1
趙憬趙憬，字退翁，天水隴西人也。 總章中吏部侍郎、同東西臺三品仁本之曾孫。 祖諠歷左司郎中。 父道先，洪州錄事參軍。
Zhao Jing, whose courtesy name was Tuiweng, was from Longxi in Tianshui commandery. He was the great-grandson of Renben, who under Emperor Gaozong had served as vice minister of personnel and as a third-rank official at both court secretariats. His grandfather Chan had served as director in the left secretariat department. His father Daoxian had been a recording secretary in Hong prefecture.
2
憬少好學，誌行修潔，不求聞達。 寶應中，玄宗、肅宗梓宮未祔，有司議山陵制度。 時西蕃入寇，天下饑饉，憬以褐衣上疏，宜遵儉制，時人稱之。 後連為州從事，試江夏尉。 累遷監察御史，隨牒籓府，歷殿中侍御史、太子舍人。 居母憂，哀毀幾絕。 服除，建中初，擢授水部員外郎。 未拜，會湖南觀察使李承請為副使、檢校工部郎中，充職。 歲餘，承卒，遂知留後事。 尋授潭州刺史、兼御史中丞、湖南觀察使，仍賜金紫。 居二歲，受代歸京師，闔門靜居，不與人交。 久之，特召對於別殿。 憬多學問，有辭辯，敷奏稱旨，上悅，拜給事中。
From youth Zhao Jing loved learning; his conduct was earnest and scrupulous, and he sought no fame. During the Baoying reign (762–763), with the coffins of Emperors Xuanzong and Suzong still not interred together, the responsible offices debated tomb and mourning regulations. With Tibet invading and famine wracking the empire, Jing submitted a memorial while dressed as a commoner, arguing for austere observances; contemporaries praised him for it. He later served in succession as a prefectural aide and was appointed acting magistrate of Jiangxia. He rose in turn to supervisory censor, took assignments with a princely establishment, and served as palace censor and as attendant in the crown prince's household. During mourning for his mother, his grief was so extreme that he nearly died from it. After mourning ended, in the early Jianzhong period (780–783) he was promoted to vice director in the Ministry of Works' waterworks bureau. Before he could assume that post, Hunan observation commissioner Li Cheng asked that he serve as deputy commissioner and acting director in the Ministry of Works, and he took up the assignment. After a little more than a year Li Cheng died, and Jing thereupon managed the post as acting commissioner. He was soon appointed prefect of Tanzhou, concurrently vice censor-in-chief and Hunan observation commissioner, and was also granted the gold-and-purple regalia of high rank. After two years he was relieved and returned to the capital, where he kept to his household in seclusion and associated with almost no one. After some time he was specially summoned for an audience in a side hall of the palace. Zhao Jing was learned and articulate; his presentations pleased the throne, and the emperor appointed him gentleman attendant at the gate.
3
貞元四年，回紇請結和親。 詔以鹹安公主降回紇，命檢校右僕射關播充使。 憬以本官兼御史中丞為副。 前後使回紇者，多私賫繒絮，蕃中市馬回以規利。 憬一無所市，人嘆美之。 使還，遷尚書左丞，綱轄省務，清勤奉職。 竇參為宰相，惡其能，請出為同州刺史，上不從。
In 788 the Uyghurs sought a marriage alliance with the court. The court decreed that Princess Xian'an be given in marriage to the Uyghurs and appointed acting right vice director Guan Bo chief envoy. Jing served as deputy envoy in his current post, concurrently as vice censor-in-chief. Previous and later envoys to the Uyghurs often carried private loads of silk and cotton, buying horses in the frontier markets on the return trip for personal profit. Jing made no private purchases at all, and people praised him for it. After the mission he was promoted to left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, where he oversaw ministry business with scrupulous diligence. Chief minister Dou Can, resenting Jing's talent, asked that he be sent out as prefect of Tongzhou, but the emperor refused.
4
八年四月，竇參罷黜，憬與陸贄並拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 憬深於理道，常言：「為政之本，在於選賢能，務節儉，薄賦斂，寬刑罰。」 對揚之際，必以此為言，乃獻《審官六議》曰：
In the fourth month of 792 Dou Can was removed from office; Zhao Jing and Lu Zhi were both appointed vice director of the Secretariat and grand councilors. Jing was deeply versed in statecraft and often said, "The foundation of government lies in choosing worthy officials, practicing frugality, lightening taxes, and moderating punishments." In audiences with the emperor he always returned to these themes, and he submitted his "Six Discussions on Examining Officials," which read:
5
臣謬登宰府，四年於茲，恭承德音，未嘗不以求賢為切。 至於延薦，職在愚臣，雖當代天之工，且乏知人之鑒； 漸積歲月，負於聖明，無補王猷，有妨賢路。 況多疾恙，兼慮闕遺，頃奉表章，備陳肝膈。 陛下以臣性拙直，身病可矜，不棄孱微，尚加委任。 自此思省，報效尤難，莫副堯、舜之心，空懷屍素之懼。 伏惟陛下法象應期，聖神廣運，雲行雨施，皆發自然，訓誥典謨，悉經睿覽。 臣所以不敢援引古昔，上煩天聰，且以用人之要，願伸鄙見。 復念稽顙丹陛，仰對宸嚴，謇訥易窮，遽數難辯，理詳則塵瀆頗甚，言略則利害未宣。 若默以求容，茍而竊位，縱天地之仁幸免，而中外之責何逃！ 非陛下用臣之意也。 其所欲言者，皆陛下聖慮之內。 臣以頂戴恩造，不知所為，身被風毒，漸覺沈痼，是以勤勤懇懇，切於愚誠也。
I have undeservedly held a seat in the chief minister's office these four years, and in reverently receiving Your Majesty's instructions I have never ceased to make the search for talent my foremost concern. As for recommending candidates, that duty falls to me; though I perform Heaven's work on Your behalf, I still lack the discernment to judge men well; Month by month the years have piled up; I have failed Your sagely judgment, contributed nothing to the royal design, and blocked the path for worthy men. Moreover I am often ill and fear I may overlook matters; I recently submitted a memorial in which I laid bare my inmost thoughts. Your Majesty, seeing that my nature is blunt and my illness pitiable, did not cast aside this feeble man but continued to entrust me with office. Since then, reflecting on myself, I find it harder than ever to repay Your favor; I cannot match the intent of Yao and Shun and live only with the fear of holding office without merit. I humbly reflect that Your Majesty's rule accords with Heaven's season; your sagely spirit ranges far; your governance flows as naturally as clouds and rain; and every instruction and canon has passed through your wise scrutiny. That is why I do not dare cite antiquity and trouble Your Majesty's ear, but wish instead to offer my humble view on what matters most in the use of personnel. I also reflect that when I bow on the vermilion steps and answer Your Majesty face to face, my honest awkwardness is soon exhausted and hurried argument is hard to sustain: if I am too detailed I risk wearying you, yet if I am too brief the stakes are not made clear. If I were to keep silent to win favor and hold office in a perfunctory way, even Heaven and Earth might spare me, but how could I escape blame at court and in the provinces! That is not why Your Majesty appointed me. What I wish to say lies entirely within Your Majesty's own sagely understanding. Bearing Your grace upon my head, I scarcely know what to do; wind ailments afflict me and my illness grows chronic—hence this earnest, repeated plea born of my sincere but limited loyalty.
6
臣聞貞觀、開元之際，宰輔論事，或多上書，所冀獲盡情理。 今臣酌前代之損益，體當時之通變，謹獻《審官六議》，伏惟閑宴時賜省覽。
I have heard that under the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan reigns chief ministers often submitted written memorials when discussing policy, hoping thereby to set out their reasoning fully. Now, weighing the strengths and weaknesses of earlier ages and the needs of our own time, I respectfully submit the "Six Discussions on Examining Officials" and humbly ask that Your Majesty read it at your leisure.
7
其大指，議相，則曰：「宜博采眾賢，用為輔弼。 今中外知其賢者，伏願陛下用之，識其能者任之，求其全材，恐不可得。」
Its main points are these. On the chief minister it says, "The throne should broadly gather many worthy men and employ them as assistants. Those known at court and in the provinces as worthy—I humbly beg Your Majesty to employ them; recognize each man's strengths and assign him accordingly; to demand wholly perfect talent is probably impossible."
