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鍾繇字元常,頴川長社人也。 〈《先賢行狀》曰:鍾皓字季明,溫良篤慎,博學詩律,教授門生千有餘人,爲郡功曹。 時太丘長陳寔爲西門亭長,皓深獨敬異。 寔少皓十七歲,常禮待與同分義。 會辟公府,臨辭,太守問:「誰可代君?」 皓曰:「明府欲必得其人,西門亭長可用。」 寔曰:「鍾君似不察人爲意,不知何獨識我?」 皓爲司徒掾,公出,道路泥濘,導從惡其相灑,去公車絕遠。 公椎軾言:「司徒今日爲獨行耳!」 還府向閤,鈴下不扶,令揖掾屬,公奮手不顧。 時舉府掾屬皆投劾出,皓爲西曹掾,即開府門分布曉語已出者,曰:「臣下不能得自直於君,若司隷舉繩墨,以公失宰相之禮,又不勝任,諸君終身何所任邪?」 掾屬以故皆止。 都官果移西曹掾,問空府去意,皓召都官吏,以見掾屬名示之,乃止。 前後九辟三府,遷南鄉、林慮長,不之官。 時郡中先輩爲海內所歸者,蒼梧太守定陵陳稚叔、故黎陽令潁陰荀淑及皓。 少府李膺常宗此三人,曰:「荀君清識難尚,陳、鍾至德可師。」 膺之姑爲皓兄之妻,生子覲,與膺年齊,並有令名。 覲又好學慕古,有退讓之行。 爲童幼時,膺祖太尉脩言:「覲似我家性,國有道不廢,國無道免於刑戮者也。」 復以膺妹妻之。 覲辟州宰,未甞屈就。 膺謂覲曰:「孟軻以爲人無好惡是非之心,非人也。 弟於人何太無皂白邪!」 覲甞以膺之言白皓,皓曰:「元禮,祖公在位,諸父並盛,韓公之甥,故得然耳。 國武子好昭人過,以爲怨本,今豈其時! 保身全家,汝道是也。」 覲早亡,膺雖荷功名,位至卿佐,而卒隕身世禍。 皓年六十九,終於家。 皓二子迪、敷,並以黨錮不仕。 繇則迪之孫。〉 甞與族父瑜俱至洛陽,道遇相者,曰:「此童有貴相,然當厄於水,努力慎之!」 行未十里,度橋,馬驚,墯水幾死。 瑜以相者言中,益貴繇,而供給資費,使得專學。 舉孝廉, 〈謝承漢書曰:南陽陰脩爲潁川太守,以旌賢擢俊爲務,舉五官掾張仲方正,察功曹鍾繇、主簿荀彧、主記掾張禮、賊曹掾杜祐、孝廉荀攸、計吏郭圖爲吏,以光國朝。〉 除尚書郎、陽陵令,以疾去。 辟三府,爲廷尉正、黃門侍郎。 是時,漢帝在西京,李傕、郭汜等亂長安中,與關東斷絕。 太祖領兖州牧,始遣使上書。 〈《世語》曰:太祖遣使從事王必致命天子。〉 傕、汜等以爲「關東欲自立天子,今曹操雖有使命,非其至實」,議留太祖使,拒絕其意。 繇說傕、汜等曰:「方今英雄並起,各矯命專制,唯曹兖州乃心王室,而逆其忠款,非所以副將來之望也。」 傕、汜等用繇言,厚加荅報,由是太祖使命遂得通。 太祖旣數聽荀彧之稱繇,又聞其說傕、汜,益虛心。 後傕脅天子,繇與尚書郎韓斌同策謀。 天子得出長安,繇有力焉。 拜御史中丞,遷侍中尚書僕射,并錄前功封東武亭侯。
Zhong Yao, whose courtesy name was Yuanchang, came from Changshe in Yingchuan commandery. 〈According to the Accounts of Worthies of Antiquity, Zhong Hao, style Jiming, was mild, trustworthy, and careful, well read in the Classic of Poetry and the law, instructed over a thousand students, and held the post of commandery merit clerk. At the time Chen Shi, magistrate of Taiqiu, also served as chief of the west-gate pavilion; Zhong Hao alone held him in singular esteem. Chen Shi was seventeen years Zhong Hao’s junior, yet he habitually showed him the courtesy due an elder and treated him as a peer in duty and friendship. When Chen Shi was called to serve in the central government and came to take his leave, the grand administrator asked him, “Whom can we appoint in your place? Zhong Hao replied, “If you insist on a worthy successor, the chief of the west-gate pavilion will serve. Chen Shi said, “Master Zhong hardly makes a habit of sizing people up—why should he have singled me out? Zhong Hao served as an aide to the Minister of Education. One day the minister went abroad on roads turned to mud; his attendants, loath to splash one another, fell far behind the carriage. The minister rapped the carriage rail and exclaimed, “So the Minister of Education travels alone today! On his return to headquarters he reached the inner gate, but the runners did not steady him; when he told his staff to bow in salute, he brushed them off with a wave and strode past without a glance. Thereupon every aide in the ministry handed in his resignation and walked out. Zhong Hao, a clerk in the west bureau, threw open the headquarters gate, sent word around, and addressed those who had already left: “If we cannot justify ourselves to our superiors, and the Metropolitan Superintendent cites the minister for breach of protocol and incompetence, what career will any of you ever have? On that account they all stayed. The capital bureau did send a query to the west-bureau clerk about the mass walkout; Zhong Hao assembled the clerks, showed them the roster of aides, and the matter was dropped. He was summoned nine times to serve in the Three Excellencies’ administrations and was appointed magistrate of Nanxiang and of Linyu, yet he never went to take up those posts. The commandery’s senior figures whom the empire admired were Chen Zhishu of Dingling, then governor of Cangwu; Xun Shu of Yingyin, once magistrate of Liyang; and Zhong Hao. Li Ying of the Superintendent’s office regularly held up these three as exemplars, remarking, “Master Xun’s discernment is second to none; the moral stature of Chen and Zhong is fit to be our teachers. Li Ying’s aunt had married Zhong Hao’s elder brother and bore a son, Zhong Jin, who was Li Ying’s contemporary; both young men were widely esteemed. Zhong Jin loved learning and looked to the ancients for a model, and he carried himself with modest reserve. While Jin was still a boy, Li Ying’s grandfather, the Grand Commandant Li Xiu, observed, “The boy has our family’s temperament: in an ordered age he will not be overlooked; in a chaotic one he will avoid the headsman’s block. He then gave Li Ying’s sister to Zhong Jin in marriage. Whenever the provincial governor tried to recruit him, Zhong Jin refused to lower himself to an appointment he did not want. Li Ying said to him, “Mencius taught that without a sense of likes and dislikes, of right and wrong, one hardly counts as human. Brother, why do you refuse to see any difference between good men and bad?" Zhong Jin once repeated Li Ying’s words to Zhong Hao, who replied, “Yuanli can afford such talk: his grandfather still holds high rank, his uncles are all influential, and he is related to the Han grandees—that is why he may judge others so freely. Guo Wuzi made a sport of exposing people’s shortcomings and reaped hatred for it. These are not days for that sort of conduct. To keep yourself and your household safe—that is the course I commend to you." Zhong Jin died young. Li Ying won renown and rose to high ministerial office, yet he still perished in the disasters that overtook his family and his generation. Zhong Hao died at home at the age of sixty-nine. Zhong Hao’s sons, Di and Fu, were barred from office throughout the partisan proscriptions. Zhong Yao was the grandson of Zhong Di.〉 Once, traveling to Luoyang with his kinsman Zhong Yu, he met a fortune-teller who told them, “The lad is marked for greatness, but water will nearly undo him—take every care. They had not covered ten li when their mount shied on a bridge and threw him into the river; he barely escaped drowning. Zhong Yu, seeing the prophecy fulfilled, set even greater store by Zhong Yao and paid his expenses so that the boy could study without distraction. He received the Filial and Incorrupt recommendation, 〈Xie Cheng’s Han history records that when Yin Xiu of Nanyang governed Yingchuan he made a point of honoring talent: he nominated Zhang Zhong for integrity, advanced Zhong Yao as merit clerk, Xun Yu as chief secretary, Zhang Li as registrar, Du You for the bandit bureau, Xun You as a recommended scholar, and Guo Tu as clerk of accounts—appointments meant to bring luster to the Han administration.〉 He was made a gentleman of the Masters of Writing and magistrate of Yangling, then resigned on grounds of ill health. Summoned repeatedly to the Three Excellencies’ staffs, he rose to rectifier of the Commandant of Justice and gentleman attendant at the Yellow Gates. The Son of Heaven still resided in the western capital while Li Jue, Guo Si, and their allies turned Chang’an into a battleground, severing ties with the lands east of the passes. Cao Cao, as Governor of Yan Province, at last began dispatching envoys with memorials to the court. 〈The Shiyu relates that Cao Cao sent his aide Wang Bi to bear his message to the emperor.〉 Jue, Si, and others thought, “East of the passes they wish to set up their own Son of Heaven; now although Cao Cao has a mission, it is not his utmost sincerity,” and deliberated detaining the Grand Progenitor’s envoy and rejecting his intent. Zhong Yao urged them: “Warlords everywhere forge edicts and rule as they please; Cao Cao of Yan alone still looks to the Han throne. To spurn his loyal gesture would disappoint everyone who still hopes for restoration. Li Jue and Guo Si accepted his advice and returned a generous answer, so Cao Cao’s envoys could reach the court at last. Cao Cao had often heard Xun Yu praise Zhong Yao and now learned how he had swayed Li Jue and Guo Si; he grew still more eager to win him over. When Li Jue later held the emperor hostage, Zhong Yao and the gentleman of the Masters of Writing Han Bin worked out the rescue plan together. Zhong Yao played a major part in the emperor’s escape from Chang’an. He was named palace assistant secretary, then advanced to attendant-in-ordinary and vice director of the Masters of Writing; for his past services he was also enfeoffed as village marquis of Dongwu.
