1
韋溫，字弘育，京兆人。 祖肇，吏部侍郎。 父綬，德宗朝翰林學士，以散騎常侍致仕。 綬弟貫之，憲宗朝宰相，自有傳。 溫七歲時，日念《毛詩》一卷。 年十一歲，應兩經舉登第。 釋褐太常寺奉禮郎。 以書判拔萃，調補秘書省校書郎。 時綬致仕田園，聞溫登第，愕然曰：「判入高等，在群士之上，得非交結權幸而致耶？」 令設席於廷，自出判目試兩節。 溫命筆即成，綬喜曰：「此無愧也！」 調授咸陽尉。 入為監察御史，以父在田裏，憲府禮拘，難於省謁，不拜。 換著作郎，一謝即還。 侍省父疾，溫侍醫藥，衣不解帶，垂二十年。 父憂，毀瘠逾制。 免喪，久之為右補闕，忠鯁救時。 宋申錫被誣，溫倡言曰：「宋公履行有素，身居臺輔，不當有此，是奸人陷害也。 吾輩諫官，豈避一時之雷電，而致聖君賢相蒙蔽惑之咎耶？」 因率同列伏閣切爭之，由是知名。
Wei Wen, whose courtesy name was Hongyu, came from Jingzhao. His grandfather Zhao had served as Vice Minister of Personnel. His father Shou had been a Hanlin Academician under Emperor Dezong and retired with the title Imperial Attendant-at-Large. Shou's younger brother Guanzhi, a chancellor under Emperor Xianzong, is the subject of a separate biography. At the age of seven, Wen recited one fascicle of the Mao Odes every day. At eleven he took the examination in both Classics and passed. On entering official service he was appointed Ceremonial Officer in the Directorate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Having placed in the top tier of the document-judgment examination, he was assigned as proofreader in the Secretariat. Shou had by then retired to his country estate. When he heard that Wen had passed, he exclaimed in disbelief, "A top-tier placement, above all the other candidates—surely that could only come from connections with the powerful?" He set out a seat in the courtyard and composed two judgment topics of his own to test him. Wen took up the brush and finished on the spot. Shou said with delight, "There is nothing here to be ashamed of!" He was then appointed magistrate of Xianyang. He was summoned to the capital as Supervising Censor, but with his father still in the countryside the censorate's protocol made regular visits home awkward, so he declined the post. He was transferred to Compiler, paid one formal visit of thanks, and went home again. While nursing his ailing father, Wen tended him with medicine and never undressed for bed—nearly twenty years in all. After his father's death he mourned so severely that he wasted away beyond what ritual allowed. Once mourning was over, he eventually became Right Remonstrator, serving the times with loyal, unflinching counsel. When Song Shenxi was falsely accused, Wen spoke up first: "Lord Song has always conducted himself properly. A man at the highest level of government should not be treated this way—this is a frame-up by villains. Are we remonstrators to shrink from a moment's imperial wrath and leave our sage ruler and worthy chancellor blinded and deceived?" He then led his colleagues in kneeling at the palace gate to argue the case urgently, and from that gained wide renown.
2
太和五年，太廟第四、第六室缺漏，上怒，罰宗正卿李銳、將作王堪，乃詔中使鳩工補葺之。 溫上疏曰：「臣聞吏舉其職，國家所以治； 事歸於正，朝廷所以尊。 夫設制度，立官司，事存典故，國有經費，而最重者，奉宗廟也。 伏以太廟當修，詔下逾月，有司弛墮，曾不加誡。 宜黜慢官，以懲不恪之罪； 擇可任者，責以繕完之功。 此則事歸於正，吏舉其職也。 而聖思不勞，百職無曠。 今慢官不恪，止於罰俸，宗廟所切，便委內臣，是許百司之官，公然廢職，以宗廟之重，為陛下所私，群官有司，便同委棄。 此臣竊為聖朝惜此事也。 事關宗廟，皆書史策，茍非舊典，不可率然。 伏乞更下詔書，得委所司營繕，則制度不紊，官業交修。」 上乃止內使。
In the fifth year of Taihe (831), the fourth and sixth chambers of the Imperial Ancestral Temple were found damaged. The emperor was furious and penalized Director of the Imperial Clan Li Rui and Director of Palace Construction Wang Kan, then ordered palace envoys to gather craftsmen for repairs. Wen submitted a memorial: "I have heard that when officials perform their duties, the state is governed; when affairs are handled properly, the court is honored. Institutions are established, offices are created, precedents are preserved, and state funds are allocated—but nothing weighs more heavily than service to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The Imperial Ancestral Temple should have been repaired; more than a month has passed since the edict, yet the responsible offices have been negligent and no warning has been issued. The negligent officials should be removed to punish their lack of diligence; capable replacements should be chosen and charged with finishing the repairs. Then affairs would be handled properly and officials would do their jobs. Your Majesty's mind would be spared, and no office would stand idle. Today negligent officials face no more than a salary fine, while work on the ancestral temple is handed to inner attendants. That allows officials across the bureaucracy openly to neglect their duties, turns the weightiest ritual obligation into Your Majesty's private errand, and effectively abandons the regular offices charged with it. Your subject cannot but regret this for the dynasty's sake. Anything involving the ancestral temple is entered in the historical record; without established precedent, nothing should be done hastily. I beg that a new edict be issued entrusting repairs to the proper offices, so that institutions remain in order and official duties are properly carried out." The emperor then recalled the inner attendants.
3
群臣上尊號，溫上疏曰：「德如三皇止稱皇，功如五帝止稱帝。 徽號之來，乃聖王之末事。 今歲三川水災，江淮旱歉，恐非崇飾徽稱之時。」 帝深嘉之，乃止。 改侍御史。
When the ministers proposed an honorific title for the emperor, Wen wrote: "If one's virtue matches the Three August Ones, one is called August; if one's achievement matches the Five Thearchs, one is called Thearch. Grand honorifics belong to the last resort of sage kings. This year floods have struck the Three Rivers region and drought has afflicted the Yangtze and Huai—hardly a moment to heap on resplendent titles." The emperor was deeply impressed and dropped the proposal. He was transferred to Attending Censor.
4
李德裕作相，遷禮部員外郎。 或以溫厚於牛僧孺，言於德裕。 德裕曰：「此人堅正中立，君子也。」 鄭註鎮鳳翔，自知不為所齒，求德門弟子為參佐，請溫為副使。 或以為理不可拒，拒則生患。 溫曰：「擇禍莫若輕。 拒之止於遠貶，從之有不測之禍。」 鄭註誅，轉考功員外郎。 尋知制誥，召入翰林為學士。 以父職禁廷，憂畏成病，遺誡不令居禁職，懇辭不拜。
When Li Deyu became chancellor, Wen was promoted to Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites. Some people, noting Wen's closeness to Niu Sengru, mentioned it to Li Deyu. Li Deyu replied, "This man is steadfast, upright, and impartial—a true gentleman." Zheng Zhu was posted to Fengxiang. Knowing he was not regarded as one of their circle, he sought a disciple of the Virtue Gate faction as aide and asked that Wen serve as his deputy. Some argued that refusal was unreasonable and would only invite trouble. Wen said, "When choosing between calamities, take the lighter one. Refusal means at worst distant exile; compliance risks disaster one cannot foresee." After Zheng Zhu was executed, Wen was transferred to Vice Director of Merit Examinations. He was soon made drafter of edicts and summoned to the Hanlin Academy as Academician. His father's service had been in the inner court, and worry over repeating that pattern made him ill. He left instructions forbidding any inner-court post and pleaded earnestly until the appointment was withdrawn.
5
俄兼太子侍讀，每晨至少陽院，午見莊恪太子。 溫曰：「殿下盛年，宜早起，學周文王為太子，雞鳴時問安西宮。」 太子幼，不能行其言。 稱疾。 上不悅，改太常少卿。 未幾，拜給事中。 王晏平為靈武，刻削軍士，贓罪發，帝以智興之故，減死，貶官。 溫三封詔書，文宗深獎之。 莊恪得罪，召百僚諭之。 溫曰：「太子年幼，陛下訓之不早，到此非獨太子之過。」 遷尚書右丞。
Soon he was also appointed Reader to the Heir Apparent, visiting the Shaoyang Courtyard each morning and attending on Heir Apparent Zhuangke at noon. Wen told him, "Your Highness is young and should rise early, following the example of King Wen of Zhou as crown prince, who at cockcrow went to inquire after the empress dowager in the Western Palace." The heir was too young to follow his advice. He pleaded illness instead. The emperor was displeased and transferred him to Vice Director of the Directorate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Before long he was appointed Drafting Attendant. Wang Yanping, posted to Lingwu, had been skimming from the troops. When his corruption came to light, the emperor, out of regard for Zhixing, commuted the death sentence to demotion. Wen returned the edict three times; Emperor Wenzong greatly admired his stand. When Zhuangke fell from favor, the emperor summoned the officials to explain why. Wen said, "The heir is young. Your Majesty did not train him in time—what has happened is not the heir's fault alone." He was promoted to Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.
