1
序前代賁丘園，招隱逸，所以重貞退之節，息貪競之風。 故蒙叟矯《讓王》之篇，玄晏立高人之傳，箕、潁之跡，粲然可觀。 而漢二龔之流，乃心王室，不事莽朝，忍渴盜泉，本非絕俗，甚可嘉也。 皇甫謐、陶淵明慢世逃名，放情肆誌，逍遙泉石，無意於出處之間，又其善也。 即有身在江湖之上，心遊魏闕之下，托薛蘿以射利，假巖壑以釣名，退無肥遁之貞，進乏濟時之具，《山移》見誚，海鳥興譏，無足多也。 阮嗣宗傲世佯狂，王無功嗜酒放蕩，才不足而智有余，傷其時而晦其用，深識之士也。 高宗天後，訪道山林，飛書巖穴，屢造幽人之宅，堅回隱士之車。 而遊巖、德義之徒，所高者獨行； 盧鴻一、承禎之比，所重者逃名。 至於出處語默之大方，未足與議也。 今存其舊說，以備雜篇。 王績王績，字無功，絳州龍門人。 少與李播、呂才為莫逆之交。 隋大業中，應孝悌廉潔舉，授揚州六合縣丞。 非其所好，棄官還鄉里。 績河渚中先有田數頃，鄰渚有隱士仲長子先，服食養性，績重其真素，願與相近，乃結廬河渚，以琴酒自樂。 嘗遊北山，因為《北山賦》以見誌，詞多不載。
In their prefaces, dynasties past honored men who lived among fields and groves and sought out recluses—ways to uphold the virtue of resolute withdrawal and to quell the appetite for gain and rivalry. Zhuangzi fashioned the chapter "The Abdication of Kings"; Huangfu Mi compiled accounts of lofty men; and the footprints along the Ji and Ying remain luminous to behold. Yet men like the two Gongs of Han kept their loyalty to the Liu house, refused to serve Wang Mang, and would go thirsty rather than drink from the Stolen Spring. They were not true world-renouncers, yet how commendable they were. Huangfu Mi and Tao Yuanming scorned worldly ambition, lived as their hearts pleased among streams and stone, and gave no thought to office or retirement—and in that lay their virtue. Some keep to the wilds in body while their hearts court the capital, using a hermit's garb to chase profit and a mountain retreat to angle for renown. In retirement they lack true withdrawal; in office they lack what is needed to serve the times. They earn the scorn of "The Moving Mountain" and the ridicule of the sea bird—hardly men to admire. Ruan Ji defied the age in feigned madness; Wang Jiqin drowned himself in wine and abandon. Short on talent but rich in insight, they mourned their times and hid their gifts—men who saw deeply. Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu sought sages in the hills, sent urgent summons to mountain caves, called again and again at hermits' doors, and just as firmly had their carriages sent back. Yet for men like Tian Youyan and Shi Deyi, what they prized was solitary integrity; while for men like Lu Hongyi and Sima Chengzhen, what mattered was escaping renown. On the larger question of when to serve, when to withdraw, when to speak, and when to hold silence, they scarcely merit debate. Their earlier accounts are preserved here for the miscellaneous biographies. Wang Ji, courtesy name Wugong, was from Longmen in Jiang Prefecture. In youth he was the closest of friends with Li Bo and Lü Cai. During the Sui Daye period he was recommended for filial piety and integrity and appointed assistant magistrate of Liuhe County in Yangzhou. The post did not suit him, and he resigned to return home. Ji already owned a few acres on a river islet. Nearby lived the recluse Zhongchang Zixian, who nourished his nature through diet and elixirs. Ji admired his plain authenticity, wished to live near him, built a hut on the islet, and amused himself with zither and wine. He once visited North Mountain and wrote the "Rhapsody on North Mountain" to declare his aims; most of its wording is omitted here.
2
績嘗躬耕於東臯，故時人號東臯子。 或經過酒肆，動經數日，往往題壁作詩，多為好事者諷詠。 貞觀十八年卒。 臨終自克死日，遺命薄葬，兼預自為墓誌。 有文集五卷。 又撰《隋書》，未就而卒。
He once farmed with his own hands at Eastern Mound, whence contemporaries called him Master Eastern Mound. When he lingered at taverns he might stay for days, often writing poems on the walls that enthusiasts loved to recite. He died in the eighteenth year of Zhenguan (644). Facing death he set the date himself, ordered a plain burial, and had already written his own epitaph. His collected works ran to five juan. He also began a History of Sui but died before finishing it.
3
兄通，字仲淹，隋大業中名儒，號文中子，自有傳。 田遊巖田遊巖，京兆三原人也。 初，補太學生，後罷歸，遊於太白山。 每遇林泉會意，輒留連不能去。 其母及妻子並有方外之誌，與遊巖同遊山水二十余年。 後入箕山，就許由廟東築室而居，自稱「許由東鄰」。 調露中，高宗幸嵩山，遣中書侍郎薛元超就問其母。 遊巖山衣田冠出拜，帝令左右扶止之。 謂曰：「先生養道山中，比得佳否？」 遊巖曰：「臣泉石膏肓，煙霞痼疾，既逢聖代，幸得逍遙。」 帝曰：「朕今得卿，何異漢獲四皓乎？」 薛元超曰：「漢高祖欲廢嫡立庶，黃、綺方來，豈如陛下崇重隱淪，親問巖穴！」 帝甚歡，因將遊巖就行宮，並家口給傳乘赴都，授崇文館學士，令與太子少傅劉仁軌談論。 帝後將營奉天宮於嵩山，遊巖舊宅，先居宮側。 特令不毀，仍親書題額懸其門，曰「隱士田遊巖宅」。 文明中，進授朝散大夫，拜太子洗馬，垂拱初，坐與裴炎交結，特放還山。 史德義史德義，蘇州昆山人也。 咸亨初，隱居武丘山，以琴書自適。 或騎牛帶瓢，出入郊郭廛市，號為逸人。 高宗聞其名，征赴洛陽。 尋稱疾東歸。 公卿已下，皆賦詩餞別，德義亦以詩留贈，其文甚美。 天授初，江南道宣勞使、文昌左丞周興表薦之，則天征赴都，詔曰：「蘇州隱士史德義，誌尚虛玄，業履貞確，謙沖彰於裏騕，孝友表於閨庭。 固辭征辟，長往嚴陵之瀨； 多謝簪裾，高蹈愚公之谷。 博聞強識，說《禮》敦《詩》，繕性丘園，甘心畎畝。 朕承天革命，建極開階，寤寐星雲，物色林壑。 順禎期而捐薛帶，應休運而解荷裳； 粵自海隅，來遊魏闕，行藏之理斯得，去就之節無違。 風操可嘉，啟沃攸佇，特宜優獎，委以諫曹。 可朝散大夫。」 後周興伏誅，德義坐為所薦免官。 以朝散大夫放歸丘壑，自此聲譽稍減於隱居之前。 王友貞王友貞，懷州河內人也。 父知敬，則天時麟臺少監，以工書知名。 友貞弱冠時，母病篤，醫言唯啖人肉乃差。 友貞獨念無可求治，乃割股肉以飴親，母病尋差。 則天聞之，令就其家驗問，特加旌表。 友貞素好學，讀《九經》皆百遍，訓誨子弟，如嚴君焉。 口不言人過，尤好釋典； 屏絕⺶亶味，出言未曾負諾，時論以為真君子也。
His elder brother Wang Tong, courtesy name Zhongyan, was a renowned scholar of the Sui Daye era, known as the Master of Literary Central, and has a separate biography. Tian Youyan was from Sanyuan in the Jingzhao region. He first entered the Imperial University, then left to wander on Mount Taibai. Whenever woods and streams caught his fancy, he lingered and could not tear himself away. His mother, wife, and children all shared his wish to live beyond worldly affairs, and for more than twenty years roamed the hills and waters with him. Later he settled on Mount Ji, built a house east of Xu You's shrine, and styled himself "Xu You's eastern neighbor." During the Tiaolu period, Emperor Gaozong visited Mount Song and sent Vice Director Xue Yuanchao to call on Youyan's mother. Youyan came out in rustic dress and a farmer's cap to bow; the emperor had attendants hold him back from prostrating himself. He said, "Sir, you have cultivated the Way in these mountains—have you been well of late?" Youyan replied, "I am hopelessly devoted to springs and stone, chronically ill with love of mist and crimson clouds; in this enlightened age I am blessed to wander free." The emperor said, "In gaining you today, am I not like the Han who won the Four White-haired Elders?" Xue Yuanchao said, "The Han founder sought them only when he meant to displace the heir—how unlike Your Majesty, who honors recluses and visits their mountain caves in person!" The emperor was delighted, brought Youyan to the traveling palace, sent his whole family to the capital by relay carriage, appointed him academician of the Chongwen Hall, and had him converse with the crown prince's junior tutor Liu Rengui. When the emperor later planned the Fengtian Palace on Mount Song, Youyan's former home stood where the palace was to rise. He ordered it spared, wrote the plaque himself, and hung it on the gate: "Dwelling of the Recluse Tian Youyan." During Wenming he was promoted to Grand Master of Palace Leisure and made groom of the heir apparent. Early in Chuigong he was implicated in ties with Pei Yan and specially allowed to return to the hills. Shi Deyi was from Kunshan in Suzhou. Early in Xianheng he retired to Mount Wuqiu, contenting himself with zither and books. Sometimes he rode an ox with a gourd at his side, wandering suburbs and markets, and was known as a free spirit. Emperor Gaozong heard of him and summoned him to Luoyang. Soon he pleaded illness and returned east. Dukes and ministers down the ranks wrote farewell poems; Deyi replied in verse, and his lines were exquisite. Early in Tianshou, Zhou Xing, commissioner on the Jiangnan circuit and left vice director of the Secretariat, recommended him. Empress Wu summoned him to court. The edict read: "The Suzhou recluse Shi Deyi holds aspirations lofty and pure and conduct steadfast and true; humility is known in his lane, filial devotion in his home. He steadfastly refused office and long made his home by the shallows of Yanling; again and again declined court dress and walked the high path of the Foolish Old Man's valley. Broadly learned and keen of memory, he teaches the Rites and cherishes the Odes, tends his nature among fields and groves, and is content to till the soil. We have received Heaven's mandate, established the throne, and wake and sleep seeking worthy men among stars and clouds, searching forests and ravines. In an auspicious season he laid aside his hermit's belt; at a time of flourishing fortune he put off his lotus robe; From the sea's edge he has come to the capital; the wisdom of when to serve and when to withdraw is fulfilled, and the integrity of his choices is intact. His character is admirable and his counsel keenly awaited; he should receive special honors and be placed in the remonstrance bureau. He is appointed Grand Master of Palace Leisure." Later Zhou Xing was put to death; Deyi lost his post for having been Zhou's nominee. Released to the hills with the title Grand Master of Palace Leisure, his renown thereafter fell somewhat short of what it had been in seclusion. Wang Youzhen was from Henei in Huaizhou. His father Wang Zhijing served under Empress Wu as vice director of the Lin Terrace and was famed for calligraphy. In his early manhood his mother fell gravely ill; the physician said only human flesh could cure her. Youzhen alone saw no other remedy and cut flesh from his thigh to feed her; his mother soon recovered. Empress Wu heard of it, sent officials to verify the act at his home, and specially honored him. Youzhen had always loved learning, read each of the Nine Classics a hundred times, and taught his sons and kin with a father's stern care. He never spoke ill of others and was especially devoted to Buddhist sutras; he abstained from meat and pungent foods, and never broke his word; contemporaries deemed him a true gentleman.
