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卷六十三 列傳第十三: 封倫 蕭瑀 裴矩 宇文士及

Volume 63 Biographies 13: Feng Lun, Xiao Yu, Pei Ju, Yuwen Shiji

Chapter 67 of 舊唐書 · Old Book of Tang
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Chapter 67
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1
Feng Lun; his son Yan Dao; and his brother's son Xing Gao.
2
Xiao Yu; his son Rui; his brother's son Jun; Jun's son Zan; Jun's brother's son Siye; Pei Ju; and Ju's son Xuanji.
3
Yuwen Shiji.
4
退 使 退 使
Feng Lun, courtesy name Deyi, came from Lou in Guan Prefecture. He was the grandson of Long, who had served as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent under Northern Qi. His father Zixiu had been prefect of Tong Prefecture in Sui times. In his youth Lun's maternal uncle Lu Sidao would often say, "This boy's mind outstrips other men's; he is sure to rise to ministerial rank. Late in the Kaihuang reign, when the south rose in revolt, Interior Minister Yang Su marched to suppress it and made Lun his campaign record-keeper. When the fleet reached Haiqu, Su sent for him; Lun had fallen overboard and was pulled out before he drowned, then changed clothes and came to audience—yet he never mentioned the incident. When Su later found out and asked why, Lun replied, "It was a private affair, which is why I did not report it. Su was deeply impressed. When Su undertook construction of Renshou Palace, he appointed Lun overseer of the building works. When Emperor Wen visited the site and saw how lavish the design was, he flew into a rage: "Yang Su has deceived me! He has drained the people's strength to adorn a pleasure palace and has made the whole realm resent me. Su was terrified, fearing he would be punished. Lun said, "Do not worry, sir—once the empress comes, you are sure to receive a gracious edict. The next day Su was summoned as Lun had predicted; Empress Dugu reassured him: "You know we are old and need diversion; to lavish ornament on this palace—is that not filial devotion?" Afterward Su asked Lun, "How did you know?" Lun answered, "The Son of Heaven is frugal by nature, so his first glance provoked anger—but he is used to listening to what comes after. The empress is a woman who loves beauty alone; once she is pleased, the emperor's concern will surely ease—that is why I knew." Su sighed in admiration: "Your gift for reading people's hearts is beyond me." Su, proud of his rank and talent, bullied many men—yet he prized Lun alone. He often drew Lun into talks on the chancellor's duties and would forget fatigue for a whole day; once, patting his own couch, he said, "Young Feng will surely sit in this place of mine. He repeatedly commended Lun to Emperor Wen, who thereupon promoted him to Secretariat drafter. In the Daye reign Lun saw Yu Shiji favored by Emperor Yang but negligent of administration; whenever business came to him, he often let the moment slip. Lun also attached himself to Yu, secretly directing policy, issuing edicts in his name, and flattering whatever pleased the emperor. Memorials from outside that seemed to displease the throne were all suppressed and never forwarded. Penal decisions leaned toward harsh statutes and deep false charges; and when merit was assessed and rewards granted, they were always pared down. Thus Yu's favor rose day by day while Sui governance rotted—and Lun was behind it all. During Yuwen Huaji's revolt the emperor was driven from the palace and Lun was ordered to recite his crimes. The emperor said, "You are a scholar—how could you sink to this? Lun withdrew, flushed with shame. Huaji soon made him interior minister and Lun followed him to Liaocheng. Seeing Huaji's cause failing, Lun secretly aligned with Huaji's brother Shiji and asked leave to haul grain in Jibei so he could watch how fortunes turned. When Huaji fell, he came over with Shiji to surrender. Gaozu, treating him as a veteran of the former dynasty, sent envoys to welcome him and appointed him Secretariat drafter. He was soon promoted to vice minister of the Secretariat.
