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卷320 列傳一百七 三宝 永贵 蔡新 程景伊 梁国治 英廉 彭元瑞 纪昀 陆锡熊 陆费墀

Volume 320 Biographies 107: San Bao, Yong Gui, Cai Xin, Cheng Jingyi, Liang Guozhi, Ying Lian, Peng Yuanrui, Ji Yun, Lu Xixiong, Lu Feichi

Chapter 320 of 清史稿 · Draft History of Qing
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Chapter 320
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1
滿 使 使 西 滿 椿 使 使 滿 輿便 滿 西 使 使 西 使 滿 西 滿 殿 鹿 使 退 調 西 孿 使 西 使 滿 西 殿 殿 殿西祿 使 退
San Bao, of the Irgen Gioro clan, was a Manchu bannerman of the Plain Red Banner. In Qianlong 4 (1739) he earned jinshi through the translation examination and was appointed a drafter in the Grand Secretariat. He succeeded to a hereditary company commandership. He was promoted to a reader in the Grand Secretariat. He was posted as intendant of the Hubei Post and Salt Circuit. He was recalled to the capital to fill a directorship in the Ministry of Revenue. During the Dzungar campaign he was ordered to the northern front to oversee pastoral herds at Dongdashidawa. He was elevated to Zhili provincial administration commissioner. In Qianlong 26, while the emperor was at Rehe, San Bao was punished for neglecting repairs along the imperial route and was sent to Hami with intendant's rank. In Qianlong 29 he was reappointed Sichuan administration commissioner and subsequently served in Hubei, Hunan, and Guizhou in turn. In Qianlong 37 he was appointed governor of Shanxi. The following year he was moved to Zhejiang. In Qianlong 42 he was made governor-general of Huguang. On troop inspection he found the Hengzhou and Yuanzhou garrison deputy commanders, Haifu and Hong Changyun, both too old for duty; he asked that Haifu be reassigned within the banners and that Changyun be retired. The emperor judged that he was favoring Manchus and showing clear partiality, and refused. In Qianlong 44 he was made Eastern Pavilion Grand Secretary and concurrent Minister of Rites while retaining the Huguang governor-generalship. He was soon moved to the Fujian-Zhejiang governor-generalship. Above Laoyancang the Zhejiang coast was protected by wattled seawalls; during his southern tour the emperor ordered them replaced with stone dikes. San Bao memorialized: "The great flood season is upon us; this is no time for major works. Stone piles should be driven inside the wattled embankments, leaving the wattled works as an outer barrier." The emperor then ordered that the wattled dikes be retained as a second line of defense, in agreement with San Bao's plan. He was soon summoned to the Grand Council to conduct state business. When Governor Wang Tanwang fell in a corruption scandal, San Bao was faulted for not having impeached him; although the ministry recommended dismissal, the emperor kept him in office. He was soon assigned again to assist the chief tutor of the Upper Study. In Qianlong 49 he escorted the emperor to Rehe, then returned to Beijing because of illness. He died and was posthumously titled Wénjìng (Cultivated and Reverent). San Bao loved the Song Neo-Confucian masters and would not compromise on matters of principle. While he was Zhili administration commissioner, the Qianlong Emperor traveled to Rehe; at Miyun torrential rain had swollen the rivers. The emperor meant to ride through the churning current; San Bao remonstrated: "A man of priceless worth does not court danger under a crumbling eave. If Your Majesty, lord of ten thousand chariots, treats the flood lightly and the imperial horses come to grief, though we servants be torn limb from limb, what remedy would there be?" The emperor said: "Manchu custom calls for sharing hardship firsthand—surely that is fitting?" San Bao replied: "Your Majesty is traveling with the empress dowager's carriage; even if the crossing is safe for you, how is the empress dowager to cross?" The emperor was moved and turned his horse back. As chief tutor of the Upper Study he compiled a digest of crown-prince affairs through the ages, entitled Spring Splendor Daily Perusal, for the imperial sons; critics said he embodied the true role of tutor and guardian. Yong Gui, styled Xinzhaī, of the Baidu clan, was a Manchu bannerman of the Plain White Banner. His father Bulantai entered service from a hereditary yunqiwei post as an assistant director in the Court of Colonial Affairs. Under Yongzheng, as Jiangxi governor he ruled harshly; the Yongzheng Emperor recalled him to Beijing and questioned him in person. He answered: "I govern