1
序善父母爲孝,善兄弟爲友。 夫善於父母,必能隱身錫類,仁惠逮於胤嗣矣; 善於兄弟,必能因心廣濟,德信被於宗族矣! 推而言之,可以移於君,施於有政,承上而順下,令終而善始,雖蠻貊猶行焉,雖窘迫猶亨焉! 自昔立身揚名,未有不偕孝友而成者也。 前代史官,所傳《孝友傳》,多録當時旌表之士,人或微細,非眾所聞,事出閭里,又難詳究。 今録衣冠盛德,眾所知者,以爲稱首。 至於州縣薦飾者,必覆其殊尤,可以勸世者,亦載之。 李知本李知本,趙州元氏人,後魏洛州刺史靈六世孫也。 父孝端,隋獲嘉丞。 初,孝端與族弟太沖,俱有世閥,而太沖官宦最高,孝端方之爲劣。 鄕族爲之語,曰:「太沖無兄,孝端無弟。」 知本頗涉經史,事親至孝,與弟知隱甚稱雍睦。 子孫百餘口,財物僮僕,纖毫無間。 隋末,盜賊過其閭而不入,因相讓曰:「無犯義門。」 同時避難者五百餘家,皆賴而獲免。
The preface defines devotion to one's parents as filial piety and kindness toward one's brothers as brotherly friendship. Those who honor their parents invariably shield others of their kind and extend beneficence that reaches even their descendants. Those who treat their brothers well spread charity from the heart, and their virtue and trustworthiness envelop the entire clan. Extended further, such conduct can be turned toward one's sovereign and applied in governance—honoring superiors, guiding subordinates, finishing as well as one began—so that even among barbarians it would be honored, and even in hardship one would still flourish. Since antiquity, no one who established a lasting reputation did so without filial piety and fraternal harmony together. Earlier dynastic histories, in their accounts of filial and fraternal exemplars, mostly recorded contemporaries who received official commendation—often humble figures unknown to the wider public, whose deeds arose in village life and are difficult to verify in detail. This account therefore begins with celebrated men of official rank whose virtue was widely known. When local officials recommended lesser figures, we verified their exceptional conduct and included only those whose examples could truly instruct society. Li Zhiben, a native of Yuanshi in Zhao Prefecture, was a sixth-generation descendant of Li Ling, who had served as governor of Luo under the Northern Wei. His father Li Xiaoduan had been assistant magistrate of Huojia during the Sui. In their youth, Xiaoduan and his clansman Li Taichong both came from distinguished families, but Taichong's official career outshone Xiaoduan's, and Xiaoduan felt himself the lesser. Their neighbors would say, "Taichong has no elder brother, and Xiaoduan has no younger brother. Zhiben was well read in the classics and histories, served his parents with exemplary filial devotion, and was renowned for harmonious relations with his younger brother Zhiyin. More than a hundred descendants and dependents shared their household without the slightest division of property, servants, or belongings. At the end of the Sui, bandits passing their neighborhood would not enter, telling one another, "Do not violate the Gate of Righteousness. More than five hundred families who sought refuge there at the same time were spared through their protection.
2
知本貞觀初官至夏津令,知隱至伊闕丞。 知本孫瑱,開元中爲給事中、揚州刺史。 知隱孫颙,有文詞,亦歷給事中、太常少卿。 從祖兄弟,凡爲給事者四人。 張志寬張志寬,蒲州安邑人。 隋末喪父,哀毀骨立,爲州里所稱。 賊帥王君廓屢爲寇掠,聞其名,獨不犯其閭,鄰里賴之而免者百餘家。 後爲里正,詣縣稱母疾,急求歸。 縣令問其狀,對曰:「母嘗有所苦,志寬亦有所苦。 向患心痛,知母有疾。」 令怒曰:「妖妄之辭也!」 繫之於獄。 馳驗其母,竟如所言。 令異之,慰喻遣去。
In the early Zhenguan era, Zhiben became magistrate of Xiajin and Zhiyin assistant magistrate of Yique. Zhiben's grandson Zhen served during the Kaiyuan reign as an attendant censor and prefect of Yangzhou. Zhiyin's grandson Yong was a gifted writer who likewise served as an attendant censor and vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Among their paternal cousins, four men in all held the post of attendant censor. Zhang Zhikuan was a native of Anyi in Pu Prefecture. When his father died at the end of the Sui, his grief was so extreme that he wasted to skin and bone, and the whole district praised him. The bandit leader Wang Junguo raided repeatedly, but hearing Zhikuan's name he alone spared that neighborhood, and more than a hundred neighboring families were saved through relying on him. Later, while serving as hamlet head, he went to the county office and reported that his mother was ill, urgently requesting leave to return home. The magistrate asked what was wrong; he replied, "Whenever my mother suffers, I suffer too. My heart has just been aching, so I knew my mother was ill. The magistrate angrily said, "That is deluded nonsense!" He had Zhikuan thrown into prison. Messengers were sent at once to check on his mother, and matters were exactly as he had said. The magistrate was astonished, comforted him, and sent him home.
3
及丁母憂,負土成墳,廬於墓側,手植松柏千餘株。 高祖聞之,遣使就弔,授員外散騎常侍,賜物四十段,表其門閭。 劉君良劉君良,瀛州饒陽人也。 累代義居,兄弟雖至四從,皆如同氣,尺布斗粟,人無私焉。 大業末,天下饑饉,君良妻勸其分析,乃竊取庭樹上鳥雛,交置諸巢中,令群鳥鬬競。 舉家怪之,其妻曰:「方今天下大亂,爭鬬之秋,禽鳥尚不能相容,況於人乎!」 君良從之。 分別後月餘,方知其計。 中夜,遂攬妻髮大呼曰:「此即破家賊耳!」 召諸昆弟,哭以告之。 是夜棄其妻,更與諸兄弟同居處,情契如初。
When his mother died, he carried earth to build her tomb, lived in a mourning hut beside the grave, and planted more than a thousand pine and cypress trees with his own hands. Emperor Gaozu heard of this, sent an envoy to offer condolences, appointed him supernumerary palace attendant, granted him forty lengths of silk, and had his gate and lane officially commended. Liu Junliang was a native of Raoyang in Ying Prefecture. For generations his family had lived together in harmony; even cousins of the fourth remove were as close as full brothers, and no one kept a private share of cloth or grain. At the end of the Daye reign, when famine spread across the empire, Junliang's wife urged him to divide the household; she secretly moved fledglings among the nests in the courtyard trees until the birds were fighting one another. The whole family was puzzled, until his wife said, "The empire is in chaos and strife is everywhere—even birds cannot live in peace together; how much less can men! Junliang agreed. More than a month after they had divided the household, they learned it had been her scheme. In the middle of the night he seized his wife by the hair and cried out, "This is the villain who would destroy our family! He summoned all his brothers and, weeping, told them what had happened. That same night he cast off his wife and rejoined his brothers in a single household, their bond as close as before.
4
屬盜起,閭里依之爲堡者數百家,因名爲義成堡。 ,深州別駕楊弘業造其第,見有六院,唯一飼,子弟數十人,皆有禮節,咨嗟而去。 ,詔加旌表。 附宋興貴又有宋興貴者,雍州萬年人。 累世同居,躬耕致養,至興貴已四從矣。 高祖聞而嘉之,,詔曰:
When bandits rose up, several hundred neighboring families took refuge in their compound, which came to be called Righteousness-Fulfilled Fort. Yang Hongye, vice-prefect of Shen Prefecture, visited his home and saw six courtyards sharing a single kitchen, with dozens of sons and nephews all observing proper decorum; he sighed in admiration and left. An imperial edict added official commendation to his gate. Appended biography: Song Xinggui. There was also a man named Song Xinggui, a native of Wannian in Yong Prefecture. His family had lived together for generations, supporting themselves by farming; by Xinggui's day they had reached the fourth degree of cousinship. Emperor Gaozu heard of this and commended him, issuing an edict that read:
5
人稟五常,仁義爲重; 士有百行,孝敬爲先。 自古哲王,經邦致治,設教垂範,皆尚於斯。 叔世澆訛,人多偽薄,修身克己,事資誘勸。 朕恭膺靈命,撫臨四海,湣茲弊俗,方思遷導。 宋興貴立操雍和,志情友穆,同居合爨,累代積年,務本力農,崇謙履順。 弘長名教,敦勵風俗,宜加褒顯,以勸將來。 可表其門閭,蠲免課役。 布告天下,使明知之。
Human beings are endowed with the Five Constants, of which benevolence and righteousness are foremost; and the cultivated man has a hundred virtues, among which filial respect comes first. Since antiquity, wise rulers who governed the realm and established moral instruction have all held these principles supreme. In degenerate ages customs grow corrupt and men grow false and shallow; self-cultivation therefore depends on guidance and encouragement. We have reverently received Heaven's mandate and rule the four seas; pitying these corrupt customs, We now seek to transform and guide them. Song Xinggui has conducted himself with harmonious dignity, cherishing brotherly affection; his family has lived and cooked together for generations, devoted to farming and humble obedience. He enlarges the reach of moral teaching and strengthens public custom; he should receive special commendation to encourage others in future generations. Let his gate be officially commended and his taxes and labor service remitted. Let this be proclaimed throughout the realm so that all may know it clearly.