8
議進用庶官，則曰：「異同之論，是非難辨。 由考課難於實效，好惡雜於眾聲，所以訪之彌多，得之彌少。 選士古今為難，拔十得五，賢愚猶半。 陛下謂臣曰：『何必五也？ 十得二三斯可矣！』 聖主思賢至是，而宰臣不能進之，臣之罪也。 進賢在於廣任用，明殿最，舉大節，棄其小瑕，隨其所能，試之以事，用人之大綱也。」
On promoting ordinary officials it says, "When opinions clash, it is hard to tell right from wrong. Because performance reviews rarely capture real achievement and personal likes and dislikes mingle in public rumor, the more one inquires, the less one finds. Choosing officials has always been difficult; even to pick ten and get five worthy men, with the foolish still half the number, would be an achievement. Your Majesty once said to me, 'Why must it be five? Two or three out of ten would be enough! When a sage ruler longs for talent to this degree yet his chief minister cannot advance worthy men, the fault is mine. To advance the worthy one must employ men broadly, rank merit clearly, honor major integrity, overlook minor faults, assign each man according to his capacity, and test him in office—such is the great principle of personnel."
9
議京諸司闕官，則曰：「當今要官多闕，閑官十無一二。 文武任用，資序遞遷，要官本以材行，閑官多由恩澤。 朝廷或將任，多擬要官則人少闕多，閑官則人多闕少； 明當選拔者轉少，在優容者轉多，宜補闕員，務育材用。 大廈永固，是棟梁榱桷之全也； 聖朝致理，亦庶官群吏之能也。」
On vacant posts in the capital ministries it says, "Today important offices stand largely unfilled, while superfluous posts are scarcely one or two in ten. Civil and military appointments advance by seniority; important posts should go by talent and conduct, while idle posts are often filled by favor. When the court prepares an appointment, if it favors important offices there are few candidates and many vacancies; for idle offices there are many candidates and few vacancies; those clearly fit for promotion grow fewer while those kept in comfortable sinecures grow more; vacancies should be filled and talent cultivated for service. A great hall stands firm only when beams, pillars, rafters, and brackets are all in place; the sagely dynasty's good order likewise depends on the ability of its many officials and clerks."
10
議中外考課官，則曰：「漢以數易長吏，謂之弊政。 其有能理者，輒增秩賜金，或八九年、十余年，乃入為九卿，或遷三輔。 功績茂異，遂至丞相，其間不隔數官。 今陛下內選庶僚，外委州府，課績高者，不次超升，致理之法，無逾於此。 臣愚以為黜陟且立年限，若所居要重，未當遷移，就加爵秩。 其余進退，令知褒貶之必應，遲速之有常。 如課績在中，年考及限，與之平轉。 中外叠處，歷試其能，使無茍且之心，又無滯淹之慮。」
On performance-review officials at court and in the provinces it says, "The Han dynasty, by frequently rotating chief local officials, regarded that practice as a defect. Those who governed well were promptly promoted and rewarded with gold; after eight, nine, or more than ten years they might enter the Nine Ministers or be transferred to the capital region. With outstanding achievement they might even rise to chief minister, with only a few ranks between. Today Your Majesty selects subordinates at court and entrusts the provinces without; those with outstanding reviews are promoted out of turn—no better method exists for good government. I humbly suggest that promotions and demotions should also follow fixed terms; if a man holds an important post that should not yet change, let his rank and title be increased in place. For the rest, advancement and withdrawal should make clear that reward and censure will follow predictably, and that pace has its regular rule. If review scores are middling and the annual term is reached, grant a routine transfer. Men would pass through offices at court and in the provinces in succession, testing their ability, so that none would grow perfunctory and none would fear being left to stagnate."
11
議舉遺滯，則曰：「官司既廣，必委宰輔以舉之； 宰輔不能遍知，又詢於庶官； 庶官不能遍知，又訪於眾人。 眾聲囂然，互有臧否，十人舉之未信，一人毀之可疑，迨至於今，茲弊未改。 其所以然者，非盡為愛憎也，苦於不審實而承聲言之。 大凡常人之心，以稱人之善為清，以攻人之過為直，茍有除授，多生橫議。 由是宰臣每將薦用，亦自重難，日往月來，未副聖意。 宜須采聽時論，以所舉多者先用，必非大故，皆不棄之。」
On recommending overlooked talent it says, "Since the bureaucracy is vast, recommendation must be entrusted to the chief ministers; chief ministers cannot know everyone, so they inquire of subordinate officials; subordinates cannot know everyone, so they inquire of the public at large. Voices clamor on every side with praise and blame; ten men may recommend someone and he is still doubted, one man may slander him and he becomes suspect—down to today this abuse remains. The reason is not wholly personal favor or spite; the trouble is that men repeat hearsay without verifying facts. Ordinary men commonly treat praise as disinterested purity and attack as blunt honesty; whenever an appointment is made, reckless disputes multiply. Hence whenever chief ministers were about to recommend someone they grew excessively cautious; days and months passed without satisfying Your Majesty's intent. The court should heed contemporary opinion and employ first those most often recommended; unless the fault is grave, none should be discarded."
12
議擢用諸使府僚屬，則曰：「諸使辟吏，各自精求，務於得人，將重府望。 既經試效，能否可知，擢其賢能，置之朝列。 或曰外使須才，固不可奪。 臣知必不然也。 屬者使府賓介，每有登朝，本使殊以為榮，自喜知人，且明公選。 大凡才能之士，名位未達，多在方鎮。 日月在上，誰不知之，思登闕庭，如望霄漢，宜須博采，無宜久滯。」 上優詔答之。
On promoting staff from commissioner offices it says, "Each commissioner recruits his staff with care, striving to obtain talent and thereby enhance his office's standing. Once they have been tested in office, their ability is known; promote the worthy among them and place them in the court ranks. Some say frontier commissioners need talent and therefore cannot be deprived of it. I know that cannot be so. Recently, whenever a commissioner's staff member entered court service, his commissioner took it as a special honor, pleased that he had recognized talent and that public selection was sound. Generally, men of ability whose names and ranks have not yet risen are found chiefly in the regional commands. The throne shines above—who does not see it? They long to enter the palace court as if gazing toward the heavens; they should be broadly recruited and not left to stagnate." The emperor replied with a gracious edict of praise.
13
時吏部侍郎杜黃裳為中貴讒譖及他過犯，御史中丞穆贊、京兆少尹韋武、萬年縣令李宣、長安令盧雲，皆為裴延齡構陷，將加斥逐。 憬保護救解之，故多從輕貶。
At that time vice minister of personnel Du Huangchang was slandered by palace eunuchs and charged with other offenses; vice censor-in-chief Mu Zan, junior metropolitan assistant governor Wei Wu, magistrate of Wannian Li Xuan, and magistrate of Chang'an Lu Yun had all been framed by Pei Yanling and were about to be expelled. Zhao Jing protected and secured their release, so most received only light demotions.
14
初，憬廉察湖南，令狐峘、崔儆並為巡屬刺史。 峘嘗歷中書舍人、禮部侍郎，儆久在朝列，所為或虧法令，憬每以正道制之。 峘、儆密遣人數憬罪狀，毀之於朝。 及憬為相，拔儆自大理卿為尚書右丞，峘先貶官為別駕，又擢為吉州刺史，時人多之。
Earlier, when Jing served as Hunan inspection commissioner, Linghu Dan and Cui Yi both served as touring subordinate prefects under him. Linghu Dan had formerly served as secretariat drafter and vice minister of rites; Cui Yi had long served at court; their conduct sometimes violated the law, and Zhao Jing repeatedly restrained them on proper grounds. Dan and Yi secretly sent men to enumerate Zhao Jing's offenses again and again and slandered him at court. When Zhao Jing became chief minister he promoted Cui Yi from director of the Court of Judicial Review to right vice director of the Department of State Affairs; Linghu Dan, though earlier demoted to assistant prefect, was also raised to prefect of Jizhou, and contemporaries widely praised him for it.
