1
庾杲之王諶孔珪劉懷珍
Yu Gaozhi, Wang Chen, Kong Gui, and Liu Huaizhen
2
杲之幼有孝行，宋司空劉勉見而奇之，謂曰：「見卿足使江漢崇望，杞梓發聲。」 解褐奉朝請，稍遷尚書駕部郎。 清貧自業，食唯有韭葅瀹韭生韭雜菜。 任昉嘗戲之曰：「誰謂庾郎貧，食鮭嘗有二十七種。」
Gaozhi showed filial devotion from childhood. When Liu Mian, Grand Minister of the Song, met him he was struck with wonder and said, "At the sight of you the Yangtze and Han regions would lift their eyes in respect, and the finest timber would find its voice." He left commoner status to become a Palace Attendant and was gradually promoted to Director of the Imperial Carriage Department in the Ministry of Works. He lived in deliberate poverty; his entire diet was leeks in every form—pickled, boiled, and raw—together with other simple vegetables. Ren Fang once teased him: "Who says Lord Yu is poor? His 'salmon' comes in twenty-seven varieties."
3
累遷尚書左丞。 王儉謂人曰：「昔袁公作衛軍，欲用我為長史，雖不獲就，要是意向如此。 今亦應須如我輩人也。」 乃用杲之為衛將軍長史。 安陸侯蕭緬與儉書曰：「盛府元僚，實難其選。 庾景行泛淥水，依芙蓉，何其麗也。」 時人以入儉府為蓮花池，故緬書美之。
He rose through repeated promotions to Left Vice Director of the Ministry of Works. Wang Jian told others, "When Duke Yuan was Defender-General he wanted me as his chief clerk. I never took the post, but that was clearly what he had in mind. Today as well one needs men of our stamp." On that basis he appointed Gaozhi chief clerk to the Defender-General. The Marquis of Anlu, Xiao Mian, wrote to Jian: "Choosing the chief aide for so great a household is no easy matter. Yu Jingxing drifts on the clear stream, resting against the lotus—how splendid!" Entering Jian's household was known as the Lotus Pond, which is why Mian's letter lavished such praise on him.
4
歷位黃門吏部郎，御史中丞，參大選。 美容質，善言笑。 嘗兼侍中夾侍，柳世隆在御坐，謂齊武帝曰：「庾杲之為蟬冕所映，彌有華采，陛下故當與其即真。」 上甚悅。 王儉仍曰：「國家以杲之清美，所以許其假職。 若以其即真，當在胡諧之後。」 武帝嘗與朝臣商略，酒後謂群臣曰：「我後當得何諡？」 群臣莫有答者。 王儉因目杲之，從容曰：「陛下壽等南山，方與日月齊明，千載之後，豈是臣子輕所仰量。」 時人雅歎其辯答。
He served in turn as Yellow Gate Attendant, Director of the Ministry of Personnel, and Censor-in-Chief, and participated in the senior appointments. Handsome in bearing, he was gifted at conversation and wit. Once, while doubling as Attendant-in-Ordinary beside the throne, Liu Shilong, seated with the emperor, told Emperor Wu of Qi, "Yu Gaozhi glows in his court regalia—Your Majesty should give him the full post without delay." The emperor was delighted. Wang Jian added, "The court granted Gaozhi only a provisional appointment because of his pure and refined character. If he were confirmed in office, he would still rank behind Hu Xie." Once, after drinking with his ministers, Emperor Wu asked the court, "What posthumous title will I earn when I am gone?" No one in the assembly replied. Wang Jian glanced at Gaozhi, who answered calmly, "Your Majesty's span equals Mount Zhongnan; your glory matches the sun and moon. A thousand years from now, what subject would dare guess at such things?" Contemporaries praised his tactful answer.
5
杲之嘗兼主客郎對魏使，使問杲之曰：「百姓那得家家題門帖賣宅？」 答曰：「朝廷既欲掃蕩京洛，克復神州，所以家家賣宅耳。」 魏使縮鼻而不答。
While doubling as Director of Guests, Gaozhi received a Wei envoy who asked, "Why does every household in your land post a notice on the gate offering its house for sale?" He replied, "Because the court means to sweep the north clean, retake Luoyang, and recover the heartland—every family is selling up to move north." The envoy from Wei sniffed and fell silent.
6
時諸王年少，不得妄稱接人，敕杲之及濟陽江淹五日一詣諸王，使申遊好。 再遷尚書吏部郎，參大選事，太子右衛率，加通直常侍。 九年卒，上甚惜之，諡曰貞子。
The princes were still young and forbidden to receive visitors at will; the court ordered Gaozhi and Jiang Yan of Jiyang to call on them every five days to keep friendly ties. He was promoted again to Director of the Ministry of Personnel, took part in senior appointments, became Right Commandant of the Crown Prince's Guard, and received the additional title of Regular Attendant with Unimpeded Access. He died in the ninth year; the emperor mourned him deeply and posthumously named him Master of Integrity.
7
蓽字休野，杲之叔父也。 仕齊為驃騎功曹史。 博涉群書，有口辯。 永明中與魏和親，以蓽兼散騎常侍，報使還，拜散騎侍郎、知東宮管記事。
Bi, whose style was Xiuye, was Gaozhi's uncle. Under Qi he served as clerk in the office of the Rapid Cavalry General. Widely read and quick with his tongue, he was a formidable debater. During Yongming, when Qi made peace with Wei, Bi served concurrently as Regular Attendant of the Unmounted Retinue on the return embassy. Back home he was made Gentleman of the Unmounted Retinue and superintendent of the crown prince's record office.
8
後為荊州別駕，前後紀綱皆致富饒，蓽再為之，清身率下，杜絕請托，布被蔬食，妻子不免饑寒。 齊明帝聞而嘉焉，手敕褒美，州裏榮之。 初，梁州人益州刺史鄧元起功勳甚著，名地卑瑣，願名掛士流。 時始興忠武王憺為州將，元起位已高，而解巾不先州官，則不為鄉里所悉，元起乞上籍出身州從事，憺命蓽用之，蓽不從。 憺大怒，召蓽責之曰：「元起已經我府，卿何為苟惜從事？」 蓽曰：「府是尊府，州是蓽州，宜須品藻。」 憺不能折，遂止。
He later served as Vice Governor of Jing Province. Every chief aide before and after him had grown rich; Bi, serving a second term, lived cleanly, led by example, refused all patronage, slept under cotton quilts and ate vegetables—and his wife and children still knew hunger and cold. Emperor Ming of Qi heard of it with approval and wrote a personal edict of praise; the whole province took pride in him. Earlier, Deng Yuanqi of Liangzhou, Governor of Yi, had won great distinction in battle, but his birth was humble and he longed to have his name listed among the gentry. The Loyal King of Shixing, Xiao Dan, was then provincial commander. Yuanqi's rank was already high, yet unless he entered the local register through a provincial post his neighbors would not acknowledge him. He asked to be enrolled as a provincial clerk; Dan ordered Bi to appoint him, and Bi refused. Dan flew into a rage, summoned Bi, and rebuked him: "Yuanqi has already served in my household—why begrudge him a clerkship?" Bi said, "Your household is yours to command; this province is mine to judge—I must weigh the man's fitness." Dan could not overcome him and dropped the matter.
9
累遷會稽郡丞，行郡府事。 時承雕弊之後，百姓凶荒，米斗至數千，人多流散。 蓽撫循甚有理，唯守公祿，清節愈厲，至有經日不舉火。 太守永陽王聞而饋之，蓽謝不受。
He rose to Assistant Administrator of Kuaiji and ran the commandery government. He took office after years of ruin; famine gripped the land, grain sold for thousands per dou, and the people scattered in flight. Bi governed with humane order, lived only on his official salary, and grew ever stricter in integrity—sometimes going a full day without kindling his stove. The Prince of Yongyang, as commandery administrator, heard and sent provisions; Bi thanked him and refused.
10
天監元年卒，停屍無以斂，柩不能歸。 梁武帝聞之，詔賜絹百疋，穀五百斛。
He died in the first year of Tianjian; his family had nothing to lay him out in, and they could not even bring his coffin home. Emperor Wu of Liang heard and ordered a grant of one hundred bolts of silk and five hundred hu of grain.
11
子喬復仕為荊州別駕，時元帝為荊州刺史，而州人範興話以寒賤仕叨九流，選為州主簿，又皇太子令及之，故元帝勒喬聽興話到職。 及屬元日，府州朝賀，喬不肯就列，曰：「庾喬忝為端右，不能與小人範興話為雁行。」 元帝聞，乃進喬而停興話。 興話羞慚還家憤卒。 世以喬為不墜家風。
His son Qiao also served as Vice Governor of Jing when Emperor Yuan was governor. Fan Xinghua, a local man of humble birth, had wrangled his way into the nine ranks and been made provincial chief clerk at the crown prince's order; Emperor Yuan pressed Qiao to let Xinghua take up the post. On New Year's Day, when the prefectural and provincial staffs assembled for congratulations, Qiao refused to take his place and said, "Though I unworthily hold the chief post on the right, I cannot stand in rank beside the lowborn Fan Xinghua." When Emperor Yuan heard, he promoted Qiao and blocked Xinghua's appointment. Humiliated, Xinghua went home and died of rage. The world judged that Qiao had not betrayed his family's honor.
12
喬子敻少聰慧，家富於財，好賓客，食必列鼎。 又狀貌豐美，頤頰開張，人皆謂敻必為方伯，無餒乏之慮。 及魏克江陵，卒致餓死。 時又有水軍都督褚蘿面甚尖危，有從理入口，竟保衣食而終。
Qiao's son Xuan was clever from boyhood; the family was wealthy, loved to entertain, and always set a full banquet with ritual vessels. Handsome and broad of face, everyone said he was destined for a regional governorship and would never know want. When Wei took Jiangling, he ended up starving to death. There was also the naval commander Chu Luo, whose face was sharp and gaunt with a crease running into his mouth—yet he kept himself fed and clothed to the end.
13
王諶字仲和，東海郯人，晉少傅雅玄孫也。 祖慶，員外常侍。 父元閔，護軍司馬。
Wang Chen, styled Zhonghe, came from Tan in Donghai and was the great-great-grandson of Jin's Junior Tutor Wang Ya. His grandfather Qing served as Extraordinary Regular Attendant. His father Yuanmin was marshal on the staff of the Protector Army.
14
宋大明中，沈曇慶為徐州，辟諶為迎主簿，又為州迎從事，湘東王彧國常侍，鎮北行參軍。 及彧即帝位，是為明帝，除司徒參軍，帶薛令，兼中書舍人。 諶有學義，見親遇，常在左右。 帝所行慘僻，諶屢諫不從，請退，坐此系尚方。
During Song's Daming era, when Shen Tanqing governed Xuzhou, he recruited Chen as welcoming chief clerk, then as provincial welcoming attendant, as Attendant-in-Ordinary to Prince Yu of Xiangdong, and as acting army aide on the northern defense staff. When Yu took the throne as Emperor Ming, Chen was appointed aide on the Minister of Education's staff, concurrent magistrate of Xue, and concurrent Secretariat drafter. Learned and principled, Chen won the emperor's trust and was rarely away from his side. The emperor's rule grew cruel and arbitrary; Chen remonstrated again and again without success, asked to resign, and for that was sent to the Imperial Workshop prison.
