1
孔巢父孔巢父，冀州人，字弱翁。 父如珪，海州司戶參軍，以巢父贈工部郎中。 巢父早勤文史，少時與韓準、裴政、李白、張叔明、陶沔隱於徂來山，時號「竹溪六逸」。 永王璘起兵江淮，聞其賢，以從事辟之。 巢父知其必敗，側身潛遁，由是知名。
Kong Chaofu, whose courtesy name was Ruoweng, came from Jizhou. His father Ru Gui had served as registrar in the Haizhou revenue office; Chaofu's later honors earned him a posthumous appointment as director in the Ministry of Works. From an early age Chaofu immersed himself in literature and history. As a young man he retired to Mount Culai with Han Zhun, Pei Zheng, Li Bai, Zhang Shuming, and Tao Min, a group then known as the "Six Recluses of Bamboo Creek." When Prince Yong Li Lin raised an army in the Jiang-Huai region, he heard of Chaofu's reputation and recruited him as an aide. Chaofu foresaw that the prince's cause was doomed, slipped away in secret, and thereby won a reputation for discernment.
2
廣德中，李季卿為江淮宣撫使，薦巢父，授左衛兵曹參軍。 大歷初，澤潞節度使李抱玉奏為賓幕，累授監察御史，轉殿中、檢校庫部員外郎，出授歸州刺史。 建中初，涇原節度留後孟皞表巢父試秘書少監，兼御史中丞、行軍司馬。 尋拜汾州刺史，入為諫議大夫，出為潭州刺史、湖南觀察使。 未行，會普王為荊襄副元帥，以巢父為元帥府行軍司馬，兼御史大夫。
During the Guangde reign Li Jiqing, serving as commissioner for pacification of the Jiang-Huai region, recommended Chaofu, who was appointed registrar in the Left Guard. Early in the Dali reign the Zelu military commissioner Li Baoyu brought him onto his staff. He rose through supervising censor, palace censor, and acting director in the Ministry of Revenue, and was eventually posted out as prefect of Guizhou. Early in the Jianzhong reign the acting Jingyuan commissioner Meng Hao recommended Chaofu as probationary vice director of the Secretariat, with concurrent posts as vice censor-in-chief and army march marshal. He was soon appointed prefect of Fenzhou, recalled to the capital as remonstrance counselor, and then sent out again as prefect of Tanzhou and Hunan observation commissioner. Before he could take up the Hunan post, Prince Pu was named deputy commander-in-chief for Jing-Xiang, and Chaofu was appointed march marshal at the command headquarters with the concurrent title of censor-in-chief.
3
尋屬涇師之難，從德宗幸奉天，遷給事中、河中陜華等州招討使。 累獻破賊之謀，德宗甚賞之。 尋兼御史大夫，充魏博宣慰使。 巢父博辯多智，對田悅之眾，陳逆順利害君臣之道，士眾欣悚喜抃，曰：「不圖今日復睹王化！」 及就宴，悅酒酣，自矜其騎射之藝、拳勇之略，因曰：「若蒙見用，無堅不摧。」 巢父謂之曰：「若如公言而不早歸國者，但為一好賊耳。」 悅曰：「為賊既曰好賊，為臣當作功臣。」 巢父曰：「國方有虞，待子而息。」 悅起謝焉。 悅背叛日久，其下厭亂，且喜巢父之至。 數日，田承嗣之子緒以失職怨望，因人心之搖動，遂構謀殺悅，而與大將邢曹俊等稟命於巢父。 巢父因其眾意，令田緒權知軍務，以紓其難。
When the Jingzhou mutiny broke out, he accompanied Dezong to Fengtian and was promoted to attendant-in-attendance and pacification commissioner for Hezhong, Shan, Hua, and neighboring prefectures. He submitted plan after plan for defeating the rebels, and Dezong held him in high regard. He was soon made censor-in-chief and dispatched as imperial commissioner to console Weibo. Chaofu was eloquent and resourceful. Addressing Tian Yue's troops, he expounded the rights and wrongs of rebellion, the interests at stake, and the duties of ruler and subject. The soldiers were moved to joy and awe, clapping their hands and crying, "We never dreamed we would live to see the civilizing rule of the throne again! At the banquet Tian Yue, growing drunk, boasted of his skill in horsemanship and archery and his prowess in hand-to-hand combat, and declared, "Put me to use and no fortress will stand before me." Chaofu replied, "If you truly possess such power yet still refuse to return to allegiance, you are nothing but an accomplished rebel." Tian Yue answered, "If a rebel may be called an accomplished rebel, then as a loyal minister I ought to be made a meritorious servant of the throne." Chaofu said, "The empire is still in peril; it waits for you to restore peace." Tian Yue rose and thanked him. Tian Yue had been in rebellion for years; his men were weary of the turmoil and welcomed Chaofu's arrival. Within days Tian Chengsi's son Xu, bitter over being stripped of office, exploited the shifting loyalties of the troops to plot Tian Yue's murder, then sought Chaofu's approval together with the senior general Xing Caojun and others. Reading the mood of the army, Chaofu authorized Tian Xu to assume provisional command of military affairs and thereby defuse the crisis.
4
興元元年，李懷光擁兵河中。 七月，復以巢父兼御史大夫，充宣慰使。 既傳詔旨，懷光以巢父嘗使魏博，田悅死於帳下，恐禍及。 又朔方蕃渾之眾數千，皆在行列，頗驕悖不肅。 聞罷懷光兵權，時懷光素服待命，巢父不止之。 眾鹹忿恚，咄嗟曰：「太尉盡無官矣！」 方宣詔，喧噪，懷光亦不禁止，巢父、守盈並遇害。 上聞之震悼，贈尚書左僕射，仍詔收河中日備禮葬祭。 賜其家布帛米粟甚厚，仍授子正員官。 從子戡、戣、戢。
In the first year of the Xingyuan reign Li Huaiguang held the Hezhong region with his army. In the seventh month Chaofu was again named censor-in-chief and dispatched as imperial commissioner to console the troops. Once the edict was read aloud, Huaiguang recalled that Chaofu had previously been sent to Weibo and that Tian Yue had died in his camp; he feared the same fate awaited him. Several thousand Shuofang tribal troops from the Fan and Hun peoples were also in the ranks, unruly and insubordinate. When they heard that Huaiguang was to be stripped of command, the troops grew restive even though Huaiguang himself stood in plain dress awaiting orders, and Chaofu did nothing to restrain them. The men erupted in fury, shouting, "The Grand Marshal has been stripped of every office! Amid the uproar as the edict was being read, Huaiguang made no move to stop the violence, and both Chaofu and Shouying were killed. The emperor was deeply shaken and grieved. He posthumously appointed Chaofu left vice director of the Department of State Affairs and ordered that his body be recovered in Hezhong and buried with full ceremonial honors on the appointed day. The court granted his family lavish gifts of cloth, silk, rice, and grain, and conferred a regular-rank office on his son. His nephews were Kong Kan, Kong Wei, and Kong Ji.
5
戡，巢父兄岑父之子。 方嚴有家法，重然諾，尚忠義。 盧從史鎮澤潞，辟為書記。 從史浸驕，與王承宗、田緒陰相連結，欲效河朔事以固其位。 戡每秉筆至不軌之言，極諫以為不可，從史怒戡，歲餘，謝病歸洛陽。 李吉甫鎮揚州，召為賓佐。 從史知之，上疏論列，請行貶逐。 憲宗不得已，授衛尉丞，分司洛陽。 初，貞元中籓帥誣奏從事者，皆不驗理，便行降黜。 及戡詔下，給事中呂元膺執之，上令中使慰喻元膺，制書方下。 戡不調而卒，贈駕部員外郎。
Kong Kan was the son of Chaofu's elder brother Cenfu. Upright and stern, he maintained strict household discipline, prized his word, and held loyalty and righteousness above all. When Lu Congshi governed Zelu he recruited Kan as his secretary. Congshi grew increasingly arrogant, secretly aligned himself with Wang Chengzong and Tian Xu, and sought to emulate the independent warlords of Hebei and Shandong to secure his own position. Whenever Kan drafted language he judged improper, he remonstrated forcefully that it must not stand. Congshi grew angry with him, and after more than a year Kan pleaded illness and retired to Luoyang. When Li Jifu governed Yangzhou he summoned Kan to his staff. Congshi learned of the appointment, memorialized the court with accusations, and demanded Kan's dismissal and banishment. Xianzong had no choice but to appoint Kan vice director of the Imperial Stud with duties at the Luoyang branch court. Under the Zhenyuan reign, when a military commissioner falsely accused a staff member, the court never investigated the charge on its merits and simply ordered an immediate demotion. When the edict demoting Kan was issued, attendant-in-attendance Lü Yuanying blocked it. The emperor sent a palace envoy to reason with Yuanying, and only then was the decree allowed to proceed. Kan died before he could take up the new post and was posthumously granted acting director in the Imperial Transport Office.
