Volume 89 Biographies 39: Di Renjie, Wang Fangqing, Yao Shu

狄仁傑（族曾孫兼謨）王方慶姚璹（弟班）

Di Renjie (His clansman and great-grandson was Jian Mo.) Wang Fangqing and Yao Shu (His younger brother was Ban.)

狄仁傑字懷英，并州太原人也。祖孝緒，貞觀中尚書左丞。父知遜，夔州長史。仁傑兒童時，門人有被害者，縣吏就詰之，眾皆接對，唯仁傑堅坐讀書。吏責之，仁傑曰：“黃卷之中，聖賢備在，猶不能接對，何暇偶俗吏，而見責耶！ ”後以明經舉，授汴州判佐。時工部尚書閻立本為河南道黜陟使，仁傑為吏人誣告，立本見而謝曰：“仲尼云：‘觀過知仁矣。 ’足下可謂海曲之明珠，東南之遺寶。 ”薦授并州都督府法曹。其親在河陽別業，仁傑赴并州，登太行山，南望見白雲孤飛，謂左右曰：“吾親所居，在此雲下。 ”瞻望佇立久之，雲移乃行。仁傑孝友絕人，在并州，有同府法曹鄭崇質，母老且病，當充使絕域。仁傑謂曰：“太夫人有危疾，而公遠使，豈可貽親萬里之憂！ ”乃詣長史藺仁基，請代崇質而行。時仁基與司馬李孝廉不協，因謂曰：“吾等豈獨無愧耶？ ”由是相待如初。

Di Renjie, courtesy name Huaiying, was a native of Taiyuan in Bingzhou. His grandfather Xiao Xu served as Left Vice Director of the Secretariat during the Zhenguan reign. His father Zhi Sun was chief secretary of Kuizhou. When Renjie was still a boy, one of his teachers was murdered. The county clerk came to question the pupils; everyone answered, but Renjie alone kept his seat and went on reading. The clerk scolded him. Renjie said, "The sages and worthies are all there in my books—if I cannot even answer to them, what leisure have I to bandy words with a petty clerk and take his rebuke!" Later he passed the Mingjing examination and was appointed assistant adjutant of Bianzhou. At the time Yan Liben, Minister of Works, was touring Henan as merit examiner. Renjie had been falsely denounced by a clerk. When Liben met him he apologized and said, "Confucius said, 'Observe a man's faults and you know his benevolence.'" "You are a bright pearl from the sea's edge, a treasure the southeast has not yet lost." He recommended him and had him appointed legal clerk of the Bingzhou Protectorate. His parents lived at a separate estate in Heyang. On his way to Bingzhou Renjie climbed Mount Taihang; looking south he saw a lone cloud drifting and said to those beside him, "My parents live beneath that cloud." He gazed after it and stood a long while; only when the cloud had moved on did he continue. Renjie's filial devotion and brotherly affection were unmatched. While he was in Bingzhou, a fellow legal clerk named Zheng Chongzhi had an aged, ailing mother and was assigned to serve as envoy to a distant land. Renjie said to him, "Your mother is gravely ill, yet you are sent on a mission far away—how can you leave her with a thousand leagues of worry!" He then went to Chief Administrator Lin Renji and asked to go in Chongzhi's stead. At the time Renji and Vice Commander Li Xiaolian were estranged. Because of this Renji said to Li, "Are we alone without shame?" From that day they treated each other as before.

仁傑，儀鳳中為大理丞，周歲斷滯獄一萬七千人，無冤訴者。時武衛大將軍權善才坐誤斫昭陵柏樹，仁傑奏罪當免職。高宗令即誅之，仁傑又奏罪不當死。帝作色曰：“善才斫陵上樹，是使我不孝，必須殺之。 ”左右矚仁傑令出，仁傑曰：“臣聞逆龍鱗，忤人主，自古以為難，臣愚以為不然。居桀、紂時則難，堯、舜時則易。臣今幸逢堯、舜，不懼比幹之誅。昔漢文時有盜高廟玉環，張釋之廷諍，罪止棄市。魏文將徙其人，辛毗引裾而諫，亦見納用。且明主可以理奪，忠臣不可以威懼。今陛下不納臣言，瞑目之後，羞見釋之、辛毗於地下。陛下作法，懸之象魏，徒流死罪，俱有等差。豈有犯非極刑，即令賜死？法既無常，則萬姓何所措其手足？陛下必欲變法，請從今日為始。古人云：‘假使盜長陵一抔土，陛下何以加之？ ’今陛下以昭陵一株柏殺一將軍，千載之後，謂陛下為何主？此臣所以不敢奉制殺善才，陷陛下於不道。 ”帝意稍解，善才因而免死。居數日，授仁傑侍御史。時司農卿韋機兼領將作、少府二司，高宗以恭陵玄宮狹小，不容送終之具，遣機續成其功。機於埏之左右為便房四所，又造宿羽、高山、上陽等宮，莫不壯麗。仁傑奏其太過，機竟坐免官。左司郎中王本立恃寵用事，朝廷懾懼，仁傑奏之，請付法寺，高宗特原之。仁傑奏曰：“國家雖乏英才，豈少本立之類，陛下何惜罪人而虧王法？必欲曲赦本立，請棄臣於無人之境，為忠貞將來之誡。 ”本立竟得罪，由是朝廷肅然。

In the Yifeng era Renjie served as assistant director of the Court of Judicial Review. Within a year he cleared seventeen thousand backlogged cases, and no one complained of injustice. At the time Martial Guards General Quan Shancai was charged with mistakenly felling a cypress at Zhaoling. Renjie memorialized that the offence warranted only dismissal from office. Emperor Gaozong ordered him executed at once. Renjie again memorialized that the crime did not warrant death. The Emperor's face darkened. "Shancai cut a tree on my father's tomb," he said. "That makes me unfilial. He must die." Those at the Emperor's side signaled Renjie to withdraw. Renjie said, "I have heard that to touch the dragon's scales and oppose one's sovereign has always been called hard—but I, in my foolishness, do not think so. Under Jie and Zhou it would be hard; under Yao and Shun it would be easy. I now have the good fortune to meet Yao and Shun, and do not fear the execution Bi Gan suffered. In the reign of Emperor Wen of Han a man stole the jade ring from the Gaozu temple; Zhang Shizhi remonstrated in open court, and the penalty was only public execution. When Emperor Wen of Wei was about to relocate his people, Xin Pi seized his robe and remonstrated, and that counsel too was accepted. Moreover, a wise sovereign may be persuaded by reason, but a loyal minister must not be cowed by intimidation. If Your Majesty will not heed me now, after I close my eyes I shall be ashamed to face Shizhi and Xin Pi in the grave. Your Majesty has established the law and hung it at the gate-tower; exile, penal servitude, and capital punishment each have their proper grades. How can an offence that is not capital punishment at once be met with an order to bestow death? If the law has no fixed measure, where shall the common people place their hands and feet? If Your Majesty truly wishes to change the law, let it begin from today. The ancients said, 'Suppose a man stole a handful of earth from the Changling tomb—how would Your Majesty punish him?' Yet now Your Majesty would kill a general for one cypress at Zhaoling—in a thousand years, what sort of ruler will men call you? That is why I dare not obey an order to kill Shancai and drag Your Majesty into wrongdoing. The Emperor's anger eased somewhat, and Shancai was spared. A few days later Renjie was appointed investigating censor. At the time Minister of Public Works Wei Ji also held the posts of Director of Palace Construction and Vice Minister of the Palace Department. Because Emperor Gaozong found the underground chamber of Gongling too narrow for the funeral furnishings, he sent Ji to enlarge and complete it. Ji built four side chambers on either side of the platform, and also constructed the Su Yu, Gaoshan, and Shangyang palaces—none of them less than splendid. Renjie memorialized that this was excessive, and Ji was ultimately dismissed from office. Left Department Director Wang Benli relied on imperial favor to wield power, and the court trembled before him. Renjie memorialized against him and asked that he be handed over to the judicial office, but Emperor Gaozong specially pardoned him. Renjie memorialized, "Though the state may lack outstanding talent, are men like Benli so scarce? Why should Your Majesty spare a criminal and impair the royal law?" "If Your Majesty insists on bending the law to pardon Benli, then cast me out to a place where no man dwells, as a warning to loyal ministers yet to come." Benli was ultimately punished, and from that day the court became orderly.

尋加朝散大夫，累遷度支郎中。高宗將幸汾陽宮，以仁傑為知頓使。并州長史李衝玄以道出妒女祠，俗雲盛服過者必致風雷之災，乃發數萬人別開御道。仁傑曰：“天子之行，千乘萬騎，風伯清塵，雨師灑道，何妒女之害耶？ ”遽令罷之。高宗聞之，歎曰：“真大丈夫也！”

Soon he was promoted to Palace Gentlemen Consultant and then successively to Director of the Revenue Bureau. When Emperor Gaozong was about to visit the Fenyang Palace, Renjie was appointed provisioning commissioner. Bingzhou Chief Administrator Li Chongxuan, because the route passed the Jealous Woman Shrine—it was said that anyone passing in grand attire would bring wind and thunder—mobilized tens of thousands of men to cut a separate imperial road. Renjie said, "When the Son of Heaven travels, a thousand chariots and ten thousand riders go forth—the Wind Lord clears the dust and the Rain Master sprinkles the road. What harm could the Jealous Woman do?" He immediately ordered the work stopped. When Emperor Gaozong heard of it he sighed, "A true great man!"

俄轉寧州刺史，撫和戎夏，人得歡心，郡人勒碑頌德。御史郭翰巡察隴右，所至多所按劾。及入寧州境內，耆老歌刺史德美者盈路。翰既授館，召州吏謂之曰：“入其境，其政可知也。願成使君之美，無為久留。 ”州人方散。翰薦名於朝，徵為冬官侍郎，充江南巡撫使。吳、楚之俗多淫祠，仁傑奏毀一千七百所，唯留夏禹、吳太伯、季劄、伍員四祠。

Soon he was transferred to Prefect of Ningzhou, where he soothed both Chinese and barbarians alike. The people were won to him, and the people of the commandery carved a stele praising his virtue. Censor Guo Han inspected Longyou; wherever he went he prosecuted many cases. When he entered Ningzhou's territory, elders singing the prefect's praises filled the road. After Han had taken lodging, he summoned the prefectural clerks and said, "Enter a territory and its governance can be known. I wish to complete the prefect's good name—do not keep me long." The people of the prefecture then dispersed. Han recommended him to the court; he was summoned as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works and appointed commissioner touring Jiangnan. In Wu and Chu the custom favored licentious shrines. Renjie memorialized to destroy seventeen hundred of them, retaining only the shrines to Yu the Great, Wu Taibo, Ji Zha, and Wu Yuan.

轉文昌右丞，出為豫州刺史。時越王貞稱兵汝南事敗，緣坐者六七百人，籍沒者五千口，司刑使逼促行刑。仁傑哀其詿誤，緩其獄，密表奏曰：“臣欲顯奏，似為逆人申理；知而不言，恐乖陛下存恤之旨。表成復毀，意不能定。此輩鹹非本心，伏望哀其詿誤。 ”特敕原之，配流豐州。豫囚次於寧州，父老迎而勞之曰：“我狄使君活汝輩耶！ ”相攜哭於碑下，齋三日而後行。豫囚至流所，復相與立碑頌狄君之德。

He was transferred to Right Vice Director of the Secretariat and sent out as Prefect of Yuzhou. At the time Prince Yue of Yue had raised troops at Runan and been defeated; those implicated numbered six or seven hundred, and five thousand persons had their households registered for confiscation. The judicial commissioner pressed urgently for executions. Renjie pitied those ensnared in error, slowed the cases, and secretly memorialized, "If I report this openly, it will seem that I am pleading for rebels;" yet if I know and do not speak, I fear I would violate Your Majesty's intent to preserve and soothe." "When the memorial was finished I destroyed it again—my mind could not be settled." "None of these people acted from their own hearts; I humbly beg pity for those ensnared in error." By special edict they were pardoned and assigned to exile in Fengzhou. The Yuzhou prisoners, passing through Ningzhou, were welcomed by the elders, who said, "Did Prefect Di save you!" They wept together at the stele, fasted three days, and then went on. When the Yuzhou prisoners reached their place of exile, they again together erected a stele praising Prefect Di's virtue.

