1
室昉耶律賢適女裏郭襲耶律阿沒裏
Shi Fang, Yelu Xianshi, Nuli, Guo Xi, and Yelu Ameli.
2
室昉，字夢奇，南京人。 幼謹厚篤學，不出外戶者二十年，雖里人莫識。 其精如此。 會同初，登進士第，為盧龍巡捕官。 太宗入汴受冊禮，詔昉知制誥，總禮儀事。 天祿中，為南京留守判官。 應歷間，累遷翰林學士，出入禁闥十餘年。 保寧間，兼政事舍人，數延問古今治亂得失，奏對稱旨。 上多昉有理劇才，改南京副留守，決訟平允，人皆便之。 遷工部尚書，尋改樞密副使，參知政事。 頃之，拜樞密使，兼北府宰相，加同政事門下平章事。 乾亨初，監修國史。 統和元年，告老，不許。 進《尚書·無逸篇》以諫，太后聞而嘉獎。 二年秋，詔修諸嶺路，昉發民夫二十萬，一日畢功。 是時，昉與韓德讓、耶律斜軫相友善，同心輔政，整析蠹弊，知無不言，務在息民薄賦，以故法度修明，朝無異議。 八年，復請致政。 詔入朝免拜，賜几杖，太后遣閣門使李從訓持詔勞問，令常居南京，封鄭國公。 初，晉國公主建佛寺於南京，上許賜額。 昉奏曰：「詔書悉罪無名寺院。 今以主請賜額，不惟違前詔，恐此風愈熾。」 上從之。 表進所撰《實錄》二十卷，手詔褒之，加政事令，賜帛六百匹。 九年，薦韓德讓自代，不從。 上以昉年老苦寒，賜貂皮衾褥，許乘輦入朝。 病劇，遣翰林學士張幹就第授中京留守，加尚父。 卒，年七十五。 上嗟悼，輟朝二日，贈尚書令。 遺言戒厚葬。 恐人譽過情，自誌其墓。
Shi Fang, whose courtesy name was Mengqi, came from Nanjing. As a boy he was careful, steadfast, and devoted to study; for twenty years he never stepped outside his gate, and even his neighbors scarcely knew him. Such was the depth of his dedication. In the early Tonghe reign he earned the jinshi degree and was appointed a patrol officer in Lulong. When Emperor Taizong entered Bian to receive the investiture rites, Fang was appointed Director of Imperial Edicts with overall charge of ceremonial matters. During the Tianlu reign he served as registrar to the Nanjing retention commissioner. In the Yingli period he rose through repeated promotions to Hanlin Academician and for more than ten years passed in and out of the inner palace. Under Baoning he also held the post of Secretariat drafter; the emperor often called him in to discuss what had succeeded or failed in governance through the ages, and his answers always pleased the throne. The emperor admired Fang's gift for settling knotty legal disputes; he was made deputy Nanjing retention commissioner, where his judgments were fair and even-handed, to everyone's satisfaction. He was promoted to Minister of Works, then shortly afterward made deputy commissioner of military affairs and participant in governance. Before long he was appointed commissioner of military affairs and concurrent northern chancellery chancellor, with the added title of associate chief administrator under the Gate. At the opening of the Qianheng reign he supervised compilation of the national history. In the first year of Tonghe he asked to retire on account of age, but the request was denied. He submitted the "Against Dissipation" chapter of the Documents as a remonstrance; when the empress dowager heard of it, she praised him. That autumn in the second year, when an edict ordered repairs to the mountain passes, Fang drafted two hundred thousand laborers and finished the work in a single day. At this time Fang was close to Han Derang and Yelu Xiezhen; working in concert they helped govern the realm, rooted out entrenched abuses, and spoke frankly on every matter they knew; their aim was to give the people respite and lighten taxes, so that statutes were kept in good order and the court heard no dissent. In the eighth year he again asked to retire from office. He was ordered, when coming to court, to be excused from bowing and was granted a folding stool and staff; the empress dowager sent the gate commissioner Li Congxun with an edict to comfort and inquire after him, directed that he make his permanent home at Nanjing, and enfeoffed him as Duke of Zheng. Earlier the Princess of Jin had built a Buddhist temple at Nanjing, and the emperor had agreed to bestow an imperial inscription for its plaque. Fang submitted a memorial saying, "Imperial edicts have condemned every unlicensed monastery. To grant a plaque now simply because the princess asks would not only violate those earlier orders but would, I fear, only fan this trend." The emperor accepted his view. He presented in a memorial the twenty-scroll Veritable Records he had compiled; the emperor answered with a handwritten commendation, promoted him to chief administrator, and granted six hundred bolts of silk. In the ninth year he recommended Han Derang to succeed him, but the throne did not agree. Seeing that Fang was old and suffering in the bitter cold, the emperor gave him a sable quilt and bedding and allowed him to come to court by palanquin. When his illness grew grave, the emperor sent the Hanlin academician Zhang Gan to his home to appoint him Zhongjing retention commissioner and add the honorific Father of the State. He died at the age of seventy-five. The emperor mourned him deeply, suspended court for two days, and posthumously appointed him Grand Preceptor of the Secretariat. In his final instructions he warned against an extravagant funeral. Fearing that others would praise him beyond what was deserved, he composed his own tomb inscription.
