← Back to 舊唐書

卷七十一 列傳第二十一: 魏徵

Volume 71 Biographies 21: Wei Zheng

Chapter 75 of 舊唐書 · Old Book of Tang
← Previous Chapter
Chapter 75
Next Chapter →
1
● Su Shichang; his son Liangsi
2
Wei Yunqi; Sun Fangzhi
3
歿 便 使 使 鹿 鹿忿 使 使 西 滿 殿殿 殿 鹿 使 西 西 便輿
Sun Fuyi; Zhang Xuansu. Su Shichang was from Wugong in Yongzhou. His grandfather Tong had served the Northern Wei as a Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry. His father Zhen had been Governor of Dangzhou under the Northern Zhou and Marquis of Jianwei. While still a boy of about ten under Emperor Wu of Zhou, Shichang submitted a memorial on affairs of state. The emperor thought him very young and summoned him to ask, "What books have you read?" He answered, "The Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects." The emperor asked, "What do those books say?" He replied, "The Classic of Filial Piety says, 'One who governs a state does not dare slight widowers and widows.' The Analects says, 'Govern by virtue.'" The emperor was pleased with his answer and had him study at the Beast-Gate Lodge. When he was ordered to inherit his father's title because his father had died in royal service, Shichang beat his breast and wept before the emperor until the emperor's face softened. After Emperor Wen of Sui took the throne, Shichang again submitted many timely memorials that proved useful, and he was promoted ahead of schedule to Magistrate of Chang'an. During the Daye reign he served as Vice Director of Waterways and was dispatched to the upper Yangtze to supervise shipping. When turmoil broke out at Jiangdu, Shichang mourned Emperor Yang with bitter weeping that moved everyone who passed by. Wang Shichong, having seized power, appointed him Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent and Right Vice Director of the Mobile Secretariat. He garrisoned Xiangyang together with Shichong's nephew Honglie and the general Doulu Bao. Honglie had by then married Bao's daughter, and the two men were closely allied. The Founding Emperor, who had known Bao of old, sent sealed instructions, but Bao refused to submit and repeatedly executed the envoys. In Wude year 4, after Luoyang fell, Shichang was the first to urge Honglie to submit. After they reached the capital, the Founding Emperor executed Bao and blamed Shichang for his late submission. Shichang kowtowed and said, "Since antiquity the winning of empire has been likened to a deer hunt: once one man takes the prize, all the rest must stand down. Surely there is no precedent for punishing one's fellow hunters once the deer is already in hand. Your Majesty has answered Heaven and won the people, spreading virtue far and wide—will you not remember how Guan Zhong and Yong Chi were treated? Moreover, I am from Wugong, a place ravaged by war until nearly all my kin are dead; only I survive to see this enlightened reign. If Your Majesty kills me now, you will wipe out what is left of my house. I beg only that Heaven's grace leave some remnant of my line." The Founding Emperor, who knew him of old, laughed and pardoned him. He was soon appointed Supervisor of the Yushan Garrison. Later he was received at the Xuanwu Gate, where they spoke of his whole life with great warmth. The Founding Emperor asked, "Do you take yourself for a flatterer, or for an honest man?" He answered, "I am simply dull and blunt, Your Majesty." The emperor said, "If you are so upright, why did you abandon Shichong and come to me?" He replied, "Only after Luoyang fell and the realm was united—when I had exhausted every stratagem and every resource—did I submit to Your Majesty. Had Shichong still lived while I held the Han River southlands, Heaven's favor might still have inclined to you, but on the ground I would have remained a formidable enemy." The emperor laughed aloud. On another occasion the emperor teased him: "Long in name but short in purpose; honest in speech but crooked at heart—you left your loyalty in Zheng and forgot your obligations to us." Shichang replied, "Long in name but short in purpose—that much is exactly as Your Majesty says; but as for honest in speech yet crooked at heart, I dare not accept that part of the edict. In former times Dou Rong surrendered the Hexi region to Han and his house was enfeoffed as marquises for ten generations; yet I, returning from the lands south of the mountains, have received only a garrison supervisor's post." That very day he was promoted to Remonstrating Grand Master. He accompanied the emperor on a hunt at Jingyang, where a great catch of game was driven before the banner gate. The Founding Emperor entered camp and asked the ministers, "Was today's hunt a pleasure?" Shichang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty has set aside the myriad affairs of state for this hunt, and it has not yet lasted even a hundred days—hardly a great pleasure." The emperor's face darkened, then he laughed. "Are you in one of your wild moods again?" Shichang said, "By my private reckoning it may be wild; by the reckoning of Your Majesty's realm it is loyal." When the Turks raided, Wugong and its counties lost many households. Later an edict announced that the emperor would visit Wugong on a hunting excursion. Shichang remonstrated again: "The Turks have only just arrived and are ravaging the people. Your Majesty has not yet spoken a word of relief, yet you would hunt in that very region. This falls short not only of humane governance but of what the people can endure in supplies and labor." The emperor did not heed him. On another occasion he was summoned to the Puxiang Hall. Shichang, well into his cups, asked, "Was this hall built by Emperor Yang of Sui? Why is it carved and adorned to such a degree?" The emperor said, "Your remonstrances sound sincere, but