5
仿 使 便
Once, on his way to the hot springs, Gaozu passed Qin Shihuang's tomb and asked Lun, "Ancient emperors drained the people's strength and emptied the treasury to raise great burial mounds—what good did it do? Lun replied, "When those above set the tone, those below follow—as grass bends in the wind. Ever since Qin and Han rulers lavished wealth on tombs, officials and commoners have rushed to imitate them. Nearly every ancient mound was stuffed with treasure—and nearly every one has been looted. If the dead feel nothing, lavish burial is pure waste; if the soul still knows, would it not writhe in anguish at its violated grave!" Gaozu approved and told Lun, "Hereafter we must lead from the top and require simple burials throughout the realm." When Taizong marched against Wang Shichong, Lun was ordered to serve on his staff. Gaozu, weary of keeping troops in the field, meant to recall the army; Taizong sent Lun to court to argue the situation face to face. Lun told Gaozu, "Shichong may hold wide lands, but they hang together only loosely; only Luoyang truly answers his call. His schemes are spent and his strength gone—his fall is only a matter of days. Withdraw now and the rebels will rally and knit their forces together—then they will be far harder to crush. Better to strike while they are already failing—then victory is certain. Gaozu took his advice. When Taizong returned victorious, Gaozu told his ministers, "When I first marched east, most at court dissented—only the Prince of Qin urged the campaign, and Feng Lun backed him. Zhang Hua once stood with Emperor Wu of Jin—what could surpass that! He was made Duke of Pingyuan and concurrently marshal of the Celestial Register Office. When the Turks raided Taiyuan and again asked for a marriage alliance, Gaozu asked his ministers, "Peace or war—what course should we take? Most argued that war would only deepen hatred and that peace should come first. Lun said, "The Turks are overbearing and despise China—they will assume our armies are too weak to fight. In my view we should muster every soldier and strike—victory will come quickly; make peace only after we win, and both kindness and awe will be clear. If we do not fight this year, they will be back next—striking now is the wiser course. Gaozu agreed. In the sixth year he was made acting minister of personnel while keeping his prior post; versed in bureaucratic business, he won wide praise. In the eighth year he was raised to Duke of Daoguo, then soon had his fief moved to Mi. Xiao Yu had once recommended Lun to Gaozu, who made him director of the Central Secretariat. When Taizong took the throne, Yu became left vice director of the Department of State Affairs and Lun the right vice director. Lun was treacherous by nature: matters he and Yu had settled to present, he altered entirely before Taizong—hence the breach between them. In Zhenguan 1 he fell ill at the Department of State Affairs; Taizong visited him in person, ordered the imperial carriage to take him home, and he soon died at sixty. Taizong mourned him deeply, suspended court for three days, and posthumously enfeoffed him as Minister of Works with the posthumous name Ming. Earlier Lun had often followed Taizong on campaign and enjoyed his special favor. Because of the rivalry with Chengjian and Yuanji, he repeatedly professed loyalty; Taizong took him for utterly sincere and rewarded him lavishly time and again. Yet Lun secretly played both sides and quietly backed Chengjian. When Gaozu was weighing deposition and succession but could not decide, he consulted Lun, who remonstrated so firmly that Gaozu abandoned the plan. What he did stayed hidden—no one at the time knew—and the full account appears in Chengjian's biography. Only years after Lun's death did Taizong learn the truth. In the seventeenth year Investigating Censor Tang Lin pursued charges against Lun, saying, "I have heard that serving one's lord means giving one's life without wavering; a minister's integrity holds firm when the year turns cold. Whoever betrays that duty deserves death without mercy. Lun stood at the summit of office and had been showered with fiefs, yet he repaid no loyalty and instead plotted treachery, misled the heir, and abetted the arch-villain—by ordinary law he should have been executed to the last man. Yet his treachery surfaced only after death, and he was lavishly honored posthumously without proper punishment. His guilt is now plain—he should be degraded. How can his titles and fiefs stand, or his name remain among the great ministers! If this goes unpunished, what lesson will anyone draw? Taizong ordered a full deliberation. Minister of Revenue Tang Jian and others argued, "Lun's crimes appeared only after death, but favors were given in life—the offices he held cannot be clawed back; we ask only to reduce his posthumous honors and change his posthumous name." The edict agreed: his posthumous name became Miu, his posthumous office was revoked, and his substantive fief was stripped.
6
His son Yan Dao married Gaozu's daughter, Princess Chang of Huainan, and rose to prefect of Song. Lun's nephew Xing Gao was known for his literary accomplishments. Under Zhenguan he rose to director in the Ministry of Rites.