strictly so that Your Majesty may temper my excesses and bestow mercy yourself." Yongzheng was displeased and dismissed him. He was soon reinstated and eventually became provincial military commander at Gubeikou. He died and was posthumously titled Mìnxī (Sincere and Joyful). Yong Gui rose from a clerkship to a secretaryship in the Ministry of Revenue. Early in Qianlong he was promoted through several ranks to director. He was posted as intendant of the Hunan Chen-Yuan-Yongjing Circuit. He was elevated to Yunnan provincial administration commissioner. He was moved to Zhejiang as acting governor. Former governor-general Li Wei had run the salt monopoly, using treasury funds to buy surplus salt under the name "treasury salt"; military officers were assigned to suppress smuggling—a system that had proved unsatisfactory. Yong Gui submitted eight reform articles dividing duties between civil and military officials; the ministries approved and enacted them. After three years he received a regular appointment. When drought struck Wenzhou, Taizhou, and neighboring counties, Yong Gui put Prefect Jin Hongquan in charge of relief, but Jin proved inadequate. Yong Gui impeached him and asked to retire. Governor-General Ka'erjishan joined the impeachment, and the emperor dismissed Hongquan. Censor Fan Tingkai then impeached Yong Gui for partiality; the emperor was reluctant to replace him and ordered the matter set aside. Yong Gui asked to retain eight hundred thousand piculs of local and Jiangsu tribute grain, borrow five hundred fifty thousand piculs from Jiangsu and other provinces, and open a sale-of-offices drive to refill the granaries. The emperor rebuked him for exaggeration; learning later that Yong Gui had glossed over the disaster reports, he stripped him of office and sent him to manage provisions on the northern campaign. After three years he was given surveillance-commissioner rank, acted as Gansu Lintao intendant, and continued to manage supplies at Barkol. In Qianlong 21 he received vice commander's rank and was made an assisting grand minister. That winter the Oirat chief Dashiceling and others rose in revolt; Deputy General Zhaohui was posted at Ili to suppress them. On reaching Barkol Yong Gui reported fully on the campaign; the emperor commended his zeal, granted a hereditary third-rank commandery chariot captaincy, and ordered him to advance with Zhaohui from Elinqin Bi'erhan. He was named acting Xi'an governor but never assumed the post and was sent to establish military farms at Lukchak. In Qianlong 23 he stayed with the army as a vice-minister and was appointed Vice Minister of Justice to oversee the colony program. Garrison colonies were opened at Urumqi, Kuche, Toksan, Karashahr, Changji, and Luokelun, yielding over thirty-five thousand eight hundred piculs in the autumn harvest. Zhaohui's forces were then at Yarkand; Yong Gui was stationed at Aksu to provision the campaign. In Qianlong 24 he returned to Kucha, where administration commissioner Deshu was murdered by Mahakin rebels. Yong Gui and garrison commander Nu San jointly destroyed the rebels, pacifying the Muslim territories. He was transferred to vice minister of the Granary Directorate. He was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief. In Qianlong 26 he was sent to serve as Kashgar commissioner. He was soon made Minister of Rites and commander of the Bordered Red Banner Chinese Martial Force while remaining at Kashgar. He memorialized for canal dredging and expanded farming, proposing a canal of over forty li southeast from the Hesele River to irrigate Hesele Buyi; where the swift Cai Tuoyong River ran steep, he urged higher dikes, stone cutting, and measures to reduce the current. He was recalled to Beijing. In Qianlong 30, when the Muslims of Ush rebelled, he was again sent to Kashgar. After the rebellion was suppressed he was stationed at Ush. In Qianlong 33 he served as acting Ili general. He was moved to the Ministry of Personnel and then back to the Ministry of Rites. He was faulted when Oirat troops stole Kazakh horses and shifted blame to the Kazakhs; frontier commissioner Ba'erpin's ruling missed the truth, and Yong Gui's impeachment used evasive language. He also wrongly docked Rehe troop pay to cover horse losses among Liangzhou and Zhuanglang Manchu garrisons; recalled to Beijing, he was made Left Censor-in-Chief but stripped of peacock feather and finial privileges. He was soon moved to Minister of Rites, allowed his