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時關中諸將馬騰、韓遂等,各擁彊兵相與爭。 太祖方有事山東,以關右爲憂。 乃表繇以侍中守司隷校尉,持節督關中諸軍,委之以後事,特使不拘科制。 繇至長安,移書騰、遂等,爲陳禍福,騰、遂各遣子入侍。 太祖在官渡,與袁紹相持,繇送馬二千餘匹給軍。 太祖與繇書曰:「得所送馬,甚應其急。 關右平定,朝廷無西顧之憂,足下之勳也。 昔蕭何鎮守關中,足食成軍,亦適當爾。」 其後匈奴單于作亂平陽,繇帥諸軍圍之,未拔; 而袁尚所置河東太守郭援到河東,衆甚盛。 諸將議欲釋之去,繇曰:「袁氏方彊,援之來,關中陰與之通,所以未悉叛者,顧吾威名故耳。 若棄而去,示之以弱,所在之民,誰非寇讎? 縱吾欲歸,其得至乎! 此爲未戰先自敗也。 且援剛愎好勝,必易吾軍,若渡汾爲營,及其未濟擊之,可大克也。」 張旣說馬騰會擊援,騰遣子超將精兵逆之。 援至,果輕渡汾,衆止之,不從。 濟水未半,擊,大破之, 〈司馬彪戰略曰:袁尚遣高幹、郭援將兵數萬人,與匈奴單于寇河東,遣使與馬騰、韓遂等連和,騰等陰許之。 傅幹說騰曰:「古人有言『順道者昌,逆德者亡』。 曹公奉天子誅暴亂,法明國治,上下用命,有義必賞,無義必罰,可謂順道矣。 袁氏背王命,驅胡虜以陵中國,寬而多忌,仁而無斷,兵雖彊,實失天下心,可謂逆德矣。 今將軍旣事有道,不盡其力,陰懷兩端,欲以坐觀成敗,吾恐成敗旣定,奉辭責罪,將軍先爲誅首矣。」 於是騰懼。 幹曰:「智者轉禍爲福。 今曹公與袁氏相持,而高幹、郭援獨制河東,曹公雖有萬全之計,不能禁河東之不危也。 將軍誠能引兵討援,內外擊之,其勢必舉。 是將軍一舉,斷袁氏之臂,解一方之急,曹公必重德將軍。 將軍功名,竹帛不能盡載也。 唯將軍審所擇!」 騰曰:「敬從教。」 於是遣子超將精兵萬餘人,并將遂等兵,與繇會擊援等,大破之。〉 斬援,降單于。 語在《旣傳》。 其後河東衞固作亂,與張晟、張琰及高幹等並爲寇,繇又率諸將討破之。 〈《魏略》曰:詔徵河東太守王邑。 邑以天下未定,心不願徵,而吏民亦戀邑,郡掾衞固及中郎將范先等各詣繇求乞邑。 而詔已拜杜畿爲太守,畿已入界。 繇不聽先等,促邑交符。 邑佩印綬,徑從河北詣許自歸。 繇時治在洛陽,自以威禁失督司之法,乃上書自劾曰; 「臣前上言故鎮北將軍領河東太守安陽亭侯王邑巧辟治官,犯突科條,事當推劾,檢實姦詐。 被詔書當如所糾。 以其歸罪,故加寬赦。 又臣上言吏民大小,各懷顧望,謂邑當還,拒太守杜畿,今皆反悔,共迎畿之官。 謹按文書,臣以空虛,被蒙拔擢,入充近侍,兼典機衡,忝膺重任,總統偏方。 旣無德政以惠民物,又無威刑以檢不恪,至使邑違犯詔書,郡掾衞固誑迫吏民,訟訴之言,交驛道路,漸失其禮,不虔王命。 今雖反悔,醜聲流聞,咎皆由繇威刑不攝。 臣又疾病,前後歷年,氣力日微,尸素重祿,曠廢職任,罪明法正。 謹按侍中守司隷校尉東武亭侯鍾繇,幸得蒙恩,以斗筲之才,仍見拔擢,顯從近密,銜命督使。 明知詔書深疾長吏政教寬弱,檢下無刑,乆病淹滯,衆職荒頓,法令失張。 邑雖違科,當必繩正法,旣舉文書,操彈失禮,至乃使邑遠詣闕廷。 隳忝使命,挫傷爪牙。 而固誑迫吏民,拒畿連月,今雖反悔,犯順失正,海內兇赫,罪一由繇威刑闇弱。 又繇乆病,不任所職,非繇大臣當所宜爲。 繇輕慢憲度,不畏詔令,不與國同心,爲臣不忠,無所畏忌,大爲不敬。 又不承用詔書,奉詔不謹。 又聦明蔽塞,爲下所欺,弱不勝任。 數罪謹以劾,臣請法車徵詣廷尉治繇罪,大鴻臚削爵土。 臣乆嬰篤疾,涉夏盛劇,命縣呼吸,不任部官。 輙以文書付功曹從事馬適議,免冠徒跣,伏須罪誅。」 詔不聽。〉 自天子西遷,洛陽人民單盡,繇徙關中民,又招納亡叛以充之,數年間民戶稍實。 太祖征關中,得以爲資,表繇爲前軍師。
Within the passes, Ma Teng, Han Sui, and the other warlords each commanded a powerful army and fought one another for supremacy. Cao Cao was tied down in the east and worried constantly about his western flank. He therefore recommended Zhong Yao as attendant-in-ordinary and acting Metropolitan Superintendent, with imperial credentials to command the armies of the region, and gave him full responsibility for the rear, exempting him from the usual statutory limits. Zhong Yao reached Chang’an and wrote to Ma Teng, Han Sui, and their peers, explaining the stakes; each commander sent a son to the capital as hostage. While Cao Cao held the line against Yuan Shao at Guandu, Zhong Yao forwarded over two thousand horses to his camp. Cao Cao wrote to him, “Your horses arrived just when we needed them most. The west is quiet and the court need no longer glance nervously over its shoulder—that is your achievement. Long ago Xiao He held the Guanzhong heartland and fed the armies until they could fight; you have done no less." Later the Xiongnu chanyu rose at Pingyang; Zhong Yao invested the city but had not yet reduced it when— —Yuan Shao’s son Yuan Shang sent his appointee Guo Yuan into Hedong with a massive force. Some generals urged lifting the siege and withdrawing. Zhong Yao objected: “The Yuans are still formidable. Guo Yuan’s advance means the western lords are colluding with them in secret. They have not risen as one only because they still fear our reputation. If we walk away now we advertise weakness, and every village will turn against us as though we were the enemy. Even if we tried to retreat, could we hope to get home alive? We would be routing ourselves before the enemy lifts a finger. Besides, Guo Yuan is stubborn and vain; he will underestimate us. If he tries to ford the Fen and pitch camp, we should hit him midstream and win a crushing victory." Zhang Ji persuaded Ma Teng to join the attack; Ma Teng sent his son Ma Chao at the head of picked troops to intercept Guo Yuan. Guo Yuan arrived and, just as predicted, made a reckless crossing of the Fen; his officers warned him, but he would not listen. They attacked before half his force had reached the far bank and shattered his army, 〈Sima Biao’s Zhanlüe records that Yuan Shang dispatched Gao Gan and Guo Yuan with tens of thousands of men, together with the Xiongnu chanyu, to ravage Hedong, and sent envoys to Ma Teng and Han Sui proposing an alliance, which they secretly accepted. Fu Gan urged Ma Teng: “The old proverb runs, ‘He who follows the Way will thrive; he who defies right principle will fall. Lord Cao holds the emperor’s mandate and crushes rebellion; his laws are clear, his government sound, and every rank obeys orders. Merit is always rewarded, wrongdoing always punished—surely that is walking in the Way. The Yuans defy the throne, set northern tribes on the heartland, affect generosity while nursing endless suspicions, talk of benevolence yet cannot decide a policy. Their armies may be large, but they have forfeited the world’s goodwill—that is what it means to defy moral order. You already acknowledge a legitimate sovereign yet hold back your strength and play both sides, hoping to watch from the sidelines. Once the victor is decided, he will call you to account—and you will be the first head on the block.” Ma Teng was frightened into compliance. Fu Gan added, “A wise man turns danger into opportunity. Lord Cao is locked with the Yuans while Gao Gan and Guo Yuan hold Hedong. No matter how flawless Cao’s strategy, he cannot keep that region from slipping into crisis. If you march against Guo Yuan and strike him in concert with Cao’s forces, the enemy cannot stand. One blow from you would sever the Yuan arm, lift the siege on our western flank, and earn you Cao Cao’s lasting gratitude. Your deeds would overflow every chronicle the historians could write. General, weigh your choice with care." Ma Teng answered, “I shall do as you advise. He therefore dispatched Ma Chao with over ten thousand elite horsemen, together with Han Sui’s contingent, to join Zhong Yao against Guo Yuan and crush him utterly.〉 Guo Yuan was beheaded and the chanyu submitted. The fuller account appears in the biography of Zhang Ji. Later Wei Gu of Hedong rebelled alongside Zhang Sheng, Zhang Yan, Gao Gan, and others; Zhong Yao once more led the generals and crushed them. 〈The Weilüe records that an imperial summons recalled Wang Yi from the governorship of Hedong. Wang Yi was reluctant to leave while the empire remained unsettled, and the officials and commoners of Hedong wanted to keep him. Wei Gu, a commandery aide, Fan Xian, a general of the household, and others went in a body to Zhong Yao to plead that Wang be allowed to stay. The court had already named Du Ji governor, and Du had crossed into the commandery. Zhong Yao ignored Fan Xian’s party and ordered Wang Yi to surrender his seal of office at once. Wang Yi, still wearing his official insignia, slipped north across the Yellow River and made his own way to the capital at Xu. Zhong Yao was then administering from Luoyang. Believing he had failed in the Metropolitan Superintendent’s duty to uphold authority and discipline, he memorialized the throne to impeach himself. He wrote: “I recently reported that Wang Yi, the former General Who Guards the North and concurrent governor of Hedong, Marquis of Anyang village, had evaded lawful supervision and breached the statutes—charges that warranted a full inquiry into his misconduct. An edict confirmed that the investigation should proceed as I had urged. Because he confessed his fault, he was granted clemency instead. I also reported that every rank in Hedong expected Wang Yi’s return and therefore resisted Du Ji; they have since thought better of it and are welcoming Du Ji to his post. The record shows that I, unworthy as I am, was raised to serve at court, given charge of the machinery of state, and entrusted with command of a distant quarter. Yet I brought neither benevolent rule to comfort the people nor stern justice to curb misconduct, with the result that Wang Yi defied an imperial edict, Wei Gu intimidated officials and commoners, petitions clogged the highways, propriety collapsed, and reverence for the throne evaporated. Even though they have reversed course, the scandal is public knowledge, and the blame lies entirely with my failure to enforce the law. I have moreover been ill for years; my strength fails daily while I continue to draw a generous stipend without performing my duties—a clear breach of statute. Your servant Zhong Yao, attendant-in-ordinary, acting Metropolitan Superintendent, Marquis of Dongwu village, has enjoyed undeserved favor despite talents no greater than a peck measure, and has been kept close to the throne and sent forth with commissions of oversight. I knew full well that recent edicts deplore lax administration, the absence of discipline among subordinates, chronic neglect of duty, offices left idle, and statutes gone slack. Wang Yi broke the law and should have been prosecuted in due form; instead my memorials mishandled protocol to the point of driving him to flee to the capital on his own. Thus I have disgraced the commission entrusted to me and blunted the instruments of imperial authority. Yet Wei Gu intimidated officials and townsfolk and blocked Du Ji for months. Even though they have since submitted, they defied lawful authority and threw the empire into an uproar—and the blame rests squarely on my slack grip on justice. Moreover I have been chronically ill and am no longer equal to my duties—conduct unbecoming a chief minister. I have treated the law with contempt, ignored imperial commands, failed to serve the public interest, shown the disloyalty of a faithless minister, and acted without restraint—gross disrespect to the throne. I have neither implemented edicts nor carried out orders with the care they require. My judgment has been clouded, I have let subordinates deceive me, and I lack the strength to discharge my office. On these several counts I impeach myself: I ask that I be conveyed under guard to the Commandant of Justice for trial and that the Grand Herald strike my noble title and lands. I have long suffered a grave malady that worsened through the summer; my life hangs by a thread, and I am unfit for any departmental post. I therefore entrust these papers to my merit clerk, retainer Ma Shi, for consultation, lay aside cap and shoes, and await whatever sentence the court may impose." The emperor refused the request.〉 After the court withdrew westward, Luoyang was left empty. Zhong Yao resettled families from Guanzhong, welcomed refugees and surrendered rebels, and within a few years the city’s population began to recover. When Cao Cao marched into Guanzhong he drew on that manpower and supplies, and he then recommended Zhong Yao as Forward Army Strategist.
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初,太祖下令,使平議死刑可宮割者。 繇以爲「古之肉刑,更歷聖人,宜復施行,以代死刑。」 議者以爲非恱民之道,遂寢。 及文帝臨饗群臣,詔謂「大理欲復肉刑,此誠聖王之法。 公卿當善共議。」 議未定,會有軍事,復寢。 太和中,繇上疏曰:「大魏受命,繼蹤虞、夏。 孝文革法,不合古道。 先帝聖德,固天所縱,墳典之業,一以貫之。 是以繼世,仍發明詔,思復古刑,爲一代法。 連有軍事,遂未施行。 陛下遠追二祖遺意,惜斬趾可以禁惡,恨入死之無辜,使明習律令,與群臣共議。 出本當右趾而入大辟者,復行此刑。 書云:『皇帝清問下民,鰥寡有辭于苗。』 此言堯當除蚩尤、有苗之刑,先審問於下民之有辭者也。 若今蔽獄之時,訊問三槐、九棘、群吏、萬民,使如孝景之令,其當棄巿,欲斬右趾者許之。 其黥、劓、左趾、宮刑者,自如孝文,易以髠、笞。 能有姦者,率年二十至四五十,雖斬其足,猶任生育。 今天下人少於孝文之世,下計所全,歲三千人。 張蒼除肉刑,所殺歲以萬計。 臣欲復肉刑,歲生三千人。 子貢問能濟民可謂仁乎? 子曰:『何事於仁,必也聖乎,堯、舜其猶病諸!』 又曰:『仁遠乎哉? 我欲仁,斯仁至矣。』 若誠行之,斯民永濟。」 書奏,詔曰:「太傅學優才高,留心政事,又於刑理深遠。 此大事,公卿羣寮善共平議。」 司徒王朗議,以爲「繇欲輕減大辟之條,以增益刖刑之數,此即起偃爲豎,化屍爲人矣。 然臣之愚,猶有未合微異之意。 夫五刑之屬,著在科律,自有減死一等之法,不死即爲減。 施行已乆,不待遠假斧鑿於彼肉刑,然後有罪次也。 前世仁者,不忍肉刑之慘酷,是以廢而不用。 不用已來,歷年數百。 今復行之,恐所減之文未彰於萬民之目,而肉刑之問已宣於寇讎之耳,非所以來遠人也。 今可按繇所欲輕之死罪,使減死之髠、刖。 嫌其輕者,可倍其居作之歲數。 內有以生易死不訾之恩,外無以刖易釱駭耳之聲。」 議者百餘人,與朗同者多。 帝以吳、蜀未平,且寢。 〈袁宏曰:夫民心樂全而不能常全,蓋利用之物懸於外,而嗜慾之情動於內也。 於是有進取貪競之行,希求放肆之事。 進取不已,不能充其嗜慾,則苟且儌倖之所生也; 希求無饜,無以愜其慾,則姦僞忿怒之所興也。 先王知其如此,而欲救其弊,或先德化以陶其心; 其心不化,然後加以刑辟。 書曰:「百姓不親,五品不遜。 汝作司徒而敬敷五教。 蠻夷猾夏,寇賊姦宄。 汝作士,五刑有服。」 然則德、刑之設,參而用之者也。 三代相因,其義詳焉。 周禮:「使墨者守門,劓者守關,宮者守內,刖者守囿。」 此肉刑之制可得而論者也。 荀卿亦云,殺人者死,傷人者刑,百王之所同,未有知其所由來者也。 夫殺人者死,而相殺者不已,是大辟可以懲未殺,不能使天下無殺也。 傷人者刑,而害物者不息,是黥、劓可以懼未刑,不能使天下無刑也。 故將欲止之,莫若先以德化。 夫罪過彰著,然後入于刑辟,是將殺人者不必死,欲傷人者不必刑。 縱而弗化,則陷於刑辟。 故刑之所制,在於不可移之地。 禮教則不然,明其善惡,所以潛勸其情,消之於未殺也; 示之恥辱,所以內愧其心,治之於未傷也。 故過微而不至於著,罪薄而不及於刑。 終入罪辟者,非教化之所得也,故雖殘一物之生,刑一人之體,是除天下之害,夫何傷哉! 率斯道也,風化可以漸淳,刑罰可以漸少,其理然也。 苟不能化其心,而專任刑罰,民失義方,動罹刑網,求世休和,焉可得哉? 周之成、康,豈按三千之文而致刑錯之美乎? 蓋德化漸漬,致斯有由也。 漢初懲酷刑之弊,務寬厚之論,公卿大夫,相與恥言人過。 文帝登朝,加以玄默。 張武受賂,賜金以愧其心; 吳王不朝,崇禮以訓其失。 是以吏民樂業,風流篤厚,斷獄四百,幾致刑錯,豈非德刑兼用已然之効哉? 世之欲言刑罰之用,不先德教之益,失之遠矣。 今大辟之罪,與古同制。 免死已下,不過五歲,旣釋鉗鎖,復得齒于人倫。 是以民無恥惡,數爲姦盜,故刑徒多而亂不治也。 苟教之所去,罰當其罪,一離刀鋸,沒身不齒,鄰里且猶恥之,而況于鄉黨乎? 而況朝廷乎? 如此,則夙沙、趙高之儔,無施其惡矣。 古者察其言,觀其行,而善惡彰焉。 然則君子之去刑辟,固已遠矣。 過誤不幸,則八議之所宥也。 若夫卞和、史遷之冤,淫刑之所及也。 苟失其道,或不免于大辟,而況肉刑哉! 漢書:「斬右趾及殺人先自言告,吏坐受賕,守官物而即盜之,皆棄巿。」 此班固所謂當生而令死者也。 今不忍刻截之慘,而安勦絕之悲,此最治體之所先,有國所宜改者也。〉
