1
列傳第四十二梁宗室下
Biographies 42: The Liang Imperial Clan, Part 2
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安成康王秀南平元襄王偉鄱陽忠烈王恢始興忠武王憺
Prince Xiu of An Cheng (Kang), Prince Wei of Nanping (Yuanxiang), Prince Hui of Poyang (Zhonglie), and Prince Dan of Shixing (Zhongwu)
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六年，為江州刺史。 將發，主者求堅船以為齋舫。 秀曰：「吾豈愛財而不愛士。」 乃教以牢者給參佐，下者載齋物。 既而遭風，齋舫遂破。 及至州，聞前刺史取征士陶潛曾孫為裏司，歎曰：「陶潛之德，豈可不及後胤。」 即日辟為西曹。 時夏水泛長，津梁斷絕，外司請依舊僦度，收其價。 秀教曰：「刺史不德，水潦為患，可利之乎。」 給船而已。
In the sixth year he was appointed governor of Jiang Province. As he was preparing to leave, his steward asked for sturdy boats to serve as the fasting convoy. Xiu said, "Would I value money more than my men?" He ordered that the soundest boats go to his staff, while the weaker ones carried the fasting goods. Soon afterward they ran into a storm, and the fasting boat was smashed. On reaching the province he learned that his predecessor had made a great-grandson of the recluse Tao Qian a village clerk, and sighed, "Can Tao Qian's virtue fail to reach his descendants?" That same day he summoned the man to serve as Western Assistant. Summer floods had risen and cut the ferries and bridges; the outer offices asked, as usual, to levy ferry tolls and collect the fees. Xiu directed them, "The governor lacks virtue, and the floods are the disaster—how can we profit from that?" He simply supplied boats.
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七年，遭慈母陳太妃憂，詔起視事。 尋遷荊州刺史，加都督。 立學校，招隱逸。 辟處士河東韓懷明、南平韓望、南郡庾承先、河東郭麻等。 是歲，魏縣瓠城人反，殺豫州刺史司馬悅，引司州刺史馬仙琕，仙琕簽荊州求應赴。 眾咸謂宜待台報。 秀曰：「彼待我為援，援之宜速，待敕非應急也。」 即遣兵赴之。 及沮水暴長，頗敗人田，秀以谷二萬斛贍之。 使長史蕭琛簡州貧老單丁吏，一日散遣百餘人，百姓甚悅。 荊州嘗苦旱，咸欲徙市開渠，秀乃責躬，親祈楚望。 俄而甘雨即降，遂獲有年。 又武甯太守為弟所殺，乃偽雲土反，秀照其奸慝，望風首款，咸謂之神。 于荊州起天居寺，以武帝游梁館也。 及去任，行次大雷，風波暴起，船艫淪溺，秀所問唯恐傷人。
In the seventh year he mourned his beloved mother, the Grand Consort Chen; an edict recalled him to duty. He was soon transferred to governor of Jing Province and made area commander as well. He founded schools and invited recluses to serve. Among those he summoned were the recluses Han Huaiming of Hedong, Han Wang of Nanping, Yu Chengxian of Nan Commandery, and Guo Ma of Hedong. That year the people of Hulu in Wei County rose in revolt, killed the governor of Yu Province, Sima Yue, and called in the governor of Si Province, Ma Xianbi, who petitioned Jing Province for reinforcements. Everyone said they should wait for orders from the capital. Xiu said, "They are counting on us for rescue; aid must be swift. Waiting for an edict is no way to meet an emergency." He at once dispatched troops to help. When a sudden rise of the Ju River ruined much cropland, Xiu distributed twenty thousand hu of grain in relief. He had his chief clerk Xiao Chen identify poor elderly clerks and sole breadwinners in the province; in a single day more than a hundred were released from service, to the people's great delight. Jing Province had long suffered drought, and many wanted to relocate the market and dig canals; Xiu took the blame upon himself and went in person to pray at the Chu rain shrine. Before long gentle rain fell, and the year turned abundant. When the governor of Wuning was murdered by his younger brother, who then falsely reported a native uprising, Xiu exposed the fraud; at his approach the culprits surrendered one after another, and people called it miraculous. In Jing Province he founded Tianju Monastery on the site where Emperor Wu had once visited the Liang lodge. On leaving office, while halted at Dalei, a sudden storm wrecked the boats; in every inquiry Xiu made, his only fear was that someone had been harmed.
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十三年，為郢州刺史，加都督。 郢州地居沖要，賦斂殷煩，人力不堪，至以婦人供作。 秀務存約己，省去游費，百姓安堵，境內晏然。 夏口常為戰地，多暴露骸骨，秀于黃鶴樓下祭而埋之。 一夜夢數百人拜謝而去。 每冬月，常作襦褲以賜凍者。 時司州叛蠻田魯生、魯賢、超秀據蒙籠來降，武帝以魯生為北司州刺史，魯賢北豫州刺史，超秀定州刺史，為北境捍蔽。 而魯生、超秀互相讒毀，有去就心。 秀撫喻懷納，各得其用，當時賴之。
In the thirteenth year he was appointed governor of Ying Province and made area commander. Ying Province occupied a strategic junction; taxes and corvée were crushing, labor could not sustain them, and women were pressed into service. Xiu kept his own expenses spare, cut touring costs, and the people settled in peace; the province grew tranquil. Xiakou had often been a battlefield, and many bones lay exposed; Xiu performed rites and buried them below Yellow Crane Tower. One night he dreamed several hundred figures bowing in thanks before vanishing. Each winter he had jackets and trousers made and given to those in need of warmth. Rebel Man leaders Tian Lusheng, Tian Xian, and Chao Xiu, holding Menglong, then submitted; Emperor Wu made Lusheng governor of North Si, Xian governor of North Yu, and Chao Xiu governor of Ding, to shield the northern frontier. Yet Lusheng and Chao Xiu traded slanders and wavered in their loyalty. Xiu won them over with reassurance and put each to good use; the court depended on it at the time.
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遷雍州刺史，在路薨。 武帝聞之，甚痛悼焉。 遣南康王績緣道迎候。 初，秀之西也，郢州人相送出境，聞其疾，百姓商賈咸為請命。 及薨，四州人裂裳為白帽哀哭以迎送之。 雍州蠻迎秀，聞薨，祭哭而去。 喪至都，贈司空，諡曰康。
He was transferred to governor of Yong Province and died en route. When Emperor Wu heard the news, he was deeply grieved. He sent Prince Ji of Nankang to meet the coffin along the road. When Xiu had first gone west, the people of Ying saw him off beyond the border; on hearing he was ill, townsfolk and merchants alike prayed for his recovery. At his death people from four provinces tore their clothes into white mourning caps and wept as they received and escorted the coffin. The Man of Yong had come out to welcome him; when they heard he was dead, they offered sacrifice, wept, and left. When the coffin reached the capital he was posthumously made Minister of Works, with the posthumous name Kang.
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秀美容儀，每在朝，百僚屬目。 性仁恕，喜慍不形於色。 左右嘗以石擲殺所養鵠，齋帥請按其罪。 秀曰：「吾豈以鳥傷人。」 在都旦臨公事，廚人進食，誤覆之，去而登車，竟朝不飯，亦弗之誚也。 時諸王並下士，建安、安成二王尤好人物，世以二安重士，方之「四豪」。
Xiu was strikingly handsome; whenever he attended court, every official in the hall turned to look. He was by nature kind and forgiving, and neither pleasure nor anger showed on his face. Once an attendant killed one of his pet geese with a thrown stone; the steward of his fast asked to punish the offender. Xiu said, "Would I punish a man for the sake of a bird?" At the capital he would attend to business at dawn; when the cook spilled his meal, he simply left for his carriage, went hungry through the whole session, and never rebuked the man. Princes of the day all patronized scholars, but the princes of Jian'an and An Cheng were especially devoted to talent; people called them the "two Ans who honored scholars," likening them to the Four Heroes of old.
