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卷303 列傳九十 福敏 陈世倌 史贻直 阿克敦 孙嘉淦 梁诗正

Volume 303 Biographies 90: Fu Min, Chen Shiguan, Shi Yizhi, A Ke Dun, Sun Jiagan, Liang Shizheng

Chapter 303 of 清史稿 · Draft History of Qing
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Chapter 303
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Biographies 90
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Fu Min, Chen Shiguan, Shi Yizhi, Akedun, Sun Jiagan, and Liang Shizheng
3
滿
Fu Min (courtesy name Longhan), a Fuca clansman of the Manchu Bordered White Banner He took his jinshi degree in Kangxi year 36, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and after completing his academy term waited to be appointed a county magistrate While the future Yongzheng Emperor was still at his princely mansion and the future Qianlong Emperor had only begun his lessons, Fu Min was appointed to read with the young prince When Yongzheng took the throne, Fu Min was made a Grand Secretariat academician and concurrent Vice Minister of Rites In Yongzheng year 3 he became Vice Minister of Personnel He was sent out to act as Governor of Zhejiang In year 4 he was made Left Censor-in-Chief and concurrent Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy He again went out to serve as acting Governor-General of Huguang Floods struck ten prefectures and counties including Mianyang and Qianjiang; he memorialized to open the ever-normal granaries for relief When the Miaochong Hua Miao rose in revolt, Fu Min directed Guizhou forces to block their rear while Huguang troops stormed their stronghold until the uprising was put down After floods hit Anlu and Jingzhou, he proposed that the elderly, infirm, and women receive relief as before while able-bodied men worked on the dikes—feeding the people and finishing the embankments at once The emperor held Fu Min in high regard and once wrote him by hand: "I have asked you to hold the governorship temporarily; as soon as I find the right man, I will send him to take your place. The court lately lacks able men, and the princes at my side still need your guidance as well. Keeping you in Huguang is not my preference—yet I ask you to understand my intent and do your utmost. The edict closed."
4
使 殿 使 便
In year 5 he was recalled to the capital and made Minister of Personnel In year 6 he lost his post for having, as Zhejiang governor, allowed Provincial Treasurer Tong Jitu to misuse treasury funds In year 8 he was assigned to assist as Vice Minister of War, then promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief In year 10 he served as acting Minister of Works and assisting Grand Secretary, then soon acted as Minister of Punishments In Qianlong year 3 he became Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, retaining the ministries of Works and the Hanlin chancellorship In year 4 he received the rank of Grand Tutor. In the seventh month of year 6, when Qianlong made his first autumn hunt at Mulan, Fu Min wrote: "On the hunting grounds beyond the passes, reports from inside and outside arrive on tight schedules—a strain quite unlike the quiet of court. Your Majesty should remain vigilant day and night, keep your mind clear, and answer affairs with calm deliberation. Officials left in the capital must be kept to their duties, so the lazy cannot pursue private schemes. During the tour, censors should speak on great public interests, not petty matters that would cheapen the dignity of rule. Kangxi knew every rise and hollow of the hunt grounds, and so moved with perfect judgment and shot and rode as if inspired I pray Your Majesty will plan ahead as he did. When troops and officers set the beat, gaps may appear; I beg a little patience so they can do their best. Officers and men on the long march may run short of pay; a measured grant would cost little and do endless good." The emperor replied: "I have read the Grand Secretary's memorial—seasoned, loyal, and sincere, mending the state with good counsel—and I accept it all with approval." In year 8 he memorialized on current policy: "River defense is vital; let officials act promptly as with famine relief, and report to the throne in due course. People who flee disaster do so from necessity, not choice. If officials fail to comfort them and only bar them from crossing borders, leaving them to die in ditches, they should be punished for neglect Where Jiangnan and Huguang suffer partial famine, I ask that southern tribute grain be held back for relief How much to retain should be decided by Your Majesty So the treasury would not be drained and the people would have enough to eat" The memorial was approved.
5
In year 10 he asked to retire on grounds of illness; the emperor graciously agreed and made him Grand Preceptor He died in year 22, at the age of eighty-four When Fu Min had been ill the emperor visited him; on hearing of his death he again offered sacrifice in person The court granted funeral rites, enshrined him in the Temple of Worthies, and gave him the posthumous name Wenduan
6
Fu Min was upright and forthright, without guile or hidden designs In the inner court he was close to Cai Shiyuan and Lei Hong and especially revered Zhu Shi After he retired he said to Lei Hong: "Is this post easy to fill? I drifted through it for years—will you not laugh at me?" In year 44 the emperor wrote a poem of remembrance; of his early teachers he spoke as "Master," using courtesy names alone, and said that from Zhu Shi he learned the substance of learning, from Cai Shiyuan its use, and from Fu Min its foundation On the first ding day of the second month of year 60, after the Confucian sacrifice, Fu Min was posthumously made Grand Preceptor; the edict said: "In his tender years when he first had tutors, their guidance meant much. The edict closed."
7
西 沿
Chen Shiguan (courtesy name Bingzhi) was from Haining, Zhejiang His father Chen Shen has a separate biography Shiguan took his jinshi in Kangxi year 42 and entered the Hanlin as a bachelor He rose from compiler to Hanlin reader and served as education commissioner of Shuntian He went home for his father's mourning, was recalled to supervise Jiangxi education, asked to finish mourning properly, and was allowed to do so In Yongzheng year 2, when mourning ended, he became a Grand Secretariat academician and was sent out as Governor of Shandong Shandong then suffered drought and locusts and grain transport was blocked in the shallows; Shiguan toured alone, quietly gauging disaster and officials' ability, and only then took up his duties He pressed locust eradication until the plague was nearly gone and memorialized on clearing the transport channel; Yongzheng wrote on a fan and gave it to him Shiguan wrote: "Communal granaries move grain between surplus and shortage and ease feast and famine—they have worked in every age. Each township should encourage wealthy households to contribute grain in any amount, with proportional rewards Three upright village elders should manage receipts and disbursements under official audit The poor would borrow in spring and repay in autumn at two dou interest per shi; in bad years interest would be cut, and after ten years only one dou per shi I ask that provinces first trial this in a few prefectures and counties Once it proves effective, it can be extended more widely" The proposal was sent to the relevant offices for implementation He also asked to ban Islam; the emperor replied that Islam was long established, confined to its own communities, and not an uncontrollable spread A ban without cause would only stir disorder and was not good governance; the proposal was dismissed He also submitted five points on coastal defense, which were approved In year 4 he went home for his mother's mourning He was ordered to manage Jiangnan waterworks, lost his post for delay, and was sent to Qufu to supervise repairs to the Confucius temple
8
When Qianlong took the throne he was recalled as Left Vice Censor-in-Chief In Qianlong year 2 he became Vice Minister of the Granary Circuit, then Minister of Works In year 6 he became Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Hall That autumn floods struck Huai, Xu, Feng, and Si; the emperor ordered Vice Minister Zhou Xuejian to join Governor-General Gao Bin in organizing relief works Shiguan repeatedly wrote on water control and disaster relief; the emperor at once sent him post-haste to join Xuejian and others on inspection Shiguan said water levels had to be surveyed in person and asked for skilled surveyors to accompany him; the request was granted In the twelfth month he and Xuejian memorialized on the planned works and asked to wait until the second or third month of the coming year when the water fell The emperor said: "Before he left, Shiguan said the channels could be cleared within the year and the floodwater drained; now he says to wait until next spring. His plans only polish what Gao Bin and Zhou Xuejian already set—no bold design at all. Why this needless round trip? The edict closed."
