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列傳一百四十六
Biography 146
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岳起荊道乾謝啟昆李殿圖張師誠王紹蘭
Yue Qi, Jing Daoqian, Xie Qikun, Li Diantu, Zhang Shicheng, and Wang Shaolan
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李奕疇錢楷和舜武
Li Yichou, Qian Kai, and He Shunwu
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岳起,鄂濟氏,滿洲鑲白旗人。 乾隆三十六年舉人,議敘,授筆帖式。 累擢戶部員外郎、翰林院侍講學士、詹事府少詹事。 五十六年,遷奉天府尹。 前官貪黷,岳起至,屋宇器用遍洗滌之,曰:「勿染其污跡也!」 與將軍忤。 逾年,擢內閣學士,尋出為江西布政使。 殫心民事,值水災,行勘圩堤,落水致疾。 詔嘉其勤,許解任養疴。
Yue Qi, of the Eji clan, was a Manchu bannerman of the Bordered White Banner. In the thirty-sixth year of the Qianlong reign he passed the provincial examinations; through seniority review he received appointment as a Secretariat copyist. He rose in succession to vice director in the Ministry of Revenue, reader-in-waiting in the Hanlin Academy, and junior vice-director of the Heir Apparent's Household. In the fifty-sixth year he was appointed prefect of Fengtian. The previous incumbent had been corrupt; when Yue Qi took office he had every room and piece of equipment scrubbed clean, saying, "Do not let their filth touch you!" He fell out with the garrison commander. A year later he was promoted to grand secretariat academician and shortly afterward posted as Jiangxi provincial administration commissioner. He gave his full attention to civil affairs; during a flood he went out to survey dikes and polders, fell into the water, and took ill. The throne commended his diligence and allowed him to resign and convalesce.
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嘉慶四年,特起授山東布政使。 未幾,擢江蘇巡撫。 清介自矢,僮僕僅數人,出屏騶從,禁遊船聲伎,無事不許宴賓演劇。 吳下奢俗為之一變。 疏陳漕弊,略曰:「京漕積習相因,惟弊是營。 米數之盈絀,米色之純雜,竟置不問。 旗丁領運,無處不以米為挾制,即無處不以賄為通融。 推原其故,沿途之抑勒,由旗丁之有幫費; 旗丁之索幫費,由州縣之浮收。 除弊當絕其源,嚴禁浮收,實絕弊源之首。 請下有漕各省,列款指明,嚴行禁革,俾旗丁及漕運倉場,無從更生觀望冀幸之心。」 詔嘉其實心除弊。 常州知府胡觀瀾結交鹽政徵瑞長隨高柏林,派捐修葺江陰廣福寺。 岳起疏言觀瀾、柏林雖罷逐,尚不足服眾心,請將錢二萬餘串責二人分償,以修蘇州官塘橋路。 丹徒知縣黎誕登諷士紳臚其政績保留,實不職,劾罷之。
In the fourth year of Jiaqing he was specially summoned from retirement and appointed Shandong provincial administration commissioner. Before long he was promoted to governor of Jiangsu. He pledged himself to frugal integrity, kept only a handful of servants, went abroad without runners or escorts, banned pleasure boats and singing girls, and permitted no feasts or plays except on official business. The extravagant ways of the lower Yangtze were transformed by his example. In a memorial on abuses in the grain transport he wrote, in summary: "Capital grain transport has entrenched customs passed down for generations, and everyone pursues nothing but graft. Whether the quantity of grain is ample or short, whether the grain is pure or adulterated—they pay no attention at all. When banner transport soldiers take charge of the convoys, there is nowhere they do not use grain as leverage, and nowhere they do not use bribes to smooth the way. Tracing the matter to its root, the extortion along the route stems from the transport soldiers' demand for assistance fees; and the transport soldiers' demand for those fees stems from the illegal surcharges levied by prefectures and counties. To eliminate abuses one must cut off the source; strictly forbidding illegal surcharges is truly the first step in severing the root of corruption. He asked that all grain-transport provinces be instructed to itemize each abuse clearly and enforce strict prohibition, so that transport soldiers and granary officials would no longer entertain hopes of profiting from the old ways." The throne commended his sincere effort to root out corruption. Hu Guanlan, prefect of Changzhou, had cultivated ties with Zheng Rui, the salt controller, and his chief attendant Gao Bolin, and imposed levies to repair Guangfu Temple in Jiangyin. Yue Qi memorialized that although Guanlan and Bolin had been dismissed, this was still not enough to satisfy public opinion; he asked that the more than twenty thousand strings of cash be recovered from the two men in equal shares to repair Suzhou's official roads and bridges. Li Yandeng, magistrate of Dantu, had prompted local gentry to praise his record so he might be kept in office; finding him unfit for his post, Yue Qi impeached and dismissed him.
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五年,署兩江總督。 劾南河工員莊剛、劉普等侵漁舞弊,莫澐於任所設店肆運貨至工居奇網利,並治如律。 揚州關溢額稅銀不入私,盡以報解; 覈減兩籓司耗羨閒款,實存銀數報部:並下部議行。 六年,疏請濬築毛城鋪以下河道堤岸、上游永城洪河、下游蕭、碭境內河堰,並藉帑舉工,分五年計畝徵還,允之。
In the fifth year he served as acting governor-general of the Two Jiangs. He impeached Zhuang Gang, Liu Pu, and other Southern Canal engineering officials for embezzlement and fraud; Mo Yun had opened shops at his post to ship goods to the worksites and profiteer by hoarding—all were punished according to law. Surplus tax silver at the Yangzhou customs he kept none of for himself but remitted in full; he audited and cut the miscellaneous surplus funds of the two provincial treasuries and reported the actual silver on hand to the ministry—all were referred to the ministries for deliberation and implementation. In the sixth year he memorialized to dredge and build the river channels and dikes below Maochengpu, the upper Yongcheng Hong River, and the interior river dikes in Xia and Dang, borrowing treasury funds for the work and recovering the cost over five years by assessment per mu of land—the request was approved.
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八年,入覲,以疾留京,署禮部侍郎。 會孝淑皇后奉移山陵,坐會疏措語不經,革職留任。 尋命解署職,遂卒。 帝深惜之,贈太子少保,賜卹如例。
In the eighth year he came to court, remained in the capital because of illness, and served as acting vice minister of Rites. When Empress Xiaoshu was moved to the imperial tomb, he was punished because a joint memorial he signed used improper language; he was stripped of rank but kept at his post. Shortly afterward he was ordered to relinquish his acting appointment, and he died. The emperor deeply mourned his loss, posthumously granted him the title Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and bestowed condolence gifts according to precedent.
