Volume 137 Biographies 25: Liu Sanwu, An Ran, Wu Bozong, Wu Chen, Gui Yanliang, Song Ne, Zhao Chu, Li Shuzheng, Liu Song, Luo Furen, Sun Rujing

劉三吾〈（汪睿朱善）〉安然〈（王本等）〉吳伯宗〈（鮑恂任亨泰）〉吳沈桂彥良〈（李希顏徐宗實陳南賓劉淳董子莊趙季通楊黼金實等）〉宋訥〈（許存仁張美和聶鉉貝瓊）〉趙俶〈（錢宰蕭執）〉李叔正劉崧羅復仁〈（孫汝敬）〉

Liu Sanwu (Wang Rui and Zhu Shan)〉 An Ran (Wang Ben and others)〉 Wu Bozong (Bao Xun and Ren Hengtai)〉 Wu Chen and Gui Yanliang (Li Xiyan, Xu Zongshi, Chen Nanbin, Liu Chun, Dong Zizhuang, Zhao Jitong, Yang Fu, Jin Shi, and others)〉 Song Ne (Xu Cunren, Zhang Meihe, Nie Xuan, and Bei Qiong)〉 Zhao Chu (Qian Zai and Xiao Zhi)〉 Li Shuzheng, Liu Song, and Luo Furen (Sun Rujing)〉

劉三吾，茶陵人。初名如孫，以字行。兄耕孫、燾孫皆仕元。耕孫，寧國路推官，死長槍賊難。燾孫，常寧州學正，死僚寇。三吾避兵廣西，行省承制授靜江路儒學副提舉。明兵下廣西，乃歸茶陵。洪武十八年，以茹常薦召至，年七十三矣，奏對稱旨，授左贊善，累遷翰林學士。時天下初平，典章闕略。帝銳意制作，宿儒雕謝，得三吾晚，悅之。一切禮制及三場取士法多所刊定。

Liu Sanwu came from Chaling. Born Rusun, he went by his style name Sanwu. His elder brothers Gengsun and Taosun had both held office under the Yuan. Gengsun had been investigating censor of Ningguo Route and perished in the uprising of the Long-Spear bandits. Taosun had been director of studies at Changning Prefecture and was killed by Liao marauders. Sanwu took refuge from the fighting in Guangxi, where the provincial government provisionally appointed him vice promoter of learning on the Jingjiang circuit. After Ming troops pacified Guangxi, he went home to Chaling. In Hongwu 18, on Ru Chang's recommendation he was called to court at the age of seventy-three. His replies in audience pleased the Emperor, who made him Left Tutor in Virtue and soon promoted him to Hanlin academician. The empire had only lately been pacified, and its institutions and ritual code were still rudimentary. The Emperor was intent on establishing institutions and composing canonical works, but veteran scholars had died off one after another. He gained Sanwu only late in life and was greatly pleased with him. Sanwu revised and settled much of the ritual code and the regulations for selecting scholars in the three examination sessions.

三吾博學，善屬文。帝制《大誥》及《洪範註》成，皆命為序。敕修《省躬錄》、《書傳會選》、《寰宇通志》、《禮制集要》諸書，皆總其事，賜賚甚厚。帝嘗曰：「朕觀奎壁間嘗有黑氣，今消矣，文運其興乎。卿等宜有所述作，以稱朕意。」帝制詩，時令屬和。嘗賜以朝鮮玳瑁筆。朝參，命列侍衛前；燕享，賜坐殿中。與汪睿、朱善稱「三老。」既而三吾年日益老，才力日益減，往往忤意，禮遇亦漸輕。二十三年，授晉世子經，吏部侍郎侯庸劾其怠職。降國子博士，尋還職。

Sanwu was broadly learned and a skilled writer. When the Emperor completed the 《Grand Admonitions》 and the 《Commentary on the Hongfan》, he ordered Sanwu to write prefaces for both. Ordered to compile works such as the 《Record of Self-Examination》, 《Selected Assembly of the Book of Documents》, 《Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Realm》, and 《Collected Essentials of Ritual Institutions》, he directed them all and received lavish rewards. The Emperor once said, "I have seen a dark vapor between the Qu and Bi constellations; it has now cleared. Is the literary fortune about to rise again? You gentlemen ought to produce writings that answer my wish." When the Emperor composed poetry, Sanwu was often ordered to supply matching verses on the seasons. He was once given a tortoiseshell pen from Korea. At court audience he was ordered to stand before the guards; at banquets he was granted a seat in the hall. With Wang Rui and Zhu Shan he was styled the "Three Elders." As Sanwu grew older his powers waned; he often displeased the Emperor, and the honors shown him gradually diminished. In the twenty-third year he was assigned to instruct the heir of the Prince of Jin; Vice Minister of Personnel Hou Yong impeached him for neglect of duty. He was demoted to erudite of the National University, but was soon restored to his post.

琮起刑部檢校。鄉人楊士奇輩貴顯，琮無所攀援。宣德中猶以檢討掌助教事，卒官。

His son Cong rose from a reviewing clerk in the Ministry of Punishments. Fellow townsman Yang Shiji and his circle had risen to high eminence, yet Cong had no patron on whom he could rely. In the Xuande reign he still served as a compiling editor in charge of assistant tutor duties, and died in office.

汪睿，字仲魯，婺源人。元末與弟同集眾保鄉邑，助復饒州。授浮梁州同知，不就。胡大海克休寧，睿兄弟來附，設星源翼分院於婺源，以同為院判。睿歸田裏。庚子秋，同將兵爭鄱陽，不克，棄妻孥，亡之浙西。幕府疑之，檄睿入應天為質。已，聞同為張士誠所殺，乃授睿安慶稅令。未幾，征參贊川蜀軍事。以疾辭去。洪武十七年，復召見，命講《西伯戡黎》篇，授左春坊左司直。常命續《薰風自南來》詩及他應制，皆稱旨。請春夏停決死罪，體天地生物之仁，從之。逾年，疾作，請假歸。睿敦實閑靜，不妄言笑，及進講，遇事輒言。帝嘗以「善人」呼之。

Wang Rui, styled Zhonglu, came from Wuyuan. At the end of the Yuan he and his younger brother Tong raised a force to defend their home district and helped recover Raozhou. He was offered the post of vice prefect of Fuliang but declined it. When Hu Dahai captured Xiuning, the Wang brothers submitted to him, established the Xingyuan wing sub-circuit at Wuyuan, and made Tong its vice commissioner. Rui retired to his home village. In the autumn of the gengzi year Tong led troops to contest Poyang but was defeated; he abandoned his wife and children and fled to western Zhejiang. The headquarters grew suspicious and summoned Rui to Yingtian as a hostage. Later, learning that Tong had been killed by Zhang Shicheng, the court appointed Rui tax commissioner of Anqing. Before long he was summoned to assist in the Sichuan campaign. He pleaded illness and resigned. In Hongwu 17 he was summoned again, ordered to lecture on the 《King Wu's Campaign against Li》 chapter, and appointed Left Rectifier of the Left Secretariat of the Heir Apparent. He was often ordered to continue the poem 《The Fragrant Wind Comes from the South》 and other compositions on imperial command, and all met with approval. He asked that executions be suspended in spring and summer in accord with Heaven and Earth's benevolence in nurturing life, and the Emperor agreed. A year later he fell ill and asked leave to return home. Rui was solid and reserved, seldom laughing or speaking idly, yet when he lectured at court he spoke frankly whenever the occasion arose. The Emperor once called him a "good man."

朱善，字備萬，豐城人。九歲通經史大義，能屬文。元末兵亂，隱山中，事繼母以孝聞。洪武初，為南昌教授。八年，廷對第一，授修撰。逾年，奏對失旨，改典籍，放還鄉。復召為翰林待詔。上疏論婚姻律曰：「民間姑舅及兩姨子女，法不得為婚。仇家詆訟，或已聘見絕，或既婚復離，甚至兒女成行，有司逼奪。按舊律：尊長卑幼相與為婚者有禁。蓋謂母之姊妹，與己之身，是為姑舅兩姨，不可以卑幼上匹尊屬。若姑舅兩姨子女，無尊卑之嫌。成周時，王朝相與為婚者，不過齊、宋、陳、杞。故稱異姓大國曰「伯舅」，小國曰「叔舅」。列國齊、宋、魯、秦、晉，亦各自為甥舅之國。後世，晉王、謝，唐崔、盧，潘、楊之睦，朱、陳之好，皆世為婚媾。溫嶠以舅子娶姑女，呂滎公夫人張氏即其母申國夫人姊女。古人如此甚多，願下群臣議，馳其禁。」帝許之。十八年擢文淵閣大學士。嘗講《家人卦》、《心箴》，帝大悅。未幾，請告歸。卒年七十二。著有《詩經解頤》、《史輯》傳於世。正德中，謚文恪。

Zhu Shan, styled Beiwang, came from Fengcheng. At nine he had mastered the broad meaning of the classics and histories and could write prose. When warfare engulfed the realm at the end of the Yuan, he lived in seclusion in the mountains and was known for his filial care of his stepmother. Early in the Hongwu reign he served as professor at Nanchang. In the eighth year he placed first in the palace examination and was appointed reviser. A year later his answers in audience displeased the Emperor; he was transferred to archivist and sent home. He was summoned again as a Hanlin awaiting edict. He submitted a memorial on the marriage law, saying, "Among the people, marriage between children of paternal uncles and aunts and of maternal aunts on both sides is forbidden by law. Rival families bring suits; betrothals are broken off, marriages already contracted are dissolved, and in extreme cases where children have already grown up, officials force the families apart. According to the old statute, marriage between persons of unequal generational standing is forbidden. This refers to one's mother's sisters, who stand in the relation of paternal aunt and maternal aunt to oneself; a junior may not marry a senior kinswoman. But among children of paternal uncles and aunts and of maternal aunts on both sides there is no question of senior and junior standing. In the age of the Cheng Zhou, the royal house intermarried with no more than Qi, Song, Chen, and Qi of the cadet line. Hence great states of different surnames were called "elder uncle by marriage," and small states "younger uncle by marriage." Among the feudal states Qi, Song, Lu, Qin, and Jin likewise each formed networks of marriage between nephews and uncles. In later ages the Wang and Xie of Jin, the Cui and Lu of Tang, the friendly houses of Pan and Yang, and the close ties of Zhu and Chen—all maintained marriage alliances for generations. Wen Jiao married his paternal aunt's daughter though he was his maternal aunt's son; Lady Zhang, wife of the Duke of Lü from Ying, was her mother's elder sister's daughter. The ancients did likewise in very many cases. I beg that Your Majesty submit the matter to the ministers for deliberation and lift this prohibition." The Emperor granted the request. In the eighteenth year he was promoted to Grand Academician of the Wenyuan Pavilion. He once lectured on the 《Family》 hexagram and the 《Heart Admonition》, and the Emperor was greatly pleased. Before long he asked leave to return home. He died at the age of seventy-two. His works 《Exegesis of the Odes for Nourishing the Cheeks》 and 《Historical Compendium》 have been handed down. In the Zhengde reign he was given the posthumous title Wenge.

