
Wang Duo
43
王墮，字安生，京兆霸城人也。 博學有雄才，明天文圖緯。 苻洪征梁犢，以墮為司馬，謂洪曰：「讖言苻氏應王，公其人也。」 洪深然之。 及為宰相，著匪躬之稱。 健常歎曰：「天下群官皆如王令君者，陰陽曷不和乎！」 甚敬重之。 性剛峻疾惡，雅好直言。 疾董榮、強國如仇讎，每於朝見之際，略不與言。 人謂之曰：「董尚書貴幸一時，公宜降意。」 墮曰：「董龍是何雞狗，而令國士與之言乎！」 榮聞而慚恨，遂勸生誅之。 及刑，榮謂墮曰：「君今復敢數董龍作雞狗？」 墮瞋目而叱之。 龍，榮之小字也。
Wang Duo, style Ansheng, came from Bashicheng in Jingzhao. He was a polymath, astrologer, and prognosticator. As Fu Hong’s chief of staff against Liang Du, Wang Duo declared the “Fu shall reign” omen pointed at Hong. Fu Hong believed him utterly. As chief minister he was known for tireless, selfless service. Fu Jian used to sigh that if every magistrate matched Director Wang, heaven and earth would stay in tune. He held Wang Duo in the highest regard. Rigid, upright, and outspoken, he despised corruption. He loathed Dong Rong and his fellow favorite Zhao Shao—ministers who had wormed into power—and cut them dead at every audience. Advisers warned him to humor the all-powerful Director Dong. Wang Duo retorted, “Dong Long is a cur—why should a gentleman of the realm address him?” Dong Rong, humiliated, talked Fu Sheng into killing him. At the scaffold Dong Rong sneered, “Still calling Dong Long a dog?” Wang Duo answered with a glare and a curse. “Long” was Dong Rong’s pet name.