1
=李鶴年=李鶴年，字子和，奉天義州人。 道光二十五年進士，由編修改御史，轉給事中。 父憂歸，服除，命赴河南襄辦軍務。 同治元年，授常鎮通海道，署河南按察使，調直隸，授布政使。 四年，擢湖北巡撫，調河南。
Li Henian, styled Zihe, was a native of Yizhou in Fengtian. He became a jinshi in 1845, moved from a Hanlin compiler's post to the Censorate, and was later appointed a supervising secretary. After returning home for his father's mourning and completing the prescribed period, he was sent to Henan to help manage military affairs. In 1862 he was made intendant of the Chang-Zhen-Tong-Hai Circuit, served as acting Henan judicial commissioner, transferred to Zhili, and received appointment as provincial treasurer. In 1865 he was promoted to governor of Hubei and shortly afterward transferred to Henan.
2
時捻匪由山東南竄，鶴年以為十餘年來賊屢擾歸、陳、南、汝間，即去而他竄，必假道於豫。 乃增募兩軍各萬餘人，一曰毅軍，宋慶統之； 一曰嵩武軍，張曜統之； 更以馬隊屬善慶，與兩軍為犄角。 於是宋慶等軍大破張總愚睢州，鶴年親赴陳、留、杞督戰。 任、賴各逆复乘虛北擾，鶴年以賊踪無定，防河尤急。 賊果犯中牟，以有備不得逞，乃於省治西決堤引水南流，擾及長垣。 鶴年飛檄水陸各軍沿堤剿堵。 賊西走湖北麻城、黃岡，詔飭宋慶一軍越境會剿，殲賊無算。 鶴年自駐許州策應，賊竄裕州，慶擊敗之。 善慶及淮軍劉銘傳大敗賊贛榆，任柱被戕死。 賜鶴年頭品頂戴。 七年，奉命督師出境，馳抵磁州。 捻犯近畿，更由滑、濬等處沿河東趨。 坐防堵不力，再議處。 豫軍告捷，賞還頂戴。 總愚溺死，捻匪平，照一等軍功議敘。
When Nian rebels were driven south from Shandong, Henian reasoned that for more than a decade they had repeatedly struck the area between Guizhou, Chenzhou, Nanyang, and Ruzhou; whenever they moved on, they still had to cross through Henan. He accordingly raised two new armies of more than ten thousand men each: the Yi Army under Song Qing, and the Songwu Army under Zhang Yao, with Shan Qing's cavalry forming a supporting wing alongside the two main forces. Song Qing's forces then won a major victory over Zhang Zongyu at Suizhou, while Henian went in person to Chen, Liu, and Qi counties to direct operations. Ren and Lai then seized the moment to strike north again; since rebel movements were unpredictable, Henian insisted that river defense was the top priority. The rebels did attack Zhongmou, but found the defenses ready and failed; they then breached a dike west of the provincial seat to divert water south, troubling Changyuan as well. Henian fired off urgent orders to land and river troops along the dike to drive off the rebels and seal the breach. The rebels fled west into Macheng and Huanggang in Hubei; the court ordered Song Qing's army across the border to join the pursuit, and countless rebels were killed. Henian kept his headquarters at Xuzhou to coordinate the effort; when the rebels slipped into Yuzhou, Song Qing routed them. Shan Qing and Liu Mingchuan of the Huai Army won a crushing victory at Ganyu, where Ren Zhu was killed. Henian was awarded the first-rank official hat finial. In 1868 he was ordered to lead troops outside the province and rode at once to Cizhou. Nian forces entered the capital region and again pressed east along the river through Hua, Jun, and neighboring areas. He was censured a second time for failing to defend and block the rebels effectively. After the Henan forces reported a victory, his official hat finial was returned as a reward. When Zhang Zongyu drowned and the Nian rebellion was suppressed, Henian was recommended for reward on the basis of first-class military merit.
3
十年，擢閩浙總督。 明年，陛見，賜紫禁城騎馬。 旋署福州將軍，兼署巡撫。 詔詢海防事宜，覆奏言：「海防之策，莫重於練兵、籌餉、制器、用人四端。 四者之中，以用人為急務，而尤在專其責成。 沿海疆臣固責無旁貸，第無統率大員，仍恐意見紛歧，臨事推諉。」 上韙其議。
In 1871 he was promoted to Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang. The following year he was received in audience and granted the rare privilege of riding a horse inside the Forbidden City. He was soon made acting Fuzhou general while also serving as acting governor. When the court asked about coastal defense, he answered in a memorial: "Coastal defense depends above all on four things: training troops, securing funds, manufacturing weapons, and appointing the right men. Of these four, staffing is the most urgent, and what matters most is to assign clear responsibility. The coastal governors cannot evade their duty, but without a senior commander in overall charge, opinions will split and officials will pass blame when crisis comes." The emperor endorsed his proposal.