3
耶律賢適，字阿古真，於越魯不古之子。 嗜學，有大志，滑稽玩世，人莫之知。 惟於越屋質器之，嘗謂人曰：「是人當國，天下幸甚。」 應歷中，朝臣多以言獲譴，賢適樂於靜退，遊獵自娛，與親朋言不及時事。 會討烏古還，擢右皮室詳穩。 景宗在藩邸，常與韓匡嗣、女裏等遊，言或刺譏，賢適勸以宜早疏絕，由是穆宗終不見疑，賢適之力也。 景宗立，以功加檢校太保，尋遙授寧江軍節度使，賜推忠協力功臣。 時帝初踐阼，多疑諸王或萌非望，陰以賢適為腹心，加特進同中書門下平章事。 保寧二年秋，拜北院樞密使，兼侍中，賜保節功臣。 三年，為西北路兵馬都部署。 賢適忠介膚敏，推誠待人，雖燕息不忘政務。 以故百司首職，罔敢偷惰，累年滯獄悉決之。 大丞相高勛、契丹行宮都部署女裏席寵放恣，及帝姨母、保母勢薰灼，一時納賂請謁，門若賈區。 賢適患之，言於帝，不報； 以病解職，又不允，令鑄手印行事。 乾亨初，疾篤，得請。 明年，封西平郡王，薨，年五十三。 子觀音，大同軍節度使。
Yelu Xianshi, whose courtesy name was Aguzhen, was the son of the yuyue Lubugu. He loved learning and harbored great ambitions, yet affected a witty, world-weary manner, and no one recognized his true capacity. Only the yuyue Wuzhi valued him and once said to others, "If this man should govern the realm, the world would be most fortunate." In the Yingli period many courtiers were punished for what they said; Xianshi took pleasure in quiet withdrawal, diverted himself with hunting, and in conversation with kin and friends never mentioned affairs of the day. On returning from the campaign against the Wugu, he was promoted to detailed commissioner of the right pishi guard. While Jingzong still lived in the princely residence he often went about with Han Kuangsi, Nuli, and others, and their talk sometimes turned cutting and satirical; Xianshi urged him to break off such ties early, and for this reason Muzong never came to suspect him—a service owed to Xianshi. When Jingzong ascended the throne, he was made acting grand guardian for his services, then soon given the remote appointment of military commissioner of the Ningjiang army and granted the title Merit of Loyal Cooperation. The emperor had only just taken the throne and feared that some of the princes might harbor designs beyond their station; he secretly made Xianshi his trusted confidant and specially advanced him to grand mentor with concurrent rank as associate chief administrator of the Secretariat. In the autumn of the second year of Baoning he was appointed north chancellery commissioner of military affairs and concurrent palace attendant, and granted the title Merit of Protecting the Realm. In the third year he was made commander-in-chief of troops on the northwest route. Xianshi was loyal, upright, and keenly perceptive; he dealt with others in good faith and never set state affairs aside, even in moments of leisure. For this reason the heads of every office dared not slacken, and lawsuits that had languished for years were all brought to judgment. Grand Chancellor Gao Xun and the Khitan mobile-palace chief deployment Nuli basked in favor and gave free rein to their desires; together with the emperor's aunt and his nurses their power blazed so hot that for a time their gates, crowded with bribes and petitioners, seemed a marketplace. Xianshi was troubled by this and spoke to the emperor, but received no answer; he asked to resign on grounds of illness, but that too was refused, and he was ordered to have an official seal cast so that he might continue to transact business. At the beginning of Qianheng his illness became grave, and his request was finally granted. The following year he was enfeoffed as Prince of Xiping and died at the age of fifty-three. His son Guanyin became military commissioner of the Datong army.
