Volume 192 Biographies 80: Yang Shen, Wang Si, Zhang Chong, Liu Ji, An Pan, Zhang Hanqing, Zhang Yuan, Mao Yu, Wang Shike, Zheng Bengong, Zhang Yuetao, Yang Huai, Zhang Can, Guo Nan

楊慎〈（王元正）〉王思〈（王相）〉張翀劉濟安磐張漢卿張原毛玉〈（裴紹宗）〉王時柯〈（余翺）〉鄭本公張曰韜〈（胡瓊）〉楊淮〈（申良）〉張澯〈（仵瑜臧應奎胡璉余禎李可登安璽殷承敘）〉郭楠〈（俞敬李繼王懋）〉

Yang Shen Wang Yuanzheng]〉 Wang Si Wang Xiang]〉 Zhang Chong, Liu Ji, An Pan, Zhang Hanqing, Zhang Yuan, and Mao Yu Pei Shaozong]〉 Wang Shike Yu Ao]〉 Zheng Bengong and Zhang Yuetao Hu Qiong]〉 Yang Huai Shen Liang]〉 Zhang Can Wu Yu, Zang Yingkui, Hu Lian, Yu Zhen, Li Kedeng, An Xi, and Yin Chengxu]〉 Guo Nan Yu Jing, Li Ji, and Wang Mao]〉

楊慎，字用修，新都人，少師廷和子也。年二十四，舉正德六年殿試第一，授翰林修撰。丁繼母憂，服闋起故官。十二年八月，武宗微行，始出居庸關，慎抗疏切諫。尋移疾歸。世宗嗣位，起充經筵講官。常講《舜典》，言：「聖人設贖刑，乃施於小過，俾民自新。若元惡大奸，無可贖之理。」時大榼張銳、於經論死，或言進金銀獲宥，故及之。

Yang Shen, styled Yongxiu, was from Xindu and the son of the Junior Tutor Yang Tinghe. At twenty-four he ranked first in the palace examination of Zhengde 6 (1511) and was appointed a Hanlin Compiler. After mourning his stepmother, he returned to his former office when the mourning period ended. In the eighth month of the twelfth year (1517), when the emperor traveled incognito and first went beyond Juyong Pass, Shen submitted a forceful memorial of remonstrance. He soon pleaded illness and returned home. When Emperor Shizong succeeded to the throne, Shen was recalled to serve as a lecturer at the Classics Colloquium. In lecturing on the Canon of Shun he said, "The sage instituted ransom punishments for minor offenses so that the people might reform themselves. For arch-villains and great traitors, there is no principle of ransom. At the time the grand eunuchs Zhang Rui and Yu Jing had been sentenced to death amid talk that they had been spared for offering gold and silver—hence his remark.

嘉靖三年，帝納桂萼、張璁言，召為翰林學士。慎偕同列三十六人上言：「臣等與萼輩學術不同，議論亦異。臣等所執者，程頤、朱熹之說也。萼等所執者，冷褒、段猶之余也。今陛下既超擢萼輩，不以臣等言為是，臣等不能與同列，願賜罷斥。」帝怒，切責，停俸有差。逾月，又偕學士豐熙等疏諫。不得命，偕廷臣伏左順門力諫。帝震怒，命執首事八人下詔獄。於是慎及檢討王元正等撼門大哭，聲徹殿庭。帝益怒，悉下詔獄，廷杖之。閱十日，有言前此朝罷，群臣已散，慎、元正及給事中劉濟、安磐、張漢卿、張原，御史王時柯實糾眾伏哭。乃再杖七人於廷。慎、元正、濟並謫戍，余削籍。慎得雲南永昌衛。先是，廷和當國，盡斥錦衣冒濫官。及是伺諸途，將害慎。慎知而謹備之。至臨清始散去。扶病馳萬里，憊甚。抵戍所，幾不起。

In Jiajing 3 (1524) the emperor accepted the proposals of Gui E and Zhang Cong and summoned them as Hanlin Academicians. Shen and thirty-six colleagues submitted a memorial: "We and Gui E's party differ in scholarship and in opinion. What we uphold is the teaching of Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi. What Gui E's party upholds is the remnant doctrine of Leng Bao and Duan You. Now that Your Majesty has promoted Gui E's party and does not accept our view, we cannot remain in the same ranks with them and beg to be dismissed. The emperor was furious, sharply rebuked them, and suspended their salaries to varying degrees. More than a month later he again joined Academician Feng Xi and others in a memorial of remonstrance. Receiving no answer, he joined court officials in prostrating themselves at the Left Gate of Compliance to remonstrate forcefully. The emperor was enraged and ordered the eight ringleaders seized and sent to the imperial prison. Thereupon Shen, Compiler Wang Yuanzheng, and others beat on the gate and wept aloud until their voices filled the palace courtyard. The emperor grew still angrier, had them all imprisoned, and had them flogged at court. Ten days later it was reported that after court had adjourned and the officials had dispersed, it was Shen, Yuanzheng, Supervising Secretary Liu Ji, An Pan, Zhang Hanqing, Zhang Yuan, and Censor Wang Shike who had actually rallied the crowd to prostrate themselves and weep. The seven were therefore flogged at court again. Shen, Yuanzheng, and Ji were all banished to frontier garrison service; the others were struck from the registers. Shen was assigned to Yongchang Guard in Yunnan. Earlier, when Tinghe held power, he had dismissed all improperly appointed officials in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Now they lay in wait along the route, intending to harm Shen. Shen learned of it and took careful precautions. Only when he reached Linqing did they finally disperse. Supporting himself through illness, he raced ten thousand li and was utterly exhausted. When he reached his place of banishment he nearly could not get up.

五年聞廷和疾，馳至家。廷和喜，疾愈。還永昌，聞尋甸安銓、武定鳳朝文作亂，率僮奴及步卒百余，馳赴木密所與守臣擊敗賊。八年聞廷和訃，奔告巡撫歐陽重請於朝，獲歸葬，葬訖復還。自是，或歸蜀，或居雲南會城，或留戍所，大吏鹹善視之。及年七十，還蜀，巡撫遣四指揮逮之還。嘉靖三十八年七月卒，年七十有二。

In the fifth year, hearing that Tinghe was ill, he raced home. Tinghe was delighted and recovered from his illness. Returning to Yongchang, he heard that An Qian of Xundian and Feng Chaowen of Wuding had rebelled; he led more than a hundred Zhuang retainers and foot soldiers in a forced march to Mumi post, where with the defending officials he defeated the rebels. In the eighth year, hearing of Tinghe's death, he rushed to inform Grand Coordinator Ouyang Chong and petitioned the court; permitted to return for the burial, he went back to banishment after the rites were complete. Thereafter he sometimes returned to Shu, sometimes lived in the Yunnan provincial capital, sometimes remained at his garrison post; the senior officials all treated him kindly. When he reached seventy he returned to Shu; the grand coordinator sent four commanders to seize him and bring him back. He died in the seventh month of Jiajing 38 (1559), aged seventy-two.

慎幼警敏，十一歲能詩。十二擬作《古戰場文》、《過秦論》，長老驚異。入京，賦《黃葉詩》，李東陽見而嗟賞，令受業門下。在翰林時，武宗問欽天監及翰林：「星有註張，又作汪張，是何星也？」眾不能對。慎曰：「柳星也。」歷舉《周禮》、《史記》、《漢書》以復。預修《武宗實錄》，事必直書。總裁蔣冕、費宏盡付稿草，俾削定。嘗奉使過鎮江，謁楊一清，閱所藏書。叩以疑義，一清皆成誦。慎驚異，益肆力古學。既投荒多暇，書無所不覽。嘗語人曰：「資性不足恃。日新德業，當自學問中來。」故好學窮理，老而彌篤。

From childhood Shen was keen and quick; at eleven he could compose poetry. At twelve he drafted essays in the manner of "An Ancient Battlefield" and "On the Fall of Qin," to the astonishment of his elders. On entering the capital he composed "Poem on Yellow Leaves"; Li Dongyang saw it, sighed in admiration, and took him as a pupil. While in the Hanlin Academy, Emperor Wuzong asked the Directorate of Astronomy and the Hanlin, "There is a star written Zhu Zhang, also written Wang Zhang—what star is this? No one could answer. Shen said, "It is the Willow Star. He cited in turn the Rites of Zhou, the Records of the Grand Historian, and the Book of Han in reply. He took part in compiling the Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong and recorded events with strict fidelity. Chief compilers Jiang Mian and Fei Hong turned over all draft manuscripts to him for revision and final editing. Once on a mission he passed through Zhenjiang and called on Yang Yiqing, examining his library. He raised doubtful points, and Yiqing recited the answers from memory in every case. Shen was astonished and applied himself all the more vigorously to classical learning. Once cast into exile with much leisure, he read books of every kind. He once told others, "Native talent is not something to rely on. Daily renewal of virtue and achievement must come from learning. Therefore he loved learning and pursued principle to the utmost, growing only more devoted in old age.

世宗以議禮故，惡其父子特甚。每問慎作何狀，閣臣以老病對，乃稍解。慎聞之，益縱酒自放。明世記誦之博，著作之富，推慎為第一。詩文外，雜著至一百余種，並行於世。隆慶初，贈光祿少卿。天啟中，追謚文憲。

Because of the Rites Controversy, Emperor Shizong hated father and son with special bitterness. Whenever he asked what Shen was doing, the grand secretaries answered that he was old and ill, and the emperor's anger eased somewhat. When Shen heard of this he indulged in wine all the more and let himself go. In the Ming age, for breadth of memorization and wealth of writings, Shen was ranked first. Apart from poetry and prose, his miscellaneous works numbered more than a hundred kinds, all circulating in his day. At the beginning of Longqing he was posthumously granted Vice Minister of the Imperial Household. During the Tianqi reign he was posthumously given the posthumous name Wenxian.

王元正，字舜卿，盩厔人。與慎同年進士。由庶吉士授檢討。武宗幸宣、大，元正述《五子之歌》以諷。竟以爭「大禮」，謫戍茂州卒。隆慶初，贈修撰。

Wang Yuanzheng, styled Shunqing, was from Zhouzhi. He became a jinshi in the same year as Shen. From Hanlin Bachelor he was appointed Compiler. When Emperor Wuzong visited Xuanfu and Datong, Yuanzheng expounded the "Song of the Five Sons" as indirect admonition. In the end, for disputing the Great Rites, he was banished to garrison service at Maozhou, where he died. At the beginning of Longqing he was posthumously granted the title of Compiler.

