1
王播王播，字明敭。 曾祖璡，嘉州司馬。 祖升，咸陽令。 父恕，揚府參軍。 播擢進士第，登賢良方正制科，授集賢校理，再遷監察御史，轉殿中，歷侍御史。 貞元末，幸臣李實為京兆尹，恃恩頗橫，嘗遇播於途，不避。 故事，尹避臺官。 播移文詆之； 實怒，後奏播為三原令，欲挫之。 播受命，趨府謁謝，盡府縣之儀。 及臨所部，政理修明，恃勢豪門，未嘗貸法。 歲終考課，為畿邑之最。 實以其人有政術，甚禮重之，頻薦之於上。 德宗奇之，將不次拔用，會母喪。
Wang Bo, whose style name was Mingyang. His great-grandfather Jin served as vice governor of Jiazhou. His grandfather Sheng was magistrate of Xianyang. His father Shu served as a staff officer in Yangzhou Prefecture. Bo passed the jinshi examination and the Exalted and Virtuous Through Straightforward Remonstrance examination, was appointed collator in the Hall of Assembled Talents, was then promoted to censor, transferred to the Palace Administration, and served in turn as attending censor. Late in the Zhenyuan reign, the favored minister Li Shi was metropolitan governor of Jingzhao. Relying on imperial favor he acted quite arrogantly; once he met Bo on the road and did not yield. By precedent the metropolitan governor was to yield to censorial officials. Bo sent a formal dispatch rebuking him; Shi grew angry and later memorialized to appoint Bo magistrate of Sanyuan, intending to humble him. Bo accepted the appointment, hurried to the prefectural office to pay his respects, and performed every rite owed between prefecture and county. Once he took up his jurisdiction, his administration was well ordered, and he never showed leniency in the law to powerful clans. In the year-end performance review he ranked first among the counties of the capital region. Shi considered him skilled in administration, treated him with great respect, and frequently recommended him to the throne. Emperor Dezong was impressed and was about to promote him out of turn when Bo's mother died.
2
順宗即位，除駕部郎中，改長安令。 歲中，遷工部郎中，知臺雜，刺舉綱憲，為人所稱。 轉考功郎中，出為虢州刺史。 李巽領鹽鐵，奏為副使、兵部郎中。
When Emperor Shunzong ascended the throne, Bo was appointed director in the Ministry of the Imperial Stud, then reassigned as magistrate of Chang'an. Within the year he was promoted to director in the Ministry of Works, took charge of censorial miscellaneous affairs, prosecuted according to statute, and won praise. He was transferred to director in the Ministry of Personnel, then went out as governor of Guo Prefecture. Li Xun oversaw salt and iron affairs and memorialized that Bo serve as vice commissioner and director in the Ministry of War.
3
元和五年，代李夷簡為御史中丞。 振舉朝章，百職修舉。 十月，代許孟容為京兆尹。 時禁軍諸鎮布列畿內，軍人出入，屬鞬佩劍，往往盜發，難以擒奸。 布播奏請畿內軍鎮將卒，出入不得持戎具，諸王駙馬權豪之家，不得於畿內按試鷹犬畋獵之具。 詔從之，自是奸盜弭息。 六年三月，轉刑部侍郎，充諸道鹽鐵轉運使。
In the fifth year of Yuanhe he replaced Li Yijian as censor-in-chief. He revived court regulations, and every office was brought into order. In the tenth month he replaced Xu Mengrong as metropolitan governor of Jingzhao. At the time the forbidden armies and various garrisons were posted throughout the capital region. Soldiers going in and out wore swords at their belts, theft was frequent, and criminals were hard to catch. Bo memorialized that troops of garrisons within the capital region must not carry weapons when entering or leaving, and that princes, imperial sons-in-law, and powerful households must not trial falcons, dogs, or hunting gear within the capital region. The edict approved this, and from then on thieves and lawbreakers subsided. In the third month of the sixth year he was transferred to vice minister of punishments and appointed commissioner for salt and iron transport on the various circuits.
4
播長於吏術，雖案牘鞅掌，剖析如流，黠吏詆欺，無不彰敗。 時天下多故，法寺議讞，科條繁雜。 播備舉前後格條，置之座右。 凡有詳決，疾速如神。 當時屬僚，嘆服不暇。
Bo excelled at administration. Though documents piled up in layers, he analyzed them as if they flowed past him, and no shrewd clerk who deceived escaped exposure. The realm was troubled, and when the Bureau of Justice deliberated cases the statutes were numerous and tangled. Bo collected all regulations old and new and kept them at his right hand. Whenever a detailed judgment was needed, he was swift and uncanny. His colleagues at the time marveled without end.
5
十年四月，改禮部尚書，領使如故。 先是，李巽以程异為江淮院官，异又通泉貨，及播領使，奏之為副。 當王師討吳元濟，令异乘傳往江淮，賦輿大集，以至賊平，深有力焉。 及皇甫鎛用事，恐播大用，乃請以使務命程异領之，播守本官而已。 十三年，檢校戶部尚書、成都尹、劍南西川節度使。
In the fourth month of the tenth year he was made minister of rites while retaining his commission as before. Earlier Li Xun had appointed Cheng Yi an official of the Jianghuai salt monopoly, and Yi also dealt in currency. When Bo took charge of the commission he memorialized to make Yi his deputy. When the imperial army campaigned against Wu Yuanji, he sent Yi by rapid relay to Jianghuai, and vast levies of transport were assembled. Up to the rebel's defeat he contributed great force. When Huangfu Bo came to power, fearing that Bo would be heavily promoted, he had the commission's duties assigned to Cheng Yi while Bo kept only his original office. In the thirteenth year he was made concurrently minister of revenue, governor of Chengdu, and military commissioner of Jiannan West.
6
穆宗即位，皇甫鎛貶，播累表求還京師。 長慶元年七月，征還，拜刑部尚書，復領鹽鐵轉運等使。 十月，兼中書侍郎、平章事，領使如故。 長慶中，內外權臣，率多假借。 播因銅鹽擢居輔弼，專以承迎為事，而安危啟沃，不措一言。 時河北復叛，朝廷用兵。 會裴度自太原入覲，朝野物論，言度不宜居外。 明年三月，留度復知政事，以播代度為淮南節度使、檢校右僕射，領使如故。 仍請攜鹽鐵印赴鎮，上都院印，請別給賜，從之。 播至淮南，屬歲旱儉，人相啖食，課最不充，設法掊斂，比屋嗟怨。
When Emperor Muzong ascended the throne, Huangfu Bo was demoted, and Bo repeatedly memorialized asking to return to the capital. In the seventh month of the first year of Changqing he was recalled, appointed minister of punishments, and again put in charge of the salt and iron transport commission. In the tenth month he was made concurrently vice director of the Secretariat and chief minister, retaining his commission as before. During the Changqing era, powerful ministers inside and outside the court mostly abused borrowed authority. Bo had risen to chief counselor on the strength of copper and salt profits and devoted himself wholly to currying favor, yet on matters of security and danger he offered not a single word of counsel. Hebei rebelled again, and the court mobilized troops. When Pei Du came to court from Taiyuan, public opinion inside and outside held that he should not remain outside the capital. In the third month of the following year Du was kept at court to resume administration, and Bo replaced him as military commissioner of Huainan and concurrently vice director of the right, retaining his commission as before. He also asked to take the salt and iron seal to his post while a separate seal for the capital monopoly office was to be bestowed—this was granted. When Bo reached Huainan, drought and famine struck; people ate one another; tax quotas could not be met; he devised methods of extortion, and every household groaned in resentment.
7
敬宗即位，就加銀青光祿大夫、檢校司空，罷鹽鐵轉運使。 時中尉王守澄用事，播自落利權，廣求珍異，令腹心吏內結守澄，以為之助。 守澄乘閑啟奏，言播有才，上於延英言之。 諫議大夫獨孤朗、張仲方，起居郎孔敏行、柳公權、宋申錫，補闕韋仁實、劉敦儒，拾遺李景讓、薛廷老等，請開延英面奏播之奸邪，交結寵幸，復求大用。 天子沖幼，不能用其言。 自是，物議紛然不息。 明年正月，播復領鹽鐵轉運使。 播既得舊職，乃於銅鹽之內，巧為賦斂，以事月進。 名為羨余，其實正額，務希獎擢，不恤人言。
When Emperor Jingzong ascended the throne, Bo was promoted on the spot to grand master of splendid brightness with golden pocket and concurrently minister of works, and was removed from the salt and iron transport commission. The chief eunuch Wang Shoucheng held power. Having lost his profitable post, Bo widely sought rare objects and had trusted clerks secretly win over Shoucheng to aid him. Shoucheng seized an opportunity to memorialize that Bo had talent; the emperor spoke of it at Yanying Hall. Remonstrance officials Dugu Lang and Zhang Zhongfang, masters of rectitude Kong Minxing, Liu Gongquan, and Song Shenshen, repletion officials Wei Renshi and Liu Dunru, and reminder officials Li Jingrang and Xue Tinglao and others asked to open Yanying Hall for a face-to-face memorial on Bo's wickedness, his collusion with favored minions, and his seeking high office again. The emperor was young and could not act on their counsel. From then on public talk seethed without end. In the first month of the following year Bo again took charge of the salt and iron transport commission. Once he regained his former post, he artfully levied within copper and salt profits and presented monthly tributes to the throne. He called them surplus revenue, but they were in fact regular quotas; he sought favor and promotion and cared nothing for public opinion.
8
時揚州城內官河水淺，遇旱即滯漕船。 乃奏自城南閶門西七里港開河向東，屈曲取禪智寺橋通舊官河，開鑿稍深，舟航易濟； 所開長一十九里，其工役料度，不破省錢，當使方圓自備，而漕運不阻。 後政賴之。
The official river within Yangzhou city was shallow, and in drought grain-transport ships were stranded. He memorialized to open a canal eastward from Qili Harbor, seven li west of the Chang Gate in the south of the city, winding to connect with the old official river via the Chanzhisi Bridge; the excavation was made somewhat deeper and shipping was eased; The canal opened was nineteen li long; labor and materials were to be supplied by the local circuit without drawing on provincial funds, and grain transport would not be obstructed. Later administrations relied on it.
9
文宗即位，就加檢校司徒。 太和元年五月，自淮南入覲，進大小銀碗三千四百枚、綾絹二十萬匹。 六月，拜尚書左僕射、同平章事，領使如故。 二年，進封太原公、太清宮使。 四年正月，患喉腫暴卒，時年七十二。 廢朝三日，贈太尉。
When Emperor Wenzong ascended the throne, Bo was promoted on the spot to concurrently grand mentor. In the fifth month of the first year of Taihe he came to court from Huainan, presenting three thousand four hundred large and small silver bowls and two hundred thousand bolts of silk. In the sixth month he was appointed vice director of the left ministry and chief minister, retaining his commission as before. In the second year he was advanced in enfeoffment to Duke of Taiyuan and made commissioner of the Taqing Palace. In the first month of the fourth year he died suddenly of a swollen throat at the age of seventy-two. Court was suspended for three days of mourning, and he was posthumously enfeoffed as grand marshal.