4
長安年，歷任長水令。 後罷歸田裏。 中宗在春宮，召為司議郎，不就。 神龍初，又拜太子中舍，仍令所司以禮征赴。 及至，固以疾辭。 詔曰：
During the Chang'an period he served as magistrate of Changshui. Later he resigned and returned to his fields. While Zhongzong was crown prince, he was summoned as remonstrance secretary but declined. Early in Shenlong he was again made attendant of the heir apparent, and the authorities were ordered to summon him with full ceremony. When he arrived, he firmly pleaded illness and refused. An edict said:
5
敦夷齊之行，可以激貪； 尚顏閔之道，用能勸俗。 新除太子中舍人王友貞，德義泉藪，人倫茂異，孝始於事親，信表於行己。 富有文史，廉於財貨，久歷官政，累聞課績。 有古人之風，保君子之德。 乃抗誌塵外，棲情物表，深歸解脫之門，誓守薰修之誡。 頃加征命，作護儲闈，固在辭榮，累陳情懇。 堅持凈義，不登於車服； 惟悅禪綱，味靡求於珍饌。 朕方崇獎廉退，懲抑澆浮，雖思廊廟之賢，豈違山林之願，宜加優秩，仍遂雅懷。 可太子中舍人員外置，給全祿以畢其身，任其在家修道。 仍令所在州縣存問，四時送祿至其住所。
Upholding the example of Bo Yi and Shu Qi can shame the greedy; honoring the way of Yan Hui and Min Sun can reform the manners of the age. The newly appointed attendant of the heir apparent Wang Youzhen is a wellspring of virtue, outstanding among men; filial piety begins in how he serves his parents, trust in how he conducts himself. Learned in letters and history, sparing with wealth, long in office, and repeatedly praised in performance reviews. He bears the spirit of the ancients and keeps a gentleman's integrity. He holds his will above the world, his heart beyond things, has deeply entered the gate of liberation, and vows to keep the Buddhist precepts. Recently honored with office to serve the heir, he steadfastly refuses glory and has repeatedly pleaded his case. He holds to pure conduct and will not take carriage or official dress; he delights only in the discipline of meditation and never seeks fine fare. We now honor integrity and withdrawal and restrain shallow ways; though we desire talent for court, we will not deny his wish for the hills. Let him receive added rank while his refined intent is honored. He is appointed attendant of the heir apparent as an honorary post, granted full salary for life, and allowed to practice the Way at home. Local prefectures and counties are to inquire after him and deliver his salary each season to his home.
6
玄宗在東宮，又表請禮征之，以年老，竟辭疾不赴。 年九十余，開元四年卒。 時下制曰：「貴德尊賢，飾終念遠，此聖人所以治天下、厚風俗也。 王友貞稟氣元精，遊心大樸。 孝惟不匱，獨貫於神明； 道則難名，高謝於人代。 言念錫類，方期鎮俗，遽爾雕殂，良深湣悼。 生無大位，雖隔外臣之儀，歿有余榮，宜贈上卿之服。 可贈銀青光祿大夫，仍委本縣令長特加吊祭。」 盧鴻一盧鴻一，字浩然，本范陽人，徙家洛陽。 少有學業，頗善籀篆楷隸，隱於嵩山。 開元初，遣幣禮再征不至。 五年，下詔曰：
When Xuanzong was crown prince, he again petitioned for a ceremonial summons; Youzhen, now elderly, finally pleaded illness and did not go. He was more than ninety and died in the fourth year of Kaiyuan (716). An imperial rescript then said: "To honor virtue and esteem the worthy, to adorn the dead and remember the distant—this is how a sage rules the realm and deepens custom. Wang Youzhen was endowed with the primordial breath and kept his heart in utmost simplicity. In filial piety he never failed, reaching alone to the spirits; the Way he followed is hard to name, and he loftily withdrew from worldly generations. We had hoped through honoring him to steady the manners of the age, yet suddenly he has perished—our grief is profound. In life he held no high office and stood outside the usual rites for ministers, yet in death he merits honor and should receive the vestments of a senior minister. He is posthumously granted Silver-Gleaming Grand Master of Palace Leisure, and the magistrate of his home county is ordered to perform special mourning rites." Lu Hongyi, courtesy name Haoran, was originally from Fanyang but moved his household to Luoyang. He was learned from youth and skilled in seal, clerical, regular, and official scripts, and lived in seclusion on Mount Song. Early in Kaiyuan he was twice summoned with ceremonial gifts but did not come. In the fifth year an edict was issued:
7
朕以寡薄，忝膺大位。 嘗恨玄風久替，淳化未升，每用翹想遺賢，冀聞上皇之訓。 以卿黃中通理，鉤深詣微，窮太一之道，踐中庸之德，確乎高尚，足侔古人。 故比下征書，佇諧善績，而每輒托辭，拒違不至。 使朕虛心引領，於今數年，雖得素履幽人之貞，而失考父滋恭之命。 豈朝廷之故與生殊趣耶？ 將縱欲山林不能反乎？ 禮有大倫，君臣之義，不可廢也！ 今城闕密邇，不足為難，便敕賫束帛之貺，重宣斯旨，想有以翻然易節，副朕意焉！
We, meager in virtue, have unworthily assumed the throne. We have long grieved that the lofty Way has faded and pure custom has not flourished, and constantly yearn for sages of old and hope to hear the teaching of the Supreme Sovereign. You are centered and penetrating in principle, probe the deep and reach the subtle, have mastered the Way of the Grand One, and practice the virtue of the Mean—steadfast and lofty, fully the equal of the ancients. We have repeatedly sent summons, awaiting your service, yet each time you plead excuses and refuse to come. For years we have waited with humble expectation; though we honor your plain integrity as a recluse, we miss the lesson of Kaofu—that reverence should grow with age. Is it that the court's aims and your own differ so greatly? Or have you given yourself wholly to the hills and can no longer turn back? Ritual has its great bonds—the duty between ruler and subject cannot be cast aside! The capital is near at hand and should pose no difficulty. We send gifts of silk and proclaim this intent anew, trusting you will change your mind and fulfill our wish!
8
鴻一赴征。 六年，至東都，謁見不拜。 宰相遣通事舍人問其故，奏曰：「臣聞老君言，禮者，忠信之所薄，不足可依。 山臣鴻一敢以忠信奉見。」 上別召升內殿，賜之酒食。 詔曰：「盧鴻一應辟而至，訪之至道，有會淳風，舉逸人，用勸天下。 特宜授諫議大夫。」 鴻一固辭，又制曰：
Hongyi answered the summons. In the sixth year he reached the eastern capital and at audience did not bow. The chief ministers sent a palace receptionist to ask why. He replied, "I have heard the Old Master say that ritual is what loyalty and trust are diluted into—not something to rely upon. I, Hongyi, a man of the mountains, present myself in loyalty and good faith." The emperor summoned him separately to the inner hall and gave him wine and food. An edict said, "Lu Hongyi answered the summons and came. We questioned him on the ultimate Way; he embodies pure custom. To elevate a recluse is to encourage the realm. He should be appointed Remonstrance Grand Master." Hongyi firmly declined, and another rescript said:
9
昔在帝堯，全許由之節； 糸面惟大禹，聽伯成之高。 則知天子有所不臣，諸侯有所不友，《遁》之時義大矣哉！ 嵩山隱士盧鴻一，抗跡幽遠，凝情篆素； 隱居以求其誌，行義以達其道； 雲臥林壑，多歷年載。 傳不雲乎：「舉逸人，天下之人歸心焉。」 是乃飛書巖穴，備禮征聘，方佇獻替，式弘政理。 而矯然不群，確乎難拔，靜已以鎮其操，洗心以激其流，固辭榮寵，將厚風俗，不降其誌，用保厥躬。 會稽嚴陵，未可名屈； 太原王霸，終以病歸。 宜以諫議大夫放還山。 歲給米百碩、絹五十匹，充其藥物，仍令府縣送隱居之所。 若知朝廷得失，具以狀聞。
In the age of Emperor Yao, Xu You's integrity was fully honored; Emperor Yu alone heeded Bo Chengzi's lofty principle. Thus even the Son of Heaven has men he does not treat as subjects, and lords have men they do not treat as friends—how great is the timely meaning of Retreat! Lu Hongyi, recluse of Mount Song, keeps aloof in distant seclusion and devotes his heart to calligraphy; he lives in seclusion to fulfill his aims and practices righteousness to attain his Way; For many years he has dwelt among clouds, forests, and ravines. Does not the Classic say, "Raise up a man of retirement, and the people of the realm will turn their hearts to you"?" We sent urgent letters to his mountain cave, summoned him with full ceremony, and awaited his counsel to improve governance. Yet he stands apart, steadfast and hard to draw forth; he steadies his conduct and purifies his heart. He firmly declines honor, seeking to deepen custom, will not lower his resolve, and thereby preserves himself. Yan Ling of Kuaiji could not be bent by fame; Wang Ba of Taiyuan in the end returned home pleading illness. He should be released to the mountains with the title Remonstrance Grand Master. Each year grant him a hundred dan of grain and fifty bolts of silk for his medicines, and order local officials to deliver them to his retreat. If he learns of the court's strengths and failings, let him report them in full.