王思，字宜學，太保直曾孫也。正德六年進士。改庶吉士，授編修。九年春，乾清宮災。思應詔上疏曰：「天下之治賴紀綱，紀綱之立系君身而已。私恩不偏於近習，政柄不移於左右，則紀綱立，而宰輔得行其誌，六卿得專其職。今者內閣執奏方堅，而或撓於傳奉，六卿擬議已定，而或阻於內批，此紀綱所由廢也。惟陛下抑私恩，端政本，用舍不以讒移，刑賞不以私拒，則體統正而朝廷尊矣。祖宗故事，正朝之外，日奏事左順門，又不時召對便殿。今每月御朝不過三五日，每朝進奏不逾一二事。其養德之功，求治之實，宰輔不得而知也。聞見之非，嗜好之過，宰輔不得而知也。天下之大，四海之遠，生民愁苦之狀，盜賊縱橫之由，豈能一一上達？伏願陛下悉遵舊典，凡遇宴間，少賜召問。勿以遇災而懼，災過而弛，然後可以享天心，保天命。」其年九月，帝狎虎而傷，閱月不視朝。思復上封事曰：「孝宗皇帝之子惟陛下一人，當為天下萬世自重。近者道路傳言，虎逸於柙，驚及聖躬。臣聞之，且駭且懼。陛下即位以來，於茲九年。朝寧不勤政，太廟不親享。兩宮曠於問安，經筵倦於聽講。揆厥所自，蓋有二端：嗜酒而荒其誌，好勇而輕其身。由是，戒懼之心日忘，縱恣之欲日進，好惡由乎喜怒，政令出於多門。紀綱積弛。國是不立。士氣摧折，人心危疑。上天示警，日食地震。宗社之憂，凜若朝夕。夫勇不可好，陛下已薄有所懲矣。至於荒誌廢業，惟酒為甚。《書》曰：『甘酒嗜音，峻宇雕墻，有一於此，未或不亡。』陛下露處外宮，日湎於酒。廝養雜侍，禁衛不嚴。即不幸變起倉卒，何以備之？此臣所大憂也。」疏入，留中者數日，忽傳旨降遠方雜職，遂謫潮州三河驛丞。

Wang Si, styled Yixue, was the great-grandson of Grand Mentor Wang Zhi. He became a jinshi in Zhengde 6 (1511). He was transferred to Hanlin Bachelor and appointed Editor. In the spring of the ninth year (1514) the Palace of Heavenly Purity caught fire. Si responded to the edict with a memorial: "The governance of the realm depends on discipline and standards, and discipline and standards rest on the ruler alone. If private favor is not biased toward intimates and the handles of government are not shifted to attendants, discipline and standards are established, the chief ministers can carry out their aims, and the six ministers can devote themselves to their duties. Today the inner cabinet's memorials are firm when submitted, yet sometimes they are thwarted by transmitted orders; the six ministers' deliberations are settled, yet sometimes they are blocked by inner rescripts—this is how discipline and standards are abandoned. Only if Your Majesty restrains private favor, rectifies the root of government, does not shift appointments because of slander, and does not withhold punishments and rewards for private reasons will the institutional order be correct and the court honored. By ancestral precedent, apart from the regular court audience, affairs were reported daily at the Left Gate of Compliance, and the ruler also summoned ministers for consultation in the side hall from time to time. Now the ruler holds court no more than three or five days a month, and at each audience no more than one or two matters are reported. The achievements of cultivating virtue and the realities of seeking good governance are things the chief ministers cannot know. Errors in what the ruler hears and sees, excesses in his likes and preferences—the chief ministers cannot know them. In a realm so vast and seas so distant, how can every report of the people's misery and every cause of banditry reach the throne? I humbly urge Your Majesty to follow the old precedents fully and, at feasts, summon ministers for consultation more often. Do not dread calamities only when they occur and grow lax once they pass; only then can you enjoy Heaven's favor and preserve Heaven's mandate. That year, in the ninth month, the emperor was injured while playing with a tiger and did not hold court for a full month. Si again submitted a sealed memorial: "Emperor Xiaozong had only Your Majesty as his son; you must value yourself for the sake of the realm and all generations to come. Recently rumors on the roads say a tiger escaped its cage and alarmed Your Majesty. When I heard this, I was shocked and afraid. Nine years have passed since Your Majesty acceded to the throne. Court audiences are rarely held with diligence, and the Imperial Ancestral Temple is not personally attended for offerings. Visits to inquire after the two palaces are neglected, and the classics lecture is attended with weariness. Tracing this to its source, there are two causes: a love of wine that wastes one's purpose, and a love of valor that makes light of one's person. From this, caution and fear are daily forgotten, indulgence daily grows, likes and dislikes follow whims of joy and anger, and government orders issue from many quarters. Discipline and standards have steadily loosened. The fundamental policies of the state are not established. The spirit of the scholar-officials is broken, and men's hearts are anxious and uncertain. Heaven shows warnings in solar eclipses and earthquakes. Anxiety for the altars of state and ancestral temple presses as if morning and evening. Valor ought not to be indulged; Your Majesty has already been somewhat chastened for it. As for wasting purpose and abandoning duty, nothing is worse than wine. The Book of Documents says: "Sweet wine, love of music, lofty halls and carved walls—if there is any one of these, none fail eventually to perish. Your Majesty dwells in the open at an outer palace, drowned in wine every day. Menials and attendants wait on you in a mixed crowd, and the palace guard is not strict. If misfortune should arise suddenly, how would you be prepared? This is what I greatly fear. When the memorial was submitted, it was kept at court for several days; then an order suddenly came to demote him to a miscellaneous post in a distant place, and he was banished to assistant magistrate of the Sanhe Postal Station in Chaozhou.

思年少氣銳，每眾中指切人是非。已悔之，自斂為質訥。及被謫，怡然就道。夜過瀧水，舟飄巨石上，緣石坐浩歌。家人後至，聞歌聲乃艤舟以濟。王守仁講學贛州，思從之遊。及守仁討宸濠，檄思贊軍議。

In his youth Si was sharp-spirited and often pointed out others' faults before assembled company. Having come to regret this, he restrained himself and became plain and taciturn. When he was banished, he went on his way with serene contentment. One night crossing the Long Rapids, his boat drifted onto a great rock; he sat on the rock and sang loudly. His family arrived later; hearing his singing, they moored the boat and crossed to join him. When Wang Shouren lectured in Ganzhou, Si went to study with him. When Shouren campaigned against the Prince of Ning, he summoned Si to assist in military counsel.

世宗嗣位，召復故官，仍加俸一級。思疏辭，且言：「陛下欲作敢言之氣，以防壅蔽之奸，莫若省覽奏章，召見大臣，勿使邪僻阿徇之說蠱惑聖聽，則堯、舜之治可成。不然，縱加恩於先朝譴責之臣，抑末矣。」帝不允，因命近日遷俸者，皆不得辭。尋充經筵講官。嘉靖三年與同官屢爭「大禮」，不報。時張璁、桂萼、方獻夫為學士，思羞與同列，疏乞罷歸。不許。其年七月，偕廷臣伏左順門哭諫。帝大怒，系之詔獄，杖三十。逾旬，再杖之。思與同官王相，給事中張原、毛玉、裴紹宗，御史張曰韜、胡瓊，郎中楊淮、胡璉，員外郎申良、張澯，主事安璽、仵瑜、臧應奎、余禎、殷承敘，司務李可登，凡十有七人，皆病創先後卒。隆慶初，各蔭一子，贈官有差。思贈右諭德。

When Emperor Shizong succeeded to the throne, Si was recalled to his former office and given an additional grade of salary. Si submitted a memorial declining the appointment: "If Your Majesty wishes to foster forthright speech to guard against those who block and obscure the truth, review memorials and summon chief ministers; do not let crooked, fawning doctrines bewitch the imperial ear—then the governance of Yao and Shun can be achieved. Otherwise, even extending favor to ministers censured in the previous reign will be a trivial matter. The emperor did not permit it and ordered that all who had recently received salary increases might not decline. Before long he was appointed lecturer for the classics lecture. In Jiajing 3 (1524) he repeatedly joined his colleagues in disputing the Great Rites, but received no response. At the time Zhang Cong, Gui E, and Fang Xianfu were academicians; Si was ashamed to serve alongside them and submitted a memorial begging to be dismissed and sent home. Permission was not granted. That year, in the seventh month, he joined the court ministers in kneeling and weeping at the Left Gate of Compliance to remonstrate. The emperor was greatly angered, had them imprisoned in the imperial prison, and beat them thirty blows with the stick. After more than ten days they were beaten again. Si, together with his colleague Wang Xiang, Supervising Secretaries Zhang Yuan, Mao Yu, and Pei Shaozong, Censor Zhang Yuetao and Hu Qiong, Directors Yang Huai and Hu Lian, Section Members Shen Liang and Zhang Can, Chief Clerks An Xi, Wu Yu, Zang Yingkui, Yu Zhen, and Yin Chengxu, and Registrar Li Kedeng—in all seventeen persons—died one after another from their wounds. At the beginning of Longqing each was granted a posthumous privilege for one son, and conferred offices of differing ranks. Si was posthumously granted the title of Right Sub-Reader.

思誌行邁流俗，與李中、鄒守益善。高陵呂柟亟稱之，嘗曰：「聞過而喜似季路，欲寡未能似伯玉，則改齋其人也。」改齋者，思別號也。

Si's purpose and conduct surpassed conventional society; he was on good terms with Li Zhong and Zou Shouyi. Lü Shan of Gaoling praised him repeatedly and once said: "Delighted to hear of one's faults—like Zilu; wishing to have few desires but not yet succeeding—like Boyu—that is the man called Gai Zhai. Gai Zhai was Si's style name.

王相，字懋卿，鄞人。正德十六年進士。由庶吉士授編修。豪邁尚誌節。事親篤孝。家貧屢空，晏如。仕僅四年而卒。

Wang Xiang, styled Maoqing, was a native of Yin. He became a jinshi in Zhengde 16 (1521). From Hanlin Bachelor he was appointed Editor. He was bold and free-spirited and valued moral integrity. In serving his parents he was deeply filial. Though his household was poor and often destitute, he was at ease. He served in office only four years before he died.

張翀，字習之，潼川人。正德六年進士。選庶吉士，改刑科給事中。引疾歸，起戶科。世宗即位，詔罷天下額外貢獻。其明年，中都鎮守內官張陽復貢新茶。禮部請遵詔禁，不許。翀言：「陛下詔墨未乾，旋即反汗，人將窺測朝廷，玩侮政令。且陽名貢茶，實雜致他物。四方效尤，何所抵極。願守前詔，無墮奸謀。」不聽。寧夏歲貢紅花，大為軍民害；內外鎮守官蒞任，率貢馬謝恩。翀皆請罷之。帝雖是其言，不能從。尋言：「中官出鎮，非太祖、太宗舊制。景帝遭國家多故，偶一行之。謂內臣是朝廷家人，但有急事，令其來奏。乃往歲宸濠謀叛，鎮守太監王宏反助為逆，內臣果足恃耶？時平則坐享尊榮，肆毒百姓，遇變則心懷顧望，不恤封疆。不可不亟罷。」後張孚敬為相，竟罷諸鎮守，其論實自翀發之。

Zhang Chong, styled Xizhi, was a native of Tongchuan. He became a jinshi in Zhengde 6 (1511). He was selected as Hanlin Bachelor and transferred to Supervising Secretary in the Bureau of Punishments. He pleaded illness and returned home; later he was recalled to the Bureau of Revenue. When Emperor Shizong acceded to the throne, an edict abolished extra tribute from throughout the realm. The next year Zhang Yang, the eunuch guarding Zhongdu, again presented tribute of new tea. The Ministry of Rites requested that the edict be obeyed and the tribute forbidden; permission was not granted. Chong said: "Your Majesty's edict is not yet dry, yet you immediately go back on your word; people will probe the court and treat government orders with contempt. Moreover, though Yang's tribute is nominally tea, in fact other goods are mixed in. If the four quarters imitate this example, where will it end? I hope you will uphold the earlier edict and not fall into wicked schemes. His advice was not heeded. Ningxia's annual tribute of safflower greatly harmed soldiers and civilians; when military commissioners within and without took up their posts, they invariably presented horses in gratitude. Chong requested that all these be abolished. Though the emperor agreed with his words, he could not follow them. Before long he said: "Eunuchs sent out to guard regions is not the old system of Taizu and Taizong. When Emperor Jingdi faced many troubles in the state, it was done once as an exception. It was said that eunuchs were household servants of the court and that, when urgent matters arose, they could be summoned to report. Yet when the Prince of Ning plotted rebellion in years past, the guarding eunuch Wang Hong instead helped the rebel—are eunuchs truly to be relied upon? In peaceful times they sit enjoying honor and glory and poison the common people; when crises come they harbor second thoughts and do not care for the frontier. They must be abolished at once. Later, when Zhang Fu became chief minister, all the guarding posts were finally abolished; the argument in fact originated with Chong.