9
使 滿
In year 9 he was granted leave to go home and asked to retire; the request was denied He wrote: "Passing through Shandong I heard a notorious bandit had been arrested. Because the case crossed several provinces, proceedings dragged on awaiting evidence Since his guilt is established, he should be executed at once I ask that the Shandong governor fix the sentence and not delay execution" The emperor approved When his leave ended he returned to office and was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent The Yunnan governor impeached a subordinate; by rule the governor-general should review the case Shiguan drafted the rescript incorrectly; the judicial offices recommended stripping him of office; the emperor called him petty and unfit for a grand secretary and ordered the recommendation carried out In a separate edict he said: "When I called Shiguan petty, I meant also that though tied to the Kong clan, he privately bought fields and houses at Yanzhou hoping to share their profits. Is this what a great minister should do? Now that he has lost his post, tell the Shandong governor not to let him live at Yanzhou" In year 15 he came to the capital for the birthday celebration and had his former rank restored In year 16 he was ordered into the Grand Council and to manage the Ministry of Rites concurrently In year 22 he asked to retire on grounds of age and illness; the emperor agreed and made him Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent In the spring of year 23, bidding farewell at court, he received an imperial poem saying, "Few ministers of my grandfather's court remain. He received five thousand taels of silver and was granted salary while at home Before he could leave he died and was given the posthumous name Wenqin
10
Shiguan studied the Neo-Confucian masters of the Song and was frugal, upright, and sincere In audience, and on the people's flood and drought hardships, he would lay out the facts again and again, sometimes weeping as he spoke The emperor would always listen with a softened face and say, "Chen Shiguan has come to weep for the people again!" Though he was sometimes rebuked, in the end the emperor recognized his upright caution On later southern tours the court still sent officials to sacrifice at his tomb
11
西 使 巿
Shi Yizhi (courtesy name Jingxian) was from Liyang, Jiangsu His father Shi Kui took his jinshi in Kangxi year 21 and rose to Chamberlain of the Household From youth Yizhi was well versed in court precedent In year 39 he passed the jinshi examination at the age of nineteen He rose from compiler through five promotions to Hanlin reader Early in Yongzheng he served in the Southern Study, then became Vice Minister of Personnel and held posts in Works and Revenue He was sent to Henan to investigate Governor-General Tian Wenjing's case against Xinyang Prefect Huang Zhenguo and others, fix the sentences, and report to the throne Shangcai Magistrate Zhang Qiu, whom Wenjing had once recommended, was exposed by Yizhi and others for concealing theft The case went to the judicial offices, and Wenjing memorialized to impeach himself He was again sent to Shanxi to investigate former Governor-General Nian Gengyao's control of Hedong salt administration and his son's private interference with the salt laws In year 7 he was sent again to Fujian to investigate Governor Zhu Gang's case against Provincial Judge Qiao Xueyin and others; all were sentenced according to law The emperor praised his fairness and appointed him acting Governor-General of Fujian Fujian naval patrols traded at markets to skim customs revenue; Yizhi memorialized to forbid the practice The four prefectures of Fuzhou, Xinghua, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou lacked rice and could not sell granary grain as usual; Yizhi asked to exchange Taiwan's military rice quota for grain shipped to the four prefectures and to sell old stock before new in turn; interior garrisons going to and from Taiwan disturbed aboriginal communities; Yizhi asked the Taiwan commander relieved of escort duty and deputy generals assigned to inspect troops on the route—all were approved and carried out
12
調 西 祿西西 西便 西
In year 8 he was transferred to act as Governor-General of Liangjiang; he asked to decline on grounds of native place and was refused He was made Left Censor-in-Chief but remained in Liangjiang In year 9 he was recalled to the capital The army was then campaigning against the Dzungars; Shaanxi and Gansu lay on the route and had to supply the forces He was ordered with Vice Minister Hang Yilu and others to proclaim imperial policy, then to assist the Shaanxi governor, was promoted to Minister of War, and remained in Shaanxi In year 10 he acted as governor The court debated banning liquor stills and sent the order to all provinces Yizhi wrote: "In years of abundance grain is plentiful; distilling is also one way the people make a living. Policy should follow whether the year is plentiful or lean, weigh the people's strength or exhaustion, and supervise accordingly" The emperor approved this as adapting policy to the times Governor-General Mai Zhu of Huguang asked to dredge the waterway from Jingzi Pass in Huguang to Longju Stockade in Shaanxi to ease supply transport Yizhi wrote: "From Jingzi Pass to Longju Stockade the old Dan River ran between mountains in a winding course of three hundred and seventy li. In summer and autumn farmers divert it to irrigate, build weirs to hold the flow, and fight over every drop After rain mountain torrents cut the narrow path; it is truly unsuited to transport I find Huguang supply transport difficult; grain should be stored in riverine prefectures and counties near Henan Fu and Shaanzhou and moved by relay Dredging the Dan River may properly wait" The emperor approved Yizhi's view and rejected Mai Zhu's proposal Soon he became Minister of Revenue with overall charge of Shaanxi
13
In the seventh month of year 13 he was recalled In the eighth month Yongzheng died and Qianlong acceded; at audience Qianlong brought out Yongzheng's mourning garment and gave it to Yizhi, urging steadfast loyalty Yizhi wept, and the emperor wept without cease Yizhi wrote: "Censors and the Ministries of Personnel and Rites should follow the old system of jinshi appointments; if promotion casts aside rank and seniority, favorites will not think it fair and the long-stalled will resent it—the old rank system should be kept as well; Henan prefectures and counties report reclaiming gravel hills and raise tax by the mu; common people sell their children to pay, and magistrates urge donations—this injures the dignity of the state I ask that upright ministers be chosen to pacify those regions, and abuses will at once appear" The matter was referred to the Prince Regents for deliberation and implementation
14
西
Soon he was appointed acting Governor-General of Huguang In Qianlong year 1 he wrote: "Under the old rule when prefectures and counties were short of granary grain, punishment was reckoned at one tael of silver per shi of grain, though the actual value fell short All miscellaneous grains were treated like grain—especially unfair" The ministry ruled rice at one tael per shi and grain and miscellaneous grains at five mace each, and this was made regulation Southwest of Wuchang where the Yangzi and Han meet, there was formerly a long dike Yizhi ordered a survey and rebuild from Wanghui Bridge to Tucheng Jetty—more than thirteen hundred zhang of dike—to be finished in three years Huguang was Lianghuai salt territory, but its land interpenetrated Sichuan and Guangdong; in nine prefectures and counties including Badong, Guizhou, Daozhou, and Ningyuan people privately consumed Sichuan and Guangdong salt; Lianghuai Salt Controller Yin Huiyi raised the matter Yizhi said Huguang consumed more than seven hundred thousand lianghuai salt certificates yearly; remote prefectures and counties could not be reached by lianghuai salt, and forcing it would distress officials and merchants alike The ministry ruled as Yizhi had proposed Miao chiefs Pu Yinshan, Feng Laoyi, and others rebelled in Chengbu and other Hunan counties; Yizhi with Governor Gao Qizhuo and others put them down, and the emperor praised their service Recalled, he served in turn as Minister of Works, Punishments, War, and Personnel In year 7 he was appointed acting Governor-General of Zhili Recalled again, he served as assisting Grand Secretary In year 9 he became Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Hall In year 11 he was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent
15
使 輿
Yizhi's son Yi Ang held the Shandong grain transport post; on Governor E Chang's recommendation he was appointed acting Provincial Treasurer of Gansu In year 20 E Chang was punished and his property confiscated; a petition from Yizhi on his behalf was found; mindful of Yizhi's diligence, the emperor did not punish him deeply but ordered him to retire home and recalled Yi Ang to the capital In year 22, on the southern tour, Yizhi welcomed the emperor at Yizhou and was granted salary while at home Soon recalled, he was again made Grand Secretary He fell ill on the road and an imperial physician was sent to attend him On reaching the capital he was ordered to head the Ministry of Works and was made Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent In year 25, as Yizhi had passed the jinshi sixty years before, the emperor bestowed a poem praising him as a "human treasure" Soon he was excused from joining ceremonial ranks at sacrifices and allowed to attend duty in a sedan chair In year 27 Yizhi asked to retire; he was told he need not hold the Ministry of Works concurrently and was given five hundred taels of salary yearly in addition In year 28 he died at eighty-two; he was posthumously made Grand Preceptor, enshrined in the Temple of Worthies, and given the posthumous name Wenjing
16
In government Yizhi held to the larger pattern and did not take sides for faction He had a strong memory, restrained deportment, and skill in formal speech After Nian Gengyao was executed, Yongzheng asked Yizhi: "Were you also recommended by Gengyao?" Yizhi removed his hat and answered: "Gengyao recommended me; Your Majesty employs me." Serving Qianlong in old age, he once rose and bowed slowly when presenting a memorial Qianlong asked: "Are you weary with age?" Yizhi answered: "When Your Majesty reaches my age, you will know for yourself." Qianlong's countenance cleared
17
使使 西
His son Yi Zan passed the jinshi in Qianlong year 10 and held the post of Left Assistant in the Eastern Palace; Yi Ang, as a provincial graduate, was made an Outer Director in the Ministry of Punishments; recalled from acting Gansu treasurer, he soon became Provincial Judge of Fujian, then Vice Minister of War, and was dismissed for a verbal slip; Yi Ti was prefect of Lu'an in Shanxi; Qianlong ordered him kept in the capital to attend Yizhi and gave him a fourth-rank capital post
18
滿 使 使 調
Akedun (courtesy name Zhonghe), a Zhangjia clansman of the Manchu Plain Blue Banner He took his jinshi in Kangxi year 48, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and was made compiler In year 52 he served as examiner for the Henan provincial examination In year 53 the emperor, finding Akedun's learning excellent and his examining service renowned, specially promoted him to Hanlin lecturer In year 55 he was transferred to Hanlin reader In year 56 King Yi Sun of Korea suffered eye disease and requested azurite; Akedun was ordered to carry it as an imperial gift He was transferred to Chamberlain of the Household In year 57 he was promoted to Grand Secretariat academician In year 61 King Yi Yun of Korea asked to establish his younger brother Bing as heir brother; Akedun with Guard Foulun were sent as envoys to invest him He was promoted to Vice Minister of War When Yongzheng acceded he concurrently served as Hanlin chancellor and vice director of Kangxi's Veritable Records In Yongzheng year 1 he was ordered to take sole charge of the Hanlin chancellorship and serve as vice director of the National History and Collected Statutes Again with Minister without Portfolio Shulu he was sent to invest King Yi Bing of Korea In year 3 he became Vice Minister of Rites, concurrently of War In year 4 he was transferred to War, concurrently Rector of the Imperial Academy
19
椿 沿 椿
When Governor-General Kong Yuxun of Liangguang came to audience, Akedun was ordered to act as governor-general and concurrently General of Guangzhou He memorialized against Jieshi Commander Chen Liangbi for demanding petty fees from fishing boats and Left Wing Commander Lan Feng for having his two sons fraudulently appointed platoon commanders, abusing power to burden the troops The emperor praised Akedun's factual report and ordered capable men chosen to submit formal impeachments In the five counties of Gaoyao, Gaoming, Sihui, Sanshui, and Nanhai people along the river built embankments, opened sluices, and erected dikes to draw water for irrigation, calling them "polder bases" When the river rose the dikes often burst; Governor Yang Wenqian asked that the most critical sections be changed to stone works and the next to pile and fascine works, costing several hundred thousand, with treasury loans for repair and sale of offices to make up funds—Akedun disagreed In year 5 he wrote: "The riverside polder bases in Gaoyao and other counties are all earthen works; after the eleventh month each year magistrates lead villagers in labor by the mu, raising low spots and thickening thin sections—the people suffer no hardship and the government spends nothing When the river rises, breaches cannot be avoided. But the current is not fierce, and stone works and pile-and-fascine defenses are not always needed to hold it back. I ask that we keep the old method and have magistrates supervise repairs during the farming slack season. If the river should swell greatly, send clerks on patrol to guard against breaches, without the cost of rebuilding from the treasury." The emperor set aside Yang Wenqian's proposal. Soon he and Yu Xun jointly asked that the Guangnan-Shaozhou and Zhao-Gao-Lian-Luo circuit intendants be sent to supervise repair of the county polder bases; the request was noted. At Cangwu's Yujia Mountain miners gathered in a mob and secretly opened a mine; Akedun had the ringleaders arrested, and the emperor commended him.
20
調 西 使 使
He was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and served as acting Governor of Guangdong. He impeached Zhao-Gao-Lian-Luo Circuit intendant Wang Shijun for embezzling surplus tax silver; the emperor thought Shijun still usable and ordered him admonished and transferred. He was reassigned to serve as acting Governor of Guangxi. Wenqian impeached Akedun for hearing of bandits and not pursuing them strictly; when Xinhui County caught a bandit, he directed that the case be altered and closed as petty theft; he embezzled surplus silver from the Guangdong Customs and had his household servants demand customary fees from Siamese rice boats. Yu Xun also impeached him for embezzling surplus silver at Taiping Pass. In year 6 he was stripped of office and Yu Xun and Wenqian were ordered to try him jointly. Wenqian died, and the emperor sent Communications Commissioner Liubao and Director K'erjishan to join Yu Xun and acting Guangdong Governor Fu Tai in a strict trial; for concealing banditry and embezzling surplus silver they treated the charges as minor and recommended no punishment; for having household servants extort Siamese rice boats, they recommended strangulation. Shijun again denounced Akedun for shielding Provincial Treasurer Guan Da in greedy corruption, and the sentence was increased to deferred execution. In year 7 Shandong Governor Fei Jinwu, for dredging waterways in Jiangnan's Xuzhou and Pei counties and in Jining, Jiaxiang, and other counties, asked that officials be dispatched to supervise the work. The emperor ordered Akedun released to serve on Jiangnan river works and redeem himself.