7
祿 使使 輿 使 使
Xiao Yu, courtesy name Shiwen. He descended from Emperor Wu of Liang; his great-grandfather was Crown Prince Zhaoming; his grandfather was Xiao Cha; his father was Emperor Xuan of Later Liang. His father Kui was Emperor Ming of Later Liang. At nine he was made Prince of Xin'an and was known from childhood for filial devotion. His elder sister became consort to Sui's Prince of Jin and followed the court to Chang'an. He devoted himself to study and composition, bearing himself with upright, unyielding clarity. He favored Buddhism, kept Buddhist discipline, and whenever he debated monks on suffering and emptiness he pressed to the heart of the doctrine. He often read Liu Xiaobiao's Discourse on Fate and disliked how it undermined the sages' teaching and blurred the truth of life and fate; he wrote Against the Discourse on Fate to answer it. Its main argument ran: "We receive life from Heaven and Earth—who denies fate? Yet fortune and misfortune also depend on what people do; to blame everything on fate alone is a grave mistake. The Jin palace scholars Liu Guyan and Zhuge Ying read it and said, "For decades since Xiaobiao, no one who wrote on fate and life could be answered— but Master Xiao's essay is enough to cure Liu's disease in its marrow." When Yang Di was crown prince, Yu was made Right Thousand-Bull in his household. On his accession Yu became attendant of the imperial wardrobe and acting Eagle-Flight commander of the Left Wing Guard. He suddenly fell ill with a wind disorder and told his family not to treat him at once, saying, "If Heaven grants me more years, I mean to use this as my excuse to live in seclusion. Empress Xiao heard and rebuked him: "With your gifts you could bring honor to your house—how can you neglect your health to chase reclusion? If you bring punishment on yourself for this, the offense is beyond reckoning." As he recovered, his elder sister urged him on, and he again wished to pursue office. He rose through the ranks to Silver-Glittering Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and vice minister of the Secretariat. As the empress's brother-in-law he was entrusted with weighty affairs, but the empress often spoke against the emperor's wishes and he was gradually pushed aside. At Yanmen, besieged by the Turks, Yu proposed: "I hear Shibi has come here under the guise of a hunt, and Princess Yicheng may not yet know he means rebellion. Among the northern tribes, moreover, the khatun often controls the armies. Long ago Gaozu of Han broke the siege at Pingcheng through the Yanzhi's intervention. Yicheng, moreover, is an emperor's daughter by marriage—she will surely lean on our great power. Send a lone envoy to warn Yicheng—even if it fails, we lose nothing. I have also overheard the people's talk—they fear that after the Turks are beaten you will march on Liaodong again; morale is divided and defeat may follow. Issue a clear edict to the army: pardon Goguryeo and fight the Turks alone—then the people will be reassured and every soldier will fight willingly. Yang Di agreed and sent envoys to the khatun with the imperial message. Soon the Turks lifted the siege. Later a spy revealed that Princess Yicheng had urgently warned Shibi of trouble in the north—thus the siege ended, thanks to the princess. When Yang Di again prepared to attack Liaodong, he told his ministers, "The Turks are merely unruly raiders—what real threat are they? The crisis was barely over, yet Xiao Yu had spread alarm—such conduct was unforgivable. He was banished that same day to serve as prefect of Hechi. On reaching his post he found more than ten thousand mountain bandits terrorizing the region; he secretly raised brave men, ambushed them, and took their whole force in the field. He gave all captured goods to those who had earned them, and men fought with all their might. When Xue Ju sent tens of thousands to raid the borders, Yu intercepted them; afterward no raiders dared enter and the commandery was secure again.
8
祿 婿 便 退 使 使 忿 祿 使
After Gaozu took the capital, he sent a letter summoning Yu. Yu surrendered his commandery, was made Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, enfeoffed as Duke of Song, and appointed minister of revenue. When Taizong, as Right Grand Marshal, attacked Luoyang, Yu served as his headquarters marshal. In Wude 5 he became interior minister. The state was newly founded and the borders unsettled; Gaozu made Yu his confidant, and no affair of government passed without him. Whenever Gaozu held court, he had Yu sit on the imperial couch; as the Dugu empress's son-in-law, Gaozu called him "Young Xiao" in conversation. State rites and court ceremony were also his charge; he drove himself relentlessly, citing every breach of rule, and everyone feared him. He often submitted dozens of practical proposals, most of which Gaozu adopted; a personal edict read, "Your counsel is what the realm depends on. A ruler who uses wise counsel completes others' excellence; one who accepts remonstrance repays virtue with gold and jewels. I now give you a casket of gold in thanks—do not refuse. Yu declined firmly, but a gracious edict would not allow it. That year seven offices were created in each prefecture, filled only by men of talent and standing. When Taizong became governor of Yong Prefecture, Yu was made its regional commander. Gaozu often found edicts delayed in promulgation and blamed the Secretariat. Yu said, "In Daye times I saw edicts issued that contradicted earlier ones—yet every office obeyed, not knowing which to follow. Easy orders go out first and hard ones later—I spent years in the Secretariat and saw it all. The dynasty is newly founded and affairs touch life and death—if distant regions grow doubtful, we may miss our chance. Now I examine every edict to ensure it does not contradict an earlier one before I dare issue it. That is the real reason for the delay. Gaozu said, "If you take such care, what have I to fear?" When Yu first came to court, estates in the Guanzhong region had already been granted to meritorious men. Now his lands and houses were restored; he divided them among his clansmen and kept only one ancestral hall for the seasonal rites. After Wang Shichong was defeated, Yu's role in military planning won him two thousand added households and the post of right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. All performance reviews, internal and external, went to the Director of Evaluations; he guided the bureaucracy while affairs piled up. Yu saw that judgments could be one-sided, yet he enforced the law sternly and drew some criticism. Yu had once recommended Feng Lun to Gaozu, who made him director of the Central Secretariat. When Taizong succeeded, Yu became left vice director and Lun the right vice director. Lun was treacherous by nature: whatever he and Yu agreed to present, he altered entirely before Taizong. Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui had just risen to power, sidelining Yu while favoring Lun; Yu, unable to accept this, submitted a sealed memorial—but its argument was thin. Taizong, honoring Fang and the others' merit, took offense and sent Yu home in disgrace. Soon he was made Special Advancement and junior tutor to the heir apparent. Before long he was restored as left vice director and granted a substantive fief of six hundred households. Taizong often asked Yu, "How can I make my line endure and the realm forever secure? Yu answered, "In past ages nothing secured a dynasty like enfeoffing princes as bedrock pillars of the state. Qin united the realm, abolished feudal lords for commandery governors, and fell in the second generation; Han ruled with both commanderies and kingdoms and lasted more than four hundred years. Wei and Jin abolished feudal enfeoffment and could not endure. The feudal system truly ought to be restored." Taizong agreed and began debating the restoration of feudal princedoms. Soon he quarreled fiercely with Attendant Chen Shuda before the throne and was dismissed for disrespect. A year later he was made regional commander of Jin. The next year he was recalled as Left Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and made censor-in-chief as well. He joined the chief ministers in council; Yu argued tirelessly, and in debate Fang Xuanling and the others could not best him. Yet they knew he was right and ignored him—Yu grew ever more bitter. When Fang, Wei Zheng, and Wen Yanbo committed minor faults, Yu impeached them—but no inquiry followed, and he lost standing. He was removed as censor-in-chief and made junior tutor to the heir apparent, no longer attending to state affairs. In the sixth year he was made Special Advancement and acting minister of rites. In the eighth year, as touring inspector of Henan Circuit, he used torture—including suspension by rope—on defendants whose cases dragged on, even causing deaths; Taizong pardoned him. In the ninth year he was again made Special Advancement and restored to deliberations on government. Taizong once told Fang Xuanling calmly, "In Daye times Xiao Yu remonstrated with the Sui emperor and was banished to Hechi. He should have faced execution, yet lived to see peace—the old man's lost horse proves how fortune turns. Yu kowtowed in thanks. Taizong added, "After Wude 6 the retired emperor weighed deposition but could not decide; I was not tolerated by my brothers then and truly feared that merit too great goes unrewarded. He cannot be bought with riches or cowed with punishment—he is a true pillar of the realm. He then gave Yu a poem: "Only in a fierce wind do you know the tough grass; only in turmoil do you know the loyal minister." He also told Yu, "Your integrity is unyielding—no man of old surpassed it. Yet when you draw the line between good and evil too sharply, you sometimes miss the mark." Yu bowed again: "Your admonition honors me, and your promise of loyal candor makes even my dying day feel like life renewed." Wei Zheng stepped forward: "Some ministers defy the crowd to enforce the law, and a wise ruler forgives them for loyalty; some stand alone to uphold integrity, and a wise ruler forgives them for their firmness. I heard such words before; now I see them proved—had Xiao Yu not met a sage ruler, he would surely have come to ruin! Taizong was pleased.
9
In the seventeenth year his portrait joined those of Zhangsun Wuji and twenty-three others in the Lingyan Pavilion. That year the Prince of Jin became crown prince; Yu was made grand guardian of the heir apparent while still handling government affairs. When Taizong marched on Liaodong, he made Yu keeper of the Luoyang palace, guarding the strategic junction of the passes and the Yellow River. On the emperor's return from Liaodong he asked to be relieved of the grand guardianship but continued at the Secretariat and Chancellery. Knowing Yu's devotion to Buddhism, Taizong once gave him an embroidered Buddha image with Yu's own likeness worked beside it for his devotions. He also gave him Wang Bao's copy of the Great Prajna Sutra and a monk's robe for lecturing and recitation. Yu once said, "From Fang Xuanling down, every minister at the Secretariat and Chancellery is a faction-mate with no true loyalty to the throne. He repeatedly memorialized alone: "They hold power together like glue—they have not rebelled only because Your Majesty does not see them clearly." Taizong told him, "A ruler must employ talent and trust his ministers openly—is this not going too far? How can you say such things!" Days later Taizong said, "No one knows a minister like his ruler; you cannot demand perfection—set aside faults and use strengths. I may not be the cleverest man, but I am not suddenly blind to who is right and who is wrong." He repeatedly reassured Yu of his trust. Yu was discontented and Taizong had long resented him, yet in the end Yu's loyalty outweighed everything and he was not removed. When Yu asked to take Buddhist orders, Taizong said, "I know you have always loved the monastic life—I will not stand in your way. Yu immediately turned back: "On reflection, I cannot leave the household after all." Taizong had spoken before the whole court, yet Yu reversed himself—he could not be reconciled. Yu soon claimed a foot ailment; he would come to court yet refuse audience. Taizong told his attendants, "Has Yu not found his place, that he sulks like this? He then drafted a personal edict:
10
I have heard that when things work in harmony, different natures may still succeed together; But when matters run counter to harmony, likeness of form rarely avails. A boat that floats and oars that pull can carry you a thousand li along the rivers; yet if the yoke strains and the wheels do not turn, not even a hair's breadth of ground is gained. From this one knows that when motion and rest take turns, the work goes easily, but when what bends and what stands straight pull against each other, success is hard—above all in the propriety between ruler and ruled and in the bond between sovereign and minister. I lack clear judgment at the helm of the state and look to my ministers for steadfast virtue; I mean to strip away pretense for what is true and wash away decadence for plainness again. Buddhism is not the path my heart follows; though it has become established national practice, it remains at bottom a hollow fashion of a decadent age. Why is this? Those who pursue its teachings have never proved future blessing; those who keep its rites have instead suffered for what is already past. Consider Liang Wudi, who gave his whole heart to the Buddha's teaching, and Emperor Jianwen, who threw himself into the Dharma—emptying the treasury for monks and draining the people to build towers and temples. When the Huai regions churned and the Lingnan hills smoked, they clung to a last breath at Xionger Mountain and dragged their dying souls to Que'gu. Their heirs were wiped out before they could look back; their altars of state became rubble in a moment—what a perverse proof of reward and punishment! Yet Grand Guardian and Duke of Song, Yu, walks again in tracks where carts overturned and takes up the surviving manners of fallen kingdoms. He forsakes his public duty for private ends and cannot tell when to conceal and when to show himself; worldly in his person and doctrinaire on his tongue, he no longer knows what is crooked and what is straight in his own heart. He nurtures disasters piled up through generations yet prays for blessings for himself alone—above, he offends his sovereign; below, he spreads vain display among the people. Earlier I said to Zhang Liang, "You serve the Buddha—why not take the tonsure and leave the world? Yu answered with composed dignity that he wished to enter the religious life first; I agreed at once, then soon withdrew that approval. One moment yes, the next in doubt—all within the blink of an eye; affirming and denying as he pleased, shifting his stance even before the imperial throne. He betrays the bearing owed a pillar of the realm—how can he possess the stature on which all eyes depend? I have restrained myself until today, yet Yu has shown no repentance at all. Let him leave the capital at once and govern a lesser commandery; appoint him Governor of Shangzhou and strip his noble title.
11
His son Rui inherited the line, married Princess Xiangcheng, a daughter of Taizong, and rose through the posts of Minister of Rites and Governor of Fenzhou. The princess was a model of decorum; Taizong often told the other imperial daughters to take whatever she did as their standard. The emperor also ordered officials to build her a separate mansion, but the princess declined: "A wife tends her husband's parents as her own; if we lived apart, I could not attend them morning and evening. After she firmly refused again and again, he relented and had the old house renovated instead. Early in the Yonghui era the princess died, and the court ordered her buried at Zhaoling.
12
Yu's older brother Jing was likewise learned and upright in conduct. During Wude he served as Vice Director of the Secretariat, was promoted to Director of the Imperial Library, and was enfeoffed Duke of Lanling. He died in the Zhenguan period and was posthumously awarded the title Minister of Rites.
13
覿
Yu's nephew Jun was the son of Xun, who had been Sui Governor of Qianzhou and Duke of Liang. He was deeply learned and widely esteemed. During Zhenguan he rose through appointments to Palace Draftsman and won high regard from Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng. In the second year of Yonghui he was promoted to Remonstrating Grand Master and made a concurrent scholar of the Hongwen Academy. At the time Left Martial Guard assistant commissioner Lu Wencao climbed a wall and stole from the Left Treasury; Gaozong reasoned that a man whose duty was to punish crime had himself stolen, and ordered him put to death. Jun remonstrated: "What Wencao did is indeed hard to forgive. Yet I fear that when the realm hears of this they will say Your Majesty holds law cheap, life cheaper still, and lets mood and treasure outweigh justice. My office is called remonstrance; what my foolish heart feels I dare not withhold. The emperor said, "Your charge is remonstrance, and you have fulfilled it with loyal candor. He then specially spared Wencao's life and told the attending ministers, "This is what a true remonstrator looks like. Soon court musicians Song Sitong and others were caught passing messages for palace women; Gaozong ordered them executed, then had the statute amended retroactively; Jun memorialized that their crime predated the law and death was not warranted. A personal edict answered: "I know the ancients prized stopping trouble before it sprouted—can palace discipline be allowed to slip by degrees? Long ago Lady Ru stole the tally and brought down a state—I keep that before me always. I do not mean these men to expose their own guilt in public, and I trust the law I apply is not excessive. Yet I lean toward the palace not to silence counsel but to hear it—I keep my seat askew at the red pillars, hoping for men who would break the balustrade to speak. Now I am glad of your words and specially spare Sitong and the rest from death, sending them instead to distant exile. Jun was soon made Director of Palace Stud for the heir apparent and concurrent scholar of the Chongxian Academy. He died during the Xianqing era. He wrote Rhyme Essentials in twenty scrolls and left collected works in thirty scrolls that circulated in his day.
