1
杜鴻漸
Du Hongjian
2
韋見素，字會微，京兆萬年人。 父湊，開元中太原尹。 見素學科登第。 景龍中，解褐相王府參軍，歷衛佐、河南府倉曹。 丁父憂，服闋，起為大理寺丞，襲爵彭城郡公。 坐事出為坊州司馬。 入為庫部員外郎，加朝散大夫，歷右司兵部二員外，左司兵部二郎中，遷諫議大夫。 天寶五年，充江西、山南、黔中、嶺南等黜陟使，觀省風俗，彈糾長吏，所至肅然。 使還，拜給事中，駁正繩違，頗振臺閣舊典。 尋檢校尚書工部侍郎，改右丞。 九載，遷吏部侍郎，加銀青光祿大夫。 見素仁恕長者，意不忤物，及典選累年，銓敘平允，人士稱之。 時右相楊國忠用事，左相陳希烈畏其權寵，凡事唯諾，無敢發明，玄宗頗知之，聖情不悅。 天寶十三年秋，霖雨六十餘日，京師廬舍垣墉頹毀殆盡，凡一十九坊汙潦。 天子以宰輔或未稱職，見此咎征，命楊國忠精求端士，時兵部侍郎吉溫方承寵遇，上意用之。 國忠以溫祿山賓佐，懼其威權，奏寢其事。 國忠訪於中書舍人竇華、宋昱等，華、昱言見素方雅，柔而易制。 上亦以經事相王府，有舊恩，可之。 其年八月，拜武部尚書、同中書門下平章事，充集賢院學士，知門下省事，代陳希烈。 見素既為國忠引用，心德之。 時祿山與國忠爭寵，兩相猜嫌，見素亦無所是非，署字而已，遂至凶胡犯順，不措一言。
Wei Jiansu, whose courtesy name was Huiwei, came from Wannian in the Jingzhao region. His father Cou had been intendant of Taiyuan during the Kaiyuan reign. Jiansu passed the specialized civil-service examination. During the Jinglong period he took his first office as a staff officer in the household of the Prince of Xiang, then served as a guard aide and as granary clerk in Henan Prefecture. After his father's death he observed the mourning period, and when it ended he was appointed vice-director of the Court of Judicial Review and succeeded to the dukedom of Pengcheng. After an offense he was demoted to military aide in Fang Prefecture. He returned to the capital as a vice-director in the Ministry of the Treasury, received the honorary title Grand Master of Palace Leisure, held two vice-director posts in the war ministry's right and left secretariats in turn, and was then promoted to Remonstrance Grandee. In Tianbao 5 he was appointed promotion-and-demotion commissioner for Jiangxi, Shannan, Qianzhong, Lingnan, and other regions, reviewing local customs and impeaching senior officials, and everywhere he went the administration grew orderly. On his return he was made Attendant Gentleman, correcting abuses and restraining misconduct and thereby reviving much of the censorate's former practice. He was soon made acting vice-minister of works and then transferred to the post of right vice-director. In the ninth year he became vice-minister of personnel and was granted the title Grand Master of Splendid Brightness with Silver Seal. Jiansu was a kindly, forbearing man who never gave offense; during his many years in charge of appointments his ratings were even-handed, and he was widely respected. The right chancellor Yang Guozhong then dominated the government, while the left chancellor Chen Xilie, fearing Yang's power, merely assented to everything and never spoke his mind. Xuanzong noticed this and was displeased. In the autumn of Tianbao 13 it rained for more than sixty days. In the capital nearly every house and wall collapsed, and nineteen wards lay under water. The emperor took the disaster as a sign that his chief ministers were unfit and ordered Yang Guozhong to find worthy replacements. Ji Wen, vice-minister of war, was then in favor, and the emperor meant to appoint him. Guozhong, knowing that Wen had once served An Lushan, feared his influence and persuaded the emperor to drop the appointment. Guozhong asked the Secretariat drafters Dou Hua and Song Yu for advice; they said Jiansu was upright and refined, mild, and easy to manage. The emperor also remembered Jiansu's long service in his own household when he was Prince of Xiang and approved the appointment. That August he was made minister of war and grand councilor, appointed a scholar of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, put in charge of chancellery business, and replaced Chen Xilie. Having been advanced by Guozhong, Jiansu felt deep gratitude toward him. An Lushan and Guozhong were then rivals for imperial favor and deeply suspicious of each other. Jiansu likewise passed no judgment and merely signed documents, and when the rebel rose he never spoke a word of protest.
