1
列傳第三十一齊宗室
Biographies 31: The Qi Imperial Clan
2
衡陽元王道度始安貞王道生始安王遙光曲江公遙欣安陸昭王緬新吳侯景先南豐伯赤斧衡陽公諶臨汝侯坦之
Prince Daodu of Hengyang (posthumous title Yuan); Prince Daosheng of Shian (posthumous title Zhen); Prince Yaoguang of Shian; Duke Yaoxin of Qujiang; Prince Mian of Anlu (posthumous title Zhao); Marquis Jingxian of Xinwu; Count Chifu of Nanfeng; Duke Chen of Hengyang; Marquis Tanzhi of Linru.
3
鈞字宣禮，年五歲，所生區貴人病，便加慘悴，左右依常以五色絆飴之，不肯食，曰：「須待姨差。」 年七歲，出繼衡陽元王，見高帝，未拜，便涕泗橫流。 高帝執其手曰：「伯叔父猶父，勿怨。 所以令汝出繼，以汝有意，堪奉蒸嘗故耳。」 即敕外如先給通幰車、雉尾扇等，事事依正王。
Jun, whose courtesy name was Xuanli, was five years old when his birth mother, Lady Qu, took ill. He at once became deeply distressed. As usual, his attendants tried to coax him with sweets tied with ribbons of five colors, but he refused to eat, saying, "I must wait until my aunt is better. At seven he was given in adoption to succeed the Prince of Hengyang Yuan. When he met Emperor Gao, before he could even perform the bow, tears streamed down his face. Emperor Gao took his hand and said, "Uncles and fathers are still fathers—do not bear a grudge. The reason I am having you adopted out is that you are willing and fit to tend the ancestral sacrifices. He immediately ordered that Jun be furnished from outside, as before, with a canopy carriage, pheasant-tail fans, and the like—in every respect on the same footing as a full-fledged prince.
4
區貴人卒，居喪盡禮。 服闋，當問訊武帝，尪羸骨立，登車三上不能升，乃止。 典簽曹道人具以聞，武帝即幸鈞邸，見之愴然，還謂褚蓁曰：「昨見衡陽，猶奇毀損，卿可數相撫悅。」 先是貴人以華釵廚子並翦刻錦繡中倒炬鳳皇蓮芰星月之屬鈞，以為玩弄。 貴人亡後，每歲時及朔望，輒開視，再拜鯁咽，見者皆為之悲。
When Lady Qu died, he observed the mourning rites in full. When his mourning period ended, he was due to pay his respects to Emperor Wu, but he was so emaciated that his bones showed through his skin. Three times he tried to climb into his carriage and could not; he gave up. Chief steward Cao Daoren reported the whole matter. Emperor Wu at once visited Jun's residence; seeing him, he was deeply moved. On his return he told Chu Qin, "When I saw the Prince of Hengyang yesterday he was still shockingly wasted. You should visit often to comfort and cheer him. Earlier the lady had given Jun jeweled hairpins, pantry boxes, and brocade cutouts—torches inverted, phoenixes, lotus seedpods, stars, moons, and the like—for his amusement. After the lady's death, at each season and on the new and full moon he would open them to look, bow twice with choked sobs; all who witnessed it were moved to grief on his behalf.
5
性好學，善屬文，與琅邪王智深以文章相會，濟陽江淹亦遊焉。 武帝謂王儉曰：「衡陽王須文學，當使華實相稱，不得止取貴遊子弟而已。」 乃以太子舍人蕭敷為文學。
He loved learning by nature and was skilled at literary composition. He exchanged writings with Wang Zhishen of Langye, and Jiang Yan of Jiyang also kept company with him. Emperor Wu told Wang Jian, "The Prince of Hengyang needs a literary tutor; the appointment should match ornament with substance—you must not simply pick the sons of idle aristocrats. He accordingly appointed Xiao Fu, an attendant in the heir apparent's household, as his literary tutor.
6
鈞常手自細書寫五經，部為一卷，置於巾箱中，以備遺忘。 侍讀賀玠問曰：「殿下家自有墳素，復何須蠅頭細書，別藏巾箱中？」 答曰：「巾箱中有五經，于檢閱既易，且一更手寫，則永不忘。」 諸王聞而爭效為巾箱五經，巾箱五經自此始也。 居身清率，言未嘗及時事。 會稽孔珪家起園，列植桐柳，多構山泉，殆窮真趣，鈞往遊之。 珪曰：「殿下處朱門，遊紫闥，詎得與山人交邪？」 答曰：「身處朱門，而情游江海，形入紫闥，而意在青云。」 珪大美之。 吳郡張融清抗絕俗，雖王公貴人，視之傲如也，唯雅重鈞，謂從兄緒曰：「衡陽王飄飄有淩雲氣，其風情素韻，彌足可懷，融與之遊，不知老之將至。」 見賞如此。
Jun often copied the Five Classics himself in minute hand, one classic per scroll, and kept them in a towel box lest he forget. His study companion He Jie asked, "Your Highness's household already has the classics—why copy them again in tiny script and hide them in a towel box? He answered, "With the Five Classics in the towel box they are easy to consult; and once I have copied them by hand in a single night, I never forget them." When the other princes heard of it, they all rushed to make their own towel-box Five Classics—and that custom began with him. He lived plainly and frugally and never spoke of current affairs. Kong Gui of Kuaiji laid out a garden at home, planting rows of paulownia and willow and fashioning many mountain springs until he had nearly exhausted every natural delight; Jun went to visit. Gui said, "Your Highness lives behind vermilion gates and moves in the purple palace—how can you keep company with a mountain recluse? He answered, "Though my body stands behind vermilion gates, my heart roams rivers and seas; though my form enters the purple palace, my mind is in the blue clouds." Gui was deeply impressed. Zhang Rong of Wu was pure, aloof, and utterly unlike the vulgar world; toward kings, dukes, and nobles alike he was proudly distant—yet he held Jun in genuine esteem. He told his cousin Xu, "The Prince of Hengyang has an air that seems to pierce the clouds; his bearing and quiet grace are ever more worth cherishing. In Rong's company with him, one forgets that old age is near. Such was the esteem in which he was held.
7
歷位秘書監。 延興元年，為明帝所殺。 明帝立，以永陽王子瑉仍本國繼元王為孫。
He served as Director of the Secretariat. In the first year of Yanxing (494) he was put to death by Emperor Ming. When Emperor Ming came to the throne, he had Zimin, son of the Prince of Yongyang, remain in Yongyang and succeed the Yuan prince as his heir.
8
子瑉字雲璵，武帝第二十子也。 初封義安郡王，後改永陽。 永泰元年見害，復以武陵昭王曄子子坦奉元王后。
Zimin, whose courtesy name was Yunyu, was Emperor Wu's twentieth son. He was first enfeoffed as Prince of Yi'an, then transferred to Yongyang. In the first year of Yongtai (498) he was killed; Zitan, son of Prince Ye of Wuling (posthumous title Zhao), was then appointed to succeed the Yuan line.
9
建武元年，明帝追尊道生為景皇，妃江氏為後，立寢廟於御道西，陵曰修安。 追封鳳始安靖王，改華林鳳莊門為望賢門，太極東堂畫鳳鳥，題為神鳥，而改鸞鳥為神雀。 子遙光嗣。
In the first year of Jianwu (494), Emperor Ming posthumously honored Daosheng as Emperor Jing and Lady Jiang as empress, erected a spirit temple west of the imperial avenue, and named the tomb Xiuan. He posthumously enfeoffed Feng as Prince Jing of Shian, renamed the Hualin Fengzhuang Gate the Wangxian Gate, had phoenixes painted in the eastern hall of the Taichi Palace with the inscription Divine Bird, and renamed the luan birds Divine Sparrows. His son Yaoguang succeeded him.
10
始安王遙光字元暉，生而躄疾，高帝謂不堪奉拜祭祀，欲封其弟，武帝諫，乃以遙光襲爵。 位中書郎。
Prince Yaoguang of Shian, courtesy name Yuanhui, was born lame. Emperor Gao judged him unfit to perform obeisance and sacrifices and wished to enfeoff his younger brother instead; Emperor Wu dissuaded him, and Yaoguang therefore inherited the title. He held the post of Secretariat Gentleman.
