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列傳第五十二
Biography 52
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賀瑒司馬褧朱異顧協徐摛鮑泉
He Yang, Sima Jiong, Zhu Yi, Gu Xie, Xu Chi, and Bao Quan
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瑒少聰敏，齊時沛國劉瓛為會稽府丞，見瑒深器異之。 嘗與俱造吳郡張融，指瑒謂曰：「此生將來為儒者宗矣。」 薦之為國子生，舉明經。 後為太學博士。
He Yang was bright even as a boy. In the Qi period, Liu Huan of Pei served as assistant administrator in Kuaiji and, on meeting Yang, took a deep liking to him and saw unusual promise in him. On one occasion he took Yang to call on Zhang Rong of Wu commandery, pointed to the boy, and said, "This lad will one day be a master among the Ru scholars." He recommended Yang for enrollment as a national university student and had him nominated in the Mingjing examination. He later served as an Erudite at the Imperial Academy.
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梁天監初，為太常丞，有司舉修賓禮，召見說禮義。 武帝異之，詔朝朔望，預華林講。 四年，初開五館，以瑒兼五經博士。 別詔為皇太子定禮，撰五經義。 時武帝方創定禮樂，瑒所建議多見施行。 七年，拜步兵校尉，領五經博士。 卒於館。 所著禮、易、老、莊講疏，朝廷博士議數百篇，賓禮儀注一百四十五卷。
Early in the Liang emperor Wu's Tianjian era, he served as Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. When the authorities nominated him to revise the rites for receiving guests, he was summoned to court to explain ritual principles. The emperor was impressed and commanded him to attend court on the new and full moon of each month and to take part in the Huilin lecture series. In the fourth year, when the Five Halls were first established, Yang was appointed concurrent Erudite for the Five Classics. A separate edict assigned him to set down ritual for the crown prince and to compile commentaries on the meaning of the Five Classics. While the emperor was still creating the new ritual and music code, most of Yang's recommendations were adopted. In the seventh year he received the post of Commandant of Footsoldiers while retaining his charge as Erudite of the Five Classics. He died in office at the academy hall. He wrote lecture commentaries on the Rites, the Changes, the Laozi, and the Zhuangzi, several hundred policy memorials from his tenure as court erudite, and a 145-juan commentary on guest ritual.
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瑒于禮尤精，館中生徒常數百，弟子明經對策至數十人。 二子革、季，弟子琛，並傳瑒業。
Yang was preeminent in ritual studies. His hall regularly held several hundred pupils, and dozens of his students passed the classics examination and policy tests. His sons Ge and Ji and his disciple Chen all carried on his scholarly tradition.
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革字文明，少以家貧，躬耕供養，年二十，始輟耒就父受業，精力不怠。 有六尺方床，思義未達，則橫臥其上，不盡其義，終不肯食。 通三禮。 及長，遍治孝經、論語、毛詩、左傳，為兼太學博士。 長七尺八寸，雍容都雅，吐納蘊藉。 敕于永福省為邵陵、湘東、武陵三王講禮。 後為國子博士，于學講授，生徒常數百人。 出為西中郎湘東王諮議參軍，帶江陵令。 王於州置學，以革領儒林祭酒，講三禮，荊楚衣冠聽者甚眾。 前後再監南平郡，為人吏所懷。 尋兼平西長史、南郡太守。 革至孝，常恨食祿代耕，不及為養。 在荊州曆為郡縣，所得俸秩，不及妻孥，專擬還鄉造寺，以申感思。 子徽，美風儀，能談吐，深為革愛，先革卒。 革哭之，因遘疾而卒。
Ge, whose style was Wenming, grew up in poverty and farmed with his own hands to support the household. Only at twenty did he set aside the plough to study under his father, and he never flagged in his diligence. He kept a six-foot square couch. Whenever a passage's meaning eluded him, he would stretch out on it and refuse to eat until he had worked the sense through completely. He attained mastery of the Three Rites. As an adult he studied the Classic of Filial Piety, the Analects, the Mao version of the Odes, and the Zuo Commentary in full, and was appointed concurrent Erudite at the Imperial Academy. He stood seven chi eight cun tall, carried himself with dignified grace, and spoke with quiet, cultivated restraint. By imperial command he taught ritual at Yongfu Palace to the princes of Shaoling, Xiangdong, and Wuling. He later served as Erudite of the National University, where he lectured to audiences that regularly numbered in the hundreds. He left the capital to serve as staff adviser to the Prince of Xiangdong, Western Palace Gentleman-General, while also holding the post of magistrate of Jiangling. The prince founded a provincial school and appointed Ge Libationer of the Confucian Grove. When he lectured on the Three Rites, the leading families of Jing and Chu turned out in great numbers to hear him. He twice served as supervisor of Nanping commandery, and both the populace and the officials held him in affection. He soon added the posts of chief clerk for the Pacification of the West and administrator of Nan commandery. Ge was profoundly filial and often lamented that drawing an official salary—'eating emolument in place of tilling'—kept him from supporting his parents himself. During his years in Jingzhou he held a series of prefectural and county posts, but he never let his salary reach his wife and children. He planned to return home and build a temple as an act of filial gratitude. His son Hui was handsome and eloquent and was dearly loved by Ge, but Hui died before his father. Ge mourned him so bitterly that he fell ill and soon died himself.
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季亦明三禮，位中書黃門郎，兼著作。
Ji was likewise versed in the Three Rites and rose to Gentleman of the Yellow Gate in the Secretariat while also serving as a court compiler.
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琛字國寶，幼孤，伯父瑒授其經業，一聞便通義理。 瑒異之，常曰：「此兒當以明經致貴。」 瑒卒後，琛家貧，常往還諸暨販粟以養母。 雖自執舟烜，閑則習業，尤精三禮。 年二十餘，瑒之門徒稍從問道。
Chen, style Guobao, lost his parents early. His uncle Yang trained him in the classics, and he understood their principles after a single hearing. Yang marveled at him and often said, "This boy will win rank and honor through the classics examination." After Yang's death the family fell on hard times, and Chen regularly traveled to Zhuji to trade grain so he could support his mother. Even while he poled his own boat on the river, he studied whenever he had a spare moment and became especially accomplished in the Three Rites. By his mid-twenties, many of Yang's former students had begun coming to Chen for instruction.
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初，瑒於鄉里聚徒教授，四方受業者三千餘人。 瑒天監中亡，至是復集，琛乃築室郊郭之際，茅茨數間，年將三十，便事講授。 既世習禮學，究其精微，占述先儒，吐言辯絜，坐之聽受，終日不疲。
Yang had once gathered pupils in his home district to teach, and more than three thousand students came from all quarters to study with him. After Yang died early in the Tianjian era, his students gradually reassembled. Chen built a few thatched rooms just outside the walls and, not yet thirty, began lecturing in earnest. Trained in ritual scholarship from childhood, he pursued its finest points, cited the early Confucians with precision, and spoke with luminous clarity. Listeners could sit before him all day without weariness.
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湘東王幼年臨郡，彭城到溉為行事，聞琛美名，命駕相造。 會琛正講，學侶滿筵，既聞上佐忽來，莫不傾動。 琛說經無輟，曾不降意。 溉下車，欣然就席，便申問難，往復從容，義理該贍。 溉歎曰：「通儒碩學，復見賀生。 今且還城，尋當相屈。」 琛了不酬答，神用頹然。 溉言之王，請補郡功曹史。 琛辭以母老，終於固執。
When the young Prince of Xiangdong took up his post in the commandery, Dao Gai of Pengcheng served as acting administrator. Hearing of Chen's renown, he had his carriage driven out to visit him. Chen was in the middle of a lecture, the benches packed with students, when word came that the chief administrator had arrived unexpectedly. The whole assembly stirred. Chen never broke off his exposition and never showed the least deference. Gai stepped down from his carriage, took a seat with evident pleasure, and entered into debate. Their exchange was unhurried, and Chen's reasoning proved complete and ample. Gai exclaimed, "A true master scholar—we have He Yang reborn! I must return to the city for now, but I shall call on you again before long." Chen offered no reply whatever, his bearing as composed as before. Gai reported to the prince and asked that Chen be appointed commandery merit officer. Chen declined on account of his aged mother and held firm to his refusal.
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俄遭母憂，廬於墓所。 服闋，猶未還舍，生徒復從之。 琛哀毀積年，骨立而已，未堪講授。 諸生營救，稍稍習業。
Before long his mother died, and he built a mourning hut beside her tomb. When the mourning period ended he had still not moved back into his house, and his students gathered around him once more. For years Chen grieved until he was little more than a skeleton and was not yet fit to teach. His students urged him to recover, and he gradually resumed instruction.
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普通中，太尉臨川王宏臨州，召補祭酒從事，琛年已四十餘，始應辟命。 武帝聞其有學術，召見文德殿，與語悅之，謂僕射徐勉曰：「琛殊有門業。」 仍補王國侍郎，稍遷兼中書通事舍人，參禮儀事。 累遷尚書左丞，詔琛撰新諡法，便即施用。 時皇太子議大功之末，可以冠子嫁女。 琛駁議曰：
During the Putong era, when the Grand Marshal Prince of Linchuan, Hong, took up his provincial post, he summoned Chen as Libationer Attendant. Chen was past forty before he accepted his first official summons. When the emperor learned of his scholarship, he summoned Chen to Wende Hall. Delighted by their conversation, he told Vice Director Xu Mian, "Chen is a worthy heir to a great scholarly house." He was appointed attendant of the princely establishment, then promoted to concurrent palace attendant for general affairs in the Secretariat, where he took part in deliberations on ritual. He rose to Left Assistant Director of the Masters of Writing. The emperor ordered him to draft a new system of posthumous titles, which went into immediate use. At that time the crown prince argued that during the final days of greater mourning one might perform the capping ceremony for one's son and marry off one's daughter. Chen submitted a counter-memorial, stating:
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令旨以「大功之末，可得冠子嫁女，不得自冠自嫁」。 推以記文，竊猶致惑。 案嫁冠之禮，本是父之所成。 無父之人，乃可自冠，故記稱大功小功，並以「冠子嫁子。」 為文，非關唯得為子，己身不得也。 小功之末既得自嫁娶，而亦云：「冠子娶婦」，其義益明。 故先列二服，每明冠子嫁子，結於後句，方顯自娶之義。 既明小功自娶，即知大功自冠矣。 蓋是約言而見旨。 若謂緣父服大功，子服小功，小功服輕，故得為子冠嫁，大功服重，故不得自嫁自冠者，則小功之末，非明父子服殊，不應復云：「冠子嫁子。」 也。 若謂小功之文，言己可娶，大功之文，不言己冠，故知身有大功，不得自行嘉禮，但得為子冠嫁。 竊謂有服不行嘉禮，本為吉凶不可相干。 子雖小功之末，可得行冠嫁，猶應須父得為其冠嫁。 若父于大功之末可以冠子嫁子，是於吉凶禮無礙； 吉凶禮無礙，豈不得自冠自嫁？ 若自冠自嫁於事有礙，則冠子嫁子寧獨可通？ 今許其冠子而塞其自冠，是琛之所惑也。
Your directive holds that at the end of the greater mourning period one may cap one's son and marry off one's daughter, but may not perform one's own capping or one's own marriage. When I weigh this against the Record, I remain privately puzzled. Marriage and capping rites are, in their nature, ceremonies that the father performs for the child. Only someone without a father may cap himself. That is why the Record, in passages on both greater and lesser mourning, speaks of 'capping the son' and 'marrying the son." The wording does not mean that one may act only on the son's behalf while forbidding action on one's own account. At the end of lesser mourning one may already marry for oneself, yet the text also says 'cap the son, take a wife for the son'—which makes the principle even clearer. The text first lists both mourning grades, each time specifying capping and marrying for the son, then closes with a final clause that reveals the right to marry for oneself. Once lesser mourning is shown to permit marriage for oneself, it follows that greater mourning permits capping for oneself. This is abbreviated language that points to the underlying principle. If the argument is that the father wears greater mourning while the son wears lesser mourning—that the lighter grade permits acting for the son while the heavier grade forbids acting for oneself—then at the end of lesser mourning the text, which does not distinguish father and son by grade, ought not repeat 'cap the son, marry the son." —yet the Record does say exactly that. If the argument is that lesser mourning explicitly permits marriage for oneself while greater mourning does not mention capping for oneself, and therefore one wearing greater mourning may not perform auspicious rites for oneself but may only cap and marry for one's son— I would say that the reason one in mourning does not perform auspicious rites is simply that auspicious and inauspicious occasions must not overlap. Even if at the end of lesser mourning a son may receive capping and marriage, the father should still be the one who performs those rites for him. If a father at the end of greater mourning may cap his son and marry off his daughter, then auspicious and inauspicious rites do not conflict; and if they do not conflict, why should one not be permitted to cap oneself or marry for oneself? If capping or marrying for oneself is truly obstructed, how can capping or marrying for one's son alone be allowed? To permit capping one's son while forbidding capping oneself—that is what puzzles me.
