1
杜黃裳，字遵素，京兆杜陵人也。 登進士第、宏辭科，杜鴻漸深器重之。 為郭子儀朔方從事，子儀入朝，令黃裳主留務於朔方。 邠將李懷光與監軍陰謀代子儀，乃為偽詔書，欲誅大將溫儒雅等。 黃裳立辨其偽，以告懷光，懷光流汗伏罪。 諸將有難制者，黃裳矯子儀命盡出之，數月而亂不作。 後入為臺省官，為裴延齡所惡，十年不遷。 貞元末，為太常卿。 王叔文之竊權，黃裳終不造其門。 嘗語其子婿韋執誼，令率百官請皇太子監國，執誼遽曰：「丈人才得一官，可復開口議禁中事耶！」 黃裳勃然曰：「黃裳受恩三朝，豈可以一官見買！」 即拂衣而出。 尋拜平章事。
Du Huangchang, whose courtesy name was Zunsu, came from Duling in the Jingzhao region. He earned degrees in the jinshi and Hongci examinations, and Du Hongjian held him in high regard. He served on Guo Ziyi's staff in Shuofang, and when Ziyi went to the capital, Huangchang was left in charge of affairs there. The Binzhou general Li Huaiguang and the army supervisor conspired to supplant Ziyi and forged an edict calling for the execution of senior commanders such as Wen Ruya. Huangchang at once recognized the forgery and informed Huaiguang, who broke into a sweat and admitted his guilt. For generals who were difficult to control, Huangchang forged orders in Ziyi's name to send them all away, and for months no trouble broke out. He later entered the Censorate and Secretariat, but Pei Yanling disliked him, and for ten years he received no promotion. Near the end of the Zhenyuan reign he was appointed Minister of Rites. When Wang Shuwen seized power, Huangchang never set foot at his door. He once urged his son-in-law Wei Zhiyi to lead the officials in asking that the Crown Prince take charge of the government, but Zhiyi shot back, "You have only just won an office—must you speak again of palace affairs?" Huangchang flushed with anger. "I have served three reigns—do you think one office can buy me?" He swept out at once. He was soon made Grand Councilor.
2
邠州節度使韓全義曾居討伐之任，無功，黃裳奏罷之。 劉辟作亂，議者以劍南險固，不宜生事； 唯黃裳堅請討除，憲宗從之。 又奏請不以中官為監軍，只委高崇文為使。 黃裳自經營伐蜀，以至成功，指授崇文，無不懸合。 崇文素憚劉澭，黃裳使人謂崇文曰：「若不奮命，當以劉澭代之。」 由是得崇文之死力。 既平辟，宰臣入賀，帝目黃裳曰：「此卿之功也。」 後與憲宗語及方鎮除授，黃裳奏曰：「德宗自艱難之後，事多姑息。 貞元中，每帥守物故，必先命中使偵伺其軍動息，其副貳大將中有物望者，必厚賂近臣以求見用，帝必隨其稱美而命之，以是因循，方鎮罕有特命帥守者。 陛下宜熟思貞元故事，稍以法度整肅諸侯，則天下何憂不治！」 憲宗然其言。 由是用兵誅蜀、夏之後，不容籓臣蹇傲，克復兩河，威令復振，蓋黃裳啟其衷也。 黃裳有經畫之才，達於權變，然檢身律物，寡廉潔之譽，以是居鼎職不久。 二年正月，檢校司空，同平章事，兼河中尹、河中晉絳等州節度使。 八月，封邠國公。 三年九月，卒於河中，年七十一，贈司徒，謚曰宣。
Han Quanyi of Binzhou had led a punitive campaign without success, and Huangchang memorialized for his dismissal. When Liu Pi rebelled, advisers argued that Jiannan was rugged and secure and that the court should not stir up trouble; only Huangchang insisted on a punitive campaign, and Emperor Xianzong agreed. He also asked that no eunuch supervise the army and that Gao Chongwen alone be entrusted with the command. From planning the Shu campaign through its success, every directive Huangchang gave Chongwen proved exactly right. Chongwen had long feared Liu Yong, so Huangchang sent word: "Unless you throw yourself into the fight, Liu Yong will replace you." In this way he won Chongwen's full commitment. After Liu Pi was crushed, the chief ministers came to congratulate the emperor, who fixed his gaze on Huangchang and said, "This victory is yours." Later, discussing frontier appointments with Xianzong, Huangchang said, "Since the rebellions, Dezong has been far too indulgent toward the provinces. Under Zhenyuan, whenever a military governor died, eunuchs were sent first to watch the army; deputies and generals with standing would bribe court favorites for the post, and the emperor would appoint whomever they praised. By this habit, frontier commands were rarely filled by direct imperial choice. Your Majesty should weigh the Zhenyuan precedents and gradually bring the provinces under law and discipline—then what need is there to fear that the realm will not be well governed?" Xianzong agreed. After campaigns against Shu and Xia, the court would no longer tolerate arrogant governors, recovered the Two He, and imperial authority revived—largely because Huangchang had set this course. Huangchang had a gift for strategy and understood expedients, but he was not known for personal integrity, and for that reason he did not long remain at the summit of power. In the first month of year two he was made Acting Minister of Works and Grand Councilor, and concurrently prefect and military governor of Hezhong and the Jin and Jiang circuit. In the eighth month he was enfeoffed as Duke of Bin. He died at Hezhong in the ninth month of year three, at seventy-one. He was posthumously made Minister of Education and given the posthumous title Xuan.
3
黃裳性雅淡寬恕，心雖從長，口不忤物。 始為卿士，女嫁韋執誼，深不為執誼所稱； 及執誼譴逐，黃裳終保全之，洎死嶺表，請歸其喪，以辦葬事。 及是被疾，醫人誤進其藥，疾甚而不怒。 然為宰相，除授不分流品，或官以賂遷，時論惜之。
Huangchang was refined, mild, and forgiving; though he deferred in his heart to his elders, he never spoke against others. When he first rose to high office, his daughter married Wei Zhiyi, who thought little of him; yet when Zhiyi was banished Huangchang still protected him, and when Zhiyi died in the far south Huangchang asked that his body be brought home for burial. When he fell ill, a physician gave him the wrong medicine and his condition worsened, yet he showed no anger. As chief minister, however, he made appointments without regard to rank, and some offices were bought with bribes—a fact that contemporaries regretted.
4
黃裳歿後，賄賂事發。 八年四月，御史臺奏：「前永樂令吳憑為僧鑒虛受托，與故司空杜黃裳，於故州邠寧節度使高崇文處納賂四萬五千貫，並付黃裳男載，按問引伏。」 敕曰：「吳憑曾佐使府，忝履宦途，自宜畏法惜身，豈得為人通貸！ 事關非道，理合懲愆，宜配流昭州。 其付杜載錢物，宰輔之任，寵寄實深，致茲貨財，不能拒絕，已令按問，悉合征收，貴全終始之恩，俾弘寬大之典。 其所取錢物，並宜矜免，杜載等並釋放。」
After Huangchang's death, the bribery scandal came to light. In the fourth month of year eight the Censorate reported that Wu Ping, former magistrate of Yongle, acting for the monk Jianxu, had together with the late Du Huangchang accepted forty-five thousand strings in bribes from the late Gao Chongwen of Binning, paid to Huangchang's son Zai, who confessed under interrogation." The edict read: "Wu Ping once served in a commissionerate and ought to have feared the law—how could he act as a broker for bribes? The offense was improper and deserves punishment; he is to be exiled to Zhaozhou. As for the money paid to Du Zai, a chief minister held in deep trust could hardly refuse such gifts. The sums are to be recovered, yet in honor of service from beginning to end, let magnanimity prevail. The money he received is to be forgiven, and Du Zai and the others are to be released."