11
明帝輔政，誅賞諸事，唯與遙光共謀議，勸明帝並殺高、武諸子弟，見從。 建武元年，為揚州刺史。 三年，進號撫軍將軍。 好吏事，頗多慘害。 足疾不得同朝列，常乘輿自望賢門入。 每與明帝久清閒，言畢，帝索香火，明日必有所誅。
While Emperor Ming held regency, on matters of execution and reward he deliberated only with Yaoguang. He urged Ming to kill all the sons and younger brothers of the Gao and Wu lines together, and Ming followed his advice. In the first year of Jianwu (494) he was appointed Inspector of Yang Province. In the third year (496) he was promoted to General Who Pacifies the Army. He relished administrative work and was notably cruel. His foot ailment kept him from standing in the court ranks; he usually entered by carriage through the Wangxian Gate. Whenever he and Emperor Ming talked at length in private, as soon as their conversation ended the emperor would call for incense—and the next day someone was sure to be executed.
12
帝不豫，遙光數入侍疾，帝疾漸甚，河東王鉉等十王一夕見殺，遙光意也。 帝崩，遺詔加遙光侍中、中書令，給扶。 永元元年，給班劍二十人，即本號開府儀同三司。
When the emperor fell ill, Yaoguang went in repeatedly to attend him. As the illness worsened, ten princes including Prince Xuan of Hedong were killed in a single night—at Yaoguang's instigation. When the emperor died, his testamentary edict appointed Yaoguang Attendant-in-Ordinary and Director of the Secretariat and granted him a supporting staff. In the first year of Yongyuan (499) he was granted twenty ceremonial swords and, retaining his existing title, was made Commissioner Equal in Protocol to the Three Excellencies.
13
遙光多忌，人有餉履者，以為戲己，大被嫌責。 劉繪嘗為箋云：「智不及葵。」 亦以忤旨。
Yaoguang was deeply suspicious; when someone sent him shoes as a gift, he took it as mockery of his lameness and had the man severely punished. Liu Hui once wrote in a memorial, "His wisdom does not reach the sunflower. This too offended him.
14
既輔東昏，潛結江祏兄弟，謀自樹立。 弟遙欣在荊楚，擁兵居上流，密相影響。 遙光當據東府號令，使遙欣急下，潛謀將發，而遙欣病死。 江祏被誅，東昏召遙光入殿，告以祏罪。 遙光懼，還省便陽狂號哭，自此稱疾不復入台。 先是遙光行還入城，風飄儀傘出城外。
After he had assisted Donghun, he secretly allied with the Jiang Shi brothers, plotting to set himself up as ruler. His younger brother Yaoxin held troops in Jing-Chu on the upper Yangzi and acted in secret concert with him. Yaoguang was to seize the Eastern Palace and issue orders while Yaoxin marched down in haste; the plot was about to break when Yaoxin died of illness. After Jiang Shi was executed, Donghun summoned Yaoguang to the hall and informed him of Shi's crimes. Yaoguang was terrified; back at his residence he at once feigned madness, wailing loudly, and from then on pleaded illness and never again entered the imperial offices. Earlier, as Yaoguang was returning to the city in procession, the wind blew his ceremonial canopy out beyond the city walls.
15
遙光弟遙昌先卒壽春，豫州部曲，皆歸遙光。 及遙欣喪還，葬武進，停東府前渚，荊州眾力送者甚盛。 東昏誅江祏後，慮遙光不自安，欲轉為司徒還第，召入喻旨。 遙光慮見殺，收集荊、豫二州部曲於東府門，眾頗怪其異，莫知其指趣也。
Yaoguang's younger brother Yaochang had died earlier at Shouchun, and the military households of Yu Province all passed to Yaoguang. When Yaoxin's funeral train returned, he was buried at Wujin; the cortège halted at the ford before the Eastern Palace, and the escort from Jing Province was impressively large. After Donghun executed Jiang Shi, fearing Yaoguang would feel insecure, he planned to transfer him to Grand Marshal and send him home; he summoned him in to explain his intentions. Yaoguang feared he would be killed and assembled the military households of Jing and Yu Provinces at the Eastern Palace gate; onlookers were puzzled by the spectacle and could not guess his purpose.
16
遙光召親人丹陽丞劉渢及城局參軍劉晏、中兵參軍曹樹生等，並諸傖楚，欲以討劉暄為名。 夜遣數百人破東冶出囚，尚方取仗。 又召驍騎將軍垣曆生。 曆生隨信至，便勸遙光令率城內兵，夜攻台，輦荻燒城門，曰：「公但乘輿隨後，反掌可得。」 遙光意疑不敢出。 天稍曉，遙光戎服至聽事，停輿處分，上仗登城行賞賜，曆生復勸出軍，遙光不肯，望台內自變。
Yaoguang summoned his kinsman Liu Feng, assistant magistrate of Danyang, together with Liu Yan, garrison staff officer, Cao Shusheng, middle-army staff officer, and various northern troops, planning to march under the pretext of punishing Liu Xuan. That night he sent several hundred men to break into the Eastern Workshop, free the prisoners, and seize arms from the Imperial Workshop. He also summoned General of Valiant Cavalry Yuan Lisheng. Lisheng came at his summons and at once urged Yaoguang to lead the troops inside the city in a night assault on the palace, carting reeds to burn the gates, saying, "Your Lordship need only follow in your carriage—it can be taken as easily as turning your palm. Yaoguang hesitated and dared not go out. At first light Yaoguang appeared at the audience hall in military dress, halted his carriage to give orders, mounted the wall with armed men to distribute rewards; Lisheng again urged him to take the field, but Yaoguang refused, hoping the palace would change sides on its own.
17
及日出，台軍稍至，於是戒嚴，赦都下。 領軍蕭坦之屯湘宮寺，鎮軍司馬曹武屯青溪大橋，太子右率左興盛屯東府東籬門，眾軍圍東城。 遙光遣垣曆生從西門出戰，台軍屢北，殺軍主桑天愛。 初遙光問諮議參軍蕭暢，暢正色拒不從。 既而暢與撫軍長史沈昭略奔台，人情大沮。 又垣曆生從南門出戰，為曹武所禽，謂武曰：「卿以主上為聖明，梅、茹為賢相者，則我當死。 且我今死，卿明亦死。」 遂殺之。
At sunrise imperial troops began to arrive; martial law was declared and an amnesty was proclaimed for the capital. Commander-in-Chief Xiao Tanzhi encamped at Xianggong Temple; Pacifying Army Major Cao Wu at the Qingxi Great Bridge; Right Leader of the Heir Apparent's Guard Zuo Xingsheng at the Eastern Palace's eastern hedge gate; the combined armies besieged the eastern quarter. Yaoguang sent Yuan Lisheng out through the western gate; the imperial troops fell back repeatedly, and Lisheng killed the army commander Sang Tian'ai. At first Yaoguang consulted Advisory Staff Officer Xiao Chang, who sternly refused to join him. Soon afterward Chang and Pacifying Army Chief Clerk Shen Zhaolue fled to the imperial side, and morale collapsed. Yuan Lisheng sallied out again through the southern gate, was captured by Cao Wu, and told him, "If you believe our sovereign is enlightened and that Mei and Ru are worthy chancellors, then I deserve to die. And if I die today, you will die tomorrow as well. They killed him on the spot.
18
遙光聞曆生見獲，大怒，於床上自竦踴，使殺曆生兒。 其晚台軍射火箭燒東北角樓，至夜城潰。 遙光還小齋，令人反拒，左右並踰屋出。 台軍主劉國寶、時當伯等先入，遙光聞外兵至，吹滅火，扶匐下床，軍人排合入，斬之。
When Yaoguang learned Lisheng had been captured, he flew into a rage, leaped and stamped on his bed, and ordered Lisheng's son put to death. That evening imperial troops shot fire-arrows and set the northeastern corner tower ablaze; by night the defenses gave way. Yaoguang retreated to his small study and had the doors barred from inside; his attendants all scrambled over the roof to escape. Imperial commanders Liu Guobao, Shi Dangbo, and others broke in first. Hearing the troops outside, Yaoguang blew out his lamp and crawled from his bed; the soldiers forced their way in and beheaded him.
19
遙光舉事四日而卒。 舉事之夕月蝕，識者以月為大臣，蝕而既，必滅之道。 未敗之夕，城內皆夢群蛇緣城四出，各共說之，咸以為異。 台軍入城，焚屋宇且盡。
Yaoguang's revolt lasted four days before he perished. On the night of the revolt there was a lunar eclipse; the learned took the moon to represent a great minister—when an eclipse runs its course, ruin is inevitable. On the eve of his defeat everyone in the city dreamed of serpents swarming up the walls and slithering out on every side; people compared dreams and all found it ominous. When imperial troops entered the city they burned the buildings almost to the ground.
