Volume 255 Biographies 143: Liu Zongzhou, Huang Daozhou

劉宗周〈（祝淵王毓蓍）〉黃道周〈（葉廷秀）〉

Liu Zongzhou (Sub-biographies: Zhu Yuan and Wang Mushu)]〉 Huang Daozhou (Ye Tingxiu)]〉

劉宗周，字起東，山陰人。父坡，為諸生。母章氏妊五月而坡亡。既生宗周，家酷貧，攜之育外家。後以宗周大父老疾，歸事之，析薪汲水，持藥糜。然體孱甚，母嘗憂念之不置，遂成疾。又以貧故，忍而不治。萬歷二十九年，宗周成進士，母卒於家。宗周奔喪，為堊室中門外，日哭泣其中。服闋，選行人，請養大父母。遭喪，居七年始赴補。母以節聞於朝。

Liu Zongzhou, whose style name was Qidong, came from Shanyin. His father Liu Po held licentiate status. His mother, Lady Zhang, was five months pregnant when Po died. Once Zongzhou was born, the household was desperately poor, and his mother took him to be raised at her parents' home. Later, when his grandfather grew old and ill, Zongzhou returned home to care for him, chopping firewood, drawing water, and preparing medicinal gruel. But he was very frail in body, and his mother worried over him incessantly until she herself fell ill. Poverty compelled her to endure the illness without seeking treatment. In the twenty-ninth year of the Wanli reign, Zongzhou passed the jinshi examination, but his mother died at home. Zongzhou rushed home for the funeral and built a mourning hut within and outside the middle gate, weeping there day after day. After the mourning period ended, he was appointed courier official and asked leave to support his grandparents. Further deaths in the family kept him at home for seven years before he finally reported for duty. His mother's steadfast virtue was reported to the court.

時有昆黨、宣黨與東林為難。宗周上言：「東林，顧憲成講學處。高攀龍、劉永澄、姜士昌、劉元珍，皆賢人。於玉立、丁元薦，較然不欺其誌，有國士風。諸臣摘流品可也，爭意見不可；攻東林可也，黨昆、宣不可。」黨人大嘩，宗周乃請告歸。

At that time the Kun and Xuan factions were at odds with the Donglin. Zongzhou memorialized the throne: "The Donglin was where Gu Xiancheng taught. Gao Panlong, Liu Yongcheng, Jiang Shichang, and Liu Yuanzhen were all men of worth. Yu Yuli and Ding Yuanjian plainly never betrayed their principles and bore the spirit of true statesmen. Ministers may rank men by pedigree, but they must not quarrel over opinions; they may criticize the Donglin, but they must not form Kun and Xuan factions. The factionalists erupted in protest, and Zongzhou thereupon asked to retire.

天啟元年，起儀制主事。疏言：「魏進忠導皇上馳射戲劇，奉聖夫人出入自由。一舉逐諫臣三人，罰一人，皆出中旨，勢將指鹿為馬，生殺予奪，制國家大命。今東西方用兵，奈何以天下委閹豎乎？」進忠者魏忠賢也，大怒，停宗周俸半年。尋以國法未伸請戮崔文升以正弒君之罪，戮盧受以正交私之罪，戮楊鎬、李如楨、李維翰、鄭之範以正喪師失地之罪，戮高出、胡嘉棟、康應乾、牛維曜、劉國縉、傅國以正棄城逃潰之罪；急起李三才為兵部尚書，錄用清議名賢丁元薦、李樸等，諍臣楊漣、劉重慶等，以作仗節徇義之氣。帝切責之。累遷光祿丞、尚寶、太仆少卿，移疾歸。四年，起右通政，至則忠賢逐東林且盡，宗周復固辭。忠賢責以矯情厭世，削其籍。

In the first year of Tianqi he was recalled to serve as director of rites. He memorialized: "Wei Jinzhong leads the emperor into riding, archery, and theatrical diversions, while the Lady of Fengsheng comes and goes as she pleases. In a single move three remonstrating officials were driven out and one punished, all by secret edicts; the trend is toward calling a deer a horse, wielding the power of life and death, and controlling the fate of the realm. War rages in the east and west—how can the empire be entrusted to eunuchs? Jinzhong was Wei Zhongxian, who in a fury suspended Zongzhou's salary for half a year. He soon urged that, since the law had not been upheld, Cui Wensheng should be executed for regicide, Lu Shou for illicit collusion, Yang Hao, Li Ruzhen, Li Weihan, and Zheng Zhifan for losing armies and territory, and Gao Chu, Hu Jiadong, Kang Yingqian, Niu Weiyao, Liu Guojin, and Fu Guo for abandoning cities and fleeing in rout; he urged the immediate recall of Li Sancai as Minister of War, the employment of celebrated men of clear opinion such as Ding Yuanjian and Li Pu, and the restoration of remonstrating officials such as Yang Lian and Liu Chongqing, to revive the spirit of holding fast to integrity and dying for righteousness. The emperor rebuked him sharply. He rose through the posts of vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, director of the Court of Imperial Seals, and vice minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, then retired on grounds of illness. In the fourth year he was recalled as right vice commissioner of the Transmission Office, but on arrival he found Zhongxian had nearly wiped out the Donglin, and Zongzhou again firmly declined the post. Zhongxian accused him of affectation and disdain for public life and struck him from the official rolls.

崇禎元年冬，召為順天府尹。辭，不許。明年九月入都，上疏曰：

In the winter of the first year of Chongzhen he was summoned to serve as metropolitan prefect of Shuntian. He declined, but the court would not accept his resignation. In the ninth month of the following year he entered the capital and submitted a memorial:

陛下勵精求治，宵旰靡寧。然程效太急，不免見小利而速近功，何以致唐、虞之治？夫今日所汲汲於近功者，非兵事乎？誠以屯守為上策，簡卒節餉，修刑政而威信布之，需以歲月，未有不望風束甲者，而陛下方銳意中興，刻期出塞。當此三空四盡之秋，竭天下之力以奉饑軍而軍愈驕，聚天下之軍以博一戰而戰無日，此計之左也。

Your Majesty strives tirelessly for good government and finds no rest from dawn till night. Yet in pressing for results too urgently, you cannot help seizing small gains and rushing after quick victories—how can this bring about the governance of Tang and Yu? Is not what you are urgently pursuing today for quick results military affairs? If garrison defense were truly taken as the supreme strategy, with streamlined troops, economized rations, and rectified penal administration spreading authority and trust, then in time none would fail to submit at the first rumor—but Your Majesty is now bent on revival and has set a deadline for campaigning beyond the frontier. At this season when treasury, granaries, and armories stand empty and resources are exhausted, draining the empire to feed hungry troops only makes the army more arrogant; massing the empire's armies to gamble on one battle yet finding no day fit for battle—this strategy is deeply mistaken.

今日所規規於小利者，非國計乎？陛下留心民瘼，惻然恫辟，而以司農告匱，一時所講求者皆掊克聚斂之政。正供不足，繼以雜派；科罰不足，加以火耗。水旱災傷，一切不問，敲撲日峻，道路吞聲，小民至賣妻鬻子以應。有司以掊克為循良，而撫字之政絕；上官以催征為考課，而黜陟之法亡。欲求國家有府庫之財，不可得已。

Is not what you are scrupulously pursuing today for petty gains national finance? Your Majesty attends to the people's afflictions with compassionate concern, yet because the Minister of Revenue reports shortage, what is sought at once are all policies of extortion and exaction. When regular levies fall short, miscellaneous surcharges follow; when assessed penalties fall short, melting-loss fees are added. Flood, drought, and disaster harm go altogether unheeded; beatings grow harsher by the day, people on the roads dare not speak out, and common folk even sell wives and children to meet demands. Local officials treat extortion as conscientious administration, and policies of nurturing the people have vanished; superiors take urgent tax collection as the basis for evaluation, and the methods of promotion and demotion are lost. To hope that the state will have wealth in its treasuries is already impossible.

功利之見動，而廟堂之上日見其煩苛。事事糾之不勝糾，人人摘之不勝摘，於是名實紊而法令滋。頃者，特嚴贓吏之誅，自宰執以下，坐重典者十余人，而貪風未盡息，所以導之者未善也。賈誼曰：「禮禁未然之先，法施已然之後。」誠導之以禮，將人人有士君子之行，而無狗彘之心，所謂禁之於未然也。今一切詿誤及指稱賄賂者，即業經昭雪，猶從吏議，深文巧詆，絕天下遷改之途，益習為頑鈍無恥，矯飾外貌以欺陛下。士節日隳，官邪日著，陛下亦安能一一察之。

As the pursuit of utility and profit gains sway, the court daily grows more vexatious and harsh. Every matter is investigated beyond endurance, every man is picked at beyond endurance; thus names and realities fall into confusion and laws and orders multiply without end. Recently punishments for corrupt officials were made especially severe; from the chief ministers downward, more than ten suffered heavy penalties, yet the wind of greed has not fully ceased—the means of guidance have not been sound. Jia Yi said: "Rites forbid wrong before it happens; law is applied after it has already happened. If men are truly guided by rites, all will have the conduct of scholar-gentlemen and none the heart of dogs and swine—this is what is meant by forbidding wrong before it happens. Now all who have erred in office or been accused of bribery, even when already cleared, still face the clerks' deliberations; tortuous statutes and cunning slander cut off every path of reform, and men increasingly learn to be dull and shameless, adorning their outward appearance to deceive Your Majesty. The integrity of scholars decays by the day and official corruption grows plainer by the day. How can Your Majesty examine each case one by one?

且陛下所以勞心焦思於上者，以未得賢人君子用之也，而所嘉予而委任者，率奔走集事之人：以摘發為精明，以告訐為正直，以便給為才谞，又安所得賢者而用之？得其人矣，求之太備，或以短而廢長；責之太苛，或因過而成誤。

Moreover, the reason Your Majesty toils and burns with anxiety above is that worthy gentlemen have not been obtained for employment, yet those you praise and entrust are all men who rush about gathering tasks: taking exposure for shrewdness, accusation for uprightness, and ready compliance for talent—how then can worthy men be found and employed? When the right man is found, you demand perfection too far and may discard his strengths for his faults; you blame too harshly and may turn a fault into a fatal error.

且陛下所擘畫，動出諸臣意表，不免有自用之心。臣下救過不給，讒諂者因而間之，猜忌之端遂從此起。夫恃一人之聰明，而使臣下不得盡其忠，則耳目有時壅；憑一人之英斷，而使諸大夫國人不得衷其是，則意見有時移。方且為內降，為留中，何以追喜起之盛乎？數十年來，以門戶殺天下幾許正人，猶蔓延不已。陛下欲折君子以平小人之氣，用小人以成君子之公，前日之覆轍將復見於天下也。

Moreover, what Your Majesty plans often goes beyond what ministers expect, and you cannot avoid a tendency to act on your own judgment. Ministers below have no leisure to remedy faults; slanderers and flatterers take advantage to drive wedges, and suspicion begins from this. To rely on one man's intelligence and not let ministers fully exert their loyalty is for the ears and eyes sometimes to be blocked; to rely on one man's keen judgment and not let grandees and the people settle what is right is for opinions sometimes to shift. There are secret edicts and memorials held in the palace—how can you pursue the splendor of the Xixi and Qiyuan reigns? For decades factionalism has destroyed how many upright men of the empire, and it still spreads without end. Your Majesty wishes to break the gentlemen to appease petty men's anger and employ petty men to accomplish the gentlemen's public duty—the overturned cart of former days will appear again throughout the empire.

陛下求治之心，操之太急。醞釀而為功利，功利不已，轉為刑名；刑名不已，流為猜忌；猜忌不已，積為壅蔽。正人心之危，所潛滋暗長而不自知者。誠能建中立極，默正此心，使心之所發，悉皆仁義之良，仁以育天下，義以正萬民，自朝廷達於四海，莫非仁義之化，陛下已一旦躋於堯、舜矣。

Your Majesty's zeal for good government is pressed too urgently. It ferments into utility and profit; utility and profit without end turn into penal statutes; penal statutes without end flow into suspicion; suspicion without end accumulates into obstruction. The peril of rectifying people's hearts is what secretly grows in the dark without one's knowing it. If you can truly establish the central standard and silently rectify your heart, so that what your heart sends forth is all the goodness of benevolence and righteousness—benevolence to nurture the empire, righteousness to rectify the myriad people—from the court to the four seas, all transformed by benevolence and righteousness—Your Majesty would at once stand beside Yao and Shun.

帝以為迂闊，然嘆其忠。

The emperor thought him impractical and broad-minded, yet sighed at his loyalty.

未幾，都城被兵，帝不視朝，章奏多留中不報。傳旨辦布囊八百，中官競獻馬騾，又令百官進馬。宗周曰：「是必有以遷幸動上者。」乃詣午門叩頭諫曰：「國勢強弱，視人心安危。乞陛下出禦皇極門，延見百僚，明言宗廟山陵在此，固守外無他計。」俯伏待報，自晨迄暮，中官傳旨乃退。米價騰躍，請罷九門稅，修賈區以處貧民，為粥以養老疾，嚴行保甲之法，人心稍安。

Before long the capital came under attack; the emperor ceased holding court, and memorials were mostly held in the palace without response. An edict was transmitted to prepare eight hundred cloth sacks; eunuchs vied to present horses and mules, and officials were also ordered to present horses. Zongzhou said: "Someone must be moving the emperor toward relocating the court. He then went to the Meridian Gate, kowtowed, and remonstrated: "Whether the state's strength is great or small depends on whether the people's hearts are secure or in peril. I beg Your Majesty to come out and take the throne at the Gate of Imperial Zenith, extend audience to the hundred officials, and declare plainly that the ancestral temples and imperial tombs are here, and that steadfast defense is the only plan—there is no other. He prostrated himself awaiting a reply; from morning till evening he waited, and only when a eunuch transmitted an edict did he withdraw. As rice prices soared, he asked to abolish the nine-gate levies, repair market quarters to house the poor, provide gruel to nourish the aged and sick, and strictly enforce the baojia system; popular sentiment was somewhat calmed.

時樞輔諸臣多下獄者，宗周言：「國事至此，諸臣負任使，無所逃罪，陛下亦宜分任咎。禹、湯罪己，興也勃焉。曩皇上以情面疑群臣，群臣盡在疑中，日積月累，結為陰痞，識者憂之。今日當開示誠心，為濟難之本，禦便殿以延見士大夫，以票擬歸閣臣，以庶政歸部、院，以獻可替否予言官。不效，從而更置之，無坐錮以成其罪。乃者朝廷縛文吏如孤雛，而視武健士不啻驕子，漸使恩威錯置。文武皆不足信，乃專任一二內臣，閫以外次第委之。自古未有宦官典兵不誤國者。」又劾馬世龍、張鳳翼、吳阿衡等罪，忤帝意。

At the time many grand secretaries and assisting ministers were imprisoned; Zongzhou said: "State affairs have come to this—the ministers bear responsibility and cannot escape guilt; Your Majesty should also share the blame. Yu and Tang blamed themselves, and their states rose swiftly. Formerly Your Majesty suspected the ministers on grounds of personal ties; the ministers were all within suspicion, and day by day and month by month it formed a hidden blockage—those who understood were deeply troubled. Today you should reveal sincere heart as the foundation for relieving difficulty: hold court in the side hall to extend audience to scholar-officials, return draft rescripts to the Grand Secretariat, return ordinary administration to ministries and courts, and give remonstrating officials the power to approve what is fit and reject what is not. If they are ineffective, then replace them accordingly; do not imprison them on the spot to make them guilty. Lately the court has bound civil officials like helpless chicks while treating martial stalwarts no differently from spoiled sons, gradually reversing favor and awe. Neither civil nor military men are trusted enough, and one or two inner eunuchs are exclusively relied upon; beyond the commanderies authority is delegated to them in turn. From antiquity there has never been a case where eunuchs commanded armies without harming the state. He also impeached Ma Shilong, Zhang Fengyi, Wu Aheng, and others for their crimes, offending the emperor.