your heart is deceitful. Do you not know that I built this hall myself? Why feign ignorance and speak of Emperor Yang?" He answered, "I truly did not know, Your Majesty. I see only tiles worthy of the Tilted Palace and the Deer Terrace—hardly the work of a Mandate-bearing ruler who loves his people and practices frugality. If Your Majesty built this, it is truly not fitting. When I was at Wugong I often attended you and saw your dwelling, barely large enough to keep out wind and frost; even then I thought it ample. The people, crushed under Sui's extravagance, turned again and again to a righteous ruler, and Your Majesty won the throne. I took it that you would punish Sui's excess and never forget thrift. Yet you have only just won the realm and already add ornament within the Sui palaces. How can disorder be dispelled that way?" The emperor was deeply persuaded. He later served as Chief Administrator of Shaanzhou and as Libationer for Military Counsel at the Heavenly Stratagem Princedom. When the Qin Princedom first opened its Literary Academy, he was appointed an academician. He and Fang Xuanling and seventeen others were all painted for the academy portrait gallery, and the literary attendant Chu Liang was commissioned to write their encomia. Of Shichang he wrote: "In military counsel, witty and apt; in debate, transcendent and clear. Upright of bearing in court—for he would not spare himself." Early in the Zhenguan reign he was sent on a mission to the Turks, where he disputed ceremonial precedence with Jieli and refused all bribes and gifts, winning praise at court. He was sent out as Governor of Ba Prefecture, where he capsized a boat, drowned, and died. Shichang was quick-witted and learned, widely read yet plain in manner, fond of wine, and careless of decorum. Early in his tenure at Shaanzhou, lawbreaking was widespread and he could not suppress it. He took the blame on himself and publicly flogged himself in the main street of the prefectural capital. The ward officers, seeing through the performance, flogged him until he bled. Unable to endure the pain, he cried out and fled, to the amusement of the crowd; critics then pronounced the whole affair a sham. His son Liangsi. Under Emperor Gaozong, Liangsi was appointed Chief Commandant of the Zhou King's household. The prince was still young and often acted improperly; Liangsi remonstrated with stern countenance and was both respected and feared. Many of the prince's staff were unfit for their posts, but Liangsi enforced the regulations so strictly that none dared transgress, and Emperor Gaozong spoke highly of him. He was transferred to Chief Administrator of the Jingzhou Superior Area Command. Emperor Gaozong sent eunuchs along the Yangtze to collect exotic bamboo for planting in the imperial park. They requisitioned boats to carry the bamboo and abused their authority wherever they went. On their return they passed through Jingzhou, where Liangsi imprisoned them and submitted a stern memorial: "To scour distant regions for curios and exhaust the highways is not the way of a sage who restrains himself and loves the people. Moreover, petty men are usurping authority, to the detriment of Your Majesty's radiance." His language was blunt and unsparing. When the memorial arrived, Emperor Gaozong issued an edict of praise and immediately ordered the bamboo thrown into the river. During the Yongchun era he served as Chief Administrator of Yongzhou. At that time Guanzhong was in severe famine; people resorted to cannibalism and bandits roamed everywhere. Liangsi governed with strict clarity; no theft reported went uncaptured within three days. When Empress Wu assumed the regency, he was promoted to Minister of Works. He soon replaced Wang Dezhen as Chief Counselor and was enfeoffed as Duke of Wenguo. As Intendant of the Western Capital he was sent off with a poem composed by Empress Wu herself, so generous was her regard for him. At that time Pei Feigong, Director of the Palace Workshops, was supervising the Western Park and planned to sell its produce for profit. Liangsi objected: "When Gongyi served as chancellor of Lu, he uprooted his mallow patch and dismissed his weaving women. I have never heard of a Son of Heaven selling garden produce to compete for profit with his subjects." Feigong abandoned the plan. Before long he was recalled to the capital and appointed Left Chancellor of the Literary Glory Office, Third Rank, with concurrent status at the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace. In spring of the first Zai'chu year he was relieved as Left Chancellor but advanced to Special Advancement, retaining his role in state affairs. He was on poor terms with Wei Fangzhi, Minister of the Earth Office. When Fangzhi was condemned to death for an offense and implicated Liangsi in his testimony, Empress Wu personally cleared him. Liangsi kowtowed in gratitude but could not rise again and was carried home. The court physicians Zhang Wenchong and Wei Cizang were sent to attend him. He died that same day, at the age of eighty-five. Empress Wu suspended court for three days and led mourning at the Gate for Observing the Winds, ordering all officials to attend the funeral at his home. He was posthumously honored as Grand Master of the Palace with Golden Seal, made Area Commander of Yizhou, and granted eight hundred bolts of silk and eight hundred piculs of grain, together with an imperial letter of condolence. His son Jianyan, Vice Director of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, was soon framed by a cruel official, exiled to Lingnan, and died there. Liangsi's titles were posthumously revoked and his property was confiscated. In the first year of Jinglong, Liangsi was posthumously honored as Minister of Works.