21
使 使西 滿
In year 9 the emperor ordered Pacification Commissioner of the Far Marches Marshal Sai to lead an army against the Dzungars and made Akedun an extra Grand Secretariat academician to assist in military affairs. In year 11 he was ordered to be stationed at Kebadalik to supervise supplies. In year 12 he was recalled. He was ordered to go with Vice Minister Fu Nai and Vice Commander-in-Chief Luomi as envoys to the Dzungars to proclaim the court's will to Galdan Tseren and discuss halting the war and giving the people rest. Khalkha and the Dzungars took the Altai ridge as their boundary; Galdan Tseren wished to make the Khangai the border and take the Altai as pastureland. Akedun negotiated for three days without resolution; Galdan Tseren sent the envoy Chuinamuka to accompany Akedun and the others to the capital, asking that Jergesirahulusu be made the Khalkha pasture boundary. In year 13 Akedun and the others reached the capital. The emperor secretly sent Akedun's memorial and the maps to Northern Route Vice General Tsewang, ordering him to consider the matter thoroughly and fix the agreement. Tsewang said the Dzungar nomads must not be allowed to cross the Altai. The negotiations were suspended midway. Akedun was ordered to serve as acting Manchu Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Bordered Blue Banner and Vice Minister of Works. When Qianlong acceded, he was ordered to guard the Tailing Mausoleum.
22
使 使
In Qianlong year 3 Akedun was again sent as envoy to the Dzungars, with Bodyguard Wangzhar and Taiji Emegen as deputies, bearing an imperial edict to instruct Galdan Tseren on the border negotiations. Galdan Tseren sent Halu to accompany Akedun and the others to the capital, asking that Dzungar nomads not cross the Altai and begging that the two border posts of Buyantu and Tuo'erhe be moved inland. The emperor said that keeping nomads from crossing the Altai could already be settled, but moving the two border posts could not be granted. Halu was ordered to return bearing the edict.
23
調調 滿 退
Akedun was appointed Vice Minister of Works. In year 5 he was transferred to the Ministry of Punishments, then again to the Ministry of Personnel. In year 8 he was made Manchu Commander-in-Chief of the Bordered Blue Banner. In year 10 he also served as Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. In year 11 he was appointed Minister of Punishments. In year 13 he was ordered to serve as assisting Grand Secretary. Soon afterward he was relieved and the post given to Fu Heng. In the fourth month the Hanlin Academy presented the investiture text for Empress Xiaoxian; the Manchu translation rendered "imperial mother" as "former empress dowager," which the emperor regarded as a grave error, and he summoned Akedun to inquire. Akedun withdrew before awaiting the imperial decision; the emperor was angry, saying Akedun harbored resentment because he had been relieved as assisting Grand Secretary, stripped him of office, sent him to the Ministry of Punishments, applied the statute on grave disrespect, and recommended deferred execution. In the sixth month he was ordered to serve on the Grand Secretariat as an academician above the rank and to act as Vice Minister of Works. In the seventh month he was promoted to act as Minister of Punishments and made Commander-in-Chief of the Hanjun Bordered White Banner. In the tenth month he also served as Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. In the twelfth month he was again ordered to serve as assisting Grand Secretary. In year 14, when the Jinchuan campaign was pacified, he was given the rank of Junior Tutor to the Heir Apparent. In successive years when the emperor went to Mulan, Henan, and Shengjing, Akedun was each time ordered to remain in the capital to manage affairs, acting in turn as Left Censor-in-Chief and Metropolitan Banner Commander. In year 20, citing eye disease, he asked for leave, and the emperor sent a physician to examine him. He repeatedly asked to retire and was ordered to leave office. In year 21 he died; imperial sacrifices and burial were granted, and he was given the posthumous title Wencqin. His son Agui has a separate biography.
24
Akedun served in the Ministry of Punishments for more than ten years, even-handed, lenient, and straightforward, and never showed favor or hesitation. One day, while Agui was in attendance, Akedun said: "The court has made you a judicial officer—how should cases be handled?" Agui said: "In applying the law one must match the crime: for one part of guilt give one part of punishment, for ten parts of guilt give ten parts of punishment." Akedun grew angry and called for a staff; Agui, in fear, begged instruction. Akedun said: "By your reasoning there would be no whole man under heaven! When guilt is ten parts, to punish five or six is already more than one can bear—how could one punish it all? And is even one part of guilt worth prosecuting?" When Agui headed the Ministry of Punishments he repeatedly cited this story to tell his colleagues.
25
西 西 調
Sun Jiagan (courtesy name Xigong) was from Xing County, Shanxi. Jiagan's family had long been poor; he farmed while he studied. In Kangxi year 52 he passed the jinshi examination, became a Hanlin bachelor, and was appointed compiler. When Yongzheng had just acceded, he ordered that all officials might submit sealed memorials. Jiagan memorialized on three matters: asking that imperial kin be treated with affection, that the sale of offices be halted, and that western troops be disbanded. The emperor summoned the ministers and showed it to them, saying: "Does the Hanlin Academy harbor such a wild youth?" Grand Secretary Zhu Shi attended and answered slowly: "Jiagan is indeed wild, yet your servant admires his courage." After a long pause the emperor smiled and said: "I too must admire his courage." He was promoted to Vice Director of the Imperial Academy. In Yongzheng year 4 he was transferred to Director of the Imperial Academy and ordered to serve in the Southern Studio. In the first month of year 6 he served as acting Prefect of Shuntian. On his father's death he entered mourning; before mourning was complete he was recalled to the capital and again appointed prefect. He was promoted to Vice Minister of Works while still serving concurrently as prefect and director of the Imperial Academy. In year 10 he was transferred to Vice Minister of Punishments and soon after also served as acting Vice Minister of Personnel.
26
滿
While Jiagan was director of the Imperial Academy he recommended his younger brother Yanggan as assistant director of the Imperial Academy. When the instructors Song Hao, Fang Congren, and others completed their term and were presented for audience, Jiagan said Hao and the others were all usable; the emperor questioned him, and he then said Congren was in fact unfit for use. The emperor then grew greatly angry, rebuked Jiagan for shifting and deceitful conduct, stripped him of office, and handed him to the Ministry of Punishments for punishment; under the statute on fraud and deception of the public, death was recommended. The emperor told the ministers: "Sun Jiagan is too blunt, yet he does not love money." He ordered the punishment waived and that Jiagan serve in the Ministry of Revenue's silver vault. Jiagan left prison and went straight to the vault. Prince Guo Yunli then headed the Ministry of Revenue and suspected that Jiagan, a former high minister now disgraced, would disdain accounting work; he also heard gossip saying Jiagan sought a reputation and that the silver he received was always short. He therefore went to inspect; Jiagan was just then holding the scales and weighing, sitting mixed among clerks and runners and sharing their labor. Asked about the silver received, it was set apart in a separate place, covered over, with not the slightest surplus or shortage. The matter was reported to the emperor, and he valued Jiagan all the more. In year 12 he was ordered to serve as acting Salt Controller of Hedong.
