Qin and Han · General and Official

Zhou Bo 周勃

Died BC 169

Passages: 94
Chapters: 14
Histories: 4

Overview

The translated histories identify Zhou Bo as an aristocrat, general, official, and statesman. This record brings together 94 passages from 14 chapters across 4 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Zhou Bo	周勃	Zhou Bo
Personal name	Bo	勃	Bó
Personal	Bo	勃	Bó
Given	Bo	勃
Given	Bo	勃	Bo
Title	Grand Commandant Zhou Bo	太尉勃
Title	Grand Marshal	太尉	Taiwei
Title	Jiang Hou	絳侯	Jiang Hou
Title	Marquis Jiang	絳侯	Jiàng hóu
Title	Marquis of Jiang	絳侯
Title	Marquis of Weiwu	威武侯
Posthumous	Marquis Wu	武侯
Surname	Zhou	周	Zhou
Personal name	Zhou Bo	周勃	Zhou Bo
Personal name	Zhou Bo	周勃	Zhōu Bó
Personal	Zhou Bo	周勃	Zhōu Bó
Personal name	Zhou Bo	周勃
Personal	Zhou Bo	勃
Alternate		勃	Bo

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Male

Sex: male
Strongly inferred · hanshu:004:s0011, hanshu:025:s0317, hanshu:070:s0271, shiji:057:s0001, shiji:102:s0017
Sex: male
Explicit · hanshu:051:s0086, jiutangshu:130:s0028, shiji:098:s0014
Value: male
Strongly inferred · hanshu:070:s0220
Value: male
Explicit · hanshu:093:s0105

Roles

Aristocrat
General
Official
Statesman

Life and dates

Death

Date Context: Source Date: Text: 孝文帝十一年 · Western Year: BC 169
Explicit · shiji:057:s0112

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 二年…絳侯臣勃 · Western Year: BC 186
Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:004:s0011
Source Date: Text: 八年…太尉勃 · Western Year: BC 180
Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:004:s0044
Source Date: Text: 太尉勃擊陳豨 · Western Interval: Start: BC 196 · End: BC 195
Explicit event contextual date · shiji:098:s0014
Source Date: Text: 孝惠帝六年 · Western Year: BC 189
Explicit · shiji:057:s0083
Source Date: Text: 孝文二年 · Western Year: BC 178
Explicit · hanshu:025:s0317
Source Date: Text: 孝文帝十一年 · Western Year: BC 169
Explicit · shiji:057:s0112
Source Date: Text: 孝文時 · Western Interval: Start: BC 180 · End: BC 157
Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:093:s0105
Source Date: Text: 故當其有事也，非蕭、曹… · Western Year: BC 200
Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:099:s0070
Source Date: Text: 文帝時論周勃 · Western Interval: Start: BC 180 · End: BC 157
Explicit event contextual date · shiji:102:s0017
Source Date: Text: 漢初 · Western Interval: Start: BC 209 · End: BC 141
Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:051:s0086
Source Date: Text: 絳侯 · Western Interval: Start: BC 209 · End: BC 169
Explicit · liangshu:014:s0038
Source Date: Text: 西漢 · Western Interval: Start: BC 209 · End: BC 169
Explicit event contextual date · jiutangshu:130:s0028
Source Date: Text: 高后崩 · Western Year: BC 180
Explicit event contextual date · shiji:057:s0084, shiji:057:s0088
Source Date: Text: 高祖之為沛公初起 · Western Interval: Start: BC 209 · End: BC 206
Explicit event contextual date · shiji:057:s0004

Family

Immediate source-linked family. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select a person to open their record.

