1
=趙隱=趙隱，字大隱，京兆奉天人也。 祖植。 建中末硃泚之亂，德宗幸奉天，時倉卒變起，羽衛不集，數日間賊來攻城，植以家人奴客奮力拒守，仍獻家財以助軍賞，天子嘉之。 賊平，咸寧王渾瑊辟為推官，累遷殿中侍御史。 貞元初，遷鄭州刺史。 鄭滑節度使李融奏兼副使。 十年，融病，軍府之政委於植。 大將宋朝晏構三軍為亂，中夜火發，植與監軍列卒待之。 遲明，亂卒自潰，即日誅斬皆盡。 帝優詔嘉之，入為衛尉少卿，三遷尚書工部侍郎。 十七年，出為廣州刺史、兼御史大夫、嶺南東道節度觀察等使，卒於鎮。 子存約、滂。
Zhao Yin, whose courtesy name was Dayin, came from Fengtian in Jingzhao commandery. His grandfather was Zhi. At the end of the Jianzhong reign, during Zhu Ci's rebellion, Emperor Dezong fled to Fengtian. The crisis struck so suddenly that the imperial guard had not yet gathered, and within days the rebels were besieging the city. Zhi rallied his household servants and retainers to hold the walls, and also contributed his family wealth to help pay the troops. The emperor commended him. After the rebellion was suppressed, Prince Xianning Hun Jian appointed him investigating officer, and he rose through successive posts to palace censor. Early in the Zhenyuan reign he was made prefect of Zhengzhou. Li Rong, military commissioner of Zheng and Hua, had him appointed deputy commissioner as well. In the tenth year of the reign Rong fell ill, and the affairs of the headquarters were entrusted to Zhi. A senior general, Song Chaoyan, stirred the three armies to mutiny. Fires broke out at midnight. Zhi and the army supervisor drew up their troops and waited. By dawn the mutineers had broken and fled of their own accord, and that same day every one of them was put to death. The emperor issued a gracious edict commending him. He was summoned to court as vice minister of the Court of Imperial Regalia and was promoted three times to vice minister of works. In the seventeenth year he was posted as prefect of Guangzhou, concurrently grand censor and military commissioner of Lingnan East Circuit, and died in office. His sons were Cunyue and Pang.
2
存約，太和三年為興元從事。 是時軍亂，存約與節度使李絳方宴語，吏報：「新軍亂，突入府廨，公宜避之。」 絳曰：「吾為帥臣，去之安往？」 麾存約令遁，存約曰：「荷公厚德，獲奉賓階。 背恩茍免，非吾誌也。」 即欲部分左右拒賊，是日與絳同遇害。
Cunyue served as a staff officer at Xingyuan in 829. At that time the army mutinied. Cunyue and the military commissioner Li Jiang were at dinner when a clerk reported, "The new troops have mutinied and broken into headquarters. You should flee. Jiang said, "I am the commander. If I flee, where would I go?" He gestured for Cunyue to escape. Cunyue said, "You have shown me great kindness and honored me on your staff. To turn my back on that kindness and save myself alone is not what I intend." He immediately tried to rally his attendants to resist the rebels, and that day he was killed together with Jiang.
3
隱以父罹非禍，泣守松楸，十余年杜門讀書，不應辟命。 會昌中，父友當權要，敦勉仕進，方應弓招，累為從事。 大中三年，應進士登第，累遷郡守、尚書郎、給事中、河南尹，歷戶、兵二侍郎，領鹽鐵轉運等使。 咸通末，以本官同平章事，加中書侍郎，兼禮部尚書，進階特進、天水伯、食邑七百戶。
Because his father had died a violent death, Yin wept and kept vigil at the family graves. For more than ten years he shut himself in to study and refused every appointment. During the Huichang reign, friends of his father who held high office pressed him to take up a career, and only then did he answer the imperial summons and serve repeatedly as a staff officer. In 849 he passed the jinshi examination. He rose through successive posts as prefect, Secretariat director, supervising censor, and mayor of Henan, served as vice ministers of revenue and war, and headed the salt and iron transport commission. Late in the Xiantong reign he was made chief counselor while retaining his existing rank, was also appointed vice director of the Secretariat and minister of rites, and was advanced to special advancement, enfeoffed as Baron of Tianshui with a fief of seven hundred households.
4
隱性仁孝，與弟騭尤稱友悌。 少孤貧，弟兄力耕稼以奉親，造次不幹親戚。 既居宰輔，不以權位自高。 退朝易衣，弟兄侍母左右。 歲時伏臘，公卿大臣盈門通訊，而大臣及母之榮，無如其比。 乾符中罷相，檢校兵部尚書、潤州刺史、浙西觀察等使。 入為太常卿，轉吏部尚書，累加尚書左僕射。 廣明中卒。 子光逢、光裔、光胤。
Yin was by nature benevolent and filial, and he and his younger brother Zhi were especially noted for their brotherly devotion. Orphaned and poor in youth, the brothers farmed with their own hands to support their parents and never in their haste imposed on relatives. Once he had risen to chief counselor, he did not let rank and power go to his head. After court he changed into plain clothes, and he and his brothers waited on their mother. At the seasonal festivals, ministers and grandees thronged the gate with greetings, and the honor shown the minister and his mother had no equal. During the Qianfu reign he was dismissed as chief counselor and appointed acting minister of war, prefect of Runzhou, and observer of Zhexi Circuit. He was recalled as grand minister of ceremonies, then made minister of the civil service, and was eventually promoted to left vice director of the Secretariat. He died during the Guangming reign. His sons were Guangfeng, Guangyi, and Guangyin.
5
弟騭，亦以進士登第。 大中末，與兄隱並踐省閣。 咸通初，以兵部員外郎知制誥，轉郎中，正拜中書舍人。 六年，權知貢舉。 七年，選士，多得名流，拜禮部侍郎、御史中丞，累遷華州刺史、潼關防禦、鎮國軍等使，卒。
His younger brother Zhi also passed the jinshi examination. Late in the Dazhong reign he and his elder brother Yin both entered the central secretariat. Early in the Xiantong reign he was made vice director in the Ministry of War with charge of drafting edicts, was promoted to director, and was formally appointed drafting secretary. In the sixth year he was placed in charge of the civil examinations. In the seventh year he selected candidates, many of them celebrated men, and was appointed vice minister of rites and censor-in-chief. He rose through posts as prefect of Huazhou, defender of Tong Pass, and commissioner of the Zhenguo Army, and died in office.
6
光逢，乾符五年登進士第，釋褐鳳翔推官。 入朝為監察御史，丁父憂免。 僖宗還京，授太常博士，歷禮部、司勛、吏部三員外郎，集賢殿學士，轉禮部郎中。 景福中，以祠部郎中知制誥，尋召充翰林學士，正拜中書舍人、戶部侍郎、學士承旨。 改兵部侍郎、尚書左丞，學士如故。 乾寧三年，從駕幸華州，拜御史中丞，改禮部侍郎。
Guangfeng passed the jinshi examination in 878 and on entering service became investigating officer at Fengxiang. He entered court as a supervisory censor and left office to observe mourning for his father. When Emperor Xizong returned to the capital, he was appointed erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, served successively as vice director in the ministries of rites, merit records, and civil service, became an academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and was made director in the Ministry of Rites. During the Jingfu reign, as director in the Department of Sacrifices he was charged with drafting edicts. He was soon summoned as a Hanlin academician and formally appointed drafting secretary, vice minister of revenue, and chief drafting academician. He was transferred to vice minister of war and left vice director of the Secretariat, while retaining his academician post. In 896 he accompanied the emperor to Huazhou, was appointed censor-in-chief, and was transferred to vice minister of rites.
7
劉季述廢立之後，宰相崔胤與黃門爭權，衣冠道喪。 光逢移疾，退居洛陽，閉關卻掃六七年。 昭宗遷洛，起為吏部侍郎，復為左丞，歷太常卿。 鼎沒於梁，累官至宰輔，封齊國公。
After Liu Jishu deposed and enthroned emperors, Chief Counselor Cui Yin and the eunuch faction fought for power, and the moral order of the court collapsed. Guangfeng pleaded illness, withdrew to Luoyang, and for six or seven years lived in seclusion, refusing visitors. When Emperor Zhaozong moved the court to Luoyang, Guangfeng was recalled as vice minister of the civil service, again became left vice director, and served as grand minister of ceremonies. Under the Later Liang he rose through successive posts to chief minister and was enfeoffed as Duke of Qi.
8
光裔，光啟三年進士擢第。 乾寧中，累遷司勛郎中、弘文館學士，改膳部郎中、知制誥，賜金紫之服。 兄弟對掌內外制命，時人榮之。 季述廢立之後，光逢歸洛。 光裔旅遊江表以避患。 嶺南劉隱深禮之，奏為副使，因家嶺外。
Guangyi passed the jinshi examination in 887. During the Qianning reign he rose through posts as director in the Ministry of Merit Records and academician of the Hongwen Hall, was made director in the Department of Provisions with charge of drafting edicts, and was granted gold and purple robes. The brothers jointly held the inner and outer drafting posts, to the admiration of their contemporaries. After Jishu's coup, Guangfeng returned to Luoyang. Guangyi traveled south of the Yangzi to escape the turmoil. Liu Yin of Lingnan treated him with great respect, had him appointed deputy commissioner, and he settled his household in the far south.
9
光胤，大順二年進士登第。 天祐初，累官至駕部郎中。 入梁，歷顯位。 中興用為宰輔。
Guangyin passed the jinshi examination in 891. Early in the Tianyou reign he rose through successive posts to director in the Department of Imperial Transport. He entered the service of the Later Liang and rose to eminent posts. At the restoration of the Tang he was made chief minister.