屢遷禮科都給事中。又言：「頃聞紫禁之內，禱祠繁興。乾清宮內官十數輩，究習經典，講誦科儀，賞賚逾涯，寵幸日密。此由先朝罪人遺黨若太監崔文輩，挾邪術為嘗試計。陛下為其愚弄，而已得肆其奸欺。幹撓政事，牽引群邪，傷太平之業，失四海之望。竊計陛下寧遠君子而不忍斥其徒，寧棄讜言而不欲違其教，亦謂可以延年已疾耳。側聞頃來嬪御女謁，充塞閨幃，一二黠慧柔曼者為惑尤甚。由是，怠日講，疏召對，政令多僻，起居愆度。小人窺見間隙，遂以左道蠱惑。夫以齋醮為足恃而恣欲宮壺之間，以荒淫為無傷而邀福邪妄之術，甚非古帝王求福不回之道也。」

He was repeatedly promoted to Chief Supervising Secretary in the Bureau of Rites. He also said: "I have recently heard that within the Forbidden City prayers and sacrifices have flourished. More than a dozen eunuchs of the Palace of Heavenly Purity thoroughly study the classics, recite ritual formulas, receive rewards beyond measure, and grow daily in imperial favor. This is because remnant factions of criminals from the previous reign, such as the eunuch Cui Wen and his ilk, wield heterodox arts as a means of trial and advancement. Your Majesty is befooled by them, and they are already free to practice their wicked deceits. They interfere in government affairs, draw in a host of evildoers, injure the enterprise of great peace, and lose the hopes of the four seas. I privately reckon that Your Majesty would rather keep gentlemen at a distance than bear to dismiss these followers, and would rather discard honest counsel than go against their teaching, thinking that it can prolong life and cure illness. I have heard that recently palace women and sorceresses have filled the inner chambers, and one or two who are clever, soft, and beguiling have been especially corrupting. From this the daily lecture is neglected, summons for audience grow rare, government orders are often perverse, and daily conduct departs from proper measure. Petty men saw the openings and used heterodox ways to bewitch and delude. To rely on fasting and offerings alone while indulging desires within the inner quarters, to treat debauchery as harmless and seek blessing through wicked and false arts—this is very far from the way ancient emperors and kings sought blessing without turning aside.

嘉靖二年四月，以災異，偕六科諸臣上疏曰：「昔成湯以六事自責曰：『政不節歟？民失職歟？宮壺崇歟？女謁盛歟？苞苴行歟？讒夫昌歟？』今誠以近事較之。快船方減而輒允戴保奏添，鎮戍方裁而更聽趙榮分守。詔核馬房矣，隨格於閻洪之一言；詔汰軍匠矣，尋奪於監門之群咻。是政不可謂節也。末作競於奇巧，遊手半於閭閻。耕桑時廢，缺俯仰之資；教化未聞，成偷薄之習。是民不可謂不失職也。兩宮營建，采運艱辛。或一木而役夫萬千，或一椽而廢財十百。死亡枕藉之狀，呻吟號嘆之聲，陛下不得而見聞。是宮壺不可謂不崇也。奉聖、保聖之後，先女寵於冊後；莊奉、肅奉之名，聯殊稱於乳母。或承恩漸鄰於飛燕，或黠慧不下於婉兒。內以移主上之性情，外以開近習之負倚。是女謁不可謂不盛也。窮奸之銳、雄，公肆賂遺而逃籍沒之律；極惡之鵬、鎧，密行請托而逋三載之誅。錢神靈而王英改問於錦衣，關節通而於喜竟漏於禁網。是苞苴不可謂不行也。獻廟主祀，屈府部之議，而用王槐諛佞之謀；重臣批答，乏體貌之宜，而入群小惎間之論。或譖發於內，陰肆毒螫；或讒行於外，顯逞擠排。上以汨朝廷之是非，下以亂人物之邪正。是讒夫不可謂不昌也。凡此，皆成湯之所無，而今日之所有，是以不避斧鉞之誅，用附責難之義。望陛下采納。」

In the fourth month of Jiajing 2 (1523), because of omens and disasters, he joined the ministers of the six bureaus in submitting a memorial: "Formerly King Cheng Tang took six matters upon himself and said: 'Is government undisciplined? Have the people lost their livelihoods? Are the women of the inner quarters exalted? Do sorceresses flourish? Do bribes circulate? Do slanderers prosper? Now compare recent events with these. The fast boats had just been reduced, yet Dai Bao's memorial to add more was promptly approved; the frontier garrisons had just been cut back, yet Zhao Rong was again allowed to share the command. An edict had ordered an audit of the horse stables, yet a single word from Yan Hong promptly blocked it; An edict had ordered a cutback of military artisans, yet the gate guards' uproar soon overturned it. Thus government cannot be called disciplined. Secondary trades vie in ingenious artifice, and idle hands fill half the neighborhoods. Farming and sericulture are neglected, and people lack the means to sustain their daily living; Moral instruction goes unheard, and a habit of frivolity and petty roguery takes hold. Thus the people cannot be said to have kept their livelihoods. Construction of the two palaces made timber procurement and transport grievously arduous. For a single log, ten thousand laborers might be impressed; for a single rafter, fortunes might be squandered. The dead lie piled upon one another; moans and cries of anguish fill the air—yet Your Majesty cannot see or hear them. Thus the inner palace cannot be called anything but exalted. After the titles Fengsheng and Baosheng were granted, concubines won favor ahead of the empress; The honorific titles Zhuangfeng and Sufeng attached extraordinary appellations to wet nurses. Some in imperial favor nearly rivaled Zhao Feiyan; some in wit were no less than Wan'er. Within they shift the sovereign's temperament; without they open the way for favorites to lean on power. Thus women with access to the throne cannot be called anything but flourishing. The utterly wicked Zhang Rui and Zhang Xiong openly bestowed bribes and gifts, evading the law of confiscation; The utterly depraved Liao Peng and Liao Kai secretly made entreaties and bribes, evading execution for three years. Money worked its magic and Wang Ying's case was transferred to the Embroidered Uniform Guard; backdoor connections were opened and Yu Xi entirely slipped through the legal net. Thus bribes cannot be called anything but rampant. In offerings at the ancestral temple, the ministries' deliberations were overridden and Wang Huai's fawning scheme was adopted; When senior ministers issued reply memorials, they lacked proper dignity and fell into the talk of petty men sowing discord. Some slanders arose from within, secretly spreading poisonous stings; Some calumnies circulated without, openly wielding ostracism and expulsion. Above they muddy right and wrong at court; below they confound the distinction between the wicked and the upright. Thus slanderers cannot be called anything but flourishing. All these are faults Cheng Tang did not have, yet the present day does—therefore I do not shun execution by axe and halberd, and offer this remonstrance. I hope Your Majesty will accept this."

其年冬，命中官督蘇、杭織造，舉朝阻之不能得。翀復偕同官張原等力爭。時世宗初政，楊廷和等在內閣。群小雖已用事，正論猶伸，翀前後指斥無所避。帝雖不見用，然亦嘗報聞，不罪也。

That winter the Emperor ordered eunuchs to supervise weaving in Suzhou and Hangzhou; the whole court opposed it but could not prevail. Chong again joined his colleague Zhang Yuan and others in pressing the issue forcefully. At the time it was the beginning of the Jiajing Emperor's reign, and Yang Tinghe and others served in the Grand Secretariat. Though petty men were already wielding power, upright opinion still had sway, and Chong censured them without evasion. Though the Emperor did not adopt his advice, he sometimes acknowledged receipt and did not punish him.

及明年三月，帝以桂萼言，銳欲考獻帝，且欲立廟禁中，翀復偕同官力諫。帝於是責以朋言亂政，命奪俸。既又助尚書喬宇等再疏爭內殿建室之議，被詔切讓。呂柟、鄒守益下獄，翀等抗疏救。及張璁、桂萼召至，翀與給事三十余人連章言：「兩人賦性奸邪，立心憸佞，變亂宗廟，離間宮闈，詆毀詔書，中傷善類。望亟出之，為人臣不忠之戒。」皆不納。帝愈欲考獻帝，改孝宗為伯考，翀等憂之。

In the third month of the following year, on Gui E's advice the Emperor was keen to posthumously honor his father, the Prince of Xing, and also wished to erect a temple within the Forbidden City; Chong again joined his colleagues in forceful remonstrance. The Emperor thereupon rebuked them for factional talk disturbing government and ordered their salaries confiscated. Then, supporting Minister Qiao Yu and others, he again memorialized against building halls in the inner palace and was sharply reprimanded by edict. When Lü Zan and Zou Shouyi were imprisoned, Chong and others submitted urgent memorials in their defense. When Zhang Cong and Gui E were summoned to court, Chong and more than thirty supervising secretaries submitted successive memorials: "The two men's natures are treacherous and wicked; their hearts are grasping and sycophantic; they would overturn the ancestral temples and sow discord within the palace, revile the imperial edicts, and strike at good men. We hope they will be expelled at once, as a warning to disloyal ministers." All was rejected. The Emperor became all the more intent on honoring the Prince of Xing and redesignating Emperor Xiaozong as "Uncle-Father"; Chong and the others were deeply troubled.

會給事中張漢卿劾席書振荒不法，戶部尚書秦金請命官往勘，帝是之。翀等乃取廷臣劾萼等章疏，送刑部令上請，且私相語曰：「倘上亦雲是者，即撲殺之。」璁等以其語聞。帝留疏不下，而責刑部尚書趙鑒等朋邪害正，翀等陷義罔忠，而進璁、萼學士。廷臣相顧駭嘆。諸曹乃各具一疏，力言孝宗不可稱伯考，署名者凡二百二十余人。帝皆留中不報。七月戊寅，諸臣相率伏左順門懇請。帝兩遣中官諭之不退，遂震怒。先逮諸曹為首者八人於詔獄，翀與焉。尋杖於廷，謫戍瞿塘衛，而璁、萼寵益盛。翀居戍所十余年，以東宮冊立恩放還，卒。

When Supervising Secretary Zhang Hanqing impeached Xi Shu for lawless excess, Minister of Revenue Qin Jin requested that officials be dispatched to investigate, and the Emperor agreed. Chong and the others then took the court officials' memorials impeaching Gui E and others, sent them to the Ministry of Justice with a request to the throne, and privately said to one another: "If the Emperor also agrees, then strike them down at once." Cong and the others reported their words to the throne. The Emperor kept the memorials without action but rebuked Minister of Justice Zhao Rong and others for factional wickedness harming the upright, and Chong and the others for betraying righteousness and deceiving loyalty—while advancing Cong and Gui E to Hanlin Academician. The court officials looked at one another in alarm and lamentation. The various bureaus then each submitted a memorial forcefully stating that Emperor Xiaozong could not be called "Uncle-Father"; more than two hundred twenty officials signed. The Emperor kept them all sealed in the palace without reply. On the wuyin day of the seventh month, the ministers in a body prostrated themselves at the Left Shun Gate and earnestly petitioned. The Emperor twice sent eunuchs to instruct them, but they would not withdraw; he then erupted in fury. First he arrested the eight leading bureau heads in the imperial prison, Chong among them. Soon they were beaten at court and exiled to Qutang Guard, while Cong and Gui E's favor grew ever greater. Chong remained in exile for more than ten years; he was released through the grace granted when the crown prince was invested, and died soon after.

嘉靖改元，進刑科都給事中。主事陳嘉言坐事下獄，濟疏救，不許。廖鵬父子及錢寧黨王欽等，皆以從逆論斬，鵬等夤緣中人冀脫死。濟上言：「自來死囚臨斬，鼓下猶受訴詞。奏上得報，已及日旰，再請而後行刑，則已薄暮。殊非與眾棄之之意。乞自三請後，鼓下不得受詞。鵬、欽等罪甚當，幸陛下勿疑。」詔自今以申酉行刑，鵬等竟緩決。欽後以中旨免死。濟力爭，不聽。故事，廠衛有所逮，必取原奏情事送刑科簽發駕帖。千戶白壽賫帖至，濟索原奏，壽不與，濟亦不肯簽發。兩人列詞上。帝先入壽言，竟詘濟議。中官崔文仆李陽鳳坐罪，已下刑部。帝受文訴，移之鎮撫。濟率六科爭之，不聽。都督劉暉以奸黨論戍，有詔復官。甘肅總兵官李隆嗾亂軍殺巡撫許銘，逮入都，營免赴鞫。濟皆力陳不可，帝從其言。暉奪職，隆受訊伏辜。

When the Jiajing reign title was adopted, he was promoted to supervising secretary of the Bureau of Punishments. Section Chief Chen Jiayan was imprisoned for an offense; Ji memorialized in his defense, but permission was denied. Liao Peng, father and son, and Wang Qin and others, associates of Qian Ning's faction, were all sentenced to decapitation for following rebellion; Peng and the others used connections with eunuchs hoping to escape death. Ji submitted a memorial: "From ancient times, when condemned prisoners faced execution, petitions were still accepted even after the execution drum sounded. When the memorial was submitted and an answer received, it was already late in the day; only after a second request would execution proceed—and then it was already dusk. This is quite contrary to the intent of executing them with public approval. I beg that after the third request, no petitions be accepted at the execution drum. Peng, Qin, and the others fully deserve their sentences; I hope Your Majesty will not doubt it." An edict ordered that from then on executions be carried out between 3 and 7 p.m.; Peng and the others were ultimately given suspended sentences. Qin was later spared death by rescript from the inner court. Ji argued forcefully but was not heeded. By precedent, whenever the Depots or Guard made an arrest, the original memorial on the facts had to be sent to the Bureau of Punishments for countersignature on the arrest warrant. When Thousand-Commander Bai Shou arrived with the warrant, Ji demanded the original memorial; Shou would not provide it, and Ji likewise refused to countersign. Both submitted statements to the throne. The Emperor, swayed first by Shou's account, ultimately rejected Ji's position. The eunuchs Cui Wen and Li Yangfeng had been convicted and already sent to the Ministry of Justice. The Emperor accepted Wen's appeal and transferred the case to the Brocade Guard. Ji led the Six Bureaus in protesting; they were not heeded. Commander-in-chief Liu Hui had been sentenced to exile as a treacherous factionalist; an edict restored him to office. The Gansu regional commander Li Long incited mutinous troops to kill Grand Coordinator Xu Ming; after Li was brought to the capital, he worked to avoid being sent for trial. Ji forcefully stated in each case that this could not be allowed, and the Emperor accepted his words. Hui was stripped of office; Long was interrogated and paid the penalty.