10
播出自單門，以文辭自立； 踐升華顯，郁有能名。 而隨勢沈浮，不存士行； 奸邪進取，君子恥之。 然天性勤於吏事，使務填委，胥吏盈廷取決，簿書堆案盈幾，他人若不堪勝，而播用此為適。 播子式，弟炎、起。
Bo came from a humble lineage and established himself through literary skill; he rose to splendor and bore a reputation for competence. Yet he drifted with circumstances and did not preserve the conduct of a gentleman; winning advancement through wickedness—men of character were ashamed of him. Yet by nature he was diligent in administrative affairs. When commission business piled up, clerks filled the court awaiting decisions and documents heaped on the desk until the tables overflowed—what others could not endure, Bo took as his element. Bo's son was Shi; his younger brothers were Yan and Qi.
11
炎，貞元十五年登進士第，累官至太常博士，早世。 子鐸、鐐。
Yan passed the jinshi in the fifteenth year of Zhenyuan, rose in office to doctor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and died young. His sons were Duo and Liao.
12
起，字舉之，貞元十四年擢進士第，釋褐集賢校理，登制策直言極諫科，授藍田尉。 宰相李吉甫鎮淮南，以監察充掌書記。 入朝為殿中，遷起居郎、司勛員外郎、直史館。 元和十四年，以比部郎中知制誥。 穆宗即位，拜中書舍人。
Qi, whose style name was Juzhi, passed the jinshi in the fourteenth year of Zhenyuan, took his first post as collator in the Hall of Assembled Talents, passed the Straightforward Remonstrance examination, and was appointed magistrate of Lantian. When Chief Minister Li Jifu governed Huainan, Qi served as his recording secretary while acting as censor. On entering court he served in the Palace Administration, was promoted to master of rectitude, junior director in the Ministry of Merits, and duty editor of the History Office. In the fourteenth year of Yuanhe he was junior director in the Ministry of Revenue in charge of drafting edicts. When Emperor Muzong ascended the throne he was appointed drafting attendant of the Secretariat.
13
長慶元年，遷禮部侍郎。 其年，錢徽掌貢士，為朝臣請托，人以為濫。 詔起與同職白居易覆試，覆落者多。 徽貶官，起遂代徽為禮部侍郎。 掌貢二年，得士尤精。 先是，貢舉猥濫，勢門子弟，交相酬酢； 寒門俊造，十棄六七。 及元稹、李紳在翰林，深怒其事，故有覆試之科。 及起考貢士，奏當司所選進士，據所考雜文，先送中書，令宰臣閱視可否，然後下當司放榜。 從之。 議者以為起雖避是非，失貢職也，故出為河南尹。 入為吏部侍郎。
In the first year of Changqing he was promoted to vice minister of rites. That year Qian Hui oversaw the civil examinations; court officials made requests on behalf of candidates, and people considered the process corrupt. An edict ordered Qi, together with his colleague Bai Juyi, to conduct a reexamination; many who had passed were failed on review. Hui was demoted, and Qi then replaced him as vice minister of rites. For two years in charge of the examinations he selected candidates of exceptional quality. Previously the examinations had been corrupt and excessive, and sons of powerful houses exchanged favors; talented men from poor families were rejected seven or eight out of ten. When Yuan Zhen and Li Shen were in the Hanlin Academy they deeply resented this, hence the institution of the reexamination. When Qi conducted the examinations he memorialized that jinshi candidates selected by his office, on the basis of the compositions examined, should first be sent to the Secretariat for the chief ministers to review, and only then would his office post the rolls. This was approved. Critics held that though Qi avoided controversy, he had failed the duty of the examinations, and so he was sent out as governor of Henan. He returned to court as vice minister of personnel.
14
文宗即位，加集賢學士、判院事。 以兄播為僕射輔政，不欲典選部，改兵部侍郎。 太和二年，出為陜虢觀察使、兼御史大夫。 四年，入拜尚書左丞。 居播之喪，號毀過禮，友悌尤至。 遷戶部尚書、判度支。 以西北邊備，歲有和市以給軍，勞人饋挽，奏於靈武，邠寧起營田。 六年，檢校吏部尚書、河中尹、河中晉絳節度使。 時屬蝗旱，粟價暴踴，豪門閉糴，以邀善價。 起嚴誡儲蓄之家，出粟於市，隱者致之於法，由是民獲濟焉。 七年，入為兵部尚書。 八年，檢校右僕射、襄州刺史，充山南東道節度。 江、漢水田，前政撓法，塘堰缺壞。 起下車，命從事李業行屬郡，檢視而補繕，特為水法，民無兇年。 九年，就加銀青光祿大夫。 時李訓用事，訓即起貢舉門生也，欲援起為相。 八月，詔拜兵部侍郎，判戶部事。 其冬，訓敗，起以儒素長者，人不以為累，但罷判戶部事。
When Emperor Wenzong ascended the throne he was added as academician of the Hall of Assembled Talents and acting director of the academy. Because his elder brother Bo was vice director of the left assisting in government, he did not wish to oversee the selection office and was reassigned as vice minister of war. In the second year of Taihe he went out as military governor of Shaan-Guo Circuit and concurrently censor-in-chief. In the fourth year he entered court as vice director of the left ministry. While mourning Bo he wailed beyond what ritual prescribed, and his fraternal affection was especially deep. He was transferred to minister of revenue in charge of the Bureau of Budgets. Because the northwestern frontier required annual market purchases to supply the army, burdening the people with transport, he memorialized to establish army farms at Lingwu and along the Bian-Ning line. In the sixth year he was made concurrently minister of personnel, governor of Hezhong, and military commissioner of Hezhong-Jin-Jiang. Locusts and drought struck that year; grain prices soared; powerful households hoarded grain to force favorable prices. Qi sternly warned granary households to release grain to market; those who concealed grain were brought to justice, and thereby the people were relieved. In the seventh year he entered court as minister of war. In the eighth year he was made concurrently vice director of the right, governor of Xiang Prefecture, and military commissioner of Shannan East Circuit. In the rice fields along the Yangzi and Han rivers, previous administrators had bent the law, and ponds and dikes lay broken and ruined. When Qi took up his post, he sent his staff officer Li Ye through the subordinate prefectures to inspect and repair the works, established special water regulations, and the people suffered no famine years. In the ninth year he was further promoted to grand master with silver seal and blue ribbon. At that time Li Xun held power; Xun had been Qi's pupil from the civil examinations and wished to promote Qi to chief minister. In the eighth month an edict appointed him vice minister of war in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. That winter Xun fell from power; because Qi was regarded as a plain, upright Confucian elder, people did not consider him implicated, and he was only removed from charge of the Ministry of Revenue.
15
文宗好文，尤尚古學。 鄭覃長於經義，起長於博洽，俱引翰林，講論經史。 起僻於嗜學，雖官位崇重，耽玩無篸； 夙夜孜孜，殆忘寢食，書無不覽，經目靡遺。 轉兵部尚書。 以莊恪太子登儲，欲令儒者授經，乃兼太子侍讀，判太常卿，充禮儀詳定使，創造禮神九玉，奏議曰：
Emperor Wenzong loved literature and especially prized ancient learning. Zheng Tan excelled in the meaning of the classics, while Qi excelled in broad erudition; both were brought into the Hanlin Academy to lecture on the classics and histories. Qi was singularly devoted to learning; though his official rank was lofty, he indulged in study without ever growing weary of it; Day and night he worked tirelessly, almost forgetting sleep and food; he read every book he could find and forgot nothing that passed before his eyes. He was transferred to minister of war. Because the Prince of Zhuangke had been established as heir and the court wished to have Confucian scholars teach him the classics, Qi was additionally made preceptor to the heir apparent, acting director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and commissioner for detailed determination of ritual; he designed the nine jades for honoring the spirits and submitted a memorial stating:
16
邦國之禮，祀為大事； 珪璧之議，經有前規。 謹按《周禮》：「天地四方，以蒼璧禮天，黃琮禮地，青珪禮東方，赤璋禮南方，白琥禮西方，黑璜禮北方。」 又云：「四圭有邸以祀天」，「兩圭有邸以祀地」，「圭璧以祀日月星辰」。 凡此九器，皆祀神之玉也。 又云：「以禋祀祀昊天上帝。」 鄭玄云：「禋，煙也，為玉幣，祭訖燔之，而升煙以報陽也。」 今與《開元禮》義同，此則焚玉之驗也。 又《周禮》：「掌國之玉鎮大寶器，若大祭，既事而藏之。」 此則收玉之證也。 梁代崔靈恩撰《三禮義宗》云：「凡祭天神，各有二玉：一以禮神，一則燔之。 禮神者，訖事卻收； 祀神者，與牲俱燎。」 則靈恩之義，合於《禮經》。 今國家郊天祀地，祀神之玉常用； 守經據古，禮神之玉則無。 臣等請下有司，精求良玉，創造蒼璧、黃琮等九器，祭訖則藏之。 其燎玉即依常制。
In the rites of a state, sacrifice is a matter of the greatest importance; The discussion of jade tablets and disks already has established precedents in the classics. Respectfully according to the Rites of Zhou: "For heaven and earth and the four directions, the azure bi honors heaven, the yellow cong honors earth, the green gui honors the east, the red zhang honors the south, the white hu honors the west, and the black huang honors the north. It also says: "Four gui with bases are used to sacrifice to heaven," "Two gui with bases are used to sacrifice to earth," and "Gui and bi are used to sacrifice to the sun, moon, stars, and constellations." All nine of these vessels are jades used in sacrificing to the spirits. It also says: "With the yin sacrifice one sacrifices to the Supreme God of the Vast Heaven. Zheng Xuan says: "Yin means smoke; jade silks are prepared, and after the sacrifice is finished they are burned, sending up smoke to report to the yang principle." This now agrees with the meaning of the Kaiyuan Rites, and is proof that jade was burned. The Rites of Zhou also states: "In charge of the state's jade treasure-weights and great precious vessels—when a great sacrifice is finished, they are stored away. This is proof that jade was collected and stored after the rite. Cui Ling'en of the Liang dynasty wrote in the Comprehensive Meaning of the Three Rites: "For every sacrifice to heavenly spirits, there are two jades: one to honor the spirit, and one to be burned. The jade used to honor the spirit is collected back when the rite is finished; The jade used in sacrificing to the spirit is burned together with the sacrificial animals. Ling'en's interpretation thus accords with the Ritual Classics. Today, when the state sacrifices to heaven at the suburbs and to earth, the jades used in sacrificing to the spirits are regularly employed; Yet if one follows the classics and relies on antiquity, there are no jades for honoring the spirits. We your ministers request that orders be sent to the relevant offices to carefully seek fine jade and create the nine vessels, including the azure bi and yellow cong, to be stored away after each sacrifice. The jades to be burned should follow the usual regulations.
17
從之。 為太子廣《五運圖》及《文場秀句》等獻之。 三年，以本官充翰林侍講學士。 莊恪太子薨，詔起為哀冊文，辭情婉麗。
The request was approved. He compiled and expanded the Five Circuits Diagram and Elegant Lines from the Literary Arena, among other works, and presented them to the crown prince. In the third year, while retaining his existing office, he was made Hanlin lecturing academician. When the Prince of Zhuangke died, an edict ordered Qi to compose the mourning eulogy; its language was tender and beautiful.