10
=張裼=張裼，字公表，河間人。 父君卿，元和中舉進士，詞學知名，累歷郡守。 裼，會昌四年進士擢第，釋褐壽州防禦判官。 于琮布衣時，客遊壽春，郡守待之不厚。 裼以琮衣冠子，異禮遇之。 琮將別，謂裼曰：「吾餉逆旅翁五十千，郡將之惠不登其數，如何？」 裼方奉母，家貧，適得俸絹五十匹，盡以遺琮，約曰：「他時出處窮達，交相恤也。」 裼累辟太原掌書記。 大中朝，琮為翰林學士，俄登宰輔，判度支。 琮召裼為司勛員外郎、判度支。 尋用為翰林學士，轉郎中、知制誥，拜中書舍人、戶部侍郎、學士承旨。 咸通末，琮為韋保衡所構譴逐，裼坐貶封州司馬。 保衡誅，琮得雪。 裼量移入朝，為太子賓客，遷吏部侍郎、京兆尹。 乾符三年，出為華州刺史。 其年冬，檢校吏部尚書、鄆州刺史、天平軍節度觀察等使。 四年，卒於鎮，時年六十四。 子文蔚、濟美、貽憲。
Zhang Ti, whose courtesy name was Gongbiao, came from Hejian. His father Junqing passed the jinshi examination in the Yuanhe reign, was celebrated for literary learning, and served repeatedly as prefect. Ti passed the jinshi examination in 844 and on entering service became defense staff judge of Shouzhou. When Yu Cong was still a commoner he visited Shouchun as a guest, and the prefect treated him coldly. Because Cong was the son of an official family, Ti treated him with exceptional courtesy. As Cong was about to leave, he said to Ti, "I paid the innkeeper fifty thousand cash, but the prefect's generosity falls short of that. What am I to do? Ti was supporting his mother and his household was poor. He had just received fifty bolts of salary silk and gave them all to Cong, saying, "In the future, whether we rise or fall, in want or in prosperity, let us look after each other." Ti was repeatedly recruited as chief secretary at Taiyuan. During the Dazhong reign Cong became a Hanlin academician, soon rose to chief counselor, and took charge of the treasury. Cong summoned Ti to serve as vice director in the Ministry of Merit Records with charge of the treasury. He was soon made a Hanlin academician, promoted to director with charge of drafting edicts, and appointed drafting secretary, vice minister of revenue, and chief drafting academician. Late in the Xiantong reign Cong was framed by Wei Baoheng and expelled from office. Ti was implicated and demoted to militia commander of Fengzhou. After Baoheng was executed, Cong was vindicated. Ti was gradually transferred back to court as mentor to the heir apparent, then promoted to vice minister of the civil service and mayor of the capital district. In 876 he was posted as prefect of Huazhou. That winter he was appointed acting minister of the civil service, prefect of Yanzhou, and military commissioner of Tianping Army. In the fourth year he died in office at the age of sixty-four. His sons were Wenwei, Jimei, and Yixian.
11
文蔚，乾符二年進士擢第，累佐使府。 龍紀初，入朝為尚書郎。 乾寧中，以祠部郎中知制誥，正拜中書舍人，賜紫。 崔胤擅朝政，與蔚同年進士，尤相善，用為翰林學士、戶部侍郎，轉兵部。 從昭宗遷洛陽。 輝王時，拜中書侍郎、平章事。 入梁，卒。
Wenwei passed the jinshi examination in 875 and served repeatedly on military staffs. Early in the Longji reign he entered court as a Secretariat director. During the Qianning reign, as director in the Department of Sacrifices he was charged with drafting edicts, was formally appointed drafting secretary, and was granted purple robes. Cui Yin dominated the court. He and Wei had passed the jinshi in the same year and were especially close, and Yin appointed him Hanlin academician and vice minister of revenue, then transferred him to the Ministry of War. He accompanied Emperor Zhaozong when the court moved to Luoyang. During the reign of Prince Hui he was appointed vice director of the Secretariat and chief counselor. He entered the service of the Later Liang and died there.
12
濟美、貽憲，相繼以進士登第。 貽憲覆試落籍，為戶部巡官、集賢校理。
Jimei and Yixian both passed the jinshi examination in turn. Yixian failed the reexamination and was struck from the rolls, and served as touring officer in the Ministry of Revenue and collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies.
13
=李蔚=李蔚，字茂休，隴西人。 祖上公，位司農卿，元和初為陜虢觀察使。 父景素，太和中進士。 蔚，開成末進士擢第，釋褐襄陽從事。 會昌末調選，又以書判拔萃，拜監察御史，轉殿中監。 大中七年，以員外郎知臺雜，尋知制誥，轉郎中，正拜中書舍人。 咸通五年，權知禮部貢舉。 六年，拜禮部侍郎，轉尚書右丞。
Li Wei, whose courtesy name was Maoxiu, came from Longxi. His grandfather Shanggong served as minister of the imperial granaries and early in the Yuanhe reign was observer of Shan and Guo circuits. His father Jingsu passed the jinshi examination in the Taihe reign. Wei passed the jinshi examination late in the Kaicheng reign and on entering service became a staff officer at Xiangyang. At the end of the Huichang reign, in the civil service selection, he again excelled in the document judgment and was appointed supervisory censor, then promoted to palace supervisor. In 853, as a vice director he was put in charge of censorial business, soon charged with drafting edicts, was promoted to director, and was formally appointed drafting secretary. In 864 he was placed in charge of the civil examinations. In the sixth year he was appointed vice minister of rites and transferred to right vice director of the Secretariat.
14
懿宗奉佛太過，常於禁中飯僧，親為贊唄。 以旃檀為二高座，賜安國寺僧徹，逢八飯萬僧。 蔚上疏諫曰：
Emperor Yizong honored Buddhism to excess. He often entertained monks within the palace and personally led hymns of praise. He had two high seats made of sandalwood and gave them to the monk Che of Anguo Temple, and on each of the eight feast days fed ten thousand monks. Wei submitted a memorial of remonstrance, saying:
15
優詔嘉之。 尋拜京兆尹、太常卿。
The emperor issued a gracious edict commending him. He was soon appointed mayor of the capital district and grand minister of ceremonies.
16
尋以本官同平章事，加中書侍郎，與盧攜、鄭畋同輔政。 罷相，出為襄州刺史、山南東道節度使。 入為吏部尚書，加檢校尚書右僕射、汴州刺史、宣武軍節度觀察等使。 咸通十四年，轉揚州大都督府長史、淮南節度副大使知節度事。 乾符三年受代，百姓詣闕乞留一年，從之。 四年，復為吏部尚書，尋遷檢校司空、東都留守、東畿汝都防禦使。 六年，河東軍亂，殺崔季康，詔以邠寧李侃鎮太原，軍情不伏。 以蔚嘗為太原從事，軍民懷之。 八月，以蔚為太原尹、北都留守、河東節度觀察等使。 其年十月到鎮，下車三日，暴病卒。
Soon, while retaining his existing rank, he was made chief counselor and vice director of the Secretariat, serving together with Lu Xie and Zheng Tian. Dismissed as chief counselor, he was posted as prefect of Xiangzhou and military commissioner of Shannan East Circuit. He was recalled as minister of the civil service and additionally appointed acting right vice director of the Secretariat, prefect of Bianzhou, and military commissioner of Xuanwu Army. In 873 he was transferred to chief administrator of Yangzhou and deputy military commissioner of Huainan with charge of the circuit. In 876 his term ended, but the people went to court and petitioned to keep him for another year, and the request was granted. In the fourth year he was again made minister of the civil service, and soon was appointed acting minister of works, regent of the eastern capital, and defender of the eastern capital and Ru prefecture. In the sixth year the Hedong army mutinied and killed Cui Jikang. The court ordered Li Kan of Binning to take command at Taiyuan, but the troops would not accept him. Because Wei had once served on the Taiyuan staff, both soldiers and civilians looked to him with affection. In the eighth month Wei was appointed mayor of Taiyuan, regent of the northern capital, and military commissioner of Hedong. He reached his post in the tenth month of that year and died suddenly of illness three days after taking office.
17
弟綰，從兄繪，累官至刺史。
His younger brother Wan and his cousin Hui both rose through successive posts to prefect.
18
蔚三子：渥、洵、澤。
Wei had three sons: Wo, Xun, and Ze.
19
渥，咸通末進士及第，釋褐太原從事，累拜中書舍人、禮部侍郎。 光化三年，選貢士。 洵至福建觀察使。
Wo passed the jinshi examination late in the Xiantong reign, entered service as a staff officer at Taiyuan, and rose to drafting secretary and vice minister of rites. In 900 he was placed in charge of selecting examination candidates. Xun rose to observer of Fujian.
20
=崔彥昭=崔彥昭，字思文，清河人。 父豈。 彥昭，大中三年進士擢第，釋褐諸侯府。 咸通初，累遷兵部員外郎，轉郎中、知制誥，拜中書舍人，再遷戶部侍郎，判本司事。
Cui Yanzhao, whose courtesy name was Siwen, came from Qinghe. His father was Qi. Yanzhao passed the jinshi examination in 849 and on entering service joined a regional headquarters. Early in the Xiantong reign he rose through posts as vice director in the Ministry of War, director with charge of drafting edicts, and drafting secretary, and was then made vice minister of revenue with charge of that ministry.
21
彥昭長於經濟，儒學優深，精於吏事。 前治數郡，所蒞有聲，動多遺愛。 十年，檢校禮部尚書、孟州刺史、河陽懷節度使，進階金紫。 十二年正月，加檢校刑部尚書、太原尹、北都留守、河東節度管內觀察等使。
Yanzhao excelled in state finance, was deeply learned in the Confucian classics, and was highly skilled in administrative affairs. He had previously governed several prefectures, and wherever he served he won renown, leaving behind him much enduring goodwill. In the tenth year he was appointed acting minister of rites, prefect of Mengzhou, and military commissioner of Heyang and Hua, and was advanced to gold and purple robes. In the first month of the twelfth year he was additionally appointed acting minister of justice, mayor of Taiyuan, regent of the northern capital, and military commissioner of Hedong.