安然，祥符人，徙居潁州。元季以左丞守萊州。明兵下山東，率眾歸附。累官山東參政。撫綏流移，俸余悉給公用，帝聞而嘉之。洪武二年，召為工部尚書，出為河南參政，歷浙江布政使，入為御史臺右大夫。十三年改左中丞，坐事免。未幾，召為四輔官。

An Ran came from Xiangfu and later moved to Yingzhou. At the end of the Yuan he served as left councillor defending Laizhou. When Ming forces entered Shandong, he led his followers in submission. He rose through offices to administrative commissioner of Shandong. He pacified displaced populations and gave all his salary surplus to public use; when the Emperor heard of it he praised him. In Hongwu 2 he was summoned as Minister of Works, then sent out as Henan administrative commissioner, served as Zhejiang provincial administration commissioner, and entered the capital as Right Censor of the Censorate. In the thirteenth year he was made Left Vice Censor-in-Chief but was dismissed for an offense. Before long he was summoned as one of the Four Assistants.

先是，胡惟庸謀反伏誅，帝以歷代丞相多擅權，遂罷中書省，分其職於六部。既又念密勿論思不可無人，乃建四輔官，以四時為號，詔天下舉賢才。戶部尚書範敏薦耆儒王本、杜佑、龔斅，杜斅、趙民望、吳源等。召至，告於太廟，以本、佑、龔斅為春官；杜斅、民望、源為夏官。秋、冬闕，命本等攝之。位都督次，屢賜敕諭，隆以坐論之禮，命協贊政事，均調四時。會立冬，朔風釀寒。帝以為順冬令，乃本等功，賜敕嘉勉。又月分三旬，人各司之，以雨昜時若，驗其稱職與否。刑官議獄，四輔及諫院覆核奏行，有疑讞，四輔官封駁。

Earlier, after Hu Weiyong's plot to rebel was exposed and he was executed, the Emperor, reflecting that chancellors of successive dynasties had often monopolized power, abolished the Secretariat and divided its duties among the Six Ministries. He then reflected that confidential deliberation could not be left without men, and so established the office of the Four Assistants, titled after the four seasons, and ordered the realm to recommend worthy talent. Minister of Revenue Fan Min recommended veteran scholars Wang Ben, Du You, and Gong Xiao, along with Gong Xiao, Zhao Minwang, Wu Yuan, and others. When they arrived, the appointment was announced at the Imperial Ancestral Temple: Wang Ben, Du You, and Gong Xiao were made Spring Officials; Du Xiao, Minwang, and Yuan were made Summer Officials. The Autumn and Winter posts were left vacant, and Ben and the others were ordered to serve in those capacities as well. They ranked just below regional commanders, received repeated imperial rescripts, were honored with the seated deliberation rite, and were charged to assist in government and harmonize the four seasons. When winter began, the north wind brought cold. The Emperor took this as conforming to the winter ordinance and as the achievement of Ben and his colleagues, and sent a rescript of praise. The month was also divided into three ten-day periods, each man taking one, so that rain and sunshine might come in season and their fitness for office could be tested. When penal officials deliberated cases, the Four Assistants and the Remonstrance Bureau reviewed them before memorializing for action; in doubtful cases the Four Assistants returned the documents with objections.

居無何，斅等四人相繼致仕，召然代之。本後坐事誅。諸人皆老儒，起田家，惇樸無他長。獨然久歷中外，練達庶務，眷註特隆。十四年八月卒。帝念然來歸之誠，親制文祭之。繼然為四輔者，李幹、何顯周。幹出為知府，佑、顯周俱罷去，是官遂廢不復設。

Before long Xiao and the other four retired in succession, and Ran was summoned to take their place. Ben was later executed for an offense. All these men were elderly Confucians raised from farming families, honest and plain, without other special talents. Only Ran had long served both in the capital and in the provinces, was practiced in routine affairs, and received exceptional favor. He died in the eighth month of the fourteenth year. Mindful of Ran's sincerity in submitting to the Ming cause, the Emperor personally composed a sacrificial text for him. Those who succeeded Ran as Four Assistants were Li Gan and He Xianzhou. Gan was sent out as prefect; You and Xianzhou were both dismissed, and the office was then abolished and never re-established.

本，不詳其籍裏。佑，安邑人。嘗三主本布政司鄉試，稱得人。龔斅，鉛出人。以行誼重於鄉。致仕後，復起為國子司業，歷祭酒。坐放諸生假不奏聞，免。杜斅，字致道，壺關人。舉元鄉試第一，歷官臺州學正。歸家教授。通《易》、《詩》、《書》三經。源，莆田人。亦再征為國子司業，卒於官。民望，槁城人。幹，絳州人。顯周，內黃人。

Ben's native place is not recorded. You came from Anyi. He thrice served as chief examiner of the provincial civil examinations and was praised for selecting the right men. Gong Xiao came from Yanshan. He was esteemed in his home district for conduct and righteousness. After retirement he was recalled as vice director of the National University and rose to director. He was dismissed for granting students leave without reporting it to the throne. Du Xiao, styled Zhidao, came from Huguan. He placed first in the Yuan provincial examination and served as director of studies at Taizhou. He returned home to teach. He mastered the three classics: the 《Changes》, the 《Odes》, and the 《Documents》. Yuan came from Putian. He too was twice summoned as vice director of the National University and died in office. Minwang came from Gaocheng. Gan came from Jiangzhou. Xianzhou came from Neihuang.

吳伯宗，名祐，以字行，金谿人。洪武四年，廷試第一。時開科之始，帝親制策問。得伯宗甚喜，賜冠帶袍笏，授禮部員外郎，與修《大明日歷》。胡惟庸用事，欲人附己，伯宗不為屈。惟庸銜之，坐事謫居鳳陽。上書論時政，因言惟庸專恣不法，不宜獨任，久之必為國患。辭甚愷切。帝得奏，召還，賜衣鈔。奉使安南，稱旨。除國子助教，命進講東宮。首陳正心誠意之說。改翰林典籍。帝制十題命賦，援筆立就，詞旨雅潔。賜織金錦衣。除太常司丞，辭。改國子司業，又辭。忤旨，貶金縣教諭。未至，詔還為翰林檢討。十五年進武英殿大學士。明年冬，坐弟仲實為三河知縣薦舉不實，詞連伯宗，降檢討。伯宗為人溫厚，然內剛，不茍弇阿，故屢躓。逾年，卒於官。伯宗成進士，考試官則宋濂、鮑恂也。

Wu Bozong, born You, went by his style name and came from Jinxi. In Hongwu 4 he placed first in the palace examination. It was the beginning of the civil examinations, and the Emperor personally composed the policy questions. Delighted with Bozong, the Emperor bestowed cap, belt, robe, and tablet, appointed him vice director in the Ministry of Rites, and had him assist in compiling the 《Great Ming Calendar》. When Hu Weiyong held power he wanted men to attach themselves to him, but Bozong would not yield. Weiyong bore a grudge and had him banished to Fengyang on a charge. He submitted a memorial on current affairs, saying that Weiyong was willful and lawless, unfit to hold power alone, and that in time he would surely become a peril to the state. His language was earnest and moving. When the Emperor received the memorial he summoned him back and bestowed clothing and paper money. Sent as envoy to Annan, he pleased the Emperor. He was appointed assistant tutor of the National University and ordered to lecture in the Eastern Palace. He first set forth the doctrine of rectifying the mind and making the will sincere. He was transferred to Hanlin archivist. The Emperor set ten topics and ordered rhapsodies; Bozong took up the brush and finished at once, his diction elegant and refined. He was granted a brocaded gold-thread robe. He was appointed vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices but declined. He was transferred to vice director of the National University and again declined. Having offended the Emperor, he was demoted to instructor at Jin County. Before he arrived, an edict recalled him as Hanlin compiling editor. In the fifteenth year he was promoted to Grand Academician of the Wuying Hall. The next winter, because his younger brother Zhongshi as magistrate of Sanhe had made a false recommendation, the case implicated Bozong, and he was demoted to compiling editor. Bozong was mild in manner yet inwardly firm, unwilling to flatter or truckle, and therefore stumbled repeatedly in his career. A year later he died in office. When Bozong became a presented scholar, his examiners were Song Lian and Bao Xun.

