1
桓阶陈群陈矫徐宣卫臻卢毓
Huan Jie, Chen Qun, Chen Jiao, Xu Xuan, Wei Zhen, and Lu Yu.
2
桓階字伯緒，長沙臨湘人也。 〈魏书曰：阶祖父超，父胜，皆历典州郡。 胜为尚书，著名南方。〉 仕郡功曹。 太守孫堅舉階孝廉，除尚書郎。 父喪還鄉里。 會堅擊劉表戰死，階冒難詣表乞堅喪，表義而與之。 後太祖與袁紹相拒於官渡，表舉州以應紹。 階說其太守張羡曰：「夫舉事而不本於義，未有不敗者也。 故齊桓率諸侯以尊周，晉文逐叔帶以納王。 今袁氏反此，而劉牧應之，取禍之道也。 明府必欲立功明義，全福遠禍，不宜與之同也。」 羡曰：「然則何向而可？」 階曰：「曹公雖弱，仗義而起，救朝廷之危，奉王命而討有罪，孰敢不服？ 今若舉四郡保三江以待其來，而爲之内應，不亦可乎！」 羡曰：「善。」 乃舉長沙及旁三郡以拒表，遣使詣太祖。 太祖大悦。 會紹與太祖連戰，軍未得南。 而表急攻羡，羡病死。 城陷，階遂自匿。 久之，劉表辟爲從事祭酒，欲妻以妻妹蔡氏。 階自陳已結婚，拒而不受，因辭疾告退。
Huan Jie, whose courtesy name was Bozhu, came from Linxiang in Changsha commandery. 〈According to the Book of Wei, Jie's grandfather Chao and his father Sheng had each served in turn as administrators of commanderies. Sheng rose to secretary in the Masters of Writing and won a reputation throughout the south.〉 He held the post of merit clerk in his home commandery. Grand Warden Sun Jian nominated him as filial and incorrupt, after which he received appointment as a gentleman of the Masters of Writing. On his father's death he went home to observe mourning. Sun Jian had fallen in battle against Liu Biao; Jie risked his life to petition Biao for the body, and Biao, respecting his loyalty, handed it over. Later, as the Grand Progenitor locked horns with Yuan Shao at Guandu, Liu Biao mobilized the entire province in Shao's support. Jie remonstrated with Grand Warden Zhang Xian: 'Launch a venture without anchoring it in right principle, and ruin follows every time. Think of how Duke Huan of Qi rallied the lords to uphold the Zhou, and Duke Wen of Jin expelled Shudai to escort the king back to the capital. The Yuans have inverted that example, and Governor Liu is marching with them straight toward calamity. If you mean to win real merit, show where justice lies, secure lasting good fortune, and steer clear of ruin, you must not march in their company.' Xian asked, 'In that case, whom should we follow?' Jie answered, 'Lord Cao looks outmatched, yet he took up arms for the right, delivered the throne from danger, and now campaigns with imperial sanction against criminals—who could withhold allegiance? Raise the four southern commanderies, guard the three river approaches, wait for his host, and strike from within as his confederates—would that not serve?' Well said,' Xian agreed. He then mobilized Changsha and three adjacent commanderies against Liu Biao and dispatched messengers to the Grand Progenitor. The Grand Progenitor was delighted. But Shao and the Grand Progenitor were locked in repeated combat, and no southern expedition could be spared. Liu Biao meanwhile hammered Xian's positions until Xian succumbed to illness. When the city fell, Jie went into hiding. Eventually Liu Biao appointed him libationer-adjutant and offered him his wife's younger sister from the Cai family in marriage. Jie stated that he was already wed, declined the match, and retired on the excuse of illness.
3
太祖定荆州，聞其爲張羡謀也，異之，辟爲丞相掾主簿，遷趙郡太守。 魏國初建，爲虎賁中郎將侍中。 時太子未定，而臨菑侯植有寵。 階數陳文帝德優齒長，宜爲儲副，公規密諫，前後懇至。 〈魏书称阶谏曰：“今太子仁冠群子，名昭海内，仁圣达节，天下莫不闻； 而大王甫以植而问臣，臣诚惑之。” 於是太祖知阶笃於守正，深益重焉。〉 又毛玠、徐奕以剛蹇少黨，而爲西曹掾丁儀所不善，儀屢言其短，賴階左右以自全保。 其將順匡救，多此類也。 遷尚書，典選舉。 曹仁爲關羽所圍，太祖遣徐晃救之，不解。 太祖欲自南征，以问羣下。 羣下皆謂：「王不亟行，今敗矣。」 階獨曰：「大王以仁等爲足以料事勢不也？」 曰：「能。」 「大王恐二人遺力邪？」 曰：「不。」 「然則何爲自往？」 曰：「吾恐虏众多，而晃等勢不便耳。」 階曰：「今仁等处重圍之中而守死无贰者，诚以大王遠爲之勢也。 夫居万死之地，必有死争之心； 内怀死争，外有强救，大王案六軍以示餘力，何忧於敗而欲自往？」 太祖善其言，驻軍於摩陂。 贼遂退。
After the Grand Progenitor settled Jingzhou and heard that Jie had plotted for Zhang Xian, he was struck with admiration, appointed him senior clerk to the chancellor's chief of staff, and soon advanced him to grand warden of Zhao. At the founding of the state of Wei he was named commandant of the household rapid as tiger and palace attendant. The heir had still not been chosen, while the Marquis of Linzi, Cao Zhi, basked in imperial favor. Jie repeatedly argued that the future Emperor Wen's moral stature and senior birth suited him for the succession; time and again he pressed these pleas in confidential audience with the duke. 〈The Book of Wei quotes his admonition: 'The heir's humanity surpasses every other son, his reputation fills the realm, he combines benevolence, sagacity, and measured judgment, and the empire has taken notice;" yet you have suddenly questioned me, my lord, on account of Zhi—I confess I am bewildered. From this the Grand Progenitor saw how firmly Jie held to integrity and valued him the more deeply.'〉 Mao Jie and Xu Yi, rigid and short of allies, earned the enmity of Ding Yi, clerk of the western bureau; Yi kept denigrating them, and only Jie's steadying hand on both flanks let them escape harm. Time after time he eased confrontations and righted wrongs in just this fashion. He rose to masters of writing with responsibility for personnel selection. Cao Ren lay trapped by Guan Yu; the Grand Progenitor dispatched Xu Huang to rescue him, yet the encirclement held. The Grand Progenitor considered marching south himself and asked his advisers. The assembly insisted, 'Unless you ride south immediately, my lord, all is lost.' Jie alone asked, 'Does Your Majesty credit Ren and his officers with sound judgment of the field?' The answer came: 'They can.' Jie pressed, 'Do you fear they will stint their effort?' No,' came the reply. Jie continued, 'Then why must you go in person?' Because I worry the bandits are too numerous and Huang's men are at a disadvantage,' was the answer. Jie said, 'Ren and his commanders endure a ring of steel yet cling to death without second thoughts because they trust Your Majesty's distant mass as their shield. Men pinned in a kill-box will fight as if they had nothing left to lose; with that resolve inside and powerful rescue outside, if Your Majesty merely arrays the six hosts to show you still have reserves, what need is there to dread defeat or to take the field yourself?' The Grand Progenitor accepted this counsel and encamped his army at Mopo. The enemy then drew off.
4
文帝践阼，遷尚書令，封高鄉亭侯，加侍中。 階疾病，帝自臨省，謂曰：「吾方讬六尺之孤，寄天下之命於卿。 勉之！」 徙封安乐鄉侯，邑六百户，又赐階三子爵關内侯，祐以嗣子不封，病卒，又追赠關内侯。 後階疾笃，遣使者即拜太常，薨，帝爲之流涕，谥曰贞侯。 子嘉嗣。 以階弟纂爲散骑侍郎，赐爵關内侯。 嘉尚升遷亭公主，會嘉平中，以乐安太守與吴戰於东關，軍敗，没，谥曰壮侯。 子翊嗣。 〈世说曰：阶孙陵，字元徽，有名於晋武帝世，至荥阳太守，卒。〉
When Emperor Wen took the throne, Jie became director of the Masters of Writing, was enfeoffed village marquis of Gaoxiang, and received the added title of palace attendant. Jie sickened, and the emperor visited him at bedside, saying, 'I mean to commit my six-foot heir and the destiny of the empire to you. Do not fail me!' His patent was moved to village marquis of Anle at six hundred households, and three of Jie's sons were each granted secondary marquis within the passes; You, as designated successor, had gone without a separate fief, yet after he died of illness he likewise received a posthumous patent as secondary marquis within the passes. When Jie later sank toward death, messengers were rushed to invest him as grand master of ceremonies; at his passing the emperor shed tears and canonized him as Marquis Zhen. His son Jia inherited the title. The emperor named Jie's younger brother Zuan cavalier attendant-in-ordinary and awarded him secondary marquis within the passes. Jia took the princess of the Shengqian village fief; in the Jiaping years, as grand warden of Le'an, he clashed with Wu at Dongguan, his army was routed, he fell in battle, and was posthumously honored as Marquis Zhuang. His son Yi inherited the line. 〈The Shishuo relates that Jie's grandson Ling, style Yuanhui, won renown under Jin Emperor Wu, served as grand warden of Xingyang, and died in that post.〉
5
陳羣字長文，颍川许昌 （人） 也。 祖父寔，父纪，叔父谌，皆有盛名。 〈寔字仲弓、纪字元方，谌字季方。 《魏书》曰：寔德冠当时，纪、谌并名重於世。 寔为太丘长，遭党锢，隐居荆山，远近宗师之。 灵帝崩，何进辅政，引用天下名士，徵寔，欲以为参军，以老病，遂不屈节，谌为司空掾，早卒。 纪历位平原相、侍中、大鸿胪，著书数十篇，世谓之陈子。 寔之亡也，司空荀爽、太仆令韩融并制缌麻，执子孙礼。 四方至者车数千乘，自太原郭泰等无不造门。 《傅子》曰：寔亡，天下致吊，会其葬者三万人，制缞麻者以百数。 先贤行状曰：大将军何进遣属吊祠，谥曰文范先生。 于时，寔、纪高名并著，而谌又配之，世号曰三君。 每宰府辟命，率皆同时，羔雁成群，丞掾交至。 豫州百姓皆图画寔、纪、谌之形象。〉 羣爲兒時，寔常奇異之，謂宗人父老曰：「此兒必兴吾宗。」 鲁國孔融高才倨傲，年在纪、羣之间，先與纪友，後與羣交，更爲纪拜，由是显名。 劉备臨豫州，辟羣爲别驾。 時陶谦病死，徐州迎备，备欲往，羣說备曰：「袁术尚强，今东，必與之争。 吕布若袭將軍之後，將軍雖得徐州，事必无成。」 备遂东，與袁术戰。 布果袭下邳，遣兵助术，大破备軍，备恨不用羣言。 舉茂才，除柘令，不行，随纪避難徐州。 属吕布破，太祖辟羣爲司空西曹掾属。 時有荐乐安王模、下邳周逵者，太祖辟之。 羣封還教，以爲模、逵秽德，终必敗，太祖不听。 後模、逵皆坐奸宄诛，太祖以谢羣。 羣荐广陵陳矫、丹阳戴乾，太祖皆用之。 後吴人叛，乾忠義死難，矫遂爲名臣，世以羣爲知人。 除萧、赞、長平令，父卒去官。 後以司徒掾舉高第，爲治書侍御史，转参丞相軍事。 魏國既建，遷爲御史中丞。
