Volume 130 Biographies 80: Wang Yu, Li Bi, Cui Zao, Guan Bo

王玙道士李國禎附

Wang Yu — with an appended account of the Daoist Li Guozhen

李泌子繁顧況附

Li Bi — with appended accounts of his son Fan and Gu Kuang

崔造關播李元平附

Cui Zao and Guan Bo — with an appended account of Li Yuanping

王玙，少習禮學，博求祠祭儀注以干時。開元末，玄宗方尊道術，靡神不宗。玙抗疏引古今祀典，請置春壇，祀青帝於國東郊，玄宗甚然之，因遷太常博士、侍御史，充祠祭使。玙專以祀事希幸，每行祠禱，或焚紙錢，禱祈福祐，近於巫覡，由是過承恩遇。肅宗即位，累遷太常卿，以祠禱每多賜賚。乾元三年七月，兼蒲州刺史，充蒲、同、絳等州節度使。中書令崔圓罷相，乃以玙為中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。人物時望，素不為眾所稱，及當樞務，聲問頓減。玙又奏置太一神壇於南郊之東，請上躬行祀事。肅宗嘗不豫，太卜云：「崇在山川。」玙乃遣女巫分行天下，祈祭名山大川。巫皆盛服乘傳而行，上令中使監之，因緣為奸，所至干托長吏，以邀賂遺。一巫盛年而美，以惡少年數十自隨，尤為蠹弊，與其徒宿於黃州傳舍。刺史左震晨至，驛門扃鐍，不可啟，震破鎖而入，曳女巫階下斬之，所從惡少年皆斃。閱其贓賂數十萬，震籍以上聞，仍請贓錢代貧民租稅，其中使發遣歸京，肅宗不能詰。肅宗親謁九宮神，慇勤於祠禱，皆玙所啟也。歲餘，罷知政事，為刑部尚書。上元二年，兼揚州長史、御史大夫。兗淮南節度使。肅宗南郊禮畢，以玙使持節都督越州諸軍事、越州刺史，充浙江東道節度觀察處置使，本官兼御史大夫，祠祭使如故。入為太子少保，轉少師。。大曆三年六月卒。

Wang Yu studied ritual learning in his youth and assiduously mastered the regulations governing sacrifice and worship in order to advance himself at court. In the closing years of the Kaiyuan reign, Emperor Xuanzong was exalting Daoist practices, and there was scarcely a deity he did not honor. Yu submitted a bold memorial citing precedents from the sacrificial canon, urging that a spring altar be established to worship the Green Emperor in the eastern suburbs of the capital. The emperor strongly approved, and Yu was promoted to Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Attending Censor, with appointment as Commissioner of Sacrificial Rites. Yu made a specialty of currying favor through sacrificial rites. Whenever he conducted prayers at shrines, he would sometimes burn spirit money and petition for divine protection—practices that bordered on shamanism—and in this way he won far more imperial favor than his merits warranted. After Emperor Suzong came to the throne, Yu rose in succession to Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and he received frequent imperial gifts on account of his sacrificial and prayer services. In the seventh month of Qianyuan 3 (760), he was concurrently appointed Prefect of Pu and Military Commissioner over Pu, Tong, Jiang, and the other prefectures in that circuit. When Chief Minister Cui Yuan was dismissed, Yu was appointed Vice Minister of the Secretariat and Associate Director of the Secretariat-Chancellery. His character and standing had never won much public esteem, and once he assumed control of state affairs, his reputation fell sharply. Yu further memorialized for an altar to the spirit of the Great Unity to be built east of the southern suburban sacrifice ground, and asked that the emperor perform the rites in person. When Emperor Suzong once fell ill, the Grand Diviner declared, "The remedy lies in honoring the mountains and rivers. On this basis Yu sent shamannesses throughout the empire to offer prayers and sacrifices at renowned mountains and major rivers. The shamannesses traveled in lavish dress by imperial relay, while palace envoys were ordered to supervise them. These envoys used their position to commit abuses, importuning local officials wherever they went to extract bribes and gifts. One shamanness, young and beautiful, was accompanied by several dozen rowdy youths. Her party was especially notorious for corruption. She and her followers lodged at the relay station in Huang Prefecture. At dawn the prefect, Zuo Zhen, arrived to find the relay station gate bolted shut. He broke the lock, entered, dragged the shamanness down the steps and beheaded her, and had all her rowdy followers put to death. He found bribes amounting to several hundred thousand cash. Zhen inventoried the goods and reported to the throne, requesting that the confiscated funds be applied to poor people's rent and tax obligations. The supervising palace envoy was sent back to the capital, and Emperor Suzong was unable to pursue the matter further. The emperor's personal visits to the Nine Palaces deity and his zealous devotion to prayer and sacrifice were all instigated by Yu. After little more than a year he was removed from the chancellorship and appointed Minister of Justice. In Shangyuan 2 (761) he was concurrently appointed Chief Administrator of Yangzhou and Censor-in-Chief. He was also appointed Military Commissioner of the Huainan circuit. After Emperor Suzong completed the southern suburban sacrifice, Yu was commissioned as Area Commander of Yue and Prefect of Yue, with appointment as Military Commissioner and Observation Commissioner of the Zhejiang Eastern Circuit. He retained his rank as Censor-in-Chief and continued as Commissioner of Sacrificial Rites. He was recalled to the capital as Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and later transferred to Junior Preceptor. He died in the sixth month of Dali 3 (768).

玙以祭祀妖妄致位將相，時以左道進者，往往有之。廣德二年八月，道士李國禎以道術見，因奏皇室仙系，宜修崇靈跡。請於昭應縣南三十里山頂置天華上宮露台、大地婆父、三皇、道君、太古天皇、中古伏羲媧皇等祠堂，並置掃灑宮戶一百戶。又於縣之東義扶谷故湫置龍堂，並許之。時歲饑荒，人甚不安，昭應縣令梁鎮上表曰：

Yu had risen to the rank of general and chancellor through delusive sacrificial practices, and in that era many others advanced by similar heterodox means. In the eighth month of Guangde 2 (764), the Daoist Li Guozhen was received at court for his occult arts. He memorialized that the imperial clan's immortal lineage ought to have its sacred sites restored and venerated. He asked that shrines be built on a mountaintop thirty li south of Zhaoying County—including the Heavenly Flower Upper Palace terrace, the Great Earth Matron-Father, the Three Sovereigns, the Daoist Lord, the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, and the Middle-Ancient Fuxi and Nüwa—and that one hundred households be assigned to maintain them. He also asked that a Dragon Hall be built at the old sacred pool in Yifu Valley east of the county, and all of these requests were approved. Famine gripped the land and the people were deeply distressed. Liang Zhen, magistrate of Zhaoying County, submitted a memorial stating:

臣聞國以人為本，害其本則非國；神以人為主，虐其主則非神。故昔之聖王，所以極陳理道，明著祀典，將愛其人而慎用其財力，敬其神而虔恭於祠祭。故神享其明德而降之福，人受其大賚而盡其力，然後神人以和，而國家可保也。一昨蟊賊作孽，水旱為災，雖王畿皆遍，而臣縣最苦。此則神之不能御大災明矣，又何力於陛下而得列祀典哉！用以殘弊之餘，當凶荒之歲，丁壯素出家入仕，羸老方飛芻輓粟，令但供億王事，已不堪命，更奔走鬼道，何以聊生？

I have heard that a state rests upon its people as its foundation; to harm that foundation is to cease being a state; and that spirits take human beings as their masters— to abuse those masters is to cease being worthy of worship as a spirit. For this reason the sage kings of antiquity expounded the Way at length and made the sacrificial canon explicit: they cherished their people and used wealth and labor sparingly, while revering the spirits through sincere and measured worship. When spirits delighted in the rulers' luminous virtue and sent down blessings, and the people received the state's bounty and gave their full effort, then spirits and people were in harmony and the state could endure. Only recently rebels ravaged the land and flood and drought brought disaster. Though suffering was widespread even in the capital region, your subject's county has borne the worst of it. This plainly shows that the spirits cannot avert great calamities. What power do they possess, that Your Majesty should enroll them in the state sacrificial canon? To impose new burdens on a people already broken, in years of famine and disaster—when able-bodied men have long since left for government service and the weak and elderly are barely able to haul fodder and grain—when they can scarcely meet the demands of state service, how can they also be driven to serve these ghostly cults and still find a way to live?