初，越王之亂，宰相張光輔率師討平之。將士恃功，多所求取，仁傑不之應。光輔怒曰：“州將輕元帥耶？ ”仁傑曰：“亂河南者，一越王貞耳。今一貞死而萬貞生。 ”光輔質其辭，仁傑曰：“明公董戎三十萬，平一亂臣，不戢兵鋒，縱其暴橫，無罪之人，肝腦塗地，此非萬貞何耶？且凶威協從，勢難自固，及天兵暫臨，乘城歸順者萬計，繩墜四面成蹊。公奈何縱邀功之人，殺歸降之眾？但恐冤聲騰沸，上徹於天。如得尚方斬馬劍加於君頸，雖死如歸。 ”光輔不能詰，心甚銜之。還都，奏仁傑不遜，左授復州刺史。入為洛州司馬。

Earlier, during the Prince of Yue's rebellion, Chancellor Zhang Guangfu had led troops to suppress and pacify it. The officers and soldiers, relying on their merit, made many demands, but Renjie did not comply. Guangfu said angrily, "Does the prefect slight the commander-in-chief?" Renjie said, "The one who disturbed Henan was only Prince Yue of Yue." "Now one Yue is dead, but ten thousand Yues are born." Guangfu challenged his words. Renjie said, "Your Excellency led three hundred thousand troops and pacified one rebel—yet you did not sheathe your blades and let them run wild. Innocent people had their livers and brains smeared on the ground—is this not ten thousand Yues?" "Moreover those who followed under coercion could hardly stand firm on their own; when the imperial army briefly arrived, those who climbed the walls and submitted numbered in the tens of thousands—ropes by which men climbed fell away on all four sides, making paths." "Why do you indulge those who claim merit and kill those who surrendered?" "I only fear that cries of injustice will boil up and pierce heaven itself." "If the emperor's sword of execution were placed upon your neck, I would meet death as gladly as going home." Guangfu could not rebut him and deeply resented him. On returning to the capital he memorialized that Renjie was insubordinate, and Renjie was demoted to Prefect of Fuzhou. He was recalled to the capital as Vice Magistrate of Luozhou.

天授二年九月丁酉，轉地官侍郎、判尚書、同鳳閣鸞台平章事。則天謂曰：“卿在汝南時，甚有善政，欲知譖卿者乎？ ”仁傑謝曰：“陛下以臣為過，臣當改之；陛下明臣無過，臣之幸也。臣不知譖者，並為善友，臣請不知。 ”則天深加歎異。

On the dingyou day of the ninth month in the second year of Tianshou, he was transferred to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, concurrently Director of the Secretariat, and Associate at the Hall of the Phoenix and Hall of the Crane with the authority of a chancellor. Empress Wu said to him, "When you were at Runan your governance was excellent. Would you like to know who slandered you?" Renjie replied, "If Your Majesty deem me at fault, I shall reform;" if Your Majesty know me to be without fault, that is my good fortune." "I do not wish to know the slanderers—they would all become good friends. I ask not to know." Empress Wu sighed deeply in admiration.

未幾，為來俊臣誣構下獄。時一問即承者例得減死，來俊臣逼協仁傑，令一問承反。仁傑歎曰：“大周革命，萬物唯新，唐朝舊臣，甘從誅戮。反是實！ ”俊臣乃少寬之。判官王德壽謂仁傑曰：“尚書必得減死。德壽意欲求少階級，憑尚書牽楊執柔，可乎？ ”仁傑曰：“若何牽之？ ”德壽曰：“尚書為春官時，執柔任其司員外，引之可也。 ”仁傑曰：“皇天後土，遣仁傑行此事！ ”以頭觸柱，流血被麵，德壽懼而謝焉。既承反，所司但待日行刑，不復嚴備。仁傑求守者得筆硯，拆被頭帛書冤，置綿衣中，謂德壽曰：“時方熱，請付家人去其綿。 ”德壽不之察。仁傑子光遠得書，持以告變。則天召見，覽之而問俊臣。俊臣曰：“仁傑不免冠帶，寢處甚安，何由伏罪？ ”則天使人視之，俊臣遽命仁傑巾帶而見使者。乃令德壽代仁傑作謝死表，附使者進之。則天召仁傑，謂曰：“承反何也？ ”對曰：“向若不承反，已死於鞭笞矣。 ”“何為作謝死表？ ”曰“臣無此表。 ”示之，乃知代署也。故得免死。貶彭澤令。武承嗣屢奏請誅之，則天曰：“朕好生惡殺，誌在恤刑。渙汗已行，不可更返。”

Before long he was falsely implicated by Lai Junchen and thrown into prison. At the time those who confessed at the first questioning were by precedent entitled to commuted death. Lai Junchen pressured Renjie and ordered him to confess to rebellion at the first questioning. Renjie sighed, "The Great Zhou has undergone revolution and all things are renewed. I, an old minister of Tang, gladly accept execution." "Rebellion is the truth!" Junchen then eased up somewhat. Judge Wang Deshou said to Renjie, "The Minister will certainly receive commuted death." "Deshou wishes to gain a small promotion—by relying on the Minister to implicate Yang Zhirou, would that be possible?" Renjie said, "How would I implicate him?" Deshou said, "When the Minister was in the Ministry of Personnel, Zhirou served as director of his section; he could be implicated." Renjie cried out, "Heaven and Earth have sent me to do such a thing!" He dashed his head against a pillar until blood covered his face. Deshou was terrified and begged his forgiveness. Once he had confessed to rebellion, the officials simply waited for execution day and relaxed their vigilance. Renjie got brush and ink from a guard, tore cloth from his quilt to write a plea of innocence, hid it in a padded coat, and told Deshou, "The weather is hot—please send this to my family so they can remove the cotton lining." Deshou never looked into it. Renjie's son Guangyuan received the letter and rushed to report the affair to the throne. Empress Wu summoned Renjie, read the letter, and questioned Lai Jun Chen. Jun Chen said, "Renjie still goes about in full dress and sleeps in comfort. How could he possibly have admitted guilt?" The Empress sent an inspector, and Jun Chen at once ordered Renjie to don cap and sash before the envoy arrived. He then had Deshou draft a memorial of thanks for execution in Renjie's name and sent it in with the envoy. Empress Wu summoned Renjie and asked, "Why did you confess to rebellion?" He answered, "If I had not confessed to rebellion, I would already have been beaten to death." "Then why was a memorial accepting death written?" He said, "I wrote no such memorial." When she showed it to him, he realized it had been forged in his name. In this way he was spared execution. He was demoted to magistrate of Pengze County. Wu Chengsi repeatedly petitioned for his execution, but Empress Wu said, "I cherish life and abhor killing; my purpose is to temper justice with mercy." A pardon has already been granted and cannot be withdrawn.

萬歲通天年，契丹寇陷冀州，河北震動，征仁傑為魏州刺史。前刺史獨孤思莊懼賊至，盡驅百姓入城，繕修守具。仁傑既至，悉放歸農畝，謂曰：“賊猶在遠，何必如是。萬一賊來，吾自當之，必不關百姓也。 ”賊聞之自退，百姓鹹歌誦之，相與立碑以紀恩惠。俄轉幽州都督。

In the Wansui Tongtian era, Khitan invaders captured Jizhou and threw Hebei into turmoil; Renjie was appointed prefect of Weizhou. The previous prefect, Dugu Sizhuang, fearing an attack, herded all the people into the city and set about repairing the defenses. When Renjie arrived, he sent them all back to their farms and said, "The enemy is still far off—there is no need for this." If the enemy should come, I will face them myself and will not involve the common people. When the raiders heard this they withdrew on their own; the people sang his praises everywhere, and together they erected a stele to commemorate his benevolence. Before long he was transferred to regional inspector of Youzhou.

神功元年，入為鸞台侍郎、同鳳閣鸞台平章事，加銀青光祿大夫，兼納言。仁傑以百姓西戍疏勒等四鎮，極為凋弊，乃上疏曰：

In the first year of the Shen Gong era, he entered court as vice minister of the Luantai and associate chief minister of the Fengge-Luantai Secretariat, was granted the title Silver Blue-Gleaming Glory Grand Master, and concurrently served as director of memorials. Renjie, seeing how severely the people were depleted by garrison duty in the four western posts including Kashgar, submitted a memorial that read:

臣聞天生四夷，皆在先王封疆之外。故東拒滄海，西隔流沙，北橫大漠，南阻五嶺，此天所以限夷狄而隔中外也。自典籍所紀，聲教所及，三代不能至者，國家盡兼之矣。此則今日之四境，已逾於夏、殷者也。詩人矜薄伐於太原，美化行於江、漢，則是前代之遠裔，而國家之域中。至前漢時，匈奴無歲不陷邊，殺掠吏人。後漢則西羌侵軼漢中，東寇三輔，入河東上黨，幾至洛陽。由此言之，則陛下今日之士宇，過於漢朝遠矣。若其用武荒外，邀功絕域，竭府庫之實，以爭磽確不毛之地，得其人不足以增賦，獲其土不可以耕織。苟求冠帶遠夷之稱，不務固本安人之術，此秦皇、漢武之所行，非五帝、三皇之事業也。若使越荒外以為限，竭資財以騁欲，非但不愛人力，亦所以失天心也。昔始皇窮兵極武，以求廣地，男子不得耕於野，女子不得蠶於室，長城之下，死者如亂麻，於是天下潰叛。漢武追高、文之宿憤，藉四帝之儲實，於是定朝鮮，討西域，平南越，擊匈奴，府庫空虛，盜賊蜂起，百姓嫁妻賣子，流離於道路者萬計。末年覺悟，息兵罷役，封丞相為富民侯，故能為天所祐也。昔人有言：“與覆車同軌者未嚐安。 ”此言雖小，可以喻大。

I have heard that Heaven created the four barbarian peoples, and that all of them lay beyond the domains of the ancient kings. The east was bounded by the sea, the west by shifting sands, the north by the great desert, and the south by the Five Ridges—this was Heaven's way of confining the barbarians and separating the civilized center from the outer world. Of all the lands recorded in the classics and reached by civilization, those the Three Dynasties never controlled, our state now holds in full. The realm's four borders today already surpass those of the Xia and Yin dynasties. Poets once praised a limited campaign at Taiyuan, and civilization reached the Yangtze and Han—lands that were remote frontiers in earlier ages are now well within the heartland of the state. By the Former Han, the Xiongnu breached the frontier every single year, killing officials and plundering the people. In Later Han the Western Qiang overran Hanzhong, raided the Three Metropolises in the east, penetrated Hedong and Shangdang, and almost reached Luoyang. From this it follows that Your Majesty's domain today far exceeds that of the Han. If we use force in distant wastes, seek glory in far-off lands, and drain the treasury to seize barren ground, the people we gain would not increase revenue, and the soil we take cannot be farmed or woven. If we merely chase the empty honor of civilizing distant barbarians instead of strengthening the foundation and securing the people, we follow the path of the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han—not the way of the Five Emperors and Three Sage-Kings. To push beyond the wilderness in pursuit of borders and exhaust the state's wealth to satisfy ambition is not only to squander human labor but also to lose Heaven's favor. In the past the First Emperor exhausted every resource for war to expand his domain; men could not farm in the fields, women could not raise silkworms at home, and beneath the Great Wall the dead lay in heaps like tangled hemp—until the realm collapsed in rebellion. Emperor Wu of Han, pursuing the old humiliations borne by Emperors Gao and Wen and drawing on the accumulated wealth of four reigns, then settled Korea, campaigned in the Western Regions, pacified Southern Yue, and attacked the Xiongnu. The treasury was emptied, bandits rose everywhere, people sold wives and children, and tens of thousands wandered destitute along the roads. In his final years he came to his senses, halted warfare and labor conscription, and enfeoffed his chancellor as Marquis of Enriching the People—thus he regained Heaven's protection. As someone once said, "Those who follow the ruts of an overturned cart have never come to safety." Though the saying is modest, it speaks to a great truth.

近者國家頻歲出師，所費滋廣，西戍四鎮，東戍安東，調發日加，百姓虛弊。開守西域，事等石田，費用不支，有損無益，轉輸靡絕，杼軸殆空。越磧逾海，分兵防守，行役既久，怨曠亦多。昔詩人云：“王事靡盬，不能藝稷黍。 ”“豈不懷歸，畏此罪罟。念彼蒸人，涕零如雨。 ”此則前代怨思之辭也。上不是恤，則政不行而邪氣作；邪氣作，則蟲螟生而水旱起。若此，雖禱祀百神，不能調陰陽矣。方今關東饑饉，蜀、漢逃亡，江、淮以南，徵求不息。人不復業，則相率為盜，本根一搖，憂患不淺。其所以然者，皆為遠戍方外，以竭中國，爭蠻貊不毛之地，乖子養蒼生之道也。

In recent years the state has launched campaigns year after year at ever greater cost. We garrison the four western posts and Andong in the east; levies increase daily while the people grow hollow and exhausted. Holding the Western Regions is like trying to farm stone fields—costs cannot be sustained, the harm outweighs any gain, supply lines never stop, and the looms stand nearly idle. Crossing deserts and seas to post troops on distant guard duty, the service stretches on and on, and resentment and loneliness mount. The poets of old wrote, "The king's service never ends; we cannot plant our millet and grain." "Do we not yearn to go home? We fear this punishment and snare." Thinking of those people, tears fall like rain. These are the words of resentment and longing from ages past. When the ruler above shows no concern, government fails and perverse forces arise; when perverse forces arise, locusts swarm and floods and droughts follow. When things reach this point, even prayers and sacrifices to every god cannot restore harmony between yin and yang. Right now famine grips the lands east of the Pass, people flee from Shu and Han, and south of the Yangtze and Huai exactions never stop. When people cannot return to their livelihoods, they turn to banditry in droves; once the foundation is shaken, the troubles will be grave indeed. The root cause is garrisoning distant frontiers at the cost of exhausting the heartland, fighting over barbarian wastes, and abandoning the duty to nurture the people.

