Volume 22 Biographies 3: Prince Wenxian of Yuzhang

豫章文獻王嶷字宣儼，太祖第二子。寬仁弘雅，有大成之量，太祖特鍾愛焉。

Prince Wenxian of Yuzhang, Xiao Ni, courtesy name Xuan Yan, was the second son of Xiao Daocheng, the Grand Ancestor. He was magnanimous, humane, and cultivated, with the breadth to bring things to completion; Xiao Daocheng doted on him above the rest.

起家為太學博士、長城令，入為尚書左民郎、錢唐令。太祖破薛索兒，改封西陽，以先爵賜為晉壽縣侯。除通直散騎侍郎，以偏憂去官。桂陽之役，太祖出頓新亭壘，板嶷為寧朔將軍，領兵衞從。休範率士卒攻壘南，嶷執白虎幡督戰，屢摧卻之。事寧，遷中書郎。

He began as erudite of the Imperial University and magistrate of Changcheng, then entered the capital as gentleman of the left bureau for the people and magistrate of Qiantang. When Xiao Daocheng defeated Xue Suo'er, Ni's fief was changed to Xiyang and his former title was given as Marquis of Jinshou county. He was named attendant cavalier in regular attendance but left office for partial mourning. In the campaign against Liu Zixun of Guiyang, Xiao Daocheng went out to hold Xinting fortress and commissioned Ni as General Who Pacifies the North to command the guard. Liu Xiufan led troops against the south face of the fortress; Ni took the White Tiger banner to direct the fight and drove them back again and again. When the crisis was over he was transferred to gentleman of the Secretariat.

尋為安遠護軍、武陵內史。時沈攸之責賧，伐荊州界內諸蠻，遂（反）〔及〕五溪，禁斷魚鹽。羣蠻怒，酉溪蠻王田頭擬殺攸之使，攸之責賧千萬，頭擬輸五百萬，發氣死。其弟婁侯篡立，頭擬子田都走入獠中，於是蠻部大亂，抄掠平民，至郡城下。〔嶷〕遣隊主張莫兒率將吏擊破之。田都自獠中請立，而婁侯懼，亦歸附。嶷誅婁侯於郡獄，命田都繼其父，蠻眾乃安。

Soon after he became protector of the army for pacifying the distance and interior secretary of Wuling. At that time Shen Youzhi was exacting tribute and attacking the barbarian peoples within Jing province's borders, and then Collation: received fan, emended to ji. Reached the Five Streams and banned trade in fish and salt. The tribes were enraged. Tian Touni, king of the Youxi Miao, was about to kill Shen Youzhi's envoy; Youzhi demanded ten million in tribute; Touni was to pay five million but died of fury. His brother Louhou seized power; Touni's son Tiandu fled among the Liao. The tribal departments fell into chaos and raided the countryside as far as the commandery seat. Ni sent squad commander Zhang Mo'er with officers and soldiers to break them. Tiandu came out of the Liao to ask to succeed; Louhou, in fear, submitted as well. Ni executed Louhou in the commandery prison, installed Tiandu in his father's place, and the tribes were quieted.

入為宋從帝車騎諮議參軍、府掾，轉驃騎，仍遷從事中郎。詣司徒袁粲，粲謂人曰：「後來佳器也。」

He entered office as staff counselor on Emperor Shun of Song's chariots-and-cavalry staff and as a headquarters aide, moved to the Rapid Cavalry staff, and was then promoted attending gentleman. He called on the Minister of Works Yuan Can; Can told someone, 「Here is a vessel of future excellence.」

太祖在領軍府，嶷居（清）〔青〕溪宅。蒼梧王夜中微行，欲掩襲宅內，嶷〔令〕左右儛刀戟於中庭，蒼梧從墻閒窺見，以為有備，乃去。太祖帶南兖州，鎮軍府長史蕭順之在鎮，憂危既切，期渡江北起兵。嶷諫曰：「主上狂凶，人下不自保，單行道路，易以立功。外州起兵，鮮有克勝。物情疑惑，必先人受禍。今於此立計，萬不可失。」蒼梧王殞，太祖報嶷曰：「大事已判，汝明可早入。」從帝即位，轉侍中，總宮內直衞。

While Xiao Daocheng held the Director General's post, Ni lived at the Collation: received qing (clear), emended to qing (azure). Qingxi residence. Emperor Houfei of Liu Song went out by night in secret, intending a surprise on the house; Ni had his attendants brandish blades and halberds in the courtyard. Houfei peered through a gap in the wall, saw that the place was ready, and left. Xiao Daocheng held southern Yan province; Xiao Shunzhi, chief clerk on the pacifying army staff, was at the garrison. Danger pressed close, and they set a date to cross the Yangtze north and raise troops. Ni remonstrated: 「The sovereign is mad and cruel; no one beneath him is safe. To go alone on the road is the easy way to merit. To raise troops from an outer province—few ever win. Men's hearts will be doubtful; disaster will strike another first. To lay a plan here now is a chance that must not be lost. 」When Houfei died, Xiao Daocheng sent word to Ni: 「The great affair is decided—you, Ming, may enter early. 」When Emperor Shun of Song took the throne, Ni was made palace attendant and put in charge of the inner palace guard.

沈攸之之難，太祖入朝堂，嶷出鎮東府，加冠軍將軍。袁粲舉兵夕，丹陽丞王遜告變，先至東府，嶷遣帳內軍主戴元孫二千人隨薛道淵等俱至石頭，焚門之功，元孫預焉。先是王蘊薦部曲六十人助為城防，實以為內應也。嶷知蘊懷貳，不給其仗，散處外省。及難作搜檢，皆已亡去。遷中領軍，加散騎常侍。

During Shen Youzhi's revolt Xiao Daocheng entered the court hall while Ni went out to hold the Eastern Palace and was given the additional title general of the champions. On the evening Yuan Can rose, Wang Xun, assistant administrator of Danyang, reported the mutiny and reached the Eastern Palace first. Ni sent his personal guard commander Dai Yuansun with two thousand men after Xue Daoyuan and the rest to Stone City; Yuansun shared in burning the gates. Earlier Wang Yun had recommended sixty retainers to help hold the city—they were meant as inside contacts. Ni knew Yun was double-minded, gave them no arms, and scattered them in outer offices. When trouble broke out and searches were made, all had already fled. He was transferred to central commander of the guards with the additional post of attendant cavalier at large.

上流平後，世祖自尋陽還，嶷出為使持節、都督江州豫州之新蔡晉熙二郡軍事、左將軍、江州刺史，常侍如故。給鼓吹一部。以定策功，改封永安縣公，千五百戶。

After the upper Yangtze was pacified, Shizu returned from Xunyang. Ni was sent out as bearer of the staff, superintendent of Xin Cai and Jinxi in Jiang and Yu, General of the Left, and inspector of Jiang, with his cavalier post unchanged. He was granted one suite of guard music. For helping settle the succession he was re-enfeoffed Duke of Yong'an county, fief of fifteen hundred households.

仍徙都督荊湘雍益梁寧南北秦八州諸軍事、鎮西將軍、荊州刺史，持節、常侍如故。時太祖輔政，〔嶷〕務在省約，停府州儀迎物。初，沈攸之欲聚眾，開民相告，士庶坐執役者甚眾。嶷至鎮，一日遣三千餘人。見囚五歲刑以下不連臺者，皆原遣。以市稅重濫，更定㮧格，以稅還民。禁諸市調及苗籍。二千石官長不得與人為（公）〔市〕，（宜）〔諸〕曹吏聽分番假。百姓甚悅。禪讓之閒，世祖欲速定大業，嶷依違其事，默無所言。建元元年，太祖即位，赦詔未至，嶷先下令蠲除（國）〔部〕內昇明二年以前逋負。遷侍中、尚書令、都督揚南徐二州諸軍事、驃騎大將軍、開府儀同三司、揚州刺史，持節如故。封豫章郡王，邑三千戶。僕射王儉牋曰：「舊楚蕭條，仍歲多故，荒民散亡，寔須緝理。公臨莅甫爾，英風惟穆，江、漢來蘇，八州慕義。自庾亮以來，荊楚無復如此美政。古人朞月有成，而公旬日致治，豈不休哉！」