22
時徐、泗用兵之後，北戎多寇邊，沙阤諸部動幹紀律。 彥昭柔以恩惠，來以兵威，三年之間，北門大治，軍民歌之。 考滿受代，耆老數千詣闕乞留。 詔報曰：「彥昭早著令名，累更劇任。 入司邦計，開張用經緯之文； 出統籓維，撫馭得韜鈐之術。 自臨並部，隱若長城。 但先和眾安人，不欲恃險與馬。 遂致三軍百姓，瀝懇同詞，備述政能，唯恐罷去。 顧茲重鎮，方委長材。 既獲便安，未議移替，想當知悉。」
At that time, after the campaigns in Xu and Si, northern peoples frequently raided the frontier, and the Shatuo tribes often breached military discipline. Yanzhao won them with kindness and restrained them with military force. Within three years the northern frontier was well governed, and soldiers and civilians sang his praises. When his term ended and he was to be replaced, several thousand elders went to court and petitioned to keep him. An edict replied, "Yanzhao won an excellent reputation early on and has repeatedly held demanding posts. In charge of national finance, he applied the arts of statecraft; commanding a frontier province, he governed with true mastery of military and civil administration. Since taking charge of Bing province, he has stood firm like a long wall. Yet he first brings harmony among the troops and peace to the people, and does not wish to rely on terrain and cavalry alone. As a result the armies and the people, with earnest tears and one voice, fully described his administrative ability and feared only that he be removed. This is an important post, and we are entrusting it to a man of proven ability. Since order and security have been achieved, no transfer is yet under discussion. You should understand this."
23
僖宗即位，就加檢校吏部尚書。 時趙隱、高璩知政事，與彥昭同年進士，薦彥昭長於治財賦。 十五年三月，召為吏部侍郎，充諸道鹽鐵轉運使。 乾符初，以本官同平章事、判度支。
When Emperor Xizong took the throne, Yanzhao was at once additionally appointed acting minister of the civil service. At that time Zhao Yin and Gao Cong were chief counselors. They and Yanzhao had passed the jinshi in the same year, and they recommended him as especially skilled in managing revenue and taxes. In the third month of the fifteenth year he was summoned as vice minister of the civil service and appointed commissioner of salt and iron transport for all circuits. Early in the Qianfu reign, while retaining his existing rank, he was made chief counselor and placed in charge of the treasury.
24
先是，楊收、路巖、韋保衡皆以朋黨好賂得罪。 蕭倣秉政，頗革前弊。 而彥昭輔政數月，百職斯舉，察而不煩，士君子稱之。 二年，因其轉官，僖宗誡曰：
Earlier, Yang Shou, Lu Yan, and Wei Baoheng had all been punished for factionalism and corruption. Xiao Fang held power and greatly reformed previous abuses. Yanzhao assisted in government for several months. The hundred offices functioned well; he was perceptive yet not overbearing, and men of quality praised him. In the second year, on the occasion of his promotion, Emperor Xizong admonished him, saying:
25
彥昭歷試有勞，僉諧無愧。 涉於六月，秉是一心。 修乃文可以興文教，勵乃武可以成武功。 重整前規，兩司大計，清能壁立，政乃風行。 奸欺屏絕於多歧，請托銷摧於正議。 不煩內庫，有助涓毫； 不假外籓，有進絲發。 軍食所入，余剩於明年； 郊廟所供，克辦於今歲。 頗符神化，真謂廟謀。 不有良臣，安能富國？ 宜酬勛於黃閣，俾正位於紫垣。 敬服誡詞，永堅茂業，鳴呼！ 秉鈞之道，何所難哉； 覆軍之塗，近已多矣！ 與其樹黨，不若修身； 與其收恩，不如秉直。 買暫勝者； 貽其永敗，沽小智者，囊其大愚。 不貴及人，唯爭自我； 初誠潤屋，尋以危家。 金玉滿堂，莫之能守，縱經營而得位，用枉撓而當辜。 唯爾選自朕心，采於人望。 宣詔既畢，閑門未知，來遂奔車，退無私謝。 獨推元老，曾請急征； 以守道而自臻，實榮親之最重。 爾其堅持正直，允執規程。 但畏幽陰，必歸公當。 甘言可憚，敘往可嗤。 獎善須明，懲奸須銳。 利於人者，雖難必舉； 利於己者，雖易勿為。 頻念孤寒，每思耕織，常自勤於數事，便有望於中興。 彰朕知臣，在卿匡國，必使恩從下布，法自上行。 但立直標，終無曲影。 茍致我於堯、舜，亦比爾於臯、夔。 可中書侍郎，依前判度支事。
Yanzhao has served through repeated trials with merit, and has nothing to be ashamed of in the judgment of all. For more than six months he has held to one purpose. Cultivate civil affairs and you can raise civil culture; encourage martial affairs and you can accomplish martial achievement. He has reordered former regulations. In the great accounts of the two ministries, integrity and ability stand firm, and good government spreads like the wind. Deceit and fraud are barred from many bypaths; requests and favor-seeking are cut down by upright discussion. Without troubling the inner treasury, he has added every tiny amount; without borrowing from the provinces, he has brought in gains down to the smallest measure. Army provisions left a surplus for the next year; and suburban and temple rites were fully provided for this year. This greatly accords with divine transformation and may truly be called counsel fit for the ancestral temple. Without a worthy minister, how can the state be enriched? He should be rewarded with merit in the chief counselor's hall and be set in the proper place in the imperial secretariat. Reverently heed these admonitions and forever strengthen your flourishing work. Alas! The way of holding the balance—what is difficult about it? The road of ruined armies has lately been all too common! Rather than forming factions, better to cultivate the self; rather than gathering favor, better to hold to uprightness. He who buys a temporary victory bequeaths eternal defeat; he who trades on petty cleverness pockets great folly. He does not value reaching others, but contends only with himself; at first he truly enriches the house, but soon endangers the family. Gold and jade fill the hall, yet none can keep them. Even if by scheming one gains position, by using crooked means one deserves guilt. You alone were chosen from my heart and selected from men's hopes. When the edict of appointment was finished, the inner gate did not yet know. Coming, you at once hurried to your carriage; retiring, you made no private thanks. You alone pushed forward the senior minister and once requested urgent summons; by holding to the Way you attained it yourself—truly the greatest honor to your kin. You must firmly hold to uprightness and truly execute regulations. Only fear the hidden and obscure; you must return to public right. Sweet words are to be feared; recounting the past is to be laughed at. Rewarding the good must be clear; punishing the wicked must be sharp. What benefits the people, though difficult, must be undertaken; what benefits oneself, though easy, must not be done. Frequently think of the orphaned and poor; always think of farming and weaving. Constantly be diligent in several affairs, and then there will be hope for restoration. To display that I know my minister lies with you in supporting the state. You must make grace spread from below and law proceed from above. Only set up a straight marker, and in the end there will be no crooked shadow. If you can bring me to the level of Yao and Shun, I shall compare you to Gao Yao and Kui. He is appointed vice director of the Secretariat and, as before, placed in charge of the treasury.
26
彥昭事母至孝，雖位居宰輔，退朝侍膳，與家人雜處，承奉左右，未嘗高言。 歲時慶賀，公卿拜席，時人榮之。 累遷門下侍郎，兼刑部尚書，充太清宮使、弘文館大學士。 與鄭畋、李蔚同知政事，三加兼官，皆領度支如故。 進階特進，累兼尚書右僕射。 罷相，歷方鎮，以太子太保分司卒。 子保謙。
Yanzhao served his mother with utmost filial piety. Although he stood as chief counselor, after court he waited on her at meals, mingled with the family, attended her at every turn, and never spoke in a lofty tone. At seasonal celebrations, high ministers bowed at his seat, and men of the time honored him. He was promoted to vice director of the Chancellery, concurrently minister of justice, and appointed commissioner of the Taiqing Palace and grand academician of the Hongwen Hall. Together with Zheng Tian and Li Wei he jointly managed state affairs. Three times additional concurrent offices were added, and in each case he still headed the treasury as before. He was advanced to special advancement and repeatedly held the concurrent post of right vice director of the Secretariat. Dismissed as chief counselor, he served in regional commands and died as mentor to the heir apparent in an eastern capital post. His son was Baoqian.
27
=鄭畋=鄭畋，字臺文，滎陽人也。 曾祖鄰，祖穆，父亞，並登進士第。 亞，字子佐，元和十五年擢進士第，又應賢良方正、直言極諫制科。 吏部調選，又以書判拔萃，數歲之內，連中三科。 聰悟絕倫，文章秀發。 李德裕在翰林，亞以文幹謁，深知之。 出鎮浙西，辟為從事。 累屬家艱，人多忌嫉，久之不調。 會昌初，始入朝為監察御史，累遷刑部郎中。 中丞李回奏知雜，遷諫議大夫、給事中。 五年，德裕罷相鎮渚宮，授亞正議大夫，出為桂州刺史、御史中丞、桂管都防禦經略使。 大中二年，吳汝納訴冤，德裕再貶潮州，亞亦貶循州刺史，卒。
Zheng Tian, whose courtesy name was Taiwen, came from Xingyang. His great-grandfather Lin, his grandfather Mu, and his father Ya all passed the jinshi examination. Ya, whose courtesy name was Zizuo, passed the jinshi examination in 820 and also answered the special examination for worthy and upright men and forthright remonstrance. In the civil service selection he again excelled in document judgment, and within several years consecutively passed three examinations. His intelligence and insight were unmatched, and his literary compositions were outstanding. When Li Deyu was in the Hanlin Academy, Ya visited him on the strength of his writing and won his deep regard. When Deyu went out to command Zhexi, he recruited Ya as a staff officer. He repeatedly suffered family bereavements. Many people envied and resented him, and for a long time he received no appointment. Early in the Huichang reign he first entered court as a supervisory censor and rose to director in the Ministry of Justice. Censor-in-chief Li Hui had him put in charge of miscellaneous censorial business, and he was promoted to remonstrance official and supervising censor. In the fifth year Deyu was removed as chief counselor and posted to Zhugong. Ya was appointed rectifier grand master and sent out as prefect of Guizhou, censor-in-chief, and overall defense commissioner of Guiguan. In 848 Wu Runa appealed his grievance. Deyu was again demoted to Chaozhou, and Ya was also demoted to prefect of Xunzhou, where he died.
