1
吳山陸樹聲 〈(子彥章)〉 瞿景淳 〈(子汝稷汝說)〉 田一俊 〈(沈懋學懋學從孫壽民)〉 黃鳳翔 〈(韓世能)〉 余繼登馮琦 〈(從祖惟訥從父子咸)〉 王圖 〈(劉曰寧)〉 翁正春劉應秋 〈(子同升)〉 唐文獻 〈(楊道賓陶望齡)〉 李勝芳蔡毅中公鼐羅喻義姚希孟許士柔顧錫疇
Wu Shan and Lu Shusheng. (with son Yanzhang)〉 Qu Jingchun. (with sons Ruji and Ruoshuo)〉 Tian Yijun. (Shen Maoxue; Maoxue's grandnephew Shoumin)〉 Huang Fengxiang. (Han Shineng)〉 Yu Jideng and Feng Qi. (paternal uncles Wei Na; father's cousin Zixian)〉 Wang Tu. (Liu Yuening)〉 Weng Zhengchun and Liu Yingqiu. (with son Tongsheng)〉 Tang Wenxian. (Yang Daobin; Tao Wangling)〉 Li Shengfang, Cai Yizhong, Gong Nai, Luo Yuyi, Yao Ximeng, Xu Shirou, and Gu Xichou.
2
吳山,字曰靜,高安人。 嘉靖十四年進士及第,授編修。 累官禮部左侍郎。 三十五年,改吏部。 尋代王用賓為禮部尚書。 明年,加太子太保。 山與嚴嵩鄉里。 嵩子世蕃介大學士李本飲山,欲與為婚姻。 山不可,世蕃不悅而罷。 帝欲用山內閣,嵩密阻之。 府丞朱隆禧者,考察罷官,獻方術,得加禮部侍郎。 及卒請恤,山執不與。 裕、景二邸並建,國本未定。 三十九年冬,帝忽諭禮部,具景王之藩儀。 嵩知帝激於郭希顏疏,欲覘人心,諷山留王。 山曰:「中外望此久矣」,立具儀以奏,王竟之藩。 司禮監黃錦嘗竊語山曰:「公他日得為編氓幸矣; 王之藩,非帝意也。」
Wu Shan, courtesy name Yuejing, came from Gao'an. In 1535 he took first place among the jinshi graduates and was appointed a Hanlin Compiler. He rose through the ranks to become Left Vice Minister of Rites. In 1556 he was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. Before long he succeeded Wang Yongbin as Minister of Rites. The following year he was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Shan was a fellow townsman of Yan Song. Song's son Shifan had Grand Secretary Li Ben host Shan at a banquet, hoping to arrange a marriage between their families. Shan refused, and Shifan, displeased, dropped the proposal. The emperor wanted to bring Shan into the Grand Secretariat, but Song secretly blocked the appointment. Assistant Prefect Zhu Longxi had been removed from office after an evaluation but won promotion to Vice Minister of Rites by presenting occult arts to the throne. When Zhu died and his family petitioned for posthumous honors, Shan steadfastly refused. With establishments for both the Prince of Yu and the Prince of Jing, the question of the imperial succession remained unresolved. In the winter of 1560 the emperor suddenly ordered the Ministry of Rites to draw up the ceremonies for sending the Prince of Jing to his princely domain. Song knew the emperor had been stirred by Guo Xiyan's memorial and wanted to test public opinion; he urged Shan to keep the prince at court. Shan replied, "Court and country have long awaited this," promptly drew up the ceremonies and memorialized the throne, and the prince was sent to his domain. Huang Jin of the Directorate of Ceremonial once confided to Shan, "Your Excellency will be fortunate if you one day become an ordinary subject again; sending the prince to his domain was not what the emperor wanted."
3
明年二月朔,日當食,微陰。 歷官言:「日食不見,即同不食。」 嵩以為天眷,趣部急上賀,侍郎袁煒亦為言。 山仰首曰:「日方虧,將誰欺耶?」 仍救護如常儀。 帝大怒,山引罪。 帝謂山守禮無罪,而責禮科對狀。 給事中李東華等震懼,劾山,請與同罪。 帝乃責山賣直沽名,停東華俸。 嵩言罪在部臣。 帝乃貰東華等,命姑識山罪。 吏科梁夢龍等見帝怒山甚,又惡專劾山,乃並吏部尚書吳鵬劾之。 詔鵬致仕,山冠帶閑住。 時皆惜山而深快鵬之去。 穆宗即位,召為南京禮部尚書,堅辭不赴,卒,贈少保,謚文端。
On the first day of the second month the following year an eclipse was expected, but the sky was only slightly overcast. The calendar officials reported, "If the solar eclipse cannot be seen, it counts as if there were no eclipse. Song took this as a sign of heaven's favor and pressed the ministry to submit congratulations at once; Vice Minister Yuan Wei agreed. Shan looked up and said, "The sun is still in eclipse—whom do you think you can deceive? He still ordered the usual protective rites observed. The emperor was furious, and Shan took the blame upon himself. The emperor said Shan had done no wrong in upholding ritual, but held the Rites Bureau staff accountable. Alarmed, Supervising Secretaries Li Donghua and others impeached Shan and asked to be punished along with him. The emperor then accused Shan of parading integrity for fame and suspended Donghua's salary. Song said the fault lay with the ministry staff. The emperor then pardoned Donghua and the others and ordered that Shan's offense be recorded but not yet punished. Seeing how angry the emperor was with Shan and resenting a memorial that singled Shan out, Liang Menglong and others of the Personnel Bureau also impeached Minister of Personnel Wu Peng. An edict ordered Peng to retire and allowed Shan to remain at home in official dress but without duties. At the time everyone regretted Shan's fall and was deeply glad to see Peng go. When the Longqing Emperor came to the throne, Shan was summoned as Minister of Rites at Nanjing, but he firmly declined. He died and was posthumously made Junior Guardian with the posthumous name Wenduan.
4
陸樹聲,字與吉,松江華亭人。 初冒林姓,及貴乃復。 家世業農。 樹聲少力田,暇即讀書。 舉嘉靖二十年會試第一。 選庶吉士,授編修。 三十一年,請急歸。 遭父喪,久之,起南京司業。 未幾,復請告去。 起左諭德,掌南京翰林院。 尋召還春坊,不赴。 久之,起太常卿,掌南京祭酒事。 嚴敕學規,著條教十二以勵諸生。 召為吏部右侍郎,引病不拜。 隆慶中,再起故官,不就。 神宗嗣位,即家拜禮部尚書。
Lu Shusheng, courtesy name Yuji, was a native of Huating in Songjiang. He had originally taken the surname Lin and only restored his own when he rose to prominence. His family had farmed for generations. As a youth Shusheng worked the fields and read whenever he had spare time. In 1541 he placed first in the metropolitan examination. He was selected as a Hanlin bachelor and appointed Compiler. In 1552 he asked leave on urgent family grounds and returned home. After his father's death he remained in mourning for a long time, then was recalled as Vice Director of Studies at Nanjing. Before long he again asked leave and went home. He was appointed Left Tutor and put in charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. He was soon summoned back to the Heir Apparent's staff but declined to go. After a long interval he was made Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Chancellor of the Nanjing National University. He strictly enforced academic regulations and wrote twelve articles of instruction to guide the students. He was summoned as Right Vice Minister of Personnel but pleaded illness and declined the appointment. During the Longqing reign he was offered his former post again but refused. When the Wanli Emperor succeeded, Shusheng was appointed Minister of Rites while still at home.
5
初,樹聲屢辭朝命,中外高其風節。 遇要職,必首舉樹聲,唯恐其不至。 張居正當國,以得樹聲為重,用後進禮先謁之。 樹聲相對穆然,意若不甚接者,居正失望去。 一日,以公事詣政府。 見席稍偏,熟視不就坐,居正趣為正席。 其介介如此。 北部要增歲幣,兵部將許之,樹聲力爭。 歲終,陳四方災異,請帝循舊章,省奏牘,慎賞賚,防壅蔽,納讜言,崇儉德,攬魁柄,別忠邪。 詔皆嘉納。
Because Shusheng had repeatedly declined court appointments, men inside and outside government admired his integrity. Whenever an important post opened, officials would recommend Shusheng first, fearing he might not accept. When Zhang Juzheng was chief minister he prized winning Shusheng's support and, though the junior in rank, paid him the first visit. Shusheng received him with grave reserve, as if unwilling to be drawn close, and Zhang left disappointed. One day he called at the chief minister's office on public business. Seeing the seat placed slightly off-center, he stared at it and refused to sit until Zhang hurried to set it properly. Such was his punctiliousness. When the northern frontier demanded higher annual payments and the Ministry of War was ready to agree, Shusheng argued forcefully against it. At year's end he memorialized on disasters and portents throughout the realm, urging the emperor to follow established precedent, reduce paperwork, be sparing with rewards, guard against blocked channels of information, heed candid counsel, practice frugality, hold the reins of power firmly, and distinguish loyal ministers from the treacherous. The emperor's reply praised and accepted every point.
6
萬歷改元,中官不樂樹聲,屢宣詣會極門受旨,且頻趣之。 比趨至,則曹司常事耳。 樹聲知其意,連疏乞休。 居正語其弟樹德曰:「朝廷行相平泉矣。」 平泉者,樹聲別號也。 樹聲聞之曰:「一史官,去國二十年,豈復希揆席耶? 且虛拘何益。」 其冬,請愈力,乃命乘傳歸。 辭朝,陳時政十事,語多切中,報聞而已。 居正就邸舍與別,問誰可代者。 舉萬士和、林燫。 比出國門,士大夫傾城追送,皆謝不見。
At the beginning of the Wanli reign the eunuchs disliked Shusheng and repeatedly summoned him to the Gate of Gathering Excellence to receive instructions, pressing him again and again. When he hurried there, the matter proved to be nothing more than routine bureau business. Shusheng understood their intent and submitted repeated memorials asking to retire. Zhang told Shusheng's younger brother Shude, "The court is about to make Pingquan chief minister. Pingquan was Shusheng's sobriquet. When Shusheng heard this he said, "A mere historiographer who has been away from court for twenty years—would he still covet the chief minister's seat? Besides, what good does it do to detain me in name only? That winter his requests grew more insistent, and he was ordered home with relay horses. On leaving court he presented ten points on current policy, most of them telling; the reply was merely acknowledgment. Zhang called at his lodging to take leave and asked whom he would recommend as his successor. He named Wan Shihe and Lin Yan. As he left the capital, officials and gentry turned out in force to see him off, but he thanked them all and refused to receive them.
7
樹聲端介恬雅,翛然物表,難進易退。 通籍六十余年,居官未及一紀。 與徐階同里,高拱則同年生。 兩人相繼柄國,皆辭疾不出。 為居正所推,卒不附也。 已,給廩隸如制,加太子少保,再遣存問。 弟樹德,自有傳。 子彥章,萬歷十七年進士。 樹聲誡毋就館選,隨以行人終養。 詔給月俸,異數也。 樹聲年九十七卒。 贈太子太保。 謚文定。 彥章有節概,官至南京刑部侍郎。
Shusheng was upright, reserved, and refined, aloof from worldly things, slow to enter office and quick to leave it. He had been on the rolls for more than sixty years but had actually held office for less than twelve. He was a fellow townsman of Xu Jie and a jinshi classmate of Gao Gong. Both men in turn dominated the government, yet Shusheng pleaded illness and would not serve under either. Zhang Juzheng recommended him too, yet in the end he never cast in his lot with him. Afterward the court granted him grain and attendants by regulation, promoted him to Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince, and again sent envoys to inquire after his health. His younger brother Shude has a separate biography. His son Yanzhang passed the jinshi examination in Wanli 17 (1589). Shusheng warned him not to accept a Hanlin appointment; he served instead as a courier official until he retired to complete filial mourning. The emperor ordered that he receive a monthly salary—an exceptional honor. Shusheng died at ninety-seven. He was posthumously honored as Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince. He was given the posthumous title Wending. Yanzhang was known for integrity and principled conduct; he rose to Vice Minister of Justice at Nanjing.
8
瞿景淳,字師道,常熟人。 八歲能屬文。 久困諸生間,教授里中自給。 嘉靖二十三年,舉會試第一,殿試第二,授編修。 鄭王厚烷以言事廢,徙鳳陽。 景淳奉敕封其子載堉為世子,攝國事。 世子內懼,贐重幣,景淳卻之。 時恭順侯吳繼爵為正使,已受幣,慚景淳,亦謝不納。 既而語景淳曰:「上遣使密诇狀,微公,吾幾中法。」 滿九載,遷侍讀,請急歸。 江南久苦倭,總督胡宗憲師未捷。 景淳還京,謁大學士嚴嵩。 嵩語之曰:「倭旦夕且平。 胡總督才足辦,南中人短之,何也?」 景淳正色曰:「相公遙度之耳。 景淳自南來,目睹倭患。 胡君坐擁十萬師,南中人不得一安枕臥。 相公不欲聞,誰為言者?」 嵩愕然謝之。 歷侍讀學士,掌院事。 改太常卿,領南京祭酒事,就遷吏部右侍郎。 隆慶元年,召為禮部左侍郎。 用總校《永樂大典》勞,兼翰林院學士,支二品俸,侍經筵,修《嘉靖實錄》。 疾作,累疏乞骸骨歸。 逾年卒。 贈禮部尚書,謚文懿。
Qu Jingchun, whose courtesy name was Shidao, was a native of Changshu. At eight he could already write essays. Long stuck among licentiates, he supported himself teaching in his home district. In Jiajing 23 (1544) he ranked first in the metropolitan examination and second in the palace examination, and was appointed a Hanlin Compiler. Prince Houwan of Zheng was deposed for memorializing on state affairs and was relocated to Fengyang. Jingchun received orders to invest the prince's son Zaiyu as heir apparent and administer state affairs in his stead. The heir, inwardly afraid, sent him lavish gifts, but Jingchun refused them. The chief envoy, Marquis Wu Jijue of Gongshun, had already accepted gifts but, ashamed before Jingchun, likewise refused to keep them. Later he told Jingchun, "The emperor sent men to investigate in secret; but for you, I would nearly have run afoul of the law." After nine years he was promoted to Reader and urgently petitioned to return home. Jiangnan had long been ravaged by wokou pirates, and Grand Coordinator Hu Zongxian's troops had still not scored a victory. When Jingchun returned to the capital he called on Grand Secretary Yan Song. Song told him, "The pirates will be subdued before long. Governor-General Hu is fully capable of handling them—why do southerners speak ill of him?" Jingchun replied sternly, "Minister, you are pronouncing from a distance. Jingchun had just come from the south and had seen the pirate scourge firsthand. Lord Hu sits with a hundred thousand troops at his command, yet no one in the south can sleep through the night. If you will not listen, Minister, who is left to tell you the truth?" Song was taken aback and apologized to him. He rose to Reader and Academician and directed Hanlin Academy affairs. He was made Minister of Ceremonies and put in charge of the Nanjing Directorate of Education, then promoted to Vice Minister of Personnel. In Longqing 1 (1567) he was recalled as Vice Minister of Rites. Rewarded for supervising collation of the Yongle Encyclopedia, he was concurrently made a Hanlin Academician on second-rank pay, attended the classics lecture, and helped compile the Veritable Records of Jiajing. When he fell ill he memorialized repeatedly asking to retire. He died a little over a year later. He was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites and given the posthumous title Wenyi.
9
為編修時,典制誥。 錦衣陸炳先後四妻,欲封最後者,屬景淳撰詞,不可。 介嚴嵩為請,亦不應。 橐金以投,卒笑謝之。
As a Compiler he was in charge of drafting imperial patents and edicts. Embroidered-Uniform Guard Lu Bing had taken four wives in succession and wanted to ennoble the last; he asked Jingchun to draft the patent, but Jingchun refused. Yan Song interceded for him, but Jingchun still would not comply. Lu sent him a bag of gold; Jingchun only smiled and courteously refused.