6
興貴尋卒。 附張公藝鄆州壽張人張公藝,九代同居。 北齊時,東安王高永樂詣宅慰撫旌表焉。 隋開皇中,大使、邵陽公梁子恭亦親慰撫,重表其門。 貞觀中,特敕吏加旌表。 麟德中,高宗有事泰山,路過鄆州,親幸其宅,問其義由。 其人請紙筆,但書百餘「忍」字。 高宗爲之流涕,賜以縑帛。 王君操王君操,萊州即墨人也。 其父隋大業中與鄕人李君則鬥競,因被毆殺。 君操時年六歳,其母劉氏告縣收捕,君則棄家亡命,追訪數年弗獲。 貞觀初,君則自以世代遷革,不慮國刑,又見君操孤微,謂其無復仇之志,遂詣州府自首。 而君操密袖白刃刺殺之,刳腹取其心肝,啖食立盡,詣刺史具自陳告。 州司以其擅殺戮,問曰:「殺人償死,律有明文,何方自理,以求生路?」 對曰:「亡父被殺,二十餘載。 聞諸典禮,父仇不可同天。 早願圖之,久而未遂,常懼亡滅,不展冤情。 今大恥既雪,甘從刑憲。」 州司據法處死,列上其狀,太宗特詔原免。 附周智壽、智爽周智壽者,雍州同官人。 其父永徽初被族人安吉所害。 智壽及弟智爽乃候安吉於途,擊殺之。 兄弟相率歸罪於縣,爭爲謀首,官司經數年不能決。 鄕人或證智爽先謀,竟伏誅。 臨刑神色自若,顧謂市人曰:「父仇已報,死亦何恨!」 智壽頓絶衢路,流血遍體。 又收智爽屍,舐取智爽血,食之皆盡,見者莫不傷焉。 附許坦豫州人許坦,年十歳餘,父入山采藥,爲猛獸所噬,即號叫以杖擊之,獸遂奔走,父以得全。 太宗聞而謂侍臣曰:「坦雖幼童,遂能致命救親,至孝自中,深可嘉尚。」 授文林郎,賜帛五十段。 附王少玄博州聊城人王少玄者,父隋末於郡西爲亂兵所害。 少玄遺腹生,年十餘歳,問父所在。 其母告之,因哀泣,便欲求屍以葬。 時白骨蔽野,無由可辨。 或曰:「以子血霑父骨,即滲入焉。」 少玄乃刺其體以試之。 凡經旬日,竟獲父骸以葬。 盡體病瘡,歷年方愈。 貞觀中,本州聞薦,拜除王府參軍。 趙弘智趙弘智,洛州新安人。 後魏車騎大將軍肅孫。 父玄軌,隋陜州刺史。 弘智早喪母,事父以孝聞。 學通《三禮》、《史記》、《漢書》。 隋大業中,爲司隸從事。 武德初,大理卿郎楚之應詔舉之,授詹事府主簿。 又預修《六代史》。
Xinggui died not long afterward. Appended biography: Zhang Gongyi of Shouzhang in Yan Prefecture lived with nine generations under one roof. During the Northern Qi, Prince Gao Yongle of Dong'an visited his home to offer consolation and had his gate officially commended. During the Kaihuang reign of the Sui, the imperial commissioner Liang Zigong, Duke of Shaoyang, likewise visited in person and had his gate commended again. During the Zhenguan reign, a special edict ordered further official commendation for his household. In the Linde era, Emperor Gaozong, traveling to Mount Tai for the feng sacrifice, passed through Yan Prefecture, visited Gongyi's home in person, and asked how his family maintained such harmony. Gongyi asked for paper and brush and wrote only the character for "forbearance" more than a hundred times. The emperor wept at this and granted him silk. Wang Juncao was a native of Jimo in Laizhou. His father had quarreled with a townsman named Li Junze during the Daye reign of the Sui and was beaten to death. Juncao was then six years old; his mother, Lady Liu, reported the crime to the county, but Junze fled and could not be found despite years of searching. In the early Zhenguan era, Junze assumed that the change of dynasty meant he need not fear prosecution, and seeing Juncao orphaned and powerless, believed he no longer harbored thoughts of revenge; he therefore surrendered himself at the prefectural office. Juncao, however, had concealed a dagger in his sleeve; he stabbed Junze to death, cut open his belly, removed his heart and liver, and devoured them on the spot before going to the prefect to confess everything. Because he had taken the law into his own hands, the prefectural authorities asked him, "The law plainly requires death for murder—what defense do you offer in hope of saving your life? He replied, "My father was murdered more than twenty years ago. According to the rites, a father's enemy cannot live under the same heaven as his son. I long wished to avenge him but could not; I constantly feared I would die before my wrong could be righted. Now that this great shame is wiped away, I willingly accept whatever punishment the law requires." The prefectural office sentenced him to death according to law and reported the case upward, but Emperor Taizong issued a special edict pardoning him. Appended biography: Zhou Zhishou and Zhou Zhishuang. Zhou Zhishou was a native of Tongguan in Yong Prefecture. His father had been killed in the early Yonghui era by a clansman named Anji. Zhishou and his younger brother Zhishuang lay in wait for Anji on the road and killed him. The brothers went together to the county to surrender, each claiming to have been the chief instigator, and the authorities could not decide the case for years. Some townspeople testified that Zhishuang had planned the killing first, and he was eventually executed. Facing execution he remained calm and said to the crowd, "My father's enemy is avenged—what regret is there in death! Zhishou collapsed in the middle of the street, blood streaming over his whole body. He then gathered his brother's corpse, licked up Zhishuang's blood, and consumed it all; all who witnessed this were deeply moved. Appended biography: Xu Tan of Yuzhou. When Xu Tan was a little over ten, his father went into the mountains to gather herbs and was attacked by a wild beast; the boy cried out and beat the animal with a staff until it fled, and his father was saved. When Taizong heard of this, he told his ministers, "Though Tan is only a child, he risked his life to save his father—such filial devotion arising from the heart is deeply admirable. He was appointed gentleman of the Forest of Literature and granted fifty lengths of silk. Appended biography: Wang Shaoxuan of Liaocheng in Bozhou. His father had been killed by marauding soldiers west of the commandery at the end of the Sui. Shaoxuan was born after his father's death; when he was a little over ten, he asked where his father was. When his mother told him, he wept in grief and at once set out to find his father's body for burial. White bones lay scattered across the countryside, and there was no way to tell which were his father's. Someone told him, "If a son's blood touches his father's bones, it will be absorbed. Shaoxuan then pierced his own flesh to test this. After more than ten days of searching, he finally found his father's remains and buried them. His whole body was covered with sores and took years to heal. During the Zhenguan reign, his prefecture recommended him, and he was appointed staff officer in a princely household. Zhao Hongzhi was a native of Xin'an in Luozhou. He was a grandson of Zhao Su, who had served as general of chariots and cavalry under the Northern Wei. His father Zhao Xuangu had been prefect of Shanzhou during the Sui. Hongzhi lost his mother at an early age and became renowned for filial devotion to his father. He mastered the Three Rites, the Records of the Grand Historian, and the Book of Han. During the Daye era of the Sui, he served as an aide in the metropolitan intendant's office. At the beginning of the Wude reign, Minister of Justice Lang Chuzhi recommended him by imperial summons, and he was appointed chief clerk in the heir apparent's household administration. He also took part in compiling the History of the Six Dynasties.
7
初,與秘書丞令狐德棻、齊王文學袁朗等十數人同修《藝文類聚》,轉太子舍人。 貞觀中,累遷黃門侍郎,兼弘文館學士。 以疾出爲萊州刺史。 弘智事兄弘安,同於事父,所得俸祿,皆送於兄處。 及兄亡,哀毀過禮。 事寡嫂甚謹,撫孤侄以慈愛稱。 稍遷太子右庶子。 及宮廢,坐除名。 尋起爲光州刺史。
Early on, he joined Secretariat Director Linghu Defen, Literary Companion to the Prince of Qi Yuan Lang, and more than ten others in compiling the Collection of Literary Treasures, and was then transferred to the post of aide to the heir apparent. During the Zhenguan reign, he rose through successive promotions to vice minister of the secretariat and concurrently served as a scholar of the Hongwen Academy. Because of illness he was sent out to serve as prefect of Laizhou. Hongzhi treated his elder brother Hong'an as he would a father, sending him every penny of his official salary. When his elder brother died, his grief and self-mortification went beyond what the rites required. He was scrupulously devoted to his widowed sister-in-law and was praised for the loving care with which he raised his orphaned nephew. He was gradually promoted to right assistant to the heir apparent. When the heir apparent's household was abolished, he was dismissed and stripped of rank on account of it. He was soon recalled to serve as prefect of Guangzhou.
8
永徽初,累轉陳王師。 高宗令弘智於百福殿講《孝經》,召中書門下三品及弘文館學士、太學儒者,並預講筵。 弘智演暢微言,備陳五孝。 學士等難問相繼,弘智酬應如響。 高宗怡然曰:「朕頗耽墳籍,至於《孝經》,偏所習睹。 然孝之爲德,弘益實深,故云『德教加於百姓,刑於四海,是知孝道之爲大也。」 顧謂弘智:「宜略陳此經切要者,以輔不逮。」 弘智對曰:「昔者天子有諍臣七人,雖無道不失其天下。 微臣顓愚,願以此言奏獻。」 帝甚悅,賜彩絹二百匹、名馬一匹。 尋遷國子祭酒,仍爲崇賢館學士。 四年卒,年八十二,謚曰宣。 有文集二十卷。 陳集原陳集原,瀧州開陽人也。 代爲嶺表酋長。 父龍樹,欽州刺史。 集原幼有孝行,父才有疾,即終日不食。 永徽中,喪父,嘔血數升,枕服苫廬,悲感行路。 資財田宅及僮僕三十餘人,並以讓兄弟。 則天時,官至左豹韜衞將軍。 元讓元讓,雍州武功人也。 弱冠明經擢第。 以母疾,遂不求仕。 躬親藥膳,承侍致養,不出閭里者數十餘年。 及母終,廬於墓側,蓬髮不櫛沐,菜食飲水而已。
At the beginning of the Yonghui reign, he was transferred in succession to become tutor to the Prince of Chen. Emperor Gaozong had Hongzhi lecture on the Classic of Filial Piety in Baifu Hall, summoning third-rank officials of the secretariat and chancellery, Hongwen Academy scholars, and Confucians of the Imperial Academy, all of whom joined the lecture. Hongzhi expounded the text with eloquence and fully explained the five forms of filial piety. The scholars posed one challenging question after another, and Hongzhi answered each as promptly as an echo. Emperor Gaozong said with evident pleasure, "I am quite devoted to the classics, and of the Classic of Filial Piety in particular I have read and studied a great deal. Yet filial piety as a virtue carries benefits that are truly far-reaching; thus it is said, 'When moral teaching is applied to the common people, it serves as a model throughout the four seas'—this shows how great filial piety is. Turning to Hongzhi, he said, "You should briefly set forth the essential points of this classic to help me where I fall short." Hongzhi replied, "In antiquity, if a ruler had seven ministers who remonstrated with him, even though he lacked the Way he would not lose his realm. Your humble servant is especially dull-witted, but I wish to offer this saying for Your Majesty's consideration." The emperor was greatly pleased and granted him two hundred bolts of colored silk and one fine horse. He was soon promoted to chancellor of the Directorate of Education while continuing to serve as a scholar of the Chongxian Academy. In the fourth year of Yonghui he died at the age of eighty-two; his posthumous title was Xuan. He left a collected writings in twenty scrolls. Chen Jiyuan was a native of Kaiyang in Long Prefecture. For generations his family had served as chieftains in the Lingnan region. His father Longshu had been prefect of Qin Prefecture. Jiyuan showed filial conduct from childhood; whenever his father Cai fell ill, he would go the entire day without eating. During the Yonghui reign, when his father died, he vomited several pints of blood, slept on the mourning pillow in a thatched hut by the grave, and his grief moved everyone who passed along the road. He gave over to his brothers all his property, fields, houses, and more than thirty servants. During Wu Zetian's reign he rose to the rank of general of the Left Leopard and Crossbow Guard. Yuan Rang was a native of Wugong in Yong Prefecture. At the age of twenty he passed the classics examination with highest honors. Because his mother was ill, he declined to seek office. He personally prepared medicines and meals, attending and nourishing her, and for more than twenty years never left his neighborhood. When his mother died, he built a mourning hut beside her tomb, let his hair grow wild without combing or washing, and subsisted on vegetables and water alone.
