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卷七十六 列傳第二十六: 太宗諸子

Volume 76 Biographies 26: Taizong's Sons

Chapter 80 of 舊唐書 · Old Book of Tang
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1
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Chu Suiliang
2
滿 殿
Chu Suiliang was the son of Chu Liang, who had served as Regular Attendant-in-Ordinary. Near the end of the Daye era he accompanied his father in Longyou. When Xue Ju declared himself ruler, he appointed Suiliang Master of Ceremonies. After Xue Ju's defeat he submitted to the Tang and was appointed Army-Armor Section staff officer under the Qinzhou area command. In 636 he was promoted from secretary to diarist of the imperial presence. Suiliang was widely read in literature and history and was especially accomplished in clerical script. Ouyang Xun, a friend of his father, held him in high regard. Emperor Taizong once said to Palace Attendant Wei Zheng, "Since Yu Shinan died, I have had no one with whom to discuss calligraphy." Wei Zheng replied, "Chu Suiliang's brushwork is vigorous and forceful and captures the manner of Wang Xizhi very well." The emperor summoned him that same day to serve at court as a calligrapher. Taizong once offered gold and silk from the imperial treasury to buy works attributed to Wang Xizhi. People across the empire rushed ancient writings to court as gifts, and at the time no one could tell authentic pieces from forgeries. Suiliang identified the provenance of each work he examined without a single mistake. In 641 an edict ordered ceremonies at Mount Tai. The emperor first traveled to Luoyang, where a comet appeared in the Supreme Palace Enclosure and crossed the Gentlemen's Quarters. Suiliang said to Taizong, "Your Majesty has quelled chaos and restored order, and your achievements surpass those of earlier sages. You are about to announce completion of your mandate at Mount Tai, to the great fortune of the realm. Yet upon reaching Luoyang a comet appeared at once. This may mean that something is still out of accord with Heaven. Moreover, Emperor Wu of Han deliberated for years before he finally performed the rites at Mount Tai. I humbly beg Your Majesty to consider the matter with care." Taizong was deeply persuaded and issued an edict canceling the Feng and Shan ceremonies. That year he was promoted to censor and concurrently supervised the imperial diary. Taizong once asked, "As diarist of the imperial presence, what do you record? As a rule, may the sovereign read it?" Suiliang replied, "Today's diarists of the imperial presence are the ancient left and right historians. They record the ruler's words and deeds, noting both good and evil, so that these may serve as a mirror and a warning and the sovereign may be kept from unlawful conduct. I have never heard of an emperor or king reading the histories in person." Taizong said, "If I do something wrong, will you be sure to record it?" Suiliang said, "Upholding the Way is less important than upholding one's office. My duty is to hold the brush: whatever the sovereign does, I must record it." Vice Director of the Yellow Gate Liu Ji said, "Even if Suiliang did not record it, the realm would still record it." Taizong agreed that this was so. At that time the Prince of Wei was a favorite of Taizong, and his ceremonial treatment and stipend matched those of the heir apparent. That year Taizong asked his attending ministers, "What is the most urgent matter for the state today?" Vice Director of the Secretariat Cen Wende said, "The Analects says, 'Guide them with virtue and align them with ritual.' From that perspective, ritual and righteousness are what matter most." Suiliang stepped forward and said, "Today the four quarters look up to your virtue. Who would dare do wrong? But the crown prince and the other princes must have clearly fixed ranks. Your Majesty should establish a precedent for all generations to come and leave it to your descendants." Taizong said, "That is true. I am nearly fifty and already feel my strength failing. I have already installed my eldest son as heir in the Eastern Palace, yet my younger sons and sons by concubines number nearly fifty. What weighs on my mind is largely this. Yet since antiquity, when the lines of legitimate and secondary sons lacked good advisers, has the state not been overturned? Search out worthy and virtuous men to tutor the heir apparent, and do the same for all the princes. Find upright men for every one of them. Moreover, when officials serve a prince for many years, their bond of loyalty grows deep, and many plots against the throne arise from just such attachments." Thereupon he decreed that officials in princes' households might serve no more than four terms before rotation. In 643 Taizong asked Suiliang, "Shun had lacquer vessels made, and Yu had his sacrificial stands carved. More than ten men remonstrated with Shun and Yu at the time. Why such strenuous remonstrance over mere eating vessels?" Suiliang replied, "Carving and polishing harm farming, and brocade work injures women's labor. To be the first to indulge in luxury and excess is the first step toward ruin. If lacquer vessels are not enough, vessels will be made of gold; if gold is not enough, they will be made of