4
光緒元年，調河東河道總督，兼署河南巡撫。 七年，授河南巡撫，仍兼河督。 十年，坐審辦盜犯胡體安連疏抗辨，部議革職，以祝嘏恩賞降二級職銜。 十三年，署河督，疏言：「黃河分流，自宋時河決澶州，分為二派。 明築黃陵岡，始合為一。 河性上漫則下淤，今兩路皆淤，急宜疏支河以預籌宣洩。」 報可。 逾年，鄭工復決，發軍台效力。 未幾釋歸，並賞三品銜。 十六年，卒。 宣統元年，開復原官。
In 1875 he was transferred to commissioner of the Yellow River eastward and also served as acting governor of Henan. In 1881 he was appointed governor of Henan while retaining the river commission. In 1884 he was recommended for dismissal after repeatedly memorializing in his own defense during the trial of the robber Hu Ti'an; under the empress dowager's birthday amnesty his nominal rank was reduced by two grades instead. In 1887, while acting as river commissioner, he memorialized: "The Yellow River split after it burst at Dizhou in Song times, forming two channels. Not until the Ming raised Huangling Ridge did the streams reunite into one. The river's habit is to deposit silt below whenever the upper reaches flood; now both routes are choked with silt, and branch streams must be cleared in advance to provide outlets." The court approved the proposal. A year later the Zhengzhou works failed again, and he was sent to serve at a military penal station. He was soon released and sent home, and was also granted third-rank nominal status. He died in 1890. In 1909 his original rank was posthumously restored.
5
鶴年有知人鑑，少與文祥同學相淬厲。 及居言職，嚴疏劾肅順跋扈，而奏起曾國籓於家，謂必能辦賊。 拔宋慶、張曜統豫軍，後皆為名將。 治豫久，多善政，豫人刻石頌之。 始任河督，黑岡堤潰，不絕如縷。 鶴年親督工二十餘晝夜，險工克濟。 德宗嘗詢李鴻藻以善治河者，鴻藻舉鶴年，上亦識前事之枉也，故再任河督。 其卒也，豫民有流涕者。 三子葆恂博學多文，尤知名。
Henian had a keen eye for talent; as a young man he studied alongside Wen Xiang, and the two pushed each other to excel. While serving as a remonstrating official he submitted stern memorials impeaching Sushun for arrogance and power, and urged the court to recall Zeng Guofan from retirement, declaring that Zeng alone could defeat the rebels. He elevated Song Qing and Zhang Yao to lead the Henan armies, and both later became celebrated generals. After long service in Henan he left behind many policies that benefited the people, and locals erected stone inscriptions in his praise. When he first became river commissioner, the Heigang dike burst and hung together by a thread. Henian personally oversaw the repairs for more than twenty days and nights until the perilous stretch was secured. Emperor Guangxu once asked Li Hongzao who best understood river control; Hongzao named Henian, and the emperor, recognizing that Henian had been wronged before, appointed him river commissioner again. When he died, some among the people of Henan wept openly. His third son Bao Xun was widely learned and literary and became especially well known.
6
=文彬=文彬，字質夫，納喇氏，內務府滿洲正白旗人。 咸豐二年進士，授戶部主事。 十年，以員外郎隨扈幸熱河。 明年，遷郎中，出知山東沂州府。 捻匪逼府城，會師攻拔賊巢，擒匪首孫化詳等。 敘功，以道員用。 同治四年，隨布政使丁寶楨敗賊滕縣臨城驛，更繞赴東平防賊北竄。 補兗沂曹濟道，擢按察使。 收復海豐，擢布政使。 十年，署巡撫，補漕運總督。 再署巡撫，旋還任。
Wen Bin, styled Zhifu, of the Nara clan, was a Manchu bannerman of the Plain White Banner under the Imperial Household Department. He became a jinshi in 1852 and was appointed a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue. In 1860, as an assistant department director, he accompanied the court to Rehe. The following year he was promoted to department director and appointed prefect of Yizhou in Shandong. When Nian rebels threatened the prefectural seat, he combined forces to storm their stronghold and captured the rebel leaders Sun Huaxiang and others. For this service he was recommended for appointment at the circuit intendant level. In 1865 he joined provincial treasurer Ding Baozhen in defeating rebels at Lincheng Post in Teng County, then swung around to Dongping to block a northern breakout. He was appointed intendant of the Yan-Yi-Cao-Ji Circuit and promoted to provincial judicial commissioner. After recovering Haifeng he was promoted to provincial treasurer. In 1871 he served as acting governor and was appointed grain transport commissioner. He served again as acting governor, then soon returned to his regular commission.