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無子,詔問其家產,僅屋四間、田七十六畝。 故事,旗員歿無嗣者產入官。 以岳起家清貧,留贍其妻; 妻歿,官為管業,以為祭掃修墳之資。 異數也。 妻亦嚴正,岳起為巡撫時,一日親往籍畢沅家。 暮歸,飲酒微醺。 妻正色曰:「畢公躭於酒色,不保其家,君方畏戒之不暇,乃復效彼耶?」 岳起謝之。 及至京,居無邸舍,病歿於僧寺,妻紡績以終。 吳民尤思其德,呼曰岳青天,演為歌謠,謂可繼湯斌雲。
He left no son; the throne ordered an inquiry into his estate and found only four rooms and seventy-six mu of land. By precedent, when a banner official died without heirs his property reverted to the state. Because Yue Qi's household had been upright and poor, the estate was left to support his wife; when she died the government took charge of the property to provide for sacrifices, tomb sweeping, and grave maintenance. Such favor was unprecedented. His wife was equally stern and upright; while Yue Qi was governor he went in person one day to inventory the household of Bi Yuan. He returned at dusk slightly tipsy from wine. His wife said sternly, "Master Bi was lost to wine and women and could not preserve his household; you are still busy guarding yourself against such ruin—will you now imitate him?" Yue Qi apologized to her. When he reached the capital he had no house of his own; he fell ill and died in a Buddhist temple, and his wife lived out her days by spinning. The people of Wu cherished his memory above all, calling him "Yue the Blue Heaven," setting his praise to song, and saying he could stand in the line of Tang Bin.
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荊道乾,字健中,山西臨晉人。 乾隆二十四年舉人,大挑知縣,官湖南,歷麻陽、龍山、東安、永順、慈利、靖州。 所至有惠政,屏陋規,平冤獄。 在靖州賑饑,尤多全活,屢膺上考。 四十七年,遷甘肅寧夏同知,入覲,大學士劉墉曾官湖南巡撫,稱之曰:「第一清官也。」 名始著。 尋署石峰堡同知,時方用兵,治事不廢,修復水利,复薦卓異記名。 五十四年,擢安徽池州知府,屢署徽寧池太道,筦蕪湖關,贏餘不入己,以充賑恤。 調安慶,硃珪為巡撫,尤信任之,疏薦,擢山東登萊青道,攝布政使。 以激濁揚清為己任,薦廉吏崔映淮、李如珩等,而劾不飭者。
Jing Daoqian, whose style was Jianzhong, came from Linjin in Shanxi. In the twenty-fourth year of Qianlong he passed the provincial examinations, was selected in the great assignment as magistrate, served in Hunan, and held office in Mayang, Longshan, Dong'an, Yongshun, Cili, and Jingzhou in turn. Wherever he served he brought benevolent rule, abolished petty abuses, and righted wrongful convictions. At Jingzhou he relieved famine and saved countless lives; he repeatedly received top evaluations from the throne. In the forty-seventh year he was transferred to be subprefect of Ningxia in Gansu; when he came to court, Grand Secretary Liu Yong, who had once served as Hunan governor, said of him, "The foremost incorrupt official." His fame was established from that day. Soon he served as acting subprefect of Shifeng Fort; though war was underway he did not neglect his duties, restored irrigation works, and was again recommended as outstanding and placed on the promotion list. In the fifty-fourth year he was promoted to prefect of Chizhou in Anhui, repeatedly acted as intendant of Huai, Ningguo, Chizhou, and Taiping, managed the Wuhu customs house, kept none of the surplus for himself, and devoted it to famine relief. Transferred to Anqing, where Governor Zhu Gui especially trusted him and memorialized in his favor, he was promoted to intendant of Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Qingzhou in Shandong and acted as provincial administration commissioner. He made it his mission to purge corruption and elevate the upright, recommending honest officials such as Cui Yinghuai and Li Ruheng while impeaching the undisciplined.
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嘉慶二年,遷按察使。 四年,遷江蘇布政使。 先是州縣存留俸薪役食及驛站經費,改解籓庫,俟奏銷後請支,始則防吏侵挪,久之解有浮費,發有短平。 或勒抵前官虧空,佐雜教官不能得俸,驛傳領於臬司; 或苛駁案牘,因索餽遺,郵政日弛廢。 道乾入覲時,面陳其弊,請悉依定章,於州縣徵收時開支,省解領之繁。 仁宗俞可; 至是疏上施行,天下便之。 上方欲整飭漕政,以巡撫岳起及道乾皆有清名,責其肅清諸弊。 到官三閱月,擢安徽巡撫,疏請禁徵漕浮收舊耗米一斗,給運丁五升,加給二升。 運丁所得,有據可考; 其所用沿途浮費,採訪知之,應禁革。 詔下所奏於有漕各省永禁。 又言:「屯田所以贍運,每丁派田若干及應得租耔,新僉旗丁不能了然。 令糧道刊刻木榜,俾僉丁認田收租。 運船領款,刻易知單,由丁正身親領,以杜包領欺壓之弊。 田冊歸糧道收管,另造副冊發各衛以備查驗。」 並允行。 宿州、靈壁、泗州水災,道乾親往監視賑廠。 六年,以病乞罷,詔許解任調理,俟病痊來京候簡。 次年三月,詔詢道乾病狀,已先卒於安慶,帝悼惜,賜祭,賜其孫炆舉人。
In the second year of Jiaqing he was appointed provincial judge. In the fourth year he was appointed Jiangsu provincial administration commissioner. Previously the salaries, runner provisions, and courier-station funds retained by prefectures and counties had been remitted to the provincial treasury and disbursed only after memorialized settlement; this was meant to prevent clerks from embezzling funds, but over time remittance came with illegal surcharges and disbursement with short weights. Some funds were seized to cover predecessors' deficits; assistant instructors and minor educational officials went unpaid; courier service fell under the provincial judge; others harshly rejected documents to extort gifts, and the postal system fell ever further into decay. When Jing Daoqian came to court he stated these abuses in person and asked that disbursement follow the established regulations at the time of collection by prefectures and counties, sparing the trouble of remittance and requisition. Emperor Renzong approved; he now memorialized and the reform was implemented, to the benefit of the entire realm. The court wished to reform grain transport; because Governor Yue Qi and Jing Daoqian both enjoyed reputations for integrity, it charged them to purge all abuses. Three months after taking office he was promoted to governor of Anhui; he memorialized to forbid illegal surcharges on grain transport, including the old wastage levy of one dou per unit, granting transport soldiers five sheng with an additional two sheng. What the transport soldiers received could be verified by clear records; the illegal surcharges they collected along the route he had learned through investigation and should be prohibited and abolished. An edict ordered his proposals permanently enforced in all grain-transport provinces. He also wrote: "Garrison fields exist to support transport, yet how much land is assigned to each soldier and what rent grain is due—the newly enrolled banner transport soldiers cannot make sense of it. He ordered the grain intendant to publish wooden placards so enrolled soldiers could identify their fields and collect rent. For funds paid to transport boats he had plain receipts printed so soldiers collected payment in person, to stop proxy collection and intimidation. Field registers were kept by the grain intendant, with duplicate copies sent to each garrison for inspection." All was approved for implementation. When Suzhou, Lingbi, and Sizhou suffered floods, Jing Daoqian went in person to supervise the relief stations. In the sixth year he asked to retire on grounds of illness; the throne permitted him to leave office to recuperate and, when recovered, to come to the capital awaiting appointment. In the third month of the following year an edict inquired after his health; he had already died at Anqing; the emperor mourned his loss, granted sacrificial rites, and conferred provincial graduate status on his grandson Wen.