臣又聞天地之神，尊之極者，掃地可祭，精意可饗。陛下亦何必廢先王之典，崇俗巫之說，走南畝之客，殺東鄰之牛，而後冀非妄之福。陛下雖欲為人祈福，福未至而人已困矣！其不可一也。陛下不視昔者有道之君，至德之後，曷不卑宮室，惡飲食，恭己以遂萬物之性哉！陛下今違神亭育之心，竭人疲睏之力，如是又何從而致其福哉？此又不可二也。又陛下宗廟之敬極矣，尚無一月三祭之禮；今此獨為，則宗廟之靈，將等以親疏，校以厚薄，陛下又何以言哉？此又不可三也。又大地婆父，祀典無文，言甚不經，義無可取。若陛下待與大地建祖宗之廟，必上天貽向背之責，陛下又何以為詞哉？此又不可四也。夫湫者，龍之所居也。龍得水則神，無水則螻蟻之匹也。故知水存則龍在，水竭則龍亡，此愚智之所同知矣。今湫竭已久，龍安所存？陛下又崇飾祠宇，豐潔薦奠，為去龍之穴，破生人之產，人且怨矣，神何歆哉！此又不可五也。其道君、三皇、五帝，則兩京及所都之處，皆建宮觀祠廟，時設齋醮饗祀，國有彝典，官有常禮，蓋無闕失，何勞神役靈？此又不可六也。臣稽先王之典禮，觀前聖之軌躅，休咎豐凶，災祥禍福，必主帝王五事，不在山川百神。此又不可七也。

I have also heard that the highest spirits of Heaven and Earth may be worshipped with no more than swept ground and offered sincere devotion. Why must Your Majesty abandon the rites of the ancient kings, elevate vulgar shamanistic teachings, drive the farmers from their fields, slaughter the neighbor's ox—as in the proverb—and only then hope for blessings that are not illusory? Even if Your Majesty wishes to seek blessings for the people, before any blessing arrives the people are already exhausted! This is the first reason the project must not proceed. Has Your Majesty not observed how the sage rulers of old, heirs of supreme virtue, kept their palaces modest, their fare simple, and governed with reverent restraint so that all things might follow their natural course? Your Majesty now violates Heaven's nurturing purpose and exhausts a people already worn down with toil. How, then, can blessing possibly be attained? This is the second reason it must not proceed. Furthermore, Your Majesty's reverence for the ancestral temple is already beyond compare, yet even there the rites do not require three sacrifices in a single month; yet for these new shrines alone such extraordinary devotion is proposed. Will not the spirits of the ancestral temple be ranked by degrees of kinship and measured by degrees of lavishness? What account can Your Majesty give of that? This is the third reason it must not proceed. Furthermore, the 'Great Earth Matron-Father' has no place in the sacrificial canon. The title is utterly uncanonical and offers no valid principle to follow. If Your Majesty intends to build an ancestral temple for the Great Earth, Heaven will surely hold you accountable for confusing proper order. What defense could Your Majesty offer? This is the fourth reason it must not proceed. A sacred pool is where dragons dwell. When dragons have water they are divine; without water they are no more than ants. Thus when water remains, the dragon remains; when the water dries up, the dragon is gone. This is understood alike by the wise and the simple. The pool has long since dried up. Where, then, can the dragon still dwell? Yet Your Majesty would lavishly adorn shrine halls and offer rich sacrifices—destroying what was once the dragon's dwelling and ruining the livelihood of the living people. The people will resent this; how could any spirit accept such offerings with pleasure? This is the fifth reason it must not proceed. As for the Daoist Lord, the Three Sovereigns, and the Five Emperors—in both capitals and wherever the court resides, monasteries, temples, and shrines have already been built, with regular fasting rites and sacrifices. The state has its established canon and officials their regular observances. Nothing is lacking. Why must spirits be summoned and numinous powers conscripted anew? This is the sixth reason it must not proceed. I have examined the ritual canon of the ancient kings and traced the path of the sage rulers of old: whether the times bring fortune or misfortune, abundance or disaster, auspicious signs or calamity—all depend on the five duties of the sovereign, not on the hundred spirits of mountains and rivers. This is the seventh reason it must not proceed.

臣伏察此弊，頗知其由。蓋以道士李國禎等動眾則得人，興工則獲利，祭祀則受胙，主執則弄權。是以鼓動禁中，熒惑天聽，踰越險阻，負荷粢盛，以日系年，無時而息。曾不謂神功力，空止竭人膏血，以使人神胥怨，災孽並生。罔上害人，左道亂政，原情定罪，非殺而何！

Having examined this abuse closely, I believe I understand its cause. The Daoist Li Guozhen and his like gain followers whenever they mobilize the people, profit whenever they launch construction, receive sacrificial offerings whenever rites are performed, and wield power whenever they take charge. Thus they stir up activity within the palace, mislead the imperial ear, cross dangerous terrain, and burden the people with sacrificial supplies—day after day, year after year, without respite. They never speak of the spirits' divine power, but only drain the people's lifeblood, until people and spirits alike are resentful and disasters multiply. They deceive the throne, harm the people, and use heterodox practices to corrupt government. Judging by the facts of the case, what punishment could they deserve but death?

臣昨受命之時，親承聖旨，務存安緝，許逐權宜。誠願沉鄴縣之巫，安流弊之俗，其所興兩祠土木之功、丹青之役、三六之祭、灑掃之戶，謹明宣旨，並以權宜停訖。人吏百姓等，知陛下以從善為心，嫉惡為務，蠲除不急，劃革煩苛，皆喧呼於庭，抃躍於路，所徵糧糗，無不樂輸。臣伏以國禎等並交結中貴，狡蠹成性，臣雖忘身許國，不懼讒構，終恐賄及豪右，復為奸惡。其國禎等見據狀推勘，如獲贓狀，伏望許臣徵收，便充當縣郵館本用。其湫既竭，不可更置祠堂，又不當為大地建立祖廟，臣並請停。其三皇、道君、天皇、伏羲、女媧等，既先各有宮廟，望請並於本所依禮齋祭。

When I received my appointment yesterday, I was personally charged by Your Majesty to preserve peace and order, with permission to act as circumstances required. I earnestly wished to suppress the shamans as at Ye County and restore a corrupted custom to order. I therefore announced Your Majesty's decree and, acting on my discretionary authority, halted all construction on the two shrines, the painting work, the thrice-daily sacrifices, and the maintenance households. When officials and common people learned that Your Majesty's heart is set on following what is good and rooting out what is evil, and that unnecessary burdens were being lifted and oppressive regulations cut away, they shouted for joy in the courtyards and danced in the streets. Whatever grain and provisions were levied, they gave gladly. I submit that Guozhen and his associates are allied with powerful eunuchs at court and are crafty and corrupt by nature. Though I am willing to risk myself in the state's service and do not fear slander, I fear that bribes will reach powerful families and that these men will again commit outrages. Investigation of Guozhen and his associates on the basis of the evidence already obtained has produced proof equivalent to a conviction for corruption. I respectfully ask permission to confiscate their assets and apply them to the county relay station's operating expenses. Since the pool has dried up, no shrine should be built there, and it is improper to erect an ancestral temple to the Great Earth. I request that both projects be halted. As for the Three Sovereigns, the Daoist Lord, the Heavenly Sovereign, Fuxi, Nüwa, and the like—since each already has established shrines, I ask that sacrifices be performed at those original sites according to proper ritual.