Chen Qun, whose courtesy name was Zhangwen, hailed from Xuchang in Yingchuan (of that commandery) . His grandfather Shi, his father Ji, and his uncle Chen each carried towering reputations. 〈Shi bore the style Zhonggong, Ji the style Yuangfang, and Chen the style Jifang. The Book of Wei notes that Shi's virtue outshone his contemporaries and that Ji and Chen were celebrated figures of their day. Shi served as magistrate of Taiqiu; when the partisan proscriptions fell he withdrew to Mount Jing, where scholars from every quarter revered him as their master. After Emperor Ling's death He Jin directed the regency and recruited eminent scholars across the land; he summoned Shi as army adviser, but Shi pleaded age and infirmity and would not compromise his integrity; Chen took office as clerk to the minister of works and died in youth. Ji rose through minister of Pingyuan, palace attendant, and grand herald for foreign guests, and left behind dozens of essays that posterity knows as the writings of Master Chen. At Shi's death Minister of Works Xun Shuang and Director of Retainers Han Rong jointly observed the one-year mourning for him as though they were his grandsons. Carriages from every quarter lined up by the thousand; not even Guo Tai of Taiyuan omitted a call at his gate. The Fu Zi records that at Shi's death the whole realm mourned, thirty thousand mourners thronged his funeral, and hundreds wore hemp in his honor. The Conduct of Worthies of Antiquity adds that General-in-chief He Jin dispatched aides to sacrifice at his tomb and canonized him Master Wenfan. In that era Shi and Ji shared equal fame, Chen stood beside them, and contemporaries dubbed them the Three Gentlemen. Whenever high offices issued appointments, the three were summoned as a set; gifts of lamb and goose arrived in flocks, and clerks crowded their doors. The people of Yu Province painted portraits of Shi, Ji, and Chen.〉 In Qun's boyhood Shi often marveled at him, telling the clan elders, 'This boy will bring glory to our house.' Kong Rong of Lu—brilliant and haughty—stood between Ji and Qun in years; he first befriended Ji, then grew close to Qun, and afterward bowed again to Ji, which made Qun's name resound. When Liu Bei assumed authority in Yu Province he appointed Qun chief clerk for separate carriage. Tao Qian had just died, and Xu Province invited Bei to take command; Bei meant to go east, but Qun warned him, 'Yuan Shu remains formidable; march east now and you will collide with him. Should Lü Bu stab at your rear, even winning Xu Province will come to nothing.' Bei went east anyway and fought Yuan Shu. Lü Bu did strike Xiapi, sent reinforcements to Shu, and shattered Bei's host; Bei bitterly regretted ignoring Qun's counsel. Nominated as flourishing talent and named magistrate of Zhe, he declined the post and accompanied Ji into exile in Xu Province. After Lü Bu's ruin the Grand Progenitor called Qun up as subordinate to the western bureau under the minister of works. Someone had recommended Wang Mo of Le'an and Zhou Kui of Xiapi, and the Grand Progenitor issued summons to both. Qun returned the commission sealed, arguing that Mo and Kui were morally tainted and bound to fall; the Grand Progenitor paid no heed. Mo and Kui were later executed for corruption, and the Grand Progenitor apologized to Qun. Qun nominated Chen Jiao of Guangling and Dai Qian of Danyang, and the Grand Progenitor took both into service. When Wu's adherents later rose, Qian perished loyally in the fighting while Jiao rose to noted minister; contemporaries pronounced Qun a discerning recommender. He was named magistrate of Xiao, Zan, and Changping, then resigned on his father's death. Later, graded top among steward's clerks, he became supervising secretary and censor, then rotated onto the chancellor's military staff. After the state of Wei was founded he advanced to palace aide to the censor-in-chief.
6
時太祖议复肉刑，令曰：「安得通理君子达於古今者，使平斯事乎！ 昔陳鸿胪以爲死刑有可加於仁恩者，正謂此也。 御史中丞能申其父之论乎？」 羣对曰：
The Grand Progenitor was then debating the revival of corporal mutilation and issued an edict: 'Where is the broad-minded gentleman, learned in past and present, who can settle this question for me! Minister Chen Honglu once argued that certain capital cases might still admit added mercy—he had exactly this in mind. Can you, as palace aide to the censor-in-chief, articulate your father's argument?' Qun answered:
7
臣父纪以为汉除肉刑而增加笞，本兴仁恻而死者更众，所谓名轻而实重者也。 名轻则易犯，实重则伤民。 书曰：‘惟敬五刑，以成三德。 ’易著劓、刖、灭趾之法，所以辅政助教，惩恶息杀也。 且杀人偿死，合於古制； 至於伤人，或残毁其体而裁翦毛发，非其理也。 若用古刑，使淫者下蚕室，盗者刖其足，则永无淫放穿窬之奸矣。 夫三千之属，虽未可悉复，若斯数者，时之所患，宜先施用。 汉律所杀殊死之罪，仁所不及也，其餘逮死者，可以刑杀。 如此，则所刑之与所生足以相贸矣。 今以笞死之法易不杀之刑，是重人支体而轻人躯命也。
My father Ji held that Han's abolition of corporal mutilation while raising the count of bastinado strokes began as an act of mercy yet left more men dead—the case of a merciful label masking a harsher truth. A light-sounding penalty invites crime; a heavy reality wounds the common people. The Documents declare, 'With awe apply the five punishments to perfect the three virtues.' The Changes prescribes nose-cutting, foot-amputation, and toe removal as tools to aid governance and teaching, chastise wickedness, and curb bloodshed. Besides, life for life matches the old statutes; When the law injures a man, to mutilate his body yet merely clip his hair falls short of what justice demands. Restore the old sanctions—castrate the adulterer, amputate the thief's feet—and debauchery and house-breaking would disappear for good. We need not resurrect every clause of the old code, but the offenses that torment society today deserve priority. Han statutes mark certain capital crimes as beyond clemency; for all other cases headed for execution, corporal punishment could substitute for the headsman's blade. Then the lives spared and the bodies marked would trade off in fair measure. Swapping nonfatal penalties for death by flogging exalts the body over the life itself.
8
時锺繇與羣议同，王朗及议者多以爲未可行。 太祖深善繇、羣言，以軍事未罢，顾众议，故且寝。
Zhong Yao sided with Qun; Wang Lang and the majority of the council still judged the scheme premature. Cao Cao endorsed both men heartily, yet with the war still on he bowed to wider opinion and shelved corporal mutilation.
9
是時，帝初莅政，羣上疏曰：
Early in the new reign Qun addressed the throne:
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诗称‘仪刑文王，万邦作孚’； 又曰‘刑于寡妻，至于兄弟，以御于家邦’。 道自近始，而化洽於天下。 自丧乱已来，干戈未戢，百姓不识王教之本，惧其陵迟巳甚。 陛下当盛魏之隆，荷二祖之业，天下想望至治，唯有以崇德布化，惠恤黎庶，则兆民幸甚。 夫臣下雷同，是非相蔽，国之大患也。 若不和睦则有雠党，有雠党则毁誉无端，毁誉无端则真伪失实，不可不深防备，有以绝其源流。
The Classic of Poetry says, 'Model yourself on King Wen, and every state will place its faith in you.' It adds, 'Begin with moral sway over your wife, carry it to your brothers, and rule your house and realm from there.' Moral transformation begins at home, then suffuses the empire. Through rebellion and chaos the sword has never been sheathed; the people have lost sight of what legitimate rule rests on, and I dread how far standards have slipped. You inherit Wei at its zenith and the mantle of both imperial forebears; the realm hungers for perfect peace—exalt virtue, broadcast humane government, and care for the common folk, and the people will count themselves fortunate indeed. When the court speaks with one cowed voice, truth and falsehood blur together, and the dynasty pays the price. Discord breeds rival cliques; rival cliques spawn reckless slander; reckless slander erases the line between fact and rumor—you must choke this evil at its spring.
11
太和中，曹真表欲數道伐蜀，從斜谷入。 羣以爲「太祖昔到阳平攻張鲁，多收豆麦以益軍粮，鲁未下而食犹乏。 今既无所因，且斜谷阻险，難以进退，转运必见钞截，多留兵守要，則损戰士，不可不熟虑也」。 帝從羣议。 真复表從子午道。 羣又陳其不便，并言軍事用度之计。 诏以羣议下真，真据之遂行。 會霖雨积日，羣又以爲宜诏真還，帝從之。
During Taihe, Cao Zhen proposed a multi-pronged invasion of Shu through Xie Valley. Qun objected: 'When the founder marched on Yangping against Zhang Lu, he foraged beans and wheat to fill the granaries, yet Lu still held out while the army went hungry. Today we lack that windfall, and Xie Valley's cliffs make retreat as perilous as advance; convoys will be ambushed, and garrisoning the defiles in strength only bleeds the field army—think this through.' The sovereign accepted Qun's advice. Cao Zhen renewed his request to push through the Ziwu trail. Qun reiterated the logistical objections and laid out the cost in supplies and treasure. The court forwarded Qun's dissent to Zhen, who ignored it and marched anyway. Days of downpour followed; Qun urged a recall, and this time the emperor agreed.