jade. That is why remonstrating ministers must speak at the first sign of excess. Once luxury has run its course, there is nothing left to remonstrate about." Taizong agreed and added, "For a ruler to neglect the people and pursue luxury and excess is to invite ruin in the blink of an eye." At that time many young princes were appointed area commanders and prefects. Suiliang submitted a memorial: "In the two Han dynasties the realm was governed through commanderies and kingdoms, and apart from the commanderies the sons were granted separate domains. Territory was carved up and borders divided, mixing Zhou institutions into the system. Our Tang prefectures and counties follow the Qin model in origin. When princes are still young they are sometimes made prefects. Does Your Majesty not intend, by placing your own flesh and blood in office, to guard the four quarters? In establishing this policy Your Majesty has surpassed the former sages. In my humble view, one small point has not yet been fully realized. What is it? Prefects are the leaders of their commanderies, and the people depend on them for security. With one good man in office the district revives; with one bad man the whole prefecture is worn down and exhausted. That is why a ruler who loves his people constantly chooses worthy men for office. Some say that when a river nourishes the land for nine li, the capital itself shares in the blessing; or the people break into song and erect shrines to a living official while he still serves. Emperor Xuan of Han said, 'Those who govern with me are only good prefects. In my humble view, among Your Majesty's sons those who are still young and not yet fit to govern people should remain in the capital for the present and be instructed in the classics. First, they will fear Heaven's majesty and not dare break the law; second, by observing court ritual they will naturally learn how to conduct themselves. Through such long practice they will learn on their own how to be proper men. Only when they are truly fit to govern a prefecture should they be sent out. I respectfully note that Emperors Ming, Zhang, and He of Han were able to show brotherly love toward their younger brothers. From their reigns down, they should be taken as the standard. When they enfeoffed the princes, although each had his own domain, those who were still young were summoned to remain in the capital, instructed in ritual and law, and showered with favor. Through the reigns of those three emperors the princes numbered in the tens and hundreds. Only two princes turned out badly; the rest, nourished by harmony and shaped by instruction, all became good men. The precedent has already been proved. I beg Your Majesty to consider it carefully." Taizong accepted the advice wholeheartedly. That year Crown Prince Chengqian was deposed for his crimes. The Prince of Wei, Li Tai, attended the emperor in person, and Taizong openly promised to make him crown prince. He then told his attending ministers, "Yesterday Green Sparrow threw himself into my arms and said, 'Today I have at last truly become your son. This is the day of my rebirth. I have only one son. After I die I will kill him for Your Majesty and pass the realm to the Prince of Jin. The bond between father and son is a matter of natural feeling. When I saw him speak this way, I was deeply moved." Suiliang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty has spoken unwisely. I humbly beg Your Majesty to think this through carefully and not let a mistake stand. After Your Majesty is gone, when the Prince of Wei holds power as ruler of the realm, how could he kill his own beloved son and pass the throne to the Prince of Jin? Your Majesty once made Chengqian crown prince, yet you also favored the Prince of Wei, whose ceremonial treatment sometimes exceeded Chengqian's. This came about because the lines of legitimate and secondary sons were not kept distinct. The lesson of the Yin dynasty is not far off and should serve as a clear warning. Now that Your Majesty is about to make the Prince of Wei heir, I beg you to make separate arrangements for the Prince of Jin. Only then will he be safe." Taizong wept openly and said, "I cannot do it." That same day he summoned Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Li Ji, Suiliang, and others to settle the succession and installed the Prince of Jin as crown prince. At that time wild pheasants were frequently seen flying into the palace precincts. Taizong asked his ministers, "What omen does this portend?" They replied, "In the time of Duke Wen of Qin a boy was transformed into a pheasant. The female cried at Chencang and the male at Nanyang. The boy said, 'He who obtains the male will become king; he who obtains the female will become hegemon.' Duke Wen thereupon took this as the omen of the treasured cock. Later Emperor Guangwu of Han obtained the male bird, rose from Nanyang, and won the realm. Your Majesty was once Prince of Qin, so the male pheasant appears in Qin territory. This is how your bright virtue is made manifest." Taizong was pleased and said, "One cannot establish oneself without learning. Suiliang is broadly learned and deserves great respect." Soon afterward he was appointed mentor of the crown prince.
