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列傳一百四十
Biographies 140
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達椿子薩彬圖鐵保弟玉保和瑛覺羅桂芳
Da Chun; his son Sa Bintu; Tie Bao; Tie Bao's younger brother Yu Bao; He Ying; and Jueluo Guifang
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達椿，字香圃，烏蘇氏，滿洲鑲白旗人。 乾隆二十五年進士，選庶吉士，散館授戶部主事，遷員外郎。 歷翰林院侍講、侍讀、國子監祭酒、詹事府詹事、大理寺卿。 二十九年，入直上書房，充四庫全書總閱，累擢禮部侍郎，兼副都統。 四十五年，坐會同四譯館屋壞，斃朝鮮使臣，革職留任。 五十四年，左遷內閣學士。 達椿直內廷，不附和珅，數媒孽其短，以曠直褫職，仍留上書房效力行走。 尋授翰林院侍講學士，复迭以大考降黜授檢討。 仁宗知其屈抑，至嘉慶四年，詔：「達椿因曠班被譴，其過輕，當時劉墉亦緣此降官； 今劉墉已為大學士，達椿尚未遷擢，加恩補授內閣學士兼副都統。」 子薩彬圖，時亦同官，命達椿班次列薩彬圖之前。 歷禮部、吏部侍郎，兼翰林院掌院學士，擢左都御史兼都統，遷禮部尚書。 六年，典會試。 七年，卒。
Da Chun, whose courtesy name was Xiangpu, came from the Wusu clan and was a Manchu of the Bordered White Banner. He took his jinshi degree in 1760, entered the Hanlin as a probationer academician, and on leaving the academy was posted to the Ministry of Revenue as a principal secretary before rising to vice director. He rose through the Hanlin as reader- and tutor-in-waiting, then became chancellor of the Imperial Academy, grand tutor in the Heir Apparent's household, and president of the Court of Judicial Review. In 1764 he joined the Southern Study, served as chief reviewer for the Siku Quanshu project, and was promoted step by step to vice minister of rites with a concurrent post as deputy lieutenant-general. In 1780 the Joint Four Translation Offices building collapsed and killed a Korean envoy; he was demoted but allowed to remain at his post. In 1789 he was demoted to grand secretary of the Grand Secretariat. Da Chun served in the inner court with integrity and refused to align with Heshen, who repeatedly spread slander against him. Cited for absenteeism, he was stripped of rank but kept on in the Southern Study to perform duties. He was soon made Hanlin reader-in-waiting, but repeated poor showings in the triennial examination reduced him again and again, until he held only the rank of reviser. Emperor Renzong knew he had been treated unfairly. In 1799 an edict declared: 'Da Chun was censured for absenteeism, yet the fault was slight; Liu Yong was demoted for the same reason at the time; Liu Yong is already a grand secretary, while Da Chun has still not been advanced. Let favor be shown by restoring him as grand secretary with concurrent duty as deputy lieutenant-general.' His son Sa Bintu then held the same rank; the court ordered Da Chun to take precedence over his son in seniority.' He served as vice minister of rites and of personnel, concurrently as chancellor of the Hanlin, then rose to censor-in-chief with a concurrent lieutenant-general's commission, and finally became minister of rites. In 1801 he presided over the metropolitan civil service examination. He died in 1802.
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薩彬圖，乾隆四十五年進士，授戶部主事，遷員外郎。 典貴州鄉試，改歷翰詹，累遷內閣學士兼副都統。 和珅既伏法，仁宗不欲株連興獄，而薩彬圖屢疏言和珅財產多寄頓隱匿，有嘗管金銀使女四名，請獨至慎刑司訊鞫。 詔嚴斥之，命從王大臣訊，不得實，議革職，予七品筆帖式，效力萬年吉地。 尋以其父年老，召還京，授戶部主事，累擢倉場侍郎。 十二年，出為漕運總督。 逾三歲，京倉虧缺事覺，降光祿寺卿。 遷盛京戶部侍郎，十六年，坐奉天災民流徙出邊，褫職。 尋卒。
Sa Bintu took his jinshi degree in 1780, entered the Ministry of Revenue as a principal secretary, and rose to vice director. After supervising the Guizhou provincial examination he moved through the Hanlin and Heir Apparent's household and was promoted step by step to grand secretary with a concurrent post as deputy lieutenant-general. After Heshen's execution the emperor did not want a widening purge, but Sa Bintu repeatedly memorialized that much of Heshen's wealth had been hidden away and that four maidservants who had managed his bullion should be interrogated separately in the Imperial Prison. The throne sharply rebuked him and had princes and grand ministers conduct the inquiry. When nothing was substantiated, he was stripped of office, given a seventh-rank clerkship, and sent to serve at the imperial mausoleum works. Soon afterward, on account of his father's age, he was recalled to Beijing, reappointed a principal secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, and rose step by step to vice minister in charge of the capital granaries. In 1807 he was posted as director-general of grain transport. More than three years later shortages in the capital granaries were exposed, and he was demoted to president of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. He was transferred to vice minister of revenue for Mukden. In 1811, blamed for famine in Fengtian and refugees crossing the frontier, he was stripped of office. He died soon afterward.