Parent of Zhou Jian (周堅)
Kinship Term: other son / 他子 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: father · Object Role: son
Parent of Zhou Yafu (周亞夫)
Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: father · Object Role: son
Parent of Zhou Shengzhi (周勝之)
Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: father · Object Role: son

Career and standing

Label: reed-mat weaver and funeral flautist / 織薄曲、吹簫給喪事
Explicit · shiji:057:s0003
Label: Grand Commandant / 太尉 · Action: appointed · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 孝惠帝六年 · Western Year: BC 189
Explicit · shiji:057:s0083
Label: Right Chancellor / 右丞相 · Action: appointed · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 文帝既立 · Western Year: BC 180
Explicit · shiji:057:s0090
Label: Commander of the Tiger Guard / 虎賁令 · Action: appointed
Explicit · shiji:057:s0026
Label: general / 將軍 · Action: appointed
Explicit · shiji:057:s0036
Label: Grand Commandant / 太尉 · Action: appointed
Explicit · shiji:057:s0065
Label: Grand Commandant / 太尉 · Action: held · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 八年 · Western Year: BC 180
Explicit · hanshu:004:s0044
Label: chancellor / 丞相 · Action: held
Explicit · hanshu:093:s0105
Label: Chancellor / 丞相 · Action: held
Explicit · hanshu:025:s0317
Label: Left/Right Chancellor / 左右丞相 · Action: held
Explicit · hanshu:025:s0317
Title En: Chancellor · Title Zh: 丞相
Explicit · hanshu:005:s0123
Title En: Grand Commandant · Title Zh: 太尉
Explicit · hanshu:005:s0004
Title: Marquis of Jiang / 絳侯 · Place: Jiang / 絳 · Households: 8180 · Action: enfeoffed
Explicit · shiji:057:s0057
Additional Households: 10000 · Gold Jin: 5000
Explicit · hanshu:005:s0327
Title: Marquis of Weiwu / 威武侯 · Action: granted
Explicit · shiji:057:s0035
Title: Marquis of Jiang / 絳侯 · Action: held
Explicit · hanshu:004:s0011, shiji:102:s0017
Title En: Marquis Jiang · Title Zh: 絳侯
Explicit · hanshu:005:s0148
Status: arrest · Action: arrested on accusation of rebellion · Label: accused of rebellion / 告勃欲反
Explicit · shiji:057:s0098, shiji:057:s0099
Status: pardon · Action: pardoned and rank restored
Explicit · shiji:057:s0108

Places and affiliations

Label: Han / 漢 · Relation: served
Strongly inferred · hanshu:025:s0317
Label: Han / 漢 · Relation: served
Explicit · shiji:057:s0056
Polity: Han / 漢 · Relation: served
Explicit · hanshu:004:s0044
Place: Pei / 沛
Explicit · shiji:057:s0001
Place: Juan / 卷 · Relation: ancestral-origin
Explicit · shiji:057:s0002

Works and attributed material

Work: Biography of Zhou Bo / 周勃傳 · Relation: subject-of
Explicit · hanshu:004:s0088
Kind: memorial · Role: author · Other Person Id: Chen Ping (陳平) · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 孝文二年 · Western Year: BC 178
Explicit · hanshu:025:s0317, hanshu:025:s0318, hanshu:025:s0319
Kind: speech · Role: speaker · Other Person Id: Chen Ping (陳平) · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 孝文二年 · Western Year: BC 178
Explicit · hanshu:025:s0324, hanshu:025:s0325

Events and relationships

Kind: legal · Role: official · Action: abolished · Label: abolished seizure statutes and mutual-implication law / 盡除收律、相坐法 · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 孝文二年 · Western Year: BC 178
Explicit · hanshu:025:s0325
Kind: political · Role: conspirator · Action: destroyed the Lu clan and enthroned Emperor Wen · Other Person Id: Chen Ping (陳平) · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 高后崩 · Western Year: BC 180
Explicit · shiji:057:s0088
Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: secured the Liu house via Southern and Northern Armies
Explicit · jiutangshu:130:s0028
Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: took Northern Army · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 八年 · Western Year: BC 180
Explicit · hanshu:004:s0067, hanshu:004:s0069
Kind: political · Action: was sent back to his fief after a solar eclipse
Explicit · hanshu:093:s0105
Type: minister-of · Person Id: Emperor Gaozu (高祖) · Text: old minister of the High Emperor
Explicit · hanshu:070:s0271
Relation: ally-of · Person Id: Chen Ping (陳平)
Explicit · hanshu:004:s0048, shiji:057:s0088
Relation: colleague-of · Person Id: Chen Ping (陳平)
Explicit · hanshu:025:s0317, hanshu:025:s0324