昔漢元納賈捐之之謀而罷珠崖郡，宣帝用魏相之策而棄車師之田，豈不欲慕尚虛名，蓋憚勞人力也。近貞觀年中，克平九姓，冊李思摩為可汗，使統諸部者，蓋以夷狄叛則伐之，降則撫之，得推亡固存之義，無遠戍勞人之役。此則近日之令典，經邊之故事。竊見阿史那斛瑟羅，陰山貴種，代雄沙漠，若委之四鎮，使統諸蕃，封為可汗，遣禦寇患，則國家有繼絕之美，荒外無轉輸之役。如臣所見，請捐四鎮以肥中國，罷安東以實遼西，省軍費於遠方，並甲兵於塞上，則恒、代之鎮重，而邊州之備實矣。況綏撫夷狄，蓋防其越逸，無侵侮之患則可矣。何必窮其窟穴，與螻蟻計校長短哉！

Formerly Emperor Yuan of Han accepted Jia Juanzhi's counsel and abolished Zhuya Commandery, and Emperor Xuan adopted Wei Xiang's plan and abandoned the fields of Jushi—not because they lacked ambition for glory, but because they feared to overtax the people. In the recent Zhenguan era, after subduing the Nine Surnames, Li Simo was invested as khagan to rule the tribes—when barbarians rebel, strike them; when they submit, soothe them. This upheld the principle of preserving what survives and supporting what is failing, without the burden of distant garrisons. This is a recent model of good governance and an established frontier precedent. I note that Ashina Huseluo, a noble of the Yin Mountains whose family has been powerful in the desert for generations, could be entrusted with the four garrisons to rule the tribes, enfeoffed as khagan, and charged with repelling raids. The state would gain the honor of restoring broken lineages, and the wilderness beyond would require no supply convoys. As I see it, abandon the four garrisons to strengthen the heartland, abolish Andong to fortify Liaoxi, cut military costs in distant lands, and concentrate armor and troops on the frontier. Then the garrisons at Heng and Dai would be reinforced and the border prefectures properly defended. Moreover, in pacifying the barbarians one need only prevent them from crossing the frontier; freedom from raids and aggression is sufficient. Why must we hunt them to their lairs and haggle over every inch of ground with them as if they were ants!

且王者外寧必有內憂，蓋為不勤修政故也。伏惟陛下棄之度外，無以絕域未平為念。但當敕邊兵謹守備，蓄銳以待敵，待其自至，然後擊之，此李牧所以製匈奴也。當今所要者，莫若令邊城警守備，遠斥候，聚軍實，蓄威武。以逸待勞，則戰士力倍；以主禦客，則我得其便；堅壁清野，則寇無所得。自然賊深入必有顛躓之慮，淺入必無虜獲之益。如此數年，可使二虜不擊而服矣。

Moreover, when a ruler enjoys external peace, internal troubles follow—and this is because he fails to govern diligently. I humbly ask Your Majesty to set this matter aside and not fret over distant lands still unrestored. Simply order the frontier troops to hold their defenses, keep their strength in reserve, wait for the enemy to come to them, and then strike—this is how Li Mu mastered the Xiongnu. What is needed now above all is to keep border cities on alert, post distant scouts, stockpile military supplies, and store up martial strength. Meeting a weary enemy with rested troops doubles the warriors' strength; fighting on home ground against an invader, we hold the advantage; fortifying walls and clearing the fields, the raiders gain nothing. Naturally, if raiders push deep they will fear disaster; if they raid shallowly they will gain nothing worth the effort. After several years of this, the two barbarian powers can be made to submit without a blow being struck.

仁傑又請廢安東，復高氏為君長，停江南之轉輸，慰河北之勞弊，數年之後，可以安人富國。事雖不行，識者是之。尋檢校納言，兼右肅政台御史大夫。

Renjie also proposed abolishing Andong, restoring the Gao clan as local rulers, halting supply convoys from south of the Yangtze, and easing the burdens on Hebei—within a few years the people could be settled and the state made prosperous. Though the proposal was not adopted, those who understood the matter approved of it. Before long he was appointed acting director of memorials and concurrently censor-in-chief of the Right Su Zheng Platform.

聖曆初，突厥侵掠趙、定等州，命仁傑為河北道元帥，以便宜從事。突厥盡殺所掠男女萬餘人，從五回道而去。仁傑總兵十萬追之不及。便製仁傑河北道安撫大使。時河朔人庶，多為突厥逼脅，賊退後懼誅，又多逃匿。仁傑上疏曰：

At the start of the Shengli era, Turks raided Zhao, Ding, and other prefectures; Renjie was appointed commander of the Hebei Circuit with full discretionary powers. The Turks slaughtered all of the more than ten thousand men and women they had captured and withdrew by the Wuhui Road. Renjie led one hundred thousand troops in pursuit but failed to catch them. Renjie was then appointed pacification commissioner of the Hebei Circuit. At that time many people in Hebei had been coerced by the Turks; after the raiders withdrew they feared punishment and fled into hiding. Renjie submitted a memorial that read:

臣聞朝廷議者，以為契丹作梗，始明人之逆順，或因迫脅，或有願從，或受偽官，或為招慰，或兼外賊，或是土人，跡雖不同，心則無別。誠以山東雄猛，由來重氣，一顧之勢，至死不回。近緣軍機，調發傷重，家道悉破，或至逃亡，剔屋賣田，人不為售，內顧生計，四壁皆空。重以官典侵漁，因事而起，取其髓腦，曾無心愧。修築池城，繕造兵甲，州縣役使，十倍軍機。官司不矜，期之必取，枷杖之下，痛切肌膚。事迫情危，不循禮義，愁苦之地，不樂其生。有利則歸，且圖賒死，此乃君子之愧辱，小人之常行。人猶水也，壅之則為泉，疏之則為川，通塞隨流，豈有常性。昔董卓之亂，神器播遷，及卓被誅，部曲無赦，事窮變起，毒害生人，京室丘墟，化為禾黍。此由恩不普洽，失在機先。臣一讀此書，未嚐不廢卷歎息。今以負罪之伍，必不在家，露宿草行，潛竄山澤。赦之則出，不赦則狂，山東群盜，緣茲聚結。臣以邊塵暫起，不足為憂，中土不安，以此為事。臣聞持大國者不可以小道，理事廣者不可以細分。人主恢弘，不拘常法，罪之則眾情恐懼，恕之則反側自安。伏願曲赦河北諸州，一無所問。自然人神道暢，率土歡心，諸軍凱旋，得無侵擾。

I hear court debaters say that because the Khitan rebellion has stirred trouble, we must first distinguish loyalty from rebellion—some were coerced, some followed willingly, some accepted offices from the rebels, some served as recruiters, some joined foreign raiders, some were local people. Their circumstances differ, but in intent they are the same. The people of Shandong are bold and fierce by nature and have always prized honor; once they commit to a course, they do not turn back even unto death. Recently military levies have devastated them; families have been ruined, some driven to flight; they tear down houses and sell fields, yet find no buyers; looking at their livelihood, they find nothing left. On top of this, officials extort them at every turn, squeezing out everything they have without a shred of shame. Building moats and walls, forging armor and weapons—the corvée levies of prefectures and counties are ten times the military burden. Officials show no mercy; deadlines must be met; under cangue and rod, pain cuts to the bone. Driven to desperation, people abandon propriety; in their misery they no longer cherish life. Where there is advantage they will go; they seek only to postpone death—this is a gentleman's shame and a common man's habit. People are like water: block them and they burst forth as a spring; clear the way and they flow as a river. They follow the course of events—how can they have a fixed nature? In Dong Zhuo's rebellion the imperial regalia was cast into chaos; when Zhuo was executed his followers received no pardon. Affairs reached a breaking point and disaster followed; poison spread among the people, and the capital became ruins overgrown with millet. This came of grace not reaching all in time—the failure lay in acting too late. Each time I read this account, I cannot help but put down the scroll and sigh. Those who bear guilt now surely do not remain at home; they sleep in the open, travel by stealth through the grass, and hide in mountains and marshes. Pardon them and they will come forth; withhold pardon and they will run wild—the bandit gangs of Shandong are gathering for this very reason. I consider brief frontier disturbances no cause for alarm; unrest in the heartland is what truly matters. I have heard that one who holds a great state cannot govern by petty means, and one who governs on a broad scale cannot rule by fine distinctions. A magnanimous ruler is not bound by ordinary law; punish and the people will tremble with fear; pardon and the disaffected will settle of their own accord. I humbly ask that a special amnesty be granted to all the prefectures of Hebei, with no questions asked. When Heaven and the Way are in harmony, the whole realm rejoices; as the armies return in triumph, there will be no harassment.

製從之。軍還，授內史。

The edict approved this. When the army returned, he was appointed Director of the Secretariat.

聖曆三年，則天幸三陽宮，王公百僚鹹經侍從，唯仁傑特賜宅一區，當時恩寵無比。是歲六月，左玉鈐衛大將軍李楷固、右武威衛將軍駱務整討契丹餘眾，擒之，獻俘於含樞殿。則天大悅，特賜楷固姓武氏。楷固、務整，並契丹李盡忠之別帥也。初，盡忠之作亂，楷固等屢率兵以陷官軍，後兵敗來降，有司斷以極法。仁傑議以為楷固等並有驍將之才，若恕其死，必能感恩效節。又奏請授其官爵，委以專征。製並從之。及楷固等凱旋，則天召仁傑預宴，因舉觴親勸，歸賞於仁傑。授楷固左玉鈐衛大將軍，賜爵燕國公。

In the third year of Shenli, Empress Wu visited the Sanyang Palace; princes, dukes, and all officials accompanied her on the journey; only Di Renjie was specially granted an entire residence—a favor without parallel at the time. That year in the sixth month, Left Jade Clasp Guard General Li Kaigu and Right Martial Prestige Guard General Luo Wuzheng pursued the remaining Khitan forces, captured them, and presented the captives at the Hanyu Hall. Empress Wu was greatly pleased and specially granted Kaigu the surname Wu. Kaigu and Wuzheng were both deputy commanders under the Khitan Li Jinzhong. Initially, when Jinzhong rebelled, Kaigu and the others repeatedly led troops to defeat the government forces; later, after their defeat, they came to surrender, and the authorities judged them according to the extreme penalty. Di Renjie argued that Kaigu and the others all possessed the talent of fierce generals; if their lives were spared, they would surely be grateful and devote themselves to service. He further memorialized requesting that they be granted office and rank and entrusted with independent command. The edict approved all of this. When Kaigu and the others returned in triumph, Empress Wu summoned Di Renjie to the banquet, raised her cup to toast him personally, and attributed the credit to Di Renjie. Kaigu was appointed Left Jade Clasp Guard General and granted the title Duke of Yan.

