Volume 147 Biographies 35: Jie Jin, Huang Huai, Hu Guang, Jin Youzi, Hu Yan

解縉黃淮胡廣金幼孜胡儼

Jie Jin, Huang Huai, Hu Guang, Jin Youzi, and Hu Yan

解縉，字大紳，吉水人。祖子元，為元安福州判官。兵亂，守義死。父開，太祖嘗召見論元事。欲官之，辭去。

Jie Jin, whose courtesy name was Dashen, came from Jishui. His grandfather Ziyuan had been the prefectural judge of Yuan'an in Fuzhou. When rebellion broke out, he held to his duty and perished. His father Kai had once been summoned by the founding emperor to discuss affairs of the Yuan dynasty. The emperor wished to appoint him, but he declined and withdrew.

縉幼穎敏，洪武二十一年舉進士。授中書庶吉士，甚見愛重，常侍帝前。一日，帝在大庖西室，諭縉：「朕與爾義則君臣，恩猶父子，當知無不言。」縉即日上封事萬言，略曰：

Jin showed exceptional intelligence from childhood and passed the jinshi examinations in the twenty-first year of the Hongwu reign. Made a junior compiler in the Central Secretariat, he won deep favor and was frequently at the emperor's side. One day, while in the west chamber of the imperial kitchen, the emperor told Jin: "In title we are ruler and subject, but in affection we are like father and son—you must tell me everything. That same day Jin submitted a ten-thousand-character memorial that began:

臣聞令數改則民疑，刑太繁則民玩。國初至今，將二十載，無幾時不變之法，無一日無過之人。嘗聞陛下震怒，鋤根剪蔓，誅其奸逆矣。未聞褒一大善，賞延於世，復及其鄉，終始如一者也。

I have heard that if decrees change too often, the people lose confidence, and if punishments multiply, the people grow indifferent. From the founding of the dynasty to the present, nearly twenty years have passed, yet scarcely a moment passes without some law being altered, scarcely a day without someone being found guilty of an offense. I have often heard of Your Majesty's wrath uprooting whole clans and cutting off branches of kin, executing traitors and rebels. Yet I have not heard of a single great virtue rewarded, with honors extending through generations and reaching one's home district, maintained consistently from first to last.

臣見陛下好觀《說苑》、《韻府》雜書與所謂《道德經》、《心經》者，臣竊謂甚非所宜也。《說苑》出於劉向，多戰國縱橫之論；《韻府》出元之陰氏，抄輯穢蕪，略無可採。陛下若喜其便於檢閱，則願集一二志士儒英，臣請得執筆隨其後，上溯唐、虞、夏、商、周、孔，下及關、閩、濂、洛。根實精明，隨事類別，勒成一經，上接經史，豈非太平製作之一端歟？又今《六經》殘缺。《禮記》出於漢儒，踳駁尤甚，宜及時刪改。訪求審樂之儒，大備百王之典，作樂書一經以惠萬世。尊祀伏羲、神農、黃帝、堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武、皋陶、伊尹、太公、周公、稷、契、夷、益、傅說、箕子於太學。孔子則自天子達於庶人，通祀以為先師，而以顏、曾、子思、孟子配。自閔子以下，各祭於其鄉。魯之闕里，仍建叔梁紇廟，贈以王爵，以顏路、曾曨、孔鯉配。一洗歷代之因仍，肇起天朝之文獻，豈不盛哉！若夫祀天宜復掃地之規，尊祖宜備七廟之制。奉天不宜為筵宴之所，文淵未備夫館閣之隆。太常非俗樂之可肄，官妓非人道之所為。禁絕倡優，易置寺閹。執戟陛墀，皆為吉士；虎賁趣馬，悉用俊良。除山澤之禁稅，蠲務鎮之征商。木輅樸居，而土木之工勿起；布墾荒田，而四裔之地勿貪。釋、老之壯者驅之，俾復於人倫；經咒之妄者火之，俾絕其欺誑。絕鬼巫，破淫祀，省冗官，減細縣。痛懲法外之威刑，永革京城之工役。流十年而聽復，杖八十以無加。婦女非帷薄不修，毋令逮系；大臣有過惡當誅，不宜加辱。治歷明時，授民作事，但申播植之宜，何用建除之謬。所宜著者，日月之行，星辰之次。仰觀俯察，事合逆順。七政之齊，正此類也。

I observe that Your Majesty enjoys reading the Garden of Stories, the Rhyme Treasury, miscellaneous compilations, and the so-called Daodejing and Heart Sutra—I must say this is most inappropriate. The Garden of Stories was compiled by Liu Xiang and is full of Warring States stratagems and diplomatic maneuvering; the Rhyme Treasury was compiled by the Yin family under the Yuan from plagiarized and worthless material, with scarcely anything worth reading. If Your Majesty values their convenience for reference, I ask that one or two devoted scholars be assembled—I would take my brush and follow them, reaching back to the eras of Yao, Shun, Xia, Shang, Zhou, and Confucius, and forward to the traditions of Guanzi, the Min school, Lianxi, and Luoyang. With substance made lucid and matters sorted by category, they could be compiled into a single classic linking upward to the canonical texts and histories—would this not be a worthy beginning to the literary achievements of an age of peace? Moreover, the Six Classics survive today only in damaged form. The Record of Rites was compiled by Han scholars and is especially riddled with inconsistencies—it should be revised without delay. Seek out scholars skilled in music theory, fully restore the ritual institutions of the ancient kings, and compile a classic on music that will benefit all posterity. Honor in the Imperial Academy with sacrificial rites Fu Xi, Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, King Wen, King Wu, Gao Yao, Yi Yin, Jiang Ziya, the Duke of Zhou, Hou Ji, Qi, Bo Yi, Yi, Fu Yue, and Jizi. Confucius should be worshipped from the Son of Heaven down to the common people as the supreme teacher, with Yan Hui, Zengzi, Zisi, and Mencius as his correlates. From Min Sun downward, each disciple should receive sacrifices in his home district. In Confucius's birthplace of Qufu, restore the temple to his father Shuliang He, grant him a royal title, and associate Yan Lu, Zeng Dian, and Kong Li with his cult. To sweep away at a stroke the accumulated customs of past dynasties and inaugurate the cultural institutions of our dynasty—what could be more glorious! Sacrifice to Heaven should restore the ancient rite of preparing the ground by sweeping; honoring ancestors should restore the full institution of the seven ancestral temples. The Hall of Imperial Supplication to Heaven should not be used for banquets, and the Hall of Literary Depth has not yet been endowed with the full dignity of a grand library. The Court of Imperial Sacrifices should not be a place for vulgar music, and official courtesans are not fitting for a civilized court. Ban actors and entertainers entirely, and replace the palace eunuchs with proper officials. The halberd-bearers on the palace steps should all be men of proven virtue; and the imperial guards and outriders should all be drawn from talented and upright men. Abolish prohibitory taxes on mountains and marshes, and remit commercial levies at transit stations. Live in plain wooden quarters, and do not launch grand construction projects; encourage the reclamation of wasteland, but do not covet the territories beyond the frontiers. Expel able-bodied Buddhist and Daoist monks, restoring them to ordinary family life; and burn spurious scriptures and charms, putting an end to their fraud. Eliminate shamanism, abolish improper cults, reduce redundant offices, and consolidate petty counties. Punish severely all punishments imposed outside the law, and permanently abolish forced labor in the capital. Permit exiles to return after ten years, and cap beating at eighty strokes with no additional punishment. Women who have not violated domestic propriety should not be arrested and imprisoned; When great ministers deserve execution for their crimes, they should not be subjected to additional humiliation. Regulate the calendar to clarify the seasons and instruct the people in their labors—declare only what is fitting for sowing and planting; why rely on the superstitious jianchu cycle? What ought to be recorded are the courses of the sun and moon and the positions of the stars. Observing heaven above and earth below, affairs will accord with what is propitious and what is not. The proper alignment of the seven luminaries is precisely such a matter.