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秀精意學術，搜集經記，招學士平原劉孝標使撰類苑，書未及畢，而已行於世。 秀于武帝布衣昆弟，及為君臣，小心畏敬，過於疏賤者，帝益以此賢之。 少偏孤，于始興王憺尤篤。 憺久為荊州刺史，常以所得奉中分秀，秀稱心受之，不辭多也。 昆弟之睦，時議歸之。 佐史夏侯亶等表立墓碑志，詔許焉。 當世高才游王門者，東海王僧孺、吳郡陸倕、彭城劉孝綽、河東裴子野，各制其文，欲擇用之，而咸稱實錄，遂四碑並建。 世子機嗣。
Xiu devoted himself to scholarship, gathered classics and records, and engaged Liu Xiaobiao of Pingyuan to compile a classified anthology; though unfinished, portions were already circulating. Xiu had been Emperor Wu's brother in the days before the throne; once they were sovereign and subject, he remained more careful and respectful than distant kin required, and the emperor prized him all the more for it. Orphaned young, he was especially close to Prince Dan of Shixing. Dan long governed Jing Province and regularly split his salary with Xiu; Xiu accepted gladly, never refusing even when the share was large. Their brotherly bond was held up as a model of the age. His staff, led by Xiahou Dan, petitioned for a tomb stele and epitaph, and the edict granted it. Leading literary men of the day—Wang Sengru, Lu Yan, Liu Xiaochuo, and Pei Ziye—each wrote an epitaph hoping to be chosen; all were praised as faithful records, so four steles were raised together. His heir Ji succeeded him.
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機字智通，位湘州刺史，薨于州。 機美姿容，善吐納，家既多書，博學強記。 然而好弄尚力，遠士子，邇小人。 為州專意聚斂，無政績，頻被案劾。 將葬，有司請諡，詔曰：「王好內怠政，宜諡曰煬。」 所著詩賦數千言。 元帝集而序之。 子操嗣。
Ji, styled Zhitong, served as governor of Xiang Province and died in office. He was handsome, practiced breath cultivation, came from a book-filled household, and was widely read with a formidable memory. Yet he loved rough sport and brute strength, kept scholars at arm's length, and courted petty men. As governor he devoted himself to squeezing revenue, achieved nothing in office, and was repeatedly impeached. Before burial the court asked for a posthumous name; the edict read, "The prince doted on his harem and neglected rule; let his posthumous name be Yang." He left several thousand words of poetry and fu. Emperor Yuan collected them and wrote a preface. His son Cao succeeded him.
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機弟推字智進，少清敏，好屬文，深為簡文所親賞。 普通六年，以王子封南浦侯，曆淮南、晉陵、吳郡太守。 所臨必赤地大旱，吳人號「旱母」焉。 侯景之亂，守東府，城陷，推握節死之。
Ji's younger brother Tui, styled Zhijin, was clever and quick as a youth, loved writing, and won deep favor from Emperor Jianwen. In Putong 6 he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Nanpu and served in turn as governor of Huainan, Jinling, and Wu Commandery. Wherever he governed severe drought followed; the people of Wu nicknamed him "the Drought Mother." During Hou Jing's rebellion he held the Eastern Palace; when the city fell he died clutching his staff of office.
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南平元襄王偉字文達，文帝第八子也。 幼清警好學，仕齊為晉安王驃騎外兵參軍。 武帝為雍州，慮天下將亂，求迎偉及始興王憺。 俄聞已入沔，帝欣然謂佐史曰：「阿八、十一行至，吾無憂矣。」 及起兵，留行雍州州府事。 及帝克郢、魯，下尋陽，圍建鄴，而巴東太守蕭惠訓子璝及巴西太守魯休烈起兵逼荊州，蕭穎胄憂憤暴卒，西朝兇懼，徵兵於偉。 偉乃割州府將吏配始興王憺往赴之。 憺至，璝等皆降。 齊和帝詔以偉為都督、雍州刺史。
Prince Wei of Nanping (Yuanxiang), styled Wenda, was the eighth son of Emperor Wen. As a youth he was quick-witted and studious; under Qi he served as outer army adjutant to the Prince of Jin'an's rapid-cavalry command. When the future Emperor Wu governed Yong Province and foresaw turmoil ahead, he asked that Wei and Prince Dan of Shixing be sent to join him. When word came that they had entered the Han valley, he told his staff with relief, "Eighth Brother and Eleventh are here—I need worry no longer." When he rose in arms, he left Wei in charge of the Yong provincial administration. While the future emperor took Ying and Lu, advanced on Xunyang, and besieged Jiankang, the governors' sons Gui of Badong and Lu Xiulie of Baxi rose against Jing Province; Xiao Yingzhou died suddenly of grief and alarm spread through the western court, which called on Wei for troops. Wei detached troops and officials from the provincial staff and sent Prince Dan of Shixing to meet the threat. When Dan arrived, Gui and the rest surrendered. Emperor He of Qi appointed Wei area commander and governor of Yong Province.
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偉性端雅，持軌度。 少好學，篤誠通恕。 趨賢重士，常如弗及，由是四方遊士、當時知名者莫不畢至。 疾亟喪明，便不復出。 齊世青溪宮改為芳林苑，天監初，賜偉為第。 又加穿築，果木珍奇，窮極雕靡，有侔造化。 立遊客省，寒暑得宜，冬有籠爐，夏設飲扇，每與賓客遊其中，命從事中郎蕭子範為之記。 梁蕃邸之盛無過焉。 而性多恩惠，尤湣窮乏。 常遣腹心左右曆訪閭里，人士有貧困吉凶不舉者，即遣贍恤之。 平原王曼穎卒，家貧無以殯，友人江革往哭之。 其妻兒對革號訴，革曰：「建安王當知，必為營理。」 言未訖，而偉使至，給其喪事，得周濟焉。 每祁寒積雪，則遣人載樵米，隨乏絕者賦給之。 晚年崇信佛理，尤精玄學，著二旨義，制性情、幾神等論。 其義僧寵及周舍、殷鈞、陸倕並名精解而不能屈。 朝廷得失，時有匡正。 子侄邪僻，義方訓誘。 斯人斯疾，而不得助主興化，梁政漸替，自公薨焉。 世子恪嗣。
Wei was upright and refined by nature and held himself to strict standards. He had loved learning from youth and was deeply sincere and forgiving. He sought out the worthy and honored scholars as though he could never do enough; men of talent from every quarter and every celebrated name of the day came to his door. When his illness worsened he went blind and never went out again. Under Qi, Qingxi Palace had become Fanglin Park; at the start of Tianjian it was granted to Wei as his mansion. He enlarged and landscaped it further with rare fruit trees and ornament pushed to extravagance, as if rivaling creation itself. He built a guest lodge where the seasons were perfectly managed—braziers in winter, cooling fans in summer—and whenever he entertained there he had Xiao Zifan write an account of the place. No princely mansion in Liang was more splendid. Yet he was deeply kind by nature and especially pitied the poor. He regularly sent trusted agents through the neighborhoods; whenever a scholar fell into poverty or could not afford the rites of life and death, he sent aid at once. When Prince Manying of Pingyuan died, his family was too poor to bury him; his friend Jiang Ge came to mourn. The widow and children poured out their grief to Jiang Ge, who said, "Prince Jian'an will hear of this and will surely see to the burial." He had barely finished when Wei's messenger arrived with funds for the funeral and full relief. In the depths of winter he sent men with firewood and grain to give to whoever was in want. In later life he devoted himself to Buddhism and excelled in Dark Learning, writing Two Essential Meanings and treatises on disposition, subtle spirit, and related themes. Seng Chong, Zhou She, Yin Jun, and Lu Yan were all celebrated for their mastery of such learning, yet none could overturn his arguments. He often corrected the court's errors when he saw them. When sons and nephews went astray, he admonished them with proper teaching. A man of such gifts, cut down by illness before he could help the sovereign restore good rule—from his death Liang governance began to slip. His heir Ke succeeded him.
