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馮道，字可道，瀛州景城人。 其先為農為儒，不恒其業。 道少純厚，好學能文，不恥惡衣食，負米奉親之外，惟以披誦吟諷為事，雖大雪擁戶，凝塵滿席，湛如也。 天祐中，劉守光署為幽州掾。 守光引兵伐中山，訪於僚屬，道常以利害箴之，守光怒，置於獄中，尋為人所救免。 守光敗，遁歸太原，監軍使張承業辟為本院巡官。 承業重其文章履行，甚見待遇。 時有周元豹者，善人倫鑒，與道不洽，謂承業曰：「馮生無前程，公不可過用。」 時河東記室盧質聞之曰：「我曾見杜黃裳司空寫真圖，道之狀貌酷類焉，將來必副大用，元豹之言不足信也。」 承業尋薦為霸府從事，俄署太原掌書記，時莊宗並有河北，文翰甚繁，一以委之。 莊宗與梁軍夾河對壘，一日，郭崇韜以諸校伴食數多，主者不辦，請少罷減。 莊宗怒曰：「孤為效命者設食都不自由，其河北三鎮，令三軍別擇一人為帥，孤請歸太原以避賢路。」 遽命道對面草詞，將示其眾。 道執筆久之，莊宗正色促焉，道徐起對曰：「道所掌筆硯，敢不供職。 今大王屢集大功，方平南寇，崇韜所諫，未至過當，阻拒之則可，不可以向來之言，喧動群議，敵人若知，謂大王君臣之不和矣。 幸熟而思之，則天下幸甚也。」 俄而崇韜入謝，因道為之解焉，人始重其膽量。 莊宗即位鄴宮，除省郎，充翰林學士，自綠衣賜紫。 梁平，遷中書舍人、戶部侍郎。 丁父憂，持服於景城。 〈（《談苑》：道聞父喪，即徒步見星以行，家人從後持衣囊追及之。）〉 遇歲儉，所得俸余悉賑於鄉里，道之所居惟蓬茨而已，凡牧宰饋遺，鬥粟匹帛無所受焉。 時契丹方盛，素聞道名，欲掠而取之，會邊人有備，獲免。
Feng Dao, styled Kedao, came from Jingcheng in Yingzhou. His forebears had farmed and studied by turns, never keeping to one calling. As a young man Feng Dao was guileless and steady, loved learning and wrote well, and was unashamed of coarse food and clothes. Beyond carrying grain home for his parents, he did nothing but read and chant; even when snow piled against his door and dust caked his mat, he remained wholly at ease. In the Tianyou period Liu Shouguang made him a staff officer in Youzhou. When Shouguang marched on Zhongshan and asked his staff for counsel, Dao repeatedly warned him of the risks. Shouguang flew into a rage and threw him in prison, but others soon secured his release. After Shouguang's defeat Dao fled to Taiyuan, where the army supervisory commissioner Zhang Chengye took him on as a headquarters inspector. Chengye prized his writing and character and treated him with marked favor. There was a Zhou Yuanbao at the time, skilled at reading men, who disliked Dao. He told Chengye, "Feng has no great career ahead—do not promote him too far. Lu Zhi, recorder of the Hedong commandery, heard this and said, "I once saw the portrait of Du Huangshang, Minister of Works—Feng Dao looks remarkably like him. He is bound for high office; Yuanbao's judgment cannot be trusted." Chengye soon recommended him as staff in the hegemon's headquarters and shortly named him chief secretary at Taiyuan. Zhuangzong had just taken Hebei, and the flood of documents was left entirely to Dao. Zhuangzong and the Liang forces were camped on opposite banks of the Yellow River. One day Guo Chongtao, finding that too many officers shared the commander's table for the staff to supply, asked that the number be cut back. Zhuangzong burst out, "I cannot even decide who eats at my table for men who die in my service! Let each of the three Hebei armies pick its own commander—I will go back to Taiyuan and make way for better men. He at once ordered Dao to draft an edict on the spot to read before the army. Dao held his brush a long time while Zhuangzong glared and urged him on. Dao rose slowly and said, "The brush is mine to serve you with—how could I refuse my duty? Your Highness has won victory after victory and is about to crush the southern foe. Chongtao's counsel was not excessive—you may turn it down, but do not let your earlier words stir the whole camp. If the enemy hears of it, they will think ruler and minister are divided. If you weigh this carefully, the realm will be greatly fortunate. Soon Chongtao came in to apologize, and Dao smoothed things over for him; from then on men respected his nerve. When Zhuangzong was enthroned at Ye, Dao was made a Secretariat secretary and Hanlin academician, promoted from green to purple robes. After the Liang were subdued he was promoted to Secretariat drafting secretary and Vice Minister of Revenue. When his father died he went into mourning at Jingcheng. (Conversational Garden: When he heard of his father's death, Dao set out on foot by starlight while his family hurried after with a bag of clothes and overtook him.)〉 In a famine year he gave away every spare coin of his salary to the neighborhood. He lived in nothing but a thatched hut, and refused every gift from magistrates, whether grain by the peck or cloth by the bolt. The Khitan were then at their height and had long heard of Dao; they meant to carry him off by force, but the border people were ready, and he was spared.
