1
南齊書卷第五十六列傳第三十七
Book of Southern Qi, Volume 56, Biographies 37
2
紀僧真劉係宗茹法亮呂文顯呂文度
Ji Sengzhen, Liu Xizong, Ru Faliang, Lü Wenxian, and Lü Wendu
3
有天象，必有人事焉。 倖臣一星，列于帝座。 經禮立教，亦著近臣之服。 親倖之義，其來已久。 爰自衰周，侯伯專命，桓、文霸主，至于戰國，寵用近習，不乏於時矣。 漢文幸鄧通，雖錢徧天下，位止郎中。 孝武韓嫣、霍去病，遂至侍中大司馬。 迄于魏、晉，世任權重，才位稍爽，而信倖唯均。
Where there are signs in the heavens, there are corresponding events among men. The Star of Court Favorites stands arrayed beside the imperial throne. The classics that establish ritual and instruction also prescribe the dress of those who serve close at hand. The practice of granting intimate favor has a history stretching far back. From the waning Zhou dynasty on, regional lords held independent power; Duke Huan and Duke Wen rose as hegemons; and by the Warring States period, rulers who pampered and relied on those nearest them were never in short supply. Emperor Wen of Han favored Deng Tong; though his wealth reached every corner of the empire, his office never rose above Gentleman of the Palace. Under Emperor Wu, favorites such as Han Yan and Huo Qubing advanced as high as Attendant-in-Ordinary and Grand Marshal. By Wei and Jin times, such men held heavy power generation after generation; talent and office no longer matched as neatly, yet imperial trust and favor were lavished on them all alike.
4
中書之職，舊掌機務。 漢元以令僕用事，魏明以監令專權，及在中朝，猶爲重寄。 陳准歸任上司，荀勗恨於失職。 晉令舍人位居九品，江左置通事郎，管司詔誥。 其後郎還爲侍郎，而舍人亦稱通事。 元帝用琅邪劉超，以謹慎居職。 宋文世，秋當、周糾竝出寒門。 孝武以來，士庶雜選，如東海鮑照，以才學知名。 又用魯郡巢尚之，江夏王義恭以爲非選。 帝遣尚書二十餘牒，宣敕論辯，義恭乃歎曰：「人主誠知人。」 及明帝世，胡母顥、阮佃夫之徒，專爲佞倖矣。
The Secretariat had long handled the most confidential affairs of state. Under Emperor Yuan of Han the Masters of Writing ran affairs; under Emperor Ming of Wei the Supervisor and Director held sole sway; and even in the central dynasties the office remained a post of the deepest trust. Chen Zhun yielded his duties back to his superiors, while Xun Xu brooded over the loss of his position. Under Jin, secretarial attendants held ninth-rank status; in the Eastern Jin court they created Communications Officers to handle imperial edicts and proclamations. Later the officers were again styled Gentlemen Attendants, and secretarial attendants likewise came to be called communications officers. Emperor Yuan employed Liu Chao of Langye, who kept his post through scrupulous care. In the reign of Emperor Wen of Song, Qiu Dang and Zhou Jiu both rose from humble households. From Emperor Xiaowu on, men of gentry and common birth were chosen side by side, as with Bao Zhao of Donghai, famed for his talent and scholarship. He also appointed Chao Shangzhi of Lu commandery, though Prince Yigong of Jiangxia judged the choice improper. The emperor sent more than twenty dispatches from the Masters of Writing, issuing edicts to argue the point back and forth, until Yigong sighed and said, "The ruler truly knows how to judge men." By Emperor Ming's reign, men such as Humu Hao and Ruan Tianfu had turned the post wholly to sycophancy and private favor.
