Volume 153 Biographies 41: Song Li, Chen Xuan, Zhou Chen

宋禮〈（藺芳）〉陳瑄〈（王瑜）〉周忱

Song Li (Lin Fang)〉 Chen Xuan (Wang Yu)〉 Zhou Chen

九年命開會通河。會通河者，元至元中，以壽張尹韓仲暉言，自東平安民山鑿河至臨清，引汶絕濟，屬之衛河，為轉漕道，名曰「會通」。然岸狹水淺，不任重載，故終元世海運為多。明初輸餉遼東、北平，亦專用海運。洪武二十四年，河決原武，絕安山湖，會通遂淤。永樂初，建北京，河海兼運。海運險遠多失亡，而河運則由江、淮達陽武，發山西、河南丁夫，陸免百七十里入衛河，歷八遞運所，民苦其勞。至是濟寧州同知潘叔正上言：「舊會通河四百五十餘里，淤者乃三之一，浚之便。」於是命禮及刑部侍郎金純、都督周長往治之。禮以會通之源，必資汶水。乃用汶上老人白英策，築堽城及戴村壩，橫亙五里，遏汶流，使無南入洸而北歸海。匯諸泉之水，盡出汶上，至南旺，中分之為二道，南流接徐、沛者十之四，北流達臨清者十之六。南旺地勢高，決其水，南北皆註，所謂水脊也。因相地置閘，以時蓄泄。自分水北至臨清，地降九十尺，置閘十有七，而達於衛；南至沽頭，地降百十有六尺，置閘二十有一，而達於淮。凡發山東及徐州、應天、鎮江民三十萬，蠲租一百一十萬石有奇，二十旬而工成。又奏浚沙河入馬常泊，以益汶。語詳《河渠志》。是年，帝復用工部侍郎張信言，使興安伯徐亨、工部侍郎蔣廷瓚會金純，浚祥符魚王口至中灤下，復舊黃河道，以殺水勢，使河不病漕，命禮兼董之。八月還京師，論功第一，受上賞。潘叔正亦賜衣鈔。

In the ninth year of the Yongle reign, the court ordered him to reopen the Huitong Canal. The Huitong Canal had been dug in the Yuan Zhiyuan period at the suggestion of Han Zhonghui, magistrate of Shouzhang: from Anmin Mountain in eastern Ping to Linqing, the Wen was led across the Ji and linked to the Wei as a transport channel for tribute grain, and the work was called "Huitong." But its banks were narrow and its water shallow, so it could not take heavy cargoes; sea transport therefore dominated for the whole Yuan period. In the early Ming, grain for Liaodong and Beiping was likewise moved only by sea. In Hongwu 24 (1391), the Yellow River broke at Yuanwu, severed Anshan Lake, and the Huitong Canal silted shut. When Beijing was built at the start of the Yongle reign, both river and sea routes were used. Sea transport was dangerous, distant, and prone to loss, whereas the river route ran from the Yangtze and Huai to Yangwu; corvée from Shanxi and Henan then hauled grain one hundred seventy li overland into the Wei, through eight relay depots—a burden the people found crushing. Then Pan Shuzheng, vice magistrate of Jining Prefecture, submitted: "The old Huitong Canal runs more than four hundred fifty li; roughly a third is silted up—dredging it would pay." The court then sent Li, Vice Minister of Justice Jin Chun, and Regional Commander Zhou Chang to take charge of the work. Li judged that the Huitong could not be restored without the Wen River as its source. He followed the scheme of Bai Ying, an elder of Wenshang: dams at Cheng and Daicun, five li across, to hold the Wen so it would not spill south into the Guang but be driven north toward the sea. He gathered every spring into the Wen above Wenshang; at Nanwang the stream was split in two—four parts sent south toward Xu and Pei, six parts north to Linqing. Nanwang sits on high ground; once the water was released there, it fed both branches—the "backbone" of the whole system. Sluices were set according to the lie of the land to store and release water as needed. From the divide north to Linqing the land dropped ninety chi; seventeen locks were built to carry the channel to the Wei; south to Gutou it fell one hundred sixteen chi more, with twenty-one locks, until the channel reached the Huai. Some three hundred thousand laborers were drafted from Shandong, Xuzhou, Yingtian, and Zhenjiang; more than 1.1 million shi of tax grain was remitted; and the project was finished in two hundred days. He further proposed dredging the Sha River into Machang Marsh to swell the Wen. The particulars are recorded in the Treatise on Rivers and Canals. That same year the emperor again took the counsel of Vice Minister Zhang Xin and sent Earl Xu Heng of Xing'an and Vice Minister Jiang Tingzan to work with Jin Chun dredging from Yuwang Mouth in Xiangfu to below Zhongluan, reopening the old Yellow River bed to tame the current so it would not threaten the grain route—Li was told to supervise this too. He returned to the capital in the eighth month, was ranked first for merit, and received the highest honors. Pan Shuzheng was likewise rewarded with robes and cash.

明年，以御史許堪言衛河水患，命禮往經畫。禮請自魏家灣開支河二，泄水入土河，復自德州西北開支河一，泄水入舊黃河，使至海豐大沽河入海。帝命俟秋成後為之。禮還言：「海運經歷險阻，每歲船輒損敗，有漂沒者。有司修補，迫於期限，多科斂為民病，而船亦不堅。計海船一艘，用百人而運千石，其費可辦河船容二百石者二十，船用十人，可運四千石。以此而論，利病較然。請撥鎮江、鳳陽、淮安、揚州及兗州糧，合百萬石，從河運給北京。其海道則三歲兩運。」已而平江伯陳瑄治江、淮間諸河功，亦相繼告竣。於是河運大便利，漕粟益多。十三年遂罷海運。

The following year, after Censor Xu Kan reported flooding on the Wei, Li was sent to survey and plan relief. He proposed two branches from Weijia Bay to spill into the Tu River, and another from northwest of Dezhou into the old Yellow River bed so floodwater could reach the sea through Haifeng and the Dagou. The emperor told them to wait until after the autumn harvest. On returning, Li reported: "The sea route is full of hazards; every year ships are damaged and some are lost outright. Officials rush repairs to meet deadlines, levy extra charges that burden the people, and the vessels themselves are poorly built. One seagoing vessel needs a hundred men to move a thousand shi; the same expense would fit out twenty river boats of two hundred shi each, ten men apiece, carrying four thousand shi in all. On that basis the balance of advantage is obvious. He asked that grain from Zhenjiang, Fengyang, Huai'an, Yangzhou, and Yanzhou—one million shi altogether—be sent to Beijing by canal. The sea route could be used only twice every three years. Soon Pingjiang Earl Chen Xuan likewise reported the Yangtze–Huai canal works finished. River transport then became far easier, and ever more tribute grain moved by water. In the thirteenth year sea transport was ended altogether.