finial cap again, but still denied the peacock feather. In Qianlong 42 he was named acting Grand Secretary and charged with inscribing the spirit tablet of Empress Xiaoshengxian. He was soon appointed Minister of Personnel, assigned to the princes' chief instructorship, and awarded the peacock feather. Earlier, when Wang Lun of Shandong rose in rebellion, Supervising Secretary Li Shufang had warned that famine victims were brewing unrest; he was demoted to a Rites Ministry secretary for what was judged reckless speech. Now the Ministry of Personnel proposed promoting Shufang to assistant department director. The emperor accused Yong Gui of trading favors, stripped his rank and peacock feather, and sent him to Ush with a third-rank cap. The edict rebuked him harshly, declaring: "If Yong Gui returns to Ush and does not serve wholeheartedly, he will be executed there." Earlier, Yarkand commissioner Gao Pu had forced Muslim subjects to mine jade and extorted gold and gems, provoking lawsuits from the local begs. Yong Gui went to Yarkand, confirmed the charges, and reported to the throne. The emperor executed Gao Pu and wrote personally to praise Yong Gui's integrity, adding: "Yong Gui's offense did not warrant demotion. Sending him west now exposed Gao Pu's crimes and quietly removed a growing threat—Heaven has guided My purpose!" He was reappointed Minister of Personnel and given back the peacock feather. He was soon made an assisting grand minister. In Qianlong 44 he was recalled to Beijing and made commander of the Bordered Blue Banner Manchus. In Qianlong 45 he became associate Grand Secretary. In Qianlong 48 he died and was posthumously titled Wénqín (Cultivated and Diligent). Yong Gui was upright and conscientious. Early in his career he served in the Grand Council alongside Agui; the pair were known as "the two Guis." As Zhejiang governor he earned a reputation for integrity. Son: Yijiang'a. His son Yijiang'a rose to governor of Shandong. After the Qianlong Emperor's death, Yijiang'a attached to a routine memorial a note urging Heshen to moderate his mourning. Heshen was already in prison; the Jiaqing Emperor obtained the letter, rebuked him by edict, and dismissed him. He was later prosecuted for promoting Buddhism and being lenient toward bandits while in Shandong and was banished to Ili. He was soon made a blue-lance guardsman and frontier commandant at Gucheng. He died. Cai Xin, styled Ciming, came from Zhangpu in Fujian and was a kinsman of the posthumously honored Minister Shi Yuan. He earned jinshi in Qianlong 1 (1736), entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed a compiler. He was assigned to the Upper Study. He topped the censor examination but declined the post and was made an expositor. He rose through several ranks to Vice Minister of Works and was then moved to the Ministry of Justice. In Qianlong 18 he asked leave to visit his elderly mother and the court bestowed sable fur on her; he then asked to retire permanently to care for her, and the request was granted. At home he was named chief tutor of the Upper Study but declined; the Qianlong Emperor told him: "I am not asking you to take up duty at once—only for some later day." In Qianlong 25, for the emperor's fiftieth birthday, he went to Beijing to offer congratulations. In Qianlong 26 he had an audience with the emperor during the southern tour. After his mother's mourning period he was appointed Vice Minister of Justice. In Qianlong 32 he was made Minister of Works. In Qianlong 38 he was moved to the Ministry of Rites. In Qianlong 45 he was made associate Grand Secretary while retaining the Ministry of Personnel. In Qianlong 46 he took leave to repair family tombs. In Qianlong 48 he returned to court. He was appointed Wenhua Hall Grand Secretary and concurrent Minister of Personnel. In Qianlong 50 he attended the banquet of a thousand elders. When the emperor lectured at the Imperial Academy, Xin, as Grand Secretary and head of the Directorate of Education, expounded the line "Heaven moves with strength; the noble man strengthens himself without ceasing" and received tea and brocade. Xin was upright and cautious, and his words and deeds always conformed to ritual propriety. The emperor favored him deeply; in a poem on the Academy lecture he wrote: "Which minister today could serve as the Three Elders and Five Geng? Only Xin is four years my senior and might be treated as an elder brother. Yet I fear he would be too modest to