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鐵保，字冶亭，棟鄂氏，滿洲正黃旗人。 先世姓覺羅，稱為趙宋之裔，後改今氏。 父誠泰，泰宁鎮總兵，世為將家。 鐵保折節讀書，年二十一，成乾隆三十七年進士，授吏部主事，襲恩騎尉世職。 於曹司中介然孤立，意有不可，爭辯勿撓。 大學士阿桂屢薦之，遷郎中，擢少詹事，因事罷。 尋補戶部員外郎，調吏部。 擢翰林院侍講學士，仍兼吏部行走，歷侍讀學士、內閣學士。 五十四年，遷禮部侍郎，兼副都統。 校射中的，賜花翎。 調吏部。
Tie Bao, whose courtesy name was Yeting, came from the Donggo clan and was a Manchu of the Plain Yellow Banner. His forebears had borne the surname Jueluo and were claimed as descendants of the Song house; the family later adopted its present clan name. His father Cheng Tai was regional commander at Taining, and for generations the family had produced soldiers. Tie Bao applied himself to learning and, at twenty-one, passed the jinshi examination in 1772. He entered the Ministry of Personnel as a principal secretary and inherited a hereditary enjiwei rank. In the ministry he held himself apart with integrity: whenever he thought a matter unjust, he argued his case without yielding. Grand Secretary Agui recommended him repeatedly. He rose to director and then junior grand tutor before being dismissed over a dispute. He was soon reappointed vice director in the Ministry of Revenue and transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. He was promoted to Hanlin reader-in-waiting while still serving in the Ministry of Personnel, then rose through reader and grand secretary of the Grand Secretariat. In 1789 he became vice minister of rites with a concurrent post as deputy lieutenant-general. He scored a hit in the archery review and was awarded the peacock feather. He was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel.
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嘉慶四年，奏劾司員，帝責其過當，左遷內閣學士，轉盛京兵部、刑部侍郎，兼奉天府尹。 尋復召為吏部侍郎，出為漕運總督。 五年，值車駕將幸盛京，疏請御道因舊址，勿闢新道； 裁革餽送扈從官員土儀； 禁從官妄拿車馬：上嘉納之。 七年，遷廣東巡撫，調山東。 河決衡家樓，詔預籌運道。 九年三月，漕運迅速，加太子少保。 尋以水淺船遲，革職留任。 十年，擢兩江總督，命覆鞫安徽壽州武舉張大有妒姦毒斃族侄獄，蘇州知府週鍔受賄輕縱，及初彭齡為安徽巡撫，勘實置法。 鐵保坐失察，褫宮銜，降二品頂戴，尋復之。
In 1799 he memorialized to impeach a clerk in his department; the emperor called his action excessive and demoted him to grand secretary, then posted him to Mukden as vice minister of war and of punishments with concurrent duty as metropolitan magistrate of Fengtian. He was soon recalled as vice minister of personnel and then appointed director-general of grain transport. In 1800, as the emperor was about to travel to Mukden, he memorialized that the imperial route should follow the old road rather than cut a new one; that local gifts to officials in the entourage be abolished; and that attendants be forbidden to requisition carts and horses at will. The emperor commended and adopted his proposals. In 1802 he was made governor of Guangdong and then transferred to Shandong. When the Yellow River burst at Hengjialou, the court ordered plans for an alternate transport route. In March 1804 grain transport moved swiftly, and he was made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Soon afterward shallow water slowed the fleet; he was demoted but kept at his post. In 1805 he was made governor-general of the Two Jiangs and ordered to reopen the case of Zhang Dayou, a military licentiate of Shouzhou in Anhui who had poisoned his clansman's son in a jealous adultery affair. The prefect of Suzhou, Zhou E, had taken bribes and let the matter go lightly until Governor Chu Pengling of Anhui verified the facts and punished those responsible. Tie Bao was blamed for inadequate oversight, stripped of his palace title, and reduced to second-rank insignia, which was soon restored.