15
憬與陸贄同知政事。 贄恃久在禁庭，特承恩顧，以國政為己任，才周歲，轉憬為門下侍郎。 憬由是深銜之，數以目疾請告，不甚當政事，因是不相協。 裴延齡奸詐恣睢，滿朝側目。 憬初與贄約於上前論之，及延英奏對，贄極言延齡奸邪誑誕之狀，不可任用。 德宗不悅，形於顏色。 憬默然無言，由是罷贄平章事，而憬當國矣。
Zhao Jing and Lu Zhi jointly directed state affairs. Lu Zhi, relying on his long service in the inner palace and special imperial favor, took national affairs as his own charge; after only a year he transferred Zhao Jing to vice director of the Chancellery. Zhao Jing therefore deeply resented him, repeatedly requested leave on grounds of eye trouble, and attended little to state affairs; the two were thus not in harmony. Pei Yanling was treacherous, deceitful, and overbearing; the whole court looked on him with distaste. Zhao Jing had at first agreed with Lu Zhi to raise the matter before the throne; at the Yanying audience Lu Zhi spoke at length of Yanling's treachery and deceit and argued that he must not be employed. Emperor Dezong was displeased, and it showed plainly on his face. Zhao Jing remained silent; Lu Zhi was thereupon removed from the grand councilorship, and Zhao Jing then directed the state.
16
時宰相賈耽、盧邁與憬三人。 十二年春正月，耽、邁皆有假，故憬獨對於延英。 上問曰：「近日起居註記何事？」 憬對曰：「古者左史記言，人君動止，有實言隨即記錄，起居註是也。 國朝永徽中，起居唯得對仗承旨，仗下後謀議皆不得聞，其記註唯編制敕，更無他事。 所以長壽中姚璹知政事，以為親承德音謨訓，若不宣旨，宰相、史官無以得書。 璹請宰相一人記錄所論軍國政事，謂之時政記，每月送史館。 既而時政記又廢。」 上曰：「君舉必書，義存勸誡。 既嘗有時政記，宰臣宜依故事為之。」 無何，憬卒，時政記亦不行。
At that time the chief ministers were Jia Dan, Lu Mai, and Zhao Jing—three in all. In the first month of spring in the twelfth year, Jia Dan and Lu Mai were both on leave, so Zhao Jing alone attended audience in the Yanying Hall. The emperor asked: "What have the daily recorders been noting in recent days? Zhao Jing replied: "In antiquity the left scribe recorded the ruler's words—whenever the sovereign spoke in earnest, it was written down at once. That is what the Records of Daily Life and Activities are. In our dynasty, during the Yonghui reign, recorders only received the emperor's directives while standing in formation at court audiences. After the formation was dismissed, they could hear none of the deliberations, and their notes amounted merely to compiling edicts—nothing more. For this reason, during the Changshou era, when Yao Qi served in the chief council, he argued that because ministers personally received the emperor's words and instructions, if those directives were not formally announced, neither the chief ministers nor the historiographers would have anything to record. Yao Qi proposed that one chief minister keep a record of deliberations on military and state affairs—a work called the Record of Current Affairs—to be sent each month to the Historiography Office. In time, the Record of Current Affairs was abolished once more. The emperor said: "A ruler's conduct must be committed to writing—the point is to preserve encouragement and admonition. Since the Record of Current Affairs existed before, the chief ministers should reinstate it according to precedent. Before long Zhao Jing died, and the Record of Current Affairs was never implemented.
17
憬特承恩顧，性清儉，雖為宰輔，居第仆使，類貧士大夫之家，所得俸入，先置私廟，而竟不立第舍田產。
Zhao Jing enjoyed exceptional imperial favor, yet his character was austere and frugal. Though he served as a chief minister, the servants at his home were like those of a poor scholar-official's household. He devoted his salary first to maintaining a private ancestral shrine and never acquired a lavish residence or landed estate.
18
其年八月，遇暴疾，信宿而卒，時年六十一。 子元亮進憬遺表草曰：「臣叨荷聖慈，竊塵臺鼎，年序頗久，績用無聞，負乘之敗已彰，覆餗之咎俄及。 而天與之疾，福過生災，自今日卯時以來，稍加困重，針灸不及，藥餌奚施。 奄然遊魂，終當就木，冥冥殘喘，豈忍辭天！ 號呼涕零，側息心斷，反風結草，誓報深恩，雖死猶生，豈孤素願。 無任感恩，嗚咽痛恨之至。」 德宗尤悼惜之，廢朝三日，冊贈太子太傅，賻帛五百端、米粟四百石，令鴻臚卿王權充冊吊使。
In the eighth month of that year he was stricken with a sudden illness and died within two days. He was sixty-one. His son Zhao Yuanliang submitted Zhao Jing's draft memorial, which read: "Your humble servant has undeservedly received Your Majesty's grace and occupied a seat at the highest council. Years have passed, yet I have accomplished nothing of note. The disaster of an overloaded carriage is already plain upon me, and the calamity of overturned soup has suddenly befallen. Heaven has afflicted me with illness—fortune run too high has bred calamity. Since the mao hour this morning my condition has steadily worsened. Acupuncture could not help; medicines availed nothing. My soul is already departing; soon I must go to my coffin. With only faint breaths left in the darkness, how can I bear to leave Your Majesty's grace! I cry out and weep; my heart breaks with every labored breath. Like the grasses that bowed before the wind and Zhong Kui's spirit that tied stalks in gratitude, I swear to repay your profound kindness—even in death I live on—how could I betray my lifelong devotion? I cannot contain my gratitude; this is my deepest sobbing grief and remorse. Emperor Dezong deeply mourned him. Court was suspended for three days. Zhao Jing was posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent, with five hundred bolts of silk and four hundred shi of grain and rice as condolence gifts. Wang Quan, Minister of Ceremonies, was appointed envoy to convey the enfeoffment and condolences.
19
元亮官至左司郎中、侍御史知雜事卒。 次子全亮，官至侍御史、桂管防禦判官。 元亮兄宣亮、弟承亮，皆以門廕授官。 韋倫韋倫，開元、天寶中朔方節度使光乘之子。 少以廕累授藍田縣尉。 以吏事勤恪，楊國忠署為鑄錢內作使判官。 國忠恃權寵，又邀名稱，多征諸州縣農人令鑄錢。 農夫既非本色工匠，被所由抑令就役，多遭箠罰，人不聊生。 倫白國忠曰：「鑄錢須得本色人，今抑百姓農人為之，尤費力無功，人且興謗。 請厚懸市估價，募工曉者為之。」 由是役使減少，而益鑄錢之數。 天寶末，宮內土木之功無虛日，內作人吏因緣為奸，倫乃躬親閱視，省費減倍。 改大理評事。
Zhao Yuanliang rose to Left Department Director and Palace Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs before his death. The second son, Zhao Quanliang, served as Palace Censor and adjutant for the Guiguan Defense command. Yuanliang's elder brother Xuanliang and younger brother Chengliang both received their posts through hereditary privilege. Wei Lun was the son of Wei Guangcheng, military commissioner of Shuofang during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao reigns. In his youth he received appointment as magistrate's aide of Lantian County through hereditary privilege. Recognized for diligence in administrative work, he was appointed by Yang Guozhong as adjutant to the Commissioner of the Minting Inner Works. Yang Guozhong abused his power and court favor and sought popular acclaim. He conscripted farmers from prefectures and counties across the empire to mint coins. These farmers were not trained craftsmen. Local officials forced them into service, and many were beaten with rods. The people could scarcely survive. Wei Lun told Yang Guozhong: "Minting requires skilled workers. Pressing peasants and farmers into the task wastes labor for little result and will provoke public resentment. I ask that you post generous market wages and recruit workers who know the craft. As a result forced labor declined while the volume of coin minted actually increased. Near the end of the Tianbao era, palace construction went on every day without pause. Inner-works officials exploited the opportunity for corruption. Wei Lun personally inspected the work and cut costs by half. He was transferred to the post of court reviewer in the Ministry of Justice.
