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李雄
Li Xiong
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李雄，字仲俊，特第三子也。 母羅氏，夢雙虹自門升天，一虹中斷，既而生蕩。 後羅氏因汲水，忽然如寐，又夢大蛇繞其身，遂有孕，十四月而生雄。 常言吾二子若有先亡，在者必大貴。 蕩竟前死。 雄身長八尺三寸，美容貌。 少以烈氣聞，每周旋鄉里，識達之士皆器重之。 有劉化者，道術士也，每謂人曰：「關、隴之士皆當南移，李氏子中惟仲俊有奇表，終為人主。」
Li Xiong, whose courtesy name was Zhongjun, was the third son of Li Te. His mother, Lady Luo, dreamed of twin rainbows climbing from the gate toward the sky; one snapped midway, and she thereafter bore Li Dang. Later, while Lady Luo was drawing water, she suddenly slipped into something like sleep and dreamed a great snake coiled about her; she conceived, and after fourteen months she gave birth to Li Xiong. She would often say that if one of her two sons died first, the survivor was destined for greatness. Li Dang ended up dying first. Li Xiong stood eight chi and three cun tall and was strikingly good-looking. As a young man he was known for his fierce mettle, and whenever he passed through the local communities, men of insight treated him with marked respect. A Daoist named Liu Hua was fond of telling people that the elite of the Guan and Long regions would drift southward, and that among Li Te’s sons only Zhongjun bore the portents of a future sovereign.
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特起兵於蜀，承制，以雄為前將軍。 流死，雄自稱大都督、大將軍、益州牧，都於郫城。 羅尚遣將攻雄，雄擊走之。 李驤攻犍為，斷尚運道，尚軍大餒，攻之又急，遂留牙門羅特固守，尚委城夜遁。 特開門內雄，遂克成都。 于時雄軍饑甚，乃率眾就谷於郪，掘野芋而食之。 蜀人流散，東下江陽，南入七郡。 雄以西山范長生岩居穴處，求道養志，欲迎立為君而臣之。 長生固辭。 雄乃深自挹損，不敢稱制，事無巨細，皆決于李國、李離兄弟。 國等事雄彌謹。
When Li Te rose in Shu under plenipotentiary orders from the court, he named Li Xiong Forward General. After Li Liu died, Li Xiong took the titles of grand commander-in-chief, grand general, and shepherd of Yi Province, and fixed his seat at Pi. Luo Shang sent generals against him; Li Xiong routed their forces. Li Xiang struck Qianwei and severed Luo Shang’s supply lines until his troops were starving; pressed by relentless assaults, Luo Shang left the garrison commander Luo Te to hold the line and slipped out of the city under cover of night. Luo Te opened the gates to Li Xiong, and Chengdu fell. Li Xiong’s army was starving, so he marched his men to Qi for food and lived on wild taro they dug from the fields. The Shu populace fled in all directions—east toward Jiangyang and south into the seven southern commanderies. Fan Changsheng of the Western Hills lived as a recluse in mountain caves, cultivating the Way; Li Xiong wanted to install him as sovereign and serve him as a subject. Fan Changsheng firmly refused. Li Xiong therefore held himself in check, avoided claiming supreme authority, and left every decision, large or small, to Li Guo and Li Li. Li Guo and his circle only grew more scrupulous in serving Li Xiong.
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諸將固請雄即尊位，以僭稱成都王，赦其境內，建元為建興，除晉法，約法七章。 以其叔父驤為太傅，兄始為太保，折沖李離為太尉，建威李雲為司徙，翊軍李璜為司空，材官李國為太宰，其餘拜授各有差。 追尊其曾祖武曰巴郡桓公，祖慕隴西襄王，父特成都景王，母羅氏曰王太后。 范長生自西山乘素輿詣成都，雄迎之於門，執版延坐，拜丞相，尊曰範賢。 長生勸雄稱尊號，雄於是僭即帝位，赦其境內，改年曰太武。 追尊父特曰景帝，廟號始祖，母羅氏為太后。 加范長生為天地太師，封西山侯，復其部曲不豫軍征，租稅一入其家。 雄時建國草創，素無法式，諸將恃恩，各爭班位。 其尚書令閻式上疏曰：「夫為國制法，勳尚仍舊。 漢、晉故事，惟太尉、大司馬執兵，太傅、太保父兄之官，論道之職，司徙、司空掌五教九土之差。 秦置丞相，總領萬機。 漢武之末，越以大將軍統政。 今國業初建，凡百末備，諸公大將班位有差，降而兢請施置，不與典故相應，宜立制度以為楷式。」 雄從之。
His generals pressed him to take the throne; he assumed the title King of Chengdu, proclaimed an amnesty, adopted the reign title Jianxing, discarded Jin statutes, and promulgated a seven-article legal code. He named his uncle Li Xiang grand tutor, his elder brother Li Shi grand guardian, Li Li grand commandant with the title “General Who Repels Assaults,” Li Yun minister over the masses with the title “General Who Establishes Might,” Li Huang minister of works as “General Who Aids the Army,” and Li Guo grand minister; other officers received posts commensurate with their station. He posthumously ennobled his great-grandfather Wu as Duke Huan of Ba commandery, his grandfather Mu as Prince Xiang of Longxi, his father Li Te as Prince Jing of Chengdu, and his mother Lady Luo as queen dowager. Fan Changsheng came down from the Western Hills in a plain litter; Li Xiong met him at the gate, conducted him inside with formal tablet in hand, named him chancellor, and styled him “Fan the Worthy.” Fan Changsheng urged him to take the imperial title; Li Xiong then proclaimed himself emperor, issued an amnesty, and adopted the reign name Taiwu. He canonized his father Li Te as Emperor Jing with the temple epithet First Ancestor and elevated Lady Luo to empress dowager. He bestowed on Fan Changsheng the title grand preceptor of heaven and earth, made him marquis of the Western Hills, excused his retainers from conscription, and diverted the taxes of his domain straight into Fan’s household. The new state was still being improvised, with no settled institutions, and commanders jostled for rank, each trading on past favors. Yan Shi, director of the secretariat, memorialized: “When a state frames its laws, rewards for merit must rest on precedent. Under Han and Jin precedent, only the grand commandant and grand marshal wielded arms; the grand tutor and grand guardian were honorific “elder kinsman” posts devoted to counsel; the ministers over the masses and of works oversaw civil order and territorial administration. The Qin had created the chancellor to manage every branch of government. By the end of Emperor Wu of Han’s reign, Huo Guang was governing the realm in the capacity of grand general. Our polity is brand-new and nothing is yet in place; senior ministers and generals already differ in seniority, yet offices are being handed out piecemeal without regard to classical precedent. We should codify ranks and duties into a clear model.” Li Xiong accepted the proposal.
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遣李國、李雲等率眾二萬寇漢中，梁州刺史張殷奔于長安。 國等陷南鄭，盡徙漢中人於蜀。
He dispatched Li Guo and Li Yun with twenty thousand men against Hanzhong, driving Inspector Zhang Yin of Liang province to flee to Chang’an. They seized Nan Zheng and deported the entire population of Hanzhong into Shu.
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先是，南土頻歲饑疫，死者十萬計。 南夷校尉李毅固守不降，雄誘建寧夷使討之。 毅病卒，城陷，殺壯士三千餘人，送婦女千口于成都。
For years the south had suffered famine and plague; deaths ran into the hundreds of thousands. Colonel Li Yi of the southern tribes refused to yield, so Li Xiong incited the Jianning tribesmen to attack him. When Li Yi died of illness the city fell; over three thousand defenders were slaughtered, and a thousand women were marched to Chengdu.