4
綿 便 婿 便 使 使使 退宿 使 便 便 西
Jianyan's son Wuxuan inherited the title Duke of Wenguo and, during the Kaiyuan reign, served as Chief Administrator of the Bin King's household. Wei Yunqi was from Wannian in Yongzhou. His uncle Cheng, early in the Wude reign, served as Libationer of the Imperial University and Governor of Mianzhou. Yunqi passed the Mingjing examination in the Kaihuang era of Sui and was appointed Direct Attendant of Seals and Credentials. Once, while presenting a memorial, Emperor Wen asked him, "If anything in the realm is amiss, you may speak of it." Liu Shu, Vice Minister of War, stood at the emperor's side. Yunqi spoke up at once: "Liu Shu is arrogant and inexperienced. Military affairs are too weighty for him; he holds a crucial post only because he married the emperor's daughter. I fear the court will say that Your Majesty appoints men without regard to merit, lavishing Heaven's ranks on private favorites—that would be a grave evil indeed." The emperor strongly approved and told Liu Shu, "Yunqi's words are medicine and whetstone to you; treat him as teacher and friend." Early in the Renshou reign, when the court was ordered to recommend talent, Liu Shu recommended Yunqi, who was promoted to Master of Communications. Early in the Daye reign he was made Visitor of Communications. He submitted another memorial: "The court is full of men from east of the mountains who have formed factions, promoting one another and deceiving their superiors—an organized clique. Unless this is checked at the root, it will overturn the government. That is why I cannot remain silent, though it pains me to speak. I respectfully append the names of the clique members and their offenses below." Emperor Yang ordered the Court of Review to investigate. Left Assistant Minister Lang Weizhi and Metropolitan Vice Censor Lang Chuzhi were convicted of clique membership and exiled to Mantou on the Chishui; nine others were dismissed. When the Khitan raided Yingzhou, Yunqi was ordered to lead Turkic troops against the Khitan tribes. Qimin Khan supplied twenty thousand horsemen under Yunqi's command. Yunqi divided the force into twenty camps advancing in four columns, each camp one li apart, with strict orders against mingling. They marched at the drum and halted at the horn; except on official business, no one might gallop. After repeated warnings, the drums sounded and the army moved out. When a man violated the rules, Yunqi beheaded one Göktürk and displayed the head as an example. The Turkic commanders came to pay their respects on their knees, trembling, none daring to look up. The Khitan had long been subject to the Turks and were unsuspecting. Once inside their territory, Yunqi had the Turks pretend they were bound for Liucheng to trade with Goguryeo and forbade mention of a Sui envoy in camp on pain of death. The Khitan were caught unprepared. A hundred li from the enemy camp he feigned a crossing to the south, then withdrew by night; fifty li away he formed ranks and encamped, all unknown to the Khitan. At dawn all attacked by cavalry and captured forty thousand Khitan men and women. Women and livestock were half given to the Turks; the rest were sent to court, and all the men were killed. Emperor Yang was delighted and told the officials, "Yunqi used the Turks to crush the Khitan. His tactics are brilliant, his talent spans civil and military affairs, and in court he speaks without fear. I promote him myself." He was promoted to Imperial Censor for Documents. Yunqi then impeached him: "Vice Director of the Secretariat Yu Shiji holds crucial responsibilities, and Censor-in-Chief Pei Yun, who enjoyed extraordinary favor and controlled affairs within and without the palace. Rebellions are reported from every quarter, yet they do not inform the throne; rebel numbers are in fact large, yet they report them as small. Because Your Majesty hears that rebels are few, too few troops are sent; the odds are hopeless, government armies fail, and rebel bands grow daily. Unless this is punished, the harm will be great. I ask that they be handed to the proper offices to answer for their crimes." Chief Minister of Justice Zheng Shanguo replied, "Yunqi slanders eminent ministers with false charges; this is not loyal remonstrance but presumptuous abuse of authority." Yunqi was demoted to Direct Clerk of the Court of Review. When Emperor Yang went to Yangzhou, Yunqi took leave to return to Chang'an. The rebel armies were entering the Pass, and he had an audience at Changle Palace. In the first year of Yining he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and enfeoffed as Duke of Yangcheng. In the first year of Wude he was further granted Superlative Opening of the Office with Golden Seal and made concurrent supervisor of the Directorate of Agricultural Parks. That year, as a great campaign against Wang Shichong was planned, Yunqi remonstrated: "The realm has just emerged from chaos. The people are displaced and unrested; harvests have failed for years, and hunger grips the interior. The capital has only just been pacified and hearts are not yet won; petty thieves and bandits still threaten the realm. At Zhouzhi and Sizhu, rebel remnants are not yet destroyed; and at Lantian and Gukou bandits are truly numerous. They watch every moment for an opening and are a grave danger to the state. Even within the capital, robberies occur every night. In the north, Shidu is allied with barbarian raiders—that is the gravest threat to the realm. To ignore this and aim troops at Hangu and Luoyang—once the army marches out, internal bandits will seize their chance. Any upheaval then would bring no small disaster. Wang Shichong lies a thousand li away, cut off by mountains and rivers, and cannot harm us. Wait until strength is to spare, then attack him. Internal troubles are not yet settled; for now Your Majesty should be magnanimous beyond the usual bounds. In my humble view, sheath the sword for now, devote effort to farming, and settle the people. Petty bandits within the Pass will quiet down of themselves. The soldiers of Qinchuan still have courage to spare; in three years one stroke will settle everything. Though speed is desired now, I fear the time is not yet ripe." The emperor accepted his advice. When the Turks invaded, Yunqi was ordered to command the troops of the nine northern prefectures from Bin and Ning northward, with discretionary authority. In year 4 he was appointed Governor of Xilin Prefecture while retaining his post as Minister of Agriculture. He soon replaced Prince Xiaogong of Zhao as Governor of Kuizhou, then became Area Commander of Suizhou, where he won over the Yi and Liao peoples and gained their loyalty. He was transferred to Minister of the People Department of the Yizhou Mobile Secretariat, then to Minister of the Military Department. Vice Director Dou Gui often carried out killings and falsely reported Liao rebellions in hopes of gathering troops. Thus emboldened, Dou indulged his brutality, while Yunqi often refused to go along. Yunqi also pursued private profit by trading with the Liao. Dou denounced this publicly, and from that their mutual suspicion grew into open enmity. When the Hidden Crown Prince died, an urgent dispatch was sent to Dou Gui in Yizhou. Dou suspected Yunqi's brother Qingjian, his cousin Qingsi, and other kinsmen who had served the Eastern Palace, fearing they might rise on hearing the news. He made preparations first, then announced it. Yunqi refused to believe him and asked, "Where is the edict?" Dou said, "You are a partisan of Jiancheng. Your refusal to obey the edict proves you mean to rebel." He had Yunqi seized and killed. In his youth Yunqi studied under Imperial University Erudite Wang Po, who often discussed current affairs with him and admired him greatly. Wang told him, "With understanding such as yours, Wei, you will surely win wealth and rank for yourself; but your rigid hatred of evil will in the end destroy you." Events proved Wang Po right. His son Shishi, early in the Chuigong reign, rose to Governor of Huazhou and Junior Household Administrator of the Heir Apparent and was enfeoffed as Duke of Fuyang.