初，帝將營北京，命禮取材川蜀。禮伐山通道，奏言：「得大木數株，皆尋丈。一夕，自出谷中抵江上，聲如雷，不偃一草。」朝廷以為瑞。及河工成，復以采木入蜀。十六年命治獄江西。明年造番舟。自蜀召還，以老疾免朝參，有奏事令侍郎代。二十年七月卒於官。

When the emperor first planned Beijing, he sent Li to procure timber in Sichuan. Li opened mountain passes and reported: "We felled several giants, each many zhang around. In a single night they rolled from the valley to the river with a thunderous roar, yet not one blade of grass was bent. The court hailed it as a portent of favor. After the canal was done he was again dispatched to Sichuan for timber. In the sixteenth year he was assigned to review prisons in Jiangxi. The following year he oversaw construction of ocean-going vessels. Recalled from Sichuan, he was excused from daily audience because of age and illness; a vice minister stood in whenever he needed to memorialize. He died in office in the seventh month of the twentieth year.

禮性剛，馭下嚴急，故易集事，以是亦不為人所親。卒之日，家無余財。洪熙改元，禮部尚書呂震請予葬祭如制。弘治中，主事王寵始請立祠。詔祀之南旺湖上，以金純、周長配。隆慶六年贈禮太子太保。

Li was hard by nature and drove his subordinates harshly, which made work move quickly but won him little affection. When he died his household had nothing left. At the Hongxi accession, Minister of Rites Lü Zhen asked that he receive the standard burial rites. Under Hongzhi, Director Wang Chong first petitioned for a shrine. The throne ordered sacrifices at Nanwang Lake, with Jin Chun and Zhou Chang enshrined beside him. In Longqing 6 he was posthumously made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent.

藺芳，夏縣人。洪武中舉孝廉。累遷刑部郎中。永樂中，出為吉安知府。寬厚廉潔，民甚德之。吉水民詣闕言縣有銀礦，遣使覆視。父老遮芳訴曰：「聞宋季嘗有言此者，卒以妄得罪。今皆樹藝地，安所得銀礦？」芳詰告者，知其誣。獄具，同官不敢署名，芳請獨任之。奏上，帝曰：「吾固知妄也。」得寢。已，坐事謫辦事官，從宋禮治會通河，復為工部都水主事。

Lin Fang was a native of Xia County. During Hongwu he was nominated as Filial and Incorrupt. He rose step by step to director in the Ministry of Justice. Under Yongle he was posted as prefect of Ji'an. Mild, honest, and frugal, the people held him in high regard. When people of Jishui petitioned the throne claiming a silver mine in the county, inspectors were dispatched to verify. Village elders stopped Fang and pleaded: "We are told that in Song times someone made the same claim and was punished for a false report. These fields are all under cultivation—where would any mine be? Fang questioned the petitioners and found the charge fabricated. When the case was ready, his colleagues refused to sign; Fang asked to take sole responsibility. The memorial reached the throne; the emperor said, "I knew all along it was nonsense. The matter was dropped. Later, after a disciplinary demotion, he served under Song Li on the Huitong Canal and was restored as director of waterways in the Ministry of Works.

十年，河決陽武，灌中牟、祥符、尉氏，遣芳按視。芳言：「中鹽堤當暴流之沖，請加築塞。」又言：「自中灤分導河流，使由故道北入海，誠萬世利。」又言：「新築岸埽，止用草索，不能堅久。宜編木成大囷，貫樁其中，實以瓦石，復以木橫貫樁表，牽築堤上，則殺水固堤之長策也。」詔悉從之。其後築堤者遵用其法。以宋禮薦，擢工部右侍郎。亡何，行太仆卿楊砥言：「吳橋、東光、興濟、交河及天津屯田，雨水決堤傷稼。乞開德州良店東南黃河故道，以分水勢。」復命芳往治之。所經郡邑，有不便民者輒疏以聞。事竣還。十五年十一月卒於官。

In the tenth year the Yellow River broke at Yangwu and inundated Zhongmou, Xiangfu, and Weishi; Fang was sent to survey the damage. Fang reported: "The Zhongyan levee lies in the path of the main flood—please raise and strengthen it. He also urged diverting the stream at Zhongluan into the old northern bed to the sea—a benefit for ages. He further noted that new revetments tied only with straw could not endure. Timber should be woven into large cages, piles driven through them and packed with stone, then cross-timbers lashed atop and set into the levee—that, he said, was the sure way to tame the current and hold the bank. The emperor approved every proposal. Dike builders thereafter followed his method. Recommended by Song Li, he was promoted to vice minister of works. Soon Acting Grand Master of Studs Yang Di reported that rains had breached dikes and ruined crops at Wuqiao, Dongguang, Xingji, Jiaohe, and the Tianjin garrison farms. He asked to reopen the old Yellow River channel southeast of Liangdian in Dezhou to split the flood. Fang was again sent to handle the work. Wherever he found policies that harmed the people, he memorialized immediately. When the project was finished he returned. He died in office in the eleventh month of the fifteenth year.

芳自奉約，布衣蔬食。事母至孝。母甚賢。芳所治事，暮必告母。有不當，輒加教誡。芳受命唯謹，由是為良吏雲。

Fang lived plainly on coarse food and homespun cloth. He was deeply filial toward his mother. His mother was a woman of great judgment. Each evening he reported the day's official business to her. When something was amiss, she corrected him at once. Fang obeyed her scrupulously and was reckoned a model magistrate.

陳瑄，字彥純，合肥人。父聞，以義兵千戶歸太祖，累官都指揮同知。瑄代父職。父坐事戍遼陽，瑄伏闕請代，詔並原其父子。瑄少從大將軍幕，以射雁見稱。屢從征南番，又征越巂，討建昌叛番月魯帖木兒，逾梁山，平天星寨，破寧番諸蠻。復征鹽井，進攻卜水瓦寨。賊熾甚。瑄將中軍，賊圍之數重。瑄下馬射，傷足，裹創戰。自巳至酉，全師還。又從征賈哈剌，以奇兵涉打沖河，得間道，作浮梁渡軍。既渡，撤梁，示士卒不返，連戰破賊。又會雲南兵征百夷有功，遷四川行都司都指揮同知。

Chen Xuan, courtesy name Yanchun, was a native of Hefei. His father Wen had joined the founder as a chiliarch of volunteer troops and rose to vice commissioner-in-chief of the chief military commission. Xuan inherited his father's post. When his father was sentenced to garrison duty in Liaoyang, Xuan knelt at the palace gate offering to serve in his stead; the throne pardoned them both. As a youth he served on a field marshal's staff and was famed for bringing down wild geese with a bow. He campaigned repeatedly in the south, in Yuexi, and against the Jianchang rebel Yue Lu Tiemuer; he crossed Liang Mountain, took Tianxing Stockade, and defeated the Ningfan tribes. He fought again at Salt Wells and advanced on Bushuiwa Stockade. The enemy was fierce. Leading the center, Xuan was surrounded many times over. He dismounted to shoot, was wounded in the foot, bound the wound, and kept fighting. From mid-morning until evening the whole force withdrew intact. He campaigned again against Jia Halazi, led a flanking force across the Dachong River by a hidden route, and threw a pontoon bridge across to carry the army over. After the crossing he cut the bridge behind them to show there would be no retreat, then routed the enemy in a series of battles. He then campaigned with Yunnan forces against the Baiyi tribes with distinction and was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief of the Sichuan regional chief military commission.