20
遙光幼時甚貞正，明帝傾意待之。 東昏為兒童時，明帝使與遙光共齋居止，呼遙光為安兄，恩情甚至。 及遙光誅後，東昏登舊宮土山望東府，愴然呼曰：「安兄！」 乃嗚咽，左右不忍視，見思如此。 天下知名之士劉渢、渢弟溓、陸閑、閑子絳、司馬端、崔慶遠皆坐誅。
In youth Yaoguang was notably upright, and Emperor Ming lavished affection on him. When Donghun was a boy, Emperor Ming had him live and study with Yaoguang, calling him Elder Brother An; their bond was extraordinarily close. After Yaoguang was executed, Donghun climbed the earthen mound of the old palace to gaze toward the Eastern Palace and cried out in grief, "Elder Brother An! Then he sobbed; those beside him could not bear to watch—such was the affection he still inspired. Renowned figures across the realm—Liu Feng, his brother Lian, Lu Xian, Xian's son Jiang, Sima Duan, and Cui Qingyuan—were all executed in connection with the revolt.
21
曲江公遙欣字重暉，始安王遙光弟也。 宣帝兄西平太守奉之無後，以遙欣繼為曾孫。 遙欣髫齔中便嶷然，明帝謂江祏曰：「遙欣雖幼，觀其神采，殊有局幹，必成令器，未知年命何如耳。」 安陸昭王沔曰：「不患其兄弟不富貴，但恐沔不及見耳。」 言之慘然而悲。
Duke Yaoxin of Qujiang, courtesy name Chonghui, was the younger brother of Prince Yaoguang of Shian. Emperor Xuan's elder brother Fengzhi, administrator of Xiping, had no heir; Yaoxin was adopted to continue the line as his great-grandson. Even in childhood Yaoxin bore himself with striking dignity. Emperor Ming told Jiang Shi, "Though Yaoxin is young, to judge by his bearing he has rare capacity and judgment—he is sure to become a man of consequence; only heaven knows how long he will live. Prince Mian of Anlu (posthumous title Zhao) said, "There is no doubt his brothers will rise to wealth and rank—I only fear I shall not live to see it." As he spoke, his voice turned mournful.
22
始年七歲出齋時，有一左右小兒，善彈飛鳥，無不應弦墜落。 遙欣謂曰：「凡戲多端，何急彈此，鳥自空中翔飛，何關人事，無趣殺此生，亦復不急。」 左右感其言，遂不復彈鳥。 時少年通好此事，所在遂止。
When he first left the fasting hall at age seven, a young attendant was skilled at shooting birds on the wing—none escaped once the bowstring sang. Yaoxin told him, "There are countless games—why be so eager to shoot birds? They fly through the air on their own—what concern are they of ours? There is no point in killing these creatures, and no hurry to do so. Moved by his words, the attendants never shot birds again. Young men everywhere had taken up the sport; after this it died out across the realm.
23
年十五六，便博覽經史。 弱冠拜中書郎。 明帝入輔，遙欣與始安王遙光等參預政事，凡所談薦，皆得其人。 由是朝野輻湊，軒蓋盈門。 延興元年，明帝以遙欣為兗州刺史。 時豐城公遙昌亦出鎮壽春，帝於便殿密宴，始安王遙光亦在座，帝慘然謂遙欣曰：「昭王雲'不患汝兄弟不富貴，而言不及見'，如何！」 因悲慟不自勝，君臣皆嗚咽，侍者雨淚。 及泊歐陽岸，忽謂左右曰：「比何都不見彈？」 左右云：「有門生因彈見勖，遂以此廢，所在皆止。」 遙欣笑曰：「我小兒時聊復語耳，那復遂斷邪？」
By fifteen or sixteen he had read widely in the classics and histories. At his capping ceremony he was appointed Secretariat Gentleman. When Emperor Ming assumed the regency, Yaoxin joined Prince Yaoguang of Shian and others in governing; every man they discussed or recommended proved the right choice. Court and countryside alike converged on him; carriage after carriage crowded his gate. In the first year of Yanxing (494), Emperor Ming appointed Yaoxin Inspector of Yan Province. At the same time, Duke Yaochang of Fengcheng was also departing to take up his post at Shou-chun. The Emperor held a private banquet in the side hall, with Prince Yaoguang of Shian among the guests. He turned to Yaoxin with a stricken look and said, "Prince Zhao once said, 'I do not worry that you brothers will lack wealth and rank, only that I may not live to see it'—and now look! Overcome with grief, he could no longer hold himself together. Emperor and subject alike wept; attendants wept until their faces streamed with tears. When they tied up at Ouyang Bank, he suddenly asked his attendants, "Why haven't I seen anyone shooting pellet bows lately? They replied, "A student retainer was flogged for shooting pellet bows, so the practice was banned—and it has stopped everywhere." Yaoxin laughed and said, "I was just a boy talking idly—surely they didn't actually ban it over that?"
24
遙欣好勇，聚畜武士，以為形援。 永泰元年，詔遙欣以本官領雍州刺史、甯蠻校尉，移州鎮襄陽。 魏軍退，不行。 卒，贈司空，諡康公，葬用王禮。
Yaoxin loved martial prowess and gathered fighting men around him as a show of force. In the first year of Yongtai (498), an edict appointed Yaoxin, retaining his current rank, to serve concurrently as Inspector of Yong Province and Commandant Who Pacifies the Man, with orders to transfer the provincial headquarters to Xiangyang. When the Wei army withdrew, he never took up the appointment. He died and was posthumously appointed Minister of Works, with the posthumous title Duke Kang. He was buried with the rites due a prince.
25
子幾字德玄，年十歲便能屬文。 早孤，有弟九人，並幼，幾恩愛篤睦，聞於朝廷。 性溫和，與物無競。 清貧自立，好學，善草隸書。 湘州刺史楊公則，曲江公故吏也，每見幾，謂人曰：「康公此子，可謂桓靈寶重出。」 及公則卒，幾為之誄，時年十五。 沈約見而奇之，謂其舅蔡撙曰：「昨見賢甥楊平南誄文，不減希逸之作，始驗康公積善之慶。」 位中書侍郎、尚書左丞。
His son Ji, courtesy name Dexuan, could already write prose by the age of ten. Orphaned early, he had nine younger brothers, all still small. Ji loved them with deep affection and harmony, a devotion well known at court. Gentle by nature, he contended with no one. He lived in honest poverty, loved learning, and was accomplished in both cursive and clerical calligraphy. Yang Gongze, Inspector of Xiang Province, had once served the Duke of Qujiang. Whenever he saw Ji, he would tell people, "Duke Kang's son is nothing less than Huan Lingbao come again. When Gongze died, Ji wrote his funeral eulogy—at the age of fifteen. Shen Yue read it and was astonished. He told his uncle Cai Jin, "Yesterday I read your worthy nephew's eulogy for Yang, Pacifier of the South. It rivals Xi Yi's best work—the first proof, I think, of the blessings Duke Kang earned in his lifetime. He rose to the posts of Vice Director of the Secretariat and Left Assistant Director of the Masters of Writing.
26
末年專尚釋教。 為新安太守，郡多山水，特其所好，適性遊履，遂為之記。 卒於官。 子清，亦有文才，位永康令。 遙欣弟遙昌字季暉，建武元年，封豐城縣公，位豫州刺史，卒，諡憲公。
In his later years he devoted himself entirely to Buddhism. As Prefect of Xin'an, he found himself in a region rich in mountains and rivers—precisely to his taste. He wandered freely wherever his spirit led him and wrote an account of the landscape. He died in office. His son Qing also had literary gifts and served as Magistrate of Yongkang. Yaoxin's younger brother Yaochang, courtesy name Jihui, was enfeoffed as Duke of Fengcheng in the first year of Jianwu (494). He served as Inspector of Yu Province, and upon his death was given the posthumous title Duke Xian.
27
子寶晊嗣，永元元年，改封湘東王。 東昏廢，寶晊望物情歸己，坐待法駕，既而城內送款于梁武帝。 宣德太后臨朝，拜太常，不自安。 謀反，及弟江陵公寶覽、霄城公寶宏皆伏誅。
His son Baozhi inherited the title and, in the first year of Yongyuan (499), was re-enfeoffed as Prince of Xiangdong. When Emperor Donghun was deposed, Baozhi hoped the people's loyalty would settle on him. He sat waiting for the imperial procession—then, before long, the city opened its gates and submitted to Emperor Wu of Liang. When Empress Dowager Xuande assumed the regency, Baozhi was appointed Grand Minister of Ceremonies, but he did not feel safe in the role. He plotted rebellion. He and his younger brothers, Duke Baolan of Jiangling and Duke Baohong of Xiaocheng, were all put to death.
