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列傳二百二十九
Biography 229
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徐樹銘薛允升宗室延煦子會章汪鳴鑾長麟
Xu Shuming · Xue Yunsheng · Imperial Clansman Yanxu · Huizhang · Wang Mingluan · Chang Lin
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周家楣周德潤胡燏棻張廕桓
Zhou Jiamei · Zhou Derun · Hu Yufen · Zhang Yinhuang
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徐樹銘，字壽蘅，湖南長沙人。 道光二十七年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 典四川鄉試。 咸豐二年，遷中允，簡山東學政。 累遷內閣學士，授兵部右侍郎。 督學福建，按試興、泉。 適莆田、同安呂、黃二氏械鬥，勢洶洶，樹銘喻以大義，手書勸諭文付二氏，躬祭鬥死者而哀之，二氏愧悔； 復為立型仁、講讓二塾，訓其子弟，二氏愈益和。 秩滿，乞歸養。 同治五年，起署禮部左侍郎。 明年，督學浙江，以薦舉人才中列已罷編修俞樾，嚴旨付吏議，謫遷太常寺少卿。
Xu Shuming, whose style was Shouheng, came from Changsha in Hunan. He took his jinshi degree in Daoguang 27 (1847), entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and received appointment as a reviser. He presided over the Sichuan provincial civil service examination. In Xianfeng 2 (1852) he was promoted to junior expositor and appointed education commissioner of Shandong. He rose in stages to Grand Secretariat academician and received appointment as vice minister of the Board of War. While supervising education in Fujian he conducted examinations in the Xing and Quan prefectures. At that time the Lü and Huang lineages of Putian and Tongan were engaged in a violent clan fight; Shuming appealed to them on principle, handed each clan a written admonition in his own hand, personally offered sacrifices for the dead and mourned them, and both clans repented. He also founded the Xingren and Jiangrang schools to teach their sons and nephews, and the two clans grew increasingly amicable. When his term ended he asked to go home on leave to support his parents. In Tongzhi 5 (1866) he was recalled to serve as acting left vice minister of the Board of Rites. The next year, as Zhejiang education commissioner, he included among recommended talents the dismissed reviser Yu Yue; the throne issued a severe edict for personnel review, and he was demoted to vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
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光緒初，鴻臚寺卿，遭父憂，終喪，起授通政司副使。 十年，晉太常寺卿。 永定河決，詔樹銘往勘，既至，奏罷河工酌用民力及折價交土章程，民德之。 法越事急，念海道梗阻，乃疏請漕糧改歸河運，敕直隸總督治南運全河。 十二年，補左副都御史。 時議廢當十錢，復制錢，民心惶惑。 樹銘言於戶部尚書閻敬銘，請發倉廩，俾民以當十錢購粟，糶平而錢不廢，民乃安。 十五年，授工部右侍郎。 歷充順天、浙江鄉試正副考官，會試總裁。 二十年，中東構釁，樹銘數上封事，皆不報。 旋遷左都御史，充經筵講官。 疏請行蠶政，敕督撫令有司營辦，以從違為舉劾，上嘉納，下其疏各省。 二十五年，拜工部尚書。 旋病卒，予優恤。
Early in Guangxu he became minister of the Court of State Ceremonial; after his father died he completed mourning and was recalled as vice commissioner of the Office of Transmission. In Guangxu 10 (1884) he was promoted to minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. When the Yongding River broke its banks, the court sent Shuming to inspect; on arrival he memorialized to suspend certain works, use civilian labor judiciously, and adopt rules for commuted earth deliveries at set prices, and the people were grateful. With the Sino-French crisis pressing and the sea lanes blocked, he memorialized to shift tribute grain back to canal transport, and the throne ordered the Zhili governor-general to restore the full Southern Transport Canal. In Guangxu 12 (1886) he was appointed left vice censor-in-chief. At that time policy debated abolishing the ten-cash coins and restoring standard copper cash, and public anxiety ran high. Shuming urged Minister of Revenue Yan Jingming to release grain from the state granaries so people could exchange ten-cash coins for grain at fair prices without abolishing the coins, and calm returned. In Guangxu 15 (1889) he was appointed vice minister of the Board of Works. He served successively as chief and associate examiner for the Shuntian and Zhejiang provincial examinations and as metropolitan examination director. In Guangxu 20 (1894), when war broke out in the Middle East, Shuming submitted several sealed memorials, none of which was answered. He was soon transferred to left censor-in-chief and appointed lecturer at the Classics Colloquium. He memorialized to revive sericulture; the throne ordered governors to have local officials organize it, with obedience or neglect as grounds for reward or impeachment; the emperor approved and sent his memorial to every province. In Guangxu 25 (1899) he was appointed minister of the Board of Works. He soon fell ill and died, and was granted generous posthumous favors.
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樹銘幼穎異，問學於何桂珍、曾國籓、倭仁、唐鑑諸人。 生平無私蓄，惟嗜鐘鼎書畫，藏書數十萬卷，雖耄猶勤學不倦雲。
As a youth Shuming was exceptionally bright and studied under He Guizhen, Zeng Guofan, Woren, Tang Jian, and others. He accumulated no private fortune in his lifetime, cared only for bronzes, calligraphy, and painting, and owned several hundred thousand books; even in old age he is said never to have wearied of study.