近年以來，台綱不肅。以刑名輕重為能事，以問囚多寡為勛勞，甚非所以勵清要、長風采也。御史糾彈，皆承密旨。每聞上有赦宥，則必故為執持。意謂如此，則上恩愈重。此皆小人趨媚效勞之細術，陛下何不肝膽而鏡照之哉？陛下進人不擇賢否，授職不量重輕。建不為君用之法，所謂取之盡錙銖；置朋奸倚法之條，所謂用之如泥沙。監生進士，經明行修，而多屈於下僚；孝廉人材，冥蹈瞽趨，而或布於朝省。椎埋嚚悍之夫，闒茸下愚之輩。朝捐刀鑷，暮擁冠裳。左棄筐篋，右綰組符。是故賢者羞為之等列，庸人悉習其風流。以貪婪苟免為得計，以廉潔受刑為飾辭。出於吏部者無賢否之分，入於刑部者無枉直之判。天下皆謂陛下任喜怒為生殺，而不知皆臣下之乏忠良也。

In recent years the censorate has lacked proper discipline. They treat the severity of criminal charges as their achievement and the number of prisoners interrogated as their merit—this is no way to encourage integrity among the censorate or to uphold its dignity. The censors' impeachments all follow secret instructions from above. Whenever they hear that an amnesty has been proclaimed, they deliberately obstruct it. They imagine that by doing so the emperor's grace will appear all the greater. These are all petty tricks of sycophants currying favor—why does Your Majesty not look upon them with complete openness and clarity? Your Majesty promotes men without regard to merit, and assigns offices without regard to their proper weight. You have established laws that serve not the ruler but the tax collector—what is called extracting every last mite; and provisions that allow corrupt associates to lean on the law—what is called using men like mud and sand. Imperial students and jinshi scholars, learned in the classics and upright in conduct, are often relegated to petty posts; while men recommended as filial and incorrupt, stumbling blindly forward, are sometimes placed in the central government. Violent ruffians and the lowest, most foolish sort of men. In the morning they were barbers; by evening they wear official caps and robes. They abandon their trade on the left and take up official seals on the right. Therefore the worthy are ashamed to be ranked with them, while mediocrities all imitate their ways. They regard greed and evasion as shrewd policy, and integrity punished as mere pretense. Those who leave the Ministry of Personnel are promoted without regard to merit, and those who enter the Ministry of Punishments are judged without regard to justice. All under Heaven believe Your Majesty lets whim decide life and death, not knowing that it is because your ministers lack loyal and worthy men.

古者善惡，鄉鄰必記。今雖有申明旌善之舉，而無黨庠鄉學之規。互知之法雖嚴，訓告之方未備。臣欲求古人治家之禮，睦鄰之法，若古藍田呂氏之《鄉約》，今義門鄭氏之家范，布之天下。世臣大族，率先以勸，旌之復之，為民表帥。將見作新於變，至於比屋可封不難矣。

In antiquity, good and evil deeds were always recorded by one's neighbors. Today, although there are measures to proclaim and honor virtue, there are no regulations for district schools and village academies. Though the law of mutual surveillance is strict, methods of instruction and admonition are not yet in place. I ask that the ancients' rules for household governance and neighborly harmony—such as the Lü clan's Village Compact of Lantian and the Zheng clan's family standards of the Righteous Gate—be promulgated throughout the realm. Hereditary ministers and great clans should take the lead in this effort; honor and restore them, making them models for the people. We shall see renewal through transformation, until every household in the realm may be deemed worthy of honor—not a difficult goal.

陛下天資至高，合於道微。神怪妄誕，臣知陛下洞矚之矣。然猶不免所謂神道設教者，臣謂不必然也。一統之輿圖已定矣，一時之人心已服矣，一切之奸雄已慴矣。天無變災，民無患害。聖躬康寧，聖子聖孫繼繼繩繩。所謂得真符者矣。何必興師以取寶為名，諭眾以神仙為征應也哉。

Your Majesty's natural gifts are supreme, in harmony with the subtle Way. Spirits and monsters, wild and absurd—I know Your Majesty sees through them clearly. Yet you still resort to what is called establishing teaching through the divine way—I say this is not necessary. The empire is already unified, the people's hearts are already won, and all rival strongmen are already subdued. Heaven sends no strange disasters, and the people suffer no calamities. Your sacred person enjoys health and peace, and sage sons and grandsons succeed one another in unbroken line. This is what it means to hold the true Mandate of Heaven. Why must you raise armies in the name of seeking treasures, or tell the people that immortals and spirits are the signs of Heaven's favor?

臣觀地有盛衰，物有盈虛，而商稅之征，率皆定額。是使其或盈也，奸黠得以侵欺；其歉也，良善困於補納。夏稅一也，而茶椒有糧，果絲有稅。既稅於所產之地，又稅於所過之津，何其奪民之利至於如此之密也！且多貧下之家，不免拋荒之咎。今日之土地，無前日之生植；而今日之征聚，有前日之稅糧。或賣產以供稅，產去而稅存；或賠辦以當役，役重而民困。土田之高下不均，起科之輕重無別。膏腴而稅反輕，瘠鹵而稅反重。欲拯困而革其弊，莫若行授田均田之法，兼行常平義倉之舉。積之以漸，至有九年之食無難者。

I observe that land has its seasons of fertility and decline, and goods their cycles of abundance and scarcity, yet commercial taxes are mostly fixed quotas. When times are prosperous, the crafty can evade payment; when times are lean, the honest are burdened with making up the shortfall. There is but one summer tax, yet tea and pepper bear grain levies, and fruit and silk bear separate taxes. Taxed at the place of production and again at every ferry crossing—how can the people's profit be seized so relentlessly! Moreover, many poor households cannot escape blame for letting their fields lie fallow. Today's land no longer yields what it once did; yet today's levies still demand yesterday's tax quotas. Some sell their property to pay taxes—the property is gone but the tax remains; some pay substitutes for corvée labor—the burdens are heavy and the people are exhausted. Fields vary in quality, yet tax assessments make no distinction between fertile and poor land. Fertile land is taxed lightly, while barren saline soil is taxed heavily. To relieve distress and reform these abuses, nothing would be better than implementing land distribution and equal-field systems, together with ever-normal granaries and community relief stores. Accumulate grain gradually, until a nine-year reserve is easily within reach.

臣聞仲尼曰：「王公設險以守其國。」近世狃於晏安，墮名城，銷鋒鏑，禁兵諱武，以為太平。一旦有不測之虞，連城望風而靡。及今宜敕有司整葺，寬之以歲月，守之以里胥，額設弓手，兼教民兵。開武舉以收天下之英雄，廣鄉校以延天下之俊乂。古時多有書院學田，貢士有庄，義田有族，皆宜興復而廣益之。

I have heard Confucius say: "Kings and lords establish defenses to guard their states. In recent times, accustomed to ease and comfort, famous cities have been dismantled, weapons melted down, and military training forbidden—all in the name of peace. Once unforeseen danger arises, whole chains of cities will collapse at the first rumor. Your Majesty should now order the responsible offices to repair the defenses, allow adequate time, assign village officers to maintain them, establish quotas for archers, and train local militia. Establish military examinations to recruit the empire's heroes, and expand village schools to draw in the empire's finest talents. In antiquity there were many academy lands, estates for examination candidates, and clan charity fields—all should be revived and expanded.