18
四年，遷太子少師，判兵部事，侍講如故。 以其家貧，特詔每月割仙韶院月料錢三百千添給。 起富於文學，而理家無法，俸料入門，即為仆妾所有。 帝以師友之恩，特加周給。 議者以與伶官分給，可為恥之。
In the fourth year he was promoted to junior preceptor to the heir apparent, placed in charge of the Ministry of War, and continued his lecturing duties as before. Because his household was poor, a special edict ordered that each month an additional three hundred thousand cash be taken from the Xianshao Academy's monthly stipend and given to him. Qi was rich in literary learning but had no method in managing his household; as soon as his salary entered the door it became the property of his servants and concubines. Out of the kindness owed to a teacher and friend, the emperor specially added further provision. Commentators considered it shameful that he was given a share of the same stipend as palace entertainers.
19
武宗即位，八月，充山陵鹵簿使。 樞密使劉弘逸、薛季稜懼誅，欲因山陵兵士謀廢立。 起與山陵使知其謀，密奏，皆伏誅。 尋檢校左僕射、東都留守，判東都尚書省事。
When Emperor Wuzong ascended the throne, in the eighth month Qi was made commissioner of the imperial procession for the mountain tomb. The palace commissioners Liu Hongyi and Xue Jiling feared execution and wished to use the tomb-guard soldiers in a plot to depose the emperor and install another. Qi and the tomb commissioner learned of the plot, secretly memorialized the throne, and all the conspirators were executed. Soon he was made concurrently vice director of the left, defender of the Eastern Capital, and placed in charge of the Eastern Capital Ministry of State Affairs.
20
會昌元年，征拜吏部尚書，判太常卿事。 三年，權知禮部貢舉。 明年，正拜左僕射，復知貢舉。
In the first year of Huichang he was summoned and appointed minister of personnel, placed in charge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the third year he served as acting overseer of the Ministry of Rites civil examinations. The next year he was formally appointed vice director of the left and again oversaw the civil examinations.
21
起前後四典貢部，所選皆當代辭藝之士，有名於時，人皆賞其精鑒徇公也。 其年秋，出為興元尹，兼同平章事，充山南西道節度使。 赴鎮日，延英辭。 帝謂之曰：「卿國之耆老，宰相無內外，朕有闕政，飛表以聞。」 宴賜頗厚。 在鎮二年，以老疾求代，不許。 大中元年，卒於鎮，時年八十八。 廢朝三日，贈太尉，謚曰文懿。 文集一百二十卷，《五緯圖》十卷，《寫宣》十卷。 起侍講時，或僻字疑事，令中使口宣，即以榜子對，故名曰《寫宣》。 子龜嗣。
Qi oversaw the examination bureau on four separate occasions; those he selected were all men of literary talent who were famous in their day, and people praised his keen judgment and public-minded fairness. That autumn he went out as governor of Xingyuan, concurrently co-ordinating chief minister, and military commissioner of Shannan West Circuit. On the day he departed for his post, he took leave of the emperor in Yanching Hall. The emperor said to him: "You are the nation's elder statesman; for a chief minister there is no distinction between inside and outside the court—if I fail in government, send me a swift memorial at once. The emperor gave him a generous farewell feast and rewards. After two years at his post he requested a replacement because of old age and illness, but the request was denied. In the first year of Dazhong he died at his post, at the age of eighty-eight. Court was suspended for three days; he was posthumously granted grand preceptor, with the posthumous title Wenyì (Cultured and Virtuous). His collected works ran to 120 scrolls; he also wrote the Five Weft Diagram in 10 scrolls and Written Responses in 10 scrolls. When Qi served as lecturer, if obscure characters or doubtful matters arose, the emperor would have palace envoys announce them orally, and Qi would answer with written slips; hence the title Written Responses. His son Gui succeeded him.
22
龜，字大年。 性簡淡蕭灑，不樂仕進。 少以詩酒琴書自適，不從科試。 京城光福裏第，起兄弟同居，斯為宏敞。 龜意在人外，倦接朋遊，乃於永達裏園林深僻處創書齋，吟嘯其間，目為「半隱亭」。 及從父起在河中，於中條山谷中起草堂，與山人道士遊，朔望一還府第，後人目為「郎君谷」。 及起保厘東周，龜於龍門西谷構松齋，棲息往來，放懷事外。 起鎮興元，又於漢陽之龍山立隱舍，每浮舟而往，其閑逸如此。 武宗知之，以左拾遺征。 久之，方至殿廷一謝，陳情曰：「臣才疏散，無用於時，加以疾病所嬰，不任祿仕。 臣父年將九十，作鎮遠籓，喜懼之年，闕於供侍。 乞罷今職，以奉晨昏。」 上優詔許之。 明年，丁父憂。 服闋，以右補闕征，遷侍御史、尚書郎。
Gui, whose style name was Danian. By nature he was simple, detached, and free-spirited, and he took no pleasure in pursuing office. From youth he contented himself with poetry, wine, the zither, and books, and never took the civil examinations. The residence in Guangfu Lane in the capital, where Qi and his brothers lived together, was vast and spacious. Gui's mind was set on matters beyond ordinary life; weary of social gatherings, he built a study in a deep, secluded corner of the garden at Yongda Lane, where he composed and recited poetry, and called it the "Half-Reclusion Pavilion." When his uncle Qi was in Hezhong, Gui built a thatched hall in the Zhongtiao mountain valley, where he associated with mountain recluses and Daoist priests and returned to the family mansion only on the first and fifteenth of each month; later people called the place "The Young Master's Valley." When Qi was charged with preserving and comforting the Eastern Zhou capital, Gui built the Pine Study in the western valley of Longmen, where he lived and traveled back and forth, freeing his mind from worldly cares. When Qi governed Xingyuan, Gui again established a reclusion lodge on Dragon Mountain in Hanyang, traveling there each time by boat—so leisurely was his way of life. Emperor Wuzong learned of him and summoned him to office as left remonstrance clerk. After a long delay he finally came to the court hall once to give thanks, stating his situation: "Your subject's talents are scattered and of no use to the age; moreover I am afflicted by illness and am unfit for salary and office. My father is nearly ninety and holds command in a distant frontier; in these years when joy and fear alternate, I am unable to attend him morning and evening. I beg to be relieved of my present office so that I may serve him morning and evening. The emperor issued a gracious edict granting his request. The next year he entered mourning for his father. When mourning ended he was summoned as right supplementation clerk, then promoted to attending censor and director in a ministry.
23
大中末，出為宣歙團練觀察副使，賜緋。 入為祠部郎中、史館修撰。 前從崔玙貳宣歙，及玙鎮河中，又奏為副使。 入為兵部郎中，賜金紫，尋知制誥。
Late in the Dazhong reign he went out as deputy military training commissioner and inspector of Xuan-She, and was granted crimson robes. He entered court as junior director in the Ministry of Rites and compiler of the History Office. Previously he had served under Cui Yu as deputy commissioner in Xuan-She; when Yu governed Hezhong, Yu again memorialized to appoint him deputy commissioner. He entered court as junior director in the Ministry of War, was granted gold seal and purple robe, and soon was put in charge of drafting edicts.
24
咸通末，以弟鐸在中書，不欲在禁掖，改太常少卿，尋檢校右散騎常侍、同州刺史。 牙將白約者，甚狡蠹，前後防禦使不能制。 龜因事發，笞死以徇，人皆畏威自效。 十四年，轉越州刺史、御史大夫、浙東團練觀察使。 先是，龜兄式撫臨此郡，有惠政； 聞龜復至，舞抃迎之。 屬徐、泗之亂，江淮盜起，山越亂，攻郡，為賊所害。 贈工部尚書。 子蕘。
Late in the Xiantong reign, because his younger brother Duo served in the Secretariat, Gui did not wish to remain in the inner palace precincts; he was reassigned as vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and soon was made concurrently right palatial aid and governor of Tong Prefecture. A military officer named Bai Yue was extremely cunning and corrupt; successive defense commissioners had been unable to control him. Gui seized on an incident to expose him, had him flogged to death as a public warning, and everyone feared his authority and exerted themselves accordingly. In the fourteenth year he was transferred to governor of Yue Prefecture, censor-in-chief, and military training commissioner and inspector of Zhedong. Previously his elder brother Shi had governed this prefecture and carried out benevolent policies; When the people heard that Gui had come again, they danced with joy to welcome him. At the time of the Xu-Si rebellion, bandits rose throughout the Yangzi and Huai region; the Shanyue rebelled, attacked the prefecture, and Gui was killed by the bandits. He was posthumously granted minister of works. His son was Rao.
25
蕘苦學，善屬文。 以季父作相，避嫌不就科試。 乾符初，崔瑾廉察湖南，崔涓鎮江陵，皆辟為從事。 蕭遘作相，奏授藍田尉，直史館，遷左拾遺、右補闕，中丞盧涯奏為侍御史。 從僖宗幸山南，拜右司員外郎，卒。 子權，中興仕至兵部尚書。
Rao studied arduously and was skilled at composing prose. Because his younger uncle served as chief minister, he avoided suspicion and did not take the civil examinations. At the beginning of the Qianfu reign, Cui Jin inspected Hunan and Cui Juan governed Jiangling; both recruited Rao as a staff officer. When Xiao Fu became chief minister, he memorialized to appoint Rao magistrate of Lantian and duty editor of the History Office; Rao was then promoted to left remonstrance clerk and right supplementation clerk, and censor-in-chief Lu Ya memorialized to make him attending censor. He followed Emperor Xizong to Shannan, was appointed junior director in the right ministry, and died. His son Quan, during the Restoration, rose in office to minister of war.
26
式以門廕，累遷監察御史，轉殿中，亦巧宦。 太和中，依倚鄭註，謁王守澄，為中丞歸融所劾，出為江陵少尹。 大中後，踐更省署。 咸通初，為浙東觀察使。 草賊仇甫據明州叛，來攻會稽，式討平之。 式有威略。 三年，徐州銀刀軍叛，以式為徐州節度使。 式至鎮，盡誅銀刀等七軍，徐方平定。 天子嘉之。 後累歷方任，卒。
Shi entered office through hereditary privilege, rose in succession to censor, transferred to the Palace Administration, and was also a skilled careerist. During the Taihe reign, relying on Zheng Zhu, he paid court to Wang Shoucheng; censured by censor-in-chief Gui Rong, he was sent out as vice governor of Jiangling. After the Dazhong reign he served in succession in provincial offices. At the beginning of the Xiantong reign he served as inspector of Zhedong. The bandit Chou Fu seized Ming Prefecture and rebelled, then marched to attack Kuaiji; Shi suppressed and pacified him. Shi possessed authority and strategic ability. In the third year the Silver Blade Army of Xuzhou rebelled, and Shi was made military commissioner of Xuzhou. When Shi reached his post, he executed every man of the Silver Blade Army and six other armies; the Xu region was pacified. The emperor commended him. He later served in succession in regional posts and died.
27
鐸，字昭範。 會昌初進士第，兩辟使府。 大中初，入為監察御史。 咸通初，由駕部郎中知制誥，拜中書舍人。 五年，轉禮部侍郎，典貢士兩歲，時稱得人。 七年，以戶部侍郎、判度支，遷禮部尚書。 十二年，以本官同平章事。 時宰相韋保衡以拔擢之恩，事鐸尤謹，累兼刑部、吏部尚書。 僖宗即位，加右僕射。 保衡得罪，以鐸檢校右僕射，出為汴州刺史、宣武軍節度使。
Duo, whose style name was Zhaofan. In the early Huichang reign he passed the jinshi examination and was twice summoned to serve on prefectural staffs. At the beginning of the Dazhong reign he entered court as censor. At the beginning of the Xiantong reign he rose from director in the Transport Bureau to take charge of drafting edicts and was appointed secretariat drafter. In the fifth year he was transferred to vice minister of rites and for two years oversaw the civil examinations; at the time it was said he had chosen the right men. In the seventh year, as vice minister of revenue and concurrently director of the transport bureau, he was promoted to minister of rites. In the twelfth year, with his existing office he became co-administrator of the State Affairs Chancellery. At the time chief minister Wei Baoheng, owing to the kindness of having been promoted, served Duo with especial deference; Duo cumulatively also held the posts of minister of justice and minister of personnel. When Emperor Xizong ascended the throne, Duo was additionally granted right vice director. When Baoheng fell from favor, Duo was made acting right vice director and sent out as prefect of Bian and military commissioner of the Xuanwu Army.