10
子汝稷、汝說。 汝稷字元立。 好學,工屬文,以陰補官。 三遷刑部主事。 扶溝知縣抶宗人,神宗令予重比。 汝稷曰:「是微服至邑庭,官自抶扶溝民耳。」 讞上,竟得釋。 歷黃州知府,徙邵武,再守辰州。 永順土司彭元錦助其弟保靖土司象坤,與酉陽冉躍龍相仇殺。 汝稷馳檄元錦解兵去,三土司皆安。 尋遷長蘆鹽運使,以太仆少卿致仕。 尋卒。
He had two sons, Ruji and Ruoshuo. Ruji, whose courtesy name was Yuanli. He loved learning and wrote well, and entered office through yin privilege. He was promoted three times to Principal Clerk in the Ministry of Justice. When the magistrate of Fugou beat a clansman, Shenzong ordered a heavier penalty. Ruji said, "The man went to the county court in plain clothes—the magistrate simply beat a commoner of Fugou." When the case report went up, the clansman was released after all. He served as prefect of Huangzhou, was transferred to Shaowu, and later governed Chenzhou again. Peng Yuanjin, chieftain of Yongshun, backed his younger brother Xiang Kun, chieftain of Baojing, in a feud and blood feud with Ran Yuelong of Youyang. Ruji sent an urgent dispatch ordering Yuanjin to stand down; all three chieftains were pacified. He was soon promoted to Salt Transport Commissioner of Changlu and later retired as Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud. He died not long after.
11
汝說字星卿。 五歲而孤。 構文成,輒跪薦父木主前。 萬歷中舉進士,官至湖廣提學僉事。 亦以剛正聞。 子式耜,別有傳。
Ruoshuo, whose courtesy name was Xingqing. He lost his father at five. Whenever he finished a piece of writing, he knelt and presented it before his father's spirit tablet. In the Wanli era he passed the examinations and became a jinshi, eventually rising to Surveillance Commissioner for Education in Huguang. He too was known for uncompromising integrity. His son Shisi has a biography elsewhere.
12
田一俊,字德萬,大田人。 隆慶二年會試第一。 選庶吉士,授編修,進侍講。 萬歷五年,吳中行攻張居正奪情,趙用賢等繼之,居正怒不測。 一俊偕侍講趙誌臯、修撰沈懋學等疏救,格不入。 乃會王錫爵等詣居正,陳大義。 一俊詞尤峻,居正心嗛之。 未幾,誌臯等皆逐,一俊先請告歸,獲免。 居正歿,起故官。 屢遷禮部左侍郎,掌翰林院。 辭疾歸,未行卒。 一俊禔身嚴苦,家無贏貲。 贈禮部尚書。
Tian Yijun, whose courtesy name was Dewan, was a native of Datian. In Longqing 2 (1568) he topped the metropolitan examination. He was selected as a Hanlin Bachelor, appointed Compiler, and promoted to Lecturer. In Wanli 5 (1577), Wu Zhonghang attacked Zhang Juzheng for holding office without observing mourning; Zhao Yongxian and others followed, and Juzheng's anger knew no bounds. Yijun joined Lecturer Zhao Zhigao, Compiler Shen Maoxue, and others in memorials on their behalf, but the petitions were blocked. They then went with Wang Xijue and others to see Juzheng and argue the larger principles at stake. Yijun's language was especially cutting, and Juzheng came to resent him. Before long Zhigao and the others were all driven out; Yijun had already asked to retire and so escaped. After Juzheng's death he was recalled to his former post. He rose to Vice Minister of Rites and directed the Hanlin Academy. He asked to retire on grounds of illness but died before he could leave. Yijun lived with stern austerity; his household had no spare funds. He was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites.
13
懋學,字君典,宣城人。 父寵,字畏思。 嘉靖中舉鄉試,授行唐知縣。 以民不諳織纴,置機杼教之。 調獲鹿,征授御史,官至廣西參議。 師貢安國、歐陽德,又從王畿、錢德洪遊。 知府羅汝芳創講會,御史耿定向聘寵與梅守德共主其席。 懋學少有才名。 舉萬歷五年進士第一,授修撰。 居正子嗣修,其同年生也。 疏既格不入,乃三貽書勸嗣修諫,嗣修不能用。 以工部尚書李幼滋與居正善,復貽書為言。 幼滋報曰:「若所言,宋人腐語,趙氏所以不競也。 張公不奔喪,與揖讓征誅,並得聖賢中道,賢儒安足知之。」 幼滋初講學,盜虛名,至是縉紳不與焉。 懋學遂引疾歸。 居數年,卒。 福王時,追謚文節。
Shen Maoxue, whose courtesy name was Jundian, was a native of Xuancheng. His father Shen Chong, whose courtesy name was Weisi. In the Jiajing era he passed the provincial examination and was appointed magistrate of Xingtang. Finding the people unskilled at spinning and weaving, he installed looms and taught them. After transfer to Huolu he was summoned and made a censor, eventually rising to Assistant Administrator of Guangxi. He studied under Gong Anguo and Ouyang De and also traveled in the company of Wang Ji and Qian Dehong. When Prefect Luo Rufang founded a lecture society, Censor Geng Dingxiang invited Chong and Mei Shoude to chair it together. Maoxue was noted for talent from a young age. In Wanli 5 he came out first among the jinshi and was appointed Compiler. Juzheng's son Siziu was his examination cohort. When his memorial was blocked, he wrote Siziu three times urging him to remonstrate, but Siziu could not bring himself to do it. Since Minister of Works Li Youzi was close to Juzheng, he wrote him as well. Youzi answered, "That is Song-dynasty cant—the very reason the Zhao house could not compete. Master Zhang's refusal to leave office for mourning, like yielding by ritual and launching punitive campaigns, holds to the sages' middle way—what do narrow Confucians know of it?" Youzi had built a reputation lecturing on Neo-Confucian learning; after this the gentry would have nothing to do with him. Maoxue thereupon pleaded illness and went home. He died several years later. Under the Prince of Fu he was posthumously granted the title Wenjie.
14
從孫壽民,字眉生,為諸生有聲。 崇禎九年,行保舉法,巡撫張國維以壽民應詔。 甫入都,疏劾兵部尚書楊嗣昌奪情。 復攻總督熊文燦,言:「嗣昌挈軍旅權,付文燦兵十二萬,餉二百八十余萬。 使賊面縛輿櫬,猶應宣布皇威,而後待以不死; 今乃講盟結約,若與國然。 天下有授柄於賊而能制賊者乎?」 通政張紹先寢不上。 壽民以書責,紹先乃請上裁,嗣昌皇恐待罪。 帝以疏違式,命勿進。 壽民遂隱括兩疏上之,留中。 少詹事黃道周嘆曰:「此何等事,在朝者不言而草野言之,吾輩愧死矣。」 後道周及何楷等相繼抗疏,要自壽民發之。 壽民名動天下。 未幾移疾去,講學姑山,從遊者數百人。 福王時,阮大鋮用事,銜壽民劾嗣昌疏有「大鋮妄陳條畫,鼓煽豐芑」語,必欲殺之。 壽民乃變姓名避之金華山。 國變乃歸,不復出。
Maoxue's grandnephew Shoumin, courtesy name Meisheng, was a licentiate of some renown. In Chongzhen 9 (1636), when the recommendation system was introduced, Grand Coordinator Zhang Guowei nominated Shoumin at the emperor's request. Hardly had he reached the capital when he memorialized to impeach Minister of War Yang Sichang for resuming office without observing mourning. He also assailed Grand Coordinator Xiong Wencan, writing, "Sichang has taken military authority upon himself and handed Wencan a hundred and twenty thousand men and more than 2.8 million taels in pay. Even if rebels came bound with coffins on their shoulders to surrender, the court should first proclaim imperial majesty and only then grant mercy; yet now pacts are being negotiated as though with a foreign power. Who in the realm ever handed leverage to bandits and still controlled them?" Transmission Commissioner Zhang Shaoxian shelved the memorial and never forwarded it. Shoumin rebuked him by letter; Shaoxian then sought the emperor's ruling, and Sichang was terrified and waited to be punished. The emperor ruled that the memorial violated protocol and ordered that Shoumin not be promoted. Shoumin then secretly condensed both memorials and submitted them; they were received but left undecided. Junior Guardian Huang Daozhou sighed and said, "What kind of affair is this—that court officials keep silent while common folk speak out? We ought to die of shame. Later Daozhou, He Kai, and others submitted remonstrances in succession—the movement owed its origin to Shoumin. Shoumin's fame shook the realm. Before long he cited illness and left office. He lectured at Mount Gu, and several hundred students followed him. During the reign of the Prince of Fu, Ruan Dacheng held power. He nursed a grudge because Shoumin's memorial impeaching Sichang contained the phrase "Dacheng recklessly put forward schemes, inciting the Feng-Qi faction," and was determined to kill him. Shoumin then changed his name and hid himself on Mount Jinhua. When the dynasty fell he returned home and never went out again.
15
黃鳳翔,字鳴周,晉江人。 隆慶二年進士及第,授編修。 教習內書堂,輯前史宦官行事可為鑒戒者,令誦習之。 《世宗實錄》成,進修撰。 萬歷五年,張居正奪情,杖諸諫者。 鳳翔不平,誦言於朝,編纂章奏,盡載諸諫疏。 及居正二子會試,示意,鳳翔峻卻之。 當主南畿試,以王篆欲私其子,復謝不往。 屢遷南京國子祭酒。 省母歸,起補北監。 時方較刻《十三經註疏》,鳳翔言:「頃陛下去《貞觀政要》,進講《禮經》,甚善。 陛下讀曾子論孝曰敬父母遺體,則當思珍護聖躬。 誦《學記》言學然後知不足,則當思緝熙聖學。 察《月令》篇以四時敷政、法天行健,則可見聖治之當勤勵。 繹《世子》篇陳保傅之教、齒學之儀,則可見皇儲之當早建豫教。」 疏入,報聞。
Huang Fengxiang, courtesy name Mingzhou, was a native of Jinjiang. In the second year of Longqing he passed the jinshi examination with highest honors and was appointed Compiler. He taught at the Inner Calligraphy Hall, compiled from earlier histories episodes of eunuch conduct that could serve as warnings, and had them recited and studied. When the Veritable Records of Emperor Shizong were completed, he was promoted to Senior Compiler. In the fifth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng declined mourning leave, and those who remonstrated were beaten with the cane. Fengxiang took offense and spoke openly at court; when compiling memorials he included every remonstrance in full. When Juzheng's two sons took the provincial examination, he made his wishes known; Fengxiang sternly refused. When he was to preside over the southern capital region examination and Wang Zhuan wished to favor his own son, Fengxiang again declined and did not go. After several promotions he became Chancellor of the Nanjing Imperial Academy. He went home to visit his mother, then was recalled to fill a post at the northern academy. At that time they were proofreading and printing the Commentaries on the Thirteen Classics. Fengxiang said, "Your Majesty recently set aside the Essentials of Governance of the Zhenguan Era and took up lecturing on the Classic of Rites—this is very good. When Your Majesty reads Zengzi's discourse on filial piety—how one must honor the body one's parents bequeathed—You should consider cherishing and guarding Your sacred person. When You recite the Record of Learning, which says that only through study does one know one's insufficiencies, You should consider brightening and advancing Your sacred learning. When You examine the Monthly Ordinances, how the seasons distribute governance and imitate Heaven's vigorous course, You can see that sage governance demands diligent exertion. When You expound the chapter on the Heir Apparent, which sets forth the tutelage of guardians and tutors and the rites of learning by age, You can see that the imperial heir should early receive preparatory instruction. The memorial was submitted; acknowledgement was returned.
16
尋擢禮部右侍郎。 洮、河告警,抗疏言:「多事之秋,陛下宜屏遊宴,親政事,以實圖安攘。 為今大計,惟用人、理財二端。 宋臣有言:『平居無極言敢諫之臣,則臨難無敵愾致命之士。』 鄒元標直聲勁節,銓司特擬召用。 其他建言遷謫,如潘士藻、孫如法亦擬量移,而疏皆中寢。 士氣日摧,言路日塞。 平居只懷祿養交,臨難孰肯捐軀為國家盡力哉? 昔宋藝祖欲積縑二百萬易遼人首,太宗移內藏上供物為用兵養士之資。 今戶部歲進二十萬,初非舊額,積成常供。 陛下富有四海,奈何自營私蓄! 竊見都城寺觀,丹碧熒煌,梵剎之供奉,齋醮之祈禳,何一不糜內帑。 與其要福於冥漠之鬼神,孰若廣施於孑遺之赤子。」 帝不能用。 廷臣爭建儲,久未得命,帝諭閣臣以明春舉行。 大學士王家屏出語禮部,鳳翔與尚書於慎行、左侍郎李長春以冊立儀上。 帝怒,俱奪俸,意復變。 鳳翔又疏爭,不報,遂請告去。 二十年,禮部左侍郎韓世能去,張一桂未任而卒,復起鳳翔代之。 尋改吏部,拜南京禮部尚書。 以養親歸。 再起故官,力以親老辭。 久之母卒,遂不出,卒於家。 天啟初,謚文簡。
Soon he was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites. Alarm came from the Tao and Yellow River regions. He submitted a remonstrance saying, "In this season of many troubles, Your Majesty should set aside pleasure and banquets, attend to affairs of state, and with real action seek to pacify the realm and repel the enemy. For the present grand strategy, only two things matter: employing men and managing finances. A Song minister once said, "In peaceful times, if there are no ministers who speak boldly and dare to remonstrate, then in crisis there will be no men who hate the enemy and give their lives." Zou Yuanbiao is known for upright reputation and firm integrity; the Board of Appointments specially proposed to summon and employ him. Others who had offered counsel and been transferred or demoted—such as Pan Shizao and Sun Rufa—were also proposed for gradual reassignment, yet every memorial was shelved midway. Official morale daily withers; the avenue of speech daily narrows. In peace they hold to salary and cultivate connections—when crisis comes, who will willingly sacrifice himself and strive for the state? Long ago, Emperor Taizu of Song wished to amass two million bolts of silk to buy the head of a Khitan; Emperor Taizong diverted tribute goods from the inner treasury to fund war and support troops. Today the Ministry of Revenue annually delivers two hundred thousand—originally no part of the old quota, yet it has hardened into regular tribute. Your Majesty possesses all beneath Heaven—why hoard a private fortune! I have seen the temples and monasteries of the capital, brilliant in cinnabar and azure—the offerings to Buddhist shrines, the fasting rites and prayers of supplication—none fail to drain the inner treasury. Rather than seeking blessings from ghosts in the dark void, would it not be better to bestow widely upon orphaned children left in the land? The emperor could not adopt his counsel. Court ministers struggled over establishing the heir; for long they received no decree. The emperor told the Grand Secretaries that it would be carried out the following spring. Grand Secretary Wang Jiaping spoke to the Ministry of Rites outside court; Fengxiang, together with Minister Yu Shenxing and Vice Minister Li Changchun, submitted the investiture rites for establishing the heir. The emperor grew angry; all had their salaries confiscated, and his intention shifted again. Fengxiang remonstrated again; there was no response, and he requested leave and departed. In the twentieth year, Vice Minister Han Shineng of Rites left office; Zhang Yigui died before assuming his post, and Fengxiang was recalled to replace him. Soon he was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and appointed Minister of Rites at Nanjing. He returned home to care for his parents. When recalled to his former post, he firmly declined on grounds that his parents were aged. After a time his mother died; he never went out again and died at home. At the beginning of Tianqi he was given the posthumous title Wen Jian.
17
世能,字存良,長洲人。 鳳翔同年進士。 由庶吉士授編修。 與修世宗、穆宗寶實《錄》,充經筵日講官。 歷侍讀、祭酒、禮部侍郎、教習庶吉士。 館閣文字,是科為最盛。 世能嘗使朝鮮,贈遺一無所受。
Shineng, courtesy name Cunliang, was a native of Changzhou. He passed the jinshi examination in the same year as Fengxiang. From Hanlin Bachelor he was appointed Compiler. He participated in compiling the Veritable Records of Emperors Shizong and Muzong and served as daily lecturer at the Classics Colloquium. He successively served as Reader, Chancellor, Vice Minister of Rites, and Instructor of Hanlin Bachelors. Among the literary men of the academies, his cohort was the most distinguished. Shineng once served as envoy to Korea and accepted none of the gifts offered him.