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明宗入洛，遽謂近臣安重誨曰：「先帝時馮道郎中何在？」 重誨曰：「近除翰林學士。」 明宗曰：「此人朕素諳委，甚好宰相。」 俄拜端明殿學士，端明之號，自道始也。 未幾，遷中書侍郎、刑部尚書、平章事。 凡孤寒士子，抱才業、素知識者皆與引用； 唐末衣冠，履行浮躁者必抑而鎮之。 有工部侍郎任贊，因班退，與同列戲道於後曰：「若急行，必遺下《兔園冊》。」 道知之，召贊謂曰：「《兔園冊》皆名儒所集，道能諷之，中朝士子止看文場秀句，便為舉業，皆竊取公聊，何淺狹之甚耶！」 贊大愧焉。 〈（《歐陽史》云：《兔園策》者，鄉校俚儒教田夫牧子之所誦也。 《北夢瑣言》云：《兔園策》乃徐、庾文體，非鄙樸之談，但家藏一本，人多賤之。 《困學紀聞》云：《兔園策府》三十卷，唐蔣王惲令僚佐杜嗣先仿應科目策，自設問對，引經史為訓註。 惲，太宗子，故用梁王兔園名其書，馮道《兔園策》謂此也。）〉 復有梁朝宰臣李琪，每以文章自擅，曾進《賀平中山王都表》云：「復真定之逆賊」。 道讓琪曰：「昨來收復定州，非真定也。」 琪昧於地理，頓至折角。 其後百僚上明宗徽號凡三章，道自為之，其文渾然，非流俗之體，舉朝服焉。 道尤長於篇詠，秉筆則成，典麗之外，義含古道，必為遠近傳寫，故漸畏其高深，由是班行肅然，無澆漓之態。 繼改門下侍郎、戶部吏部尚書、集賢殿弘文館大學士，加尚書左僕射，封始平郡公。 一日，道因上謁既退，明宗顧謂侍臣曰：「馮道性純儉，頃在德勝寨居一茅庵，與從人同器食，臥則芻槁一束，其心晏如也。 及以父憂退歸鄉里，自耕樵采，與農夫雜處，略不以素貴介懷，真士大夫也。」 天成、長興中，天下屢稔，朝廷無事。 明宗每禦延英，留道訪以外事，道曰：「陛下以至德承天，天以有年表瑞，更在日慎一日，以答天心。 臣每記在先皇霸府日，曾奉使中山，徑井陘之險，憂馬有蹶失，不敢怠於銜轡； 及至平地，則無復持控，果為馬所顛仆，幾至於損。 臣所陳雖小，可以喻大。 陛下勿以清晏豐熟，便縱逸樂，兢兢業業，臣之望也。」 明宗深然之。 他日又問道曰：「天下雖熟，百姓得濟否？」 道曰：「穀貴餓農，穀賤傷農，此常理也。 臣憶得近代有舉子聶夷中《傷田家詩》云：『二月賣新絲，五月糶秋穀。 醫得眼下瘡，剜卻心頭肉。 我願君王心，化作光明燭。 不照綺羅筵，遍照逃亡屋。』」 明宗曰：「此詩甚好。」 遂命侍臣錄下，每自諷之。 道之發言簡正，善於裨益，非常人所能及也。 時以諸經舛繆，與同列李愚委學官田敏等，取西京鄭覃所刊石經，雕為印版，流布天下，後進賴之。 明宗崩，唐末帝嗣位，以道為山陵使，禮畢，出鎮同州，循故事也。 道為政閑淡，獄市無撓。 一日，有上介胡饒，本出軍吏，性粗獷，因事詬道於牙門，左右數報不應。 道曰：「此必醉耳！」 因召入，開尊設食，盡夕而起，無撓慍之色。 未幾，入為司空。
When Mingzong entered Luoyang he suddenly asked his confidant An Chonghui, "Where is Feng Dao, who served as director under the late emperor? Chonghui replied, "He was recently made Hanlin academician." Mingzong said, "I have known and trusted him for years—he would make an excellent chief counselor." He was soon made academician of the Hall of Illuminated Clarity—the title itself began with Dao. Before long he rose to Vice Director of the Secretariat, Minister of Justice, and Grand Councilor. He advanced every poor scholar of talent he had long known; while he checked and humbled late-Tang officials whose conduct was frivolous. Ren Zan, Vice Minister of Works, jested behind Dao as the court filed out: "Walk fast and he'll drop his Rabbit Garden Primer. Dao heard of it and summoned Zan. "The Rabbit Garden Primer was compiled by eminent scholars, and I can recite it. Yet today's court literati skim flashy examination couplets and call that a career—they merely crib from grand ministers. How petty!" Zan was thoroughly shamed. (Ouyang Xiu's History says the Rabbit Garden Stratagems was what rustic village teachers had farm boys and herdsmen memorize.) Idle Talk of Northern Dreams says it was written in the manner of Xu Ling and Yu Xin, not in crude village prose—but because every home had a copy, people despised it. Notes from Studying amid Difficulty says the Rabbit Garden Stratagem Treasury ran to thirty scrolls: in Tang, Prince Jiang Yun had his aide Du Sizian imitate civil-service policy questions, compose his own Q&A, and annotate them from the classics and histories. Yun was a son of Taizong, so the book took the Rabbit Garden of the Prince of Liang as its title—this is the work Feng Dao meant by the Rabbit Garden Stratagems.)〉 Li Qi, a Liang chief minister, also prided himself on his prose. He once submitted a memorial on pacifying Zhongshan and Wang Du that read, "The rebel of Zhending is recovered." Dao corrected him: "What was recovered was Dingzhou, not Zhending. Qi knew nothing of geography and was utterly humiliated. Later, when the bureaucracy submitted three drafts of honorific titles for Mingzong, Dao wrote them himself in a rounded, elevated style far from common hackwork, and the whole court admired them. Dao excelled above all at poetry: he took up the brush and the piece was finished—elegant yet steeped in the old Way, and always copied far and wide. Men gradually stood in awe of his depth, and the court ranks grew grave, without frivolity. He was then made Vice Director of the Chancellery, Minister of Revenue and Personnel, grand academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies and Hongwen Institute, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and Duke of Shiping. One day, after Dao had paid his respects and left, Mingzong told his attendants, "Feng Dao is plain and frugal by nature. At Desheng Stockade he lived in a hut, ate from the same bowl as his men, and slept on a bundle of straw—yet his mind was wholly at peace. When he went home for his father's mourning he farmed and cut wood himself, lived among peasants, and never let his former status show—a true gentleman. Through the Tiancheng and Changxing reigns harvests followed harvests and the court knew no trouble. Whenever Mingzong held court at Yanying he kept Dao to discuss affairs of state. Dao said, "Your Majesty rules by supreme virtue; Heaven answers with good harvests. You must be more careful with each passing day to answer Heaven. I remember when I served the late emperor's headquarters I was sent to Zhongshan and took the perilous Jingxing Pass. Fearing my horse might fall, I never slackened the reins; but once I reached level ground I let go—and the horse threw me; I was nearly hurt. What I tell is a small matter, but it stands for a large one. Do not let peace and plenty lure you into ease and pleasure. Vigilance is what I ask of you. Mingzong was deeply persuaded. On another day he asked Dao, "The harvest is good—but are the people actually better off? Dao said, "When grain is dear farmers go hungry; when grain is cheap farmers are ruined—that is the constant rule. I recall a recent candidate, Nie Yizhong, who wrote in "Lament for a Farming Family": "In the second month I sell the new silk; in the fifth month I sell the autumn grain. To heal the sore before my eyes I