accept and would cite Wang Dao's reply to Emperor Yuan of Jin in declining." Xin memorialized to retire in earnest terms; the emperor allowed him to go home, made him Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent, and composed three farewell poems. After he retired, the emperor often sent him new compositions, saying: "At court there is no one with whom I can discuss classical prose. Do not flatter me with empty praise." In Qianlong 55, for the emperor's eightieth birthday, he went to Beijing to congratulate him, was feasted at the Garden of Shared Joy, and received one jin of ginseng. On his return journey local officials along the route were ordered to provide boats and carriages as an escort. The emperor continued sending him poems and essays, telling him that when he came to demonstrate his learning he should not write matching-rhyme verse. In Qianlong 57 he again attended the Deer Call banquet. In Qianlong 60, when the emperor marked sixty years on the throne, he told Xin he need not come to court to congratulate him. Xin memorialized that he hoped to come to court again when the emperor reached ninety. The emperor replied: "Every word of your memorial speaks from the heart; let us encourage one another as ruler and minister. If Heaven grants your wish, it will be a fine story indeed!" In Jiaqing 1, when Xin turned ninety, the court bestowed the plaque "Evergreen in the Green Fields" along with many precious gifts. In Jiaqing 4, when the Qianlong Emperor died, he set out to attend the mourning but fell ill at Fuzhou and could go no farther. Governor Wang Zhiyi reported his condition, and a gracious edict told him to turn back. That winter he died and was posthumously made Grand Tutor with the title Wénduān (Cultivated and Steady). Xin's learning aimed at benevolence and prized an unmoved mind. He compiled earlier Confucian teachings on mind-cultivation into Records of Mind-Cultivation. For forty-two years in the Upper Study he nurtured the princes, always invoking the sages of old. Qianlong deeply honored him for his mastery of moral foundations and for upholding the family tradition of Shi Yuan. After he retired, Fujian's top officials were heavily punished for corruption and granary shortfalls; the emperor rebuked Xin: "You knew but kept silent, like a winter cicada—where was your loyalty to the state?" Xin asked to be handed over for official judgment; in the end his great age won him leniency. Early in Jiaqing, when pirates were rampant, Xin's son Benjun served in Beijing; Censor Song Shu charged that family letters from Xin about piracy had not been reported to the throne. The emperor questioned Benjun, who said Xin had already drafted a memorial for submission; the emperor did not blame him and told Xin not to be afraid. In retirement he was humble; he always treated local magistrates and constables with full courtesy. When asked why, he said: "I want my neighbors to see that even a chief minister must respect local officials, so they will think twice before breaking the law." He left the Jizhai collected poems and essays. Cheng Jingyi, styled Pingsan, came from Wujin in Jiangnan. He earned jinshi in Qianlong 4 (1739), entered the Hanlin Academy, and was appointed a compiler. He was promoted to Hanlin reader and assigned to the Upper Study. After three further promotions he became Vice Minister of War. Jingyi wrote to an acquaintance: "Holding a central post, I neglect my duties morning and evening in the inner court. This autumn I missed the Mulan hunt and can finally focus on my work." The emperor heard of it, rebuked him for idleness, and removed him from the Upper Study. He served in the Ministries of Rites and Works among others. In Qianlong 34 he was made Minister of Works and later served in the Ministries of Justice and Personnel. In Qianlong 38 he became associate Grand Secretary. In Qianlong 41, on the emperor's return from an eastern tour, the court halted at Huangxinzhuang. Jingyi joined the Beijing princes and ministers in welcoming the emperor but left before being received; he was stripped of rank but kept in office. In Qianlong 44 he was made Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretary. In Qianlong 45, during the southern tour, he was left in Beijing to manage affairs. When the emperor returned, Jingyi had an audience; finding him weak after illness, the emperor told him to rest and not force himself to walk. He died in the seventh month and was posthumously