Early in his rise Cao Cao ordered a review of capital cases to consider whether castration or mutilation might replace execution. Yao thought, “The mutilating punishments of antiquity, passed through sagely men, ought to be restored and applied, to replace death punishment. The debaters held that this would not win the people’s hearts, and the proposal was set aside. When Emperor Wen faced the feasting host of ministers, an edict said, “The Court of Justice wishes to restore mutilating punishments—this is truly the law of sage kings. The high ministers were to deliberate together in good faith." Before they could reach a conclusion, military emergencies intervened and the matter lapsed once more. During the Taihe era Zhong Yao memorialized the throne: “Great Wei has received Heaven’s mandate in succession to the legendary rulers Yu and Xia. Emperor Wen of Han’s legal reforms departed from the ancient norm. The late emperor’s sagely virtue was Heaven’s own gift, and he pursued the classical legacy with a single, consistent purpose. His successors therefore issued repeated edicts aiming to restore the old punishments and set a lasting standard for the age. Warfare followed warfare, however, and nothing came of it. Your Majesty now carries forward the intent of your two imperial forebears: you regret that amputation could deter crime while execution sweeps away the guiltless, and you have ordered those versed in the code to debate the matter with the full court. Those who would once have faced amputation of the right foot but are now liable to execution should again receive the lesser corporal penalty. The Classic of Documents says: ‘The emperor sought the truth from the common people, and even widowers and widows brought their grievances against the Miao. That passage shows how Yao abolished the cruel punishments of Chiyou and the Miao only after he had heard out the people’s complaints. When cases are tried in camera, consult the judges of the three sophoras and nine jujubes, the officials, and the people at large, as Emperor Jing of Han once commanded: allow substitution of right-foot amputation for execution in the marketplace. For branding, nose removal, left-foot amputation, and castration, follow Emperor Wen of Han’s precedent and commute the sentence to shaving and flogging. Most criminals fall between twenty and fifty; even after losing a foot they can still marry and raise children. The empire today is less populous than in Emperor Wen’s day; by a conservative estimate this policy would spare three thousand lives every year. After Zhang Cang abolished corporal punishment, executions ran to tens of thousands each year. If corporal punishment were restored, three thousand lives would be spared annually. Zi Gong asked whether the power to rescue the people could be called true benevolence. Confucius replied, ‘That is more than benevolence—it is the work of a sage; even Yao and Shun found it hard to achieve! He also said, ‘Is benevolence really so distant? Desire it, and benevolence is at hand. If Your Majesty earnestly puts this into practice, the people will enjoy lasting relief." When the memorial reached the throne, an edict declared: “The Grand Tutor is learned and able, attentive to statecraft, and deeply versed in penal theory. This is a weighty question; let the high ministers and all officials deliberate together in good faith." Minister of Education Wang Lang objected: “Zhong Yao would ease the statutes on capital crimes only to multiply sentences of foot amputation—that is like raising the dead to walk again. For my own part, humble as I am, I still harbor a few reservations. The five punishments are already codified, including commutation one degree short of death; any sentence that stops short of execution is such a reduction. These rules have been in force for ages; we need not reach back to corporal mutilation to establish a proper scale of penalties. Humane rulers of earlier times abolished corporal punishment because they could not stomach its cruelty. We have done without it for centuries. To revive it now would fail to advertise leniency to our own subjects while advertising barbarity to enemy states—hardly the way to win distant peoples. We might instead take the capital offenses Zhong Yao would lighten and commute them to shaving or amputation short of death. Where the penalty still seems too mild, double the term of hard labor. Within the realm men would receive the incalculable boon of life forfeit for death; abroad there would be none of the shock that comes from trading the cangue for the axe." Of the more than a hundred debaters, most sided with Wang Lang. Because Wu and Shu were still unconquered, the emperor let the matter rest. 〈Yuan Hong observed: People long for integrity yet rarely keep it, because profit tempts them from without and appetite stirs them from within. Hence arise grasping ambition, ruthless rivalry, and the pursuit of unrestrained excess. When ambition knows no limit yet desire remains unsatisfied, men turn to corner-cutting and desperate gambles; when hope is insatiable and nothing slakes the appetite, fraud and fury follow. The ancient kings, seeing this, sought remedies: some began by molding the people through moral instruction; when hearts proved incorrigible, they added penal sanctions. The Document says: “The hundred surnames are not close; the five grades are not compliant. You shall be Minister of Education and reverently spread the five moral duties. The tribes harass the heartland; robbers and traitors work their malice. You shall be Minister of Justice so that the five punishments are properly applied." Virtue and punishment are therefore meant to be woven together and applied in concert. The Three Dynasties handed down this doctrine in full detail. Zhou Rites: “Make the branded guard gates, the nose-cut guard passes, the castrated guard the inner precincts, the foot-severed guard the preserves. Such was the classical scheme of corporal punishment that scholars may still discuss. Xunzi likewise taught that murderers die and assailants are punished—a principle every dynasty has shared, though none can say where it began. Capital punishment deters men who have not yet killed, yet it cannot stop killing altogether. Corporal penalties may frighten offenders who have not yet been punished, but they cannot remove crime from the world. To end wrongdoing, nothing matches moral transformation applied first. Only when guilt is plain should the law intervene—so that men on the verge of murder need not die and men tempted to wound need not be mutilated. Those who resist reform must then fall under the law’s edge. Penal law should therefore strike only when guilt is beyond doubt. Ritual and instruction work differently: by clarifying right and wrong they quietly guide the passions and dissolve murderous intent before it forms; by exposing men to shame they are moved to inward remorse and cured before they do harm. Minor faults never ripen into notorious crimes, and light offenses never reach the executioner. Those who still end on the scaffold lie beyond the reach of instruction; to take one life or mutilate one body in order to rid the empire of a scourge is no real injury to humanity. Pursue this path and customs will slowly improve while penalties grow ever rarer—that is the natural order of things. If you ignore moral suasion and rely on punishments alone, the people lose their moral bearings, tumble into the law’s snares, and peace can never be won. Did the golden age of Kings Cheng and Kang of Zhou rest on enforcing three thousand statutes, or on the rarity of executions? Their success came from gradual moral transformation, not from multiplying written laws. The early Han, reacting against Qin cruelty, cultivated a climate of tolerance in which high officials hesitated even to mention one another’s faults. When Emperor Wen took the throne he deepened that reticent, understated style of government. Minister Zhang Wu accepted bribes, yet the emperor gave him gold to prick his conscience rather than haul him into court; when the king of Wu failed to appear at court, the throne answered with heightened courtesy to correct his lapse. Officials and commoners prospered, manners grew generous, and the annual caseload fell to some four hundred suits—nearly the ideal of unused punishments. Was that not the fruit of blending moral example with the law? Anyone who discusses penalties without first praising moral instruction has missed the point entirely. Capital crimes today follow the same categories as in antiquity. Lesser offenders serve no more than five years, then shed their shackles and re-enter society as full members. People therefore feel no shame in wrongdoing, theft flourishes, the prisons fill, and chaos spreads unchecked. If instruction were upheld and penalties matched each crime, a single session with the executioner’s tools would brand a man for life: his neighbors would shun him, to say nothing of the wider community. What then of acceptance at court? In such a world men of the stripe of Susa and Zhao Gao would have no opening for their crimes. The ancients judged men by word and deed, so merit and guilt stood plain. Thus the gentleman kept the headsman’s block at a great remove. Unlucky mistakes fall under the eight grounds for clemency. The wrongs done to Bian He and Sima Qian were the work of arbitrary cruelty. When justice miscarries, innocents still face the headsman—how much worse under corporal punishment! The Hanshu says: "Those sentenced to right-foot amputation, killers who first confess, officials convicted of accepting bribes, and those who guard official goods and then steal them are all exposed in the marketplace." That is what Ban Gu meant by condemning men who deserved to live to die nonetheless. To shrink from the horror of mutilation yet accept the tragedy of mass execution is precisely the contradiction sound government must resolve; it is a reform any true state should embrace.〉
4
太和四年,繇薨。 帝素服臨弔,謚曰成侯。 〈魏書曰:有司議謚,以爲繇昔爲廷尉,辨理刑獄,決嫌明疑,民無怨者,由于、張之在漢也。 詔曰:「太傅功高德茂,位爲師保,論行賜謚,常先依此,兼叙廷尉于、張之德耳。」 乃策謚曰成侯。〉 子毓嗣。 初,文帝分毓戶邑,封繇弟演及子劭、孫豫列侯。
Zhong Yao died in the fourth year of the Taihe era (230). The emperor attended in mourning dress and posthumously ennobled him as Marquis Cheng. 〈The Wei shu records that the ministry proposed a posthumous name on the ground that Zhong Yao, as Commandant of Justice, had settled doubtful cases so fairly that no one bore a grudge—comparable to Yu Dingguo and Zhang Tang under the Han. An edict replied: “The Grand Tutor’s achievements and character are outstanding, and he served as imperial preceptor. When assigning a posthumous name we should begin from that, and only secondarily note his excellence in the mold of Yu and Zhang of the Han Commandery of Justice. The court therefore canonized him as Marquis Cheng.〉 His son Zhong Yu inherited the title. Earlier Emperor Wen had carved out part of Zhong Yu’s registered households and tax lands to enfeoff Zhong Yao’s brother Yan, his son Shao, and his grandson Yu as marquises.
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毓字稚叔。 年十四爲散騎侍郎,機捷談笑,有父風。 太和初,蜀相諸葛亮圍祁山,明帝欲西征,毓上疏曰:「夫策貴廟勝,功尚帷幄,不下殿堂之上,而決勝千里之外。 車駕宜鎮守中土,以爲四方威勢之援。 今大軍西征,雖有百倍之威,於關中之費,所損非一。 且盛暑行師,詩人所重,實非至尊動軔之時也。」 遷黃門侍郎。 時大興洛陽宮室,車駕便幸許昌,天下當朝正許昌。 許昌偪狹,於城南以氊爲殿,備設魚龍曼延,民罷勞役。 毓諫,以爲「水旱不時,帑藏空虛,凡此之類,可須豐年。」 又上「宜復關內開荒地,使民肆力於農。」 事遂施行。 正始中,爲散騎常侍。 大將軍曹爽盛夏興軍伐蜀,蜀拒守,軍不得進。 爽方欲增兵,毓與書曰:「竊以爲廟勝之策,不臨矢石; 王者之兵,有征無戰。 誠以干戚可以服有苗,退舍足以納原寇,不必縱吳漢於江關,騁韓信於井陘也。 見可而進,知難而退,蓋自古之政。 惟公侯詳之!」 爽無功而還。 後以失爽意,徙侍中,出爲魏郡太守。 爽旣誅,入爲御史中丞、侍中廷尉。 聽君父已沒,臣子得爲理謗,及士爲侯,其妻不復配嫁,毓所創也。
Zhong Yu’s courtesy name was Zhishu. At fourteen he became a gentleman cavalier attendant—quick-witted and easy in conversation, very much in his father’s mold. Early in the Taihe era, when Zhuge Liang of Shu besieged Qishan and Emperor Ming planned a western expedition, Zhong Yu memorialized: “The best strategy wins in the council chamber; the highest merit belongs to those who plan behind the screen—victory may be fixed a thousand li away without the ruler’s ever leaving the palace. The imperial train should hold the central plain firm and serve as the anchor of authority for every quarter. A western expedition would multiply the army’s apparent might, yet the drain on Guanzhong would be incalculable. Moreover the classics warn against marching in the dog days of summer; this is no season for the Son of Heaven to take the field." He was thereupon promoted to gentleman attendant at the Yellow Gates. The court was rebuilding the Luoyang palaces, so the emperor moved to Xuchang and the New Year audience was held there instead. Xuchang was cramped, so south of the city they threw up a felt hall and staged lavish spectacles, wearing the people out with corvée labor. Zhong Yu remonstrated: “Floods and droughts come out of season, the treasury is bare—such extravagances should wait for years of plenty. He also submitted that “one ought to reopen wasteland within the passes and let the people exert their strength on farming. The court adopted his proposals. During the Zhengshi era he became a regular attendant cavalier. Grand General Cao Shuang launched a midsummer offensive against Shu, but the enemy held firm and his army stalled. When Cao Shuang planned to reinforce the campaign, Zhong Yu wrote: “True strategic victory is won without exposing men to arrow and stone; a king’s army should overawe foes into submission without needing to fight. The ancients subdued the Miao with ritual dance, and King Tang won over outlaws by pulling back his lines—there is no need to imitate Wu Han forcing the Yangzi gorges or Han Xin charging through Jingxing. Advance when the odds favor you, withdraw when they do not—that has been sound policy since high antiquity. I beg you, General, to weigh this with care." Cao Shuang withdrew without having accomplished anything. Later, having fallen from Cao Shuang’s favor, he was moved to attendant-in-ordinary and posted out as governor of Wei commandery. After Cao Shuang’s execution he returned to court as palace assistant secretary and as attendant-in-ordinary concurrent commandant of justice. He introduced the statutes allowing heirs to sue for libel after a father’s death and forbidding a marquis’s widow to remarry.