3
使
At that time the Xueyantuo sent envoys to request a marriage alliance. Taizong promised them a princess, accepted their bride-price gifts, and then refused to give her. Suiliang submitted a memorial:
4
便 西 忿
At that time Taizong wished to campaign in person against Goguryeo. Turning to his attending ministers he said, "Yeon Gaesomun of Goguryeo murdered his king and cruelly abused his people. To send an army on a punitive expedition one must seize the right moment. Now, with his regicide and cruelty as our cause, destroying him would be very easy." Suiliang replied, "Your Majesty's military stratagems and divine calculations are beyond anyone's knowledge. At the end of the Sui you yourself pacified the rebel chaos. When the northern barbarians invaded the frontier and the western tribes showed disrespect, Your Majesty wished to send generals against them. All the ministers remonstrated strenuously, yet Your Majesty decided alone to advance, and in the end they were all destroyed. The people within the seas and the states beyond the frontiers feared your majesty and submitted. It was because of such actions. Now that Your Majesty is about to raise an army in Liaodong, I am deeply troubled. Why? Your Majesty is divinely martial and not to be compared with rulers of former ages. Once the army has crossed the Liao, victory is expected on schedule. But if anything goes wrong, you will have no way to display your majesty to distant lands. If you must send angry troops again, the outcome for the state cannot be foreseen." Taizong was deeply persuaded. Minister of War Li Ji said, "When the Tiele recently violated the frontier, Your Majesty wished to pursue them, but at that time you followed Wei Zheng's advice and lost the opportunity. Had Your Majesty's plan been followed, not one Tiele man would have returned alive, and the frontier could have been peaceful for fifty years." The emperor said, "What you say is true. It was Wei Zheng's mistaken counsel. I do not wish to blame him for one mistaken plan. If he offers good counsel in future, how could I refuse to heed it?" Thereupon he followed Li Ji's advice and planned the campaign to cross the Liao. Because Taizong was set on the Three Han kingdoms, Suiliang feared the emperor would later regret the decision. The next day he submitted a remonstrance memorial:
5
使 使
Taizong did not accept his advice. In 644 he was appointed vice director of the Yellow Gate and took part in governing the court. Yeon Gaesomun of Goguryeo sent envoys offering tribute of white gold. Suiliang said to Taizong, "Yeon Gaesomun cruelly murdered his sovereign, an act intolerable among the eastern peoples. Your Majesty is raising an army to punish him and avenge for the people of Liaodong the shame done their lord. In antiquity, when punishing regicides, one did not accept their bribes. Formerly Minister Du of Song presented the tripod of Zou to the Duke of Lu, and Duke Huan received it in the Grand Temple. Zang Aibo remonstrated, 'A ruler should display virtue and block wrongdoing. Now you extinguish virtue and establish wrongdoing, yet place his bribe in the Grand Temple. When the hundred officials take this as their model, how can wrongdoing be punished? When King Wu conquered Shang and moved the nine tripods to Luoyi, men of righteousness still criticized him. How much more objectionable is it to display the bribe of a rebel and place it in the Grand Temple? The Spring and Autumn Annals is the standard for a hundred kings. If you accept gifts from an unsubmissive man and receive tribute from a regicide without regarding it as fault, on what grounds can you launch a punitive expedition? I hold that what Yeon Gaesomun offers must not be accepted." Taizong accepted this advice and handed the envoys over to the officials for punishment.
