1
董倫 〈（王景）〉 儀智 〈（子銘）〉 鄒濟 〈（徐善述王汝玉梁潛）〉 周述 〈（弟孟簡）〉 陳濟 〈（陳繼楊翥俞山俞綱潘辰）〉 王英錢習禮周敘 〈（劉儼）〉 柯潛 〈（羅璟）〉 孔公恂 〈（司馬恂）〉
Dong Lun Wang Jing)〉 Yi Zhi his son Ming)〉 Zou Ji Xu Shanshu, Wang Ruyu, Liang Qian)〉 Zhou Shu his younger brother Meng Jian)〉 Chen Ji Chen Ji, Yang Chong, Yu Shan, Yu Gang, Pan Chen)〉 Wang Ying, Qian Xili, Zhou Xu Liu Yan)〉 Ke Qian Luo Jing)〉 Kong Gongxun Sima Xun)〉
2
建文初，召拜禮部侍郎兼翰林學士，與方孝孺同侍經筵。 禦書「怡老堂」額寵之，又賜髹幾、玉鳩杖。 解縉謫河州，以倫言得召還。 倫質直敦厚，嘗勸帝睦親藩，不聽。 成祖即位，倫年已八十，命致仕，尋卒。
Early in the Jianwen reign he was called to court and made Vice Minister of Rites while also serving as a Hanlin academician, sharing duty at the imperial lectures with Fang Xiaoru. The emperor honored him with an imperial inscription for the hall name "Hall of Gentle Aging," and further granted a lacquered reading desk and a jade-headed dove staff. When Xie Jin was exiled to Hezhou, it was on Lun's recommendation that he was recalled. Lun was straightforward and steadfast by nature; he once urged the emperor to reconcile with the princely domains, but his counsel went unheeded. After the Yongle Emperor came to the throne, Lun was already eighty; he was ordered to retire from office and died soon afterward.
3
其與倫同時為禮部侍郎者，有王景，字景彰，松陽人。 洪武初，為懷遠教諭。 以博學應詔。 命作朝享樂章，定藩王朝覲儀。 累官山西參政，與倫先後謫雲南。 建文初，召入翰林，修《太祖實錄》。 用張紞薦，除禮部侍郎兼翰林侍講。 成祖即位，擢學士。 帝問葬建文帝禮，景頓首言：「宜用天子禮。」 從之。 永樂六年卒於官。
Serving as Vice Minister of Rites at the same time as Lun was Wang Jing, whose style was Jingzhang and who came from Songyang. Early in the Hongwu reign he served as director of studies at Huaiyuan. He was summoned to court on account of his wide learning. He was charged with composing the music for the morning court sacrifice and with setting the forms for princes attending audience. He rose to become Administrative Commissioner of Shanxi, and he and Lun were banished to Yunnan in turn. Early in the Jianwen reign he was called into the Hanlin Academy to help compile the Veritable Records of the founding emperor. On Zhang Dan's recommendation he was made Vice Minister of Rites while also serving as a Hanlin lecturer. When the Yongle Emperor took the throne, Jing was promoted to Hanlin academician. When the emperor asked what funeral rites should be used for the Jianwen emperor, Jing kowtowed and said, "The rites appropriate to a Son of Heaven should be used." The emperor accepted his advice. He died in office in the sixth year of the Yongle reign.
4
儀智，字居真，高密人。 洪武末，舉耆儒，授高密訓導，遷莘縣教諭。 擢知高郵州，課農興學，吏民愛之。
Yi Zhi, whose style was Juzhen, came from Gaomi. Late in the Hongwu reign he was nominated as a senior scholar, appointed instructor at Gaomi, and later transferred to serve as director of studies in Shen County. Promoted to prefect of Gaoyou, he promoted farming and revived schools, and both officials and common people held him in affection.
5
永樂元年遷寶慶知府。 土人健悍，獨畏智，相戒不敢犯。 召為右通政兼右中允。 未幾，遷湖廣右布政使。 坐事謫役通州。 六年冬，湖廣都指揮使龔忠入見。 帝問湖湘間老儒，忠以智對。 即日召之。 既至，拜禮部左侍郎。 十一年元旦，日當食，尚書呂震請朝賀如常，智持不可。 會左諭德楊士奇亦以為言，乃免賀如智議。
In the first year of Yongle he was transferred to serve as prefect of Baqing. The local people were hardy and fierce, yet they feared Zhi alone and warned one another not to transgress against him. He was summoned to serve as Right Vice Commissioner of Transmission while also holding the post of Right Middle Assistant in the Heir Apparent's household. Before long he was transferred to Right Administrative Commissioner of Huguang. After an offense he was demoted to penal labor at Tongzhou. In the winter of the sixth year, Gong Zhong, regional commander of Huguang, came to audience. The emperor asked about elderly scholars in the Hunan region, and Zhong named Zhi. Zhi was summoned the same day. On his arrival he was appointed Left Vice Minister of Rites. On New Year's Day of the eleventh year an eclipse was due; Minister Lu Zhen asked that the court hold its usual congratulatory audience, but Zhi objected. As it happened, Left Tutor Yang Shiqi spoke to the same effect, and the congratulatory audience was canceled in accordance with Zhi's view.