5
齊初亦用久勞，及以親信。 關讞表啓，發署詔敕。 頗涉辭翰者，亦爲詔文，侍郎之局，復見侵矣。 建武世，詔命殆不關中書，專出舍人。 省內舍人四人，所直四省，其下有主書令史，舊用武官，宋改文吏，人數無員。 莫非左右要密，天下文簿板籍，入副其省，萬機嚴祕，有如尚書外司。 領武官，有制局監，領器仗兵役，亦用寒人被恩幸者。 今立《倖臣篇》，以繼前史之末云。
At the founding of Qi as well, the court drew on men who had served long years and on those who enjoyed the ruler's personal trust. They controlled access to memorials and reports and drafted and countersigned edicts and commands. Those with some skill in letters drafted edicts as well, and the Gentlemen Attendants once again saw their domain invaded. In the Jianwu era, edicts and commands scarcely touched the Secretariat at all and came out exclusively through the secretarial attendants. Four attendants within the Secretariat each oversaw one of the four bureaus; below them stood chief clerks and record keepers. The posts had once been filled by military officers, but Song replaced them with civil clerks, and their numbers were not fixed. All were intimate confidants at the ruler's elbow. Copies of the empire's documents, registers, and record boards entered their bureau, and affairs of state were guarded in the strictest secrecy, as though they formed an outer branch of the Masters of Writing. Military affairs were overseen by the Bureau of Equipment Supervision, which controlled arms, armor, and conscription; humble-born men who had won imperial favor served there as well. Here we set down the treatise on court favorites, carrying on where the earlier histories left off.
6
紀僧真，丹陽建康人也。 僧真少隨逐征西將軍蕭思話及子惠開，皆被賞遇。 惠開性苛，僧真以微過見罰，旣而委任如舊。 及罷益州還都，不得志，僧真事之愈謹。 惠開臨終歎曰：「紀僧真方當富貴，我不見也。」 乃以僧真託劉秉、周顒。 初，惠開在益州，土反，被圍危急，有道人謂之曰：「城圍尋解。 檀越貴門後方大興，無憂外賊也。」 惠開密謂僧真曰：「我子弟見在者，竝無異才。 政是道成耳。」 僧真憶其言，乃請事太祖。 隨從在淮陰，以閑書題，令荅遠近書疏。 自寒官歷至太祖冠軍府參軍、主簿。 僧真夢蒿艾生滿江，驚而白之。 太祖曰：「詩人採蕭，蕭卽艾也。 蕭生斷流，卿勿廣言。」 其見親如此。
Ji Sengzhen was a native of Jianye in Danyang commandery. As a youth Sengzhen followed General Who Conquers the West Xiao Sihua and his son Hui Kai, and both men treated him with favor. Hui Kai was harsh by nature. Sengzhen was once punished for a trifling fault, but was soon entrusted again as before. When Hui Kai left Yizhou and returned to the capital, bitter at his thwarted ambitions, Sengzhen served him with still greater care. On his deathbed Hui Kai sighed and said, "Ji Sengzhen is on the verge of wealth and rank — and I shall not live to see it." He then commended Sengzhen to the care of Liu Bing and Zhou Yong. Earlier, while Hui Kai held Yizhou, the local tribes rebelled and he was besieged in grave danger. A Daoist told him, "The siege will soon be lifted. Your patron's noble house will rise to great glory hereafter. You need not fear outside enemies." Hui Kai told Sengzhen in confidence, "None of my sons and brothers now living has any unusual talent. It is Daocheng alone who matters." Sengzhen kept these words in mind and therefore sought service under the Founding Emperor. Following the emperor at Huaiyin, he was set to answering correspondence from near and far because of his skill at informal writing. From humble posts he rose to serve as staff officer and chief clerk in the Founding Emperor's Champion General's headquarters. Sengzhen dreamed that mugwort and wormwood filled the river. Alarmed, he reported the dream. The Founding Emperor said, "The poets gather artemisia — and artemisia is wormwood. Artemisia growing cuts the river's flow. Do not speak of this abroad." Such was the degree of intimacy he enjoyed.