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時李離據梓潼，其部將羅羕、張金苟等殺離及閻式，以梓潼歸於羅尚。 尚遣其將向奮屯安漢之宜福以逼雄，雄率眾攻奮，不克。 時李國鎮巴西，其帳下文碩又殺國，以巴西降尚。 雄乃引還，遣其將張寶襲梓潼，陷之。 會羅尚卒，巴郡亂，李驤攻涪，又陷之，執梓潼太守譙登，遂乘勝進軍討文碩，害之。 雄大悅，赦其境內，改元曰玉衡。
Li Li held Zitong until his officers Luo Yan and Zhang Jingou murdered him and Yan Shi and handed the city to Luo Shang. Luo Shang stationed Xiang Fen at Yifu in Anhan to threaten Li Xiong, who attacked him without success. Li Guo was holding Baxi when his aide Wen Shuo assassinated him and surrendered the commandery to Luo Shang. Li Xiong withdrew, then sent Zhang Bao on a surprise attack that retook Zitong. Luo Shang’s death threw Ba commandery into chaos; Li Xiang seized Fu, captured Zitong’s governor Qiao Deng, then pressed on and executed Wen Shuo. Delighted, Li Xiong proclaimed a general amnesty and adopted the reign title Yuheng.
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雄母羅氏死，雄信巫覡者之言，多有忌諱，至欲不葬。 其司空趙肅諫，雄乃從之。 雄欲申三年之禮，群臣固諫，雄弗許。 李驤謂司空上官惇曰：「今方難未弭，吾欲固諫，不聽主上終諒闇，君以為何如？」 惇曰：「三年之喪，自天子達于庶人，故孔子曰：'何必高宗，古之人皆然。 '但漢、魏以來，天下多難，宗廟至重，不可久曠，故釋衰絰，至哀而已。」 驤曰：「任回方至，此人決於行事，且上常難達違言，待其至，當與俱請。」 及回至，驤與回俱見雄。 驤免冠流涕，固請公除。 雄號泣不許。 回跪而進曰：「今王業初建，凡百草創，一日無主，天下惶惶。 昔武王素甲觀兵，晉襄墨絰從戎，豈所願哉？ 為天下屈己故也。 願陛下割情從權，永隆天保。」 遂強扶雄起，釋服親政。
When Lady Luo died, Li Xiong heeded spirit mediums and became so obsessed with taboos that he nearly refused her burial. Minister of Works Zhao Su talked him out of it, and Li Xiong relented. Li Xiong meant to observe the full three-year mourning; his ministers protested vigorously, but he would not bend. Li Xiang said to Minister of Works Shangguan Dun, “The realm is still unsettled. I mean to press the issue: if he refuses to listen, the sovereign will sit out the entire mourning seclusion. What is your view?” Shangguan Dun replied, “The three-year mourning obligation runs from the Son of Heaven down to the commoner; Confucius said, ‘It was not only Gaozong—the ancients all did this.’ Yet since Han and Wei times the empire has known endless crises; the ancestral cult cannot be left unattended, so rulers set aside sackcloth after expressing the depth of their grief.” Li Xiang answered, “Ren Hui is due soon—he is forceful in counsel, and the throne seldom brushes aside blunt advice. When he arrives we should petition together.” When Ren Hui arrived, he and Li Xiang were admitted to an audience with Li Xiong. Li Xiang doffed his cap and wept as he begged the sovereign to accept formal dismissal of mourning. Li Xiong sobbed and refused. Ren Hui knelt forward and said, “The dynasty is new and everything is improvised; a single day without a sovereign leaves the realm adrift. King Wu of Zhou reviewed his hosts in undyed armor; Duke Wen of Jin went to war in ink-stained mourning—do you think they wanted to? They humbled themselves for the sake of the world. We beg you to set private feeling aside for the exigency of state and so secure the mandate long into the future.” They lifted him to his feet, helped him out of mourning dress, and returned him to active rule.
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是時南得漢嘉、涪陵，遠人繼至，雄於是下寬大之令，降附者皆假復除。 虛己愛人，授用皆得其才，益州遂定。 偽立其妻任氏為皇后。 氐王楊難敵兄弟為劉曜所破，奔葭萌，遣子入質。 隴西賊帥陳安又附之。
Hanja and Fuling had fallen to the south and refugees kept arriving; Li Xiong issued generous terms, granting tax relief and amnesty to everyone who submitted. He listened to others and cared for his people, placed every man according to his ability, and Yi province gradually stabilized. He named his wife Lady Ren empress of his new dynasty. The Di chieftain Yang Nan-di and his kinsmen, routed by Liu Yao, fled to Jiameng and sent hostages—sons of the leading houses—to Li Xiong’s court. Chen An, the rebel leader of Longxi, also threw in his lot with him.
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遣李驤征越巂，太守李釗降。 驤進軍由小會攻甯州刺史王遜，遜使其將姚嶽悉眾距戰。 驤軍不利，又遇霖雨，驤引軍還，爭濟瀘水，士眾多死。 釗到成都，雄待遇甚厚，朝遷儀式，喪紀之禮，皆決於釗。
He sent Li Xiang against Yuexi; Governor Li Zhao capitulated. Li Xiang pushed through Xiaohui to strike Wang Xun, inspector of Ning province, who sent Yao Yue with every available man to hold the line. Li Xiang’s campaign faltered in the monsoon; on the retreat his men stampeded across the Lu River and thousands drowned or were crushed. When Li Zhao arrived in Chengdu, Li Xiong treated him with exceptional honor and entrusted him with court ritual and the full protocol of mourning.
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楊難敵之奔葭萌也，雄安北李稚厚撫之，縱其兄弟還武都，難敵遂恃險多為不法，稚請討之。 雄遣中領軍琀及將軍樂次、費他、李乾等由白水橋攻下辯，征東李壽督琀弟玝攻陰平。 難敵遣軍距之，壽不得進，而琀、稚長驅至武街。 難敵遣兵斷其歸道，四面攻之，獲琀、稚，死者數千人。 琀、稚，雄兄蕩之子也。 雄深悼之，不食者數日，言則流涕，深自咎責焉。
After Yang Nan-di fled to Jiameng, Li Zhi, Li Xiong’s defender of the north, treated him generously and even let his brothers return to Wudu—whereupon Nan-di abused the mountain defenses and broke every agreement, until Li Zhi asked permission to chastise him. Li Xiong sent Guard General Li Han with Le Ci, Fei Ta, and Li Qian across the White Water Bridge against Xia Bian, while Li Shou, his general conquering the east, directed Li Han’s brother Li Yu against Yinping. Yang Nan-di blocked Li Shou, but Li Han and Li Zhi raced ahead as far as Wujie. Nan-di severed their line of retreat, surrounded them, and took Li Han and Li Zhi prisoner; several thousand of their soldiers died. Both men were nephews of Li Xiong—sons of his brother Li Dang. Li Xiong grieved so deeply that he fasted for days, wept whenever he spoke of the disaster, and blamed himself harshly.
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其後將立蕩子班為太子。 雄有子十餘人，群臣咸欲立雄所生。 雄曰：「起兵之初，舉手捍頭，本不希帝王之業也。 值天下喪亂，晉氏播蕩，群情義舉，志濟塗炭，而諸君遂見推逼，處王公之上。 本之基業，功由先帝。 吾兄嫡統，丕祚所歸，恢懿明睿，殆天報命，大事垂克，薨于戎戰。 班姿性仁孝，好學夙成，必為名器。」 李驤與司徒王達諫曰：「先王樹塚嫡者，所以防篡奪之萌，不可不慎。 吳子舍其子而立其弟，所以有專諸之禍； 宋宣不立與夷而立穆公，卒有宋督之變。 猶子之言，豈若子也？ 深願陛下思之。」 雄不從，竟立班，驤退而流涕曰：「亂自此始矣！」
He later resolved to name Li Dang’s son Li Ban crown prince. Li Xiong had more than ten sons of his own, and the ministers wanted one of them named heir. Li Xiong said, “When we first took up arms we were only shielding our necks—we never aspired to an imperial throne. The Jin house collapsed and decent men rose to rescue the people from slaughter; you then thrust me, unwillingly, into a seat above kings and dukes. The foundation we stand on was laid by my late father’s merit. My elder brother embodied the legitimate line Heaven meant to bless—magnanimous, wise, clearly destined—yet he fell in battle just as victory was within reach. Ban is humane, filial, and precociously learned—he will grow into a true instrument of state.” Li Xiang and Minister Wang Da objected: “Ancient kings invested the eldest legitimate son precisely to forestall usurpation; this is not a step to take lightly. King Zhouliao of Wu passed over his son for a younger brother and brought down Zhuan Zhu’s dagger. Duke Xuan of Song preferred Duke Mu to his own heir and reaped the coup of Hua Du. How can a nephew ever stand comparison with a son? We beg you to weigh this with care.” Li Xiong ignored the advice, invested Li Ban anyway, whereupon Li Xiang withdrew in tears, declaring, “This is where the trouble starts.”