6
戣，字君嚴。 登進士第，鄭滑節度使盧群辟為從事。 群卒，命戣權掌留務，監軍使以氣淩之，戣無所屈降。 入為侍御史，累轉尚書郎。 元和初，改諫議大夫，侃然忠讜，有諫臣體。 上疏論時政四條，帝意嘉納。
Kong Wei, whose courtesy name was Junyan. He passed the jinshi examination, after which the Zheng-Hua military commissioner Lu Qun recruited him as an aide. When Lu Qun died, Wei was left in charge of administrative affairs. The army supervisory commissioner tried to intimidate him, but Wei refused to yield. He was recalled to the capital as attending censor and rose through successive posts in the Department of State Affairs. Early in the Yuanhe reign he was appointed remonstrance counselor, forthright and loyal in his criticisms, with the bearing of a true remonstrating official. He memorialized the throne on four points of current policy, and the emperor received his recommendations favorably.
7
六年十月，內官劉希光受將軍孫璹賂二十萬貫，以求方鎮。 事敗，賜希光死。 時吐突承璀以出軍無功，諫官論列，坐希光事出為淮南監軍使。 太子通事舍人李涉知上待承璀意未衰，欲投匭上疏，論承璀有功，希光無事，久委心腹，不宜遽棄。 戣為匭使，得涉副章，不受，面詰責之。 涉乃進疏於光順門。 戣極論其與中官交結，言甚激切。 詔貶涉為陜州司倉。 幸臣聞之側目，人為危之。
In the tenth month of the sixth year the palace eunuch Liu Xiguang accepted a bribe of two hundred thousand strings of cash from the general Sun Zuan in exchange for securing a military governorship. When the plot was exposed, the emperor ordered Liu Xiguang executed. Tutu Chenghuan, whose military campaign had failed to achieve its aims, came under criticism from the remonstrance officials and, implicated in the Xiguang affair, was sent out as army supervisory commissioner of Huainan. Li She, communications aide to the crown prince, saw that the emperor's favor toward Chenghuan had not faded and prepared a memorial for the complaint box arguing that Chenghuan had rendered real service, that the Xiguang affair was no grounds for dismissal, and that a long-trusted confidant ought not be cast aside so abruptly. As commissioner of the complaint box, Wei intercepted She's duplicate draft, refused to accept it, and confronted him with a stern rebuke. Li She then submitted the memorial directly at the Guangshun Gate. Wei denounced him in the strongest terms for colluding with palace eunuchs, his language fierce and unsparing. The emperor ordered Li She demoted to granary officer of Shanzhou. The emperor's favorites glared at him in resentment, and observers feared for his safety.
8
戣高步公卿間，以方嚴見憚。 俄兼太子侍讀，遷吏部侍郎，轉左丞。
Wei held his head high among the highest ministers, and his uprightness and severity inspired fear. He was soon made concurrent reader to the crown prince, promoted to vice director of the Ministry of Personnel, and then transferred to left vice director of the Department of State Affairs.
9
九年，信州刺史李位為州將韋嶽讒譖於本使監軍高重謙，言位結聚術士，以圖不軌。 追位至京師，鞫於禁中。 戣奏曰：「刺史得罪，合歸法司按問，不合劾於內仗。」 乃出付御史臺。 戣與三司訊鞫，得其狀。 位好黃老道，時修齋箓，與山人王恭合煉藥物，別無逆狀。 以嶽誣告，決殺。 貶位建州司馬。 時非戣論諫，罪在不測，人士稱之。 愈為中官所惡，尋出為華州刺史、潼關防禦等使。 入為大理卿，改國子祭酒。
In the ninth year the Xinzhou prefect Li Wei was denounced by a local officer, Wei Yue, to the circuit commissioner and army supervisory commissioner Gao Chongqian, who accused Wei of gathering occult practitioners to plot sedition. Li Wei was summoned to the capital and interrogated inside the palace. Kong Wei memorialized: "When a prefect stands accused, the case belongs in the regular judicial offices. It is improper to try him before the inner guard. The case was transferred to the Censorate. Kong Wei joined the Three Offices in the investigation and established the facts. Li Wei was a devotee of Huang-Lao teachings who practiced ritual fasting and, together with the recluse Wang Gong, compounded elixirs. There was no evidence of sedition. Wei Yue was executed for making a false accusation. Li Wei was demoted to military adjutant of Jianzhou. Had Kong Wei not intervened, Li Wei might have faced an unpredictable fate. Men of learning praised him widely. Palace eunuchs came to resent him, and he was soon posted out as prefect of Huazhou and Tong Pass defense commissioner. He was recalled as director of the Court of Judicial Review and then appointed rector of the Imperial University.
10
十二年，嶺南節度使崔詠卒，三軍請帥，宰相奏擬皆不稱旨。 因入對，上謂裴度曰：「嘗有上疏論南海進蚶菜者，詞甚忠正，此人何在，卿第求之。」 度退訪之。 或曰祭酒孔戣嘗論此事，度征疏進之。 即日授廣州刺史，兼御史大夫、嶺南節度使。
In the twelfth year the Lingnan military commissioner Cui Yong died. The army petitioned for a new commander, but none of the chief ministers' nominees satisfied the emperor. During an audience the emperor said to Pei Du, "Someone once memorialized against the Nanhai tribute of oysters and clams in language notably loyal and forthright. Find that man for me. Pei Du withdrew and made inquiries. Someone identified Rector Kong Wei as the author of that memorial. Pei Du located the document and presented it to the throne. That same day Kong Wei was appointed prefect of Guangzhou with concurrent titles as censor-in-chief and Lingnan military commissioner.
11
戣剛正清儉，在南海，請刺史俸料之外，絕其取索。 先是帥南海者，京師權要多托買南人為奴婢，戣不受托。 至郡，禁絕賣女口。 先是準詔禱南海神，多令從事代祠。 戣每受詔，自犯風波而往。 韓愈在潮州，作詩以美之。 時桂管經略使楊旻、桂仲武、裴行立等騷動生蠻，以求功伐，遂至嶺表累歲用兵。 唯戣以清儉為理，不務邀功，交、廣大理。
Upright, incorruptible, and frugal, he governed the Nanhai region and abolished every levy beyond the prefect's official salary. Previous commanders of the south had routinely accepted commissions from powerful families in the capital to purchase southerners as slaves. Kong Wei refused every such request. Upon reaching his post he banned the sale of women outright. By custom, when an edict required prayers to the Nanhai sea god, commanders usually sent a subordinate to perform the rites in their place. Whenever Kong Wei received such an edict he went in person, braving wind and waves. Han Yu, then in Chaozhou, composed a poem in his praise. At the time the Guiguan frontier commissioners Yang Min, Gui Zhongwu, Pei Xingli, and others provoked unrest among the indigenous peoples to win military glory, keeping the Lingnan region at war for years on end. Kong Wei alone governed through integrity and frugality, sought no glory through military campaigns, and brought peace and good order to Jiao and Guang.