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世子恪字敬則，弘雅有風則，姿容端麗。 位雍州刺史。 年少未閑庶務，委之群下，百姓每通一辭，數處輸錢，方得聞徹。 賓客有江仲舉、蔡薳、王台卿、庾仲容四人，俱被接遇，並有蓄積。 故人間歌曰：「江千萬，蔡五百，王新車，庾大宅。」 遂達武帝。 帝接之曰：「主人憒憒不如客。」 尋以廬陵王代為刺史。 恪還奉見，武帝以人間語問之，恪大慚，不敢一言。 後折節學問，所曆以善政稱。
The heir Ke, styled Jingze, was gracious and dignified, with a handsome and composed bearing. He served as governor of Yong Province. Still young and unfamiliar with routine administration, he left everything to his staff; for every petition a commoner filed, money had to be paid at several offices before it reached his desk. Among his guests were Jiang Zhongju, Cai Yun, Wang Taiqing, and Yu Zhongrong—four men he favored, each of whom grew rich. A folk song ran, "Jiang's ten million, Cai's five hundred, Wang's new carriage, Yu's great mansion." The song eventually reached Emperor Wu. The emperor heard it and remarked, "The host is muddle-headed—not the equal of his guests." Soon the Prince of Luling replaced him as governor. When Ke returned to court, Emperor Wu asked about the song; Ke was deeply ashamed and could not utter a word. Later he disciplined himself and studied; wherever he served he won praise for good government.
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太清中，為郢州刺史。 及亂，邵陵王至郢，恪郊迎之，讓位焉，邵陵不受。 及王僧辯至郢，恪歸荊州。 元帝以為尚書令、司空。 賊平，為揚州刺史。 時帝未遷都，以恪宗室令譽，故先使歸鎮社稷。 大寶三年，薨于長沙，未之鎮也。 贈太尉，諡曰靖節王。 恪弟恭。
During the Taiqing era he served as governor of Ying Province. When rebellion broke out, the Prince of Shaoling came to Ying; Ke met him outside the city and offered to yield the post, but the prince refused. When Wang Senbian reached Ying, Ke withdrew to Jing Province. Emperor Yuan appointed him Director of the Masters of Writing and Minister of Works. After the rebels were suppressed he was made governor of Yang Province. The emperor had not yet moved the capital; because Ke enjoyed a fine reputation among the clan, he was sent back first to guard the altars of state. In Dabao 3 he died at Changsha before ever taking up his Yangzhou post. He was posthumously made Grand Commandant with the posthumous name Prince Jingjie. Ke's younger brother was Gong.
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恭字敬範，天監八年，封衡山縣侯。 初，樂山侯正則有罪，敕讓諸王，獨謂元襄王曰：「汝兒非直無過，並有義方。」
Gong, styled Jingfan, was enfeoffed as Marquis of Hengshan in Tianjian 8. When Marquis Zhengzhe of Leshan offended, an edict rebuked all the princes but told Prince Wei alone, "Your son is not merely without fault—he has been properly taught."
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歷位監南徐州事。 時衡州刺史武會超在州，子侄縱暴，州人朱朗聚党反，武帝以恭為刺史。 時朗已圍始興，恭至緩服徇賊，示以恩信。 群賊伏其勇，是夜退三舍以避。 軍吏請追，恭曰：「賊以政苛致叛，非有陳、吳之心。 緩之則自潰，急之則並力，諸君置之。」 明日，朗遣使請降，恭杖節受之，一無所問。 即日收始興太守張寶生及會超弟之子子仁斬之軍門，以其賄而虐也。 有司奏恭縱罪人，專戮二千石，有詔宥之。
He served as supervisor of South Xu Province affairs. The governor of Hengzhou, Wu Huichao, and his kin were running riot; Zhu Lang raised a faction in revolt, and Emperor Wu sent Gong as governor. Lang had already besieged Shixing; Gong arrived in plain dress, went among the rebels, and won them with grace and trust. The rebels were awed by his courage; that night they withdrew thirty li to give way. His officers asked to pursue; Gong said, "They rebelled because rule was harsh—they do not have the hearts of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. Ease off and they will collapse on their own; press them and they will unite. Gentlemen, let it be." The next day Lang sent envoys to surrender; Gong received them with his staff of office and questioned no one. That same day he seized the governor of Shixing, Zhang Baosheng, and Huichao's nephew Ziren and executed them at the army gate for bribery and cruelty. The court reported that Gong had released criminals and executed officials of two-thousand-bushel rank on his own authority; an edict pardoned him.
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遷湘州刺史，善解吏事，所在見稱。 而性尚華侈，廣營第宅，重齋步閣，模寫宮殿。 尤好賓友，酣宴終辰，坐客滿筵，言談不倦。 時元帝居蕃，頗事聲譽，勤心著述，卮酒未嘗妄進。 恭每從容謂曰：「下官曆觀時人，多有不好歡興，乃仰眠床上，看屋梁而著書，千秋萬歲，誰傳此者。 勞神苦思，竟不成名。 豈如臨清風，對朗月，登山泛水，肆意酣歌也。」
Transferred to Xiang Province, he was skilled in administration and praised wherever he served. Yet he loved luxury, built mansions on a grand scale, and raised layered halls and corridor towers modeled on palace architecture. He especially loved entertaining; feasts ran from dawn to dusk with every seat filled and conversation that never flagged. At that time the future Emperor Yuan was in his fief, cultivating reputation and writing diligently, never casually raising a cup. Gong would often tell him, "I have watched men of our day—so many shun pleasure, lie on their backs staring at the rafters and writing books. After a thousand years, who will read them? They wear out mind and body yet never win fame. How much better to face a fresh breeze and bright moon, climb hills and drift on water, and sing your fill?"
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尋除甯蠻校尉、雍州刺史，便道之鎮。 簡文少與恭遊，特被賞狎，至是手令勖以政事。 恭至州，政績有聲，百姓請于城南立碑頌德，詔許焉，名為政德碑。 是夜聞數百人大叫碑石下，明旦視之，碑湧起一尺。 恭命以大柱置於碑上，使力士數十人抑之不下，又以酒脯祭之，使人守視，俄而自復，視者竟不見之。 恭聞而惡焉。
He was soon made Colonel of Pacifying the Man and governor of Yong Province, and went straight to his post. Emperor Jianwen had known Gong since youth and favored him warmly; now he sent a personal note urging him to attend to government. At the province Gong's record won renown; the people asked to raise a stele south of the city praising his virtue, and the edict approved it—the Stele of Government Virtue. That night hundreds were heard shouting beneath the stele; at dawn it was found to have risen a foot from the ground. Gong had a great beam set on the stele and dozens of men try to press it down, but it would not stay; he offered wine and meat in sacrifice and set guards—soon the stele righted itself, and the guards never saw how. Gong was displeased when he heard of it.