6
正元中,毌丘儉、文欽反,毓持節至揚、豫州班行赦令,告諭士民,還爲尚書。 諸葛誕反,大將軍司馬文王議自詣壽春討誕。 會吳大將孫壹率衆降,或以爲「吳新有釁,必不能復出軍。 東兵已多,可須後問」。 毓以爲「夫論事料敵,當以己度人。 今誕舉淮南之地以與吳國,孫壹所率,口不至千,兵不過三百。 吳之所失,蓋爲無幾。 若壽春之圍未解,而吳國之內轉安,未可必其不出也。」 大將軍曰:「善。」 遂將毓行。 〈臣松之以爲諸葛誕舉淮南以與吳,孫壹率三百人以歸魏,謂吳有釁,本非有理之言。 毓之此議,蓋何足稱耳!〉 淮南旣平,爲青州刺史,加後將軍,遷都督徐州諸軍事,假節,又轉都督荊州。 景元四年薨,追贈車騎將軍,謚曰惠侯。 子駿嗣。 毓弟會,自有傳。
During the Zhengyuan uprising of Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin he carried credentials through Yang and Yu to proclaim amnesties and reassure the populace, then resumed his post as minister. When Zhuge Dan rose in revolt, Grand General Sima Zhao debated leading the host in person against Shouchun. It happened that Wu’s great general Sun Yi led a host to surrender; some thought, “Wu has newly had a rift; they surely cannot again send out an army. We already have ample forces in the east; we can afford to wait and see.” Zhong Yu replied that “in judging the enemy you must put yourself in his place. Zhuge Dan has pledged Huainan to Wu, yet Sun Yi brought fewer than a thousand civilians and three hundred soldiers. Wu’s actual loss is trifling. If Shouchun remains invested while Wu settles her own house, we cannot assume she will stay idle." The grand general said, “Well said. He therefore took Zhong Yu with him on the campaign. 〈Pei Songzhi remarks: Zhuge Dan offered Huainan to Wu while Sun Yi brought only three hundred men to Wei—calling that proof of Wu’s collapse was never sound logic, and Zhong Yu’s inference from it was nothing to admire. Hence his verdict on Zhong Yu’s argument.〉 After the Huainan rebellion he became inspector of Qingzhou, was named rear general, then area commander for Xu province with imperial credentials, and finally transferred to command Jing province. He died in the fourth year of the Jingyuan era (263) and was posthumously honored as general of chariots and cavalry with the title Marquis Hui. His son Zhong Jun inherited the marquisate. His younger brother Zhong Hui has a separate biography.
7
華歆字子魚,平原高唐人也。 高唐爲齊名都,衣冠無不游行市里。 歆爲吏,休沐出府,則歸家闔門。 議論持平,終不毀傷人。 〈《魏略》曰:歆與北海邴原、管寧俱游學,三人相善,時人號三人爲「一龍」,歆爲龍頭,原爲龍腹,寧爲龍尾。 臣松之以爲邴根矩之徽猷懿望,不必有愧華公,管幼安含德高蹈,又恐弗當爲尾。 《魏略》此言,未可以定其先後也。〉 同郡陶丘洪亦知名,自以明見過歆。 時王芬與豪傑謀廢靈帝。 語在武紀。 〈魏書稱芬有大名於天下。〉 芬陰呼歆、洪共定計,洪欲行,歆止之曰:「夫廢立大事,伊、霍之所難。 芬性踈而不武,此必無成,而禍將及族。 子其無往!」 洪從歆言而止。 後芬果敗,洪乃服。 舉孝廉,除郎中,病,去官。 靈帝崩,何進輔政,徵河南鄭泰、潁川荀攸及歆等。 歆到,爲尚書郎。 董卓遷天子長安,歆求出爲下邽令,病不行,遂從藍田至南陽。 〈華嶠譜叙曰:歆少以高行顯名。 避西京之亂,與同志鄭泰等六七人,間步出武關。 道遇一丈夫獨行,願得俱,皆哀欲許之。 歆獨曰:「不可。 今已在危險之中,禍福患害,義猶一也。 無故受人,不知其義。 旣以受之,若有進退,可中棄乎!」 衆不忍,卒與俱行。 此丈夫中道墮井,皆欲棄之。 歆曰:「已與俱矣,棄之不義。」 相率共還出之,而後別去。 衆乃大義之。〉 時袁術在穰,留歆。 歆說術使進軍討卓,術不能用。 歆欲棄去,會天子使太傅馬日磾安集關東,日磾辟歆爲掾。 東至徐州,詔即拜歆豫章太守,以爲政清靜不煩,吏民感而愛之。 〈《魏略》曰:揚州刺史劉繇死,其衆願奉歆爲主。 歆以爲因時擅命,非人臣之宜。 衆守之連月,卒謝遣之,不從。〉 孫策略地江東,歆知策善用兵,乃幅巾奉迎。 策以其長者,待以上賔之禮。 〈胡冲吳歷曰:孫策擊豫章,先遣虞翻說歆。 歆荅曰:「乆在江表,常欲北歸; 孫會稽來,吾便去也。」 翻還報策,策乃進軍。 歆葛巾迎策,策謂歆曰:「府君年德名望,遠近所歸; 策年幼稚,宜脩子弟之禮。」 便向歆拜。 華嶠譜叙曰:孫策略有揚州,盛兵徇豫章,一郡大恐。 官屬請出郊迎,教曰:「無然。」 策稍進,復白發兵,又不聽。 及策至,一府皆造閤,請出避之。 乃笑曰:「今將自來,何遽避之?」 有頃,門下白曰:「孫將軍至。」 請見,乃前與歆共坐,談議良乆,夜乃別去。 義士聞之,皆長歎息而心自服也。 策遂親執子孫之禮,禮爲上賔。 是時四方賢士大夫避地江南者甚衆,皆出其下,人人望風。 每策大會,坐上莫敢先發言,歆時起更衣,則論議讙譁。 歆能劇飲,至石餘不亂,衆人微察,常以其整衣冠爲異,江南號之曰「華獨坐」。 虞溥江表傳曰:孫策在椒丘,遣虞翻說歆。 翻旣去,歆請功曹劉壹入議。 壹勸歆住城,遣檄迎軍。 歆曰:「吾雖劉刺史所置,上用,猶是剖符吏也。 今從卿計,恐死有餘責矣。」 壹曰:「王景興旣漢朝所用,且爾時會稽人衆盛彊,猶見原恕,明府何慮?」 於是夜逆作檄,明旦出城,遣吏齎迎。 策便進軍,與歆相見,待以上賔,接以朋友之禮。 孫盛曰:夫大雅之處世也,必先審隱顯之期,以定出處之分,否則括囊以保其身,泰則行義以達其道。 歆旣無夷、皓韜邈之風,又失王臣匪躬之操,故撓心於邪儒之說,交臂於陵肆之徒,位奪於一豎,節墯於當時。 昔許、蔡失位,不得列於諸侯; 州公寔來,魯人以爲賤恥。 方之於歆,咎孰大焉!〉 後策死。 太祖在官渡,表天子徵歆。 孫權欲不遣,歆謂權曰:「將軍奉王命,始交好曹公,分義未固,使僕得爲將軍效心,豈不有益乎? 今空留僕,是爲養無用之物,非將軍之良計也。」 權恱,乃遣歆。 賔客舊人送之者千餘人,贈遺數百金。 歆皆無所拒,密各題識,至臨去,悉聚諸物,謂諸賔客曰:「本無拒諸君之心,而所受遂多。 念單車遠行,將以懷璧爲罪,願賔客爲之計。」 衆乃各留所贈,而服其德。
Hua Xin, courtesy name Ziyu, came from Gaotang in Pingyuan commandery. Gaotang was a celebrated city of Qi, and every gentleman-about-town paraded the market streets. As a minor clerk he spent his days off at home behind closed doors rather than roaming the city. In debate he was even-handed and never used gossip to harm others. 〈The Wei Summary states: Xin together with Bing Yuan of Beihai and Guan Ning all traveled to study; the three were on good terms; people of the time called the three “one dragon”—Xin was the dragon’s head, Yuan the dragon’s belly, Ning the dragon’s tail. Pei Songzhi observes that Bing Yuan’s stature need not bow to Hua Xin’s, while Guan Ning’s moral elevation makes the “tail” label a poor fit. The Weilüe’s ranking cannot be taken as definitive.〉 Taoqiu Hong of the same commandery was equally renowned and fancied himself shrewder than Hua Xin. Wang Fen was then conspiring with local stalwarts to depose Emperor Ling. The story is told in the annals of Emperor Wu. 〈The Wei shu notes that Wang Fen enjoyed empire-wide renown.〉 Wang Fen secretly called in Hua Xin and Taoqiu Hong. Hong was ready to join the plot, but Hua Xin warned him: “Deposing an emperor is the gravest of acts—even Yi Yin and Huo Guang found it perilous. Wang Fen is rash and no soldier—this cannot succeed, and it will destroy our families. Stay out of it!" Taoqiu Hong heeded Hua Xin and stayed home. When Wang Fen’s plot collapsed, Hong acknowledged Hua Xin’s wisdom. Recommended as Filial and Incorrupt, he received a gentleman’s appointment but resigned on account of illness. After Emperor Ling’s death the regent He Jin summoned Zheng Tai from Henan, Xun You from Yingchuan, Hua Xin, and others. On reaching the capital Hua Xin was made a gentleman of the Masters of Writing. When Dong Zhuo removed the court to Chang’an, Hua Xin sought appointment as magistrate of Xiagui but stayed behind, ill, and made his way from Lantian to Nanyang instead. 〈Hua Qiao’s family history says that Hua Xin was known from youth for his high principles. Fleeing the turmoil at Chang’an, he and six or seven companions including Zheng Tai slipped out through Wu Pass on foot. They met a lone traveler who begged to join them; the others, moved by pity, were ready to agree. Hua Xin alone objected: “We must not. We are already in peril; fortune and disaster will touch us alike. To take in a stranger for no good reason is to gamble on his character. And if we admit him and later regret it, we cannot simply cast him off midway down the road!" The others overruled him and brought the stranger along. The man fell into a well along the way, and the others wanted to leave him. Hua Xin said, “We accepted him; to abandon him now would be dishonorable. They hauled him out together, then went their separate ways. Thereafter they all respected his integrity.〉 Yuan Shu was then at Rang and kept Hua Xin with him. Hua Xin urged Yuan Shu to march against Dong Zhuo, but Yuan would not act. Hua Xin prepared to slip away when the imperial envoy Grand Tutor Ma Midi arrived to pacify the east; Ma Midi engaged him as an aide. He continued east to Xu province, where an edict named him governor of Yuzhang. His rule was calm and light-handed, and the officials and people loved him for it. 〈The Weilüe adds that when Inspector Liu Yao of Yangzhou died, his followers wanted to make Hua Xin their leader. Hua Xin held that grasping power on the spur of the moment was unworthy of a minister. They besieged him for months until he firmly declined and dismissed them.〉 When Sun Ce carved out the lower Yangzi, Hua Xin—knowing Sun’s skill in war—went out in plain headcloth to submit. Sun Ce treated him as an elder and received him with the honors due a senior guest. 〈Hu Chong’s Wu li relates that Sun Ce sent Yu Fan ahead to negotiate before striking Yuzhang. Hua Xin answered, “I have long lingered south of the Yangzi but always wished to return north; and when your lord of Kuaiji arrives, I shall yield the command." Yu Fan carried this reply to Sun Ce, who then marched on the city. Hua Xin met him in homespun. Sun Ce said, “Your honor’s age and reputation command respect everywhere; I am still young and should observe the courtesies due a junior." He thereupon bowed deeply to Hua Xin. Hua Qiao records that when Sun Ce moved to seize Yangzhou and massed troops against Yuzhang, panic swept the commandery. Subordinates asked to go out beyond the suburbs to welcome him; he instructed, saying, “Do not be so. As Sun Ce drew nearer they again asked to mobilize the garrison, and again he refused. When Sun Ce reached the yamen the entire staff crowded the inner gate, pleading to evacuate. Hua Xin only laughed and said, “The general is coming to see me in person—why flee? Presently a runner announced, “General Sun is here. Sun Ce asked for an audience, came forward, and sat with Hua Xin for a long talk before taking his leave that night. Men of principle who heard the tale drew a long breath and conceded his moral authority. Sun Ce then treated him with the deference due a grandfather’s generation and received him as an honored guest. Many eminent refugees had gathered south of the river, yet all stood below Hua Xin in stature—everyone took his cue from him. At Sun Ce’s banquets no one would speak until Hua Xin left the room to change his robes—only then would conversation break out freely. He could put away over a picul of wine without losing his composure; guests marveled that his cap and robes stayed perfectly straight, and south of the Yangzi they nicknamed him “Hua who sits alone. Yu Pu’s Jiangbiao zhuan records that Sun Ce, camped at Jiaoqiu, sent Yu Fan to negotiate with Hua Xin. When Yu Fan withdrew, Hua Xin called in his merit clerk Liu Yi for counsel. Liu Yi urged him to hold the walls and issue a summons welcoming Sun Ce’s host. Hua Xin replied, “Inspector Liu may have appointed me, but I still serve the Han with a bronze tally—an officer of the throne. If I followed your advice, I would still bear a crushing guilt after death." Liu Yi answered, “Wang Lang served the Han and, though Kuaiji was populous and strong, was pardoned—why should you fear? They therefore drafted the proclamation overnight, opened the gates at dawn, and sent clerks to deliver it as a gesture of welcome. Sun Ce marched in, met Hua Xin, honored him as a chief guest, and greeted him as a friend. Sun Sheng observed that a true gentleman first weighs when to hide and when to serve, then chooses office or retirement accordingly—either binding ambition like a sealed purse or stepping forth to advance the Way. Hua Xin lacked the reclusive integrity of Boyi or the Han hermits, and he failed the steadfast loyalty of a true king’s minister; he let a clever aide sway him, dealt with a warlord, surrendered his post to a young conqueror, and forfeited his reputation forever. When the lords of Xu and Cai lost their thrones, the Spring and Autumn annals refused them a place among the feudal lords; and when the Duke of Zhou marched east, the people of Lu counted it a disgrace. Set that beside Hua Xin—whose offense is the greater?〉 After Sun Ce died, Cao Cao at Guandu petitioned the emperor to summon Hua Xin north. Sun Quan was reluctant to let him go. Hua Xin said, “You hold the Han mandate and have only begun to treat with Cao Cao—if I go north and speak for you, will that not strengthen your position? To detain me here for nothing is to hoard a useless hostage—not wise policy for a general." Sun Quan was persuaded and sent him on his way. Over a thousand friends and former colleagues attended his departure, pressing gifts of several hundred pounds of gold upon him. He accepted every offering but secretly labeled each bundle. As he was leaving he piled the gifts together and told the crowd, “I never meant to refuse your kindness, yet I have accepted far too much. A lone rider crossing the empire with a fortune in gold courts the fate of the man who clutched the jade—please decide what I should do." They each reclaimed their presents and admired his integrity.