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道乾由監司不三年擢至巡撫,求治益急,不避嫌怨,自處刻苦。 臨歿,呼舊僚至寢所,指床下金示之曰:「吾受重恩,積養廉數千兩,足以歸喪。 諸君素愛我,勿為斂賻。」 又呼其兄曰:「兄仁弱,勿聽人慫恿受賻,違吾意。」 兄如其言。
Jing Daoqian had risen from surveillance commissioner to governor in less than three years; he pursued reform ever more urgently, shrank from no enmity, and lived in austere self-discipline. Near death he summoned former colleagues to his bedside, pointed to gold beneath the bed, and said, "I have received great favor from the throne and saved several thousand taels of my integrity stipend—enough to bring my body home. You have always been fond of me—do not collect funeral contributions on my behalf." He also called his elder brother and said, "Brother, you are kind but weak—do not let anyone persuade you to accept contributions against my wish." His brother did as he asked.
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謝啟昆,字蘊山,江西南康人。 進士,朝考第一,選庶吉士,授編修。 典河南鄉試,分校禮闈,均得士。 三十七年,出為江蘇鎮江知府,調揚州。 明於吏事,所持堅正,上官異意不為奪。 治東台徐述夔詩詞悖逆獄遲緩,褫職戍軍台。 尋捐復原官,留江南。 父憂,奪情署安徽寧國知府; 复遭母憂,服闋,稱病久不出。 五十五年,特擢江南河庫道,遷浙江按察使。 六十年,遷山西布政使。 州縣倉庫積虧八十餘萬,不一歲悉補完。 高宗異其才,以浙江財賦地虧尤多,特調任。 歷三歲,亦彌補十之五。
Xie Qikun, whose style was Yunshan, came from Nankang in Jiangxi. A metropolitan graduate who ranked first in the palace examination, he was selected as a Hanlin bachelor and appointed compiler. He presided over the Henan provincial examination and served on the metropolitan examination board; both produced worthy graduates. In the thirty-seventh year he was posted as prefect of Zhenjiang in Jiangsu and then transferred to Yangzhou. He was skilled in administration, held firm and upright principles, and was not swayed when superiors disagreed. He was stripped of office and banished to a military garrison for proceeding too slowly in the Dongtai treason case involving Xu Shukui's poetry. He soon purchased restoration of his former rank and remained in Jiangnan. During mourning for his father he was recalled from mourning to serve as acting prefect of Ningguo in Anhui; he mourned his mother as well; when mourning ended he claimed illness and long declined to take office. In the fifty-fifth year he was specially promoted to Jiangnan river-treasury intendant and appointed Zhejiang provincial judge. In the sixtieth year he was appointed Shanxi provincial administration commissioner. Prefectural and county treasuries had accumulated deficits of more than eight hundred thousand taels; in less than a year he made them all good. Emperor Gaozong marveled at his talent; because Zhejiang's revenue deficits were especially large, he was specially transferred there. Over three years he likewise made good half the deficits.
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廣西土司四十有六,生計日絀,貸於客民,輒以田產準折。 啟昆請禁重利盤剝,違者治罪。 田產給還土司,其無力回贖者,俟收田租滿一本一利,田歸原主,五年為斷; 其不禁客民入苗地者,廉土民馴愚,物產稀少,藉販運以通有無也。 仿浙江海塘竹簍囊石之法,修築興安陡河石堤,以除水患。 河流深通,舊銅船過陡河必一月,至是三日而畢。 七年,卒於官,詔嘉其廉潔,於所節省潯、梧兩關盈餘項下賜銀三千兩治喪。 廣西士民請祀名宦祠。
Guangxi had forty-six native chieftaincies whose livelihoods grew ever more strained; they borrowed from Han settlers and invariably pledged their fields in settlement. Xie Qikun requested a ban on usurious exploitation, with violators punished by law. Fields were returned to the chieftains; those unable to redeem immediately would regain their land once rent collected equaled principal plus interest, with five years as the limit; He did not bar Han settlers from entering Miao territory because he judged the natives simple and tractable, local products were scarce, and commerce was needed to circulate goods. Adopting the Zhejiang seacoast practice of stone packed in bamboo baskets, he built the Xing'an Steep River stone dike to end the flood hazard. Once the channel ran deep and clear, copper transport boats that had needed a month to pass Steep River now completed the passage in three days. In the seventh year he died in office. The throne praised his integrity and granted three thousand taels from the surplus he had saved at the Xun and Wu customs posts toward his funeral. The gentry and people of Guangxi asked that he be enshrined in the local temple of eminent officials.
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啟昆少以文學名,博聞強識,尤善為詩。 著《樹經堂集》、《西魏書》、《小學考》,晚成《廣西通志》,為世所稱。
Xie Qikun won early fame for his literary attainments, possessed broad learning and a formidable memory, and was especially accomplished as a poet. He wrote the Shujingtang Collection, the History of the Western Wei, and the Study of Elementary Learning, and late in life finished the Guangxi General Gazetteer, works widely admired in his day.
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李殿圖,字桓符,直隸高陽人。 乾隆三十一年進士,選庶吉士,授編修。 典湖南鄉試,遷御史。 督廣西學政,遷給事中。
Li Diantu, whose style was Huanfu, came from Gaoyang in Zhili. In the thirty-first year of Qianlong he passed the metropolitan examination, was selected as a Hanlin bachelor, and was appointed compiler. He presided over the Hunan provincial examination and was promoted to censor. He served as Guangxi education intendant and was promoted to supervising secretary.