18
余繼登,字世用,交河人。 萬歷五年進士。 改庶吉士,授檢討。 與修《會典》成,進修撰,直講經筵。 尋進右中允,充日講官。 時講筵久輟,侍臣無所納忠。 繼登與同官馮琦共進《通鑒》講義,傅以時政缺失。 歷少詹事兼侍讀學士,充正史副總裁。 已,擢詹事,掌翰林院。 兩宮災,偕諸講官引《洪範五行傳》切諫。 不報。 進禮部右侍郎。 二十六年,以左侍郎攝部事。 陜西、山西地震,南都雷火,西寧鐘自鳴,紹興地湧血。 繼登於歲終類奏,因請罷一切誅求開采之害民者。 時不能用。 雷擊太廟樹,復請帝躬郊祀、廟享,冊立元子,停礦稅,撤中使。 帝優詔報聞而已。
Yu Jideng, courtesy name Shiyong, was a native of Jiaohe. In the fifth year of Wanli he became a jinshi. He was transferred to Hanlin Bachelor and appointed Reviser. When work on the Collected Statutes was completed, he was promoted to Senior Compiler and served lecturing at the Classics Colloquium. Soon he was promoted to Right Vice Director and served as daily lecturer. At that time the lecture sessions had long been suspended; attendant ministers had no avenue to offer loyal counsel. Jideng and his colleague Feng Qi jointly submitted lectures on the Comprehensive Mirror, attaching commentary on lapses in current policy. He served successively as Junior Guardian and Concurrent Reader-in-waiting, and as Associate Chief Editor of the official history. Thereafter he was promoted to Grand Guardian and took charge of the Hanlin Academy. When fire struck both palaces, he joined the other lecturers in citing the treatise on the Five Processes from the Hong Fan to offer pointed remonstrance. No response was given. He was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites. In the twenty-sixth year he served as acting head of the ministry in his capacity as Left Vice Minister. Earthquakes struck Shaanxi and Shanxi; lightning fire in the southern capital; a bell in Xining rang of itself; blood welled from the ground in Shaoxing. In his year-end summary memorial Jideng asked that all levies and mining operations harmful to the people be abolished. At the time his counsel could not be adopted. Lightning struck a tree in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He again asked the emperor to personally perform suburban sacrifice and temple rites, invest the eldest son, halt mining taxes, and withdraw the eunuch commissioners. The emperor issued a gracious edict acknowledging receipt—and nothing more.
19
旋擢本部尚書。 時將討播州楊應龍。 繼登請罷四川礦稅,以佐兵食。 復上言:「頃者星躔失度,水旱為沴,太白晝見,天不和也。 鑿山開礦,裂地求砂,致狄道山崩地震,地不和也。 閭閻窮困,更加誅求,帑藏空虛,復責珠寶,奸民蟻聚,中使鴟張,中外壅隔,上下不交,人不和也。 戾氣凝而不散,怨毒結而成形,陵谷變遷,高卑易位,是為陰乘陽、邪幹正、下叛上之象。 臣子不能感動君父,言愈數愈厭,故天以非常之變,警悟陛下,尚可恬然不為意乎?」 帝不省。 繼登自署部事,請元子冊立冠婚。 疏累上,以不得請,郁郁成疾。 每言及,輒流涕曰:「大禮不舉,吾禮官死不瞑目!」 病滿三月,連章乞休,不許。 請停俸,亦不許。 竟卒於官。 贈太子少保,謚文恪。
Soon he was promoted to Minister of his own ministry. At that time they were about to campaign against Yang Yinglong of Bozhou. Jideng asked that Sichuan mining taxes be abolished to help supply the army. He submitted again, "Recently the stars have strayed from their courses, flood and drought have brought calamity, and Venus has appeared by day—Heaven is out of harmony. Mountains are drilled and mines opened, the earth is torn to seek ore, causing landslides and earthquakes at Didao—the earth is out of harmony. Lane and ward are exhausted yet levies grow heavier; the treasury is empty yet pearls and gems are demanded; wicked men swarm like ants; eunuch commissioners rage like owls; court and country are blocked off; above and below do not connect—humanity is out of harmony. Malice congeals yet will not disperse; grievous poison knots and takes shape; hills and valleys shift; high and low exchange places—these are signs of yin overwhelming yang, wickedness obstructing the upright, and those below rebelling against those above. We subjects cannot move our ruler; the more we speak the more we are despised—so Heaven uses these extraordinary changes to awaken Your Majesty. Can You still remain untroubled and indifferent? The emperor took no heed. While signing documents for the ministry himself, Jideng petitioned for the eldest son's investiture, capping, and marriage. He submitted memorial after memorial; denied his request, he sank into illness from gloom. Whenever the matter arose he would weep and say, "If this great rite is not performed, I as Minister of Rites will not close my eyes in death! When his illness had lasted three months, he submitted repeated memorials requesting retirement; permission was denied. He asked to have his salary suspended; that too was denied. In the end he died in office. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous title Wen Ke.
20
繼登樸直慎密,寡言笑。 當大事,言議侃侃。 居家廉約。 學士曾朝節嘗過其裏,蓬蒿滿徑。 及病革,視之,擁粗布衾,羊毳覆足而已。 幼子應諸生試,夫人請為一言,終不可。
Jideng was plain, upright, cautious, and reserved, seldom given to speech or laughter. When great matters were at stake, his words flowed freely and confidently. At home he lived frugally. Academician Zeng Chaojie once visited his home; wild grass filled the path. When his illness became critical, one looked in on him: he lay under a coarse cloth quilt, with nothing but sheep's wool over his feet. When his youngest son was to take the licentiate examination, his wife asked him to put in a word; he would not.
21
馮琦,字用韞,臨朐人。 幼穎敏絕人。 年十九,舉萬歷五年進士,改庶吉士,授編修。 預修《會典》成,進侍講,充日講官,歷庶子。 三王並封議起,移書王錫爵力爭之。 進少詹事,掌翰林院事。 遷禮部右侍郎,改吏部。 蒞政勤敏,力抑營競,尚書李戴倚重之。
Feng Qi, courtesy name Yongyun, was a native of Linqu. From childhood he was exceptionally quick and perceptive. At nineteen he passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of Wanli, was transferred to Hanlin Bachelor, and was appointed Compiler. When participation in compiling the Collected Statutes was completed, he was promoted to Lecturer-in-waiting, served as daily lecturer, and served successively as Tutor. When debate arose over enfeoffing three princes simultaneously, he wrote to Wang Xizhi and argued against it with all his force. He was promoted to Junior Guardian and took charge of Hanlin Academy affairs. He was promoted to Right Vice Minister of Rites, then transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. He administered affairs with diligence and dispatch, forcefully curbing corrupt competition for office, and Minister Li Dai came to rely on him heavily.
22
二十七年九月,太白、太陰同見於午; 又狄道山崩,平地湧大小山五。 琦草疏,偕尚書戴上言:
In the ninth month of Wanli 27, Venus and the Moon both appeared together at the southern meridian; At Didao, mountains collapsed and five hills of various sizes rose from level ground. Feng Qi drafted a memorial and, together with Minister Li Dai, submitted it, saying:
23
近見太陰經天,太白晝見,已為極異。 至山陷成谷,地湧成山,則自開辟以來,惟唐垂拱中有之,而今再見也。 竊惟上天無私,惟民是聽。 欲承天意,當順民心。 比來天下賦額,視二十年以前,十增其四。 而民戶殷足者,則十減其五。 東征西討,蕭然苦兵。 自礦稅使出,而民間之苦更甚。 加以水旱蝗災,流離載道,畿輔近地,盜賊公行,此非細故也。 諸中使銜命而出,所隨奸徒,動以千百。 陛下欲通商,而彼專困商; 陛下欲愛民,而彼專害民。 蓋近日神奸有二:其一工伺上意,具有成奏,假武弁上之; 其一務剝小民,畫有成謀,假中官行之。 運機如鬼蜮,取財盡錙銖。 遠近同嗟,貧富交困。 貧者家無儲蓄,惟恃經營。 但奪其數錢之利,已絕其一日之生。 至於富民,更蒙毒害。 或陷以漏稅竊礦,或誣之販鹽盜木。 布成詭計,聲勢赫然。 及其得財,寂然無事。 小民累足屏息,無地得容。 利歸群奸,怨萃朝寧。 夫以刺骨之窮,抱傷心之痛,一呼則易動,一動則難安。 今日猶承平,民已洶洶,脫有風塵之警,天下誰可保信者? 夫哱拜誅,關白死,此皆募民丁以為兵,用民財以為餉。 若一方窮民倡亂,而四面應之,於何征兵,於何取餉哉! 陛下試遣忠實親信之人,采訪都城內外,閭巷歌謠,令一一聞奏,則民之怨苦,居然可睹。 天心仁愛,明示咎徵,誠欲陛下翻然改悟,坐弭禍亂。 乃禮部修省之章未蒙批答,而奸民搜括之奏又見允行。 如納何其賢妄說,令遍解天下無礙官銀。 夫四方錢谷,皆有定額,無礙雲者,意蓋指經費羨余。 近者征調頻仍,正額猶逋,何從得羨? 此令一下,趣督嚴急,必將分公帑以充獻。 經費罔措,還派民間,此事之必不可者也。 又如仇世亨奏徐鼐掘墳一事,以理而論,烏有一墓藏黃金巨萬者? 借使有之,亦當下撫按核勘。 先正其盜墓之罪,而後沒墓中之藏。 未有罪狀未明,而先沒入貲財者也。 片紙朝入,嚴命夕傳,縱抱深冤,誰敢辨理? 不但破此諸族,又將延禍多人。 但有株連,立見敗滅。 輦轂之下,尚須三覆,萬里之外,止據單詞,遂令狡猾之流,操生殺之柄。 此風一倡,孰不效尤? 已同告緡之令,又開告密之端。 臣等方欲陳訴,而奸人之奏又得旨矣。 五日之內,搜取天下公私金銀已二百萬。 奸內生奸,例外創例。 臣等前猶望其日減,今更患其日增,不至民困財殫激大亂不止。 伏望陛下穆然遠覽,亟與廷臣共圖修弭,無令海內赤子,結怨熙朝,千秋青史,貽譏聖德。
Recently the Moon has crossed the heavens and Venus has appeared by day—already signs of the gravest anomaly. As for mountains sinking into valleys and the earth surging up into hills, such things have occurred only once since antiquity, during the Tang Chuigong reign—and now we see them again. I believe Heaven shows no partiality and heeds only the voice of the people. To answer Heaven's will, you must align with the people's hearts. In recent years the empire's tax quotas have risen forty percent over what they were twenty years ago. Meanwhile, prosperous households have dwindled by half. Campaigns east and west have left the realm desolate and the people worn down by war. Since mining-tax commissioners were dispatched, the common people's suffering has grown worse still. On top of this come flood, drought, and locust plagues; refugees choke the highways; even near the capital bandits operate openly—this is no small matter. Eunuch commissioners issued with imperial authority go forth accompanied by ruffians numbering in the hundreds and thousands. Your Majesty wishes to promote commerce, yet they devote themselves to harassing merchants; Your Majesty wishes to cherish the people, yet they devote themselves to harming them. There are two kinds of villainous schemers at work. One watches the throne's inclinations, drafts ready-made memorials, and submits them through military officers; The other sets out to plunder the common people, lays ready-made plots, and executes them through palace eunuchs. They scheme like demons in the dark and extract wealth down to the last penny. Near and far alike cry out in despair; rich and poor alike are mired in hardship. The poor keep no savings and depend entirely on their daily labor for survival. Strip them of a few coins' profit and you cut off their means to live for a day. The wealthy suffer even worse abuse. Some are framed for evading taxes or illicit mining; others are accused of illegal salt trade or timber theft. They lay their traps and thunder in with terrifying authority. Once they extract the money, everything falls silent as though nothing had happened. Common people tiptoe around in fear, with nowhere to turn. The profit falls to a pack of villains; resentment concentrates on the throne. People ground down to the bone and nursing deep grievance are easily roused by a single cry—and once roused, they are hard to pacify. Even now, in a time still called peaceful, the people are already restive; should war break out, who in the empire could be counted on to stay loyal? The defeats of Bo Bai and the Kampaku were won only by conscripting commoners as soldiers and spending the people's wealth on provisions. If the destitute in one corner rise in rebellion and the rest of the empire answers, where will you find soldiers, and where will you find provisions? Send loyal and trusted men to gather the street songs of the capital, inside and out, and have each report brought to you—the people's grievous suffering would then stand plain before your eyes. Heaven, in its benevolence, has shown clear signs of warning, wishing only that Your Majesty would turn about in sudden awakening and quell disaster without leaving the throne. Yet the Ministry of Rites' call for self-examination has gone unanswered, while memorials from scoundrels demanding exactions have again been approved. Na Qixian's reckless proposal, for example, orders the seizure throughout the empire of all surplus official silver. Revenues throughout the empire all have fixed quotas; "surplus" can only mean funds left over from budgeted expenditures. Requisitions have lately come one after another; even regular quotas remain unpaid—how can there be any surplus? Once this order goes out, enforcement will be pitiless; officials will inevitably strip public treasuries to meet the tribute demanded. When official funds run out, the burden will be shifted onto the people—this simply must not be allowed. Consider Qiu Shiheng's memorial accusing Xu Dai of tomb-robbing—by any reasonable standard, what tomb holds gold in the tens of thousands? Even if it were true, the provincial officials below should first investigate and verify. First establish the crime of tomb-robbing, then—and only then—confiscate the tomb's contents. Property has never been confiscated before guilt has been established. A slip of paper arrives in the morning; a harsh order goes out by evening—even the deeply wronged dare not plead their case. This will not only ruin these families but spread calamity to many others. Wherever guilt by association is invoked, ruin follows at once. Even at the emperor's doorstep, cases require triple review—yet ten thousand li away, a single accusation is enough to put the power of life and death in the hands of scheming thugs. Once this practice is set in motion, who will not follow suit? We already have something like Emperor Wu's denunciation edicts, and now the door to secret denunciation has been opened as well. We ministers were about to lodge our protests when another memorial from villains received imperial approval. Within five days, two million in public and private gold and silver had already been seized across the empire. One abuse breeds the next; each exception becomes a new precedent. We had hoped these abuses would dwindle; now we fear only that they will grow, until the people are ruined, the treasury empty, and a great rebellion is provoked that will not stop. We beg Your Majesty to step back and take the long view, urgently join with your ministers to plan remedy, and not allow the common people to turn against this glorious dynasty—or allow history to record a stain upon your sacred virtue.
24
不報。
No response was given.
25
尋轉左侍郎,拜禮部尚書。 帝將冊立東宮,詔下期迫,中官掌司設監者以供費不給為詞。 琦曰:「今日禮為重,不可與爭。」 其弟戶部主事瑗適輦餉銀四萬出都,琦立追還,給費,事乃克濟。
He was soon made Left Vice Minister and appointed Minister of Rites. When the emperor was about to invest the heir apparent, the edict's deadline pressed near; eunuchs of the Directorate of Palace Accoutrements claimed they lacked funds for the ceremony. Feng Qi said, "Today ritual takes priority; we must not quarrel over this." His younger brother Yuan, a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, happened to be escorting forty thousand taels of silver out of the capital; Feng Qi immediately had it recalled and supplied the funds, and the ceremony was successfully carried out.
