1
前代賁丘園，招隱逸，所以重貞退之節，息貪競之風。 故蒙叟矯《讓王》之篇，玄晏立高人之傳，箕、潁之跡，粲然可觀。 而漢二龔之流，乃心王室，不事莽朝，忍渴盜泉，本非絕俗，甚可嘉也。 皇甫謐、陶淵明慢世逃名，放情肆誌，逍遙泉石，無意於出處之間，又其善也。 即有身在江湖之上，心遊魏闕之下，托薛蘿以射利，假巖壑以釣名，退無肥遁之貞，進乏濟時之具，《山移》見誚，海鳥興譏，無足多也。 阮嗣宗傲世佯狂，王無功嗜酒放蕩，才不足而智有余，傷其時而晦其用，深識之士也。 高宗天後，訪道山林，飛書巖穴，屢造幽人之宅，堅回隱士之車。 而遊巖、德義之徒，所高者獨行； 盧鴻一、承禎之比，所重者逃名。 至於出處語默之大方，未足與議也。 今存其舊說，以備雜篇。
In earlier times rulers beautified rustic retreats and called forth hidden worthies, honoring the virtue of principled retirement and calming the fever of grasping ambition. Hence Zhuangzi composed the apocryphal "Yielding the Throne," Huangfu Mi wrote lives of eminent recluses, and the examples of Xu You and Ying Qiu stand forth in clear splendor. Yet men like the two Gongs of Han remained loyal to the Liu house, refused to serve Wang Mang, and would go thirsty rather than drink from the tainted spring — their withdrawal was not mere rejection of society, and that is truly admirable. Huangfu Mi and Tao Yuanming scorned their times and shunned reputation, gave free rein to feeling among streams and peaks, and cared nothing for office or seclusion — that was another kind of excellence. Some lived outwardly as hermits while their hearts clung to court — using rustic garb to hunt profit, feigning mountain solitude to angle for fame. In retreat they lacked true integrity; in advance they had nothing to offer the times. They earned the scorn of "The Mountain Moves" and the mockery of the sea bird — such men are hardly worth esteem. Ruan Ji defied the world in studied madness; Wang Ji drowned himself in wine. Short on talent but rich in insight, they mourned their age and hid their gifts — these were men of profound understanding. Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu sought sages in the hills, dispatched summons to remote caves, called again and again at hermits' doors, and just as firmly sent their carriages back. Yet figures such as Tian Youyan and Shi Deyi prized only solitary conduct; while men like Lu Hongyi and Sima Chengzhen chiefly valued escaping reputation. On the larger question of when to serve or withdraw, to speak or hold silence, they scarcely merit serious debate. Their earlier accounts are preserved here as supplementary material for this section.
2
王績，字無功，絳州龍門人。 少與李播、呂才為莫逆之交。 隋大業中，應孝悌廉潔舉，授揚州六合縣丞。 非其所好，棄官還鄉里。 績河渚中先有田數頃，鄰渚有隱士仲長子先，服食養性，績重其真素，願與相近，乃結廬河渚，以琴酒自樂。 嘗遊北山，因為《北山賦》以見誌，詞多不載。
Wang Ji, courtesy name Wugong, came from Longmen in Jiang Prefecture. In his youth he formed the closest of friendships with Li Bo and Lü Cai. During the Sui Daye reign he entered office on a filial-and-incorrupt recommendation and was made assistant magistrate of Liuhe County in Yangzhou. The post did not suit him, and he resigned to return home. Ji already owned a few acres on a river islet. Nearby lived the recluse Zhongchang Zixian, who cultivated himself through diet and regimen. Ji admired his unadorned integrity, wished to live close by, built a cottage on the islet, and amused himself with lute and wine. Once, traveling on North Mountain, he wrote a "Rhapsody on North Mountain" to declare his intent; most of its text is omitted here.
3
績嘗躬耕於東臯，故時人號東臯子。 或經過酒肆，動經數日，往往題壁作詩，多為好事者諷詠。 貞觀十八年卒。 臨終自克死日，遺命薄葬，兼預自為墓誌。 有文集五卷。 又撰《隋書》，未就而卒。
Because he had farmed with his own hands on the eastern terrace, contemporaries called him Master of the Eastern Mound. He might linger in taverns for days on end, often scratching poems on walls that enthusiasts loved to recite. He died in the eighteenth year of the Zhenguan era. On his deathbed he set the date himself, ordered a simple burial, and had already drafted his own epitaph. His collected writings ran to five scrolls. He also began a History of the Sui, which remained unfinished at his death.
4
兄通，字仲淹，隋大業中名儒，號文中子，自有傳。
His elder brother Wang Tong, courtesy name Zhongyan, was a celebrated scholar of the Sui Daye period, known as Master Wenzhong, and has a separate biography.
5
田遊巖
Tian Youyan
6
田遊巖，京兆三原人也。 初，補太學生，後罷歸，遊於太白山。 每遇林泉會意，輒留連不能去。 其母及妻子並有方外之誌，與遊巖同遊山水二十余年。 後入箕山，就許由廟東築室而居，自稱「許由東鄰」。 調露中，高宗幸嵩山，遣中書侍郎薛元超就問其母。 遊巖山衣田冠出拜，帝令左右扶止之。 謂曰：「先生養道山中，比得佳否？」 遊巖曰：「臣泉石膏肓，煙霞痼疾，既逢聖代，幸得逍遙。」 帝曰：「朕今得卿，何異漢獲四皓乎？」 薛元超曰：「漢高祖欲廢嫡立庶，黃、綺方來，豈如陛下崇重隱淪，親問巖穴！」 帝甚歡，因將遊巖就行宮，並家口給傳乘赴都，授崇文館學士，令與太子少傅劉仁軌談論。 帝後將營奉天宮於嵩山，遊巖舊宅，先居宮側。 特令不毀，仍親書題額懸其門，曰「隱士田遊巖宅」。 文明中，進授朝散大夫，拜太子洗馬，垂拱初，坐與裴炎交結，特放還山。
Tian Youyan was a native of Sanyuan in the Jingzhao region. He first entered the Imperial University, then withdrew and roamed Mount Taibai. Whenever woods and streams pleased him, he would linger and find it hard to go on. His mother, wife, and children all shared his wish to live beyond worldly affairs, and for more than twenty years they wandered the hills with him. He later settled on Mount Ji, built a house east of Xu You's shrine, and styled himself "Xu You's eastern neighbor." During the Tiaolu reign, Emperor Gaozong visited Mount Song and sent Vice Director of the Secretariat Xue Yuanchao to call on Youyan's mother. Youyan came out in rustic dress and a farmer's hat to pay his respects; the emperor told attendants to hold him back from full obeisance. The emperor asked, "Sir, you cultivate the Way in these mountains — are you well content of late?" Youyan replied, "I am incurably devoted to springs and cliffs, hopelessly addicted to mist and sunset glow; in this enlightened age I am blessed to wander freely." The emperor said, "In winning you today, am I not like the Han emperor who gained the Four Whiteheads of Mount Shang?" Xue Yuanchao said, "Gaozu of Han summoned the recluses only because he meant to displace the heir; how can that compare with Your Majesty's honoring of true withdrawal and your personal visit to the hermit's cave!" The emperor was delighted, brought Youyan to the imperial lodge, sent his whole family by relay carriage to the capital, appointed him a Chongwen Hall academician, and had him converse with the heir apparent's junior tutor Liu Rengui. When the emperor later planned the Fengtian Palace on Mount Song, Youyan's former home stood beside the construction site. He ordered it spared, wrote the inscription himself, and hung it over the gate: "Home of the Recluse Tian Youyan." In the Wenming era he rose to Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and became groom of the heir apparent; at the start of Chuigong he was implicated in ties with Pei Yan and was specially allowed to return to the hills.
7
王友貞
Wang Youzhen
8
史德義，蘇州昆山人也。 咸亨初，隱居武丘山，以琴書自適。 或騎牛帶瓢，出入郊郭廛市，號為逸人。 高宗聞其名，征赴洛陽。 尋稱疾東歸。 公卿已下，皆賦詩餞別，德義亦以詩留贈，其文甚美。 天授初，江南道宣勞使、文昌左丞周興表薦之，則天征赴都，詔曰：「蘇州隱士史德義，誌尚虛玄，業履貞確，謙沖彰於裏騕，孝友表於閨庭。 固辭征辟，長往嚴陵之瀨； 多謝簪裾，高蹈愚公之谷。 博聞強識，說《禮》敦《詩》，繕性丘園，甘心畎畝。 朕承天革命，建極開階，寤寐星雲，物色林壑。 順禎期而捐薛帶，應休運而解荷裳； 粵自海隅，來遊魏闕，行藏之理斯得，去就之節無違。 風操可嘉，啟沃攸佇，特宜優獎，委以諫曹。 可朝散大夫。」 後周興伏誅，德義坐為所薦免官。 以朝散大夫放歸丘壑，自此聲譽稍減於隱居之前。
Shi Deyi was a native of Kunshan in Suzhou. Early in the Xianheng era he withdrew to Mount Wuqiu and contented himself with lute and books. Sometimes he rode an ox with a gourd at his side, wandered through country towns and markets, and was known as a free spirit. Emperor Gaozong heard of him and summoned him to Luoyang. Before long he pleaded illness and went home to the east. From the highest ministers down, everyone wrote farewell poems; Deyi replied in verse, and his lines were exceptionally fine. Early in the Tianshou era Zhou Xing, commissioner for Jiangnan and left assistant director of the Secretariat, recommended him; Empress Wu summoned him to court with an edict that read: "The Suzhou recluse Shi Deyi cherishes the subtle Way and lives with steadfast integrity; humility shows in his village, filial devotion in his home. He has repeatedly refused office and long since gone to dwell like Yan Ziling on the river shallows; turning away from court dress and taking the high road to the hermit's valley. Learned and retentive, versed in ritual and devoted to the Odes, he tends his nature in the countryside and is content with the plow. We have received Heaven's mandate, founded the throne, and sought worthy men night and day among stars and in the deep hills. He has met the auspicious age, laid aside the hermit's vine sash, and answered our flourishing rule by leaving his rustic garb; coming from the seacoast to the capital, he has shown sound judgment in when to serve and when to withdraw. His character is admirable and we look to him for honest counsel; he should be specially honored with appointment to the remonstrance office. Let him be made Grand Master of Splendid Happiness." Later, when Zhou Xing was executed, Deyi was dismissed because he had been Zhou's nominee. Released to the hills with the rank of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, he never afterward enjoyed quite the renown he had known as a true recluse.