6
調
After Taizong destroyed Gaochang, more than a thousand men were levied each year to garrison the region. Suiliang submitted a memorial:
7
殿
In 646 Taizong set up a separate courtyard beside his sleeping quarters for the crown prince to live in and absolutely forbade him to go to the Eastern Palace. Suiliang again submitted a remonstrance memorial:
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Taizong accepted his advice.
9
便祿
Suiliang submitted dozens of remonstrances and practical proposals, many of which were adopted. That year he was promoted to grand master of splendid happiness with silver seal. In 647 he was made acting chief of the Court of Judicial Review while retaining his present office. Soon afterward he resigned to observe mourning for his father. The following year he was recalled to his former post and soon appointed chief of the Secretariat.
10
祿
In 649 Taizong fell gravely ill. He summoned Suiliang and Zhangsun Wuji to his bedside and said, "Your loyalty and steadfastness are engraved in my heart. Emperor Wu of Han entrusted Huo Guang, and Liu Bei entrusted Zhuge Liang. I entrust all my affairs after death to you. The crown prince is benevolent and filial, as you know. You must assist him with full sincerity and preserve the altars of state forever." He then turned to the crown prince and said, "With Wuji and Suiliang at your side, you need not worry about the affairs of state." He also ordered Suiliang to draft his final edict. When Gaozong took the throne, Suiliang was granted the title Marquis of Henan County. In 650 he was promoted to duke of a commandery. Soon afterward, because of an affair, he was sent out as prefect of Tongzhou. In 652 he was recalled and appointed minister of personnel with third rank at the Secretariat-Chancellery, put in charge of compiling the national history, and made grand master for splendid happiness. That same month he also served concurrently as mentor of the crown prince. In 653 he replaced Zhang Xingcheng as right vice director of the Department of State Affairs and continued to manage court affairs.
11
殿
In 655 Gaozong was about to depose Empress Wang and make Lady Wu empress. He summoned Grand Mentor Zhangsun Wuji, Minister of Works Li Ji, Left Vice Director Yu Zhining, and Suiliang to deliberate the matter. Before they entered, Suiliang said to Wuji and the others, "The emperor intends to depose the empress and will surely raise the matter. I mean to remonstrate. What do you think?" Wuji said, "You must speak with full force. I will follow after you." When they entered, Gaozong found it hard to speak. Again and again he turned to Wuji and said, "Of great crimes, having no heir is the gravest. The empress has no children, but Lady Wu has a son. I now wish to make her empress. What do you think?" Suiliang said, "The empress comes from an eminent family and was married by the former emperor. She served the late emperor without fault in wifely conduct. When the late emperor was ill he took Your Majesty's hand and said to me, 'I have a good son and a good daughter-in-law. I now entrust them to you. Your Majesty received this charge in person. His words are still in our ears. Since then no fault has been heard against the empress. I fear she cannot be deposed. I dare not bend to comply and violate the late emperor's command. I beg Your Majesty to think this through again and again. In offending Your Majesty I deserve death ten thousand times over, but I wish only not to fail the deep grace of the former court. What care I for my life?" Suiliang placed his court tablet on the hall steps and said, "I return this tablet to Your Majesty." He removed his headcloth and knocked his head on the floor until blood flowed. The emperor was furious and ordered him led out. Zhangsun Wuji said, "Suiliang received the late emperor's deathbed charge. Even if he has offended, he should not be punished." The next day the emperor said to Li Ji, "On the matter of making Lady Wu empress, Suiliang stubbornly refused to comply. Since Suiliang is a minister who received the deathbed charge, if the matter cannot be done, it should be stopped for now." Li Ji replied, "This is Your Majesty's family affair. It is not fitting to ask outsiders." The emperor thereupon made Lady Wu empress and demoted Suiliang to area commander of Tanzhou. In 657 he was transferred to area commander of Guizhou. Before long he was demoted again to prefect of Aizhou. The following year he died in office at the age of sixty-three.
12
More than two years after Suiliang's death, Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu memorialized that Zhangsun Wuji had plotted rebellion and that Suiliang had incited him. Suiliang's offices and titles were posthumously stripped, and his descendants were banished to Aizhou. In the second month of 683, Gaozong's deathbed edict ordered them returned to their native commandery. In 705, Empress Wu's deathbed decree restored the titles of Suiliang and Han Yuan.
