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Volume 190 Biographies 140: Men of Letters 3

Chapter 200 of 舊唐書 · Old Book of Tang
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1
殿 便
Li Hua, whose courtesy name was Xiashu, came from Zhao commandery. In 735 he passed the jinshi civil examination. During the Tianbao reign he entered court service as a supervisory censor. He rose in turn to attendant censor and to vice director in both the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. Hua excelled at literary composition and was on friendly terms with Xiao Yingshi of Lanling. While still a jinshi candidate, Hua composed a Rhapsody on the Hanyuan Hall of more than ten thousand characters. Yingshi read it and exclaimed, "It ranks above the Jingfu and below the Lingguang." Hua wrote in a warm, elegant style with little of the grand and heroic, whereas Yingshi's diction was sharp and brilliant. Hua thought his own work the better and suspected that Yingshi's praise was insincere. He therefore composed his Lament for an Ancient Battlefield, smoked and smudged the manuscript until it looked like an old relic, and hid it among Buddhist texts. While Hua and Yingshi were leafing through Buddhist books they came upon it. Hua asked him, "How do you rate this essay?" Yingshi replied, "It will do." Hua asked, "Among the leading writers of our day, who could match this?" Yingshi answered, "If you give the matter a little more thought, you could write at this level yourself." Hua was dumbfounded. Hua wrote a treatise arguing that tortoise-shell and milfoil divination ought to be abandoned, and thoughtful men endorsed his position.
2
祿
When An Lushan seized the capital, Emperor Xuanzong fled the court. Hua failed to join the imperial entourage, fell into rebel hands, and was given a false appointment as Secretariat Drafter. After the capital was retaken, the Three Offices classified his offense at a reduced grade and demoted him leniently. He was then dismissed to live at home, where he died. Hua once wrote the epitaph for Yuan Dexiu, magistrate of Lushan; Yan Zhenqing penned the inscription and Li Yangbing cut the title in seal script. Later generations copied it eagerly, and it became known as the "Stele of Four Excellences." His collected works in ten juan circulated widely in his day.
3
忿 使忿 鹿 輿 調 使 滿 退 使 殿 祿使 西 西 沿 西 使 調
Xiao Yingshi, whose courtesy name was Maoting, passed the jinshi examination in the same year as Li Hua. During the Kaiyuan reign, the empire was at peace and talented men flocked together like traders at a fair. Zeng Xiyu, Zhang Yong, Wei Shu, and their circle all enjoyed great fame, and Yingshi moved in all their company. Because of this, many court officials spoke well of him. Li Linfu heard of his reputation, wanted to advance and employ him, and summoned him to an audience. At the time Yingshi was living in Guangling. His mother had just died, so he set out for the capital in hemp mourning dress and went directly to call on Li Linfu at the administrative secretariat. Li Linfu had never met him before. Seeing him in hemp mourning garb, he took an instant dislike to him and had him sent away at once. Yingshi was furious and wrote a satirical "Rhapsody on Felling Cherry Trees" to attack Li Linfu, saying: "Raising up useless pruned wood, sheltering yourself under the parent branch; Flooding the grove without rightful claim, seizing the honored place in the temple courtyard. Though laid out first and borne forward for presentation, is it the true flavor for the harmonizing broth?" His reckless bluntness and lack of deference were all of this kind, yet his brilliance was unmatched. He once visited Longmen south of Luoyang with Li Hua and Lu Ju. The three of them read an old stele by the roadside together: Yingshi could recite it after a single reading, Hua after two, and Ju only after three. Commentators took the relative standing of the three men's talent and character to match this exactly. At that time even foreign peoples knew Yingshi's name. When a Silla envoy came to court, he said his countrymen wished to have Master Xiao as their teacher. His fame stirred both China and the borderlands, yet in the end he died thwarted by his own arrogance, insolence, and narrow-spirited resentment. Han, a kinsman of Li Hua's, also won renown as a jinshi graduate. During the Tianbao reign he made his home as a guest in Yangdi. His prose was meticulous, and the labor of composition was bitter and arduous. He often asked Huangfu Zeng, magistrate of Yangdi, for music. Whenever his thoughts dried up he would have music played; when his mind was at ease he would write. During the An Lushan rebellion he followed his friend Zhang Xun as a guest in Song prefecture. Xun led the people of the prefecture in defending the city; the rebels besieged it for a year, and it fell only when food and arrows were exhausted. Those who at the time looked down on Xun claimed he had surrendered to the rebels. Han thereupon recounted Xun's deeds in defending the city, wrote biographies of Zhang Xun, Yao Yin, and others in two scrolls, and submitted them to Emperor Suzong. In this way Xun's loyal and righteous character was made clear, and his friends praised Han for it. During the Shangyuan reign he served as sheriff of Wei county, then entered court as an attendant censor. Lu Ju was a sixth-generation descendant of Teng, Duke of Shangyong of Zhou. Orphaned in youth, he wrote with brilliance and ease and spoke with bold, sweeping eloquence. Not until he was in his thirties did he first go to the capital and sit for the jinshi examination. When leading officials read his work, they spoke highly of him. He was recruited as a staff officer and rose through successive posts to vice director in the Ministry of Personnel. He died in 754. During the Kaiyuan and Tianbao reigns, well-known men of letters included Cui Hao of Bianzhou, Wang Changling and Gao Shi of Jingzhao, and Meng Haoran of Xiangyang. None of them rose to commensurate rank and standing except Gao Shi, who attained high office and has his own biography. Cui Hao passed the jinshi civil examination. He had outstanding talent but little of a gentleman's conduct, and was fond of gambling and drink. When he went to the capital he married for beauty, choosing attractive women, and if he was the least dissatisfied he would cast them off—he did this four or five times in all. He rose through successive posts to vice director in the Ministry of Personnel. He died in 754. Wang Changling passed the jinshi examination and was appointed collator in the Secretariat. He also passed the erudite-literary examination, was later transferred to sheriff of Sishui county, failed to watch his lesser conduct, was demoted and censured repeatedly, and died. Changling wrote in a finely wrought style with lucid thought, and left a collection of writings in five scrolls. Meng Haoran lived in seclusion on Mount Lumen and found his fulfillment in poetry. At forty he traveled to the capital, failed the jinshi examination, and went home. When Zhang Jiuling of Xiangyang governed Jingzhou, he appointed Meng Haoran as a staff officer and exchanged poems with him. Meng died without attaining high office. Yuan Dexiu came from Henan; his courtesy name was Zizhi. In 733 he passed the jinshi civil examination. He was plain and unpretentious by nature, shunned artificial adornment, and always modeled himself on the ancient way. His father served as prefect of Yanzhou. Dexiu was orphaned and poor as a youth; he cared for his mother and became known for filial devotion. During Kaiyuan, when he went up each year for the provincial examinations, he could not bear to leave his mother behind. Each time he made the journey he carried her in a palanquin on his own back all the way to Chang'an. After he passed the examination, his mother died. He lived in a hut beside her grave, ate no salt or dairy, slept on straw without even a mat, pricked his blood to paint her portrait, and copied Buddhist sutras. Eventually, the need to earn a living as an orphan drew him into official service, and he was posted as assistant magistrate of Nanhe in Xingzhou. His assistance in governance brought benevolent rule; the touring inspector reported this to the court, and he was summoned to serve as recorder-adjutant of the Longwu Army. Dexiu had lost both parents early; periods of mourning followed one after another, and he had never married while they were alive. Once orphaned, he never married at all. Kinsmen warned that he would leave no heir, but Dexiu said, "My elder brother has a son to carry on the ancestral rites." When his brother's son was to marry and the family could not afford the ceremony, he sought appointment as magistrate of Lushan. He had earlier fallen from a cart and injured his foot, so he could not perform the quick ceremonial bow; the prefect of Ru treated him with the courtesy due a guest. A local man turned to theft; officers arrested him and held him in prison. Just then a fierce beast was terrorizing the county border. The thief stepped forward and said, "I am willing to kill the beast to earn my pardon." Dexiu agreed. A clerk said, "This is only a ruse to escape punishment. If you release a prisoner on your own authority, will we not all be blamed?" Dexiu replied, "I will not break my word. If blame falls, I alone shall answer for it—I promise it will not reach any of you." He immediately removed the man's restraints and set him free. The next day the man killed the beast and returned. He transformed people through sincerity and good faith; most of his conduct was of this sort. When his term ended, he traveled south to Luhun. Struck by the beautiful landscape, he felt a deep longing to withdraw from the world for good and built a hut in a mountain hollow. In a year of famine his kitchen went cold, yet he played the zither and read books, entirely content. Enthusiasts came bearing wine and food. He made no distinction between the worthy and the unworthy, drank with them freely, and in easy joy left the world behind. Between zither and wine cup he sometimes turned to verse, writing straight from feeling without ornamental carving of language. His works "On Prince Ji Listening to Music" and "Rhapsody on the Limping Scholar" won praise from leading men of letters. He died in Tianbao 13, aged fifty-nine; his disciples posthumously honored him as Master Wenxing. Scholar-officials revered his character and, rather than use his personal name, called him Yuan of Lushan. Wang Wei, whose courtesy name was Mojie, came from Qi in Taiyuan. His father Chulian ended his career as vice administrator of Fenzhou; the family then moved to Pu and became natives of Hedong. Wei passed the jinshi examination in Kaiyuan 9. He served his mother, Lady Cui, and was known for his filial devotion. He and his younger brother Jin were both gifted; their broad learning and many talents won equal renown, and within the household they were devoted brothers, so scholars widely praised them. He served successively as Right Reminder, investigating censor, Left Supplementation-er, and director in the Ministry of Revenue. While mourning his mother he wasted away to skin and bone, nearly unable to endure the grief. When mourning ended, he was appointed director in the Ministry of Personnel. Near the end of Tianbao he served as Supervising Secretariat Drafter. When An Lushan seized the two capitals, Emperor Xuanzong fled the court. Wei failed to join the imperial entourage and was captured by the rebels. Wei took medicine to induce dysentery and pretended to be mute from illness. An Lushan had always favored him, sent men to bring him to Luoyang, confined him at Puji Monastery, and forced him to accept a false appointment. An Lushan feasted his followers at Ningbi Palace; the musicians were all Liyuan disciples and craftsmen of the Directorate of Music. Wei heard this and was stricken with grief. Secretly he composed a poem: "In ten thousand homes sorrow rises with wild smoke—when will the hundred officials again bow to the Son of Heaven? Autumn locust blossoms fall in the empty palace; at the head of Ningbi Pool, pipes and strings are played." After the rebellion was suppressed, officials who had served under the rebels were judged under the three grades of culpability. Wei's Ningbi poem reached the emperor at the traveling court, and Emperor Suzong praised it. At the same time Jin asked to surrender his own post as Vice Minister of Justice to redeem his brother's offense, and Wei was specially pardoned and demoted to Palace Companion to the Heir Apparent. In the Qianyuan era he rose to Palace Attendant to the Heir Apparent and Secretariat Drafter, was again appointed Supervising Secretariat Drafter, and then became Vice Director of the Right in the Ministry of Revenue. Wei's poetic fame flourished during Kaiyuan and Tianbao. The brothers held office in both capitals, and at the gates of princes, imperial sons-in-law, and powerful nobles none failed to sweep the mat and welcome them; the Princes of Ning and Xue treated them as teachers and friends. Wei was especially accomplished in five-character poetry. Someone acquired a painting of a musical performance but did not know its title. Wei looked at it and said, "This is the first beat of the third movement of 'Rainbow Skirts.'" Enthusiasts assembled musicians to perform the piece accordingly, and not a single note was wrong. All marveled at his keen musical insight. Wang Wei and his brother both devoted themselves to Buddhism. They ordinarily ate vegetarian food and abstained from meat; in later years Wang Wei kept long fasts and wore no fine patterned silks. He acquired Song Zhiwen's villa at Lantian, at the mouth of Wang River, where the river wound around his dwelling below. There he laid out separate bamboo islets and flower