3
十五年六月，哥舒翰兵敗桃林，潼關不守。 是月，玄宗蒼黃出幸，莫知所詣。 楊國忠以身領劍南旄鉞，請幸成都。 見素與國忠、御史大夫魏方進遇上於延秋門，便扈從之咸陽。 翌日，次馬嵬驛，軍士不得食，流言不遜。 龍武將軍陳玄禮懼其亂，乃與飛龍馬家李護國謀於皇太子，請誅國忠，以慰士心。 是日，玄禮等禁軍圍行宮，盡誅楊氏。 見素遁走，為亂兵所傷，眾呼曰：「勿傷韋相！」 識者救之，獲免。 上聞之，令壽王瑁宣慰，賜藥傅瘡。 魏方進為亂兵所殺。 是日，朝士獨見素一人。 是夜宿馬嵬，上命見素子京兆府司錄參軍諤為御史中丞，充置頓使。 淩晨將發，六軍將士曰：「國忠反叛，不可更往蜀川，請之河、隴。」 或言靈武、太原，或云還京，議者不一。 上意在劍南，慮違士心，無所言。 諤曰：「還京須有捍賊之備。 今兵馬數少，恐非萬全，不如且至扶風，徐圖去就。」 上詢於眾，眾以為然，乃令皇太子後殿。
In the sixth month of the fifteenth year Geshu Han was defeated at Taolin, and Tong Pass fell. That same month Xuanzong fled the capital in panic, and no one knew where he intended to go. Yang Guozhong, who held military command in Jiannan in his own person, urged the emperor to flee to Chengdu. Jiansu met the emperor at Yanqiu Gate with Guozhong and Censor-in-Chief Wei Fangjin and escorted him to Xianyang. The next day they stopped at Mawei Post. The troops had nothing to eat, and mutinous talk spread through the ranks. Dragon Martial general Chen Xuanli, fearing a mutiny, conspired with Li Huguo of the imperial stud and the crown prince to have Guozhong killed and thereby appease the troops. That day Chen Xuanli and the imperial guards surrounded the temporary palace and killed every member of the Yang clan. Jiansu fled and was wounded in the melee; the soldiers shouted, "Do not harm Chancellor Wei!" Men who recognized him pulled him to safety, and he escaped. When the emperor heard what had happened, he sent Prince Shou Li Mao to comfort him and provided medicine for his wounds. Wei Fangjin was killed by the mutineers. That day Jiansu was the only court official still with the emperor. They spent the night at Mawei. The emperor appointed Jiansu's son E, a staff officer in the Jingzhao prefecture, vice censor-in-chief and commissioner for arranging the imperial halt. At dawn, just before departure, the officers and men of the Six Armies declared, "Guozhong was a traitor; we cannot go on to Shu. Take us to the northwest instead. Some urged Lingwu or Taiyuan, others a return to the capital, and no agreement could be reached. The emperor still meant to go to Jiannan but, fearing to defy the troops, said nothing. E said, "If we return to the capital we must have the means to hold off the rebels. We have too few troops for that to be safe. Better go first to Fufeng and decide our next move from there." The emperor put the question to those present, all agreed, and he ordered the crown prince to guard the rear.
4
上至扶風郡，從駕諸軍各圖去就，頗出醜言。 陳玄禮不能制，上聞之憂懼。 會益州貢春彩十萬疋，乃以其綱使濛陽尉劉景溫為監察御史，其彩悉陳於廷，召六軍將士等入，上謂之曰：「卿等皆國之功臣，勛勞素著，朕之優賞，常亦不輕。 逆胡負恩，事須回避，甚知卿等不得別父母妻子，朕亦不及辭九廟。」 言發涕流。 又曰：「朕今須幸蜀，蜀路險狹，人若多往，恐難祗供。 今有此彩，卿等即宜分取，各自圖去就。 朕自有子弟、中官等相隨，便與卿等訣別。」 眾咸俯伏號泣，曰：「死生從陛下。」 上良久曰：「去住聽卿自便。」 自是醜言方息。 七月，至巴西郡，以見素兼左相、武部尚書。 數日，至蜀郡，加金紫光祿大夫，進封豳國公，與一子五品官。
When the emperor reached Fufeng Prefecture, the troops in his train each began planning to go their own way, and discontent spread openly. Chen Xuanli could not restrain them, and the emperor grew deeply alarmed. Just then a tribute convoy from Yi Prefecture arrived with one hundred thousand bolts of spring brocade. The emperor made the convoy leader, Mengyang magistrate Liu Jingwen, an investigating censor, had all the cloth laid out in the courtyard, and summoned the officers and men of the Six Armies. He told them, "You are all meritorious servants of the state, and I have never been stingy in rewarding you. The rebel has forced us to flee. I know you could not say farewell to your parents, wives, and children, and I myself had no time even to take leave at the ancestral shrines." As he spoke, he wept openly. He went on, "I must now go to Shu. The road is narrow and difficult, and if too many follow me there will not be enough to sustain you all. Take this brocade and divide it among yourselves, and each of you may go wherever you choose. My sons, younger kinsmen, and eunuchs will accompany me, and I must now bid you farewell." They all prostrated themselves, weeping, and cried, "In life or in death we follow Your Majesty." After a long pause the emperor said, "Whether you stay or go is entirely for you to decide." Only then did the mutinous talk subside. In the seventh month they reached Baxi Prefecture, and Jiansu was made left chancellor while retaining the ministry of war. A few days later they reached Shu Prefecture. He was granted the title Grand Master of Glorious Splendor with Golden Seal, created Duke of Bin, and one of his sons was given a fifth-rank office.