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Han Yuan
14
便 祿
Han Yuan was a native of Sanyuan in Yongzhou. His grandfather Shao served as vice director of the imperial stud under the Sui. His father Zhongliang, at the beginning of the Wude era, served as vice chief of the Court of Judicial Review and was ordered with Lang Chuzhi and others to oversee the codification of law. Zhongliang said to Emperor Gaozu, "The laws of the Zhou had three thousand articles, but since the Qin there have been about five hundred. If we follow the Zhou model closely, the laws will become even more complex. Moreover, if officials are truly impartial they will uphold the law of their own accord. If they indulge themselves, what care have they for the statutes? I ask that leniency and simplicity be honored to fulfill the hope of a new beginning." Emperor Gaozu approved. Thereupon they adopted the Kaihuang Code and put it into practice, and at the time it was considered convenient. During the Zhenguan era he rose to minister of punishments, chief administrator of the Qinzhou area command, and Duke of Yingchuan County. From youth Yuan had integrity, was broadly learned, and had talent for administration. During the Zhenguan era he rose to vice minister of war and inherited his father's title as Duke of Yingchuan. In 652 he was appointed vice director of the Yellow Gate. In 653 he and Vice Director of the Secretariat Lai Ji were both given third rank at the Secretariat-Chancellery and put in charge of compiling the national history. In 654 he was made grand master of splendid happiness with silver seal. In 655 he was promoted to palace attendant and that year also served concurrently as mentor of the crown prince. At that time Gaozong wished to depose Empress Wang. Yuan wept as he remonstrated, "The empress was married to Your Majesty by the late emperor when you were still prince. She has committed no fault. If you depose her, who throughout the realm will not be alarmed? Moreover, repeated depositions and installations of empresses are no policy for long-term stability. I beg Your Majesty, for the sake of the altars of state, not to dismiss my counsel because I am foolish." The emperor did not accept his advice. The next day Yuan remonstrated again, weeping so bitterly he could not control himself. The emperor was furious and ordered him led out at once. Soon afterward Left Vice Director Chu Suiliang was demoted to area commander of Tanzhou for opposing the emperor's will. Yuan again submitted a memorial in his defense:
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The sage kings of antiquity set up remonstrance drums and erected complaint posts, hoping to hear words that grate on the ear and accept counsel that tastes bitter in the mouth, so as to extend great transformation, benefit vast plans, leave a fine reputation to posterity, and spread good fame forever. I have seen the edict appointing Chu Suiliang area commander of Tanzhou. Day and night I have pondered it, and my distress has only grown. My knowledge is limited and my learning falls short of mastery of the classics, yet as I consider this in my foolish heart, I cannot believe it right. Suiliang's fate met an age of peace, and his conduct illumined the former sages. From youth he entered office and has served for many years. In attending Your Majesty he has already passed many years. Not a drop of fault has been heard against him, and his diligent service has constantly been seen. He exhausted his loyalty in his early years and has spent the straight path in these later years. He has embodied the state and forgotten his family, given his person to public duty. His conduct is as firm as wind and frost, his heart as hard as iron and stone. He deserves to be valued in the present reign. How could his worth belong only to former times? Moreover the late emperor took him into his inner council and entrusted him with his deepest trust. His virtue exceeded water and stone, his righteousness surpassed all others. For the benefit of the state, nothing he said was unacceptable. When grief enveloped the realm and music was stilled, he exhausted his loyalty for the state and personally received the deathbed entrustment. His single-minded devotion was without equal and inspires awe through the ages. This needs no words from me. Your Majesty knows it fully already. I have long felt this in my heart but did not dare report it to the throne. Moreover the myriad people have lost their livelihoods, and Your Majesty eats late and forgets fatigue; if one thing is not at peace you take it to heart as if falling into a pit. In matters minute, how can there be excess error? How much more when an old minister of the altars of state, Your Majesty's worthy assistant, is expelled from court with no crime heard against him. Within and without, the people all sigh at this act. Judging from his recent remonstrance, he spoke with earnest sincerity. How could he wish to lag behind Your Majesty's virtue or differ from Yao and Shun? He feared only that Your Majesty's fault would be recorded in the histories. Yet he has suffered heavy slander and bears shameful accusations. This pains the hearts of loyal men and diminishes Your Majesty's reputation for wisdom. I have heard that Emperor Wu of Jin was magnanimous and did not execute Liu Yi; the Han founder was deeply humane and bore no resentment toward Zhou Chang's blunt remonstrance. Suiliang has been transferred and has already passed a full year. In opposing Your Majesty he has been punished enough. I humbly beg Your Majesty to examine the case of an innocent man, ease his unjust punishment, and show pity for this humble plea so as to accord with the people's feelings.
