1
尹昌隆耿通 〈（陳諤）〉 戴綸 〈（林長懋）〉 陳祚 〈（郭循）〉 劉球 〈（子鉞釪）〉 陳鑒 〈（何觀）〉 鐘同 〈（孟玘楊集）〉 章綸 〈（子玄應）〉 廖莊倪敬 〈（盛灊等）〉 楊瑄 〈（子源盛颙等）〉
Biographies of Yin Changlong and Geng Tong (Chen E)]〉 Dai Lun (Lin Changmao)]〉 Chen Zuo (Guo Xun)]〉 Liu Qiu (his sons Yue and Yu)]〉 Chen Jian (He Guan)]〉 Zhong Tong (Meng Qi and Yang Ji)]〉 Zhang Lun (his son Xuan and grandson Ying)]〉 Biographies of Liao Zhuang and Ni Jing (Sheng Quan and others)]〉 Yang Xuan (his son Yuan, Sheng Yong, and others)]〉
2
尹昌隆，字彥謙，泰和人。 洪武中進士及第。 授修撰，改監察御史。
Yin Changlong, styled Yanqian, was a native of Taihe. During the Hongwu reign he passed the jinshi examinations. He was appointed Compiler, then transferred to Investigating Censor.
3
永樂二年冊世子為皇太子，擢昌隆左春坊左中允。 隨事匡諫，太子甚重之。 解縉之黜，同日改昌隆禮部主事。 尚書呂震方用事，性刻忮。 當其獨處精思，以手指刮眉尾，則必有密謀深計。 官屬相戒，無敢白事者。 昌隆前白事，震怒不應； 移時又白之，震愈怒，拂衣起。 昌隆退白太子，取令旨行之。 震大怒，奏昌隆假托宮僚，陰欲樹結，潛蓄無君心。 逮下獄。 尋遇赦復官。 父憂起復。 謁震，震溫言接之。 入理前奏，復下錦衣衛獄，籍其家。 帝凡巡幸，下詔獄者率輿以從，謂之隨駕重囚，昌隆與焉。
In Yongle year 2 the heir apparent was installed as crown prince, and Changlong was promoted to Left Vice-Director in the Left Secretariat of the Heir Apparent. He admonished the prince on every matter, and the crown prince valued him greatly. On the day Xie Jin was dismissed, Changlong was transferred that same day to Secretary in the Ministry of Rites. Minister Lü Zhen was then in power, by nature harsh and jealous. When he sat alone in deep thought and stroked the ends of his brows with his fingers, he was sure to be hatching some secret, far-reaching scheme. His subordinates warned one another, and none dared bring business before him. Changlong went forward to report business; Zhen was angry and did not answer; After a while he reported again; Zhen grew still angrier, rose, and flung off his robe. Changlong withdrew and reported to the crown prince, obtained an order from him, and carried it out. Zhen was greatly enraged and memorialized that Changlong had falsely used his post among the palace staff, secretly sought to build a faction, and harbored disloyal designs against the throne. He was arrested and thrown into prison. Soon afterward he was pardoned and restored to office. After mourning for his father he returned to service. He called on Zhen; Zhen received him with mild words. When he entered the ministry he repeated his earlier memorial; he was again sent to the Brocade Guard prison and his household goods were registered and confiscated. Whenever the emperor went on tour, those in the imperial prison were usually carried in litters to follow him—called "heavy prisoners accompanying the imperial procession"—and Changlong was among them.
4
後數年，谷王謀反事發。 以王前奏昌隆為長史，坐以同謀，詔公卿雜問。 昌隆辯不已，震折之。 獄具，置極刑死，夷其族。 後震病且死，號呼「尹相」，言見昌隆守欲殺之雲。
Several years later the Prince of Gu's plot to rebel came to light. Because the prince had earlier memorialized recommending Changlong as chief steward, Changlong was charged as a co-conspirator, and the emperor ordered the dukes and ministers to question him jointly. Changlong defended himself without cease; Zhen rebutted him. When the case was complete he was put to the extreme penalty and died; his clan was exterminated. Later, when Zhen was ill and near death, he cried out "Minister Yin," saying he saw Changlong standing by and wanting to kill him.
5
耿通，齊東人。 洪武中舉於鄉。 授襄陽教授。 永樂初，擢刑科給事中，歷左右給事。 剛直敢言。 嘗劾都御史陳瑛、御史袁綱、覃珩朋比為蒙蔽，構陷無辜，綱、珩已下獄，瑛長官，不宜獨宥。 又言：驍騎諸衛倉壞，工部侍郎陳壽不預修，糧至無所受，多損耗病民； 工部尚書宋禮不恤下，匠役滿，不即遣歸，多至失所。 瑛等皆被鐫責。 當是時，給事中敢言者，通與陳諤。 舉朝憚其風采。 久之，擢大理寺右丞。
Geng Tong was a native of Qidong. During the Hongwu reign he passed the provincial examination. He was appointed instructor at Xiangyang. In the early Yongle reign he was promoted to supervising secretary in the Bureau of Punishments, and served through the left and right supervising-secretary posts. He was upright and bold in speech. He once impeached Censor-in-Chief Chen Ying and Censors Yuan Gang and Tan Heng for banding together to deceive the court and framing the innocent; Gang and Heng were already in prison, but Ying was the chief official and ought not to be spared alone. He also said: the storehouses of the vigilant-cavalry guards were in ruins; Vice Minister Chen Shou of the Ministry of Works had not undertaken repairs; when grain arrived there was nowhere to receive it, and much was lost or wasted, to the people's harm; Minister Song Li of the Ministry of Works was uncaring toward subordinates; when craftsmen and corvée laborers finished their term he did not send them home at once, and many were left destitute. Ying and the others were all fined and reprimanded. At that time among supervising secretaries who dared speak out, Tong and Chen E stood foremost. The whole court stood in awe of their bearing. After a long while he was promoted to Vice Director of the Right in the Court of Judicial Review.
6
帝北巡，太子監國。 漢王高煦謀奪嫡，陰結帝左右為讒間，宮僚多得罪者。 監國所行事，率多更置。 通從容諫帝：「太子事無大過誤，可無更也。」 數言之，帝不悅。 十年秋，有言通受請托故出人罪者。 帝震怒，命都察院會文武大臣鞫之午門，曰：「必殺通無赦。」 群臣如旨，當通罪斬。 帝曰：「失出，細故耳，通為東宮關說，壞祖法，離間我父子，不可恕，其置之極刑。」 廷臣不敢爭，竟論奸黨，磔死。
The emperor toured the north while the crown prince governed the realm. Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu plotted to seize the succession, secretly winning over those close to the emperor to slander and divide father and son, and many of the palace staff suffered punishment. Affairs decided during the regency were mostly overturned. Tong calmly admonished the emperor: "The crown prince's affairs have no great errors; there is no need to change them." He spoke thus several times; the emperor was displeased. In the autumn of the tenth year someone said Tong had accepted bribes and therefore released guilty persons. The emperor was furious and ordered the Censorate together with civil and military ministers to try him at the Meridian Gate, saying: "Tong must be killed without pardon." The ministers obeyed the intent and fixed Tong's crime as death by decapitation. The emperor said: "Wrongful release is a petty matter; Tong pleaded for the Eastern Palace, violated ancestral law, and drove a wedge between father and son—unforgivable. Put him to the extreme penalty." Court ministers did not dare dispute; in the end he was judged a treasonous faction member and died by dismemberment.
7
陳諤，字克忠，番愚人。 永樂中，以鄉舉入太學，授刑科給事中。 遇事剛果，彈劾無所避。 每奏事，大聲如鐘。 帝令餓之數日，奏對如故。 曰：「是天性也。」 每見，呼為「大聲秀才」。 嘗言事忤旨，命坎瘞奉天門，露其首。 七日不死，赦出還職。 已，復忤旨，罰修象房。 貧不能雇役，躬自操作。 適駕至，問為誰。 諤匍匐前，具道所以。 帝憐之，命復官。
Chen E, styled Kezhong, was a native of Panyu. In the Yongle era, through the provincial examination he entered the Imperial Academy and was appointed supervising secretary in the Bureau of Punishments. In affairs he was firm and resolute; in impeachment he spared no one. Whenever he presented a memorial his voice rang out like a bell. The emperor had him starved for several days; his answers in audience were unchanged. He said: "It is his nature." Whenever he appeared, the emperor called him "the Loud-voiced Graduate." Once when he spoke on policy contrary to the imperial will, he was ordered buried alive at Fengtian Gate with his head exposed. After seven days he did not die; he was pardoned and returned to office. Later he again offended the will and was punished by being ordered to repair the elephant quarters. Too poor to hire laborers, he worked with his own hands. Just then the imperial procession arrived; the emperor asked who he was. E crawled forward and explained the whole affair in detail. The emperor pitied him and ordered his office restored.
8
戴綸，高密人。 永樂中，自昌邑訓導擢禮科給事中，與編修林長懋俱侍皇太孫說書。 歷中允、諭德。 仁宗即位，太孫為太子，遷洗馬，仍侍講讀。 始成祖命太孫習武事，太孫亦雅好之，時出騎射。 綸與長懋以太孫春秋方富，不宜荒學問而事遊畋，時時進諫。 綸又具疏為帝言之。 他日，太孫侍，帝問：「宮臣相得者誰也？」 太孫以綸對。 因出綸奏付之，太孫由此怨綸。
Dai Lun was a native of Gaomi. In the Yongle era, from instructor at Changyi he was promoted to supervising secretary in the Bureau of Rites, and together with Compiler Lin Changmao both lectured the emperor's grandson. He passed through vice-director and preceptor posts. When Renzong took the throne the grandson became crown prince; Lun was moved to Groom of the Heir Apparent yet still lectured and read with him. At first Chengzu had ordered the grandson to study military affairs; the grandson also took a keen liking to them and would often go out riding and shooting. Lun and Changmao, because the grandson was in the prime of youth, held that he should not neglect learning for hunting and sport, and repeatedly admonished him. Lun also drew up a memorial in full and reported it to the emperor. Another day, as the grandson attended, the emperor asked: "Which of your palace officers get along with you?" The grandson named Lun. The emperor therefore produced Lun's memorial and gave it to him; from this the grandson bore a grudge against Lun.
9
長懋者，莆田人。 以鄉薦歷青州教授，擢編修。 仁宗初，進中允。 為人剛嚴，累進直言，與綸善。
As for Changmao, he was a native of Putian. Through the provincial recommendation he served as instructor at Qingzhou, then was promoted to Compiler. At the beginning of Renzong's reign he was advanced to vice-director. In character he was stern and severe; he repeatedly offered blunt counsel and was close to Lun.
10
而長懋在獄十年，英宗立，乃得釋。 復其官，還守郁林，有惠政。 其卒也，州人立廟祀之。
Changmao had been in prison ten years; only when Yingzong took the throne was he at last released. His office was restored; he returned to govern Yulin as prefect and won a reputation for benevolent rule. When he died, the people of the prefecture erected a temple in his honor.
11
陳祚，字永錫，吳人。 永樂中進士。 擢河南參議。 十五年與布政使周文褒、王文振合疏，言建都北京非便，並謫均州太和山佃戶。 躬耕力作，處之晏然。 仁宗立，詔選用遷謫諸臣，祚在選中。 會帝崩，不果用。
Chen Zuo, styled Yongxi, was a native of Wu. During the Yongle reign he passed the jinshi examinations. He was promoted to Administrative Vice Commissioner of Henan. In year 15, together with Administrative Commissioners Zhou Wenbao and Wang Wenzhen, he submitted a joint memorial arguing that establishing Beijing as the capital was inexpedient; all three were banished as tenant farmers on Mount Taihe in Junzhou. He farmed with his own hands and bore his exile with composure. When Renzong took the throne, an edict called for the reuse of banished officials, and Zuo was among those selected. But the emperor died before he could be appointed.