14
His son Guan rose as senior administrator of Yuzhou. When his mother died, he died from grief's severity. Guan's son Song is treated in a separate biography.
15
使 調
Jun's nephew Sizye went in his youth with the former Sui empress—his grand-aunt—into the Turks. In the ninth year of Zhenguan he returned; his keen knowledge of frontier peoples made him envoy commanding Turk forces. He rose through promotions to Director of the Court for Diplomatic Reception and concurrent chief administrator of the Chanyu Protectorate. During Tiaolu the Turks of the protectorate rebelled; Sizye led troops against them, was defeated, and died in exile in Lingnan.
16
西 西西 西 西 西 使使 西西 祿 貿 使 使西 使 使 使 使 祿 輿
Pei Ju, styled Hongda, was a native of Wenxi in Hedong commandery. His grandfather Tuo was Eastern Jingzhou inspector under the Northern Wei. His father Nezhi served as attendant to the crown prince of Northern Qi. Ju lost his father in infancy and was raised by his uncle Rangzhi. When he came of age he was widely learned and known early; in Qi he served as literary tutor to the Prince of Gaoping. After Qi fell, while still governor-general of Dingzhou the future Emperor Wen summoned him as secretariat recorder and treated him with warm regard. When Wen took the throne he was made an attendant gentleman, served in the Secretariat, and handled memorials as receiving clerk. During the conquest of Chen he served as chief secretariat officer to the commander. After Chen fell, Prince Guang sent Ju with Gao Jiong to gather Chen's archives for the imperial library. He rose to vice minister of civil appointments but was dismissed over a matter. Early in Daye, western peoples came in goodwill to Zhangye to trade with China, and Yangdi sent Ju to oversee the markets. Seeing the emperor bent on distant conquest and bent on absorbing the frontier peoples, Ju investigated western customs, terrain, rulers and clans, products, and dress, compiled an Illustrated Record of the Western Regions in three scrolls, and presented it at court. The emperor was greatly pleased and rewarded him with five hundred bolts of silk. Each day he was summoned to the throne to answer questions on the west. Ju spoke at length of western treasures and of how Tuyuhun might be annexed, and the emperor believed him. Yangdi entrusted him with frontier strategy and made him vice minister of revenue. He was soon promoted to vice director of the Secretariat and admitted to policy deliberations. He was sent to Zhangye to attract western peoples, and more than a dozen states came. In the third year, when the emperor sacrificed at Mount Heng, they all came to join the rites. When the emperor planned a tour of the Hexi corridor he again sent Ju to Dunhuang; Ju's envoys persuaded King Qu Boya of Gaochang and the Yiwu chieftain with rich inducements to come to court. On the western tour the emperor stopped at Yanzhi Mountain; the King of Gaochang, the Yiwu chieftain, and twenty-seven western states came in splendid dress of pearl, jade, and brocade, with incense and music, dancing forward to pay homage along the road. He had the men and women of Wuwei and Zhangye turn out in their finest to watch; for tens of li the roads were packed, and the emperor was delighted. After Tuyuhun was destroyed, frontier peoples sent tribute; one after another they came to court in submission. Though the empire stretched thousands of li further, corvée, garrison, and transport costs ran to tens of thousands yearly and the heartland was thrown into turmoil. The emperor credited Ju with a policy of winning hearts on the frontier and promoted him to Silver-Gleaming Grand Master of Palace Honors. That year, at the Eastern Capital, with many tributaries present Ju urged the emperor to summon exotic entertainments from the four quarters—aquatic pageants, acrobatics, and wrestling in Luoyang to dazzle the frontier envoys, and the displays ran a full month. He also draped the market stalls, set out feasts, and had frontier commissioners host the envoys in trade and hospitality—wherever they went they were pressed to sit, eat, and drink their fill before dispersing. The more discerning among the envoys privately mocked the show. The emperor praised Ju's devotion and told Yuwen Shu and Niu Hong, "Pei Ju understands my mind. Whatever he memorializes is already my settled plan—before I have spoken, Ju has already reported it. Who but a man devoted to the realm could do such a thing? Soon he was sent with General Xue Shixiong to build fortifications at Yiwu and return, and was rewarded with four hundred thousand cash. Ju then proposed a ruse to sow discord with Shekui and induce him to strike Qaghan Chuluo. Later Chuluo, pressed by Shekui, came to court with the envoys; the emperor