夫罪人不孥，罰弗及嗣。連坐起於秦法，孥戮本於偽書。今之為善者妻子未必蒙榮，有過者里胥必陷其罪。況律以人倫為重，而有給配婦女之條，聽之於不義，則又何取夫節義哉。此風化之所由也。

Punishment should not extend to the criminal's family, nor penalties to his heirs. Collective punishment began with Qin law, and the slaughter of a criminal's entire family rests on forged texts. Today those who do good cannot be sure their families will be rewarded, while anyone who errs is sure to be framed by local officials. Moreover, since the law should uphold human relations, how can we countenance provisions for forcibly marrying off women? To condone such injustice is to abandon all regard for chastity and moral integrity. This is precisely what undermines social morals.

孔子曰：「名不正則言不順。」尚書、侍郎，內侍也，而以加於六卿；郎中、員外，內職也，而以名於六屬。御史詞臣，所以居寵台閣；郡守縣令，不應迴避鄉邦。同寅協恭，相倡以禮。而今內外百司捶楚屬官，甚於奴隸。是使柔懦之徒，盪無廉恥，進退奔趨，肌膚不保。甚非所以長孝行、勵節義也。臣以為自今非犯罪惡解官，笞杖之刑勿用。催科督厲，小有過差，蒲鞭示辱，亦足懲矣。

Confucius said, "When names are improper, speech cannot be coherent. Minister and Vice Minister were titles for inner court attendants, yet they have been applied to the six chief ministers; Bureau Director and Outside Director were inner court posts, yet they now serve as titles for the six ministries' subordinates. Censors and literary officials were meant to hold honored positions in the halls of state; yet prefects and magistrates ought not be barred from serving in their own home districts. Colleagues should assist one another with mutual respect and encourage one another through proper conduct. Yet today government offices at every level beat and torture their subordinates worse than slaves. This reduces the weak and timid to abject shamelessness—they scurry about in fear, their bodies broken and bleeding. Far from nurturing filial piety and moral courage, this destroys them. I believe that henceforth, except for dismissal on grounds of serious crime, the flogging punishments should be abolished. In tax collection and routine supervision, minor lapses might be corrected with nothing more than a symbolic stroke of the reed whip.

臣但知罄竭愚衷，急於陳獻，略無次序，惟陛下幸垂鑒焉。書奏，帝稱其才。已，復獻《太平十策》，文多不錄。

I have poured out my humble thoughts in haste, without proper order; I can only hope Your Majesty will deign to consider them. When the memorial reached the throne, the Emperor praised his ability. Later he submitted his "Ten Policies for Great Peace," but most of the text is not preserved here.

縉嘗入兵部索皁隸，語嫚。尚書沈溍以聞。帝曰：「縉以冗散自恣耶。」命改為御史。韓國公李善長得罪死，縉代郎中王國用草疏白其冤。又為同官夏長文草疏，劾都御史袁泰。泰深銜之。時近臣父皆得入覲。縉父開至，帝謂曰：「大器晚成，若以而子歸，益令進學，後十年來，大用未晚也。」歸八年，太祖崩，縉入臨京師。有司劾縉違詔旨，且母喪未葬，父年九十，不當舍以行。謫河州衛吏。時禮部侍郎董倫方為惠帝所信任，縉因寓書於倫曰：「縉率易狂愚，無所避忌，數上封事，所言分封勢重，萬一不幸，必有厲長、吳濞之虞。冉阝哈術來歸，欽承顧問，謂宜待之有禮，稍忤機權，其徒必貳。此類非一，頗皆億中。又嘗為王國用草諫書，言韓國事，為詹徽所疾，欲中以危法。伏蒙聖恩，申之慰諭，重以鏹賜，令以十年著述，冠帶來廷。《元史》舛誤，承命改修，及踵成《宋書》，刪定《禮經》，凡例皆已留中。奉親之暇，杜門纂述，漸有次第，洊將八載。賓天之訃忽聞，痛切欲絕。母喪在殯，未遑安厝。家有九十之親，倚門望思，皆不暇戀。冀一拜山陵，隕淚九土。何圖詿誤，蒙恩遠行。揚、粵之人，不耐寒暑，復多疾病。俯仰奔趨，伍於吏卒，誠不堪忍。晝夜涕泣，恆懼不測。負平生之心，抱萬古之痛。是以數鳴知感。冀還京師，得望天顏，或遂南還，父子相見，即更生之日也。」倫乃薦縉，召為翰林待詔。

Jin once went to the Ministry of War to demand office runners and spoke insolently. Minister of War Shen Wen reported the matter to the Emperor. The Emperor said, "Does Jin think his idle appointment entitles him to behave so freely? He ordered that Jin be transferred to the Censorate. After the Duke of Han, Li Shanchang, was condemned and executed, Jin drafted a memorial on behalf of Bureau Director Wang Guoyong to plead Li's innocence. He also drafted a memorial for his colleague Xia Changwen impeaching Censor-in-Chief Yuan Tai. Yuan Tai came to hate him deeply. At that time, the fathers of favored officials were permitted to come to court for an audience. When Jin's father, Kai, arrived, the Emperor told him, "Great talent ripens slowly. Take your son home and see that he continues his studies. Even if he returns ten years from now, it will not be too late to give him important responsibilities. Eight years later, when Emperor Taizu died, Jin came to the capital to mourn. Officials impeached him for defying the Emperor's orders—they noted that his mother had not yet been buried and his father was ninety years old, and that he should not have left home. He was banished to serve as a clerk in Hezhou Guard. At that time Vice Minister of Rites Dong Lun enjoyed the trust of Emperor Huidi, and Jin sent him a letter saying, "I am rash, reckless, and foolish, and speak without restraint. In my repeated sealed memorials I warned that the enfeoffed princes had grown too powerful—that if misfortune should strike, the realm would face rebellions like those of Liu Chang and Wu Pi. When Lan Yu came over in submission and was honored with the Emperor's attention, I urged that he be treated with courtesy—a slight offense to imperial authority, I warned, and his followers would turn traitorous. I made many such predictions, most of which proved accurate. I also once drafted a remonstrance for Wang Guoyong on the case of the Duke of Han, for which Zhan Hui bore me ill will and sought to trap me with capital charges. I was spared by Your Majesty's grace, consoled and reassured, and granted silver besides, with orders to spend ten years in scholarly work before returning to court in official dress. I was ordered to revise the flawed History of Yuan, went on to complete the History of Song, and edited the Classic of Rites—all of whose guidelines have already been submitted to the throne. In the intervals of caring for my parents, I shut my door to write, and my work had steadily progressed for nearly eight years. When sudden word came of the Emperor's death, my grief was unbearable. My mother's coffin had not yet been buried. At home my ninety-year-old father waited at the door, longing for my return, yet I had no time even to linger with him. I hoped only to pay one visit to the imperial tomb and weep upon the earth. Instead, through some misunderstanding, I have been sent far from home. A man of the Yangzi and Guangdong regions, I cannot endure the extremes of climate there, and I am often ill. I must bow and scurry about among clerks and soldiers—a humiliation I truly cannot bear. I weep day and night, living in constant dread of what may befall me. I have betrayed the ideals of a lifetime and carry a grief that will never fade. That is why I appeal again and again to make my plight known. If I might return to the capital and behold the Emperor's face, or go home to the south and see my father again, it would be as if I were born anew. Dong Lun thereupon recommended Jin, and he was recalled to serve as a Hanlin awaiting-edicts.

成祖入京師，擢侍讀。命與黃淮、楊士奇、胡廣、金幼孜、楊榮、胡儼並直文淵閣，預機務。內閣預機務自此始。

When the Yongle Emperor entered the capital, Jin was promoted to Reader. He was ordered to serve alongside Huang Huai, Yang Shiqi, Hu Guang, Jin Youzi, Yang Rong, and Hu Yan in the Pavilion of Literary Depths, participating in state affairs. This marked the beginning of the Grand Secretariat's role in state affairs.