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張駿遣使遺雄書，勸去尊號，稱籓于晉。 雄復書曰：「吾過為士大夫所推，然本無心於帝王也，進思為晉室元功之臣，退思共為守籓之將，掃除氛埃，以康帝宇。 而晉室陵遲，德聲不振，引領東望，有年月矣。 會獲來貺，情在暗室，有何已已。 知欲遠遵楚、漢，尊崇義帝，《春秋》之義，于斯莫大。」 駿重其言，使聘相繼。 巴郡嘗告急，雲有東軍。 雄曰：「吾嘗慮石勒跋扈，侵逼琅邪，以為耿耿。 不圖乃能舉兵，使人欣然。」 雄之雅譚，多如此類。
Zhang Jun sent a letter urging Li Xiong to drop his imperial title and acknowledge Jin as suzerain. Li Xiong answered: “Gentlemen pressed me further than I wished; I never coveted the throne. At best I hoped to serve Jin as a founding minister; at least to hold the frontier beside other loyal generals and clear the air so the house of Sima might recover. Yet Jin withered and its moral prestige failed; I have strained toward the east for years on end. Receiving your gracious letter stirs the same private gratitude I would feel in secret—how could it ever be exhausted? I understand you mean to echo the Chu–Han settlement that honored Emperor Yi—no gesture could better match the spirit of the Spring and Autumn annals.” Zhang Jun respected the tone and kept embassies moving between them. Ba commandery once sent word of an emergency—eastern troops were said to be advancing. Li Xiong remarked, “I used to fret that Shi Le’s arrogance would swallow the Langye prince—that thought gnawed at me. I never expected him actually to take the field—news of it delights me.” Many of Li Xiong’s polished remarks ran in this vein.
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雄以中原喪亂，乃頻遣使朝貢，與晉穆帝分天下。 張駿領秦、梁，先是，遣傅穎假道於蜀，通表京師，雄弗許。 駿又遣治中從事張淳稱籓於蜀，托以假道。 雄大悅，謂淳曰：「貴主英名蓋世，土險兵強，何不自稱帝一方？」 淳曰：「寡君以乃祖世濟忠良，未能雪天下之恥，解眾人之倒懸，日昃忘食，枕戈待旦。 以琅邪中興江東，故萬里翼戴，將成桓文之事，何言自取邪！」 雄有慚色，曰：「我乃祖乃父亦是晉臣，往與六郡避難此地，為同盟所推，遂有今日。 琅邪若能中興大晉於中夏，亦當率眾輔之。」 淳還，通表京師，天子嘉之。
With the Central Plains in chaos, Li Xiong repeatedly sent tribute missions and tacitly partitioned influence with Emperor Mu of Jin. Zhang Jun, who held Qin and Liang, once asked Fu Ying to seek transit through Shu so he could forward memorials to the Jin court; Li Xiong refused. Zhang Jun next sent his administrative aide Zhang Chun to profess vassalage to Shu while asking safe passage through its territory. Delighted, Li Xiong said to Zhang Chun, “Your master’s fame towers over the age, his terrain is formidable and his soldiers strong—why not simply declare himself emperor in his own quarter?” Zhang Chun replied, “My lord’s house has for generations served Jin with loyalty; he burns to avenge the empire’s humiliation and lift the people from their peril—he skips meals as the sun sets and sleeps with his spear beside him, waiting for dawn. The Langye prince is reviving the dynasty east of the Yangzi, so we rally to him from afar, hoping to repeat the achievements of Duke Huan and Duke Wen—how can you speak of seizing the throne for ourselves?” Li Xiong colored with embarrassment and said, “My forebears were also servants of Jin; we took refuge here from the six commanderies and were raised up by our allies—only that brought us to where we are. If the Langye prince can restore great Jin in the heartland, I will lead my hosts to support him.” Zhang Chun went home, forwarded the memorials to the Jin court, and the emperor commended the exchange.
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時李驤死，以其子壽為大將軍、西夷校尉，督征南費黑、征東任回攻陷巴東，太守楊謙退保建平。 壽別遣費黑寇建平，晉巴東監軍毌丘奧退保宜都。 雄遣李壽攻硃提，以費黑、仰攀為前鋒，又遣鎮南任回征木落，分寧州之援。 甯州刺史尹奉降，遂有南中之地。 雄於是赦其境內，使班討平寧州夷，以班為撫軍。
When Li Xiang died, his son Li Shou succeeded him as grand general and colonel of the western tribes, directing Fei Hei on the southern front and Ren Hui on the east; they seized Badong and forced Governor Yang Qian back into Jianping. Li Shou also sent Fei Hei against Jianping, driving Jin’s Badong supervisor Guanqiu Ao to fall back on Yidu. Li Xiong ordered Li Shou against Zhuti with Fei Hei and Yang Pan in the van, and sent Ren Hui south to strike Muluo, cutting off relief to Ning province. Inspector Yin Feng of Ning capitulated, and the southern basin fell under Li Xiong’s control. He then proclaimed a general amnesty, sent Li Ban to subdue the tribes of Ning province, and named him general of the pacification army.
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，雄生瘍於頭，六日死，時年六十一，在位三十年。 偽諡武帝，廟曰太宗，墓號安都陵。
Li Xiong developed a festering sore on his head; six days later he was dead, aged sixty-one, having reigned thirty years. His regime honored him posthumously as Emperor Wu, gave his temple the name Taizong, and called his tomb the Andu mausoleum.
17
雄性寬厚，簡刑約法，甚有名稱。 氐苻成、隗文既降復叛，手傷雄母，及其來也，咸釋其罪，厚加待納。 由是夷夏安之，威震四土。 時海內大亂，而蜀獨無事，故歸之者相尋。 雄乃興學校，置史官，聽覽之暇，手不釋卷。 其賦男丁歲穀三斛，女丁半之，戶調絹不過數丈，綿數兩。 事少役稀，百姓富貴，閭門不閉，無相侵盜。 然雄意在招致遠方，國用不足，故諸將每進金銀珍寶，多有以得官者。 丞相楊褒諫曰：「陛下為天下主，當網羅四海，何有以官買金邪！」 雄遜辭謝之。 後雄嘗酒醉而推中書令，杖太官令，褒進曰：「天子穆穆，諸侯皇皇，安有天子而為酗也！」 雄即舍之。 雄無事小出，褒於後持矛馳馬過雄。 雄怪問之，對曰：「夫統天下之重，如臣乘惡馬而持矛也，急之則慮自傷，緩之則懼其失，是以馬馳而不制也。」 雄寤，即還。 雄為國無威儀，官無祿秩，班序不別，君子小人服章不殊； 行軍無號令，用兵無部隊，戰勝不相讓，敗不相救，攻城破邑動以虜獲為先。 此其所以失也。
Li Xiong was magnanimous by nature, pared penalties, and kept statutes lean, and his reputation for it was excellent. The Di chieftains Fu Cheng and Wei Wen had wounded Li Xiong’s mother when they rebelled after submitting; when they came back he forgave them outright and welcomed them with generous treatment. Tribesmen and Chinese alike settled down under his rule, and his prestige reached every quarter. While the empire convulsed, Shu alone stayed calm, so refugees flocked to him in an unbroken stream. He founded schools, appointed court historians, and in the intervals of government he was never without a book in hand. Male taxpayers owed three hu of grain a year, women half that; the household silk levy was only a few bolts and a few ounces of floss. With light government and rare labor service the people grew prosperous; doors were left unbarred and theft all but unknown. Yet he meant to draw in men from afar while revenue ran short, so generals often bought posts by presenting gold, silver, and curios. Chancellor Yang Bao objected: “As sovereign you should cast the net wide across the realm—how can offices be traded for bullion?” Li Xiong apologized meekly and took the rebuke to heart. Once, drunk, Li Xiong shoved his palace secretary and beat the chief of provisions; Yang Bao stepped forward: “The Son of Heaven should be grave and lords awe-inspiring—what emperor behaves like a sot?” Li Xiong at once let the two officials go. During a casual outing Li Xiong suddenly saw Yang Bao gallop past him from behind with a spear leveled. Startled, Li Xiong asked what this meant; Yang Bao answered, “Bearing the realm is like riding a vicious mount with a spear in hand: spur too hard and you wound yourself, slacken the reins and you lose control—hence the horse runs wild.” Li Xiong took the point and turned back at once. His court lacked ceremony; offices carried no fixed salaries or seniority; gentlemen and commoners dressed alike; campaigns ran without clear orders or formed units; victors squabbled over spoils while defeated units were left to die; storming towns meant grabbing loot first and asking questions later. These were the seeds of his house’s eventual fall.