Assessments and attributes

Assessment: man-of-worth-but-inarticulate · Provenance: Mode: quoted-speech · Speaker Person Id: Zhang Shizhi (張釋之)
Explicit · shiji:102:s0018, shiji:102:s0021
Assessment: plain-spoken, steadfast, and honest; trusted with great affairs · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment
Explicit · shiji:057:s0079
Assessment: saved the state from the Lu clan; comparable to Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment · Speaker Person Id: Sima Qian (太史公)
Explicit · shiji:057:s0228, shiji:057:s0229
Assessment: wise · Label: wisdom / 知 · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment
Explicit · hanshu:025:s0328

References in the histories

Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.

Book of Han, Chapter 2Volume 1: Annals of Emperor Gaozu 2 · 5 passages

太尉周勃道太原入定代地，至馬邑，馬邑不下，攻殘之。 Grand marshal Zhou Bo took the Taiyuan route to pacify Dai territory, reaching Mayi. Mayi did not submit, so he attacked and devastated it.

周勃定代，斬陳豨於當城。 Zhou Bo pacified Dai and beheaded Chen Xi at Dangcheng.

春二月，使樊噲、周勃將兵擊綰。 In the second month of spring, he sent Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo to lead troops to attack Lu Wan.

周勃重厚少文，然安劉氏者必勃也，可令為太尉。」 Zhou Bo is steady and substantial but short on refinement. Yet the man who will secure the Liu clan must be Bo. He can be made Grand Marshal."

陳平、灌嬰將十萬守滎陽，樊噲、周勃將二十萬定燕代，此聞帝崩，諸將皆誅，必連兵還鄉，以攻關中。 Chen Ping and Guan Ying are leading 100,000 men guarding Xingyang, and Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo are leading 200,000 pacifying Yan and Dai. If they hear that the emperor has died and that the generals are all being executed, they will surely join forces and return home to attack Guanzhong.

Book of Han, Chapter 4Volume 3: Annals of Empress Lü Zhi · 17 passages

丞相臣平言：「謹與絳侯臣勃、曲周侯臣商、潁陰侯臣嬰、安國侯臣陵等議，列侯幸得賜餐錢奉邑，陛下加惠，以功次定朝位，臣請臧高廟。」 Chancellor Chen Ping memorialized: 'I have respectfully deliberated with Bo, Marquis of Jiang; Shang, Marquis of Quzhou; Ying, Marquis of Yingyin; Ling, Marquis of Anguo; and others. The marquises have fortunately received bestowed meal allowances and fief incomes. Your Majesty adds further favor by establishing court positions according to the order of their merits. I request that these rankings be preserved in the Gao Temple.'

章欲與太尉勃、丞相平為內應，以誅諸呂。 Zhang wished to coordinate internally with Grand Commandant Zhou Bo and Chancellor Chen Ping to execute the various members of the Lü clan.

太尉勃與丞相平謀，以曲周侯酈商子寄與祿善，使人劫商令寄紿說祿曰：「高帝與呂后共定天下，劉氏所立九王，呂氏所立三王，皆大臣之議。 Grand Commandant Zhou Bo and Chancellor Chen Ping plotted together. Since Marquis of Quzhou Li Shang's son Ji was on good terms with Lü Lu, they sent men to seize Shang and have Ji deceive and persuade Lü Lu, saying: 'Emperor Gaozu and Empress Lü together settled the realm. The Liu clan established nine kings and the Lü clan established three kings—all were matters deliberated by the ministers.

平陽侯窋聞其語，馳告丞相平、太尉勃。 Pingyang Marquis Kui heard their conversation and galloped to inform Chancellor Chen Ping and Grand Commandant Zhou Bo.