28
新吳侯景先，高帝從子也。 祖爰之，員外郎。 父敬宗，始興王國中軍。
Marquis Jingxian of Xinwu was a nephew of Emperor Gao. His grandfather Yuanzhi served as an Outer Gentleman. His father Jingzong served as Central Commander of the Principality of Shixing.
29
景先少孤，有至性。 隨母孔氏，為舅氏鞠養。 高帝嘉之，常相提攜。 及鎮淮陰，以景先領軍主自隨，防衛城內，委以心腹。 武帝為廣興郡，啟高帝求景先同行，除武帝甯朔府司馬，自此常相隨逐。
Jingxian lost his father young and was possessed of exceptional filial devotion. He followed his mother, Lady Kong, and was raised by his mother's family. Emperor Gao admired this and often kept the boy at his side. When Emperor Gao took up his post at Huaiyin, he brought Jingxian along as a military commander to help defend the city, trusting him as a close confidant. When the future Emperor Wu held Guanxing Commandery, he asked Emperor Gao to let Jingxian accompany him. Jingxian was appointed Military Aide in Wu's Pacification of the North headquarters, and from then on the two were rarely apart.
30
初武帝少年，與景先共車，行泥路，車久故壞，至領軍府西門，車轅折，俱狼狽。 景先謂帝曰：「兩人脫作領軍，亦不得忘今日艱辛。」 及武帝踐阼，詔以景先為兼領軍將軍。 拜日，羽儀甚盛，傾朝觀矚。 拜還，未至府門，中詔：「相聞領軍，今日故當無折轅事邪？」 景先奉謝。
In their youth, the future Emperor Wu and Jingxian once shared a carriage along a muddy road. The old vehicle gave way, and at the west gate of the General-in-Chief's headquarters the shaft snapped, leaving them both in a sorry state. Jingxian said to him, "If we ever become General-in-Chief, we must not forget how hard today was. When Emperor Wu took the throne, he issued an edict appointing Jingxian Acting General-in-Chief. On the day of his appointment, his guard of honor was magnificent, and the entire court turned out to watch. On his way back, before he had even reached headquarters, a message arrived from the palace: "Tell the General-in-Chief—surely there will be no broken shaft today? Jingxian received the message and thanked the Emperor.
31
景先事上盡心，故恩寵特密。 初西還，上坐景陽樓召景先語，故舊唯豫章王一人在席而已。 轉中領軍。 車駕射雉郊外，景先常甲仗從，廉察左右。 尋進爵為侯。
Jingxian served the throne with complete devotion, and for that reason enjoyed especially close favor and trust. On his first return to the capital, the Emperor received Jingxian for a private talk on the Jingyang Tower. Of all their old companions, only the Prince of Yuzhang shared the table. He was transferred to the post of Central General-in-Chief. Whenever the Emperor went pheasant hunting outside the city, Jingxian always followed in full armor, keeping watch over the surroundings. Before long he was raised to the rank of marquis.
32
始升明中，沈攸之於荊州舉兵，武帝時鎮江州盆城，景先夜乘城，忽聞塹中有小兒呼蕭丹陽，未測何人，聲聲不絕。 試問誰，空中應云：「賊尋當平，何事嚴防？」 語訖不復言。 即窮討之，了不見。 明旦以白帝，帝曰：「攸之自無所至，焉知汝後不作丹陽尹？」 景先曰：「寧有作理。」 尋而攸之首至。 及永明三年，詔以景先為丹陽尹，謂曰：「此授欲驗往年盆城塹空中言耳。」 後假節、司州諸軍事。 卒，諡曰忠侯。
In the early Shengming era, when Shen Youzhi rebelled in Jing Province, the future Emperor Wu was stationed at Pengcheng in Jiang Province. One night Jingxian climbed the city wall and heard a child's voice in the moat calling, "Xiao of Danyang!" He could not tell who it was, but the voice kept calling without stopping. He called out to ask who was there. A voice answered from the empty air, "The rebels will soon be crushed—why stand guard so tightly? Then the voice fell silent and said no more. He searched the moat at once but found nothing whatsoever. The next morning he reported the incident to the Emperor, who said, "Youzhi is going nowhere on his own—who's to say you won't become Intendant of Danyang someday? Jingxian replied, "That could never happen." Before long, Shen Youzhi's head arrived. In the third year of Yongming (485), an edict appointed Jingxian Intendant of Danyang. The Emperor told him, "This appointment is to prove what that voice in the Pengcheng moat foretold. Later he was granted the ceremonial tally and overall command of military affairs in Si Province. He died and was given the posthumous title Loyal Marquis.
33
子毅，位北中郎司馬。 性奢豪，好弓馬，為明帝所疑忌。 王晏事敗，並陷誅之。
His son Yi served as Military Aide in the headquarters of the Northern Central Gentleman-Commander. Extravagant and proud by nature, he loved archery and horsemanship, and Emperor Ming regarded him with suspicion. When Wang Yan's conspiracy collapsed, Yi was implicated and executed along with him.
34
南豐伯赤斧，高帝從祖弟也。 祖隆子，衛軍錄事參軍。 父始之，冠軍中兵參軍。
Count Chifu of Nanfeng was a younger cousin of Emperor Gao on the collateral line. His grandfather Longzi served as Recording Secretary in the headquarters of the Guard General. His father Shizhi served as Central Troops Commander in the headquarters of the Champion General.
35
子穎胄襲爵。
His son Yingzhou inherited the title.
36
穎胄字雲長，弘厚有父風。 起家秘書郎。 高帝謂赤斧曰：「穎胄輕朱被身，覺其趨進轉美，足慰人意。」 遷太子舍人。 遭父喪，感腳疾，數年然後能行，武帝有詔慰勉之，賜以醫藥。 除竟陵王司徒外兵參軍，晉熙王文學。
Yingzhou, courtesy name Yunchang, was broad-minded and steady, with his father's bearing. He began his official career as a Secretary Gentleman. Emperor Gao said to Chifu, "Yingzhou in his light vermilion robes—his bearing grows more graceful with every step. A sight to lift the heart. He was transferred to the post of Attendant of the Heir Apparent. When his father died, grief crippled his legs, and he could not walk properly for years. Emperor Wu issued an edict of consolation and sent him medicine. He was appointed External Troops Commander on the staff of the Prince of Jingling and Literary Aide to the Prince of Jinxi.
37
穎胄好文義，弟穎基好武勇。 武帝登烽火樓，詔群臣賦詩，穎胄詩合旨。 上謂穎胄曰：「卿文弟武，宗室便不乏才。」 上以穎胄勳戚子弟，自中書郎除左軍將軍，知殿內文武事，得入便殿。 出為新安太守，吏人懷之。 後除黃門郎，領四廂直。 遷衛尉。
Yingzhou loved literature and learning; his younger brother Yingji loved martial prowess. Emperor Wu climbed the Beacon Fire Tower and ordered his ministers to compose poems. Yingzhou's poem pleased him perfectly. The Emperor said to Yingzhou, "One brother for letters, one for arms—the imperial clan is hardly wanting for talent. As the son of a meritorious kinsman, Yingzhou was promoted from Secretariat Gentleman to General of the Left Army, with charge of civil and military affairs within the palace and permission to enter the side hall. Sent out as Prefect of Xin'an, he won the affection of officials and commoners alike. He was later appointed Yellow Gate Gentleman and placed in command of the Four Chambers Guard. He was transferred to the post of Commandant of the Guard.
38
明帝廢立，穎胄從容不為同異，乃引穎胄預功。 建武二年，進爵為侯，賜以常所乘白瑜牛。 明帝每存儉約，欲鑄壞太官元日上壽銀酒槍，尚書令王晏等咸稱盛德，穎胄曰：「朝廷盛禮，莫過三元，此一器既是舊物，不足為侈。」 帝不悅。 後預曲宴，銀器滿席，穎胄曰：「陛下前欲壞酒槍，恐宜移在此器也。」 帝甚慚。
During Emperor Ming's coup to depose and replace the emperor, Yingzhou remained calm and offered no sign of taking sides. For that reason he was counted among those who shared in the reward. In the second year of Jianwu (495), he was raised to marquis and given the white-spotted ox the Emperor habitually rode. Emperor Ming was always frugal. He proposed melting down the silver wine ladle used on New Year's Day for the longevity toast in the Imperial Kitchen. Chief Minister Wang Yan and the others all praised this as a mark of great virtue. Yingzhou objected, "Of all the court's grand ceremonies, none surpasses the Triple Yuan festival. This ladle is an old piece—it hardly counts as extravagance. The Emperor was displeased. Later, at an informal banquet where silver vessels covered the table, Yingzhou said, "Your Majesty wanted to melt down the wine ladle—perhaps these vessels would be a better place to start. The Emperor was deeply ashamed.