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薛允升，字云階，陝西長安人。 咸豐六年進士，授刑部主事。 累遷郎中，出知江西饒州府。 光緒三年，授四川成綿龍茂道，調署建昌。 明年，遷山西按察使。 值大祲，治賑，綜覈出入，民獲甦。 又明年，晉山東布政使，權漕運總督。 淮上患劇盜久未獲，允升诇得其巢，遣吏士往捕。 歲除夕，盜方飲酒，未戒備，悉就執。 六年，召為刑部侍郎，歷禮、兵、工三部，而佐兵部為久。 念國家養兵勇糜餉糈，因條列練兵裁勇機宜，上嘉納。 十九年，授刑部尚書。
Xue Yunsheng, whose style was Yunjie, came from Chang'an in Shaanxi. He took his jinshi degree in Xianfeng 6 (1856) and was appointed a clerk of the Board of Punishments. He rose in stages to director and was sent out as prefect of Raozhou in Jiangxi. In Guangxu 3 (1877) he was appointed intendant of the Cheng-Mian-Long-Mao circuit in Sichuan and transferred to act as prefect of Jianchang. The following year he was transferred to judicial commissioner of Shanxi. A severe famine struck during his tenure; he organized relief, audited all receipts and expenditures, and the people were able to recover. The next year he was promoted to financial commissioner of Shandong and acted as grain transport commissioner. A vicious gang on the Huai had long evaded capture; Yunsheng located their hideout and sent officers to arrest them. On New Year's Eve the bandits were feasting and unprepared; every one of them was seized. In Guangxu 6 (1880) he was summoned as vice minister of the Board of Punishments, served in turn in the Boards of Rites, War, and Works, and assisted the Board of War the longest. Reflecting that the state spent heavily feeding troops and braves, he laid out measures for training regulars and cutting irregular forces, which the emperor approved. In Guangxu 19 (1893) he was appointed minister of the Board of Punishments.
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初，允升觀政刑曹，以刑名關民命，窮年討測律例，遇滯義筆諸冊，久之有所得。 或以律書求解，輒為開導，而其為用壹歸廉平。 凡所定讞，案法隨科，人莫能增損一字。 長官信仗之，有大獄輒以相囑。 其鞫囚如與家人語，務使隱情畢達，枉則為之平反。 始以治王宏罄獄顯名。 蓋民有墮水死者，團防局勇已不勝榜掠，承矣； 允升覆訊，事白。 厥後江寧民周五殺硃彪，遁； 參將胡金傳欲邀功，捕僧紹棕、曲學如論死。 侍讀學士陳寶琛糾彈之，上命允升往按，廉得實，承審官皆懲辦如律。
Early in his career Yunsheng served in the penal offices; because legal labels touched the lives of the people, he spent years probing the statutes and noting every doubtful point in his notebooks until he had mastered them. When others asked him to explain the codes he would guide them, yet in practice he always aimed at fairness. Every verdict he fixed matched the statute article for article, and no one could alter a single character. Superiors trusted him completely; major cases were routinely assigned to him. He questioned prisoners as gently as if speaking to kin, determined to bring every hidden fact to light, and reversed verdicts when he found injustice. He first became famous for resolving the Wang Hongqing case. The case concerned a commoner who had drowned; local defense braves had tortured a confession out of someone, and the matter was treated as settled. Yunsheng re-examined the case and the truth emerged. Later a Jiangning commoner named Zhou Wu killed Zhu Biao and fled. Deputy Commander Hu Jinzhuan, eager for credit, arrested the monks Shaozong and Qu Xueru and sought the death penalty for them. Reader-in-waiting Chen Baochen impeached him; the emperor sent Yunsheng to investigate, established the facts, and all trial officials were punished as the law required.
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二十二年，太監李萇材、張受山構眾擊殺捕者，嚴旨付部議。 允升擬援光棍例治之，而總管太監李蓮英為乞恩，太后以例有「傷人致死、按律問擬」一語，敕再議。 允升言：「李萇材等一案，既非謀故鬥殺，不得援此語為符合。 且我朝家法嚴，宦寺倍治罪。 此次從嚴懲治，不能仰體哀矜之意，已愧於心； 倘复遷就定讞，並置初奉諭旨於不顧，則負疚益深。 夫立法本以懲惡，而法外亦可施仁。 皇上果欲肅清輦轂，裁仰閹宦，則仍依原奏辦理。 若以為過嚴，或誅首而宥從，自在皇上權衡至當，非臣等所敢定擬也。」 疏上，仍敕部議罪。 其時蓮英遍囑要人求末減，允升不為動。 復奏請處斬張受山，至李萇材傷人未死，量減為斬監候，從之。 二十三年，其從子濟關說通賄，御史張仲炘、給事中蔣式芬先後論劾，允升坐不遠嫌，鐫三級，貶授宗人府府丞。 次年，謝病歸。
In Guangxu 22 (1896) the eunuchs Li Changcai and Zhang Shoushan rallied a crowd and killed the arresting officers; a stern edict ordered the Board of Punishments to deliberate. Yunsheng proposed applying the statute on idle ruffians, but Chief Eunuch Li Lianying begged clemency; the Empress Dowager cited the phrase "where injury causes death, sentence according to law" and ordered reconsideration. Yunsheng replied: "The case of Li Changcai and the others is neither premeditated murder nor brawling that ends in death, so that phrase cannot apply. Moreover, our dynasty's domestic law is severe, and palace eunuchs are punished at double the ordinary rate. Even this strict punishment cannot fully embody compassionate mercy, and I already feel uneasy in conscience. If we bend the verdict further and disregard the original imperial instruction, my guilt will be all the deeper. Law exists to punish evil, yet mercy may be shown outside the strict letter. If Your Majesty truly wishes to cleanse the capital and curb palace eunuchs, then the original memorial should stand. If Your Majesty deems it too harsh, to execute the leaders and spare the followers is entirely within Your Majesty's judgment; we ministers dare not fix the sentence ourselves." When the memorial went up, the throne still ordered the Board to deliberate punishment. At that time Lianying pressed influential men everywhere to seek leniency, but Yunsheng would not budge. He memorialized again to execute Zhang Shoushan; for Li Changcai, since his victims were wounded but not killed, the sentence was reduced to beheading with imprisonment awaiting review, which was approved. In Guangxu 23 (1897) his nephew Ji was implicated in bribery through influence; Censor Zhang Zhongxin and Supervising Secretary Jiang Shifen impeached him in turn; Yunsheng was faulted for not keeping his distance, demoted three ranks, and appointed vice director of the Imperial Clan Court. The following year he resigned on grounds of illness and went home.