28
鐸有經世大志，以安邦為己任，士友推之。 乾符二年，河南、江左相繼寇盜結集，內官田令孜素聞鐸名，乃復召鐸，拜右僕射、門下侍郎、同平章事。 四年，賊陷江陵，楊知溫失守，宋威破賊失策。 朝議統率，宰相盧攜稱高駢累立戰功，宜付軍柄，物議未允。 鐸廷奏曰：「臣忝宰執之長，在朝不足分陛下之憂。 臣願自率諸軍，蕩滌群盜。」 朝議然之。 五年，以鐸守司徒、門下侍郎、同平章事，兼江陵尹、荊南節度使，充諸道行營兵馬都統。 鐸至鎮，綏懷流散，完葺軍戎，期年之間，武備嚴整。
Duo had great ambitions to order the age and took securing the realm as his personal charge; scholar-friends praised him. In the second year of Qianfu, bandits and robbers gathered in succession in Henan and the lower Yangzi region; palace official Tian Lingzi, who had long heard of Duo's reputation, thereupon recalled Duo and appointed him right vice director, vice director of the secretariat, and co-administrator of the State Affairs Chancellery. In the fourth year the rebels captured Jiangling; Yang Zhiwen lost his post; and Song Wei failed in his strategy to defeat the rebels. At court there was discussion of overall command; chief minister Lu Xie said Gao Pian had repeatedly established battle merit and ought to be entrusted with military authority, but public opinion did not approve. Duo memorialized at court, saying: "Your subject, who shamefully holds the chief place among chief ministers, at court is insufficient to share Your Majesty's worries. Your subject wishes to lead the armies himself and sweep away the band of robbers. Court discussion approved of this. In the fifth year Duo was made honorary grand preceptor, vice director of the secretariat, and co-administrator of the State Affairs Chancellery, concurrently governor of Jiangling and military commissioner of Jingnan, and appointed overall commander of the field armies and cavalry of all circuits. When Duo reached his post, he soothed and gathered the scattered population, repaired the army, and within a year military preparations were strict and in order.
29
時兗州節度使李系者，西平王晟之孫，以其家世將才，奏用為都統都押衙，兼湘南團練使。 時黃巢在嶺南，鐸悉以精甲付系，令分兵扼嶺路。 系無將略，微有口才，軍政不理。 廣明初，賊自嶺南寇湖南諸郡，系守城自固，不敢出戰。 賊編木為伐，沿湘而下，急攻潭州，陷之。 系甲兵五萬，皆為賊所殺，投屍於江。 鐸聞系敗，令部將董漢宏守江陵，自率兵萬余會襄陽之師。 江陵竟陷於賊。 天子不之責。 罷相，守太子太師。 宰相盧攜用事，竟以淮南高駢代鐸為都統。
At the time the military commissioner of Yan was Li Xi, grandson of King Sheng of Xiping; because of his family's hereditary military talent, Duo memorialized to employ him as chief adjutant of the overall commander, concurrently regimental commissioner of southern Hunan. At the time Huang Chao was in Lingnan; Duo entrusted all his elite troops to Xi and ordered him to divide his forces and block the mountain passes. Xi lacked military strategy, had a slight gift for speech, and did not administer army affairs properly. At the beginning of the Guangming reign the rebels from Lingnan raided the various prefectures of Hunan; Xi held the city and fortified himself, not daring to go out to battle. The rebels bound logs into rafts, went down the Xiang River, urgently attacked Tanzhou, and captured it. Xi's fifty thousand armored troops were all killed by the rebels, and their corpses were thrown into the river. When Duo heard of Xi's defeat, he ordered his officer Dong Hanhong to hold Jiangling and personally led more than ten thousand troops to join the forces from Xiangyang. Jiangling ultimately fell to the rebels. The emperor did not hold him accountable. He was removed as chief minister and made honorary grand mentor of the heir apparent. Chief minister Lu Xie held power, and in the end Gao Pian of Huainan replaced Duo as overall commander.
30
其年秋，賊焚剽淮南，高駢挫敗。 及賊陷兩京，盧攜得罪，天子用鄭畋為兵馬都統。 明年，畋病歸行在，朝議復以鐸為侍中、滑州刺史、義成軍節度使，充諸道行營都統。 率禁軍、山南、東蜀之師三萬，營於盩厔東，進屯靈感寺。
That autumn the rebels burned and plundered Huainan, and Gao Pian suffered defeats. When the rebels captured the two capitals, Lu Xie fell from favor, and the emperor employed Zheng Tian as overall commander of armies and cavalry. The next year Tian fell ill and returned to the imperial camp; court discussion again made Duo palace secretary, prefect of Hua, military commissioner of the Yicheng Army, and overall commander of the field headquarters of all circuits. He led thirty thousand troops of the imperial guard, Shannan, and eastern Shu, encamped east of Zhouzhi, and advanced to garrison at Linggan Temple.
31
明年春，兗、鄆、徐、許、鄭、滑、邠、寧、鳳翔十鎮之師大集關內。 時賊已僭名號； 以前漸東觀察使崔璆、尚讓為宰相，傳偽命。 天下籓帥，多持兩端。 既聞鐸傳檄四方，諸侯翻然景附。 賊之號令，東西不過岐、華，南北止及山、河。 而勁卒驍將，日馳突於國門，群賊由是離心。 其年秋，賊將硃溫降，收同州。 十一月，賊華州戍卒七千來奔。 三年二月，沙陀軍至，收華州。 四月，敗賊於良田坡，遂收京城。 封鐸晉國公。 鐸加中書令，以收城諸將，量其功伐高下，承制爵賞以聞。 是時國命危若綴旒，天子播越蠻陬，大事去矣。 若非鄭畋之奮發，鐸之忠義，則土運之隆替，未可知也。
The next spring the armies of the ten commands—Yan, Yun, Xu, Xu, Zheng, Hua, Bin, Ning, and Fengxiang—massed greatly within the passes. At the time the rebels had already usurped titles; They made former Zhedong inspector Cui Qiu and Shang Rang chief ministers and disseminated false edicts. Military commissioners throughout the realm mostly hedged between two sides. Once they heard Duo circulate proclamations to the four quarters, the feudal lords suddenly turned to follow him as if drawn to his brilliance. The rebels' orders extended east-west no farther than Qi and Hua, and north-south only as far as the mountains and the river. Yet elite troops and fierce generals daily galloped and raided at the capital gates, and the band of rebels thereby lost heart. That autumn the rebel general Zhu Wen surrendered, and Tongzhou was recovered. In the eleventh month seven thousand garrison troops of Hua from the rebels came over to surrender. In the second month of the third year the Shatuo army arrived and recovered Huazhou. In the fourth month they defeated the rebels at Liangtian Slope and thereupon recovered the capital. Duo was enfeoffed as Duke of Jin. Duo was additionally made director of the secretariat; regarding the generals who recovered the city, he measured their merits as high or low and, by imperial commission, reported enfeoffments and rewards. At this time the fate of the state hung by a thread, the emperor wandered to barbarian frontiers, and the great enterprise was nearly lost. Had it not been for Zheng Tian's vigorous action and Duo's loyalty and righteousness, whether the dynasty's fortune would rise or fall would have been impossible to know.
32
自巢、讓之亂，關東方鎮牙將，皆逐主帥，自號籓臣。 時溥據徐州，硃瑄據鄆州，硃瑾據兗州，王敬武據青州，周岌據許州，王重榮據河中，諸葛爽據河陽，皆自擅一籓，職貢不入，賞罰由己。 既逐賊出關，尤恃功伐，朝廷姑息不暇。 巢賊出關東，與蔡帥秦宗權合縱。 時溥舉兵徐方，請身先討賊，乃授溥都統之命。 十軍軍容使田令孜，以內官楊復光有監護用師之功，尤忌儒臣立事，故有時溥之授。
Since the turmoil of Chao and Rang, garrison adjutants in the eastern passes region all drove out their commanders and styled themselves as vassal officials. Shi Pu held Xuzhou, Zhu Xuan held Yunzhou, Zhu Jin held Yanzhou, Wang Jingwu held Qingzhou, Zhou Ji held Xuzhou, Wang Chongrong held Hezhong, and Zhuge Shuang held Heyang—all arrogated a province to themselves, did not send tribute and reports to court, and imposed rewards and punishments on their own authority. Having driven the rebels out of the passes, they especially relied on their merits and victories; the court had no time to do more than indulgent accommodation. Chao's rebels went out east of the passes and joined in coalition with Qin Zongquan, commandery chief of Cai. Shi Pu raised troops in the Xu region, requested to take the lead in attacking the rebels, and thereupon was granted the order of overall commander. Tian Lingzi, commissioner of the Ten Armies' military bearing, because palace official Yang Fuguang had merit in supervising and deploying the army, especially resented civil officials achieving things, and therefore there was the appointment of Shi Pu.
33
初，鐸出軍，兼鄭滑節度使，以便供饋。 至是，罷鐸都統之權，令仗節歸籓。 鐸以硃全忠於己有恩，倚為籓蔽。 初，全忠辭禮恭順，既而全忠軍旅稍集，其意漸倨。 鐸知不可依，表求還朝。
Initially, when Duo marched out with the army, he also held the post of military commissioner of Zheng and Hua to facilitate provisioning. At this point Duo's authority as overall commander was removed, and he was ordered to return to his province bearing his credential. Duo felt Zhu Quanzhong owed him a kindness and relied on him as a border shield. At first Quanzhong's words and courtesy were deferential; afterward, as Quanzhong's armies gradually gathered, his attitude grew gradually arrogant. Duo knew he could not rely on him and memorialized requesting return to court.
34
其年冬，僖宗自蜀將還，乃以鐸為滄景節度使。 時楊全玫在滄州，聞鐸之來，訴於魏州樂彥貞。 鐸受命赴鎮，至魏州旬日，彥貞迎謁，宴勞甚至。 鐸以上臺元老，功蓋群後，行則肩輿，妓女夾侍，賓僚服禦，盡美一時。 彥貞子從訓，兇戾無行，竊所慕之； 令甘陵州卒數百人，伏於漳南之高雞泊。 及鐸行李至，皆為所掠，鐸與賓客十余人，皆遇害。 時光啟四年十二月也。
That winter, as Emperor Xizong was about to return from Shu, Duo was made military commissioner of Cang and Jing. At the time Yang Quanmei was at Cangzhou; hearing of Duo's coming, he appealed to Le Yan Zhen at Weizhou. Duo received the order and went to his post; after ten days at Weizhou, Yan Zhen came to meet and welcome him and entertained and rewarded him with exceptional generosity. Duo, as an elder of the supreme court whose achievements surpassed all his peers, traveled in a shoulder-borne carriage with singing girls attending on either side, guests and staff arrayed in finery—the utmost splendor of the age. Yan Zhen's son Congxun, violent and without propriety, secretly coveted this; He had several hundred soldiers from Ganling Prefecture lie in ambush at Gaojibo south of the Zhang River. When Duo's baggage train arrived, all were plundered; Duo and more than ten guests all met violent death. This was in the twelfth month of the fourth year of Guangqi.