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十二年，疏請八旗兵米酌給二成折色，詔斥妄改舊章，革職留任。 先後疏論治河，請改建王營減壩，培築高堰、山盱堤后土坡及河岸大堤，修復雲梯關外海口，遣大臣勘議，並採其說施行。 十四年，運河屢壞堤，荷花塘決口合而復潰，鐫級留任。 山陽知縣王伸漢冒賑，酖殺委員李毓昌，至是事覺，詔斥鐵保偏聽固執，河工日壞，吏治日弛，釀成重獄，褫職，遣戍烏魯木齊。 逾年，給三等侍衛，充葉爾羌辦事大臣。 尋授翰林院侍講學士，調喀什噶爾參贊大臣。 授浙江巡撫，未之任，改吏部侍郎。 擢禮部尚書，調吏部。 請芟吏、兵兩部苛例，條陳時政，多見施行。 林清之變，召對，極言內監通賊有據，因窮治逆黨，內監多銜恨，遍騰謗言。 會伊犁將軍松筠劾鐵保前在喀什噶爾治叛裔玉素普之獄，誤聽人言，枉殺回民毛拉素皮等四人，上怒，追念江南李毓昌之獄，斥其屢蹈重咎，褫職，發往吉林效力。 二十三年，召為司經局洗馬。 道光初，以疾乞休，賜三品卿銜。 四年，卒。
In 1807 he proposed that twenty percent of Banner grain rations be paid in commuted cash. The throne rebuked him for rashly altering established rules and demoted him while keeping him in office. He submitted a series of memorials on river works, urging reconstruction of the Wangying spillway, reinforcement of the Gaoyan and Shanxu rear slopes and the main river dikes, and repair of the seagate beyond Yuntiguan. The court sent grand ministers to inspect his plans and put many of them into effect. In 1809 canal dikes failed repeatedly; the Hehuatang breach was sealed and then broke open again, and he was reduced in rank but kept in office. Wang Shenhan, magistrate of Shanyang, had embezzled relief funds and poisoned Commissioner Li Yuchang; the crime now came to light. The throne rebuked Tie Bao for partiality and stubbornness, blamed him for worsening river works and slackening administration, stripped him of office, and sent him into exile at Urumqi. A year later he was made a third-class bodyguard and appointed commissioner at Yarkand. He was soon made Hanlin reader-in-waiting and transferred to assistant commissioner at Kashgar. He was named governor of Zhejiang but never took up the post and was instead made vice minister of personnel. He rose to minister of rites and was transferred to head the Ministry of Personnel. He asked that harsh precedents in the ministries of personnel and war be cut back, memorialized on current affairs, and saw many of his proposals adopted. During the Lin Qing uprising he was summoned to audience and argued forcefully that eunuchs had aided the rebels. His thorough pursuit of the conspiracy earned the hatred of many eunuchs, who spread slander against him far and wide. When Ili General Songyun impeached Tie Bao for wrongly executing four Muslims, including Mullah Supi, in the case of the rebel Yusupu at Kashgar after heeding false reports, the emperor's anger revived memories of the Li Yuchang affair in the south. Rebuking him for repeated grave failures, the court stripped him of office and sent him to serve in Jilin. In 1818 he was recalled as groom of the Directorate of Education. Early in the Daoguang reign he retired on grounds of illness and was granted third-rank chamberlain rank. He died in 1824.
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鐵保慷慨論事，高宗謂其有大臣風。 及居外任，自欲有所表見，倨傲，意為愛憎，屢以措施失當被黜。 然優於文學，詞翰並美。 兩典禮闈及山東、順天鄉試，皆得人。 留心文獻，為八旗通志總裁。 多得開國以來滿洲、蒙古、漢軍遺集，先成白山詩介五十卷，復增輯改編，得一百三十四卷，進禦，仁宗制序，賜名熙朝雅頌集。 自著曰懷清齋集。
Tie Bao debated state affairs with bold candor, and Emperor Qianlong said he had the bearing of a great minister. In provincial office he was eager to make his mark, grew arrogant, let personal likes and dislikes guide him, and was repeatedly dismissed for misjudged policies. Yet he excelled in letters, and both his prose and poetry were admired. He twice presided over the metropolitan examination and over the Shandong and Shuntian provincial examinations, each time choosing able candidates. He devoted himself to historical sources and served as chief compiler of the Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Eight Banners. He gathered many surviving works by Manchu, Mongol, and Han Banner writers since the founding of the dynasty, first compiled the Baishan Shijie in fifty juan, then expanded and revised it to one hundred thirty-four juan. He presented it to the throne; Emperor Renzong wrote a preface and bestowed the title Elegant Odes of a Flourishing Age. His own collected writings were entitled the Huaiqing Studio Collection.