6
十四年詔吏部、翰林院擇耆儒侍太孫。 士奇及蹇義首薦智。 太子曰：「吾嘗舉李繼鼎，大誤，悔無及。 智誠端士，然老矣。」 士奇頓首言：「智起家學官，明理守正。 雖耄，精神未衰。 廷臣中老成正大，無逾智者。」 是日午朝，帝顧太子曰：「侍太孫講讀得人未？」 太子對曰：「舉禮部侍郎儀智，議未決。」 帝喜曰：「智雖老，能直言，可用也。」 遂命輔導皇太孫。 每進講書史，必反覆啟迪，以正心術為本。 十九年，年八十，致仕，卒於家。 洪熙元年贈太子少保，謚文簡。
In the fourteenth year an edict directed the Ministry of Personnel and the Hanlin Academy to choose senior scholars to attend the heir apparent's grandson. Shiqi and Jian Yi were the first to recommend Zhi. The heir apparent said, "I once recommended Li Jiding—a grave mistake, and there is no undoing it. Zhi is truly an upright man, but he is old." Shiqi kowtowed and said, "Zhi began as a school official; he understands principle and holds to what is right. Though advanced in years, his vigor has not waned. Among the ministers at court who are aged, upright, and magnanimous, none surpasses Zhi." That day at the noon audience the emperor turned to the heir apparent and asked, "Have you found suitable men to lecture and tutor the heir apparent's grandson?" The heir apparent replied, "I have proposed Vice Minister of Rites Yi Zhi, but the decision is not yet settled." The emperor said with pleasure, "Though Zhi is old, he speaks plainly; he can be used." He then ordered Zhi to tutor the heir apparent's grandson. Whenever he lectured on the classics and histories, he would instruct him again and again, always making the cultivation of the mind the foundation. In the nineteenth year, at the age of eighty, he retired from office and died at home. In the first year of the Hongxi reign he was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous title Wénjiǎn.
7
季子銘，字子新。 宣宗即位，以侍郎戴綸薦，授行在禮科給事中。 九年秩滿，帝念智舊勞，改銘修撰。 正統三年預修宣廟《實錄》成，遷侍講，後改成阝府長史。
His youngest son, Ming, whose style was Zixin. When the Xuande emperor came to the throne, on Vice Minister Dai Lun's recommendation he was appointed supervising secretary in the Rites Section at the traveling secretariat. When his term expired in the ninth year, the emperor, mindful of Zhi's long service, transferred Ming to the post of compiler. In the third year of Zhengtong, after helping compile the Veritable Records of the Xuande emperor, he was promoted to lecturer and later made chief administrator of the Prince of Cheng's household.
8
郕王監國，視朝午門。 廷臣劾王振，叫號莫辨人聲。 銘獨造膝前，免冠敷奏。 下令旨族振，眾嘩始息。 景帝即位，力贊征伐諸大事。 尋以潛邸恩，授禮部右侍郎。 明年兼經筵官。 帝每臨講幄，輒命中官擲金錢於地，任講官遍拾之，號「恩典」。 文臣與者，內閣高谷等外，惟銘與俞山、俞綱、蕭鎡、趙琬數人而已。 尋進南京禮部尚書。 懷獻太子立，加太子太保，召為兵部尚書兼詹事。
When the Prince of Cheng supervised the state, he held court at the Meridian Gate at noon. Court ministers impeached Wang Zhen, and the hall rang with such shouting that individual voices could not be distinguished. Ming alone went forward, removed his cap, and presented his memorial kneeling before the prince. He issued an order to execute Wang Zhen and his entire clan, and only then did the clamor subside. When the Jingdi emperor came to the throne, Ming strongly supported the major campaigns and punitive expeditions. Soon afterward, as a reward for service in the prince's household before his accession, he was made Right Vice Minister of Rites. The following year he was also appointed to the imperial lecture staff. Whenever the emperor attended the lecture pavilion, he would have eunuchs scatter coins on the ground for the lecturers to gather as they pleased—a practice known as the "grace gift." Among civil officials who received it, apart from Grand Secretary Gao Gu and others in the inner court, only Ming together with Yu Shan, Yu Gang, Xiao Zi, and Zhao Wan numbered among the few. Before long he was promoted to Minister of Rites at Nanjing. When the heir apparent Huai Xian was installed, Ming was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and summoned to serve as Minister of War while also holding the post of Grand Tutor.
9
蘇州、淮安諸郡積雪，民凍餓死相枕。 沙灣築河，役山東、河南九萬人，責民間鐵器數萬具。 銘請於帝，多所寬恤。 因災異，言消弭在敬天法祖，省刑薄斂，節用愛人。 錄《皇明祖訓錄》以進，深見獎納。 卒，謚忠襄。
Heavy snow fell in Suzhou, Huai'an, and other prefectures, and the people died of cold and hunger in heaps. At Shawan a river embankment was built, conscripting ninety thousand men from Shandong and Henan and levying tens of thousands of iron tools from the populace. Ming appealed to the emperor, and in many matters leniency was granted. In view of omens and disasters, he said that their removal lay in revering Heaven and honoring the ancestors, reducing punishments and lightening taxes, and practicing frugality while caring for the people. He compiled and presented the Record of the Ancestral Instructions of the Great Ming and was warmly praised and rewarded. He died and was given the posthumous title Zhōngxiāng.
10
銘少學於吳訥。 天性孝友，易直有父風。 長子海，錦衣衛百戶。 季子泰，舉於鄉，為禮科給事中。 並以父恩授雲。
In his youth Ming studied under Wu Na. By nature he was filial and brotherly; open and direct, he bore his father's manner. His eldest son Hai served as a company commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. His youngest son Tai passed the provincial examination and served as supervising secretary in the Rites Section. Both received office through their father's favor.
11
鄒濟，字汝舟，余杭人。 事母以孝聞。 博學強記，尤長《春秋》。 為余杭訓導，師法嚴。 累遷國子學錄、助教，以薦知平度州。 永樂初，預修《太祖實錄》成，除禮部郎中。 征安南，從幕府司奏記。 還為廣東右參政，再遷左春坊左庶子，授皇孫經。
Zou Ji, whose style was Ruzhou, came from Yuhang. He was renowned for the filial care with which he served his mother. Broadly learned and with a powerful memory, he was especially accomplished in the Spring and Autumn Annals. As instructor at Yuhang he was strict in his teaching. He rose through the posts of recorder and assistant instructor in the Directorate of Education, and on recommendation was appointed prefect of Pingdu. Early in the Yongle reign, after helping compile the Veritable Records of the founding emperor, he was appointed a director in the Ministry of Rites. On the expedition against Annam he served on the campaign staff as recorder of memorials. On his return he was made Right Administrative Commissioner of Guangdong, then transferred to Left Sub-Tutor in the heir apparent's household, where he lectured the emperor's grandson on the classics.