恂，字仲孚，崇德人。受《易》於臨川吳澄。好古力行，著《大易傳義》，學者稱之。元至正中，以薦授溫州路學正。尋召入翰林，不就。洪武四年，初科舉取士，召為同考官。試已，辭去。十五年與吉安余詮、高郵張長年、登州張紳，皆以明經老成為禮部主事劉庸所薦，召至京。恂年八十余，長年、詮亦皆逾七十矣。賜坐顧問。翌日並命為文華殿大學士，皆以老疾固辭，遂放還。紳後至，以為鄠縣教諭，尋召為右僉都御史，終浙江左布政使。其明年以耆儒征者，曰全思誠，字希賢，上海人，亦授文華殿大學士。又明年請老，賜敕致仕。

Bao Xun, styled Zhongfu, came from Chongde. He studied the 《Changes》 under Wu Cheng of Linchuan. He loved antiquity and practiced earnestly, authored the 《Exegesis of the Great Changes》, and scholars praised him. In the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan he was recommended and appointed director of studies on the Wenzhou circuit. Soon summoned to the Hanlin Academy, he declined. In Hongwu 4, at the first civil examination for selecting scholars, he was summoned as co-examiner. When the examination was over he resigned and left. In the fifteenth year he, together with Yu Quan of Ji'an, Zhang Changnian of Gaoyou, and Zhang Shen of Dengzhou—all elderly masters of the classics recommended by Liu Yong of the Ministry of Rites—was summoned to the capital. Xun was over eighty; Changnian and Quan were also past seventy. They were granted seats and consulted. The next day all were appointed Grand Academicians of the Wenhua Hall; all firmly declined on grounds of age and illness and were sent home. Shen arrived later, was made instructor of Hu County, was soon summoned as Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, and ended as Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Zhejiang. The next year another elderly scholar was summoned: Quan Sicheng, styled Xixian, from Shanghai, who was also appointed Grand Academician of the Wenhua Hall. The year after that he asked to retire on account of age and was granted an edict of retirement.

伯宗之使安南也，以名德為交人所重。其後，襄陽任亨泰亦舉洪武二十一年進士第一，以禮部尚書使安南，交人以為榮。前後使安南者，並稱吳、任雲。

When Bozong served as envoy to Annan, the people of Jiaozhi esteemed him for his reputation and virtue. Later Ren Hengtai of Xiangyang also placed first among presented scholars in Hongwu 21 and, as Minister of Rites, was envoy to Annan; the people of Jiaozhi took it as an honor. Envoys to Annan before and after were all styled "the clouds of Wu and Ren."

亨泰為禮部尚書時，日照民江伯兒以母病殺其三歲子祀岱嶽。有司以聞。帝怒其滅絕倫理，杖百，戍海南。因命亨泰定旌表孝行事例。亨泰議曰：「人子事親，居則致其敬，養則致其樂，有疾則謹其醫藥。臥冰割股，事非恒經。割股不已，致於割肝，割肝不已，至於殺子。違道傷生，莫此為甚。墮宗絕祀，尤不孝之大者，宜嚴行戒諭。倘愚昧無知，亦聽其所為，不在旌表之例。」詔曰「可」。明年，議秦王喪禮，因定凡世子襲爵之禮。會討龍州趙宗壽，命偕御史嚴震直使安南，諭以謹邊方，無納逋逃。時帝以安南篡弒，絕其貢使。至是聞詔使至，震恐。亨泰為書，述朝廷用兵之故以安慰之，交人大悅。使還，以私市蠻人為仆，降御史。未幾，思明土官與安南爭界，詞復連亨泰，坐免官。

When Hengtai was Minister of Rites, Jiang Bo'er of Rizhao killed his three-year-old son to sacrifice to Mount Tai because his mother was ill. The local officials reported it to the throne. The Emperor, enraged at this violation of human relations, had him beaten one hundred strokes and exiled to Hainan. He therefore ordered Hengtai to fix regulations for honoring filial conduct. Hengtai proposed, "A son serving his parents should show respect in daily life, give joy in nurturing them, and be careful with medicine when they are ill. Lying on ice or cutting flesh from one's thigh are not established norms. Cutting the thigh without stopping leads to cutting the liver; cutting the liver without stopping leads to killing one's child. Nothing violates the Way and harms life more than this. To destroy one's lineage and cut off sacrifice is the greatest of unfilial acts; strict warnings should be issued. If men are foolish and ignorant, let them do as they will; such cases are not to receive public honors." An edict said, "Approved." The next year, while deliberating the mourning rites for the Prince of Qin, he fixed the rites for heirs apparent inheriting noble rank in general. When the court was discussing Zhao Zongshou of Longzhou, he was ordered together with Censor Yan Zhenzhi to go as envoy to Annan, instructing them to guard the frontier carefully and not harbor fugitives. At that time the Emperor, because Annan had usurped and murdered its ruler, had cut off its tribute missions. When they now heard that imperial envoys had arrived, they were terrified. Hengtai wrote a letter explaining why the court had used troops, to reassure them; the people of Jiaozhi were greatly pleased. On his return from the mission he was demoted to censor for privately purchasing barbarians as servants. Before long the native official of Siming disputed the border with Annan; the case again implicated Hengtai, and he was dismissed from office.

吳沈，字浚仲，蘭溪人。元國子博士師道子也，以學行聞。太祖下婺州，召沈及同郡許元、葉瓚玉、胡翰、汪仲山、李公常、金信、徐孳、童冀、戴良、吳履、孫履、張起敬會食省中，日令二人進講經史。已，命沈為郡學訓導。

Wu Chen, styled Junzhong, came from Lanxi. He was the son of Shidao, erudite of the Yuan National University, and was known for learning and conduct. When the Founding Emperor took Wuzhou, he summoned Chen together with Xu Yuan, Ye Zanyu, Hu Han, Wang Zhongshan, Li Gongchang, Jin Xin, Xu Zi, Tong Ji, Dai Liang, Wu Lü, Sun Lü, and Zhang Qijing of the same commandery to dine in the provincial office, ordering two men each day to lecture on the classics and histories. Later he appointed Chen instructor of the prefectural school.

洪武初，郡以儒士舉，誤上其名曰信仲，授翰林院待制。沈謂修撰王厘曰：「名誤不更，是欺罔也。」將白於朝。厘言：「恐觸上怒」。沈不從，牒請改正。帝喜曰：「誠愨人也。」遂眷遇之，召侍左右。以事降編修。給事中鄭相同言：「故事啟事東宮，惟東宮官屬稱臣，朝臣則否。今一體稱臣，於禮未安。」沈駁之曰：「東宮，國之大本。尊東宮，所以尊主上也。相同言非是。」帝從之。尋以奏對失旨，降翰林院典籍。已，擢東閣大學士。

Early in Hongwu the prefecture recommended him as a Confucian scholar; his name was mistakenly submitted as Xinzhong, and he was appointed Hanlin awaiting edict. Chen said to reviser Wang Li, "If the name is wrong and is not corrected, that is deception." He was about to report it to the court. Li said, "I fear it may provoke the Emperor's anger." Chen would not agree and submitted a formal request for correction. The Emperor was pleased and said, "He is truly a sincere and upright man." Thereupon the Emperor treated him with special favor and summoned him to serve at his side. Over some matter he was demoted to compiler. Supervising secretary Zheng Xiangtong said, "By precedent, when reporting affairs to the Eastern Palace, only Eastern Palace officials styled themselves 'your subject'; court officials did not. Now everyone alike calls himself 'your subject'; in ritual terms this is improper." Chen rebutted him, saying, "The Eastern Palace is the great foundation of the state. To honor the Eastern Palace is to honor the ruler above. What Xiangtong said is wrong." The Emperor sided with him. Soon afterward, because his answers at audience missed the Emperor's intent, he was demoted to Hanlin Academy archivist. Later he was promoted to Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion.

初，帝謂沈曰：「聖賢立教有三：曰敬天，曰忠君，曰孝親。散在經卷，未易會其要領。爾等以三事編輯。」至是書成，賜名《精誠錄》，命沈撰序。居一年，降翰林侍書，改國子博士，以老歸。沈嘗著辯，言「孔子封王為非禮」。後布政使夏寅、祭酒丘浚皆沿其說。至嘉靖九年，更定祀典，改稱「至聖先師」，實自沈發之也。

Earlier the Emperor had said to Chen, "The sages established teaching in three matters: reverence for Heaven, loyalty to the ruler, and filial devotion to parents. They are scattered through the classics and not easy to grasp in their essentials. You are to compile and edit them around these three themes." By then the work was finished. It was given the title 《Record of Sincerity》, and Chen was ordered to write the preface. After a year he was demoted to Hanlin attendant scribe, reassigned as erudite of the National University, and retired home because of old age. Chen once wrote a disputation arguing that "enfeoffing Confucius as a king was not in accord with ritual propriety." Later provincial administration commissioner Xia Yin and chancellor of the National University Qiu Jun both adopted his view. By the ninth year of Jiajing the sacrificial canon was revised and the title changed to "Most Sage-like First Teacher"—a change that in fact began with Chen.

桂彥良，名德偁，以字行，慈谿人。元鄉貢進士，為平江路學教授，罷歸。張士誠、方國珍交辟，不就。洪武六年，征詣公車，授太子正字。帝嘗出禦制詩文，彥良就禦座前朗誦，聲徹殿外，左右驚愕，帝嘉其樸直。時選國子生蔣學等為給事中，舉人張唯等為編修，肄業文華堂。命彥良及宋濂、孔克表為之師。嘗從容有所咨問，彥良對必以正。帝每稱善，書其語揭便殿。七年冬至，詞臣撰南郊祝文用「予」、「我」字。帝以為不敬。彥良曰：「成湯祭上帝曰『予小子履』；武王祀文王之詩曰「『我將我享』。古有此言。」帝色霽曰：「正字言是也。」時御史臺具獄，令詞臣覆讞。彥良所論釋者數十人。

Gui Yanliang, whose personal name was Decheng, went by his style name; he came from Cixi. Under the Yuan he passed the metropolitan examination as a provincial nominee, served as professor of the Pingjiang Route school, and was dismissed and sent home. Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen both repeatedly invited him to serve; he refused. In the sixth year of Hongwu he was summoned to court and appointed Chief Rectifier to the Heir Apparent. Once when the Emperor produced his own poetry and prose, Yanliang read them aloud before the throne until his voice carried outside the hall. Those standing by were astonished, and the Emperor praised his plain, straightforward manner. At that time selected National University students such as Jiang Xue were appointed supervising secretaries, and presented scholars such as Zhang Wei were appointed compilers to study at the Wenhua Hall. Yanliang, Song Lian, and Kong Kebiao were appointed to teach them. When the Emperor casually questioned him, Yanliang always answered with rectitude. The Emperor often praised him and had his words written out and posted in the side hall. On the Winter Solstice of the seventh year, the literary officials drafted the southern suburban prayer using the first-person pronouns "yu" and "wo." The Emperor regarded this as disrespectful. Yanliang said, "When Cheng Tang sacrificed to the Supreme Lord he said, 'I, the little child Lu'; and in the poem on King Wu's sacrifice to King Wen it says, "'I bring and I offer. Such language existed in antiquity." The Emperor's expression cleared and he said, "The Chief Rectifier is right." At that time the Censorate prepared cases and ordered the literary officials to review the judgments. Several dozen people were released through Yanliang's review.