5
使
Shishi's son Fangzhi, early in Empress Wu's reign, served as Vice Director of the Phoenix Terrace, Minister of the Earth Office, and Grand Counselor of the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace. When the Chuigong Statutes and Formats were revised, Fangzhi made many improvements and won wide praise. Before long Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi dominated the court, and the chief counselors all courted them. While Fangzhi was on sick leave, Chengsi and the others called at his home. Fangzhi remained seated on his bed and offered them no courtesy. His attendants warned, "To sit informally before such powerful men may bring disaster." Fangzhi said, "Fortune and misfortune are a matter of fate. A true man does not bend his back to court imperial relatives merely to save his skin." Soon he was framed by the cruel officials Zhou Xing and Lai Zixun, exiled to Danzhou, and his property confiscated. He died soon after. Early in the Shenlong reign his name was cleared. Sun Fuyi was from Wucheng in Beizhou. Late in the Daye reign he rose from clerk of the Court of Review to Legal Officer of Wannian County. In the first year of Wude he submitted his first remonstrance on three matters. The first said: I have heard that if the Son of Heaven has remonstrating ministers, then even if he lacks the Way, he will not lose his realm; if a father has a remonstrating son, then even if he lacks the Way, he will not fall into unrighteousness. Thus it is said that a son must remonstrate with his father, and a minister must remonstrate with his ruler. By this reasoning, a minister serving his ruler is like a son serving his father. Why did the last ruler of Sui lose the realm? Simply because he did not hear of his faults. It was not that there were no men of frank speech at the time; rather, the ruler would not accept remonstrance, considered his virtue greater than that of Tang Yao and his achievements greater than those of Xia Yu, and exhausted extravagance and extreme desires to indulge his own heart. The men of the realm smeared liver and brains upon the ground, households and population dwindled, and bandits increased day by day, yet he never perceived it, all because the court ministers dared not tell him. Had he cultivated the model of the stern father, opened the road to frank speech, selected the worthy and employed the able, and made rewards and punishments hit the mark, with everyone content in his work, who could have shaken him? The former dynasty loved alteration and did not take ancient teachings as its model simply because Heaven drew out its faults, intending thereby to open the way for the present sage Tang. When Your Majesty rose like a dragon at Jinyang, the realm responded, and before a plan had time to turn on its heel, the great throne was exalted. Your Majesty must not, because Tang gained the realm easily, fail to understand that Sui lost it without difficulty. Your Majesty is honored as Son of Heaven and possesses the wealth of all under Heaven; when you act, the left historian records it, and when you speak, the right historian records it. Since you are bound by bamboo and silk, how can you indulge your feelings and be careless? Whenever there are hunts, they must accord with the four seasons; since you act in place of Heaven in ordering things, how can you recklessly move at the wrong time? Your Majesty ascended like a dragon on the twentieth day, and on the twenty-first someone presented a young sparrowhawk. This is a corrupt custom of the former court and the business of youths; why should it suddenly be practiced today? I have also heard that Lu Mouzi, Administrative Aide to the Chancellor, presented a pipa, and Zhang Andao, Assistant Magistrate of Chang'an County, presented bows and arrows, and both were repeatedly rewarded and commended. But "beneath all Heaven, there is no land that is not the king's; to the shores within the lands, there are none who are not the king's subjects." If Your Majesty truly desires something, what could you seek and not obtain? Are these things what Your Majesty lacks? May Your Majesty examine your subject's foolish loyalty; then the realm will be most fortunate.
6
The second said: The hundred entertainments and miscellaneous music are fundamentally not correct sounds. At the end of Sui, they were greatly honored and used. This is what is called licentious custom, and it must be changed. Recently, the offices of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices borrowed more than five hundred women's skirts and jackets from among the people to serve as the costumes of miscellaneous entertainers, saying they were planned for amusements at Xuanwu Gate on the fifth day of the fifth month. Your subject has privately considered this carefully: it truly damages the imperial plan and is not a strategy to leave to descendants or a model for later generations. Thus the Documents says, "Do not take a small resentment as harmless and fail to remove it." This is because there is fear that it will grow from small to great. The Analects says, "Banish the sounds of Zheng and keep glib men far away." It also says, "For music, the Shao dances." By this reasoning, miscellaneous entertainers are certainly not the music of completed achievement. In your subject's foolish view, I request that they all be abolished. Then the realm will be fortunate beyond measure.
7
使
The third said: I have heard that natures are close to one another, but habits make them far apart, because people are dyed by what they delight in. Thus the Documents says, "If one shares the Way with order, none will fail to flourish; if one shares affairs with disorder, none will fail to perish." By this reasoning, flourishing and disorder lie in this. The attendants and staff around the Crown Prince and the various princes must be selected carefully before being appointed. In your subject's foolish view, any men without righteousness, men who have long been disreputable, whose households cannot be harmonious, and men who love luxury, galloping hunts, driving, archery, idle roaming, horses, sounds, colors, songs, and dances, must not be allowed to become intimate or close to them. Such men can only please the ears and eyes and provide service in running about; as for picking up omissions and repairing deficiencies, they definitely cannot do it. Your subject has examined antiquity and looked down to recent times: whenever sons and grandsons became unfilial and brothers were estranged, there was none of it that was not caused by attendants around them throwing things into disorder. May Your Majesty carefully select worthy and talented men to serve as the Crown Prince's staff and companions. In this way, you will be able to exalt the rock-like foundation and forever secure the defending walls.