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又令旨推「下殤小功不可娶婦，則降服大功亦不得為子冠嫁」。 伏尋此旨，若為降服大功不可冠子嫁子，則降服小功亦不可自冠自嫁，是為凡厥降服大功小功皆不得冠娶矣。 記文應雲降服則不可，寧得唯稱下殤？ 今不言降服，的舉下殤，實有其義。 夫出嫁出後，或有再降，出後之身，于本姊妹降為大功，若是大夫服士父，又以尊降，則成小功，其於冠嫁義無以異。 所以然者，出嫁則有受我，出後則有傳重，並欲使薄於此而厚於彼。 此服雖降，彼服則隆。 昔實期親，雖復再降，猶依小功之禮，可冠可娶。 若夫期降大功，大功降為小功，止是一等，降殺有倫，服末嫁冠，故無有異。 唯下殤之服特明不娶之義者，蓋緣以幼弱之故。 夭喪情深，既無受厚他姓，又異傳重彼宗，嫌其年幼服輕，頓成殺略，故特明不娶，以示本重之恩。 是以凡厥降服，冠嫁不殊，唯在下殤，乃明不娶。 其義若此，則不得言大功之降服皆不冠嫁也。 且記云：「下殤小功」，言下殤則不得通於中上，語小功又不兼于大功。 若實大功小功降服皆不冠嫁，上中二殤亦不冠嫁者，記不得直云：「下殤小功則不可」。 恐非文意，此又琛之所疑也。 遂從琛議。 加員外散騎常侍。 舊尚書南坐無貂，貂自琛始也。 遷御史中丞，參禮儀如先。
Your directive further infers that if the Record forbids marriage during lesser mourning for a lower shang death, then reduced greater mourning likewise forbids capping or marrying for one's son. Respectfully considering this logic: if reduced greater mourning forbids capping or marrying for one's son, then reduced lesser mourning must also forbid capping or marrying for oneself—which would mean no capping or marrying is permitted under any reduced mourning grade. The Record ought to say simply that reduced mourning forbids it—how could it name only lower shang? The text does not speak of reduced mourning in general but singles out lower shang—and there is good reason for that. When a woman marries out or a son is given in adoption, mourning may be reduced a second time. An adopted son wears greater mourning for his natal sisters; if a grandee mourns a commoner father, rank reduces the obligation further to lesser mourning—yet the rules for capping and marrying remain the same. The reason is that marriage transfers a woman to another family and adoption transfers the weight of the ancestral line; in both cases mourning is lightened toward the natal family and deepened toward the new one. Mourning is reduced on one side even as it is heightened on the other. They were once the closest kin; even after two reductions of mourning, the rules still follow lesser mourning, and capping and marriage remain permitted. When close mourning is reduced one grade to greater mourning, or greater mourning reduced one grade to lesser mourning, the reduction follows a clear hierarchy. At the end of mourning, capping and marriage are treated alike, and there is no difference. Only for lower shang mourning does the text expressly forbid marriage—and that is because the deceased was young and frail. A child's untimely death awakens profound grief. There is no marriage into another clan to complicate the bond, nor adoption to shift the ancestral weight elsewhere. Lest the light mourning appropriate to a young child seem to diminish that grief too sharply, the text expressly forbids marriage to preserve the full depth of natal affection. Hence for every reduced mourning grade the rules for capping and marriage are the same; only lower shang expressly forbids marriage. On this reasoning, one cannot claim that every reduced grade of greater mourning forbids capping and marriage. Moreover the Record says 'lower shang, lesser mourning.' The mention of lower shang cannot extend to middle or upper shang, and the mention of lesser mourning cannot subsume greater mourning. If reduced greater and lesser mourning truly forbade all capping and marriage, and middle and upper shang did as well, the Record could not simply say 'lower shang, lesser mourning—not permitted.' That, I fear, would not be the text's meaning—and this too is what troubles me. The court adopted Chen's position. He was further appointed supernumerary regular attendant of the scattered cavalry. Previously the southern benches of the Masters of Writing had no sable-tail insignia; Chen was the first to wear it. He was promoted to imperial censor and continued to take part in ritual deliberations as before.
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琛性貪嗇，多受賕賂，家產既豐，買主第為宅，為有司奏，坐免官。 後為通直散騎常侍，領尚書左丞，參禮儀事。 琛前後居職，凡郊廟諸儀多所創定，每進見武帝，與語常移晷刻，故省中語曰：「上殿不下有賀雅。」 琛容止閒雅，故時人呼之。 遷散騎常侍，參禮儀如故。
Chen was grasping by nature and took many bribes. When his household grew wealthy he purchased a chief minister's mansion for his home. The authorities memorialized against him, and he was removed from office. He later served as regular attendant for direct communication and scattered cavalry while retaining the post of left assistant director of the Masters of Writing and his role in ritual affairs. Throughout his career Chen helped establish many suburban and temple rituals. Whenever he was received by Emperor Wu their conversation ran long past the hour, and within the Secretariat people joked, 'He goes up to the hall and never comes down—there's Elegant He. He Chen's graceful bearing and refined deportment earned him that nickname among his contemporaries. Chen was transferred to Attendant Cavalry Regular Chamberlain and continued to take part in ritual affairs as he had before.
16
時武帝年高，任職者緣飾奸諂，深害時政。 琛啟陳事條封奏，大略：其一事曰，「今北邊稽服，政是生聚教訓之時，而天下戶口減落，誠當今之急務。 國家之于關外，賦稅蓋微，乃至年常租調，動致逋積，而人失安居，寧非牧守之過」。 其二事曰，「今天下宰守所以皆尚貪殘，罕有廉白者，良由風俗侈靡使之然也。 欲使人守廉隅，吏尚清白，安可得邪？ 今誠宜嚴為禁制，導之以節儉，貶黜雕飾，糾奏浮華，使眾皆知變其耳目，改其好惡，則易於反掌」。 其三事曰，「鬥筲之人，詭競求進，運挈瓶之智，徼分外之求，以深刻為能，以繩逐為務，長弊增奸，實由於此。 今誠願責其公平之效，黜其殘愚之心，則下安上謐，無徼幸之患矣」。 其四事曰，「自征伐北境，帑藏空虛，今天下無事，而猶日不暇給者，良有以也。 夫國弊則省其事而息其費，事省則養人，費息則財聚。 若言小費不足害財，則終年不息矣，以小役不足妨人，則終年不止矣」。 書奏，武帝大怒，召主書於前，口受敕責琛曰：「朕有天下四十餘年，公車讜言，日聞聽覽。 每苦倥傯，更增惛惑。 卿珥貂紆組，博問洽聞，不宜同於闒茸，止取名字，言我能上事，恨朝廷不能受。 卿雲'今北邊稽服，政是生聚教訓之時，而人失安居，牧守之過'。 但大澤之中有龍有蛇，縱不盡善，不能皆惡。 卿可分明顯出其人。 卿雲'宜導之以節儉'。 又云'至道者必以淳素為先'。 此言大善。 夫子言'其身正，不令而行，其身不正，雖令不從'。 朕絕房室三十餘年，不與女人同屋而寢亦三十餘年，于居處不過一床之地，雕飾之物不入于宮，此亦人所共知。 受生不飲酒，受生不好音聲，所以朝中曲宴未嘗奏樂。 朕三更出理事，隨事多少。 事或少，中前得竟，事多，至日昃方得就食。 既常一食，若晝若夜，無有定時，疾苦之日，或亦再食。 昔腰過於十圍，今之瘦削，裁二尺餘。 舊帶猶存，非為妄說。 為誰為之？ 救物故也。 書雲，股肱惟人，良臣惟聖。 向使朕有股肱，可得中主，今乃不免居九品之下。 不令而行，徒虛言耳。 卿又云百司莫不奏事，詭競求進。 今不許外人呈事，於義可否？ 以噎廢餐，此之謂也。 若斷呈事，誰屍其任？ 專委之人，云何可得？ 是故古人云，'專聽生奸，獨任成亂'。 何者是宜，具以奏聞。」 琛奉敕但謝過而已，不敢有所指斥。
By then Emperor Wu had grown old, and officeholders cloaked themselves in sycophancy and deceit—a grave injury to public affairs. Chen submitted a sealed memorial outlining several points. The first ran roughly as follows: 'With the northern frontier now at peace, this should be a time to rebuild population and cultivate loyalty. Yet household registers across the empire keep shrinking—and that is the crisis of our day. Beyond the frontier passes the state's tax burden is light enough, yet annual rents and corvée levies still pile up unpaid. People lose their secure homes—is that not the fault of local governors and prefects?' The second point argued that today's regional officials are almost universally greedy and cruel, with honest men the rare exception—and blamed decadent custom for making them so. How can you expect officials to stay scrupulously honest when the culture rewards the opposite? What is needed now are tough bans on excess, leadership by example in frugality, penalties for ostentation, and exposure of hollow luxury—until everyone learns new tastes and new habits. Then reform would be as easy as flipping your hand.' The third indictment targeted petty schemers clawing for promotion—clever at small tricks, hungry for rewards out of proportion to their rank, proud of harshness and relentless at punishment. From such men, he argued, came deep corruption. Hold officials to fair outcomes, purge the instinct for cruelty and folly, and the lower ranks will be secure while the court stays calm—free of the disease of opportunism.' The fourth warned that northern campaigns had drained the treasury. 'The realm is at peace now,' he wrote, 'yet the exchequer never catches up—there is a reason. When the state is strained, cut programs and stop waste. Cut programs and the people recover; stop waste and revenue accumulates. Say petty spending can't ruin the treasury, and spending never stops for a year. Say minor projects can't burden the people, and the people never get relief for a year.' When the memorial arrived, Emperor Wu exploded in rage. He called his chief clerk and dictated a rebuke to Chen: 'I've ruled for more than forty years and hear candid memorials every day from the petition office. I'm already drowning in paperwork—it only leaves me more confused. You wear high rank and are supposed to be widely informed. Don't act like some provincial nonentity who only wants credit for 'speaking truth to power' and then whines that the court won't listen. You wrote that the north is pacified and this should be a time for nurturing the people, yet they have no peace—and that this is the fault of local governors. But in any large pool you'll find both dragons and snakes—not everyone is virtuous, but neither is everyone rotten. Name them. Identify them clearly. You advised guiding people toward thrift. You also claimed that 'the man who attains the highest Way must put plain living first.' Fine words—excellent doctrine. Confucius said: lead by example and people follow without commands; fail to lead and they won't obey no matter what you order. For over thirty years I have kept no harem and slept apart from women. My living quarters hold little more than a bed; no gaudy decoration enters my palace—and everyone knows it. I've never touched wine and never cared for music—so palace feasts have never featured performances. I'm up before dawn handling business, as much as the day requires. On light days I'm done by noon; on heavy ones I eat only after the sun has begun to decline. Usually I eat once, day or night, with no fixed hour; only when I'm ill do I sometimes take a second meal. Once my waist measured more than ten girths around; now I'm so wasted it is barely two feet and a bit. The old belt still hangs there—I'm not making this up. Who did I do this for? To rescue the realm—that is why. The Book of Documents says that the people's arms and legs are ministers, and sage rule depends on good ministers. With true ministers I might have been a passable ruler; as it is I'm no better than the lowest sort of sovereign. Lead by example and people follow—mere talk, in my case. You also complained that every office floods me with memorials as officials claw for promotion. So tell me: should outsiders be barred from memorializing—is that proper? That's like refusing to eat ever again because you once choked. Stop all memorials and who carries the work? And where will you find officials you can wholly trust? That's why the ancients warned: 'Hearing only one voice breeds intrigue; relying on one man invites chaos.' Tell me exactly what you think should be done—memorialize the specifics. Chen took the rebuke and apologized, daring not name a single culprit.
17
太清二年，為中軍宣城王長史。 侯景陷城，琛被創未死，賊求得之，輿至闕下，求見僕射王克、領軍朱異，勸開城納賊。 克等讓之，涕泣而止。 賊復輿送莊嚴寺療之。 明年，台城不守，琛逃歸鄉里。 其年，賊寇會稽，復執琛送出都，以為金紫光祿大夫。 卒。 琛所撰三禮講疏、五經滯義及諸儀注凡百餘篇。 子翊，位巴山太守。
In the second year of Taiping, he became chief secretary to the Central Army under Prince Xuancheng. When Hou Jing broke into the city Chen was wounded but survived. The rebels found him, carried him to the palace gate, and insisted on seeing Vice Director Wang Ke and Guard Commander Zhu Yi to press them to surrender the city. Wang Ke and the others upbraided him until he broke down in tears and desisted. The rebels then had him taken to Zhuangyan Temple for treatment. The following year, when the capital fell, Chen escaped to his native place. Later that year, when the rebels overran Kuaiji, they captured Chen again, sent him back to the capital, and made him Grand Master with the Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon. He died soon after. Chen's writings included commentaries on the Three Rituals, essays resolving cruxes in the Five Classics, and numerous ritual manuals—more than a hundred works in all. His son Yi became prefect of Bashan.