9
咸亨中,孝敬監國,下令表其門閭。 ,巡察使奏讓孝悌殊異,擢拜太子右內率府長史。 後以歳滿還鄕里。 鄕人有所爭訟,不詣州縣,皆就讓決焉。 聖歷中,中宗居春宮,召拜太子司議郎。 及謁見,則天謂曰:「卿既能孝於家,必能忠於國。 今授此職,須知朕意。 宜以孝道輔弼我兒。」 尋卒。 裴敬彜裴敬彜,絳州聞喜人也。 曾祖子通,隋開皇中太中大夫。 母終,廬於墓側,哭泣無節,目遂喪明。 俄有白鳥巢於墳樹。 子通弟兄八人,復以友悌著名,詔旌表其門,鄕人至今稱爲「義門裴氏」。
During the Xianheng reign, when Crown Prince Xiao Jing was regent, he issued an order honoring Rang's household. A touring inspector memorialized that Rang's filial piety and brotherly devotion were exceptionally outstanding, and he was promoted to senior steward of the Right Inner Rate Office of the Heir Apparent. Later, when his term of office expired, he returned to his home district. When local people had disputes, they did not go to the prefectural or county offices but came to Rang for judgment. During the Shenli era, when Zhongzong resided in the Eastern Palace, Rang was summoned and appointed memorial draftsman to the heir apparent. At his audience, Wu Zetian said, "Since you can be filial at home, you must be able to be loyal to the state. In appointing you to this office now, you must understand my intent. You should assist and guide my son with filial devotion. Soon afterward he died. Pei Jingyi was a native of Wenxi in Jiang Prefecture. His great-grandfather Zitong had served as grand master for splendid happiness during the Kaihuang era of the Sui. When his mother died, he built a mourning hut beside her tomb, wept without restraint, and eventually lost his sight. Before long a white bird nested in a tree at the grave. Zitong's eight brothers were also renowned for brotherly harmony; an edict honored their household, and local people still call them the Righteous Gate Pei clan.
10
敬彜少聰敏,七歳解屬文。 性又端謹,宗族咸重之,號爲「甘露頂」。 年十四,侍御史唐臨爲河北巡察使,敬彜父智周時爲內黃令,爲部人所訟,敬彜詣臨論其冤。 臨大奇之,因令作詞賦。 智周事得釋,特表薦敬彜,補陳王府典簽。 智周在官暴卒,敬彜時在長安,忽泣涕不食,謂所親曰:「大人毎有痛處,吾即輒然不安。 今日心痛,手足皆廢,事在不測,得無戚乎?」 遂請急還,倍道言歸。 果聞父喪,羸毀逾禮。 事母復以孝聞。
Jingyi was clever from childhood and could compose literary pieces by the age of seven. He was also upright and conscientious by nature; the whole clan respected him and called him Sweet Dew Crown. At the age of fourteen, when Censor Tang Lin was touring inspector of Hebei, Jingyi's father Zhizhou was serving as magistrate of Neihuang and had been sued by people under his jurisdiction; Jingyi went to Tang Lin to argue his father's innocence. Tang Lin was greatly impressed and had him compose a rhapsody. Zhizhou's case was cleared, and Tang Lin specially memorialized recommending Jingyi, who was appointed recorder in the household of the Prince of Chen. Zhizhou died suddenly while in office; Jingyi was then in Chang'an and suddenly burst into tears and refused to eat, telling those close to him, "Whenever my father had a painful ailment, I would immediately feel uneasy. Today my heart aches and my hands and feet have gone numb; something unforeseen must have happened—how can I not be filled with dread? He immediately requested emergency leave and raced home by forced marches. He indeed learned of his father's death and wasted away in grief beyond what the rites prescribed. In serving his mother he was again renowned for filial devotion.
11
乾封初,累轉監察御史。 時母病,有醫人許仁則,足疾不能乘馬,敬彜毎肩輿之以候母焉。 及母卒,特詔贈以縑帛,仍官造靈輿。 服闋,拜著作郎,兼修國史。 儀鳳中,自中書舍人歷吏部侍郎、左庶子。 則天臨朝,爲酷吏所陷,配流嶺南,尋卒。 裴守真裴守真,絳州稷山人也。 後魏冀州刺史叔業六世孫也。 父慎,大業中爲淮南郡司戸。 屬郡人楊琳、田瓚據郡作亂,盡殺官吏。 以慎素有仁政,相誡不許驚害,仍令人護送慎及妻子還鄕。 貞觀中,官至酂令。
At the beginning of the Qianfeng reign, he rose through successive transfers to supervising censor. When his mother fell ill, there was a physician named Xu Renze who could not ride because of a foot ailment; every day Jingyi carried him in a sedan chair to treat his mother. When his mother died, a special edict granted him silk as a gift, and the government also had a funeral carriage made for the occasion. When his mourning period ended, he was appointed drafting secretary and concurrently worked on the national history. During the Yifeng reign, he rose from secretariat drafter through vice minister of personnel to left assistant to the heir apparent. When Wu Zetian took the throne, he was framed by a harsh official, sentenced to exile in Lingnan, and soon died. Pei Shouzhen was a native of Jishan in Jiang Prefecture. He was a sixth-generation descendant of Pei Shuye, who had served as governor of Ji Province under the Northern Wei. His father Shen had served as revenue clerk of Huainan Commandery during the Daye era. When local men Yang Lin and Tian Zan seized the commandery and rebelled, they killed every official. Because Shen had long governed with benevolence, they warned one another not to harm him and instead sent men to escort Shen and his family safely home. During the Zhenguan reign he rose to the post of magistrate of Zuo.
12
守真早孤,事母至孝。 及母終,哀毀骨立,殆不勝喪。 復事寡姊及兄甚謹,閨門禮則,士友所推。 初舉進士,及應八科舉,累轉乾封尉,屬永淳初關中大饑,守真盡以祿俸供姊及諸甥,身及妻子粗糲不充,初無倦色。 尋授太常博士。
Shouzhen lost his father at an early age and was supremely filial in serving his mother. When his mother died, his grief wasted him to skin and bone, and he nearly succumbed to mourning. He was also scrupulous in serving his widowed elder sister and elder brother, and the ritual propriety of his household won the esteem of friends and scholars. He first passed the jinshi examination and also took the eight-subject examination, then rose through successive posts to magistrate of Qianfeng. At the beginning of the Yongchun era, when Guanzhong suffered severe famine, Shouzhen spent his entire salary supporting his sister and nephews, while he, his wife, and children had barely enough coarse food to eat, yet he never showed the least sign of weariness. He was soon appointed erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
13
守真尤善禮儀之學,當時以爲稱職。 高宗時封嵩山,詔禮官議射牲之事,守真奏曰:
Shouzhen was especially skilled in ritual studies and was regarded at the time as thoroughly fit for his office. When Emperor Gaozong performed the feng rite on Mount Song, he ordered ritual officials to discuss the shooting of the sacrificial victim; Shouzhen submitted a memorial saying,
14
據《周禮》及《國語》,郊祀天地,天子自射其牲。 漢武唯封太山,令侍中儒者射牲行事。 至於餘祀,亦無射牲之文。 但親舂射牲,雖是古禮,久從廢省。 據封禪祀禮曰:未明十五刻,宰人以鸞刀割牲,質明而行事。 比鸞駕至時,宰牲總畢,天皇唯奠玉酌獻而已。 今祀前一日射牲,事即傷早; 祀日方始射牲,事又傷晩。 若依漢武故事,即非親射之儀,事不可行。
According to the Rites of Zhou and the Discourses of the States, in suburban sacrifices to Heaven and Earth the Son of Heaven himself shoots the sacrificial victim. Emperor Wu of Han, only when sealing Mount Tai, had attendant gentlemen and Confucian scholars shoot the victim and perform the rite. As for other sacrifices, there is likewise no record of shooting the victim. Yet personally pounding the sacrificial grain and shooting the victim, though ancient rites, have long since fallen into disuse. According to the feng and shan sacrifice rites, before dawn at the fifteenth time-mark the butcher uses the bell-handled knife to cut the victim, and at full dawn the rites proceed. By the time the imperial carriage arrives, butchering is already complete, and the emperor need only present the jade and pour the libation. If the victim were shot on the day before the sacrifice, the rite would suffer from being too early; if it were shot only on the day of the sacrifice, the rite would again suffer from being too late. If one followed the precedent of Emperor Wu of Han, that would not be the ceremony of the ruler personally shooting the victim, and the practice cannot be adopted.
15
又《神功破陣樂》、《功成慶善樂》二舞,毎奏,上皆立對。 守真又議曰:
Again, whenever the two dances Meritorious Achievement Breaking the Battle Array and Meritorious Achievement Celebrating Good Governance were performed, the emperor always stood to face them. Shouzhen offered a further opinion, saying,
16
竊唯二舞肇興,謳吟攸屬,贊九功之茂烈,葉萬國之歡心。 義均《韶》、《夏》,用兼賓祭,皆祖宗盛德,而子孫享之。 詳覽傳記,未有皇王立觀之禮。 況升中大事,華夷畢集,九服仰垂拱之安,百蠻懷率舞之慶。 甄陶化育,莫匪神功,豈於樂舞,別申嚴敬。 臣等詳議,奏二舞時,天皇不合起立。
I humbly consider that these two dances arose from song and chant, praising the abundant achievements of imperial merit and harmonizing the rejoicing hearts of all nations. Their significance equals that of the Sha and Xia music; they are used in both guest and sacrificial rites—all celebrate the great virtue of the imperial ancestors, enjoyed by their descendants. A careful review of historical records shows no precedent for an emperor standing to observe such a performance. Moreover, at the great ceremony of ascending the central peak, Chinese and foreigners alike will assemble; the nine domains look up to the emperor's tranquil rule, and the hundred barbarian peoples share in the joy of harmonious celebration. The molding and nurturing of all under Heaven is entirely the work of imperial merit—why should solemn reverence be expressed separately only in music and dance? After careful deliberation, we conclude that when these two dances are performed, the emperor should not rise and stand.