embankments, and with his spiritual companion Pei Di he drifted back and forth in boats, playing the zither, composing poetry, and singing through the day. He once collected the poems he had written at his country estate and titled the collection Wangchuan ji. While in the capital he daily shared meals with a dozen or so monks and took pleasure in abstruse Buddhist discussion. His study held almost nothing—only a tea kettle, a medicine mortar, a sutra desk, and a rope bed. After leaving court he would burn incense and sit alone, devoting himself to meditation and chanting. After his wife died he never remarried. For thirty years he lived alone in a single room, shutting out worldly cares. He died in the seventh month of 759. On his deathbed, learning that Wang Jin was at Fengxiang, he suddenly asked for a brush and wrote a farewell letter to him. He also wrote several parting letters to lifelong friends, mostly urging them to devote themselves to Buddhism and spiritual cultivation, then set down the brush and died. During the reign of Emperor Daizong, Wang Jin served as chief minister. Daizong loved literature and often said to him, "Your elder brother's poetry was the finest of his age during the Tianbao reign. I once heard his compositions performed before the princes. How much of his collected writings survives? You may submit it to me." Wang Jin replied, "My brother wrote more than a hundred poems during the Kaiyuan reign, but after the Tianbao upheavals fewer than one in ten survived. Recently, by gathering what we could from relatives and friends inside and outside court, we recovered more than four hundred pieces." The next day he submitted the collection, and the emperor responded with a gracious edict of praise and reward. Wang Jin has his own biography elsewhere. Li Bai, whose courtesy name was Taibai, came from Shandong. From youth he possessed exceptional talent, a bold and expansive spirit, and an air of one who meant to rise above the world. His father served as district magistrate of Rencheng, and the family made its home there. In his youth, together with the scholars of Lu—Kong Chaofu, Han Mian, Pei Zheng, Zhang Shuming, Tao Mian, and others—he withdrew to Mount Culaishan, singing freely and drinking without restraint. At the time they were known as "the Six Recluses of Bamboo Creek" At the beginning of the Tianbao reign he traveled as a guest to Kuaiji and lived in seclusion in Shan with the Daoist Wu Yun. Before long Emperor Xuanzong summoned Wu Yun to the capital. Yun recommended Li Bai at court, and the emperor sent envoys to summon him. Li Bai and Wu Yun both served as Hanlin academicians awaiting imperial edicts. Li Bai was devoted to wine and spent his days drinking himself drunk with companions in taverns. When Emperor Xuanzong composed a tune and wanted new Music Bureau lyrics written for it, he urgently summoned Li Bai—but Li Bai was already asleep in a tavern. When he was brought in, attendants splashed water on his face and immediately told him to write. In a short time he produced more than ten pieces, and the emperor was greatly pleased. Once, while drunk in the palace hall, he stretched out his foot and ordered Gao Lishi to pull off his boots. For this he was sent away from court. Thereafter he wandered the country, drinking without restraint day after day. At that time the attendant censor Cui Zongzhi had been demoted to a post at Jinling, and he exchanged poems and wine with Li Bai. Once, on a moonlit night, he took a boat from Caishi to Jinling dressed in white palace brocade robes, looking about the boat with a proud, laughing air as though no one else were present. When He Zhizhang first met Li Bai, he praised him and said, "This is an immortal banished from heaven." During the An Lushan rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong fled to Shu. En route he appointed Prince Yong (Li Lin) commander of the Jiang-Huai armies and military commissioner of Yangzhou. Li Bai went to Xuanzhou to pay his respects and was recruited as an aide on Prince Yong's staff. When Prince Yong plotted rebellion and his forces were defeated, Li Bai was sentenced to long-term exile in Ye Lang. He later received an amnesty and was able to return, but in the end he drank himself to death at Xuancheng. His collected writings in twenty scrolls circulated widely in his day. Du Fu, whose courtesy name was Zimei, was originally from Xiangyang and later moved to Gong county in Henan. His great-grandfather Du Yiyi served to the end of his career as magistrate of Gong. His grandfather Du Shenyan served to the end of his career as assistant director in the Ministry of Rites; he has his own biography elsewhere. His father Du Xian ended his career as magistrate of Fengtian. At the beginning of the Tianbao reign Du Fu took the jinshi examination but failed. Near the end of the Tianbao reign he submitted the Three Great Rites Fu. Emperor Xuanzong was impressed, summoned him for a literary examination, and appointed him military staff officer of the capital prefecture. In 755 An Lushan took the capital. Emperor Suzong mustered troops at Lingwu. Du Fu slipped away from the capital by night, made his way west of the river to see Suzong, and at Pengyuan was appointed remonstrance officer of the right. Fang Guan had been friendly with Du Fu when they were commoners. Now Fang was chief minister and asked to lead an army himself against the rebels; the emperor agreed. That October Fang Guan's army was defeated at Chentao Slope. The following spring Fang Guan was dismissed as chief minister. Du Fu memorialized the throne that Fang had talent and ought not be removed. Suzong was angered, demoted Fang Guan to provincial governor, and sent Du Fu out as secretary in Huazhou. The capital region was then in turmoil and grain prices soared. Du Fu lived in Tonggu county, Chengzhou, carrying firewood and gathering wild grains on his back; several of his children starved to death. After some time he was recalled and appointed secretary of the capital prefecture. In the winter of 762 Yan Wu, vice censor of the yellow gate and duke of Zheng, held Chengdu. He memorialized that Du Fu be made staff planning officer and acting vice minister of works, and Du Fu was granted the purple robe and fish insignia. Yan Wu and Du Fu were old family friends, and Yan Wu treated him with great generosity. Du Fu was narrow-minded, quick-tempered, and lacking in forbearance; trusting in favor he grew reckless. Once, drunk, he climbed onto Yan Wu's couch, stared at him, and said: "So Yan Tingzhi had a son like this!" Though Yan Wu was hot-tempered and rough, he did not take it amiss. At Huanhua Lane in Chengdu Du Fu planted bamboo and trees and built a hut beside the river, drinking freely and chanting poetry, mingling freely with farmers and rustics without restraint. When Yan Wu visited, he sometimes received him bareheaded—so insolently unrestrained was he. In the summer of 765 Yan Wu died, and Du Fu was left without support. When Guo Yingyi replaced Yan Wu at Chengdu, Yingyi was a rough soldier and brutal; Du Fu could not manage the formal courtesies and so traveled east in Shu to rely on Gao Shi. He had scarcely arrived when Gao Shi died. That year Cui Ning killed Guo Yingyi, Yang Zilin attacked western Sichuan, and Shu fell into great disorder. Du Fu took his family to flee the turmoil into Jing and Chu, boarded a small boat to descend the gorges, and before he could moor, Jiangling erupted in disorder. He then went upstream along the Xiang, visited Mount Heng, and settled at Leiyang. Du Fu once visited the temple on Mount Heng and was cut off by sudden floodwaters; for ten days he had nothing to eat. The magistrate of Leiyang, surnamed Nie, learned of this and himself rowed out to bring Du Fu back. In 766, after eating beef and drinking white liquor, he died one night at Leiyang, aged fifty-nine. His son Zongwu, adrift in Hunan and the Xiang region, also died. During the Yuanhe era Zongwu's son Siye moved Du Fu's coffin from Leiyang and had it reburied at the foot of Mount Shouyang, northwest of Yanshi county. Among poets at the end of Tianbao, Du Fu was as renowned as Li Bai. But Li Bai, confident in his free and unrestrained literary style, mocked Du Fu as cramped and petty, giving rise to the jibe about Fanke Mountain. In the Yuanhe era the writer Yuan Zhen discussed the relative merits of Li Bai and Du Fu, saying: "When I read poetry and reach Du Zimei, I understand that great and small each have their summation." From the age of Yao and Shun, rulers and ministers answered one another in successive songs. Thereafter poets continued to write. Over more than a thousand years from Xia, Yin, and Zhou, Confucius gathered and sifted them, keeping three hundred that most served moral instruction; of the rest nothing survives. When Sao-style writers appeared, resentful and indignant tones multiplied, yet they were still not far from the Feng and Ya in time and could still be measured against them. From Qin and Han onward the office for collecting poems was abolished, and throughout the realm demon songs, folk airs, hymns of praise, satirical rhapsodies, and lyrics for tunes and playful verses also appeared from time to time. When Emperor Wu of Han composed the Cypress Beam rhapsody, the seven-character form was fully established. Su Ziqing, Li Shaoqing, and men like them were especially adept at five-character verse. Though their phrasing and metrical rules differed and refined and popular tones were mingled, their language was plain and far-reaching, naming events and expressing feeling; unless writing with purpose, they did not compose at random. After the Jian'an period scholars throughout the realm suffered warfare. The Cao father and son wrote between saddle and horse, often brandishing spears while composing poetry; hence their forceful, surging works of grievance, sorrow, and parting rank among the greatest of antiquity. In the Jin dynasty something of that spirit still remained. Between Song and Qi instruction lost its foundation; scholars came to esteem simplicity, negligence, and leisurely ease. Literature prized graceful bearing, sensuous polish, freedom, and refined clarity—writing that merely voiced one's inner nature and lingered over passing scenery, with nothing to commend in meaning, force, or stature. Decline continued into Liang and Chen, where voluptuous ornament and frivolously clever, finely fragmented lyrics greatly multiplied—what even Song and Qi had rejected. When the Tang rose, official learning flourished greatly, and in successive reigns capable writers appeared in turn. Then the likes of Shen Quanqi and Song Zhiwen refined their craft with precision, smoothing and ordering sound and rhythm—what came to be called regulated verse. From this point onward literary forms changed to their fullest extent. Yet those who favored antiquity neglected the recent; those who pursued ornament abandoned substance. In imitating Qi and Liang they fell short of Wei and Jin; skilled in yuefu they exhausted their strength in five-character verse; with metrical precision skeletal structure was lost; with leisurely ease dense richness was incomplete. As for Zimei, he may be said to reach up to the Feng and Sao, encompass Shen and Song below, in wording surpass Su and Li, in spirit swallow Cao and Liu, overshadow the solitary loftiness of Yan and Xie, blend the flowing elegance of Xu and Yu, fully command the formal resources of ancient and modern, and combine what each poet had exclusively mastered. If Confucius were to examine and refine his essential meaning, would he not still value how much he encompasses! If one holds that he could do what others could not and was bound by nothing yet could do everything, then since poets began there has never been anyone like Zimei. At that time Li Bai of Shandong was also celebrated for his literary strangeness, and people of the time spoke of Li and Du. I observe that in his bold, unrestrained freedom, casting off constraint, depicting objects and scenes, and in his yuefu songs and ballads, he indeed stands nearly shoulder to shoulder with Zimei. But when it comes to laying out beginning and end, arranging parallel sound and rhyme—at greatest a thousand words, at minimum still several hundred—with diction heroic and expansive yet tonal atmosphere clear and deep, with parallel structure and metrical precision while casting off the commonplace—Li Bai cannot yet even pass through his outer gate, how much less enter the inner hall! I once wished to itemize and analyze his writings, classify them by form and attach them accordingly, and set a standard for those who come after, but in the end laziness kept me from completing it. Thereafter writers took Yuan Zhen's judgment as authoritative. Du Fu's collected writings ran to sixty juan.
4
Wu Tongxuan came from Haizhou. His father Daojian was a Daoist priest skilled at teaching children. In the Dali reign he was summoned to court to instruct the crown prince and the imperial princes in the classics. When Dezong was still crown prince he studied under Daojian. The Tongxuan brothers moved freely within the inner palace and constantly attended the prince in his pastimes, and for this they won exceptional favor. Tongxuan and his elder brother Tongwei were both learned and skilled at literary composition, their style rich and ornate. In youth Tongxuan passed the Child Prodigy examination. His first offices were Regular Scribe in the Secretariat, clerk in the Left Courageous Guards, and reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. Early in the Jianzhong reign, at the examination for worthies and upright men, Tongxuan entered the category for elegant literary phrasing, placed in the second tier, and was appointed registrar of Tong prefecture and household registrar of the capital district.