He was then made superintendent of Jing, Xiang, Yong, Yi, Liang, Ning, North Qin, and South Qin, General Who Pacifies the West, and inspector of Jing, with staff and cavalier post as before. While Xiao Daocheng assisted the government, Ni devoted himself to economy, halting the welcoming displays of headquarters and province. Earlier, when Shen Youzhi tried to gather troops, he set people informing on one another; gentry and commoners pressed into corvée were very numerous. When Ni reached his post, in a single day he released more than three thousand. Prisoners sentenced to five years or less who were not tied to central cases were all pardoned and sent home. Because market levies were heavy and abusive, he set new tax brackets and returned the revenue to the people. He forbade market surcharges and household registration fees in the markets. Officials of two-thousand-shi rank were forbidden to trade with people in the Collation: received gong, emended to shi. Market, Collation: received yi, emended to zhu. Clerks in the various bureaus were allowed leave in rotating shifts. The people were greatly pleased. In the days of the abdication, Emperor Wu wanted the succession fixed at once; Xiao Ni hung back and kept silent. In the first year of Jianyuan, when the Grand Ancestor took the throne, the amnesty edict had not yet come down, yet Ni first ordered remission of (emended: department) all arrears within his jurisdiction dating from before Shengming year 2. He was made palace attendant and director of the masters of writing, commander-in-chief in Yang and South Xu, grand general of cavalry, bearer of the staff equal to the Three Excellencies, and inspector of Yang, with his commission unchanged. He was enfeoffed as prince of Yuzhang with a fief of three thousand households. Vice Director Wang Jian wrote: 「The old Chu lands lie waste; year on year brings fresh trouble; refugees scattered abroad must be gathered and set in order. Your Grace has only just taken office, yet your bearing already brings calm; along the Yangzi and Han the people breathe again; eight provinces turn to you in trust. Since Yu Liang, Jing and Chu have not seen rule like this. The ancients looked for a month's work; Your Grace brought order in ten days—what could be finer?」

會北虜動，上思為經略。乃詔曰：「神牧總司王畿，誠為治要；荊楚領馭遐遠，任寄弘隆。自頃公私凋盡，綏撫之宜，尤重恒日。」復以為都督荊湘雍益梁寧南北秦八州諸軍事、南蠻校尉、荊湘二州刺史，持節、侍中、將軍、開府如故。晉宋之際，刺史多不領南蠻，別以重人居之，至是有二府二州。荊州資費歲錢三千萬，布萬匹，米六萬斛，又以江、湘二州米十萬斛給鎮府，湘州資費歲七百萬，布三千匹，米五萬斛，南蠻資費歲三百萬，布萬匹，綿千斤，絹三百匹，米千斛，近代莫比也。尋給油絡俠望車。

Just then the northerners moved, and the court turned to strategy. An edict ran: 「The sacred shepherd who holds the royal domain is the true pivot of government; Jing and Chu govern the distant marches, and the charge laid upon them is great. Lately public and private means are spent; to soothe the land must be the daily burden.」 He was again made commander-in-chief over Jing, Xiang, Yong, Yi, Liang, Ning, and North and South Qin, colonel over the southern barbarians, and inspector of Jing and Xiang; his staff, palace attendant rank, generalship, and open office stood as before. Between Jin and Song, inspectors often did not themselves hold the southern barbarians command; a man of weight was set apart for it—now there were two staffs and two provinces. Jing's yearly provision was thirty million cash, ten thousand bolts of cloth, and sixty thousand hu of grain; another hundred thousand hu from Jiang and Xiang fed the headquarters. Xiang drew seven million cash, three thousand bolts, and fifty thousand hu a year; the southern barbarians command drew three million cash, ten thousand bolts, a thousand jin of floss, three hundred bolts of silk, and a thousand hu of grain—nothing in recent memory compared. Soon he was granted an oil-lacquered carriage with outrider escort.

二年春，虜寇司、豫二州，嶷表遣南蠻司馬崔慧景北討，又分遣中兵參軍蕭惠朗援司州，屯西關。虜軍濟淮攻壽春，分騎當出隨、鄧，眾以為憂，嶷曰：「虜入春夏，非動眾時，令豫、司彊守遏其津要，彼見堅嚴，自當潰散，必不敢越二鎮而南也。」是時纂嚴，嶷以荊州隣接蠻、蜑，慮其生心，令鎮內皆緩服。既而虜竟不出樊、鄧，於壽春敗走。尋給班劍二十人。

In spring of year 2 the enemy raided Si and Yu; Ni memorialized to send the southern barbarians staff officer Cui Huijing north, and detached Central Army aide Xiao Huilang to reinforce Si, encamped at West Pass. The enemy crossed the Huai against Shouchun; horsemen were expected through Sui and Deng, and many were afraid. Ni said: 「In spring and summer the northerners do not move in force. Let Yu and Si hold the crossings hard; when they see walls that will not yield, they will scatter—they will not dare slip south past those two commands.」 Mobilization was ordered; Jing lay against Man and Dan country, and Ni, fearing hearts there would turn, had the whole command go in plain dress. In the end the enemy never came through Fan and Deng; they were beaten and fled from Shouchun. Soon he was granted twenty ceremonial swords as escort.

其夏，於南蠻園東南開館立學，上表言狀。置生四十人，取舊族父祖位正佐臺郎，年二十五以下十五以上補之，置儒林參軍一人，文學祭酒一人，勸學從事二人，行釋菜禮。以糓過賤，聽民以米當口錢，優評斛一百。

That summer he opened a lodge and school southeast of the Southern Barbarians Garden and memorialized the plan. Forty students were taken from old houses whose fathers and grandfathers had been full or assistant masters of writing at court, between fifteen and twenty-five; one Confucian Forest aide, one libationer of letters, and two aides for encouraging study were named, and the vegetable offering rite was held. Grain had grown too cheap; the people were allowed to pay poll tax in rice at a favorable rate of a hundred per hu.

義陽劫帥張羣亡命積年，鼓行為賊，義陽、武陵、天門、南平四郡界，被其殘破。沈攸之連討不能禽，乃首用之。攸之起事，羣從下郢，於路先叛，結寨於三溪，依據深險。嶷遣中兵參軍虞欣祖為義陽太守，使降意誘納之，厚為禮遺，於坐斬首，其黨數百人皆散，四郡獲安。

Zhang Qun, a robber chief of Yiyang, had been a fugitive for years, marching as a rebel; Yiyang, Wuling, Tianmen, and Nanping were laid waste along their borders. Shen Youzhi hunted him again and again without taking him, and in the end put him at the head of his ranks. When Youzhi rose, Qun came down from Xia, turned rebel on the road, and walled himself at Three Streams in steep country. Ni sent Central Army aide Yu Xizu as administrator of Yiyang to feign surrender and draw Qun in; at the feast, with gifts heaped around him, Qun was beheaded where he sat; several hundred of his band scattered, and the four commands were quiet.

入為都督揚南徐二州諸軍事、中書監、司空、揚州刺史，持節、侍中如故。加兵置佐。以前軍臨川王映府文武配司空府。嶷以將還都，脩治廨宇及路陌，東歸部曲不得齎府州物出城。發江津，士女觀送數千人，皆垂泣。嶷發江陵感疾，至京師未瘳，上深憂慮，為之大赦，三年六月壬子赦令是也。疾愈，上幸東府設金石樂，敕得乘輿至宮六門。

He entered court as commander of Yang and South Xu, palace library inspector, minister of works, and inspector of Yang; his staff and palace attendant rank stood as before. Military aides were added to his staff. The civil and military staff of Prince Ying of Linchuan's former army were assigned to the minister of works. As Ni prepared to return to the capital, he had government halls and roads put in order; eastern units going home were forbidden to carry prefectural or commandery goods out of the walls. He set out from Jiangjin; several thousand men and women watched him go, weeping. Ni fell ill leaving Jiangling and had not mended by the time he reached the capital; the throne was deeply troubled and proclaimed a general amnesty for his sake—the renzi amnesty of the sixth month of year 3. When he was well again, the emperor came to his Eastern Residence with bronze and stone music and decreed that the imperial carriage might advance to the six palace gates.