三年以疾在告，進祈天永命之說，言：

In the third year, on leave for illness, he advanced the doctrine of praying to Heaven for an enduring mandate, saying:

法天之大者，莫過於重民命，則刑罰宜當宜平。陛下以重典繩下，逆黨有誅，封疆失事有誅。一切詿誤，重者杖死，輕者謫去，朝署中半染赭衣。而最傷國體者，無如詔獄。副都御史易應昌以平反下吏，法司必以鍛煉為忠直，蒼鷹乳虎接踵於天下矣。願體上天好生之心，首除詔獄，且寬應昌，則祈天永命之一道也。

Of the great ways of patterning Heaven, none surpasses valuing the people's lives; then punishments should be fitting and even-handed. Your Majesty restrains subordinates with heavy statutes: factions of rebellion are punished, frontier failures are punished. All who err in office—the severe are beaten to death, the light are banished; half the court offices are stained with the garb of punishment. Yet what most wounds the body's politic is nothing like the imperial prison of edict. Vice censor-in-chief Yi Yingchang was sent down to the clerks for having reversed a verdict; the judicial offices surely take forced confessions for loyalty and uprightness—ruthless prosecutors follow one upon another throughout the empire. I wish that you embody Heaven's heart that loves life, first abolish the imperial prison of edict, and moreover pardon Yingchang—then this is one path of praying to Heaven for an enduring mandate.

法天之大者，莫過於厚民生，則賦斂宜緩宜輕。今者宿逋見征及來歲預征，節節追呼，閭閻困敝，貪吏益大為民厲。貴州巡按蘇琰以行李被訐於監司。巡方黷貨，何問下吏？吸膏吮脂之輩，接跡於天下矣。願體上天好生之心，首除新餉，並嚴飭官方，則祈天永命之又一道也。

Of the great ways of patterning Heaven, none surpasses enriching the people's livelihood; then levies and collections should be slow and light. Tax arrears are being exacted at once, and next year's dues are already being collected in advance; at every level collectors hound the people for payment, neighborhoods are worn to exhaustion, and corrupt officials have become an ever greater calamity for common folk. In Guizhou, touring censor Su Yan was reported to his superiors over items found in his luggage. If the touring inspector himself accepts bribes, why bother investigating his lower-ranking staff? Predatory officials who bleed the people dry are everywhere to be found across the realm. I urge you to honor Heaven's compassion for living things by abolishing the new military levy first and strictly disciplining the official class—another way to seek Heaven's blessing for a lasting reign.

然大君者，天之宗子；輔臣者，宗子之家相。陛下置輔，率由特簡。亦願體一人好生之心，毋驅除異己，構朝士以大獄，結國家朋黨之禍；毋寵利居成功，導人主以富強，釀天下土崩之勢。

Yet the sovereign is, after all, Heaven's principal heir; and his chief ministers are the household stewards of that heir. Your Majesty chooses ministers through special imperial appointment. I also beg you to share that same humane spirit—do not purge your opponents, manufacture major prosecutions against court officials, and visit upon the state the disaster of factional strife; Do not coddle those who profit from their achievements, steer the sovereign toward ruthless accumulation of power, and bring about the conditions for the empire to crumble from within.

周延儒、溫體仁見疏不懌。以時方禱雨，而宗周稱疾，指為偃蹇，激帝怒，擬旨詰之。且令陳足兵、足餉之策，宗周條畫以對，延儒、體仁不能難。

Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren were displeased when they read the memorial. Because the court was praying for rain while Zongzhou claimed illness, they accused him of deliberate defiance, aroused the emperor's wrath, and drafted an imperial reply to rebuke him. They also demanded that he present plans to supply the army adequately; Zongzhou answered with a detailed program, and neither Yanru nor Tiren could find fault with it.

為京尹，政令一新，挫豪家尤力。閹人言事輒不應，或相詬誶，宗周治事自如。武清伯蒼頭毆諸生，宗周捶之，枷武清門外。嘗出，見優人籠篋，焚之通衢。周恤單丁下戶尤至。居一載，謝病歸，都人為罷市。

As mayor of the capital, he overhauled the administration and made a point of reining in the great clans. When eunuchs tried to intervene in his affairs he simply ignored them; some traded insults with him, but Zongzhou kept governing as he saw fit. When a retainer of the Earl of Wuqing assaulted a student, Zongzhou had the man beaten and put in the cangue outside the earl's residence. On one of his outings he saw actors carrying locked trunks; he had them burned in the open street. He showed particular concern for widowed households and the poorest families. After a year in office he resigned citing illness and went home; the people of the capital shut down the markets in protest.

八年七月，內閣缺人，命吏部推在籍者，以孫慎行、林釬及宗周名上。詔所司敦趨，宗周固辭不許。明年正月入都，慎行已卒，與釬入朝。帝問人才、兵食及流寇猖獗狀。宗周言：「陛下求治太急，用法太嚴，布令太煩，進退天下士太輕。諸臣畏罪飾非，不肯盡職業，故有人而無人之用，有餉而無餉之用，有將不能治兵，有兵不能殺賊。流寇本朝廷赤子，撫之有道，則還為民。今急宜以收拾人心為本，收拾人心在先寬有司。參罰重則吏治壞，吏治壞則民生困，盜賊由此日繁。」帝又問兵事。宗周言：「禦外以治內為本。內治修，遠人自服，幹羽舞而有苗格。願陛下以堯、舜之心，行堯、舜之政，天下自平。」對畢趨出。帝顧體仁迂其言，命釬輔政，宗周他用。旋授工部左侍郎。逾月，上《痛憤時艱疏》，言：

In the seventh month of the eighth year, with the Grand Secretariat short of members, the emperor ordered the Ministry of Personnel to nominate officials at home on leave, and the names of Sun Shenxing, Lin Qian, and Zongzhou were submitted. An edict commanded the relevant offices to press them to come at once; Zongzhou firmly declined, but the emperor would not accept his refusal. The following year, in the first month, he reached the capital; Shenxing had already died, and he attended court together with Lin Qian. The emperor asked about the availability of capable men, military supplies, and the raging disorder of the roving rebels. Zongzhou said: "Your Majesty is too eager for quick results, too harsh in applying the law, too busy issuing orders, and too casual in promoting or dismissing officials throughout the realm. Officials fear punishment and hide their mistakes rather than do their jobs; so there are men but they serve no purpose, funds but they are wasted, generals who cannot discipline their troops, and soldiers who cannot defeat the rebels. The rebel bands are your own people; treat them wisely and they will return to peaceful life as ordinary subjects. What matters now above all is winning back popular loyalty, and that begins with easing the pressure on local administrators. Heavy punishment destroys local governance; ruined governance drives the people to despair—and from that despair, banditry grows daily." When Zongzhou had finished speaking, the emperor turned to military affairs. Zongzhou replied: "The key to resisting foreign enemies is to put our own house in order first. When domestic order is sound, distant peoples will submit of their own accord—just as the savage Miao yielded when the sage-king danced with shield and plumes rather than fought. If Your Majesty governs with the same heart as Yao and Shun and follows their example, the empire will settle itself without further force." With that he finished his answer and hurried out of the hall. The emperor turned to Wen Tiren, dismissed Zongzhou's advice as unrealistic, named Lin Qian to the Grand Secretariat, and gave Zongzhou a different post. Zongzhou was soon made left vice minister of Works. A month later he submitted the 《Memorial of Grief and Indignation at the Hardships of the Age》, saying:

陛下銳意求治，而二帝三王治天下之道未暇講求，施為次第猶多未得要領者。首屬意於邊功，而罪督遂以五年恢復之說進，是為禍胎。己巳之役，謀國無良，朝廷始有積輕士大夫之心。自此耳目參於近侍，腹心寄於幹城，治術尚刑名，政體歸叢脞，天下事日壞而不可救。廠衛司譏察，而告訐之風熾；詔獄及士紳，而堂廉之等夷；人人救過不給，而欺罔之習轉甚；事事仰成獨斷，而諂諛之風日長。三尺法不伸於司寇，而犯者日眾，詔旨雜治五刑，歲躬斷獄以數千，而好生之德意泯。刀筆治絲綸而王言褻，誅求及瑣屑而政體傷。參罰在錢谷而官愈貪，吏愈橫，賦愈逋；敲撲繁而民生瘁，嚴刑重斂交困而盜賊日起。總理任而臣下之功能薄，監視遣而封疆之責任輕。督、撫無權而將日懦，武弁廢法而兵日驕，將懦兵驕而朝廷之威令並窮於督、撫。朝廷勒限平賊，而行間日殺良報功，生靈益塗炭。一旦天牖聖衷，撤總監之任，重守令之選，下弓旌之招，收酷吏之威，布維新之化，方與二三臣工洗心滌慮，以聯泰交，而不意君臣相遇之難也。得一文震孟而以單辭報罷，使大臣失和衷之誼；得一陳子壯而以過戇坐辜，使朝寧無籲咈之風。此關於國體人心非淺鮮者。

Your Majesty is determined to set things right, yet you have had no time to study the principles by which the sage-kings of antiquity ruled, and much of what has been attempted has missed the mark. You first fixed your hopes on frontier glory, and the governor-general then put forward the plan to recover lost territory within five years—the seed from which later disasters grew. During the Jisi campaign of 1629, the state lacked wise counsel, and the court began to look on the scholar-official class with growing contempt. From then on the court's eyes and ears fell to palace attendants, its trust to military commanders, governance came to prize harsh legalism, policy dissolved into petty detail, and the empire's affairs grew worse by the day until they seemed beyond repair. The secret police kept watch on all sides, and the culture of informers flourished; the imperial prison reached even into the gentry, and no distinction remained between high office and low; everyone scrambled merely to avoid blame, and deceit became ever more widespread; every decision awaited the emperor's word alone, and flattery grew day by day. The law no longer ran through the Ministry of Justice, yet offenders multiplied daily; imperial edicts piled punishment upon punishment, and the emperor personally judged thousands of cases each year until the virtue of sparing life was altogether lost. Petty scribes shaped the emperor's decrees until the throne's words lost their dignity, and exactions reached down to the smallest matters until the body of government itself was injured. Punishment fell heaviest on tax collection, yet officials grew greedier, clerks more brutal, and arrears ever larger; Beatings multiplied until the people were worn to the bone; harsh law and heavy levies together crushed them, and banditry rose day by day. Appoint a grand coordinator and the ministers' real authority thins; dispatch supervising commissioners and frontier commanders' responsibility grows faint. Governors and governors-general lost real power and generals grew daily more timid; military officers ignored the law and soldiers grew daily more insolent—and with cowardly generals and arrogant troops, the court's authority stopped at the desk of every frontier commander. The court set deadlines for suppressing rebels, yet in the field commanders daily killed innocent people to claim credit, and the common folk suffered ever more grievously. Then Heaven seemed at last to move your heart: you removed the grand supervisors, chose local officials with greater care, issued invitations to worthy men, reined in ruthless magistrates, and proclaimed a new beginning—I and a few colleagues had begun to wash away our doubts and hope for genuine accord between ruler and ministers, never imagining how hard that meeting would prove. You found a man like Wen Zhenmeng and dismissed him on a single accusation, breaking the bond of trust among your chief ministers; You found a man like Chen Zizhuang and punished him for excessive bluntness, until the court no longer heard the anxious voice of honest remonstrance. These matters touch the very body of the state and the hearts of the people; they are no small thing.

陛下必體上天生物之心以敬天，而不徒倚風雷；必念祖宗鑒古之制以率祖，而不輕改作。以簡要出政令，以寬大養人才，以忠厚培國脈。發政施仁，收天下泮渙之人心，而且還內廷掃除之役，正懦帥失律之誅，慎天潢改授之途。遣廷臣賫內帑巡行郡國為招撫使，赦其無罪而流亡者。陳師險隘，堅壁清野，聽其窮而自歸。誅渠之外，猶可不殺一人，而畢此役，奚待於觀兵哉。

Your Majesty must honor Heaven by sharing its will to nurture life, and not rely on thunder and terror alone; You must follow the ancestral institutions that took antiquity as their guide, and not change them lightly. Issue orders that are brief and to the point, nurture talent with generosity, and strengthen the nation's lifeblood with loyalty and forbearance. Proclaim benevolent policies and win back the scattered loyalty of the realm; restore the inner court to its proper duties, punish cowardly commanders who broke discipline, and be cautious in altering the fiefs of imperial clansmen. Send court officials with funds from the inner treasury to tour the provinces as pacification commissioners, and pardon those who fled into exile without guilt. Station troops at strategic passes, fortify defenses and clear the countryside, and let the rebels exhaust themselves until they surrender of their own accord. Beyond punishing the ringleaders, you could finish this campaign without killing another soul—why must you parade the army in review.

疏入，帝怒甚，諭閣臣擬嚴旨再四。每擬上，帝輒手其疏覆閱，起行數周。已而意解，降旨詰問，謂大臣論事宜體國度時，不當效小臣歸過朝廷為名高，且獎其清直焉。

When the memorial arrived, the emperor was furious and repeatedly ordered the Grand Secretariat to draft a harsh reply. Each time a draft was submitted, the emperor would take the memorial in hand, read it again, rise from his seat, and pace back and forth several times. Before long his anger cooled; he issued an edict of inquiry, saying that senior ministers should weigh affairs in light of the state's needs and the times, and should not imitate petty officials who blame the court to burnish their own reputations—yet he also praised Zongzhou's integrity and blunt honesty.

時太仆缺馬價，有詔願捐者聽，體仁及成國公朱純臣以下皆有捐助。又議罷明年朝覲。宗周以輸貲、免覲為大辱國。帝雖不悅，心善其忠，益欲大用。體仁患之，募山陰人許瑚疏論之，謂宗周道學有余，才谞不足。帝以瑚同邑，知之宜真，遂已不用。

At the time the Court of the Imperial Stud lacked funds for horse prices; an edict invited voluntary donations, and Wen Tiren, the Duke of Chengguo Zhu Chunchen, and many others contributed. The court also debated canceling the next year's tribute audience at court. Zongzhou regarded soliciting donations and canceling court audiences as a grave humiliation for the state. The emperor was displeased, but in his heart he admired Zongzhou's loyalty and wanted all the more to give him greater responsibility. Wen Tiren feared this outcome and recruited a fellow townsman from Shanyin named Xu Hu to submit a memorial arguing that Zongzhou was strong in moral learning but weak in practical judgment. Because Xu Hu came from the same district as Zongzhou, the emperor took his account as reliable and dropped the plan to promote him further.

其秋，三疏請告去。至天津，聞都城被兵，遂留養疾。十月，事稍定，乃上疏曰：

That autumn he submitted three memorials asking to resign and leave office. When he reached Tianjin he learned that the capital was under attack, and so he stayed there to recover from his illness. In the tenth month, once affairs had settled somewhat, he submitted a memorial that read:

己巳之變，誤國者袁崇煥一人。小人競修門戶之怨，異己者概坐以崇煥黨，日造蜚語，次第去之。自此小人進而君子退，中官用事而外廷浸疏。文法日繁，欺罔日甚，朝政日隳，邊防日壞。今日之禍，實己巳以來釀成之也。

In the Jisi crisis, Yuan Chonghuan alone misled the state. Petty men competed to settle old factional scores; anyone who differed from them was branded a member of Chonghuan's clique, slandered day after day, and driven from office one by one. From that point petty men rose while upright officials fell back; eunuchs handled affairs while the outer court was steadily pushed aside. Paperwork multiplied daily, deceit grew worse daily, court governance decayed daily, and frontier defense deteriorated daily. The disaster we face today has in truth been brewing ever since the Jisi crisis.