5
Early in the Zhenyuan reign he was summoned to serve as a Hanlin academician. He was promoted to diarist-attendant and drafter of edicts, and together with Lu Zhi, Ji Zhongfu, Wei Zhiyi, and others shared the duty of drafting imperial documents. Lu Zhi was richly gifted in language and enjoyed Dezong's special trust because he had shared the hardships of exile. The Tongxuan brothers had likewise attended the emperor when he was crown prince. The two sides therefore competed for favor and came to resent one another deeply. Zhi was narrow and quick-tempered by nature. He repeatedly denounced Tongxuan before the throne and argued: "In peaceful times craftsmen, painters, and calligraphers merely waited on the emperor in the Hanlin. There were no 'academicians' as such. Only after the Zhide era did the Son of Heaven gather worthy scholars within the palace to draft edicts in draft script. Because they waited in the Hanlin Academy for orders, the title came into use. In times of flight and disorder appointments were sometimes made on the road in advance, and drafting was entrusted to them only as an expedient. Now the realm is at peace and every ministry is in its proper course. The duty of drafting edicts should return to the Secretariat drafters. The title of Hanlin academician ought by rights to be abolished." Zhi believed Tongxuan had brought in a faction of allies and was working within the palace to exclude him, and for that reason he wished to abolish the Hanlin Academy. Dezong would not allow it. When Zhi was placed in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and conducted the civil service examinations, he received a formal appointment and was removed from inner-court duties — all because Tongxuan had slandered him.
6
In the seventh year he was promoted from diarist to Remonstrator and Drafter of Edicts. Tongxuan had expected that after long seniority he would be appointed Secretariat Drafter, but was made Remonstrator instead and was deeply disappointed. Lu Zhi and the chief minister Dou Can were bitter enemies. Can's nephew by marriage, Attendant-in-waiting Shen, was especially favored by Can and took part in every Secretariat deliberation. Wherever he appeared people called him "the Magpie." Shen was a paternal cousin of Li Zezhi, heir to the princedom of Guo. Shen and Zezhi were close friends. Zezhi was a general of the Imperial Guards, fond of learning and skilled in letters. Shen and Zezhi secretly joined the Wu Tongxuan brothers in a plot to bring down Lu Zhi on Dou Can's behalf. Zezhi had someone compose a libelous letter accusing Zhi of conducting the examinations dishonestly and accepting bribes. At the time Tongxuan had taken an imperial clanswoman as an illicit consort, and Dezong already knew of it. When the emperor learned that Shen and Zezhi had slandered Lu Zhi, investigators watched them and confirmed that they had plotted with Tongxuan. The emperor was enraged. He removed Dou Can from the chief ministership and soon demoted Can to secretary at Chen, Shen to registrar at Jin, Li Zezhi to secretary at Zhao, and Tongxuan to secretary at Quan. The emperor summoned Tongxuan for a personal audience, questioned him himself, and rebuked him for dishonoring the imperial clan. When he reached Great Wall Post in Huazhou, he was ordered to take his own life. Soon afterward Lu Zhi was appointed vice director of the Secretariat and Grand Councilor in Dou Can's place.
7
Tongwei, in the fourth year of Jianzhong, rose from magistrate of Shou'an to outer-court director in the Ministry of Revenue and was then summoned as Hanlin academician. Soon he was transferred to director in the Ministry of Personnel and drafter of edicts. He served in the same forbidden secretariat as his younger brother Tongxuan, to the envy of the scholarly world. In the seventh year he was made director in the Ministry of Rites and soon afterward promoted to Secretariat Drafter. When Tongxuan died, Tongwei appeared at the capital gate in plain robes to await punishment. The emperor specially pardoned him, yet Tongwei still did not dare observe mourning for his brother.
8
Tongxuan's diction was graceful and elegant, and the emperor favored him above all others. Early in the Zhenyuan reign Empress Zhaode died. The court ordered Li Shu to draft her posthumous title and eulogy, and the chief ministers Zhang Yanshang and Liu Hun to compose the temple hymns. When the drafts were submitted none satisfied the throne, and Tongxuan alone was summoned to rewrite them. For every important drafting assignment from the throne, if the text was not Tongxuan's the emperor was never content — such was the regard in which he was held.
9
Wang Zhongshu, whose courtesy name was Hongzhong, came from Taiyuan. Orphaned while young and poor, he became known for filial devotion to his mother. He loved learning and excelled at letters, but refused to sit for the provincial examination. He would befriend only men of established reputation. With Yang Xian, Liang Su, and Pei Shu he formed friendships without reserve.
10
In 794, at the examination for worthies and upright men able to speak frankly and remonstrate boldly, Zhongshu placed in the second tier and was promoted directly to Right Remonstrator. Pei Yanling headed the Revenue Commission. With boastful falsehoods he slandered the worthy, and Zhongshu submitted a memorial denouncing him at length. He rose in succession through director posts in the central ministries. In 810 he advanced from director in the Ministry of Personnel to Drafter of Edicts. Zhongshu wrote with a warm, elegant mind, and every edict that left his desk was copied and circulated. The capital intendant Yang Ping was impeached by the censor-in-chief Li Yijian and demoted to district defender of Linhe. Zhongshu was on friendly terms with Ping and declared openly at court that Yijian had manufactured charges against him. For this Zhongshu was demoted to prefect of Xia. He was later transferred to Suzhou.
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西使 西 使簿 使 西使使 便便 退殿 使 使西 使 便 使 歿 使 使 使 使 使 鹿 使 宿 使 便殿 使 便 使使 祿 祿 退 調 使 使 使 使 宿 使 調 調 使 忿 使 西 退 滿 姿 輿 輿使 輿便 殿祿簿 退 使 退 祿 退
When Emperor Muzong ascended the throne, Zhongshu was recalled and appointed Secretariat Drafter. That same year he was sent out as prefect of Hong, imperial censor-in-chief, and observation commissioner of Jiangnan West Circuit. Jiangxi had long enforced harsh laws against private brewing under the wine monopoly. When Zhongshu took up his post he memorialized to repeal them. He also drew twenty thousand strings from official funds to pay taxes for impoverished households. In the winter of 823 he died at his post. Cui Xian. His courtesy name was Chongyi. He was from Boling; his grandfather was Anshi. His father Rui ended his career as a supervising censor. In 807 Xian passed the jinshi examination and also passed the examination in erudite learning and grand literary composition. Zheng Yuqing and Li Yijian recruited him as an aide and treated him like a teacher or friend. Once he entered court service, he held successive posts in the central offices, upright and independent in conduct, and enjoyed great standing at the time. When Emperor Jingzong wished to visit the Eastern Capital, public unease spread. Pei Du, a meritorious elder, came from Xingyuan with a memorial to attend audience. Once he arrived, Li Fengji did not want Du to reenter the Secretariat. Liu Qichu, the metropolitan prefect of Jingzhao and a member of Fengji's faction, together with more than ten others, shouldered one another to crowd Du aside. Meanwhile court officials who hedged their bets daily thronged Du's gate. One day Du kept guests and ordered wine. Qichu affectedly sought a favorite tune of Du's, leaned close to Pei's ear, and spoke to him. Xian resented the affectation, raised his cup, and penalized Du, saying, "The chief minister ought not permit a petty official to whisper in his ear!" Du smiled and drank; Qichu, ill at ease, hurried out, and the seated guests all admired Xian. He was repeatedly promoted to chief administrator of the Shaan prefecture metropolitan command and commissioner of the Shaan-Guo observation circuit. From dawn to dusk he drank heavily with his staff, constantly drunk and never sober. Official documents piled up; at midnight he reviewed them, adjudicated and decided cases without the slightest error, and the clerks regarded him as a divine man. He entered court as Right Regular Mounted Attendant and Director of the Secretariat. In the tenth month of 834 he died. Previously, Rui had served Li Baozhen as an aide in Ze-Lu. A Daoist who called himself Old Lu had once served Master Li at Yunji Temple in the Sui dynasty and could foreknow past and future events. Because the Hebei region forbade travelers, Rui lodged him at home. One day he took leave and said, "When I die I shall become your son." He pointed to a black mole below his mouth and asked that it be taken as a mark. When Xian was born, he indeed had a black mole; his form and spirit were exactly those of Old Lu, and his father therefore gave him the style name Old Lu. Once capped, he set his heart on lofty pursuits and aspired to forests and ravines, often wandering alone in the Southern Mountains and returning only after long intervals. He was especially skilled in songs and poetry. When the scenery was clear and bright, on flower mornings and moonlit evenings, if he chanted aloud with contentment, he would inevitably be moved to sorrow and wet his collar. His intent was lofty and singular, and eminent men sighed in admiration. He left a collected writings in twenty juan. Tang Ci was a man of Jinyang in Bing prefecture, a descendant of Jian, Minister of Rites and an early founding merit-holder. At the beginning of the Jianzhong era he passed the jinshi examination and was repeatedly recruited to commissioner staffs. At the beginning of the Zhenyuan era he served as attendant censor. Dou Can deeply valued him and transferred him to Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites. In 792, when Can was demoted, Ci was implicated and sent out as prefect of Kai prefecture. For more than ten years among the Ba gorges he did not obtain further advancement. Wei Gao, military governor of Xichuan, submitted a forceful memorial requesting him as deputy commissioner, but Dezong secretly instructed Gao to withdraw the request. Ci long lingered in the barbarian wilds, solitary and depressed, with resentments and slanders accumulating and no one to clarify them. He therefore gathered loyal ministers and worthy men of old who had suffered slander, exile, and banishment, even to the point of losing their lives while their rulers still failed to understand, and composed three treatises called A Brief Account for Refuting Slander, which he submitted. Dezong reviewed them and was still angry, saying to those around him, "Tang Ci is comparing me to an ancient benighted ruler—why would he admonish me in this way!" He was reassigned as prefect of Kui prefecture. When Emperor Xianzong took the throne, he and Li Jifu were summoned back together from within the gorges and Ci was appointed Director of the Ministry of Rites. Soon, while retaining his original office, he was made drafting secretary; he was then formally appointed Secretariat drafter and died. Emperor Zhangwu was wise, discerning, and hated evil, especially detesting factional collusion and framed accusations. Once in the inner palace he came upon the three treatises Ci had submitted, read them with approval, and said to Academician Shen Chuanshi, "The book Tang Ci compiled on refuting slander is indeed something a ruler should read at the proper time. I think ancient books contain many such cases, and Ci's compilation is not exhaustive. Your family transmits the study of history; you may, with the academicians, broaden it by category and example." Chuanshi received the edict and, with Linghu Chu, Du Yuanying, and others, divided the labor of revision and continuation, expanded it to ten juan, and titled it the Yuanhe Brief Account for Refuting Slander. Its preface says: I have heard that once Heaven and Earth were fixed, high and low were divided; as for spreading the seasons of the four times and completing what is fitting for the myriad things, this lies in testing the two qi of portent and blessing—when blessing qi descends there is abundance and luxuriance, when portent qi descends there is pestilence and disaster. Once ruler and minister were established, high and low were separated; as for dwelling in the inner mystery of the divine and examining words of submission and remonstrance, this lies in scrutinizing the two doctrines of perverse and upright—when upright words prevail there is loyalty and forthright counsel, when perverse words prevail there is slander and flattery. Therefore the Odes say, "Luxuriant, patterned—thus is the shell brocade made." This satirizes how very artfully such things are woven together. A saying goes, "A crooked path ruins good fields; slanderous mouths overturn good men." This condemns how weedy words are pests to government. It means that what seems trustworthy is deceitful, what seems loyal is not; what is convenient can move the heart, what is glib can disorder virtue—this is not limited to the cuckoo staining flowers or coix seed confusing pearls! Moreover, in establishing a state, from the center to the outer reaches, if the Way is skewed punishments will not hit the mark; if slander prevails loyalty and filial piety will not be displayed. Looking far back at former reports and thinking closely on recent antiquity, they recruited the worthy and tolerated blunt counsel, kept the sycophantic at a distance and hated the perverse, yet though they pondered deeply, they did not reach the point of prevention. I humbly consider that Your Sagely, Wise, and Martial Majesty, draped in rule over the realm, with transforming influence reaching refined civilization, broadly seeks plans among the gentry and repeatedly sends honors to recluses in mountain caves. You further broaden the four eyes and extend the four ears, so that regulation and order are all addressed before they sprout, and the model you establish will be handed down imperishably. Thereupon you ordered the literary officials Linghu