20
會安祿山反，車駕幸蜀，拜倫監察御史、劍南節度行軍司馬，兼充置頓使判官，尋改屯田員外、兼侍御史。 時內官禁軍相次到蜀，所在侵暴，號為難理； 倫清儉，率身以化之，蜀川鹹賴其理。 竟遭中官毀譖，貶衡州司戶。 屬東都、河南並陷賊，漕運路絕，度支使第五琦薦倫有理能，拜商州刺史，充荊襄等道租庸使。 會襄州裨將康楚元、張嘉延聚眾為叛，兇黨萬余人，自稱東楚義王。 襄州刺史王政棄城遁走。 嘉延又南襲破江陵，漢、沔饋運阻絕，朝廷旰食。 倫乃調發兵甲駐鄧州界，兇黨有來降者，必厚加接待。 數日後，楚元眾頗怠，倫進軍擊之。 生擒楚元以獻，余眾悉走散，收租庸錢物僅二百萬貫，並不失墜。 荊、襄二州平。 詔除崔光遠為襄州節度使，征倫為衛尉卿。 旬日，又以本官兼寧州刺史、招討處置等使，尋又兼隴州刺史。
When An Lushan rebelled and the emperor fled to Shu, Wei Lun was appointed investigating censor and vice marshal of the Jiannan expeditionary army, with additional duty as adjutant to the encampment commissioner. He was soon promoted to vice director in the Ministry of Revenue and concurrent Palace Censor. At that time palace eunuchs and imperial guards arrived in Shu one after another. Wherever they went they plundered, and the region was said to be nearly ungovernable. Wei Lun was upright and frugal and led by personal example. All of Sichuan benefited from his administration. In the end he was slandered by eunuchs and demoted to revenue clerk of Heng Prefecture. When both the Eastern Capital and Henan fell to the rebels and grain transport routes were severed, Fiscal Commissioner Diwu Qi recommended Wei Lun for his administrative talent. He was appointed prefect of Shang Prefecture and commissioner for rent and corvée on the Jing-Xiang route. The Xiangzhou lieutenant generals Kang Chuyuan and Zhang Jiayan raised a rebellion with more than ten thousand followers, proclaiming themselves kings of Eastern Chu. Wang Zheng, prefect of Xiang Prefecture, abandoned the city and fled. Zhang Jiayan then marched south and seized Jiangling, blocking supply lines along the Han and Mian rivers. The court went without proper meals for worry. Wei Lun gathered troops and encamped them on the border of Deng Prefecture. Anyone who came over from the rebels was received with generous hospitality. After several days Kang Chuyuan's forces grew lax, and Wei Lun marched against them. He captured Kang Chuyuan alive and sent him to the capital. The rest of the rebels dispersed. He recovered nearly two million strings' worth of rent and corvée goods without losing a single item. The Jing and Xiang regions were pacified. An edict appointed Cui Guangyuan military commissioner of Xiang Prefecture and recalled Wei Lun to serve as Minister of Imperial Guards. Within ten days he was also made prefect of Ning Prefecture and commissioner for pacification and disposal, and soon after concurrently prefect of Long Prefecture while retaining his original rank.
21
乾元三年，襄州大將張瑾殺節度使史翙作亂，乃以倫為襄州刺史、兼御史大夫、山南東道襄鄧等十州節度使。 時李輔國秉權用事，節將除拜，皆出其門。 倫既為朝廷公用，又不私謁輔國。 倫受命未行，改秦州刺史、兼御史中丞、本州防禦使。 時吐蕃、党項歲歲入寇，邊將奔命不暇。 倫至秦州，屢與虜戰。 兵寡無援，頻致敗衄，連貶巴州長史、思州務川縣尉。
In the third year of Qianyuan, the Xiangzhou general Zhang Jin killed the military commissioner Shi Hui and rebelled. Wei Lun was appointed prefect of Xiang Prefecture, Censor-in-Chief, and military commissioner over ten prefectures of the Shannan East Circuit including Xiang and Deng. At that time Li Fuguo held power, and appointments of regional commanders all passed through his faction. Wei Lun had been appointed on merit for the state's service and did not pay private calls on Li Fuguo. Before Wei Lun could take up his new post, he was reassigned as prefect of Qin Prefecture, Vice Censor-in-Chief, and defense commissioner of the prefecture. Tibetans and Tangut tribes raided the borders year after year, and frontier commanders had scarcely a moment's rest. When Wei Lun arrived at Qin Prefecture, he fought the invaders repeatedly. With too few troops and no reinforcements, he suffered repeated defeats and was demoted in succession to chief secretary of Ba Prefecture and then magistrate's aide of Wuchuan County in Si Prefecture.
22
代宗即位，起為忠州刺史，歷臺、饒二州。 以中官呂太一於嶺南矯詔募兵為亂，乃以倫為韶州刺史、兼御史中丞、韶連柳三州都團練使。 竟遭太一用賂反間，貶信州司馬、虔州司戶、隋州司戶、隨州司馬。 遇赦，旅寓於洪州十數年。
When Emperor Daizong ascended the throne, Wei Lun was recalled and served as prefect of Zhong Prefecture, then of Tai and Rao Prefectures in turn. When the eunuch Lü Taiyi forged an imperial edict in Lingnan to raise troops in revolt, Wei Lun was appointed prefect of Shao Prefecture, Vice Censor-in-Chief, and unified training commissioner over Shao, Lian, and Liu Prefectures. In the end Lü Taiyi used bribery and counter-intelligence against him. Wei Lun was demoted in succession to vice prefect of Xin Prefecture, revenue clerk of Qian Prefecture, revenue clerk of Sui Prefecture, and vice prefect of Suizhou. After a general amnesty he lived as an exile in Hong Prefecture for more than ten years.
23
德宗即位，選堪使絕域者，征倫拜太常少卿、兼御史中丞，持節充通和吐蕃使。 倫至蕃中，初宣諭皇恩，次述國威德遠振，蕃人大悅，贊普入獻方物。 使還，遷太常卿、兼御史大夫，加銀青光祿大夫。 再入吐蕃，奉使稱旨，西蕃敬服。 朝廷得失，數上疏言之。 又為宰相盧杞所惡，改太子少保，累加開府儀同三司。 涇師之亂，駕幸奉天。 及盧杞、白誌貞、趙贊等貶官，關播罷相為刑部尚書，倫於朝堂嗚咽而言曰：「宰相不能弼諧啟沃，使天下一至於此。 仍為尚書，天下何由致理？」 聞者敬憚之。 從駕梁州，還京，又欲擢用盧杞為饒州刺史。 倫又上表切言不可，深為忠正之士所稱嘆。 以年逾七十，表請休官，改太子少師致仕，封郢國公。 時李楚琳以僕射兼衛尉卿，李忠誠以尚書兼少府監，倫上言曰：「楚琳兇逆，忠誠蕃戎醜類，不合廁列清班。」 又表請置義倉以防水旱，擇賢良任之左右。 又言吐蕃必無信約，專須防備，不可輕易。 上每善遇之。
When Emperor Dezong ascended the throne, he sought men capable of missions to distant lands. Wei Lun was summoned, appointed Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices and Vice Censor-in-Chief, and sent as envoy to negotiate peace with Tibet. When Wei Lun reached Tibet, he first conveyed the emperor's benevolence and then described the empire's far-reaching might and virtue. The Tibetans were delighted, and the zanpu came to offer tribute. On his return he was promoted to Minister of Imperial Sacrifices and Censor-in-Chief, with the honorary rank of Silver Light Chamberlain Grandee. On a second mission to Tibet his embassy fully satisfied the court, and the western Tibetans held him in respect. He repeatedly submitted memorials on the court's strengths and failings. He also earned the hatred of the chief minister Lu Qi and was transferred to Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent, though he was eventually granted the honorary title of Grand General of the Household with Full Ceremonial Equal to the Three Ducal Ministers. During the rebellion of the Jingzhou garrison, the emperor fled to Fengtian. When Lu Qi, Bai Zhen, Zhao Zan, and others were demoted and Guan Bo was dismissed from the chancellorship to become Minister of Justice, Wei Lun sobbed aloud in the hall of audience and said: "The chief ministers failed to counsel and harmonize the throne, and brought the empire to this pass. Yet Guan Bo remains a minister—how is the empire ever to be well governed? Those who heard him respected and feared him in equal measure. After following the emperor to Liangzhou and returning to the capital, the court again sought to appoint Lu Qi prefect of Rao Prefecture. Wei Lun again submitted a forceful memorial declaring the appointment unacceptable, winning deep acclaim from upright officials. When he passed seventy he requested retirement and was made Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent emeritus, enfeoffed as Duke of Ying. At that time Li Chulin served as Vice Director and Minister of Imperial Guards, and Li Zhongcheng as Minister and Director of the Palace Storehouses. Wei Lun submitted a memorial: "Li Chulin is treacherous and rebellious; Li Zhongcheng is a disgraceful foreign mercenary. Neither belongs in the court's highest ranks. He also memorialized to establish charity granaries against flood and drought and to select worthy men to serve close to the throne. He further warned that Tibet would never keep its agreements and must be guarded against—not treated lightly. The emperor always received him graciously.