7
元徽初，從太祖頓新亭，拒桂陽賊。 蕭惠朗突入東門，僧真與左右共拒戰。 賊退，太祖命僧真領親兵，遊邏城中。 事寧，除南臺御史、太祖領軍功曹。 上將廢立，謀之袁粲、褚淵，僧真啓上曰：「今朝廷猖狂，人不自保，天下之望，不在袁、褚。 明公豈得默己，坐受夷滅。 存亡之機，仰希熟慮。」 太祖納之。
At the start of the Yuanhui era he followed the Founding Emperor in encamping at Xinting to resist the Guiyang rebels. Xiao Huilang broke through the eastern gate, and Sengzhen fought him off together with the men at hand. When the rebels withdrew, the Founding Emperor ordered Sengzhen to lead his personal troops in patrolling the city. When the crisis passed, he was appointed censor of the Southern Bureau and merit officer on the Founding Emperor's staff as commander-in-chief. As the emperor prepared to depose the ruler and set another on the throne, he took counsel with Yuan Can and Chu Yuan. Sengzhen urged him, saying, "The court is now running wild and no one can feel safe. The hopes of the realm do not rest on Yuan and Chu. How can you remain silent and sit by while you and yours are destroyed? The question of survival or ruin hangs on this. I beg you to weigh it with care." The Founding Emperor took his advice.
8
太祖欲度廣陵起兵，僧真又啓曰：「主上雖復狂釁，虐加萬民，而累世皇基，猶固盤石。 今百口北度，何必得俱。 縱得廣陵城，天子居深宮施號令，目明公爲逆，何以避此？ 如其不勝，則應北走胡中，竊謂此非萬全策也。」 上曰：「卿顧家，豈能逐我行耶。」 僧真頓首稱無貳。 昇明元年，除員外郎，帶東武城令。 尋除給事中、邵陵王參軍。
When the Founding Emperor planned to cross to Guangling and raise troops, Sengzhen urged him again: "Though the sovereign is violent and cruel and brings suffering on the people, the imperial foundation built over generations still stands firm as bedrock. If your whole household crosses north now, why must every soul go together? Even if you take Guangling, the Son of Heaven will remain in the deep palace issuing orders and will mark you as a rebel. How will you escape that charge? And if you fail, you would have to flee north among the barbarians. I do not believe this is a plan that can truly secure your safety." The emperor said, "You are thinking of your family. How could you follow me in this?" Sengzhen kowtowed and swore he would not waver. In the first year of Shengming he was appointed supplementary gentleman, with concurrent duty as magistrate of Dongwucheng. Soon afterward he was made gentleman attendant and staff officer to the Prince of Shaoling.
9
太祖坐東府高樓，望石頭城，僧真在側。 上曰：「諸將勸我誅袁、劉，我意不欲便爾。」 及沈攸之事起，從太祖入朝堂。 石頭反夜，太祖遣衆軍掩討。 宮城中望石頭火光及呌聲甚盛，人懷不測。 僧真謂衆曰：「呌聲不絕，是必官軍所攻。 火光起者，賊不容自燒其城，此必官軍勝也。」 尋而啓石頭平。 上出頓新亭，使僧真領千人在帳內。 初，上在領軍府，令僧真學上手迹下名，至是報荅書疏，皆付僧真，上觀之，笑曰：「我亦不復能別也。」 初，上在淮陰治城，得一錫趺，大數尺，下有篆文，莫能識者。 僧真曰：「何須辨此文字，此自久遠之物，九錫之徵也。」 太祖曰：「卿勿妄言。」 及上將拜齊公，已剋日，有楊袓之謀於臨軒作難。 僧真更請上選吉辰，尋而祖之事覺。 上曰：「無卿言，亦當致小狼狽，此亦何異呼遝之冰。」 轉齊國中書舍人。
The Founding Emperor sat in the high tower of the Eastern Headquarters, gazing toward Stone City, with Sengzhen at his side. The emperor said, "My generals urge me to execute Yuan and Liu, but I am not inclined to act so hastily." When Shen Youzhi's revolt broke out, he followed the Founding Emperor into the court hall. Stone City rose in revolt that night, and the Founding Emperor sent his armies to strike by surprise. From within the palace city they could see the blaze at Stone City and hear the clamor of battle. No one knew what to expect. Sengzhen told those around him, "The shouting never stops — that can only mean our own armies are attacking. As for the flames, the rebels would never burn their own city. This can only mean our armies have won." Before long a report arrived that Stone City had been pacified. The emperor went out to encamp at Xinting and placed a thousand men under Sengzhen's command within the camp enclosure. Earlier, while still at the commander-in-chief's headquarters, the emperor had Sengzhen learn to imitate his hand in signing his name. Now all replies to letters and memorials were entrusted to Sengzhen. The emperor looked them over and laughed. "Even I can no longer tell the difference," he said. Earlier, while building the city at Huaiyin, the emperor unearthed a tin pedestal several feet across. Seal script was inscribed beneath it, but no one could read it. Sengzhen said, "Why trouble to read these characters? The object itself is ancient — a sign of the Nine Bestowals." The Founding Emperor said, "Do not speak rashly." When the emperor was about to receive investiture as Duke of Qi, with the day already set, Yang Zuzhi plotted an attack at the audience hall. Sengzhen again asked the emperor to choose a more auspicious day. Before long Zuzhi's plot was discovered. The emperor said, "Even without your warning I would have been put to some embarrassment. This is no different from the ice at Hulao." He was transferred to the post of secretariat attendant of the State of Qi.