28
畋年十八，登進士第，釋褐汴宋節度推官，得秘書省校書郎。 二十二，吏部調選，又以書判拔萃。 授渭南尉、直史館事。 未行，亞出桂州，畋隨侍左右。 大中朝，白敏中、令狐綯相繼秉政十余年，素與德裕相惡。 凡德裕親舊多廢斥之，畋久不偕於士伍。 咸通中，令狐綯出鎮，劉瞻鎮北門，辟為從事。 入朝為虞部員外郎。 右丞鄭薰，令狐之黨也，摭畋舊事覆奏，不放入省，畋復出為從事。 五年，入為刑部員外郎，轉萬年令。 九年，劉瞻作相，薦為翰林學士，轉戶部郎中。
Tian passed the jinshi examination at eighteen, entered service as investigating officer of the Bian-Song command, and was appointed collator in the Secretariat. At twenty-two, in the civil service selection, he again excelled in document judgment. He was appointed magistrate of Weinan and given charge of direct service in the Historiography Office. Before he could depart, Ya was sent to Guizhou and Tian accompanied him. During the Dazhong reign, Bai Minzhong and Linghu Tao held power in succession for more than ten years and had long been hostile to Deyu. Li Deyu's relatives and associates were for the most part dismissed and banished, and Tian for a long time could not fit in among his fellow officials. During the Xiantong reign, Linghu Tao took a regional command and Liu Zhan held the northern gate post; both recruited Tian as a staff officer. He entered court as assistant director in the Ministry of Works. Zheng Xun, the right assistant director, belonged to Linghu Tao's faction. He dredged up Tian's past conduct and submitted a memorial against him, blocking his entry into the Secretariat, and Tian again went out to serve as a staff officer. In the fifth year of the reign he entered court as assistant director in the Ministry of Justice and was transferred to magistrate of Wannian. In the ninth year Liu Zhan became chief counselor, recommended him as a Hanlin academician, and had him transferred to director in the Ministry of Revenue.
29
畋以久罹擯棄，幸承拔擢，因授官自陳曰：「臣十八進士及第，二十二書判登科。 此時結綬王畿，便貯青雲之望。 洎一沈風水，久換星霜，厭外府之樽罍，渴明庭之禮樂。 咸通五年，方始登朝。 若匪遭逢聖君，無以發揚幽跡。 臣任刑部員外郎日，累於閣內對揚。 去冬蒙擢宰萬年，又得延英中謝。 傾藿幸依於白日，舍盆終睹於青天。 昨以京縣浩穰，苦心為政，疲羸粗息，強禦無蹤。 方專宰字之心，用副憂勤之化。 陛下過垂采聽，超授恩榮，擢於百里之中，致在三清之上。 才超翰苑，遽改郎曹。」
Having long suffered ostracism, Tian was fortunate to be promoted, and upon receiving his appointment he stated: "Your subject passed the jinshi examination at eighteen and the document judgment examination at twenty-two. At that time I took up office in the capital region and already harbored hopes of rising to high position. Then fortune turned against me, years passed in exile, I grew weary of provincial banquets, and longed for the rites and music of the imperial court. It was not until the fifth year of Xiantong that I finally returned to court. Had I not encountered a sage ruler, I would have had no way to bring my obscure talents to light. While serving as assistant director in the Ministry of Justice, I repeatedly answered the emperor's questions in the inner chamber. Last winter I was promoted to magistrate of Wannian and was again granted an audience in the Yanzhe Hall to express my thanks. Like humble mallow leaning toward the sun, I was fortunate to receive imperial favor; like a creature leaving its basin, I at last beheld the open sky. Recently, because the capital county was vast and crowded, I toiled at governing it; the weak and exhausted were given some relief, and the violent disappeared. I was just then devoting myself wholly to magisterial duties, seeking to match Your Majesty's concerned and diligent governance. Your Majesty went far beyond what was warranted in noticing and promoting me, raising me from a county magistrate to a post above the Three Pure Ones of the Hanlin Academy. I had scarcely entered the Hanlin Academy when I was suddenly transferred to a director's post in the ministries."
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尋加知制誥，又自陳曰：「臣會昌二年，進士及第，大中首歲，書判登科。 其時替故昭義節度使沈詢作渭南縣尉； 兩考罷免，楊收以結綬替臣。 詢則備歷顯榮，歿經數載； 收則寵極臺輔，絀已三年。 臣則外困賓筵，內甘散秩，仰窺霄漢，空嘆雲泥。 雖雲賦命屯奇，實以遭人排忌。」 其因事自洗滌如此。
Soon he was additionally appointed drafter of edicts and again stated: "Your subject passed the jinshi examination in the second year of Huichang and the document judgment examination in the first year of Dazhong. At that time I replaced the former Zhaoyi military commissioner Shen Xun as magistrate of Weinan; after two terms of evaluation I was dismissed, and Yang Shou took my place in office. Shen Xun went on to enjoy every distinction and died several years ago; Yang Shou rose to the summit of power as chief counselor and has already been demoted for three years. Your subject, by contrast, was trapped in provincial staff service abroad and content with minor rank at court, gazing up at high office and sighing in vain at the gulf between heaven and earth. Although one might say my fate was unusually harsh, in truth I was brought low by the envy and hostility of others." On such occasions he vindicated himself in this fashion.
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俄遷中書舍人。 十年，王師討徐方，禁庭書詔旁午。 畋灑翰泉湧，動無滯思，言皆破的，同僚閣筆推之。 尋遷戶部侍郎。 龐勛平，以本官充承旨。 畋以德望先達，淪滯久之。 既冠禁庭，當為宰輔，因謝承旨自陳曰：「禁林素號清嚴，承旨尤稱峻重。 偏膺顧問，首冠英賢。 今之宰輔四人，三以此官騰躍，其為盛美，更異尋常。 豈謂凡流，繼茲芳躅，臣所以憂不稱承旨之任也。 至若繼劉瞻之慎密，守保衡之規程，瀝懇事君，披肝翊聖。 以貞方為介胄，用忠信作籓籬。 丹青帝文，金玉王度，臣亦不敢讓承旨之職。 況沈舟墜羽，因聖主發揚，有薄藝微才，受鴻恩知遇。 再周寒暑，六忝官榮，由郎吏以至於貳卿，自末僚而遷於上列。」 其切於大用如此。
Soon he was transferred to drafting secretary of the Secretariat. In the tenth year the imperial army marched against the Xu region, and edicts and proclamations poured from the palace in an unbroken stream. Tian wrote with a flowing pen as if from a spring; his thoughts never stalled, and every phrase hit its mark. His colleagues laid down their brushes and yielded to him. Soon he was promoted to vice minister of revenue. After Pang Xun was suppressed, he was appointed chief imperial secretary while retaining his existing rank. Tian, a man of established virtue and senior standing, had long languished in obscurity. Now that he stood at the head of the Hanlin Academy, he was expected to become chief counselor; upon accepting the chief secretary post he stated: "The Hanlin Academy has always been known for its purity and strictness, and the chief secretary post is especially regarded as solemn and weighty. It alone receives the emperor's consultation and stands first among outstanding men. Of the four chief counselors now in office, three rose through this post; its prestige is greater than that of any ordinary office. Who would have thought that an ordinary man would follow in such distinguished footsteps? That is why your subject fears he is unworthy of the chief secretary's duties. As for matching Liu Zhan's discretion, observing Bao Heng's standards, serving the ruler with full sincerity, and giving unstinting loyalty to assist the sage emperor— taking uprightness as armor and loyalty and faith as a protective barrier— embellishing the emperor's prose and upholding the kingly standard in writing—your subject would not shrink from the chief secretary's duties on that account. Moreover, one who had been as a sunk boat or fallen feather was raised up by the sage ruler; possessing only modest talent, I have received immense grace and favor. In two years I have six times received official honors, rising from a director's clerk to vice minister and from the lowest staff to the upper ranks." His eagerness for high office was evident in this way.
32
其年八月，劉瞻以諫囚醫工宗族，罷相，出為荊南節度使。 畋草制過為美詞。 懿宗省之甚怒，責之曰：「畋頃以行跡玷穢，為時棄捐，朝籍周行，無階踐歷。 竟因由徑，遂致叨居，塵忝既多，狡蠹尤甚。 且居承旨，合體朕懷。 一昨劉蟾出籓，朕豈無意？ 爾次當視草，過為美詞。 逞譎詭於筆端，籠愛憎於形內。 徒知報瞻欬唾之惠，誰思蔑我拔擢之恩？ 載詳言偽而堅，果明同惡相濟。 人之多僻，一至於斯！ 宜行竄逐之科，用屏回邪之黨。 可梧州刺史。」
In the eighth month of that year Liu Zhan was dismissed as chief counselor for remonstrating against the imprisonment of a medical worker's clan and was sent out as military commissioner of Jingnan. Tian drafted the edict of appointment with excessive praise. Emperor Yizong read it and was furious. He reprimanded Tian, saying: "Tian's recent conduct was disgraceful, and the age cast him aside; among his peers on the court rolls he had no path to advance. Yet through back channels he still managed to hold office he did not deserve; his unworthiness is already great, and his cunning corruption is especially grave. Moreover, as chief imperial secretary, he ought to reflect my intentions. When Liu Zhan was sent out to a regional command the other day, do you think I had no purpose in it? You were next to draft the edict, yet you heaped it with excessive praise. You indulged in deceit at the tip of your brush and smuggled private favor and hatred into the text. You knew only how to repay Liu Zhan's slightest favor; did you give any thought to scorning the grace with which I raised you? On closer examination your words are false yet stubborn; clearly you and he were partners in evil. How depraved men can be—to reach such a point! Exile is the fitting punishment, to remove the faction of the corrupt and wicked. He is demoted to prefect of Wuzhou."
33
僖宗即位，召還。 授右散騎常侍，改兵部侍郎。 乾符四年，遷吏部侍郎。 尋降制曰：「頃者時郁正途，權歸邪幸。 爾畋執心無惑，秉節被讒，征復鴛行，愈洽人望。 既負彌綸之業，宜居輔弼之司。 可本官同平章事。」 僖宗上尊號禮畢，進加中書侍郎，進階特進，轉門下侍郎，兼禮部尚書、集賢殿大學士。
When Emperor Xizong came to the throne, Tian was recalled to court. He was appointed right regular attendant on the cavalry and then transferred to vice minister of war. In the fourth year of Qianfu he was promoted to vice minister of civil service appointments. Soon an edict was issued, saying: "Recently the proper path was blocked and power fell into the hands of wicked favorites. You, Tian, have held firm without wavering, maintained your integrity though slandered, and upon recall to court have won ever greater public esteem. Already proven in the work of statecraft, you are fit to serve in the chief counselor's office. He is appointed chief counselor while retaining his existing rank." After the ceremony conferring Emperor Xizong's honorific title was completed, Tian was further promoted to vice director of the Secretariat, advanced to special advancement, transferred to vice director of the Chancellery, and concurrently appointed minister of rites and grand academician of the Jixian Hall.