titled Wéngōng (Cultivated and Respectful). Liang Guozhi, styled Jieping, came from Kuaiji in Zhejiang. In Qianlong 13 (1748) he took first place in the jinshi examination and was appointed a reviser. He was made vice director of the Directorate of Education. He served as chief examiner of the Guangdong provincial examination. On reporting back, his audience pleased the emperor, who sent him to Guangdong as a circuit intendant awaiting appointment. He was soon appointed to the Huizhou-Chaozhou-Jieyang Circuit and then acted as grain and courier intendant. Cited for outstanding merit, he was promoted to acting Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. He was made Vice Minister of Personnel. Guangdong Governor-General Yang Tingzhang prosecuted him for failing to detect household fraud while acting as grain intendant; the charge was sustained and he was dismissed. He was reinstated as Shanxi Jining Circuit intendant. After three promotions he became governor of Hubei. In Qianlong 34 he was named acting Huguang governor-general and concurrent Jingzhou general. Hubei had suffered repeated floods and droughts; relief efforts left granaries short by over four hundred eighty thousand piculs. Guozhi proposed releasing two hundred thousand taels from the provincial treasury to buy grain after the autumn harvest and sell it the following spring and summer at one tael profit per picul. After several years the granaries were kept full. In Qianlong 36 he was moved to Hunan governor. During the Jinchuan campaign he supplied arms and ammunition, but funds ran short. Guozhi asked to lend over one hundred thousand taels from military reserves, advancing it against annual grain quotas to be repaid over three years. Guozhi also noted that officers on campaign were promoted in the field while home-camp vacancies were filled by routine seniority. Those who advanced by seniority could gain promotion without fighting; while men who charged the enemy had to wait for field vacancies—giving little incentive to valor. He asked that home-camp vacancies and campaign officers be considered together for promotion. All his proposals were approved. In Qianlong 38 he was recalled to Beijing, assigned to the Grand Council, and also to the Southern Study. In Qianlong 39 he was made Right Vice Minister of Revenue. In Qianlong 42 he was promoted to minister. In Qianlong 47 he was made Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent. In Qianlong 48 he was made associate Grand Secretary. In Qianlong 50 he was promoted to Eastern Pavilion Grand Secretary and concurrent Minister of Revenue. In Qianlong 51 he died and was posthumously made Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent with the title Wéndìng (Cultivated and Settled). Guozhi's father Wenbiao was a jailer in the Ministry of Justice known for humane treatment of prisoners. Guozhi was deeply filial; his twin brother died young, and he never celebrated his own birthday, treating his sister-in-law as his mother. In office he was reverent, cautious, and meticulous. He was never harsh or abrupt in manner, yet would not be moved by private appeals. When a follower sought a post on a surveillance commissioner's staff handling criminal law, he warned: "You must be scrupulous in your principles! The man asked to handle revenue and grain instead; he said: "Carelessness in criminal law kills at most one person—the toll is finite and public. Revenue and grain work harms people ten times more than criminal law, though the harm is not felt at once. Within decades, or centuries hence, the poison spreads without end and never stops! In the end he refused. He left the Jingsi Hall collected works. Ying Lian, styled Jiliu, of the Feng clan, was a Chinese Martial Force bannerman of the Bordered Yellow Banner in the Imperial Household Department. He passed the provincial examination in Yongzheng 10 (1732). He rose from a clerkship to a secretaryship in the Imperial Household Department. At the start of the Qianlong reign he was sent to Jiangnan to train in river engineering, then appointed sub-prefect for outer-river works in Huaian Prefecture. He rose through successive postings to commissioner of the Yongding River. When the river breached, Governor-General Fang Guancheng impeached Ying Lian for silt-choked ditches and inset revetments that had burst and collapsed an upstream dike above water level; Ying Lian had kept silent about it, delaying essential repairs. Stripped of office and