18
司馬褧字元表，河內溫人也。 曾祖純之，晉大司農高密敬王。 祖讓之，員外常侍。 父燮，善三禮，仕齊位國子博士。
Sima Jiong, whose courtesy name was Yuanbiao, came from Wen county in Henei. His great-grandfather Chunzhi served Jin as Grand Minister of Finance and held the posthumous title Prince Gong of Gaomi. His grandfather Rangzhi was an external member of the Attendant Cavalier office. His father Xie mastered the Three Rituals and served the Qi as a National University erudite.
19
褧少傳家業，強力專精，手不釋卷。 沛國劉瓛為儒者宗，嘉其學，深相賞好。 與樂安任昉善，昉亦推重之。 梁天監初，詔通儒定五禮，有舉褧修嘉禮，除尚書祠部郎。 時創定禮樂，褧所建議，多見施行。 兼中書通事舍人，每吉凶禮，當時名儒明山賓、賀瑒等疑不能斷者，皆取決焉。 累遷御史中丞。
From boyhood Jiong inherited the family scholarship, studying with tireless focus and seldom setting a book down. Liu Huan of Pei commanded the respect of Confucian scholars; he admired Jiong's learning and became a close friend. He was also close to Ren Fang of Le'an, who held him in high regard. Early in the Liang Tianjian era, the court ordered eminent scholars to codify the Five Rituals. Jiong was recommended to compile the Auspicious Rites section and was made a secretary in the Ministry of Rites. As new ritual and music codes were drafted, many of Jiong's proposals were adopted. He also served as a palace secretariat attendant. Whenever eminent scholars such as Ming Shanbin and He Yang could not settle a ritual question, they deferred to Jiong. He rose through the ranks to become chief censor.
20
十六年，出為宣毅南康王長史，行府國並石頭戍軍事。 褧雖居外官，有敕預文德、武德二殿長名問訊，不限日。 遷晉安王長史，卒。 王命記室庾肩吾集其文為十卷。 所撰嘉禮儀注一百一十六卷。
In year sixteen he left the capital to serve as chief secretary to Prince Xuan of Nankang, overseeing the princely domain and the Shitou fortress garrison. Though posted outside the capital, he received orders to attend the regular audience rolls at Wende and Wude halls whenever summoned. He was later transferred to chief secretary under the Prince of Jin'an and died in that post. The prince had his recorder Yu Jianwu compile his writings into ten scrolls. His Auspicious Rites manual alone ran to one hundred sixteen scrolls.
21
朱異字彥和，吳郡錢唐人也。 祖昭之，以學解稱於鄉。 叔父謙之字處光，以義烈知名。 年數歲，所生母亡，昭之假葬于田側，為族人朱幼方燎火所焚。 同產姊密語之，謙之雖小，便哀感如持喪，長不昏娶。 齊永明中，手刃殺幼方，詣獄自系。 縣令申靈勖表上之。 齊武帝嘉其義，慮相報復，乃遣謙之隨曹武西行。 將發，幼方子懌于津陽門伺殺謙之。 謙之兄巽之，即異父也，又刺殺懌。 有司以聞。 武帝曰：「此皆是義事，不可問。」 悉赦之。 吳興沈顗聞而歎曰：「弟死于孝，兄殉于義，孝友之節，萃此一門。」 巽之字處林，有志節，著辯相論。 幼時，顧歡見而異之，以女妻焉。 仕齊官至吳平令。
Zhu Yi, courtesy name Yanhe, was from Qiantang in Wu commandery. His grandfather Zhaozhi was known locally as a scholar of wide learning. His uncle Qianzhi, styled Chuguang, won fame for courage in a just cause. When Qianzhi was still a small boy his mother died. Zhaozhi buried her temporarily in a field, and a kinsman, Zhu Youfang, burned the grave with a brush fire. His sister told him the truth in secret. Though still a child, Qianzhi mourned as if for a full funeral and never married as an adult. During Qi's Yongming era he killed Youfang himself and turned himself in. The county magistrate Shen Lingxu reported the matter to the throne. Emperor Wu of Qi praised his loyalty but, fearing a blood feud, ordered Qianzhi to leave with Cao Wu on the western campaign. Just before departure Youfang's son Yi ambushed Qianzhi at Jinyang Gate and killed him. Qianzhi's older brother Xunzhi—Yi's uncle by marriage—then killed Yi in turn. The authorities reported the case to the court. Emperor Wu said: 'These are all acts of righteousness—there will be no prosecution. He pardoned them all. When Shen Yan of Wuxing heard the news he sighed: 'One brother died for filial duty, the other for righteousness—both virtues in a single family. Xunzhi, styled Chulin, was a man of principle and wrote the Discourse on Physiognomy. As a boy he impressed Gu Huan, who gave him his daughter in marriage. Under the Qi he rose to magistrate of Wuping.
22
異年數歲，外祖顧歡撫之，謂其祖昭之曰：「此兒非常器，當成卿門戶。」 年十餘，好群聚蒱博，頗為鄉黨所患。 及長，乃折節從師。 梁初開五館，異服膺于博士明山賓。 居貧，以傭書自業，寫畢便誦。 遍覽五經，尤明禮、易。 涉獵文史，兼通雜藝，博弈書算，皆其所長。 年二十，出都詣尚書令沈約，面試之，因戲異曰：「卿年少，何乃不廉？」 異逡巡未達其旨，約乃曰：「天下唯有文義棋書，卿一時將去，可謂不廉也。」 尋上書言建康宜置獄司，比廷尉。 敕付尚書詳議，從之。
When Zhu Yi was still small his maternal grandfather Gu Huan fondled him and told Zhaozhi: 'This child is no ordinary talent—he will bring honor to your clan. As a teenager he ran with gambling circles and was something of a nuisance in the neighborhood. Once grown, he reformed himself and turned to serious study. When the Liang opened its Five Academies, Yi became a devoted student of the erudite Ming Shanbin. Poor, he supported himself by copying books and would recite each text from memory as soon as he finished. He mastered the Five Classics and was especially strong in Rituals and the Book of Changes. He read widely in literature and history and had a gift for practical arts as well—board games, calligraphy, and arithmetic among them. At twenty he traveled to the capital to meet Minister Shen Yue, who examined him and teased: 'You're so young—how can you be so greedy? Yi didn't catch the joke at first, so Shen Yue explained: 'Literature, philosophy, chess, calligraphy—the whole world has only those pursuits, and you've scooped them all up at once. I'd call that greedy.' He soon memorialized that the capital should establish a prison office on a par with the central Court of Justice. The throne referred the plan to the ministry for review and adopted it.
23
舊制，年二十五方得釋褐，時異適二十一，特敕擢為揚州議曹從事史。 尋有詔求異能之士，五經博士明山賓表薦異：「年時尚少，德備老成，在獨無散逸之想，處闇有對賓之色。 器宇弘深，神表峰峻。 金山萬丈，緣陟未登； 玉海千尋，窺映不測。 加以珪璋新琢，錦組初構，觸響鏗鏘，遇采便發。 觀其信行，非唯十室所稀，若使負重遙途，必有千里之用。」 武帝召見，使說孝經、周易義，甚悅之，謂左右曰：「朱異實異。」 後見明山賓曰：「卿所舉殊得人。」 仍召直西省，俄兼太學博士。 其年，帝自講孝經，使異執讀。 遷尚書儀曹郎，入兼中書通事舍人。 後除中書郎，時秋日，始拜，有飛蟬正集異武冠上，時咸謂蟬珥之兆。 遷太子右衛率。
The usual rule barred men from entering office before twenty-five; Yi was only twenty-one when a special decree made him a staff officer on the Yangzhou advisory council. When the court called for men of exceptional talent, Ming Shanbin recommended him: 'Still young in years, he has the steadiness of maturity. In solitude he keeps his discipline; even in private he carries himself as if before company. His capacity is broad and his bearing imposing; his spirit rises like a summit. Like a ten-thousand-zhang golden mountain whose paths he has not yet climbed to the top— His depth is like a jade ocean a thousand fathoms deep—one catches glimpses but cannot plumb it. Freshly polished like sacred jade, newly woven like brocade, he rings true at a touch and shines the moment opportunity appears. His trustworthiness and conduct are rare even among many neighbors; given heavy responsibility over a long haul, he would prove useful a thousand miles away. Emperor Wu received him in audience and had him lecture on the Classic of Filial Piety and the Book of Changes. He was delighted and told his attendants, 'Zhu Yi truly lives up to that name—he is exceptional.' Later the emperor told Ming Shanbin, 'You recommended exactly the right man.' Yi was then assigned to the Western Secretariat and soon added the post of academy erudite. That same year, when the emperor lectured on the Classic of Filial Piety himself, Yi was appointed to read the text aloud. He was promoted to a post in the ministry's ceremonial office and also served as a secretariat attendant handling imperial communications. Later, upon his appointment as a secretariat director in autumn, a cicada landed on his official cap as he took office—everyone took it as a sign of high promotion. He was made commandant of the crown prince's right guard.
24
普通五年，大舉北侵，魏徐州刺史元法僧遣使請舉地內屬，詔有司議其虛實。 異曰：「自王師北討，克獲相繼，徐州地轉削弱，咸願歸罪。 法僧懼禍，其降必非偽也。」 帝仍遣異報法僧，並敕眾軍應接，受異節度。 及至，法僧遵承朝旨，如異策焉。 遷散騎常侍。
In Putong year 5, as Liang launched a major northern offensive, Yuan Faseng, the Wei governor of Xuzhou, sent envoys offering to defect with his territory. The throne ordered officials to assess whether the offer was genuine. Yi argued: 'Since our armies marched north, victory has followed victory and Xuzhou has grown weaker. Its people all wish to surrender and accept punishment. Faseng is afraid of disaster—his surrender cannot be a ruse. The emperor sent Yi to respond to Faseng and ordered all armies supporting the operation to follow Yi's command. When Yi arrived, Faseng complied with the court's orders exactly as Yi had predicted. He was promoted to regular attendant-in-waiting.
25
異容貌魁梧，能舉止，雖出自諸生，甚閑軍國故實。 自周舍卒後，異代掌機密，其軍旅謀謨，方鎮改換，朝儀國典，詔誥敕書，並典掌之。 每四方表疏，當局簿領，諮詳請斷，填委於前，異屬辭落紙，覽事下議，縱橫敏贍，不暫停筆，頃刻之間，諸事便了。
Tall and imposing in bearing, Yi carried himself well. Though trained as a scholar, he knew military and administrative precedent inside out. After Zhou She died, Yi took charge of confidential state business—military planning, provincial appointments, court ritual, state law, and all edicts and imperial correspondence. When memorials from every province and stacks of bureau paperwork requiring decisions piled up before him, Yi wrote without pause—drafting, reviewing, and dispatching items for deliberation with swift, fluent ease. In moments, the whole backlog was cleared.
26
遷右衛將軍。 啟求於儀賢堂奉述武帝老子義，敕許之。 及就講，朝士及道俗聽者千餘人，為一時之盛。 時城西又開士林館以延學士，異與左丞賀琛遞日述武帝禮記中庸義。 皇太子又召異于玄圃講易。
He was promoted to general of the right guard. He petitioned to lecture on the emperor's interpretation of the Laozi in the Hall of Esteemed Worthies, and permission was granted. When he delivered the lectures, more than a thousand court officials, clergy, and lay listeners attended—a spectacle of the age. Around the same time the Scholarly Grove Hall opened west of the city to host learned men; Yi and the left vice minister He Chen alternated days lecturing on the emperor's exposition of the Doctrine of the Mean. The crown prince also invited Yi to lecture on the Book of Changes in the Dark Garden.