18
李班
Li Ban
19
班字世文。 初署平南將軍，後立為太子。 班謙虛博納，敬愛儒賢，自何點、李釗，班皆師之，又引名士王嘏及隴西董融、天水文夔等以為賓友。 每謂融等曰：「觀周景王太子晉、魏太子丕、吳太子孫登，文章鑒識，超然卓絕，未嘗不有慚色。 何古賢之高朗，後人之莫逮也！」 為性汎愛，動修軌度。 時諸李子弟皆尚奢靡，而班常戒厲之。 每朝有大議，雄輒令豫之。 班以古者墾田均平，貧富獲所，今貴者廣占荒田，貧者種殖無地，富者以己所餘而賣之，此豈王者大均之義乎！ 雄納之。 及雄寢疾，班晝夜侍側。 雄少數攻戰，多被傷夷，至是疾甚，痕皆膿潰，雄子越等惡而遠之。 班為吮膿，殊無難色，每嘗藥流涕，不脫衣冠，其孝誠如此。
Li Ban, courtesy name Shiwen. He first held the title of general who pacifies the south, then was named crown prince. Humble and open-minded, he revered scholars, treating He Dian and Li Zhao as his teachers, and he gathered Wang Gu, Dong Rong of Longxi, Wen Kui of Tianshui, and other notables as companions. He often told Dong Rong and the rest, “When I read of Prince Jin of Zhou, Cao Pi of Wei, and Sun Deng of Wu—men whose prose and judgment stood incomparably high—I cannot help feeling ashamed. How luminous those ancient paragons were, and how far we fall short today!” By nature he loved widely and disciplined himself to observe proper bounds. While other members of the Li clan chased extravagance, Li Ban constantly chastened them. Whenever weighty policy was debated at court, Li Xiong insisted Li Ban take part. Li Ban argued that antiquity had balanced fields so rich and poor each had a place, whereas now magnates seized empty acres, peasants had nowhere to sow, and the wealthy peddled their surplus land—was that the equitable ideal of a true king? Li Xiong adopted the proposal. When Li Xiong fell mortally ill, Li Ban kept vigil day and night. Li Xiong had been wounded often in his fighting days; now his scars festered, and sons such as Li Yue found the stench unbearable and shunned him. Li Ban sucked the discharge without flinching, wept whenever he tasted Li Xiong’s medicine, and would not leave his side even to change—such was his devotion.
20
雄死，嗣偽位，以李壽錄尚書事輔政。 班居中執喪禮，政事皆委壽及司徒何點、尚書令王瑰等。 越時鎮江陽，以班非雄所生，意甚不平。 至此，奔喪，與其弟期密計圖之。 李玝勸班遣越還江陽，以期為梁州刺史，鎮葭萌。 班以未葬，不忍遣，推誠居厚，心無纖芥。 時有白氣二道帶天，太史令韓豹奏：「宮中有陰謀兵氣，戒在親戚。」 班不悟。 ，班因夜哭，越殺班于殯宮，時年四十七，在位一年，遂立雄之子期嗣位焉。
When Li Xiong died, Li Ban succeeded him and put Li Shou in charge of the secretariat as regent. Li Ban remained at court to observe mourning while Li Shou, Minister He Dian, Director Wang Gui, and others ran the government. Li Yue, stationed at Jiangyang, deeply resented that Li Ban was not Li Xiong’s own son. He came to the funeral and plotted secretly with his brother Li Qi to remove Li Ban. Li Yu urged Li Ban to send Li Yue back to Jiangyang and appoint Li Qi inspector of Liang province at Jiameng. Li Ban could not bring himself to banish them before the burial; he trusted them openly and harbored not the slightest suspicion. Two bands of white vapor spanned the sky; the grand astrologer Han Bao reported, “The palace shows the aura of intrigue and arms—the danger lies among your kinsmen.” Li Ban paid no heed. While Li Ban kept night vigil in mourning, Li Yue murdered him in the funerary hall; he was forty-seven and had reigned only a year before Li Qi, another son of Li Xiong, was enthroned.
21
李期
Li Qi
22
期字世運，雄第四子也。 聰慧好學，弱冠能屬文，輕財好施，虛心招納。 初為建威將軍，雄令諸子及宗室子弟以恩信合眾，多者不至數百，而期獨致千餘人。 其所表薦，雄多納之，故長史列署頗出其門。
Li Qi, courtesy name Shiyun, was the fourth son of Li Xiong. Bright and bookish, he could write polished essays before twenty, spent money freely, and welcomed talent with genuine openness. His first post was general who establishes might; Li Xiong had each prince and kinsman raise followers on personal credit, and while others mustered only a few hundred, Li Qi enrolled well over a thousand. Li Xiong usually approved his nominations, so many senior clerks and bureau heads owed their posts to Li Qi’s patronage.
23
既殺班，欲立越為主，越以期雄妻任氏所養，又多才藝，乃讓位於期。 於是僭即皇帝位，大赦境內，改元玉恆。 誅班弟都。 使李壽伐都弟玝于涪，玝棄城降晉。 封壽漢王，拜梁州刺史、東羌校尉、中護軍、錄尚書事； 封兄越建甯王，拜相國、大將軍、錄尚書事。 立妻閻氏為皇后。 以其衛將軍尹奉為右丞相、驃騎將軍、尚書令，王瑰為司徒。 期自以謀大事既果，輕諸舊臣，外則信任尚書令景騫、尚書姚華、田褒。 褒無他才藝，雄時勸立期，故寵待甚厚。 內則信宦豎許涪等。 國之刑政，希復關之卿相，慶賞威刑，皆決數人而已，於是綱維紊矣。 乃誣其尚書僕射、武陵公李載謀反，下獄死。
After murdering Li Ban they meant to enthrone Li Yue, but Yue ceded the throne to Li Qi because Qi had been reared by Li Xiong’s empress Lady Ren and was the more capable man. He then seized the imperial title, ordered a general amnesty, and proclaimed the reign Yuheng. He executed Li Ban’s brother Li Du. He sent Li Shou against Li Yu at Fu; Li Yu abandoned the city and defected to Jin. Li Shou was enfeoffed as prince of Han and given the posts of inspector of Liang, colonel of the eastern Qiang, central protector-general, and director of the secretariat; Li Yue became prince of Jianning, chancellor of state, grand general, and co-director of the secretariat. He elevated his wife Lady Yan to empress. Guard general Yin Feng was made right chancellor, chief cavalry commander, and director of the secretariat, while Wang Gui became minister over the masses. Confident after his coup, Li Qi scorned the elder statesmen and left policy to Director Jing Qian and the ministers Yao Hua and Tian Bao. Tian Bao had little ability but had urged Li Xiong to favor Li Qi, so he now enjoyed extravagant patronage. Within the palace he relied on eunuchs such as Xu Fu. Justice and administration seldom reached the chief ministers; rewards, honors, and punishments were settled by a handful of favorites, and the machinery of state unraveled. He framed Vice Director Li Zai, duke of Wuling, for treason and had him die in prison.