6
吏部員外郎張文規父弘靖，長慶初在幽州為硃克融所囚； 文規不時省赴，人士喧然罪之。 溫居綱轄，首糾其事，出文規為安州刺史。 鹽鐵判官姚勖知河陰院，嘗雪冤獄。 鹽鐵使崔珙奏加酬獎，乃令權知職方員外郎。 制出，令勖上省。 溫執奏曰：「國朝已來，郎官最為清選，不可以賞能吏。」 上令中使宣諭，言勖能官，且放入省。 溫堅執不奉詔，乃改勖檢校禮部郎中。 翌日，帝謂楊嗣復曰：「韋溫不放姚勖入省，有故事否？」 嗣復對曰：「韋溫誌在銓擇清流。 然姚勖士行無玷，梁公元崇之孫，自殿中判鹽鐵案，陛下獎之，宜也。 若人有吏能，不入清流，孰為陛下當煩劇者？ 此衰晉之風也。」 上素重溫，亦不奪其操，出為陜虢觀察使。
Zhang Wengui, Vice Director in the Ministry of Personnel, was the son of Hongjing, who in the early Changqing era had been captured at Youzhou by Zhu Kerong; Wengui had not gone to visit his father promptly, and public opinion loudly condemned him. Wen, who controlled personnel appointments, was the first to take up the case and had Wengui sent out as prefect of Anzhou. Yao Xu, assessor on the Salt and Iron Commission, oversaw the Heyin office and once cleared a wrongful conviction. Commissioner Cui Qiong memorialized for a reward, and Yao was ordered to serve acting Vice Director in the Ministry of War. When the appointment was issued, Yao was told to report to the inner offices. Wen held firm and memorialized: "Since the founding of the dynasty, bureau director posts have been the most prestigious appointments—they must not be used to reward a capable clerk." The emperor sent a palace envoy to say that Yao was a capable official and should be allowed into the inner offices for now. Wen refused to obey, and Yao was instead made Acting Director in the Ministry of Rites. The next day the emperor asked Yang Sifu, "Wei Wen would not let Yao Xu into the inner offices—is there precedent for that?" Yang replied, "Wei Wen is determined to keep appointments pure. But Yao Xu's conduct is blameless. He is the grandson of Liang Yuan Chong, and from the Palace Secretariat he handled Salt and Iron cases—Your Majesty was right to reward him. If men of administrative talent cannot join the pure stream, who will handle the hard work for Your Majesty? That is the spirit of decadent Jin." The emperor had always respected Wen and did not override him, but sent him out as Military Commissioner of Shan-Guo.
7
武宗即位，李德裕用事，召拜吏部侍郎，欲引以為相。 時李漢以家行不謹，貶汾州司馬。 溫從容白德裕曰：「李漢不為相公所知，昨以不孝之罪絀免，乞加按問。」 德裕曰：「親情耶？」 溫曰：「雖非親昵，久相知耳。」 德裕不悅。 居無何，出溫為宣歙觀察使，辟鄭處誨為觀察判官，德裕愈不悅。 池州人訟郡守，溫按之無狀，杖殺之。
When Emperor Wuzong ascended the throne, Li Deyu was in power. Wen was recalled as Vice Director of Personnel, with an eye to making him chancellor. At that time Li Han had been demoted to military adjutant at Fenzhou for misconduct in his family life. Wen spoke casually to Li Deyu: "Li Han is not well known to you, Chancellor. He was just dismissed on a charge of unfilial conduct. I ask that the case be investigated further." Li Deyu asked, "Family ties?" Wen said, "Not close kin, but we have known each other a long time." Li Deyu was displeased. Before long Wen was sent out as Military Commissioner of Xuan-She. He recruited Zheng Chuhui as administrative aide, which displeased Li Deyu still more. A man from Chizhou sued the prefect. Wen found the complaint groundless and had the plaintiff beaten to death.
8
明年，瘍生於首，謂愛婿張復魯曰：「予任校書郎時，夢二黃衣人賫符來追，及浐，將渡，一人續至曰：『彼墳至大，功須萬日。』 遂不涉而寤。 計今萬日矣，與公訣矣。」 明日卒，贈工部尚書，謚曰孝。
The next year a carbuncle appeared on his head. He told his son-in-law Zhang Fulu, "When I was proofreader I dreamed that two men in yellow robes came with a summons to fetch me. At Chan, as I was about to cross, another arrived and said, 'That tomb is vast—the service required is ten thousand days. I did not cross and woke. By my reckoning the ten thousand days are up today. I must bid you farewell." He died the next day. He was posthumously made Minister of Works with the posthumous title Filial.
9
溫在朝時，與李玨、楊嗣復周旋。 及楊、李禍作，嘆曰：「楊三、李七若取我語，豈至是耶！」 初溫以楊、李與德裕交怨，及居位，溫勸楊、李征用德裕，釋憾解慍。 二人不能用，故及禍。 溫無子，女適薛蒙，善著文，續曹大家《女訓》十二章，士族傳寫，行於時。 溫剛腸寡合，人多疏簡，唯與常侍蕭祐善。
While at court, Wen associated closely with Li Jue and Yang Sifu. When disaster struck Yang and Li, he sighed: "If Yang the Third and Li the Seventh had listened to me, how could things have come to this!" Earlier, knowing Yang and Li were at odds with Li Deyu, Wen had urged them once in power to bring Deyu back and let old grievances go. They would not heed him, and so met disaster. Wen had no sons. His daughter married Xue Meng, a skilled writer who continued Lady Cao's Admonitions for Women in twelve chapters. Gentlemen's families copied it, and it circulated widely in his day. Wen was stiff and uncompromising; most people kept their distance. Only Regular Attendant Xiao You was his close friend.
10
蕭祐者，蘭陵人。 少孤貧。 耿介苦學，事親以孝聞。 自處士征拜左拾遺，累遷至考功郎中。 祐博雅好古，尤喜圖畫。 前代鐘、王遺法，蕭、張筆勢，編序真偽，為二十卷，元和末進禦，優詔嘉之，授兵部郎中。 出為虢州刺史，入為太常少卿，轉諫議大夫。 逾月為桂州刺史、御史中丞、桂管防禦觀察使。 太和二年八月，卒於官，贈右散騎常侍。
Xiao You came from Lanling. Orphaned and poor in his youth, he studied with stubborn dedication and was known for filial devotion to his parents. Summoned from private life, he was appointed Left Remonstrator and rose eventually to Director of Merit Examinations. You was broadly learned and fond of antiquity, especially of painting. He compiled twenty fascicles sorting authentic from spurious examples of the brush methods of Zhong and Wang of earlier ages and of Xiao and Zhang. At the end of the Yuanhe era he presented the work to the throne, received an edict of warm praise, and was appointed Director in the Ministry of War. He served as prefect of Guo, then returned as Vice Director of the Directorate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and was later made Remonstrating Grandee. A month later he was appointed prefect of Guizhou, Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Military Commissioner of Guiguan. In the eighth month of the second year of Taihe (828) he died in office and was posthumously made Right Imperial Attendant-at-Large.
11
祐閑淡貞退，善鼓琴賦詩，書畫盡妙。 遊心林壑，嘯詠終日，而名人高士，多與之遊。 給事中韋溫尤重之，結為林泉之友。
You was unassuming and retiring, skilled at the zither and at composing fu poetry, and masterly in both calligraphy and painting. He spent his days wandering wooded hills, whistling and chanting poetry, and many celebrated scholars sought his company. Drafting Attendant Wei Wen held him in special esteem and became his close companion in seclusion.
12
獨孤郁，河南人。 父及，天寶末與李華、蕭潁士等齊名。 善為文，所著《仙掌銘》，大為時流所賞，位終常州刺史。 郁，貞元十四年登進士第，文學有父風，尤為舍人權德輿所稱，以子妻之。 貞元末，為監察御史。
Du Guyu came from Henan. His father Ji was, by the end of the Tianbao era, as famous as Li Hua, Xiao Yingshi, and their circle. He was a fine writer. His "Inscription on the Immortal's Palm" won wide acclaim, and he ended his career as prefect of Changzhou. Guyu passed the jinshi examination in the fourteenth year of Zhenyuan (798). His literary talent recalled his father's, and Attendant Quan Deyu admired him so much that he gave him his daughter in marriage. At the end of the Zhenyuan era he served as Supervising Censor.
