1
列傳第十七
Biographies 17
2
孔靖孔琳之殷景仁
Kong Jing, Kong Linzhi, Yin Jingren
3
季恭始察孝廉，累遷司徒左西掾，未拜，遭母憂。 隆安五年，被起為山陰令，不就。
Ji Gong was first selected as a Filial and Incorrupt candidate and climbed the ranks to Left Western Aide under the Minister of Education; before he could assume the post, his mother died and he entered mourning. In Long'an 5 the court summoned him to be magistrate of Shanyin; he refused.
4
宋武帝東征孫恩，屢至會稽，過季恭宅，季恭正晝臥，有神人衣服非常，謂曰：「起！ 天子在門。」 既而失之，遽出，適見帝，延入結交，執手曰：「卿後當大貴，願以身為托。」 於是曲意禮接，贍給甚厚。
Liu Yu's eastern campaigns against Sun En brought him repeatedly to Kuaiji, and each time he passed Ji Gong's home. Once, while Ji Gong napped at noon, a supernatural figure in outlandish dress appeared and said, 'Get up! The emperor stands at your gate. It vanished at once. Ji Gong bolted outside and ran straight into Liu Yu, who drew him in and took him as an ally, gripping his hand: 'Your fortune will be great. I ask you to rely on me as I rely on you. From then on Ji Gong went out of his way to honor Liu Yu and lavished support on him.
5
帝后討孫恩，時桓玄篡形已著，帝欲于山陰建義。 季恭以山陰路遠，且玄未居極位，不如待其篡後，於京口圖之，帝亦以為然。 時虞嘯父為會稽內史，季恭求為府司馬不得，乃出詣都。 及帝定桓玄，以季恭為會稽內史，使齎封板拜授，正與季恭遇。 季恭便回舟夜還，至即叩扉入郡。 嘯父本為桓玄所授，聞玄敗，開門請罪。 季恭慰勉，使且安所住，明日乃移。 季恭到任，厘整浮華，翦罰遊惰，由是境內肅清。
When Liu Yu later marched against Sun En, Huan Xuan's seizure of power was already obvious, and Liu Yu meant to launch his uprising from Shanyin. Ji Gong argued that Shanyin lay too remote and that Huan Xuan had not yet taken the throne—better to wait until the usurpation was done and strike from Jingkou. Liu Yu accepted the counsel. Yu Xiaofu was then Intendant of Kuaiji. Ji Gong tried for the post of prefectural staff major and failed, so he left for the capital. After Liu Yu defeated Huan Xuan, he appointed Ji Gong Intendant of Kuaiji and dispatched a messenger with the sealed commission—and met Ji Gong along the route. Ji Gong reversed course and sailed through the night; at dawn he hammered on the yamen gate and took up office. Xiaofu, a Huan Xuan appointee, heard of the defeat and opened the city to surrender himself to judgment. Ji Gong reassured him and let him stay where he was until the following day before relocating. Once in office Ji Gong trimmed ostentation, punished loafers, and the district grew orderly and quiet.
6
累遷吳興太守，加冠軍。 先是吳興頻喪太守，言項羽神為卞山王，居郡聽事，二千石常避之。 季恭居聽事，竟無害也。 遷尚書左僕射，固讓。 義熙八年，復為會稽內史，修飾學校，督課誦習。 十年，復為右僕射，又讓不拜。 除領軍，加散騎常侍。
Further promotion made him Grand Administrator of Wuxing with the rank Champion General. Wuxing had a grim record of governors dying in office; locals said Xiang Yu's ghost, worshipped as the Bianshan King, haunted the audience hall, and incoming officials usually shunned it. Ji Gong worked from that very hall and suffered no ill consequence. Promoted to Left Vice Director of the Masters of Writing, he refused the appointment. In Yixi 8 he returned as Kuaiji Intendant, restored the schools, and enforced the curriculum. In year ten he was offered the Right Vice Directorship again and once more turned it down. He was made Director of the Imperial Guard, with concurrent rank as Regular Attendant.
7
十二年致仕，拜金紫光祿大夫。 是歲，武帝北伐，季恭求從，以為太尉軍諮祭酒。 從平關、洛。
In year twelve he retired and received the honorific title Grand Master of the Purple-Gold Seal. The same year Liu Yu marched north; Ji Gong volunteered to join the campaign and was made army staff libationer under the Grand Commandant. He took part in the reconquest of the Guan region and Luoyang.
8
子靈符，位丹陽尹，會稽太守，尋加豫章王子尚撫軍長史。 靈符家本豐富，產業甚廣，又於永興立墅，周回三十三里，水陸地二百六十五頃，含帶二山，又有果園九處。 為有司所糾，詔原之。 而靈符答對不實，坐免。 尋又復官。 靈符愨實有材幹，不存華飾，每所蒞官，政績修理。 廢帝景和中，犯忤近臣，為所讒構，遣使鞭殺之。 二子湛之、深之於都賜死。 明帝即位，追贈靈符金紫光祿大夫。
His son Lingfu served as Danyang Intendant and Kuaiji Grand Administrator, later becoming chief secretary to Prince Shang of Yuzhang's pacification staff. The Lingfu household was already rich with sprawling estates; at Yongxing he built a private manor thirty-three li around—two hundred sixty-five qing of land and waterways, two hills within the bounds, and nine orchards. Officials reported his excesses, but an edict let him off. When questioned he lied under oath and was removed from office. Soon he was reappointed. Honest and capable, he cared nothing for display, and every post he held ran in good order. Under Deposed Emperor Liu Yu's Jinghe reign he crossed a court favorite and was framed; emissaries were sent to beat him to death. His sons Zhanzhi and Shenzhi were ordered to take their own lives in the capital. Emperor Ming posthumously ennobled Lingfu as Grand Master of the Purple-Gold Seal.
9
深之大明中為尚書比部郎。 時安陸應城縣人張江陵與妻吳共罵母黃令死，黃忿恨自經死，已值赦。 案律，子賊殺傷毆父母梟首，罵詈棄市，謀殺夫之父母亦棄市。 會赦，免刑補冶。 江陵罵母，母以自裁，重於傷毆。 若同殺科則疑重，用傷毆及詈科則疑輕。 制唯有打母遇赦猶梟首，無詈母致死會赦之科。 深之議曰：「夫題裏逆心而仁者不入，名且惡之，況乃人事？ 故毆傷咒詛，法所不原，詈之致盡，則理無可宥。 罰有從輕，蓋疑失善，求之文旨，非此之謂。 江陵雖遇赦恩，故合梟首。 婦本以義，愛非天屬，黃之所恨，情不在吳，原死補冶，有允正法。」 詔如深之議，吳免棄市。
During the Daming reign Shenzhi was a Bureau Reviewer in the Ministry of Works. A case arose in Yingcheng, Anlu: Zhang Jiangling and his wife Wu abused his mother Huang until she hanged herself in despair—the crime fell under a general amnesty already proclaimed. Statute held that sons who murder, wound, or beat parents suffer display of the severed head; verbal abuse warrants public execution, as does plotting against a husband's parents. Under amnesty, capital sentence became penal service at the imperial foundries. Jiangling's curses drove his mother to suicide—a worse offense than physical assault. Applied the murder statute and the penalty looked excessive; applied assault or abuse statutes and it looked too lenient. Only beating a mother remained a capital display offense even after amnesty; no clause covered verbal abuse that ended in a parent's suicide. Shenzhi submitted: 'Confucius said the benevolent do not dwell where disloyalty is advertised at the gate—if the very name is hateful, how much worse the act itself? Assault and malediction are never excused by law; abuse that ends in death admits no mercy in principle. Leniency applies when guilt is uncertain or mitigating virtue exists—nothing in the statutes supports leniency here. Amnesty notwithstanding, Jiangling deserved the displayed head. The wife owed duty by marriage, not blood—the mother bore no personal grudge against Wu; commuting her to foundry labor fit justice. The throne accepted Shenzhi's reasoning and spared Wu from public execution.