taken into custody, Ying Lian contested the charges. After more than a year without a verdict, Guancheng asked that a senior minister be dispatched to try the case. The Emperor ordered Minister Shu Hede to sit jointly in judgment. The court found that Ying Lian had filed false reports and failed to guard against the silted ditches beforehand; he was to make restitution for blocking and construction costs from his own purse. The Emperor said: "Ying Lian had been in office less than two months; the breach at the silted ditch was really the fault of his predecessor. Still, as governor-general prosecuting a subordinate, Guancheng would not convict lightly; the case dragged on for over a year before he asked for a senior minister to take it over. That shows a salutary fear in his heart—and also the fruit of My own careful stewardship of public affairs. The request was granted." Shortly afterward he was ordered to perform menial duty at the Daotian Farm west of Gaoliang Bridge. He was soon restored from clerk to secretary in the Imperial Household Department. He rose to commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner guard corps in the Imperial Household Department. Posted outside the capital as Jiangning financial commissioner, he also supervised imperial textile production. Citing his father's age, Ying Lian asked to stay in Beijing; he was given second-rank honors and made Grand Minister of the Imperial Household Department and Vice Minister of Revenue. In Qianlong 34 (1769), when troops marched against Burma, he was ordered to manage logistics alongside Minister Tuoyong and others. He became Minister of Punishments while retaining his posts as Vice Minister of Revenue and Manchu commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner. In Qianlong 39 (1774), Vice Minister Gao Pu impeached Censor-in-Chief Guan Bao, charging that Vice Ministers Shen Bao, Ni Chengkuan, and Wu Tan had dealings with the eunuch Gao Yuncong and leaked provincial inspection records. When the Emperor questioned Ying Lian, he claimed not to know. An edict rebuked him and ordered his dismissal, but he was leniently permitted to keep serving. When a Beijing merchant petitioned the Sixth Imperial Son with a request, the case was sent down to the Imperial Household Department. The Emperor summoned the department's senior ministers and asked, "Who accepted the petition?" Both Ying Lian and Jin Jian claimed ignorance. Maila Sun then said, "The Sixth Prince took it in." The Emperor censured Ying Lian and Jin Jian for suppressing the truth; after ministry review they were treated leniently, but the offense was recorded. In Qianlong 42 (1777) he became Assistant Grand Secretary. In Qianlong 44 (1779) he acted temporarily as Governor-General of Zhili. In Qianlong 45 (1780), after Grand Secretary Yu Minzhong died, the Emperor— noting that Ying Lian was Chinese Martial Force and had long served as assistant grand secretary— made him a Han-rank Grand Secretary. Ying Lian was the first Chinese Martial Force bannerman raised to Han Grand Secretary. He was soon made Eastern Pavilion Grand Secretary while continuing to head the Ministry of Revenue. In Qianlong 46 (1781) he again acted as Governor-General of Zhili and petitioned to settle shortfalls in prefectural and county treasuries. In Qianlong 47 (1782) he received the title Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent. He again acted as Governor-General of Zhili. During a Zhili famine he directed relief efforts, petitioning to divert stored tribute rice to refill granaries and to waive more than thirty thousand taels in outstanding surplus fees—all approved. He soon asked to step down for illness and was ordered home to Beijing to recuperate in his capacity as Grand Secretary. At his death he received five thousand taels of silver for funeral expenses, entry into the Worthy Officials Shrine, and the posthumous name Wensu (Literary Solemn). Peng Yuanrui, styled Yunmei, was from Nanchang in Jiangxi. A jinshi of Qianlong 22 (1757), he entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor. After completing Hanlin service he was made Compiler and attached to the Maoqin Hall. Exempted from the triennial evaluation because he served on the inner staff. He was promoted to Lecturer. He rose to Junior Vice-Director of the Heir Apparent's Household. He was posted to the Southern Library. He became Vice Minister, serving in turn in Works, Revenue, War, and Personnel. For the