5
是月，皇太子即位於靈武，道路艱澀，音驛未通。 八月，肅宗使至，始知靈武即位。 尋命見素與宰臣房琯賫傳國寶玉冊奉使靈武，宣傳詔命，便行冊禮。 將行，上皇謂見素等曰：「皇帝自幼仁孝，與諸子有異，朕豈不知。 往十三年，已有傳位之意，屬其歲水旱，左右勸朕且俟豐年。 爾來便屬祿山構逆，方隅震擾，未遂此心。 昨發馬嵬，亦有處分。 今皇帝受命，朕心頓如釋負。 勞卿等遠去，勉輔佐之。 多難興王，自古皆有，卿等乃心王室，以宗社為念，早定中原，吾之望也。」 見素等悲泣不自勝。 仍以見素子諤及中書舍人賈至充冊禮使判官。 時肅宗已回幸順化郡。 九月，見素等至，冊禮畢，從幸彭原郡。 肅宗在東宮，素聞房琯名重，故虛懷以待； 以見素常附國忠，禮遇稍薄。 明年，至鳳翔。 三月，除左僕射，罷知政事，以憲部尚書致仕。 苗晉卿代為左相。
That month the crown prince ascended the throne at Lingwu, but the roads were treacherous and no reliable word reached the fugitive court. In the eighth month an envoy from Suzong arrived, and only then did they learn that he had already taken the throne at Lingwu. Soon Jiansu and chief minister Fang Guan were sent to Lingwu bearing the imperial seal and jade registers to proclaim the succession and perform the investiture ceremony. Before they set out, the retired emperor told Jiansu and the others, "The emperor has been filial and humane since childhood, unlike my other sons, and I have always known it. Thirteen years ago I already meant to abdicate, but floods and drought struck that year, and my advisers urged me to wait for a better harvest. Then An Lushan rebelled and the empire was thrown into chaos, and I never carried out that plan. Even when we left Mawei I had already made arrangements for the succession. Now that the emperor has taken the throne, a great weight has lifted from my heart. I am sorry to send you so far, but do your utmost to assist him. Kings have often risen through hardship; devote yourselves to the dynasty, think of the altars of state, and recover the central plains as soon as you can. That is my hope." Jiansu and the others wept until they could no longer speak. Jiansu's son E and Secretariat drafter Jia Zhi were appointed adjutants to the investiture mission. By then Suzong had already moved his court to Shunhua Prefecture. In the ninth month Jiansu and his party arrived, completed the investiture, and accompanied Suzong to Pengyuan Prefecture. When Suzong had been crown prince he had long heard of Fang Guan's reputation and received him with respect; but because Jiansu had long been allied with Guozhong, his treatment was somewhat cooler. The following year the court reached Fengxiang. In the third month he was relieved of the left vice-directorship and of his duties in government, retiring with the title minister of justice. Miao Jinqing replaced him as left chancellor.
6
初，肅宗在鳳翔，喪亂之後，綱紀未立，兵吏三銓，簿籍煨燼，南曹選人，文符悉多偽濫。 上以凶醜未滅，且示招懷，據到註擬，一無檢括。 見素曰：「臣典選歲久，周知此弊。 今寰區未復，員闕不多。 若總無條綱，恐難持久。」 上然之，未暇厘革。 及還京，選人數千，補授無所，喧訴於朝，由是行見素之言。 及房琯以敗軍左降，崔圓、崔渙等皆罷知政事，上皇所命宰臣，無知政事者。 五月，遷見素太子太師。 十一月，肅宗自右輔還京，詔見素入蜀奉迎太上皇。 十二月，上皇至京師，肅宗禦樓大赦。 見素以奉上皇幸蜀功，加開府儀同三司，食實封三百戶。 上元中，以足疾上表請致仕，許之。 寶應元年十二月卒，年七十六，贈司空，謚曰忠貞，喪事官給。 子倜、諤、益、丱。 倜、諤皆位至給事中，益終刑部員外郎，丱終秘書丞。 倜子頌。
Earlier, when Suzong's court was at Fengxiang after the rebellion, government discipline had collapsed. The personnel registers of the three selection boards had been burned, and candidates at the southern bureau submitted largely forged credentials. Because the rebels had not yet been crushed and the emperor wished to win support, he approved appointments on whatever papers were submitted, without any review. Jiansu said, "I presided over appointments for many years and know this abuse well. The empire is not yet recovered, and vacant posts are still few. If we have no standards at all, I fear the practice cannot last." The emperor agreed but had no time yet to reform the system. After the return to the capital thousands of candidates had no posts to fill and protested loudly at court, and Jiansu's advice was finally adopted. When Fang Guan was demoted after his military defeat and Cui Yuan, Cui Huan, and others were removed from office, none of the chief ministers appointed by the retired emperor still held real power. In the fifth month Jiansu was made grand preceptor of the crown prince. In the eleventh month, when Suzong returned to the capital from the western capital, he ordered Jiansu into Shu to escort the retired emperor home. In the twelfth month the retired emperor reached the capital, and Suzong proclaimed a general amnesty from the palace tower. For escorting the retired emperor to Shu, Jiansu was granted the title Pillar of State with ceremonial honors equal to the Three Excellencies and a fief of three hundred households. During the Shangyuan era he petitioned to retire on account of a foot ailment, and his request was granted. He died in the twelfth month of Baoying 1 at the age of seventy-six. He was posthumously made minister of works, given the posthumous title Loyal and Upright, and his funeral was paid for by the state. His sons were Ti, E, Yi, and Guan. Ti and E both rose to Attendant Gentleman; Yi ended as a vice-director in the ministry of justice, and Guan as a secretary in the imperial archives. Ti had a son named Song.
