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卷七十八 列傳第二十八: 于志寧 高季輔 張行成

Volume 78 Biographies 28: Yu Zhining, Gao Jifu, Zhang Xingcheng

Chapter 82 of 舊唐書 · Old Book of Tang
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Chapter 82
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1
Yu Zhining, Gao Jifu, and Zhang Xingcheng; their clansmen Yizhi and Changzong.
2
祿 殿 使
Yu Zhining, a native of Gaoling in Yong Province, was the great-grandson of Jin, Duke Wen of Yan and Grand Tutor of Zhou. His father Xuandao had served as a secretary in the Sui inner secretariat. At the end of the Daye reign, Zhining was magistrate of Guanxian County. When bandit armies rose across Shandong, he resigned his post and went home. As Gaozu prepared to enter the Pass, Zhining led his kinsmen to Changchun Palace to welcome him. Gaozu, knowing his reputation, treated him with exceptional courtesy and appointed him Silver-Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness. When Taizong served as commander-in-chief on the Weibei campaign, he appointed Zhining recorder of his staff, and Zhining joined Yin Kaishan and others in advising on military strategy. After Taizong became Prince of Qin and Celestial Stratagem General-in-Chief, Zhining rose through appointments as attendant gentleman of the Celestial Stratagem Bureau. He accompanied every campaign and also held a post as scholar of the Literary Academy. In the third year of Zhenguan (629), he was promoted to vice director of the Secretariat. Taizong summoned eminent ministers to a banquet in the inner hall and wondered why Zhining was absent. Someone reported, "Your summons called for officials of third rank and above. Zhining is below third rank, so he did not come." Taizong ordered him to attend anyway and immediately promoted him to irregular attendant-in-ordinary, with the acting title of left vice director of the crown prince's household. He was enfeoffed in succession as Duke of Liyang County. At the time some officials proposed establishing seven ancestral temples with the Martial and Illustrious King of Liang as the founding ancestor, and Fang Xuanling and others agreed. Zhining alone argued that the Martial and Illustrious King was a remote forebear, not the source of the dynasty's rise, and therefore could not be named founding ancestor. Taizong also planned to make meritorious officials hereditary prefects. Zhining argued that times had changed and that such a policy would not secure lasting peace, and he submitted a memorial objecting to the plan. The emperor adopted Zhining's position on both matters. Taizong then told Zhining, "In antiquity, as soon as a crown prince was born, a scholar would carry him on his back and tutors were appointed immediately. When King Cheng of Zhou was still a child, the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao served as his tutors, so that he heard the right path every day until it became second nature. Our crown prince is still very young. You must guide him along the right path and keep depraved influences from taking root in his mind. Press on without slackening. If you prove worthy of this charge, rank and rewards may come to you out of turn." Because Crown Prince Chengan repeatedly breached ritual propriety, Zhining set out to correct him and wrote twenty scrolls of the Admonitory Garden as an indirect remonstrance. Taizong was greatly pleased and rewarded him with ten catties of gold and three hundred bolts of silk. In the fourteenth year (640) he was additionally appointed steward of the crown prince's household. The following year he left office to observe mourning for his mother. He was soon recalled to his former post, but he repeatedly asked permission to complete the full mourning period. Taizong sent Vice Director Cen Wuben to his home to press him: "Loyalty and filial duty cannot both be fulfilled at once. My son needs a tutor. You must set grief aside and not let private feeling rule you." Zhining then returned to office.
3
Around this time Crown Prince Chengan, in the middle of the busy farming season, had been building private chambers for months on end, and much of his conduct was unlawful. Zhining submitted a written remonstrance:
4
宿 便 殿
I have heard that practicing thrift and restraining expenditure are the true foundations of extending the Way; while exalting luxury and indulging every whim are the roots of ruined virtue. That is why halls that touched the clouds drew mockery from the Rong; and lofty halls with carved walls became warnings recorded in the Documents of Xia. In the past Zhao Dun set Jin aright and Lü Wang guided Zhou; one was urged to husband resources, the other warned against heavy levies. Each gave his full loyalty to the state and his full sincerity to his lord, so that solid merit might endure and a noble name reach every ear. Their deeds are all recorded in the histories as models worth praising. The Eastern Palace where Your Highness now lives was built in Sui times. Those who see it still mock its extravagance and sigh at its splendor. How then can it be right to add still more construction inside it, spending wealth day after day, piling up earth and timber without pause, and exhausting every art of the carpenter's trade? Moreover, corvée craftsmen and government slaves have been entering the inner quarters, and lately there has been no proper oversight. Some of these men have brothers who broke state law, or younger brothers condemned under royal statute. Yet they move through the imperial park and in and out of the forbidden inner quarters, still wearing fetters and still bearing mallets in their hands. Gatekeepers exist to guard against the unexpected, and night guards to prepare for emergencies. Yet the duty captain knew nothing of this, and the thousand-ox guards saw nothing either. Armed guards stand outside while convict laborers work inside. How can the responsible offices feel secure? How can your officials not be afraid? The music of Zheng and Wei, moreover, the ancients called licentious sound. When Mozi passed the district of Chaoge, he turned his carriage around; and at the meeting of Jiagu, Confucius drew his sword. The sages of old already condemned such things, and every wise man will judge them faults. I have lately heard that within the palace drums and grand ensembles sound again and again, and that performers enter and do not come out. Those who hear it tremble; those who speak of it do so with fear in their hearts. In years past Your Majesty issued an oral edict on this matter. I beg that it be consulted again. The imperial instruction was earnest and the warning clear. Your Highness cannot fail to reflect on this. As for me, I cannot help but be afraid. I have served at the palace gates for many years. Even dogs and horses know gratitude; even wood and stone can feel obligation. How can I withhold what my limited understanding sees? If Your Highness weighs my sincere heart, I may yet live; if you blame me for opposing your will, then I am a guilty man. Yet to please and win favor is what Zangsun Fang compared to a running sore; while to offend the face and speak against the ear, the Spring and Autumn Annals compared to medicine and stone. I humbly beg that you halt the craftsmen's work, release those long in service, cut off the music of Zheng and Wei, and drive away petty men. Then the three excellences will be complete and the myriad states will have their standard.