九年命與豐城侯李彬統浙、閩兵捕海寇。海溢堤圮，自海門至鹽城凡百三十里。命瑄以四十萬卒築治之，為捍潮堤萬八千余丈。明年，瑄言：「嘉定瀕海地，江流沖會。海舟停泊於此，無高山大陵可依。請於青浦築土山，方百丈，高三十余丈，立堠表識。」既成，賜名寶山，帝親為文記之。

In the ninth year of Yongle he and Marquis of Fengcheng Li Bin were ordered to lead Zhejiang and Fujian forces against sea pirates. When the sea burst its banks and the dikes collapsed, one hundred thirty li of coast from Haimen to Yancheng lay in ruins. Xuan was put in charge of four hundred thousand workers and built more than eighteen thousand zhang of seawalls against the tide. The following year Xuan memorialized: "Jiading stands on the coast where river currents meet. Ships put in here, but there are no mountains or hills to serve as landmarks. I ask that an earthen mound one hundred zhang square and over thirty zhang high be raised at Qingpu, with a beacon set up as a marker. When the work was finished the hill was named Baoshan, and the emperor himself wrote an inscription commemorating it.

宋禮既治會通河成，朝廷議罷海運，仍以瑄董漕運。議造淺船二千余艘，初運二百萬石，浸至五百萬石，國用以饒。時江南漕舟抵淮安，率陸運過壩，逾淮達清河，勞費其鉅。十三年，瑄用故老言，自淮安城西管家湖，鑿渠二十里，為清江浦，導湖水入淮，築四閘以時宣泄。又緣湖十里築堤引舟，由是漕舟直達於河，省費不訾。其後復浚徐州至濟寧河。又以呂梁洪險惡，於西別鑿一渠，置二閘，蓄水通漕。又築沛縣刁陽湖、濟寧南旺湖長堤，開泰州白塔河通大江。又築高郵湖堤，於堤內鑿渠四十里，避風濤之險。又自淮至臨清，相水勢置閘四十有七，作常盈倉四十區於淮上，及徐州、臨清、通州皆置倉，便轉輸。慮漕舟膠淺，自淮至通州置舍五百六十八，舍置卒，導舟避淺。復緣河堤鑿井樹木，以便行人。凡所規畫，精密宏遠，身理漕河者三十年，舉無遺策。

After Song Li completed the Huitong Canal, the court considered ending sea transport and again placed Xuan in charge of the grain-shipping system. Plans called for more than two thousand shallow-draft barges; shipments began at two million shi and eventually reached five million, and the treasury grew flush. At the time, grain barges from Jiangnan that reached Huai'an usually had to be hauled overland past the dam and across the Huai to Qinghe, at enormous labor and cost. In the thirteenth year of Yongle, acting on veterans' advice, he cut a twenty-li channel from Guanjia Lake west of Huai'an city to form the Qingjiang Sluice, fed lake water into the Huai, and built four gates to regulate the flow. He also built ten li of dikes along the lake to guide shipping, so grain barges could reach the canal directly and costs fell immeasurably. He later dredged the canal stretch from Xuzhou to Jining as well. Because the Lüliang Rapids were treacherous, he cut a separate channel to the west, installed two sluice gates, impounded water, and kept the grain route open. He also raised long dikes at Diaoyang Lake in Pei County and Nanwang Lake in Jining, and opened the Baita River in Taizhou to the Yangtze. He also built dikes on Gaoyou Lake and cut a forty-li channel inside them to avoid the hazards of wind and waves. From the Huai to Linqing he placed forty-seven sluice gates according to the water, built forty Changying granary compounds on the Huai, and established granaries at Xuzhou, Linqing, and Tongzhou to ease transshipment. Fearing barges would ground in shallows, he set up five hundred sixty-eight way stations from the Huai to Tongzhou, garrisoned each with troops, and posted guides to steer boats clear of shoals. He also sank wells and planted trees along the canal embankments for the convenience of travelers. Everything he planned was meticulous and far-sighted; for thirty years he personally oversaw the grain canal, and nothing was left undone.

仁宗即位之九月，瑄上疏陳七事。一曰南京國家根本，乞嚴守備。二曰推舉宜核實，無循資格，選朝臣公正者分巡天下。三曰天下歲運糧餉，湖廣、江西、浙江及蘇、松諸府並去北京遠，往復逾年，上逋公租，下妨農事。乞令轉至淮、徐等處，別令官軍接運至京。又快船、馬船所載不過五六十石，每船官軍足用，有司添差軍民遞送，拘集聽候，至有凍餒，請革罷。四曰教職多非其人，乞考不職者黜之，選俊秀補生員，而軍中子弟亦令入學。五曰軍伍竄亡，乞核其老疾者，以子弟代，逃亡者追補，戶絕者驗除。六曰開平等處，邊防要地，兵食虛乏，乞選練銳士，屯守兼務。七曰漕運官軍，每歲北上，歸即修船，勤苦終年。該衛所又於其隙，雜役以重困之，乞加禁絕。帝覽奏曰：「瑄言皆當。」令所司速行。遂降敕獎諭，尋賜券，世襲平江伯。

In the ninth month after the Renzong emperor's accession, Xuan submitted a memorial outlining seven proposals. First, Nanjing is the foundation of the realm; I ask that its defenses be kept strict. Second, promotions should be verified on merit rather than seniority alone, and upright court officials should be chosen to inspect the provinces. Third, the annual grain levy from Huguang, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Suzhou and Songjiang to Beijing is a long haul; the round trip takes more than a year, delaying tax payments and disrupting farming. I ask that grain be delivered only as far as Huai'an and Xuzhou, with separate official convoys carrying it on to the capital. Fast boats and horse barges carry no more than fifty or sixty shi and need no extra hands, yet officials keep drafting civilians for relay duty, keeping people waiting until some freeze or starve—I ask that this practice be ended. Fourth, many school instructors are unqualified; I ask that incompetent ones be removed, talented youths be enrolled as students, and sons of military households be allowed into the schools as well. Fifth, soldiers desert their registers; I ask that the aged and infirm be verified, sons and brothers take their place, deserters be hunted down and replaced, and extinct households struck from the rolls. Sixth, at Kaiping and other frontier posts troops and supplies run short; I ask that picked veterans be stationed there to garrison and farm together. Seventh, canal troops march north each year and, on returning, immediately repair their boats, laboring through the whole year. Their guard units also pile on miscellaneous corvée duties in the intervals, crushing them further—I ask that this be forbidden. The emperor read the memorial and said, "Everything Xuan proposes is right. He ordered the responsible offices to act on it at once. An edict of praise followed, and soon he received a patent of nobility as hereditary Pingjiang Earl.