遷晉王府右傅。帝親為文賜之。彥良入謝。帝曰：「江南大儒，惟卿一人。」對曰：「臣不如宋濂、劉基。」帝曰「濂，文人耳；基，峻隘，不如卿也。」彥良至晉，制《格心圖》獻王。後更王府官制，改左長史。朝京師，上太平十二策。帝曰：「彥良所陳，通達事體，有裨治道。世謂儒者泥古不通今，若彥良可謂通儒矣。」十八年請告歸，越二年卒。

He was transferred to Right Tutor in the Prince of Jin's household. The Emperor personally wrote an essay and bestowed it on him. Yanliang went in to give thanks. The Emperor said, "Among the great Confucians of Jiangnan, you alone remain." He replied, "Your subject is not the equal of Song Lian and Liu Ji." The Emperor said, "Lian is only a man of letters; Ji is harsh and narrow-minded. He is not your equal." When Yanliang reached Jin, he composed the 《Chart for Rectifying the Mind》 and presented it to the prince. Later, when the princely establishment offices were reorganized, he was reassigned as Left Chief Secretary. When he came to court at the capital he submitted Twelve Policies for Peace. The Emperor said, "What Yanliang has set forth understands the substance of affairs and aids the way of governance. People say Confucians cling to antiquity and cannot grasp the present, but a man like Yanliang may truly be called a comprehensive Confucian." In the eighteenth year he requested leave to return home; two years later he died.

明初，特重師傅。既命宋濂教太子，而諸王傅亦慎其選。彥良與陳南賓等皆宿儒老生，而李希顏與駙馬都尉胡觀傅徐宗實，尤以嚴見憚。

In the early Ming, tutors were especially esteemed. After Song Lian was appointed to teach the Heir Apparent, the tutors of the various princes were also chosen with great care. Yanliang, Chen Nanbin, and others were all venerable old scholars, while Li Xiyan and Xu Zongshi, tutor to Hu Guan, Commandant of the Imperial Son-in-law's Establishment, were especially feared for their severity.

李希顏，字愚庵，郟人。隱居不仕。太祖手書徵之，至京，為諸王師。規範嚴峻，諸王有不率教者，或擊其額。帝撫而怒。高皇后曰：「烏有以聖人之道訓吾子，顧怒之耶？」太祖意解，授左春坊右贊善。諸王就藩，希顏歸舊隱。閭裏宴集，常著緋袍戴笠往。客問故，笑曰：「笠本質，緋，君賜也。」

Li Xiyan, styled Yuan'an, came from Jia. He lived in seclusion and refused office. The Founding Emperor summoned him with a letter in his own hand; when he reached the capital he became tutor to the princes. His discipline was stern and severe; when princes failed to follow his teaching, he would sometimes strike them on the forehead. The Emperor was angry and comforted the princes. Empress Gao said, "Can there be one who teaches our sons the Way of the sages, and yet you are angry with him?" The Founding Emperor's anger eased, and Xiyan was appointed Right Supporter of the Left Spring Office. When the princes went to their fiefs, Xiyan returned to his former retirement. At neighborhood gatherings he often wore a crimson robe and a bamboo hat. When guests asked why, he smiled and said, "The hat is my natural self; the crimson is the ruler's gift."

徐宗實，名垕，以字行，黃巖人。少穎悟。篤於學。洪武中，被薦，除銅陵簿。請告迎養，忤帝意，謫戍淮陰驛。會東川侯胡海子觀選尚主，帝為觀擇師，難其人，以命宗實。中使援他府例，置駙馬位中堂南向，而布師席於西階上東向。宗實手引駙馬位使下，然後為說書。左右大驚，相顧以目。帝聞而嘉之，召宗實慰勞數四。

Xu Zongshi, whose personal name was Hou, went by his style name; he came from Huangyan. From youth he was quick and perceptive. He was deeply devoted to study. During Hongwu he was recommended and appointed clerk of Tongling. When he requested leave to go home and support his parents, he offended the Emperor and was banished to serve at the Huaiyin post station. It happened that Hu Guan, son of Marquis Hu of Dongchuan, was chosen to marry an imperial princess. The Emperor sought a tutor for Guan but found no suitable candidate, and so appointed Zongshi. A palace envoy cited the precedent of other households, placing the imperial son-in-law's seat in the central hall facing south and laying the teacher's mat on the western steps facing east. Zongshi took the imperial son-in-law by the hand and led him down from the seat, and only then began his lecture. Those standing by were greatly startled and exchanged glances. When the Emperor heard of it he praised him and summoned Zongshi several times to comfort and commend him.

陳南賓，名光裕，以字行，茶陵人。元末為全州學正。洪武三年，聘至都，除無棣丞，歷膠州同知，所至以經術為治。召為國子助教。嘗入見，講《洪範》九疇。帝大喜，書姓名殿柱。後禦註《洪範》，多采其說。擢蜀府長史。蜀獻王好學，敬禮尤至，造安車以賜，為構第，名「安老堂。」二十九年，與方孝孺同為四川考試官。詩文清勁有法。卒年八十。其後諸王府長史劉淳、董子莊、趙季通、楊黼、金實、蕭用道、宋子環之屬，皆有名。

Chen Nanbin, whose personal name was Guangyu, went by his style name; he came from Chaling. At the end of the Yuan he served as director of studies in Quanzhou. In the third year of Hongwu he was invited to the capital and appointed assistant magistrate of Wudi, then served as vice prefect of Jiaozhou; wherever he went he governed through classical learning. He was summoned to serve as assistant instructor of the National University. On one audience he expounded the 《Hongfan》 Nine Categories. The Emperor was greatly pleased and wrote his name on a hall pillar. Later, when the Emperor personally annotated the 《Hongfan》, he largely adopted Nanbin's explanations. He was promoted to Chief Secretary of the Prince of Shu's household. The Prince of Shu loved learning and showed him exceptional respect. He had a comfortable carriage made and bestowed it on him, and built a residence for him named "Hall of Peaceful Old Age." In the twenty-ninth year he served with Fang Xiaoru as examination official for Sichuan. His poetry and prose were clear, forceful, and well ordered. He died at the age of eighty. After them, chief secretaries of various princely establishments such as Liu Chun, Dong Zizhuang, Zhao Jitong, Yang Fu, Jin Shi, Xiao Yongdao, Song Zihuan, and others all won renown.

劉淳，南陽人。洪武末為原武訓導。周王聘為世子師。尋言於朝，補右長史，以正輔王。端禮門槐盛夏而枯。淳陳咎徵進戒。王用其言修省，枯枝復榮。王旌其槐曰「攄忠」。致仕十余年而卒，年九十有七。

Liu Chun came from Nanyang. At the end of Hongwu he served as instructor of Yuanwu. The Prince of Zhou invited him to serve as tutor to the heir. Before long he reported to the court and was appointed Right Chief Secretary to assist the prince with rectitude. A pagoda tree at the Gate of Correct Ritual withered in midsummer. Chun cited it as an inauspicious sign and offered admonition. The prince followed his counsel in self-examination, and the withered branches flourished again. The prince honored the tree with the inscription "Expressing Loyalty." More than ten years after retiring from office he died at the age of ninety-seven.

董子莊，名琰，以字行，江西樂安人。有學行。洪武中，以學官遷知茂名縣。永樂時，由國子司業出為趙王府右長史，隨事匡正。王多過，帝輒以責長史。子莊以能諫，得無過。十八年春當陪祀國社，夙起，衣冠端坐而卒。

Dong Zizhuang, whose personal name was Yan, went by his style name; he came from Le'an in Jiangxi. He was a man of learning and integrity. During Hongwu he was transferred from school official to magistrate of Maoming County. During Yongle he left his post as Vice Chancellor of the National University to become Right Chief Secretary of the Prince of Zhao's household, correcting affairs as they arose. When the prince committed many faults, the Emperor would hold the chief secretary responsible. Because Zizhuang was able to remonstrate effectively, he incurred no blame. In the spring of the eighteenth year, when he was to attend the sacrifice at the state altars of soil and grain, he rose early, put on his cap and robes, sat upright, and died.

趙季通，字師道，天臺人。亦由教官歷知永豐、龍溪，與修《太祖實錄》，累進司業。出為趙王府左長史，與子莊同心輔導，藩府賢僚首稱趙、董雲。

Zhao Jitong, whose style name was Shidao, came from Tiantai. He too advanced from school instructor through appointments as magistrate of Yongfeng and Longxi, took part in compiling the 《Veritable Records of Taizu》, and was promoted step by step to Vice Chancellor of the National University. He was appointed Left Chief Secretary of the Prince of Zhao's household and, working in concert with Zizhuang to guide and instruct the prince, he and Dong were regarded as the foremost worthy officials in the establishment.