定國公徐光祚規占民田，嗾灤州民訐前永平知府郭九臯。太監芮景賢主之，緹騎逮訊。濟請並治光祚，章下所司。給事中劉最以劾中官崔文調外任，景賢復劾其違禁，與御史黃國用皆逮下詔獄，戍最而謫國用。法司爭不得，濟言：「國家置三法司，專理刑獄，或主質成，或主平反。權臣不得以恩怨為出入，天子不得以喜怒為重輕。自錦衣鎮撫之官專理詔獄，而法司幾成虛設。如最等小過耳，羅織於告密之門，鍛煉於詔獄之手。旨從內降，大臣初不與知，為聖政累非淺。且李洪、陳宣罪至殺人，降級而已。王欽兄弟黨奸亂政，謫戍而已。以最等視之，奚啻天淵，而罪顧一律，何以示天下？」帝怒，奪濟俸一月。後父陳萬言奴何璽毆人死，帝命釋之。濟執奏曰：「萬言縱奴殺人，得免為幸，乃並釋璽等，是法不行於戚畹奴也。」濟在諫垣久，言論侃侃，多與權幸相枝柱，直聲甚震，帝滋不能堪。

Duke of Dingguo Xu Guangzuo encroached on commoners' fields, inciting Luanzhou people to accuse the former Yongping prefect Guo Jiugao. Eunuch Rui Jingxian directed the matter, and mounted guards arrested and interrogated them. Ji requested that Guangzuo be punished as well; the memorial was sent down to the responsible office. Supervising Secretary Liu Zui was transferred to an outer post for impeaching eunuch Cui Wen; Jingxian again impeached him for violating prohibitions, and both Liu and Censor Huang Guoyong were arrested and sent to the imperial prison—Liu was exiled and Huang was demoted. The judicial offices protested without success; Ji said: "The state established the Three Judicial Offices specifically to handle criminal cases—some to verify judgments, some to reverse wrongful convictions. Powerful officials must not decide cases by private grudges, nor may the Son of Heaven weigh guilt by personal pleasure or anger. Since the Embroidered Uniform and Brocade Guards alone have handled imperial prison cases, the judicial offices have nearly become a hollow institution. Petty faults like Liu's become pretexts framed through the channels of informers and forged in the hands of the imperial prison. Rescripts descend from within; great ministers learn of them only afterward—this does no small harm to sagely government. Moreover Li Hong and Chen Xuan committed crimes reaching murder, yet received only demotion in rank. Wang Qin and his brothers, partisans who joined with wicked men to disturb government, received only exile. Compared with men like Liu, the difference is more than heaven from abyss—yet the punishments are treated the same. How is this to be shown to the empire?" The Emperor was angry and confiscated Ji's salary for one month. The empress's father Chen Wanyan's slave He Xi beat a man to death; the Emperor ordered his release. Ji submitted a firm memorial: "Wanyan indulged his slave in murder and might count himself fortunate to be spared—yet Xi and the others are also released. This means the law does not run to the slaves of imperial in-laws." Ji had long served in the remonstrance offices; his words were forceful and forthright, and he often clashed with the powerful and favored—his reputation for integrity resounded, and the Emperor grew ever less able to bear it.

「大禮」議起，廷臣爭者多得罪。濟疏救修撰呂柟，編修鄒守益，給事中鄧繼曾，御史馬明衡、朱淛、陳逅、季本，郎中林應驄，不聽。既而遮諸朝臣於金水橋，伏哭左順門，受杖闕廷。越十二日再杖，謫戍遼東。十六年冊立皇太子，赦諸謫戍者，濟不與，卒於戍所。隆慶初復官，贈太常少卿。

When the "Grand Rites" controversy arose, many who remonstrated at court were punished. Ji memorialized in defense of Compiler Lü Zan, Compiler Zou Shouyi, Supervising Secretary Deng Jiceng, Censors Ma Mingheng, Zhu Beng, Chen Hui, and Ji Ben, and Section Chief Lin Yinglin—but was not heeded. Later he joined other court officials at the Golden Water Bridge, prostrated himself, and wept at the Left Shun Gate, and was beaten at the palace gate. Twelve days later he was beaten again and exiled to Liaodong. In the sixteenth year, when the crown prince was invested, all exiles were pardoned—Ji was not included, and he died in exile. In the early Longqing reign his office was posthumously restored, and he was granted the title Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices.

安磐，字公石，嘉定州人。弘治十八年進士。改庶吉士。正德時，歷吏、兵二科給事中，乞假去。世宗踐阼，起故官。帝手詔欲加興獻帝皇號，磐言：「興，藩國也，不可加於帝號之上。獻，謚法也，不可加於生存之母。本生、所後，勢不俱尊。大義私恩，自有輕重。」會廷臣多力爭，事得且止。

An Pan, styled Gongshi, was a native of Jiading Prefecture. He passed the jinshi examination in Hongzhi 18 (1505). He was appointed a Hanlin compiler. During the Zhengde reign he served in succession as Supervising Secretary in the Scrutiny of Personnel and the Scrutiny of War, then requested leave and left office. When Emperor Shizong ascended the throne, he was recalled to his former post. The Emperor issued a personal edict wishing to add an imperial title to the Prince of Xingxian; Pan said: "'Xing' is a fief designation and cannot be placed above an imperial title. 'Xian' is a posthumous name and cannot be applied to a living mother. One's biological parent and adoptive parent cannot both be honored equally. Public duty and private gratitude each have their proper weight." At that time many court officials remonstrated forcefully, and the matter was halted for the time being.

嘉靖元年，主事霍韜言，科道官褻服受詔，大不敬。磐偕同官論韜先以議禮得罪名教，恐言官發其奸，故摭拾細事，意在傾排。帝置不問。尋因事言：「先朝內外巨奸，若張忠、劉養、韋霦、魏彬、王瓊、寧杲等，漏網得全要領。其貨賂可以通神，未嘗不夤緣覬復用。宜嚴察預防，天下事毋令若輩再壞。」帝納其言，命錦衣官密訪緝之。中官張欽家人李賢者，帝許任為錦衣指揮。磐極言不可，不聽。錦衣千戶張儀以附中官張銳黜革，御史楊百之忽為訟冤，言；「儀當宸濠逆謀時，首倡大義，勸銳卻其饋遺。今銳以是免死，儀功不錄，無以示報。」磐疏言：「百之憸邪，陽為儀遊說，而陰與銳交關，為銳再起地。」百之情得，乃誣磐因請屬不行，挾私行謗。吏部尚書喬宇等議黜百之，刑部謂情狀未明，宜俱逮治。帝兩宥之，奪百之俸三月，磐一月。

In Jiajing 1 (1522), Section Chief Huo Tao reported that censorate officials had received the edict in informal dress—a grave breach of propriety. Pan joined his colleagues in arguing that Huo had first offended moral orthodoxy in the Rites controversy and, fearing that remonstrance officials would expose his wrongdoing, was dredging up petty matters in order to destroy and expel them. The Emperor took no notice. Soon afterward, on another matter, he said: "The great villains of the previous reign, inside and outside the court—men such as Zhang Zhong, Liu Yang, Wei Bang, Wei Bin, Wang Qiong, and Ning Gao—slipped through the net and kept their heads. Their bribes can move heaven itself; they never stop using connections in hope of being employed again. They should be scrutinized strictly and guarded against in advance, lest such men ruin the empire again." The Emperor accepted his counsel and ordered Embroidered Uniform Guard officers to investigate and apprehend them in secret. Li Xian, a servant in the household of the eunuch Zhang Qin, was permitted by the Emperor to be appointed a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Pan spoke forcefully against this, but was not heeded. Chief Zhang Yi of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been dismissed for siding with the eunuch Zhang Rui; suddenly Censor Yang Baizhi petitioned in his defense, saying: "When Prince Ning's rebellion was afoot, Yi was the first to uphold the righteous cause and urged Rui to refuse his bribes. Now Rui was spared death on that account, yet Yi's merit went unrewarded—there is no way to show proper recompense." Pan memorialized: "Baizhi is treacherous and base; outwardly he pleads for Yi, while secretly he has dealings with Rui, paving the way for Rui's restoration." Baizhi's stratagem was exposed, whereupon he accused Pan of having solicited favor on his behalf and, when refused, of slandering him out of private malice. Minister of Personnel Qiao Yu and others recommended dismissing Baizhi; the Ministry of Justice held that the facts were unclear and that both men should be arrested and tried. The Emperor pardoned them both, stripping Baizhi of three months' salary and Pan of one month's salary.

帝頻興齋醮，磐又抗言：「曩武宗為左右所蠱，命番僧鎖南綽吉出入豹房，內官劉允迎佛西域。十數年間糜費大官，流謗道路。自劉允放，而鎖南囚，供億減，小人伏。奈何甫及二年，遽襲舊轍。不齋則醮，月無虛日。此豈陛下本意？實太監崔文等為之。文鐘鼓廝役，夤緣冒遷，既經降革，乃營求還職。導陛下至此，使貽譏天下後世，文可斬也。文嘗試陛下，欲行香則從之，欲登壇則從之，欲拜疏則又從之。無已則導以遊幸、土木，導以征伐，方且連類以進，伺便以逞。臣故曰文可斬也。」疏入，報聞。戶部主事羅洪載以杖錦衣百戶張瑾下詔獄，磐與同官張漢卿、張逵、葛鴊等請付之法司。不聽。永福長公主下嫁，擇昏於七月下旬。磐言：「長公主於孝惠皇太后為在室孫女，期服未滿，宜更其期。舊儀，駙馬見公主行兩拜禮，公主坐受。乖夫婦之分，亦當革正。」帝以遺旨格之，相見禮如故。

The Emperor frequently held fasting rites and Daoist services; Pan remonstrated again: "Formerly Emperor Wuzong was deluded by those around him: he had the Tibetan monk Suonan Namgyal come and go in the Leopard Quarters, and the eunuch Liu Yun brought Buddhist images from the Western Regions. For more than ten years the state treasury was squandered, and scandal spread throughout the land. After Liu Yun was dismissed and Suonan imprisoned, state expenses fell and petty men kept their heads down. Why, barely two years into the new reign, follow the old course so hastily? When not fasting, you hold rites—and not a month passes without such a day. Can this truly be Your Majesty's own intent? In fact the eunuchs Cui Wen and others have done this. Wen was originally a menial in the bell-and-drum service; by connections he usurped promotion, and though once demoted and dismissed, he now schemes to regain his post. Having led Your Majesty to this point and brought reproach upon you before the empire and posterity, Wen deserves execution. Wen has repeatedly tested Your Majesty: when he wanted incense offered, you complied; when he wanted to ascend the altar, you complied; when he wanted memorials submitted in ritual form, you complied again. If that were not enough, he would guide you toward tours and building projects, or toward military campaigns—and only then, gathering his kind, would he advance together and seize his opportunity to have his way. Your subject therefore repeats: Wen deserves execution." When the memorial was submitted, acknowledgment was returned. When Revenue Section Chief Luo Hongzai beat Embroidered Uniform Guard Centennial Zhang Jin and had him sent to the imperial prison, Pan joined his colleagues Zhang Hanqing, Zhang Kui, Ge Yan, and others in asking that the case be handed to the regular judicial offices. The Emperor did not listen. When the Princess of Yongfu was to marry, the wedding was set for late July. Pan said: "The princess is an unmarried granddaughter of Empress Dowager Xiaohui; her one-year mourning period has not yet ended—the date ought to be changed. By old ceremony the consort performed two bows upon meeting the princess, while the princess remained seated to receive them. This violates the proper relation between husband and wife and should likewise be corrected." The Emperor blocked this with a testamentary instruction, and the meeting ceremony remained as before.