太祖崩，嶷哀號，眼耳皆出血。世祖即位，進位太尉，置兵佐，解侍中，增班劍為三十人。建元（年）中，世祖以事失旨，太祖頗有代嫡之意，而嶷事世祖恭悌盡禮，未嘗違忤顏色，故世祖友愛亦深。永明元年，領太子太傅，解中書監，餘如故。手啟上曰：「陛下以叡孝纂業，萬㝢惟新，諸弟有序，臣屢荷隆愛，叨授台首，不敢固辭，俛仰祗寵，心魂如失。負重量力，古今同規。臣窮生如浮，質操空素，任居鼎右，已移氣序，自頃以來，宿疾稍纏，心慮恍惚，表於容狀，視此根候，常恐命不勝恩。加以星緯屢見災祥，雖脩短有恒，能不耿介。比心欲從俗，啟解今職，但厝辭為鄙，或貽物誚，所以息意緘嘿，一委時運，而可復加寵榮，增其顛墜。且儲傅之重，實非恒選，遂使太子見臣必束帶，宮臣皆再拜，二三之宜，何以當此。陛下同生十餘，今唯臣而已，友于之愛，豈當獨臣鍾其隆遇。別奉啟事，仰祈恩照。臣近亦侍言太子，告意子良，具因王儉申啟，未知粗上聞未？福慶方隆，國祚永始，若天假臣年，得預人位，唯當請降貂璫，以飾微軀，永侍天顏，以惟畢世，此臣之願也。服之不衷，猶為身災，況寵爵乎！殊榮厚恩，必誓以命請。」上答曰：「事中恐不得從所陳。」

When the Grand Ancestor died, Ni wailed until blood ran from his eyes and ears. When Emperor Wu acceded, Ni was advanced to grand commandant, given military aides, relieved of palace attendant, and his ceremonial swords raised to thirty. Jianyuan (emended: year) In the Jianyuan years Emperor Wu once lost favor over an affair; the Grand Ancestor had thought of setting another heir in his place, but Ni served Emperor Wu with full reverent courtesy and never once let his face show defiance, and so the emperor's brotherly love ran deep as well. In the first year of Yongming he was made grand tutor of the heir apparent, relieved of palace library inspector, and otherwise unchanged. He wrote to the throne in his own hand: 「Your Majesty has taken the inheritance through wise filial piety; the realm is made new; the imperial brothers stand in their ranks; I have again and again been heaped with favor and set at the head of the Secretariat—I did not dare hold out in refusal; bowing to your grace, heart and soul feel adrift. To bear more than one's strength allows is the same rule in every age. My life drifts like foam; substance and conduct are hollow; I sit at the right hand of the tripod and the seasons have already shifted. Lately old illness winds tighter; the mind grows dim and shows on the face. By these signs I often fear my span cannot carry so much grace. Stars and omens have shown disaster again and again; though life has its term, who could stand unmoved? By my heart I would follow custom and ask release from this office; but clumsy words would be base, or draw the world's mockery—so I quiet my will and keep silent, leaving all to fate; yet how can favor and glory be heaped on again and hasten my fall? Moreover, tutor to the heir is no ordinary post: the crown prince girds himself when he sees me, palace officers all double-bow—how should a man of second or third rank bear it? Your Majesty had more than ten brothers by one father; now I alone remain. Should brotherly love fall on me alone with such lavish favor? In a separate memorial I beg your gracious attention. I have lately attended the crown prince as well, spoken my mind to Ziliang, and had Wang Jian report it in full—whether any of this has reached you in outline, I cannot tell. Fortune is rising and the throne newly founded; if Heaven grants me years and a place among men, I would ask only to be lowered to the mink-and-scepter ranks, to dress this slight frame and attend your countenance to the end of my days—that is my wish. To wear what the heart does not embrace is calamity for the body—how much more titles and grace! For extraordinary honor and thick grace I must petition with my life. 」The emperor answered, 「In this matter I fear I cannot grant what you ask.」

宋氏以來，州郡秩俸及〔雜〕供給，多隨土所出，無有定准。嶷上表曰：「循革貴宜，損益資用，治在（風）〔夙〕均，政由一典。伏尋郡縣長尉俸祿之制，雖有定科，而其餘資給，復由風俗，東北異源，西南各緒，習以為常，因而弗變，緩之則莫非通規，澄之則靡不入罪。殊非約法明章，先令後刑之謂也。臣謂宜使所在各條公用公田秩石迎送舊典之外，守宰相承，有何供調，尚書精加洗覈，務令優衷。事在可通，隨宜開許，損公侵民，一皆（乙）〔止〕卻，明立定格，班下四方，永為恒制。」從之。

Since the Song, provincial and commandery salaries and miscellaneous supplies had largely followed local produce, without fixed standard. Xiao Yan memorialized, 「Reform should follow what is valued and fitting, increase and decrease should follow use; governance lies in (wind) long-standing uniformity; policy proceeds from one canon. I find that though commandery and county chiefs and assistants have fixed salary statutes, their other allowances still follow local custom—one source in the northeast, another thread in the southwest; habit has made it normal and it goes unchanged. Relax enforcement and nothing is not the general practice; clarify it and nothing escapes being a crime. That is far from making the law clear and issuing orders before punishments. I hold that each locality should itemize public expenses, public fields, salary grain, and reception and escort beyond old precedent; prefect and chancellor should answer for them, and whatever supplies are demanded should be finely audited by the Masters of Writing until a balanced mean is reached. Where matters can be accommodated, leave should be granted as fitting; harm to the public and encroachment on the people—all alike (yi) stopped and refused; establish clear fixed rules, promulgate them to the four quarters, and make them the perpetual statute. 」The court assented.

嶷不參朝務，而言事密謀，多見信納。服闋，加侍中。二年，詔曰：「漢之梁孝，寵異列蕃，晉之文獻，秩殊恒序。況乃地侔前准，勳兼往式，雖天倫有本，而因事增情。宜廣田邑，用申恩禮。」增封為四千戶。

Xiao Yan did not sit in on court business, yet in confidential counsel his words were often trusted and adopted. When mourning was completed, he was made palace attendant. In year 2 an edict read, 「In Han, Prince Xiao of Liang was favored above other feudatories; in Jin, Prince Wen of the Heir's Household stood outside the usual order. How much more when territory matches former measure and merit matches past pattern—though heavenly kinship has its root, circumstance deepens affection. His fief lands should be enlarged to express favor and ritual. 」His enfeoffment was increased to four thousand households.

宋元嘉世，諸王入齋閤，得白服帬帽見人主，唯出太極四（廟）〔廂〕，乃備朝服，自（此）〔比〕以來，此事一斷。上與嶷同生相友睦，宮內曲宴，許依元嘉。嶷固辭不奉敕，唯車駕幸第，乃白服烏紗帽以侍宴焉。啟自陳曰：「臣自還朝，便省儀刀，捉刀左右十餘亦省，唯郊外遠行，或復暫有，入殿亦省。服身今所牽仗，二俠轂，二白直，共七八十人。事無大小，臣必欲上啟，伏度聖心脫未委曲，或有言其多少，不附事實，仰希即賜垂敕。」又啟：「揚州刺史舊有六白領合扇，二白拂，臣脫以為疑，不審此當云何？行園苑中乘轝，出籬門外乘轝鳴角，皆相仍如此，非止於帶神州者，未審此當云何？方有行來，不可失衷。」上答曰：「儀刀、捉刀，不應省也。俠轂、白直，乃可共百四五十以還正是耳。亦不曾聞人道此。吾自不使諸王無仗，況復汝耶。在私園苑中乘此非疑。郊外鳴角及合扇并拂，先乃有，不復施用，此來甚久。凡在鎮自異還京師，先廣州乃立鼓吹，交部遂有輦事，隨時而改，亦復有可得依舊者。汝若有疑，可與王儉諸人量衷，但令人臣之儀無失便行也。」

In Song's Yuanjia era, when princes entered the fasting chambers they might appear before the sovereign in white dress, skirt, and cap; only when leaving the four halls of the Supreme Ultimate (temple) side chambers did they don full court dress. From (this) that time on, this practice was cut off entirely. The emperor and Xiao Yan, born of the same father, were friendly and close; at private palace feasts he allowed the Yuanjia custom. Xiao Yan firmly declined to obey the order; only when the imperial carriage visited his residence did he attend the feast in white dress and black gauze cap. He memorialized in his own person, saying, 「Since my return to court I have cut back my ceremonial sabers; the dozen-odd sword-bearers at my side I have cut back as well—only on distant journeys outside the city might they appear again for a time; I also go without them when entering the halls. The attendants I now keep at my side are two warrior-guards on the carriage hubs, two white-uniform men—in all some seventy or eighty. In matters great or small I must memorialize above; I venture to think you may not yet have the full picture, or someone may speak of their number in ways that do not match fact—I beg an immediate edict. 」He memorialized again: 「The inspector of Yang province formerly had six white-collar folding screens and two white fly-whisks; I am uncertain whether this is proper—what should be done? Riding a litter in the palace garden, riding a litter outside the hedge gate with horns sounded—these follow one after another in the same way, and not only for those who bear the Yang region seal; I do not know whether this is proper. I am about to travel and cannot miss the mean. 」The emperor answered, 「Ceremonial sabers and sword-bearers should not be reduced. Warrior-guards and white-uniform men—about one hundred forty or fifty in all would be just right. I have never heard anyone speak of this. I myself would not leave the princes without guards—how much less you! Riding such conveyances in a private garden is no cause for doubt. Horns outside the city, folding screens, and fly-whisks existed before but are no longer used; that has been so for a long time. Whenever one returns from a distant post to the capital, custom changes with the times—Guang province first established a drum-and-pipe escort, Jiaozhi then had litter service; some things can still be followed as of old. If you have doubts, take measure with Wang Jian and the others, but see that the rites of subject and minister are not lost—that is enough.」

