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卷八十九 列傳第十九: 耶律庶成 楊佶 耶律韓留 楊佶 耶律和尚

Volume 89 Biographies 19: Yelu Shucheng, Yang Ji, Yelu Hanliu, Yang Ji, Yelu Heshang

Chapter 89 of 遼史 · History of Liao
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Chapter 89
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Yelu Shucheng (Shuzhen and Pulu)]〉 Yang Xi, Yelu Hanliu, Yang Ji, and Yelu Heshang
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使 使
Yelu Shucheng, whose style name was Xiyin and childhood name Chenliu, came from the Shufu branch of the imperial clan. His father Wu Jiu held the honorary title of Grand Preceptor. From childhood Shucheng loved learning and never forgot a book after a single reading. He was adept in both Khitan and Chinese writing and was especially accomplished in poetry. Early in the Chongxi reign he entered service as a Seal and Patent Attendant and rose through successive appointments to Academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs. He and Xiao Hanjianu each submitted Rhapsodies on Leisure through the Four Seasons, which the emperor received with warm admiration. At first Khitan physicians seldom knew pulse diagnosis or how to judge medicines. The emperor ordered Shucheng to translate works on pulse lore and put them into practice, after which the art became widely known, and even the tribal peoples learned medical practice. He was regularly summoned into the inner palace to help settle doubtful matters. Together with Grand Preceptor Xiao Hanjianu and others, he compiled the Veritable Records and the Book of Rites. Working with Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs Xiao Dexiu, he revised the statutes. The emperor addressed Shucheng: "At present the penalties in our statutes are inconsistent in severity. Statutes come first in government and bind human lives; they must be handled with the utmost care. Weigh severity and leniency and revise them as you see fit. Shucheng drew on past and present models, corrected errors, completed the work, and submitted it to the throne. The emperor read it and expressed his approval. Just as Shucheng was coming into high favor, his wife Hu Du slandered him; he was stripped of office for a crime and reduced in clan rank to the humiliating designation "Commoner Yelu." He was posted to Tibet for twelve years and did not return until the Qingning reign. The emperor knew he had been wronged, ordered his clan status restored, reinstated the offices that had been stripped from him, and shortly afterward he died.
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While serving as Grand Preceptor, Shucheng dreamed that the skilled diviner Hu Lugu told his fortune: "Your rank will go no higher than Grand Preceptor, and you will fall because of your wife. When the case was brought to judgment, the law required divorce. Hu Du happened to be pregnant, but when her term came she failed to deliver and died. On dissection the child was found clutching its own heart in its hands, which observers took as retribution for her false accusation against her husband. His poetry and prose circulated widely. His younger brother was Shuzhen.
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使 使 使西使 使 使使 西
Pulu, whose style name was Naizhan, was clever and studious from childhood; at only seven he could recite the great Khitan script. He studied Chinese writing and within less than ten years had mastered the classical canon. During the Chongxi reign he passed the jinshi examination. The chief examiner reported to the throne that national law contained no provision for Khitans to sit the jinshi examination. Shuzhen was judged to have presumptuously placed his son in the examination and was given two hundred strokes of the whip. Soon afterward Pulu was appointed Seal and Patent Attendant. When called upon to compose verse at imperial command, he finished a poem on the spot and presented it. The emperor was delighted and remarked to his attendants, "With literary talent like this, he surely cannot be skilled in arms. Pulu replied, "Your servant has been properly instructed from youth and has also trained in riding and archery; among my peers I can still hold my own." The emperor was not yet convinced. Once on a hunt he brought down three hares with three arrows. The emperor was astonished and promoted him to Tongjin. About that time his father Shuzhen sent him an admonitory poem, to which Pulu replied with a rhapsody that everyone praised for its refinement. Imperial favor toward him steadily increased. He died early in the Qingning reign. Yang Xi, whose style name was Changshi, was a native of Anci. From childhood he grasped the essential meaning of the Five Classics. When Emperor Shengzong heard of his exceptional intelligence, he ordered a trial lecture and appointed him Collator of the Secretariat. In the eleventh year of the Taiping era he passed the jinshi examination in the second class and was appointed Assistant Gentleman for Compilation. In the twelfth year of Chongxi he rose through successive appointments to Chief Secretariat Attendant of the Bureau of Military Affairs and Acting Commissioner of Revenue. His answers in audience pleased the emperor, and he was promoted to Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. He served as military governor of Changning Circuit, transport commissioner of the Shanxi Route, and prefect of Xingzhong. Early in Qingning he entered court service as Commissioner of the Southern Bureau of Military Affairs and, together with Yao Jingxing, directed the government. He petitioned for the performance of the firewood-register enthronement rite. He was enfeoffed as Duke of Zhao. Because of a foot ailment he returned to serve as prefect of Xingzhong. Early in Xianyong his fief was transferred to Qi. Summoned to court, he received the title Meritous Minister of Shared Virtue, was made Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs with concurrent appointment as Central Secretariat Director, and was appointed Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. His fief was then changed to Jin, he was granted the attendants allotted to both the chancellor's and the commissioner's offices, and he was enfeoffed as Prince of Zhao. He repeatedly asked to retire from government, was further granted the title Meritous Minister Who Preserves Integrity, and left office. In the fifth year of Dakang his title was changed by precedent to Prince of Liaoxi Commandery, and he died.