cut out the flesh of my heart. I wish the ruler's heart were a bright candle, not lighting brocade feasts but every fleeing household." Mingzong said, "That poem is excellent." He had his attendants copy it and often recited it himself. Dao spoke plainly and to the point and knew how to help—beyond what most men could do. Because the classics were full of errors, he and his colleague Li Yu put the academic official Tian Min and others to taking Zheng Tan's stone classics from the Western Capital, cutting printing blocks, and spreading them across the realm—later students owed them a great debt. When Mingzong died and the Last Emperor of Tang succeeded, Dao was made tomb commissioner; when the rites ended he was posted to Tongzhou as military governor, by established custom. His rule was relaxed and mild; prisons and markets were left in peace. One day his senior aide Hu Rao, a former army clerk, coarse by nature, abused Dao at the gate over some affair. Attendants reported it again and again, but Dao did not respond. Dao said, "He must be drunk. He had him brought in, opened wine and set out a meal, and they sat until evening without a trace of anger. Soon he was recalled as Minister of Works.
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及晉祖入洛，以道為首相。 二年，契丹遣使加徽號於晉祖，晉祖亦獻徽號於契丹，謂道曰：「此行非卿不可。」 道無難色。 晉祖又曰：「卿官崇德重，不可深入沙漠。」 道曰：「陛下受北朝恩，臣受陛下恩，何有不可！」 〈（楊內翰《談苑》云：道與諸相歸中書，食訖，外廳堂吏前白道言北使事。 吏人色變手戰，道取紙一幅，署云：「道去。」 即遣寫敕進，堂吏泣下。 道遣人語妻子，不復歸家，即日舍都亭驛，不數日北行。 晉祖餞宴，語以家國之故，煩耆德遠使，自酌卮酒賜之，泣下。）〉 及行，將達西樓，契丹主欲郊迎，其臣曰：「天子無迎宰相之禮。」 因止焉，其名動殊俗也如此。 〈（《談苑》云：契丹賜其臣牙笏及臘日賜牛頭者為殊禮，道皆得之，作詩以紀曰：「牛頭偏得賜，象笏更容持。」 契丹主甚喜，遂潛諭留意，道曰：「南朝為子，北朝為父，兩朝皆為臣，豈有分別哉！」 道在契丹，凡得所賜，悉以市薪炭，征其意，云：「北地苦寒，老年所不堪，當為之備。」 若將久留者。 契丹感其意，乃遣歸，道三上表乞留，固遣乃去，猶更住館中月餘。 既行，所至留駐，凡兩月方出境，左右語道曰：「當北土得生還，恨無羽翼，公獨宿留，何也？」 道曰：「縱急還，彼以筋腳馬，一夕即追及，亦何可脫，但徐緩即不能測矣。」 眾乃服。 四年二月，始至京師。）〉 及還，朝廷廢樞密使，依唐朝故事，並歸中書，其院印付道，事無巨細，悉以歸之。 尋加司徒、兼侍中，進魯國公。 晉祖曾以用兵事問道，道曰：陛下歷試諸艱，創成大業，神武睿略，為天下所知，討伐不庭，須從獨斷。 臣本自書生，為陛下在中書，守歷代成規，不敢有一毫之失也。 臣在明宗朝，曾以戎事問臣，臣亦以斯言答之。」 晉祖頗可其說。 道嘗上表求退，晉祖不之覽，先遣鄭王就省，謂曰：「卿來日不出，朕當親行請卿。」 道不得已出焉。 當時寵遇，無與為比。
When Gaozu of Later Jin entered Luoyang he made Dao chief minister. In the second year the Khitan sent envoys to bestow an honorific on Gaozu, and Gaozu in turn sent one to the Khitan. He told Dao, "No one but you can make this journey. Dao showed no reluctance. Gaozu added, "Your rank is high and your standing great—you must not go deep into the desert. Dao said, "Your Majesty owes the northern court; I owe Your Majesty—what could I refuse?" (Conversational Garden: Dao and the other chief ministers returned to the Secretariat. After eating, a clerk of the outer hall came forward and told Dao about the northern mission.) The clerk turned pale and his hands shook. Dao took a sheet of paper and wrote, "Dao will go. He had an edict drafted and sent in at once; the hall clerk wept. He sent word to his wife and children that he would not come home, lodged that day at the Capital Pavilion relay, and within days marched north. Gaozu gave a farewell feast, spoke of the needs of state and family, and said he was troubling an elder of virtue with a distant mission; he poured wine himself, gave it to Dao, and wept.)〉 As he traveled and neared the Western Tower, the Khitan ruler wished to welcome him with suburban rites. His ministers said, "The Son of Heaven does not go out to welcome a chief minister. So they stopped him—such was the power of his name among foreign peoples. (Conversational Garden: Among the Khitan, ivory tablets for ministers and ox heads on the La festival were special honors. Dao received both and wrote: "The ox head fell to me alone; the ivory tablet I may hold as well.") The Khitan ruler was delighted and quietly urged him to stay. Dao said, "The southern court is my son, the northern my father—yet I am subject to both. What difference is there?" In Khitan lands he spent every gift on firewood and coal, hinting that the north was too cold for an old man and he must stock up—as if he meant to stay. He acted as though he meant to remain for good. Moved, the Khitan sent him home. Dao submitted three memorials begging to stay; only when they firmly dismissed him did he leave—and he still lodged at the guest house for more than a month. On the road he halted at every stop and took two months to cross the border. His attendants said, "Men who escape the north wish they had wings—yet you linger. Why? Dao said, "Even if we hurry, their swift horses would overtake us in a night—how could we escape? Go slowly and they cannot read our intent." His men were convinced. In the second month of the fourth year he finally reached the capital.)〉 On his return the court abolished the Bureau of Military Affairs; following Tang precedent its duties reverted to the Secretariat, the bureau seal went to Dao, and every matter great or small was left to him. Soon he was made Grand Mentor and concurrent Palace Attendant and advanced to Duke of Lu. Gaozu once asked Dao about war. Dao said, "Your Majesty has endured every trial and built a great enterprise. Your martial genius is known to all. In punishing rebels you must decide alone." I began as a scholar; in the Secretariat I keep the rules of past dynasties and dare not stray by a hair." Under Mingzong he asked me the same question, and I gave the same answer." Gaozu largely approved. Dao once asked to retire. Gaozu did not read the memorial but sent the Prince of Zheng to visit him, saying, "If you do not come out tomorrow, I will come in person to fetch you. Dao had no choice but to return to office. At the time no one enjoyed such favor.