12
濟為人和易坦夷，無貴賤皆樂親之。 秩滿，進少詹事。 當是時，宮僚多得罪，徐善述、王汝玉、馬京、梁潛輩被讒，相繼下獄死。 濟積憂得疾。 皇太子以書慰曰：「卿善自攝。 即有不諱，當提攜卿息，不使墜蓬蒿也。」 卒，年六十八。 洪熙元年贈太子少保，謚文敏。 命有司立祠墓側，春秋祀之。
Ji was easygoing and open by nature; high and low alike were glad to draw near him. When his term expired he was promoted to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. At that time many officers of the heir apparent's household fell from favor; Xu Shanshu, Wang Ruyu, Ma Jing, Liang Qian, and others were slandered and died one after another in prison. Ji fell ill from accumulated grief. The heir apparent wrote to comfort him, saying, "Take good care of yourself. Should the worst befall, I shall look after your sons and not let them sink into obscurity." He died at the age of sixty-eight. In the first year of the Hongxi reign he was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous title Wénmǐn. The authorities were ordered to erect a shrine beside his tomb and offer sacrifices in spring and autumn.
13
子幹，字宗盛，濟卒時尚幼。 仁宗監國，命為應天府學生，月賜鈔米。 舉正統四年進士。 景帝初，由兵部郎中超擢本部右侍郎，以才為于謙所倚。 也先入寇，九門皆閉。 百姓避兵者，號城下求入，幹開門納之。 尋改禮部，兼庶子，考察山西官吏，黜布政使侯復以下五十余人。 巡視河南、鳳陽水災，與王竑請振。 又請令諸生輸粟入監讀書。 納粟入監自此始。 成化二年振畿內饑，再遷禮部尚書，加太子少保。 被劾乞休，卒，謚康靖。
His son Gan, whose style was Zongsheng, was still a child when Ji died. When the Renzong emperor supervised the state, Gan was enrolled as a student at the Yingtian prefectural school and granted paper money and grain each month. He passed the metropolitan examination in the fourth year of Zhengtong. Early in the Jingdi reign he was abruptly promoted from director in the Ministry of War to Right Vice Minister of the same ministry, and Yu Qian relied on his ability. When the Oirats invaded, all nine gates of the capital were shut. Common people fleeing the fighting cried beneath the walls to be let in, and Gan opened the gates to admit them. Before long he was transferred to the Ministry of Rites while also serving as sub-tutor; he inspected officials in Shanxi and dismissed more than fifty men, including Administrative Commissioner Hou Fu. He inspected flood damage in Henan and Fengyang and, together with Wang Hong, petitioned for relief. He also petitioned that students be allowed to present grain and enter the Directorate of Education to study. Admission to the Directorate by presenting grain began from this time. In the second year of Chenghua he relieved famine in the capital region, was again promoted to Minister of Rites, and made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. After impeachment he petitioned to retire; he died and was given the posthumous title Kāngjìng.
14
徐善述，字好古，天臺人。 洪武中，行歲貢法，善述首貢入太學。 授桂陽州學正。 永樂初，以國子博士擢春坊司直郎。 見重於皇太子，每稱為「先生」，嘗致書賜酒及詩。 遷左贊善，坐累死。 與鄒濟同日贈太子少師，謚文肅。 立祠，春秋祀亦如濟。
Xu Shanshu, whose style was Haogu, came from Tiantai. During the Hongwu reign the annual tribute-student system was introduced, and Shanshu was the first tribute student to enter the Imperial Academy. He was appointed director of studies at Guiyang Prefecture. Early in the Yongle reign he was promoted from doctor in the Directorate of Education to rectifier in the Eastern Quarters of the heir apparent's household. The heir apparent held him in high regard, always addressing him as "Master," and once sent him a letter with gifts of wine and a poem. He was transferred to Left Tutor and died in prison from overwork. On the same day as Zou Ji he was posthumously made Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous title Wénsù. A shrine was erected for him, with spring and autumn sacrifices as for Ji.
15
王汝玉，名遂，以字行，長洲人。 穎敏強記。 少從楊維楨學。 年十七，舉於鄉。 永樂初，由應天府學訓導擢翰林五經博士，歷遷右春坊右贊善，預修《永樂大典》。 仁宗在東宮，特被寵遇。 群臣應制撰《神龜賦》，汝玉第一，解縉次之。 七年坐修《禮書》紊制度，當戍邊。 皇太子監國，宥之，以為翰林典籍。 尋進左贊善，坐解縉累，瘐死。 洪熙初，贈太子賓客，謚文靖，遣官祭其家。
Wang Ruyu, whose personal name was Sui but who was known by his style, came from Changzhou. He was quick-witted and possessed a powerful memory. In his youth he studied under Yang Weizhen. At seventeen he passed the provincial examination. Early in the Yongle reign he was promoted from instructor at the Yingtian school to Hanlin Doctor of the Five Classics, rose to Right Tutor in the heir apparent's household, and helped compile the Yongle Encyclopedia. When the Renzong emperor was heir apparent, Ruyu enjoyed special favor. When the ministers composed on imperial command the "Rhapsody on the Divine Tortoise," Ruyu ranked first and Xie Jin second. In the seventh year he was sentenced to frontier garrison duty for having disturbed institutional order while compiling the Book of Rites. When the heir apparent supervised the state, he pardoned Ruyu and appointed him a Hanlin archivist. Before long he was promoted to Left Tutor; implicated in Xie Jin's case, he died of illness in confinement. Early in the Hongxi reign he was posthumously made Guest of the Heir Apparent, given the posthumous title Wénjìng, and officials were sent to offer sacrifices at his home.