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二十六年，拳禍作，兩宮幸西安。 允升赴行在，復起用刑部侍郎，尋授尚書。 以老辭，不允。 二十七年，回鑾，從駕至河南。 病卒，卹如製。 箸有漢律輯存六卷、漢律決事比四卷、唐明律合編四十卷、服制備考四卷、讀例存疑五十四卷。 子浚，光緒六年進士，官禮部郎中。
In Guangxu 26 (1900) the Boxer disaster broke out and the two palaces fled to Xi'an. Yunsheng went to the traveling court, was reappointed vice minister of the Board of Punishments, and soon minister. He pleaded age and declined, but was not permitted. In Guangxu 27 (1901), when the court returned to the capital, he accompanied the procession as far as Henan. He died of illness; posthumous favors followed statute. He authored Collected Han Statutes in six juan, Han Statutory Precedents in four juan, the Tang and Ming Codes Combined in forty juan, Mourning Regulations with Notes in four juan, and Doubts on Reading Precedents in fifty-four juan. His son Jun took his jinshi in Guangxu 6 and served as director in the Board of Rites.
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宗室延煦，字樹南，隸正藍旗，直隸總督慶祺子。 以任子官禮部主事。 咸豐六年，成進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 十三年，車駕北狩，錄城防功，擢四品京堂。 明年，授贊善。 累遷內閣學士，除盛京兵部侍郎。 同治六年，調戶部，數勘辦展邊墾地。 十一年，移督倉場。 與漢侍郎畢道遠疏請漕糧起運本色濟兵食，議行。 光緒二年，出為熱河都統，以圍場曠莽，易叢姦宄，請增置營汛資守禦。 有土寇王致岡者，構眾擾平泉、赤峰、建昌諸處，積為民患，官軍莫能捕，至是遣守備松恩剿平之。 尋移疾去。
Imperial Clansman Yanxu, style Shunan, of the Plain Blue Banner, was son of Qingqi, governor-general of Zhili. By hereditary privilege he entered the Board of Rites as a clerk. In Xianfeng 6 he passed the metropolitan examination, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and was appointed reviser. In Xianfeng 13 (1863), when the court fled north, his merit in defending the capital was recorded and he was promoted to a fourth-rank capital post. The following year he was appointed tutor. He rose to Grand Secretariat academician and was appointed vice minister of the Board of War at Mukden. In Tongzhi 6 (1867) he was transferred to the Board of Revenue and repeatedly investigated frontier land reclamation. In Tongzhi 11 (1872) he was transferred to supervise the grain depots. With Han vice minister Bi Daoyuan he memorialized that tribute grain should move in kind to feed the troops, and the proposal was adopted. In Guangxu 2 (1876) he was sent out as commander-in-chief of Rehe; the hunting grounds were vast and lawless, so he asked for more garrison posts and funds to guard them. A local bandit, Wang Zhigang, had long led a gang harassing Pingquan, Chifeng, Jianchang, and elsewhere beyond the reach of government troops; Yanxu now sent Assistant Commander Song En to wipe them out. He soon resigned on grounds of illness.
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九年，授左都御史。 念會典事例自嘉慶間續修，中更六十餘年，典章制度，視昔彌劇。 及今不修，恐文獻無徵，難免舛漏。 疏請敕廷臣集議開館，限年修明憲典，得旨報可。 十年，晉理籓院尚書，調禮部。 萬壽聖節，大學士左宗棠未隨班叩祝，延煦上疏論劾。 略謂：「左宗棠職居首列，鴻臚引班時，竟步出乾清門，不勝駴詫！ 國家優禮大臣，宗棠被恩尤重。 縱捐頂踵，未報萬一，乃躬履尊嚴之地，絕無誠敬之心。 如曰遘疾，曷弗請假？ 而必故亂班聯，害禮負恩，莫或斯等！」 疏上，下宗棠吏議，以延煦語過當，詔革職留任。
In Guangxu 9 (1883) he was appointed left censor-in-chief. He noted that the Collected Statutes had last been revised under Jiaqing, and in the sixty-odd years since, institutions had grown far more complex. If revision waited longer, he feared the documentary record would lack support and errors would multiply. He memorialized for a court conference to open a compilation office with a deadline to revise the statutes; the throne approved. In Guangxu 10 he was promoted to minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs and transferred to the Board of Rites. On the imperial birthday Grand Secretary Zuo Zongtang failed to join the congratulatory ranks; Yanxu memorialized to impeach him. He wrote in part: "Zuo Zongtang stands at the head of the civil roster; when the Court of State Ceremonial led the ranks in salutation, he actually walked out through the Qianqing Gate—nothing could astonish me more! The state honors great ministers generously, and Zongtang has received extraordinary favor. Though he offered head and heels he could not repay a fraction of it; yet he entered this most solemn precinct without the least sincere reverence. If he was ill, why did he not ask for leave? Instead he willfully broke the ranks, injured ritual, and betrayed imperial grace—who equals this?" When the memorial went up, Zuo was referred to personnel review; because Yanxu's language was excessive, an edict stripped his rank but kept him in office.
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會山東民埝決口，言者劾巡撫陳士傑誤工狀，命延煦偕祁世長往按，白其誣而言其失計。 又以遵旨巡察海防，具圖說以上，謂：「煙台、旅順對峙，海面至此一束，兩岸同心扼守要隘，津、沽得有鎖鑰。 防守之法，應如何測淺深，審沙線，備船砲，設水師； 募諳海戰之人，必有制勝之策。」 上韙其議，特宣示。 還京，再移疾，不允。 十二年，兩宮祇謁東陵，詣孝貞顯皇后陵寢，慈禧皇太后不欲行拜跪禮，延煦持不可，面諍數四。 方是時，太后怒甚，禮部長官咸失色，延煦從容無少變。 太后卒無以難，不得已跪拜如儀。 延煦起家貴介，以文詞受主知，而立朝大節侃侃無所撓，士論偉之。 明年，卒。
When a Shandong dyke burst, critics impeached Governor Chen Shijie for misreporting the works; Yanxu and Qi Shichang were sent to investigate, cleared him of false charges, but noted where his planning had failed. Ordered to inspect coastal defenses, he submitted illustrated reports stating: "Yantai and Lüshun face each other where the sea narrows to a single channel; if both shores hold the passes together, Tianjin and the Hai mouth will have their lock and key. For defense one must sound depths, chart sandbars, ready ships and guns, and establish a navy; Recruit men versed in sea combat, and a winning strategy will surely follow." The emperor approved his proposal and issued a special proclamation. Back in the capital he again asked sick leave, but was refused. In Guangxu 12 the two palaces visited the Eastern Tombs and the tomb of Empress Xiaozhenxian; Empress Dowager Cixi refused the bowing and kneeling rites, and Yanxu objected repeatedly in face-to-face argument. The Empress Dowager was furious and the Board of Rites chiefs turned pale, but Yanxu remained perfectly calm. Unable to refute him, the Empress Dowager at last performed the bowing and kneeling rites as required. Born to noble rank and favored for his literary gifts, Yanxu nonetheless stood unshaken on great matters of state, and scholars praised him. He died the following year.