勃欲入北軍，不得入。 Zhou Bo wished to enter the Northern Army but was unable to do so.

襄平侯紀通尚符節，乃令持節矯內勃北軍。 Xiangping Marquis Ji Tong still held the tally and credentials. They then ordered him to use the credentials to forge a command admitting Zhou Bo into the Northern Army.

勃復令酈寄、典客劉揭說祿，曰：「帝使太尉守北軍，欲令足下之國，急歸將軍印辭去。 Zhou Bo then ordered Li Ji and Protocol Director Liu Jie to persuade Lü Lu, saying: 'The emperor has made the Grand Commandant guard the Northern Army and wishes you to return to your state. Urgently return the general's seal and depart.

祿遂解印屬典客，而以兵授太尉勃。 Lü Lu then removed his seal and entrusted it to the Protocol Director, handing command of the troops over to Grand Commandant Zhou Bo.

勃入軍門，行令軍中曰：「為呂氏右袒，為劉氏左袒。」 Zhou Bo entered the army gate and issued a command throughout the army: 'Those for the Lü clan, bare the right shoulder; those for the Liu clan, bare the left shoulder.'

勃遂將北軍。 Zhou Bo then took command of the Northern Army.

然尚有南軍，丞相平召朱虛侯章佐勃。 However, the Southern Army still remained. Chancellor Chen Ping summoned Zhu Xu Marquis Zhang to assist Zhou Bo.

勃令章監軍門，令平陽侯告衛尉，毋內相國產殿門。 Zhou Bo ordered Liu Zhang to watch the military gate, and sent the Marquis of Pingyang to tell the Guard Commander not to admit Chancellor of State Lü Chan through the palace gate.

平陽侯馳語太尉勃，勃尚恐不勝，未敢誦言誅之，乃謂朱虛侯章曰：「急入宮衛帝。」 The Marquis of Pingyang galloped back to inform Grand Commandant Zhou Bo. Zhou Bo still feared they might not prevail and did not yet dare openly call for Lü Chan's execution, so he said to Zhang, Marquis of Zhuxu, 'Enter the palace at once and guard the emperor.'

章從勃請卒千人，入未央宮掖門，見產廷中。 Zhang requested one thousand troops from Zhou Bo and entered Weiyang Palace through the side gate, where he saw Lü Chan in the courtyard.

還入北軍，復報太尉勃。 He returned and entered the Northern Army, then reported again to Grand Commandant Zhou Bo.

勃起拜賀章，曰：「所患獨產，今已誅，天下定矣。」 Zhou Bo rose, bowed, and congratulated Zhang, saying, 'Lü Chan alone was the one we feared. Now that he has been executed, the realm is secure.'

語在周勃、高五王傳。 The account is given in the biographies of Zhou Bo and the Five Sons of Emperor Gao.

Book of Han, Chapter 5Volume 4: Annals of Emperor Wen · 11 passages

丞相陳平、太尉周勃、朱虛侯劉章等共誅之，謀立代王。 Chancellor Chen Ping, Grand Commandant Zhou Bo, the Marquis of Zhuxu Liu Zhang, and others joined together to execute the Lü clan and plotted to establish the King of Dai on the throne.

夫以呂太后之嚴，立諸呂為三王，擅權專制，然而太尉以一節入北軍，一呼士皆袒左，為劉氏，畔諸呂，卒以滅之。 Despite Empress Lü's iron-fisted rule in establishing three Lü kings and monopolizing power with dictatorial control, the Grand Commandant Zhou Bo entered the Northern Army with just one imperial tally. With a single command, all the soldiers bared their left arms in loyalty to the Liu clan, rebelled against the Lü faction, and ultimately destroyed them.

於是代王乃遣太后弟薄昭見太尉勃，勃等具言所以迎立王者。 At this the King of Dai dispatched Bo Zhao, the Empress Dowager's younger brother, to meet with Grand Commandant Zhou Bo. Zhou Bo and his colleagues explained in detail the reasons for welcoming and enthroning the king.