35
鐸弟鐐，累官至汝州刺史。 王仙芝陷郡城，被害。 李絳李絳，字深之，趙郡贊皇人也。 曾祖貞簡。 祖剛，官終宰邑。 父元善，襄州錄事參軍。 絳舉進士，登宏辭科，授秘書省校書郎。 秩滿，補渭南尉。 貞元末，拜監察御史。 元和二年，以本官充翰林學士。 未幾，改尚書主客員外郎。 逾年，轉司勛員外郎。 五年，遷本司郎中、知制誥。 皆不離內職，孜孜以匡諫為己任。
Duo's younger brother Liao rose in office to prefect of Ru. When Wang Xianzhi captured the prefectural city, he was killed. Li Jiang, whose style name was Shenzhi, was a native of Zanhuang in Zhao Commandery. His great-grandfather was Zhenjian. His grandfather Gang ended his office as magistrate of a district. His father Yuanshan served as administrative aide of Xiang Prefecture. Jiang passed the jinshi examination, passed the macro-literary examination, and was appointed collator in the Secretariat. When his term expired he was appointed chief warden of Weinan. At the end of the Zhenyuan reign he was appointed censor. In the second year of Yuanhe, with his existing office he was appointed Hanlin academician. Before long he was changed to junior director in the Ministry of Rites in charge of foreign visitors. After a year he was transferred to junior director in the Ministry of Personnel. In the fifth year he was promoted to director in that ministry and took charge of drafting edicts. Throughout he did not leave inner court duties, diligently taking remonstrance and correction as his personal charge.
36
憲宗即位，叛臣李锜阻兵於浙右。 锜既誅，朝廷將輦其所沒家財。 絳上言曰：「李锜兇狡叛戾，僭侈誅求，刻剝六州之人，積成一道之苦。 聖恩本以叛亂致討，蘇息一方。 今輦運錢帛，播聞四海，非所謂式遏亂略，惠綏困窮。 伏望天慈，並賜本道，代貧下戶今年租稅，則萬姓欣戴，四海歌詠矣。」 憲宗嘉之。
When Emperor Xianzong ascended the throne, the rebel Li Qi blocked the army in Zheyou. Once Qi was executed, the court was about to transport by cart his confiscated family property. Jiang memorialized, saying: "Li Qi was vicious, cunning, rebellious, and perverse; he usurped extravagance and imposed exactions, flaying the people of six prefectures and heaping up the suffering of an entire circuit. The sage grace originally took rebellion as cause for punitive action, to revive and rest one region. Now transporting money and silks by cart, broadcasting the news to the four seas—this is not what is called checking disorder and raids, or showing kindness and ease to the destitute. I humbly hope for heavenly kindness: grant it all to this circuit in place of this year's tax and rent for poor households, and then the myriad people will rejoice and look up in gratitude, and the four seas will sing in praise. Emperor Xianzong commended this.
37
時中官吐突承璀自籓邸承恩寵，為神策護軍中尉，乃於安國佛寺建立《聖政碑》，大興功作，仍請翰林為其文。 絳上言曰：
At the time palace official Tuoba Chenghui, favored from the princely residence, was protector-general commandant of the Shence Army; he thereupon erected the "Stele of Sagely Governance" at Anguo Temple, launched great construction works, and still requested the Hanlin to compose its text. Jiang memorialized, saying:
38
陛下布惟新之政，刬積習之弊，四海延頸，日望德音。 今忽立《聖政碑》，示天下以不廣。 《易》稱：大人者與天地合德，與日月合明。 執契垂拱，勵精求理，豈可以文字而盡聖德，碑表而贊皇猷？ 若可敘述，是有分限，虧損盛德，豈謂敷揚至道哉？ 故自堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武，並無建碑之事。 至秦始皇荒逸之君，煩酷之政，然後有罘、嶧之碑，揚誅伐之功，紀巡幸之跡，適足為百王所笑，萬代所譏。 至今稱為失道亡國之主，豈可擬議於此！ 陛下嗣高祖、太宗之業，舉貞觀、開元之政，思理不遑食，從諫如順流； 固可與堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武方駕而行，又安得追秦皇暴虐不經之事，而自損聖政？ 近者，閻巨源請立紀聖功碑，陛下詳盡事宜，皆不允許。 今忽令立此，與前事頗乖。 況此碑既在安國寺，不得不敘載遊觀宗飾之事。 述遊觀且乖理要，敘崇飾又匪政經，固非哲王所宜行也。 其碑，伏乞聖恩特令寢罷。
Your Majesty has promulgated renewing policies and cut away the evils of accumulated custom; the four seas stretch their necks, daily awaiting virtuous words. Now suddenly to erect the "Stele of Sagely Governance" shows the realm your lack of magnanimity. The Book of Changes says: the great man merges his virtue with Heaven and Earth and his brilliance with sun and moon. Holding the tally and ruling without effort, striving in spirit to seek good order—how can sage virtue be exhausted in words, or imperial design praised on a stele? If it can be narrated, there is a limit to it; to do so diminishes sublime virtue—how can this be called spreading and displaying the utmost Way? Therefore from Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu, none had steles erected. Only when it came to Qin Shihuang, a dissolute ruler with oppressive government, were there the steles at Mount Fu and Mount Yi, proclaiming punitive campaigns and recording tour itineraries—fit only to be laughed at by the hundred kings and mocked through ten thousand generations. To this day he is remembered as a ruler who lost the Way and destroyed his kingdom—how can Your Majesty be compared to him in this! Your Majesty inherits the legacy of Gaozu and Taizong, upholds the policies of the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan eras, pursues good governance without pausing even to eat, and accepts remonstrance as readily as water flows downstream; Surely you can walk in the company of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu—how then can you emulate the brutal and lawless conduct of the First Emperor of Qin and diminish your own sage rule? Recently Yan Juyuan petitioned to erect a stele commemorating Your Majesty's sage achievements; Your Majesty reviewed the proposal in detail and refused it entirely. Now suddenly ordering this stele erected is quite inconsistent with what went before. Moreover, since this stele would stand at Anguo Temple, its inscription could hardly avoid recounting sightseeing and the temple's ornamental splendor. To describe sightseeing departs from what is essential; to narrate grand ornamentation is not the standard of governance—it is certainly not what a wise ruler should do. As for this stele, I humbly beg Your Majesty's grace to order it specially suspended and abandoned.
39
憲宗深然之，其碑遂止。
Emperor Xianzong strongly agreed, and the stele project was halted.
40
絳後因浴堂北廊奏對，極論中官縱恣、方鎮進獻之事。 憲宗怒，厲聲曰：「卿所論奏，何太過耶？」 絳前論不已，曰：「臣所諫論，於臣無利，是國家之利。 陛下不以臣愚，使處腹心之地，豈可見事虧聖德，致損清時，而惜身不言？ 仰屋竊嘆，是臣負陛下也。 若不顧患禍，盡誠奏論，旁忤幸臣，上犯聖旨，以此獲罪，是陛下負臣也。 且臣與中官，素不相識，又無嫌隙，只是威福太盛，上損聖朝，臣所以不敢不論耳。 使臣緘默，非社稷之福也。」 憲宗見其誠切，改容慰喻之曰：「卿盡節於朕，人所難言者，卿悉言之，使朕聞所不聞，真忠正誠節之臣也。 他日南面，亦須如此。」 絳拜恩而退。 遽宣宰臣，令與改官，乃授中書舍人，依前翰林學士。 翌日，面賜金紫，帝親為絳擇良笏賜之。
Later, during an audience in the north corridor of the Bathing Hall, Jiang spoke at length about the unrestrained conduct of eunuch officials and the tribute offerings of the regional commanders. Xianzong grew angry and said sharply, "What you have presented—is it not excessive?" Jiang pressed on without stopping and said, "What I remonstrate about brings me no personal benefit—it is benefit to the state. Your Majesty, not deeming me foolish, placed me in a position of inner trust—how could I see affairs that diminish Your Majesty's virtue and harm this bright age, yet hold my tongue to spare myself? To look up at the roof and sigh in secret would mean that I had failed Your Majesty. If, without regard for disaster, I speak my mind with full sincerity, offend favored ministers and transgress the imperial will, and for that am punished—that would mean Your Majesty had failed me. Moreover, I have never known the eunuch officials and bear them no personal grudge—it is only that their power and privilege are too great and injure the court; that is why I dare not remain silent. To have me keep silent would be no blessing to the state." Xianzong saw his sincerity, changed expression, and comforted him, saying, "You have given your full loyalty to me—what others find hard to say, you have said it all, enabling me to hear what I had never heard before. You are a truly loyal, upright, and sincere minister. On other days when you attend court, you must speak just as frankly." Jiang bowed in gratitude and withdrew. The emperor immediately summoned the chief ministers and ordered Jiang's office changed; he was appointed Secretariat Drafter while retaining his former post as Hanlin Academician. The next day the emperor personally granted him gold and purple insignia in audience and personally selected a fine court tablet for Jiang and bestowed it.
41
前後朝臣裴武、柳公綽、白居易等，或為奸人所排陷，特加貶黜； 絳每以密疏申論，皆獲寬宥。 及鎮州節度使王士真死，朝廷將用兵討除，絳深陳以為未可。 絳既盡心匡益，帝每有詢訪，多協事機。 六年，猶以中人之故，罷學士，守戶部侍郎，判本司事。 嘗因次對，憲宗曰：「戶部比有進獻，至卿獨無，何也？」 絳曰：「將戶部錢獻入內藏，是用物以結私恩。」 上聳然，益嘉其直。 吐突承璀恩寵莫二，是歲，將用絳為宰相； 前一日，出承璀為淮南監軍。 翌日，降制，以絳為中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 同列李吉甫便僻，善逢迎上意； 絳梗直，多所規諫，故與吉甫不協。 時議者以吉甫通於承璀，故絳尤惡之。 絳性剛訐，每與吉甫爭論，人多直絳。 憲宗察絳忠正自立，故絳論奏，多所允從。
From time to time court ministers such as Pei Wu, Liu Gongchuo, and Bai Juyi were framed by villains and specially demoted or dismissed; Jiang each time pleaded their cases in secret memorials, and all obtained leniency. When Wang Shizhen, military governor of Zhenzhou, died and the court was about to use troops to suppress and remove his domain, Jiang argued at length that this was not yet advisable. Since Jiang had devoted himself wholeheartedly to assisting the throne, whenever the emperor consulted him, his counsel mostly accorded with what the situation required. In the sixth year, still because of the eunuchs, he was removed as Hanlin Academician, retained as Vice Minister of Revenue, and directed affairs of that ministry. Once during a secondary audience, Xianzong said, "The Ministry of Revenue has lately been making presentations to me, yet you alone have made none—why?" Jiang said, "To present Ministry of Revenue funds into the inner treasury is to use public goods to cultivate private favor." The emperor started in surprise and all the more praised his frankness. Tu Tu Chenghui's favor was unrivaled; that year the emperor was about to appoint Jiang chief minister; The day before, Chenghui was sent out as army supervisor of Huainan. The next day an edict was issued appointing Jiang Vice Director of the Secretariat and Co-Director of the Department of State Affairs. His colleague Li Jifu was ingratiating and skilled at accommodating the emperor's wishes; Jiang was blunt and upright and often remonstrated, so he did not get along with Jifu. Public opinion held that Jifu was connected with Chenghui, so Jiang especially despised him. Jiang's nature was stern and contentious; whenever he debated with Jifu, most people sided with Jiang. Xianzong perceived that Jiang was loyal, upright, and independent, so his memorials and presentations were often approved and followed.