8
使 使 便 使
The Founding Emperor read it with great pleasure and issued an edict: "Qin perished because it would not hear its faults—is there no warning in the classics? Its ministers flattered and fawned, so the ruler never perceived his errors. Emperor Gaozu of Han restored order and followed remonstrance as freely as flowing water. From Wen and Jing through Xuan and Yuan—without this Way, who could have exalted the Han fortune? At the fall of Zhou and Sui, loyal ministers fell silent, and a single unheeded word lost the realm—a warning deep enough for any age. Whenever I reflect on this, I sigh deeply. I know how meager my talents are, yet I have reverently received the Mandate. Though I cannot align my nature with Heaven's Way, I strive with all my strength and constantly seek loyal counsel to correct my failings. Yet my ministers rarely speak blunt truth, though I wish to show an open and receptive heart—a wish the world has not understood. Sun Fuyi, Legal Officer of Wannian County, has spoken with utter sincerity and earnestness, setting forth right and wrong without evasion. Without an extraordinary reward, how can the benefit of loyal conduct be shown to the realm! Fuyi, being honest and blunt, belongs in the censorate; appoint him Attending Imperial Censor for Documents. Let this edict be promulgated far and wide, so all may know my intent." He was also granted three hundred bolts of silk. At that time military affairs were pressing and levies heavy. Fuyi repeatedly memorialized for reform, and the Founding Emperor accepted his proposals. In year 2 the Founding Emperor told Pei Ji, "At the end of Sui there was no moral governance. Court and emperor deceived one another—the ruler grew arrogant, and his ministers offered only flattery. The ruler would not hear his faults, and his ministers would not speak loyal truth, until the realm collapsed and the emperor died at the hands of commoners. I have swept away disorder and restored order, aiming to settle the people. I entrust pacification to military men and governance to civil officials, so each may use his talents to correct my failings. I have received them with an open heart, hoping to hear blunt loyal counsel. Yet only Li Gang has shown full loyal sincerity, and Sun Fuyi may be called honest and upright. The rest still follow the old corrupt ways, bowing their heads and nothing more—is this what I hoped for?" After Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande were defeated, a general amnesty was proclaimed; afterward their partisans were punished and ordered into exile. Fuyi submitted a memorial of remonstrance: I have heard that royal words are not spoken in jest; this has been a maxim from antiquity. To give up food and preserve trust is something heard in the old canons. Thus the Documents says, "Let you have nothing untrustworthy; I will not eat my words." The Analects also says that once a word leaves the mouth, a team of four horses cannot overtake the tongue. Judged by this, one cannot be careless when words leave the mouth. I humbly think that Your Majesty shines over the realm, shelters and nurtures the living masses, and to the shores within the lands, who is not your servant? Once an imperial command is issued, it must secure trust in every quarter, so that those who hear it do not doubt and those who see it are not confused. On the second day of this month Your Majesty issued a cloud-and-rain-like decree, its light covering the black-haired people, with nothing separating them from it; public and private alike received its benefit. Since it said that even those not exempted by regular amnesties were all pardoned and released, this was not merely pardoning those who had crimes; it was also making a decisive settlement with the realm and permitting them to renew themselves. By this reasoning, anyone after the amnesty should simply have no further matter against him. For what reason, then, are Wang Shichong's and Jiande's subordinates to be moved away after the amnesty? This is Your Majesty personally going against your original intent. What standard do you wish to have those below take from it? If one wishes to investigate carefully, among those inside a rebel city, who would be without guilt? Thus the Documents says, "Destroy their chief ringleaders; do not punish those coerced into following." If one speaks of ringleaders, Shichong and the others were the leaders. Since the ringleaders have still been spared, what crime do the coerced followers have? Moreover, the ancients said, "Zhi's dog barked at Yao, probably because he was not its master." Among those in the Eastern Capital and among Jiande's subordinates, there were even some who had long-standing minor old ties with Your Majesty, companions from youth, and yet there were still people who came only after defeat. Did these men forget Your Majesty? They all say it was because they were blocked off. By this reasoning, as for those who were distant outsiders, I privately think they are without guilt. The Documents also says, "It is not knowing it that is difficult; only putting it into practice is difficult." Since high antiquity, what age has lacked rulers? Why, then, are only Yao and Shun praised for goodness? Simply because being Son of Heaven is truly difficult, and a good name is hard to obtain. Formerly, when the realm was not yet pacified, authority and power had to be exercised in response to circumstances. Now that the four quarters are settled, laws must be established and shared with the people. As for laws, Your Majesty makes them yourself, and you must also keep them, so that the common people of the realm trust and fear them. If you yourself now act without trustworthiness, how do you wish to make the multitude trust and fear? Thus the Documents says, "Without partiality, without faction, the royal Way is broad and open; without faction, without partiality, the royal Way is level and even." The operation of rewards and punishments reaches the noble and the lowly alike; when sages make laws, there is no restriction by closeness or distance. In your subject's foolish view, as for the false officials under Shichong and Jiande, after the amnesty they should be exempted from inquiry into their circumstances. I request that all those slated for relocation and exile be released; then the realm will be most fortunate.
9
He also memorialized for the establishment of remonstrating officials, and the Founding Emperor accepted every proposal.