5
載為太子仆，長慶中，遷太仆少卿、兼御史中丞，充入吐蕃使。
Zai served as Master of the Stud for the Crown Prince; under Changqing he became Vice Minister of the Stud and Censor-in-Chief, and was sent as envoy to Tibet.
6
載弟勝，登進士第，大中朝位給事中。 勝子廷堅，亦進士擢第。
Zai's younger brother Sheng passed the jinshi examination and under Dazhong served as Supervising Secretary. Sheng's son Tingjian also earned a jinshi degree.
7
高郢，字公楚，其先渤海蓚人。 九歲通《春秋》，能屬文。 天寶末，盜據京邑，父伯祥先為好畤尉，抵賊禁，將加極刑。 郢時年十五，被髮解衣，請代其父，賊黨義之，乃俱釋。 後舉進士擢第，應制舉，登茂才異行科，授華陰尉。 嘗以魯不合用天子禮樂，乃引《公羊傳》，著《魯議》，見稱於時，由是授咸陽尉。
Gao Ying, whose courtesy name was Gongchu, came from Su in Bohai. At nine he had mastered the Spring and Autumn Annals and could write essays. At the end of Tianbao, rebels seized the capital. His father Boxiang, formerly magistrate of Haozhi, had violated rebel law and was to be executed. Ying was fifteen. He loosened his hair, stripped his upper garment, and offered to die in his father's place. The rebels were moved and released them both. He later passed the jinshi and special examinations, earned the Maocai Yixing degree, and was appointed magistrate of Huayin. He once argued that Lu was not entitled to imperial ritual music, cited the Gongyang Commentary in his Discourse on Lu, won contemporary praise, and was appointed magistrate of Xianyang.
8
郭子儀節制朔方，辟為掌書記。 子儀嘗怒從事張曇，奏殺之； 郢極言爭救，忤子儀旨，奏貶猗氏丞。 李懷光節制邠寧，奏為從事，累轉副元帥判官、檢校禮部郎中。 懷光背叛，將歸河中，郢言：「西迎大駕，豈非忠乎！」 懷光忿而不聽。 及歸鎮，又欲悉眾而西。 時渾瑊軍孤，群帥未集，郢與李鄘誓死駐之。 屬懷光長子琟候郢，郢乃諭以逆順曰：「人臣所宜效順。 且自天寶以來阻兵者，今復誰在？ 況國家自有天命，非獨人力。 今若恃眾西向，自絕於天，十室之邑，必有忠信，安知三軍不有奔潰者乎？」 李琟震懼，流淚氣索。 明年春，郢與都知兵馬使呂鳴嶽、都虞候張延英同謀間道上表； 及受密詔，事泄，二將立死。 懷光乃大集將卒，白刃盈庭，引郢詰之。 郢挺然抗辭，無所慚隱，憤氣感發，觀者淚下，懷光慚沮而止。 德宗還京，命諫議大夫孔巢父、中人啖守盈赴河中宣慰懷光，授以太保； 而懷光怒，激其親兵詬詈，殺守盈及巢父。 巢父之被刃也，委於地，郢就而撫之。 乃懷光被誅，馬燧辟郢為掌書記。
When Guo Ziyi commanded Shuofang, he recruited Ying as his chief secretary. Ziyi once grew angry at his aide Zhang Tan and memorialized for his execution; Ying argued fiercely to save him, defying Ziyi's will, and was demoted to assistant magistrate of Yishi. When Li Huaiguang commanded Binning, Ying served on his staff and rose to deputy commander staff judge and Acting Director in the Ministry of Rites. When Huaiguang rebelled and prepared to return to Hezhong, Ying said, "To go west and welcome the emperor—is that not loyalty?" Huaiguang was angry and would not listen. After he returned to his command, he again planned to march west with his entire army. Hun Jian's army stood alone and the other commanders had not yet assembled; Ying and Li Yong swore to hold the line even at the cost of their lives. When Huaiguang's eldest son Wei came to see him, Ying lectured him on loyalty and rebellion: "A subject's duty is obedience. Since Tianbao, who among those who took up arms against the throne still survives? The dynasty has Heaven's mandate; it does not rest on human force alone. If you march west relying on numbers alone, you cut yourself off from Heaven. Even a hamlet of ten households has loyal men—how can you be sure your whole army will not break and flee?" Li Wei was terrified; he wept until he could scarcely breathe. The next spring Ying, together with Lu Mingyue, director of military affairs, and Zhang Yanying, chief military inspector, sent a secret memorial to the throne; when they received a secret edict the plot was exposed and the two generals were executed at once. Huaiguang then assembled his officers and men with drawn swords filling the hall and summoned Ying for interrogation. Ying stood upright and spoke without fear or evasion; his righteous anger moved onlookers to tears, and Huaiguang, ashamed, desisted. When Dezong returned to the capital, he sent Remonstrance Officer Kong Chaofu and the eunuch Tan Shouying to Hezhong to console Huaiguang and appoint him Grand Mentor; but Huaiguang was enraged, stirred his personal troops to abuse them, and killed Shouying and Chaofu. When Chaofu was cut down and lay on the ground, Ying went to him and comforted him. After Huaiguang was executed, Ma Sui recruited Ying as his chief secretary.
9
未幾，征拜主客員外，遷刑部郎中，改中書舍人。 凡九歲，拜禮部侍郎。 時應進士舉者，多務朋遊，馳逐聲名； 每歲冬，州府薦送後，唯追奉宴集，罕肄其業。 郢性剛正，尤嫉其風，既領職，拒絕請托，雖同列通熟，無敢言者。 誌在經藝，專考程試。 凡掌貢部三歲，進幽獨，抑浮華，朋濫之風，翕然一變。 拜太常卿。 貞元十九年冬，進位銀青光祿大夫，守中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 順宗即位，轉刑部尚書，為韋執誼等所憚。 尋罷知政事，以本官判吏部尚書事。 明年，出鎮華州。
Soon he was summoned as Assistant Director in the Ministry of Rites for Guests, promoted to Director in the Ministry of Justice, and made Secretariat Drafter. After nine years in office he was made Vice Minister of Rites. Candidates for the jinshi examination spent their time in cliques and social rounds, chasing reputation; and each winter, after the prefectures sent them up, they attended banquets rather than studying. Ying was upright and especially hated this custom. Once in office he refused all patronage; even close colleagues dared not ask favors. He focused on the classics and examined candidates strictly by the regulations. Over three years in charge of the examinations he advanced the serious and restrained the flashy, and clique politics changed overnight. He was appointed Minister of Rites. In the winter of Zhenyuan nineteen he was promoted to Silver-Gleaming Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Acting Vice Director of the Secretariat, and Grand Councilor. When Shunzong ascended the throne, Ying was made Minister of Justice, and Wei Zhiyi and his faction feared him. He was soon removed from the council and, retaining his rank, was put in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. The following year he was sent out to command Huazhou.