Chu and others, from Zhou and Han above down through the Sui dynasty, to seek in historical records loyal and worthy men and the traces of those who suffered slander, narrate the beginning and end of faults and offenses, record the depth and shallowness of rumor and slander, arrange them in order with clarity, and compile them into ten juan. Formerly Yu Shun had the command to eliminate slander; our emperor has revised the book for refuting slander—through a thousand ages one mind, together handing down supreme principle. When the imperial palace withdraws from governance at the slanting of the sun and a separate hall is prepared for reading deep into the second watch, then sagely consideration will first discern slander—how can slander arise? Heaven does not speak, yet the people will trust of themselves. Xianzong replied with a gracious edict. His second sons were Fu and Chi. Fu, whose courtesy name was Yunxiang. In 810 he passed the jinshi examination and repeatedly served on commissioner staffs. He entered court as a supervisory censor and went out as a prefect. At the beginning of the Dahe era he entered court as Director of the Directorate of Waterways and Agriculture. In 831 he was made pacification commissioner of the Shannan circuit. Reaching Deng prefecture, he memorialized, "The warehouse supervisors Deng Wan and others of the Xingshi and Huangjian markets in Neixiang county previously managed husked rice transported from Hunan and Jiangxi, stored in the wilds at Xichuan county; apart from what was disbursed, six thousand nine hundred forty-five shi rotted into dust. The Ministry of Revenue issued a warrant to pursue the original responsible officials. From 804, Deng Wan's father, sons, brothers, down to great-great-grandsons, were successively imprisoned for twenty-eight years; nine persons died in confinement. Wan's grandson and great-great-grandson are now still in cangue and imprisonment." An edict said, "As I hear, the salt-iron and revenue commissioners have extremely many cases of this kind. As for Deng Wan and the other four men, their assets have all been sold and paid in; three generations were imprisoned and died wasted in prison—this truly harms harmonious qi. Deng Wan and the others are all to be released. In prefectures and circuits throughout the realm, if prison wards have cases of this kind, imprisonment may not extend three years or more. Quickly review and report." Public opinion praised Fu for having talent as a pacification commissioner. Soon he was transferred to Director of the Directorate of Merit. In 834 he was made academician of the Hongwen Institute and handled institute affairs. In 835 he was transferred to Director of the Directorate of Military Appointments and acted as Secretariat drafter. At the beginning of Kaicheng he was formally appointed drafter; after a month he was made prefect of Fuzhou, censor-in-chief, and military training and observation commissioner of Fujian. In the eleventh month of 839 he died in his post. Fu had established himself assisting in staffs and had a name upon entering court, but when he conducted inspection tours in Ou and Min his governance was not well ordered. After his death, servants and concubines fought over property, went to the palace gate to plead, and the legal offices investigated; his household wealth of one hundred thousand strings went to two concubines. He had also once wrongly killed a subordinate, and was sued by that man's family. His conduct before and after was inconsistent, and contemporary opinion criticized him. Chi, whose courtesy name was Deshou. In 820 he passed the jinshi examination and was repeatedly recruited to feudal staffs. He entered court as attendant censor and director in the ministries. At the end of the Dazhong era he went out from Vice Director of the Ministry of Works as prefect of Rong, censor-in-chief, and military commissioner of Rongguan for pacification and suppression. He entered court as Attendant-in-Ordinary. At the end of Dazhong he was made acting Left Regular Mounted Attendant, chief administrator of the Ling metropolitan command, military governor of Shuofang, and commissioner for transport of the six Lingwu cities, among other posts. He advanced to acting Minister of Revenue, chief administrator of the Lu metropolitan command, military governor of Zhaoyi, and commissioner for observation and disposition of Ze, Lu, Xing, Ming, and Ci, and died. His son Yanqian, whose courtesy name was Maoye. At the end of Xiantong he sat for the jinshi examination. Talented and proud, he would bow to no one; for more than ten years he did not pass. At the end of Qianfu bandits rose in Henan, both capitals fell, and he moved his family to seek refuge in southern Han. In the Zhonghe era Wang Chongrong governed Hezhong and recruited him as an aide. Through repeated memorials he rose to deputy military governor of Hezhong and served as prefect of Jin and Jiang. Yanqian was broadly learned and multitalented; his literary language was vigorous and splendid. In painting, calligraphy, music, and skill at deep drinking, none among his peers did not excel. He was especially skilled in heptasyllabic poetry; in youth he studied under Wen Tingyun, so his literary style resembled Wen's. At the end of Guangqi Wang Chongrong was killed by his subordinates. Court opinion blamed the aides; Yanqian and secretary Li Juchuan were both demoted to clerks in Hanzhong. At the time Yang Shouliang governed Xingyuan and had long heard his name. Yanqian came as a staff member of that prefecture; Shouliang saw him, rejoiced, grasped his hand, and said, "I have long heard of the Minister's name; what a meeting here!" The next day he was appointed judge. Through repeated promotions he reached deputy commissioner and served as prefect of Lang and Bi. He died in Hanzhong. He had several hundred poems; Vice Minister of Rites Xue Tinggui wrote a preface for them, titled Collected Works of Master Lumen, and they circulated at the time. His son Huan also reached prefect. Ci's younger brothers were Huan, Kuan, and Xin. Kuan passed the jinshi examination in 790, was repeatedly recruited to commissioner staffs, entered court as censor, went out as prefect, and died. His son Zhi. Zhi, whose courtesy name was Jiyou. At the end of Huichang he was repeatedly promoted to Vice Director of the Ministry of Justice, then director, successively served as prefect, and died. Liu Fen, whose courtesy name was Quhua, was a man of Changping. His father was Mian. Fen passed the jinshi examination in 826. Broadly learned and skilled in composition, he was especially expert in Mr. Zuo's Spring and Autumn Annals. In friendship he loved to discuss grand strategies of kingship and hegemony; upright and hating evil, when he spoke of public affairs he would sigh with the resolve to bring clarity. From the end of Yuanhe, eunuch power flourished; they held troops within the palace, controlled the realm by force, and whether the Son of Heaven was deposed or enthroned depended on their assent, as they interfered in all government. At the time they were called the Northern and Southern Offices; love and hate attacked one another like fire and water. Living in obscurity, Fen was constantly indignant and resentful. When Emperor Wenzong took the throne, reverent and frugal in seeking good order, in 828 the examination for worthy and good men said, I have heard that the governance of ancient sage-kings was darkly silent and non-active; seated upright they pondered the Way, molded the people's hearts to dwell in simplicity, concentrated daily use without interfering, enriched those below to establish the root, and extended sincerity to build the center. Then Heaven and man were in communication, yin and yang were harmonious, custom reached benevolence and longevity, and things had no blemish or pestilence. Alas, what supreme virtue reaches is far beyond compare. The worthy kings of the Three Dynasties alternated substance and ornament; a hundred falsities grew fierce, refined custom gradually declined; from Han downward, fixed signs were few indeed. I reflect that my understanding of the Way is dim; I reverently bear the great edifice, follow the instructions, and dare not be idle or negligent. Employing the worthy with vigilance, dressing at dawn and eating at dusk, how can I not pursue the distant tracks of the Three and Five, that I may continue the grand line of the ancestors? Yet in my heart there are things not attained, in my conduct things not trusted; from center to outer reaches, neglected governance is wide. Therefore people do not follow transformation; qi sometimes is blocked in distress; drought and disaster last the whole year; planting misses its season. The state granaries rarely store; there is a lack of nine years' reserves; The way of officials is many-branched; the achievement of three years' service is slight. The capital is the root of all the Xia; I intend to observe governance there, yet the powerful and cunning sometimes overstep bounds; The Imperial Academy is the source of enlightened teaching; I expect to change custom there, yet students are mostly idle in their studies. Prefectures depend on promulgating regulations, yet violations of prohibitions are not yet ended; The hundred crafts depend on measuring standards, yet licentious craft has not yet declined. Custom falls and the wind scatters; accumulated error becomes pest. In selecting officials to aid governance, if one listens to people's words, branches and leaves are hard to distinguish; In governing subordinates by law, shame and correction do not appear. In enriching wealth and issuing orders, those born are few and those who eat are many; orders are troublesome while governance is scarce. I think how to untie these knots and errors and bring about ordered peace; this heart is vast, as if wading a spring stream. Therefore I previously ordered the offices to broadly extend eminent men, await the opening of long-held confusion, and hope to reach timely harmony. You gentlemen know past and present and are clear on bringing relief; come to court and await questioning to match my open mind. You must admonish the ruler's faults, distinguish flaws in governance, clarify what causes laws and regulations to fall into disorder, and examine what the prosperous and numerous urgently need. What measure will reform former abuses? What grace will benefit the people below? What cultivation will bring near the governance of antiquity? What Way will fully fill harmonious qi? Trace to the root source and set forth in numbered replies. As for Guan Zhong's weighty and light authority, what aids governance? As for Yan You's plan to settle the frontier, what fits the times? In Yuankai's examination of achievement, what comes first? In Shujizi's task of pacification, what is the business? Push this mirror of tortoise shell; choose the mean; expect comprehensive knowledge—I shall personally review. At the time more than a hundred men answered the examination; their replies merely followed routine affairs. Only Fen sharply discussed the Yellow Gate's excessive power, which would endanger the altars of state. He replied, Your subject is truly unworthy, yet has the art of stabilizing the state and serving the ruler, but no position from which to carry it out; he has the heart to offend the countenance and dare remonstrate, but no road by which to advance. He only harbors indignant depression, thinking to release it at some moment. He has often wished to discuss with common people on the road and have travelers complain in the market, that it might reach the ruler's hearing and awaken the ruler's heart in one stroke—even if punished for perverse speech, he would not regret it. Moreover, encountering Your Majesty succeeding with supreme virtue and shining with great brilliance, seeking faults and oversights and consulting on plans, issuing edicts throughout the realm calling for forthright speech and extreme remonstrance. Your subject has been honored with this summons and specially receives this great questioning—how dare he not speak with full intent? As for what the ruler fears, what the times forbid, what favorites hate, and what offices grant or withhold, your subject in his foolishness does not know. I humbly hope Your Majesty will grant a little indulgence and not let the sagely court have forthright men who are punished—this would be the fortune of the realm. I respectfully risk death in reply. I humbly consider the sagely question: there is thought of the governance of ancient sages and remembrance of darkly silent transformation, intending to join Heaven and man to equalize custom and harmonize yin and yang to warm things—this shows how deeply Your Majesty cherishes the Way. Your subject thinks the governance of a wise king—the rule is not far off; it depends only on how Your Majesty brings it about. I humbly consider the sagely question: there is reverently bearing the great edifice without daring idle ease, following instructions without negligence—this shows Your Majesty's resolve of anxious labor. As for employing the worthy with vigilance and dressing at dawn and eating at dusk, one should dismiss the slender sycophants at the ruler's side and advance the great ministers who are the ruler's limbs; As for pursuing the Three and Five and restoring the ancestors, one should mirror the rise and fall of former antiquity and clarify the success and failure of the present time. Where the heart has not attained, it is because feelings below are blocked and cannot reach above; Your conduct has not won full trust; above, your grace is dammed and cannot reach the people below. If one wishes people to be transformed, one must cultivate oneself first; if one wishes qi to be harmonious, one must follow nature and guide it. Relieving disaster and drought lies in utmost sincerity; broad planting lies in seeing to the people's labor. That the state granaries rarely store lies in redundant eaters still being numerous; The bureaucratic disorder has many branches, but at root it comes from appointing the wrong men. Overbearing wrongdoers exceed all bounds because the rules of court and provinces no longer align; Students neglect their studies because the schools have been left without proper