4
女裏素貪，同列蕭阿不底亦好賄，二人相善。 人有氈裘為枲耳子所著者，或戲曰：「若遇女裏、阿不底，必盡取之！」 傳以為笑。 其貪猥如此。 保寧末，坐私藏甲五百屬，有司方按詰，女裏袖中又得殺樞密使蕭思溫賊書，賜死。
Nuli was greedy by nature; his colleague Xiao Abudi was likewise fond of bribes, and the two were close. When someone's felt coat had been eaten through by pests, people would jest, "If this falls into the hands of Nuli and Abudi, they'll take every scrap of it!" The remark passed around as a standing joke. Such was the depth of their greed and baseness. Near the end of Baoning he was charged with privately hoarding five hundred suits of armor while the authorities were still investigating; from Nuli's sleeve they also recovered a letter from the assassin of Commissioner of Military Affairs Xiao Siwen, and he was sentenced to death.
5
女裏善識馬，嘗行郊野，見數馬跡，指其一曰：「此奇駿也。」 以己馬易之，果然。
Nuli had a keen eye for horses; once when traveling in the countryside he saw several sets of tracks and pointed to one, saying, "That mark belongs to an exceptional mount." He traded his own horse for the animal in question, and so it proved.
6
郭襲，不知何郡人。 性端介，識治體。 久淹外調。 景宗即位，召見，對稱旨，知可任以事，拜南院樞密使，尋加兼政事令。 以帝數遊獵，襲上書諫曰：「昔唐高祖好獵，蘇世長言不滿十旬未足為樂，高祖即日罷，史稱其美。 伏念聖祖創業艱難，修德布政，宵旰不懈。 穆宗逞無厭之欲，不恤國事，天下愁怨。 陛下繼統，海內翕然望中興之治。 十餘年間，征伐未已，而寇賊未弭； 年谷雖登，而瘡痍未復。 正宜戒懼修省，以懷永圖。 側聞恣意遊獵，甚於往日。 萬一有銜橛之變，搏噬之虞，悔將何及？ 況南有強敵，伺隙而動，聞之得無生心乎？ 伏望陛下節從禽酣飲之樂，為生靈社稷計，則有無疆之休。」 上覽而稱善，賜協贊功臣，拜武定軍節度使，卒。
Guo Xi came from an unknown commandery. He was upright by nature and understood the fundamentals of good government. For many years he languished in provincial appointments. When Jingzong came to the throne, Xi was summoned to court; his answers pleased the emperor, who saw that he could be entrusted with serious business; he was appointed south chancellery commissioner of military affairs and soon given the concurrent title of chief administrator. Because the emperor went hunting so often, Xi submitted a memorial of remonstrance, saying, "In former times Emperor Gaozu of Tang was fond of the chase; when Su Shichang remarked that less than ten days could hardly count as pleasure, Gaozu gave it up that very day, and the historians praised him for it. I reflect that our sacred founder built the realm through hardship, cultivated virtue, spread good government, and from dawn to dusk never slackened his efforts. Emperor Muzong gave free rein to insatiable desires and neglected the affairs of state, until the realm groaned with resentment. When Your Majesty succeeded to the throne, the realm as one looked to a restoration of good government. For more than ten years campaigns have not ceased, yet bandits and enemies remain unquelled; though the harvest has been good, the wounds of the land are not yet healed. This is precisely the time for vigilance, restraint, and self-examination, with a far-reaching design always in view. I have heard, moreover, that Your Majesty now indulges in hunting more freely than ever before. Should there by any chance be an accident with the bridle or the risk of being torn by beasts, what regret could then avail? Moreover, a powerful enemy lies to the south, watching for an opening to strike; on hearing of this, would he not take heart? I humbly beg Your Majesty to restrain the pleasures of the chase and deep drinking and act for the sake of the people and the altars of state; then blessing without limit will follow." The emperor read the memorial and praised it, granted him the title Merit of Co-assisting, appointed him military commissioner of the Wuding army, and he later died.