10
元和元年冬，復拜太常卿，尋除御史大夫。 數月，轉兵部尚書。 逾月，再表乞骸，不許。 又上言曰：「臣聞勞生佚老，天理自然，蠕動翾飛，日入皆息。 自非貢禹之守經據古，趙喜之正身匪懈，韓暨之誌節高潔，山濤之道德模表，縱過常期，詎為貪冒。 其有當仁不讓，急病忘身，豈止君命，猶宜身舉。 臣郢不才，久辱高位，無任由衷瀝懇之至。」 乃授尚書右僕射致仕。 六年七月卒，年七十二。 贈太子太保，謚曰貞。
In the winter of Yuanhe one he was again made Minister of Rites, and soon Censor-in-Chief. A few months later he was made Minister of War. After another month he again asked to retire; the request was denied. He submitted again: "I have heard that to labor in youth and rest in old age is Heaven's way; crawling things and flying creatures all cease at sunset. Unless one is Gong Yu holding to the classics, Zhao Xi upright without slackness, Han Ji of lofty integrity, or Shan Tao a moral exemplar—even to pass the usual term is not greed. Those who ought not yield in duty and who forget themselves in urgent need should offer themselves even without the ruler's command. Your subject Ying lacks talent and has long held high office unworthily; I have no grounds to press my plea further." He was granted retirement as Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. He died in the seventh month of year six, at seventy-two. He was posthumously made Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince and given the posthumous title Zhen.
11
郢性恭慎廉潔，罕與人交遊，守官奉法勤恪，掌誥累年，家無制草。 或謂之曰：「前輩皆留制集，公焚之何也？」 曰：「王言不可存私家。」 時人重其慎密。 與鄭珣瑜並命拜相； 未幾，德宗升遐。 時同在相位，杜佑以宿舊居上，而韋執誼由朋黨專柄。 順宗風恙方甚，樞機不宣，而王叔文以翰林學士兼戶部侍郎，充度支副使。 是時政事，王叔文謀議，王伾通導，李忠言宣下，韋執誼奉行。 珣瑜自受命，憂形顏色，至是以勢不可奪，因稱疾不起。 郢則因循，竟無所發，以至於罷。 物論定此為優劣焉。 子定嗣。
Ying was respectful, cautious, and incorrupt, rarely socialized, served diligently and by the law, and though he drafted edicts for many years kept no copies at home. Someone asked him, "Your predecessors all kept collections of edicts—why do you burn yours?" He replied, "The sovereign's words must not be kept in a private home." Contemporaries respected his discretion. He was appointed chief minister on the same day as Zheng Xunyu; and before long Dezong died. At that time Du You, as the senior figure, ranked above them on the council, while Wei Zhiyi monopolized power through his faction. Shunzong was seriously ill and state affairs went unannounced, while Wang Shuwen, as Hanlin Academician and Vice Minister of Revenue, served as deputy revenue commissioner. At that time Wang Shuwen plotted policy, Wang Pi relayed it, Li Zhongyan announced it, and Wei Zhiyi carried it out. From his appointment Xunyu's worry showed on his face; when he saw the power could not be seized, he claimed illness and stayed away. Ying drifted along, accomplished nothing, and was eventually removed. Public opinion judged which of them had acted better. His son Ding succeeded him.
12
定，幼聰警絕倫，年七歲時，讀《尚書•湯誓》，問郢曰：「奈何以臣伐君？」 郢曰：「應天順人，不為非道。」 又問曰：「用命賞於祖，不用命戮於社，是順人乎？」 父不能對。 仕至京兆參軍。 小字董二，人以幼慧，多以字稱之。 尤精《王氏易》，嘗為《易圖》，合入出以畫八卦，上圓下方，合則重，轉則演，七轉而六十四卦六甲八節備焉。 著《易外傳》二十二卷。
Ding was exceptionally clever as a child. At seven, reading the "Oath of Tang" in the Documents, he asked Ying, "How can a subject attack his ruler?" Ying replied, "To follow Heaven and the people is not wrongdoing." He asked again, "Those who obey are rewarded at the ancestral temple and those who disobey are killed at the altar of soil and grain—is that following the people?" His father had no reply. He rose to serve as an aide in the capital prefecture. His childhood name was Dong the Second; because of his early brilliance people often called him by that name. He was especially versed in the Wang family's Book of Changes and once made a Diagram of the Changes, using entry and exit to draw the eight trigrams—round above, square below; combined they doubled, turned they evolved, and after seven turns the sixty-four hexagrams with the six jia and eight seasonal nodes were complete. He wrote External Commentary on the Changes in twenty-two scrolls.
13
杜佑，字君卿，京兆萬年人。 曾祖行敏，荊、益二州都督府長史、南陽郡公。 祖愨，右司員外郎、詳正學士。 父希望，歷鴻臚卿、恆州刺史、西河太守，贈右僕射。 佑以廕入仕，補濟南郡參軍、剡縣丞。 時潤州刺史韋元甫嘗受恩於希望，佑謁見，元甫未之知，以故人子待之。 他日，元甫視事，有疑獄不能決。 佑時在旁，元甫試訊於佑； 佑口對響應，皆得其要。 元甫奇之，乃奏為司法參軍。 元甫為浙西觀察、淮南節度，皆辟為從事，深所委信。 累官至檢校主客員外郎，入為工部郎中，充江西青苗使，轉撫州刺史。 改御史中丞，充容管經略使。 楊炎入相，征入朝，歷工部、金部二郎中，並充水陸轉運使，改度支郎中，兼和糴等使。 時方軍興，饋運之務，悉委於佑； 遷戶部侍郎、判度支。 為盧杞所惡，出為蘇州刺史。 佑母在，杞以蘇州憂闕授之。 佑不行，俄換饒州刺史。 未幾，兼御史大夫，充嶺南節度使。 時德宗在興元。 朝廷故事，執政往往遺脫； 舊嶺南節度，常兼五管經略使，佑獨不兼。 故五管不屬嶺南，自佑始也。
Du You, whose courtesy name was Junqing, came from Wannian in the Jingzhao region. His great-grandfather Xingmin was chief administrator of the Jing and Yi area commands and Duke of Nanyang. His grandfather Que was Assistant Director in the Right Department and a Scholar of Detailed Rectification. His father Xiwang served as Minister of Ceremonial, prefect of Hengzhou, and governor of Xihe, and was posthumously made Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. You entered office by yin privilege as aide in Jinan commandery and assistant magistrate of Shan county. Wei Yuanfu, prefect of Runzhou, had once received favor from Xiwang. When You called on him, Yuanfu did not know him and treated him as an old friend's son. One day Yuanfu held court on a doubtful case he could not decide. You was nearby, and Yuanfu tried questioning him; You answered at once and grasped every essential point. Yuanfu was impressed and had him appointed judicial aide. When Yuanfu served as Zhexi observation commissioner and Huainan military governor, he recruited You to his staff both times and trusted him deeply. He rose to Acting Assistant Director in the Ministry of Rites for Guests, entered the capital as Director in the Ministry of Works, served as Jiangxi green-sprout commissioner, and became prefect of Fuzhou. He was made Censor-in-Chief and Rongguan frontier commissioner. When Yang Yan became chief minister, You was summoned to court, served as Second Director in the Ministries of Works and Revenue, and as land and water transport commissioner, then became Director in the Revenue Bureau and commissioner for harmonized grain purchase. Warfare had just begun, and all supply transport was entrusted to You; he was promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue and put in charge of the Revenue Bureau. Lu Qi disliked him and had him sent out as prefect of Suzhou. You's mother was still alive, so Qi assigned him Suzhou—a post that allowed mourning leave. You refused to go and was soon transferred to prefect of Raozhou. Soon he was made Censor-in-Chief and military governor of Lingnan. Dezong was then at Xingyuan. By court precedent, chief ministers often omitted appointments; formerly the Lingnan governor usually also held the Five Circuits frontier commissionerate, but You did not. The Five Circuits were separated from Lingnan from You's time onward.