7
光緒五年，督漕北上，因請陛見，並與河督李鶴年、巡撫週恆祺會商運河事宜，通籌河道寬深，改設運口，導引衛河，設立堤壩，繪具圖說以進。 略謂：「現時北運口在張秋南八里廟，與南運口斜對，相距二十餘裡。 黃流至此雖收束，而溜勢散漫，歧汊甚多。 大抵溜勢近南則北口淤墊，近北則南口淺阻。 故漕船出南運口入黃後，必東北行二十里，至黃溜匯一之史家橋，再南行二十里，至八里廟北運口，汛水大漲，方能入運。 今擬移北運口於史家橋北六里。 黃河西岸，由阿城徬東堤開河一道至陶長堡，為出黃入運口門，築壩灌塘，則黃水不至奪溜，可免牽挽之難。 黃、運之間，自賈工合龍後，每伏秋大雨，水無所洩，民間低地有積水數年不得耕種者，若將陂水引歸一塘，不惟蓄水濟運，又可涸复民田。 運口既定，即可導引衛河。 自直隸元城集東三里衛河曲處鑿新河一道，經直隸之南樂、山東之朝城，至張秋南之蕭口涵洞入運。 計衛高於運九丈餘，長百五十餘裡，導以濟運，勢如建瓴。 更有大小二丹水，亦可由衛濟運。 凡建四徬二壩及挑河築堤，估銀七十六萬。 較之借黃濟運旋挑旋淤者，相去遠矣。」
In 1879, while supervising the northern grain transport, he requested an audience and met with river commissioner Li Henian and governor Zhou Hengqi to discuss the Grand Canal; together they drew up a comprehensive plan to widen and deepen the waterways, relocate the transport entrance, channel in the Wei River, build dikes and sluices, and submitted illustrated proposals to the throne. In summary he argued: "At present the northern transport entrance lies at Bali Temple south of Zhangqiu, set obliquely opposite the southern entrance some twenty-odd li away. By the time the Yellow River reaches this point the channel has narrowed, but the current spreads out and splits into many branches. As a rule, when the current favors the south the northern mouth silts up; when it favors the north the southern mouth grows shallow and blocked. Grain boats therefore leave the southern entrance, enter the Yellow River, and must run twenty li northeast to Shijia Bridge, where the Yellow River currents merge, then another twenty li south to the northern entrance at Bali Temple; only when flood season brings high water can they enter the canal. The proposal is to relocate the northern transport entrance to a point six li north of Shijia Bridge. On the river's west bank a channel would be cut along the eastern dike from Acheng to Taochangbao as the gateway from the Yellow River into the canal; with dams and storage ponds in place, Yellow River water would be kept from hijacking the current and the arduous work of hauling boats would be eased. Between the Yellow and Grand Canals, ever since the Jia closure project was completed, summer and autumn rains had nowhere to go; low-lying fields had stood under water for years. Channeling that standing water into a single reservoir would store water for transport and let farmland be drained and brought back into cultivation. Once the transport entrance is fixed, the Wei River can be brought in. A new channel would be cut from a bend in the Wei River three li east of Yuancheng Market in Zhili, run through Nanle in Zhili and Chaocheng in Shandong, and enter the canal through the Xiaokou culvert south of Zhangqiu. The Wei stands more than nine zhang above the canal along a course of over 150 li; once channeled to feed transport, the water would pour down with the force of water tipped from a high jar. The Greater and Lesser Dan Rivers could likewise be brought in through the Wei to supplement transport. Constructing four sluice gates, two dams, dredging channels, and building dikes would cost an estimated 760,000 taels of silver. Compared with the old practice of borrowing Yellow River water for transport only to dredge again as soon as silt closed in again, the difference would be enormous."
8
又嘗偕兩江總督吳元炳奏复淮流故道，略謂：「淮水匯四十餘河瀦於洪澤湖，楊莊以下云梯關為入海故道，餘波入運濟漕。 遇旱，复蓄淮流由運河分入淮揚各徬洞，以溉民田。 自洪澤湖不能瀦水，張、福引河又不通暢，每遇盛漲，運河一線東堤，其勢岌岌。 儻竟衝溢，不至以里下河為壑不止。 論者謂必設法束水，然與其上游議堵，何如下游深通。」 因條上疏濬楊莊以下舊河入海故道。
He also joined Governor-General Wu Yuanbing of the Two Jiangs in a memorial to restore the Huai River's old course, arguing in summary: "More than forty rivers feed the Huai into Hongze Lake; below Yangzhuang, Yunti Pass marks the old route to the sea, and the river's remaining flow enters the canal to support grain transport. In drought years stored Huai water could be sent through the canal's sluices and culverts into the Huai-Yang region to irrigate farmland. Since Hongze Lake can no longer hold back water and the Zhang and Fu diversion channels no longer run freely, every major flood puts the canal's lone eastern dike in grave danger. If the dike gave way, the flood would not stop until it had turned the Lixiahe lowlands into a wasteland. Some argued that the water must somehow be confined, but rather than trying to block it upstream, it would be better to dredge the lower course deeply." He therefore submitted a detailed plan to dredge the old channel below Yangzhuang that once carried the river to the sea.