13
元和初，應制舉才識兼茂、明於體用，策入第四等，拜左拾遺。 太子司議郎杜從郁拜左補闕，郁與同列，論之曰：「從郁是宰臣佑之子，父居宰執，從郁不宜居諫列。」 乃改為左拾遺，又論曰：「補闕之與拾遺，資品雖殊，同是諫官，若時政或有得失，不可令子論父。」 從郁竟改他官。
Early in the Yuanhe era he entered the special examination for men of broad talent and practical insight. His policy essay placed fourth, and he was appointed Left Remonstrator. When Heir Apparent Court Consultant Du Congyu was appointed Left Supplementation Remonstrator, Guyu argued with his colleagues: "Congyu is the son of Chancellor Du You. With his father in the chief ministership, he should not sit in the remonstrance ranks." He was changed to Left Remonstrator instead, but Guyu objected again: "Supplementation Remonstrator and Remonstrator differ in rank, yet both are remonstrating offices. If current policy goes wrong, a son must not be the one to criticize his father." Congyu was finally transferred to another post.
14
四年，轉右補闕，又與同列拜章論中官吐突承璀不宜為河北招討使，乃改招撫宣慰使。
In the fourth year he became Right Supplementation Remonstrator and again joined his colleagues in memorializing that the eunuch Tu Ba Chenghuan should not be made Pacification Commissioner of Hebei. Chenghuan was instead made Pacification and Comfort Commissioner.
15
五年，兼史館修撰。 尋召充翰林學士，遷起居郎。 權德輿作相，郁以婦公辭內職。 憲宗曰：「德輿乃有此佳婿。」 因詔宰相於士族之家，選尚公主者。 遷郁考功員外郎，充史館修撰、判館事，預修《德宗實錄》。
In the fifth year he was also appointed Compiler at the Historiography Institute. He was soon summoned to the Hanlin Academy and promoted to Diarist. When Quan Deyu became chancellor, Guyu resigned his inner-court post because of the family connection. Emperor Xianzong remarked, "Deyu has quite a son-in-law." He then ordered the chancellors to choose husbands for the princesses from reputable gentle families. Guyu was made Vice Director of Merit Examinations, served as Historiography Compiler and acting director of the institute, and helped compile the Veritable Records of Emperor Dezong.
16
七年，以本官復知制誥。 八年，轉駕部郎中。 其年十月，復召為翰林學士。 九年，以疾辭內職。 十一月，改秘書少監，卒。
In the seventh year he again became drafter of edicts while retaining his existing post. In the eighth year he was transferred to Director in the Ministry of Rites' chariot office. That October he was again summoned to the Hanlin Academy. In the ninth year he resigned his inner-court post on grounds of illness. In the eleventh month he was made Vice Director of the Secretariat and died.
17
郁弟朗，嘗居諫官，請罷淮西用兵，不協旨，貶興元戶曹。 入為監察御史，轉殿中。 十五年，兼充史館修撰，遷都官員外郎。
Guyu's younger brother Lang had served as a remonstrator. He urged an end to the campaign against Huaixi, offended the throne, and was demoted to revenue clerk at Xingyuan. He returned to the capital as Supervising Censor and was later made Palace Censor. In the fifteenth year he was also appointed Historiography Compiler and promoted to Vice Director in the Ministry of Justice.
18
長慶初，諫議大夫李景儉於史館飲酒，憑醉謁宰相，語辭侵侮； 朗坐同飲，出為漳州刺史。 入為左司員外郎，遷諫議大夫。 揚州節度使王播罷兼鹽鐵使，行賂於中人，求復領銅鹽。 朗上章論之。
Early in Changqing, Remonstrating Grandee Li Jingjian drank at the Historiography Institute and, drunk, called on the chancellor with insulting language; Lang was punished for drinking with him and sent out as prefect of Zhangzhou. He returned as Vice Director in the Left Secretariat and was promoted to Remonstrating Grandee. Yangzhou Military Commissioner Wang Bo had been removed from his concurrent post as Salt and Iron Commissioner. He bribed palace eunuchs in hopes of regaining control of the salt monopoly. Lang memorialized against it.
19
寶歷元年十一月，拜御史中丞。 二年六月，賜金紫之服。 侍御史李道樞乘醉謁朗； 朗劾之，左授司議郎。 憲府故事，三院御史由大夫、中丞自辟，請命於朝。 時崔晃、鄭居中不由憲長而除，皆丞相之僚舊也，敕命雖行，朗拒而不納，晃竟改太常博士，居中分司東臺。 其年十月，高少逸入閣失儀，朗不彈奏，宰相銜阻崔晃事，左授少逸贊善大夫，朗亦罰俸。 朗稱執法不稱，乞罷中丞，敬宗令中使諭之，不允其讓。 文宗即位，改工部侍郎。 太和元年八月，出為福州刺史、御史中丞、福建觀察使。 是月赴官，暴卒於路，贈右散騎常侍。
In the eleventh month of the first year of Baoli (825) he was appointed Vice Censor-in-Chief. In the sixth month of the second year he was granted the gold-and-purple insignia of high rank. Attending Censor Li Daoshu, drunk, called on Lang; Lang impeached him, and he was demoted to Court Consultant. By censorate precedent, the three bureaus' censors were recruited by the Chief Censor and Vice Censor-in-Chief, who then sought imperial confirmation. Cui Huang and Zheng Juzhong had been appointed without the censor chiefs' approval—both were old associates of the chancellor. Though the edicts were issued, Lang refused to accept them. Huang was finally made Erudite in the Directorate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and Juzhong was assigned to the Eastern Terrace branch office. That October, Gao Shaoyi breached court ritual when entering the gate, and Lang failed to impeach him. The chancellor, still resentful over the Cui Huang affair, demoted Shaoyi to Mentor of the Heir Apparent, and Lang's salary was also cut. Lang said he had failed in his duties and asked to be relieved as Vice Censor-in-Chief. Emperor Jingzong sent a palace envoy to dissuade him and refused his resignation. When Emperor Wenzong ascended the throne, Lang was made Vice Director of the Ministry of Works. In the eighth month of the first year of Taihe (827) he was sent out as prefect of Fuzhou, Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Military Commissioner of Fujian. That month, while traveling to his post, he died suddenly on the road and was posthumously made Right Imperial Attendant-at-Large.
20
郁子庠，亦登進士第。 大中後官達，亦至侍郎。
Guyu's son Xiang also passed the jinshi examination. After the Dazhong era he rose high in office, eventually reaching vice director rank.
21
錢徽，字蔚章，吳郡人。 父起，天寶十年登進士第。 起能五言詩。 初從鄉薦，寄家江湖，嘗於客舍月夜獨吟，遽聞人吟於庭曰：「曲終人不見，江上數峰青。」 起愕然，攝衣視之，無所見矣，以為鬼怪，而誌其一十字。 起就試之年，李暐所試《湘靈鼓瑟詩》題中有「青」字，起即以鬼謠十字為落句，暐深嘉之，稱為絕唱。 是歲登第，釋褐秘書省校書郎。 大歷中，與韓翃、李端輩十人，俱以能詩，出入貴遊之門，時號「十才子」，形於圖畫。 起位終尚書郎。
Qian Hui, whose courtesy name was Weizhang, came from Wu Commandery. His father Qi passed the jinshi examination in the tenth year of Tianbao (751). Qi was skilled at five-character verse. When first recommended from his district he lodged his family along the rivers and lakes. One moonlit night in an inn he was chanting alone when he suddenly heard someone in the courtyard recite: "The tune ends and the man is not seen—on the river, several peaks stand green." Startled, he straightened his robes and looked, but saw no one. He took it for a ghost and memorized the ten characters. In the year Qi took the examination, Li Wei set the topic "Poem on the Xiang Spirit Playing the Zither," which contained the character for "green." Qi used the ghost's ten characters as his closing line. Wei greatly admired it and called it a masterpiece. He passed that year and entered service as proofreader in the Secretariat. During the Dali era he was one of ten poets, including Han Hong and Li Duan, famed for their verse and welcomed in the salons of the great. They were known as the "Ten Talents" and even appeared in paintings. Qi ended his career as a ministry director.
22
徽，貞元初進士擢第，從事戎幕。 元和初入朝，三遷祠部員外郎，召充翰林學士。 六年，轉祠部郎中、知制誥。 八年，改司封郎中、賜緋魚袋，職如故。 九年，拜中書舍人。 十一年，王師討淮西，詔朝臣議兵，徽上疏言用兵累歲，供饋力殫，宜罷淮西之征。 憲宗不悅，罷徽學士之職，守本官。
Hui passed the jinshi early in the Zhenyuan era and served on military staffs. Early in the Yuanhe era he entered court service, rose through three promotions to Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites' sacrifices office, and was summoned to the Hanlin Academy. In the sixth year he became Director in the sacrifices office and drafter of edicts. In the eighth year he was made Director in the Ministry of Personnel's enfeoffment office, granted the crimson fish bag of rank, and kept his existing duties. In the ninth year he was appointed Secretariat Drafter. In the eleventh year the court campaigned against Huaixi and ordered ministers to debate military policy. Hui memorialized that years of warfare had exhausted supplies and that the Huaixi campaign should be ended. Emperor Xianzong was displeased, stripped him of his Hanlin post, and left him in his base office.