10
使 使 殿 殿 西 殿 便
When Emperor Taizong took the throne, Fuyi was granted the title Baron of Le'an. In the first year of Zhenguan he was made Vice Minister of the Court of Review. When Emperor Taizong once shot from horseback, Fuyi remonstrated in writing: "I have heard that the son of a man worth a thousand gold pieces does not sit with his feet over the edge of the hall; and the son of a man worth a hundred gold pieces does not stand leaning on a gate bar. From this it is clear that the ruler of all under Heaven must not court danger. I have also heard that where the Son of Heaven dwells, guards stand ninefold deep; and when he moves, guards go before and road-clearers follow after. This is not merely to exalt his dwelling, but the great plan for the realm and its people. As the ancients said, 'When one man prospers, the myriad people benefit.' Yet I hear that Your Majesty still gallops and shoots at targets to amuse favored courtiers. This is to ride peril without restraint, and I beg Your Majesty not to do it. Why? First, it brings no glory to the historical record; second, it displays no true excellence; third, it does not nurture Your Majesty's sacred person; and fourth, it cannot serve as a model for posterity. This is the pastime of young princes—how can the Son of Heaven still practice it today? Though Your Majesty may wish to take risks upon himself, what of the realm and the altars of state! In my humble view, it simply cannot be done." Emperor Taizong read it with great pleasure. In year 5 he was dismissed for an error in a memorial on prisoners. He was soon reappointed Director of the Bureau of Punishments, then promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of Review and Vice Minister of the People Department. In year 14 he was appointed Chief Minister of the Court of Review, and later served as Governor of Shaanzhou. In Yonghui year 5 he retired on account of age. He died in Xianqing year 3. Zhang Xuansu was from Yuxiang in Puzhou. Late in the Sui he served as Revenue Clerk of Jingcheng County. When Dou Jiande captured Jingcheng, Xuansu was seized for execution. More than a thousand townspeople wept and begged to die in his place, saying, "This man is so upright and careful that to kill him would be to deny Heaven itself. Great King, you are about to settle the realm and should honor such men to win the four quarters. How can you kill him and make the good lose heart?" Jiande at once ordered him released and offered him the post of Attending Imperial Censor for Documents, but Xuansu firmly declined. When Jiangdu fell, he was summoned as Vice Director of the Yellow Gate and accepted the appointment. After Jiande was defeated, he was appointed Recording Advisor at the Jingcheng Area Command. Emperor Taizong had heard of him, and on taking the throne summoned him and asked his views on governance. He answered, "In all history I have seen nothing like the ruin of the Sui. Was it not because its ruler monopolized power while its laws fell daily into chaos? Had the ruler been receptive above and his ministers loyal and remonstrant below, how could it have come to this? Moreover, bearing the weight of empire, he still wished to decide every affair himself. If he judged ten matters a day and five were wrong, the five right ones might be good—but what of the five wrong ones? And when ten thousand affairs press upon a single day, how many more errors accumulate! Day after day, month after month, year after year—with so many mistakes, how could the dynasty not perish? Had he broadly entrusted the worthy, dwelt aloft and looked deep, and let the hundred offices fulfill their duties—who would have dared offend? I further observe that at the end of Sui turmoil spread through the realm, yet those contending for empire were no more than a dozen men. The rest guarded their towns and longed to return to righteous rule. Thus few people truly wished to rebel; it was only that their rulers could not settle them, and so disorder followed. If Your Majesty keeps recent ruin in view and grows daily more cautious, what could surpass the way of Yao and Shun!" The emperor approved his answer, promoted him to Attending Censor, and soon made him Palace Attendant. In Zhenguan year 4 an edict mobilized laborers to repair the Qianyang Hall of the Luoyang Palace for imperial tours. Xuansu remonstrated in writing: Your lowly subject privately considers that when the First Emperor of Qin was ruler, he relied on the remnants of the Zhou house and the flourishing strength of the six states and intended to hand them down for ten thousand generations; yet by the time of his son it had perished, truly because he gave free rein to cravings and rushing desires, opposed Heaven, and harmed the people. From this one knows that the realm cannot be overcome by force, and the spirits cannot be relied on through intimacy. One should only expand frugality, lighten taxes and levies, and be as careful at the end as at the beginning; then it can be secured forever. Now, inheriting after a hundred kings and meeting the aftermath of exhaustion and ruin, if one truly wishes to regulate things by ritual institutions, Your Majesty should make your own person the first example. There is not yet a date for visiting the Eastern Capital, so what need is there to repair it? The various princes are now all going out to their fiefs and also need construction; projects and levies are gradually multiplying. How could this be what weary people hope for? This is the first reason it must not be done. When Your Majesty first pacified the Eastern Capital, you ordered storied towers and broad halls all to be dismantled and destroyed, and the realm united as one, rejoicing and looking up to you with one heart. How can it be that at first you hated their extravagance, but now you repeat their carved splendor? This is the second reason it must not be done. Whenever I have received the imperial word, there was not to be an immediate tour. This is therefore a task that is not urgent and becomes labor spent in vain. The state lacks reserves for multiple years; what use is the finery of two capitals? If labor service is excessive, resentment and slander will arise. This is the third reason it must not be done. The common people have come after disorder and separation, and their resources and strength are exhausted. Through Heaven-like grace sheltering and nurturing them, they have only roughly survived and stood again; hunger and cold are still urgent, and their livelihoods are not yet secure. I fear they will not recover within three or five years. How can one build up a capital not yet to be visited and seize the strength of weary people? This is the fourth reason it must not be done. Formerly, when Emperor Gaozu of Han was about to make Luoyang his capital, one word from Lou Jing made him drive west that very day. Was it that he did not know the place lay in the center of the land and had equal tribute and taxes? It was simply because its strategic terrain was not as good as within the passes. I humbly think that Your Majesty has been transforming exhausted people and reforming thin and frivolous customs for only a short time, and they are not yet very pure and harmonious. Weighing what is proper in the matter, how can you travel east? This is the fifth reason it must not be done. Your subject has also seen the Sui house build halls: the pillars and beams were grand and massive, and large timbers were not available nearby, so most were cut and brought from Yuzhang. Two thousand men dragged one pillar; hubs were placed beneath it, all made of cast iron, for if wooden wheels were used, fire would immediately break out. Once iron hubs had been made, after going one or two li they would break, and so several hundred men separately carried iron hubs along with them; in an entire day they advanced no more than twenty or thirty li. Roughly reckoning one pillar, it already used several hundred thousand units of labor, and the other expenses exceeded even this. I have heard that when Epang Palace was completed, the people of Qin scattered; when Zhanghua Terrace was finished, the masses of Chu separated; and when Qianyang Hall was completed, the people of Sui dissolved. Moreover, comparing Your Majesty's present labor resources with those of Sui's day, how do they stand? To conscript wounded and scarred people and repeat the abuses of perished Sui: judging by this, I fear it is worse than Emperor Yang. I deeply hope Your Majesty will think on this and not become something You Yu would laugh at; then the realm will be most fortunate.