16
子楘，由進士為刑部主事，善辨冤獄。 用薦擢廣西副使，進布政使。 將士多殺良民報功，楘諭其帥，生致難民一人，準功一級，全活無算。 田州土官岑鑒兄弟相仇，楘為解之，卻其厚饋。 撫服梗化女土官，民夷服其信義。 終浙江布政使。
His son Mo, a presented scholar, served as a principal clerk in the Ministry of Punishments and was skilled at clearing wrongful convictions. On recommendation he was promoted to vice commissioner of Guangxi and later to administrative commissioner. Officers and soldiers often killed innocent civilians to claim merit; Mo instructed their commanders that for each refugee delivered alive one grade of merit would be credited, saving countless lives. The native officials of Tianzhou, the brothers Cen Jian, were at feud; Mo reconciled them and declined their lavish gifts. He pacified a recalcitrant female native official, and both Chinese and tribal peoples submitted to his integrity. He ended his career as Administrative Commissioner of Zhejiang.
17
周述，字崇述，吉水人。 永樂二年與從弟孟簡並進士及第。 帝手題二人策，獎賞之，並授翰林編修。 尋詔解縉選曾棨等二十八人讀書文淵閣，述、孟簡皆與焉。 司禮監給紙筆，光祿給朝暮饌，禮部月給膏燭鈔人三錠，工部擇近宅居之，一時以為榮。
Zhou Shu, whose style was Chongshu, came from Jishui. In the second year of Yongle he and his younger cousin Meng Jian both passed the metropolitan examination with highest honors. The emperor inscribed commendations in his own hand on their examination papers, rewarded them, and appointed them both Hanlin compilers. Soon an edict directed Xie Jin to select Zeng Qi and twenty-eight others to study in the Wenyuan Pavilion; Shu and Meng Jian were both included. The Directorate of Ceremonies supplied paper and brushes, the Court of Imperial Entertainments provided morning and evening meals, the Ministry of Rites granted lamp oil, candles, and three ingots of paper money per person each month, and the Ministry of Works chose a nearby residence for them—all regarded at the time as a signal honor.
18
述嘗扈北巡，累進左春坊諭德。 仁宗即位，命從皇太子謁陵南京。 召至榻前，問所以匡弼儲君者，對稱旨。 宣宗時，進左庶子。 正統初，卒官。
Shu once accompanied the northern tour and was successively promoted to instructor in the Left Quarters of the heir apparent's household. When the Renzong emperor came to the throne, Shu was ordered to accompany the heir apparent to the imperial tombs at Nanjing. Summoned before the emperor's couch, he was asked how he would guide the heir apparent; his answer pleased the emperor. Under the Xuande emperor he was promoted to Left Sub-Tutor. Early in the Zhengtong reign he died in office.
19
孟簡在翰林二十年，始遷詹事府丞，出為襄王府長史。 有言宜留備顧問者，帝曰：「輔朕弟，尤勝於輔朕也。」 述溫厚簡靜，未嘗有疾言遽色，文章雅贍。 孟簡謙退不伐，生平無睚眥於人。 並為世所重雲。
Meng Jian spent twenty years in the Hanlin Academy before he was first transferred to vice director of the heir apparent's household and then sent out as chief administrator of the Prince of Xiang's establishment. When some said he ought to be kept as a court adviser, the emperor said, "To assist my younger brother is even better than assisting me." Shu was warm and restrained, never speaking harshly or showing sudden anger, and his writings were elegant and ample. Meng Jian was modest and unassuming, bearing no grudge against anyone in his life. Both were highly regarded in their time.
20
陳濟，字伯載，武進人。 讀書過目成誦。 嘗以父命如錢塘，家人賫貨以從。 比還，以其貲之半市書，口誦手鈔。 十余年，盡通經史百家之言。 成祖詔修《永樂大典》，用大臣薦，以布衣召為都總裁，修撰曾棨等為之副。 詞臣纂修者，及太學儒生數千人，繙秘庫書數百萬卷，浩無端倪。 濟與少師姚廣孝等數人，發凡起例，區分鉤考，秩然有法。 執筆者有所疑，輒就濟質問，應口辨析無滯。 書成，授右贊善。 謹慎無過，皇太子甚禮重之。 凡稽古纂集之事，悉以屬濟。 隨事敷奏，多所裨益。 五皇孫皆從受經。 居職十五年而卒。 年六十二。
Chen Ji, whose style was Bozai, came from Wujin. What he read once he could recite from memory. Once, on his father's orders, he went to Qiantang, and the household sent goods for him to carry. On his return he spent half the goods on books, reciting aloud and copying them by hand. In little more than ten years he mastered the classics, histories, and the writings of the hundred schools. The Yongle emperor ordered the compilation of the Yongle Encyclopedia; on a senior minister's recommendation Ji was summoned from private life to serve as chief general editor, with compilers such as Zeng Qi as his deputies. Literary officials who compiled the work, together with several thousand students of the Imperial Academy, turned through millions of volumes from the secret archives—a task vast beyond measure. Ji, together with Junior Preceptor Yao Guangxiao and a few others, laid down principles and categories, divided and collated the material, and imposed a clear method on the work. Whenever those drafting the work had doubts, they would consult Ji, who answered on the spot without hesitation. When the compilation was finished, he was appointed Right Tutor. Careful and without fault, he was greatly honored by the heir apparent. All matters of historical research and compilation were entrusted entirely to Ji. He memorialized on affairs as they arose and was of great benefit in many matters. All five of the emperor's grandsons studied the classics under him. He held office for fifteen years and then died. He was sixty-two years old.