24
先是，晉建威將軍司馬勳屯漢中，期遣李壽攻而陷之，遂置守宰，戍南鄭。
Earlier, Jin’s general Sima Xun had held Hanzhong until Li Qi sent Li Shou to conquer it; Li Qi then stationed officials and troops at Nan Zheng.
25
雄子霸、保並不病而死，皆云期鴆殺之，於是大臣懷懼，人不自安。 天雨大魚于宮中，其色黃。 又宮中豕犬交。 期多所誅夷，籍沒婦女資財以實後庭，內外凶凶，道路以目，諫者獲罪，人懷苟免。 期又鴆殺其安北李攸。 攸，壽之養弟也。 於是與越及景騫、田褒、姚華謀襲壽等，欲因燒市橋而發兵。 期又累遣中常侍許涪至壽所，伺其動靜。 及殺攸，壽大懼，又疑許涪往來之數也，乃率步騎一萬，自涪向成都，表稱景騫、田褒亂政，興晉陽之甲，以除君側之惡。 以李奕為先登。 壽到成都，期、越不虞其至，素不備設，壽遂取其城，屯兵至門。 期遣侍中勞壽，壽奏相國、建甯王越，尚書令、河南公景騫，尚書田褒、姚華，中常侍許涪，征西將軍李遐及將軍李西等，皆懷奸亂政，謀傾社稷，大逆不道，罪合夷滅。 期從之，於是殺越、騫等。 壽矯任氏令，廢期為邛都縣公，幽之別宮。 期歎曰：「天下主乃當為小縣公，不如死也！」 ，自縊而死，時年二十五，在位三年。 諡曰幽公。 及葬，賜鸞輅九旒，余如王禮。 雄之子皆為壽所殺。
Li Xiong’s sons Li Ba and Li Bao died suddenly, and rumor blamed Li Qi’s poison; ministers grew fearful and no one felt safe. Great yellow fish rained into the palace courtyards. Inside the palace swine and dogs were seen coupling. Li Qi slaughtered widely, seized women and wealth to stock his harem, and spread terror inside and out until people exchanged only glances on the road; advisers who spoke up were punished, and everyone sought merely to survive. He also poisoned his defender of the north, Li You. Li You was a foster brother of Li Shou. Li Qi then conspired with Li Yue, Jing Qian, Tian Bao, and Yao Hua to strike Li Shou, planning to torch the market bridge as the signal for troops. Li Qi repeatedly sent the eunuch Xu Fu to Li Shou’s camp to watch his every move. After Li You’s murder Li Shou panicked, suspecting Xu Fu’s constant visits heralded his own doom; he marched ten thousand infantry and cavalry from Fu toward Chengdu, memorializing that Jing Qian and Tian Bao had corrupted the government and that he was “raising the hosts of Jinyang” to purge evildoers from the ruler’s side. Li Yi led the assault column. Li Shou reached Chengdu before Li Qi and Li Yue expected; with no defenses ready he walked into the capital and drew up his men at the palace gates. Li Qi sent an attendant to greet him; Li Shou submitted a bill of indictment naming Chancellor Li Yue, Director Jing Qian duke of Henan, ministers Tian Bao and Yao Hua, eunuch Xu Fu, generals Li Xia and Li Xi, and others as traitors who had ruined the state and deserved extirpation. Li Qi acquiesced, and Li Yue, Jing Qian, and their faction were put to death. Forging an edict from Empress Dowager Ren, Li Shou demoted Li Qi to duke of Qiongdu county and locked him in a detached palace. Li Qi sighed, “To fall from master of the realm to petty county noble—better to die!” He hanged himself at twenty-five, having reigned three years. He received the posthumous title Duke You (“the Secluded”). At burial he was granted an imperial hearse with nine pennants; the remaining observances matched those for a king. Li Shou slaughtered every surviving son of Li Xiong.
26
李壽
Li Shou
27
壽字武考，驤之子也。 敏而好學，雅量豁然，少尚禮容，異于李氏諸子。 雄奇其才，以為足荷重任，拜前將軍、督巴西軍事，遷征東將軍。 時年十九，聘處士譙秀以為賓客，盡其讜言，在巴西威惠甚著。 驤死，遷大將軍、大都督、侍中，封扶風公，錄尚書事。 征寧州，攻圍百餘日，悉平諸郡，雄大悅，封建甯王。 雄死，受遺輔政。 期立，改封漢王，食梁州五郡，領梁州刺史。
Li Shou, courtesy name Wukao, was the son of Li Xiang. Quick-witted and studious, broad-minded and even-tempered, he cultivated ritual bearing as a youth and stood apart from the other Li princes. Li Xiong prized his ability, judged him fit for heavy duty, named him forward general and supervisor of military affairs in Baxi, then promoted him to general who conquers the east. At nineteen he retained the recluse Qiao Xiu as adviser, heeded blunt counsel, and built a reputation in Baxi for both firm rule and generosity. After Li Xiang’s death he rose to grand general, grand commander, palace attendant, duke of Fufeng, and director of the secretariat. His hundred-day siege of Ning province brought every commandery to heel; Li Xiong was delighted and created him prince of Jianning. When Li Xiong died, Li Shou was named to the regency council by his final testament. Once Li Qi took the throne, Li Shou was re-enfeoffed as prince of Han with revenue from five Liang commanderies and the title of inspector of Liang.
28
壽威名遠振，深為李越、景騫等所憚，壽深憂之。 代李玝屯涪，每應期朝覲，常自陳邊疆寇警，不可曠鎮，故得不朝。 壽又見期、越兄弟十餘人年方壯大，而並有強兵，懼不自全，乃數聘禮巴西龔壯。 壯雖不應聘，數往見壽。 時岷山崩，江水竭，壽惡之，每問壯以自安之術。 壯以特殺其父及叔，欲假手報仇，未有其由，因說壽曰：「節下若能舍小從大，以危易安，則開國裂土，長為諸侯，名高桓文，勳流百代矣。」 壽從之，陰與長史略陽羅恆、巴西解思明共謀據成都，稱籓歸順。 乃誓文武，得數千人，襲成都，克之，縱兵虜掠，至乃奸略雄女及李氏諸婦，多所殘害，數日乃定。
Li Shou’s prestige alarmed Li Yue, Jing Qian, and their faction, and he lived in dread of them. He replaced Li Yu at Fu and, whenever summoned to Chengdu, pleaded frontier emergencies that required his presence—so he avoided court altogether. Li Qi and Li Yue commanded more than ten adult brothers, each with seasoned troops; fearing for his life, Li Shou repeatedly tried to retain Gong Zhuang of Baxi with lavish offers. Gong Zhuang declined office but visited Li Shou often. When Mount Min collapsed and the river ran dry, Li Shou took it as an ill omen and constantly asked Gong Zhuang how to protect himself. Gong Zhuang still hated Li Te for murdering his father and uncle and hoped to use Li Shou as his instrument; he therefore urged him: “If you can set aside private risk for the larger design, you may carve out a realm, hold a feudal title forever, and win fame to rival the hegemons Huan and Wen, with glory for generations.” Li Shou agreed and secretly plotted with his chief clerk Luo Heng of Lüeyang and Xie Siming of Baxi to seize Chengdu and offer allegiance to Jin. He rallied several thousand civil and military followers, stormed Chengdu, and took it; his troops ran wild, raping Li Xiong’s daughters and other Li women until the slaughter subsided only after days of chaos.