10
將還山，又賜隱居之服，並其草堂一所，恩禮甚厚。 王希夷王希夷，徐州滕縣人也。 孤貧好道。 父母終，為人牧羊，收傭以供葬。 葬畢，隱於嵩山，師道士黃頤，向四十年，盡能傳其閉氣導養之術。 頤卒，更居兗州徂來山中，與道士劉玄博為棲遁之友。 好《易》及《老子》，嘗餌松柏葉及雜花散。
As he returned to the mountains, he was again given recluses' robes and a thatched hall; the favor shown him was very great. Wang Xiyi was from Teng County in Xuzhou. Orphaned and poor, he devoted himself to the Way. When his parents died, he herded sheep for hire to pay for their burial. After the burial he retired to Mount Song and studied under the Daoist Huang Yi for nearly forty years, mastering his arts of breath control and nourishing life. When Yi died, he moved to Mount Culai in Yanzhou and befriended the Daoist Liu Xuanbo as a fellow recluse. He loved the Book of Changes and the Laozi and sometimes ate pine and cypress leaves and powdered flowers.
11
景龍中，年七十余，氣力益壯。 刺史盧齊卿就謁致禮，因訪以字人之術，希夷曰：「孔子稱『己所不欲，勿施於人』，可以終身行之矣。」 及玄宗東巡，敕州縣以禮征，召至駕前，年已九十六。 上令中書令張說訪以道義，宦官扶入宮中，與語甚悅。
During Jinglong, though more than seventy, he grew ever stronger. Prefect Lu Qiqing visited and paid his respects, then asked how to govern the people. Xiyi said, "Confucius said, 'Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire'—one may practice that all one's life." When Xuanzong toured the east, he ordered local officials to summon Xiyi with full ceremony. Brought before the imperial carriage, he was already ninety-six. The emperor had Chief Minister Zhang Yue question him on the Way and righteousness; eunuchs helped him into the palace, and the emperor greatly enjoyed their talk.
12
開元十四年，下制曰：「徐州處士王希夷，絕學棄智，抱一居貞，久謝囂塵，獨往林壑。 朕為封巒展禮，側席旌賢，賁然來思，克應嘉召。 雖紆綺季之跡，已過伏生之年，宜命秩以尊儒，俾全高於尚齒。 可朝散大夫，守國子博士，聽致仕還山。 州縣春秋致束帛酒肉，仍賜衣一副、絹一百匹。」 尋壽終。
In the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan a rescript said, "Wang Xiyi of Xuzhou has renounced worldly learning, holds to the One, long shunned the world's clamor, and walks alone among forests and ravines. As we performed the feng and shan rites, we honored the worthy; he came in splendor and answered our summons. Though his path winds like the Four Hoary Elders', he has passed the age of Fusheng; let rank honor him as a scholar and exalt his great age. He is appointed Grand Master of Palace Leisure and acting erudite of the Imperial University, and permitted to retire to the mountains. Local officials are to bring silks, wine, and meat in spring and autumn, and he is granted a suit of clothes and a hundred bolts of silk." Soon he died at a great age.
13
自則天、中宗已後，有蒲州人衛大經、邢州人李元愷，皆潔誌不仕； 蒲州人王守慎、常州人徐仁紀、潤州人孫處玄，皆退身辭職，為時所稱。 衛大經衛大經者，篤學善《易》，口無二言。 則天降詔征之，辭疾不赴。 與魏州人夏侯乾童有舊，聞乾童母卒，徒步往吊之。 鄉人止之曰：「當夏溽暑，豈可步涉千里，致書可也。」 大經曰：「尺書無能盡意。」 遂行。 至魏州，會乾童出行，大經造門設席，行吊禮，不訊其家人而還。 開元初，畢構為刺史，謂解令孔慎言曰：「衛生德厚，宜有旌異。 古人式幹木之閭，禮賢故也。」 慎言造門就謁，時大經已年老，辭疾不見。 嘗預筮死日，鑿墓自為誌文，果如筮而終。 李元愷李元愷者，博學善天文律歷，然性恭慎，口未嘗言人之過。 鄉人宋璟，年少時師事之。 及璟作相，使人遺元愷束帛，將薦舉之，皆拒而不答。 景龍中，元行沖為洺州刺史，邀元愷至州，問以經義，因遺衣服。 元愷辭曰：「微軀不宜服新麗，但恐不能勝其美以速咎也。」 行沖乃以泥塗汙而與之，不獲已而受。 及還，乃以己之所蠶素絲五兩以酬行沖，曰：「義不受無妄之財。」 先是，定州人崔元鑒明《三禮》，鄉人張易之寵幸用事，薦之。 起家拜朝散大夫，致仕於家，在鄉請半祿。 元愷誚之曰：「無功受祿，災也。」 元愷年八十余，壽終。 王守慎王守慎者，有美名。 垂拱中為監察御史。 時羅織事起，守慎舅秋官侍郎張知默推詔獄，奏守慎同知其事，守慎以疾辭，因請為僧。 則天初甚怪之； 守慎陳情，詞理甚高，則天欣然從之，賜號法成。 識鑒高雅，為時賢所重。 以壽終。 徐仁紀徐仁紀者，聖歷中征拜左拾遺。 三上書論得失，不納。 謂人曰：「三諫不聽，可去矣！」 遂移病歸鄉里。 神龍初，宣慰使舉仁紀之行可以激俗，又征拜左補闕。 三上書，又不省，乃詣執政求出。 俄授靈昌令。 妻子不之官，廨舍唯衣履及書疏而已，余無所蓄。 孫處玄孫處玄，長安中征為左拾遺。 頗善屬文，嘗恨天下無書以廣新聞。 神龍初，功臣桓彥範等用事，處玄遺彥範書，論時事得失，彥範竟不用其言，乃去官還鄉里。 以病卒。 白履忠白履忠，陳留浚儀人也。 博涉文史。 嘗隱居於古大梁城，時人號為梁丘子。 景雲中，征拜校書郎。 尋棄官而歸。
From the reigns of Empress Wu and Zhongzong onward, Wei Dajing of Puzhou and Li Yuankai of Xingzhou both held pure resolve and refused office; Wang Shoushen of Puzhou, Xu Renji of Changzhou, and Sun Chuxuan of Runzhou all resigned their posts and were praised by their contemporaries. Wei Dajing was deeply learned and skilled in the Changes; he never spoke a careless word. Empress Wu summoned him by edict; he pleaded illness and did not go. He was old friends with Xiahou Qiantong of Weizhou; when he heard Qiantong's mother had died, he walked there to mourn. A neighbor tried to stop him: "It is midsummer's heat—how can you walk a thousand li? A letter would do." Dajing said, "A letter cannot fully express what I mean." And he set out. At Weizhou, Qiantong was away; Dajing went to the door, performed the mourning rites, and left without asking after the family. Early in Kaiyuan, Prefect Bi Gou said to Magistrate Kong Shenyan, "Master Wei's virtue is profound and deserves special honor. The ancients slowed their carriages at worthy men's lanes—that is how one honors the worthy." Shenyan called at his door; Dajing, now elderly, pleaded illness and would not receive him. He once divined the day of his death, dug his tomb, and wrote his own epitaph; he died exactly as foretold. Li Yuankai was broadly learned and skilled in astronomy and calendrics, yet respectful and cautious; he never spoke of others' faults. Song Jing of his home district had studied under him in youth. When Jing became chief minister, he sent silks and meant to recommend him for office; Yuankai refused everything and made no reply. During Jinglong, Yuan Xingchong, prefect of Mingzhou, invited Yuankai, questioned him on the classics, and gave him clothing. Yuankai declined: "This humble body is unfit for fine new clothes; I fear I cannot bear such splendor without bringing misfortune upon myself." Xingchong smeared the garments with mud and gave them to him; unable to refuse further, Yuankai accepted. On returning home he sent Xingchong five taels of plain silk he had raised himself, saying, "By right one must not accept unearned wealth." Earlier, Cui Yuanjian of Dingzhou was accomplished in the Three Rites; Zhang Yizhi, his fellow townsman then in favor, recommended him. He entered office as Grand Master of Palace Leisure, retired at home, and requested half salary in his district. Yuankai mocked him: "To receive salary without merit brings disaster." Yuankai was more than eighty and died at a great age. Wang Shoushen enjoyed a fine reputation. During Chuigong he served as investigating censor. When the Luo Weaving affair arose, Shoushen's uncle Zhang Zhimuo, vice minister of justice, conducted imperial prison investigations and implicated Shoushen; Shoushen pleaded illness and asked to become a monk. Empress Wu was at first greatly surprised; Shoushen stated his case with eloquent reasoning; Empress Wu gladly assented and granted him the monastic name Facheng. His judgment was refined, and men of worth esteemed him. He died at a great age. Xu Renji was summoned during Shenglü and appointed left remembrancer. Three times he memorialized on the state's strengths and failings; none were heeded. He said, "Three remonstrances ignored—it is time to go!" He pleaded illness and returned home. Early in Shenlong, a comforting commissioner praised Renji's conduct as able to reform custom, and he was again summoned as left supplementation censor. He submitted three memorials again without response, then went to those in power and asked to leave office. Soon he was appointed magistrate of Lingchang. His wife and children did not accompany him to office; his quarters held only clothes, shoes, and books—nothing else. Sun Chuxuan was summoned during Chang'an and appointed left remembrancer. He was skilled at writing and once lamented that the realm had no book to spread news widely. Early in Shenlong, when Huan Yanfan and other meritorious officials held power, Chuxuan sent Yanfan a letter on the state's strengths and failings. Yanfan ignored his advice, and Chuxuan resigned to return home. He died of illness. Bai Lüzhong was from Junyi in Chenliu. He was broadly versed in letters and history. He once lived in seclusion in the old city of Daliang; contemporaries called him Master of Liang Hill. During Jingyun he was summoned and appointed collator. Soon he resigned and returned home.