17
時並從守真議。 會高宗不豫,事竟不行。 及高宗崩,時無大行兇儀,守真與同時博士韋叔夏、輔抱素等討論舊事創爲之,當時稱爲得禮之中。
At the time all agreed with Shouzhen's opinion. Emperor Gaozong fell ill, however, and in the end the ceremony was not carried out. When Emperor Gaozong died, there were at the time no established mourning rites for a deceased emperor; Shouzhen, together with fellow erudites Wei Shuxia, Fu Baosu, and others, studied old precedents and devised new ones, and at the time their work was praised as striking the proper balance in ritual propriety.
18
守真天授中爲司府丞,則天特令推究詔獄,務存平恕,前後奏免數十家。 由是不合旨,出爲汴州司録,累轉成州刺史。 爲政不務威刑,甚爲人吏所愛。 俄轉寧州刺史,成州人送出境者數千人。 長安中卒。 守真子子餘子子餘,事繼母以孝聞。 舉明經,累補鄠縣尉。 時同列李朝隱、程行諶皆以文法著稱,子餘獨以詞學知名。
During the Tianshou era, Shouzhen served as vice director of the Court of the Imperial Clan; Empress Wu Zetian specially ordered him to investigate edict-case prisons, striving to preserve fairness and clemency, and before and after he memorialized the release of several dozen families. Because of this he failed to please the throne; he was sent out as chief clerk of Bian Prefecture and, through successive transfers, became governor of Cheng Prefecture. In office he did not rely on harsh punishments and was greatly loved by officials and the people. He was soon transferred to governor of Ning Prefecture, and several thousand people of Cheng Prefecture escorted him beyond the prefectural border. He died during the Chang'an era. Pei Shouzhen's son Pei Ziyu was renowned for filial devotion to his stepmother. He passed the Mingjing examination and, through successive appointments, became assistant magistrate of E County. At the time his colleagues Li Chaoyin and Cheng Xingshen were both renowned for literary style and legal expertise, while Ziyu alone was known for literary scholarship.
19
或問雍州長史陳崇業,子餘與朝隱、行諶優劣,崇業曰:「譬如春蘭秋菊,俱不可廢也。」 景龍中,爲左臺監察御史。 時涇、岐二州有隋代蕃戸子孫數千家,司農卿趙履溫奏,悉沒爲官戸奴婢,仍充賜口,以給貴幸。 子餘以爲官戸承恩,始爲蕃戸,又是子孫,不可抑之爲賤,奏劾其事。 時履溫依附宗楚客等,與子餘廷對曲直。 子餘詞色不撓,履溫等詞屈,從子餘奏爲定。
Someone asked Chen Chongye, chief administrator of Yong Prefecture, which was superior, Ziyu or Chaoyin and Xingshen; Chongye replied, "They are like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums—neither can be done without. During the Jinglong era, he served as investigating censor of the Left Censorate. At the time Jing and Qi prefectures held several thousand descendants of Sui-era frontier-household dependents; Minister of the Imperial Granaries Zhao Lüwen memorialized that all be confiscated and made government-household slaves and maidservants, to be distributed as grant-holders among the nobility and favorites. Ziyu argued that government households enjoyed imperial favor, had originally been frontier households, and were moreover descendants—they could not be reduced to base status; he memorialized to impeach the proposal. At the time Lüwen was allied with Zong Chuke and others; in court he debated the rights and wrongs of the matter with Ziyu. Ziyu's words and bearing did not waver; Lüwen and the others were defeated in argument, and Ziyu's memorial was adopted as final.
20
開元初,累遷冀州刺史。 政存寬惠,人吏稱之。 又爲岐王府長史,加銀青光祿大夫。 十四年卒,謚曰孝。 子餘居官清儉,友愛諸兄弟。
At the beginning of the Kaiyuan era, he was promoted through successive appointments to governor of Ji Prefecture. His administration was marked by leniency and kindness, and officials and the people praised him. He also served as chief administrator of the Prince of Qi's household and was given the additional rank of Grand Master for Splendid Happiness with Silver Seal and Blue Ribbon. In the fourteenth year he died; his posthumous title was Xiao (Filial). Ziyu was pure and frugal in office and affectionately devoted to all his brothers.
21
兄弟六人,皆有志行。 次弟巨卿,衞尉卿; 耀卿,別有傳。 李日知李日知,鄭州滎陽人也。 舉進士。 天授中,累遷司刑丞。 時用法嚴急,日知獨寬平,無冤濫。 嘗免一死囚,少卿胡元禮請斷殺之,與日知往復至於數四。 元禮怒,曰:「元禮不離刑曹,此囚終無生理。」 答曰:「日知不離刑曹,此囚終無死法。」 因以兩狀列上,日知果直。
All six brothers had aspiration and integrity. The next younger brother, Juqing, was Minister of the Court of Imperial Ceremonial; Yaoqing has a separate biography. Li Rizhi was a native of Xingyang in Zheng Prefecture. He passed the jinshi examination. During the Tianshou era, he was promoted through successive appointments to vice director of the Ministry of Justice. At the time the law was applied with strict urgency; Rizhi alone was lenient and fair, and no wrongful punishments occurred under him. Once he freed a prisoner condemned to death; Vice Minister Hu Yuanli demanded execution, and he and Rizhi exchanged arguments back and forth as many as four times. Yuanli said angrily, "If Yuanli does not leave the penal office, this prisoner will never live. Rizhi replied, "If Rizhi does not leave the penal office, this prisoner will never die." Thereupon both memorials were submitted together, and Rizhi proved to be in the right.
22
神龍初,爲給事中。 日知事母至孝。 時母老,嘗疾病,日知取急,調侍數日而鬢髮變白。 尋加朝散大夫。 其母未受命婦邑號而卒,將葬發引,吏人賫告身而至,日知於路上即時殞絶,久之乃蘇。 左右皆哀慟,莫能仰視。 巡察使、衞州司馬路敬潛將聞其孝悌之跡,使求其狀,日知辭讓不報。 服闋,累遷黃門侍郎。
At the beginning of the Shenlong era, he served as chief draft reviser. Rizhi served his mother with exemplary filial devotion. At the time his mother was elderly and once fell ill; Rizhi took urgent leave and nursed her for several days until the hair at his temples turned white. He was soon additionally appointed Grand Master for Dispersal. His mother died before receiving a titled lady's patent; as the funeral procession was setting out, officials arrived carrying her patent of appointment, and on the road Rizhi at once collapsed as if dead; only after a long while did he revive. Those around him all wept in grief and could not bear to look at him. Touring inspector and Weizhou vice prefect Lu Jingqian wished to report his filial and fraternal conduct and sent to request a formal account; Rizhi declined and did not respond. After his mourning period ended, he was promoted through successive appointments to vice director of the Gate Guards.
23
時安樂公主池館新成,中宗親往臨幸,從官皆預宴賦詩。 日知獨存規誡,其末章曰:「所願暫思居者逸,莫使時稱作者勞。」 論者多之。
At the time Princess Anle's pool pavilion was newly completed; Emperor Zhongzong personally went to visit it, and all attendant officials joined the banquet and composed poems. Rizhi alone preserved admonition; his closing stanza read, "My wish is briefly to consider the comfort of those who live here—do not let posterity say the builders labored in vain. Commentators largely praised him for it.
24
,同中書門下平章事,轉御史大夫,知政事如故。 明年,進拜侍中。 ,轉刑部尚書,罷知政事。 頻乞骸骨,請致仕,許之。
He was appointed co-director of the Secretariat-Chancellery, transferred to Censor-in-Chief, and continued to handle affairs of state as before. The following year he was promoted to Palace Attendant. He was transferred to Minister of Justice and removed from handling affairs of state. He repeatedly begged to retire on account of old age and requested leave of office; his request was granted.
25
初,日知將有陳請,而不與妻謀,歸家而使左右飾裝,將出居別業。 妻驚曰:「家產屢空,子弟名宦未立,何爲遽辭職也?」 日知曰:「書生至此,已過本分。 人情無厭,若恣其心,是無止足之日。」 及歸田園,不事產業,但葺構池亭,多引後進,與之談宴。 卒。
Earlier, when Rizhi was about to submit his request but had not yet consulted his wife, he returned home and had attendants prepare luggage, intending to move to a separate estate. His wife said in alarm, "Our household property is nearly gone, and our sons and nephews have not yet established official careers—why resign office so suddenly? Rizhi said, "For a scholar to reach this point has already exceeded his proper share. Human desire knows no limit; if one indulges the heart, there will never be a day of stopping." When he returned to his estate, he did not pursue property management but only repaired ponds and pavilions, often inviting younger scholars to feast and converse with them. He died.
26
初,日知以官在權要,諸子弟年才總角,皆結婚名族,時議以爲失禮之中。 卒後,少子伊衡,以妾爲妻,費散田宅,仍列訟諸兄,家風替矣。 崔沔崔沔,京兆長安人,周隴州刺史士約玄孫也。 自博陵徙關中,世爲著姓。 父皚,庫部員外郎、汝州長史。 沔淳謹,口無二言,事親至孝,博學有文詞。 初應制舉,對策高第。 俄被落第者所援,則天令所司重試,沔所對策,又工於前,爲天下第一,由是大知名。 再轉陸渾主簿。 秩滿調遷,吏部侍郎岑羲深賞重之,謂人曰:「此今之郤詵也。」 特表薦擢爲左補闕,累遷祠部員外郎。 沔爲人舒緩,訥於造次,當官正色,未嘗撓沮。
Earlier, because Rizhi held a powerful office, all his younger brothers were married into eminent clans while still children; contemporary opinion counted this among lapses in propriety. After Rizhi died, his youngest son Yiheng took a concubine as his wife, squandered the family fields and houses, and still brought lawsuits against his elder brothers—the family reputation collapsed. Cui Mian was a native of Chang'an in Jingzhao, great-grandson of Zhou Prefect of Longxi Shi Yue. Having moved from Boling to the Guanzhong region, the family had for generations been an eminent clan. His father Cui Hao was a secretariat clerk in the Ministry of Revenue and chief administrator of Ruzhou. Mian was pure and cautious, never spoke with two meanings, served his parents with exemplary filial devotion, and was broadly learned with literary talent. At first he responded to the decree examination and his policy essay placed in the top grade. Soon those who had failed the examination appealed against him; Wu Zetian ordered the office to re-examine the papers; Mian's policy essay again surpassed his previous one and ranked first in the empire, and thereby he became greatly renowned. After a second transfer he became chief clerk of Lu Hun. When his term expired and he was transferred, Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel Cen Yi deeply valued him and told people, "This is a Xi Shen of our day. He was specially memorialized and promoted to Left Supplementation Censor and, through successive promotions, became assistant director in the Ministry of Rites. Mian was by nature easy and unhurried and slow of speech in emergencies; in office he maintained a correct demeanor and never bent or faltered.