錦衣革職旗校王邦奇屢乞復職，磐言：「邦奇等在正德世，貪饕搏噬，有若虎狼。其捕奸盜也，或以一人而牽十余人，或以一家而連數十家，鍛煉獄詞，付之司寇，謂之『鑄銅板』。其緝妖言也，或用番役四出搜愚民詭異之書，或購奸僧潛行誘愚民彌勒之教，然後從而掩之，無有解脫，謂之『種妖言』。數十年內，死者填獄，生者冤號。今不追正其罪，使得保首領，亦已幸矣，尚敢肆然無忌，屢瀆天聽，何為者哉且陛下收已渙之人心，奠將危之國脈，實在登極一詔。若使此輩攘臂，一朝壞之，則奸人環立蜂起，堤防潰決，不知所紀極矣。宜嚴究治，絕禍源。」帝不能從。其後邦奇卒為大厲，如磐言。

Dismissed bannerman Wang Bangqi of the Embroidered Uniform Guard repeatedly petitioned for reinstatement; Pan said: "Bangqi and others in the Zhengde era were ravenous and predatory, like tigers and wolves. When they hunted traitors and thieves, one man might implicate more than ten, or one household might drag in dozens of families; they forged testimony in prison and handed cases to the Ministry of Justice—this they called 'casting the copper plate.' When they hunted seditious speech, they might send foreign agents in all directions to search out books of strange doctrine among the common people, or hire wicked monks to go secretly and lure the ignorant into the Maitreya cult—then swoop down on them with no escape; this they called 'planting seditious talk.' Within decades the dead filled the prisons and the living cried out in injustice. Now, without revisiting their crimes, they are allowed to keep their heads—that is already fortunate—yet they dare to act with brazen impunity and repeatedly disturb the imperial ear; what is their purpose? Moreover, Your Majesty gathered hearts already scattered and steadied a dynasty on the brink of collapse—all through the accession proclamation. If these men are allowed to raise their arms and ruin it overnight, wicked men will swarm up all around, the dikes will burst, and there will be no knowing where it ends. They should be rigorously investigated and punished, cutting off the source of disaster." The Emperor could not agree. Later Bangqi did indeed become a great scourge, just as Pan had warned.

帝驛召席書、桂萼等，磐請斥之以謝天下，且言：「今欲別立一廟於大內，是明知恭穆不可入太廟矣。夫孝宗既不得考，恭穆又不得入，是無考也。世豈有無考之太廟哉。此其說之自相矛盾者也。」不聽。歷兵科都給事中。以率眾伏闕再受杖，除名為民。卒於家。

When the Emperor summoned Xi Shu, Gui E, and others by courier, Pan asked that they be dismissed to appease the empire, and said further: "Now you wish to establish a separate shrine within the Inner Palace—this shows you already know that Gongmu cannot enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple. If Emperor Xiaozong cannot be honored as father and Gongmu cannot enter the temple, you have no father to honor. In all the world can there be an Imperial Ancestral Temple with no father to honor? This is where their argument contradicts itself." The Emperor did not listen. He served as Chief Supervising Secretary in the Scrutiny of War. For leading the crowd in prostrating at the palace gate he was beaten twice and dismissed from office, reduced to commoner status. He died at home.

張漢卿，字元傑，儀封人。正德六年進士。授魏縣知縣，征拜刑科給事中。嘗陳杜僥幸、廣儲積、慎刑獄三事，深切時弊。不報。武宗將南巡，偕同官伏闕諫。

Zhang Hanqing, styled Yuanjie, was a native of Yifeng. He passed the jinshi examination in Zhengde 6 (1511). He was appointed magistrate of Wei County, then summoned and appointed Supervising Secretary in the Scrutiny of Punishments. He once presented three matters—checking opportunism, expanding stored reserves, and exercising care in criminal cases—cutting deeply into the afflictions of the age. No response was given. When Emperor Wuzong planned a southern tour, he joined his colleagues in prostrating at the palace gate to remonstrate.

世宗嗣位，從巡撫李鐸言，發帑金二十萬優恤宣府軍民。以漢卿言，並發十三萬於大同。屢遷戶科都給事中。嘉靖元年冬，與同官上言：「陛下軫念畿輔莊田之害，遣官會勘。敕自正德以後投獻及額外侵占者，盡以給民。王言一布，天下孰不誦陛下之仁！乃者給事中夏言、御史樊繼祖、主事張希尹勘上涿州薰皮廠、安州鷹房草場，詔旨留用。所司執奏，迄不肯從，非所以全大信昭至公也。皮廠起於馬永成，鷹房創於谷大用，皆奪民業為之。今馬俊、趙霦恃藩邸舊恩，妄求免革，是復蹈永成、大用故轍也。乞盡還之民，而嚴罪俊、霦，為欺罔者戒。」後父陳萬言請營新第，既又乞莊田，內官吳勛等請督蘇州織造，漢卿皆極諫。不納。應天諸府大旱，帝將鬻淮、浙余鹽及所沒產，易銀振之。漢卿言：「易銀緩，非發帑金不可。」帝為發銀十五萬。未幾，復偕同官言：「今天下一歲之供，不給一歲之用，加以水旱頻仍，物力殫屈。陛下方躬行節儉，而中官梁棟等奏營造缺珠寶，是欲括戶部之銀也。梁政等又以蠲免三分之數，欲行京倉撥補，是欲耗太倉之粟也。夫內庫不足，取之計部；計部不足，取之郡邑小民。郡邑小民將安取哉？今東南洊饑，民至骨肉相食，而搜括之令頻行，臣等竊以為不可。」報聞。已，又劾席書振濟乖方，乞遣官往勘，正其欺罔罪。帝方眷書甚，驛召為禮部尚書，不罪也。

When Emperor Shizong succeeded, following Grand Coordinator Li Duo's recommendation, two hundred thousand taels of silver from the treasury were disbursed to give preferential relief to soldiers and civilians in Xuanfu. On Hanqing's recommendation, another one hundred thirty thousand taels were also sent to Datong. He was repeatedly promoted to Chief Supervising Secretary in the Scrutiny of Revenue. In the winter of Jiajing 1 (1522), he joined his colleagues in memorializing: "Your Majesty, moved by the harm of estates in the capital region, dispatched officials for a joint survey. An edict declared that from Zhengde onward all offerings and extra encroachments should be entirely returned to the people. Once the royal word was promulgated, who in the empire did not proclaim Your Majesty's benevolence! Yet when Supervising Secretary Xia Yan, Censor Fan Jizu, and Section Chief Zhang Xiyin surveyed the tannery at Zhuozhou and the hawking grounds at Anzhou, an edict ordered them retained for use. The responsible offices submitted firm memorials but were never obeyed—this is no way to preserve great trust and display the utmost fairness. The tannery arose under Ma Yongcheng and the hawking grounds under Gu Dayong—both were built by seizing the people's livelihoods. Now Ma Jun and Zhao Bang, relying on old favor from the princely residence, rashly seek exemption from abolition—this is treading the old path of Yongcheng and Dayong again. We beg that all be fully returned to the people, and that Jun and Bang be sternly punished as a warning to deceivers." Later the empress's father Chen Wanyan asked to build a new mansion and then sought estates; the eunuchs Wu Xun and others asked to supervise Suzhou silk weaving—Hanqing remonstrated forcefully against all of this. His advice was not accepted. When the prefectures of Yingtian suffered severe drought, the Emperor planned to sell surplus salt from Huai and Zhe and confiscated property, exchanging them for silver for relief. Hanqing said: "Converting to silver would be slow; nothing but disbursing silver from the treasury will do." The Emperor released one hundred fifty thousand taels of silver. Before long he again joined his colleagues in saying: "Today the empire's yearly revenue cannot meet a year's expenditure; added to this are frequent floods and droughts, and material resources are exhausted. Your Majesty is personally practicing frugality, yet the eunuchs Liang Dong and others report that construction lacks jewels and pearls—this is a scheme to squeeze silver from the Ministry of Revenue. Liang Zheng and others also want to offset the amount waived by the one-third tax reduction by drawing from capital granaries—this is a scheme to drain the Grand Canal granary. When the inner treasury falls short, they take from the Ministry of Revenue; when the Ministry of Revenue falls short, they take from county magistrates and the common people. When county magistrates and the common people fall short, where will they take from? Now famine recurs in the southeast, and the people have come to eating one another's flesh—yet orders for exactions are issued repeatedly; we deem this unacceptable." Acknowledgment was returned. Soon afterward he also impeached Xi Shu for mishandling famine relief, asking that officials be sent to investigate and punish his deception. The Emperor was then very favorably disposed toward Shu and summoned him by courier to be Minister of Rites; no punishment followed.

初，興獻帝議加皇號，漢卿力爭，至是，又倡眾伏闕。兩受杖，斥為民。二十年，言官邢如默、賈準等會薦天下遺賢，及漢卿，終不召。

Earlier, when the Prince of Xingxian's imperial title was debated, Hanqing had remonstrated forcefully; now he again led the crowd in prostrating at the palace gate. He was beaten twice and dismissed as a commoner. In the twentieth year remonstrance officials Xing Rumo, Jia Zhun, and others jointly recommended overlooked worthies throughout the empire, including Hanqing—but he was never summoned.

張原，字士元，三原人。正德九年進士。授吏科給事中。疏陳汰冗食、慎工作、禁貢獻、明賞罰、廣言路、進德學六事。中言：「天下幅員萬里，一舉事而計臣輒告匱，民貧故也。民何以貧？守令之裒斂，中臣之貢獻，為之也。比年軍需雜輸十倍前制，皆取辦守令。守令假以自殖，又十倍於上供。民既困矣，而貢獻者復巧立名目，爭新競異，號曰『孝順』。取於民者十百，進於上者一二，朝廷何樂於此而受之。人君馭下惟賞與罰。邇者庸才廝養莫不封侯腰玉。或足不出門而受賞，身不履陣而奏功。禦敵者竟未沾恩，覆軍者多至逃罪。此士卒所由解體也。」疏入，權幸惡之，傳旨謫新添驛丞。

Zhang Yuan, styled Shiyuan, was a native of Sanyuan. He passed the jinshi examination in Zhengde 9 (1514). He was appointed Supervising Secretary in the Scrutiny of Personnel. In a memorial he set forth six matters: cutting redundant posts, exercising care in public works, forbidding tribute offerings, clarifying rewards and punishments, broadening the avenue of remonstrance, and advancing moral learning. Among these he said: "The empire spans ten thousand li; whenever anything is undertaken the finance ministers report shortage—it is because the people are poor. Why are the people poor? It is caused by the exactions of prefects and magistrates and the tribute offerings of inner-court eunuchs. In recent years military levies and miscellaneous contributions have reached ten times the former quota, all of which prefects and magistrates must furnish. Prefects and magistrates use these levies as pretexts to enrich themselves, extracting ten times again what they send upward. When the people are already in distress, tribute-bearers again invent new categories, vying in novelty and calling it "Filial Submission." They take ten or a hundred parts from the people and present one or two to the throne—what pleasure does the court find in accepting this? A ruler governs his subordinates solely through reward and punishment. Recently even mediocrities and menials have all been enfeoffed as marquises and girded with jade. Some receive rewards without ever leaving their doors; others report merit without ever setting foot on the battlefield. Those who hold the enemy at bay receive no reward in the end, while those who lose armies often escape punishment. This is why the troops lose heart and fall apart." When the memorial was submitted, the powerful and favored hated it, and an edict was transmitted demoting him to deputy post-station master at Xintian.