7
益子顗，字周人，生一歲而孤，事姊稱為恭孝。 性嗜學，尤精陰陽、象緯、經略、風俗之書。 善持論，有清譽。 少以門廕補千牛備身，自鄠縣尉判入等，授萬年尉，歷御史、補闕、尚書郎，累遷給事中、尚書左丞、戶部侍郎、中丞、吏部侍郎。 其在諫垣，與李約、李正辭叠申裨諷，頗回大政。 宰相裴垍、李絳、崔群輩多與友善，而後進之有浮名者，亦遊其門，以是稱有時望。 及李逢吉殲朋黨以專政柄，而顗附麗之跡尤密，頗為時人所譏。 然處身儉約，有足多者。 著《易蘊解》，推演潛亢終始之義，甚有奧旨。 寶歷元年七月卒，贈禮部尚書。
Yi's son Yan, courtesy name Zhouren, lost his father when he was only one year old and was known for the reverent care he gave his elder sister. He loved learning and was especially versed in works on cosmology, astronomy, statecraft, and regional customs. He argued persuasively and enjoyed a reputation for integrity. As a youth he entered office by hereditary privilege as a palace guard attendant. After a favorable evaluation as magistrate of E County he was appointed magistrate of Wannian and rose through the posts of censor, remonstrance official, and secretariat director to Attendant Gentleman, left vice-director of the secretariat, vice-minister of revenue, censor-in-chief, and vice-minister of personnel. In the remonstrance bureau he joined Li Yue and Li Zhengchen in repeated memorials of admonition and helped shape major policy decisions. He was on friendly terms with chief ministers such as Pei Ji, Li Jiang, and Cui Qun, and younger men seeking reputation also sought his patronage, which gave him standing among his contemporaries. When Li Fengji destroyed the factions to monopolize power, Yan clung to him more closely than ever and was widely criticized. Yet he lived frugally, and in that respect he was genuinely admirable. He wrote Explication of the Stored Meaning of the Changes, developing the Book of Changes' themes of hidden and manifest, beginning and end, with real depth. He died in the seventh month of Baoli 1 and was posthumously made minister of rites.
8
崔圓，清河東武城人也。 後魏左僕射亮之後。 父景晊，官至大理評事。 圓少孤貧，誌尚閎博，好讀兵書，有經濟宇宙之心。 開元中，詔搜訪遺逸，圓以鈐謀射策甲科，授執戟。 自負文藝，獲武職，頗不得意。 蕭炅為京兆尹，薦為會昌丞，累遷司勛員外郎。 宰臣楊國忠遙制劍南節度使，引圓佐理，乃奏授尚書郎，兼蜀郡大都督府左司馬，知節度留後。 天寶末，玄宗幸蜀郡，特遷蜀郡大都督府長史、劍南節度。 圓素懷功名，初聞國難，潛使人探國忠深旨，知有行幸之計，乃增修城池，建置館宇，儲備什器。 及乘輿至，殿宇牙帳咸如宿設，玄宗甚嗟賞之，即日拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事、劍南節度，余如故。
Cui Yuan came from Dongwucheng in Qinghe commandery. He was descended from Cui Liang, who had been left vice-director under the Northern Wei. His father Jingzhi rose to the post of judicial reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. Yuan was orphaned and poor as a youth, but his ambitions were vast. He loved military texts and dreamed of governing the realm. During Kaiyuan the court sought out neglected talent; Yuan took top honors in the military-strategy examination and was appointed an armed palace attendant. He took pride in his literary gifts but had been given a military post, and he was deeply dissatisfied. When Xiao Jiong became Jingzhao intendant he recommended Yuan as assistant magistrate of Huichang, and Yuan rose to vice-director in the Ministry of Honors. Chief minister Yang Guozhong controlled Jiannan from the capital and brought Yuan in to help run the circuit. He had Yuan appointed a secretariat director, made him left military aide in the Shu metropolitan government, and put him in charge of rear affairs for the military governorship. At the end of the Tianbao era, when Xuanzong fled to Shu, Yuan was promoted to chief administrator of the Shu metropolitan prefecture and military governor of Jiannan. Yuan had long sought fame. When rebellion broke out he secretly learned from Guozhong's circle that the emperor meant to flee to Shu, and he hastened to repair the walls, build lodges, and stock supplies for the imperial arrival. When the emperor arrived, the halls and camp were ready as though prepared long in advance. Xuanzong was deeply impressed and that same day made Yuan vice director of the secretariat, grand councilor, and military governor of Jiannan, with his other duties unchanged.
9
肅宗即位，玄宗命圓同房琯、韋見素並赴肅宗行在所，玄宗親制遺愛碑於蜀以寵之。 從肅宗還京，以功拜中書令，封趙國公，賜實封五百戶。 明年，罷知政事，遷太子少師，留守東都。 會官軍不利於相州，軍回過洛陽，所在剽掠。 圓棄城南奔襄陽，詔削除階封。 尋起為濟王傅。 李光弼用為懷州刺史，除太子詹事，改汾州刺史，皆以理行稱。 拜揚州大都督府長史、淮南節度觀察使，加檢校右僕射、兼御史大夫，轉檢校左僕射知省事。 大曆三年六月薨，年六十四，輟朝三日，贈太子太師，謚曰昭襄。
When Suzong took the throne, the retired emperor sent Yuan with Fang Guan and Wei Jiansu to Suzong's court and personally composed a stele praising Yuan's service in Shu. When he accompanied Suzong back to the capital he was made director of the secretariat, created Duke of Zhao, and granted a fief of five hundred households. The following year he left office, became junior tutor of the crown prince, and was left to guard the eastern capital. When the imperial army was defeated at Xiang Prefecture, the retreating troops passed through Luoyang and plundered the countryside. Yuan abandoned the southern city and fled to Xiangyang, and an edict stripped him of his rank and fief. He was soon recalled to serve as tutor to the Prince of Ji. Li Guangbi appointed him prefect of Huai. He later served as steward of the crown prince and then prefect of Fen, earning praise for good governance in each post. He was made chief administrator of Yangzhou and military governor of Huainan, given the acting rank of right vice-director with the concurrent post of censor-in-chief, and later became acting left vice-director in charge of secretariat affairs. He died in the sixth month of Dali 3 at the age of sixty-four. Court was suspended for three days of mourning. He was posthumously made grand preceptor of the crown prince and given the posthumous title Illustrious and Assisting.