12
穆宗即位，召為吏部侍郎。 長慶中，或告戣在南海時家人受賂，上不之責，改右散騎常侍。 二年，轉尚書左丞。 累請老，詔以禮部尚書致仕，優詔褒美。 仍令所司歲致羊酒，如漢禮征士故事。 長慶四年正月卒，時年七十三。
When Muzong ascended the throne Kong Wei was recalled as vice director of the Ministry of Personnel. During the Changqing reign someone reported that Kong Wei's family had accepted bribes while he governed the south. The emperor did not hold him accountable but transferred him to right regular attendant of the cavalry. In the second year he was transferred to left vice director of the Department of State Affairs. He repeatedly petitioned for retirement and was granted the post of minister of rites with permission to retire, accompanied by an edict of warm praise. The court also ordered the relevant offices to present him with sheep and wine each year, following the Han dynasty precedent for honoring retired scholars. He died in the first month of the fourth year of Changqing, at the age of seventy-three.
13
子遵孺、溫裕，皆登進士第。 大中已後，叠居顯職。 溫裕位京兆尹、天平軍節度使。 遵孺子緯，自有傳。
His sons Zunru and Wenyü both passed the jinshi examination. After the Dazhong reign they rose repeatedly to eminent offices. Wenyü served as metropolitan prefect of Jingzhao and military commissioner of Tianping. Zunru's son Wei is the subject of a separate biography.
14
戢，字方舉，戣母弟也。 以季父巢父死難，德宗嘉其忠，詔與一子正員官，因授戢修武尉。 以長兄戡未仕，固乞回授。 舉明經登第，判入高等，授秘書省校書郎、陽翟尉，入拜監察御史，轉殿中，分司東都。 時昭義節度判官徐玟，以狡慝助成從史之惡。 從史既得罪，孟元陽為昭義節度，復欲用玟為賓佐，戢遂牒澤潞收玟以俟命，然後列狀上聞，竟流玟播州。 轉侍御史、庫部員外郎。
Kong Ji, whose courtesy name was Fangju, was Kong Wei's younger brother by the same mother. Because his uncle Chaofu had died in loyal service to the throne, Dezong commended the family's devotion and decreed that one son receive a regular-rank office; Kong Ji was appointed captain of Xiüwu. Because his elder brother Kan had not yet received an appointment, he petitioned that the honor be transferred to him instead. He passed the mingjing examination with a high evaluation, was appointed proofreader in the Secretariat and magistrate of Yangdi, entered the capital as supervising censor, was promoted to palace censor, and served at the Luoyang branch court. At the time Xu Min, a staff officer under the Zhaoyi military commissioner, had used his cunning to help Lu Congshi carry out his worst schemes. After Congshi's downfall, Meng Yuanyang became Zhaoyi military commissioner and sought to bring Xu Min back onto his staff. Kong Ji dispatched orders to the Zelu authorities to detain Xu Min pending imperial decision, then memorialized the throne, and Xu Min was ultimately banished to Bozhou. He was promoted to attending censor and acting director in the Ministry of Revenue.
15
初，涇師之亂，硃泚署彭偃為舍人。 至是偃子充符為鄜坊從事，或薦其才，執事者召至京師。 戢謂京兆尹裴武曰：「硃泚為偽詔，指斥乘輿，皆彭偃之詞也。 悖逆之子，不能鳥竄獸伏，乃違道以幹譽，子盍效季孫行父之逐莒仆，以勉事君者。」 武即日逐充符。
During the Jingzhou mutiny, Zhu Ci had appointed Peng Yan as an attendant. By then Yan's son Chongfu was serving as an aide in Fufang. When someone recommended his talents, the authorities summoned him to the capital. Kong Ji said to Metropolitan Prefect Pei Wu, "When Zhu Ci issued forged edicts denouncing the emperor, every word was Peng Yan's handiwork. The son of a traitor ought to hide in shame, not court favor by improper means. Why not follow Jisun Xingfu's example in expelling Ju Pu, and thereby encourage those who would serve the throne faithfully? Pei Wu expelled Chongfu that same day.
16
遷京兆尹，出為汝州刺史、大理卿。 出為潭州刺史、湖南觀察使。 時兄戣為嶺南，兄弟皆居節鎮，朝野榮之。 入為右散騎常侍，拜京兆尹。 時累月亢旱，深軫聖情。 戢自禱雨於曲池，是夕大雨。 文宗甚悅，詔兼御史大夫。 大和三年正月卒，贈工部尚書。
He was promoted to metropolitan prefect of Jingzhao, then posted out as prefect of Ruzhou and director of the Court of Judicial Review. He was later appointed prefect of Tanzhou and Hunan observation commissioner. At the time his elder brother Kong Wei governed Lingnan, and with both brothers holding frontier commands the court and the public regarded them with admiration. He was recalled as right regular attendant of the cavalry and appointed metropolitan prefect of Jingzhao. A prolonged drought had deeply troubled the emperor. Kong Ji prayed for rain at Qu Pond in person, and that evening a heavy downpour fell. Wenzong was greatly pleased and appointed him concurrent censor-in-chief. He died in the first month of the third year of Taihe and was posthumously appointed minister of works.
17
子溫業，登進士第。 大中後，歷位通顯。 溫業子晦。 許孟容許孟容，字公範，京兆長安人也。 父鳴謙，究通《易象》，官至撫州刺史，贈禮部尚書。 孟容少以文詞知名，舉進士甲科，後究《王氏易》登科，授秘書省校書郎。 趙贊為荊、襄等道黜陟使，表為判官。 貞元初，徐州節度使張建封辟為從事，四遷侍御史。 李納屯兵境上，揚言入寇。 建封遣將吏數輩告諭，不聽。 於是遣孟容單車詣納，為陳逆順禍福之計。 納即日發使追兵，因請修好。 遂表孟容為濠州刺史。 無幾，德宗知其才，征為禮部員外郎。
His son Wényè passed the jinshi examination. After the Dazhong reign he rose to a series of eminent offices. Wényè's son was Hui. Xu Mengrong, whose courtesy name was Gongfan, came from Chang'an in the Jingzhao metropolitan region. His father Mingqian was a master of the Images of the "Book of Changes" who rose to prefect of Fuzhou and was posthumously appointed minister of rites. Mengrong won early fame for his literary talent, passed the jinshi in the top grade, later mastered Wang Bi's commentary on the "Changes" and passed a further examination, and was appointed proofreader in the Secretariat. When Zhao Zan served as commissioner for promotion and demotion in the Jing and Xiang circuits, he recommended Mengrong as his judge. Early in the Zhenyuan reign the Xuzhou military commissioner Zhang Jianfeng recruited him as an aide, and he was promoted four times to attending censor. Li Na massed troops on the border and threatened invasion. Zhang Jianfeng sent several officers to reason with him, but Li Na would not heed them. Jianfeng then sent Mengrong alone in a single carriage to Li Na's camp to expound the consequences of rebellion and loyalty. Li Na immediately recalled his troops and sent envoys to seek a renewal of friendly relations. Li Na then memorialized the court to appoint Mengrong prefect of Haozhou. Before long Dezong recognized his ability and summoned him to the capital as acting director in the Ministry of Rites.
18
有公主之子，請補弘文、崇文館諸生，孟容舉令式不許。 主訴於上，命中使問狀。 孟容執奏，竟得遷本曹郎中。 德宗降誕日，禦麟德殿，命孟容等登座，與釋、老之徒講論。 十四年，轉兵部郎中。 未滿歲，遷給事中。
A princess's son petitioned for admission as a student in the Hongwen and Chongwen halls. Mengrong cited the regulations and refused. The princess complained to the emperor, who sent a palace envoy to investigate. Mengrong held firm in his memorial and was eventually promoted to director in the Ministry of Rites. On Dezong's birthday he held court in Linde Hall and had Mengrong and others take the dais to debate Buddhist and Daoist masters. In the fourteenth year he was transferred to director in the Ministry of War. Within a year he was promoted to attendant-in-attendance.