27
便 退 退 便 ' ' 欿 便便 西 '退' 退 退 沿 使
In the eighth month of year 13, when Qianlong acceded, Jiagan was summoned to the capital to await appointment as a vice minister. In the ninth month he was appointed Vice Minister of Personnel. In the eleventh month he was transferred to Left Censor-in-Chief while still holding the Ministry of Personnel concurrently. Because the emperor's rule was just beginning and he was in the prime of life, Jiagan memorialized: "Your servant is by nature most dull, yet I have received Your Majesty's sacred grace and been entrusted with the weighty charge of discipline and oversight. Day and night I am fearful and anxious, thinking to exhaust whatever trifling counsel I may offer; yet month after month, reverently reading the sacred instructions, I find them earnest, thorough, and complete; benevolent policies are already being carried out, and this dull servant has nothing further to say. What I wish to speak of is none other than Your Majesty's heart. Your Majesty's heart is benevolent, filial, sincere, reverent, clear-sighted, forgiving, and single-minded—what could still be open to question? Yet I still wish to speak, precisely because amid a heart without impurity and policies without fault I privately harbor anxious, perhaps excessive worry and wish to guard against what may come. The cycle of order and disorder is like the movement of yin and yang. When yin reaches its fullness yang is born; when yang reaches its fullness yin encounters it. When affairs stand at the height of prosperity, the hidden workings of decline must already be present. Its mechanism lies hidden in the subtlest depths, beyond anyone's notice; but once it has become manifest, the weight accumulates until there is no turning back. In this interval lie three habits against which one must guard with the utmost care. When the ruler's virtue is pure, ministers submit and praise him; when benevolent policies take effect, the people feel them and are moved. One word fills the court with cries of 'sage'; one order brings songs of praise from all the realm. Ministers and commoners may not mean this as flattery, yet the ruler's ears grow accustomed to it. The ears merge with praise—anything that is not praise is taken as opposition. At first remonstrators are rejected; then the slow-tongued and dull-witted are disliked; in time even those whose praise is clumsy are dismissed. This is the habit of the ear: growing accustomed to what it hears until one delights in flattery and hates forthrightness. The more intelligent the ruler, the more foolish his subordinates appear; the more capable the ruler, the more fearful they become. All scurry, fawn, and cringe alike; caps are doffed and heads bowed the instant a word is spoken. Officials may regard this as perfect propriety, yet the ruler's eyes grow accustomed to it. The eyes merge with obsequiousness—anything that is not obsequious gives offense. At first the arrogant and boorish are expelled; then the solemn and cautious are kept at a distance; in time even the clumsily glib give offense. This is the habit of the eye: growing accustomed to what it sees until one delights in softness and hates firmness. Diligently inquiring into affairs throughout the realm, one sees so much that nothing seems remarkable—and so one exalts oneself and looks down on others; carefully distinguishing the business of the realm, one examines it so long that nothing seems difficult—and so one deems oneself heroically talented and treats affairs lightly; questioning others yet never hearing of one's own shortcomings, turning inward yet never seeing one's own errors. Thereupon whatever the mind desires is trusted as beyond reproach, and every order issued is expected to be carried out without fail. This is the habit of the heart: growing accustomed to what it approves until one delights in compliance and hates opposition. Once the three habits have taken shape, a single defect arises. What is this single defect? It is to delight in petty men and dislike gentlemen. As for advancing gentlemen and dismissing petty men—is this wisdom known only to the sages of antiquity? Even rulers of declining ages—who among them did not wish to employ gentlemen? Moreover, self-assured intelligent rulers each deem their ministers worthy—who among them did not believe that those they employed must be gentlemen and certainly not petty men? Yet in the end petty men advance and gentlemen withdraw—for no other reason than that talent is valued and virtue is not. Virtue belongs to gentlemen alone; talent is shared by gentlemen and petty men alike—and petty men excel at it. In speech and audience, gentlemen are blunt while petty men are glib and flattering—this suits the habit of the ear. In rushing about and attending upon the ruler, gentlemen are awkward while petty men are agile and glib—this suits the habit of the eye. Even in assessing affairs and examining merit, gentlemen pursue their own intent in solitude and are ashamed to speak of their achievements, while petty men are clever at accommodating and skilled at displaying diligence—this again suits the habit of the heart. Petty men wield their strengths to fit perfectly; the ruler, drowning in habit, notices nothing. Listen carefully and their words please the ear; look closely and their faces please the eye; test them and their talents satisfy the heart—whereupon petty men gather without being summoned and gentlemen withdraw without being driven away. When petty men gather and gentlemen depart, can the harm even be put into words? Yet tracing the source of it all, the three habits are what obscure the ruler's judgment. The mechanism of order and disorder follows the same track throughout the ages—it can be examined and understood. Our emperor, sage and enlightened upon the throne, is like the sun at its zenith—not only free of this defect but free of these habits as well. Yet your servant speaks precisely while these habits have not yet formed. Once they have taken shape, some who know may not dare to speak—or if they speak, they may not be heeded. To forestall the three habits in advance and forever shut out the one defect lies not in externals but solely in the heart. Hence your servant wishes to speak of Your Majesty's heart. The saying goes: 'If one is not a sage, who can be without fault? This is shallow talk. Do sages truly have no faults? Only a sage can recognize his faults; only a sage can amend them. Confucius said that at fifty, having studied the Changes, one might be free of great faults. King Wen regarded the people as though they were wounded, and gazed upon the Way as though he had not yet seen it. Therefore the faults of the worthy are known to the worthy; ordinary men do not know them. The faults of sages are known to sages; the worthy do not know them. To expect others to correct errors and rectify mistakes in matters one does not oneself perceive—this is difficult indeed. Hence your servant hopes that Your Majesty's sage heart will be vigilant of itself. Turning inward, truly knowing one's insufficiency; testing oneself against the world, truly seeing one's inadequacy—thus one is constantly uneasy and dares not be self-satisfied. This spirit of not daring to be self-satisfied flows through the employment of men and the conduct of government—only then does one know that remonstrance and earnest counsel love one deeply, while those who flatter to win favor are traps that delude oneself and lead one into ruin; only then does one know that solemn caution and corrective remonstrance benefit one greatly, while those who comply without dissent are abysses into which one pushes oneself and falls. When the habits of ear and eye are removed and the standards of selection and rejection are firmly set, the upright will fill the court and great peace will be within sight. Otherwise, if the root of self-satisfaction is not uprooted, then though one restrains the heart in caution, after long caution one feels oneself without fault and thinks one may relax a little; though one sharpens the will in diligence, after long diligence one feels oneself has achieved merit and thinks one may take a little comfort. Once this thought turns, at first it seems harmless to the realm—yet unawares, talk of indulgence, ease, and profit gradually enters the ear without annoyance, and the agile, soft, glib flatterers are looked upon so long that their hatefulness is no longer seen. Over time one grows habituated; perhaps without knowing it one is struck by them—then black and white can change color, and east and west can exchange places. This is what is meant by the mechanism lying hidden in the subtlest depths while momentum forms until there is no turning back. The Great Learning says, 'Seeing the worthy yet unable to elevate them, seeing the unworthy yet unable to dismiss them'—so that likes and dislikes run counter to human nature; and tracing the source of failure, it all stems from arrogance and complacency—arrogance and complacency are self-satisfaction. Viewed from this perspective, the mechanism of order and disorder turns upon the advance and withdrawal of gentlemen and petty men; the mechanism of advance and withdrawal is held in the single heart of the ruler; One who can recognize error becomes reverent without intending it; one who does not see faults becomes licentious without intending it. Reverence summons gentlemen and is the root of order; license is the medium of petty men and the stairway to disorder. Thus tracing upstream to the source and summing up the meaning in brief, your servant only hopes that our emperor, in every moment and every affair, will constantly keep this heart that dares not be self-satisfied—for the virtue of Heaven and the kingly Way lie in nothing beyond this." The memorial was submitted; the emperor commended and accepted it and had it promulgated. He was transferred to Minister of Justice and given overall charge of affairs at the Directorate of Education. In Zhengzhou, Henan, there was a doubtful legal case; envoys were sent to investigate, yet the truth could still not be established. The emperor ordered Jiagan to go and examine the case; he found the circumstances of wrongful conviction, and more than ten persons were entirely exonerated. In the fourth month of the third year of the Qianlong reign, he was transferred to Minister of Personnel while still retaining concurrent charge of the Ministry of Justice. In the ninth month, Li Wei, Governor-General of Zhili, impeached Zhu Zao, Director-General of River Conservancy, for corruption, incompetence, and dereliction of duty. Jiagan was ordered to go jointly with Minister Neqin to try the case; the charges were substantiated and judgment was passed according to law.