初，瑄以浚河有德於民，民立祠清河縣。正統中，命有司春秋致祭。

At first, because his canal work had benefited the people, they built him a shrine in Qinghe County. During the Zhengtong reign the throne ordered local officials to offer sacrifices in spring and autumn.

子銳嗣伯。成化初，分典三千營及團營。尋佩平蠻將軍印，總制兩廣。移鎮淮陽，總督漕運。建淮河口石閘及濟寧分水南北二閘。築堤疏泉，修舉廢墜。總漕十四年，章數十上。日本貢使買民男女數人以歸，道淮安。銳留不遣，贖還其家。淮、揚饑疫，煮糜施藥，多所存濟。弘治六年，河決張秋，奉敕塞治。還，增祿二百石，累加太傅兼太子太傅。十三年，火篩寇大同，銳以總兵官佩將軍印往援。既至，擁兵自守，為給事中御史所劾，奪祿閑住。其年卒。

His son Rui inherited the earldom. Early in the Chenghua reign he took command of the Three Thousand Camp and the Tuan Camp. He soon received the seal of General Who Pacifies the Barbarians and took overall command of the two Guang. He shifted his headquarters to Huaiyang and served as grand coordinator of grain transport. He built stone sluice gates at the mouth of the Huai and north-south dividing gates at Jining. He raised dikes, cleared springs, and restored works that had fallen into decay. Over fourteen years as grand coordinator of grain transport he submitted dozens of memorials. Japanese tribute envoys bought several commoners, men and women, and were taking them home when they passed through Huai'an. Rui held them back, refused to let them go, and ransomed the captives back to their families. When famine and plague struck Huai'an and Yangzhou, he served porridge and distributed medicine and saved many lives. In the sixth year of Hongzhi the river broke through at Zhangqiu, and by imperial order he sealed and repaired the breach. On his return his stipend was raised by two hundred shi, and he rose in stages to grand tutor and concurrently grand tutor of the heir apparent. In the thirteenth year of Hongzhi the Huosai raided Datong, and Rui went to the rescue as regional commander bearing the general's seal. Once there he kept his troops in camp and did nothing; supervising secretaries and censors impeached him, his stipend was cut, and he was sidelined. He died the same year.

子熊嗣。正德三年出督漕運。劉瑾索金錢，熊不應，銜之。坐事，逮下詔獄，謫戍海南衛，奪誥券。熊故黷貨，在淮南頗殃民。雖為瑾構陷，人無惜之者。瑾誅，赦還復爵。卒，無子。

His son Xiong succeeded him. In the third year of Zhengde he was sent out to supervise grain transport. Liu Jin demanded a bribe; Xiong refused, and Jin nursed a grievance. On a charge of misconduct he was thrown into the imperial prison, exiled to garrison duty at Hainan Guard, and stripped of his patent of nobility. Xiong had long been venal, and in Huainan he had done the people considerable harm. Though Jin had framed him, no one mourned his fall. After Jin's execution he was pardoned, recalled, and restored to his title. He died without an heir.

再從子圭嗣。以薦出鎮兩廣。封川寇起，圭督諸將往討，擒其魁，俘斬數千，加太子太保。復平柳慶及賀連山賊，加太保，蔭一子。安南範子儀等寇欽、廉，黎岐賊寇瓊厓，相掎角。圭移文安南，曉以利害，使縛子儀，而急出兵攻黎岐，敗走之。論功，復蔭一子，加歲祿四十石。圭能與士卒同甘苦，聞賊所在，輒擐甲先登。深箐絕壑，沖冒瘴毒，無所避，以故所向克捷。在粵且十年，殲諸小賊不可勝數。召還，掌後軍府。圭妻仇氏，鹹寧侯鸞女弟也。圭深嫉鸞，鸞數短圭於世宗，幾得罪。鸞敗，帝益重圭，命總京營兵。寇入紫荊關，圭請出戰，營於盧溝，寇退而止。明年，寇復入古北口，或議列營九門為備，圭以徒示弱無益，寇亦尋退。董築京師外城，加太子太傅。卒，贈太傅，謚武襄。

His younger brother's son Gui inherited the line. On recommendation he was sent out to command the two Guang. When rebels rose in Fengchuan, Gui led the generals against them, seized their chief, and killed or captured several thousand; he was made grand guardian of the heir apparent. He pacified the rebels of Liuqing and Helianshan as well, was made grand tutor, and one son received hereditary office. Fan Ziyi of Annam and others raided Qin and Lian, while Li Qi's rebels struck Qiongya, coordinating their attacks. Gui wrote to Annam, explaining the stakes, had Fan Ziyi handed over, and then struck Li Qi hard and drove him off. For his service one more son received hereditary privilege and his annual stipend was raised by forty shi. Gui shared hardship with his men; whenever he heard where rebels were, he buckled on armor and led the climb. In deep gorges and steep defiles he braved miasma without flinching, and for that reason he won wherever he fought. For nearly ten years in Guangdong he wiped out innumerable minor rebel bands. Recalled to court, he took charge of the Rear Army Headquarters. Gui was married to Lady Qiu, younger sister of Marquis of Xianning Luan. Gui deeply hated Luan, and Luan repeatedly maligned him to the Shizong emperor until he nearly fell. After Luan's downfall the emperor valued Gui all the more and put him in command of the capital garrisons. When raiders entered Zijing Pass, Gui asked to take the field, encamped at Lugou Bridge, and stood down when the enemy withdrew. The next year raiders entered Gubeikou again; some proposed deploying camps at the Nine Gates, but Gui argued that would only advertise weakness, and the raiders soon withdrew. He oversaw construction of the capital's outer wall and was made grand tutor of the heir apparent. He died and was posthumously made grand tutor with the posthumous title Wuxiang.