12
宣德二年命憲臣即均州群試之，祚策第一。 試吏部，復第一。 遂擢御史，巡按福建。 方面大吏多被彈擊，禁止和買，閩人德之。 還奏白塔河上通邵伯湖，下註大江，蘇、松舟楫，多從往來，淺狹湮塞，請開浚。 從之，轉漕果便。 尋出按江西。
In Xuande year 2 the emperor ordered judicial officials to hold a group examination at Junzhou; Zuo's policy essay ranked first. When examined by the Ministry of Personnel, he again ranked first. He was then promoted to Censor and dispatched to inspect Fujian. Many senior provincial officials were impeached; he forbade compulsory government purchases, and the people of Fujian were grateful to him. On his return he memorialized that the Baita River connected with Lake Shaobo and emptied into the Yangzi; boats from Suzhou and Songjiang often used the route, but the channel was shallow, narrow, and silted, and he requested dredging. The request was approved, and grain transport by water became genuinely convenient. Soon afterward he was sent out to inspect Jiangxi.
13
時天下承平，帝頗事遊獵玩好。 祚馳疏勸勤聖學。 其略曰：「帝王之學先明理，明理在讀書。 陛下雖有聖德，而經筵未甚興舉，講學未有程度，聖賢精微，古今治亂，豈能周知洞晰？ 真德秀《大學衍義》一書，聖賢格言，無不畢載。 願於聽政之暇，命儒臣講說，非有大故，無得間斷。 使知古今若何而治，政事若何而得。 必能開廣聰明，增光德業。 而邪佞之以奇巧蕩聖心者自見疏遠，天下人民受福無窮矣。」 帝見疏大怒曰：「豎儒謂朕未讀《大學》耶！ 薄朕至此，不可不誅。」 學士陳循頓首曰：「俗士處遠，不知上無書不讀也。」 帝意稍解。 下祚獄，逮其家人十餘口，隔別禁系者五年，其父竟瘐死。 其時，刑部主事郭循諫拓西內皇城修離宮，逮入面詰之。 循抗辯不屈，亦下獄。 英宗立，祚與循皆得釋復官。
At that time the realm was at peace, yet the emperor was much given to hunting and curios. Zuo sent an urgent memorial urging the emperor to pursue sacred learning diligently. In summary it said: "The learning of emperors and kings begins with clarifying principle, and clarifying principle lies in reading books. Your Majesty, though possessed of sacred virtue, has not greatly revived the classics lecture hall; lecturing and study have not reached a settled level—how then can the subtle doctrines of sages and worthies and the patterns of order and chaos through the ages be thoroughly known and clearly understood? In Zhen Dexiu's Daxue yanyi, the maxims of sages and worthies are all fully recorded. I beg that in the leisure after hearing government affairs Your Majesty order Confucian officials to lecture on it, and that except for grave cause there be no interruption. Then one will know how the past was governed and how government affairs are rightly conducted. Surely intelligence will be broadened and virtue and achievement increased. And those wicked and fawning men who would shake the sacred mind with strange artifices will of themselves be kept at a distance, and the people of the realm will receive boundless blessing. When the emperor saw the memorial he was greatly enraged and said: "Does this petty scholar think I have not read the Daxue! To slight me to this degree cannot go unpunished. Academician Chen Xun kowtowed and said: "A vulgar scholar far from court does not know that Your Majesty reads every book. The emperor's mind eased somewhat. Zuo was sent to prison; more than ten members of his household were seized, and for five years they were held separately under detention; his father died of illness in confinement. At that time Guo Xun, a secretary in the Ministry of Punishments, remonstrated against expanding the inner quarters of the western imperial city to build a detached palace; he was seized and brought in for a face-to-face interrogation. Xun argued back without yielding and was also imprisoned. When Yingzong took the throne, both Zuo and Xun were released and restored to office.
14
祚再按湖廣。 以奏遼王貴烚罪有所隱，與巡撫侍郎吳政逮至京，下獄。 尋赦出。 時王振用事，法務嚴峻，祚上言：「乃者法司論獄，多違定律。 如侍郎吳璽誤舉主事吳軏，宜坐貢舉非其人律，乃坐以奏事有規避律斬。 及軏自經死，獄官獄卒罪應遞減，乃援不應為重罪，概杖之。 一事如此，余可推矣。 天時不順，災沴數見，未必非此。」 帝是之，以其章示法司。 尋改南京，遷福建按察使僉事。 有威惠，神祠不載祀典者悉撤去。 久之，以疾歸，卒。
Zuo again inspected Huguang. Because in memorializing the crimes of Prince of Liao Zhu Guiyan he had concealed something, he was arrested together with Grand Coordinator and Vice Minister Wu Zheng and brought to the capital, then imprisoned. Soon afterward he was pardoned and released. At that time Wang Zhen was in power and legal practice was severe; Zuo memorialized: "Recently when the judicial offices tried cases, they often violated the code. For example, Vice Minister Wu Xi mistakenly recommended Secretary Wu Yue; he should have been charged under the statute on recommending an unfit person, yet he was sentenced to decapitation under the statute on memorializing with evasion. When Yue hanged himself, the crimes of prison officials and guards should have been reduced in degree, yet they invoked the heavy crime of doing what ought not to be done and were all beaten with the staff. When one matter is like this, the rest may be inferred. Heaven's seasons are out of order and calamities appear repeatedly—this may well be the cause. The emperor agreed and showed his memorial to the judicial offices. Soon afterward he was transferred to Nanjing, then promoted to Vice Commissioner in the Fujian Surveillance Commission. He combined authority with kindness; shrines not recorded in the sacrificial statutes were all removed. After a long while he returned home on account of illness and died.
15
祚天資嚴毅，雖子弟罕接其言笑，獨重里人邢量。 量博學士，隱於卜，敝屋數椽，或竟日不舉火。 祚數挾冊就質疑，往往至暮。
Zuo was stern and severe by nature; even his own kin rarely heard him jest, yet he greatly esteemed his fellow townsman Xing Liang. Liang was a learned scholar who lived in seclusion as a diviner; he had only a few rafters of a dilapidated house and sometimes went a whole day without lighting a fire. Zuo often carried books to him with questions and would stay until evening.
16
郭循，字循初，廬陵人。 居官有才譽。 既復職，進郎中，以尚書魏源薦，擢廣東參政，有剿寇功。 景泰初卒。
Guo Xun, styled Xunchu, was a native of Luling. In office he had a reputation for ability. After his restoration he was advanced to Director; on the recommendation of Minister Wei Yuan he was promoted to Administrative Commissioner of Guangdong and had merit in suppressing bandits. He died at the beginning of the Jingtai reign.
17
劉球，字廷振，安福人。 永樂十九年進士。 家居讀書十年，從學者甚眾。 授禮部主事。 胡濙薦侍經筵，與修《宣宗實錄》，改翰林侍講。 從弟比知莆田，遺一夏布。 球封還，貽書戒之。 正統六年，帝以王振言，大舉征麓川。 球上疏曰：
Liu Qiu, styled Tingzhen, was a native of Anfu. In Yongle year 19 he passed the jinshi examinations. He stayed home reading books for ten years, and those who studied under him were very numerous. He was appointed Secretary in the Ministry of Rites. Hu Ying recommended him to attend the classics lecture; he helped compile the Veritable Records of Emperor Xuanzong and was transferred to Hanlin Academician Reader-in-Waiting. His younger cousin, serving as magistrate of Putian, sent him a length of summer cloth. Qiu sealed it and returned it, sending a letter to admonish him. In Zhengtong year 6, on Wang Zhen's advice, the emperor launched a great campaign against Luchuan. Qiu submitted a memorial saying:
18
帝王之馭四裔，必宥其小而防其大。 所以適緩急之宜，為天下久安計也。 周伐崇不克，退修德教以待其降。 至於玁狁，則命南仲城朔方以備之。 漢征南越不利，即罷兵賜書通好。 至於匈奴，雖已和親，猶募民徙居塞下，入粟實邊，復命魏尚守雲中拒之。
In governing the four borderlands, emperors and kings must pardon the small and guard against the great. This is how to suit the pace of urgency and ease and plan for lasting peace under Heaven. When Zhou attacked Chong and could not overcome it, they withdrew to cultivate virtue and teaching and await its surrender. As for the Xianyun, they ordered Nan Zhong to fortify Shuofang to guard against them. When Han campaigned against Nanyue without success, they at once ceased troops and sent letters to open friendly relations. As for the Xiongnu, though there was already a marriage alliance, they still recruited people to move and settle below the passes, sent grain to fill the border, and again ordered Wei Shang to hold Yunzhong and repel them.
19
今麓川殘寇思任發素本羈屬，以邊將失馭，致勤大兵。 雖渠魁未殲，亦多戮群醜，為誅為舍，無系輕重。 璽書原其罪釁，使得自新，甚盛德也。 邊將不達聖意，復議大舉。 欲屯十二萬眾於雲南，以趣其降，不降則攻之。 不慮王師不可輕出，蠻性不可驟馴，地險不可用眾，客兵不可久淹。 況南方水旱相仍，軍民交困，若復動眾，紛擾為憂。 臣竊謂宜緩天誅，如周、漢之於崇、越也。
Today the remnant bandits of Luchuan, Si Renfa, were originally a subordinate dependency; because border generals lost control, a great army was stirred up. Though the chief culprit has not yet been destroyed, many of the villainous host have already been killed; whether to execute or spare should not be tied to weight or lightness. The imperial letter pardoned his crimes and faults and allowed him to renew himself—this was very great virtue. Border generals did not grasp the sacred intent and again proposed a great campaign. They wished to station one hundred twenty thousand men in Yunnan to press for surrender, and if he did not surrender, to attack. They did not consider that the royal army must not be lightly sent forth, that barbarian nature cannot be quickly tamed, that dangerous terrain cannot employ great numbers, and that guest troops cannot long be detained. Moreover, south of the Yangzi flood and drought follow one another, army and people alike are distressed; if troops are stirred again, turmoil will be the worry. Your subject ventures to say that Heaven's punishment should be slowed, as Zhou and Han did toward Chong and Yue.
20
至於瓦剌，終為邊患。 及其未即騷動，正宜以時防禦。 乃欲移甘肅守將以事南征，卒然有警，何以為禦？ 臣竊以為宜慎防遏，如周、漢之於玁狁、匈奴也。
As for the Oirats, in the end they will be a border trouble. Before they have yet stirred to disorder, it is precisely the time to defend against them in season. Yet they wish to shift the garrison commander of Gansu to the southern campaign; if alarm suddenly arises, how will we defend? Your subject ventures to think that careful defense and restraint are fitting, as Zhou and Han toward the Xianyun and Xiongnu.
21
伏望陛下罷大舉之議。 推選智謀將帥，輔以才識大臣，量調官軍，分屯金齒諸要害。 結木邦諸蠻以為援，乘間進攻，因便撫諭，寇自可服。 至於西北障塞，當敕邊臣巡視。 浚築溝垣，增繕城堡，勤訓練，嚴守望，以防不虞，有備無患之道也。
I bow and hope Your Majesty will abandon the proposal for a great campaign. Select wise and resourceful generals, assist them with talented and discerning ministers, measure and deploy official troops, and station them in divisions at the key points such as Jinchi. Win the support of the various barbarians of Mubang as allies; seize the opportunity to attack, and meanwhile offer convenient reassurance and instruction—the bandits will of themselves submit. As for the northwestern barriers and passes, border officials should be ordered to inspect them. Dredge and build ditches and walls, add and repair castles, train diligently, keep watch strictly, and guard against the unforeseen—this is the way to have preparation and no worry.