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使使使使 使 殿 使
Yang Ji, whose style name was Zhengshu, was a native of Nanjing. As a child his intelligence was extraordinary: when he read he could compose sentences on his own, and observers regarded him as remarkable. By the time he came of age his reputation was already widespread. In the twenty-fourth year of Tonghe he placed first in the jinshi examination and served successively as collator and director of the Court of Judicial Review. In the sixth year of Kaitai he was transferred to Gentleman of the Bureau of Rites, placed in charge of written commands, and given the additional title Remonstrating Grand Master. Posted as prefect of Yizhou, he governed with clarity and restraint, and in levies and scheduled deliveries he was always reliable. He was recalled to the capital as vice director of the Court of Judicial Review. He rose through successive appointments to Hanlin Academician, and his writings were praised as always apt in tone. In the eighth year famine and pestilence struck the Yan region, and many people died wandering in destitution. Ji was appointed associate administrator of the Nanjing garrison, opened the granaries, and relieved the needy; for poor families who had sold their children, he calculated wages so they could be redeemed. When Song sent Mei Xun to congratulate the Thousand-Year Festival, the emperor ordered Ji to receive and escort him. They exchanged many poems in correspondence, and Mei repeatedly praised him in their meetings. He was again appointed Hanlin Academician. In the first year of Chongxi he was promoted to chief Hanlin Academician. After his mother's death he entered mourning, but was soon recalled to serve as Minister of Works. He served as military governor of Zhongshun Circuit, commissioner for observation and disposition of Shuowu and other prefectures, and military governor of the Tiande Army. He received the additional titles Special Advanced Grand Master and Acting Grand Preceptor with the title associate grand councilor, was again appointed participant in governance, and concurrently served as commissioner of the Southern Bureau of Military Affairs. In the fifteenth year he was posted as military governor of Wuding Circuit. His jurisdiction suffered severe drought, and the crops were on the verge of withering. On the evening he assumed office, rain fell in abundance. The people sang, "How shall we be revived? Heaven sends rain. Who will care for us? Lord Yang is our lord. The Luoyang River had left its old channel and each year brought harm to the people, so he used his own salary to build a long bridge, sparing travelers the hardship of crossing. When he was recalled to court, the people of the commandery clung to his carriage and wept as they bade him farewell. The emperor entertained him in the Qingliang Hall to honor his service and that same day appointed him Minister of Personnel with concurrent posts as vice director of the Gate Department and associate grand councilor. The emperor said, "How is the favor shown you today any less than what Lü Wang received from King Wen! Ji replied, "Compared with me, Lü Wang met his opportunity a full ten years too late." The emperor was delighted. In office as chancellor he made advancing worthy men his chief duty, kept to the broad outlines of policy, held every office accountable, and all were glad to serve under him. He asked three times to retire from government and was permitted to do so, receiving monthly stipends of money, grain, and attendants, with envoys sent in every season to inquire after his welfare. He died. His collection Ascending to the Immortal Isles circulated widely.
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使使 使 使使
Yelu Heshang, whose style name was Temuo, came from the Shufu branch of the imperial clan. He was skilled in witty and humorous speech. Early in the Chongxi reign he entered service as an attendant in waiting. The emperor was then deeply devoted to his kinsmen; all descendants of the three paternal uncles were ranked by paternal generation, and he was especially intimate and affectionate toward Heshang. Yet whenever he attended banquets, though playful in manner, he never let a single improper word slip, and for this the emperor esteemed him all the more. He served as commissioner of the Jiqing and Yongxing Palaces and rose through successive appointments to associate commissioner of the Southern Bureau of the Palace Secretariat and grand preceptor of the Southern Court. In the sixteenth year he was posted as military governor of Huaihua Circuit and was soon recalled as censor-in-chief. In the twenty-third year, on the occasion of the great enfeoffment, he received the additional titles military governor of Tianping Circuit and acting grand preceptor, was transferred to investigation commissioner of the Zhongjing Route, and died.
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Heshang was known for his fine character and often used his wealth to help kinsmen and friends; everyone loved and respected him. Yet he loved wine and neglected official business, and for this reason never gained real authority. When others remonstrated with him, he replied, "It is not that I do not understand, but human life is like a lamp in the wind or a spark on flint—if I do not drink, what else is there to do? In his later years he sank even deeper into drink, and people called him the Wine Immortal.
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The appraisal says: By fixing the statutes, Shucheng ensured that those who governed the people could not manipulate penalties at will. Although Shuzhen once memorialized to expand the clan registers and set ritual precedence, his readiness to bend with changing fortunes left him shamed before his son Pulu. Yang Xi enjoyed the emperor's favor and received repeated enfeoffments as prince, yet his substantive achievements are scarcely to be seen. Yet in mastering the essentials of caring for the people and governing the realm—surely that was Yang Ji!
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