12
後皇女淑薨，追封谥平原懿公主。 羣上疏曰：
When the princess named Shu died, the court posthumously titled her the Princess Yi of Pingyuan. Qun wrote again:
13
长短有命，存亡有分。 故圣人制礼，或抑或致，以求厥中。 防墓有不脩之俭，嬴、博有不归之魂。 夫大人动合天地，垂之无穷，又大德不逾闲，动为师表故也。 八岁下殇，礼所不备，况未期月，而以成人礼送之，加为制服，举朝素衣，朝夕哭临，自古已来，未有此比。 而乃复自往视陵，亲临祖载。 原陛下抑割无益有损之事，但悉听群臣送葬，乞车驾不行，此万国之至望也。 闻车驾欲幸摩陂，实到许昌，二宫上下，皆悉俱东，举朝大小，莫不惊怪。 或言欲以避衰，或言欲於便处移殿舍，或不知何故。 臣以为吉凶有命，祸福由人，移徙求安，则亦无益。 若必当移避，缮治金墉城西宫，及孟津别宫，皆可权时分止。 可无举宫暴露野次，废损盛节蚕农之要。 又贼地闻之，以为大衰。 加所烦费，不可计量。 且 （由） 吉士贤人，当盛衰，处安危，秉道信命，非徙其家以宁，乡邑从其风化，无恐惧之心。 况乃帝王万国之主，静则天下安，动则天下扰； 行止动静，岂可轻脱哉？
Long life and early death each have their allotted measure. The sages framed rites that withhold or lavish mourning precisely to strike the golden mean. Confucius left his parents' graves at Fang untended in the name of simplicity; the spirit of Bo Qi never came home from Ying and Bo. A sage-king's conduct mirrors heaven and earth, endures for ages, and never oversteps moral limits, so every gesture instructs the world. The canon omits funeral rites for children who die before eight; for an infant not yet a month old to receive an adult obsequy, full mourning dress, court-wide hemp, and daily keening has no precedent in history. Yet Your Majesty means to visit the tomb yourself and preside at the hearse. Suppress the needless journey, let the officials bury her, and keep the chariot at home—that is what every principality prays for. Word says you will travel to Mobo but actually halt at Xuchang; both inner and outer palaces are packing east, and the whole bureaucracy is dumbfounded. Some whisper you flee a curse, some that you mean to relocate the halls, some admit they cannot guess. I hold that luck is heaven's decree but conduct shapes disaster; flitting about for safety avails nothing. If flight is unavoidable, refurbish the western compound at Jinyong or the detached palace at Mengjin—either will do for a short stay. Do not drag the whole household into the open, wrecking the spring silkworm season and the plough. Enemy spies will read such a stampede as a sign of Wei in collapse. The cost, piled on the confusion, staggers reckoning. Moreover (from) The noble man, in boom or bust, cleaves to principle and accepts heaven's lot; his family rests easy, his neighbors take heart from his example, and fear leaves them. Far more the emperor, master of all lands: his stillness steadies the world, his restlessness shakes it; can his movements be trifled with?
14
帝不听。
The sovereign brushed the plea aside.
15
青龙中，营治宫室，百姓失农時。 羣上疏曰：
Under Qinglong, palace construction pulled peasants from the fields at sowing time. Qun memorialized:
16
禹承唐、虞之盛，犹卑宫室而恶衣服，况今丧乱之后，人民至少，比汉文、景之时，不过一大郡。 〈臣松之案：《汉书地理志》云：元始二年，天下户口最盛，汝南郡为大郡，有三十餘万户。 则文、景之时不能如是多也。 案《晋太康三年地记》，晋户有三百七十七万，吴、蜀户不能居半。 以此言之，魏虽始承丧乱，方晋亦当无乃大殊。 长文之言，於是为过。〉 加边境有事，将士劳苦，若有水旱之患，国家之深忧也。 且吴、蜀未灭，社稷不安。 宜及其未动，讲武劝农，有以待之。 今舍此急而先宫室，臣惧百姓遂困，将何以应敌？ 昔刘备自成都至白水，多作传舍，兴费人役，太祖知其疲民也。 今中国劳力，亦吴、蜀之所原。 此安危之机也，惟陛下虑之。
Great Yu took over a golden age yet kept humble roofs and rough clothes; after our wars the population is thinner than a single populous commandery under Wen and Jing of Han. 〈Songzhi comments: the Han Geography monograph records that at the Yuanshi zenith Runan, the biggest commandery, held a little over three hundred thousand households. Wen and Jing's era could not have matched that census. The Jin land register for Taikang 3 lists 3.77 million households under Jin, with Wu and Shu combined still short of half that. Wei began amid rubble, yet its head count cannot have diverged wildly from Jin's. Zhangwen's comparison overshoots the mark.'〉 Layer on frontier alarms, weary troops, and a drought or flood becomes a nightmare. Wu and Shu still stand; the dynasty is not safe. Train the hosts and push the plough before those foes move. To postpone that work for marble halls is to beggar the people—how then do we meet the foe? Liu Bei once lined the road from Chengdu to Baishui with post-houses, bleeding labor and coin—Cao Cao read that as self-strangulation. Driving China to exhaustion is precisely what our rivals hope for. Here hangs victory or ruin; weigh it carefully.
17
帝答曰：「王者宫室，亦宜并立。 灭贼之後，但当罢守耳，岂可复兴役邪？ 是故君之职，萧何之大略也。」 羣又曰：
The emperor answered, 'A Son of Heaven needs fitting halls beside his other duties. Once the rebels fall we will only disband excess troops—why fear new levies? That is a ruler's burden—the lesson Xiao He taught.' Qun pressed on:
18
昔汉祖唯与项羽争天下，羽已灭，宫室烧焚，是以萧何建武库、太仓，皆是要急，然犹非其壮丽。 今二虏未平，诚不宜与古同也。 〈孙盛曰：周礼，天子之宫，有斫蹐之制。 然质文之饰，与时推移。 汉承周、秦之弊，宜敦简约之化，而何崇饰宫室，示侈后嗣。 此乃武帝千门万户所以大兴，岂无所复增之谓邪？ 况乃魏氏方有吴、蜀之难，四海罹涂炭之艰，而述萧何之过议，以为令轨，岂不惑於大道而昧得失之辨哉？ 使百代之君，眩於奢俭之中，何之由矣。 诗云：“斯言之玷，不可为也。” 其斯之谓乎！〉 夫人之所欲，莫不有辞，况乃天王，莫之敢违。 前欲坏武库，谓不可不坏也； 后欲置之，谓不可不置也。 若必作之，固非臣下辞言所屈； 若少留神，卓然回意，亦非臣下之所及也。 汉明帝欲起德阳殿，锺离意谏，即用其言，后乃复作之； 殿成，谓群臣曰：‘锺离尚书在，不得成此殿也。 ’夫王者岂惮一臣，盖为百姓也。 今臣曾不能少凝圣听，不及意远矣。
Gaozu fought only Xiang Yu; when Chu fell the Chang'an palaces were ash, so Xiao He threw up arsenals and granaries—utter necessities—yet even those stayed plain. With two enemies still in the field, aping the ancients is unwise. 〈Sun Sheng notes that Zhou ritual prescribed even the king's stair treads. Ornament and simplicity shift with each age. Han took Zhou and Qin's excesses and should have preached frugality—why instead parade palace splendor for posterity? That is how Han Wudi came to multiply gates and halls without end—was there truly nothing left to build? Wei still bleeds against Wu and Shu while the empire smolders—yet we cite Xiao He's mistake as precedent. Is that not a muddle of the Way itself? If every future throne wavers between luxury and stinginess, where lies the middle road? The Poetry warns, 'A slip of the tongue cannot be repaired.' Does it not mean exactly this!'〉 Mortals rationalize every appetite; the August One faces no veto. First you ordered the arsenal razed as unavoidable; then you ordered it rebuilt as equally unavoidable. If Your Majesty insists, no memorial can deflect you; yet a moment's reflection and a change of heart are likewise beyond our power to command. Han Mingdi planned the Deyang Palace; Zhong Li Yi protested, and the emperor yielded—only to resume construction later; at the dedication he told his court, 'Had Director Zhong Li lived, this hall would never have risen.' A king does not dread one upright official; he thinks of the multitude. I have failed to fix your ear as Zhong Li did—I am no match for that man.
19
帝於是有所减省。
The emperor trimmed the project somewhat.
20
初，太祖時，劉廙坐弟與魏讽謀反，当诛。 羣言之太祖，太祖曰：「廙，名臣也，吾亦欲赦之。」 乃复位。 廙深德羣，羣曰：「夫议刑爲國，非爲私也； 且自明主之意，吾何知焉？」 其弘博不伐，皆此類也。 青龙四年薨，谥曰靖侯。 子泰嗣。 帝追思羣功德，分羣户邑，封一子列侯。 〈魏书曰：群前后数密陈得失，每上封事，辄削其草，时人及其子弟莫能知也。 论者或讥群居位拱默，正始中诏撰群臣上书，以为名臣奏议，朝士乃见群谏事，皆叹息焉。 袁子曰：或云“故少府杨阜岂非忠臣哉？ 见人主之非，则勃然怒而触之，与人言未尝不道也，岂非所谓‘王臣謇謇，匪躬之故’者欤！” 答曰：“然可谓直士，忠则吾不知也。 夫仁者爱人。 施於君谓之忠，施於亲谓之孝。 忠孝者，其本一也。 故仁爱之至者，君亲有过，谏而不入，求之反覆，不得已而言，不忍宣也。 今为人臣，见人主失道，直诋其非而播扬其恶，可谓直士，未为忠臣也。 故司空陈群则不然，其谈论终日，未尝言人主之非； 书数十上而外人不知。 君子谓群於是乎长者矣。”〉
Under the founder, Liu Yi was implicated when his brother joined Wei Feng's plot and faced death. Qun interceded; Cao Cao replied, 'Yi is a noted servant of the state—I mean to spare him.' The court reinstated Yi in his post. Yi overwhelmed Qun with gratitude; Qun answered, 'Law exists for the realm, not for private debts; besides, the decision was the enlightened ruler's—what part was mine?' Such magnanimity without self-praise typified him. He died in Qinglong 4 and was canonized Marquis Jing. His son Tai inherited the title. The court remembered his service, split his tax households, and raised one son to full marquis. 〈Wei records that Qun often sent confidential critiques, then erased every draft so contemporaries and kin never saw his words. Detractors called him a silent placeholder; when Zhengshi editors gathered famous memorials, the court discovered his stack of suppressed advice and marveled. Yuan's essay asks: 'Was Yang Fu of the household not loyal?" He thundered at every imperial error and repeated each to everyone he met—is that not the classic 'unbending servant who risks his skin for duty'? The reply runs, 'Call him blunt if you like; loyal is another question." The humane man cherishes his fellow men. What you owe the sovereign is named loyalty; what you owe your parents is named filial duty. At bottom, loyalty to the throne and love of parents are one virtue. The truly humane, finding a flaw in ruler or father that counsel cannot mend, will argue the point repeatedly and only at the last speak out—never airing the shame in public. A courtier who spots the throne's folly and shouts it abroad may pass for blunt; he has not yet earned the title of loyal. Minister of Works Chen Qun took a different path—hours of discourse without a word against his lord; yet he filed score on score of palace memorials that no outsider ever saw. Men of judgment call that conduct worthy of an elder statesman.