且以張鳳翼之溺職中樞也，而俾之專征，何以服王洽之死？以丁魁楚等之失事於邊也，而責之戴罪，何以服劉策之死？諸鎮勤王之師，爭先入衛者幾人，不聞以逗留蒙詰責，何以服耿如杞之死？今且以二州八縣之生靈，結一飽飏之局，則廷臣之累累若若可幸無罪者，又何以謝韓爌、張鳳翔、李邦華諸臣之或戍或去？豈昔為異己驅除，今不難以同己相容隱乎？臣於是而知小人之禍人國無已時也。

Zhang Fengyi was derelict at the center of government, yet you gave him sole command of the campaign—how can that answer for the death of Wang Qia? Ding Kuichu and others failed on the frontier, yet you allowed them to serve while bearing guilt—how can that answer for the death of Liu Ce? Of the relief armies sent from the garrisons, how many raced to reach the capital first—and none were punished for delay; how can that answer for the death of Geng Ruju? And now you would spend the people of two prefectures and eight counties merely to settle the affairs of a band of well-fed marauders—how then can the court officials who crowd together as if they had nothing to answer for make amends to Han Kuang, Zhang Fengxiang, Li Banghua, and others who were banished or driven from office? Is it not that they once purged their opponents without mercy, yet today find it easy enough to shield their own allies? From this I understand that petty men will never stop bringing calamity upon the state.

昔唐德宗謂群臣曰：「人言盧杞奸邪，朕殊不覺。」群臣對曰：「此乃杞之所以為奸邪也。」臣每三覆斯言，為萬世辨奸之要。故曰：「大奸似忠，大佞似信。」頻年以來，陛下惡私交，而臣下多以告訐進；陛下錄清節，而臣下多以曲謹容；陛下崇勵精，而臣下奔走承順以為恭；陛下尚綜核，而臣下瑣屑吹求以示察。凡若此者，正似信似忠之類，究其用心，無往不出於身家利祿。陛下不察而用之，則聚天下之小人立於朝，有所不覺矣。天下即乏才，何至盡出中官下？而陛下每當緩急，必委以大任。三協有遣，通、津、臨、德有遣；又重其體統，等之總督。中官總督，置總督何地？總督無權，置撫、按何地？是以封疆嘗試也。

Once Tang Dezong said to his ministers: "People say Lu Qi is treacherous and wicked, but I myself notice nothing of the kind." The ministers replied: "That is precisely what makes Lu Qi treacherous and wicked." I have pondered this saying again and again; it holds the essential key to unmasking villains for all time. Hence the saying: "The greatest villain looks loyal; the greatest flatterer looks sincere. In recent years Your Majesty has hated cliques and private alliances, yet officials have mostly risen by informing on one another; Your Majesty has valued integrity, yet officials have mostly won favor through cautious conformity; Your Majesty has prized diligence, yet officials have rushed to agree with you and called that respect; Your Majesty has valued thorough oversight, yet officials have nitpicked petty matters to show how sharp they are. All such men belong to the very type that looks loyal and sincere; examine their motives and you find nothing but self-interest and salary. If Your Majesty fails to see through them and keeps employing them, you will gather every petty man in the empire at court without even realizing it. Even if the realm lacks talent, how could it be that every capable man comes from the ranks of the eunuchs? Yet whenever crisis comes, Your Majesty invariably entrusts them with great responsibility. Eunuch commissioners were sent to the three auxiliary garrisons, and to Tongzhou, Tianjin, Linqing, and Dezhou; Their rank was then raised until it matched that of governors-general. If eunuchs serve as governors-general, what place is left for the actual governors-general? If the governor-general has no real power, what purpose is there in appointing provincial governors and censors? That is why the border provinces became a proving ground.

且小人每比周小人，以相引重，君子獨岸然自異。故自古有用小人之君子，終無黨比小人之君子。陛下誠欲進君子退小人，決理亂消長之機，猶復用中官參制之，此明示以左右袒也。有明治理者起而爭之，陛下即不用其言，何至並逐其人？而御史金光辰竟以此逐，若惟恐傷中官心者，尤非所以示天下也。

Petty men constantly band together to bolster one another, while the gentleman stands apart in dignified independence. There have always been upright officials who made use of lesser men, but no upright official has ever joined a faction of them. If Your Majesty truly wishes to promote the upright and remove the corrupt—the very hinge on which order and chaos turn—yet still lets eunuchs interfere, you are openly telling them which side to favor. When a clear-sighted minister remonstrates, even if Your Majesty rejects his advice, why must you also drive him from office? Yet Censor Jin Guangchen was actually dismissed for it, as if Your Majesty feared offending the eunuchs—that is scarcely the message to send the empire.

至今日刑政之最舛者，成德，傲吏也，而以贓戍，何以肅懲貪之令？申紹芳，十余年監司也，而以莫須有之鉆刺戍，何以昭抑競之典？鄭鄤之獄，或以誣告坐，何以示敦倫之化？此數事者，皆為故輔文震孟引繩批根，即向驅除異己之故智，而廷臣無敢言。

Among today's worst abuses of criminal justice: Cheng De was an overbearing official, yet he was banished only on a corruption charge—how does that vindicate the decree against graft? Shen Shaofang had served more than ten years as a provincial inspector, yet was banished on a trumped-up charge of lobbying—how does that uphold the standard meant to curb factionalism? In the Zheng Yan affair, men were punished on false charges—how does that teach the people to honor family duty? In each of these cases the former Grand Secretary Wen Zhenmeng pulled strings and settled scores—the old trick of purging rivals—and no courtier dared object.

陛下亦無從知之也。嗚呼，八年之間，誰秉國成，而至於是！臣不能為首揆溫體仁解矣。語曰：「誰生厲階，至今為梗。」體仁之謂也。疏奏，帝大怒，體仁又上章力詆，遂斥為民。

Your Majesty had no way of learning any of this. Alas—in eight years, who held the reins of government, that things have come to this! Your servant cannot defend Chief Grand Secretary Wen Tiren. As the ode says: "Who raised the mischief—still, to this day, a grievous thorn? That describes Tiren. When the memorial reached the throne the Emperor flew into a rage; Tiren submitted a furious rebuttal, and Zongzhou was reduced to commoner status.

十四年九月，吏部缺左侍郎，廷推不稱旨。帝臨朝而嘆，謂大臣：「劉宗周清正敢言，可用也。」遂以命之。再辭不得，乃趨朝。道中進三劄：一曰明聖學以端治本，二曰躬聖學以建治要，三曰重聖學以需治化，凡數千言。帝優旨報之。明年八月，未至擢左都御史。力辭，有詔敦趨。逾月，入見文華殿。帝問都察院職掌安在，對曰：「在正己以正百僚。必存諸中者，上可對君父，下可質天下士大夫，而後百僚則而象之。大臣法，小臣廉，紀綱振肅，職掌在是，而責成巡方其首務也。巡方得人，則吏治清，民生遂。」帝曰：「卿力行以副朕望。」乃列建道揆、貞法守、崇國體、清伏奸、懲官邪、飭吏治六事以獻，帝褒納焉。俄劾御史喻上猷、嚴雲京而薦袁愷、成勇，帝並從之。其後上猷受李自成顯職，卒為世大詬。

In the ninth month of year fourteen the Ministry of Personnel needed a Left Vice Minister; the court's nomination did not please the Emperor. At court the Emperor sighed and told his ministers: "Liu Zongzhou is honest and outspoken—he will serve well. The appointment was made at once. He declined twice but could not refuse, and set out for the capital. On the road he submitted three memorials: on clarifying sage learning as the foundation of rule; on embodying it as the core of government; and on upholding it as the path to a well-ordered realm—in all, several thousand words. The Emperor responded with a warm commendation. The following August, before he even reached the capital, he was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief. He protested vigorously, but an imperial order commanded him to proceed at once. A month later he was received in audience at Wenhua Hall. The Emperor asked what the Censorate's duty was. He answered: "To set one's own house in order, and thereby set the bureaucracy in order. What must be kept within: uprightness before sovereign and father, integrity before every scholar-official under Heaven—only then will the bureaucracy take that standard as its mirror. Senior officials must uphold the law, junior officials must stay honest, and discipline must be restored—that is the duty, and holding touring censors accountable comes first. Appoint the right men as touring censors, and local governance will be clean and the people will thrive. The Emperor said: "Carry this out with all your strength, as I expect of you." He then submitted a program of six reforms: restoring proper governance, upholding the law, defending the dignity of the state, uprooting hidden enemies, punishing corrupt officials, and tightening administrative discipline—and the Emperor approved it warmly. Soon he impeached Censors Yu Shangyou and Yan Yunjing and recommended Yuan Kai and Cheng Yong in their place—the Emperor agreed to both. Yu Shangyou later accepted a high post from Li Zicheng and was forever after condemned by posterity.

冬十月，京師被兵。請旌死事盧象升，而追戮誤國奸臣楊嗣昌，逮跋扈悍將左良玉；防關以備反攻，防潞以備透渡，防通、津、臨、德以備南下。帝不能盡行。

In the tenth month of winter the capital came under attack. He called for honors for Lu Xiangsheng, who had died in the field; for posthumous punishment of Yang Sichang, the minister who had betrayed the realm; and for the arrest of the domineering general Zuo Liangyu; Fortify the passes against a rebel counterthrust; hold Lu against a breakthrough crossing; and strengthen Tongzhou, Tianjin, Linqing, and Dezhou against a southward advance. The Emperor could not adopt all of these measures.

閏月晦日召見廷臣於中左門。時姜埰、熊開元以言事下詔獄，宗周約九卿共救。入朝，聞密旨置二人死。宗周愕然謂眾曰：「今日當空署爭，必改發刑部始已。」及入對，御史楊若橋薦西洋人湯若望善火器，請召試。宗周曰：「邊臣不講戰守屯戍之法，專恃火器。近來陷城破邑，豈無火器而然？我用之制人，人得之亦可制我，不見河間反為火器所破乎？國家大計，以法紀為主。大帥跋扈，援師逗遛，奈何反姑息，為此紛紛無益之舉耶？」因議督、撫去留，則請先去督師範誌完。且曰：「十五年來，陛下處分未當，致有今日敗局。不追禍始，更弦易轍，欲以一切茍且之政，補目前罅漏，非長治之道也。」帝變色曰：「前不可追，善後安在？」宗周曰：「在陛下開誠布公，公天下為好惡，合國人為用舍，進賢才，開言路，次第與天下更始。」帝曰：「目下烽火逼畿甸，且國家敗壞已極，當如何？」宗周曰：「武備必先練兵，練兵必先選將，選將必先擇賢督、撫，擇賢督、撫必先吏、兵二部得人。宋臣曰：『文官不愛錢，武官不惜死，則天下太平。』斯言，今日針砭也。論者但論才望，不問操守；未有操守不謹，而遇事敢前，軍士畏威者。若徒以議論捷給，舉動恢張，稱曰才望，取爵位則有余，責事功則不足，何益成敗哉？」帝曰：「濟變之日，先才後守。」宗周曰：「前人敗壞，皆由貪縱使然；故以濟變言，愈宜先守後才。」帝曰：「大將別有才局，非徒操守可望成功。」宗周曰：「他不具論，如範誌完操守不謹，大將偏裨無不由賄進，所以三軍解體。由此觀之，操守為主。」帝色解曰：「朕已知之。」敕宗周起。

On the last day of the intercalary month he summoned his ministers to audience at the Middle Left Gate. Jiang Cai and Xiong Kaiyuan had been thrown into the imperial prison for remonstrating; Zongzhou rallied the Nine Ministers to intercede. On entering court he learned that a secret order had condemned both men to death. Zongzhou stared in shock and told the others: "Today we must remonstrate with every seal left blank—we cannot rest until the case is transferred to the Ministry of Justice. When they came before the throne, Censor Yang Ruoqiao recommended the Westerner Adam Schall as an expert in firearms and asked that he be summoned for a trial demonstration. Zongzhou said: "Frontier officials no longer study the arts of defense and garrison duty—they rely entirely on firearms. Cities have fallen one after another lately—is that because we lacked firearms? We use them to subdue the enemy, but once the enemy has them they can subdue us—did not Hejian fall precisely to enemy firearms? The fundamental policy of the state rests on law and discipline. Field marshals grow insubordinate and relief columns stall—why indulge them and waste effort on such useless schemes? Turning to the question of which commanders should stay or go, he called first for the removal of Supreme Commander Fan Zhichuan. He added: "For fifteen years Your Majesty's decisions have missed the mark, and that has brought us to today's ruin. Without reckoning with how disaster began, and instead trying to patch present failures with every expedient at hand—that is not the path to lasting stability. The Emperor's face darkened. "The past cannot be undone—what then is to be done?" Zongzhou answered: "Your Majesty must speak plainly and govern openly—let the whole realm share in judgment of right and wrong, let the nation participate in choosing officials, promote talent, open the channels of remonstrance, and step by step begin anew with the people." The Emperor said: "War fires are already at the capital's gates, and the state is near collapse—what is to be done now?" Zongzhou said: "Military strength begins with trained soldiers; trained soldiers require chosen generals; good generals require worthy governors and commanders; and worthy governors require the right leaders in the Ministries of Personnel and War. As a Song statesman said: "When civil officials refuse bribes and military officers fear no death, the realm is at peace." Those words are the very medicine the age needs. Men are judged today only on brilliance and reputation, never on moral character; no commander lacking in integrity has ever dared lead from the front or inspired real discipline in his troops. Men who talk fast and act boldly are praised as talented, but such gifts win promotions, not victories—what good are they in deciding the fate of the realm?" The Emperor said: "In a crisis, talent comes before scruples." Zongzhou replied: "Every past collapse has come from greed and lax discipline; so in a crisis integrity must come before talent." The Emperor said: "A great commander needs a broader vision than mere integrity alone can provide." Zongzhou said: "Need I argue further? Take Fan Zhichuan—lacking in integrity, with every officer from general to captain buying his post—that is why the army fell apart. From this it is clear that character must come first." The Emperor's expression softened. "I understand," he said. He told Zongzhou to rise.

於是宗周出奏曰：「陛下方下詔求賢，姜埰、熊開元二臣遽以言得罪。國朝無言官下詔獄者，有之自二臣始。陛下度量卓越，妄如臣宗周，戇直如臣黃道周，尚蒙使過之典，二臣何不幸，不邀法外恩？」帝曰：「道周有學有守，非二臣比。」宗周曰：「二臣誠不及道周，然朝廷待言官有體，言可用用之，不可置之。即有應得之罪，亦當付法司。今遽下詔獄，終於國體有傷。」帝怒甚，曰：「法司錦衣皆刑官，何公何私？且罪一二言官，何遽傷國體？有如貪贓壞法，欺君罔上，皆可不問乎？」宗周曰：「錦衣，膏粱子弟，何知禮義？聽寺人役使。即陛下問貪贓壞法，欺君罔上，亦不可不付法司也。」帝大怒曰：「如此偏黨，豈堪憲職！」有間曰：「開元此疏，必有主使，疑即宗周。」金光辰爭之。帝叱光辰，並命議處。翼日，光辰貶三秩調用，宗周革職，刑部議罪。閣臣持不發，捧原旨御前懇救，乃免，斥為民。

Zongzhou then submitted a memorial from the floor: "Your Majesty has just issued an edict calling for men of talent, yet Jiang Cai and Xiong Kaiyuan have already been punished for speaking out. Never in this dynasty has a censor been thrown into the imperial prison—if it happens now, these two will be the first. Your Majesty's generosity is boundless—even rash men like myself and blunt ones like Huang Daozhou have been granted mercy—why are these two men denied even that? The Emperor said: "Huang Daozhou had learning and principles—they are not in the same class." Zongzhou said: "They may fall short of Huang Daozhou, but the court has always treated censors with dignity—accept good advice and reject bad, but do not destroy the men. Even if they deserve punishment, the matter belongs before the regular courts. To throw them at once into the imperial prison is to wound the dignity of the state itself." The Emperor flew into a rage. "The Ministry of Justice and the Brocade Guard are both courts of law—where is the distinction? And punishing one or two censors—how does that damage the state? Are graft, law-breaking, and deceit of the throne all to go unpunished?" Zongzhou said: "The Brocade Guard are pampered noblemen's sons—what do they know of justice? They take their orders from the eunuchs. Even for crimes of graft and treason, the case must still go to the regular judiciary." The Emperor exploded: "Such blatant favoritism—how can you hold the censor's post!" After a pause he said: "Someone must be behind Xiong Kaiyuan's memorial—I suspect it is Zongzhou himself." Jin Guangchen objected. The Emperor shouted Guangchen down and ordered both men punished. The next day Jin Guangchen was demoted three ranks and reassigned; Zongzhou was dismissed; the Ministry of Justice deliberated his sentence. The grand secretaries withheld the order and pleaded before the Emperor with the original edict in hand; Zongzhou was spared execution but banished as a commoner.