金實，開化人。永樂初，上書言治道。帝嘉之。復對策，稱旨，除翰林典籍。與修《太祖實錄》、《永樂大典》，選為東宮講官。歷左春坊左司直。仁宗立，除衛府左長史。正統初，卒。為人孝友，敦行誼。閱經史，日有程限，至老不輟。

Jin Shi came from Kaihua. At the start of the Yongle reign he submitted a memorial on the principles of good government. The Emperor praised him. He again answered policy questions to the Emperor's satisfaction and was appointed Hanlin Archivist. He took part in compiling the 《Veritable Records of Taizu》 and the 《Yongle Encyclopedia》 and was chosen as a lecturer to the crown prince. He served in turn as Left Rectifier in the Left Secretariat of the Eastern Palace. When Emperor Renzong came to the throne, he was appointed Left Chief Secretary of the Prince of Wei's household. He died at the beginning of the Zhengtong reign. He was filial and fraternal by nature and steadfast in friendship and moral obligation. He read the classics and histories according to a fixed daily schedule and never ceased, even in old age.

蕭用道，泰和人。建文中，舉懷才抱德，詣闕試文章。擢靖江王府長史，召入翰林，修《類要》。燕師渡淮，與周是修同上書，指斥用事者。永樂時，預修《太祖實錄》，改右長史，從王之藩桂林。嘗為王陳八事，曰：慎起居、寡嗜欲、勤學問、養德性、簡鞭撲之刑、無侵下人利、常接府僚以通群情、簡擇謹厚人以備差遣。又作《端禮》、《體仁》、《遵義》、《廣智》四門箴獻王。久之，以疾乞歸。成祖怒，貶宣府鷂兒嶺巡檢，卒。子亙，由進士官湖廣左布政使。天順四年，舉治行卓異，拜禮部尚書。初，兩京尚書缺，多用布政使為之。自亙後，遂無拜尚書者。亙重厚廉靜，而不善奏對。調南京，卒。

Xiao Yongdao came from Taihe. During the Jianwen reign he was recommended as a man of talent and virtue, went to court, and was tested in literary composition. He was promoted to Chief Secretary of the Prince of Jingjiang's household, summoned to the Hanlin Academy, and put to work compiling the 《Classified Essentials》. When the Yan army crossed the Huai River, he and Zhou Shixiu jointly submitted a memorial denouncing those then in power. During Yongle he helped compile the 《Veritable Records of Taizu》, was made Right Chief Secretary, and accompanied the prince to his fief at Guilin. He once set forth eight points for the prince: attend carefully to daily conduct; keep desires in check; pursue learning diligently; cultivate moral character; reduce corporal punishment; do not encroach on the interests of subordinates; regularly receive household officials to understand the mood of those below; and select careful, honest men for assignments. He also composed admonitions for the four gates—the 《Correct Ritual》, 《Embodying Benevolence》, 《Following Righteousness》, and 《Broad Wisdom》 gates—and presented them to the prince. After some time he asked to retire home because of illness. Emperor Chengzu was enraged and demoted him to inspector at Ya'er Ridge in Xuanfu, where he died. His son Gen, a jinshi, rose to serve as Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Huguang. In the fourth year of Tianshun he was commended for outstanding governance and appointed Minister of Rites. At first, when ministerial posts in the two capitals fell vacant, provincial administration commissioners were often promoted to fill them. After Gen, no one in that path was again appointed minister. Gen was grave, honest, and self-contained, but he was not adept at memorials and audience responses. He was transferred to Nanjing, where he died.

宋訥，字仲敏，滑人。父壽卿，元侍御史。訥性持重，學問該博。至正中，舉進士，任鹽山尹，棄官歸。洪武二年，徵儒士十八人編《禮》、《樂》諸書，訥與焉。事竣，不仕歸。久之，用四輔官杜斅薦，授國子助教。以說經為學者所宗。十五年超遷翰林學士，命撰《宣聖廟碑》，稱旨，賞賚甚厚。改文淵閣大學士。嘗寒附火，燎脅下衣，至膚始覺。帝制文警之。未幾，遷祭酒。時功臣子弟皆就學，及歲貢士嘗數千人。訥為嚴立學規，終日端坐講解無虛晷，夜恒止學舍。十八年復開進士科，取士四百七十有奇，由太學者三之二。再策士，亦如之。帝大悅。制詞褒美。助教金文徵等疾訥，構之吏部尚書余熂，牒令致仕。訥陛辭，帝驚問，大怒，誅熂、文徵等，留訥如故。訥嘗病，帝曰：「訥有壽骨，無憂也。」尋愈。帝使畫工間訥，圖其像，危坐，有怒色。明日入對，帝問：「昨何怒？」訥驚對曰：「諸生有趨踣者，碎茶器。臣愧失教，故自訟耳。且陛下何自知之？」帝出圖。訥頓首謝。

Song Ne, whose style name was Zhongmin, came from Hua. His father Shouqing had been an attendant censor under the Yuan. Ne was steady and grave by nature, and his learning was broad and thorough. In the Zhizheng era he passed the jinshi examination, served as magistrate of Yanshan, and then resigned and returned home. In the second year of Hongwu eighteen Confucian scholars were summoned to compile the 《Rites》, 《Music》, and related works, and Ne was among them. When the work was finished he declined further office and returned home. After some time, on the recommendation of Du Xiao, an official among the Four Chancellors, he was appointed Assistant Instructor at the National University. His lectures on the classics made him a model among scholars. In the fifteenth year he was promoted out of turn to Hanlin Academician, was ordered to compose the 《Stele for the Temple of the Sage Who Propagated the Teaching》, pleased the Emperor, and received very generous rewards. He was made Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion. Once, while warming himself by the fire on a cold day, he scorched the garment under his arm and did not notice until it had reached his skin. The Emperor wrote an admonitory essay to warn him. Before long he was appointed Chancellor of the National University. At that time the sons and younger brothers of meritorious officials all came to study, and the annual quota of tribute students sometimes reached several thousand. Ne established strict school regulations, sat upright lecturing throughout the day without a wasted hour, and always remained in the student dormitory at night. In the eighteenth year the jinshi examination was reopened; more than four hundred and seventy candidates were selected, two-thirds of them from the Imperial Academy. When the palace examination was held again, the result was much the same. The Emperor was greatly pleased. An imperial rescript praised him in glowing terms. Assistant Instructors Jin Wenzheng and others resented Ne, plotted against him with Minister of Personnel Yu Bi, and issued a document ordering him to retire. When Ne came to take leave at court, the Emperor asked in alarm, flew into a rage, executed Bi, Wenzheng, and the others, and kept Ne in his post as before. When Ne once fell ill, the Emperor said, "Ne has the bone structure of long life; there is no need to worry." Before long he recovered. The Emperor had a painter observe Ne in secret and paint his likeness: Ne sat upright with an angry expression. The next day, when he came for audience, the Emperor asked, "Why were you angry yesterday?" Ne answered in alarm, "Some students rushed and fell, breaking tea vessels. I am ashamed at having failed in instruction and was reproaching myself. Besides, how did Your Majesty know this?" The Emperor produced the painting. Ne kowtowed in gratitude.

長子麟，舉進士，擢御史，出為望江主簿。帝念訥老，召還侍。二十三年春，訥病甚，乃止學舍。麟請歸私第，叱曰：「時當丁祭，敢不敬耶！」祭畢，舁歸舍而卒，年八十。帝悼惜，自為文祭之。又遣官祭於家，為治葬地。文臣四品給祭葬者，自訥始。正德中。謚文恪。

His eldest son Lin passed the jinshi examination, was promoted to censor, and was sent out to serve as registrar of Wangjiang. Mindful that Ne was old, the Emperor summoned Lin back to attend his father. In the spring of the twenty-third year Ne fell gravely ill and only then stopped remaining in the student dormitory. When Lin asked to take him back to their private residence, he rebuked him, saying, "It is time for the ding sacrifice; how dare you be disrespectful!" When the sacrifice was finished he was carried back to the dormitory and died at the age of eighty. The Emperor mourned his loss and personally composed a funeral elegy to sacrifice to him. He also sent officials to offer sacrifices at his home and provided a burial site. The practice of granting sacrificial and burial honors to civil officials of the fourth rank began with Ne. During Zhengde. He was given the posthumous title Wenge.

訥嘗應詔陳邊事，言：「海內乂安，惟沙漠尚煩聖慮。若窮追遠擊，未免勞費。陛下為聖子神孫計，不過謹邊備而已。備邊在乎實兵，實兵在乎屯田。漢趙充國將四萬騎，分屯緣邊九郡，而單於引卻。陛下宜於諸將中選謀勇數人，以東西五百里為制，立法分屯，布列要害，遠近相應。遇敵則戰，寇去則耕。此長策也。」帝頗采用其言。訥既卒，帝思之。官其次子復祖為司業，誡諸生守訥學規，違者罪至死。

Ne once responded to an imperial edict on border affairs, saying, "Within the seas all is at peace; only the desert still weighs on the Emperor's mind. If one pursues the enemy relentlessly and strikes deep into the distance, labor and expense cannot be avoided. Your Majesty, planning for the sake of future sage sons and divine grandsons, need do no more than maintain careful border defenses. Border defense depends on maintaining effective forces, and effective forces depend on garrison farming. In Han times Zhao Chongguo led forty thousand horsemen and distributed them in garrisons along the nine border commanderies, and the Chanyu withdrew. Your Majesty should select several capable and courageous generals, take five hundred li east and west as the standard, establish regulations for distributed garrisons, deploy them at strategic points, and arrange for distant and nearby posts to support one another. When the enemy appears they fight; when raiders withdraw they farm. This is the sound long-term strategy." The Emperor largely adopted his advice. After Ne died the Emperor missed him. He appointed Ne's second son Fuzu as Vice Chancellor and admonished the students to observe Ne's school regulations; violators were punished even with death.