15
後拜中書侍郎。 明帝好圍棋，置圍棋州邑，以建安王休仁為圍棋州都大中正，諶與太子右率沈勃、尚書水部郎庾珪之、彭城丞王抗四人為小中正，朝請褚思莊、傅楚之為清定訪問。 後為尚書左丞，領東觀祭酒，即明帝所置總明觀也。 遷黃門郎。
He was later appointed Vice Director of the Secretariat. Emperor Ming was devoted to weiqi and created a weiqi 'prefecture' system. He named Prince Xiuren of Jian'an its grand rectifier; Chen, Shen Bo (Right Commandant to the crown prince), Gui Zhi (Director of the Water Bureau), and Wang Kang (assistant magistrate of Pengcheng) served as lesser rectifiers; Chu Sizhuang and Fu Chuzhi were appointed ranking investigators. He later became Left Vice Director of the Ministry of Works and Libationer of the Eastern Pavilion—the Zongming Observatory that Emperor Ming had founded. He was promoted to Gentleman of the Yellow Gate.
16
齊永明初，累遷豫章王太尉司馬。 武帝與諶相遇于宋明之世，甚委任之。 曆黃門郎，領驍騎將軍，太子中庶子。
Early in Qi's Yongming era he rose to Grand Marshal on the staff of the Prince of Yuzhang. Emperor Wu had known Chen since the reign of Song's Emperor Ming and placed great trust in him. He served as Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, concurrently General of Valiant Cavalry, and Regular Attendant to the Crown Prince.
17
諶貞正和謹，朝廷稱為善人，多與之厚。 八年，轉冠軍將軍、長沙王車騎長史，徙廬江王中軍長史，又徙西陽王子明征虜長史，行南兗府州事。 諶少貧，常自紡績，及通貴後，每為人說之，世稱其達。 九年卒。
Upright, temperate, and careful, Chen was known at court as a good man, and many cultivated deep friendship with him. In the eighth year he became General of the Champions and chief clerk to the Prince of Changsha's chariot-and-cavalry command, then chief clerk on the Prince of Lujiang's central army staff, then chief clerk to Ziming, Prince of Xiyang, on his campaign staff, acting for the southern Yan prefecture and province. Chen had been poor in youth and often spun hemp himself; after he rose high he still told the story openly, and the world called him magnanimous. He died in the ninth year.
18
諶從叔摛，以博學見知。 尚書令王儉嘗集才學之士，總校虛實，類物隸之，謂之隸事，自此始也。 儉嘗使賓客隸事多者賞之，事皆窮，唯廬江何憲為勝，乃賞以五花簟、白團扇。 坐簟執扇，容氣甚自得。 摛後至，儉以所隸示之，曰：「卿能奪之乎？」 摛操筆便成，文章既奧，辭亦華美，舉坐擊賞。 摛乃命左右抽憲簟，手自掣取扇，登車而去。 儉笑曰：「所謂大力者負之而趨。」 竟陵王子良校試諸學士，唯摛問無不對。
Chen's cousin Chi was famed for erudition. Wang Jian, Minister of Works, once gathered scholars to test fact against fancy, matching things to parallel citations in an exercise called "clerical matters"—and with that the fashion began. Jian once set his guests to compete at clerical matters, promising a prize to whoever produced the most parallels; everyone was stumped except He Xian of Lujiang, who won a five-color mat and a white round fan. He sat on the mat with the fan in hand, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. Chi arrived late; Jian showed him the winning parallels and asked, "Can you take the prize from him?" Chi took brush in hand and finished on the spot—profound in substance, splendid in style—and the whole room applauded. Chi ordered his servants to pull the mat from under Xian, seized the fan himself, climbed into his carriage, and drove away. Jian laughed and quoted the old line: "The strong man hoists it on his back and runs." When Prince Ziliang of Jingling tested his scholars, Chi alone answered every question.
19
為秣陵令，清直，請謁不行。 羽林隊主潘敞有寵二宮，勢傾人主。 婦弟犯法，敞為之請摛，摛投書於地，更鞭四十。 敞怒譖之，明日而見代。
As magistrate of Moling he was incorruptible and refused all private petitions. Pan Chang, captain of the Feathered Forest guard, enjoyed favor in both palaces and wielded power that rivaled the throne. When his wife's brother broke the law, Chang interceded with Chi, who threw the petition on the ground and added forty lashes. Chang slandered him in a rage, and Chi was removed the next day.
20
永明八年，天忽黃色照地，眾莫能解。 司徒法曹王融上金天頌。 摛曰：「是非金天，所謂榮光。」 武帝大悅，用為永陽郡。 後卒于尚書左丞。
In the eighth year of Yongming the sky turned yellow and bathed the earth; no one could explain it. Wang Rong of the Minister of Education's legal bureau submitted a hymn to the Golden Heaven. Chi said, "That is not the Golden Heaven—it is what is called glorious light." Emperor Wu was delighted and appointed him administrator of Yongyang. He later died in office as Left Vice Director of the Ministry of Works.
21
何憲字子思，廬江灊人。 博涉該通，群籍畢覽，天閣寶秘，人間散逸，無遺漏焉。 任昉、劉渢共執秘閣四部書，試問其所知，自甲至丁，書說一事，並敘述作之體，連日累夜，莫見所遺。 宗人何遁，退讓士也，見而美之，願與為友。
He Xian, styled Zisi, came from Qian in Lujiang. Immensely learned, he had read every classic in the imperial archives and every stray text still circulating among men—nothing had escaped him. Ren Fang and Liu Jun took the four divisions of the Secret Pavilion and quizzed him book by book—from jia through ding—on a fact from each work and on its literary form. For days and nights they found nothing he did not know. His kinsman He Dun, a modest and retiring gentleman, admired him on sight and asked to be his friend.
22
憲位本州別駕，國子博士。 永明十年使于魏。
Xian held the posts of Vice Governor of his home province and Erudite of the Imperial University. In the tenth year of Yongming he served as envoy to Wei.
23
時又有孔逖字世遠，會稽山陰人也。 好典故學，與王儉至交。 升明中為齊台尚書儀曹郎，屢箴闕禮，多見信納。 上謂王儉曰：「逖真所謂儀曹，不忝厥職也。」 儉為宰相，逖常謀議幄帳，每及選用，頗失鄉曲情。 儉從容啟上曰：「臣有孔逖，猶陛下之有臣。」 永明中為太子家令卒。 時人呼孔逖何憲為王儉三公。 及卒，儉惜之，為撰祭文。
There was also Kong Ti, styled Shiyuan, from Shanyin in Kuaiji. He loved antiquarian learning and was Wang Jian's closest friend. During Shengming he was Director of Rites on the Qi Secretariat staff; he repeatedly corrected lapses in ceremonial law, and the court often took his advice. The emperor told Wang Jian, "Ti is a true Director of Rites—he does honor to the post." Once Wang Jian became chief minister, Kong Ti was constantly at his side in council; but whenever offices were filled, he often offended the expectations of his home district. Wang Jian spoke to the throne with easy composure: "I have Kong Ti, as Your Majesty has me." He passed away in the Yongming period while holding the post of Director of the Household of the Heir Apparent. Contemporaries nicknamed Kong Ti and He Xian Wang Jian's Three Excellencies. After his death Wang Jian mourned the loss and wrote a funeral elegy in his honor.
24
孔珪字德璋，會稽山陰人也。 祖道隆，位侍中。 父靈產，泰始中，晉安太守，有隱遁之志。 于禹井山立館，事道精篤。 吉日于靜屋四向朝拜，涕泣滂沱。 東出過錢唐北郭，輒於舟中遙拜杜子恭墓。 自此至都，東向坐，不敢背側。 元徽中，為中散大夫，頗解星文，好術數。 齊高帝輔政，沈攸之起兵，靈產白高帝曰：「攸之兵眾雖強，以天時冥數而觀，無能為也。」 高帝驗其言，擢遷光祿大夫，以簏盛靈產上靈台，令其占候。 餉靈產白羽扇、素隱几，曰：「君有古人之風，故贈君古人之服。」 當世榮之。
Kong Gui, styled Dezheng, came from Shanyin in Kuaiji. His grandfather Kong Dao Long had served as Attendant-in-Ordinary. His father Lingchan, who in the Taishi period had been governor of Jin'an, longed to withdraw from the world. On Yujing Mountain he built a retreat and practiced the Way with fervent single-mindedness. On ritual days he would worship toward all four quarters from a silent room, weeping until his face streamed with tears. Whenever he went east and passed the northern outskirts of Qiantang, he would bow from the boat toward Du Zigong's grave. From then until he arrived at court he always sat facing east, never turning his back or sitting askew. During Yuanhui he served as Palace Attendant; he was well versed in astronomy and delighted in occult calculation. While the future Emperor Gao of Qi was regent and Shen Youzhi rebelled, Lingchan told him, "For all Youzhi's strength in arms, the signs of heaven and the dark arithmetic of fate show he will come to nothing." When events proved him right, the emperor raised him to Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, had him borne up the Spirit Terrace in a litter, and charged him with reading the heavens. He sent Lingchan a white feather fan and a plain armrest, saying, "You carry yourself like a man of old—so I offer you the trappings of old." The court took this as a signal honor.
25
珪少學涉有美譽，太守王僧虔見而重之，引為主簿。 舉秀才，再遷殿中郎。 高帝為驃騎，取為記室參軍，與江淹對掌辭筆。 為尚書左丞，父憂去官。 與兄仲智還居父山舍。 仲智妾李氏驕妒無禮，珪白太守王敬則殺之。
As a young man Kong Gui was widely read and highly regarded; Governor Wang Sengqian took notice of him and made him his chief clerk. Recommended as a xiucai, he rose twice to the post of Palace Attendant. When the future Emperor Gao was General of Agile Cavalry, he made Kong Gui his secretarial aide and paired him with Jiang Yan to handle official prose. He became Left Vice Director of the Secretariat, then resigned to observe mourning for his father. He and his elder brother Zhongzhi went back to live in their father's mountain retreat. Zhongzhi's concubine Lady Li was insolent, jealous, and ill-mannered; Kong Gui denounced her to Governor Wang Jingze, who ordered her executed.
26
永明中，歷位黃門郎，太子中庶子，廷尉。 江左承用晉時張、杜律二十卷，武帝留心法令，數訊囚徒，詔獄官詳正舊注。 先是尚書刪定郎王植撰定律，奏之，削其煩害，錄其允衷，取張斐注七百三十一條，杜預注七百九十一條，或二家兩釋於義乃備者，又取一百七條，其注相同者取一百三條，集為一書，凡一千七百三十二條，為二十卷。 請付外詳校，擿其違謬。 詔從之。 於是公卿八座參議，考正舊注，有輕重處，竟陵王子良下意多使從輕。 其中朝議不能斷者，則制旨平決。 至九年，珪表上律文二十卷，錄序一卷，又立律學助教，依五經例，詔報從之。 事竟不行。 轉御史中丞。
During Yongming he served in turn as Yellow Gate Attendant, Middle Attendant of the Heir Apparent, and Minister of Justice. The court south of the Yangtze still followed the twenty-fascicle penal code of Zhang and Du from Jin; Emperor Wu took a keen interest in statutes, repeatedly tried prisoners himself, and ordered judicial officers to revise the old glosses. Earlier Wang Zhi, the Secretariat's revising clerk, had drafted a consolidated code and submitted it, stripping burdensome provisions and keeping what was balanced; he drew on 731 glosses by Zhang Fei and 791 by Du Yu, added 107 where both commentators were needed for a full reading, and retained 103 where they agreed—1,732 articles in all, compiled into twenty fascicles. He asked that the draft be circulated for thorough review so that mistakes could be identified and removed. The emperor assented by edict. The chief ministers then met to revise the old annotations; on disputed penalties Prince Ziliang of Jingling usually directed them toward the milder reading. Where the court could not agree, the emperor's own ruling settled the matter. In the ninth year Kong Gui presented the code in twenty fascicles with a one-scroll preface and proposed penal-studies instructors on the model of the Five Classics; the throne approved by edict. Nothing came of it in the end. He was moved to the post of Censor-in-Chief.