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弟玉保，字閬峰。 乾隆四十六年進士，入翰林，有才名。 高宗親試八旗翰詹，與兄鐵保並被擢，時比以郊、祁，軾、轍。 官至兵部侍郎，究心兵家言。 川、楚教匪起，嘗原自效行間。 會上欲用為巡撫，為和珅所阻，鬱鬱卒，年甫四十。
His younger brother Yu Bao, whose courtesy name was Langfeng. He took his jinshi degree in 1781, entered the Hanlin, and won a reputation for literary talent. Emperor Qianlong personally examined the Banner Hanlin and Heir Apparent's household; he and his elder brother Tie Bao were both advanced, and contemporaries compared them to the Jiao brothers and to Su Shi and Su Zhe. He rose to vice minister of war and devoted himself to the art of war. When sectarian rebels broke out in Sichuan and Hubei, he once volunteered for active service. The emperor was about to appoint him governor when Heshen blocked the move. He died in low spirits at barely forty.
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和瑛，原名和寧，避宣宗諱改，字太葊，額勒德特氏，蒙古鑲黃旗人。 乾隆三十六年進士，授戶部主事，歷員外郎。 出為安徽太平知府，調潁州。 五十二年，擢廬鳳道，歷四川按察使，安徽、四川、陝西布政使。 五十八年，予副都統銜，充西藏辦事大臣。 尋授內閣學士，仍留藏辦事。 和瑛在藏八年，著西藏賦，博採地形、民俗、物產，自為之注。
He Ying, originally He Ning, changed his name to avoid the taboo of Emperor Xuanzong. His courtesy name was Taian; he came from the Erlet clan and was a Mongol of the Bordered Yellow Banner. He took his jinshi degree in 1771, entered the Ministry of Revenue as a principal secretary, and rose to vice director. He was posted prefect of Taiping in Anhui and then transferred to Yingzhou. In 1787 he became intendant of Luzhou and Fengyang, then served as provincial judicial commissioner of Sichuan and as provincial treasurer of Anhui, Sichuan, and Shaanxi in turn. In 1793 he was granted deputy lieutenant-general rank and appointed commissioner in Tibet. He was soon made grand secretary but continued to serve in Tibet. He Ying spent eight years in Tibet and wrote the Rhapsody on Tibet, drawing widely on topography, customs, and local products, which he annotated himself.
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嘉慶五年，召為理籓院侍郎，歷工部、戶部，出為山東巡撫。 七年，金鄉皁役之孫張敬禮冒考被控，知縣汪廷楷置不問，學政劉鳳誥以聞，下和瑛提鞫，誤聽濟南知府德生言誣斷，為給事中汪鏞所糾。 上以和瑛日事文墨，廢弛政務，即解職，命鏞從侍郎祖之望往按，得實，褫和瑛職，又以匿蝗災事覺，譴戍烏魯木齊。 尋予藍翎侍衛，充葉爾羌幫辦大臣，調喀什噶爾參贊大臣。
In 1800 he was recalled as vice minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs, served in the ministries of works and revenue, and was posted governor of Shandong. In 1802 Zhang Jingli, grandson of a district runner at Jinxian, was accused of impersonating a candidate in the examinations. Magistrate Wang Tingkai ignored the charge until Education Commissioner Liu Fenggao reported it. The case was referred to He Ying, who wrongly credited Jinan Prefect Desheng and rendered a false judgment, and Censor Wang Yong impeached him. The emperor judged that He Ying spent his days on literary pursuits and neglected government, removed him at once, and sent Wang Yong with Vice Minister Zu Zhiwang to investigate. The facts were proved, He Ying was stripped of office, and when a concealed locust disaster also came to light he was sent into exile at Urumqi. He was soon made a blue-lance bodyguard, served as assistant commissioner at Yarkand, and was transferred to assistant commissioner at Kashgar.