9
王友貞
Wang Youzhen
10
王友貞，懷州河內人也。 父知敬，則天時麟臺少監，以工書知名。 友貞弱冠時，母病篤，醫言唯啖人肉乃差。 友貞獨念無可求治，乃割股肉以飴親，母病尋差。 則天聞之，令就其家驗問，特加旌表。 友貞素好學，讀《九經》皆百遍，訓誨子弟，如嚴君焉。 口不言人過，尤好釋典； 屏絕⺶亶味，出言未曾負諾，時論以為真君子也。
Wang Youzhen was a native of Henei in Huaizhou. His father Wang Zhijing served under Empress Wu as vice director of the Lin Terrace and was renowned for calligraphy. In his youth his mother fell gravely ill; the physician said only human flesh could cure her. Seeing no other remedy, Youzhen cut flesh from his own thigh to feed her, and she soon recovered. Empress Wu sent officials to verify the story at his home and specially honored him for it. Youzhen was devoted to learning, read each of the Nine Classics a hundred times, and taught his sons and nephews with a father's strictness. He never spoke of others' faults and was especially devoted to Buddhist scriptures; he abstained from meat and strong flavors, never broke his word, and contemporaries held him a true gentleman.
11
長安年，歷任長水令。 後罷歸田裏。 中宗在春宮，召為司議郎，不就。 神龍初，又拜太子中舍，仍令所司以禮征赴。 及至，固以疾辭。 詔曰：
During the Chang'an era he served as magistrate of Changshui. He later resigned and returned to his farm. When Emperor Zhongzong was crown prince he summoned Youzhen as remonstrance officer, but Youzhen declined. Early in the Shenlong era he was again made palace attendant to the heir apparent, and the authorities were ordered to summon him with full ceremony. When he arrived he firmly pleaded illness and refused the post. An edict declared:
12
敦夷齊之行，可以激貪； 尚顏閔之道，用能勸俗。 新除太子中舍人王友貞，德義泉藪，人倫茂異，孝始於事親，信表於行己。 富有文史，廉於財貨，久歷官政，累聞課績。 有古人之風，保君子之德。 乃抗誌塵外，棲情物表，深歸解脫之門，誓守薰修之誡。 頃加征命，作護儲闈，固在辭榮，累陳情懇。 堅持凈義，不登於車服； 惟悅禪綱，味靡求於珍饌。 朕方崇獎廉退，懲抑澆浮，雖思廊廟之賢，豈違山林之願，宜加優秩，仍遂雅懷。 可太子中舍人員外置，給全祿以畢其身，任其在家修道。 仍令所在州縣存問，四時送祿至其住所。
Upholding the example of Bo Yi and Shu Qi can shame the greedy; honoring the way of Yan Hui and Min Ziqian can reform the manners of the age. The newly appointed palace attendant Wang Youzhen is a wellspring of virtue, a rare exemplar among men: filial in serving his parents, trustworthy in his own conduct. He is learned in letters, indifferent to wealth, long experienced in office, and repeatedly praised in performance reviews. He bears the manner of the ancients and keeps a gentleman's integrity. Yet he has set his will against the world, fixed his heart beyond mundane things, entered deeply the gate of liberation, and vowed to keep the Buddhist discipline. Recently summoned to serve the heir apparent, he has steadfastly refused honor and pleaded his case again and again. He holds to pure conduct and will not take carriage or official dress; he delights only in the discipline of meditation and never seeks rich food. We mean to honor integrity and restrain decadence; though we desire talent for the court, we will not override his wish for the hills. Let him receive a generous rank while his refined purpose is fulfilled. Let him hold the post of palace attendant to the heir apparent in supernumerary status, receive full salary for life, and be free to pursue the Way at home. The local prefecture and county shall look after him and deliver his salary each season to his home.
13
玄宗在東宮，又表請禮征之，以年老，竟辭疾不赴。 年九十余，開元四年卒。 時下制曰：「貴德尊賢，飾終念遠，此聖人所以治天下、厚風俗也。 王友貞稟氣元精，遊心大樸。 孝惟不匱，獨貫於神明； 道則難名，高謝於人代。 言念錫類，方期鎮俗，遽爾雕殂，良深湣悼。 生無大位，雖隔外臣之儀，歿有余榮，宜贈上卿之服。 可贈銀青光祿大夫，仍委本縣令長特加吊祭。」
When Xuanzong was crown prince he again petitioned for a ceremonial summons, but Youzhen, now elderly, pleaded illness and never came. He died in his nineties in the fourth year of Kaiyuan. The court then issued an edict: "To honor virtue, respect worthies, adorn the funeral, and remember the departed — this is how a sage orders the realm and deepens custom. Wang Youzhen was endowed with the finest vital force and kept his heart in primal simplicity. His filial piety was inexhaustible and reached the spirits themselves; his Way was beyond naming, and he loftily withdrew from the world of men. We had hoped to reward his kind and rely on him to steady the manners of the age; his sudden death fills us with deep sorrow. He held no high office in life and so lacked the full rites due a court minister, yet in death he deserves honor — let him be granted the vestments of a senior minister. Let him be posthumously made Silver Blue-light Grand Master of the Palace, and let the magistrate of his home county perform special mourning rites."
14
盧鴻一
Lu Hongyi
15
盧鴻一，字浩然，本范陽人，徙家洛陽。 少有學業，頗善籀篆楷隸，隱於嵩山。 開元初，遣幣禮再征不至。 五年，下詔曰：
Lu Hongyi, courtesy name Haoran, was originally from Fanyang but moved his household to Luoyang. He studied from youth and was accomplished in several calligraphic scripts; he withdrew to Mount Song. Early in Kaiyuan the court twice sent ceremonial gifts to summon him, but he did not come. In the fifth year an edict declared:
16
朕以寡薄，忝膺大位。 嘗恨玄風久替，淳化未升，每用翹想遺賢，冀聞上皇之訓。 以卿黃中通理，鉤深詣微，窮太一之道，踐中庸之德，確乎高尚，足侔古人。 故比下征書，佇諧善績，而每輒托辭，拒違不至。 使朕虛心引領，於今數年，雖得素履幽人之貞，而失考父滋恭之命。 豈朝廷之故與生殊趣耶？ 將縱欲山林不能反乎？ 禮有大倫，君臣之義，不可廢也！ 今城闕密邇，不足為難，便敕賫束帛之貺，重宣斯旨，想有以翻然易節，副朕意焉！
We are slight in virtue, yet humbly occupy the throne. We have long regretted the decline of the subtle Way and the failure of pure civilization to flourish, and we constantly yearn for forgotten worthies, hoping to hear the teaching of the sage sovereigns of old. You penetrate principle at the center, plumb the deepest subtleties, master the Way of the Grand Unity, and practice the virtue of the Mean — steadfast and lofty, fully the equal of the ancients. We have therefore sent repeated summons, expecting worthy service, yet each time you have pleaded excuse and refused to come. For years we have waited with open heart; though we honor your integrity as a true recluse, we miss the lesson of Kaofu that reverence should ever increase. Is it that the court and your life's purpose are at odds? Or will you indulge yourself in the hills and never return? Ritual has its great bonds — the duty between ruler and subject cannot be cast aside! The capital is near and should pose no difficulty. We send silks as gifts and proclaim this intent anew — we trust you will change your mind and answer our wish!
17
鴻一赴征。 六年，至東都，謁見不拜。 宰相遣通事舍人問其故，奏曰：「臣聞老君言，禮者，忠信之所薄，不足可依。 山臣鴻一敢以忠信奉見。」 上別召升內殿，賜之酒食。 詔曰：「盧鴻一應辟而至，訪之至道，有會淳風，舉逸人，用勸天下。 特宜授諫議大夫。」 鴻一固辭，又制曰：
Hongyi answered the summons. In the sixth year he reached the eastern capital and at audience did not perform a full bow. The chief minister sent an attendant to inquire; Hongyi replied, "I have heard the Old Master say that ritual is where loyalty and trust grow thin and cannot be relied upon. Your mountain subject Hongyi ventures to present himself in loyalty and sincerity alone." The emperor then summoned him to the inner hall and treated him to food and wine. An edict declared: "Lu Hongyi answered our summons and came; we questioned him on the supreme Way and found him in harmony with pure custom. To elevate a recluse is to encourage the realm. He should be made Remonstrance and Discussion Grand Master." Hongyi firmly declined, and the emperor issued another edict:
18
昔在帝堯，全許由之節； 糸面惟大禹，聽伯成之高。 則知天子有所不臣，諸侯有所不友，《遁》之時義大矣哉！ 嵩山隱士盧鴻一，抗跡幽遠，凝情篆素； 隱居以求其誌，行義以達其道； 雲臥林壑，多歷年載。 傳不雲乎：「舉逸人，天下之人歸心焉。」 是乃飛書巖穴，備禮征聘，方佇獻替，式弘政理。 而矯然不群，確乎難拔，靜已以鎮其操，洗心以激其流，固辭榮寵，將厚風俗，不降其誌，用保厥躬。 會稽嚴陵，未可名屈； 太原王霸，終以病歸。 宜以諫議大夫放還山。 歲給米百碩、絹五十匹，充其藥物，仍令府縣送隱居之所。 若知朝廷得失，具以狀聞。
In the time of Emperor Yao, the throne fully honored Xu You's integrity; and only Yu the Great heeded Bo Cheng's lofty withdrawal. Thus we know that even a sovereign has men he does not subordinate, and lords have men they do not treat as mere friends — how great is the timely meaning of withdrawal! The Mount Song recluse Lu Hongyi keeps his distance in deep seclusion and fixes his heart on calligraphy and plain living; he withdrew to fulfill his purpose and practiced righteousness to attain his Way; and has slept among clouds in forest valleys for many years. Does not the Classic say, "Raise a recluse, and the hearts of the people will turn to you"?" We therefore sent letters to his cave, summoned him with full ceremony, and hoped he would counsel us and enlarge good government. Yet he stood apart, steadfast and hard to move; he quieted himself to steady his character, washed his heart to keep his purpose pure, firmly refused honor, sought to deepen custom, and would not lower his aim in order to preserve his integrity. Yan Ziling of Kuaiji could not be bent to office; Wang Ba of Taiyuan in the end returned home on grounds of illness. Let him return to the mountains with the rank of Remonstrance and Discussion Grand Master. Each year grant him a hundred dan of rice and fifty bolts of silk for his needs and medicines, and order the local authorities to deliver them to his retreat. If he learns of the court's strengths and failings, let him report them fully in memorial.