尋進侍讀學士，奉命總裁《太祖實錄》及《列女傳》。書成，賜銀幣。永樂二年，皇太子立，進縉翰林學士兼右春坊大學士。帝嘗召縉等曰：「爾七人朝夕左右，朕嘉爾勤慎，時言之宮中。恆情，慎初易，保終難，願共勉焉。」因各賜五品服，命七人命婦朝皇后於柔儀殿，後勞賜備至。又以立春日賜縉等金綺衣，與尚書埒。縉等入謝，帝曰：「代言之司，機密所系，且旦夕侍朕，裨益不在尚書下也。」一日，帝御奉天門，諭六科諸臣直言，因顧縉等曰：「王、魏之風，世不多有。若使進言者無所懼，聽言者無所忤，天下何患不治？朕與爾等共勉之。」其年秋，胡儼出為祭酒，縉等六人從容獻納。帝嘗虛己以聽。

He was soon promoted to Reader and Academician and ordered to serve as chief editor of the Veritable Records of Taizu and the Biographies of Exemplary Women. When the works were completed, he was rewarded with silver and silk. In the second year of the Yongle reign, when the Crown Prince was installed, Jin was promoted to Hanlin Academician and concurrently Grand Secretary of the Right Chunfang. The Emperor once summoned Jin and the others and said, "You seven attend me day and night. I commend your diligence and discretion, and often speak of you within the palace. It is human nature to begin with care but hard to persevere to the end. Let us encourage one another in this. He then granted each of them fifth-rank robes and ordered their wives to attend upon the Empress at Ruyi Hall, where the Empress received them with lavish rewards. On the Start of Spring he also granted Jin and the others brocade robes equal to those worn by ministers. When Jin and the others came to give thanks, the Emperor said, "Your office drafts the imperial word and handles state secrets. You attend me day and night, and your service is no less valuable than that of any minister. One day, holding court at Fengtian Gate, the Emperor urged the Six Offices to speak frankly, then turned to Jin and the others and said, "The forthright spirit of Wang Ji and Wei Zheng is rare in any age. If those who speak up need fear nothing and those who listen take no offense, what obstacle could stand in the way of good government? Let us all strive together toward that end." That autumn Hu Yan left to serve as Libationer, and Jin and the remaining six continued to offer counsel at their ease. The Emperor often listened with an open mind.

縉少登朝，才高，任事直前，表裏洞達。引拔士類，有一善稱之不容口。然好臧否，無顧忌，廷臣多害其寵。又以定儲議，為漢王高煦所忌，遂致敗。先是，儲位未定，淇國公邱福言漢王有功，宜立。帝密問縉。縉稱：「皇長子仁孝，天下歸心。」帝不應。縉又頓首曰：「好聖孫。」謂宣宗也。帝頷之。太子遂定。高煦由是深恨縉。會大發兵討安南，縉諫。不聽。卒平之，置郡縣。而太子既立，又時時失帝意。高煦寵益隆，禮秩逾嫡。縉又諫曰：「是啟爭也，不可。」帝怒，謂其離間骨肉，恩禮浸衰。四年，賜黃淮等五人二品紗羅衣，而不及縉。久之，福等議稍稍傳達外廷，高煦遂譖縉泄禁中語。明年，縉坐廷試讀卷不公，謫廣西布政司參議。既行，禮部郎中李至剛言縉怨望，改交阯，命督餉化州。

Jin had entered government young. Highly talented, he tackled affairs head-on and was transparent in all he did. He promoted men of talent and never ceased praising anyone who showed the slightest merit. Yet he was quick to pass judgment on others and spoke without restraint, and many court officials resented his favored position. He also earned the enmity of the Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, by his role in settling the succession, and this ultimately brought about his downfall. Earlier, when the succession had not been settled, the Duke of Qi, Qiu Fu, argued that the Prince of Han had earned merit and ought to be made heir. The Emperor privately asked Jin's opinion. Jin replied, "The eldest imperial son is benevolent and filial, and the hearts of the realm are with him. The Emperor made no reply. Jin kowtowed again and said, "And what a fine imperial grandson he has. He was referring to the future Xuanzong Emperor. The Emperor nodded in agreement. The Crown Prince's position was thereby settled. Gaoxu henceforth hated Jin deeply. When a major campaign was launched against Annam, Jin remonstrated against it. The Emperor did not heed him. Annam was eventually pacified and organized into prefectures and counties. Yet even after the Crown Prince was installed, he often fell out of the Emperor's favor. Gaoxu's favor only grew, and his ceremonial rank surpassed that of the heir. Jin remonstrated again, saying, "This invites rivalry—it must not be allowed. The Emperor grew angry, accusing him of sowing discord within the imperial family, and Jin's favor steadily waned. In the fourth year, Huang Huai and five others were granted second-rank gauze robes, but Jin was excluded. Before long, Qiu Fu's proposal began to circulate outside the palace, and Gaoxu then accused Jin of leaking confidential discussions. The following year Jin was convicted of bias in grading the palace examinations and was demoted to Administrative Commissioner Assistant in Guangxi. After he had set out, Li Zhigang of the Ministry of Rites reported that Jin was discontent, and his assignment was changed to Jiaozhi, with orders to supervise grain supplies at Huazhou.

永樂八年，縉奏事入京，值帝北征，縉謁皇太子而還。漢王言縉伺上出，私覲太子，徑歸，無人臣禮。帝震怒。縉時方偕檢討王偁道廣東，覽山川，上疏請鑿贛江通南北。奏至，逮縉下詔獄，拷掠備至。詞連大理丞湯宗，宗人府經歷高得抃，中允李貫，贊善王汝玉，編修硃紘，檢討蔣驥、潘畿、蕭引高並及至剛，皆下獄。汝玉、貫、紘、引高、得抃皆瘐死。十三年，錦衣衛帥紀綱上囚籍，帝見縉姓名曰：「縉猶在耶？」綱遂醉縉酒，埋積雪中，立死。年四十七。籍其家，妻子宗族徙遼東。

In the eighth year of the Yongle reign, Jin came to the capital on official business while the Emperor was away on a northern campaign; he paid his respects to the Crown Prince and then returned. The Prince of Han reported that Jin had waited until the Emperor was away, paid a private visit to the Crown Prince, and then left without observing proper court etiquette. The Emperor was furious. At the time Jin was traveling through Guangdong with Compiler Wang Cheng, surveying the landscape, and submitted a memorial proposing to dredge the Gan River to link north and south. When the memorial arrived, Jin was arrested and thrown into the imperial prison, where he was tortured without mercy. The investigation implicated Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review Tang Zong, Manager of the Imperial Clan Court Gao Debien, Palace Secretary Li Guan, Tutor Wang Ruyu, Compiler Zhu Hong, Compilers Jiang Ji, Pan Ji, and Xiao Yingao, and Li Zhigang—all were imprisoned. Wang Ruyu, Li Guan, Zhu Hong, Xiao Yingao, and Gao Debien all died in prison. In the thirteenth year, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Ji Gang, submitted the prisoner register. The Emperor saw Jin's name and said, "Jin is still alive? Ji Gang got Jin drunk, buried him in a snowdrift, and he died on the spot. He was forty-seven years old. His property was confiscated, and his wife, children, and entire clan were exiled to Liaodong.