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九年，授理籓院侍郎，仍留邊任。 疏言：「喀什噶爾、英吉沙爾倉儲足供軍食，請減運伊犁布疋，改徵雜糧四千石，減價出糶，且請嗣後折收制錢，以免運費。」 允之。 劾喀喇沙爾歷任辦事大臣私以庫款貸與軍民，及土爾扈特、回子取息錢入己，降革治罪有差。 十一年，召還京為吏部侍郎，調倉場。 未幾，復出為烏魯木齊都統。 十三年，塔爾巴哈台參贊大臣愛星阿欲調瑪納斯戍兵四百人番上屯田，和瑛謂瑪納斯處極邊，戍兵專事操防，不諳耕作，諮駁以聞，上韙之。
In 1804 he was made vice minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs while remaining on frontier duty. He memorialized: 'Granaries at Kashgar and Yengisar hold enough for army rations. I ask that cloth shipments to Ili be reduced, that four thousand shi of miscellaneous grain be levied instead, that grain be sold at reduced prices, and that payments hereafter be taken in standard cash to save transport costs.' The request was approved. He impeached successive commissioners at Karashahr for lending treasury funds privately to soldiers and civilians and for Torghuts and Muslims who pocketed interest; offenders were demoted, dismissed, or punished according to their guilt. In 1806 he was recalled to Beijing as vice minister of personnel and transferred to the capital granaries. Before long he was again posted lieutenant-general of Urumqi. In 1808 Assistant Commissioner Aisingga of Tarbagatai proposed rotating four hundred Manas garrison troops into field labor. He Ying argued that Manas lay on the outermost frontier, that garrison troops were trained for defense rather than farming, and memorialized a rebuttal, which the emperor upheld.
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十四年，授陝甘總督。 坐前在倉場失察盜米，降大理寺少卿。 十六年，遷盛京刑部侍郎。 復州、寧海、岫岩飢，將軍觀明以匿災罷免，授和瑛為將軍，廉得邊門章京塔清阿等承觀明意，諱災不報，降革有差。 尋以誤捕屯民張建謨為盜，鍛鍊成獄，刑部覆訊雪其冤，議革和瑛職，詔寬之，留任。 調熱河都統，未上，召為禮部尚書，調兵部。 坐失察盛京宗室裕瑞強娶有夫民婦為妾，降盛京副都統，遷熱河都統。 二十一年，授工部尚書。 命赴甘肅按倉庫虧缺，得總督先福徇庇及貪縱狀，治如律。 二十二年，調兵部，加太子少保，歷禮部、兵部。 二十三年，授軍機大臣、領侍衛內大臣，充上書房總諳達、文穎館總裁。 逾一歲，調刑部，罷內直。 道光元年，卒，贈太子太保，諡簡勤。
In 1809 he was appointed governor-general of Shaanxi and Gansu. Blamed for failing to detect grain theft while in charge of the granaries, he was demoted to vice president of the Court of Judicial Review. In 1811 he was transferred to vice minister of punishments for Mukden. Famine struck Fuzhou, Ninghai, and Xiuyan. General Guan Ming was dismissed for concealing the disaster, and He Ying was appointed in his place. He found that frontier secretary Ta Qing'a and others, following Guan Ming's lead, had hidden the famine from report; they were demoted or dismissed according to their guilt. Soon afterward he wrongly arrested colonist Zhang Jianmo as a bandit and fabricated a case against him. The Ministry of Punishments on review cleared Zhang's name. Although dismissal was proposed, the emperor showed leniency and kept He Ying in office. He was transferred to lieutenant-general of Rehe but had not taken up the post when he was recalled as minister of rites and moved to head the Ministry of War. Blamed for failing to prevent Bannerman Yurui of Mukden from forcibly taking a married commoner woman as concubine, he was demoted to deputy lieutenant-general of Mukden and transferred to lieutenant-general of Rehe. In 1816 he was appointed minister of works. He was sent to Gansu to investigate granary shortfalls, exposed Governor Xian Fu's shielding of offenders and indulgence of corruption, and punished the guilty according to law. In 1817 he was transferred to the Ministry of War, made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and served in turn as minister of rites and of war. In 1818 he joined the Grand Council and became chief commandant of the Imperial Bodyguard, while serving as chief instructor of the Southern Study and chief compiler of the Wenyin Hall. A little over a year later he was moved to the Ministry of Punishments and relieved of inner-court service. He died in 1821 and was posthumously made Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous name Jianqin.
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和瑛嫺習掌故，優於文學，著書多不傳。 久任邊職，有惠政。 後其子璧昌治回疆，回部猶歸心焉。 璧昌自有傳。
He Ying was steeped in institutional precedent and excelled in letters, though many of his books have not survived. His long service on the frontier won him a reputation for benevolent rule. Later his son Bichang governed the Muslim borderlands, and the frontier peoples still looked to the family with loyalty. Bichang has a separate biography.