21
濟少有酒過，母戒之，終其身未嘗至醉。 弟洽為兵部尚書，事濟如父。 濟深懼盛滿，彌自謙抑。 所居蓬戶葦壁，裁蔽風雨，終日危坐，手不釋卷。 為文根據經史，不事葩藻。 嘗云：「文貴如布帛菽粟，有益於世爾。」 其後有陳繼、楊翥者，亦以布衣通經。 用楊士奇薦，繼由博士入翰林。 而翥竟用景帝潛邸恩，與俞山、俞綱等皆至大官。 自天順後，始漸拘資格。 編修馬升、檢討傅宗不由科目，李賢皆出之為參議。 布衣無得預館閣者，而弘治間潘辰獨以才望得之，一時詫異數焉。
In his youth Ji had a weakness for wine; his mother admonished him, and he never became truly drunk in his life. His younger brother Qia served as Minister of War and treated Ji as he would a father. Ji deeply feared the dangers of eminence and became all the more self-restrained and humble. He lived behind a wicker gate and reed walls that barely kept out wind and rain; all day he sat upright, never setting down his books. His writing was grounded in the classics and histories and avoided ornamental flourish. He once said, "Writing should be valued like cloth, silk, beans, and grain—only insofar as it benefits the world." Later there were Chen Ji and Yang Chong, who likewise mastered the classics as men in private life. On Yang Shiqi's recommendation, Chen Ji entered the Hanlin Academy from a doctorate in the Directorate of Education. Chong, however, rose through favor earned in the Jingdi emperor's household before his accession, and he, Yu Shan, Yu Gang, and others all reached high office. Only after the Tianshun reign did the court gradually begin to enforce formal qualifications. The compilers Ma Sheng and Fu Zong had not come up through the examination system; Li Xian transferred them all to posts as administrative commissioners. Men in private life could no longer enter the Hanlin Academy, yet in the Hongzhi reign Pan Chen alone gained admission through talent and reputation—a rare exception at the time.
22
楊翥，字仲舉，亦吳人。 少孤貧，隨兄戍武昌，授徒自給。 楊士奇微時，流寄窘乏，翥輒解館舍讓之，而己教授他所。 士奇心賢之。 及貴，薦翥經明行修。 宣宗詔試吏部，稱旨，授翰林院檢討，歷修撰。 正統中，詔簡郕王府僚。 諸翰林皆不欲行，乃出侍講儀銘及翥為左右長史。 久之，引年歸。 王即大位，入朝，拜禮部右侍郎。 景泰三年進尚書，給祿致仕。 明年卒，年八十五。 翥篤行絕俗，一時縉紳厚德者，翥為最。 既沒，景帝念之，召其子聿入覲，授本邑主簿。
Yang Chong, whose style was Zhongju, was also from Wu. Orphaned and poor in his youth, he followed his elder brother to garrison duty at Wuchang and supported himself by teaching. When Yang Shiqi was still obscure and living in hardship, Chong would give up his lodging for him and teach elsewhere himself. Shiqi admired him in his heart. When he rose to eminence, he recommended Chong as learned in the classics and upright in conduct. The Xuande emperor ordered him examined by the Ministry of Personnel; he pleased the emperor and was appointed Hanlin reviser, later rising to compiler. During the Zhengtong reign an edict called for selection of staff for the Prince of Cheng's household. None of the Hanlin scholars wished to go; accordingly Lecturer Yi Ming and Chong were sent out as left and right chief administrators. After a long time he cited his age and retired. When the prince came to the throne, Chong entered court and was appointed Right Vice Minister of Rites. In the third year of Jingtai he was promoted to minister and retired on full salary. He died the following year at the age of eighty-five. Chong's conduct was earnest and far above the common run; among the cultivated officials of his day who were noted for moral weight, he stood foremost. After his death the Jingdi emperor remembered him, summoned his son Yu to audience, and appointed him chief clerk of his native district.
23
俞山，字積之，秀水人。 由鄉舉為成阝府伴讀。 景帝時，拜吏部右侍郎。 而嘉興俞綱由諸生繕寫《實錄》，試中書舍人，授郕府審理。 景帝時，以兵部右侍郎入閣預機務。 居三日，固辭，守本官。 景帝將易東宮，山密疏諫。 不聽。 懷獻太子立，加太子少傅，山意不自安，致仕去。 綱加太子少保。 英宗復辟，山以致仕得免。 而綱當景泰時，能周旋二帝間，故得調南京禮部。 成化初致仕，卒。
Yu Shan, whose style was Jizhi, came from Xiushui. Through the provincial examination he became a study companion in the Prince of Cheng's household. Under the Jingdi emperor he was appointed Right Vice Minister of Personnel. Yu Gang of Jiaxing, however, had begun as a student copying the Veritable Records, passed the examination for secretariat drafter, and was appointed adjudicator in the Prince of Cheng's household. Under the Jingdi emperor he entered the inner court as Right Vice Minister of War to take part in state deliberations. After three days he firmly declined and retained his original post. When the Jingdi emperor planned to replace the heir apparent, Shan submitted a secret memorial in protest. His counsel went unheeded. When the heir apparent Huai Xian was installed, Shan was made Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent, but he felt uneasy and retired from office. Gang was made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. When the Yingzong emperor regained the throne, Shan escaped punishment because he had already retired. Gang, however, had managed to navigate between the two emperors during the Jingtai reign and was therefore transferred to the Ministry of Rites at Nanjing. Early in the Chenghua reign he retired and died.
24
潘辰，字時用，景寧人。 少孤，隨從父家京師，以文學名。 弘治六年詔天下舉才德之士隱於山林者。 府尹唐恂舉辰，吏部以辰生長京師，寢之。 恂復奏，給事中王綸、夏昂亦交章薦，乃授翰林待詔。 久之，掌典籍事。 預修《會典》成，進五經博士。 正德中，劉瑾摘《會典》小疵，復降為典籍，俄還故官。 南京缺祭酒，吏部推石缶及辰。 帝以命缶，而擢辰編修。 居九年，超擢太常少卿，致仕歸，卒。 特賜祭葬。 辰居官勤慎，晨入夜歸。 典制誥時，有以幣酬者，堅卻之。 士大夫重其學行，稱為「南屏先生」。
Pan Chen, whose style was Shiyong, came from Jingning. Orphaned in his youth, he went with his uncle's family to the capital and became known for his literary accomplishments. In the sixth year of Hongzhi an edict called on the empire to recommend talented and virtuous men living in seclusion. Prefect Tang Xun recommended Chen, but the Ministry of Personnel shelved the nomination because Chen had grown up in the capital. Xun memorialized again, and Supervising Secretaries Wang Lun and Xia Ang also submitted joint recommendations, whereupon Chen was appointed a Hanlin awaiting-edict. After a long interval he was put in charge of the archives. After helping compile the Collected Statutes he was promoted to Doctor of the Five Classics. During the Zhengde reign Liu Jin seized on minor flaws in the Collected Statutes, and Chen was demoted again to archivist, but soon regained his former post. When Nanjing lacked a chancellor of the Directorate of Education, the Ministry of Personnel recommended Shi Fou and Chen. The emperor appointed Fou, but promoted Chen to compiler. After nine years he was abruptly promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, retired home, and died. He was specially granted an imperial funeral sacrifice. In office Chen was diligent and careful, arriving at dawn and leaving at night. When drafting edicts and patents of nobility, he firmly declined any payment offered in gratitude. Scholar-officials respected his learning and conduct and called him "Master Nanping."