9
未幾，卒，有詔褒錫。 兩江總督劉坤一以文彬遺愛在民，請建專祠清江浦，允之。 子延煜，舉人，四川鹽茶道； 延熙，舉人，九江知府； 延燮，進士，武昌知縣； 延照，舉人，禮部員外郎。
He died soon afterward, and the throne issued an edict of praise and posthumous reward. Governor-General Liu Kunyi of the Two Jiangs, citing the affection the people still bore for Wen Bin, requested a dedicated shrine at Qingjiangpu, and the court approved. His son Yan Yu, a provincial graduate, served as Sichuan salt and tea intendant; Yan Xi, a provincial graduate, was prefect of Jiujiang; Yan Xie, a jinshi, was magistrate of Wuchang; Yan Zhao, a provincial graduate, served as assistant department director in the Ministry of Rites.
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=任道鎔=任道鎔，字筱沅，江蘇宜興人。 拔貢，考授教職。 咸豐中，在籍襄辦團練，除奉賢訓導。 以籌餉勞，晉秩知縣，銓當陽，多善政，調江夏。 同治二年，擢知順德府。 畿南匪起，行堅壁清野法，修治城堡，屢擊賊於沙河、平鄉間。 會捻眾北犯，道鎔率練勇守沙河。 夜與賊遇，揮眾奮擊，矛傷及身，不退，賊徐引去，晉秩道員。 洺河自廣平入，久淤塞。 道鎔與鄰郡合濬，又濬郡北響水河，复民田萬餘頃。 總督曾國籓、李鴻章迭薦之。 十一年，調保定，尋擢開歸陳許道。 剔河工積弊，驗工料必以實。 嘗冒風雨搶護中河險工，四晝夜始定。
Ren Daorong, styled Xiaoyuan, was a native of Yixing in Jiangsu. Selected as a tribute student, he passed examination and received appointment to an educational post. During the Xianfeng era he helped organize local militia while at home and was appointed Fengxian district director of studies. For his work raising funds he was promoted to county magistrate, assigned to Dangyang, governed with many policies that benefited the people, and was transferred to Jiangxia. In 1863 he was promoted to prefect of Shunde. When bandits rose south of the capital region, he applied the strategy of clearing the countryside and fortifying strongpoints, repaired the local fortifications, and repeatedly defeated rebels between Shahe and Pingxiang. When Nian forces pushed north, Daorong led local militia in the defense of Shahe. He met the rebels by night, led his men in a fierce charge, took a spear wound but held his ground; the rebels slowly withdrew, and he was promoted to circuit intendant. The Ming River, entering from Guangping, had long been choked with silt. Daorong joined neighboring prefectures in dredging it and also cleared the Xiangshui River north of the prefecture, restoring more than ten thousand qing of farmland. Governors-general Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang recommended him again and again. In 1872 he was transferred to Baoding and soon promoted to intendant of the Kai-Gui-Chen-Xu Circuit. He rooted out long-standing abuses in river works and insisted that labor and materials be verified strictly on the ground. He once worked through wind and rain to save a perilous stretch of the middle river, and only after four days and nights was the breach brought under control.
11
光緒元年，署按察使。 授江西按察使，省獄羈囚四百餘人，道鎔便宜訊決，三月而清。 四年，遷浙江布政使，調直隸。 直隸自軍興，州縣報銷未清，又數值謁陵大差，交代糾葛。 道鎔分別新舊案，定限清結。 裁革州縣攤捐，實發養廉銀以卹吏，勸屬縣積穀備荒。 七年，擢山東巡撫，疏陳營務廢弛，易置統將，以綠營額餉練新軍，責郡縣勤緝捕。 泰山、沂水之間，驛路崎嶇，發卒開治平坦，行旅便之。 旋以保獎已革知府潘駿群被議，又以失察編修林國柱預報起復，被劾褫職，降道員。 家居久之。
In 1875 he served as acting provincial judicial commissioner. Appointed Jiangxi judicial commissioner, he found more than four hundred prisoners still held in the provincial jail; exercising discretionary authority to hear cases, he cleared the backlog within three months. In 1878 he was transferred to provincial treasurer of Zhejiang, then to Zhili. Since the wars began, Zhili's prefectures and counties had left expense accounts unsettled, and repeated major assignments for imperial tomb visits had tangled successive handovers. Daorong sorted new cases from old ones and set firm deadlines for clearing each. He cut apportioned levies imposed on prefectures and counties, paid out integrity-support stipends to officials in full, and urged subordinate counties to store grain against famine. In 1881 he was promoted to governor of Shandong and memorialized that military discipline had slackened; he replaced commanding generals, used Green Standard pay to train new troops, and ordered prefectures and counties to pursue bandits diligently. Between Mount Tai and the Yi River the post road was rough; he sent laborers to cut and level it, greatly easing travel. He was soon censured for recommending the dismissed prefect Pan Junqun for reward and impeached for failing to detect that compiler Lin Guozhu had tipped off his own recall; stripped of office, he was demoted to circuit intendant. He lived in retirement for many years.