5
Chengan did not heed the advice. Chengan also kept many eunuchs close at hand. Zhining submitted another written remonstrance:
6
使 使退 殿使 便 使
I have heard that Yao was praised for examining antiquity, his merit shown in searching out and elevating talent; and that Shun was called perspicacious, his achievement manifest in removing the wicked. Yet in founding an age and setting the cardinal directions of rule, every sage ruler honored the worthy and expelled the unworthy. The root of order and disorder lies entirely in this. As for eunuchs, their bodies are incomplete, yet they pass again and again through the gate-towers and wait at your side within the palace. They use intimacy to build power and control access to make or ruin men's fortunes. When Yiya was entrusted with power, upheaval arose in Qi; when Zhang Rang held the scales of power, disorder was born in the Han house. Yili practiced deceit, and Song suffered for it; Zhao Gao wrought treachery, and the house of Qin tolled out its ruin. Under the Han, when Hong and Shi held power, Jing and Jia were beheaded in succession; when Wang and Cao grasped authority, He and Dou followed them to the execution ground. Court officials stood with feet together, and chief ministers held their breath. Those who pleased them won glory even in infancy; those who crossed them brought disaster even on babes in the cradle. When Northern Qi made Ye its capital, eunuchs again became a plague. Deng Changying rose to palace attendant, Chen Dexin to the rank of lord with an open mansion. They meddled in court affairs by day and joined private banquets by night. Imperial clansmen courted their favor, and great ministers watched their every breath. Their crimes piled like mountains, yet none appeared in the penal registers; their merit not a speck of dust was already carved on bells and tripods; their wealth exceeded the fabled golden cave and their property the bronze mountain. Households groaned in resentment, and men sighed in anger. Straight-speaking men were not heard; and frank remonstrators were always turned away. The fall of Qi's capital came chiefly from this. Had they instead employed upright ministers, dismissed fawning flatterers, held the lands of Zhao and Wei, and mustered the armies of the Zhang and Fu rivers, cultivating virtue and practicing benevolence, who would have dared cast a covetous eye on the house of Zhou? Stopping evil while it is still slight is how the ancients kept disaster far away; and using the large to warn the small is a lesson the sages drew from such cases. Your Highness's Way flourishes in the second son, your virtue illumines the heir's vessel. You take antiquity as your statute and former sages as your models, wishing your fine reputation to travel far and your noble name to resound abroad. Yet I see eunuchs of one kind who do not know your mind, who sometimes slight high officials and trample eminent men. Rank and discipline lose their order, and men versed in the Way laugh while men of discernment scorn what they see. By regulation their duties lie only in relaying messages outside the gates; and supply offices are only to attend along the steps and gate-towers. Now they come and go within the pavilions and in and out of the inner palace. Everyone who sees it finds it strange. I humbly beg that you draw near to gentlemen and drive away petty men, matching your father's heart above and the people's hope below.