25
王英，字時彥，金溪人。 永樂二年進士。 選庶吉士，讀書文淵閣。 帝察其慎密，令與王直書機密文字。 與修《太祖實錄》，授翰林院修撰，進侍讀。
Wang Ying, whose style was Shiyan, came from Jinxi. He passed the metropolitan examination in the second year of Yongle. Selected as a Hanlin bachelor, he studied in the Wenyuan Pavilion. The emperor noted his discretion and ordered him and Wang Zhi to draft confidential documents. He helped compile the Veritable Records of the founding emperor, was appointed a Hanlin compiler, and was promoted to reader.
26
英端凝持重，歷仕四朝。 在翰林四十余年，屢為會試考官，朝廷制作多出其手，四方求銘誌碑記者不絕。 性直諒，好規人過，三楊皆不喜，故不得柄用。 裕後累官四川按察使。
Ying was dignified and grave in bearing and served through four reigns. He spent more than forty years in the Hanlin Academy, served repeatedly as metropolitan examiner, and much of the court's official writing came from his hand; requests for epitaphs, eulogies, and commemorative inscriptions never ceased. By nature he was frank and sincere and fond of correcting others' faults; the Three Yangs all disliked him, and so he never gained real authority. His son Yu later rose to Surveillance Commissioner of Sichuan.
27
錢習禮，名幹，以字行，吉水人。 永樂九年進士。 選庶吉士，尋授檢討。 習禮與練子寧姻戚。 既仕，鄉人以奸黨持之，恒惴惴。 楊榮乘間言於帝，帝笑曰：「使子寧在，朕猶當用之，況習禮乎。」 仁宗即位，遷侍讀，知制誥，以省親歸。
Qian Xili, whose personal name was Gan but who was known by his style, came from Jishui. He passed the metropolitan examination in the ninth year of Yongle. Selected as a Hanlin bachelor, he was soon appointed reviser. Xili was related by marriage to Lian Zining. After he entered office, people in his home district treated him as a member of the treacherous faction, and he lived in constant anxiety. Yang Rong spoke to the emperor when he had the chance; the emperor laughed and said, "If Zining were still alive, I would employ him even now—how much more so Xili." When the Renzong emperor came to the throne, Xili was promoted to reader and put in charge of drafting edicts, then returned home on leave to visit his parents.
28
正統九年乞致仕。 不許。 明年，六部侍郎多闕，帝命吏部尚書王直會大臣推舉，而特旨擢習禮於禮部。 習禮力辭。 不允。 王振用事，達官多造其門，習禮恥為屈。 十二年六月復上章乞骸骨，乃得歸。 習禮篤行誼，好古秉禮，動有矩則。 家居十五年卒，年八十有九。 謚文肅。
In the ninth year of Zhengtong he petitioned to retire. The request was denied. The following year many vice-ministerial posts in the Six Ministries were vacant; the emperor ordered Minister of Personnel Wang Zhi to consult the senior ministers, while by special edict Xili was promoted to the Ministry of Rites. Xili strenuously declined the appointment. The emperor would not accept his refusal. When Wang Zhen held power, high officials flocked to his door, but Xili was ashamed to humble himself. In the sixth month of the twelfth year he submitted another memorial asking to retire, and only then was he allowed to go home. Xili was earnest in friendship, loved antiquity and upheld ritual, and in all his conduct observed proper measure. He lived at home for fifteen years and died at the age of eighty-nine. He was given the posthumous title Wénsù.
29
周敘，字公敘，吉水人。 年十一能詩。 永樂十六年進士。 選庶吉士，作《黃鸚鵡賦》，稱旨，授編修。 歷官侍讀，直經筵。 正統六年上疏言事，帝嘉納焉。 八年夏又上言：「比天旱，陛下責躬虔禱，而臣下不聞效忠補過之言，徒陳情乞用而已。 掌銓選者罔論賢否，第循資格。 司國計者不問耕桑，惟勤賦斂。 軍士困役作，刑罰失重輕，風憲無激揚，言官務緘默。 僧道數萬，日耗戶口，流民眾多，莫為矜恤。」 帝以章示諸大臣。 王直等皆引罪求罷。 十一年遷南京侍講學士。
Zhou Xu, whose style was Gongxu, came from Jishui. At eleven he could already compose poetry. He passed the metropolitan examination in the sixteenth year of Yongle. Selected as a Hanlin bachelor, he composed the "Rhapsody on the Yellow Oriole," which pleased the emperor, and was appointed compiler. He rose to reader and served on the imperial lecture staff. In the sixth year of Zhengtong he submitted a memorial on state affairs, which the emperor warmly accepted. In the summer of the eighth year he memorialized again: "Recently there has been drought; Your Majesty blames yourself and prays devoutly, yet your ministers offer no loyal counsel to remedy faults—only personal pleas begging for appointment. Those in charge of appointments pay no heed to merit and merely follow seniority. Those who manage the state's finances do not inquire into farming and sericulture but only press for taxes. Soldiers are worn down by labor service; punishments are no longer proportionate; the censorate no longer stirs men to action; and remonstrance officials keep silent. Monks and Daoist priests number in the tens of thousands, daily draining the population; refugees are numerous, yet no one shows them compassion." The emperor showed the memorial to the senior ministers. Wang Zhi and the others all acknowledged fault and asked to resign. In the eleventh year he was transferred to lecturing scholar at Nanjing.