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子會章，光緒二年進士，歷官理籓院侍郎。 戊戌政變，漢京朝官罹法網者眾。 會章獨奏論刑獄貴持其平，不當以滿、漢分畛域，言人所不敢言，論者謂其伉直有父風。
His son Huizhang took his jinshi in Guangxu 2 and rose to vice minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs. After the Wuxu coup many Han capital officials were prosecuted. Huizhang alone memorialized that criminal justice must remain even-handed and that Manchu and Han must not be treated as separate realms; he said what others dared not say, and critics called his bluntness his father's legacy.
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汪鳴鑾，字柳門，浙江錢塘人。 少劬學。 同治四年，成進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 遷司業，益覃研經學，謂：「聖道垂諸六經，經學非訓詁不明，訓詁非文字不著。」 治經當從許書入手，嘗疏請以許慎從祀文廟。 歷督陝甘、江西、山東、廣東學政，典河南、江西、山東鄉試，顓重實學，號得士。 光緒三年，父憂歸，服闋，起故官。 歷遷內閣學士，晉工部侍郎，兼筦戶部三庫。 十六年，赴吉林按事，與尚書敬信俱。
Wang Mingluan, style Liumen, came from Qiantang in Zhejiang. He was a diligent student from youth. In Tongzhi 4 he passed the metropolitan examination, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and was appointed reviser. Promoted to vice director of studies, he deepened his study of the classics, saying: "The sage's Way rests in the Six Classics; exegesis alone clarifies classical learning, and characters alone make exegesis clear." Classical study should begin with Xu Shen; he once memorialized to have Xu Shen enshrined in the Confucian temple. He supervised education in Shaanxi-Gansu, Jiangxi, Shandong, and Guangdong, presided over provincial examinations in Henan, Jiangxi, and Shandong, favored practical learning, and was known for finding good men. In Guangxu 3 he went home for his father's mourning; after mourning he resumed his former post. He rose to Grand Secretariat academician and vice minister of the Board of Works, and concurrently managed the Board of Revenue's three treasuries. In Guangxu 16 he went to Jilin on an investigation with Minister Jingxin.
16
二十年，主禮部試。 時日韓釁起，朝議紛呶。 詔行走總理各國事務衙門，充五城團防大臣。 調吏部右侍郎，兼貳刑部。 逾年，和議成，日人堅索台灣，鳴鑾力陳不可，稱上意。 時上久親政，數召見朝臣，鳴鑾奏對尤切直。 忌者達之太后，故抑揚其語，太后信之，上不自安。 其冬，遂下詔曰：「朕侍奉皇太后，仰蒙慈訓，大而軍國機宜，小而起居服禦，體恤朕躬，無微不至。 乃有不學無術之徒，妄事揣摩，輒於召對時語氣抑揚，罔知輕重。 如侍郎汪鳴鑾、長麟，上年屢次召見，信口妄言，跡近離間。 本欲即行治罪，因軍務方棘，隱忍未發。 今特曉諭諸臣，知所儆惕。 汪鳴鑾、長麟並革職，永不敘用。 嗣後內外大小臣工有敢巧言嘗試者，朕必治以重罪。」 既罷歸，主講杭州詁經精舍、敷文書院。 三十二年，卒。
In Guangxu 20 he directed the metropolitan examination for the Board of Rites. War with Japan had broken out and court debate grew heated. He was ordered to serve in the Zongli Yamen and appointed commander of the Five-City Defense Corps. He was transferred to vice minister of the Board of Civil Office and concurrently assisted the Board of Punishments. The next year peace was signed, but Japan insisted on taking Taiwan; Mingluan argued forcefully against it and matched the emperor's intent. The emperor had long ruled in person and often summoned ministers; Mingluan's replies were especially blunt. His enemies carried word to the Empress Dowager and distorted his tone in audience; she believed them, and the emperor grew uneasy. That winter an edict ran: "I serve the Empress Dowager and receive her gracious instruction; in great affairs of state and small matters of daily life she cares for me without limit. Yet unlearned men recklessly speculate and, at imperial audiences, modulate their tone without knowing weight from lightness. Vice Minister Wang Mingluan and Chang Lin, repeatedly summoned last year, spoke rashly in ways bordering on division. I meant to punish them immediately, but with military affairs pressing I held back. Now I warn all ministers to take heed. Wang Mingluan and Chang Lin were dismissed and permanently barred from office. Any official who dares such clever speech hereafter will be punished severely." Dismissed, he lectured at the Gijing Jingshe and Fuwen academies in Hangzhou. He died in Guangxu 32.
17
長麟，滿洲鑲藍旗人。 光緒六年繙譯進士，授編修。 累至戶部右侍郎。
Chang Lin was of the Bordered Blue Banner. In Guangxu 6 he passed the translation metropolitan examination and was appointed reviser. He rose to vice minister of the Board of Revenue.
18
周家楣，字小棠，江蘇宜興人。 咸豐九年進士，選庶吉士。 散館，改禮部主事，充總理各國事務衙門章京。 其時教禍棘，四川總督駱秉章夙持正，外人以將軍崇實易與，遇事輒就決之，數興大獄，至殺平民二百人，勿之問。 家楣上書執政，極言其害，請教案歸總督裁決，卒如所言。 各國相繼換約，交涉益劇，枋事者多依違。 家楣苦心經畫，凡議覲禮、遣使臣、護僑民，皆委曲歷久而後定。 洎日本闚台灣，海防亟，乃為策先謀足以製日者。 於是大學士文祥舉立海軍、造船艦、築砲台、制槍械、採煤鐵、招僑商，及用人、籌餉諸端，折衷眾說，屬草議上之。 累遷郎中，擢五品京堂。
Zhou Jiamei, style Xiaotang, came from Yixing in Jiangsu. He took his jinshi in Xianfeng 9 and entered the Hanlin as a bachelor. Leaving the Hanlin, he became a Board of Rites clerk and a Zongli Yamen secretary. Missionary troubles were acute; Sichuan Governor-General Luo Bingzhang was upright, but foreigners found General Chongshi pliable and repeatedly sought his rulings, opening major cases and killing two hundred civilians without consequence. Jiamei wrote to the leadership, denounced the harm, and asked that missionary cases return to the governor-general; events unfolded as he urged. As treaties were renewed in succession, diplomacy intensified and many handlers wavered. Jiamei labored over every issue—audience ritual, envoys, protection of subjects abroad—each settled only after prolonged negotiation. When Japan eyed Taiwan and coastal defense grew urgent, he sought first a means to restrain Japan. Grand Secretary Wen Xiang proposed a navy, warships, batteries, firearms, coal and iron mines, overseas merchants, personnel, and funds; Jiamei was asked to draft the memorial synthesizing opinion. He rose to director and then to a fifth-rank capital post.