10
靈符弟靈運位著作郎。 靈運子琇之。
Lingfu's brother Lingyun served as Court Historian. Lingyun was father to Xianzhi.
11
琇之有吏能，仕齊為吳令。 有小兒年十歲，偷刈鄰家稻一束，琇之付獄案罪。 或諫之，琇之曰：「十歲便能為盜，長大何所不為。」 縣中皆震肅。 遷尚書左丞，又以職事知名。 後兼左戶尚書，廷尉卿。 出為臨海太守，在任清約。 罷郡還，獻幹薑二千斤，齊武帝嫌其少，及知琇之清，乃歎息。 出監吳興郡，尋拜太守，政稱清嚴。
Capable in administration, Xianzhi became magistrate of Wu under Qi. When a ten-year-old stole a sheaf of a neighbor's rice, Xianzhi jailed him for trial. Advisers protested. Xianzhi replied, 'A thief at ten will be anything at thirty. The whole district fell silent and straight. Promotion to Left Assistant Director brought renown for flawless administration. He later doubled as Left Minister of the Household and Court Commandant. As Linhai Grand Administrator he governed with austere simplicity. Leaving office he sent two thousand jin of dried ginger as tribute; Qi Emperor Wu at first scoffed at the amount, then sighed when he grasped Xianzhi's poverty. Posted to supervise Wuxing and soon made its administrator, he earned a name for stern integrity.
12
子臻，至太子舍人，尚書三公郎。 臻子幼孫，梁甯遠枝江公主簿、無錫令。 幼孫子奐。
His son Zhen became a crown prince attendant and a Secretariat officer in the Three Dukes bureau. Zhen's son Yousun was a Liang-era secretary to Princess Ningyuan of Zhijiang and magistrate of Wuxi. Yousun fathered Huan.
13
奐字休文，數歲而孤，為叔父虔孫所養，好學善屬文。 沛國劉顯以博學稱，每深相歎美，執其手曰：「昔伯喈墳素悉與仲宣，吾當希彼蔡君，足下無愧王氏。 所保書籍，尋以相付。」
Huan styled Xiuwen lost his parents in childhood and was raised by his cousin Qiansun; he was devoted to books and skilled at composition. Liu Xian of Pei, celebrated for learning, often grasped his hand in admiration: 'When Cai Yong gave his library to Wang Can, he knew a worthy heir—I mean to play Cai Yong; you would not disgrace the Wangs. The volumes I guard will soon be yours.
14
仕梁為尚書儀曹侍郎。 時左戶郎沈炯為飛書所謗，將陷重辟，連官台閣，人懷憂懼，奐廷議理之，竟得明白。
Under Liang he was a ceremonial officer in the Ministry of Rites. Shen Jiong of the Left Household Bureau was nearly destroyed by an anonymous denunciation that threatened the whole Secretariat; Huan defended him in open debate until the case collapsed.
15
侯景陷建鄴，朝士並被拘縶，或薦奐于賊率侯子鑒，乃脫桎梏，厚遇之，令掌書記。 時子鑒景之腹心，朝士莫不卑屈，奐獨無所下。 或諫奐曰：「不宜高抗。」 奐曰：「吾性命有在，豈有取媚凶醜，以求全乎。」 時賊徒剝掠子女，拘逼士庶，奐保持得全者甚眾。
After Hou Jing seized Jiankang the court elite were chained; a recommendation reached the rebel commander Hou Zijian, who freed Huan, favored him, and put him to writing dispatches. As Hou Jing's intimate, Zijian held every official groveling—Huan alone refused to bend. A friend warned him: 'Do not provoke them from such a height. Huan answered, 'While I live by my own breath, I will not fawn on murderers to buy safety. While bandits seized children and terrorized the city, Huan shielded a great many from harm.
16
尋遭母憂。 時天下喪亂，皆不能終三年喪，唯奐及吳國張種在寇亂中，守法度，並以孝聞。
Soon afterward his mother died. War had shattered the ritual calendar—almost no one completed a full mourning period—but Huan and Zhang Zhong of Wu kept the law amid chaos and won renown for filial devotion.
17
及景平，司徒王僧辯先下辟書，引為左西掾。 梁元帝於荊州即位，征奐及沈炯，僧辯累表請留之。 帝手敕報曰：「孔、沈二士，今且借公。」 其為朝廷所重如此。
After Hou Jing's defeat Wang Sengbian, Minister of Education, summoned him as Left Western Aide. When Emperor Yuan took the throne at Jingzhou he called Huan and Shen Jiong north; Sengbian memorialized again and again to keep them. The emperor answered in his own hand: 'Kong and Shen are yours on loan—for now. The court valued him to this degree.
18
僧辯為揚州刺史，又補中從事史。 時侯景新平，每事草創，憲章故事，無復存者。 奐博物強識，甄明故實，問無不知，儀注體式，箋書表翰，皆出於奐。
When Sengbian took Yangzhou governorship, Huan was made his staff attending officer. With Hou Jing just defeated, the state had to be rebuilt from nothing—no protocols or precedents remained. Erudite and retentive, he could authenticate every antiquity; court ritual, memorial style, and diplomatic prose all passed through his hand.