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晉少帝即位，加守太尉，進封燕國公。 道嘗問朝中熟客曰：「道之在政事堂，人有何說？」 客曰：「是非相半。」 道曰：「凡人同者為是，不同為非，而非道者，十恐有九。 昔仲尼聖人也，猶為叔孫武叔所毀，況道之虛薄者乎！」 然道之所持，始終不易。 後有人間道於少帝曰：「道好平時宰相，無以濟其艱難，如禪僧不可呼鷹耳！」 由是出道為同州節度使。 歲餘，移鎮南陽，加中書令。 契丹入汴，道自襄、鄧召入，戎王因從容問曰：「天下百姓，如何可救？」 道曰：「此時百姓，佛再出救不得，惟皇帝救得。」 其後衣冠不至傷夷，皆道與趙延壽陰護之所至也。 是歲三月，隨契丹北行，與晉室公卿俱抵常山。 俄而比主卒，永康王代統其眾。 及北去，留其族嘉裏以據常山。 時漢軍憤激，因共逐出嘉裏，尋復其城。 道率同列四出按撫，因事從宜，各安其所。 人或推其功，道曰：「儒臣何能為，皆諸將之力也。」 道以德重，人所取則，乃為眾擇諸將之勤宿者，以騎校白再榮權為其帥，軍民由是帖然，道首有力焉。 道在常山，見有中國士女為契丹所俘者，出橐裝以贖之，皆寄於高尼精舍，後相次訪其家以歸之。 又，契丹先留道與李崧、和凝及文武官等在常山，是歲閏七月二十九日，契丹有詔追崧，令選朝士十人赴木葉山行事。 契丹麻答召道等至帳所，欲諭之，崧偶先至，知其意，懼形於色。 契丹麻答將以明日與朝士齊遣之，崧乃不俟道，與凝先出，既而相遇於帳門之外，因與分手俱歸。 俄而李筠等縱火與契丹交鬥，鼓槊相及。 是日若齊至，與麻答相見，稍或躊躇，則悉為俘矣。 時論者以道布衣有至行，立公朝有重望，其陰報昭感，多此類也。
When the Young Emperor of Later Jin succeeded, Dao was made acting Grand Commandant and Duke of Yan. Dao once asked a court acquaintance, "What do people say about me in the Hall of Administration? The guest said, "Opinion is evenly split." Dao said, "Men call agreement right and disagreement wrong—and I daresay nine in ten call me wrong. Confucius himself was slandered by Shusun Wushu—what of someone as slight as me!" Yet Dao never changed what he held to from first to last. Later someone told the Young Emperor, "Dao is a peacetime minister who cannot meet crisis—like a Chan monk who cannot hunt with hawks! For this Dao was posted out as military governor of Tongzhou. After a year he was transferred to Nanyang and made Director of the Secretariat. When the Khitan took Bian, Dao was summoned from Xiang and Deng. The Khitan ruler asked him casually, "How can the people of the realm be saved? Dao said, "At this hour not even the Buddha reborn could save them—only the emperor can." Afterward the gentry were spared harm—thanks to the secret protection of Dao and Zhao Yanshou. That March he marched north with the Khitan and reached Changshan with the Jin court. Soon the Khitan ruler died and the Prince of Yongkang took command of his forces. On the march north they left their clansman Jiali to hold Changshan. The Han troops, furious, drove Jiali out and soon retook the city. Dao led his colleagues out in all directions to pacify the people, adapting to circumstances until each was settled. When men praised his achievement, Dao said, "What could a scholar-official do? It was all the generals' work. Because men looked to his moral weight, he chose the most seasoned generals and made the cavalry officer Bai Zairong acting commander. Army and people settled down, and Dao was chiefly responsible. At Changshan he saw Chinese men and women taken by the Khitan; he paid from his purse to ransom them, lodged them at a nunnery, and later found their families and sent them home. The Khitan had left Dao with Li Song, He Ning, and the rest at Changshan. On the twenty-ninth of the intercalary seventh month the Khitan summoned Song and ordered ten court scholars chosen for service at Mount Muye. The Khitan Maduo summoned them to his tent. Song arrived first, guessed his intent, and fear showed on his face. Maduo meant to send them off with the court scholars the next day. Song left without waiting for Dao, together with He Ning; they met outside the tent, parted, and went home together. Soon Li Yun and others set fires and fought the Khitan hand to hand. Had they all arrived that day and met Maduo, the slightest hesitation would have made captives of them all. Commentators held that Dao, a commoner of supreme conduct who commanded great respect at court, received many such hidden rewards and manifest responses.