明開國時即重師儒官。許存仁、魏觀為祭酒，老成端謹；訥稍晚進，最蒙遇。與訥定學規者，司業王嘉會、龔斅。三人年俱高，須發皓白，終日危坐，堂上肅然。而張美和、聶鉉、貝瓊等皆名儒，當洪武時，先後為博士、助教、學錄，以故諸生多所成就。魏觀事別載。

From the founding of the dynasty, Ming already placed great weight on posts for teachers and Confucian scholars. Xu Cunren and Wei Guan served as Chancellor; they were mature, steady, and dignified; Ne entered somewhat later and enjoyed the greatest imperial favor. Those who worked with Ne to establish the school regulations were Vice Chancellors Wang Jiahui and Gong Xiao. All three were advanced in years, with snow-white beards and hair; they sat upright throughout the day, and the hall was solemn. Zhang Meihe, Nie Xuan, Bei Qiong, and others were all renowned Confucian scholars; during Hongwu they served in turn as Erudite, Assistant Instructor, and Recorder, and for this reason many students achieved distinction. Wei Guan's biography is recorded separately.

嘉會，字原禮，嘉興人。以薦征，累官國子監司業。十六年，亦以老請歸，優詔留之。年八十卒，賻恤甚厚。

Jiahui, whose style name was Yuanli, came from Jiaxing. Summoned on recommendation, he rose through the ranks to Vice Chancellor of the Directorate of the National University. In the sixteenth year he too asked to retire on grounds of age, and a gracious edict kept him in office. He died at the age of eighty, and the funeral gifts and condolence payments were very generous.

許存仁。名元，以字行，金華許謙子也。太祖素聞謙名，克金華，訪得存仁。與語大悅，命傅諸子。擢國子博士。嘗命講《尚書·洪範》休咎征之說。又嘗問《孟子》何說為要。存仁以行王道、省刑、薄賦對。吳元年擢祭酒。存仁出入左右垂十年，自稽古禮文事，至進退人才，無不與論議。既將議即大位，而存仁告歸。司業劉丞直曰：「主上方應天順人，公宜稍待。」存仁不聽，果忤旨。僉事程孔昭劾其隱事，遂逮死獄中。

Xu Cunren. His personal name was Yuan, but he was known by his style name; he was the son of Xu Qian of Jinhua. Taizu had long heard of Qian's reputation; when he captured Jinhua he sought out Cunren and found him. After speaking with him he was greatly pleased and ordered him to instruct the imperial sons. He was appointed Erudite at the Directorate of the National University. He was once ordered to expound the doctrine of blessings, calamities, and portents in the 《Hongfan》 chapter of the 《Book of Documents》. He was also once asked which teaching in the 《Mencius》 was most essential. Cunren answered that the essentials were practicing the kingly way, reducing punishments, and lightening taxes. In the first year of the Wu reign he was promoted to Chancellor of the National University. For nearly ten years Cunren attended the prince at his side. Whether the topic was ancient rites and ceremonial texts or the promotion and dismissal of men of talent, there was nothing on which he was not consulted. Just as they were about to discuss his accession to the throne, Cunren asked to retire and go home. Vice Chancellor Liu Chengzhi said, "Our lord is about to respond to Heaven and win the people's assent; you, sir, ought to wait a little longer. Cunren refused to listen, and in the end ran afoul of the imperial will. Secretariat Officer Cheng Kongzhao impeached him on charges of concealed misconduct, and he was arrested and died in prison.

張美和，名九韶，以字行，清江人。能詞賦。元末，累舉不仕。洪武三年，以薦為縣學教諭。後遷國子助教，改翰林院編修。致仕歸，帝親為文賜之。復與錢宰等並征，修《書》傳，既成，遣還。

Zhang Meihe, whose personal name was Jiushao but who was known by his style name, was a native of Qingjiang. He was accomplished in lyric poetry and rhapsodic prose. At the end of the Yuan dynasty he was repeatedly recommended for office but declined each time. In the third year of Hongwu, on recommendation he was appointed instructor at the county school. He was later transferred to assistant instructor at the National University and then appointed compiler in the Hanlin Academy. When he retired and returned home, the Emperor personally composed an essay and bestowed it upon him. He was summoned again together with Qian Zai and others to compile the commentary on the 《Book of Documents》; when the work was finished, they were sent home.

聶鉉，字器之，美和同邑人。洪武四年進士。為廣宗丞，疏免旱災稅。秩滿入覲，獻《南都賦》及《洪武聖德詩》。授翰林院待制，改國子助教，遷典籍。與美和同賜歸。十八年復召典會試，欲留用之。乞便地自養。令食廬陵教諭俸，終其身。

Nie Xuan, style name Qizhi, was from the same district as Meihe. He passed the jinshi examination in the fourth year of Hongwu. While serving as assistant magistrate of Guangzong, he memorialized the throne to remit taxes owed because of drought. When his term expired he came to court and presented the 《Fu on the Southern Capital》 and the 《Poem on Hongwu's Sagely Virtue》. He was appointed attendant draftsman in the Hanlin Academy, then transferred to assistant instructor at the National University, and later promoted to archivist. He was granted leave to return home together with Meihe. In the eighteenth year he was summoned again to preside over the metropolitan examination, and the court wished to retain him in office. He asked to retire to a convenient place where he could live on his own. He was granted the salary of an instructor in Luling for the rest of his life.

貝瓊，字廷琚，崇德人。性坦率，篤誌好學，年四十八，始領鄉薦。張士誠屢辟不就。洪武初，聘修《元史》。既成，受賜歸。六年以儒士舉，除國子助教。瓊嘗慨古樂不作，為《大韶賦》以見誌。宋濂之為司業也，建議立四學，並祀舜、禹、湯、文為先聖。太祖既絀其說，瓊復為《釋奠解》駁之，識者多是瓊議。與美和、鉉齊名，時稱「成均三助」。九年改官中都國子監，教勛臣子弟。瓊學行素優，將校武臣皆知禮重。十一年致仕，卒。

Bei Qiong, style name Tingju, was a native of Chongde. Frank by nature and deeply committed to study, he was forty-eight before he first received a provincial recommendation. Zhang Shicheng repeatedly invited him into service, but he always refused. At the beginning of the Hongwu reign he was engaged to help compile the 《History of the Yuan》. When the work was finished, he received imperial rewards and returned home. In the sixth year, recommended as a Confucian scholar, he was appointed assistant instructor at the National University. Qiong once lamented that the music of antiquity was no longer performed and wrote the 《Great Shao Rhapsody》 to declare his convictions. When Song Lian served as vice chancellor, he proposed establishing four schools and jointly enshrining Shun, Yu, Tang, and King Wen as primordial sages. After Taizu had rejected Song's proposal, Qiong wrote the 《Explanation of the Sacrifice Offering》 to rebut it, and informed opinion largely sided with Qiong. He was as renowned as Meihe and Xuan, and at the time they were known as "the Three Assistant Instructors of the Imperial Academy." In the ninth year he was transferred to the metropolitan directorate of the National University at Zhongdu to instruct the sons of meritorious officials. Qiong's learning and conduct had long been outstanding, and even military officers and commanders learned to honor ritual and treat him with respect. In the eleventh year he retired from office and died.

趙俶，字本初，山陰人。元進士。洪武六年，征授國子博士。帝嘗禦奉天殿，召俶及錢宰、貝瓊等曰：「汝等一以孔子所定經書為教，慎勿雜蘇秦、張儀縱橫之言。」諸臣頓首受命。俶因請頒正定《十三經》於天下，屏《戰國策》及陰陽讖卜諸書，勿列學宮。明年擇諸生穎異者三十五人，命俶專領之，教以古文。尋擢李擴、黃義等入文華、武英二堂說書，皆見用。九年，御史臺言：「博士俶以《詩經》教成均四年，其弟子多為方嶽重臣及持節各部者。今年逾懸車，請賜骸骨。」於是以翰林院待制致仕，賜內帑錢治裝。宋濂率同官暨諸生千余人送之。卒年八十一。子圭玉，兵部侍郎，出知萊州，有聲。

Zhao Chu, style name Benchu, was a native of Shanyin. He was a jinshi graduate of the Yuan dynasty. In the sixth year of Hongwu he was summoned and appointed erudite at the Directorate of the National University. The Emperor once held court in the Hall of Upholding Heaven and summoned Chu, Qian Zai, Bei Qiong, and others, saying, "You must teach only the classics established by Confucius as your teaching. Be careful not to introduce the stratagem rhetoric of Su Qin and Zhang Yi. The officials all kowtowed and accepted the command. Chu then asked that the corrected 《Thirteen Classics》 be promulgated throughout the realm, and that the 《Strategies of the Warring States》 together with works on yin-yang lore, prophecy, and divination be barred from the academies. The following year thirty-five exceptionally gifted students were chosen, and Chu was ordered to take charge of them and teach them ancient-style prose. Soon Li Kuo, Huang Yi, and others were promoted to lecture in the Wenhua and Wuying halls, and all were put to use. In the ninth year the Censorate reported, "Erudite Chu has taught the 《Classic of Poetry》 at the Imperial Academy for four years, and many of his disciples have become leading provincial ministers and imperial envoys in various departments. This year he has passed the age of retirement and asks to be permitted to return home. Thereupon he retired with the title of Hanlin attendant draftsman and was granted money from the inner treasury for his journey home. Song Lian led more than a thousand fellow officials and students to see him off. He died at the age of eighty-one. His son Guiyu became vice minister of war and went out to serve as prefect of Laizhou, where he earned a fine reputation.