23
長慶元年，為禮部侍郎。 時宰相段文昌出鎮蜀川。 文昌好學，尤喜圖書古畫。 故刑部侍郎楊憑兄弟，以文學知名，家多書畫，鐘、王、張、鄭之跡在《書斷》、《畫呂》者，兼而有之。 憑子渾之求進，盡以家藏書畫獻文昌，求致進士第。 文昌將發，面托錢徽，繼以私書保薦。 翰林學士李紳亦托舉子周漢賓於徽。 及榜出，渾之、漢賓皆不中選。 李宗閔與元稹素相厚善。 初稹以直道譴逐久之，及得還朝，大改前誌。 由逕以僥進達，宗閔亦急於進取，二人遂有嫌隙。 楊汝士與徽有舊。 是歲，宗閔子婿蘇巢及汝士季弟殷士俱及第。 故文昌、李紳大怒。 文昌赴鎮。 辭日，內殿面奏，言徽所放進士鄭朗等十四人，皆子弟藝薄，不當在選中。 穆宗以其事訪於學士元稹、李紳，二人對與文昌同。 遂命中書舍人王起、主客郎中知制誥白居易，於子亭重試，內出題目《孤竹管賦》、《鳥散余花落》詩，而十人不中選。 詔曰：
In the first year of Changqing (821) he became Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites. At that time Chancellor Duan Wenchang was posted to command Shu. Wenchang loved learning and was especially fond of books and ancient paintings. Former Vice Director of Justice Yang Ping and his brothers were famed for letters. Their household held many paintings and scrolls, including works by Zhong, Wang, Zhang, and Zheng listed in the Evaluations of Calligraphy and the Record of Painting. Ping's son Hunzhi, seeking advancement, gave Wenchang the family's entire collection of books and paintings in exchange for a jinshi degree. Before departing, Wenchang asked Hui in person to help, then followed up with private letters of recommendation. Hanlin Academician Li Shen also asked Hui to favor his candidate Zhou Hanbin. When the results were posted, neither Hunzhi nor Hanbin had passed. Li Zongmin and Yuan Zhen had long been close friends. Zhen had once been banished for his outspokenness. When he returned to court he greatly changed his former ways. He now advanced through opportunism, and Zongmin too was eager for promotion, so the two fell out. Yang Rushi was an old associate of Hui's. That year Zongmin's son-in-law Su Chao and Rushi's youngest brother Yinshi both passed the examination. Wenchang and Li Shen were furious. Wenchang departed for his post. On his farewell audience in the inner hall he told the throne that the fourteen jinshi Hui had passed, including Zheng Lang, were all well-connected but untalented and should never have been selected. Emperor Muzong asked Academicians Yuan Zhen and Li Shen about the matter, and both agreed with Wenchang. The emperor then ordered Secretariat Drafter Wang Qi and Bai Juyi, Director in the Ministry of Rites' guest office and drafter of edicts, to hold a re-examination at the Ziting. The palace set the topics "Fu on the Lone Bamboo Pipe" and the poem "Birds Scatter, the Flowers' Remnants Fall," and ten candidates failed. An edict declared:
24
國家設文學之科，本求才實，茍容僥幸，則異至公。 訪聞近日浮薄之徒，扇為朋黨，謂之關節，幹撓主司。 每歲策名，無不先定，永言敗俗，深用興懷。 鄭朗等昨令重試，意在精核藝能，不於異書之中，固求深僻題目，責令所試成就，以觀學藝淺深。 孤竹管是祭天之樂，出於《周禮》正經； 閱其呈試之文，都不知其本事，辭律鄙淺，蕪累亦多。 比令宣示錢徽，庶其深自懷愧，誠宜盡棄，以警將來。 但以四海無虞，人心方泰，用弘寧撫，式示殊恩，特掩爾瑕，庶明予誌。 孔溫業、趙存約、竇洵直所試粗通，與及第； 裴撰特賜及第； 鄭朗等十人並落下。 自今後禮部舉人，宜準開元二十五年敕，及第訖，所試雜文並策，送中書門下詳覆。
The state established the literary examinations to find real talent. To tolerate favoritism is to abandon fairness itself. We have learned that lately shallow men form factions, call their pull "gate connections," and interfere with the chief examiner. Each year the pass list is settled in advance. Such corruption of custom fills us with deep concern. Zheng Lang and the others were re-examined yesterday to test their real ability. We did not seek obscure topics from unusual books, but required finished work to reveal the depth of their learning. The lone bamboo pipe is music for sacrificing to Heaven, taken from the orthodox classic the Rites of Zhou; yet reading their submitted work, they plainly did not know the subject. Their phrasing was crude, their craft shallow, and their compositions bloated. We have shown this to Qian Hui, hoping he will feel deep shame. They should all be rejected as a warning to the future. Yet because the realm is at peace and hearts are calm, in the spirit of reassurance we show special grace, cover your faults, and make our intent clear. Kong Wenye, Zhao Cunyue, and Dou Xunzhi showed rough competence and are passed; Pei Zhuan is specially granted a pass; Zheng Lang and ten others are all failed. Henceforth Ministry of Rites candidates shall follow the Kaiyuan 25 edict: after passing, all examination essays and policy papers shall be sent to the Secretariat and Chancellery for review.
25
尋貶徽為江州刺史，中書舍人李宗閔劍州刺史，右補闕楊汝士開江令。 初議貶徽，宗閔、汝士令徽以文昌、李紳私書進呈，上必開悟。 徽曰：「不然。 茍無愧心，得喪一致，修身慎行，安可以私書相證耶？」 令子弟焚之，人士稱徽長者。
Soon Hui was demoted to prefect of Jiangzhou, Li Zongmin to prefect of Jianzhou, and Yang Rushi to magistrate of Kaijiang. When Hui's demotion was first discussed, Zongmin and Rushi urged him to submit Wenchang's and Li Shen's private letters to the throne, certain the emperor would see the truth. Hui said, "No. If one's conscience is clear, gain and loss are the same. How can a man of careful conduct prove himself with private letters?" He had his sons burn them, and gentlemen praised him as a man of true stature.
26
既而穆宗知其朋比之端，乃下詔曰：
Before long Emperor Muzong saw through the factional maneuvering and issued another edict:
27
昔者，卿大夫相與讓於朝，士庶人相與讓於列； 周成王刑措不用，漢文帝恥言人過，真理古也，朕甚慕焉。 中代已還，爭端斯起，掩抑其言則專蔽，誘掖其說則侵誣。 自非責實循名，不能彰善癉惡，故孝宣必有告訐及下，光武不以單辭遽行。 《語》稱訕上之非，律有匿名之禁，皆以防三至之毀，重兩造之明。 是以爵人於朝則皆勸，刑人於市則皆懼，罪有歸而賞當事也。
In antiquity, ministers yielded to one another at court, and commoners did the same in their ranks; King Cheng of Zhou left the punishments unused; Emperor Wen of Han was ashamed to speak of others' faults—that is the truth of antiquity, and We deeply admire it. From the middle ages on, disputes arose—suppress speech and one becomes arbitrary and closed; coax it out and one slides into encroachment and slander. Only by demanding reality and matching names to deeds can good be honored and evil exposed; hence Emperor Xuan always let denunciations reach the lower ranks, and Emperor Guangwu never acted on a single accusation alone. The Analects condemn slandering one's superiors, and the law forbids anonymous accusations—both to guard against rumor that grows with each retelling and to ensure both sides of a case are heard clearly. Thus ennobling a man at court encourages all, and punishing a man in the marketplace frightens all—guilt finds its proper bearer and reward fits the deed.