39
後為廬陵王后軍長史、廣陵太守，行南兗州府州事。 是年，魏揚聲當飲馬長江，帝懼，敕穎胄移居人入城，百姓驚恐，席捲欲南度，穎胄以魏軍尚遠，不即施行，魏軍亦尋退。 仍為南兗州刺史，加都督。 和帝為荊州，以穎胄為西中郎長史、南郡太守，行荊州府州事。 時江祏專執朝權，此行由祏，穎胄不平，曰：「江公蕩我輩出。」
He later served as Rear Army Chief of Staff to the Prince of Luling and Prefect of Guangling, acting in charge of Southern Yan provincial and headquarters affairs. That year the Wei proclaimed they would soon water their horses in the Yangtze. The Emperor was alarmed and ordered Yingzhou to move the population inside the city walls. The people panicked and began packing up to flee south. Yingzhou, judging the Wei army still far away, did not carry out the order at once—and the Wei forces soon withdrew in any case. He was then appointed Inspector of Southern Yan Province with overall military command. When Prince He held Jing Province, Yingzhou was appointed Chief of Staff to the Western Central Gentleman-Commander and Prefect of Nan Commandery, acting in charge of Jing provincial and headquarters affairs. Jiang Shi then held a monopoly on court power, and this appointment came from his hand. Resentful, Yingzhou said, "Lord Jiang has packed us off into exile."
40
東昏侯誅戮群公，委任塚小，崔、陳敗後，方鎮各懷異計。 永元二年十月，尚書令臨湘侯蕭懿及弟衛尉暢見害，先遣輔國將軍劉山陽就穎胄兵襲梁武帝。 帝時為雍州刺史，將起兵，慮穎胄不同，遣穎胄親人王天武詣江陵，聲雲山陽西上，並襲荊、雍，書與穎胄，勸同舉兵，穎胄意猶未決。 初，山陽出南州，謂人曰：「朝廷以白虎幡追我，亦不復還矣。」 席捲妓妾，盡室西行。 至巴陵，遲回十餘日不進。 梁武帝復遣天武齎書與穎胄，設奇略以疑之。 是時或云山陽謀殺穎胄，以荊州同舉。 山陽至，果不敢入城。 穎胄計無所出，夜遣錢唐人朱景思呼西中郎城局參軍席闡文、諮議參軍柳忱閉齋定議。 闡文曰：「蕭雍州畜養士馬，非復一日。 江陵素畏襄陽人，人眾又不敵，取之不可必制，制之，歲寒復不為朝廷所容。 今若殺山陽，與雍州舉事，立天子以令諸侯，霸業成矣。 山陽持疑不進，是不信我，今斬送天武，則彼疑可釋。 至而圖之，罔不濟矣。」 忱亦勸焉。 穎胄乃斬天武，以示山陽。 山陽大喜，輕將步騎數百到州，闡文勒兵斬之，傳首于梁武。
Emperor Donghun executed the great ministers and entrusted power to lowborn favorites. After the defeats of Cui Huizong and Chen Xianda, every regional commander began nursing separate ambitions. In the tenth month of the second year of Yongyuan (500), Chief Minister Xiao Yi, Marquis of Linxiang, and his younger brother Chang, Commandant of the Guard, were killed. The court first dispatched Auxiliary General Liu Shanyang to seize Yingzhou's forces and strike at the future Emperor Wu of Liang. The future Emperor Wu was then Inspector of Yong Province and preparing to raise an army. Fearing Yingzhou might not join him, he sent Yingzhou's kinsman Wang Tianwu to Jiangling with a public story that Shanyang was marching west to attack both Jing and Yong. He also wrote urging Yingzhou to rise together—but Yingzhou still could not make up his mind. When Shanyang first left the south, he told people, "The court is chasing me down with the White Tiger banner—I am never coming back. He swept up his concubines and took his entire household west with him. When he reached Baling, he lingered there more than ten days without moving on. The future Emperor Wu sent Tianwu again with a letter to Yingzhou, laying a cunning plan to sow doubt. Rumors then spread that Shanyang planned to kill Yingzhou so that Jing Province would join the rebellion. When Shanyang arrived, he truly did not dare enter the city. At his wit's end, Yingzhou sent Zhu Jingsi of Qiantang that night to summon Xi Chanwen, Master of City Affairs, and Advisory Aide Liu Chen. They shut themselves in a room to decide what to do. Xi Chanwen said, "Xiao of Yong Province has been building up soldiers and horses for a long time—not just since yesterday. Jiangling has always feared the men of Xiangyang, and our numbers cannot match theirs. Even if we seized them, we could not be sure of holding them—and once winter came, the court would never tolerate us anyway. But if we kill Shanyang now and rise with Yong Province, set up an emperor to command the realm—the foundation of a great enterprise is laid. Shanyang hangs back because he does not trust us. If we behead Tianwu and send his head to him, their doubts will be cleared—and we can move forward. Once he comes and we move on the plan, nothing can stop us. Liu Chen urged the same course. Yingzhou then beheaded Tianwu and sent his head to Shanyang as proof of loyalty. Shanyang was overjoyed and rode ahead with only a few hundred foot soldiers and cavalry. When he reached the provincial capital, Xi Chanwen drew up his troops and cut him down, then sent the head to Xiao Yan.
41
東昏聞山陽死，發詔討荊、雍。 穎胄有器局，既唱大事，眾情歸之。 長沙寺僧鑄黃金為龍數千兩埋土中，曆相傳付，稱為下方黃鐵，穎胄因取此龍，以充軍實。 乃歎曰：「往年江祏斥我，至今始知禍福之無門也。」 十二月，移檄建鄴。
When Emperor Donghun learned that Shanyang was dead, he issued an edict to attack Jing and Yong Provinces. Yingzhou had stature and judgment; once he took the lead in the great undertaking, the people's hearts turned to him. Monks at Changsha Temple had cast thousands of liang of gold into dragon figures and buried them in the ground, handing the secret down through generations under the name 'yellow iron from below.' Yingzhou seized the hoard to fund his army. He sighed and said, 'Years ago Jiang Shi pushed me out of the capital. Only now do I see that fortune and disaster have no fixed doorway. In the twelfth month he issued a call-to-arms proclamation toward Jiankang.
42
三年正月，和帝為相國，穎胄為左長史，進號鎮軍將軍，於是始選用方伯。 梁武屢表勸和帝即尊號，穎胄使別駕宗夬撰定禮儀。 上尊號、改元。 於江陵立宗廟南北郊。 州府城門，悉依建康宮，置尚書五省，以城南射堂為蘭台，南郡太守為尹。 建武中，荊州大風雨，龍入柏齋中，柱壁上有爪足處，刺史蕭遙欣恐畏，不敢居之，至是以為嘉福殿。
In the first month of the third year, Emperor He was made Chancellor of State. Yingzhou became Left Chief Clerk and was promoted to Pacifying Army General. Only then did they begin appointing regional governors. Xiao Yan repeatedly submitted memorials urging Emperor He to take the throne. Yingzhou had his acting assistant Zong Kui draft the ceremonial protocol. They bestowed the imperial title and changed the reign era. At Jiangling they established the imperial ancestral temple and the altars for sacrifices at the southern and northern suburbs. The gates of the provincial capital were all modeled on the Jiankang palace. They established the five departments of the Secretariat, converted the archery hall south of the city into the Orchid Terrace, and made the Administrator of Nan Commandery serve as metropolitan intendant. During the Jianwu era a violent storm swept Jing Province, and a dragon entered the Cypress Study, leaving claw and foot marks on the pillars and walls. Governor Xiao Yaoxin was so frightened that he refused to live there. Now it was renamed the Hall of Auspicious Blessings.