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四十九年,甘肅回亂,從阿桂、福康安赴軍治糧餉、台站,授鞏秦階道。 軍事初竣,民、回相仇,焚掠報復,訛言時起。 殿圖處以鎮靜,叛黨緣坐,婦稚量情釋宥; 罹害戶口,隨宜賑恤,流亡漸安。 卓泥土司與四川松潘、漳臘各番爭噶噶固山界,殿圖輕騎履勘,歷小洮河、丈八嶺、鸚哥口,皆人跡罕到,群番導行,片語判決,立石達魚山頂而還。 高宗幾餘考涇、渭清濁源流,命殿圖親勘,自秦州溯流至鳥鼠、崆峒,繪圖附說以進,詔嘉其詳實。
In the forty-ninth year, when the Gansu Muslim rebellion broke out, he followed Agui and Fuk'anggan to the front to manage grain funds and courier stations and was appointed intendant of Gong, Qin, and Jie. As the campaign wound down, Han and Muslim communities were at odds; arson, looting, and reprisals spread, and rumors constantly flared. Diantu responded with calm; where rebel factions were implicated by association, he released women and children as circumstances warranted; households that had suffered harm received relief as needed, and displaced people gradually settled down. The Zhuotu chieftain disputed the boundary of Gagagu Mountain with the Songpan and Zhangla tribes of Sichuan. Diantu rode out lightly to survey on foot, crossing the Little Tao River, Zhangba Ridge, and Parrot Pass—places scarcely touched by travelers—with tribal guides; he settled the dispute in a few words, erected a boundary stone atop Dayu Mountain, and returned. In his leisure Emperor Gaozong studied whether the Jing and Wei were clear or turbid at their sources and ordered Diantu to inspect them in person. From Qinzhou he traced the rivers upstream to Bird-and-Rat and Kongtong, submitted maps with explanatory notes, and the throne praised their thoroughness.
17
六十年,遷福建按察使,嘉慶三年,就遷布政使。 疏言:「乾隆中,業農家必畜騾馬三四以任耕種,嗣後官吏借用應差,漸形滋擾,應嚴行革除。 獄訟必速為審結,開釋無辜,小民始得安業。 常平倉穀積久弊生,民未受益,官倉已受其虧。 無災之年,不宜貸假。 吏役例有定額,近則人思託足,藉免役徭。 關津稅口,官署長隨,呼朋引類,並為奸藪,宜並禁止。」 詔下直省一體察禁。 閩俗售田,田面田根,糾纏不決。 蠹吏影射,佃戶頑抗,錢糧日多脫欠,徵收不敷,每以虛出通關而致虧缺,殿圖奏請嚴治。 在任逾年,庫儲大增。
In the sixtieth year he was appointed Fujian provincial judge, and in the third year of Jiaqing he was promoted in place to provincial administration commissioner. He submitted a memorial: 'Under Qianlong, farming households routinely kept three or four mules and horses for cultivation. Later officials borrowed them for corvée duty, and abuse gradually spread; this practice should be abolished outright. Cases must be heard and concluded promptly; only by releasing the innocent can ordinary people live in peace. Grain in the ever-normal granaries, stored too long, breeds corruption: the people gain nothing while the public stores already take the loss. In years without disaster, grain should not be lent out. Clerks and runners have fixed quotas, yet lately men seek posts under them to escape corvée and tax service. At customs posts and ferry tolls, magistrates' chief attendants gather cronies and turn the places into dens of fraud; these abuses should be banned as well.' The throne ordered every province to investigate and enforce the ban. In Fujian, land sales distinguish surface rights from root tenure, and disputes often remain unsettled. Corrupt clerks falsified records, tenants defied payment, and tax collections fell ever further short; officials papered over shortfalls with false clearances, deepening the deficit. Diantu memorialized for stern punishment. After little more than a year in office, treasury reserves rose sharply.
18
擢安徽巡撫,七年,調福建。 有林、陳、藍、胡諸大姓糾眾械鬥,治如律。 治海盜三腳虎及蔡牽羽黨,請祀海洋陣亡官兵,緝匪死事者一體入祀,從之。 十一年,蔡牽久未平,仁宗以台灣剿捕事殷,殿圖操守尚好,軍務未嫺,調江西巡撫。 尋詔斥殿圖於軍事無所陳奏,又不能禁止海口偷漏水米火藥,降四五品京堂; 又以所屬久羈案犯,以中允、贊善降補。 尋遷翰林院侍講,引病歸。 十七年,卒。 光緒初,閩浙總督文煜疏陳殿圖前任福建政績昭著,諡文肅。
He was promoted to governor of Anhui, and in the seventh year was transferred to Fujian. The great clans Lin, Chen, Lan, and Hu rallied armed factions; he punished them according to law. He suppressed the pirate Sanjiaohu and Cai Qian's followers, and asked that naval officers killed at sea be enshrined together with constables who died in bandit suppression; the throne approved. In the eleventh year Cai Qian had still not been subdued. Because the Taiwan campaign was urgent, Emperor Renzong judged Diantu upright but unversed in military affairs and transferred him to Jiangxi. Soon an edict rebuked him for offering no counsel on military affairs and for failing to stop smuggling of grain, gunpowder, and supplies at the ports, and demoted him to a fourth- or fifth-rank post in the capital; and because his subordinates had long held prisoners without trial, he was further demoted to fill a post as Hanlin zhongyun or zanshan. He was soon made Hanlin lecturer, then cited illness and retired. In the seventeenth year he died. Early in the Guangxu reign, Fujian-Zhejiang governor-general Wen Yu memorialized that Diantu's record as Fujian administration commissioner had been outstanding, and he received the posthumous title Wensu.
19
張師誠,字蘭渚,浙江歸安人。 乾隆中,南巡,召試賜舉人,授內閣中書,充軍機章京。 遷吏部主事,忤和珅,緣事降中書。 得應會試,五十五年,成進士,改庶吉士,授編修。 嘉慶元年,出為山西蒲州知府,歷雁平道,河南、江蘇按察使,遷山西布政使。 州縣倉庫多虧,師誠知清查有名無實,特嚴於交代之際,有虧必完,在任三年,庫儲充裕。 十一年,擢江西巡撫,以兼提督賜花翎,遂著為令。 尋調福建,清治淹牘,疏陳整頓積弊事宜,詔嘉勉。
Zhang Shicheng, whose style was Lanzhu, came from Gui'an in Zhejiang. During Qianlong's southern tour he was summoned for examination, granted provincial graduate status, appointed a Grand Secretariat drafter, and served on the Grand Council staff. He was promoted to principal clerk in the Ministry of Personnel, offended Heshen, and was demoted to drafter on a pretext. He took the metropolitan examination and in the fifty-fifth year passed it, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed compiler. In the first year of Jiaqing he was posted as prefect of Puzhou in Shanxi, then served as Yanping intendant, provincial judge of Henan and Jiangsu, and was appointed Shanxi provincial administration commissioner. Prefectural and county treasuries were often in deficit. Shicheng knew audits were mostly for show, so he was especially strict at handover: any shortfall had to be made up. After three years the stores were flush. In the eleventh year he was promoted to governor of Jiangxi. Because he also held the military governorship, he was granted the peacock feather, and thereafter the practice was fixed as precedent. He was soon transferred to Fujian, cleared the backlog of cases, and memorialized plans to root out long-standing abuses; the throne praised and encouraged him.