27
建武初，為平西長史、南郡太守。 珪以魏連歲南伐，百姓死傷，乃上表陳通和之策，帝不從。 征侍中，不行，留本任。 珪風韻清疏，好文詠，飲酒七八斗。 與外兄張融情趣相得，又與琅邪王思遠、廬江何點、點弟胤並款交，不樂世務。 居宅盛營山水，憑几獨酌，傍無雜事。 門庭之內，草萊不翦。 中有蛙鳴，或問之曰：「欲為陳蕃乎？」 珪笑答曰：「我以此當兩部鼓吹，何必效蕃。」 王晏嘗鳴鼓吹候之，聞群蛙鳴，曰：「此殊聒人耳。」 珪曰：「我聽鼓吹，殆不及此。」 晏甚有慚色。 永元元年，為都官尚書，遷太子詹事，加散騎常侍。 三年，珪疾，東昏屏除，以床舁之走，因此疾甚，遂卒。 贈金紫光祿大夫。 劉懷珍字道玉，平原人，漢膠東康王寄之後也。 其先劉植為平原太守，因家焉。 祖昶從慕容德南度河，因家于北海都昌。 宋武帝平齊，以為青州中從事，位至員外常侍。 伯父奉伯，宋世位至陳南頓二郡太守。
Early in the Jianwu era he served as chief clerk on the Pacification-West staff and as governor of Nan Commandery. Seeing that Wei had raided the south year after year and the people had suffered heavy losses, Kong Gui submitted a memorial urging peace; the emperor refused. He was called to court as Attendant-in-Ordinary but declined to leave his post. Kong Gui carried himself with airy clarity; he loved poetry and could put away seven or eight dou of wine. He was kindred in spirit with his maternal cousin Zhang Rong, and was on intimate terms with Wang Siyuan of Langye, He Dian of Lujiang, and Dian's brother He Yin—he had little taste for public business. His home was landscaped with ponds and rockeries; he would lean on a low table, drink alone, and keep the world at bay. He never trimmed the weeds in his courtyard. Frogs sang in the yard; a visitor asked, "Are you trying to imitate Chen Fan?" Kong Gui smiled and said, "I count these as my paired orchestras—why should I copy Fan?" Once Wang Yan arrived with a full military band; when he heard the frogs he said, "That racket is unbearable." Kong Gui replied, "The music I hear from your band scarcely matches this." Wang Yan flushed with embarrassment. In the first year of Yongyuan he became Director of the Ministry of Justice, then Steward of the Heir Apparent with the additional rank of Regular Attendant. In the third year Kong Gui fell ill; during Dong Hun's purge he was carried off on a litter in the rout, his condition worsened, and he died. He was posthumously ennobled as Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with the Golden Seal. Liu Huaizhen, styled Daoyu, came from Pingyuan and traced his line to Ji, Prince Kang of Jiaodong under the Han. An ancestor, Liu Zhi, had been governor of Pingyuan and settled the family in that commandery. His grandfather Chang accompanied Murong De south across the Yellow River and established the clan at Duchang in Beihai. After Emperor Wu of Song conquered Qi he appointed him Assistant Investigator of Qing Province; he rose to Extraordinary Attendant. His uncle Fengbo had served in Song as governor of both Chen and Nandun.
28
懷珍幼隨奉伯至壽陽，豫州刺史趙伯符出獵，百姓聚觀，懷珍獨避不視，奉伯異之，曰：「此兒方興吾家。」 本州辟主簿。
As a boy Liu Huaizhen went with Fengbo to Shouyang; when Inspector Zhao Bofu rode out to hunt and crowds gathered to stare, Huaizhen alone turned away; Fengbo marveled and said, "This child will restore our clan." The province recruited him as chief clerk.
29
元嘉二十八年，亡命司馬順則聚党東陽，州遣懷珍將數千人討平之。 宋文帝問破賊事，懷珍讓功不肯當，親人怪問焉，懷珍曰：「昔國子尼恥陳河間之級，吾豈能論邦域之捷哉。」 時人稱之。
In Yuanjia year 28 the fugitive Sima Shunze raised a band in Dongyang; the province dispatched Huaizhen with several thousand troops to crush the rising. When Emperor Wen asked about the campaign, Huaizhen refused to take credit; relatives pressed him, and he said, "Guo Zini once disdained a fief from Chen at Hejian—how could I boast of a provincial victory?" His contemporaries admired him for it.
30
江夏王義恭出鎮盱眙，道遇懷珍，以應對見重，取為驃騎長史兼墨曹行參軍。 孝建初，為義恭大司馬參軍、直合將軍，隨府轉太宰參軍。
When Prince Jiangxia went to take up his post at Xuyi he met Huaizhen on the road, was impressed by his conversation, and made him chief clerk on the Cavalry General's staff with a concurrent post in the secretariat. Early in Xiaojian he served Prince Jiangxia as staff officer and general of the palace guard, and moved with the prince's office when it became the Grand Preceptor's establishment.
31
大明二年，以軍功拜樂陵河間二郡太守，賜爵廣晉縣侯。 司空竟陵王誕反，郡人王弼門族甚盛，勸懷珍起兵助誕，懷珍殺之。 帝嘉其誠，除豫章王子尚車騎參軍，母憂去職。 服闋，見江夏王義恭，義恭曰：「別子多年，那得不老？」 對曰：「公恩未報，何敢便老。」 義恭善其對。
In Daming year 2, for military service he was made governor of Leling and Hejian and enfeoffed as Marquis of Guangjin. When Prince Jingling of Jingling rebelled as Minister of Works, the local magnate Wang Bi pressed Huaizhen to join the revolt; Huaizhen had him executed. The emperor praised his fidelity and made him cavalry aide to Prince Yuzhang Zi Shang; he then resigned to mourn his mother. After the mourning period he visited Prince Jiangxia, who said, "We have not met in years—surely you must have aged?" He answered, "I have not yet repaid Your Highness's kindness—how dare I claim to be old?" The prince was pleased with his answer.
32
累遷黃門郎，領虎賁中郎將。 桂陽王休範反，加懷珍前將軍，守石頭。 出為豫州刺史，加督。 建平王景素反，懷珍遣子靈哲領兵赴建鄴。 沈攸之在荊楚，遣使人許天保說結懷珍，斬之，送首于齊高帝，封中宿縣侯，進平南將軍，增督二州。
He rose to Yellow Gate Attendant and also led the Tiger Guard as general of the household. When Prince Guiyang rebelled, Huaizhen was made General of the Van and held Shitou fortress. He was sent out as inspector of Yu Province with supervisory authority. When Prince Jianping rebelled, Huaizhen dispatched his son Lingzhe at the head of troops to relieve Jianye. Shen Youzhi, holding Jing and Chu, sent Xu Tianbao to win Huaizhen over; Huaizhen executed the envoy, sent his head to the future Emperor Gao of Qi, and was made Marquis of Zhongsu, promoted to General Who Pacifies the South with authority over two additional provinces.
33
初，宋孝武世，齊高帝為舍人，懷珍為直合，相遇早舊。 懷珍假還青州，高帝有白驄馬，齧人，不可騎，送與懷珍別。 懷珍報上百匹絹。 或謂懷珍曰：「蕭公此馬不中騎，是以與君耳。 君報百匹，不亦多乎？」 懷珍曰：「蕭君局量堂堂，甯應負人此絹。 吾方欲以身名托之，豈計錢物多少。」
Long before, in Emperor Xiaowu's reign, the future Emperor Gao had been a palace attendant and Huaizhen a guard officer—they had known each other since youth. When Huaizhen went home on leave to Qing Province, the future emperor gave him a white piebald stallion that bit and could not be ridden, sending it as a farewell gift. Huaizhen returned the courtesy with a hundred bolts of silk. Someone told him, "Lord Xiao's horse is unrideable—that is why he palmed it off on you. A hundred bolts in return—is that not excessive?" Huaizhen said, "Lord Xiao's magnanimity is vast—surely he would not stint at this silk. I mean to stake my life and reputation on him—why should I haggle over trifles?"
34
高帝輔政，以懷珍內資未多，徵為都官尚書，領前將軍。 以第四子晃代為豫州刺史。 或疑懷珍不受代，高帝曰：「我布衣時，懷珍便推懷投款，況在今日，寧當有異。」 晃發經日，疑論不止，上乃遣軍主房靈人領百騎進送晃。 謂靈人曰：「論者謂懷珍必有異同，我期之有素，必不應爾。 卿是其鄉里，故遣卿行，非唯衛新，亦以迎故。」 懷珍還，乃授相國右司馬。
Once the future emperor became regent, deeming Huaizhen's influence at court still thin, he recalled him as Director of the Ministry of Justice with the concurrent rank of General of the Van. He appointed his fourth son Huang to succeed him as inspector of Yu Province. Some doubted that Huaizhen would yield his post; the regent said, "Even when I wore homespun, Huaizhen gave me his wholehearted allegiance—will he change now?" Huang had been on the road for days and rumors still swirled, so the regent sent the commander Fang Lingren with a hundred cavalry to escort the new inspector. He told Fang Lingren, "People insist Huaizhen will resist—but I have known him too long; he will not. You are from his home district; I send you not only to protect the newcomer but to bring the old man back in honor." When Huaizhen came in, he was made Right Chief Clerk to the Prince of Qi.
35
懷珍年老，以禁旅辛勤，求為閒職，轉光祿大夫，卒。 遺言薄葬。 贈雍州刺史，諡敬侯。
In his later years the strain of palace duty wearied him; he asked for a quieter post, was made Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, and died. He left instructions to be buried simply. He was posthumously made inspector of Yong Province and given the posthumous title Marquis Jing.
36
子靈哲字文明，位齊郡太守、前軍將軍。 靈哲所生母嘗病，靈哲躬自祈禱，夢見黃衣老公與藥曰：「可取此食之，疾立可愈。」 靈哲驚覺，於枕間得之，如言而疾愈。 藥似竹根，於齋前種，葉似鳧茈。
His son Liu Lingzhe, styled Wenming, served as governor of Qi Commandery and General of the Forward Army. When Lingzhe's own mother fell ill he prayed in person; in a dream a yellow-robed old man handed him medicine, saying, "Eat this and she will recover at once." He woke with a start and found the drug beside his pillow; he gave it to her, and she was healed as promised. The herb looked like bamboo root; he planted it before his oratory, and its leaves resembled water caltrop.
37
嫡母崔氏及兄子景煥，泰始中為魏所獲。 靈哲為布衣，不聽樂。 及懷珍卒，當襲爵，靈哲固辭，以兄子在魏，存亡未測，無容越當茅土。 朝廷義之。
His father's principal wife, Lady Cui, and his elder brother's son Jinghuan had been taken captive by Wei in the Taishi period. While still a private gentleman, Lingzhe refused all music. At Huaizhen's death the title should have passed to him, but Lingzhe refused, saying his nephew was still in Wei and might be alive—he could not seize the marquisate ahead of him. The court honored his conduct.