19
光緒改元，除太僕寺少卿，典四川鄉試。 越二載，遷順天府府尹，兼總理各國事務大臣，遭憂去。 服闋，署左副都御史，直總署如故。 八年，再授順天府府尹。 時吏治日弛，家楣自初蒞即奏增經費，劾污吏，練捕盜營，親決獄訟，設通州、良鄉官車局、近畿教養義塾、善堂、留養局，增貢院號舍，擴金台書院，制孔廟祭器、樂器。 及再任，益有興革，郡中一切皆治辦。
At the start of Guangxu he became vice minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud and presided over the Sichuan provincial examination. Two years later he became prefect of Shuntian and Zongli Yamen minister, then left on mourning. After mourning he acted as left vice censor-in-chief while continuing at the Yamen. In Guangxu 8 he was again appointed prefect of Shuntian. With governance slackening, from his first day he sought more funds, impeached corrupt officials, drilled constabulary camps, judged cases personally, founded carriage offices, charity schools, relief halls, expanded examination quarters and Jintai Academy, and commissioned temple vessels and instruments. On his second term reforms multiplied until the prefecture was fully in order.
20
九年，霪雨河溢，州邑籥菑，亟疏請帑，复募集銀百餘萬。 會關東大熟，勸募雜糧，亦獲數万石，卹飢困。 明年春，大舉工賑，濬京南鳳河，京東北運河，武清、寶坻兩減河、宛平龐谷莊百二十村溝洫。 通州、涿州、霸州、保定堤壩決口，分助直、魯工賑皆鉅萬。 僉謂京畿救荒之政，為百年所未有云。
In Guangxu 9 floods devastated the region; he urgently sought treasury funds and raised over a million taels. With a great harvest in Guandong he collected tens of thousands of shi of grain to relieve hunger. Next spring he launched work relief, dredging the Feng River, the northeast Grand Canal, Wuqing and Baodi reduction canals, and 120 village ditches at Pangguzhuang. Dykes burst at Tongzhou, Zhuozhou, Bazhou, and Baoding; he gave tens of thousands each to Zhili and Shandong relief. Observers said capital-region famine relief had not been equaled in a century.
21
家楣方負時望，累兼署禮、戶、兵三部侍郎，上意駸鄉用。 既而恭親王奕訢罷政，朝局一變。 法越事起，朝士激昂多主戰。 家楣以法彊盛，不可輕敵，乃自具疏，略謂：「法人肆擾海疆，台灣亟於戰禦，餉械阻絕。 敵以兵船十數游弋海口，伺隙抵巇，各國且潛濟之。 台灣雖勝，與內地隔。 越南得手，得一地留一師，亦恐分兵致弱。 今調停之說，發之自彼，權之在我，不得不別具深謀，欲擒先縱。 至中國實能自強，轉無戰之可言。 此大局之樞紐也。」 疏上，自知其言不協時，曰：「吾終不以附和誤國。」 給事中孔憲劾張廕桓洩漏機密，語連家楣及吳廷芬等，乃罷直總署，轉通政使。 十三年，卒。 順天士民感其遺惠，請建通州專祠，詔允之。
Jiamei enjoyed high repute and repeatedly acted as vice minister in Rites, Revenue, and War; the throne meant to promote him. Soon Prince Gong Yixin left power and the court situation shifted. When the Sino-French conflict arose, court scholars mostly favored war. Jiamei held France too strong to provoke lightly and memorialized in part: "The French harass the coasts; Taiwan needs defense urgently while pay and arms are cut off. A dozen enemy warships cruise the coast seeking openings, while other nations secretly aid them. Even victory in Taiwan leaves it cut off from the interior. Each gain in Vietnam ties down an army and risks weakening forces elsewhere. Mediation now comes from them, but the decision is ours; we need deeper strategy—to catch prey one first lets it run. When China truly strengthens itself, war becomes unnecessary. This is the pivot of the larger situation." When it went up, knowing his words were unpopular, he said: "I will never flatter the times and harm the state." Supervising Secretary Kong Xian impeached Zhang Yinhuang for leaking secrets, implicating Jiamei and Wu Tingfen; he left the Yamen for the Office of Transmission. He died in Guangxu 13. Shuntian scholars and people, grateful for his legacy, won approval for a dedicated shrine at Tongzhou.
22
周德潤，字生霖，廣西臨桂人。 同治元年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 遷司業，歷侍讀學士，充日講起居注官。 光緒八年，除少詹事。 星變陳言，上修理政刑六事。 再遷內閣學士。 十年，大學士左宗棠稱疾請解職，德潤力言：「宗棠不宜去位，請旨責其引退之非，示以致身之義。」 稱旨。 當是時，言路發攄，德潤先後劾巡撫李文敏、倪文蔚不職狀，有直聲。
Zhou Derun, style Shenglin, came from Lingui in Guangxi. In Tongzhi 1 he took his jinshi, entered the Hanlin, and was appointed reviser. He became vice director of studies, reader-in-waiting, and recorder of the emperor's daily activities. In Guangxu 8 he was appointed junior vice director of the Hanlin Academy. On a celestial anomaly he memorialized six measures to repair governance and punishment. He was again promoted to Grand Secretariat academician. In Guangxu 10 Grand Secretary Zuo Zongtang sought to resign on illness; Derun argued: "Zongtang must not leave office; I ask an edict reproving his retirement and teaching devotion to the state." The emperor approved. Remonstrance flourished; Derun impeached Governors Li Wenmin and Ni Wenwei for neglect and gained a reputation for integrity.