12
二十一年，起河道總督。 故事，河督，開封、濟寧並設行署。 自咸豐時，常駐開封，山東河事由巡撫專治。 至是復改議河督駐濟寧，而河南巡撫兼治河。 道鎔言：「官吏不相屬，則令難行，不如仍舊便。」 報可。 時河患多在下游，河督專司上游，事簡。 道鎔務節費，歲以餘帑還司庫。 二十六年，拳匪起，河南奸民乘機煽亂。 道鎔處以鎮靜，練河標三營助省防。 次年，調浙江巡撫。 承國威新挫後，民教相閧，案多未結，持平訊決之。 籌集償款，衡其緩急，民不重困。 二十八年，乞病歸。 逾三年，卒於家，年八十三。
In 1895 he was recalled to serve as Yellow River commissioner. By precedent the river commissioner maintained branch offices at both Kaifeng and Jining. Since the Xianfeng era the commissioner had usually been stationed at Kaifeng, while Shandong river affairs were handled by the governor alone. At this point the court again proposed stationing the river commissioner at Jining while the Henan governor would also oversee river works. Daorong argued: "When officials do not answer to the same chain of command, orders are hard to enforce; it is better to keep the old arrangement." The court approved. River disasters were then mostly downstream, while the commissioner was responsible only for the upper reaches, so the post was relatively light. Daorong practiced strict economy and each year returned surplus funds to the provincial treasury. In 1900 the Boxers rose, and ruffians in Henan seized the moment to stir up trouble. Daorong kept his composure and drilled three battalions of river garrison troops to help defend the province. The following year he was transferred to governor of Zhejiang. After the recent humiliation of national prestige, disputes between locals and missionaries had piled up unresolved; he heard the cases and decided them evenhandedly. He raised indemnity funds and weighed what was urgent against what could wait, so the people were not crushed under the burden. In 1902 he retired on grounds of illness. More than three years later he died at home at the age of eighty-three.
13
=許振禕=許振禕，字仙屏，江西奉新人。 咸豐初，以拔貢生參曾國籓戎幕。 迨楚軍困於江西，都邑相繼陷，振禕偕內閣中書鄧輔綸募鄉兵擊賊進賢、東鄉，旋复吉安。 敘功，以同知銓選。 同治二年，成進士，授職編修，出督陝甘學政。 時河州降回复叛，而西寧諸郡回、漢民亦日相仇殺，試事久停不舉。 振禕始按試各郡，多錄降人子弟，補行八次歲科試，入學者數千人，回民大服。 建味經書院於涇陽，廣置書籍，以化其獷俗。 又請陝、甘分闈鄉試，各設學政，允之。 總督左宗棠以謂邊氓長治久安之效，胥基於此。 父憂歸。
Xu Zhenyi, styled Xianping, was a native of Fengxin in Jiangxi. Early in the Xianfeng era, as a selected tribute student he joined Zeng Guofan's military staff. When Zeng's Hunan army was trapped in Jiangxi and town after town fell, Zhenyi joined Secretariat drafter Deng Fulun in raising local militia to attack rebels in Jinxian and Dongxiang, and soon recovered Ji'an. For this service he was recommended for appointment as subprefect. In 1863 he passed the jinshi examination, was appointed a Hanlin compiler, and was sent out as educational commissioner of Shaanxi and Gansu. Surrendered Muslims in Hezhou had rebelled again, and in the Xining region Muslims and Han were killing one another daily; examinations had long been suspended. Zhenyi began holding examinations in each prefecture, enrolled many sons of the surrendered population, made up eight years of missed qualifying exams, and brought several thousand students into the schools; the Muslim communities were deeply impressed. He founded the Weijing Academy at Jingyang and stocked it with books in hopes of softening local rough customs. He also petitioned for separate provincial examination centers and separate educational commissioners for Shaanxi and Gansu, and the court approved. Governor-General Zuo Zongtang declared that lasting peace on the frontier would depend on work like this. He returned home to observe mourning for his father.