26
三十年,帝有疾,諭停礦稅,既而悔之。 琦與同列合疏爭,且請躬郊廟祭享,禦殿受朝,不納。 湖廣稅監陳奉以虐民撤還,會陜西黃河竭,琦言遼東高淮、山東陳增、廣東李鳳、陜西梁永、雲南楊榮,肆虐不減於奉,並乞征還,皆不報。 南京守備中官邢隆請別給關防征稅,琦不可,乃以御前牙關防給之。
In Wanli 30 the emperor fell ill and ordered mining taxes halted, but later changed his mind. Feng Qi and his colleagues submitted a joint memorial in protest, also asking the emperor to perform suburban and temple sacrifices in person and hold court audiences—these requests were rejected. When Hubei tax commissioner Chen Feng was recalled for abusing the people, the Yellow River in Shaanxi ran dry at the same time. Feng Qi argued that Gao Huai in Liaodong, Chen Zeng in Shandong, Li Feng in Guangdong, Liang Yong in Shaanxi, and Yang Rong in Yunnan were no less tyrannical than Chen Feng, and asked that they all be recalled—none of these requests received a response. Nanjing garrison eunuch Xing Long requested a separate official seal to levy taxes; Feng Qi objected, but an imperial seal was granted instead.
27
時士大夫多崇釋氏教,士子作文,每竊其緒言,鄙棄傳註。 前尚書余繼登奏請約禁,然習尚如故。 琦乃復極陳其弊,帝為下詔戒厲。
Scholar-officials at the time mostly venerated Buddhism; students composing essays pilfered Buddhist phrasing and scorned classical commentaries. Former Minister Yu Jideng had memorialized asking for restrictions, but the fashion persisted unchanged. Feng Qi again laid out the harm at length, and the emperor issued an edict of admonition in response.
28
琦明習典故,學有根柢。 數陳讜論,中外想望豐采,帝亦深眷倚。 內閣缺人,帝已簡用朱國祚及琦。 而沈一貫密揭,言二人年未及艾,蓋少需之,先用老成者。 乃改命沈鯉、朱賡。 琦素善病,至是篤。 十六疏乞休,不允。 卒於官,年僅四十六。 遺疏請厲明作,發章奏,補缺官,推誠接下,收拾人心。 語極懇摯。 帝悼惜之。 贈太子少保。 天啟初,謚文敏。
Feng Qi was thoroughly versed in institutional precedent, and his learning ran deep. He repeatedly submitted forthright counsel; court and country alike looked up to him; the emperor deeply favored and relied on him. With vacancies in the Grand Secretariat, the emperor had already chosen Zhu Guozuo and Feng Qi. But Shen Yiguan submitted a secret memorial saying both men were still too young—better to wait and appoint more seasoned men first. The appointments went instead to Shen Li and Zhu Geng. Feng Qi had always been frail; by now his illness was grave. He memorialized sixteen times asking to retire; each request was denied. He died in office at the age of only forty-six. His final memorial asked the emperor to govern with clarity and vigor, respond to memorials, fill vacant posts, treat subordinates with sincerity, and win back the people's hearts. His words were deeply earnest. The emperor mourned him deeply. He was posthumously honored as Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. At the start of the Tianqi reign he was given the posthumous name Wenmin, "Cultured and Quick."
29
自琦曾祖裕以下,累世皆進士。 裕,字伯順,以戍籍生於遼東。 師事賀欽,有學行。 終雲南副使。 祖惟重,行人。 父子履,河南參政。 從祖惟健,舉人; 惟訥,字汝言,江西左布政使,加光祿卿致仕。 惟重、惟健、惟訥皆有文名,惟訥最著。
From Feng Qi's great-grandfather Yu onward, every generation of the family produced a jinshi. Yu, courtesy name Boshun, was born in Liaodong while his family served under garrison registration. He studied under He Qin and was known for both learning and integrity. He ended his career as Vice Commissioner of Yunnan. His grandfather Weizhong served as a palace messenger. His father Zilu served as Administration Vice Commissioner of Henan. His kinsman Weijian passed the provincial examination; Weine, courtesy name Ruyan, served as Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi; he received the additional title of Director of Ceremonial before retiring. Weizhong, Weijian, and Weine all had literary reputations; Weine was the most celebrated.
30
惟健子子咸,字受甫。 少孤,事母孝。 母疾,不解衣者逾年。 母歿,哀毀骨立。 萬歷元年舉於鄉。 再會試不第,遂不復赴。 講求濂、洛之學,嘗曰:「為學須剛與恒。 不剛則隳,不恒則退。」 治家宗《顏氏家訓》。 鐘羽正稱「子咸信道忘仕則漆雕子,循經蹈古則高子羔」雲。
Weijian's son Zixian, courtesy name Shoufu. Orphaned young, he devoted himself to his mother with exemplary filial piety. When his mother fell ill, he did not undress for more than a year. When his mother died, his grief reduced him to skin and bone. In the first year of Wanli he passed the provincial examination. He failed the metropolitan examination twice and never attempted it again. He pursued the Neo-Confucian learning of the Zhou and Cheng masters, and once said, "Study requires firmness and perseverance. Without firmness you collapse; without perseverance you fall back." In managing his household he took the Yan Family Instructions as his guide. Zhong Yuzheng praised him, saying, "In holding to the Way and forsaking official ambition he is like Qidiaozi; in following the classics and treading the path of antiquity he is like Gaozigao."
31
王圖,字則之,耀州人。 萬歷十一年進士。 改庶吉士,授檢討,以右中允掌南京翰林院事。 召充東宮講官。 「妖書」事起,沈一貫欲有所羅織,圖其教習門生也,盡言規之。 累遷詹事,充日講官,教習庶吉士。 進吏部右侍郎,掌翰林院。 兄國方巡撫保定,廷臣附東林及李三才者,往往推轂圖兄弟。 會孫丕揚起掌吏部,孫瑋以尚書督倉場,皆陜西人,諸不悅圖者,目為秦黨。 而是時郭正域、劉曰寧及圖並有相望。 正域逐去,曰寧卒,時論益歸圖。 葉向高獨相久,圖旦夕且入閣,忌者益眾。 適將京察,惡東林及李三才、王元翰者,設詞惑丕揚,令發單咨是非,將陰為鉤黨計。 圖急言於丕揚,止之,群小大恨。 初,圖典庚戌會試。 分校官湯賓尹欲私韓敬,與知貢舉吳道南盛氣相詬誶。 比出闈,道南欲劾,以圖沮而止。 王紹徽者,圖同郡人,賓尹門生也,極譽賓尹於圖,而言道南黨欲傾賓尹並及圖,宜善為計。 圖正色卻之,紹徽怫然去。 時賓尹已為祭酒,其先歷翰林京察,當圖註考,思先發傾之。 乃與紹徽計。 令御史金明時劾圖子寶坻知縣淑抃贓私巨萬。 且謂國素疾李三才,圖為求解,國怒詈之,圖遂欲以拾遺去國。 國兄弟抗章力辯,忌者復偽為淑抃劾國疏,播之邸抄。 圖上疏言狀,帝為下詔購捕,乃已。 及考察,卒註賓尹不謹,褫其官,明時亦被黜。 由是其黨大噪。 秦聚、奎朱一桂、鄭繼芳、徐兆魁、高節、王萬祚、曾陳易輩,連章力攻圖。 圖亦連章求去,出郊待命。 溫詔屢慰留,堅臥不起,九閱月始予告歸。 國亦乞休去,未幾卒。 四十五年京察,當事者多賓尹、紹徽黨,以拾遺落圖職。 天啟三年,召起故官。 進禮部尚書,協理詹事府。 明年,魏忠賢黨劉弘先劾圖,遂削籍。 尋卒。 崇禎初,贈太子太保,謚文肅。 淑抃終戶部郎中。
Wang Tu, courtesy name Zezhi, was from Yaozhou. He became a jinshi in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign. He entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelors, was appointed examining editor, and as Right Assistant Director took charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. He was summoned to serve as lecturer to the crown prince. When the "sorcery pamphlet" scandal broke out, Shen Yiguan sought to entangle someone in it. Tu, who had been instructing his disciples, spoke out strongly to warn him. He rose through successive promotions to Grand Mentor, served as daily court lecturer, and supervised the Hanlin bachelors. He was promoted to Vice Minister of the Right in the Ministry of Personnel and put in charge of the Hanlin Academy. His elder brother Guo was serving as grand coordinator of Baoding, and ministers aligned with the Donglin faction and Li Sancai frequently promoted the Tu brothers. Around this time Sun Piyang was recalled to head the Ministry of Personnel, and Sun Wei, as minister, supervised the granaries. Both were Shaanxi natives, and those hostile to Tu denounced them as the Qin faction. At the time Guo Zhengyu, Liu Yuening, and Tu were all widely regarded as candidates for high office. After Zhengyu was driven from office and Yuening died, public sentiment increasingly rallied behind Tu. Ye Xianggao had served as sole chief grand secretary for a long time, and Tu seemed on the verge of joining the Grand Secretariat at any day — his enemies grew ever more numerous. Just before the capital officials' evaluation, enemies of the Donglin faction, Li Sancai, and Wang Yuanhan maneuvered to mislead Sun Piyang into issuing a circular soliciting moral judgments — a covert scheme to compile a blacklist of factional allies. Tu urgently pleaded with Sun Piyang to halt the plan, and the petty schemers deeply resented him for it. Earlier, Tu had served as chief examiner for the gengxu-year metropolitan examination. Sub-examiner Tang Binyin sought to favor Han Jing improperly and came to heated blows with examination supervisor Wu Daonan. After the examination gates closed, Daonan wanted to bring charges, but Tu dissuaded him and the matter stopped there. One Wang Shaohui, a fellow native of Tu's prefecture and a disciple of Tang Binyin, lavishly praised Binyin to Tu and warned that Wu Daonan's faction meant to bring down Binyin and ruin Tu along with him — Tu ought to take precautions. Tu rebuffed him with a stern face, and Shaohui left in a sulk. By then Tang Binyin had become chancellor of the Imperial University. An earlier round of Hanlin evaluations had put him under Tu's rating, and he resolved to strike first and bring Tu down. He then conspired with Shaohui. They had censor Jin Mingshi impeach Tu's son Shubian, magistrate of Baodi, for corruption involving vast sums. They further claimed that Guo had long despised Li Sancai, that Tu interceded on Li's behalf, that Guo furiously rebuked him, and that Tu then tried to have Guo removed through a memorial of remonstrance. The Guo brothers filed memorial after memorial in stout defense; their enemies then forged an impeachment memorial purportedly from Shubian against Guo and spread it through the court gazette. Tu memorialized the emperor with a full account of events; the emperor issued an edict offering a reward for the forgers' arrest, and the affair finally quieted. When the evaluation came, Tang Binyin was ultimately rated "negligent" and stripped of office, and Jin Mingshi was dismissed as well. His faction erupted in outrage. Qin Jukui, Zhu Yigui, Zheng Jifang, Xu Zhaokui, Gao Jie, Wang Wanzuo, Zeng Chenyi, and others filed memorial after memorial denouncing Tu. Tu too submitted repeated memorials asking to resign and withdrew to the countryside to await the emperor's decision. The emperor's kind edicts urged him repeatedly to stay, but he refused to rise from his bed; only after nine months was he granted leave to retire home. Guo likewise petitioned to retire and withdrew; he died not long after. At the forty-fifth year's capital evaluation, those in power were largely allies of Tang Binyin and Wang Shaohui, and Tu was downgraded to a remonstrance post. In the third year of the Tianqi reign he was recalled to his former post. He was promoted to Minister of Rites and appointed to assist in managing the Grand Mentor's office. The following year Liu Hongxian, an ally of Wei Zhongxian, impeached Tu, and he was stripped from the official register. He died soon after. At the start of the Chongzhen reign he was posthumously ennobled as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous name Wensu. Shubian eventually served out his career as a director in the Ministry of Revenue.
32
劉曰寧,字幼安,南昌人。 萬歷十七年進士。 改庶吉士,授編修。 進右中允,直皇長子講幄。 時冊立未舉,外議紛紜。 曰寧旁慰曲喻,依於仁孝,光宗心識之。 礦使四出,曰寧發憤上疏,陳六疑四患,極言稅監李道、王朝諸不法狀。 疏入,留中。 以母病歸。 起右諭德,掌南京翰林院,就遷國子祭酒。 奉母歸,吏進贏金數千,曰「例也」,曰寧峻卻之。 尋起少詹事,母喪不赴。 服闋,召為禮部右侍郎,協理詹事府。 道卒。 贈禮部尚書。 天啟初,追謚文簡。
Liu Yuening, courtesy name You'an, was from Nanchang. He became a jinshi in the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign. He entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelors and was appointed compiling editor. He was promoted to Right Assistant Director and served in the crown prince's lecture hall. The formal investiture of the heir apparent had not yet taken place, and public debate raged outside the palace. Yuening offered subtle comfort and gentle counsel, appealing to the virtues of benevolence and filial piety — the future Emperor Guangzong noted this and held him in regard. Mining commissioners were sent out in all directions; Yuening, in outrage, memorialized the throne with six doubts and four calamities, denouncing in detail the illegal conduct of tax supervisors Li Dao, Wang Chao, and others. His memorial was submitted but shelved by the emperor. He retired home when his mother fell ill. He was recalled as Right Preceptor, put in charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy, and soon promoted to chancellor of the Imperial University. While escorting his mother home, an official offered him several thousand taels in surplus funds, saying it was standard practice — Yuening flatly refused. He was soon recalled as Junior Grand Mentor but did not report for duty when his mother died. After the mourning period he was summoned as Vice Minister of the Right in the Ministry of Rites to assist in managing the Grand Mentor's office. He died en route. He was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites. At the start of the Tianqi reign he was granted the posthumous name Wenjian.
33
翁正春,字兆震,侯官人。 萬歷中,為龍溪教諭。 二十年,擢進士第一,授修撰,累遷少詹事。 三十八年九月,拜禮部左侍郎,代吳道南署部事。 十一月,日有食之,正春極言闕失,不報。 明年秋,萬壽節,正春獻八箴:曰清君心,遵祖制,振國紀,信臣僚,寶賢才,謹財用,恤民命,重邊防。 帝不省。 吉王翊鑾請封支子常源為郡王。 正春言翊鑾之封在《宗藩條例》已定之後,其支庶宜止本爵。 乃授鎮國將軍。 王貴妃薨,久不卜葬,正春以為言。 命偕中官往擇地,得吉。 中官難以煩費,正春勃然曰:「貴妃誕育元良,他日國母也,奈何以天下儉乎?」 奏上,報可。 代王欲廢長子鼎渭,立次子鼎莎,朝議持二十余年。 正春集眾議上疏,鼎渭卒得立。 琉球中山王遣使入貢,正春言:「中山已入於倭,今使臣多倭人,貢物多倭器,絕之便; 否亦宜詔福建撫臣量留土物,毋俾入朝。」 帝是之。
Weng Zhengchun, courtesy name Zhaozhen, was from Houguan. During the Wanli reign he served as county school instructor in Longxi. In the twentieth year he topped the jinshi examination, was appointed revising editor, and rose through successive promotions to Junior Grand Mentor. In the ninth month of the thirty-eighth year he was appointed Vice Minister of the Left in the Ministry of Rites, standing in for Wu Daonan as acting head of the ministry. In the eleventh month a solar eclipse occurred; Zhengchun memorialized at length about the court's failings, but the emperor gave no reply. The following autumn, on the emperor's birthday celebration, Zhengchun presented eight admonitions: purify the sovereign's heart, uphold ancestral institutions, restore national discipline, trust his ministers, cherish worthy talent, husband the treasury, show compassion for the people's lives, and strengthen frontier defense. The emperor paid no heed. Prince Ji Yiquan petitioned to have his younger son Changyuan enfeoffed as a commandery prince. Zhengchun argued that Yiquan's enfeoffment had come after the Regulations on Imperial Clansmen were established, and that collateral descendants should retain only their original titles. Changyuan was accordingly granted only the title of State-pacifying General. When Consort Wang died, no burial site was chosen for a long time; Zhengchun raised the matter. He was ordered to go with court eunuchs to select a site, and they found an auspicious location. The eunuchs balked at the cost and trouble, whereupon Zhengchun flushed with anger and said: "The consort gave birth to the heir apparent — one day she will be empress dowager. How can we stint on the empire's behalf? His memorial was submitted and approved. The Prince of Dai sought to disinherit his eldest son Dingwei and install his second son Dingsha instead — court debate dragged on for more than twenty years. Zhengchun collected consensus and memorialized the throne; Dingwei was ultimately confirmed as heir. The King of Chungshan in Ryukyu sent envoys to pay tribute; Zhengchun argued: "Chungshan has already fallen under Japan; most of the envoys are now Japanese and most of the tribute goods are Japanese wares — it would be best to cut off relations altogether; failing that, the Fujian governor should be ordered to retain only a measured portion of local tribute goods and bar the envoys from entering the capital. The emperor agreed.