則天又將造大像，用功數百萬，令天下僧尼每日人出一錢，以助成之。仁傑上疏諫曰：

Empress Wu also planned to erect a great Buddha image, requiring millions of work-days; she ordered all monks and nuns in the realm to contribute one coin per person per day to help complete it. Di Renjie submitted a memorial of remonstrance, saying:

臣聞為政之本，必先人事。陛下矜群生迷謬，溺喪無歸，欲令像教兼行，睹相生善。非為塔廟必欲崇奢，豈令僧尼皆須檀施？得栰尚舍，而況其餘。今之伽藍，製過宮闕，窮奢極壯，畫繢盡工，寶珠殫於綴飾，環材竭於輪奐。工不使鬼，止在役人，物不天來，終須地出，不損百姓，將何以求？生之有時，用之無度，編戶所奉，常若不充，痛切肌膚，不辭箠楚。遊僧一說，矯陳禍福，翦發解衣，仍慚其少。亦有離間骨肉，事均路人，身自納妻，謂無彼我。皆托佛法，詿誤生人。裏陌動有經坊，闤闠亦立精舍。化誘倍急，切於官征；法事所須，嚴於製敕。膏腴美業，倍取其多；水碾莊園，數亦非少。逃丁避罪，並集法門，無名之僧，凡有幾萬，都下檢括，已得數千。且一夫不耕，猶受其弊，浮食者眾，又劫人財。臣每思惟，實所悲痛。

Your subject has heard that the foundation of governing lies first in attending to human affairs. Your Majesty pities living beings lost in error, drowned in misery with nowhere to turn, and wishes that the religion of images be practiced alongside other teachings, so that people seeing images may be moved to do good. It is not that pagodas and temples must necessarily be made luxurious—surely Your Majesty does not mean that all monks and nuns must rely on donations? Even when cutting timber for rafters one still holds back—how much more everything else. Today's monasteries surpass the palace in scale—extravagant beyond measure, painted with utmost artistry; precious pearls are exhausted in ornamentation, and fine timber is depleted in ornate construction. Ghosts do not perform the labor—it falls entirely on conscripted men; goods do not fall from heaven—they must ultimately come from the earth. Without burdening the common people, from what source are these to be obtained? Life has its seasons, yet expenditure knows no bounds; what registered households provide is constantly insufficient; the pain cuts to the flesh, yet they do not shrink from the lash. A wandering monk speaks once, falsely proclaiming fortune and disaster; people shave their heads and strip off their clothes, yet still feel ashamed that their gifts are too small. Some even sunder flesh and blood, treating family as strangers would; monks themselves take wives, claiming there is no distinction between self and other. All resort to the Buddhist Dharma to deceive and mislead the living. Within every lane there are scripture halls; in every marketplace monasteries are erected. Fundraising is twice as pressing as official levies; Requirements for Buddhist rites are stricter than imperial edicts. They take double shares of fertile, profitable lands; Water mills and estate manors—the number is likewise not small. Draft evaders and fugitives from justice all flock to Buddhist temples; nameless monks number tens of thousands—in the capital alone, several thousand have already been counted in the census. Moreover, if even one man does not plow, all still suffer the loss; those who live idly are many, and they further plunder people's wealth. Each time your subject reflects on this, he is truly grieved.

往在江表，像法盛興，梁武、簡文，舍施無限。及其三淮沸浪，五嶺騰煙。列刹盈衢，無救危亡之禍；緇衣蔽路，豈有勤王之師！比年已來，風塵屢擾，水旱不節，征役稍繁。家業先空，瘡痍未復，此時興役，力所未堪，伏惟聖朝，功德無量，何必要營大像，而以勞費為名。雖斂僧錢，百未支一。尊容既廣，不可露居，覆以百層，尚憂未遍，自餘廓廡，不得全無。又雲不損國財，不傷百姓，以此事主，可謂盡忠？臣今思惟，兼采眾議，鹹以為如來設教，以慈悲為主，下濟群品，應是本心，豈欲勞人，以存虛飾？當今有事，邊境未寧，宜寬征鎮之徭，省不急之費。設令雇作，皆以利趨，既失田時，自然棄本。今不樹稼，來歲必饑，役在其中，難以取給。況無官助，義無得成，若費官財，又盡人力，一隅有難，將何救之！

Formerly in the lands south of the Yangtze, the Buddhist religion flourished; Emperor Wu and Emperor Jianwen of Liang gave donations without limit. Yet when the Three Huai seethed like boiling waves and the Five Ridges blazed with smoke. Monasteries lined the streets in abundance, yet could not avert the disaster of ruin; Monks in black robes covered the roads—where were the armies that would rally to save the throne! In recent years war has repeatedly disturbed the realm; floods and droughts have come out of season; corvée and levies have grown somewhat heavy. Household estates are already emptied; wounds are not yet healed—at such a time to launch a major project is more than strength can bear. Humbly considering the holy dynasty's boundless merit, why must a great image be built, taking labor and expense as its name. Even collecting money from monks, not one part in a hundred would suffice. The sacred image being so vast, it cannot stand exposed; even a hundred layers of roofing would still leave one anxious it is not covered enough—and the surrounding halls and galleries cannot be dispensed with entirely. Yet it is also said that state revenue will not be harmed and the common people will not suffer—is this what may be called serving one's lord with full loyalty? Your subject now reflects, having also gathered common opinion—all agree that when the Tathagata established his teaching, compassion was paramount, descending to save all beings—this should be the original intent. Would he wish to burden people merely to preserve empty ornament? Now there are pressing affairs; the frontiers are not yet calm. It is fitting to ease levies and corvée on the garrison regions and reduce expenditures that are not urgent. Even if labor were hired, all would be drawn by profit; missing the season for planting, they would naturally abandon the fundamental occupation. If crops are not planted now, next year famine is certain; corvée labor lies among these troubles—how can supplies be obtained. Moreover, without government aid the project cannot rightly be completed; if state funds are spent and human labor exhausted, when difficulty arises in one corner, with what shall it be met!

則天乃罷其役。是歲九月，病卒，則天為之舉哀，廢朝三日，贈文昌右相，諡曰文惠。

Empress Wu then canceled the project. That year in the ninth month he died of illness. Empress Wu mourned him, suspended court for three days, posthumously appointed him Right Vice Minister of the Secretariat, and gave him the posthumous name Wenhui.

仁傑常以舉賢為意，其所引拔桓彥範、敬暉、竇懷貞、姚崇等，至公卿者數十人。初，則天嚐問仁傑曰：“朕要一好漢任使，有乎？ ”仁傑曰：“陛下作何任使？ ”則天曰：“朕欲待以將相。 ”對曰：“臣料陛下若求文章資曆，則今之宰臣李嶠、蘇味道亦足為文吏矣。豈非文士齷齪，思得奇才用之，以成天下之務者乎？ ”則天悅曰：“此朕心也。 ”仁傑曰：“荊州長史張柬之，其人雖老，真宰相才也。且久不遇，若用之，必盡節於國家矣。 ”則天乃召拜洛州司馬。他日，又求賢。仁傑曰：“臣前言張柬之，猶未用也。 ”則天曰：“已遷之矣。 ”對曰：“臣薦之為相，今為洛州司馬，非用之也。 ”又遷為秋官侍郎，後竟召為相。柬之果能興復中宗，蓋仁傑之推薦也。

Di Renjie always made recommending the worthy his purpose; those he promoted—Huan Yanfan, Jing Hui, Dou Huaizhen, Yao Chong, and others—who reached ministerial rank numbered several dozen. Initially, Empress Wu once asked Di Renjie: "I need a capable man to employ—is there one? " Di Renjie said: "For what employment does Your Majesty intend him? " Empress Wu said: "I wish to treat him as a general or minister. " He replied: "Your subject supposes that if Your Majesty seeks literary credentials, the present chief ministers Li Jiao and Su Weidao would suffice as literary officials. Is it not that literary men seem petty, and Your Majesty wishes to obtain extraordinary talent to accomplish the affairs of the realm? " Empress Wu said happily: "This is exactly my mind. " Di Renjie said: "Zhang Jianzhi, long secretary of Jingzhou—though old in years, he is truly ministerial timber. Moreover, he has long gone unrecognized; if employed, he would surely devote his utmost to the state. " Empress Wu then summoned him and appointed him Vice Prefect of Luozhou. Another day she again sought able men. Di Renjie said: "Your subject spoke earlier of Zhang Jianzhi—he has still not been properly employed. " Empress Wu said: "He has already been transferred. " He replied: "Your subject recommended him as chancellor; now he is Vice Prefect of Luozhou—that is not employing him. " He was again transferred to Vice Minister of Justice; eventually he was summoned to serve as chancellor. Zhang Jianzhi indeed restored Emperor Zhongzong—a result of Di Renjie's recommendation.

仁傑嚐為魏州刺史，人吏為立生祠。及去職，其子景暉為魏州司功參軍，頗貪暴，為人所惡，乃毀仁傑之祠。長子光嗣，聖曆初為司府丞，則天令宰相各舉尚書郎一人，仁傑乃薦光嗣。拜地官員外郎，蒞事稱職，則天喜而言曰：“祁奚內舉，果得其人。 ”開元七年，自汴州刺史轉揚州大都督府長史，坐贓貶歙州別駕卒。

Di Renjie once served as prefect of Weizhou; officials and people erected a living shrine to him. When he left office, his son Jinghui served as judicial aide of Weizhou; he was quite greedy and brutal, hated by the people, and so they destroyed Di Renjie's shrine. His eldest son Guangsi, at the beginning of Shenli, served as aide in the Ministry of Revenue. Empress Wu ordered each chancellor to recommend one Secretariat director; Di Renjie recommended Guangsi. He was appointed vice director in the Ministry of Revenue; in discharging his duties he proved competent. Empress Wu said with pleasure: "Like Qi Xi recommending from within his own family, he has indeed found the right man. " In the seventh year of Kaiyuan, transferred from prefect of Bianzhou to chief secretary of the Yangzhou Metropolitan Area Command; convicted of corruption, demoted to vice prefect of Shezhou, where he died.

初，中宗在房陵，而吉頊、李昭德皆有匡復讜言，則天無復辟意。唯仁傑每從容奏對，無不以子母恩情為言，則天亦漸省悟，竟召還中宗，復為儲貳。初，中宗自房陵還宮，則天匿之帳中，召仁傑以廬陵為言。仁傑慷慨敷奏，言發涕流，遽出中宗謂仁傑曰：“還卿儲君。 ”仁傑降階泣賀，既已，奏曰：“太子還宮，人無知者，物議安審是非？ ”則天以為然，乃復置中宗於龍門，具禮迎歸，人情感悅。仁傑前後匡復奏對，凡數萬言，開元中，北海太守李邕撰為《梁公別傳》，備載其辭。中宗返正，追贈司空；睿宗追封梁國公。仁傑族曾孫兼謨。

Initially, while Emperor Zhongzong was at Fangling, Ji Xu and Li Zhaode both had plans for restoration, but Empress Wu had no intention of restoring him. Only Di Renjie, in each calm memorial and reply, spoke invariably of the bond between mother and son; Empress Wu gradually came to understand, and eventually recalled Zhongzong and restored him as crown prince. Initially, when Zhongzong returned from Fangling to the palace, Empress Wu hid him behind a screen and summoned Di Renjie, speaking of the Prince of Luling. Di Renjie spoke passionately in memorial; tears flowed as he spoke. Empress Wu suddenly brought out Zhongzong and said to Di Renjie: "I restore your crown prince to you. " Di Renjie descended the steps weeping with congratulations; when that was done, he memorialized: "The crown prince has returned to the palace, yet no one knows of it—how can public opinion judge what is right and wrong? " Empress Wu agreed; she then restored Zhongzong at Longmen Gate with full ceremonial welcome, and the people's hearts were gladdened. Di Renjie's memorials and replies on restoration altogether amounted to tens of thousands of words; in the Kaiyuan era, Li Yong, prefect of Beihai, compiled them as the "Separate Biography of the Duke of Liang," recording his words in full. When Zhongzong restored legitimate rule, Di Renjie was posthumously granted the title of Minister of Works; Emperor Ruizong posthumously enfeoffed him as Duke of Liang. Di Renjie's collateral great-great-grandson was Jianmo.