38
靈哲傾產贖嫡母及景煥，累年不能得。 武帝哀之，令北使者請之，魏人送以還南，襲懷珍封爵。 靈哲位兗州刺史，隆昌元年卒。
He spent his entire fortune trying to ransom Lady Cui and Jinghuan, yet year after year failed to bring them home. Emperor Wu of Liang took pity and had his envoy to the north demand their release; Wei returned them, and only then did Lingzhe accept his father's title. He rose to inspector of Yan Province and died in the first year of Longchang.
39
峻字孝標，本名法武，懷珍從父弟也。 父琁之，仕宋為始興內史。
Liu Jun, styled Xiaobiao—born Fawu—was Huaizhen's younger cousin. His father Liu Xuanzhi held office under the Liu Song as inner governor of Shixing.
40
峻生期月而琁之卒，其母許氏攜峻及其兄法鳳還鄉里。 宋泰始初，魏克青州，峻時年八歲，為人所略為奴至中山。 中山富人劉寶湣峻，以束帛贖之，教以書學。 魏人聞其江南有戚屬，更徙之代都。 居貧不自立，與母並出家為尼僧，既而還俗。 峻好學，寄人廡下，自課讀書，常燎麻炬，從夕達旦。 時或昏睡，爇其鬚髮，及覺復讀，其精力如此。 時魏孝文選盡物望，江南人士才學之徒，咸見申擢，峻兄弟不蒙選拔。
Liu Jun was barely a month old when his father died; Lady Xu brought the infant and his elder brother Fafeng home to their clan seat. In the early Taishi years of the Song, when the Northern Wei took Qingzhou, eight-year-old Liu Jun was captured and sold as a slave in Zhongshan. A wealthy Zhongshan patron named Liu Bao took pity on him, bought him back with silk gifts, and taught him to read and write. Learning that he had relatives in the south, the northerners transferred him to the Wei capital at Pingcheng. Too poor to sustain themselves, mother and son briefly took monastic vows as nuns, then returned to secular life. Liu Jun was consumed by study. Lodging in a borrowed lean-to, he drove himself through the texts, keeping hemp torches alight from dusk to daybreak. When sleep threatened, he singed his own beard and hair to wake himself, then returned to the books with that fierce discipline. Emperor Wen of the Northern Wei was recruiting every celebrated talent from the Jiangnan elite, yet neither Liu Jun nor his brother was selected.
41
齊永明中，俱奔江南，更改名峻字孝標。 自以少時未開悟，晚更厲精，明慧過人。 苦所見不博，聞有異書，必往祈借。 清河崔慰祖謂之「書淫」。 於是博極群書，文藻秀出。 故其自序云：「黌中濟濟皆升堂，亦有愚者解衣裳。」 言其少年魯鈍也。 時竟陵王子良招學士，峻因人求為子良國職。 吏部尚書徐孝嗣抑而不許，用為南海王侍郎，不就。 至齊明帝時，蕭遙欣為豫州，引為府刑獄，禮遇甚厚。 遙欣尋卒，久不調。
During Qi Yongming they escaped south together; he took the name Jun and the style Xiaobiao—Liu Jun as the world would know him. He felt he had been slow to awaken as a youth, yet in maturity redoubled his effort until his brilliance outshone his peers. Distressed by the narrowness of what he had read, he would track down any unusual text he heard of and go plead to borrow it. Cui Weizu of Qinghe dubbed him "an addict of books." In time he mastered an immense library, and his prose rose luminous above the common run. In his autobiographical preface he wrote, "In the academy the crowd all climb to the hall, yet fools there are who only strip off their robes." —a barbed remark on how slow-witted he had been as a boy. When the Prince of Jingling, Xiao Ziliang, was gathering literati, Liu Jun had an intermediary seek a post on the prince's staff. Minister of the Civil Service Xu Xiaosi blocked the appointment and offered him instead a post as gentleman-attendant to the Prince of Nanhai—which Liu Jun declined. Under Emperor Ming of Qi, when Xiao Yaoqin governed Yuzhou, Liu Jun entered his staff as prisons officer and was honored with exceptional generosity. Yaoqin died not long after, and Liu Jun went years without another office.
42
梁天監初，召入西省，與學士賀蹤典校秘閣。 峻兄孝慶時為青州刺史，峻請假省之，坐私載禁物，為有司所奏免官。 安成王秀雅重峻，及安成王遷荊州，引為戶曹參軍，給其書籍，使撰類苑。 未及成，復以疾去，因游東陽紫岩山，築室居焉。 為山棲志，其文甚美。
In the opening years of Liang Tianjian he was called to the Western Bureau to catalogue the Secret Archive alongside the academician He Zong. His brother Liu Xiaoqing was governor of Qingzhou, and Liu Jun sought leave to visit him; he was impeached for smuggling contraband and stripped of office. Prince Xiu of Ancheng, who valued him deeply, took him to Jingzhou as registrar in the household bureau, furnished a library, and commissioned the Classified Garden. The work was unfinished when illness drove him away; he wandered to Purple Cliff in Dongyang, built a house, and settled among the peaks. He composed "Mind of a Mountain Dweller," a piece of prose celebrated for its beauty.
43
初，梁武帝招文學之士，有高才者多被引進，擢以不次。 峻率性而動，不能隨眾沈浮。 武帝每集文士策經史事，時范雲、沈約之徒皆引短推長，帝乃悅，加其賞賚。 會策錦被事，咸言已罄，帝試呼問峻，峻時貧悴冗散，忽請紙筆，疏十餘事，坐客皆驚，帝不覺失色。 自是惡之，不復引見。 及峻類苑成，凡一百二十卷，帝即命諸學士撰華林遍略以高之，竟不見用。 乃著辯命論以寄其懷。 論成，中山劉沼致書以難之，凡再反，峻並為申析以答之。 會沼卒，不見峻後報者，峻乃為書以序其事。 其文論並多不載。
Early on, Emperor Wu of Liang courted literary talent, advancing the gifted with extraordinary rapidity. Liu Jun followed his own temperament and would not bob with the courtly tide. At the emperor's symposiums on classical and historical questions, Fan Yun, Shen Yue, and the rest professed modesty while steering answers to their strengths; the emperor was delighted and heaped gifts upon them. Once the topic turned to the brocade-quilt affair and everyone declared the sources exhausted, the emperor called on the shabby, neglected Liu Jun; he asked abruptly for brush and paper and listed more than a dozen points, astonishing the assembly and bringing a flush of dismay to the throne. From that day the emperor disliked him and never summoned him again. When Liu Jun's 120-juan Classified Garden was finished, the emperor ordered a rival compendium, the Comprehensive Outline of the Flourishing Grove, yet Liu Jun's work was never adopted. He then wrote his "Discourse on Fate" to voice what he carried in his heart. Liu Zhao of Zhongshan wrote twice to dispute the treatise, and Liu Jun answered each exchange with careful refutation. Zhao died before the final rejoinders could reach him, so Liu Jun composed a letter setting out how the debate had stood. Most of his essays and disputations are omitted from this record.
44
峻又嘗為自序，其略云：
Liu Jun also drafted an autobiographical preface, which in brief runs:
45
余自比馮敬通，而有同之者三，異之者四。 何則？ 敬通雄才冠世，志剛金石； 餘雖不及之，而節亮慷慨。 此一同也。 敬通逢中興明君，而終不試用； 余逢命世英主，亦擯斥當年。 此二同也。 敬通有忌妻，至於身操井臼； 餘有悍室，亦令家道轗軻。 此三同也。 敬通當更始世，手握兵符，躍馬肉食； 餘自少迄長，戚戚無歡。 此一異也。 敬通有子仲文，官成名立； 餘禍同伯道，永無血胤。 此二異也。 敬通膂力剛強，老而益壯； 餘有犬馬之疾，溘死無時。 此三異也。 敬通雖芝殘蕙焚，終填溝壑，而為名賢所慕，其風流郁烈芬芳，久而彌盛； 余聲塵寂莫，世不吾知，魂魄一去，將同秋草。 此四異也。 所以力自為序，遺之好事云。
I have likened myself to Feng Jingtong, noting three resemblances and four divergences. Why is this so? Feng Jingtong's genius towered over his age, his will firm as bronze and stone; I fall short of him, yet my integrity is bright and my spirit generous. That is the first point of likeness. Feng Jingtong lived under a restoring sage ruler, yet never won office; I too have met an age-shaping sovereign, yet was driven off in his prime. That is the second resemblance. Feng Jingtong had a jealous wife and came to haul water and grind grain himself; I have a shrewish spouse who has likewise wrecked the fortunes of our house. That is the third parallel. In the Gengshi years Feng Jingtong held command, rode at the hunt, and feasted on meat; From boyhood to gray hairs I have known only grief, never cheer. That is the first contrast. Feng Jingtong's son Zhongwen rose in office and won renown; My sorrow matches that of Bo Dao—I have no descendant to carry my line. That is the second divergence. Feng Jingtong's thews were iron, and he grew stronger in age; I am ill with a wasting malady and may drop dead at any hour. That is the third point of difference. Though Feng Jingtong died obscure, reviled orchids and burnt sweet-flag, the eminent still cherished his memory, and his renown grows fuller with the years; My name falls silent, the world ignores me, and when my soul leaves it will moulder like autumn grass. That is the fourth contrast. Therefore I wrote this preface myself and leave it for those who delight in such things.
46
峻本將門，兄法鳳自北歸，改名孝慶字仲昌。 早有幹略，齊末為兗州刺史，舉兵應梁武，封餘幹男，曆官顯重。 峻獨篤志好學，居東陽，吳、會人士多從其學。 普通三年卒，年六十。 門人諡曰玄靖先生。
Liu Jun came from a martial clan; his brother Fafeng, returning from the north, took the name Xiaoqing, styled Zhongchang. Gifted early with grit and strategy, he governed Yanzhou at the end of Qi, rallied to Emperor Wu of Liang, was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yugan, and rose to eminent posts. Liu Jun alone clung to scholarship; living in Dongyang, he drew students from across the Wu and Kuaiji regions. He died in Putong year 3, at the age of sixty. His students honored him posthumously as Master Xuanjing.
47
劉沼字明信，中山魏昌人。 六世祖輿，晉驃騎將軍。 沼幼善屬文，及長博學，位終秣陵令。
Liu Zhao, styled Mingxin, came from Weichang in Zhongshan commandery. His sixth-generation ancestor Yu had served the Jin as General of Agile Cavalry. He wrote well from childhood and became a wide-ranging scholar, ending his career as magistrate of Moling.
48
懷慰字彥泰，懷珍從子也。 祖奉伯，宋元嘉中為冠軍長史。 父乘人，冀州刺史，死于義嘉事。 懷慰持喪不食醯醬，冬日不用絮衣，養孤弟妹，事寡叔母，皆有恩義。 仕宋為尚書駕部郎。 懷慰宗從善明等為齊高帝心腹，懷慰亦預焉。
Liu Huaiwei, styled Yantai, was Liu Huaizhen's nephew. His grandfather Fengbo served as chief clerk to the Champion General under Song Yuanjia. His father Chengren, governor of Jizhou, died in the troubles of the Yijia era. In mourning he refused pickled foods, went winter without padded clothing, raised his orphaned siblings, and cared for his widowed aunt—all with exemplary devotion. Under the Song he served as Director of the Imperial Carriage Department. His kinsmen Shanming and others were Emperor Gao of Qi's inner circle, and Liu Huaiwei shared in that trust.