officers. Prefecture after prefecture breaks the law because unworthy men hold office; Artisans chase wasteful luxury because proper standards have never been fixed. Your decree shows Your Majesty's intent to appoint the right officials and your concern to strengthen public finance — the very roots of good governance. If promotions were based on character, how could the worthy and unworthy be hard to tell apart? If subordinates were governed by ritual, would shame not restrain wrongdoing plainly enough? Seeing that producers are few and dependents many, dismiss the idle and the dissolute; Seeing how laws multiply while effective rule grows scarce, examine officials' conduct strictly. You have summoned worthy men widely; I pray Your Majesty will heed what they say. Called to court to answer — how could your humble servant hold back, even at the cost of his life? Your decree shows Your Majesty's desire to seek worthy men, admonish your own faults, and examine policy for defects — proof of your earnest consultation. Then your servant's resolve to drive out wicked magnates would reform abuses before they spread; Uphold Your Majesty's concern for the people's welfare, and blessings would reach every level of society. Separate the wicked from the upright, and the governance of antiquity may be approached again; Establish ritual and music in their proper place, and harmonious order will prevail throughout the land. As for Guan Zhong's methods, they are not the prerogative of a true sovereign; What Yan You proposed was no policy of the highest order. The priorities of Yi Yin and Yu Ya cannot match Yao and Shun's system of evaluating merit; Lu Meng's preoccupations cannot compare with Emperor Shun's triumph over the Miao through ritual rather than arms; None of these measures embodies the golden mean of supreme virtue or offers the sure mirror of the sage — how could they serve as Your Majesty's guide! On matters that touch the pivot of safety and danger and foreshadow survival or ruin, I beg leave to lay bare my heart and speak plainly once more. What I said earlier — "The governance of a wise king: its standard is not far to seek" — depends only on Your Majesty's careful thought, resolute action, and unwavering persistence from start to finish. I respectfully cite the Spring and Autumn Annals: "Yuan is the beginning of vital force; Spring is the beginning of the year." The Annals places yuan before the year and spring before the king's name, showing that a ruler must honor Heaven's Way and be scrupulous at the outset. It marks the season to close the year and the month to close the season; even when nothing happens, it always records the first month to preserve the calendar — showing that a ruler must honor Heaven's Way and be scrupulous to the end. A king's conduct from beginning to end must follow Heaven's model, for Heaven never ceases its course. If Your Majesty can be scrupulous at the beginning and at the end, cultivate this earnestly and act on it diligently, you may hold the tally of rule in tranquil simplicity, govern without force, broadly establish the foundation of the state, and restore the splendid virtue of the Jianzhong reign. How then could the cyclical decay of the Three Dynasties return, or a hundred corruptions take root again! That is why I said, "It depends only on the path Your Majesty chooses to achieve it." What I said earlier — "In employing the worthy with vigilance, rising before dawn and eating after dusk, you ought to dismiss the petty flatterers at your side and advance the chief ministers who are your right arm and thigh" — was truly because Your Majesty's worry and labor have reached their limit. I have heard that when a ruler worries over the wrong things, the state must decline; When a ruler fails to worry over what he ought to worry over, the state must be in peril. Yet Your Majesty has not addressed the questions of the state's survival and the altars' safety in your clear inquiry. I do not know whether Your Majesty thinks a common subject unfit to settle great affairs. Or whether amid the press of ten thousand affairs your sage consideration has not yet reached the heart of the matter? If not, why do you fail to worry over what you ought to worry over? I believe Your Majesty's first concerns ought to be these: the inner palace is on the verge of upheaval, the altars of state are in danger, the realm is tottering, and turmoil is about to engulf the empire. These four are already manifest signs of national crisis; therefore I say Your Majesty's concern ought to reach them first. Since the imperial enterprise was won only through hardship, it cannot be held lightly. Taizu laid the foundation, Gaozu built on his work, Taizong secured the enterprise, and Xuanzong carried forward its brilliance; down to Your Majesty, more than two hundred years have passed. Through that span sage rulers succeeded one another and crises arose in turn; never once did a dynasty survive without entrusting power to worthy men, keeping upright counselors near, and thereby renewing its glory. Neglect it for a single day and the great vessel is overturned — the shame of the ancestral temple becomes an eternal regret. I respectfully cite the Spring and Autumn Annals: the ruler's way lies in embodying the origin and holding the correct position — Dong Zhongshu explained this to Emperor Wu of Han long ago. What he left unsaid, I may now set forth fully for Your Majesty. When a ruler succeeds his predecessor, the accession must be recorded — to set the beginning right; At the end one must record where he died — to set the ending right. Therefore a ruler must speak upright words, walk the upright path, occupy the rightful place, and keep upright men near. I further cite the Spring and Autumn Annals: "The gate commander assassinated Prince Yu of Wu," and does not record him as ruler. The Annals rebukes him for keeping worthy men at a distance and drawing near to executioners — he had ceased to be a true ruler. I humbly urge Your Majesty to reflect on the founding ancestors' toil and heed the Annals' warning on succession. To clarify the foundations of law and order, speak upright words and walk the upright path; To choke off the drift toward regicide, hold the throne in dignity and keep honest men close. Banish the butcher's minions; cherish the blunt counselors who speak truth; let your chief ministers govern, and let every office do its work. How can five or six favored intimates run the empire — issuing Your Majesty's orders in name while seizing your power in fact, awing the court and dominating the realm, so that no minister dares speak and the Son of Heaven cannot control them? Disaster is ripening behind the palace walls; treachery is breeding within the curtained hall. I fear that Cao Jie and Hou Lan live again in our time — this is why the inner palace is on the verge of upheaval. I respectfully cite the Spring and Autumn Annals: in Duke Ding of Lu's first year, spring is recorded but the first month is not — because the former ruler could not end his reign properly, the successor could not begin his properly; hence the Annals says Duke Ding had no legitimate beginning. Today loyal ministers have nowhere to place their trust; eunuch commanders hold the power to make and unmake emperors. They prevented your predecessor from ending his reign in peace and have kept you from beginning yours in legitimacy. Moreover no crown heir has been appointed, the suburban sacrifices have not been performed, the roles of generals and ministers remain unsettled, and rank and title are in confusion — this is why the altars of state are in danger. I respectfully cite the Spring and Autumn Annals: "Wang Zhaozi killed the Earl of Shao and the Earl of Mao" The Annals' principle is that mutual killings between equals are not recorded. Yet this case is recorded — to emphasize his usurpation of the royal command. What Heaven bestows rests with the ruler; what the ruler bestows rests with his command. One who holds the command yet loses it is no ruler; One who encroaches on the command and monopolizes it is no minister. When ruler and minister no longer act as they should, the realm is about to topple — this is why. I respectfully cite the Spring and Autumn Annals: Zhao Yang of Jin led the troops of Jinyang in rebellion against the state. Today sovereign power erodes daily, while the military commissioners grow insolent on their borders. Some who know nothing of a subject's duty take the lead in rebellion in the name of saving the throne; Without heeding the Annals' subtle warnings, those who raise armies claim righteousness in driving out evil. Then government and punishment no longer come from the throne, and war begins with the regional lords — this is why turmoil is about to engulf the empire. Fan Kuai burst through the door in tears; Yuan Ang blocked the carriage with bold remonstrance; Jing Fang spoke in righteous anger and lost his life; Dou Wu ignored all danger and died for his cause — Your Majesty knows all this well. I respectfully cite the Spring and Autumn Annals: Hu Shegu of Jin killed Yang Chufu. Duke Xiang failed to secure the hidden levers of power, and Chufu met a violent death — for this the Annals rebukes him. When the ruler reveals his mind, those below dare not speak their full mind; When the ruler leaks what is said to him, those below dare not speak freely. The Commentary speaks of "approaching the knee" and "deceptive words"; the Changes has the warnings "sacrificing one's life" and "ruining success." Today's chief ministers are not unable to speak — they fear Your Majesty will not act on what they say. If Your Majesty ignores their counsel, you will inevitably leak what they say; If ministers speak and nothing is done, they will surely suffer for it. This only silences upright ministers and strengthens wicked ones. Therefore if they wish to speak fully, they fear for their lives; If they wish to speak their full mind, they fear ruining what good might yet be done. So they hesitate and hold back, waiting for Your Majesty to understand — only then will they offer their full counsel. Why not, between sessions of court, from time to time enter the informal hall, summon the worthy chancellors and venerable ministers of the day, and ask their plans for holding off disaster and restoring order? Block the paths of hidden evil; remove favored intimates; restrain those who encroach and coerce; restore the work of purging faction; warn against what must be warned against; worry over what must be worried over. If you could not set things right before, set them right now; If you could not set the beginning right, set the ending right. Then you may reverently uphold the canonical models, fully inherit the great enterprise, achieve the fruits of employing worthy men, and be free of the worry of toiling past dusk. What I said earlier — "To follow the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and restore the ancestors' legacy, take as mirror the rise and fall of former ages and learn from present success and failure" — I have heard that Yao and Shun brought order to the realm because they could appoint the nine ministers, the four mountain lords, and the twelve pasture lords — making the right appointments, assigning clear duties, and never encroaching on their offices. Offices went to the capable; the ruler's circle to the worthy. Yi Yin and Yu Ya stood below, yet though humble they were surely elevated; The Four Evils sat at court, yet though powerful they were surely punished. Weigh safety against danger; know what to embrace and what to reject. Down to the two generations of Qin and the Yuan and Cheng reigns of Han — all wished to govern like Yao and Shun, yet in the end perished because they failed to see the pivot of safety and danger, did not know what to embrace and reject, did not entrust great ministers, did not distinguish the wicked, did not keep loyal men near, and did not banish slanderers. I humbly urge Your Majesty to examine why Yao and Shun rose, and take that as your bright model; Take as mirror why Qin and Han fell, and be warned and vigilant hereafter. Do not say that the court lacks worthy chancellors or that the offices lack worthy men. The statutes are not yet broken and the laws still stand — who would not wish to serve as your minister and bring peace to the age? Why does Your Majesty neglect them? And there are men in office beyond their ability and at your side though unworthy — wicked as the Four Evils, deceitful as Zhao Gao, treacherous as Gong Yu and Shi Xian — why should Your Majesty hesitate to remove them? The throne has its rightful holder; Heaven's mandate its proper allotment; the ancestral temple its numinous power; loyal ministers their steadfast hearts — Your Majesty, remember this! Qin perished through excessive harshness; Han perished through excessive weakness. Harshness drives wicked ministers to kill their ruler from fear of death; weakness lets treacherous ministers steal power and intimidate the throne. I observe that Emperor Jingzong did not guard against Qin's disaster and did not cut off its first shoots; I humbly urge Your Majesty to deeply heed the lesson of Han's fall and stop the drift while it can still be stopped. Then the ancestors' great enterprise may be renewed and the distant example of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors may be pursued. What I said earlier — "Your Majesty's mind has not reached every truth; below, the people's feelings are blocked and cannot reach you; Your conduct has not won full trust; above, your grace is dammed and cannot reach the people below." — Moreover the people's suffering in misery — Your Majesty has no way to know it; Then though Your Majesty has a parent's heart for the people, they have no way to believe it. I respectfully cite the Spring and Autumn Annals' record of "Liang perished," and does not record "was taken" — Liang destroyed itself because its rulers' minds were clouded and their ears and eyes blocked; wicked policies issued from above, men became bandits below, and none knew why — and so brought ruin on themselves. I have heard that a ruler is honored because he gives weight to the altars of state; The altars are weighty because the people are preserved. If the people are not