19
先是，武帝以雍為邊鎮，運數州粟以實儲倉。 恭乃多取官米，還贍私宅； 又典簽陳保印侵克百姓，為荊州刺史廬陵王所啟，被詔征還。 在都朝謁，白服隨列。 帝曰：「白衣者為誰？ 「對曰：「前衡山侯恭。」 帝厲色曰：「不還我陳保印，吾當白汝未已。」 而保印實投湘東王，王改其姓名曰袁逢。 恭竟不敘用。 侯景亂，卒於城中，詔特復本封。 元帝追諡曰僖侯。
Earlier Emperor Wu had made Yong a frontier post and shipped grain from several provinces to fill its storehouses. Gong took large quantities of official grain for his private household; and his registrar Chen Baoyin preyed on the people; the Prince of Luling, governor of Jing, reported him, and an edict recalled him to court. At court he appeared in white robes among the ranks. The emperor asked, "Who is the man in white? The reply came, "The former Marquis of Hengshan, Gong." The emperor said sharply, "Unless you return Chen Baoyin to me, I will keep reporting your offenses." In fact Baoyin had fled to the Prince of Xiangdong, who changed his name to Yuan Feng. Gong was never employed again. During Hou Jing's rebellion he died in the capital; an edict specially restored his original title. Emperor Yuan gave him the posthumous title Marquis Xi.
20
子靜字安仁，少有美名，號為宗室後進。 有文才，而篤志好學。 既內足於財，多聚經史，散書滿席，手自讎校。 何敬容欲以女妻之，靜忌其太盛，拒而不納，時論服焉。 然好戲笑，輕論人物，時以此少之。 位給事黃門侍郎，深為簡文所愛賞。 太清三年卒，贈侍中。
His son Jing, styled Anren, won a fine reputation early and was hailed as a rising talent among the imperial clan. He had literary talent and was deeply devoted to study. Once he had ample means, he gathered classics and histories until books covered his mat, and collated them with his own hand. He Jingrong wished to marry his daughter to him; Jing feared the match would tie him to too powerful a house and refused, to the admiration of his contemporaries. Yet he loved banter and spoke lightly of others, for which contemporaries thought less of him. He served as Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate and was deeply favored by Emperor Jianwen. He died in Taiqing 3 and was posthumously made Palace Attendant.
21
恭弟祗字敬謨，美風儀，幼有令譽。 天監中，封定襄縣侯。 後歷位北兗州刺史。 侯景亂，與從弟湘潭侯退謀起兵內援，會州人反城應景，祗遂奔東魏。
Gong's younger brother Zhi, styled Jingmo, was handsome in bearing and won a fine reputation as a youth. During Tianjian he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Dingxiang. He later served as governor of North Yan Province. During Hou Jing's rebellion he and his cousin, Marquis Tui of Xiangtan, plotted to raise troops in support of the court, but the province rose for Hou Jing and Zhi fled to Eastern Wei.
22
鄱陽忠烈王恢字弘達，文帝第十子也。 幼聰穎，七歲能通孝經、論語義，發擿無遺。 及長，美風儀，涉獵史籍。 仕齊位北中郎外兵參軍，前軍主簿。 宣武王之難，逃在都下。 武帝起兵，恢藏伏得免。 大軍至新林，乃奉迎。
Prince Hui of Poyang (Zhonglie), styled Hongda, was the tenth son of Emperor Wen. Clever as a child, at seven he could expound the Filial Classic and the Analects without missing a point. Grown to manhood, he was handsome in bearing and widely read in history. Under Qi he served as outer army adjutant to the North Central Commandant and chief clerk of the Forward Army. During the crisis of Prince Xuanwu he hid in the capital. When the future Emperor Wu rose in arms, Hui lay hidden and escaped harm. When the main army reached Xinlin, he came out to welcome it.
23
天監元年，封鄱陽郡王。 除郢州刺史，加都督。 初，郢城內疾疫死者甚多，不及藏殯。 恢下車遽命埋瘞，又遣四使巡行州部，境內大寧。 時有進筒中布者，恢以奇貨異服，即命焚之，於是百姓仰德。 累遷都督、益州刺史。 成都去新城五百里，陸路往來，悉訂私馬，百姓患焉，累政不能改。 恢乃市馬千匹以付所訂之家，須則以次發之，百姓賴焉。 再遷開府儀同三司、都督、荊州刺史。 普通七年，薨於州。 詔贈侍中、司徒，諡曰忠烈。
In Tianjian 1 he was enfeoffed as Prince of Poyang. He was appointed governor of Ying Province and made area commander. When he arrived, plague in Ying city had left so many dead that proper burial was impossible. Hui ordered immediate burial as soon as he took office, sent four commissioners to tour the province, and the region grew tranquil. When someone presented exotic cloth in a tube, Hui judged it luxury goods and strange dress and had it burned at once; the people admired his integrity. He was later transferred to area commander and governor of Yi Province. Chengdu lay five hundred li from Xincheng; on the overland route travelers were forced to hire private horses at great cost, a burden successive governors had failed to lift. Hui bought a thousand horses and placed them with the contractors, issuing them in turn as needed; the people were greatly relieved. He was again promoted to Grand Master with golden girdle and privileges equal to the Three Dukes, area commander, and governor of Jing Province. In Putong 7 he died in office. An edict posthumously made him Palace Attendant and Minister of Education, with the posthumous name Zhonglie.
24
恢美容質，善談笑，愛文酒，有士大夫風則。 所在雖無皎察，亦不傷物。 有孝性，初鎮蜀，所生費太妃猶停都。 後於都不豫，恢未之知，一夜忽夢還侍疾。 及覺，憂惶廢寢食。 俄而都信至，太妃已瘳。 後有目疾，久廢視瞻。 有道人慧龍得療眼術，恢請之。 及至，空中忽見聖僧。 及慧龍下針，豁然開朗，咸謂精誠所致。
Hui was handsome, witty in conversation, fond of books and wine, and carried himself like a cultivated gentleman. Though not sharp in investigation wherever he served, he never harmed people. He was deeply filial; when he first governed Shu, his mother, the Grand Consort Fei, was still in the capital. Later she fell ill in the capital, though Hui did not yet know; one night he dreamed he had returned to nurse her. On waking he was so anxious he could neither eat nor sleep. Soon a messenger from the capital arrived: the Grand Consort had recovered. Later he suffered an eye ailment and for a long time could barely see. A Daoist named Huilong knew a cure for the eyes, and Hui summoned him. When he arrived, a holy monk suddenly appeared in midair. When Huilong inserted the needle, Hui's sight cleared at once; all attributed it to his sincere devotion.
25
恢性通恕，輕財好施，凡曆四州，所得奉祿，隨而散之。 在荊州，嘗從容問賓僚曰：「中山好酒，趙王好吏，二者孰愈？」 眾未有對者。 顧謂長史蕭琛曰：「漢時王侯，蕃屏而已，視事親人，自有其職。 中山聽樂，可得任性； 彭祖代吏，近於侵官。 今之王侯，不守蕃國，當佐天子臨人，清白其優乎。」 坐者咸服。 有男女百人，男封侯者三十九人，女主三十八人。 世子範嗣。
Hui was generous and forgiving by nature, careless of wealth and fond of giving; over four provinces he spent his salary as fast as he received it. In Jing Province he once asked his staff, "The Prince of Zhongshan loved wine; the Prince of Zhao loved handling clerical work—which is better?" No one answered. He turned to his chief clerk Xiao Chen and said, "Under Han, princes were only a screen for the throne; each had his own staff for government and kin. Zhongshan listening to music was indulging himself; Pengzu doing clerks' work bordered on usurping office. Today's princes no longer keep to their fiefs but should aid the Son of Heaven in ruling the people—isn't integrity the better course?" All present were convinced. He had a hundred children; thirty-nine sons were enfeoffed as marquises and thirty-eight daughters were titled ladies. His heir Fan succeeded him.
26
範雖無學術，而以籌略自命。 愛奇翫古，招集文才，率意題章，亦時有奇致。 嘗得舊琵琶，題云：「齊竟陵世子」。 範嗟人往物存，攬筆為詠，以示湘東王，王吟詠其辭，作琵琶賦和之。
Fan lacked scholarship but styled himself a strategist. He loved curiosities and antiquities, gathered men of letters, wrote verse on impulse, and sometimes struck a distinctive note. He once came upon an old pipa inscribed, "Heir Apparent of Jingling of Qi." Moved that the man was gone while the instrument endured, Fan wrote a poem and sent it to the Prince of Xiangdong, who read it aloud and composed a Pipa Rhapsody in reply.