14
貞元三年，徵為尚書左丞，又出為陜州觀察使，遷檢校禮部尚書、揚州大都督府長史，充淮南節度使。 丁母憂，特詔起復，累轉刑部尚書、檢校右僕射。 十六年，徐州節度使張建封卒，其子愔為三軍所立，詔佑以淮南節制檢校左僕射、同平章事，兼徐泗節度使，委以討伐。 佑乃大具舟艦，遣將孟準先當之。 準渡淮而敗，佑杖之，固境不敢進。 及詔以徐州授愔，而加佑兼濠、泗等州觀察使。 在揚州開設營壘三十餘所，士馬修葺。 然於賓僚間依阿無制，判官南宮僔、李亞、鄭元均爭權，頗紊軍政，德宗知之，並竄於嶺外。
In Zhenyuan three he was summoned as Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, then sent out as Shaanzhou observation commissioner, and made Acting Minister of Rites, chief administrator of Yangzhou, and Huainan military governor. After mourning his mother he was specially ordered back to office and rose to Minister of Justice and Acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. In year sixteen Zhang Jianfeng of Xuzhou died and his son Yin was installed by the armies. You was ordered, with Huainan authority, as Acting Left Vice Director and Grand Councilor and Xu-Si military governor to suppress him. You prepared a large fleet and sent General Meng Zhun ahead to confront him. Zhun crossed the Huai and was defeated; You had him beaten and held his position without advancing. When an edict granted Xuzhou to Yin, You was additionally made observation commissioner of Hao, Si, and related prefectures. At Yangzhou he established more than thirty camps and kept troops and horses in repair. Yet among his staff he was indulgent; staff judges Nangong Yun, Li Ya, and Zheng Yuanjun fought for power and disrupted military affairs. Dezong learned of it and banished them all to the far south.
15
十九年入朝，拜檢校司空、同平章事，充太清宮使。 德宗崩，佑攝冢宰，尋進位檢校司徒，充度支鹽鐵等使，依前平章事。 旋又加弘文館大學士。 時王叔文為副使，佑雖總統，而權歸叔文。 叔文敗，又奏李巽為副使，頗有所立。 順宗崩，佑復攝冢宰，尋讓金谷之務，引李巽自代。 先是，度支以制用惜費，漸權百司之職，廣署吏員，繁而難理； 佑始奏營繕歸之將作，木炭歸之司農，染練歸之少府，綱條頗整，公議多之，朝廷允其議。
In year nineteen he entered court and was made Acting Minister of Works, Grand Councilor, and commissioner of the Taiqing Palace. When Dezong died, You acted as chief mourner, was soon made Acting Minister of Education and commissioner of revenue, salt, and iron, and remained Grand Councilor. He was soon made Grand Academician of the Hongwen Hall. Wang Shuwen was then deputy commissioner; though You nominally headed the office, power rested with Shuwen. After Shuwen's fall he memorialized for Li Xun as deputy commissioner and accomplished a good deal. When Shunzong died, You again acted as chief mourner, soon yielded fiscal duties, and brought in Li Xun to replace him. Earlier, to economize on expenditures, the Revenue Bureau had gradually taken over duties of other offices, appointed many clerks, and become cumbersome; You memorialized that construction return to the Directorate of Works, charcoal and timber to the Ministry of Agriculture, and dyeing to the Court of Imperial Manufactories. The regulations were well ordered, won wide approval, and the court accepted them.
16
元和元年，冊拜司徒、同平章事，封岐國公。 時河西党項潛導吐蕃入寇，邊將邀功，亟請擊之。 佑上疏論之曰：
In Yuanhe one he was invested as Minister of Education and Grand Councilor and enfeoffed as Duke of Qi. Tangut tribes in Hexi were secretly guiding Tibetan raids, and frontier generals, seeking merit, urgently asked to attack them. You submitted a memorial on the matter, saying:
17
臣伏見党項與西戎潛通，屢有降人指陳事跡，而公卿廷議，以為誠當謹兵戎，備侵軼，益發甲卒，邀其寇暴。 此蓋未達事機，匹夫之常論也。
I observe that the Tangut secretly communicate with western tribes, and surrendered men have repeatedly reported the facts; yet the chief ministers hold that we should tighten military readiness, guard against raids, send more troops, and intercept their incursions. This fails to grasp the situation—it is the usual talk of ordinary men.
18
夫蠻夷猾夏，唐虞已然。 周宣中興，獫狁為害，但命南仲往城朔方，追之太原，及境而止，誠不欲弊中國而怒遠夷也。 秦平六國，恃其兵力，北築長城，以拒匈奴； 西逐諸羌，出於塞外。 勞力擾人，結怨階亂，中國未靜，白徒競起，海內雲擾，實生謫戍。 漢武因文、景之富，命將興師，遂至戶口減半，竟下哀痛之詔罷田輪臺。 前史書之，尚嘉其先迷而後復。 蓋聖王之理天下也，唯務綏靜蒸人，西至流沙，東漸於海，在南與北，亦存聲教。 不以遠物為珍，匪求遐方之貢，豈疲內而事外，終得少而失多。 故前代納忠之臣，並有匡君之議。 淮南王請息師於閩越，賈捐之願棄地於珠崖，安危利害，高懸前史。
Barbarian trouble for China was already so in the age of Tang and Yu. When King Xuan restored Zhou, the Xianyun were a menace; he only ordered Nan Zhong to fortify Shuofang, pursued them to Taiyuan, and stopped at the border—unwilling to exhaust China and anger distant tribes. Qin conquered the six states, relied on military force, built the Long Wall in the north against the Xiongnu; and drove the Qiang west beyond the frontier. Labor exhausted the people and bred resentment and chaos; China was not yet calm when mobs rose everywhere, the realm was in turmoil, and exiled frontier service was the result. Emperor Wu, relying on the wealth left by Wen and Jing, launched campaigns until the population was halved, and finally issued a grieving edict abolishing the Luntain garrison fields. Earlier histories still praise him for erring first and recovering afterward. A sage king governs the realm by pacifying the people; west to the drifting sands, east to the sea, south and north alike, he spreads civilizing instruction. He does not treasure distant goods or seek far tribute—why exhaust the interior for the frontier and gain little while losing much? Loyal ministers of former ages all offered counsel to correct their lords. The King of Huainan asked to cease war against Minyue; Jia Juanzhi wished to abandon Zhuya—the lessons of safety and harm stand clear in history.