上從之。

The emperor approved.

李泌，字長源，其先遼東襄平人，西魏太保、八柱國司徒徒何弼之六代孫。今居京兆吳房令承休之子。少聰敏，博涉經史，精究《易象》，善屬文，尤工於詩，以王佐自負。張九齡、韋虛心、張廷珪皆器重之。泌操尚不羈，恥隨常格仕進。天寶中，自嵩山上書論當世務，玄宗召見，令侍詔翰林，仍東宮供奉。楊國忠忌其才辯，奏泌嘗為《感遇詩》，諷刺時政，詔於蘄春郡安置，乃潛遁名山，以習隱自適。天寶末，祿山構難，肅宗北巡，至靈武即位，遣使訪召。會泌自嵩、潁間冒難奔赴行在，至彭原郡謁見，陳古今成敗之機，甚稱旨，延致臥內，動皆顧問。泌稱山人，固辭官秩，特以散官寵之，解褐拜銀青光祿大夫，俾掌樞務。至於四言文狀、將相遷除，皆與泌參議，權逾宰相，仍判元帥廣平王軍司馬事。肅宗每謂曰：「卿當上皇天寶中，為朕師友，下判廣平行軍，朕父子三人，資卿道義。」其見重如此。尋為中書令崔圓、幸臣李輔國害其能，將有不利於泌。泌懼，乞游衡山，優詔許之，給以三品祿俸，遂隱衡岳，絕粒棲神。

Li Bi, courtesy name Changyuan, was descended from families of Xiangping in Liaodong. He was the sixth-generation descendant of Tuohe Bi, Grand Guardian and one of the Eight Pillars, Minister of Education of Western Wei. His family now lived in the Jingzhao region. He was the son of Li Chengxiu, magistrate of Wufang County. As a youth he was exceptionally intelligent. He read widely in the classics and histories, mastered the imagery of the Book of Changes, wrote well, and was especially accomplished in poetry. He considered himself destined to serve as a king's chief minister. Zhang Jiuling, Wei Xuxin, and Zhang Tinggui all held him in high regard. Bi's temperament was free and unconventional, and he was reluctant to advance through the usual channels of official career. During the Tianbao era he submitted a memorial from Mount Song discussing affairs of state. Emperor Xuanzong summoned him to court, appointed him Hanlin Drafting Attendant, and assigned him to serve the crown prince as well. Yang Guozhong, jealous of his talent and eloquence, memorialized that Bi had written Poems on Encountering Fate, which satirized current politics. An edict ordered him sent to Qichun Prefecture for resettlement. Bi instead went into hiding on famous mountains, devoting himself to the life of a recluse. At the end of the Tianbao reign An Lushan rebelled. Emperor Suzong withdrew northward, took the throne at Lingwu, and sent envoys to seek him out. Bi happened to be traveling between Mount Song and the Ying region and braved hardship to reach the mobile court. He had audience at Pengyuan Prefecture and expounded the patterns of success and failure through history. The emperor was greatly pleased, received him in his private quarters, and consulted him on nearly every matter. Bi styled himself the Mountain Man and firmly declined regular office. The emperor honored him with a special appointment, conferring upon him the rank of Silver-Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness while entrusting him with affairs of state. Memorials in four-character prose and the appointment and dismissal of generals and chancellors were all discussed with Bi. His authority exceeded that of the chancellor, and he also served as acting Army Vice-Marshal on the staff of the Prince of Guangping, commander-in-chief. Emperor Suzong often told him, "In the Tianbao era you were teacher and friend to me when I was crown prince. Now you serve on the Guangping army's campaign staff. We three—father and two sons—depend on your moral guidance. Such was the esteem in which he was held. Before long Chief Minister Cui Yuan and the favored minister Li Fuguo, jealous of his ability, were plotting against him. Bi, fearing for his safety, asked permission to retire to Mount Heng. A gracious edict granted his request and provided him third-rank salary. He then lived in seclusion on Mount Heng, practicing grain abstention and spiritual cultivation.

興元初，征赴行在，遷左散騎常侍。貞元元年，除陝州長史，充陝、虢都防禦觀察使。二年六月，泌奏：「虢州盧氏山冶，近出瑟瑟，請充獻，禁人開採。」詔曰：「瑟瑟之寶，中土所無今產於近甸，實為靈貺。朕不飾器玩，不尚珍奇，常思返朴之風，用明躬儉之節。其出瑟瑟之處，任百姓求采，不宜禁止。」就加泌檢校禮部尚書。時陳、許戍邊卒三千自京西逃歸，至州境，泌潛師險隘，左右攻擊，盡誅之。尋拜中書侍郎、平章事、集賢崇文館學士、修國史。初，張延賞大減官員，人情咨怨，泌請復之，以從人欲，因是奏罷兼試額內佔闕等官，加百官俸料，隨閒劇加置手力課，上從之，人人以為便。而竇參旁奏，遂改易，使同品之內，月俸多少累等。泌又奏請罷拾遺、補闕，上雖不從，亦不授人，故諫司惟韓皋、歸登而已。泌仍命收其署湌錢，令登等寓食於中書舍人，故時戲云：「韓諫議雖分左右，歸拾遺莫辨存亡。」如是者三年。至貞元五年，以前東都防禦判官、殿中侍御史、內供奉韋綬為左補闕，監察御史梁肅右補闕。既復置，人心忻然。順宗在春宮，妃蕭氏母郜國公主交通外人，上疑其有他，連坐貶黜者數人，皇儲亦危。泌百端奏說，上意方解。