27
後為都督、雍州刺史。 範作牧蒞人，甚得時譽，撫循將士，盡獲歡心。 於是養士馬，修城郭，聚軍糧於私邸。 時廬陵王為荊州，既是都督府，又素不相能，乃啟稱範謀亂。 范亦馳啟自理，武帝恕焉。 時論者猶謂範欲為賊。 又童謠云：「莫匆匆，且寬公，誰當作天子，草覆車邊已。」 時武帝年高，諸王莫肯相服。 簡文雖居儲貳，亦不自安，而與司空邵陵王綸特相疑阻。 綸時為丹陽尹，威震都下。 簡文乃選精兵以衛宮內。 兄弟相貳，聲聞四方。 范以名應謠言而求為公，未幾，加開府儀同三司。 範心密喜，以為謠驗，武帝若崩，諸王必亂，範既得眾，又有重名，謂可因機以定天下。 乃更收士眾，希望非常。
He was later appointed area commander and governor of Yong Province. As regional governor Fan won wide acclaim for his care of the people, and by winning over his officers and troops he earned their full loyalty. He then raised troops and horses, repaired the city walls, and hoarded military provisions in his private residence. The Prince of Luling then governed Jing Province from the area-command headquarters; he and Fan had long been at odds, and the prince memorialized the throne accusing Fan of plotting rebellion. Fan immediately sent his own memorial in defense, and Emperor Wu pardoned him. Public opinion nonetheless still held that Fan meant to rebel. A children's song also ran: "Do not be hasty, for now spare the Duke—who shall become Son of Heaven? The grass already covers the side of the chariot. Emperor Wu was then old, and none of the princes would defer to the others. Even Crown Prince Jianwen felt insecure, and he and the Prince of Shaoling, Lun, minister of works, were especially mistrustful of each other. Lun was then governor of Danyang, and his authority dominated the capital. Jianwen selected elite troops to guard the palace. The rift between the brothers became known throughout the realm. Fan, reading his name into the prophecy, sought the title of Duke; he was soon promoted to grand general with the honors of an independent headquarters. Fan secretly exulted, taking the song as prophecy fulfilled: when Emperor Wu died the princes would surely quarrel, and with armies and a great reputation he believed he could seize the moment to settle the realm. He again rallied followers and nursed ambitions beyond the ordinary.
28
太清元年，大舉北侵。 初謀元帥，帝欲用範。 時朱異取急外還，聞之遽入曰：「嗣王雄豪蓋世，得人死力，然所至殘暴非常，非吊人之材。 昔陛下登北顧亭以望，謂江右有反氣，骨肉為戎首。 今日之事，尤宜詳擇。」 帝默然曰：「會理何如？」 對曰：「陛下得之，臣無恨矣。」 會理懦而無謀，所乘襻輿施版屋，冠以牛皮。 帝聞不悅，行至宿預，貞陽侯明請行，又以明代之，而以範為征北大將軍，總督漢北征討諸軍事，尋遷南豫州刺史。
In the first year of the Taiqing era, the court launched a major northern offensive. When the supreme command was first discussed, the emperor wished to appoint Fan. Zhu Yi had just returned in haste from outside the capital; hearing of the plan, he rushed in and said, "The heir prince is a peerless warrior who wins men's death-defying loyalty, yet wherever he goes he is savagely brutal—not the man to succor the people. Your Majesty once climbed Beigu Pavilion and said that east of the Yangtze there was an air of rebellion, and that flesh and blood would lead the revolt. This appointment especially demands careful consideration. The emperor was silent, then asked, "What of Huili?" Zhu Yi replied, "If Your Majesty chooses him, I shall have no further objections." Huili was timid and without a strategist's mind; his traveling carriage was fitted with a plank shelter and covered in ox hide. Displeased, the emperor pressed on to Suyu, where the Marquis of Zhenyang, Ming, volunteered to lead the campaign and was appointed in Huili's place; Fan was made grand general for the northern expedition with overall command of forces north of the Han, and was soon transferred to governor of Southern Yu Province.
29
侯景敗于渦陽，退保壽陽，乃改範為合州刺史，鎮合肥。 時景不臣跡露，範屢啟言之，朱異每抑而不奏。 及景圍都，範遣世子嗣與裴之高等入援。 遷開府儀同三司。 台城不守，範乃棄合肥，出守東關，請兵于魏，遣二子為質。 魏人據合肥，竟不助範。 范進退無計，乃泝流西上，軍于樅陽，遣信告尋陽王大心。 大心要還九江，欲共兵西上。 范得書大喜，乃引軍至盆城，以晉熙為晉州。 遣子嗣為刺史，江州郡縣，輒更改易。 於是尋陽政令所行，唯存一郡，又疑畏範，市糴不通。 范乃復遣其弟觀甯侯永將兵通南川，助莊鐵。 時二鎮相猜，無復圖賊之志。 范數萬之眾，皆無復食，人多餓死。 範竟發背而薨。 眾秘不發喪，奉弟南安侯恬為主，有眾數千。 范將侯瑱襲莊鐵于豫章，殺之，盡並其軍。 乃迎喪往郡，於松門遇風，柩沈于水，鉤求得之。 及于慶之逼豫章，侯瑱以範子十六人降賊，賊盡於石頭坑殺之。
Hou Jing was defeated at Woyang and fell back on Shouyang; Fan was reassigned governor of He Province to hold Hefei. Hou Jing's disloyalty was already obvious, but though Fan repeatedly memorialized warning of it, Zhu Yi suppressed his reports and never forwarded them to the throne. When Hou Jing besieged the capital, Fan sent his heir Si and Pei Zhigao and others to relieve the city. He was promoted to grand general with the honors of an independent headquarters. When the capital fell, Fan abandoned Hefei, withdrew to hold Dong Pass, asked Wei for troops, and sent two sons as hostages. The Wei forces seized Hefei and never sent Fan the aid he had begged for. With no way forward or back, Fan marched upriver to Zongyang and wrote to the Prince of Xunyang, Daxin. Daxin proposed returning to Jiujiang and advancing west with combined forces. Overjoyed at the reply, Fan advanced to Pencheng and reorganized Jingxi as Jin Province. He installed his son Si as governor and arbitrarily reshuffled the counties and commanderies of Jiang Province. Xunyang's authority now reached only a single commandery; Daxin both feared Fan and found the grain markets blocked. Fan again sent his brother Yong, Marquis of Guanning, with troops to open the southern route and support Zhuang Tie. The two regional commands now suspected each other and no longer had any thought of fighting the rebels. Fan's army of tens of thousands ran out of food, and many starved to death. Fan at last died of a back malady. The army hid his death and made his brother Tian, Marquis of Nan'an, their leader, with several thousand men under them. Fan's commander Hou Tian attacked Zhuang Tie at Yuzhang, killed him, and absorbed his entire force. As they bore the coffin toward the commandery, a storm at Songmen sank it; they fished it out with grappling hooks. When Yu Qingzhi pressed Yuzhang, Hou Tian surrendered Fan's sixteen sons to the rebels, who massacred them in a pit at Shitou.