27
大同八年，改加侍中。 異博解多藝，圍碁上品，而貪財冒賄，欺罔視聽，以伺候人主意，不肯進賢黜惡。 四方餉饋，曾無推拒，故遠近莫不忿疾。 起宅東陂，窮乎美麗，晚日來下，酣飲其中。 每迫曛黃，慮台門將闔，乃引其鹵簿自宅至城，使捉城門停留管鑰。 既而聲勢所驅，熏灼內外，產與羊侃相埒。 好飲食，極滋味聲色之娛，子鵝炰鰌不輟於口，雖朝謁，從車中必齎飴餌。 而輕傲朝賢，不避貴戚。 人或誨之，異曰：「我寒士也，遭逢以至今日。 諸貴皆恃枯骨見輕，我下之，則為蔑尤甚。 我是以先之。」
In Datong year 8 he was made a palace attendant. Yi was widely learned and a master of many arts, including top-rank weiqi—but he was greedy, took bribes, and shaped what reached the emperor's eyes and ears to suit the ruler's mood, never promoting talent or removing the corrupt. He never refused gifts from anyone anywhere, so resentment spread far and wide. He built a lavish estate at East Dam and spent his evenings there drinking deep as the sun went down. As dusk approached and he feared the palace gates would close, he marched his full guard procession from home to the city wall and had them hold the gate open and keep the keys. His power soon burned hot inside the court and out, and his wealth matched that of Yang Kan. He indulged every pleasure of food, wine, music, and women—young goose and braised loach constantly on his lips—and even brought sweets in his carriage to court audiences. Yet he treated court elites with open disdain, showing no deference even to the highest nobles. When someone cautioned him, Yi replied, 'I came from humble ranks and rose by luck alone. The great families look down on everyone because of their dead ancestors' bones. If I bow to them, they'd despise me all the more. So I snub them first.'
28
自徐勉、周舍卒後，外朝則何敬容，內省則異。 敬容質愨無文，以綱維為己任，異文華敏洽，曲營世譽，二人行異而俱見幸。 異在內省十餘年，未嘗被譴。 司農卿傅岐嘗謂異曰：「今聖上委政于君，安得每事從旨。 頃者外聞殊有異論。」 異曰：「政言我不能諫爭耳。 當今天子聖明，吾豈可以其所聞幹忤天聽。」
After Xu Mian and Zhou She died, He Jingrong ran the outer court and Yi the inner secretariat. Jingrong was plain and dutiful, devoted to keeping the machinery of government running; Yi was brilliant, quick-witted, and bent on worldly acclaim. Their styles differed, but both enjoyed imperial favor. Yi served in the inner secretariat more than ten years without a single rebuke. Fu Qi, minister of finance, once told Yi: 'The emperor has entrusted you with real authority—how can you simply agree with everything he wants? People outside the palace are already talking. Yi answered: 'They're saying I don't remonstrate with him. Our ruler is wise and enlightened. How could I trouble his ears with gossip from outsiders?'
29
太清二年，為中領軍，舍人如故。 初，武帝夢中原盡平，舉朝稱慶，甚悅，以語異曰：「吾生平少夢，夢必有實。」 異曰：「此宇內方一之征。」 及侯景降，敕召群臣廷議，尚書僕射謝舉等以為不可許。 武帝欲納之，未決，嘗夙興至武德合口，獨言：「我國家猶若金甌，無一傷缺，承平若此，今便受地，詎是事宜？ 脫至紛紜，悔無所及。」 異探帝微旨，答曰：「聖明禦宇，上應蒼玄，北土遺黎，誰不慕仰，為無機會，未達其心。 今侯景分魏國太半，遠歸聖朝； 若不容受，恐絕後來之望。」 帝深納異言，又感前夢，遂納之。 及貞陽侯敗沒，帝憂曰：「今勿作晉家事乎？」 尋而貞陽自魏遣使述魏相高澄欲申和睦。 敕有司定議。 異又議以和為允，帝從之。 其年六月，遣建康令謝挺、通直郎徐陵使北通好。 時侯景鎮壽春，疑懼，累啟請絕和，及致書與異餉金二百兩，又致書於制局監周石珍令具申聞。 異納其金而不停北使，景遂反。
In Taiqing year 2 he became central army commander while retaining his attendant post. Early on the emperor dreamed that the Central Plains had been wholly pacified. The whole court congratulated him, and he was delighted. He told Yi, 'I rarely dream in my life—and when I do, it comes true. Yi replied, 'This is a sign the realm is about to be unified.' When Hou Jing offered to defect, the emperor convened the court for debate. Vice Minister Xie Ju and others argued that he should not be accepted. The emperor wanted to accept but could not decide. One morning at dawn he went alone to Wude Gate and murmured: 'Our realm is still whole, like a golden bowl without a crack, and peace reigns as it does—should we really take his land now? If trouble follows, it will be too late for regret. Reading the emperor's mind, Yi answered: 'Your sage rule answers Heaven. Every survivor in the north looks to you with longing—they simply lacked the chance. Now Hou Jing brings more than half of Wei and returns to our court from afar; If we refuse him, we may kill the hopes of others who would follow.' The emperor took Yi's advice to heart, remembered his dream, and accepted Hou Jing. When the Marquis of Zhenyang was defeated and captured, the emperor worried aloud: 'Are we reliving what happened to the Jin dynasty? Soon Zhenyang sent envoys from Wei saying Chancellor Gao Cheng wanted to restore good relations. The throne ordered officials to deliberate. Yi again argued for peace, and the emperor agreed. That June he sent Jiankang magistrate Xie Ting and courier Xu Ling north to negotiate peace. Hou Jing, holding Shouchun, grew anxious. He repeatedly petitioned to break off the peace talks and wrote to Yi with two hundred liang of gold as a gift; he also wrote the bureau commissioner Zhou Shizhen demanding a full report to the throne. Yi took the gold but did not halt the northern mission—and Hou Jing rebelled.
30
初，景謀反，合州刺史鄱陽王范、司州刺史羊鴉仁並累有啟聞。 異以景孤立寄命，必不應爾，乃謂使曰：「鄱陽王遂不許國家有一客！」 並不為聞奏。 及賊至板橋，使前壽州司馬徐思玉先至求見於上，上召問之，思玉紿稱反賊，請閑陳事。 上將屏左右，舍人高善寶曰：「思玉從賊中來，情偽難測，安可使其獨在殿上。」 時異侍坐，乃曰：「徐思玉豈是刺客邪？ 何言之僻。」 善寶曰：「思玉已將臨賀入北，詎可輕信。」 言未卒，思玉果出賊啟，異大慚。 賊遂以討異及陸驗為名。 及景至城下，又射啟言：「朱異等蔑弄朝權，輕作威福，臣為讒臣所陷，欲加屠戮。 陛下誅異等，臣斂轡北歸」。 帝問簡文曰：「有是乎？」 對曰：「然」。 帝召有司將誅之，簡文曰：「賊特以異等為名耳，今日殺異，無救於急，適足貽笑將來。 若祅氛既息，誅之未晚。」 帝乃止。
When Hou Jing first plotted rebellion, Prince Fan of Poyang, governor of He province, and Yang Yaren, governor of Si province, both sent repeated warnings. Yi decided Hou Jing, isolated and dependent on Liang, would never dare rebel. He told the messenger, 'The Prince of Poyang won't even let the state keep one guest! He never forwarded their reports to the emperor. When the rebels reached Banqiao, Hou Jing sent the former Shouzhou officer Xu Siyu ahead to request an audience. The emperor summoned him, and Siyu lied that he came from the rebels and asked to speak in private. As the emperor was about to dismiss his attendants, attendant Gao Shanbao objected: 'Siyu came straight from the enemy camp—we can't know his true intent. How can we leave him alone with you in the hall? Yi, who was seated beside the emperor, said, 'Do you think Xu Siyu is an assassin? What a strange thing to say.' Shanbao replied, 'Siyu already escorted Linhe to the north—how can we trust him lightly?' Before he finished speaking, Siyu produced Hou Jing's rebel manifesto—and Yi was deeply shamed. The rebels then marched under the banner of punishing Yi and Lu Yan. When Hou Jing reached the city walls, he shot a message inside: 'Zhu Yi and his faction mock the court's authority and abuse their power. Slandered by such men, I face slaughter. Execute Yi and his clique, Your Majesty, and I will pull in my reins and march north.' The emperor asked Crown Prince Jianwen, 'Is any of this true? The crown prince answered, 'Yes.' The emperor called for Yi's execution. Jianwen argued: 'The rebels are using Yi only as a pretext. Killing him now won't help the crisis—it will only make us a laughingstock later. When the rebellion is over, it won't be too late to execute him. The emperor relented.
31
異之方幸，在朝莫不側目，雖皇太子亦不能平。 至是城內咸尤異，簡文為四言湣亂詩曰：「湣彼阪田，嗟斯氛霧。 謀之不臧，褰我王度。」 又制圍城賦，末章云：「彼高冠及厚履，並鼎食而乘肥。 升紫霄之丹地，排玉殿之金扉。 陳謀謨之啟沃，宣政刑之福威。 四郊以之多壘，萬邦以之未綏。 問豺狼其何者？ 訪虺蜴之為誰？」 並以指異。 又帝登南樓望賊，顧謂異曰：「四郊多壘，誰之罪歟？」 異流汗不能對。 慚憤發病卒，時年六十七。 詔贈尚書右僕射。 舊尚書官不以為贈，及異卒，武帝悼惜之，方議贈事，左右有善異者，乃啟曰：「異生平所懷，願得執法。」 帝因其宿志，特有此贈。
While Yi basked in imperial favor, the whole court watched him with loathing—even the crown prince could barely contain his resentment. Now the whole city blamed Yi. Jianwen wrote a four-character poem mourning the upheaval: 'Alas for those terraced fields—what miasma and fog is this! Bad counsel has torn aside the royal standard. He also wrote the 'Rhapsody of the Besieged City,' whose closing lines run: 'Those high caps and thick shoes—all feasting from cauldrons, all riding fat horses. They mount the crimson floor of the purple palace and push open the gilt doors of the jade halls. They pour out counsel at the emperor's side and wield the blessings and terrors of law and government. Their cities bristle with ramparts on every side; the realm remains unsettled. Who are the wolves? Who are the vipers?' All of it was aimed at Yi. The emperor climbed the South Tower to look at the rebel host and turned to Yi: 'The Analects say many ramparts in the suburbs—whose fault is this? Yi broke out in sweat and could not reply. Overcome with shame and rage, he fell ill and died at sixty-seven. An edict posthumously made him vice minister of the right. By custom, ministerial posts were not given as posthumous honors. When Yi died the emperor mourned him and was deciding what title to grant when a courtier who favored Yi reported: 'All his life Yi wished to serve as a law officer. Honoring that lifelong wish, the emperor specially granted the vice ministership.
32
異居權要三十餘年，善承上旨，故特被寵任。 曆官自員外常侍至侍中，四官皆珥貂，自右衛率至領軍，四職並驅鹵簿，近代未之有也。 異及諸子自潮溝列宅至青溪，其中有台池翫好，每暇日與賓客遊焉。 四方饋遺，財貨充積，性吝嗇，未嘗有散施。 廚下珍羞恒腐爛，每月常棄十數車，雖諸子別房亦不分贍。 所撰禮、易講疏及儀注文集百餘篇。
Yi held power for more than thirty years, skilled at catching the emperor's mood, and for that reason enjoyed special trust. From external attendant through palace attendant, he held four offices that entitled him to wear the court insignia; from right guard commandant through army commander, four posts that entitled him to a full guard procession—unprecedented in recent memory. Yi and his sons owned a stretch of mansions from Chaogou to Qingxi, with pavilions and ponds for pleasure; on free days they entertained guests there. Gifts from everywhere piled up his stores of wealth, yet he was miserly and never gave anything away. Delicacies spoiled in his kitchens by the cartload every month, and he would not even share food with his sons in other households. He wrote more than a hundred works, including commentaries on the Rituals and the Changes and numerous ritual manuals.
33
子肅，位國子博士； 次閏，司徒掾。 並遇亂卒。
His son Su became a National University erudite; His second son, Run, was a staff officer under the minister of education. Both perished in the upheaval.
34
顧協字正禮，吳郡吳人，晉司空和六世孫也。 幼孤，隨母養於外氏。 外從祖右光祿大夫張永嘗攜內外孫侄游虎丘山，拹年數歲，永撫之曰：「兒欲何戲？」 協曰：「兒政欲枕石漱流。」 永歎息曰：「顧氏興於此子。」 及長好學，以精力稱。 外氏諸張多賢達，有識鑒，內弟率尤推重焉。
Gu Xie, courtesy name Zhengli, came from Wu in Wu commandery and was a sixth-generation descendant of the Jin grand minister He. He lost his father early and grew up in his mother's family home. His maternal great-uncle Zhang Yong, Right Grand Master of Bright Feasts, once took the family's grandchildren and nephews to Tiger Hill. Gu Xie was only a few years old. Yong patted his head and asked, 'What would you like to play, boy? Xie answered, 'I would rather use a rock for a pillow and rinse my mouth in a mountain stream.' Yong sighed and said, 'The Gu family will flourish because of this boy.' As an adult he devoted himself to learning and was admired for his tireless energy. Many of the Zhangs on his mother's side were talented men of discernment, and his cousin Zhang Shuai held him in special regard.