28
沿 ''
In the tenth month, he was appointed Governor-General of Zhili. At the time the prohibition on wine in the capital region was very strict, and violators were numerous. Jiagan memorialized: "During the tenure of the previous governor Li Wei, in one year three hundred and sixty-four cases of illicit brewing were seized, involving more than fourteen hundred offenders. Within one month of your servant's arrival in office, seventy-eight cases of illicit brewing were seized, involving more than three hundred and fifty offenders. These are only the cases formally reported; as for cases concluded on their own authority by prefectures, subprefectures, departments, and counties, one cannot know how many more there are. As for clerks, runners, and soldiers who were caught yet released after taking bribes, one cannot know how many more there are. These are only the principal offenders themselves; as for village heads, neighborhood wardens, roadside shops, peddlers, and others implicated and harmed by association, one cannot know how many more there are. If one province is thus, the other provinces may be inferred. Your Majesty cherishes life and shows compassion in punishment—even in robbery cases where the penalty of dismemberment applies, you still deliberate repeatedly, seeking some thread of grounds for clemency. Now on account of daily food and drink, officials, clerks, and soldiers treat illicit brewing as a source of profit; among the common people the weak lose their livelihood and the strong violate the prohibition. Salt smugglers have not yet been pacified, and wine smugglers rise again—the realm is in turmoil; this is utterly contrary to proper governance. Your servant's earlier statement that the wine prohibition is suitable in lean years but not in abundant years was still the mistaken argument of a bookish scholar. Only upon personally overseeing the matter did I know that the people's property is seized and scattered in ruin, their flesh is battered and beaten, and their livelihoods are taken and imprisoned. In the aftermath of famine, the people have no settled resolve; once livelihood is lost on so great a scale, what will they not do? That wine cannot be prohibited in lean years is even more true than in years of abundance. The Rites of Zhou, in its famine policies, lifts market prohibitions and removes market inspectors—for good reason. Moreover, the enforcement of the wine prohibition not only disturbs the people—it in fact cannot be permanently enforced. Even supposing the prohibition did not disturb the people and could be permanently enforced, as regards the livelihood of the poor and the storage of grain, it would not only be without benefit but would actually cause harm. Now, making wine by consuming grain—this refers to yellow wine; its ferment must use wheat, and its rice requires polished glutinous grain—all the finest of the five grains. As for distilled liquor, it uses sorghum, supplemented by bean husks, millet chaff, and rice bran; the ferment is made from barley. These are not foods for daily consumption, while bean husks, millet chaff, rice bran, and the like are originally waste matter—mixed together they become wine and can fetch a price, and the dregs can feed livestock. Transforming the useless into the useful—this is not doing what is harmful while destroying what is beneficial. Now if one wishes to prohibit distilled liquor and also prohibit yellow wine, there will be none to supply sacrifices, guests, and the needs of the elderly. If yellow wine is not prohibited but only distilled liquor is, one saves the coarse and cheap barley and sorghum while doubling the expenditure of the fine and costly wheat and polished glutinous grain—this is what your servant means by no benefit to grain storage. All the crafts require grain in exchange for their products; if grain is too costly the crafts suffer, if too cheap the farmers are harmed—only by hitting the mean can both farming and crafts profit. Thus in farming there are lean harvests and also harvests so abundant they become a hardship; within ten years, three are lean and seven are abundant—grain ought to have some outlet, not merely be stored unused. Now in the northern regions, if sorghum is not planted, there is nothing for fuel, mats, and wall-building; if it is planted and the stalks are used, then the grain ought to have a market. Once distilleries are prohibited, the wealthy no longer buy sorghum; the poor harvest sorghum yet even at low prices cannot sell it. When sorghum cannot be sold and wine is still a daily necessity, they must sell rice and grain to buy yellow wine. Formerly, within one year, a household of eight persons could get seven or eight taels from selling sorghum; now it is only two or three taels; yet the cost of buying yellow wine requires seven or eight taels. Income is little while outgo is great; moreover bran, chaff, and the like pile up and cannot be exchanged for cash—all natural advantages are lost. For daily needs, they have only to sell off rice and wheat. If they sell and find buyers, the household has nothing stored away; if they sell yet cannot find buyers, then every need falls short. This is what your servant means by harm to livelihood. The common people pursue profit as water flows downward. Where there is no profit, even rewards will not move people. Where profit lies, even the sternest prohibition only drives people harder. Ban distilleries and wine grows scarce; when wine is scarce, prices rise; when prices rise, illicit distilling yields many times the old profit. Where profits are tenfold, people will stake their lives to seize them. Mencius said, 'The gentleman does not harm people with what is meant to nourish them.' The measure was meant for the people's livelihood, yet the harassment reached this point—so in making laws one must be exceedingly careful. When the memorial was submitted, an edict relaxed the prohibition.
29
A commoner named Wang Zai plotted to seize the property of the licentiate Ma Chengzong, bribed the eunuchs Liu Jinyu and others, and presented it to Prince Yunyou's household. Jiagan memorialized that the case be sent to the Ministry of Punishments for trial and judgment; the Emperor praised his firmness in upholding the law. The commoner Jiao Tao was falsely charged with belonging to a heterodox sect; hundreds were implicated. Jiagan cleared his wrongful conviction. The commoner Ji Huairang had bean juice from his fodder stain his clothes; meanwhile a thief killed someone in the village, and investigators mistook the stain for blood, so he confessed under torture to a crime he did not commit. The day of execution was set; the Zhengding prefect Chen Haolian obtained evidence of the injustice, and Jiagan personally tried the case and cleared Huairang.
30
使 西
Soon he was ordered also to oversee Zhili river works; Jiagan proposed regulating the Yongding River. Upon first taking office, he asked to build many brush weirs above and below the Jinmen Sluice so the river might gradually return to its old course. In the first month of the fourth year he again memorialized asking to add another brush weir below the Jinmen Sluice, divert the Yongding River back to its old course, and let it reach the sea by way of Zhongting and Yudai through Tianjin. The directive was granted, and together with the Director-General of Rivers Gu Cong he managed the work with full care. Jiagan again memorialized: 'The north and south Grand Canals at Tianjin join the Dian River at Xigu to enter the Hai River. The southern canal's water is muddy and in time must silt up; moreover all the province's waters converge here, and when autumn floods come, discharge cannot keep pace. Grand Secretary Ortai once won approval to dredge a diversion canal at Duliu in Jinghai—this is truly the key to managing water in the lower reaches. But opening a canal is easy while reaching the sea is hard; if obstruction occurs midway, flooding will only grow worse. Moreover, if the estuary is dredged too deep, one fears the tide will flow back upstream. Your servants have now surveyed the province's waterways; wherever major rivers meet or routes enter the marshes or the sea and urgently need dredging, work shall begin this summer.' The report was noted. In the fifth month he was promoted to Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent.