19
陳武帝作相，除司徒左長史，遷給事黃門侍郎。 齊遣東方老、蕭軌來寇，四方壅隔，糧運不繼，三軍取給，唯在都下，乃除奐建康令。 武帝克日決戰，乃令奐多營麥飯，以荷葉裹之，一宿之間，得數萬裹。 軍人旦食訖，盡棄其餘，因而決戰，大破賊。 武帝受禪，遷太子中庶子。 永定三年，除晉陵太守。 晉陵自宋、齊以來為大郡，雖經寇擾，猶為全實，前後二千石多行侵暴，奐清白自守，妻子並不之官，唯以單船臨郡。 所得秩俸，隨即分贍孤寡，郡中號曰神君。 曲阿富人殷綺見奐居處儉素，乃餉以衣氈一具。 奐曰：「太守身居美祿，何為不能辦此？ 但百姓未周，不容獨享溫飽。 勞卿厚意，幸勿為煩。」
When Chen Baxian became Chancellor, Huan was made the Education Minister's chief secretary, then Supervising Secretary in the Yellow Gate. Qi dispatched Dongfang Lao and Xiao Gui to invade; supplies were severed nationwide and the army fed only from the capital—Huan was named magistrate of Jiankang. On the eve of battle Chen Baxian ordered Huan to bake barley meal and wrap it in lotus leaves—by morning tens of thousands of rations stood ready. Men ate their fill at dawn, shed what remained, and charged to a crushing victory. After Chen Baxian took the throne, Huan became a tutor in the crown prince's household. In Yongding 3 he became Grand Administrator of Jinling Commandery. Jinling had been a major prefecture since Song and Qi; despite raids it stayed wealthy, and most governors preyed on it—Huan arrived alone in one small boat, family left home, pockets clean. He handed out every penny of salary to the destitute, and the district nicknamed him the Spirit-Magistrate. Yin Qi, a rich Qu'a merchant, saw how plainly Huan lived and sent a set of clothes and felt. Huan replied, 'A grand administrator on full salary ought to afford his own blankets— —but my people still lack necessities; I cannot keep comfort while they go without. I honor your kindness; please give yourself no further trouble.
20
遷散騎常侍，領步兵校尉、中書舍人。 重除御史中丞，尋為五兵尚書。 時文帝不豫，台閣眾事，並令僕射到仲舉共決。 及帝疾篤，奐與宣帝及到仲舉並吏部尚書袁樞、中書舍人劉師知等入侍醫藥。 文帝嘗謂奐等曰：「今三方鼎峙，宜須長君，朕欲近則晉成，遠隆殷法，卿等須遵此意。」 奐乃流涕歔欷跪而對曰：「陛下禦膳違和，痊復非久，皇太子春秋鼎盛，聖德日躋，廢立之事，臣不敢聞。」 帝曰：「古之遺直，復見之卿。」 乃用奐為太子詹事。
Promotion made him Privy Regular Attendant, with concurrent rank as infantry commandant and palace secretary. He was again made Censor-in-Chief, then Minister of War. When Emperor Wen fell ill, every Secretariat affair went to Vice Director Dao Zhongju for joint decision. As the illness worsened, Huan joined Emperor Xuan, Dao Zhongju, Minister of Personnel Yuan Shu, and Secretary Liu Shizhi at the sickbed. Emperor Wen once told them: 'Three kingdoms stand in balance—we need an experienced sovereign. I would have you emulate Jin's Cheng in near policy and the high Zhou in far ambition. Hold to that course. Huan wept and answered from his knees: 'Your Majesty's ailment is passing—the crown prince is young, strong, and daily growing in virtue. On removing an heir I must stay silent. The emperor said, 'The stubborn integrity of the ancients lives again in you. Huan was then made Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.
21
廢帝即位，除散騎常侍、國子祭酒。 出為南中郎康樂侯長史、尋陽太守，行江州事。 宣帝即位，為始興王長史。 奐在職清儉，多所規正，宣帝嘉之，賜米五百斛，並累降敕書，殷勤勞問。 太建六年，為吏部尚書。 八年，加侍中。 時有事北邊，克復淮、泗，封賞敘用，紛紜重疊，奐應接引進，門無停賓。 加以識鑒人物，詳練百氏，凡所甄拔，衣冠搢紳莫不悅服。
Under the Deposed Emperor he became Privy Regular Attendant and Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. He was posted as chief secretary to the Marquis of Kangle, with concurrent duty as Xunyang Grand Administrator and acting governor of Jiang Province. Emperor Xuan made him chief secretary to the Prince of Shixing. He governed with austere integrity and spoke plainly against error; Emperor Xuan rewarded him with five hundred hu of grain and a stream of affectionate rescripts. In Taijian 6 he was appointed Minister of Personnel. Two years later he received concurrent rank as Palace Attendant. While the north was active and Huai-Si reconquest flooded the court with rewards and appointments, Huan's door never closed to petitioners seeking advancement. His eye for talent and command of pedigree meant every man he elevated among officials and gentry accepted the choice without resentment.
22
性耿介，絕諸請托，雖儲副之尊，公侯之重，溺情相及，終不為屈。 始興王叔陵之在湘州，累諷有司，固求台鉉。 奐曰：「袞章本以德重，未必皇枝。」 因抗言于宣帝。 帝曰：「始興那忽望公，且朕兒為公，須在鄱陽王后。」 奐曰：「臣之所見，亦如聖旨。」 後主時在東宮，欲以江總為太子詹事，令管記陸瑜言之奐。 奐曰：「江有潘、陸之華，而無園、綺之實，輔弼儲貳，竊謂非材。」 後主深以為恨，乃自言于宣帝。 宣帝將許之，奐乃奏曰：「江總文華之人，今皇太子文華不少，無藉於總。 如臣愚見，願選敦重之才，以居輔導。」 帝曰：「誰可？」 奐曰：「都官尚書王廓，代有懿德，識性敦敏，可以居之。」 後主時亦在側，乃曰：「廓王泰之子，不可居太子詹事。」 奐又曰：「宋朝范曄即範泰之子，亦為太子詹事。」 後主固爭之，帝以總為詹事，由是忤旨。
Stubbornly upright, he refused every pull of patronage—even when crown princes or great lords pleaded on private grounds, he would not bend. Prince Shixing's son Shuling, while governing Xiang Province, repeatedly leaned on officials to demand a capital appointment. Huan replied, 'Grand seals belong to men of moral weight, not automatically to princes of the blood. He spoke bluntly against the demand before Emperor Xuan. The emperor said, 'Shixing should not dream so high—and as my son he stands below the Queen of Poyang in precedence. Huan answered, 'My view matches Your Majesty's own. The future Later Lord, then crown prince, wanted Jiang Zong as Grand Tutor and sent his recorder Lu Yu to sound Huan out. Huan said, 'Jiang has Pan Yue's polish and Lu Ji's glitter, not Yuan Ji's depth or Qi Wuhui's substance—he is no fit tutor for an heir. The crown prince nursed a deep grudge and complained directly to Emperor Xuan. Emperor Xuan nearly agreed until Huan memorialized: 'Jiang Zong is ornamental prose—the crown prince already has ornament enough without him. I urge appointing a man of sober weight to guide the heir. The emperor asked, 'Whom do you propose? Huan named Wang Kuo of the Palace Bureau—'a line of proven virtue, sharp and steady—he can hold the post. The crown prince, present at the audience, objected: 'Wang Kuo is Wang Tai's son—unsuitable for Grand Tutor. Huan countered, 'Under Song, Fan Ye—Fan Tai's own son—served as Grand Tutor. The prince pressed his case; the emperor named Jiang Zong Grand Tutor anyway, and Huan fell from favor.