子王謨嗣。僉書後軍，出鎮兩廣。賊張璉反，屠掠數郡。王謨會提督張臬討平之，擒斬三萬余。論功加太子太保，蔭一子。萬歷中出鎮淮安，總漕運，入掌前軍府事。卒，贈少保，謚武靖。傳至明亡，爵絕。

His son Wang Mo succeeded him. As vice minister of the Rear Army he was sent out to command the two Guang. The rebel Zhang Lian rose in revolt and ravaged several prefectures. Wang Mo joined Grand Coordinator Zhang Tai in crushing the revolt, capturing and killing more than thirty thousand. For his service he was made grand guardian of the heir apparent and one son received hereditary office. During the Wanli reign he was posted to Huai'an to supervise grain transport and later took charge of the Front Army Headquarters. He died and was posthumously made junior guardian with the posthumous title Wujing. The line continued until the dynasty's fall, when the title expired.

宣德八年進都指揮僉事，充左副總兵，代陳瑄鎮淮安，董漕運，累進左軍都督僉事。淮安，瑜故鄉也，人以為榮。在淮數年，守瑄成法不變，有善政。民有親在與弟訟產者。瑜曰：「訟弟不友，無親不孝。」杖而斥之。又有負金不能償，至翁婿兄弟相訟者。瑜曰：「奈何以財故傷恩！」即代償，勸其敦睦。二卒盜敗舟一板，有司以盜官物，坐卒死。瑜曰：「兩卒之命，抵敗舟一板耶？」竟得末減。歲兇，發官廩以振。然性好貨，為英宗切責，而前所發不軌事有枉者。正統四年，議事入京。得疾，束兩手如高懸狀，號救求解而卒。

In the eighth year of Xuande he rose to vice commissioner-in-chief, served as left vice commander-in-chief, replaced Chen Xuan at Huai'an to supervise grain transport, and was promoted in stages to left regional commander-in-chief. Huai'an was Yu's hometown, and locals took pride in it. For several years at Huai'an he kept Xuan's methods intact and governed well. One man still had a living parent yet sued his younger brother over an inheritance. Yu said, "Suing your brother shows no brotherly love; having no parent shows no filial devotion. He had them beaten with rods and sent them away. There were also cases in which men who could not repay debts sued one another across generations—as fathers-in-law, sons-in-law, and brothers. Yu said, "How can you let money destroy family ties! He paid the debt himself and urged them to live in harmony. Two soldiers stole a single plank from a broken boat; the authorities treated it as theft of government property and sentenced them to death. Yu said, "Are two soldiers' lives worth one plank from a wrecked boat? In the end the sentence was reduced to the lowest penalty. In famine years he opened government granaries to provide relief. Yet he was greedy by nature; the Yingzong Emperor sharply rebuked him, and some of the sedition cases he had earlier brought forward had been wrongly prosecuted. In the fourth year of Zhengtong he went to the capital for consultations. He fell ill, clasped his hands as though suspended from above, cried out for release, and died.

周忱，字恂如，吉水人。永樂二年進士。選庶吉士。明年，成祖擇其中二十八人，令進學文淵閣。忱自陳年少乞預。帝嘉其有誌，許之。尋擢刑部主事，進員外郎。

Zhou Chen, styled Xunru, came from Jishui. He passed the jinshi examination in the second year of Yongle. He was chosen for the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor. The following year the Chengzu Emperor chose twenty-eight of them for advanced study at the Wenyuan Pavilion. Chen pleaded that, though young, he wished to join them. The emperor admired his ambition and agreed. He was soon promoted to secretary in the Ministry of Punishments and then to vice director.

忱有經世才，浮沈郎署二十年，人無知者，獨夏原吉奇之。洪熙改元，稍遷越府長史。宣德初，有薦為郡守者。原吉曰：「此常調也，安足盡周君？」五年九月，帝以天下財賦多不理，而江南為甚，蘇州一郡，積逋至八百萬石，思得才力重臣往厘之。乃用大學士楊榮薦，遷忱工部右侍郎，巡撫江南諸府，總督稅糧。

Chen had genuine statecraft talent, yet he spent twenty years unnoticed in a junior ministry post; only Xia Yuanji recognized his gifts. After the Hongxi reign began, he was promoted to chief secretary of Yue Prefecture. Early in the Xuande reign someone recommended him for a prefecture. Yuan Ji said, "That is a routine posting—how could it fully use Zhou's abilities?" In the ninth month of the fifth year, seeing that revenues nationwide were largely mishandled and Jiangnan worst of all—Suzhou Prefecture alone owed eight million shi in arrears—the emperor sought a capable senior minister to restore order. On Grand Secretary Yang Rong's recommendation he was made right vice minister of works, pacification commissioner for the Jiangnan prefectures, and chief overseer of tax grain.

始至，召父老問逋稅故。皆言豪戶不肯加耗，並征之細民，民貧逃亡，而稅額益缺。忱乃創為平米法，令出耗必均。又請敕工部頒鐵斛，下諸縣準式，革糧長之大入小出者。舊例，糧長正副三人，以七月赴南京戶部領勘合。既畢，復賫送部。往反資費，皆科斂充之。忱止設正副各一人，循環赴領。訖事，有司類收上之部。民大便。忱見諸縣收糧無團局，糧長即家貯之，曰：「此致逋之由也。」遂令諸縣於水次置囤，囤設糧頭、囤戶各一人，名「轄收」。至六七萬石以上，始立糧長一人總之，名「總收」。民持貼赴囤，官為監納，糧長但奉期會而已。置撥運、綱運二簿。撥運記支撥起運之數，預計所運京師、通州諸倉耗，以次定支。綱運聽其填註剝淺諸費，歸以償之。支撥羨余，存貯在倉，曰「余米」。次年余多則加六征，又次年加五征。

On arrival he summoned local elders to learn why taxes fell into arrears. They all said wealthy households refused to bear surcharge losses, so the burden fell on common taxpayers; the poor fled, and shortfalls grew worse. Chen devised the equalized-surcharge method, requiring that handling-loss surcharges be spread evenly. He also obtained an imperial order for iron bushels as the standard measure in every county, ending grain chiefs' practice of taking full measure in and giving short measure out. Under the old system three grain chiefs, principal and deputies, traveled each seventh month to the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue for verification slips. When done, they had to carry them back to the ministry again. Round-trip costs were covered by levies on the people. Chen reduced each county to one principal and one deputy grain chief, who took turns collecting the documents. When the season ended, local offices collected the slips by category and forwarded them to the ministry. The people found the change a great relief. Chen saw that counties had no centralized grain offices and that grain chiefs stored grain at home; he said, "That is what creates arrears." He ordered each county to establish waterside depots, each with one grain head and one depot keeper—a system called "sub-collection." Where collections reached sixty or seventy thousand shi, one grain chief was appointed to oversee them—the "aggregate collection" system. Taxpayers brought receipts to the depot under official supervision; grain chiefs need only meet their deadlines. He set up two ledgers—allocation transport and convoy transport. The allocation ledger recorded dispatch quotas and estimated shipping losses to the capital, Tongzhou, and other granaries, setting disbursements in proper order. The convoy ledger recorded shallow-draft and other transport fees for reimbursement on return. Disbursement surpluses were stored in granaries as "surplus grain." If surplus was ample the next year, a sixth-round levy was added; the year after that, a fifth-round levy.