49
齊國建，上欲置齊郡於都下。 議者以江右土沃，流人所歸，乃置於瓜步，以懷慰為輔國將軍、齊郡太守。 上謂懷慰曰：「齊邦是王業所基，吾方欲以為顯任，經理之事，一以委卿。」 又手敕曰：「有文事必有武備，今賜卿玉環刀一口。」
When the Qi state was founded, the emperor wished to seat Qi commandery at the capital. Advisers argued that the rich lands east of the Yangtze would draw refugees, so the seat was set at Guabu and Liu Huaiwei made General Who Assists the State and governor of Qi commandery. The emperor told Liu Huaiwei, "Qi is the cradle of our throne; I mean to give you a post of real consequence, and I entrust its entire administration to you." He added a personal directive: "Civil rule demands martial readiness—here is a jade-ring blade for you."
50
懷慰至郡，修城郭，安集居人，墾廢田二百頃，決沈湖灌溉。 不受禮謁，人有餉其新米一斛者，懷慰出所食麥飯示之曰：「食有餘，幸不煩此。」 因著廉吏論以達其意。 高帝聞之，手敕褒賞。 進督秦、沛二郡，妻子在都，賜米三百石。 兗州刺史柳世隆與懷慰書曰：「膠東流化，潁川致美，以今方古，曾何足云。」
At his post he rebuilt the walls, resettled the people, reclaimed two hundred qing of fallow land, and cut canals from Shen Lake for irrigation. He refused gifts and courtesy visits; when a man offered a hu of new rice, Liu Huaiwei set out his own barley meal and said, "I already have enough—please spare yourself the trouble." He then wrote his "Discourse on Incorrupt Officials" to make his principle plain. Emperor Gao heard and sent a personal edict of praise. He was promoted to supervise Qin and Pei commanderies; his family remained in the capital and received three hundred shi of grain. Inspector Liu Shilong of Yanzhou wrote him, "Jiaodong once transformed its people and Yingchuan once perfected its governance—what you have done beside those examples needs no modesty."
51
懷慰本名聞慰，武帝即位，以與舅氏名同，敕改之。 後兼安陸王北中郎司馬，卒。 明帝即位，謂僕射徐孝嗣曰：「劉懷慰若在，朝廷不憂無清吏也。」 子霽、杳、歊。
Born Wenwei, he was renamed by imperial order when Emperor Wu took the throne because the name matched that of the emperor's uncle. He later served concurrently as North Central Army major under the Prince of Anlu, and died in office. When Emperor Ming succeeded, he told Vice Director Xu Xiaosi, "Had Liu Huaiwei lived, the court would never lack honest officials." His sons were Ji, Yao, and Xiao.
52
霽字士湮，九歲能誦左氏傳。 十四居父憂，有至性，每哭輒嘔血。 家貧，與弟杳、歊勵志勤學。 及長，博涉多通。 梁天監中，歷位西昌相，尚書主客侍郎，海鹽令。 霽前後宰二邑，並以和理稱。 後除建康令，不拜。
Liu Ji, styled Shiyan, could recite the Zuo Tradition at nine. At fourteen, mourning his father, he showed such filial depth that weeping brought up blood. The household was poor, yet he and his brothers Yao and Xiao drove one another through relentless study. Grown to manhood, he ranged widely and mastered much. Under Liang Tianjian he served as chancellor of Xichang, gentleman-attendant for guests in the Ministry of Works, and magistrate of Haiyan. In two districts he governed, and both knew him for humane, orderly rule. Later offered the magistracy of Jiankang, he declined.
53
母明氏寢疾，霽年已五十，衣不解帶者七旬，誦觀世音經數萬遍。 夜中感夢，見一僧謂曰：「夫人算盡，君精誠篤志，當相為申延。」 後六十餘日乃亡。 霽廬於墓，哀慟過禮，常有雙白鶴循翔廬側，處士阮孝緒致書抑譬焉。 霽思慕不已，未終喪而卒。 著釋俗語八卷，文集十卷。
When Lady Ming fell ill Liu Ji was fifty; for seventy days he never left her side or loosened his belt, and he chanted the Lotus Sutra of Guanyin tens of thousands of times. One night he dreamed a monk who said, "Your mother's term is spent, but your devotion is so deep that I shall plead to prolong her life." She lived a little more than sixty days before she died. He kept mourning huts by the grave, grieving beyond the prescribed rites; a pair of white cranes often circled his shelter, until the recluse Ruan Xiaoxu wrote urging restraint. Liu Ji could not shake his sorrow and died before the mourning term was complete. He wrote Explication of Common Sayings in eight juan and a collected works in ten juan.
54
杳字士深，年數歲，征士明僧紹見之，撫而言曰：「此兒實千里之駒。」 十三丁父憂，每哭，哀感行路。 梁天監中，為宣惠豫章王行參軍。
Liu Yao, styled Shishen, was still a small boy when the recluse Ming Sengshao met him, stroked his head, and said, "This boy is a steed that will cover a thousand leagues." At thirteen he mourned his father; each time he wept, passers-by were moved to tears. During Liang Tianjian he served as acting retainer to Prince Xuanhui of Yuzhang.
55
杳博綜群書，沈約、任昉以下每有遺忘，皆訪問焉。 嘗於約坐語及宗廟犧樽，約云：「鄭玄答張逸謂為畫鳳皇尾婆娑然。 今無復此器，則不依古。」 杳曰：「此言未必可安。 古者樽彝皆刻木為鳥獸，鑿頂及背以出內酒。 魏時魯郡地中得齊大夫子尾送女器，有犧樽作犧牛形。 晉永嘉中，賊曹嶷于青州發齊景公塚又得二樽，形亦為牛象。 二處皆古之遺器，知非虛也。」 約大以為然。 約又云：「何承天纂文奇博，其書載張仲師及長頸王事，此何所出？」 杳曰：「仲師長尺二寸，唯出論衡。 長頸是毗騫王，朱建安扶南以南記云：'古來至今不死'。」 約即取二書尋檢，一如杳言。 約郊居宅時新構閣齋，杳為贊二首，並以所撰文章呈約，約即命工書人題其贊於壁。 仍報杳書，共相歎美。 又在任昉坐，有人餉昉沖酒而作搌字，昉問杳此字是不，杳曰：「葛洪字苑作木旁右。」 昉又曰：「酒有千日醉，當是虛言。」 杳曰：「桂陽程鄉有千里酒，飲之至家而醉。 亦其例。」 昉大驚曰：「吾自當遺忘，實不憶此。」 杳云：「出楊元鳳所撰置郡事。 元鳳是魏代人，此書仍載其賦'三重五品，商溪況裏'。」 昉即檢楊記，言皆不差。 王僧孺被使撰譜，訪杳血脈所因。 杳云：「桓譚新論云：'太史三代世表旁行邪上，並效周譜。 '以此而推，當起周代。」 僧孺歎曰：「可謂得所未聞。」 周舍又問杳尚書著紫荷橐，相傳云挈囊，竟何所出？ 「杳曰：「張安世傳云：'持橐簪筆，事孝武皇帝數十年。 '韋昭、張晏注並曰：'橐，囊也。 簪筆以待顧問。 '範岫撰字書音訓又訪杳焉。 尋佐周舍撰國史。
Liu Yao commanded the breadth of the classics; whenever Shen Yue, Ren Fang, or their peers forgot a detail, they came to him. Once in Shen Yue's company the talk turned to the temple sacrificial goblet; Shen Yue said, "Zheng Xuan told Zhang Yi that it was painted with a phoenix tail, swaying gracefully. Since the vessel no longer exists, we need not follow the ancient form." Liu Yao replied, "That reading is not necessarily sound. In antiquity sacrificial goblets were carved as birds and beasts, with holes bored through crown and back so the wine could be poured out. In Wei times excavators in Lu commandery found the dowry vessels of the Qi minister Ziwei, including a sacrificial goblet shaped like a sacrificial ox. In Jin Yongjia the rebel Cao Yi opened Duke Jing of Qi's tomb in Qingzhou and found two more goblets, likewise in the form of oxen. Both finds were genuine antiquities, which shows the account was no fiction." Shen Yue was fully persuaded. Shen Yue added, "He Chengtian's anthology is wonderfully vast, yet it cites Zhang Zhongshi and the Long-Necked King—what are his sources?" Liu Yao answered, "Zhongshi stood a foot and two inches tall and is mentioned only in Discourses Weighed. The long-necked figure is King Virudhaka; Zhu Jian'an's Record of Lands South of Funan says, 'From ancient times to now he has not died.' Shen Yue fetched both books at once and checked; everything matched Liu Yao's account. When Shen Yue built a new pavilion at his country house, Liu Yao offered two encomia and his latest essays; Shen Yue had a clerk copy the encomia onto the walls. He wrote back to Liu Yao, and the two men marveled at each other's work. Once at Ren Fang's table a guest brought chong wine and wrote the name with the 'hand' radical; Ren Fang asked Liu Yao if the character was right, and Liu Yao said, "Ge Hong's Garden of Characters writes it with 'wood' beside 'you.' Ren Fang also said, "Wine that keeps one drunk for a thousand days must be a fable." Liu Yao said, "In Cheng township of Guiyang there is 'thousand-league wine'; you drink it on the road and do not grow drunk until you reach home. That is the same sort of thing. Ren Fang was astonished and said, "I must have forgotten it myself; I truly have no memory of this." Liu Yao said, "It comes from Yang Yuanfeng's Record of Established Commanderies. Yuanfeng lived in Wei times, and the book still preserves his rhapsody: 'Triple ranks and five grades, Shang Stream and Kuang Village.' Ren Fang looked up Yang's record at once and found not a word amiss. Wang Sengru was ordered to compile genealogies and asked Liu Yao how the lineages should be traced. Liu Yao said, "Huan Tan's New Discourses states, 'The Grand Historian's Genealogical Tables of the Three Dynasties run in lateral columns that slant upward, all imitating Zhou house genealogies. From that one may infer that the practice began in Zhou times. Wang Sengru exclaimed, "That is truly something no one had heard before." Zhou She also asked Liu Yao why Masters of Writing wear the purple lotus satchel, and why tradition speaks of 'grasping the pouch'—where does that come from? Liu Yao said, "Zhang Anshi's biography reads, 'He held the pouch and pinned the brush, serving Emperor Wu of Han for decades. The commentaries of Wei Zhao and Zhang Yan both explain, 'Pouch means satchel.' He pinned the brush to be ready when the emperor called for counsel. Fan Xiu, compiling his dictionary of characters and readings, likewise sought Liu Yao's help. He soon assisted Zhou She in compiling the national history.
56
出為臨津令，有善績，秩滿，縣三百餘人詣闕請留，敕許焉。 後詹事徐勉舉杳及顧協等五人入華林撰遍略，書成，以晉安王府參軍兼廷尉正，以足疾解。 因著林庭賦，王僧孺見而歎曰：「郊居以後，無復此作。」 累遷尚書儀曹郎，僕射徐勉以台閣文議專委杳焉。 出為余姚令，在縣清潔。 湘東王繹發教褒美之。
He was posted as magistrate of Linjin and governed well; when his term ended more than three hundred local men went to court to ask that he stay, and the throne granted their request. Later Steward of the Heir Apparent Xu Mian nominated Liu Yao, Gu Xie, and three others to compile the Comprehensive Digest in Hualin Park; when the work was done he served as retainer to the Prince of Jin'an and concurrently as rectifier in the Court of Judicial Review, then resigned on account of foot trouble. He then wrote his Rhapsody on the Forest Court; Wang Sengru read it and sighed, "Since Shen Yue's Dwelling in the Suburbs, nothing has equaled this. He rose to gentleman of ceremonies in the Ministry of Rites; Vice Director Xu Mian entrusted all secretariat drafting to him alone. He was sent out as magistrate of Yuyao and kept the district scrupulously clean. Prince Xiao Yi of Xiangdong issued an edict commending him.