10
崔渙，祖玄暐，神龍功臣，封博陵郡王。 父璩，文學知名，位至禮部侍郎。 渙少以士行聞，博綜經籍，尤善談論，累遷尚書司門員外郎。 天寶末，楊國忠出不附己者，渙出為劍州刺史。 天寶十五載七月，玄宗幸蜀，渙迎謁於路，抗詞忠懇，皆究理體，玄宗嘉之，以為得渙晚。 宰臣房琯又薦之，即日拜黃門侍郎、同中書門下平章事，扈從成都府。
Cui Huan's grandfather Xuanwei had been ennobled as Duke of Boling for his service in the Shenlong coup. His father Zhang was a noted scholar who rose to vice-minister of rites. Huan was known from youth for his integrity, mastered the classics, and was an accomplished speaker. He rose to vice-director of the Gate Office in the secretariat. At the end of Tianbao, Yang Guozhong banished those who would not support him, and Huan was sent out as prefect of Jian. In the seventh month of Tianbao 15, when Xuanzong fled to Shu, Huan met him on the road with loyal, forceful counsel that went to the heart of the crisis. The emperor praised him and regretted that he had not found him sooner. Chief minister Fang Guan also recommended him, and that same day he was made vice director of the chancellery and grand councilor, accompanying the court to Chengdu.
11
肅宗靈武即位。 八月，與左相韋見素、同平章事房琯、崔圓同賫冊赴行在。 時未復京師，舉選路絕，詔渙充江淮宣諭選補使，以收遺逸。 惑於聽受，為下吏所鬻，濫進者非一，以不稱職聞。 乃罷知政事，除左散騎常侍，兼余杭太守、江東采訪防禦使。 旋授正議大夫、太子賓客。 乾元三年正月，轉大理卿。 再遷吏部侍郎、檢校工部尚書、集賢院待詔。 性尚簡淡，不交世務，頗為時望所歸。 遷御史大夫，加稅地青苗錢物使。 時以此錢充給京百官料，渙為屬吏希中，以下估為使料，上估為百官料。 其時為皇城副留守張清發之，詔下有司訊鞫，渙無詞以對，坐是貶道州刺史。 大曆三年十二月壬寅，以疾終。
Suzong ascended the throne at Lingwu. In the eighth month he went with left chancellor Wei Jiansu, Fang Guan, and Cui Yuan to deliver the investiture registers to Suzong's court. With the capital still unreclaimed and the examination routes cut off, Huan was appointed commissioner to recruit and appoint officials in the Jiang-Huai region. He was misled by what he was told and deceived by his subordinates, and many unqualified men were appointed. He soon gained a reputation for incompetence. He was removed from office and made left regular attendant of the palace, with concurrent posts as prefect of Yuhang and Jiangdong investigation and defense commissioner. He was soon given the title Grand Master of Correct Counsel and appointed a guest of the crown prince. In the first month of Qianyuan 3 he was made director of the Court of Judicial Review. He was then promoted to vice-minister of personnel, acting minister of works, and scholar awaiting orders at the Hall of Assembled Worthies. He lived simply, avoided worldly entanglements, and enjoyed wide respect among his contemporaries. He was made censor-in-chief and also appointed commissioner for the green-sprout land tax. The tax was meant to fund salaries for capital officials, but Huan, currying favor with his staff, used low valuations for his own commissioner's funds and high valuations for the officials' pay. Vice guardian of the imperial city Zhang Qing exposed the fraud. When officials investigated, Huan had no defense and was demoted to prefect of Dao. He died of illness on the renyin day of the twelfth month of Dali 3.