preserved, the altars cannot hold their weight; If the altars lose their weight, the ruler cannot preserve his honor. Therefore to govern the realm one must know the people's condition. The people are Your Majesty's own children. Your Majesty ought to have the benevolent nurture them personally — as protector and tutor, as nurse and feeder, as teacher and guide. When people trust their ruler, they revere him as a spirit and love him as a parent. Today it is not so. Your Majesty keeps favored intimates near; they are assigned to offices by department; clerks and clients are summoned and installed; relying on their bribes, you lend them your authority. The greater ones command military regions; the lesser ones serve as prefects and governors. In high office they offer no pure and generous government. Only the harm of gluttonous greed; In low office they show no loyal integrity, only treachery and fraud. Therefore the people fear their rulers like wolves and jackals and hate them like sworn enemies. Now the empire is destitute; people scatter everywhere; the hungry cannot eat, the cold cannot be clothed, widows and orphans cannot survive, and the old, young, and sick cannot be cared for. Moreover the state's power rests solely with those at your side; greedy ministers extort wealth to secure favor, and corrupt clerks manipulate the law for their own ends. Cries of injustice reach up to heaven and down to the underworld; ghosts and spirits seethe with anger, and yin and yang fall out of balance. The ruler's gate is ten thousand li away and grievances cannot be heard; scholars have nowhere to turn, and the people have nowhere to place their trust. Officials are corrupt and the people impoverished; bandits rise on every side; the state is crumbling — disaster may come at any moment. If plague and famine follow, I fear Chen Sheng and Wu Guang will rise again — not only in Qin — and the Red Eyebrows and Yellow Turbans — not only in Han. That is why I beat my breast in anguish and weep blood for Your Majesty. If this is so, the people suffer in misery — how can Your Majesty know it? Your Majesty has a parent's heart for the people — how can they believe it? This is exactly what makes true your own words — "Your conduct has not won full trust; your mind has not reached every truth" — and no wonder. I have heard that when Emperor Yuan of Han first took the throne, he reformed more than seventy institutions; his heart was sincere and his reputation splendid. Yet the statutes grew daily disordered, the dynasty daily declined, wickedness daily strengthened, and the people daily distressed — because he could not select worthy men and employ them, and lost hold of the helm. Since Your Majesty has held the realm, you have toiled in worry and diligence for the myriad masses, repeatedly issuing virtuous pronouncements; throughout the four seas none failed to raise their heads and sigh with relief, rejoicing that they were reborn from among the dead. I beg Your Majesty to be careful at the end as at the beginning, to satisfy the hopes of all under Heaven. If you can truly return state authority to the chancellor and military authority to the generals, remove the government of greedy ministers gathering levies, eliminate the harm of treacherous officials seizing opportunities, draw near only the loyal and worthy and employ only the upright — hear none of the words of inner favorites and convenient flatterers. Select officials who are clear and cautious, choose leaders who are benevolent and gracious, quicken them with benefit, warm them with benevolence, teach them filial piety and kindness, guide them with virtue and righteousness, remove the blockage of ears and eyes, connect the feelings of above and below — then make the ten thousand states joyful and at peace and the myriad masses revive and rest; then what you intend will reach everywhere and what you enact will win trust everywhere. What I said earlier — "if you wish the myriad masses to be transformed, cultivate yourself first to lead them" — I have heard: virtue is for cultivating the self, teaching is for guiding others; cultivate it, then men without exhortation come of themselves; guide it, then men earnestly act and broadly follow. Therefore the noble man wishes government to be carried out, and so he takes the lead with his own person; wishes men to follow transformation, and so he governs them with the Way. Now you take the lead with your person yet government is not necessarily carried out, govern with the Way yet men have not followed transformation — is it that the aim of establishing teaching has not exhausted its methods? The method of establishing teaching lies in the ruler clearly regulating it and the minister loyally carrying it out; the ruler takes knowing men as clarity, the minister takes correcting the times as loyalty; knowing men lies in employing the worthy and removing the perverse, correcting the times lies in securing the foundation and keeping to the law. If the worthy are not employed, heavy rewards are insufficient to encourage good; if the perverse are not removed, severe punishments are insufficient to prohibit wrong; if the foundation is not secure, people scatter; if the law is not kept, government disperses — yet wishing teaching to arrive and transformation to be carried out cannot be obtained. If you can repel treacherous perversity without favoring those at your side, raise the worthy and upright without neglecting the distant — then transformation will soak the court; love others and enrich the foundation, divide duties and keep to the law, cultivate yourself and extend to others, begin within and accomplish without — then transformation will travel the realm. What I said earlier — "if you wish the vital energies to harmonize, follow their nature to guide them" — one should bring the people into benevolence and longevity. If one wishes the people benevolent and long-lived, it lies in establishing institutions and cultivating transformation. When institutions are established, expenditures are economized; when expenditures are economized, levies are light; when levies are light, the people grow wealthy; when transformation is cultivated, contention ceases; when contention ceases, punishments are clear; when punishments are clear, the people are at peace. once wealthy, then benevolence and righteousness arise; once at peace, then longevity arrives. Hearts of benevolence and longevity are moved below, qi of peace and harmony respond above — therefore disasters do not arise, auspicious omens arrive in succession, the four directions reach tranquility, and the ten thousand things all succeed. What I said earlier — "relieving drought and famine lies in attaining utmost sincerity" — I respectfully examine the Spring and Autumn Annals: within the seventh month of Duke Xi of Lu, "no rain" is recorded three times — because that ruler had a mind to care for the people; across three years of Duke Wen, it is recorded only once — because that ruler had no heart of compassion for the people. Therefore when Xi attained sincerity, drought did not harm the crops; when Wen lacked care and compassion, drought became true disaster. If Your Majesty truly has a heart to care for the people, there will be no change that becomes disaster. What I said earlier — "broad sowing and planting depend on observing the people's capacity to produce food" — I respectfully examine the Spring and Autumn Annals: "A ruler must constantly observe what the people labor at. When the people labor at physical strength, public works grow scarce; when they labor at wealth, tribute and levies shrink; when they labor at securing food, the hundred affairs are abandoned." Today wealth, food, and strength are all overstrained. I beg Your Majesty to set aside the toil of the hundred affairs and broaden the work of the three farming seasons — then sowing and planting will not fail. What I said earlier — "the state's granaries hold little because redundant consumption remains excessive" — I respectfully examine the Spring and Autumn Annals: "Zangsun Chen requested grain from Qi." The Annals condemn him for lacking nine years' stores — one year of poor harvest and the common people went hungry. I beg to expel idle wanderers to deepen farming, cut non-urgent expenditures to nourish the people — then granary stores will not run dry. What I said earlier — "the officials' paths multiplying, rooted in wrongful selection and appointment" — this is because the state does not draw on men's full talents, and appointments do not clarify what truly matters. Today in appointing men, Your Majesty seeks reputation but not substance; therefore those who advance attend to show but not to substance. I beg to examine the substance of performance evaluations and fix the system of advancement — then the multiplied paths of officials will subside. What I said earlier — "the powerful and cunning overstepping bounds because inner and outer law differ" — because official prohibitions are not one. I respectfully examine the Spring and Autumn Annals: when Duke Huan of Qi covenanted with the feudal lords, dates were usually omitted; yet the covenant at Kuiqiu is specially dated — praising his ability to proclaim the Son of Heaven's prohibitions and lead the states in keeping to the royal laws; therefore the Annals record it in full. Offices were what the Five Emperors and Three Kings established; laws were what Gaozu and Taizong enacted. Laws should be unified; offices should have correct titles. Now again outer and inner officials are divided in posts, and Southern Bureau and Northern Bureau offices are established — violate a prohibition in the south and flee to the north; be punished outside and break the law within; laws issue from many gates and men have nowhere to turn — truly because military and agricultural power diverge, and inner and outer law are separate. I have heard that in antiquity the well-field system regulated military levies, agricultural seasons were interwoven with military training, fiefs were tallied for chariot and foot numbers, and commanders were appointed from among the chief ministers — thus military and agriculture were one, civil and martial shared one direction, to secure the state and check rebellion. When Emperor Taizong first established the dynastic institutions, he also established the fubing militia; Terrace offices and army guards, civil and martial jointly administered; in peaceful years they sheathed bows and labored in the fields; when trouble arose they set aside plows and took up arms — thereby restoring the ancient system without abandoning the old institutions. Now it is not so. the Minister of War does not know the military registers, and attends court only as a formality; the Six Armies do not preside over military affairs, and exist only to nurture ranks and honors. Military affairs are merged with inner eunuch government; military regulations are attached to inner attendants' offices. One head dons the military cap and hates civil officials like sworn enemies; one foot steps through the army gate and regards farmers as nothing. Their stratagems are insufficient to cut down treacherous rebels, yet their cunning suffices to raise and lower authority and favor; their courage is insufficient to guard the altars of state, yet their violence suffices to prey on lanes and hamlets. They bind feudal ministers, overawe chief ministers, shatter the royal measure, and muddy the constants of court governance. They display the might of warriors to control the ruler and father above; they borrow the Son of Heaven's command to repel heroes below. They harbor treachery and watch for openings, but have no principle of bowing to duty and dying in hardship. Is this the purpose of the former kings in weaving civil and martial together! I beg Your Majesty to thread civil and martial Ways together, equalize military and agricultural achievement, correct titles of noble and base, unify inner and outer law, select army guards' duties, and repair the provincial offices; near at hand honor the regulations of the Zhenguan reign, far off restore the institutions of the accomplished Zhou: from the capital domain discipline the subordinate states, from the Son of Heaven down to the feudal lords — then you can restrain the strong among overbearing and cunning men, and there will be no calamity of overstepping bounds. What I said earlier — "students growing idle because school offices are abandoned" — broadly the state values their stipends and despises their ability, puts position before conduct; therefore the myriad offices lack mastery of the classics, and students have no heart to cultivate their studies. What I said earlier — "the commanderies interfering with prohibitions because the wrong men are appointed" — I hold that the post of regional inspector is where the root of order and disorder lies and where the court's laws and institutions reside; with authority one can repel overbearing strongmen, with kindness benefit orphans and widows, with strength repel treacherous bandits, and with government shift customs and mores. As for commanders and officers who have seen battle, and the sons and younger brothers of meritorious ministers — each asks to be rewarded as appropriate. If one lacks the art of governing men, he should not hold this office — then the calamity of interfering with prohibitions will end. What I said earlier — "the hundred crafts growing excessive in cleverness because institutions are not established" — I ask to regulate implements, vehicles, and dress by office rank and stipend grade, and prohibit gold, silver, pearls, jade, brocade, embroidery, and carving and inlay from being hoarded in private chambers — then there will be no cleverness that unsettles the heart. What I said earlier — "distinguishing branches and leaves" — this is because examining words inquires into conduct. What I said earlier — "taking form in shame and regulation" — this is because guiding through virtue aligns ritual. What I said earlier — "reflecting that producers are few and consumers many, and that idle wanderers may be dismissed" — has already been set forth above. What I said earlier — "orders being numerous yet governance rare, and that the essential is to examine whether