Qianlong Emperor's sixtieth birthday he wrote a hymn modeled on the Sacred Edict preface and presented it to the throne; the Emperor was pleased. When the Emperor wrote a fully rhymed poem, Yuanrui reworked Zhou Xingsi's Thousand-Character Classic into a colophon. The Emperor wrote him a letter of praise in his own hand, dubbing him "a mind of rare invention," and sent a sable coat, inkstone, and ink. Ordered to write lantern-scroll couplets for Ningshou Palace and Huangji Hall, he pleased the court and received an imperial poem in return. After the Imperial Academy opened, he took part in the sacrifice and lecture rites and then the ceremonial plowing. He submitted three fu celebrating the great rites to the throne. He was promoted to minister and served in turn at Rites, War, and Personnel. In Qianlong 55 (1790), for the Emperor's eightieth birthday, he submitted an eight-geng complete-rhyme poem, the year's stem being geng. The Emperor found the geng-based character count awkward, revised the opening rhyme and cut a couplet so only the closing line met the meter, and settled the poem himself. He was soon made Junior Mentor to the Crown Prince and Associate Grand Secretary. In Qianlong 56 (1791), after a grand-nephew gained office by fraud drew a memorial from Censor Chu Pengling, he was demoted to Vice Minister of Rites but kept on duty in the Southern Imperial Library. He was soon restored as Minister of Works. In Jiaqing 4 (1799), when Gaozong's interment rites were complete, Yuanrui's prayer text pleased Renzong, who made him Senior Mentor to the Crown Prince. Yuanrui's son Yimeng, intendant of the Jiangnan Salt Circuit, was dismissed for misconduct; Yuanrui impeached himself and was also charged with wrongly recommending Compiler Miu Jin—both cases went to the judicial officials, and the Emperor showed lenience in each. He was appointed chief editor of the Veritable Record of Gaozong. In Jiaqing 8 (1803) he asked to retire on grounds of illness; the Emperor pressed him to remain, and only after long delay assented. He was still ordered to head the Veritable Record as chief editor. He died soon after, and was posthumously made Associate Grand Secretary with the posthumous name Wenqin. Yuanrui owed his rise to imperial favor won by his literary gifts. Whether the Inner Court was cataloguing books, paintings, or bronzes, or compiling works such as Secret Hall Pearl Forest, Stone Canal Treasure Collection, Western Purification Antique Mirror, Ningshou Antique Mirror, and Tianlu Linlang, Yuanrui had a hand in every project. His responsive verses to the Zhangxian eulogy won repeated praise and rewards. Among his writings are Court Memorials and Postscripts from the Studio of Knowing the Sage's Way. When Gaozong's Veritable Record was finished, imperial grace brought sacrificial honors and enshrinement in the Worthies' Shrine, and Yimeng was given the rank of secretary. Ji Yun, styled Xiaolan, was a native of Xian County in Zhili. He passed the metropolitan examination in Qianlong 19 (1754) and entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor. After completing Hanlin probation he was made a compiler. He was transferred again to Left Sub-Reader in the Left Spring Palace. At the capital inspection he was named prefect of Duyun in Guizhou. Gaozong judged Yun's learning outstanding, gave him fourth-rank insignia, and kept him as sub-reader. He was soon promoted to Hanlin Reader-in-Waiting. When the former Liangjiang salt transport commissioner Lu Jianceng fell from favor, Yun—his kinsman by marriage—was stripped of office for leaking word, exiled to Urumqi, and later released. When the Emperor went to Rehe, Yun met the procession at Miyun and was tested in verse on the Torghuts' complete submission; his poem pleased the throne, and he was restored as compiler. In Qianlong 38 (1773), when the Siku Quanshu project opened, Grand Secretary Liu Tongxun recommended Yun and Department Director Lu Xixiong as chief compilers. He recovered lost texts from the Yongle Encyclopaedia, read every book the provinces sent in, arranged synopses for submission, and was promoted to reader. The Emperor also ordered him to compile a concise catalogue. When his son Ruchuan was sued over accumulated tax arrears, the case went to the judicial officials, but the Emperor showed leniency. He was soon made Hanlin Reader-in-Waiting. When the Wenyuan Pavilion library was built, he was appointed a pavilion attendant. He rose by stages to Vice