19
昔馮奉世矯漢帝之詔，擊莎車，傳其王首於京師，威震西域。 宣帝大悅，議加爵土之賞。 蕭望之獨以為矯制違命，雖有功效，不可為法； 恐後之奉使者爭逐發兵，為國家生事，述理明白，其言遂行。 國家自天後已來，突厥默啜兵強氣勇，屢寇邊城，為害頗甚。 開元初，邊將郝靈佺親捕斬之，傳首闕下，自以為功，代莫與二，坐望榮寵。 宋璟為相，慮武臣邀功，為國生事，止授以郎將。 由是訖開元之盛，無人復議開邊，中國遂寧，外夷亦靜。 此皆成敗可徵，鑒戒非遠。
Formerly Feng Fengshi forged the emperor's edict, attacked Shache, and sent the king's head to the capital; his authority shook the Western Regions. Emperor Xuan was greatly pleased and considered enfeoffment and territory as reward. Xiao Wangzhi alone held that forging orders and disobeying command, though effective, could not serve as precedent; he feared later envoys would compete to raise troops and create trouble for the state; his reasoning was clear, and his counsel prevailed. Since Empress Wu, the Türk leader Mo-ch'o has been strong and bold, repeatedly raiding the frontier with considerable harm. Early in Kaiyuan the frontier general Hao Lingquan personally captured and beheaded him, sent the head to the capital, considered his achievement unmatched, and awaited reward. Song Jing as chief minister feared military men seeking merit would create trouble for the state and only appointed him a commandant. From then until the height of Kaiyuan no one again urged frontier campaigns; China was tranquil and outer tribes quiet. These are lessons where success and failure are plain—warnings close at hand.
20
且党項小蕃，雜處中國，本懷我德，當示撫綏。 間者邊將非廉，亟有侵刻，或利其善馬，或取其子女，便賄方物，徵發役徒。 勞苦既多，叛亡遂起，或與北狄通使，或與西戎寇邊，有為使然，固當懲革。 《傳》曰：「遠人不服，則修文德以來之。」 《管子》曰：「國家無使勇猛者為邊境。」 此誠聖哲識微知著之遠略也。 今戎醜方強，邊備未實，誠宜慎擇良將，誡之完葺，使保誠信，絕其求取，用示懷柔。 來則懲禦，去則謹備，自然懷柔，革其奸謀，何必遽圖興師，坐致勞費！
The Tangut are a small tribe living within China; they originally cherished our virtue and should be shown reassurance. Recently frontier generals have been corrupt, repeatedly encroaching—coveting fine horses, taking sons and daughters, demanding local goods as bribes, and levying laborers. Hardship bred defection; some communicate with northern tribes, some raid with western tribes—causes make this so, and correction is due. The Commentary says, "When distant peoples do not submit, cultivate civil virtue to draw them in." Master Guan says, "Let the state not place fierce men on the frontier." This is truly the far-sighted strategy of sages who perceive what is subtle. Now the enemy is strong and frontier defenses are weak; we should choose good generals carefully, admonish them to complete repairs, keep faith, end exactions, and show reassurance. When they come, punish and repel them; when they go, guard carefully—they will naturally be reassured and abandon treacherous plots. Why hastily raise armies and incur needless expense!
21
陛下上聖君人，覆育群類，動必師古，謀無不臧。 伏望堅保永圖，置兵衽席，天下幸甚！ 臣識昧經綸，學慚博究，竊鼎鉉之寵任，為朝廷之老臣，恩深莫倫，誌懇思報，臧否備閱，芻蕘上陳，有瀆旒扆，伏深惶悚。
Your Majesty is a supreme sage who shelters all beings, takes antiquity as teacher in every act, and whose counsel is always sound. I humbly hope you will preserve the long design and keep arms at rest on mat and pillow—the realm would be greatly fortunate! My understanding is dim in statecraft and my learning shallow; I have enjoyed the highest favor as an old minister of the court. Your grace is beyond compare and my will is earnest to repay it. Having reviewed right and wrong, I offer this humble counsel and prostrate myself in deep fear of giving offense.
22
上深嘉納。
The emperor deeply praised and accepted it.
23
歲餘，請致仕，詔不許，但令三五日一入中書，平章政事。 每入奏事，憲宗優禮之； 不名，常呼司徒。 佑城南樊川有佳林亭，卉木幽邃，佑每與公卿宴集其間，廣陳妓樂。 諸子咸居朝列，當時貴盛，莫之與比。 元和七年，被疾，六月，復乞骸骨。 表四上，情理切至，憲宗不獲已，許之。 詔曰：
After more than a year he asked to retire; the edict refused but ordered him to enter the Secretariat every few days as Grand Councilor. Whenever he came to report affairs, Xianzong treated him with special courtesy; he did not use his name but always called him Minister of Education. You had the Fine Grove Pavilion at Fanchuan south of the city, with deep and secluded plantings, and often feasted there with chief ministers amid singers and musicians. His sons all held court posts; at the time none matched his honor and splendor. In Yuanhe seven he fell ill and in the sixth month again asked to retire. He submitted four memorials, urgent and sincere; Xianzong, unable to refuse, granted his request. The edict said:
24
宣力濟時，為臣之懿躅； 辭榮告老，行己之高風。 況乎任重公臺，義深翼贊，秉沖讓之誌，堅金石之誠。 敦諭既勤，所執彌固，則當遂其衷懇，進以崇名； 尚齒優賢，斯王化之本也。
To exert strength and aid the age is a minister's finest conduct; To relinquish honor and retire in old age is the noblest standard of personal conduct. All the more so for one who bore heavy charge at the summit of state, whose righteousness had long sustained the throne—and who now held fast to a spirit of modest self-yielding, with sincerity as firm as metal and stone. Since Our earnest persuasion only made his resolve more steadfast, We must honor his heartfelt wish and raise him in rank— for to honor age and treat the worthy well is the very foundation of the kingly Way.
25
金紫光祿大夫、守司徒、同中書門下平章事、兼充弘文館大學士、太清宮使、上柱國、岐國公、食邑三千戶杜佑，巖廊上才，邦國茂器； 蘊經通之識，履溫厚之姿，寬裕本乎性情，謀猷彰乎事業。 博聞強學，知歷代沿革之宜； 為政惠人，審群黎利病之要。 由是再司邦用，累歷籓方，出總戎麾，入和鼎實，聿膺重寄，歷事先朝，左右朕躬，夙夜不懈。 命以詔冊，登之上公，肅恭在廷，華發承弁。 茲可謂國之元老，人之具瞻者也。
Du You—Grand Mentor of the Golden Pellet and Purple Light, acting Chief Minister, Chancellor, Grand Scholar of the Hongwen Hall, Commissioner of the Grand Pure Palace, Upper Pillar of the State, Duke of Qi, fief of three thousand households—stands among the foremost talents of the court, a fine vessel of the realm; he possessed thorough mastery of the classics and a warm, generous bearing; magnanimity was native to his character, and his counsels shone through in his service. Broadly learned and deeply studious, he knew what institutional change each age required; in office he sought the people's good, discerning what truly benefited or burdened the common folk. Thus he twice directed the state's affairs, served repeatedly in the provinces, commanded armies abroad and harmonized the state's governance at court, bearing heavy trust through successive reigns and attending Our person from dawn till night without slackening. Raised by imperial patent to Grand Mentor, he stood reverent in court, gray hair beneath his official cap. He was truly the elder of the state, the man all looked to for guidance.