兼謨，登進士第。祖郊、父邁，仕官皆微。兼謨元和末解褐襄陽推官，試校書郎，言行剛正，使府知名。憲宗召為左拾遺，累上書言事，曆尚書郎。長慶、太和中，曆鄭州刺史，以治行稱，入為給事中。開成初，度支左藏庫妄破漬汙縑帛等贓罪，文宗以事在赦前不理。兼謨封還敕書，文宗召而諭之曰：“嘉卿舉職，然朕已赦其長官，典吏亦宜在宥。然事或不可，卿勿以封敕為艱。 ”遷御史中丞。謝日，文宗顧謂之曰：“御史台朝廷綱紀，台綱正則朝廷理，朝廷正則天下理。凡執法者，大抵以畏忌顧望為心，職業由茲不舉。卿梁公之後，自有家法，豈復為常常之心哉！ ”兼謨謝曰：“朝法或未得中，臣固悉心彈奏。 ”會江西觀察使吳士矩違額加給軍士，破官錢數十萬計。兼謨奏曰：“觀察使守陛下土地，宣陛下詔條，臨戎賞軍，州有定數。而士矩與奪由己，盈縮自專，不唯貽弊一方，必致諸軍援例。請下法司，正行朝典。 ”士矩坐貶蔡州別駕。兼謨尋轉兵部侍郎。明年，檢校工部尚書、太原尹，充河東節度使。會昌中，累曆方鎮，卒。

Jianmo passed the jinshi examination. His grandfather Jiao and father Mai both held minor offices. At the end of the Yuanhe era Jianmo began his career as legal aide at Xiangyang, with probationary appointment as collator; upright in word and deed, he became known in the commissionerate. Emperor Xianzong summoned him as Left Reminder; he repeatedly submitted memorials on affairs of state and successively served as Secretariat director. During Changqing and Taihe he served as prefect of Zhengzhou, renowned for his governance, and entered the capital as Supervising Censor. At the beginning of Kaicheng, officials of the Revenue Bureau's left treasury falsely damaged and spoiled silk goods—a corruption offense; Emperor Wenzong held that since the matter preceded an amnesty, it would not be prosecuted. Jianmo sealed and returned the edict. Emperor Wenzong summoned him and instructed: "I commend your fulfillment of duty; yet I have already pardoned the chief official—the clerks should likewise be forgiven. Yet if matters cannot be accepted, do not find returning edicts difficult. " He was transferred to Vice Censor-in-Chief. On the day of his formal thanks, Emperor Wenzong turned to him and said: "The Censorate is the discipline of the court; when censorial discipline is upright, the court is well governed; when the court is upright, the realm is well governed. Those who enforce the law are generally governed by fear, caution, and looking about; duty thereby goes unfulfilled. You are a descendant of the Duke of Liang and have your family's standards—is it not so that you will no longer harbor an ordinary timid heart! " Jianmo replied: "If court law has not been properly applied, your subject will earnestly memorialize and impeach. " Shortly afterward, Jiangxi observation commissioner Wu Shiju exceeded the authorized quota in augmenting soldiers' pay, depleting several hundred thousand in official funds. Jianmo memorialized: "An observation commissioner guards Your Majesty's territory and promulgates Your Majesty's statutes; rewards to troops on campaign have fixed amounts by prefecture. Yet Shiju dispensed and withheld at his own discretion, deciding surpluses and deficits by himself—not only does this harm one region, it will surely lead all armies to cite it as precedent. I request that the matter be referred to the judicial offices so that court statutes may be properly enforced. " Wu Shiju was convicted and demoted to vice prefect of Caizhou. Jianmo was soon transferred to Vice Minister of War. The following year he served as Acting Minister of Public Works and military governor of Hedong as prefect of Taiyuan. During the Huichang era he successively served in regional commands and died.

王方慶，雍州咸陽人也，周少司空石泉公褒之曾孫也。其先自琅邪南度，居於丹陽，為江左冠族。褒北徙入關，始家咸陽焉。祖鼒，隋衛尉丞。伯父弘讓，有美名，貞觀中為中書舍人。父弘直，為漢王元昌友，畋獵無度，乃上書切諫，其略曰：“夫宗子維城之托者，所以固邦家之業也。大王功無任城戰克之效，行無河間樂善之譽，爵高五等，邑富千室，當思答極施之洪慈，保無疆之永祚。其為計者，在乎修德，冠屨《詩》《禮》，畋獵史傳。覽古人成敗之所由，鑒既往存亡之異跡，覆前戒後，居安慮危。奈何列騎齊驅，交橫壟畝，野有遊客，巷無居人。貽眾庶之憂，逞一情之樂，從禽不息，實用寒心。 ”元昌覽書而遽止。漸見疏斥，轉荊王友。龍朔中卒。

Wang Fangqing was a native of Xianyang in Yongzhou, the great-grandson of Bao, Duke of Shiquan and Vice Minister of Works under Zhou. His ancestors crossed south from Langye and settled in Danyang, becoming a leading clan of the Jiangzuo region. Bao moved north into the passes and first established the family at Xianyang. His grandfather Zi served as aide in the Ministry of Guardians under Sui. His father's elder brother Hongrang had a fine reputation and served as Secretariat drafter during the Zhenguan era. His father Hongzhi served as companion to Prince Yuan of Han; the prince hunted without restraint, so Hongzhi submitted a stern memorial of remonstrance, in summary saying: "The charge entrusted to a prince of the blood is to buttress the realm like a city wall and thereby secure the enterprise of state and family. Your Highness has no achievement like the victory at Rencheng in battle, no reputation like the Prince of Hejian's love of virtue; your rank is among the five highest, your fief rich with a thousand households—you should reflect on repaying the supreme sovereign's vast grace and preserving an everlasting fortune without end. The plan to follow lies in cultivating virtue—cap and shoes in the Odes and Rites, hunting only in the histories and chronicles. Read why the ancients succeeded or failed; take as mirror the differing traces of past survival and ruin; overturn what came before to warn what follows; in security consider peril. Yet how is it that ranks of horsemen drive abreast, crossing the furrows of the fields—travelers in the wilds, no residents in the lanes? You bequeath worry to the multitude yet indulge a single pleasure; pursuit of game without cease truly chills the heart. " Yuanchang read the letter and immediately stopped. Hongzhi gradually fell under disfavor and was transferred to serve as companion to the Prince of Jing. He died during the Longshuo era.

方慶年十六，起家越王府參軍。嚐就記室任希古受《史記》、《漢書》。希古遷為太子舍人，方慶隨之卒業。永淳中，累遷太仆少卿。則天臨朝，拜廣州都督。廣州地際南海，每歲有昆侖乘舶以珍物與中國交市。舊都督路元睿冒求其貨，昆侖懷刃殺之。方慶在任數載，秋毫不犯。又管內諸州首領，舊多貪縱，百姓有詣府稱冤者，府官以先受首領參餉，未嚐鞫問。方慶乃集止府僚，絕其交往，首領縱暴者悉繩之，由是境內清肅。當時議者以為有唐以來，治廣州者無出方慶之右。有制褒之曰：“朕以卿曆職著稱，故授此官，既美化遠聞，實副朝寄。令賜卿雜采六十段，並瑞錦等物，以彰善政也。”

Fangqing at age sixteen began his career as adjutant in the Prince of Yue's household. He once studied the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han under the recorder Ren Xigu. When Xigu was transferred to serve as attendant to the crown prince, Fangqing followed him and completed his studies. During Yongchun he was repeatedly promoted to Vice Minister of the Stud. When Empress Wu assumed the throne, he was appointed military governor of Guangzhou. Guangzhou borders the South Sea; each year Kunlun merchants came by ship with precious goods to trade with China. The former governor Lu Yuanrui presumptuously demanded their goods; a Kunlun man, knife hidden, killed him. Fangqing served several years in office and did not violate so much as an autumn hair. Moreover, the tribal chiefs within his jurisdiction had long been greedy and unrestrained; when common people came to the prefecture to plead injustice, prefectural officials, having first received gifts from the chiefs, never investigated. Fangqing then assembled the prefectural staff, cut off their dealings with the chiefs, and punished all chiefs who acted with violence—whereupon the territory became orderly and quiet. Contemporaries held that since the founding of Tang, no governor of Guangzhou had surpassed Fangqing. An edict praised him, saying: "We appoint you to this office because of your distinguished service in successive posts; your fine governance has been heard from afar and truly fulfills the court's trust. We now grant you sixty bolts of assorted silks, together with auspicious brocades and other goods, to honor your good governance.

證聖元年，召拜洛州長史，尋加銀青光祿大夫，封石泉縣男。萬歲登封元年，轉并州長史，封琅邪縣男。未行，遷鸞台侍郎、同鳳閣鸞台平章事。俄轉鳳閣侍郎，依舊知政事。

In the first year of Zhengsheng he was summoned and appointed chief secretary of Luozhou; soon he was granted the Silver Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and enfeoffed as Baron of Shiquan County. In the first year of Wansui Dengfeng he was transferred to chief secretary of Bingzhou and enfeoffed as Baron of Langye County. Before he departed, he was transferred to Vice Minister of the Hall of the Crane and Associate at the Hall of the Phoenix and Hall of the Crane with the authority of a chancellor. Soon he was transferred to Vice Minister of the Hall of the Phoenix, continuing to manage state affairs as before.

神功元年七月，清邊道大總管建安王攸宜破契丹凱還，欲以是月詣闕獻俘。內史王及善以為將軍入城，例有軍樂，既今上孝明高皇帝忌月，請備而不奏。方慶奏曰：“臣按禮經，但有忌日，而無忌月。晉穆帝納後，用九月九日，是康帝忌月，於時持疑不定。下太常，禮官荀訥議稱：‘禮隻有忌日，無忌月。若有忌月，即有忌時、忌歲，益無理據。 ’當時從訥所議。軍樂是軍容，與常不等，臣謂振作於事無嫌。 ”則天從之。則天嚐幸萬安山玉泉寺，以山逕危懸，欲禦腰輿而上。方慶諫曰：“昔漢元帝嚐祭廟，出便門，禦樓船，光祿勳張猛奏曰：‘乘船危，就橋安。 ’元帝乃從橋，即前代舊事。今山徑危險，石路曲狹，上瞻駭目，下視寒心，比於樓船，安危不等。陛下蒸人父母，奈何踐此畏塗？伏望停輿駐蹕。 ”則天納其言而止。是歲，改封石泉子。

In the seventh month of the first year of Shengong, Prince Jian'an Youyi, Grand Commander of the Qingbian Circuit, returned in triumph after defeating the Khitan and wished that month to come to court and present captives. Director of the Secretariat Wang Jishan held that when a general enters the city, military music is customary by precedent; since it was the mourning month for the late Emperor Xiaoming Gaozu, he requested that the music be prepared but not performed. Fangqing memorialized, saying: "Your subject finds in the ritual classics only mourning days, not mourning months. When Emperor Mu of Jin took an empress, the date chosen was the ninth day of the ninth month—the mourning month of Emperor Kang—and at the time opinion was divided and unsettled. The matter was referred to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; the ritual official Xun Ne argued: 'The rites provide only mourning days, not mourning months. If there were mourning months, there would also be mourning seasons and mourning years—still less reasonable. ' At the time Ne's opinion was followed. Military music is military display and not the same as ordinary practice; your subject holds that performing it would be without impropriety. " Empress Wu followed this. Empress Wu once visited the Yuquan Temple on Mount Wan'an; because the mountain path was perilously steep, she wished to ride a waist-litter up. Fangqing remonstrated, saying: "Formerly Emperor Yuan of Han once performed temple sacrifice, went out by the Convenience Gate, and boarded a tower ship; Grand Master of Splendid Happiness Zhang Meng memorialized: 'Going by boat is perilous; taking the bridge is safe. ' Emperor Yuan then took the bridge—an old precedent from former ages. Now the mountain path is perilous, the stone road winding and narrow—looking up startles the eye, looking down chills the heart; compared with a tower ship, safety and danger are not equal. Your Majesty is parent to the teeming people—how can you tread this fearful path? Humbly I hope Your Majesty will halt the carriage and pause your progress. " Empress Wu accepted his words and stopped. That year his enfeoffment was changed to Viscount of Shiquan.

時有制，每月一日於明堂行告朔之禮。司禮博士辟閭仁諝奏議，其略曰：“經史正文，無天子每月告朔之事，唯《禮記·玉藻》云：‘天子聽朔於南門之外。 ’其每月告朔者，諸侯之禮也。臣謹按《禮論》及《三禮義宗》、《江都集禮》、《貞觀禮》、《顯慶禮》及《祠令》，無天子每月告朔之事。若以為無明堂故無告朔之禮，有明堂即合告朔，則周、秦有明堂而無天子每月告朔之事。臣等參求，既無其禮，不可習非，以天子之尊而用諸侯之禮。 ”方慶又奏議，其略曰：“明堂，天子布政之宮也。謹按《穀梁傳》云：‘閏者，附月之餘日，天子不以告朔。 ’‘非禮也。閏以正時，時以作事，事以厚生，生人之道，於是乎在矣。不告閏朔，棄時政也。 ’臣據此文，則天子閏月亦告朔矣。寧有他月而廢其禮乎？先儒舊說，天子行事，一年十八度入明堂矣。大享不問卜，一入也；每月告朔，十二入也；四時迎氣，四入也；巡狩之年，一入也。今禮官議唯歲首一入耳，與先儒既異，在臣不敢同。宋朝何承天纂集其文，以為《禮論》，雖加編次，事則闕如。梁代崔靈恩撰《三禮義宗》，但捃摭前儒，因循故事而已。隋煬帝命學士撰《江都集禮》，隻抄撮舊禮，更無異文。《貞觀》、《顯慶禮》及《祠令》不言告朔者，蓋為曆代不傳，所以其文乃闕。各有緣由，不足依據。今禮官引為明證，在臣誠實有疑。 ”則天又令春官廣集眾儒，取方慶、仁諝所奏議，以定得失。時成均博士吳揚善、太學博士郭山惲等奏：“按《周禮》及《三傳》，皆有天子告朔之禮，秦滅《詩》、《書》，由是告朔禮廢。望依方慶議。 ”有制從之。