30
諮弟修字世和，封宜豐侯。 局力貞固，風儀嚴整。 九歲通論語，十一能屬文。 鴻臚卿裴子野見而賞之。 性至孝，年十二，丁所生徐氏艱，自荊州反葬，中江遇風，前後部伍多致沈溺，修抱柩長號，血淚俱下，隨波搖盪，終得無佗。 葬訖，因廬墓次。 先時山中多猛獸，至是絕跡。 野鳥馴狎，棲宿簷宇。 武帝嘉之，以班告宗室。
Zi's younger brother Xiu, styled Shihe, was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yifeng. Steadfast in character and dignified in bearing. At nine he had mastered the Analects; by eleven he could write essays. Pei Ziye, grand master of splendid emissaries, noticed him and praised his talent. Deeply filial by nature, at twelve he mourned his birth mother, Lady Xu; escorting her body from Jing Province for burial, his party was caught mid-river in a storm and many companions drowned. Clinging to the coffin, he wailed until blood mingled with his tears and he was tossed on the waves, yet he survived unscathed. After the burial he built a mourning hut beside the tomb. Fierce beasts had long haunted the hills nearby; from then on they disappeared entirely. Wild birds grew tame and roosted on the eaves of his hut. Emperor Wu praised his devotion and circulated notice of it throughout the imperial clan.
31
為兼衛尉卿。 美姿貌，每屯兵周衛，武帝視之移輦。 初，嗣王范為衛尉，夜中行城，常因風便鞭棰宿衛，欲令帝知其勤。 及修在職，夜必再巡，而不欲人知。 或問其故，曰：「夜中警逴，實有其勞，主上慈愛，聞之容或賜止。 違詔則不可，奉詔則廢事。 且胡質之清，尚畏人知，此職司之常，何足自顯。」 聞者嘆服。
He served as acting minister steward. Handsome in appearance, whenever he commanded the palace guard the emperor's gaze would linger on him. When Fan had held the post of minister steward, he used to patrol the walls at night and, letting the wind carry the sound, whip the night guards so the emperor would hear of his diligence. In the same post, Xiu made two rounds every night but took care that no one should know. Asked why, he said, "Night patrol is genuinely arduous; our lord is kindly, and if he heard of it he might kindly order us to stop. To disobey would be wrong, yet to obey would leave the duty undone. Even Hu Zhi, famed for integrity, feared being seen at his duties; this work is simply the job's requirement—why advertise it? Listeners were deeply impressed.
32
時王子侯多為近畿小郡，曆試有績，乃得出為邊州。 帝以修識量宏達，自衛尉出鎮鍾離，徙為梁、秦二州刺史。 在漢中七年，移風改俗，人號慈父。 長史范洪胄有田一頃，將秋遇蝗，修躬至田所，深自咎責。 功曹史琅邪王廉勸修捕之，修曰：「此由刺史無德所致，捕之何補。」 言卒，忽有飛鳥千群蔽日而至，瞬息之間，食蟲遂盡而去，莫知何鳥。 適有台使見之，具言於帝，璽書勞問，手詔曰：「犬牙不入，無以過也。」 州人表請立碑頌德。 嗣王範在盆城，頗有異論，武陵王大生疑防，流言噂誻。 修深自分釋，求送質子，並請助防。 武陵王乃遣從事中郎蕭固諮以當世之事，具觀修意。 修泣涕為言忠臣孝子之節，王敬納之。 故終修之時，不為不義。 一夕，忽有狗據修所臥床而臥。 修曰：「此其戎乎。」 因大修城壘。
Princes and marquises were usually assigned small domains near the capital; only after proving themselves in office were they posted to frontier provinces. Judging Xiu broad-minded and capable, the emperor transferred him from minister steward to command Zhongli, then made him governor of Liang and Qin provinces. For seven years in Hanzhong he reformed local ways, and the people called him the Merciful Father. When locusts threatened the autumn crop on a field belonging to his chief administrator Fan Hongzhou, Xiu went there himself and took the blame upon himself. Wang Lian, a clerk from Langya, urged him to organize a hunt; Xiu replied, "This affliction comes from my own lack of virtue as governor—what good would catching them do? He had barely finished when thousands of birds blotted out the sun, devoured the locusts in moments, and vanished—no one could say what kind they were. An imperial envoy happened to witness the scene and reported it in full; the emperor sent a commendatory letter and wrote by his own hand, "Not so much as a dog's tooth got through—nothing could exceed this. The people of the province petitioned to raise a stele in his honor. Fan was at Pencheng and whispers of intrigue abounded; the Prince of Wuling, Da, grew deeply suspicious, and malicious gossip spread. Xiu protested his loyalty at length, offered to send a son as hostage, and asked for help in guarding his frontier. The Prince of Wuling sent Attendant Gentleman Xiao Gu to discuss current affairs and take the measure of Xiu's mind. Weeping, Xiu spoke of loyalty and filial devotion; the prince accepted his words with respect. Accordingly, throughout Xiu's tenure he never acted unjustly. One night a dog came and lay on Xiu's own bed. Xiu said, "Surely this foretells war. He therefore greatly strengthened the walls and fortifications.
33
承聖元年，魏將達奚武來攻，修遣記室參軍劉璠至益州，求救于武陵王紀，遣將楊幹運援之，拜修隨郡王。 璠還至嶓塚，乃降于魏，幹運班師。 璠至城下，說城中降魏。 修數之曰：「卿不能死節，反為說客邪！」 命射之。 間信遣至荊州，元帝遣與相聞。
In the first year of Chengsheng the Wei general Daci Wu attacked; Xiu sent Recorder Liu Fan to Yizhou to beg aid from Prince Ji of Wuling, dispatched General Yang Ganyun as reinforcement, and was enfeoffed as Prince of Suixian. Liu Fan turned back at Bianzhong and surrendered to Wei; Yang Ganyun withdrew his force. Liu Fan appeared beneath the walls and urged the garrison to surrender to Wei. Xiu upbraided him: "You cannot die keeping faith with your post, yet come as an enemy envoy? He ordered his archers to shoot him. He exchanged secret messages with Jing Province, and Emperor Yuan sent envoys to communicate with him.
34
修中直兵參軍陳晷甚勇有口，求為覘候，見獲，以辭烈被害。 乃遣諮議虞馨致武牛酒。 武謂曰：「梁已為侯景所敗，王何為守此孤城？」 修答守之以死，誓為斷頭將軍。 魏相安定公宇文泰遣書喻之，力屈乃降。 安定公禮之甚厚，未幾令還江陵，厚遣之，以文武千家為綱紀之僕。 元帝慮其為變，中使覘伺，不絕於道。 至之夕，命劫竊之。 及旦，修表輸馬仗而後帝安。 修入覲，望合悲不自勝，元帝亦慟，盡朝皆泣。
Chen Gui, a direct retainer on Xiu's staff, was bold and quick-tongued; volunteering as a scout, he was captured and killed for his defiant speech. He then sent Adviser Yu Xin to present Daci Wu with cattle and wine. Wu said to him, "Liang has already been broken by Hou Jing—why do you hold this isolated city? Xiu answered that he would defend it with his life, vowing to die rather than surrender. Yuwen Tai, Duke of Anding and chancellor of Wei, sent letters urging surrender; when resistance failed, Xiu yielded. The Duke of Anding treated him with great honor, and soon allowed him to return to Jiangling with generous gifts and a retinue of a thousand civil and military households. Emperor Yuan feared he might raise trouble; imperial envoys watched him without pause along the road. On the night of his arrival the emperor ordered his arms and horses seized. At daybreak Xiu memorialized the court offering up his horses and weapons, and only then did the emperor feel secure. When Xiu came to audience, he and the emperor gazed at each other in grief beyond bearing; Emperor Yuan too was overcome, and the whole court wept.