At the beginning of the Xingyuan era he was summoned to the mobile court and appointed Left Regular Attendant. In Zhenyuan 1 (785) he was appointed Chief Administrator of Shanzhou and Metropolitan Defense and Observation Commissioner of Shan and Guo. In the sixth month of Zhenyuan 2, Bi memorialized: "The smelting works at Mount Lushi in Guo Prefecture have recently yielded sese gems. I request that they be submitted as tribute and that private mining be prohibited. An edict replied: "Sese gems are treasures that the central plains have never possessed. That they now appear in a nearby district is truly a numinous gift from Heaven. We do not adorn ourselves with luxuries or prize rare curiosities. We constantly aspire to the spirit of simplicity and seek to exemplify personal frugality. Where the sese gems are found, let the people mine them freely. They should not be prohibited." At the same time Bi was appointed Acting Minister of Rites. At that time three thousand border garrison troops from Chen and Xu who had deserted from west of the capital were returning home. When they reached his jurisdiction, Bi secretly deployed troops at narrow passes, attacked them from both flanks, and executed them all. Before long he was appointed Vice Minister of the Secretariat, Director of the Secretariat-Chancellery, Academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies and Hall of Venerated Literature, and Compiler of National History. Earlier Zhang Yanshang had drastically reduced the number of officials, provoking widespread resentment. Bi requested that the reductions be reversed to satisfy popular sentiment. He also memorialized to abolish certain concurrent examination and vacancy-filling posts, increase officials' salaries, and add labor-service allowances according to the demands of each post. The emperor approved, and everyone regarded the changes as beneficial. But Dou Can submitted a competing memorial that altered the plan, creating multiple graduated salary levels even within the same official rank. Li Bi again petitioned to abolish the posts of Remonstrance and Supplemental Remonstrance Adviser. The emperor declined, yet appointed no one to fill them, so the Remonstrance Bureau held only Han Gao and Gui Deng. Li Bi also ordered their office stipends seized and had Deng and his colleagues board with the Secretariat drafters. People then quipped: "Remonstrance Adviser Han may stand left or right, but when it comes to Returning Remonstrance, none can tell whether he lives or dies. This went on for three years. In the fifth year of the Zhenyuan era, Wei Shou—formerly staff officer for Eastern Capital defense, Palace Attendant Censor, and Inner Attendant—was appointed Left Supplemental Remonstrance Adviser, and Supervising Censor Liang Su was appointed to the right. When the posts were restored, public sentiment brightened. While Emperor Shunzong was crown prince, the mother of his consort Lady Xiao—the Princess of Guo—was found to have improper contact with outsiders. The emperor suspected deeper intrigue; several people were implicated and banished, and even the heir apparent's position hung in peril. Li Bi pleaded his case from every angle in memorial after memorial, until at last the emperor's suspicions lifted.

泌頗有讜直之風，而談神仙詭道，或云嘗與赤松子、王喬、安期、羨門游處，故為代所輕，雖詭道求容，不為時君所重。德宗初即位，尤惡巫祝怪誕之士。初，肅宗重陰陽祠祝之說，用妖人王玙為宰相，或命巫媼乘驛行郡縣以為厭勝。凡有所興造功役，動牽禁忌。而黎干用左道位至尹京，嘗內集眾工，編刺珠繡為御衣，既成而焚之，以為禳禬，且無虛月。德宗在東宮，頗知其事，即位之後，罷集僧於內道場，除巫祝之祀。有司言宣政內廊壞，請修繕。而太卜云：「孟冬為魁岡，不利穿築，請卜他月。」帝曰：「《春秋》之義，啟塞從時，何魁岡之有？」卒命修之。又代宗山陵靈駕發引，上號送於承天門，見辒辌不當道，稍指午未間。問其故，有司對曰：「陛下本命在午，故不敢當道。」上號泣曰：「安有枉靈駕而謀身利。」卒命直午而行。及建中末，寇戎內梗，桑道茂有城奉天之說，上稍以時日禁忌為意，而雅聞泌長於鬼道，故自外征還，以至大用，時論不以為愜。及在相位，隨時俯仰，無足可稱。復引顧況輩輕薄之流，動為朝士戲侮，頗貽譏誚。年六十八薨，贈太子太傅，賻禮有加。泌放曠敏辯，好大言，自出入中禁，累為權幸忌嫉恆由智免；終以言論縱橫，上悟聖主，以躋相位。有文集二十捲。

Li Bi bore a reputation for blunt integrity, yet he also trafficked in immortals and esoteric lore—some even claimed he had kept company with Chisongzi, Wang Qiao, Anqi, and Xianmen. His contemporaries therefore held him lightly; though he courted favor through occult arts, the reigning emperor never truly esteemed him. When Emperor Dezong first took the throne, he especially despised shamans, prayer masters, and purveyors of outlandish superstition. Under Emperor Suzong, yin-yang ritualism and prayer had held sway: the sorcerer Wang Yu was made chancellor, and shamanesses were sometimes dispatched by courier post through the provinces to perform rites of warding and suppression. Every public work and construction project was shackled to ritual taboos. Li Gan had risen to govern the capital through heterodox arts. He once assembled artisans inside the palace to weave and embroider pearl-studded imperial robes, then burned them upon completion as rites of expiation—month after month without pause. As crown prince, Dezong had seen these abuses clearly. Once enthroned, he ended the assembly of monks in the inner oratory and swept away shamanistic worship. Officials reported damage to the inner corridor of the Xuanzheng Hall and petitioned for repairs. The Grand Diviner objected: "The first month of winter falls under Kui Gang—a geomantic taboo against digging and building. Please choose another month by divination. The emperor replied: "The Spring and Autumn Annals teach that passages should be opened or closed according to the season—what relevance has Kui Gang?" He ordered the work to proceed. When the imperial funeral procession for Emperor Daizong's tomb set out, the emperor wailed in farewell at Chengtian Gate and noticed the spirit carriage had strayed from the direct route, angling toward the noon and wei hours. When he asked why, officials answered: "Your Majesty's natal hour falls at noon, so we dared not let the carriage cross your path. The emperor wept aloud: "How can one bend the imperial spirit carriage to serve one's own fortune?" He commanded the procession to proceed straight through the noon hour. By the late Jianzhong era, rebellion roiled the empire within. Sang Daomao's prophecy about fortifying Fengtian made the emperor increasingly heedful of calendrical taboos, and he had long heard that Li Bi excelled in occult arts. When Li Bi was summoned from exile to high office, contemporary opinion found the appointment ill-suited. Once he held the chancellorship, he merely bent with the times—nothing worth commending. He also promoted frivolous men such as Gu Kuang, who were constantly mocked by court gentlemen and brought him no little ridicule. He died at sixty-eight and was posthumously honored as Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent, with funeral rites beyond the usual measure. Li Bi was free-spirited, sharp-tongued, and fond of bold pronouncements. From the day he entered the inner palace, the powerful envied and resented him again and again, yet he always slipped free through wit; in the end his eloquence won over the sage sovereign and carried him to the chancellorship. His collected writings filled twenty juan.

子繁，少聰警，有才名，無行義。泌為相，嘗引薦夏縣處士北平陽城為諫議大夫。城道直，既遇知己，深德之。及泌歿，戶部尚書裴延齡巧佞奉上，德宗信任，竊弄威權，舉朝側目。城中正之士，尤忿嫉之。一日盡疏其過惡，欲密論奏，以繁故人子，為可親信，遂示其疏草，兼請繁繕寫。繁既寫，悉能記之，其夕乃徑詣延齡，具述其事。延齡聞之，即時請對，盡以城章中欲論事件，一一先自解。及城疏入，德宗以為妄，不之省。泌與右補闕、翰林學士梁肅友善，嘗命繁持所著文請肅潤色。繁亦自有學術，肅待之甚厚，因許師事，日熟其門。及肅卒，繁亂其配，士君子無不嘆駭，積年委棄。後起為太常博士，太常卿權德輿奏斥之，除河南府士曹掾。以其警悟異常，泌之故人為宰相，左右援拯，後得累居郡守，而力學不倦。罷隨州刺史，歸京師，久不承恩。