57
大通元年，為步兵校尉，兼東宮通事舍人。 昭明太子謂曰：「酒非卿所好，而為酒廚之職，政為卿不愧古人耳。」 太子有瓠食器，因以賜焉，曰：「卿有古人之風，故遺卿古人之器。」 俄有敕代裴子野知著作郎事。 昭明太子薨，新宮建，舊人例無停者，敕特留杳焉。 僕射何敬容奏轉杳王府諮議，武帝曰：「劉杳須先經中書。」 仍除中書侍郎。 尋為平西湘東諮議參軍，兼舍人、著作如故。 遷尚書左丞，卒。
In the first year of Datong he became commandant of footsoldiers and concurrently palace attendant for communications in the Eastern Palace. Crown Prince Zhaoming told him, "You care little for wine, yet you hold charge of the palace wine stores—because even in that office you do not shame the ancients. The crown prince owned a gourd serving bowl and gave it to him, saying, "You carry the spirit of the ancients, so I leave you an ancient man's vessel." Before long an edict named him to replace Pei Ziye as clerk of writings. When Crown Prince Zhaoming died and a new heir was installed, former staff were normally dismissed, but Liu Yao was specially retained by edict. Vice Director He Jingrong proposed moving Liu Yao to adviser of the prince's household, but Emperor Wu said, "Liu Yao must first serve in the Secretariat. He was thereupon made gentleman of the secretariat. He soon became adviser to Prince Xiao Yi of Xiangdong's Pacification-Western headquarters, retaining his posts as attendant and clerk of writings. He was promoted to left vice director of the Ministry of State Affairs and died in office.
58
杳清儉無所嗜好，自居母憂，便長斷腥膻，持齋蔬食。 臨終遺命：「斂以法服，載以露車，還葬舊墓，隨得一地，容棺而已。 不得設靈筵及祭醊。」 其子遵行之。
Liu Yao lived plainly and without indulgence; from his mother's mourning onward he forever renounced meat and fish and ate only vegetarian fare. On his deathbed he instructed his heirs: "Dress me in monastic robes, carry me on an open cart, and bury me in the family grave wherever a plot will hold the coffin. Set up no mourning altar and offer no sacrificial feasts. His son obeyed.
59
撰要雅五卷，楚辭草木疏一卷，高士傳二卷，東宮新舊記三十卷，古今四部書目五卷，文集十五卷，並行於世。
He also wrote Essentials and Elegance in five juan, a commentary on the flora of the Songs of Chu in one juan, Biographies of Exalted Men in two juan, Old and New Records of the Eastern Palace in thirty juan, a catalogue of ancient and modern books in four divisions in five juan, and collected works in fifteen juan, all of which circulated.
60
歊字士光，生夕有香氣，氛氳滿室。 幼有識慧，四歲喪父，與群兒同處，獨不戲弄。 六歲誦論語、毛詩，意所不解，便能問難。 十二讀莊子逍遙篇曰：「此可解耳。」 客問之，隨問而答，皆有情理，家人每異之，謂為神童。 及長，博學有文才，不娶不仕，與族弟籲並隱居求志，遨遊林澤，以山水書籍相娛而已。
Liu Xiao, styled Shiguang, was born at dusk amid a fragrance that filled the room. As a boy he showed uncommon intelligence; when his father died at four he would not join the other children at play. At six he could recite the Analects and the Mao Odes, and whatever puzzled him he would question until it yielded. At twelve he read Zhuangzi's "Free and Easy Wandering" and declared, "This is plain enough. Guests tested him with questions and he answered each to the point; his family marveled and called him a prodigy. Grown to manhood, he was learned and gifted with words; he neither married nor served office, and with his cousin Liu Yu he withdrew to seek their own path, roaming forests and streams and finding joy only in landscape and books.
61
奉母兄以孝悌稱，寢食不離左右。 母意有所須，口未及言，歊已先知，手自營辦，狼狽供奉。 母每疾病，夢歊進藥，及翌日轉有間效，其誠感如此。 性重興樂，尤愛山水，登危履嶮，必盡幽遐，人莫能及，皆歎其有濟勝之具。 常欲避人世，以母老不忍違。 每隨兄霽、杳從宦。
He cared for his mother and elder brother and was known for filial devotion; he scarcely left their side by day or night. Whatever his mother needed, she had only to think it before Liu Xiao had already prepared it, hurrying to serve her. When she fell ill she would dream that Liu Xiao brought her medicine, and the next day she often improved; such was the power of his devotion. He loved landscape and music above all, especially mountains and streams; on dangerous heights he always pressed to the farthest view, leaving others behind, and all said he was born to climb. He longed to leave the world of men, but his mother's age kept him from going. He often accompanied his brothers Ji and Yao when they took office.
62
少時好施，務周人之急，人或遺之，亦不拒也。 久而歎曰：「受人者必報； 不則有愧於人。 吾固無以報人，豈可常有愧乎。」 天監十七年，忽著革終論。 以為：
In youth he loved to give and made a point of helping those in distress; he never refused gifts either. In time he sighed and said, "Whoever accepts a gift must repay it; otherwise he lives in debt to others. I have nothing with which to repay anyone—how can I go on accepting shame forever? In Tianjian year seventeen he suddenly wrote his Discourse on Revising the End. In it he argued:
63
形者無知之質，神者有知之性。 有知不獨存，依無知以自立，故形之於神，逆旅之館耳。 及其死也，神去此館，速朽得理。 是以子羽沈川，漢伯方壙，文楚黃壤，士安麻索：此四子者得理也。 若從四子而游，則平生之志得矣。 然積習生常，難卒改革，一朝肆志，儻不見從。 今欲翦截煩厚，務存儉易，進不裸屍，退異常俗，不傷存者之念，有合至人之道。 且張奐止用幅巾，王肅唯盥手足，范冉斂畢便葬，爰珍無設筵几，文度故舟為棺，子廉牛車載柩，叔起誡絕墳隴，康成使無卜吉。 此數公者，尚或如之，況為吾人，而尚華泰。 今欲髣佛景行，以為軌則。 氣絕不須復魂，盥漱而斂。 以一千錢市成棺，單故裙衫，衣巾枕履。 此外送往之具，棺中常物，一不得有所施。 世多信李、彭之言，可謂惑矣。 余以孔、釋為師，差無此惑。 斂訖，載以露車，歸於舊山，隨得一地，地足為坎，坎足容棺。 不須磚甓，不勞封樹，勿設祭饗，勿置几筵。 其蒸嘗繼嗣，言象所絕，事止餘身，無傷世教。
The body is matter without awareness; the spirit is awareness itself. Awareness cannot stand alone but depends on insensate matter, so the body is to the spirit only a traveler's lodge. At death the spirit quits that lodge, and swift decay is only fitting. Thus Wang Ziyu drowned in the river, Han Bo was buried under a square mound, Wen Chu under yellow earth, and Shi'an in hempen bindings—these four grasped the truth. To follow those four would fulfill a life's true aim. Yet habit hardens into custom and cannot be broken in a day; to act on impulse at once may win no followers. I mean now to strip away excess and keep only what is spare: not to leave the corpse unclothed, yet to depart from vulgar display, so as not to burden the living and to accord with the sage's way. Zhang Huan was buried with only a headcloth, Wang Su with washing of hands and feet alone, Fan Ran was interred the moment the coffin was closed, Yuan Zhen allowed no feast, Wen Du once used a boat for a coffin, Zilian carried his father's bier in an ox cart, Shuji forbade tombs and mounds, and Zheng Xuan left no geomancy for a lucky plot. Even such men chose simplicity; how much more should we, who are no greater, cling to pomp? I therefore take their bright example as my rule. When breath fails, do not call back the soul; wash the body and encoffin it. Buy a plain coffin for a thousand cash, with one old skirt and shirt, clothes, towel, pillow, and shoes. Beyond these, nothing at all may go into the coffin for the journey. The world mostly believes Laozi and Pengzu; that, I say, is delusion. I take Confucius and the Buddha as my teachers and am free of that error. When the rites of encoffinment are done, carry me on an open cart to the family hills; wherever the ground will hold a pit, and the pit a coffin, let that suffice. Use no brick facing, plant no grave trees, set out no sacrificial feast, and lay no mourning mats. As for seasonal sacrifices and heirs to maintain them, I end such forms with my body and do no injury to public morals.
64
初，籲之疾，歊盡心救療，及卒哀傷，為之誄，又著悲友賦以序哀情。 忽有老人無因而至，謂曰：「君心力堅猛，必破死生； 但運會所至，不得久留一方耳。」 彈指而去。 歊心知其異，試遣尋之，莫知其所。 於是信心彌篤。 既而寢疾，恐貽母憂，乃自言笑，勉進湯藥。 謂兄霽、杳曰：「兩兄祿仕，足伸供養。 歊之歸泉，復何所憾。 願深割無益之悲。」 十八年，年三十二卒。
When his cousin Liu Yu fell ill, Liu Xiao nursed him with all his strength; at Liu Yu's death he mourned deeply, wrote a eulogy, and composed his Rhapsody on Grieving for a Friend to record his grief. Suddenly an old man appeared from nowhere and said, "Your will is fierce and steadfast; you will surely pierce the barrier of life and death; but the turn your fate has taken will not let you linger long in one place. He snapped his fingers and was gone. Liu Xiao knew the encounter was uncanny and sent men to find him, but no one could discover where he had gone. From that day his faith grew only firmer. Soon he fell ill; lest he grieve his mother, he made light of his pain, jested, and forced himself to take broth and medicine. He told his brothers Liu Ji and Liu Yao, "You both hold salaried posts—enough to provide for our mother. When I go down to the springs, what will I have left to regret? Please put aside grief that can do no good." He died in the eighteenth year of Tianjian, at thirty-two.
65
始沙門釋寶志遇歊於興皇寺，驚起曰：「隱居學道，清淨登仙。」 如此三說。 歊未死之春，有人為其庭中栽柿，歊謂兄子弇曰：「吾不見此實，爾其勿言。」 至秋而亡，人以為知命。 親故誄其行跡，諡曰貞節處士。
Long before, the monk Baozhi met Liu Xiao at Xinghuang Temple, rose startled, and said, "You withdraw to cultivate the Way; in purity you will rise as an immortal. He said as much three times. The spring before Liu Xiao died, someone planted a persimmon in his courtyard. He told his nephew Yan, "I will never see this fruit ripen—say nothing of it." He died that autumn, and people called it foreknowledge of his end. Kinsmen and friends wrote his elegy and gave him the posthumous name Chastity Recluse.