太尉勃進曰：「願請間。」 Grand Commandant Zhou Bo stepped forward and said: 'I request a private audience.'

太尉勃乃跪上天子璽。 Grand Commandant Zhou Bo then knelt and presented the imperial seal.

群臣從至，上議曰：「丞相臣平、太尉臣勃、大將軍臣武、御史大夫臣蒼、宗正臣郢、朱虛侯臣章、東牟侯臣興居、典客臣揭再拜言大王足下：子弘等皆非孝惠皇帝子，不當奉宗廟。 The ministers followed and arrived. The court deliberated, saying: "Chancellor Chen Ping, Grand Commandant Zhou Bo, General-in-Chief Chai Wu, Grandee Secretary Zhang Cang, Director of the Imperial Clan Liu Ying, Marquis Zhu Xu Liu Zhang, Marquis Dong Mou Liu Xingju, and Court Receptionist Liu Jie bowed twice and addressed Your Majesty: Zi Hong and the others are not sons of Emperor Xiaohui and should not serve at the ancestral temple.

呂產欲為不善，丞相平與太尉勃等謀奪產等軍。 Lü Chan intended to do evil, and Chancellor Ping and Grand Commandant Bo and others plotted to seize the armies of Chan and his associates.

太尉勃身率襄平侯通持節承詔入北軍。 Grand Commandant Bo personally led Marquis Xiangping Tong, holding the imperial tally and edict, into the Northern Army.

其益封太尉勃邑萬戶，賜金五千斤。 Grand Commandant Bo was granted an additional fief of ten thousand households and five thousand jin of gold.

遂免丞相勃，遣就國。 As a result, he dismissed Chancellor Zhou Bo from office and sent him back to his fief.

絳侯周勃有罪，逮詣廷尉詔獄。 Marquis Jiang Zhou Bo committed a crime and was arrested for trial in the imperial prison under the Chamberlain for Law.

Book of Han, Chapter 25Volume 23: Treatise on Punishment and Law · 3 passages

左右丞相周勃、陳平奏言：「父母妻子同產相坐及收，所以累其心，使重犯法也。 The left and right chancellors, Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, memorialized: "Implicating and seizing parents, wives, children, and siblings is meant to burden people's minds and make them take the violation of law seriously.

平、勃乃曰：「陛下幸加大惠於天下，使有罪不收，無罪不相坐，甚盛德，臣等所不及也。 Chen Ping and Zhou Bo then said: "Your Majesty has graciously extended great favor to the realm, so that the guilty are not seized and the innocent are not implicated. This is exceedingly great virtue, beyond what your servants can match.

夫以孝文之仁，平、勃之知，猶有過刑謬論如此甚也，而況庸材溺於末流者乎？ If even with Emperor Wen's benevolence and the wisdom of Chen Ping and Zhou Bo, errors about excessive punishment could be this severe, how much more so with mediocre talents submerged in the later current?

Book of Han, Chapter 48Volume 39: Xiao He and Cao Shen · 1 passage

周勃、灌嬰、樊噲皆勸之，何諫之曰：「雖王漢中之惡，不猶愈於死乎？」 Zhou Bo, Guan Ying, and Fan Kuai urged him to fight, but Xiao He objected: “Even Hanzhong is preferable to annihilation.”

Book of Han, Chapter 51Volume 42: Zhang, Zhou, Zhao, Ren and Shentu · 1 passage

蒼與絳侯等尊立代王為孝文皇帝，四年，代灌嬰為丞相。 Zhang Cang joined the Marquis of Jiang and the others in raising the King of Dai to the throne as Emperor Wen; in the fourth year of his reign, Cang succeeded Guan Ying as chancellor.