23
初，後主欲官其私寵，微諷於奐，奐不從。 及左僕射陸繕遷職，宣帝欲用奐代繕，已草詔訖，後主抑遂不行。
Earlier the crown prince had tried to place a private favorite in office and hinted at Huan; Huan refused. When Left Vice Director Lu Shan moved on, Emperor Xuan drafted an edict naming Huan to replace him—the crown prince blocked it and the appointment never issued.
24
孔琳之字彥琳，會稽山陰人也。 曾祖群，晉御史中丞。 祖沈，丞相掾。 父廞，光祿大夫。
Kong Linzhi, styled Yanlin, came from Shanyin in Kuaiji. His great-grandfather Qun had been Jin Censor-in-Chief. His grandfather Shen served as a chancellor's aide. His father Yin held the title Grand Master of Splendid Happiness.
25
琳之強正有志力，少好文義，解音律，能彈棋，妙善草隸。 桓玄輔政為太尉，以為西合祭酒。 玄時議欲廢錢用穀帛，琳之議曰：
Linzhi was stern, principled, and resolute; young he loved letters and ethics, knew music, played chess, and wrote superb cursive and clerical hand. While Huan Xuan governed as Grand Commandant, Linzhi was appointed Western Pavilion Libationer. Huan Xuan then proposed abolishing coinage for grain and silk; Linzhi submitted:
26
洪範八政，以貨次食，豈不以交易之所資，為用之至要者乎。 故聖王制無用之貨，以通有用之財，既無毀敗之費，又省難運之苦，此錢所以嗣功龜貝，歷代不廢者也。 穀帛為寶，本充衣食，今分以為貨，則致損甚多，又勞煩于商販之手，耗棄於割截之用，此之為弊，著於自曩。 故鍾繇曰：「巧偽之人，競濕穀以要利，制薄絹以充資。」 魏世制以嚴刑，弗能禁也。 是以司馬芝以為「用錢非徒豐國，亦所以省刑」。 今既用而廢之，則百姓頓亡其利，是有錢無糧之人，皆坐而饑困，此斷之之弊也。 魏明帝時，錢廢穀用四十年矣，以不便於人，乃舉朝大議，精才達政之士，莫不以為宜復用錢。 彼尚舍穀帛而用錢，足以明穀帛之弊著於已試也。
The Great Plan ranks wealth after grain precisely because currency is the lifeblood of exchange. Sage kings invented token money to move real goods—no spoilage, no hauling—so coin replaced shells and cowries and every dynasty kept it. Grain and cloth exist to feed and clothe; pressed into service as money they spoil in quantity, pass through too many merchant hands, and waste away in cutting and trimming—as every age has shown. Zhong Yao warned that fraudsters soak grain to cheat the scales and weave thin silk to pad accounts. Wei tried harsh law and still could not stop it. Sima Zhi argued that coinage enriches the realm and cuts crime at the root. Abolish coin now and the people lose their livelihood overnight—men holding cash but no grain will starve where they sit; that is the cost of prohibition. Wei Emperor Ming tried grain-only currency for forty years; when the burden on common life became unbearable, the court debated and every capable minister urged restoring coin. Their return to coin proved in practice what theory already showed: grain-money fails.
27
玄又議復肉刑，琳之以為：
Huan Xuan also proposed restoring mutilation punishments; Linzhi argued:
28
唐虞象刑，夏禹立辟，蓋淳薄既異，致化不同。 書曰：「世輕世重」，言隨時也。 夫三代風純而事簡，故罕蹈刑辟，季末俗巧而務殷，故動陷憲網。 若三千行于叔世，必有踴貴之尤，此五帝不相循法，肉刑不可悉復者也。 漢文發仁惻之意，傷自新之路莫由，革古創制，號稱刑厝； 然名輕而實重，反更傷人。 故孝景嗣位，輕之以緩，緩而人慢，又不禁邪。 期於刑罰之中，所以見美於昔，歷代詳論而未獲厥中者也。 兵荒已後，罹法更多，棄市之刑，本斬右趾，漢文一謬，承而弗革，所以前賢悵恨，議之而未辯。 鍾繇、陳群之意雖小有不同，欲以右趾代棄市。 若從其言，則所活者眾矣。 降死之生，誠為輕法，可以全其性命，蕃其產育，仁既濟物，功亦益眾。 又今之所患，逋逃為先，屢叛不革，宜令逃身靡所，亦以肅戒未犯，永絕惡原。 至於餘條，宜且依舊。 玄好人附悅，而琳之不能順旨，是以不見知。 累遷尚書左丞，揚州中從事史，所居著績。
Tang and Yu relied on shame; Yu the Great codified death—cultures differ in purity and complexity, and so must their punishments. The Classic of Documents says penalties lighten or harden with the age—law must track its era. When the Three Dynasties were simple, crime was rare; when late ages grew cunning and crowded, everyone tripped the statutes. Run the three-thousand statutes in a fallen age and cruelty will multiply—no sage emperor copied his predecessor's code wholesale, and mutilation cannot simply return. Han Emperor Wen, pitying the condemned, opened a path to renewal by abolishing ancient mutilations and proclaiming an end to harsh law; yet the label softened while the blade did not—more men died for it. Emperor Jing lightened sentences to soften the code; softness bred contempt and crime returned. Every dynasty sought the golden mean in punishment and won praise when it neared—but none ever held the center long. After the wars, offenders multiplied. Market execution once meant cutting the right foot—Wen changed it once and successors never fixed the mistake; sages debated and still found no answer. Zhong Yao and Chen Qun disagreed in detail but both would trade public beheading for amputation of the right foot. Had their counsel prevailed, countless lives would have been spared. Replacing death with mutilation is gentler law—it preserves life and families multiply; mercy spreads and the benefit compounds. Today's plague is flight from justice—repeat rebels escape reform. Make fugitives nowhere welcome: warn the innocent and dry up rebellion at the source. Other statutes may remain as they stand for now. Huan Xuan favored sycophants; Linzhi would not trim his views to please—and went unrewarded. He climbed to Left Assistant Director and Yangzhou Attending Officer, leaving a record of achievement at every post.
