1
姚顗，字伯真，京兆萬年人。 曾祖希齊，湖州司功參軍。 祖宏慶，蘇州刺史。 父荊，國子祭酒。 顗少蠢，敦厚，靡事容貌，任其自然，流輩未之重，唯兵部侍郎司空圖深器之，以女妻焉。 顗性仁恕，多為仆妾所欺，心雖察之，而不能面折，終身無喜怒。 不知錢百之為陌，黍百之為銖，凡家人市貨百物，入增其倍，出減其半，不詢其由，無擔石之儲，心不隕獲。 唐末，隨計入洛，出遊嵩山，有白衣丈夫拜於路側，請為童仆。 顗辭不納。 乃曰：「鬼神享於德，君子孚於信。 余則鬼也，將以托賢者之德，通化工之信，幸無辭焉。 昔余掌事陰府，承命攝人之魂氣，名氏同而其人非，且富有壽算，復而歸之，則筋骸已敗，由是獲譴，使不得為陽生。 公中夏之相輔也，今為謁中天之祠，若以某姓名求之，神必許諾。」 顗因為之虔禱而還，白衣迎於山下，曰：「余免其苦矣。」 拜謝而退。 顗次年擢進士第。 梁貞明中，歷校書郎、登封令、右補闕、禮部員外郎，召入翰林，累遷至中書舍人。 唐莊宗平梁，以例貶復州司馬，歲餘牽復，授左散騎常侍，歷兵吏部侍郎、尚書左丞。 唐末帝即位，講求輔相，乃書朝中清望官十餘人姓名置於瓶中，清夜焚香而挾之，既而得盧文紀與顗，遂拜中書侍郎、平章事。 制前一日，嵩山白衣來謁，謂顗曰：「公明日為相。」 其言無差，冥數固先定矣。 高祖登極，罷相為刑部尚書，俄遷戶部尚書。 天福五年冬卒，年七十五。 贈左僕射。 子惟和嗣。 顗疏於財，而禦家無術，既死，斂葬之資不備，家人俟賻物及鬻第方能舉喪而去。 士大夫愛其廉而鄙其拙。
Yao Yi, courtesy name Bozhen, was a native of Wannian in Jingzhao. His great-great-grandfather Xiqi served as staff merit officer in Huzhou. His great-grandfather Hongqing was prefect of Suzhou. His father Jing served as chancellor of the Directorate of Education. As a young man Yi seemed slow and unpolished, yet he was honest and steadfast, paid little heed to his looks, and let things be. His contemporaries did not think much of him, but Vice Minister of War Sikong Tu recognized his worth and married his daughter to him. Yi was gentle and forbearing by nature. Servants and concubines often took advantage of him; he saw through their tricks but could never bring himself to confront them openly, and he never showed anger or delight throughout his life. He did not even know that a hundred cash make a string or a hundred grains of millet make a measure. Whenever the household bought or sold goods, they doubled prices on purchases and cut them in half on sales, and he never asked why. He had scarcely a bushel of grain in store, yet he never fretted over his losses. Late in the Tang he traveled to Luoyang for the civil service examination. On an outing to Mount Song, a man dressed in white bowed to him beside the road and asked to become his attendant. Yi refused and would not take him in. The man then said, "Spirits feast on virtue, and the gentleman lives by good faith. I am a ghost, and I wish to rely on the virtue of a worthy man and share in the faith that moves heaven and earth. I beg you not to turn me away. Long ago I held office in the realm of the dead and was charged to take charge of people's souls. When the name matched but the person did not, and the allotted span of life was still long, restoring the soul would find the body already decayed. For this I was condemned and barred from returning to life among men. You are destined to be a chief minister of the Central Realm. Go now and offer prayers at the central shrine of Heaven; if you petition in a certain name, the spirits will surely assent." Yi prayed earnestly for him and returned. The man in white greeted him at the foot of the mountain and said, "I have been released from my torment." He bowed in gratitude and departed. The following year Yi passed the jinshi examination. During the Liang Zhenming era he held successive posts as collator, magistrate of Dengfeng, Right Reminder, and vice director of the Ministry of Rites, then was called into the Hanlin Academy and eventually rose to Secretariat drafter. When Tang Zhuangzong conquered Liang, Yi was demoted under precedent to military adjutant of Fuzhou. After a year he was recalled and made Left Regular Attendant, then served as vice minister of war, vice minister of personnel, and left vice director of the Department of State Affairs. When the last Tang emperor came to the throne he sought chief ministers. He wrote the names of a dozen eminent officials on slips, placed them in a bottle, burned incense on a clear night, and drew lots. Lu Wenji and Yi were chosen, and both were appointed vice director of the Secretariat and grand councilor. On the eve of the appointment edict, the man in white from Mount Song came to see Yi and said, "Tomorrow you will become chief minister." His words proved exact; what was ordained in the unseen world had been settled long before. When Gaozu took the throne he removed Yi from the chief ministership and appointed him minister of justice, then soon made him minister of revenue. He died in the winter of the fifth Tianfu year, at the age of seventy-five. He was posthumously honored as Left Vice Director. His son Weihe succeeded to his line. Yi was indifferent to money and inept at running his household. When he died there was not enough for burial; his family had to wait for gifts of condolence and the sale of the house before they could hold the funeral and leave. Men of letters admired his integrity but looked down on his lack of practical sense.