Book of Han, Chapter 70Volume 60: Du Zhou · 2 passages

詔有司論定策功：大司馬大將軍光功德過太尉絳侯周勃； An edict ordered the relevant offices to assess merits in settling the succession: Grand Marshal Grand General Huo Guang's merit surpassed that of Marquis of Jiang, Grand Commandant Zhou Bo;

昔諸呂欲危劉氏，賴有高祖遺臣周勃、陳平尚存，不者，幾為奸臣笑。」 In the past, when the Lü clan sought to endanger the Liu house, survival depended on the continued presence of the High Emperor's old ministers, Zhou Bo and Chen Ping. Without them, the dynasty would almost have become a laughingstock for treacherous ministers."

Book of Han, Chapter 93Volume 82: Wang Shang, Shi Dan and Fu Xi · 1 passage

往者丞相周勃再建大功，及孝文時纖介怨恨，而日爲之蝕，於是退勃使就國，卒無怵惕憂。 Formerly Chancellor Zhou Bo had rendered great service twice, yet when minor resentments arose under Emperor Wen the sun was eclipsed on his account; the emperor then sent Bo back to his fief, and he lived out his days without further fear.

Book of Han, Chapter 99Volume 87b: Yang Xiong 2 · 1 passage

故當其有事也，非蕭、曹、子房、平、勃、樊、霍則不能安； When trouble came, only Xiao He, Cao Shen, Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, Zhou Bo, Fan Kuai, and Huo Guang could set it right.

Old Book of Tang, Chapter 130Volume 126 Biographies 76: Li Kui, Li Han, Chen Shaoyou, Lu Yue, Pei Xu · 1 passage

揆上疏曰：「昔西漢以南北軍相攝，故周勃因南軍入北軍，遂安劉氏。 Kui memorialized: "In Western Han the Southern and Northern Armies were made to balance each other. That was how Zhou Bo, entering the Northern Army through the Southern, was able to save the Liu dynasty.

Book of Liang, Chapter 14Volume 14: Jiang Yan; Ren Fang · 1 passage

昔上將之恥，絳侯幽獄； Of old a great general's shame was Jiang Hou in the cells;

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 57House of Zhou Bo, Marquis of Jiang · 47 passages

絳侯周勃者，沛人也。 The Marquis of Jiang, Zhou Bo, was a man of Pei.

勃以織薄曲為生，常為人吹簫給喪事，材官引彊。 Bo earned his living weaving reed mats, often played the flute at funerals, and served as a crossbowman in the local militia.

高祖之為沛公初起，勃以中涓從攻胡陵，下方與。 When the future Emperor Gaozu first rose in revolt as the Duke of Pei, Bo joined him as an attendant and took part in the attack on Huling, capturing Fangyu.

方與反，與戰，卻適。 When Fangyu revolted, Bo fought the rebels and drove them back.

攻豐。 Bo attacked Feng.

復攻碭，破之。 Bo attacked Dang again and took it.

攻蒙、虞，取之。 Bo attacked Meng and Yu and took both.

攻都關、定陶，襲取宛朐，得單父令。 Bo attacked Duguan and Dingtao, raided and seized Wanqu, and captured the magistrate of Shanfu.

擊李由軍雍丘下。 Bo engaged the army of Li You beneath the walls of Yongqiu.

沛公拜勃為虎賁令，以令從沛公定魏地。 The Duke of Pei appointed Bo as Commander of the Tiger Guard, and in that capacity Bo followed the Duke to pacify the lands of Wei.

攻東郡尉於城武，破之。 Bo attacked the Governor of the Eastern Commandery at Chengwu and defeated him.

漢王賜勃爵為威武侯。 The King of Han conferred upon Bo the rank of Marquis of Weiwu.

從入漢中，拜為將軍。 Bo followed him into Hanzhong and was appointed general.

籍已死，因東定楚地泗（川）［水］、東海郡，凡得二十二縣。 After Xiang Yu was already dead, Bo went east to pacify the former Chu territories of Sishui and Donghai Commandery, securing twenty-two counties in all.

食絳八千一百八十戶，號絳侯。 He received a fief of eight thousand one hundred and eighty households at Jiang and was titled the Marquis of Jiang.

勃遷為太尉。 Bo was promoted to the office of Grand Commandant.