20
時海盜蔡牽、硃濆方猖獗,總督玉德廢弛黜去,阿林保繼任,復與提督李長庚不協; 師誠至,始嚴防海口,杜岸姦接濟,籌備船械,長庚得盡力剿捕。 是年冬,長庚追蔡牽於粵洋,以傷殞。 牽犯台灣後山噶仔蘭,為生番擊退,請收其地入版籍,免為賊踞。 十三年,硃濆與牽有隙,獨竄閩洋,總兵許松年擊斃之。 其弟渥,勢蹙思投首,會道員德華由台灣內渡,遇牽黨圍劫,渥救之,藉以通款,尋复拒敵粵師不果降。 十四年,阿林保調兩江,師誠暫署總督。 聞蔡牽竄浙洋,親駐廈門,提督王得祿、邱良功合剿,毀盜舟,牽墮海死。 硃渥尋率三千餘人歸誠,赦其罪,海疆以安,閩人刊石烏石山以紀功。 海寇稽誅久,由閩、浙不能合力,自師誠治閩,而阮元復蒞浙,始告成功。 仁宗嘉其嚴斷接濟,為殄寇之本。 京察特予獎敘。
Pirates Cai Qian and Zhu Fen were then at their height. Governor Yu De was removed for negligence. Alinbao succeeded him but again clashed with Regional Commander Li Changgeng; When Shicheng arrived he tightened harbor defenses, cut off shore collaborators who supplied the pirates, and stockpiled ships and arms, enabling Changgeng to press the campaign with full force. That winter Changgeng pursued Cai Qian in Guangdong waters and died of his wounds. Cai Qian raided Kavalan on Taiwan's eastern coast, was driven off by aboriginal tribes, and asked that the territory be registered lest pirates occupy it. In the thirteenth year Zhu Fen broke with Cai Qian, fled alone into Fujian waters, and was killed in action by regional commander Xu Songnian. Zhu Fen's younger brother Wo, cornered and ready to surrender, happened to rescue Circuit Intendant Dehua when Dehua was crossing from Taiwan and was ambushed by Cai Qian's men. Wo used the encounter to open peace talks, but soon afterward he fought Guangdong forces again and never submitted. In the fourteenth year Alinbao was transferred to the Two Jiangs, and Zhang Shicheng temporarily served as acting governor-general. When he learned that Cai Qian had fled into Zhejiang waters, he took personal command at Xiamen. Admirals Wang Delu and Qiu Lianggong joined the campaign, destroyed the pirate fleet, and Cai Qian fell into the sea and drowned. Zhu Wo soon led more than three thousand followers in surrender. Their crimes were pardoned, the coast was pacified, and the people of Fujian carved a commemorative stone on Wushi Mountain. The pirates had long escaped destruction because Fujian and Zhejiang could not act in concert. Only after Zhang Shicheng governed Fujian and Ruan Yuan returned to office in Zhejiang was the campaign finally brought to success. Emperor Renzong praised his rigorous blockade of pirate supply lines as the essential foundation for destroying the raiders. At the triennial capital inspection he received a special commendation for merit.
21
十九年,調江蘇。 百齡為總督,諸巡撫皆承望風旨,師誠獨舉其職。 初彭齡奉命同查虧帑,意與百齡、師誠不合,遂劾兩人皆受餽遺,而不得實,詔原之。 會百齡窮治逆書獄,閭閻悚息,巡撫所主五府州得無擾。 川沙民有燒香傳徒者,有司密捕解江寧,師誠遣標弁要於途,交按察司依律鞫治,免辜磔者數十人,時以稱之。 二十一年,父病篤,不俟代回籍,被嚴議褫職。 尋予編修,服闋,遷中允。 歷江西、安徽布政使。 道光元年,擢廣東巡撫,調安徽,繼母憂去官。 复歷山西、江蘇巡撫。 六年,召授倉場侍郎。 以病乞歸,卒於家。
In the nineteenth year he was transferred to Jiangsu. Bai Ling was governor-general, and the other provincial governors all deferred to his wishes; Zhang Shicheng alone discharged his office conscientiously. Peng Ling had been ordered to investigate treasury shortfalls jointly with them, but he was at odds with Bai Ling and Zhang Shicheng and impeached both for taking bribes. He could not substantiate the charges, and the throne pardoned them. Meanwhile Bai Ling was vigorously prosecuting the literary-inquisition cases for seditious writings, and the common people lived in fear. The five prefectures and departments under the governor's jurisdiction were spared the worst of the turmoil. In Chuansha some commoners belonged to an incense-burning sect that proselytized disciples. Officials had them secretly arrested and sent to Jiangning for trial. Zhang Shicheng dispatched military runners to intercept the prisoners on the road and turned them over to the provincial judge for lawful hearing, sparing several dozen innocent people from execution. Contemporaries praised him for it. In the twenty-first year his father fell gravely ill. Without waiting for his successor he returned home, was severely censured, and was stripped of office. He was soon appointed Hanlin compiler; after his mourning period ended he was promoted to vice director of the Supervisorate of Education. He served in succession as provincial administration commissioner of Jiangxi and Anhui. In the first year of Daoguang he was promoted to governor of Guangdong, then transferred to Anhui, and left office to observe mourning for his stepmother. Afterward he served in succession as governor of Shanxi and Jiangsu. In the sixth year he was summoned to court and appointed vice minister of the grain transport offices. He petitioned to retire on grounds of illness, returned home, and died there.
22
師誠警敏綜覈,在當時疆吏中有能名,治福建最著,繼之者為王紹蘭。
Zhang Shicheng was quick-witted and thorough in administration. Among frontier officials of his day he enjoyed a reputation for ability, and his service in Fujian was especially celebrated. His successor was Wang Shaolan.