2
呂琦，字輝山，幽州安次人也。 祖壽，瀛州景城主簿。 父兗，滄州節度判官，累至檢校右庶子。 劉守光攻陷滄州，琦父兗被擒，族之。 琦時年十五，為吏追攝，將就戮焉。 有趙玉者，幽、薊之義士也，久遊於兗之門下，見琦臨危，乃紿謂監者曰：「此子某之同氣也，幸無濫焉。」 監者信之，即引之俱去。 行一舍，琦困於徒步，以足病告，玉負之而行，逾數百里，因變姓名，乞食於路，乃免其禍。 年弱冠，以家門遇禍，邈無所依，乃勵志勤學，多遊於汾、晉。 唐天祐中，莊宗方開霸府，翹佇賢士，墨制授琦代州軍事判官，秩滿歸太原，監軍使張承業重琦器量，禮遇尤厚。 天成初，拜琦殿中侍御史，遷駕部員外郎，兼侍御史知雜事。 會河陽帑吏竊財事發，詔軍巡院鞫之。 時軍巡使尹訓怙勢納賂，枉直相反，俄有訴冤於闕下者，詔琦按之，既驗其奸，乃上言請治尹訓，沮而不行。 琦連奏不已，訓知其不免，自殺於家，其獄遂明，蒙活者甚眾，自是朝廷多琦之公直。 高祖建義於太原，唐末帝幸懷州，趙德鈞駐軍於團柏谷，末帝以琦嘗在德鈞幕下，因令賫都統使官告以賜之，且犒其軍焉。 及觀軍於北陲，館於忻州，會晉祖降下晉安寨，遣使告於近郡，琦適遇其使，即斬之以聞，尋率郡兵千人間道而歸。 高祖入洛，亦弗之責，止改授秘書監而已。 天福中，預修《唐書》，權掌選部，皆有能名焉。 累遷禮部、刑部、戶部、兵部侍郎，階至金紫光祿大夫，爵至開國子。
Lü Qi, courtesy name Huishan, was a native of Anci in Youzhou. His grandfather Shou served as recorder of Jingcheng in Yingzhou. His father Yan was military adjutant on the Cangzhou circuit and eventually rose to acting Right Household Companion. When Liu Shouguang seized Cangzhou, Qi's father Yan was captured and the entire clan was put to death. Qi was only fifteen. Officials pursued and seized him, and he was on the point of execution. A man named Zhao Yu, a champion of You and Ji who had long been attached to Yan's household, saw Qi in mortal danger. He tricked the guard, saying, "This boy is my own brother—please do not harm him wantonly." The guard believed him and let them leave together. After one day's march Qi could go no farther on foot and pleaded a foot ailment. Yu carried him on his back for hundreds of miles. They changed their names and begged along the road, and so escaped disaster. In his early twenties, with his family destroyed and no one to turn to, he set his mind on study and traveled widely through Fen and Jin. During the Tang Tianyou era Zhuangzong was establishing his headquarters and eagerly sought talented men. By special edict he appointed Qi military adjutant of Daizhou. When his term ended Qi returned to Taiyuan, where Military Commissioner Zhang Chengye admired his character and treated him with exceptional regard. At the start of the Tiancheng era Qi was made attending censor in the palace, then promoted to vice director of the transport office while also serving as censor-in-chief of miscellaneous affairs. When a treasury clerk in Heyang was found to have embezzled funds, the court ordered the Military Patrol Office to investigate. The military patrol commissioner Yin Xun abused his power and took bribes, perverting justice. Soon a petitioner brought a grievance to the palace. Qi was ordered to investigate; once the fraud was confirmed he memorialized for Yin Xun's punishment, but the request was blocked. Qi kept submitting memorials without letup. Xun knew he could not escape and killed himself at home. The case was finally cleared, and many who would have been condemned were spared. From then on the court widely praised Qi's integrity. When Gaozu raised his banner at Taiyuan, the last Tang emperor went to Huai Prefecture while Zhao Dejun camped at Tuanbai Valley. Because Qi had once served on Dejun's staff, the emperor sent him bearing the commander-in-chief's commission as a gift to Dejun and to reward his troops. While inspecting troops on the northern frontier he was stationed at Xin Prefecture. The Jin founder had taken Jin'an Stockade and sent messengers to the neighboring prefectures. Qi happened upon one of them, executed him and reported it, then led a thousand local troops back by a secret route. When Gaozu entered Luoyang he did not reproach him, but only reassigned him as director of the Secretariat. During the Tianfu era he helped compile the History of Tang and held acting charge of the Selection Bureau, earning a name for competence in both. He rose through successive posts as vice minister of rites, justice, revenue, and war, attaining the rank of Grand Master of the Golden Girdle and Bright Hall and the title Baron of a Founding State.