22
章下兵部。 謂南征已有成命，不用球言。 八年五月雷震奉天殿。 球應詔上言所宜先者十事。 其略曰：
The memorial was sent down to the Ministry of War. They said the southern campaign already had a settled command and Qiu's words were not used. In the fifth month of the eighth year, lightning struck the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Qiu, responding to the edict, memorialized the ten matters that should come first. In summary:
23
古聖王不作無益，故心正而天不違之。 臣願皇上勤禦經筵，數進儒臣，講求至道。 務使學問功至，理欲判然，則聖心正而天心自順。 夫政由已出，則權不下移。 太祖、太宗日視三朝，時召大臣於便殿裁決庶政，權歸總於上。 皇上臨御九年，事體日熟。 願守二聖成規，復親決故事，使權歸於一。
The ancient sage kings did nothing without benefit; therefore the mind was correct and Heaven did not oppose them. Your subject wishes that Your Majesty diligently attend the classics lecture, frequently advance Confucian officials, and seek the ultimate Way. See to it that learning and effort reach completion and principle and desire are clearly distinguished; then the sacred mind will be correct and the mind of Heaven will of itself accord. When government proceeds from oneself, power does not shift downward. Taizu and Taizong viewed court three times daily and at times summoned ministers to the side hall to decide ordinary government; power was gathered at the top. Your Majesty has ruled nine years and matters are daily more familiar. I wish that you keep the established rules of the two sages, restore personal decision of precedent affairs, and let power return to one.
24
古之擇大臣者，必詢諸左右、大夫、國人。 及其有犯，雖至大辟亦不加刑，第賜之死。 今用大臣未嘗皆出公論。 及有小失，輒桎梏箠楚之； 然未幾時，又復其職。 甚非所以待大臣也。 自今擇任大臣，宜允愜眾論。 小犯則置之。 果不可容，下法司定罪，使自為計。 勿輒系，庶不乖共天職之意。
In antiquity, in choosing great ministers one surely consulted those at left and right, the grandees, and the people of the state. When they had offenses, even if it reached the great punishment, no additional penalty was imposed—only death was bestowed. Ministers appointed today are not always chosen on the basis of broad public approval. At the slightest misstep they are shackled and flogged; yet within a short time they are returned to office. This is no way to treat senior ministers. From now on, in choosing ministers, Your Majesty should heed widely shared consensus. Minor transgressions should be overlooked. If punishment is truly warranted, refer the case to the judicial authorities for sentencing and let the offender answer for himself. Do not casually throw them in chains, so as not to betray the spirit of ministers jointly bearing Heaven's mandate.
25
今之太常，即古之秩宗，必得清慎習禮之臣，然後可交神明。 今卿貳皆缺，宜選擇儒臣，使領其職。
The present Court of Imperial Rites corresponds to the ancient office of Director of Ancestral Rites; only officials of integrity, discretion, and ritual mastery can serve as intermediaries with the divine. The deputy directorships are now all unfilled; scholar-officials should be chosen to fill them.
26
古者省方巡狩，所以察吏得失，問民疾苦。 兩漢、唐、宋盛時，數遣使巡行郡縣，洪、永間亦嘗行之。 今久不舉，故吏多貪虐，民不聊生，而軍衛尤甚。 宜擇公明廉幹之臣，分行天下。
In ancient times emperors toured the realm to assess official conduct and learn of popular suffering. At the height of the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties, imperial commissioners were repeatedly sent to tour the prefectures and counties; the Hongwu and Yongle reigns saw the practice as well. The practice has long been abandoned, with the result that officials are often corrupt and cruel, the people can barely survive, and conditions in the garrisons are worst of all. Fair, incorruptible, and capable officials should be chosen and sent throughout the empire.
27
古人君不親刑獄，必付理官，蓋恐徇喜怒而有所輕重也。 邇法司所上獄，多奉敕增減輕重，法司不能執奏。 及訊他囚，又觀望以為輕重，民用多冤。 宜使各舉其職。 至運磚輸米諸例，均非古法，尤宜罷之。
Ancient sovereigns did not personally try criminal cases but left them to the judiciary, lest judgment be swayed by personal favor or wrath. Lately the judicial bureaus' sentencing recommendations are frequently overridden by imperial edict; the courts dare not insist on their judgments. When trying other cases they merely watch for cues about what penalty to impose, and the common people suffer many wrongful convictions. Each office should be allowed to discharge its proper function. Practices such as requiring convicts to haul bricks and transport grain are nowhere found in ancient law and should be abolished at once.
28
《春秋》營築悉書，戒勞民也。 京師興作五六年矣，曰「不煩民而役軍」，軍獨非國家赤子乎？ 況營作多完，宜罷工以蘇其力。
The Spring and Autumn Annals records every construction project as an admonition against overworking the populace. Building projects in the capital have dragged on for five or six years, with officials claiming they 'burden the civilians not but only use the army'—yet are soldiers not also the emperor's own cherished subjects? Moreover, most of the projects are already complete; construction should cease so the laborers may recover their strength.
29
各處水旱，有司既不振救，請減租稅，或亦徒事虛文。 宜令戶部以時振濟，量加減免，使不致失業。
When flood and drought strike the provinces, local officials fail to provide relief, and petitions to cut taxes often produce nothing but empty paperwork. The Ministry of Revenue should be instructed to provide timely relief and measured tax reductions so that people are not ruined.
30
麓川連年用兵，死者十七八，軍貲爵賞不可勝計。 今又遣蔣貴遠征緬甸，責獻思任發。 果擒以歸，不過梟諸通衢而已。 緬將挾以為功，必求與木邦共分其地。 不與則致怒，與之則兩蠻坐大，是減一麓川生二麓川也。 設有蹉跎，兵事無已。 臣見皇上每錄重囚，多宥令從軍，仁心若此。 今欲生得一失地之竄寇，而驅數萬無罪之眾以就死地，豈不有乖於好生之仁哉？ 況思機發已嘗遣人來貢，非無悔過乞免之意。 若敕緬斬任發首來獻，仍敕思機發盡削四境之地，分於各寨新附之蠻，則一方可寧矣。
Years of war in Luchuan have left seven or eight men in ten dead; the cost in supplies, titles, and rewards is beyond reckoning. Jiang Gui has now been dispatched on a far campaign into Burma to demand that Si Renfa be delivered up. Even if he is captured and brought back, the outcome would be nothing more than displaying his severed head in the streets. The Burmese commanders will use the capture to claim credit and insist on dividing the territory with Mubang. Refuse them and they will turn hostile; grant their demand and both tribal powers will grow—replacing one Luchuan with two. Any setback would keep the war going indefinitely. I have seen Your Majesty repeatedly pardon condemned criminals and send them to serve in the army—such is Your compassion. To capture one fugitive chieftain who has already lost his domain, while driving tens of thousands of innocent men toward their deaths—is this not at odds with Your humane regard for life? Moreover, Si Jifa has already sent tribute missions, showing that he wishes to repent and sue for pardon. Order Burma to deliver Si Renfa's head, and command Si Jifa to surrender all border territories to be distributed among the newly submitted tribal chiefs—then the region could at last be pacified.
31
迤北貢使日增，包藏禍心，誠為難測。 宜分遣給事、御史閱視京邊官軍，及時訓練，勿使借工各廠，服役私家。 公武舉之選以求良將，定召募之法以來武勇。 廣屯田，公鹽法，以厚儲蓄。 庶武備無缺，而外患有防。
Tributary missions from the northern frontier grow more numerous by the day; their designs are hidden and truly impossible to read. Supervising secretaries and censors should be dispatched to inspect capital and frontier troops, ensure they are trained promptly, and prevent them from being lent out to factories or private households. Military examinations should be held openly to find able commanders, and conscription rules set to draw in the brave. Expand frontier farming colonies and standardize the salt monopoly to strengthen government reserves. Thus defenses would be kept in readiness and external threats held in check.
32
疏入，下廷議。 言球所奏，惟擇太常官宜從，令吏部推舉。 修撰董璘遂乞改官太常，奉享祀事。
When the memorial was submitted, the court was ordered to deliberate on it. The court ruled that of Qiu's recommendations, only the proposal to fill posts in the Court of Imperial Rites should be adopted, and the Ministry of Personnel was instructed to nominate suitable candidates. Compiler Dong Lin then requested a transfer to the Court of Imperial Rites to oversee sacrificial rites.
33
初，球言麓川事，振固已銜之。 欽天監正彭德清者，球鄉人也，素為振腹心。 凡天文有變，皆匿不奏，倚振勢為奸，公卿多趨謁。 球絕不與通。 德清恨之，遂摘疏中攬權語，謂振曰：「此指公耳。」 振益大怒。 會璘疏上，振遂指球同謀，並逮下詔獄，屬指揮馬順殺球。 順深夜攜一小校持刀至球所。 球方臥，起立，大呼太祖、太宗。 頸斷，體猶植。 遂支解之，瘞獄戶下。 璘從旁竊血裙遺球家。 後其子鉞求得一臂，裹裙以殮。 順有子病久，忽起捽順發，拳且蹴之曰：「老賊，令爾他日禍逾我！ 我，劉球也。」 順驚悸。 俄而子死，小校亦死。 璘，字德文，高郵人。 有孝行。 獄解，遂歸，不復出。
From the outset, Wang Zhen had already resented Qiu for his comments on the Luchuan campaign. Peng Deqing, Director of the Directorate of Astronomy, was Qiu's fellow townsman and had long been Wang Zhen's intimate ally. He habitually concealed astronomical portents instead of reporting them, used Wang Zhen's influence for corrupt ends, and senior officials flocked to pay him court. Qiu steadfastly refused any contact with him. Deqing nursed a grudge and plucked from the memorial its passages about usurped authority, telling Wang Zhen: "He is referring to you. Wang Zhen's rage only grew. When Dong Lin's petition arrived, Wang Zhen accused Qiu of conspiracy, had both men imprisoned in the imperial jail, and ordered Commander Ma Shun to kill Qiu. Ma Shun went to Qiu's cell deep in the night, accompanied by a junior guard carrying a knife. Qiu had been lying down; he sprang up and cried out the names of Taizu and Taizong. His neck was cut through, yet his body remained standing. They then dismembered the corpse and buried the pieces beneath the prison gate. Dong Lin stole a blood-soaked garment from the scene and sent it to Qiu's family. Later his son Yue recovered one arm and wrapped it in the bloodied garment for burial. Ma Shun's son, who had been gravely ill for a long time, suddenly sat up, seized his father by the hair, and beat and kicked him, crying: "You old villain—in days to come may your suffering surpass mine! I am Liu Qiu." Ma Shun was terrified. Soon afterward the son died, and the junior guard died as well. Dong Lin, styled Dewen, was a native of Gaoyou. He was known for his filial devotion. After he was released from prison, he returned home and never took office again.
34
球死數年，瓦剌果入寇。 英宗北狩，振被殺。 朝士立擊順，斃之。 而德清自土木遁還，下獄論斬，尋瘐死。 詔戮其屍。 景帝憐球忠，贈翰林學士，謚忠湣，立祠於鄉。
A few years after Liu Qiu's death, the Oirats invaded as he had foretold. Emperor Yingzong was captured on the northern campaign, and Wang Zhen was killed. Court officials fell upon Ma Shun on the spot and beat him to death. Peng Deqing, who had escaped back from the Tumu disaster, was imprisoned, sentenced to death, and soon died of illness in jail. An edict was issued ordering his corpse to be mutilated in posthumous punishment. Emperor Jing, moved by Qiu's loyalty, posthumously made him a Hanlin Academician, conferred the posthumous name Loyal and Lamented, and built a memorial shrine in his hometown.
35
球二子，長鉞、次釪。 皆篤學，躬耕養母。 球既得恤，兄弟乃出應舉，先後成進士。 鉞，廣東參政； 釪，雲南按察使。
Liu Qiu had two sons—the elder Yue and the younger Yu. Both were devoted scholars who farmed with their own hands to support their mother. Once their father had been honored posthumously, the brothers entered the examinations and both passed the metropolitan degree in turn. Yue served as Administrative Commissioner of Guangdong; Yu served as Surveillance Commissioner of Yunnan.