23
紹蘭,字南陔,浙江蕭山人。 乾隆五十八年進士,授福建南屏知縣,調閩縣。 巡撫汪志伊薦其治行,仁宗曰:「王紹蘭好官,朕早聞其名。」 召入見,以知州用,擢泉州知府。 漳、泉兩郡多械鬥,自紹蘭治泉州,民俗漸馴,而漳州守令以械鬥獄獲罪,詔舉紹蘭以為法。 擢興泉永道,捕獲蔡牽養子蔡三及其黨蔡昌等,予議敘。 遷按察使,母憂去,服闋,起故官,就遷布政使。 嘉慶十九年,擢巡撫,始終未出福建。 尋汪志伊來為總督,與布政使李賡芸不合,因訐告受賂,劾治,屬吏希指羅織,賡芸憤而自縊。 志伊獲譴,紹蘭坐不能匡正,牽連罷職。
Wang Shaolan, styled Nan'ai, was a native of Xiaoshan in Zhejiang. In the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong he passed the metropolitan examination, was appointed magistrate of Nanping in Fujian, and was later transferred to Min county. Governor Wang Zhiyi recommended his record in office. Emperor Renzong said, "Wang Shaolan is an excellent official. I have long heard his name." He was summoned for an audience, appointed at prefectural rank, and promoted to prefect of Quanzhou. Zhangzhou and Quanzhou were notorious for armed clan feuds. Under Shaolan's governance of Quanzhou popular customs gradually grew more orderly, while Zhangzhou prefects and magistrates were punished for mishandling feud cases. An edict held Shaolan up as the model to follow. He was promoted to intendant of the Xingquan Yong circuit, captured Cai Qian's adopted son Cai San and his follower Cai Chang among others, and received a merit citation. He was transferred to provincial judge, left office on his mother's death, and after mourning resumed his former post and was promoted in place to provincial administration commissioner. In the nineteenth year of Jiaqing he was promoted to governor and never left Fujian for the rest of his career. Before long Wang Zhiyi arrived as governor-general. He clashed with Administration Commissioner Li Gengyun, denounced him for taking bribes, and had him impeached and prosecuted. Subordinate officials took the hint and fabricated charges against him, and Gengyun hanged himself in despair. Wang Zhiyi was punished. Shaolan was censured for failing to set matters right and was dismissed by implication.
24
少嗜學,究經史大義。 去官後,一意著述,以許慎、鄭康成為宗,於儀禮、說文致力尤深,著書皆可傳。
From youth he loved learning and pursued the great principles of the classics and histories. After leaving office he devoted himself entirely to scholarship, taking Xu Shen and Zheng Xuan as his models. He applied himself especially to the Ceremonies and the Shuowen, and his writings are all works of lasting value.
25
李奕疇,字書年,河南夏邑人。 乾隆四十五年進士,選庶吉士,授檢討。 大考改禮部主事,典貴州鄉試,洊遷郎中。 五十七年,出為山西寧武知府,調平陽,有政聲。 歷江蘇糧道、山東按察使。 嘉慶十一年,坐巡撫保薦屬吏違例,牽連被議,左遷江南河庫道。
Li Yichou, styled Shunian, was a native of Xiayi in Henan. In the forty-fifth year of Qianlong he passed the metropolitan examination, was selected as a Hanlin bachelor, and appointed reviser. In the palace examination he was transferred to a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, served as chief examiner for the Guizhou provincial examinations, and rose in succession to bureau director. In the fifty-seventh year he was appointed prefect of Ningwu in Shanxi, later transferred to Pingyang, and earned a reputation for effective governance. He served in succession as Jiangsu grain intendant and Shandong provincial judge. In the eleventh year of Jiaqing he was censured because a governor's recommendation of a subordinate had violated regulations. Implicated in the affair, he was demoted to Jiangnan river-treasury intendant.
26
十三年,遷安徽按察使,治獄明慎,多平反。 霍丘民範受之者,贅於顧氏,與妻反目,外出久不歸。 縣令誤聽訛言,謂其妻私於鄰楊三,鍛鍊成獄,當顧氏、楊三謀殺罪,其母與弟及傭工某加功,實無左證,五人者不勝刑,皆誣服。 奕疇閱供詞,疑之,驟詰曰:「爾曹言骨已被焚,然尚有臟腑腸胃,棄之何所?」 囚不能對,惟伏地哭。 奕疇慨然曰:「是有冤!」 使幹吏偵之,至陳姓家,言正月十五夜受之曾過宿,而讞曰被殺在十三日,乃緩系諸囚,嚴緝受之。 久之,受之忽自歸,則以負博遠避,不敢使家人知所在,今始聞大獄起,乃歸投案也。 事得白。 奕疇故無子,獄既解,乃生子銘皖。 民間傳頌,至演為劇曲。 就遷布政使。
In the thirteenth year he was transferred to Anhui provincial judge. He handled cases with clarity and care and reversed many wrongful convictions. A Huoqiu man named Fan Shouzhi had married into the Gu family as a son-in-law. He and his wife quarreled, and he left home for a long time without returning. The county magistrate believed false rumors that Fan's wife had been intimate with a neighbor named Yang San. The case was tortured into shape, and the Gu woman, Yang San, her mother, her brother, and a hired laborer were all convicted of plotting Fan's murder as accomplices. There was in fact no corroborating evidence, but the five could not endure the torture and all confessed falsely. Yichou read the depositions, grew suspicious, and suddenly demanded, "You say the bones were burned. Yet there would still be organs and entrails—where did you dispose of them?" The prisoners could not answer and only wept prostrate on the ground. Yichou said in indignation, "This is a case of injustice!" He sent capable officers to investigate. At a household surnamed Chen they learned that on the night of the fifteenth of the first month Fan Shouzhi had stayed there, while the verdict held that he had been killed on the thirteenth. He then eased the prisoners' confinement and ordered a strict search for Fan Shouzhi. After a long while Fan Shouzhi suddenly returned on his own. He had fled far away to escape gambling debts and had not dared let his family know where he was. Only now, hearing that a major case had arisen, did he come back to give himself up. The truth came to light and the case was cleared. Yichou had long been childless. Once the case was resolved, his wife bore a son named Mingwan. The story spread among the people in praise of him, and was even adapted into opera. He was promoted in place to provincial administration commissioner.
27
十八年,擢浙江巡撫。 時近畿教匪未靖,或言嚴、衢兩郡匪徒傳習天罡會,詔奕疇嚴治。 奕疇逮訊葉機、姚漢楫等,實止愚民相聚誦經祈福,無逆跡,坐罪首犯數人,株連皆省釋。 安徽、江西遊民來浙租山墾種者日眾,言官請禁。 奕疇疏陳勢難遽逐,請分年遣令回籍。 上悟曰:「茲事不易言。 遊民皆無恆產,驅之此省,又轉徙他省,斷不能復歸鄉里。」 命徐謀教養,俾流亡者變為土著,乃得安。
In the eighteenth year he was promoted to governor of Zhejiang. Sect rebels in the metropolitan periphery had not yet been pacified. Some reported that bandits in Yan and Qu prefectures were practicing the Tiangan Society. The throne ordered Yichou to investigate strictly. Yichou arrested and questioned Ye Ji, Yao Hanji, and others. In truth they were only simple folk gathered to chant sutras and pray for blessings, with no trace of sedition. He convicted only a few ringleaders and released everyone else caught up in the case. An ever-growing number of vagabonds from Anhui and Jiangxi were coming to Zhejiang to lease hillsides for reclamation and farming. Censors asked that they be barred. Yichou memorialized that sudden expulsion was impractical and asked that they be sent home in stages over several years. The Emperor understood the difficulty and said, "This is not a simple matter. These wanderers have no fixed livelihood. Drive them from one province and they will drift to another; they cannot possibly make their way home." He ordered a gradual policy of settlement and support so that uprooted people might become permanent residents. Only then could the region be at peace.