3
琦美風儀，有器概，雖以剛直聞於時，而內實仁恕。 初，高祖謀求輔相，時宰臣李崧力薦琦於高祖，雲可大用。 高祖數召琦於便殿，言及當世事，甚奇之，方將倚以為相，忽遇疾而逝，人皆惜之。
Qi had a dignified presence and true breadth of character. Though famed in his day for uncompromising integrity, at heart he was gentle and forgiving. When Gaozu was seeking chief ministers, Chief Minister Li Song strongly recommended Qi to him, saying he was fit for the highest office. Gaozu repeatedly summoned Qi to the informal hall to discuss affairs of state and came to admire him greatly. He was on the verge of making Qi chief minister when Qi suddenly fell ill and died. Everyone mourned the loss.
4
梁文矩，字德儀，鄆州人。 父景，秘書少監。 梁福王友璋好接賓客，文矩少遊其門，初試太子校書，轉秘書郎。 友璋領鄆州，奏為項城令，及移鎮徐方，辟為從事。 友璋卒，改兗州觀察判官。 時莊宗遣明宗襲據鄆州，文矩以父母在鄆，一旦隔越，不知存亡，為子之情，戀望如灼，遂間路歸鄆，尋謁莊宗。 莊宗喜之，授天平軍節度掌書記，在明宗幕下。 明宗歷汴、恒二鎮，皆隨府遷職。 天成初，授右諫議大夫，知宣武軍軍州事，歷御史中丞、吏部侍郎、禮部尚書、西都副留守，判京兆府事，縱改兵部尚書。 文矩以嘗事霸府，每懷公輔之望。 時高祖自外鎮入覲，嘗薦於明宗曰：「梁文矩早事陛下，甚有勤勞，未升相輔，外論慊之。」 明宗曰：「久忘此人，吾之過也。」 尋有旨降命，會丁外憂而止。 清泰初，拜太常卿。 高祖即位，授吏部尚書，改太子少師。 文矩喜清靜之教，聚道書數千卷，企慕赤松、留侯之事，而服食尤盡其善。 後因風痹，上章請退，以太子太保致仕，居洛陽久之。 天福八年，以疾卒，時年五十九。 贈太子太傅。
Liang Wenju, courtesy name Deyi, was a native of Yanzhou. His father Jing served as vice director of the Secretariat. Prince Youzhang of Fu in Liang loved to entertain guests, and Wenju frequented his household as a young man. He first passed the examination for collator of the heir apparent, then became a secretary. When Youzhang governed Yanzhou he recommended Wenju as magistrate of Xiangcheng. When he transferred his command to Xuzhou he took Wenju on as an aide. After Youzhang's death Wenju became observation commissioner adjutant of Yanzhou. Zhuangzong had sent Mingzong to seize Yanzhou by surprise. Wenju's parents were there, and overnight he was cut off from them with no word of their fate. Filial longing burned in him, and he made his way back to Yan by a hidden route, then presented himself to Zhuangzong. Zhuangzong was pleased and appointed him secretary on the Tianping military commission, serving on Mingzong's staff. Mingzong held the Bian and Heng commands in turn, and Wenju followed him in each transfer. At the start of Tiancheng he was appointed Right Remonstrance Councilor with charge of Xuanwu military and prefectural affairs, then served as censor-in-chief, vice minister of personnel, minister of rites, deputy protector of the western capital with concurrent administration of the Jingzhao metropolitan prefecture, and eventually minister of war. Having once served in the founding ruler's headquarters, he always hoped for appointment as chief minister. When Gaozu came from a frontier command to pay court, he once said to Mingzong, "Liang Wenju served you early on with great diligence. He has not been made chief minister, and people outside the court feel the injustice of it." Mingzong said, "I had forgotten him entirely—that was my fault." An appointment edict was soon to follow, but the matter ended when he entered mourning for his father. At the start of the Qingtai era he was appointed director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. When Gaozu came to the throne he was appointed minister of personnel, then made junior tutor of the heir apparent. Wenju embraced the Daoist ideal of stillness and purity, gathered several thousand volumes of Daoist texts, and looked up to the legends of Master Redpine and the Marquis of Liu. In dietary alchemy he pursued the art to its fullest. Later he developed rheumatism, submitted a memorial asking to retire, and left office as grand guardian of the heir apparent, living in Luoyang for many years. In the eighth Tianfu year he died of illness at the age of fifty-nine. He was posthumously honored as grand tutor of the heir apparent.