7
使
Chengan read the memorial and was deeply displeased. Chengan once kept the stable masters and others on continuous duty without rotation, and also privately brought the Turk Dagozhi into the inner palace. Zhining submitted another written remonstrance:
8
宿 殿殿
I have heard that Heaven is lofty, and sun and moon display its virtue by their light; the enlightened ruler is supremely sage, and his assistants complete his achievement by their aid. When King Song of Zhou was made heir, he was guided by the Mao and Bi brothers; when Emperor Hui of Han stood in the heir's position, he drew support from the Four Hoaryheads of Mount Shang. The Duke of Zhou upheld the law against Bo Qin; Jia Yi laid out his counsel before Emperor Wen. In every case they were earnest with upright scholars and sincere with correct men. In the past Deng Yu, a famed minister, had just taken the post of examining and instructing the heir; and Shu Shou, a man of long-standing repute, was first appointed to the office of guiding the heir. Worthy rulers of every age have been earnest with the crown prince, for he stands as supreme heir and deputy lord: if he is good, the realm shares his grace; if he is wicked, the realm suffers his calamity. I have lately heard that stewards, stable masters, carriage men, and veterinary physicians have been kept on inner duty from early spring until late summer without rotation. Some have elderly parents at home whom they cannot tend in cold or heat; others have young children at home whom they cannot raise; in spring they miss the plowing season, and in summer they miss the planting season. This runs counter to humane care and may breed resentment. Moreover, the Turk Dagozhi and his kind have human faces but beastly hearts. How can one expect them to learn ritual? They cannot be treated with benevolence and trust. They know neither loyalty nor filial piety in their hearts, nor can they tell right from wrong in speech. Drawing them near will harm your noble reputation; favoring them will not advance your great virtue. Bringing them into the inner quarters has startled everyone. Is it only my foolish understanding that feels uneasy? Your officials are Your Highness's arms and legs; Your Highness is their lord and father. A lord and father must preserve and comfort; arms and legs must set their hearts on correction and rescue. That is why bitter medicine is taken for the body's sake, and unwelcome words are spoken to secure one's position. The ancients set up trees for slander in order to learn their own faults; and hung drums for bold remonstrance in order to reflect on their own errors. Rulers who accepted remonstrance saw their dynasties flourish; while rulers obstinate against remonstrance saw their great enterprise collapse.
9
便 · 使宿
Your Majesty's affection runs deep toward meritorious officials, and your grace is great toward the imperial in-laws. Because Zhangsun Wuji was falsely accused and the charges were all groundless, you wish to execute the accuser to make reward and punishment clear—first to cut off false accusations, second to comfort the hearts of meritorious kin. If the charge were true, Wuji would face the crime of ruining his house. But the accusation is false, and Hongtai should be executed without delay. When the accused is truly guilty, the offense may amount to treason; but in cases of false plotting, guilt reaches only the accuser himself. Measured by the crime, this is clearly not abominable treason. If you wish to follow the law, execution should wait until the autumn equinox. Now is the season of yang harmony, when the ten thousand things are being born, yet you would specially carry out executions. This is what is called harming spring. I note that in the Zuo Commentary, Shengzi said, "Rewards in spring and summer, punishments in autumn and winter." This follows Heaven's seasons. The Monthly Ordinances in the Book of Rites also says, "In the first month of spring, do not kill young creatures or insects. Reduce the prisons, remove fetters, forbid wanton plunder, and halt lawsuits. In the Book of Han, Dong Zhongshu also said, "When a king wishes to act, he should seek the root of it in the Way of Heaven. The great principle of the Way of Heaven lies in yin and yang. Yang is virtue, yin is punishment; punishment governs killing, while virtue governs giving life. Yang constantly dwells in great summer and takes nurturing and growth as its task; yin constantly dwells in great winter and accumulates in empty places where it is not used. From this one sees that Heaven relies on virtue and not on punishment." Your Majesty has inherited the sage throne and continues the enlightened rule, pursuing the lost tracks of Emperor Lian and Emperor Xu and treading the fine regulations of the Yellow Emperor and Zhuanxu. You wish every movement to accord with Heaven's seasons, punishments to follow statutes, yin and yang to keep their proper order, the constellations to hold their places, wind and rain to keep their measure, and rain-prayer sacrifices to cease. Now the great bilu pitch-pipe rules and green yang answers the season—it is the time of growth, yet you would issue stern killing orders. I humbly beg that you turn your sage mind for a moment to the words of the ancients. If you accept them, the people will be greatly fortunate.