35
初為揚州議曹從事，舉秀才。 尚書令沈約覽其策而歎曰：「江左以來，未有斯作。」 為兼廷尉正。 太尉臨川王聞其名，召掌書記，仍侍西豐侯正德讀。 正德為巴西、梓潼郡，協除所部新安令。 未至縣遭母憂，刺史始興王厚資遣之，送喪還。 于峽江遇風，同旅皆漂溺，唯協一舫觸石得泊焉。 咸謂精誠所致。 張率嘗薦之於帝，問協年，率言三十有五。 帝曰：「北方高涼，四十強仕，南方卑濕，三十已衰。 如協便為已老，但其事親孝，與友信，亦不可遺於草澤。 卿便稱敕喚出。」 於是以協為兼太學博士。 累遷湘東王參軍，兼記室。
He began as a staff officer in Yang province's deliberation office and passed the provincial examination. When Minister Shen Yue read his examination essay, he marveled: 'Since the Eastern Jin came south, nothing like this has been written. He was made concurrent chief judge of the court of justice. The Prince of Linchuan, serving as grand commander, heard of him, appointed him to handle records, and had him tutor the Marquis of Xifeng, Xiao Zhengde. When Zhengde took charge of Ba and Zitong, Xie was appointed magistrate of Xin'an in his domain. Before he reached the county his mother died. The Prince of Shixing, the provincial governor, gave him generous support to escort the coffin home. In the Yangtze gorges a storm struck. Every other boat in the convoy was swept under; only Xie's vessel struck a rock and held fast. Everyone took this as proof of his heartfelt devotion. Zhang Shuai once recommended him to the emperor, who asked Xie's age. Shuai replied that he was thirty-five. The emperor said, 'The north is high and cool, and men there are still vigorous at forty; the south is low and damp, and by thirty they are already fading. By that measure Xie is already old, but he is filial to his parents and faithful to his friends. A man like that must not be left to rust in the wilds. Announce my order and summon him. Xie was then appointed concurrent academy erudite. He rose to serve as aide to the Prince of Xiangdong and recording secretary.
36
普通中，有詔舉士，湘東王表薦之，即召拜通直散騎侍郎，兼中書通事舍人。 大通三年，霆擊大航華表然盡。 建康縣馳啟，協以為非吉祥，未即呈聞。 後帝知之，曰：「霆之所擊，一本罰惡龍，二彰朕之有過。 協掩惡揚善，非曰忠公。」 由是見免。 後守鴻臚卿，員外散騎常侍，卿、舍人並如故。
During the Putong era, when the throne called for recommended scholars, the Prince of Xiangdong nominated him. He was summoned at once and appointed palace courier and concurrent secretariat attendant. In Datong year 3, lightning struck the ornamental column on the Great Bridge and burned it to ashes. Jiankang county sent an urgent report, but Xie judged the omen unlucky and withheld it from the throne. When the emperor later learned of it, he said, 'Thunder strikes first to punish evil dragons and second to reveal my own failings. Xie covered up ill omens and reported only good news—that is not loyal service. He was removed from office. He later served as chief minister of guest affairs and external attendant cavalier, retaining his attendant duties.
37
自為近臣，便繁幾密，每有述制，敕前示協，時輩榮之。 卒官無衾以斂，為士子所嗟歎。 武帝悼惜之，為舉哀。 贈散騎常侍，諡曰溫子。
As a close attendant he handled dense, confidential work. Whenever an edict was drafted, the emperor showed it to Xie first—a mark of honor his peers envied. He died in office without even a quilt to wrap his body for burial, and scholars mourned the fact. Emperor Wu grieved for him and ordered mourning rites. He was posthumously made attendant cavalier with the posthumous name Wenzi.
38
協少清介，有志操，初為廷尉正，冬服單薄，寺卿蔡法度欲解襦與之，憚其清嚴，不敢發口，謂人曰：「我願解身上襦與顧郎，顧郎難衣食者。」 竟不敢以遺之。 及為舍人，同官者皆潤屋，協在省十六載，器服飲食不改于常。 有門生始來事協，知其廉潔，不敢厚餉，止送錢二千，協發怒，杖二十，因此事者絕於饋遺。 自丁艱憂，遂終身布衣蔬食。 少時將娉舅息女，未成昏而協母亡，免喪後不復娶。 年六十餘，此女猶未他適，協義而迎之。 晚雖判合，卒無胤嗣。
From youth Xie was incorruptible and high-minded. When he first served as chief judge of the court of justice, his winter clothes were thin. Chief Minister Cai Fadu wanted to lend him his own jacket but feared Xie's stern integrity and could not bring himself to offer it. He told others, 'I'd gladly give Gu my coat, but he won't accept food or clothing from anyone. In the end he never did. Once he became an attendant, his colleagues all grew rich, yet through sixteen years in the secretariat Xie's utensils, dress, food, and drink never changed. A new student attendant, knowing Xie's probity, dared not offer a lavish gift and sent only two thousand cash. Xie flew into a rage and had him beaten twenty strokes. After that, gift-giving stopped entirely. After his mother's mourning he wore plain cloth and ate simple food for the rest of his life. In youth he was betrothed to his cousin's daughter, but his mother died before the wedding. After mourning he never took another wife. When he was past sixty she was still unmarried. Out of duty Xie went and took her as his wife. They married late in life, but he left no children.
39
協博極群書，於文字及禽獸草木尤稱精詳，撰異姓苑五卷，瑣語十卷，文集十卷，並行於世。
Xie mastered an enormous library of texts and was especially renowned for his knowledge of writing and of birds, beasts, plants, and trees. He compiled Records of Heterogeneous Surnames in five fascicles, Petty Talk in ten fascicles, and a collected works in ten fascicles, all of which circulated widely.
40
徐摛字士秀，東海郯人也，一字士繢。 祖憑道，宋海陵太守。 父超之，梁天監初位員外散騎常侍。
Xu Chi, courtesy name Shiqiu, came from Tan in Donghai commandery; he also used the courtesy name Shihui. His grandfather Pingdao served as governor of Hailing under the Liu-Song. His father Chaozhi held the post of external attendant cavalier in the early Liang reign era Tianjian.
41
摛幼好學，及長，遍覽經史，屬文好為新變，不拘舊體。 晉安王綱出戍石頭，武帝謂周舍曰：「為我求一人，文學俱長，兼有行者，欲令與晉安遊處。」 舍曰：「臣外弟徐摛，形質陋小，若不勝衣，而堪此選。」 帝曰：「必有仲宣之才，亦不簡貌。」 乃以摛為侍讀。 大通初，王總戎北侵，以摛兼寧蠻府長史，參贊戎政，教命軍書，多自摛出。 王入為皇太子，轉家令，兼管記，尋帶領直。
Chi loved learning from childhood. As an adult he read widely in the classics and histories and wrote in a fresh, innovative style unbound by older forms. When Prince Xiao Gang of Jin'an went out to garrison Shitou, Emperor Wu told Zhou She, 'Find me someone equally strong in letters and learning, with good character, to keep Jin'an company. She replied, 'My cousin Xu Chi is small and unprepossessing—he looks as though his clothes might swallow him—but he is the man for this.' The emperor said, 'If he has Wang Can's talent, appearance hardly matters.' Chi was appointed study companion. At the start of the Datong era, when the prince led a northern campaign, he made Chi chief secretary of the pacification office. Chi helped direct military affairs, and most orders and dispatches came from his hand. When the prince became crown prince, Chi was made chief of the household and head recorder, and soon also commanded the immediate guard.
42
摛文體既別，春坊盡學之，「宮體」之號，自斯而始。 帝聞之怒，召摛將加誚責，及見，應對明敏，辭義可觀，乃意釋。 因問五經大義，次問歷代史及百家雜記，末論釋教。 摛商較從橫，應答如響，帝甚加歎異，更被親狎，寵遇日隆。 領軍朱異不悅，謂所親曰：「徐叟出入兩宮，漸來見逼，我須早為之所。」 遂承閑白帝曰：「摛年老，又愛泉石，意在一郡自養。」 帝謂摛欲之，乃召摛曰：「新安大好山水，任昉等並經為之，卿為我臨此郡。」 中大通三年，遂出為新安太守。 為政清靜，教人禮義，勸課農桑，期月風俗便改。 秩滿，為中庶子。
Because Chi's literary style was distinctive, the whole Eastern Palace took it up—the name 'Palace Style' dates from this. The emperor heard of it and angrily summoned Chi to rebuke him. But when they met, Chi answered with sharp clarity and compelling eloquence, and the emperor's anger dissolved. He then tested Chi on the Five Classics, then on dynastic history and the writings of the hundred schools, and finally on Buddhism. Chi debated with ease and answered like an echo. The emperor was astonished, drew him closer, and favored him more each day. Army Commander Zhu Yi was displeased and told his intimates, 'Old Xu shuttles between the two palaces and is crowding me out. I need to move against him soon. He seized a chance and told the emperor, 'Chi is getting old and loves mountains and streams. What he really wants is a quiet commandery where he can retire.' The emperor thought Chi wanted exactly that and summoned him. 'Xin'an has splendid scenery,' he said. 'Ren Fang and others all served there. Go govern it for me.' In Zhongdatong year 3 he was sent out as governor of Xin'an. His rule was quiet and upright. He taught ritual propriety, encouraged mulberry planting and farming, and within a month local customs changed. When his term ended he was made junior mentor to the crown prince.
43
時臨城公納夫人王氏，即簡文妃侄女。 晉、宋以來，初昏三日，婦見舅姑，眾賓皆列觀，引春秋義云：「丁丑，夫人姜氏至。 戊寅，公使大夫宗婦覿用幣」。 戊寅即丁丑之明日，故禮官據此皆云：「宜依舊觀」。 簡文問摛，摛議曰：「儀禮云：'質明贊見婦于舅姑。 '雜記又云：'婦見舅姑，兄弟姊妹皆立于堂下。 '政言婦是外宗，未審澗令，所以舅延外客，姑率內賓，堂下之儀，以備盛禮。 近代婦于舅姑本有戚屬，不相瞻者。 夫人乃妃侄女，有異他姻，覿見之儀，謂應可略。」 簡文從其議。 除太子左衛率。
At that time the Prince of Lincheng was marrying a woman of the Wang clan, a niece of Crown Prince Jianwen's consort. Since Jin and Song times, on the third day after a wedding the bride would be presented to her parents-in-law while guests looked on. Ritual officers cited the Spring and Autumn Annals: 'On dingchou the lady Jiang arrived. On wuyin the duke sent the grand officer and the chief wife of the clan to greet her with silken gifts.' Since wuyin is the day after dingchou, the ritual officers argued that the old public viewing should be followed.' Jianwen asked Chi for his view. Chi argued: 'The Ceremonies say, "At dawn the sponsor presents the bride to her parents-in-law. The Miscellaneous Records add, "When the bride is presented, brothers and sisters stand below the hall. This refers to a bride from an outside clan who does not yet know the rules of the inner household. The father-in-law receives outside guests and the mother-in-law leads inner guests; the hall ceremony completes the full rite. In recent times brides and in-laws were often already related and did not need such a formal presentation. This bride is the consort's niece, a closer tie than ordinary marriage. The formal viewing, I believe, may be omitted." Jianwen accepted his advice. He was appointed left commandant of the crown prince's guard.
44
及侯景攻陷台城，時簡文居永福省。 賊眾奔入，侍衛走散，莫有存者。 摛獨侍立不動，徐謂景曰：「侯公當以禮見，何得如此。」 凶威遂折，侯景乃拜。 由是常憚摛。 簡文嗣位，進授左衛將軍，固辭不拜。 簡文被閉，摛不獲朝謁，因感氣疾而卒，年七十八。 贈侍中、太子詹事，諡貞子。 長子陵，最知名。
When Hou Jing stormed Taicheng, Jianwen was living in Yongfu Palace. Rebel troops poured in. Guards and attendants fled until none remained. Chi alone stood his ground and calmly told Hou Jing, 'Lord Hou, you should be received with proper ceremony. What is this? Hou Jing's swagger broke, and he bowed. From then on he always feared Chi. When Jianwen ascended the throne, Chi was promoted to left guard general, but he firmly declined. Jianwen was confined, and Chi could no longer attend court. Grief and indignation brought on a fatal illness, and he died at seventy-eight. He was posthumously made palace attendant and grand mentor to the crown prince, with the posthumous name Zhenzi. His eldest son Ling became the most famous.