16
使 使
When the memorial was submitted, the emperor said to Yuan, "I know Suiliang's feelings as well. But he was perverse and rebellious in offending his sovereign. For this he is being punished. How could I be at fault? Why do you speak so strongly!" Yuan replied, "Suiliang may truly be called a loyal minister of the state. I fear that flatterers, like flies spotting white cloth, will slander and destroy the loyal and steadfast. When Weizi left, the Yin state perished. When Zhang Hua lived, order was preserved. When a state is about to fall, good men decline. Your Majesty possesses the four seas and the realm is at peace. Will you suddenly drive out an old minister without careful examination! I humbly beg you to avoid the mistake of the overturned cart, correct past errors, and set an example of how to serve one's lord. Then the people would be greatly blessed." The emperor in the end did not accept his advice. Because his words were not heeded, Yuan submitted a memorial in grief and anger requesting retirement to his estate. The emperor refused. In 657 Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu, acting on the empress's wishes, falsely memorialized that Yuan and Chu Suiliang had plotted rebellion. Because Guizhou was a strategic military region, they had appointed Suiliang prefect of Guizhou as external support for the plot. Thereupon Suiliang was further demoted to prefect of Aizhou and Yuan was demoted to prefect of Zhenzhou. In 659 he died in office at the age of fifty-four. The following year Zhangsun Wuji died. Jingzong and others again memorialized that Yuan had conspired with Wuji and sent envoys to kill him. When the envoys arrived Yuan was already dead. They opened his coffin to verify the corpse, confiscated his family's property, and banished his grandson to the far south. In 705 Empress Wu's deathbed decree ordered restoration of his offices and titles.
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Lai Ji
18
祿 輿
Lai Ji was a native of Jiangdu in Yangzhou, son of Hu, Duke of Rong, who had served as grand general of the left wing guard under the Sui. In the disaster wrought by Yuwen Huaji, his entire household was killed. Ji suffered family disaster in youth and drifted through hardship, yet he studied with firm resolve. He had literary talent, was skilled in discourse, and especially understood current affairs. He passed the jinshi examination and during the Zhenguan era rose to master of ceremonies. When Crown Prince Chengqian was deposed, Taizong asked his attending ministers, "What should be done with Chengqian?" No minister dared reply. Ji stepped forward and said, "If above Your Majesty does not fail as a loving father and below he may live out his natural years, that would be best." The emperor accepted his advice. Soon afterward he was appointed vice director in the Bureau of Appointments. In 644 the office of crown prince reviewer was first established. Men of outstanding reputation were selected, and Ji was appointed to the post while also serving as academician-director of the Chongxian Hall. Soon he was promoted to secretariat draftsman and with Linghu Defen and others compiled the Book of Jin. In 651 he was appointed vice director of the Secretariat, concurrently academician of the Hongwen Hall, and put in charge of compiling the national history. In 653 he was given third rank at the Secretariat-Chancellery. In 654 he was made grand master of splendid happiness with silver seal. For compiling the national history he was enfeoffed as baron of Nanyang County and granted seven hundred rolls of goods. In 655 he was promoted to chief of the Secretariat and acting minister of personnel. At that time Gaozong wished to establish Lady Wu as Lady of the Inner Quarters. Ji submitted a secret memorial: "Antiquity had no such title. The matter cannot be done." After Empress Wu was established, Ji and others lived in fear; later she submitted a memorial praising Ji as loyal and fair and requesting that he be rewarded, though in her heart she hated him. In 656 he served concurrently as mentor of the crown prince, was advanced to marquis, and retained his post as chief of the Secretariat. In 657 he also served concurrently as steward of the crown prince's household. Soon Xu Jingzong and others memorialized that Ji had formed a faction with Chu Suiliang and incited trouble. He was demoted to prefect of Taizhou. In 660 he was transferred to prefect of Tingzhou. In 662 the Turks invaded. Ji commanded the army to resist them and told his troops, "I once faced execution and was pardoned. I must repay the state's grace with my life." He did not remove his armor and charged the enemy, dying in battle. He was fifty-three. Posthumously he was made prefect of Chuzhou, and his body was conveyed home in a state funeral carriage. His collected works in thirty juan circulated in his time. His elder brother Gen had learning and integrity and was as famous as Ji. During the Shangyuan era he rose to vice director of the Yellow Gate with third rank at the Secretariat-Chancellery.