縉初與胡廣同侍成祖宴。帝曰：「爾二人生同里，長同學，仕同官。縉有子，廣可以女妻之。」廣頓首曰：「臣妻方娠，未卜男女。」帝笑曰：「定女矣。」已而果生女，遂約婚。縉敗，子禎亮徙遼東，廣欲離婚。女截耳誓曰：「薄命之婚，皇上主之，大人面承之，有死無二。」及赦還，卒歸禎亮。

Early on, Jin and Hu Guang both attended a banquet in the service of Emperor Chengzu. The Emperor said, "You two were born in the same hometown, studied together as youths, and now serve in the same office. Jin has a son—Guang may betroth his daughter to him." Guang kowtowed and said, "Your subject's wife has just conceived, and we do not yet know whether the child will be a boy or a girl." The Emperor smiled and said, "It will surely be a girl." Before long a daughter was indeed born, and the two families arranged the marriage. After Jin's downfall, his son Zhenliang was exiled to Liaodong, and Guang wanted to dissolve the betrothal. The daughter cut off her ear and vowed, "This fated marriage was ordained by the Emperor and accepted to his face by my father; I would rather die than marry anyone else." When an amnesty permitted their return, she eventually went to Zhenliang and became his wife.

正統元年八月，詔還所籍家產。成化元年，復縉官，贈朝議大夫。始縉言漢王及安南事得禍。後高煦以叛誅。安南數反，置吏未久，復棄去。悉如縉言。

In the eighth month of the first year of the Zhengtong reign, an edict ordered the return of their confiscated family estate. In the first year of the Chenghua reign, Jin's official rank was restored, and he was posthumously granted the title Grand Master for Court Discussion. From the outset, Jin had brought disaster upon himself by speaking out about the Prince of Han and the Annam campaign. Later Gao Xu was put to death for treason. Annam rose in rebellion again and again; the court appointed officials there, but before long withdrew them and gave up the territory once more. Everything unfolded exactly as Jin had predicted.

縉兄綸，洪武中亦官御史。性剛直。後改應天教授。子禎期，以書名。

Jin's elder brother Lun had also served as a censor in the Hongwu era. He was by nature stern and upright. He was later transferred to serve as professor at Yingtian. His son Zhenqi won fame for his calligraphy.

黃淮，字宗豫，永嘉人。父性，方國珍據溫州，遁跡避偽命。淮舉洪武末進士，授中書舍人。成祖即位，召對稱旨，命與解縉常立御榻左，備顧問。或至夜分，帝就寢，猶賜坐榻前語，機密重務悉預聞。既而與縉等六人並直文淵閣，改翰林編修，進侍讀。議立太子，淮請立嫡以長。太子立，遷左庶子兼侍讀。永樂五年，解縉黜，淮進右春坊大學士。明年與胡廣、金幼孜、楊榮、楊士奇同輔導太孫。七年，帝北巡，命淮及蹇義、金忠、楊士奇輔皇太子監國。十一年，再北巡，仍留守。明年，帝征瓦剌還，太子遣使迎稍緩，帝重入高煦譖，悉征東宮官屬下詔獄，淮及楊溥、金問皆坐系十年。

Huang Huai, whose courtesy name was Zongyu, came from Yongjia. His father Xing had gone into hiding to avoid serving the rebel regime when Fang Guozhen held Wenzhou. Huai passed the jinshi examination near the end of the Hongwu reign and was appointed a drafter in the Secretariat. When Emperor Chengzu acceded to the throne, Huai was summoned to audience and his answers pleased the Emperor, who ordered him to stand regularly at the left of the imperial couch with Jie Jin, ready to advise. Sometimes discussions lasted until midnight; even after the Emperor retired to bed, he would still grant Huai a seat before the couch to talk, and Huai was privy to every confidential matter of state. He was soon assigned to the Pavilion of Literary Depths together with Jin and five others, transferred to Hanlin compiler, and promoted to reader-in-waiting. During deliberations over the installation of the Crown Prince, Huai argued that the eldest son of the principal consort should be named heir. After the Crown Prince was installed, he was transferred to left tutor of the Heir Apparent while retaining his post as reader-in-waiting. In the fifth year of the Yongle reign, Jie Jin was dismissed from office and Huai was promoted to grand secretary of the Right Chunfang. The following year he joined Hu Guang, Jin Youzi, Yang Rong, and Yang Shiqi in instructing the imperial grandson. In the seventh year, when the Emperor made a northern tour, he ordered Huai, together with Jian Yi, Jin Zhong, and Yang Shiqi, to assist the Crown Prince in governing the realm. In the eleventh year, when the Emperor toured the north again, Huai remained behind to hold the capital as before. The next year, when the Emperor returned from his campaign against the Oirats, the Crown Prince's welcoming envoys were somewhat delayed; the Emperor again believed Gao Xu's accusations, and all the Eastern Palace officials were summoned and thrown into the imperial prison—Huai, Yang Pu, and Jin Wen were all convicted and imprisoned for ten years.

仁宗即位，復官。尋擢為通政使，兼武英殿大學士，與楊榮、金幼孜、楊士奇同掌內製〔制〕。丁母憂，乞終制。不許。明年，進少保、戶部尚書，兼大學士如故。仁宗崩，太子在南京。漢王久蓄異志，中外疑懼，淮憂危嘔血。宣德元年，帝親征樂安，命淮居守。明年以疾乞休，許之。父性年九十，奉養甚歡。及性卒，賜葬祭，淮詣闕謝。值燈時，賜游西苑，詔乘肩輿登萬歲山。命主會試，比辭歸，餞之太液池，帝為長歌送之，且曰：「朕生日，卿其復來。」明年入賀。英宗立，再入朝。正統十四年六月卒。年八十三，諡文簡。

When Emperor Renzong acceded, Huai's offices were restored. He was soon promoted to transmission commissioner and concurrently appointed grand secretary of the Hall of Martial Brilliance, joining Yang Rong, Jin Youzi, and Yang Shiqi in overseeing the drafting of imperial compositions. When his mother died and he entered mourning, he asked to complete the full mourning period. The request was denied. The following year he was promoted to Junior Guardian and minister of revenue, while continuing to serve as grand secretary as before. When Emperor Renzong died, the Crown Prince was in Nanjing. The Prince of Han had long nursed rebellious ambitions, and anxiety spread through court and country alike; Huai, consumed by dread, vomited blood. In the first year of the Xuande reign, when the Emperor personally led a campaign against Le'an, he ordered Huai to remain behind and guard the capital. The following year he asked to retire on grounds of illness, and the request was granted. His father Xing was ninety years old, and Huai supported him with devoted affection. When Xing died, the court granted funeral honors and sacrificial offerings, and Huai came to the palace to express his gratitude. It happened to be the Lantern Festival; he was granted an excursion to the Western Park and commanded to ride in a sedan chair up Longevity Hill. The Emperor appointed him chief examiner of the metropolitan examination; when he was about to take leave and return home, the Emperor gave him a farewell feast at the Great Liquid Pool, composed a long song to send him off, and said, "On my birthday, you must come again." The following year he returned to offer birthday congratulations. When Emperor Yingzong took the throne, he came to court once more. He died in the sixth month of the fourteenth year of the Zhengtong reign. He was eighty-three years old; he was posthumously given the title Wenyuan, Literary and Simple.