27
睿宗時,徵拜中書舍人。 時沔母老疾在東都,沔不忍舍之,固請閑官,以申侍養,由是改爲虞部郎中。 無何,檢校御史中丞。 時監察御史宋宣遠,恃盧懷慎之親,頗犯法,沔舉劾之。 又姚崇之子光祿少卿彜,留司東都,頗通賓客,廣納賄賂,沔又將按驗其事。 姚、盧時在政事,遽薦沔有史才,轉爲著作郎,其實去權也。
During Emperor Ruizong's reign he was summoned and appointed a Central Secretariat drafter. At the time Mian's mother was old and ill in the Eastern Capital; unable to leave her, he firmly requested a less demanding post so he could attend and care for her, and was therefore changed to Departmental Director in the Ministry of Works. Before long he was appointed acting Vice Censor-in-Chief. At the time, investigating censor Song Xuanyuan relied on his kinship with Lu Huaiyuan and frequently violated the law; Mian memorialized to impeach him. Also Yao Chong's son Yao Yi, Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who remained to administer the Eastern Capital, extensively entertained guests and broadly received bribes—Mian again was about to investigate the matter. Yao and Lu were then in office; they hastily recommended that Mian had talent for historical compilation and transferred him to Director of Compilation—in reality removing him from power.
28
,爲太子左庶子。 母卒,哀毀逾禮,常於廬前受弔,賓客未嘗至於靈座之室,謂人曰:「平生非至親者,未嘗升堂入謁,豈可以存亡而變其禮也。」 中書令張説數稱薦之。 服闋,拜中書侍郎。 或謂沔曰:「今之中書,皆是宰相承宣制命。 侍郎雖是副貳,但署位而已,甚無事也。」 沔曰:「不然。 設官分職,上下相維,各申所見,方爲濟理。 豈可俯默偷安,而爲懷祿士也!」 自是毎有制敕及曹事,沔多所異同,張説頗不悅焉。 尋出爲魏州刺史,奏課第一,徵還朝廷,分掌吏部十銓事。 以清直,歷秘書監、太子賓客。
He served as Left Sub-prefect of the Heir Apparent. When his mother died, his mourning grief exceeded the rites; he regularly received condolence visitors at the mourning hut, and guests never entered the chamber of the spirit seat; he told people, "In life, except for my closest kin, I never ascended the hall to receive visitors—how could I change my rites because of life and death? Central Secretariat Director Zhang Yue repeatedly praised and recommended him. After his mourning period ended, he was appointed vice director of the Central Secretariat. Someone said to Mian, "The Central Secretariat today is entirely where chancellors receive and promulgate edict commands. The vice director, though second in rank, only occupies his seat—there is very little to do. Mian said, "Not so. Offices are established and duties divided so that superior and subordinate mutually support one another; only when each expresses what he sees can governance succeed. How can one bow in silence and steal ease, becoming a man who holds office only for his salary!" From then on, whenever there were edicts or bureau business, Mian often differed on many points, and Zhang Yue was quite displeased. He was soon sent out as governor of Wei Prefecture, ranked first in administrative assessment, summoned back to court, and given shared charge of ten streams of personnel selection in the Ministry of Personnel. Because of his pure and upright character, he successively served as Director of the Secretariat and Mentor of the Heir Apparent.
29
二十四年,制令禮官議加籩豆之數及服制之紀。 太常卿韋縚奏請加宗廟之奠,毎坐籩豆各十二。 外祖服,請加至大功九月,舅服加至小功五月,堂姨、堂舅、舅母服,請加至袒免。 時又令百官詳議可否。 沔建議曰:
In the twenty-fourth year, an edict ordered rites officials to discuss increasing the number of sacrificial vessels and the categories of mourning garments. Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Wei Tao memorialized requesting additional offerings in the ancestral temple—twelve food baskets and twelve standing cups at each seat. For mourning a maternal grandfather, he requested extension to ninth-month greater mourning; for mourning a maternal uncle, extension to fifth-month lesser mourning; and for mourning a paternal aunt, a paternal uncle's wife, and a maternal uncle's wife, extension to barest headband mourning. At the time the throne also ordered all officials to discuss in detail whether these proposals were feasible. Mian submitted a memorial saying:
30
竊聞識禮樂之情者能作,達禮樂之文者能述。 述作之義,聖賢所重; 禮樂之本,古今所崇。 變而通之,所以久也。 所謂變者,變其文也; 所謂通者,通其情也。 祭祀之興,肇於太古,人所飲食,必先嚴獻。 未有火化,茹毛飲血,則有毛血之薦; 未有曲糵,汙樽抔飲,則有玄酒之奠。 施及後王,禮物漸備,作爲酒醴,伏其犧牲,以致馨香,以極豐潔,故有三牲八簋之盛,五齊九獻之殷。 然以神道至玄,可存而不可測也; 祭禮主敬,可備而不敢廢也。 是以血腥爛熟,玄樽犧象,靡不畢登於明薦矣!
I have heard that one who knows the sentiment of ritual and music can create it, and one who comprehends the text of ritual and music can expound it. The meaning of expounding and creating is what sages and worthies value; the root of ritual and music is what ancients and moderns alike honor. Transform and adapt—that is how it endures. What is called transformation is transforming its outward form; what is called adaptation is adapting to its inner sentiment. Sacrifice arose in most ancient times; whatever humans eat and drink, they first offer in solemn dedication. Before fire was used to cook food, when people ate raw meat and drank blood, there were offerings of hair and blood; before fermented liquor existed, when people drank from muddy vessels with cupped hands, there were offerings of dark wine. Extending to later kings, ritual objects gradually became complete; wine and ale were made and sacrificial victims were killed to send forth fragrant aroma and reach the utmost abundance—in consequence there came the grandeur of three victims and eight gui vessels, and the profusion of five grades of ale and nine rounds of offering. Yet the spirit way is supremely mysterious—it may be honored but cannot be fathomed; sacrificial rites take reverence as their core—they may be fully provided for, yet dare not be abandoned. Therefore raw and cooked blood offerings, dark wine, and sacrificial bronze vessels—none fail to be fully presented at the bright offering!
31
然而薦貴於新,味不尚褻,雖則備物,猶存節制。 故《禮》云:「天之所生,地之所長,茍可薦者,莫不咸在。」 備物之情也。 「三牲之俎,八簋之實,美物備矣; 昆蟲之異,草木之實,陰陽之物備矣。」 此則節制之文也。 铏俎、籩豆、簠簋、樽罍之實,皆周人之時饌也,其用通於宴饗賓客。 而周公制禮,咸與毛血玄酒同薦於先。 晉中郎盧諶,近古之知禮、著《家祭禮》者也。 觀其所薦,皆晉時常食,不復純用禮經舊文。 然則當時飲食,不可闕於祭祀明矣,是變禮文而通其情也!
Yet in offering, freshness is prized and defiled flavors are not honored—though the objects are fully provided, restraint is still preserved. Therefore the Rites says: "What Heaven produces and Earth grows—whatever can be offered is all included. —that is the sentiment of fully providing all offerings." "The stands of the three victims, the contents of the eight gui—the finest offerings are fully provided; the exotic varieties of insects, the fruits of grasses and trees—all things of yin and yang are fully provided. —this is the textual expression of restraint." The contents of meat stands, basket-and-cup vessels, grain vessels, and wine jars and goblets were all ordinary foods in the Zhou era, and their use extended to feasts and entertaining guests. Yet when the Duke of Zhou established the rites, all were offered to the ancestors alongside hair-and-blood and dark wine. Lu Chen, Central Palace Gentleman of Jin, was among those in recent antiquity who knew ritual and wrote the Family Sacrifice Rites. Observing what he offered, one finds only ordinary foods of Jin times—no longer relying purely on the old prescriptions of the ritual classics. Thus it is clear that the foods of one's own time cannot be omitted from sacrifice—this is transforming the outward form of ritual while adapting to its inner sentiment!
32
我國家由禮立訓,因時制範,考圖史於前典,稽周、漢之舊儀。 清廟時享,禮饌畢陳,用周制也,而古式存焉; 園寢上食,時膳具設,遵漢法也,而珍味極焉。 職貢來祭,致遠物也; 有新必薦,順時令也。 苑囿之內,躬稼所收,蒐狩之時,親發所中,莫不割鮮擇美,薦而後食,盡誠敬也。 若此至矣,復何加焉! 但當申敕有司,祭如神在,無或簡怠,勖增虔誠。 其進貢珍羞,或時物鮮美,考諸祠典,無有漏落。 皆詳名目,編諸甲令,因宜而薦,以類相從。 則新鮮肥濃,盡在是矣,不必加於籩豆之數也。 至於祭器,隨物所宜。 故太羹,古食也,盛於㽅。 㽅,古器也; 和羹,時饌也。 盛於铏。 铏,時器也。 亦有古饌而盛於時器,故毛血盛於盤,玄酒盛於樽。 未有薦時饌而追用古器者,由古質而今文,便於事也。 雖加籩豆十二,未足以盡天下美物,而措諸清廟,有兼倍之名,近於侈矣! 魯人丹桓宮之楹,又刻其桷,《春秋》書以「非禮」。 御孫諫曰:「儉,德之恭也; 侈,惡之大也。 先君有恭德,而君納諸惡,無乃不可乎!」 是不可以越禮而崇侈於宗廟也。 又據《漢書·藝文志》:「墨家之流,出於清廟,是以貴儉」。 由此觀之,清廟之不尚於奢,舊矣。 太常所請,恐未可行。
Our state establishes instruction through ritual and sets standards according to the times, examining charts and histories in earlier classics and consulting the old ceremonies of Zhou and Han. At the Pure Temple's seasonal offerings, ritual foods are fully displayed—the Zhou institutions are used, yet ancient forms are preserved; At the garden mausoleums' food offerings, timely dishes are fully set out—Han methods are followed, yet delicacies are presented to the utmost. Tribute from official duties arrives for sacrifice—bringing objects from afar; Whenever something new appears it must be offered—in accord with the seasons. Within the park preserves, whatever the ruler personally harvested, and at hunting times, whatever the ruler personally shot—none fail to be freshly cut and finely chosen, offered before being eaten—expressing the utmost sincerity and reverence. When matters have reached this point, what further addition could there be! One need only urgently instruct the responsible officials to sacrifice as if the spirits were present—let none be remiss or negligent, and encourage greater devout sincerity. As for tribute delicacies offered up, or timely foods fresh and fine—consult the sacrificial canons, and nothing is missing or omitted. All are specified in detail by name and catalog, compiled in the primary regulations, offered as appropriate, and arranged by category. Then everything fresh, rich, and succulent is already included—there is no need to add to the number of food baskets and standing cups. As for sacrificial vessels, each should suit its contents. Therefore the grand soup is ancient food, served in a yan vessel. The yan is an ancient vessel; Seasoned soup is present-day fare. It is served in a xing vessel. The xing is a present-day vessel. There are also ancient foods served in present-day vessels—thus hair-and-blood is served on plates, and dark wine in wine jars. There has never been offering present-day fare while insistently using ancient vessels—from ancient plainness to present refinement, for convenience in practice. Even if food baskets and standing cups were increased to twelve, it would not exhaust all fine objects under Heaven—and placing them in the Pure Temple under a name implying doubled abundance approaches extravagance! The people of Lu painted the pillars of Duke Huan's palace and carved its rafters—the Spring and Autumn Annals recorded this as "contrary to ritual." Yuzsun remonstrated, saying: "Frugality is the reverence of virtue; Extravagance is the greatest of evils. Your predecessor had reverent virtue, yet Your Lordship is adopting what is evil—is this not inadmissible! —One must not overstep ritual and honor extravagance in the ancestral temple." Also according to the Treatise on Literature in the Book of Han: "The stream of Mohists arose from the Pure Temple—therefore they prize frugality." Viewed from this, the Pure Temple's aversion to extravagance is an old principle. The request of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, I fear, cannot be implemented.