15
覺羅桂芳，字香東，隸鑲藍旗，總督圖思德孫。 嘉慶四年進士，選庶吉士，授檢討。 嘗召對，仁宗曰：「奇才也！」 不數年，累擢內閣學士。 十一年，入直上書房，遷禮部侍郎，歷吏部、戶部侍郎，兼副都統、總管內務府大臣、翰林院掌院學士。 迭典順天、江南鄉試，兼直南書房。 桂芳家素貧，有門生餽納，曰：「執贄禮甚古。 某忝佐司農，俸入粗給，無藉乎此。」 封還之。 大學士祿康輿夫聚博，命偕侍郎英和按治，無所徇。 上嘉其不避嫌怨。
Jueluo Guifang, whose courtesy name was Xiangdong, belonged to the Bordered Blue Banner and was a grandson of Governor Tusi De. He took his jinshi degree in 1799, entered the Hanlin as a probationer academician, and was appointed reviser. On one audience with the emperor, Emperor Renzong declared: 'A rare talent!' Within a few years he rose step by step to grand secretary of the Grand Secretariat. In 1806 he joined the Southern Study, became vice minister of rites, then served as vice minister of personnel and of revenue while concurrently holding posts as deputy lieutenant-general, superintendent of the Imperial Household, and chancellor of the Hanlin. He presided in turn over the Shuntian and Jiangnan provincial examinations and also served in the Southern Study. Guifang's family had long been poor. When a student offered him a gift, he said: 'The ritual of presenting tribute is indeed ancient. I am unworthy to serve in the Ministry of Revenue; my salary is enough, and I have no need of this.' He sealed the gift and returned it. When Grand Secretary Lu Kang's servants were found gambling, Guifang was ordered to investigate with Vice Minister Ying He and showed no partiality. The emperor commended him for not shirking ill will or resentment.
16
十八年，教匪林清逆黨闌入禁城，桂芳方直內廷，偕諸王大臣率兵殲捕，敘勞，加二級。 上遇變修省，訓誡臣工，頒御製文七篇，示內廷諸臣，命各抒所見，書以進禦。 桂芳書罪己詔后曰：「皇上臨御以來，承列聖深仁厚澤，日以愛民為政，四海之內，莫不聞睹。 今茲事變，豈不怪異？ 而臣竊以為此未足為聖德之累。 昔孔子論仁至於濟眾，論敬至於安百姓，皆曰：'堯、舜其猶病諸。 '豈真以堯、舜之聖為未至哉？ 夫天下之大，萬民之眾，而決其無一夫之梗者，蓋自古其難之。 然而揆之人事，則實有未盡者。 夫林清先以習教被系，既釋歸，轉益煽亂。 數年之間，往來糾結於曹、衛、齊、魯之間，其黨至數千人。 閹寺職官，竟有與其謀者，而未事之先，曾無一人抉發，是吏無政也。 藏利刃，懷白幟，度越門關，飲於都市，無诇而知者，是邏者、門者無禁也。 禁兵千計，賊不及百，闔門而擊之，俄頃可盡，乃兩日一夜始悉擒戮，是軍無律也。 夫吏惰卒驕，文武並弛，而法制禁令為虛器，則事之可憂，豈獨在賊？ 我皇上觀微知著，洞悉天下之故，詔曰'方今大弊在因循怠玩'，至哉言乎！ 臣敬繹之，蓋因循怠玩，亦有所由。 無才與識，則有因循而已； 無志與氣，則有怠玩而已。 是故得人而任之，則因循怠玩之習不患不除。 儻非其人，微獨不能除其習而已； 就令除之，不因循而且為煩苛，不怠玩而且為躁競，其無裨於治則均耳。 是在皇上詢事考言，循名責實，器使之以奏其能，專任之以收其效，因小失而崇丕業，在陛下一旋轉間耳。」
In 1813 Lin Qing's rebel sect broke into the Forbidden City while Guifang was on duty in the inner court. He joined princes and grand ministers in leading troops to crush the intruders and was rewarded with two steps of promotion. After the crisis the emperor turned to self-examination, admonished the bureaucracy, issued seven imperial essays, showed them to inner-court officials, and ordered each to submit written views to the throne. Guifang wrote after the emperor's self-reproach edict: 'Since Your Majesty came to the throne, inheriting the deep benevolence of successive sage rulers, you have governed daily with love for the people, and all within the four seas have witnessed it. That such an incident should occur—is it not strange? Yet I venture to think this is not enough to diminish Your Majesty's sagely virtue. Confucius, in speaking of benevolence as far as benefiting the multitude and of reverence as far as securing the people, said of each: 'Even Yao and Shun would still have found it difficult.' Did he truly mean that Yao and Shun had not yet attained sagehood? In a realm so vast and a populace so numerous, to ensure that not a single man is recalcitrant has been difficult since antiquity. Yet measured by human affairs, there were indeed things left undone. Lin Qing was first arrested for sect activity, and after his release he only fomented rebellion the more. Within a few years he traveled through Cao, Wei, Qi, and Lu organizing his following, which grew to several thousand. Eunuchs and officials even joined his plot, yet before the attack not one person exposed it—this shows that official administration had failed. They hid blades, carried white banners, passed gate after gate, and drank in the markets without anyone detecting them—this shows that patrolmen and gatekeepers enforced no ban. Palace guards numbered in the thousands while the rebels were fewer than a hundred; with the gates closed they could have been destroyed in moments, yet it took two days and a night to capture and kill them all—this shows that the army had no discipline. When officials grow slack, soldiers arrogant, civil and military