34
四十年,進士鄒之麟分校鄉試,私舉子童學賢,為御史馬孟禎等所發。 正春議黜學賢,謫之麟,而不及主考官。 給事中趙興邦、亓詩教因劾正春徇私。 正春求去,不許。 頃之,言官發湯賓尹、韓敬科場事。 正春坐敬不謹,敬黨大恨。 詩教復劾正春,正春疏辯,益求去。 帝雖慰留,然自是不安其位。 尋改吏部,掌詹事府,以侍養歸。 天啟元年,起禮部尚書,協理詹事府事。 抗論忤魏忠賢,被旨譙責。 明年,御史趙胤昌希指劾之,正春再疏乞歸。 帝以正春嘗為皇祖講官,特加太子少保,賜敕馳傳,異數也。 時正春年逾七十,母百歲,率子孫奉觴上壽,鄉閭艷之。 未幾,卒。 崇禎初,謚文簡。
In the fortieth year, jinshi Zou Zhilin served as sub-examiner for the provincial examinations and improperly favored candidate Tong Xuexian; censor Ma Mengzhen and others exposed the affair. Zhengchun ruled to disqualify Xuexian and demote Zhilin but did not punish the chief examiner. Supervising secretaries Zhao Xingbang and Qi Shijiao then impeached Zhengchun for showing favoritism. Zhengchun asked to resign, but the request was denied. Soon afterward, memorialists exposed the examination scandal involving Tang Binyin and Han Jing. Zhengchun was held accountable for rating Han Jing "negligent," and Han's faction deeply resented him. Qi Shijiao impeached Zhengchun again; Zhengchun memorialized in his own defense and pressed all the harder to resign. Though the emperor urged him to remain, from that point on he no longer felt secure in office. He was soon transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and put in charge of the Grand Mentor's office, then retired home to tend his parents. In the first year of the Tianqi reign he was recalled as Minister of Rites to assist in managing the Grand Mentor's office. His outspoken remonstrance offended Wei Zhongxian, and he received an imperial edict of rebuke. The following year censor Zhao Yinchang, reading the prevailing winds, impeached him, and Zhengchun memorialized once more begging leave to retire. Because Zhengchun had once served as lecturer to the emperor's grandfather, the throne specially added the title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and granted him an imperial edict with post horses for the journey home — a rare distinction. By then Zhengchun was past seventy and his mother had reached one hundred; he led his sons and grandsons in raising cups to celebrate her birthday, to the admiration of the whole neighborhood. He died not long after. At the start of the Chongzhen reign he was granted the posthumous name Wenjian.
35
正春風度峻整,終日無狎語。 倦不傾倚,暑不裸裎,目無流視。 見者肅然。 明一代,科目職官冠廷對者二人; 曹鼐以典史,正春以教諭雲。
Zhengchun's bearing was austere and dignified; never a day passed with careless or familiar talk. When tired he would not slump or lean; in summer heat he would not strip bare; his gaze never wandered idly. All who saw him were moved to solemn respect. In the entire Ming dynasty, only two sitting officials who had risen through the examinations ranked first in the palace examination: Cao Tai, when a county recorder, and Zhengchun, when a county instructor.
36
劉應秋,字士和,吉水人。 萬歷十一年進士及第,授編修,遷南京司業。 十八年冬,疏論首輔申時行言:「陛下召對輔臣,諮以邊事,時行不能抒誠謀國,專事蒙蔽。 賊大舉入犯,既掠洮、岷,直迫臨、鞏,覆軍殺將,頻至喪敗,而時行猶曰『掠番』,曰『聲言入寇』,豈洮、河以內,盡皆番地乎? 輔臣者,天子所與托腹心者也。 輔臣先蒙蔽,何責庶僚? 故近日敵情有按臣疏而督撫不以聞者,有督撫聞而樞臣不以奏者。 彼習見執政大臣喜聞捷而惡言敗,故內外相蒙,恬不為怪。 欺蔽之端,自輔臣始。 夫士風高下,關乎氣運,說者謂嘉靖至今,士風三變。 一變環境嚴嵩之黷賄,而士化為貪。 再變於張居正之專擅,而士競於險。 至於今,外逃貪黷之名,而頑夫債帥多出門下; 陽避專擅之跡,而芒刃斧斤倒持手中。 威福之權,潛移其向; 愛憎之的,明示之趨。 欲天下無靡,不可得也。」 語並侵次輔王錫爵。 時主事蔡時鼎、南京御史章守誠亦疏論時行。 並留中。 應秋尋召為中允,充日講官。 歷右庶子、祭酒。
Liu Yingqiu, courtesy name Shihe, was from Jishui. He passed the jinshi examination with highest honors in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, was appointed compiling editor, and was transferred to Vice Director of Studies in Nanjing. In the winter of the eighteenth year he memorialized the throne regarding Chief Grand Secretary Shen Shixing, saying: "Your Majesty summoned the grand secretaries for audience and consulted them on border affairs, yet Shixing could not speak sincerely in the state's interest and devoted himself instead to concealment. The enemy launched a major invasion, plundering Tao and Min and pressing straight toward Lin and Gong; they wiped out armies and killed generals, bringing defeat after defeat — yet Shixing still called it "raiding the tribal frontier" and "merely threatening invasion." Are all lands within Tao and the Yellow River merely tribal territory? A chief grand secretary is one in whom the Son of Heaven entrusts his innermost thoughts. When the chief minister himself conceals the truth, how can lesser officials be blamed? Hence of late, when it comes to enemy intelligence, there are cases where investigating censors submit memorials yet governors and grand coordinators fail to report upward, and cases where governors and grand coordinators learn of matters yet central military ministers fail to memorialize the throne. They had long grown used to seeing those in power delight in news of victory and shrink from reporting defeat, so officials at every level deceived one another and thought nothing of it. The practice of deception and concealment begins with the chief minister himself. The moral character of the scholarly class rises and falls with the times; some say that from the Jiajing reign to the present it has shifted three times. The first shift came in the era of Yan Song's corrupt venality, when scholars turned grasping. The second came under Zhang Juzheng's autocratic rule, when scholars competed in ruthless scheming. As for the present day, they outwardly shun the label of greedy corruption, yet obstinate schemers and incompetent generals mostly come from their own followers; They openly avoid any appearance of tyrannical power, yet hold sharp blades and axes reversed in their hands — wielding deadly authority while pretending not to. The power to grant favor and inflict punishment quietly shifts course; Whom they favor and whom they hate is made plain, and all can see which way the wind blows. To expect the empire to free itself of sycophancy is impossible. The memorial also impugned Secondary Grand Secretary Wang Xijue. At the time Principal Secretary Cai Shiding and Nanjing Censor Zhang Shoucheng also submitted memorials criticizing Shixing. All were kept at court without action. Yingqiu was soon summoned as Middle Attendant and appointed Daily Lecture Official. He served as Right Vice Director of the Secretariat and Grand Master of the Imperial Academy.
37
二十六年,有撰《憂危竑議》者,御史趙之翰以指大學士張位,並及應秋。 所司言應秋非位黨,宜留。 帝命調外,應秋遂辭疾歸。 初,御史黃卷索珠商徐性善賕,不盡應,上章籍沒之。 應秋詈卷啟天子好利之端。 男子諸龍光奏訐李如松,至荷枷大暑中。 應秋言一妄人上書,何必置死地。 時詞臣率優遊養望,應秋獨好議評時事,以此取忌,竟被黜。 歸數年,卒。 崇禎時,贈禮部侍郎,謚文節。
In the twenty-sixth year, someone composed the Youwei Jidong Discussion; Censor Zhao Zihan held that it targeted Grand Secretary Zhang Wei and also implicated Yingqiu. The investigating office reported that Yingqiu was not a member of Wei's faction and should be retained. The Emperor ordered him transferred outside the capital; Yingqiu thereupon pleaded illness and returned home. Earlier, Censor Huang Juan had extorted bribes from the pearl merchant Xu Xingshan; when Xu did not fully comply, Huang submitted a memorial requesting that his property be confiscated. Yingqiu denounced Huang Juan for opening the door to imperial covetousness. A commoner named Zhu Longguang submitted an accusation against Li Rushi and was made to wear the cangue in the sweltering midsummer heat. Yingqiu said, "One madman submits a letter — why must he be driven to his death?" At the time literary officials generally cultivated their reputations in leisurely ease; Yingqiu alone loved to discuss and critique current affairs, and for this he incurred enmity and was ultimately dismissed. Several years after returning home, he died. During the Chongzhen reign he was posthumously made Vice Minister of Rites and given the posthumous name Wenjie.
38
子同升,字晉卿。 師同里鄒元標。 崇禎十年,殿試第一。 莊烈帝問年幾何,對曰:「五十有一。」 帝曰:「若尚如少年,勉之。」 授翰林修撰。 楊嗣昌奪情入閣,何楷、林蘭友、黃道周言之俱獲罪,同升抗疏言:「日者策試諸臣,簡用嗣昌,良以中外交訌,冀得一效,拯我蒼生。 聖明用心,亦甚苦矣。 都人籍籍,謂嗣昌缞绖在身,且入閣非金革比。 臣以嗣昌必且哀痛惻怛,上告君父,辭免綸扉; 乃循例再疏,遽入辦事。 夫人有所不忍,而後能及其所忍; 有所不為,而後可以有為。 臣以嗣昌所忍,覘其所為,知嗣昌心失智短,必不能為國建功,何也? 成天下之事在乎誌,勝天下之任在乎氣; 誌敗氣餒,而能任天下事,必無是理。 伎倆已窮,茍且富貴。 兼樞部以重綸扉之權,借綸扉為解樞部之漸。 和議自專,票擬由己。 與方一藻、高起潛輩扶同罔功,掩敗為勝。 歲糜金繒,養患邊圉。 立心如此,獨不畏堯、舜在上乎? 曩自陛下切責議和,而嗣昌不可以為臣。 今一旦忽易墨缞,而嗣昌不可以為子。 若附和黨比,緘口全軀,嗣昌得罪名教,臣亦得罪名教矣。」 疏入,帝大怒,謫福建按察司知事。 移疾歸。 廷臣屢薦,將召用,而京師陷。 福王立,召起故官,不赴。 明年五月,南都不守,江西郡縣多失。 同升攜家將入福建,止雩都,與楊廷麟謀興復。 唐王加同升祭酒。 同升乃入贛州,偕廷麟籌兵食。 取吉安、臨江,加詹事兼兵部左侍郎。 同升已羸疾,日與士大夫講忠孝大節,聞者咸奮,以廷麟請,撫南、贛,十二,月卒於贛州。
His son Tongsheng, courtesy name Jin Qing. He studied under Zou Yuanbiao of his home district. In the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign he ranked first in the palace examination. Emperor Zhuanglie asked how old he was, and he answered, "Fifty-one. The Emperor said, "You still look like a young man — apply yourself." He was appointed Hanlin Compiler. When Yang Sichang took leave from mourning to enter the Grand Secretariat, He Kai, Lin Lanyou, and Huang Daozhou spoke against it and all were punished. Tongsheng submitted a bold memorial saying, "Recently Your Majesty tested the officials by edict and selected Sichang for appointment, truly because affairs at home and abroad are in turmoil, hoping he might prove effective and deliver our people. Your sagely exertions have been arduous indeed. People throughout the capital murmured that Sichang still wore mourning garments upon his body, and that entering the Grand Secretariat is not comparable to the exigencies of war. Your subject expected that Sichang would surely grieve in anguish, appeal to his sovereign lord and father, and decline appointment to the Grand Secretariat; Yet he followed routine with a perfunctory second memorial and hastened to take up his duties. A man must have things he cannot bear before he can extend himself to what he can bear; he must have things he will not do before he can accomplish anything worth doing. Your subject observes what Sichang is willing to tolerate and watches what he does; I know his heart has lost its footing and his judgment is impaired — he surely cannot achieve merit for the state. Why? Accomplishing the affairs of the realm depends on resolve; bearing the empire's burden depends on spirit; With resolve broken and spirit exhausted, yet able to shoulder the empire's affairs? There is surely no such principle. His tricks are exhausted; he clings to rank and fortune. He combined the Military Board with the Grand Secretariat to augment his authority at court, and used the Secretariat as a gradual means to deflect blame from the military establishment. He monopolized peace negotiations and reserved draft memorials for imperial approval to himself alone. With Fang Yizao, Gao Qiqian, and their ilk he colluded to fake achievements and disguised defeat as victory. Year after year he squandered gold and silk, nurturing danger on the frontier. With a heart set like this, is he alone unafraid that Yao and Shun sit above? Formerly, when Your Majesty sternly rebuked the talk of peace, Sichang was already unfit to serve as minister. Now, suddenly casting off black mourning hemp, Sichang is unfit to serve as a son. If I joined factions and kept silent to preserve my own safety, Sichang would offend the moral teachings — and your subject would offend them as well. When the memorial arrived, the Emperor was greatly angered and demoted him to Administrative Vice Commissioner of the Fujian Surveillance Commission. He pleaded illness and returned home. Court officials repeatedly recommended him, and he was about to be recalled when the capital fell. When the Prince of Fu was enthroned, he was summoned to his former post but did not go. In the fifth month of the following year, the Southern Capital was lost and many counties and prefectures in Jiangxi fell. Tongsheng took his family intending to enter Fujian, stopped at Yudu, and plotted restoration with Yang Tinglin. The Tang Prince promoted Tongsheng to Grand Master of the Imperial Academy. Tongsheng then entered Ganzhou and together with Tinglin gathered troops and provisions. After recovering Ji'an and Linjiang, he was promoted to Junior Mentor concurrently serving as Vice Minister of the Left in the Ministry of War. Tongsheng was already frail and ill; daily he discussed with scholar-officials the great principles of loyalty and filial piety, and all who heard him were stirred. At Tinglin's request he was appointed Grand Coordinator of Southern Gan; in the twelfth month he died at Ganzhou.
39
唐文獻,字元徵,華亭人。 萬歷十四年進士第一。 授修撰,歷詹事。
Tang Wenxian, courtesy name Yuanzheng, was a native of Huating. In the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign he ranked first among jinshi. He was appointed Compiler and rose to Junior Mentor.
40
沈一貫以「妖書」事傾尚書郭正域,持之急。 文獻偕其僚楊道賓、周如砥、陶望齡往見一貫曰:「郭公將不免,人謂公實有意殺之。」 一貫踞蹐,酹地若為誓者。 文獻曰:「亦知公無意殺之也,第臺省承風下石,而公不早訖此獄,何辭以謝天下。」 一貫斂容謝之。 望齡見朱賡不為救,亦正色責以大義,願棄官與正域同死。 獄得稍解。 然文獻等以是失政府意。 久之,拜禮部右侍郎,掌翰林院事。 初,文獻出趙用賢門,以名節相矜許。 同年生給事中李沂劾張鯨被廷杖,文獻掖之出,資給其湯藥。 荊州推官華鈺忤稅監逮下詔獄,文獻力周旋,得無死。 掌翰林日,當考察,執政欲庇一人,執不許。 卒官。 贈禮部尚書,謚文恪。
Shen Yiguan used the Demonic Book affair to bring down Minister Guo Zhengyu and pressed the case urgently. Wenxian together with his colleagues Yang Daobin, Zhou Rudi, and Tao Wangling went to see Yiguan and said, "Minister Guo will not escape harm; people say you truly intend to kill him. Yiguan fidgeted uneasily and poured a libation on the ground as if swearing an oath. Wenxian said, "We also know you have no intent to kill him, but the censorate and ministries follow the wind to cast stones, and if you do not conclude this case early, with what words will you answer the world? Yiguan composed his expression and apologized to them. Wangling saw Zhu Geng fail to rescue Guo and likewise sternly rebuked him on principle, declaring he would abandon office and die with Zhengyu. The case was somewhat eased. Yet Wenxian and the others lost favor with the government for this. After some time he was appointed Vice Minister of the Right in the Ministry of Rites and put in charge of Hanlin Academy affairs. Earlier, Wenxian had been a follower of Zhao Yongxian's school and prided himself on reputation and integrity among his peers. A fellow graduate, Supervising Secretary Li Yi, was beaten at court for impeaching Zhang Jing; Wenxian supported him out and supplied him with medicines. Hua Yu, magistrate's assistant at Jingzhou, offended a tax eunuch supervisor and was arrested into the imperial prison; Wenxian exerted himself to intercede, and Hua escaped death. While directing the Hanlin Academy, during the evaluation period the chief ministers wished to shield someone; he firmly refused. He died in office. He was posthumously made Minister of Rites and given the posthumous name Wenkè.