歸二年而京師陷。宗周徒步荷戈，詣杭州，責巡撫黃鳴駿發喪討賊，鳴駿誡以鎮靜，宗周勃然曰：「君父變出非常，公專閫外，不思枕戈泣血，激勵同仇，顧藉口鎮靜，作遜避計耶？」鳴駿唯唯。明日，復趣之。鳴駿曰：「發喪必待哀詔。」宗周曰：「嘻，此何時也，安所得哀詔哉！」鳴駿乃發喪。問師期，則曰：「甲仗未具。」宗周嘆曰：「嗟乎，是烏足與有為哉！」乃與故侍郎朱大典，故給事中章正宸、熊汝霖召募義旅。將發，而福王監國於南京，起宗周故官。宗周以大仇未報，不敢受職，自稱草莽孤臣，疏陳時政，言：

Two years after his return home, the capital fell. Zongzhou marched on foot with a weapon to Hangzhou and demanded that Governor Huang Mingjun proclaim the Emperor's death and raise troops against the rebels. Huang urged restraint. Zongzhou blazed with anger: "The throne itself has been overthrown, and you command the province—yet instead of taking up arms and weeping blood to rally vengeance, you cite 'restraint' as an excuse to do nothing? Huang Mingjun murmured agreement. The next day Zongzhou pressed him again. Huang Mingjun said: "We cannot proclaim the funeral without an imperial mourning edict. Zongzhou said: "Good heavens—what moment is this, and where would such an edict come from!" Huang Mingjun finally proclaimed the mourning. When asked when he would march, Huang said: "Our arms and armor are not yet ready. Zongzhou sighed: "Ah—this man is capable of nothing worth doing!" He then joined the former Vice Minister Zhu Dadian and the former palace advisers Zhang Zhenchen and Xiong Rulin in raising a volunteer army. Just as they were about to march, the Prince of Fu assumed regency at Nanjing and recalled Zongzhou to his former rank. Zongzhou declined the post while national vengeance remained unfulfilled, calling himself a private subject of the wilderness, and submitted a memorial on current policy, declaring:

今日大計，舍討賊復仇，無以表陛下渡江之心；非毅然決策親征，無以作天下忠義之氣。

The paramount task today is vengeance against the rebels—without it, Your Majesty's purpose in crossing the Yangtze cannot be made clear; Nothing short of a resolute decision to lead the campaign in person can stir the empire's spirit of loyal service.

一曰據形勝以規進取。江左非偏安之業，請進圖江北。鳳陽號中都，東扼徐、淮，北控豫州，西顧荊、襄，而南去金陵不遠，請以駐親征之師。大小銓除，暫稱行在，少存臣子負罪引慝之心。從此漸進，秦、晉、燕、齊必有響應而起者。

First, seize advantageous ground and plan the advance north. The lower Yangtze is no place to settle for mere survival; I urge an active strategy to recover the north. Fengyang—the old "Central Capital"—commands Xuzhou and the Huai region to the east, Henan to the north, and Jingzhou and Xiangyang to the west, while lying close to Nanjing to the south. Station Your Majesty's expeditionary force there. Keep all appointments provisional under a "mobile court" designation, preserving among your ministers some sense of shared guilt and penitence. Advance step by step from there, and Qin, Jin, Yan, and Qi will surely rally to the cause.

一曰重藩屏以資彈壓。淮、揚數百里，設兩節鉞，不能禦亂，爭先南下，致江北一塊土，拱手授賊。督漕路振飛坐守淮城，久以家屬浮舟遠地，是倡之逃也；於是鎮臣劉澤清、高傑遂有家屬寄江南之說。軍法臨陣脫逃者斬，臣謂一撫二鎮皆可斬也。

Second, strengthen the frontier defenses so they can actually hold the line. For hundreds of miles along the Huai and Yang regions, two commissioners with full military authority were stationed—yet they could not repel the enemy. They raced each other south and surrendered the entire north bank without a fight. Lu Zhenfei, commissioner of grain transport, held Huai city while keeping his family on boats far away—a clear signal that flight was acceptable; Soon the garrison generals Liu Zeqing and Gao Jie were likewise sending their families south of the Yangtze. Desertion on the battlefield is a capital offense. I say the governor and both garrison commanders all deserve execution.

一曰慎爵賞以肅軍情。請分別各帥封賞，孰當孰濫，輕則收侯爵，重則奪伯爵。夫以左帥之恢復而封，高、劉之敗逃亦封，又誰不當封者？武臣既濫，文臣隨之，外臣既濫，中珰隨之，恐天下聞而解體也。

Third, review ennoblements and rewards carefully to restore military discipline. Review every commander's titles and rewards: distinguish the deserved from the gratuitous. Strip lesser offenders of their marquisates; revoke earldoms from the worst. If the Left Marshal was ennobled for recovering territory while Gao and Liu were rewarded for defeat and flight, who would not claim a title? Indiscriminate rewards to generals invite the same from civil officials, and from regional officials to palace eunuchs. The empire will lose heart when it sees this.

一曰核舊官以立臣紀。燕京既破，有受偽官而叛者，有受偽官而逃者，有在封守而逃者，有奉使命而逃者，法皆不赦。亟宜分別定罪，為戒將來。

Fourth, audit former officials and restore ministerial standards. After the fall of Beijing, some took offices under the puppet regime and rebelled; some took such offices and fled; some abandoned their posts; some abandoned imperial missions. None deserve pardon. Judgment should be swift and differentiated, as a warning for the future.

至於偽命南下，徘徊順逆之間，實繁有徒；必且倡為曲說，以惑人心，尤宜誅絕。又言：

Many more accepted the rebel regime's appointments in the south and wavered between loyalty and surrender; They will surely spin excuses to confuse the people. These too must be punished without mercy. He continued:

當賊入秦流晉，漸過畿南，遠近洶洶，獨大江南北晏然，而二三督撫不聞遣一騎以壯聲援，賊遂得長驅犯闕。坐視君父之危亡而不救，則封疆諸臣之當誅者一。兇問已確，諸臣奮戈而起，決一戰以贖前愆，自當不俟朝食。方且仰聲息於南中，爭言固圉之策，卸兵權於閫外，首圖定策之功，則封疆諸臣之當誅者又一。新朝既立之後，謂宜不俟終日，首遣北伐之師。不然，則亟馳一介，間道北進，檄燕中父老，起塞上名王，哭九廟，厝梓宮，訪諸王。更不然，則起閩帥鄭芝龍，以海師下直沽，九邊督鎮合謀共奮，事或可為。而諸臣計不出此，則舉朝謀國不忠之當誅者又一。罪廢諸臣，量從昭雪，自應援先帝遺詔及之，今乃概用新恩。誅閹定案，前後詔書鶻突，勢必彪虎之類，盡從平反而後已，則舉朝謀國不忠之當誅者又一。臣謂今日問罪，當自中外諸臣不職者始。

When the rebels swept through Shaanxi and Shanxi toward the capital, panic spread everywhere—yet the Jiangnan region sat undisturbed while governors and commissioners failed to send a single rider to aid the capital. The rebels rode straight to the Forbidden City. Standing idle while the emperor and dynasty perished—that is the first count against the frontier officials. Once the dreadful news was confirmed, ministers should have seized their arms and fought immediately to redeem themselves—not even waiting for breakfast. Instead they looked to Nanjing for safety, quarreled over defensive strategies, shirked military responsibility to outsiders, and fought over credit for policy decisions—that is another count against them. Once the new court was established, a northern expedition should have been launched the very same day. At minimum, send an envoy by secret route north: rally the elders of Yan, summon the princes of the frontier, mourn the ancestral temples, recover the emperor's coffin, and find surviving members of the imperial clan. Better still, mobilize Zheng Zhilong of Fujian: sail a fleet to Tianjin while the frontier governors and garrisons coordinate a rising—the cause might yet be saved. The court conceived none of these plans—another count of disloyalty against the ministers. Officials punished and dismissed should have been restored according to the late emperor's will. Instead blanket amnesties have been granted. The verdicts against the eunuchs have been overturned by contradictory edicts. Rapacious figures of that ilk will all be rehabilitated—yet another count of disloyalty. I say accountability should begin with every negligent minister, at court and in the provinces.

詔納其言，宣付史館，中外為悚動。而馬士英、高傑、劉澤清恨甚，滋欲殺宗周矣。宗周連疏請告不得命，遂抗疏劾士英，言：

The emperor accepted the memorial and ordered it deposited in the Historical Archives. Court and country were shaken. Ma Shi Ying, Gao Jie, and Liu Zeqing were enraged and increasingly bent on killing Zongzhou. Zongzhou repeatedly requested leave without success, then submitted a bold memorial impeaching Ma Shi Ying, declaring:

陛下龍飛淮甸，天實予之。乃有扈蹕微勞，入內閣，進中樞，宮銜世蔭，晏然當之不疑者，非士英乎？於是李沾侈言定策，挑激廷臣矣。劉孔昭以功賞不均，發憤冢臣，朝端嘩然聚訟，而群陰且翩翩起矣。借知兵之名，則逆黨可以然灰，寬反正之路，則逃臣可以汲引，而閣部諸臣且次第言去矣。中朝之黨論方興，何暇圖河北之賊？立國之本紀已疏，何以言匡攘之略？高傑一逃將也，而奉若驕子，浸有尾大之憂。淮、揚失事，不難譴撫臣道臣以謝之，安得不長其桀驁，則亦恃士英卵翼也。劉、黃諸將，各有舊汛地，而置若弈棋，洶洶為連雞之勢，至分剖江北四鎮以慰之，安得不啟其雄心，則皆高傑一人倡之也。京營自祖宗以來，皆勛臣為政，樞貳佐之。陛下立國伊始，而有內臣盧九德之命，則士英有不得辭其責者。

Your Majesty's accession in the Huai region was Heaven's own gift. Yet for escort duty of the slightest kind, one man entered the Grand Secretariat, took control of the central administration, and accepted hereditary honors without a qualm—was that not Ma Shi Ying? Then Li Zhan boasted of having settled the succession and goaded the court into factional strife. Liu Kongzhao, angered by unequal rewards, turned his fury on the chief minister. The court erupted in uproar, and the dark faction began to stir. Invoking "military expertise" lets traitors off scot-free; opening the path to "surrender" welcomes back deserters—and ministers of the Grand Secretariat are resigning one after another. With factional warfare consuming the court, who has time to fight the rebels in the north? The foundations of the new state are already neglected—how can we speak of recovering the realm? Gao Jie was a deserter, yet he was treated like a spoiled favorite—a growing threat to the throne. After the Huai-Yang disaster, the court could easily have reprimanded the governor and circuit intendant to appease him—but that only fed his arrogance, shielded as he was by Ma Shi Ying's protection. Generals Liu and Huang each held established garrison posts, yet their territories were shuffled like chess pieces until mutual suspicion reigned. The four garrisons north of the river were carved up to appease Gao Jie—how could that not inflame their ambitions? He alone started it all. Since the founding of the dynasty, the Metropolitan Garrison has been commanded by meritorious nobles, with senior officers as deputies. At the very founding of the state, Your Majesty appointed the eunuch Lu Jiude to command the Metropolitan Garrison—Ma Shi Ying cannot evade responsibility for that.

總之，兵戈盜賊，皆從小人氣類感召而生，而小人與奄宦又往往相表裏。自古未有奄宦用事，而將帥能樹功於方域者。惟陛下首辨陰陽消長之機，出士英仍督鳳陽，聯絡諸鎮，決用兵之策。史可法即不還中樞，亦當自淮而北，歷河以南，別開幕府，與士英相掎角。京營提督，獨斷寢之。書之史冊，為弘光第一美政。

In sum, war and rebellion spring from the collusion of petty men—and petty men and eunuchs are invariably partners in crime. Never in history have eunuchs held power while generals won victories in the field. I urge Your Majesty to read the balance of power clearly: dismiss Ma Shi Ying but send him to supervise Fengyang, coordinate the garrisons, and settle on a military strategy. Even if Shi Kefa does not return to the central administration, he should march north from the Huai, cross the Yellow River, establish a separate command, and coordinate with Ma Shi Ying in a pincer movement. As for the Metropolitan Garrison command—cancel that appointment outright. Record it in the annals as the Hongguang era's first great act of statecraft.

王優詔答之，而促其速入。

The emperor replied with a gracious edict and urged him to come to court at once.

士英大怒，即日具疏辭位，且揚言於朝曰：「劉公自稱草莽孤臣，不書新命，明示不臣天子也。」其私人朱統钅類遂劾宗周疏請移蹕鳳陽：「鳳陽，高墻所在，欲以罪宗處皇上，而與史可法擁立潞王。其兵已伏丹陽，當急備。」而澤清、傑日夜謀所以殺宗周者不得，乃遣客十輩往刺宗周。宗周時在丹陽，終日危坐，未嘗有惰容，客前後至者，不敢加害而去。而黃鳴駿入覲，兵抵京口，與防江兵相擊鬥。士英以統钅類言為信也，亦震恐。於是澤清疏劾：「宗周陰撓恢復，欲誅臣等，激變士心，召生靈之禍。」劉良佐亦具疏言宗周力持「三案」，為門戶主盟，倡議親征，圖晁錯之自為居守，司馬懿之閉城拒君。疏未下，澤清復草一疏，署傑、良佐及黃得功名上之，言：「宗周勸上親征，謀危君父，欲安置陛下於烽火兇危之地。蓋非宗周一人之謀，姜曰廣、吳甡合謀也。曰廣心雄膽大，翊戴非其本懷，故陰結死黨，翦除諸忠，然後迫劫乘輿，遷之別郡。如甡、宗周入都，臣等即渡江赴闕，面訐諸奸，正《春秋》討賊之義。」疏入，舉朝大駭，傳諭和衷集事。宗周不得已，以七月十八日入朝。初，澤清疏出，遣人錄示傑。傑曰：「我輩武人，乃預朝事耶？」得功疏辨：「臣不預聞。」士英寢不奏。可法不平，遣使遍詰諸鎮，咸云不知，遂據以入告，澤清輩由是氣沮。

Ma Shi Ying was furious. That same day he submitted his resignation and declared at court: "Lord Liu calls himself a private subject of the wilderness and omitted the new imperial title from his memorial—a plain refusal to acknowledge the Son of Heaven." His client Zhu Tonglei then impeached Zongzhou for requesting that the court move to Fengyang: "Fengyang is a prison city. He means to confine the emperor there while he and Shi Kefa install the Prince of Lu. His troops are already hidden at Danyang. Guard against them at once." Meanwhile Liu Zeqing and Gao Jie plotted day and night to kill Zongzhou. Failing in that, they sent ten groups of assassins after him. Zongzhou was then at Danyang, sitting upright all day without a trace of fear. Assassins came and went but none dared strike. Meanwhile Huang Mingjun came to court, and his troops reached Jingkou and fought with the river-defense forces. Ma Shi Ying, believing Zhu Tonglei's accusation, was terrified as well. Then Liu Zeqing memorialized: "Zongzhou secretly sabotages the recovery effort, seeks to execute us, inflames the troops, and invites disaster upon the people." Liu Liangzuo also submitted a memorial accusing Zongzhou of championing the "Three Cases," leading the factional alliance, and urging a personal campaign—plotting, like Chao Cuo, to hold power while the emperor marched, and, like Sima Yi, to shut the gates against the throne. Before that memorial was even issued, Liu Zeqing drafted another, signed by Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo, and Huang Degong, declaring: "Zongzhou urged Your Majesty to lead the campaign personally, endangering the throne, and meant to place you in the midst of battle and peril. This was not Zongzhou's plot alone—Jiang Yueguang and Wu Shen were his co-conspirators. Yueguang is ambitious and bold; enthroning the emperor was never his true aim. He secretly formed a faction, purged the loyal, and then meant to seize the imperial carriage and relocate the court. If Wu Shen and Zongzhou enter the capital, we shall cross the Yangtze, appear before the throne, denounce these traitors face to face, and uphold the 《Spring and Autumn Annals》 principle of punishing rebels." When the memorial arrived, the court was horrified. An edict was issued calling for harmony and unity. Zongzhou had no choice but to enter court on the eighteenth day of the seventh month. When Liu Zeqing's memorial was issued, he sent a copy to Gao Jie. Gao Jie said: "We are soldiers—since when do we meddle in court affairs?" Huang Degong submitted a defense: "Your subject had no part in this." Ma Shi Ying suppressed it and never forwarded it to the throne. Shi Kefa, indignant, sent envoys to question every garrison. All denied knowledge of the plot. He reported this to the throne, and Liu Zeqing and his allies lost heart.

