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○邢簡妻陳氏耶律氏常哥耶律奴妻蕭氏耶律朮者妻蕭氏耶律中妻蕭氏
○ Lady Chen, wife of Xing Jian; the Yelü clanswoman Changge; Lady Xiao, wife of Yelü Nu; Lady Xiao, wife of Yelü Shuzhe; Lady Xiao, wife of Yelü Zhong
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男女居室，人之大倫。 與其得烈女，不若得賢女。 天下而有烈女之名，非幸也。 《詩》贊衛共姜，《春秋》褒宋伯姬，蓋不得已，所以重人倫之變也。 遼據北方，風化視中土為疏。 終遼之世，得賢女二，烈女三，以見人心之天理有不與世道存亡者。
The pairing of men and women in marriage is among the greatest norms of human life. Better to gain a worthy woman than a woman celebrated chiefly for desperate virtue. When the realm must acclaim women chiefly for acts of desperate virtue, that is no blessing. The Book of Songs praises Wei Gong Jiang, and the Spring and Autumn Annals commends Song Bo Ji—each case arose only when there was no other choice, and thus marks how heavily human relations weigh when they are torn apart. With the Liao entrenched in the north, their norms of teaching and custom were held looser than those of the central plains. Across the entire Liao dynasty, only two worthy women and three women of desperate virtue were found—enough to show that the moral principle in human hearts can outlast the fortunes of the age.
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邢簡妻陳氏，營州人。 父陘，五代時累官司徒。 陳氏甫笄，涉通經義，凡覽詩賦，輒能誦，尤好吟詠，時以女秀才名之。 年二十，歸於簡。 孝舅姑，閨門和睦，親黨推重。 有六子，陳氏親教以經。 後二子抱樸、抱質皆以賢，位宰相。 統和十二年卒。 睿智皇后聞之，嗟悼，贈魯國夫人，刻石以表其行。 及遷祔，遣使以祭。 論者謂貞靜柔順，婦道母儀始終無慊雲。
Lady Chen, wife of Xing Jian, came from Yingzhou. Her father Chen Sui rose repeatedly to the post of Grand Preceptor under the Five Dynasties. As soon as Lady Chen came of age, she had mastered the classics; whatever poetry or fu she read, she could recite from memory; she loved composing verse above all, and people called her the "female scholar." At twenty she married Xing Jian. She was devoted to her parents-in-law, kept the household harmonious, and won the respect of kin and neighbors. She bore six sons and taught them the classics herself. Two of her sons, Baopu and Baozhi, later proved themselves worthy men and rose to the chancellorship. She died in the twelfth year of Tonghe (994). When Empress Dowager Ruizhi heard of her death, she sighed in grief, granted her the title Lady of Lu, and had a stone inscription carved to commemorate her conduct. When her remains were moved to joint burial with her husband, the court sent an envoy to perform the rites. Commentators said she was chaste, quiet, gentle, and compliant—a model of wifehood and motherhood from first to last, without a single lapse.
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耶律氏，太師適魯之妹，小字常哥。 幼爽秀，有成人風。 及長，操行修潔，自誓不嫁。 能詩文，不茍作。 讀《通曆》，見前人得失，歷能品藻。 咸雍間，作文以述時政。 其略曰：「君以民為體，民以君為心。 人主當任忠賢，人臣當去比周，則政化平，陰陽順。 欲懷遠則崇恩尚德，欲強國則輕徭薄賦。 四端五典為治教之本，六府三事實生民之命。 淫侈可以為戒，勤儉可以為師。 錯枉則人不敢詐，顯忠則人不敢欺。 勿泥空門，崇飾土木； 勿事邊鄙，妄費金帛。 滿當思溢，安必慮危。 刑罰當罪，則民勸善。 不寶遠物，則賢者至。 建萬世磐石之業，制諸部強橫之心。 欲率下則先正身，欲治遠則始朝廷。」 上稱善。 時樞密使耶律乙辛愛其才，屢求詩，常哥遺以回文。 乙辛知其諷己，銜之。 大康三年，皇太子坐事，乙辛誣以罪，按無跡，獲免。 會兄適魯謫鎮州，常哥與俱，常布衣疏食。 人問曰：「何自苦如此？」 對曰：「皇儲無罪遭廢，我輩豈可美食安寢。」 及太子被害，不勝哀痛。 年七十，卒於家。
A woman of the Yelü clan, sister of Grand Preceptor Shilu, was known by the childhood name Changge. As a child she was bright and graceful, with the poise of a grown woman. When she came of age, her conduct was refined and pure, and she vowed never to marry. She could write poetry and prose, but would not compose lightly or without purpose. Reading the Comprehensive Chronicles, she could appraise and classify the successes and failures of past rulers whenever she encountered them. During the Xianyong reign she wrote an essay setting forth her views on current affairs. Its gist ran: "The ruler takes the people as his body; the people take the ruler as their heart. The sovereign should employ the loyal and worthy; ministers should cast off cliques and factions—then government will be even and yin and yang will be in harmony. To win over distant peoples, honor benevolence and virtue; to strengthen the state, lighten corvée labor and reduce taxes. The Four Beginnings and Five Canons are the foundation of rule and instruction; the Six Storehouses and Three Affairs are the lifeblood of the people. Let extravagance be your warning and thrift your teacher. Set crooked things straight and none will dare to cheat; make loyalty plain and none will dare to deceive. Do not cling to the empty