29
恆與思明及李奕、王利等勸壽稱鎮西將軍、益州牧、成都王，稱籓于晉，而任調與司馬蔡興、侍中李豔及張烈等勸壽自立。 壽命筮之，占者曰：「可數年天子。」 調喜曰：「一日尚為足，而況數年乎！」 思明曰：「數年天子，孰與百世諸侯！」 壽曰：「朝聞道，夕死可矣。 任侯之言，策之上也。」 遂以咸康四年僭即偽位，赦其境內，改元為漢興。 以董皎為相國，羅恆、馬當為股肱，李奕、任調、李閎為爪牙，解思明為謀主。 以安車束帛聘龔壯為太師，壯固辭，特聽縞巾素帶，居師友之位。 拔擢幽滯，處之顯列。 追尊父驤為獻帝，母昝氏為太后，立妻閻氏為皇后，世子勢為太子。
Luo Heng, Xie Siming, Li Yi, and Wang Li wanted Li Shou to take the titles of general guarding the west, shepherd of Yi, and king of Chengdu under Jin, while Ren Tiao, Cai Xing, Li Yan, Zhang Lie, and others pressed him to declare his own dynasty. Li Shou had the matter divined; the oracle reader said, “You may reign as Son of Heaven for a few years.” Ren Tiao exclaimed, “A single day on the throne would satisfy me—let alone several years!” Xie Siming retorted, “A few years as emperor—how does that weigh against generations as a loyal prince?” Li Shou answered, “If I grasp the Way at dawn, I may die at dusk content. Ren Tiao’s counsel is the superior strategy.” In 338 he seized the throne, proclaimed an amnesty, and adopted the reign name Hanxing. He named Dong Jiao chancellor, made Luo Heng and Ma Dang his chief pillars, Li Yi, Ren Tiao, and Li Hong his enforcers, and Xie Siming his principal strategist. He sent a carriage and silk to appoint Gong Zhuang grand preceptor; Gong Zhuang refused, so Li Shou allowed him to wear plain scholar’s dress and hold the honorary rank of mentor. He promoted overlooked talent to high office. He canonized Li Xiang as Emperor Xian, elevated Lady Zan to empress dowager, named Lady Yan empress, and invested Li Shi as crown prince.
30
有告廣漢太守李乾與大臣通謀，欲廢壽者。 壽令其子廣與大臣盟于前殿，徙乾漢嘉太守。 大風暴雨，震其端門。 壽深自悔責，命群臣極盡忠言，勿拘忌諱。
An informant accused Governor Li Qian of Guanghan of plotting with senior officials to depose Li Shou. Li Shou made his son Li Guang swear a pact with the ministers in the front hall and transferred Li Qian to the Hanjia governorship. A violent storm struck and lightning hit the main palace gate. Deeply shaken, Li Shou blamed himself and ordered his officials to speak bluntly without fear of taboo.
31
遣其散騎常侍王嘏、中常侍王廣聘于石季龍。 先是，季龍遺壽書，欲連橫入寇，約分天下。 壽大悅，乃大修船艦，嚴兵繕甲，吏卒皆備候糧。 以其尚書令馬當為六軍都督，假節鉞，營東場大閱，軍士七萬餘人，舟師溯江而上。 過成都，鼓噪盈江，壽登城觀之。 其群臣咸曰：「我國小眾寡，吳、會險遠，圖之未易。」 解思明又切諫懇至，壽於是命群臣陳其利害。 龔壯諫曰：「陛下與胡通，孰如與晉通？ 胡，豺狼國也。 晉既滅，不得不北面事之。 若與之爭天下，則強弱勢異。 此虞、虢之成范，已然之明戒，願陛下熟慮之。」 群臣以壯之言為然，叩頭泣諫，壽乃止，士眾咸稱萬歲。
He dispatched Wang Gu as cavalier attendant and the eunuch Wang Guang on an embassy to Shi Hu (Shi Jilong). Earlier, Shi Hu had written proposing a joint strike against Jin and a partition of the empire. Delighted, Li Shou launched a crash program—building warships, drilling troops, repairing armor, and stockpiling grain for every unit. Director Ma Dang became commander of the six armies with imperial baton and axe; Li Shou reviewed more than seventy thousand men at the eastern parade ground and sent the fleet up the Yangzi. As the flotilla passed Chengdu, cheers shook the riverbanks; Li Shou mounted the wall to watch. His ministers protested: “We are a small state with few people; Wu and the southeast are remote and defensible—not an easy prize.” Xie Siming pleaded urgently, so Li Shou told the court to debate the merits and risks openly. Gong Zhuang objected: “Is an alliance with the Hu tribes wiser than friendship with Jin? The Hu realm is a pack of wolves. Once Jin falls you will have no choice but to bow northward as their vassal. Pitting ourselves against them for the empire reverses the balance of strength. The fate of Yu and Guo is proof enough; I beg you to weigh it carefully.” The court endorsed Gong Zhuang’s argument and wept as they kowtowed; Li Shou canceled the expedition, and the troops cheered.
32
遣其鎮東大將軍李奕征牂柯，太守謝恕保城距守者積日，不拔。 會奕糧盡，引還。
He sent Li Yi, his grand general guarding the east, against Zangke, but Governor Xie Shu held the walls for many days without yielding. Li Yi withdrew when his supplies ran out.
33
壽以其太子勢領大將軍、錄尚書事。
Li Shou added to Crown Prince Li Shi the titles of grand general and director of the secretariat.
34
壽承雄寬儉，新行篡奪，因循雄政，未逞其志欲。 會李閎、王嘏從鄴還，盛稱季龍威強，宮觀美麗，鄴中殷實。 壽又聞季龍虐用刑法，王遜亦以殺罰禦下，並能控制邦域，壽心欣慕，人有小過，輒殺以立威。 又以郊甸未實，都邑空虛，工匠器械，事未充盈，乃徙旁郡戶三丁已上以實成都，興尚方禦府，發州郡工巧以充之，廣修宮室，引水入城，務於奢侈。 又廣太學，起宴殿。 百姓疲于使役，呼嗟滿道，思亂者十室而九矣。 其左僕射蔡興切諫，壽以為誹謗，誅之。 右僕射李嶷數以直言懺旨，壽積忿非一，托以他罪，下獄殺之。
Li Shou had inherited Li Xiong’s lenient, frugal rule; fresh from his coup, he still followed the old policies and had not yet indulged his own appetites. When Li Hong and Wang Gu returned from Ye they rhapsodized over Shi Hu’s might, the splendor of his palaces, and the wealth of his capital. Li Shou learned that Shi Hu ruled through terror and that Wang Xun had cowed his province with executions—both kept their domains in line. Envying them, Li Shou began executing men for petty faults to instill fear. The capital region lay half empty and workshops understocked, so he relocated every household with three adult males from neighboring commanderies into Chengdu, expanded the imperial workshops, conscripted skilled labor from the provinces, threw up palaces on a grand scale, and brought river water into the city in pursuit of ostentation. He enlarged the imperial academy and built banquet halls. The people groaned under labor levies; laments filled every road, and nine houses in ten were ready to rise. Left vice director Cai Xing remonstrated bluntly; Li Shou called it slander and had him killed. Right vice director Li Yi often spoke plainly and offended Li Shou, who nursed many grudges, framed him on other charges, and executed him in prison.
35
壽疾篤，常見李期、蔡興為祟。 八年，壽死，時年四十四，在位五年。 偽諡昭文帝，廟曰中宗，墓曰安昌陵。
In his final illness Li Shou was haunted by visions of Li Qi and Cai Xing. In the eighth year of Hanxing he died at forty-four, having reigned five years. His state gave him the posthumous title Emperor Zhaowen, the temple name Zhongzong, and buried him at the Anchang mausoleum.