12
子縱，初以廕補協律郎，三遷為監察御史。 詔擇令長於臺省，除藍田令，寬明勤幹，德化大行，縣人為之立碑頌德。 轉京兆府司錄，累遷金部員外郎。 以父貶道州刺史，棄官就養。 丁父憂，終制，六遷大理卿、兼御史中丞、汴西水陸運兩稅鹽鐵等使。 田悅連敗，走魏州，嬰城自守，諸道兵圍之，屢乏食，詔縱兼魏州四節度糧料使，軍儲稍給。 德宗幸奉天，四方握兵，未有至者。 縱先知之，潛告李懷光勸令奔命，懷光從之。 縱乃悉斂軍財與懷光俱來，調給具備。 懷光兵士久戰河外，及次河中，將遷延。 縱之貨幣先已渡河，縱謂眾曰：「若濟，悉以分賜。」 眾利之，乃西。 至奉天，加右庶子，充使。 無幾，拜京兆尹、兼御史大夫。 數奏懷光剛愎反覆，宜陰備之。 及行幸梁州，左右或短之曰：「縱素善懷光，今不來矣。」 上曰：「他人不知縱，吾可保其心。」 不數日，縱至，拜御史大夫。 嘗議其大體，不親細事，獄訴儀制，皆付之僚吏。
His son Zong entered office by hereditary privilege as a harmonics officer and after three promotions became an investigating censor. When the court chose district magistrates from the central offices he was appointed magistrate of Lantian. He governed with clarity and energy, won the people's trust, and they erected a stele in his honor. He became recording officer in the Jingzhao prefectural staff and rose to vice-director in the Ministry of Revenue. When his father was demoted to prefect of Dao he resigned his post to care for him. After his father's death he observed mourning, and when it ended he rose through six promotions to director of the Court of Judicial Review, with concurrent posts as vice censor-in-chief and commissioner for Bianxi transport, the two-tax system, and salt and iron. Tian Yue was repeatedly defeated and fled to Wei Prefecture, where he held the city under siege. Food ran short for the besieging armies, and Zong was appointed grain commissioner for the four circuits around Wei, gradually restoring supplies. When Dezong fled to Fengtian, none of the regional commanders holding troops had yet reached him. Zong learned of the crisis first and secretly urged Li Huaiguang to march to the emperor's aid, and Huaiguang agreed. Zong gathered all military funds and marched with Huaiguang, bringing full supplies for the relief force. Huaiguang's troops had fought long east of the Yellow River, and when they reached Hezhong they were ready to halt. Zong had already sent his funds across the river. He told the troops, "If we cross now, I will divide it all among you." The promise won them over, and they marched west. At Fengtian he was made right assistant to the heir apparent and appointed a commissioner. Soon he was appointed Jingzhao intendant with the concurrent post of censor-in-chief. He repeatedly warned that Huaiguang was obstinate and untrustworthy and should be watched in secret. When the emperor fled to Liang Prefecture, some at court whispered, "Zong has always been close to Huaiguang; he will not come now." The emperor replied, "Others do not know Zong as I do. I can trust his loyalty." Within a few days Zong arrived and was appointed censor-in-chief. He concerned himself only with broad policy and left lawsuits, ritual, and routine business to his subordinates.
13
縱孝悌，修飭自立，以父為元載排抑，居退十餘年，左宦外府，訖載得罪，不求聞達。 初，渙有寵妾鄭氏，縱以母事之。 鄭氏性剛戾，待縱不以理，雖為大僚，每加笞詬。 縱率妻子候顏，敬順不懈，時以為難。
Zong was filial and self-disciplined. After his father was ruined by Yuan Zai he lived in retirement for more than ten years in minor posts in the provinces and sought no advancement until Zai fell. Huan had once had a favored concubine, Lady Zheng, whom Zong treated as his mother. Lady Zheng was harsh and unreasonable. Though Zong had risen to high office, she still beat and scolded him. Zong brought his wife and children to wait on her with unwavering respect, and contemporaries considered this a rare feat of filial devotion.
14
杜鴻漸，故相暹之族子。 祖慎行，益州長史。 父鵬舉，官至王友。 鴻漸敏悟好學，舉進士，解褐王府參軍。 天寶末，累遷大理司直，朔方留後、支度副使。
Du Hongjian was a kinsman of the former chancellor Du Xian. His grandfather Shenxing had been chief administrator of Yi Prefecture. His father Pengju rose to the post of companion to a prince. Hongjian was quick-witted and studious. He passed the jinshi examination and took his first post as a staff officer in a princely household. At the end of Tianbao he rose to judicial reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review, rear commissioner of Shuofang, and deputy commissioner for supplies.
15
肅宗北幸，至平涼，未知所適。 鴻漸與六城水運使魏少遊、節度判官崔漪、支度判官盧簡金、關內鹽池判官李涵謀曰：「今胡羯亂常，二京陷沒，主上南幸於巴蜀，皇太子理兵於平涼。 然平涼散地，非聚兵之處，必欲制勝，非朔方不可。 若奉殿下，旬日之間，西收河、隴，回紇方強，與國通好，北征勁騎，南集諸城，大兵一舉，可復二京。 雪社稷之恥，上報明主，下安蒼生，亦臣子之用心，國家之大計也。」 鴻漸即日草箋具陳兵馬招集之勢，錄軍資、器械、倉儲、庫物之數，令李涵賫赴平涼，肅宗大悅。 鴻漸知肅宗發平涼，於北界白草頓迎謁，因勞諸使及兵士，進言曰：「朔方天下勁兵，靈州用武之處。 今回紇請和，吐蕃內附，天下郡邑，人皆堅守，以待制命。 其中雖為賊所據，亦望不日收復，殿下整理軍戎，長驅一舉，則逆胡不足滅也。」 肅宗然之。 及至靈武，鴻漸與裴冕等勸即皇帝位，以歸中外之望，五上表，乃從。 鴻漸素習帝王陳布之儀，君臣朝見之禮，遂采摭舊儀，綿蕝其事。 城南設壇壝，先一日具儀註草奏。 肅宗曰：「聖君在遠，寇逆未平，宜罷壇場。」 余可其奏。 肅宗即位，授兵部郎中，知中書舍人事，尋轉武部侍郎。 至德二年，兼御史大夫，為河西節度使、涼州都督。 兩京平，遷荊州大都督府長史、荊南節度使。
When Suzong marched north and reached Pingliang, he did not know which way to turn. Hongjian conferred with Wei Shaoyou, commissioner for the Six Cities water transport, military governor's aide Cui Yi, supplies aide Lu Jianjin, and Guannei salt-pond aide Li Han. He said, "The barbarian rebels have thrown the realm into chaos. Both capitals have fallen. The emperor has fled south to Ba-Shu, and the crown prince is gathering troops at Pingliang. But Pingliang is open country, not a place to mass an army. If we mean to win, we must have Shuofang. If we escort Your Highness to Shuofang, within days we can recover the northwest. The Uyghurs are strong and friendly; with their cavalry from the north and our southern garrisons united, one campaign can retake both capitals. To wipe away the shame of the dynasty, serve the emperor, and bring