33
又按太常奏狀:「今酌獻酒爵,制度全小,僅未一合,執持甚難,不可全依古制,猶望稍須廣大。」 竊據禮文,有以小爲貴者,獻以爵,貴其小也。 小不及制,敬而非禮,是有司之失其傳也。 固可隨失厘正,無待議而後革。 然禮失於敬,猶奢而寧儉,非大過也。 未知今制,何所依準。 請兼詳令式,據文而行。
Also examining the Court of Imperial Sacrifices' memorial: "The libation and offering wine cups of today are altogether too small—barely less than one he in capacity and very difficult to hold—so they cannot fully follow ancient institutions; we still hope they may be slightly enlarged." I privately rely on the ritual texts: there are cases where smallness is prized—offering with a jue cup prizes its smallness. When smallness fails to meet regulation, it is reverent yet contrary to ritual—this is the responsible officials' failure to preserve the transmission. This can certainly be rectified as the error appears—there is no need to wait for discussion before reform. Yet when ritual errs on the side of reverence, it is still better to be frugal than extravagant—not a grave fault. I do not know what standard the present institutions rely upon. I request that the statutes and regulations also be consulted in detail and that action be taken according to the text.
34
又按太常奏狀「外祖服請加至大功九月,舅服請加至小功五月,堂姨、堂舅、舅母請加至袒免」者。 竊聞大道既隱,天下爲家,聖人因之,然後制禮。 禮教之設,本於正家,家道正而天下定矣! 正家之道,不可以貳; 總一之義,理歸本宗。 所以父以尊崇,母以厭降,豈亡愛敬,宜存倫序。 是以內有齊斬,外服皆緦,尊名所加,不過一等,此先王不易之道。 前聖所誌,後賢所傳,其來久矣。 昔辛有適伊川,見被髮而祭於野者,曰:「不及百年,此其戎乎! 其禮先亡矣!」 往修新禮,時改舊章,漸廣《渭陽》之恩,不遵洙、泗之典。 及弘道之後,唐元之間,國命再移於外族矣。 禮亡徵兆,倘或斯見,天人之際,可不戒哉!
Also examining the Court of Imperial Sacrifices' memorial requesting that mourning for a maternal grandfather be extended to ninth-month greater mourning, mourning for a maternal uncle to fifth-month lesser mourning, and mourning for a paternal aunt, paternal uncle, and maternal uncle's wife to barest headband mourning. I have heard that once the Great Way was obscured and all under Heaven became each family's domain, sages followed this condition and then established ritual. The establishment of ritual instruction takes correcting the family as its root—when the way of the family is correct, all under Heaven is settled! The way of correcting the family cannot be duplicated; The meaning of unified authority—principle returns to the root lineage. Therefore the father is honored through elevation and the mother is reduced through descent—not that love and reverence are absent, but that moral order should be preserved. Therefore within the family there are qi and zhan mourning, while outside all garments are si mourning—titles of honor added exceed not one grade; this is the unchanging Way of former kings. Recorded by earlier sages and transmitted by later worthies, it dates from long ago. Formerly when Xinyou went to Yichuan, he saw someone with disheveled hair sacrificing in the wild and said: "In less than a hundred years, will this be the Rong! Its ritual will perish first!" Past generations revised new rituals and altered old statutes with the times, gradually broadening the affection celebrated in Wei Yang while not following the canons of Zhu and Si. After the Hongdao era, in the Tanglong interval, the mandate of state twice shifted to foreign peoples. The omen of ritual's loss may already be visible; between Heaven and man—can we not be warned!
35
開元初,補闕盧履冰嘗進狀論喪服輕重,敕令僉議。 於時群議紛挐,各安積習,太常禮部奏依舊定。 陛下運稽古之明,特降別敕,一依古禮。 事符典故,人知向方,式固宗盟,社稷之福。 更圖異議,竊所未詳。
At the beginning of Kaiyuan, Reminder Lu Lubing once submitted a memorial discussing the relative severity of mourning garments, and an edict ordered collective deliberation. At the time discussions were tangled and clamorous; each faction rested in its accumulated customs; the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Ministry of Rites memorialized to follow the established standards. Your Majesty applied the brilliance of examining antiquity and specially issued a separate edict, entirely following ancient ritual. Matters accord with classical precedents, people know the proper direction, the clan bond is thereby strengthened—a blessing for state and altars. To further consider divergent opinions—I privately do not understand the need.
36
時職方郎中韋述、戸部郎中楊伯成、禮部員外郎楊沖昌、監門兵曹劉秩等,亦建議與沔相符。 俄又令中書門下參詳爲定。 於是宗廟之典,籩豆毎座各加至六,親姨、舅爲小功,舅母加緦麻,堂姨至袒免,餘依舊定,乃下制施行焉。 沔既善禮經,朝廷毎有疑議,皆取決焉。 二十七年卒,時年六十七,贈禮部尚書。 陸南金陸南金,蘇州呉郡人也。 祖士季,從同郡顧野王學《左氏傳》,兼通《史記》、《漢書》。 隋末,爲越王侗記室兼侍讀。 侗稱制,授著作郎。 時王世充將行篡奪,侗不平之,謂士季曰:「隋有天下,三十餘載,朝廷文武,遂無烈者乎?」 士季對曰:「見危授命,臣之宿心。 請因其啟事,便加手刃。」 事頗泄,遂停士季侍讀。
At the time Director of the Bureau of Appointments Wei Shu, Director in the Ministry of Revenue Yang Bocheng, Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites Yang Chongchang, Military Adjutant of the Gate Guard Liu Zhi, and others also submitted proposals matching Mian's. Soon the throne also ordered the Secretariat-Chancellery to examine the matter in detail and set the standard. Thereupon for the ancestral temple canon, food baskets and standing cups at each seat were increased to six; mourning for maternal aunts and uncles was set at lesser mourning; mourning for a maternal uncle's wife was extended to fine-hemp mourning; mourning for paternal aunts was extended to barest headband mourning; the rest followed established standards—and then an edict was issued to implement it. Mian was skilled in the ritual classics, and whenever the court had doubtful discussions, all turned to him for decisions. In the twenty-seventh year he died at the age of sixty-seven and was posthumously appointed Minister of Rites. Lu Nanjin was a native of Wu Prefecture in Suzhou. His grandfather Shi Ji studied the Zuo Commentary under Gu Yewang of the same prefecture and also mastered the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han. At the end of the Sui, he served as Secretary and concurrent Lecturer to Prince Yue Yang Tong. When Yang Tong assumed regency, Shi Ji was appointed Compiler. At the time Wang Shichong was about to usurp power; Yang Tong was displeased and said to Shi Ji: "The Sui held all under Heaven for more than thirty years—is there truly no man of fierce resolve among the court's civil and military officials? Shi Ji replied: "Facing danger and giving one's life—this has long been my resolve. When he next presents business at court, let me strike him down with my own hand. The matter leaked somewhat, and Shi Ji's appointment as lecturer was terminated.
37
貞觀初,爲太學博士,兼弘文館學士,尋卒。
At the beginning of Zhenguan, he served as Erudite of the Imperial Academy and concurrent Scholar of the Hongwen Institute, and soon died.
38
南金初爲奉禮郎。 開元初,太常少卿盧崇道犯罪,流嶺表,逃歸東都。 時南金以母喪在家,崇道事急,假稱吊賓,造南金,言其情,南金哀而納焉。 崇道俄爲仇人所發,詔使侍御史王旭按其事,遂捕獲崇道,連引南金,旭遂繩以重法。 南金弟趙璧南金弟趙璧詣旭,自言藏崇道,請代兄死。 南金固稱:「弟實自誣,身請當罪。」 兄弟讓死,旭怪而問其故。 趙璧曰:「兄是長嫡,又能幹家事。 亡母未葬,小妹未嫁,自惟幼劣,生無所益,身自請死。」 旭遂列上狀,上嘉其友義,並特宥之。 南金由是大知名。
Nanjin initially served as Master of Ceremonies. At the beginning of Kaiyuan, Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Lu Chongdao committed a crime, was exiled to Lingnan, and fled back to the Eastern Capital. At the time Nanjin was at home mourning his mother; Chongdao's situation was urgent; posing as a condolence visitor, he went to Nanjin, explained his plight, and Nanjin, pitying him, took him in. Before long Chongdao was exposed by an enemy; an edict sent Investigating Censor Wang Xu to investigate; Chongdao was captured and Nanjin was implicated, and Xu applied the severest penalties. Nanjin's younger brother Zhao Bi went to Xu, confessing that he had hidden Chongdao and asking to die in his brother's stead. Nanjin firmly declared: "My brother has in truth falsely accused himself; let me bear the crime. The brothers each claimed death for the other; Xu marveled and asked why. Zhao Bi said: "My elder brother is the eldest legitimate son and can manage household affairs. Our deceased mother is not yet buried; our little sister is not yet married; considering myself young and of little use, I personally ask to die. Xu thereupon submitted a memorial detailing the matter; the throne praised their bonds of friendship and specially pardoned them both. Nanjin thereby became greatly renowned.