24
倫居家孝友，撫弟侄以慈愛稱。 貞元十四年十二月卒，時年八十三，贈揚州都督。 賈耽賈耽，字敦詩，滄州南皮人。 以兩經登第，調授貝州臨清縣尉。 上疏論時政，授絳州正平尉。 從事河東，檢校膳部員外郎、太原少尹、北都副留守。 又檢校禮部郎中、節度副使，改汾州刺史。 在郡七年，政績茂異。 入為鴻臚卿，時左右威遠營隸鴻臚，耽仍領其使。 大歷十四年十一月，檢校左散騎常侍、兼梁州刺史、御史大夫、山南西道節度使。
At home Wei Lun was filial and devoted to his kin; he was renowned for the loving care he showed his brothers and nephews. He died in the twelfth month of the fourteenth year of Zhenyuan at the age of eighty-three and was posthumously granted the title of Area Commander of Yangzhou. Jia Dan, styled Dunshi, was a native of Nanpi in Cang Prefecture. He passed the metropolitan examination in both Classics and was appointed magistrate's aide of Linqing County in Bei Prefecture. After submitting a memorial on current affairs, he was appointed magistrate's aide of Zhengping County in Jiang Prefecture. He served in Hedong as provisional vice director in the Ministry of Rites, Vice Governor of Taiyuan, and Deputy Protector of the Northern Capital. He was also made provisional director in the Ministry of Rites and vice commissioner of the circuit, then transferred to prefect of Fen Prefecture. He governed the prefecture for seven years with outstanding achievements. He was recalled to serve as Minister of Ceremonies. The Left and Right Weiyuan camps were then under that ministry, and Jia Dan continued to direct them. In the eleventh month of the fourteenth year of Dali he was made provisional Left Regular Attendant, prefect of Liang Prefecture, Censor-in-Chief, and military commissioner of the Shannan West Circuit.
25
建中三年十一月，檢校工部尚書、兼御史大夫、山南東道節度使。 德宗移幸梁州。 興元元年二月，耽使行軍司馬樊澤奏事於行在，澤既復命，方大宴諸將，有急牒至，言澤代耽為節度使，而召耽為工部尚書。 耽得牒內懷中，宴飲不改容。 及散，召樊澤，以詔授之曰：「詔以行軍為節度使，耽今即上路。」 因告將吏使謁澤。 牙將張獻甫曰：「天子巡幸山南，尚書使行軍奉表起居，而行軍敢自圖節鉞，潛奪尚書土地，此可謂事人不忠。 軍中皆不伏，請殺樊澤。」 耽曰：「公是何言歟！ 天子有命，即為節度使矣。 耽今赴行在，便與公偕行。」 即日離鎮，以獻甫自隨，軍中乃安。 尋以本官為東都留守、東畿汝南防禦使。
In the eleventh month of the third year of Jianzhong he was made provisional Minister of Works, Censor-in-Chief, and military commissioner of the Shannan East Circuit. Emperor Dezong moved the court to Liang Prefecture. In the second month of the first year of Xingyuan, Jia Dan sent his expeditionary vice marshal Fan Ze to report to the imperial camp. After Fan Ze returned and a grand banquet for the generals was underway, an urgent dispatch arrived announcing that Fan Ze would replace Jia Dan as military commissioner and that Jia Dan was summoned to serve as Minister of Works. Jia Dan slipped the dispatch inside his robe and showed no change of expression during the feast. When the banquet ended he summoned Fan Ze, handed him the edict, and said: "The edict makes you military commissioner. I leave for the capital at once. He then told his officers and staff to pay their respects to Fan Ze. The military adjutant Zhang Xianfu said: "The Son of Heaven is on tour in the south. You, Minister, sent General Fan to present your respects—and General Fan dares scheme for the command seal and steal your territory in secret. That is disloyal service. The whole army refuses to accept this. We ask permission to kill Fan Ze. Jia Dan said: "What talk is this! The emperor has spoken—that makes Fan Ze the military commissioner. I am leaving for the imperial camp now and will travel with you. That same day he left his post, taking Zhang Xianfu with him, and the army was pacified. He was soon appointed Eastern Capital Protector and Defense Commissioner of the Eastern Capital and Runan regions, retaining his former rank.
26
貞元二年，改檢校右僕射、兼滑州刺史、義成軍節度使。 是時淄青節度使李納雖去偽王號，外奉朝旨，而心常蓄並吞之謀。 納兵士數千人自行營歸，路由滑州，大將請城外館之。 耽曰：「與人鄰道，奈何野處其兵？」 命館之城內，淄青將士皆心服之。 耽善射好獵，每出畋不過百騎，往往獵於李納之境。 納聞之，大喜，心畏其度量，不敢異圖。 九年，征為右僕射、同中書門下平章事。
In the second year of Zhenyuan he was made provisional Right Vice Director, prefect of Hua Prefecture, and military commissioner of the Yicheng Army. At that time Li Na, military commissioner of Ziqing, had renounced his rebel title and outwardly obeyed the court, but he still harbored designs of annexation. Several thousand of Li Na's soldiers were returning from their encampment and passed through Hua Prefecture. His generals asked to quarter them outside the city walls. Jia Dan said: "They are traveling through our neighbor's territory—how can we leave their troops camped in the open? He ordered that they be quartered inside the city walls, and the generals and soldiers of Ziqing all came to respect him wholeheartedly. Jia Dan was skilled at archery and fond of hunting. Whenever he went out, he took no more than a hundred horsemen, and he often hunted within Li Na's domain. When Li Na heard of this, he was greatly pleased and inwardly feared Jia Dan's magnanimity, and dared not pursue any hostile designs. In the ninth year of Zhenyuan, he was summoned to serve as Right Vice Premier and Grand Councillor of the Secretariat and Chancellery.