19
將還山，又賜隱居之服，並其草堂一所，恩禮甚厚。
As he prepared to return to the hills, he was again given a recluse's robe and a cottage, and the imperial favor shown him was very great.
20
王希夷
Wang Xiyi
21
王希夷，徐州滕縣人也。 孤貧好道。 父母終，為人牧羊，收傭以供葬。 葬畢，隱於嵩山，師道士黃頤，向四十年，盡能傳其閉氣導養之術。 頤卒，更居兗州徂來山中，與道士劉玄博為棲遁之友。 好《易》及《老子》，嘗餌松柏葉及雜花散。
Wang Xiyi was a native of Teng County in Xuzhou. Orphaned and poor, he devoted himself to the Way. After his parents died he herded sheep for hire to pay for their burial. When the funeral was over he withdrew to Mount Song and studied under the Daoist Huang Yi for nearly forty years, mastering his methods of breath control and nourishing life. After Huang Yi died he moved to Mount Culai in Yanzhou and made a companion in reclusion of the Daoist Liu Xuanbo. He loved the Book of Changes and Laozi, and sometimes ate pine and cypress leaves and various herbal powders.
22
景龍中，年七十余，氣力益壯。 刺史盧齊卿就謁致禮，因訪以字人之術，希夷曰：「孔子稱『己所不欲，勿施於人』，可以終身行之矣。」 及玄宗東巡，敕州縣以禮征，召至駕前，年已九十六。 上令中書令張說訪以道義，宦官扶入宮中，與語甚悅。
During the Jinglong era, though past seventy, he grew ever stronger in body. Prefect Lu Qiqing called on him with full courtesy and asked how to govern people well. Xiyi said, "Confucius said, 'Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire' — one may practice that all one's life." When Emperor Xuanzong toured the east, he ordered the local authorities to summon Xiyi with full ceremony; brought before the imperial carriage, Xiyi was already ninety-six. The emperor had Chief Minister Zhang Yue question him on the Way and duty; eunuchs helped him into the palace, and the emperor delighted in their conversation.
23
開元十四年，下制曰：「徐州處士王希夷，絕學棄智，抱一居貞，久謝囂塵，獨往林壑。 朕為封巒展禮，側席旌賢，賁然來思，克應嘉召。 雖紆綺季之跡，已過伏生之年，宜命秩以尊儒，俾全高於尚齒。 可朝散大夫，守國子博士，聽致仕還山。 州縣春秋致束帛酒肉，仍賜衣一副、絹一百匹。」 尋壽終。
In the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan an edict declared: "The Xuzhou scholar Wang Xiyi has renounced worldly learning, embraced simplicity, long shunned the dust of the world, and walked alone among forest and cliff. As we performed the Feng and Chan rites, we turned our seat to honor worthies; he came at our call and answered our gracious summons. Though his path recalls the Four Hoaryheads of Mount Shang, he has already passed the age of Fusheng; let rank be granted to honor learning and to exalt respect for age. Let him be made Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and acting erudite of the Directorate of Education, with permission to retire and return to the hills. The local authorities shall present silks, wine, and meat in spring and autumn, and he is also granted one suit of clothes and a hundred bolts of silk." He soon died at a great age.
24
自則天、中宗已後，有蒲州人衛大經、邢州人李元愷，皆潔誌不仕； 蒲州人王守慎、常州人徐仁紀、潤州人孫處玄，皆退身辭職，為時所稱。
After the reigns of Empress Wu and Emperor Zhongzong there were Wei Dajing of Pu Prefecture and Li Yuankai of Xing Prefecture, both of pure purpose who refused office; and Wang Shoushen of Pu Prefecture, Xu Renji of Chang Prefecture, and Sun Chuxuan of Run Prefecture, all of whom withdrew from office and were praised by their contemporaries.
25
衛大經
Wei Dajing
26
衛大經者，篤學善《易》，口無二言。 則天降詔征之，辭疾不赴。 與魏州人夏侯乾童有舊，聞乾童母卒，徒步往吊之。 鄉人止之曰：「當夏溽暑，豈可步涉千里，致書可也。」 大經曰：「尺書無能盡意。」 遂行。 至魏州，會乾童出行，大經造門設席，行吊禮，不訊其家人而還。 開元初，畢構為刺史，謂解令孔慎言曰：「衛生德厚，宜有旌異。 古人式幹木之閭，禮賢故也。」 慎言造門就謁，時大經已年老，辭疾不見。 嘗預筮死日，鑿墓自為誌文，果如筮而終。
Wei Dajing was deeply learned in the Book of Changes and rarely spoke a needless word. Empress Wu summoned him by edict, but he pleaded illness and did not go. He was old friends with Xiahou Qiantong of Wei Prefecture; when he heard that Qiantong's mother had died, he walked there to offer condolences. A neighbor tried to stop him, saying, "It is the height of summer — how can you walk a thousand li? A letter would suffice." Dajing replied, "A letter a foot long cannot express all that I mean." He went anyway. At Wei Prefecture, Qiantong happened to be away; Dajing went to the house, set out mourning mats, performed the condolence rites, and left without even asking after the family. Early in Kaiyuan, when Bi Gou was prefect, he said to Magistrate Kong Shenyan of Jie County, "Master Wei's virtue is profound and deserves special recognition. The ancients marked the lane of Gan Mu to honor worthies — we should do the same." Shenyan called at his door, but Dajing was by then elderly and pleaded illness, refusing to see him. He once divined the day of his death, dug his own tomb, and wrote his epitaph in advance; he died exactly as foretold.
27
李元愷
Li Yuankai
28
李元愷者，博學善天文律歷，然性恭慎，口未嘗言人之過。 鄉人宋璟，年少時師事之。 及璟作相，使人遺元愷束帛，將薦舉之，皆拒而不答。 景龍中，元行沖為洺州刺史，邀元愷至州，問以經義，因遺衣服。 元愷辭曰：「微軀不宜服新麗，但恐不能勝其美以速咎也。」 行沖乃以泥塗汙而與之，不獲已而受。 及還，乃以己之所蠶素絲五兩以酬行沖，曰：「義不受無妄之財。」 先是，定州人崔元鑒明《三禮》，鄉人張易之寵幸用事，薦之。 起家拜朝散大夫，致仕於家，在鄉請半祿。 元愷誚之曰：「無功受祿，災也。」 元愷年八十余，壽終。
Li Yuankai was broadly learned and skilled in astronomy, pitch pipes, and calendrics, yet by nature modest and cautious and never spoke of others' faults. His fellow townsman Song Jing had studied under him in youth. When Song Jing became chief minister he sent silks and meant to recommend him for office, but Yuankai refused everything and made no reply. During the Jinglong era Yuan Xingchong, as prefect of Ming, invited Yuankai to the prefecture, questioned him on the classics, and gave him clothing. Yuankai declined, saying, "One of my humble station should not wear fine new clothes — I fear I could not bear such splendor without inviting misfortune." Xingchong then smeared the garments with mud and gave them thus; unable to refuse further, Yuankai accepted. On returning home he sent Xingchong five liang of plain silk from his own silkworms, saying, "By right one must not accept unearned wealth." Earlier, Cui Yuanjian of Ding Prefecture was expert in the Three Rites; his fellow townsman Zhang Yizhi, then in favor and power, had recommended him. Cui had entered office as Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, retired at home, and in his district requested half his salary. Yuankai reproved him, saying, "To receive salary without merit is a calamity." Yuankai died at more than eighty.
29
王守慎
Wang Shoushen
30
王守慎者，有美名。 垂拱中為監察御史。 時羅織事起，守慎舅秋官侍郎張知默推詔獄，奏守慎同知其事，守慎以疾辭，因請為僧。 則天初甚怪之； 守慎陳情，詞理甚高，則天欣然從之，賜號法成。 識鑒高雅，為時賢所重。 以壽終。
Wang Shoushen enjoyed a fine reputation. During the Chuigong era he served as investigating censor. When the fabricated treason cases began, Shoushen's uncle Zhang Zhim, vice minister of justice, ran the imperial prison and reported that Shoushen had shared knowledge of the affair. Shoushen pleaded illness, resigned, and asked to become a monk. Empress Wu was at first greatly surprised; but Shoushen stated his case in language of great force, and the empress gladly consented, granting him the monastic name Facheng. His judgment was refined, and the worthies of the age held him in esteem. He died at an advanced age.