28
末代偷巧，內荏外剛。 卿大夫無進思盡忠之誠，多退有後言之謗； 士庶人無切磋琢磨之益，多鑠浸潤之讒。 進則諛言諂笑以相求，退則群居州處以相議。 留中不出之請，蓋發其陰私； 公論不容之誅，是生於朋黨。 擢一官，則曰恩皆自我； 黜一職，則曰事出他門。 比周之跡已彰，尚矜介特； 由徑之蹤盡露，自謂貞方。 居省寺者不以勤恪蒞官，而曰務從簡易； 提紀綱者不以準繩檢下，而曰密奏風聞。 獻章疏者更相是非，備顧問者互有憎愛。 茍非秦鏡照膽，堯羊觸邪，時君聽之，安可不惑？ 參斷一謬，俗化益訛。 禍發齒牙，言生枝葉，率是道也，朕甚憫焉。
In the final age men take shortcuts, soft within and hard without. Ministers no longer advance with loyal intent; many save their slander for after they leave office; Commoners no longer sharpen one another through honest exchange; instead they trade in slander that corrodes and seeps. In court they flatter and fawn to win favor; out of court they gather in cliques to talk one another down. Memorials held back at court are often meant to expose private secrets; Punishments the public cannot accept are born of faction. Promote someone, and they claim the favor came entirely from them; Demote someone, and they say the decision came from the other faction. Their cliquishness is already plain, yet they still pose as independent men; Their backdoor dealings are fully exposed, yet they call themselves upright and principled. Officials in the central ministries do not serve with diligence, but claim they favor simplicity; Those charged with upholding discipline do not hold subordinates to standard, but rely on secret memorials based on rumor. Memorial writers attack one another; court advisers trade in personal likes and dislikes. Without a mirror that sees into men's hearts and a goat that butts the wicked, how could the ruler of the age listen without being misled? One mistaken judgment, and public morals slip further astray. Disaster begins with a word, and talk branches into ruin—that is the pattern, and We deeply lament it.
29
我國家貞觀、開元，同符三代，風俗歸厚，禮讓皆行。 兵興已來，人散久矣。 始欲導之以德，不欲驅之以刑。 然而信有未孚，理有未至，曾無恥格，益用雕元刂。 小則綜核之權，見侵於下輩； 大則樞機之重，旁撓於薄徒。 尚念因而化之，亦冀去其尤者。 而宰臣懼其浸染，未克澄清。 備引祖宗之書，願垂勸誡之詔，遂伸告諭，頗用殷勤。 各當自省厥躬，與我同底於道。
In our dynasty's Zhenguan and Kaiyuan eras we matched the Three Dynasties—customs grew generous again, and courtesy and yielding prevailed. Since the wars began, society has long been scattered and unsettled. At first We meant to lead by virtue, not drive by punishment. Yet trust was not yet won, principle had not fully taken hold, and men showed no shame or self-correction; so We turned increasingly to rigorous moral discipline. In lesser matters, the authority of review was usurped by junior officials; In greater matters, the weight of state secrets was diverted by worthless schemers. We still hoped to reform them gradually and remove the worst offenders. But the chief ministers feared the contagion and could not bring matters to clarity. They cited the writings of our forebears and asked for an edict of admonition; We have issued this proclamation with great earnestness. Each of you should examine himself and join Us in returning to the right path.
30
元稹之辭也。 制出，朋比之徒，如撻於市，鹹睚眥於紳、稹。
This edict was drafted by Yuan Zhen. When the edict appeared, the factional clique felt as if flogged in public; everyone bore a grudge against Li Shen and Yuan Zhen.
31
徽明年遷華州刺史、潼關防禦、鎮國軍等使。 文宗即位，征拜尚書左丞。 太和元年十二月，復授華州刺史。 二年秋，以疾辭位，授吏部尚書致仕。 三年三月卒，時年七十五。 子可復、可及，皆登進士第。
The following year Hui was transferred to prefect of Huazhou, defender of Tong Pass, and commissioner of the Zhenguo Army. When Emperor Wenzong acceded, Hui was recalled and appointed Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. In the twelfth month of Taihe 1, he was again appointed prefect of Huazhou. In the autumn of the second year he resigned on grounds of illness and was granted retirement as Minister of Personnel. He died in the third month of the third year, at the age of seventy-five. His sons Kefu and Keji both passed the jinshi examination.
32
可復累官至禮部郎中。 太和九年，鄭註出鎮鳳翔，李訓選名家子以為賓佐，授可復檢校兵部郎中、兼御史中丞，充鳳翔節度副使。 其年十一月，李訓敗，鄭註誅，可復為鳳翔監軍使所害。
Kefu rose through the ranks to become a Bureau Director in the Ministry of Rites. In Taihe 9, when Zheng Zhu went out to command Fengxiang, Li Xun chose sons of eminent families as his staff and appointed Kefu Acting Bureau Director of War, concurrent Censor-in-Chief, and vice commissioner of the Fengxiang governorship. That November, after Li Xun's defeat and Zheng Zhu's execution, Kefu was killed by the Fengxiang army supervisory commissioner.
33
高釴，字翹之。 祖鄭賓，宋州寧陵令。 父去疾，攝監察御史。 釴，元和初進士及第，判入等，補秘書省校書郎，累遷至右補闕，充史館修撰。 十四年，上疏請不以內官為京西北和糴使。 十五年，轉起居郎，依前充職。
Gao Yi, courtesy name Qiaozhi. His grandfather Zheng Bin was magistrate of Ningling in Songzhou. His father Quji served as acting investigating censor. Yi passed the jinshi examination in the early Yuanhe era with a top evaluation grade, became a collator in the Secretariat, and rose to Right Supplementation Remonstrator and compiler in the Historiography Institute. In the fourteenth year he memorialized the throne asking that eunuchs not be appointed commissioners of grain purchase for the northwest capital region. In the fifteenth year he was transferred to Diarist while retaining his other posts.
34
寶歷二年三月，罷學士，守本官。 太和三年七月，授刑部侍郎。 四年冬，遷吏部侍郎。 銓綜之司，官業振舉。 七年，出為同州刺史、兼御史中丞。 八年六月卒，贈兵部尚書，遺命薄葬。 釴少時孤貧，潔己力行，與弟銖、鍇皆以檢靜自立，致位崇顯，居家友睦，為搢紳所重。
In the third month of Baoli 2 he was removed from the Hanlin Academy and kept his regular post. In the seventh month of Taihe 3 he was appointed Vice Minister of Justice. In the winter of the fourth year he was transferred to Vice Minister of Personnel. In the personnel selection office, he revived official standards and performance. In the seventh year he was sent out as prefect of Tongzhou, concurrent Censor-in-Chief. He died in the sixth month of the eighth year and was posthumously made Minister of War; his dying wish was for a simple burial. Orphaned and poor in youth, Yi lived cleanly and worked hard; he and his brothers Zhu and Kai all rose through self-restraint and quiet integrity to high office, lived harmoniously at home, and were respected by the gentry.
35
銖，元和六年登進士第。 穆宗即位，入朝為監察御史，累遷員外郎、吏部郎中。 太和五年，拜給事中。 七年，為外官監考使。 八年十月，文宗用國子助教李仲言為侍講，銖率諫官伏閣論曰：「仲言素行纖邪，若聽用，必亂國經。」 上令中使宣諭曰：「朕要仲言講書，非有聽用也。」 是歲，先旱後水，京師谷價騰踴； 彗星為變，舉選皆停，人情雜然流議。 鄭註奸謀，日聞於外。 銖等犯難論諍，冀上省悟。 既奉宣傳，相顧失色，以其危亡可翹足而待也。 明年，訓、註竊權，惡銖不附己，五月，出為越州刺史、御史中丞、浙東觀察使。 開成三年，就加檢校左散騎常侍，尋入為刑部侍郎。 四年七月，出為河南尹。 會昌末，為吏部侍郎。
Zhu passed the jinshi examination in Yuanhe 6. When Emperor Muzong acceded, he entered court as investigating censor and rose to Vice Director and then Bureau Director in the Ministry of Personnel. In Taihe 5 he was appointed Supervising Secretary. In the seventh year he served as commissioner for evaluating local officials. In the tenth month of the eighth year, when Emperor Wenzong appointed National University instructor Li Zhongyan as lecturer-in-attendance, Zhu led the remonstrating officials in a gate protest, saying, "Zhongyan has always been petty and corrupt; if he is given office, he will surely throw the state into disorder." The emperor sent a palace envoy to reply, "I want Zhongyan to lecture on the classics; I have no intention of appointing him to office." That year drought was followed by flood, and grain prices in the capital soared; a comet appeared as an omen, all examinations and selections were suspended, and public opinion churned with rumor. Reports of Zheng Zhu's treacherous schemes spread daily. Zhu and the others risked themselves in remonstrance, hoping the emperor would see the danger. After hearing the imperial reply, they looked at one another in dismay, convinced that disaster was imminent. The next year, after Xun and Zhu seized power and resented Zhu for refusing to join them, he was sent out in the fifth month as prefect of Yuezhou, Censor-in-Chief, and Zhedong observation commissioner. In Kaicheng 3 he was promoted in place to Acting Left Regular Attendant, and soon returned to court as Vice Minister of Justice. In the seventh month of the fourth year he was sent out as metropolitan magistrate of Henan. At the end of the Huichang era he served as Vice Minister of Personnel.