21
子泰
His son: Chen Tai
22
泰字玄伯。 青龙中，除散骑侍郎。 正始中，徙游擊將軍，爲并州刺史，加振威將軍，使持节，护匈奴中郎將，怀柔夷民，甚有威惠。 京邑贵人多寄宝货，因泰市奴婢，泰皆挂之於壁，不发其封，及徵爲尚書，悉以還之。 嘉平初，代郭淮爲雍州刺史，加奋威將軍。 蜀大將軍姜维率众依麹山筑二城，使牙门將句安、李歆等守之，聚羌胡质任等寇偪諸郡。 征西將軍郭淮與泰謀所以御之，泰曰：「麹城雖固，去蜀险遠，当须运粮。 羌夷患维劳役，必未肯附。 今圍而取之，可不血刃而拔其城； 雖其有救，山道阻险，非行兵之地也。」 淮從泰计，使泰率討蜀护軍徐质、南安太守邓艾等进兵圍之，断其运道及城外流水。 安等挑戰，不许，將士困窘，分粮聚雪以稽日月。 维果來救，出自牛头山，與泰相对。 泰曰：「兵法贵在不戰而屈人。 今绝牛头，维无反道，則我之禽也。」 敕諸軍各堅垒勿與戰，遣使白淮，欲自南渡白水，循水而东，使淮趣牛头，截其還路，可并取维，不惟安等而已。 淮善其策，进率諸軍軍洮水。 维惧，遁走，安等孤县，遂皆降。
Chen Tai bore the courtesy name Xuanbo. Under the Qinglong reign he received appointment as cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. During Zhengshi he rotated to general of agile assault, took Bing Province as his inspectorate, added the title general who rouses might, carried the credential staff as colonel protecting the Xiongnu, and soothed the border peoples with a mix of sternness and grace. Capital magnates parked gold with him to purchase bond servants; he strung the sealed bundles on his wall untouched, then, on promotion to the Masters of Writing, handed every item back. Early in Jiaping he succeeded Guo Huai in Yongzhou and added the title general who displays might. Jiang Wei of Shu threw up twin strongholds on Mount Qu under commanders Gou An and Li Xin, stockpiled Qiang and Hu hostages, and harried Wei's western commanderies. General Guo Huai asked Tai's plan; Tai replied, 'The Qu citadels are tough, but Shu is a long march over bad roads—they live or die by supply trains. The Qiang chafe under Jiang Wei's labor levies and will not cling to him by choice. Besiege them now and we may win the walls without a pitched battle. Even if reinforcements arrive, those cliff roads are no place to maneuver an army.' Huai adopted the scheme: Tai advanced with protector Xu Zhi, Grand Warden Deng Ai of Nan'an, and the rest, ringed the fortresses, and severed both grain routes and the watercourses beyond the ramparts. Gou An's men shouted for a sortie and were ignored; starving, they rationed millet and scooped snow to buy time. Jiang Wei marched to their relief out of Ox Head Mountain and drew up opposite Tai. Tai observed, 'The canon prizes breaking the foe without crossing swords. Cut Ox Head and Jiang Wei cannot retreat—he falls into our net.' He told every column to stand fast in camp, wrote Huai to cross the Bai upstream, sweep east along the bank, and drive for Ox Head to cork Jiang Wei's escape—bagging Jiang Wei along with the garrison, not only Gou An. Huai endorsed the maneuver and marched the host to the Tao. Jiang Wei lost his nerve and bolted; Gou An's detachment, left alone, capitulated.
23
姜维提轻兵深入，正欲与我争锋原野，求一战之利。 王经当高壁深垒，挫其锐气。 今乃与战，使贼得计，走破王经，封之狄道。 若维以战克之威，进兵东向，据栎阳积谷之实，放兵收降，招纳羌、胡，东争关、陇，传檄四郡，此我之所恶也。 而维以乘胜之兵，挫峻城之下，锐气之卒，屈力致命，攻守势殊，客主不同。 兵书云‘脩橹轒榅，三月乃成，拒堙三月而后已’。 诚非轻军远入，维之诡谋仓卒所办。 县军远侨，粮谷不继，是我速进破贼之时也，所谓疾雷不及掩耳，自然之势也。 洮水带其表，维等在其内，今乘高据势，临其项领，不战必走。 寇不可纵，围不可久，君等何言如此？
Jiang Wei had plunged inland with a light column hoping to force a field battle and snatch one sharp triumph. Wang Jing should have locked his gates behind towering walls and drowned their momentum. Instead he offered battle, played into the enemy's hands, was shattered, and was driven to shelter in Didao. Had Jiang Wei exploited the rout to push east, occupy Liyang's granaries, fan out to accept surrenders, enlist Qiang and Hu, and strike for the Tong Pass and Longxi, posting manifestos across the four western commanderies—that is the nightmare scenario. Instead his victorious troops now hammer a sheer citadel; elite fighters spend their fury in a siege where attacker and defender face unequal odds. The canon warns that mantlets and battering rams need three months, and siege mounds another three. That is not work for a stripped column deep in enemy country or for Jiang Wei's improvised tricks. A lone expedition, short of provisions—that is our cue to strike fast; call it lightning too quick to clap hands over the ears. The Tao hems them in; Jiang Wei is trapped inside. Seize the high ground, close fingers on their throat, and they flee without a fight. Bandits cannot be pampered; a ring cannot yawn for months—why counsel delay?
24
遂进軍度高城岭，潜行，夜至狄道东南高山上，多舉烽火，鸣鼓角。 狄道城中將士见救者至，皆愤踊。 维始謂官救兵当须众集乃发，而卒聞已至，謂有奇变宿謀，上下震惧。 自軍之发陇西也，以山道深险，贼必设伏。 泰诡從南道，维果三日施伏。 〈臣松之案：此传云“谓救兵当须众集，而卒闻已至，谓有奇变，上下震惧”，此则救至出於不意。 若不知救至，何故伏兵深险乃经三日乎？ 设伏相伺，非不知之谓。 此皆语之不通也。〉 定軍潜行，卒出其南。 维乃缘山突至，泰與交戰，维退還。 凉州軍從金城南至沃干阪。 泰與经共密期，当共向其還路，维等聞之，遂遁，城中將士得出。 经叹曰：「粮不至旬，向不應机，舉城屠裂，覆喪一州矣。」 泰慰劳將士，前後遣還，更差軍守，并治城垒，還屯上邽。
He crossed Gaocheng Ridge unseen, climbed by night to the heights southeast of Didao, lit signal fires along the ridge, and set drums and horns roaring. The garrison of Didao, seeing relief appear, surged with new fight. Jiang Wei had assumed Wei would mass a huge host before moving; hearing troops already on the ridge, he suspected sorcery or a long-laid ambush, and panic rippled through his ranks. Since leaving Longxi Tai had reckoned the enemy would plant ambushes along the defiles. He feinted along the southern track while Jiang Wei wasted three days setting traps. 〈Songzhi observes: the text says the Shu army expected a delayed muster yet was startled by an immediate arrival—implying surprise. Had they not anticipated relief, why spend three days mining the passes? Lying in wait is the opposite of ignorance. "The whole passage contradicts itself.' (Pei Songzhi's gloss. He slipped his column south and burst into their flank. Jiang Wei clawed up the slope; Tai met him blade to blade and forced him back. The Liangzhou corps marched south from Jincheng toward the Wo'gan Slope. Tai and Wang Jing coordinated a pincer on the retreat; Jiang Wei bolted at the news, and Didao's defenders poured free. Wang Jing sighed, 'We had less than ten days' food; a moment's hesitation would have meant massacre and the loss of an entire province.' Tai rallied the troops, rotated them home in shifts, left fresh garrisons, rebuilt the walls, and withdrew to Shanggui.
25
初，泰聞经见圍，以州軍將士素皆一心，加得保城，非维所能卒倾。 表上进軍晨夜速到還。 众议以经奔北，城不足自固，维若断凉州之道，兼四郡民夷，据關、陇之险，敢能没经軍而屠陇右。 宜须大兵四集，乃致攻討。 大將軍司马文王曰：「昔諸葛亮常有此志，卒亦不能。 事大謀遠，非维所任也。 且城非仓卒所拔，而粮少爲急，征西速救，得上策矣。」 泰每以一方有事，辄以虚声扰动天下，故希简白上事，驿書不过六百里。 司马文王语荀顗曰：「玄伯沈勇能断，荷方伯之重，救將陷之城，而不求益兵，又希简上事，必能办贼故也。 都督大將，不当尔邪！」
When Tai first learned of the siege, he trusted the Yongzhou troops' unity and the city's strength and doubted Jiang Wei could storm it overnight. He asked leave to march, promising to arrive at forced marches. Court opinion held that Wang Jing's defeat left Didao indefensible; if Jiang Wei severed the Liangzhou road, rallied the four commanderies of Han and tribesmen, and seized Tong Pass and Longxi, he might wipe out Wang Jing's force and scour the west. They urged waiting until reinforcements converged from every quarter. Grand General Sima Zhao replied, 'Zhuge Liang nursed the same dream and never pulled it off. The scheme is too vast for Jiang Wei's shoulders. Cities do not fall in a day, but hunger strikes at once—speed is the winning move.' Tai habitually muted his memorials so as not to panic the court—his express riders rarely exceeded six hundred li a day. Sima Zhao told Xun Yi, 'Xuanbo combines grit and judgment; holding a border, he saved a doomed city without begging for reinforcements or flooding Luoyang with dispatches—he was certain he could handle Jiang Wei. That is how a supreme commander ought to behave!'
26
後徵泰爲尚書右仆射，典選舉，加侍中光禄大夫。 吴大將孫峻出淮、泗。 以泰爲镇軍將軍，假节都督淮北諸軍事，诏徐州监軍已下受泰节度。 峻退，軍還，转爲左仆射。 諸葛诞作乱寿春，司马文王率六軍軍丘头，泰总署行台。 司马景王、文王皆與泰亲友，及沛國武陔亦與泰善。 文王问陔曰：「玄伯何如其父司空也？」 陔曰：「通雅博暢，能以天下声教爲己任者，不如也； 明统简至，立功立事，过之。」 泰前後以功增邑二千六百户，赐子弟一人亭侯，二人關内侯。
Later the court recalled him as right vice-director of the Masters of Writing with charge of personnel, adding palace attendant and grand master for splendid happiness. Sun Jun of Wu drove his host toward the Huai and Si. Tai was named general who guards the army, given the credential staff, and put in charge of all forces north of the Huai; edict made every overseer from Xu Province down answer to him. Sun Jun retreated; Tai rotated home to left vice-director. When Zhuge Dan rose at Shouchun, Sima Zhao marched the six armies to Qiuqiu while Tai ran the forward command post. Both Sima brothers counted Tai among their confidants, as did Wu Zhi of Pei. Sima Zhao asked Wu Zhi, 'How does Xuanbo measure against his father the minister of works?' Wu Zhi answered, 'In breadth of culture and shouldering the empire's moral teaching, he falls short; in sorting institutions, grasping essentials, winning battles, and finishing tasks, he surpasses him.' Merit raised his fief by 2,600 households; one son took a village marquisate and two became secondary marquises within the passes.