14
開元十年，刑部尚書王誌愔表薦履忠隱居讀書，貞苦守操，有古人之風，堪代褚無量、馬懷素入閣侍讀。 十七年，國子祭酒楊瑒箓又表薦履忠堪為學官，乃征赴京師。 及至，履忠辭以老病，不任職事。 詔曰：「處士前秘書省校書郎白履忠，學優緗簡，道賁丘園，探賾以見其微，隱居能達其誌。 故以汲引洙、泗，物色夷門，素風自高，玄冕非貴。 几杖雲暮，章秩宜加，俾承禮命之優，式副寵賢之美。 可朝散大夫。」
In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, Minister of Justice Wang Zhian recommended Lüzhong, who lived in seclusion studying books, steadfast in hardship, with the spirit of the ancients, as fit to replace Chu Wuliang and Ma Huaisu as readers in the inner hall. In the seventeenth year, Chancellor of Education Yang Chang again recommended Lüzhong as fit for an academic post, and he was summoned to the capital. When he arrived, Lüzhong pleaded old age and illness and said he could not serve. An edict said, "The gentleman Bai Lüzhong, former collator of the Secretariat, excels in learning, honors the Way among fields and groves, probes the profound to reveal its subtlety, and in seclusion fulfills his aims. We draw him from the schools of Zhu and Si and seek him at the Yi Gate; his plain integrity is naturally lofty, and the court cap is not precious to him. In the twilight of his years, rank should be added, that he may receive the honor of ritual appointment and fulfill our wish to honor the worthy. He is appointed Grand Master of Palace Leisure."
15
履忠尋表請還鄉，手詔曰：「孝悌立身，靜退放俗，年過從耄，不雜風塵。 盛德予聞，通班是錫，豈惟旌賁山藪，實欲獎勸人倫。 且遊上京，徐還故裏。」 乃停留數月而歸。 履忠鄉人左庶子吳兢謂履忠曰：「吾子家室屢空，竟不沾鬥米匹帛，雖得五品，何益於實也？」 履忠欣然曰：「往歲契丹入寇，家家盡著括排門夫，履忠特以少讀書籍，縣司放免，至今惶愧。 今雖不得，且是吾家終身高臥，免徭役，豈易得也！」 尋壽終。 著《三玄精辯論》一卷，註《老子》及《黃庭內景經》，有文集十卷。 王遠知道士王遠知，瑯邪人也。 祖景賢，梁江州刺史。 父曇選，陳揚州刺史。 遠知母，梁駕部郎中丁超女也。 嘗晝寢，夢靈鳳集其身，因而有娠，又聞腹中啼聲，沙門寶誌謂曇選曰：「生子當為神仙之宗伯也。」
Lüzhong soon asked to return home. An imperial letter said, "Filial piety and brotherly duty establish the person; quiet withdrawal frees one from worldly ways; in advanced age one keeps clear of the world's dust. I have heard of your great virtue, and regular court rank is granted to you — not merely to honor a recluse in the hills, but truly to encourage proper human conduct. Visit the capital first, then return home at your leisure." He stayed several months and then returned home. Lüzhong's fellow townsman Wu Jing, Left Assistant to the Heir Apparent, said to him, "Your household is often destitute; you never received so much as a peck of grain or a bolt of cloth — even with fifth rank, what real good does it do?" Lüzhong replied cheerfully, "When the Khitan raided years ago, every household was registered for corvée at the door. I alone was exempted by the county office because I had read a little — and I still feel ashamed. Even if I receive nothing now, our whole family can stay home for life, free of corvée — how rare a blessing is that!" He soon died at a ripe old age. He wrote one fascicle of Refined Discussions of the Three Mysteries, annotated the Laozi and the Yellow Court Inner Landscape Scripture, and left a collected writings in ten fascicles. The Daoist priest Wang Yuanzhi was a native of Langya. His grandfather Jingxian had been governor of Jiang Province under the Liang. His father Tanxuan had been governor of Yang Province under Chen. Yuanzhi's mother was the daughter of Ding Chao, a director in the Department of Transport under the Liang. Once while napping during the day she dreamed that a spirit phoenix settled upon her, and she became pregnant; she also heard crying from within her womb. The monk Baozhi told Tanxuan, "The child you bear will become chief patriarch among the immortals."
16
遠知少聰敏，博綜群書。 初入茅山，師事陶弘景，傳其道法。 後又師事宗道先生臧兢。 陳主聞其名，召入重陽殿，令講論，甚見嗟賞。 及隋煬帝為晉王，鎮揚州，使王子相、柳顧言相次召之。 遠知乃來謁見，斯須而鬚髮變白，晉王懼而遣之，少頃又復其舊。 煬帝幸涿郡，遣員外郎崔鳳舉就邀之，遠知見於臨朔宮，煬帝親執弟子之禮，敕都城起玉清玄壇以處之。 及幸揚州，遠知諫不宜遠去京國，煬帝不從。
From youth Yuanzhi was clever and quick-witted, and he mastered a wide range of books. When he first entered Mount Mao, he studied under Tao Hongjing and received the transmission of his Daoist methods. Later he also studied under Master Zongdao, Zang Jing. The Chen ruler heard of his reputation, summoned him to the Chongyang Hall to lecture, and greatly admired him. When the future Emperor Yang of Sui was Prince of Jin at Yangzhou, he sent Wang Zixiang and Liu Guyin in turn to summon him. Yuanzhi came to pay his respects, and in an instant his beard and hair turned white. The Prince of Jin was alarmed and sent him away; shortly afterward they returned to normal. When Emperor Yang visited Zhuo commandery, he sent Vice Director Cui Fengju to invite him. Yuanzhi was received at Linsuo Palace; the Emperor personally performed the rites of a disciple and ordered a Jade Clarity Mysterious Altar built in the capital for his residence. When the Emperor traveled to Yangzhou, Yuanzhi advised that he should not leave the capital so far behind; Emperor Yang did not heed him.
17
高祖之龍潛也，遠知嘗密傳符命。 武德中，太宗平王世充，與房玄齡微服以謁之。 遠知迎謂曰：「此中有聖人，得非秦王乎？」 太宗因以實告。 遠知曰：「方作太平天子，願自惜也。」 太宗登極，將加重位，固請歸山。 至貞觀九年，敕潤州於茅山置太受觀，並度道士二十七人。 降璽書曰：「先生操履夷簡，德業沖粹，屏棄塵雜，棲誌虛玄，吐故納新，食芝餌術，念眾妙於三清之表，返華發於百齡之外，道邁前烈，聲高自古。 非夫得秘訣於金壇，受幽文於玉笈者，其孰能與此乎！ 朕昔在籓朝，早獲問道，眷言風範，無忘寤寐。 近覽來奏，請歸舊山，已有別敕，不違高誌，並許置觀，用表宿心。 未知先生早晚已屆江外，所營棟宇，何當就功？ 佇聞委曲，副茲引領。 近已令太史薛頤等往詣，令宣朕意。」
While the High Ancestor was still in obscurity, Yuanzhi once secretly conveyed to him the talismanic mandate of rule. During the Wude period, after Taizong had defeated Wang Shichong, he and Fang Xuanling visited Yuanzhi in plain clothes. Yuanzhi greeted them and said, "There is a sage among you — could it be the Prince of Qin?" Taizong thereupon told him the truth. Yuanzhi said, "You are about to become Son of Heaven in an age of peace — take care of yourself." When Taizong took the throne, he was about to grant him higher rank, but Yuanzhi firmly asked to return to the mountains. In the ninth year of Zhenguan, an edict ordered Runzhou to establish the Taisou Abbey on Mount Mao and ordain twenty-seven Daoist priests. An imperial letter said, "Master, your conduct is serene and plain, your virtue pure and refined. You have cast off worldly distractions and fixed your mind on the mysterious void. Expelling the old and drawing in the new, eating spirit fungi and ingesting elixirs — you contemplate all wonders beyond the Three Pures and restore black hair past a hundred years. Your Way surpasses former exemplars; your fame has towered since antiquity. Unless one has gained secret formulas from the golden altar and received hidden writings from the jade casket, who could equal this! When I was still in the princely court I early received instruction from you; I cherish your manner and never forget you, waking or asleep. Reading your recent memorial asking to return to your old mountain, I have already issued a separate edict honoring your lofty resolve and permitting an abbey to be built, in recognition of your long-held wish. I do not know whether you have already reached the country beyond the Yangtze; when will the halls you are building be finished? I await full word of it, to satisfy this eager longing. I have recently ordered Grand Astrologer Xue Yi and others to visit you and convey my wishes."