初，太祖平吳，盡籍其功臣子弟莊田入官，後惡富民豪並，坐罪沒入田產，皆謂之官田。按其家租籍征之，故蘇賦比他府獨重。官民田租共二百七十七萬石，而官田之租乃至二百六十二萬石，民不能堪。

When the Taizu Emperor pacified Wu he registered the estate lands of meritorious families as government property; later, prosecuting wealthy monopolists, he confiscated their lands—all counted as government land. Rent was assessed from household registers, which is why Suzhou's levies far exceeded other prefectures'. Official and private rents together totaled 2.77 million shi, but government-land rent alone came to 2.62 million shi—the people could not endure it.

時宣宗屢下詔減官田租，忱乃與知府況鍾曲算累月，減至七十二萬余石，他府以次減，民始少蘇。七年，江南大稔，詔令諸府縣以官鈔平糴備振貸，蘇州遂得米二十九萬石。故時公侯祿米、軍官月俸皆支於南戶部。蘇、松民轉輸南京者，石加費六斗。忱奏令就各府支給，與船價米一斗，所余五斗，通計米四十萬石有奇，並官鈔所糴，共得米七十萬余石，遂置倉貯之，名曰「濟農」。振貸之外，歲有余羨。凡綱運、風漂、盜奪者，皆借給於此，秋成，抵數還官。其修圩、築岸、開河、浚湖所支口糧，不責償。耕者借貸，必驗中下事力及田多寡給之，秋與糧並賦，兇歲再振。其奸頑不償者，後不復給。定為條約以聞。帝嘉獎之。終忱在任，江南數大郡，小民不知兇荒，兩稅未嘗逋負，忱之力也。

The Xuanzong Emperor had repeatedly ordered reductions in government-land rent; Chen and Prefect Kuang Zhong calculated for months and cut Suzhou's to just over 720,000 shi; other prefectures followed, and the people breathed easier. In the seventh year Jiangnan enjoyed a bumper harvest; the court ordered prefectures and counties to buy grain at fair price with government notes against famine loans, and Suzhou secured 290,000 shi. Formerly nobles' stipend grain and officers' monthly rations were all paid through the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue. Suzhou and Songjiang taxpayers who shipped grain to Nanjing paid six dou per shi in transport costs. Chen obtained permission to pay stipends locally, keeping one dou per shi for shipping costs; the five dou saved on each shi totaled over 400,000 shi, which with government-note purchases brought the store to over 700,000 shi; he established a granary called the Farm Relief Granary. Beyond famine relief and seed loans, the granary had a yearly surplus. Losses from convoy duty, storms, and theft were covered from this store and repaid after the autumn harvest. Grain spent on dikes, embankments, canals, and lake dredging need not be repaid. Seed loans went only to farmers of moderate or lower means, scaled to their holdings; repayment came with the autumn grain tax, with additional relief in famine years. Defaulters who proved dishonest received no further loans. He codified the rules and submitted them to the throne. The emperor commended him. Throughout Chen's tenure the common people of Jiangnan's great prefectures scarcely knew famine, and the land tax never fell into arrears—his work.

時漕運，軍民相半。軍船給之官，民則僦舟，加以雜耗，率三石致一石，往復經年失農業。忱與平江伯陳瑄議，民運至淮安或瓜洲水次交兌，漕軍運抵通州。淮安石加五斗，瓜洲又益五升。其附近並南京軍未過江者，即倉交兌，加與過江米二斗。襯墊蘆席，與折米五合。兌軍或後期阻風，則令州縣支贏米。設廒於瓜洲水次，遷米貯之，量支余米給守者。由是漕費大省。

Grain transport at the time split the burden evenly between military convoys and civilian labor. Military convoys used government ships; civilians hired boats and paid heavy surcharges—often three shi to deliver one—and a round trip cost a full year's farming. Chen and Marquis Chen Xuan of Pingjiang devised exchange delivery: civilians would haul grain to Huai'an or Guazhou, and transport troops would carry it on to Tongzhou. Shippers received five dou per shi at Huai'an and an additional five sheng at Guazhou. Nearby districts and Nanjing garrisons that did not cross the Yangtze exchanged at local granaries, with two dou per shi added for the river crossing. Padding mats and reed screens were compensated at five he of grain per shi. When convoy troops were delayed by wind, local officials supplied surplus grain from store. Granaries at Guazhou stored transferred grain, and surplus grain paid the guards. Transport costs fell sharply.

民間馬草歲運兩京，勞費不訾。忱請每束折銀三分，南京則輕賫即地買納。京師百官月俸，皆持俸帖赴領南京。米賤時，俸貼七八石，僅易銀一兩。忱請檢重額官田、極貧下戶兩稅，準折納金花銀，每兩當米四石，解京兌俸，民出甚少，而官俸常足。嘉定、昆山諸縣歲納布，疋重三斤抵糧一石。比解，以縷粗見斥者十八九。忱言：「布縷細必輕，然價益高。今既貴重，勢不容細。乞自今不拘輕重，務取長廣如式。」從之。各郡驛馬及一切供帳，舊皆領於馬頭。有耗損，則馬頭橫科補買。忱令田畝出米升九合，與秋糧俱征，驗馬上中下直給米。

Civilian transport of horse fodder to both capitals each year was ruinously costly. Chen proposed converting each bundle to three fen of silver; in Nanjing fodder could be bought and delivered locally. Capital officials collected monthly salaries in Nanjing with pay vouchers. When grain was cheap, a voucher for seven or eight shi fetched only one tael of silver. Chen arranged for households on heavy government land and the poorest taxpayers to pay silver-in-lieu at four shi per tael, remitted to the capital for salaries—fewer burdens on the people, full pay for officials. Jiading, Kunshan, and other counties paid tax in cloth, one bolt of three jin counting as one shi of grain. At delivery, eight or nine bolts in ten were rejected for coarse weaving. Chen argued, "Fine thread makes lighter cloth, but the price rises accordingly. Now that cloth is costly, fineness cannot be demanded. I ask that hereafter weight be ignored so long as length and width meet the standard." The court agreed. Relay horses and all travel supplies had been managed by relay station chiefs. Losses were made up by arbitrary levies on the people. Chen levied nine he of grain per mu with the autumn tax and paid relay stations grain according to each horse's grade.