they are carried out" — I have heard that commands are the instruments of governing the state: the ruler examines and issues them, ministers receive and carry them out — to violate the superior intent is an unpardonable crime. Today Your Majesty's orders are numerous yet governance is rare — can it be that those who hold them conceal and deceive? What I said earlier — "broadly gather worthy men, and I beg Your Majesty to accept their words; come to court and await inquiry — then would this petty official dare cherish his life" — I have heard that Chao Cuo drew up the plan to reduce the feudal lords for Han — it was not that he did not know disaster was coming. The loyal minister's heart, the stalwart's integrity: if it profits the altars of state, death brings no regret. Now I am not unaware that when words issue disaster follows, and when plans are carried out the body is punished — I grieve the altars' peril and mourn the people's suffering: how could I bear to temporize with the times' taboos and steal one life of Your Majesty's favor! Formerly Long Feng died and Shang was awakened; Bi Gan died and Zhou was awakened; Han Fei died and Han was awakened; Chen Fan died and Wei was awakened. Now in my coming, the responsible offices perhaps dare not recommend my words; Your Majesty again has no means to discern my heart — on retiring I will surely be executed at the hands of powerful ministers. I would be fortunate to follow the Four in the underworld — that is indeed my wish. What I do not know is: when I am killed, after my death, who will awaken them? As for the ruler's faults, the flaws in government and teaching, and the abuses of former days — I have already spoken of them. As for spreading benefit to the lower lands, cultivating governance like that of near antiquity, and attaining peace — it lies in Your Majesty's carrying it out, nothing more. Yet what was set forth above was truly because I personally received the sage inquiry — how could I not respond item by item. Though I am foolish, I hold that it has not reached the great beginning of transformation and teaching, the essential Way of the august kings. I beg Your Majesty to serve Heaven and Earth to teach reverence, attend the ancestral temples to teach filial piety, nurture the aged to teach respect for elders, cherish the people to teach kindness to the young, harmonize the vital energies to warm and nurture, fan the great harmony toward benevolence and longevity — then you may roam free in non-action, fold your arms, and let transformation be accomplished. As for reflecting on the potter's wheel — it lies in selecting chief ministers to entrust with it, letting them wield the handle of creation and transformation; reflecting on securing and stabilizing the realm — it lies in selecting generals and commanders to entrust with it, letting them fulfill the trust outside the frontier passes; reflecting on the hundred measures' lack of correctness — it lies in selecting the myriad offices to entrust with it, letting them focus on keeping to their professional duties; reflecting on the people's grievance and pain — it lies in selecting good local officials to entrust with it, letting them clarify the arts of kindness and nurturing. Then naturally your words suffice to teach the realm, your conduct suffices to model it, your benevolence suffices to encourage good, your righteousness suffices to prohibit wrong — why must you rise at midnight and dine at dusk, toil your spirit and be ever vigilant, only then attain governance! That year Left Regular Attendant of the Cavalry Feng Su, Vice Minister of Rites Jia Su, and Bureau Director of the Storehouses Pang Yan served as examination graders for the policy essays; the three were literary men of the time. Seeing Liu Fen's itemized answers, they sighed in admiration and lamentation, holding them to surpass the ancient Chao Cuo and Dong Zhongshu. The discourse was incisive and impassioned, and the scholar community was deeply moved. At the time twenty-two passed the examination, but inner eunuchs held power and the examiners dared not keep Liu Fen on the roster; public opinion clamored in outrage. Upright men who kept to the Way circulated his text, and some wept face to face as they read it. Remonstrating officials and investigating censors clenched their wrists in indignation, but the ministers in power smoothed matters over to avoid the yellow gate's resentment. Only Li He, who had passed the examination, said to others: "Liu Fen did not place, yet our cohort passed — how thick is our face indeed." He asked to yield the office he had received to Fen; though the matter was not granted, scholars praised him. Linghu Chu was at Xingyuan and Niu Sengru was stationed at Xiangyang; each recruited Liu Fen as a staff member and treated him like a teacher or friend. He ended his career as censor on a military commissioner's staff. Li Shangyin, whose courtesy name was Yishan, came from Henei in Huai prefecture. His great-grandfather Shuhuan passed the jinshi examination at nineteen and ended his career as magistrate of Anyang. His grandfather Fu rose no higher than recording secretary of Xing prefecture. His father was Si. Shangyin could already write essays as a boy. When Linghu Chu governed Heyang as military commissioner, Shangyin presented his writings to him, though he had not yet turned twenty. Chu admired his youth and talent, treated him with exceptional courtesy, and let him mingle with his sons. When Chu served at Tianping and Bian, Shangyin followed him as a staff officer. Chu paid his travel expenses each year and sent him to the capital with the tribute mission to sit for the examination. In 837 he finally passed the jinshi examination, took his first office as proofreader in the Secretariat, and was later transferred to magistrate of Hongnong. In 842 he again distinguished himself in the examination for legal and documentary excellence. When Wang Maoyuan governed Heyang, he recruited Shangyin as chief clerk and secured for him appointment as censor awaiting imperial disposition. Maoyuan admired his talent and gave him his daughter in marriage. Maoyuan had studied the classics and was a Confucian in learning, yet he came from a military family. Li Deyu had long favored him, and while Deyu held power he appointed him commander of Heyang. Deyu was locked in bitter enmity with Li Zongmin, Yang Sifu, and Linghu Chu. Once Shangyin entered Maoyuan's service, Zongmin's faction held him in deep contempt. By then Linghu Chu had died and his son Tao held an outer court post. Tao regarded Shangyin as ungrateful and especially despised his lack of principle. Before long Maoyuan died. Shangyin came to the capital in search of office but remained unemployed for a long time. Soon afterward Supervising Secretary Zheng Ya was sent to inspect Guizhou. He invited Shangyin to serve as administrative aide on the observation staff and acting vice director of the Ministry of Waterways. Early in the Dazhong reign Bai Minzhong came to power, with Linghu Tao in the inner secretariat; together they forced Li Deyu from office. Ya was condemned as a member of Deyu's faction and was demoted to prefect of Xunzhou. Shangyin followed Ya in the far south for several years. Three years later he returned to court. The capital intendant Lu Hongzheng memorialized to place him on his staff and put him in charge of petitions and memorials. The following year Linghu Tao became chief minister. Shangyin repeatedly petitioned to explain his circumstances, but Tao ignored him. When Hongzheng governed Xuzhou, Shangyin again served him as chief clerk. When that appointment ended he returned to court, again pressed his literary writings in search of office, and was appointed Erudite of the Imperial University. Soon the Henan intendant Liu Zhongying was sent to govern the eastern Shu region. He recruited Shangyin as administrative aide on his staff and acting director of the Ministry of Works. Late in the Dazhong reign Zhongying was demoted for an unauthorized execution. Shangyin was dismissed, returned to Zhengzhou, and died of illness not long afterward. Shangyin could write in the ancient prose style and disliked regulated parallel composition. He had served on Linghu Chu's staff. Chu excelled at memorials and edicts and taught Shangyin that craft, after which Shangyin began to write in the contemporary style of court documents. Learned and with a formidable memory, he wrote tirelessly once he took up the brush and was especially skilled at dirges and funeral offerings. His fame stood with Wen Tingyun of Taiyuan and Duan Chengshi of Nancheng; contemporaries called them the "Thirty-six." His literary sensibility was clear and refined, and in this he surpassed Tingyun. Yet both lacked firm moral principle. They relied on talent, behaved with eccentric vehemence, and men in power looked down on them. Neither advanced in official career and both were thwarted to the end of their lives. His younger brother Yishou also passed the jinshi examination and served repeatedly on provincial staffs. Shangyin left a collection of memorials and formal petitions in forty juan. Wen Tingyun came from Taiyuan. His original name was Qi, and his courtesy name was Feiqing. At the start of the Dazhong reign he sat for the jinshi examination, labored over his studies, and excelled above all in poetry and rhapsodies. When he first arrived in the capital, men of letters immediately held him in high regard. Yet his personal conduct was disorderly, he paid no heed to decorum, and he could set sensuous lyrics to the music of strings and pipes. He consorted with the dissolute sons of great families, such as Pei Cheng and Linghu Hao, gambling and drinking with them in drunken revelry all day long. Because of this he failed the examination year after year. When Xu Shang was stationed at Xiangyang, Tingyun went to join his staff and was appointed a touring officer. During the Xiantong reign, disheartened, he returned to the lower Yangzi region. Passing through Guangling, he nursed resentment that Linghu Tao, while in office, had not helped him win renown. Once there, he caroused wildly in the pleasure quarters with young upstarts, long neglected formal calls on officials, and even begged at Yangzi Courtyard. Drunk, he broke the night curfew, was beaten by the night watch, and returned with his face battered and teeth broken. The Yangzhou authorities brought suit. Linghu Tao had the night watch arrested and prosecuted, speaking at length of Tingyun's disreputable conduct in the pleasure quarters, and then released both parties. From then on his disreputable conduct became known throughout the capital. After reaching Chang'an, Tingyun wrote to high officials to clear his name. Xu Shang was then directing state affairs and spoke on his behalf with some effect. Before long Xu Shang was dismissed as chief minister and took up a post at Yangzhou. Shou grew angry with Tingyun, demoted him to magistrate of Fangcheng, later transferred him to magistrate of Sui county, where he died. His son Xian passed the jinshi examination. His younger brother Tinghao served on the staff at Xuzhou during the Xiantong reign. When the military governor Cui Yanlu was killed by Pang Xun, Tinghao was killed as well. Tingyun wrote a great deal, and the tonal craft of his poetry and rhapsodies was clear and refined. Men of letters praised him for it. Xue Feng, whose courtesy name was Taochen, came from Hedong. His father was Yi. Feng passed the jinshi at the start of the Huichang reign, received office, and entered service. When Cui, a proofreader in the Secretariat, was dismissed as chief minister and took up command at Hedzhong, he recruited Feng to his staff. When Xuan again took up chief ministerial duties, he memorialized to appoint Feng magistrate of Wannian and assign him to the Hall of Literature. Feng was later promoted repeatedly to supervising censor and then to a director in the Secretariat. Feng's writing was brilliant and his discourse sharp and impassioned. He prided himself on strategic talent, yet for years he failed to advance. While sitting for the jinshi examination he was especially close to Liu Cuan of Pengcheng. Cuan's literary skill did not match Feng's, and Feng often treated him with contempt. By the end of the Dazhong reign Cuan had risen to fame and served in the inner offices, while Feng grew ever more frustrated. From then on the two bore each other resentment. Before long Cuan took charge of state affairs. Someone recommended Feng for the post of drafter of edicts, but Cuan memorialized: "The former court established that appointees to the drafting and secretariat posts of the Two Departments must first serve in prefectural and county office. Feng has never governed a commandery and should first be tested in such a post." Feng was then sent out as prefect of Bazhou. Before long Shen Xun, Yang Shou, and Wang Duo rose from the Hanlin Academy to become chief ministers and generals in succession. All were jinshi of the same year as Feng, yet his literary talent was the finest. After Yang Shou became chief minister, Feng wrote a poem that ran: "One must know the courtier bearing the golden seal who faces the Son of Heaven. Both alike are passers-by sidestepping the road along the sand embankment. A majestic phoenix appearing at the right moment is hailed as an auspicious sage; a hidden dragon without water vainly claims communion with the divine." When Shou heard of it, he was deeply offended. Feng was again sent out as prefect of Pengzhou. When Shou was dismissed as chief minister, Feng entered court as vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and drafting reviewer. When Wang Duo became chief minister, Feng wrote another poem: "Yesterday a goose feather weighed ten thousand jun; today mountains and peaks are lighter than a speck of dust." Duo again resented him. Because Feng relied on his talent and was narrow and quick to take offense, men of standing despised him. He was promoted to director of the Secretariat and died. His son Tinggui passed the jinshi examination during the Zhonghe reign. At the start of the Datong reign he rose through several posts to vice director in the Ministry of Honors, was formally appointed drafter of edicts, and was