5
史圭，常山人也。 其先與王武俊來於塞外，因家石邑。 高祖曾，歷鎮陽牙校。 父鈞，假安平、九門令。 圭好學工詩，長於吏道。 唐光化中，歷阜城、饒陽尉，改房子、寧晉、元氏、樂壽、博陸五邑令。 為寧晉日，擅給驛廩，以貸饑民，民甚感之。 及為樂壽令，里人為之立碑。 同光中，任圜為真定尹，擢為本府司錄，不應命。 郭崇韜領其地，辟為從事，及明宗代崇韜，以舊職縻之。 明宗即位，入為文昌正郎，安重誨薦為河南少尹，判府事，尋命為樞密院直學士。 時圭以受知於重誨，重誨奏令圭與同列閻至俱升殿侍立，以備顧問，明宗可之。 尋自左諫議大夫拜尚書右丞，有入相之望。 圭敏於吏事，重誨本不知書，為事剛愎，每於明宗前可否重務，圭恬然終日，不能剖正其事。 長興中，重誨既誅，圭出為貝州刺史，未幾罷免，退歸常山。 由是閉門杜絕人事，雖親戚故人造者不見其面，每遊別墅，則乘婦人氈車以自蔽匿，人莫知其心。 高祖登極，征為刑部侍郎，判鹽鐵副使，皆宰臣馮道之奏請也。 始圭在明宗時為右丞，權判銓事，道在中書，嘗以堂判衡銓司所註官，圭怒，力爭之，道亦微有不足之色，至是圭首為道所舉，方愧其度量遠不及也。 旋改吏部侍郎，分知銓事，而圭素厲廉守節，大著公平之譽。
Shi Gui was a native of Changshan. His forebears had come from beyond the frontier with Wang Wujun and made their home in Shiyi. His great-grandfather Zeng had served as a military clerk at Zhenyang. His father Jun had served as acting magistrate of Anping and Jiumen. Gui loved learning and wrote poetry well, and he excelled in administrative affairs. During the Tang Guanghua era he served as assistant magistrate of Fucheng and Raoyang, then held successive magistracies in Fangzi, Ningjin, Yuanshi, Leshou, and Bolu. As magistrate of Ningjin he on his own authority opened the post-station granaries to lend grain to the starving, and the people were deeply grateful. When he became magistrate of Leshou, the local people erected a stele in his honor. During the Tongguang era Ren Yuan was prefect of Zhending and offered Gui the post of prefectural recorder, but Gui declined. Guo Chongtao governed the region and recruited him as an aide. When Mingzong replaced Chongtao he retained Gui in the same post. When Mingzong came to the throne Gui entered court as regular gentleman of Wenchang. An Chonghui recommended him as vice prefect of Henan with charge of prefectural affairs, and soon he was made direct academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Gui had won Chonghui's confidence. Chonghui memorialized that Gui and his colleague Yan Zhi should both attend in the hall to stand ready for consultation, and Mingzong agreed. Soon he was promoted from Left Remonstrance Councilor to Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and seemed headed for the chief ministership. Gui was quick in administrative matters, but Chonghui was unlearned and headstrong. Whenever Chonghui approved or rejected weighty matters before Mingzong, Gui would sit placidly all day without correcting him. During the Changxing era, after Chonghui was executed, Gui was posted as prefect of Beizhou. Before long he was removed and retired to Changshan. Thereafter he shut his doors to the world. Even kin and old friends who called on him could not see his face. When he visited his country estate he rode in a woman's covered cart to conceal himself, and no one could fathom his thoughts. When Gaozu took the throne Gui was summoned as vice minister of justice and deputy commissioner of the Salt and Iron Monopoly, all on Chief Minister Feng Dao's recommendation. Earlier, when Gui was Right Vice Director under Mingzong with charge of selection affairs, Dao in the Secretariat had once used a chief minister's ruling to overturn the Selection Bureau's appointments. Gui had been furious and fought him hard; Dao too had shown displeasure. Now Gui was the first person Dao recommended, and he was ashamed to find how far Dao's magnanimity surpassed his own. He was soon made vice minister of personnel with divided charge of selection affairs. Gui had always been strict in integrity, and he won wide renown for impartiality.
6
圭前為河南少尹日，有嵩山術士遺圭石藥如鬥，謂圭曰：「服之可以延壽，然不可中輟，輟則疾作矣。」 圭後服之，神爽力健，深寶惜焉。 清泰末，圭在常山，遇秘瓊之亂，時貯於衣笥，為賊所劫，後不復得。 天福中，疾生胸臆之間，常如火灼，圭知不濟，求歸鄉里，詔許之。 及涉河，竟為藥氣所蒸，卒於路，歸葬石邑，時年六十八。
When Gui had been vice prefect of Henan, a Mount Song adept gave him a stone elixir the size of a peck and said, "If you take this you may prolong your life, but you must not stop midway—if you stop, illness will follow." Gui later took it. His spirits were keen and his strength robust, and he treasured it deeply. At the end of the Qingtai era Gui was in Changshan when Mi Qiong's rebellion broke out. He had kept the elixir in a clothes chest, and bandits seized it. He never recovered it. During the Tianfu era illness settled in his chest, burning like fire. Gui knew he would not recover and asked to return home; the court granted his request. When he crossed the river he was overcome by the elixir's fumes and died on the road. He was buried in Shiyi at the age of sixty-eight.