31
西 西 使西 使 西西使 西使 西 西 涿
In the ninth month of the fifth year he memorialized: 'The great trunk streams of Zhili are the Yongding, Ziya, southern Grand Canal, and northern Grand Canal—four rivers—and the eastern and western marshes. To regulate the Yongding River, we propose dredging a diversion east of Yedian so it enters the sea north of Xigu; to regulate the Ziya River, we propose dredging a new channel to draw upstream waters into the marshes and breach the old river's eastern embankment so it may gradually enter the sea south of Xigu; to regulate the northern Grand Canal, remove sand and straighten both banks, dredge relief channels, and raise the dikes; to regulate the southern Grand Canal, build distant dikes on both banks, dredge the channel for the main current, erect a sluice at Anling Town, dredge a relief channel of more than thirty li to enter the old river mouth and reach the sea; to regulate the western marsh, we propose reopening the old course of the Baigou River to enter Zhongting, dredging a separate channel south of Jiuqiao, and dredging the Qingmen River's branch for diversion; the lower reaches are already unobstructed, and we further propose shifting the western diversion at Jinmen Sluice to the eastern route, building five timber bridges on a raised road at Yuanjiakou so runoff may pass; to regulate the eastern marsh, we propose dredging the upper Sancha River wider and deeper, opening diversion channels at Yangjia River, Bianjia River depression, and other places, all running east to meet at Xigu, so that the four rivers may follow their courses and both marshes drain freely.' He also diverted the Yongding River back to its old course; when all works were complete, the Emperor praised him. At that time the Jiangnan governor-general Gao Bin came to the capital; the Emperor ordered him to confer with Jiagan on river affairs. In the tenth month they jointly memorialized: 'The Yongding River should flow east downstream south of Gu'an and north of Bazhou, join the eastern marsh, reach Xigu, and enter the sea—then the upstream flood will dissipate of itself. North of Bazhou dikes should be built to protect the city; from Xinzhuang west of Baoding county to Lucun on the road east of the city the dike roots press the current and should be widened and thickened; from Lucun east to Aitou village where it meets the camp-field embankment, about fifty-odd li, we propose building crescent dikes as a second barrier.' Jiagan was then intent on diverting the Yongding River back to its old course; the river overflowed and the counties along its banks were inundated. In the first month of the sixth year an edict said: 'We hear that management of the Yongding River has not been well done; fields in the prefectures and counties of Gu'an, Liangxiang, Zhuozhou, Xiongzhou, Bazhou, and others are often flooded—Sun Jiagan cannot escape responsibility.' Thereupon Grand Secretary Ortai was ordered to inspect on site and requested temporarily blocking the upstream outlet at Jinmen Sluice. Jiagan memorialized: 'Opening and closing in turn truly runs counter to the intent of releasing water; in future silt may choke Yudai, and the harm may be greater.' An edict said: 'This memorial is certainly right, yet Ortai is cautious and wishes to plan for complete security—you need not cling stubbornly to your own view. You took this matter upon yourself with great energy, yet the handling was not well done—we cannot cover this up for you. Yet in the end We hold you in the right—not like Gu Cong's shifting, crafty schemes.' Later the Emperor toured Tianjin, inspected the Zhongting river works, and composed a poem on the occasion—still finding fault with Jiagan's miscalculation.
32
調 忿 ' ' 調 使
In the eighth month of that year he was transferred to governor-general of Huguang. In the fifth month of the seventh year he memorialized: 'In the interior, military officers may not interfere in civil affairs. The Miao frontier alone is not so: civil officials dare not lightly enter stockaded villages and only send runners to collect taxes, who with their warrants merely add to the harassment. Cases of dispute, robbery, and murder are all entrusted to military officers; wherever their authority reaches, levies follow. Thus on public pretext they levy exactions, civil and military each issuing their own orders; on any occasion they demand goods, soldiers and clerks vie to show their power; even seizing families' property and dishonoring their women. The Miao people cannot bear their rage and stake their lives against them, and grievances thus arise. Among high officials, some favor suppression and some pacification; opinions differ. Memorials for investigation often take months. The Miao hear wind of it and prepare in advance, linking up everywhere, drinking blood wine and passing wooden tokens—rebellion rises easily, pacification is truly hard. Fortunately they are soon suppressed, yet later men still tread the old path—searching, arresting, and implicating—so harassment grows worse. Miao and Yao have nowhere to appeal; seizing an opening they rise again, seeing only force. Officials who have governed the Miao through the ages have had neither ways to cherish and nurture them nor means to restrain abuse. In peace they let them prey at will; in crisis they stop at suppression and slaughter. After suppression and slaughter, they still prey. When preying has gone on long, suppression and slaughter must come again. Continue this cycle—where will it end? The saying runs: 'He who governs well guides people according to their tendencies and leads them to profit. The Miao live scattered, each group with its headman. Wherever wrongdoing and bandit dens hide, what soldiers and clerks cannot detect, headmen can know; in cases of brawling, robbery, and murder that official law cannot settle, headmen can mediate. Thus to govern the Miao is to govern the headmen—let each stockade appoint its headman as stockade chief. Within each ravine community, choose the headman the others trust as ravine chief, so each restrains his stockade chiefs and obeys the magistrate. When the Miao have a matter the stockade chief cannot settle, he reports to the ravine chief; if he still cannot, he reports to the magistrate. Thus in the Miao frontier there is a way to grasp the guiding rope, and officials themselves gain the effect of orders obeyed and prohibitions enforced. Moreover, ravine chiefs will often see the prefectural magistrate; disputes can be brought to officials for settlement, and there will be no vendetta killings. The magistrate will often see ravine chiefs; regulations can be enjoined face to face for compliance, without the harm of clerks and runners deceiving and concealing. Once harassment is stopped, hearts are easily won. This is what is meant by making laws simple and guiding people according to their customs to their benefit.'
33
使
In the first month of the eighth year he was ordered to serve as acting Fujian governor but had not yet gone when the Hunan grain intendant Xie Jishi impeached the Shanhua magistrate Fan Deyi and the Hengyang magistrate Li Peng for over-collecting transport rice; the governor Xu Rong shielded Deyi and others and memorialized against Jishi. The case was sent to Jiagan for investigation and judgment. The Changsha prefect Zhang Lin inspected Hengyang corvée levies, obtained evidence of over-collection, and reported to the acting grain intendant Cang De; the provincial treasurer Zhang Can wrote to Cang De asking to alter the prefectural dispatch. Cang De refused to agree and reported the facts to Jiagan and the Director-General of Grain Transport Gu Cong. Jiagan wished to bury the matter, but Gu Cong reported it to the throne. The censor Hu Ding again impeached Cang De and also posted a notice at the Censorate; the Emperor sent Vice Minister Aligun to investigate and vindicated Jishi. The Emperor rebuked Jiagan for favoritism, stripped his office, and assigned him to repair the Shunyi city works.
34
In the ninth year he was appointed Vice Director of the Imperial Clan Court. In the tenth year he was transferred to Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. In the twelfth year, citing age, he asked to retire and was permitted. In the fourteenth year he was summoned to the capital and entered the Upper Study directly. In the first month of the fifteenth year he was appointed Vice Minister of War. In the eighth month he was promoted to Minister of Works and served concurrently as Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. In the seventeenth year he advanced to Minister of Personnel and Associate Grand Secretary. In the twelfth month of the eighteenth year he died, aged seventy-one; his posthumous title was Wending.