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及自常山入覲，漢祖嘉之，拜守太師。 〈（《洛陽搢紳舊聞記》：贈大監張公璨，漢祖即位之初為上黨戎判。 漢祖在北京時，大聚甲兵，禁牛皮不得私貿易及民間盜用之，如有牛死，即時官納其皮，其有犯者甚眾。 及即大位，三司舉行請禁天下牛皮法，與河東時同，天下苦之。 會上黨民犯牛皮者二十餘人，獄成，罪俱當死。 大監時為判官，獨執曰：「主上欽明，三司不合如此起請，二十餘人死尚間可，使天下犯者皆銜冤而死乎！ 且主上在河東，大聚甲兵，須藉牛皮，嚴禁可也，今為天下君，何少牛皮，立法至於此乎！」 遂封奏之。 時三司使方用事，執政之地，除馮瀛王外皆惡之，曰：「豈有州郡使敢非朝廷詔敕！」 力言於漢祖。 漢祖亦怒曰：「昭義一判官，是何敢如此！ 其犯牛皮者，依敕俱死。 大監以非毀詔敕，亦死。」 敕未下，獨瀛王非時請見。 漢祖出，瀛王曰：「陛下在河東時，斷牛皮可也，今既有天下，牛皮不合禁。 陛下赤子枉死之，亦足為陛下惜。 昭義判官，以卑位食陛下祿，居陛下官，不惜軀命，敢執而奏之，可賞不可殺。 臣當輔弼之任，使此敕枉害天下人性命，臣不能早奏，使陛下正，臣罪當誅。」 稽首再拜。 又曰：「張璨不合加罪，望加敕赦之。」 漢祖久之曰：「已行之矣。」 馮瀛王曰：「敕未下。」 漢祖遽曰：「與赦之。」 馮曰：「勒停可乎？」 上曰：「可。」 由是改其敕，記其略曰：「三司邦計，國法攸依，張璨體事未明，執理乖當，宜停見職，犯牛皮者貸命放之。」 大監聽宣敕訖，聞敕云「執理乖當」，尚曰：「中書自不能執理，若一一教外道判官執理，則焉用彼相乎！」）〉 乾祐中，道奉朝請外，平居自適。 一日，著《長樂老自敘》云：
When he came from Changshan to court, Gaozu of Later Han commended him and made him acting Grand Preceptor. (Old Hearings among the Gentry of Luoyang: Zhang Gongcan, posthumously Grand Director, was military judge at Shangdang early in Gaozu's reign.) When Gaozu was at Beijing he massed armor and troops and banned private trade in ox hides; any dead ox's hide had to be turned in at once. Violations were countless. On taking the throne the Three Departments proposed enforcing the hide ban empire-wide as in Hedong, and the realm groaned under it. More than twenty Shangdang men violated the hide law; their cases were closed and all faced death. Zhang, then judge, alone objected: "Our lord is discerning; the Three Departments should not propose this. Twenty deaths might be bearable—but shall every violator in the realm die wrongfully? In Hedong he needed hides for armor—a strict ban made sense. Now he rules the realm—what shortage of hides requires law this harsh? He sealed and submitted a memorial. The Three Departments were in power; everyone in government except the Prince of Ying hated him and said, "How dare a prefectural commissioner oppose an imperial edict! They pressed Gaozu hard. Gaozu was furious: "A mere judge of Zhaoyi—how dare he! Let every violator die as the edict commands. Zhang, for denouncing the edict, shall die as well. Before the edict issued, the Prince of Ying alone sought an unscheduled audience. When Gaozu came out, the Prince of Ying said, "In Hedong a hide ban was fitting; now that you rule the realm, hides should not be banned. Your people would die wrongfully—that alone is reason to grieve for you. The Zhaoyi judge, in a humble post on your salary, risked his life to memorialize—he should be rewarded, not executed. I hold the duty of counselor; that this edict would wrongfully kill people across the realm—I failed to speak early and set you right. My crime deserves death. He kowtowed twice. He added, "Zhang Can should not be punished—I beg an edict to pardon him. After a long pause Gaozu said, "It has already been done." The Prince of Ying said, "The edict has not gone out." Gaozu said quickly, "Pardon them." Feng said, "Would halting it suffice?" The emperor said, "Yes." The edict was changed to read in substance: "The Three Departments manage state finance. Zhang Can misunderstood the matter and handled it wrongly; remove him from office. Spare the hide-law violators and release them." When Zhang heard the edict read and the phrase "handling of principle was improper," he still said, "If the Secretariat cannot handle principle and every provincial judge must do it, what are chief ministers for!" )〉 During Qianyou Dao attended court when required but otherwise lived at ease. One day he wrote his "Autobiography of the Old Man of Everlasting Joy," which reads:
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余世家宗族，本始平、長樂二郡，歷代之名實，具載於國史家牒。 余先自燕亡歸晉，事莊宗、明宗、閔帝、清泰帝，又事晉高祖皇帝、少帝。 契丹據汴京，為北主所制，自鎮州與文武臣僚、馬步將士歸漢朝，事高祖皇帝、今上。 顧以久叨祿位，備歷艱危，上顯祖宗，下光親戚。 亡曾祖諱湊，累贈至太傅，亡曾祖母崔氏，追封梁國太夫人； 亡祖諱炯，累贈至太師，亡祖母褚氏，追封吳國太夫人； 亡父諱良建，秘書少監致仕，累贈至尚書令，母張氏，追封魏國太夫人。
My clan for generations has roots in Shiping and Changle; each generation's record is in the histories and family registers. I fled Yan's fall to Jin and served Zhuangzong, Mingzong, Min, and Qingtai, then Gaozu and the Young Emperor of Later Jin. When the Khitan held Bian I was held by the northern ruler; from Zhenzhou I returned to Han with officials and troops and now serve Gaozu and the present emperor. Long enjoying rank and passing through every trial, I have honored my ancestors above and my kin below. My late great-grandfather Cou was posthumously made Grand Tutor; my late great-grandmother, née Cui, Grand Lady of Liang; my late grandfather Jiong, Grand Preceptor; my late grandmother, née Chu, Grand Lady of Wu; my late father Liangjian, retired Vice Director of the Secretariat, posthumously Director of the Department of State Affairs; my mother, née Zhang, Grand Lady of Wei.