Minister of War. When the Siku Quanshu was finished, the completion memorial was submitted. The Emperor said: "This memorial must be Yun's work! He ordered additional rewards. He was made Left Censor-in-Chief. He was transferred again to Minister of Rites. He again became Left Censor-in-Chief. When disaster struck the capital region, hungry refugees flooded into Beijing. By longstanding practice, Beijing's Five Cities ran soup kitchens from the tenth month through the third month. Yun memorialized that the kitchens should open from mid-sixth month, cooking three piculs of rice daily and adding two more from the tenth month, with operations still ending in the third month; the court approved. He was again made Minister of Rites while continuing to serve as acting Left Censor-in-Chief. He memorialized that provincial and metropolitan candidates in the Spring and Autumn Annals should set aside Hu Anguo's commentary, write essays grounded in the Zuo Tradition's narrative, and may also draw on the Gongyang and Guliang commentaries; the court approved. In Jiaqing 1 (1796) he was transferred to Minister of War. He was again made Left Censor-in-Chief. In Jiaqing 2 (1797) he was again made Minister of Rites. He memorialized that women assaulted by force, though violated, should still be granted commemorative honors according to their merit. In Jiaqing 10 (1805) he was made Associate Grand Secretary and Junior Mentor to the Crown Prince. He died; the court granted five hundred taels of silver for his funeral and posthumously titled him Wenda (Literary Accomplishment). Yun's scholarship was deep and far-reaching. In writing the Siku Quanshu synopses he weighed the hundred schools with discriminating judgment, probing deep and drawing out what was hidden until each work yielded its essential point; the whole, ordered from start to finish, formed a monumental achievement. Wary of the late-Ming passion for public lecturing and of the examination system's esteem for the Five Song Masters, he dared not openly take sides; Yet in treating Southern Song and later scholars, he often wrote in harshly denunciatory tones—not without partisan favor in deciding who belonged and who did not. Lu Xixiong, styled Jiannan, came from Shanghai in Jiangsu. He earned jinshi in Qianlong 26 (1761). Summoned to an imperial examination, he was appointed a drafter in the Grand Secretariat. He rose by stages to department director in the Ministry of Punishments. He served with Yun as chief compiler, and both were soon appointed Hanlin readers. After five promotions he became Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. When errors were found in the books, he was ordered to recorrect them, and the copyists' costs were split between Xixiong and Yun. He was then sent to Mukden to collate the Wenshu Pavilion collection and died there. Lu Feichi, styled Danshu, came from Tongxiang in Zhejiang. Lu Fei is a compound surname. Feichi earned jinshi in Qianlong 31 (1766), entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed a compiler. As chief proofreader of the Siku Quanshu project, he was promoted to reader on the same terms as Yun and Xixiong. He rose by stages to Vice Minister of Rites. When errors were found in the books, the Emperor held that Yun, Xixiong, and Feichi were specially responsible, but Feichi bore the heaviest blame. Feichi was ordered to pay for the wooden cases and binding of the books at the Wenlan, Wenhui, and Wenzong pavilions. The case was still sent to the judicial officials for review, and he was dismissed from office. He soon died. The Emperor ordered Feichi's estate confiscated, kept one thousand taels to support his wife and children, and applied the rest to binding the books at the three pavilions. The commentators observe: After mid-Qianlong, many men reached the highest offices through military achievement. Men such as San Bao, Yong Gui, Guozhi, and Ying Lian all first rose through provincial service, repeatedly passing through posts and achieving renown. Guozhi served at the inner court for more than ten years; whether alongside Yu Minzhong or Heshen, he never showed favoritism. Xin, Yuanrui, and Yun rose from service at court; their literary gifts commanded the age's respect. Xin was careful and steadfast, carrying on the teachings of Shi Yuan. Yun collated the Siku collection and brought about an age of literary governance—truly, he was worthy of his place!
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