30
郕王監國，馳疏言：「君父之仇不共戴天，殿下宜臥薪嘗膽，如越之報吳。 使智者獻謀，勇者效力，務掃北庭，雪國恥。 先遣辯士，卑詞重幣乞還鑾輿，暫為君父屈。」 因條上勵剛明、親經史、修軍政、選賢才、安民心、廣言路、謹微漸、修庶政八事。 王嘉納之。 景泰二年又請復午朝，日接大臣，咨諏治道。 經筵之余，召文學從臣講論政事，並詔天下臣民直言時政缺失。 帝因詔求言。
When the Prince of Cheng supervised the state, Xu sent an urgent memorial saying, "The feud with one's sovereign and father admits no compromise; Your Highness should sleep on brushwood and taste gall, as Yue did in preparing to destroy Wu. Let the wise offer counsel and the brave exert themselves; strive to sweep the northern court clean and wipe away the nation's disgrace. First send eloquent envoys with humble words and rich gifts to beg the return of the imperial carriage, bending for the moment to the needs of sovereign and father." He then set forth eight recommendations: encourage firmness and clarity, study the classics and histories, restore military administration, select worthy talent, reassure the people, broaden the path of remonstrance, guard against gradual encroachment, and repair ordinary government. The prince praised and accepted his advice. In the second year of Jingtai he again asked to restore the noon audience, to receive senior ministers daily and consult them on governance. Outside the lecture sessions he summoned literary attendants to discuss government affairs, and also ordered officials and subjects throughout the empire to speak plainly about present failings in policy. The emperor thereupon issued an edict calling for candid counsel.
31
敘負氣節，篤行誼。 曾祖以立，在元時以宋、遼、金三史體例未當，欲重修。 敘思繼先誌，正統末，請於朝。 詔許自撰，銓次數年，未及成而卒。
Xu possessed strong moral backbone and was earnest in friendship. His great-grandfather Yili, during the Yuan, believed the institutional arrangements of the histories of Song, Liao, and Jin were unsatisfactory and wished to recompile them. Xu wished to continue his ancestor's project; late in the Zhengtong reign he petitioned the court. An edict permitted him to compile the work on his own; he worked on arranging the material for several years but died before it was finished.
32
同邑劉儼，字宣化。 正統七年進士第一。 歷官太常少卿。 景泰中，典順天鄉試，黜大學士陳循、王文子，幾得危禍。 詳《高谷傳》。 天順初，改掌翰林院事，卒官。 贈禮部侍郎，謚文介。 儼立朝正直，居鄉亦有令德雲。
Liu Yan of the same district, whose style was Xuanhua. In the seventh year of Zhengtong he ranked first in the metropolitan examination. He rose to Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. During the Jingtai reign he presided over the Shuntian provincial examination and failed the sons of Grand Secretaries Chen Xun and Wang Wen, nearly bringing disaster upon himself. See the biography of Gao Gu. Early in the Tianshun reign he was put in charge of the Hanlin Academy and died in office. He was posthumously made Vice Minister of Rites and given the posthumous title Wénjiè. Yan was upright at court and, it is said, possessed fine virtue in his home district as well.
33
柯潛，字孟時，莆田人。 景泰二年舉進士第一。 歷洗馬。 天順初，遷尚寶少卿，兼修撰。 憲宗即位，以舊宮僚擢翰林學士。 《英宗實錄》成，進少詹事。 慈懿太后之喪，潛與修撰羅璟上章，請合葬裕陵。 廷臣相繼爭。 未報。 潛曰：「朝廷大事，臣子大節，舍是奚所用心。」 與璟皆再疏爭，竟得如禮。 連遭父母喪，詔起為祭酒，固乞終制。 許之。 未幾卒。
Ke Qian, whose style was Mengshi, came from Putian. In the second year of Jingtai he ranked first in the metropolitan examination. He served as groom in the heir apparent's household. Early in the Tianshun reign he was transferred to Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Treasures while also serving as compiler. When the Xianzong emperor came to the throne, he was promoted to Hanlin academician on account of his earlier service in the heir apparent's household. After the Veritable Records of the Yingzong emperor were completed, he was promoted to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. At the funeral of Empress Dowager Ciyi, Qian and Compiler Luo Jing submitted a memorial asking that she be buried with the Yingzong emperor at Yuling. Court ministers disputed the matter one after another. No reply came from the throne. Qian said, "Great affairs of state and the great integrity of a minister—apart from these, upon what else should one's mind be set?" He and Jing both submitted further memorials in protest, and in the end the burial was carried out according to proper ritual. After losing both parents in succession, he was summoned back by edict to serve as chancellor of the Directorate of Education, but he firmly asked to complete the full mourning period. His request was granted. He died soon afterward.
34
潛邃於文學，性高介。 為學士時，即院中後圃構清風亭，鑿池蒔芙蓉，植二柏於後堂，人稱其亭為「柯亭」，柏為「學士柏」。 院中有井，學士劉定之所浚也。 柯亭、劉井，翰林中以為美談雲。
Qian was deeply learned in literature and by nature lofty and aloof. While serving as academician, he built the Clear Wind Pavilion in the academy's rear garden, dug a pool and planted hibiscus, and set two cypresses behind the main hall; people called the pavilion "Ke Pavilion" and the trees "Academician Cypresses." The academy also had a well excavated by Academician Liu Ding. Ke Pavilion and Liu's Well were regarded in the Hanlin Academy as cherished stories.