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景元元年薨，追赠司空。 谥曰穆侯。 〈干宝《晋纪》曰：高贵乡公之杀，司马文王会朝臣谋其故。 太常陈泰不至，使其舅荀顗召之。 顗至，告以可否。 泰曰：“世之论者，以泰方於舅，今舅不如泰也。” 子弟内外咸共逼之，垂涕而入。 王待之曲室，谓曰：“玄伯，卿何以处我？” 对曰：“诛贾充以谢天下。” 文王曰：“为我更思其次。” 泰曰：“泰言惟有进於此，不知其次。” 文王乃不更言。 魏氏春秋曰：帝之崩也，太傅司马孚、尚书右仆射陈泰枕帝尸於股，号哭尽哀。 时大将军入于禁中，泰见之悲恸，大将军亦对之泣，谓曰：“玄伯，其如我何？” 泰曰：“独有斩贾充，少可以谢天下耳。” 大将军久之曰：“卿更思其他。” 泰曰：“岂可使泰复发后言。” 遂呕血薨。 臣松之案本传，泰不为太常，未详干宝所由知之。 孙盛改易泰言，虽为小胜。 然检盛言诸所改易，皆非别有异闻，率更自以意制，多不如旧。 凡记言之体，当使若出其口。 辞胜而违实，固君子所不取，况复不胜而徒长虚妄哉？ 案博物记曰：太丘长陈寔、寔子鸿胪纪、纪子司空群、群子泰四世，於汉、魏二朝并有重名，而其德渐渐小减。 时人为其语曰：“公惭卿，卿惭长。”〉 子恂嗣。 恂薨，无嗣。 弟温紹封。 咸熙中开建五等，以泰著勋前朝，改封温爲慎子。 〈案陈氏谱：群之后，名位遂微。 谌孙佐，官至青州刺史。 佐弟坦，廷尉。 佐子准，太尉，封广陵郡公。 准弟戴、徵及从弟堪，并至大位。 准孙逵，字林道，有誉江左，为西中郎将，追赠卫将军。〉
He died in Jingyuan 1 and was posthumously named minister of works. He received the posthumous title Marquis Mu. 〈Gan Bao's Jin Annals records that after the killing of the duke of Gaoxiang, Sima Zhao convened the ministers to assign blame. Grand Master of Ceremonies Chen Tai stayed away until Sima Zhao sent his uncle Xun Yi to fetch him. Yi explained what was at stake. Tai said, 'Gossip pairs me with my uncle; today the uncle cuts the poorer figure.' Kin inside and outside pressed him until, in tears, he went in. The regent met him in a private room: 'Xuanbo, what do you intend for me?' Tai answered, 'Execute Jia Chong and apologize to the empire.' Zhao said, 'Give me a lesser remedy.' Tai replied, 'I have nothing milder to offer—only sterner.' Zhao fell silent. Wei Spring and Autumn adds that at the emperor's death Sima Fu and Chen Tai cradled the body on their laps and keened without restraint. When the grand general entered the inner palace, Tai confronted him in anguish; the general wept as well, asking, 'Xuanbo, what becomes of us?' Tai said, 'Only Jia Chong's head would begin to appease the world.' After a long pause the general said, 'Think of another way.' Tai answered, 'You cannot make me repeat myself.' He spat blood and died. Songzhi remarks: the main text never makes Tai grand master of ceremonies—Gan Bao's source is obscure. Sun Sheng's rewrite of Tai's words is a slight polish, yet none of his variants rest on new evidence—mostly private invention—and usually fall short of the original. Recorded speech should read as if spoken aloud. Elegant words that twist truth are bad enough; worse are clumsy inventions that only multiply lies. The Bowu ji notes four generations—Shi, Ji, Qun, Tai—celebrated in both dynasties, with virtue thinning each step down. Contemporaries sang, 'The lord blushes before the minister; the minister before the elder.' His son Xun inherited the title. Xun died without issue. His younger brother Chen Wen inherited the enfeoffment. When Wei established its five-tier peerage in Xianxi, the court re-enfeoffed Chen Wen as baron (zi) of Shen in honor of Chen Tai's service to the fallen dynasty. 〈The Chen genealogy notes that after Chen Qun's generation rank and visibility slowly thinned. Chen Zuo, a grandson of the line, became inspector of Qing Province. His younger brother Chen Tan served as minister of justice. Chen Zhun, Zuo's son, reached grand commandant and received the ducal patent for Guangling commandery. Zhun's brothers Dai and Zheng and his cousin Kan each climbed to exalted posts. Zhun's grandson Kui, style Lindao, was celebrated in Jiangnan, commanded the central-western host, and was canonized posthumously as guards general.〉
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陳矫字季弼，广陵东阳人也。 避乱江东及东城，辭孫策、袁术之命，還本郡。 太守陳登请爲功曹，使矫詣许，謂曰：「许下论议，待吾不足； 足下相爲观察，還以见诲。」 矫還曰：「聞遠近之论，颇謂明府骄而自矜。」 登曰：「夫闺门雍穆，有德有行，吾敬陳元方兄弟； 渊清玉絜，有礼有法，吾敬华子鱼； 清脩疾恶，有识有義，吾敬趙元达； 博聞强记，奇逸卓荦，吾敬孔文舉； 雄姿杰出，有王霸之略，吾敬劉玄德：所敬如此，何骄之有！ 餘子琐琐，亦焉足录哉？」 登雅意如此，而深敬友矫。
Chen Jiao, whose courtesy name was Jibi, came from Dongyang in Guangling commandery. He fled the wars to Jiangdong and Dongcheng, refused appointments from Sun Ce and Yuan Shu, and went home. Chen Deng made him merit clerk and dispatched him to the capital with this charge: 'Rumor in Xu says the court undervalues me— go see for yourself and report back what I should learn.' Jiao came back and said, 'From every quarter I hear that you, my lord, are proud and self-satisfied.' Deng answered, 'In the grace of a well-ordered household, in moral weight—I honor Chen Ji and his brothers; in clarity of principle and ritual discipline—I honor Hua Xin; in stern integrity and hatred of vice—I honor Zhao Yuanda; in encyclopedic memory and soaring talent—I honor Kong Rong; in heroic stature and the vision of a founder—I honor Liu Bei. These are the men I revere—where is the arrogance? As for lesser men, they are too small to mention.' Such was Deng's self-image, yet he esteemed Jiao as a close friend.
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郡爲孫权所圍於匡奇，登令矫求救於太祖。 矫說太祖曰：「鄙郡雖小，形便之國也，若蒙救援，使爲外籓，則吴人剉謀，徐方永安，武声遠震，仁爱滂流，未從之國，望风景附，崇德养威，此王业也。」 太祖奇矫，欲留之。 矫辭曰：「本國倒县，本奔走告急，纵无申胥之效，敢忘弘演之義乎？」 〈刘向《新序》曰：齐桓公求婚於卫，卫不与，而嫁於许。 卫为狄所伐，桓公不救，至於国灭君死。 懿公尸为狄人所食，惟有肝在。 懿公有臣曰弘演，適使反，致命於肝曰：“君为其内，臣为其外。” 乃刳腹内肝而死。 齐桓公曰：“卫有臣若此而尚灭，寡人无有，亡无日矣！” 乃救卫，定其君。〉 太祖乃遣赴救。 吴軍既退，登多设间伏，勒兵追奔，大破之。
When Sun Quan penned the commandery at Kuangqi, Deng sent Jiao through the lines to plead for aid from Cao Cao. Jiao told Cao Cao, 'Our small district sits on strategic ground; rescue us and make us your outer shield, and you blunt Wu's ambitions, secure the Huai basin, spread your fame, and draw wavering lords to your banner—that is how true kingship is built.' Cao Cao was impressed and wanted to keep him at headquarters. Jiao refused: 'My home hangs by a thread; I came as a messenger of distress. I am no Shen Baoxu, yet I cannot betray the loyalty of Hong Yan.' 〈The Xin Xu records that Duke Huan of Qi asked Wei for a bride; Wei refused and married her to the lord of Xu. When the Di overran Wei, Huan held back until the state fell and its lord perished. The Di devoured Duke Yi's body until only his liver was left. Minister Hong Yan, returning from embassy, placed the charge upon the liver, declaring, 'The ruler dwells within; the servant guards the outer world.' He ripped open his own belly, inserted the liver, and died. Huan of Qi cried, 'Wei fell though it had such servants; I have none—my end is near!' "He then marched to restore Wei and set its lord back on the throne.' (End of Xin Xu quotation. Cao Cao sent Jiao back to speed the rescue. When Wu lifted the siege, Deng planted ambushes, chased the retreating host, and shattered it.