19
十七年夏，好畤縣風雹傷麥，上命品官覆視，不實，詔罰京兆尹顧少連已下。 敕出，孟容執奏曰：「府縣上事不實，罪止奪俸停官，其於弘宥，已是殊澤。 但陛下使品官覆視後，更擇憲官一人，再令驗察，覆視轉審，隱欺益明。 事宜觀聽，法歸綱紀。 臣受官中謝日，伏請詔敕有須詳議者，則乞停留晷刻，得以奏陳。 此敕既非急，宣可以少駐。」 詔雖不許，公議是之。
In the summer of the seventeenth year wind and hail damaged the wheat crop in Haozhi County. The emperor sent ranked officials to verify the report, found it false, and ordered punishments for Metropolitan Prefect Gu Shaolian and his subordinates. When the edict was issued Mengrong blocked it and memorialized: "When prefectural and county officials file false reports, the proper penalty is salary confiscation and suspension from office. Even that would already be an act of extraordinary clemency. After Your Majesty sends ranked officials to verify the report, appoint one censorial official to investigate again. With successive reviews, any concealment or deception will become all the clearer. The matter should be examined openly, and the law should be upheld. When I took office I humbly requested that whenever an edict required careful deliberation, I be allowed a brief delay to present my views. This decree is not urgent and ought to be held briefly for review. The emperor did not accept his objection, but public opinion sided with Mengrong.
20
十八年，浙江東道觀察使裴肅卒，以攝副使齊總為衢州刺史。 時總為肅剝下進奉以希恩，遽授大郡，物議喧然。 詔出，孟容執奏曰：「陛下比者以兵戎之地，或有不獲已超授者。 今衢州無他虞，齊總無殊績，忽此超授，群情驚駭。 總是浙東判官，今詔敕稱權知留後，攝都團練副使，向來無此敕命。 便用此詔，尤恐不可。 若總必有可錄，陛下須要酬勞，即明書課最，超一兩資與改。 今舉朝之人，不知總之功能，衢州浙東大郡，總自大理評事兼監察御史授之，使遐邇不甘，兇惡騰口。 如臣言不切，乞陛下暫停此詔，密使人聽察，必賀聖朝無私。 今齊總詔謹隨狀封進。」 尋有諫官論列，乃留中不下。 德宗召孟容對於延英，諭之曰：「使百執事皆如卿，朕何憂也。」 自給事中袁高論盧杞後，未嘗有可否，及聞孟容之奏，四方皆感上之聽納，嘉孟容之當官。
In the eighteenth year the Zhejiang East Circuit observation commissioner Pei Su died, and the acting deputy commissioner Qi Zong was appointed prefect of Quzhou. Qi Zong had extorted tribute from subordinates to curry imperial favor and was abruptly given a major prefecture, provoking widespread outrage. When the edict was issued Mengrong blocked it and memorialized: "Your Majesty has recently granted extraordinary promotions only in regions torn by warfare, where no alternative existed. Quzhou faces no special threat, and Qi Zong has no distinguished record. This sudden extraordinary promotion has shocked the entire court. Qi Zong was merely a staff judge in Zhedong, yet this edict names him acting provisional commissioner and acting deputy commander of the united training circuit—titles never before granted in such circumstances. To issue this edict as written would be especially unwise. If Qi Zong truly deserves reward, let Your Majesty record his achievements in writing and promote him one or two ranks by regular procedure. The entire court knows nothing of Qi Zong's abilities. Quzhou is a major prefecture of Zhedong, yet he is appointed from the lowly rank of grand court evaluator with concurrent supervising censor—a promotion that will outrage men near and far and give the malicious cause to speak out. If my words miss the mark, I beg Your Majesty to suspend this edict temporarily and send someone to investigate in secret. The realm will surely applaud the court's impartiality. I respectfully enclose the edict concerning Qi Zong with this memorial. Soon other remonstrance officials joined the debate, and the edict was held at court and never issued. Dezong summoned Mengrong to audience in Yanying Hall and told him, "If every official were like you, what would I have to fear?". Since Yuan Gao's remonstrance against Lu Qi, the court had rarely seen such forthright approval or rejection of policy. When Mengrong's memorial became known, the realm was moved by the emperor's willingness to heed criticism and praised Mengrong for fulfilling his duty.
21
十九年夏旱，孟容上疏曰：
In the nineteenth year a summer drought struck, and Mengrong submitted a memorial stating:
22
事雖不行，物議嘉之。 貞元末，坐裴延齡、李齊運等讒謗流貶者，動十數年不量移，故因旱歉，孟容奏此以諷。 然終貞元世，罕有遷移者。
Though the proposal was not adopted, public opinion praised him warmly. At the end of the Zhenyuan reign, officials exiled through the slanders of Pei Yanling, Li Qiyun, and their allies often went more than ten years without a transfer of posting. Mengrong used the drought and poor harvest as an occasion to offer this implicit admonition. Yet through the remainder of the Zhenyuan reign, few exiles were ever transferred.
23
孟容以諷諭太切，改太常少卿。 元和初，遷刑部侍郎、尚書右丞。 四年，拜京兆尹，賜紫。 神策吏李昱假貸長安富人錢八千貫，滿三歲不償。 孟容遣吏收捕械系，克日命還之，曰：「不及期當死。」 自興元已後，禁軍有功，又中貴之尤有渥恩者，方得護軍。 故軍士日益縱橫，府縣不能制。 孟容剛正不懼，以法繩之，一軍盡驚，冤訴於上。 立命中使宣旨，令送本軍，孟容系之不遣。 中使再至，乃執奏曰：「臣誠知不奉詔當誅，然臣職司輦轂，合為陛下彈抑豪強。 錢未盡輸，昱不可得。」 上以其守正，許之。 自此豪右斂跡，威望大震。 改兵部侍郎。 俄以本官權知禮部貢舉，頗抑浮華，選擇才藝。 出為河南尹，亦有威名。 俄知禮部選事，征拜吏部侍郎。
Because his admonition had been too pointed, Mengrong was transferred to vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Early in the Yuanhe reign he was promoted to vice director of the Ministry of Justice and right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. In the fourth year he was appointed metropolitan prefect of Jingzhao and granted the purple robe of high rank. Li Yu, a clerk in the Shence Army, borrowed eight thousand strings of cash from a wealthy Chang'an merchant and failed to repay it after three years. Mengrong sent officers to arrest and imprison him, set a deadline for repayment, and declared, "Miss the deadline and you die. Since the Xingyuan reign, only imperial guardsmen with distinguished service—or those under the protection of especially favored palace eunuchs—could shield their men from the law. As a result the guardsmen grew ever more lawless, and the metropolitan and county authorities could not restrain them. Mengrong, upright and fearless, applied the law without flinching. The entire army was stunned, and they appealed to the emperor with grievances. The emperor immediately sent a palace envoy with orders to return Li Yu to his unit, but Mengrong kept him imprisoned and refused to release him. When the envoy came a second time, Mengrong held firm and memorialized: "I know that disobeying an imperial edict deserves death, yet my duty is to govern the capital and restrain the powerful on Your Majesty's behalf. Until the debt is fully repaid, Li Yu will not be released. The emperor, recognizing his integrity, granted the request. From that day the powerful curbed their conduct, and his authority resounded throughout the capital. He was transferred to vice director of the Ministry of War. He soon assumed provisional charge of the civil service examinations, curbing flashy display and selecting candidates for genuine talent. Posted out as metropolitan prefect of Henan, he earned a reputation for stern authority there as well. He soon took charge of Ministry of Rites selection affairs and was recalled as vice director of the Ministry of Personnel.
24
會十年六月，盜殺宰相武元衡，並傷議臣裴度。 時淮夷逆命，兇威方熾，王師問罪，未有成功。 言事者繼上章疏請罷兵。 是時盜賊竊發，人情甚惑，獨孟容詣中書雪涕而言曰：「昔漢廷有一汲黯，奸臣尚為寢謀。 今主上英明，朝廷未有過失，而狂賊敢爾無狀，寧謂國無人乎？ 然轉禍為福，此其時也。 莫若上聞，起裴中丞為相，令主兵柄，大索賊黨，窮其奸源。」 後數日，度果為相，而下詔行誅。 時孟容議論人物，有大臣風彩。 由太常卿為尚書左丞，奉詔宣慰汴宋陳許河陽行營諸軍，俄拜東都留守。 元和十三年四月卒，年七十六，贈太子少保，謚曰憲。
In the sixth month of the tenth year assassins killed Chief Minister Wu Yuanheng and wounded Remonstrance Official Pei Du. The Huai rebels were in open defiance, their power at its height, and the imperial army's punitive campaign had yet to succeed. Memorialists repeatedly petitioned the throne to withdraw the army. Banditry was spreading and public morale was shaken. Mengrong alone went to the Secretariat, weeping openly, and said, "In the Han dynasty a single Ji An was enough to make treacherous ministers abandon their plots. Our sovereign is enlightened, the court has committed no fault, yet these mad assassins dare such outrage. Are we to believe the empire has no capable men? Yet to turn disaster into blessing—this is the moment to do it. Report to the throne, appoint Vice Censor Pei as chief minister, place military authority in his hands, hunt down the assassins' faction, and trace the conspiracy to its roots. Within days Pei Du was indeed appointed chief minister, and edicts ordering executions followed. At the time Mengrong's judgments of men displayed the bearing of a great minister. Promoted from director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, he was ordered to console the armies of the Bian-Song, Chen-Xu, and Heyang campaign headquarters, and was soon appointed eastern capital garrison commander. He died in the fourth month of the thirteenth year of Yuanhe at the age of seventy-six, was posthumously appointed junior tutor to the crown prince, and was given the posthumous title Xian.