又啟曰：「臣拙知自處，闇於疑訪，常見素姓扶詔或著布屩，不意為異。臣在西朝拜王，儀飾悉依宋武陵事例，有二鄣扇，仍此下都，脫不為疑。小兒奴子，並青布袴衫，臣齋中亦有一人，意謂外庶所服，不疑與羊車相類。曲荷慈旨，今悉改易。臣昔在邊鎮，不無羽衞，自歸朝以來，便相分遣，俠轂、白直，格置三百許人，臣頃所引，不過一百。常謂京師諸王不煩牽仗，若郊外遠行，此所不論。有仗者非臣一人，所以不容方幅啟省，又因王儉備宣下情。臣出入榮顯，禮容優泰，第宇華曠，事乖素約，雖宋之遺製，恩處有在，猶深非服之慙。威衞之請，仰希曲照。」上荅曰：「傳詔臺家人耳，不足涉嫌。鄣扇吾識及以來未見，故有敕耳。小兒奴子，本非嫌也。吾有所聞，豈容不敕汝知，令物致議耶。吾已有敕，汝一人不省俠轂，但牽之。吾昨不通仗事，儉已道，吾即令荅，不煩有此啟。須閒言，自更一二。」

He memorialized again, saying, 「I am slow to know how to comport myself and ignorant in what to ask when in doubt; I have often seen common clansmen who assist with edicts wearing cloth sandals and did not think it strange. When I paid court in the west my ceremonial accoutrements all followed the Song precedent of Prince Wu of Mount Wuling; I had two shield-screens and brought them down to the capital—I did not think that suspect. My young servants all wear blue cloth trousers and jackets; I have one such man in my study as well—I took it to be dress of the outer common sort and did not suspect it resembled the goat-cart retinue. Graced by your kind instruction, I have now changed all of it. On the frontier I once kept a full guard; since I came back to court I have been sending them away in batches. The establishment calls for some three hundred carriage-guards and white-clad runners, but I keep barely a hundred. I had always thought princes in the capital need not trail armed retinues—only when one rides far beyond the suburbs is that another matter. I am not the only prince who keeps guards, so I could not bring myself to memorialize a full reduction; I had Wang Jian speak for me instead. My comings and goings are splendid, my bearing ceremonious, my mansion vast—all of it at odds with the modest life I pledged. Song left such precedents, and grace has its reasons, yet I am ashamed I cannot bear them with ease. As to my request to reduce my guard, I beg your gracious leave. 」 The emperor replied, "Men who relay edicts are palace household staff—there is nothing to suspect in that. Screen-fans—I have known you since boyhood and never saw you with them; that is why I sent word. Your boy-servants were never in question. If something reached my ears, would I not tell you rather than let the world talk? I have already ordered it—for you alone, do not cut your carriage-guards; keep them. Yesterday the escort matter never reached me—Jian had already spoken, and I ordered an answer at once. You need not memorialize again. When we have time to talk, I will tell you a thing or two more."

又啟曰：「違遠侍宴，將踰一紀，憂苦閒之。始得開顏。近頻侍座，不勝悲喜。（沽）〔沾〕飲過量，實欲仰示恩狎，令自下知見，以杜游塵。陛下留恩子弟，此情何異，外物政自彊生閒節，聲其厚薄。伏度或未上簡。臣前在東田，承恩過醉，實思歎往秋之謗，故言啟至切，亦令羣物聞之，伏願已照此心。前侍幸順之宅，臣依常乘車至仗後，監伺不能示臣可否，便互競啟（閒）〔聞〕，云臣車逼突黃屋麾旄，如欲相中。推此用意，亦何容易。仰賴慈明，即賜垂敕；不爾，臣終不知闇貽此累。比日禁斷整密，此自常理，外聲乃云起臣在華林，輒捉御刀，因此更嚴，度情推理，必不容爾，為復上啟知耳。但風塵易至，和會實難，伏願猶憶臣石頭所啟，無生閒縫。比閑侍無次，略附茹亮口宣。臣由來華素，已具上簡，每欲存衷，意慮不周，或有乖當。且臣五十之年，為翫幾時，為此亦復不能以理內自（剝）〔制〕。北第舊邸，本自甚華，臣改脩正而已，小小製置，已自仰簡。往歲收合得少雜材，并蒙賜故板，啟榮內許作小眠齋，始欲成就，皆補接為辦，無乖格製，要是檉柏之華，一時新淨。東府又有齋，亦為華屋。而臣頓有二處住止，下情竊所未安。訊訪東宮玄圃，乃有柏屋，製甚古拙，內中無此齋，臣乃欲壞取以奉太子，非但失之於前，且補接既多，不可見移，亦恐外物或為異論，不審可有垂許送東府齋理否？臣公家住止，率爾可安，臣之今啟，實無意識，亦無言者，太子亦不知臣有此屋，政以東宮無，而臣自處之，體不宜爾爾。所啟蒙允，臣便當敢成第屋，安之不疑。陛下若不照體臣心，便當永廢不脩。臣自謂今啟非但是自處宜然，實為微臣往事，伏願必垂降許。伏見以諸王舉貨，屢降嚴旨，少拙營生，已應上簡。府州郡邸舍，非臣私有，今巨細所資，皆是公潤，臣私累不少，未知將來罷州之後，或當不能不試學營覓以自贍。連年惡疾餘，顧影單回，無事畜聚，唯逐手為樂耳。」上答曰：「茹亮今啟汝所懷及見別紙，汝勞疾亦復那得不動，何意為作煩長啟事！凡諸普敕，此意可尋，當不關汝一人也。宜有敕事，吾亦必道，頃見汝自更委悉，書不欲多及。屋事慎勿彊厝此意，白澤亦當不解何意爾。」

He memorialized again: "I have been far from your banquets for nearly twelve years, and sorrow filled the spaces between. Only now may I let my face clear. Lately I have often sat at your side—joy and grief more than I can bear. (Read: zhan.) I drank too much—only to show how close you hold me, so those below would see it and idle talk would die away. Your love for your brothers and sons is the same in every case; outsiders will invent petty slights on their own and trumpet who is favored and who is not. I fear this may never have reached you in brief. Once at the Eastern Fields you honored me and I drank too deep—I meant to answer last autumn's slander, which is why my words were so sharp and why I let the court hear them. I pray you have read my heart. When you last visited Shunzhi's house I rode as always to the rear of the escort; the watchers would not tell me whether I might pass, and they vied to memorialize (Read: wen, "report.") He heard that my carriage had pressed upon the imperial yellow canopy and banners, as if to strike them. To read intent into that—is it so simple? I rely on your clear mercy—grant your decree at once; otherwise I would never have known I had stumbled into this blame in the dark. Lately the bans have grown tight, as they should—but rumor outside says it began when I seized an imperial guard sword in Hualin, and the rules grew harsher still. Judged by reason, that cannot be; I write only so you may know. Gossip comes quickly, concord with difficulty; I beg you remember what I wrote at Shitou—let no idle seam open between us. With nothing urgent in these idle audiences, I add Ru Liang's oral message in brief. I have always lived in splendor, as I said above; each time I mean to hold the mean, my mind falls short, and something may go awry. At fifty, how many years of delight remain? For this I truly cannot school myself inwardly by reason alone (Read: zhi, "restrain.") Restraint. The northern mansion was grand to begin with; I only put it in order. The small appointments have already been laid before you. Last year I collected a little scrap timber and was also given old planks; I asked leave to build a small sleeping studio in the Qirong quarters. Just as it was nearly done, everything was patched and fitted—within the rules, but tamarisk and cypress made it briefly bright and new. The Eastern Residence has a studio too—another fine hall. Yet I suddenly have two dwellings, and it sits uneasily with me. I asked after the crown prince's Mystic Enclosure and found only a cypress hall, plain and old, with nothing like this studio within. I thought to tear mine down for him—but that would undo what is already done, and with so much patching it cannot be moved in plain sight; outsiders might talk. May I beg leave to give the Eastern Residence studio instead? My public household can manage well enough; this memorial has no hidden aim, and no one prompted it—the crown prince does not even know I have this hall. Only because his palace lacks such a room while I keep two does the thing sit wrong. If you grant what I ask, I will finish the mansion and live in it without another thought. If you do not read my heart, I will never build again. I believe this request is not only right for my place but settles an old debt of mine as a humble servant—I beg you grant it. I see how often you have sternly forbidden princes to borrow; my small awkwardness at earning a living must already be known to you. The lodges in prefecture and county are not mine; everything I use, great or small, comes from public surplus. My private means are thin. When I leave office I may have to learn, however late, how to feed myself. Years of grave illness leave me alone with my shadow, without stores; I take only what comes to hand for comfort. 」 The emperor replied, "Ru Liang has relayed what is on your mind, and I have seen your other note—your illness, of course it weighs on you. Why pour out such a long, vexing memorial? Whatever general orders apply, you can read the intent in them—they are not aimed at you alone. When there is something to decree, I will say it; lately you explain yourself well enough—I do not want the letter to run on. As for the house, do not press the point—Baize will not understand your reasoning either."