29
時責眾官獻便宜，議者以為宜修庠序，恤典刑，審官方，明黜陟，舉逸拔才，務農簡調。 琳之於眾議之外，別建言曰：
The court solicited practical reforms: restore schools, enforce canonical law, audit offices, clarify promotion, elevate hidden talent, favor farmers, lighten taxes. Apart from the common memorials Linzhi offered two further proposals:
30
夫璽印者，所以辨章官爵，立契符信。 官莫大于皇帝，爵莫尊于公侯，而傳國之璽，歷代遞用，襲封之印，弈世相傳。 貴在仍舊，無取改作。 今世唯尉一職獨用一印，至於內外群官，每遷悉改，討尋其義，私所未達。 若謂官各異姓，與傳襲不同，則未若異代之為殊也； 若論其名器，雖有公卿之貴，未若帝王之重； 若以或有誅夷之臣，忌其凶穢，則漢用秦璽，廷祚四百，未聞以子嬰身戮國亡而棄不佩。 帝王公侯之尊，不疑於傳璽，人臣眾僚之卑，何嫌于即印？ 載籍未聞其說，推例自乖其准，而終年刻鑄，喪功消實，金銀銅炭之費，不可稱言，非所以因循舊貫，易簡之道。 愚請眾官即用一印，無煩改作，若新置官，又官多印少，文或零失，然後乃鑄，則仰裨天府，非唯小益。
Seals exist to mark rank and bind trust between offices. No rank exceeds the emperor's, no title outranks duke or marquis—yet the dynastic seal passes unchanged through reigns and hereditary seals from father to son. Continuity is the point—there is no need to recast them. Today only the guard commandant keeps one seal per tenure; every other official gets a fresh seal at every transfer—I cannot see the sense in it. If the argument is that offices differ by surname unlike hereditary titles, then changing dynasties differs even more radically; if the argument is rank and regalia, even a duke's dignity cannot match an emperor's; if the fear is ill luck from executed ministers, Han wore Qin's seal for four hundred years—no one discarded it because Ziying died and Qin fell. Thrones and duchies trust inherited seals without scruple—why should a clerk flinch at the seal on his desk? No classic supports the custom; precedent argues against it—yet the court casts new seals every year, burning gold, silver, copper, and charcoal beyond counting. That is not continuity; it is waste. Let every official keep one seal through his tenure; cast anew only for new posts or lost documents—the treasury saves more than a little.
31
又曰：
He further wrote:
32
凶門柏裝，不出禮典，起自末代，積習生常，遂成舊俗，爰自天子達于庶人。 誠行之有由，卒革必駭； 然苟無關於情，而有愆禮度，存之未有所明，去之未有所失，固當式遵先典，厘革後謬，況復兼以游費，實為人患者乎。 凡人士喪儀，多出閭里，每有此須，動十數萬，損人財力，而義無所取。 至於寒庶，則人思自竭，雖復室如懸罄，莫不傾產單財，所謂「葬之以禮」，其若此乎？ 謂宜一罷凶門之式。 遷尚書吏部郎。 義熙十一年，除宋武帝平北、征西長史，遷侍中。 宋台初建，除宋國侍中。 永初二年，為御史中丞，明憲直法，無所屈橈，奏劾尚書令徐羨之虧違憲典。 時羨之領揚州刺史，琳之弟璩之為中從事，羨之使璩之解釋琳之，使停寢其事。 琳之不許，曰：「我觸忤宰相，政當罪止一身。 汝必不應從坐，何須勤勤邪。」 自是百僚震肅，莫敢犯禁。 武帝甚嘉之，行經蘭台，親加臨幸。 遷祠部尚書，不事產業，家尤貧素。 景平元年卒，追贈太常。
Cypress-draped mourning gates appear nowhere in the classics—they are a late habit grown into custom from emperor to commoner. Custom has momentum; sudden abolition would alarm; yet where feeling is untouched and ritual violated, keeping the custom explains nothing and dropping it costs nothing—follow the ancients, cut the later mistake, especially this drain on common purses. Gentry funerals follow village fashion; each one burns tens of thousands in wealth and labor for ceremony that buys nothing. Even the poor bankrupt themselves—houses bare, fortunes gone—is this what 'burial by ritual' was meant to be? Abolish the cypress mourning gate entirely. He was moved to a personnel officer in the Ministry of Works. In Yixi 11 he became chief of staff to the northern and western pacification armies and was promoted to Palace Attendant. When the Song state was founded he became Song Palace Attendant. In Yongchu 2 he became Censor-in-Chief, enforcing law without fear, and impeached Director Xu Xianzhi for breaching constitutional order. Xianzhi also governed Yangzhou; Linzhi's brother Qunzhi served on his staff, and Xianzhi sent Qunzhi to persuade Linzhi to drop the impeachment. Linzhi refused: 'I crossed the Chancellor—let punishment fall on me alone. You need not share my guilt—why beg so hard? After that the bureaucracy trembled and no one dared break the law. Emperor Wu admired him greatly and paid a personal visit when passing the Censorate. Made Minister of Sacrifices, he ignored property; his household stayed famously austere. He died in Jingping 1 and was posthumously ennobled Minister of Ceremonies.
33
子邈有父風，官至揚州中從事。 邈子覬。
His son Miao inherited his father's character and became Yangzhou Attending Officer. Miao was father to Xi.
34
覬字思遠，少骨鯁有風力，以是非為己任。 口吃，好讀書，早知名。 歷位中書黃門侍郎。 初，晉安帝時，散騎常侍選望甚重，與侍中不異，其後職任閒散，用人漸輕。 孝建三年，孝武欲重其選，於是吏部尚書顏竣奏以覬及司徒左長史王景文應舉。 帝不欲威權在下，其後分吏部尚書置二人以輕其任。 侍中蔡興宗謂人曰：「選曹要重，常侍閑淡，改之以名而不以實，雖主意欲為輕重，人心豈可變邪？」 既而常侍之選復卑，選部之貴不異。
Xi styled Siyuan was blunt and forceful from youth, making moral judgment his personal duty. He stuttered, read constantly, and was famous early. He served through posts up to Secretariat Gentleman in the Yellow Gate. Under Emperor An, Privy Regular Attendant ranked with Palace Attendant; later the post hollowed out and appointments grew trivial. In Xiaojian 3 Emperor Xiaowu tried to restore the post's prestige and had Minister of Personnel Yan Jun nominate Xi and Education Minister's chief secretary Wang Jingwen. The emperor would not let power sit below him; he then split the Ministry of Personnel in two to dilute its weight. Cai Xingzong remarked, 'Personnel is vital; Privy Attendant is ornamental—you rename without reweighting; the throne may intend a shift, but will men feel it? Soon Privy Attendant sank again while the Personnel Bureau kept its prestige.
35
大明元年，徙太子中庶子，領翊軍校尉，曆秘書監，廷尉卿，為御史中丞。 鞭令史，為有司所糾，原不問。
In Daming 1 he became crown prince companion and Guarding Army Commandant, then Secretariat Director, Court Commandant, and Censor-in-Chief in turn. He beat a clerk, drew an official complaint, and was let off without investigation.
36
六年，除安陸王子綏後軍長史、江夏內史。 性使酒仗氣，每醉輒彌日不醒，僚類間多所陵忽，尤不能曲意權幸，莫不畏而疾之。 居常貧罄，無有豐約，未嘗關懷。 為府長史，典簽諮事，不呼前不敢前，不令去不敢去。 雖醉日居多，而明曉政事，醒時判決，未嘗有壅。 眾咸曰：「孔公一月二十九日醉，勝世人二十九日醒也。」 孝武每欲引見，先遣人覘其醉醒。
In year six he became rear-army chief secretary to Prince Zisui of Anlu and Intendant of Jiangxia. He drank hard and swaggered; drunk he slept for days, bullied colleagues, and refused to court the powerful—men feared and hated him. He lived in perpetual poverty and never cared whether times were lean or flush. As princely chief of staff he terrified his registry clerks—they would not step forward unbidden or leave without orders. Drunk most days yet lucid in office—sober, his rulings never stalled. Men joked, 'Kong is drunk twenty-nine days a month and still beats the rest of us awake twenty-nine days. Before every audience Emperor Xiaowu sent scouts to learn whether Xi was drunk or sober.