39
南金頗涉經史,言行修謹,左丞相張説及宗人太子少保象先,皆欽重之。 累轉庫部員外郎,以疾,固辭不堪繁劇,轉爲太子洗馬。 卒,年五十餘。 張琇張琇者,蒲州解人也。 父審素,爲巂州都督,在邊累載。 俄有糾其軍中贓罪,敕監察御史楊汪馳傳就軍按之。 汪在路,爲審素黨與所劫,對汪殺告事者,脅汪令奏雪審素之罪。 俄而州人翻殺審素之黨,汪始得還。 至益州,奏稱審素謀反,因深按審素,構成其罪。 斬之,籍沒其家。 琇與兄瑝,以年幼坐徙嶺外。 尋各逃歸,累年隱匿。 汪後累轉殿中侍御史,改名萬頃。
Nanjin was broadly versed in the classics and histories, his conduct and speech cultivated and careful; Left Chancellor Zhang Yue and his clansman Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent Xiang Xian all held him in high esteem. He was successively transferred to Vice Director in the Ministry of Works, but due to illness firmly declined the demanding duties and was transferred to Groom of the Heir Apparent. He died in his fifties. Zhang Xiu was a native of Jie in Pu Prefecture. His father Shen Su was Military Commissioner of Xi Prefecture and served on the frontier for many years. Soon someone impeached him for embezzlement in the army; an edict sent Investigating Censor Yang Wang by fast relay to the army to investigate. While Wang was still en route, Shen Su's partisan associates seized him; in Wang's presence they killed the accuser and coerced Wang into memorializing to clear Shen Su's crime. Before long the people of the prefecture in turn killed Shen Su's partisans, and Wang was then able to return. Reaching Yi Prefecture, he memorialized claiming that Shen Su had plotted rebellion, deeply investigated him, and framed him for the crime. Shen Su was executed and his household property was confiscated. Xiu and his elder brother Huang, because they were young, were sentenced to exile beyond the Ling passes. Soon each fled home and lived in hiding for years. Wang was subsequently promoted to Palace Investigating Censor and changed his name to Wan Qing.
40
,瑝、琇候萬頃於都城,挺刃殺之。 瑝雖年長,其發謀及手刃,皆琇爲之。 既殺萬頃,系表於斧刃,自言報仇之狀。 便逃奔,將就江外,殺與萬頃同謀構父罪者。 行至汜水,爲捕者所獲。 時都城士女,皆矜琇等幼稚孝烈,能復父仇,多言其合矜恕者。 中書令張九齡又欲活之。
Huang and Xiu waited for Wan Qing in the capital, drew their blades, and killed him. Although Huang was older, Xiu had done all the plotting and had struck the blow himself. After killing Wan Qing, they tied a written statement to the axe blade explaining the circumstances of their vengeance. They fled at once, intending to go to the region south of the Yangzi and kill those who had conspired with Wan Qing to frame their father. When they reached Sishui, they were seized by pursuers. At the time the men and women of the capital all admired Xiu and the others for their youthful filial heroism in avenging their father, and many said they deserved clemency. Chief Minister Zhang Jiuling again wished to spare their lives.
41
裴耀卿、李林甫固言:「國法不可縱報仇。」 上以爲然,因謂九齡等曰:「復仇雖禮法所許,殺人亦格律具存。 孝子之情,義不顧命,國家設法,焉得容此! 殺之成復仇之志,赦之虧律格之條。 然道路誼議,故須告示。」 乃下敕曰:「張瑝等兄弟同殺,推問款承。 律有正條,俱各至死。 近聞士庶,頗有誼詞,矜其爲父復仇,或言本罪冤濫。 但國家設法,事在經久,蓋以濟人,期於止殺。 各申爲子之志,誰非徇孝之夫,展轉相繼,相殺何限! 咎由作士,法在必行; 曾參殺人,亦不可恕。 不能加以刑戮,肆諸市朝,宜付河南府告示決殺。」
Pei Yaoqing and Li Linfu firmly argued: "State law cannot permit revenge killings to go unpunished. The emperor agreed and said to Jiuling and the others: "Though revenge is permitted by ritual and law, the statutes governing homicide remain fully in force. The heart of a filial son, bound by duty, does not consider his own life—but when the state establishes laws, how can it tolerate this! To execute them would fulfill their wish for vengeance; to pardon them would violate the articles of the legal codes. Yet there is much public sentiment, so a proclamation is needed. He thereupon issued an edict saying: "Zhang Huang and his brothers jointly committed murder; upon interrogation they confessed fully. The law has explicit articles; each is liable to death. Recently I have heard that among officials and commoners there is much sympathetic talk, praising them for avenging their father or saying the original conviction was unjust. But when the state establishes laws, the aim is permanence—it is meant to aid people and to stop killing. If each can assert a son's resolve, who is not a man devoted to filial duty? Passed from hand to hand in succession—how limitless would mutual killing become! Blame lies with those who first made the law; the law must be enforced; even if Zeng Shen had killed a man, it could not be forgiven. Though I cannot have them executed publicly in the market and court, they should be handed to Henan Prefecture to be proclaimed and executed by sentence."
42
瑝、琇既死,士庶咸傷湣之,爲作哀誄,榜於衢路。 市人斂錢,於死所造義井,並葬瑝、琇於北邙。 又恐萬頃家人發之,并作疑塚數所。 其爲時人所傷如此。 梁文貞梁文貞,虢州閿鄕人。 少從徵役,比回而父母皆卒。 文貞恨不獲終養,乃穿壙爲門,磴道出入,晨夕灑掃其中。 結廬墓側,未嘗暫離。 自是不言三十年,家人有所問,但畫字以對。 其後山水沖斷驛路,更於原上開道,經文貞墓前。 由是行旅見之,遠近莫不欽嘆。 有甘露降塋前樹,白兔馴擾,鄕人以爲孝感所致。
When Huang and Xiu had died, officials and commoners all mourned them deeply; people wrote elegies and posted them at crossroads. Townspeople collected money, built a public well at the place of death, and together buried Huang and Xiu on North Mang. Fearing Wan Qing's family might disinter them, they also built several decoy tombs. Such was the depth of public grief for them. Liang Wenzhen was a native of Wenxiang in Guo Prefecture. In youth he followed conscript service; by the time he returned, both parents had died. Wenzhen grieved that he had been unable to care for them to the end; he cut a door in the burial chamber, made a stepped path for entry and exit, and morning and evening swept and cleaned inside. He built a hut beside the tomb and never left even briefly. From then on he did not speak for thirty years; when family asked him anything, he only wrote characters in reply. Later floods and landslides cut off the post road; a new route was opened on the plain, passing before Wenzhen's tomb. Travelers thereby saw him; near and far, all admired and marveled. Sweet dew descended on the tree before the grave mound; a white rabbit came tamely about; villagers believed it was brought on by filial devotion moving Heaven.
43
開元初,縣令崔季友刊石以紀之。 十四年,刺史許景先奏:「文貞孝行絶倫,泣血廬墓,三十餘年,請宣付史官。」 是歳,御史大夫崔隱甫廷奏:「恆州鹿泉人李處恭、張義貞兩家,祖父自國初已來,異姓同居,至今三代,百有餘年。 又青州北海人呂元簡,四代同居,至所畜牛馬羊狗,皆異母共乳。 請加旌表,仍編入史館。」 制皆許之。 崔衍崔衍,左丞倫之子。 繼母李氏,不慈於衍。 衍時爲富平尉,倫使於吐蕃,久方歸,李氏衣弊衣以見倫。 倫問其故,李氏稱:「自倫使於蕃中,衍不給衣食。」 倫大怒,召衍責詬,命僕隸拉於地,袒其背,將鞭之。 衍涕泣,終不自陳。 倫弟殷,聞之趨往,以身蔽衍,杖不得下。 因大言曰:「衍毎月俸錢,皆送嫂處,殷所具知,何忍乃言衍不給衣食!」 倫怒乃解。 由是倫遂不聽李氏之譖。 及倫卒,衍事李氏益謹。 李氏所生子郃,毎多取子母錢,使其主以契書徵負于衍。 衍歳爲償之,故衍官至江州刺史,而妻子衣食無所餘。
In the early Kaiyuan era, Magistrate Cui Jiyou carved a stone to record it. In the fourteenth year, Prefect Xu Jingxian memorialized: "Wenzhen's filial conduct is without peer; weeping blood he dwelt by the tomb for more than thirty years—I request this be proclaimed and handed to the historians. That year, Censor-in-Chief Cui Yinfu presented at court: "The households of Li Chugong and Zhang Yizhen of Luquan in Heng Prefecture—from their grandfathers since the founding of the dynasty, different surnames have lived together; to now three generations, more than a hundred years. Also Lü Yuanjian of Beihai in Qing Prefecture—four generations living together; even the cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs they kept all nursed from different mothers together. I request they be granted commemorative honors and entered in the Historiography Institute. Edicts approved all. Cui Yan was the son of Vice Director Lun. His stepmother Lady Li was unkind toward Yan. Yan was then Marshal of Fuping; Lun had been sent as envoy to Tibet and only after a long absence returned; Lady Li wore shabby clothes to meet Lun. Lun asked the reason; Lady Li claimed: "Since Lun went as envoy among the Tibetans, Yan has not supplied food or clothing. Lun flew into a rage, summoned Yan and reviled him, ordered servants to pull him to the ground, bared his back, and was about to flog him. Yan wept but to the end did not plead his own case. Lun's younger brother Yin, hearing of it, rushed there and shielded Yan with his body so the staff could not fall. He then cried out: "Yan every month sends his salary to our sister-in-law—Yin knows this fully—how can you bear to say Yan does not supply food and clothing! Lun's anger then subsided. Thereby Lun ceased to heed Lady Li's slanders. When Lun died, Yan served Lady Li all the more carefully. He, the son Lady Li bore, often took large sums lent on interest and had his agent collect debts from Yan with written contracts. Yan repaid year by year, so though he rose to Prefect of Jiangzhou, his wife and children had nothing left for food and clothing.