45
陵字孝穆。 母臧氏，嘗夢五色雲化為鳳，集左肩上，已而誕陵。 年數歲，家人攜以候沙門釋寶志，寶志摩其頂曰：「天上石麒麟也。」 光宅寺慧雲法師每嗟陵早就，謂之顏回。 八歲屬文，十三通莊、老義。 及長，博涉史籍，從橫有口辯。 父摛為晉安王諮議，王又引陵參寧蠻府軍事。 王立為皇太子，東宮置學士，陵充其選。 稍遷尚書度支郎。
Ling's courtesy name was Xiaomu. His mother, Lady Zang, dreamed that five-colored clouds turned into a phoenix and settled on her left shoulder. Soon after, Ling was born. When he was a few years old the family took him to the monk Baozhi, who rubbed his head and said, 'A stone qilin sent from heaven. Huiyun, the dharma master of Guangzai Temple, always marveled at Ling's precocity and called him a Yan Hui. At eight he was already writing; at thirteen he had mastered the Zhuangzi and Laozi. As an adult he ranged widely through history and was a nimble debater. His father Chi served as counselor to the Prince of Jin'an, and the prince also recruited Ling as a staff officer in the pacification office. When the prince became crown prince, the Eastern Palace formed a corps of academicians, and Ling was chosen among them. He was gradually promoted to a post in the ministry's revenue section.
46
出為上虞令。 御史中丞劉孝儀與陵先有隙，風聞劾陵在縣贓汙，因坐免。 久之，為通直散騎侍郎。 梁簡文在東宮，撰長春殿義記，使陵為序。 又令于少傅府述己所制莊子義。
He was sent out as magistrate of Shangyu. Censor-in-Chief Liu Xiaoyi, who bore an old grudge against Ling, impeached him on rumor for corruption as magistrate, and Ling was dismissed. After a long interval he was restored as palace courier. While Crown Prince Jianwen was in the Eastern Palace, he compiled Records of the Meaning of the Eternal Spring Hall and had Ling write the preface. He also had Ling lecture at the junior tutor's office on the Zhuangzi commentaries he himself had written.
47
太清二年，兼通直散騎常侍使魏，魏人授館宴賓。 是日甚熱，其主客魏收嘲陵曰：「今日之熱，當由徐常侍來。」 陵即答曰：「昔王肅至此，為魏始制禮儀； 今我來聘，使卿復知寒暑。」 收大慚。 齊文襄為相，以收失言，囚之累日。
In Taiqing year 2 he served concurrently as external attendant cavalier on a mission to Wei. The Wei hosts lodged the envoys and held a banquet. The day was sweltering. The chief host Wei Shou teased Ling: 'This heat must be because Attendant Xu has arrived. Ling shot back, 'When Wang Su came here long ago, Wei learned ritual propriety for the first time; now that I have come on a mission, I shall teach you once again to distinguish cold from heat.' Wei Shou was deeply ashamed. When Gao Cheng, Wenxiang of Northern Qi, served as chancellor, Wei Shou's slip of the tongue led to Xu Ling's imprisonment for many days.
48
及侯景入寇，陵父摛先在圍城之內，陵不奉家信，便蔬食布衣，若居哀恤。 會齊受魏禪，梁元帝承制於江陵，復通使于齊。 陵累求復命，終拘留不遣，乃致書于僕射楊遵彥，不報。 及魏平江陵，齊送貞陽侯明為梁嗣，乃遣陵隨還。 太尉王僧辯初拒境不納，明往復致書，皆陵辭也。 及明入，僧辯得陵大喜，以為尚書吏部郎，兼掌詔誥。 其年陳武帝誅僧辯，仍進討韋載，而任約、徐嗣徽乘虛襲石頭，陵感僧辯舊恩，往赴約。 約平，武帝釋陵不問，以為尚書左丞。
When Hou Jing invaded, Xu Ling's father Xu Chi was trapped inside the besieged capital. Receiving no word from home, Ling ate only plain food and wore coarse cloth, as though in mourning. Just then Northern Qi received the Wei abdication, while Emperor Yuan of Liang assumed provisional rule at Jiangling and resumed diplomatic exchanges with Qi. Xu Ling repeatedly petitioned to return home and report, but was detained and never sent back. He then wrote to Vice Director Yang Zunyan and received no answer. When Wei forces captured Jiangling, Northern Qi sent the Marquis of Zhenyang, Xiao Ming, to succeed the Liang throne and dispatched Xu Ling to return with him. Grand Marshal Wang Sengbian at first refused to admit them at the border. The letters Xiao Ming exchanged in the negotiations were all drafted by Xu Ling. Once Xiao Ming was admitted, Wang Sengbian was overjoyed to have Xu Ling and appointed him director of the Ministry of Personnel, with concurrent charge of imperial edicts and proclamations. That same year Emperor Wu of Chen executed Wang Sengbian and pressed on against Wei Zai, while Ren Yue and Xu Sihui seized the opening to attack Shitou. Grateful for Sengbian's past kindness, Xu Ling went to join Ren Yue. After Ren Yue was defeated, Emperor Wu pardoned Xu Ling without further inquiry and appointed him left assistant director of the Ministry of Personnel.
49
紹泰二年，又使齊。 還除給事黃門侍郎，秘書監。 陳受禪，加散騎常侍。 天嘉四年，為五兵尚書，領大著作。 六年，除散騎常侍，御史中丞。 時安成王頊為司空，以帝弟之尊，權傾朝野。 直兵鮑僧叡假王威風，抑塞辭訟，大臣莫敢言，陵乃奏彈之。 文帝見陵服章嚴肅，若不可犯，為斂容正坐。 陵進讀奏狀，時安成王殿上侍立，仰視文帝，流汗失色，陵遣殿中郎引王下殿。 自是朝廷肅然。
In the second year of Shaotai, he was again sent on a mission to Northern Qi. On his return he was appointed attendant gentleman of the Yellow Gate and director of the Secretariat. When the Chen dynasty was established, he was additionally made regular attendant of the fast cavalry. In the fourth year of Tianjia, he became minister of war and concurrently headed the imperial historiography office. In the sixth year, he was appointed regular attendant of the fast cavalry and censor-in-chief. At the time Prince Xu of Ancheng served as minister of works, and by virtue of his status as the emperor's younger brother his power overshadowed the entire court. The prince's duty officer Bao Sengrui abused the prince's authority to block lawsuits, and none of the senior ministers dared speak out. Xu Ling thereupon memorialized to impeach him. Emperor Wen saw Xu Ling in his official robes, stern and imposing as though not to be challenged, and composed his expression and sat upright. Xu Ling stepped forward and read the impeachment memorial. The Prince of Ancheng, standing in attendance on the hall steps, looked up at Emperor Wen with sweat streaming down his face and his color gone. Ling sent a palace attendant to escort the prince from the hall. From that point the court was subdued with respect.
50
遷吏部尚書，領大著作。 陵以梁末以來，選授多失其所，於是提舉綱維，綜核名實。 時有冒進求官，馳競不已者，乃為書宣示之，曰：「永定之時，聖朝草創，干戈未息，尚無條序。 府庫空虛，賞賜懸乏，白銀難得，黃劄易營。 權以官階，代于錢絹，義在撫接，無計多少。 致令員外常侍，路上比肩，諮議參軍，市中無數，豈是朝章應其如此。 今衣冠禮樂，日富年華，何可猶作舊意，非理望也。 所見諸君多踰本分，猶言大屈，未諭高懷。 若問梁朝朱領軍異亦為卿相，此不踰其本分耶？ 此是天子所拔，非關選序。 梁武帝云：'世間人言有目色，我特不目色範悌。 '宋文帝亦云：'人豈無運命，每有好官缺，輒憶羊玄保。 '此則清階顯職，不由選也。 既忝衡流，諸賢深明鄙意。」 自是眾咸服焉。 時論比之毛玠。
He was transferred to minister of personnel and concurrently headed the imperial historiography office. Because since the fall of Liang many appointments had gone to unworthy men, Xu Ling tightened the governing standards of selection and rigorously matched names to actual merit. At the time many men were recklessly scrambling for office without cease, so he circulated a letter of explanation, saying: 'In the Yongding era, when the dynasty was first being founded and warfare had not yet ceased, there was as yet no proper order to appointments. The treasuries were empty and rewards scarce. Silver was hard to come by, but yellow appointment documents were easy to issue. Official rank was used provisionally in place of cash and silk. The aim was to reassure and reward men, without counting the cost. The result was supernumerary attendants crowding the roads shoulder to shoulder and advisory staff officers beyond count in the markets. Surely court regulations were never meant to produce this. Now that ritual and culture grow richer with each passing year, how can one still cling to the old ways? Such expectations are unreasonable. Most of those I have seen already exceed their proper rank, yet still complain of great injustice. I cannot fathom such lofty expectations. If you ask whether Zhu Yi, commander-in-chief of Liang, also rose to minister and chancellor—did he not exceed his proper rank as well? That was the emperor's personal elevation and had nothing to do with the normal selection process. Emperor Wu of Liang said, 'People say I have an eye for talent, but I deliberately did not cast my eye on Fan Ti.' Emperor Wen of Song also said, 'Can a man truly be without fate? Whenever a good office fell vacant, I would always think of Yang Xuanbao.' Such exalted and prominent offices are not obtained through the normal selection process. Having been undeservedly placed at the helm of personnel selection, I trust you gentlemen will understand my intent. From that point all submitted to his authority. Contemporary opinion compared him to Mao Jie.
51
及宣帝入輔，謀黜異志者，引陵預其議。 宣帝即位，封建昌縣侯。 太建中，為尚書左僕射，抗表推周弘正、王勱等。 帝召入內殿，曰：「卿何為固辭而舉人乎？」 陵曰：「弘正舊蕃長史，王勱太平中相府長史，張種帝鄉賢戚，若選賢舊，臣宜居後。」 固辭累日，乃奉詔。
When Emperor Xuan entered as regent and plotted to remove those of disloyal intent, Xu Ling was brought in to participate in the deliberations. When Emperor Xuan took the throne, he enfeoffed Xu Ling as Marquis of Changchang County. During the Taijian era he served as left vice director of the Ministry of Personnel, but submitted a memorial declining the post and recommending Zhou Hongzheng, Wang Mai, and others instead. The emperor summoned him to the inner hall and said, 'Why do you firmly decline the post yourself yet recommend others? Xu Ling replied, 'Zhou Hongzheng was once chief administrator of my old commandery, Wang Mai was chief administrator of the chancellor's office during the Taiping era, and Zhang Zhong is a worthy kinsman from Your Majesty's home district. If merit and seniority are the standard, I ought to come after them.' He declined firmly for many days before at last accepting the edict.
52
及朝議北侵，宣帝命舉元帥，眾議在淳於量，陵獨曰：「不然。 吳明徹家在淮左，悉彼風俗，將略人才，當今無過者。」 於是爭論數日不能決，都官尚書裴忌曰：「臣同徐僕射。」 陵應聲曰：「非但明徹良將，忌即良副也。」 是日詔明徹為大都督，令忌監軍事，遂克淮南數十州地。 宣帝因置酒，舉杯屬陵曰：「賞卿知人。」
When the court deliberated a northern campaign, Emperor Xuan ordered nominations for a commander-in-chief. The assembly favored Chunyu Liang, but Xu Ling alone said, 'Not so. Wu Mingche's family is from the Huai region and he knows its customs thoroughly. In military talent there is today no one his superior. The debate continued for several days without resolution. Minister Pei Ji said, 'I agree with Vice Director Xu.' Xu Ling answered at once, 'Not only is Mingche an excellent general—Ji himself would make an excellent deputy.' That same day an edict appointed Wu Mingche grand commander-in-chief and ordered Pei Ji to oversee military affairs. They went on to capture dozens of prefectures in the Huainan region. Emperor Xuan then held a banquet, raised his cup toward Xu Ling, and said, 'This toast rewards your eye for talent.'
53
七年，領國子祭酒，以公事免侍中、僕射。 尋加侍中，給扶。 十三年，為中書監，領太子詹事。 以年老累表求致事，宣帝亦優禮之，詔將作為造大齋，令陵就第攝事。 後主即位，遷左光祿大夫、太子少傅。 至德元年卒，年七十七，詔贈特進。 初，後主為文示陵，雲他人所作。 陵嗤之曰：「都不成辭句。」 後主銜之，至是諡曰章偽侯。
In the seventh year he headed the imperial university, and was relieved of his posts as palace attendant and vice director on account of official duties. Soon afterward he was again made palace attendant and granted attendants to support him. In the thirteenth year he became director of the Secretariat and concurrently superintendent of the crown prince's household. As he aged he repeatedly memorialized to request retirement. Emperor Xuan treated him with special honor, ordering the directorate of construction to build a great study at his residence and allowing him to conduct affairs from home. When the Later Lord took the throne, Xu Ling was transferred to left grand master for distinguished service and junior tutor of the crown prince. He died in the first year of Zhide at the age of seventy-seven, and an edict posthumously granted him the title of grand preceptor. Earlier, the Later Lord showed Xu Ling a piece of writing and claimed it was someone else's composition. Xu Ling scoffed and said, 'This doesn't even form proper sentences. The Later Lord harbored a grudge, and at this time gave him the posthumous title Marquis of Fraudulent Composition.