27
耽好地理學，凡四夷之使及使四夷還者，必與之從容，訊其山川土地之終始。 是以九州之夷險，百蠻之土俗，區分指畫，備究源流。 自吐蕃陷隴右積年，國家守於內地，舊時鎮戍，不可復知。 耽乃畫隴右、山南圖，兼黃河經界遠近，聚其說為書十卷，表獻曰：
Jia Dan loved the study of geography. Whenever envoys from foreign lands arrived, or whenever envoys returned from missions abroad, he would converse with them at length and inquire about mountains, rivers, and territory in full detail. Thus he distinguished and mapped the terrain of the nine provinces and thoroughly investigated the customs of the hundred foreign peoples, tracing every source and route. Since the Tibetans had seized Longyou for many years and the state had retreated to the interior, the locations of former frontier garrisons could no longer be known. Jia Dan therefore drew maps of Longyou and the lands south of the mountains, including the Yellow River and the extent of its boundaries near and far. He compiled his findings into a ten-scroll book and submitted a memorial stating:
28
臣聞楚左史倚相能讀《九丘》，晉司空裴秀創為六體； 《九丘》乃成賦之古經，六體則為圖之新意。 臣雖愚昧，夙嘗師範，累蒙拔擢，遂忝臺司。 雖歷踐職任，誠多曠闕，而率土山川，不忘寤寐。 其大圖外薄四海，內別九州，必藉精詳，乃可摹寫，見更纘集，續冀畢功。 然而隴右一隅，久淪蕃寇，職方失其圖記，境土難以區分。 輒扣課虛微，采掇輿議，畫《關中隴右及山南九州等圖》一軸。 伏以洮、湟舊墟，連接監牧； 甘、涼右地，控帶朔陲。 岐路之偵候交通，軍鎮之備禦沖要，莫不匠意就實，依稀像真。 如聖恩遣將護邊，新書授律，則靈、慶之設險在目，原、會之封略可知。 諸州諸軍，須論里數人額； 諸山諸水，須言首尾源流。 圖上不可備書，憑據必資記註，謹撰《別錄》六卷。 又黃河為四瀆之宗，西戎乃群羌之帥，臣並研尋史牒，翦棄浮詞，罄所聞知，編為四卷，通錄都成十卷。 文義鄙樸，伏增慚悚。
I have heard that Yi Xiang, the left historiographer of Chu, could read the Nine Mounds, and that Pei Xiu, minister of works of Jin, devised the Six Methods of cartography; the Nine Mounds was an ancient classic on which fu rhapsodies were composed, while the Six Methods represented a new approach to mapmaking. Though I am ignorant, I have studied under worthy teachers from youth, have repeatedly received your favor and promotion, and now undeservedly hold high office at court. Although in my official duties I have indeed fallen short in many ways, I have never ceased to think day and night of the mountains and rivers throughout the realm. The great map I envision would reach the four seas without and distinguish the nine provinces within; only with meticulous detail can it be drawn. I am now gathering material further and hope to bring the work to completion. Yet the region of Longyou has long been overrun by barbarian invaders, the Directorate of Maps has lost its records, and its territories can scarcely be distinguished. I have therefore investigated every fine point, gathered public testimony, and drawn one scroll entitled Map of Guanzhong, Longyou, and the Nine Provinces South of the Mountains and Other Regions. I respectfully note that the old settlements of the Tao and Huang rivers connect with the frontier pasturelands; while Gan and Liang, the western territories, command the northern marches. Scout routes along branching roads, garrison posts guarding strategic points—all have been drawn with painstaking care to match reality as closely as possible. Should Your Majesty send generals to guard the frontier and issue fresh orders, the strategic terrain of Ling and Qing would lie plain before them, and the territorial boundaries of Yuan and Hui would be clear at a glance. For every prefecture and every army, the distance in li and the strength of manpower must be set forth; for every mountain and every river, the course from source to mouth must be described. The map itself cannot contain every detail, so explanatory notes are indispensable. I have therefore respectfully compiled a Separate Record in six scrolls. The Yellow River is the greatest of the four sacred rivers, and the Western Rong are the chief of the Qiang peoples. I have also searched the historical records, stripped away empty rhetoric, and set down all I have learned in four additional scrolls, making ten scrolls in all. The writing is crude and plain, and I am deeply ashamed.
29
德宗覽之稱善，賜廄馬一匹、銀采百匹、銀瓶盤各一。
Emperor Dezong read the memorial and praised it, bestowing one imperial stable horse, a hundred bolts of silver brocade, and one silver bottle and one silver dish.
30
至十七年，又撰成《海內華夷圖》及《古今郡國縣道四夷述》四十卷，表獻之，曰：
By the seventeenth year of Zhenyuan he had also completed the Map of Chinese and Barbarians Within the Four Seas and the Account of Ancient and Modern Commanderies, Counties, Roads, and the Four Barbarians in forty scrolls, and submitted a memorial stating:
31
臣聞地以博厚載物，萬國棋布； 海以委輸環外，百蠻繡錯。 中夏則五服、九州，殊俗則七戎、六狄，普天之下，莫非王臣。 昔毋丘出師，東銘不耐； 甘英奉使，西抵條支； 奄蔡乃大澤無涯，罽賓則懸度作險。 或道理回遠，或名號改移，古來通儒，罕遍詳究。 臣弱冠之歲，好聞方言，筮仕之辰，註意地理，究觀研考，垂三十年。 絕域之比鄰，異蕃之習俗，梯山獻琛之路，乘舶來朝之人，鹹究竟其源流，訪求其居處。 阛阓之行賈，戎貊之遺老，莫不聽其言而掇其要。 閭閻之瑣語，風謠之小說，亦收其是而芟其偽。
I have heard that the earth, in its vast breadth and depth, bears all things, and that the myriad states are spread across it like pieces on a chessboard; that the seas, winding around the outer world, carry all things to and fro, and that the hundred barbarian peoples are interwoven across the land like embroidery. Within China lie the five domains and nine provinces; beyond lie the seven Rong and six Di of foreign custom—and under all heaven, none are not the emperor's subjects. In antiquity Wuqiu led an army forth and inscribed a stele in the east at Bu Nai; Gan Ying was dispatched on a mission and reached Tiaozhi in the west; Yancai lay by a boundless great marsh, and Jibin was made perilous by the Hanging Crossing. Some routes were long and circuitous, and some place names had changed over time; even the most learned scholars of old rarely investigated them fully. From my youth I loved to hear accounts of foreign lands, and from the time I entered office I devoted myself to geography, studying and investigating the subject for nearly thirty years. I traced the origins of neighboring lands beyond the frontier, the customs of foreign peoples, the overland routes by which tribute was carried over mountains, and the seafaring envoys who came to court, and I sought out where they lived. From marketplace traders to old men of the borderlands, I listened to them all and gathered what was essential from their accounts. Even village gossip and popular songs I sifted, keeping what was sound and discarding what was false.
32
然殷、周以降，封略益明，承歷數者八家，渾區宇者五姓，聲教所及，惟唐為大。 秦皇罷侯置守，長城起於臨洮； 孝武卻地開邊，障塞限於雞鹿； 東漢則哀牢請吏； 西晉則裨離結轍； 隋室列四郡於卑和海西，創三州於扶南江北，遼陽失律，因而棄之。 高祖神堯皇帝誕膺天命，奄有四方。 太宗繼明重熙，柔遠能邇，逾大磧通道，北至仙娥，於骨利幹置玄闕州。 高宗嗣守丕績，克廣前烈，遣單車賫詔，西越蔥山，於波刺斯立疾陵府。 中宗復配天之業，不失舊物。 睿宗含先天之量，惟新永圖。 玄宗以大孝清內，以無為理外，大宛驥錄，歲充內廄，與貳師之窮兵黷武，豈同年哉！ 肅宗掃平氛昆，潤澤生人。 代宗刬除殘孽，彜倫攸敘。
Yet from the Yin and Zhou dynasties onward territorial boundaries became ever clearer. Eight dynasties received the Mandate, and five ruling houses unified the realm, but in the reach of civilizing influence none surpassed the Tang. The First Emperor of Qin abolished feudal lords and established commandery governors, and the Long Wall began at Lintao; Emperor Wu of Han expanded the frontier and pushed back the borders, with barrier defenses extending to Jilu; under the Eastern Han, Ailao requested imperial officials; under the Western Jin, Bili submitted in succession; The Sui established four commanderies west of the Beihe Sea and three prefectures north of the Funan River, but when Liaoyang fell out of control those gains were abandoned. Emperor Gaozu, the Divine Yao, received Heaven's mandate and took possession of all four quarters of the realm. Emperor Taizong succeeded him in enlightened rule, winning over distant peoples and governing those nearby. He opened routes across the great desert, reached as far north as Xian'e, and established Xuanque Prefecture among the Guligan. Emperor Gaozong carried on this great legacy and extended his predecessors' achievements, sending envoys with imperial edicts west beyond the Onion Mountains to establish Jiling Prefecture in Persia. Emperor Zhongzong restored the enterprise of matching Heaven and did not lose what had been held before. Emperor Ruizong possessed the capacity of Prior Heaven and renewed the dynasty's enduring design. Emperor Xuanzong governed the interior through filial devotion and the exterior through effortless rule; the fine horses of Dayuan were registered year after year to fill the imperial stables—surely that was not the same as Li Guangli's ruinous wars of aggression! Emperor Suzong swept away the turmoil and brought relief to the people. Emperor Daizong eliminated the remaining rebels and restored proper order throughout the realm.