25
孟容方勁，富有文學。 其折衷禮法，考詳訓典，甚堅正，論者稱焉。 而又好推轂，樂善拔士，士多歸之。 呂元膺呂元膺，字景夫，鄆州東平人。 曾祖紹宗，右拾遺。 祖霈，殿中侍御史。 父長卿，右衛倉曹參軍，以元膺贈秘書監。
Mengrong was upright and forceful, and richly learned in literature. In adjudicating ritual and law and in his careful study of canonical texts he was notably firm and correct, and commentators praised him for it. He also loved to advance others, delighted in recognizing talent, and scholars flocked to him. Lü Yuanying, whose courtesy name was Jingfu, came from Dongping in Yanzhou. His great-grandfather Shaozong served as right reminder. His grandfather Pei served as palace attending censor. His father Changqing served as registrar in the Right Guard granary office; Yuanying's honors earned him a posthumous appointment as director of the Secretariat.
26
元膺質度瑰偉，有公侯之器。 建中初，策賢良對問第，授同州安邑尉。 同州刺史侯鐈聞其名，辟為長春宮判官。 屬浦賊侵軼，鐈失所，元膺遂潛跡不務進取。
Yuanying possessed a magnificent bearing and the makings of a statesman. Early in the Jianzhong reign he ranked in the examination for worthy and good responses and was appointed captain of Anyi in Tongzhou. Tongzhou Prefect Hou Qian heard of his reputation and recruited him as judge of the Everlasting Spring Palace. When Pu bandits raided the region, Hou Qian lost his post, and Yuanying withdrew from public life and ceased to seek advancement.
27
貞元初，論惟明節制渭北，延在賓席，自是名達於朝廷。 惟明卒，王棲曜代領其鎮。 德宗俾棲曜留署使職，咨以軍政。 累轉殿中侍御史，征入，真拜本官，轉侍御史。 丁繼母憂，服闋，除右司員外郎。 出為蘄州刺史，頗著恩信。 嘗歲終閱郡獄囚，囚有自告者曰：「某有父母在，明日元正不得相見。」 因泣下。 元膺憫焉，盡脫其械縱之，與為期。 守吏曰：「賊不可縱。」 元膺曰：「吾以忠信待之。」 及期，無後到者。 由是群盜感義，相引而去。
Early in the Zhenyuan reign Lun Weiming, commanding Weibei, retained him on his staff, and from that point his name reached the court. When Lun Weiming died, Wang Qiyao succeeded to command of his territory. Dezong had Wang Qiyao retain provisional charge of the commissioner's duties and consulted him on military affairs. After serving in several posts, he rose to Palace Attendant Censor. Summoned to the capital, he received formal appointment to that rank and was then promoted to Censor. When his stepmother died, he left office to observe mourning. After the mourning period ended, he was appointed Vice Director in the Right Office of the Secretariat. He was sent out to serve as prefect of Qizhou, where he won a strong reputation for fairness and kindness. Once, at year's end, he reviewed the prisoners in the prefectural jail. One prisoner spoke up: "I still have parents living at home, and tomorrow is New Year's Day—I will not be able to see them. With that he burst into tears. Moved by this, Yuanying had all his shackles removed and let him go, fixing a date for his return. The jail guards objected: "You cannot release a criminal. Yuanying replied: "I shall treat him with good faith. When the day came, every prisoner returned on time—not one was late. Impressed by his integrity, the other prisoners were moved to leave of their own accord, one after another.
28
元和初，征拜右司郎中、兼侍御史，知雜事，遷諫議大夫、給事中。 規諫駁議，大舉其職。 及鎮州王承宗之叛，憲宗將以吐突丞璀為招討處置使。 元膺與給事中穆質、孟簡，兵部侍郎許孟容等八人抗論不可，且曰：「承璀雖貴寵，然內臣也。 若為帥總兵，恐不為諸將所伏。」 指諭明切，憲宗納之，為改使號，然猶專戎柄，無功而還。 出為同州刺史，及中謝，上問時政得失，元膺論奏，辭氣激切，上嘉之。 翌日謂宰相曰：「元膺有讜言直氣，宜留在左右，使言得失，卿等以為何如？」 李籓、裴垍賀曰：「陛下納諫，超冠百王，乃宗社無疆之休。 臣等不能廣求端士，又不能數進忠言，孤負聖心，合當罪戾。 請留元膺給事左右。」 尋兼皇太子侍讀，賜以金紫。
At the beginning of the Yuanhe era, he was recalled to the capital and appointed Director in the Right Office of the Secretariat, with concurrent duties as Censor overseeing miscellaneous matters. He was then promoted to Remonstrance and Reviewing Advisor and Attendant Drafting Officer. In remonstrance, admonition, and the review of imperial proposals, he fully discharged his responsibilities. When Wang Chengzong of Zhenzhou rebelled, Emperor Xianzong planned to appoint Tutu Chenghuan as Pacification Commissioner. Yuanying joined Attendant Drafting Officers Mu Zhi and Meng Jian, Vice Minister of War Xu Mengrong, and five others—eight men in all—in forceful opposition, arguing: "Although Chenghuan enjoys the emperor's special favor, he is a eunuch. If he is made supreme commander, I fear the field generals will refuse to follow him. Their reasoning was clear and compelling. Xianzong accepted it and altered the commissioner's title, but Chenghuan still retained full control of the campaign—and returned without victory. He was appointed prefect of Tongzhou. At his audience to express thanks, the emperor asked about the strengths and failings of current policy. Yuanying's reply was forceful and blunt, and the emperor was pleased. The next day the emperor said to his chief ministers: "Yuanying speaks bluntly and holds himself upright. He ought to stay at court where he can tell me plainly what is right and wrong—what do you think? Li Fan and Pei Ji replied in praise: "Your Majesty's willingness to heed remonstrance surpasses that of every ruler of old—it is an unending blessing for the dynasty. We have neither sought out enough upright men nor offered loyal counsel often enough. We have failed your trust and deserve blame. We ask that Yuanying be kept at your side as an Attendant Drafting Officer. Shortly afterward he was also made Reader-in-Waiting to the Crown Prince and awarded the gold seal and purple robes of high rank.