36
陳鑒，字貞明，高安人。 宣德二年進士。 授行人。 正統中，擢御史。
Chen Jian, styled Zhenming, was a native of Gao'an. He passed the metropolitan examination in the second year of the Xuande reign. He was appointed a palace messenger. During the Zhengtong reign he was promoted to censor.
37
出按順天。 言京師風俗澆漓，其故有五：一，事佛過甚； 二，營喪破家； 三，服食靡麗； 四，優倡為蠹； 五，博塞成風。 章下禮部，格不行。
He was assigned to inspect the Shuntian circuit. He reported that morals in the capital had fallen into decay for five reasons: first, excessive Buddhist worship; second, ruinous funeral expenditures; third, extravagant food and clothing; fourth, actors and entertainers preying on society; fifth, widespread gambling. The memorial was referred to the Ministry of Rites but was rejected and never enforced.
38
改按貴州。 時麓川酋思任發子思機發遁孟養，屢上書求宥罪通貢。 不許。 復大舉遠征，兵連不解。 雲、貴軍民疲敝。 苗乘機煽動，閩、浙間盜賊大起。 舉朝皆知其不可，懲劉球禍，無敢諫者。 十四年正月，鑒抗疏言賊酋遠遁，不為邊患，宜專責雲南守臣相機剿滅，無遠勞禁旅。 王振怒，欲困之，改鑒雲南參議，使赴騰沖招賊。 已，復摭鑒為巡按時嘗請改四川播州宣慰司隸貴州，為鑒罪，令兵部劾之，論死系獄。 景帝嗣位，乃得赦。 尋授河南參議。 致仕歸，卒。
He was reassigned to inspect Guizhou. At that time Si Jifa, son of the Luchuan chieftain Si Renfa, had fled to Mengyang and repeatedly petitioned for pardon and the right to resume tribute missions. The court refused. Instead the court launched another major distant campaign, and fighting dragged on without end. Soldiers and civilians in Yunnan and Guizhou were exhausted and destitute. The Miao took advantage of the unrest to incite rebellion, and banditry erupted across Fujian and Zhejiang. The entire court knew the campaign was folly, but mindful of Liu Qiu's fate, no one dared speak out. In the first month of the fourteenth year Chen Jian submitted a bold memorial arguing that the rebel chief had fled beyond reach and posed no border threat—that Yunnan's frontier commanders should be entrusted to eliminate him as circumstances allowed, without sending the capital army on a distant campaign. Wang Zhen was furious and sought to ruin him, reassigning Chen Jian as Assistant Administrative Commissioner of Yunnan and dispatching him to Tengchong to negotiate with the rebels. Soon afterward Wang Zhen dredged up an old proposal Chen Jian had made as touring censor to transfer Sichuan's Bozhou Pacification Commission to Guizhou's jurisdiction, used it as grounds for prosecution, had the Ministry of War impeach him, and had him sentenced to death and thrown in prison. Only when Emperor Jing took the throne was he granted amnesty. He was soon appointed Assistant Administrative Commissioner of Henan. He retired to private life and died at home.
39
自正統中，劉球以忤王振冤死，鑒繼下獄，中外莫敢言事者數年。 至景帝時，言路始開，爭發憤上書。 有何觀者，復以言得罪去。
From the Zhengtong period onward, after Liu Qiu was wrongfully killed for opposing Wang Zhen and Chen Jian was imprisoned in turn, for years no one inside or outside the court dared raise policy matters. Under Emperor Jing the channels of remonstrance slowly reopened, and officials vied to vent their outrage in memorials. He Guan was among them, and he too was punished and removed for speaking out.
40
觀以善書為中書舍人。 景泰二年劾尚書王直輩正統時阿附權奸，不宜在左右。 中貴見「權奸」語，以為侵已，激帝怒，下科道參議。 吏科毛玉主奏稿，力詆觀，林聰、葉盛持之，乃刪削奏上。 會御史疏亦上，中有「觀考滿不遷，私憾吏部」語。 帝怒，下觀詔獄，杖之，謫九溪衛經歷。
Guan was appointed Secretariat Drafter for his skill in calligraphy. In the second year of Jingtai he impeached Minister Wang Zhi and others for having fawned on the powerful villain Wang Zhen during the Zhengtong reign, declaring them unfit to remain at the emperor's side. Palace eunuchs took the phrase "powerful villain" as a personal attack, whipped up the emperor's wrath, and had the censorial and surveillance officials review the matter. Mao Yu of the Department of Personnel drafted the memorial and fiercely attacked Guan, but Lin Cong and Ye Sheng intervened, and the document was finally edited down before it was submitted. At the same time a supervising censor submitted a memorial that said Guan had failed to receive promotion after completing his term of review and was nursing a private grudge against the Ministry of Personnel. The emperor was enraged, had Guan sent to the imperial prison, beaten with the rod, and demoted to Administrator of Jiuxi Guard.
41
鐘同，字世京，吉安永豐人。 父復，宣德中進士及第。 歷官修撰，與劉球善。 球上封事，約與俱，復妻勸止之。 球詣復邸，邀偕行。 復已他往，妻從屏間詈曰：「汝自上疏，何累他人為！」 球出嘆曰：「彼乃謀及婦人。」 遂獨上奏，竟死。 居無何，復亦病死。 妻深悔之，每哭輒曰：「早知爾，曷若與劉君偕死。」 同幼聞母言，即感奮，思成父誌。 嘗入吉安忠節祠，見所祀歐陽修、楊邦乂諸人，嘆曰：「死不入此，非夫也。」
Zhong Tong, styled Shijing, was a native of Yongfeng in Ji'an. His father Fu passed the jinshi examinations with highest honors during the Xuande reign. He rose to the post of Compiler and was close friends with Liu Qiu. When Qiu submitted a sealed memorial and asked Fu to join him, Fu's wife urged her husband not to go. Qiu went to Fu's house and asked him to come along. Fu had already left for elsewhere. From behind the screen his wife shouted curses: "You want to submit your own memorial—why drag other people into it!" Qiu left and sighed: "He even consults his wife when making plans." He went on alone to submit his memorial and was eventually put to death. Not long afterward, Fu too died of illness. His wife was filled with remorse, and whenever she wept she would say: "If I had known how this would end, I would rather have died together with Master Liu." Tong heard these words from his mother as a boy, and they stirred him at once; he resolved to finish what his father had left undone. Once he visited the Loyalty and Integrity Shrine in Ji'an and saw the honored names of Ouyang Xiu, Yang Bangyi, and others, he sighed and said: "If I cannot enter this shrine after death, I am no true man."
42
景泰二年舉進士，明年授御史。 懷獻太子既薨，中外望復沂王於東宮。 同與郎中章綸早朝，語及沂王，皆泣下，因與約疏請復儲。 五年五月，同因上疏論時政，遂及復儲事，其略曰：
He passed the jinshi examinations in the second year of Jingtai and was appointed Supervising Censor the following year. After the death of Crown Prince Huai Xian, officials inside and outside the court hoped the Prince of Yi would be reinstated as heir apparent. At the morning audience Tong and Bureau Director Zhang Lun spoke of the Prince of Yi, and both broke into tears. They then agreed to submit a memorial asking that the heir be restored. In the fifth month of the fifth year Tong submitted a memorial on current affairs that went on to address restoration of the heir. Its gist was as follows:
43
近得賊諜，言也先使偵京師及臨清虛實，期初秋大舉深入，直下河南。 臣聞之不勝寒心，而廟堂大臣皆恬不介意。 昔秦伐趙，諸侯自若，孔子順獨憂之，人皆以為狂。 臣今者之言，何以異此。 臣草茅時，聞寺人構惡，戕戮直臣劉球，遂致廷臣箝口。 假使當時犯顏有人，必能諫止上皇之行，何至有蒙塵之禍。
We recently captured an enemy spy who reported that Esen had sent scouts to probe the defenses of the capital and Linqing, intending a major invasion in early autumn that would strike deep into the realm and push straight into Henan. I shuddered when I heard this, yet the great ministers at court remain placid and unconcerned. Long ago, when Qin attacked Zhao, the feudal lords acted as if nothing were amiss; only Kong Shun was troubled by it, and everyone thought him mad. How are my words today any different? Before I entered office I heard how eunuchs had plotted evil, cut down the upright minister Liu Qiu, and thereby silenced the entire court. If someone had then had the courage to speak bluntly to the throne, he could surely have stopped the Former Emperor's campaign—how then could the calamity of imperial capture have befallen us?
44
陛下赫然中興，鋤奸黨，旌忠直。 命六師禦敵於郊，不戰而三軍之氣自倍。 臣謂陛下方且鞭撻四裔，坐致太平，奈何邊氛甫息，瘡痍未復，而侈心遽生，失天下望。 伏願取鑒前車，厚自奮厲。 毋徇貨色，毋甘嬉遊。 親庶政以總威權，敦倫理以厚風俗，辨邪正以專委任，嚴賞罰以彰善惡，崇風憲以正紀綱。 去浮費，罷冗員。 禁僧道之蠹民，擇賢將以訓士。 然後親率群臣，謝過郊廟，如成湯之六事自責，唐太宗之十漸即改，庶幾天意可回，國勢可振。
Your Majesty has brilliantly restored the dynasty, uprooted villainous factions, and honored loyal and upright men. You sent the armies to meet the enemy beyond the walls; even without battle the spirit of the troops doubled on its own. I believed Your Majesty was on the verge of subduing the barbarians on every side and securing peace at a stroke. Yet the border is barely quiet, the wounds of the realm are scarcely healed, and already a taste for extravagance has sprung up, forfeiting the people's hopes. I beg Your Majesty to learn from past mistakes and redouble your resolve. Do not indulge in wealth and pleasure; do not surrender yourself to idle amusements. Attend personally to the business of government and hold authority firmly in your own hands; nurture the bonds of family and society to strengthen public morals; distinguish loyal from treacherous men and entrust office accordingly; enforce rewards and punishments strictly so that good and evil are plain; uphold law and discipline to restore order throughout the realm. Cut wasteful spending and eliminate superfluous offices. Restrain the monks and Daoists who prey upon the people; choose able commanders to train the soldiers. Then lead the court in person to confess your faults before Heaven and the ancestral altars—as Cheng Tang blamed himself for six offenses, as Tang Taizong promptly corrected his ten gradual faults—so that Heaven's favor may be restored and the nation's strength renewed.
45
又言：
He went on to say:
46
父有天下，固當傳之於子。 乃者太子薨逝，足知天命有在。 臣竊以為上皇之子，即陛下之子。 沂王天資厚重，足令宗社有托。 伏望擴天地之量，敦友於之仁，蠲吉具儀，建復儲位，實祖宗無疆之休。
When a father possesses the realm, he should naturally pass it to his son. The recent death of the crown prince is proof enough that Heaven's mandate rests elsewhere. I privately hold that the Former Emperor's son is Your Majesty's own son as well. The Prince of Yi is by nature steady and dependable—surely fit to bear the weight of the realm. I beg Your Majesty to broaden your generosity as Heaven and Earth are broad, deepen the kindness owed between brothers, choose an auspicious day and complete the rites, and restore the heir apparent—this would be boundless blessing for the ancestral line.