14
光緒二年，起故官。 八年，授彰衛懷道，減屬縣差徭費歲二十餘萬。 豫修里河堤防，淮海各鹽區得免水患。 十六年，擢河東河道總督，築滎澤大壩，胡家屯、米童寨各石壩，河賴以無患。 其要尤在嚴稽察，不私財權，令七廳徑赴司庫支領，故積弊徐而工堅。 二十一年，遷廣東巡撫，禁賭闈姓，粵民利賴之。 二十四年，裁廣東、雲南、湖北三巡撫缺，振禕調內用。 乞假歸，逾年卒。 附祀江蘇、河南曾國籓祠。
In 1876 he was recalled to his former post. In 1882 he was appointed intendant of the Zhang-Wei-Huai Circuit and cut corvée and levy expenses in subordinate counties by more than two hundred thousand taels a year. By repairing inner-river dikes in advance, he spared the salt districts of the Huai and Hai regions from flooding. In 1890 he was promoted to Yellow River commissioner eastward, built the great dam at Xingze and stone dams at Hujiatun and Mitongzhai, and kept the river secure. His key reform was strict oversight: he refused to hoard financial authority, ordered the seven departments to draw funds directly from the provincial treasury, and so long-standing abuses faded while the works grew solid. In 1895 he was transferred to governor of Guangdong, banned gambling on examination surnames, and the people of Guangdong benefited greatly. In 1898 the governorships of Guangdong, Yunnan, and Hubei were abolished, and Zhenyi was transferred to service in the capital. He took leave and returned home, and died a little over a year later. He was given a place for joint sacrifice in the Zeng Guofan shrines in Jiangsu and Henan.
15
=吳大澂=吳大澂，字清卿，江蘇吳縣人。 同治元年秋，彗星見西北，詔求直言。 大澂方為諸生，入都應京兆試。 上書言：「致治之本，在興儉舉廉，不言理財而財自裕。 若專務掊克，罔恤民艱，其國必敝。」 後六年成進士，授編修。 穆宗大婚典禮隆縟，疏請裁減繁費，直聲震朝右。 出為陝甘學政，奏以倉頡列祀典，允之。 又薦諸生賀瑞麟、楊樹椿篤志正學，給瑞麟國子監學正銜，樹椿翰林院待詔銜，士風為之一變。 時詔修頤和園，大澂復言時事艱難，請停止工作。 疏入，留中。
Wu Dacheng, styled Qingqing, was a native of Wu County in Jiangsu. In the autumn of 1862 a comet appeared in the northwest, and the throne called for candid memorials. Dacheng was then a common student and had come to the capital for the metropolitan district examination. He submitted a memorial arguing: "Good government rests on promoting frugality and elevating integrity; speak nothing of finance management, and the treasury will fill of itself. If officials devote themselves only to extortion and ignore the people's hardship, the state will surely be ruined." Six years later he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed a Hanlin compiler. When Emperor Tongzhi's wedding ceremonies grew lavish beyond measure, he memorialized to cut excessive costs, and his blunt honesty shook the court. Sent out as educational commissioner of Shaanxi and Gansu, he memorialized to add Cangjie, legendary inventor of writing, to the state sacrificial canon, and the court approved. He also recommended common students He Ruilin and Yang Shuchun for their steadfast devotion to orthodox learning; Ruilin received the title of Imperial Academy director of studies and Shuchun the Hanlin awaiting-edict title, and scholarly manners changed markedly. When the court ordered repairs to the Summer Palace, Dacheng again argued that times were hard and asked that the work be halted. The memorial was submitted and left unanswered.
16
光緒三年，山、陝大饑，奉命襄辦賑務。 躬履災區查勘，全活甚眾。 左宗棠、曾國荃、李鴻章等交章論薦。 四年，授河北道。 時比歲薦飢，貧民減價鬻田，十不得一。 巡撫塗宗瀛飭荒歲賤價之田準取贖，然往往為勢家所持，以故失業者眾。 惟大澂能判決如巡撫恉。
In 1877, when Shanxi and Shaanxi were stricken by severe famine, he was ordered to help manage relief. He went in person through the disaster zone to inspect conditions and saved a great many lives. Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Guoquan, Li Hongzhang, and others submitted memorial after memorial recommending him. In 1878 he was appointed intendant of the Hebei Circuit. Famine had struck year after year, and poor farmers sold land at a fraction of its worth, often for less than a tenth of the fair price. Governor Tu Zongying ordered that land sold cheaply in famine years could be redeemed at the sale price, but powerful families often blocked redemption, leaving many farmers landless. Only Dacheng enforced the governor's policy as intended.