19
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Shangguan Yi
20
祿西西
Shangguan Yi was originally a native of Shan in Shanzhou. His father Hong served as deputy director of the Jiangdu palace under the Sui, and the family settled in Jiangdu. At the end of the Daye era Hong was killed by the general Chen Suo. Yi was still young and escaped by hiding. He then privately became a monk, immersed himself in Buddhist scriptures, and was especially expert in the Three Treatises. He also studied the classics and histories and was skilled at literary composition. At the beginning of the Zhenguan era Yang Rengong was area commander and treated him with great respect. He passed the jinshi examination. Taizong heard of him and appointed him academician-director of the Hongwen Hall. He was promoted to secretary. Taizong loved literary composition. He often had Yi review his drafts and compose matching verses. Yi was a regular guest at court banquets. Soon he took part in completing the Book of Jin, was transferred to diarist of the imperial presence, and received a promotion in rank and a gift of silk. When Gaozong succeeded to the throne he was promoted to vice director of the Secretariat. In 662 he was made grand master of splendid happiness with silver seal, vice director of the Western Terrace, with third rank at the Eastern and Western Terraces, and retained his post as academician of the Hongwen Hall. He had distinguished himself through literary brilliance, was accomplished in five-character poetry, and favored ornate and graceful style as his foundation. Once Yi had risen to high rank, many imitated his style, which people called the Shangguan style. Yi relied on his talent and wielded his power, and was envied by his contemporaries. In 664 the eunuch Wang Fusheng and Prince Zhong of Liang were convicted of crimes. Xu Jingzong framed Yi as having conspired with Zhong. Yi was imprisoned and died, and his household was confiscated. His son Tingzhi served as an official in the household of the Prince of Zhou. He was killed together with Yi. Tingzhi had a daughter who under Emperor Zhongzong served as Lady of the Bright Countenance and often helped the emperor draft edicts. For this reason Yi was posthumously made chief of the Secretariat, area commander of Qinzhou, and Duke of Chu; Tingzhi was made vice director of the Yellow Gate, prefect of Qizhou, and duke of Tianshui Commandery, and both were ordered reburied with full honors.
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The Historian's Commentary
22
The historian says: Chu Suiliang of Henan, in his memorials on affairs of state, was diligent and possessed far-reaching plans for governing the realm. After Wei Zheng and Wang Gui, among those who bore the bearing of a true minister and openly possessed the capacity of a king's assistant, his equal was hard to find. Among the achievements of famous ministers, Chu of Henan had his place. When the men of Qi presented music, Confucius departed. When the Rong king drowned himself in entertainers, Youyu fled. Even sages feared the calamity of a woman's words. How much more when two flatterers held the pivot of power and became demons to upright men! Men of purpose and humanity in antiquity, once they pledged themselves with a single word, did not regret it even unto death. How much more between lord and minister, when one has received a deathbed entrustment, can one forget one's lifelong pledge for the sake of gain, loss, or personal safety! Han Yuan, Lai Ji, and the others may truly be called men who held to the good Way unto death and sought no blessing by turning back.
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Eulogy
24
The eulogy says: Lord Chu's words were harmonious and serene; like bells and stones on their stand, when struck they formed elegant music. Two mad dogs barked together; three worthies were of one heart. While others watched and waited, I would not drift with the tide.
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