43
初梁武之起也，巴東太守蕭惠訓子璝、巴西太守魯休烈弗從，舉兵侵荊州，敗輔國將軍任漾之於峽口，穎胄遣軍拒之，而梁武已平江、郢，圍建康。 時穎胄輔帝主，有安重之勢。 素能飲酒，噉白肉膾至三斗。 自以職居上將，不能拒制璝等，憂愧發疾而卒。 州中秘之，使似其書者假為教命。
When Xiao Yan first rose in rebellion, Xiao Gui, son of Badong Administrator Xiao Huixun, and Baxi Administrator Lu Xiulie refused to join him. They raised troops and invaded Jing Province, defeating Auxiliary Army General Ren Yangzhi at Xiakou. Yingzhou sent an army to hold them off, even as Xiao Yan had already pacified Jiangling and Yingcheng and was besieging Jiankang. At that time Yingzhou stood at the emperor's side and held the weight of the realm in his hands. He had always been a heavy drinker, able to polish off three dou of raw sliced meat in a single sitting. He considered himself the realm's foremost commander, yet he could not hold Gui and the others in check. Tormented by shame and worry, he fell ill and died. The province kept his death secret and had a man whose handwriting matched his forge orders in his name.
44
時梁武圍建康，住石頭，和帝密詔報穎胄凶問，亦秘不發喪。 及建康平，蕭璝亦眾懼而潰，和帝乃始發喪，詔贈穎胄丞相，前後部羽葆、鼓吹，班劍三十人，轀輬車，黃屋左纛。
At that time Xiao Yan was besieging Jiankang from Shitou. Emperor He secretly sent word of Yingzhou's death but likewise kept the mourning concealed. Once Jiankang fell, Xiao Gui's forces panicked and broke apart. Only then did Emperor He announce Yingzhou's death. By edict he was posthumously made Chancellor, with the full honors of front and rear feather parasols, ceremonial music, thirty guard swords, an imperial carriage, and a yellow canopy with the left streamer.
45
弟穎達，少好勇使氣。 穎胄齊建武末行荊州事，穎達亦為西中郎外兵參軍，俱在西府。 齊季多難，頗不自安，因與兄穎胄舉兵。
His younger brother Yingda had been bold and hot-tempered since youth. In the late Jianwu era of Qi, Yingzhou administered Jing Province while Yingda served as External Troops Aide in the Western Headquarters. Both brothers were stationed in the western command. The final years of Qi were turbulent, and Yingda felt increasingly uneasy. He and his brother Yingzhou therefore took up arms.
46
穎達弟穎孚自建鄴為廬陵人修景智潛引，與南歸。 穎孚緣山逾嶂，僅免。 道中絕糧，後因食過飽而卒。
Yingda's younger brother Yingfu was in Jiankang when Xi Jingzhi of Luling secretly guided him south to join the rebellion. Yingfu fled over mountains and steep passes and barely escaped with his life. On the road they ran out of food entirely. When food finally came, he ate his fill—and died from it.
47
建康平，梁武帝以穎達為前將軍、丹陽尹。 及受禪，贈穎孚右衛將軍，封穎達作唐侯，位侍中、衛尉卿。 出為豫章內史，意甚憤憤。 未發前，預華林宴，酒後於座辭氣不悅。 沈約因勸酒，欲以釋之。 穎達大罵約曰：「我今日形容，正是汝老鼠所為，何忽復勸我酒！」 舉坐驚愕。 帝謂之曰：「汝是我家阿五，沈公宿望，何意輕脫。 若以法繩汝，汝復何理。」 穎達竟無一言，唯大涕泣，帝心愧之。 未幾，遷江州刺史。 少時，懸瓠歸化，穎達長史沈瑀等苛刻為盜所害，眾頗疑穎達，或傳謀反。 帝遣直合將軍張豹子稱江中討盜，實使防之。 穎達知朝廷之意，唯飲酒不知州事。 後卒于左衛將軍，諡康侯。
After Jiankang fell, Emperor Wu of Liang appointed Yingda Front General and Intendant of Danyang. When Xiao Yan accepted the throne, he posthumously made Yingfu Right Guard General, enfeoffed Yingda as Marquis of Zuotang, and appointed him Attendant-in-Ordinary and Minister of the Guard. He was sent out to serve as Internal Administrator of Yuzhang, and he was bitter about it. Before he left the capital, he attended a banquet in Huaglin Garden. After drinking, his words at table turned sour and hostile. Shen Yue tried to smooth things over by pressing more wine on him. Yingda shouted at Shen Yue, 'The ruin I am in today is your doing, you rat! And now you dare urge me to drink again! The whole table sat stunned. The Emperor said to him, 'You are one of our own, Fifth Son. Master Shen is a man of long standing in this court. How could you lash out so recklessly? If I punished you by the law, what defense could you offer? Yingda said nothing at all. He only broke into loud weeping, and the Emperor was moved to shame. Before long he was transferred to Governor of Jiang Province. Not long afterward Xuancheng submitted to the dynasty. Yingda's chief clerk Shen Yu and others had governed harshly and were killed by bandits. Many suspected Yingda, and rumors spread that he was plotting rebellion. The Emperor sent Direct Guard General Zhang Baozi, nominally to hunt bandits on the river but in truth to keep watch on Yingda. Yingda understood what the court intended. He did nothing but drink and ignored the affairs of his province. He later died while serving as Left Guard General and was given the posthumous title Marquis Kang.
48
子敏嗣，位新安太守，好射雉，未嘗在郡，辭訟者遷於畎焉。 後張弩損腰而卒。
His son Min inherited the title and served as Administrator of Xin'an. He loved hunting pheasants and never remained in the commandery; people with lawsuits were told to find him in the fields. Later he injured his back while drawing a crossbow and died.
49
第七子斅，太清初，為魏興太守。 梁州刺史宜豐侯循以為府長史。 梁州有古墓名曰：「尖塚」，或云張騫墳，欲有發者，輒聞鼓角與外相拒，椎埋者懼而退。 斅謂無此理，求自監督。 及開，唯有銀鏤銅鏡方尺。 斅時居母服，清談所貶。
The seventh son, Xiao, served at the beginning of Taichu as Administrator of Weixing. Marquis Xun of Yifeng, Governor of Liang Province, appointed him chief clerk of his headquarters. In Liang Province there was an ancient tomb called Sharp Mound, said by some to be the grave of Zhang Qian. Anyone who tried to open it would hear drums and horns as though an army were defending it from outside, and grave robbers fled in terror. Xiao said this was nonsense and asked to oversee the excavation himself. When the tomb was opened, they found only a square-foot bronze mirror inlaid with silver. Xiao was then in mourning for his mother, and the pure-conversation set ridiculed him for it.
50
衡陽公諶，字彥孚，高帝絕服族子也。 祖道清，員外郎。 父仙伯，桂陽國下軍。
Duke Chen of Hengyang, courtesy name Yanfu, was a clansman of Emperor Gao beyond the third degree of mourning. His grandfather Daqing served as an External Secretariat Gentleman. His father Xianbo served as Lower Army commander of the Principality of Guiyang.
51
海陵立，轉中領軍，進爵為公，甲仗五十人，入直殿內，月十日還府。 建武元年，轉領軍將軍、左將軍、南徐州刺史，給扶，進爵衡陽郡公。 明帝初許事克用諶為揚州，及有此授，諶恚曰：「見炊飯推以與人。」 王晏聞之曰：「誰復為蕭諶作甌箸者。」
When Prince Hailing was enthroned, Chen was made Central Commander-in-Chief and promoted to duke, with fifty armed attendants. He entered palace duty, spending ten days each month in attendance before returning to his headquarters. In the first year of Jianwu he became Commander-in-Chief, Left General, and Governor of South Xuzhou, was granted an official staff, and was promoted to Duke of Hengyang Commandery. Emperor Ming had initially promised that once the coup succeeded Chen would receive Yang Province. When this lesser appointment arrived instead, Chen fumed, 'It is like watching rice cook and then handing the pot to someone else. When Wang Yan heard this, he said, 'Who is going to bother setting bowls and chopsticks for Xiao Chen now?'
52
諶恃勳重，幹豫朝政，明帝新即位，遣左右要人于外聽察，具知諶言，深相疑阻。 二年六月，上幸華林園，宴諶及尚書令晏等數人盡歡。 坐罷，留諶晚出，至華林合，仗身執還入省。 上遣左右莫智明數諶曰：「隆昌之際，非卿無有今日。 今一門二州，兄弟三封，朝廷相報，政可極此。 卿恒懷怨望，乃雲'炊飯已熟，合甑與人邪'，今賜卿死。」 諶謂智明曰：「天去人亦復不遠，我與至尊殺高、武諸王，是卿傳語來去，我今死，還取卿矣。」 於省殺之。 至秋，而智明死，見諶為祟。 詔乃顯其過惡，收付廷尉。
Chen leaned on his great merit and meddled in court politics. The newly enthroned Emperor Ming sent trusted agents into the streets to listen, learned everything Chen had said, and came to view him with deep suspicion. In the sixth month of the second year the Emperor visited Huaglin Garden and held a banquet for Chen, Minister of the Secretariat Wang Yan, and several others until all were thoroughly drunk. When the banquet ended he kept Chen behind. As Chen left late and reached Huaglin Pavilion, armed attendants seized him and marched him back into the Secretariat. The Emperor sent his attendant Mo Zhiming to denounce Chen: 'At the time of Longchang, without you I would not be where I am today. Now your house holds two provinces, and three brothers have received noble titles. The court's gratitude could hardly go further than this. Yet you keep brooding in resentment, even saying, 'The rice is cooked—are you handing the pot to someone else?' I grant you death.' Chen told Zhiming, 'Heaven and the living are not far apart. The Emperor and I killed the princes of the Gao and Wu lines—you were the one carrying messages between us. Now that I am dying, I will come back for you.' He was executed inside the Secretariat. By autumn Mo Zhiming was dead, tormented by visions of Chen's ghost. An edict then publicly listed his crimes and handed the case to the Minister of Justice.