7
裴皞，字司東，系出中眷裴氏，世居河東為望族。 皞容止端秀，性卞急，剛直而無隱，少而好學，苦心文藝，雖遭亂離，手不釋卷。 唐光化三年，擢進士第，釋褐授校書郎，歷諫職。 梁初，當路推其文學，遷翰林學士、中書舍人。 唐莊宗時，擢為禮部侍郎，後以語觸當事，改太子賓客，旋授兵部尚書，以老致仕。 天福初，起為工部尚書，復告老，以右僕射致仕。 皞累知貢舉，稱得士，宰相馬裔孫、維翰皆其所取進士也。 後裔孫知貢舉，率新進士謁皞，皞喜，為詩曰：「詞場最重是持衡，天遣愚夫受盛名，三主禮闈年八十，門生門下見門生。」 當世榮之。 維翰嘗私見皞，皞不為迎送，人問之，皞曰：「我見桑公於中書，庶僚也； 今見我於私第，門生也。」 聞者以為允。 卒年八十五。 贈太子太保。
Pei Hao, courtesy name Sidong, came from the central branch of the Pei clan and for generations his family had been a leading house in Hedong. Hao was handsome in bearing and deportment, quick-tempered, upright, and frank. From youth he loved learning and devoted himself to letters and the arts; even amid war and exile he never set his books aside. In the third year of the Tang Guanghua era he passed the jinshi examination. Upon entering service he was appointed collator and later held remonstrance posts. Early in Liang those in power prized his literary talent, and he was made Hanlin academician and Secretariat drafter. Under Tang Zhuangzong he was promoted to vice minister of rites. Later his words offended those in power and he was made guest of the heir apparent, then soon minister of war, and he retired on account of age. At the start of Tianfu he was recalled as minister of works, again asked to retire, and left office as Right Vice Director. Hao repeatedly supervised the civil service examinations and was praised for choosing worthy men; Chief Ministers Ma Yinsun and Pei Weihan were both jinshi he had advanced. Later, when Yinsun supervised the examinations, he led the new jinshi to pay a call on Hao. Delighted, Hao composed a poem: "In the examination hall nothing matters more than holding the scales; Heaven sent this dull fellow to win great renown. Three times I presided over the ritual gate, now eighty years old—a student's student greets a student." His contemporaries admired him for it. Weihan once called on Hao in private, but Hao did not go out to welcome or escort him. When people asked why, Hao said, "When I saw Lord Sang at the Secretariat, he was a colleague among officials; but now he visits me at home—he is my student." Those who heard it agreed he was right. He died at the age of eighty-five. He was posthumously honored as grand guardian of the heir apparent.
8
承範溫厚寡言，善希人旨，桑維翰、李崧尤重之，嘗薦於高祖，雲可大用。 承範知之，持重自養，雖遇盛夏，而猶服襦袴，加之以純綿，蓋慮有寒濕之患也。 然竟不獲其志，其命也夫！
Wu Chengfan was gentle and sparing of words, adept at reading others' wishes. Sang Weihan and Li Song held him in special regard and once recommended him to Gaozu as fit for high office. Chengfan understood this and kept himself in careful reserve. Even in midsummer he still wore jacket and trousers lined with cotton, lest he suffer from cold and damp. Yet in the end he never attained his ambition—such was fate!
9
盧導，字熙化，其先范陽人也。 祖伯卿，唐殿中侍御史。 父如晦，國子監丞，贈戶部侍郎。 導少而儒雅，美詞翰，善談論。 唐天祐初，登進士第，釋褐除校書郎，由均州鄖鄉縣令、入為監察御史，三遷職方員外郎，充史館修撰，改河南縣令禮部郎中，賜紫，轉右司郎中兼侍御史知雜事。 以病免，閑居於漢上，久之。 天成中，以本官征還，拜右諫議大夫。 長興末，為中書舍人，權知貢舉。 明年春，潞王自鳳翔擁大軍赴闕，唐閔帝奔於衛州，宰相馮道、李愚集百官於天宮寺，將出迎潞王。 時軍眾離潰，人情奔駭，百官移時未有至者。 導與舍人張昭遠先至，馮道請導草勸進箋，導曰：「潞王入朝，郊迎可也； 若勸進之事，安可造次。 且潞王與主上，皆太后之子，或廢或立，當從教令，安得不稟策母後，率爾而行！」 馮道曰：「凡事要務實，勸進其可已乎？」 導曰：「今主上蒙塵在外，遽以大位勸人，若潞王守道，以忠義見責，未審何詞以對！ 不如率群臣詣宮門，取太后進止，即去就善矣。」 道未及對，會京城巡檢安從進報曰：「潞王至矣，安得百僚無班。」 即紛然而去。 是日，潞王未至，馮道等止於上陽門外，又令導草勸進箋，導執之如初。 李愚曰：「舍人之言是也，吾輩信罪人矣。」 導之守正也如是。 晉天福中，由禮部侍郎遷尚書右丞，判吏部尚書銓事，秩滿，拜吏部侍郎。 六年秋，卒於東京，時年七十六。
Lu Dao, courtesy name Xihua, came originally from Fanyang. His grandfather Boqing served as attending censor in the palace under Tang. His father Ruhui was assistant director of the Directorate of Education and was posthumously honored as vice minister of revenue. From youth Dao was cultivated and scholarly, gifted in letters, and an engaging speaker. At the start of the Tang Tianyou era he passed the jinshi examination. Upon entering service he was appointed collator, then magistrate of Yunxiang in Jun Prefecture, then investigating censor at court. After three promotions he became vice director of the Bureau of Appointments and compiler in the History Office, then magistrate of Henan and director of the Ministry of Rites, received purple robes, and became right department director while also serving as censor-in-chief of miscellaneous affairs. Illness forced his retirement, and he lived in seclusion along the Han for many years. During the Tiancheng era he was recalled to his former rank and appointed Right Remonstrance Councilor. At the end of the Changxing era he was Secretariat drafter with acting charge of the civil service examinations. The following spring the Prince of Lu led a great army from Fengxiang toward the capital. Emperor Min of Tang fled to Weizhou. Chief ministers Feng Dao and Li Yu assembled the officials at Tiangong Temple, preparing to go out and welcome the prince. The armies were scattered in rout and the people fled