36
鍇，元和九年登進士第，升宏辭科，累遷吏部員外。 太和三年，準敕試別頭進士明經鄭齊之等十八人。 榜出之後，語辭紛競。 監察御史姚中立以聞，詔鍇審定。 乃升李景、王淑等，人以為公。 六年二月，自司勛郎中轉諫議大夫。 七年，遷中書舍人。 九年十月，以本官權知禮部貢舉。 開成元年春，試畢，進呈及第人名，文宗謂侍臣曰：「從前文格非佳，昨出進士題目，是朕出之，所試似勝去年。」 鄭覃曰：「陛下改詩賦格調，以正頹俗，然高鍇亦能勵精選士，仰副聖旨。」 帝又曰：「近日諸侯章奏，語太浮華，有乖典實。 宜罰掌書記，以誡其流。」 李石曰：「古人因事為文，今人以文害事，懲弊抑末，實在盛時。」 乃以鍇為禮部侍郎。 凡掌貢部三年，每歲登第者四十人。 三年，榜出後，敕曰：「進士每歲四十人，其數過多，則乖精選。 官途填委，要窒其源，宜改每年限放三十人，如不登其數，亦聽。」 然鍇選擢雖多，頗得實才，抑豪華，擢孤進，至今稱之。 尋轉吏部侍郎。 其年九月，出為鄂州刺史、御史大夫、鄂嶽觀察使，卒。
Kai passed the jinshi examination in Yuanhe 9, also passed the Hongci examination, and rose to Vice Director in the Ministry of Personnel. In Taihe 3, by imperial order he examined eighteen special-track jinshi and classics candidates including Zheng Qizhi. After the results were posted, disputes and recriminations erupted. Investigating Censor Yao Zhongli reported the matter, and the emperor ordered Kai to review and decide the case. He then promoted Li Jing, Wang Shu, and others, and people judged the decision fair. In the second month of the sixth year he transferred from Bureau Director in the Ministry of Personnel to Remonstrance and Discussion Grandee. In the seventh year he was transferred to Secretariat Drafter. In the tenth month of the ninth year he was temporarily placed in charge of the Ministry of Rites examinations while retaining his regular post. In the spring of Kaicheng 1, after the examination ended and the pass list was presented, Emperor Wenzong told his ministers, "The literary forms of the past were poor. The jinshi topics issued yesterday were mine, and this year's results seem better than last year's." Zheng Tan said, "Your Majesty changed the style of poetry and rhapsody to correct decadent custom, and Gao Kai also worked hard to select worthy candidates in accord with your intent." The emperor added, "Lately the memorials of regional lords are too florid and lack solid substance. We should punish their chief secretaries to check the trend." Li Shi said, "The ancients wrote to serve affairs; today men let writing harm affairs. To punish abuse and restrain excess is exactly what a flourishing age should do." Kai was then appointed Vice Minister of Rites. In all he ran the examination bureau for three years, with forty candidates passing each year. In the third year, after the results were posted, an edict declared, "Forty jinshi each year is too many and defeats careful selection. The official ranks are overcrowded; the source must be choked off. Hereafter the yearly quota shall be thirty, and if fewer pass, that is also permitted." Yet although Kai selected many candidates, he found genuine talent, checked the wealthy and flashy, and promoted men without backing; he is praised to this day. Soon he was transferred to Vice Minister of Personnel. That September he was sent out as prefect of Ezhou, Censor Grandee, and Eyue observation commissioner, and died in office.
37
釴子湜，鍇子湘，偕登進士第。 湜，咸通十二年為禮部侍郎。 湘自員外郎知制誥，正拜中書舍人。 咸通年，改諫議大夫。 坐宰相劉瞻親厚，貶高州司馬。 乾符初，復為中書舍人。 三年，遷禮部侍郎，選士得人。 出為潞州大都督府長史、昭義節度、澤潞觀察等使，卒。
Yi's son Shi and Kai's son Xiang both passed the jinshi examination. Shi served as Vice Minister of Rites in Xiantong 12. Xiang rose from Vice Director to draft edicts and was formally appointed Secretariat Drafter. During the Xiantong era he was transferred to Remonstrance and Discussion Grandee. Because of his close ties to Chief Minister Liu Zhan, he was demoted to military aide of Gaozhou. At the start of the Qianfu era he was restored as Secretariat Drafter. In the third year he was transferred to Vice Minister of Rites and chose worthy candidates. He was sent out as chief administrator of Lu prefecture, military commissioner of Zhaoyi, and Zelu observation commissioner, and died in office.
38
馮宿，東陽人。 丱歲隨父子華廬祖墓，有靈芝、白兔之祥。 宿昆弟二人，皆幼有文學。 宿登進士第，徐州節度張建封辟為掌書記。 後建封卒，其子愔為軍士所立，李師古欲乘喪襲取。 時王武俊且觀其釁，愔恐懼，計無所出。 宿乃以檄書招師古，而說武俊曰：「張公與君為兄弟，欲同力驅兩河歸天子，眾所知也。 今張公歿，幼子為亂兵所脅，內則誠款隔絕於朝廷，外則境土侵逼於強寇。 孤危若此，公安得坐視哉！ 誠能奏天子，念先僕射之忠勛，舍其子之迫脅，使得束身自歸，則公於朝廷有靖亂之功，於張氏有繼絕之德矣！」 武俊大悅，即以表聞。 由是朝廷賜愔節鉞，仍贈建封司徒。
Feng Su came from Dongyang. When he was fifteen, he accompanied his father Zihua to the pavilion at the ancestral grave, where lingzhi mushrooms and a white rabbit appeared as auspicious omens. Su and his brother were the only two sons in the family, and both showed literary talent from childhood. Su passed the jinshi examination, and Zhang Jianfeng, military commissioner of Xuzhou, recruited him as chief secretary. After Jianfeng died, his son Yin was installed by the troops, and Li Shigu sought to strike while the command was in mourning. Wang Wujun was watching for an opening as well, and Yin, terrified, could think of no way out. Su sent a proclamation summoning Shigu and said to Wujun, "Lord Zhang and you were as brothers, resolved to join forces and drive the Two He provinces back to the emperor—everyone knows this. Now Lord Zhang is dead, and his young son is held hostage by mutinous troops. Inwardly his loyalty cannot reach the court; outwardly his borders are pressed by powerful foes. Alone and in such peril—how can you simply sit by and watch! If you would memorialize the emperor, recalling the late Vice Director's loyal service, overlooking his son's coercion and allowing him to submit and return of his own accord, you would earn the court's gratitude for quelling disorder and the Zhang family's eternal thanks for preserving their line!" Wujun was greatly pleased and immediately sent up a memorial to the throne. The court thereupon invested Yin with the seal of military command and posthumously awarded Jianfeng the title Minister of Education.
39
宿以嘗從建封，不樂與其子處，乃從浙東觀察使賈全府辟。 愔恨其去己，奏貶泉州司戶。 征為太常博士。 王士真死，以其子承宗不順，不加謚。 宿以為懷柔之義，不可遺其忠勞，乃加之美謚。 轉虞部、都官二員外郎。
Having once served Jianfeng, Su was unwilling to stay on with his son and accepted an invitation to join the staff of Jia Quan, Zhedong observation commissioner. Yin resented his departure and memorialized to have him demoted to registrar of Quanzhou. He was recalled to serve as Grand Master of Ceremonies. When Wang Shizhen died, no posthumous title was conferred because his son Chengzong had rebelled. Su argued that the principle of conciliation required honoring loyal service, and so he conferred a fine posthumous title. He was transferred to concurrent posts as Vice Director in the Ministries of Revenue and Justice.
40
元和十二年，從裴度東征，為彰義軍節度判官。 淮西平，拜比部郎中。 會韓愈論佛骨，時宰疑宿草疏，出為歙州刺史。 入為刑部郎中。 十五年，權判考功。 宿以宰臣及三品已下官，故事內校考，別封以進； 翰林學士，職居內署，事莫能知，請依前書上考； 諫官御史亦請仍舊，並書中上考。
In Yuanhe 12 he accompanied Pei Du on the eastern campaign as adjutant to the Zhangyi military commissioner. After the pacification of Huai West, he was appointed Director in the Ministry of Revenue. When Han Yu submitted his memorial against the Buddha bone relic, the chief ministers suspected Su had drafted it, and he was sent out as prefect of Shezhou. He returned to the capital as Director in the Ministry of Justice. In the fifteenth year he served as acting Director of the Bureau of Evaluations. Su held that for chief ministers and officials of third rank and below, precedent required internal court evaluations submitted in sealed envelopes; Hanlin academicians, whose duties lay within the inner precinct and whose work could not be assessed from outside, he argued, should continue to receive top-grade evaluations as before; Remonstrators and censorial officials likewise petitioned to keep the old practice, with top-grade evaluations recorded in the memorial for all.