42
上嘗謂絳曰：「卜筮之事，習者罕精，或中或否。 近日風俗。 ，尤更崇尚，何也？」 對曰：「臣聞古先哲王畏天命，示不敢專，邦有大事可疑者，故先謀於卿士庶人，次決於卜筮，俱協則行之。 末俗浮偽，幸以僥福。 正行慮危，邪謀覬安，遲疑昏惑，謂小數能決之。 而愚夫愚婦，假時日鬼神者，欲利欺詐，參之見聞，用以刺射小近之事，神而異之。 近者，風俗近巫，此誠弊俗。 聖旨所及，實辨邪源。 但存而不論，弊斯息矣。」
The emperor once said to Jiang, "In matters of divination, those who practice it are rarely skilled—the results may hit or miss. Yet lately custom has grown even more reverent toward it—why?" He replied, "I have heard that the sage kings of antiquity feared Heaven's mandate and showed that they dared not decide alone; when the state faced a great and doubtful matter, they first consulted ministers and common people, then decided by divination—and only if all agreed did they act. Decadent custom is shallow and false, hoping for fortune by chance alone. Those on the right path fear danger; those with wicked designs covet safety—in hesitation, doubt, and confusion they think petty calculations can decide everything. Foolish men and foolish women, pretending knowledge of calendrical days and ghosts and spirits, seek profit through fraud, cross-check against what they have seen and heard, use this to probe trivial everyday matters, and treat it as miraculous and wondrous. Lately custom has drawn close to shamanism—this is truly a corrupt practice. What Your Majesty's inquiry touches truly distinguishes the source of perversity. If one keeps this insight in mind without dwelling on it further, the corruption will cease. Close of reply.
43
他日延英，上曰：「朕讀《玄宗實錄》，見開元致理，天寶兆亂。 事出一朝，治亂相反，何也？」 絳對曰：
Another day at Yanying Hall, the emperor said, "I read the Veritable Records of Emperor Xuanzong and saw that the Kaiyuan era achieved good order while the Tianbao era foreshadowed disorder. Both came from a single reign, yet order and disorder were opposites—why?" Jiang replied:
44
臣聞理生於危心，亂生於肆誌。 玄宗自天後朝出居籓邸，嘗蒞官守，接時賢於外，知人事之艱難。 臨禦之初，任姚崇、宋璟，二人皆忠鯁上才，動以致主為心。 明皇乘思理之初，亦勵精聽納，故當時名賢在位，左右前後，皆尚忠正。 是以君臣交泰，內外寧謐。 開元二十年以後，李林甫、楊國忠相繼用事，專引柔佞之人，分居要劇，茍媚於上，不聞直言。 嗜欲轉熾，國用不足，奸臣說以興利，武夫說以開邊。 天下騷動，奸盜乘隙，遂至兩都覆敗，四海沸騰，乘輿播遷，幾至難復。 蓋小人啟導，縱逸生驕之致也。 至今兵宿兩河，西疆削盡，甿戶雕耗，府藏空虛，皆因天寶喪亂，以至於此。 安危理亂，實系時主所行。 陛下思廣天聰，親覽國史，垂意精賾，鑒於化源，實天下幸甚。
I have heard that good order arises from a wary heart, and disorder arises from an unrestrained will. From the reign of Empress Wu onward, Xuanzong lived outside the palace at his princely residence, once held local office, met men of talent in the world beyond, and knew the hardships of human affairs. At the beginning of his reign he employed Yao Chong and Song Jing—both were loyal and outstanding talents who took serving the sovereign well as their constant aim. Emperor Ming, seizing the beginning of his resolve for good order, likewise exerted himself and listened and accepted counsel; therefore eminent worthies of the time held office all around him, and those at his side all prized loyalty and rectitude. Thus ruler and ministers enjoyed mutual harmony, and within and without the court were tranquil. After the twentieth year of Kaiyuan, Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong successively held power, bringing in only soft and fawning men to fill key posts, flattering the sovereign while straight speech went unheard. Appetites and desires grew ever fiercer; state revenues were insufficient; villainous ministers urged profit-making schemes, and military men urged opening the frontier. The realm was thrown into turmoil; villains and bandits seized the opportunity; both capitals were overthrown, the four seas boiled with unrest, the imperial carriage was driven into exile, and restoration was nearly impossible. This was the outcome of petty men opening the way and indulgence breeding arrogance. To this day troops remain quartered in the two He provinces, the western borders have been wholly lost, farming households are wasted and depleted, and the treasuries are empty—all because of the Tianbao calamity and disorder. Security and danger, order and disorder, truly depend on what the ruler of the age does. Your Majesty seeks to broaden Heaven's hearing, personally reads the national histories, extends attention to subtle depths, and takes the source of transformation as a mirror—truly the world's great fortune.
45
上又曰：「凡人行事，常患不通於理，已然之失，追悔誠難。 古人處此，復有道否？」 絳對曰：「行事過差，聖哲皆所不免，故天子致諍臣以匡其失。 故主心理於中，臣論正於外，制理於未亂，銷患於未萌。 主或過舉，則諫以正之，故上下同體，猶手足之於心膂，交相為用，以致康寧。 此亦常理，非難遵之事。 但矜得護失，常情所蔽。 古人貴改過不吝，從善如流，良為此也。 臣等備位，無所發明，但陛下不廢芻言，則端士賢臣，必當自效。」 帝曰：「朕擢用卿等，所冀直言。 各宜盡心無隱，以匡不逮。 無以護失為慮也！」
The emperor also said, "When anyone acts, he often fears he does not grasp principle; once a fault is done, it is truly hard to regret and amend. Did the ancients in this situation have a way forward?" Jiang replied, "Even sages and wise men cannot avoid acting with excessive error; therefore the Son of Heaven brings forth remonstrating ministers to correct his faults. Thus the sovereign rectifies his mind within, ministers argue for correctness without, establish order before disorder arises, and dissolve harm before it sprouts. If the sovereign oversteps, they remonstrate to correct him; thus ruler and ministers are one body, like hands and feet to the heart and spine, each serving the other to achieve peace and well-being. This too is ordinary principle—not a difficult thing to follow. Yet pride in what one got right and shielding one's faults—ordinary feeling is blinded by this. The ancients prized changing one's faults without stinginess and following good as if flowing with water—precisely for this reason. We hold our posts without offering anything illuminating—but if Your Majesty does not discard common speech, then upright gentlemen and worthy ministers will surely devote themselves of their own accord." The emperor said, "I promoted and employed you all because I hoped for straight speech. Each of you should devote your hearts without concealment to correct my shortcomings. Do not let concern for shielding faults hold you back! Close of edict.
46
其秋，魏博節度使田季安死，其子懷諫幼弱，軍中立其大將田興，使主軍事，興卒以六州之地歸命。 其經始營創，皆絳之謀也。
That autumn, Tian Ji'an, military governor of Weibo, died; his son Huaijian was young and weak; the army installed his great general Tian Xing to manage military affairs, and Xing ultimately submitted the six prefectures to imperial authority. The planning from the very beginning was all Jiang's doing.
47
時教坊忽稱密旨，取良家士女及衣冠別第妓人，京師囂然。 絳謂同列曰：「此事大虧損聖德，須有論諫。」 或曰：「此嗜欲間事，自有諫官論列。」 絳曰：「相公居常病諫官論事，此難事即推與諫官，可乎？」 乃極言論奏。 翌日延英，憲宗舉手謂絳曰：「昨見卿狀所論采擇事，非卿盡忠於朕，何以及此？ 朕都不知向外事，此是教坊罪過，不諭朕意，以至於此。 朕緣丹王已下四人，院中都無侍者，朕令於樂工中及閭裏有情願者，厚其錢帛，只取四人，四王各與一人。 伊不會朕意，便如此生事。 朕已令科罰，其所取人，並已放歸。 若非卿言，朕寧知此過？」
At the time the Music Bureau suddenly claimed a secret order and took daughters of good families and courtesans from the separate mansions of officials and gentry; the capital was in an uproar. Jiang said to his colleagues, "This affair greatly injures Your Majesty's virtue; there must be remonstrance on it." Someone said, "This is a matter of appetite and desire; remonstrating officials will discuss it on their own." Jiang said, "You chancellors usually complain when remonstrating officials discuss affairs—for a difficult matter to shove it off on remonstrating officials, is that acceptable?" He then presented a memorial arguing the point to the full. The next day at Yanying Hall, Xianzong raised his hand and said to Jiang, "Yesterday I saw your memorial on the selection affair—if you had not been fully loyal to me, how could I have learned of this? I knew nothing at all of outside affairs; this is the Music Bureau's fault—they did not explain my intent and so things reached this point. Because from Prince Dan downward the four princes had no attendants in their residences, I ordered that among musicians and in the lanes those willing should be paid generously—we would take only four, one for each of the four princes. They did not grasp my intent and went and made trouble like this. I have already ordered punishments assessed; those who were taken have all been sent home. If not for your words, how would I have known of this fault? Close of reply.
48
八年，封高邑縣男。 絳以足疾，拜章求免。 九年，罷知政事，授禮部尚書。 十年，檢校戶部尚書，出為華州刺史。 未幾，入為兵部尚書。 丁母憂。 十四年，檢校吏部尚書，出為河中觀察使。 河中舊為節制，皇甫镈惡絳，只以觀察命之。 十五年，镈得罪，絳復為兵部尚書。
In the eighth year he was enfeoffed as Baron of Gaoyi County. Jiang, because of a foot ailment, submitted a memorial requesting dismissal. In the ninth year he was removed from managing state affairs and appointed Minister of Rites. In the tenth year he was made honorary Minister of Revenue and sent out as governor of Hua Prefecture. Before long he returned as Minister of War. He entered mourning for his mother. In the fourteenth year he was made honorary Minister of the Civil Service and sent out as Intendant of Hedong Circuit. Hedong had formerly been a military command; Huangfu Bo hated Jiang and appointed him only as intendant. In the fifteenth year Bo fell from grace, and Jiang was again made Minister of War.
49
穆宗即位，改御史大夫。 穆宗亟於畋遊行幸，絳於延英切諫，帝不能用。 絳以疾辭，復為兵部尚書。 長慶元年，轉吏部尚書。 是歲，加檢校尚書右僕射，判東都尚書省事，充東都留守。 二年正月，檢校本官、兗州刺史、兗海節度觀察待使。 三年，復為東都留守。 四年，就加檢校司空。
When Emperor Muzong ascended the throne, Jiang was reassigned as Censor-in-Chief. Emperor Muzong was eager for hunting tours and imperial progresses; Jiang remonstrated urgently in Yanying Hall, but the emperor would not heed him. Jiang resigned on grounds of illness and was again made Minister of War. In the first year of Changqing he was transferred to Minister of the Civil Service. That year he was additionally made Honorary Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, oversaw the Eastern Capital office of the Department of State Affairs, and served as Defender of the Eastern Capital. In the first month of the second year he was made honorary to his existing rank, Governor of Yan Prefecture, and military governor and intendant of Yan-Hai Circuit. In the third year he again served as Defender of the Eastern Capital. In the fourth year he was immediately additionally made Honorary Minister of Works.