正統初，淮、揚災，鹽課虧，敕忱巡視。奏令蘇州諸府，撥余米一二萬石連揚州鹽場，聽抵明年田租，竈戶得納鹽給米。時米貴鹽賤，官得積鹽，民得食米，公私大濟。尋敕兼理松江鹽課。華亭、上海二縣逋課至六十三萬余引，竈丁逃亡。忱謂田賦宜養農夫，鹽課宜養竈丁。因上便宜四事，命速行之。忱為節竈戶運耗，得米三萬二千余石。亦仿濟農倉法，置贍鹽倉，益補逃亡缺額。由是鹽課大殖。浙江當造海船五十艘，下忱計度。忱召問都匠，言一艘須米千石。忱以成大事不宜惜費，第減二十石，奏於朝，竟得報可。以九載秩滿，進左侍郎。六年命兼理湖州、嘉興二府稅糧，又命同刑科都給事中郭瑾錄南京刑獄。

Early in Zhengtong, disasters struck Huai and Yang and salt revenues fell short; Chen was ordered to inspect. He arranged for Suzhou and other prefectures to send ten or twenty thousand shi of surplus grain to Yangzhou salt works, deductible against the next year's land tax, so salters could deliver salt and receive grain. With grain dear and salt cheap, the state built salt reserves while the people got grain—a great boon to public and private interests alike. He was soon put in charge of Songjiang salt revenues as well. Huating and Shanghai owed over 630,000 yin in arrears, and salters had fled. Chen held that land tax should sustain farmers and salt revenue should sustain salters. He submitted four practical measures and was ordered to implement them at once. By cutting salters' transport losses, Chen saved over 32,000 shi of grain. Following the Farm Relief Granary model, he established a Salt Sustenance Granary to cover shortfalls left by fugitive salters. Salt revenues thereafter rose sharply. Zhejiang was ordered to build fifty seagoing vessels, and Chen was asked to estimate the cost. Chen consulted the chief shipwright, who said each vessel would require a thousand shi of grain. Chen argued that great projects should not be penny-pinched; he trimmed only twenty shi per ship, submitted the plan, and won approval. After nine years in office he was promoted to left vice minister. In the sixth year he was also put in charge of tax grain in Huzhou and Jiaxing and, with Chief Supervising Secretary Guo Jin of the Bureau of Punishments, assigned to review Nanjing criminal cases.

忱素樂易。先是，大理卿胡槩為巡撫，用法嚴。忱一切治以簡易，告訐者輒不省。或面訐忱：「公不及胡公。」忱笑曰：「胡卿敕旨，在祛除民害；朝廷命我，但雲安撫軍民。委寄正不同耳。」既久任江南，與吏民相習若家人父子。每行村落，屏去騶從，與農夫餉婦相對，從容問所疾苦，為之商略處置。其馭下也，雖卑官冗吏，悉開心訪納。遇長吏有能，如況鍾及松江知府趙豫、常州知府莫愚、同知趙泰輩，則推心與咨畫，務盡其長，故事無不舉。常詣松江相視水利，見嘉定、上海間，沿江生茂草，多淤流，乃浚其上流，使昆山、顧浦諸所水迅流駛下，壅遂盡滌。暇時以匹馬往來江上，見者不知其為巡撫也。歷宣德、正統二十年間，朝廷委任益專。兩遭親喪，皆起復視事。忱以此益發舒，見利害必言，言無不聽。

Chen was naturally easygoing. His predecessor Hu Gai, as censor-in-chief and pacification commissioner, had governed with strict law. Chen governed with light touch and simplicity, routinely ignoring accusers. Someone confronted him: "You are not the equal of Lord Hu." Chen smiled and said, "Lord Hu's commission was to remove harm to the people; the court ordered me merely to pacify troops and civilians. Our charges were plainly different." Having long served in Jiangnan, he was as familiar with officials and commoners as a father with his sons. On village visits he dismissed his escort, sat with farmers and their wives, calmly asked their grievances, and worked out remedies. With subordinates—even the lowliest clerks—he welcomed their counsel openly. Whenever he met capable senior officials—Kuang Zhong, Songjiang Prefect Zhao Yu, Changzhou Prefect Mo Yu, Vice Prefect Zhao Tai, and others like them—he confided in them fully and drew on their strengths, so that nothing under his administration was left unfinished. He often traveled to Songjiang to inspect water control. Between Jiading and Shanghai he found thick riverside growth and heavy silting, so he dredged the upper reaches to send water from Kunshan, Gupu, and other points rushing downstream until every obstruction was cleared. In his leisure he rode a single horse up and down the river, and those who saw him had no idea he was the pacification commissioner. Across twenty years of the Xuande and Zhengtong reigns, the court's reliance on him grew ever more complete. Twice he lost a parent, and each time he was recalled from mourning to resume his duties. Chen took this as license to speak more boldly: whenever he saw benefit or harm he said so, and the court always listened.

初，欲減松江官田額，依民田起科。戶部郭資、胡濙奏其變亂成法，請罪之，宣宗切責資等。忱嘗言：「吳淞江畔有沙塗柴場百五十頃，水草茂盛，蟲蜢多生其中。請募民開墾，可以足國課，消蟲災。」又言：「丹徒、丹陽二縣田沒入江者，賦尚未除。國初蠲稅之家，其田多並於富室，宜征其租，沒於江者除之，則額不虧而貧富均。無錫官田賦白米太重，請改征租米。」悉報可。其因災荒請蠲貸，及所陳他利病無算。小者用便宜行之，無所顧慮。久之見財賦充溢，益務廣大。修葺廨舍學校、先賢祠墓、橋梁道路，及崇飾寺觀，贈遺中朝官，資餉過客，無稍吝惜。胥吏漁蠹其中，亦不甚訾省。以故屢召人言。

At first he proposed cutting Songjiang's official-land quota and assessing it at the same rate as private holdings. Revenue ministers Guo Zi and Hu Ying accused him of overturning established law and asked that he be punished; the Xuandzong Emperor sharply rebuked them instead. Chen once said, "On the Wusong River there are one hundred fifty qing of sand flats and brushland where grass and water are abundant and locusts breed in great numbers. Recruit people to reclaim them, and we can meet state revenue needs while averting locust plagues." He also said, "In Dantu and Danyang, fields lost to the river still carry tax obligations that have never been lifted. Fields whose taxes were remitted at the founding of the dynasty have mostly been absorbed by wealthy households; those rents should be collected again, while submerged land should be exempted. Then the quota would hold and rich and poor would share the burden fairly. Wuxi's official-land levy in polished white rice is too heavy; please convert it to rent grain instead." The court approved every proposal. His petitions for tax relief and grain loans in times of famine, and the other reforms and abuses he raised, were beyond number. Smaller matters he carried out on his own authority without hesitation. As revenues swelled over time, he turned to ever grander undertakings. He repaired government offices, schools, shrines to sages, tombs, bridges, and roads; adorned temples and monasteries; sent gifts to capital officials and provisioned traveling guests—never sparing expense. Clerks fattened themselves on these expenditures, yet he did little to check them. For this he was repeatedly called to account.