26
朕纘承丕業，思弘景化，選勞求舊，期致時邕，方伸引翼之儀，遽抗懸車之請。 而又固辭年疾，乞就休閑，已而復來，星琯屢變，有不可抑，良用耿然。 永惟古先哲王，君臣之際，臣有耆艾以求其退，君有優賜以徇其情； 乃輟鄧禹敷教之功，仍增王祥輔導之秩，俾養浩然之氣，安於敬止之鄉，庶乎怡神葆和，永綏福履。 仍加階級，以厚寵章，可光祿大夫、守太保致仕，宜朝朔望。
We have inherited a great trust and seek to extend an enlightened age, honoring those who have served and worn themselves out in the hope of bringing harmony to the times—yet just as We would extend him Our guiding support, he suddenly petitioned to hang up his chariot and retire. He again pleaded age and illness, begging to withdraw into rest; he would come back, yet again petition to leave, and the years turned over and over—what could not be denied—and We were deeply troubled in Our heart. Ever mindful of the ancient sage kings: between sovereign and minister, when an elder sought withdrawal, the sovereign granted generous favors to honor his wish; We shall therefore leave aside the precedent of Deng Yu's continuing to teach, and follow instead Wang Xiang's precedent of honorable withdrawal—nourishing his upright spirit, settling him in honored repose, that he may ease his heart, preserve his vitality, and enjoy lasting good fortune. We further raise his rank to deepen the mark of Our favor: he is appointed Grand Mentor of the Brilliant Hall, acting Grand Guardian, retired from office, and shall attend court on the first and fifteenth of each month.
27
是日，上遣中使就佑第賜絹五百匹、錢五百千。 其年十一月薨，壽七十八，廢朝三日，冊贈太傅，謚曰安簡。
That same day the emperor sent a palace envoy to You's residence with five hundred bolts of silk and five hundred thousand cash. He died in the eleventh month of that year at the age of seventy-eight. Court mourning was observed for three days. He was posthumously honored as Grand Tutor with the title Duke Anjian.
28
佑性敦厚強力，尤精吏職，雖外示寬和，而持身有術。 為政弘易，不尚皦察，掌計治民，物便而濟，馭戎應變，即非所長。 性嗜學，該涉古今，以富國安人之術為己任。 初開元末，劉秩采經史百家之言，取《周禮》六官所職，撰分門書三十五卷，號曰《政典》，大為時賢稱賞； 房琯以為才過劉更生。 佑得其書，尋味厥旨，以為條目未盡，因而廣之，加以開元禮、樂，書成二百卷，號曰《通典》。 貞元十七年，自淮南使人詣闕獻之，曰：
You was by nature sincere and resolute, and especially skilled in administration; though outwardly mild and accommodating, he knew how to hold himself with discipline. His governance was broad and easy, not given to harsh scrutiny; in fiscal administration and public order he made things work with practical efficiency—but command of armies and adaptation in crisis were not his strengths. He loved learning by nature, ranged widely across ancient and modern knowledge, and made the methods of enriching the state and securing the people his life's work. At the end of the Kaiyuan era, Liu Zhi gathered materials from the classics, histories, and hundred schools, took the six offices of the Rites of Zhou as his framework, and compiled a thirty-five-scroll classified work called the Political Classic, which the leading men of the age greatly admired; Fang Guan judged his talent to surpass that of Liu Gengsheng. You obtained the work, pondered its intent, and found its entries incomplete; he expanded it, adding rites and music from the Kaiyuan era, and when the book was finished it ran to two hundred scrolls under the title Comprehensive Institutions. In Zhenyuan seventeen, from his post in Huainan he sent an envoy to the capital to present it, saying:
29
臣聞太上立德，不可庶幾； 其次立功，遂行當代； 其次立言，見誌後學。 由是往哲遞相祖述，將施有政，用乂邦家。 臣本以門資，幼登官序，仕非遊藝，才不逮人，徒懷自強，頗玩墳籍。 雖履歷叨幸，或職劇務殷，竊惜光陰，未嘗輕廢。 夫《孝經》、《尚書》、《毛詩》、《周易》、《三傳》，皆父子君臣之要道； 十倫五教之宏綱，如日月之下臨，天地之大德，百王是式，終古攸遵。 然多記言，罕存法制； 愚管窺測，莫達高深，輒肆荒虛，誠為億度。 每念懵學，莫探政經，略觀歷代眾賢著論，多陳紊失之弊，或闕匡拯之方。 臣既庸淺，寧詳損益，未原其始，莫暢其終。 尚賴周氏典禮，秦皇蕩滅不盡，縱有繁雜，且用準繩。 至於往昔是非，可為來今龜鏡，布在方冊，亦粗研尋。 自頃纘修，年逾三紀，識寡思拙，心昧辭蕪。 圖籍實多，事目非少，將事功畢，罔愧乖疏，固不足發揮大猷，但竭愚盡慮而已。 書凡九門，計貳百卷，不敢不具上獻，庶明鄙誌所之，塵瀆聖聰，兢惶無措。
I have heard that the highest achievement is to establish virtue—virtue beyond common reach; next is to establish achievement, putting it into practice in one's own age; and next is to establish words, leaving guidance for generations to come. From this the sages of old handed down one another's work, intending to put such learning into governance and thereby bring order to state and home. I entered office young by family standing; government was no pastime to me, and my talent fell short of others'—yet I steeled myself and devoted myself to the study of the classics. Though fortune brought me heavy duties, I still prized my time and never lightly abandoned my studies. The Classic of Filial Piety, the Documents, the Mao Odes, the Changes, and the Three Commentaries all treat the essential bonds of father and son, sovereign and minister; the grand framework of human relations and moral teaching, shining like sun and moon above, grounded in heaven and earth's greatest virtue—models for every king since antiquity. Yet they chiefly record words and rarely preserve institutional law; through my narrow vision I could not reach their depths, yet I have dared to venture into vast and uncertain ground—truly an audacious undertaking. Reflecting on my inadequate learning and failure to probe the classics of governance, I noted that writings of worthies through the ages often catalogued disorder but seldom offered remedies. Shallow as I am, how could I fully assess what should be kept or discarded? I could not trace every institution to its origin nor follow every change to its end. I relied above all on the ceremonial canon of the Zhou, which even Qin the First Emperor did not wholly destroy—cumbersome though it is, it still serves as a standard. Past successes and failures, preserved in the written records, could serve as mirrors for the present; I investigated them as best I could. In compiling this work over more than thirty years, my knowledge has been limited, my thinking slow, my mind dull, and my prose rough. The sources are vast and the topics many; having finished, I cannot claim to be free of error and omission—certainly not enough to unfold a great design, but only to exhaust my limited wit. The work comprises nine sections and two hundred scrolls in all; I dare not withhold it from presentation, that Your Majesty may see the aim of my humble effort. I tremble at the thought of defiling Your sacred attention.
30
優詔嘉之，命藏書府。 其書大傳於時，禮樂刑政之源，千載如指諸掌，大為士君子所稱。
An edict commended the work and ordered it deposited in the imperial library. The work spread widely; for a thousand years of rites, music, punishments, and government it was as if the whole lay in the palm of one's hand—and gentlemen and scholars praised it highly.
31
佑性勤而無倦，雖位極將相，手不釋卷。 質明視事，接對賓客，夜則燈下讀書，孜孜不怠。 與賓佐談論，人憚其辯而伏其博，設有疑誤，亦能質正。 始終言行，無所玷缺，唯在淮南時，妻梁氏亡後，升嬖妾李氏為正室，封密國夫人，親族子弟言之不從，時論非之。
You was tireless in diligence; though he rose to the highest offices, he never put down his books. He began work at dawn, received guests through the day, and read by lamplight at night, never slackening. In debate with staff and guests, men feared his sharp tongue yet respected his erudition; when errors arose, he could also press for correction. In conduct he was without reproach throughout—except that while at Huainan, after his wife Lady Liang died, he elevated a favored concubine, Lady Li, to principal wife and enfeoffed her as Lady of Mi. Relatives remonstrated in vain, and contemporary opinion faulted him.