in panic. For a long while no officials appeared. Dao and Drafter Zhang Zhaoyuan arrived first. Feng Dao asked Dao to draft a memorial urging the prince to take the throne. Dao said, "When the Prince of Lu comes to court, a suburban welcome is enough; as for urging him to take the throne, how can we do that rashly. Moreover, the prince and the emperor are both sons of the Empress Dowager. Whether one is deposed or enthroned should follow her command. How can we act without seeking her decision and proceed so recklessly!" Feng Dao said, "In all affairs one must be practical. Can we stop short of urging accession?" Dao said, "The emperor now suffers exile abroad. If we hastily offer the throne to another, and the prince holds to loyalty and rebukes us for treachery, what answer could we give? Better to lead the ministers to the palace gate and obtain the Empress Dowager's decision. Then whether to go or stay will be properly settled." Before Dao could reply, capital inspector An Congjin reported, "The Prince of Lu has arrived. How can the officials stand without order." Everyone scattered and hurried away. That day the prince had not yet arrived. Feng Dao and the others waited outside the Shangyang Gate and again ordered Dao to draft the accession memorial. Dao held firm as before. Li Yu said, "The drafter is right. We are truly guilty men." Such was Dao's steadfast integrity. During the Jin Tianfu era he rose from vice minister of rites to Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs with charge of selection affairs under the minister of personnel. When his term ended he was made vice minister of personnel. In the autumn of the sixth year he died in the Eastern Capital at the age of seventy-six.
10
鄭韜光，字龍府，洛京清河人也。 曾祖絪，為唐宰相。 祖祗德，國子祭酒， 〈（《新唐書·宰相世系表》：祗德，兵部尚書。）〉 贈太傅。 父顥，河南尹，贈太師。 其先世居滎陽，自隋、唐三百餘年，公卿輔相，蟬聯一門。 韜光，唐宣宗之外孫，萬壽公主之所出也，生三日，賜一子出身，銀章朱紱。 及長，美容止，神爽氣澈，不妄喜怒，秉執名節，為甲族所稱。 自京兆府參軍歷秘書郎、集賢校理、太常博士、虞部比部員外郎、司門戶部郎中、河南京兆少尹、太常少卿、諫議大夫、給事中。 梁貞明中，懇求休退，上表漏名，責授寧州司馬。 莊宗平梁，遷工、禮、刑部侍郎。 天成、長興中，歷尚書左右丞。 國初，以戶部尚書致仕。 自繈褓迄於懸車，凡事十一君，越七十載，所仕無官謗，無私過，三持使節，不辱君命，士無賢不肖，皆恭己接納。 晚年背傴，時人咸曰鄭傴不迂。 平生交友之中無怨隙，親族之間無愛憎，恬和自如，性尚平簡，及致政歸洛，甚愜終焉之志。 天福五年秋，寢疾而卒，年八十。 贈右僕射。
Zheng Taoguang, courtesy name Longfu, was a native of Qinghe in the Luoyang capital region. His great-grandfather Yin served as a Tang chief minister. His grandfather Zhide was chancellor of the Directorate of Education, (New Book of Tang, Tables of Chief Ministers by Clan: Zhide was minister of war.)〉 and was posthumously honored as grand tutor. His father Hao was prefect of Henan and was posthumously honored as grand preceptor. His forebears had long lived in Xingyang. For more than three hundred years from Sui through Tang, chief ministers and high officials had followed one another in a single clan. Taoguang was a maternal grandson of Tang Emperor Xuanzong, born to Princess Wanshou. On the third day after his birth he was granted hereditary office status, with silver seal and crimson tassel. As he grew he had a handsome bearing, a clear and spirited presence, showed anger or joy only with reason, and upheld reputation and principle, winning praise from the great families. He rose from aide in the Jingzhao metropolitan prefecture through secretary, collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies, erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, vice director in the bureaus of parks and review, director in the bureau of passes and the Ministry of Revenue, vice prefect of Henan and Jingzhao, vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, remonstrance councilor, and attendant. During the Liang Zhenming era he earnestly sought to retire. His memorial omitted his name, and he was demoted to military adjutant of Ning Prefecture. When Zhuangzong conquered Liang he served in succession as vice minister of works, rites, and justice. During the Tiancheng and Changxing eras he served in turn as left and right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. At the founding of the dynasty he retired as minister of revenue. From infancy to retirement he served eleven rulers over more than seventy years. In every post he earned no reproach and committed no private wrong. Three times he bore diplomatic credentials and never failed his sovereign's trust. Worthy or unworthy, he received every visitor with respectful courtesy. In old age his back was bent, and people said, "Bent-back Zheng is not stubborn." He bore no grudges among lifelong friends and showed no favoritism among kin. Tranquil and at ease, he loved simplicity. When he retired and returned to Luoyang he was deeply content to end his days there. In the autumn of the fifth Tianfu year he fell ill in bed and died at the age of eighty. He was posthumously honored as Right Vice Director.