嘉靖初，召復兵科，仍加俸一級。南寧伯毛良殺其子，錦衣掌印指揮朱震等多違縱，原先後論之，皆奪職閑住。帝進張鶴齡昌國公；封陳萬言泰和伯，世襲，授萬言子紹祖尚寶丞；又以外戚蔣泰等五人為錦衣千、百戶。原抗疏極言，請行裁節。未幾，劾建昌侯張延齡強占民地，定國公徐光祚子、外戚玉田伯蔣輪、昌化伯邵蕙家人擅作威福。事雖不盡行，權貴皆震懾。

At the beginning of the Jiajing reign, he was recalled and restored to the military scrutiny, with one grade added to his salary. Nanning Marquis Mao Liang killed his son, and Zhu Zhen, chief seal-bearer and commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, among others, repeatedly violated discipline. Zhang Yuan and Mao Yu memorialized about these cases in succession, and all were stripped of office and left idle. The Emperor promoted Zhang Heling to Duke of Changguo; enfeoffed Chen Wanyan as Marquis of Taihe with hereditary rank, and appointed Wanyan's son Shaozu Assistant Director of the Imperial Observatory; and further appointed five maternal relatives, including Jiang Tai, as Embroidered Uniform Guard officers at the thousand- and hundred-household ranks. Zhang Yuan submitted a forceful memorial asking that retrenchment and economizing be carried out. Before long he impeached Marquis of Jianchang Zhang Yanling for forcibly seizing private land, and also the son of Duke of Dingguo Xu Guangzuo, maternal relative Marquis of Yutian Jiang Lun, and the household of Marquis of Changhua Shao Hui for arrogating power and privilege. Though the matters were not fully carried out, the powerful and noble were all shaken.

御史曹嘉素輕險，仿宋範仲淹《百官圖》，分廷臣四等，加以品題。給事中安磐疏駁之，言唐王珪之論房玄齡等，本朝解縉之論黃福等，皆承君命而品藻之，未有漫然恣其口吻，如嘉者也。玉復言嘉背違成法，變亂國是，乞斥。帝從其言，貶嘉於外。御史許宗魯為嘉訟，請斥玉，其同官倫以謀亦助為言。給事中張原以庶僚聚訟，朝廷為之多事，重損國體，乞身先斥罷。玉亦上疏求去，言：「宗魯等知朋友私恩，不顧朝廷大體。臣一身所系絕微，公論所關甚大，乞罷臣以謝御史。」帝皆慰留之。時宸濠戚屬連逮者數百人，玉奉命往訊，多所全活。且言宸濠稱亂，由左右貪賂釀成之。因劾守臣不死事者，而禁天下有司與藩府交通。帝俱從之。再遷左給事中。尋伏闕爭「大禮」，下獲受杖，竟卒。後贈光祿少卿。

Censor Cao Jia was by nature frivolous and rash; imitating Song Fan Zhongyan's "Chart of the Hundred Officials," he divided court ministers into four grades and added appraisals. Supervising Secretary An Pan rebutted him in a memorial, saying that Tang Wang Gui's appraisals of Fang Xuanling and others and this dynasty's Xie Jin's appraisals of Huang Fu and others were all by imperial command—never has anyone freely wielded his tongue as Jia has. Mao Yu again said Jia had violated established law and upset the national consensus, and asked that he be dismissed. The Emperor followed his advice and demoted Jia to an outside post. Censor Xu Zonglu pleaded Jia's case and asked that Mao Yu be dismissed; his colleague Censor Lun Yimou also helped speak on his behalf. Supervising Secretary Zhang Yuan, holding that lower officials were gathering in dispute and making the court contentious, thereby gravely harming the dignity of the state, asked that he himself be dismissed first. Mao Yu also submitted a memorial requesting leave, saying: "Zonglu and the others value private friendship and pay no heed to the greater interest of the court. What attaches to my person is utterly slight, but what public opinion concerns is very great—I beg that I be dismissed to apologize to the censors." The Emperor comforted and retained them all. At the time several hundred kinsmen implicated in the Prince of Ning affair were seized in succession; Mao Yu was ordered to interrogate them and saved many lives. He also said the Prince of Ning's rebellion was brought about by bribe-taking among those close to the throne. He therefore impeached defending officials who did not die in the line of duty, and forbade officials throughout the empire from communicating with princely establishments. The Emperor assented to all of these. He was promoted again to Left Supervising Secretary. Soon he prostrated at the palace gate to dispute the "Grand Rites," was brought down and beaten, and in the end died. Later he was posthumously granted Vice Minister of the Imperial Household.

裴紹宗，字伯修，渭南人。正德十二年進士。除海門知縣。武宗南巡，受檄署江都事，權幸憚之，供億大省。世宗即位，召入為兵科給事中。即疏請法祖定制，言：「太祖貽謀盡善。如重大臣，勤視朝，親歷田野，服浣濯衣，種蔬宮中，毀鏤金床，碎水晶漏，造觀心亭，揭《大學衍義》之類，陛下所當繹思祖述。而二三大臣尤宜朝夕納誨，以輔養聖德。陛下日御便殿，親儒臣，使耳目不蔽於淫邪，左右不惑於險佞，則君誌素定，治功可成。」帝嘉納之。帝欲加興獻帝皇號，紹宗力諫。嘉靖二年冬，帝以災異頻仍，欲罷明年郊祀慶成宴。紹宗言：「祭祀之禮莫重於郊丘，君臣之情必通於宴享。往以國戚廢大禮，今且從吉，宜即舉行，豈可以災傷復免。」修撰唐臯亦言之。竟得如禮。明年，以伏闕受杖卒。贈官如毛玉。

Pei Shaozong, styled Bozhu, was a native of Weinan. He passed the jinshi examination in Zhengde 12 (1517). He was appointed magistrate of Haimen. During Emperor Wuzong's southern tour, he received orders to handle affairs at Jiangdu; the favored ones feared him and supply expenses were greatly reduced. When Emperor Shizong took the throne, he was summoned and made Supervising Secretary in the military scrutiny. He immediately memorialized asking that ancestral institutions be followed, saying: "The founding Emperor's legacy is utterly perfect. Such as valuing great ministers, diligently holding court, personally traversing the fields, wearing washed clothes, planting vegetables in the palace, destroying inlaid gold beds, smashing crystal clepsydrae, building the Pavilion for Contemplating the Mind, and posting passages from the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning—Your Majesty should deeply ponder these and follow the ancestors' example. The two or three great ministers especially ought morning and evening to offer remonstrance, to nurture and foster sacred virtue. If Your Majesty daily presides in the side hall and receives Confucian ministers, so that your ears and eyes are not blocked by licentious evil and those at your side are not misled by dangerous flatterers, then the ruler's purpose will be settled and ordered governance can be achieved." The Emperor praised and accepted it. When the Emperor wished to add an imperial title to the Prince of Xing, Shaozong remonstrated forcefully. In the winter of Jiajing 2 (1523), because calamities and anomalies recurred frequently, the Emperor wished to cancel the next year's suburban sacrifice and the celebration banquet. Shaozong said: "Of sacrificial rites none is weightier than the suburban rites at the mound and altar; of the bond between ruler and ministers none fails to pass through banquets and feasts. Formerly the great rites were suspended on account of imperial mourning; now the mourning period is nearly ended and they should immediately be performed—how can they again be waived because of disaster and harm?" Compiler Tang Gao also spoke to this. In the end all was conducted according to ritual. The next year he died from beatings received when prostrating at the palace gate. He was posthumously granted office like Mao Yu.

王時柯，字敷英，萬安人。正德十二年進士。授行人。嘉靖三年擢御史，疏言：「桂萼輩以議禮迎合，傳升美官。薛蕙、陳相、段續、胡侍等，連章論劾，實出至公。今佞人超遷而群賢獲罪，恐海內聞之，謂陛下好諛惡直。願采忠讜之言，消朋比之禍，特寬蕙等而聽席書、方獻夫辭職，除張璁、桂萼別任，則是非不謬，人情悅服。」忤旨切責。未幾，有伏闕之事，再予杖，除名。

Wang Shike, styled Fuying, was a native of Wan'an. He passed the jinshi examination in Zhengde 12 (1517). He was appointed usher. In Jiajing 3 (1524) he was promoted to censor and memorialized: "Gui E and his ilk, by currying favor through ritual debates, were suddenly promoted to fine offices. Xue Hui, Chen Xiang, Duan Xu, Hu Shi, and others submitted successive memorials impeaching them, truly from utmost public spirit. Now flatterers are raised while the worthy are punished—I fear that when this is heard throughout the realm, people will say Your Majesty loves flattery and hates integrity. I pray that you heed upright remonstrance, dispel the harm of faction, especially extend clemency to Hui and the others and accept the resignations of Xi Shu and Fang Xianfu, and assign Zhang Cong and Gui E to other posts—then right and wrong will not err and popular sentiment will be satisfied." This ran counter to the imperial will and he was sharply rebuked. Before long came the prostration at the palace gate; he was beaten again and his name was struck from the rolls.

時御史疏爭「大禮」居首者余翺，字大振，定遠人，正德中進士。嘉靖二年為御史，嘗劾司禮太監張佐蒙蔽罪。明年七月，與時柯等被杖戍邊。居戍所十四年。皇子生，赦還。穆宗即位，時柯、翺皆復官，贈時柯光祿少卿。

At the time the censor who led the memorials disputing the "Grand Rites" was Yu Ao, styled Dazhen, a native of Dingyuan, a jinshi of the Zhengde reign. In Jiajing 2 he was censor and once impeached Director of Ceremonial Eunuch Zhang Zuo for concealment and wrongdoing. In the seventh month of the next year he and Shike and others were beaten and exiled to the frontier. He remained at his place of exile for fourteen years. When a prince was born, an amnesty restored him. When Emperor Muzong took the throne, Shike and Ao were both restored to office; Shike was posthumously granted Vice Minister of the Imperial Household.

鄭本公，朔州衛人。正德九年進士。歷御史。武宗不豫，國本未建，本公請慎選宗室親賢者正位東宮，系天下望。不報。世宗嗣位，及冬而乾清宮成，帝由文華殿入居之。本公上言：「事之可思者有六。是宮八年營構，一旦告成。陛下居安思危，當遠群小，節燕遊，以防一朝之患；重妃配，廣繼嗣，以為萬世之計。慎終如始，兢兢業業，常若天祖之臨；求言益切，訪政益勤，用防壅蔽之患。持聖心，遠貨色，毋溺於鴆毒；重興作，惜財力，永鑒於先朝。」帝嘉納之。逾月，帝欲加興獻帝皇號，本公力言不可。嘉靖改元，出按遼東。劾罷副總兵張銘、都指揮周輔。還朝，論救給事中劉最，忤旨切責。二年十月，時享太廟，帝不親行。本公與同官彭占祺極言遣代非宜，報聞。

Zheng Bengong was a native of Shuozhou Guard. He passed the jinshi examination in Zhengde 9 (1514). He served as censor. When Emperor Wuzong was ill and the heir-apparent had not been established, Bengong asked that a princely kinsman who was close and worthy be carefully chosen for the Eastern Palace, to hold the hopes of the empire. No response was given. When Emperor Shizong succeeded, by winter the Qianqing Palace was completed and the Emperor moved from the Wenhua Hall to take up residence there. Bengong submitted a memorial: "There are six matters worthy of reflection. This palace was under construction for eight years and was completed in a single day. Your Majesty, dwelling in security, should think of danger—keep petty men at a distance, restrain pleasure outings, and guard against sudden calamity; value the consort, broaden succession, as a plan for ten thousand generations. Be careful at the end as at the beginning, fearful and reverent, ever as if Heaven and the ancestors were watching; seek remonstrance the more urgently, inquire into government the more diligently, to guard against the harm of obstruction. Hold the sacred heart, keep far from wealth and women, and do not drown in poison; value construction projects lightly, cherish financial strength, and forever take warning from the previous reign." The Emperor praised and accepted it. After more than a month the Emperor wished to add an imperial title to the Prince of Xing; Bengong spoke forcefully that it could not be done. When the Jiajing reign was proclaimed, he went out on provincial inspection in Liaodong. He impeached and dismissed Vice Commander Zhang Ming and Regional Commander Zhou Fu. Returning to court, he pleaded on behalf of Supervising Secretary Liu Zui, ran counter to the imperial will, and was sharply rebuked. In the tenth month of the second year, at the seasonal sacrifice to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Emperor did not go in person. Bengong and his colleague Peng Zhanqi spoke forcefully that sending a substitute was improper; acknowledgment was returned.