47
又言：
He added further:
48
陛下命將帥各陳方略。 經旬逾時，互相委責。 及石亨、柳溥有言，又不過庸人孺子之計。 平時尚爾，一旦有急，將何策制之？ 夫禦敵之方，莫先用賢。 陛下求賢若渴，而大臣之排抑尤甚，所舉者率多親舊富厚之家。 即長材屈抑，孰肯為言？ 朝臣欺謾若此，臣所以撫膺流涕，為今日妨賢病國者醜也。
Your Majesty ordered your generals and commanders each to submit strategic plans. Weeks went by past the deadline while they merely blamed one another. When Shi Heng and Liu Pu finally spoke, their proposals were no better than the schemes of mediocrities and children. If this is how they behave in peacetime, what strategy will avail you in a crisis? In resisting the enemy, there is no priority higher than employing worthy men. Your Majesty thirsts for worthy men, yet your chief ministers suppress talent all the more ruthlessly; most of those they recommend come from among their kin, old friends, and the rich. When men of exceptional talent are kept down, who will speak up for them? Court ministers deceive the throne like this—this is why I beat my breast and weep with shame at those who today obstruct talent and poison the state.
49
疏入，帝不懌。 下廷臣集議。 寧陽侯陳懋、吏部尚書王直等請帝納其言，因引罪求罷。 帝慰留之。 越數日，章綸亦疏言復儲事，遂並下詔獄。 明年八月，大理少卿廖莊亦以言沂王事予杖。 左右言：事由同倡，帝乃封巨梃就獄中杖之，同竟死。 時年三十二。
When the memorial reached the throne, the emperor was displeased. He ordered the court ministers to assemble and discuss it. Marquis Chen Mao of Ningyang, Minister of Personnel Wang Zhi, and others urged the emperor to heed the memorial and, taking blame upon themselves, asked to be dismissed. The emperor comforted them and kept them at their posts. A few days later Zhang Lun too memorialized on restoring the heir, and both men were sent to the imperial prison. In the eighth month of the following year Vice Minister of Justice Liao Zhuang was also beaten for speaking on behalf of the Prince of Yi. Courtiers said the affair had been Tong's doing; the emperor then had a heavy club sealed, went to the prison to beat him, and Tong died. He was thirty-two years old at the time.
50
同之上疏也，策馬出，馬伏地不肯起。 同叱曰：「吾不畏死，爾奚為者！」 馬猶盤辟再四，乃行。 同死，馬長號數聲亦死。
When Tong set out to submit his memorial, he mounted his horse to ride off, but the horse dropped to the ground and refused to rise. Tong shouted at it: "I am not afraid to die—what are you afraid of!" The horse still pranced and circled again and again before it would go. When Tong died, the horse gave several long cries and died as well.
51
英宗復位，贈同大理左寺丞，錄其子啟為國子生，尋授咸寧知縣。 啟請父遺骸歸葬，詔給舟車路費。 成化中，授次子越通政知事，給同妻羅氏月廩。 尋賜同謚恭湣，從祀忠節祠，與球聯位，竟如同初誌。
After Emperor Ying regained the throne, Tong was posthumously honored as Left Assistant Director in the Court of the Judiciary; his son Qi was enrolled in the Imperial Academy and soon appointed magistrate of Xianning. Qi asked to bring his father's remains home for burial, and the court granted funds for boat, carriage, and travel. During the Chenghua reign his second son Yue was appointed Secretary in the Office of Transmission, and Tong's wife Lady Luo received a monthly grain stipend. Tong was soon granted the posthumous name Gong Min and given a place in the Loyalty and Integrity Shrine beside Qiu, fulfilling the ambition he had held from the first.
52
方同下獄時，有禮部郎孟玘者，亦疏言復儲事。 帝不罪。 而進士楊集上書于謙曰：「奸人黃矰獻議易儲，不過為逃死計耳，公等遽成之。 公國家柱石，獨不思所以善後乎？ 今同等又下獄矣，脫諸人死杖下，而公等坐享崇高，如清議何！」 謙以書示王文。 文曰：「書生不知忌諱，要為有膽，當進一官處之。」 乃以集知安州。 玘，閩人； 集，常熟人也。
While Tong was in prison, Meng Qi, a director in the Ministry of Rites, also memorialized on restoring the heir. The emperor did not punish him. But the newly minted jinshi Yang Ji wrote to Yu Qian: "The villain Huang Zeng proposed changing the heir merely to save his own skin, and you gentlemen rushed to execute the plan. You are the pillar of the state—do you not consider how to settle matters afterward? Now Tong and the rest are imprisoned again. If they die under the rod while you sit in exalted office—what will become of public trust in your integrity!" Qian showed the letter to Wang Wen. Wen said: "This student knows no restraint, but at least he has courage. Give him a promotion and an appointment." Ji was thereupon appointed magistrate of Anzhou. Qi was a native of Fujian; Ji was a native of Changshu.
53
章綸，字大經，樂清人。 正統四年進士。 授南京禮部主事。
Zhang Lun, styled Dajing, was a native of Yueqing. He passed the jinshi examinations in the fourth year of Zhengtong. He was appointed Secretary in the Nanjing Ministry of Rites.
54
景泰初，召為儀制郎中。 綸見國家多故，每慷慨論事。 嘗上太平十六策，反復萬餘言。 也先既議和，請力圖修攘以待其變。 中官興安請帝建大隆福寺成，將臨幸。 綸具疏諫，河東鹽運判官濟南楊浩除官未行，亦上章諫，帝即罷幸。 浩後累官副都御史，巡撫延綏。 綸又因災異請求致變之由，語頗切至。
At the start of the Jingtai reign he was summoned to serve as Bureau Director of Ritual Regulations. Seeing the realm beset by one crisis after another, Lun spoke out passionately on public affairs. He once submitted his Sixteen Policies for Great Peace—more than ten thousand words in all. After Esen had agreed to peace, he urged the court to strengthen both defense and offense while watching for a shift in the enemy's fortunes. The eunuch Xing An urged the emperor to visit the newly completed Great Longfu Temple in person. Lun submitted a detailed memorial in protest. Yang Hao of Jinan, who had been appointed Salt Transport Judge of Hedong but had not yet taken up his post, also remonstrated, and the emperor at once canceled the visit. Hao later rose to Vice Censor-in-Chief and served as Grand Coordinator of Yansui. Lun also memorialized after omens and disasters, asking what had provoked them; his language was blunt and pressing.
55
五年五月，鐘同上奏請復儲。 越二日，綸亦抗疏陳修德弭災十四事。 其大者謂：「內官不可幹外政，佞臣不可假事權，後宮不可盛聲色。 凡陰盛之屬，請悉禁罷。」 又言：「孝弟者，百行之本。 願退朝後朝謁兩宮皇太后，修問安視膳之儀。 上皇君臨天下十有四年，是天下之父也； 陛下親受冊封，是上皇之臣也。 陛下與上皇，雖殊形體，實同一人。 伏讀奉迎還宮之詔曰：『禮惟加而無替，義以卑而奉尊。』 望陛下允蹈斯言。 或朔望，或節旦，率群臣朝見延和門，以展友於之情，實天下之至願也。 更請復汪後於中宮，正天下之母儀； 還沂王之儲位，定天下之大本。 如此則和氣充溢，災沴自弭。」 疏入，帝大怒。 時日已暝，宮門閉。 乃傳旨自門隙中出，立執綸及鐘同下詔獄。 榜掠慘酷，逼引主使及交通南宮狀。 瀕死，無一語。 會大風揚沙，晝晦，獄得稍緩，令錮之。 明年杖廖莊闕下。 因封杖就獄中杖綸、同各百。 同竟死，綸長系如故。
In the fifth month of the fifth year Zhong Tong submitted a memorial requesting restoration of the heir. Two days later Zhang Lun submitted a bold memorial outlining fourteen measures to cultivate virtue and avert disaster. His chief points were these: "Palace eunuchs must not meddle in civil government; sycophants must not be granted real power; the inner palace must not be overrun with music and women. Everything excessive in yin influence should be forbidden and abolished." He also wrote: "Filial piety and brotherly duty are the foundation of all proper conduct. I ask that after court you visit the two empress dowagers and restore the rites of inquiring after their health and sharing their meals. The Former Emperor ruled the realm for fourteen years—he is father to the whole empire; Your Majesty received the throne by formal investiture—you are subject to the Former Emperor. You and the Former Emperor are two bodies but one man. I have read again the edict that welcomed him back to the palace: 'In ritual rank is added, never set aside; in righteousness the lesser serves the greater. I beg Your Majesty to live up to these words. On the first and fifteenth of each month, or on festival mornings, lead your ministers in audience at Yanhe Gate to show brotherly affection—that is the dearest wish of the entire realm. I further ask that Empress Wang be restored to the empress's palace, so that the empire once again has a proper exemplar of motherhood; Restore the Prince of Yi to his status as heir and secure the fundamental order of the realm. Do this, and harmony will flourish while disasters and portents fade away of themselves. When the memorial arrived, the Emperor flew into a rage. Night had fallen and the palace gates were already shut. An edict was passed out through the crack in the gate, and Zhang Lun and Zhong Tong were at once arrested and thrown into the imperial prison. Under brutal beating and torture they were pressed to confess who had masterminded the plot and how they had been in contact with the Southern Palace. Even at death's door they would not speak a word. A violent sandstorm darkened the sky at midday; interrogations eased somewhat, and both men were left in shackles. The following year Liao Zhuang was flogged at court beneath the palace gates. Executioners were then dispatched to the prison with sealed rods, and Zhang Lun and Zhong Tong were each given a hundred blows. Tong died from the beating; Zhang Lun remained in prison as before.
56
英宗復位，郭登言綸與廖莊、林聰、左鼎、倪敬等皆直言忤時，宜加旌擢。 帝乃立釋綸。 命內侍檢前疏，不得。 內侍從旁誦數語，帝嗟嘆再三，擢禮部右侍郎。
After Emperor Yingzong was restored to the throne, Guo Deng argued that Zhang Lun, Liao Zhuang, Lin Cong, Zuo Ding, Ni Jing, and others had all spoken unwelcome truths during the reign and deserved special honors and advancement. The Emperor at once ordered Zhang Lun freed. He ordered eunuchs to locate the earlier memorial, but it could not be found. A eunuch recited a few lines from memory; the Emperor sighed again and again, then promoted him to Right Vice Minister of Rites.
57
綸既以大節為帝所重，而性亢直，不能諧俗。 石亨貴幸招公卿飲，綸辭不往，又數與尚書楊善論事不合。 亨、善共短綸。 乃調南京禮部，就改吏部。
Though the Emperor now valued Zhang Lun for his moral courage, he was uncompromising by nature and ill suited to court manners. The favored minister Shi Heng invited senior officials to a banquet; Zhang Lun refused to attend. He also frequently clashed with the Minister Yang Shan over policy. Shi Heng and Yang Shan joined in slandering Zhang Lun. He was transferred to the Nanjing Ministry of Rites and shortly afterward reassigned to the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel.
58
憲宗即位，有司以遺詔請大婚。 綸言：「山陵尚新，元朔未改，百日從吉，心寧自安。 陛下踐阼之初，當以孝治天下，三綱五常實原於此。 乞俟來春舉行。」 議雖不從，天下咸重其言。
When Emperor Xianzong came to the throne, the relevant offices cited the late emperor's testament and asked permission to hold the grand wedding. Zhang Lun argued: "The imperial tomb is still freshly sealed, the new reign year has scarcely begun, and to cast off mourning after a hundred days—how can the heart rest easy? At the outset of your reign you should govern the realm through filial piety; the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues take their root in this alone. I ask that the ceremony be postponed until next spring. Though his advice was rejected, people throughout the realm admired his stand.