29
尋拜御史中丞。 未幾，除鄂嶽觀察使，入為尚書左丞。 度支使潘孟陽與太府卿王遂叠相奏論，孟陽除散騎常侍，遂為鄧州刺史，皆假以美詞。 元膺封還詔書，請明示枉直。 江西觀察使裴堪奏虔州刺史李將順贓狀，朝廷不覆按，遽貶將順道州司戶。 元膺曰：「廉使奏刺史贓罪，不覆檢即謫去，縱堪之詞足信，亦不可為天下法。」 又封詔書，請發御史按問，宰臣不能奪。 代權德輿為東都留守、檢校工部尚書、兼御史大夫、都畿防禦使。 舊例，留守賜旗甲，與方鎮同。 及元膺受任不賜，朝論以淮西用兵，特用元膺守洛，不宜削其儀制，以沮威望，諫官論列，援華、汝、壽三州例。 上曰：「此數處並宜不賜。」 留守不賜旗甲，自元膺始。
He was soon promoted to Vice Censor-in-Chief. Not long after, he was made Observation Commissioner of Ezhou and Yuezhou, then recalled to serve as Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. Director of Revenue Pan Mengyang and Palace Storehouse Director Wang Sui filed successive memorials denouncing each other. Mengyang was appointed Regular Attendant, and Wang Sui was made prefect of Dengzhou—both edicts wrapped in flattering language. Yuanying returned the edicts unopened and asked that the court openly state which man was in the wrong. Jiangxi Observation Commissioner Pei Kan reported that Qianzhou prefect Li Jiangshun was corrupt. Without reinvestigating, the court immediately demoted Jiangshun to registrar of Daozhou. Yuanying objected: "When an integrity commissioner accuses a prefect of corruption, to banish him without a follow-up investigation—even if Pei Kan's charges are entirely credible—cannot be allowed to set a precedent for the empire. Once again he returned the edict and asked that censors be sent to conduct an inquiry—and the chief ministers could not prevail against him. He succeeded Quan Deyu as Eastern Capital Administrator, with acting rank as Minister of Works, concurrent appointment as Censor-in-Chief, and command of metropolitan defenses. By longstanding custom, Eastern Capital Administrators were granted military banners and armor—the same honors accorded to regional military commissioners. When Yuanying took office without receiving them, court opinion held that because troops were engaged in Huai Xi, he had been placed in Luoyang for a special purpose—and that stripping him of these honors would undermine his authority. Remonstrating officials pressed the point, citing the precedents of Hua, Ru, and Shou prefectures. The emperor replied: "None of these posts should receive such honors. From Yuanying's tenure onward, Eastern Capital Administrators no longer received banners and armor.
30
十年七月，鄆州李師道留邸伏甲謀亂。 初，師道於東都置邸院，兵諜雜以往來，吏不敢辨。 因吳元濟北犯，郊畿多警，防禦兵盡戍伊闕。 師道伏甲百余於邸院，將焚宮室而肆殺掠。 已烹牛饗眾，明日將出。 會小將李再興告變，元膺追兵伊闕，圍之，半月無敢進攻者。 防禦判官王茂元殺一人而後進。 或有毀其墉而入者，賊眾突出，圍兵奔駭。 賊乃團結，以其孥偕行。 出長夏門，轉掠郊墅，奪牛馬，東濟伊水，望山而去。 元膺誡境上兵重購以捕之。 數月，有山棚賣鹿於市。 賊過，山棚乃召集其黨，引官兵圍於谷中，盡獲之。 窮理其魁，乃中嶽寺僧圓凈，年八十余，嘗為史思明將，偉悍過人。 初執之，使折其脛，錘之不折。 圓凈罵曰：「腳猶不解折，乃稱健兒乎！」 自置其足教折之。 臨刑嘆曰：「誤我事，不得使洛城流血！」 死者凡數十人。 留守防禦將二人，都亭驛卒五人，甘水驛卒三人，皆潛受其職署而為之耳目，自始謀及將敗無知者。 初，師道多買田於伊闕、陸渾之間，凡十余處，故以舍山棚而衣食之。 有訾嘉珍、門察者，潛部分之，以屬圓凈。 以師道錢千萬偽理佛寺，期以嘉珍竊發時舉火於山中，集二縣山棚人作亂。 及窮按之，嘉珍、門察皆稱害武元衡者。 元膺以聞，送之上都，賞告變人楊進、李再興錦彩三百匹、宅一區，授之郎將。 無膺因請募山河子弟以衛宮城，從之。 盜發之日，都城震恐，留守兵寡弱，不可倚，而元膺坐皇城門，指使部分，氣意自若，以故居人帖然。
In the seventh month of Yuanhe 10, Li Shidao of Yanzhou hid armed men in his Luoyang residence to stage an uprising. For some time Li Shidao had maintained a compound in Luoyang through which soldiers and spies passed freely, and local officials did not dare challenge them. When Wu Yuanji launched his northern offensive, the suburbs around the capital fell into widespread alarm, and all defensive forces were posted at Yique. Li Shidao hid more than a hundred armed men in the compound, planning to burn the palace quarters and unleash slaughter and looting across the city. They had slaughtered cattle to feast their men and planned to strike the following day. Then a junior officer named Li Zaixing reported the plot. Yuanying rushed troops from Yique and surrounded the compound, but for two weeks no one dared launch an assault. Defense aide Wang Maoyuan killed one rebel before he would advance. When attackers breached the wall, the rebels surged out and the surrounding troops broke and fled in terror. The rebels regrouped and marched off with their families in tow. They fled through Changxia Gate, raided country estates along the way, seized livestock, crossed the Yi River to the east, and made for the hills. Yuanying instructed border troops to post rich bounties for the rebels' capture. Months later, hill people brought deer to sell at market. When the rebels passed nearby, these hill dwellers rallied their allies, guided government troops into a valley ambush, and captured the entire band. Investigation revealed the ringleader to be Yuanjing, a monk of the Central Peak Temple. Over eighty years old, he had once served as a general under Shi Siming and was a man of towering build and terrifying strength. Upon capture, his captors tried to break his shins with hammers—but the bones would not break. Yuanjing spat at them: "You can't even break a man's legs and you call yourselves soldiers! He showed them himself—placed his feet and told them exactly how to do it. At the execution ground he sighed: "You have ruined everything—I never got to make Luoyang run with blood! Several dozen men were put to death. Two defense generals under the administrator, five couriers from Duting Station, and three from Ganshui Station had all secretly accepted commissions from the rebels and served as their informants—and from the first plotting until the plot nearly collapsed, no one knew. Li Shidao had long before purchased more than a dozen estates between Yique and Luhun, housing hill people there and supporting them with food and clothing. Two agents, Zi Jiazhen and Men Cha, secretly organized these assets and placed them under Yuanjing's command. Using ten million of Li Shidao's cash, ostensibly to build a Buddhist temple, they planned that when Jiazhen launched the surprise attack they would signal with bonfires in the mountains and muster hill dwellers from two counties to rise in revolt. Under interrogation, both Jiazhen and Men Cha confessed to having murdered Wu Yuanheng. Yuanying reported the findings and sent the prisoners to the capital. He rewarded the informants Yang Jin and Li Zaixing with three hundred bolts of brocade and silk, a residence, and appointments as brigade generals. Yuanying then petitioned to recruit local youths from the surrounding hills and waterways to guard the imperial city, and the request was approved. When the plot broke, the capital was gripped with fear. The garrison was too small and weak to depend on, yet Yuanying took his seat at the imperial city gate, calmly directing defenses—and the people of the city settled down.
31
數年，改河中尹，充河中節度等使。 時方鎮多事姑息，元膺獨以堅正自處，監軍使洎往來中貴，無不敬憚。 入拜吏部侍郎，因疾固讓，改太子賓客。 元和十五年二月卒，年七十二，贈吏部尚書。
Several years later he was made governor of Hezhong and Military Commissioner of the Hezhong circuit. Regional commissioners of the day were mostly given to indulgence and appeasement, but Yuanying alone conducted himself with uncompromising integrity. Army supervisors and palace eunuchs who passed through his domain all treated him with a wary respect. He was recalled to court as Vice Minister of Personnel, but pleaded illness and firmly declined the post; he was reassigned as Mentor to the Crown Prince. He died in the second month of Yuanhe 15, aged seventy-two, and was posthumously honored as Minister of Personnel.
32
元膺學識深遠，處事得體，正色立朝，有臺輔之望。 初遊京師時，故相齊映謂人曰：「吾不及識婁、郝，殆斯人之類乎！」 其業官行己，始終無缺云。 劉棲楚劉棲楚，出於寒微，為吏鎮州，王承宗甚奇之。 後有薦於李逢吉，自鄧掾擢為拾遺。 性果敢。 逢吉以為鷹犬之用，欲中傷裴度及殺李紳。
Yuanying was a man of deep learning and sound judgment, who handled affairs with impeccable tact. Upright and solemn at court, he seemed destined for the highest offices. When he first arrived in the capital, the former chief minister Qi Ying remarked to others: "I never had the chance to know Lou and Hao—but this man may be their equal! In his career and in his personal conduct, he was without reproach from first to last, or so it is recorded. Liu Qichu came from a humble background. While serving as a clerk in Zhenzhou he caught the eye of Wang Chengzong, who found him remarkable. Later someone recommended him to Li Fengji, and he rose from a post in Dengzhou to Reminder at court. He was bold and resolute by temperament. Li Fengji valued him as a weapon—someone to sic on his enemies—and meant to use him to destroy Pei Du and have Li Shen killed.