31
徐仁紀
Xu Renji
32
徐仁紀者，聖歷中征拜左拾遺。 三上書論得失，不納。 謂人曰：「三諫不聽，可去矣！」 遂移病歸鄉里。 神龍初，宣慰使舉仁紀之行可以激俗，又征拜左補闕。 三上書，又不省，乃詣執政求出。 俄授靈昌令。 妻子不之官，廨舍唯衣履及書疏而已，余無所蓄。
Xu Renji was summoned and appointed Left Reminder during the Shenglü era. Three times he memorialized on the government's failings, and each time his advice was ignored. He told others, "Three remonstrances ignored — it is time to go!" He then pleaded illness and returned home. Early in the Shenlong era a consolation commissioner praised Renji's conduct as able to reform custom, and he was again summoned as Left Suppleter. Again he memorialized three times without response, and then went to the chief ministers asking to be released from office. He was soon made magistrate of Lingchang. His wife and children did not accompany him to his post; his official quarters held only clothes, shoes, and books — nothing else.
33
孫處玄
Sun Chuxuan
34
孫處玄，長安中征為左拾遺。 頗善屬文，嘗恨天下無書以廣新聞。 神龍初，功臣桓彥範等用事，處玄遺彥範書，論時事得失，彥範竟不用其言，乃去官還鄉里。 以病卒。
Sun Chuxuan was summoned as Left Reminder during the Chang'an era. He was skilled at writing and once lamented that the realm lacked books to spread fresh knowledge. Early in Shenlong, when Huan Yanfan and other meritorious ministers held power, Chuxuan sent Yanfan a letter on the affairs of the day; when Yanfan ignored his advice, Chuxuan resigned and returned home. He died of illness.
35
白履忠
Bai Lüzhong
36
白履忠，陳留浚儀人也。 博涉文史。 嘗隱居於古大梁城，時人號為梁丘子。 景雲中，征拜校書郎。 尋棄官而歸。
Bai Lüzhong was a native of Junyi in Chenliu. He was broadly learned in letters and history. He once lived in seclusion in the ruins of ancient Daliang, and contemporaries called him Master of the Liang Mound. During the Jingyun reign, he was summoned to serve as a collator in the Secretariat. Before long he resigned his post and went home.
37
開元十年，刑部尚書王誌愔表薦履忠隱居讀書，貞苦守操，有古人之風，堪代褚無量、馬懷素入閣侍讀。 十七年，國子祭酒楊瑒箓又表薦履忠堪為學官，乃征赴京師。 及至，履忠辭以老病，不任職事。 詔曰：「處士前秘書省校書郎白履忠，學優緗簡，道賁丘園，探賾以見其微，隱居能達其誌。 故以汲引洙、泗，物色夷門，素風自高，玄冕非貴。 几杖雲暮，章秩宜加，俾承禮命之優，式副寵賢之美。 可朝散大夫。」
In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, Wang Zhikong, Minister of Justice, recommended Lüzhong for living in seclusion while studying, for his austere integrity and antique virtue, and proposed that he replace Chu Wuliang and Ma Huaisu as a reader in the inner court. In the seventeenth year, Yang Songlu, Chancellor of the Imperial University, again recommended Lüzhong as fit to serve as an academic official, and the court summoned him to the capital. When he arrived, Lüzhong pleaded old age and illness and said he was unfit for office. An edict declared: "The recluse Bai Lüzhong, formerly a collator in the Secretariat, excels in scholarship, embodies the Way in rustic seclusion, probes the hidden to reveal its depths, and in withdrawal has fulfilled his purpose. We therefore sought him as one would draw water from the streams of Confucius's teaching or seek a worthy at Yimen — his pure character stands above rank, and official emblems hold no value for him. Now in the twilight of his years, he should receive higher rank, that he may enjoy the honor of a formal appointment and that our esteem for worthy men may be fully displayed. Let him be appointed Grand Master for Dispersal at Court."
38
履忠尋表請還鄉，手詔曰：「孝悌立身，靜退放俗，年過從耄，不雜風塵。 盛德予聞，通班是錫，豈惟旌賁山藪，實欲獎勸人倫。 且遊上京，徐還故裏。」 乃停留數月而歸。 履忠鄉人左庶子吳兢謂履忠曰：「吾子家室屢空，竟不沾鬥米匹帛，雖得五品，何益於實也？」 履忠欣然曰：「往歲契丹入寇，家家盡著括排門夫，履忠特以少讀書籍，縣司放免，至今惶愧。 今雖不得，且是吾家終身高臥，免徭役，豈易得也！」 尋壽終。 著《三玄精辯論》一卷，註《老子》及《黃庭內景經》，有文集十卷。
Lüzhong soon petitioned to return home. The emperor's own hand wrote: "You have made filial piety and brotherly duty your foundation, withdrawn quietly from worldly affairs, and passed into old age unstained by the dust of public life. I have long heard of your great virtue, and court rank is granted you not merely to honor a man of the hills, but to encourage proper conduct among the people. Visit the capital for a time, then return at leisure to your old home. He stayed several months and then went home. Wu Jing, a Left Cavalier Attendant and fellow townsman of Lüzhong, said to him, "Your household has always been poor; you never took so much as a peck of grain or a bolt of cloth. What practical good does fifth rank do you? Lüzhong replied cheerfully, "When the Khitan invaded in past years, every household was registered for corvée at the gate. I alone was exempted because I had read a little, and I have felt ashamed ever since. Even if I gain nothing else from it now, my family may lie at ease for life and be free of labor service — how rare a benefit is that! Before long he died at a ripe old age. He wrote Refined Discourse on the Three Mysteries in one fascicle, annotated the Laozi and the Yellow Court Inner Landscape Scripture, and left collected writings in ten fascicles.
39
王遠知
— Wang Yuanzhi —
40
道士王遠知，瑯邪人也。 祖景賢，梁江州刺史。 父曇選，陳揚州刺史。 遠知母，梁駕部郎中丁超女也。 嘗晝寢，夢靈鳳集其身，因而有娠，又聞腹中啼聲，沙門寶誌謂曇選曰：「生子當為神仙之宗伯也。」
The Daoist master Wang Yuanzhi was a native of Langya. His grandfather Jingxian had been inspector of Jiangzhou under the Liang dynasty. His father Tanxuan had been inspector of Yangzhou under the Chen dynasty. Yuanzhi's mother was the daughter of Ding Chao, a director in the Liang Bureau of Imperial Carriages. Once while napping by day she dreamed that a spirit phoenix alighted on her, and she conceived; she also heard crying from within her womb. The monk Baozhi told Tanxuan, "The child you bear will become a leader among the immortals."
41
遠知少聰敏，博綜群書。 初入茅山，師事陶弘景，傳其道法。 後又師事宗道先生臧兢。 陳主聞其名，召入重陽殿，令講論，甚見嗟賞。 及隋煬帝為晉王，鎮揚州，使王子相、柳顧言相次召之。 遠知乃來謁見，斯須而須發變白，晉王懼而遣之，少頃又復其舊。 煬帝幸涿郡，遣員外郎崔鳳舉就邀之，遠知見於臨朔宮，煬帝親執弟子之禮，敕都城起玉清玄壇以處之。 及幸揚州，遠知諫不宜遠去京國，煬帝不從。
Yuanzhi was clever as a youth and read widely across many books. He first went to Mount Mao, became a disciple of Tao Hongjing, and received his Daoist teachings. Later he also studied under Zang Jing, known as Master Zongdao. The Chen ruler heard of him and summoned him to the Chongyang Hall to lecture; he was greatly admired. When the future Emperor Yang of Sui was Prince of Jin and stationed at Yangzhou, he sent Wang Zixiang and Liu Guyian in turn to summon him. Yuanzhi came to pay his respects, and in a moment his beard and hair turned white. The Prince of Jin was frightened and sent him away; shortly afterward they returned to normal. When Emperor Yang visited Zhuo Commandery, he sent Vice Director Cui Fengju to invite him. Yuanzhi was received at Linshuo Palace, and the emperor personally performed the rites due a master. He ordered the Jade Purity Mystery Altar built in the capital to lodge him. When the emperor went to Yangzhou, Yuanzhi advised that he should not leave the capital region so far behind, but Emperor Yang would not listen.
42
高祖之龍潛也，遠知嘗密傳符命。 武德中，太宗平王世充，與房玄齡微服以謁之。 遠知迎謂曰：「此中有聖人，得非秦王乎？」 太宗因以實告。 遠知曰：「方作太平天子，願自惜也。」 太宗登極，將加重位，固請歸山。 至貞觀九年，敕潤州於茅山置太受觀，並度道士二十七人。 降璽書曰：「先生操履夷簡，德業沖粹，屏棄塵雜，棲誌虛玄，吐故納新，食芝餌術，念眾妙於三清之表，返華發於百齡之外，道邁前烈，聲高自古。 非夫得秘訣於金壇，受幽文於玉笈者，其孰能與此乎！ 朕昔在籓朝，早獲問道，眷言風範，無忘寤寐。 近覽來奏，請歸舊山，已有別敕，不違高誌，並許置觀，用表宿心。 未知先生早晚已屆江外，所營棟宇，何當就功？ 佇聞委曲，副茲引領。 近已令太史薛頤等往詣，令宣朕意。」
While Gaozu was still in obscurity, Yuanzhi once secretly conveyed to him the signs of imperial destiny. During the Wude reign, after Taizong had defeated Wang Shichong, he and Fang Xuanling went in disguise to visit Yuanzhi. Yuanzhi came out to greet them and said, "There is a sage among you — could it be the Prince of Qin? Taizong then told him the truth. Yuanzhi said, "You are about to become emperor in an age of peace — take care of yourself. When Taizong took the throne and was about to grant him high office, Yuanzhi firmly asked to return to the mountains. In the ninth year of Zhenguan, the emperor ordered Taishou Abbey established on Mount Mao in Run Prefecture and ordained twenty-seven Daoists there. An imperial letter descended: "Master, your conduct is plain and unassuming, your virtue pure and refined. You cast off worldly clutter and dwell in transcendent stillness, renewing your breath, eating sacred fungus and elixirs, contemplating the mysteries beyond the Three Clarities, and restoring youthful hair long past a hundred years. Your Way surpasses the great masters of old, and your fame has stood high since antiquity. Who but one who received secret formulas at the golden altar and hidden scriptures from the jade casket could attain such a state! When I was still in the princely household I sought instruction from you early on, and your exemplary bearing has never left my thoughts, waking or sleeping. Reading your recent memorial asking to return to your old mountain, I have already issued a separate edict honoring your lofty resolve and permitting the establishment of an abbey to express my long regard for you. I do not know whether you have already reached the lands south of the river, or when the halls you are building will be finished. I await word of the particulars and look forward eagerly to hearing from you. I have recently sent the imperial astrologer Xue Yi and others to visit you and convey my wishes."