32
三子，師損嗣，位終司農少卿。
He had three sons. Shisun succeeded him and eventually reached Vice Minister of the Imperial Granaries.
33
式方性孝友，弟兄尤睦。 季弟從郁，少多疾病，式方每躬自煎調，藥膳水飲，非經式方之手，不入於口。 及從郁夭喪，終年號泣，殆不勝情，士友多之。
Shifang was filial and brotherly; the siblings were exceptionally close. His youngest brother Congyu was sickly from youth; Shifang personally prepared his medicines and meals—nothing, not even water, passed Congyu's lips unless Shifang had prepared it. When Congyu died young, Shifang mourned and wept for a full year, nearly overcome with grief—a devotion his friends greatly admired.
34
子惲、憓、悰、恂。 惲嗣，富平尉； 憓，興平尉。
His sons were Yun, Hui, Cong, and Xun. Yun succeeded him as Captain of Fuping; Hui served as Captain of Xingping.
35
悰，以廕三遷太子司議郎。 元和九年，選尚公主，召見於麟德殿。 尋尚岐陽公主，加銀青光祿大夫、殿中少監、駙馬都尉。 岐陽，憲宗長女，郭妃之所生。
Cong entered office by privilege and rose three ranks to Palace Discussant of the Heir Apparent. In Yuanhe nine he was chosen to marry a princess and summoned to audience at Linde Hall. He soon married Princess Qiyang and was appointed Silver Glow Grand Mentor, Vice Director of the Palace Administration, and Commandant Escort. Qiyang was Emperor Xianzong's eldest daughter, born of Consort Guo.
36
自頃選尚，多於貴戚，或武臣節將之家。 於時翰林學士獨孤郁，權德輿之女婿，時德輿作相，郁避嫌辭內職。 上頗重學士，不獲已許之，且嘆德輿有佳婿，遂令宰臣於卿士家選尚文雅之士可居清列者。 初於文學後進中選擇，皆辭疾不應，唯悰願焉。 累遷至司農卿。 太和六年，轉京兆尹。 七年，檢校刑部尚書，出為鳳翔尹、鳳翔隴右節度。 丁內艱，八年，起復授忠武軍節度使、陳許蔡觀察等使，就加兵部尚書。 開成初，入為工部尚書、判度支。 屬岐陽公主薨，久而未謝。 文宗怪之，問左右。 戶部侍郎李玨對曰：「近日駙馬為公主服斬衰三年，所以士族之家不願為國戚者，半為此也。 杜悰未謝，拘此服紀也。」 上愕然曰：「予初不知。」 乃詔曰：「制服輕重，必由典禮。 如聞往者駙馬為公主服三年，緣情之義，殊非故實，違經之制，今乃聞知。 宜令行杖周，永為通制。」 三年，改戶部尚書，兼判戶部度支事。 會昌中，拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事，尋加左僕射。
In recent years princesses had largely been matched with noble kin or the families of military commanders. The Hanlin Academician Dugu Yu was son-in-law to Quan Deyu, who was then chief minister; Yu resigned his inner-court post to avoid conflict of interest. The emperor valued the Hanlin Academy highly and reluctantly granted Yu's resignation, regretting that Deyu had lost so fine a son-in-law; he then ordered the chief ministers to seek among ministerial families a cultured man fit for a distinguished post to marry a princess. At first they approached rising literary men, but all pleaded illness and declined—only Cong volunteered. He rose through successive promotions to Minister of the Imperial Granaries. In Taihe six he was transferred to Metropolitan Prefect of Jingzhao. The following year he was appointed acting Minister of Justice and sent out as Prefect of Fengxiang and Military Commissioner of Fengxiang and Longyou. When his mother died he entered mourning; in the eighth year he was recalled and appointed Military Commissioner of the Loyal Martial Army and Observation Commissioner of Chen, Xu, and Cai, with concurrent appointment as Minister of War. At the start of the Kaicheng era he entered court as Minister of Works and overseer of the Treasury. When Princess Qiyang died, he long deferred submitting his resignation from office. Emperor Wenzong found this strange and questioned his attendants. Vice Minister of Revenue Li Jue replied: "Lately imperial sons-in-law have observed three years of the deepest mourning for their princess wives—this is half the reason great families hesitate to become imperial in-laws. Du Cong has not yet resigned because he is bound by this mourning requirement. The emperor was startled. "We had no idea," he said. An edict followed: "The weight of mourning must follow canonical rites. We learn only now that sons-in-law have been mourning princesses for three years—a concession to private feeling, not ancient precedent, and a violation of the classics. Henceforth one year of mourning shall be the permanent rule. In the third year he was made Minister of Revenue with concurrent charge of the Treasury. During Huichang he was appointed Vice Director of the Secretariat and Chancellor, soon elevated to Left Vice Director.
37
大中初，出鎮西川，降先沒吐蕃維州。 州即古西戎地也，其地南界江陽，岷山連嶺而西，不知其極； 北望隴山，積雪如玉：東望成都，若在井底。 地接石紐山，夏禹生於石紐山是也。 其州在岷山之孤峰，三面臨江。 天寶後，河、隴繼陷，惟此州在焉。 吐蕃利其險要，二十年間，設計得之，遂據其城，因號曰「無憂城」，吐蕃由是不虞邛、蜀之兵。 先是，李德裕鎮西川，維州吐蕃首領悉怛謀以城來降，德裕奏之； 執政者與德裕不協，遽勒還其城。 至是復收之，亦不因兵刃，乃人情所歸也。 俄復入相，加司空，繼加司徒，歷鎮重籓。 至是加太傅、邠國公。 悰無他才，常延接寒素，甘食竊位而已。
At the start of the Dazhong era he was sent to command the West River Circuit and received the surrender of Weizhou, long held by Tibet. The prefecture lay in ancient Western Rong territory: to the south it bordered Jiangyang; to the west the Min Mountains stretched ridge upon ridge beyond sight; to the north one saw the snow-capped Long Mountains gleaming like jade; to the east Chengdu seemed to lie at the bottom of a well. It adjoined Mount Shiniu, where the legendary Yu of Xia was said to have been born. The prefecture stood on a lone peak of the Min range, with rivers on three sides. After the Tianbao era the Yellow River and Longyou regions fell one after another; only this prefecture held out. Tibet coveted its strategic position; over twenty years they contrived to take it, held the fortress, and renamed it "Carefree City"—after which they no longer feared attack from Qiong and Shu. Earlier, when Li Deyu commanded the West River Circuit, the Tibetan chief of Weizhou, Sedu Mou, offered the city in surrender and Deyu memorialized the court; the chief ministers, at odds with Deyu, abruptly ordered the city returned. Now it was recovered again without a fight—because the people's loyalty had turned. Soon he returned to court as chief minister, was made Grand Master of Works and then Chief Minister, and held successive commands over major circuits. At this point he was made Grand Tutor and Duke of Bin. Cong had no other distinction; he merely received the poor with courtesy, ate well, and held his post—that was all.