discipline alike relax, and laws become empty forms, the danger lies not only in the rebels themselves? Your Majesty observes the subtle and knows the manifest and has thoroughly grasped the state of the realm. The edict declaring that 'the great evil of the age lies in routine and slack indulgence' is words of the highest wisdom! I respectfully interpret this: routine and slack indulgence also have their causes. Without talent and judgment, there is only routine; without will and resolve, there is only slack indulgence. Therefore, if the right men are found and entrusted with office, the habits of routine and slack indulgence can surely be uprooted. If the wrong men are chosen, not only will those habits remain; even if one tries to remove them, the result will be not routine but vexatious harshness, not slackness but rash contention—equally useless for good government. The remedy lies in Your Majesty inquiring into affairs and testing words, matching names to realities, employing each man according to his capacity, entrusting him fully to secure results, and turning a small setback into a great achievement—all within a single turn of Your Majesty's will.'
17
書行實政論后曰：「實心者何？ 忠是也。 忠者一於為國，而不亟亟於求上之知。 其所以急於公者如急於己，一政而便於民，其行之而恐不及也； 一政而不便於民，其去之恐不速也。 不以避疑謗而易其是非之公，不以處疏逖而違其夙夜之志。 故其於政也，籌之至審，而不為旦夕之謀； 行之務當，而不揣詔旨之合； 惟力是視，不必其事之諒於人； 惟善之從，不必其謀之出於己。 若是者謂之實政。 夫為臣之道，疇不當忠，然而忠之實蓋如此。 非然者，初無寸勞，而已為見功之地； 未必加譴，而已存巧避之心。 取容於唯諾，而不以國事為憂； 快意於愛憎，而不以人才為惜。 如斯人者，雖我皇上日討而訓之，尚望其能行實政乎？ 夫政者，上所以治天下之具。 然而行之以實，乃能有功，不則文具而已。 官無實政，民乃不治，非細故也。 皇上震動恪恭，求賢納諫，敕中外諸臣，改慮易志。 稍有人心者，疇敢不勉； 而臣所欲言者，則又在陛下之心矣。 臣昨歲恭錄乾隆朝臣孫嘉淦三習一弊疏於御製養心殿記冊末，伏原萬幾之暇，時賜觀覽。 用其說以考諸臣之政，因以識諸臣之心，則賢才不患其不思奮，庶績不患其不咸熙。 較臣管蠡之見，似更有助於高深焉。」
He wrote after the essay on practicing real government: 'What is a sincere heart? Loyalty. Loyalty means single-minded service to the state, not urgent pursuit of the ruler's notice. He is as urgent for the public good as for himself; when a policy benefits the people, he implements it fearing he may be too late; when a policy harms the people, he removes it fearing he may not act swiftly enough. He does not alter right and wrong to avoid suspicion and slander, nor abandon his tireless resolve because he stands far from power. In government he plans with utmost care and does not scheme for short-term gain; he carries out policy as it ought to be done and does not guess whether it matches the imperial edict; he exerts all his strength and does not require that others understand his actions; he follows only what is good and does not require that the plan be his own. Such conduct is called real government. Who among ministers ought not to be loyal? Yet the reality of loyalty is truly thus. Otherwise, without the slightest labor he already prepares a place to display achievement; before any punishment is even threatened he already harbors a crafty heart of evasion. He wins favor through compliant assent and does not worry over state affairs; he indulges personal likes and dislikes and does not cherish talent. Men such as these—even if Your Majesty reproved and instructed them daily—could one still hope they would practice real government? Government is the instrument by which the ruler governs the realm. Only if carried out in earnest can it achieve results; otherwise it is mere paperwork. When officials practice no real government, the people cannot be well governed—this is no small matter. The emperor was shaken into reverent self-examination, sought the worthy and accepted remonstrance, and charged officials throughout the empire to change their minds and renew their resolve. Those who retain the slightest conscience—who would dare not exert themselves? Yet what I wish to say lies above all in Your Majesty's own heart. Last year I respectfully copied at the end of the imperial Yangxin Hall notebook the memorial of Qianlong minister Sun Jiagan on the Three Habits and One Evil, and humbly pray that in leisure from the myriad affairs of state Your Majesty may read it from time to time. Using his doctrine to test ministers' conduct and thereby discern their hearts, worthy talent will not fail to strive, and the myriad tasks of state will flourish. Compared with my narrow view, this would seem more helpful to Your Majesty's lofty wisdom.'