明年三月，帝欲考興獻帝，立廟禁中。本公偕同官力爭，謂：「陛下潛邸之日，則為孝宗之侄，興獻王之子。臨御之日，則為孝宗之子，興獻帝之侄。可兩言決也。至立廟大內，實為不經。獻帝之靈既不得入太廟，又空去一國之祀而托享於大內焉。陛下享太廟，其文曰『嗣皇帝』，於獻帝之廟，又當何稱？愛敬精誠，兩無所屬，獻帝將蹙然不安。」帝怒，責其朋言亂政，奪俸三月。

In the third month of the next year the Emperor wished to enshrine the Prince of Xing and establish a temple within the palace confines. Bengong joined his colleagues in forceful dispute, saying: "On the days when Your Majesty was in the hidden residence, you were nephew to Xiaozong and son to the Prince of Xing. On the day you assumed the throne, you became son to Xiaozong and nephew to the Prince of Xing. This can be decided in two sentences. As for establishing a temple within the inner palace, it is truly irregular. Since the spirit of the Prince of Xing cannot enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple, you would also void the sacrificial rites of a whole state and entrust his enjoyment of offerings to the inner palace. When Your Majesty sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the text reads 'Heir Emperor'—what title then should be used at the temple of the Prince of Xing?" In love, reverence, and sincerity you would belong fully to neither, and the Prince of Xing would be left deeply ill at ease. The emperor was furious, rebuked them for factional talk that disturbed government, and suspended their salaries for three months.

其年六月，以席書為禮部尚書，召張璁、桂萼入京。本公偕同官四十四人連章言：「萼首為亂階，璁再肆欺罔，黃綰、黃宗明、方獻夫、席書連匯接踵。尚書之命，由中而下。行取之旨，已罷再頒。大臣因此被逐，言官由之得罪。雖往日瑾、彬之奸，流禍不若是酷也。」不納。已，偕廷臣伏闕哭諫。系獄，廷杖還職。當是時，爭「大禮」者，諸御史中，本公言最切中。

In the sixth month of that year Xi Shu was appointed Minister of Rites, and Zhang Cong and Gui E were summoned to the capital. Bengong and forty-four colleagues submitted successive joint memorials saying: "Gui E was first to make the riotous opening; Zhang Cong again wantonly deceived; Huang Guan, Huang Zongming, Fang Xianfu, and Xi Shu followed one after another in a stream. Appointments as minister come from the interior downward. Edicts for direct selection had been cancelled and were issued again. Great ministers were thereby expelled; remonstrance officials were punished in consequence. Even the villainy of Liu Jin and Jiang Bin in bygone days had not spread calamity so cruel as this." The Emperor did not accept it. Soon afterward he joined court ministers in prostrating at the palace gate and weeping in remonstrance. He was imprisoned, beaten at court, and then restored to office. At that time, among the censors who disputed the "Grand Rites," Bengong's words hit the mark most precisely.

尋遷通政參議。九年不調，以疾請改南京。乃授大理寺丞，稍遷南京太仆少卿。謝病歸。二十年，言官邢如默、賈準等會薦，詔用不赴，卒。

He was soon transferred to serve as Junior Administrator in the Office of Transmission. For nine years he received no transfer; citing illness, he requested reassignment to Nanjing. He was then appointed Assistant Director of the Court of Judicial Review and was gradually promoted to Vice Director of the Nanjing Court of the Imperial Stud. He resigned on grounds of illness and returned home. In the twentieth year, remonstrance officials Xing Rumo, Jia Zhun, and others jointly recommended him; the Emperor ordered him summoned to office, but he did not come, and he died.

張曰韜，字席珍，莆田人。正德十二年進士。授常州推官。武宗南巡，江彬縱其黨橫行州縣。將抵常州，民爭欲亡匿。時知府暨武進知縣鹹入覲，曰韜兼綰府縣印，召父老約曰：「彬黨至，若等力與格。」又釋囚徒，令與丐者各具瓦石待。已，彬黨果累騎來。父老直遮之境上，曰：「常州比歲災，物力大屈，無可啖若曹。府中惟一張推官，一錢不入，即欲具芻秣，亦無以辦。」言已，彬黨疑有他變，乃稍退，馳使告彬。曰韜即上書巡按御史言狀。御史東郊行部過常州，謂曰：「事迫矣，彬將以他事縛君。」命曰韜登己舟先發，自以小舟尾之。彬黨果大至，索曰韜，誤截御史舟。郊使嚴捕截舟者，而陰令緩之。其黨恐御史上聞，鹹散去，曰韜遂免。彬亦戒其黨毋擾，由是常以南諸府得安。

Zhang Yuetao, styled Xizhen, was a native of Putian. He became a jinshi in the twelfth year of the Zhengde reign. He was appointed Investigating Prefectural Judge of Changzhou. When Emperor Wuzong toured the south, Jiang Bin let his followers rampage through prefectures and counties. As they were about to reach Changzhou, the people all wanted to flee and hide. At the time the prefect and the district magistrate of Wujin had all gone to audience at court; Yuetao held both the prefectural and county seals, summoned the elders, and made this pact: "When Bin's followers arrive, resist them with all your strength." He also released prisoners and had them and beggars each prepare tiles and stones and stand ready. Before long, Bin's followers did arrive in a long train of mounted men. The elders blocked them directly at the boundary of the jurisdiction, saying: "Changzhou has suffered disasters in recent years; its resources are greatly depleted, and there is nothing with which to feed you. In the prefecture there is only Investigating Judge Zhang; not a single coin has entered his hands—even if we wished to provide fodder and grain, we could not manage it." When they had finished, Bin's men suspected some other plot and fell back somewhat, dispatching a messenger at full speed to tell Bin. Yuetao immediately submitted a memorial to the touring censor reporting what had happened. Censor Dong Jiao, inspecting the circuit, passed through Changzhou and said to him: "The matter is urgent; Bin will have you seized on some other charge." He ordered Yuetao to board his own boat and set out first, while he himself followed in a small craft. Bin's men did arrive in force, seeking Yuetao, and by mistake intercepted the censor's boat. Jiao sent men to arrest the boat-interceptors with a show of severity, but secretly ordered them to proceed slowly. His men, fearing the censor would report upward, all dispersed, and Yuetao was thus spared. Bin also warned his followers not to harass the region, and from then on the prefectures south of Changzhou enjoyed peace.

世宗即位，召為御史。楊廷和等之爭織造也，曰韜亦上言：「陛下既稱閣臣所奏惟愛主惜民，是明知織造之害矣。既知之，而猶不已，實由信任大臣弗專，而群小為政也。自古未有群小蒙蔽於內，而大臣能盡忠於外者。崔文輩二三小人嘗濁亂先朝，今復蒙惑聖衷，竊弄威福。陛下奈何任其逞私，不早加斥逐哉？臣聞織造一官，行金數萬方得之。既營之以重資，而欲其不責償於下，此必無之事也。」帝不能用。

When Emperor Shizong succeeded to the throne, he was summoned to serve as censor. When Yang Tinghe and others disputed imperial silk weaving, Yuetao also submitted a memorial saying: "Your Majesty has already declared that what the Grand Secretariat reported was solely love for the sovereign and pity for the people—you clearly know the harm of silk weaving. Once you know this and yet do not stop, it is truly because you do not place exclusive trust in your great ministers, and petty men hold power instead. From antiquity there has never been a case in which petty men deceived within the palace while great ministers could serve with full loyalty without. Two or three petty men such as Cui Wen once muddied and disturbed the former court; now they beguile Your Majesty again and secretly wield authority and favor. Your Majesty, how can you let them indulge their private desires and not drive them out at once? I have heard that to obtain one post in silk weaving, one must pay tens of thousands in cash. Once one has invested a heavy sum to obtain it, yet expects that he will not seek repayment from those below—this is surely impossible." The Emperor did not heed it.

席書以中旨拜尚書，曰韜與同官胡瓊各抗疏力爭。既受杖，猶占疏劾奸人陳洸罪。未幾，竟死。隆慶初，追贈光祿少卿。

When Xi Shu was appointed minister by secret edict, Yuetao and his colleague Hu Qiong each submitted forceful remonstrance memorials in opposition. After receiving the beating, he still submitted a memorial impeaching the villain Chen Guang. Before long he died. At the beginning of the Longqing reign he was posthumously ennobled as Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments.

胡瓊，字國華，南平人。正德六年進士。由慈溪知縣入為御史。歷按貴州、浙江有聲。哭諫，受杖卒。後贈官如曰韜。

Hu Qiong, styled Guohua, was a native of Nanping. He became a jinshi in the sixth year of the Zhengde reign. From his post as district magistrate of Cixi he entered service as censor. He successively inspected Guizhou and Zhejiang and gained renown. He wept in remonstrance, received the beating, and died. Later he received the same posthumous ennoblement as Yuetao.

楊淮，字東川，無錫人。正德十二年進士。授戶部主事，再遷郎中。始監京倉，革胥徒積弊殆盡。繼監淮、通二倉，罷中官茶果之供，除囤基及額外席草費。最後監內庫，奄人例有供饋，淮悉絕之。公勤廉慎，為尚書孫交、秦金所重。伏闕受杖，月余卒。囊無一物，家人賣屋以斂。金與淮同里，為經紀歸其喪。後贈太常少卿。

Yang Huai, styled Dongchuan, was a native of Wuxi. He became a jinshi in the twelfth year of the Zhengde reign. He was appointed Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Revenue and was promoted twice to Director. At first he supervised the capital granaries and reformed accumulated abuses of clerks and runners almost entirely. Next he supervised the granaries at Huai'an and Tongzhou, abolished eunuch provisions of tea and fruit, and eliminated storage-base charges and extra fees for reed-mat bedding. Finally he supervised the inner treasury; eunuchs customarily received supplies and gifts—Huai cut them all off. Public-spirited, diligent, incorrupt, and careful, he was valued by Ministers Sun Jiao and Qin Jin. He prostrated at the palace gate, received the beating, and died after more than a month. His purse held not a single thing; his family sold their house to bury him. Qin Jin was from the same district as Huai and made arrangements to return his remains home. Later he was posthumously ennobled as Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

申良，字延賢，高平人。登鄉薦，授招遠知縣。山東盜起，良豫為戰守具。盜至，追擊至黃縣，俘斬數百人。已，復至，再破走之。歷知諸城、良鄉。權貴人往來要索，良悉拒之。進安吉知州。錦衣葉瓊倚錢寧勢奪民田，良讞還之民。瓊因嗾奸人誣奏良，事竟得白。稍遷常州同知，入為戶部員外郎。與淮俱杖死。贈太仆少卿。招遠民懷其政，繪像祀之。

Shen Liang, styled Yanxian, was a native of Gaoping. He passed the provincial recommendation and was appointed district magistrate of Zhaoyuan. When bandits rose in Shandong, Liang prepared in advance the means for defense and battle. When the bandits arrived, he pursued them to Huang County and captured and beheaded several hundred men. Before long they came again, and he defeated and drove them off once more. He successively served as magistrate of Zhucheng and Liangxiang. Powerful and noble persons coming and going demanded favors, and Liang refused them all. He was promoted to prefect of Anji. Ye Qiong of the Embroidered Uniform Guard relied on Qian Ning's power to seize commoners' land; Liang judged the case and returned it to the people. Qiong therefore instigated villains to falsely accuse Liang, but in the end the matter was cleared. He was gradually promoted to Vice Prefect of Changzhou and entered service as Section Member in the Ministry of Revenue. Together with Huai he died from the beating. He was posthumously ennobled as Vice Director of the Court of the Imperial Stud. The people of Zhaoyuan cherished his governance and painted his portrait to worship him.