His son Li Fan was clever from youth and won a name for talent, but lacked moral character. While Li Bi served as chancellor, he once recommended Yang Cheng, a recluse from Xia County in Beiping, for appointment as Remonstrance Adviser. Yang Cheng was a man of upright character; having found a true patron, he held Li Bi in deep gratitude. After Li Bi's death, Pei Yanling, Minister of Revenue—a sycophantic schemer who flattered the throne—won Emperor Dezong's trust and secretly wielded power, arousing the whole court's resentment. Yang Cheng, a man of integrity, hated him above all. One day Yang Cheng drafted a full catalogue of Pei Yanling's crimes, intending a confidential memorial. Because Li Fan was an old friend's son and seemed trustworthy, he showed him the draft and asked him to make a fair copy. Li Fan copied it—and memorized every word. That very evening he went straight to Pei Yanling and told him everything. Pei Yanling, hearing this, immediately sought audience with the emperor and preemptively addressed every charge Yang Cheng's memorial was meant to raise. When Yang Cheng's memorial arrived, Emperor Dezong dismissed it as reckless fabrication and paid it no heed. Li Bi was close to Right Supplemental Remonstrance Adviser and Hanlin Academician Liang Su, and once sent Li Fan to bring his writings to Liang Su for polishing. Li Fan had learning of his own; Liang Su treated him generously, accepted him as a disciple, and saw him at his door every day. When Liang Su died, Li Fan violated the mourning rites owed a teacher. Gentlemen were universally shocked; for years he languished in disgrace. He was later appointed Grand Master of Ceremonies, but Grand Master of Ceremonies Quan Deyu memorialized for his dismissal, and he was demoted to Registrar of Henan Prefecture. Because his intelligence was unusually sharp, old friends of Li Bi who had risen to the chancellorship intervened on his behalf. He eventually held successive prefectural posts and studied without cease. After leaving his post as Prefect of Suizhou and returning to the capital, he long went without imperial favor.

韋處厚入相，厚待之。寶歷二年六月，敬宗降誕日，御三殿，特詔兵部侍郎丁公著、太常少卿陸旦與繁等三人抗浮圖道士講論。九月，除大理少卿，復加弘文館學士。時諫官御史章疏相繼，宰臣不得已，出為亳州刺史。州境嘗有群賊，剽人廬舍，劫取貨財，累政擒捕不獲。繁潛設機謀，悉知賊之巢穴，出兵盡加誅斬。時議責繁以不先啟聞廉使，涉於擅興之罪，朝廷遣監察御史舒元輿按問。元輿素與繁有隙，復以初官，銳於生事，乃盡反其獄辭，以為繁濫殺無辜，狀奏，敕於京兆府賜死，時人冤之。其後元輿被禍，人以為有報應焉。

When Wei Chuhou became chancellor, he treated Li Fan with generous favor. In the sixth month of the second year of Baoli, on Emperor Jingzong's birthday, the emperor held court in the Three Halls and specially summoned Vice Minister of War Ding Gongzhu, Vice Director of Ceremonies Lu Dan, and Li Fan to debate Buddhist monks and Daoist priests. In the ninth month he was appointed Vice Director of the Court of Justice and additionally made Academician of the Hongwen Institute. Memorials from remonstrance officials and censors poured in one after another; the chancellors had no choice but to send him out as Prefect of Bo. The prefecture had long been plagued by bandits who raided homes and looted property—successive administrations had failed to capture them. Li Fan secretly devised stratagems, learned every bandit hideout, and sent troops to execute them all. Public opinion blamed Li Fan for failing to notify the surveillance commissioner beforehand, implicating him in unauthorized military action. The court dispatched Supervising Censor Shu Yuanyu to investigate. Shu Yuanyu had long borne a grudge against Li Fan and, eager to make his mark in his first appointment, completely reversed the testimony, claiming Li Fan had wantonly slaughtered the innocent. His memorial was accepted and an edict ordered execution at the Capital Prefecture—contemporaries considered it a grievous injustice. Later Shu Yuanyu met with disaster himself, and people regarded it as karmic retribution.

初，泌流放江南，與柳渾、顧況為人外之交，吟詠自適。而渾先達，故泌復得入官於朝。

When Li Bi was exiled to the south, he formed extraordinary friendships with Liu Hun and Gu Kuang, composing poetry together for mutual solace. Liu Hun was the senior of the two, and through him Li Bi was eventually able to reenter court service.

顧況者，蘇州人。能為歌詩，性詼諧，雖王公之貴與之交者，必戲侮之，然以嘲誚能文，人多狎之。柳渾輔政，以校書郎征。復遇李泌繼入，自謂己知秉樞要。當得達官，久之方遷著作郎。況心不樂，求歸於吳。而班列群官，咸有侮玩之目，皆惡嫉之。及泌卒，不哭，而有調笑之言，為憲司所劾，貶饒州司戶。有文集二十捲。其《贈柳宜城》辭句，率多戲劇，文體皆此類也。

Gu Kuang was a native of Suzhou. He could compose songs and verse, and his nature was witty and irreverent. Even princes and nobles who associated with him were mocked—but because his satire displayed literary brilliance, many treated him with familiar affection. When Liu Hun entered the chancellorship, Gu Kuang was summoned as Collator. When Li Bi subsequently joined the administration, Gu Kuang assumed he would soon grasp the levers of power. He expected high office, yet only after a long wait was he promoted to Drafting Officer of the Secretariat. Gu Kuang's heart was discontent, and he petitioned to return to Wu. Among the ranked officials at court, all looked on him with contempt and detested him. When Li Bi died, Gu Kuang did not mourn but uttered mocking words. The censorate impeached him, and he was demoted to Revenue Officer of Raozhou. His collected writings filled twenty juan. The verses of his "Presented to Liu of Yicheng" are mostly playful in tone—his literary style was generally of this sort.

子非熊，登進士第，累佐使府，亦有詩名於時。

His son Feixiong passed the jinshi examination, served repeatedly on mission staffs, and also won poetic renown in his day.

崔造，字玄宰，博陵安平人。少涉學，永泰中，與韓會、盧東美、張正則為友，皆僑居上元，好談經濟之略，嘗以王佐自許，時人號為「四夔」。浙西觀察使李棲筠引為賓僚，累至左司員外郎。與劉晏善，及晏遭楊炎、庾准誣奏伏誅，造累貶信州長史。

Cui Zao, styled Xuanzai, was a native of Anping in Boling. In youth he studied broadly. During the Yongtai era he befriended Han Hui, Lu Dongmei, and Zhang Zhengzhe—all sojourners in Shangyuan who loved to discuss statecraft and each deemed himself fit for ministerial service. Contemporaries called them the "Four Kui." The Zhexi Observation Commissioner Li Qiyun recruited him as a staff member, and he rose successively to Left Department Vice Director. He was close to Liu Yan; when Yan was falsely accused by Yang Yan and Yu Zhun and executed, Cui Zao was repeatedly demoted, eventually to Long Secretary of Xin Prefecture.

硃泚之逆，造為建州刺史，聞難作，馳檄鄰州，請齊舉義兵，遂調發所部，得二千人，德宗聞而嘉之。及收京師，詔征造至藍田，以舅源休明逆伏誅，上疏請罪，不敢即赴闕。上以為知禮，優詔慰勉，拜吏部郎中、給事中。貞元二年正月，與中書舍人齊映各守本官，同平章事。時京畿兵亂之後，仍歲蝗旱，府無儲積。德宗以造敢言，為能立事，故不次登用。

During Zhu Ci's rebellion, Cui Zao was Prefect of Jian Prefecture. Hearing of the uprising, he urgently dispatched proclamations to neighboring prefectures calling for joint righteous armies, then mobilized his jurisdiction and gathered two thousand men. Emperor Dezong heard and commended him. After the capital was reclaimed, an edict summoned Cui Zao to Lantian. Because his maternal uncle Yuan Xiuming had been executed for joining the rebellion, he submitted a memorial pleading guilt and dared not immediately approach the throne. The emperor considered this an act of propriety and issued a gracious edict of consolation and encouragement, appointing him Director of the Ministry of Personnel and Imperial Draftsman. In the first month of the second year of Zhenyuan, he and Secretariat Drafter Qi Ying each retained their original posts while jointly serving as Associates of the Department of State Affairs. The capital region, after military turmoil, had suffered successive years of locusts and drought—the treasury held no reserves. Emperor Dezong considered Cui Zao bold in speech and capable of decisive action, and promoted him out of turn.