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余階自將仕郎，轉朝議郎、朝散大夫、銀青光祿大夫、金紫光祿大夫、特進、開府儀同三司。 職自幽州節度巡官、河東節度巡官、掌書記，再為翰林學士，改授端明殿學士、集賢殿大學士、太微宮使，再為宏文館大學士，又充諸道鹽鐵轉運使、南郊大禮使、明宗皇帝晉高祖皇帝山陵使，再授定國軍節度、同州管內觀察處置等使，一為長春宮使，又授武勝軍節度、鄧隨均房等州管內觀察處置等使。 官自攝幽府參軍、試大理評事、檢校尚書祠部郎中兼侍御史、檢校吏部郎中兼御史中丞、檢校太尉、同中書門下平章事、檢校太師、兼侍中，又授檢校太師、兼中書令。 正官自行臺中書舍人，再為戶部侍郎，轉兵部侍郎、中書侍郎，再為門下侍郎、刑部吏部尚書、右僕射，三為司空，兩在中書，一守本官，又授司徒、兼侍中，賜私門十六戟，又授太尉、兼侍中，又授戎太傅，又授漢太師。 爵自開國男至開國公、魯國公，再封秦國公、梁國公、燕國公、齊國公。 食邑自三百戶至一萬一千戶，食實封自一百戶至一千八百戶。 勛自柱國至上柱國。 功臣名自經邦致理翊贊功臣至守正崇德保邦致理功臣、安時處順守義崇靜功臣、崇仁保德寧邦翊聖功臣。
My ranks ran from Gentleman for Merit through court grand master titles to Special Advancement and Grand General with the Ceremonies of the Three Dukes. My posts ran from Youzhou and Hedong inspector to chief secretary; twice Hanlin academician; then academician of the Hall of Illuminated Clarity, grand academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, Taiwei Palace commissioner, and Hongwen grand academician; also salt-and-iron transport commissioner, southern suburban rites commissioner, and tomb commissioner for Mingzong and Gaozu of Jin; twice military governor of the Dingguo army and Tongzhou observation commissioner; once Everlasting Spring Palace commissioner; and military governor of the Wusheng army with observation over Deng, Sui, Jun, Fang, and other prefectures. My offices ran from acting Youzhou aide and probationary judicial reviewer through acting ministry directors with censorial posts to acting Grand Commandant, Grand Councilor, acting Grand Preceptor with Palace Attendant, and again acting Grand Preceptor with Director of the Secretariat. My regular offices ran from Secretariat drafting secretary to twice Vice Minister of Revenue, then Vice Ministers of War and Secretariat, Vice Director of the Chancellery, Ministers of Justice and Personnel, and Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs; thrice Minister of Works; then Grand Mentor with Palace Attendant, sixteen halberds for my gate, Grand Commandant with Palace Attendant, Khitan Grand Tutor, and Han Grand Preceptor. My titles ran from founding viscount to founding duke and Duke of Lu, then Duke of Qin, Liang, Yan, and Qi. My nominal fief ran from three hundred to eleven thousand households; my actual fief from one hundred to eighteen hundred. My orders of merit ran from Pillar of the State to Supreme Pillar. My merit titles ran from "Orders the State and Brings Order" through "Upholds Rectitude and Preserves the State" and "Keeps the Times and Upholds Righteousness" to "Honors Benevolence and Pacifies the State."
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先娶故德州戶掾褚諱濆女，早亡，後娶故景州弓高縣孫明府諱師禮女，累封蜀國夫人。 亡長子平，自秘書郎授右拾遺、工部度支員外郎； 次子吉，自秘書省校書郎授膳部金部職方員外郎、屯田郎中； 第三亡子可，自秘書省正字授殿中丞、工部戶部員外郎； 第四子幼亡； 第五子義，自秘書郎改授銀青光祿大夫、檢校國子祭酒兼御史中丞，充定國軍衙內都指揮使，職罷改授朝散大夫、左春坊太子司議郎、授太常丞； 第六子正，自協律郎改授銀青光祿大夫、檢校國子祭酒兼御史中丞，充定國軍節度使，職罷改授朝散大夫、太僕丞。 長女適故兵部崔侍郎諱衍子太僕少卿名絢，封萬年縣君； 三女子早亡。 二孫幼亡。 唐長興二年敕，瀛州景城縣莊來蘇鄉改為元輔鄉，朝漢裏為孝行裏。 洛南莊貫河南府洛陽縣三州鄉靈臺裏，奉晉天福五年敕，三州鄉改為上相鄉，靈臺裏改為中臺裏，時守司徒、兼侍中； 又奉八年敕，上相鄉改為太尉鄉，中臺裏改為侍中裏，時守太尉、兼侍中。
I first married the daughter of the late Chu Fen, clerk of Dezhou, who died young; later I married the daughter of the late Sun Shili, magistrate of Gonggao, enfeoffed as Lady of Shu. My late eldest son Ping, from Secretariat secretary to Right Reminder and Vice Director of Revenue Accounts; my second son Ji, from Secretariat collator to vice director in several boards and director in the Board of State Farms; my late third son Ke, from Secretariat proofreader to Palace Vice Director and vice director in Works and Revenue; my fourth son died young; my fifth son Yi, from secretary to silver-seal grand master, acting chancellor of education with Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Dingguo headquarters commander; later court grand master, heir-apparent discussion master, and Vice Director of Imperial Sacrifices; my sixth son Zheng, from master of harmonics to silver-seal grand master, acting education chancellor with Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Dingguo military governor; later court grand master and Vice Director of the Imperial Stud. My eldest daughter married Xuan, son of the late Vice Minister Cui Yan, Vice Director of the Imperial Stud, and was Lady of Wannian County; three daughters died young. Two grandsons died young. By edict in Changxing 2, Laisu Township in Jingcheng, Yingzhou, became Yuanfu Township and Chaohan Lane became Xiaoxing Lane. My Luonan estate lay in Lingtai Lane, Sanzhou Township, Luoyang. By Tianfu 5 edict, Sanzhou became Shangxiang Township and Lingtai became Zhongtai Lane, when I was Grand Mentor with Palace Attendant; by the eighth-year edict, Shangxiang became Taiwei Township and Zhongtai became Shizhong Lane, when I was Grand Commandant with Palace Attendant.