11
殿 殿 便
Emperor Taizong said, "You think me no better than Emperor Yang—how then do I compare with Jie and Zhou of old?" He answered, "If this hall is suddenly built, we shall share the same end in disorder. When Your Majesty first pacified the Eastern Capital, the Retired Emperor ordered the great halls and high gates burned. Your Majesty said the tiles and timber could still be used and should be given to the poor instead. Though the order was not carried out, all under Heaven sang of your supreme virtue. To follow the old ways now would be to revive the forced labor of Sui. Within five or six years your course has changed so sharply—how can this be shown to posterity or spread your light to the four seas?" Emperor Taizong sighed. "I did not think it through, and came to this." He turned to Fang Xuanling and said, "Luoyang lies at the center of the realm and the tribute routes are even. I meant this repair to benefit the people. Xuansu's memorial can be followed. When the time comes we may build again—even an open-air seat would suffice. Stop all the labor at once. For the lowly to remonstrate with the exalted has never been easy. Without such loyalty and bluntness, who could do as he has done? Grant him two hundred bolts of colored silk." Attendant-in-Chief Wei Zheng sighed and said, "Master Zhang's words have the power to turn Heaven itself around. These are the words of a benevolent man, and their benefit is vast!" He was promoted to Junior Household Administrator of the Heir Apparent, then to Right Vice President of the Heir Apparent's household.
12
殿 使 殿 宿 殿 祿 便 使 使 使 使 殿 使退 殿
While Chengqian dwelt in the Eastern Palace he largely abandoned study for hunting and pleasure. Xuansu remonstrated in writing: "I have heard that High Heaven has no favorites and assists only virtue. Whoever violates Heaven's Way is abandoned by men and spirits alike. The ancient rite of three drives was not meant to teach killing but to remove harm from the people. When Tang left one side of the net open, the realm turned to humaneness. Hunting for pleasure in the park, though called a refined sport, practiced without restraint will in the end diminish your dignity. Fu Yue said, ‘Learning without taking antiquity as teacher is something I have never heard of.’ Thus to enlarge the Way one must study antiquity, and to study antiquity one must rely on teachers. You have already been graced with Kong Yingda as lecturer. I beg you to inquire after him frequently, that he may supply what is lacking. Send also other scholars of renown and integrity to attend you morning and evening. Read the teachings of the sages, examine deeds of the past, daily learn what you lack, and monthly forget not what you have mastered. This is true perfection—what are Xia Qi and Zhou Song beside it! Those who stand above others always wish to do right, but when feeling overcomes nature, indulgence becomes disorder. When indulgence grows extreme, loyal words are shut out, subordinates merely comply, and the ruler's Way daily declines. The ancients said, 'Do not leave a small evil undone because it is small, nor neglect a small good because it is small.' Thus fortune and calamity alike arise from gradual change. Your Highness stands in the position of heir—you must broadly plant fine counsel. If you indulge in hunting, how can you preside over the ancestral sacrifices? To be careful at the end as at the beginning still leaves fear of gradual decline. If you are careless at the start, how can the end be secure!" He soon also served concurrently as Junior Household Administrator of the Heir Apparent. In year 13 he remonstrated again in writing: "I have heard that the Duke of Zhou, though a great sage, still grasped his disheveled hair and spat out his food to receive men from humble roofs. How much more must later sages honor this Way! Therefore ritual required the heir apparent to enter school and perform the cap ceremony, that he might learn the Way of ruler and minister, father and son, elder and younger. The duties of ruler and minister, the bonds of father and son, the order of rank, the propriety of age—applied within the heart and extended to the four seas—are heard afar through conduct and spread through words. Your Highness's native brilliance is already lofty, yet you still need literary study to adorn it outwardly. Men such as Kong Yingda and Zhao Hongzhi are not only eminent scholars but understand the essentials of governance. I beg that they lecture you frequently, expounding principle, surveying antiquity to instruct the present, and adding luster to your brilliance. Men skilled only in decorative trifles may be summoned occasionally to replace games at chess—that is all. But riding, shooting, hunting, drunken song, and idle play please only the senses and in the end defile the spirit. Long indulgence will surely alter your nature. The ancients said, 'The heart is master of all affairs; movement without restraint is disorder.' I fear the source of Your Highness's moral failure lies here." Chenghan would accept none of it. Knowing how often Xuansu had remonstrated in the Eastern Palace, Emperor Taizong in year 14 promoted him to Silver Blue-Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and acting Left Vice President of the Heir Apparent's household. Chenghan had long ceased to attend court. Xuansu remonstrated: "Within the palace there are only women. How many among them are like Lady Fan Ji, who could enlarge your virtue? If there are no wise women, you draw close to favorites and keep the loyal at a distance. If others do not see your virtue, how can you spread the three excellences of the heir apparent? Moreover, the heir apparent's charge is weighty for the state. That is why many officials are appointed to assist your brilliance. Yet for months on end you do not see your palace officials. Admonition grows sparse—how will your failings be corrected?" Chenghan resented his repeated remonstrances and sent a household slave to beat him at night with a horse whip, nearly killing him. Chenghan once beat drums in the palace until the sound carried outside. Xuansu knocked at the gate and remonstrated bluntly. Chenghan brought out the drums and smashed them before Xuansu. That year Emperor Taizong asked Xuansu in court about his career origins. Xuansu, who had begun as a clerk in the Ministry of Punishments, was deeply ashamed. Remonstrating Grand Master Chu Suiliang memorialized: "I have heard that a gentleman does not speak lightly to others, and a sage ruler does not jest with his ministers. His words are recorded by historians, enshrined in ritual, and hymned in music. When the ruler treats his ministers with respect, they can exhaust their strength in his service. In recent times Emperor Xiaowu of Song spoke lightly and insulted his ministers, attacking their family lines even to disgrace. Good historians recorded this and judged it wrong. Yesterday Your Majesty asked Zhang Xuansu what office he held under Sui. He answered, 'County vice-magistrate.' You asked again, 'Before that?' He answered, 'An irregular clerk.' You asked again which bureau he had served in. As Xuansu left the Gate Pavilion he could barely walk; his spirit collapsed and his face turned ashen. The court ministers who saw him were greatly astonished. Since Great Tang established its rule, offices have been filled by talent; even diviners, prayer-officers, and menials are employed according to their capacity. Your Majesty has honored Xuansu