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歆至,拜議郎,參司空軍事,入爲尚書,轉侍中,代荀彧爲尚書令。 太祖征孫權,表歆爲軍師。 魏國旣建,爲御史大夫。 文帝即王位,拜相國,封安樂鄉侯。 及踐阼,改爲司徒。 〈魏書曰:文帝受禪,歆登壇相儀,奉皇帝璽綬,以成受命之禮。 華嶠譜叙曰:文帝受禪,朝臣三公已下並受爵位; 歆以形色忤時,徙爲司徒,而不進爵。 魏文帝乆不懌,以問尚書令陳羣曰:「我應天受禪,百辟群后,莫不人人恱喜,形于聲色,而相國及公獨有不怡者,何也?」 羣起離席長跪曰:「臣與相國曾臣漢朝,心雖恱喜,義形其色,亦懼陛下實應且憎。」 帝大恱,遂重異之。〉 歆素清貧,祿賜以振施親戚故人,家無擔石之儲。 公卿嘗並賜沒入生口,唯歆出而嫁之。 帝歎息, 〈孫盛曰:盛聞慶賞威刑,必宗於主,權宜宥怒,出自人君。 子路私饋,仲尼毀其食器; 田氏盜施,春秋著以爲譏。 斯襃貶之成言,已然之顯義也。 孥戮之家,國刑所肅,受賜之室,乾施所加,若在哀矜,理無偏宥。 歆居股肱之任。 同元首之重,則當公言皇朝,以彰天澤,而默受嘉賜,獨爲君子,旣犯作福之嫌,又違必去之義,可謂匹夫之仁,蹈道則未也。 魏書曰:歆性周密,舉動詳慎。 常以爲人臣陳事,務以諷諫合道爲貴,就有所言,不敢顯露,故其事多不見載。 華嶠譜叙曰:歆淡於財欲,前後寵賜,諸公莫及,然終不殖產業。 陳羣常歎曰:「若華公,可謂通而不泰,清而不介者矣。」 傅子曰:敢問今之君子? 曰:「袁郎中積德行儉,華太尉積德居順,其智可及也,其清不可及也。 事上以忠,濟下以仁,晏嬰、行父何以加諸?」〉 下詔曰:「司徒,國之儁老,所與和陰陽理庶事也。 今大官重膳,而司徒蔬食,甚無謂也。」 特賜御衣,及爲其妻子男女皆作衣服。 〈魏書曰:又賜奴婢五十人。〉
On reaching the north he was named consultant, served on Cao Cao’s staff, entered the Masters of Writing, became attendant-in-ordinary, and succeeded Xun Yu as director. When Cao Cao marched against Sun Quan he appointed Hua Xin chief army strategist. When the kingdom of Wei was founded he became imperial counselor. When Cao Pi took the title of king he named Hua Xin minister of state and enfeoffed him as village marquis of Anle. At his accession Hua Xin was made Minister of Education. 〈The Wei shu records that at Cao Pi’s accession Hua Xin mounted the terrace to direct the ritual and handed over the imperial seal to complete the abdication. Hua Qiao’s family history says that when Cao Pi accepted the throne every minister from the three dukes downward received a noble title; but Hua Xin’s grim expression offended the court, so he was sidelined as Minister of Education without promotion in rank. Cao Pi remained uneasy and asked Chen Qun, “I accepted the mandate and every lord rejoiced openly—why did you and the minister of state alone look unhappy? Chen Qun left his seat and knelt: “We were Han officials; joy could not erase duty—we feared Your Majesty might read our faces as resentment. The emperor was delighted and held them in still higher regard.〉 Hua Xin lived plainly, spent his stipends on kin and old friends, and kept no surplus grain at home. When the high ministers were allotted confiscated slaves, Hua Xin alone freed his share and saw the women married out. The emperor sighed with approval, 〈Sun Sheng comments: rewards and punishments belong to the sovereign alone; Confucius broke Zilu’s bowl for giving alms on his own authority; the Tian clan’s unauthorized largesse earned the Spring and Autumn’s censure. Such precedents define what praise and blame mean. Condemned families await the law’s severity; favored households receive the Son of Heaven’s grace—mercy cannot be applied unevenly. Hua Xin held one of the empire’s highest posts, yet he pocketed imperial largesse in silence to play the private saint—inviting the charge of usurping the ruler’s prerogative and breaking the rule that such gifts must be refused. That is kindness of a petty sort, not the conduct of a man who walks the true Way. The Wei shu describes him as meticulous and deliberate in every action. He believed ministers should remonstrate through subtle counsel; because he rarely spoke bluntly, few of his policy debates were written down. Hua Qiao adds that Hua Xin cared nothing for riches: no minister received more imperial largesse, yet he never built an estate. Chen Qun often said of him, “Master Hua is discerning without arrogance, incorruptible without priggishness. Fu Xuan’s Fu zi asks: Who counts as a gentleman today? The answer: “Yuan Huan hoards virtue and lives frugally; Grand Commandant Hua hoards virtue and moves with the times—their wisdom others may equal, but not their purity. Loyal to those above, kind to those below—what could Yan Ying or Ji Wenzi add to that?”〉" An edict declared: “The Minister of Education is the kingdom’s senior steward, the man who balances yin and yang and oversees every branch of government. The palace serves rich fare while you dine on vegetables—that is absurd." The court therefore sent him imperial robes and had garments made for his entire household. 〈The Wei shu adds that he was also given fifty male and female servants.〉
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三府議:「舉孝廉,本以德行,不復限以試經。」 歆以爲「喪亂以來,六籍墮廢,當務存立,以崇王道。 夫制法者,所以經盛衰。 今聽孝廉不以經試,恐學業遂從此而廢。 若有秀異,可特徵用。 患於無其人,何患不得哉?」 帝從其言。
The Three Offices debated: “In recommending Filial and Incorrupt, originally it was by virtue and conduct; no longer limit them by examination on the classics. Hua Xin objected: “Since the wars began the Six Classics have been neglected; we must restore them to uphold the kingly Way. Law is the thread that runs through order and chaos; to waive the classics test for nominees is to let scholarship die altogether. Truly exceptional men can always be summoned by special edict. The problem is finding worthy men, not devising easier ways to find none." The emperor accepted his advice.
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太和中,遣曹真從子午道伐蜀,車駕東幸許昌。 歆上疏曰:「兵亂以來,過踰二紀。 大魏承天受命,陛下以聖德當成康之隆,宜弘一代之治,紹三王之迹。 雖有二賊負險延命,苟聖化日躋,遠人懷德,將襁負而至。 夫兵不得已而用之,故戢而時動。 臣誠願陛下先留心於治道,以征伐爲後事。 且千里運糧,非用兵之利; 越險深入,無獨克之功。 如聞今年徵役,頗失農桑之業。 爲國者以民爲基,民以衣食爲本。 使中國無饑寒之患,百姓無離土之心,則天下幸甚,二賊之釁,可坐而待也。 臣備位宰相,老病日篤,犬馬之命將盡,恐不復奉望鑾蓋,不敢不竭臣子之懷,唯陛下裁察!」 帝報曰:「君深慮國計,朕甚嘉之。 賊憑恃山川,二祖勞於前世,猶不克平,朕豈敢自多,謂必滅之哉! 諸將以爲不一探取,無由自弊,是以觀兵以闚其釁。 若天時未至,周武還師,乃前事之鑒,朕敬不忘所戒。」 時秋大雨,詔真引軍還。
During the Taihe era the court sent Cao Zhen against Shu through the Ziwu defile while the emperor moved east to Xuchang. Hua Xin memorialized: “More than twenty-four years have passed since the wars began. Great Wei holds the mandate, and Your Majesty’s virtue should rival the golden ages of Cheng and Kang—extend good government and walk in the footsteps of the ancient kings. Though Shu and Wu cling to their mountains, steady moral government will draw the border peoples until the enemy heartlands crumble of themselves. Arms are a last resort; they should stay sheathed until the moment is ripe. I beg you to put governance first and treat campaigns as a secondary concern. Supplying an army across a thousand li is no way to win a war; forcing perilous terrain deep into enemy country rarely yields a clean victory. This year’s conscriptions, I hear, have already disrupted sowing and silkworm work. The state rests on the people, and the people rest on food and clothing. Free the heartland from want and the farmers from flight, and the empire will prosper—then the rebels’ doom can be awaited without stirring an army. I hold the chancellorship though age and sickness waste me; I may never again attend your carriage—yet I dare not withhold a minister’s utmost counsel. I beg you to weigh it carefully!" The emperor answered: “Your care for the realm does you credit. Those rebels hold the mountains and rivers; my father and grandfather campaigned for years without finishing them—how could I boast that I alone will wipe them out? The generals urged a probe, arguing that the enemy must be flushed into some mistake—hence this show of force to test their weakness. If the time is not ripe, King Wu’s withdrawal is our precedent—I heed that lesson." Autumn rains set in, and an edict recalled Cao Zhen’s army.