invested as secretariat drafter. In 896 he was sent on mission to Taiyuan. On reporting back that Emperor Zhaozong had moved to Huazhou, he was appointed left regular attendant. He pleaded illness, resigned from office, and traveled as a guest in Chengdu. During the Guanghua reign he again became secretariat drafter, was promoted to vice minister of both Justice and Personnel, served as acting director of the civil examinations in the Ministry of Rites, and was appointed left vice director of the Secretariat. After entering the service of Later Liang, he rose to minister of rites. Li Zheng, whose courtesy name was Changshi, came from Longxi. In 871 he passed the jinshi examination. During the Qianfu reign he served repeatedly on provincial staffs. During Huang Chao's rebellion he took refuge at Pingyang. When Emperor Xizong returned to the capital, Zheng was summoned and appointed a director in the Secretariat, then promoted to director in the Ministry of Honors and made drafter of edicts. When Emperor Xizong again moved to Baoji, Zheng was unable to accompany him. At Fengxiang the Prince of Xiang usurped an imperial title and forced Zheng to serve as a Hanlin academician. Having been tainted by service under the usurping regime, he could not rest easy in his mind. Later Zhu Mei seized power. The hundred officials fell into disorder, and court institutions sank into chaos. Once, after court was dismissed, Zheng halted his horse at the Gate of the Nation, gazed toward the southern mountains, and recited: "After court at Zichen ends, paired mandarin ducks are strung together; before the Crimson Phoenix Tower I halt my horse to look. Only the color of Mount Zhongnan remains, clear and bright as ever, filling Chang'an." When he finished reciting, tears streamed down his face. When Wang Xingyu killed Zhu Mei, the Prince of Xiang fled. The capital fell into chaos, and Zheng was killed by mutinous troops. His wife, Lady Lu, was learned, could write, and was beautiful. After Zheng died she lay over his corpse wailing. When bandits pressed her, she kept weeping and would not move. They threatened her with weapons and even severed one of her arms, yet she never turned away and was killed by the bandits. All who heard of it mourned her. Li Juchuan, whose courtesy name was Xiayi, came from Longyou. He was a descendant of Li Daoxuan of the founding eighteen scholars and a grandnephew of Li Fengji. His father Xun passed the jinshi examination in 854. Juchuan sat for the jinshi during the Qianfu reign. As the realm fell into great disorder and he wandered in exile, eager for salary and rank, he turned to the pen and entered the staffs of regional lords. When Wang Chongrong was stationed at Hedzhong, he recruited Juchuan as chief secretary. At that time the emperor was in Shu, rebels held the capital, and Chongrong rallied the regional lords to join forces against the bandits. Military dispatches and memorials piled on his desk until they overflowed. Juchuan wrote with swift brilliance, his brush flying across the page. When his dispatches reached neighboring regions, all were stirred. Chongrong's success in recovery owed much to Juchuan's help. When Chongrong was killed by his subordinates, court opinion blamed his staff, and Juchuan was demoted to an aide in Hanzhong. At that time Yang Shouliang commanded Xingyuan and knew Juchuan of old. When he heard Juchuan had arrived, he said joyfully to a guest: "Heaven has sent Secretary Li to me!" [Close quotation.] He immediately appointed Juchuan to manage the secretariat and promoted him through several staff posts. During the Jingfu reign Shouliang was attacked by Li Maozhen. When the city fell, he set out with several hundred followers intending to go over to Taiyuan. Entering Qin, he was captured by Han Jian's army at Hua. Juchuan was then with Shouliang and was shackled as well. On the road Juchuan inscribed a poem on a tree leaf and sent it to Han Jian, commander of Hua. The verse was mournful and moving, and Jian gladly released him from his bonds. After Shouliang was executed, Jian immediately appointed Juchuan chief secretary. Before long Li Maozhen invaded the capital, and the emperor halted at Hua. Han Jian, with the resources of a single province, had to supply the imperial court and feared he could not manage it. He sent Juchuan to circulate a proclamation throughout the realm requesting aid in transporting provisions, so that all might jointly restore the royal house and rebuild the capital. Dispatches and replies poured in from every direction. Juchuan drafted responses with fluent prose and satisfying logic. Emperor Zhaozong held him in deep esteem, and Juchuan's name at once spread throughout the realm. When Emperor Zhaozong returned to the capital, Juchuan was specially appointed remonstrance grandee and remained to assist Han Jian. At the start of the Guanghua reign Zhu Quanzhong captured Hedzhong and advanced into Tong Pass. Jian was afraid and sent Juchuan to see Zhu Quanzhong and offer submission. Arriving at Hedzhong, Juchuan spoke calmly of the situation. Juchuan laid out the advantages and dangers of the situation. Zhu Quanzhong was then plotting to seize the throne, and when he heard Juchuan's analysis he took offense. The aide Jing Xiang, also valued by Zhu Quanzhong for his literary skill, feared that keeping Juchuan would diminish his own standing and said to Quanzhong: "Remonstrance Grandee Li's writing is indeed fine, but it does not serve his master well." [Close quotation.] That same day Juchuan was killed by Zhu Quanzhong. Sikong Tu, whose courtesy name was Biaosheng, was originally from Linzi. His great-grandfather Sui served as magistrate of Mi. His grandfather Luan served as director in the Ministry of Works. His father Yu was skilled in administrative methods. At the start of the Dazhong reign Vice Minister of Revenue Lu Hongzheng oversaw the salt and iron monopoly and memorialized to appoint Yu commissioner of the Anyi two-pool salt monopoly and acting director in the Ministry of Rites. Previously the salt laws were loosely defined, and officials often violated the regulations; Yu then drafted ten articles of new regulations and memorialized them. To this day they are regarded as convenient. He entered court service as vice director in the Ministry of Justice, was promoted to director in the Ministry of Revenue, and died. Tu passed the jinshi examination in 869. The chief examiner Wang Ning regarded him as especially remarkable among the successful candidates. When Ning was demoted to prefect of Shangzhou, Tu asked to accompany him. Ning valued him all the more, and when Ning was assigned to inspect Xuancheng and Shezhou he recruited Tu as chief guest. He was summoned and appointed palace censor. Because he was slow in reaching court he was demoted to registrar in the Court of Imperial Entertainments and assigned to the eastern capital branch. In 879 Chief Minister Lu Xie was dismissed and served as a guest at the eastern capital branch. Tu kept company with him. Xie admired Tu's lofty integrity and treated him with generous courtesy. Once, visiting Tu's house, he wrote on the wall by hand: "The surname Sikong is noble; the rank of censor is low. If this old man were still in office, you need not brood over hardship and obscurity." The next year Xie returned to court. Passing through Shanzhou and Guozhou he said to the Shan commander Lu Wo: "Censor Sikong is a man of lofty character. You should treat him generously." Wo that same day memorialized to appoint Tu to his staff. That year Xie again took charge of state affairs, summoned Tu as vice director in the Ministry of Rites, granted him the crimson robe and fish bag, and promoted him to director in that ministry. That winter Huang Chao's rebels invaded the capital. The emperor fled, Tu was unable to accompany him, and withdrew to Hedzhong. At that time the former chief minister Wang Hui was also at Pu and treated Tu with great generosity. Several years later Hui received orders to take command at Lu and memorialized to appoint Tu his deputy. Hui never took up the post, and the appointment came to nothing. When Emperor Xizong returned from Shu and halted at Fengxiang, Tu was summoned to draft edicts and soon formally appointed secretariat drafter. That year Emperor Xizong moved to Baoji. Tu again could not accompany him and withdrew to Hedzhong. At the start of the Longji reign he was again summoned and appointed secretariat drafter. Before long he again pleaded illness and resigned. When Hebei fell into disorder, he took up residence at Huayin. During the Jingfu reign he was again summoned as remonstrance grandee. At that time the court was weak and institutions were in ruins. Tu deeply felt that leaving retirement was worse than remaining in seclusion, pleaded illness, and refused to take office. During the Qianning reign he was again summoned as vice minister of revenue. He came once to court to offer thanks, but within days begged to return to the mountains and was permitted to do so. When Emperor Zhaozong was at Hua, Tu was summoned and appointed vice minister of war. He claimed a foot ailment that prevented him from performing court bows and merely sent a memorial of thanks. When Emperor Zhaozong moved to Luoyang, Zhu Quanzhong sought to bring him under Liang control. Liu Can curried the usurper's favor, framed members of the old elite, and an edict summoned Tu to court. Tu feared execution, forced himself through illness to reach Luoyang, and on the day of audience dropped his court tablet and lost all decorum. His manner was utterly uncouth. Can knew he could not be bent and issued an edict saying: "Sikong Tu, outstanding in talent, passed the examination and entered the ranks of high office. Having cultivated loftiness to disdain the age, he is like one who moved a mountain to fish for fame. His heart delights only in living as a recluse by flowing streams; office is not his sole pursuit of salary and sustenance. Neither suitable for barbarian lands nor for a benevolent court, he is ill suited to a government of impartial justice; Upon further reflection, he should be allowed to follow his resolve to live in rustic seclusion. He is permitted to return to the mountains." Tu had an ancestral villa in Wangguan Valley in the Zhongtiao Mountains, with springs, rocks, woods, and pavilions well suited to secluded living. From then on he lived in lofty seclusion at Kaopan, daily roaming and composing poetry there with eminent monks and reclusive scholars. In his later writing he especially cultivated free unrestraint. Once, modeling Bai Juyi's Biography of the Drunken Chanter, he wrote Record of the Rest-Rest Pavilion: "The Sikong family's Rest-Rest Pavilion at Zhenyi Stream was originally named Wash-the-Tassel Pavilion and was burned by the Shan army." In the guihai year of Tianfu it was rebuilt amid ruined walls, and its name was changed to Rest-Rest. Rest means repose, and also beauty; in repose, full beauty remains. Broadly speaking: measured by talent, he ought first to rest; measured by allotted fate, he ought second to rest; old and deaf, he ought third to rest. Moreover, idle in youth, unrestrained in maturity, and obstinate in old age—these three qualities are none of them useful for aiding the age, and so again he ought to rest. Still he worried that in troubled times he could not trust himself. Then he napped by day and met two monks who said to him: "We were once your teachers. You once strained after the Way, sharp yet not steadfast, bound by profit and desire. Fortunately you awakened and repented, and will again follow us at this stream. Moreover, though you have withdrawn, you have also been envied by wicked men. You should endure insult and keep yourself warned, so as to preserve your integrity from beginning to end and rank your standing with Tao Yuanming and Bai Juyi a thousand years hence. What more could you seek!" He therefore composed the Song of the Endurance-of-Insult Recluse and inscribed it on the northeast pillar: "Tut-tut! Rest, rest, rest; no, no, no. Though tricks are many, nature and spirit are base; luckily one is long taught to dwell in leisure. Rest, rest, rest; no, no, no. One game of chess, one brazier of medicine—the intent of heaven and the mood of the age can be gauged. The white sun especially urges the merry man onward; gold cannot buy the privilege of riding a crane to immortality. If one says: 'What can you do?' The answer is: 'Endure insult—that is all.'" His eccentric vehemence, whistling defiance, and proud disdain were mostly of this kind. After Tu escaped Liu Can's peril and returned to the mountains, he prepared his tomb and final arrangements in advance. When old friends came, he led them into the burial chamber to compose poetry and drink together. Some showed discomfort, and Tu admonished them, saying: "The man of attainment takes the great view. Dark and bright are one, and this is not merely a brief visit here. Why do you not broaden your view!" [Close quotation.] Tu wore plain cloth and carried a dove-tailed staff. When he went out he was accompanied by the female household member Luantai. At seasonal village rites, rain prayers, sacrifices, and drum-and-dance gatherings, Tu always attended and sat with rustic elders, never showing arrogance. Wang Chongrong and his family especially valued him. Seasonal offerings and gifts never ceased on the road to his door. In the year after the Tang dynasty fell, hearing that Prince Hui had been assassinated at Jiyin, he fell into displeasure and illness. Within days he died, at the age of seventy-two. He left collected writings in thirty juan. Tu had no son and took his nephew He as his heir. He rose to prefect of Yongzhou. Because he had taken a nephew as heir, he was once impeached by a censor, but Emperor Zhaozong did not hold him accountable. The eulogy says: The splendor of the state lies in the forming and completion of human culture. At intervals ages produce outstanding men who stir literary ornament and unfold brilliance. Like swift Qiji they stride in excellence; like Xian and Shao they sound the correct music. Their brilliance flows through silk and plain scrolls, looking down even upon the ages of Ji and Ying.
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