燕王盧綰反，勃以相國代樊噲將，擊下薊，得綰大將抵、丞相偃、守陘、太尉弱、御史大夫施，屠渾都。 When the King of Yan, Lu Wan, rebelled, Bo, as Chancellor of State, replaced Fan Kuai in command. He attacked and captured Ji, seizing Lu Wan's Grand General Di, Chancellor Yan, Commander Xing, Grand Commandant Ruo, and Censor-in-Chief Shi, and slaughtered Hundu.

勃為人木彊敦厚，高帝以為可屬大事。 Bo was by nature plain-spoken, steadfast, and honest, and Emperor Gaozu believed he could be entrusted with great affairs.

勃不好文學，每召諸生說士，東鄉坐而責之：「趣為我語。」 Bo had no taste for letters. Whenever he summoned scholars and rhetoricians, he would sit facing east and press them: "Just speak up—tell me plainly."

勃既定燕而歸，高祖已崩矣，以列侯事孝惠帝。 By the time Bo pacified Yan and returned, Emperor Gaozu had already passed away. He served Emperor Hui as a marquis.

孝惠帝六年，置太尉官，以勃為太尉。 In the sixth year of Emperor Hui's reign, the office of Grand Commandant was established, and Bo was appointed to it.

勃為太尉，不得入軍門。 Bo, though Grand Commandant, was barred from entering the army gates.

於是勃與平謀，卒誅諸呂而立孝文皇帝。 Thereupon Bo and Chen Ping conspired together and at last destroyed the entire Lu clan, establishing Emperor Wen on the throne.

文帝既立，以勃為右丞相，賜金五千斤，食邑萬戶。 After Emperor Wen was enthroned, he appointed Bo as Right Chancellor, rewarded him with five thousand jin of gold, and granted him a fief of ten thousand households.

居月餘，人或說勃曰：「君既誅諸呂，立代王，威震天下，而君受厚賞，處尊位，以寵，久之即禍及身矣。」 After little more than a month, someone cautioned Bo: "Having destroyed the Lu clan and installed the King of Dai on the throne, your prestige now overawes the realm. Yet you continue to accept lavish rewards and hold a position of supreme honor in the emperor's favor. If this goes on too long, disaster will surely overtake you."

勃懼，亦自危，乃謝請歸相印。 Bo grew fearful and sensed his own peril. He tendered his apologies and asked to return the chancellor's seal.

歲餘，丞相平卒，上復以勃為丞相。 Over a year later, Chancellor Chen Ping died, and the emperor once again appointed Bo as chancellor.

乃免相就國。 Thus, Bo was dismissed from the chancellorship and sent to his fief.

歲餘，每河東守尉行縣至絳，絳侯勃自畏恐誅，常被甲，令家人持兵以見之。 Over a year later, whenever the Governor of Hedong made his circuit inspection and arrived at Jiang, the Marquis of Jiang, fearing that he might be put to death, would don his armor and order his household to bear arms before receiving the official.

其後人有上書告勃欲反，下廷尉。 In time, someone submitted a memorial accusing Bo of plotting rebellion, and the case was referred to the Commandant of Justice.

廷尉下其事長安，逮捕勃治之。 The Commandant of Justice referred the matter to Chang'an, and Bo was arrested and brought in for interrogation.

勃恐，不知置辭。 Bo was terrified and at a loss for how to defend himself.

勃以千金與獄吏，獄吏乃書牘背示之，曰「以公主為證」。 Bo gave a thousand jin of gold to the prison officials, who then wrote on the back of a wooden tablet and showed it to him: "Call the princess as your witness."

公主者，孝文帝女也，勃太子勝之尚之，故獄吏教引為證。 The princess was Emperor Wen's daughter; Bo's heir, Shengzhi, had married her. That is why the prison officials advised him to call upon her as a witness.

勃之益封受賜，盡以予薄昭。 Bo had given all of his additional enfeoffments and rewards to Bo Zhao.