50
寶歷初，入為尚書左僕射。 二年九月，昭議節度使劉悟卒，遺表請以子從諫嗣襲，將吏詣闕論請。 絳密奏請速除近澤潞四面將帥一人，以充節度； 令倍程赴鎮，使從諫未及拒命，新使已到，所謂「疾雷不及掩耳」。 潞州軍心，自有所系。 從諫無位，何名主張。 時宰相李逢吉、王守澄已受從諫賂，俱請以從諫留後，不能用絳言。
At the beginning of the Baoli reign he entered court as Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. In the ninth month of the second year, Liu Wu, military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit, died; his final memorial asked that his son Congjian succeed and inherit the post, and the generals and officials went to the palace gate to petition for this. Jiang secretly memorialized asking that one general from the four sides near Ze and Lu be quickly appointed to fill the military governorship; he should be ordered to reach the command post at double speed, so that before Congjian could refuse the order the new envoy would already have arrived—what is called 'swift thunder gives no time to cover one's ears.' The hearts of the Lu Prefecture army would naturally attach themselves elsewhere. Congjian would have no position—by what name could he assert authority? At the time the chief ministers Li Fengji and Wang Shoucheng had already accepted bribes from Congjian; both asked that Congjian be made regent-in-waiting, and Jiang's advice was not adopted.
51
絳以直道進退，聞望傾於一時。 然剛腸嫉惡，賢不肖太分，以此為非正之徒所忌。 又嘗與御史中丞王播相遇於道，播不為之避； 絳奏論事體，敕命兩省詳議，鹹以絳論奏是。 李逢吉佑播惡絳，乃罷絳僕射，改授太子少師，分司東都。
Jiang advanced and withdrew by upright conduct, and for a time his renown eclipsed all others. Yet he was stiff-spirited and hated evil, and he divided the worthy from the unworthy too sharply; for this he was resented by men of improper conduct. He also once met Vice Censor-in-Chief Wang Bo on the road, and Bo did not yield to him; Jiang memorialized discussing the propriety of the matter; an edict ordered the two departments to deliberate in detail, and all agreed that Jiang's memorial was correct. Li Fengji shielded Bo and harmed Jiang, then removed Jiang from the vice directorship and reassigned him as Junior Tutor to the Heir Apparent, serving in the Eastern Capital in a nominal capacity.
52
文宗即位，征為太常卿。 二年，檢校司空，出為興元尹、山南西道節度使。 三年冬，南蠻寇西蜀，詔征赴援。 絳於本道募兵千人赴蜀； 及中路，蠻軍已退，所募皆還。 興元兵額素定，募卒悉令罷歸。 四年二月十日，絳晨興視事，召募卒，以詔旨喻而遣之，仍給以廩麥，皆怏怏而退。 監軍使楊叔元貪財怙寵，怨絳不奉己，乃因募卒賞薄，眾辭之際，以言激之，欲其為亂，以逞私憾。 募卒因監軍之言，怒氣益甚，乃噪聚趨府，劫庫兵以入使衙。 絳方與賓僚會宴，不及設備。 聞亂北走登陴，衙將王景延力戰以禦之。 兵折矢窮，景延死。 絳乃為亂兵所害，時年六十七。
When Emperor Wenzong ascended the throne, Jiang was summoned as Minister of Ceremonies. In the second year he was made Honorary Minister of Works and sent out as Governor of Xingyuan and military governor of Shannan West Circuit. In the winter of the third year, southern barbarians raided western Shu, and an edict ordered Jiang to go to the rescue. Jiang raised a thousand troops in his circuit to go to Shu; By the time they were halfway, the barbarian army had already withdrawn, and all those recruited returned. The troop quota for Xingyuan had long been fixed, and all the recruited soldiers were ordered dismissed and sent home. On the tenth day of the second month of the fourth year, Jiang rose early to attend to business, summoned the recruited soldiers, explained the edict and dismissed them, and still gave them grain rations—but all withdrew resentfully. The army supervisor Yang Shuyuan was greedy for wealth and relied on imperial favor; resentful that Jiang did not defer to him, he took advantage of the moment when the recruited soldiers were complaining that their rewards were meager and incited them with words, wanting them to make trouble so he could satisfy a private grudge. Because of the supervisor's words, the recruited soldiers' anger grew still fiercer; they then clamored together and rushed to the headquarters, seized weapons from the armory, and entered the commissioner's yamen. Jiang was just feasting with guests and retainers and had no time to prepare defenses. Hearing the disturbance he fled north and climbed the ramparts; yamen guard Wang Jingyan fought hard to repel them. When their arrows were spent and broken, Jingyan died. Jiang was then killed by the mutinous soldiers; he was sixty-seven.
53
絳初登陴，左右請絳縋城，可以避免，絳不從。 乃並從事趙存約、薛齊俱死焉。
When Jiang first climbed the ramparts, those beside him asked Jiang to let himself down from the city by rope, saying he could avoid harm; Jiang would not agree. Then together with staff members Zhao Cunyue and Xue Qi he died as well.
54
文宗聞奏震悼，下制曰：「朝有正人，時稱令德，入參廟算，出總師幹。 方當寵任之臣，橫罹不幸之酷。 殄瘁興嘆，搢紳所同。 故山南西道節度、管內觀察處置等使、銀青光祿大夫、檢校司空，兼興元尹、御史大夫、上柱國、趙郡開國公、食邑二千戶李絳，神授聰明，天賦清直。 抱仁義以希前哲，立標準以程後來。 抑揚時情，坐致臺輔。 佐我烈祖，格於皇天。 仗鉞宣風，聯居樂土。 乘軒鳴玉，嘗極清班。 先聲而物議皆歸，不約而群情自許。 漢中名部，俾遂便安。 而變起不圖，禍生無兆。 殲良之慟，聞訃增傷。 是極哀榮，用優典禮。 三公正秩，品數甚崇，式表異恩，以攄沈痛。 可贈司徒。 仍令所司擇日備禮冊命。」 賻布帛三千段、米粟二百碩。 子璋、頊。
When Emperor Wenzong received the report he was shocked and grieved, and issued an edict saying: "When the court has an upright man, the age calls his virtue admirable; within he assists in the plans of the ancestral temple, without he commands the staffs of armies. Just as he was a minister being showered with favor, he suffered the cruel blow of sudden misfortune. The devastation evokes sighs; officials and gentry share the grief. The former Military Governor of Shannan West Circuit, Disposition Commissioner for the Circuit and Adjacent Areas, Silver-Glitter Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Honorary Minister of Works, Concurrent Governor of Xingyuan Prefecture, Censor-in-Chief, Supreme Pillar of the State, Duke of Zhao Commandery with a fief of two thousand households, Li Jiang—spirit endowed him with intelligence, Heaven gifted him with clean uprightness. He embraced benevolence and righteousness in emulation of earlier sages and set standards to measure those who came after. He moderated the temper of the age and, without striving, attained the highest offices. He assisted our august ancestor and was attested by August Heaven. Bearing the battle-axe he spread imperial authority; he dwelt in succession on favored soil. Riding in carriage with jade chimes sounding, he once reached the most exalted ranks. His reputation went before him and public opinion all turned his way; without being summoned, the multitude pledged themselves to him. In the famed commandery of Hanzhong, he was enabled to settle in ease. Yet change arose unplanned, and disaster was born without warning. The grief at the slaying of the good man deepens at the news of his death. Therefore let the utmost mourning honor be shown, and let exceptional rites be used. The three high ranks of the Three Excellencies are very exalted in grade; let them express extraordinary grace and pour out deep grief. He may be posthumously appointed Minister of Education. Let the responsible offices also choose a day and prepare the rites of investiture." Funeral gifts of three thousand bolts of silk and cloth and two hundred shi of grain. His sons were Zhang and Xu.
55
璋，登進士第。 盧鈞鎮太原，辟為從事。 大中末，入朝為監察，轉侍御史。 出刺兩郡，終宣歙觀察使。 子德林。 楊於陵楊於陵，字達夫，弘農人。 漢太尉震之第五子奉之後。 曾祖珪，為辰州掾曹。 祖冠俗，奉先尉。 父太清，宋州單父尉。 於陵，天寶末家寄河朔。 祿山亂，其父歿於賊，於陵始六歲。 及長，客於江南。 好學，有奇誌。 弱冠舉進士，釋褐為潤州句容主簿。 時韓滉節制金陵，滉性剛嚴，少所接與。 及於陵以屬吏謁謝，滉甚奇之，謂其妻柳氏曰：「夫人常擇佳婿，吾閱人多矣，無如楊主簿者。」 後竟以女妻之。 秩滿，為鄂嶽、江南二府從事，累官至侍御史。
Zhang passed the jinshi examination. When Lu Jun governed Taiyuan, he recruited Zhang as a staff member. Late in the Dazhong reign he entered court as investigating censor and was transferred to attending censor. He went out as prefect of two prefectures and ended as Intendant of Xuan and She. His son was Delin. Yang Yuling, whose style name was Dafu, was a man of Hongnong. He was a descendant of Feng, fifth son of Zhen, Grand Commandant of Han. His great-grandfather Gui was a staff officer in Chen Prefecture. His grandfather Guansu was magistrate of Fengxian. His father Taiqing was magistrate of Shanfu in Song Prefecture. Yuling's family settled in Hebei late in the Tianbao reign. When the An Lushan rebellion broke out, his father died at the hands of the rebels; Yuling was then six. When he grew up he lived as a guest in the south. He loved learning and had an unusual will. At twenty he passed the jinshi examination, doffed his commoner's garb, and was appointed chief clerk of Jurong in Run Prefecture. At the time Han Huang controlled Jinling; Huang's nature was stern and hard, and he received few people. When Yuling came to pay his respects as a subordinate official, Huang was greatly impressed and said to his wife Lady Liu: "Madam often chooses a fine son-in-law; I have reviewed many men, and none is like Chief Clerk Yang." In the end he gave him his daughter in marriage. When his term expired he served as staff member in the E-Yue and Jiangnan prefectural offices, and rose in successive posts to attending censor.