34
五年，黃巢起曹、鄆，南犯荊、襄，東渡江、淮，眾歸百萬，所經屢陷郡邑。 六年，陷安南府據之。 致書與浙東觀察使崔璆，求鄆州節鉞。 璆言賊勢難圖，宜因授之，以絕北顧之患。 天子下百僚議。 初，黃巢之起也，宰相盧攜以浙西觀察使高駢素有軍功，奏為淮南節度使，令扼賊沖。 尋以駢為諸道行營都統。 及崔璆之奏，朝臣議之。 有請假節以紓患者。 畋采群議，欲以南海節制縻之。 攜以始用高駢，欲立奇功以圖勝。 攜曰：「高駢將略無雙，淮士甲兵甚銳。 今諸道之師方集，蕞爾纖寇，不足平殄。 何事舍之示怯，而令諸軍解體耶！」 畋曰：「巢賊之亂，本因饑歲。 人以利合，乃至實繁。 江、淮以南，薦食殆半。 國家久不用兵，士皆忘戰； 所在節將，閉門自守，尚不能枝。 不如釋咎包容，權降恩澤。 彼本以饑年利合，一遇豐歲，孰不懷思鄉土？ 其眾一離，則巢賊幾上肉耳，此所謂不戰而屈人兵也！ 若此際不以計攻，全恃兵力，恐天下之憂未艾也。」
In the fifth year Huang Chao rose in Cao and Yun, marched south into Jing and Xiang, crossed east over the Yangtze and Huai, and gathered a following of a million men; wherever he passed he repeatedly captured prefectures and counties. In the sixth year he captured the Annan protectorate and occupied it. He sent a letter to Cui Qiu, the observation commissioner of Zhedong, requesting the military commission of Yunzhou. Cui Qiu argued that the rebels were too strong to defeat and that the court should grant the commission, thereby removing the threat of their turning north. The emperor referred the matter to the officials for deliberation. When Huang Chao first rose, Chief Counselor Lu Xie, noting that Gao Pian, the observation commissioner of Zhexi, had long distinguished himself in military service, memorialized to appoint him military commissioner of Huainan and ordered him to block the rebel advance. Soon Gao Pian was made overall commander of the campaign armies of the various circuits. When Cui Qiu's memorial arrived, the court officials debated the matter. Some argued for temporarily granting Huang Chao a military commission to ease the crisis. Tian weighed the various opinions and proposed restraining Huang Chao by appointing him military commissioner of the South Sea. Lu Xie, having initially backed Gao Pian, wanted Gao to win a decisive victory. Lu Xie said: "Gao Pian's generalship is unmatched, and the Huainan troops are armed and trained to a keen edge. The armies of the various circuits are now assembling; this petty band of rebels is scarcely worth exterminating. Why abandon this course and show weakness, causing the allied armies to lose heart!" Tian replied: "Huang Chao's rebellion originally arose from years of famine. People rallied to him for gain, and so his forces truly swelled. South of the Yangtze and Huai, his forces have devoured nearly half the region. The empire has long been at peace, and the troops have forgotten how to fight; the regional commanders everywhere have shut their gates and held their positions, yet still cannot resist even detached bands of rebels. It would be better to set aside blame, show forbearance, and temporarily grant him favor. They rallied to him only because famine drove them to it; once a good harvest comes, who among them will not yearn for home? Once his followers disperse, Huang Chao will be meat on the cutting board—this is what is meant by defeating the enemy without fighting! If at this moment we rely on force alone rather than strategy, I fear the empire's troubles will not soon end."
35
群議然之，而左僕射於琮曰：「南海有市舶之利，歲貢珠璣。 如今妖賊所有，國藏漸當廢竭。」 上亦望駢成功，乃依攜議。 及中書商量制敕，畋曰：「妖賊百萬，橫行天下，高公遷延玩寇，無意翦除，又從而保之，彼得計矣。 國祚安危，在我輩三四人畫度。 公倚淮南用兵，吾不知稅駕之所矣！」 攜怒，拂衣而起，袂染於硯，因投之。 僖宗聞之怒，曰：「大臣相詬，何以表儀四海？」 二人俱罷政事，以太子賓客分司東都。
The assembly largely agreed, but Left Vice Director Yu Cong said: "The South Sea commands the profits of maritime trade and yields yearly tribute of pearls and gems. If these rebels now hold it, the state treasury will soon be drained." The emperor also hoped Gao Pian would succeed, and so adopted Lu Xie's plan. When the Secretariat met to draft the edict, Tian said: "A million rebels are rampaging across the empire; Lord Gao dawdles and indulges the enemy, showing no will to destroy him, and now we would protect him instead—they have gotten exactly what they wanted. The fate of the dynasty rests on the decisions of the few of us here. You are staking everything on Gao Pian's army in Huainan—I do not know where this road will end!" Lu Xie grew angry, flung his sleeves and stood up, smeared his cuff on the inkstone, and threw it aside. When Xizong heard of it he was furious and said: "Chief ministers hurl abuse at one another—what example is this to set for the empire?" Both men were removed from office and sent to the eastern capital as honorary crown prince advisors.
36
廣明元年，賊自嶺表北渡江、浙，虜崔璆，陷淮南郡縣。 高駢止令張璘控制沖要，閉壁自固。 天子始思畋前言，二人俱征還，拜畋禮部尚書。 尋出為鳳翔隴右節度使。 是冬，賊陷京師，僖宗出幸。 畋聞難作，候駕於斜谷迎謁，垂泣曰：「將相誤陛下，以至於此。 臣實罪人，請死以懲無狀。」 上曰：「非卿失也。 朕以狂寇淩犯，且駐蹕興元。 卿宜堅扼賊沖，勿令滋蔓。」 畋對曰：「臣心報國，死而後已，請陛下無東顧之憂。 然道路艱虞，奏報梗澀，臨機不能遠稟聖旨，願聽臣便宜從事。」 ，上曰：「茍利宗社，任卿所行。」 畋還鎮，搜乘補卒，繕修戎仗，浚飾城壘。 盡出家財以散士卒。 晝夜如臨大敵。
In the first year of Guangming the rebels crossed north from Lingnan into the Yangtze and Zhejiang regions, captured Cui Qiu, and overran the prefectures and counties of Huainan. Gao Pian merely ordered Zhang Lin to hold the strategic points while he shut himself behind his walls. At last the emperor recalled Tian's earlier warning; both men were summoned back to court, and Tian was appointed Minister of Rites. He was soon sent out as military commissioner of Fengxiang and Longright circuits. That winter the rebels took the capital, and Emperor Xizong fled the city. When Tian heard of the disaster, he waited for the emperor at Xiegu Pass to pay his respects, and with tears said: "Your ministers and generals have led Your Majesty astray and brought us to this. I am myself guilty and beg to die as punishment for my failure." The emperor said: "This is not your fault. These mad rebels have overrun the realm, and I must for now make my stand at Xingyuan. You must hold firm at the rebels' line of advance and keep them from spreading further." Tian replied: "I shall serve the state until death. Your Majesty need not worry about the east. But the roads are dangerous and communications uncertain; I cannot wait for distant orders when action is required. I ask permission to act on my own judgment as events demand." The emperor said: "If it serves the realm, do whatever you must. Tian returned to his command, mustered horses and filled the ranks, repaired weapons, and strengthened walls and defenses. He gave his entire family fortune to pay the troops. Day and night he held himself ready as if a major battle were imminent.
37
中和元年二月，賊將尚讓、王璠率眾五萬，欲攻鳳翔。 畋預知賊至，令大將李昌言等伏於要害。 賊以畋儒者，必不能拒，步騎長驅，部伍不整。 畋以銳卒數千，陳於高岡，虛立旗幟，延袤數里。 距賊十餘里，伐鼓而陣。 賊不之測眾寡，始欲列卒而陣，後軍未至，而昌言等發伏擊之，其眾大撓。 日既晡矣，岐軍四合，追擊於龍尾陂，賊委兵仗自潰，斬馘萬計，得其鎧仗，岐軍大振。 天子聞之，謂宰相曰：「予知畋不盡儒者之勇，甚慰予懷。」 即授畋檢校尚書左僕射、同平章事，充京西諸道行營都統。
In the second month of the first year of Zhonghe, the rebel generals Shang Rang and Wang Fan led fifty thousand men against Fengxiang. Tian foresaw the attack and ordered his generals, led by Li Changyan, to set ambushes at the key passes. The rebels assumed that Tian, a scholar-official, could not put up a fight, and marched forward at speed with ranks in disarray. Tian drew up several thousand crack troops on a hilltop and arrayed banners along the ridge for miles. A dozen li from the enemy, he beat the drums and drew up his battle line. Unable to tell how many men he had, the rebels began to deploy their line; before the rear guard could catch up, Li Changyan sprung the ambush and threw them into panic. By late afternoon Qi forces closed in from every side and pursued them to Longwei Slope. The rebels abandoned their arms and fled in collapse. Tens of thousands were killed, and the Qi army seized their armor and weapons in a great victory. When the emperor heard the news, he told his chancellors: "I knew Tian was no mere scholar in courage. This heartens me greatly." He immediately appointed Tian acting Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, chief councilor, and supreme commander of the western circuits' campaign forces.