36
壽初為王，好學愛士，庶幾善道，每覽良將賢相建功立事者，未嘗不反覆誦之，故能征伐四克，辟國千里。 雄既垂心于上，壽亦盡誠於下，號為賢相。 及即偽位之後，改立宗廟，以父驤為漢始祖廟，特、雄為大成廟，又下書言與期、越別族，凡諸制度，皆有改易。 公卿以下，率用己之僚佐，雄時舊臣及六郡士人，皆見廢黜。 壽初病，思明等復議奉王室，壽不從。 李演自越巂上書，勸壽歸正返本，釋帝稱王，壽怒殺之，以威龔壯、思明等。 壯作詩七篇，托言應璩以諷壽。 壽報曰：「省詩知意，若今人所作，賢哲之話言也。 古人所作，死鬼之常辭耳！」 動慕漢武、魏明之所為，恥聞父兄時事，上書者不得言先世政化，自以己勝之也。
As prince, Li Shou was studious and respectful of talent, pored over stories of generals and ministers who built lasting achievement, and so won victories on every front and expanded his domain for a thousand li. Li Xiong watched over him from the throne while he served with utter loyalty below—men called him an exemplary minister. After usurping the throne he rebuilt the ancestral shrines—one for Li Xiang as primogenitor of “Han,” another for Li Te and Li Xiong as the “Great Accomplishment” temple—and issued edicts declaring himself unrelated to Li Qi and Li Yue, revising every major institution. Every office below the chief ministers was filled with his own men, while Li Xiong’s veterans and gentry from the six commanderies were swept aside. Early in his illness Xie Siming and others urged him to acknowledge Jin; Li Shou refused. Li Yan of Yuexi memorialized that Li Shou should return to legitimacy, drop the imperial title, and style himself king; Li Shou executed him in fury to intimidate Gong Zhuang and Xie Siming. Gong Zhuang wrote seven poems in the voice of Ying Qu to needle Li Shou. Li Shou answered, “Reading these lines I grasp your meaning: were they written today, they would pass for the counsel of sages. But because they mimic the ancients, they are only the chatter of ghosts!” He aped Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Ming of Wei, shunned any talk of his father’s and uncles’ reigns, and forbade memorials that praised earlier administrations, convinced that he had surpassed them all.
37
李勢
Li Shi
38
勢字子仁，壽之長子也。 初，壽妻閻氏無子，驤殺李鳳，為壽納鳳女，生勢。 期愛勢姿貌，拜翊軍將軍、漢王世子。 勢身長七尺九寸，腰帶十四圍，善於俯仰，時人異之。 壽死，勢嗣偽位，赦其境內，改元曰太和。 尊母閻氏為太后，妻李氏為皇后。
Li Shi, courtesy name Ziren, was Li Shou’s eldest son. Lady Yan bore no children, so after Li Xiang killed Li Feng, Li Shou took Li Feng’s daughter as a concubine and she gave birth to Li Shi. Li Qi admired his looks and named him general who aids the army and heir apparent to the Han princedom. He stood seven chi nine cun tall with a fourteen-hand girth, moved with uncanny poise, and contemporaries thought him extraordinary. When Li Shou died, Li Shi succeeded him, proclaimed an amnesty, and adopted the reign title Taihe. He elevated Lady Yan to empress dowager and invested Lady Li as empress.
39
太史令韓皓奏熒惑守心，以過廟禮廢，勢命群臣議之。 其相國董皎、侍中王嘏等以為景武昌業，獻文承基，至親不遠，無宜疏絕。 勢更令祭特、雄，同號曰漢王。
Han Hao, the grand astrologer, reported that Mars had lodged in the “heart” mansion—a sign that ancestral rites had been neglected—so Li Shi ordered a court debate. Chancellor Dong Jiao and Wang Gu argued that the “Jing and Wu” founders had laid the enterprise, while the “Xian and Wen” line had inherited it—close kin should not be cast off. Li Shi therefore restored sacrifices to Li Te and Li Xiong, honoring both as kings of Han.
40
勢弟大將軍、漢王廣以勢無子，求為太弟，勢弗許。 馬當、解思明以勢兄弟不多，若有所廢，則益孤危，固勸許之。 勢疑當等與廣有謀，遣其太保李奕襲廣於涪城，命董皎收馬當、思明斬之，夷其三族。 貶廣為臨邛侯，廣自殺。 思明有計謀，強諫諍，馬當甚得人心。 自此之後，無復紀綱及諫諍者。
His brother Li Guang, grand general and prince of Han, asked to be named heir presumptive because Li Shi had no son; Li Shi refused. Ma Dang and Xie Siming, noting how few brothers Li Shi had, warned that deposing Li Guang would isolate the throne and pressed him to agree. Suspecting Ma Dang and Xie Siming of colluding with Li Guang, he sent Grand Guardian Li Yi against Li Guang at Fu and ordered Dong Jiao to arrest Ma Dang and Xie Siming, execute them, and wipe out their kin to the third degree. Li Guang was demoted to marquis of Linqiong and took his own life. Xie Siming was a strategist who spoke bluntly, and Ma Dang was beloved by the people. After their deaths no discipline remained and no one dared remonstrate.
41
李奕自晉壽舉兵反之，蜀人多有從奕者，眾至數萬。 勢登城距戰。 奕單騎突門，門者射而殺之，眾乃潰散。 勢既誅奕，大赦境內，改年嘉寧。
Li Yi rose at Jinshou against him, and tens of thousands of Shu men rallied to his banner. Li Shi mounted the walls to fight them off. Li Yi charged the gate alone; the guards shot him down, and his army melted away. After executing Li Yi he declared a general amnesty and adopted the reign title Jianning.
42
初，蜀土無獠，至此，始從山而出，北至犍為，梓潼，布在山谷，十餘萬落，不可禁制，大為百姓之患。 勢既驕吝，而性愛財色，常殺人而取其妻，荒淫不恤國事。 夷獠叛亂，軍守離缺，境宇日蹙。 加之荒儉，性多忌害，誅殘大臣，刑獄濫加，人懷危懼。 斥外父祖臣佐，親任左右小人，群小因行威福。 又常居內，少見公卿。 史官屢陳災譴，乃加董皎太師，以名位優之，實欲與分災眚。
Formerly there had been no Liao peoples in Shu; now they poured from the hills north into Qianwei and Zitong until more than a hundred thousand hamlets dotted the valleys—beyond government control and a scourge to the farmers. Li Shi grew arrogant and miserly, craved wealth and women, routinely murdered men to seize their wives, and abandoned statecraft to debauchery. Tribes and Liao raiders revolted, garrisons stood empty, and the realm shrank by the day. Famine compounded his suspicious cruelty: he butchered senior ministers, filled the prisons on whim, and everyone walked in terror. He cast off his father’s and grandfather’s advisers, trusted petty favorites at his elbow, and let them wield arbitrary power. He rarely emerged from the harem and seldom received his high ministers. When the historians kept citing omens, he named Dong Jiao grand preceptor—a hollow honor meant to shift cosmic blame onto him.