10
The memorial was submitted, and the emperor accepted it. At that time Princess Hengshan wished to marry into the Zhangsun clan. Some argued that since the public mourning period had ended, auspicious wedding rites should proceed. Zhining submitted a memorial:
11
使
I have heard that an enlightened ruler governing the realm should await ministers who offer correction and replacement; and a sage lord holding the realm must rely on assistants like salt and prunus. Yao inquired of the Four Peaks, and radiant transformation spread through the realm; Shun entrusted five ministers, and fine virtue spread beyond all bounds. On the left were historians who recorded words; on the right were officials who recorded affairs. Great and small were all written down, good and evil alike recorded. They set punishment and encouragement down in writing, let praise and blame shape human conduct, and became the compass of ten thousand ages and the mirror of a thousand generations. I see that Princess Hengshan is to marry and that some wish the rites completed this autumn. I note that the Book of Rites says, "A girl receives the hairpin at fifteen and marries at twenty; if there is cause, at twenty-three she marries. Zheng Xuan said, "'If there is cause' means encountering mourning." Thus one knows she must complete the full three-year mourning. The Spring and Autumn Annals says, "Duke Zhuang of Lu went to Qi to present betrothal gifts. Du Yu said, "His mother's mourning had not yet reached two full years when he planned marriage; the two commentaries do not condemn this as a breach of ritual, which shows there was cause." This is fully recorded in the histories, and right and wrong are clear. The decision lies in Your Majesty's sage judgment and need not await inquiry from your subjects. Some argue, "According to the regulations, after public removal of mourning one must altogether follow auspicious rites. This was instituted by Emperor Wen of Han for the common people of the realm. As for a princess, her mourning garment is the severest hemp. Even if the garment may be removed by precedent, her feeling should not change by precedent. To marry again while still in the mourning of the heart violates not only the ritual classics but also what human feeling can bear. Your Majesty has succeeded to the throne and rules the ten thousand directions. By right you should continue the beauty of the sage rulers Xi and Xuan and match the fame of Tang and Yu, in this season of encouraging benevolence and filial piety and honoring the teachings of ritual. If this were hard to do, one would still restrain oneself and keep ritual. How much less when it is easy—how can it be abandoned and invite reproach? Men of discernment know this principle already; it does not depend on my foolish words. I humbly beg that you follow the ordered tracks of Emperor Gaozong and set aside the expedient regulations of Emperor Xiaowen, so that the state suffers no loss in law and the princess's feeling and ritual may both be fulfilled.
12
Thereupon an edict ordered the princess to wait until the three-year mourning was complete before completing the wedding rites. That year he was appointed left vice director of the Department of State Affairs and associate with the Secretariat-Chancellery at third rank. In the third year he held his former office while also serving as junior tutor of the crown prince.
13
祿
In the first year of Xianqing (656) he was transferred to grand tutor of the crown prince. Once he and Right Vice Director Zhang Xingcheng and Director of the Secretariat Gao Jifu were all granted land. Zhining submitted, "I dwell west of the Pass. My family has inherited its estate for generations, and from Zhou and Wei down our foundation has not fallen. Xingcheng and the others have newly built manor houses and still lack fields and gardens. What I have is more than I need, and I beg to offer a private transfer." The emperor praised his intent and divided the grant between Xingcheng and Jifu. In the fourth year he requested retirement. He was permitted to resign as left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, appointed grand tutor of the crown prince, and still associated with the Secretariat-Chancellery at third rank. When Gaozong was about to depose Consort Wang. Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang held firm and would not agree, while Li Ji and Xu Jingzong secretly urged the move. Zhining alone kept silent, holding to both sides. When Xu Jingzong investigated Zhangsun Wuji in the imperial prison, he falsely framed Zhining as a partisan of Wuji. Zhining was removed from office and soon demoted to prefect of Rongzhou. In the first year of Linde (664) he was transferred to prefect of Huazhou. In old age he requested retirement and was permitted. In the second year he died at home at the age of seventy-eight. He was posthumously appointed regional inspector of Youzhou, with the posthumous name Ding. In the third year of Shangyuan (676) his titles of left grand master of splendid happiness and grand tutor of the crown prince were posthumously restored. Zhining by nature loved guests and received them tirelessly. Young men of literary talent all attached themselves to him like shadows, yet he could not recommend them for advancement, and critics thought less of him for this. He took part in drafting standard formats and statutes, the Meaning and Commentary on the Five Classics, and the revision of ritual and history. The rewards he received were beyond counting. He left a collected works in twenty scrolls. His son Lizheng served as vice director of the Imperial Stud. Zhining's great-great-grandson Xiulie and Xiulie's son Yi have their own biographies.
14
Gao Jifu was a native of Gao in Dezhou. His grandfather Biao served as prefect of Ande under Wei. His father Heng served as magistrate of Wannian under the Sui. Jifu loved learning from youth and also practiced martial arts. He became known for filial piety during mourning for his mother. His elder brother Yuandao served the Sui as magistrate of Ji. At the beginning of Wude the county people rebelled and joined the enemy. Yuandao was killed. Jifu led his followers out to fight, captured the man who had killed his brother, beheaded him, and carried the head to sacrifice at his brother's tomb. Scholar friends praised him greatly. Many bandit groups then attached themselves to him, and his following reached several thousand. Soon he and Li Houde of Wuzhi led their followers to surrender and he was appointed registrar of the household section in the Wuzhou regional headquarters. At the beginning of Zhenguan he was promoted to investigating censor. He impeached many officials and did not spare the powerful. He was promoted in succession to secretariat drafter.