28
尋授漕運總督,在任五年,運務無誤。 奕疇固長者,待下寬,坐濫委運弁降四級,命以吏、禮二部郎中用。 復以運弁縱容幫丁索費,被劾,降主事。 二十五年,宣宗即位,命奕疇以尚書守護昌陵。 道光二年,原品休致。 十九年,重宴鹿鳴,加太子少保。 明年,會榜重逢,子銘皖適登第,同與恩榮宴,稱盛事焉。 二十四年,卒,年九十有一。
He was soon appointed director-general of the grain transport. In five years in office he kept transport affairs running without a hitch. Yichou was by nature mild and treated his subordinates leniently. Because he had delegated transport duties too freely, he was demoted four ranks and assigned as a director in the Ministries of Personnel and Rites. He was impeached again when transport officers allowed boat hands to extort fees, and was demoted to secretary. In the twenty-fifth year, when the Xuanzong Emperor acceded to the throne, Yichou was ordered to guard the Chang Mausoleum with ministerial rank. In the second year of the Daoguang reign he retired at his original rank. In the nineteenth year he was again honored at the Luming banquet and made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. The following year father and son both appeared on the metropolitan lists when his son Mingwan passed the examinations. They attended the imperial grace banquet together, which was hailed as a singular honor. In the twenty-fourth year he died, at the age of ninety-one.
29
錢楷,字裴山,浙江嘉興人。 乾隆五十四年進士,選翰林院庶吉士,散館改戶部主事,充軍機章京。 嘉慶三年,典四川鄉試,督廣西學政,回京,仍直軍機。 遷禮部郎中,調刑部,甚被眷遇。 截取京察當外用,予升銜留任。 十一年,詔嘉楷久直勤勉,以四五品京堂用。 歷太常寺少卿、光祿寺卿。 十二年,京師旱,疏請循漢書求雨閉陽縱陰之說,停止正陽門外石路工程,詔「修省在實政,無事傅會五行」,罷其奏。 迭命往河南、山西鞫獄,次第奏結,無枉縱。 授河南布政使,十四年,護理巡撫,暫署河東河道總督。 擢授廣西巡撫,尋調湖北。
Qian Kai, styled Peishan, was a native of Jiaxing in Zhejiang. In the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong he passed the metropolitan examination, was selected as a Hanlin bachelor, and after leaving the academy was appointed a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue and served as a Grand Council clerical secretary. In the third year of Jiaqing he directed the Sichuan provincial examinations, served as Guangxi education intendant, returned to the capital, and still worked at the Grand Council. He was promoted to director in the Ministry of Rites, transferred to the Ministry of Justice, and enjoyed exceptional imperial favor. At the Beijing evaluation he was slated for an outside appointment, but was granted a promotion in rank and kept at his post. In the eleventh year an edict praised Kai's long and diligent service at court and appointed him to a capital post of the fourth or fifth rank. He served as Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. In the twelfth year the capital suffered drought. He memorialized citing the Han History's theory of seeking rain by restraining yang and releasing yin, and asked that work on the stone road outside Zhengyang Gate be halted. The throne replied, "Self-examination lies in real governance; there is no need to force conformity with the Five Phases," and his memorial was dismissed. He was repeatedly sent to try cases in Henan and Shanxi, reported his findings in turn, and neither wrongfully convicted nor improperly released anyone. He was appointed Henan provincial administration commissioner. In the fourteenth year he acted as governor and temporarily served as director-general of the Eastern Henan waterways. He was promoted and appointed governor of Guangxi, and soon transferred to Hubei.
30
十六年,疏言:「外洋鴉片煙入中國,奸商巧為夾帶。 凡粵東西兩省匪類糾結,多由於此,以致盜風益熾。 請飭閩、粵各關監督並近海督撫,嚴督關員盤檢,按律加等究辦。 內地貨賣一經發覺,窮究買自何人,來從何處,不得含糊搪塞,將失察偷漏監督委員及地方官一體參處,務使來踪盡絕,流弊自除,乃清理匪源之一端也。」 詔下沿海督撫認真察辦。 授戶部侍郎,兼管錢法堂事。 奏陳湖北地方事宜應酌劑者四端:請附近荊州糧米供支滿營兵食,餘俱改歸北漕; 沿江契買洲地,准其耕種納糧,無契者作為官地,召佃承種; 新設提督,移駐襄陽府城; 楚北均食淮鹽,襄陽、宜昌等府籌議減價。 下所司會議,惟沿江洲地一事照行,餘以窒礙置之。
In the sixteenth year he memorialized: "Foreign opium is entering China, and crafty merchants smuggle it in by ingenious concealment. Bandit gangs in eastern and western Guangdong are largely organized through this trade, and banditry has grown fiercer as a result. He asked that the customs supervisors of Fujian and Guangdong and the coastal governors and governors-general strictly supervise customs officers in thorough inspection and punish offenders under the law with increased severity. Whenever inland sales were discovered, buyers were to be traced to their source without evasion or prevarication. Supervisors, commissioners, and local officials who failed to detect smuggling were all to be impeached together. Only by cutting off the supply entirely could the abuse be ended—this, he argued, was one way to strike at the roots of banditry." An edict was sent to coastal governors and governors-general to investigate and enforce the policy conscientiously. He was appointed Vice Minister of Revenue and concurrently directed the Currency Bureau. He memorialized on four points in Hubei affairs that required adjustment: grain from nearby Jingzhou should supply Manchu garrison rations, with the remainder transferred to the northern transport system; along the river, sandbar land purchased by contract should be allowed to be farmed and taxed; where no contract existed it should be treated as government land and leased to tenant farmers; the newly established provincial military commander should be stationed in Xiangyang prefectural city; northern Hubei all consumed Huai salt, and Xiangyang, Yichang, and other prefectures should consider lowering prices. The proposals were referred for joint deliberation. Only the sandbar land measure was adopted; the rest were set aside as impracticable.