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靜思本末，慶及存亡，蓋自國恩，盡從家法，承訓誨之旨，關教化之源，在孝於家，在忠於國，口無不道之言，門無不義之貨。 所願者下不欺於地，中不欺於人，上不欺於天，以三不欺為素。 賤如是，貴如是，長如是，老如是，事親、事君、事長、臨人之道，曠蒙天恕，累經難而獲多福，曾陷蕃而歸中華，非人之謀，是天之祐。 六合之內有幸者，百歲之後有歸所。 無以珠玉含，當以時服斂，以籧篨葬，及擇不食之地而葬焉，以不及於古人故。 祭以特羊，戒殺生也，當以不害命之物祭。 無立神道碑，以三代墳前不獲立碑故。 無請謚號，以無德故。 又念自賓佐至王佐及領藩鎮時，或有微益於國之事節，皆形於公籍。 所著文章篇詠，因多事散失外，收拾得者，編於家集，其間見其志，知之者，罪之者，未知眾寡矣。 有莊、有宅、有群書，有三子可以襲其業。 於此日五盥，日三省，尚猶日知其所亡，月無忘其所能。 為子、為弟、為人臣、為師長、為夫、為父，有子、有猶子、有孫，奉身即有餘矣。 為時乃不足，不足者何？ 不能為大君致一統、定八方，誠有愧於歷職歷官，何以答乾坤之施。 時開一卷，時飲一杯，食味別聲、被色，老安於當代耶！ 老而自樂，何樂如之！ 時乾祐三年朱明月長樂老序云。
Reflecting on my life, my blessings reach living and dead—from the state's grace and my family's law. I took instruction to heart, the root of civilization: filial at home, loyal to the state; no improper word, no ill-gotten goods at my door. My wish is never to deceive earth below, men in the middle, or Heaven above—I make these three honesties my standard. Humble or exalted, young or old, I have been the same in serving parents, ruler, elders, and those I meet. Heaven has pardoned me; through repeated trials I have gained blessing; once captive among barbarians I returned to China—not by human design but by Heaven's grace. Among all under heaven, the fortunate have a place to return to after a hundred years. Put no pearls in my mouth; bury me in seasonable clothes in a plain bamboo coffin on untilled ground—for I do not measure up to the ancients. Sacrifice with a single ram; I forbid killing—use offerings that do not take life. Erect no spirit-way stele, for the ancients set none at the tomb. Request no posthumous title, for I have no virtue. I also recall that from aide to chief counselor and military governor, any small service to the state is in the public record. My essays and poems, apart from many lost in busy times, are gathered in a family collection. Whether those who know my intent or condemn me are many or few, I cannot tell. I have land, a house, many books, and three sons to carry on my work. Each day I bathe five times and examine myself thrice; still each day I learn what I lack and each month I remember what I can do. As son, brother, subject, teacher, husband, and father—with sons, a nephew's son, and grandsons—in my person I already have more than enough. For the times I am not enough—what is lacking? I could not bring unity to my lord or pacify the realm—I am ashamed of every office I have held. How can I repay Heaven and Earth? Now and then I read, now and then I drink; I taste, listen, and dress in color—growing old at ease in my own time! Old and content—what greater joy is there! Thus ends the preface of the Old Man of Everlasting Joy, dated Qianyou 3.
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及太祖平內難，議立徐州節度使劉赟為漢嗣，遣道與秘書監趙上交、樞密直學士王度等往迎之。 道尋與赟自徐赴汴，行至宋州，會澶州軍變。 樞密使王峻遣郭崇領兵至，屯於衙門外，時道與上交等宿於衙內。 是日，赟率左右甲士闔門登樓，詰崇所自，崇言太祖已副推戴。 左右知其事變，以為道所賣，皆欲殺道等以自快。 趙上交與王度聞之，皆惶怖不知所為，惟道偃仰自適，略無懼色，尋亦獲免焉。 道微時嘗賦詩云：「終聞海嶽歸明主，未省乾坤陷吉人。」 至是其言驗矣。 〈（《青箱雜記》載馮道詩全篇云：莫為危時便愴神，前程往往有期因，終聞海嶽歸明主，未省乾坤陷吉人。 道德幾時曾去世，舟車何處不通津，但教方寸無諸惡，狼虎叢中也立身。）〉 廣順初，復拜太師、中書令，太祖甚重之，每進對不以名呼。 及太祖崩，世宗以道為山陵使。 會河東劉崇入寇，世宗召大臣議欲親征，道諫止之，世宗因言：「唐初，天下草寇蜂起，並是太宗親平之。」 道奏曰：「陛下得如太宗否？」 世宗怒曰：「馮道何相少也！」 乃罷。 及世宗親征，不及扈從，留道奉太祖山陵。 時道已抱疾。 及山陵禮畢，奉神主歸舊宮，未及祔廟，一夕薨於其第，時顯德元年四月十七日也，享年七十有三。 世宗聞之，輟視朝三日，冊贈尚書令，追封瀛王，謚曰文懿。
When Taizu pacified the internal crisis, the court resolved to make Liu Yun of Xuzhou heir to Han and sent Dao with Zhao Shangjiao, Wang Du, and others to welcome him. Dao soon accompanied Yun from Xuzhou toward Bian; at Songzhou the Danzhou army mutinied. Wang Jun sent Guo Chong with troops, who camped outside the gate while Dao and Shangjiao lodged inside. That day Yun shut the gate, mounted the tower with his guards, and demanded where Chong came from. Chong said Taizu had already been acclaimed. His attendants, learning what had happened, thought Dao had betrayed them and all wanted to kill Dao and the others. Zhao Shangjiao and Wang Du were terrified; only Dao reclined at ease without a trace of fear, and soon all were spared. In his humble days Dao wrote: "Seas and mountains will return to the enlightened lord; Heaven and Earth do not trap the fortunate. On this occasion his words proved true. (Green Box Miscellany gives the full poem: Do not grieve in perilous times; the future has its cause. Seas and mountains return to the enlightened lord; Heaven and Earth do not trap the fortunate.) When did virtue leave the world? Where do boats and carts not cross? Keep the heart free of evil, and you may stand firm even among wolves and tigers.)〉 