35
羅璟，字明仲，泰和人。 天順末，進士及第。 授編修，進修撰。 預修《宋元通鑒綱目》。 累官洗馬。 孝宗為太子，簡侍講讀。 母喪歸。 璟與尚書尹旻子侍講龍同娶於孔氏。 旻得罪，李孜省指璟為旻黨，調南京禮部員外郎。 孝宗嗣位，王恕等言璟才，乃授福建提學副使。 弘治五年召為南京祭酒。 久之，卒。
Luo Jing, whose style was Mingzhong, came from Taihe. Late in the Tianshun reign he passed the metropolitan examination with highest honors. He was appointed compiler and later promoted to senior compiler. He helped compile the Comprehensive Mirror of Song and Yuan. He rose to the post of groom in the heir apparent's household. When the Xiaozong emperor was heir apparent, Jing was chosen to serve on his lecture staff. He returned home to observe mourning for his mother. Jing and Lecturer Long, son of Minister Yin Min, both married women of the Kong clan. When Min fell from power, Li Zisheng denounced Jing as one of Min's faction and transferred him to departmental director in the Ministry of Rites at Nanjing. When the Xiaozong emperor succeeded to the throne, Wang Shu and others spoke of Jing's ability, and he was appointed vice commissioner of education in Fujian. In the fifth year of Hongzhi he was summoned to serve as chancellor of the Directorate of Education at Nanjing. After a long interval he died.
36
孔公恂，字宗文，先聖五十八世孫也。 景泰五年舉會試，聞母疾，不赴廷對。 帝以問禮部，具言其故，乃遣使召之。 日且午，不及備試卷，命翰林院給以筆劄。 登第，即丁母憂歸。
Kong Gongxun, whose style was Zongwen, was a fifty-eighth-generation descendant of Confucius. In the fifth year of Jingtai he passed the metropolitan examination, but on hearing that his mother was ill he did not attend the palace examination. The emperor inquired of the Ministry of Rites, which explained the circumstances in full, and then sent an envoy to summon him. It was nearly noon and he had no time to prepare his examination papers, so the Hanlin Academy was ordered to supply him with writing materials. He passed the examination, but immediately entered mourning for his mother and returned home.
37
衍聖公孔彥縉卒，孫弘緒幼弱，詔遣禮部郎治喪，公恂理其家事。 天順初，授禮科給事中。 弘緒已襲封，大學士李賢妻以女，公恂因得交於賢。 賢言：「公恂，大聖人後； 贊善司馬恂，宋大賢溫國公光後。 宜輔導太子。」 帝喜。 同日超拜少詹事，侍東宮講讀。 入語孝肅皇后曰：「吾今日得聖賢子孫為汝子傅。」 孝肅皇后者，憲宗生母，方以皇貴妃有寵。 於是具冠服拜謝，宮中傳以為盛事雲。
When the Duke Who Expands Sagehood Kong Yanjin died, his grandson Hongxu was still a child; an edict sent a secretary in the Ministry of Rites to manage the funeral, and Gongxun handled the household affairs. Early in the Tianshun reign he was appointed supervising secretary in the Rites Section. Hongxu had already inherited the title; Grand Secretary Li Xian gave him his daughter in marriage, and through this Gongxun came to know Xian. Xian said, "Gongxun is a descendant of the Great Sage; Tutor Sima Xun is a descendant of the great Song worthy Sima Guang, Duke of Wenguo. Both are fit to tutor the heir apparent." The emperor was pleased. That same day he was abruptly promoted to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and appointed to lecture the heir apparent. He went in and told Empress Dowager Xiaosu, "Today I have obtained descendants of sages to serve as tutors for your son." Empress Dowager Xiaosu was the Xianzong emperor's birth mother and was then favored as imperial noble consort. She thereupon donned full ceremonial dress and bowed in thanks; within the palace the event was celebrated as a great occasion.
38
憲宗嗣位，改公恂大理左少卿。 公恂言不通法律，乃復少詹事。 成化二年上章言兵事，諸武臣嘩然，給事御史交章駁之。 下獄，謫漢陽知府。 未至，丁父憂。 服闋，商輅請復建言得罪者官，乃還故秩，涖南京詹事府。 久之，卒。
When the Xianzong emperor succeeded to the throne, Gongxun was transferred to Left Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Gongxun said he did not understand law and was therefore restored to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In the second year of Chenghua he submitted a memorial on military affairs; the military officials protested loudly, and supervising secretaries and censors submitted successive memorials refuting him. He was imprisoned and banished to serve as prefect of Hanyang. Before he arrived, he entered mourning for his father. When his mourning ended, Shang Luo petitioned to restore officials who had been punished for offering counsel, and Gongxun was restored to his former rank and took up office at the heir apparent's household in Nanjing. After a long interval he died.
39
司馬恂，字恂如，浙江山陰人。 正統末，由舉人擢刑科給事中，累遷少詹事。 憲宗立，命兼國子祭酒。 卒，贈禮部左侍郎。 恂強記、敦厚，與物無忤，居官無所表見。
Sima Xun, whose style was Xunru, came from Shanyin in Zhejiang. Late in the Zhengtong reign he was promoted from presented scholar to supervising secretary in the Punishments Section and rose to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. When the Xianzong emperor came to the throne, he was ordered also to serve as chancellor of the Directorate of Education. He died and was posthumously made Left Vice Minister of Rites. Xun had a powerful memory and was steadfast and mild, at odds with no one, yet in office left no particular mark.
40
贊曰：「建文之初，修尊賢敬老之節。 董倫以宿儒見重，雖寡所表見，當非茍焉已也。 儀智父子仍世以儒術進，從容輔導，蓋其賢哉。 鄒濟諸人，以宮僚被遇而讒構不免。 陳濟輩起布衣，列禁近而善始終，固有幸不幸歟。 二周、王英、錢習禮、周敘、柯潛謙和直諒，各著其美，蓋皆異於浮華博習之徒矣。
The commentator says: "At the beginning of the Jianwen reign, the court cultivated the practice of honoring the worthy and respecting the aged. Dong Lun was valued as a senior scholar; though he left little in the way of visible achievement, he can hardly have been a man who stopped at mere perfunctoriness. Yi Zhi and his son advanced through successive generations by Confucian learning and calmly guided their charges—how worthy they were! Zou Ji and his colleagues, favored as officers of the heir apparent's household, could not escape slander and intrigue. Chen Ji and his like rose from commoner status to serve in the inner court and managed good beginnings and ends—surely fortune and misfortune both played their part? The two Zhous, Wang Ying, Qian Xili, Zhou Xu, and Ke Qian were modest, harmonious, frank, and sincere, each displaying his own excellence—they were all unlike men of flashy display and broad but shallow learning.