38
從郁，以廕貞元末再遷太子司議郎。 元和初，轉左補闕。 諫官崔群、韋貫之、獨孤郁等以從郁宰相子，不合為諫官，乃降授左拾遺。 群等復執曰：「拾遺之與補闕，雖資品有殊，皆名諫列。 父為宰相，子為諫官，若政有得失，不可使子論父。」 乃改為秘書丞，終駕部員外郎。
Congyu entered by privilege and, by the end of Zhenyuan, had risen twice to Palace Discussant of the Heir Apparent. At the start of Yuanhe he was made Left Supplementation Censor. The remonstrance officials Cui Qun, Wei Guanzhi, and Dugu Yu argued that as a chief minister's son Congyu should not serve as a remonstrance officer, and he was demoted to Left Reminder. They pressed again: "Left Reminder and Supplementation Censor differ in rank but both belong to the remonstrance corps. If the father is chief minister and the son a remonstrance officer, the son cannot be allowed to judge his father's policies. He was then made Secretary of the Palace Library and eventually reached Vice Director of the Transport Office.
39
子牧、顗，俱登進士第。 顗後病目而卒。
His sons Mu and Yi both passed the jinshi examination. Yi later went blind and died.
40
牧，字牧之，既以進士擢第，又制舉登乙第，解褐弘文館校書郎，試左武衛兵曹參軍。 沈傳師廉察江西宣州，辟牧為從事、試大理評事。 又為淮南節度推官、監察御史裏行，轉掌書記。 俄真拜監察御史，分司東都，以弟顗病目棄官。 授宣州團練判官、殿中侍御史、內供奉。 遷左補闕、史館修撰，轉膳部、比部員外郎，並兼史職。 出牧黃、池、睦三郡，復遷司勛員外郎、史館修撰，轉吏部員外郎。 又以弟病免歸。 授湖州刺史，入拜考功郎中、知制誥，歲中遷中書舍人。 牧好讀書，工詩為文，嘗自負經緯才略。 武宗朝誅昆夷、鮮卑，牧上宰相書論兵事，言「胡戎入寇，在秋冬之間，盛夏無備，宜五六月中擊胡為便」。 李德裕稱之。 註曹公所定《孫武十三篇》行於代。
Mu, courtesy name Muzhi, passed the jinshi examination and also ranked in the second tier of the decree examination; he took his first post as collator at the Hongwen Hall and was appointed Military Staff Officer of the Left Martial Guard. When Shen Chuanshi inspected Jiangxi and Xuanzhou, he recruited Mu to his staff as Acting Reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. He also served as Huainan staff judge and Acting Investigating Censor, then became chief secretary. He was soon formally appointed Investigating Censor at the eastern capital branch, but resigned when his younger brother Yi went blind. He was appointed staff judge of Xuanzhou, Palace Attending Censor, and inner attendant. He rose to Left Supplementation Censor and Historian Compiler, then Assistant Director in the Ministries of Provisions and Audit, all while retaining historiographical duties. He governed Huang, Chi, and Mu prefectures, then returned as Assistant Director in the Ministry of Honors and Historian Compiler, and was transferred to Assistant Director in the Ministry of Personnel. He again resigned and returned home because of his brother's illness. He was made prefect of Huzhou, entered court as Director in the Ministry of Merit Evaluation and Drafter of Edicts, and within the year became Secretariat Drafter. Mu loved reading and excelled in poetry and prose; he once prided himself on talent for statecraft and strategy. During Wuzong's campaign against Kunyi and Xianbei, Mu wrote the chief ministers on military affairs: "Barbarian raids come in autumn and winter; in midsummer they are unprepared—striking in the fifth or sixth month is best." Li Deyu praised his counsel. His commentary on Cao Cao's edition of Sun Wu's Thirteen Chapters circulated widely.
41
牧從兄悰隆盛於時，牧居下位，心常不樂。 將及知命，得病，自為墓誌、祭文。 又嘗夢人告曰：「爾改名畢。」 逾月，奴自家來，告曰：「炊將熟而甑裂。」 牧曰：「皆不祥也。」 俄又夢書行紙曰：「皎皎白駒，在彼空谷。」 寤寢而嘆曰：「此過隙也。 吾生於角，徵還於角，為第八宮，吾之甚厄也。 予自湖守遷舍人，木還角，足矣。」 其年，以疾終於安仁裏，年五十。 有集二十卷，曰《杜氏樊川集》，行於代。 子德祥，官至丞郎。
Mu's cousin Cong was at the height of power while Mu remained in lower office, and he was often unhappy about it. As he approached fifty he fell ill and wrote his own tomb inscription and sacrificial text. He once dreamed that someone told him, "Your change of name is complete." A month later a servant from home reported, "The rice was nearly done when the steamer cracked." Mu said, "These are all ill omens." Soon he dreamed of writing the lines, "Bright bright the white colt, in that empty valley." Waking, he sighed, "This is life passing like sunlight through a crack. I was born under the jiao palace; the sign returns to jiao in the eighth palace—my greatest misfortune. From prefect of Hu I rose to drafter; wood returns to jiao—that is enough for me." That year he died of illness at Anren Lane, at fifty. He left a twenty-scroll collection titled Collected Works of the Du Family at Fanchuan, which circulated widely. His son Dexiang rose to Vice Director.
42
史臣曰：黃裳以道致君，持誠奉主； 辨懷光之詐，罷全義之征。 討賊辟之兇，舉無遺算； 葬執誼之柩，豈曰不仁。 郢天縱之性，總丱之年，代父命於臨刑，孝也； 懷光之亂，王人被傷，撫巢父於賊庭，義也； 抑浮濫之流，考藝文之士，盡搜幽滯，大變時風，正也； 保止足之名，辭榮辱之路，高避世利，遐躅昔賢，智也。 忠孝全矣，仁智備矣！ 此二子者，皆臨大節而不可奪也。 佑承廕入仕，讞獄受知，博古該今，輸忠效用； 位居極品，榮逮子孫，操修之報，不亦宜哉！ 及其賓僚紊法，嬖妾受封，事重因循，難乎語於正矣！ 牧之文章，悰之長厚，能否既異，才位不倫，命矣夫！
The historiographer writes: Huangchang guided his ruler by the Way and served with sincerity; he exposed Huaiguang's forgery and stopped Han Quanyi's campaign. He crushed Liu Pi's rebellion without a misstep; he buried Zhiyi's body—who can call him inhumane? Ying was gifted by nature; as a youth he offered his life for his father at the scaffold—filial; in Huaiguang's rebellion he comforted Chaofu amid the rebels—righteous; he restrained excess, examined literary talent, advanced the overlooked, and changed the temper of the age—upright; he knew when to stop, declined glory and disgrace, avoided worldly gain, and followed the distant example of past sages—wise. In filial piety and loyalty, benevolence and wisdom, they were complete! Both men, at the great test of integrity, could not be turned aside. You entered by privilege, won notice through judging cases, mastered antiquity and the present, and served with loyal devotion; he rose to the highest rank and his glory reached his descendants—a fitting reward for cultivated conduct! Yet when his staff disturbed military law, a concubine was enfeoffed, and indulgence weighed on his rule—he can hardly be called fully upright! Mu's literary fame and Cong's easy prosperity—talent and rank were unequal; such is fate!
43
贊曰：貞公壯節，臨難奮發。 言行無玷，斯為明哲。 戡亂阜俗，時泰位隆。 國之名臣，鄭公、岐公。
In praise: Duke Zhen's stalwart integrity, rising to the crisis. Conduct without stain—that is true wisdom. They pacified disorder and enriched the people; in a peaceful age they rose to eminence. Famous ministers of the realm: Duke Zheng and Duke Qi.