造久從事江外，嫉錢谷諸使罔上之弊，乃奏天下兩稅錢物，委本道觀察使、本州刺史選官典部送上都；諸道水陸運使及度支、巡院、江淮轉運使等並停；其度支、鹽鐵，委尚書省本司判；其尚書省六職，令宰臣分判。乃以戶部侍郎元琇判諸道鹽鐵、榷酒等事；戶部侍郎吉中孚判度支及諸道兩稅事；宰臣齊映判兵部承旨及雜事；宰臣李勉判刑部；宰臣劉滋判吏部、禮部；造判戶部、工部。又以歲飢，浙江東西道入運米每年七十五萬石，今更令兩稅折納米一百萬石，委兩浙節度使韓滉運送一百萬石至東渭橋；其淮南濠壽旨米、洪潭屯米，委淮南節度使杜亞運送二十萬石至東渭橋。諸道有鹽鐵處，依舊置巡院勾當；河陰見在米及諸道先付度支、巡院般運在路錢物，委度支依前勾當，其未離本道者，分付觀察使發遣，仍委中書門下年終類例諸道課最聞奏。造與元琇素厚，罷使之後，以鹽鐵之任委之。而韓滉方司轉運，朝廷仰給其漕發。滉以司務久行，不可遽改。德宗復以滉為江淮轉運使，余如造所條奏。元琇以滉性剛難制，乃復奏江淮轉運，其江南米自江至揚子凡十八里，請滉主之；揚子已北，琇主之。滉聞之怒，掎摭琇鹽鐵司事論奏。德宗不獲已，罷琇判使，轉尚書右丞。其年秋初，江淮漕米大至京師，德宗嘉其功，以滉專領度支、諸道鹽鐵轉運等使，造所條奏皆改。物議亦以造所奏雖舉舊典，然凶荒之歲，難為集事，乃罷造知政事，守太子右庶子，貶琇雷州司戶。造初奏太銳，及琇改官，憂懼成疾，數月不能視事。明年九月卒，年五十一。

Cui Zao had long served in the south and resented fiscal commissioners who deceived the throne. He memorialized that the empire's two-tax revenues should be entrusted to each circuit's observation commissioner and prefect to select officials to escort them to the capital; all circuit water-and-land transport commissioners, revenues commissioners, inspection offices, and Yangzi-Huai transport commissioners were to be abolished; revenues and salt-and-iron affairs were to be returned to their home ministries in the Secretariat for adjudication; the Six Ministries of the Secretariat were to be assigned to chancellors for divisional oversight. Accordingly, Vice Minister of Revenue Yuan Xiu was assigned salt-and-iron and liquor monopoly affairs across all circuits; Vice Minister of Revenue Ji Zhongfu was assigned revenues and two-tax affairs across all circuits; Chancellor Qi Ying was assigned the Ministry of War's Secretariat duties and miscellaneous affairs; Chancellor Li Mian was assigned the Ministry of Justice; Chancellor Liu Zi was assigned the Ministries of Personnel and Rites; Cui Zao was assigned the Ministries of Revenue and Works. Because of famine that year, the Eastern and Western Zhejiang circuits had annually contributed seven hundred fifty thousand shi of transport grain. Now the two-tax was further required to deliver one million shi of rice in kind, entrusted to Zhejiang Military Commissioner Han Huang to transport one million shi to Dongwei Bridge; Grain from Huainan, Hao, and Shou, and stored grain from Hong and Tan, were entrusted to Huainan Military Commissioner Du Ya to transport two hundred thousand shi to Dongwei Bridge. In circuits with salt-and-iron operations, inspection offices were to be retained as before for administration; Rice presently stored at Heyin and money and goods already dispatched by revenues and inspection offices en route were entrusted to the revenues commissioner for continued administration as before; shipments not yet leaving their home circuits were to be handed to observation commissioners for dispatch—and the Secretariat and Chancellery were still required to report annual circuit performance rankings at year's end. Cui Zao and Yuan Xiu had long been close; after abolishing the commissioners, he entrusted salt-and-iron duties to Yuan Xiu. But Han Huang was then managing transport, and the court depended on his grain shipments. Han Huang argued that these offices had long operated and could not be abruptly changed. Emperor Dezong reappointed Han Huang as Yangzi-Huai Transport Commissioner; the remainder followed Cui Zao's memorial. Yuan Xiu considered Han Huang's stubborn temperament difficult to control and memorialized again on Yangzi-Huai transport: for Jiangnan grain from the river to Yangzi—a stretch of eighteen li—he requested that Huang manage it; North of Yangzi, Yuan Xiu would manage it himself. Han Huang heard this with fury and submitted impeachment memorials regarding salt-and-iron office affairs against Yuan Xiu. Emperor Dezong had no choice but to remove Yuan Xiu from commissioner duties and transfer him to Right Vice Director of the Secretariat. That autumn, transport grain from the Yangzi-Huai region arrived in great quantity at the capital. Emperor Dezong commended the achievement and put Han Huang solely in charge of revenues, salt-and-iron, and transport commissioners—all of Cui Zao's memorial provisions were reversed. Public opinion held that although Cui Zao's memorial revived old institutions, in years of famine and disaster it was difficult to implement. Cui Zao was removed from governance and retained as Right Vice Mentor of the Heir Apparent; Yuan Xiu was demoted to Revenue Officer of Leizhou. Cui Zao's initial memorial had been too sharp; when Yuan Xiu was transferred, anxiety and fear brought illness, and for months he could not attend to his duties. The following year, in the ninth month, he died at the age of fifty-one.

關播，字務元，衛州汲人也。天寶末，舉進士。鄧景山為淮南節度使，闢為從事，累授衛佐評事，遷右補闕。善言物理，尤精釋氏之學。大曆中，神策軍使王駕鶴妻關氏以播與同宗，深遇之。元載惡其交往，出為河南府兵曹，攝職數縣，皆有政能。陳少游領浙東、淮南，又闢為判官，歷檢校金部員外，攝滁州刺史。李靈曜阻兵，跋扈於梁汴。少游自總兵鎮淮上，所在盜賊峰起。播調閱州兵，令其守備。又為政清淨簡惠，既無盜賊，人甚安之。楊綰、常袞知政事，薦播為都官員外郎。

Guan Bo, courtesy name Wuyuan, was a native of Ji in Weizhou. In the closing years of the Tianbao reign, he passed the jinshi examination. When Deng Jingshan served as Military Commissioner of Huainan, he recruited Guan Bo onto his staff. Bo rose through successive appointments to Wei Associate Reviewing Cases Officer and then Right Remonstrance Official. He was skilled at discourse on natural principle and was especially accomplished in Buddhist learning. During the Dali reign, Lady Guan, wife of Shence Army Commissioner Wang Jihe, treated Guan Bo with exceptional favor on account of their shared clan affiliation. Yuan Zai resented these connections and had him posted as Military Staff Officer of Henan Prefecture. Serving in acting capacity over several counties, he displayed genuine administrative talent in each. When Chen Shaoyou held authority over Zhedong and Huainan, he recruited Guan Bo again as adjutant. Bo served successively as Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue and Acting Prefect of Chuzhou. Li Lingyao raised arms in defiance and behaved with arrogance throughout the Liang and Bian region. Shaoyou personally held overall military command on the Huai front, and banditry erupted wherever his forces were stationed. Guan Bo inspected the prefectural troops and organized them for defense. His governance was clean, restrained, and mild. With banditry suppressed, the people enjoyed genuine peace. When Yang Wan and Chang Gun directed state affairs, they recommended Guan Bo for appointment as Secretary of the Ministry of Justice.