53
諶好左道，吳興沈文猷相諶云：「相不減高帝。」 諶喜曰：「感卿意，無為人言也。」 至是，文猷伏誅。
Chen dabbled in occult arts. Shen Wenyao of Wuxing read his face and said, 'Your countenance is no less imposing than Emperor Gao's. Delighted, Chen said, 'I am grateful for your words. Do not repeat them to anyone.' At that time Shen Wenyao was also executed.
54
諶弟誄，字彥文，與諶同豫廢立，封西昌侯，位太子左衛率。 誅諶之日，輔國將軍蕭季敞啟求收誄，深加排苦，乃至手相摧辱。 誄徐曰：「已死之人，何足至此，君不憶相提拔時邪？ 幽冥有知，終當相報。」
Chen's younger brother Lei, courtesy name Yanwen, had taken part with Chen in deposing one emperor and raising another. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Xichang and served as Left Guard Leader of the Heir Apparent. On the day Chen was killed, Auxiliary Army General Xiao Jichang petitioned to seize Lei as well. He heaped abuse on him and even laid hands on him in person. Lei said calmly, 'I am as good as dead already. Why treat me like this? Have you forgotten who helped you rise in the first place? If the world beyond has eyes, I will repay you in the end.'
55
季敞粗猛無行，善於彌縫，高帝時為誄、諶所獎說，故累為郡守。 在政貪穢，諶輒掩之。 後為廣州刺史，白日見誄將兵入城收之。 少日，果為西江都護周世雄所襲，軍敗，奔山中，為蛭所齧，肉都盡而死，慘楚備至，後為村人所斬。 論者以為有天道焉。
Jichang was rough, violent, and utterly without principle, though skilled at talking his way out of trouble. In Emperor Gao's day Lei and Chen had promoted him, and he had risen repeatedly to commandery governorships. In office he was greedy and corrupt, and Chen always shielded him. Later, while serving as Governor of Guang Province, he saw Lei in broad daylight leading soldiers into the city to take him. Within days he was indeed attacked by Zhou Shixiong, Protector General of the West River. His army was routed, and he fled into the mountains, where leeches devoured him until nothing remained of his flesh. He died in unspeakable torment and was later beheaded by villagers. Commentators widely took this as proof that Heaven's justice had its way.
56
臨汝侯坦之字君平，高帝絕服族子也。 祖道濟，太中大夫。 父欣祖，武進令。
Marquis Tanzhi of Linru, courtesy name Junping, was a clansman of Emperor Gao beyond the third degree of mourning. His grandfather Daoji served as Grand Master for Discussion. His father Xinzuan served as magistrate of Wujin.
57
坦之與蕭諶同族，為東宮直合，以勤直為文惠所知，除給事中、蘭陵令。 武帝崩，坦之率太孫文武度上臺，除射聲校尉，令如故。 未拜，除正員郎、南魯郡太守。 少帝以坦之文惠舊人，親信不離，得入內見皇后。 帝于宮中及出後堂雜狡獪，坦之皆得在側，或遇醉後裸袒，坦之輒扶持諫喻。 見帝不可奉，乃改附明帝，密為耳目。
Tanzhi was of the same clan as Xiao Chen. He served as a direct guard in the Eastern Palace and, valued by Prince Wenhu for his diligence and integrity, was appointed Attendant of the Palace Secretariat and magistrate of Lanling. When Emperor Wu died, Tanzhi escorted the heir apparent and the court officials up to the high platform. He was appointed Commandant of She-sheng while continuing as magistrate. Before he could take up the new post, he was appointed Regular Gentleman and Administrator of Nanlu Commandery. Because Tanzhi had been one of Prince Wenhu's trusted men, the Young Emperor kept him close and allowed him into the inner quarters to see the empress. Whether the emperor caroused in the palace or slipped out to the rear hall for mischief, Tanzhi stayed at his side. When the emperor drank himself into a stupor and stripped half naked, Tanzhi would steady him and try to talk sense into him. When he saw that the emperor was beyond saving, he shifted his loyalty to Emperor Ming and secretly served as his informant.
58
隆昌元年，追錄坦之父勳，封臨汝縣男。 少帝微聞外有異謀，憚明帝在台內，敕移西州。 後在華林園華光殿露著黃縠褌，跂床垂腳，謂坦之曰：「人言鎮軍與王晏、蕭諶欲共廢我，似非虛傳，蘭陵所聞雲何？」 坦之嘗作蘭陵令，故稱之。 坦之曰：「天下寧當有此？ 誰樂無事廢天子邪？ 昔元徽獨在路上走，三年人不敢近，政坐枉殺孫超、杜幼文等故敗耳。 官有何事，一旦便欲廢立？ 朝貴不容造此論，政當是諸尼師母言耳。 豈可以尼姥言為信！ 官若無事除此三人，誰敢自保。 安陸諸王在外，寧肯復還，道剛之徒，何能抗此。」 帝曰：「蘭陵可好聽察，作事莫在人後。」
In the first year of Longchang the court posthumously honored his father's service, and Tanzhi was enfeoffed as Baron of Linru County. The Young Emperor caught wind of plotting outside the palace and, fearing Emperor Ming's presence within the capital administration, ordered Tanzhi transferred to the western provinces. Later, in Huaguang Hall at Huaglin Garden, he sat on the bed with his legs dangling, dressed only in thin yellow gauze drawers, and said to Tanzhi, 'People say the Pacifying Army General, Wang Yan, and Xiao Chen mean to depose me together. That does not sound like idle talk. What have you heard in Lanling? He called him Lanling because Tanzhi had once served as magistrate there. Tanzhi said, 'How could such a thing happen in this realm? Who would want to depose an emperor when there is no cause? In the old days Emperor Yuan Hui walked the streets alone, and for three years no one dared go near him. He fell precisely because he had wrongly killed Sun Chao, Du Youwen, and men like them. Your Majesty has given the court no cause. Why speak all at once of deposing and replacing the throne? The great ministers at court would never entertain such talk. This must be gossip from the Buddhist nuns who nurse you. How can you put faith in what old nuns whisper? If Your Majesty removes these three men without cause, who in the realm will dare feel safe? The Anlu princes and others are still away from court—will they ever willingly come back? As for men like Cao Daogang, how could they stand against such a move? The Emperor said, "The Prince of Lanling is sharp-eared and keen-eyed; when we act, see that he is not left behind."
59
帝以為除諸執政，應須當事人，意在沈文季，夜遣內左右密賂文季，文季不受。 帝大怒，謂坦之曰：「我賜文季不受，豈有人臣拒天子賜。」 坦之曰：「官遣誰送？」 帝曰：「內左右。」 坦之曰：「官若詔敕出賜，令舍人主書送往，文季寧敢不受！ 政以事不方幅，故仰遣耳。」
The Emperor believed that ousting the regents required the right men on the inside, and had his eye on Shen Wenji. That night he sent palace attendants to slip him a secret gift; Wenji refused it. The Emperor flew into a rage and said to Tanzhi, "I gave Wenji a gift and he would not take it—what subject dares refuse what the Son of Heaven bestows? Tanzhi said, "Whom did Your Majesty send to deliver it?" The Emperor said, "The palace attendants." Tanzhi said, "Had Your Majesty issued a formal edict of grant and sent the secretariat clerks to deliver it, Wenji would never have dared refuse! The trouble is only that the affair was not done by the book—that is why you had to send them in secret."