37
性真素，不尚矯飾，遇得寶玩，服用不疑，而他物粗敗，終不改易。 時吳郡顧覬之亦尚儉素，衣裘器服皆擇其陋者。 宋世清儉，稱此二人。
Plain and unpretending, he used fine gifts without fuss and wore threadbare things without replacing them. Gu Yan of Wu Commandery was also famed for thrift—he picked the shabbiest furs and furnishings. Song's age of austere virtue was spoken of through these two men.
38
覬弟道存、從弟徽，頗營產業，二弟請假東還，覬出渚迎之，輜重十餘船，皆是綿絹紙席之屬。 覬見之偽喜，謂曰：「我比乏，得此甚要。」 因命置岸側，既而正色謂曰：「汝輩忝預士流，何至還東作賈客邪？」 命燒盡乃去。
Xi's brother Daocun and cousin Hui traded in property; returning east they met Xi at the river with a dozen boats loaded with silk, paper, and mats. Xi pretended delight: 'I have been hard up—this cargo is welcome. He had it unloaded, then said coldly, 'You hold gentry rank—why come east like peddlers? He ordered the whole convoy burned and walked away.
39
先是，庾徽之為御史中丞，性豪麗，服玩甚華，覬代之，衣冠器用莫不粗率。 蘭台令史並三吳富人，咸有輕之之意。 覬蓬首緩帶，風貌清嚴，皆重跡屏氣，莫敢欺犯。 庾徽之字景猷，潁川鄢陵人也，後卒于南東海太守。
His predecessor Yu Hui had been a lavish Censor-in-Chief draped in finery; Xi replaced him in rough clothes and plain gear. Censorate clerks and Three Wu magnates looked down on him. Unkempt hair, loose sash, gaze like ice—clerks and magnates held their breath and dared not test him. Yu Hui styled Jingyou came from Yanling in Yingchuan and later died as Southern Donghai Grand Administrator.
40
覬後為司徒左長史，道存代覬為後軍長史、江夏內史。 時東土大旱，都邑米貴，一斗將百錢。 道存慮覬甚乏，遣吏載五百斛米餉之。 覬呼吏謂之曰：「我在彼三載，去官之日，不辦有路糧。 郎至彼未幾，那能得此米邪？ 可載米還彼。」 吏曰：「自古以來無有載米上水者，都下米貴，乞於此貨之。」 不聽，吏乃載米而去。
Xi later served as Education Minister's chief secretary; Daocun took his old post as rear-army chief and Jiangxia Intendant. The east was in severe drought; capital grain hit nearly a hundred cash per dou. Daocun, fearing Xi's poverty, sent an officer with five hundred hu of grain. Xi called the officer in: 'Three years in that post and I left without travel money. You have barely arrived—where did this grain come from? Take it back upstream. The officer protested, 'No one hauls grain upstream; capital prices are high—let us sell here. Xi refused; the officer sailed the grain away.
41
庾業既東，明帝即以代延熙為義興，以延熙為巴陵王休若鎮東長史。 業至長塘湖，即與延熙合。 明帝遣建威將軍沈懷明東討，尚書張永系進。 巴陵王休若董統東討諸軍。 時覬所遣孫曇瓘等軍頓晉陵九里，部陣甚盛。 懷明至奔牛，所領寡弱，張永至曲阿，未知懷明安否，退還延陵就休若。 諸將帥咸勸退破岡，休若宣令敢有言退者斬，眾小定。 軍主劉亮又繼至，兵力轉集，人情乃安。
Once Yu Ye marched east, Emperor Ming swapped Yan Xi for Ye as Yixing Grand Administrator and made Yan Xi chief secretary to Prince Xiuruo of Baling's eastern command. Ye reached Changtang Lake and joined Yan Xi immediately. Emperor Ming sent General Shen Huaiming east against them with Master of Writing Zhang Yong in support. Prince Xiuruo of Baling commanded the eastern suppression forces. Sun Tanqian's division—sent by Xi—camped at Jiuli in Jinling in imposing array. Huaiming reached Benniu undermanned; Zhang Yong, reaching Qu'a without news of him, fell back to Yanling to Prince Xiuruo. Generals urged retreat to Pogang; Prince Xiuruo decreed death for anyone who spoke of retreat, and the army steadied. Commander Liu Liang arrived with reinforcements and morale settled.
42
時齊高帝率軍東討，與張永等於晉陵九里曲結營，與東軍相持。 上遣積射將軍江方興、南台御史王道隆至晉陵視賊形勢，賊帥孫曇瓘、程扞宗、陳景遠凡有五城，互相連帶。 扞宗城猶未固，道隆率所領急攻之，俄頃城陷，斬扞宗首。 劉亮果勁，便刀楯，乃負楯而進，直入重柵，眾軍因之，即皆摧破。 齊高帝與永等乘勝馳擊之，又大破之。 曇瓘因此敗走，孔璪與曇生焚倉庫，奔錢唐。
Qi Emperor Gao marched east and with Zhang Yong linked camps at Jiuli in Jinling, facing the rebel east. The court sent General Jiang Fangxing and Censor Wang Daolong to scout Jinling; rebel leaders Sun Tanqian, Cheng Hanzong, and Chen Jingyuan held five linked fortresses. Hanzong's wall was still weak; Daolong stormed it, the fort fell in moments, and Hanzong was beheaded. Liu Liang fought like a demon—shield on arm he smashed the inner palisade and the whole army poured through. Qi Emperor Gao and Zhang Yong chased the rout and broke them again. Tanqian fled; Kong Zuan and Tansheng torched the granaries and ran for Qiantang.
43
會稽聞西軍稍近，將士多奔亡，覬不能復製。 上虞令王晏起兵攻郡，覬憂遽不知所為。 其夕率千人聲雲東討，實趨石賜。 遇潮涸不得去，眾叛都盡，門生載以小船，竄於山脊村。 村人縛以送晏，晏調曰：「此事孔璪所為，無豫卿事，可作首辭，當相為申上。」 覬曰：「江東處分，莫不由身，委罪求活，便是君輩行意耳。」 晏乃斬之東合外。 臨死求酒，曰：「此是平生所好。」 顧琛、王曇生、袁標等並詣吳喜歸罪，喜皆宥之。 東軍主凡七十六人，於陣斬十七人，餘皆原宥。
As imperial forces neared Kuaiji, troops deserted in droves and Xi lost control. Shangyu magistrate Wang Yan raised troops against the prefecture; Xi panicked. That night he led a thousand men, claiming an eastern expedition, but fled toward Shici. The tide went out and trapped him; his force melted away; a student rowed him in a skiff to a mountain hamlet. Villagers bound him for Wang Yan, who said lightly, 'Kong Zuan did this, not you—write the lead confession and I will speak for you at court. Xi answered, 'Every decision east of the Yang was mine—shift blame to live? That is your trade, not mine. Yan beheaded him outside the eastern hall. At the block he asked for wine: 'This was my lifelong pleasure. Gu Chen, Wang Tansheng, Yuan Biao, and others surrendered to Wu Xi for judgment; he pardoned them all. Seventy-six eastern commanders in all—seventeen killed in battle, the rest spared.