54
陵器局深遠，容止可觀，性又清簡，無所營樹，俸祿與親族共之。 太建中，食建昌戶，戶送米至水次，親戚有貧匱者，皆召令取焉，數日便盡。 陵家尋致乏絕。 府僚怪問其故，陵云：「我有車牛衣裳可賣，餘家有可賣不？」 其周給如此。
Xu Ling's breadth of character was profound, his bearing admirable, and his nature pure and spare. He sought no personal gain and shared his salary with his kinsmen. During the Taijian era he drew income from the households of his Changchang fief. When the households delivered rice to the waterfront, he summoned impoverished relatives to take what they needed, and within a few days it was all gone. Xu Ling's household soon fell into want. His staff officials wondered and asked why. Xu Ling said, 'I still have carts, oxen, and clothes that can be sold. Do any of you at home have anything worth selling? Such was the extent of his generosity to others.
55
少而崇信釋教，經論多所釋解。 後主在東宮，令陵講大品經，義學名僧，自遠雲集，每講筵商較，四坐莫能與抗。 目有青精，時人以為聰慧之相也。 自陳創業，文檄軍書及受禪詔策，皆陵所制，為一代文宗。 亦不以矜物，未嘗詆訶作者。 其於後進，接引無倦。 文、宣之時，國家有大手筆，必命陵草之。 其文頗變舊體，緝裁巧密，多有新意。 每一文出，好事者已傳寫成誦，遂傳于周、齊，家有其本。 後逢喪亂，多散失，存者三十卷。 陵有四子：儉、份、儀、僔。
From youth he devoutly embraced Buddhism and wrote interpretive commentaries on many sutras and treatises. When the Later Lord was crown prince, he had Xu Ling lecture on the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Eminent monks of doctrinal learning gathered from afar, and at each lecture session none among the assembled could hold their own against him in debate. His eyes had a bluish gleam, which people of the time regarded as a mark of keen intelligence. From the founding of Chen, all proclamations, military dispatches, and abdication and accession documents were composed by Xu Ling, who became the literary patriarch of his generation. Yet he never used his stature to condescend to others, and never disparaged other writers. Toward younger writers he offered guidance and encouragement without weariness. During the reigns of Emperors Wen and Xuan, whenever the state required a major composition, Xu Ling was invariably ordered to draft it. His writing markedly transformed the old style: its structure was artful and precise, and it often contained fresh ideas. Each time a new piece appeared, enthusiasts would already copy and memorize it. His works spread to Northern Zhou and Northern Qi, and households everywhere kept copies. Later, amid the chaos of war, most were scattered and lost. Thirty scrolls survive. Xu Ling had four sons: Jian, Fen, Yi, and Tun.
56
儉一名報，幼而修立，勤學有志操。 汝南周弘直重其為人，妻之以女。 梁元帝召為尚書金部郎中。 常侍宴賦詩，元帝歎賞之，曰：「徐氏之子，復有文矣。」 魏平江陵，還建鄴，累遷中書侍郎。
Jian, also called Bao, cultivated upright conduct from youth, studied diligently, and possessed resolute integrity. Zhou Hongzhi of Runan admired his character and gave him his daughter in marriage. Emperor Yuan of Liang summoned him to serve as director of the Ministry's gold section. He often attended banquets and composed poetry on command. Emperor Yuan sighed in admiration and said, 'The Xu family again has a man of letters. After Wei forces captured Jiangling, he returned to Jiankang and was gradually promoted to vice director of the Secretariat.
57
太建初，廣州刺史歐陽紇舉兵反，宣帝令儉持節喻旨。 紇見儉，盛列仗衛，言辭不恭。 儉曰：「呂嘉之事，誠當已遠，將軍獨不見周迪、陳寶應乎？」 紇默然不答。 懼儉沮眾，不許入城，置儉於孤園寺。 紇嘗出見儉，儉謂曰：「將軍業已舉事，儉須還報天子。 儉之性命雖在將軍，將軍成敗不在於儉。 幸不見留。」 紇於是遣儉。 從間道馳還。 宣帝乃命章昭達討紇，以儉監昭達軍。 紇平，為兼中書通事舍人。
At the beginning of the Taijian era, Ouyang He, governor of Guangzhou, raised troops in rebellion. Emperor Xuan ordered Xu Jian to bear the staff of office and convey the imperial message. When Ouyang He received Xu Jian, he displayed his guards in full array and spoke disrespectfully. Xu Jian said, 'The affair of Lü Jia may indeed be long ago—but has the general alone not seen what became of Zhou Di and Chen Baoying? Ouyang He fell silent and made no reply. Fearing that Xu Jian would demoralize his troops, he refused to let him enter the city and confined him at Guguan Temple. When Ouyang He once came out to see him, Xu Jian said, 'The general has already raised the banner of rebellion. I must return to report to the Son of Heaven. My life may rest in the general's hands, but the general's success or failure does not depend on me. I hope you will not detain me. Ouyang He thereupon sent Xu Jian on his way. Xu Jian raced back by a hidden route. Emperor Xuan then ordered Zhang Zhaoda to campaign against Ouyang He, with Xu Jian supervising Zhang's army. After Ouyang He was defeated, Xu Jian was appointed concurrent master of ceremonies attendant of the Secretariat.
58
後主立，累遷尋陽內史，為政嚴明，盜賊靜息。 遷散騎常侍，襲封建昌侯。 入為御史中丞。 儉公平無所阿附，尚書令江總望重一時，為儉所劾，後主深委任焉。 禎明二年卒。
When the Later Lord took the throne, Xu Jian was gradually promoted to governor of Xunyang. His administration was strict and clear, and banditry subsided. He was transferred to regular attendant of the fast cavalry and inherited the title of Marquis of Changchang. He entered the capital as censor-in-chief. Xu Jian was fair and attached himself to no faction. Even Jiang Zong, director of the Ministry of Personnel and the most influential man of his day, was impeached by Jian. The Later Lord deeply trusted and relied on him. He died in the second year of Zhenming.
59
份少有父風。 九歲為夢賦，陵見之，謂所親曰：「吾幼屬文亦不加此。」 為海鹽令，有政績。 入為太子洗馬。 性孝弟，陵嘗疾篤，份燒香泣涕，跪誦孝經，日夜不息，如是者三日，陵疾豁然而愈，親戚皆謂份孝感所致。 先陵卒。
Fen from youth showed his father's character. At nine he wrote a Dream Rhapsody. When Xu Ling saw it, he told those close to him, 'When I was young and wrote, I did not surpass this. He served as magistrate of Haiyan and achieved a record of good governance. He entered the capital as groom of the crown prince's household. He was filial and dutiful toward his brothers. When Xu Ling once fell gravely ill, Fen burned incense and wept, kneeling to recite the Classic of Filial Piety day and night without cease. After three days of this, Ling's illness suddenly lifted and he recovered. Relatives all attributed it to Fen's filial devotion. Xu Ling died first.
60
儀少聰警，仕陳位尚書殿中郎。 陳亡，隱于錢唐之赭山。 隋煬帝召為學士，尋除著作佐郎。 大業四年卒。
Xu Yi was bright and quick-witted from youth. Under Chen he served as a secretariat gentleman in the ministry of the interior. When Chen fell, he withdrew into seclusion on Mount Zhe in Qiantang. Emperor Yang of Sui summoned him as a court academician and soon appointed him assistant director in the directorate of compilation. He died in the fourth year of the Daye era.
61
陵弟孝克，有口辯，能談玄理。 性至孝，遭父憂殆不勝喪。 事所生母陳氏，盡就養之道。 梁末，侯景寇亂，孝克養母，饘粥不能給。 妻東莞臧氏，領軍將軍盾女也，甚有容色。 孝克乃謂曰：「今饑荒如此，供養交闕，欲嫁卿與富人，望彼此俱濟，於卿如何？」 臧氏弗許之。 時有孔景行者，為侯景將，多從左右逼而迎之，臧氏涕泣而去，所得穀帛，悉以遺母。 孝克又剃髮為沙門，改名法整，兼乞食以充給焉。 臧氏亦深念舊恩，數私致饋餉，故不乏絕。 後景行戰死，臧氏伺孝克於途中，累日乃見，謂孝克曰：「往日之事，非為相負，今既得脫，當歸供養。」 孝克默然無答。 於是歸俗，更為夫妻。
Xu Ling's younger brother Kecheng was a gifted speaker and could discourse on metaphysical doctrine. He was profoundly filial by nature. When his father died, he nearly succumbed to grief. He cared for his biological mother, Lady Chen, and fully observed every duty of supporting a parent. At the end of Liang, when Hou Jing's raids plunged the realm into chaos, Kecheng struggled to support his mother and could not even keep her supplied with gruel. His wife was Lady Zang of Dongguan, daughter of General-in-Chief Zang Dun, and was strikingly beautiful. Kecheng then said to her, "Famine is so severe that I can no longer provide for you. I want to marry you to a wealthy man, hoping we may both survive. What do you think? Lady Zang refused. At the time Kong Jingxing, a general under Hou Jing, came with a large retinue and forced her into marriage. Lady Zang left in tears, but sent all the grain and cloth she received to Kecheng's mother. Kecheng then shaved his head and became a monk, taking the religious name Fazheng, and also begged for alms to make ends meet. Lady Zang still cherished their old bond and secretly sent provisions many times, so they never entirely went without. Later Jingxing died in battle. Lady Zang waited for Kecheng on the road and, after several days, finally met him. She said, "What happened before was not because I meant to betray you. Now that I am free, I should come back and care for you. Kecheng said nothing. He then returned to lay life, and they became husband and wife once more.
62
後東游，居錢唐之佳義裏，與諸僧討論釋典，遂通三論。 每日二時講，旦講佛經，晚講禮傳，道俗受業者數百人。 天嘉中，除剡令，非其好，尋去職。 太建四年，徵為秘書丞，不就。 乃蔬食長齋，持菩薩戒，晝夜講誦法華經。 宣帝甚嘉其操行。 後為國子祭酒。 孝克每侍宴，無所食噉，至席散，當其前膳羞損減。 帝密記以問中書舍人管斌，斌自是伺之，見孝克取珍果納紳帶中。 斌當時莫識其意，後尋訪，方知其以遺母。 斌以啟，宣帝嗟歎良久，乃敕自今宴享，孝克前饌，並遣將還，以餉其母。 時論美之。
Later he traveled east and settled in Jiayi Lane in Qiantang, where he debated Buddhist scripture with the monks until he mastered the Three Treatises school. Each day he lectured twice—on Buddhist sutras in the morning and on the Rites and Commentary in the evening—and several hundred clerics and lay disciples studied under him. During the Tianjia era he was appointed magistrate of Shan, but the post did not suit him and he soon resigned. In the fourth year of the Taijian era he was summoned to serve as assistant director of the secretariat, but he declined. He lived on vegetables, kept long fasts, observed the bodhisattva precepts, and lectured on and recited the Lotus Sutra day and night. Emperor Xuan greatly admired his character. He later became director of the imperial academy. Whenever Kecheng attended banquets he ate nothing, yet when the feast ended the delicacies set before him were noticeably diminished. The emperor took note of this and quietly asked Secretariat Gentleman Guan Bin about it. Bin then watched him and saw Kecheng slip choice fruits into his sash. At the time Bin did not understand what he was doing. Only later, after making inquiries, did he learn that Kecheng was taking the food home to his mother. Bin reported what he had seen. Emperor Xuan sighed in admiration for a long while and then ordered that from then on, at every banquet, the food placed before Kecheng should be sent home to feed his mother. People of the time praised the emperor's kindness.
63
孝克性清素，好施惠，故不免饑寒。 後主敕以石頭津稅給之，孝克悉用設齋寫經，隨盡。
Kecheng lived plainly and loved to give to others, and so never escaped poverty. The Later Lord ordered that the ferry tax at Shitou be paid to him, but Kecheng spent it all on vegetarian feasts and copying sutras as soon as it arrived.
64
二年，為散騎常侍，侍東宮。 陳亡，隨例入長安。 家道壁立，所生母患，欲粳米為粥，不能常辦。 母亡後，孝克遂常噉麥，有遺粳米者，孝克對而悲泣，終身不復食焉。
In the second year he was appointed regular attendant and attended the eastern palace. When Chen fell, he went to Chang'an along with the other former officials. His household was utterly destitute. His biological mother fell ill and wanted gruel made from polished rice, but he could not provide it regularly. After his mother died, Kecheng lived mainly on wheat. If anyone gave him polished rice, he would look at it and weep, and he never ate it again for the rest of his life.