張澯，字景川，廣東順德人。祖善昭，四川僉事，謫臨江通判。先是，練子寧親黨戍臨江者八十余人，善昭上書曰：「子寧忠貫日月，太宗謂『若使子寧在，朕固當用之』。仁宗亦謂『方孝孺等忠臣』。夫既忠之矣，何外親末屬，尚以奸惡賜配，百年不宥哉？」疏雖不行，中外皆壯之。澯登正德九年進士，授建平知縣。忤巡江御史賀洪，改調廣昌。訟洪罪，洪坐削籍。澯自廣昌遷禮部主事，監督會同館。尚書王瓊與都御史彭澤有隙，以澤遣使土魯番許金幣贖哈密城印為澤罪，嗾番人在館者暴澤過惡，誘澯為署牒，且曰：「澤所為，南宋覆轍也。事成當顯擢。」澯力拒曰：「王公誤矣。澤與土魯番檄具在，豈宋和戎比。昔範仲淹亦嘗致書元昊，寧獨澤也。」不肯署。尋進員外郎，受杖死。

Zhang Can, styled Jingchuan, was a native of Shunde in Guangdong. His grandfather Shanshao was a Surveillance Vice Commissioner of Sichuan and was demoted to Vice Prefect of Linjiang. Earlier, more than eighty relatives and associates of Lian Zining who were exiled to Linjiang—Shanshao submitted a memorial saying: "Zining's loyalty pierced sun and moon; Taizong said, 'If Zining were alive, I would certainly employ him. Renzong also called 'Fang Xiaoru and others loyal ministers.' Since they were already loyal, why should distant kin and minor dependents still be punished by exile for wickedness and not be pardoned for a hundred years?" Although the memorial was not adopted, people throughout the empire admired him. Can passed the jinshi in the ninth year of the Zhengde reign and was appointed district magistrate of Jianping. He offended Yangtze-inspecting Censor He Hong and was transferred to Guangchang. He sued Hong for crimes, and Hong was punished by having his name struck from the rolls. Can moved from Guangchang to Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Rites, supervising the Hall of Joint Audience. Minister Wang Qiong and Censor-in-Chief Peng Ze were at odds; citing as Ze's crime that Ze had sent envoys to Turfan promising gold and coin to redeem the seal of Hami city, he incited the foreign envoys in the hall to expose Ze's faults and wickedness, and tempted Can to sign the document, saying: "What Ze did repeats the overturned track of the Southern Song. When the affair succeeds you will be conspicuously promoted." Can forcefully refused, saying: "Lord Wang is mistaken. Ze's dispatches with Turfan are all extant—how can this be compared to the Southern Song making peace? In the past Fan Zhongyan also once sent letters to Yuan Hao—why should Ze alone be blamed?" He refused to sign. Soon he was promoted to Section Member and died from the beating.

仵瑜，字忠父，蒲圻人。父紳，工部主事。瑜少有誌操，正德十二年釋褐，即謝病去。起補禮部主事，復引疾歸。世宗踐阼，起故官。疏陳勤聖學、篤親親、開言路、敬大臣、選諍臣、去浮屠、拯困窮、重守令、修武備、儲人材十事。已，竟死杖下。

Wu Yu, styled Zhongfu, was a native of Puqi. His father Shen was Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Works. Yu from youth had aspiration and integrity; in the twelfth year of the Zhengde reign, upon taking office he immediately resigned on grounds of illness. He was recalled to fill a vacancy as Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Rites and again cited illness and returned home. When Emperor Shizong ascended the throne, he was restored to his former office. He submitted a memorial setting forth ten matters: diligence in sacred learning, deepening kinship bonds, opening the avenue of speech, reverencing great ministers, selecting remonstrating ministers, removing Buddhist monks, rescuing the distressed and poor, emphasizing magistrates and prefects, repairing military preparedness, and storing up talent. Before long he died under the beating.

臧應奎，字賢徵，長興人。正德十二年進士。授南京車駕主事。進貢中官索舟逾額，力裁損之。中官遣卒嘩於部，叱左右執之，遁去。父所生母卒，法不得承重，執私喪三年。入為禮部主事，未幾杖死。應奎受業湛若水之門，以聖賢自期。嘗過文廟，慨然謂其友曰「吾輩歿，亦當俎豆其間」，其立誌如此。

Zang Yingkui, styled Xianzheng, was a native of Changxing. He became a jinshi in the twelfth year of the Zhengde reign. He was appointed Chief Clerk in the Nanjing Directorate of Transport. Tribute eunuchs demanded boats beyond the quota, and he forcefully cut and reduced them. When a eunuch's men raised a commotion at the directorate, he ordered his attendants to seize them, and they fled. When the concubine who bore him for his father died, the law did not permit him to assume principal mourning, so he observed private mourning for three years. He entered service as Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Rites and soon died from the beating. Yingkui studied under Zhan Ruoshui and aspired to live like the sages. Once, passing the Temple of Literature, he said feelingly to a friend, "When we are gone, we too should be honored with offerings in this hall"—such was the ambition he set for himself.

郎中胡璉，字重器，新喻人。正德六年進士，官刑部。嘗諫武宗南巡受杖。主事余禎，字興邦，奉新人。正德九年進士。

Director Hu Lian, styled Chongqi, was a native of Xinyu. A jinshi of Zhengde 6 (1511), he served in the Ministry of Punishments. He once remonstrated against Emperor Wuzong's planned southern tour and was beaten for it. Chief Clerk Yu Zhen, styled Xingbang, was a native of Fengxin. He became a jinshi in Zhengde 9 (1514).

司務李可登，字思善，輝縣人。弘治末鄉薦。俱官兵部。可登素慷慨，以忠義自許，竟如其誌。戶部主事安璽，宛平人。正德十六年進士。刑部主事殷承敘，江夏人。正德九年進士。

Registrar Li Kedeng, styled Sishan, was a native of Huixian. He passed the provincial examinations at the end of the Hongzhi reign. All three served in the Ministry of War. Kedeng was by nature high-minded and pledged himself to loyalty and righteousness—and in the end he fulfilled that pledge. An Xi, Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Revenue, was a native of Wanping. He became a jinshi in Zhengde 16 (1521). Yin Chengxu, Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Punishments, was a native of Jiangxia. He became a jinshi in Zhengde 9 (1514).

穆宗嗣位，贈璉太常少卿，澯太仆少卿，瑜、應奎、承敘、璽、禎光祿少卿，可登寺丞。

When Emperor Muzong succeeded to the throne, Lian was posthumously granted Vice Minister of Rites, Can Vice Director of the Court of the Imperial Stud, Yu, Yingkui, Chengxu, Xi, and Zhen Vice Ministers of the Imperial Household, and Kedeng Assistant Director of a Temple Directorate.

諸臣伏闕爭「大禮」，皆得罪。楠方巡按雲南，馳疏言：「人臣事君，阿意者未必忠，犯顏者未必悖。今群臣伏闕呼號，或榜掠殞身，或間關謫戍，不意聖明之朝，而忠良獲罪若此。乞復生者之職，恤死者之家，庶以收納人心，全君臣之義。」帝大怒，遣緹騎逮治，言官論救皆不納。既至，下鎮撫獄掠治，復廷杖之，削其籍。

The various officials who prostrated at the palace gate to dispute the Great Rites were all punished. Nan was then touring Yunnan as investigating censor and sent an urgent memorial: "In serving the sovereign, ministers who toady are not necessarily loyal, and those who speak against his will are not necessarily treacherous. Now the officials prostrate themselves at the palace gate crying out; some are flogged to death, some are sent on the hard road to banishment and garrison duty—who would have thought that in so enlightened a court, the loyal and upright would be punished like this? I beg that the living be restored to office and the families of the dead be given relief, so that you may win back the people's hearts and preserve the full bond between ruler and minister." The emperor was furious, sent mounted guards to arrest and prosecute him, and rejected every attempt by censorial officials to intercede. Once he arrived, he was sent to the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison for interrogation under torture, flogged again at court, and struck from the rolls.

先是，諸人既死，廷臣莫敢上聞。後府經歷俞敬奏言：「學士豐熙等皆以冒觸宸嚴，系獄拷訊。諸臣跡雖狂悖，心實忠誠。今聞給事裴紹宗、編修王相、主事余禎等俱已死，熙等在獄者亦垂亡矣。其呻吟衽席，創重不能起者，又不知凡幾。竊惟獻皇帝神主已奉迎入廟，正宜赦過宥罪，章大孝於天下。望霽雷霆之威，施雨露之澤。已死者恤其後，垂亡者宥其身，使人臣無復以言為諱，宗社之幸也。」

Earlier, after these men had died, no court minister dared bring word to the throne. Later, Yu Jing, an administration clerk in a prefectural office, submitted a memorial: "Academician Feng Xi and others have all been imprisoned and interrogated under torture for having offended the imperial majesty. Although these officials' conduct seemed wild and perverse, their hearts were truly loyal. Now I hear that Supervising Secretary Pei Shaozong, Compiler Wang Xiang, Chief Clerk Yu Zhen, and others have all died, and those still in prison, such as Xi, are also near death. Of those groaning on their sickbeds, too gravely wounded to rise, there is no knowing how many more there are. I reflect that the spirit tablet of the Prince of Xingxian has already been welcomed into the ancestral temple—this is precisely the moment to pardon offenses and grant forgiveness, displaying great filial piety to the empire. I hope Your Majesty will set aside the thunder of wrath and bestow the grace of rain and dew. Comfort the families of the dead, grant pardon to those near death, and let your ministers speak without fear of reproach—this would be a blessing for the altars of state."

通政司經歷李繼先亦上言：「陛下追崇尊號，乃人子至情，誠不容已。群臣一時冒觸天威，重得罪譴，死者遂十余人。大臣紛紛去位，小臣茍默自容。今日大同告變，曾無一人進一疏、畫一策者，則小大之臣，誌不奮而氣不揚，亦可見矣。乞錄恤已死，赦還謫戍，追復去國諸臣，而在位者委任寬假之，使各陳邊計。臣愚不勝忄卷忄卷。」帝皆不省。

Li Jixian, an administration clerk in the Office of Transmission, also submitted a memorial: "Your Majesty's elevation of the honored title is a son's deepest feeling and truly cannot be withheld. The officials once offended the imperial majesty and suffered heavy punishment; more than ten of them died. Great ministers have left office one after another, and lesser ministers are content to keep silent. Today Datong reports an uprising, yet not one person submits a memorial or offers a plan—among ministers great and small alike, the will does not stir and the spirit does not lift. This is plain to see. I beg that the dead be honored and their families relieved, those banished to garrison service be pardoned and returned, the officials who left office be restored, and those still in office be given latitude so that each may present plans for the frontier. Your humble subject is overcome with earnest devotion." The emperor paid no heed to any of it.

明年三月，御史王懋言：「廷臣以議禮死杖下者十有七人，其父母妻子顛沛可憫，乞賜優恤，贈官錄蔭。」帝大怒，謫懋四川高縣典史。逾數日，而楠疏至。帝益怒，遂逮治削籍。六年春，以災變修省，從吏部言量與楠一官，得吉水教諭。終南寧知府。

The following year, in the third month, Censor Wang Mao submitted a memorial: "Seventeen court officials died under the rod for disputing the rites; their parents, wives, and children have suffered wretchedly—this merits pity. I beg that generous relief be granted, with posthumous offices and hereditary privilege." The emperor was furious and demoted Mao to record clerk of Gaoxian in Sichuan. A few days later Nan's memorial arrived. The emperor grew even angrier and had Nan arrested, prosecuted, and struck from the rolls. In the spring of the sixth year, when disaster omens prompted self-examination, the Ministry of Personnel recommended granting Nan an office; he received the post of instructor at Jishui. He ended his career as prefect of Nanning.

贊曰：「大禮」之爭，群臣至撼門慟哭，亦過激且戇矣。然再受廷杖，或死或斥，廢錮終身，抑何慘也。楊慎博物洽聞，於文學為優。王思、張翀諸人，或納諫武宗之朝，或抗論世宗初政，侃侃鑿鑿，死節官下，非徒意氣奮發立效一時已也。

The appraisal says: In the dispute over the Great Rites, the officials went so far as to beat on the gate and weep aloud—excessive and rash, to be sure. Yet they were flogged at court a second time; some died, some were banished, and others were shut out for life—how cruel indeed. Yang Shen was broadly learned and widely read, unsurpassed in literary scholarship. Wang Si, Zhang Chong, and the others—some remonstrating under Emperor Wuzong, some disputing the early policies of Emperor Shizong—spoke forthrightly and with deep conviction, dying in office for principle; they were not merely men whose ardor flared up for a moment and then faded.

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