九年，給事中李素等劾忱妄意變更，專擅科斂。忱上章自訴。帝以余米既為公用，置不問。先是，奸民尹崇禮欲撓忱法，奏忱不當多征耗米，請究問倉庫主者，忱因罷前法。既而兩稅復逋，民無所賴，鹹稱不便。忱乃奏按崇禮罪，舉行前法如故。再以九載滿，進戶部尚書。尋以江西人不得官戶部，乃改工部，仍巡撫。

In the ninth year Supervising Secretary Li Su and others impeached Chen for unauthorized policy changes and arbitrary tax levies. Chen answered with a memorial pleading his own case. The emperor held that the surplus grain had already served the public good and took no further action. Earlier the schemer Yin Chongli had tried to undermine Chen's system, accusing him of levying too much surplus grain and demanding an inquiry into the granary keepers. Chen then abolished his earlier method. Before long the land tax fell into arrears again, the people had nothing to fall back on, and all complained that the change had made things worse. Chen then memorialized to punish Chongli by law and restored his former system. When another nine-year term was complete, he was promoted to minister of revenue. Soon afterward, because men from Jiangxi could not serve as revenue minister, he was transferred to the Ministry of Works while retaining his post as pacification commissioner.

然當時言理財者，無出忱右。其治以愛民為本。濟農倉之設也，雖與民為期約，至時多不追取。每歲征收畢，逾正月中旬，輒下檄放糧，曰：「此百姓納與朝廷剩數，今還與百姓用之，努力種朝廷田，秋間又納朝廷稅也。」其所弛張變通，皆可為後法。諸府余米，數多至不可校，公私饒足，施及外郡。景泰初，江北大饑，都御史王竑從忱貸米三萬石。忱為計至來年麥熟，以十萬石畀之。

Yet among those who managed state finances at the time, none surpassed Chen. His governing principle was to put the people's welfare first. Though the Farm Relief Granary set repayment deadlines with borrowers, when the time came Chen often did not press for collection. Each year after the harvest levy was complete, past mid-first month he would issue an order releasing grain, saying, "This is surplus grain the people paid the court; now it is returned for your use. Work hard at planting the court's fields, and in autumn pay the court's tax again." His flexible adaptations could all serve as models for later generations. Surplus grain in the prefectures grew so vast it could not be counted; public and private stores overflowed, and the benefits reached neighboring prefectures. Early in the Jingtai reign, when northern Jiang suffered severe famine, Censor-in-chief Wang Gong borrowed thirty thousand shi of grain from Chen. Chen calculated needs through the next wheat harvest and gave him one hundred thousand shi.

性機警。錢谷鉅萬，一屈指無遺算。嘗陰為冊記陰晴風雨。或言某日江中遇風失米，忱言是日江中無風，其人驚服。有奸民故亂其舊案嘗之。忱曰：「汝以某時就我決事，我為汝斷理，敢相紿耶？」三殿重建，詔征牛膠萬斤，為彩繪用。忱適赴京，言庫貯牛皮，歲久朽腐，請出煎膠，俟歸市皮償庫。土木之變，當國者議，欲焚通州倉，絕寇資。忱適議事至，言倉米數百萬，可充京軍一歲餉，令自往取，則立盡，何至遂付煨燼。頃之，詔趣造盔甲數百萬。忱計明盔浴鐵工多，令且沃錫，數日畢辦。

He was quick-witted by nature. Revenue figures in the tens of thousands—he could tally them at a glance without missing a single item. He secretly kept a daily record of sun, cloud, wind, and rain. When someone claimed that grain had been lost to wind on the river on a certain day, Chen said there had been no wind on the river that day, and the man was astonished into submission. Once a schemer deliberately scrambled his old case records to test him. Chen said, "You came to me for judgment at such-and-such a time, and I ruled on your case—how dare you try to deceive me?" When the Three Halls were rebuilt, an edict levied ten thousand jin of ox-hide glue for painted decoration. Chen happened to be at court and said the storehouse held ox hides long since rotted; he asked permission to boil them for glue and buy fresh hides to repay the store on his return. During the Tumu crisis, those in charge debated burning the Tongzhou granary to deny the enemy supplies. Chen arrived just then for deliberations and said the granary held millions of shi—enough for the capital garrison's year's rations. Order the troops to come and take it themselves, and it would be gone at once. Why consign it all to the flames? Shortly afterward an edict urgently commanded the manufacture of several million suits of armor. Chen noted that tin-plated helmet smiths were plentiful and ordered temporary tin plating; within days the order was filled.

忱既被劾，帝命李敏代之，敕無輕易忱法。然自是戶部括所積余米為公賦，儲備蕭然。其後吳大饑，道堇相望，課逋如故矣。民益思忱不已，即生祠處處祀之。景泰四年十月卒。謚文襄。況鍾等自有傳。

After Chen was impeached, the emperor appointed Li Min in his place and ordered that Chen's methods not be lightly altered. Yet from then on the Ministry of Revenue swept accumulated surplus grain into public revenue, and reserves were soon exhausted. Later, when Wu suffered great famine and corpses lined the roads, tax arrears continued as before. The people missed Chen ever more fondly, and living shrines sprang up everywhere to honor him. He died in the tenth month of Jingtai 4. He was posthumously titled Wenxiang. Kuang Zhong and the others have biographies of their own.

贊曰：宋禮、陳瑄治河通運道，為國家經久計，生民被澤無窮。周忱治財賦，民不擾而廩有余羨。此無他故，殫公心以體國，而才力足以濟之。誠異夫造端興事，僥一時之功，智籠巧取，為科斂之術者也。然河渠之利，世享其成，而忱之良法美意，未幾而澌滅無余，民用重困。豈非成功之有跡者易以循，而用法之因人者難其繼哉。雖然，見小利而樂紛更，不能不為當日之嘵嘵者惜也。

Commentary: Song Li and Chen Xuan dredged the rivers and opened transport routes as a lasting plan for the state, and the people have reaped their bounty without end. Zhou Chen managed the revenues so that the people were unburdened and the granaries brimmed with surplus. There was no other secret: they gave their whole public hearts to the state, and their talent and strength were equal to the work. They were truly unlike those who launch projects to seize a moment's glory, who with clever schemes and artful extraction turn governance into extortion. Yet the benefit of rivers and canals endures for generations, while Chen's fine laws and benevolent designs vanished within little time without a trace, and the people were burdened anew. Is it not that achievements with visible traces are easy to follow, while methods that live in the man himself are hard to carry on? Even so, those who saw small gains and delighted in endless change—we must mourn the noisy faultfinders of that day.

Cite this Chapter