peace to the people is both a subject's duty and the state's greatest need." That same day Hongjian drafted a detailed report on troop strength and listed all military funds, weapons, and stores, sending Li Han to Pingliang with it. Suzong was delighted. Learning that Suzong had left Pingliang, Hongjian met him at Baicao Station on the northern frontier, thanked the commissioners and troops, and urged, "Shuofang has the finest troops in the empire. Ling Prefecture is the true base for war. The Uyghurs seek peace and Tibet has submitted. Throughout the empire the people hold their cities and await your orders. Even those now held by the rebels can be recovered soon. If Your Highness organizes the army and strikes in one thrust, the rebels cannot stand." Suzong agreed. At Lingwu, Hongjian and Pei Mian urged him to take the throne at once to satisfy the hopes of the court and the realm. After five memorials Suzong finally agreed. Hongjian was well versed in imperial ceremony and court ritual. He gathered the old protocols and arranged the enthronement rites in full. They set up an altar south of the city, and the day before he prepared the ritual notes and draft memorial. Suzong said, "The emperor is still far away and the rebels are not yet defeated. The altar ceremony should be canceled." The rest of the proposal was approved. When Suzong took the throne he was made director in the Ministry of War with charge of secretariat drafting, and soon became vice-minister of war. In Zhide 2 he was also made censor-in-chief and appointed military governor of Hexi and protector-general of Liang. After both capitals were recovered he was made chief administrator of Jingzhou and military governor of Jingnan.
16
襄州大將康楚元、張嘉延盜所管兵，據襄州城叛，刺史王政遁走。 嘉延南襲荊州，鴻漸聞之，棄城而遁。 澧、朗、硤、歸等州聞鴻漸出奔，皆惶駭，潛竄山谷。 歲餘，徵拜尚書右丞、吏部侍郎、太常卿，充禮儀使。 二聖晏駕，鴻漸監護儀制，山陵畢，加光祿大夫，封衛國公。 廣德二年，代宗將享郊廟，拜鴻漸兵部侍郎、同中書門下平章事，尋轉中書侍郎。
Xiang Prefecture generals Kang Chuyuan and Zhang Jiayan seized the troops under their command, rebelled, and occupied Xiang city while the prefect Wang Zheng fled. Jiayan marched south against Jing Prefecture. When Hongjian heard of it he abandoned the city and fled. When the prefectures of Li, Lang, Xia, and Gui heard that Hongjian had fled, the people panicked and hid in the hills. More than a year later he was recalled as right vice-director of the secretariat, vice-minister of personnel, and director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and appointed commissioner of ritual. When both emperors died Hongjian supervised the funeral rites. After the burials were completed he was made Grand Master of Splendid Blessing and created Duke of Wei. In Guangde 2, when Daizong was to perform the suburban sacrifices, Hongjian was made vice-minister of war and grand councilor, and soon became vice-director of the secretariat.
17
永泰元年十月，劍南西川兵馬使崔旰殺節度使郭英乂，據成都，自稱留後。 邛州衙將柏貞節、瀘州衙將楊子琳、劍州衙將李昌巙等興兵討旰，西蜀大亂。 明年二月，命鴻漸以宰相兼充山、劍副元帥、劍南西川節度使，以平蜀亂。 鴻漸心無遠圖，志氣怯懦，又酷好浮圖道，不喜軍戎。 既至成都，懼旰雄武，不復問罪，乃以劍南節制表讓於旰。 時西戎寇邊，關中多事，鴻漸孤軍陷險，兵威不振，代宗不獲已，從之。 仍以旰為劍南西川行軍司馬，柏貞節為邛州刺史，楊子琳為瀘州刺史，各罷兵。 尋請入覲，仍表崔旰為西川兵馬留後。 大曆二年，詔以旰為成都尹、劍南西川節度使，召鴻漸還京。 鴻漸仍率旰同入覲，代宗嘉之。 後知政事，轉門下侍郎，讓山南副元帥。 三年八月，代王縉為東都留守，充河南、淮西、山南東道副元帥，平章事如故。 以疾上表乞骸骨，從之，竟不之任。 四年十一月卒，贈太尉，謚曰文憲。 輟朝三日，賜物五百疋，粟五百石。
In the tenth month of Yongtai 1, Jiannan West military commissioner Cui Han killed military governor Guo Yingyi, seized Chengdu, and declared himself acting military governor. Yamen generals Bo Zhenjie of Qiong, Yang Zilin of Lu, and Li Changchong of Jian raised armies against Han, and western Shu descended into chaos. The following February he was sent as chief minister and deputy commander of the Shan and Jian armies and military governor of Jiannan West to suppress the rebellion in Shu. Hongjian lacked strategic vision, was timid by nature, was passionately devoted to Buddhism, and disliked military affairs. When he reached Chengdu he feared Han's power, made no move to punish him, and submitted a memorial yielding control of Jiannan to Han. Western tribes were raiding the frontier and Guanzhong was in turmoil. Hongjian's isolated army was in peril and could not prevail. Daizong had no choice but to agree. Han was confirmed as campaigning marshal of Jiannan West, Bo Zhenjie as prefect of Qiong, and Yang Zilin as prefect of Lu, and each army stood down. He soon asked to return to court and memorialized again to confirm Cui Han as acting military commissioner of western Shu. In Dali 2 an edict made Han intendant of Chengdu and military governor of Jiannan West and recalled Hongjian to the capital. Hongjian brought Han to court with him for an audience, and Daizong commended the gesture. He later returned to government, became vice-director of the chancellery, and relinquished the deputy command of Shannan. In the eighth month of the third year he replaced Wang Jin as guardian of the eastern capital, became deputy commander of Henan, Huaixi, and Shannan East, and retained his grand councilorship. Illness led him to petition for retirement; the request was granted, and he never took up the post. He died in the eleventh month of the fourth year and was posthumously made grand marshal with the posthumous title Cultured and Lawful. Court was suspended for three days of mourning, and he was granted five hundred bolts of goods and five hundred shi of grain.