43
其年，遠知謂弟子籓師正曰：「吾見仙格，以吾小時誤損一童子吻，不得白日升天。 見署少室伯，將行在即。」 翌日，沐浴，加冠衣，焚香而寢。 卒，年一百二十六歲。 調露二年，追贈遠知太中大夫，謚曰升真先生。 則天臨朝，追贈金紫光祿大夫。 天授二年，改謚曰升玄先生。
That year Yuanzhi said to his disciple Pan Shizheng, "I have seen the register of immortals. Because in my youth I accidentally injured a child's lip, I cannot ascend to heaven in broad daylight. I see that I am appointed Earl of Lesser Chamber, and my departure is near. The next day he bathed, put on cap and robes, burned incense, and lay down to sleep. He died at the age of one hundred twenty-six. In the second year of Tiaolu, Yuanzhi was posthumously granted the title Grand Master of Palace Service and given the posthumous name Master Ascending to Truth. When Empress Wu held court, he was posthumously granted the title Grand Master of the Gold Purple Light. In the second year of Tianshou, his posthumous title was changed to Master Ascending to Mystery.
44
潘師正
— Pan Shizheng —
45
潘師正，趙州贊皇人也。 少喪母，廬於墓側，以至孝聞。 大業中，度為道士，師事王遠知，盡以道門隱訣及符箓授之。 師正清凈寡欲，居於嵩山之逍遙谷，積二十余年，但服松葉飲水而已。 高宗幸東都，因召見與語，問師正：「山中有何所須？」 師正對曰：「所須松樹清泉，山中不乏。」 高宗與天後甚尊敬之，留連信宿而還。 尋敕所司於師正所居造崇唐觀，嶺上別起精思觀以處之。 初置奉天宮，帝令所司於逍遙谷口特開一門，號曰仙遊門； 又於苑北面置尋真門，皆為師正立名焉。 時太常奏新造樂曲，帝又令以《祈仙》、《望仙》、《翹仙》為名。 前後贈詩，凡數十首。
Pan Shizheng was a native of Zanhuang in Zhao Prefecture. He lost his mother while young and lived in a hut beside her tomb, becoming known for exceptional filial devotion. During the Daye reign he was ordained a Daoist and became a disciple of Wang Yuanzhi, who fully transmitted to him the hidden secrets and talisman registers of the Daoist tradition. Shizheng lived in purity and few desires at Xiaoyao Valley on Mount Song for more than twenty years, eating nothing but pine needles and drinking only water. When Gaozong visited the Eastern Capital, he summoned Shizheng to speak with him and asked, "What do you need in the mountains? Shizheng answered, "All I need are pine trees and clear springs, and the mountains have no lack of those." Gaozong and Empress Wu treated him with great respect and stayed two nights before returning. Soon afterward the emperor ordered Chongtang Abbey built at Shizheng's dwelling and Jingsi Abbey erected separately on the ridge to lodge him. When Fengtian Palace was first established, the emperor ordered a special gate opened at the mouth of Xiaoyao Valley and named it the Gate of Immortal Roaming; and on the north side of the park he established the Gate of Seeking Truth — all these names were created for Shizheng. When the Court of Imperial Sacrifices presented newly composed music, the emperor also ordered pieces named Praying to Immortals, Gazing at Immortals, and Raising Immortals. Before and after, he bestowed several dozen poems upon him.
46
師正以永淳元年卒，時年九十八。 高宗及天後追思不已，贈太中大夫，賜謚曰體玄先生。
Shizheng died in the first year of Yongchun at the age of ninety-eight. Gaozong and Empress Wu remembered him with unceasing fondness, posthumously granted him the title Grand Master of Palace Service, and gave him the posthumous name Master Embodying Mystery.
47
劉道合
— Liu Daohe —
48
道士劉道合者，陳州宛丘人。 初與潘師正同隱於嵩山。 高宗聞其名，令於隱所置太一觀以居之。 召入宮中，深尊禮之。 及將封太山，屬久雨，帝令道合於儀鸞殿作止雨之術，俄而霽朗，帝大悅。 又令道合馳傳先上太山，以祈福祐。 前後賞賜，皆散施貧乏，未嘗有所蓄積。
The Daoist Liu Daohe was a native of Wanqiu in Chen Prefecture. At first he lived in seclusion on Mount Song together with Pan Shizheng. When Gaozong heard of him, he ordered Taiyi Abbey built at his retreat for him to live in. He was summoned into the palace and treated with deep honor. When the emperor was about to perform the feng rite on Mount Tai, prolonged rain fell. He ordered Daohe to perform rain-stopping rites in Yiluan Hall, and shortly the sky cleared. The emperor was greatly pleased. He also sent Daohe ahead by fast courier to ascend Mount Tai first and pray for divine blessing. The rewards he received before and after he always distributed to the poor; he never kept anything for himself.
49
高宗又令道合合還丹，丹成而上之。 咸亨中，卒。 及帝營奉天宮，遷道合之殯室，弟子開棺將改葬，其屍惟有空皮，而背上開拆，有似蟬蛻，盡失其齒骨，眾謂屍解。 高宗聞之，不悅，曰：「劉師為我合丹，自服仙去。 其所進者，亦無異焉！」
Gaozong also ordered Daohe to compound an elixir pill, and when it was finished Daohe presented it to the throne. He died during the Xianheng reign. When the emperor built Fengtian Palace and moved Daohe's burial chamber, his disciples opened the coffin to rebury him. The body was only an empty skin, split open along the back like a cicada shell, with teeth and bones entirely gone. All declared it corpse dissolution. When Gaozong heard of it, he was displeased and said, "Master Liu compounded elixir for me, then took it himself and departed as an immortal. What he presented to me was no different!"
50
司馬承禎
— Sima Chengzhen —
51
道士司馬承禎，字子微。 河內溫人，周晉州刺史、瑯邪公裔玄孫。 少好學，薄於為吏，遂為道士。 事籓師正，傳其符箓及辟谷導引服餌之術。 師正特賞異之，謂曰：「我自陶隱居傳正一之法，至汝四葉矣。」 承禎嘗遍遊名山，乃止於天臺山。 則天聞其名，召至都，降手敕以贊美之。 及將還，敕麟臺監李嶠餞之於洛橋之東。
The Daoist Sima Chengzhen, whose style name was Ziwei. He was a native of Wen in Henei and a fourth-generation descendant of the Marquis of Langya, who had been governor of Jin Prefecture under the Zhou dynasty. He loved learning from youth and had little taste for office, so he became a Daoist. He studied under Pan Shizheng and received from him talisman registers and the arts of grain abstention, breath cultivation, and elixir ingestion. Shizheng especially valued him and said, "From Tao Hongjing, the Recluse of Mount Mao, the Orthodox Unity teaching has passed through four generations to reach you. Chengzhen traveled through many famous mountains and finally settled on Mount Tiantai. When Empress Wu heard of him, she summoned him to the capital and issued a personal edict praising him. When he was about to return, she ordered Li Qiao, Director of the Palace Library, to give him a farewell banquet east of the Luo Bridge.
52
景雲二年，睿宗令其兄承祎就天臺山追之至京，引入宮中，問以陰陽術數之事。 承禎對曰：「道經之旨：『為道日損，損之又損，以至於無為。』 且心目所知見者，每損之尚未能已，豈復攻乎異端，而增其智慮哉！」 帝曰：「理身無為，則清高矣！ 理國無為，如何？」 對曰：「國猶身也。 《老子》曰：『遊心於淡，合氣於漠，順物自然而無私焉，而天下理。』 《易》曰：『聖人者，與天地合其德。』 是知天不言而信，不為而成。 無為之旨，理國之道也。」 睿宗嘆息曰：「廣成之言，即斯是也！」 承禎固辭還山，仍賜寶琴一張，及霞紋帔而遣之，朝中詞人贈詩者百余人。
In the second year of Jingyun, Ruizong sent Chengzhen's elder brother Chengyi to Mount Tiantai to fetch him to the capital, brought him into the palace, and questioned him about yin-yang lore and numerology. Chengzhen answered, "The intent of the Daoist scriptures is this: 'In practicing the Way, daily diminish; diminish again and again, until you reach non-action. Yet even what the eye and heart perceive must still be diminished further, and I have not yet finished doing so. How then could I pursue heterodox arts and add to my cleverness and schemes! The emperor said, "To cultivate the self through non-action is indeed lofty and pure! But how would one govern a state through non-action? He replied, "A state is like the body. The Laozi says, 'Let the heart wander in simplicity, harmonize the breath with the vast calm, follow things as they naturally are without selfishness, and all under Heaven will be well ordered.' The Book of Changes says, 'The sage harmonizes his virtue with Heaven and Earth.' From this we know that Heaven speaks without words yet is trusted, and accomplishes without acting. The principle of non-action is the way to govern a state. Ruizong sighed and said, "This is precisely what Guangcheng taught!" Chengzhen steadfastly refused to stay and returned to his mountain retreat; the court still gave him a treasured zither and a cloud-woven cape as farewell gifts, and more than a hundred court poets sent verses to honor his departure.