15
At the time Taizong repeatedly summoned nearby ministers and ordered them to point out what was right and wrong in current government. Jifu submitted a sealed report in five articles. The summary reads:
16
使 使 使
Your Majesty has pacified the Nine Provinces and is rich in the Four Seas. Your virtue surpasses remote antiquity and your Way rises above former exemplars. The times are already peaceful and your achievements already complete. Yet why are penal codes still not set aside? Surely it is because planning ministers do not extend simple and easy government; and envoys of the central offices are blind to the Way of lasting governance. Those who uphold the law take severity as serving the public; those who hold office take encroaching on subordinates as benefiting the state. None have the open, level, and forgiving heart that matches your sage intent. As for establishing offices and dividing duties, each has its responsible office. The eight seats of the Department of State Affairs bear the responsibility for fulfillment of duty; the king's keeper of the tally has its meaning here. I humbly hope you will instruct each according to his place and make each perform his duty. You must also promote men of warm and steady character and elevate officials of pure conduct; honor plain simplicity and reform shallow extravagance, lead with reverence and yielding, show them what to love and hate, until households know filial piety and compassion and men know integrity and shame. Ugly words and bad conduct are mocked in the villages; forgetting righteousness for private favor brings rejection from kin. Block their hearts of profit and desire and carry them with pure and clean transformation. Then households will grow rich, the state wealthy, qi will harmonize, and things will flourish. Ritual and propriety will then flourish everywhere. By what path could calamity and disorder arise?
17
He also said:
18
使
I see that Your Majesty constantly preserves economy, yet in all construction and repair the workmen have not ceased. Regular corvée laborers and craftsmen are not available for other service, and hired labor and market purchases are not without cost. What the lord of men desires—what matter would not succeed? Still I hope you will love your wealth and not exhaust it, cherish your strength and not drain it. The several prefectures around the capital are truly the root of the state. The land is narrow and the people dense; planting is not extensive. Though grain is cheap, stores are not plentiful. They especially deserve favor and should be allowed to rest. Strengthening the root and weakening the branches has been a constant principle since antiquity. Beyond the Pass and the Yellow River, corvée labor is altogether light; in the imperial capital and the three auxiliaries, levies are many and varied; and south of the Yangzi and north of the Hebei region are still more easy and leisurely. There must be graded distinctions to equalize their labor and ease.
19
He also said:
20
祿
Now princesses' households have enfeoffments sufficient for their needs; and the homes of meritorious nobles have salaries sufficient for vessels and garments. Yet they fret over economy while rushing after splendor, lending at interest and pursuing profits of one in ten. If dukes and marquises still seek profit, how would the common people know it is wrong? The scramble for petty profit comes from this. It profanes court style, and I say it should be punished and reformed.
21
He also said:
22
祿 祿使
Office is to respond to affairs in place of farming. Outer officials of low rank still receive no salary. Having left their home districts, they must by nature be poor. Yet longing for wife and children—even the worthy are burdened in their hearts; and the urgency of hunger and cold—men like Bo Yi and Liu Xiahui rarely preserved their conduct intact. The Way of governing should be easy to follow. If you do not relieve their poverty but only demand purity and diligence, most of the lowest ranks are middling men. I fear only that when inspection tours depart each year, light carriages will follow in their tracks. If you cannot stop their encroachment and extortion, how can you seek good government from them? Now households are growing abundant and granaries are full. Weigh and grant salaries so they may support their parents. Then supervise them with strict statutes and demand their service in return. Then officials will give their full strength and public opinion will approve.
23
He also said:
24
I see that Prince Mi Yuanxiao and others are all close imperial kin. Your Majesty's heart of friendly love rises above antiquity. You have given them carriages and robes and entrusted them with frontier defense. They must follow ritual to match what the realm expects. Recently I have seen imperial sons bow to their uncles, and the uncles return the bow. Though princely ranks are equal, family ritual still has order. How can zhao and mu be so inverted? I humbly beg that you issue instruction once and forever follow the constant rule.
25
祿 祿 使
The memorial was submitted, and Taizong praised it. In the seventeenth year (643) he was appointed right vice director of the crown prince's household. He again submitted a sharp memorial on current government and was specially granted one dose of stalactite, with the words, "You offered words like medicine and stone, and therefore I repay you with medicine and stone." In the eighteenth year he was given the additional title Silver-Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and concurrently vice director of the Ministry of Personnel. In all selections and promotions, contemporaries called his judgments fitting. Taizong once bestowed a gold-backed mirror to display his clear judgment. In the twenty-second year (648) he was transferred to director of the Secretariat, concurrently inspecting director of the Ministry of Personnel and supervising compilation of the national history, and enfeoffed as Duke of Gao County. In the second year of Yonghui (651) he was appointed grand master of splendid happiness, acting palace attendant, and concurrently junior protector of the crown prince. Stricken with wind illness, he was disabled at home. The emperor summoned his elder brother Jitong, regional inspector of Guo, as vice director of the Imperial Clan to attend him, and repeatedly sent palace envoys to observe his eating and inquire whether he improved or declined. He soon died at the age of fifty-eight. The emperor mourned for him, suspended court for three days, and posthumously appointed him grand master of the office with equal ceremony to the three excellencies and regional inspector of Jingzhou, with the posthumous name Xian.