gates of Buddhism, lavishing adornment on earth and timber; do not treat the borderlands lightly, squandering gold and silk in vain. When the cup is full, think of spillage; when you are secure, reckon with danger. When punishments fit the crime, the people are moved toward goodness. If you do not treasure exotic goods from afar, the worthy will come to you. Build an enterprise firm as bedrock for ten thousand generations, and curb the overbearing hearts of the tribes. To lead those below, first set your own person right; to govern what is distant, begin at court." The emperor praised her essay as excellent. At the time Commissioner of Military Affairs Yelü Yixin admired her talent and repeatedly asked her for poems; Changge sent him a palindrome verse in reply. Yixin knew she was satirizing him and harbored a grudge. In the third year of Dakang (1077), when the heir apparent was implicated in a case, Yixin falsely charged him with a crime; the investigation found no evidence, and the prince was spared. When her elder brother Shilu was banished to Zhen Prefecture, Changge went with him and lived always in plain clothes on simple fare. Someone asked her, "Why do you torment yourself like this?" She answered, "The heir apparent was innocent yet deposed—how can people like us eat fine food and sleep in peace?" When the heir apparent was killed, her grief was beyond bearing. At seventy she died at home.
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耶律奴妻蕭氏，小字意辛，國舅駙馬都尉陶蘇斡之女。 母胡獨公主。 意幸美姿容，年二十始適奴。 事親睦族，以孝謹聞。 嘗與娣姒會，爭言厭魅以取夫寵，意辛曰：「厭魅不若禮法。」 眾問其故，意辛曰：「修己以潔，奉長以敬，事夫以柔，撫下以寬，毋使君子見其輕易，此之為禮法，自然取重於夫。 以厭魅獲寵，獨不愧於心乎！」 聞者大慚。 初，奴與樞密使乙辛有隙。 及皇太子廢，被誣奪爵，沒入興聖宮，流烏古部。 上以意辛公主之女，欲使絕婚。 意辛辭曰：「陛下以妾葭莩之親，使免流竄，實天地之恩。 然夫歸之義，生死以之。 妾自笄年從奴，一旦臨難，頓爾乖離，背綱常之道，於禽獸何異？ 幸陛下哀憐，與奴俱行，妾即死無恨！」 帝感其言，從之。 意辛久在貶所，親執役事，雖勞無難色。 事夫禮敬，有加於舊。 壽隆中，上書乞子孫為著帳郎君。 帝嘉其節，召舉家還。 子國隱，乾統間始仕。 保大中，意辛在臨潢，謂諸子曰：「吾度盧彥倫必叛，汝輩速避，我當死之。」 賊至，遇害。
Lady Xiao, wife of Yelü Nu, known by the childhood name Yixin, was the daughter of the State Uncle and Princess Consort Taosuwo. Her mother was Princess Hudu. Yixin was graced with fine features; at twenty she was first married to Nu. She treated her kin with care and kept the clan harmonious, and was known for filial devotion. Once, at a gathering of sisters-in-law, they argued over whether witchcraft was the better way to win a husband's favor; Yixin said, "Witchcraft is not as good as ritual propriety." When they asked why, Yixin said, "Cultivate yourself in purity, serve your elders with respect, attend your husband with gentleness, and treat those below with generosity; do not let any worthy man see you behave lightly. That is ritual propriety, and by it you will naturally win your husband's regard. To win favor through witchcraft—would you not be ashamed before your own heart!" Those who heard were deeply ashamed. Earlier, Nu and Commissioner of Military Affairs Yixin had been at odds. When the heir apparent was deposed, Nu was falsely accused, stripped of his rank, confined in the Xingsheng Palace, and exiled to the Wugu tribe. Because Yixin was a princess's daughter, the emperor wished to dissolve the marriage. Yixin declined, saying, "Your Majesty, because I am kin by marriage, has spared me banishment—that is grace vast as Heaven and Earth. Yet the righteousness of a wife who follows her husband is to live and die with him. From the day I pinned up my hair I have followed Nu; now, at the first stroke of hardship, to be torn from him at once and turn my back on the constant way—how would that differ from the beasts? If Your Majesty will pity me and let me go with Nu, I shall die without regret!" The emperor, moved by her words, granted her request. Yixin long remained in exile, personally performing menial labor; though the work was hard, her face showed no distress. In serving her husband with ritual respect, she was even more devoted than before. During Shoulong she submitted a memorial asking that her sons and grandsons be enrolled as registered gentlemen of the imperial clan. The emperor praised her integrity and summoned her entire household home. Her son Guoyin first entered office during Qiantong. During Baoda, while Yixin was at Linhuang, she told her sons, "I am sure Lu Yanlun will rebel—you must flee at once; I shall die for it." When the rebels came, she was killed.