三年，文惠太子講孝經畢，〔嶷〕求解太傅，不許。皇孫婚竟，又陳解。詔曰：「公惟德惟行，無所厝辭。且魯且衞，其誰與二。方式範當時，流聲史籍。豈容屢秉撝謙，以乖期寄。」嶷常慮盛滿，又因（言）〔宮〕宴，求解揚州授竟陵王子良。上終不許，曰：「畢汝一世，無所多言。」

In the third year, when Crown Prince Wenhui finished his lecture on the Classic of Filial Piety, [Yi] asked to be released as Grand Tutor; the emperor would not allow it. When the imperial grandson's wedding was over, Xiao Yi again petitioned to resign his offices. An edict read, 「In virtue and in conduct you leave nothing to refuse. You stand with Lu and Wei—who stands beside you as second? Your bearing is the measure of the age; your name will run in the histories. How can you keep clasping showy humility and fail what we have set upon you? 」Xiao Yi often feared that his cup was too full, and again, on the occasion of (speech) a palace feast, asked to lay down Yang province and transfer it to Jingling Prince Xiao Ziliang. The emperor would not hear of it and said, 「For the rest of your life—say no more of it.」

世祖即位後，頻發詔拜陵，不果行。遣嶷拜陵，還過延陵季子廟，觀沸井，有水牛突部伍，直兵執牛推問，不許，取絹一疋橫繫牛角，放歸其家。為治存寬厚，故得朝野歡心。

After Emperor Wu acceded, he often ordered tomb worship but could never go himself. He sent Xiao Yi to worship at the tombs. Coming back he stopped at the shrine of Master Ji of Yanling and looked at the boiling spring. A water buffalo charged his escort; palace guards seized the beast to beat and question it. Yi forbade them, took a bolt of silk, lashed it across the horns, and let the animal go home. In rule he stayed lenient and broad, and court and countryside alike gave him their hearts.

四年，唐㝢之賊起，啟上曰：「此段小寇，出於兇愚，天網宏罩，理不足論。但聖明御世，幸可不爾，比藉聲聽，皆云有由而然。豈得不仰啟所懷，少陳心款。山海崇深，臣獲保安樂，公私情願，於此可見。齊有天下，歲月未久，澤沾萬民，其實未多，百姓猶險，懷惡者眾。陛下曲垂流愛，每存優旨。但頃小大士庶，每以小利奉公，不顧所損者大，（撻）〔擿〕籍檢工巧，督卹簡小塘，藏丁匿口，凡諸條制，實長怨府。此目前交利，非天下大計。一室之中，尚不可精，㝢宙之內，何可周（視）〔洗〕。公家何嘗不知民多欺巧，古今政以不可細碎，故不為此，實非乖理。但識理者百不有一，陛下弟兒大臣，猶不皆能伏理，況復天下悠悠萬品。怨積聚黨，兇迷相類，止於一處，何足不除，脫復多所，便成紜紜。久欲上啟，閑侍無因，謹陳愚管，伏願特留神思。」上荅曰：「欺巧那可容！宋世混亂，以為是不？蚊蟻何足為憂，已為義勇所破，官軍昨至，今都應散滅。吾政恨其不辦大耳，亦何時無亡命邪。」後乃詔聽復籍注。五年，進位大司馬。八年，給皁輪車。尋加中書監，固讓。

In year 4 the outlaw Tang Yuzhi rose. Yi wrote, 「This petty trouble comes of brutish folly; Heaven's net is vast—it is hardly worth arguing. Yet under a sage reign it ought not to be so; by rumor and report, everyone says there is a reason for it. How can I not lay what I feel before you and open my heart, if only a little? Mountains and seas are high and deep; I have been kept in peace and ease—my wish for state and for self is plain. Qi has held the realm only a short while; favor has not yet soaked the people. The common folk are still hard, and many nurse malice. Your Majesty bends a flowing love and always keeps a gentle word. Yet lately, high and low, each for a trifling gain serves the state and never weighs the greater harm, (flog) exposing registries, inspecting craftsmen, pressing levies on ponds, hiding households and mouths—every such rule truly swells the house of resentment. This is profit for the moment, not the great reckoning of the realm. In one room you cannot be exact; in all the world how can you survey (inspect) every corner? The state has never not known how deceitful the people are; rulers old and new have held that the fine print cannot govern, and so they did not do this—it is not against reason. But hardly one man in a hundred knows reason; even your Majesty's brothers and great ministers do not all bow to reason—how much more the endless kinds under heaven. Grievance gathers into factions; the violent and deluded flock together. In one place alone, why could it not be cleared? If it breaks out in many places, all becomes confusion. Long I have wished to speak to you; in quiet attendance I had no opening. I venture this foolish counsel and beg you to weigh it with care. 」The emperor answered, 「Deceit—how can that be borne! Do you think Song's chaos came from that? Midges and ants—why worry? The righteous militia has already broken them; the government army came yesterday; by now they should all be scattered. I only wish they had made something grand of it; when was there ever no outlaw? 」Only later did an edict allow restoring registry entries. In year 5 he was promoted to Grand Marshal. In year 8 he was granted a carriage with black wheels. Soon he was named Director of the Secretariat and firmly declined.

嶷身長七尺八寸，善持容範，文物衞從，禮冠百僚，每出入殿省，皆瞻望嚴肅。自以地位隆重，深懷退素，北宅舊有園田之美，乃盛脩理之。七年，啟求還第，上令世子子廉代鎮東府。上數幸嶷第。宋長寧陵𡑞道出第前路，上曰：「我便是入他冢墓內尋人。」乃徙其表闕騏驎於東崗上。騏驎及闕，形勢甚巧，宋孝武於襄陽致之，後諸帝王陵皆模範而莫及也。永明末，車駕數游幸，唯嶷陪從，上出新林苑，同輦夜歸，至宮門，嶷下輦辭出，上曰：「今夜行，無使為尉司所呵也。」嶷對曰：「京輦之內，皆屬臣州，願陛下不垂過慮。」上大笑。上謀北伐，以虜所獻氈車賜嶷。每幸第清除，不復屏人。上敕外監曰：「我往大司馬第，是還家耳。」妃庾氏常有疾，瘳，上幸〔嶷邸〕，後堂設金石樂，宮人畢至。每臨幸，輒極日盡歡。嶷謂上曰：「古來言願陛下壽偕南山，或稱萬歲，此殆近貌言，如臣所懷，實願陛下極壽百年亦足矣。」上曰：「百年復何可得，止得東西一百，於事亦濟。」

Xiao Yi stood seven feet eight inches tall. He held his bearing with grace; his insignia and escort outshone every officer. Whenever he passed through the palace halls, all who saw him looked on in solemn awe. Knowing how weighty his place had become, he turned his heart to withdrawal and plain living; the north mansion had once held fine gardens and fields, and he had them restored on a grand scale. In year 7 he asked to go back to his mansion; the emperor had his heir Xiao Zilian take his place at the Eastern Mansion. The emperor often visited Xiao Yi's mansion. The spirit road of Emperor Ming's Changning tomb ran past the gate of the mansion. The emperor said, 「I am walking into another man's graveyard to find a friend. 」So he had the spirit gate and the qilin moved to the eastern ridge. The qilin and the gate were marvelously wrought; Emperor Xiaowu of Song had had them brought from Xiangyang; later imperial tombs all took them as models, yet none equaled them. Late in Yongming the emperor often went touring; only Xiao Yi went with him. Once he left Xinlin Park and rode back by night in the same carriage. At the palace gate Yi stepped down to withdraw. The emperor said, 「On a night run like this, see that the watch does not scold us. 」Yi answered, 「Within the capital all lies in my province—Your Majesty need not trouble yourself. 」The emperor laughed long. When the emperor planned a northern campaign, he gave Xiao Yi the felt carriage the barbarians had presented. Whenever he visited the mansion he cleared the halls and no longer kept people at a screen. The emperor told the outer steward, 「When I go to the Grand Marshal's house, I am only going home. 」 His consort Lady Yu had long been unwell; when she mended, the emperor came to Yi's residence, bell-and-stone music in the rear hall and every palace woman present. Each time he came, the feasting ran until the light failed. Yi told the emperor, 「Men since old times say, "May Your Majesty live as long as the southern mountain," or shout "Ten thousand years"—that is nearly empty praise. What I truly wish is that Your Majesty reach a full century, and no more. 」 The emperor said, 「Who can have a full century? East plus west is a hundred—and that will serve."」