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子本嗣，历位郡守、九卿。 所在操纲领，舉大体，能使羣下自尽。 有统御之才，不亲小事，不读法律而得廷尉之称，優於司马岐等，精练文理。 遷镇北將軍，假节都督河北諸軍事。 薨，子粲嗣。 本弟骞，咸熙中爲车骑將軍。 〈案晋书曰：骞字休渊，为晋佐命功臣，至太傅，封高平郡公。〉
His son Chen Ben inherited the title and rose through grand wardencies to the nine high ministers. In every office he set policy and left detail to subordinates, who then gave their best. He commanded men without micromanaging, never cracked a law code yet was hailed as a natural minister of justice, outshining Sima Qi in juridical clarity. He became general who guards the north with the credential staff and supreme command north of the river. At his death his son Chen Can inherited the line. Chen Ben's brother Qian rose to general of chariots and cavalry under Xianxi. 〈The Jinshu adds that Qian, style Xiuyuan, helped found the Jin dynasty, became grand tutor, and was made duke of Gaoping.'〉
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初，矫爲郡功曹，使过泰山。 泰山太守东郡薛悌異之，結爲亲友。 戏謂矫曰：「以郡吏而交二千石，邻國君屈從陪臣游，不亦可乎！」 悌後爲魏郡及尚書令，皆承代矫云。 〈《世语》曰：悌字孝威。 年二十二，以兗州从事为泰山太守。 初，太祖定冀州，以悌及东平王国为左右长史，后至中领军，并悉忠贞练事，为世吏表。〉
Long before, as commandery merit clerk, Jiao traveled through Taishan. Taishan Grand Warden Xue Ti of Dongjun was struck with admiration and befriended him. Ti teased him: 'A petty clerk befriending a two-thousand-dan grand warden—like a prince strolling with a vassal—is that not a fine joke?' Later Xue Ti served as grand warden of Wei and director of the Masters of Writing—each time, tradition says, stepping into Jiao's shoes. 〈The Shiyu gives Ti's style as Xiaowei. At twenty-two he leapt from Yan Province clerk to grand warden of Taishan. When Cao Cao took Ji Province he named Ti and Wang Guo of Dongping his left and right senior clerks; both rose to central commandant, loyal and efficient exemplars for every clerk.'〉
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徐宣字宝堅，广陵海西人也。 避乱江东，又辭孫策之命，還本郡。 與陳矫并爲纲纪，二人齊名而私好不协，然俱见器於太守陳登，與登并心於太祖。 海西、淮浦二县民作乱，都尉卫弥、令梁习夜奔宣家，密送免之。 太祖遣督軍扈质來討贼，以兵少不进。 宣潜见责之，示以形勢，质乃进破贼。 太祖辟爲司空掾属，除东缗、发干令，遷齊郡太守，入爲门下督，從到寿春。 會马超作乱，大軍西征，太祖见官属曰：「今当遠征，而此方未定，以爲後忧，宜得清公大德以镇统之。」 乃以宣爲左护軍，留统諸軍。 還，爲丞相东曹掾，出爲魏郡太守。 太祖崩洛阳，羣臣入殿中发哀。 或言可易諸城守，用谯、沛人。 宣厉声曰：「今者遠近一统，人怀效节，何必谯、沛，而沮宿卫者心。」 文帝聞曰：「所謂社稷之臣也。」 帝既践阼，爲御史中丞，赐爵關内侯，徙城门校尉，旬月遷司隶校尉，转散骑常侍。 從至广陵，六軍乘舟，风浪暴起，帝船回倒，宣病在後，陵波而前，羣寮莫先至者。 帝壮之，遷尚書。
Xu Xuan, style Baojian, hailed from Haixi in Guangling. Like Jiao he fled to Jiangdong, refused Sun Ce's call, and went home. He and Chen Jiao shared the chief clerk's burden—rivals in reputation if not in friendship—yet Deng valued both, and each pledged himself to Cao Cao. When Haixi and Huaipu rose, Commandant Wei Mi and Magistrate Liang Xi slipped to Xuan's door; he smuggled them to safety. Cao Cao sent overseer Hu Zhi to crush the rebels, but Zhi stalled for lack of numbers. Xuan cornered Zhi, laid out the map of force, and Zhi marched and routed the rebels. Cao Cao took him on as ministerial clerk, named him magistrate of Dongmin and Fagan, raised him to grand warden of Qi, then brought him to court as gatehouse commander for the Shouchun campaign. When Ma Chao rose and the host marched west, Cao Cao told his staff, 'I leave with the west still unquiet; I need a man of spotless honor to hold this ground.' He named Xuan left protector of the army and left him in charge of the rear echelon. After the western campaign he became eastern-bureau senior clerk under the chancellor, then grand warden of Wei. When Cao Cao died at Luoyang the courtiers entered the palace to mourn. Some proposed replacing every city garrison with troops from Qiao and Pei. Xuan thundered back, 'The realm is one; every soldier burns to serve—why insult the old guard by swapping in only men from Qiao and Pei?' Wendi heard the story and said, 'There speaks a true pillar of state.' Once Wendi took the throne Xuan became palace aide to the censor-in-chief, won secondary marquis within the passes, jumped to colonel of the gates within a month, then metropolitan commandant, then standing attendant. On the Guangling tour the imperial flotilla met a squall; the dragon boat spun while Xuan, sick in the rear squadron, pulled ahead of every courtier through the surf. The emperor praised his courage and moved him into the Masters of Writing.
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明帝即位，封津阳亭侯，邑二百户。 中领軍桓范荐宣曰：
Mingdi enfeoffed him village marquis of Jinyang at two hundred households. Huan Fan, central commandant, memorialized on Xuan's behalf:
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臣闻帝王用人，度世授才，争夺之时，以策略为先，分定之后，以忠义为首。 故晋文行舅犯之计而赏雍季之言， 〈《吕氏春秋》曰：昔晋文公将与楚人战於城濮，召咎犯而问曰：“楚众我寡，奈何而可？” 咎犯对曰：“臣闻繁礼之君，不足於文，繁战之君，不足於诈，君亦诈之而已。” 文公以咎犯言告雍季，雍季曰：“竭泽而渔，岂不得鱼，而明年无鱼。 焚薮而田，岂不得兽，而明年无兽。 诈伪之道，虽今偷可，后将无复，非长术也。” 文公用咎犯之言，而败楚人於城濮。 反而为赏，雍季在上。 左右谏曰：“城濮之功，咎犯之谋也。 君用其言而后其身，或者不可乎！” 文公曰：“雍季之言，百代之利也； 咎犯之言，一时之务也。 焉有以一时之务，先百代之砾乎？”〉 高祖用陈平之智而讬后於周勃也。 窃见尚书徐宣，体忠厚之行，秉直亮之性； 清雅特立，不拘世俗； 确然难动，有社稷之节； 历位州郡，所在称职。 今仆射缺，宣行掌后事； 腹心任重，莫宜宣者。
I have heard that wise kings match talent to the times—in war, stratagem; in peace, steadfast loyalty. Thus Duke Wen of Jin followed Jiu Fan's ruse yet ranked Yong Ji's honest counsel higher in the reward rolls. 〈The Lüshi Chunqiu tells how Duke Wen of Jin, facing Chu at Chengpu, asked Jiu Fan, 'They outnumber us—what now?' Jiu Fan answered, 'A ruler who loves pageantry lacks true refinement; a warrior who loves battle lacks true guile—meet guile with guile.' Wen repeated this to Yong Ji, who said, 'Drain the pond and you eat today but starve tomorrow." Burn the coverts and you bag game now but leave none for later. Trickery buys a moment; it cannot be a lasting policy. Wen followed Jiu Fan and shattered Chu at Chengpu. When it came time for rewards Yong Ji stood first in line. Courtiers protested, 'Chengpu was Jiu Fan's victory." You took his counsel yet rank him last—how can that be just? Wen answered, 'Yong Ji speaks for ages to come;" Jiu Fan speaks only for the crisis at hand. How could I rank a day's tactic above a century's good? Han Gaozu relied on Chen Ping's wit but left the aftermath to Zhou Bo's steadfast arm. I see Director Xu Xuan: loyal, generous, blunt, and bright. Refined and aloof, he scorns fashion. Rock-steady, he has the fiber of a pillar of state. In province after province he proved equal to every charge. The vice-director's chair is empty; Xuan should fill it. For a trust this heavy no man suits better.
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帝遂以宣爲左仆射，後加侍中灌禄大夫。 车驾幸许昌，总统留事。 帝還，主者奏呈文書。 诏曰：「吾省與仆射禾異？」 竟不视。 尚方令坐猥见考竟，宣上疏陳威刑大过，又諫作宫殿穷尽民力，帝皆手诏嘉納。 宣曰：「七十有县车之礼，今已六十八，可以去矣。」 乃固辭疾逊位，帝终不许。
Mingdi named him left vice-director, then added palace attendant and grand master for splendid happiness. During the emperor's stay at Xuchang he ran the capital in absentia. On the emperor's return the clerks piled memorials on his desk. The emperor asked, 'How does my own review differ from the vice director's?' Mingdi never opened the files. When a palace artisan was flogged to death on a trifle, Xuan protested cruel justice and wasteful palace works; Mingdi answered each memorial with his own brush in praise. Xuan said, 'The rites let a man retire his carriage at seventy; I am sixty-eight and ready to step down.' He pressed a resignation on grounds of age; the emperor refused.
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青龙四年薨，遺令布衣疏巾，敛以時服。 诏曰：「宣体履至实，直内方外，历在三朝，公亮正色，有讬孤寄命之节，可謂柱石臣也。 常欲倚以台辅，未及登之，惜乎大命不永！ 其追赠车骑將軍，葬如公礼。」 谥曰贞侯。 子钦嗣。
He died in Qinglong 4, ordering a plain hemp shroud and timely dress only for the coffin. An edict said, 'Xuan's conduct pursued utmost sincerity; he was straight within and square without; through three reigns he was fair and bright in public mien, possessing the integrity of one who receives the orphan and entrusts his mandate—he may be called a pillar and cornerstone minister. I meant to raise him to chancellor but heaven cut him short. Posthumously name him general of chariots and cavalry and bury him with ducal honors.' The preceding rescript ended; the court then canonized him as Marquis Zhen. His son Xu Qin inherited the title.
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卫臻字公振，陳留襄邑人也。 父兹，有大节，不應三公之辟。 太祖之初至陳留，兹曰：「平天下者，必此人也。」 太祖亦異之，數詣兹议大事。 從討董卓，戰于荥阳而卒。 太祖每涉郡境，辄遣使祠焉。 〈《先贤行状》曰：兹字子许。 不为激诡之行，不徇流俗之名； 明虑渊深，规略宏远。 为车骑将军何苗所辟，司徒杨彪再加旌命。 董卓作乱，汉室倾荡，太祖到陈留，始与兹相见，遂同盟，计兴武事。 兹答曰：“乱生久矣，非兵无以整之。” 且言“兵之兴者，自今始矣”。 深见废兴，首赞弘谋。 合兵三千人，从太祖入荥阳，力战终日，失利，身殁。 郭林宗传曰：“兹弱冠与同郡圈文生俱称盛德。 林宗与二人共至市，子许买物，随价雠直，文生訾呵，减价乃取。 林宗曰：“子许少欲，文生多情，此二人非徒兄弟，乃父子也。” 后文生以秽货见损，兹以烈节垂名。〉
Wei Zhen, style Gongzhen, came from Xiangyi in Chenliu commandery. His father Wei Ci held fast to principle and ignored every offer from the three highest offices. When Cao Cao first entered Chenliu, Wei Ci declared, 'This is the man who will settle the empire.' Cao Cao was struck with admiration and called on him again and again to plan weighty matters. He marched against Dong Zhuo, fell fighting at Xingyang, and died there. Each time Cao Cao passed through Chenliu he dispatched aides to honor Ci's tomb. 〈The Conduct of Worthies of Antiquity gives Ci's style as Zixu. He shunned theatrical virtue and the empty reputations of the crowd. His mind ran deep; his designs ranged far. He Miao of the chariots and horse host called him up; Yang Biao, minister of education, twice pressed a grand summons on him. When Zhuo wrecked Luoyang and Han swayed, Cao Cao reached Chenliu, met Wei Ci, swore common cause, and plotted the uprising. Ci replied, 'Chaos has festered too long—only force can mend it.' He added, 'This day marks the true beginning of the sword.' He read the tides of fortune and was the first to bless the grand strategy. He raised three thousand men, followed Cao Cao into Xingyang, battled a full day in defeat, and died on the field. Guo Tai's life records that in early manhood Ci and his townsman Quan Wensheng shared a reputation for high character. At market with Guo Tai, Zixu paid the sticker price while Wensheng wrangled every copper lower. Guo Tai remarked, 'Zixu wants little; Wensheng wants much—they are less like brothers than like father and son.' "Wensheng later fell to greed; Ci's stern honor became legend.' (End of note.