26
His son Zhengye rose to secretariat drafter. Because of association with Shangguan Yi he was sentenced and exiled beyond the Ling range.
27
簿 滿殿 西 退 使 使 祿 殿 使宿
Zhang Xingcheng was a native of Yifeng in Dingzhou. In youth he studied under Liu Xuan of Hejian, learning diligently without tiring. Xuan told his disciples, "Master Zhang's frame and bearing are square and upright—he is talent for the hall and temple." At the end of Daye he was examined as filial and incorrupt and became irregular outside attendant of the Visitors Bureau. When Wang Shichong usurped the throne, he was made director of revenue. After Shichong was defeated, on the basis of his Sui credentials he was appointed magistrate of Gushu in Songzhou. He also passed the decree examination in the second class and was appointed chief clerk of Fuping County in Yongzhou, gaining a reputation for ability in governance. When his term ended he was appointed palace censor within the hall. In impeachment he did not spare powerful kin. Taizong considered him capable and said to Fang Xuanling, "In employing men through the ages, one must rely on intermediaries. But as for Xingcheng, I raised him up myself. There was no prior introduction." Taizong once spoke of men from Shandong and from within the Pass with partial intent. Xingcheng was attending a banquet and kneeling submitted, "I have heard that the Son of Heaven takes the Four Seas as his home and should not take east and west as limits; if it is like this, then you show men something ever more narrow." Taizong approved his words and bestowed a famed horse, one hundred thousand in cash, and a suit of clothing. From then on, whenever there was great government, he was often among those who deliberated. He was promoted in succession to attendant within the issuance. Taizong once faced the hall and told attending ministers, "The reason I cannot indulge my desires and take pleasure in my prime years, but instead encourage restraint, toil bitterly, dwell in low palaces, and eat meager food, is precisely for the people. I serve as lord of men yet also perform the affairs of generals and ministers—is this not seizing your fame? Formerly Emperor Gaozu of Han obtained Xiao He, Cao Shen, Han Xin, and Peng Yue, and the realm was peaceful; Shun, Yu, Tang, and Wu had Ji, Qi, Yi Yin, and Lü Shang, and the Four Seas were governed in peace. These matters I perform all together." Xingcheng withdrew and submitted a written remonstrance: "The Sui lost the Way and the realm seethed. Your Majesty set aright disorder and rescued the people from ruin. How could Zhou and Han lords and subjects be compared to this? Your Majesty's sage virtue holds light within and your measure is vast. Though you truly join the splendors of Wen and Wu with the roles of general and minister, what use is it to face court before the multitude and compare with them? With the honor of the ten-thousand-chariot ruler, why contend for achievement with your subjects? I have heard, "Heaven—what does it say? The four seasons proceed." I have also heard, "You only do not boast, and under Heaven none contends ability with you." I fill a post near the pivot and dare not claim knowledge of correction and replacement, yet rashly state wild directness and humbly await punishment." Taizong deeply accepted it. He was transferred to vice director of the Ministry of Justice and junior steward of the crown prince's household. When Taizong campaigned east, the crown prince supervised the state at Dingzhou—Xingcheng's home district. The crown prince said to Xingcheng, "Today I send you home in brocade robes." Thereupon he ordered the responsible offices to sacrifice at the tombs of his forebears. Xingcheng recommended fellow townsmen Wei Tangqing, Cui Baoquan, Ma Longju, Zhang Junjie, and others, all famed for learning and conduct. The crown prince summoned them to audience and, because they were old and unfit for office, richly rewarded them and sent them away. The crown prince also sent Xingcheng to the traveling residence. Taizong was greatly pleased to see him and bestowed two horses and three hundred bolts of thin silk. When the imperial carriage returned to the capital, he became inspection commissioner for Henan. On return, his work matched the intent, and he was concurrently made inspecting left vice director of the Department of State Affairs. That year Taizong visited Lingzhou and the crown prince was to follow. Xingcheng submitted a memorial: "I humbly receive that the crown prince will follow in visiting Lingzhou. I in my folly consider that the crown prince is cultivating virtue in the Eastern Palace. Not much time has passed—far and near, Chinese and barbarian, all stand waiting to hear fine tidings. If instead he supervises the state, meets the hundred officials, decides affairs, and clearly practices governmental principle, he will be both a heavy stronghold for the capital and a display of flourishing virtue to the four directions. Compared with going out to accompany private affection, how is it not better to bow and follow the public Way?" Taizong considered this loyal and advanced him to Silver-Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness. In the twenty-third year (649) he was transferred to palace attendant and concurrently director of the Ministry of Justice. When Taizong died, together with Gao Jifu he attended Gaozong's accession before the spirit coffin in Taiji Hall. He was soon enfeoffed