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宋世道人楊法持，與太祖有舊。 元徽末，宣傳密謀。 昇明中，以爲僧正。 建元初，罷道，爲寧朔將軍，封州陵縣男，三百戶。 二年，虜圍朐山，遣法持爲軍主，領支軍救援。 永明四年，坐役使將客，奪其鮭稟，削封。 卒。
During Song times the Daoist Yang Fachi had long-standing ties with the Founding Emperor. At the end of the Yuanhui era he helped spread secret plots. During the Shengming era he was made superintendent of monks. At the start of Jianyuan he left the religious life, was appointed General Who Pacifies the North, and enfeoffed as Baron of Zhouling county with three hundred households. In the second year, when the barbarians besieged Qushan, Fachi was sent as army commander to lead a relief detachment. In the fourth year of Yongming he was stripped of his enfeoffment for forcing a traveling guest into service and seizing his salmon ration. He died.
11
劉係宗，丹陽人也。 少便書畫，爲宋竟陵王誕子景粹侍書。 誕舉兵廣陵，城內皆死，敕沈慶之赦係宗，以爲東宮侍書。 泰始中，爲主書。 以寒官累遷至勳品。 元徽初，爲奉朝請，兼中書通事舍人，員外郎。 封始興南亭侯，食邑三百七十戶。 帶秣陵令。
Liu Xizong was a native of Danyang. As a youth he was skilled in writing and painting and served as calligrapher to Jing Cui, son of Prince Dan of Jingling of Song. When Dan raised troops at Guangling everyone in the city was put to death, but an edict from Shen Qingzhi pardoned Xizong and appointed him calligrapher to the Eastern Palace. During the Taishi era he served as chief clerk. From humble posts he rose step by step to meritorious rank. At the start of the Yuanhui era he was made court gentleman for attendance, with concurrent posts as secretariat communications attendant and supplementary gentleman. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Nanting in Shixing, with a fief of three hundred seventy households. He concurrently served as magistrate of Moling.
12
太祖廢蒼梧，明旦，呼正直舍人虞整，醉不能起，係宗歡喜奉命。 太祖曰：「今天地重開，是卿盡力之日。」 使寫諸處分敕令，及四方書疏。 使主書十人書吏二十人配之，事皆稱旨。 除羽林監，轉步兵校尉。 仍除龍驤將軍，出爲海鹽令。 太祖卽位，除龍驤將軍、建康令。 永明元年，除寧朔將軍，令如故。 尋轉右軍將軍、淮陵太守，兼中書通事舍人。 母喪自解，起爲寧朔將軍，復本職。
When the Founding Emperor deposed Emperor Cangwu, the next morning he summoned the upright attendant Yu Zheng, who was too drunk to rise. Xizong gladly took the order in his place. The Founding Emperor said, "Heaven and earth open anew today. This is the day for you to give your utmost." He had him draft all disposition orders and edicts, as well as correspondence to every quarter of the realm. He assigned him ten chief clerks and twenty writing clerks. In every matter Xizong met the emperor's wishes. He was appointed supervisor of the Feathered Forest Guard and then transferred to colonel of footsoldiers. He was then appointed General of the Dragon Cavalry and sent out to serve as magistrate of Haiyan. When the Founding Emperor took the throne, Xizong was appointed General of the Dragon Cavalry and magistrate of Jiankang. In the first year of Yongming he was made General Who Pacifies the North while keeping his post as magistrate. Soon afterward he became General of the Right Army and governor of Huailing, with concurrent duty as secretariat communications attendant. He resigned on his mother's death, then on returning from mourning was restored as General Who Pacifies the North and resumed his former posts.