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夏侯惇爲陳留太守，舉臻计吏，命妇出宴，臻以爲「末世之俗，非礼之正」。 惇怒，执臻，既而赦之。 後爲汉黄门侍郎。 东郡硃越謀反，引臻。 太祖令曰：「孤與卿君同共舉事，加钦令问。 始聞越言，固自不信。 及得荀令君書，具亮忠诚。」 會奉诏命，聘贵人于魏，因表留臻参丞相軍事。 追录臻父旧勋，赐爵關内侯，转爲户曹掾。 文帝即王位，爲散骑常侍。 及践阼，封安國亭侯。 時羣臣并颂魏德，多抑损前朝。 臻獨明禅授之義，称扬汉美。 帝數目臻曰：「天下之珍，当與山阳共之。」 遷尚書，转侍中吏部尚書。 帝幸广陵，行中领軍，從。 征軍大將軍曹休表得降贼辭，「孫权已在濡须口」。 臻曰：「权恃長江，未敢抗衡，此必畏怖伪辭耳。」 考核降者，果守將诈所作也。
When Xiahou Dun was grand warden of Chenliu he recommended Zhen as counting clerk and ordered the womenfolk to come out for a banquet; Zhen held that 'this is the custom of a decadent age, not the correctness of ritual.' Dun jailed him in a fury, then thought better of it and let him go. He later served the Han court as gentleman at the yellow gates. When Zhu Yue of Dongjun rebelled he tried to drag Zhen in. Cao Cao wrote, 'Your father and I began this venture together, and I have watched you with special favor. When I first heard Yue's tale I did not credit it. Director Xun's letter then proved your innocence to the hilt.' On mission to invest a consort in Wei, he memorialized to keep Zhen on the chancellor's military staff. The throne remembered his father's service, enfeoffed him secondary marquis within the passes, and moved him to the households bureau. When Wendi took the kingship Zhen became standing attendant-in-ordinary. At Wendi's accession he was named village marquis of Anguo. The whole court sang Wei's praises and slighted the fallen Han. Zhen alone explained the doctrine of sanctioned transfer and spoke well of Han. The emperor kept his eye on Zhen and said, 'The empire's jewels belong beside the lord of Shanyang too.' He rose to the Masters of Writing, then combined palace attendant with director for appointments. During the Guangling tour he served as acting central commandant in the rear and rode with the train. General-in-chief for expeditions Cao Xiu submitted a memorial citing surrendered bandits' testimony that 'Sun Quan is already at Ruxukou.' Zhen answered, 'Sun Quan hides behind the Yangzi; he would not dare a stand-up fight—this is panic talk.' Questioning the captives exposed a lie cooked up by a local commander.
39
明帝即位，进封康鄉侯，後转爲右仆射，典選舉，如前加侍中。 中护軍蒋济遺臻書曰：「汉祖遇亡虏爲上將，周武拔渔父爲太师； 布衣厮养，可登王公，何必守文，试而後用？」 臻答曰：「古人遺智慧而任度量，须考绩而加黜陟； 今子同牧野於成、康，喻断蛇於文、景，好不经之舉，开拔奇之津，將使天下驰骋而起矣。」 諸葛亮寇天水，臻奏：「宜遣奇兵入散關，绝其粮道。」 乃以臻爲征蜀將軍，假节督諸軍事，到長安，亮退。 還，复职，加光禄大夫。 是時，帝方隆意於殿舍，臻數切諫。 及殿中监擅收兰台令史，臻奏案之。 诏曰：「殿舍不成，吾所留心，卿推之何？」 臻上疏曰：「古制侵官之法，非恶其勤事也，诚以所益者小，所堕者大也。 臣每察校事，類皆如此，惧羣司將遂越职，以至陵迟矣。」 亮又出斜谷； 征南上：「硃然等軍已过荆城。」 臻曰：「然，吴之骁將，必下從权，且爲勢以缀征南耳。」 权果召然入居巢，进攻合肥。 帝欲自东征，臻曰：「权外示應亮，内实观望。 且合肥城固，不足爲虑。 车驾可无亲征，以省六軍之费。」 帝到寻阳而权竟退。
Mingdi raised his fief to village marquis of Kang, then made him right vice-director of personnel with palace attendant as before. Jiang Ji wrote, 'Gaozu turned a runaway groom into a marshal; the Zhou king made a fisherman grand tutor; commoners and grooms can rise to the highest rank—why fetishize paperwork and probation?' Zhen replied, 'The sages weighed deed over dazzle and moved men only after reviewing their record; yet you compare Muye to the peace of Cheng and Kang, equate a street omen with Wen and Jing, praise reckless jumps, and open a sluice for eccentric talent—the whole country will career off the road.' When Zhuge Liang raided Tianshui Zhen memorialized, 'It is fitting to dispatch a striking column through Sanguan to cut his grain road.' The court named him Shu-expedition general with the credential staff, sent him to Chang'an, and Liang pulled back. He returned to civil office and added grand master for splendid happiness. While Mingdi lavished treasure on new palaces, Zhen remonstrated again and again. When the palace intendant seized an Orchid Terrace clerk without warrant, Zhen impeached the abuse. The emperor asked, 'My mind is on the unfinished halls—why do you harp on this?' Zhen answered, 'Old law forbade officials poaching one another's duties not because diligence was bad but because the profit was tiny and the damage huge. Every time I review such cases I see the same pattern—I dread a race of clerks trampling each other's lines until government rots.' Zhuge Liang marched out of Xie Valley again; the southern front reported, 'Zhu Ran's fleet has passed Jingcheng.' Zhen said, 'Zhu Ran is one of Wu's best blades—he will join Quan in person and only feints to pin our southern army.' Sun Quan did recall Zhu Ran to Juchao and strike at Hefei. Mingdi meant to lead the eastern host himself; Zhen argued, 'Sun Quan pretends to help Liang but actually waits on the fence. Hefei's ramparts are stout—hardly a crisis. Spare the six hosts the cost of a needless imperial march.' The sovereign advanced only to Xunyang; Sun Quan slipped away.
40
子烈嗣，咸熙中爲光禄勋。 〈臣松之案旧事及《傅咸集》，烈终於光禄勋。 烈二弟京、楷，皆二千石。 楷子權，字伯舆。 晋大司马汝南王亮辅政，以权为尚书郎。 傅咸与亮笺曰：“卫伯舆贵妃兄子，诚有才章，应作台郎，然未得东宫官属。 东宫官属，前患杨骏，亲理塞路，今有伯舆，复越某作郎。 一犬吠形，群犬吠声，惧於群吠，遂至回听。” 权作左思《吴都赋》叙及注，叙粗有文辞，至於为注，了无所发明，直为尘秽纸墨，不合传写也。〉
His son Wei Lie inherited the title and under Xianxi became superintendent of splendid happiness. 〈Songzhi: old files and Fu Xian's corpus agree that Wei Lie died in office as superintendent of splendid happiness. Wei's younger brothers Jing and Kai each rose to two-thousand-dan posts. Kai's son Quan bore the style Boyu. When Prince Liang of Runan, grand marshal of Jin, directed the regency, he named Quan gentleman of the Masters of Writing. Fu Xian warned the prince, 'Wei Quan is kin to the imperial consort and has real literary gifts—he belongs on the terrace staff, not yet in the heir's bureau." The heir's office once choked under Yang Jun's nepotism; now Quan leaps ahead of me for the same post. One cur barks at a shadow and a hundred echo—I dread the chorus warping the throne's ear. Quan's preface and notes to Zuo Si's Wu Capital rhapsody show a little polish in the preface, but the commentary adds nothing—only smears the page and is not worth copying.'〉
41
卢毓字子家，涿郡涿人也。 父植，有名於世。 〈续汉书曰：植字子幹。 少事马融，与郑玄同门相友。 植刚毅有大节，常喟然有济世之志，不苟合取容，不应州郡命召。 建宁中，徵博士，出补九江太守，以病去官。 作尚书章句、礼记解诂。 稍迁侍中、尚书。 张角起，以植为北中郎将征角，失利抵罪。 顷之，复以为尚书。 张让劫少帝奔小平津，植手剑责数让等，让等皆放兵，垂泣谢罪，遂自杀。 董卓议欲废帝，众莫敢对，植独正言，语在《卓传》。 植以老病去位，隐居上谷军都山，初平三年卒。 太祖北征柳城，过涿郡，令告太守曰：“故北中郎将卢植，名著海内，学为儒宗，士之楷模，乃国之桢幹也。 昔武王入殷，封商容之闾，郑丧子产而仲尼陨涕。 孤到此州，嘉其餘风。 春秋之义，贤者之后，有异於人。 敬遣丞掾脩坟墓，并致薄醊，以彰厥德。” 植有四子，毓最小。〉 毓十岁而孤，遇本州乱，二兄死難。 当袁紹、公孫瓚交兵，幽冀饥荒，养寡嫂孤兄子，以学行见称。
Lu Yu, style Zijia, came from Zhuo in Zhuo commandery. His father Lu Zhi was celebrated throughout the empire. 〈The Xu Han shu records Lu Zhi's style as Zigàn. As a youth he studied under Ma Rong alongside Zheng Xuan. Lu Zhi was granite-straight, dreamed of saving the world, refused to curry favor, and ignored provincial calls. Under Jianning he took a doctorate, became grand warden of Jiujiang, then resigned ill. He wrote a commentary on the Documents and glosses on the Record of Rites. He rose step by step to palace attendant and the Masters of Writing. When Zhang Jue rebelled the court named him colonel of the central north; he lost and faced trial. Soon he was restored to the Masters of Writing. At Little Ping Ford Lu Zhi confronted Zhang Rang's party with drawn blade until the eunuchs disarmed, wept, and begged mercy—then they killed themselves. At Zhuo's council to depose the throne only Lu Zhi spoke bluntly—the story stands in Zhuo's chapter. Age and sickness drove him to hermitage on Mount Jundu in Shanggu; he died in Chuping 3. Marching on Liucheng Cao Cao told Zhuo's grand warden, 'Lu Zhi, late colonel of the central north, was Confucianism's beacon and the state's beam—his fame filled the realm." King Wu of Zhou honored Shang Rong's lane in conquered Yin; Confucius wept when Zi Chan died in Zheng. Coming to his home commandery, I honor the virtue that still clings here. Spring and Autumn justice demands special kindness to descendants of the worthy. I therefore send clerks to tend his grave and pour a humble libation, that his goodness may shine. "Lu Zhi left four sons; Yu was the youngest.' (End of note. Orphaned at ten when his province exploded in war, he lost both elder brothers in the fighting. During the Shao–Zan wars that starved You and Ji he kept his sister-in-law and nephews alive and won praise for scholarship and character.