11
太祖表徵之,朗自曲阿展轉江海,積年乃至。 〈朗被徵未至。 孔融與朗書曰:「世路隔塞,情問斷絕,感懷增思。 前見章表,知尋湯武罪己之迹,自投東裔同鯀之罰,覽省未周,涕隕潸然。 主上寬仁,貴德宥過。 曹公輔政,思賢並立。 策書屢下,殷勤款至。 知櫂舟浮海,息駕廣陵,不意黃能突出羽淵也。 談笑有期,勉行自愛!」 漢晉春秋曰:孫策之始得朗也,譴讓之。 使張昭私問朗,朗誓不屈,策忿而不敢害也,留置曲阿。 建安三年,太祖表徵朗,策遣之。 太祖問曰:「孫策何以得至此邪?」 朗曰:「策勇冠一世,有儁才大志。 張子布,民之望也,北面而相之。 周公瑾,江淮之傑,攘臂而爲其將。 謀而有成,所規不細,終爲天下大賊,非徒狗盜而已。」〉 拜諫議大夫,參司空軍事。 〈朗家傳曰:朗少與沛國名士劉陽交友。 陽爲莒令,年三十而卒,故後世鮮聞。 初,陽以漢室漸衰,知太祖有雄才,恐爲漢累,意欲除之而事不會。 及太祖貴,求其嗣子甚急。 其子惶窘,走伏無所。 陽親舊雖多,莫敢藏者。 朗乃納受積年,及從會稽還,又數開解。 太祖乆乃赦之,陽門戶由是得全。〉 魏國初建,以軍祭酒領魏郡太守,遷少府、奉常、大理。 務在寬恕,罪疑從輕。 鍾繇明察當法,俱以治獄見稱。 〈《魏略》曰:太祖請同會,啁朗曰:「不能效君昔在會稽折秔米飯也。」 朗仰而歎曰:「宜適難值!」 太祖問:「云何?」 朗曰:「如朗昔者,未可折而折; 如明公今日,可折而不折也。」 太祖以孫權稱臣遣貢諮朗,朗荅曰:「孫權前牋,自詭躬討虜以補前愆,後疏稱臣,以明無二。 牙獸屈膝,言鳥告歡,明珠、南金,遠珍必至。 情見乎辭,效著乎功。 三江五湖,爲沼于魏,西吳東越,化爲國民。 鄢、郢旣拔,荊門自開。 席卷巴、蜀,形勢已成。 重休累慶,雜沓相隨。 承旨之日,撫掌擊節。 情之畜者,辭不能宣。」〉
Cao Cao petitioned the throne to summon Wang Lang, who left Qu’e and spent years threading rivers and coasts before he reached the north. 〈Wang Lang was still en route when Kong Rong wrote: “The roads are blocked and news scarce, yet my thoughts go out to you. I read your memorial and saw you ready to imitate Tang and Wu’s self-reproach and accept exile like Gun—before I finished the page my tears were falling. The Son of Heaven is merciful and values virtue over old faults. Lord Cao governs with every wish to gather talent. His summonses have gone out again and again, each more earnest than the last. I heard you put to sea and halted at Guangling—I little thought you would drop from sight like the yellow bear from the abyss. We shall meet and laugh about this—take care of yourself until then!" The Han Jin chunqiu records that when Sun Ce first seized Wang Lang he berated him, sent Zhang Zhao to interrogate him in private. Wang Lang refused to submit; Sun Ce raged but dared not kill him and held him at Qu’e. In 198 Cao Cao petitioned for Wang Lang’s recall, and Sun Ce let him go. Cao Cao asked him, “How did Sun Ce rise so high? Wang Lang replied, “His courage was unmatched, his ambition immense, Zhang Zhao commanded the people’s respect and served him as chief minister, and Zhou Yu was the pick of the Jiang-Huai region—he rolled up his sleeves and became Sun Ce’s general. His schemes succeeded and his ambitions were large—he became a scourge to the empire, no common robber.”〉" Wang Lang was named consultant and joined Cao Cao’s staff as military adviser. 〈The Wang Lang family tradition records that in youth he befriended Liu Yang, a celebrated scholar from Pei. Liu Yang served as magistrate of Ju but died at thirty, so later generations barely knew his name. When the Han throne faltered, Liu Yang saw Cao Cao’s genius and feared he would doom the dynasty; he plotted assassination but never found the moment. After Cao Cao rose to power he hunted relentlessly for Liu Yang’s son. The boy was terrified and fled from hiding place to hiding place. Though Liu Yang had many kinsmen and friends, none dared hide the youth. Wang Lang sheltered him for years and, after returning from Kuaiji, repeatedly interceded on his behalf. At length Cao Cao pardoned the boy, and Liu Yang’s line survived.〉 At the founding of the kingdom of Wei he served as army libationer and concurrent governor of Wei commandery, then rose to superintendent of the household, chamberlain for worship, and commandant of justice. He emphasized mercy and, when guilt was uncertain, always chose the milder sentence. Zhong Yao was noted for legal precision; both men won praise as judges. 〈The Weilüe says Cao Cao once joked at a banquet: “You cannot match your old self in Kuaiji, pinching every grain of rice. Wang Lang looked up and sighed, “Times that suit a man are hard to find! The Grand Progenitor asked, “How so? Wang Lang replied, “In those days I could ill afford to stint yet I stinted; today you, my lord, could afford waste yet you do not waste." When Sun Quan submitted tribute, Cao Cao asked Wang Lang’s opinion. Wang said, “Sun Quan’s first letter boasted of chastising rebels to atone for past errors; his later memorial declared vassalage to prove he had no second loyalty. Wild beasts kneel, auspicious birds sing, pearls and southern gold will flow in as tribute from afar. Sincerity shows in his words and deeds alike. The Yangzi heartland will become Wei’s marsh, and Wu and Yue will become your subjects. Once Yan and Ying fall, the gates of Chu will swing open. Ba and Shu will be swept in, and the strategic picture will be complete. Blessings will crowd in one upon another. The day your edict arrives I shall clap my hands for joy. Words cannot express the fullness of my delight.”〉"
12
文帝即王位,遷御史大夫,封安陵亭侯。 上疏勸育民省刑曰:「兵起已來三十餘年,四海盪覆,萬國殄瘁。 賴先王芟除寇賊,扶育孤弱,遂令華夏復有綱紀。 鳩集兆民,于茲魏土,使封鄙之內,雞鳴狗吠達於四境,蒸庶欣欣,喜遇升平。 今遠方之寇未賔,兵戎之役未息,誠令復除足以懷遠人,良宰足以宣德澤,阡陌咸脩,四民殷熾,必復過於曩時而富於平日矣。 易稱勑法,書著祥刑,一人有慶,兆民賴之,慎法獄之謂也。 昔曹相國以獄市爲寄,路溫舒疾治獄之吏。 夫治獄者得其情,則無冤死之囚; 丁壯者得盡地力,則無饑饉之民; 窮老者得仰食倉廩,則無餧餓之殍; 嫁娶以時,則男女無怨曠之恨; 胎養必全,則孕者無自傷之哀; 新生必復,則孩者無不育之累; 壯而後役,則幼者無離家之思; 二毛不戎,則老者無頓伏之患。 醫藥以療其疾,寬繇以樂其業,威罰以抑其彊,恩仁以濟其弱,振貸以贍其乏。 十年之後,旣笄者必盈巷。 二十年之後,勝兵者必滿野矣。」
When Cao Pi became king he promoted Wang Lang to imperial counselor and enfeoffed him as village marquis of Anling. He memorialized on nurturing the people and lightening penalties: “Thirty years of war have shaken the empire and left every state exhausted. Thanks to your father’s campaigns against rebels and his care for the helpless, the heartland again has law and order. The people have gathered on Wei soil; cockcrow and dog bark reach every border; commoners rejoice in the return of peace. The far rebels are not yet pacified and conscription continues; yet if tax relief wins the border peoples, honest magistrates spread your grace, fields are cleared, and the four orders of society thrive, we shall surpass even the old prosperity. The Yijing urges orderly laws, the Documents praise merciful justice—when the ruler is just, the people depend on him. That is true care in judgment. Cao Shen left the markets to regulate themselves; Lu Wenshu inveighed against harsh jailers. When judges seek the truth, no innocent dies in prison; when farmers till every acre, no one starves; when the aged are fed from public granaries, no one dies in the ditch; when men and women marry in due season, none are left bitter and alone; when mothers are cared through pregnancy, none need fear miscarriage; when infants survive, parents are spared the grief of losing them; when corvée waits until manhood, boys are not torn from their families; when gray-haired men are exempted from the ranks, the elderly are spared collapse on the road. Heal sickness with medicine, ease corvée to give livelihood, check the strong with stern law, lift the weak with kindness, lend grain to the destitute. In ten years marriageable girls will crowd every lane. In twenty years fit soldiers will fill every field."
13
及文帝踐阼,改爲司空,進封樂平鄉侯。 〈《魏名臣奏》載朗節省奏曰:「詔問所宜損益,必謂東京之事也。 若夫西京雲陽、汾陰之大祭,千有五百之羣,祀通天之臺,入阿房之宮,齋必百日,養犧五載,牛則三千,其重玉則七千; 其器,文綺以飾重席,童女以蹈舞綴; 釀酎必貫三時而後成,樂人必三千四百而後備; 內宮美人數至近千,學官博士七千餘人; 中廄則騑騄駙馬六萬餘匹,外牧則扈養三萬而馬十之; 執金吾從騎六百,走卒倍焉; 太常行陵赤車千乘,太官賜官奴婢六千,長安城內治民爲政者三千,中二千石蔽罪斷刑者二十有五獄。 政充事猥,威儀繁富,隆於三代,近過禮中。 夫所以極奢吝,大抵多受之於秦餘。 旣違繭栗愨誠之本,埽地簡易之指,又失替質而損文、避泰而從約之趣。 豈夫當今隆興盛明之時,祖述堯舜之際,割奢務儉之政,除繁崇省之令,詳刑慎罰之教,所宜希慕哉? 及夫寢廟日一太牢之祀,郡國並立宗廟之法,丞相御史大夫官屬吏從之數,若此之輩,旣已屢改於哀、平之前,不行光武之後矣。 謹按圖牒,所改秦在天地及五帝、六宗、宗廟、社稷,旣已因前代之兆域矣。 夫天地則埽地而祭,其餘則皆壇而埒之矣。 明堂所以祀上帝,靈臺所以觀天文,辟雍所以脩禮樂,太學所以集儒林,高禖所以祈休祥,又所以察時務,揚教化。 稽古先民,開誕慶祚,舊時皆在國之陽,並高棟夏屋,足以肆饗射,望雲物。 七郊雖尊祀尚質,猶皆有門宇便坐,足以避風雨。 可須軍罷年豐,以漸脩治。 舊時虎賁羽林五營兵,及衞士并合,雖且萬人,或商賈墯游子弟,或農野謹鈍之人; 雖有乘制之處,不講戎陣,旣不簡練,又希更寇,雖名實不副,難以備急。 有警而後募兵,軍行而後運粮,或乃兵旣乆屯,而不務營佃,不脩器械,無有貯聚,一隅馳羽檄,則三靣並荒擾,此亦漢氏近世之失而不可式者也。 當今諸夏已安,而巴蜀在畫外。 雖未得偃武而弢甲,放馬而戢兵,宜因年之大豐,遂寄軍政於農事。 吏士小大,並勤稼穡,止則成井里於廣野,動則成校隊於六軍,省其暴繇,贍其衣食。 易稱『恱以使民,民忘其勞; 恱以犯難,民忘其死』,今之謂矣。 粮畜於食,勇畜於勢,雖坐曜烈威而衆未動,畫外之蠻,必復稽顙以求改往而效用矣。 若畏威效用,不戰而定,則賢於交兵而後威立,接刃而後功成遠矣。 若姦凶不革,遂迷不反,猶欲以其所虐用之民,待大魏投命報養之士,然後徐以前歌後舞樂征之衆,臨彼倒戟折矢樂服之羣,伐腐摧枯,未足以爲喻也。」〉 時帝頗出游獵,或昏夜還宮。 朗上疏曰:「夫帝王之居,外則飾周衞,內則重禁門,將行則設兵而後出幄,稱警而後踐墀,張弧而後登輿,清道而後奉引,遮列而後轉轂,靜室而後息駕,皆所以顯至尊,務戒慎,垂法教也。 近日車駕出臨捕虎,日昃而行,及昏而反,違警蹕之常法,非萬乘之至慎也。」 帝報曰:「覽表,雖魏絳稱虞箴以諷晉悼,相如陳猛獸以戒漢武,未足以喻。 方今二寇未殄,將帥遠征,故時入原野以習戎備。 至於夜還之戒,已詔有司施行。」 〈王朗集載朗爲大理時上主簿趙郡張登:「昔爲本縣主簿,值黑山賊圍郡,登與縣長王儁帥吏兵七十二人直往赴救,與賊交戰,吏兵散走。 儁殆見害,登手格二賊,以全儁命。 又守長夏逸,爲督郵所枉,登身受考掠,理逸之罪。 義濟二君。 宜加顯異。」 太祖以所急者多,未遑擢叙。 至黃初初,朗又與太尉鍾繇連名表聞,兼稱登在職勤勞。 詔曰:「登忠義彰著,在職功勤。 名位雖卑,直亮宜顯。 饔膳近任,當得此吏。 今以登爲太官令。」〉
At Cao Pi’s accession Wang Lang became Minister of Works and was promoted to village marquis of Leping. 〈The Wei mingchen zou preserves Wang Lang’s memorial on retrenchment: “Your question on what to cut surely concerns Later Han practice. Western Han’s mass sacrifices at Yunyang and Fenyin, fifteen hundred participants, the Tower of Heaven, Epang Palace, hundred-day fasts, five-year-old victims, three thousand oxen, seven thousand pieces of ritual jade— brocaded silks for mats, child dancers for the rites, wine aged three seasons, three thousand four hundred musicians, nearly a thousand palace women, over seven thousand academy scholars, sixty thousand team horses in the imperial stables, thirty thousand grooms in the outer pastures and ten times as many horses, six hundred mounted guards for the Bearer of the Gilded Mace and twice as many runners, a thousand red hearses for imperial tomb rites, six thousand palace slaves from the provisioner, three thousand petty officials in Chang’an, and twenty-five prisons for two-thousand-bushel officials. Government swelled beyond the Three Dynasties and far exceeded what ritual allows. That extravagance was mostly inherited from the Qin. It betrayed the plain sincerity of ancient sacrifice, the simplicity of clearing a patch of earth for worship, and the principle of preferring substance over ornament and thrift over excess. In this age of renewal, when we model ourselves on Yao and Shun, should we not aspire to frugal government, lean administration, and careful justice? Daily grand sacrifices at multiple shrines, ancestral temples in every commandery, and the huge retinues of the chancellor and imperial counselor were reformed even before Ai and Ping and abandoned entirely after Guangwu. The registers show that sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, the Five Thearchs, the Six Honored Ones, the imperial ancestors, and the altars of soil and grain already follow ancient sites. Heaven and Earth receive the simple rite of swept earth; the rest are proper earthen altars. The Bright Hall serves the High God, the Spirit Terrace astronomy, the ritual hall music and rites, the academy learning, the High Matchmaker prayers for heirs—and all can instruct the age. The ancients built these halls south of the capital with high roofs for feasts, archery, and reading omens in the clouds. The seven suburban rites were solemn yet simple, each with a gatehouse where officers could shelter from wind and rain. They can be rebuilt gradually after the wars end and harvests improve. The old imperial guard of nearly ten thousand mixed shopkeepers’ idle sons with slow-witted peasants; they were neither picked nor trained for battle, rarely rotated against raiders, and could not meet a crisis. Han waited for alarms to recruit, marched without grain, left armies idle without tillage or arms, kept no stores—one urgent message and three fronts collapsed. That must not be our model. The central plain is quiet while Shu lies beyond our borders. We cannot yet disband all forces, but in a rich year we should fold the army into the plow. Officers and men should farm in peacetime, form militia companies in wartime, lighten harsh levies, and see that they are fed and clothed. The Yijing says, “Lead the people gladly and they forget fatigue; lead them gladly into danger and they forget death”—that is what we need now. Store grain and courage; even without marching, the outer barbarians will kowtow and sue for peace. To win them without a blow is worthier than any victory won only after bloodshed. If they refuse reform and pit the people they have oppressed against Wei’s well-fed veterans, then our singing hosts will meet men who break their spears in surrender—like scything dry grass, hardly worth describing.”〉" The emperor often hunted and sometimes returned after dark. Wang Lang memorialized: “A Son of Heaven’s progress should be ringed by guards, announced by clearing the streets, and paced by ritual at every step—that is how majesty is shown and danger avoided. Lately you have hunted tigers from afternoon into night, breaking the rule of cleared roads—not the caution due a sovereign." The emperor answered: “Your memorial outdoes Wei Jiang’s warning to Duke Dao of Jin or Sima Xiangru’s caution to Emperor Wu of Han. The two rebels still live and our generals are in the field—I enter the wilds only to keep my martial edge. As for night returns, I have ordered the ministers to enforce the rule." 