淮性明果，達於治體。永樂中，長沙妖人李法良反。仁宗方監國，命豐城侯李彬討之。漢王忌太子有功，詭言彬不可用。淮曰：「彬，老將，必能滅賊，願急遣。」彬卒擒法良。又時有告黨逆者。淮言於帝曰：「洪武末年已有敕禁，不宜復理。」吏部追論「靖難」兵起時，南人官北地不即歸附者，當編戍。淮曰：「如是，恐示人不廣。」帝皆從之。阿魯台歸款，請得役屬吐蕃諸部。求朝廷刻金作誓詞，磨其金酒中，飲諸酋長以盟。眾議欲許之。淮曰：「彼勢分則易制，一則難圖矣。」帝顧左右曰：「黃淮論事，如立高岡，無遠不見。」西域僧大寶法王來朝，帝將刻玉印賜之，以璞示淮。淮曰：「朝廷賜諸番制敕，用『敕命』、『廣運』二寶。今此玉較大，非所以示遠人、尊朝廷。」帝嘉納。其獻替類如此。然量頗隘。同列有小過，輒以聞。或謂解縉之謫，淮有力焉。其見疏於宣宗也，亦謂楊榮言「淮病瘵，能染人」云。

Huai was clear-minded and decisive, with a thorough grasp of the principles of government. During the Yongle reign, the sorcerer Li Faliang of Changsha rose in rebellion. The Crown Prince was then supervising the realm and ordered Marquis Li Bin of Fengcheng to put down the rebellion. The Prince of Han, resentful of the Crown Prince's success, falsely claimed that Bin was unfit for the mission. Huai said, "Bin is a seasoned general and will surely destroy the rebels; I urge that he be sent out immediately." Bin ultimately captured Faliang. There were also periodic accusations of factional conspiracy and treason. Huai said to the Emperor, "In the closing years of the Hongwu reign there was already an edict forbidding such prosecutions; they should not be revived." The Ministry of Personnel proposed that southerners who had held office in the north but had not promptly submitted when the Jingnan campaign began should be registered for penal military service. Huai said, "If that were done, I fear it would show the court to be lacking in magnanimity." The Emperor accepted all of Huai's recommendations. Arughtai submitted to the court and asked permission to levy and control the various Tibetan tribes. He asked the court to inscribe an oath on gold, grind the gold into wine, and have the chieftains drink it to seal the covenant. The consensus at court was to grant the request. Huai said, "When their power is divided they are easy to control; once united, they will be hard to manage." The Emperor turned to those beside him and said, "When Huang Huai discusses affairs, it is like standing on a high ridge—nothing distant escapes his sight." The Daba Fawang, a Buddhist monk from the western regions, came to court; the Emperor planned to have a jade seal carved and bestowed on him, and showed the uncut jade to Huai. Huai said, "When the court bestows edicts on the frontier peoples, it uses the two imperial seals 'Edict of Command' and 'Broadly Conveyed Fortune. This piece of jade is larger than those seals; that is not the way to show dignity to distant peoples and honor the court." The Emperor praised his counsel and accepted it. His counsel, whether in support of or in opposition to proposals, was largely of this sort. Yet his tolerance was rather limited. Whenever a colleague committed a minor fault, he would immediately report it. Some said Huai had played a part in Jie Jin's banishment. When he fell out of favor under Emperor Xuanzong, it was also said that Yang Rong had told the Emperor, "Huai suffers from consumption and can infect others."

時方討燕，廣對策有「親籓陸梁，人心搖動」語，帝親擢廣第一，賜名靖，授翰林修撰。

At the time the court was campaigning against Yan, Guang's examination essay contained the phrase "a princely fief grows unruly and the people's hearts are unsettled"; the Emperor personally ranked Guang first, granted him the name Jing, and appointed him Hanlin reviser.

成祖即位，廣偕解縉迎附。擢侍講，改侍讀，復名廣。遷右春坊右庶子。永樂五年，進翰林學士，兼左春坊大學士。帝北征，與楊榮、金幼孜從。數召對帳殿，或至夜分。過山川厄塞，立馬議論，行或稍後，輒遣騎四齣求索。嘗失道，脫衣乘驏馬渡河，水沒馬及腰以上，帝顧勞良苦。廣善書，每勒石，皆命書之。十二年再北征，皇長孫從，命廣與榮、幼孜軍中講經史。十四年，進文淵閣大學士，兼職如故。帝征烏思藏僧作法會，為高帝、高後薦福，言見諸祥異。廣乃獻《聖孝瑞應頌》，帝綴為佛曲，令宮中歌舞之。禮部郎中周訥請封禪，廣言其不可，遂不許。廣上《卻封禪頌》，帝益親愛之。

When Emperor Chengzu acceded to the throne, Guang went out together with Jie Jin to welcome and submit to him. He was promoted to lecturer-in-waiting, then transferred to reader-in-waiting, and his name was restored to Guang. He was transferred to right tutor of the Right Chunfang. In the fifth year of the Yongle reign he was promoted to Hanlin academician and concurrently appointed grand secretary of the Left Chunfang. When the Emperor marched north on campaign, Guang accompanied him together with Yang Rong and Jin Youzi. He was frequently summoned for audience in the campaign tent, sometimes until deep into the night. When they passed treacherous mountain terrain, they would dismount to discuss affairs; if Guang fell somewhat behind on the march, the Emperor would send horsemen in all directions to find him. Once he lost his way, stripped off his clothes, and crossed a river on a mule; the water rose above the mule's waist, and the Emperor turned back to express sympathy for his ordeal. Guang excelled at calligraphy, and whenever a stele was to be engraved, the Emperor ordered him to write the inscription. On the second northern expedition in the twelfth year, when the eldest imperial grandson accompanied the campaign, the Emperor ordered Guang, together with Rong and Youzi, to lecture on the classics and history in the army. In the fourteenth year he was promoted to grand secretary of the Pavilion of Literary Depths, while retaining his other offices as before. The Emperor invited monks from U-Tsang to perform Buddhist rites to pray for blessings on the founding emperor and empress, and reports spoke of many auspicious marvels. Guang then presented "An Ode to Sacred Filiality and Auspicious Responses"; the Emperor arranged it into a Buddhist hymn and had it sung and danced in the palace. Zhou Ne, a department director in the Ministry of Rites, petitioned for a fengshan sacrifice; Guang argued against it, and the request was denied. Guang submitted "An Ode Declining the Fengshan," and the Emperor grew even fonder of him.

廣性縝密。帝前所言及所治職務，出未嘗告人。時人以方漢胡廣。然頗能持大體。奔母喪還朝，帝問百姓安否。對曰：「安，但郡縣窮治建文時奸黨，株及支親，為民厲。」帝納其言。十六年五月卒，年四十九。贈禮部尚書，諡文穆。文臣得諡，自廣始。喪還，過南京，太子為致祭。明年，官其子穜翰林檢討。仁宗立，加贈廣少師。

Guang was meticulous by nature. What he said before the Emperor and the official business he handled, he never disclosed to anyone once he left the palace. People of the time compared him to Hu Guang of the Han dynasty. Yet he was quite capable of upholding the larger principles of governance. When he returned to court after rushing home for his mother's funeral, the Emperor asked whether the common people were living in peace. He replied, "They are at peace, but counties and prefectures are exhaustively prosecuting the Jianwen-era factionalists, implicating collateral relatives, and this has become a scourge upon the people." The Emperor accepted his counsel. He died in the fifth month of the sixteenth year, at the age of forty-nine. He was posthumously granted the title minister of rites and given the posthumous name Wenmu, Literary and Solemn. The practice of granting posthumous titles to civil officials began with Guang. As the funeral procession returned home, passing through Nanjing, the Crown Prince performed sacrificial rites in his honor. The following year, his son Tong was appointed a reviser in the Hanlin Academy. When Emperor Renzong took the throne, Guang was posthumously granted the title of Junior Preceptor.

金幼孜

Jin Youzi

金幼孜，名善，以字行，新淦人。建文二年進士。授戶科給事中。成祖即位，改翰林檢討，與解縉等同直文淵閣，遷侍講。時翰林坊局臣講書東宮，皆先具經義，閣臣閱正，呈帝覽，乃進講。解縉《書》，楊士奇《易》，胡廣《詩》，幼孜《春秋》，因進《春秋要旨》三卷。

Jin Youzi, whose given name was Shan but who was known by his courtesy name, came from Xingan. He passed the jinshi examinations in the second year of the Jianwen reign. He was appointed supervising secretary in the Household Section. When Emperor Chengzu took the throne, he became a reviser in the Hanlin Academy and, together with Jie Jin and others, served in the Pavilion of Literary Depths; he was later promoted to lecturing attendant. At that time, Hanlin scholars who lectured on the classics in the Eastern Palace would first draft their interpretations; cabinet ministers would review and revise them, submit them for the Emperor's approval, and only then proceed to the lectures. Jie Jin lectured on the Book of Documents, Yang Shiqi on the Book of Changes, Hu Guang on the Book of Poetry, and Youzi on the Spring and Autumn Annals; in this connection he submitted his Essential Points of the Spring and Autumn Annals in three fascicles.