18
其年，遠知謂弟子籓師正曰：「吾見仙格，以吾小時誤損一童子吻，不得白日升天。 見署少室伯，將行在即。」 翌日，沐浴，加冠衣，焚香而寢。 卒，年一百二十六歲。 調露二年，追贈遠知太中大夫，謚曰升真先生。 則天臨朝，追贈金紫光祿大夫。 天授二年，改謚曰升玄先生。 潘師正潘師正，趙州贊皇人也。 少喪母，廬於墓側，以至孝聞。 大業中，度為道士，師事王遠知，盡以道門隱訣及符箓授之。 師正清凈寡欲，居於嵩山之逍遙谷，積二十余年，但服松葉飲水而已。 高宗幸東都，因召見與語，問師正：「山中有何所須？」 師正對曰：「所須松樹清泉，山中不乏。」 高宗與天後甚尊敬之，留連信宿而還。 尋敕所司於師正所居造崇唐觀，嶺上別起精思觀以處之。 初置奉天宮，帝令所司於逍遙谷口特開一門，號曰仙遊門； 又於苑北面置尋真門，皆為師正立名焉。 時太常奏新造樂曲，帝又令以《祈仙》、《望仙》、《翹仙》為名。 前後贈詩，凡數十首。
That year Yuanzhi told his disciple Pan Shizheng, "I have seen the immortal register: because in my youth I accidentally injured a child's mouth, I cannot ascend to Heaven in broad daylight. I see that I am appointed Earl of Shaoshi; my departure is near." The next day he bathed, put on cap and robes, burned incense, and lay down. He died at the age of one hundred twenty-six. In the second year of Tiaolu, Yuanzhi was posthumously made Grand Master of the Palace and given the posthumous title Master Who Ascended to Truth. When Empress Wu held court, he was posthumously made Supervisory Grand Master with the Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon. In the second year of Tianshou, his posthumous title was changed to Master Who Ascended to Mystery. Pan Shizheng was a native of Zanhuang in Zhao prefecture. He lost his mother in youth and lived in a hut beside her tomb; he was known for supreme filial devotion. During the Daye period he was ordained a Daoist priest and studied under Wang Yuanzhi, who fully transmitted to him the school's hidden formulas and talisman registers. Shizheng was pure and of few desires. He lived in Xiaoyao Valley on Mount Song for more than twenty years, eating only pine needles and drinking water. When Gaozong visited the Eastern Capital, he summoned Shizheng to speak with him and asked, "What do you need in the mountains?" Shizheng replied, "What I need — pine trees and clear springs — the mountains have in plenty." Gaozong and Empress Wu treated him with great respect and stayed two nights before returning. Soon an edict ordered the relevant offices to build the Chongtang Abbey at Shizheng's dwelling and separately erect the Jingsi Abbey on the ridge for his residence. When the Fengtian Palace was first established, the Emperor ordered a special gate opened at the mouth of Xiaoyao Valley, called the Gate of Immortal Roaming; He also placed the Gate of Seeking Truth on the north side of the park — all these names were created for Shizheng. At the time the Court of Sacrifices presented newly composed musical pieces, and the Emperor also ordered them named Praying to Immortals, Gazing at Immortals, and Raising toward Immortals. Poems bestowed on him before and after totaled several dozen.
19
師正以永淳元年卒，時年九十八。 高宗及天後追思不已，贈太中大夫，賜謚曰體玄先生。 劉道合道士劉道合者，陳州宛丘人。 初與潘師正同隱於嵩山。 高宗聞其名，令於隱所置太一觀以居之。 召入宮中，深尊禮之。 及將封太山，屬久雨，帝令道合於儀鸞殿作止雨之術，俄而霽朗，帝大悅。 又令道合馳傳先上太山，以祈福祐。 前後賞賜，皆散施貧乏，未嘗有所蓄積。
Shizheng died in the first year of Yongchun at the age of ninety-eight. Gaozong and Empress Wu remembered him with unceasing fondness, granted him Grand Master of the Palace, and bestowed the posthumous title Master Who Embodied Mystery. The Daoist priest Liu Daohe was a native of Wanqiu in Chen prefecture. At first he lived in reclusion on Mount Song together with Pan Shizheng. Gaozong heard of his reputation and ordered the Taiyi Abbey built at his hermitage for his residence. He was summoned to the palace and treated with deep respect. When the Emperor was about to perform the feng sacrifice on Mount Tai, prolonged rain set in; he ordered Daohe to perform rain-stopping rites in the Hall of Ceremonial Regalia. Soon the sky cleared, and the Emperor was greatly pleased. He also ordered Daohe to travel by post relay to ascend Mount Tai ahead of him and pray for divine blessing. Rewards given him before and after he distributed to the poor; he never kept anything for himself.
20
高宗又令道合合還丹，丹成而上之。 咸亨中，卒。 及帝營奉天宮，遷道合之殯室，弟子開棺將改葬，其屍惟有空皮，而背上開拆，有似蟬蛻，盡失其齒骨，眾謂屍解。 高宗聞之，不悅，曰：「劉師為我合丹，自服仙去。 其所進者，亦無異焉！」 司馬承禎道士司馬承禎，字子微。 河內溫人，周晉州刺史、瑯邪公裔玄孫。 少好學，薄於為吏，遂為道士。 事籓師正，傳其符箓及辟谷導引服餌之術。 師正特賞異之，謂曰：「我自陶隱居傳正一之法，至汝四葉矣。」 承禎嘗遍遊名山，乃止於天臺山。 則天聞其名，召至都，降手敕以贊美之。 及將還，敕麟臺監李嶠餞之於洛橋之東。
Gaozong also ordered Daohe to compound elixir pills; when the elixir was finished he presented it to the throne. He died during the Xianheng period. When the Emperor built the Fengtian Palace and moved Daohe's coffin chamber, disciples opened the coffin to rebury him. The corpse was only an empty skin; the back was split open like a cicada's slough, teeth and bones entirely gone — everyone said it was corporeal dissolution. Gaozong heard this and was displeased. He said, "Master Liu compounded elixir for me, then took it himself and departed as an immortal. What he presented to me was no different!" The Daoist priest Sima Chengzhen, courtesy name Ziwei. He was a native of Wen in Henei and the great-great-grandson of Yi Xuan, governor of Jin Province under the Northern Zhou and Marquis of Langya. From youth he loved learning and had little taste for office, so he became a Daoist priest. He served Pan Shizheng and received the transmission of talisman registers and the arts of grain avoidance, guided breathing, and medicinal ingestion. Shizheng especially admired him and said, "From the time I received the Way of Orthodox Oneness from Master Tao the Recluse, you are the fourth generation." Chengzhen once traveled widely among famous mountains, then settled on Mount Tiantai. Empress Wu heard of his reputation, summoned him to the capital, and issued a personal edict praising him. When he was about to return, she ordered Li Qiao, Director of the Pavilion of Unicorn Records, to give him a farewell banquet east of the Luo Bridge.
21
景雲二年，睿宗令其兄承祎就天臺山追之至京，引入宮中，問以陰陽術數之事。 承禎對曰：「道經之旨：『為道日損，損之又損，以至於無為。』 且心目所知見者，每損之尚未能已，豈復攻乎異端，而增其智慮哉！」 帝曰：「理身無為，則清高矣！ 理國無為，如何？」 對曰：「國猶身也。 《老子》曰：『遊心於淡，合氣於漠，順物自然而無私焉，而天下理。』 《易》曰：『聖人者，與天地合其德。』 是知天不言而信，不為而成。 無為之旨，理國之道也。」 睿宗嘆息曰：「廣成之言，即斯是也！」 承禎固辭還山，仍賜寶琴一張，及霞紋帔而遣之，朝中詞人贈詩者百余人。
In the second year of Jingyun, Ruizong sent Chengzhen's elder brother Chengyi to Mount Tiantai to bring him to the capital; he was brought into the palace and questioned about yin-yang and numerological arts. Chengzhen replied, "The gist of the Daoist scripture is: 'In pursuing the Way one daily diminishes, diminishing again and again, until one reaches non-action. Yet what the eyes and mind know and see — to diminish it each day I still cannot finish; how much less should one pursue heterodox arts and add to one's cleverness and deliberation!" The Emperor said, "Non-action in ordering the person — then one is pure and lofty! Non-action in ordering the state — how is that done?" He replied, "The state is like the person. The Laozi says, 'Let the heart roam in simplicity, blend breath with the vast, follow things' nature without selfishness — and all under Heaven is ordered.' The Yijing says, 'The sage joins his virtue with Heaven and Earth. From this one knows that Heaven speaks not yet is trusted, acts not yet accomplishes. The principle of non-action is the Way of ordering the state." Ruizong sighed and said, "The words of Guangcheng — this is exactly it!" Chengzhen firmly declined and returned to the mountains. He was still given a precious zither and a cloud-pattern cape as he was sent off, and more than a hundred poets at court presented poems to him.