35
稿 稿 使 西
In office Jiagan set himself eight precepts, saying: 'Serve the ruler with devotion but without display; share with others without arrogance; avoid the contests of power; hide merit in obscurity; stop at what one can relinquish; prune speech of what is useless; keep integrity by shunning the crowd; take frugally through purity of expense.' He used these to admonish himself. Already famed for forthright remonstrance, in the early Qianlong reign his memorials to correct the ruler's virtue were especially admired by the age. In the fourth year the markets of the capital circulated a draft memorial in Jiagan's name impeaching Grand Secretaries Ortai, Zhang Tingyu, and others; the Qianlong Emperor ordered the Metropolitan Banner commander and the city patrol censors to forbid it strictly. In the sixteenth year another draft in Jiagan's name circulated, denouncing the ruler's moral failings as five inexplicable points and ten great faults; the Yunnan-Guizhou governor-general Shuose reported it. He ordered the source traced and sent envoys to supervise the investigation. The case spread by implication through six provinces; after three years it was fixed on Lu Lusheng, a company commander of the Jiangxi garrison, as the forger, and he was sentenced to death. The Qianlong Emperor knew Jiagan had no part in it; his favor did not wane, and Jiagan restrained himself all the more. He once wrote a book expounding the meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals, found it inadequate himself, and destroyed it.
36
使
His son Xiaoyu, by hereditary privilege appointed a principal clerk in the Ministry of Punishments, rose to provincial surveillance commissioner of Zhili.
37
使 使 使 使 滿
Liang Shizheng, style name Yangzhong, was a native of Qiantang in Zhejiang. In the eighth year of the Yongzheng reign he placed first in the metropolitan examination and was appointed compiler. He was promoted repeatedly to Reader-in-Waiting of the Hanlin Academy. In the thirteenth year he returned home for his mother's mourning. When the Qianlong Emperor ascended the throne, he was summoned as an attendant of the Southern Study. In the third year of the Qianlong reign he was made Reader-in-Waiting of the Hanlin Academy. He rose through repeated promotions to Vice Minister of Revenue. Shizheng memorialized: 'Among the Eight Banners, aside from provincial garrisons and lands within five hundred li of the capital where farming is permitted, the rest all follow their banners to reside in the capital. The Emperor has made every conceivable provision for the bannermen's livelihood, yet they still cannot escape poverty. This is because mouths multiply daily; if people are not made to support themselves but the state always tries to support them, it cannot be done. Your servant holds that nothing but military colonies will suffice. Now in the interior there is no idle land; the fertile soil of the two capitals at Xingjing and Shengjing is not yet fully opened. Under the Yongzheng Emperor it was proposed to station bannermen to farm in Heilongjiang, Ningguta, and other places; agreement was already reached but the plan was never carried out. If we do not act early, in several hundred years banner households will be ten times what they are today. With a fixed amount of money and grain to support endless mouths, if all are supplied within the quota pay, officers' and soldiers' stipends will not suffice for the idle who merely eat; if they are supplied outside the quota pay, the people's taxes cannot be raised and state expenditure cannot be reduced. Households grow daily; those awaiting support are many; there is no surplus wealth to give them, and the capital has no surplus land to place them. The only course is to apportion households judiciously and scatter them in frontier colonies so they may enjoy farming and herding for generations, drill arms in season, and strengthen the border. Green Standard cavalry and infantry pay in the provinces has gradually risen to five or six million taels compared with the Kangxi reign. At each brigade, camp, garrison, and command a few dozen or hundred extra men seem insignificant; but when the court totals military pay, supernumerary quotas amount to several million taels a year. In each province most land tax and grain tribute is retained for military pay; where it falls short, neighboring provinces assist, and sums remitted to the ministry grow ever fewer. Formerly every camp had much phantom grain on the rolls; since the audit of the first year of Yongzheng this abuse has been wholly removed. Thus in recent years, though troop quotas follow the old establishment, the rolls are already more honest than before. Moreover, in key places in the provinces Manchu garrisons are stationed, linked in strength with the various brigades, camps, garrisons, and commands; where added troop quotas may be cut, officials should fix the numbers judiciously, and when vacancies open through dismissal, recruitment should cease at once. Thus in future the military establishment may gradually be economized, while present soldiers suffer no hardship from sudden cuts.'
38
調
In the tenth year he was promoted to Minister of Revenue. Shizheng memorialized: 'Each year the empire's land tax and tribute, after supplying officers' and soldiers' salaries and all other expenses, leaves only a little more than two million taels—far too little for flood, drought, or war. Though the treasuries are now full, Your Majesty should take frugality as essential, not launch great construction or warlike campaigns, so as to hold fullness and preserve peace.' In the thirteenth year he was transferred to Minister of War. In the fourteenth year he was made Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent and concurrently Minister of Punishments, Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy, and Associate Grand Secretary.
39
調
In the fifteenth year he was transferred to Minister of Personnel. The censor Ou Kanshan memorialized impeaching Shizheng for favoritism and private dealings; the Emperor summoned the ministers and Kanshan for court interrogation. The charges were all groundless; only in the Hanlin Academy's rotating audience presentations there were occasional breaches of order. An edict said: 'Liang Shizheng's post is in the inner court—nothing but literary service. What sort of ruler do We seem, that ministers could act on their private whims? As for small favoritism in looking after private ties, not Shizheng alone—perhaps no minister can wholly eliminate it. Zhang Tingyu headed the Academy for thirty years; how many times did audiences breach order—why was no impeachment heard? Shizheng has these one or two points open to criticism and is impeached—he may know where to warn and restrain himself; this is not necessarily a misfortune. Kanshan's words should be taken as a stimulus, not as a grievance.' At the same time the censor Chu Linzhi impeached the Sichuan education commissioner Zhu Quan for concealing mourning; the Emperor questioned Shizheng, whose answer missed the point. The case went to the judicial offices, which ruled he should be stripped of office, but he was ordered to remain in post.
40
調
In the sixteenth year he accompanied the Emperor on the southern tour; Shizheng's father Wenlian was eighty, and ennoblement was granted. In the seventeenth year he memorialized asking to nurse his father to the end. In the twenty-third year, upon his father's death, he was summoned to serve as acting Minister of Works. In the twenty-fourth year he was transferred to acting Minister of War. In the twenty-fifth year, when mourning ended, he received regular appointment and was again made Associate Grand Secretary and concurrent Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. In the twenty-eighth year he was appointed Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and made Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent. Soon after he died; his posthumous title was Wenzhuang.
41
His son Tongshu, a provincial graduate, was granted metropolitan graduate status and rose to Reader of the Hanlin Academy; Dunshu rose to Right Vice Minister of War.
42
The judgment says: Fu Min, with his careful steadfastness, was teacher to the Qianlong Emperor. Shiguan and Yizhi had integrity at court; though they suffered reprimand, all were for private matters, their great virtue was not exceeded, and in the end their faults did not obscure them. Akedun was sincere and magnanimous, pure and upright. Jiagan was outspoken in remonstrance, presenting good and shutting out evil; in a single reign he was famed for his memorials. Shizheng argued that the Eight Banners should practice frontier colonies and the Green Standards should cease recruitment to fill vacancies; though he managed state finances with yearly surpluses, he was earnest in fearing insufficiency—his foresight was far-reaching.
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