十年，上封嶷諸子，舊例千戶，嶷欲五子俱封，啟減人五百戶。其年疾篤，表解職，不許，賜錢百萬營功德。嶷又啟曰：「臣自嬰今患，亟降天臨，醫徙術官，泉開藏府，慈寵優渥，備極人臣。生年疾迫，遽陰無幾。願陛下審賢與善，極壽蒼旻，彊德納和，為億兆御。臣命違昌數，奄奪恩憐，長辭明世，伏涕嗚咽。」薨，年四十九。其日，上再視疾，至薨，乃還宮。詔曰：「嶷明哲至親，勳高業始，德懋王朝，道光區縣，奄至薨逝，痛酷抽割，不能自勝，奈何奈何！今便臨哭。九命之禮，宜備其制。斂以衮冕之服，溫明祕器，命服一具，衣一襲，喪事一依漢東平王故事，大鴻臚持節護喪事，大官朝夕送奠。大司馬、太傅二府文武悉停過葬。」

In the tenth year the emperor enfeoffed Yi's sons—by old rule, a thousand households each. Yi asked that all five be enfeoffed at once and memorialized to cut five hundred households from each grant. That year, deathly ill, he asked in a memorial to be released from office; the throne refused and gave a million cash for pious works. Yi wrote again: 「Since this sickness took me, Heaven's grace has come again and again—physicians posted, healers called, the vaults opened. Kindness has heaped upon me past what any subject may bear. My span is cramped by disease; the dark is close. May Your Majesty choose the worthy and do good, live out the sky's full term, gather strength and welcome peace, and steer the myriad people. My lot has turned from fortune's number; favor is snatched away. I leave the bright world for long, and bow my face in sobs. 」 He died at forty-nine. That day the emperor came twice to his sickbed; only after Yi died did he go back to the palace. An edict said, 「Yi was clear-sighted and nearest kin; his merit stood at the birth of our rule, his virtue filled the court, his light spread through the districts—then suddenly he was gone. Pain tears like flaying; I cannot master myself—what is to be done, what is to be done! I will go now to weep at his side. The ninefold honors should be given in full. Let him be dressed in dragon robes and twelve emblems, with the secret warmth-and-brightness vessel, one set of command robes, one suit of clothes. The funeral follows the Han King of Dongping. The Grand Herald shall hold the staff and oversee the rites; the Grand Provisioner shall send offerings morning and night. All civil and military officers of the Grand Marshal and Grand Tutor offices shall stop duty for the burial."」

竟陵王子良啟上曰：「臣聞春秋所以稱王母弟者，以尊其所重故也。是以禮秩殊品，爵命崇異，在漢則梁王備出警入蹕之儀，在晉則齊王具殊服九命之贈。江左以來，尊親是闕，故致衮章之典，廢而不傳，寔由人缺其位，非禮虧省。齊王故事，與今不殊，締構王業，功迹不異，凡有變革隨時之宜者，政緣恩情有輕重，德義有厚薄，若事籌前規，禮無異則。且梁、齊闕令終之美，猶饗褒贈之榮；況故大司馬仁和著於天性，孝悌終於立身，節義表於勤王，寬猛彰於御物，奉上無艱劬之貌，接下無毀傷之容，淡矣止於清貞，無喜慍之色，悠然栖於靜默，絕馳競之聲。詩云『靡不有初，鮮克有終』。夫終之者，理實為難，在於今行，無廢斯德。東平樂於小善，河閒悅於詩書，勳績無聞，艱危不涉，尚致卓爾不羣，英聲萬代；況今協贊皇基，經綸霸始，功業高顯，清譽逾彰，富貴隆重，廉潔彌峻，等古形今，孰類茲美。臣愚忖度，未有斯例。凡庶族同氣，愛睦尚少，豈有仰覩陛下垂友于之性若此者乎？共起布衣，俱登天貴，生平遊處，何事不同，分甘均味，何珍不等，未常覩貌而天心不懽，見形而聖儀不悅。爰及臨危捨命，親瞻喘息，萬分之際，沒在聖目，號哭動乎天地，感慟驚乎鬼神，乃至撤膳移寢，坐泣遷旦，神儀損秏，隔宿改容，奉瞻聖顏，誰不悲悚，歷古所未聞，記籍所不載。既有若斯之大德，實不可見典服之贈不彰，如其脫致虧忘，追改為煩，不令千載之下，物有遺恨。其德不具美者，尚荷嘉隆之命；況事光先烈者，寧可缺茲盛典。臣恐有識之人，容致其議。且庶族近代桓溫、庾亮之類，亦降殊命，伏度天心，已當有在。」

The prince of Jingling, Ziliang, wrote to the throne: 「I have heard that the Spring and Autumn calls a man the king's mother's younger brother because it honors what matters. So ritual rank has its special grades and titles their lofty differences—in Han the King of Liang had the full guard when he went out and the barrier when he entered; in Jin the King of Qi received the extraordinary robes and the ninefold posthumous gift. Since the court moved south, honor for close kin has been thin, and the dragon-robe rite has died out—not because the ritual was cut back, but because no man filled the place. The Qi kings' precedents match today: they wove the royal work and their deeds are the same. Changes that fit the time come from how deep affection runs and how thick virtue is—measured against old rules, the rites should not differ. Even the Kings of Liang and Qi, who did not finish well, still won posthumous glory; how much more the late Grand Marshal, whose kindness was in his nature, whose filial piety and brotherly love shaped his life, whose constancy showed in serving the throne, whose balance of lenience and severity showed in ruling men—above him no look of toil, below him no face wounded—plain in purity, without joy or anger on his face, at rest in silence, with no sound of rushing and rivalry. The Odes say, "Everything has a beginning; few keep an end." To end well is hard in the nature of things; in what we do now, do not waste this virtue. The King of Dongping took joy in small kindnesses; the King of Hejian loved the Books and the Odes—no great deeds, no hard trials—yet they still stood alone, their names bright for ten thousand years; how much more one who helped raise the throne, who shaped the realm at its founding—deeds high and clear, pure fame ever brighter, rank and riches heavy yet integrity only stricter—set old beside new, who matches this beauty? In my poor judgment, there is no precedent. Among ordinary kin, love between brothers is already scarce—who has ever seen Your Majesty's brotherly heart like this? You rose from common cloth together and climbed to heaven's height; in life you shared every path, every sweet, every prize—never did the Son of Heaven see his face without joy, never his form without delight. At the edge of death Your Majesty watched his breath; in the last fraction he vanished before the sacred eye—wailing that shook heaven and earth, grief that startled ghosts and spirits. You stopped your meals and moved your bed, sat weeping until dawn, your sacred bearing worn, your face changed overnight. Who looked on the sovereign's countenance without dread and sorrow? Never heard in all time, never written in any record. With merit so vast, the gift of canonical robes must not go unseen; if it were missed by chance, to amend later would be pain, and a thousand years hence regret would remain. Men whose virtue was not whole still received splendid honors; how much less one whose deeds outshine the former age—how could this great rite be left out? I fear that men of sense may raise complaint. Moreover, in recent times even collateral lines—Huan Wen, Yu Liang, and the like—received special orders. I venture that Heaven's mind is already set."」

又詔曰：「寵章所以表德，禮秩所以紀功。慎終追遠，前王之盛策，累行疇庸，列代之通誥。故使持節、都督揚南徐二州諸軍事、大司馬、領太子太傅、揚州刺史、新除中書監、豫章王嶷，體道秉哲，經仁緯義，挺清譽於弱齡，發韶風於早日，締綸覇業之初，翼讚皇基之始，孝睦著於鄉閭，忠諒彰乎邦邑。及秉德論道，總牧神甸，七教必荷，六府咸理，振風潤雨，無諐於時候，卹民拯物，有篤於矜懷，雍容廊廟之華，儀形列郡之觀，神凝自遠，具瞻允集。朕友于之深，情兼家國，方授以神圖，委諸廟勝，緝頌九紘，陪禪五岳。天不憗遺，奄焉薨逝，哀痛傷惜，震慟乎厥心。今先遠戒期，龜謀襲吉，宜加茂典，以協徽猷。可贈假黃鉞、都督中外諸軍事、丞相、揚州牧，綠綟綬，具九服錫命之禮，侍中、大司馬、太傅、王如故。給九旒鸞輅，黃屋左纛，虎賁班劍百人，轀輬車，前後部羽葆鼓吹，葬送儀依東平王故事。」