22
開元九年，玄宗又遣使迎入京，親受法箓，前後賞賜甚厚。 十年，駕還西都，承禎又請還天臺山，玄宗賦詩以遣之。 十五年，又召至都。 玄宗令承禎於王屋山自選形勝，置壇室以居焉。 承禎因上言：「今五嶽神祠，皆是山林之神，非正真之神也。 五嶽皆有洞府，各有上清真人降任其職，山川風雨，陰陽氣序，是所理焉。 冠冕章服，佐從神仙，皆有名數。 請別立齋祠之所。」 玄宗從其言，因敕五嶽各置真君祠一所，其形象制度，皆令承禎推按道經，創意為之。
In the ninth year of Kaiyuan, Xuanzong again sent envoys to welcome him to the capital; he personally received the ritual registers, and the rewards before and after were very generous. In the tenth year, when the imperial carriage returned to the Western Capital, Chengzhen again asked to return to Mount Tiantai, and Xuanzong composed a poem to send him off. In the fifteenth year he was again summoned to the capital. Xuanzong ordered Chengzhen to choose for himself a scenic site on Mount Wangwu and establish an altar chamber to live there. Chengzhen thereupon submitted a memorial saying, "The shrines of the Five Sacred Peaks today all honor mountain-and-forest spirits, not the true and orthodox spirits. Each of the Five Peaks has a cavern palace, and in each a Shangqing Perfected One descends to assume office — mountains, rivers, wind, rain, and the yin-yang ordering of qi are what they govern. Their caps, regalia, and attendant immortals all have fixed names and ranks. I ask that separate places for fasting and sacrifice be established." Xuanzong followed his advice and ordered one True Lord shrine established at each of the Five Peaks; their images and ritual systems were all designed by Chengzhen according to Daoist scriptures.
23
承禎頗善篆隸書，玄宗令以三體寫《老子經》，因刊正文句，定著五千三百八十言為真本以奏上之。 以承禎王屋所居為陽臺觀，上自題額，遣使送之。 賜絹三百匹，以充藥餌之用。 俄又令玉真公主及光祿卿韋縚至其所居，修金箓齋，復加以錫賫。
Chengzhen was quite skilled in seal and clerical script. Xuanzong ordered him to copy the Laozi in the three script styles; he corrected the text and established 5,380 characters as the true version, which he presented to the throne. Chengzhen's dwelling on Mount Wangwu was established as Yangtai Abbey; the Emperor personally inscribed the plaque and sent an envoy to deliver it. He was granted three hundred bolts of silk to supply his medicinal preparations. Soon afterward Princess Yuzhen and the Minister of Imperial Entertainments Wei Tao were sent to his dwelling to perform a golden-register fasting ritual, and he received further imperial gifts.
24
是歲，卒於王屋山，時年八十九。 其弟子表稱； 「死之日，有雙鶴饒壇，及白雲從壇中湧出，上連於天，而師容色如生。」 玄宗深嘆之，乃下制曰：「混成不測，入寥自化。 雖獨立有象，而至極則冥。 故王屋山道士司馬子微，心依道勝，理會玄遠，遍遊名山，密契仙洞。 存觀其妙，逍遙得意之場； 亡復其根，宴息無何之境。 固以名登真格，位在靈官。 林壑未改，遐霄已曠； 言念高烈，有愴於懷。 宜贈徽章，用光丹箓。 可銀青光祿大夫，號真一先生。」 仍為親制碑文。 吳筠吳筠，魯中之儒士也。 少通經，善屬文，舉進士不第。 性高潔，不奈流俗。 乃入嵩山，依潘師正為道士，傳正一之法，苦心鉆仰，乃盡通其術。 開元中，南遊金陵，訪道茅山。 久之，東遊天臺。
That year he died on Mount Wangwu, at the age of eighty-nine. His disciples submitted a memorial stating: "On the day of his death, a pair of cranes circled the altar, and white clouds surged from within it, rising to join Heaven above, while the Master's countenance remained as in life." Xuanzong sighed deeply and issued an edict: "The undivided whole cannot be fathomed; entering the vast void, one transforms of oneself. Though standing alone it has form, at the utmost limit it is dark and hidden. Thus Sima Ziwei, the Daoist of Mount Wangwu, whose heart relied on the triumph of the Way and whose understanding grasped the profound and distant, traveled widely among famous mountains and secretly attuned himself to immortal caverns. While living he contemplated its subtlety in the free-roaming realm of fulfilled intent; in death he returned to his root, resting at ease in the realm of nothing-at-all. Truly his name ascends to the register of perfection, his rank among the spirit officials. The forests and ravines are unchanged, yet the distant heavens are already empty; speaking of his lofty virtue, sorrow fills the heart. It is fitting to grant him an honorary title, to illuminate his cinnabar register. He is to be made Silver-Gleam Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, with the style Master Zhenyi." The Emperor also personally composed an epitaph for him. Wu Yun was a Confucian scholar from Lu. In youth he mastered the classics and was skilled at literary composition, but he failed the jinshi examination. His nature was lofty and pure, and he could not endure the ways of the world. He thereupon entered Mount Song, became a Daoist under Pan Shizheng, received transmission of the Zhengyi methods, and through arduous study mastered all its arts. During the Kaiyuan era he traveled south to Jinling and sought the Way on Mount Mao. After a long while he traveled east to Mount Tiantai.
25
筠尤善著述，在剡與越中文士為詩酒之會，所著歌篇，傳於京師。 玄宗聞其名，遣使征之。 既至，與語甚悅，令待詔翰林。 帝問以道法，對曰：「道法之精，無如五千言，其諸枝詞蔓說，徒費紙劄耳！」 又問神仙修煉之事，對曰：「此野人之事，當以歲月功行求之，非人主之所宜適意。」 每與緇黃列坐，朝臣啟奏，筠之所陳，但名教世務而已，間之以諷詠，以達其誠。 玄宗深重之。
Yun was especially skilled at writing; in Shan he joined literary men of Yue in gatherings of poetry and wine, and the songs he composed spread to the capital. Xuanzong heard of him and sent envoys to summon him. When he arrived, the Emperor was greatly pleased in conversation with him and appointed him to attend at the Hanlin Academy. The Emperor asked him about Daoist methods. He replied, "The essence of Daoist teaching is nowhere better than in the five thousand words; all the branching words and spreading explanations merely waste paper!" He was again asked about the cultivation of immortals. He replied, "This is the business of recluses; it must be sought through years of merit and practice — not a matter in which a ruler should take delight." Whenever he sat in assembly with monks and Daoists as court ministers presented memorials, what Yun offered concerned only moral teaching and worldly affairs, interspersed with satirical verse to express his sincerity. Xuanzong held him in deep esteem.
26
天寶中，李林甫、楊國忠用事，綱紀日紊。 筠知天下將亂，堅求還嵩山。 累表不許，乃詔於嶽觀別立道院。 祿山將亂，求還茅山，許之。 既而中原大亂，江淮多盜，乃東遊會稽。 嘗於天臺剡中往來，與詩人李白、孔巢父詩篇酬和，逍遙泉石，人多從之。 竟終於越中。 文集二十卷，其《玄綱》三篇、《神仙可學論》等，為達識之士所稱。
During the Tianbao era, Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong held power, and government discipline grew daily more disordered. Yun knew the realm would soon fall into chaos and firmly requested to return to Mount Song. His repeated memorials were denied; an edict then ordered a separate Daoist compound established at the mountain abbey. As Lushan was about to rebel, he requested to return to Mount Mao and was permitted. Soon the Central Plains fell into great chaos and bandits multiplied along the Yangzi and Huai; he then traveled east to Kuaiji. He often traveled between Mount Tiantai and Shan, exchanging poems with the poets Li Bai and Kong Chaofu, roaming freely among springs and rocks, and many followed him. He ultimately died in Yue. His collected works comprise twenty juan; his three essays "Mysterious Principles," "On Whether Immortals Can Be Learned," and the like were praised by men of discerning insight.
27
筠在翰林時，特承恩顧，由是為群僧之所嫉。 驃騎高力士素奉佛，嘗短筠於上前，筠不悅，乃求還山。 故所著文賦，深詆釋氏，亦為通人所譏。 然詞理宏通，文彩煥發，每制一篇，人皆傳寫。 雖李白之放蕩，杜甫之壯麗，能兼之者，其唯筠乎！ 孔述睿孔述睿，趙州人也。 曾祖昌宇，膳部郎中。 祖舜，監察御史。 父齊參，寶鼎令。 述睿少與兄克符、弟克讓，皆事親以孝聞。 既孤，俱隱於嵩山。 述睿好學不倦，大歷中，轉運使劉晏累表薦述睿有顏、閔之行，遊、夏之學。 代宗以太常寺協律郎征之。 轉國子博士，歷遷尚書司勛員外郎、史館修撰。 述睿每加恩命，暫至朝廷謝恩，旬日即辭疾，卻歸舊隱。
When Yun was at the Hanlin Academy he enjoyed special imperial favor, and for this was envied by the Buddhist clergy. The Cavalry General Gao Lishi had long been devoted to Buddhism and often spoke ill of Yun before the Emperor; Yun was displeased and requested to return to the mountains. Therefore the essays and rhapsodies he wrote deeply denounced Buddhism and were also ridiculed by men of broad understanding. Yet his diction and reasoning were broad and penetrating, his literary brilliance radiant; whenever he composed a piece, everyone copied it. Though Li Bai was untrammeled and Du Fu magnificent — who else could combine both but Yun! Kong Surui was a man of Zhao Prefecture. His great-grandfather Changyu was a Director in the Board of Provisions. His grandfather Shun was an Investigating Censor. His father Qi Can was Magistrate of Baoding County. Surui in youth, with his elder brother Kefu and younger brother Kerang, were all known for serving their parents with filial devotion. After they were orphaned, all withdrew to seclusion on Mount Song. Surui loved learning without weariness; during the Dali era the Transport Commissioner Liu Yan repeatedly memorialized recommending Surui for the conduct of Yan Hui and Min Ziqian and the learning of Ziyou and Zixia. Daizong summoned him as Harmonizing Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. He was transferred to Erudite of the National University, then successively promoted to Assistant Director in the Ministry of Personnel and Compiler at the Historiography Institute. Whenever Surui received an additional appointment he would briefly come to court to give thanks; within ten days he would plead illness and return to his former retreat.