41
楊道賓,字惟彥,晉江人。 萬歷十四年進士第二,授編修。 累遷國子祭酒,少詹事,禮部右侍郎,掌翰林院事。 轉左,改掌部事。 嘗因星變,請釋逮系知縣滿朝薦等,又請亟舉朝講大典,皆不報。 南京大水,疏陳時政,略言:「宮中夜分方寢,日旰未起,致萬幾怠曠。 請夙興夜寐,以圖治功。 時禦便殿,與大臣面決大政。 章疏及時批答,毋輒留中及從內降。」 帝優旨報聞。 皇太子輟講已四年,道賓極諫,引唐宦官仇士良語為戒。 其冬,天鼓鳴,道賓言:「天之視聽在民。 今民生顛躓,無所赴訴,天若代為之鳴。 宜急罷礦使,更張闕政,以和民心。」 帝不聽。 逾年卒官。 贈禮部尚書,謚文恪。
Yang Daobin, courtesy name Weiyan, was a native of Jinjiang. In the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign he ranked second among jinshi and was appointed Compiler. He rose in succession to Grand Master of the Imperial Academy, Junior Mentor, and Vice Minister of the Right in the Ministry of Rites, directing Hanlin Academy affairs. He was transferred to the left vice ministership and put in charge of the ministry's affairs. Once, on account of a celestial anomaly, he requested the release of the detained county magistrate Man Chaojian and others, and also urgently requested restoration of the great ceremony of morning lectures — all went unanswered. When Nanjing suffered great flooding, he submitted a memorial on current affairs, stating in summary, "Within the palace Your Majesty sleeps only after midnight and does not rise until the sun is high, causing the myriad affairs of state to be neglected and delayed. I urge Your Majesty to rise early and retire late, to seek the achievements of good governance. Hold audience at times in the informal hall and decide great affairs face to face with your ministers. Memorials should be promptly answered with rescripts; do not casually keep them at court or issue decisions from within the palace. The Emperor responded with a gracious edict acknowledging receipt. The Crown Prince had ceased lectures for four years; Daobin remonstrated urgently, citing the words of the Tang eunuch Qiu Shiliang as a warning. That winter the sky drum sounded; Daobin said, "Heaven's eyes and ears are in the people. Now the people's livelihood is in turmoil and they have nowhere to appeal — heaven seems to sound on their behalf. Your Majesty should urgently abolish the mine tax eunuchs, reform deficient policies, and harmonize the people's hearts. The Emperor did not heed it. After more than a year he died in office. He was posthumously made Minister of Rites and given the posthumous name Wenkè.
42
陶望齡,字周望,會稽人。 父承學,南京禮部尚書。 望齡少有文名。 舉萬歷十七年會試第一,殿試一甲第三,授編修,歷官國子祭酒。 篤嗜王守仁說,所宗者周汝登。 與弟奭齡皆以講學名。 卒謚文簡。
Tao Wangling, courtesy name Zhouwang, was a native of Kuaiji. His father Chengxue was Minister of Rites at Nanjing. Wangling had a literary reputation from youth. In the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign he ranked first in the metropolitan examination; in the palace examination he placed third in the first class and was appointed Compiler; he rose in succession to Grand Master of the Imperial Academy. He was deeply devoted to Wang Yangming's teachings and took Zhou Rudeng as his intellectual master. He and his younger brother Shiling were both celebrated as lecturers in the Neo-Confucian tradition. After his death he was posthumously honored with the title Wen Jian.
43
李騰芳,字子實,湘潭人。 萬歷二十年進士。 改庶吉士。 好學,負才名。 三王並封旨下,騰芳為書詣朝房投大學士王錫爵略言:「公欲暫承上意,巧借封王,轉作冊立。 然恐王封既定,大典愈遲。 他日公去而事壞,罪公始謀,何辭以解? 此不獨宗社憂,亦公子孫禍也。」 錫爵讀未竟,遽牽衣命坐,曰:「諸人詈我,我何以自明? 如子言,我受教。 但我疏必親書,謂子孫禍何也?」 騰芳曰:「外廷正以公手書密揭,無由知其詳,公乃欲藉以自解。 異日能使天子出公手書示天下乎?」 錫爵憮然淚下,明日遂反並封之詔。
Li Tengfang, courtesy name Zishi, was from Xiangtan. He became a jinshi in the twentieth year of the Wanli reign. He entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor. A devoted scholar, he enjoyed a strong reputation for literary talent. When the edict arrived to enfeoff all three princes at once, Tengfang wrote a letter, went to the Hanlin office, and handed it to Grand Secretary Wang Xijue. He wrote in brief: "Your Excellency mean to defer to the emperor's wish for the moment, using the enfeoffment of princes as a clever means to turn the affair toward formal investiture of the heir. But I fear that once the princes have been enfeoffed, the great ceremony of investiture will only be pushed further off. If one day you leave office and the affair collapses, you will be blamed as the one who first devised it. What defense could you offer then? This threatens not only the altars of state, but also brings calamity upon your descendants." Xijue had not finished reading when he seized Tengfang's sleeve and bade him sit. "Everyone reviles me," he said. "How am I to clear myself? As you say — I accept your counsel. But my memorial must be written in my own hand. What do you mean by calamity for my descendants?" Tengfang replied: "The outer court knows only that your own hand wrote the secret memorial and has no way to learn the full story — yet you still mean to use that to exonerate yourself. Can you one day make the Son of Heaven produce your own handwriting and show it to the world?" Xijue sat stricken, tears streaming down his face. The next day he reversed the edict for joint enfeoffment.
44
屢遷左諭德。 騰芳與山顧天飐善。 天飐險诐無行,為世所指名,被劾去,騰芳亦投劾歸。 時遂有顧黨、李黨之目。 詔論朝士擅去者罪,貶騰芳太常博士。 三十九年京察,復以浮躁謫江西都司理問。 稍遷行人司正,歷太常少卿,掌司業事。 光宗立,擢少詹事,署南京翰林院。 旋拜禮部右侍郎,教習庶吉士。 御史王安舜劾騰芳驟遷。 騰芳辭位,熹宗不許,竟以省母歸。 天啟初,以故官協理詹事府,尋改吏部左侍郎。 丁內艱,加禮部尚書以歸。 魏忠賢惡騰芳與楊漣同鄉。 御史王際逵因論騰芳被察驟起,丁憂進官,皆非制。 遂削奪。 崇禎初,再以尚書協理詹事府。 京師戒嚴,條畫守禦,多稱旨,代何如寵掌部事。 卒官。 贈太子太保。 蔡毅中,字宏甫,光山人。 祖鳳翹,平陽同知。 父光,臨洮同知。 毅中五歲通《孝經》。 父問:「讀書何為?」 對曰:「欲為聖賢耳。」 萬歷二十九年第進士,改庶吉士,授檢討。 時礦稅虐民,毅中取《祖訓》、《會典》諸書禁戒礦稅者,集為二卷,註釋以上。 大學士沈鯉於毅中為鄉先達,與首輔沈一貫不相能。 而溫純參政河南,器毅中於諸生。 至是為都御史,疏侵一貫。 一貫疑出毅中手,為鯉地,銜之,遂用計典,鐫秩去。 起麻城丞。 旋以行人司副召擢尚寶丞。 移疾歸。 四十五年,以浮躁鐫秩。 天啟初,大起廢籍,補長蘆鹽運判官。 屢遷國子祭酒,擢禮部右侍郎,仍領祭酒事。 楊漣劾魏忠賢得嚴旨,毅中率其屬抗疏言:
He rose through successive promotions to Left Reader. Tengfang was on close terms with Kunshan Gu Tianyi. Tianyi was treacherous and unscrupulous, notorious throughout the realm. After he was impeached and dismissed, Tengfang too submitted his resignation and went home. At the time people began to speak of a Gu faction and a Li faction. An edict laid out penalties for court officials who left their posts without permission, and Tengfang was demoted to Doctor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. At the capital evaluation in the thirty-ninth year, he was again found frivolous and impetuous and was demoted to Director of Administration in the Jiangxi military commission. He was soon promoted to Director of the Department of Envoys, then served as Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and took charge of the Supervisor of Instruction's duties. When Emperor Guangzong took the throne, Tengfang was promoted to Junior Guardian and placed in charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. He was soon appointed Right Vice Minister of Rites and took charge of instructing the Hanlin bachelors. Censor Wang Anshun impeached Tengfang for his sudden rise in rank. Tengfang offered to resign, but the Xizong Emperor refused. In the end he went home to care for his mother. Early in the Tianqi reign he returned to his former rank to assist in the Grand Mentor's office, and was soon transferred to Left Vice Minister of Personnel. When his mother died he entered mourning and was granted the additional title of Minister of Rites on his return home. Wei Zhongxian hated Tengfang for being a fellow townsman of Yang Lian. Censor Wang Jikui then argued that Tengfang's sudden recall after a poor capital evaluation and his promotion while in mourning were both irregular. He was thereupon stripped of rank and honors. Early in the Chongzhen reign he was again appointed Minister and assigned to assist in the Grand Mentor's office. When the capital was placed under martial law, his plans for defense largely met with imperial approval, and he replaced He Ruchong in managing the ministry's affairs. He died in office. He was posthumously honored as Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent. Cai Yizhong, courtesy name Hongfu, was from Guangshan. His grandfather Fengqiao served as sub-prefect of Pingyang. His father Guang served as sub-prefect of Lintao. At the age of five Yizhong had mastered the Classic of Filial Piety. His father asked, "Why do you read?" He answered, "To become a sage or worthy." In the twenty-ninth year of the Wanli reign he passed the jinshi examination with honors, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed examining editor. At the time mine taxes were crushing the people. Yizhong gathered from the Ancestral Instructions, the Collected Statutes, and other works every passage forbidding mine taxes, compiled them into two annotated volumes, and submitted them to the throne. Grand Secretary Shen Li looked on Yizhong as a senior fellow townsman and was at odds with Chief Grand Secretary Shen Yiguan. Meanwhile Wen Chun, administering Henan, had recognized Yizhong's talent when he was still a student. By then Wen Chun had become Censor-in-Chief and submitted a memorial attacking Yiguan. Yiguan suspected the memorial had been written by Yizhong to give Shen Li an advantage. Nursing a grudge, he used the capital evaluation to strip Yizhong of rank and dismiss him. He was recalled as assistant magistrate of Macheng. He was soon summoned as Vice Director of the Department of Envoys and promoted to Assistant Director of the Court of the Imperial Stud. He pleaded illness and returned home. In the forty-fifth year he was again stripped of rank for frivolity and impetuosity. Early in the Tianqi reign, officials on the dismissal register were widely recalled, and he was appointed salt transport judge of Changlu. He rose through successive promotions to Chancellor of the National University, then to Right Vice Minister of Rites while continuing to oversee the university. When Yang Lian's impeachment of Wei Zhongxian drew a stern imperial response, Yizhong led his subordinates in a defiant memorial that read:
45
學校者,天下公議所從出也。 臣正與諸生講「為君難」一書,忽接楊漣劾忠賢疏,合監師生千有余人,無不鼓掌稱慶。 乃皇上不下其奏於九卿,而謂一切朝政皆親裁,以奸珰為忠,代之受過,合監師生無不捫心悉嘆不已也。 臣惟三代以後,漢、隋、唐、宋諸君,其受權珰之害與處權珰之法,載在《通鑒》。 我朝列聖受權珰之害與處權珰之法,載在實錄。 臣皆不必多言。 但取至近至親如武宗之處劉瑾、神宗之處馮保二事,願皇上遵之。 瑾在武宗左右,言聽計從,一聞諸臣劾奏,夜半自起,擒而殺之。 神宗臨禦方十齡,保左右扶持,盡心竭力。 既而少作威福,臺省劾奏,未聞舉朝公疏,神祖遂不動聲色而戍保於南京。 今忠賢無保之功,而極瑾之惡。 二十四罪,無一不當悉究。 舉朝群臣欲於朝罷,跪以候旨,忠賢遂要皇上入宮,不禮群臣。 今又欲於視學之日,群臣及太學諸生面叩陳請矣,而皇上漫不經意。 數日以來,但有及忠賢者,留中不發,如此蒙蔽,其中寧可測哉! 乞將漣疏發九卿科道從公究問,即不加劉瑾之誅,而以處馮保之法懲之,則恩威並著,與神祖媲美矣。
The schools are where the public opinion of the realm finds expression. I was just lecturing my students on The Difficulties of Being a Ruler when Yang Lian's memorial impeaching Zhongxian arrived. More than a thousand supervisors and students assembled — not one failed to applaud in celebration. Yet Your Majesty did not refer the memorial to the nine ministers for deliberation, but declared that all court affairs are personally decided — treating a treacherous eunuch as loyal and bearing blame on his behalf. Every supervisor and student present could only clasp his heart and sigh without end. After the Three Dynasties, how the emperors of Han, Sui, Tang, and Song suffered at the hands of powerful eunuchs and how they dealt with them — all this is recorded in the Comprehensive Mirror. How our own dynasty's successive sage emperors suffered from powerful eunuchs and how they handled them is recorded in the Veritable Records. On these matters I need say no more. But take only two recent and close examples — how Emperor Wuzong dealt with Liu Jin and how Emperor Shenzong dealt with Feng Bao — and I beg Your Majesty to follow them. Jin stood at Wuzong's side with his every word obeyed and every plan followed. Yet at the first report of officials' impeachments, the emperor rose at midnight, seized Jin, and had him executed. When Shenzong first took the throne he was only ten years old. Bao supported him at his side and served him with all his heart and strength. Later Bao began to wield authority for his own benefit, and the censorate impeached him. Though no memorial came from the entire court, the Divine Ancestor quietly, without a show of emotion, banished Bao to Nanjing. Today Zhongxian has none of Bao's merit, yet equals Jin in wickedness. Of the twenty-four crimes charged against him, not one should go uninvestigated. The officials of the entire court wished to kneel after court and await an edict, but Zhongxian forced the emperor to enter the palace and showed no courtesy to the assembled ministers. Now, on the day of the imperial visit to the academy, ministers and students of the Imperial University wished to face Your Majesty and petition directly — yet Your Majesty has treated the matter with complete indifference. In recent days, every memorial touching on Zhongxian has been held at court and never issued. Under such concealment, who can fathom what lies within! I beg that Yang Lian's memorial be referred to the nine ministers and the censorate for impartial investigation. Even if Your Majesty does not impose Liu Jin's punishment, apply the method used against Feng Bao — then grace and authority will both be displayed, and Your Majesty will stand beside the Divine Ancestor.
46
疏入,忠賢戟手大訽。 毅中乃再疏乞歸,不許。 已,嗾其黨劾罷之。
When the memorial arrived, Zhongxian shook his fist and cursed loudly. Yizhong then submitted another memorial begging to retire, but permission was refused. Before long he incited his faction to impeach Yizhong and have him dismissed.
47
毅中有至性。 四歲父病,籲天請代。 公車時,聞母喪,一慟嘔血數升,終喪斷酒肉,不入內寢。 方母病,盛夏思冰,盂水忽凍。 廬居,有紫芝、白鳥、千鴉集墓之異。 卒,贈禮部尚書。
Yizhong possessed a deeply filial nature. When he was four his father fell ill, and he cried to heaven, begging to take his father's place. While traveling to the capital for the examination, he learned of his mother's death. A single sob brought forth several pints of blood. Throughout the mourning period he abstained from wine and meat and would not enter the inner chamber. While his mother was ill, she craved ice in the height of summer — and a bowl of water in the room suddenly froze. While living in a mourning hut by the grave, there were wondrous signs — purple fungus, white birds, and a thousand crows gathering at the tomb. After his death he was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites.