〈The Wang Lang Collection carries when Lang was commandant of justice his memorial for chief clerk Zhang Deng of Zhao commandery: “Formerly as chief clerk of his home commandery, when Black Mountain bandits besieged the commandery, Deng with the magistrate Wang Jun led clerks and soldiers seventy-two men straight to go to the rescue, crossed weapons with bandits, clerks and soldiers scattered and fled. Jun was nearly killed until Deng grappled two rebels bare-handed and saved him. He also bore torture to clear Magistrate Xia Yi, whom a regional inspector had slandered. Thus he rescued two officials by righteous courage. He deserves special recognition." Cao Cao was too busy to promote him at once. Early in Huangchu Wang Lang and Grand Commandant Zhong Yao jointly recommended Zhang Deng’s faithful service. An edict declared: “Zhang Deng’s loyalty is manifest and his office diligent. His rank is low but his integrity high. He is fit for service close to the throne. Appoint him grand provisioner.”〉"
14
初,建安末,孫權始遣使稱藩,而與劉備交兵。 詔議「當興師與吳并取蜀不」? 朗議曰:「天子之軍,重於華、岱,誠宜坐曜天威,不動若山。 假使權親與蜀賊相持,搏戰曠日,智均力敵,兵不速決,當須軍興以成其勢者,然後宜選持重之將,承寇賊之要,相時而後動,擇地而後行,一舉可無餘事。 今權之師未動,則助吳之軍無爲先征。 且雨水方盛,非行軍動衆之時。」 帝納其計。 黃初中,鵜鶘集靈芝池,詔公卿舉獨行君子。 朗薦光祿大夫楊彪,且稱疾,讓位於彪。 帝乃爲彪置吏卒,位次三公。 詔曰:「朕求賢於君而未得,君乃翻然稱疾,非徒不得賢,更開失賢之路,增玉鉉之傾。 無乃居其室出其言不善,見違於君子乎! 君其勿有後辭。」 朗乃起。
Late in the Jian’an era Sun Quan first sent envoys acknowledging Wei while still fighting Liu Bei. An edict called for debate: “Should we raise troops together with Wu to take Shu, or not?” Wang Lang argued: “Imperial armies should rest like Mount Hua—awesome and still. If Sun Quan and Shu stalemate until one side must be reinforced, then send a cautious general to strike the enemy’s vitals at the right moment—one blow will finish it. Sun Quan has not yet moved; Wei has no cause to march first in his aid. Besides, the rains are heavy—no season for a great campaign." The emperor accepted his advice. During Huangchu, pelicans alighted on the Lingzhi Pool, and the court ordered the high ministers to nominate men of proven moral independence. Wang Lang nominated Yang Biao, minister of the household, then pleaded illness and offered him his own post. The emperor assigned Yang Biao a full staff and protocol ranking just below the Three Excellencies. An edict read: “We asked you for worthy men and you answer by resigning—not only do we lose your service, we risk losing the very path to talent and unsettling the state. Have you not read the classic warning: ill-considered speech brings the gentleman’s censure? Do not refuse us again." Wang Lang thereupon resumed his duties.
15
孫權欲遣子登入侍,不至。 是時車駕徙許昌,大興屯田,欲舉軍東征。 朗上疏曰:「昔南越守善,嬰齊入侍,遂爲冢嗣,還君其國。 康居驕黠,情不副辭,都護奏議以爲宜遣侍子,以黜無禮。 且吳濞之禍,萌於子入,隗嚻之叛,亦不顧子。 往者聞權有遣子之言而未至,今六軍戒嚴,臣恐輿人未暢聖旨,當謂國家慍於登之逋留,是以爲之興師。 設師行而登乃至,則爲所動者至大,所致者至細,猶未足以爲慶。 設其傲很,殊無入志,懼彼輿論之未暢者,並懷伊邑。 臣愚以爲宜勑別征諸將,各明奉禁令,以慎守所部。 外曜烈威,內廣耕稼,使泊然若山,澹然若淵,勢不可動,計不可測。」 是時,帝以成軍遂行,權子不至,車駕臨江而還。 〈魏書曰:車駕旣還,詔三公曰:「三世爲將,道家所忌。 窮兵黷武,古有成戒。 況連年水旱,士民損耗,而功作倍於前,勞役兼於昔,進不滅賊,退不和民。 夫屋漏在上,知之在下,然迷而知反,失道不遠,過而能改,謂之不過。 今將休息,棲備高山,沈權九淵,割除擯棄,投之畫外。 車駕當以今月中旬到譙,淮、漢衆軍,亦各還反,不臘西歸矣。」〉
Sun Quan had promised to send his heir Sun Deng to the Wei court as hostage, but the boy never came. The court had moved to Xuchang, expanded military colonies, and planned an eastern expedition. Wang Lang memorialized: “When Nanyue kept faith, its prince Yingqi came to court as hostage, succeeded his father, and returned to rule. Kangju was arrogant and insincere—the protector-general rightly demanded a royal hostage to humble their discourtesy. Liu Pi’s revolt began with a hostage son, and Wei Ao rebelled without regard for his son’s safety. Sun Quan spoke of sending an heir but has not done so. With the host mobilized, common folk may think we march only because Sun Deng tarried—that misreads Your Majesty’s intent. If we march and Sun Deng then appears, the stir will be immense for a trifling gain—hardly cause for rejoicing. If he defies us and never sends the boy, rumor will sour and resentment spread on every side. I urge you to instruct each commander to hold his lines, enforce discipline, and guard his sector. Show strength at the border, encourage farming within, stand immovable as a mountain and deep as a pool—let the enemy find no opening." The emperor marched anyway; Sun Deng never arrived; the imperial train reached the Yangzi and turned back. 〈The Wei shu records that after the withdrawal an edict told the Three Excellencies: “Three generations of generals is what Daoist lore forbids. Endless war was already condemned by the ancients. Years of flood and drought have wasted the people while corvée doubles; we neither crush the foe nor comfort the realm. The people see a leaking roof before the ruler does; to turn back from error is not far from the Way. We shall rest the host, let Sun Quan stew in his marshes, and cast him beyond the pale. This court will reach Qiao by mid-month; the Huai and Han armies will withdraw without waiting for the winter sacrifice.”〉"
16
明帝即位,進封蘭陵侯,增邑五百,并前千二百戶。 使至鄴省文昭皇后陵,見百姓或有不足。 是時方營脩宮室,朗上疏曰:「陛下即位已來,恩詔屢布,百姓萬民莫不欣欣。 臣頃奉使北行,往反道路,聞衆傜役,其可得蠲除省減者甚多。 願陛下重留日昃之聽,以計制寇。 昔大禹將欲拯天下之大患,故乃先卑其宮室,儉其衣食,用能盡有九州,弼成五服。 句踐欲廣其禦兒之疆, 〈禦兒,吳界邊戍之地名。〉 馘夫差於姑蘇,故亦約其身以及家,儉其家以施國,用能囊括五湖,席卷三江,取威中國,定霸華夏。 漢之文、景亦欲恢弘祖業,增崇洪緒,故能割意於百金之臺,昭儉於弋綈之服,內減太官而不受貢獻,外省傜賦而務農桑,用能號稱升平,幾致刑錯。 孝武之所以能奮其軍勢,拓其外境,誠因祖考畜積素足,故能遂成大功。 霍去病,中才之將,猶以匈奴未滅,不治第宅。 明卹遠者略近,事外者簡內。 自漢之初及其中興,皆於金革略寢之後,然後鳳闕猥閌,德陽並起。 今當建始之前足用列朝會,崇華之後足用序內官,華林、天淵足用展游宴,若且先成閶闔之象魏,使足用列遠人之朝貢者,脩城池,使足用絕踰越,成國險,其餘一切,且須豐年。 一以勤耕農爲務,習戎備爲事,則國無怨曠,戶口滋息,民充兵彊,而寇戎不賔,緝熙不足,未之有也。」 轉爲司徒。
Emperor Ming promoted him to marquis of Lanling with five hundred new households, twelve hundred in all. Dispatched to Ye to visit Lady Bian’s tomb, he found the people still in want. Palace construction was under way. Wang Lang wrote: “Since your accession your benevolent edicts have gladdened every household. On my recent mission north I heard endless corvée calls—much of it could be cut or deferred. I beg you to heed the warning of the setting sun and plan against the enemy instead of taxing the people. Great Yu saved the realm by living in a hut and eating coarse food until he mastered the nine provinces. King Goujian meant to push his border at Yuer 〈Yuer was a Wu frontier post.〉 and slew King Fuchai of Wu at Gusu; he tightened his own household budget to feed the army, swallowed the five lakes and three rivers, and made the central states acknowledge his supremacy. Emperors Wen and Jing of Han built on their forebears by scrapping costly towers, wearing plain robes, cutting palace budgets and tribute, easing taxes, and promoting tillage—hence their age neared the ideal of unused punishments. Emperor Wu could conquer abroad only because Wen and Jing had filled the treasury first. Even Huo Qubing, a middling commander, refused a mansion while the Xiongnu lived. The wise spare the distant frontier by easing the interior. Early and middle Han built their lofty towers only after the wars cooled. The Jianshi halls already host court; Chonghua serves the harem; Hualin and Tianyuan suffice for pleasure—finish only the Changhe gate tower for barbarian envoys, strengthen the walls against raiders, and defer every other project to fat years. Make farming and readiness your priorities and the people will multiply, the army strengthen, and rebels submit without extra glory—nothing less has ever failed." He was then transferred to Minister of Education.
17
肅字子雍。 年十八,從宋忠讀太玄,而更爲之解。 〈肅父朗與許靖書云:肅生於會稽。〉 黃初中,爲散騎黃門侍郎。 太和三年,拜散騎常侍。 四年,大司馬曹真征蜀,肅上疏曰:「前志有之,『千里饋糧,士有饑色,樵蘇後爨,師不宿飽』,此謂平塗之行軍者也。 又況於深入阻險,鑿路而前,則其爲勞必相百也。 今又加之以霖雨,山坂峻滑,衆逼而不展,糧縣而難繼,實行軍者之大忌也。 聞曹真發已踰月而行裁半谷,治道功夫,戰士悉作。 是賊偏得以逸而待勞,乃兵家之所憚也。 言之前代,則武王伐紂,出關而復還; 論之近事,則武、文征權,臨江而不濟。 豈非所謂順天知時,通於權變者哉! 兆民知聖上以水雨艱劇之故,休而息之,後日有釁,乘而用之,則所謂恱以犯難,民忘其死者矣。」 於是遂罷。 又上疏:「宜遵舊禮,爲大臣發哀,薦果宗廟。」 事皆施行。 又上疏陳政本曰:「除無事之位,損不急之祿,止因食之費,并從容之官; 使官必有職,職任其事,事必受祿,祿代其耕,乃往古之常式,當今之所宜也。 官寡而祿厚,則公家之費鮮,進仕之志勸。 進仕之志勸,各展才力,莫相倚仗。 敷奏以言,明試以功,能之與否,簡在帝心。 是以唐、虞之設官分職,申命公卿,各以其事,然後惟龍爲納言,猶今尚書也,以出內帝命而已。 夏、殷不可得而詳。 甘誓曰『六事之人』,明六卿亦典事者也。 周官則備矣,五日視朝,公卿大夫並進,而司士辨其位焉。 其記曰:『坐而論道,謂之王公; 作而行之,謂之士大夫。』 及漢之初,依擬前代,公卿皆親以事升朝。 故高祖躬追反走之周昌,武帝遙可奉奏之汲黯,宣帝使公卿五日一朝,成帝始置尚書五人。 自是陵遲,朝禮遂闕。 可復五日視朝之儀,使公卿尚書各以事進。 廢禮復興,光宣聖緒,誠所謂名美而實厚者也。」
Wang Su, courtesy name Ziyong, at eighteen studied the Taixuan jing under Song Zhong and wrote his own commentary. 〈Wang Lang wrote Xu Jing that Wang Su was born in Kuaiji.〉 During Huangchu he became gentleman cavalier attendant at the Yellow Gates. In Taihe 3 he was named regular attendant cavalier. In the fourth year, Grand Marshal Cao Zhen campaigned against Shu; Su submitted a memorial saying, “Former records have it, ‘To haul grain a thousand li, soldiers have a hungry color; to gather firewood before cooking, the army does not lodge full’—this speaks of marching on level roads. how much worse to cut roads through mountains where the labor multiplies a hundredfold. Add endless rain and treacherous slopes, cramped columns and broken supply—that is every general’s nightmare. Cao Zhen has marched over a month yet cleared only half a defile—his warriors spend their strength building roads. Thus the enemy rests while we exhaust ourselves—the worst position in war. King Wu once turned back from his march against Shang; your father and grandfather halted at the Yangzi against Sun Quan. Were they not obeying Heaven and knowing when to yield? Let the people see you halt for rain and they will trust you; when a real opening comes they will follow you gladly into death." The campaign was called off. Again he submitted a memorial: “One ought to follow old ritual, for great ministers sound mourning, present fruit at the ancestral temple. The throne adopted both proposals. Again he submitted a memorial stating the government’s root, saying, “Remove offices without business, cut salaries not urgent, stop redundant eaters’ expense, merge easygoing officials; let every office have a duty, every duty a salary, every salary earned like a farmer’s crop—that was the ancient norm and should be ours. Fewer posts and richer pay lighten the treasury and encourage talent. When pay is ample, men exert themselves instead of leaning on patrons. Let memorials speak and merit tests decide—success or failure rests with the Son of Heaven. Under Yao and Shun each minister had a task; only Long as “receiver of words” resembled today’s director of the Masters of Writing, passing the ruler’s orders. Xia and Shang records are too scant for detail. The oath of Gan names “the six ministers”—proof that the six high ministers each held real duties. The Zhou held full court every five days; the master of appointments ranked every attendee. The classic says, “Those who sit and discuss policy are kings and dukes; those who carry it out are the ministers. Early Han modeled antiquity: every high minister attended court in person. Gaozou chased Zhou Chang into the hall; Wu accepted Ji An’s paper from afar; Xuan ordered five-day audiences; Cheng created the five directorships. Later generations let that discipline slip. Restore the five-day audience and require each minister to report on his portfolio. Reviving that practice would honor the sage kings in both name and deed."