53
開元九年，玄宗又遣使迎入京，親受法箓，前後賞賜甚厚。 十年，駕還西都，承禎又請還天臺山，玄宗賦詩以遣之。 十五年，又召至都。 玄宗令承禎於王屋山自選形勝，置壇室以居焉。 承禎因上言：「今五嶽神祠，皆是山林之神，非正真之神也。 五嶽皆有洞府，各有上清真人降任其職，山川風雨，陰陽氣序，是所理焉。 冠冕章服，佐從神仙，皆有名數。 請別立齋祠之所。」 玄宗從其言，因敕五嶽各置真君祠一所，其形象制度，皆令承禎推按道經，創意為之。
In the ninth year of Kaiyuan, Emperor Xuanzong again summoned him to the capital, where the emperor personally received Daoist initiation registers from him; the gifts bestowed before and after were exceedingly lavish. In the tenth year, after the emperor returned to Chang'an, Chengzhen once again asked to go back to Mount Tiantai, and Xuanzong wrote a poem to bid him farewell. In the fifteenth year, he was summoned to the capital once more. Emperor Xuanzong had Chengzhen choose the finest site on Mount Wangwu and build an altar hall to live in. Chengzhen submitted a memorial stating, "The spirit shrines now worshipped at the Five Sacred Peaks are merely mountain deities — not the true perfected immortals themselves. Each of the Five Peaks has a sacred grotto-realm, and a perfected immortal of the Highest Clarity descends to take charge — governing mountains and rivers, wind and rain, and the ordering of yin and yang throughout the seasons. Their caps and ceremonial robes, their attendant immortals and retinues — each has a fixed rank and title in the celestial order. I ask that separate halls be built for ritual fasting and worship. Xuanzong accepted his advice and commanded that each of the Five Peaks receive a shrine to the True Lords; Chengzhen was charged with designing the images and ritual forms by consulting the Daoist canon.
54
承禎頗善篆隸書，玄宗令以三體寫《老子經》，因刊正文句，定著五千三百八十言為真本以奏上之。 以承禎王屋所居為陽臺觀，上自題額，遣使送之。 賜絹三百匹，以充藥餌之用。 俄又令玉真公主及光祿卿韋縚至其所居，修金箓齋，復加以錫賫。
Chengzhen was skilled in seal and clerical calligraphy; the emperor had him copy the Dao De Jing in three script forms, revise the text, establish an authoritative version of five thousand three hundred and eighty characters, and submit it to the throne. The emperor named Chengzhen's residence on Mount Wangwu the Yangtai Abbey, inscribed the plaque himself, and sent an envoy to present it. He was granted three hundred bolts of silk for his medicinal preparations. Shortly thereafter, the emperor sent Princess Yuzhen and Director of Imperial Sacrifices Wei Tao to Chengzhen's hermitage to perform a Golden Register ritual, and bestowed further gifts upon him.
55
是歲，卒於王屋山，時年八十九。 其弟子表稱； 「死之日，有雙鶴饒壇，及白雲從壇中湧出，上連於天，而師容色如生。」 玄宗深嘆之，乃下制曰：「混成不測，入寥自化。 雖獨立有象，而至極則冥。 故王屋山道士司馬子微，心依道勝，理會玄遠，遍遊名山，密契仙洞。 存觀其妙，逍遙得意之場； 亡復其根，宴息無何之境。 固以名登真格，位在靈官。 林壑未改，遐霄已曠； 言念高烈，有愴於懷。 宜贈徽章，用光丹箓。 可銀青光祿大夫，號真一先生。」 仍為親制碑文。
That same year he died on Mount Wangwu, at the age of eighty-nine. His disciples submitted a memorial stating that "On the day he died, a pair of cranes circled the altar, white clouds rose from it and reached up to the sky, and the Master's face looked as though he were still alive. Emperor Xuanzong was deeply moved and issued a decree: "He merged with the undifferentiated and passed beyond measure; entering the vast void, he transformed of his own accord. Though he stood apart with visible presence, at the ultimate limit he vanished into mystery. Sima Ziwei, the Daoist of Mount Wangwu, anchored his heart in the triumph of the Way and comprehended the deepest mysteries; he traveled through sacred mountains and secretly attuned himself to immortal grottoes. In life he contemplated the subtle wonders and wandered freely in the realm of fulfilled understanding; In death he returned to his source and entered the stillness where nothing more need be done. His name is duly entered in the register of perfected immortals, and his place is among the spirit lords of Heaven. The forested valleys remain unchanged, but the distant heavens have grown empty; When I recall his eminent virtue, sorrow fills my heart. He should be granted posthumous honors to illuminate his immortal merit in the registers of Heaven. Let him be posthumously honored as Silver-Green Light Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, with the title Master of True Unity. The emperor also personally composed his funerary inscription.
56
吳筠，魯中之儒士也。 少通經，善屬文，舉進士不第。 性高潔，不奈流俗。 乃入嵩山，依潘師正為道士，傳正一之法，苦心鉆仰，乃盡通其術。 開元中，南遊金陵，訪道茅山。 久之，東遊天臺。
Wu Yun was a scholar from the Lu region. From youth he mastered the classics and wrote well, but failed the jinshi examinations. Noble and fastidious by temperament, he could not bear the ways of the world. He entered Mount Song, studied under Pan Shizheng, and became a Daoist of the Zhengyi tradition; through fierce devotion he mastered its arts entirely. During the Kaiyuan period he traveled south to Jinling and pursued the Way on Mount Mao. After some years he journeyed east to Mount Tiantai.
57
筠尤善著述，在剡與越中文士為詩酒之會，所著歌篇，傳於京師。 玄宗聞其名，遣使征之。 既至，與語甚悅，令待詔翰林。 帝問以道法，對曰：「道法之精，無如五千言，其諸枝詞蔓說，徒費紙劄耳！」 又問神仙修煉之事，對曰：「此野人之事，當以歲月功行求之，非人主之所宜適意。」 每與緇黃列坐，朝臣啟奏，筠之所陳，但名教世務而已，間之以諷詠，以達其誠。 玄宗深重之。
Wu Yun was an accomplished writer; while in Shan he joined literary circles in Yue for gatherings of poetry and wine, and his compositions circulated as far as the capital. When Xuanzong heard of his reputation, he sent envoys to summon him. When he arrived, the emperor took great pleasure in conversing with him and appointed him as a Hanlin attendant. When the emperor asked him about Daoist doctrine, he answered, "Nothing surpasses the five thousand words of the Laozi; all the branching glosses and sprawling commentary are nothing but a waste of paper! Asked about the pursuit of immortality, he replied, "That is the affair of recluses in the wilds, to be pursued through years of devoted practice — it is not something an emperor should treat as a pastime." Whenever he sat with Buddhist and Daoist clergy as ministers presented their reports, Wu Yun spoke only on moral doctrine and affairs of state, weaving in poetry now and then to convey his true feelings. Xuanzong held him in the highest esteem.
58
天寶中，李林甫、楊國忠用事，綱紀日紊。 筠知天下將亂，堅求還嵩山。 累表不許，乃詔於嶽觀別立道院。 祿山將亂，求還茅山，許之。 既而中原大亂，江淮多盜，乃東遊會稽。 嘗於天臺剡中往來，與詩人李白、孔巢父詩篇酬和，逍遙泉石，人多從之。 竟終於越中。 文集二十卷，其《玄綱》三篇、《神仙可學論》等，為達識之士所稱。
During the Tianbao period, with Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong in power, government discipline grew daily more chaotic. Seeing that the realm was headed for turmoil, Wu Yun urgently petitioned to return to Mount Song. After repeated petitions were denied, the emperor ordered a separate Daoist hall built at the Songshan abbey. When An Lushan's rebellion was imminent, he asked to return to Mount Mao, and permission was granted. Soon the heartland descended into chaos and bandits roamed the Huai and Yangzi regions, so he fled east to Kuaiji. He wandered between Mount Tiantai and the Shan district, exchanging verses with Li Bai and Kong Chaofu, living freely among streams and cliffs, and many admirers followed in his wake. He died at last in the Yue region. His collected works filled twenty scrolls; essays such as "The Profound Outline in Three Chapters" and "On Whether Immortality Can Be Learned" won acclaim among discerning scholars.
59
筠在翰林時，特承恩顧，由是為群僧之所嫉。 驃騎高力士素奉佛，嘗短筠於上前，筠不悅，乃求還山。 故所著文賦，深詆釋氏，亦為通人所譏。 然詞理宏通，文彩煥發，每制一篇，人皆傳寫。 雖李白之放蕩，杜甫之壯麗，能兼之者，其唯筠乎！
During his Hanlin service Wu Yun enjoyed exceptional imperial favor, earning the jealousy of Buddhist clergy throughout the court. The powerful eunuch Gao Lishi, a devout Buddhist, had slandered Wu Yun before the emperor; offended, Wu Yun petitioned to leave the court for the mountains. His essays harshly attacked Buddhism, a stance that earned criticism even from learned contemporaries. Yet his prose was learned and eloquent, his style luminous — every essay he wrote was copied and circulated. Li Bai had wild freedom and Du Fu had epic grandeur — who else but Wu Yun could unite both?
60
孔述睿
— Kong Shurui —
61
孔述睿，趙州人也。 曾祖昌宇，膳部郎中。 祖舜，監察御史。 父齊參，寶鼎令。 述睿少與兄克符、弟克讓，皆事親以孝聞。 既孤，俱隱於嵩山。 述睿好學不倦，大歷中，轉運使劉晏累表薦述睿有顏、閔之行，遊、夏之學。 代宗以太常寺協律郎征之。 轉國子博士，歷遷尚書司勛員外郎、史館修撰。 述睿每加恩命，暫至朝廷謝恩，旬日即辭疾，卻歸舊隱。
Kong Shurui was a native of Zhao Prefecture. His great-grandfather Changyu served as Director in the Ministry of Rites' Food Department. His grandfather Shun held office as Investigating Censor. His father Qican was magistrate of Baoding. From youth Shurui, along with his elder brother Kefu and younger brother Kerang, were all renowned for filial devotion to their parents. After they were orphaned, all three retired to seclusion on Mount Song. Shurui was an indefatigable scholar; during the Dali period Transport Commissioner Liu Yan repeatedly recommended him as a man of Yan Hui's and Min Ziqian's virtue and of You and Xia's erudition. Emperor Daizong summoned him to serve as Harmonizing Officer in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. He rose to Doctor of the Imperial Academy, then served successively as Assistant Director in the Ministry of Personnel and as a historiographer at the History Institute. Whenever the emperor promoted him, Shurui would come briefly to court to express gratitude, then within ten days plead illness and retreat to his mountain home.