士英既嫉宗周，益欲去之，而薦阮大鋮知兵。有詔冠帶陛見。未幾，中旨特授兵部添註右侍郎。宗周曰：「大鋮進退，系江左興亡，老臣不敢不一爭之。不聽，則亦將歸爾。」疏入，不聽，宗周遂告歸，詔許乘傳。將行，疏陳五事：

Ma Shi Ying, already hostile to Zongzhou, sought all the more to remove him—and recommended Ruan Dacheng as a military expert. An edict summoned him to court in formal dress. Soon afterward, by special imperial order he was appointed additional Right Vice Minister of War. Zongzhou said: "Whether Ruan Dacheng is appointed or dismissed bears on the survival of the southern regime—I cannot remain silent. If the court will not listen, I too shall resign." The memorial was rejected. Zongzhou resigned, and the emperor granted him the use of official transport. Before departing, he submitted a final memorial outlining five points:

一曰修聖政，毋以近娛忽遠猷。國家不幸，遭此大變，今紛紛制作，似不復有中原誌者。土木崇矣，珍奇集矣，俳優雜劇陳矣；內豎充廷，金吾滿座，戚畹駢闐矣；讒夫昌，言路扼，官常亂矣。所謂狃近娛而忽遠圖也。

First, restore sound governance; do not let present pleasures eclipse long-term strategy. The dynasty has suffered catastrophe, yet the court busies itself with new projects as though no one any longer aspires to recover the north. Palaces rise, curios accumulate, and actors and plays fill the halls; eunuchs pack the court, imperial guards fill every seat, and royal in-laws crowd the halls; slanderers thrive, the channels of remonstrance are blocked, and official conduct is in chaos. This is what it means to indulge the present and forget the larger design.

一曰明國是，無以邪鋒危正氣。朋黨之說，小人以加君子，釀國家空虛之禍，先帝末造可鑒也。今更為一二元惡稱冤，至諸君子後先死於黨、死於徇國者，若有余戮。揆厥所由，止以一人進用，動引三朝故事，排抑舊人。私交重，君父輕，身自樹黨，而坐他人以黨，所謂長邪鋒而危正氣也。

Second, clarify the nation's true direction; do not let factional malice undermine upright conduct. The charge of "faction" is a weapon petty men wield against the upright—it hollowed out the state in the late emperor's reign, and that lesson stands before us. Now the chief villains are being rehabilitated, while gentlemen who died for their principles or for the country seem to have been punished beyond death itself. The cause is plain: one man's appointment, justified by precedents from three reigns, has been used to purge the old guard. Private alliances weigh heavier than loyalty to the throne; he forms a faction himself while accusing others of factionalism—this is how malice grows and upright conduct is destroyed.

一曰端治術，無以刑名先教化。先帝頗尚刑名，而殺機先動於溫體仁。殺運日開，怨毒滿天下。近如貪吏之誅，不經提問，遽科罪名；未科罪名，先追贓罰。假令有禹好善之巡方，借成德以媚權相，又孰辨之？又職方戎政之奸弊，道路嘖有煩言，雖衛臣有不敢問者，則廠衛之設何為？徒令人主虧至德，傷治體，所謂急刑名而忘教化也。

Third, set governance on the right footing; do not put punitive law ahead of moral instruction. The late emperor leaned heavily on punitive law, and the appetite for executions began with Wen Tiren. The cycle of executions widened day by day until resentment poisoned the realm. Recently corrupt officials have been condemned without proper inquiry; restitution is demanded before guilt is even established. If an inspector like Yu Haoshan were to tour the provinces, using Cheng De's case to curry favor with the chief minister—who could tell justice from flattery? Corruption in the Bureau of Appointments' military affairs draws public outrage, yet even the guard officials dare not investigate—what then is the purpose of the secret police? It only diminishes the emperor's moral authority and damages the foundations of rule—this is what it means to fixate on punishment and forget moral instruction.

一曰固邦本，毋以外釁釀內憂。前者淮、揚告變，未幾而高、黃二鎮治兵相攻。四鎮額兵各三萬，不以殺敵而自相屠毒，又日煩朝廷講和，何為者！夫以十二萬不殺敵之兵，索十二萬不殺敵之餉，必窮之術耳。不稍裁抑，惟加派橫征。蓄一二蒼鷹乳虎之有司，以天下徇之已矣，所謂積外釁而釀內憂也。

Fourth, strengthen the nation's foundations; do not let troubles abroad ferment crisis at home. When Huai and Yang first reported unrest, it was not long before the Gao and Huang garrisons mobilized and turned on each other. Four garrisons, each nominally thirty thousand strong, slaughter one another instead of fighting the enemy—and daily demand that the court broker peace. To what end? Maintaining a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers who never fight, and paying rations for a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers who never fight—this is a sure path to ruin. Rather than cut them back, the court only adds new levies and exorbitant taxes. To keep a few predatory warlords and sacrifice the realm to their ambitions—this is how external threats are nurtured into civil catastrophe.

優詔報聞。

The emperor responded with a gracious edict acknowledging the memorial.

明年五月，南都亡。六月，潞王降，杭州亦失守。宗周方食，推案慟哭，自是遂不食。移居郭外，有勸以文、謝故事者。宗周曰：「北都之變，可以死，可以無死，以身在田裏，尚有望於中興也。南都之變，主上自棄其社稷，尚曰可以死，可以無死，以俟繼起有人也。今吾越又降矣，老臣不死，尚何待乎？若曰身不在位，不當與城為存亡，獨不當與土為存亡乎？此江萬里所以死也。」出辭祖墓，舟過西洋港，躍入水中，水淺不得死，舟人扶出之。絕食二十三日，始猶進茗飲，後勺水不下者十三日，與門人問答如平時。閏六月八日卒，年六十有八。其門人徇義者有祝淵、王毓蓍。

The following May, the Southern Capital was lost. In June the Prince of Lu surrendered, and Hangzhou fell as well. Zongzhou was at his meal when he shoved the table aside and broke into agonized weeping. From that moment he refused food. He moved outside the city walls. Some urged him to follow the examples of Wen Tianxiang and Xie Fangde. Zongzhou said, "When the Northern Capital fell, one might die or one might live; I was in the countryside, and restoration still seemed possible. When the Southern Capital fell, the emperor had abandoned his own throne—yet one might still choose to die or to live, in hope that another leader would emerge. Now our own region of Yue has surrendered. If an old minister such as I does not die, what am I waiting for? If one argues that without office one need not share a city's fate, must one not still share one's native soil's fate? This was why Jiang Wanli chose death." He went to pay farewell at his ancestors' graves, then took a boat past Xiyang Harbor and threw himself into the water. The water was too shallow, and the boatmen pulled him out. He fasted for twenty-three days. At first he still drank tea; for the last thirteen days he would not swallow even a spoonful of water. With his disciples he discussed and answered as though nothing were amiss. He died on the eighth day of the intercalary sixth month, aged sixty-eight. Among his disciples who died for principle were Zhu Yuan and Wang Muzhi.

淵，字開美，海寧人。崇禎六年舉於鄉。自以年少學未充，棲峰巔僧舍，讀書三年，山僧罕見其面。十五年冬，會試入都，適宗周廷諍姜埰、熊開元削籍。淵抗疏曰：「宗周戇直性成，忠孝天授，受任以來，蔬食不飽，終宵不寢，圖報國恩。今四方多難，貪墨成風，求一清剛臣以司風紀，孰與宗周？宗周以迂戇斥，繼之者必淟涊；宗周以偏執斥，繼之者必便捷。淟涊便捷之夫進，必且營私納賄，顛倒貞邪。乞收還成命，復其故官，天下幸甚。」帝得疏不懌，停淵會試，下禮官議。淵故不識宗周，既得命往謁。宗周曰：「子為此舉，無所為而為之乎，抑動於名心而為之也？」淵爽然避席曰：「先生名滿天下，誠恥不得列門墻爾，願執贄為弟子。」明年，從宗周山陰。禮官議上，逮下詔獄，詰主使姓名。淵曰：「男兒死即死爾，何聽人指使為！」移刑部，進士共疏出淵。未幾，都城陷，營死難太常少卿吳麟征喪，歸其柩。詣南京刑部，竟前獄，尚書諭止之。上疏請誅奸輔，通政司抑不奏。給事中陳子龍疏薦淵及待詔塗仲吉義士，可為臺諫。仲吉者，漳浦人，以諸生走萬里上書明黃道周冤，得罪杖譴者也。不許。

Zhu Yuan, courtesy name Kaimei, was from Haining. In the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633) he passed the provincial examination. Feeling himself too young and his learning incomplete, he secluded himself in a hermitage on a mountain peak for three years of study, rarely showing his face even to the monks. In the winter of the fifteenth year (1642) he traveled to the capital for the metropolitan examination, just as Liu Zongzhou was remonstrating at court over the dismissal of Jiang Cai and Xiong Kaiyuan. Zhu Yuan submitted a forceful memorial: "Liu Zongzhou is blunt and upright by nature, endowed with loyalty and filial devotion. Since taking office he has lived on frugal meals and slept little, devoting himself to repaying the state's grace. The realm faces calamity on every side and corruption runs rampant. If you seek an upright man to enforce discipline, who is better than Liu Zongzhou? If Liu Zongzhou is dismissed as inflexible, his successor will surely be obsequious; if he is dismissed as obstinate, his successor will surely be sly and expedient. Once such obsequious and crafty men rise, they will trade favors for bribes and invert right and wrong. I beg Your Majesty to revoke the order and restore him to office. The realm would be the better for it." The emperor, displeased, barred Zhu Yuan from the metropolitan examination and referred the matter to the Board of Rites. Zhu Yuan had never met Liu Zongzhou before, but once granted leave he went to visit him. Liu Zongzhou asked, "Did you act without ulterior motive, or were you moved by a craving for reputation?" Zhu Yuan rose from his seat and said frankly, "Your reputation fills the realm. I would be ashamed not to join your school. I wish to become your disciple." The following year he followed Liu Zongzhou to Shanyin. When the Board of Rites reported its findings, Zhu Yuan was thrown into the imperial prison and interrogated about who had incited him. Zhu Yuan said, "A man lives or dies by his own conviction. Why would I take orders from anyone?" The case passed to the Ministry of Justice, and fellow jinshi submitted a joint memorial demanding his release. Soon after, the capital fell. Zhu Yuan arranged the funeral of Wu Linzheng, the Vice Minister of Ceremonies who had died in the fall, and escorted his coffin home. He went to the Nanjing Ministry of Justice to pursue his old case, but the minister ordered him to desist. He memorialized calling for the execution of corrupt ministers, but the Transmission Office suppressed it. The supervising secretary Chen Zilong recommended Zhu Yuan and the Hanlin attendant Tu Zhongji as men of principle fit for censorial posts. Tu Zhongji was from Zhangpu. As a common student he had traveled a vast distance to petition on Huang Daozhou's behalf and was punished with beating and exile. The recommendation was rejected.

宗周罷官家居，淵數往問學。嘗有過，入曲室長跪流涕自扌過。杭州失守，淵方葬母，趣竣工。既葬，還家設祭，即投繯而卒，年三十五也。逾二日，宗周餓死。

After Liu Zongzhou was dismissed and returned home, Zhu Yuan visited him frequently to study. When he had done wrong, he would go to a private room, kneel in tears, and chastise himself. When Hangzhou fell, Zhu Yuan was burying his mother and rushed to complete the funeral. After the burial he returned home, made offerings, and hanged himself. He was thirty-five. Two days later Liu Zongzhou died of starvation.

毓蓍，字元趾，會稽人。為諸生，跌宕不羈。已，受業宗周之門，同門生鹹非笑之。杭州不守，宗周絕粒未死，毓蓍上書曰：「願先生早自裁，毋為王炎午所吊。」俄一友來視，毓蓍曰：「子若何？」曰：「有陶淵明故事在。」毓蓍曰：「不然。吾輩聲色中人，慮久則難持也。」一日，遍召故交歡飲，伶人奏樂。酒罷，攜燈出門，投柳橋下，先宗周一月死。鄉人私謚正義先生。

Wang Muzhi, courtesy name Yuanzhi, was from Kuaiji. A student, he was wild and unrestrained. Later he became Liu Zongzhou's disciple, to the derision of his fellow students. When Hangzhou fell, Liu Zongzhou was starving himself but had not yet died. Wang Muzhi wrote: "Master, I urge you to end your life soon, lest you be mocked by someone like Wang Yanwu." Soon a friend came to call. Wang Muzhi asked, "What will you do?" The friend replied, "One always has the example of Tao Yuanming." Wang Muzhi said, "No. We are men who love pleasure. Given time, I fear we could not hold to such restraint." One day he summoned all his old friends for a farewell feast, with musicians playing. When the wine was spent, he took a lamp, walked out, and drowned himself beneath Willow Bridge—one month before Liu Zongzhou's death. His countrymen gave him the posthumous title Master of Righteous Integrity.

宗周始受業於許孚遠。已，入東林書院，與高攀龍輩講習。馮從吾首善書院之會，宗周亦與焉。越中自王守仁後，一傳為王畿，再傳為周汝登、陶望齡，三傳為陶奭齡，皆雜於禪。奭齡講學白馬山，為因果說，去守仁益遠。宗周憂之，築證人書院，集同誌講肄。且死，語門人曰：「學之要，誠而已，主敬其功也。敬則誠，誠則天。良知之說，鮮有不流於禪者。」宗周在官之日少，其事君，不以面從為敬。入朝，雖處暗室，不敢南向。或訊大獄，會大議，對明旨，必卻坐拱立移時。或謝病，徒步家居，布袍粗飯，樂道安貧。聞召就道，嘗不能具冠裳。學者稱念臺先生。子汋，字伯繩。

Liu Zongzhou first studied under Xu Fuyuan. He later entered the Donglin Academy, where he studied with Gao Panlong and others. He also took part in the gatherings at Feng Congwu's Shoushan Academy. In the Yue region after Wang Yangming, learning passed through Wang Ji, then Zhou Rudeng and Tao Wangling, then Tao Shiling—each generation more infused with Chan Buddhism. Tao Shiling taught on White Horse Mountain, preaching karmic causality, drifting ever further from Wang Yangming's teaching. Alarmed by this trend, Liu Zongzhou founded the Zhengren Academy and gathered like-minded scholars for serious study. Near death he told his disciples: "The heart of learning is sincerity; reverence is its practice. Through reverence comes sincerity; through sincerity one reaches Heaven. Few who preach innate moral knowledge avoid sliding into Chan." Liu Zongzhou spent little time in office. In serving the emperor he did not equate agreement with loyalty. Even in a private room at court he would not sit facing south—the direction reserved for the emperor. Whether presiding over major trials, attending great deliberations, or receiving imperial commands, he would always step back, bow, and stand for a long moment. When at home on sick leave he went about on foot in coarse robes, eating simple food, delighting in the Way and accepting poverty. When summoned to office he would set out at once, sometimes without even proper ceremonial dress. Scholars know him as Master Niantai. His son Liu Zuo, courtesy name Bosheng.