48
公鼐,字孝與,蒙陰人。 曾祖奎躋,湖廣副使。 父家臣,翰林編修。 鼐舉萬二十上九年進士,改庶吉士,授編修。 屢遷左諭德,為東宮講官。 進左庶子,引疾歸。 光宗立,召拜祭酒。 熹宗進鼐詹事,乃上疏曰:「近聞南北臣僚,論先帝升遐一事,跡涉怪異,語多隱藏。 恐因委巷之訛傳,流為湘山之稗說,臣竊痛焉。 皇祖在昔,原無立愛之心。 只因大典遲回,於是繳還冊立之後,有三王並封之事,《憂危竑議》之後,有國本攸關之事。 迨龐、劉之邪謀,張差之梃擊,而逆亂極矣。 臣嘗備員宮僚,目睹狂謀孔熾,以歸向東宮者為小人,不向東宮者為君子,盡除朝士之清流,陰翦元良之羽翼,批根引蔓,幹紀亂常。 至今追想,猶為寒心。 夫臣子愛君,存其真不存其偽。 今實錄纂修在即,請將光宗事跡,別為一錄。 凡一月間明綸善政,固大書特書; 其有聞見異詞及宮闈委曲之妙用,亦皆直筆指陳,勒成信史。 臣雖不肖,竊敢任之。」 疏入,不許。 天啟元年,鼐以紀元甫及半載,言官獲譴者至十余人,上疏切諫,並規諷輔臣。 忤旨,譙責。 尋遷禮部右侍郎,協理詹事府,充實錄副總裁。 鼐好學博聞,磊落有器識。 見魏忠賢亂政,引疾歸。
Gong Nai, courtesy name Xiaoyu, was from Mengyin. His great-grandfather Kuiji served as Vice Commissioner of Huguang. His father Jiache was a Hanlin compiler. Nai passed the jinshi examination in the twenty-ninth year of the Wanli reign, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed compiler. He rose through successive promotions to Left Reader and served as lecturer to the crown prince. Promoted to Left Associate Crown Prince, he pleaded illness and returned home. When Emperor Guangzong took the throne, Nai was summoned and appointed Chancellor of the National University. The Xizong Emperor promoted Nai to Grand Mentor, whereupon he submitted a memorial: "Recently I have heard officials north and south discussing the Former Emperor's death — the accounts involve strange anomalies, and much is left unsaid. I fear that alleyway gossip will harden into the apocryphal legends of Mount Xiang — and this pains me deeply. Our imperial grandfather originally had no intention of favoring one son over another. Only because the great ceremony of investiture was long delayed — after the investiture edict was withdrawn came the affair of jointly enfeoffing three princes; after the Hidden Discussion of Anxiety and Danger came affairs that threatened the very foundation of the realm. Then came the wicked plots of Pang and Liu, Zhang Cha's club assault — and treason reached its height. I once served on the palace staff and saw the conspiracy rage unchecked. Those who sided with the Eastern Palace were called petty men; those who did not were called gentlemen. The clear-stream officials of the court were purged, the heir apparent's supporters were secretly cut down — roots torn up, tendrils spread — until discipline was broken and order overturned. To recall it even now still chills the heart. Ministers and subjects who love their ruler preserve what is true, not what is false. The compilation of the Veritable Records is now at hand. I ask that Emperor Guangzong's deeds be set apart in a separate volume. Every enlightened edict and worthy policy of that single month should be recorded prominently; and whatever variant accounts there may be, and whatever subtle measures taken within the palace walls, should likewise be set down frankly with the historian's straight brush and forged into trustworthy history. Unworthy though I am, I dare undertake this task. When the memorial was submitted, it was not approved. In 1621, with barely half a year elapsed in the new reign, more than ten censorial officials had already been punished; Nai submitted a sharp memorial of admonition and also remonstrated against the chief ministers. Defying the imperial will, he was publicly rebuked. He was soon transferred to Right Vice Minister of Rites, given concurrent charge of the Household of the Heir Apparent, and appointed deputy chief compiler of the Veritable Records. Nai was a devoted scholar of wide learning, upright in character and possessed of sound judgment. Seeing Wei Zhongxian's perversion of government, he pleaded illness and retired.
49
初,廷議李三才起用不決,鼐飏言曰:「今封疆倚重者,多遠道未至。 三才猷略素優,家近輦轂,可朝發夕至也。」 侍郎鄒元標趣使盡言,以言路相持而止。 後御史葉有聲追論鼐與三才為姻,徇私妄薦,遂落職閑住。 未幾卒。 崇禎初,復官賜恤,謚文介。
When the court debated recalling Li Sancai without reaching a decision, Nai spoke openly: "Those now relied upon for border defense are mostly still en route from distant posts. Li Sancai's strategy has always been excellent; he lives near the capital and could arrive within a day. Vice Minister Zou Yuanbiao urged him to say all he wished, but the deadlock among the remonstrance officials brought the matter to a halt. Later Censor Ye Yousheng charged that Nai and Li Sancai were related by marriage and that his recommendation had been a reckless act of favoritism; Nai was stripped of office and retired. He died soon after. At the start of the Chongzhen reign his office was restored, mourning grants were bestowed, and he was posthumously honored as Wenjie.
50
羅喻義,字湘中,益陽人。 萬歷四十一年進士。 改庶吉士,授檢討。 請假歸。 天啟初還朝,歷官諭德,直經筵。 六年擢南京國子祭酒。 諸生欲為魏忠賢建祠,喻義懲其倡者,乃已。 忠賢黨輯東林籍貫,湖廣二十人,以喻義為首。 莊烈帝嗣位,召拜禮部右侍郎,協理詹事府。 尋充日講官,教習庶吉士。
Luo Yuyi, courtesy name Xiangzhong, came from Yiyang. In 1613 he passed the jinshi examination. He was appointed a junior Hanlin scholar and then Reviser. He took leave and returned home. At the start of the Tianqi reign he returned to court, rose through posts as Preceptor, and attended the Classics Lectern. In 1626 he was promoted to Grand Master of the Nanjing Imperial Academy. When students proposed building a shrine to Wei Zhongxian, Yuyi punished the ringleaders, and the plan was abandoned. Zhongxian's faction compiled a roster of Donglin adherents by native place; Yuyi headed the list of twenty from Huguang. When Emperor Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, he was recalled and appointed Right Vice Minister of Rites with concurrent charge of the Household of the Heir Apparent. He was soon appointed Daily Lecturer and given charge of instructing junior Hanlin scholars.
51
喻義性嚴冷,閉戶讀書,不輕接一客。 後見中外多故,將吏不習兵,銳意講武事,推演陣圖獻之。 帝為褒納。 以時方用兵,而督撫大吏不立軍府,財用無所資,因言:「武有七德,豐財居其一。 正餉之外,宜別立軍府,朝廷勿預知。 饗士、賞功、購敵,皆取給於是。」 又極陳車戰之利。 帝下軍府議於所司,令喻義自制戰車。 喻義復上言按畝加派之害,而以戰車營造職在有司,不肯奉詔。 帝不悅,疏遂不行。
Yuyi was stern and reserved by nature; he kept to his books behind closed doors and rarely received visitors. Later, seeing turmoil at home and abroad and that commanders had neglected military training, he devoted himself to military affairs, worked out battle formations, and submitted them to the throne. The emperor praised and accepted his proposals. As the empire was at war yet grand coordinators and governors had established no military treasuries and funds had no source, he argued: "War has seven virtues, and abundant resources is one of them. Beyond regular pay, a separate military treasury should be established, its operations kept from prior scrutiny by the court. Feasting soldiers, rewarding merit, and purchasing intelligence from the enemy—all should be drawn from this fund. He also expounded at length on the advantages of chariot warfare. The emperor referred the military treasury proposal to the relevant offices and ordered Yuyi to design the war chariots himself. Yuyi memorialized again on the harm of surcharges levied by the mu, and because constructing war chariots was the responsibility of the relevant offices, he declined to follow the edict. The emperor was displeased, and the proposal was never carried out.
52
明年九月,進講《尚書》,撰《布昭聖武講義》。 中及時事,有「左右之者不得其人」語,頗傷執政; 末陳祖宗大閱之規,京營之制,冀有所興革。 呈稿政府,溫體仁不懌,使正字官語喻義,令改。 喻義造閣中,隔扉誚體仁。 體仁怒,上言:「故事,惟經筵進規,多於正講,目講則正多規少。 今喻義以日講而用經筵之制,及令刪改,反遭其侮,惟聖明裁察。」 遂下吏部議。 喻義奏辨曰:「講官於正文外旁及時事,亦舊制也。 臣展轉敷陳,冀少有裨益。 體仁刪去,臣誠恐愚忠不獲上達,致忤輔臣。 今稿草具在,望聖明省覽。」 吏部希體仁指,議革職閑住,可之。 喻義雅負時望,為體仁所傾,士論交惜。 瀕行乞恩,請乘傳,帝亦報可。 家居十年,卒。
In the ninth month of the following year he lectured on the Book of Documents and composed the Lecture Notes on Displaying Sacred Martial Prowess. In it he touched on current affairs, including the line "those at the emperor's side are not the right men"—a remark that stung those in power. At the end he set out the regulations for the ancestral grand inspections and the metropolitan garrison system, hoping reforms might follow. He submitted the draft to the Grand Secretariat; Wen Tizhong was displeased and sent a proofreader to instruct Yuyi to revise it. Yuyi went to the Grand Secretariat and, through the partition, rebuked Wen Tizhong. Wen Tizhong was angered and submitted a memorial: "By precedent, remonstrance at the Classics Lectern comes mostly in the main lecture, while in the Daily Lecture the main text is more and remonstrance less. Now Yuyi applies the Classics Lectern format to the Daily Lecture, and when told to revise his text he is insulted instead; I pray Your Majesty will judge. The case was referred to the Ministry of Personnel for deliberation. Yuyi submitted a defense: "For lecturers to touch on current affairs beyond the main text is also an established practice. Your servant elaborated at length, hoping to offer some small benefit. When Tizhong cut those passages, your servant feared that sincere but unpolished loyalty would never reach Your Majesty, and thus gave offense to the chief minister. The draft still survives; your servant prays Your Majesty will examine it. The Ministry of Personnel, following Tizhong's wishes, recommended that Yuyi be stripped of office and retired; the emperor approved. Yuyi had long enjoyed public esteem; when Tizhong brought him down, scholars everywhere lamented. Before departing he petitioned for the favor of post-horses for his journey; the emperor granted his request. He lived in retirement for ten years, then died.
53
姚希孟,字孟長,吳縣人。 生十月而孤,母文氏勵誌鞠之。 稍長,與舅文震孟同學,並負時名。 舉萬歷四十七年進士,改庶吉士。 座主韓爌、館師劉一燝器之。 兩人並執政,遇大事多所咨決。 天啟初,震孟亦取上第,入翰林,甥舅並持清議,望益重。 尋請假歸。 四年冬還朝,趙南星、高攀龍等悉去位,黨禍大作,希孟郁郁不得誌。 其明年,以母喪歸。 甫出都,給事中楊所修劾其為繆昌期死黨,遂削籍。 魏忠賢敗,其黨倪文煥懼誅,使使持厚賄求解,希孟執而鳴之官。 崇禎元年,起左贊善。 歷右庶子,為日講官。 三年秋,與諭德姚明恭主順天鄉試。 有武生二人冒籍中式,給事中王猷論之,遂獲譴。 希孟雅為東林所推。 韓爌等定逆案,參其議。 群小惡希孟,謀先之。 及華允誠劾溫體仁、閔洪學,兩人疑疏出希孟手,體仁遂借冒籍事修隙,擬旨覆試,黜兩生下所司,論考官罪,擬停俸半年。 體仁意未慊,令再擬。 希孟時已遷詹事,乃貶二秩為少詹事,掌南京翰林院。 尋移疾歸,家居二年,卒。
Yao Ximeng, courtesy name Mengchang, came from Wu County. He lost his father when ten months old; his mother, Lady Wen, steeled her resolve and raised him alone. As he grew, he studied alongside his maternal uncle Wen Zhenmeng; both enjoyed considerable renown. In 1619 he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed a junior Hanlin scholar. His chief examiner Han Kuang and tutor Liu Yijuan thought highly of him. Both later rose to power, and on major affairs they often consulted him. At the start of the Tianqi reign Zhenmeng also placed at the top of his cohort and entered the Hanlin; uncle and nephew alike upheld stern moral criticism, and their standing only grew. He soon took leave and returned home. He returned to court in the winter of the fourth year; Zhao Nanxing, Gao Panlong, and others had all been removed, the factional purge was at its height, and Ximeng was dejected and unable to make his mark. The following year he returned home upon his mother's death. Hardly had he left the capital when Supervising Secretary Yang Suoxiu impeached him as a sworn partisan of Miu Changqi; he was struck from the rolls. When Wei Zhongxian fell, his partisan Ni Wenhuan, fearing execution, sent an envoy bearing a heavy bribe to buy his way free; Ximeng seized the envoy and reported the matter to the authorities. In 1628 he was recalled as Left Tutor to the Heir Apparent. He rose to Right Sub-Expositor and served as Daily Lecturer. In the autumn of 1630 he presided over the Shuntian provincial examination together with Preceptor Yao Minggong. Two military students had passed the examination under false registration; Supervising Secretary Wang You raised the matter, and Ximeng was punished. Ximeng had long been championed by the Donglin faction. When Han Kuang and others settled the catalogue of rebels, he took part in their deliberations. The petty faction hated Ximeng and plotted to strike at him first. When Hua Yuncheng impeached Wen Tizhong and Min Hongxue, the two suspected the memorial had been drafted by Ximeng; Tizhong seized on the false-registration affair to settle a score, drafting a rescript for a retest, dismissing the two students to the relevant authorities, finding the examiners guilty, and proposing that their salaries be withheld for half a year. Tizhong was not satisfied and ordered a redraft. Ximeng had by then been promoted to Director of the Household of the Heir Apparent; he was now demoted two ranks to Junior Director and given charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. He soon pleaded illness and retired; after two years at home he died.