錢宰，字子予，會稽人。吳越武肅王十四世孫。至正間中甲科，親老不仕。洪武二年，征為國子助教。作《金陵形勝論》、《歷代帝王樂章》，皆稱旨。十年乞休。進博士，賜敕遣歸。至二十七年，帝觀蔡氏《書傳》，象緯運行，與朱子《詩傳》相悖，其他註與鄱陽鄒季友所論有未安者。征天下宿儒訂正之。兵部尚書唐鐸舉宰及致仕編修張美和、助教靳權等。行人馳傳征至，命劉三吾總其事。江東諸門酒樓成，賜百官鈔，宴其上。宰等賦詩謝。帝大悅。諭諸儒年老願歸者，先遣之。宰年最高，請留。帝喜。書成，賜名《書傳會選》，頒行天下。厚賜，令馳驛歸。卒年九十六。

Qian Zai, style name Ziyu, was a native of Kuaiji. He was a fourteenth-generation descendant of Wuyue's King Wusu. During the Zhizheng era he passed the highest grade of the civil examination, but because his parents were elderly he declined office. In the second year of Hongwu he was summoned to serve as assistant instructor at the National University. He wrote the 《Treatise on Jinling's Strategic Terrain》 and the 《Music Hymns of Emperors Through the Ages》, both of which pleased the Emperor. In the tenth year he asked to retire. He was promoted to erudite, granted an imperial edict, and sent home. By the twenty-seventh year, when the Emperor reviewed the Cai family's 《Commentary on the Book of Documents》, its account of the movements of the heavens and constellations conflicted with Zhu Xi's 《Commentary on the Classic of Poetry》, and other notes also contained points that Zou Jiyou of Poyang had shown to be unsatisfactory. Established scholars throughout the realm were summoned to revise the work. Minister of War Tang Duo recommended Zai together with the retired compiler Zhang Meihe, assistant instructor Jin Quan, and others. Court envoys were sent by relay post to summon them, and Liu Sanwu was ordered to direct the project. When the wine towers at the several gates east of the river were completed, the officials were granted paper money and feasted on their upper floors. Zai and the others composed poems in thanks. The Emperor was greatly pleased. He announced that any of the scholars who were old and wished to go home should be sent away first. Zai was the oldest among them and asked to stay. The Emperor was pleased. When the work was finished, it was given the title 《Collected Selections of Commentaries on the Book of Documents》 and issued throughout the realm. He received generous rewards and was ordered to return home by express relay. He died at the age of ninety-six.

又蕭執者，字子所，泰和人。洪武四年鄉舉，為國子學錄。明年夏至，帝有事北郊，召尚書吳琳、主事宋濂率文學士以從。執偕陶凱等十二人入見齋所。令賦詩，復令賦山梔花。獨喜執作，遍示諸臣，寵眷傾一時。時帝留意文學，往往親試廷臣，執與陳觀知遇尤異。

There was also Xiao Zhi, style name Zisuo, a native of Taihe. In the fourth year of Hongwu he passed the provincial examination and was appointed recorder at the Directorate of the National University. The next year, at the summer solstice, when the Emperor performed rites at the Northern Suburb, he summoned Minister Wu Lin and principal secretary Song Lian to lead literary scholars in attendance. Zhi entered the fasting quarters together with Tao Kai and eleven others to be received in audience. They were ordered to compose poems, and then ordered again to compose on gardenia blossoms. The Emperor alone favored Zhi's compositions, showed them to all the ministers, and for a time his favor toward Zhi surpassed all others. At that time the Emperor took a keen interest in literature and often tested court officials himself; Zhi and Chen Guan enjoyed especially remarkable favor.

觀以訓導入覲，試《王猛捫CB論》，立擢陜西參政。尋召還侍左右。應制作《鐘山賦》，賜金幣。在陜以廉謹稱。或問陜產金何狀。觀大驚曰：「吾備位藩寮，何金之問！」其卒也，妻子幾無以自存。而執以親老乞歸，親沒廬墓側。申國公鄧鎮剿龍泉寇，不戢下。執往責之，鎮為禁止，邑人以安。兩人皆篤行君子也。

When Guan came to court in his capacity as an instructor, he was tested on the 《Essay on Wang Meng Picking Lice》 and was immediately promoted to administrative commissioner of Shaanxi. Soon he was recalled to attend at the Emperor's side. When summoned to compose at imperial command, he wrote the 《Zhong Mountain Rhapsody》 and was granted gold and silk. While serving in Shaanxi he was known for integrity and prudence. Someone asked what the gold produced in Shaanxi looked like. Guan was greatly alarmed and said, "I merely hold a nominal post among the provincial officials—why ask me about gold! When he died, his wife and children could barely support themselves. Zhi, for his part, asked to return home because his parents were elderly; when they died he built a hut beside their graves and mourned there. Duke of Shen Deng Zhen was suppressing bandits at Longquan and could not restrain his subordinates. Zhi went to rebuke him; Zhen then put a stop to the abuses, and the people of the district were at peace. Both men were men of sincere conduct and integrity.

李叔正，字克正，初名宗頤，靖安人。年十二能詩，長益淹博。時江西有十才子，叔正其一也。以薦授國子學正。洪武初，告歸。未幾，復以薦為學正，遷渭南丞。同州蒲城人爭地界，累年不決。行省以委叔正，單騎至，剖數語立決。渭南歲輸糧二萬，豪右與猾吏為奸，田無定額，叔正履畝丈量。立法精密，諸弊盡剔。遷興化知縣。尋召為禮部員外郎。以年老乞歸，不許，改國子助教。於是叔正三至太學矣。帝方銳意文治，於國學人材尤加意。然諸生多貴胄，不率教。叔正嚴立規條，旦夕端坐，督課無倦色。朝論賢之。擢監察御史，奉命巡嶺表。瓊州府吏訐其守踞公座簽表文，叔正鞫之，守得白，抵吏罪。太祖嘉之曰：「人言老御史懦，乃明斷如是耶。」累官禮部侍郎。十四年進尚書，卒於官。叔正妻夏氏，陳友諒陷南昌時，投井死。叔正感其義，終身不復娶。

Li Shuzheng, style name Kezheng, originally named Zongyi, was a native of Jing'an. At twelve he could already compose poetry, and as he grew older he became ever more broadly learned. At the time Jiangxi had ten celebrated literary talents, and Shuzheng was one of them. On recommendation he was appointed rectifier of studies at the Directorate of the National University. At the beginning of the Hongwu reign he asked to retire and return home. Before long, recommended again, he became rectifier of studies and was transferred to assistant magistrate of Weinan. The people of Pucheng in Tongzhou disputed a land boundary for many years without resolution. The provincial administration entrusted the matter to Shuzheng; he rode there alone and settled it at once with a few clarifying words. Weinan had to deliver twenty thousand piculs of grain each year; powerful families and corrupt clerks colluded in fraud, and fields had no fixed quotas, so Shuzheng went out and measured every mu himself. The regulations he established were precise and thorough, and every abuse was eliminated. He was transferred to magistrate of Xinghua. Soon he was summoned to serve as vice director in the Ministry of Rites. He asked to retire on grounds of age, but the request was denied and he was reassigned as assistant instructor at the National University instead. Thus Shuzheng came to the Imperial Academy for the third time. The Emperor was then keenly devoted to civil governance and took especial care with talent at the Directorate of Education. Yet most of the students were sons of the nobility and refused to obey the rules of instruction. Shuzheng established strict regulations, sat upright from morning till evening, and supervised lessons without ever showing weariness. Official opinion at court praised him as worthy. He was promoted to supervising censor and ordered to inspect the Lingnan region. A clerk in Qiongzhou Prefecture accused the prefect of improperly occupying the official seat to sign a memorial. Shuzheng investigated the case, cleared the prefect, and punished the clerk. Taizu praised him, saying, "People say the old censor is timid — yet see how clear and decisive he is! He rose through successive posts to vice minister of rites. In the fourteenth year he was promoted to minister and died in office. Shuzheng's wife, Lady Xia, threw herself into a well and died when Chen Youliang captured Nanchang. Moved by her fidelity, Shuzheng never remarried for the rest of his life.

劉崧，字子高，泰和人，舊名楚。家貧力學，寒無壚火，手皸裂而鈔錄不輟。元末舉於鄉。洪武三年舉經明行修，改今名。召見奉天殿，授兵部職方司郎中。奉命征糧鎮江。鎮江多勛臣田，租賦為民累，崧力請得少減。遷北平按察司副使，輕刑省事。招集流亡，民鹹復業。立文天祥祠於學宮之側。勒石學門，示府縣勿以徭役累諸生。嘗請減僻地驛馬，以益宛平。帝可其奏，顧謂侍臣曰：「驛傳勞逸不均久矣，崧能言之。牧民不當如是耶？」為胡惟庸所惡，坐事謫輸作。尋放歸。十三年，惟庸誅，征拜禮部侍郎。未幾，擢吏部尚書。雷震謹身殿，帝廷諭群臣陳得失。崧頓首，以修德行仁對。尋致仕。明年三月，與前刑部尚書李敬並征。拜敬國子祭酒，而崧為司業。賜鞍馬，令朝夕見，見輒燕語移時。未旬日卒。疾作，猶強坐訓諸生。及革，敬問所欲言。曰：「天子遣崧教國子，將責以成功，而遽死乎！」無一語及家事。帝命有司治殯殮，親為文祭之。

Liu Song, style name Zigao, was a native of Taihe; he had formerly been named Chu. Though his family was poor, he studied tirelessly; in winter he had no brazier to warm himself, and even when his hands cracked with chapped skin he never stopped copying texts. At the end of the Yuan dynasty he passed the provincial examination. In the third year of Hongwu he was selected in the "Classics Bright and Conduct Cultivated" category, and his name was changed to the present one. Summoned to audience in the Hall of Upholding Heaven, he was appointed director in the Bureau of Appointments in the Ministry of War. On imperial orders he went to collect grain levies in Zhenjiang. Many fields in Zhenjiang belonged to meritorious officials, and rent and tax burdens weighed heavily on the people; Song pressed his petition and won a partial reduction. He was transferred to vice commissioner of the Beiping Surveillance Commission, where he lightened punishments and streamlined administration. He gathered the displaced and wandering, and the people all returned to their fields and trades. He established a shrine to Wen Tianxiang beside the school compound. He had a stone inscribed at the school gate instructing prefectures and counties not to burden students with corvée labor. He once petitioned to reduce post horses in remote areas so that Wanping could be better supplied. The Emperor approved his memorial and, turning to the attending ministers, said, "For so long the relay stations have been uneven in labor and ease — Song was able to put his finger on it. Is this not how one who governs the people ought to act?" He was hated by Hu Weiyong and, convicted on a charge, was demoted to corvée labor. Before long he was released and sent home. In the thirteenth year, after Weiyong was executed, he was summoned and appointed vice minister of rites. Before long he was promoted to minister of personnel. Lightning struck the Hall of Self-Cultivation, and at court the Emperor instructed the assembled ministers to speak frankly of what was right and wrong. Song prostrated himself and answered that the remedy lay in cultivating virtue and practicing benevolence. Before long he retired from office. In the third month of the following year he was summoned together with the former minister of punishment, Li Jing. Jing was appointed chancellor of the Directorate of Education, while Song became vice chancellor. They were granted saddles and horses and ordered to attend morning and evening; whenever they were received, the Emperor would converse with them informally for a long while. In less than ten days he died. When illness struck, he still forced himself to sit upright and instruct the students. When the illness turned critical, Jing asked whether he had anything he wished to say. He said, "The Son of Heaven sent Song to instruct the imperial students and will hold him accountable for success — yet he dies so suddenly!" Not one word touched on family affairs. The Emperor ordered the relevant offices to arrange the burial and personally composed a eulogy to offer sacrifice to him.

