← Back to 三國志

卷十三 魏書十三 鍾繇華歆王朗傳

Volume 13: Book of Wei 13 - Biographies of Zhong Yao, Hua Xin, and Wang Lang

Chapter 13 of 三國志 · Records of the Three Kingdoms
← Previous Chapter
Chapter 13
Next Chapter →
1
西 西 西 西 退 使 簿 西 使 使 使使 使
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.
2
使 西 使 使 祿 使 使 使 西
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.
3
使 使 使巿 使 忿 使 使 使 巿
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
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.
5
西殿 西 便 殿 使 退 退
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
駿
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
西 退 使 使 便 便 便 使
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.
8
祿
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.〉
9
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.
10
使
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
使忿 西
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
使 滿
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
西 便 使 輿 簿簿
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
使 使 祿
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
輿 輿 使 退 西
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
使 使 使使
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
宿 祿 使祿祿 祿 使 使
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
退 輿 使 使 使
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
調 殿 使 使 使使 使 輿使使
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.
20
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."
21
Appraisal
22
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.〉
← Previous Chapter
Back to Chapters
Next Chapter →