13
四年，白賊唐宇之起，宿衞兵東討，遣係宗隨軍慰勞，徧至遭賊郡縣。 百姓被驅逼者，悉無所問，還復民伍。 係宗還，上曰：「此段有征無戰，以時平蕩，百姓安怗，甚快也。」 賜係宗錢帛。 上欲脩治白下城，難於動役。 係宗啓謫役東民丁隨宇之爲逆者，上從之。 後車駕講武，上履行白下城，曰：「劉係宗爲國家得此一城。」
In the fourth year the White-bandit rebel Tang Yuzhi rose. The palace guard marched east to suppress him, and Xizong was sent with the army to offer comfort and rewards, visiting every commandery and county the rebels had ravaged. Commoners who had been driven into service were not punished and were restored to civilian life. When Xizong returned, the emperor said, "This campaign brought expedition without battle. The disturbance was pacified in good time and the people are at peace — I am most pleased." He rewarded Xizong with money and silks. The emperor wished to repair Baixia city but hesitated to mobilize labor for the project. Xizong proposed assigning corvée labor from eastern households that had followed Yuzhi in rebellion, and the emperor agreed. Later, during an imperial martial review, the emperor walked along Baixia city and said, "Liu Xizong won this city for the state."
14
永明中，虜使書常令係宗題答，祕書書局皆隷之。 再爲少府，遷游擊將軍、魯郡太守。 鬱林卽位，除驍騎將軍，仍除寧朔將軍、宣城太守。 係宗久在朝省，閑於職事。 明帝曰：「學士不堪治國，唯大讀書耳。 一劉係宗足持如此輩五百人。」 其重吏事如此。 建武二年，卒官，年七十七。
During Yongming, replies to letters from barbarian envoys were often entrusted to Xizong for drafting, and the secretariat's writing offices were all placed under his supervision. He twice served as Minister of the Palace Parks, then was promoted to General Who Scatters the Enemy and governor of Lu commandery. When Emperor Yulin took the throne, Xizong was made General of Valiant Cavalry and then concurrently General Who Pacifies the North and governor of Xuancheng. Xizong had long served in the court offices and was thoroughly skilled in official business. Emperor Ming said, "Scholars cannot govern a state — they only read vast numbers of books. A single Liu Xizong is worth five hundred of them." Such was the weight he placed on practical administration. In the second year of Jianwu he died in office at the age of seventy-seven.
15
茹法亮，吳興武康人也。 宋大明世，出身爲小史，歷齋幹扶。 孝武末年，作酒法，鞭罰過度，校獵江右，選白衣左右百八十人，皆面首富室，從至南州，得鞭者過半。 法亮憂懼，因緣啓出家得爲道人。 明帝初，罷道，結事阮佃夫，用爲兖州刺史孟次陽典籤。 累至太祖冠軍府行參軍。 元徽初，除殿中將軍，爲晉熙王郢州典籤，除長兼殿中御史。
Ru Faliang was a native of Wukang in Wuxing commandery. In the Daming era of Song he began as a petty clerk and rose through posts as orderly and attendant. In Emperor Xiaowu's last years he instituted drinking regulations with excessive flogging. On a hunting expedition south of the Yangzi he selected one hundred eighty attendants in plain dress, all men of wealthy households, and took them to the southern regions; more than half were flogged. Faliang, anxious and afraid, seized the opportunity to petition to leave the world and become a Daoist priest. At the start of Emperor Ming's reign he left the religious life, attached himself to Ruan Tianfu, and was appointed chief clerk to Meng Ciyang, governor of Yanzhou. He rose step by step to acting staff officer in the Founding Emperor's Champion General's headquarters. At the start of the Yuanhui era he was made General of the Palace, chief clerk to the Prince of Jinxi in Yingzhou, and chief censor of the palace with extended authority.