as Duke of Beiping County and supervised compilation of the national history. At the time Jinzhou's earth quaked in succession with a sound like thunder. Gaozong questioned Xingcheng about it. Xingcheng replied, "Heaven is yang; earth is yin. Yang is the image of the ruler; yin is the image of the minister. The ruler should move and turn; the minister should be quiet and still. Now Jinzhou's earth moves and for a full ten days does not cease. Although the Way of Heaven is dark and distant and cannot be measured by calculation; yet in human affairs, when weighed and measured, it clearly serves as warning. I fear women intercessors hold power and great ministers plot in secret. Cultivating virtue to avert disaster lies with Your Majesty. Moreover, Your Majesty was originally enfeoffed as Prince of Jin. Now the earth quakes in Jinzhou—there is a correspondence of signs below. How could it be in vain? I humbly hope you will think deeply and plan far to stop what has not yet sprouted." In the eighth month of the second year he was appointed left vice director of the Department of State Affairs. He was soon additionally appointed junior tutor of the crown prince. In the fourth year, from the third month without rain until the fifth month, he again submitted a memorial requesting retirement. Gaozong personally drafted a reply: "Dense clouds but no rain have lasted a full month—this is my scant virtue, not the fault of chief ministers. I truly accept blame from the realm and use this to state the faults of six affairs. Dismissal by edict departs in meaning from blaming oneself. Now I order your memorial cut off. Do not again make excuses." He bestowed palace women, gold, and vessels. He firmly requested retirement. Gaozong said, "Sir, you are my old friend and trusted heart—how can you leave me and go?" Thereupon he mournfully shed tears. Xingcheng had no choice and returned to office. In the ninth month he died in the Department of State Affairs at the age of sixty-seven. Gaozong wept for him with great grief, suspended court for three days, and ordered officials of ninth rank and above to go to his residence to mourn. As the encoffining drew near, palace envoys came three times, bestowed inner garments, and ordered palace women to lodge at his home to oversee the laying out and encoffining. He was posthumously appointed grand master of the office with equal ceremony to the three excellencies and regional inspector of Bingzhou. The responsible offices prepared ritual documents of appointment. He was sacrificed to with a young bullock and sow. Funeral gifts were eight hundred bolts of silk cloth and eight hundred shi of grain. He was granted the secret vessels of the Eastern Garden, with the posthumous name Ding. In the first year of Hongdao (683) an edict ordered Xingcheng to share sacrifice in Gaozong's temple court. His son Luoke succeeded him and rose to magistrate of Weinan in Yongzhou.
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姿 宿祿 使 殿 滿 使 使
Xingcheng's clansmen Yizhi and Changzong. Yizhi's father Xizang served as registrar of households in Yongzhou. Yizhi at first rose through hereditary privilege to attendant for imperial carriages. Over twenty years old, he was fair-skinned with beautiful features and skilled in music and song lyrics. When Zetian held court, in the second year of Tongtian (689) Princess Taiping recommended Yizhi's younger brother Changzong to attend within the inner palace. Soon Changzong told the Celestial Empress, "My elder brother Yizhi's capacity surpasses mine, and he is also skilled in compounding elixirs." She at once ordered him summoned to audience and was greatly pleased. Thereby the brothers both attended within the palace, applying powder and rouge, wearing brocade and embroidered robes, and both receiving the favor of Lord Piyang. Soon Changzong was made general of the cloud banners and acting left thousand-ox central gentleman; Yizhi was made vice director of the office of guards. They were granted a first-rank residence, five hundred bolts of goods, slaves, camels, horses, and the like. After one night, Changzong was additionally given Silver-Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, granted guard pavilions, and joined capital officials in attending court on the first and fifteenth of each month. Xizang was posthumously appointed regional inspector of Xiangzhou. His mother, Lady Wei Azang, was enfeoffed as grand lady. Palace women were sent to her residence to inquire after her, and Director of the Secretariat Li Huijiu was ordered to attend Azang privately. Wu Chengsi, Sansi, Yizong, Zong Chuke, and Zong Jinqing waited at their gate, vying to hold whip and bridle, calling Yizhi Fifth Lord and Changzong Sixth Lord. Soon Changzong was additionally made left irregular attendant-in-ordinary. In the second year of Shenglu (699) the Crane-Control Office was established. Yizhi was made superintendent of crane control and inner attendant, his other offices remaining as before. In the first year of Jiushi (700) the Crane-Control Office was changed to the Attendant-on-the-Sage Office. Yizhi was made chief of attendants on the sage, and the literary men Yan Chaoyin, Xue Ji, and Yuan Banqian were all brought in as attendants. Whenever there were banquets, they would order mockery of dukes and ministers for laughter and pleasure. At informal banquets in the inner hall, the two Zhangs and the various Wus attended seated, playing