with repeated appointments, raised him to the third rank, and set him to assist the heir apparent. You cannot now interrogate his origins before the whole court, casting aside your former favor and turning it into a morning's humiliation. A ruler guides his ministers with ritual and righteousness and drives them with favor and grace, that they may bear Heaven on their backs and pour out loyal service—yet even then he fears that without virtue and ritual they will not strive of themselves. If without cause you slight him to shame, knotting grief in his heart and leaving his loyal spirit joyless, how can you then demand that he die for righteousness?" When the memorial was submitted, Emperor Taizong told Suiliang, "I too regret this questioning. Your memorial deeply meets my heart." As Chengqian's moral failures daily increased, Xuansu remonstrated again in writing: I have heard that Confucius said, "To be able to take analogies from what is near may be called the method of humaneness." Yet what is recorded in the Documents and the commentaries sometimes speaks of distant things; if one examines recent affairs, success and failure are present there. For example, Emperor Wu of Zhou pacified Shandong, humbled his palaces, ate plain food, and thereby brought peace within the seas. The Crown Prince Yun acted without measure, and his foul conduct became more apparent by the day. Wu Jiugui knew this would not do and reported it fully to Emperor Wu; Emperor Wu, being kindly and humane, hoped he would gradually change. When he came to the throne, he was mad and violent and indulged his feelings; the realm broke apart, and the ancestral sacrifices were overturned. This is the one whom Emperor Wen of Sui replaced. Emperor Wen took advantage of Zhou's decline and weakness and relied on the support of his daughter; although he had no great achievement for the realm, he spread virtue and practiced humaneness, enough for the myriad surnames to depend on him. When Yong was Crown Prince, he could not closely follow his lord and father's frugality, but devoted himself to arrogance and extravagance. The present remains of his hills and ponds are what Your Highness has personally seen. At that time he too relied on the favor of ruler and parent and considered himself as secure as Mount Tai. How could he know that wicked ministers would dare advance their arguments? Had his movement and stillness been regular, his advance and retreat accorded with measure, had he drawn gentlemen close and kept petty men distant, abandoned glittering display and honored reverence and frugality, then even if wicked ministers tried to estrange him, how could they have opened a rift with his loving father? Was it not because his accumulated virtue was not broad and his good reputation was not manifest that once slanderous words arrived, they brought about his disaster? I privately think that the charge entrusted to the imperial heir is extraordinarily weighty. If his accumulated virtue is not broad, how can he inherit and guard the completed enterprise? The Sage Sovereign regards Your Highness as close in the relation of father and son, while the matter also involves family and state, and so he has not set limits on the things you should use. Before the gracious order had passed sixty days, the things used had already exceeded seventy thousand; as the height of arrogance and extravagance, who could say anything surpasses this? Below the Dragon Tower, only craftsmen gather; within Wangyuan, worthy and good men are not seen. Now, if one speaks of filial respect, you lack the rites of inspecting meals and asking after health; if one speaks of reverent obedience, you go against the method of your ruler and father's compassionate teachings; if one seeks your reputation, there is no reality of loving learning and delighting in the Way; if one observes your actions, there are crimes of finding pretexts for execution and slaughter. Upright officials of the palace have never been at your side; groups of wicked and licentious artisans are intimate with and close to the deep palace. Those you love and favor are all idle hands and men of miscellaneous arts; what you give out is entirely for paintings and carved work. Seen from outside, these faults already exist; as for what is hidden within, how could it be fully reckoned? The forbidden gates of Xuanyou are no different from a marketplace; people enter in the morning and leave at dusk, and foul rumors have already spread far. Because your virtuous reputation was diminishing by the day, your subject repeatedly submitted letters of remonstrance; since then, indulgence and dissipation have become even worse. Zhao Hongzhi, Right Junior Preceptor, is clear in the classics and cultivated in conduct, a good man of the present day. Your subject has repeatedly memorialized requesting that you often summon him forward and converse with him, hoping thereby to broaden your splendid plans. Your command, instead, showed suspicion, saying that your subject was recklessly recommending and introducing him. Even if one follows goodness like a flowing stream, one still fears falling short; if one glosses over faults and rejects remonstrance, one will surely invite defeat and loss. If you instead exalt the source of blockage and obstruction and do not admire the art of reverent clarity, then even if you possess the endowment of wisdom and insight, you will ultimately suffer the fault of failing to think. The ancients said, "Bitter medicine benefits illness; bitter words benefit conduct." I humbly hope that while dwelling in security, you will think of danger and be more careful day after day.
13
祿
When the memorial arrived, Chenghan refused it and sent assassins to kill him. When the Eastern Palace was abolished soon after, Xuansu was dismissed according to precedent. In year 18 he was reappointed Governor of Chaozhou, then transferred to Governor of Dengzhou. During the Yonghui reign he retired on account of age. In Longshuo year 3 he was granted Silver Blue-Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness. He died in Linde year 1. The historiographer comments: Sun Fuyi memorialized the Founding Emperor and Zhang Xuansu remonstrated with Emperor Taizong—from humble station to address the throne, with blunt sincerity to clarify right principle—this was the utmost difficulty. Yet both were soon promoted and richly favored. Had loyalty below not been complete, had ministers not spared themselves, and had the ruler above not listened with intelligence and followed remonstrance as flowing water—who could have achieved this? The Book of Documents says, 'Wood follows the plumb line and becomes straight; a ruler follows remonstrance and becomes sage.' This is what was meant. Shichang was clever from youth and grew adept at remonstrance; Yunqi rooted out cliques and never shrank from the arrogant and powerful. Reviewing their words and conduct, all had merit. Yet Yunqi was inconsistent in his judgments, and Shichang ended in deceit—small wonder they did not finish well! Compared with Sun Fuyi and the two Zhangs, they do not measure up.
14
Encomium: Words are the ornament of the person; moved by righteousness, one forgets the self. Without loyal courage, who would lightly touch the dragon's scales? Su and Wei were truly outstanding; Sun and Zhang were loyal and pure. They awakened their lords and corrected their faults—ah, the remonstrating ministers!
← Previous Chapter
Back to Chapters
Next Chapter →