23
法越構兵，倡救越議，數請力保籓封，速定戰計，條列急務十端，可危者八，不可和者五，宜用兵者七。 又以防務不可歲月計，復請亟籌強邊積穀，以老敵師、操勝算。 疏凡十餘上，上數召見，嘉其諳邊情。 命行走總理各國事務衙門，兩次請敕廷臣集議。 未幾，和議起，法人勒退兵，益索償費。 議者欲與之，德潤持不可，謂：「苟傷國體，即一介不可與。 請定志毋退縮。」 已，議敘事棘，德潤獨具疏，略言：「籓封可棄，猶謂非域中也。 邊界可分，猶謂非腹地也。 商可通，兵可撤，猶謂守約非背約也。 五條外橫生枝節，若猶遷就，其何能國？ 請嚴拒之。」 並陳和戰機宜甚悉。 上以單銜入告，乖和衷誼，罷直總署。 及明詔與法宣戰，德潤遵旨覆陳台、越戰計，力駁德璀琳、盛宣懷所擬和約，條列救台复越六策，力主先戰後和。 复上安徽釐稅、梧州關稅積弊狀，先後命大臣廉得實，設法整飭之，歲課贏數十萬。
When France and Vietnam fought he urged saving Vietnam, repeatedly demanding protection of the tributary, swift war plans, ten urgent matters, eight dangers, five reasons peace was impossible, and seven cases for force. He also said coastal defense could not wait months and urged grain stockpiles on the frontiers to wear down the enemy. He submitted more than ten memorials; the emperor repeatedly summoned him and praised his frontier knowledge. He was ordered to the Zongli Yamen and twice asked for ministerial conferences. Soon peace talks began; France demanded troop withdrawal and further indemnity. Councilors wished to pay; Derun refused, saying: "If national dignity is harmed, not one cash may be given. Fix resolve and do not retreat." As negotiations hardened, Derun memorialized alone: "The tributary may be abandoned, yet one may still say it is not the heartland. Borders may be divided, yet one may still say it is not the interior. Trade may open and troops withdraw, yet one may still call this keeping treaty faith. Beyond the five articles new demands sprout; further yielding would destroy the state. Reject them strictly." He also detailed peace-and-war opportunities at length. Reporting alone and violating harmonious counsel, he was removed from the Yamen. When war on France was declared, Derun followed orders, refuted Detring and Sheng Xuanhuai's draft treaties, listed six measures to save Taiwan and recover Vietnam, and urged war before peace. He also exposed abuses in Anhui transit duties and Wuzhou customs; investigations led to reforms yielding hundreds of thousands more in annual revenue.
24
明年，和議將成，德潤臚舉八事進，曰：習勤苦； 責疆吏； 清內宄； 募銳卒； 杜中飽； 會辦北洋大臣宜分駐奉天海口，南北宜聯一氣； 滇、粵宜籌善後； 雲南宜設機器局。 上嘉納焉。 時法使浦理燮等赴越，朝命德潤詣滇治界務。 德潤率道員葉廷眷等出關，勘都霙南丹古林箐，緣南溪河至河口保勝蠻耗。 十二年，與法使狄隆等論界線，以緣邊二千餘裡，議分五段，執志乘與爭，更正沒入越地三十餘裡，險要地四十里，復大賭咒河外苗塘子諸地數百里。 逾歲還，除刑部侍郎，督順天學政。 十八年，卒，予優恤。
The next year, as peace neared, Derun listed eight measures: practice diligence; hold frontier officials accountable; purge internal malfeasance; recruit elite troops; stop middlemen from profiteering; the Northern Seas co-minister should station separately at Fengtian and the coast, and north and south should unite; Yunnan and Guangdong need postwar planning; Yunnan should establish a machine works. The emperor approved. French envoys went to Vietnam; the court sent Derun to Yunnan on boundaries. Derun led Ye Tingjuan beyond the pass, surveyed Duying, Nandan, Gulin Gorge, and followed the Nanxi to Hekou and Baosheng. In Guangxu 12 he negotiated boundaries with Detring along two thousand li, divided work into five sections, cited gazetteers, recovered thirty li wrongly lost to Vietnam, forty li of strategic ground, and hundreds of li beyond Duzhou. A year later he returned, became vice minister of Punishments, and supervised Shuntian education. In Guangxu 18 he died with generous posthumous favors.
25
胡燏棻，字芸楣，安徽泗州人，本籍浙江蕭山。 同治十三年進士，選庶吉士。 散館，改知廣西靈川縣，未上，納貲為道員，銓直隸。 總督李鴻章俾筦北洋軍糈，補天津道。 光緒十四年，鴻章將出閱海軍，有巨猾覬為變，流言胥動。 各國領事詰鴻章，鴻章以其事屬燏棻，越三月捕治之，民乃定。 海舟應徭自奉天運米豆輸天津，充戶長者，歲出金三萬，往往破家。 燏棻廉得狀，上鴻章奏罷之。 十六年，大水，民數万止城上。 燏棻擴北倉、西沽粥廠徙居之。 鴻章用其言，募集銀三百數十萬，复督塞南北運河諸溢流凡八十餘處，民猶及種麥。 十七年，遷廣西按察使，賜頭品服。 逾歲到官，多所平反。 兩權布政使，建遜業堂教士，下臨桂知縣督諸囚習藝。
Hu Yufen, style Yunmei, was registered in Sizhou, Anhui, with ancestral home in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang. In Tongzhi 13 he took his jinshi and entered the Hanlin. Leaving the Hanlin, he was named magistrate of Lingchuan but bought office as a circuit intendant in Zhili instead. Li Hongzhang put him in charge of Beiyang provisions and appointed him Tianjin prefect. In Guangxu 14 Li Hongzhang was to review the navy; a major plotter stirred rumors of revolt. Consuls questioned Li Hongzhang, who entrusted the case to Yufen; within three months the plotter was caught and calm returned. Corvée grain ships from Fengtian to Tianjin made household heads pay thirty thousand cash yearly, often ruining families. Yufen investigated and Li Hongzhang memorialized to abolish it. In Guangxu 16 floods drove tens of thousands onto the city walls. He expanded the North Granary and Xigu soup kitchens to house them. Li Hongzhang adopted his plan, raised over three million taels, and blocked eighty canal overflows so farmers could still plant wheat. In Guangxu 17 he became Guangxi judicial commissioner with first-rank court dress. After arriving he reversed many wrongful verdicts. He twice acted as financial commissioner, founded the Xunye Hall, and had Lin'gui magistrate supervise prisoner crafts.