11
王權，字秀山，太原人，積世衣冠。 曾祖起，官至左僕射、山南西道節度使，冊贈太尉，謚曰文懿，唐史有傳。 祖龜，浙東觀察使。 父蕘，右司員外郎。 權舉進士，解褐授秘書省校書郎、集賢校理，歷左拾遺、右補闕。 梁祖革命，御史司憲崔沂表為侍御史，遷兼職方員外郎知雜事。 歲餘，召入翰林為學士，在院加戶部郎中、知制誥，歷左諫議大夫、給事中，充集賢殿學士判院事，俄拜御史中丞。 唐莊宗平梁，以例出為隨州司馬，會赦，量移許州。 月餘，入為右庶子，遷戶兵吏三侍郎、尚書左丞、禮部尚書判銓。 清泰中，權知貢舉，改戶部尚書，華資美級，罕不由之。 高祖登極，轉兵部尚書。 天福中，命權使於契丹，權以前世累為將相，未嘗有奉使而稱陪臣者，謂人曰：「我雖不才，年今耄矣，豈能遠使於契丹乎！ 違詔得罪，亦所甘心。」 由是停任。 先是，宰相馮道使於契丹才回，權亦自鳳翔冊禮使回，故責詞略曰：「若以道路迢遙，即鸞閣之臺臣亦往； 若以筋骸衰減，即鳳翔之冊使才回。 既黷憲章，須從殿黜」云。 其實權不欲臣事契丹，故堅辭之，非避事以違命也。 逾歲授太子少傅致仕。 六年秋，以疾卒，年七十八。 贈左僕射。
Wang Quan, courtesy name Xiushan, was a native of Taiyuan from a long line of officials. His great-grandfather Qi rose to Left Vice Director and military commissioner of the Shannan West circuit, was posthumously honored as grand marshal with the posthumous title Weny, and has a biography in the Tang histories. His grandfather Gui was observation commissioner of Zhedong. His father Rao was vice director of the Right Department. Quan passed the jinshi examination. Upon entering service he was appointed collator in the Secretariat and collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies, then served as Left and Right Reminder. When the Liang founder seized power, Censor-in-Chief Cui Yi recommended him as attending censor. He was promoted to concurrent vice director of the Bureau of Appointments with charge of miscellaneous affairs. After a year he was called into the Hanlin as academician, additionally made director of the Ministry of Revenue with charge of drafting edicts, then Left Remonstrance Councilor and attendant, academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies with charge of the academy, and soon censor-in-chief. When Tang Zhuangzong conquered Liang he was demoted under precedent to military adjutant of Suizhou. An amnesty followed and he was transferred in reduced rank to Xuzhou. After a month he entered court as Right Household Companion, then rose through the vice ministries of revenue, war, and personnel, became Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and minister of rites with charge of selection. During the Qingtai era he had acting charge of the examinations and was made minister of revenue. Few splendid qualifications and fine ranks did not pass through his hands. When Gaozu took the throne he was made minister of war. During the Tianfu era Quan was ordered to serve as envoy to the Khitan. His forebears for generations had been generals and chief ministers, yet none had ever been sent abroad to be called a subordinate minister. He told others, "Though I lack talent, I am old now. How could I go on a distant mission to the Khitan? To disobey the edict and accept punishment is something I would willingly bear." The appointment was therefore suspended. Chief Minister Feng Dao had just returned from an embassy to the Khitan, and Quan had just returned from Fengxiang as investiture envoy. The reprimand therefore read in part, "If the road is long and distant, ministers of the Phoenix Pavilion also travel; if one's body is weakened with age, the investiture envoy from Fengxiang has just returned. "Having violated the statutes, he must be demoted from court," and so forth. In truth Quan did not wish to serve the Khitan as a subject, and therefore firmly declined. He was not merely shirking duty to disobey orders. After more than a year he was made junior tutor of the heir apparent and retired. In the autumn of the sixth year he died of illness at the age of seventy-eight. He was posthumously honored as Left Vice Director.