59
成化元年，兩淮饑，奏救荒四事。 皆報可。 四年秋，子玄應以冒籍舉京闈。 給事中朱清、御史楊智等因劾綸，命侍郎葉盛勘之。 明年，綸及僉都御史高明考察庶官，兩人議不協。 疏既上，綸復獨奏給事中王讓不赴考察，且言明剛愎自用，己言多不見從，乞與明俱罷。 章並下盛等。 於是讓及下考諸臣連章劾綸。 綸亦屢疏求罷。 帝不聽。 既而盛等勘上玄應實冒籍。 帝宥綸，而所奏他事，亦悉不問。 未幾，復轉禮部。 溫州知府範奎被論調官。 綸言：「溫州臣鄉郡，奎大得民心。 解官之日，士民三萬人哭泣攀轅，留十八日乃得去。 請還之以慰民望。」 章下所司，竟報寢。
In the first year of the Chenghua reign famine struck the two Huai regions, and he submitted four proposals for famine relief. All four were approved. In the autumn of the fourth year his son Xuanying passed the metropolitan examination under a fraudulent household registration. Supervising Secretary Zhu Qing, Censor Yang Zhi, and others impeached Zhang Lun, and the Emperor ordered Vice Minister Ye Sheng to investigate. The following year Zhang Lun and Vice Censor-in-Chief Gao Ming conducted the routine inspection of officials, and the two could not agree. After their joint report went in, Zhang Lun separately memorialized that Supervising Secretary Wang Rang had failed to attend the inspection, and added that Gao Ming was stubborn and self-willed, that his own recommendations were repeatedly ignored, and that he asked to be dismissed along with Gao Ming. Both memorials were forwarded to Ye Sheng and his colleagues for review. Wang Rang and others who had received poor evaluations then submitted a string of memorials attacking Zhang Lun. Zhang Lun too repeatedly asked to resign. The Emperor refused. Eventually Ye Sheng and his team confirmed that Xuanying had indeed obtained his credentials through fraud. The Emperor excused Zhang Lun and ignored the other charges as well. Before long he was reassigned back to the Ministry of Rites. Fan Kui, prefect of Wenzhou, was denounced in a memorial and reassigned. Zhang Lun wrote: "Wenzhou is my home prefecture, and Fan Kui enjoys great popular support. When he left office thirty thousand townspeople wept and seized the shafts of his cart, holding him for eighteen days before he could go. I ask that he be restored to satisfy the people's hopes. The memorial was referred to the relevant offices and in the end was ignored.
60
綸性戇，好直言，不為當事者所喜。 為侍郎二十年，不得遷，請老去。 久之卒。 居數年，其妻張氏上其奏稿，且乞恩。 帝嘉嘆，贈南京禮部尚書，謚恭毅，官一子鴻臚典簿。
Blunt and outspoken by nature, Zhang Lun won little favor from those in power. He spent twenty years as a vice minister without promotion before asking to retire. Long afterward he died. Years after his death his wife, Lady Zhang, submitted his memorial drafts and asked the court for special recognition. The Emperor praised him warmly, posthumously appointing him Minister of Rites at Nanjing with the posthumous name Gongyi, and granting one son an office as Director in the Office of Imperial Processions.
61
玄應後舉進士，為南京給事中。 偕同官論陳鉞罪，忤旨停俸。 孝宗嗣位，上治本五事。 仕終廣東布政使。
Xuanying later became a jinshi and served as a Supervising Secretary in Nanjing. Along with his colleagues he denounced Chen Yue; for defying the throne his stipend was halted. When Emperor Xiaozong came to the throne he submitted five proposals for repairing the foundations of government. He ended his career as Administrative Commissioner of Guangdong.
62
廖莊，字安止，吉水人。 宣德五年進士。 八年改庶吉士，與知縣孔友諒等七人歷事六科。
Liao Zhuang, courtesy name Anzhi, was a native of Jishui. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of the Xuande reign. In the eighth year he became a Hanlin bachelor and, with Magistrate Kong Youliang and six others, served rotations in the Six Supervisory Offices.
63
英宗初，授刑科給事中。 正統二年，御史元亮請如詔書蠲邊軍侵沒糧餉，不允。 按察使龔鐩亦請如詔書宥盜犯之未獲者，法司亦寢不行。 莊以詔書當信，上章爭之。 五年詔京官出修荒政，兼征民逋。 莊慮使者督趣困民，請寬災傷州縣，俟秋成。 從之。 振荒陜西，全活甚眾。 還奏寬恤九事，多議行。 楊士奇家人犯法，偕同官論列。 或曰：「獨不為楊公地乎？」 曰：「正所以為楊公也。」 八年命與御史張驥同署大理寺事。 逾月，授左寺丞。
At the start of Emperor Yingzong's reign he was appointed Supervising Secretary in the Office of Scrutiny for Punishments. In the second year of the Zhengtong reign Censor Yuan Liang asked that embezzled grain rations owed by border troops be forgiven as the edict promised; the request was denied. Surveillance Commissioner Gong Sui likewise asked that uncaught thieves be amnestied as the edict provided; the judicial offices also let the matter die. Zhuang argued that imperial edicts must be honored and memorialized the throne to insist on it. In the fifth year an edict sent capital officials to oversee famine relief while also collecting tax arrears from the populace. Zhuang worried that the commissioners' pressure would crush the people and asked that disaster-hit counties be given grace until the autumn harvest. The request was granted. While administering famine relief in Shaanxi he saved a great many lives. On his return he submitted nine proposals for lenient relief; most were adopted. When members of Yang Shixi's household broke the law, he joined fellow officials in denouncing them publicly. Someone asked: "Don't you want to give Lord Yang some face? He replied: "This is exactly how I show respect for Lord Yang." In the eighth year he was assigned together with Censor Zhang Ji to administer the Court of Judicial Review. A month later he was appointed Left Assistant Director of the Court of Judicial Review.
64
十一年遷南京大理少卿。 逾二年，奸人陳夫者，與所親賈福爭襲指揮職。 南京刑部侍郎齊韶納夫賄，欲奪福官與之，為莊所駁。 韶捶福至死，被逮。 夫亦誣莊，俱征下詔獄。 會韶他罪並發，棄市，莊乃得釋。
In the eleventh year he was promoted to Vice President of the Nanjing Court of Judicial Review. Two years later a schemer named Chen Fu and his kinsman Jia Fu fought over who should inherit a military commander's commission. Qi Shao, Vice Minister of Punishments in Nanjing, took bribes from Chen Fu and tried to strip Jia Fu of his commission and give it to Chen; Zhuang blocked the scheme. Qi Shao beat Jia Fu to death and was arrested. Chen Fu also framed Zhuang, and both men were hauled before the imperial prison. When Qi Shao's other crimes came to light as well he was executed in public, and Zhuang was finally released.
65
景泰五年七月上疏曰：「臣曩在朝，見上皇遣使冊封陛下，每遇慶節，必令群臣朝謁東廡，恩禮隆洽，群臣皆感嘆，謂上皇兄弟友愛如此。 今陛下奉天下以事上皇，願時時朝見南宮，或講明家法，或商略治道，歲時令節，俾群臣朝見，以慰上皇之心，則祖宗在天之神安，天地之心亦安矣。 太子者，天下之本。 上皇之子，陛下之猶子也。 宜令親儒臣，習書策，以待皇嗣之生，使天下臣民曉然知陛下有公天下之心，豈不美歟？ 蓋天下者，太祖、太宗之天下。 仁宗、宣宗繼體守成者，此天下也。 上皇北征，亦為此天下也。 今陛下撫而有之，宜念祖宗創業之艱難，思所以系屬天下之人心，即弭災召祥之道莫過於此。」 疏入，不報。 明年，莊以母喪，赴京關給勘合，詣東角門朝見。 帝憶莊前疏，命廷杖八十，謫定羌驛丞。
In the seventh month of the fifth year of the Jingtai reign he memorialized: "When I was at court I saw the Former Emperor send envoys to invest you as emperor. On every festive occasion he had ministers pay homage in the eastern corridor; the honor shown was warm and generous, and everyone marveled at such brotherly affection. Now you hold the realm in service of the Former Emperor. I beg you to visit the Southern Palace regularly—sometimes to discuss family propriety, sometimes to talk policy—and at each seasonal festival let ministers attend in audience to comfort the Former Emperor's heart. Then the spirits of our ancestors will rest easy, and heaven and earth themselves will be at peace. The crown prince is the foundation of the empire. The Former Emperor's son is your own nephew in all but name. Have him tutored by scholar-officials and trained in statecraft while we wait for an heir of your own—so all the realm may see that you hold the empire in trust for the dynasty. Would that not be splendid? After all, the empire belongs to the dynastic founders, Taizu and Taizong. Renzong and Xuanzong received it in turn and guarded what their forebears had built—this same realm. The Former Emperor marched north for this very empire. Now that you hold it in your care, remember how painfully the founders won it, and consider how to bind the hearts of the people to the throne—no better path exists to avert disaster and draw down blessings. The memorial was received but went unanswered. The next year, while in mourning for his mother, Zhuang went to the capital checkpoint to obtain a travel pass and presented himself for audience at the East Corner Gate. The Emperor remembered Zhuang's old memorial and ordered him given eighty blows at court, then demoted to station master at Dingqiang.
66
天順初，召還。 時母喪未終，復遭父喪，特予祭葬，命起復，仍官南京。 天順五年就擢禮部右侍郎，改刑部。 成化初，召為刑部左侍郎。 逾年卒。 贈尚書，謚恭敏。
At the start of the Tianshun reign he was recalled to office. His mother's mourning was not yet complete when his father also died; the court granted special funeral rites and ordered him back to duty in Nanjing without waiting out mourning. In the fifth year of Tianshun he was promoted to Right Vice Minister of Rites and then moved to the Ministry of Punishments. Early in the Chenghua reign he was summoned back as Left Vice Minister of Punishments. A little over a year later he died. He was posthumously made Minister and given the posthumous name Gongmin.
67
莊性剛，喜面折人過，而實坦懷無芥蒂。 不屑細謹，好存謝賓客為歡狎。 既官法司，或勸稍屏謝往來，遠嫌疑。 莊笑曰：「昔人有言『臣門如市，臣心如水』，吾無愧吾心而已。」 卒之日，無以為斂，眾裒錢助其喪。
Zhuang was stern by nature and loved to confront others' faults directly, yet he bore no grudges in his heart. He cared little for petty proprieties and enjoyed keeping company with guests in easy fellowship. After he entered the judiciary some advised him to cut back on social visits to avoid suspicion. Zhuang laughed and said: "The ancients said, 'Though my gate be thronged like a market, my heart is clear as water'—I need only have a clear conscience. When he died there was not enough for his burial; colleagues pooled money to pay for the funeral.
68
倪敬，字汝敬，無錫人。 正統十三年進士。 擢御史。 景泰初，畿輔饑，命出視。 請蠲田租，戶部持不可。 再疏爭，竟得請。 巡按山西。 時有入粟補官令，敬奏罷之。 戍將侵餉者，悉按治，豪猾斂跡。 再按福建。 時議將復銀冶，敬未行，抗疏論，得寢。 既至，奏罷諸司器物濫取於民者。 鎮守內臣戴細保貪橫，敬列其罪以聞。 帝召細保還，命敬捕治其黨，吏民相慶。 代還，留家四月，逮治，尋復職。
Ni Jing, courtesy name Rujing, was a native of Wuxi. He passed the jinshi examinations in the thirteenth year of the Zhengtong reign. He was appointed an Investigating Censor. Early in the Jingtai reign, when the capital region was struck by famine, he was dispatched to investigate on behalf of the court. He petitioned to waive land taxes, but the Ministry of Revenue refused. He submitted a second memorial pressing the issue and ultimately won approval. He served as touring inspector of Shanxi. When the court was admitting grain payments in lieu of office, Jing memorialized to have the practice abolished. He prosecuted every garrison commander who embezzled military pay, and the region's local bullies fell silent. He was next assigned to inspect Fujian. The court was about to reopen silver mines; Jing had not yet departed when he submitted a bold memorial against the policy, and the project was dropped. Once there, he memorialized to end the various offices' unauthorized exactions of goods from the populace. The defending eunuch Dai Xibao was corrupt and tyrannical; Jing itemized his offenses and reported them to the throne. The emperor recalled Xibao and ordered Jing to arrest his associates; officials and commoners alike celebrated. When his tour ended and he returned home, he was detained for four months and prosecuted, but was soon restored to office.