60
帝又夜醉，乘馬從西步廊向北馳走，如此兩三將倒，坦之諫不從，執馬控，帝運拳擊坦之不著，倒地。 坦之與曹道剛扶抱還壽昌殿玳瑁床上臥，又欲起走，坦之不能制，坦之馳信報皇后，至，請譬良久，乃眠。
Another night the Emperor, drunk, mounted a horse and galloped north along the western colonnade; two or three times he nearly pitched over. Tanzhi pleaded with him but was ignored, seized the bridle, and the Emperor swung a fist at him, missed, and crashed to the ground. Tanzhi and Cao Daogang helped him back to Shouchang Hall and laid him on the tortoiseshell-inlaid bed. He tried to get up and run off again, and Tanzhi could not hold him. Tanzhi sent an urgent message to the Empress; when she arrived she reasoned with him at length before he at last fell asleep.
61
時明帝謀廢殺，既與蕭諶及坦之定謀，少帝腹心直合將軍曹道剛，疑外間有異，密有處分，諶未能發。 始興內史蕭季敞、南陽太守蕭穎基並應還都，諶欲待二蕭至，藉其威力以舉事。 明帝慮事變，以告坦之，坦之馳謂諶曰：「廢天子古來大事，比聞曹道剛、朱隆之等轉已猜疑，衛尉明日若不就，事無所復及。 弟有百歲母，豈能坐聽禍敗，政應作余計耳。」 諶惶遽，明日遂廢帝，坦之力也。
By then Emperor Ming was plotting to depose and kill the emperor. He had already fixed the plan with Xiao Chen and Tanzhi, but the Young Emperor's trusted confidant, General of Direct Compliance Cao Daogang, scenting trouble abroad, had quietly made his own dispositions, and Chen could not yet strike. The Interior Minister of Shixing, Xiao Jichang, and the Administrator of Nanyang, Xiao Yingji, were both due back in the capital. Chen wanted to wait for the two Xiaos and lean on their strength to launch the coup. Ming feared events might slip away and told Tanzhi. Tanzhi galloped to Chen and said, "Deposing a Son of Heaven is a grave matter in any age. I hear Cao Daogang, Zhu Longzhi, and the rest are growing suspicious by the day. If the Commandant of Guards does not move tomorrow, there will be nothing left to salvage. Your mother is nearly a hundred—can you sit still while disaster closes in? You must think of something else. Chen panicked. The next day he deposed the emperor—Tanzhi had made it happen.
62
東昏立，為侍中、領軍將軍。 永元元年，母憂，起復職，加右將軍，置府。 江祏兄弟欲立始安王遙光，密告坦之。 坦之曰：「明帝取天下已非次第，天下人至今不服，今若復作此事，恐四海瓦解，我其不敢言。」
When Dong Hun ascended the throne, Tanzhi became Palace Attendant and General Who Commands the Army. In the first year of Yongyuan, after mourning his mother he was recalled to duty, appointed General of the Right, and given a full staff. The Jiang Shi brothers wanted to set up Prince Shian, Yao Guang, as emperor and secretly told Tanzhi. Tanzhi said, "Emperor Ming took the throne out of turn, and the realm has never accepted it. If we do this again, I fear the empire will fly apart. I dare not lend my voice to it."
63
及遙光起事，遣人夜掩取坦之，坦之科頭著褌踰牆走。 逢台遊邏主顏端，執之。 坦之謂曰：「始安作賊，遣人見取，向於宅奔走，欲還台耳，君何見錄。」 端不答，而守防逾嚴。 坦之謂曰：「身是大臣，夜半奔走，君理見疑，以為得罪朝廷。 若不信，自可步往東府參視。」 亦不答。 端至小街，審知遙光舉事，乃走還。 未至三十餘步，下馬再拜曰：「今日乞垂將接。」 坦之曰：「向語君何所道，豈容相欺。」 端以馬與坦之，相隨去。 比至新亭，道中收遙光所虜之餘，得二百許人，並有粗仗。 乃進西掖門，開鼓後得入殿內。 其夕四更，主書馮元嗣叩北掖門，告遙光反，殿內為之備。 向曉，召徐孝嗣入。 左衛將軍沈約五更初聞難，馳車走趨西掖門。 或勸戎服，約慮外軍已至，若戎衣，或者謂同遙光，無以自明，乃朱服而入。
When Yao Guang rebelled, he sent men by night to seize Tanzhi. Tanzhi, bareheaded and in nothing but his drawers, scrambled over the wall and ran. He ran into Yan Duan, chief of the Secretariat patrol, who grabbed him. Tanzhi told him, "Prince Shian has turned traitor and sent men after me. I was rushing about at home, trying to get back to the Secretariat—why hold me? Yan said nothing, but the guard around him tightened. Tanzhi said, "I am a senior minister, fleeing in the dead of night—you are right to suspect me of having offended the court. If you do not believe me, go on foot to the Eastern Office and see with your own eyes. Yan still would not answer. Yan reached Little Street, learned that Yao Guang had risen, and ran back. He had not gone thirty paces when he dismounted, bowed low twice, and said, "Today I beg you to take me under your protection. Tanzhi said, "What did I tell you a moment ago? Would I lie to you?" Yan gave Tanzhi his horse, and they rode off together. By the time they reached Xinting they had along the way rounded up stragglers Yao Guang had impressed—some two hundred men, all with makeshift arms. They went in through the Western Side Gate and, once the night drums had sounded, entered the palace proper. That night, at the fourth watch, Chief Clerk Feng Yuansi hammered on the Northern Side Gate to report Yao Guang's revolt, and the palace made ready. As dawn approached, Xu Xiaosi was summoned into the palace. Left Guard General Shen Yue, at the first stroke of the fifth watch, heard of the upheaval and drove his carriage at full speed to the Western Side Gate. Some urged him to don armor. Yue feared the outer armies were already at the gates—if he appeared in battle dress, someone might mark him as Yao Guang's ally, and he would have no way to prove otherwise—so he entered in his vermilion court robes.
64
台內部分既立，坦之假節、督眾軍討遙光。 事平，遷尚書左僕射、丹陽尹，右將軍如故，進爵為公。
Once the Secretariat had sorted out its ranks, Tanzhi took the commander's baton and directed the armies against Yao Guang. When the rebellion was crushed, he was promoted to Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and Governor of Danyang, kept his post as General of the Right, and was raised to duke.
65
坦之肥黑無須，語聲嘶，時人號為蕭瘂。 剛佷專執，群小畏而憎之。 遙光事平二十餘日，帝遣延明主帥黃文濟圍坦之宅，誅之。
Tanzhi was heavyset, dark-skinned, and beardless, with a rasping voice; people of the day nicknamed him "Hoarse Xiao." Hard, harsh, and unbending, he was feared and loathed by the small fry at court. A little more than twenty days after Yao Guang's defeat, the Emperor sent Huang Wenji, commander of the Yanming guard, to surround Tanzhi's house and put him to death.
66
坦之從兄翼宗為海陵郡，將發，坦之謂文濟曰：「從兄海陵宅故應無他。」 文濟曰：「海陵宅在何處？」 坦之告之。 文濟曰：「政應得罪。」 仍遣收之。 檢家赤貧，唯有質錢帖子數百，還以啟帝，原其死。
Tanzhi's cousin Yizong was prefect of Hailing and was about to set out. Tanzhi said to Wenji, "My cousin's household in Hailing should have nothing to answer for. Wenji asked, "Where does the Hailing household live?" Tanzhi told him. Wenji said, "Then they ought to be punished just the same. And he sent men to seize them anyway. A search found the family utterly penniless, with nothing but a few hundred pawn tickets. Wenji reported this to the Emperor, who spared Yizong's life.
67
和帝中興元年，追贈坦之中軍將軍、開府儀同三司。
In the first year of Zhongxing under Emperor He, Tanzhi was posthumously honored as General of the Central Army with the privilege of an office equal to the Three Excellencies.
68
論曰：有齊宗室，唯始安之後克昌。 明帝取之以非道，遙光濟之以殘酷，其卒至顛仆，所謂「亦以此終。」 者也。 穎胄荊州之任，蓋惟失職，及其末途倚伏，豈預圖之所致乎。 諶與坦之俱應顧托，既以傾國，亦以覆身，各其宜矣。
Commentary: Among the imperial house of Qi, only the descendants of Prince Shian knew true prosperity. Emperor Ming seized power by crooked means; Yao Guang carried the line forward with cruelty. They ended in ruin—what the ancients meant when they said, "Thus does it end. So runs the saying. Xiao Yingzhou's posting to Jingzhou was, at bottom, a fall from favor; as for the reversals at the end of his road, were they truly the fruit of long-laid plans? Chen and Tanzhi both bore the late emperor's trust. One brought the state down; both brought themselves down. Each met the fate that suited him.