永樂五年，遷右諭德兼侍講，因諭吏部，直內閣諸臣胡廣、金幼孜等考滿，勿改他任。七年從幸北京。明年北征，幼孜與廣、榮扈行，駕駐清水源，有泉涌出。幼孜獻銘，榮獻詩，皆勞以上尊。帝重幼孜文學，所過山川要害，輒命記之。幼孜據鞍起草立就。使自瓦剌來，帝召幼孜等傍輿行，言敵中事，親倚甚。嘗與廣、榮及侍郎金純失道陷谷中。暮夜，幼孜墜馬，廣、純去不顧。榮為結鞍行，行又輒墜，榮乘以己騎，明日始達行在所。是夜，帝遣使十余輩跡榮、幼孜，不獲。比至，帝喜動顏色。自後北征皆從，所撰有北征前、後二《錄》。十二年命與廣、榮等纂《五經四書性理大全》，遷翰林學士。十八年與榮併進文淵閣大學士。

In the fifth year of the Yongle reign, he was promoted to right preceptor of the crown prince while retaining his post as lecturing attendant. The Emperor then instructed the Ministry of Personnel that cabinet members such as Hu Guang and Jin Youzi were not to be reassigned when their terms of service expired. In the seventh year he accompanied the Emperor on his visit to Beijing. The next year, on the northern expedition, Youzi accompanied Guang and Rong in escorting the Emperor. When the imperial procession halted at Clear Water Spring, a fresh spring burst from the ground. Youzi composed an inscription and Rong composed a poem, and both were rewarded with superior wine in recognition of their service. The Emperor valued Youzi's literary talent and, wherever the campaign passed strategic mountains and rivers, would order him to compose a record. Youzi would draft compositions from horseback and finish them on the spot. When envoys arrived from Oirat, the Emperor would summon Youzi and others to walk beside his carriage and discuss intelligence from the enemy camps; he relied on them with great intimacy. Once he, together with Guang, Rong, and Vice Minister Jin Chun, lost their way and became trapped in a ravine. At nightfall Youzi fell from his horse, while Guang and Chun rode on without stopping. Rong fixed the saddle and helped him along on foot; when Youzi kept falling, Rong gave him his own horse. They did not reach the imperial camp until the following day. That night the Emperor dispatched more than ten messengers to search for Rong and Youzi, but they could not be found. When they finally arrived, the Emperor's joy was written plainly on his face. From then on he accompanied every northern expedition. Among his writings are two Records of the Northern Campaign, one covering the period before and one the period after. In the twelfth year he was ordered to compile, together with Guang, Rong, and others, the Great Compendium on the Nature and Principle of the Five Classics and Four Books, and was promoted to Hanlin academician. In the eighteenth year he and Rong were jointly promoted to grand secretaries of the Pavilion of Literary Depths.

二十二年從北征，中道兵疲。帝以問群臣，莫敢對，惟幼孜言不宜深入，不聽。次開平，帝謂榮、幼孜曰：「朕夢神人語上帝好生者再，是何祥也？」榮、幼孜對曰：「陛下此舉，固在除暴安民。然火炎昆岡，玉石俱毀，惟陛下留意。」帝然之，即命草詔，招諭諸部。還軍至榆木川，帝崩。秘不發喪。榮訃京師，幼孜護梓宮歸。仁宗即位，拜戶部右侍郎兼文淵閣大學士。尋加太子少保兼武英殿大學士。是年十月命幼孜、榮、士奇會錄罪囚於承天門外。詔法司，錄重囚必會三學士，委寄益隆。帝御西角門閱廷臣制誥，顧三學士曰：「汝三人及蹇、夏二尚書，皆先帝舊臣，朕方倚以自輔。嘗見前代人主惡聞直言，雖素所親信，亦畏威順旨，緘默取容。賢良之臣，言不見聽，退而杜口。朕與卿等當深用為戒。」因取五人誥詞，親增二語云：「勿謂崇高而難入，勿以有所從違而或怠。」幼孜等頓首稱謝。洪熙元年進禮部尚書兼大學士、學士如故，並給三俸。尋乞歸省母。明年，母卒。

In the twenty-second year he accompanied the northern expedition, but midway the army grew exhausted. The Emperor asked his ministers; none dared answer. Only Youzi said they should not press deeper, but the Emperor would not listen. When they reached Kaiping, the Emperor said to Rong and Youzi, "I dreamed that a divine being twice said that the Lord on High loves life—what omen is this?" Rong and Youzi replied, "Your Majesty's present campaign is indeed meant to suppress the violent and bring peace to the people. Yet when fire blazes on Mount Kun, jade and common stone are destroyed alike—may Your Majesty take heed." The Emperor agreed and immediately ordered a proclamation drafted to summon and reassure the various tribes. On the return march, when the army reached Elm River, the Emperor died. The death was kept secret and mourning was not publicly announced. Rong rode ahead to announce the death in the capital, while Youzi escorted the imperial coffin home. When Emperor Renzong acceded, he was appointed right vice minister of revenue and grand secretary of the Pavilion of Literary Depths. Soon he was additionally appointed junior guardian of the crown prince and grand secretary of the Hall of Martial Glory. That October, Youzi, Rong, and Shiqi were ordered to jointly review criminal cases outside the Gate of Receiving Heaven. An edict to the judiciary declared that reviews of serious criminal cases must include the three grand secretaries, and their trust and authority grew ever greater. While reviewing court appointments and edicts at the West Corner Gate, the Emperor turned to the three grand secretaries and said, "You three, together with Ministers Jian and Xia, are all former ministers of the late Emperor. I mean to rely on you to assist me. I have seen that rulers of earlier ages hated to hear frank counsel. Even those they had long trusted would fear their authority, defer to their wishes, and keep silent to win favor. Worthy ministers whose counsel went unheeded would withdraw and seal their lips. You and I must take this deeply to heart as a warning." He then took the five men's appointment edicts and personally added two lines: "Do not suppose that because one stands in high station it is hard to gain access; do not slacken because one sometimes agrees or disagrees." Youzi and the others bowed in thanks. In the first year of the Hongxi reign he was promoted to minister of rites and retained his post as grand secretary; his Hanlin title remained unchanged, and he was granted three salaries in total. Soon afterward he requested leave to return home and visit his mother. The following year his mother died.

宣宗立，詔起復，修兩朝實錄，充總裁官。三年持節寧夏，冊慶府郡王妃。所過詢兵民疾苦，還奏之。帝嘉納焉。從巡邊，度雞鳴山。帝曰：「唐太宗恃其英武征遼，嘗過此山。」幼孜對曰：「太宗尋悔此役，故建憫忠閣。」帝曰：「此山崩於元順帝時，為元亡征。」對曰：「順帝亡國之主，雖山不崩，國亦必亡。」宣德六年十二月卒。年六十四。贈少保，諡文靖。

When Emperor Xuanzong acceded, an edict recalled him to service. He compiled the Veritable Records of the two preceding reigns and served as chief editor. In the third year he traveled to Ningxia bearing the imperial insignia to invest the consort of the Prince of Qing as princess consort. Wherever he passed he inquired into the hardships of soldiers and civilians and reported them upon his return. The Emperor praised and accepted his report. He accompanied the border inspection and crossed Cockcrow Mountain. The Emperor said, "Emperor Taizong of Tang, trusting in his martial prowess, once campaigned against Liaodong and passed this mountain." Youzi replied, "Taizong soon regretted that campaign, which is why he built the Pavilion of Pity for the Loyal." The Emperor said, "This mountain collapsed during the reign of Emperor Shundi of Yuan—a portent of the dynasty's fall." He replied, "Shundi was a ruler who lost his empire. Even if the mountain had not collapsed, the state would still have fallen." He died in the twelfth month of the sixth year of the Xuande reign. He was sixty-four years old. He was posthumously granted the title of Junior Guardian and given the posthumous name Wenjing, Literary and Tranquil.