At the time there was a regulation that on the first day of each month the announcement of the new moon rite was performed at the Bright Hall. Doctor of Rites Pilu Renxu submitted a memorial of deliberation, in summary saying: "The canonical texts of the classics and histories contain no account of the Son of Heaven performing monthly new-moon announcements; only the Record of Rites, "Jade Ornaments," says: 'The Son of Heaven receives the new moon outside the southern gate. ' Monthly new-moon announcements are the rite of feudal lords. Your subject respectfully finds in the Treatise on Rites, the Three Rites Meaning Collection, the Jiangdu Collected Rites, the Zhenguan Rites, the Xianqing Rites, and the Sacrificial Statutes no account of the Son of Heaven performing monthly new-moon announcements. If one holds that because there was no Bright Hall there was no new-moon announcement rite, and that with a Bright Hall one ought to announce the new moon, then Zhou and Qin had Bright Halls yet no account of the Son of Heaven performing monthly new-moon announcements. We have jointly investigated and find no such rite; one cannot practice what is wrong and, in the exalted person of the Son of Heaven, employ the rites of feudal lords. " Fangqing also submitted a memorial of deliberation, in summary saying: "The Bright Hall is the palace where the Son of Heaven promulgates government. Respectfully I find in the Guliang Commentary: 'An intercalary month consists of the surplus days attached to a month; the Son of Heaven does not announce the new moon for it. '' 'It is not according to ritual. The intercalary month corrects the seasons; seasons govern affairs; affairs enrich life; the way of sustaining the living lies herein. Not announcing the intercalary new moon abandons governance of the seasons. ' According to this passage, the Son of Heaven also announces the new moon in an intercalary month. How could other months abolish this rite? The old teaching of former scholars holds that in the Son of Heaven's conduct he enters the Bright Hall eighteen times a year. The great offering without divination—one entry; monthly new-moon announcements—twelve entries; welcoming the qi of the four seasons—four entries; in years of the imperial tour—one entry. Now the ritual officials argue for only one entry at the year's beginning—already differing from former scholars; your subject dares not agree. He Chengtian of the Song dynasty compiled the texts into the Treatise on Rites; though he added arrangement, the matter remains deficient. Cui Ling'en of the Liang dynasty compiled the Three Rites Meaning Collection, merely gathering former scholars and following old precedents. Emperor Yang of Sui ordered scholars to compile the Jiangdu Collected Rites, simply excerpting old rites with no differing text. The Zhenguan Rites, Xianqing Rites, and Sacrificial Statutes do not mention new-moon announcements—presumably because the practice was not transmitted through successive dynasties, and so the text is lacking. Each has its reasons and is insufficient as basis. That the ritual officials now cite these as clear proof—in your subject there is genuine doubt. " Empress Wu then ordered the Ministry of Rites broadly to assemble the scholars, taking the memorials of deliberation submitted by Fangqing and Renxu to determine what was right and wrong. At the time Director of the Imperial Academy Wu Yangshan, Director of the National University Guo Shanyun, and others memorialized: "According to the Rites of Zhou and the Three Commentaries, all contain the Son of Heaven's new-moon announcement rite; Qin destroyed the Odes and Documents, and thereby the new-moon announcement rite fell into disuse. We hope to follow Fangqing's deliberation. " An edict followed this.

則天以方慶家多書籍，嚐訪求右軍遺跡。方慶奏曰：“臣十代從伯祖羲之書，先有四十餘紙，貞觀十二年，太宗購求，先臣並已進之。唯有一卷見今在。又進臣十一代祖導、十代祖洽、九代祖珣、八代祖曇首、七代祖僧綽、六代祖仲寶、五代祖騫、高祖規、曾祖褒，並九代三從伯祖晉中書令獻之已下二十八人書，共十卷。 ”則天禦武成殿示群臣，仍令中書舍人崔融為《寶章集》，以敘其事，復賜方慶，當時甚以為榮。

Empress Wu, because Fangqing's family possessed many books, once sought traces of the Right General's calligraphy. Fangqing memorialized, saying: "Your subject's tenth-generation collateral great-uncle Xizhi's writings originally numbered more than forty sheets; in the twelfth year of Zhenguan Emperor Taizong sought to purchase them, and my forebears all presented them. Only one scroll remains extant today. He further presented writings of your subject's eleventh-generation ancestor Dao, tenth-generation ancestor Qia, ninth-generation ancestor Xun, eighth-generation ancestor Tan Shou, seventh-generation ancestor Seng Chuo, sixth-generation ancestor Zhongbao, fifth-generation ancestor Qian, great-grandfather Gui, and great-great-grandfather Bao, together with twenty-eight persons from the ninth-generation third-cousin, Jin Secretariat Director Xianzhi, downward—altogether ten scrolls. " Empress Wu ascended the Wucheng Hall to show the ministers, and ordered Secretariat drafter Cui Rong to compose the Precious Writings Collection to narrate the affair; she again bestowed it on Fangqing—a great honor at the time.

方慶又舉：“令杖‘期喪、大功未葬，不預朝賀；未終喪，不預宴會。 ’比來朝官不遵禮法，身有哀容，陪預朝會，手舞足蹈，公違憲章，名教既虧，實玷皇化。伏望申明令式，更禁斷。 ”從之。方慶漸以老疾，乞從閑逸，乃授麟台監修國史。及中宗立為東宮，方慶兼檢校太子左庶子。

Fangqing also proposed: "The statute provides: 'During first- and second-degree mourning before burial, one does not participate in court congratulations; before mourning is complete, one does not participate in banquets. ' Recently court officials have not observed ritual law—bearing mourning countenance yet attending court sessions, clapping hands and stamping feet in public violation of statutes; name and teaching are already impaired and truly stain imperial transformation. Humbly I hope the statutes and regulations may be clarified and further forbidden. " This was approved. Fangqing gradually, owing to age and illness, requested leisure and ease; he was then appointed Director of the Forest Terrace to compile the national history. When Zhongzong was established as Eastern Palace heir, Fangqing was additionally appointed Acting Left Subordinate of the Heir Apparent.

聖曆二年一日，則天欲季冬講武，有司稽緩，延入孟春。方慶上疏曰：“謹按《禮記月令》：‘孟冬之月，天子命將帥講武，習射禦角力。 ’此乃三時務農，一時講武，以習射禦，角校才力，蓋王者常事，安不忘危之道也。 ‘孟春之月，不可以稱兵。 ’兵者，甲胄干戈之總名。兵金性，克木，春盛德在木，而舉金以害盛德，逆生氣。 ‘孟春行冬令，則水潦為敗，雪霜大摯，首種不入。 ’蔡邕《月令章句》云：‘太陰新休，少陽尚微，而行冬令以導水氣，故水潦至而敗生物也。雪霜大摯，折陽者也。太陰幹時，雨雪而霜，故大傷首種。首種，謂宿麥也，麥以秋種，故謂之首種。入，收也，春為沍寒所傷，故至夏麥不成長也。 ’今孟春講武，是行冬令，以陰政犯陽氣，害發生之德。臣恐水潦敗物，霜雪損稼，夏麥不登，無所收入也。伏望天恩不違時令，至孟冬教習，以順天道。 ”手製答曰：“比為久屬太平，多曆年載，人皆廢戰，並悉學文。今者用整兵威，故令教習。卿以春行冬令，則水潦為敗，舉金傷木，則便害發生。循覽所陳，深合典禮，若違此請，乃月令虛行。佇啟直言，用依來表。 ”是歲，正授太子左庶子，封石泉公，餘並如故，俸料同職事三品，兼侍皇太子讀書。方慶又上言：“謹按史籍所載，人臣與人主言及上表，未有稱皇太子名者。當為太子皇儲，其名尊重，不敢指斥，所以不言。晉尚書僕射山濤啟事，稱皇太子而不言名。濤中朝名士，必詳典故，其不稱名，應有憑準。朝官尚猶如此，宮臣歸則不疑。今東宮殿及門名，皆有觸犯，臨事論啟，回避甚難。孝敬皇帝為太子時，改弘教門為崇教門；沛王為皇太子，改崇賢館為崇文館。皆避名諱，以遵典禮。此即成例，足為軌模。伏望天恩因循舊式，付司改換。 ”製從之。

On one day in the second year of Shenli, Empress Wu wished to conduct military exercises in late winter; the responsible officials were slow in preparation and postponed it into early spring. Fangqing submitted a memorial, saying: "Respectfully I find in the Monthly Ordinances of the Record of Rites: 'In the month of early winter, the Son of Heaven orders generals and commanders to conduct military exercises, practicing archery and wrestling. ' This is three seasons devoted to agriculture and one season to military exercises—to practice archery and defense, test strength in wrestling; it is the king's regular affair, the way of security without forgetting peril. 'In the month of early spring, one may not raise arms. ' Arms are the general name for armor, helmets, shields, and halberds. Arms belong to the nature of metal, which overcomes wood; in spring the supreme virtue resides in wood—yet to raise metal and harm the supreme virtue reverses the generative qi. 'If in early spring one executes winter ordinances, then floods become ruinous, frost and snow severe, and the first sowing does not take. ' Cai Yong's Monthly Ordinances Commentary says: 'Great yin has just rested, lesser yang is still slight—yet to execute winter ordinances and channel water qi causes floods to arrive and ruin living things. Severe frost and snow break the yang. Great yin overpowers the season; rain, snow, and frost follow—thereby greatly harming the first sowing. First sowing refers to winter wheat; wheat is sown in autumn, and so is called first sowing. Not taking refers to not harvesting; spring is harmed by severe cold, and so by summer the wheat does not mature. ' Now to conduct military exercises in early spring is to execute winter ordinances—using yin governance to violate yang qi and harm the virtue of generation. Your subject fears floods will ruin things, frost and snow will damage crops, summer wheat will not ripen, and there will be nothing to harvest. Humbly I hope heavenly grace will not violate the seasons, and that instruction be conducted in early winter to accord with the Way of Heaven. " An imperial reply in her own hand said: "Recently we have long enjoyed great peace, spanning many years; all have abandoned warfare and devoted themselves entirely to letters. Now we wish to restore military prestige, and so order instruction. You hold that executing winter ordinances in spring makes floods ruinous, and raising metal harms wood—thereby harming generation. Reading through what you have stated, it deeply accords with canonical ritual; if this request were refused, the Monthly Ordinances would be empty in practice. We await your forthright counsel and will follow your submitted memorial. " That year he was formally appointed Left Subordinate of the Heir Apparent, enfeoffed as Duke of Shiquan; the rest remained as before, his salary equal to a third-rank active post, and he additionally attended the crown prince in his studies. Fangqing further submitted: "Respectfully I find in the historical records that when ministers speak with the sovereign or submit memorials, none ever use the crown prince's personal name. As the crown prince and imperial heir, his name is revered; one dares not point to it directly, and so does not speak it. Shan Tao, Vice Director of the Secretariat under Jin, in his reports referred to the crown prince without speaking his name. Tao was a celebrated figure of the central court and surely knew the canonical precedents; that he did not speak the name must have had authoritative basis. If court officials still observe this, palace officials need have no doubt in following it. Now the halls and gate names of the Eastern Palace all contain taboo violations; when conducting affairs and submitting reports, avoidance is very difficult. When Emperor Xiaojing was crown prince, he changed Hongjiao Gate to Chongjiao Gate; when the Prince of Pei was crown prince, he changed the Hall of Honoring Worthies to the Hall of Honoring Letters. All avoided name taboos to observe canonical ritual. These already constitute precedent, sufficient as models to follow. Humbly I hope heavenly grace will follow the old pattern and charge the responsible offices to make the changes. " The edict approved this.

長安二年五月卒，贈袞州都督，諡曰貞。中宗即位，以宮僚之舊，追贈吏部尚書。方慶博學好著述，所撰雜書凡二百餘卷。尤精《三禮》，好事者多詢訪之。每所酬答，鹹有典據，故時人編次，名曰《禮雜答問》。聚書甚多，不減秘閣，至於圖畫，亦多異本。諸子莫能守其業，卒後尋亦散亡。長子光輔，開元中官至潞州刺史。少子晙，工書知名，尤善琴棋，而性多嚴整，官至殿中侍御史。

He died in the fifth month of the second year of Chang'an; posthumously appointed military governor of Yanzhou; posthumous name Zhen (Upright). When Zhongzong ascended the throne, owing to their old association as palace officials, Fangqing was posthumously granted the title of Minister of the Civil Service. Fangqing was broadly learned and fond of writing; miscellaneous works he composed totaled more than two hundred scrolls. He was especially expert in the Three Rites; many enthusiasts came to consult him. Each answer he gave had canonical basis; contemporaries compiled them under the title Miscellaneous Questions and Answers on Ritual. He collected many books, not fewer than the Secret Archive; as for paintings, he also had many rare editions. None of his sons could preserve his estate; soon after his death it too was scattered and lost. His eldest son Guangfu, during Kaiyuan, reached the office of prefect of Luzhou. His youngest son Jun was renowned for skill in calligraphy, especially adept at zither and chess, yet stern in character; he reached the office of Palace Censor.