德宗登極，湖南山洞中有王國良者，聚眾為盜，令播往宣撫之。臨行，召對於別殿，上問政理之要，播奏云：「為政之本，需求有道賢人，乃可得理。」上謂播云：「朕下詔求賢良，當躬新閱試，亦遣使臣黜陟，廣加搜訪聞薦，擢其能者用之，冀以傅理。」播奏曰：「下詔求賢黜陟舉薦，唯得求名詞之士，安有有道賢人肯隨牒舉選乎？」上悅其言，謂播曰：「卿且使去，回日當與卿論政事。」播又奏曰：「臣今奏詔招撫，國良不受命，臣請便宣恩命，語鄰境速出兵翦除。」上曰：「卿言深合朕意。」使回，改兵部員外，遷河中少尹。

After Emperor Dezong ascended the throne, a man named Wang Guoliang had gathered followers in the mountain caves of Hunan and turned to banditry. The emperor dispatched Guan Bo to proclaim imperial goodwill and attempt pacification. Before his departure, he was summoned to audience in a side hall. When the emperor asked what lay at the heart of good governance, Guan Bo replied, "The foundation of government is to seek out virtuous men who truly understand the Way. Only then can the realm be well governed. The emperor said to Guan Bo, "I have already issued edicts seeking worthy men. I intend to examine candidates personally, dispatch commissioners to conduct promotions and demotions, and launch a broad search through recommendations—raising the capable to office in the hope of putting the realm in order. Guan Bo replied, "Edicts for seeking talent, promotions and demotions, and recommendations will yield only men who chase reputation and fine phrases. What man of genuine virtue and understanding would stoop to enter the examination lists?" The emperor was pleased and told Guan Bo, "Go now on your mission. When you return, we shall discuss affairs of state together." Guan Bo added, "If Wang Guoliang refuses the imperial command when I arrive to pacify him, I ask permission to proclaim your grace on the spot and notify neighboring circuits to send troops at once to destroy him." The emperor said, "Your words accord deeply with my intent." When he returned from his mission, he was appointed Secretary of the Ministry of War and promoted to Vice Governor of Hezhong.

建中初，張鎰為河中少尹。鎰尋入相，二年七月，遷播給事中。舊例，諸司甲庫，皆是胥吏掌知，為弊頗久，播始建議並以士人知之，至今稱當。轉刑部侍郎、奉迎皇太后副使。盧杞以播柔緩，冀其易制，驟稱薦之。尋遷吏部侍郎，轉刑部尚書、知刪定。奏上元中，詔擇古今名將十人於武成王廟配享，如文宣王廟之儀。播以「太公古稱大賢，今其下稱亞聖，於義不安。又孔子十哲，皆是當時弟子，今所擇名將，年代不同，於義既乖，於事又失。臣請刪去名將配享之儀及十哲之稱。」從之。

At the beginning of the Jianzhong reign, Zhang Yi served as Vice Governor of Hezhong. Zhang Yi soon entered the chancellorship. In the seventh month of Jianzhong 2, Guan Bo was promoted to Supervising Secretary. By longstanding custom, the personnel archives of the various ministries had been managed by low-level clerks—a source of chronic abuse. Guan Bo was the first to propose placing educated officials in charge of them, a reform still praised as apt. He was transferred to Vice Minister of Justice and Deputy Commissioner for Welcoming the Empress Dowager. Lu Qi, judging Guan Bo gentle and pliable, hoped to control him easily and suddenly began praising and recommending him. He was soon promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, then transferred to Minister of Justice with charge over statutory revision. He reported that during the Shangyuan reign an edict had selected ten famous generals from history for companion worship in the Temple of the Martial Accomplishment King, patterned after the rites of Confucius's temple. Guan Bo argued, "The Grand Duke was called a great sage in antiquity; to designate those beneath him as 'lesser sages' is improper in principle. Moreover, Confucius's Ten Worthies were all disciples of his own day. The generals now chosen belong to different ages. This violates principle and misses the point in practice as well. I therefore request that the rite of companion worship for famous generals and the designation 'Ten Worthies' be abolished." The request was granted.

建中三年十月，拜銀青光祿大夫、中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事、集賢殿崇文館大學士、修國史。時政事決在盧杞，播但斂衽取容而已。乏於知人之鑑，好大言虛誕者，播必悅而親信之。有李元平、陶公達、張愻、劉承誡，皆言談詭妄，讠誇大可立功名，亦有微材薄藝。播累奏雲元平等皆可將相也，請閱試用之，上以為然，以元平為補闕。會淮西節度李希烈叛亂，上以汝州要鎮，令選擇刺史。播薦元平為汝州刺史，尋加檢校吏部郎中、汝州別駕，知州事。元平至州旬日，為希烈所擒，汝州陷賊，中外哂之。由是公達等未克任用。播與盧杞等從駕幸奉天，既而杞、白志貞等並貶黜，播尚知政事，中外囂然，以為不可，遂罷相，改刑部尚書。大臣韋倫等泣於朝曰：「宰相不能謀猷翊贊，以至今日，而尚為尚書，可痛心也！」

In the tenth month of Jianzhong 3, he was appointed Silver-and-Purple Light Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Vice Minister of the Secretariat, Associate Director of the Secretariat-Chancellery, Grand Academician of the Jixian Hall and Chongwen Pavilion, and Compiler of National History. At the time Lu Qi held decisive power over state affairs. Guan Bo did nothing but compose himself and curry favor. He lacked the discernment to judge men. Those who loved grandiose and fantastic talk always won his pleasure and personal trust. Among them were Li Yuanping, Tao Gongda, Zhang Sun, and Liu Chengjie—all given to strange and extravagant talk, boasting that great feats and lasting fame could be won at a stroke, though each possessed at best modest talent and slender skill. Guan Bo repeatedly memorialized that Yuanping and the others were fit for generalship and the chancellorship, and asked that they be examined and put to use. The emperor agreed, and Li Yuanping was appointed Remonstrance Official. When Li Xilie, Military Commissioner of Huai West, rose in rebellion, the emperor ordered that a prefect be chosen for Ruzhou, a city of critical strategic importance. Guan Bo recommended Li Yuanping as Prefect of Ruzhou. He was soon given additional titles as Acting Director of the Ministry of Personnel and Vice Prefect of Ruzhou, with charge over the prefecture. Within ten days of Li Yuanping's arrival, Li Xilie captured him and Ruzhou fell to the rebels. Court and country alike laughed at the debacle. As a result, Tao Gongda and the others never received appointment. Guan Bo accompanied the emperor's flight to Fengtian along with Lu Qi and others. After Lu Qi, Bai Zhizhen, and the rest were demoted and dismissed, Guan Bo nevertheless remained in charge of state affairs. Uproar spread through court and country at the seeming injustice, and he was removed from the chancellorship and made Minister of Justice. Senior minister Wei Lun and others wept openly at court, saying, "The chancellor could neither counsel wisely nor lend proper support, and brought us to this pass—yet he still holds a ministerial post. The pain of it is unbearable!"