44
覬之起兵也，夢行宣陽門道上，顧望皆丘陵。 覬寤，私告人曰：「丘陵者弗平，建康其殆難克。」
When Xi rebelled he dreamed of walking the Xuanyang Gate road and seeing only hills behind him. He woke and whispered, 'Hills mean no level ground—Jiankang will not fall easily.
45
覬弟道存，位黃門吏部郎、南郡太守。 晉安王子勳建偽號，以為侍中，行雍州事，事敗見殺。
Xi's brother Daocun was Yellow Gate personnel officer and Nan Commandery Grand Administrator. When Prince Xun of Jin'an declared a rival throne, Daocun became acting Yongzhou governor as Palace Attendant; the revolt failed and he was killed.
46
殷景仁，陳郡長平人也。 曾祖融，晉太常。 祖茂之，特進、左光祿大夫。 父道裕，早亡。
Yin Jingren came from Changping in Chen Commandery. His great-grandfather Rong had been Jin Grand Minister of Ceremonies. His grandfather Maozhi was Special Grand Master and Left Grand Master of Splendid Happiness. His father Daoyu died young.
47
景仁少有大成之量，司徒王謐見而以女妻之。 為宋武帝太尉行參軍，歷位中書侍郎。 景仁不為文而敏有思致，不談義而深達理，至於國典朝儀，舊章記注，莫不撰錄，識者知其有當世之志也。
Jingren showed early promise of greatness; Minister of Education Wang Mi married him to his daughter. He served Liu Yu's Grand Commandant as acting staff officer and rose to Central Secretariat Gentleman. Jingren wrote no essays yet thought with precision; he debated no abstractions yet understood principle deeply; state law, court ritual, old statutes—he recorded them all, and observers knew he meant to shape his age.
48
文帝所生章太后早亡，上奉太后所生蘇氏甚謹。 六年，蘇氏卒，車駕親往臨哭，詔欲遵二漢推恩之典。 景仁議以為「漢氏推恩加爵，于時承秦之弊，儒術蔑如，懼非盛明所宜軌蹈。 晉監二代，朝政之所因，君舉必書，哲王之所慎。 體至公者懸爵賞於無私，奉天統者每屈情以申制，所以作孚萬國，貽則後昆」。 上從之。
Emperor Wen's birth mother Empress Dowager Zhang had died young; the emperor cared meticulously for her mother Lady Su. In year six Lady Su died; the emperor mourned in person and proposed extending favor as the Han had done. Jingren argued that Han ennoblement of kin arose from Qin's ruin when learning was despised—not a model for a flourishing sage reign. Jin watched Han and Wei and shaped court practice; a wise king's every act is written—this is what sage rulers guard. Utmost fairness hangs rewards on merit alone; heaven's mandate often bends private feeling to law—thus the realm trusts the throne and posterity inherits the rule. The emperor accepted his counsel.
49
丁母憂，葬竟，起為領軍將軍，固辭。 上使綱紀代拜，遣中書舍人周赳輿載詣府。 服闋，遷尚書僕射。 太子詹事劉湛代為領軍，湛與景仁素善，皆被遇于武帝，俱以宰相許之。 湛常居外任。 會王弘、王華、王曇首相系亡，景仁引湛還朝，共參朝政。 湛既入，以景仁位遇本不踰己，一旦居前，意甚憤憤。 知文帝信仗景仁，不可移奪，乃深結司徒彭城王義康，欲倚宰相之重以傾之。 十二年，景仁遷中書令、護軍將軍，僕射如故，尋復加領吏部。 湛愈怒，義康納湛言，毀景仁于文帝，帝遇之益隆。 景仁密陳相王權重，非社稷計，上以為然。 景仁對親舊歎曰：「引之令入，便噬人。」 乃稱疾請解，不見許，使停家養病。 湛議欲遣人若劫盜者於外殺之，以為文帝雖知，當不能傷至親之愛。 上微聞之，徙景仁於西掖門外晉鄱陽主第，以為護軍府。 密邇宮禁，故其計不行。
After his mother's burial he was recalled as Director of the Guard and refused. The emperor had a proxy perform the acceptance rite and sent Secretary Zhou Jiu in a carriage to haul him to office. When mourning ended he became Vice Director of the Masters of Writing. Crown prince tutor Liu Zhan replaced him as Guard Director; Zhan and Jingren were old allies, both favored by Liu Yu, both marked for chancellor. Zhan usually served in provincial posts. After Wang Hong, Wang Hua, and Wang Tanshou died in turn, Jingren recalled Zhan to share governance. Once back at court Zhan saw Jingren—once his equal—suddenly above him, and rage consumed him. Knowing the emperor would not abandon Jingren, Zhan bonded with Prince Yikang of Pengcheng, hoping the prince's weight would topple his rival. In year twelve Jingren became Secretariat Director and Protecting Army General, kept the vice directorship, and soon took Personnel as well. Zhan fumed; Prince Yikang whispered against Jingren to the emperor—and the emperor honored Jingren all the more. Jingren secretly warned that the prince's power threatened the realm; the emperor concurred. Jingren told friends, 'I invited him in—and he bites the hand. He feigned illness to resign; the emperor refused and ordered him to convalesce at home. Zhan plotted hired killers outside the walls, betting the emperor would not punish close kin even if he learned of it. The emperor caught wind and moved Jingren to Princess Poyang's mansion outside the Western Side Gate as Protecting Army headquarters. The palace walls were too close—Zhan's plot failed.
50
景仁臥疾者五年，雖不見上，而密函去來，日中以十數，朝政大小必以問焉。 影跡周密，莫有窺其際者。 及將收湛之日，景仁便拂拭衣冠。 寢疾既久，左右皆不悟其意。 其夜，上出華林園延賢堂召之，景仁猶稱腳疾，小床輿以就坐，誅討處分，一皆委之。
Jingren 'sick' for five years never saw the emperor yet exchanged a dozen secret letters by noon daily—every major decision ran through him. His network was sealed tight; no spy pierced it. On the day Liu Zhan and Prince Yikang were seized, Jingren dressed at once. After years abed his attendants did not understand. That night the emperor summoned him to the Hall of Worthies; Jingren came on a litter claiming gout—and received full authority over the purge.