38
時畿內諸鎮禁軍尚數萬，賊巢汙京師後，眾無所歸。 畋承制招諭，諸鎮將校皆萃岐陽。 畋分財以結其心，與之盟誓，期匡王室。 又傳檄天下曰：
At that time tens of thousands of imperial troops from the capital region were still at large; after Huang Chao's sack of the capital, they had nowhere to go. By imperial order Tian summoned them, and commanders from every garrison rallied at Qiyang. He distributed his funds to win their loyalty, swore binding oaths with them, and pledged to restore the dynasty. He also sent a proclamation to the empire, declaring:
39
時駕在坤維，音驛阻絕，以為朝廷無能復振。 及畋傳檄，諸籓聳動，各治勤王之師，巢賊聞之大懼。 自是賊騎不過京西。 當時非畋扼賊之沖，褒、蜀危矣。 尋進位檢校司空。
The emperor was then in the southwest, and all word from court had been cut off, so many assumed the dynasty could not recover. When Tian's proclamation went out, the regional powers were roused and each began raising armies to rescue the throne. Huang Chao's rebels were seized with fear. From then on the rebels' cavalry did not venture west of the capital region. But for Tian's blocking of the rebels' main thrust, Hanzhong and Shu would have been in grave danger. He was soon promoted to acting Minister of Works.
40
其年冬，畋暴病，以岐山方禦賊沖，宜須驍將鎮守，表薦大將李昌言，詔可之。 詔畋赴行在。 二年正月至成都，以王鐸代畋將兵收復。 畋尋以僕射平章事，以疾，久之不拜，累表乞解機務。 二年冬，罷相，授太子少保。 僖宗以畋子給事中凝績為隴州刺史，詔侍畋就郡養疾，薨於郡舍，時年五十九。
That winter Tian fell suddenly ill. With Qishan still holding the rebels' line of advance, he needed a skilled general to hold the post and recommended Li Changyan; the emperor approved. Tian was ordered to the emperor's camp. In the first month of the second year he reached Chengdu; Wang Duo replaced him as commander of the recovery campaign. He was soon named vice director and chief councilor, but his illness kept him from taking office for a long time, and he repeatedly asked to be relieved of state duties. In the winter of the second year he left the chancellorship and was made Junior Mentor to the Heir Apparent. The emperor made Tian's son Ningji, a supervising attendant in the Secretariat, prefect of Long Prefecture and ordered Tian to retire there for his health. He died at the prefectural mansion at fifty-nine.
41
光啟末，李茂貞授鳳翔節度使。 畋會兵時，茂貞為博野軍小校在奉天，畋盡召其軍至岐下，以茂貞勤於軍旅，甚奇之，委以遊邏之任。 至是，茂貞思畋獎待之恩，上表論之曰：
At the end of the Guangqi era Li Maozhen was appointed military commissioner of Fengxiang. When Tian was gathering his forces, Maozhen had been a junior officer in the Boye Army at Fengtian. Tian brought that entire unit to Qishan, took notice of Maozhen's zeal in military matters, and put him in charge of patrol and reconnaissance. Now Maozhen remembered Tian's kindness and patronage and submitted a memorial in his honor, saying:
42
昭宗嘉之，詔贈司徒，謚曰文昭。
Emperor Zhaozong approved the request and posthumously conferred on Tian the title of Grand Mentor, with the posthumous name Wenzhao, "Illustrious and Broad."
43
畋文學優深，器量弘恕。 美風儀，神彩如玉，尤能賦詩。 與人結交，榮悴如一。 始為員外郎，為鄭薰不放省上，畋不以為憾。 及畋作相，薰子為郎，畋特獎拔為給事中，列曹侍郎。 其以德報怨，多此類也。
Tian's learning was deep and his literary skill exceptional; he was magnanimous and forbearing. He had a handsome presence and jade-like elegance, and was especially gifted at poetry. In friendship he treated others the same in fortune and in misfortune alike. Early in his career, as an outer-secretariat director, he was blocked from entering the inner Secretariat by Zheng Xun, yet Tian held no grudge. When Tian became chancellor, Xun's son was a low-ranking court officer; Tian singled him out for promotion to supervising attendant and then vice minister. Returning good for ill was typical of his conduct.
44
子凝績，景福中歷刑部、戶部侍郎。
His son Ningji served as vice minister of justice and of revenue during the Jingfu era.
45
=盧攜=盧攜，字子升，范陽人。 祖損。 父求，寶歷初登進士第，應諸府辟召。 位終郡守。 攜，大中九年進士擢第，授集賢校理，出佐使府。 咸通中，入朝為右拾遺、殿中侍御史，累轉員外郎中、長安縣令、鄭州刺史。 召拜諫議大夫。 乾符初，以本官召充翰林學士，拜中書舍人。 乾符末，加戶部侍郎、學士承旨。 四年，以本官同中書門下平章事，累加門下侍郎，兼兵部尚書、弘文館大學士。
Lu Xie, courtesy name Zisheng, was from Fanyang. His grandfather was Sun. His father Qiu passed the jinshi examination at the start of the Baoli reign and entered service through various official commissions. He ended his career as a prefect. Lu Xie passed the jinshi examination in the ninth year of Dazhong, was appointed collator at the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and then joined a military governor's staff. In the Xiantong era he entered court service as a remonstrance adviser and palace censor, rising through outer-secretariat director, magistrate of Chang'an, and prefect of Zheng. He was recalled and appointed grand remonstrance adviser. At the start of Qianfu he was summoned as a Hanlin academician and appointed drafting secretary. Late in Qianfu he was also made vice minister of revenue and academician-in-attendance. In the fourth year he became chief councilor, and was subsequently promoted to vice director of the Chancellery while also serving as minister of war and grand scholar of the Hongwen Hall.
46
五年，黃巢陷荊南、江西外郛及虔、吉、饒、信等州，自浙東陷福建，遂至嶺南，陷廣州，殺節度使李岧，遂抗表求節鉞。 初，王仙芝起河南，攜舉宋威、齊克讓、曾袞等有將略，用為招討使。 及宋威殺尚君長，致賊充斥。 朝廷遂以宰臣王鐸為都統，攜深不悅。 浙帥崔璆等上表，請假黃巢廣州節鉞，上令宰臣議。 攜以王鐸為統帥，欲激怒黃巢，堅言不可假賊節制，止授率府率而已。 與同列鄭畋爭論，投硯於地。 由是兩罷之，為太子賓客分司。
In the fifth year Huang Chao overran the outer defenses of Jingnan and Jiangxi and the prefectures of Qian, Ji, Rao, and Xin; from Zhedong he seized Fujian, pushed into Lingnan, took Guangzhou, killed the military commissioner Li Yao, and demanded a commission as military governor. When Wang Xianzhi first rose in Henan, Lu Xie had recommended Song Wei, Qi Kerang, Zeng Gun, and others as men of military talent, and they were appointed pacification commissioners. But when Song Wei executed Shang Junzhang, the rebels spread unchecked. The court then named chief minister Wang Duo supreme commander, to Lu Xie's deep displeasure. Cui Qiu, military governor of Zhejiang, and others petitioned to offer Huang Chao a nominal commission as governor of Guangzhou, and the emperor ordered the chancellors to deliberate. With Wang Duo already in command, Lu Xie hoped to goad Huang Chao and insisted that no military commission be granted—only the empty title of Bearer of the Left Golden Belt Guard. He quarreled with his fellow councilor Zheng Tian and hurled an inkstone to the floor. Both men were dismissed and sent into nominal service as honored guests of the heir apparent.
47
六年，高駢大將張麟頻破賊。 攜素待高駢厚，常舉可為統帥。 天子以駢立功，復召攜輔政。 及王鐸失守，罷都統，以高駢代之。 由是自潼關以東，汝、陜、許、鄧、汴、滑、青、兗皆易帥。 王鐸、鄭畋所授任者，皆易之。 攜內倚田令孜，外以高駢為援，朝廷大政，高下在心。 時攜病風，精神恍惚。 政事可否，皆決於親吏溫季修，貨賄公行。 及賊擾淮南，張麟被殺，而許州逐帥，溵水兵潰。 朝廷震懼，皆歸罪於攜。 及賊陷潼關，罷攜相，為太子賓客，是夜仰藥而死。
In the sixth year Gao Pian's general Zhang Lin won repeated victories over the rebels. Lu Xie had long favored Gao Pian and had repeatedly urged that he be made supreme commander. With Gao Pian's successes, the emperor recalled Lu Xie to the chancellorship. When Wang Duo failed to hold the line, he was removed as supreme commander and Gao Pian replaced him. Thereafter every military governor from Tong Pass eastward—in Ru, Shan, Xu, Deng, Bian, Hua, Qing, and Yan—was replaced. Every appointment made by Wang Duo and Zheng Tian was overturned. Lu Xie relied on the eunuch Tian Lingzi within and Gao Pian without, and major policy turned on his whim. By then Lu Xie was stricken with paralysis; his mind wandered. All decisions passed through his private secretary Wen Jixiu, and bribery ran unchecked. When the rebels overran Huainan, Zhang Lin was killed, Xu Prefecture drove out its governor, and the Wenshui army collapsed. The court was shaken with fear, and blame fell on Lu Xie. When the rebels took Tong Pass, Lu Xie was dismissed and made honored guest of the heir apparent; that night he swallowed poison and died.
48
子晏，天祐初，為河南縣尉，為柳璨所殺。
His son Yan served as magistrate of Henan County at the start of Tianyou and was murdered by Liu Can.