16
巴東王子響於荊州殺僚佐，上遣軍西上，使法亮宣旨慰勞，安撫子響。 法亮至江津，子響呼法亮，法亮疑畏不肯往。 又求見傳詔，法亮又不遣。 故子響怒，遣兵破尹略軍。 事平，法亮至江陵，刑賞處分，皆稱敕斷決。 軍還，上悔誅子響，法亮被責。 少時，親任如舊。
Prince Zixiang of Badong killed his staff officers in Jingzhou. The emperor sent armies west and dispatched Faliang to proclaim the imperial will, offer comfort, and pacify the prince. When Faliang reached Jiangjin, Zixiang summoned him, but Faliang, suspicious and afraid, refused to go. The prince again asked to see the edict-bearer, but Faliang would not send him in. The prince grew angry and sent troops to defeat the army of Yin Lue. When the affair was settled, Faliang reached Jiangling and decided punishments, rewards, and dispositions all in the name of imperial command. When the army returned, the emperor regretted executing Zixiang and blamed Faliang. Before long he enjoyed the emperor's trust and employment as before.
17
鬱林卽位，除步兵校尉。 延興元年，爲前軍將軍。 延昌殿爲世祖陰室，藏諸御服。 二少帝竝居西殿，高宗卽位住東齋，開陰室出世祖白紗帽防身刀，法亮歔欷流涕。 除游擊將軍。 高武舊人鮮有存者，法亮以主署文事，故不見疑，位任如故。 永泰元年，王敬則事平，法亮復受敕宣慰。 出法亮爲大司農，中書勢利之職，法亮不樂去，固辭不受，旣而代人已致，法亮垂涕而出。 年六十四，卒官。
When Emperor Yulin took the throne, Faliang was appointed colonel of footsoldiers. In the first year of Yanxing he was made General of the Vanguard. Yanchang Hall was Emperor Wu's private chamber, where the imperial wardrobe was kept. The two young emperors both lived in the western hall. When Emperor Gao took the throne he lodged in the eastern studio, opened the private chamber, and brought out Emperor Wu's white gauze cap and self-defense knife. Faliang sobbed and wept. He was appointed General Who Scatters the Enemy. Few of Emperor Gao Wu's old associates still survived. Because Faliang handled documentary affairs at the secretariat, he was not suspected, and his rank and duties remained unchanged. In the first year of Yongtai, when Wang Jingze's revolt was put down, Faliang again received orders to proclaim imperial comfort. Faliang was transferred out to serve as Minister of Grand Food. The Secretariat was a post of power and profit, and he was unwilling to leave; he firmly declined the transfer, but soon his replacement had arrived, and Faliang left in tears. He died in office at the age of sixty-four.
18
文顯治事以刻覈被知。 三年，帶南清河太守。 與茹法亮等迭出入爲舍人，竝見親倖。 四方餉遺，歲各數百萬，竝造大宅，聚山開池。 五年，爲建康令，轉長水校尉，歷帶南泰山、南譙太守，尋爲司徒中兵參軍，淮南太守，直舍人省。 累遷左中郎將，南東莞太守，右軍將軍。 高宗輔政，以文顯守少府，見任使。 歷建武、永元之世，尚書右丞，少府卿。 卒。
Wenxian became known for administering affairs with harsh rigor. In the third year he concurrently served as governor of Nanqinghe. He and Ru Faliang and others took turns serving as secretariat attendants, and all enjoyed the emperor's intimate favor. Gifts from every quarter brought them several million a year apiece. They all built great mansions, heaped up artificial hills, and opened ornamental pools. In the fifth year he became magistrate of Jiankang, then colonel of the Long River, and successively held concurrent governorships of Nantaishan and Nanqiao. Soon afterward he was made central army staff officer to the Minister of State, governor of Huainan, and attached to the attendants' bureau. He rose through the posts of left commander of the palace guards, governor of Nandongguan, and General of the Right Army. When Emperor Gao held the regency, Wenxian was made acting Minister of the Palace Parks and was trusted with important duties. Through the Jianwu and Yongyuan eras he served as right assistant master of writing and Minister of the Palace Parks. He died.