Another edict said, 「Honors show virtue; ritual rank records merit. To tend the dead and reach back to the distant is the great policy of ancient kings; to heap deeds and rank merit is the common charge of every age. The late Bearer of the Staff, commander of the armies of Yang and South Xuzhou, Grand Marshal, Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent, Governor of Yangzhou, newly made Supervisor of the Masters of Writing, Prince of Yuzhang Yi—he held the Way and wisdom, wove benevolence and bound righteousness, won clear fame in youth, sent forth fair renown in his early years, tied the founding cord at the start of our hegemony, winged the throne at the birth of the realm. Filial harmony shone in his village; loyal candor in his district. When he bore virtue and spoke the Way, ruling the sacred heartland—seven teachings upheld, six offices in order—wind stirred and rain fell without fault to the seasons, the people eased and things rescued from deep compassion—graceful in the court's splendor, a model to the commanderies, his spirit drawing from afar, all eyes upon him. Brotherly love ran deep; feeling joined house and realm. We were about to give him the sacred chart, entrust him with the temple's victories, weave praise through the nine realms, have him stand beside us at the rite of the five peaks. Heaven was unkind; suddenly he was gone. Grief and pain shake the heart. Now the season of the distant dead draws near, the tortoise rites show an auspicious day—grand honors should be added to match our great purpose. Let him be granted posthumously: acting Yellow Battle-axe, commander of all armies within and beyond the passes, Chancellor, Governor of Yangzhou, green sash and ribbon, the full nine-garment investiture rite—Palace Attendant, Grand Marshal, Grand Tutor, and prince as before. Give the nine-tasselled phoenix carriage, yellow canopy and left banner, a hundred Tiger Guards with paired swords, the bier carriage, front and rear feather-canopies with drums and pipes—the funeral follows the King of Dongping."」

嶷臨終，召子子廉、子恪曰：「人生在世，本自非常，吾年已老，前路幾何。居今之地，非心期所及。性不貪聚，自幼所懷，政以汝兄弟累多，損吾暮志耳。無吾（欲）〔後〕，當共相勉厲，篤睦為先。才有優劣，位有通塞，運有富貧，此自然理，無足以相陵侮。若天道有靈，汝等各自脩立，灼然之分無失也。勤學行，守基業，治閨庭，尚閑素，如此足無憂患。聖主儲皇及諸親賢，亦當不以吾沒易情也。三日施靈，唯香火、槃水、（干）〔盂〕飯、酒脯、檳榔而已。朔望菜食一盤，加以甘菓，此外悉省。葬後除靈，可施吾常所乘轝扇繖。朔望時節，席地香火、槃水、酒脯、（干）〔盂〕飯、檳榔便足。雖才愧古人，意懷粗亦有在，不以遺財為累。主衣所餘，小弟未婚，諸妹未嫁，凡應此用，本自茫然，當稱力及時，率有為辦。事事甚多，不復甲乙。棺器及墓中，勿用餘物為後患也。朝服之外，唯下鐵鐶刀一口。作冢勿令深，一一依格，莫過度也。後堂樓可安佛，供養外國二僧，餘皆如舊。與汝遊戲後堂船乘，吾所乘牛馬，送二宮及司徒，服飾衣裘，悉為功德。」子廉等號泣奉行。

On his deathbed Yi called his sons Ziliang and Zike and said, 「Life among men is never sure; I am old—how much road is left? To stand where I stand now was never what I hoped for. I was never greedy by nature—that is what I have held since boyhood. Only that you brothers are so many has worn down my wish for a quiet old age. When I am gone, After (emended from desire). After I am gone, you must urge one another on and put brotherly harmony first. Talent has its grades, office its open and blocked paths, fortune its rich and poor—natural law. That is no warrant to lord it over one another. If Heaven is mindful, each of you must stand on your own merit—plain rank will not slip. Work at learning and conduct, hold the estate, keep the inner house in order, value plain living—then you will have little to fear. The emperor, the heir apparent, and our worthy kinsmen should not, I trust, turn cold because I am dead. For the three-day laying-in of the spirit, only incense, a basin of water, (gan) a bowl of rice, wine and dried meat, and betel—that is all. On the first and fifteenth, one dish of plain food with fruit besides; cut everything else. Once the tomb rites are done and the spirit table cleared, you may set out the screens and parasols from my usual carriage. On new and full moons and the seasonal days, incense on the ground, a basin of water, wine and dried meat, (gan) a bowl of rice and betel will do. I cannot match the men of old, yet something of my mind remains—I would not have spare wealth become your burden. From the wardrobe office there is a surplus, but my brother is still unwed and my sisters still unbetrothed; such costs were never clear. Spend as means and season allow, and see everything through. There is more, but I will not go through it item by item. Put nothing extra in the coffin or the grave that may breed trouble later. Besides court robes, lay only a single iron-ringed knife beneath. Do not dig the tomb deep; follow the statute in every point and do not overdo it. You may set a Buddha in the rear-hall tower and keep two monks from abroad; leave all else as it is. The rear-hall boats we used for sport, the cattle and horses I rode—give them to the Two Palaces and the minister of works; robes and furs, all for merit. 」Zilian and his brothers wept as they carried out every word.

世祖哀痛特至，至冬乃舉樂宴朝臣，上歔欷流涕。諸王邸不得起樓臨瞰宮掖，上後登景陽，望見樓悲感，乃敕毀之。薨後，第庫無見錢，世祖敕貨雜物服飾得數百萬，起集善寺，月給第見錢百萬，至上崩乃省。

Emperor Wu mourned as never before; not until winter did he set music and feast his ministers—and still he broke into sobs. Princes were forbidden to raise towers that looked down on the palace; later the emperor climbed Jingyang, saw such a tower, grieved, and commanded it torn down. After he died there was not a coin in the house treasury; the emperor sold furnishings and dress for millions, founded Jishan Temple, and paid the mansion a million cash a month—only at his own death was the grant cut.

〔嶷〕性汎愛，不樂聞人過失，左右有投書相告，置鞾中，竟不視，取火焚之。齋庫失火，燒荊州還資，評直三千餘萬，主局各杖數十而已。

Xiao Ni loved widely and would not hear ill of anyone; if a servant slipped him an anonymous note, he tucked it in his boot unread and burned it at the lamp. The fasting-store caught fire and consumed the Jing tribute still in hand—thirty million and more by appraisal; the clerks in charge were flogged a few dozen strokes apiece, and that was the end of it.

羣吏中南陽樂藹、彭城劉繪、吳郡張稷最被親禮。藹與竟陵王子良牋曰：「道德以可久傳聲，風流以浸遠揮稱。雖復青簡締芳，未若玉石之不朽，飛翰圖藻，豈伊雕篆之無沫。丞相沖粹表於天真，淵照殆乎機象。經邦緯民之範，體國成務之規。故以業茂惟賢，功高則哲。神輝眇邈，叡算不追，感纏奉車，恨百留滯。下官夙禀名節，恩義軫慕，望𡑞結哀，輒欲率荊、江、湘三州僚吏，建碑壟首，庶徽猷有述，茂則方存。昔子香淳德，留銘江介，鉅平遺烈，墮淚漢南，況道尊前往，惠積聯綿者哉。下官今便反假，無由躬事刊斲，須至西州鳩集所資，託中書侍郎劉繪營辦。」

Of his officers, Le Yue of Nanyang, Liu Hui of Pengcheng, and Zhang Ji of Wu were closest to his favor. Le Yue wrote to Xiao Ziliang, prince of Jingling: 「Virtue endures and so its name travels; grace goes deep and so its praise carries far. Green bamboo may bind its perfume, yet jade and stone alone do not decay; brushwork and painted glory—can chisel and seal alone be spotless? The chancellor's purity showed in what he was by nature; his deep light nearly touched the signs of change. He was the pattern for governing the realm and binding the people, the measure for holding the state and finishing its work. Hence merit thickens where worth gathers, and great deeds crown the sage. His spirit is gone beyond reach; no sage's count can follow—sorrow knots the carriage guard, regret stalls a hundred ways. I have long held to honor and owed him duty and love; before his mound my grief knots tight, and I would lead the officers of Jing, Jiang, and Xiang to raise a stele at the gravehead, so his fine rule may be told and his bright example stand. Wang Xiang's pure conduct left its stone on the Yangtze; Yang Hu's legacy drew tears south of the Han—how much more when the Way stands high and kindness runs on without break? I go back on leave now and cannot cut the stone myself; I must reach West Province to gather what is needed and ask Vice Director Liu Hui of the Secretariat to see it done.」