33
伏惟皇帝陛下，以上聖之姿，當太平之運，敦信明義，履信包元，惠養黎蒸，懷柔遐裔。 故瀘南貢麗水之金，漠北獻余吾之馬，玄化洋溢，率士沾濡。
Your Majesty, in your supreme sagely bearing, has met an age of great peace. You are steadfast in faith and clear in righteousness, cherish and nurture the people, and treat distant peoples with gentle forbearance. Thus the south of Lu presents gold from the Lishui River, and the north of the desert offers horses from Yuwu. Your transforming influence spreads everywhere, and all the land is suffused with its bounty.
34
臣幼切磋於師友，長趨侍於軒墀，自揣孱愚，叨榮非據，鴻私莫答，夙夜兢惶。 去興元元年，伏奉進止，令臣修撰國圖，旋即充使魏州、汴州，出鎮東洛、東都，間以眾務，不遂專門，績用尚虧，憂愧彌切。 近乃力竭衰病，思殫所聞見，叢於丹青。 謹令工人畫《海內華夷圖》一軸，廣三丈，從三丈三尺，率以一寸折成百里。 別章甫左衽，奠高山大川。 縮四極於纖縞，分百郡於作繢。 宇宙雖廣，舒之不盈庭； 舟車所通，覽之鹹在目。 並撰《古今郡國縣道四夷述》四十卷，中國以《禹貢》為首，外夷以《班史》發源； 郡縣紀其增減，蕃落敘其衰盛。 前地理書以黔州屬酉陽，今則改入巴郡； 前西戎誌以安國為安息，今則改入康居。 凡諸疏舛，悉從厘正。 隴西、十地，播棄於永初之中； 遼東、樂浪，陷屈於建安之際。 曹公棄陘北，晉氏遷江南，緣邊累經侵盜，故墟日致堙毀。 舊史撰錄，十得二三，今書搜補，所獲太半。 《周禮職方》，以淄、時為幽州之浸，以華山為荊河之鎮，既有乖於《禹貢》，又不出於淹中，多聞闕疑，詎敢編次。 其古郡國題以墨，今州縣題以硃，今古殊文，執習簡易。 臣學謝小成，才非博物。 伏波之聚米，開示眾軍； 酂侯之圖書，方知厄塞。 企慕前哲，嘗所寄心，輒罄庸陋，多慚紕繆。
From youth I studied with teachers and friends, and in maturity I have served at the palace steps. Knowing my own weakness and folly, I am unworthy of the honors I have received and cannot repay your vast kindness; I tremble with awe day and night. In the first year of Xingyuan I received your command to compile a map of the realm, but I was soon sent on missions to Weizhou and Bianzhou and posted to govern Eastern Luo and the Eastern Capital. Other duties intervened, and I could not devote myself fully to the task. The work remains incomplete, and my anxiety and shame grow ever sharper. Now, though my strength is failing with age and illness, I have sought to set down all I have learned and gathered it into this painted map. I have had artisans paint one scroll of the Map of Chinese and Barbarians Within the Four Seas, ten feet wide and thirteen feet long, at a scale of one inch to a hundred li. It distinguishes Chinese from barbarian dress and sets forth the great mountains and rivers. The four corners of the earth are compressed onto a single silk scroll, and a hundred commanderies are laid out in painted detail. Though the universe is vast, unfolded it fills no more than a courtyard; yet every place reachable by boat or cart lies plain before the eye. I have also compiled the Account of Ancient and Modern Commanderies, Counties, Roads, and the Four Barbarians in forty scrolls, beginning the section on China with the Tribute of Yu and the section on foreign lands with the History of the Han by Ban Gu; recording the rise and fall of commanderies and counties and the waxing and waning of barbarian settlements. Earlier geographical works placed Qian Prefecture under Youyang, but it is now assigned to Ba Commandery; earlier accounts of the Western Regions treated Anguo as Parthia, but it is now placed under Kangju; and all such errors have been corrected. Longxi and the Ten Regions were abandoned during the Yongchu era; Liaodong and Lelang were lost during the Jian'an period; Cao Cao abandoned the lands north of the passes, the Jin dynasty withdrew south of the Yangzi, and repeated border raids left old sites increasingly buried and ruined. Earlier histories preserved only two or three parts in ten of this knowledge; in the present work I have recovered more than half through research and supplementation. The Directorate of Territories in the Rites of Zhou treats the Zi and Shi rivers as the marshes of Youzhou and Mount Hua as the landmark of Jing and He. This both conflicts with the Tribute of Yu and cannot be traced to the archives of Qi. Where much is heard but doubtful, I dare not set it down in order. Ancient commanderies and kingdoms are labeled in black ink and present prefectures and counties in vermilion, so that past and present are distinct and the map is easy to read. My learning is far from complete, and my talent falls short of true erudition. When Ma Yuan piled rice to model the terrain, he showed the whole army what lay ahead; and when Xiao He preserved the maps and records, the strategic passes became known. I have long admired these earlier sages and poured my heart into this work, but I have exhausted my humble abilities and fear there are many errors.
35
優詔答之，賜錦彩二百匹、袍段六、錦帳二、銀瓶盤各一、銀榼二、馬一匹，進封魏國公。
The emperor replied with a gracious edict and bestowed two hundred bolts of brocade, six lengths of robe silk, two brocade tents, one silver bottle and one silver dish, two silver flasks, and one horse, promoting him to Duke of Wei.
36
順宗即位，檢校司空，守左僕射，知政事如故。 時王叔文用事，政出群小，耽惡其亂政，屢移病乞骸，不許。 耽性長者，不喜臧否人物。 自居相位，凡十三年，雖不能以安危大計啟沃於人主，而常以檢身厲行以律人。 每自朝歸第，接對賓客，終日無倦。 至於家人近習，未嘗見其喜慍之色，古之淳德君子，何以加焉！
When Emperor Shunzong acceded to the throne, Jia Dan was made provisional Minister of Works and retained his post as Left Vice Premier, continuing to manage state affairs as before. At that time Wang Shuwen held power and policy was dictated by a clique of petty officials. Jia Dan detested their corrupt governance and repeatedly pleaded illness to retire, but was not permitted to do so. Jia Dan was by nature a man of mature virtue and did not care to pass judgment on others. During the thirteen years he served as chief minister, he may not have offered the emperor far-reaching counsel on matters of national security, but he always disciplined himself strictly and thereby set an example for others. Whenever he returned home from court, he received guests and conversed with them tirelessly throughout the day. Even his family and close attendants never saw him show pleasure or anger. What more could be asked of the pure-hearted gentlemen of old!
37
永貞元年十月卒，時年七十六。 廢朝四日，冊贈太傅，謚曰元靖。 姜公輔姜公輔，不知何許人。 登進士第，為校書郎。 應制策科高等，授左拾遺，召入翰林為學士。 歲滿當改官，公輔上書自陳，以母老家貧，以府掾俸給稍優，乃求兼京兆尹戶曹參軍，特承恩顧。 才高有器識，每對見言事，德宗多從之。
He died in the tenth month of the first year of Yongzhen, at the age of seventy-six. Court audiences were suspended for four days. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Preceptor with the posthumous title Yuanjing, "Originally Tranquil." Jiang Gongfu—his place of origin is unknown. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed collator. He ranked high in the imperial policy examination, was appointed Left Reminder, and was summoned to serve as a Hanlin academician. When his term expired and he was due for a new appointment, Jiang Gongfu submitted a memorial explaining that his mother was elderly and his family poor, and that the salary of a prefectural aide was somewhat better. He therefore requested the concurrent post of household affairs administrator under the capital intendant and received special imperial favor. He was talented and far-sighted, and whenever he spoke on affairs in audience Emperor Dezong usually followed his advice.