62
德宗踐祚，以諫議大夫銀章硃綬，命河南尹趙惠伯賫詔書、玄纁束帛，就嵩山以禮征聘。 述睿既至，召對於別殿，特賜第宅，給以廄馬，兼為皇太子侍讀。 旬日後累表固辭，依前乞還舊山。 詔報之曰：「卿懷伊摯匡時之道，有廣成嘉遁之風。 養素丘園，屢辭命秩。 朕以峒山問道，渭水求師，亦何必務執勞謙，固求退讓！ 無違朕旨，且啟乃心。」 述睿既懇辭不獲，方就職。 久之，改秘書少監，兼右庶子，再加史館修撰。 述睿精於地理，在館乃重修《地理志》，時稱詳究。
When Emperor Dezong took the throne, he appointed Shurui Remonstrance Officer with silver seal and vermilion sash, and dispatched Henan Intendant Zhao Huibo to Mount Song with an edict and the ceremonial gifts of dark silk and crimson brocade to summon him in proper form. Once Shurui arrived, the emperor received him in a separate audience hall, granted him a residence and stables, and appointed him Reader to the Crown Prince. Within ten days he submitted repeated petitions firmly declining office and begging, as before, to return to his mountain retreat. The emperor replied by edict: "You cherish the statesmanship of Yi Yin and Tai Gong, and embody the spirit of Guangcheng's noble retirement. You cultivate simplicity in your rustic retreat and have repeatedly refused rank and office. As emperors once sought sages on Mount Tong and by the Wei River, why must you cling so stubbornly to modest refusal! Do not defy my will — put your talents to use at court. Unable to persuade the emperor to accept his resignation, Shurui at last took up his duties. Before long he was promoted to Vice Director of the Palace Library, concurrently Right Censor to the Crown Prince, and again appointed historiographer. An expert in geography, Shurui thoroughly revised the Geographical Treatise during his institute service, and it was acclaimed as the most comprehensive account of its day.
63
而又性謙和退讓，與物無競，每親朋集會，嘗恂恂然似不能言者，人皆敬之。 時令狐峘亦充修撰，與述睿同職，多以細碎之事侵述睿，述睿皆讓之，竟不與爭，時人稱為長者。
Gentle and uncontentious by nature, he was so modest at social gatherings that he seemed barely able to speak — and for that everyone respected him. Linghu Yan, who served alongside him as compiler, often pressed petty grievances against Shurui, but Shurui always yielded and never quarreled — for which contemporaries honored him as a man of mature virtue.
64
貞元四年，命賫詔並禦饌、衣服數百襲，往平涼盟會處祭陷歿將士骸骨，以述睿性精愨故也。 九年，以疾上表，請罷官。 詔不許，報之曰：「朕以卿德重朝端，行敦風俗，不言之教，所賴攸深，未依來請，想宜悉也。」
In the fourth year of Zhenyuan, he was dispatched with an edict, imperial provisions, and hundreds of garments to the site of the Pingliang peace conference to perform burial rites for fallen soldiers — a task entrusted to him because of his scrupulous character. In the ninth year he submitted a memorial on grounds of illness, asking to be relieved of office. The emperor refused, replying: "Your virtue anchors the court and your conduct sets the moral tone for the realm — I depend deeply on the silent example you provide. I cannot grant your request, and I trust you will understand."
65
述睿再三上表，方獲允許，乃以太子賓客賜紫金魚袋致仕，放還鄉里。 仍賜帛五十匹，衣一襲。 故事，致仕還鄉者皆不給公乘，德宗優寵儒者，特命給而遣之。 貞元十六年九月卒，年七十一。 贈工部尚書。 子敏行。
Only after Shurui petitioned three more times was his request granted; he retired as Guest of the Heir Apparent with the purple-gold fish pouch and was sent home. He received fifty bolts of silk and a suit of clothing as parting gifts. By custom, retired officials were not provided government transport, but Dezong, showing special favor to scholars, ordered an official carriage provided for his journey home. He died in the ninth month of the sixteenth year of Zhenyuan, at the age of seventy-one. He was posthumously honored as Minister of Works. He had a son named Minxing.
66
子敏行
— Minxing —
67
敏行，字至之，舉進士，元和五年禮部侍郎崔樞下擢第。 呂元膺廉問嶽鄂，辟為賓佐。 丁母憂而罷。 後元膺為東都留守，移鎮河中。 敏行皆從之。 十四年，入為右拾遺，遷左補闕。 長慶中，為起居郎，改左司員外郎，歷司勛郎中，充集賢殿學士，遷吏部郎中，俄拜諫議大夫。 上疏論興元監軍楊叔元陰激募卒為亂，殺節度使李絳。 人不敢發其事，敏行上表極諍之，故叔元得罪，時論稱美。
Minxing, styled Zhizhi, passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of Yuanhe under Vice Minister of Rites Cui Shu. When Lü Yuanying served as commissioner over Yue and E, he recruited Minxing as his administrative aide. He left office to observe mourning for his mother. Later, when Lü Yuanying became commissioner of the Eastern Capital and was transferred to Hezhong, Minxing followed him on both appointments. In the fourteenth year he entered court service as Right Reminder and was promoted to Left Supplementation Censor. During the Changqing period he served as Court Diarist, then Left Department Assistant Director, Merits Bureau Director, Academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, Personnel Bureau Director, and soon Remonstrance Officer. He memorialized accusing Xingyuan army supervisor Yang Shuyuan of secretly inciting troops to mutiny and murdering Military Commissioner Li Jiang. No one else dared raise the matter, but Minxing submitted a forceful memorial of protest, and Yang Shuyuan was duly punished — for which public opinion acclaimed him.
68
敏行名臣之子，少而修潔，為人所稱； 及遊宦，與當時豪俊為友。 雖名華為一時冠，而貞規雅操，與父遠矣。 大和九年正月卒，年四十九，贈尚書工部侍郎。
The son of a distinguished minister, Minxing was from youth upright and fastidious, and widely admired; Once he entered public life, he counted among his friends the leading talents of the day. Though his reputation stood at the pinnacle of his generation, in steadfast integrity and moral refinement he fell far short of his father. He died in the first month of the ninth year of Dahe, at the age of forty-nine, and was posthumously honored as Vice Minister of Works in the Ministry of Revenue.
69
陽城，字亢宗，北平人也。 代為宦族。 家貧不能得書，乃求為集賢寫書吏，竊官書讀之，晝夜不出房； 經六年，乃無所不通。 既而隱於中條山。 遠近慕其德行，多從之學。 閭裏相訟者，不詣官府，詣城請決。 陜虢觀察使李泌聞其名，親詣其裏訪之，與語甚悅。 泌為宰相，薦為著作郎。 德宗令長安縣尉楊寧賫束帛詣夏縣所居而召之，城乃衣褐赴京，上章辭讓。 德宗遣中官持章服衣之，而後詔，賜帛五十匹。 尋遷諫議大夫。
Yang Cheng, courtesy name Kangzong, was a native of Beiping. For generations his family had been a line of officials. Because his family was too poor to buy books, he sought work as a copyist in the Hall of Assembled Worthies, secretly read the office holdings, and for days on end never left his room; After six years he had mastered every subject he studied. He then withdrew to live as a recluse on Mount Zhongtiao. People from near and far admired his character, and many came to study under him. When neighbors quarreled, they did not take their disputes to the magistrate but came to Cheng for a ruling. Li Mi, commissioner of the Shaan-Guo circuit, heard of him, went in person to his village to call on him, and was deeply delighted by their conversation. When Li Mi became chancellor, he recommended Cheng for appointment as Archivist. Emperor Dezong sent Yang Ning, magistrate of Chang'an County, with silks to Cheng's home in Xia County to summon him; Cheng came to the capital in plain hemp clothing and submitted a memorial declining the appointment. Dezong sent a palace eunuch to present official robes and dress him in them before issuing the appointment, and granted him fifty bolts of silk. He was soon promoted to Remonstrance Officer.
70
初未至京，人皆想望風彩，曰：「陽城山人能自刻苦，不樂名利，今為諫官，必能以死奉職。」 人鹹畏憚之。 及至，諸諫官紛紜言事，細碎無不聞達，天子益厭苦之。 而城方與二弟及客日夜痛飲，人莫能窺其際，皆以虛名譏之。 有造城所居，將問其所以者。 城望風知其意，引之與坐，輒強以酒。 客辭，城輒引自飲； 客不能已，乃與城酬酢。 客或時先醉，臥席上，城或時先醉，臥客懷中，不能聽客語。 約其二弟云：「吾所得月俸，汝可度吾家有幾口，月食米當幾何，買薪、菜、鹽凡用幾錢，先具之，其余悉以送酒媼，無留也。」 未嘗有所蓄積。 雖所服用有切急不可闕者，客稱某物佳可愛，城輒喜，舉而授之。 有陳某者，候其始請月俸，常往稱其錢帛之美，月有獲焉。
Before he even reached the capital, everyone looked forward to meeting him and said, "Yang Cheng the mountain recluse has disciplined himself rigorously and cares nothing for fame or gain — now that he is a remonstrance official, he will surely serve even at the cost of his life. Everyone feared and respected him. When he arrived, the other remonstrance officials were already flooding the throne with petitions on every petty matter, and the emperor grew ever more weary of it all. Cheng, meanwhile, was drinking heavily day and night with his two younger brothers and his guests; no one could fathom his intentions, and all dismissed him as a man of empty reputation. Someone came to Cheng's home intending to ask him why he behaved this way. Cheng read his purpose at once, invited him to sit, and kept pressing wine on him. When the guest refused, Cheng would drink the cup himself; Unable to refuse, the guest joined him in toasting back and forth. Sometimes the guest would pass out first on the mat; sometimes Cheng would pass out first in the guest's arms, too drunk to hear a word he said. He told his two younger brothers, "Figure out from my monthly salary how many mouths we have to feed, how much rice we need each month, and what firewood, vegetables, and salt will cost — set that aside first, and give everything else to the wine seller. Keep nothing. He never saved anything at all. Even when something he needed urgently could not be spared, if a guest admired an object and called it fine, Cheng would gladly hand it over. A man surnamed Chen would time his visits to the day Cheng collected his salary, praise the quality of his coins and silk, and walk away with a gift every month.