黃道周，字幼平，漳浦人。天啟二年進士。改庶吉士，授編修，為經筵展書官。故事，必膝行前，道周獨否，魏忠賢目攝之。未幾，內艱歸。

Huang Daozhou, courtesy name Youping, was from Zhangpu. He passed the jinshi examination in the second year of Tianqi (1622). He was appointed a Hanlin bachelor and Compiler, serving as book bearer at the imperial lecture sessions. By custom, book bearers advanced on their knees. Huang Daozhou alone refused. Wei Zhongxian fixed him with a menacing stare. Not long after, he returned home to mourn his mother.

崇禎二年起故官，進右中允。三疏救故相錢龍錫，降調，龍錫得減死。五年正月方候補，遘疾求去。瀕行，上疏曰：

In the second year of Chongzhen (1629) he resumed office and was promoted to Right Sub-Reader. He submitted three memorials to save the former chancellor Qian Longxi. Though Huang Daozhou himself was demoted, Qian's death sentence was commuted. In the first month of the fifth year (1632), while awaiting reassignment, he fell ill and requested leave. Before departing, he submitted a memorial:

臣自幼學《易》，以天道為準。上下載籍二千四百年，考其治亂，百不失一。陛下禦極之元年，正當《師》之上九，其爻云：「大君有命，開國承家，小人勿用。」陛下思賢才不遽得，懲小人不易絕，蓋陛下有大君之實，而小人懷幹命之心。臣入都以來，所見諸大臣皆無遠猷，動尋苛細，治朝寧者以督責為要談，治邊疆者以姑息為上策。序仁義道德，則以為迂昧而不經；奉刀筆簿書，則以為通達而知務。一切磨勘，則葛藤終年；一意不調，而株連四起。陛下欲整頓紀綱，斥攘外患，諸臣用之以滋章法令，摧折縉紳；陛下欲剔弊防奸，懲一警百，諸臣用之以借題修隙，斂怨市權。且外廷諸臣敢誑陛下者，必不在拘攣守文之士，而在權力謬巧之人；內廷諸臣敢誑陛下者，必不在錐刀泉布之微，而在阿柄神叢之大。惟陛下超然省覽，旁稽載籍，自古迄今，決無數米量薪，可成遠大之猷，吹毛數睫，可奏三五之治者。彼小人見事，智每短於事前，言每多於事後。不救淩圍，而謂淩城必不可築；不理島民，而謂島眾必不可用；兵逃於久頓，而謂亂生於無兵；餉糜於漏邑，而謂功銷於無餉。亂視熒聽，浸淫相欺，馴至極壞，不可復挽，臣竊危之。自二年以來，以察去弊，而弊愈多；以威創頑，而威滋殫。是亦反申、商以歸周、孔，捐苛細以崇惇大之時矣。

"Your servant has studied the Book of Changes since youth, taking Heaven's way as his standard. Across twenty-four centuries of history, its judgments of order and chaos have scarcely ever missed. The year Your Majesty took the throne corresponds to the top line of the Hexagram Army, which reads: "The sovereign receives Heaven's mandate to establish states and lineages; petty men must not be employed." You seek worthy men but cannot find them quickly; you would punish the wicked but cannot easily cut them off. Your Majesty possesses the qualities of a true sovereign, yet petty men harbor ambitions to seize power. Since coming to court I have found the ministers devoid of vision, obsessed with petty details. Those managing domestic affairs speak only of harsh enforcement; those managing the frontiers preach only appeasement. Speak of benevolence and righteousness and they dismiss it as impractical pedantry; praise legalism and administrative minutiae and they call it worldly wisdom. Endless audits tie the bureaucracy in knots for months on end; a single inconsistency triggers a chain of reprisals. When Your Majesty seeks to restore discipline and repel foreign threats, ministers use it to multiply laws and crush the scholar-official class; when you seek to purge corruption and punish the guilty, they use it to settle scores and consolidate power. Those in the outer court who dare deceive Your Majesty are not the rigid conservatives but the power-hungry schemers; those in the inner court who dare deceive you are not minor peculators but the great wielders of hidden patronage and influence. I urge Your Majesty to rise above petty counsel and consult history: from antiquity to the present, no ruler who counted grains of rice or hairs on eyelashes ever achieved a great vision or the golden age of the sage-kings. Petty men are always wise after the fact and never before. They refused to relieve the siege at Ling, yet insisted the fort at Ling could never have been built; They neglected the islanders, yet insisted the island forces were unusable; Soldiers deserted from prolonged stagnation, yet they blamed the unrest on insufficient troops; Supplies were squandered through leaky administration, yet they attributed failure to inadequate funding. Men look blindly and listen falsely, deceiving one another until all is ruined beyond repair. I tremble at where this leads. Since the second year of your reign, every effort to purge corruption through investigation has only multiplied the abuses; Every attempt to cow the wicked through harsh punishment has only drained your authority. Surely this is the moment to abandon the Legalism of Shen Buhai and Shang Yang and return to the Confucian ideals of the Zhou—to set aside petty severity in favor of generous governance.

帝不懌，摘「葛藤」、「株連」數語，令具陳。道周上言曰：

The emperor took offense, seized on the phrases "entanglements" and "guilt by association," and ordered Huang Daozhou to explain himself in full. Huang Daozhou submitted a memorial stating:

邇年諸臣所目營心計，無一實為朝廷者。其用人行事，不過推求報復而已。自前歲春月以後，盛談邊疆，實非為陛下邊疆，乃為逆珰而翻邊疆也；去歲春月以後，盛言科場，實非為陛下科場，乃為仇隙而翻科場也。此非所謂「葛藤」、「株連」乎？自古外患未弭，則大臣一心以憂外患；小人未退，則大臣一心以憂小人。今獨以遺君父，而大臣自處於催科比較之末。行事而事失，則曰事不可為；用人而人失，則曰人不足用。此臣所謂舛也。三十年來，釀成門戶之禍，今又取縉紳稍有器識者，舉網投阱，即緩急安得一士之用乎！凡絕餌而去者，必非魚；戀棧而來者，必非駿馬。以利祿豢士，則所豢者必嗜利之臣；以箠楚驅人，則就驅者必駑駘之骨。今諸臣之才具心術，陛下其知之矣。知其為小人而又以小人矯之，則小人之焰益張；知其為君子而更以小人參之，則君子之功不立。天下總此人才，不在廊廟則在林藪。臣所知識者有馬如蛟、毛羽健、任贊化，所聞習者有惠世揚、李邦華，在仕籍者有徐良彥、曾櫻、朱大典、陸夢龍、鄒嘉生，皆卓犖駿偉，使當一面，必有可觀。

In recent years the ministers' every scheme and calculation has served anything but the throne. In appointing men and handling affairs they do nothing but settle scores. Since the spring before last they have talked endlessly of border affairs—not for Your Majesty's frontiers, but to weaponize the borders on behalf of a treacherous eunuch faction; Since last spring they have harped on the examination system—not for Your Majesty's examinations, but to turn the examinations into a weapon against personal enemies. Is this not precisely what I meant by "entanglements" and "guilt by association"? Throughout history, when foreign threats persisted, ministers united in fear of foreign threats; When petty men had not been removed, ministers united in fear of petty men. Now they leave everything to Your Majesty and the dynasty, while ministers reduce themselves to squabbling over tax collection and legal disputes. When their policies fail, they declare that nothing can be done; When their appointees fail, they declare that no worthy men can be found. This is what I call getting everything backward. Thirty years of factional strife have brought us to this pass. Now they hunt down every gifted scholar-official—and in an emergency, who will be left to serve? Those who refuse bait and walk away are never ordinary fish; Those who cling to the trough for feed are never fine horses. Feed scholars with salary and emoluments, and you will attract only those who crave wealth; Drive men with the whip, and only worn-out hacks will answer the call. Your Majesty knows full well what sort of talents and motives these ministers possess. If you recognize them as petty men yet employ petty men to restrain them, the petty men's power only grows; If you recognize worthy men yet pair them with petty men, the worthy will accomplish nothing. All the talent in the empire is either in office or in the wilderness. Men I know personally include Ma Rujiao, Mao Yujian, and Ren Zanhua; men of known reputation include Hui Shiyang and Li Banghua; men still on the rolls include Xu Liangyan, Zeng Ying, Zhu Dadian, Lu Menglong, and Zou Jiasheng—all of them exceptional. Given each his own theater of command, they would surely distinguish themselves.

語皆刺大學士周延儒、溫體仁，帝益不懌，斥為民。

His words were aimed at Grand Secretaries Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren. The emperor grew angrier still and stripped him of office, reducing him to commoner status.

九年用薦召，復故官。明年閏月，久旱修省，道周上言：「近者中外齋宿，為百姓請命，而五日內系兩尚書，未聞有人申一疏者。安望其戡亂除兇，贊平明之治乎？陛下焦勞於上，小民展轉於下，而諸臣括囊其間，稍有人心，宜不至此。」又上疏曰：「陛下寬仁弘宥，有身任重寄至七八載罔效、擁權自若者。積漸以來，國無是非，朝無枉直，中外臣工率茍且圖事，誠可痛憤。然其視聽一系於上。上急催科則下急賄賂；上樂鍥核，則下樂巉險；上喜告訐，則下喜誣陷。當此南北交訌，奈何與市井細民，申勃谿之談，修睚眥之隙乎。」時體仁方招奸人構東林、復社之獄，故道周及之。

In the ninth year (1636), he was recalled on recommendation and restored to his former post. The following year, in the intercalary month, during a drought rite of self-examination Huang Daozhou memorialized: "Recently court and country have fasted and prayed for the people, yet within five days two ministers were thrown into prison—and not one official spoke up with a memorial. How can such men be expected to quell rebellion, punish the wicked, and support enlightened rule? Your Majesty burns with anxiety above, the people suffer below, yet the ministers between them hold their tongues and pocket their hands. Men with any conscience at all ought not behave so." He submitted another memorial: "Your Majesty is generous and magnanimous, yet some ministers have held great power for seven or eight years without result and remain untouchable. Over time the state has lost all moral compass, the court all sense of justice. Officials everywhere act with mere expediency. This is truly infuriating. Yet what they see and hear depends entirely on the tone set from above. When the throne presses for tax collection, officials below press for bribes; When the throne delights in petty legal exactitude, officials below delight in vicious cunning; When the throne delights in informers, officials below delight in false accusations. With north and south at war, how can the court descend to the level of marketplace gossips, wrangling over family quarrels and settling petty grudges?" At the time Wen Tiren was recruiting scoundrels to engineer prosecutions against the Donglin and Fushe factions, which is why Huang Daozhou raised these points.

旋進右諭德，掌司經局，疏辭。因言己有三罪、四恥、七不如。三罪、四恥，以自責。七不如者，謂「品行高峻，卓絕倫表，不如劉宗周；至性奇情，無愧純孝，不如倪元璐；湛深大慮，遠見深計，不如魏呈潤；犯言敢諫，清裁絕俗，不如詹爾選、吳執禦；誌尚高雅，博學多通，不如華亭布衣陳繼儒、龍溪舉人張燮；至圜土累系之臣，樸心純行，不如李汝璨、傅朝佑；文章意氣，坎坷磊落，不如錢謙益、鄭鄤。」鄤方被杖母大詬，帝得疏駭異，責以顛倒是非。道周疏辯，語復營護鄤。帝怒，嚴旨切責。

He was soon promoted to Right Preceptor of the Heir Apparent and placed in charge of the Classics Bureau, but submitted a memorial declining the appointment. In it he listed three faults, four shames, and seven men superior to himself. The three faults and four shames were confessions of his own failings. The seven betters ran: "In moral character lofty and peerless, I am not the equal of Liu Zongzhou; In sincerity of feeling and depth of devotion, I cannot match Ni Yuanlu; In depth of thought and far-reaching vision, I cannot match Wei Chengrun; In bold remonstrance and uncompromising integrity, I cannot match Zhan Erxuan and Wu Zhiyu; In refined taste and erudition, I cannot match the Huating scholar Chen Jiru and the Longxi licentiate Zhang Xie; And among the men languishing in prison, in simple integrity and pure conduct, I cannot match Li Ruchen and Fu Chaoyou; In literary talent and force of character, in unyielding integrity despite adversity, I cannot match Qian Qianyi and Zheng Man." Zheng Man was then facing severe condemnation for beating his mother. The emperor read the memorial with alarm and rebuked Huang Daozhou for turning truth on its head. Huang Daozhou submitted a defense, again shielding Zheng Man. The emperor flew into a rage and issued a stern edict of reprimand.

道周以文章風節高天下，嚴冷方剛，不諧流俗。公卿多畏而忌之，乃藉不如鄤語為口實。其冬，擇東宮講官。體仁已罷，張至發當國，擯道周不與。其同官項煜、楊廷麟不平，上疏推讓道周。至發言：「鄤杖母，明旨煌煌，道周自謂不如，安可為元良輔導。」道周遂移疾乞休，不許。

Huang Daozhou's literary renown and moral stature were unmatched. Stern, uncompromising, and inflexible, he would not bend to convention. Grandees and ministers mostly feared and resented him, seizing on his "not equal to Zheng Man" remark as a talking point against him. That winter lecturers for the crown prince were selected. Wen Tiren had already been dismissed. Zhang Zhifa was chief minister and excluded Huang Daozhou from consideration. His colleagues Xiang Yu and Yang Tinglin protested, submitting memorials recommending Huang Daozhou in their stead. Zhang Zhifa objected: "Zheng Man beat his mother—the imperial decree on the matter is explicit. Huang Daozhou declared himself Zheng Man's inferior—how can he tutor the crown prince?" Huang Daozhou then claimed illness and asked to retire. The request was denied.

十一年二月，帝御經筵。刑部尚書鄭三俊方下吏，講官黃景昉救之，帝未許。而帝適追論舊講官姚希孟嘗請漕儲全折以為非。道周聽未審，謂帝將寬三俊念希孟也，因言：「故輔臣文震孟一生蹇直，未蒙帷蓋恩。天下士，生如三俊，歿如震孟、希孟，求其影似，未可多得。」帝以所對失實，責令回奏。再奏再詰，至三奏乃已。凡道周所建白，未嘗得一俞旨，道周顧言不已。

In the second month of the eleventh year (1638), the emperor attended the Classics lecture. Minister of Justice Zheng Sanjun had just been arrested. Lecturer Huang Jingfang interceded for him, but the emperor refused. The emperor was then revisiting the case of the former lecturer Yao Ximeng, who had once argued against converting all grain tribute payments to silver. Huang Daozhou had not followed the discussion closely and assumed the emperor meant to show leniency toward Zheng Sanjun out of regard for Yao Ximeng. He spoke up: "The late Assistant Grand Secretary Wen Zhenmeng was upright all his life yet never received imperial grace. Scholars like Zheng Sanjun in life, like Wen Zhenmeng and Yao Ximeng in death—men even remotely like them are scarce." The emperor, finding his answer wide of the mark, rebuked him and ordered a written reply. He submitted again and was rebuked again; only after a third submission did the matter end. None of Huang Daozhou's proposals ever won imperial approval—yet he kept speaking without cease.