19
呂文度，會稽人。 宋世爲細作金銀庫吏，竹局匠。 元徽中，爲射雉典事，隨監莫脩宗上郢。 世祖鎮盆城拒沈攸之，文度仍留伏事，知軍隊雜役，以此見親。 從還都，爲石頭城監，仍度東宮。 世祖卽位，爲制局監，位至員外郎，帶南濮陽太守。 殿內軍隊及發遣外鎮人，悉關之，甚有要勢。 故世傳越州嘗缺，上覔一直事人往越州，文度啓其所知費延宗合旨，上卽以爲刺史。 永明中，敕親近不得輙有申薦，人士免官，寒人鞭一百。
Lü Wendu was a native of Kuaiji. During Song he served as clerk in the fine-work gold and silver treasury and as a bamboo-frame craftsman. During the Yuanhui era he was officer in charge of pheasant shooting and followed Supervisor Mo Xiuzong to Ying. When Emperor Wu was stationed at Pencheng resisting Shen Youzhi, Wendu remained behind to serve in secret and knew the army's miscellaneous duties; for this he won the emperor's favor. On returning to the capital he was made supervisor of Stone City and then transferred to the Eastern Palace. When Emperor Wu took the throne, Wendu was made supervisor of the Equipment Bureau, rose to supplementary gentleman, and concurrently served as governor of Nanpuyang. Palace troops and personnel dispatched to outer garrisons all passed through his hands, and he wielded great strategic power. Hence the story that when Yuezhou once lacked a governor, the emperor sought a direct attendant to send there. Wendu reported that Fei Yanzong, a man he knew, suited the emperor's wishes, and the emperor at once appointed him governor. During Yongming an edict forbade intimates from making recommendations at will: gentlemen were dismissed from office, humble men were flogged one hundred strokes.
20
上性尊嚴，呂文顯嘗在殿側咳聲高，上使茹法亮訓詰之，以爲不敬，故左右畏威承意，非所隷莫敢有言也。 時茹法亮掌雜驅使簿，及宣通密敕； 呂文顯掌穀帛事； 其餘舍人無別任。 虎賁中郎將潘敞掌監功作。 上使造禪靈寺新成，車駕臨視，甚悅。 敞喜，要呂文顯私登寺南門樓，上知之，繫敞上方，而出文顯爲南譙郡，久之乃復。
The emperor was stern by nature. Lü Wenxian once coughed loudly beside the throne, and the emperor had Ru Faliang reprimand him for disrespect. Thereafter those at the emperor's side feared his authority and complied with his wishes, and none outside their jurisdiction dared speak up. At that time Ru Faliang controlled miscellaneous service registers and the proclamation and transmission of secret edicts; Lü Wenxian controlled grain and silk affairs; the other attendants had no separate duties. Commander of the Tiger Guards Pan Chang supervised construction work. The emperor had the new Chanling Temple built. When the imperial carriage came to inspect it, he was greatly pleased. Chang rejoiced and invited Lü Wenxian to climb privately to the temple's south gate tower. When the emperor learned of it, he imprisoned Chang in the imperial residence and sent Wenxian out as governor of Nanqiao commandery. Only after a long time was Wenxian restored.
21
濟陽江瞿曇、吳興沈徽孚等，以士流舍人通事而已，無權利。 徽孚粗有筆札。 建武中文詔，多其辭也。 官至黃門郎。
Jiang Qutan of Jiyang, Shen Huifu of Wuxing, and others served as gentlemen communications attendants and merely handled routine matters, with no power or profit. Huifu had some skill as a writer. During Jianwu many literary edicts bore his phrasing. He rose to the post of gentleman at the Yellow Gate.