及系急，薄昭為言薄太后，太后亦以為無反事。 When Bo's imprisonment grew dire, Bo Zhao interceded with Empress Dowager Bo, who likewise believed there was no truth to the charge of rebellion.

文帝朝，太后以冒絮提文帝，曰：「絳侯綰皇帝璽，將兵於北軍，不以此時反，今居一小縣，顧欲反邪！」 At Emperor Wen's morning audience, the Empress Dowager seized the emperor by his headdress cloth and said: "The Marquis of Jiang once held the imperial seal in his hands and commanded the Northern Army. If he did not rebel then, why would he now, living in some small county, suddenly wish to rebel?"

文帝既見絳侯獄辭，乃謝曰：「吏［事］方驗而出之。」 After Emperor Wen reviewed the Marquis of Jiang's prison deposition, he apologized and said: "The officials are finishing their verification, and he will be released."

於是使使持節赦絳侯，復爵邑。 He thereupon dispatched envoys bearing the imperial tally to pardon the Marquis of Jiang and restore his rank and fief.

絳侯既出，曰：「吾嘗將百萬軍，然安知獄吏之貴乎！」 Upon his release, the Marquis of Jiang sighed: "I once commanded an army of a million men, yet how could I have known the true worth of a prison official!"

絳侯復就國。 The Marquis of Jiang returned once more to his fief.

孝文帝十一年卒，謚為武侯。 He died in the eleventh year of Emperor Wen's reign and was given the posthumous title of Marquis Wu.

絕一歲，文帝乃擇絳侯勃子賢者河內守亞夫，封為條侯，續絳侯後。 After a lapse of one year, Emperor Wen chose the most worthy of the Marquis of Jiang's sons, Yafu, who was then serving as Governor of Henei, and enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Tiao to continue the line of the Marquis of Jiang.

居三歲，其兄絳侯勝之有罪，孝文帝擇絳侯子賢者，皆推亞夫，乃封亞夫為條侯，續絳侯後。 Three years later, his elder brother Shengzhi, the Marquis of Jiang, was found guilty of a crime. Emperor Wen selected from among the Marquis of Jiang's sons the most worthy; all agreed on Yafu. He was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Tiao to carry on the line of the Marquis of Jiang.

絕一歲，景帝乃更封絳侯勃他子堅為平曲侯，續絳侯後。 After a lapse of one year, Emperor Jing enfeoffed another of the Marquis of Jiang's sons, Jian, as the Marquis of Pingqu to carry on the line.

太史公曰：絳侯周勃始為布衣時，鄙樸人也，才能不過凡庸。 The Grand Historian remarks: When the Marquis of Jiang, Zhou Bo, was still a commoner, he was an unpolished rustic of no more than ordinary ability.

及從高祖定天下，在將相位，諸呂欲作亂，勃匡國家難，復之乎正。 Yet when he followed Emperor Gaozu to pacify the realm and rose to the rank of general and chancellor, and when the Lu clan plotted to seize power, it was Bo who saved the state in its hour of peril and restored it to the rightful course.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 98Biographies of Fu, Jin, and the Marquis of Kuaicheng · 1 passage

四月，擊陳豨，屬太尉勃，以相國代丞相噲擊豨。 In the fourth month, he joined the campaign against Chen Xi under Grand Commandant Zhou Bo; as Chancellor of Qi he took Fan Kuai's place as chancellor in the attack on Xi.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 102Biographies of Zhang Shizhi and Feng Tang · 2 passages

釋之久之前曰：「陛下以絳侯周勃何如人也？」 After reflecting for some time, Shizhi stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, what sort of man was Zhou Bo, the Marquis of Jiang?"

釋之曰：「夫絳侯、東陽侯稱為長者，此兩人言事曾不能出口，豈斅此嗇夫諜諜利口捷給哉！ Shizhi said, "The Marquis of Jiang and the Marquis of Dongyang are both called worthy men, yet when they discussed affairs they could scarcely get a word out. How could they be anything like this bailiff, with his glib and nimble tongue!