六月，廷推閣臣。道周已充日講官，遷少詹事，得與名。帝不用，用楊嗣昌等五人。道周乃草三疏，一劾嗣昌，一劾陳新甲，一劾遼撫方一藻，同日上之。其劾嗣昌，謂：

In the sixth month, the court conducted a joint nomination for grand secretaries. Huang Daozhou, by then serving as daily lecturer and promoted to Junior Guardian, was among those nominated. The emperor passed him over and appointed Yang Sichang and four others. Huang Daozhou then drafted three memorials—one impeaching Yang Sichang, one Chen Xinji, one Fang Yizao, Liaodong grand coordinator—submitting all three the same day. In the memorial against Yang Sichang he wrote:

天下無無父之子，亦無不臣之子。衛開方不省其親，管仲至比之豭狗；李定不喪繼母，宋世共指為人梟。今遂有不持兩服，坐司馬堂如楊嗣昌者。宣大督臣盧象升以父殯在途，搥心飲血，請就近推補，乃忽有並推在籍守制之旨。夫守制者可推，則聞喪者可不去；聞喪者可不去，則為子者可不父，為臣者可不子。即使人才甚乏，奈何使不忠不孝者連苞引蘗，種其不祥以穢天下乎？嗣昌在事二年，張網溢地之談，款市樂天之說，才智亦可睹矣，更起一不祥之人，與之表裏。陛下孝治天下，縉紳家庭小小勃谿，猶以法治之，而冒喪斁倫，獨謂無禁，臣竊以為不可也。

Under heaven there is no son without a father, and no subject without loyalty. Wei Kaifang neglected his parents—Guan Zhong compared him to a pig or dog; Li Ding failed to mourn his stepmother—the Song dynasty unanimously denounced him as less than human. Now we have Yang Sichang, who did not observe proper mourning yet took up office at Sima Hall. The Xuan-Da governor-general Lu Xiangsheng, with his father's coffin still on the road, pleaded in anguish for a nearby replacement—yet suddenly came an edict nominating men still at home in mourning. If men in mourning can be promoted, then officials who receive news of a parent's death need not resign; If they need not resign on receiving news of a death, then sons need not honor fathers and ministers need not serve their rulers with loyal devotion. Even if talent is desperately scarce, how can we let the disloyal and unfilial take office in succession, spreading their corruption through the empire? Yang Sichang's two years in office have already shown his caliber—his schemes to snare enemies everywhere, his talk of appeasement and self-congratulation. To raise another ill-omened man and set him alongside Yang Sichang is to invite disaster. Your Majesty rules through filial piety. Even minor domestic disputes among scholar-officials are judged by law—yet violations of mourning and destruction of human relations are suddenly exempt. I submit that this cannot be allowed.

其論新甲，言：

Regarding Chen Xinji, he wrote:

其守制不終，走邪徑，托捷足。天下即甚無才，未宜假借及此。古有忠臣孝子無濟於艱難者，決未有不忠不孝而可進乎功名道德之門者也。臣二十躬耕，手足胼胝，以養二人。四十余削籍，徒步荷擔二千里，不解屝屨。今雖逾五十，非有妻子之奉，婢仆之累。天下即無人，臣願解清華，出管鎖鑰，何必使被棘負塗者，祓不祥以玷王化哉！

He did not complete his mourning, took underhanded shortcuts, and relied on court favoritism. Even if the empire were utterly bereft of talent, men like this ought not be entrusted with such power. History holds cases where loyal and filial men failed despite their virtue—but never has a disloyal, unfilial man passed through the gates of honor and moral achievement. At twenty I farmed with my own hands until they cracked and blistered, supporting my two parents. After forty, stripped of my rank, I walked two thousand li carrying my belongings on my back, never pausing to remove my sandals. Now past fifty, I have no wife and children to support, no servants to maintain. Even if no one else remained, I would gladly surrender this fine office and take charge of a lock and key—why must you appoint men stained with filth and ill omen to defile the imperial court?

其論一藻，則力詆和議之非。帝疑道周以不用怨望，而「縉紳」、「勃谿」語，欲為鄭鄤脫罪，下吏部行譴。嗣昌因上言：「鄤杖母，禽獸不如。今道周又不如鄤，且其意徒欲庇兇徒，飾前言之謬，立心可知。」因自乞罷免，帝優旨慰之。

Regarding Fang Yizao, he fiercely denounced the folly of seeking peace. The emperor suspected Huang Daozhou of resenting his rejection and believed the references to "scholar-officials" and "family squabbles" were meant to exonerate Zheng Man. He ordered the Ministry of Personnel to discipline him. Yang Sichang then memorialized: "Zheng Man beat his mother—he is beneath beasts. Now Huang Daozhou declares himself inferior even to Zheng Man—and his purpose is plainly to shield the guilty and cover the absurdity of his earlier praise. His motives are transparent." He then asked to be dismissed. The emperor issued a gracious edict reassuring him.

七月五日，召內閣及諸大臣於平臺，並及道周。帝與諸臣語所司事，久之，問道周曰：「凡無所為而為者，謂之天理；有所為而為者，謂之人欲。爾三疏適當廷推不用時，果無所為乎？」道周對曰：「臣三疏皆為國家綱常，自信無所為。」帝曰：「先時何不言？」對曰：「先時猶可不言，至簡用後不言，更無當言之日。」帝曰：「清固美德，但不可傲物遂非。且惟伯夷為聖之清，若小廉曲謹，是廉，非清也。」時道周所對不合指，帝屢駁，道周復進曰：「惟孝弟之人始能經綸天下，發育萬物。不孝不弟者，根本既無，安有枝葉。」嗣昌出奏曰：「臣不生空桑，豈不知父母？顧念君為臣綱，父為子綱，君臣固在父子前。況古為列國之君臣，可去此適彼；今則一統之君臣，無所逃於天地之間。且仁不遺親，義不後君，難以偏重。臣四疏力辭，意詞臣中有如劉定之、羅倫者，抗疏為臣代請，得遂臣誌。及抵都門，聞道周人品學術為人宗師，乃不如鄭鄤。」帝曰：「然，朕正擬問之。」乃問道周曰：「古人心無所為，今則各有所主，故孟子欲正人心，息邪說。古之邪說，別為一教，今則直附於聖賢經傳中，系世道人心更大。且爾言不如鄭鄤，何也？」對曰：「匡章見棄通國，孟子不失禮貌，臣言文章不如鄤。」帝曰：「章子不得於父，豈鄤杖母者比。爾言不如，豈非朋比？」道周曰：「眾惡必察。」帝曰：「陳新甲何以走邪徑，托捷足？且爾言軟美容悅，叩首折枝者誰耶？」道周不能對，但曰：「人心邪則行徑皆邪。」帝曰：「喪固兇禮，豈遭兇者即兇人，盡不祥之人？」道周曰：「古三年喪，君命不過其門。自謂兇與不祥，故軍禮鑿兇門而出。奪情在疆外則可，朝中則不可。」帝曰：「人既可用，何分內外？」道周曰：「我朝自羅倫論奪情，前後五十余人，多在邊疆。故嗣昌在邊疆則可，在中樞則不可；在中樞猶可，在政府則不可。止嗣昌一人猶可，又呼朋引類，竟成一奪情世界，益不可。」帝又詰問久之。帝曰：「少正卯當時亦稱聞人，心逆而險，行僻而堅，言偽而辨，順非而澤，記醜而博，不免聖人之誅。今人多類此。」道周曰：「少正卯心術不正，臣心正無一毫私。」帝怒。有間，命出候旨。道周曰：「臣今日不盡言，臣負陛下；陛下今日殺臣，陛下負臣。」帝曰：「爾一生學問，止成佞耳！」叱之退。道周叩首起，復跪奏：「臣敢將忠佞二字剖析言之。夫人在君父前，獨立敢言為佞，豈在君父前讒諂面諛為忠耶？忠佞不別，邪正淆矣，何以致治？」帝曰：「固也，非朕漫加爾以佞。但所問在此，所答在彼，非佞而何？」再叱之退。顧嗣昌曰：「甚矣，人心偷薄也。道周恣肆如此，其能無正乎？」乃召文武諸臣，鹹聆戒諭而退。

On the fifth day of the seventh month, the emperor summoned the Grand Secretariat and the senior ministers to Ping Terrace, Huang Daozhou included. The emperor discussed official business with his ministers. After a long while he turned to Huang Daozhou and asked: "Whatever one does without ulterior motive is said to express Heavenly Principle; whatever one does from ulterior motive is called human desire. Your three memorials came just as the court recommendation passed you over—were they truly without ulterior motive?" Huang Daozhou replied: "All three of my memorials concerned the fundamental moral order of the state. I am confident they sprang from no private motive." The emperor said: "Then why did you not speak out sooner?" He answered: "Before, silence was still possible. After Yang Sichang was directly appointed, if I held my tongue, there would never again be a day to speak." The emperor said: "Integrity is indeed a fine virtue, but one must not scorn others and stubbornly persist in error. Only Boyi embodied the Sage's ideal of purity. Petty scruples and punctilious caution—that is mere probity, not true purity. Huang Daozhou's answers missed the emperor's point, and the emperor rebuked him repeatedly. Daozhou pressed on: "Only the filial and dutiful can govern the empire and nurture all things beneath Heaven. Without filial piety and fraternal duty at the root, how can there be any branches or leaves?" Yang Sichang stepped forward and said: "Your servant was not born ignorant of the world—I know full well what a parent is. But consider: the bond between ruler and minister takes precedence, as does the bond between father and son—and the duty to one's sovereign comes before the duty to one's father. In antiquity, when each state had its own ruler, a minister could leave one court for another; but today ruler and subject belong to a single unified realm. There is nowhere under Heaven to flee one's sovereign. Benevolence does not abandon one's kin, yet righteousness does not defer to the ruler—one cannot simply favor one over the other. I submitted four memorials begging to be excused, expecting that men such as Liu Dingzhi and Luo Lun among the Hanlin Academicians would memorialize boldly on my behalf and help me fulfill my duty. Yet when I reached the capital, I heard that Huang Daozhou—revered as a master of character and learning—declared himself inferior to Zheng Man." The emperor said: "Exactly. I was just about to ask about that. He then asked Huang Daozhou: "In antiquity men's hearts were without ulterior purpose; today each pursues its own master. That is why Mencius sought to rectify the human heart and silence pernicious doctrine. The heterodox doctrines of old stood apart as a separate school. Today they attach themselves directly to the texts of the sages—a far greater threat to the moral order. And why do you say you are not Zheng Man's equal?" He answered: "When Kuang Zhang was rejected by the whole state, Mencius still treated him with courtesy. I mean only that in writing I am not Zheng Man's equal." The emperor said: "Kuang Zhang failed in his duty to his father—how can that be compared to Zheng Man, who beat his mother? When you declare yourself inferior to him, is that not mere factional loyalty?" Huang Daozhou said: "When the multitude condemns a man, one must examine the matter carefully." The emperor said: "Why did Chen Xinji take underhanded shortcuts and rely on court favoritism? And you speak of soft flattery and ingratiating smiles—who is it that kowtows and performs every petty favor?" Huang Daozhou had no answer, and could only say: "When the heart is corrupt, every course of action becomes corrupt." The emperor said: "Mourning is an inauspicious occasion by nature—but does that mean anyone in mourning is an ill-omened person? That all who suffer bereavement are bringers of misfortune?" Huang Daozhou said: "In antiquity during the three-year mourning, even the emperor's command did not cross the mourner's threshold. Mourners considered themselves bearers of ill omen; that is why military ritual required breaking a special "inauspicious gate" when troops marched forth. Exemption from mourning duty at the frontier may be acceptable; at the court it is not." The emperor said: "If a man is fit for service, why distinguish between court and frontier?" Huang Daozhou said: "Since Luo Lun protested mourning exemptions, our dynasty has granted duoqing to more than fifty officials—and most served on the frontier. Yang Sichang on the frontier might be acceptable; at the seat of power he is not; even at the central command it would be questionable; in the Grand Secretariat it is unacceptable. Yang Sichang alone might be tolerated—but when he summons allies and draws in others like himself until the court becomes a realm of mourning exemptions, that is utterly intolerable. The emperor pressed him with questions for a long while. The emperor said: "Shaozheng Mao was once also hailed as a man of renown—rebellious and treacherous in heart, perverse and obstinate in conduct, eloquent yet deceitful of speech, glossing over wrong as right, recording vileness with vast learning—and he did not escape the sage's punishment. Many men today resemble him." Huang Daozhou said: "Shaozheng Mao's intentions were corrupt. My heart is upright—not a trace of private motive. The emperor flew into a rage. After a pause, the emperor ordered him to withdraw and wait for the imperial decision. Huang Daozhou said: "If I hold back today, I fail Your Majesty; if Your Majesty executes me today, Your Majesty fails me." The emperor said: "A lifetime of learning, and all you have become is a sycophant! He shouted at him to leave. Huang Daozhou kowtowed, rose, then knelt again and said: "Your servant ventures to distinguish the meaning of loyalty and sycophancy. When one speaks boldly and independently before one's sovereign, you call it sycophancy—yet slander, flattery, and barefaced adulation before one's lord you call loyalty? If loyalty and sycophancy cannot be told apart, right and wrong are confounded—how can the realm be well governed?" The emperor said: "True enough—I did not casually call you a sycophant. But I ask about one thing and you answer about another—if that is not sycophancy, what is? Again he shouted at him to leave. Yang Sichang then said: "How far the moral sense of men has fallen! Huang Daozhou behaves with such brazen defiance—can he go uncorrected? He then summoned the civil and military officials, all listened to the emperor's admonition, and withdrew.

是時，帝憂兵事，謂可屬大事者惟嗣昌，破格用之。道周守經，失帝意，及奏對，又不遜。帝怒甚，欲加以重罪，憚其名高，未敢決。會劉同升、趙士春亦劾嗣昌，將予重譴，而部擬道周譴顧輕。嗣昌懼道周輕，則論己者將無已時也，亟購人劾道周者。有刑部主事張若麒謀改兵部，遂阿嗣昌意上疏曰：「臣聞人主之尊，尊無二上；人臣無將，將而必誅。今黃道周及其徒黨造作語言，虧損聖德。舉古今未有之好語盡出道周，無不可歸過於君父。不頒示前日召對始末，背公死黨之徒，鼓煽以惑四方，私記以疑後世，掩聖天子正人心息邪說至意，大不便。」帝即傳諭廷臣，毋為道周劫持相朋黨，凡數百言。貶道周六秩，為江西按察司照磨，而若麒果得兵部。

At this time the emperor was consumed by military concerns and believed Yang Sichang alone could be entrusted with great affairs. He appointed him despite the mourning prohibition. Huang Daozhou clung to classical precedent and lost the emperor's favor. In audience his answers were anything but deferential. The emperor's rage was intense and he wished to impose heavy punishment, but he feared Huang Daozhou's great reputation and did not dare act decisively. When Liu Tongsheng and Zhao Shichun also impeached Yang Sichang, the emperor was ready to impose severe punishment—but the ministry's proposed penalty for Huang Daozhou was conspicuously lenient. Yang Sichang feared that if Huang Daozhou escaped lightly, the attacks against him would never cease. He urgently hired men to impeach Huang Daozhou. Zhang Ruoqi, a principal clerk in the Ministry of Punishments who sought transfer to the Ministry of War, curried Yang Sichang's favor with a memorial: "I have heard that the sovereign's dignity brooks no second master above him; no minister may harbor treasonous ambition—and ambition once shown must be punished by death. Huang Daozhou and his followers now fabricate accusations that damage Your Majesty's sacred virtue. They parade praises unprecedented in history—all originating with Huang Daozhou—and there is no fault they will not lay at the feet of their sovereign. By withholding the full record of the recent audience, these men who betray the public interest and cling to faction spread agitation to confuse the realm and keep private accounts to poison posterity—obscuring Your Majesty's sincere intent to rectify hearts and silence pernicious doctrine. This is deeply harmful. The emperor immediately issued an edict to the court, warning officials not to let Huang Daozhou manipulate them into faction—several hundred words in all. Huang Daozhou was demoted six ranks and appointed assistant registrar of the Jiangxi Surveillance Commission. Zhang Ruoqi received his transfer to the Ministry of War as he had hoped.