35
尋拜湘州刺史。 長沙頻遇兵荒，人戶凋弊。 修勸穡務分，未期，流人至者三千餘家。 元帝多忌，動加誅翦。 修靜恭自守，埋聲晦跡。 元帝亦以宗室長年，深相敬禮。 及江陵被圍問至，即日登舟赴救。 至巴陵西，而江陵覆滅。 敬帝立，遙授修太尉，遷太保。 時王室浸微，修雖圖義舉，力弱不能自振，遂發背歐血而薨，年五十二。
He was soon appointed governor of Xiang Province. Changsha had suffered repeated war and famine; its population was devastated. Xiu promoted farming and fair land allocation; before his term was half over, more than three thousand refugee households had returned. Emperor Yuan was deeply suspicious and quick to purge those he feared. Xiu kept quiet and to himself, concealing his presence and making no show of himself. Emperor Yuan also treated him with deep respect, honoring him as the senior prince of the clan. When word came that Jiangling was under siege, he boarded a boat that very day to go to its relief. He reached a point west of Baling only to learn that Jiangling had already fallen. When Emperor Jing came to the throne, Xiu was appointed Grand Commandant from afar, then promoted to Grand Tutor. The house of Liang was failing; though Xiu dreamed of a loyal rising, he lacked the strength to rouse himself, and he died at fifty-two of a back ailment that brought up blood.
36
修弟泰字世怡，封豐城侯。 歷位中書舍人，傾竭財產，以事時要，超為譙州刺史。 江北人情獷強，前後刺史並綏撫之。 泰至州，便遍發人丁，使擔腰輿扇傘等物，不限士庶。 恥為之者，重加杖責，多輸財者，即放免之，於是人皆思亂。 及侯景至，人無戰心，乃先覆敗。
Xiu's younger brother Tai, styled Shiyi, was enfeoffed as Marquis of Fengcheng. He served as a palace secretary, spent his fortune currying favor with the powerful, and was promoted out of turn to governor of Qiao Province. The people north of the Yangtze were rough and unruly; every governor before him had ruled them with conciliation. When Tai took up his post he conscripted men throughout the province to carry his sedan chair, fans, and umbrellas, gentry and commoners alike. Those who refused were savagely beaten; those who paid large bribes were excused from service, until everyone under him dreamed of revolt. When Hou Jing arrived, his men had no heart to fight, and Tai's force collapsed before the rest.
37
六年，州大水，江溢堤壞，憺親率將吏，冒雨賦丈尺築之，而雨甚水壯，眾皆恐，或請避焉。 憺曰：「王尊尚欲身塞河堤，我獨何心以免。」 乃登堤歎息，終日輟膳，刑白馬祭江神。 酹酒於流，以身為百姓請命，言終而水退堤立。 邴洲在南岸，數百家見水長驚走，登屋緣樹。 憺募人救之，一口賞一萬。 估客數十人應募，洲人皆以免，吏人嘆服，咸稱神勇。 又分遣諸郡遭水死者給棺槥，失田者與糧種。 是歲嘉禾生於州界，吏人歸美焉。
In his sixth year as governor a great flood broke the river dikes; Dan personally led his officers and clerks into the rain to organize repairs by measured sections, but the storm worsened and the waters rose until his men were terrified and some begged him to withdraw. Dan said, "Wang Zun was ready to stop a breach with his own body—why should I alone seek to save myself?" He climbed the dike and lamented, went the whole day without food, and sacrificed a white horse to the river god. He poured wine into the flood and offered his own life in prayer for the people; as he finished speaking the waters fell and the dikes held. On Bing Isle on the south bank several hundred families, seeing the flood rise, fled in panic to rooftops and treetops. Dan offered a reward of ten thousand cash for every life rescued. Several dozen merchant adventurers answered the call and saved everyone on the isle; officials and clerks marveled and hailed Dan's courage as almost supernatural. He also ordered the commanderies to supply coffins for flood victims and seed grain to farmers who had lost their fields. That year exceptional grain appeared within the province, and officials credited Dan with the blessing.
38
九年，拜都督、益州刺史。 舊守宰丞尉歲時乞丐，躬曆村裏，百姓苦之，習以為常。 憺至州，停斷嚴切，百姓以蘇。 又興學校，祭漢蜀郡太守文翁，由是人多向方者。
In the ninth year he was made area commander and governor of Yi Province. Under earlier governors, prefects and magistrates had made a custom of going door to door at festival seasons to solicit gifts, and the people had long suffered it as routine. When Dan arrived he banned the practice outright, and the people breathed easier. He founded schools and offered sacrifice to Wen Weng, the Han governor who had brought learning to Shu, and many in the province turned toward the right path.
39
十四年，遷都督、荊州刺史。 同母兄安成王秀將之雍州，薨於道。 憺聞喪自投于地，席稿哭泣，不飲不食者數日，傾財產賻送，部伍大小皆取足焉，天下稱其悌。
In the fourteenth year he was transferred to area commander and governor of Jing Province. His elder brother of the same mother, Prince Xiu of An Cheng, died on the road while setting out for Yong Province. When Dan heard the news he threw himself to the ground, sat on straw matting, and for days would neither eat nor drink; he spent his fortune on the funeral until every member of the cortege, high and low, was fully provided for, and the realm praised his brotherly devotion.
40
十八年，徵為侍中、中撫軍將軍、開府儀同三司、領軍將軍，即開府黃合。 薨，二宮悲惜，輿駕臨幸者七焉。 贈司徒，諡曰忠武。 憺未薨前，夢改封中山王，策授如他日，意頗惡之，數旬而卒。 憺有惠西土，荊州人聞薨，皆哭於巷，嫁娶有吉日，移以避哀。 子亮嗣。
In the eighteenth year he was recalled to court as palace attendant, Central General Who Pacifies the Army, grand master with privileges equal to the Three Dukes, and commander of the army guard, and immediately opened his independent headquarters at the Yellow Gate. He died; empress and emperor alike mourned him, and the imperial carriage came in person seven times. He was posthumously made Minister of Education with the posthumous name Zhongwu. Shortly before his death Dan dreamed that he had been re-enfeoffed as Prince of Zhongshan and received a patent of appointment as in former days; the omen troubled him, and within weeks he was dead. Dan had been a benefactor to the west; when Jing Province learned of his death people wept in the streets, and families with weddings scheduled on auspicious days postponed them out of grief. His son Liang succeeded him.
41
亮弟映字文明，年十二，為國子生。 天監十七年，詔諸生答策，宗室則否。 帝知映聰解，特令問策，又口對，並見奇。 謂祭酒袁昂曰：「吾家千里駒也。」
Liang's younger brother Ying, styled Wenming, entered the Imperial University at twelve. In Tianjian 17 an edict required students to sit the written examination, but exempted members of the imperial clan. Knowing Ying's quick intelligence, the emperor made an exception and put him to the examination; he answered both in writing and orally, and in each case astonished his examiners. He told Chancellor Yuan Ang, "There is a thousand-li colt in our house."
42
起家淮南太守，諸兄未有除命，乃抗表讓焉。 映美容儀。 普通二年，封廣信縣侯。 丁父憂，隆冬席地，哭不絕聲，不嚐穀粒，唯飲冷水，因患癥結。 除太子洗馬。 詔以憺艱難王業，追增國封。 嗣王陳讓，既不獲許，乃乞頒邑諸弟。 帝許之，改封新渝縣侯。 後居太妃憂泣血，三年服闋，為吳興太守。 郡累不稔，中大通三年，野谷生武康，凡二十二處，自此豐穰。 映制嘉谷頌以聞，中詔稱美。
His first appointment was as governor of Huainan, but because his elder brothers had received no posts yet he memorialized the throne refusing it. Ying was handsome in bearing. In Putong 2 he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Guangxin. Mourning his father, he sat on bare ground in the depth of winter, weeping without pause, eating no grain and drinking only cold water until he developed a painful abdominal affliction. He was appointed groom of the heir apparent's stables. An edict posthumously enlarged the principality in recognition of Dan's service through the dynasty's trials. The heir Liang offered to yield the title; when the court refused, he asked instead to divide the fief among his younger brothers. The emperor agreed, and Ying was re-enfeoffed as Marquis of Xinyu. Later, mourning his father's consort, he wept until blood mingled with his tears; when the three-year mourning ended he was made governor of Wuxing. The commandery had suffered poor harvests for years; in Zhongdatong 3 wild grain sprang up at Wukang in twenty-two places, and from then on the land turned abundant. Ying composed an Ode to Fine Grain and sent it to court; an imperial edict praised his tribute.