41
長慶元年，以本官知制誥。 二年，轉兵部郎中，依前充職。 牛元翼以深州不從王庭湊，詔授襄州節度使。 元翼未出，深州為庭湊所圍。 二年，以宿檢校右庶子、兼御史中丞，賜紫金魚袋，往總留務。 監軍使周進榮不遵詔命，宿以狀聞。 元翼既至，宿歸朝，拜中書舍人，轉太常少卿。
In Changqing 1 he was appointed drafter of edicts while retaining his present rank. The following year he was transferred to Director in the Ministry of War while continuing to draft edicts. Because Shenzhou had refused to submit to Wang Tingcou, Niu Yuanji was ordered appointed military commissioner of Xiangzhou. Before Yuanji could take up the post, Shenzhou was besieged by Tingcou. That same year Su was appointed acting Right Censor-in-Chief, granted the purple-gold fish tally, and sent to oversee affairs in Yuanji's absence. Army supervisor Zhou Jinrong defied the imperial decree, and Su reported the matter to the throne. After Yuanji arrived, Su returned to court, was appointed Secretariat Drafter, and was transferred to Vice Director of Ceremonies.
42
敬宗即位，宿常導引乘輿，出為華州刺史。 以父名拜章乞罷，改左散騎常侍，兼集賢殿學士，充考制策官。
When Emperor Jingzong ascended the throne, Su regularly guided the imperial carriage; he was then sent out as prefect of Hua province. Because his father's name violated the taboo on the post of Hua prefect, he petitioned to resign and was reassigned as Left Attendant-at-Large, concurrently Academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies and examiner of policy essays.
43
太和二年，拜河南尹。 時洛苑使姚文壽縱部下侵欺百姓，吏不敢捕。 一日，遇大會，嘗所捕者傲睨於文壽之側，宿知而掩之，杖死。
In Taihe 2 he was appointed Mayor of Henan. At the time Yao Wenshou, commissioner of the Luoyang imperial park, allowed his men to bully the people, and officials did not dare arrest them. One day at a grand assembly, a man who should have been arrested earlier stood glaring defiantly beside Wenshou; Su learned of it, had him seized, and beaten to death.
44
太和四年，入為工部侍郎。 六年，遷刑部侍郎，修《格後敕》三十卷，遷兵部侍郎。 九年，出為劍南東川節度使，檢校禮部尚書。
In Taihe 4 he returned to the capital as Vice Minister of Works. In the sixth year he was transferred to Vice Minister of Justice, compiled thirty fascicles of Edicts Following the Code, and was then transferred to Vice Minister of War. In the ninth year he was sent out as military commissioner of eastern Chuan in Jiannan, with the acting title Minister of Rites.
45
開成元年十二月卒，廢朝，贈吏部尚書，謚曰懿。 有文集四十卷。 子圖、陶、韜，三人皆登進士，揚歷清顯。
He died in the twelfth month of Kaicheng 1; court audiences were suspended; he was posthumously awarded Minister of Personnel and given the posthumous title Yi. He left a collected works in forty fascicles. His sons Tu, Tao, and Yao all passed the jinshi examination and rose through distinguished offices.
46
宿弟定，字介夫。 儀貌壯偉，與宿俱有文學，而定過之。 貞元中皆舉進士，時人比之漢朝二馮君。 於頔牧姑蘇也，定寓焉，頔友於布衣間。 後頔帥襄陽，定乘驢詣軍門； 吏不時白，定不留而去。 頔慚，笞軍吏，馳載錢五十萬，及境謝之。 定飯逆旅，復書責以貴傲而返其遺，頔深以為恨。 權德輿掌貢士，擢居上第，後於澗州佐薛蘋幕，得校書郎，尋為鄠縣尉，充集賢校理。 定先時居父憂，因號毀得肺病，趨府或不及時，大學士疑其恃才簡怠，乃奪其職，俾為大理評事。 登朝為大常博士，轉祠部員外郎。
Su's younger brother Ding, whose courtesy name was Jiefu. He was tall and imposing in appearance; he and Su were both accomplished writers, but Ding surpassed his brother. Both passed the jinshi examination during the Zhenyuan era, and contemporaries compared them to the two Fengs of the Han dynasty. When Yu Di governed Suzhou, Ding lived there as a guest, and Yu treated him as a friend from their days in plain dress. Later, when Yu took command at Xiangyang, Ding rode a donkey to the army gate; the clerks failed to announce him promptly, and Ding left without waiting. Yu was ashamed; he had the army clerk flogged and sent fifty thousand strings of cash racing after Ding to apologize at the border. Ding stopped at an inn for a meal, wrote back rebuking Yu for arrogance born of high rank, and returned the gift; Yu deeply resented the rebuff. Quan Deyu oversaw the examinations and placed him in the top tier; later he served on Xue Ping's staff in Run prefecture, was appointed proofreader, and soon became magistrate of E county and collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies. Ding had earlier mourned his father so grievously that he damaged his lungs; sometimes he could not reach the office on time. The Grand Academician suspected him of neglecting duty out of arrogance, stripped him of his post, and reassigned him as judge in the Court of Judicial Review. Upon entering court he served as Grand Master of Ceremonies and was transferred to Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites.
47
寶歷二年，出為郢州刺史。 長壽縣尉馬洪沼告定強奪人妻，及將闕官職田祿粟入己費用，詔監察御史李顧行鞫之。 獄具上聞，制曰：「馮定經使臣推問，無入己贓私，所告罰錢，又皆公用。 然長吏之體，頗涉無儀，刑賞或乖，宴遊不節。 緣經恩赦，難更科書，猶持郡符，公議不可，宜停見任。」 尋除國子司業、河南少尹。
In Baoli 2 he was sent out as prefect of Yingzhou. Changshou county magistrate Ma Hongzhao accused Ding of forcibly taking another man's wife and of diverting official grain from vacant posts for his own use; the emperor ordered Supervising Censor Li Gu to investigate. When the investigation was complete and reported, the edict read, "Feng Ding, after inquiry by the investigating minister, was found to have embezzled nothing for himself; the fines in question were all spent on public business. Nevertheless, as a senior official he showed a marked lack of decorum; punishments and rewards were sometimes improper, and his feasting and travel were unrestrained. Because he had already benefited from a general amnesty, formal charges could not be revised, yet he still held a prefectural commission—public opinion would not tolerate it; he should be suspended from his present office." Soon afterward he was appointed Vice Director of the Directorate of Education and Vice Mayor of Henan.
48
太和九年八月，為太常少卿。 文宗每聽樂，鄙鄭、衛聲，詔奉常習開元中《霓裳羽衣舞》，以《雲韶樂》和之。 舞曲成，定總樂工閱於庭，定立於其間。 文宗以其端凝若植，問其姓氏。 翰林學士李玨對曰：「此馮定也。」 文宗喜，問曰：「豈非能為古章句者耶？」 乃召升階。 文宗自吟定《送客西江詩》，吟罷益喜，因錫禁中瑞錦，仍令大錄所著古體詩以獻。 尋遷諫議大夫、知匭事。
In the eighth month of Taihe 9 he was appointed Vice Director of Ceremonies. Whenever Emperor Wenzong listened to music, he despised the licentious Zheng and Wei tunes and ordered the Directorate of Ceremonies to rehearse the Feathered Robe and Rainbow Skirt Dance from the Kaiyuan era, set to the Cloud Harmony Music. When the dance was ready, Ding assembled the musicians for review in the courtyard and stood among them. Wenzong, struck by his upright bearing, as if rooted in place, asked his name. Hanlin Academician Li Jue replied, "This is Feng Ding." The emperor was pleased and asked, "Is this not the poet who writes in the ancient style?" He was then summoned to ascend the steps. Wenzong recited Ding's "Seeing Off a Guest on the Western River" from memory; when he finished he was even more delighted and bestowed palace brocade, ordering a full transcription of Ding's ancient-style poems to be presented. Soon he was promoted to Remonstrance and Discussion Grandee and put in charge of the petition box.