49
=王徽=王徽，字昭文，京兆杜陵人，其先出於梁魏。 魏為秦滅，始皇徙關東豪族實關中，魏諸公子徙於霸陵。 以其故王族，遂為王氏。 後周同州刺史熊，徽之十代祖，葬咸陽之鳳岐原，子孫因家焉。 曾祖擇，從兄易從，天後朝登進士第。 從弟明從、言從，睿宗朝並以進士擢第。 昆仲四人，開元中三至鳳閣舍人，故時號「鳳閣王家」。 其後，易從子定，定子逢，逢弟仲周，定兄密，密子行古，行古子收，收子超，皆以進士登第。 王氏自易從已降，至大中朝登進士科者，一十八人； 登臺省，歷牧守、賓佐者，三十余人。 擇從，大足三年登進士第，先天中，又應賢良方正制舉，升乙第，再遷京兆士曹參軍，充麗正殿學士。 祖察，至德二年登進士第，位終連州刺史。 父自立，位終緱氏令。
Wang Hui, courtesy name Zhaowen, was from Duling in Jingzhao; his family traced its origins to the state of Wei during the Warring States period. After Qin conquered Wei, the First Emperor resettled powerful families from east of the pass into Guanzhong, and the princes of Wei were relocated to Baling. As descendants of the old royal house, they took the surname Wang. Xiong, prefect of Tongzhou under the Later Zhou, was Hui's ancestor ten generations removed; buried at Fengqi Plain near Xianyang, his descendants settled there. His great-grandfather was Ze; his elder clan cousin Yicong passed the jinshi under Empress Wu. His cousins Mingcong and Yancong both passed the jinshi under Emperor Ruizong. Four kinsmen of their generation reached high office; three became attendants of the Phoenix Pavilion in the Kaiyuan era, earning the clan the nickname "the Wangs of the Phoenix Pavilion." In later generations Yicong's son Ding, Ding's son Feng, Feng's brother Zhongzhou, Ding's brother Mi, Mi's son Xingu, Xingu's son Shou, and Shou's son Chao all passed the jinshi. From Yicong's generation down to the Dazhong era, eighteen members of the Wang clan passed the jinshi; and more than thirty served in the censorate and secretariat or as prefects, governors, and staff officers. Zecong passed the jinshi in the third year of Dazu; in the Xiantian era he also passed the special civil-service examination for worthies, was promoted to the second rank, rose to clerk in the capital commandery, and became an academician of the Hall of Correct Principles. His grandfather Cha passed the jinshi in the second year of Zhide and ended his career as prefect of Lian Prefecture. His father Zili served as magistrate of Gou Shi and died in that office.
50
徽大中十一年進士擢第，釋褐秘書省校書郎。 戶部侍郎沈詢判度支，辟為巡官。 宰相徐商領鹽鐵，又奏為參佐。 時宣宗詔宰相於進士中選子弟尚主，或以徽籍上聞。 徽性沖淡，遠勢利，聞之憂形於色。 徽登第時，年逾四十，見宰相劉瑑哀祈，具陳年已高矣，居常多病，不足以塵汙禁臠。 瑑於上前言之方免。 從令狐綯歷宣武、淮南兩鎮掌書記，得大理評事。 召拜右拾遺，前後上疏論事二十三，人難言者必犯顏爭之，人士翕然稱重。
Wang Hui passed the jinshi in the eleventh year of Dazhong and took his first post as collator in the Secretariat. When Shen Xun, vice minister of revenue who also oversaw the finance commission, recruited staff, he brought Wang Hui on as an inspection officer. Chief Minister Xu Shang, who controlled the salt and iron monopoly, then had him appointed as an assistant on his staff. Emperor Xuanzong then ordered chancellors to nominate jinshi from good families as consorts for the princesses, and someone put Wang Hui's name forward. Wang Hui was retiring by nature and shunned power; when he heard of this, his distress showed plainly on his face. Already over forty when he passed the examination, he went to Chancellor Liu Chan in anguish and explained that he was too old and too frequently ill to be a fitting match for an imperial consort. Liu Chan pleaded his case before the emperor, and only then was Wang Hui spared. He followed Linghu Tao as chief secretary at the Xuanwu and Huainan circuits in turn, and was appointed judicial reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. Summoned to court, he was appointed Right Reminding Censor. He submitted twenty-three memorials on state affairs, and on topics others dared not broach he always spoke bluntly against the throne. Men of standing everywhere praised and respected him.
51
會徐商罷相鎮江陵，以徽舊僚，欲加奏辟而不敢言。 徽探知其旨，即席言曰：「僕在進士中，荷公重顧，公佩印臨戎，下官安得不從？」 商喜甚，奏授殿中侍御史，賜緋，荊南節度判官。
When Xu Shang left the chief ministership to take command at Jiangling, he wanted to recommend his former subordinate Hui for appointment but did not dare say so outright. Hui sensed what he meant and spoke up on the spot: "When I was among the jinshi graduates, I owed you a great debt of favor. Now you wear the seal of command and take the field—how could I not follow you? Xu Shang was delighted and memorialized for his appointment as Palace Diaries Attendant, with crimson robes and a post as administrative assistant to the Jingnan military commissioner.
52
高湜時持憲綱，奏為侍御史知雜，兼職方員外郎，轉考功員外。 時考簿上中下字硃書，吏緣為奸，多有揩改。 徽白僕射，請以墨書，遂絕奸吏之弊。 宰相蕭倣以徽明於吏術，尤重之。 乾封初，遷司封郎中、長安縣令。 學士闕人，倣用徽為翰林學士，改職方郎中、知制誥，正拜中書舍人。 延英中謝，面賜金紫，遷戶部侍郎、學士承旨。 改兵部侍郎、尚書左丞，學士承旨如故。
Gao Shi, who then held the reins of the censorate, had him appointed Attendant Censor with combined duties, concurrently vice director in the Bureau of Appointments, and then transferred him to vice director in the Bureau of Evaluations. Evaluation records at the time marked the grades of upper, middle, and lower in vermilion ink, which clerks exploited for fraud, often rubbing out entries and altering them. Hui reported to the vice director of the Department of State Affairs and asked that the records be kept in black ink instead, thereby putting an end to the clerks' fraud. Chief Minister Xiao Fang especially valued Hui for his mastery of administrative affairs. Early in the Qianfu reign he was made director of the Bureau of Seals in the Ministry of Rites and magistrate of Chang'an County. When the Hanlin Academy needed a scholar, Fang had Hui appointed Hanlin Academician, then made him director in the Bureau of Personnel with charge of drafting edicts, and formally appointed him vice director of the Secretariat. He gave thanks in the Yanying Hall, was personally granted the gold seal and purple robe, and was promoted to vice minister of revenue and chief Hanlin Academician. He was transferred to vice minister of war and left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, while retaining his post as chief Hanlin Academician.
53
廣明元年十二月三日，改戶部侍郎、同平章事。 是日，黃巢入潼關，其夜僖宗出幸。 徽與同列崔沆、豆盧瑑、僕射于琮，至曙方知車駕出幸，遂相奔馳赴行在。 徽夜落荊榛中，墜於崖谷，為賊所得，迫還京師。 將授之偽命，徽示以足折口喑，雖白刃環之，終無懼色。 賊令輿歸第，命醫工視之。 月余，守視者稍怠，徽乃雜於負販，竄之河中，遣人間道奉絹表入蜀。
On the third day of the twelfth month of the first year of Guangming (880), he was made vice minister of revenue and associate grand councilor. That same day Huang Chao broke through Tong Pass, and that night Emperor Xizong fled the capital. Hui, together with his colleagues Cui Hang, Dou Lu Zhuan, and Vice Director Yu Cong, did not learn until dawn that the emperor had fled, whereupon they all raced off to join the court in exile. That night Hui fell among thorn thickets and tumbled into a ravine. Captured by rebels, he was forced back to the capital. When the rebels tried to invest him with a false office, Hui displayed his broken leg and speechless mouth. Though naked blades ringed him about, he never showed fear. The rebels had him carried in a litter back to his home and sent a physician to treat him. After more than a month the guards slackened their watch. Hui mingled with porters and peddlers, slipped away to Hezhong, and sent a messenger by a secret route to deliver a silk memorial to the emperor in Shu.
54
天子嘉之，詔授光祿大夫，守兵部尚書。 將赴行在，尋詔徽以本官充東面宣慰催陣使。 時王鐸都統行營兵馬在河中，累年未能破賊。 徽與行營都監楊復光謀，赦沙陁三部落，令赴難。 其年夏，代北軍至，決戰累捷，收復京師，以功加尚書右僕射。
The emperor commended him and issued an edict appointing him Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and acting minister of war. As he was preparing to join the court in exile, an edict soon also appointed him, in his existing office, commissioner for pacification and battle-line urging on the eastern front. Wang Duo then held overall command of the field armies at Hezhong, but for years had failed to defeat the rebels. Hui plotted with the field army chief overseer Yang Fuguang to grant amnesty to the three Shatuo tribes and summon them to the dynasty's aid. That summer the armies from north of the Pass arrived. After a series of decisive victories the capital was recovered, and for his contribution Hui was promoted to right vice director of the Department of State Affairs.
55
光啟中，潞州軍亂，殺其帥成麟，以兵部侍郎鄭昌圖權知昭義軍事。 時孟方立割據山東三州，別為一鎮。 上黨支郡，唯澤州耳，而軍中之人多附方立，昌圖不能制。 宰相奏請以重臣鎮之，乃授徽檢校尚書左僕射、同平章事、潞州大都督府長史、澤潞邢洺磁觀察等使。 時鑾輅未還，關東聚盜。 而河東李克用與孟方立方爭澤潞。 以朝廷兵力必不能加，上表訴之曰：
During the Guangqi reign the Lu prefecture army mutinied and killed its commander Cheng Lin. Vice Minister of War Zheng Changtu was made provisional commander of Zhaoyi army affairs. Meng Fangli then held the three Shandong prefectures as his own domain, forming a separate military circuit. Of Shangdang's subordinate prefectures only Zezhou remained, yet many in the army sided with Fangli, and Changtu could not control them. The chief ministers memorialized that a senior minister should be sent to take command, and Hui was appointed honorary left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, associate grand councilor, grand prefect of Lu Prefecture, and military commissioner of Ze, Lu, Xing, Ming, and Guang circuits. The imperial carriage had not yet returned to the capital, and bandits were gathering east of the Pass. Meanwhile Li Keyong of Hedong and Meng Fangli were contending for control of Ze and Lu. Concluding that the court's armies could not prevail by force, he submitted a memorial of protest, saying:
56
天子乃以昌圖鎮之，以徽為諸道租庸供軍等使，餘官如故。
The emperor then had Changtu take command there and appointed Hui commissioner for equal tax and military supply for the various circuits, while his other offices remained unchanged.