43
大司馬桓溫率水軍伐勢。 溫次青衣，勢大發軍距守，又遣李福與昝堅等數千人從山陽趣合水距溫。 謂溫從步道而上，諸將皆欲設伏於江南以待王師，昝堅不從，率諸軍從江北鴛鴦碕渡向犍為，而溫從山陽出江南，昝堅到犍為，方知與溫異道，乃回從沙頭津北渡。 及堅至，溫已造成都之十里陌，昝堅眾自潰。 溫至城下，縱火燒其大城諸門。 勢眾惶懼，無復固志，其中書監王嘏、散騎常侍常璩等勸勢降。 勢以問侍中馮孚，孚言：「昔吳漢征蜀，盡誅公孫氏。 今晉下書，不赦諸李，雖降，恐無全理。」 勢乃夜出東門，與昝堅走至晉壽，然後送降文于溫曰：「偽三月十七日，略陽李勢叩頭死罪。 伏惟大將軍節下，先人播流，恃險因釁，竊自汶、蜀。 勢以暗弱，復統未緒，偷安荏苒，未能改圖。 猥煩硃軒，踐冒險阻。 將士狂愚，干犯天威。 仰慚俯愧，精魂飛散，甘受斧鑕，以釁軍鼓。 伏惟大晉，天網恢弘，澤及四海，恩過陽日。 逼迫倉卒，自投草野。 即日到白水城，謹遣私署散騎常侍王幼奉箋以聞，並敕州郡投戈釋杖。 窮池之魚，待命漏刻。」 勢尋輿櫬面縛軍門，溫解其縛，焚其櫬，遷勢及弟福、從兄權親族十餘人于健康，封勢歸義侯。 ，死于建康。 在位五年而敗。
Grand marshal Huan Wen led a riverine force against Li Shi. Huan Wen stopped at Qingyi; Li Shi mustered his army for defense and sent Li Fu, Zan Jian, and several thousand men from Shanyang toward Heshui to block him. Expecting Huan Wen to march overland, Li Shi’s generals wanted ambushes south of the Yangzi; Zan Jian refused, crossed at Yuanyangqi on the north bank toward Qianwei, while Huan Wen emerged on the south bank from Shanyang. Reaching Qianwei too late, Zan Jian doubled back to cross north at Shatou ford. By the time Zan Jian arrived, Huan Wen was already at the outskirts of Chengdu; Zan’s men broke and ran. Huan Wen reached the walls and set fire to the main gates. Li Shi’s troops panicked and lost heart; Wang Gu, Chang Qu, and others urged him to surrender. Li Shi consulted Feng Fu, who answered, “When Wu Han conquered Shu he exterminated the house of Gongsun. Jin has issued orders not to spare the Li clan; surrender may not save us.” Li Shi slipped out the east gate with Zan Jian and fled to Jinshou, then sent Huan Wen a letter of surrender: “On the seventeenth day of the third month, Li Shi of Lüeyang prostrates himself in capital guilt. Great General, my forebears were cast about by chaos, seized the mountain barriers, and carved out a realm between Wen and Shu. I am dull and feeble, inherited a broken line, clung to precarious peace, and failed to mend our course. We have troubled your vermilion chariot to cross these treacherous roads. Our soldiers, rash and blind, have offended the majesty of the throne. Shame consumes us body and soul; we are willing to die beneath the axe and let our blood consecrate the army drums. Great Jin casts its net wide, its kindness floods the four seas, and its mercy outshines the sun. Hard pressed and in haste, I have fled into the wilderness. This day I reached Baishui and dispatch Wang You, whom I had named cavalier attendant, to present this petition; I have ordered every district to lay down arms. We are fish in a drying pool, waiting breathless moment by moment for your decree. Soon Li Shi appeared at the camp gate with a coffin cart, hands bound; Huan Wen freed him, burned the cart, and resettled Li Shi, his brother Li Fu, his cousin Li Quan, and more than ten kinsmen at the Eastern Jin capital Jiankang, enfeoffing him as marquis of returning allegiance. He died at Jiankang. His reign lasted five years before collapse.
44
始，李特以惠帝起兵，至此六世，凡四十六年，以穆帝滅。
From Li Te’s uprising under Emperor Hui of Jin through six generations and forty-six years, the line ended with Emperor Mu.
45
史評
Historians’ Appraisal
46
史臣曰：昔周德方隆，古公切逾梁之患； 漢祚斯永，宣後興渡湟之師。 是知戎狄亂華，釁深自古，況乎巴、濮雜種，厥類實繁，資剽竊以全生，習獷悍而成俗。 李特世傳凶狡，早擅梟雄，太息劍門，志吞井絡。 屬晉綱之落紐，乘羅侯之無斷，騁馬屬犍，同聲雲集，殲殄蜀、漢，薦食巴、梁，沃野無半菽之資，華陽有析骸之釁。 蓋上失其道，覆敗之至於斯！
The historians write: When Zhou’s power was waxing, the ancient duke still had to flee the peril at Mount Liang; when Han’s mandate seemed secure, Empress Xuan still had to launch the host that crossed the Huang River. So we know northern tribes have vexed the Central Plains since ancient times; the Ba and Pu admixtures are more numerous still, living by plunder and hardened into savagery. For generations the Li clan bred cunning; Li Te was a born warlord who brooded at Jianmen Gorge and meant to devour the Shu basin. As Jin’s grip slackened and Luo Shang hesitated, Li Te’s riders poured through Qianwei; allies flocked to him, Shu and Han were crushed, Ba and Liang gnawed away until the fertile plain could not spare half a bean and Huayang knew the famine where kin broke bones for fuel. When those above abandon the Way, ruin this complete is the inevitable price.
47
仲俊天挺英姿，見稱奇偉，摧鋒累載，克隆霸業。 蹈玄德之前基，掩子陽之故地，薄賦而綏弊俗，約法而悅新邦，擬於其倫，實孫權之亞也。 若夫立子以嫡，往哲通訓，繼體承基，前修茂範。 而雄暗經國之遠圖，蹈匹夫之小節，傳大統於猶子。 托強兵於厥胤。 遺骸莫斂，尋戈之釁已深； 星紀未周，傾巢之釁便及。 雖云天道，抑亦人謀。
Zhongjun—Li Xiong—was heaven’s favorite, hailed as a marvel; year after year he broke enemy lines and built a lasting hegemony. He trod the ground Liu Bei had held, overlaid Gongsun Shu’s old domain, eased taxes to soothe a weary people, and simplified laws until the new state rejoiced—among his peers he ranks just below Sun Quan. Investing the legitimate heir is the lesson of every sage; succession on that pattern is the finest precedent of antiquity. Yet Li Xiong ignored the long view of statecraft, clung to private sentiment, and handed the great mandate to a nephew. He left seasoned armies in the hands of his own sons. His corpse was hardly laid to rest before the blades of kinsmen were drawn; before a full turn of the heavens the whole nest was overturned. Call it fate if you will—human folly shares the blame.
48
班以寬愛罹災，期以暴戾速禍，殊塗並失，異術同亡。 武考憑藉世資，窮兵竊位，罪百周帶，毒甚楚圍，獲保歸全，何其幸也！ 子仁承緒，繼傳昏虐，驅率餘燼，敢距大邦。 授甲晨征，則理均於困獸； 斬關宵遁，則義殊於前禽。 宜其懸首國門，以明大戮，遂得禮同劉禪，不亦優乎！
Li Ban’s kindness brought disaster, Li Qi’s cruelty hastened ruin—opposite paths, the same end. Li Shou rode his father’s prestige to usurp the throne by force—guilt piled higher than the worst Zhou tyrants, cruelty worse than Chu's sieges—yet he died in his bed: what luck! Ziren inherited the line, added folly and cruelty, and dared pit the embers of Shu against a great power. Had he marched at dawn in full armor, he would only have been a cornered beast; slipping the walls by night put him beneath even the quarry spared once before. He deserved to have his head posted at the capital gate; instead he was treated like Liu Shan of Shu—could mercy go further?
49
贊曰：晉圖馳馭，百六斯鐘。 天垂伏鱉，野戰群龍。 李特窺釁，盜我巴、庸。 世歷五朝，年將四紀。 篡殺移國，昏狂繼軌。 德之不修，險亦難恃。
Encomium: The Jin house raced its chariot into the “hundred and sixth” cycle of calamity. Heaven showed the omen of the submissive tortoise; in the fields dragons warred among themselves. Li Te seized his chance and stole Ba and Yong from Jin. Five reigns they lasted, nearly forty-eight years. Usurpation and murder moved the throne from hand to hand; folly and frenzy ran in an unbroken line. Without cultivating virtue, not even mountains can save you.