66
先是有太中大夫琅邪王敬胤以天監八年卒，遺命：「不得設復魄旌旐，一蘆笰藉下，一枚覆上。 吾氣絕便沐浴，籃輿載屍，還忠侯大夫隧中。 若不行此，則戮吾屍於九泉。」 敬胤外甥許慧詔因阮研以聞。 詔曰：「敬胤令其息崇素，氣絕便沐浴，藉以二蘆笰，鑿地周身，歸葬忠侯。 此達生之格言，賢夫玉匣石槨遠矣。 然子于父命，亦有所從有所不從。 今崇素若信遺意，土周淺薄，屬辟不施，一朝見侵狐鼠，戮屍已甚。 父可以訓子，子亦不可行之。 外內易棺，此自奉親之情，藉土而葬，亦通人之意。 宜兩舍兩取，以達父子之志。 棺周于身，土周於槨，去其牲奠，斂以時服。 一可以申情，二可以稱家。 禮教無違，生死無辱，此故當為安也。」
Some time before, Wang Jingyin of Langya, Grand Master for Court Discussion, had died in Tianjian 8, leaving word: "Set up no soul-recalling banners or pennants—only one reed mat beneath and a single cover above. Bathe me as soon as I cease to breathe, carry my body in a wicker litter, and return me to the Loyal Marquis's tomb. If you will not do this, hack my corpse apart in the underworld. Jingyin's nephew Xu Huizhao brought the matter to court through Ruan Yan. The emperor replied, "Jingyin told his son Chongsu to bathe him at death, lay him between two reed mats, hollow the earth around the coffin, and bury him with the Loyal Marquis. That is the wisdom of one who truly understands life—how far it is from jade cases and stone sarcophagi. Yet a son owes his father's command both obedience and discernment. If Chongsu follows the will to the letter—shallow earth, no protective dressing—foxes and rats may assault the body the very next day, and dismembering the corpse would be too cruel. A father may instruct his son, but a son is not bound to do all he is told. A proper outer coffin honors parental feeling; burial in earth accords with ordinary custom. The right course is to compromise on both sides so father and son alike may be satisfied. Let the coffin surround the body and earth surround the coffin; omit sacrificial animals and dress him in contemporary clothes. Thus feeling is shown, and the household is not shamed. Rites are kept, and neither the living nor the dead are shamed—let this stand as the decision."
67
籲字彥度，懷珍從孫也。 祖承宗，宋太宰參軍。 父靈真，齊鎮西諮議、武昌太守。
Liu Yu, styled Yandu, was the grandson of Huaiwei's brother. His grandfather Liu Chengzong served as an aide in the Song Grand Commandant's office. His father Liu Lingzhen was consultant to the Pacifying West headquarters and Administrator of Wuchang.
68
籲幼稱純孝，數歲父母繼卒，吁居喪哭泣孺慕，幾至滅性，赴吊者莫不傷焉。 後為伯父所養，事伯母及昆姊孝友篤至，為宗族所稱。 自傷早孤，人有誤觸其諱者，未嘗不感結流涕。 長兄絜為娉妻，克日成婚，籲聞而逃匿，事息乃還。
From childhood Liu Yu was famed for filial devotion; his parents died in close succession while he was still young. He mourned with a child's inconsolable grief, nearly destroying himself, and every mourner who came was moved to tears. Raised thereafter by his uncle, he was unfailingly filial to his aunt and devoted to his sisters, and the whole clan spoke of him with praise. Still wounded by early orphanhood, he would weep whenever anyone unwittingly spoke his parents' names. When his eldest brother Jie set a wedding day, Liu Yu vanished until the ceremony had passed.
69
本州刺史張稷辟為主簿，主者檄召籲，乃掛檄於樹而逃。 陳留阮孝緒博學隱居，不交當世，恒居一鹿床，環植竹木，寢處其中，時人造之，未嘗見也。 籲經一造，孝緒即顧以神交。 籲族兄歊又履高操，三人日夕招攜，故都下謂之三隱。
Zhang Ji, governor of the province, appointed him chief clerk; when the summons arrived Liu Yu hung it on a tree and ran. Ruan Xiaoxu of Chenliu was learned and reclusive, keeping company with no one in public life. He lived on a deerwood couch amid a ring of bamboo and trees and would receive no caller. Liu Yu visited once, and Xiaoxu immediately embraced him as a kindred spirit. His cousin Liu Xiao was equally withdrawn; the three spent their days together, and the capital dubbed them the Three Recluses.
70
籲善玄言，尤精意釋典，曾與歊聽講鍾山諸寺，因共卜築宋熙寺東澗，有終焉之志。 尚書郎何炯嘗遇之于路，曰：「此人風神穎俊，蓋荀奉倩、衛叔寶之流也。」 命駕造門，拒而不見。 族祖孝標與書稱之曰：「籲超超越俗，如半天朱霞。 歊矯矯出塵，如云中白鶴。 皆儉歲之粱稷，寒年之纖纊。」
Liu Yu delighted in Dark Learning and the Buddhist canon; with Liu Xiao he heard lectures at the Zhongshan monasteries and chose a hillside east of Songxi Temple to build, intending to end their days there. He Jiong of the Secretariat met him on the road and said, "That man's bearing is brilliant—in the line of Xun Fengqian and Wei Shuobao." He sent his carriage to Liu Yu's door, but Liu Yu refused to receive him. His kinsman Liu Xiaobiao wrote, "Liu Yu rises above the common world like vermilion clouds at noon. Liu Xiao lifts free of the dust like a white crane in the clouds. Both are grain in a famine year and warm cloth in a bitter winter."
71
籲嘗著谷皮巾，披納衣，每遊山澤，輒留連忘返。 神理閑正，姿貌甚華，在林穀之間，意氣彌遠，或有遇之者，皆謂神人。 家甚貧苦，並日而食，隆冬之月，或無氈絮，籲處之晏然，人不覺其饑寒也。 自少至長，無喜慍之色。 每於可競之地，輒以不競勝之。 或有加陵之者，莫不退而愧服，由是眾論咸歸重焉。
He often wore a bark-cloth cap and cotton monastic robe, wandering mountains and streams until he forgot to return. Serene in spirit and striking in looks, he seemed to grow more distant among the hills; those who chanced upon him took him for an immortal. The household was desperately poor, eating only every other day; in deep winter they sometimes lacked quilted bedding, yet Liu Yu was unperturbed, and visitors never noticed his hunger or cold. From boyhood to old age his face never showed joy or anger. Where others strove for advantage, he won by refusing to strive. Those who bullied him withdrew abashed; by this the crowd everywhere came to honor him.
72
天監十七年，卒於歊舍。 臨終執歊手曰：「氣絕便斂，斂畢即埋，靈筵一不須立。 勿設饗祀，無求繼嗣。」 歊從而行之。 宗人至友，相與刊石立銘，諡曰玄貞處士。
He died in Tianjian 17 at Liu Xiao's house. Dying, he clasped Liu Xiao's hand and said, "Encoffin me as soon as I stop breathing; bury me when that is done; erect no mourning altar. Offer no sacrificial feasts and find no successors." Liu Xiao obeyed. Kinsmen and friends raised a stone inscription; his posthumous name was Mystic Integrity Recluse.
73
善明，懷珍族弟也。 父懷人，仕宋為齊、北海二郡太守。 元嘉末，青州饑荒，人相食。 善明家有積粟，躬食饘粥，開倉以救，鄉里多獲全濟，百姓呼其家田為續命田。
Liu Shanming was Huaiwei's clansman and junior. His father Liu Huairen had served the Song as Administrator of Qi and Beihai. At the end of Yuanjia Qingzhou starved until men ate one another. The Shanming household hoarded grain yet ate only thin porridge, opening the storehouse to aid neighbors. Many in the district were saved, and people called his family's fields the Fields of Restored Life.
74
善明少而靜處讀書，刺史杜驥聞名候之，辭不相見。 年四十，刺史劉道隆辟為中從事。 懷人謂善明曰：「我已知汝立身，復欲見汝立官也。」 善明應辟，仍舉秀才。 宋孝武見其策強直，甚異之。
In youth he read in quiet seclusion; when Governor Du Ji came to visit on account of his reputation, he refused to receive him. At forty Liu Daolong as governor appointed him middle aide-de-camp. Huairen told him, "I know how you carry yourself as a man; now I wish to see how you carry yourself as an official." Liu Shanming accepted the post and was nominated Presented Scholar. Emperor Xiaowu of Song read his examination papers—bold and unyielding—and was struck with wonder.
75
泰始初，徐州刺史薛安都反，青州刺史沈文秀應之。 時州居東陽城，善明家在郭內，不能自拔。 伯父彌之詭說文秀求自效，文秀使領軍主張靈慶等五千人援安都。 彌之出門，密謂部曲曰：「始免禍坑矣。」 行至下邳，乃背文秀，善明從伯懷恭為北海太守，據郡相應。 善明密契，收集門宗部曲，得三千人。 夜斬關奔北海。 族兄乘人又聚眾勃海以應朝廷。 而彌之尋為薛安都所殺，明帝贈青州刺史。 以乘人為冀州刺史，善明為北海太守，除尚書金部郎。 乘人病卒，仍以善明為冀州刺史。 文秀既降，除善明海陵太守，郡境邊海，無樹木，善明課人種榆檟雜果，遂獲其利。 還為直合將軍。
In the opening of Taishi, Xue Andu as Inspector of Xuzhou rebelled, and Shen Wenxiu as Inspector of Qingzhou joined him. The provincial seat lay in Dongyang city; Liu Shanming's home was inside the walls and could not escape. His uncle Mizhi won Wenxiu's trust with cunning words and was sent to lead five thousand men under Zhang Lingqing to reinforce Andu. Leaving the city Mizhi whispered to his men, "At last we are out of the pit." At Xiapi he betrayed Wenxiu; his cousin Huaigong as Administrator of Beihai held the prefecture for the throne. By secret compact Liu Shanming rallied kinsmen and retainers to three thousand men. By night he broke through the gate and fled to Beihai. His kinsman Chenren likewise raised troops in Bohai for the court. Mizhi was soon killed by Xue Andu; Emperor Ming posthumously named him Inspector of Qingzhou. Chenren was made Inspector of Jizhou; Liu Shanming became Administrator of Beihai and was promoted to Gentleman in the Gold Bureau of the Ministry of Revenue. When Chenren died of illness Liu Shanming succeeded him as Inspector of Jizhou. After Wenxiu surrendered he was named Administrator of Hailing. The coast had no timber; Liu Shanming ordered the planting of elms, catalpa, and orchard trees until the district prospered. He returned to court as General of the Straight Suite.
76
五年，魏克青州，善明母在焉，移置代郡。 善明布衣蔬食，哀戚如持喪，明帝每見，為之歎息。 轉巴西梓潼二郡太守。 善明以母在魏，不願西行，泣涕固請，見許。 朝廷多哀善明心事，元徽初遣北使，朝議令善明舉人。 善明舉州鄉北平田惠紹使魏，贖母還。
In the fifth year the Northern Wei seized Qingzhou; his mother was taken and resettled in Dai Commandery. He wore plain cloth and ate sparely, grieving as in mourning; Emperor Ming sighed whenever he saw him. He was transferred to dual Administrator of Baxi and Zitong. His mother being in Wei territory, he wept and steadfastly refused to go west; the court allowed it. The court pitied his plight; when northern envoys were first sent in Yuanhui, Liu Shanming was asked to nominate one. He nominated Tian Huishao of Beiping in his home district to go to Wei and ransom his mother home.