貞元四年，回紇請和親，以咸安公主出降可汗，令播以本官加檢校右僕射、兼御史大夫，持節充送咸安公主及冊可汗使，奉使往來，皆清儉謹慎，蕃人悅之。使回，遷兵部尚書，固辭疾，請罷官，改太子少師致仕。播致仕之後，減去僮僕車騎，閉關守靜，不縈外事，士君子重之。貞元十三年正月卒，時年七十九，廢朝一日，贈太子太保。

In Zhenyuan 4, the Uyghurs sought a marriage alliance, and Princess Xian'an was sent to wed the khan. Guan Bo was ordered to retain his existing rank while additionally serving as Acting Right Vice Director and Censor-in-Chief, and was dispatched with imperial credentials as Commissioner for Escorting Princess Xian'an and Enfeoffing the Khan. Throughout his mission he conducted himself with frugal integrity and careful restraint, winning the goodwill of the frontier peoples. On his return he was promoted to Minister of War, but he firmly pleaded illness and asked to leave office. He was then made Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent and granted retirement. After his retirement, Guan Bo reduced his household staff, carriages, and escorts, withdrew into seclusion, and shunned outside affairs. Men of honor held him in esteem. He died in the first month of Zhenyuan 13, at the age of seventy-nine. Court business was suspended for one day of mourning, and he was posthumously enfeoffed as Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent.

李元平者，宗室子。始為湖南觀察使蕭復判官，試大理評事。性疏傲，敢大言，好論兵，天下賢士大夫無可其意者，以是人多銜怒。關播奇重之，許以將帥。時希烈反叛，朝廷以汝州與賊接壤，刺史韋光裔懦弱不任職，播乃盛稱元平，特召見，超左補闕，不數日，擢為檢校吏部郎中，兼汝州別駕，知州事。既至部，募工徒繕理郛郭，希烈乃使勇士應募，執役板築，凡入數百人，元平不之覺。希烈遣偽將李克誠以數百騎突至其城，先應募執役者應於內，縛元平馳去。既見希烈，遺下污地。希烈見其無須眇小，戲謂克誠曰：「使汝取李元平，何得將元平兒來？」因嫚罵曰：「盲宰相使汝當我，何待我淺耶！」偽署為御史中丞。播聞元平得用，仍欺於人曰：「李生功業濟矣。」言必能覆希烈而建功也。居無何，希烈用為宰相，或告其有二者，乃斷一指以自誓。希烈既死，或有人言在賊中微有謀慮，貸死流於珍州。會赦得歸剡中，浙東觀察使皇甫政表聞其到，以發上怒，復流賀州而死。

Li Yuanping was a member of the imperial clan. He began as adjutant to Hunan Observation Commissioner Xiao Fu, serving provisionally as Grand Court Reviewing Cases Officer. By nature he was casual and arrogant, bold in extravagant speech, and fond of holding forth on military matters. No worthy scholar or official in the realm could satisfy him, and many nursed resentment against him. Guan Bo regarded him as a marvel and treated him with exceptional favor, promising him a commander's post. When Li Xilie rebelled, the court judged Ruzhou critical because it bordered rebel territory, while Prefect Wei Guangyi was too weak for the post. Guan Bo lavishly praised Li Yuanping, had him specially summoned to audience, leapfrogged him to Left Remonstrance Official, and within days elevated him to Acting Director of the Ministry of Personnel, Vice Prefect of Ruzhou, with charge over the prefecture. Once in office, he recruited laborers to repair the city walls. Li Xilie sent bold warriors to enlist as laborers for earthwork and construction. Several hundred entered the city in this way, and Li Yuanping noticed nothing amiss. Li Xilie sent the rebel general Li Kecheng with several hundred horsemen in a sudden assault on the city. The men who had enlisted earlier as laborers responded from within, seized Li Yuanping, and galloped away with him. When brought before Li Xilie, he lost control of his bowels on the spot. Li Xilie, seeing that he was beardless and slight of build, jokingly said to Li Kecheng, "I sent you to capture Li Yuanping—why have you brought me Li Yuanping's boy instead? Then he cursed in contempt, "Your blind chancellor sent you to oppose me—is that not treating me far too lightly!" Li Xilie falsely appointed him Vice Censor-in-Chief. When Guan Bo heard that Li Yuanping had been given office, he still deceived others, saying, "Young Li's great work is nearly accomplished. He meant that Li Yuanping would surely overthrow Li Xilie and win lasting glory. Before long Li Xilie appointed him chancellor. When someone accused him of divided loyalty, he severed a finger to swear his fidelity. After Li Xilie died, someone reported that he had shown some measure of strategic judgment while serving the rebels. His death sentence was commuted and he was exiled to Zhen Prefecture. When an amnesty allowed him to return to Shan, Zhedong Observation Commissioner Huangfu Zheng memorialized reporting his arrival, which provoked the emperor's wrath. He was exiled again to He Prefecture, where he died.

史臣曰：蒸嘗礿祀，前王制以奉先；怪力亂神，宣聖鄙而不語。凡雲左道，固有舊章。玙假於鬼神，乃至將相，既處代天之位，爰滋亂政之源。國禎妖人疑眾，妄恢其祀典；梁鎮正士抗疏，方悟其上心。泌見可進而知難退，足為高率智辯之士；居相位而談鬼神，乃見狂妄浮薄之蹤。《王制》云：「執左道以亂政，殺。」寧無畏乎！繁之醜行，棄於當時，竟陷非辜，諒由素履。造為臣得禮，蒞事非能；播居位取容，舉人敗事。皆非國器，咸歷台司，失人者亡，國其危矣。

The historian writes: Steam offerings, sacrificial feasts, and autumn rites—these were the institutions of the ancient kings for honoring the ancestors; Tales of marvels, violence, spirits, and chaos—the Sage himself held them in contempt and would not discuss them. Heterodox practices have always been regulated by ancient law. Wang Yu relied on ghosts and spirits to rise even to generalship and the chancellorship. Having taken a position that stood in for Heaven itself, he became a wellspring of disorder in government. Li Guozhen, a sorcerer who deluded the people, presumptuously expanded the state cult; Only when the upright Liang Zhen submitted a bold remonstrance did the throne grasp what the emperor truly intended. Li Bi knew when to advance and when to withdraw—a man lofty in bearing, direct in manner, and sharp in mind; yet he spoke of ghosts and spirits while holding the chancellorship, revealing the mark of rash and shallow conceit. The Book of Rites states, "Whoever persists in heterodox practices to subvert government shall be put to death. Should they not have trembled before such a law? Li Fan's disgraceful conduct was condemned in his own day; that he ultimately suffered unjust punishment reflects, no doubt, the life he had lived. Cui Zao understood ritual propriety as a minister, yet lacked capacity to manage affairs; Guan Bo held office only to curry favor, and the men he recommended brought disaster. None was fit to bear the weight of empire, yet all rose to the highest offices. When a ruler loses the right men, ruin follows—and the state stood in peril.

贊曰：玙、泌、造、播，俱非相材。國禎左道，梁生直哉！

Eulogy: Wang Yu, Li Bi, Cui Zao, and Guan Bo—none possessed the makings of a true chancellor. Li Guozhen walked the path of heterodoxy; Scholar Liang was upright indeed!

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