33
敬宗即位，畋遊稍多，坐朝常晚。 棲楚出班，以額叩龍墀出血，苦諫曰：「臣歷觀前王，嗣位之初，莫不躬勤庶政，坐以待旦。 陛下即位已來，放情嗜寢，樂色忘憂，安臥宮闈，日晏方起。 西宮密邇，未過山陵，鼓吹之聲，日喧於外。 伏以憲宗皇帝、大行皇帝，皆是長君，恪勤庶政，四方猶有叛亂。 陛下運當少主，即位未幾，惡德布聞，臣慮福祚之不長也。 臣忝諫官，致陛下有此，請碎首以謝！」 遂以額叩龍墀，久之不已。 宰臣李逢吉出位宣曰：「劉棲楚休叩頭，候詔旨。」 棲楚捧首而起，因更陳論，磕頭見血。 上為之動容，以袖連揮令出。 棲楚又云：「不可臣奏，臣即碎首死。」 中書侍郎牛僧孺復宣示而出，敬宗為之動容。
After Emperor Jingzong took the throne, he spent more time hunting and at play, and often held court late in the day. Liu Qichu stepped forward from the ranks, pounding his forehead against the steps of the imperial dais until it bled, and remonstrated fiercely: "I have studied the reigns of past emperors. At the start of every new reign, the sovereign personally applied himself to governance, sitting up until dawn. Since Your Majesty took the throne, you have indulged in sleep, given yourself over to pleasure, and lain at ease within the inner palace—not rising until the sun is well up. The Western Palace lies close by, and the mourning period for the late emperor has not yet ended—yet the sound of music and revelry clamors outside every day. Emperor Xianzong and the late emperor were seasoned rulers who applied themselves tirelessly to governance—and even they faced rebellions across the empire. Your Majesty is a young ruler, and you have not long been on the throne. Ill report of your conduct is already spreading. I fear your reign will not last. As a remonstrating official, I am ashamed to have allowed Your Majesty to come to this. I beg leave to dash out my brains in atonement! With that he resumed pounding his forehead against the steps, and would not stop for a long while. Chief Minister Li Fengji stepped forward and proclaimed: "Liu Qichu, stop your kowtow and await the emperor's command. Liu Qichu lifted his bloodied head and rose, then continued his remonstrance—kowtowing until the blood ran again. The emperor was visibly shaken and waved him away again and again with his sleeve. Liu Qichu cried out: "If Your Majesty will not hear me out, I will dash out my brains on this spot! Vice Director of the Secretariat Niu Sengru again ordered him to withdraw—and even Jingzong was visibly moved.
34
無何，遷起居郎，至諫議。 俄又宣授刑部侍郎。 丞郎宣授，未之有也。 改京兆尹，摧抑豪右，甚有鉤距，人多比之於西漢趙廣漢者。 後恃權寵，常以詞氣淩宰相韋處厚，遂出為桂州觀察使。 逾年，卒於任，時大和元年九月。 張宿張宿者，布衣諸生也。 憲宗為廣陵王時，因軍使張茂宗薦達，出入邸第。 及上在東宮，宿時入謁，辯譎敢言。 洎監撫之際，驟承顧擢，授左拾遺。 以舊恩數召對禁中，機事不密，貶郴州郴縣丞。 十余年征入，歷贊善大夫、左補闕、比部員外郎。 宰相李逢吉惡之，數於上前言其狡譎，不可保信，乃用為濠州刺史。 制下，宿自理乞留，乃追制。 上欲以為諫議大夫，逢吉奏曰：「諫議職重，當以能可否朝政者為之。 宿細人，不足以汙賢者位。 陛下必須用宿，請先去臣即可。」 上不悅。 又逢吉與裴度是非不同，上方委度討伐，乃出逢吉為劍南東川節度。 乃用宿權知諫議大夫，俄而內使宣授。
Before long he was promoted to Diarist and then to Remonstrance and Reviewing Advisor. Soon after, by direct imperial appointment, he was made Vice Minister of Justice. Never before had a director- or vice-minister-level post been filled by direct edict. He was made governor of Jingzhao, where he cracked down hard on powerful families with fierce investigative methods. Many compared him to Zhao Guanghan of the Western Han. Later, emboldened by imperial favor, he regularly spoke down to Chief Minister Wei Chuhou—and was sent out as Observation Commissioner of Guizhou. A little over a year later he died in office, in the ninth month of Dahe 1. Zhang Su was a commoner, a student without official rank. When Emperor Xianzong was still Prince of Guangling, he came to Zhang's attention through the recommendation of army commissioner Zhang Maozong and began frequenting the prince's residence. When the prince moved to the Eastern Palace, Zhang Su visited regularly—clever, sharp-tongued, and bold in counsel. When Xianzong became regent for the throne, Zhang Su was swiftly favored and promoted to Left Reminder. Thanks to their old connection, he was frequently summoned for private audiences within the palace—but he could not keep secrets, and was demoted to assistant magistrate of Chenxian in Chenzhou. More than ten years later he was recalled to court, serving in succession as Mentor, Left Supplementation Censor, and Vice Director in the Ministry of Revenue. Chief Minister Li Fengji disliked him and repeatedly warned the emperor that Zhang Su was cunning and untrustworthy—so he was shipped off as prefect of Haozhou. When the appointment edict was issued, Zhang Su petitioned in person to stay at court—and the edict was rescinded. The emperor then wished to appoint him Remonstrance and Reviewing Advisor. Li Fengji objected: "That office carries great weight—it should go to someone capable of passing judgment on court policy. Zhang Su is a petty man unworthy of a post reserved for the virtuous. If Your Majesty insists on appointing Zhang Su, remove me from office first. The emperor was displeased. Li Fengji and Pei Du were at odds. With the emperor entrusting the campaign to Pei Du, Fengji was posted out as military commissioner of Jiannan East Chuan. Zhang Su was then named acting remonstrance counselor, and soon a palace envoy proclaimed the appointment.
35
初，宰相崔群、王涯奏曰：「諫議大夫前時亦有拔自山林、起於卒伍者，其例則少，用皆有由。 或道義彰明，不求聞達； 或山林卓異，出於群萃。 以此選求，是愜公議。 或事跡未著，恩由一時，雖有例超升，即時議未允。 宿本非文辭入用，望實稍輕。 驟加不次之榮，翻恐以身為累。 臣等所以累有論諫，依資且與郎中，事冀適中，非於此人情有厚薄，請授職方郎中。」 上命如初，群等乃請權知，尋又宣援。 宿怨執政擯己，頗加讒毀。 依附皇甫镈等，傷害清正之士，陰事中要，以圖進取。
Chief ministers Cui Qun and Wang Ya had earlier memorialized: "Remonstrance counselors have occasionally been drawn from reclusion or from the ranks of common soldiers, but such cases are rare and always justified by exceptional merit. Some possessed manifest moral authority and sought no fame; others were outstanding recluses who stood above the common run. Appointments made on such grounds satisfy public expectation. When a man's record is undistinguished and favor rests on a passing whim, even if precedent allows sudden promotion, contemporary opinion will not approve. Zhang Su was not advanced for literary talent, and his reputation is slight. To heap unmerited honor upon him may only bring disaster upon him. We have remonstrated repeatedly because we wish to appoint him by regular qualification as director in the Bureau of Appointments—a fitting rank, not from any personal bias. We beg that he receive that post. The emperor held to his original decision. When Cui Qun and others asked that Zhang Su serve only provisionally, a palace envoy soon proclaimed the full appointment anyway. Zhang Su resented the ruling faction for sidelining him and spread slander against them. He attached himself to Huangfu Bo and others, attacked upright officials, plotted secretly against key figures, and schemed for advancement.