藹又與右率沈約書曰：「夫道宣餘烈，竹帛有時先朽，德孚遺事，金石更非後亡。丞相獨秀生民，傍照日月。標勝丘園，素履穆於忠義，譽應華衮，功迹著於弼諧。無得而稱，理絕照載。若夫日用闃寂，雖無取於錙銖，歲功宏達，諒有寄於衡石。竊承貴州士民，或建碑表，俾我荊南，閱感無地。且作紀江、漢，道基分陝，衣冠禮樂，咸被後昆。若其望碑盡禮，我州之舊俗，傾壥罷肆，鄙（士）〔土〕之遺風，庶幾弘烈或不泯墜。荊、江、湘三州策名不少，竝欲各率毫釐，少申景慕。斯文之託，歷選惟疑，必待文蔚辭宗，德僉茂履，非高明而誰？豈能騁無愧之辭，詶式瞻之望。吾西州窮士，一介寂寥，恩周榮譽，澤遍衣食，永惟道廕，日月就遠，緬尋遺烈，觸目崩心。常謂福齊南山，慶鍾仁壽，吾儕小人，貽塵帷蓋。豈圖一旦遂投此請。」約荅曰：「丞相風道弘曠，獨秀生民，凝猷盛烈，方軌伊、旦。憗遺之感，朝野同悲。承當刊石紀功，傳華千載，宜須盛述，實允來談。郭有道漢末之匹夫，非蔡伯喈不足以偶三絕，謝安石素族之台輔，時無麗藻，迄乃有碑無文。況文獻王冠冕彜倫，儀形㝢內，自非一世辭宗，難或與此。約閭閈鄙人，名不入第，歘酬今旨，便是以禮許人，聞命慙顏，已不覺汗之沾背也。」建武中，第二子子恪託約及太子詹事孔稚珪為文。

Le Yue wrote again to Shen Yue, right commandant: 「The Way outlives a man—bamboo and silk may fail first; virtue holds what remains—metal and stone are less likely to perish after. The chancellor stood alone among men, lit like sun and moon beside them. He surpassed the hills and gardens in renown; his plain walk was steeped in loyalty; praise met the imperial robe; his service showed in aiding the throne. Words fail him; reason itself stops where light would write. Day by day he seemed still and without show, as if he weighed not a hair; yet the year's great work rested on him like stone on the scale. I hear that in your noble province some gentry and common folk would raise steles—leaving our south Jing with no ground to set its thanks. He set the Way's base on the Jiang and Han; at Fen and Shaan caps and rites spread—blessing reached sons and grandsons. To read the stele and give full rites is our old custom here—to shut the market stalls, (shi) the humble earth's surviving ways—perhaps his great flame will not go out. Jing, Jiang, and Xiang count many men on the rolls who would each give what little he can to show a measure of regard. To entrust this text is to choose and doubt again—it must wait on a master of letters, on gathered virtue and full conduct. Who if not one high and clear? How could I run forth shameless phrases and meet the hope of those who look up to him? I am a poor man of the western province, obscure and alone; you have heaped honor on me and spread bounty through food and clothing. Ever I recall the shade of his Way as sun and moon recede; when I trace his lingering glory, every sight breaks my heart. I used to say his fortune would stand with the southern mountains and his joy ring in benevolent longevity—we petty men only trailing dust from his canopy. Who could have thought that in a single day I would be cast into this commission. 」Yue replied: 「The Chancellor's bearing and Way are vast and clear, peerless among men; his gathered counsel and splendid merit stand beside Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou. Grief at what was left behind fills court and country alike. I hear you will cut stone and record his merit, that his fame may flower for a thousand years—a full account is exactly what your message asks. Guo Youdao was a nobody at the end of Han; without Cai Yong's brush the triple perfection could not be matched. Xie Anshi was a chief minister from an undistinguished house; with no fine writer at hand, in the end there was a stele but no inscription. How much more Prince Wenxian, crown of ritual order within the four seas—unless a master of letters of the age, scarcely anyone could undertake this. Yue is a mean man from the lanes, his name not among the ranked; to answer this charge at once would be to accept rites beyond my worth—hearing the commission, shame floods my face and sweat soaks my back before I know it. 」In the Jianwu era, the second son Zike entrusted Yue and the heir apparent's household master Kong Zhigui with the text.

子廉字景藹。初，嶷養魚復侯子響為世子，子廉封永新侯，千戶。子響還本，子廉為世子。除寧朔將軍、淮陵太守，太子中（書）舍人，前軍將軍。善撫諸弟子。十一年卒，贈侍中，諡哀世子。

Ziliang, courtesy name Jing'ai. At first Ni had adopted Zixiang, Marquis of Yufu, as heir; Ziliang was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yongxin with a thousand households. When Zixiang reverted to his birth family, Ziliang became heir. He was made General Pacifying the North and Administrator of Huailing, and in the crown prince's central (book) secretariat as attendant, and Forward Army general. He was skilled at caring for his younger brothers. He died in the eleventh year and was posthumously made palace attendant, with the posthumous title Lamented Heir.

第三子子操，泉陵侯。王侯出身官無定，准素姓三公長子一人為員外郎。建武中，子操解褐為給事中，自此齊末皆以為例。永泰元年，南康侯子恪為吳郡太守，避王敬則難奔歸，以子操為寧遠將軍、吳郡太守。永元中，為黃門郎。義師圍城，子操與弟宜陽侯子光卒於尚書都座。第四子子行，洮陽侯，早卒。

The third son Zicao, Marquis of Quanling. For princes and marquises there was no fixed entry office; only the eldest sons of plain-clan Three Excellencies were made supplemental gentlemen. In Jianwu, Zicao entered office as palace attendant; from then until the end of Qi this was the precedent. In the first year of Yongtai, Zike, Marquis of Nankang, was Administrator of Wu; fleeing Wang Jingze's uprising he came home, and Zicao was made General Pacifying the Distance and Administrator of Wu. In the Yongyuan era he was yellow gate attendant. When the righteous army besieged the capital, Zicao and his brother Ziguang, Marquis of Yiyang, died in the Masters of Writing hall. The fourth son Zixing, Marquis of Taoyang, died young.

子元琳嗣，今上受禪，詔曰：「褒隆往代，義炳彝則。朕當此樂推，思弘前典。豫章王元琳、故巴陵王昭（秀）冑子（周）〔同〕，齊氏宗國，高、武嫡胤，宜祚井邑，以傳世祀。降新淦縣侯，五百戶。」

Yuan Lin succeeded; when the present sovereign received the abdication, an edict said: 「To honor and exalt past generations is righteousness fixed in the eternal norms. As I take this willing yielding of the throne, I mean to enlarge the former canons. Yuan Lin, Prince of Yuzhang, and the late Prince of Baling Zhaozhou's (splendid) son Tong (emended from Zhou). Tong—they were the Qi imperial house, the direct seed of Gaozu and Wu; they should hold fiefs and estates to carry on the sacrifices. Were reduced to Marquis of Xingan county, five hundred households.」

史臣曰：楚元王高祖亞弟，無功漢世，東平憲王辭位永平，未及光武之業，梁孝惑於勝、詭，安平心隔晉運。蕃輔貴盛，地實高危，持滿戒盈，鮮能全德。〔豫章〕宰相之器，誠有天真，因心無矯，率由遠度，故能光贊二祖，內和九族，實同周氏之初，周公以來，則未知所匹也。

The historian writes: Prince Yuan of Chu was Emperor Gaozu's younger brother yet won no merit in Han; the Exalted Prince of Dongping resigned his fief in Yongping and never matched Guangwu's achievement; Prince Xiao of Liang was led astray by Sheng and Gui; the Prince of Anping's heart stood apart from the Jin mandate. When frontier princes grow noble and great, their ground is truly perilous; to hold fullness and guard against excess—few keep virtue whole. [The Prince of Yuzhang] had the makings of a chancellor in truth, innate and without artifice; guided by far-reaching measure, he could brighten and aid the two Founders and harmonize the nine kin within—truly like the Zhou at its founding; since the Duke of Zhou, none know his equal.

贊曰：堂堂烈考，德邁前蹤。移忠以孝，植友惟恭。帝載初造，我王奮庸。邦家有闕，我王彌縫。道深日用，事緝民雍。愛傳餘祀，聲流景鍾。=

In praise: Majestic and bright, our august father; his virtue outruns the tracks of old. He moved loyalty into filial piety and planted friendship in reverence alone. When the imperial charge was first laid, our prince took up the task. Where state and house had gaps, our prince closed the seam. His Way ran deep in daily use; his affairs wove the people into peace. His love passes to generations yet to come; his fame flows to the Bright Bell.

Cite this Chapter