38
建中四年十月，涇師犯闕。 德宗蒼黃自苑北便門出幸，公輔馬前諫曰：「硃泚嘗為涇原帥，得士心。 昨以硃滔叛，坐奪兵權，泚常憂憤不得誌。 不如使人捕之，使陪鑾駕，忽群兇立之，必貽國患。 臣頃曾陳奏，陛下茍不能坦懷待之，則殺之，養獸自貽其患，悔且無益。」 德宗曰：「已無及矣！」 從幸至奉天，拜諫議大夫，俄以本官同中書門下平章事。
In the tenth month of the fourth year of Jianzhong, the Jingzhou troops rebelled and attacked the capital. Emperor Dezong fled in panic through the northern side gate of the imperial park. Jiang Gongfu rode ahead of him and remonstrated: "Zhu Ci once commanded Jingyuan and won the loyalty of his troops. Because his brother Zhu Tao rebelled, he was stripped of command, and Zhu Ci has long brooded in anger and frustration. It would be better to have him arrested, or at least to have him accompany the imperial carriage. If the rebels suddenly set him up as leader, it will bring disaster upon the state. I recently memorialized on this matter. If Your Majesty cannot treat him with open sincerity, then kill him. To keep a dangerous beast is to invite disaster; regret will come too late. Emperor Dezong said: "It is already too late! He accompanied the emperor to Fengtian, was appointed Remonstrance and Counsel Grand Master, and soon thereafter was made Grand Councillor of the Secretariat and Chancellery while retaining that post.
39
從幸山南，車駕至城固縣，唐安公主薨。 上之長女，昭德皇后所生，性聰敏仁孝，上所鐘愛。 初，詔尚韋宥，未克禮會而遇播遷； 及薨，上悲悼尤甚，詔所司厚其葬禮。 公輔諫曰：「非久克復京城，公主必須歸葬，今於行路，且宜儉薄，以濟軍士。」 德宗怒，謂翰林學士陸贄曰：「唐安夭亡，不欲於此為塋壟，宜令造一磚塔安置，功費甚微，不合關宰相論列。 姜公輔忽進表章，都無道理，但欲指朕過失，擬自取名。 朕比擢拔為腹心，乃負朕如此！」 贄對曰：「公輔官是諫議，職居宰衡，獻替固其職分。 本立輔臣，置之左右，朝夕納誨，意在防微，微而弼之，乃其所也。 陛下以造塔役費微小，非宰相所論之事。 但問理之是非，豈論事之大小！ 若造塔為是，役雖大而作之何傷！ 若造塔為非，費雖小而言者何罪！」 帝又曰：「卿未會朕意。 朕以公輔才行，共宰相都不相當，在奉天時已欲罷免，後因公輔辭退，朕已面許。 尋屬懷光背叛，遂且因循，容至山南。 公輔知朕擬改官，所以固論造塔，賣直取名。 據此用心，豈是良善！ 朕所惆悵者，只緣如此。」 贄再三救護，帝怒不已，乃罷為左庶子。 尋丁母憂，服闕，授右庶子，久之不遷。
When the emperor fled south to Shannan and the imperial procession reached Chenggu County, Princess Tang'an died. She was the emperor's eldest daughter, born to Empress Zhaode. Intelligent, benevolent, and filial by nature, she was deeply beloved by the emperor. An edict had betrothed her to Wei You, but the marriage rites had not yet been performed when the court was forced to flee; When she died, the emperor grieved deeply and ordered the responsible offices to give her a lavish funeral. Gongfu remonstrated, "The capital will soon be recovered and the princess must be buried there. For now, on campaign, the rites should be kept frugal so resources may aid the troops." Emperor Dezong was angry and told Hanlin academician Lu Zhi, "Tang'an died young; I do not wish to raise a tomb here. Let a brick pagoda be built for her—the cost is trifling and should not be a matter for the chief ministers to debate. Jiang Gongfu suddenly submitted a memorial wholly without reason, intending only to point out my faults and win a reputation for himself. I recently promoted him as a trusted confidant, yet he has betrayed me like this!" Lu Zhi replied, "Gongfu holds a remonstrance office and ranks among the chief ministers; offering correction is his proper duty. Assistants are placed at the ruler's side to offer counsel morning and evening; their purpose is to guard against the slightest fault and to assist when faults are slight—that is their role. Your Majesty holds that building the pagoda costs little and is not a matter for the chief ministers to discuss. One should ask only whether the principle is right or wrong—how can one judge by the size of the matter! If building the pagoda is right, even if the labor is great, what harm is there in doing it! If building the pagoda is wrong, even if the cost is small, what crime has the remonstrator committed!" The emperor also said, "You have not grasped my intent. I consider Gongfu's talent and conduct quite unequal to the chief ministers as a group; at Fengtian I already wished to remove him, and later, when he asked to resign, I promised him to his face. Soon afterward Huai'guang rebelled, so I deferred the matter and allowed him to remain in Shannan. Gongfu knew I planned to change his post, so he obstinately argued about the pagoda, peddling blunt honesty to win a reputation. Judging by this intent, how can he be called good! What troubles me is precisely this." Lu Zhi repeatedly tried to shield him, but the emperor's anger did not abate, and Gongfu was demoted to left guardian of the heir apparent. He soon entered mourning for his mother; when mourning ended he was appointed right guardian of the heir apparent and for a long time received no further promotion.
40
洎陸贄知政事，以有翰林之舊，數告贄求官。 贄密謂公輔曰：「予嘗見郴州竇相，言為公奏擬數矣，上旨不允，有怒公之言。」 公輔恐懼，上疏乞罷官為道士，久之未報。 後又廷奏，德宗問其故，公輔不敢泄贄，便以參言為對。 帝怒，貶公輔為泉州別駕，又遣中使賫詔責竇參。 順宗即位，起為吉州刺史，尋卒。 憲宗朝，贈禮部尚書。
When Lu Zhi directed state affairs, Gongfu, citing their old ties in the Hanlin Academy, repeatedly asked Zhi for promotion. Zhi secretly told Gongfu, "I once saw Chief Minister Dou at Chenzhou; he said he had submitted several nominations for you, but the throne did not approve, and the emperor spoke angrily of you." Gongfu was frightened and submitted a memorial asking to resign and become a Daoist priest; for a long time there was no reply. He later presented again at court; Dezong asked the reason, and Gongfu, not daring to implicate Zhi, answered with Dou's words. The emperor was angry, demoted Gongfu to assistant prefect of Quanzhou, and also sent a palace envoy with an edict rebuking Dou Can. When Emperor Shunzong ascended the throne, Gongfu was recalled as prefect of Jizhou and soon died. Under Emperor Xianzong he was posthumously made minister of rites.
41
史臣曰：賈魏公以溫克長者，致位丞相，拒獻甫之請，畋李納之郊，則器略可知矣！ 韋郢公慷慨節義，困於讒邪，命矣夫！ 趙丞相區分檢裁，求為雅士，以爭權而陷陸贄，則前時以德報怨，其可信乎！ 公輔一言悟主，驟及臺司； 一言不合，禮遽疏薄，則加膝墜泉之間，君道可知矣！
The historiographer writes: Duke Jia of Wei, a gentle and self-restrained elder, rose to chief minister; he refused Xianfu's plea and hunted on Li Na's borders—his breadth of character may thus be known! Duke Wei of Ying was generous in spirit and firm in integrity, yet trapped by slander and wickedness—such was his fate! Chief Minister Zhao distinguished affairs carefully and sought to be a refined gentleman; yet by struggling for power he brought down Lu Zhi—so can his earlier claim to repay enmity with virtue be believed! Gongfu with one word moved his ruler and suddenly reached the highest offices; with one word out of accord, favor was suddenly withdrawn—the distance between drawing a man to one's knee and casting him into the abyss shows how the way of rulership may be known!
42
贊曰：元靖訏謨，真謂純儒。 手調鼎飪，心運地圖。 姜躁趙險，並躍天衢。 哀哉韋公，終困讒夫。
The encomium reads: Yuanjing's far-reaching counsel—he may truly be called a pure Confucian scholar. With his hand he seasoned the state's stew; with his mind he charted the realm. Jiang was impetuous, Zhao was perilous—both vaulted onto the road to high office. Alas for Duke Wei—he was ultimately undone by slanderers.