26
二十年，入覲，會中東事起，命治糈台。 師挫，鴻章東渡行成。 諸軍西入關，燏棻疏請資遣之。 蔣希夷軍幾潰，燏棻單騎宣諭，卒解遣，無敢譁者。 朝廷恫喪師，知募兵不足恃，命燏棻主練兵，成十營，頓小站，號定武軍。 小站練兵自此始。 燏棻上疏言變法自強，條列十事：曰開鐵路，自漢口至京為幹路，其分支南自光山、固始出六安，自應城、京山、安陸出荊門、當陽； 西自懷慶出軹關迳蒲、解達關隴； 東自開封、歸德過宿、泗抵清江。 曰造鈔幣、銀幣，毋使各國壟市利。 曰制機器，國家用槍砲船械，令民廠自造，可塞漏卮。 曰開礦產，築路需煤鐵，鑄幣需金銀銅，制機器需五金，擇良吏主其事。 曰折南漕，官祿軍糈並易以銀，仍就津市米儲通州，備緩急。 曰減兵額，汰老弱，簡精壯，化無用為有用。 曰創郵政，取其貲佐度支，驛站、提塘皆可廢。 曰練陸軍，將知學問，械求畫一，兵取良家，厚將領月糈，嚴戒侵蝕。 曰整海軍，軍置帥，總領緣海七省，隸中樞，不受疆吏節度。 曰設學堂，農、商、工、礦、醫有顓家，水師、陸軍、女子、盲啞有教法，朝廷為定制，甄而用之。 又言停武科，練旗兵，器械、營製、餉章並從西式。 次第皆採用。 是歲定議造鐵路，自盧溝至津，命燏棻充督辦。 尋授順天府府尹，疏請展京西支路，首盧溝訖門頭溝，便煤運。
In Guangxu 20 he attended court; with war in the Middle East he managed the provisions bureau. After defeat Li Hongzhang went to Japan for peace. As armies entered the pass, Yufen memorialized funds to discharge them. Jiang Xiyi's army nearly mutinied; Yufen rode alone to proclaim the edict and dismissed them without riot. Alarmed at defeat, the court knew mercenaries unreliable and had Yufen train ten battalions at Xiaozhan as the Dingwu Army. Xiaozhan troop training began here. Yufen memorialized ten reforms: railways with a Hankou-Beijing trunk and branches south via Guangshan-Gushi-Lu'an and Yingcheng-Jingshan-Anlu-Jingmen-Dangyang; west from Huaiqing through Jiguan Pass to Guanzhong; east from Kaifeng and Guide through Su and Si to Qingjiang. On minting paper and silver currency to stop foreign monopoly of profit. On manufacturing machines so state arms and ships can be made domestically, stopping fiscal leakage. On opening mines: roads need coal and iron, coinage needs metals, machines need alloys—appoint capable officials. On commuting Southern Transport to silver pay while storing Tianjin grain at Tongzhou for emergencies. On cutting troop quotas, eliminating weak soldiers, and making the remainder useful. On creating postal service revenue for the treasury and abolishing courier stations. On training the army with educated generals, uniform weapons, respectable recruits, better pay, and no corruption. On organizing a navy commander over seven coastal provinces, answerable to the center not governors. On establishing specialized schools for agriculture, commerce, industry, mining, medicine, navy, army, women, and disabled instruction under court standards. He also urged abolishing military exams, training Banner troops, and westernizing arms, camps, and pay. These were adopted in turn. That year a Lugou Bridge-Tianjin railway was approved with Yufen as superintendent. Soon he became Shuntian prefect and memorialized a western branch from Lugou Bridge to Mentougou for coal.
27
已，充總理各國事務大臣，時董福祥軍駐南苑，斫傷鐵路西國工程師，各公使訴於朝，請罷董軍。 燏棻力爭，始留駐近畿，然卒以此罷直總署。 燏棻夙以談洋務著稱。 次年，拳匪入京，指為通敵，欲殺之，逸而免。 膺會辦關內外鐵路之命，路為聯軍佔，歲餘始與英使訂約接收，復歸於我。 遷刑部右侍郎，三十二年，轉禮部，尋轉郵傳部。 卒，卹如製。 予天津建祠。
Later at the Zongli Yamen, Dong Fuxiang's troops at the Southern Hunting Park wounded a foreign railway engineer; envoys demanded their removal. Yufen argued they should stay near the capital; he kept them but lost his Yamen post. Yufen was long known for foreign affairs. Next year Boxers entered Beijing, called him a traitor, and tried to kill him; he escaped. Appointed to co-manage railways, he recovered them from allied occupation only after a year of negotiation with Britain. He became vice minister of Punishments, then in Guangxu 32 Rites, then Posts. He died with statutory posthumous favors. A shrine was granted in Tianjin.