43
後為北徐州刺史，在任弘恕，人吏懷之。 常載粟帛游於境內，遇有貧者，即以振焉。 勝境名山，多所尋履。 及征將還，鍾離人顧思遠挺叉行部伍中。 映見甚老，使人問，對曰：「年一百一十二歲。 凡七娶，有子十二，死亡略盡。 今唯小者，年已六十，又無孫息，家闕養乏，是以行役。」 映大異之，召賜之食，食兼於人。 檢其頭有肉角長寸，遂命後舟載還都，謁見天子。 與之言往事，多異所傳，擢為散騎侍郎，賜以奉宅，朝夕進見，年百二十卒。 又普通中北侵，攻穰城，城內有人年二百四十歲，不復能食穀，唯飲曾孫婦乳。 簡文帝命勞之，賜以束帛。 荊州上津鄉人張元始年一百一十六歲，膂力過人，進食不異，至年九十七方生兒，兒遂無影。 將亡，人人告別，乃至山林樹木處處履行，少日而終，時人以為知命。 湘東王愛奇重異，遂留其枕。
He later served as governor of North Xu Province, where his generous rule won the affection of people and officials alike. He often traveled the province with grain and cloth in his carriage, giving relief wherever he found need. He wandered many famous mountains and scenic places. As he was recalled and about to depart, a man of Zhongli named Gu Siyuan, carrying a pitchfork, walked among his escort's ranks. Ying saw how aged he was and sent a man to ask; the reply came, "One hundred twelve years old. I have had seven wives and twelve sons, and death has taken nearly all of them. Only my youngest son survives, and he is already sixty, with no grandson to support us; the household is destitute, and so I am out on corvée duty." Ying was astonished, summoned him, and gave him a meal; the old man ate twice what an ordinary man could hold. On examination they found a fleshy horn an inch long on his head; Ying had him sent by boat to the capital to be presented at court. When questioned about the past he told many things at odds with received history; he was promoted to Attendant Cavalry Gentleman, given a residence at court, admitted to audience morning and evening, and died at one hundred twenty. During Putong, in the northern campaign against Xiangcheng, a man in the city was said to be two hundred forty years old, unable to eat grain and sustained only by his great-grandson's wife's milk. Emperor Jianwen sent orders to honor him and rewarded him with silks. Zhang Yuanshi of Shangjin in Jing Province was one hundred sixteen, with strength beyond ordinary men and an appetite no different from a youth's; he fathered a son only at ninety-seven, and that son cast no shadow. When death approached he bade farewell to everyone, even walking among the hills, woods, and trees one last time; he died within days, and contemporaries said he had known his end. The Prince of Xiangdong, who loved curiosities, kept his pillow as a relic.
44
映後曆給事黃門侍郎，衛尉卿，廣州刺史，卒官，諡曰寬侯。
Ying later served as Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, minister steward, and governor of Guang Province; he died in office and was posthumously titled Marquis Kuan.
45
映弟曄字通明，美姿容，善談吐。 初封安陸侯。 憺特所鍾愛，常目送之曰：「吾所深憂。」 左右問其故，答曰：「其過俊發，恐必無年。」 及憺不豫，侍疾衣不釋帶，言與淚並。 憺薨，扶而後起。 服闋，改封上黃侯，位兼宗正卿。 簡文入居監撫，曄獻儲德頌，遷給事黃門侍郎。
Ying's younger brother Ye, styled Tongming, was handsome and a gifted conversationalist. He was first enfeoffed as Marquis of Anlu. Dan doted on him above all and, watching him go, would say, "He is what I worry over most." When attendants asked why, he answered, "He burns too bright and blooms too early—I fear he will not live long." When Dan fell ill Ye nursed him without loosening his belt day or night, speech and tears mingling. When Dan died, others had to lift Ye before he could stand. After mourning he was re-enfeoffed as Marquis of Shanghuang and made concurrent director of the imperial clan. When Jianwen took up his post as crown prince's overseer, Ye presented an Ode to Stored Virtue and was promoted to Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate.
46
出為晉陵太守。 美才仗氣，言多激揚。 常乘折角牛，榖木履，被服必於儒者。 名盛海內，為宗室推重，特被簡文友愛。 與新渝、建安、南浦並預密宴，號東宮四友。 簡文日有五六使來往。 曄初至郡，屬旱，躬自祈禱，果獲甘潤。 郡雀林村舊多猛獸為害，曄在政六年，此暴遂息。 卒於郡。 初，曄寢疾歷年，官曹壅滯，有司案諡法「言行相違曰替」，乃諡替侯。
He was sent out as governor of Jinling. Talented and proud, he spoke with fiery eloquence. He often rode a crook-horned ox, wore wooden sandals, and dressed always in the plain style of a scholar. His fame spread throughout the realm; the clan held him in high regard, and Jianwen cherished him above others. Together with the lords of Xinyu, Jian'an, and Nanpu he shared the crown prince's private banquets and was known as one of the Four Friends of the Eastern Palace. Jianwen exchanged five or six messages with him every day. When Ye first arrived at his commandery a drought was upon the land; he prayed in person, and gentle rain followed. Queilin Village in the commandery had long been terrorized by wild beasts; within six years of Ye's rule the scourge ceased. He died in office. Ye had been bedridden for years and his office had fallen into neglect; the authorities, citing the rule that "when words and deeds diverge, the name is Ti," posthumously titled him Marquis Ti.
47
論曰：自昔王者創業，莫不廣植親親，割裂州國，封建子弟。 是以大旆少帛，崇于魯、衛，磐石犬牙，寄深梁、楚。 梁武遠遵前軌，蕃屏懿親，至於戚枝，咸被任遇。 若蕭景才辯，固亦梁之令望者乎。 臨川不才，頻叨重寄，古者睦親之道，粲而不殊，加之重名，則有之矣。 而宏屢黷彝典，一撓師徒，梁之不綱，於斯為甚。 正德穢行早顯，逆心夙構，比齊襄而跡可匹，似吳濞而勢不侔，徒為賊景之階梯，竟取國敗而身滅，哀哉！ 安成、南平、鄱陽、始興俱以名跡著美，蓋亦有梁之間、平也。
Discussion: From antiquity, founding kings have always extended favor to kin, carved up provinces and states, and enfeoffed their sons and brothers. Hence the Zhou invested Lu and Wei with great banners and lesser silks, and the Han set Liang and Chu like bedrock with interlocking fiefs. Emperor Wu of Liang followed that ancient path, making a screen of worthy kin, and every branch of the clan received office and favor. A man of Xiao Jing's eloquence was surely among Liang's brightest hopes. The Prince of Linchuan lacked talent yet was repeatedly entrusted with weighty posts; in antiquity kin were honored without being set apart, and in that sense a great name was not unknown. But Hong repeatedly violated the laws and once threw the army into disorder; nowhere was Liang's loss of discipline more complete. Zhengde's depravity showed early and treason had long been in his heart; he matched Duke Xiang of Qi in deed and Liu Pi of Wu in ambition, though not in power, yet served only as a stair for Hou Jing and in the end brought the realm to ruin and himself to destruction—alas! An Cheng, Nanping, Poyang, and Shixing all won honor in name and deed—they were, one might say, Liang's own Jian and Ping.