7
耶律阿沒裏，字蒲鄰，遙輦嘲古可汗之四世孫。 幼聰敏。 保寧中，為南院宣徽使。 統和初，皇太后稱制，與耶律斜軫參預國論，為都統。 以征高麗功，遷北院宣徽使，加政事令。 四年春，宋將曹彬、米信等侵燕，上親征，阿沒裏為都監，屢破敵軍。 十二年，行在多盜，阿沒裏立禁捕法，盜始息。 先是，叛逆之家，兄弟不知情者亦連坐。 阿沒裏諫曰：「夫兄弟雖曰同胞，賦性各異，一行逆謀，雖不與知，輒坐以法，是刑及無罪也。 自今雖同居兄弟，不知情者免連坐。」 太后嘉納，著為令。 致仕，卒。
Yelu Ameli, whose courtesy name was Pulian, was a fourth-generation descendant of the Yaolian khan Chaogu. Even as a boy he was quick-witted. During Baoning he served as south chancellery commissioner of the palace directorate. At the beginning of Tonghe, when the empress dowager held the regency, he joined Yelu Xiezhen in deliberating on affairs of state and was made commander-in-chief. For his services in the campaign against Goryeo he was promoted to north chancellery commissioner of the palace directorate and given the added title of chief administrator. In the spring of the fourth year the Song generals Cao Bin, Mi Xin, and others invaded Yan; the emperor took the field in person, with Ameli as chief overseer, and repeatedly routed the enemy. In the twelfth year theft was rampant at the mobile palace; Ameli instituted strict prohibition and arrest measures, and the thefts finally subsided. Previously, in cases of treason, brothers who had known nothing of the plot were still punished by association. Ameli remonstrated, saying, "Brothers may share the same womb, yet their natures differ; when one commits treason, to punish even those who knew nothing is to extend the law to the innocent. Henceforth, even among brothers living under the same roof, those who were ignorant of the crime shall be exempt from associated punishment." The empress dowager praised and accepted his advice, and it was written into law. He retired from office and later died.
8
阿沒裏性好聚斂，每從征所掠人口，聚而建城，請為豐州，就以家奴閻貴為刺史，時議鄙之。 子賢哥，左夷離畢。
Ameli was by nature fond of amassing wealth; on every campaign he gathered the people taken in plunder, assembled them to build a city, asked that it be made Feng Prefecture, and appointed his household slave Yan Gui as prefect—an act widely despised at the time. His son Xiange became left yilizhi.
9
論曰：景宗之世，人望中興，豈其勤心庶績而然，蓋承穆宗醟虐之餘，為善易見； 亦由群臣多賢，左右弼諧之力也。 室昉進《無逸》之篇，郭襲陳諫獵之疏，阿沒裏請免同氣之坐，所謂仁人之言，其利溥哉。 賢適忠介，亦近世之名臣。 女裏貪猥，後人所當取鑒者也。
The historian remarks: In Jingzong's reign the people looked for a restoration of good government—was this because the emperor himself labored diligently at every task? Rather, coming after Muzong's dissipation and cruelty, even modest acts of goodness stood out plainly; it was also because so many of his ministers were worthy men, and because of the supporting counsel of those at his side. Shi Fang presented the "Against Dissipation" chapter, Guo Xi submitted his memorial against excessive hunting, and Ameli asked that innocent brothers be spared associated punishment—these are what are called the words of humane men, whose benefit spreads far indeed. Xianshi, loyal and upright, ranks among the celebrated ministers of recent times as well. Nuli, greedy and base, is a man later generations ought to take as a warning.