54
許士柔,字仲嘉,常熟人。 天啟二年進士。 改庶吉士,授檢討。 崇禎時,歷遷左庶子,掌左春坊事。 先是,魏忠賢既輯《三朝要典》,以《光宗實錄》所載與《要典》左,乃言葉向高等所修非實,宜重修,遂恣意改削牴牾《要典》者。 崇禎改元,毀《要典》而所改《光宗實錄》如故。 六年,少詹事文震孟言:「皇考實錄為魏黨曲筆,當改正從原錄。」 時溫體仁當國,與王應熊等陰沮之,事遂寢。 士柔憤然曰:「若是,則《要典》猶弗焚矣。」 乃上疏曰:「皇考實錄總記,於世系獨略。 皇上娠教之年,聖誕之日,不書也。 命名之典,潛邸之號,不書也。 聖母出何氏族,受何封號,不書也。 此皆原錄備載,而改錄故削之者也。 原錄之成,在皇上潛邸之日,猶詳慎如彼。 新錄之進,在皇上御極之初,何以率略如此,使聖朝父子、母後、兄弟之大倫,皆暗而不明,缺而莫考。 其於信史謂何?」 疏上,不省。 體仁令中書官檢穆宗總記示士柔,士柔具揭爭之曰:「皇考實錄與列聖條例不同。 列聖在位久,登極後事,編年排纂,則總記可以不書。 皇考在位僅一月,三後誕育聖躬皆在未登極以前,不書之總記,將於何書也? 穆廟大婚之禮,皇子之生,在嘉靖中,故總記不載,至於冊立大典,編年未嘗不具載也。 皇考一月易世,熹廟之冊立當書,皇上之冊封獨不當書乎?」 體仁怒,將劾之,為同列沮止。 士柔復上疏曰:「累朝實錄,無不書世系之例。 臣所以抉擿改錄,正謂與累朝成例不合也。 孝端皇后,皇考之嫡母也,原錄具書保護之功,而改錄削之,何也? 當日國本幾危,坤寧調護,真孝慈之極則,顧復之深恩,史官不難以寸管抹摋之,此尤不可解也。」 疏上,報聞。
Xu Shirou, courtesy name Zhongjia, came from Changshu. In 1622 he passed the jinshi examination. He was appointed a junior Hanlin scholar and then Reviser. During the Chongzhen reign he rose to Left Sub-Expositor with charge of the Left Spring Office. Earlier, after Wei Zhongxian had compiled the Essential Canon of Three Reigns, finding that the Veritable Records of Emperor Guangzong contradicted the Essential Canon, he declared that the version compiled by Ye Xianggao and others was unreliable and ought to be rewritten; he then arbitrarily revised away whatever conflicted with the Essential Canon. When Chongzhen ascended and the reign era changed, the Essential Canon was destroyed—but the revised Veritable Records of Guangzong remained unchanged. In the sixth year Junior Director Wen Zhenmeng argued: "The Veritable Records of the late emperor were distorted by Wei faction pens and ought to be corrected to follow the original record. Wen Tizhong was then in power; with Wang Yingxiong and others he secretly blocked the proposal, and the matter was dropped. Shirou said indignantly: "If so, the Essential Canon might as well never have been burned. He then submitted a memorial: "In the general summary of the Veritable Records of the late emperor, the imperial lineage alone is scant. The year when Your Majesty received embryonic instruction and the day of Your Majesty's birth are not recorded. The naming ceremony and the style of the hidden residence are not recorded. From what clan the empress dowager came and what title she received are not recorded. All these were fully recorded in the original version, yet the revised record deliberately omitted them. The original record was compiled while Your Majesty was still in the hidden residence, yet it was thorough and cautious in just that way. The revised record was submitted at the very start of Your Majesty's reign—how could it be so cursory, leaving the great bonds of father and son, empress and mother, and brothers within the dynasty dim, obscure, and beyond recovery? What kind of trustworthy history is this? The memorial was submitted but drew no response from the throne. Wen Tizhong ordered a Secretariat officer to retrieve the general summary of Emperor Muzong and show it to Shirou; Shirou submitted a detailed rebuttal: "The Veritable Records of the late emperor differ from the precedents of the successive emperors. The successive emperors reigned long; after their ascension, events were arranged chronologically, so the general summary need not be written. The late emperor reigned only one month; the three empresses who bore and nurtured Your Majesty all did so before his ascension—if these are omitted from the general summary, where else can they be recorded? Emperor Muzong's grand wedding and the birth of the imperial son occurred during the Jiajing reign, so the general summary omits them—but the chronicle always records the investiture ceremony in full. The late emperor's reign lasted only one month—the investiture of Emperor Xizong ought to be recorded; should Your Majesty's own enfeoffment alone go unrecorded? Wen Tizhong was furious and was about to impeach him, but his colleagues dissuaded him. Shirou submitted another memorial: "In the Veritable Records of successive reigns, there has never been a precedent of failing to record the imperial lineage. Your servant has called out the revised record precisely because it departs from the established precedents of successive reigns. Empress Xiaoduan was the late emperor's legitimate mother; the original record fully records her devoted care, yet the revised record omits it—why? In those days the succession itself nearly foundered; the devoted care from the Kunning Palace embodied the highest filial and maternal virtue, a profound debt of nurture—yet the historiographer's slender brush could blot it out without difficulty. This is especially incomprehensible. The memorial was submitted; the court noted receipt and took no further action.
55
體仁滋不悅。 會體仁嗾劉孔昭劾祭酒倪元璐,因言士柔族子重熙私撰《五朝註略》,將以連士柔。 士柔亟以《註略》進,乃得解。 尋出為南京國子祭酒。
Wen Tizhong grew still more displeased. Wen Tizhong then incited Liu Kongzhao to impeach University Chancellor Ni Yuanlu, alleging that Shirou's clansman Chongxi had privately compiled Annotations on Five Reigns and intending to implicate Shirou as well. Shirou hurriedly presented the Annotations to the throne and was cleared of the charge. Before long he was posted as Chancellor of the Nanjing National University.
56
體仁去,張至發當國,益謀逐士柔。 先是,高攀龍贈官,士柔草詔詞送內閣,未給攀龍家。 故事,贈官誥,屬誥敕中書職掌。 崇禎初,褒恤諸忠臣,翰林能文者或為之,而中書以為侵官。 崇禎三年禁誥文駢儷語。 至是攀龍家請給,去士柔草制時數年矣,主者仍以士柔前撰文進。 中書黃應恩告至發誥語違禁,至發喜,劾士柔,降二級調用。 司業周鳳翔抗疏辯曰:「詞林故事,閣臣分屬撰文,或手加詳定,或發竄改,未有徑自糾參者也。 誥敕用寶,歲有常期,未有十年後用寶進呈,吹求當制者也。 贈誥專屬中書,崇禎三年所申飭,未有追咎元年之史官,詆為越俎者也。」 不報。 士柔尋補尚寶司丞,遷少卿,卒。 子琪詣闕辨誣,乃復原官。 贈詹事兼侍讀學士。
After Wen Tizhong left office, Zhang Zhifa became chief minister and plotted all the more to drive Shirou from court. Earlier, when Gao Panlong was granted posthumous honors, Shirou drafted the edict text and sent it to the Grand Secretariat, but it was never delivered to Gao's family. By precedent, edicts conferring posthumous office were the responsibility of the Secretariat drafters of edicts and patents. Early in the Chongzhen reign, loyal ministers were honored and comforted; Hanlin scholars skilled in letters sometimes drafted the texts, but the Secretariat drafters regarded this as encroachment on their duties. In Chongzhen 3 the court forbade parallel prose in patent edicts. By then Gao's family requested delivery; several years had passed since Shirou drafted the text, yet the officials in charge still submitted his earlier composition. Secretariat drafter Huang Ying'en reported to Zhang Zhifa that the patent language violated the prohibition; delighted, Zhang impeached Shirou, who was demoted two ranks and transferred. Vice Director Zhou Fengxiang submitted a forceful memorial in defense: "By Hanlin precedent, Grand Secretaries assigned drafting duties; they might personally revise and approve or order alterations—never was a drafter impeached directly in this fashion. Patent edicts receive the imperial seal on fixed annual schedules; never has a text sealed and submitted ten years later been scrutinized against present regulations. Posthumous patents belong solely to the Secretariat drafters; the admonition issued in Chongzhen 3 did not authorize blaming the historiographer of the first year and denouncing him for overstepping his office. The throne gave no response. Shirou was soon restored as Vice Director of the Imperial Seals Office, promoted to Junior Director, and died in office. His son Qi went to court to clear the slander, and Shirou's former rank was restored posthumously. He was posthumously made Grand Tutor and Concurrent Hanlin Reader-in-Waiting.
57
顧錫疇,字九疇,昆山人。 年十三,以諸生試南京,魏國公以女女之。 第萬歷四十七年進士,改庶吉士,授檢討。 天啟四年,魏忠賢勢大熾,錫疇偕給事中董承業典試福建,程策大有譏刺。 忠賢黨遂指為東林,兩人並降調。 已,更削籍。
Gu Xichou, courtesy name Jiuchou, came from Kunshan. At thirteen, while still a student, he took the examination at Nanjing; the Duke of Wei gave him his daughter in marriage. He passed the jinshi examination in 1619, was made a Hanlin bachelor, and was appointed Reviser. In 1624, as Wei Zhongxian's power reached its height, Xichou and Supervising Secretary Dong Chengye presided over the Fujian provincial examination, and the examination essays contained sharp satirical criticism. Wei's faction denounced them as Donglin partisans, and both men were demoted and transferred. Later their names were stricken from the rolls altogether.
58
崇禎初,召復故官。 歷遷國子祭酒。 疏請復積分法,禮官格不行。 錫疇復申言之,且請擇監生為州縣長。 已,請正從祀位次,進士為國子博士者得與考選。 帝並允行。 省親歸,乞在籍終養。 母服除,起少詹事,進詹事,拜禮部左侍郎,署部事。 帝嘗召對,問理財用人。 錫疇退,列陳用人五失,曰銓敘無法,文網太峻,議論太多,資格太拘,鼓舞未至。 請先令用人之地一清其源。 「精心鑒別,隨才器使,一善也。 赦小過而不終廢棄,二善也。 省議論而專責成,三善也。 拔異才而不拘常格,四善也。 急獎勵而寬督責,五善也。」 末極陳耗財之弊,仍歸本於用人。 帝善其奏。
Early in the Chongzhen reign he was recalled to his former office. He rose through the ranks to become Chancellor of the National University. He memorialized to restore the cumulative-points system, but the Ministry of Rites blocked it and the proposal was not implemented. Xichou repeated the request and also asked that Imperial University students be selected to serve as prefectural and county magistrates. He later asked to rectify the order of collateral sacrifices and that jinshi serving as National University lecturers be allowed to take part in evaluation and selection. The emperor approved every proposal. Returning home to visit his parents, he asked to remain in his native place and complete his period of filial mourning. When mourning for his mother ended, he was made Junior Director of the Palace Library, promoted to Director, appointed Left Vice Minister of Rites, and put in charge of ministry affairs. The emperor once summoned him for a private audience and asked about managing finances and employing men. Xichou withdrew and set forth five failures in employment: no sound method of appointment, literary prohibitions too severe, discussion too abundant, qualifications too rigid, and encouragement not reaching men. He asked first to cleanse the source of official appointments. Careful discernment and assignment according to talent and capacity is the first remedy. Pardoning minor faults and not discarding men forever is the second. Reducing empty discussion and insisting on results is the third. Raising unusual talent without binding it to routine rules is the fourth. Swift reward and relaxed supervision and blame is the fifth. At the end he set forth at length the evils of waste in expenditure, still tracing the problem back to how men were employed. The emperor approved his memorial.
59
楊嗣昌疏請撫流寇,有「樂天者保天下」及「善戰服上刑」語。 錫疇抗言此諸侯交鄰事,稱引不倫,與嗣昌大忤。 嗣昌秉政,諸詞臣多攻之,嗣昌頗疑錫疇。 會駙馬都尉王昺有罪,錫疇擬輕典,嗣昌構之,遂削其籍。 十五年,廷臣交薦,召還。 御史曹溶、給事中黃雲師復言其不當用。 帝不聽,起為南京禮部左侍郎。
Yang Sichang memorialized requesting pacification of the roving bandits, citing the phrases "he who delights in Heaven secures the realm" and "skilled in battle, he submits to the supreme punishment." Xichou protested forcefully that these were matters of feudal lords dealing with neighbors, that the citations were incongruous, and he clashed sharply with Yang Sichang. When Yang Sichang held power, many literary officials attacked Xichou, and Yang came to suspect him deeply. When Commandant-in-Chief of the Embroidered-Guard Horse Wang Bing committed an offense, Xichou drafted a light penalty; Yang Sichang framed him, and Xichou's name was stricken from the rolls. In the fifteenth year court officials jointly recommended him and he was recalled. Censor Cao Rong and Supervising Secretary Huang Yunshi again argued that he ought not be employed. The emperor would not listen and appointed him Left Vice Minister of Rites at Nanjing.
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福王立,進本部尚書。 時尊福恭王為恭皇帝,將議廟祀,錫疇請別立專廟。 俄請補建文帝廟謚、景皇帝廟號及建文朝忠臣贈謚,並從之。 東平伯劉澤清言:「宋高宗即位南京,即以靖康二年五月為建炎元年,從民望也。 乞以今歲五月為弘光元年。」 錫疇言明詔已頒,不可追改,乃已。 時定大行皇帝廟號為思宗,忻城伯趙之龍言「思」非美稱,援證甚核,錫疇亦以為然,疏請改定。 大學士高弘圖以前議自己出,力持之,遂寢。 溫體仁之卒也,特謚文忠,而文震孟、羅喻義、姚希孟、呂維祺皆不獲謚。 錫疇言:「體仁得君,行政最專且久,其負先帝,罪大且深,乞將文忠之謚,或削或改,而補震孟諸臣,庶天下有所勸懲。」 報可。 遂謚諸人,削體仁謚。 吏部尚書張慎言去位,代者徐石麒未至,命錫疇攝之。 時馬士英當國,錫疇雅不與合。 給事中章正宸、熊汝霖劾之,遂乞祭南海去。 明年春,御史張孫振力頌體仁功,請復故謚。 遂勒錫疇致仕。 南都失守,錫疇鄉邑亦破。 時方遭父喪,間關赴閩。 唐王命以故官,力辭不拜,寓居溫州江心寺。 總兵賀君堯撻辱諸生,錫疇將論劾。 君堯夜使人殺之,投屍於江。 溫人覓之三日,乃得棺殮。
When the Prince of Fu was enthroned, he was promoted to Minister of Rites. At the time the Prince of Fu's father was honored as Emperor Gong; as court debated temple sacrifices, Xichou asked that a separate dedicated temple be established. Soon he asked to supply the temple posthumous title of the Jianwen Emperor, the temple name of the Jing Emperor, and posthumous honors for loyal ministers of the Jianwen reign; all were approved. Eastern Pacification Earl Liu Zeqing said: "When Song Gaozong took the throne at Nanjing, he made the fifth month of Jingkang 2 the first year of Jianyan, following the people's hopes. I beg that the fifth month of this year be made the first year of Hongguang. Xichou said the imperial edict had already been promulgated and could not be retroactively changed, and the matter was dropped. At the time the late emperor's temple name was fixed as Sizong; Xincheng Earl Zhao Zhilong argued that "Si" was not a fine designation and cited evidence in detail; Xichou agreed and memorialized requesting a change. Grand Secretary Gao Hongtu, because the earlier decision had been his own, held firmly to it, and the matter was dropped. When Wen Tizhong died he was specially given the posthumous name Wenzhong, while Wen Zhenmeng, Luo Yuyi, Yao Ximeng, and Lü Weiqi all failed to receive posthumous names. Xichou argued: "Wen Tizhong won the ruler's trust and governed with exclusive power for a long time; his betrayal of the late emperor was a grave offense. I beg that the posthumous name Wenzhong be either stripped or changed, and that Zhenmeng and the other ministers receive posthumous honors, so that the realm may have both encouragement and warning. The throne approved. Posthumous names were then granted to those men, and Wen Tizhong's posthumous name was stripped. Minister of Personnel Zhang Shenyan left office; his replacement Xu Shiqi had not yet arrived, and Xichou was ordered to act in his stead. Ma Shiying was then in power, and Xichou had never been on good terms with him. Supervising Secretaries Zhang Zhenchen and Xiong Rulin impeached him, and he asked leave to perform sacrifices at the Southern Sea and depart. The following spring, Censor Zhang Sunzhen forcefully praised Wen Tizhong's achievements and asked that his former posthumous name be restored. Xichou was then compelled to retire. When the Southern Capital fell, Xichou's home district was overrun as well. He was then in mourning for his father and made his way with difficulty to Fujian. The Prince of Tang offered him his former office; he firmly declined and lodged at Jiangxin Temple in Wenzhou. Regional Commander He Junyao flogged and humiliated students, and Xichou was about to memorialize in impeachment. He Junyao sent men by night to kill him and cast the body into the river. The people of Wenzhou searched for three days before the body could be recovered for burial.
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贊曰:吳山等雍容館閣,揚歷臺省,固所謂詞苑之鴻儒,廟堂之巋望也。 要其守正自立,不激不爭,淳靜敦雅,承平士大夫之風流,概可想見矣。
The appraiser says: Wu Shan and his fellows, composed and dignified in the academies and halls and rising through the censorial and secretarial offices, were indeed the great scholars of the literary garden and the steadfast pillars of the court. Above all, their upholding of rectitude, their refusal to be provocative or contentious, and their pure, tranquil refinement—the cultivated bearing of scholar-officials in an age of peace—can readily be imagined.