28
張廕桓，字樵野，廣東南海人。 性通侻。 納貲為知縣，銓山東。 巡撫閻敬銘、丁寶楨先後器異之，數薦至道員，光緒二年，權登萊青道。 時英國請闢煙台租界，議倡馬頭捐以斂厚貲，廕桓持不可。 又義塚一區為人盜售，有司已鈐契矣； 復與力爭，卒返其地。 七年，授安徽徽寧池太廣道。 抉蕪湖關痼弊，稅驟進。 會久霪雨，江流衍溢，州邑籥菑，出俸錢賑之。 明年，遷按察使。 徵還，賞三品京堂，命直總理各國事務衙門。 十年，除太常寺少卿。
Zhang Yinhuang, style Qiaoye, came from Nanhai in Guangdong. He was versatile and unconventional by nature. He bought office as a magistrate in Shandong. Governors Yan Jingming and Ding Baozhen valued him and raised him to circuit intendant; in Guangxu 2 he acted Deng-Lai-Qing intendant. When Britain sought a Yantai concession, some proposed a wharf levy; Yinhuang refused. A charitable burial ground was sold by thieves and officials had already sealed the deed; he argued forcefully and recovered the land. In Guangxu 7 he became Huining-Chi-Tai-Guang intendant. He exposed Wuhu customs abuses and revenue surged. Floods struck; he spent his salary on relief. The next year he became judicial commissioner. Recalled, he received third-rank capital rank and entered the Zongli Yamen. In Guangxu 10 he became vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
29
廕桓精敏，號知外務。 驟躋巍官，務攬權，為同列所忌。 給事中孔憲摭其致蘇松太道邵友濂私函為洩朝旨，劾之，詔出總署。 又以語連同官，並罷周家楣等，朝列益銜之。 左遷直隸大順廣道。
Yinhuang was sharp and known for foreign affairs. He rose fast, grasped power, and colleagues resented him. Kong Xian impeached him for leaking court intent via a letter to Shao Youlian; an edict removed him from the Yamen. His words implicated Zhou Jiamei and others, who were dismissed too, deepening court resentment. He was demoted to Da-Shun-Guang intendant in Zhili.
30
十一年，命充出使美日秘三國大臣。 逾歲赴美，舟抵金山，稅司黑假索觀國書，廕桓謂非關吏所得預，峻拒之。 電詰美外部，黑假踧踖慚謝。 至伊士頓，地近洛士丙冷，華民簞食相迎，初，華民之傭其地也，為美工燔殺，數至二百餘人。 前使鄭藻如索償所毀財產，久不得直，至是皆待命廕桓。 廕桓既達美都，即與其外部辨論，凡償墨西哥銀十四萬七千有奇。 金山華民故好械鬥，嘗為文諷諭之。 未幾，美設苛例，欲禁遏華工。 廕桓曰：「與其係命它族，毋寧靳勿與通也。」 於是倡自禁華工議。 繼乃徇眾請，不果行。 其它烏盧公司槐花園、澳路非奴、姑力、阿路美、的欽巴新蕾諸案，亦多所斡旋。 又與日廷爭論小呂宋設官事，卒如所議。 是歲，除太常寺卿，轉通政司副使。 十三年，奏設古巴學堂，並籌建金山學堂、醫院。 後三年還國，仍直總署。 歷遷戶部左侍郎。
In Guangxu 11 he was appointed envoy to the United States, Japan, and Peru. Going to America, at Jinshan customs officer Black demanded credentials; Yinhuang refused sternly. He telegraphed the U.S. State Department; Black apologized. At Easton near Los Angeles, Chinese welcomed him; earlier more than two hundred Chinese laborers had been killed there. Envoy Zheng Zaoru had sought compensation in vain; all now awaited Yinhuang. In Washington he obtained 147,000-odd in Mexican silver compensation. Jinshan Chinese often fought; he wrote to admonish them. Soon America set harsh rules against Chinese laborers. Yinhuang said: "Better forbid emigration than leave lives to others. He then proposed China ban Chinese labor emigration. Later he yielded to public pressure and dropped it. He also mediated cases at Uluc, Huaihuayuan, Aolufei, and other places. He argued with Japan over officials in little Luzon and won his terms. That year he became minister of Imperial Sacrifices, then vice transmission commissioner. In Guangxu 13 he memorialized a Cuba school and planned Jinshan schools and hospitals. Three years later he returned to the Yamen. He rose to left vice minister of Revenue.
31
二十年，中日議和，命偕友濂為全權大臣，東渡，日人弗納。 次年，復命與日使林董賡議商約，廕桓力爭優待利益、徵收稅則二事，成通商行船二十九款，語具邦交志。 二十三年，奉使賀英，上以其領度支熟知外情，命就彼國兼議加稅，堅拒免釐。 廕桓歷英、美、法、德、俄而還，條具聞見，累疏以陳。 大恉謂宜屏外援，籌固圉，為箴膏起廢策。 二十四年，京師設礦務鐵路總局，被命主其事。 數言修內政以戢民志，治團練以裕兵力，敕並依行。
In Guangxu 20 he and Youlian were plenipotentiaries to Japan, but Japan refused them. Next year with envoy Hayashi he negotiated twenty-nine commercial articles on benefits and taxes, detailed elsewhere. In Guangxu 23, sent to congratulate Britain, he was also to negotiate taxes and refused likin exemption. He toured Britain, America, France, Germany, and Russia and memorialized his observations. He urged rejecting foreign dependence, strengthening defenses, and revival policies like medicine for a wasting state. In Guangxu 24 he headed the capital Mining and Railway Bureau. He urged internal reform and militia training; edicts ordered both carried out.
32
先是變法議起，主事康有為與往還甚密。 有為獲譴，遂褫廕桓職，謫戍新疆。 越二年，拳亂作，用事者矯詔僇異己，廕桓論斬戍所。 二十七年，復故官。
Earlier, when reform arose, Clerk Kang Youwei was very close to him. Youwei was punished; Yinhuang was stripped of office and banished to Xinjiang. Two years later Boxers rose; power-holders forged edicts against foes and sentenced Yinhuang to death in banishment. In Guangxu 27 he was restored to office.
33
論曰：光緒朝部院大臣多負物望，其兼直總署者，時方重交涉，權比樞廷。 樹銘、允升通經明律，家楣、德潤議約論戰，燏棻熟時務，廕桓諳外交，皆各有建白，一時理亂，實隱系之。 鳴鑾以妄言罷斥，論者疑非其罪。 延煦爭謁陵拜跪，劾朝賀亂班，侃侃尤無愧禮臣雲。
The commentators say: In Guangxu many ministers were esteemed; Yamen ministers handling foreign affairs held power like Grand Councillors. Shuming and Yunsheng mastered classics and law; Jiamei and Derun debated treaties and war; Yufen knew current affairs; Yinhuang knew diplomacy—each advised, and the age's fate hinged on them. Mingluan was dismissed for reckless speech; critics doubted the charge. Yanxu fought for tomb ritual and impeached disorder at court congratulations—among ritualists he was especially blameless, it is said.