12
韓惲，字子重，太原晉陽人。 曾祖俊，唐龍武大將軍。 祖士則，石州司馬。 父逵，代州刺史。 惲世仕太原，昆仲為軍職，惟惲親狎儒士，好為歌詩，聚書數千卷。 乾寧中，後唐莊宗納其妹為妃，初為嫡室，故莊宗深禮其家，而惲以文學署交城、文水令，入為太原少尹。 莊宗平定趙、魏，為魏州支使。 莊宗即位，授右散騎常侍，從駕至洛陽，轉尚書戶部侍郎。 天成初，改秘書監。 俄而馮道為丞相，與惲有同幕之舊，以惲性謹厚，尤左右之，尋遷禮部尚書。 丁內憂，服闋，授戶部尚書。 明宗晏駕，馮道為山陵使，引惲為副使。 清泰初，以充奉之勞，授檢校尚書右僕射、絳州刺史，逾年入為太子賓客。 高祖登極，以惲先朝懿戚，深加禮遇，除授貝州刺史。 時範延光有跋扈之狀，惲懼其見逼，遲留不敢赴任，高祖不悅，復授太子賓客，尋改兵部尚書。 天福七年夏，車駕在鄴，惲病腳氣，卒於龍興寺，時年六十餘。
Han Yun, courtesy name Zizhong, was a native of Jinyang in Taiyuan. His great-grandfather Jun was grand general of the Tang Dragon Martial Guard. His grandfather Shize was military adjutant of Shi Prefecture. His father Kui was prefect of Dai Prefecture. The Han family had served at Taiyuan for generations. His brothers held military posts, but Yun alone kept company with scholars, loved to write songs and poems, and collected several thousand books. During the Qianning era Zhuangzong of Later Tang took Yun's younger sister as consort. She was at first his principal wife, so Zhuangzong treated the family with great respect. Yun was appointed by literary merit magistrate of Jiaocheng and Wenshui, then became vice prefect of Taiyuan. When Zhuangzong pacified Zhao and Wei, Yun served as branch commissioner of Weizhou. When Zhuangzong came to the throne Yun was appointed Right Regular Attendant, accompanied the court to Luoyang, and was made vice minister of revenue in the Secretariat. At the start of the Tiancheng era he was made director of the Secretariat. Soon Feng Dao became chief minister. He and Yun had served on the same staff long before. Feng especially favored Yun for his careful and honest nature, and soon Yun was made minister of rites. After mourning for his mother he was appointed minister of revenue. When Mingzong died Feng Dao was commissioner for the imperial tomb and appointed Yun his deputy. At the start of the Qingtai era, for his service at the funeral, he was made acting Right Vice Director of the Secretariat and prefect of Jiang Prefecture. After a year he entered court as guest of the heir apparent. When Gaozu took the throne he treated Yun with special courtesy as a kinsman of the former court and appointed him prefect of Bei Prefecture. Fan Yanguang was then acting insubordinately. Yun feared being caught in his power, lingered, and dared not take up the post. Gaozu was displeased, made him guest of the heir apparent again, and soon minister of war. In the summer of the seventh Tianfu year the court was at Ye. Yun suffered from gout and died at Longxing Temple, aged over sixty.
13
李懌，京兆人也。 祖褒，唐黔南觀察使。 父昭，戶部尚書。 懌幼而能文，進士擢第，解褐為校書郎、集賢校理、清河尉。 入梁，歷監察御史、右補闕、殿中侍御史、起居舍人、禮部員外郎、知制誥，換都官郎中，賜緋，召入翰林為學士，正拜舍人，賜金紫，仍舊內職。 莊宗平汴、洛，責授懷州司馬，遇赦，量移孟州，入為衛尉少卿。 天成初，復拜中書舍人，充翰林學士，在職轉戶部侍郎右丞，充承旨。 時常侍張文寶知貢舉，中書奏落進士數人，仍請詔翰林學士院作一詩一賦，下禮部，為舉人格樣。 學士竇夢徵、張礪輩撰格詩格賦各一，送中書，宰相未以為允。 夢徵等請懌為之，懌笑而答曰：「李懌識字有數，頃歲因人偶得及第，敢與後生髦俊為之標格！ 假令今卻稱進士，就春官求試，落第必矣。 格賦格詩，不敢應詔。」 君子多其識大體。 天福中，自工部尚書轉太常卿，歷禮部、刑部二尚書，以多病留司於洛下，不交人事。 開運未，遇契丹入洛，家事罄空，尋以疾卒，年七十餘。
Li Yi was a native of Jingzhao. His grandfather Bao was observation commissioner of Qiannan under Tang. His father Zhao was minister of revenue. Yi could write from childhood. He passed the jinshi examination and upon entering service became collator, collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and assistant magistrate of Qinghe. Under Liang he served in succession as investigating censor, Right Reminder, attending censor in the palace, diarist, vice director of the Ministry of Rites with charge of drafting edicts, then director of the Bureau of Justice. He received crimson robes, was called into the Hanlin as academician, formally appointed drafter, granted gold seal and purple robes, and kept his inner-court duties. When Zhuangzong conquered Bian and Luoyang, Yi was demoted to military adjutant of Huaizhou. An amnesty followed and he was transferred in reduced rank to Meng Prefecture, then entered court as vice director of the Court of Imperial Regalia. At the start of the Tiancheng era he was again made Secretariat drafter and Hanlin academician, then vice minister of revenue and Right Vice Director while serving as chief drafter. Attendant Zhang Wenbao then had charge of the examinations. The Secretariat memorialized to fail several jinshi and asked that the Hanlin Academy draft one poem and one fu for the Ministry of Rites as models for candidates. Academicians Dou Mengzheng, Zhang Li, and others each drafted a model poem and model fu and sent them to the Secretariat, but the chief ministers did not approve them. They asked Yi to do it. Yi smiled and said, "Li Yi knows only so many characters. A few years ago I passed the examination only by chance through others' help. How dare I set the standard for the brilliant young men of today! If I were called a jinshi today and went to the spring office for examination, I would certainly fail. As for the model fu and model poem, he dared not obey the edict." Men of judgment praised him for seeing what truly mattered. During the Tianfu era he rose from minister of works to director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, then served as minister of rites and minister of justice. Because of chronic illness he remained on duty in Luoyang and kept aloof from worldly affairs. Near the end of the Kaiyun era, when the Khitan entered Luoyang, his household was stripped bare. Soon he died of illness, aged over seventy.