28
德宗踐祚，以諫議大夫銀章硃綬，命河南尹趙惠伯賫詔書、玄纁束帛，就嵩山以禮征聘。 述睿既至，召對於別殿，特賜第宅，給以廄馬，兼為皇太子侍讀。 旬日後累表固辭，依前乞還舊山。 詔報之曰：「卿懷伊摯匡時之道，有廣成嘉遁之風。 養素丘園，屢辭命秩。 朕以峒山問道，渭水求師，亦何必務執勞謙，固求退讓！ 無違朕旨，且啟乃心。」 述睿既懇辭不獲，方就職。 久之，改秘書少監，兼右庶子，再加史館修撰。 述睿精於地理，在館乃重修《地理志》，時稱詳究。
When Dezong ascended the throne, he appointed Surui Remonstrance Counselor with silver seal and vermilion cord, and ordered the Henan Prefect Zhao Huibo to carry an edict, dark-and-crimson silk, and ceremonial gifts to Mount Song to summon him with full rites. When Surui arrived he was summoned for audience in a separate hall, specially granted a residence, given stable horses, and also made Reader to the Crown Prince. After ten days he repeatedly memorialized firmly declining, again requesting to return to his old mountain. An edict replied to him, "You bear the Way of Yi Yin and Jie Zhi in aiding the age, and the spirit of Guangcheng in noble withdrawal. You cultivate simplicity in garden and grove and have repeatedly declined appointments. I, like the Yellow Emperor seeking the Way on Mount Kongtong and seeking a teacher at the Wei River — why must you insist on laborious humility and firmly seek withdrawal! Do not go against my intent; open your heart as well." Surui, having earnestly declined without success, then took up his post. After a long while he was changed to Vice Director of the Palace Library, concurrently Right Subordinate of the Heir Apparent, and again made Compiler at the Historiography Institute. Surui was expert in geography; while at the Institute he thoroughly revised the "Geographical Treatise," which at the time was called exhaustive and thorough.
29
而又性謙和退讓，與物無競，每親朋集會，嘗恂恂然似不能言者，人皆敬之。 時令狐峘亦充修撰，與述睿同職，多以細碎之事侵述睿，述睿皆讓之，竟不與爭，時人稱為長者。
Moreover his nature was modest, gentle, and yielding; he contended with nothing; whenever kin and friends gathered he was always deferential, as though unable to speak — and all held him in respect. At the time Linghu Yan also served as compiler, sharing Surui's duties; he often encroached on Surui with petty matters, but Surui always yielded and never contended; men of the time called him an elder of virtue.
30
貞元四年，命賫詔並禦饌、衣服數百襲，往平涼盟會處祭陷歿將士骸骨，以述睿性精愨故也。 九年，以疾上表，請罷官。 詔不許，報之曰：「朕以卿德重朝端，行敦風俗，不言之教，所賴攸深，未依來請，想宜悉也。」
In the fourth year of Zhenyuan he was ordered to carry an edict together with imperial provisions and several hundred sets of clothing to the site of the Pingliang alliance to sacrifice over the bones of fallen officers and soldiers — because of Surui's scrupulous and sincere nature. In the ninth year, citing illness, he submitted a memorial requesting dismissal from office. An edict did not grant it and replied, "I regard your virtue as weighty at court and your conduct as enriching custom; the teaching without words relies deeply upon you — I have not granted your request; I trust you understand."
31
述睿再三上表，方獲允許，乃以太子賓客賜紫金魚袋致仕，放還鄉里。 仍賜帛五十匹，衣一襲。 故事，致仕還鄉者皆不給公乘，德宗優寵儒者，特命給而遣之。 貞元十六年九月卒，年七十一。 贈工部尚書。 子敏行。 子敏行敏行，字至之，舉進士，元和五年禮部侍郎崔樞下擢第。 呂元膺廉問嶽鄂，辟為賓佐。 丁母憂而罷。 後元膺為東都留守，移鎮河中。 敏行皆從之。 十四年，入為右拾遺，遷左補闕。 長慶中，為起居郎，改左司員外郎，歷司勛郎中，充集賢殿學士，遷吏部郎中，俄拜諫議大夫。 上疏論興元監軍楊叔元陰激募卒為亂，殺節度使李絳。 人不敢發其事，敏行上表極諍之，故叔元得罪，時論稱美。
Surui submitted memorials again and again before permission was granted; he was then retired with the title Guest of the Crown Prince, granted a purple-gold fish tally, and released to his home district. He was further granted fifty bolts of silk and one set of robes. By precedent, those who retired and returned home were not given official transport; Dezong, showing special favor to Confucian scholars, specially ordered transport provided and sent him off. In the ninth month of the sixteenth year of Zhenyuan he died, at the age of seventy-one. He was posthumously made Minister of Public Works. His son was Minxing. His son Minxing, styled Zhizhi, took the jinshi examination and in the fifth year of Yuanhe passed under Vice Minister of Rites Cui Shu. When Lü Yuanying conducted an inspection of Yue and E, he recruited Minxing as a staff member. He resigned upon completing mourning for his mother. Later Yuanying became Protector of the Eastern Capital and was transferred to command at Hezhong. Minxing followed him throughout. In the fourteenth year he entered court as Right Reminder and was promoted to Left Supplementation Censor. During the Changqing era he was Diarist, then changed to Assistant Director in the Left Department, successively served as Director in the Ministry of Personnel, was made Academician of the Jixian Hall, promoted to Director in the Ministry of Personnel, and soon appointed Remonstrance Counselor. He submitted a memorial arguing that the Xingyuan army supervisor Yang Shuyuan had secretly incited recruited soldiers to rebel and had killed the military governor Li Jiang. No one dared expose the matter; Minxing memorialized with utmost remonstrance, and so Shuyuan was punished — public opinion praised him.
32
敏行名臣之子，少而修潔，為人所稱； 及遊宦，與當時豪俊為友。 雖名華為一時冠，而貞規雅操，與父遠矣。 大和九年正月卒，年四十九，贈尚書工部侍郎。 陽城陽城，字亢宗，北平人也。 代為宦族。 家貧不能得書，乃求為集賢寫書吏，竊官書讀之，晝夜不出房； 經六年，乃無所不通。 既而隱於中條山。 遠近慕其德行，多從之學。 閭裏相訟者，不詣官府，詣城請決。 陜虢觀察使李泌聞其名，親詣其裏訪之，與語甚悅。 泌為宰相，薦為著作郎。 德宗令長安縣尉楊寧賫束帛詣夏縣所居而召之，城乃衣褐赴京，上章辭讓。 德宗遣中官持章服衣之，而後詔，賜帛五十匹。 尋遷諫議大夫。
Minxing was the son of a famous minister; in youth he was upright and pure and was praised by others; when he entered official service he befriended the leading men of the age. Though his fame and splendor topped the age, his steadfast principles and elegant conduct fell far short of his father's. In the first month of the ninth year of Dahe he died, at the age of forty-nine; he was posthumously made Vice Minister of Public Works in the Secretariat. Yang Cheng, styled Kangzong, was a man of Beiping. For generations his family had been an official clan. His family was poor and could not obtain books; he therefore sought to become a copyist at the Jixian Hall, secretly read the official books, and day and night did not leave his room; after six years there was nothing he had not mastered. Thereafter he withdrew to seclusion on Mount Zhongtiao. Near and far admired his virtue and conduct; many came to study under him. When neighbors had lawsuits they did not go to the magistrate but came to Cheng to request judgment. The Shaan-Guo Observation Commissioner Li Bi heard his name, personally went to his village to visit him, and was greatly pleased in conversation. When Bi became Chancellor he recommended Cheng as Drafting Secretary. Dezong ordered the Chang'an County Captain Yang Ning to carry silk gifts to his dwelling in Xia County and summon him; Cheng then wore coarse cloth and went to the capital, submitting a memorial declining. Dezong sent a eunuch bearing official robes to clothe him, and only then issued the edict, granting fifty bolts of silk. Soon afterward he was promoted to Remonstrance Counselor.
33
初未至京，人皆想望風彩，曰：「陽城山人能自刻苦，不樂名利，今為諫官，必能以死奉職。」 人鹹畏憚之。 及至，諸諫官紛紜言事，細碎無不聞達，天子益厭苦之。 而城方與二弟及客日夜痛飲，人莫能窺其際，皆以虛名譏之。 有造城所居，將問其所以者。 城望風知其意，引之與坐，輒強以酒。 客辭，城輒引自飲； 客不能已，乃與城酬酢。 客或時先醉，臥席上，城或時先醉，臥客懷中，不能聽客語。 約其二弟云：「吾所得月俸，汝可度吾家有幾口，月食米當幾何，買薪、菜、鹽凡用幾錢，先具之，其余悉以送酒媼，無留也。」 未嘗有所蓄積。 雖所服用有切急不可闕者，客稱某物佳可愛，城輒喜，舉而授之。 有陳某者，候其始請月俸，常往稱其錢帛之美，月有獲焉。
Before he even reached the capital, all eyes were on him. People said, "Yang Cheng the recluse of the hills knows how to harden himself against hardship and cares nothing for fame or gain. Now that he holds office as a remonstrance counselor, he will surely serve unto death. All feared and revered him. When he arrived, the remonstrance officials were already clamoring with petitions on every petty matter until nothing failed to reach the throne, and the emperor grew ever more weary of it. Meanwhile Cheng was carousing day and night with his two brothers and their guests. No one could penetrate his purpose, and all mocked him as a man of empty renown. Someone came to visit Cheng at his home, intending to ask what he meant by it. Cheng saw at once what he wanted and invited him to sit—but only to press wine on him relentlessly. When the guest refused, Cheng would drink the cup himself; until the guest could resist no longer and joined him in toasting back and forth. Sometimes the guest passed out first on the mat; sometimes Cheng passed out first in the guest's arms, too drunk to hear a word the guest said. He told his two brothers, "Take my monthly salary, figure how many we are at home and how much rice we need, set aside what firewood, vegetables, and salt will cost—and give everything left to the wine seller. Keep nothing back. He never saved a penny. Even things he could hardly do without—if a guest admired something he wore or used, Cheng would delightedly hand it over on the spot. A man named Chen made a habit of visiting just when Cheng drew his pay, praising the quality of his coins and cloth—and every month walked away with something.