was pleased and gave Ju a sable cloak and rare objects from the west. He accompanied the emperor on a tour north of the frontier and visited Qimin Qaghan's camp. At the time Goguryeo had sent envoys to the Turks first; Qimin did not conceal it and presented them to the emperor. Ju memorialized: "Goguryeo's territory was once the state of Guzhu; Zhou enfeoffed Jizi there; Han divided it into three commanderies; Jin too held Liaodong. Now it refuses allegiance and stands outside the empire; the former emperor long meant to chastise it, but Yang Liang's rebellion left campaigns unfinished. Under Your Majesty, how can we leave it so that lands once within cap-and-gown still remain barbarian country? Now its envoys have seen Qimin submit at the Turk court; they will fear the reach of imperial power and worry that those who come last will perish first—if we press them to court, they may be brought in. Summon their envoy and order him home with an edict that the king come at once to court. Otherwise lead the Turks against them on the spot. The emperor accepted the advice. Goguryeo disobeyed, and the plan for the Liaodong campaign was set in motion. When the imperial army reached Liaodong he served in his existing rank as commander of the Tiger-Gallant guard. The following year he again accompanied the emperor to Liaodong. Vice Minister of War Husizheng had fled to Goguryeo, and the emperor put Ju in charge of War Ministry affairs as well. For his service in the Liaodong crossings he was promoted to Right Grand Master of Palace Honors. Ju later accompanied the emperor to Jiangdu. When the rebel forces entered the passes and word came of Qu Tuotong's defeat, the emperor asked Ju's counsel. Ju said, "Taiyuan has risen and the heartland is unsettled; to govern from here at a distance is to miss the moment. Only if Your Majesty returns to the north soon can the realm be pacified. Ju saw the empire slipping toward chaos and feared for his own safety; he treated everyone with full courtesy, even low clerks, and won their goodwill. Many of the emperor's elite guards had deserted; Ju told him, "You have been at Jiangdu two years. Men without wives cannot remain content for long. Allow the soldiers to marry here—match those who have courted on their own. The emperor agreed; the army grew steadier, and men said, "It was Lord Pei's doing." By then the emperor was sunk in luxury; Ju offered no remonstrance and only pleased him to remain in favor. When Yuwen Huaji murdered the emperor, he made Ju Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. After Huaji's fall Dou Jiande made him Right Vice Director again and put him in charge of appointments. Jiande had risen from banditry and had no court ritual; Ju devised ceremony and provisional laws until the regime had a full code. Jiande was delighted and constantly sought his advice.
17
After Jiande's defeat Ju came over with the rebel general Cao Dan and Jiande's wife, bringing the eight dynastic seals and offering Shandong; he was created Duke of Anyi. In Wude year five he became Left Companion to the Crown Prince. He was soon made Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince. He and Yu Shinan were commissioned to compile Rites of Auspicious and Inauspicious Correspondence, drawn from precedent and fully consonant with ritual; scholars praised it and it remains in use. In year eight he also served as Acting Palace Attendant. After Crown Prince Jiancheng was killed his partisans still held the palace and meant to fight the Prince of Qin; the prince sent Ju to reason with them and the garrison dispersed. He was soon appointed Minister of the Household. Nearly eighty, he remained keen-minded; his mastery of precedent won deep respect. Early in Taizong's reign he moved against corrupt officials; hearing that many clerks took bribes, he sent men to tempt them with goods. A gate clerk accepted one bolt of silk as a bribe; Taizong was furious and would have executed him. Ju remonstrated: "Taking a bribe deserves severe punishment, but to tempt him and then apply the death penalty is to entrap a man in guilt and hardly accords with guiding the realm by virtue and ritual. Taizong accepted his counsel and told the assembled officials, "Pei Ju can argue me down in open court and will not simply agree to my face. If every minister did so, what fear would we have for good government!" He died in the first year of Zhenguan; posthumously named prefect of Jiangzhou and given the temple name Jing, "Respectful." He authored eleven fascicles of Record of the Founding and Pacification of Chen, which circulated in his day.
18
祿
His son Xuanji rose under Gaozong to Silver-Gleaming Grand Master of Palace Honors and Left Central Guard of the Crown Prince.