71
時德宗在位，多不假宰相權，而左右得以因緣用事。 於是裴延齡、李齊運、韋渠牟尋以奸佞相次進用，誣譖時宰，毀詆大臣，陸贄等鹹遭枉黜，無敢救者。 城乃伏閣上疏，與拾遺王仲舒共論延齡奸佞，贄等無罪。 德宗大怒，召宰相入議，將加城罪。 時順宗在東宮，為城獨開解之，城賴之獲免。 於是金吾將軍張萬福聞諫官伏閣諫，趨往，至延英門，大言賀曰：「朝廷有直臣，天下必太平矣！」 乃造城及王仲舒等曰：「諸諫議能如此言事，天下安得不太平？」 已而連呼「太平，太平」。
At that time Emperor Dezong often kept power from his chancellor, allowing those around him to exploit their proximity and govern in his name. Pei Yanling, Li Qiyun, and Wei Qumou were then promoted in succession through flattery and deceit; they slandered the chief ministers and attacked senior officials, and Lu Zhi and others were all unjustly dismissed while no one dared defend them. Cheng then prostrated himself at the palace gate and submitted a memorial, joining Reminder Wang Zhongshu in denouncing Pei Yanling's corruption and declaring Lu Zhi and the others innocent. Dezong was furious, summoned the chancellor to discuss the matter, and was about to punish Cheng. The crown prince Shunzong alone spoke in Cheng's defense, and Cheng was spared punishment thanks to him. When Jinwu General Zhang Wanfu heard that the remonstrance officials had prostrated themselves at the gate in protest, he rushed to the Yanying Gate and shouted in celebration, "The court has an upright minister — the realm will surely know peace! He then went to Cheng, Wang Zhongshu, and the others and said, "If remonstrance officers can speak out like this, how can the realm fail to be at peace?" Then he kept shouting, "Peace! Peace!"
72
萬福武人，年八十余，自此名重天下。 時朝夕欲相延齡，城曰：「脫以延齡為相，城當取白麻壞之。」 竟坐延齡事改國子司業。
Wanfu was a soldier over eighty years old, and from that day his fame resounded throughout the empire. At the time the court was daily on the verge of appointing Pei Yanling chancellor; Cheng said, "If Yanling is made chancellor, I will seize the white hemp appointment edict and tear it to pieces. In the end he was demoted to Academician of the Imperial Academy over the Pei Yanling affair.
73
城既至國學，乃召諸生，告之曰：「凡學者所以學，為忠與孝也。 諸生寧有久不省其親者乎？」 明日，告城歸養者二十余人。
When Cheng arrived at the Imperial Academy, he summoned the students and told them, "The whole purpose of learning is loyalty and filial piety. Are there any among you who have long neglected your parents? The next day more than twenty students told Cheng they were going home to care for their parents.
74
有薛約者，嘗學於城，性狂躁，以言事得罪，徙連州，客寄無根蒂。 臺吏以蹤跡求得之於城家。 城坐臺吏於門，與約飲酒訣別，涕泣送之郊外。 德宗聞之，以城黨罪人，出為道州刺史。 太學生王魯卿、季償等二百七十人詣闕乞留，經數日，吏遮止之，疏不得上。
There was a man named Xue Yue who had studied under Cheng; hot-tempered and impulsive, he had offended the court by speaking out on public affairs and was exiled to Lianzhou, a wanderer with no fixed home. Censorate officers tracked him down to Cheng's house. Cheng seated the censorate officers at his gate, shared a farewell cup with Xue Yue, and with tears escorted him to the city outskirts. When Dezong heard of this, he judged that Cheng had harbored a criminal and transferred him to serve as prefect of Daozhou. Two hundred and seventy Imperial Academy students, including Wang Luqing and Ji Chang, went to the palace gates to petition that Cheng be allowed to stay; after several days the clerks blocked them and their memorial never reached the throne.
75
在道州，以家人法待吏人，宜罰者罰之，宜賞者賞之，不以簿書介意。 道州土地產民多矮，每年常配鄉戶，竟以其男號為「矮奴」。 城下車，禁以良為賤，又憫其編甿歲有離異之苦，乃抗疏論而免之，自是乃停其貢。 民皆賴之，無不泣荷。 前刺史有贓罪。 觀察使方推鞫之，吏有幸於前刺史者，拾其不法事以告，自為功，城立杖殺之。 賦稅不登，觀察使數加誚讓。 州上考功第，城自署其第曰：「撫字心勞，征科政拙，考下下。」 觀察使遣判官督其賦，至州，怪城不出迎，以問州吏。 吏曰：「刺史聞判官來，以為有罪，自囚於獄，不敢出。」 判官大驚，馳入謁城於獄，曰：「使君何罪！ 某奉命來候安否耳。」 留一二日未去，城因不復歸館； 門外有故門扇橫地，城晝夜坐臥其上，判官不自安，辭去。 其後又遣他判官往按之，他判官義不欲按，乃載妻子行，中道而自逸。
At Daozhou he treated officials and commoners as one would members of a household — punishing when punishment was due, rewarding when reward was due — and paid little heed to paperwork. The people of Daozhou tended to be short in stature; every year rural households were levied for tribute, and their men were registered as "dwarf slaves." When Cheng took office he forbade treating free men as chattel; pitying the common people for the yearly anguish of being torn from their families, he submitted a forceful memorial demanding abolition of the practice, and the tribute was stopped from that time on. The people all looked to him with gratitude, and many wept in relief. The previous prefect had been guilty of corruption. While the circuit commissioner was investigating the case, a clerk who had curried favor with the former prefect gathered evidence of his crimes to claim credit for himself; Cheng had him beaten to death on the spot. Tax collections fell short of quota, and the circuit commissioner repeatedly rebuked him. When the prefecture submitted its merit ratings, Cheng wrote his own grade: "My care for the people has been exhausting and my tax collection inept — rank me lowest of the low. The circuit commissioner sent an assistant commissioner to oversee tax collection; when he arrived at Daozhou, he was surprised that Cheng did not come out to greet him and asked the prefectural staff. They replied, "When the prefect heard the assistant commissioner was coming, he assumed himself guilty and locked himself in the jail — he dares not come out. The assistant commissioner was alarmed, rushed into the jail to see Cheng, and said, "What crime have you committed, my lord! I have come only on orders to inquire after your health." The assistant commissioner stayed a day or two without leaving, and Cheng refused to return to the guest quarters; instead he day and night sat and slept on an old door panel lying outside the gate until the assistant commissioner, unable to bear the situation, took his leave. Later another assistant commissioner was sent to investigate; unwilling on principle to carry out the assignment, he set out with his wife and children but slipped away halfway along the road.
76
順宗即位，詔征之，而城已卒。 士君子惜之，是歲四月，賜其家錢二百貫文，仍令所在州縣給遞，以喪歸葬焉。
When Emperor Shunzong took the throne, an edict recalled Cheng to court — but Cheng had already died. Men of learning mourned his loss; that April the court granted his family two hundred strings of cash and ordered the local prefecture and county to provide relay transport so his body could be returned home for burial.
77
崔覲，梁州城固人。 為儒不樂仕進，以耕稼為業。 老而無子，乃以田宅家財分給奴婢，令各為生業。 覲夫妻遂隱於城固南山，家事不問。 約奴婢遞過其舍，至則供給酒食而已。 夫婦林泉相對，以嘯詠自娛。 山南西道節度使鄭余慶高其行，辟為節度參謀，累邀方至府第。 為吏無方略，苦不達人事，余慶以長者優容之。 太和八年，左補闕王直方上疏論事，得召見，文宗便殿訪以時事。 直方亦興元人，與覲城固山為鄰，是日因薦覲有高行，詔以起居郎征之。 覲辭疾不起。 卒於山。
Cui Guan was a native of Chenggu in Liang Province. A Confucian scholar who had no taste for official advancement, he made his living by farming. Growing old without sons, he divided his fields, house, and household wealth among his servants and set each up in an independent livelihood. Guan and his wife then withdrew to the southern mountains of Chenggu and took no further interest in household affairs. They arranged for their former servants to visit in rotation, offering wine and food whenever one stopped by. Husband and wife lived facing the woods and streams, amusing themselves with whistling and poetry. Zheng Yuqing, military commissioner of the Shannan West Circuit, admired his character and recruited him as a staff adviser; only after repeated invitations did Guan come to the commissioner's residence. As an official he had no administrative skill and was painfully inept at worldly affairs; Yuqing, treating him as an elder worthy of respect, indulged him generously. In the eighth year of Taihe, Left Supplementation Censor Wang Zhifang submitted a memorial on public affairs and was summoned for an audience; Emperor Wenzong received him in the informal hall and questioned him about current affairs. Zhifang was also from Xingyuan and lived as Guan's neighbor on Mount Chenggu; that day he recommended Guan for his lofty character, and an edict summoned Guan to serve as Court Diarist. Guan pleaded illness and refused to take up the appointment. He ended his days on the mountain.
78
贊曰：高士忘懷，不隱不顯。 依隱釣名，真風漸鮮。 結廬泉石，投紱市朝。 心無出處，是曰逍遙。
The eulogy says: True recluses forget their cares, neither hiding away nor seeking display. Those who use withdrawal to angle for reputation — such genuine integrity grows ever rarer. Some build cottages among springs and rocks; others cast off office and enter the world of court and market. When the heart cares nothing for office or seclusion — that is true freedom.