56
韓滉自江南入朝，總將相財賦之任，頗承顧遇，權傾中外。 於陵自江西府罷，以婦翁權幸方熾，不欲進取。 乃卜築於建昌，以讀書山水為樂。 滉歿，貞元八年始入朝，為膳部員外郎，歷考功、吏部三員外，判南曹。 時宰相有密親調集，文書不如式，於陵駁之，大協物論。 遷右司郎中，復轉吏部郎中，改京兆少尹。 出為絳州刺史。 德宗雅聞其名，將辭赴郡，詔留之，拜中書舍人。 時李實為京兆尹，恃承恩寵，於陵與給事中許孟容俱不附協，為實媒孽，孟容改太常少卿，於陵為秘書少監。 貞元末，實輩敗，遷於陵為華州刺史，充潼關防禦、鎮國軍等使。 未幾，遷浙江東道都團練觀察等使。 政聲流聞，入拜戶部侍郎，復改京兆尹。 先是，禁軍影占編戶，無以區別。 自於陵請致挾名，每五丁者，得兩丁入軍，四丁、三丁者，各以條限。 由是京師豪強，復知所畏。 再遷戶部侍郎。
When Han Huang entered court from Jiangnan he took charge of the finances of generals and ministers and received considerable favor; his power tilted inside and outside the court. Yuling left the Jiangxi prefectural office; because his father-in-law's power and favor were then blazing, he did not wish to seek advancement. He then chose a site and built at Jianchang, taking reading and mountains and rivers as his pleasure. When Huang died, Yuling first entered court in the eighth year of Zhenyuan, was appointed vice director in the Ministry of Rites, served in succession as vice director in the Ministries of Personnel Review and of the Civil Service, and adjudicated the Southern Bureau. At the time a chief minister had a close relative under consideration for appointment, and the documents were not in proper form; Yuling rejected them, greatly matching public opinion. He was promoted to director in the Left Department, then transferred to director in the Ministry of the Civil Service, and was changed to Vice Governor of Jingzhao. He went out as governor of Jiangzhou. Emperor Dezong had long heard his name; when he was about to leave for his prefecture an edict kept him and he was appointed Drafting Secretary in the Secretariat. At the time Li Shi was metropolitan governor of Jingzhao, relying on imperial favor; Yuling and Supervising Secretary Xu Mengrong both refused to go along, and Shi slandered them—Mengrong was changed to Vice Minister of Ceremonies, and Yuling to Vice Director of the Secretariat. Late in Zhenyuan, when Shi's faction fell, Yuling was moved to governor of Hua Prefecture and served as Defender of Tong Pass and commissioner of the Zhenguo Army and such posts. Before long he was moved to Unified Training and Intendant Commissioner of Zhejiang East Circuit and such posts. His reputation for good administration spread; he entered court as Vice Minister of Revenue and was again changed to metropolitan governor of Jingzhao. Previously, forbidden-army soldiers had shadow-enrolled in registered households, and there was no way to distinguish them. At Yuling's request the court exposed false enrollments: for every five men, two were drafted into the army; for groups of four or three, each case followed the statutory quota. Because of this the powerful clans of the capital again knew what to fear. He was again promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue.
57
元和初，以考策，升直言極諫牛僧孺等，為執政所怒，出為嶺南節度使。 會監軍使許遂振悍戾貪恣，幹撓軍政。 於陵奉公潔己，遂振無能奈何，乃以飛語上聞。 憲宗驚惑，賴宰相裴垍為於陵申理，憲宗感悟。
At the beginning of Yuanhe, in grading the policy essays he passed the blunt remonstrators Niu Sengru and others; the chief ministers were angered and sent him out as military governor of Lingnan. It happened that the army supervisor Xu Suizhen was fierce, greedy, and willful, and interfered in military administration. Yuling served the public and kept himself clean; Suizhen could do nothing about it, and so sent slanderous reports to the throne. Emperor Xianzong was alarmed and perplexed; relying on Chief Minister Pei Ji to plead Yuling's case, the emperor came to his senses.
58
五年，入為吏部侍郎。 遂振終自得罪。
In the fifth year he entered court as Vice Minister of the Civil Service. Suizhen in the end brought guilt upon himself.
59
於陵為吏部，凡四周歲，監察奸吏，調補平允，當時稱之。 初，吏部試判，別差考判官三人校能否，元和初罷之。
As Vice Minister of the Civil Service, Yuling served four full years, inspected corrupt officials, and made transfers and appointments fairly; the age praised him. Earlier, when the Ministry of the Civil Service tested policy judgments, three specially assigned examination judges were sent separately to assess competence; at the beginning of Yuanhe this was abolished.
60
七年，吏部尚書鄭余慶以疾請告，乃復置考判官，以兵部員外郎韋顗、屯田員外張仲素、太學博士陸亙等為之。 於陵自東都來，言曰：「本司考判，自當公心。 非次置官，不知曹內公事。 考官只論判之能否，不計闕員； 本司只計員闕幾何，定其留放。 置官不便。」 宰執以已置顗等，只令考科目選人，其余常調，委本司自考。 於陵又以甲歷年深朽斷，吏緣為奸，奏換大歷七年至貞元二十年甲庫歷，令本司郎官監換。
In the seventh year, when Minister of the Civil Service Zheng Yuqing requested leave on grounds of illness, the examination judges were again established, with Vice Director of War Wei Yi, Vice Director of Public Works Zhang Zhongsu, and Erudite of the Imperial Academy Lu Gen appointed to the posts. Yuling came from the Eastern Capital and said, "Judging examinations in this ministry should naturally proceed from an impartial heart. To appoint officials out of turn is wrong—they do not know the bureau's routine business. Examiners considered only whether case judgments were adequate, not whether posts stood vacant; the home office counted only how many vacancies existed and decided who would be kept or dismissed. Creating such offices was ill-advised. The chief ministers, having already appointed Yan and others, ordered that only examination-subject candidates be tested; the remaining regular transfers were left to the home office to examine on its own. Yuling also found that the appointment registers had grown old and broken apart, giving clerks opportunity for fraud; he memorialized to replace the vault registers from the seventh year of Dali through the twentieth year of Zhenyuan and had ministry directors supervise the exchange.
61
九年，妖人楊叔高自廣州來幹於陵，請為己輔，於陵執奏殺之。 改兵部侍郎、判度支。 時淮西用兵，於陵用所親為唐鄧供軍使，節度使高霞寓以供軍有闕，移牒度支，於陵不為之易，其闕如舊。 霞寓軍屢有摧敗，詔書督責之； 乃奏以度支饋運不繼。 憲宗怒，
In the ninth year the sorcerer Yang Shugao came from Guangzhou to approach Yuling and asked to serve as his aide; Yuling had him arrested, memorialized the throne, and put him to death. He was reassigned as vice minister of war in charge of the Bureau of Budgets. While the campaign in Huaixi was underway, Yuling appointed a close associate army-supply commissioner for Tang and Deng. When Military Commissioner Gao Xiayu reported shortages in army supplies and sent a dispatch to the Bureau of Budgets, Yuling would not alter the arrangement, and the shortfall remained. Xiayu's army suffered repeated defeats, and imperial edicts pressed and rebuked him; he then memorialized that the Bureau of Budgets had failed to keep provisions moving. Emperor Xianzong grew angry,
62
十一年，貶於陵為桂陽郡守，量移原王傅。 復遷戶部侍郎，知吏部選事。 會誅李師道，分其地為三鎮，朝廷思有所制置，以於陵兼御史大夫，充淄、青十二州宣慰使，還奏合旨。
In the eleventh year Yuling was demoted to administrator of Guiyang Commandery and soon transferred to tutor of the Prince of Yuan. He was again promoted to vice minister of revenue and put in charge of Ministry of Personnel selection affairs. When Li Shidao was executed and his territory divided into three commands, the court sought to arrange governance. Yuling was made concurrently censor-in-chief and pacification commissioner for the twelve prefectures of Zi and Qing; on his return his report accorded with the emperor's intent.
63
穆宗即位，遷戶部尚書。 長慶初，拜太常卿，充東都留守，年高，拜章辭位。 寶歷二年，授檢校右僕射、兼太子太傅。 旋以左僕射致仕，詔給全俸，懇讓不受。
When Emperor Muzong ascended the throne, Yuling was promoted to minister of revenue. At the beginning of Changqing he was appointed director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and defender of the Eastern Capital; advanced in years, he memorialized to resign. In the second year of Baoli he was granted concurrently vice director of the right and junior tutor of the heir apparent. Shortly afterward he retired as vice director of the left; an edict granted him full salary, but he earnestly declined and would not accept it.
64
於陵器度弘雅，進止有常。 居朝三十余年，踐更中外，始終不失其正。 居官奉職，亦善操守，時人皆仰其風德。 太和四年十月卒，年七十八，冊贈司空，謚貞孝。
Yuling's bearing was broad and refined, and his conduct was always measured and proper. He served at court more than thirty years, holding posts at court and in the provinces in turn, and never lost his rectitude from beginning to end. In office he fulfilled his duties and maintained his integrity well; people of the time all admired his moral stature. In the tenth month of the fourth year of Taihe he died at the age of seventy-eight; he was posthumously enfeoffed as minister of works with the posthumous title Zhenxiao.
65
子四人：景復、嗣復、紹復、師復。
He had four sons: Jingfu, Sifu, Shaofu, and Shifu.
66
嗣復自有傳。 景復位終同州刺史。 紹復進士擢第，弘辭登科，位終中書舍人。 師復位終大理卿。
Sifu has his own biography. Jingfu's final post was governor of Tong Prefecture. Shaofu passed the jinshi examination and the Hongci examination; his final post was drafting attendant of the Secretariat. Shifu's final post was director of the Court of Judicial Review.
67
大中後，楊氏諸子登進士第者十人：嗣復子授、技、拭、捴； 紹復子擢、拯、據、揆； 師復子拙、振等。 擢終給事中。 拯司封員外郎。 據右補闕。 揆左諫議大夫。 拙左庶子。 振左拾遺。 【贊】史臣曰：王氏二英，播、起位崇將相，善始令終。 而炎薄祐短齡，美鐘於鐸，而能驤首矯翼，淩厲亨衢，仗鉞秉衡，扶持衰運。 天胡罰善，遇盜而殂，悲哉！ 李趙公頡頏禁林，訏謨相府，嘉言啟沃，不以身為。 糜軀將壇，沒有余裕。 楊僕射避婦翁之當軸，疏驕尹之怙權，守道居貞，壽考終吉，行己始卒，人以為難。 美哉！
After the Dazhong era, ten sons of the Yang clan passed the jinshi examination: Sifu's sons Shou, Ji, Shi, and Zong; Shaofu's sons Zhuo, Zheng, Ju, and Kui; and Shifu's sons Zhuo, Zhen, and others. Zhuo's final post was attendant-in-ordinary. Zheng served as junior director in the Ministry of Rites. Ju was repletion official on the right. Kui was remonstrance official on the left. Zhuo was junior mentor on the left. Zhen was reminder on the left. [Commentary] The historian says: Two outstanding men of the Wang clan—Bo and Qi—rose to the rank of chief ministers and generals and began well and ended well. Yan had thin fortune and a short life; excellence was concentrated in Duo, who could raise his head and spread his wings, soar along the broad highway, bear the battle-axe and hold the scales, and support a declining dynasty. Why does Heaven punish the good? He met bandits and perished—how tragic! Duke Li of Zhao matched the Hanlin in stature, counseled in the chief minister's hall, offered fine words of nurture, and did not make himself the issue. He wore out his body at the command post and died without years to spare. Vice Director Yang avoided his father-in-law holding the reins of power, kept his distance from an arrogant metropolitan governor who relied on authority, upheld the Way and dwelt in rectitude, lived long and died in peace, and from beginning to end in his conduct was consistent—people considered this difficult to achieve. How admirable!
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贊曰：王氏儒宗，一門三相。 趙公排擯，言猶鯁亮。 幹將雖折，不改其剛。 楊君之德，《韶》、《夏》洋洋。
The commentary says: The Wang clan were Confucian exemplars; one family produced three chief ministers. Duke of Zhao was driven out, yet his words remained sharp and bright. Though the keen blade was broken, its hardness was unchanged. Lord Yang's virtue was vast as the music of Shao and Xia.