姚璹，字令璋，散騎常侍思廉之孫也。少孤，撫弟妹以友愛稱。博涉經史，有才辯。永徽中明經擢第。累補太子宮門郎。與司議郎孟利貞等奉令撰《瑤山玉彩》書，書成，遷秘書郎。調露中，累遷至中書舍人，封吳興縣男。則天臨朝，遷夏官侍郎。坐從父弟敬節同徐敬業之亂，貶桂州都督府長史。時則天雅好符瑞，璹至嶺南，訪諸山川草樹，其名號有“武”字者，皆以為上膺國姓，列奏其事。則天大悅，召拜天官侍郎。善於選補，時人稱之。

Yao Shu, courtesy name Lingzhang, was the grandson of Attendant Cavalier Sili. Orphaned young, he raised his younger siblings and was known for fraternal affection. Broadly versed in the classics and histories, he had talent for debate. During Yonghui he passed the Mingjing examination. He was repeatedly appointed gate officer of the crown prince's palace. Together with Reviewer Meng Lizhen and others he was ordered to compile the Jade Splendor of Mount Yao; when the work was complete, he was transferred to secretary. During Diaolu he was repeatedly promoted to Secretariat drafter and enfeoffed as Baron of Wuxing County. When Empress Wu assumed the throne, he was transferred to Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. Because his paternal cousin Jingjie joined Xu Jingye's rebellion, he was demoted to chief secretary of the Guizhou Metropolitan Area Command. At the time Empress Wu greatly favored auspicious omens; when Shu reached Lingnan, he investigated mountains, rivers, grasses, and trees, and whatever names contained the character "Wu" he took as Heaven's confirmation of the imperial surname and submitted memorials listing these matters. Empress Wu was greatly pleased and summoned him to serve as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Skilled at selection and appointment, he was praised by contemporaries.

長壽二年，遷文昌左丞、同鳳閣鸞台平章事。自永徽以後，左、右史雖得對仗承旨，仗下後謀議，皆不預聞。璹以為帝王謨訓，不可暫無紀述，若不宣自宰相，史官無從得書。乃表請仗下所言軍國政要，宰相一人專知撰錄，號為時政記，每月封送史館。宰相之撰時政記，自璹始也。是歲九月，坐事轉司賓少卿，罷知政事。延載初，擢拜納言。有司以璹從父弟犯法，奏言不合更為侍臣。璹上言：“昔王敦稱兵犯順，王導仍典樞機；嵇康戮於晉朝，嵇紹忠於晉室。竊惟前古，尚不為疑；今奉聖恩，豈由臣下。必以體例有乖，伏請甘從屏退。 ”則天曰：“此乃我意，卿復何言！但當盡忠，無聽浮說。”

In the second year of Changshou he was transferred to Left Vice Director of the Secretariat and Associate at the Hall of the Phoenix and Hall of the Crane with the authority of a chancellor. From Yonghui onward, though Left and Right Historians could receive imperial intent at court, they did not participate in deliberations after the audience ended. Shu held that the sovereign's counsels and instructions could not for a moment go unrecorded; if not proclaimed by the chancellor, the historiographers would have no means to write them. He therefore memorialized requesting that military and state affairs spoken after audiences be recorded exclusively by one chancellor, titled Records of Current Governance, sealed and sent monthly to the Historiography Office. The chancellor's compilation of Records of Current Governance began with Shu. That year in the ninth month, owing to an offense, he was transferred to Vice Minister of Reception and removed from managing state affairs. At the beginning of Yanzai he was promoted to Chief Censor. The responsible offices, because Shu's paternal cousin had violated the law, memorialized that he was unfit to serve again as a palace minister. Shu submitted: "Formerly Wang Dun raised troops in rebellion, yet Wang Dao still held the keys of state; Ji Kang was executed under the Jin, yet Ji Shao remained loyal to the Jin house. Reflecting on former ages, this was not held in doubt; now receiving sacred grace—how could this be decided by subordinates? If protocol truly conflicts, I humbly request to accept dismissal willingly. " Empress Wu said: "This is my intent—what more have you to say! Only devote yourself fully; pay no heed to idle talk.

時武三思率蕃夷酋長，請造天樞於端門外，刻字紀功，以頌周德，璹為督作使。證聖初，璹加秋官尚書、同平章事。是歲，明堂災，則天欲責躬避正殿，璹奏曰：“此實人火，非曰天災。至如成周宣榭，卜代愈隆；漢武建章，盛德彌永。臣又見《彌勒下生經》雲，當彌勒成佛之時，七寶台須臾散壞。睹此無常之相，便成正覺之因。故知聖人之道，隨緣示化，方便之利，博濟良多。可使由之，義存於此。況今明堂，乃是布政之所，非宗廟之地，陛下若避正殿，於禮未為得也。 ”左拾遺劉承慶廷奏云：“明堂宗祀之所，今既被焚，陛下宜輟朝思過。 ”璹又持前議以爭之，則天乃依璹奏。先令璹監造天樞，至是以功當賜爵一等。璹表請回贈父一官，乃追贈其父豫州司戶參軍處平為博州刺史。天後將封嵩嶽，命璹總知撰儀注，並充封禪副使。及重造明堂，又令璹充使督作，以功加銀青光祿大夫。

At the time Wu Sansi led tribal chieftains in requesting that a Celestial Axis be erected outside the Duan Gate, with characters carved to record achievements and praise Zhou virtue; Shu served as superintendent of construction. At the beginning of Zhengsheng, Shu was additionally appointed Minister of Justice with the authority of a chancellor. That year the Bright Hall burned; Empress Wu wished to blame herself and avoid the main hall. Shu memorialized: "This was truly human fire, not what is called a heavenly disaster. Consider the Xuan Pavilion of the Cheng-Zhou period—divination showed the dynasty would grow ever more glorious; Emperor Wu of Han's Jianzhang Palace—its splendid virtue endured ever longer. Your subject also finds in the Sutra of Maitreya's Descent that when Maitreya attains buddhahood, the seven-jewel platform is swiftly scattered and destroyed. Seeing this mark of impermanence becomes the cause of perfect enlightenment. Thus one knows the way of the sage manifests transformation according to conditions; the benefit of skillful means broadly saves many. One may be guided by this—the principle resides herein. Moreover, the Bright Hall today is the place where government is promulgated, not the site of the ancestral temple—if Your Majesty avoids the main hall, ritual is not properly observed. " Left Reminder Liu Chengqing memorialized at court: "The Bright Hall is the place of ancestral sacrifice; now that it has burned, Your Majesty should suspend court and reflect on faults. " Shu again upheld his earlier deliberation in dispute; Empress Wu then followed Shu's memorial. Earlier Shu had been ordered to supervise construction of the Celestial Axis; now for this achievement he was due one rank of ennoblement. Shu memorialized requesting that the ennoblement be redirected to his father; his father Chuping, judicial aide of Yuzhou, was posthumously granted the title of prefect of Bozhou. When the Empress planned to perform the feng and shan rites on Mount Song, she ordered Shu to oversee the drafting of ritual protocols and serve as deputy commissioner for the feng and shan. When the Bright Hall was rebuilt, she again appointed Shu commissioner to supervise construction; for this achievement he was granted the Silver Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness.

時有大石國使請獻獅子，璹上疏諫曰：“獅子猛獸，唯止食肉，遠從碎葉，以至神都，肉既難得，檢為勞費。陛下以百姓為心，慮一物有失，鷹犬不蓄，漁獵總停。運不殺以闡大慈，垂好生以敷至德，凡在飛蠢動，莫不感荷仁恩。豈容自菲薄於身，而厚資給於獸，求之至理，必不然乎。 ”疏奏，遽停來使。又九鼎初成，製令黃金千兩塗之。璹進諫曰：“夫鼎者神器，貴在質樸自然，無假別為浮飾。臣觀其狀，先有五彩輝煥，錯雜其間，豈待金色，方為炫耀？ ”則天又從之。

At the time an envoy from Tashkent requested to present a lion. Shu submitted a memorial of remonstrance: "The lion is a fierce beast that eats only meat; coming from far Suyab to the Divine Capital, meat is hard to obtain and supervision entails labor and expense. Your Majesty takes the common people to heart, fearing harm to any living thing—hawks and hounds are not kept, fishing and hunting are entirely stopped. Through non-killing you expound great compassion; through cherishing life you spread supreme virtue—all that flies, crawls, or moves none fails to feel and bear your benevolent grace. How could you be sparing toward yourself yet lavish in supplying a beast? Seeking the utmost principle, it surely cannot be so. " When the memorial was submitted, the incoming envoy was immediately stopped. Also, when the Nine Cauldrons were first completed, an edict ordered them gilded with a thousand taels of gold. Shu submitted remonstrance: "The cauldron is a sacred vessel; what is valued is plain naturalness, with no need for additional ornament. Your subject observes their form already has five colors shining brilliantly, interwoven among them—must gold be added before they can dazzle? " Empress Wu again followed this.

尋屬契丹犯塞，命梁王武三思為榆關道安撫大使、璹為副使以備之。及還，坐事，神功初左授益州大都督府長史。蜀中官吏多貪暴，璹屢有發擿，奸無所容。則天嘉之，降璽書勞之曰：“夫嚴霜之下，識貞鬆之擅奇，疾風之前，知勁草之為貴。物既有此，人亦宜哉。卿早荷朝恩，委任斯重。居中作相，弘益已多，防邊訓兵，心力俱盡。歲寒無改，終始不渝。乃眷蜀中，氓俗殷雜，久缺良守，弊於侵漁，政以賄成，人無措足。是用命卿出鎮，寄茲存養。果能攬轡澄清，下車整肅。吏不敢犯，奸無所容，前後糾擿，蓋非一緒。貪殘之伍，屏跡於列城；剽奪之儔，遁形於外境。詎勞期月，康此黎元，言念德聲，良深嘉尚。宜布琅邪之化，當以豫州為法。 ”則天又嚐謂侍臣曰：“凡為長官，能清自身者甚易，清得僚吏者甚難。至於姚璹，可謂兼之矣。”

Soon afterward the Khitan raided the frontier; Prince of Liang Wu Sansi was appointed Pacification Commissioner of the Yuguang Circuit and Shu deputy commissioner to prepare against them. Upon return, owing to an offense, at the beginning of Shengong he was demoted to chief secretary of the Yizhou Metropolitan Area Command. Officials in Shu were mostly greedy and brutal; Shu repeatedly exposed wrongdoing, leaving no room for the corrupt. Empress Wu commended him and sent an imperial letter of commendation, saying: "Under severe frost one recognizes the pine's singular steadfastness; before fierce wind one knows the tough grass's worth. If things have this quality, should not people as well? You early received court grace and were entrusted with weighty duty. Serving at court as chancellor, you have already brought much benefit; guarding the frontier and training troops, heart and strength alike were exhausted. Unchanged in cold years, constant from beginning to end. Now regarding Shu—the people and customs are numerous and mixed; good governors have long been lacking; harm comes from extortion; government is achieved through bribes; people have nowhere to set foot. Therefore we charge you to go out and govern, entrusting you with preserving and nurturing the people. You have indeed been able to take the reins and clarify affairs, and upon taking office establish order. Officials dare not offend; the corrupt find no refuge; expositions before and after amount to more than one thread. The greedy and brutal have vanished from the walled cities; plunderers have hidden themselves beyond the borders. In less than a month you have brought peace to the people; thinking of your virtuous reputation, we deeply commend and honor it. You should spread the transformation of Langye; take Yuzhou as the model. " Empress Wu also once told her attending ministers: "For any chief official, keeping oneself clean is very easy; keeping one's subordinate officials clean is very hard. As for Yao Shu, one may say he achieved both.