65
開皇十二年，長安疾疫，隋文帝聞其名行，召令于尚書都堂講金剛般若經。 尋授國子博士，後侍東宮，講禮傳。
In the twelfth year of the Kaihuang era, when plague swept Chang'an, Emperor Wen of Sui heard of his reputation and summoned him to lecture on the Diamond Prajna Sutra in the main hall of the ministry of the interior. He was soon appointed a doctor of the national university, and later attended the eastern palace, where he lectured on the Rites and Commentary.
66
十九年，以疾卒，年七十三。 臨終政坐念佛，室內有非常香氣，鄰里皆驚異之。 子萬載，位太子洗馬。
In the nineteenth year he died of illness at the age of seventy-three. As death approached he sat upright reciting the Buddha's name. An extraordinary fragrance filled the room, and all the neighbors were astonished. His son Wanzai served as groom of the crown prince's household.
67
鮑泉字潤嶽，東海人也。 父幾字景玄，家貧，以母老詣吏部尚書王亮幹祿，亮一見嗟賞，舉為舂陵令。 後為明山賓所薦，為太常丞。 以外兄傅昭為太常，依制緦服不得相臨，改為尚書郎，終於湘東王諮議參軍。
Bao Quan, courtesy name Runyue, came from Donghai. His father Bao Ji, styled Jingxuan, was poor. With an aged mother to support, he went to Minister Wang Liang to seek an appointment. Liang was impressed at once and had him named magistrate of Chunling. Later, on Ming Shanbin's recommendation, he became vice director of the court of imperial sacrifices. When his cousin by marriage Fu Zhao became director of the court of imperial sacrifices, regulations forbade men in second-degree mourning from holding office under one another, so he was transferred to a post in the ministry of the interior and ended his career as an adviser to the Prince of Xiangdong.
68
泉美須髯，善舉止，身長八尺，性甚警悟。 博涉史傳，兼有文筆。 少事元帝為國常侍，早見擢任，謂曰：「我文之外無出卿者。」 後為通直侍郎。 常乘高幰車，從數十左右，傘蓋服玩甚精。 道逢國子祭酒王承，承疑非舊貴，遣訪之，泉從者答曰：「鮑通直」。 承怪焉，復欲辱之，遣逼車問：「鮑通直復是何許人，而得如此！」 都下少年遂為口實，見尚豪華人，相戲曰：「鮑通直復是何許人，而得如此」，以為笑謔。
Quan had a handsome beard, graceful bearing, and stood eight chi tall. He was exceptionally quick-witted. He read widely in history and biography and wrote well. From youth he served Emperor Yuan as a regular attendant and was promoted early. The emperor told him, 'Apart from my own writing, no one surpasses you. He later became attendant for direct communication. He often traveled in a high-canopied carriage with dozens of attendants, his parasols, robes, and ornaments all of the finest sort. On the road he met Wang Cheng, director of the imperial academy. Cheng doubted he was old aristocracy and sent someone to ask who he was. Quan's attendant replied, 'Attendant Bao.' Cheng found this odd and tried to humiliate him further, sending a man to press up to the carriage and demand, 'Who in the world is Attendant Bao, to live like this? Capital youths turned the line into a catchphrase. Whenever they saw someone decked out in luxury, they would tease, 'Who in the world is Attendant Bao, to live like this?' and laugh.
69
及元帝承制，累遷至信州刺史。 方等之敗，元帝大怒，泉與王僧辯討之。 僧辯曰：「計將安出？」 泉曰：「事等沃雪，何所多慮。」 僧辯曰：「君言文士常談耳，河東少有武幹，非精兵一萬不可以往。 竟陵甲卒不久當至，猶可重申。 欲與卿入言之。」 泉許諾，及僧辯如向言，泉默然不繼。 元帝大怒，於是械系僧辯，時人比泉為酈寄。
When Emperor Yuan assumed power, Quan rose through the ranks to inspector of Xin province. After Fangdeng's defeat the emperor was furious and sent Quan with Wang Sengbian to suppress the rebels. Sengbian asked, 'What is your plan? Quan said, 'This will melt away like snow under hot water. Why worry so much?' Sengbian replied, 'That is the sort of thing literary men always say. Hedong is no pushover. We cannot go without ten thousand elite troops. The armored troops from Jingling will arrive soon. We can still ask again then. I want to go in with you and explain this to the emperor.' Quan agreed, but when Sengbian made the argument as promised, Quan said nothing and did not back him up. The emperor was furious and had Sengbian shackled and imprisoned. Contemporaries compared Quan to Li Ji, who had betrayed his friend.
70
泉既專征長沙，久而不克。 元帝乃數泉二十罪，為書責之曰：「面如冠玉，還疑木偶，須似蝟毛，徒勞繞喙。」 乃從獄中起王僧辯代泉為都督，使舍人羅重歡領齋仗三百人與僧辯往。 乃至長沙，遣通泉曰：「羅舍人被令送王竟陵來。」 泉愕然，顧左右曰：「得王竟陵助我經略，賊不足平矣。」 乃拂席坐而待之。 僧辯入，乃背泉而坐曰：「鮑郎，卿有罪，令旨使我鎖卿，卿勿以故意見期。」 命重歡出令示泉，鎖之床下。 泉顏色自若，了無懼容，曰：「稽緩王師，罪乃甘分，但恐後人更思鮑泉之憒憒耳。」 僧辯色甚不平，泉乃啟陳淹遲之罪。 元帝尋復其任，令與僧辯等東逼邵陵王於郢州。
Quan held sole command of the campaign against Changsha but could not take the city for a long time. The emperor listed twenty crimes against Quan and wrote to rebuke him: 'Your face is like jade on a cap, yet one still suspects a wooden puppet. Your beard is like hedgehog bristles, yet all you do is flap your lips in vain. He then released Wang Sengbian from prison to replace Quan as commander and sent Gentleman Attendant Luo Chonghuan with three hundred armed guards to accompany him. On reaching Changsha he sent word to Quan: 'Gentleman Luo has been ordered to bring Wang of Jingling to assist you. Quan was astonished and told his attendants, 'With Wang of Jingling to help me plan the campaign, the rebels will be nothing to crush.' He brushed off a seat and sat waiting for him. When Sengbian entered he sat with his back to Quan and said, 'Master Bao, you are guilty. By imperial order I am to fetter you. Do not count on our old friendship. He had Chonghuan produce the order and show it to Quan, then shackled him beside the bed. Quan's color never changed and he showed no fear. He said, 'Delaying the imperial army is a guilt I accept. I only fear that later generations will remember Bao Quan's blundering. Sengbian looked deeply offended. Quan then submitted a memorial confessing the crime of delay. The emperor soon restored him to office and ordered him with Sengbian and others to march east and press the Prince of Shaoling at Yingzhou.
71
郢州平，元帝以世子方諸為刺史，泉為長史，行州府事。 方諸見泉和弱，每有諮陳未嘗用，使泉伏床騎背為馬，書其衣作其姓名，由是州府盡相欺。 侯景密遣將宋子仙、任約襲之。 方諸與泉不恤軍政，唯蒱酒自樂，云：「賊何由得至」。 既而傳告者眾，始命闔門。 城陷，賊執方諸及泉送之景所。 後景攻王僧辯于巴陵不克，敗還，乃殺泉于江夏，沈其屍于黃鶴磯。
After Yingzhou was pacified, the emperor made the heir Fangzhu inspector and Quan chief administrator, with charge of the prefecture and headquarters. Fangzhu found Quan mild and weak, never took his advice, made him lie on a bed and rode his back as a horse, and wrote his name on Quan's clothes. From then on everyone in the prefecture and headquarters joined in mocking him. Hou Jing secretly sent his generals Song Zixian and Ren Yue to attack them. Fangzhu and Quan neglected military affairs and amused themselves with gambling and wine, saying, 'How could the enemy ever reach us here?' When reports of the enemy multiplied, they finally ordered the gates shut. The city fell. The rebels seized Fangzhu and Quan and sent them to Hou Jing. Later Hou Jing attacked Wang Sengbian at Baling, failed, and retreated in defeat. He then executed Quan at Jiangxia and sank his body in the river at Yellow Crane Rock.
72
初，泉夢著朱衣行水上，及死，舉身帶血而沈于江如其夢。 泉于儀禮尤明，撰新儀三十卷行於世。
Earlier Quan had dreamed that he wore red robes and walked on water. When he died, his body covered in blood, he was sunk in the river exactly as in the dream. Quan was especially learned in ritual and compiled New Rites in thirty scrolls, which circulated widely.
73
時又有鮑行卿以博學大才稱，位後軍臨川王錄事，兼中書舍人，遷步兵校尉。 上玉璧銘，武帝發詔褒賞。 好韻語，及拜步兵，面謝帝曰：「作舍人，不免貧，得五校，實大校。」 例皆如此。 有集二十卷。 撰皇室儀十三卷，乘輿龍飛記二卷。
At the time there was also Bao Xingqing, famed for erudition and literary talent. He served as recorder to the Prince of Linchuan of the rear army and as a concurrent secretariat gentleman, and was later promoted to commandant of footsoldiers. He presented an inscription on a jade bi, and Emperor Wu issued an edict praising and rewarding him. He loved witty rhymes. When he received appointment as commandant of footsoldiers, he thanked the emperor in person and said, "As a secretariat gentleman, one cannot avoid being poor; but gaining one of the Five Commandants is truly gaining a great commandant. His remarks were always of this sort. He left a collected writings in twenty scrolls. He compiled Imperial Household Rites in thirteen scrolls and Record of the Imperial Carriage's Dragon Ascent in two scrolls.
74
弟客卿位南康太守。 客卿三子，檢、正、至，並才藝知名，俱為湘東王五佐。 正好交遊，無日不適人，人為之語曰：「無處不逢烏噪，無處不逢鮑佐。」 正不為湘東王所知，獻書告退。 王恨之。 及建鄴城陷，正為尚書外兵郎，病不能起。 景雜於死屍焚之。 王聞之曰：「忠非紀信，利非象齒，焚如棄如，於是乎得。」 君子以此知湘東王不仁。 檢為湘東鎮西府中記室，使蜀，不屈于武陵王，見害。
His younger brother Keqing served as administrator of Nankang. Keqing's three sons—Jian, Zheng, and Zhi—were all known for talent and skill, and all served among the five aides of the Prince of Xiangdong. Zheng loved company and never let a day pass without calling on someone. People said of him, "There is nowhere you won't hear crows cawing, and nowhere you won't run into Bao the aide. Zheng failed to win the Prince of Xiangdong's favor and submitted a letter resigning his post. The prince resented him. When Jiankang fell, Zheng was serving as outer military lang in the ministry of the interior, but he was too ill to rise. Hou Jing threw him in among the dead and had the bodies burned. When the prince heard of it he said, "His loyalty was no Ji Xin's, his worth no ivory tusk—burn him and cast him aside, and there you have it. Men of judgment took this as proof that the Prince of Xiangdong lacked humanity. Jian served as recording secretary in the Prince of Xiangdong's western headquarters. Sent on a mission to Shu, he refused to submit to the Prince of Wuzhou and was killed.
75
論曰：夏侯勝雲，「士患不明經術，經術明，取青紫如拾地芥耳」。 于賀瑒、賀琛、朱異、司馬褧其得之矣。 而異遂徼寵倖，任事居權，不能以道佐時，苟取容媚。 及延寇敗國，實異之由，禍難既彰，不明其罪，亦既身死，寵贈猶殊。 罰既弗加，賞亦斯濫。 夫太清之亂，固其宜矣。 顧協清介，足以追蹤古人，徐摛貞正，仁者信乎有勇。 孝穆聰明特達，締構興王，獻替謀猷，亮直斯在。 泉本文房之士，每處荷戈之任，非材之責，勝任不亦難乎。
The historian comments: Xiahou Sheng said, "A scholar's trouble is not knowing the classics. Once the classics are mastered, winning office and rank is like picking mustard seeds off the ground." He Yang, He Chen, Zhu Yi, and Sima Jiong had done exactly that. Yet Zhu Yi went on to court favor and fortune, held office and wielded power, and instead of guiding the times by principle he sought only to please and flatter. When he invited the invaders and brought the state to ruin, the blame truly lay with Zhu Yi. The catastrophe was plain for all to see, yet his guilt was never made clear; even after his death he received extraordinary posthumous honors. Punishment was never imposed, and reward was lavished just as recklessly. The chaos of the Taqing era was only to be expected. Gu Xie was pure and upright, worthy to be measured against the ancients. Xu Chi was steadfast and upright—the benevolent, it is said, also have courage. Xu Ling, styled Xiao Mu, was brilliant and far-seeing. He helped establish the rising dynasty, offered counsel in planning and policy, and his candor was always present. Bao Quan was a scholar of the writing desk by nature, yet time and again he was placed in command of troops. When the wrong man is given the wrong task, how can he be expected to succeed?