久之，江西巡撫解學龍薦所部官，推獎道周備至。故事，但下所司，帝亦不覆閱。而大學士魏照乘惡道周甚，則擬旨責學龍濫薦。帝遂發怒，立削二人籍，逮下刑部獄，責以黨邪亂政，並杖八十，究黨與。詞連編修黃文煥、吏部主事陳天定、工部司務董養河、中書舍人文震亨，並系獄。戶部主事葉廷秀、監生塗仲吉救之，亦系獄。尚書李覺斯讞輕，嚴旨切責，再擬謫戍煙瘴，帝猶以為失出，除覺斯名，移獄鎮撫司掠治，乃還刑部獄。逾年，尚書劉澤深等言：「二人罪至永戍止矣，過此惟論死。論死非封疆則貪酷，未有以建言者。道周無封疆貪酷之罪，而有建言蒙戮之名，於道周得矣，非我聖主覆載之量也。陛下所疑者黨耳，黨者，見諸行事。道周抗疏，只托空言，一二知交相從罷斥，烏睹所謂黨，而煩朝廷大法乎？且陛下豈有積恨道周，萬一聖意轉圜，而臣已論定，悔之何及。」仍以原擬請，乃永戍廣西。

Before long, the Jiangxi governor Xie Xuelong submitted recommendations for officials under his jurisdiction and praised Huang Daozhou in the highest terms. By precedent such recommendations were simply forwarded to the relevant ministry for action, and the emperor did not review them again. But Grand Secretary Wei Zhaocheng, who deeply hated Huang Daozhou, drafted an edict rebuking Xie Xuelong for indiscriminate recommendation. The emperor flew into a rage, immediately struck both from the rolls, and sent them to the Ministry of Punishments prison on charges of partisan subversion. Both were flogged eighty strokes, and a full investigation of their faction was ordered. The case implicated the compiler Huang Wenhuan, the Ministry of Personnel clerk Chen Tianding, the Ministry of Works clerk Dong Yanghe, and the Secretariat drafter Wen Zhenheng—all were imprisoned. Ye Tingxiu of the Ministry of Revenue and the student Tu Zhongji, who had petitioned on their behalf, were also imprisoned. Minister Li Juesi proposed a lenient sentence. The emperor issued a severe reprimand and ordered banishment to the malarial south. Still deeming this too lenient, he dismissed Li Juesi, transferred the prisoners to the Brocade Guard for interrogation under torture, then returned them to the Ministry of Punishments prison. More than a year later, Minister Liu Zeshen and others memorialized: "For these two men, perpetual banishment is the utmost penalty. Beyond that lies only death. Death is reserved for failures on the frontier or for greed and cruelty—not for men who merely speak their minds. Huang Daozhou is guilty of neither border failure nor corruption, yet would gain the name of a man executed for speaking out. That may satisfy his enemies—but it is unworthy of our sage sovereign's magnanimity. Your Majesty's concern is faction—but faction is proved by conduct, not words. Huang Daozhou's bold memorials are mere words. A few friends shared his fate in dismissal—where is the faction that warrants invoking the full force of imperial law? And surely Your Majesty bears no deep grudge against Huang Daozhou. If the imperial mind should soften but we have already settled on death, how could we undo it? They resubmitted their original proposal, and the two were banished permanently to Guangxi.

十五年八月，道周戍已經年。一日，帝召五輔臣入文華後殿，手一編從容問曰：「張溥、張采何如人也？」皆對曰：「讀書好學人也。」帝曰：「張溥已死，張采小臣，科道官何亟稱之？」對曰：「其胸中自有書，科道官以其用未竟而惜之。」帝曰：「亦不免偏。」時延儒自以嗣昌既已前死矣，而己方再入相，欲參用公議，為道周地也，即對曰：「張溥、黃道周皆未免偏，徒以其善學，故人人惜之。」帝默然。德璟曰：「道周前日蒙戍，上恩寬大，獨其家貧子幼，其實可憫。」帝微笑，演曰：「其事親亦極孝。」行甡曰：「道周學無不通，且極清苦。」帝不答，但微笑而已。明日傳旨復故官。道周在途疏謝，稱學龍、廷秀賢。既還，帝召見道周，道周見帝而泣：「臣不自意今復得見陛下，臣故有犬馬之疾。」請假，許之。

In the eighth month of the fifteenth year of the reign, Huang Daozhou had already been in exile for a year. One day the emperor summoned the five grand secretaries to the rear hall of Wenhua Palace. Holding a document, he asked casually: "What sort of men are Zhang Pu and Zhang Cai?" They all answered: "Scholars who love learning." The emperor said: "Zhang Pu is dead, and Zhang Cai is a minor official—why do censorial officials praise them so eagerly?" They answered: "They are men of real learning. The censorial officials regret that their talents were not fully employed." The emperor said: "They are not without bias, all the same. At this Zhou Yanru, believing Yang Sichang already dead and himself newly restored as chief minister, wished to invoke public sentiment and create an opening for Huang Daozhou. He answered: "Zhang Pu and Huang Daozhou alike are not without prejudice—but because they are genuine scholars, everyone regrets their fate. The emperor said nothing. Jiang Dejing said: "Huang Daozhou was recently banished—a lenient punishment from Your Majesty. Yet his family is poor and his children young. He truly deserves pity. The emperor smiled faintly. Huang Yan added: "He is also profoundly filial toward his parents. Wu Xingshen said: "Huang Daozhou's learning is encyclopedic, and he lives in the utmost austerity. The emperor did not reply—he only smiled. The next day an edict restored Huang Daozhou to his former office. Huang Daozhou submitted a memorial of thanks from the road, praising Xie Xuelong and Ye Tingxiu as worthy men. After his return the emperor summoned him. Huang Daozhou wept at the sight of the throne: "I never expected to see Your Majesty again. I have been ill with a condition of old age. He requested leave, and permission was granted.

居久之，福王監國，用道周吏部左侍郎。道周不欲出，馬士英諷之曰：「人望在公，公不起，欲從史可法擁立潞王耶？」乃不得已趨朝。陳進取九策，拜禮部尚書，協理詹事府事。而朝政日非，大臣相繼去國，識者知其將亡矣。明年三月，遣祭告禹陵。瀕行，陳進取策，時不能用。甫竣事，南都亡，見唐王聿鍵於衢州，奉表勸進。王以道周為武英殿大學士。道周學行高，王敬禮之特甚，賜宴。鄭芝龍爵通侯，位道周上，眾議抑芝龍，文武由是不和。一諸生上書詆道周迂，不可居相位，王知出芝龍意，下督學御史撻之。

After some time the Prince of Fu assumed the regency and appointed Huang Daozhou Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Huang Daozhou was reluctant to take office. Ma Shi Ying goaded him: "All eyes are on you, sir. If you refuse to serve, do you mean to join Shi Kefa in installing the Prince of Lu? At last he had no choice but to attend court. He presented nine policies for recovery, was appointed Minister of Rites, and was charged with managing the Household of the Heir Apparent. Yet the court grew worse by the day. Ministers left office one after another. Those with insight could see the regime was doomed. The next March he was sent to offer sacrifices at the tomb of Yu the Great. Before his departure he again submitted his recovery policies, but they were not adopted. He had barely finished his mission when the Southern Capital fell. He met Zhu Yujian, the Prince of Tang, at Quzhou and submitted a memorial urging him to take the throne. The prince appointed Huang Daozhou Grand Secretary of the Hall of Martial Brilliance. Huang Daozhou's learning and integrity were of the highest order, and the prince treated him with exceptional respect, conferring a banquet in his honor. Zheng Zhilong held the title Marquis Who Penetrates All and ranked above Huang Daozhou. Many urged that Zhilong be brought down—a quarrel that divided civil and military officials. A student submitted a memorial attacking Huang Daozhou as impractical and unfit for the chancellorship. Knowing the hand of Zheng Zhilong behind it, the prince had the provincial education censor flog the petitioner.

當是時，國勢衰，政歸鄭氏，大帥恃恩觀望，不肯一出關募兵。道周請自往江西圖恢復。以七月啟行，所至遠近響應，得義旅九千余人，由廣信出衢州。十二月進至婺源，遇大清兵。戰敗，被執至江寧，幽別室中，囚服著書。臨刑，過東華門，坐不起，曰：「此與高皇帝陵寢近，可死矣。」監刑者從之。幕下士中書賴雍、蔡紹謹，兵部主事趙士超等皆死。

At this time national power was failing and real authority rested with the Zheng clan. The great commanders, confident in imperial favor, held back and would not once cross the frontier to raise troops. Huang Daozhou volunteered to go to Jiangxi himself and plot recovery. He set out in the seventh month. Wherever he passed, men rallied from far and near; he raised more than nine thousand volunteer troops and marched from Guangxin toward Quzhou. In the twelfth month he reached Wuyuan and met Qing forces. Defeated in battle, he was seized and taken to Jiangning, confined in a separate cell, and in prison garb continued to write. On the way to execution he passed the East Flowery Gate, sat down, and refused to rise. "This is close to the tomb of the dynastic founder," he said. "I can die here. The executioner agreed. His aides—Secretaries-in-Attendance Lai Yong and Cai Shaojin, and Principal Clerk Zhao Shichao of the Ministry of War—died with him.

道周學貫古今，所至學者雲集。銅山在孤島中，有石室，道周自幼坐臥其中，故學者稱為石齋先生。精天文歷數皇極諸書，所著《易象正》、《三易洞璣》及《太函經》，學者窮年不能通其說，而道周用以推驗治亂。歿後，家人得其小冊，自謂終於丙戌，年六十二，始信其能知來也。

Huang Daozhou's learning spanned the ages. Wherever he went, scholars flocked to him. On Tongshan, an islet off the coast, was a stone chamber where Huang Daozhou had lived and studied since childhood. Scholars therefore called him Master Stone Studio. He mastered astronomy, calendrics, and cosmological texts. His works—《Correct Images of the Changes》, 《Profound Mirror of the Three Changes》, and 《Canon of the Grand Envelope》—puzzled scholars who spent years on them without fully grasping their doctrines, yet he applied them to forecast the rise and fall of dynasties. After his death his family found a small notebook in which he had written that he would die in the bingxu year at age sixty-two. Only then did they believe he could foretell the future.

葉廷秀，濮州人。天啟五年進士。歷知南樂、衡水、獲鹿三縣，入為順天府推官。英國公張惟賢與民爭田，廷秀斷歸之民。惟賢屬御史袁弘勛駁勘，執如初。惟賢訴諸朝，帝卒用廷秀奏，還田於民。

Ye Tingxiu was a native of Puzhou. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of the Tianqi reign. He served successively as magistrate of Nanle, Hengshui, and Huolu, then entered the capital as judicial assistant of Shuntian Prefecture. When the Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian, disputed land with commoners, Ye Tingxiu ruled in the commoners' favor. Weixian had Censor Yuan Hongxun petition for a rehearing, but the original judgment stood. Weixian appealed to the throne. The emperor ultimately upheld Ye Tingxiu's ruling and returned the land to the commoners.

崇禎中，遷南京戶部主事，遭內外艱。服闋，入都，未補官，疏陳吏治之弊，言：「催科一事，正供外有雜派，新增外有暗加，額辦外有貼助，小民破產傾家，安得不為盜賊。夫欲救州縣之弊，當自監司郡守始。不澄其源，流安能潔。乃保舉之令行已數年，而稱職者希覯，是連坐法不可不嚴也。」帝納之，授戶部主事。帝以傅永淳為吏部尚書。廷秀言永淳庸才，不當任統均。甫四月，永淳果敗。道周逮下獄，廷秀抗疏救之。帝怒，杖百，系詔獄。明年冬，遣戍福建。

During the Chongzhen reign he was promoted to Principal Clerk in the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, then went into mourning for the loss of both parents. When his mourning ended he came to the capital. Before receiving a new appointment he submitted a memorial on the abuses of local administration, saying: "In tax collection alone, beyond the regular levy come miscellaneous exactions; beyond newly added taxes come secret surcharges; beyond fixed quotas come forced contributions. Common people are ruined and dispossessed—how can they not turn to banditry? To remedy the abuses of the counties, one must begin with the supervising commissioners and prefects. If the source is not cleared, how can the stream run pure? The recommendation system has been in place for years, yet worthy appointees remain scarce. The law of collective responsibility must therefore be enforced with rigor. The emperor accepted his advice and appointed him Principal Clerk of the Ministry of Revenue. The emperor appointed Fu Yongchun Minister of Personnel. Ye Tingxiu declared that Fu Yongchun was a mediocrity unfit to direct appointments. Within four months Fu Yongchun was indeed disgraced. When Huang Daozhou was arrested and imprisoned, Ye Tingxiu submitted an urgent memorial in his defense. The emperor was enraged. Ye Tingxiu was beaten one hundred strokes and thrown into the imperial prison. The next winter he was banished to Fujian.

廷秀受業劉宗周門，造詣淵邃，宗周門人以廷秀為首。與道周未相識，冒死論救，獲重罪，處之恬然。及道周釋還，給事中左懋第、御史李悅心復相繼論薦，執政亦稱其賢，道周在途又為請。帝令所司核議，已而執政復薦。十六年冬，特旨起故官。會都城陷，未赴。福王時，兵部侍郎解學龍薦道周，並及廷秀，命以僉都御史用。及還朝，馬士英惡之，抑授光祿少卿。南都覆，唐王召拜左僉都御史，進兵部右侍郎。事敗，為僧以終。

Ye Tingxiu had studied under Liu Zongzhou and attained profound mastery. Among Liu's disciples he ranked first. Though he did not know Huang Daozhou personally, he had risked his life to plead for him. When he received a severe punishment, he bore it without distress. After Huang Daozhou was released, Supervising Secretary Zuo Maodi and Censor Li Yuexin successively recommended Ye Tingxiu again; the chief ministers also praised his worth, and Huang Daozhou pleaded for him once more from the road. The emperor ordered the relevant offices to review the case; before long the chief ministers recommended him again. In the winter of the sixteenth year a special edict restored him to his former rank. But the capital fell before he could take up the post. Under the Prince of Fu, Vice Minister of War Xie Xuelong recommended Huang Daozhou and also named Ye Tingxiu, who was ordered to serve as Vice Censor-in-Chief. When he returned to court, Ma Shi Ying, who detested him, demoted the appointment to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. After the fall of the Southern Capital, the Prince of Tang summoned him, appointing him Left Vice Censor-in-Chief and promoting him to Right Vice Minister of War. When the cause failed, he took the tonsure and lived out his days as a monk.

贊曰：劉宗周、黃道周所指陳，深中時弊。其論才守，別忠佞，足為萬世龜鑒。而聽者迂而遠之，則救時濟變之說惑之也。《傳》曰：「雖危起居，竟信其誌，猶將不忘百姓之病也」，二臣有焉。殺身成仁，不違其素，所守豈不卓哉！

The historian comments: In what Liu Zongzhou and Huang Daozhou set forth, they struck deep at the abuses of their age. Their judgments on talent and integrity, distinguishing the loyal from the sycophantic, stand as a mirror for all ages. Yet those who heard them dismissed them as impractical and kept their distance—seduced by doctrines of expedient reform. The 《Commentary》 says: "Though in peril in every movement, yet holding firm to one's purpose and never forgetting the people's distress"—both ministers embodied this. They gave their lives to perfect humanity, never betraying their plain integrity. What they upheld—was it not truly sublime!

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