51
代義康為揚州刺史，僕射、吏部如故。 遣使者授印綬，主簿代拜畢，便覺疾甚，情理乖錯。 性本寬厚，而忽更苛暴，問左右曰：「今年男婚多，女嫁多？」 是冬大雪，景仁乘輿出廳事觀望，忽驚曰：「當閣何得有大樹？」 既而曰：「我誤耳。」 疾篤，文帝謂不利在州，使還住僕射下省。 為州凡月餘日卒，或云見劉湛為祟。 追贈侍中、司空，諡曰文成公。 大明五年，孝武行經景仁墓，詔遣致祭。
He replaced Prince Yikang as Yangzhou governor while keeping Vice Director and Personnel. After the proxy acceptance of Yangzhou seals his mind broke. Naturally mild, he turned savage and asked servants, 'Are more sons marrying this year or more daughters? Heavy winter snow fell; Jingren rode to the hall, stared, and cried, 'Why is there a great tree in the gate? Then he muttered, 'My mistake. As he worsened the emperor blamed Yangzhou and moved him back to the Vice Director's quarters. He died barely a month after taking the province; some said Liu Zhan's ghost hounded him. Posthumously he was Palace Attendant and Minister of Works, titled Duke Wen of Cheng. In Daming 5 Emperor Xiaowu passed Jingren's tomb and ordered sacrifice.
52
子道矜，幼而不慧，位太中大夫。 道矜子恒，明帝時，位侍中、度支尚書。 屬父疾積久，為有司所奏。 詔曰：「道矜生便有病，更無橫疾； 恒因愚習惰，久妨清序，可除散騎常侍。」 淳字粹遠，景仁從祖弟也。 祖允，晉太常。 父穆，以和謹致稱，自五兵尚書為宋武帝相國左長史。 元嘉中，位特進、右光祿大夫，領始興王師。 卒官，諡曰元子。
His son Daojin was slow-witted from childhood and became Grand Master of Palace Counsel. Daojin's son Heng served Emperor Ming as Palace Attendant and Minister of Revenue. Because he had long nursed his ailing father, officials impeached him for neglect of duty. An edict read: 'Daojin has been ill since birth—no sudden affliction; Heng through sloth and stupidity long blocked proper service—strip him of Privy Regular Attendant. Chun styled Cuiyuan was Jingren's younger cousin. His grandfather Yun had been Jin Grand Minister of Ceremonies. His father Mu, famed for gentle prudence, rose from Minister of War to chief secretary under Liu Yu's chancellery. Under Yuanjia he was Special Grand Master and Right Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, tutoring the Prince of Shixing. He died in office with posthumous title Master Yuan.
53
淳少好學，有美名，曆中書黃門侍郎。 黃門清切，直下應留下省，以父老特聽還家。 高簡寡言，早有清尚，愛好文義，未嘗違舍。 在秘書閣撰四部書大目，凡四十卷，行於世。 元嘉十一年卒，朝廷痛惜之。
Chun loved learning from youth and won a fine name, rising to Secretariat Gentleman in the Yellow Gate. Yellow Gate duty normally required overnight stays at the lower office; because his father was aged he was allowed home. Reserved and terse, he cherished pure ambition and letters and rarely left his study. In the Secretariat he compiled the forty-volume catalogue of the Four Libraries, published to the world. He died in Yuanjia 11; the court mourned him deeply.
54
子孚有父風。 嘗與侍中何勖共食，孚羹盡，勖云：「益殷蓴羹。」 勖司空無忌子也，孚徐輟箸曰：「何無忌諱。」 孚位吏部郎，為順帝撫軍長史。
His son Fu inherited his father's character. Dining with Palace Attendant He Xu, Fu finished his soup; Xu called, 'More Yin-lotus soup. Xu was son of Minister He Wuji; Fu set down his chopsticks: 'The name Wuji is taboo. Fu was a personnel officer and chief secretary to Emperor Shun's pacification staff.
55
子臻字後同，幼有名行，袁粲、褚彥回並賞異之。 每造二公之席，輒清言畢景。 王儉為丹陽尹，引為郡丞。 袁昂先拜秘書丞，求臻為到省表。 臻答曰：「何不見倩拜，而見倩作表。」 遂不為作。 歷位太子洗馬。
Fu's son Zhen styled Houtong was famed for conduct from youth; Yuan Can and Chu Yuan both marked him out. At their tables his conversation ran clear to the day's end. When Wang Jian was Danyang Intendant he recruited Zhen as commandery aide. Yuan Ang, newly made Secretariat Assistant, asked Zhen to draft his arrival memorial. Zhen replied, 'You ask me to bow for you but not to write your memorial? He refused. He rose to Groom of the Heir Apparent.
56
淳弟沖字希遠，位御史中丞，有司直之稱。 再遷度支尚書。 元凶妃即淳女，而沖在東宮為劭所知遇。 劭弑立，以為司隸校尉。 沖有學義文辭，劭使為尚書符，罪狀孝武，亦為劭盡力。 建鄴平，賜死。
Chun's brother Chong styled Xiyuan became Censor-in-Chief and was called the court's straight edge. Twice he was made Minister of Revenue. Deposed Heir Liu Shao's consort was Chun's daughter, yet Chong served Shao in the Eastern Palace and won his favor. When Shao seized the throne he made Chong Director of the Masters of Correctness. Learned and eloquent, Chong drafted Shao's indictment of Emperor Xiaowu and served the usurper with full loyalty. When Jiankang fell he was ordered to die.
57
沖弟淡字夷遠，亦曆黃門吏部郎，太子中庶子。 大明中，又以文章見知。
Chong's brother Dan styled Yiyuan served as Yellow Gate personnel officer and crown prince companion. Under Daming he won notice again for his writing.
58
論曰：季恭命偶興王，恩深惟舊，及位致崇寵，而每存謙挹。 觀夫持滿之戒，足以追蹤古人。 琇之貞素之風，不踐無義之地。 易曰：「王臣蹇蹇，其動也直。」 休文行己之度，可謂近之。 琳之二議，深達變通之道。 覬持身之節，亦曰一時之良，而聽言則悖，晚致覆沒，痛矣哉！ 景仁遠大之情，著于初筮，元嘉之盛，卒致宗臣，言聽計從，於斯為重，美矣乎。
The historians comment: Ji Gong's lot paired him with a rising sovereign; though deeply favored he stayed humble at the height of honor. His heed of the full-cup warning lets him stand with the ancients. Xianzhi's austere integrity kept him off unrighteous ground. The Book of Changes says: 'The king's minister, steadfast and straight in action. Huan Xiuwen's conduct approached that standard. Linzhi's twin memorials mastered the art of adaptive governance. Xi held his body with integrity and was called a man of the age—yet he deafened himself to counsel and ended in ruin. A bitter end. Jingren's breadth showed from the first oracle; in Yuanjia's glory he became the state's pillar, every word heeded—there lay true weight, and how fine a life.