18
又論致變之源，由於民窮，民窮由於幣輕，幣輕則國與民交病。 論刑用重典而不得其平，則不能格姦定亂。 論民惑邪教，由士大夫好言因果利益有以導之。 因事納規，所言多切中時弊。 於是復條陳時事，或見之，謂其未必盡合上意。 桂芳慨然曰：「此何時，尚以迎合為言耶？」 及上，嘉納之，命暫在軍機處學習行走。 未幾，授軍機大臣。
He also argued that the upheaval sprang from popular poverty, that poverty sprang from debased currency, and that debased currency afflicted both state and people alike. He argued that when severe punishments are applied without fairness, crime cannot be checked nor disorder settled. He argued that popular delusion by heterodox sects was led on by scholar-officials who delighted in preaching karma and profit. Seizing occasions to remonstrate, his words mostly struck at the evils of the age. He then memorialized again on current affairs, and some who saw the drafts said they might not fully accord with the emperor's intent. Guifang said with feeling: 'What time is this, and still you speak of currying favor?' When the memorial was submitted, the emperor praised and accepted it and ordered him to study and serve temporarily in the Grand Council. Before long he was made a Grand Councilor.
19
十九年，軍事竣，以贊畫功賜桂芳子炳奎七品小京官。 尋命往廣西按事，授漕運總督。 未至廣西，於武昌途次病疫，卒。 上以桂芳明慎直爽，方鄉用，至是優詔褒卹，嘆為「良才難得」，贈太子少保，加尚書銜； 復以曾授三阿哥讀書，喪至京師，命三阿哥往奠，御製詩悼之，諡文敏。 著有經進、敬儀堂詩存，才華豐贍，為時所稱。
In 1814, when the military campaign ended, his son Bingkui was granted a seventh-rank junior Beijing secretary for Guifang's planning merit. He was soon ordered to Guangxi to investigate affairs and was appointed director-general of grain transport. Before he reached Guangxi he fell ill with epidemic disease on the road at Wuchang and died. The emperor, who had valued Guifang's clarity, caution, and forthright candor and had been about to employ him in the provinces, now issued a gracious edict of praise and condolence, sighed that "good talent is hard to find," and posthumously made him Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with ministerial rank; because he had once taught the Third Prince, when the funeral reached Beijing the emperor ordered the prince to offer condolences, composed an imperial mourning poem, and gave him the posthumous name Wenmin. His works include presentations to the throne and the Jingyi Studio poetry collection; his rich talent was widely praised in his day.
20
論曰：承平既久，八旗人士起甲科、列侍從者，亦多以文字被恩眷。 達椿忤權相，晚乃見用，其守正有足稱。 鐵保、和瑛並器識淵雅，述作斐然。 桂芳通達政體，建言諤諤，最為一時俊才，年命不永，未竟其用，惜哉！
The historians say: After long peace, many Banner men who rose through the civil examinations and entered court service also won imperial favor through literary accomplishment. Da Chun offended the powerful minister and was employed only late in life; his integrity is worthy of praise. Tie Bao and He Ying alike possessed deep and elegant judgment, and their writings were splendid. Guifang thoroughly understood government, remonstrated with blunt honesty, and stood foremost among the outstanding talents of his age; his life was short and he did not fulfill his promise—alas!