17
六年，詔給三品卿銜，隨吉林將軍銘安辦理西北邊防。 大澂週曆要隘，始知琿春黑頂子地久為俄人侵占。 因請頒舊界圖，將定期與俄官抗議，未得旨。 時有韓效忠者，登州人，傭於復州侯氏。 負博進，遁往吉林夾皮溝。 地產金，在寧古塔、三姓東，萬山環繞，廣袤七八百里。 流冗嘯聚其中，亡慮四五萬，咸受效忠約束。 效忠嚴而不擾，眾服其公允，屢抗大軍不出。 大澂單騎抵其巢，留宿三日，勸效忠出，效忠猶豫，意難之。 大澂曰：「我不疑若，若乃疑我耶？」 對曰：「非敢疑公。 某負罪久，萬一主兵者執前事為罪。 某死不恨，辜公意奈何？」 大澂挺以自任，遂與效忠出，奏給五品頂戴，子七品，孫登舉有平寇功，授參將。 七年，授太僕寺卿。 法越事起，會辦北洋軍務，駐防樂亭、昌黎。
In 1880 he was granted third-rank ministerial status and accompanied Jilin general Ming'an in managing northwestern frontier defense. Touring the strategic passes, Dacheng discovered that the Hundingzi territory of Hunchun had long been occupied by Russia. He petitioned for the old boundary maps and planned to lodge a formal protest with Russian officials, but received no approval from the throne. At the time there was a man named Han Xiaozhong, a native of Dengzhou who had worked as a hired hand for the Hou family of Fuzhou. Deep in gambling debt, he fled to Jiapigou in Jilin. The area produced gold; east of Ningguta and Sanxing, it lay ringed by mountains and stretched seven or eight hundred li across. Vagrants gathered there in bands, perhaps forty or fifty thousand strong, all under Xiaozhong's control. Xiaozhong ruled strictly but fairly, and his followers accepted his authority; they had repeatedly held off imperial armies without surrendering. Dacheng rode alone into their stronghold, stayed three days, and urged Xiaozhong to surrender; Xiaozhong hesitated, troubled by the request. Dacheng said: "I do not doubt you — do you doubt me?" Xiaozhong replied: "I would not dare doubt you, sir. I have been guilty a long time; if the commander should treat my past deeds as crimes, my death would not trouble me — but how could I fail your purpose?" Dacheng pledged to take personal responsibility, and Xiaozhong came out with him; the court granted Xiaozhong a fifth-rank hat finial, his son seventh rank, and his grandson Dengju, credited with pacifying the bandits, the rank of brigade commander. In 1881 he was appointed minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud. When the Sino-French conflict broke out, he was assigned to assist in Beiyang military affairs and garrisoned Leting and Changli.
18
十年，遷左副都御史。 俄，命使朝鮮，定其內亂，鹽運使續昌副之。 至則日本使臣井上馨避不肯見，而挾朝鮮左議政金宏集於議政院，索償兵費三十萬。 大澂謂續昌曰：「是蔑我也！」 立率兵至議政院，排闥入，責數宏集：「柄國敗壞國事。 今定約稍不慎，便滋異日紛，非所以靖國也。」 宏集唯唯，井上馨亦氣懾，減索兵費十一萬而去。
In 1884 he was transferred to Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. Soon afterward he was sent as envoy to Korea to settle its internal disorder, with salt transport commissioner Xuchang as his deputy. On arrival he found the Japanese minister Inoue Kaoru avoiding him and refusing an audience, while holding Korean Left State Councillor Kim Hong-jip at the State Council and demanding three hundred thousand taels in military expenses. Dacheng said to Xuchang: "This is an insult to me!" He immediately led troops to the State Council, forced the doors open, and rebuked Kim Hong-jip: "In wielding power you have ruined the country's affairs. If this agreement is handled carelessly, it will breed future troubles — that is no way to restore peace to the country." Kim Hong-jip could only assent; Inoue Kaoru was intimidated as well, cut his demand to one hundred ten thousand taels, and withdrew.
19
十一年，詔赴吉林，會同副都統伊克唐阿與俄使勘侵界，即所侵琿春黑頂子地也。 遂援咸豐十一年舊界圖立碑五座，建銅柱，自篆銘曰：「疆域有表國有維，此柱可立不可移。」 於是侵界復歸中國，而船之出入圖們江者亦卒以通航無阻。 十二年，擢廣東巡撫。 葡萄牙侵界至澳門香山。 總署與立約通商，畫澳門歸葡轄。 大澂持不可，條上駁議，不報。
In 1885 he was ordered to Jilin to join vice commander-in-chief Yike Tang'a and Russian envoys in surveying the encroached border — the Hundingzi territory of Hunchun. Following the old boundary map of 1861, he erected five steles and a bronze pillar, personally inscribing it: "Boundaries have their markers; the state has its pillars — this pillar may stand but must not be moved." The encroached territory was restored to China, and vessels on the Tumen River at last passed freely without obstruction. In 1886 he was promoted to governor of Guangdong. Portugal had encroached on the border as far as Xiangshan near Macau. The Zongli Yamen negotiated a trade treaty that placed Macau under Portuguese jurisdiction. Dacheng objected and submitted a detailed rebuttal, but received no response.