18
青龍中,山陽公薨,漢主也。 肅上疏曰:「昔唐禪虞,虞禪夏,皆終三年之喪,然後踐天子之尊。 是以帝號無虧,君禮猶存。 今山陽公承順天命,允荅民望,進禪大魏,退處賔位。 公之奉魏,不敢不盡節。 魏之待公,優崇而不臣。 旣至其薨,櫬斂之制,輿徒之飾,皆同之於王者,是故遠近歸仁,以爲盛美。 且漢緫帝皇之號,號曰皇帝。 有別稱帝,無別稱皇,則皇是其差輕者也。 故當高祖之時,土無二王,其父見在而使稱皇,明非二王之嫌也。 況今以贈終,可使稱皇以配其謚。」 明帝不從使稱皇,乃追謚曰漢孝獻皇帝。 〈孫盛曰:化合神者曰皇,德合天者曰帝。 是故三皇創號,五帝次之。 然則皇之爲稱,妙於帝矣。 肅謂爲輕,不亦謬乎! 臣松之以爲上古謂皇皇后帝,次言三、五,先皇後帝,誠如盛言。 然漢氏諸帝,雖尊父爲皇,其實則貴而無位,高而無民,比之於帝,得不謂之輕乎! 魏因漢禮,名號無改。 孝獻之崩,豈得遠考古義? 肅之所云,蓋就漢制而爲言耳。 謂之爲謬,乃是譏漢,非難肅也。〉
During Qinglong the Duke of Shanyang—the abdicated Han emperor—died. Wang Su wrote: “When Yao yielded to Shun and Shun to Yu, each observed three years’ mourning before taking the throne. Thus the imperial dignity stayed intact and courtesy to the former ruler remained. The Duke of Shanyang obeyed Heaven, yielded the throne to Wei, and lived thereafter as an honored guest. He served Wei with perfect loyalty. Wei honored him without treating him as a mere subject. His funeral rites matched those of an emperor, and the realm praised Wei’s generosity. The Han title “emperor” combined two older terms. They used di separately but not huang alone—so huang was the lighter half of the compound. When Gaozu honored his living father as “Supreme Emperor,” no one thought two thrones existed. At his death we may call him huang to match his posthumous name." Emperor Ming refused the huang title but posthumously named him Emperor Xian of Han. 〈Sun Sheng said: “Huang” names union with the spirits; “di” names union with Heaven. Hence the Three Sovereigns took huang first and the Five Thearchs took di afterward. By that logic huang is the loftier title, not the lesser. For Wang Su to call huang the lighter term is absurd! Pei Songzhi notes that antiquity paired huanghou with di and spoke of “three sovereigns, five thearchs” in that order—Sun Sheng was right about that. Yet Han “supreme emperors” were fathers without thrones or subjects—surely that was a lesser huang than a ruling di! Wei followed Han precedent without renaming. At Emperor Xian’s death there was no need to revive archaic definitions. Wang Su argued from Han usage alone. To call him wrong is to fault the Han system, not Wang Su.〉
19
後肅以常侍領祕書監,兼崇文觀祭酒。 景初間,宮室盛興,民失農業,期信不敦,刑殺倉卒。 肅以疏曰:「大魏承百王之極,生民無幾,干戈未戢,誠宜息民而惠之以安靜遐邇之時也。 夫務畜積而息疲民,在於省傜役而勤稼穡。 今宮室未就,功業未訖,運漕調發,轉相供奉。 是以丁夫疲於力作,農者離其南畒,種穀者寡,食穀者衆,舊穀旣沒,新穀莫繼。 斯則有國之大患,而非備豫之長策也。 今見作者三四萬人,九龍可以安聖體,其內足以列六宮,顯陽之殿,又向將畢,惟泰極已前,功夫尚大,方向盛寒,疾疢或作。 誠願陛下發德音,下明詔,深愍役夫之疲勞,厚矜兆民之不贍,取常食廩之士,非急要者之用,選其丁壯,擇留萬人,使一朞而更之,咸知息代有日,則莫不恱以即事,勞而不怨矣。 計一歲有三百六十萬夫,亦不爲少。 當一歲成者,聽且三年。 分遣其餘,使皆即農,無窮之計也。 倉有溢粟,民有餘力:以此興功,何功不立? 以此行化,何化不成? 夫信之於民,國家大寶也。 仲尼曰:『自古皆有死,民非信不立。』 夫區區之晉國,微微之重耳,欲用其民,先示以信,是故原雖將降,顧信而歸,用能一戰而霸,于今見稱。 前車駕當幸洛陽,發民爲營,有司命以營成而罷。 旣成,又利其功力,不以時遣。 有司徒營其目前之利,不顧經國之體。 臣愚以爲自今已後,儻復使民,宜明其令,使必如期。 若有事以次,寧復更發,無或失信。 凡陛下臨時之所行刑,皆有罪之吏,宜死之人也。 然衆庶不知,謂爲倉卒。 故願陛下下之於吏而暴其罪。 鈞其死也,無使汙于宮掖而爲遠近所疑。 且人命至重,難生易殺,氣絕而不續者也,是以聖賢重之。 孟軻稱殺一無辜以取天下,仁者不爲也。 漢時有犯蹕驚乘輿馬者,廷尉張釋之奏使罰金,文帝恠其輕,而釋之曰:『方其時,上使誅之則已。 今下廷尉。 廷尉,天下之平也,一傾之,天下用法皆爲輕重,民安所措其手足?』 臣以爲大失其義,非忠臣所宜陳也。 廷尉者,天子之吏也,猶不可以失平,而天子之身,反可以惑謬乎? 斯重於爲己,而輕於爲君,不忠之甚也。 周公曰:『天子無戲言; 言則史書之,工誦之,士稱之。』 言猶不戲,而况行之乎? 故釋之之言不可不察,周公之戒不可不法也。」 又陳「諸鳥獸無用之物,而有芻穀人徒之費,皆可蠲除。」
Later Wang Su served as regular attendant, director of the palace library, and libationer of the Chongwen Academy. During Jingchu palace building ran wild, farmers were pulled from the fields, promises went unkept, and executions grew rash. Wang Su wrote: “Wei succeeds exhausted dynasties; the people are few and arms still bare—this is the hour to let them breathe. To rebuild stores and revive the weary, cut corvée and put every hand to the plow. Palaces are still rising, projects unfinished, and grain barges and levies shuttle endlessly to feed the work gangs. Laborers are exhausted, fields lie empty, sowers are few and eaters many—old granaries are bare and no new harvest follows. That is a mortal danger to the realm, not prudent foresight. Some forty thousand builders swarm the site; the Jiulong complex can house the throne, the six palaces fit within it, Xianyang hall is nearly done—only the Taichi wing still needs heavy work in the depths of winter, when disease spreads. Issue edicts of mercy: spare the exhausted builders, pity the hungry populace, strip nonessential salaried posts, pick ten thousand stout workers on one-year rotations so every man knows relief is coming—then they will labor gladly. That still yields 3.6 million man-days a year—no small force. Work slated for one year may stretch to three. Send the rest back to the fields—that is the inexhaustible policy. With full bins and rested farmers any project can succeed. With that moral authority any reform will take root. The people’s trust is the state’s greatest treasure. Confucius said, “Since antiquity death has been inevitable, but a people without trust cannot stand. Tiny Jin and exiled Chong’er won the realm only by proving trustworthy—even Yuan’s city opened when the duke kept faith, and one battle made him hegemon. When the court moved toward Luoyang it drafted peasants for camp labor with a promise to release them when the camps were done. The work finished, officials kept them for further labor instead of letting them go. Some ministers eye short-term gain and ignore the health of the state. Henceforth every levy should carry a fixed term announced in advance. If more labor is needed, issue a fresh order rather than break your word. Those you execute on the spot are criminals who deserve death. The crowd does not know their guilt and calls it rash killing. Let the judiciary try them publicly and publish their crimes. Execute them outside the harem so the palace is not stained with blood and rumor does not spread. Life is hard to restore and easy to take—sages honor it accordingly. Mencius said no benevolent man kills one innocent to win the empire. When a man startled Emperor Wen’s horses, Zhang Shizhi fined him; Wen thought the fine too light, but Shizhi said, “You could have had him killed on the spot. Instead you sent him to me. The Commandant of Justice is the scale of the law; tip it once and every magistrate skews verdicts—where can the people find safety? I hold that Shizhi twisted the point; that was no loyal counsel. If even the commandant of justice may not bend the law, may the Son of Heaven act on whim? That exalts private reputation above the ruler’s duty—profound disloyalty. The Duke of Zhou said, “The Son of Heaven does not joke; when he speaks, scribes record it, artisans chant it, scholars repeat it. If mere words may not be idle, how much less deeds! Weigh Shizhi’s argument carefully and heed the Duke of Zhou’s warning." Again he stated, “The various birds and beasts—useless things—yet there is fodder-grain and human follower expense; all can be remitted and removed.
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帝嘗問曰:「漢桓帝時,白馬令李雲上書言:『帝者,諦也。 是帝欲不諦。』 當何得不死?」 肅對曰:「但爲言失逆順之節。 原其本意,皆欲盡心,念存補國。 且帝者之威,過於雷霆,殺一匹夫,無異螻蟻。 寬而宥之,可以示容受切言,廣德宇於天下。 故臣以爲殺之未必爲是也。」 帝又問:「司馬遷以受刑之故,內懷隱切,著史記非貶孝武,令人切齒。」 對曰:「司馬遷記事,不虛美,不隱惡。 劉向、揚雄服其善叙事,有良史之才,謂之實錄。 漢武帝聞其述史記,取孝景及己本紀覽之,於是大怒,削而投之。 於今此兩紀有錄無書。 後遭李陵事,遂下遷蠶室。 此爲隱切在孝武,而不在於史遷也。」
The emperor once asked: “Under Emperor Huan, Li Yun of Baima wrote that di means ‘true insight. He meant the emperor was turning a deaf ear to honest counsel. Why was he put to death?" Wang Su answered, “Only because his phrasing broke the rules of respectful remonstrance, though his intent was loyal—to mend the Han throne. His memorial aimed only to strengthen the dynasty. An emperor’s wrath outthunders heaven; killing a commoner is swatting a fly. To pardon him would show that blunt counsel is welcome and magnanimity fills the realm. So I do not think his execution was just." The Emperor again asked, “Sima Qian because of receiving punishment, within harbored hidden bitterness, wrote the Records slandering Filial Wu, making men gnash teeth. Wang Su replied, “Sima Qian recorded facts without flattery or concealment. Liu Xiang and Yang Xiong praised his narrative skill and called the work a true record. When Emperor Wu read the annals of Jing and himself he flew into a rage and struck them from the text. Those two chapters survive as titles without content. Later the Li Ling case sent him to the castration chamber. The grudge lay with Emperor Wu, not with Sima Qian."
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【評】
Appraisal
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評曰:鍾繇開達理幹,華歆清純德素,王朗文博富贍,誠皆一時之俊偉也。 魏氏初祚,肇登三司,盛矣夫! 王肅亮直多聞,能析薪哉! 〈劉寔以爲肅方於事上而好下佞己,此一反也。 性嗜榮貴而不求苟合,此二反也。 吝惜財物而治身不穢,此三反也。〉
The historian comments: Zhong Yao was open and capable, Hua Xin incorrupt and plain, Wang Lang learned and ample—each was a leading talent of his day. At Wei’s founding they rose together to the Three Excellencies—no small glory. Wang Su was candid, learned, and sharp enough to “split the firewood” of statecraft. 〈Liu Shi said Wang Su was stiff toward superiors yet loved flattery from below—the first contradiction. He hungered for rank yet would not curry favor—the second contradiction. He hoarded coin yet kept his person clean—the third contradiction.〉