49
是歲，李訓事敗伏誅，衣冠橫罹其禍，中外危疑。 及改元禦殿，中尉仇士良請用神策仗衛在殿門； 定抗疏論罷，人情危之。 又請許左右史隨宰臣入延英記事，宰臣不樂。 二年，改太子詹事。 三年，宰臣鄭覃拜太子太師，欲於尚書省上事。 定奏曰：「據《六典》，太師居詹事府，不合於都省禮上。」 乃詔於本司上事，人推美之。 四年，遷衛尉卿。 是歲，上章請老，詔以左散騎常侍致仕。 會昌六年，改工部尚書而卒。
That year Li Xun's plot failed and he was executed; officials and gentry were swept up in the purge, and fear and uncertainty gripped the court and the realm. When the reign title was changed and the emperor took the throne in the main hall, Chief Eunuch Qiu Shiliang requested that Shence army guards with halberds be posted at the palace gates; Ding submitted a forceful memorial arguing against it, and the request was withdrawn; many feared for his safety. He also petitioned to allow the Left and Right Recorders to follow chief ministers into Yanying Hall to record proceedings; the chief ministers were displeased. In the second year he was transferred to Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent. In the third year Chief Minister Zheng Tan was appointed Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent and wished to take office at the Ministry of Personnel headquarters. Ding memorialized, "According to the Six Offices, the Grand Tutor belongs to the Grand Mentor's office and should not take office with the rites of the chief ministry." An edict then ordered him to take office at his own bureau, and people praised Ding for it. In the fourth year he was transferred to Commandant of the Guard. That year he submitted a memorial requesting retirement and was permitted to retire with the title Left Attendant-at-Large. In Huichang 6 he was appointed Minister of Works and died.
50
先長慶中，源寂使新羅國，見其國人傳寫諷念定所為《黑水碑》、《畫鶴記》。 韋休符之使西番也，見其國人寫定《商山記》於屏障。 其文名馳於戎夷如此。
Earlier, during the Changqing era, Yuan Ji went on mission to Silla and found the people there copying and reciting Ding's Black Water Stele Inscription and Painting of Cranes Record. When Wei Xiufu went on mission to the Western Tibetans, he saw them writing Ding's Mount Shang Record on their screens. His writings were famed among frontier peoples to this extent.
51
子袞、顓、軒、巖四人，皆進士登第。 咸通中，歷任臺省。 宿從弟審、寬。
His four sons Gun, Zhuan, Xuan, and Yan all passed the jinshi examination. During the Xiantong era they served in succession in the censorate and secretariat. Su's younger cousins were Shen and Kuan.
52
審父子郁。 審，貞元十二年登進士第，累辟使府。 入為監察御史，累遷至兵部郎中。 開成三年，遷諫議大夫。 四年九月，出為桂州刺史、桂管觀察使。 入為國子祭酒。 國子監有《孔子碑》，睿宗篆額，加「大周」兩字，蓋武後時篆也。 審請琢去偽號，復「大唐」字，從之。 咸通中，卒於秘書監。
Shen's son was Yu. Shen passed the jinshi examination in Zhenyuan 12 and repeatedly accepted staff appointments. He entered court as supervising censor and rose in succession to Director in the Ministry of War. In Kaicheng 3 he was transferred to Remonstrance and Discussion Grandee. In the ninth month of the fourth year he was sent out as prefect of Guizhou and Guiguan observation commissioner. He returned to court as Chancellor of the Directorate of Education. The Directorate of Education had a Confucius Stele with a seal-script heading by Emperor Ruizong, to which the two characters "Great Zhou" had been added—an inscription dating from Empress Wu's reign. Shen petitioned to carve away the false title and restore the characters "Great Tang"; the request was granted. During the Xiantong era he died while serving as Director of the Secretariat.
53
審弟寬，子緘，皆進士擢第，知名於時。
Shen's younger brother Kuan and Kuan's son Jian both passed the jinshi examination and were renowned in their day.
54
封敖，字碩夫，其先渤海蓚人。 祖希奭。 父諒，官卑。 敖，元和十年登進士第，累辟諸侯府。 太和中，入朝為右拾遺。 會昌初，以員外郎知制誥，召入翰林為學士，拜中書舍人。
Feng Ao, whose courtesy name was Shuofu, came from a family originally of Tiao in Bohai. His grandfather was Xishi. His father Liang held a low-ranking post. Ao passed the jinshi examination in Yuanhe 10 and repeatedly accepted appointments on regional governors' staffs. During the Taihe era he entered court service as Right Remonstrator. Early in Huichang he served as drafter of edicts while Vice Director, was summoned to the Hanlin Academy, and was appointed Secretariat Drafter.
55
敖構思敏速，語近而理勝，不務奇澀，武宗深重之。 嘗草《賜陣傷邊將詔》，警句云：「傷居爾體，痛在朕躬。」 帝覽而善之，賜之宮錦。 李德裕在相位，定策破回鶻，誅劉稹。 議兵之際，同列或有不可之言，唯德裕籌計指畫，竟立奇功。 武宗賞之，封衛國公，守太尉。 其制語有：「遏橫議於風波，定奇謀於掌握。 逆稹盜兵，壺關晝鎖，造膝嘉話，開懷靜思，意皆我同，言不他惑。」 制出，敖往慶之，德裕口誦此數句，撫敖曰：「陸生有言，所恨文不迨意。 如卿此語，秉筆者不易措言。」 座中解其所賜玉帶以遺敖，深禮重之。
Ao wrote with quick, keen thought. His prose was plain yet forceful in argument, never chasing obscurity, and Emperor Wuzong held him in deep regard. He once drafted the "Edict Bestowing Comfort on Wounded Frontier Generals," with a memorable line: "The wound lies in your bodies, but the pain is in My own person." The emperor read it with approval and rewarded him with palace brocade. While Li Deyu was chancellor, he planned the defeat of the Uyghurs and the execution of Liu Zhen. During the military debates some colleagues objected, but only Li Deyu planned and directed the campaign, winning extraordinary success. Emperor Wuzong rewarded him with the title Duke of Weiguo and appointment as Grand Preceptor. The appointment text read: "He checked reckless debate amid turmoil and fixed extraordinary stratagems within his grasp. When the rebel Zhen seized arms and Hukou was locked by day, he came knee to knee with fine counsel and opened his heart in quiet thought. His intent matched mine entirely, and his words misled no one else." When the appointment was issued, Ao came to congratulate him. Li Deyu recited those lines from memory, patted Ao, and said, "Master Lu once said that writing often fails to catch one's meaning. With lines like yours, even the best drafter could not easily match them." He removed the jade belt the emperor had given him and presented it to Ao, showing him extraordinary respect.
56
然敖不持士範，人重其才而輕其所為，德裕不能大用之。 德裕罷相，敖亦罷內職。 宣宗即位，遷禮部侍郎。 大中二年，典貢部，多擢文士。 轉吏部侍郎、渤海男、食邑七百戶。 四年，出為興元尹、御史大夫、山南西道節度使，歷左散騎常侍。 十一年，拜太常卿，出為淄青節度使，入為戶部尚書，卒。
Yet Ao did not uphold gentlemanly standards. Men respected his talent but disdained his conduct, and Li Deyu could not give him greater responsibility. When Li Deyu left office, Ao also lost his inner-court post. When Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, Ao was made Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites. In the second year of Dazhong he ran the examinations and promoted many literary men. He was made Vice Director of Personnel, ennobled as Baron of Bohai, and granted a fief of seven hundred households. In the fourth year he was sent out as prefect of Xingyuan, Censor Grandee, and Military Commissioner of Shannan West Circuit, and later served as Left Imperial Attendant-at-Large. In the eleventh year he was made Director of the Directorate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, then Military Commissioner of Ziqing, then Minister of Revenue, and died in office.
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子彥卿、望卿，從子特卿，皆進士及第，咸通後，歷位清顯。
His sons Yanqing and Wangqing and his nephew Teqing all passed the jinshi examination. After the Xiantong era they rose to prominent offices.
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史臣曰：韋公鯁亮守官，犯而得禮。 蕭子恬於吏隱，抑亦名賢。 蔚章操韻非高，而從容長者。 郁、朗襟概，郁有世風。 三高並秀於一時，二馮爭驅於千里，威以摛英掞藻，華國揚名。 潤色之能，封無與讓，壽考垂慶，儒何負哉！
The historiographer writes: Wei Wen was upright and steadfast in office. He spoke out boldly, yet always within the bounds of propriety. Xiao You lived quietly between office and reclusion—he too ranks among celebrated men. Qian Hui's moral tone was not exalted, yet he was a gracious elder statesman. Du Guyu and Du Lang had breadth of spirit; Guyu especially carried the manner of his age. The three Gao brothers all flourished together; the two Feng brothers spurred each other on across a thousand li. With brilliant literary talent they honored the state and won lasting fame. In the art of polishing imperial prose, Feng Ao had no peer. Long life brought blessings down upon his house—what had the scholar to regret!
59
贊曰：伏蒲進諫，染翰為文。 獨孤、韋氏，誌在匡君。 馮、高諸子，綺繡繽紛。 禁垣擅美，渤海淩云。
Encomium: They knelt to remonstrate and took up the brush to write. The Dugu and Wei families set their hearts on guiding the throne. The Feng and Gao clans bloomed like brocade in profusion. They excelled within the palace walls; from Bohai their fame rose to the clouds.