69
六年七月，以時多災異，偕同官吳江盛昶、江陰杜宥、蕪湖黃讓、安福羅俊、固始汪清上言：「府庫之財，不宜無故而予； 遊觀之事，不宜非時而行。 曩以齋僧，屢出帑金易米，不知櫛風沐雨之邊卒，趨事急公之貧民，又何以濟之？ 近聞造龍舟，作燕室，營繕日增，嬉遊不少，非所以養聖躬也。 章綸、鐘同直言見忤，幽錮逾年，非所以昭聖德也。 願罷桑門之供，輟宴佚之娛，止興作之役，寬直臣之囚。」 帝得疏不懌，下之禮部。 部臣稱其忠愛。 帝報聞，然意終不釋。 未幾，詔都御史蕭維禎考察其屬，諭令去之。 御史罷黜者十六人，而敬等預焉； 皆謫為典史，敬得廣西宜山。 英宗復辟，詔皆授知縣，乃以敬知祥符。 安遠侯柳溥器敬，西征，請以自隨，改都督府都事。 逾年師還，卒。 士類惜之。
In the seventh month of year six, as omens and disasters multiplied, he joined his colleagues — Sheng Chang of Wujiang, Du You of Jiangyin, Huang Rang of Wuhu, Luo Jun of Anfu, and Wang Qing of Gushi — in a memorial: "Treasury funds should not be dispensed without good reason; nor should sightseeing expeditions be mounted out of season. Lately gold has been taken from the treasury again and again to buy rice for Buddhist offerings — yet what of the border troops battered by wind and rain, and the poor who strain to meet urgent public obligations — how are they to be sustained? We hear dragon boats are being built, pleasure chambers erected, construction growing day by day, and diversions multiplying — this is no way to safeguard Your Majesty's health. Zhang Lun and Zhong Tong spoke their minds and were punished for it; they have languished in confinement for over a year — this does not reflect well on Your Majesty's virtue. We urge you to end Buddhist offerings, abandon idle feasting, stop all new construction, and free the upright ministers now in prison. The emperor read the memorial with displeasure and referred it to the Ministry of Rites. The ministry officials commended their loyal concern for the throne. The emperor acknowledged receipt, but his anger never fully subsided. Before long, the emperor ordered Censor-in-Chief Xiao Weizhen to review his subordinates and instructed that the offenders be dismissed. Sixteen censors were removed, Jing and his colleagues among them; all were relegated to county record-keeper posts; Jing was assigned to Yishan in Guangxi. When Emperor Yingzong regained the throne, an edict restored them all as county magistrates, and Jing was appointed to Xiangfu. Marquis of Anyuan Liu Pu admired Jing; when Liu marched west on campaign, he asked that Jing accompany him, and Jing was transferred to a secretarial post in the Five Military Commissions. A year later, when the army returned from campaign, he died. Scholar-officials mourned his loss.
70
盛昶等五人，皆進士。 昶雋爽負氣。 嘗按廣東，劾巡撫侍郎揭稽不職，稽坐左遷。 昶後為羅江知縣，擢敘州知府，並有禦寇功。 杜宥為英德知縣。 鄰境多寇，創立縣城。 嘗被圍糧盡，宥死守不下。 夜縋死士焚其營，賊始驚潰。 移韶州通判，謝病歸。 黃讓知安嶽，遷中府都事。 以撻錦衣衛隸，為門達所譖，戍廣西。 赦還，復冠帶。 貧甚，課耕自給。 羅俊嘗巡按四川，有廉聲。 仕終南雄知府。
Sheng Chang and the other four were all jinshi degree-holders. Chang was brilliant, forthright, and fiercely proud. While inspecting Guangdong he impeached Grand Coordinator Vice Minister Jie Ji for neglect of duty, and Ji was demoted. Chang later served as magistrate of Luojiang and was promoted to prefect of Xuzhou; in both posts he distinguished himself repelling bandits. Du You served as magistrate of Yingde. With bandits rampant in neighboring districts, he built a county seat. Once, when the city was besieged and provisions ran out, You held firm and refused to surrender. By night he lowered crack troops down the walls to burn the enemy camp, and the raiders panicked and fled. He was transferred to Vice Prefect of Shaozhou, then retired on grounds of illness. Huang Rang served as magistrate of Anyue and was later transferred to a secretarial post in Zhong Prefecture. He was denounced by Men Da after flogging a Brocade Guard runner and was banished to Guangxi. After an amnesty he returned home and was restored to official rank. Destitute, he subsisted on land allotted for cultivation. Luo Jun had once served as touring inspector of Sichuan and earned a reputation for probity. He ended his career as prefect of Nanxiong.
71
楊瑄，字廷獻，豐城人。 景泰五年進士。 授御史。 剛直尚氣節。 景帝不豫，廷臣請立東宮，帝不允。 瑄與同官錢琎、樊英等約疏爭，會「奪門」事起，乃已。
Yang Xuan, courtesy name Tingxian, was a native of Fengcheng. He passed the jinshi examinations in the fifth year of the Jingtai reign. He was appointed an Investigating Censor. Stern and outspoken, he held fast to principle. When Emperor Jing fell ill, court ministers petitioned to name an heir apparent, but the emperor refused. Xuan and fellow censors Qian Jin, Fan Ying, and others had planned a joint memorial on the matter, but when the Storming-the-Gate coup erupted, they abandoned the effort.
72
天順初，印馬畿內。 至河間，民訴曹吉祥、石亨奪其田。 瑄以聞，並列二人怙寵專權狀。 帝語大學士李賢、徐有貞曰：「真御史也。」 遂遣官按核，而命吏部識瑄名，將擢用。 吉祥聞之懼，訴於帝，請罪之。 不許。
Early in the Tianshun reign he inspected horses in the capital region. In Hejian, commoners petitioned that Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng had seized their fields. Xuan reported the grievances and detailed how the two men abused imperial favor to dominate the government. The emperor told Grand Secretaries Li Xian and Xu Youzhen, "Now there is a censor in the true sense. He dispatched officials to investigate, ordered the Ministry of Personnel to note Xuan's name, and intended to promote him. Jixiang, alarmed, appealed to the emperor and demanded that Xuan be punished. The emperor refused.
73
未幾，亨西征還，適彗星見，十三道掌道御史張鵬、盛颙、周斌、費廣、張寬、王鑒、趙文博、彭烈、張奎、李人儀、邵銅、鄭冕、陶復及御史劉泰、魏翰、康驥將劾亨、吉祥諸違法事。 先一日，給事中王鉉泄於亨。 亨與吉祥泣訴帝，誣鵬等為已誅內官張永從子，結黨排陷，欲為永報仇。 明日疏入，帝大怒，收鵬及瑄。 禦文華殿，悉召諸御史，擲彈章，俾自讀。 斌且讀且對，神色自若。 至冒功濫職，帝詰之曰：「彼帥將士迎駕，朝廷論功行賞，何雲冒濫？」 斌曰：「當時迎駕止數百人，光祿賜酒饌，名數具在。 今超遷至數千人，非冒濫而何？」 帝默然，竟下瑄、鵬及諸御史於獄。 榜掠備至，詰主使者，瑄等無所引，乃坐都御史耿九疇、羅綺主謀，亦下獄。 論瑄、鵬死，余遣戍。 亨等復譖諸言官。 帝諭吏部，給事、御史年逾三十者留之，余悉調外。 尚書翺列上給事中何玘等十三人，御史吳禎等二十三人。 詔以玘等為州判官，禎等為知縣。 會大風震雷，拔木發屋，須臾大雨雹。 亨、吉祥家大木俱折，二人亦懼。 掌欽天監禮部侍郎湯序本亨黨，亦言上天示警，宜恤刑獄。 於是帝感悟，戍瑄、鵬鐵嶺衛，余貶知縣，泰、翰、驥三人復職，而玘、禎等亦得無調。 玘、鵬行半道，適承天門災，肆赦放還。 或謂當詣亨、吉祥謝，二人卒不往，復謫戍南丹。
Not long after, Heng returned from campaigning in the west just as a comet appeared. Thirteen circuit censors — Zhang Peng, Sheng Yong, Zhou Bin, Fei Guang, Zhang Kuan, Wang Jian, Zhao Wenbo, Peng Lie, Zhang Kui, Li Renyi, Shao Tong, Zheng Mian, and Tao Fu — together with censors Liu Tai, Wei Han, and Kang Ji were preparing to impeach Heng, Jixiang, and others for a catalogue of violations. The day before, Supervising Secretary Wang Xuan tipped Heng off. Heng and Jixiang went weeping to the emperor and claimed Peng and his allies were nephews of the executed eunuch Zhang Yong, banding together to frame loyal men and avenge Yong's death. When the memorial arrived the following day, the emperor flew into a rage and had Peng and Xuan arrested. Summoning all the censors to the Wenhua Hall, the emperor threw their impeachment drafts at them and ordered each to read his own aloud. As Bin read his charges, he answered the emperor point by point, his composure unshaken. On the charge of merit fraud and reckless promotion, the emperor demanded: "They led troops to welcome me home; the court rewarded them according to merit — why call that reckless? Bin replied: "When the emperor was welcomed home, there were only a few hundred men — the Directorate of Palace Provisions kept a register of every name it fed and feted. Yet promotions now number in the thousands — if that is not reckless, what is? The emperor fell silent and ultimately sent Xuan, Peng, and the other censors to prison. Under torture they were pressed to name their ringleader; Xuan and the others named no one. Censor-in-Chief Geng Jiuchou and Luo Qi were then declared the masterminds and imprisoned as well. Xuan and Peng were sentenced to death; the others were banished to frontier garrisons. Heng and his allies lodged fresh accusations against the remonstrating officials. The emperor told the Ministry of Personnel to retain supervising secretaries and censors over thirty and transfer the rest to provincial posts. Minister Ao submitted a list naming Supervising Secretary He Qi and twelve colleagues, and Censor Wu Zhen and twenty-two others. An edict assigned He Qi and his group to posts as prefectural vice magistrates, and Wu Zhen's group as county magistrates. Then wind and thunder burst forth, uprooting trees and tearing roofs away, followed moments later by torrential rain and hail. Great trees on the estates of Heng and Jixiang were snapped in two, and both men were shaken with fear. Tang Xu, the Vice Minister of Rites who supervised the Directorate of Astronomy and was himself a Heng ally, argued that Heaven was sending a warning and that the prisoners should be treated leniently. Moved to repentance, the emperor sent Xuan and Peng to exile at Tieling Guard, demoted the rest to county magistrate posts, restored Tai, Han, and Ji to office, and spared He Qi, Wu Zhen, and the others from transfer. He Qi and Zhang Peng were still en route when fire destroyed the Chengtian Gate; a general amnesty brought them back. Some urged them to pay their respects to Heng and Jixiang; the two steadfastly refused and were banished again to Nandan.
74
憲宗即位，並還故官。 瑄尋遷浙江副使。 按行海道，禁將校私縱戍卒。 修捍海塘，築海鹽堤岸二千三百丈，民得奠居。 為副使十餘年，政績卓然，進按察使。 西湖水舊可溉諸縣田四十六萬頃，時堙塞過半，瑄請浚之。 設防置閘，以利灌溉，功未就，卒。 海鹽人祠祀之。
When Emperor Xianzong came to the throne, all were restored to their former posts. Xuan was soon promoted to Vice Commissioner of the Zhejiang surveillance commission. Touring the coastal routes, he forbade officers from letting garrison troops go AWOL. He rebuilt sea dikes and constructed twenty-three hundred zhang of seawalls at Haiyan, allowing the people to live in peace. After more than a decade of distinguished service as Vice Commissioner, he was promoted to Surveillance Commissioner. West Lake once irrigated four hundred sixty thousand qing of farmland across several counties, but more than half its channels were now silted shut; Xuan petitioned for dredging. He began installing flood controls and sluice gates to restore irrigation, but died before the project was finished. The people of Haiyan built a shrine in his honor.