幼孜簡易靜默，寬裕有容。眷遇雖隆，而自處益謙。名其宴居之室曰「退庵」。疾革時，家人囑請身後恩，不聽，曰：「此君子所恥也。」

Youzi was plain and unassuming, quiet by nature, generous, and forbearing. Though imperial favor ran deep, he conducted himself with ever greater humility. He named his private study the "Hermitage of Withdrawal." When his illness grew critical, his family urged him to request posthumous honors, but he refused, saying, "That is something a gentleman ought to be ashamed to do."

胡儼，字若思，南昌人。少嗜學，於天文、地理、律歷、醫卜無不究覽。洪武中以舉人授華亭教諭，能以師道自任。母憂，服除，改長垣，乞便地就養，復改余干。學官許乞便地自儼始。

Hu Yan, whose courtesy name was Ruosi, came from Nanchang. From youth he loved learning and thoroughly explored astronomy, geography, calendrics, medicine, and divination. During the Hongwu reign he was appointed instructor at Huating as a presented scholar and took upon himself the full dignity of a teacher. After completing mourning for his mother, he was transferred to Changyuan. He then requested a more convenient post so he could support his parents and was reassigned to Yugan. Educational officials' permission to request convenient posts for family care began with Yan.

成祖即位，曰：「儼知天文，其令欽天監試。」既試，奏儼實通象緯、氣候之學。尋又以解縉薦，授翰林檢討，與縉等俱直文淵閣，遷侍講，進左庶子。父喪，起復。儼在閣，承顧問，嘗不欲先人，然少戇。永樂二年九月，拜國子監祭酒，遂不預機務。時用法嚴峻，國子生托事告歸者坐戍邊。儼至，即奏除之。七年，帝幸北京，召儼赴行在。明年北征，命以祭酒兼侍講，掌翰林院事，輔皇太孫留守北京。十九年，改北京國子監祭酒。

When Emperor Chengzu took the throne, he said, "Yan knows astronomy—have the Directorate of Astronomy test him." After the test, a memorial reported that Yan was genuinely versed in astral lore and seasonal forecasting. Soon afterward, on Jie Jin's recommendation, he was appointed a reviser in the Hanlin Academy and, together with Jin and others, served in the Pavilion of Literary Depths. He was promoted to lecturing attendant and then to left assistant tutor of the crown prince. When his father died, he was recalled from mourning to resume office. In the cabinet Yan answered the Emperor's consultations. He was always reluctant to speak before others, yet he could be somewhat blunt. In the ninth month of the second year of the Yongle reign he was appointed chancellor of the Directorate of Education and thereafter ceased to participate in state affairs. At that time penalties were harsh: students who obtained leave on pretext were sentenced to frontier garrison duty. As soon as Yan took office, he memorialized to abolish the practice. In the seventh year the Emperor visited Beijing and summoned Yan to the traveling palace. The next year, during the northern expedition, he was ordered to serve as chancellor while also holding the post of lecturing attendant, to manage the Hanlin Academy and assist the imperial grandson in governing Beijing in the Emperor's absence. In the nineteenth year he became chancellor of the Beijing Directorate of Education.

當是時，海內混一，垂五十年。帝方內興禮樂，外懷要荒，公卿大夫彬彬多文學之士。儼館閣宿儒，朝廷大著作多出其手，重修《太祖實錄》、《永樂大典》、《天下圖志》皆充總裁官。居國學二十餘年，以身率教，動有師法。洪熙改元，以疾乞休，仁宗賜敕獎勞，進太子賓客，仍兼祭酒。致仕，復其子孫。

By then the empire had been unified for nearly fifty years. The Emperor was promoting rites and music at home while reaching out to distant frontiers abroad, and among grandees and ministers there were many men of refined literary culture. Yan was a seasoned scholar of the academies, and many of the court's major compilations came from his hand. He served as chief editor of the Revised Veritable Records of the Founding Emperor, the Yongle Encyclopedia, and the Universal Geographical Atlas. He led the imperial academy for more than twenty years, personally setting the standard of instruction and embodying the teacher's discipline in every action. When the Hongxi reign era began, he requested retirement due to illness. Emperor Renzong granted him a commendatory edict, promoted him to mentor of the crown prince, and let him retain the chancellorship. Upon his retirement, his descendants were restored to office.

宣宗即位，以禮部侍郎召，辭歸。家居二十年，方岳重臣咸待以師禮。儼與言，未嘗及私。自處淡泊，歲時衣食才給。初為湖廣考官，得楊溥文，大異之，題其上曰：「必能為董子之正言，而不為公孫之阿曲。」世以為知人。正統八年八月卒，年八十三。

When Emperor Xuanzong acceded, he was summoned as vice minister of rites, but he declined and returned home. He lived in retirement for twenty years, and provincial governors and senior ministers all treated him with the respect due a teacher. In conversation Yan never touched on private matters. He lived simply and quietly, with barely enough food and clothing from year to year. Early on, as an examiner in Huguang, he came upon Yang Pu's examination essay and was deeply impressed. He wrote on it, "He will surely speak the upright words of Dong Zhongshu, and not the flattering crookedness of Gongsun Hong." People took this as proof of his gift for recognizing talent. He died in the eighth month of the eighth year of the Zhengtong reign, at the age of eighty-three.

贊曰：明初罷丞相，分事權於六部。成祖始命儒臣直文淵閣，預機務。沿及仁、宣，而閣權日重，實行丞相事。解縉以下五人，則詞林之最初入閣者也。夫處禁密之地，必以公正自持，而尤貴於厚重不泄。縉少年高才，自負匡濟大略，太祖俾十年進學，愛之深矣。彼其動輒得謗，不克令終，夫豈盡嫉賢害能者力固使之然歟。黃淮功在輔導，胡廣、金幼孜勞著扈從，胡儼久於國學。觀諸臣從容密勿，隨事納忠，固非僅以文字翰墨為勛績已也。

The encomium says: At the founding of the Ming dynasty the office of chancellor was abolished and governmental authority was divided among the six ministries. Emperor Chengzu was the first to order Confucian officials to serve in the Pavilion of Literary Depths and participate in state affairs. Through the reigns of Renzong and Xuanzong, cabinet authority grew ever weightier until it in effect performed the duties of a chancellor. Jie Jin and the four men who followed him were the first literary academicians to enter the cabinet. Those who occupy such secluded and confidential posts must uphold themselves with impartiality and rectitude, and above all must value discretion and the refusal to divulge secrets. Jin was a brilliant youth who trusted in his own grand schemes for saving the realm. The founding Emperor had granted him ten years to advance in learning and loved him deeply. That he repeatedly earned slander and could not finish well—is it entirely the work of those who envied talent and sought to destroy the able? Huang Huai's merit lay in instructing the heir; Hu Guang and Jin Youzi distinguished themselves in escorting the Emperor on campaign; Hu Yan served long as head of the imperial academy. Observing how these ministers conducted themselves with calm discretion in confidential affairs, offering loyal counsel on every issue, it is clear that their merit lay in far more than literary composition alone.

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