22
史臣曰：中世已來，宰御天下，萬機碎密，不關外司。 尚書八座五曹，各有恒任，係以九卿六府，事存副職。 咸皆冠冕搢紳，任疏人貴，伏奏之務旣寢，趨走之勞亦息。 關宣所寄，屬當有歸，通驛內外，切自音旨。 若夫環纓斂笏，俯仰晨昏，贍幄座而竦躬，陪蘭檻而高眄，探求恩色，習睹威顏，遷蘭變鮑，久而彌信，因城社之固，執開壅之機。 長主君世，振裘持領，賞罰事殷，能不踰漏，宮省咳唾，義必先知。 故能窺盈縮於望景，獲驪珠於龍睡。 坐歸聲勢，卧震都鄙。 賄賂日積，苞苴歲通，富擬公侯，威行州郡。 制局小司，專典兵力，雲陛天居，亙設蘭錡，羽林精卒，重屯廣衞。 至于元戎啓轍，式候還麾，遮迾清道，神行案轡，督察來往，馳騖輦轂，驅役分部，親承几案，領護所攝，示總成規。 若徵兵動衆，大興民役，行留之儀，請託在手，斷割牢稟，賣弄文符，捕叛追亡，長戍遠謪，軍有千齡之壽，室無百年之鬼，害政傷民，於此爲蠹。 況乎主幼時昏，其爲讒慝，亦何可勝紀也！
The historian says: From the middle ages onward, those who governed the realm kept the myriad affairs in minute detail, and nothing passed through the outer offices. The eight seats and five bureaus of the Masters of Writing each had fixed duties, joined to the nine ministers and six courts with their supporting offices. All were crowned officials of the gentry class, remote in duty and exalted in rank. The task of presenting memorials prostrate had long ceased, and the labor of running errands had ended as well. What passed through the barrier of proclamation had its proper place, and couriers moved within and without, all closely following the ruler's own words. As for those who adjusted their tassels and held their tablets, bowing morning and evening, attending the curtained throne with straightened bodies and standing beside the orchid balustrade with eyes raised, seeking every sign of favor and growing accustomed to the august countenance — changing like orchids and abalone with long familiarity — they relied on the solidity of the court's foundations and grasped the mechanism that opens and blocks access to power. When the ruler held the throne for long years, they shook the fur and held the collar of power. Rewards and punishments were numerous, yet nothing escaped their notice; a cough or spit in the palace offices they knew beforehand by obligation. Thus they could read waxing and waning from observing shadows, and seize the black dragon's pearl while it slept. Seated, their renown and power gathered about them; reclining, they shook the capital and the countryside. Bribes accumulated day by day and gifts passed year by year. Their wealth rivaled that of marquises and earls, and their authority ran through provinces and commanderies. The petty offices of the Equipment Bureau specialized in managing military strength. Cloud steps and heavenly dwellings were set throughout with orchid halberds, and elite Feathered Forest troops were heavily stationed in broad guard. When the commander-in-chief set out and the guard of honor returned, they blocked the roads and cleared the way, moved like spirits at the reins, inspected all comings and goings, galloped about the carriage hub, drove and assigned sections, personally received the writing desk, led and protected what fell under their charge, and displayed the overall regulations. When troops were levied and hosts mobilized, when corvée was raised on a great scale, the rites of going and staying lay in their hands through entreaty. They cut off prison rations, trafficked in written warrants, captured rebels and pursued fugitives, imposed long garrison service and distant exile. Armies seemed to live a thousand years while households had no ghost of a century — harming government and injuring the people, in this they were vermin. How much more when the ruler was young and the times benighted — their acts of slander and wickedness defy full reckoning!
23
贊曰：恩澤而侯，親倖爲舊。 便煩左右，旣貴且富。 [1]
The encomium says: Favored with grace and enfeoffed as lords — intimate trust was their ancient way. Useful at the ruler's side, they grew exalted and rich. Footnote marker [1].
24
全文以中華書局、一九七二年一月版《南齊書》爲本校。
The full text has been collated against the Zhonghua Shuju edition of the Book of Southern Qi (January 1972).