44
後歷蘇、虢二州刺史。 虢居陜、華二州之間,而稅重數倍。 其青苗錢,華、陜之郊,畝出十有八; 而虢之郊,毎徵十之七。 衍乃上其事。 時裴延齡領度支,方務聚斂,乃紿衍以前後刺史無言者。 衍又上陳人困,曰:「臣所治多是山田,且當郵傳沖要,屬歳不登,頗甚流離。 舊額賦租,特望蠲減。 臣伏見比來諸郡論百姓間事,患在長吏因循不爲申請,不詣實,不患朝廷不矜放。 有以不言受譴者,未有言而獲罪者。 陛下拔臣牧大郡,委臣撫疲民,臣所以不敢顧望,茍求自安,敢罄狂瞽,上干聖覽。」 帝以衍詞理切直,乃特敕度支,令減虢州青苗錢。
Later he served successively as Prefect of Su and Guo prefectures. Guo lay between Shaan and Hua prefectures, yet its taxes were many times heavier. For the green-sprout tax, in the outskirts of Hua and Shaan eighteen per mu were levied; but in the outskirts of Guo seven tenths were collected each time. Yan thereupon memorialized the matter. At the time Pei Yanling headed the Revenue Bureau and was busy with accumulation; he deceived Yan by saying no previous prefect had spoken of it. Yan again memorialized reporting the people's hardship, saying: "The districts I govern are mostly mountain fields, and moreover lie on vital post-road routes; as harvests have failed, displacement is severe. The established tax quotas—I especially hope for remission and reduction. Your servant observes that in recent times when prefectures discuss matters affecting the common people, the trouble lies in senior officials dragging their feet and not petitioning—not in lack of truth, not in fear that the court will not show compassion and remit. There are cases of punishment for remaining silent; there are none of punishment for speaking. Your Majesty promoted me to govern a great prefecture and charged me to comfort weary people; therefore I dare not look back in hesitation or seek my own ease—I dare exhaust my reckless blindness and disturb Your Sagely gaze. The emperor, finding Yan's language trenchant and straight, specially ordered the Revenue Bureau to reduce Guo Prefecture's green-sprout tax.
45
遷宣歙池觀察使,政務簡便,人頗懷之。 其所擇從事,多得名流。 時有位者待賓僚率輕傲,衍獨加禮敬,幕中之士,後多顯達。
He was transferred to Military Commissioner of Xuan, She, and Chi; his administration was simple and convenient, and the people greatly cherished him. Those he chose as staff members were mostly men of renown. At the time officeholders generally treated guests and staff with casual disdain; Yan alone showed them honor and respect, and men in his staff later mostly rose to prominence.
46
貞元中,天下好進奉以結主恩,徵求聚斂,州郡耗竭,韋臯、劉贊、裴肅爲之首。 贊死而衍代其位。 衍雖不能驟革其弊,居宣州十年,頗勤儉,府庫盈溢。 及穆贊代衍,宣州歳饉,遂以錢四十二萬貫代百姓稅,故宣州人不至流散。 ,詔加工部尚書。 丁公著丁公著,字平子,蘇州呉郡人。 祖衷,父緒,皆不仕。 公著生三歳,喪所親。 七歳,見鄰母抱其子,哀感不食,因請於父,絶粒奉道,冀其幽贊,父憫而從之。 年十七,父勉令就學。 年二十一,《五經》及第。 明年,又通《開元禮》,授集賢校書郎。 秩未終,歸侍鄕里,不應請辟。 居父喪,躬負土成墳,哀毀之容,人爲憂之,里閭聞風,皆敦孝悌。 觀察使薛華表其行,詔賜粟帛,旌其門閭。
In the Zhenyuan era, throughout the realm people favored presenting tribute to win imperial favor; exactions and accumulation exhausted prefectures and commanderies—Wei Gao, Liu Zan, and Pei Su led the way. When Zan died, Yan replaced him in the post. Though Yan could not swiftly reform these abuses, during ten years at Xuanzhou he was quite frugal and industrious, and the treasury overflowed. When Mu Zan replaced Yan, Xuanzhou suffered famine that year; he used 420,000 strings of cash to pay taxes on behalf of the people, so the people of Xuanzhou did not scatter in flight. An edict added the title Minister of Works. Ding Gongzhu, styled Pingzi, was a native of Wu Commandery in Suzhou. His grandfather Zhong and father Xu both did not take office. Gongzhu lost a close relative at age three. At seven, seeing a neighbor's mother holding her child, he was moved to grief and would not eat; he asked his father to let him abstain from grain and follow the Way in hope of spiritual aid, and his father, pitying him, consented. At seventeen his father urged him to begin his studies. At twenty-one he passed the Five Classics examination. The next year he also passed the Kaiyuan Rites examination and was appointed Collator at the Hall of Assembled Worthies. Before his term ended he returned home to serve in his village and did not respond to invitations to office. During mourning for his father he personally carried earth to complete the mound; his grief-wasted appearance made people worry for him; hearing of it, the whole neighborhood practiced filial piety and brotherly respect. Military Commissioner Xue Hua memorialized his conduct; an edict bestowed grain and silk and honored his gate and lane.
47
淮南節度使李吉甫慕其才行,薦授太子文學,兼集賢殿校理。 吉甫自淮南入相,廷薦其行,即日授右補闕。 遷集賢直學士,尋授水部員外郎,充皇太子及諸王侍讀。 著《皇太子及諸王訓》十卷。 轉駕部員外,仍兼舊職。
Huainan Military Commissioner Li Jifu admired his character and ability and recommended him as Literary Attendant to the Heir Apparent, also serving as Collator at the Hall of Assembled Worthies. When Jifu entered the capital from Huainan as chancellor, he recommended Gongzhu's conduct at court; that same day Gongzhu was appointed Remonstrator on the Right. He was promoted to Academician-in-Attendance at the Hall of Assembled Worthies; soon appointed Vice Director in the Ministry of Works' Water Bureau, serving as Reader to the Crown Prince and the princes. He authored ten scrolls of Instructions for the Crown Prince and the Princes. He was transferred to Vice Director in the Ministry of Works' Chariot Bureau, still holding his former duties concurrently.
48
穆宗即位,未及聽政,召居禁中,詢訪朝典,以宰相許之。 公著陳情,詞意極切,超授給事中,賜紫金魚袋。 未幾,遷工部侍郎,仍兼集賢殿學士,寵青宮之舊也。 知吏部選事。 公著知將欲大用,以疾辭退,因求外官,遂授浙江西道都團練觀察使。 二年,授河南尹。 皆以清靜爲理。 改尚書右丞,轉兵部、吏部侍郎,遷禮部尚書、翰林侍講學士。 上以浙西災寇,詢求良帥,命檢校戸部尚書領之。 詔賜米七萬碩以賑給,浙民賴之。 改授太常卿,以疾請歸鄕里,未至而終,年六十四。 贈右僕射,廢朝一日。 著《禮志》十卷。
When Muzong ascended the throne, before he had yet attended to governance, Gongzhu was summoned to dwell in the inner palace, consulted on court precedents, and promised the chancellorship. Gongzhu stated his feelings in language that was extremely earnest; he was specially appointed Controller of Briefs and given the purple-gold fish tally. Before long he was promoted to Vice Minister of Works, still concurrently Academician at the Hall of Assembled Worthies—favor for his old ties in the Eastern Palace. He oversaw selection matters in the Ministry of Personnel. Gongzhu knew they intended to promote him greatly; citing illness he declined and sought an outer post; he was therefore appointed Military Commissioner of all Zhejiang West Circuit. In the second year he was appointed Governor of Henan. In all cases he governed through quiet simplicity. He was changed to Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue; transferred to Vice Minister of War and Vice Minister of Personnel; promoted to Minister of Rites and Lecturing Academician of the Hanlin. The emperor, with disaster and banditry in Zhexi, sought a worthy commander and ordered him as Acting Minister of Revenue to lead the circuit. An edict bestowed seventy thousand hu of grain for relief; the people of Zhe relied on it. He was reassigned as Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; citing illness he requested return home; before arriving he died, age sixty-four. He was posthumously awarded Right Vice Director; court mourning was suspended for one day. He wrote ten fascicles of a Treatise on Rites.
49
公著清儉守道,毎得一官,未嘗不憂色滿容。 年四十四喪室,以至終身,無妓妾聲樂之好。 兇問至日,中外痛惜之。 羅讓羅讓,字景宣。 祖懷操。 父珦,官至京兆尹。 讓少以文學知名,舉進士,應詔對策高等,爲咸陽尉。 丁父憂,服除,尚衣麻茹菜,不從四方之辟者十餘年。 李獻爲淮南節度使,就其所居,請爲從事。 除監察御史,轉殿中,歷尚書郎、給事中,累遷至福建觀察使、兼御史中丞,甚著仁惠。 有以女奴遺讓者,讓問其所因,曰:「本某寺家人。 兄姊九人,皆爲官所賣,其留者唯老母耳。」 讓慘然,焚其券書,以女奴歸其母。 入爲散騎常侍。 未幾,除江西都團練觀察使、兼御史大夫。 年七十一卒。 贈禮部尚書。 讓子劭京子劭京,字子峻,進士擢第,又登科。 讓再從弟詠。 詠子劭權,字昭衡,進士擢第。 劭京、劭權知名於時,並歷清貫。 贊贊曰:麒麟鳳凰,飛走之類。 唯孝與悌,亦爲人瑞。 表門賜爵,勸乃錫類。 彼禽者梟,傷仁害義。
Gongzhu was pure, frugal, and steadfast in the Way; whenever he received a new appointment, his face was always clouded with worry. When he was forty-four his wife died, and for the rest of his life he took no pleasure in concubines or music. When word of his death arrived, the court and the people alike mourned him deeply. Luo Rang, styled Jingxuan. His grandfather was Luo Huaicao. His father Luo Bang rose to metropolitan governor of Jingzhao. Rang was known in youth for literary talent; he passed the jinshi examination, earned a high grade in the imperial decree examination, and became magistrate of Xianyang. After his father's death he completed mourning but continued to wear hemp and eat plain food, refusing appointments from all quarters for more than ten years. Li Xian, military governor of Huainan, came to his home and invited him to join his staff. He was appointed investigating censor, then transferred to the palace bureau, served as a secretariat director and attendant censor, and rose to military commissioner of Fujian with the concurrent title of vice censor-in-chief, winning renown for benevolent governance. Someone gave him a female slave; when Rang asked how she had come to be sold, she replied, "I was originally a dependent of a monastery. Nine brothers and sisters were all sold off by the authorities; only my aged mother was left behind. Deeply moved, Rang burned the contract and sent the girl back to her mother. He was summoned to court as supernumerary palace attendant. Before long he was appointed military commissioner of Jiangxi with the concurrent title of chief censor. He died at the age of seventy-one. He was posthumously appointed minister of rites. Rang's son Luo Zhaojing, styled Zijun, passed the jinshi examination and also passed a special examination. Rang's second cousin once removed was Luo Yong. Yong's son Luo Shaoquan, styled Zhaoheng, passed the jinshi examination. Zhaojing and Shaoquan were celebrated in their day and both rose through the ranks of pure, high office. The historian comments: The qilin and phoenix belong among creatures that fly and run. Yet filial piety and brotherly devotion are also auspicious signs among human beings. To honor a household's gate and bestow rank is to encourage virtue and extend its blessings to all of one's kind. As for that bird, the owl—it injures benevolence and harms righteousness.