18
鴻漸晚年樂於退靜，私第在長興裏，館宇華靡，賓僚宴集。 鴻漸悠然賦詩曰：「常願追禪理，安能挹化源。」 朝士多屬和之。 及休致後病，令僧剃頂發，及卒，遺命其子依胡法塔葬，不為封樹，冀類緇流，物議哂之。
In his later years Hongjian enjoyed retirement. His home in Changxing Ward was lavish, and he entertained guests and staff there. Hongjian wrote a poem in a tranquil mood: "I have long wished to follow the way of Chan; how could I drink from the source of transformation?" Many court officials wrote matching verses in reply. After he retired he fell ill and had monks shave his head. At his death he ordered his sons to bury him in a Buddhist pagoda without a mound or trees, hoping to be counted among the clergy. Public opinion mocked him for it.
19
史臣曰：祿山狂悖已顯，玄宗寵任無疑，見素知國危，陳廟算，直言極諫，而君不從，獨正犯難，而人不咎，出生入死，善始令終者鮮矣。 時論以見素取容於國忠，無言匡大政。 且國忠恃內戚，弄重權，沮林甫奸豪，取其大位，若見素之孤直，豈許取容？ 蓋禍胎已成，政柄久紊，見素入相余年，言不從而難作，雖有周、孔之才，其能匡救者乎？ 諤才辯，顗儉約，雅符積善之慶矣。 圓守文之士，非禦侮之才。 渙才兼行聞，命與時會。 發言上沃主意，遽致顯榮； 當官屢為吏欺，終及竄逐。 所謂可與適道，未可與權。 縱忠於國，能於官，孝於家，三者備矣，孰能繼之？ 鴻漸有衛社之功，非幹城之責，時以任崔旰為非，則不然矣。 且旰南拒貞節，北敗獻誠，宜以懷來，未可力制，終致歸國，豈非臧謀？ 向討之，即為劇賊矣。 然事佛僥福，朋勢取容，非君子之道焉。
The historian writes: An Lushan's treachery was already plain, and Xuanzong's favor was beyond question. Jiansu saw the danger, laid out plans for the dynasty, and remonstrated boldly, yet the emperor would not listen. He alone upheld what was right through the crisis, and men did not blame him. Few pass through such trials with honor from beginning to end. Contemporaries said Jiansu had curried favor with Guozhong and failed to speak out on great matters of state. Besides, Guozhong relied on imperial kinship, wielded enormous power, and displaced the powerful Li Linfu. Would a man as upright and independent as Jiansu have been permitted merely to flatter him? The seeds of disaster were already sown and government had long been corrupt. Jiansu served as chief minister for more than a year, but his counsel went unheeded and catastrophe followed. Even a man with the talents of the Duke of Zhou or Confucius could not have saved the dynasty. E was gifted in debate and Yan lived frugally — fitting rewards for a family that had accumulated virtue. Yuan was a man of routine administration, not a defender against calamity. Huan was known for both talent and integrity, and his rise matched the times. His words won the emperor's heart and brought him swift advancement; yet in office he was repeatedly deceived by his subordinates and was finally banished. As the saying goes, he could walk the Way with you, but could not be trusted with power. Zong was loyal to the state, capable in office, and filial at home. When all three virtues were united in one man, who could match him? Hongjian had merit in defending the dynasty but was not a fortress against rebellion. Some criticized his accommodation of Cui Han, but that judgment is mistaken. Han had held off Zhenjie in the south and defeated Xiancheng in the north. He had to be won by conciliation, not crushed by force. In the end he brought the region back to the empire. Was that not wise policy? Had the court attacked him instead, he would have become a far more dangerous rebel. Yet in seeking fortune through Buddhism and currying favor through factions he fell short of the way of a true gentleman.
20
贊曰：玄宗失德，祿山肆逆。 見素竭節，諸公協力。
The encomium reads: Xuanzong lost his virtue, and An Lushan rose in rebellion. Jiansu gave his utmost, and these men worked together in the state's service.