77
時宋後廢帝新立，群臣執政，善明獨事齊高帝，委身歸誠。 出為西海太守，行青冀二州刺史。 善明從弟僧副與善明俱知名於鄉里，泰始初，魏攻淮北，僧副將部曲二千人東依海島。 齊高帝在淮陰，壯其所為，召與相見，引為安成王撫軍參軍。 後廢帝肆暴，高帝憂恐，常令僧副微行，伺察聲論。 使密告善明及東海太守垣崇祖，使動魏兵。 善明勸靜以待之，高帝納焉。 廢帝見殺，善明為高帝驃騎諮議、南東海太守，行南徐州事。 沈攸之反，高帝深以為憂。 善明獻計曰：「沈攸之控引八州，縱情蓄斂，苞藏賊志，於焉十年。 性既險躁，才非持重，起逆累旬，遲回不進，豈應有所待也？ 一則闇於兵機，二則人情離怨，三則有掣肘之患，四則天奪其魄。 本疑其輕速，掩襲未備； 今六師齊奮，諸侯同舉，此已籠之鳥耳。」 事平，高帝召善明還都，謂曰：「卿策沈攸之，雖張良、陳平適如此耳。」 仍遷太尉右司馬。
When the Later Deposed Emperor had just ascended, ministers ruled; Liu Shanming alone pledged himself to the future Emperor Gao of Qi. He was sent out as Administrator of Xihai and acted as Inspector of Qing and Ji. His cousin Sengfu was equally renowned at home; when Wei struck north of the Huai in Taishi's opening, Sengfu took two thousand retainers to refuge on coastal islands. The future Emperor Gao at Huaiyin admired him, summoned him, and appointed him to the Pacification Army staff of the Prince of Ancheng. The deposed emperor ruled with savage cruelty; Gao Di in anxiety sent Sengfu incognito to probe public sentiment. He secretly told Liu Shanming and Donghai Administrator Yuan Chongzu to provoke northern military action. Liu Shanming counseled patience; Gao Di agreed. After the Deposed Emperor's assassination Liu Shanming became adviser on Gao Di's staff, Administrator of Southern Donghai, and acting inspector of Southern Xuzhou. Shen Youzhi rebelled, and Gao Di was deeply troubled. Liu Shanming advised, "Shen Youzhi has held eight provinces for ten years, levying at will while nursing rebellion. He is rash by nature and lacks steadiness; weeks into revolt he still hangs back—what can he be waiting for? First, he does not understand the art of war; second, his men are estranged and resentful; third, he suffers from divided command; fourth, Heaven has stolen his wits. I had feared he would move swiftly and strike before we were prepared; but now the imperial hosts rise as one and the lords all answer—he is a bird already caged." When the revolt ended Gao Di recalled him and said, "Your reading of Shen Youzhi would do credit to Zhang Liang or Chen Ping." He was promoted to Right Marshal of the Grand Commandant.
78
齊台建，為右衛將軍，辭疾不拜。 司空褚彥回謂善明曰：「高尚之事，乃卿從來素意，今朝廷方相委待，詎得便學松、喬邪。」 善明答曰：「我本無宦情，既逢知己，所以戮力驅馳。 天地廓清，朝廷濟濟，鄙吝既申，不敢昧于富貴矣。」
When Qi was founded he was made Right Guard General but declined on grounds of illness. Minister of Works Chu Yanhuai told him, "Withdrawal to lofty retirement has always been your bent—surely you cannot now play the hermit like the immortals of Mount Song? Liu Shanming answered, "I never sought office; meeting a lord who knew my worth, I threw myself into his service. Now heaven and earth are clear and the court in good order; I have done my humble part and dare not shut my eyes to rank and reward."
79
高帝踐阼，以善明勳誠，欲與之祿，召謂曰：「淮南近畿，國之形勝，非親賢不居，卿與我臥理之。」 乃代明帝為淮南宣城二郡太守。 遣使拜授，封新淦伯。 善明至郡，上表陳事凡一十一條：其一以為「天地開創，宜存問遠方，廣宣慈澤」。 其二以為「京都遠近所歸，宜遣醫藥，問其疾苦，年九十以上及六疾不能自存者，隨宜量賜」。 其三以為「宋氏赦令，蒙原者寡。 愚謂今下赦書，宜令事實相副」。 其四以為「劉昶猶存，容能送死境上，諸城宜應嚴備」。 其五以為「宜除宋氏大明以來苛政細制，以崇簡易」。 其六以為「凡諸土木之費，且可權停」。 其七以為「帝子王女，宜崇儉約」。 其八以為「宜詔百官及府州郡縣，各貢讜言，以弘廣唐、虞之美」。 其九以為「忠貞孝悌，宜擢以殊階； 清儉苦節，應授以政務」。 其十以為「革命惟始，宜擇才北使」。 其十一以為「交州險敻，要荒之表，宋末政苛，遂至怨叛。 今宜懷以恩德，未應遠勞將士，搖動邊甿」。 又撰賢聖雜語奏之，托以諷諫。 上優詔答之。
When Gao Di ascended the throne he wished to reward Liu Shanming's loyalty, summoned him, and said, "Huainan borders the capital—it is the realm's key ground. Only a trusted worthy may hold it; govern it with me from your couch." Gao Di then named him governor of Huainan and Xuancheng, replacing the Song Ming court's hold on those posts. Envoys were dispatched to confer the post, and he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Xingan. On reaching his post Liu Shanming memorialized the throne with eleven proposals. The first urged that, with the realm newly founded, the court should reach out to distant lands and spread benevolent rule far and wide. The second urged that the capital draws the eyes of the empire, and that the court should send doctors and medicines, inquire into the people's ills, and grant relief as needed to anyone ninety or older or stricken with disability who could not survive without aid. The third noted that under the Song dynasty's repeated amnesties, few offenders had actually been pardoned or restored to their rights. He argued that the next amnesty should make promise and practice truly align." The fourth warned that Liu Chang was still alive and might yet stir a fatal clash on the border, and that frontier garrisons should stand on full alert. The fifth called for scrapping the harsh laws and petty rules imposed since Emperor Ming of Song's Dayuan reign, in favor of plain and simple government. The sixth asked that all public works and building costs be halted for the time being. The seventh urged frugal living upon the imperial princes and princesses. The eighth proposed that officials at court and throughout the provinces be ordered to submit honest counsel, so that the court might revive the enlightened example of Yao and Shun. The ninth held that men of loyalty, steadfastness, filial devotion, and fraternal duty should be promoted to exceptional rank; and that the pure, frugal, and stern in conduct should be given real responsibility in government." The tenth urged that, with the new dynasty barely established, gifted men should be chosen at once for missions to the northern courts. The eleventh observed that Jiaozhou lay far off in rugged country beyond the edge of civilization, and that the Song court's harsh rule there had finally provoked revolt. The proper course now was to win the region with kindness, not to march troops from afar and unsettle the border people." He also compiled a collection of sage maxims and submitted it as veiled remonstrance. The throne answered with a gracious imperial rescript.
80
又諫起宣陽門，表陳：「宜明守宰賞罰，立學校，制齊禮，開賓館以接鄰國。」 上答曰：「夫賞罰以懲守宰，飾館以待遐荒，皆古之善政，吾所宜勉。 更撰新禮，或非易制。 國學之美，已敕公卿。 宣陽門今敕停。 寡德多闕，思復有聞。」
He also opposed rebuilding the Xuanyang Gate and memorialized: "The court should clarify how local officials are rewarded and punished, found schools, unify ritual practice, and open guesthouses to receive envoys from neighboring states." The emperor answered: "Using reward and punishment to keep local officials in line, and fine guesthouses to welcome distant lands—these are ancient virtues I should indeed strive to match. Drafting an entirely new ritual code, however, may not be easy to accomplish quickly. As for restoring the National University, I have already charged the chief ministers with that task. Work on the Xuanyang Gate has been ordered stopped. My own virtue is thin and my failings many; I welcome further counsel."
81
善明身長七尺九寸，質素不好聲色，所居茅齋，斧木而已。 床榻几案，不加劃削。 少立節行，常云：「在家當孝，為吏當清，子孫楷栻足矣。」 及累為州郡，頗黷財賄，崔祖思怪而問之，答曰：「管子雲，鮑叔知我。」 因流涕曰：「方寸亂矣，豈暇為廉。」 所得金錢皆以贖母。 及母至，清節方峻。 所曆之職，廉簡不煩，俸祿散之親友。
Liu Shanming stood seven feet nine inches tall. Plain by nature, he cared nothing for music or courtesans; he lived in a thatched cottage furnished with nothing but rough-hewn wood. His beds, couches, and tables were left unplaned and uncarved. From youth he held himself to a strict standard and often said, "Be filial at home and incorrupt in office; let your descendants take you as their measure, and that is enough." Yet after years in provincial office he had grown rather lax about gifts. Cui Zusi was astonished and asked why; he replied, "Guan Zhong said it: 'Bao Shu understood me.'" Then, weeping, he said, "My mind is in chaos; how could I spare a thought for honesty?" Every coin he took went to ransom his mother from the north. Once she was home, his integrity became unbending. In every office he served he was spare and incorruptible, never troubling others, and he gave his salary away to kin and friends.
82
與崔祖思友善，祖思出為青冀二州，善明遺書敘舊，因相勖以忠概。 及聞祖思死，慟哭，仍得病。 建元二年卒，遺命薄殯。 贈左將軍、豫州刺史，諡烈伯。 子滌嗣。
He and Cui Zusi were close friends. When Zusi left to govern Qing and Ji, Liu Shanming wrote recalling their old bond and urging each other to steadfast loyalty. On learning of Zusi's death he mourned aloud and soon fell ill himself. He died in the second year of Jianyuan, leaving orders for a simple funeral. The court posthumously appointed him Left General and Inspector of Yuzhou, with the posthumous title Marquis Lie. His son Di inherited the title.
83
善明家無遺儲，唯有書八千卷。 高帝聞其清貧，賜滌家葛塘屯穀五百斛，曰：「葛屯亦吾之垣下，令後世知其見異。」
Liu Shanming left no wealth behind, only eight thousand volumes in his library. When Gao Di learned how poor he had been, he granted Di's family five hundred hu of grain from the Getang estate, saying, "Getang lies within my own domain; let posterity know how highly I regarded him."
84
善明從弟僧副字士雲，位前將軍，封豐陽男，卒于巴西、梓潼二郡太守。 上圖功臣像贊，僧副亦在焉。
Liu Shanming's cousin Liu Sengfu, styled Shiyun, rose to Forward General and was enfeoffed as Baron of Fengyang; he died in office as governor of Bazhong and Zitong. When the court painted the portraits of meritorious ministers with laudatory inscriptions, Sengfu was included.
85
兄法護字士伯，有學業，位濟陰太守。
His elder brother Fahu, styled Shibo, was a scholar and served as Governor of Jiyin.
86
論曰：詩稱「抑抑威儀，惟人之則。」 又云：「其儀不忒，正是四國。」 觀夫杲之風流所得，休野行己之度，蓋其有焉。 仲和性履所遵，德璋業尚所守，殆人望也。 懷珍宗族文質斌斌，自宋至梁，時移三代，或以隱節取高，或以文雅見重。 古人云立言立德，斯門其有之乎。
The historian comments: The Book of Songs says, "Solemn and dignified is his bearing—such is the model for men." And again: "His conduct never falters—thus he sets the four quarters right." In Yu Gaozhi's cultivated grace and Yu Bi's standard of conduct, one may see something of this. Wang Chen lived the life his character promised, and Kong Gui held to the ideals he professed; both were men the age looked up to. The Liu Huaizhen clan, blending culture and substance across three dynasties from Song to Liang, produced men who won honor through reclusive integrity and others who won renown through literary grace. The ancients said that a man should leave behind words and leave behind virtue—perhaps in this family one may find both.