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復出署河南巡撫。 匪徒王胯子句結南陽饑民滋事,成大獄。 楷至任,疏言:「前任巡撫恩長於南陽匪徒一案,前後具奏情節與原報不符,辦理過當。 府、州、縣等緝犯並未廢弛,平日聲名尚好,現擬絞監候之二十餘犯,明年秋審,均應情實,不敢知而不言。」 詔以「句決與否,臨時自有權衡,非臣下所可豫定。 地方官咎有應得,豈能開復?」 斥楷敷陳未當,近於喜事。 調補工部侍郎。 尋授安徽巡撫。 以歙縣監生張良璧採生斃命,命楷親訊,讞擬未依凌遲律,失於輕比,部議降一級調用,改降二級留任。 十七年,卒。 詔以「楷直樞曹久,有勞,自簡封圻,治理安靜。 母程年逾七旬,嗣子尚幼,深憫之,特賜卹。」
He was again sent out to serve as acting governor of Henan. The outlaw Wang Kuazi incited hungry peasants in Nanyang to rise in disorder, and the affair grew into a major criminal case. When Kai took up his post, he memorialized: "In the Nanyang bandit case, my predecessor En Chang reported circumstances in his successive memorials that did not match the original reports, and he handled the matter with excessive severity. The prefectural, department, and county officials had not slackened in hunting down offenders, and their reputations had ordinarily been good. Yet the more than twenty men now proposed for strangulation pending the autumn review should all be confirmed for execution at next year's review—I cannot know this and remain silent. The Emperor replied: "Whether to order immediate execution is a matter the court will weigh when the time comes; subordinates are not entitled to decide it in advance. The local officials deserve the blame they bear—how can they be restored to favor? Kai was rebuked for impropriety in his memorial and for coming close to meddlesome zeal. He was transferred and appointed vice minister of the Ministry of Works. Soon afterward he was appointed governor of Anhui. When the She County student licentiate Zhang Liangbi was convicted of causing death in the crime of harvesting from living victims, Kai was ordered to conduct the inquiry in person. His proposed sentence failed to apply the statute for death by slicing and was unduly lenient; the Ministry deliberated demoting him one rank and transferring him, but this was revised to a two-rank demotion with retention in office. In the seventeenth year he died. An edict said: "Kai has long served diligently in the Grand Council and earned merit; since he was appointed to a provincial post, his rule has been calm and orderly. His mother Cheng was more than seventy years old, and his heir was still a child. Deeply moved, the court granted special condolence payments."
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和舜武,伊拉里氏,滿洲鑲藍旗人。 官學生,考授太常寺筆帖式。 累遷步軍統領衙門員外郎。 以治獄明獲議敘,遷兵部郎中,兼公中佐領。 嘉慶十五年,出為江蘇鹽法道。 累遷山東布政使,整飭吏治,輿論歸之。 二十二年,擢山西巡撫,調河南。 會布政使吳邦慶疏請於漳、衛合流之處建閘壩,和舜武謂:「漳河盛漲湍悍,非一閘所能禦,越閘旁趨,且停蓄泥沙,塞衛水宣洩之路。」 疏請罷之,仍舊章每年挑濬竇公河以資鹽運,如所議行。 逾年,調山東。 仁宗聞其前為布政使有聲,故有此授。 山東民俗好訟,又近畿,輒走訴京師。 和舜武再蒞,訟頓減,特詔褒勉。 疏請清理京控積案,責巡撫、籓、臬分提鞫訊,月定課程,各自陳奏; 又請酌改竊盜窩匪條例,加重定擬,俟盜風稍戢,復舊:並從之。 至年終,審結積案千餘起,予優敘。 京察复予議敘。 二十四年,卒,上甚惜之,優詔賜卹,贈總督銜,諡恭慎。
He Shunwu, of the Ilari clan, was a Manchu bannerman of the Bordered Blue Banner. He was an Imperial College student and, through examination, received appointment as a copyist in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. He rose in succession to outside secretary in the Metropolitan Infantry Command. For his skill in adjudicating cases he received merit citation, was promoted to director in the Ministry of War, and concurrently held a garrison assistant commandant's post. In the fifteenth year of Jiaqing he was appointed Jiangsu intendant for salt administration. He was promoted in succession to provincial administration commissioner of Shandong, where he tightened official discipline and won widespread praise. In the twenty-second year he was promoted to governor of Shanxi and then transferred to Henan. When the provincial administration commissioner Wu Bangqing memorialized to build a sluice dam where the Zhang and Wei rivers join, He Shunwu argued: "When the Zhang swells, its current is swift and fierce—no single gate can contain it. Water will spill around the gate and silt will accumulate, choking the Wei River's outlet. He memorialized to abandon the project and maintain the established practice of annual dredging of the Dougong River to sustain salt transport; the proposal was approved. A year later he was transferred to Shandong. Emperor Renzong had heard of his reputation when he had served as provincial administration commissioner, and for that reason appointed him again. Shandong custom was litigious, and because the province lay close to the capital, people often rushed to file appeals in Beijing. When He Shunwu returned to office, lawsuits fell sharply, and the court issued a special edict of commendation. He memorialized to clear the backlog of capital appeals, directing the governor, treasurer, and provincial judge each to conduct interrogations, setting monthly quotas for which each was to report separately to the throne. He also asked to revise temporarily the statutes on theft and harborers of bandits with heavier sentences, to be restored when robbery abated—all was approved. By year's end more than a thousand backlog cases had been concluded, and he received preferential merit citation. At the metropolitan performance review he again received merit citation. In the twenty-fourth year he died. The Emperor grieved deeply, granted lavish condolence by edict, posthumously invested him with governor-general rank, and gave him the posthumous title Gongjin.
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論曰:仁宗初政,特重廉吏。 岳起、荊道乾清操實政為之冠; 謝啟昆、張師誠才猷建樹,卓越一時:並專圻碩望矣。 李殿圖、李奕疇、錢楷亦各以明慎慈惠見稱,和舜武課最簿書,遂邀易名曠典; 王紹蘭一眚坐廢,晚成經學:殆有幸有不幸哉?
The commentators say: At the beginning of Emperor Renzong's reign, incorrupt officials were especially prized. Yue Qi and Jing Daoqian, with their upright conduct and solid administration, stood foremost among them. Xie Qikun and Zhang Shicheng, with talent and accomplishment, rose above their contemporaries: all were commanding figures among provincial governors. Li Diantu, Li Yichou, and Qian Kai were likewise praised for prudent clarity and kindly rule; He Shunwu, through excellence in administrative work, won rare posthumous honors. Wang Shaolan was cast down for a single fault, yet in later years mastered the classical learning: was it not a life in which fortune and misfortune were strangely mingled?