57
時京師收復之後，宮寺焚燒，園陵毀廢，故車駕久而未還。 乃以徽為大明宮留守、京畿安撫制置、修奉園陵等使。 徽方治財賦，又兼制置，王畿之人，大半流喪，乃招合遺散，撫之如子。 數年之間，版戶稍葺，東內齋閣，繕完有序。 徽拜表請車駕還京，曰：「昨者狂寇將逃，延災方甚。 而端門鳳畤，鎮福地而獨存； 王氣龍盤，郁祥煙而不散。 足表宗祧降祉，臨禦非遙。 今雖初議修崇，未全壯麗，式示卑宮之儉，更凝馭道之尊。 且肅宗才見捷書，便離岐下； 德宗雖當盛暑，不駐漢中。 故事具存，昌期難緩，願回鑾輅，早復京師。 臣謬以散材，叨膺重寄，閉閣深念，拜章累陳。 審時事之安危，系廟謀之得失。 臣雖隨宜制置，竭力撫綏，如或鑾駕未回，必恐人心復散。 縱成微效，終負殊私。 勢有必然，理宜過慮。 以茲淹駐，轉失機宜。 實希永掛宸聰，亟還清蹕。」 帝深嘉納，進位檢校司空、御史大夫，權知京兆尹事。
After the capital was recovered, palace temples lay burned and imperial tombs lay ruined and neglected, and for that reason the emperor long delayed his return. Hui was then appointed commissioner for the Daming Palace garrison, capital region pacification and arrangement, and repair of the imperial tombs. While managing revenue and holding the arrangement commission, Hui found that most of the people in the capital region had been scattered and displaced. He gathered the lost and dispossessed and treated them as his own children. Within a few years registered households were gradually restored, and the halls and pavilions of the eastern inner palace were repaired and put in good order. Hui submitted a memorial asking the emperor to return to the capital, writing: "When the rebel horde was on the verge of flight, the spreading calamity was at its height. Yet the Gate of Revelation and the Phoenix Altar endured alone, guarding this blessed ground; imperial qi coiled like a dragon, and auspicious vapors gathered without dispersing. This fully showed that the ancestral temple had received Heaven's blessing and that Your Majesty's return to the throne was not far off. Though the first work of restoration is not yet fully grand and splendid, it displays the frugality of a modest palace and further concentrates the majesty of imperial rule. Moreover, once Emperor Suzong received word of victory he at once left Qixia; and Emperor Dezong, though it was the height of summer, did not linger at Hanzhong. Precedents remain intact, and the auspicious moment cannot be delayed. I pray that Your Majesty turn the imperial carriage and restore the capital at the earliest possible time. Your servant, unworthy though I am, has been entrusted with weighty responsibility. Secluded in my office I have pondered deeply and submitted memorial after memorial. The safety or peril of the times hangs upon whether the court's deliberations succeed or fail. Though I have adapted measures as needed and done all I can to soothe and pacify the people, if the imperial carriage does not return, I fear the people's hearts will scatter once again. Even if some slight success were achieved, in the end I would fail the special trust Your Majesty has placed in me. The trend of events makes this inevitable, and by right one should take extraordinary care. By lingering on, one only loses the opportune moment. I earnestly hope this plea may long remain before Your Majesty's hearing, and that you will quickly return with your pure retinue. The emperor deeply approved and accepted the memorial. Hui was promoted to honorary minister of works and grand censor, with provisional authority over the affairs of the capital intendant.
58
中外權臣，遣人治第京師。 因其亂後，多侵犯居人，百姓告訴相繼。 徽不避權豪，平之以法。 由是殘民安業，而權幸側目惡其強。 乃以其黨薛杞為少尹，知府事。 杞方居父喪，徽執奏不令入府。 權臣愈怒，奏罷徽使務，以本官徵赴行在。 尋授太子少師，移疾退居蒲州。 滿十旬，請罷。 僖宗還宮，復授太子少師，疾，未任朝謁。 宰相以徽怨望，奏貶集州刺史，徽乃輿疾赴貶所。 不旬日，沙陀逼京師，僖宗出幸寶雞，而軍容田令孜得咎。 天子以徽無罪，召拜吏部尚書，封瑯邪郡侯，食邑千戶。 徽將赴行在，而襄王僭偽。 邠、岐兵士，追逼乘輿。 天子幸漢中，徽不能進。 李熅偽制至河中府，召徽赴闕。 徽托以風疾，不能步履。 熅將僭號，逼內外臣僚署誓狀。 徽稱臂緩，不能秉筆，竟不署名。
Powerful ministers inside and outside the court sent agents to build mansions in the capital. Taking advantage of the post-rebellion disorder, many encroached on the homes of residents, and the people lodged complaint after complaint. Hui did not shrink from the powerful and settled every case by law. The surviving people were thus able to settle back into their livelihoods, but the privileged glared at him with hatred for his firmness. They then appointed one of their own faction, Xue Qi, as junior intendant to manage the prefecture's affairs. Qi was then in mourning for his father, and Hui firmly memorialized to forbid him from entering the prefectural office. The powerful ministers grew still angrier and memorialized to strip Hui of his commissioner duties and summon him to the court in exile in his existing office. He was soon appointed junior preceptor of the heir apparent, then citing illness retired to live in Pu Prefecture. When the hundred days of leave were complete, he requested dismissal from office. When Emperor Xizong returned to the palace, Hui was again appointed junior preceptor of the heir apparent, but illness kept him from attending court. The chief ministers, believing Hui harbored resentment, memorialized to demote him to prefect of Ji Prefecture, and Hui was carried in a litter to his place of exile. Within ten days the Shatuo pressed on the capital. Emperor Xizong fled to Baoji, and the army overseer Tian Lingzi came under blame. The emperor, finding Hui innocent, summoned him and appointed him minister of civil appointments, enfeoffing him as Marquis of Langye commandery with a fief of one thousand households. As Hui was preparing to join the court in exile, Prince Xiang set up a rival regime. Soldiers from Bin and Qi pursued and pressed upon the imperial carriage. The emperor fled to Hanzhong, and Hui could not reach him. A forged edict from Li Yun reached Hezhong Prefecture, summoning Hui to court. Hui pleaded wind paralysis and said he could not walk. When Yun was about to usurp the throne, he forced court officials inside and outside the palace to sign oath documents. Hui claimed his arm was numb and he could not hold the brush, and in the end he never signed.
59
硃玫既誅，天子自褒中還，至鳳翔，召徽拜御史大夫。 車駕還宮，徽上章，以足膝風痹，不任朝拜，乞除散秩，復授太子少師。 及便殿中謝，昭宗顧瞻進對，曰：「王徽神氣尚強，安可自便？」 乃改授吏部尚書。 大亂之後，銓選失緒，吏為奸蠹，有重疊補擬者。 徽從初註授，便置手歷，一一檢視，人無擁滯，內外稱之。 進位檢校司空，守尚書右僕射。 大順元年十二月卒，贈太尉，謚曰貞。
After Zhu Mei was executed, the emperor returned from Hanzhong to Fengxiang and summoned Hui, appointing him grand censor. When the emperor returned to the palace, Hui submitted a memorial saying that wind paralysis of the legs and knees left him unable to perform court obeisance. He begged to be relieved to an honorary rank and was again appointed junior preceptor of the heir apparent. When he gave thanks in the informal hall, Emperor Zhaozong looked him over as he came forward to reply and said: "Wang Hui's spirit is still strong—how can he take his ease? He was thereupon made minister of civil appointments instead. After the great upheaval, appointment procedures had fallen into disorder. Clerks preyed on the system, and duplicate overlapping appointments were common. From the first registration Hui kept a personal ledger and inspected each appointment one by one. No one was left waiting in backlog, and he was praised inside and outside the court. He was promoted to honorary minister of works and acting right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. He died in the twelfth month of the first year of Dashun (890). He was posthumously enfeoffed as grand preceptor and given the posthumous title Upright.
60
子三人：椿、樗、松。
He had three sons: Chun, Chu, and Song.
61
=【贊】=史臣曰：議兵之難，古無百勝，蓋以行權制變，法斷在於臨機； 出奇無窮，聲實懸於中的。 昔晉國之平孫皓，賈公閭堅沮渡江； 吳人欲拒曹瞞，張輔吳終慚失策。 彼之賢俊，未免悔尤。 況盧子升平代書生，素迷軍誌，只保高駢之平昔，不料高駢之苞藏； 以至力困黃巢，毒流赤縣，絕吭仰藥，何所補焉？ 臺文氣激壯圖，誌攄宿憤，慷慨誓眾，叱咤臨戎； 竟扼賊喉，以康天步，謂之不武，斯焉取斯？ 崔、趙以鼎職奉親，天倫並達，積慶垂裕，播美士林。 徽誌吐盜泉，脫身虎口，功名不墜，君子多之。
【Encomium】 The historiographer says: Deliberating warfare is difficult— in antiquity there was no such thing as a hundred victories— because one must exercise authority and adapt to change, and the right decision depends on seizing the moment; devising the unexpected without limit, with reputation and reality hanging upon hitting the mark. When the Jin state pacified Sun Hao, Jia Gonglü firmly opposed crossing the Yangzi; When men of Wu wished to resist Cao Cao, Zhang Fu of Wu ended up ashamed of his mistaken strategy. Even such worthy and talented men could not escape regret and blame. How much more so Lu Zisheng, a bookish man of peaceful times who from the start was ignorant of military affairs— he trusted only in Gao Pian's ordinary reputation and did not foresee Gao Pian's hidden treachery; with the result that strength was exhausted against Huang Chao, calamity spread through the empire, and he cut his throat and swallowed poison— what good did that do? Taiwen's spirit was stirred by a bold design; his will discharged long-held resentment. He vowed before the assembled troops with generous fervor and shouted commands on the battlefield; and in the end he choked the rebels' throat and restored order to the realm. To call such a man unmartial— where would one find martial prowess if not in him? Cui and Zhao held the highest offices yet still served their parents; filial duty and public service were both fulfilled, accumulated blessings extended to posterity, and their fame spread through the community of scholars. Hui resolved to refuse the tainted spring and escape the tiger's maw; his merit and reputation did not fall, and men of principle widely praised him.
62
贊曰：武以伸威，謀以制敵。 何必臨戎，陳師衽席。 高駢玩寇，盧攜保奸。 聖斷一誤，崎嶇劍山。
The encomium says: Martial prowess extends awe; strategy controls the enemy. Why must one face battle in person— an army can be arrayed from mat and seat. Gao Pian toyed with the rebels; Lu Xie shielded the traitor. One error of imperial judgment, and the road became as rugged as Sword Mountain.