20
十四年，鄭州河再決，上震怒，褫河督李鶴年職，以大澂代之。 是年冬，河工合龍，大澂力居多。 大澂盛負時譽，會海軍議起，以醇親王奕枻為總理。 大澂素與王善，治河功成，實授河道總督，加頭品頂戴。 大澂遂疏請尊崇醇親王稱號禮節。 疏入，孝欽顯皇后震怒，出醇親王元年所上預杜妄論疏頒示天下。 大澂幾得嚴譴，以母喪歸，乃已。
In 1888 the Zhengzhou breach opened again; the emperor was furious, dismissed river commissioner Li Henian, and replaced him with Dacheng. That winter the breach was closed, and Dacheng's contribution was the largest. Dacheng enjoyed great contemporary renown; when plans for a navy were raised, Prince Chun Yixuan was placed in charge. Dacheng had long been on good terms with the prince; after the river works succeeded he was formally appointed Yellow River commissioner and granted the first-rank hat finial. Dacheng then memorialized requesting elevated titles and ceremonial honors for Prince Chun. When the memorial arrived, Empress Dowager Cixi was furious and had Prince Chun's own memorial from his first year in office — written to forestall reckless speculation — published throughout the empire. Dacheng nearly faced severe punishment, but returned home for his mother's mourning, and the affair ended there.
21
十八年，授湖南巡撫。 朝鮮東學黨之亂也，日本與中國開釁，朝議皆主戰。 大澂因自請率湘軍赴前敵，優詔允之。 二十一年，出關會諸軍規复海城，而日本由間道取牛莊。 魏光燾往禦，戰不利。 李光久馳救之，亦敗，僅以數騎免。 大澂憤湘軍盡覆，拔劍欲自裁，王同愈在側，格阻之，同愈以編修參大澂軍事也。 光燾請申軍法，大澂歎曰：「餘實不能軍，當自請嚴議。」 退入關，奉革職留任之旨。 乃還湖南，尋命開缺。 二十四年，复降旨革職永不敘用。 二十八年，卒，年六十八。
In 1892 he was appointed governor of Hunan. When the Donghak rebellion erupted in Korea, Japan and China went to war, and court opinion overwhelmingly favored fighting. Dacheng volunteered to lead Hunan troops to the front, and the throne graciously approved. In 1895 he marched beyond the pass to join the armies planning to retake Haicheng, while Japanese forces seized Niuzhuang by a back route. Wei Guangtao went out to meet them, but the battle went badly. Li Guangji raced to the rescue and was defeated as well, escaping with only a handful of horsemen. Enraged that the Hunan army had been wiped out, Dacheng drew his sword to kill himself; Wang Tongyu, who was serving on his staff as a Hanlin compiler, was at his side and stopped him. Guangtao asked that military law be applied; Dacheng sighed and said: "I truly cannot command troops; I should request severe punishment myself." He withdrew inside the pass and received orders dismissing him from office while keeping him temporarily at his post. He returned to Hunan, and soon afterward was ordered to vacate the governorship. In 1898 a new edict dismissed him from office and barred him permanently from further appointment. He died in 1902 at the age of sixty-eight.
22
大澂善篆籀，罷官後，貧甚，售書畫、古銅器自給。 著有古籀補、古玉圖考、權衡度量考、恆軒古金錄、齋詩文集。
Dacheng was accomplished in seal and bronze script; after leaving office he was desperately poor and sold calligraphy, paintings, and ancient bronzes to support himself. His works include Supplement to Ancient Seal Script, Inquiry into Ancient Jade, Inquiry into Weights and Measures, Hengxuan's Record of Ancient Bronzes, and a collected volume of prose and poetry.
23
=【論】=論曰：河患日棘，而河臣但歲慶安瀾，即為奇績，久未聞統全局而防永患，求治難矣。 鶴年以善治河稱，文彬論治河改運口，复淮流，亦頗有識。 道鎔剔河工積弊，務節減，振禕督工嚴，盡革中飽，尤以勤廉者，皆足收一時之效，然徒治標，非治本計也。 大澂治河有名，而好言兵，才氣自喜，卒以虛憍敗，惜哉！
The commentary says: River disasters grow worse by the day, yet river officials need only celebrate each year's calm waters as a remarkable feat; for years no one has tried to coordinate the whole system to prevent lasting catastrophe—genuine reform is hard to achieve. Henian was famed for river control; Wen Bin's proposals to relocate the transport entrance and restore the Huai River also showed real insight. Daorong rooted out long-standing abuses and practiced strict economy; Zhenyi supervised works rigorously and stamped out embezzlement through diligence and integrity—all achieved useful short-term results, but these were palliatives, not a fundamental cure. Dacheng was famous for river control, yet loved to talk of military affairs, took pride in his own talent, and in the end was ruined by empty arrogance—a pity indeed!