42
文帝爲五官將，召毓署门下贼曹。 崔琰舉爲冀州主簿。 時天下草创，多逋逃，故重士亡法，罪及妻子。 亡士妻白等，始適夫家數日，未與夫相见，大理奏弃巿。 毓驳之曰：
As general of the five offices Wendi appointed him clerk of the gatehouse bandit bureau. Cui Yan nominated him chief clerk of Ji Province. Early Wei punished runaway officials harshly, extending sentence to wives and children. Women such as Bai had been wed mere days and never seen their husbands when the high court demanded public execution. Yu protested:
43
夫女子之情，以接见而恩生，成妇而義重。 故诗云‘未见君子，我心伤悲； 亦既见止，我心則夷’。 又礼‘未庙见之妇而死，归葬女氏之黨，以未成妇也’。 今白等生有未见之悲，死有非妇之痛，而吏议欲肆之大辟，則若同牢合卺之後，罪何所加？ 且记曰‘附從轻’，言附人之罪，以轻者爲比也。 又書云‘與其杀不辜，宁失不经’，恐过重也。 苟以白等皆受礼聘，已入门庭，刑之爲可，杀之爲重。
A woman's bond forms at first sight of her husband; duty deepens only after the marriage is complete. The Poetry says, 'I have not seen my lord, and sorrow wrenches my heart;" now that I have seen him, my heart is eased. The canon adds, 'A bride not yet presented at the temple who dies goes home to her mother's clan, for she is not yet truly a wife.' These women knew their husbands only by rumor in life and died without ever completing a marriage, yet the tribunal would execute them—had they truly shared a bed, what worse charge could you pile on? The Record also says to grade complicity by the lightest plausible reading. The Documents warns: better break precedent than kill the guiltless—your proposed sentence is too harsh. They had crossed the threshold under formal betrothal—fine them or demote them if you must, but the headsman's ax is excessive.
44
太祖曰：「毓执之是也。 又引经典有意，使孤叹息。」 由是爲丞相法曹议令史，转西曹议令史。
Cao Cao ruled, 'Lu Yu has the right of it. He grounded his plea in the canon until I could only sigh in agreement.' He was named deliberation clerk in the legal bureau, then rotated to the western bureau.
45
魏國既建，爲吏部郎。 文帝践阼，徙黄门侍郎，出爲济阴相，梁、谯二郡太守。 帝以谯旧鄉，故大徙民充之，以爲屯田。 而谯土地墝瘠，百姓穷困，毓愍之，上表徙民於梁國就沃衍，失帝意。 雖听毓所表，心犹恨之，遂左遷毓，使將徙民爲睢阳典农校尉。 毓心在利民，躬自臨视，择居美田，百姓賴之。 遷安平、广平太守，所在有惠化。
At Wei's founding he took office as gentleman of the ministry of personnel. Wendi moved him to the yellow gates, then sent him out as Jiyin minister and joint grand warden of Liang and Qiao. Because Qiao was the imperial hometown, Wendi transplanted a huge population there to open military colonies. The ground was poor and the settlers starving; Yu begged to shift them to fertile Liang state—Wendi took it as a snub. He grudgingly approved the move yet exiled Yu to command the colonists as Suiyang colony commandant. Yu walked every camp himself, picking good soil for each family, and the people thrived under his hand. Promoted to grand warden of Anping and Guangping, he left a trail of humane government.
46
青龙二年，入爲侍中。 先是，散骑常侍劉劭受诏定律，未就。 毓上论古今科律之意，以爲法宜一正，不宜有两端，使奸吏得容情。 及侍中高堂隆數以宫室事切諫，帝不悦，毓进曰：「臣聞君明則臣直，古之圣王恐不聞其过，故有敢諫之鼓。 近臣尽規，此乃臣等所以不及隆。 隆諸生，名爲狂直，陛下宜容之。」 在职三年，多所驳争。 诏曰：「官人秩才，圣帝所難，必须良佐，进可替否。 侍中毓禀性贞固，心平体正，可謂明试有功，不懈于位者也。 其以毓爲吏部尚書。」 使毓自選代，曰：「得如卿者乃可。」 毓舉常侍郑冲，帝曰：「文和，吾自知之，更舉吾所未聞者。」 乃舉阮武、孫邕，帝於是用邕。
In Qinglong 2 he returned to the palace as attendant. Liu Shao had been drafting a new code for the throne, but the work stalled. Yu argued that statutes must speak with one voice—split standards only feed corrupt clerks. When Gaotang Long's palace sermons angered Mingdi, Yu stepped forward: 'A clear-sighted throne breeds blunt ministers; the ancients hung a drum so subjects could beat out their warnings. We lesser attendants cannot match Long's courage in speaking truth to power. He is a scholar, blunt to a fault—bear with him.' Three years in post he fought a dozen bad rulings. An edict said, 'To rank officials by talent is what even sage emperors find hard; one must have good assistants who advance the capable and replace the incapable. Attendant Lu Yu is steady, fair, and tireless—exactly the man to test and trust. Appoint him director of personnel.' Mingdi told him to name his successor: 'Only your equal will do.' Yu picked Zheng Chong; the emperor answered, 'I know Wenhe—give me a name I have not met.' He then offered Ruan Wu and Sun Yong; the throne took Sun Yong.
47
前此諸葛诞、邓飏等驰名誉，有四 （窗） 八达之诮，帝疾之。 時舉中書郎，诏曰：「得其人與否，在卢生耳。 選舉莫取有名，名如画地作饼，不可啖也。」 毓对曰：
Zhuge Dan, Deng Yang, and their set chased fame until the capital sneered at the 'four" acute'— "eight thoroughfares' clique,' and Mingdi detested them. When a palace secretariat seat opened, the edict read, 'Master Lu alone will tell us if the man fits. Do not pick men for fame alone—fame is a cake drawn in dust, inedible.' Yu answered:
48
名不足以致異人，而可以得常士。 常士畏教慕善，然後有名，非所当疾也。 愚臣既不足以识異人，又主者正以循名案常爲职，但当有以验其後。 故古者敷奏以言，明试以功。 今考绩之法废，而以毁誉相进退，故真伪浑杂，虚实相蒙。
Reputation alone will not net a genius, but it still finds solid middling talent. Reliable men heed teaching and earn their names honestly—that is nothing to despise. I cannot spot every prodigy, and my clerks must work from dossiers—yet we can still test results after appointment. The ancients heard memorials in court and proved officers on the job. Today merit ratings are dead and gossip sets promotions—so fraud and fact tangle together.
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帝納其言，即诏作考课法。 會司徒缺，毓舉处士管宁，帝不能用。 更问其次，毓对曰：「敦笃至行，則太中大夫韩暨； 亮直清方，則司隶校尉崔林； 贞固纯粹，則太常常林。」 帝乃用暨。 毓於人及選舉，先舉性行，而後言才。 黄门李丰尝以问毓，毓曰：「才所以爲善也，故大才成大善，小才成小善。 今称之有才而不能爲善，是才不中器也。」 丰等服其言。
Mingdi accepted the plea and ordered a new examination code drafted. When the minister of education's chair emptied, Yu nominated Guan Ning; the court could not use him. Pressed for another name he answered, 'For generous steadfastness name grand counselor of the household Han Ji; for blunt clarity name metropolitan commandant Cui Lin; for unbending purity name grand master of ceremonies Chang Lin.' The throne named Han Ji to the post. In every nomination Yu ranked character ahead of cleverness. Li Feng asked how talent and virtue meshed; Yu said, 'Talent serves goodness—great gifts do great good, modest gifts do modest good. Call a man clever who does no good and you have a misshapen vessel.' Li Feng and his circle conceded the point.
50
毓子钦、珽，咸熙中钦爲尚書，珽泰山太守。 〈《世语》曰：钦字子若，珽字子笏。 钦泰始中为尚书仆射，领选，咸宁四年卒，追赠卫将军，开府。 《虞预晋书》曰：钦少居名位，不顾财利，清虚淡泊，动脩礼典。 同郡张华，家单少孤，不为乡邑所知，惟钦贵异焉。 钦子浮，字子云。 《晋诸公赞》曰：张华博识多闻，无物不知。 浮高朗经博，有美於华，起家太子舍人，病疽，截手，遂废。 朝廷器重之，就家以为国子博士，迁祭酒。 永平中为秘书监。 珽及子皓、志并至尚书。 志子谌，字子谅。 温峤表称谌清出有文思。 《谌别传》曰：谌善著文章。 洛阳倾覆，北投刘琨，琨以为司空从事中郎。 琨败，谌归段末波。 元帝之初，累召为散骑中书侍郎，不得南赴。 永和六年，卒於胡 （胡） 中，子孙过江。 妖贼帅卢循，谌之曾孙。〉
His sons Lu Qin and Lu Ting rose under Xianxi—Qin to the Masters of Writing, Ting to grand warden of Taishan. 〈The Shiyu records Qin's style as Ziruo and Ting's as Zihu. In Jin's Taishi era Qin served as vice-director of personnel; he died in Xianning 4 with posthumous rank as guards general and independent staff. In his Jin History Yu Yu records that Qin spurned riches, lived plainly, and shaped his life by ritual. His townsman Zhang Hua was poor and obscure; only Qin singled him out as exceptional. Qin's son Fu bore the style Ziyun. The Jin Praise of the Dukes calls Zhang Hua encyclopedic. Fu outshone even Zhang Hua in breadth, entered service as heir's attendant, then lost a hand to a boil and was crippled out of office. The court still valued him, named him national-university erudite without leaving his house, then libationer. Under Yongping he rose to supervisor of the secretariat. Lu Ting and his sons Hao and Zhi each rose to the Masters of Writing. Zhi's son Chen used the style Ziliang. Wen Qiao memorialized that Chen combined moral clarity with literary grace. A private biography of Chen praises his essays. When Luoyang fell he fled to Liu Kun, who named him minister of works staff adviser. After Kun's defeat he entered the service of Duan Mobo. Under Yuan Di he was summoned again and again to the secretariat but could not cross south. In Yonghe 6 he died on soil held by the Hu the manuscripts repeat the ethnonym Hu in parentheses while his descendants later crossed the Yangzi to the south. "The rebel prophet Lu Xun was his great-grandson.' (End of note.
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【評】
Section heading: Appraisal.
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评曰：桓階识睹成敗，才周当世。 陳羣动仗名義，有清流雅望； 泰弘济简至，允克堂构矣。 魏世事统台阁，重内轻外，故八座尚書，即古六卿之任也。 陳、徐、卫、卢，久居斯位，矫、宣剛断骨鲠，臻、毓規鉴清理，咸不忝厥职云。
Huan Jie read every turn of fortune and had the breadth to master his times. Chen Qun anchored policy in principle and kept a statesman's clean reputation. Chen Tai carried the house forward with blunt, saving judgment. Wei centralized power in the palace secretariat, favoring capital ministers over field posts—the eight seats of the Masters of Writing were the true heirs of the Zhou six ministers. Chen Qun, Xu Xuan, Wei Zhen, and Lu Yu held those chairs longest; Chen Jiao and Xu Xuan were flint-spined, while Wei Zhen and Lu Yu policed the machinery with cool judgment—none, it is said, disgraced his charge.