75
子源，字本清，幼習天文，授五官監候。 正德元年，劉瑾等亂政，源上言：「自八月初，大角及心宿中星動搖不止。 大角，天王之坐，心宿中星，天王正位也，俱宜安靜，今乃動搖。 其占曰：『人主不安，國有憂。』 意者陛下輕舉逸遊，弋獵無度，以致然也。 又北斗第二第三第四星，明不如常。 第二曰天璇，后妃之象。 后妃不得其寵則不明，廣營宮室妄鑿山陵則不明。 第三曰天機，不愛百姓，驟興征徭則不明。 第四曰天權，號令不當則不明。 伏願陛下祗畏天戒，安居深宮，絕嬉戲，禁遊畋，罷騎射，停工作，申嚴號令，毋輕出入，抑遠寵幸，裁節賜予，親元老大臣，日事講習，克修厥德，以弭災變。」 疏下禮部，尚書張升等稱源忠愛。 報聞。
His son Yuan, courtesy name Benqing, had studied astronomy since boyhood and was appointed a Director in the Five Offices of Observation. In the first year of Zhengde, as Liu Jin and his faction misruled the realm, Yuan memorialized the throne: "Since the start of the eighth month, the star Great Horn and the central star of the Heart constellation have trembled unceasingly. Great Horn is the throne of the celestial sovereign; the Heart's central star marks his rightful seat — both should rest unmoving, yet now they tremble. The prognostication reads: 'The sovereign is ill at ease; the realm faces calamity. I suspect this is because Your Majesty travels lightly and indulges in sport, hunting without restraint. The second, third, and fourth stars of the Northern Dipper also burn dimmer than they should. The second star is Celestial Pivot, symbol of the empress and consorts. It dims when consorts fall from favor, when palaces are built on an extravagant scale, or when imperial tombs are recklessly opened. The third, Celestial Secret, dims when the people are neglected or corvée levies are suddenly increased. The fourth, Celestial Authority, dims when imperial edicts go awry. I humbly pray Your Majesty will heed Heaven's warning, remain securely within the palace, abandon idle diversions, forbid hunting expeditions, end mounted archery, halt all construction, enforce your decrees strictly, venture out only when necessary, keep favored consorts at a distance, curtail lavish grants, attend daily to the counsel of senior ministers, devote yourself to study, cultivate your virtue, and so avert these omens of disaster. The memorial was sent to the Ministry of Rites, where Minister Zhang Sheng and his colleagues commended Yuan's loyal devotion to the throne. An acknowledgment was returned.
76
迨十月，霾霧時作，源言：「此眾邪之氣，陰冒於陽，臣欺其君，小人擅權，下將叛上。」 引譬甚切。 瑾怒，矯旨杖三十，釋之。 又上言：「自正德二年來，占得火星入太微垣帝座前，或東或西，往來不一，乞收攬政柄，思患預防。」 蓋專指瑾也。 瑾大怒，召而叱之曰：「若何官，亦學為忠臣？」 源厲聲曰：「官大小異，忠一也。」 又矯旨杖六十，謫戍肅州。 行至河陽驛，以創卒。 其妻斬蘆荻覆之，葬驛後。
By the tenth month haze and fog appeared again and again. Yuan said: "This is the breath of accumulated corruption—yin overwhelming yang. Ministers deceive their sovereign, petty men seize power, and those below will rise against those above. His analogies cut sharply to the point. Jin flew into a rage, forged an imperial order, had him flogged thirty strokes, and let him go. He memorialized again: "Since the second year of Zhengde, Mars has been observed entering the Forbidden Enclosure before the Emperor's Seat—shifting east and west, never holding still. I beg Your Majesty to take the reins of government firmly into your own hands and guard against disaster before it comes. This was plainly directed at Jin alone. Jin was furious. He summoned Yuan and shouted at him: "What rank are you, to play the loyal minister? Yuan answered in a ringing voice: "Offices differ in rank, but loyalty is the same. Again Jin forged an imperial order, had him flogged sixty strokes, and banished him to frontier service at Suzhou. En route, at Heyang post station, he died of his injuries. His wife cut reeds to shroud him and buried him behind the post station.
77
楊氏父子以忠諫名天下，為士論重。 而源小臣抗節，尤人所難。 天啟初，賜謚忠懷。
The Yang father and son were renowned across the realm for loyal remonstrance and held in the highest esteem by scholars and officials. Yet Yuan, a lowly official who held firm to his principles, was especially difficult for others to match. At the start of the Tianqi reign, he was posthumously honored with the title Zhonghuai, "Loyal and Cherished."
78
盛颙，字時望，無錫人。 周斌，字國用，昌黎人。 王鑒，太原人。 趙文博，代州人。 彭烈，峽江人。 李人儀，隆昌人。 邵銅，閩縣人。 鄭冕，樂平人。 皆進士，授御史。 颙降束鹿知縣； 斌，江陰； 鑒，膚施； 文博，淳化； 烈，江浦； 人儀，襄陽； 銅，博羅； 冕，衡山。 並有善政。
Sheng Yong, courtesy name Shiwang, was a native of Wuxi. Zhou Bin, courtesy name Guoyong, was a native of Changli. Wang Jian was a native of Taiyuan. Zhao Wenbo was a native of Daizhou. Peng Lie was a native of Xiajiang. Li Renyi was a native of Longchang. Shao Tong was a native of Min County. Zheng Mian was a native of Leping. All had passed the jinshi examination and were appointed censors. Yong was demoted to magistrate of Shulu; Bin, Jiangyin; Jian, Fushi; Wenbo, Chunhua; Lie, Jiangpu; Renyi, Xiangyang; Tong, Boluo; Mian, Hengshan. All governed their counties well.
79
束鹿徭役苦不均，颙為立九則法，繼者莫能易。 母憂去。 服除，民相率詣闕乞還。 颙再任，益不用鞭撲。 訟者，諭之，輒叩頭不復辯。 鄰邑訟不決，亦皆赴訴，片言折之，各心厭去。 郊外有隙地，爭來築室居之，遂成市，號為「清官店」。
Corvée duties in Shulu had long been grossly unfair; Yong instituted the nine-category assessment method, and none of his successors could improve on it. He resigned to observe mourning for his mother. When his mourning ended, the people went in a body to the capital to petition for his return. On his second appointment, Yong relied even less on the whip and the cudgel. When litigants appeared before him, a word of guidance from Yong would send them kowtowing home without another word of dispute. Cases that neighboring counties could not resolve were brought to him as well; he settled them with a brief ruling, and each party went away content. Vacant land outside the city walls drew settlers who vied to build homes there until a market town sprang up, known as "Honest Magistrate's Market."
80
斌在江陰，有惠政。 民歌曰：「旱為災，周公禱之甘露來； 水為患，周公禱之陰雨散。」 天順七年，先以薦擢開封知府。 而颙等至憲宗嗣位，所司以治行聞。 帝曰：「諸臣直諫為權幸所排，又能稱職，其悉予郡。」 於是擢颙知邵武； 鑒，延安； 文博，衛輝； 烈，河南； 人儀，荊州； 銅，溫州； 冕，衡州。 颙復以任治劇，調延平。 巡按御史上颙政績； 陜西、湖廣守臣亦上鑒、人儀居縣時治行。 皆特賜封誥。
Bin's tenure in Jiangyin was marked by benevolent governance. The people sang: "When drought brings disaster, the Duke of Zhou prays and sweet dew falls; when flood brings affliction, the Duke of Zhou prays and the storm clouds break. In the seventh year of Tianshun, on recommendation he was first promoted to prefect of Kaifeng. By the time Yong and his colleagues reached the accession of Emperor Xianzong, the responsible offices had reported their records of good governance. The emperor said: "These officials spoke bluntly and were driven out by powerful favorites, yet they have also served well — let them all be given prefectural posts. Accordingly Yong was promoted to prefect of Shaowu; Jian, Yan'an; Wenbo, Weihui; Lie, Henan; Renyi, Jingzhou; Tong, Wenzhou; Mian, Hengzhou. Yong was transferred again to Yanping, deemed fit for a difficult jurisdiction. The touring investigating censor memorialized Yong's achievements in office; Provincial officials in Shaanxi and Huguang also reported the records of Jian and Renyi from their time as county magistrates. All were specially granted patent letters of honor.
81
颙累遷陜西左布政使。 時三邊多警，歲復洊饑。 颙經畫饋餉無缺，軍民悉安。 成化十七年召為刑部右侍郎。 居二年，山東旱饑，盜起，改颙左副都御史往巡撫。 颙至露禱，大雨霑溉，稿禾復蘇。 舉救荒之政，既振，余粟尚百餘萬石。 又推行九則法於諸府，黜暴除苛，民甚德之。 居三年，以老致仕。 弘治中卒。
Yong rose through repeated promotions to Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shaanxi. The three frontiers were under constant threat, and famine returned year after year. Yong managed provisions without shortfall, and both soldiers and civilians lived in security. In the seventeenth year of Chenghua he was summoned to serve as Vice Minister of the right in the Ministry of Justice. After two years, drought and famine struck Shandong and bandits rose; Yong was reassigned as Left Vice Censor-in-Chief and sent to serve as grand coordinator. When Yong arrived he prayed in the open air; torrential rain poured down, and the withered grain revived. He instituted famine-relief measures; once the region had recovered, surplus grain still exceeded a million shi. He also extended the nine-category method to the prefectures, removed the violent and abolished harsh exactions, and the people deeply honored him. After three years he retired on grounds of old age. He died during the Hongzhi reign.
82
斌，歷廣東右布政使。 初去江陰，民立生祠。 及自開封遷去，民亦涕泣追送焉。 鑒，初為御史，嘗於左順門面斥中官非禮。 中官怒甚，因考察屬都御史蕭維禎去之，維禎不可而止。 文博，終巡撫河南右副都御史。 烈，廣東左布政使。 費廣等無考。
Bin rose to serve as Right Provincial Administration Commissioner of Guangdong. When he first left Jiangyin, the people erected a living shrine in his honor. When he left Kaifeng on transfer, the people wept and escorted him in farewell. When Jian first served as a censor, he once openly rebuked eunuchs at Zuoshun Gate for breaches of propriety. The eunuchs were furious and tried, during the performance review, to have Censor-in-Chief Xiao Weizhen remove him; Xiao refused, and the matter ended there. Wenbo ended his career as Grand Coordinator of Henan and Right Vice Censor-in-Chief. Lie served as Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Guangdong. No further record is given for Fei Guang and the others.
83
贊曰：直言敢諫之士，激於事變，奮不顧身，獲罪固其所甘心耳。 然觀尹昌隆死於呂震； 耿通陷於高煦； 劉球之斃，陳鑒之系，由於王振； 楊瑄之戍，厄於石亨、曹吉祥； 乃至戴綸諫遊獵，陳祚請勤學，鐘同、章綸、廖莊倡復儲，倪敬等直言時事，皆用賈禍。 忠臣之志抑而不伸，亦可悲夫。
Commentary: Men who speak bluntly and dare remonstrate, stirred by crisis, cast self-preservation aside — to suffer punishment is what they willingly accept. Yet consider Yin Changlong, who died at the hands of Lü Zhen; Geng Tong, who was destroyed by Gao Xu; Liu Qiu beaten to death and Chen Jian imprisoned, both at the hands of Wang Zhen; Yang Xuan banished to frontier service, brought low by Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang; Down to Dai Lun remonstrating against hunting, Chen Zuo urging diligent study, Zhong Tong, Zhang Lun, and Liao Zhuang advocating restoration of the heir, and Ni Jing and others speaking bluntly on affairs of state — all brought ruin upon themselves. The aspirations of loyal ministers were stifled and never fulfilled — how lamentable indeed.