崧幼博學，天性廉慎。兄弟三人共居一茆屋，有田五十畝。及貴，無所增益。十年一布被，鼠傷，始易之，仍葺以衣其子。居官未嘗以家累自隨。之任北平，攜一童往，至則遣還。晡時史退，孤燈讀書，往往達旦。善為詩，豫章人宗之為《西江派》雲。

From youth Song was broadly learned, and by nature he was honest and cautious. Three brothers lived together in one thatched hut on fifty mu of land. Even after he rose to eminence, he added nothing to it. One cotton quilt served him for ten years; when rats damaged it he only then replaced it, yet still patched the old one with scraps of clothing for his son. While in office he never brought his family with him. When he went to take up his post in Beiping, he took one boy servant and, on arrival, sent him back home. When the clerks withdrew in the late afternoon, he read alone by a single lamp, often until dawn. He was skilled at poetry, and writers of Yuzhang looked to him as the founder of the "Western River School."

羅復仁，吉水人。少嗜學，陳友諒辟為編修。已，知其無成，遁去。謁太祖於九江，留置左右。從戰鄱陽，賫蠟書諭降江西未下諸郡，授中書諮議。從圍武昌，太祖欲招陳理降，以復仁故友諒臣也，遣入城諭，且曰：「理若來，不失富貴。」復仁頓首曰：「如陳氏遣孤得保首領，俾臣不食言於異日，臣死不憾。」太祖曰：「汝行，吾不汝誤也。」復仁至城下，號慟者竟日，理縋之入。見理大哭，陳太祖意，且曰：「大兵所向皆摧，不降且屠，城中民何罪？」理聽其言，遂率官屬出降。

Luo Furen was a native of Jishui. From youth he loved learning; Chen Youliang recruited him as compiler. After a time, seeing that Youliang's cause would not succeed, he fled. He presented himself to Taizu at Jiujiang and was kept close at hand. He followed the campaign at Poyang, carried sealed letters to summon the surrender of the Jiangxi prefectures not yet taken, and was appointed secretarial adviser in the Secretariat. During the siege of Wuchang, Taizu wished to persuade Chen Li to surrender; because Furen had formerly been a minister of Youliang, he sent him into the city to persuade Li, saying, "If Li submits, he will not lose wealth and rank." Furen prostrated himself and said, "If the Chen orphan is allowed to keep his life, and I am not made to break my word hereafter, I will die without regret." Taizu said, "Go — I will not fail you." When Furen reached the foot of the wall, he wailed and lamented all day; Li had him lowered inside by rope. Seeing Li, he wept greatly, conveyed Taizu's intent, and said, "Wherever the great army advances all resistance is shattered; if you do not surrender you will be slaughtered — what crime have the people in the city committed?" Li listened to his words and then led his officials out to surrender.

孫汝敬，名簡，以字行。永樂二年庶吉士，就學文淵閣，誦書不稱旨，即日遣戍江南。數日復之。自此刻厲為學，累遷侍講。仁宗時，上言時政十五事，忤旨下獄。既與李時勉同改御史，直聲震一時。宣宗初，上書大學士楊士奇曰：「太祖高皇帝奄有四海，太宗文皇帝再造寰區。然猶翼翼兢兢，無敢豫怠。先皇帝嗣統未及期月，奄棄群臣。揆厥所由，皆憸壬小夫，獻金石之方以致疾也。去冬，簡以愚戇應詔上書，言涉不敬，罪當萬死。先皇帝憐其孤直，寬雷霆之誅，俾居方路，撫躬循省，無可稱塞。伏見今年六月，車駕幸天壽山，躬謁二陵，京師之人瞻望咨嗟，以為聖天子大孝。既而道路喧傳，禮畢即較獵講武，扈從惟也先士幹與其徒數百人。風馳電掣，馳逐先後。某聞此言，心悸膽落。夫蒐苗獼狩，固有國之常經。然以謁陵出，而與降將較獵於山谷間，垂堂之戒，銜橛之虞，不可不深慮也。執事四朝舊臣，二聖元輔，於此不言，則孰得而言之者？惟特加采納，以弘靖獻之思，光弼直之義。」

Sun Rujing, personal name Jian, was known by his style name. In the second year of Yongle he became a junior compiler and studied at the Pavilion of Literary Depth; when his recitation displeased the Emperor he was that same day sent to garrison duty in Jiangnan. After several days he was recalled. From then on he applied himself rigorously to study and rose through posts to lecturing attendant. Under Emperor Renzong he submitted fifteen criticisms of current policy, offended the throne, and was imprisoned. He was then transferred together with Li Shimian to censor, and his forthright voice shook the age. At the beginning of the Xuande reign he wrote to Grand Secretary Yang Shiqi, saying, "The Taizu Gao Emperor suddenly possessed the four seas, and the Taizong Wen Emperor again created order throughout the realm. Yet they remained cautious and vigilant, never daring to slacken. The late Emperor had succeeded to the throne for less than a full month before he suddenly abandoned his ministers. Considering the causes, it was all due to sycophantic petty men who presented elixirs of metal and stone and thereby brought on illness. Last winter I, in my foolish bluntness, responded to the edict with a memorial whose words bordered on disrespect; the offense deserved death ten thousand times over. The late Emperor pitied my solitary uprightness, spared me from thunderbolt punishment, and allowed me to hold a censor's post; I have examined myself in reflection but have nothing with which to repay the favor. I have observed that in the sixth month of this year the imperial carriage visited Tianshou Mountain and personally paid homage at the two tombs; the people of the capital looked on with admiration and sighs, taking it as the great filial piety of the sage Son of Heaven. Then rumors spread along the roads that as soon as the rites were finished the court turned to hunting and military drill, with only Esen Taishi and several hundred of his followers in attendance. Like wind racing and lightning flashing, they galloped in pursuit, jockeying for the lead. When I heard this, my heart trembled and my courage failed me. Spring hunts, summer hunts, autumn hunts, and winter hunts are indeed the regular institutions of the state. Yet to set out to visit the tombs and then compete in hunting with surrendered generals in mountain valleys — the warning against standing beneath a collapsing eave, the fear of a startled horse biting the bit — must be deeply considered. Your Excellency is an old minister of four reigns and chief assistant to two sage emperors; if you do not speak on this, then who can? I only ask that you give especial heed and adopt this counsel, to extend the thoughtful devotion of Jingxian and illuminate the upright integrity of Guangbi."

尋擢工部右侍郎，兩使安南。時黎利言其主陳皓已死，而張筵設女樂。汝敬叱之，利懼謝。還督兩浙漕運，理陜西屯田，多所建置。坐受饋，充為事官。英宗立，遇赦，汝敬誤引詔復職，復逮系。以在陜措置勞，宥死戍邊。尋復職，蒞故任。塞上有警，汝敬往督餉。遇敵紅城子，中流矢，墜馬得免。以疾告歸，卒。

Before long he was promoted to vice minister of the right in the Ministry of Works and twice served as envoy to Annam. At the time Li Li claimed his lord Chen Hao was already dead, yet he spread banquets and set out female musicians. Rujing rebuked him; Li feared this and apologized. On his return he supervised grain transport in the two Zhe provinces and managed garrison farmland in Shaanxi, establishing many reforms. Convicted of accepting gifts, he was reduced to a labor-service officer. When Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne there was an amnesty; Rujing mistakenly cited the edict to reclaim his post and was again arrested and imprisoned. Because of his labor in arranging affairs in Shaanxi, death was spared and he was exiled to garrison the frontier. Before long his post was restored and he returned to his former duties. When there was an alarm on the frontier, Rujing went to supervise supplies. He encountered the enemy at Hongchengzi, was struck by an arrow, fell from his horse, and escaped. He pleaded illness and requested leave to return home, then died.

贊曰：明始建國，首以人材為務。征辟四方，宿儒群集闕下，隨其所長而用之。自議禮定制外，或參列法從，或預直承明，而成均胄子之任尤多稱職，彬彬乎稱得人焉。夫諸臣當元之季世，窮經績學，株守草野，幾於沒齒無聞。及乎泰運初平，連茹利見，乃各展所蘊，以潤色鴻猷，黼黼文治。昔人謂天下不患無才，惟視上之網羅何如耳，顧不信哉！

The eulogy says: When Ming first established the state, it made talent its first priority. It recruited from the four directions; aged scholars gathered in throngs beneath the palace gate, and each was employed according to his strengths. Apart from deliberating on ritual and establishing institutions, some served among the legal attendants, some attended duty at Chengmeng, and especially many who held posts over the imperial students performed their duties well — refined indeed, they were called men rightly chosen. These ministers, in the closing age of the Yuan, exhausted themselves in the classics and accumulated learning, rooted in obscurity in the wilds, nearly dying old without renown. When fortune turned peaceful, like linked roots they rose together and met with favor, and each then unfolded what he had stored to adorn the great design and enrich civil governance. The ancients said the realm never lacks talent — it only depends on how well the ruler gathers it — and is this not truly so!

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