games and laughing in jest, with gifts beyond counting. At the time flatterers reported that Changzong was the reincarnation of Prince Zijin. They ordered him clothed in feather garments, playing the vertical flute, riding a wooden crane, and performing music in the courtyard as Zijin had ridden the void. The literary men all composed poems to praise him. Cui Rong wrote its supreme song, with lines such as, "Formerly I met Master Fuqiu; now I am the same as Ding Lingwei. The central gentleman's talent and appearance are real; the archive clerk's name is not." The Celestial Empress ordered selection of beautiful youths as attendants on the sage. Right remonstrator Zhu Jingze remonstrated: "I have heard that ambition cannot be filled and pleasure cannot be exhausted. The feeling of craving desire is the same in fool and sage. The worthy can restrain it and not let it pass excess—this is the admonitory saying of former sages. Your Majesty's inner favorites already include Xue Huaiyi, Zhang Yizhi, and Changzong. This should surely be enough. Recently I have heard that attendant-on-carriages Liu Mo said his son Liangbin was fair-skinned with beautiful beard and brows, and chief clerk Hou Xiang of the left directorate of the gate guards office was said to be robust beyond Xue Huaiyi—they specially wish to advance themselves as fit for inner attendance on the sage. Without ritual and without measure, it overflows into court audience. My duty is remonstrance, and I dare not fail to report." Zetian comforted him: "If not for your direct words, I would not have known this." She bestowed one hundred bolts of colored silk. Because Changzong's ugly reputation was heard outside, wishing to cover his tracks with fine affairs, she ordered Changzong to compile the Pearl Splendors of the Three Teachings within the palace. She brought in literary scholars Li Jiao, Yan Chaoyin, Xu Yanbo, Zhang Yue, Song Zhiwen, Cui Shi, Fu Jiamo, and twenty-six others in all, dividing by category to compile and collect. It was completed in one thousand three hundred scrolls and submitted. Changzong was additionally made director of the palace stables and enfeoffed as Duke of Ye, with a substantive fief of three hundred households. Yizhi was made superintendent of the Forest Terrace and enfeoffed as Duke of Heng, also with a substantive fief of three hundred households. Soon Changzong was changed to vice director of the spring office. Yizhi and Changzong were both roughly able to compose writing. For responding to imperial drafts and harmonizing in verse, Song Zhiwen and Yan Chaoyin composed for them. Zetian was advanced in years and largely entrusted government affairs to the Yizhi brothers. Zhongzong was crown prince. The crown prince's son Prince Shao Chongrun and his younger sister the Princess of Yongtai privately spoke that the two Zhangs monopolized government. Yizhi complained to Zetian. She handed them to the crown prince to interrogate and dispose of himself, and the crown prince had them both strangled. Censor-in-chief Wei Yuanzhong once memorialized the crimes of the two Zhangs. Yizhi feared and was not at ease, and falsely memorialized that Yuanzhong and director of rituals Gao Jian said, "The Son of Heaven is old; he should rely on the crown prince as a long-lasting friend." Zetian said, "How do you know this?" Yizhi said, "Phoenix Pavilion drafter Zhang Yue is witness." The next day Zetian summoned Yuanzhong and Yue to the court to interrogate them. All was false. Zetian still because of the two Zhangs expelled Yuanzhong as commandant of Gaoyao and exiled Zhang Yue for a long term to Qinzhou. In the second year of Chang'an (702) Yizhi's bribery affair broke out. He was impeached by the Censorate and sent to prison. His elder brothers Vice Director Changyi and Vice Director Tongxiu were all demoted. When Zetian lay ill in the Long Life Courtyard, chief ministers rarely gained audience. Only the Yizhi brothers attended at her side. Fearing calamity would reach them, they drew in partisan cliques and secretly made preparations. Someone posted their affairs on the road. Left terrace censor-in-chief Song Jing requested investigation. Zetian outwardly assented, but soon ordered Song Jing to go to Youzhou to investigate regional commander Qu Tuchongxiang, and ordered Director of Rituals Cui Shenqing to interrogate the matter. Shenqing followed the intent and cleared the Changzong brothers.
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The historiographer says: Duke Yan of Yu in assisting and guiding the crown prince, Attendant-in-Chief Gao in spreading principle and conduct, and Beiping Zhang in denouncing yin malignity—all spoke what men find hard to say. If not for gold-and-jade constancy and pine-and-bamboo upright conduct, how could they oppose the ruler's intent and offer bitter loyalty? It is fitting that they discussed the Way in the court gallery and completed their lives in manifest splendor. What the ancients called using righteousness to correct a ruler's faults—these three lords had it.
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The encomium says: How admirable Duke Yu, offering correction to both palaces. Former cultivation well continued, succeeding virtue ever more lofty. Gao repaid with medicine and stone; Zhang moved the imperial heart. The righteousness of ruler and subject—this was its beginning and end.
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