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耶律術者妻蕭氏，小字訛裏本，國舅孛堇之女。 性端愨，有容色，自幼與他女異。 年十八歸術者。 謹裕貞婉，娣姒推尊之。 及居術者喪，極哀毀。 既葬，謂所親曰：「夫婦之道，如陰陽表裏。 無陽則陰不能立，無表則裏無所附。 妾今不幸失所天，且生必有死，理之自然。 術者早歲登朝，有才不壽。 天禍妾身，罹此酷罰，復何依恃。 儻死者可見，則從； 不可見，則當與俱。」 侍婢慰勉，竟無回意，自刃而卒。
Lady Xiao, wife of Yelü Shuzhe, known by the childhood name Eoliben, was the daughter of the State Uncle and Tribal Chief. Upright and sincere by nature, with a comely bearing, she had been unlike other girls since childhood. At eighteen she married Shuzhe. Careful, generous, chaste, and graceful, she was esteemed by her sisters-in-law. During mourning for Shuzhe, her grief and self-mortification were extreme. After the burial she said to those close to her, "The way of husband and wife is like yin and yang, outer and inner. Without yang, yin cannot stand; without the outer, the inner has nothing to which it may attach. I have now unhappily lost my Heaven-appointed husband; yet where there is life there must be death—that is the nature of principle. Shuzhe entered court while still young; he had talent but not long life. Heaven has afflicted me with this cruel blow—what is left for me to rely upon? If the dead can be seen, I shall follow; if they cannot be seen, I shall die with him." Her serving maids urged and comforted her, but she would not change her mind and killed herself with a blade.
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耶律中妻蕭氏，小字挼蘭，韓國王惠之四世孫。 聰慧謹願。 年二十歸於中，事夫敬順，親戚咸譽其德。 中嘗謂曰：「汝可粗知書，以前貞淑為鑒。」 遂發心誦習，多涉古今。 天慶中，為賊所執，潛置刃於履，誓曰：「人欲汙我者，即死之。」 至夜，賊遁而免。 久之，帝召中為五院都監，中謂妻曰：「吾本無宦情，今不能免。 我當以死報國，汝能從我乎？」 挼蘭對曰：「謹奉教。」 及金兵徇地嶺西，盡徙其民，中守節死。 挼蘭悲戚不形於外，人怪之。 俄躍馬突出，至中死所自殺。
Lady Xiao, wife of Yelü Zhong, known by the childhood name Ruolan, was a fourth-generation descendant of King Hui of Han. Intelligent, clever, careful, and dutiful. At twenty she married Zhong; she served her husband with respect and compliance, and kinfolk all praised her virtue. Zhong once told her, "You should gain some rough knowledge of books, and take the chaste and worthy women of old as your mirror." Thereupon she devoted herself to study and recitation, and ranged widely through ancient and modern writings. During Tianqing she was seized by bandits; she secretly hid a blade in her shoe and swore, "Whoever would defile me shall die by it at once." By night the bandits fled, and she escaped. After a long interval the emperor summoned Zhong to be Chief Superintendent of the Five Tribes; Zhong said to his wife, "I never wished for office, yet now I cannot escape it. I shall repay the state with my life—will you follow me?" Ruolan answered, "I respectfully accept your instruction." When Jin troops overran the territory west of the mountains and relocated all the people, Zhong held to his integrity and died. Ruolan showed no outward sign of grief, and people found it strange. Suddenly she spurred her horse and dashed out, rode to where Zhong had died, and killed herself.
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論曰：陳氏以經教二子，並為賢相，耶律氏自潔不嫁，居閨閫之內而不忘忠其君，非賢而能之乎！ 三蕭氏之節，雖烈丈夫有不能者矣
The commentators say: Lady Chen taught her two sons through the classics, and both became worthy chancellors; the Yelü clanswoman kept herself pure and would not marry, yet within the inner quarters she did not forget loyalty to her sovereign—could anyone but a worthy woman do such things? As for the integrity of the three Lady Xiao—even fierce-hearted great men there are who could not have matched it.