34
時德宗在位，多不假宰相權，而左右得以因緣用事。 於是裴延齡、李齊運、韋渠牟尋以奸佞相次進用，誣譖時宰，毀詆大臣，陸贄等鹹遭枉黜，無敢救者。 城乃伏閣上疏，與拾遺王仲舒共論延齡奸佞，贄等無罪。 德宗大怒，召宰相入議，將加城罪。 時順宗在東宮，為城獨開解之，城賴之獲免。 於是金吾將軍張萬福聞諫官伏閣諫，趨往，至延英門，大言賀曰：「朝廷有直臣，天下必太平矣！」 乃造城及王仲舒等曰：「諸諫議能如此言事，天下安得不太平？」 已而連呼「太平，太平」。
In Dezong's reign the emperor often withheld power from the chancellors, and his close attendants seized every opening to rule in his name. Pei Yanling, Li Qiyun, and Wei Qumou rose one after another through wicked flattery. They framed the chief ministers and vilified the court's great men; Lu Zhi and others were unjustly driven out, and no one dared intervene. Cheng then prostrated himself at the palace gate and submitted a memorial with the Remonstrance Archivist Wang Zhongshu, denouncing Yanling's treachery and declaring Lu Zhi and the others innocent. Dezong flew into a rage, called the chancellors in, and was poised to punish Cheng. The crown prince Shunzong alone spoke in Cheng's defense, and Cheng was spared on his account. When the Jinwu General Zhang Wanfu heard that the remonstrance officials had taken their protest to the palace gate, he hurried to the Yanying Gate and cried out in celebration: "The court has an upright minister—all under Heaven will soon know peace! He went straight to Cheng and Wang Zhongshu. "If remonstrance counselors speak truth like this," he said, "how can the realm not be at peace?" Then he cried over and over, "Peace! Peace!"
35
萬福武人，年八十余，自此名重天下。 時朝夕欲相延齡，城曰：「脫以延齡為相，城當取白麻壞之。」 竟坐延齡事改國子司業。
Wanfu was a soldier, past eighty—and from that day his name resounded across the empire. The emperor was daily on the verge of appointing Yanling chancellor. Cheng declared, "If Yanling is made chancellor, I will seize the edict scroll and tear it to pieces. In the end he was demoted to Vice Director of the Directorate of Education over the Yanling affair.
36
城既至國學，乃召諸生，告之曰：「凡學者所以學，為忠與孝也。 諸生寧有久不省其親者乎？」 明日，告城歸養者二十余人。
When Cheng took up his post at the Imperial Academy, he summoned the students and told them: "You study for one reason—to learn loyalty and filial piety. Is there among you anyone who has long neglected his parents? The next day more than twenty asked leave to go home and nurse their parents.
37
有薛約者，嘗學於城，性狂躁，以言事得罪，徙連州，客寄無根蒂。 臺吏以蹤跡求得之於城家。 城坐臺吏於門，與約飲酒訣別，涕泣送之郊外。 德宗聞之，以城黨罪人，出為道州刺史。 太學生王魯卿、季償等二百七十人詣闕乞留，經數日，吏遮止之，疏不得上。
A former student named Xue Yue—restless and hot-tempered—had offended the throne by speaking out and been banished to Lianzhou, a stranger far from home with nowhere to land. Censorial officers tracked him down to Cheng's home. Cheng had the officers wait at the gate while he shared a farewell cup with Yue, then walked him out of the city weeping. When Dezong learned of it, he judged Cheng guilty of sheltering a criminal and banished him to be prefect of Daozhou. Two hundred seventy Imperial Academy students, led by Wang Luqing and Ji Chang, petitioned at the palace gate to keep Cheng at court; for days officials barred their way and the memorial never reached the throne.
38
在道州，以家人法待吏人，宜罰者罰之，宜賞者賞之，不以簿書介意。 道州土地產民多矮，每年常配鄉戶，竟以其男號為「矮奴」。 城下車，禁以良為賤，又憫其編甿歲有離異之苦，乃抗疏論而免之，自是乃停其貢。 民皆賴之，無不泣荷。 前刺史有贓罪。 觀察使方推鞫之，吏有幸於前刺史者，拾其不法事以告，自為功，城立杖殺之。 賦稅不登，觀察使數加誚讓。 州上考功第，城自署其第曰：「撫字心勞，征科政拙，考下下。」 觀察使遣判官督其賦，至州，怪城不出迎，以問州吏。 吏曰：「刺史聞判官來，以為有罪，自囚於獄，不敢出。」 判官大驚，馳入謁城於獄，曰：「使君何罪！ 某奉命來候安否耳。」 留一二日未去，城因不復歸館； 門外有故門扇橫地，城晝夜坐臥其上，判官不自安，辭去。 其後又遣他判官往按之，他判官義不欲按，乃載妻子行，中道而自逸。
At Daozhou he governed officials and commoners as a head of household would: punishing when punishment was due, rewarding when reward was due, with little thought for paperwork. The people of Daozhou tended to be short of stature; every year rural households were levied to supply tribute, and their sons were listed as "dwarf slaves." On taking office Cheng forbade treating free men as chattel and, grieving the annual wrench of families torn apart, submitted a bold memorial that ended the levy—and the tribute ceased. The people blessed him; all wept with gratitude. The former prefect was guilty of embezzlement. While the observation commissioner was investigating, a clerk who had curried favor with the former prefect gathered evidence of his crimes to claim credit—Cheng had him beaten to death on the spot. Tax returns fell short, and the observation commissioner rebuked him again and again. When the prefecture filed its merit rating, Cheng wrote his own grade: "Governing the people with a weary heart, collecting taxes with a clumsy hand—lowest of the low. The observation commissioner sent a staff reviewer to press for taxes. When he arrived, Cheng did not come out to greet him, and the reviewer asked the clerks why. They said, "When our prefect heard you were coming, he took himself for a criminal and locked himself in the jail. The reviewer was aghast. He rushed into the jail and found Cheng. "What crime have you committed, my lord? I am here only to inquire after your health." When the reviewer lingered a day or two, Cheng refused to return to the official guesthouse; instead he day and night sat and slept on an old door panel lying in the yard until the unnerved reviewer departed. Another reviewer was dispatched; unwilling on principle to carry out the investigation, he set out with his family—and vanished halfway there.
39
順宗即位，詔征之，而城已卒。 士君子惜之，是歲四月，賜其家錢二百貫文，仍令所在州縣給遞，以喪歸葬焉。 崔覲崔覲，梁州城固人。 為儒不樂仕進，以耕稼為業。 老而無子，乃以田宅家財分給奴婢，令各為生業。 覲夫妻遂隱於城固南山，家事不問。 約奴婢遞過其舍，至則供給酒食而已。 夫婦林泉相對，以嘯詠自娛。 山南西道節度使鄭余慶高其行，辟為節度參謀，累邀方至府第。 為吏無方略，苦不達人事，余慶以長者優容之。 太和八年，左補闕王直方上疏論事，得召見，文宗便殿訪以時事。 直方亦興元人，與覲城固山為鄰，是日因薦覲有高行，詔以起居郎征之。 覲辭疾不起。 卒於山。
When Shunzong took the throne he issued a summons to recall Cheng—but Cheng was already dead. Scholars mourned him. That April the court granted his family two hundred strings of cash and ordered every prefecture and county along the route to furnish relay couriers so his remains might be carried home for burial. Cui Xian was a native of Chenggu in Liangzhou. A Confucian scholar, he shunned official advancement and lived by the plow. Childless in old age, he divided his fields, house, and fortune among his servants and freed them to make their own livings. He and his wife retired to the southern hills of Chenggu and left all household matters behind. Former servants were to visit in rotation; when they came he offered wine and a meal—and nothing more. Man and wife faced each other among woods and streams, amusing themselves with song and verse. Zheng Yuqing, commissioner of Shannan West Circuit, admired his character and invited him as a staff officer—but only after many summonses did Xian come to the commissioner's gate. He proved hopeless at administration and painfully inept with people; Yuqing indulged him as one indulges an elder. In the eighth year of Taihe the Left Supplementation Remonstrance Censor Wang Zhifang memorialized on state affairs, was summoned to audience, and in Emperor Wenzong's private hall was questioned on the times. Zhifang was also from Xingyuan and lived near Xian in the Chenggu hills; that day he recommended Xian for his exalted character, and the throne summoned him as Diary Archivist. Xian pleaded illness and refused the appointment. He died in the hills.
40
贊曰：高士忘懷，不隱不顯。 依隱釣名，真風漸鮮。 結廬泉石，投紱市朝。 心無出處，是曰逍遙。
Encomium: The lofty soul forgets itself—neither hidden nor on display. Those who feign retirement to fish for renown have thinned the age's true integrity. Some build huts among springs and stone; others cast off their seals in the halls of power. When the heart no longer cares whether to serve or withdraw—that is true freedom.