Early in Guangshun he was again Grand Preceptor and Director of the Secretariat. Taizu greatly valued him and never called him by name in audience. When Taizu died, Shizong made Dao tomb commissioner. When Liu Chong of Hedong invaded, Shizong summoned ministers to discuss campaigning in person. Dao urged him not to. Shizong said, "Early in Tang bandits rose everywhere, and Taizong pacified them himself. Dao said, "Can Your Majesty equal Taizong?" Shizong snapped, "How Feng Dao underestimates me!" The discussion ended. When Shizong campaigned in person, Dao could not accompany him and was left to oversee Taizu's tomb. By then Dao was already ill. When the tomb rites ended he escorted the spirit tablet to the old palace; before it could enter the ancestral temple he died one night at home—on the seventeenth day of the fourth month of Xiande 1, aged seventy-three. Shizong suspended court for three days, posthumously made him Director of the Department of State Affairs, Prince of Ying, and gave him the posthumous title Wényì.
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道歷任四朝，三入中書，在相位二十餘年，以持重鎮俗為己任，未嘗以片簡擾於諸侯，平生甚廉儉。 逮至末年，閨庭之內，稍徇奢靡，其子吉，尤恣狂蕩，道不能制，識者以其不終令譽，鹹嘆惜之。 〈（《五代史補》：馮道之鎮同州也，有酒務吏乞以家財修夫子廟，道以狀付判官參詳其事。 判官素滑稽，因以一絕書判後云：「荊棘森森繞杏壇，儒官高貴盡偷安，若教酒務修夫子，覺我慚惶也大難。」 道覽之有愧色，因出俸重創之。 馮瀛王道之在中書也，有舉子李導投贄所業，馮相見之，戲謂曰：「老夫名道，其來久矣，加以累居相府，秀才不可謂不知，然亦名導，於禮可乎？」 李抗聲對曰：「相公是無寸底道字，小子有寸底導字，何謂不可也！」 公笑曰：「老夫不惟名無寸，諸事亦無寸，吾子可謂知人矣。」 了無怒色。 馮吉，瀛王道之子，能彈琵琶，以皮為弦，世宗嘗令彈於御前，深欣善之，因號其琵琶曰「繞殿雷」也。 道以其惰業，每加譴責，而吉攻之愈精，道益怒，凡與客飲，必使庭立而彈之，曲罷或賜以束帛，命背負之，然後致謝。 道自以為戒勖極矣，吉未能悛改，既而益自若。 道度無可奈何，嘆曰：「百工之司藝而身賤，理使然也。 此子不過太常少卿耳。」 其後果終於此。）〉
Dao served four dynasties, entered the Secretariat three times, and was chief minister for more than twenty years. He steadied custom through weighty conduct, never troubled the regional lords with a note, and lived very frugally. In his last years his household grew somewhat luxurious; his son Ji was especially dissolute, and Dao could not control him. Knowing men regretted that his fine reputation did not endure. (Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties: When Feng Dao governed Tongzhou, a wine-monopoly clerk asked to repair the Confucius temple with his family wealth. Dao referred the petition to his judge.) The judge was witty and appended a quatrain: "Thorns grow thick around the apricot altar; Confucian officials all steal their ease. If the wine office repairs the Master, my shame would be hard to bear. Dao read it with shame and paid from his salary to rebuild the temple properly. When Feng Dao was in the Secretariat, a candidate named Li Dao presented his work. Feng jested, "My name is Dao and has been for a long time; you cannot fail to know it, having come to the chief minister's office—yet you are also named Dao. Is that proper? Li answered boldly, "Your Excellency's Dao has no 'inch' at the bottom; mine has an 'inch' at the bottom—how can it be improper!" Feng laughed and said, "I have no inch not only in my name but in anything. You truly know men." He showed no anger at all. Feng Ji, Dao's son, could play the pipa with leather strings. Shizong had him play before the throne and greatly admired it, naming his pipa "Thunder Rolling Round the Hall." Dao often rebuked him for this idle craft, but Ji practiced all the harder, which angered Dao more. Whenever he entertained guests he made Ji play in the courtyard; when the piece ended he might give silk and make Ji carry it on his back before thanking him. Dao thought he had disciplined him to the limit, but Ji did not reform and grew even more at ease. Dao saw there was nothing to be done and sighed, "Among the hundred crafts, mastery of an art still means low station—that is how things are. This boy will rise no higher than Vice Director of Imperial Sacrifices. In the end he finished his career at exactly that rank.)〉
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史臣曰：道之履行，郁有古人之風； 道之宇量，深得大臣之禮。 然而事四朝，相六帝，可得為忠乎！ 夫一女二夫，人之不幸，況於再三者哉！ 所以飾終之典，不得謚為文貞、文忠者，蓋謂此也。
The historiographer says: In conduct and bearing, Dao had the air of the ancients; in breadth of spirit he deeply understood a great minister's rites. Yet serving four dynasties and counseling six emperors—can this be called loyalty? One woman with two husbands is misfortune enough—how much more a third! Therefore he was not given the posthumous titles Wénzhēn or Wénzhōng in the rites of death—this is what is meant.