36
十三年正月，充淄青宣慰使，至東都，暴病卒，於是正人相賀。 詔贈秘書監。 熊望熊望者，登進士第。 粗有文詞，而性憸險。 有口辯，往往得遊公卿間，率以大言詭意，指抉時政。 既由此而得進士第，務進不已。 而京兆尹劉棲楚以不次驟居清貫，廣樹朋黨，門庭無晝夜填委不息。 望出入棲楚之門，為伺密機，陰佐計畫，人無知者。 昭湣嬉遊之隙，學為歌詩。 以翰林學士崇重，不可褻狎，乃議別置東頭學士，以備曲宴賦詩，令采卑官才堪任學士者為之。 棲楚以望名薦送，事未行而昭湣崩。
In the first month of the thirteenth year he was appointed commissioner to console Ziqing. He reached the eastern capital and died suddenly of illness, whereupon upright officials congratulated one another. The court posthumously appointed him director of the Secretariat. Xiong Wang passed the jinshi examination. He possessed modest literary skill but a crafty and treacherous nature. Gifted in debate, he often gained access to the highest circles, where he used grandiloquent and devious language to criticize current policy. Having won his degree through such means, he pursued advancement without cease. Metropolitan Prefect Liu Qichu, promoted beyond merit to a lofty post, built a vast patronage network, and his residence was thronged day and night. Xiong Wang frequented Liu Qichu's house, spied on confidential affairs, and secretly assisted his schemes—unknown to others. During Emperor Jingzong's intervals of pleasure-seeking, he took up the writing of songs and poems. Because Hanlin academicians were too august for intimate court revelry, the court proposed a separate corps of "eastern-head academicians" for informal banquets and verse-making, to be drawn from lower officials of sufficient talent. Liu Qichu recommended Xiong Wang by name, but before the plan could be enacted Emperor Jingzong died.
37
文宗即位，韋處厚輔政，大去奸黨。 既逐棲楚，又詔曰：「孔門高懸百行，由至順者，其身必榮； 朝廷廣設眾官，踐正途者，其道必達。 前鄉貢進士熊望，因緣薄伎，偷冀褻幸。 營居中之密職，擾惑朝經； 鼓逼下之囂聲，因依邪隙。 及眾議波湧，累月不寧； 司門驗繻，累月至四。 考覆謬妄，乃非坦途。 朕大啟康莊，以端群望，俾示投荒之典，用正向方之流。 可漳州司戶。」 柏耆柏耆者，將軍良器之子。 素負志略，學縱橫家流。 會王承宗以常山叛，朝廷厭兵，欲以恩澤撫之。 耆於蔡州行營以畫幹裴度，請以朝旨奉使鎮州，乃自處士授左拾遺。 既見承宗，以大義陳說。 承宗泣下，請質二男，獻兩郡，由是知名。
When Wenzong ascended the throne, Wei Chuhou directed the government and purged the treacherous factions. After expelling Liu Qichu, the court issued an edict: "At Confucius's gate a hundred virtues are held in esteem; those who follow the path of utmost obedience will surely win honor; the court establishes many offices so that those who tread the upright path may surely attain their goal. The former presented scholar Xiong Wang, trading on slight talents, sought by stealth the emperor's intimate favor. He schemed for secret posts within the inner palace and disturbed court governance; he stirred up clamor among subordinates and relied on wicked patrons. Public outrage surged for months without abating; the Gate Office tallied his passes month after month until they reached four. Investigation proved his conduct absurd and improper—not the level path of public service. We open the broad highway of public service to set right the people's expectations, and now display the precedent of banishment to correct those who stray from the proper path. He is demoted to registrar of Zhangzhou. Bo Qi was the son of the general Liangqi. From youth he possessed ambition and strategic talent and studied the coalition strategists' tradition. When Wang Chengzong rebelled at Changshan, the court, weary of war, wished to win him back through grace and favor. At the Caizhou campaign headquarters Bo Qi persuaded Pei Du through stratagem and volunteered to carry imperial orders to Zhenzhou. He was appointed from private scholar to left reminder. Once he met Wang Chengzong, he expounded the principles of loyalty and rebellion. Chengzong wept, offered his two sons as hostages and surrendered two commanderies, and Bo Qi thereby won renown.
38
元和十年，王承宗歸國，移鎮滑州，朝廷賜成德軍賞錢一百萬貫，令諫議大夫鄭覃宣慰軍人，賞錢未至，浩浩然騰口。 穆宗詔耆往諭旨。 耆至，令承宗集三軍，宣導上旨，眾心乃安。 轉兵部郎中。
In the tenth year of Yuanhe Wang Chengzong submitted to the throne and was transferred to Huazhou. The court granted the Chengde army a reward of one million strings of cash and sent Remonstrance Counselor Zheng Tan to console the troops. Before the money arrived, angry voices rose throughout the army. Emperor Muzong ordered Bo Qi to proclaim the imperial intent. Bo Qi arrived, had Chengzong assemble the entire army, proclaimed the emperor's message, and restored calm. He was promoted to director in the Ministry of War.
39
太和初，遷諫議大夫。 俄而，李同捷叛，兩河籓帥加兵滄、德，宿師於野連年。 同捷窮蹙求降。 耆既宣諭訖，與節度使李祐謀。 耆乃帥數百騎入滄州，取同捷赴京。 滄、德平。 諸將害耆邀功，爭上表論列。 文宗不獲已，貶循州司戶判官，沈亞之貶虔州南康尉。 內官馬國亮又奏耆於同捷處取婢九人，再命長流愛州，尋賜死。 史臣曰史臣曰：人臣事君，犯顏匡政，不避死亡之誅。 議者以為徇名，臣惡其訐也。 如許京兆之劾軍吏，呂尚書之封詔書，詞義可觀，聳動人聽，以為沽激，傷善何多！ 而棲楚、張宿之徒，鷹犬下材，為人鳴吠，誠可醜也。 柏耆恃縱橫之算，欲俯拾卿相，忘身蹈利，旋踵而誅，宜哉！ 巢父使不辱命，誌在致君，遭罹喪亂，竟陷虎吻。 而戣、戢諸子，世載忠貞，大中之後，郁為昌族。 為善之利，豈虛言哉！
Early in the Taihe reign he was promoted to remonstrance counselor. Soon Li Tongjie rebelled. The Hebei military commissioners massed troops against Cangzhou and Dezhou, and imperial armies campaigned in the field for years. Tongjie, driven to desperation, sought to surrender. After proclaiming the surrender terms, Bo Qi plotted with Military Commissioner Li You. Bo Qi then led several hundred horsemen into Cangzhou, seized Tongjie, and escorted him to the capital. Cangzhou and Dezhou were pacified. The generals resented Bo Qi for stealing their glory and competed in memorializing accusations against him. Wenzong had no choice but to demote Bo Qi to registrar adjutant of Xunzhou and Shen Yazhi to captain of Nankang in Qianzhou. The palace eunuch Ma Guoliang further reported that Bo Qi had taken nine maidservants from Tongjie's household. He was banished to Aizhou and soon ordered to take his own life. The historiographer remarks: When a minister serves his ruler, to remonstrate face to face and correct policy is to risk death without flinching. Critics call such conduct mere fame-seeking, but this writer detests their carping. When the metropolitan prefect Xu impeached army officers, or when Minister Lü sealed back edicts—their language was compelling and stirred the listener. To dismiss such acts as self-promotion does great injury to true public virtue! But Liu Qichu, Zhang Su, and their like were base creatures fit only to yap for their masters—truly despicable. Bo Qi trusted in stratagems, hoped to scoop up the highest offices at a stride, threw himself into profit, and was executed within the turning of a heel—as he deserved! Chaofu as envoy did not disgrace his mission; his aim was to serve his ruler faithfully. Caught in rebellion and chaos, he fell at last into the tiger's maw. Yet Kong Wei, Kong Ji, and their descendants bore loyalty through generations, and after the Dazhong reign flourished as a great and honorable house. The rewards of doing good are no empty saying!
40
贊曰：君子重義，小人殉利。 巢殞耆誅，其道即異。 許、呂封駁，照耀黃扉。 死而可作，吾誰與歸？
Encomium: The gentleman values righteousness; the petty man dies for profit. Chaofu perished and Bo Qi was executed—their paths could not have been more different. Xu and Lü who sealed back edicts shine at the palace gates. Though dead they still stand as exemplars—with whom shall I now keep company?