其一曰：臣聞賈誼曰：“選天下之端士，孝悌博聞有道術者，使與太子居處出入。故太子見正事，聞正言，行正道，左右前後皆正人也。夫習與正人居之，不能無正；習與不正人居之，不能無不正。太子既冠成人，免於保傅之嚴，則有記過之史。徹膳之宰，進善之旌，誹謗之木，敢諫之鼓，瞽史誦箴，大夫進謀，故習與智長，化與心成。夫教得而左右正，則太子正矣；太子正而天下定矣。 ”臣又聞之，木從繩則正，後從諫則聖。善言古者，所以驗於今。伏惟殿下睿德洪深，天姿聰敏，近代成敗，前古安危，莫不懸鑒在心，動合典禮。臣以庸朽，濫居輔弼，虛備耳目，叨預股肱，輒薦塵露，庶裨山海。伏以內置作坊，工巧得入宮闈之內、禁衛之所，或言語內出，或事狀外通，小人無知，不識輕重，因為詐偽，有玷徽猷。臣望並付所司，以停宮內造作。如或要須役造，猶望宮外安置，庶得工匠不於宮禁出入。

The first reads: Your subject has heard Jia Yi say: "Select upright scholars from throughout the realm—those filial, fraternal, broadly learned, and possessed of the Way and skill—and have them dwell and go in and out with the crown prince. Thus the crown prince sees upright affairs, hears upright words, and walks the upright path—those to his left and right, before and behind, are all upright men. One who habitually dwells with upright men cannot fail to become upright; one who habitually dwells with un upright men cannot fail to become not upright. When the crown prince has capped his head and reached adulthood, freed from the strictness of tutors and guardians, there are historians who record faults. Stewards who withdraw meals, banners that commend goodness, posts for criticism, drums for bold remonstrance, blind historians who recite admonitions, grandees who advance counsel—thus habit grows with wisdom, and transformation completes in the heart. When teaching succeeds and those at his side are upright, then the crown prince is upright; when the crown prince is upright, the realm is settled. " Your subject has also heard that wood follows the line and becomes straight; a sovereign follows remonstrance and becomes sage. Speaking well of antiquity is how one verifies the present. Humbly considering that Your Highness's sagely virtue is vast and deep, your heavenly endowment keen and quick—recent success and failure, ancient security and peril—none fails to hang as a mirror in your heart; your actions accord with canonical ritual. Your subject, mediocre and decayed, undeservedly occupies the place of assistant; vainly serving as eyes and ears, presumptuously among your arms and legs—I rashly offer dust and dew, hoping it may add a grain to mountains and seas. Humbly considering that workshops are established within the palace, skilled artisans may enter the inner quarters and guarded precincts—words pass outward from within, or affairs connect outside—small men, ignorant and unaware of weight, commit fraud and stain your fine governance. Your subject hopes all may be entrusted to the responsible offices to halt construction within the palace. If labor and construction are truly necessary, I still hope they may be placed outside the palace, so that artisans need not enter and leave the forbidden precincts.

其二曰：臣聞漢文帝身衣弋綈，足履革舄；齊高帝欄檻用銅者，皆易以鐵。經侯帶玉具劍環珮以過魏，太子不視，經侯曰：“魏國亦有寶乎？ ”太子曰：“主信臣忠，魏之寶也。 ”經侯委劍珮而去。太子使追還之，謂曰：“珠玉珍玩，寒不可衣，饑不可食，無遺我賊。 ”經侯杜門不出。臣觀聖賢經籍，務以簡素為貴；皇王政化，皆以菲薄為德。伏惟殿下留心恭儉，靡尚浮奢。臣愚猶望損之又損之，居簡以行簡，減省造作，節量用度。

The second reads: Your subject has heard that Emperor Wen of Han wore coarse silk and leather shoes on his feet; Emperor Gao of Qi replaced all copper used in railings and balustrades with iron. Marquis Jing passed through Wei wearing a jade-fitted sword with ring and pendant; the crown prince did not look. Marquis Jing said: "Does the state of Wei also have treasures? " The crown prince said: "When the lord trusts and ministers are loyal—that is Wei's treasure. " Marquis Jing cast off sword and pendant and departed. The crown prince sent men to pursue and return them, saying: "Pearls, jade, and precious curios—cold cannot be clothed with them, hunger cannot be fed by them; leave me no plunderers. " Marquis Jing shut his door and did not go out. Your subject observes that in the scriptures of sages and worthies, simplicity is valued; the governance and transformation of emperors and kings all take frugality as virtue. Humbly considering that Your Highness attends to reverence and frugality and does not esteem empty extravagance. Your subject, though foolish, still hopes for reduction upon reduction—dwelling in simplicity to act in simplicity, cutting construction, and moderating expenditure.

其三曰：臣聞銀牖銅樓，宮闈嚴秘，門閤來往，皆有簿曆。殿下時有所須，唯門司宣令，或恐奸偽之輩，因此妄為增減，脫有文狀舛錯，事理便即差違。且近日呂升之便乃代署宣敕，伏賴殿下睿敏，當即覺其奸偽，自餘臣下庸淺，豈能深辨真虛？望墨令及覆事行下，並用內印印畫署之後，冀得免有詐假，乃是長久規模。臣又聞之，忠臣事君，有犯而無隱；明主馭下，納諫以進德。故《書》云：“有言逆於誌，必求諸道；有言順於心，必求諸非道。 ”伏惟殿下仁明昭著，聖敬日躋，探幽洞微，窮神索隱。事之善惡，毫厘靡差；理有危疑，錙銖無爽。臣以庸謬，叨侍春闈，職居獻替，豈敢緘默！

The third reads: Your subject has heard that silver windows and copper towers—the inner palace is strictly sealed; all who pass through gates and doors are recorded in ledgers. When Your Highness occasionally requires something, only the gate office proclaims the order—or so one fears that deceitful persons may thereby arbitrarily add or subtract; if documents err, affairs immediately go astray. Moreover, recently Lü Shengzhi presumptuously signed and proclaimed edicts in another's place—humbly relying on Your Highness's keen intelligence, you immediately detected the fraud; as for the rest of us shallow subordinates, how could we deeply distinguish truth from falsehood? I hope that written orders and submitted replies sent down may all be stamped and signed with the inner seal afterward, so that fraud may be avoided—this would be a lasting model. Your subject has also heard that loyal ministers serve their lord with offense yet without concealment; enlightened lords govern subordinates and accept remonstrance to advance in virtue. Thus the Documents say: "When words oppose one's intent, one must seek them in the Way; when words accord with one's heart, one must seek them in what is not the Way. " Humbly considering that Your Highness's benevolence and clarity are manifest, sacred reverence ascends daily, probing the hidden and penetrating the subtle, exhausting spirit to seek the concealed. The good and evil of affairs—not a hair's breadth of error; where principle is perilous or doubtful, not a speck of deviation. Your subject, mediocre and mistaken, presumptuously attends the Eastern Palace; duty lies in offering and replacing—how dare I remain silent!

其四曰：臣聞聖人不專其德，賢智必有所師。故曰：與善人言，如入芝蘭之室，久自芬芳；與不善人言，如火銷膏，不覺而盡。今司經見無學士，供奉未有侍讀，伏望時因視膳，奏請置人。所冀講席談筵，務盡忠規之道；披文擿句，方資審諭之勤。臣又聞臣之事主，必盡乃誠；君之進賢，務求忠讜。伏惟殿下養德儲闈，以端靜為務；恭膺守器，以學業為先。經所以立行修身，史所以諳識成敗。雅誥既習，忠孝乃成，傳記方通，安危斯辨。知父子君臣之道，識古今鑒戒之規，經史為先，斯乃急務。至於工巧造作，僚吏直司，實為末事，無足勞慮。臣以庸淺，獻替是司，臣而不言，負譴聖日，言而獲罪，是所甘心。伏願留意經書，簡略細事，一蒙采納，萬殞無辭。乞降儲明，俯矜狂瞽。

The fourth reads: Your subject has heard that sages do not monopolize virtue; the worthy and wise must have teachers. Thus it is said: speaking with good men is like entering a room of orchids and angelica—long exposure makes one fragrant; speaking with not good men is like fire melting grease—without noticing, one is consumed. Now the Directorate of Classics has no erudite scholars; the palace service has no reading attendant—I humbly hope that when Your Highness views meals, you may memorialize to appoint persons. What is hoped is that at lecture seats and discussion gatherings, the way of loyal counsel may be fully pursued; unfolding texts and selecting passages may then supply the diligence of careful instruction. Your subject has also heard that ministers serving their lord must exhaust their sincerity; lords advancing the worthy must seek loyal forthrightness. Humbly considering that Your Highness cultivates virtue in the heir's quarters and makes upright quietude your task; reverently bearing the vessel of succession, you put study first. The classics establish conduct and cultivate the person; histories supply familiarity with success and failure. When elegant decrees are mastered, loyalty and filial piety are achieved; when chronicles are understood, security and peril are distinguished. Knowing the way of father and son, lord and minister; recognizing the rules of ancient and modern mirrors and warnings—classics and histories first: this is the urgent task. As for craftsmanship and construction, handled by subordinate clerks—these are truly minor matters, not worth troubling over. Your subject, shallow and mediocre, is charged with offering and replacing—a minister who does not speak bears reproach on a sacred day; to speak and incur punishment is what I accept willingly. Humbly I wish you would attend to the classics and simplify minor affairs; if but once adopted, though I die ten thousand deaths I would have no complaint. I beg that stored brilliance descend and look down in pity on my mad blindness.

疏奏，太子雖稱善，竟不悛革。太子敗，詔遣索其宮中，得班諫書，中宗嘉其切直。時宮臣皆貶黜，唯班擢拜右散騎常侍。歲餘，遷秘書監。

When the memorial was submitted, the crown prince praised it but in the end did not reform. When the crown prince fell, an edict was sent to search his palace; Ban's remonstrance was found; Zhongzong commended its blunt directness. At the time all palace officials were demoted; only Ban was promoted to Right Attendant Cavalier. After more than a year he was transferred to Director of the Secretariat.

睿宗即位，累授戶部尚書，轉太子賓客。先天二年，加金紫光祿大夫，復拜戶部尚書。班與兄弟璹，數年間俱為定州刺史、戶部尚書，時人榮之。開元二年卒，年七十四。班嚐以其曾祖察所撰《漢書訓纂》，多為後之注《漢書》者隱沒名氏，將為己說；班乃撰《漢書紹訓》四十卷，以發明舊義，行於代。

When Ruizong ascended the throne, Ban was repeatedly granted the title of Minister of Revenue and transferred to Companion of the Heir Apparent. In the second year of Xiantian he was granted the Gold Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and again appointed Minister of Revenue. Ban and his brother Shu within a few years both served as prefect of Dingzhou and Minister of Revenue; contemporaries regarded this as an honor. He died in the second year of Kaiyuan at age seventy-four. Ban once found that in the Han Shu Instruction Compilation composed by his great-grandfather Cha, many later commentators on the Book of Han concealed the author's name and took the material as their own exposition; Ban therefore compiled forty scrolls of the Han Shu Continuation of Instruction to elucidate the old meaning; it circulated in his age.

史臣曰：天子有諍臣七人，雖無道不失其天下。致廬陵復位，唐祚中興，諍由狄公，一人以蔽。或曰：許之太甚。答曰：當革命之時，朋邪甚眾，非推誠竭力，致身忘家者，孰能與於此乎！仁傑流死不避，骨鯁有彰，雖逢好殺無辜，能使終畏大義。竟存天下，豈不然乎！王方慶幹城南海，羽冀東宮，台閣樞機，無不功濟，所謂君子不器者也。苟非文學，斯焉取斯。璹成都布政，始卒不侔；相國上章，或否或中。且焚明堂而避正殿，固諍何多；黜唐頌而立天樞，一言非措。矧乃妄求符瑞，已失忠貞；精擇楚茅，難裨過咎。不常其德，罔畏承羞。班規諫有才，牧守多善，儲幄之任，可謂得人。

The historiographer says: A Son of Heaven has seven remonstrating ministers; though lacking the Way, he does not lose his realm. Restoring the Prince of Luling and renewing Tang's fortune—remonstrance came from the Duke of Di; one man suffices to cover the matter. Some say: This praises him too much. The reply: At the time of dynastic change, faction and wickedness were many; unless one pushed sincerity to the utmost, gave body and forgot family—who could share in this! Renjie faced exile and death without shrinking; his unyielding spine was manifest; though he encountered a ruler who loved killing the innocent, he could make her ultimately fear great principle. In the end he preserved the realm—is it not so! Wang Fangqing buttressed the realm in the South Sea, winged the Eastern Palace, and in hall and secretariat alike achieved merit in every task—the so-called gentleman who is not a single vessel. If not for literary learning, where would such a man be taken from? Shu governed Chengdu—beginning and end were not alike; as chancellor his memorials were sometimes wrong, sometimes right. When the Bright Hall burned and he argued against avoiding the main hall—how much was his firm remonstrance; yet to dismiss Tang praise and erect the Celestial Axis—one word was wrongly placed. Moreover, presumptuously seeking auspicious omens already lost loyalty; carefully selecting Chu thatch could hardly remedy fault. Inconstant in virtue, he did not fear bearing shame. Ban's remonstrance had talent; as prefect and governor he was mostly good; in charge of the heir's quarters, one may say the right man was found.

讚曰：犯顏忤旨，返政扶危。是人雜事，狄能有之。終替武氏，克復唐基。功之莫大，人無以師。方慶之才，周旋特立。璹也無常，珽能操執。

The encomium says: Offending the countenance and defying the intent, restoring legitimate rule and supporting peril. Among men and miscellaneous affairs, only Di could possess this. In the end he replaced the Wu house and recovered Tang's foundation. Of achievements none is greater; among men none can be his teacher. Fangqing's talent moved in all directions, standing apart. Shu was inconstant; Ting could hold to principle.

Cite this Chapter