19
婿 殿 使 西 涿 西 殿 使 殿祿
Yuwen Shiji was a native of Chang'an in Yong prefecture. He was the son of the Sui Right Guard General Yuwen Shu and younger brother of Yuwen Huaji. At the end of the Kaihuang era he was created Duke of Xincheng on his father's merit. Emperor Wen once received him in his private chamber, took to him, and had him marry Emperor Yang's daughter, the Princess of Nanyang. Under Daye he served as Imperial Carriage Attendant and accompanied the court to Jiangdu. He left office to mourn his father but was soon recalled as Vice Director of the Court for Diplomatic Relations. When Huaji plotted regicide he kept his brother-in-law in the dark out of deep suspicion; after murdering Emperor Yang he made him Director of the Secretariat. In his early years, when Gaozu was Vice Director of Palace Administration, Shiji was an imperial attendant and formed a close bond with him. When he followed Huaji to Liyang, Gaozu sent him a personal summons. Shiji also sent a household servant by secret routes to Chang'an to pledge loyalty and, through an envoy, privately offered a gold ring. Gaozu was delighted and told his ministers, "Shiji and I served together for years. This gold ring means he intends to come over. At Wei county, with their forces failing, Shiji urged a march back to Chang'an; Huaji refused, and Shiji went with Feng Lun to Jibei on the pretext of collecting army grain. Soon Huaji was taken by Dou Jiande; local magnates in Jibei urged Shiji to rally the forces of Qing and Qi, strike north against Jiande, and recover Hebei to test the balance of power. Shiji refused and surrendered with Feng Lun and the rest. Gaozu rebuked him: "You and your brother led men bent on entering the passes to seize power. Had you taken me and my son then, would you have let us live? Where do you mean to stand now? Shiji said, "My crimes deserve death, yet I long served Your Majesty in confidence—once at Zhuo commandery we spoke of affairs in secret at night, and again at Fenyin I poured out my loyalty. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne I have meant to come west; the gifts I sent were to prove my intent and atone. Gaozu laughed and told Pei Ji, "He has discussed the realm with me for six or seven years already—you others came later." His sister was a favored imperial consort; he gradually won favor and was given the rank of Pillar of State. He followed Taizong against Song Jingang and was re-created Duke of Xincheng, married to a princess of Shouguang, and made Swift Cavalry General on the Prince of Qin's staff. He helped defeat Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, was advanced to Duke of E, made Vice Director of the Secretariat, and later Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince. When Taizong succeeded he replaced Feng Lun as Director of the Secretariat with a hereditary income of seven hundred households in Yizhou. Soon he was made acting Commissioner of Liangzhou while retaining his central post. With Turks raiding the frontier, Shiji meant to awe them into submission; he marched with full escorts wherever he went, yet humbled himself before local worthies, and the gentry of Liang admired both his force and his courtesy. Recalled as Director of Palace Administration, he was soon sent out as prefect of Pu on account of illness; his rule was easy and the people were content. A few years later he became Right Guard General and enjoyed extraordinary favor—Taizong would keep him in the privy chamber until the second watch, and even on his bath days would send urgent summons; no colleague could match his standing. Yet he was exceedingly discreet; when his wife asked what affairs the palace called him for at night, he never told her. His merits were soon recognized and one of his sons was separately enfeoffed as Duke of Xincheng. After seven years in office he again became Director of Palace Administration and was given the rank of Grand Master with golden seal. When his illness grew grave Taizong visited him in person, stroked him, and wept. He died in Zhenguan year sixteen, was posthumously named Left Guard General and Commissioner of Liangzhou, and was buried at Zhaoling. He raised his young brother and orphaned nephews and was known for fraternal devotion; he gave freely to poor kin and old friends. Yet he enriched himself lavishly—his dress, food, and ornaments were always of the utmost extravagance. He was first given the posthumous name Gong, "Respectful," but Vice Director Liu Ji objected: "Shiji lived in extravagance at home—Gong is not fitting." The title was finally changed to Zong, "Unrestrained."
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The historiographer writes: Feng Lun had a genius for reading minds and a talent for attaching himself to power. He backed Huaji yet denounced Emperor Yang—sometimes with a flush of shame; he rode Shiji's coattails back to Tang without the least embarrassment. At the crisis over Jiancheng he straddled both sides; he betrayed Xiao Yu's kindness and his memorials were full of dissent. Taizong was a clear-sighted ruler yet did not see through him; Fang Xuanling was a worthy chancellor yet still indulged his flattery. His schemes and disgrace surfaced only after death; but for Tang Lin's impeachment and the debates of Tang Jian and others, the knave would have won out. Xiao Yu was fiercely upright, his Confucian learning lucid. He held office under the Sui, loyal yet punished; he pledged himself to Gaozu and did everything he knew to do. Under Taizong, with Fang and Du in power and no slip forgiven, he still sought the top seat—his words already hinted at divided loyalty; could he cling to a place meant for contenders? His name was changed to add only "narrow-minded"—he was still fortunate in that; he served the Buddha without losing the moral temper of a gentleman—if that is not virtue, what is? Pei Ju was strategic and magnanimous; Shiji adaptable and discreet—each was acclaimed in his day.
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Eulogy: Feng Lun read minds and flattered; Xiao Yu upright and learned in Confucian tradition. Pei Ju—strategic and magnanimous; Shiji—adaptable and discreet.
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